The delegation was led by AIPAC president Michael Tuchin.
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Minister Without Portfolio in Israel's War Cabinet Benny Gantz at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Nov. 27, 2023. Photo by Chaim GoldbergFlash90.
Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party in the Knesset and a minister without portfolio in Israel’s special “War Cabinet” hosted a delegation of people from AIPAC (the America Israel Public Affairs Committee) in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
The delegation was led by AIPAC president Michael Tuchin.
“As an outspoken leader of his community,” said Gantz, “Michael’s home was targeted and vandalized on Thanksgiving Eve in an unacceptable hate crime.”
“Facing an alarming rise in antisemitism globally and bigotry towards the one and only Jewish state,” he added, “we must all act to protect Jewish communities around the world.”
Benny Gantz is a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and a former Israeli defense minister.
Get an inside look at the current debate gripping Israel!
Jennifer Sutton, executive director of the Council for a Secure America, moderates a debate between Israel Defense Forces Col. (Res) Gabi Siboni and Col. (Res) Grisha Yakubovich on the merits of the current hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas.
They will cover key arguments for and against the agreement, and whether or not it’s worth the price that Israel will inevitably pay. Also, learn how the current deal has divided Israeli society and how it will affect Israel for years to come.
Amichai Chikli, Israel's minister for Diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, vowed on Sunday to oppose extending the ceasefire-and-hostage-release deal with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza to the second phase if the proposal is brought to a vote in the Cabinet.
"I cannot vote in favor of the next victims—whether in Gush Etzion, Megiddo, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Afula or anywhere else," the minister said in remarks to the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations event in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Chikli, who was among two members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party to oppose the first phase of the ceasefire in the Cabinet last month, said his decision to vote against the outline came after "hearing the assessments from various security officials.
"The reason for my opposition was that I understood who the prisoners were that we were releasing in exchange for our hostages. This deal includes the release of 700 terrorists—terror experts with records of dozens of attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis and wounded thousands," Chikli explained to the conference on Sunday.
"These are the same terrorists responsible for the Second Intifada and for other severe attacks. For me, this deal is reminiscent of the Shalit deal," Chikli said, in reference to the 2011 agreement under which Israel freed 1,027 terrorists, including Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
"The commander of Hamas's attack on Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 was a terrorist released in the Shalit deal," the Israeli minister noted.
"This deal we made projects weakness. If we had applied more military and international pressure, we could have reached a much better deal months ago," he said. "In my view, before we proceed with the second stage of the deal, we need to go back to applying effective pressure on Hamas, which would then lead to a far more reasonable agreement."
Chikli continued, "I believe we are the only country in the world that has stepped back from the battlefield to make a hostage deal. My conclusion from all of this is that we need to be much tougher with our enemies."
Israel's s negotiating team currently in Qatar is reportedly focused on the implementation of the current first phase of the ceasefire, with the Cabinet set to meet on Monday to discuss Jerusalem's position on Phase-2 talks.
Netanyahu is coordinating Jerusalem's position on the second phase with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Israel will demand the expulsion of Hamas's leadership from Gaza, the dismantling of its terrorist army and the release of all hostages. Officials in Israel believe that the terrorist group is likely to reject the demands.
Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, said on Sunday that talks were already taking place this week "at a location to be determined."
Witkoff said in a conversation with Fox News that he had "very productive and constructive" calls on Sunday with Netanyahu, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and the head of Egyptian General Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad.
He said they spoke about "the sequencing of Phase 2, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand ... where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of Phase 2 successfully."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered the following remarks in Jerusalem on Feb. 16, 2025, during the latter's first official visit to the Jewish state.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU5O-rNjPT4
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"Secretary Rubio, my dear friend, Marco, it's great to welcome you in Jerusalem with your delegation. It's great to welcome you in Jerusalem as secretary of state of the United States.
"I have to say that this visit comes in the wake of a historic visit to Washington. I've said, and I'm going to repeat it again because it's so true: President Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. And the visit in Washington reflected that in every way, and your visit here reflects it in every way.
"Throughout your political career, you've been a great supporter of Israel and a great champion of the U.S.-Israel alliance. I have no doubt that your unwavering support will continue during your tenure as secretary of state. And I also have no doubt that you'll be a voice of clarity and courage on the world stage for the values that we in Israel and you in America hold dear, the values of freedom for all those who cherish liberty. You're already doing that and I want to tell you that it's heard loud and clear here and everywhere else.
"Today, Secretary Rubio and I had a very productive discussion with our staffs on a number of issues. None of them are more important than Iran. Israel and America stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering the threat of Iran. We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons and we also agreed that Iran's aggression in the region has to be rolled back.
"Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran's terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump, and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job.
"We also spoke a great deal about Gaza. I thank Secretary Rubio for President Trump's assistance in helping us secure the release of another three hostages yesterday. These are hostages that Hamas refused to release only a few days earlier. And I also thanked him for America's unequivocal backing for Israel's policy in Gaza in moving forward.
"I want to assure everyone who is now listening to us, President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us. We have a common strategy, and we can't always share in details this strategy with the public, including when the gates of hell will be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them.
"Israel is determined to achieve all the war objectives we set after the horrific attack on October 7, the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. We will eliminate Hamas's military capability and its political rule in Gaza, we will bring all our hostages home and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. The unequivocal support of the United States on Gaza will help us achieve these objectives faster and set us on a path for a different future.
"Secretary Rubio and I discussed President Trump's bold vision for Gaza, for Gaza's future, how we can work together to ensure that that future becomes a reality.
"We also discussed the situation in Syria after the collapse of [Bashar] Assad's regime, a collapse that was made possible by Israel's weakening of Iran's terror axis, especially the weakening of Hezbollah and the removal of [it chief, Hassan] Nasrallah.
"For over a decade before October 7, Israel acted to prevent Iran from developing a new terror front, new terror fronts against us in Syria, right opposite the Golan Heights and deeper in Syria. And we conducted hundreds of airstrikes, perhaps a thousand, in order to prevent it. And we did.
"Now, if any other force in Syria today believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base of operations against us, they are gravely mistaken. Israel will act to prevent any threat from emerging near our border in southwest Syria.
"The secretary and I discussed Lebanon as well. Israel is committed to the ceasefire understandings that were reached in November. We expect the government of Lebanon to be equally committed to their fulfillment.
"The scenes we saw this weekend in Beirut of UNIFIL forces being attacked by Hezbollah, this was not encouraging. The two U.N. resolutions that everyone refers to, 1559 and 1701, well, they must be fully implemented.
"Hezbollah must be disarmed. And Israel would prefer that the Lebanese army do that job, but no one should doubt that Israel will do what it has to do to enforce the understandings of the ceasefire and defend our security.
"The secretary and I also discussed how the many international institutions that have been hijacked and turned into anti-American and anti-Israeli forums. We see that in the U.N. General Assembly, in the U.N. Human Rights Council, where anti-Americanism is rampant, and more U.N. resolutions are passed about Israel than the rest of the world combined.
"And we see it especially in the lawfare that is being waged against America and Israel at the ICC [International Criminal Court], the ICJ [International Court of Justice] and elsewhere. The ICC has outrageously libeled Israel and issued arrest warrants based on utter lies. Like America, Israel is not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC and does not accept the court's authority.
"Israel commends President Trump and his administration for restoring his executive order against the ICC and for moving quickly to sanction ICC officials.
"The secretary and I discussed working together to formulate a common strategy to deal with the threat of lawfare and neutralize this threat once and for all.
"So, these are some of the issues we discussed today. Believe it or not, there were more. Many more. We can say that the Middle East today has many opportunities, many challenges and we think we can realize the opportunities and also meet the challenges. And I have no doubt that working together, America and Israel will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities.
"I have to say that I'm absolutely confident that under President Trump's leadership, and working together with you, Secretary Rubio, Marco, the best days of our alliance are still yet to come.
"Welcome to Jerusalem. Welcome, my friend."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
"It is an honor to be back here. I've been here many times before, as an American visiting and then as a member of the United States Senate, but now, for the first time, as the secretary of state of the United States. And it's an honor to be here, and it's an honor to serve in this role on behalf of President Donald Trump, who as you've accurately stated, Mr. Prime Minister, is a tremendous friend of Israel. There has been no stronger ally for Israel in the White House than President Trump.
"He's also a man that speaks clearly and unambiguously and makes clear his views on issues. The first [thing] he's made clear, and as you've pointed out, the hostages need to come home. They need to be released. And you work in very close coordination with him.
"He's working in very close coordination with the prime minister and his government and ensuring that that happens. That must happen. It's not optional. And I would add that that is a goal we share in common and that is something we work on very closely together.
"The president has also been very bold about his view of what the future of Gaza should be. Not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that is new and bold and something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline. And it may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.
"Related to that, the president has been very clear: Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force. And frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern or a force that can administer or a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.
"Iran is the single greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran.
"And by Iran, I mean the ayatollahs. By Iran, I mean its regime, a regime who by the way, its people don't support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime.
"There can never be a nuclear Iran. A nuclear Iran, that could then hold itself immune from pressure and from action. That can never happen. The president's been clear about that as well.
"Israel is an extraordinary story of bravery. A nation founded in the ashes and in the aftermath of a horrifying crime against humanity. It stood from its very inception, from the very day of its birth against threats from every angle and every corner and has served as an example to the world of a pluralistic society, a free-enterprise democracy.
"If there were more Israels in the Middle East, more countries like that, the world would be a safer and a better place. And this is what we hope for the region and for our planet.
"A nation that has always sought peace but will not allow itself to be intimidated or destroyed by its enemies. And on that front, you can always count on us."
Alexandre ("Sasha") Troufanov, who was released yesterday from Hamas captivity in Gaza, put on tefillin for the first time on Sunday, with the help of Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar.
Lazar gave Troufanov, who is a dual citizen of Israel and Russia, a tefillin set and a Chumash—a copy of the Torah in book form—the Charedim 10 news site reported. In a video conversation on Sunday, Troufanov thanked Lazar for working to free him and other hostages.
“I truly appreciate everything you have done. You are wonderful people, you have a huge heart and strong faith. Thank you for all the support and encouragement for my mother during this difficult time. I would love to meet you as soon as possible. In the meantime, I continue to hear about everything you have done,” Troufanov told Lazar, who is a Chabad rabbi.
Tefillin sets consist of scrolls, small boxes and leather straps that men use to affix the boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah to their head and forearm while praying, typically during morning prayers. Chabad rabbis are known for encouraging this custom among Jews.
Lazar, who has tied to many high-ranking Russian officials, has lobbied to have Moscow use its influence in the Arab world to ensure the release of Troufanov, 29, and another Russian citizen, Maxim Herkin, 36, who is still being held hostage in Gaza.
On Friday, Troufanov’s mother, Yelena, asked the people of Israel to light Shabbat candles and pray for the safe return of all captives.
"Pray and ask for all our captives to come home safely and for peace, tranquility, and security in Israel and for the Jewish people," she said.
Troufanov’s father, Vitali, did not survive the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Yelena, Troufanov’s grandmother Irina and his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen, were kidnapped to Gaza and exchanged for terrorists held by Israel after about 50 days. He stayed there for 498 days.
Lebanon has informed Iran that flights between Tehran and Beirut will remain suspended until Tuesday, when the Israeli army is expected to complete its military withdrawal, the Islamic Republic's official IRNA outlet reported on Sunday following talks between the two countries.
Iran and Lebanon had been at a standoff since last week, when Beirut denied Iranian flights permission to land, reportedly after the United States warned that the Israel Defense Forces could shoot them down.
In response, the Iranian regime moved to bar Lebanese planes, saying that it would not allow them to land until its own flights received permission to fly to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
In a phone call on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Lebanese counterpart, Youssef Raji, discussed "ways to resolve the issue of passenger flights between the two countries and expressed their readiness for 'constructive talks' in good faith," IRNA reported.
The Israeli government has on several occasions accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force of using civilian airliners to smuggle cash to Hezbollah, its main terrorist proxy army in Lebanon.
A Lebanese security source told Agence France-Presse over the weekend that "through the Americans, Israel informed the Lebanese state that it would target the airport" if Iranian planes landed at Beirut's airfield.
The Trump administration told Lebanon that Jerusalem "was serious about its threat," the official Lebanese source cited by AFP concluded.
Hostilities with Hezbollah escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, when the Iranian-backed terror organization started attacks in support of Hamas that saw thousands of rockets, missiles and drones launched at the Jewish state.
Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon on Oct. 1, 2024, in an attempt to push Hezbollah beyond the Litani River, some 20 miles northward. The truce deal that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which took effect on Nov. 27, called for a gradual IDF withdrawal within 60 days.
However, because the Lebanese Armed Forces did not deploy as required in all of the country's south, the U.S.-monitored pact between Lebanon and Israel is set to continue until Feb. 18, according to a White House statement on Jan. 26.
According to international media reports on Feb. 14, Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that he had been notified by the Americans that the IDF would withdraw on Feb. 18, but intends to remain at five positions in Southern Lebanon close to the border.
Growing security concerns have prompted the Berlin Jewish community to implement a protective measure: publishing only the first letter of community members' surnames, rather than their full family names, in birthday announcements in the community newspaper, Bild reported on Friday.
The community's monthly journal, "Jewish Berlin," traditionally includes a section for "Mazel tov" wishes to members over 65 and announcements of children's bar and bat mitzvah celebrations.
The publication recently added an explanatory note to the section: "Dear community members, in light of current anti-Israel and antisemitic incidents, we are now printing only birthday and bar/bat mitzvah names with abbreviated surnames as a precautionary security measure."
Speaking with Bild, Ilan Kiesling, spokesman for the Jewish community in Berlin, explained that this decision was implemented shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel, stemming from heightened security concerns for community members.
Kiesling emphasized that this precautionary step aims to "minimize the potential for hostile actions against our community members," citing specific concerns about Hamas supporter demonstrations in Berlin's streets and the dramatic increase in antisemitic attacks following Oct. 7.
Ahmed Mansour, an expert on radical Islam based in Germany, commented on the community's decision to withhold full names from public view, telling Bild: "An increasing number of Jews in this country fear being publicly identified as Jewish and subsequently attacked.
"This represents more than just a tragedy—it signifies a fundamental failure. A failure of our political system, our society, and those who claim that 'never again' amounts to more than empty rhetoric," he said.
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapons and ammunition into the country from Egypt via a drone.
"The drone was shot down by IDF forces who arrived at the scene and located the drone [along with] with weapons and ammunition," the army said. "The confiscated weapons were transferred to the security forces."
On Jan. 29, the military's 512th "Paran" Infantry Brigade downed a UAV carrying 13 assault rifles with ammunition that had crossed into Israel from Egypt.
On Nov. 27, the IDF shot down another drone carrying weapons and ammo and crossed from Egyptian territory into the western Negev.
The UAV “was shot down by the forces of the Paran Brigade's 33rd 'Caracal' Infantry Battalion, who arrived at the scene and discovered four rifles, five magazines and hundreds of bullets on the drone,” the military stated at the time.
On Oct. 30, four rifles and a handgun were found after soldiers downed yet another drone that had crossed from Egypt. The previous week, eight handguns with magazines were discovered at another UAV crash site.
The civilian security chief of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom near the Gaza Strip told Channel 14 last year that the IDF had blocked more than 30 attempts to smuggle weapons via unmanned aerial vehicles.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter has accused Egypt of "very serious" violations of its 45-year-old peace treaty with the Jewish state, saying the government in Jerusalem would table Cairo's military buildup in Sinai "very soon."
Egypt has constructed military bases in Sinai "that can only be used for offensive operations, for offensive weapons—that’s a clear violation," Leiter said in his first meeting with American Jewish organizations on Jan. 28, a recording of which was shared online by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Friday.
Egypt's breach "is an issue that is going to come to the fore because it's not tolerable," the Israeli diplomatic envoy explained. "For a long time, it's been shunted aside, and this continues. This is going to be an issue that we're going to put on the table very soon and very emphatically."
Satellite images indicating changes in Egyptian army deployment in the Sinai Peninsula have reportedly led security coordinators in Israeli border towns to paint a worrying picture of recent developments.
IDF Lt. Col. (res.) Eliyahu Dekel, who has monitored Cairo's adherence to the peace deal since it was signed in 1979, told Israel Hayom last week that "if the latest images are verified, the concern isn’t just about forces in Sinai, the key issue is the type of tanks. The images show Abrams tanks, which are Egypt’s premier battle tanks, reserved for elite units.
"The question arises: What are these special forces doing in Sinai? In recent years, three new airfields have been built in Sinai, and massive tunnels have been dug, blatantly violating the peace treaty. The treaty allows for military camps for 47 battalions; currently, there are camps for 180 battalions, four times the permitted amount."
In recent days, Cairo's official rhetoric has escalated in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for relocating Palestinians from Gaza. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has made clear that he will not allow the move to happen, even postponing a planned visit to the White House.
In his speech to the Conference of Presidents, Leiter said Sisi "plays both sides of the equation, but he is threatened by the Muslim Brotherhood."
If the Israeli military decisively defeats the Muslim Brotherhood branch in the Gaza Strip—Hamas—Sisi is "going to be more open to cooperate with us on the 'day after' Hamas," he argued.
The Israeli envoy called it "unconscionable that Egypt wouldn't entertain the possibility of at least temporarily housing some of the [Palestinian] refugees, particularly in light of the fact that members of Sisi's family are running a travel agency in which they take tens of thousands of dollars from Gazans who want to get out of the area."
On Sunday, Sisi told World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder that the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip is "the only guarantee" for lasting peace in the Middle East.
During the meeting with the Jewish leader in Cairo, Sisi called for the reconstruction of the war-torn Strip "without displacing its residents from their land," according to a statement published by his office.
According to the readout from the Egyptian presidency, Lauder for his part praised Cairo's "wise efforts" to restore stability in the Middle East.
Intelligence gathered from hostages released from Gaza suggests Alon Ohel, 24, abducted from the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, may lose his vision.
According to information disclosed Sunday morning on Kan Reshet Bet radio, reports from captives freed from Gaza indicate Ohel has sustained shrapnel injuries to an eye and can't even detect shadows with it. Medical sources indicate that based on survivor testimonies, he risks losing vision in both eyes.
As discussions continue over the future of the hostage/ceasefire agreement with Hamas, serious concerns have emerged about harsh conditions for the men younger than 50 slated for release in the second phase.
Released captives reveal that Hamas subjected all "younger" hostages to more aggressive treatment, with many enduring violent interrogations and severe torture aimed at extracting information about their military backgrounds. The interrogations were so brutal they left permanent scars on the hostages' bodies. Some believed that "each moment could be their last." Under threats, they were coerced into participating in Hamas propaganda and recording videos.
One week ago, following the previous batch of hostages released under Phase 1, Ohel's family confirmed receiving proof of life.
"We learned that since his capture, Alon has been held in Gaza tunnels alongside recently released hostages," the family said. "While we are relieved and emotional to know Alon is alive, we are devastated and horrified by his severe physical and mental condition and the ongoing abuse he and other hostages continue to endure."
At that time, the family was also informed of damage to Ohel's eyes.
"Since his abduction, Alon has been confined in harsh conditions within Hamas's underground tunnels, deprived of daylight and basic human necessities. We were informed of injuries to his eyes. Moreover, Alon is being subjected to particularly severe captivity conditions, including extreme food deprivation," the family said.
