Are they serious? The president of the United States is finally doing what the Jewish community dreamed the Biden administration would do to stop antisemitism on campus. They are taking action—actual, tangible, visible action to hold campus agitators and foreign funders accountable. Yet instead of applauding this long-overdue shift in domestic policy, some in our community are wringing their hands and crying about “authoritarianism” and “chilling speech.”

Let’s be honest. For years, the Jewish community has asked for federal enforcement. We demanded investigations into the foreign nationals and organizations fomenting chaos and antisemitism on American college campuses. We pleaded for federal funding to be used as leverage against institutions that refuse to act to protect their Jewish students. This isn’t new. It’s not controversial. It’s what we asked for.

And now, when U.S. President Donald Trump takes such steps—detaining individuals involved in illegal activity and making clear that there are consequences—we recoil. Why? The answer is simple: Fear.

We are a people shaped by centuries of persecution. Pogroms. Expulsions. Genocide. That trauma runs deep. And today, it manifests as something almost unrecognizable, a fear of fighting back. Fear of being blamed. Fear that standing up for ourselves will unleash even more hatred. So instead, the community cowers. In the Diaspora, many Jews convince themselves that moderation and silence are the only acceptable Jewish responses.

Even worse, a small, radical segment of our community—loud, self-righteous and more connected with liberalism rather than tradition—believes that it has the authority to speak on behalf of all of us. Spoiler alert, they don’t.

They ignore, condescend or outright dismiss the voices of Jews who don’t fit their mold. They ignore Chassidic, Orthodox and Sephardic Jews. From the many unsafe cities for Jews in America, they speak of human rights as if in Israel, our human rights are disconnected. They consider Jabotinsky Jews—named for Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky, who founded the Betar movement—who are willing to stand up like we are some strange, backward tribe unworthy of consultation and certainly unqualified to be counted as part of the “real” Jewish community.

Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, sent a letter last week to the leaders of Jewish federations across the United States, making clear that objecting to the Trump administration’s plans to deport students for holding anti-Israel views and defund and penalize universities is outside the Jewish consensus.

Fingerhut was right to advise local federation CEOs not to sign onto a statement issued by the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, which was misleading, divisive and out of touch with reality. The JCPA letter didn’t reflect the consensus of the Jewish community; it reflects the politics of a few. And it certainly didn’t reflect the needs of Jewish students and families who are living in fear on campuses and in cities worldwide.

Fingerhut showed the kind of moral clarity our community needs.

Argentinian President Javier Milei will visit Israel in June, in his second trip to the country in as many years, Buenos Aires’s ambassador to the Jewish state said at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Sunday.

The Argentine leader has emerged as one of Israel’s most vocal supporters around the globe, firmly aligning himself with Jerusalem and Washington.

Milei will sign a memorandum of understanding with Israel against terrorism and antisemitism during his visit, Ambassador Shimon Axel Wahnish said at the JNS Policy Summit.

He is also scheduled to give an address at the Israeli parliament, which was originally scheduled for March, and to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Argentine ambassador said that he hopes to announce the start of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Buenos Aeries within the next two months, and to open an embassy in Jerusalem in the coming year as Milei has pledged.

Wahnish said that he envisioned an "Isaac Accords" between Israel and many countries in Latin America, modeled on the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and four Arab countries forged under the first Trump administration.

"This is going to be just the beginning," the ambassador said.

Milei has broken with decades of Argentine foreign policy by siding firmly with Israel since taking office in December 2023, propelling relations between the two nations to unprecedented heights. Diplomatic ties between the countries were first established 75 years ago.

Last year, in his first official trip as president, Milei paid a wartime solidarity visit to Israel, where he reiterated his pledge to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem.

An iconoclast and political outsider, Milei was elected in November 2023 amid an economic crisis and skyrocketing inflation that has long beleaguered the South American country, which is making major strides toward recovery under his leadership.

A week after his election victory, he visited the United States for government meetings, stopping at the grave in New York of the Lubavitcher Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. It was his third such visit that year.

Since taking office, Milei has listed Hamas as a terrorist organization and called out Iran’s terrorism, vowing to try in absentia Iranian suspects in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires.

Earlier this year, Milei declared two days of national mourning for the Bibas children, Ariel, 4, and nine-month-old baby Kfir, who were murdered in captivity by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, along with their mother, Shiri. The family, which held Israeli, Argentine and German citizenship, had become symbols of the plight of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas during the terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the northwestern Negev.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog believes the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip was a strategic error, he told Israel Hayom in an interview, an excerpt from which was published on Monday.

"It is clear to me now that the disengagement was a mistake. Not the desire to separate from two million Palestinians—that was logical—but the act itself, which, due to the Palestinian Authority's weakness, led to a Hamas takeover in Gaza," said the president.

Ahead of Israel's 77th Independence Day, Herzog finds himself caught in the middle.

"I've been called ‘the Kaplanist president' and ‘the Bibist president'—which perhaps shows that I am maintaining balance. I take great care to remain balanced and act responsibly," he said. "The President's Residence is one of the few places where everyone is still willing to come and talk. That is my role: not to take sides, but to help heal the divide."

On the issue of the hostages held by Hamas, Herzog remained cautious.

"The war has two objectives—the defeat of Hamas and the return of the hostages. It doesn't have to be an either-or situation; there is room for actions that could achieve both. We can change the reality while also bringing the hostages home," he said.

"Certain statements, especially from the president, could harm efforts. When a president says certain things, it might drive up the price [of negotiations], so there are things I will not say," he added.

Herzog also spoke about his efforts to mediate discussions regarding the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

"Even among those opposing the commission, there is agreement that there must be an investigation. The debate is about how the commission should be formed. I believe the Commission of Inquiry Law is the right tool, but it allows flexibility that must be used wisely," he explained. "I met with the president of the Supreme Court [Yitzhak Amit], and he, in his nobility, said, 'Okay, I will forgo my honor and consult with my deputy [Justice Noam Sohlberg], whose legal school of thought is different, so we can create trust.'"

(Amit is considered left-wing and Sohlberg is considered a conservative.)

Addressing the criminal cases facing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog said: "When I hear [former Supreme Court President] Aharon Barak say, 'Go for a plea deal,' I think we need to listen. It's time to talk about it. It makes sense."

‘Strangling each other'

The president revealed that he had attempted to mediate the dispute between the prime minister and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar. "I spoke with the prime minister and the head of the Shin Bet. Instead of focusing on threats, we are busy strangling each other. I tried to calm things down between them," he said.

On the issue of military conscription for ultra-Orthodox men, Herzog said, "There are currents within the ultra-Orthodox public that are more willing to hear the army's plans. I don't like the attacks on the ultra-Orthodox; I am in favor of dialogue."

Herzog sharply criticized Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef, who recently said that military draft orders should be thrown "into the garbage."

"I was appalled by those remarks; my insides turned over. It is completely unacceptable to me. I believe many people in the ultra-Orthodox community were uncomfortable with those statements as well. After all, we are sacrificing our sons and daughters," said Herzog.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

Addressing the inaugural JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would only accept a nuclear agreement with Iran that completely dismantles Tehran’s uranium enrichment capabilities.

In his remarks, Netanyahu emphasized that eliminating all of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure is the only way to prevent the regime from developing a nuclear weapon. Anything less, he warned, would be "unacceptable."

"A bad deal is worse than no deal," Netanyahu said, urging for an agreement modeled after the disarmament deal reached with Libya, which resulted in the removal of all nuclear capabilities.

He also stressed the need to curb Iran’s ballistic missile program and reaffirmed Israel’s longstanding position: "One way or another, Iran will not have nuclear weapons."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene an urgent meeting about the scheme to cancel the 200-shekel bill as part of a larger move to deprive Hamas of its estimated large sums of cash, Hebrew media reported on Sunday.

“There is an urgent need for an economic war on Hamas,” Sa’ar wrote in a letter submitted to Netanyahu.

“As long as the Bank of Israel persists in its refusal to cooperate with the move, I will propose to examine its advancement through a government decision and legislation, if necessary,” the letter states.

Hamas, experts believe, has accrued cash worth some 3 billion to 4 billion shekels ($825.4 million to $1.1 billion), of which some 80% is in 200 shekel bills.

The proposal to take the 200-shekel note out of circulation was floated in 2024, but was rejected at the time by Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron.

It was resurfaced last week by the foreign minister, this time with the narrower plea to at least terminate the series of 200 shekel notes circulating in Gaza—only to be turned down again by the BoI, on April 24.

In an official statement, the bank said, “The authority to cancel banknotes by law belongs to the Governor of the Bank of Israel. Despite the issue being raised, no sufficiently well-founded professional justification for the cancellation of any particular banknote has been presented to the Governor."

It went on to state: “The proposals brought forward by various parties do not meet any professional standard, their implementation is not feasible, and they were neither formally presented to the Governor nor coordinated in any way with the Bank of Israel. Therefore, the Governor does not intend to exercise his authority to cancel any banknote or to alter the composition of banknotes in circulation.”

In an earlier letter sent to the BoI governor, Sa’ar stated that terminating the 200-shekel bill “will dramatically harm Hamas’s economic capacity, will create significant difficulties in paying salaries to its operatives, and will harm its ability to recruit additional terrorists to its ranks, its ability to acquire ammunition and logistical supplies, maintain governance functions and buy the loyalty of its supporters.”

He went on to assess that given the growing protests in Gaza, as well as Hamas’s financial stress, “such a heavy economic blow could make a substantial contribution to achieving the war’s goals—eliminating Hamas as a military and governmental entity and returning the kidnapped to their homes.”

However, economist professor Omer Moav told Ynet News that the idea was problematic.

There is “no doubt” that the move will “make things harder for Hamas, as well as all the residents in Gaza,” said Moav.

But, he added, this policy could harm Israeli citizens too. “Naturally, such a move cannot be carried out overnight, because many of those banknotes—the series primarily found in Gaza—are also in circulation within Israel, and not only in Israel,” Moav stressed.

The meaning, he continued, is that people will become cautious about accepting terminated bills, which will complicate transactions.

But other experts think differently.

“We discovered that we know the serial numbers of almost all the bills in the Gaza Strip. They received the shekel bills via Brinks trucks from Israeli banks, so there is a record of them all,” Adam Reuter, Financial Immunities chairman and one of the leaders who formulated the previous plan to terminate the 200-shekel bill, told Globes on Sunday.

“It is possible to lead to a significant cash crunch in Hamas, which is the largest employer in Gaza,” he went on to say. “If it knows that the money will be worthless, it will be stressed out.”

Iran's deputy minister of communications reported on Monday that the country had thwarted one of the largest-scale cyber attacks ever carried out against its infrastructure, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"By the grace of God and thanks to the efforts of the technical security teams at the Infrastructure Communications Company and the Ministry of Communications, yesterday one of the most extensive and complex cyberattacks against national infrastructure was detected and preventive measures were taken," said Bahzad Akhbari, CEO of Iran's Infrastructure Communications Company, according to the report.

The announcement comes just two days after an explosion rocked Iran's strategic Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, located across from the Strait of Hormuz. While Tehran has not cast blame for the incident, the explosion, which claimed dozens of lives, is considered highly unusual, drawing comparisons to the deadly Beirut Port blast of August 2020.

Iranian authorities reported that the explosion likely occurred in a chemical container, but did not specify its contents. According to reports, more than 40 people were killed and over 1,000 injured in the blast.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

Israel’s ambassador to South Korea was harassed by anti-Israel activists while dining at a restaurant in Seoul last week, with protesters accusing him of being complicit in "genocide."

The incident, which occurred on April 22, was captured on video. In the footage, one protester can be seen telling Ambassador Rafi Harpaz, "Science and technology should not be used as tools of genocide," while another holds a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf near Harpaz’s table.

Harpaz was dining with three other people. The Israeli embassy later confirmed that Harpaz was joined by family members.

In response to the protesters, Harpaz calmly said, "Okay, thank you," before picking up his phone to make calls. A young man in a business suit then confronted the protesters, identified himself as a police officer, and warned them that they were obstructing official duties by refusing to leave.

No arrests were made, according to the video.

The Israeli embassy in Seoul condemned the incident, describing it as an "attack against the Israeli ambassador and his family."

"Ambassador Harpaz will continue to proudly represent Israel," the embassy said in a statement. "The protesters are a small and radical group that supports terrorism and the destruction of Israel. We thank the many members of the Korean public who sent messages of support following the shameful event."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Saturday congratulated Israel’s under-23 fencing team for taking a gold medal at a European tournament, while berating the Swiss team for turning their backs on the Israeli flag during the award ceremony.

“Shame on the Swiss team for their disrespectful behavior. You don’t know how to lose and behaved in a manner which is an embarrassment to you and the country you’re supposed to represent,” Sa’ar tweeted.

Switzerland on Sunday issued a formal apology to Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Israel Fencing Association through its ambassador to Israel, Simon Geissbühler, Hebrew media reported.

As is the customary tradition of the European Fencing Championship, the three teams who claimed the gold, silver and bronze medals took to the podium to receive their awards. The Israeli and Italian teams— the latter having won bronze—turned respectfully toward their national flags when their national anthems played.

However, the four members of the Swiss team, Yan Auri, Theo Broshar, Yonatan Fohriman and Sven Vines, remained facing forward when Israel’s “Hatikva” was playing.

The four Israeli fencers, Alon Sarid, Fyodor Khaperski, Yonatan Masika and Itamar Tavor, alongside coach Israeli Alexander Ivanov, beat Switzerland 45 to 34.

“From our perspective, sports should bring people together, not divide them,” a representative of the Israel Fencing Association was quoted by Hebrew media as saying.

Fencer Sarid told Ynet News: “It was very hurtful to see the attitude we received when we won. This is disrespecting us, the fencers, and disrespecting the country we represent.”

Following the incident, the Swiss Fencing Association issued a formal statement apologizing for the conduct of its under-23 team.

“We deeply regret that this behavior hurt the feelings of the Israeli delegation and demeaned the sporting success of the Swiss team with three medals at this U23 European Championships,” the statement read.

“We congratulate the Israeli team on their gold medal in the team competition,” it continued.

The association further noted that it will enter into discussion with the under-23 team and then “decide on any measures to be taken.”

It stressed that, “In principle, Swiss Fencing is of the opinion that sporting competitions are not suitable for expressing political opinions, even if athletes are of course allowed to have their personal opinions on world events.”

Freed Hamas hostage Noa Argamani wore a stunning yellow maxi dress, designed by Israeli designer Eli Tala, to the 2025 Time100 Gala in New York on Saturday.

Argamani has become one of the most prominent figures in Israel and around the world in recent months, using her public platform to convey one clear message—the urgency of bringing all the remaining hostages home. The 27-year-old was included in TIME magazine's 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

The dress was sewn in just three days before her flight to New York, and Argamani managed to convey a powerful and important message in an elegant and dignified way. Yellow has become the global symbol for the struggle to return all hostages, including Argamani's partner, Avinatan Or, who has been held captive by Hamas for 569 days.

The dress, an elegant one-shoulder design, was made of satin fabric in a soft, refined yellow shade that shimmered under the lights. The cut was classic A-style—fitted at the top and gradually widening toward the skirt, creating a flowing and sophisticated look. The meticulous design of the draping and folds lent it a luxurious and unforgettable appearance.

Argamani's participation in this prestigious event places her alongside U.S. President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei, billionaire Elon Musk and Hollywood stars like Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively.

The TIME100 gala is one of the most prestigious events on New York's calendar, bringing together icons, leaders and influencers from all industries around the world for an evening of dialogue and celebration. For Argamani, it was another opportunity to remind the world that the struggle to return the hostages continues, and that those still in captivity must not be forgotten.

While we've become accustomed to seeing Argamani in simple and modest appearances in recent months, her impressive and elegant appearance on the red carpet conveyed a clear message of determination, strength and hope—values that have become symbolic of the struggle to bring the hostages home.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.