To all of you who celebrated the first night of Passover last night, Chag Pesach Sameach as we say in Hebrew (happy Passover). While many of us joined in this special holiday at the Sedar table with our friends and family, we hold in our hearts and prayers every soul yearning for freedom and for peace. Let this Passover not only remember the past but also shape a future of hope. Am Israel Chai.

[MUST READ AND WATCH] Joe Rogan and Douglas Murray

• In early March, I shared this article (Joe Rogan and the Jews) from Tablet Magazine which discusses how Joe Rogan’s popular podcast, which has 19.5M subscribers, and others similar to his, are putting “blood in the water” and exacerbating the rise in anti-Zionism and antisemitism on the right.
• This week, Rogan hosted Douglas Murray, who has been an absolute voice of moral clarity in support of Israel in a post-October 7th world. The exchange between Murray and comedian and podcaster Dave Smith crystallizes a deeper divide on the right than meets the eye. Smith builds a case almost entirely from secondary sources while Murray counters with the hard‑won perspective that comes only from being on the ground in Israel and Gaza.
• When Murray asks whether Smith has ever been there and Smith admits he hasn’t, the debate’s center of gravity shifts: the “blockade” becomes less an abstract talking point and more a lived reality that defies tidy narratives.
• There is a clear widening fracture on the right. Murray speaks for the traditional narrative: one anchored in first‑hand experience, decades of scholarship, and a consensus hammered out since 1948. Whereas Smith channels the “new‑right” impulse to treat every established account as a potential conspiracy worth looking into, relying almost exclusively on secondary sources and internet‑era counter‑histories.
• The two clips below expose why Murray’s moral clarity resonates with so many of us that have visited Israel and its border with Gaza—and why first‑hand context still matters more than the most exhaustive reading list.

Douglas Murray Didn’t Miss. He Aimed. A perspective by Eitan Fischberger

• Douglas knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t trying to win over Rogan’s audience. He was speaking to Rogan himself.
• Like many of us, Douglas is deeply alarmed by Rogan’s growing list of fringe guests—Holocaust deniers and Nazi sympathizers like Darryl Cooper and Ian Carrol—figures who’ve become folk heroes to a conspiratorial online Right.
• Instead of going toe-to-toe with every one of them, Douglas went to the source. To the man giving them a microphone. He confronted Rogan—not with outrage, but with precision. He wanted Joe to feel the weight of what he’s been doing. To recognize the damage caused by legitimizing ahistorical, paranoid nonsense masquerading as “just asking questions.”
• He knew it would spark backlash. He knew it would alienate parts of the Right. And he did it anyway. That’s what integrity looks like. That’s what putting truth over tribe looks like.

The Edge Lords: The self-styled dissident podcasters’ takes are mere repackaged establishment wisdom by Lee Smith in Tablet

• Joe Rogan’s podcast yesterday featuring Douglas Murray and Dave Smith talking about the Middle East conflict (among other topics) failed to move the needle in either direction—at least not on any of the subjects the “debate” was purportedly about.
• What’s interesting here is that Smith and other podcasters who boast of ostensibly provocative takes insist that they’re unveiling dangerous truths the media doesn’t dare speak for fear of upsetting powerful forces. But the self-styled dissident podcasters’ “edgy” takes are mere repackaged establishment wisdom that they generate in consort with one another.
• Even the role Smith and Rogan play is an establishment category—a comic who is not just a jester, but a gimlet-eyed and idiosyncratic observer of current events celebrated for relating sardonically to his young and disaffected audience. It’s Jon Stewart, but for right-wing audiences.
• The media’s complicity in subsequent anti-Trump operations—from the special counsel investigation to the two attempts on Trump’s life—plunged half the country further and further into doubt, despair, and even paranoia.
• One option would have been to approach audiences knowing that since these Americans have gone through hell, many of them all but broken, they need their faith restored. To move forward they need to know true things about the world, their communities, and themselves or we will be lost as a nation. In short, that it’s the media’s job to help them believe again.
• But that is not the choice the podcasters made. Rather, consciously or not, they saw the right—their audience—as easy marks, made even more vulnerable with additional doses of fear and panic and falsehood. You have no control over your own country, or even your lives, they tell them, sometimes daily.
• The reason Smith and others are disguising establishment talking points as new right wisdom is to herd their audiences into the pen the left built for them.
• Link: The Edge Lords

Situational Update

• The IDF says it has captured the Morag Corridor between Rafah and Khan Younis.
• Rafah is now completely surrounded by the military. The IDF issued evacuation warnings for civilians in Rafah nearly two weeks ago. It has been reported that the military will now operate inside areas of Rafah that it has not been in yet to defeat the remaining Hamas forces there.
• According to Israeli journalist Mannie Fabian, eventually, the IDF’s buffer zone in southern Gaza will stretch from the Egypt border to the outskirts of Khan Younis — more than 5 kilometers away — and include the entire city of Rafah within it — around 20% of the Strip.

Prime Minster Netanyahu announced these plans just a few days ago:

Last night in the Gaza Strip, we switched gears. The IDF is seizing territory, striking the terrorists and destroying the infrastructure.

Antisemitism

How Hamas Exploits the West: A Conversation with Pamela Paresky and Dr. Dan Schueftan with Quillette

• Let me explain. This war is about whether civilised people can defend themselves against barbarians—even when those barbarians hide behind their own civilians. And many on the liberal side argue: “If defending ourselves means harming people who aren’t personally guilty, we can’t do it.” That’s exactly what the barbarians are counting on. Their main weapon is our values… We need to demonstrate—and we have demonstrated—that we can defeat barbarism without losing our moral compass. That we can be like Sparta toward our enemies, while remaining like Athens among ourselves and with others who are civil and can be negotiated with.
• So this distorted, sick, progressive ideology has weakened us and strengthened our enemies… If, in a war, we say: “Let’s try to reduce civilian casualties, even on the enemy side”—yes, that’s a good liberal instinct. But if we say: “The moment civilians are harmed, we must stop”—then we hand victory to the barbarians… If that’s our rule, then Western civilization is finished.
• Most Arab states not only accept Israel’s existence—they’ve realised they need Israel. Why? Because their enemies are the same as ours: Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the strategic ignorance of the United States… The US is much more powerful, but Israel is more dependable… We are now far better placed in the region, and the chances of a regional war erupting are lower than ever before.
• Americans have a profound misunderstanding of radicalism. They think a radical is someone who didn’t get what he wanted legitimately, so he turned to extremism. And if you just give him humanitarian aid, he’ll change.
• The idea that you can “educate” or change them from the outside is delusional. If they want to change, they must change their culture—but they have no desire to. The Palestinian public strongly supported what was done on 7 October. They may not like the consequences, but they would have loved to see it succeed. Their heroes remain those who kill Jews.
• Progressives are losing ground. They’re not bad people—they’re just foolish… The idea that you can ‘educate’ or change them [terrorists] from the outside is delusional… We need to weaken progressivism and strengthen liberalism. People will trust liberals if they can be flexible when possible and tough when necessary. That’s the kind of leadership people vote for.
• The easiest, most emotional answer is to look at the suffering [of hostages] and say it should override everything else… But allowing Hamas to re-establish itself militarily would mean enormous future losses… We’ve already made a major concession by allowing nearly a million people to return to northern Gaza. This makes it harder to single out terrorists without harming civilians. We’ve also released many terrorists—people who will almost certainly plan the next attacks.
• We’re facing a crisis throughout Western civilization—a crisis of democracy… too much liberalism kills liberalism … We’re obsessed with appearances. Everything is recorded… People often do something they know is counterproductive—just to keep someone even dumber from replacing them. That’s where we are. Everyone’s catering to the dumbest voices—and the dumbest voices live on social media.
• One thing is clear: Israeli society has shown remarkable resilience… We’ve been condemned by much of the Western public. It’s a long war. Civilians have been displaced. Whole regions evacuated. And yet, the pressure on the government isn’t “end the war”—it’s “why haven’t you done enough?” People in the north ask: “Why is the border not secure?” So yes, we’ve taken a lot of pain—but we’re ready to keep going, because we want things to improve… Despite lacking a functioning government, Israeli society has shown incredible strength.
• But the basic agreement is this: Hamas must be destroyed. They won’t change. The idea that you can approach the Palestinians and say, “Let’s all live happily ever after,” is fantasy. These are people who have spent a century trying to kill us. They’ve never seriously worked to improve the lives of their own children.
• What’s malfunctioning in Israel is politics, not society. Our society is united. Our political class is broken—but that’s politics. And when you’re fighting for your life, as we are, you can still be united despite political dysfunction.
• Link: How Hamas Exploits the West (the full interview is below)

J Street: The Trojan Horse of the Anti-Israel Lobby – Self published by Inside_Israel_Intel on X

• There is no shortage of enemies lined up against Israel, from genocidal regimes and terrorist organizations to global campaigns of delegitimization. But perhaps the most insidious threat is the one that wears a kippah, waves an Israeli flag, and declares itself “pro-Israel” while actively working to erode Israel’s legitimacy, security, and democratic will. Enter J Street, the left-wing lobby whose name has become synonymous with betrayal cloaked in benevolence.
• J Street’s donors and affiliations betray their true loyalties. The organization has taken money from notorious anti-Israel figures, including individuals associated with George Soros, and has accepted funds from Arab and pro-Palestinian sources.
• When Israelis elect right-wing governments, J Street doesn’t just criticize policies; it actively works to delegitimize the results. It holds conferences attacking Israel’s elected leaders, invites speakers who label Israel an “apartheid” state, and pushes the narrative that only left-wing Israeli governments are legitimate. This is not “pro-democracy”—this is ideological colonialism, where Diaspora elites demand to dictate the will of Israeli voters.
• It has supported and endorsed politicians who call Israel a racist state, advocate conditioning military aid, or openly support the anti-Semitic BDS movement.
• J Street even condemned the Abraham Accords, historic agreements that brought peace between Israel and multiple Arab states, because they didn’t align with its rigid two-state dogma.
• After the October 7th massacre, when Hamas committed unspeakable atrocities against Israeli civilians, J Street immediately pivoted to condemning Israel’s response. It called for “restraint,” “proportionality,” and “ceasefire,” before rigorously condemning Hamas. This wasn’t just tone-deaf; it was betrayal.
• It is a toxic organization weaponizing Jewish identity and progressive language to dismantle Israel’s ability to defend itself from existential threats. It provides cover for anti-Zionist radicals, undermines bipartisan support for Israel, and insists that its ideological vision overrides the will of the Israeli electorate.
• It is time for the Jewish world to call J Street what it is: a Trojan horse. A polished, articulate, well-funded operation whose ultimate goal is to transform the Jewish state into something weak, indefensible, and submissive to international pressure.
• Link: J Street: The Trojan Horse of the Anti-Israel Lobby

Israel’s High Court just shattered the international courts’ false Gaza narrative: An Op-Ed by John Spencer and Arsen Ostrovsky in JNS

• On March 27, 2025, Israel’s High Court of Justice, led by Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit, delivered a measured, fact-driven and deeply legal judgment, reaffirming that Israel’s decision to halt aid to Gaza, following Hamas’s rejection of the U.S. proposal to continue the hostage-ceasefire negotiations, was fully compliant with international law.
• This rebuke, coming from Israel’s own top court—widely regarded as one of the most independent in the world—matters immensely. It is everything the ICC and ICJ have failed to be: rooted in evidence, guided by law and aware of the real-world consequences of war against terrorist enemies who embed themselves within civilian populations.
• Israel’s Supreme Court has a longstanding history of challenging its own government, particularly on national security policy.
• It confirmed that Israel facilitates humanitarian aid to civilians, with no quantitative restrictions, and has taken extensive steps to coordinate with international aid groups—even amid a complex war against a terrorist army that systematically steals that same aid.
• Citing the entry of 25,000 aid trucks carrying over 57,000 tons of food since Jan. 19—during the first phase of the hostage-ceasefire agreement—it found no violation of the prohibitions on starvation or collective punishment, “not even remotely.” The court emphasized that international law only obliges a state to facilitate the passage of humanitarian supplies when there is no reason to believe they are being diverted for hostile use.
• This legal conclusion echoes longstanding principles under the Fourth Geneva Convention, specifically Article 23, as well as similar provisions in the U.S. Defense Department Law of War Manual and customary international law: Aid is not unconditional when it risks empowering a belligerent force.
• Based on an in-depth factual analysis—including Hamas’s continued control in large areas of Gaza, reestablishment of its administrative functions and Israel’s lack of effective governmental authority—the court concluded that the laws of belligerent occupation simply do not apply. In doing so, it directly rebutted the ICJ’s 2024 advisory opinion, which took a broader, speculative view of Israeli authority without full access to facts, participants, or classified military intelligence.
• Israel’s High Court recognized what the world must not forget: the “Iron Swords” war was forced upon Israel after one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in modern history. It was also, as the court stated, “forced on the uninvolved civilians of Gaza” by Hamas and its allies, who embed themselves among civilians, steal aid and carry out military operations from protected civilian infrastructure.
• And yet, even with these challenges, the court documented how Israel has improved aid flows, opened more crossing points, coordinated access and constantly evaluated the humanitarian situation—without violating its legal obligations.
• Link: Israel’s High Court just shattered the international courts’ false Gaza narrative

America faces pro-Hamas intifada on its soil: In a series of large-scale investigations, Capital Research Center (CRC) found that the leadership of the so-called “pro-Palestinian” movement is anti-American and anti-Western. By Ryan Mauro in The Jerusalem Post

• A series of large-scale investigations by Capital Research Center (CRC) revealed that the leadership of the so-called “pro-Palestinian” movement is, at its core, anti-American and anti-Western. It views the US exactly the same way it views Israel: as an illegitimate, genocidal entity that must be destroyed.
• The cumulative conclusion of these reports serves as a warning about what is to come unless the corrective measures CRC identified are implemented: a burgeoning nationwide insurgency in the US that may be appropriately characterized as the “Turtle Island Intifada.”
• CRC’s newly released study, When Charities Betray America: How ‘Pro-Palestinian’ Protest Groups Promote Anti-Americanism, evaluated the rhetorical patterns of 496 of the most influential “pro-Palestinian” groups and activists in the US in the 15 months before the October 7 massacre and the 15 months afterward.
• Within this large sample, CRC found that the movement’s anti-American vitriol increased by 186% after the Hamas-led atrocities.
• The overall engagement of the anti-American posts on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) grew by 2,167%. Calls for anti-American violence, particularly towards law enforcement, increased by a staggering 3,000%.
• Of the nearly 500 organizations and activists examined in the study, 28 are registered non-profits, and 19 of the 30 activists are senior officials of 501(c)(3) non-profits or employees of private or public colleges.
• Of the more than 150 pro-terrorism or terrorism-linked groups identified in Marching Towards Violence, at least 70 are either registered non-profits or fiscally sponsored projects operating under non-profit umbrellas.
• When news broke last July that Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a quick review found over 20 U.S.-based groups that mourned and honored him, including at least seven non-profits, fiscally sponsored projects, and senior non-profit leaders.
• If our call for dismantling the “Turtle Island Intifada” goes unheeded, the genocidal chants of “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” will be followed by “From Sea to Sea, Turtle Island Will Be Free.”
• Link: America faces pro-Hamas intifada on its soil

Anti-Anti-Anti-Semitism by Seth Mandel with Commentary Magazine

• The latest such ‘strange bedfellows’ coalition to emerge is one that includes left‑wing intellectuals and right‑wing white nationalists. The argument they are making boils down to: Jews who seek to fight anti‑Semitism are a prominent threat to American democracy.
• One characteristic of these op‑eds is that they toss a bunch of policies—and, in fact, different cases of enforcement of those policies—together so that anyone who supports any individual application of any of the policies is guilty of fascism by association.
• The coalition for whom Roth speaks has a very clear position: Anti‑Semitism is real but absolutely nothing must be done about it.
• Sometimes it appears as though Roth is deliberately choosing the worst possible version of his own argument… Federal cuts to Columbia, however, will disproportionately affect Jewish students.
• More preposterous is the idea… that punishing Columbia for violating the civil rights of its Jewish students is actually a case of targeting Jews for punishment because of the presence of Jewish students at Columbia.
• Speaking of which, here is how he talks about the Jewish students at his own institution who were appalled by the pro‑Hamas protests: ‘Some of the students having grown up in communities of like‑mindedness are surprised there is more than one side of an issue…’
• Meanwhile, to back up his own arguments, he quotes M. Gessen… and a piece at 972 Magazine… claiming that ‘traumatic episodes in Jewish history have been evoked to justify Israel’s onslaught on Gaza and crack down on those who criticize it.’
• The fight against anti‑Semitism will never require unanimity. But it will require, you know, fighting anti‑Semitism.
• Link: Anti-Anti-Anti-Semitism

Israel/Middle East Related Articles

The IDF’s dual strategy in Gaza, by Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen in Israel Hayom

• The IDF’s expansion of its operations in the Gaza Strip with the deployment of an additional division continues to reflect the strategic logic behind the launch of Operation Strength and Sword, more than two weeks ago. The advance of the 36th Division… adds another layer of pressure toward Hamas’ key strongholds in the central part of the Strip. However, this maneuver does not yet signal a decisive push into the heart of Gaza City… the objective of the operation remains the application of sustained military pressure on Hamas, with the expectation that this will lead to another ceasefire and the release of hostages.
• This approach by the IDF represents a middle path between two conflicting strategies… One path advocates focusing solely on securing the release of hostages… The other calls for a comprehensive military campaign to capture the entire Gaza Strip and eliminate Hamas. In contrast, the IDF’s approach aims to pursue both goals — simultaneously promoting the release of hostages while also degrading Hamas’ military capabilities…
• If military pressure yields progress toward a new hostage deal, operations can be paused under a ceasefire. But if no such progress is achieved, the military campaign can escalate and expand… The IDF aims to prevent [Hamas’s] recovery and reorganization by maintaining the momentum of military pressure.
• Over the two weeks since the start of the operation, a significant portion of the damage inflicted on Hamas has been achieved through the use of airpower. In parallel, ground operations have enabled the IDF to reshape the battlefield… the IDF has focused on establishing key transportation corridors… providing the IDF with freedom of movement and maneuverability in response to any future developments or arrangements.
• Link: The IDF’s dual strategy in Gaza

The Profound Wisdom of ‘Don’t Start a War with Israel’ by Seth Mandel in Commentary

• Brett McGurk gave a deceptively simple answer when the Times of Israel asked him what the lessons of Oct. 7, 2023 and the ensuing conflict were.

  “Don’t start a war with Israel,” the former National Security Council official said.

• And herein lies the lesson: The entities that still start wars with Israel know the devastation that is headed their way from the start. The devastation is the point. Hezbollah wants to see death and destruction come to Lebanon, because “Lebanon” as a concept is meaningless to it. Hezbollah is engaged in the practice of human sacrifice.
• Prosperity was practically handed to Gaza on a silver platter, and Hamas’s response was to melt down that platter and shape it into a rocket to fire at Israel.
• All of Gaza is, as far as Hamas is concerned, solely a military base with a hostage prison.
• So why do Hamas and Hezbollah want to start wars with Israel when they know how those wars will end? Because undermining Israel’s legitimacy is their goal, so starting wars with Israel means there’ll be destruction that can and will be blamed on Israel.
• Meanwhile, every day we find new proof that the casualty figures dictated by Hamas to major media were completely made up, but those reporters and editors repeat them anyway. Hamas can get rich by stealing the Palestinians’ food aid and the world will blame Israel.
• Those who attack Israel want their own people to suffer, and they expect to receive the world’s collusion in making their own people suffer.
• To this day, anyone who wants peace with Israel has been granted it. The world’s indulgence of Hamas and Hezbollah creates a support structure not for peaceful nations but mainly for those who want to kill their own population.
• Link: The Profound Wisdom of ‘Don’t Start a War with Israel’

Hostage Update (no change)

The Times of Israel reports: Hamas on Saturday evening published a propaganda video showing signs of life from hostage soldier Edan Alexander. The three-minute-long video is not dated, though Alexander states that he has been held for 551 days, indicating it was filmed very recently. It is the second video Hamas published of Alexander. In November, Hamas released the first video of the hostage soldier. Alexander’s family asked Israeli media not to share the latest video but authorized the publication of a still image.

There are now currently 58 hostages taken on 10/7 currently in captivity in Gaza (there are 59 hostages remaining in total)

• 38 hostages were released in the first phase of the 2025 cease fire agreement (including 5 Thai nationals)
• 24 hostages will remain in captivity after Phase I and have not been declared dead.
  • 5 hostages are Americans: Meet the Five American Hostages Still Held By Hamas: Edan Alexander is assumed to be alive, Itay Chen is assumed to have been killed on 10/7, and Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Omer Neutra have been confirmed to have been killed.
  • 4 are soldiers
  • 7 are residents of the Gaza border communities
  • 11 were abducted from the Nova music festival
  • 2 are foreign workers: Bipin Joshi from Nepal and Pinta Nattapong from Thailand
• Link: These are the hostages to be released (and left behind) in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal’s first phase – Jewish Telegraphic Agency

• On October 7^th, a total of 251 Israelis were taken hostage.
  • During the ceasefire deal in November of 2023, 112 hostages were released.
  • 193 hostages in total have been released or rescued
    • The bodies of 40 hostages have been recovered, including 3 mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
  • 8 hostages have been heroically rescued by troops alive
• Of the 59 hostages still theoretically in Gaza
  • 31 hostages have been confirmed dead and are currently being held in Gaza
  • Thus, at most, 28 living hostages could still be in Gaza.
  • Hamas is now holding the body of 1 IDF soldier who was killed in 2014 (Lt. Hadar Goldin’s body remains held in the Gaza Strip)

Casualties (no change)

1,853 Israelis have been killed including 846 IDF soldiers since October 7th (no change since Wednesday)

• The South: 407 IDF soldiers during the ground operation in Gaza have been killed
• The North: 132 Israelis (84 IDF soldiers) have been killed during the war in Northern Israel
• The West Bank: 63 Israelis (27 IDF and Israeli security forces)
• Additional Information (according to the IDF):
  • 2,596 (+11 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured during ground combat in Gaza, including at least 499 (+1 since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
  • 5,768 (+16 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war, including at least 859 (+4 since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.

• The Gaza Casualty Count:
  • According to unverified figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, 62,614 total deaths have been reported, with a civilian/combatant ratio: 1:1.
  • [MUST READ] Report: Questionable Counting: Analysing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza by Andrew Fox with The Henry Jackson Society
  • On October 7th, Ohad Hemo with Channel 12 Israel News – the country’s largest news network, a leading expert on Palestinian and Arab affairs, mentioned an estimate from Hamas: around 80% of those killed in Gaza are members of the organization and their families.”
  • Read this well documented piece from Tablet published in March: How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers
  • The Associated Press, an outlet with a demonstrated anti-Israel bias, conducted an analysis of alleged Gaza death tolls released by the Hamas-controlled “Gaza Health Ministry.” The analysis found that “9,940 of the dead – 29% of its April 30 total – were not listed in the data” and that “an additional 1,699 records in the ministry’s April data were incomplete and 22 were duplicates.”
• The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes official details on every civilian and IDF casualty.

Regular sources include JINSA, FDD, IDF, AIPAC, The Paul Singer Foundation, The Institute for National Security Studies, the Alma Research and Education Center, Yediot, Jerusalem Post, IDF Casualty Count, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Institute for the Study of War, Tablet Magazine, Mosaic Magazine, The Free Press, and the Times of Israel