Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee presented his credentials as United States Ambassador to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Monday.

Herzog welcomed Huckabee, highlighting the deep-rooted ties between the two nations. “The U.S.-Israel alliance is stronger than ever,” the president said, praising the Arkansan's longstanding support for Israel.

In his remarks, Huckabee recalled his first visit to Israel more than 50 years ago and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve. “This is a sacred honor,” he said. “I look forward to working to deepen our strategic partnership.”

Huckabee emphasized U.S.-Israel cooperation on security, intelligence and innovation, while warning of shared threats posed by Iran.

The event, broadcast live by Israel’s Government Press Office, was attended by dignitaries including Dr. Miriam Adelson. Huckabee was confirmed by the U.S. Senate earlier this month.

A man has been diagnosed with the measles in the Tel Aviv area, the Israeli Health Ministry announced on Sunday, as the virus, which was near-eradicated in the West, makes a global resurgence.

The man arrived in Israel on Friday morning from London via El Al flight LY318, took the train to Tel Aviv University and then dined at the Meat Bar restaurant in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya on Saturday night, the ministry said.

It urged anyone who may have come in contact with the man to ensure that they are fully vaccinated.

An unvaccinated 18-month-old died of measles in Jerusalem in 2018 during a local spike in cases, marking Israel’s first recorded measles fatality in 15 years.

In 2019, a 43-year-old Israeli flight attendant who had been vaccinated with one dose of the two-stage inoculation died of complications related to the disease after contracting measles on a flight.

An A.I. video generated by a group calling itself the Temple Mount Activists envisioning a miraculous reestablishment of the Jewish Temple led Qatar to condemn "plans" to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque, in a statement put out by its foreign ministry on April 19.

"The State of Qatar strongly condemns reports of plans by groups affiliated with Israeli occupation organizations to destroy the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with the so-called Temple," the Ministry statement said.

"Qatar considers this a dangerous provocation that could significantly escalate violence in the region, especially amid the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip," it added.

The A.I. video shows the Dome of the Rock suddenly engulfed in flames. In its place appears the Jewish Temple with flames coming out the top while the Shema prayer plays. The caption, "Next year in Jerusalem, messiah now," displays toward the end of the video.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said it unequivocally rejected "any attempt to alter the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, or its holy sites."

It called on the international community to halt such threats, hold the "the occupying power" (i.e. Israel) accountable, and ensure the protection of Muslim holy sites.

The statement then went on to express support for the Palestinian cause and a two-state solution.

Although Israel had not designated Qatar as an "enemy state" that Israeli citizens are prohibited from visiting without a special permit issued by the Interior Ministry (the U.S. classifies it as a major non-NATO ally), it has supported terrorist groups, including Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. It also runs the Al Jazeera television network, which Israel and the Palestinian Authority have banned, as have other countries in the region.

Last week, Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Affairs Minister Sa'oud bin Abd Al-Rahman Al Thani published and then quickly deleted a post on X saying: “We Are all Hamas."

He also deleted a 2014 post he wrote during "Operation Protective Edge," a war between Hamas and Israel, in which he called for Muslims in Jerusalem to "rise up" and "revolt."

The Temple Mount Activists have posted similar videos in the past. According to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority's news agency, the group posted an image of the construction of the Temple on Al-Aqsa's ruins.

In September 2024, the group posted a video of Al-Aqsa burning with the caption, "Coming soon in these days."

After bringing death and destruction on the residents of the Gaza Strip, the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist group is now trying to drag Arab Israelis and Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank into a violent confrontation with Israel.

Hamas and Iran's mullahs will not be content until they see bloodshed and violence spread to areas outside the Gaza Strip. For them, this is a way of distracting attention from the catastrophe they brought on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for the past 18 months. They want the world's attention to shift from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Jerusalem and the two-million-strong community of Arab citizens inside Israel.

The good news is that Hamas's and Iran's efforts to expand the bloodshed and violence to Israel's Arab community and the Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem have so far been unsuccessful. The Arab Israelis and the Palestinians of the West Bank and Jerusalem see the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip and do not want to meet the same fate.

Hamas and its patrons in Tehran are undoubtedly disappointed that the Arab citizens of Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem have not joined their jihad in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip.

On that day, at least 1,200 Israelis were murdered and thousands injured. Another 251 Israelis were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where 59—alive and dead—are still held hostage by Hamas and other terror groups.

As part of its attempt to export its jihad against Israel to other areas, Hamas issued a statement on April 16 in which it urged "our people in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the occupied Palestinian territories [Israel] to continue their uprising against the occupation and its settlers." Hamas promised that "the pure blood will blossom into victory and the expulsion of this occupier [Israel] from our land and our holy sites."

Since the Oct. 7 massacre, the vast majority of the Arab Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem have refused to heed Hamas's calls to join the fight against Israel. Many Arab citizens of Israel have even come out in public against the Hamas-led attack.

A poll among Arab Israelis during the first week after Oct. 7 found that 77% of the respondents opposed the terror attack, and 85% opposed the kidnapping of civilians, which included women and children. About 53% of the respondents said that the terror attack harmed the chances of reaching a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Another poll, conducted in late 2023 by the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions, in collaboration with the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute, found that 56% of Arab Israelis believe that the Hamas attack does not reflect Arab society and Islamic values. Another 86.5% support helping civilians in their efforts to volunteer during the Israel-Hamas war, according to the poll.

It is worth noting that 20 Arab citizens of Israel were murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 or by Hamas rocket launches in the ensuing days. Most of the victims were Bedouin living in the south of Israel.

Several prominent Arab Israelis have strongly condemned the Oct. 7 massacre. Louis Haj, an Arab resident of the city of Acre, social activist and former tech executive, wrote to his Jewish fellow citizens:

"As the dimensions of these unimaginable sadistic horrors are uncovered, I ask you to believe me when I say that I want it to be clear to you, and the whole world, that we stand as your brothers, as human beings, and as citizens of the country, by your side. It is our simple and required moral and human duty to express abhorrence, to cry out loudly against unimaginable crimes. Our voice will be sharp and clear, unapologetic, unhesitant, unfaltering, without proportionality, with no ifs, ands, or buts. There are no dilemmas in the face of atrocities!"

In the West Bank and Jerusalem, most Palestinians have ignored Hamas's repeated calls for violence against Israel. During the recent Islamic holy month of Ramadan, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians peacefully attended mass prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. No clashes with Israeli security forces were reported during the month, much to the dismay of Hamas and Iran's mullahs.

Hamas was undoubtedly hoping that the Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem would launch a new intifada (uprising) against Israel in solidarity with the terrorist group and the residents of the Gaza Strip. That, however, did not happen. No mass demonstrations have taken place in the West Bank or Jerusalem, where most Palestinians appear to be more interested in finding work inside Israel than taking to the streets to clash with Israeli troops.

This, of course, does not mean that Hamas and Iran's mullahs will halt their efforts to instigate violence outside the Gaza Strip. For them, it is crucial to open yet another front against Israel: especially from Israel's Arab community and the West Bank, in addition to Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

Now that the Trump administration is holding direct negotiations with Iran, it must demand that the ruling mullahs immediately stop supporting Hamas's attempts to unleash a new wave of terrorist attacks against Israel from within Israel itself and from the West Bank.

The negotiations should not only focus on Iran's nuclear ambitions and plans, but also its financial and military support for jihadi terrorist groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Houthis. It is time for the Trump administration to realize that, in addition to Qatar, Iran too has tremendous influence over Hamas. Why not use it?

Originally published by the Gatestone Institute.

Israeli low-cost carrier Israir will fly to New York starting next year, having received initial approval from the U.S. Transportation Department, the airline announced on Monday.

The move, which comes after local rival Arkia inaugurated flights to New York in February, will make Israir the fifth carrier to offer non-stop service on the lucrative transatlantic route, along with El Al, United and Delta.

Israir, which flew to the United States last decade, plans to offer six weekly flights to New York by next Passover, a high season for travel.

Founded in 1989 as a small domestic carrier, Israir, which operates eight aircraft, will be leasing an Airbus 330 aircraft to service the route to New York from Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.

Owned by the Rami Levy Group, best known for its discount supermarket chain, the airline currently services various European destinations as well as domestic flights to the Israeli Red Sea resort city of Eilat.

Both United and Delta have resumed service to Israel, ending the monopoly Israel’s flagship carrier, El Al, had on the transatlantic route through most of the 18-month war against Hamas in Gaza, which saw fares skyrocket.

American Airlines remains the only one of the big three U.S. carriers not to have restarted service to Israel.

The Islamic Republic accused Israel on Monday of seeking to sabotage its negotiations with Washington over Tehran’s nuclear project.

“A kind of coalition is forming ... to undermine and disrupt the diplomatic process,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference.

Baqaei said the Jewish state was behind the effort.

During a second round of nuclear negotiations held in Rome on Saturday, the United States and Iran reported progress as they agreed to begin drafting a framework for an agreement, according to officials involved in the talks.

The discussions, which were conducted indirectly and mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, took place over more than four hours at the Omani embassy. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led their respective delegations. Negotiators remained in separate rooms throughout the session, a continuation of the format used in earlier rounds.

“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” Araghchi told Iranian state television. He confirmed that technical-level negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday in Oman, where experts will work on drafting the parameters of a deal.

A senior U.S. official confirmed the development, citing “very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions,” according to The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Saturday that Israel was mulling a limited attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to enter into negotiations with Tehran.

Jerusalem’s proposals to attack Iran were first conveyed to the Biden administration and required “significant U.S. support via direct military intervention or intelligence sharing,” according to two former senior Biden administration officials who spoke to Reuters.

These plans were also presented to the Trump administration, which has opted for a diplomatic route instead, the report continued.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday, “I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death. That’s my first option. If there’s a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran, and I think Iran is wanting to talk.”

Citing an unnamed Israeli official, Reuters added that if Jerusalem attacked the Islamic Republic on its own, it would be much smaller in scale than the initial proposals.

Decision-makers in Jerusalem had not made a final decision, according to the report.

Never have so many said so much. Thanks to the Internet and social media, we have not just democratized comment and perspective; we have universalized them.

We have transcended the idea of “15 minutes of fame” for some to 1.5 minutes of fame to multitudes, all of which is simultaneous: a veritable pile-on of perspectives.

What does all of this mean? What does it accomplish, and how do we all benefit from it? One can argue that it’s all sensory or sensibility overload; a cacophony of voices intended to provide some perspective and some self-gratification (if not self-aggrandizement) and, above all, to delegitimize the perspective of the “other.”

Or, we can take a more benign view of it, that we now live in a world that I would call “an autodidact’s delight.” Here, we have the opportunity to expose ourselves to myriad perspectives and assess for ourselves what seems most intelligent, appropriate and resonant.

That is a powerful and uplifting vision—a self-directed intellectual tour through the world of ideas and perspectives. But how realistic is that? How many of us have the time, inclination, curiosity, and, yes, capacity to embark on this journey?

There is an inherent tension between the interests of those providing the perspectives and those who are partaking of them. As a commentator, I would love to have people from different points of view read what I have to say. I often get comments on various pieces of mine, on various sites, and am always pleased, ironically, to see the quizzical or critical ones.

At least these folks have taken the time to cast aspersions on what I had to say. Of course, there are the demonizers who seem to know more about my ancestry than I do. But, on balance, I am pleased when I have put something in front of people that has engendered thought and response.

From the individual reader’s point of view, what would seem to be most beneficial is the opposite, knowing where to find a particular point of view. It’s like going to the mall and knowing which store has the particular idea you are shopping for.

Does breaking out of the silo of preaching to the choir mean that an outlet, or even an individual content provider, needs to be balanced? I would hope not. That is a formula for pablum and mush.

However, bursting through can mean following the Mishnaic example set in the debates between the schools of rabbis Hillel and Shammai. Our sages say that almost invariably Jewish law follows Hillel’s interpretations, in no small part because of their respect for the perspectives of Shammai; respect that included providing the thoughtful and understanding interpretation of Shammai as part of its own exegesis.

In other words, there was conviction without disparagement of the other perspective. In Israel, the country is largely split on many political issues. There is, however, a broad underlying consensus about the nature, mission and essence of the country. Our saner and smarter voices recognize and do not seek to delegitimize those who support their political opponents.

There is a larger lesson here for the wider world of politics and issues. Calling your opponents and their supporters “deplorable” is not a game-winning strategy. Understanding where the other side comes from, while disagreeing, even strongly, with their resulting conclusions and prescriptions, can change hearts and minds.

One of the regrettable but inevitable implications of the current state of commentary, polemics and ordinary communication is the loss of connection. It sounds ironic since we reach out to so many people.

But we are not speaking with people, we are speaking to them or at them. Not having an interlocutor means we need not take anyone’s sensibilities into account. There is no tone of voice, just voice.

We lose the social restraints that come from a conversation, a personal contact. It is a mere hop, skip and a jump from loss of contact with the other guy to outright demonization of him.

Breaking out of the silo first means understanding that you are in one. It means understanding that a bigger audience is out there, and that they may be willing to reconsider and re-evaluate if respectfully presented with other viewpoints.

Hillel’s disputation track record tells us that there is every good reason to assume that there is great potential in seeing the bona fides of the other guy.

Hillel, I suspect, would tell us: Don’t pander and don’t fear your own perspective. Precisely because of your confidence, you can be gracious and empathetic with other points of view, all of which you disagree with.

If you know where you are coming from, you will be able to reach out to others and understand where they are coming from.

Let’s turn silos into sieves.

Two unidentified males wearing ski masks threw firebombs at the façade of a synagogue in Ukraine on Sunday.

Security camera documented the incident at the synagogue of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, said Rabbi Liron Ederi, the Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the city, the hometown of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The individuals, who looked like men or adolescent boys, hurled the firebombs at the building shortly after dozens of Jews had finished celebrating the last day of Passover at Ederi’s home, which is situated about 500 yards from the synagogue. “No one saw it happen,” the rabbi said.

No one was hurt and little damage was caused by the incident at the Beit Shmuel Synagogue and Jewish Community Center, he added.

Police have beefed up security around the community as they investigate the incident, he said.

“It’s too early to say whether this was an antisemitic incident or whether there’s something else going on, and police are looking into several angles,” Ederi said. “But it looks like a bunch of teenagers who’d been incited online.”

In recent weeks, unidentified individuals slashed the tires of a Jewish community-owned car and torched a storage shed owned by one of the community’s members, said Ederi.

The community quickly had the burn marks removed from the facade of the building, which features modern yet culturally resonant architecture meant to reflect the revival of Jewish life in the region after decades of suppression under the Soviet Union.

Built in 2010, the synagogue has striped brickwork in earth tones and boasts a large Star of David, flanked by Hebrew and Cyrillic text that signals its role as synagogue and community center.

Antisemitic incidents are rare in Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since Russia invaded the former in February 2022. Throughout the conflict, the countries have accused each other of stoking antisemitism and targeting Jews.

Jewish community leaders in both countries have largely denied these claims.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday morning at the Vatican at the age of 88.

He passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time, according to the Vatican.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis became the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas when elected in 2013. His papacy was marked by reform efforts, calls for social justice and outreach to marginalized communities. He also faced mounting criticism over the Church’s response to clerical abuse scandals.

In recent years, Pope Francis made several controversial statements about the Israel-Hamas conflict. He condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack but later called for a ceasefire and criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Jewish groups, including Israeli officials and U.S. Jewish organizations, sharply criticized the pope for what they described as moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel.

Despite ongoing health issues, including a February hospitalization for pneumonia, Francis appeared publicly at Easter Mass on Sunday.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his condolences on Monday, calling Pope Francis “a man of deep faith and boundless compassion.”

“I send my deepest condolences to the Christian world and especially the Christian communities in Israel—the Holy Land—on the loss of their great spiritual father, His Holiness Pope Francis,” Herzog said. “He dedicated his life to uplifting the poor and calling for peace in a troubled world.”

Herzog praised Francis for “fostering strong ties with the Jewish world and advancing interfaith dialogue,” and added: “I truly hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages will soon be answered.”

“May his memory continue to inspire acts of kindness, unity, and hope,” said Herzog.

Preparations for the papal conclave to elect his successor will begin following the customary period of mourning.