Diane Bederman | Feb 26, 2026
First they came for the Jews:
Allah’s Messenger (?) said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”
And there was silence.
By Pamela Geller |
One cannot ignore the disturbing echoes between universities in pre-war Germany and what has unfolded on American campuses today. Then, Jewish faculty, scholars and students were marginalized, harassed, and ultimately pushed out as institutions surrendered to ideological fanaticism. Now, Jewish students and faculty report intimidation, violence, exclusion, and open hostility — tolerated or downplayed by the very administrations charged with protecting them. The comparison is not made lightly, but when Jewish voices are shouted down, when antisemitic symbols appear without decisive institutional response, and when fear alters where Jews can walk, teach, or gather, history’s warnings become impossible to dismiss.
Peloni: The strength and resilience of these young Iranians is impossible to quantify. At some point, their sense of independence must be met with a similar sense of resolve from around the world to support them beyond rhetorical refrains from thousands of miles away. The Iranian people deserve to be free, and an opportunity to be free from their state of political capture of the Mullah. At the very least they deserve the chance to be more than counted among the regime’s latest death statistics in its drive to suppress the will of the people and to vanquish the spirit of freedom spiraling out of control among their subjects.
By | Feb 26, 2026
After a one-month closure, Iran’s universities have opened again, and the students, unbowed and uncowed, have returned to protesting against the supreme leader (“Death to Khamenei”) and his regime. They also have let it be known that they would prefer that Israel, not America, bomb targets in Iran because of the Israeli Air Force’s “greater precision” and ability to minimize civilian casualties. Would Antonio Guterres care to comment?
More on the latest from Iran can be found here: “Iranians prefer ‘precise’ Israeli strike over US attack as protests resume at universities,” by James Genn, Jerusalem Post, February 22, 2026:
Peloni: In the following article Lee Smith provides a an important telling of Tucker Carlson’s continued attempts to undermine Trump’s midterm hopes from within, damaging the GOP’s credibility while still continuing to maintain close ties with its leadership, something which I have recently noted is Carlson’s being able to do what Obama can not. As Smith explains, Carlson’s recently staged media stunt in the form of his interview with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee falsely claimed that Israeli authorities detained and harassed him and his team. It was an attempt to portray himself as the victim of harassment by a U.S. ally. Airport and embassy officials denied the account, while also providing footage showing Carlson posing with airport staff, thus contradicting his narrative of events. Smith explains that the motivation behind this was to cast the U.S.–Israel relationship as being hostile to Americans and to simultaneously embarrass the Amb. Huckabee, and, by extension, President Donald Trump as well.
Peloni: In all that is taking form around the region, the driving focus for the US is its pivot to deal with China. There are many aspects of the current conflict which make little sense in isolation, but taken together as a whole, much of the mystery is revealed to be America’s positioning for its future interest in containing China at all costs. And those costs, which are both real and substantive to those who are suffering them, are focused in large part on the minorities and the subjugated masses in the Middle East. As the new Middle East continues to evolve, these minorities will come to play an important part in shaping their own future if they are not swallowed whole as is the intentions of the likes of the colonialist Turkey and its competitors.
Avi Abelow | Meta | Feb 26,2026
Image via AI
As headlines obsess over a potential U.S. strike on the Islamic regime in Iran and debate President Trump’s Gaza “peace council,” it’s time to step back.
Because what’s unfolding is far bigger than Israel. Far bigger than Gaza. Even bigger than Iran.
Rabbi Barbara Aiello
My Great Aunt Filomena (z”l) was a force to be reckoned with. She was a tall, strong, Sefardic Jewish woman, who, although self-taught, was considered highly educated. When WW I broke out, Filomena, her husband and her son all of whom were on holiday in the US, were now blocked from returning home to Italy, “What a tragedy,” the family said, but Filomena saw this turn of events not as a setback but an opportunity.
In short order Filomena set up her small business as she had done in the “Old Country,” which consisted of writing and reading letters for Italian Americans who did not have those skills. As the years passed, Filomena’s business acumen grew to include the creation of a home-style local bank where she established individual accounts for her neighbors (no more shoeboxes under the bed) and lent money to family and friends when she felt that an idea or a need had merit.
Peloni: As Trump waffles on all but the demand on the nuclear file, regime change in Iran is the only potential fix for the region, for the world, and for the US.
The entire autocratic theocracy has got to be removed, as well as its terror proxies and the abysmal treatment of its diverse citizenry.
Sarah N. Stern | Feb 24, 2026
Some outputs of Iran’s Missile Program (Photo By Fars Media Corporation, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia)
Will the United States be standing on the right side of history when it comes to Iran? If not, there will forever be a black stain on this sad chapter.
by | jstribune.com | February 2026
The debate over Iran has long revolved around tactics: sanctions or engagement, containment or deterrence, military strikes or diplomatic agreements. These discussions, while important, obscure a more fundamental reality. The challenge posed by Iran is not merely about enrichment levels, missile ranges, or proxy networks. It is about the nature of the regime itself.
The Islamic Republic is not simply a difficult negotiating partner. It is a revolutionary regime whose identity is inseparable from confrontation — externally against Israel, the United States, and regional governments; internally against its own citizens.
Peloni: A joint venture of Israeli and Iranian coordination towards victory with US support in the current crisis can remedy the the failure to allow Israel to have pursued the same last summer. Importantly, the Iranian people are now primed to bring their support to bear against the Iranian regime and to win the freedom which they so well have earned.
Strategy in the Middle East emanates not from Western concepts or culture, but from a mastery of manipulation, even irrespective of balance of power.
David Wurmser | Feb 25, 2026
Israeli Air Force F-15I Ra’am warplanes. Photo by IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia
U.S. President Donald Trump has done much to stabilize the Middle East and support Israel, but as during the Iran-Israel 12-day war in June 2025, it is imperative that Israel should once again do this operation as much alone as it can. Not only should it initiate and go first, but it must also remain the heavy-lifter and guide this through.
Peloni: Simple math raises questions about US support for Israel.
Francisco Gil-White | MOR | Feb 25, 2026
Image via MOR
If you didn’t read Part 1 yet, you may do so here:
Peloni: In any battle, it really does come down to understanding that those who have the greatest sense of investment and commitment will be best prepared to persevere in the end. Damages will be done, of course, and casualties will accrue on each side, but in any contest, one side has a sense of moral and personal commitment which out matches, and ultimately defeats, the other. I am reminded of something Meir Kahane wrote when he cautioned that those who don’t have the sense of victory in what they are doing should actually stay home, or to expand on Joan’s brilliant metaphor, they should simply sit out this game.
February 25, 2026
Photo by Benjamin Istanbuli on Unsplash
Did you ever go to Yankee Stadium? I’ve been there dozens of times and have always felt thrilled and celebratory when they’ve won, especially in the years when Mariano Rivera was closing and Jorge Posada was catching. I even wore my Posada jersey when I knew he would be in the lineup.
Peloni: Israel has an important commonality to India, which has no history of being motivated by instinctive hatred of Jews. These two democratic ethnically identified nations each stand under constant threat of attack from Islamic regimes, and have long established defense, trade and technology ties. Look forward to this trip strengthening these ties and expanding them as well.
Turkey’s expanding partnerships across the Middle East signal a strategic shift that could reshape regional power balances.
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A powerful symbol of friendship and strategic partnership unfolded at Ben-Gurion Airport as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in Israel for an official visit that promises to deepen ties between the two democracies.
Peloni: Without educational reform, there can be no peace because education is a major, but not the only, source of incitement against the Jews in the cradle to the grave effort to demonize and deligitimize the Jewish people.
Veteran Journalist Calls For Clarity On Incitement, Recognition Of Israel, And Reform Of Palestinian Curriculum Following U.S.-Convened Talks.
By: Ron East | The J.Ca | February 23, 2026
Textbooks. Image via Pexels.com
A U.S. government–convened Peace Council meeting held on February 19, 2026, has left significant questions unanswered regarding Palestinian Authority policy, education, and long-term commitments to peace with Israel, according to veteran journalist David Bedein, who has covered Middle East diplomacy for more than four decades.
Trump reiterates policy of ‘peace through strength’, says ‘hopefully we won’t have to use it’
Trump speaks while giving the 2026 State of the Nation. Screengrab via Youtube
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to outline a justification for potential military action against Iran during his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, presenting Tehran’s actions as a mounting threat to American interests and regional stability.
Arlene Kushner | February 24, 2026
By Unknown author – English.khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia
Actually, it’s way more than enough.
That is, with regard to the question of whether Trump is going to order a significant military attack on Iran.
Peloni: Trump is the expert showman, demonstrating the power and import of being able to communicate with people beyond using just mere words.
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Peloni: Meir Weinstein & Meir Jolovitz discuss how Israel was successful in losing two wars in Gaza simultaneously. To ask the question of whether Israel should take over Gaza is to answer it.
Gaza is an integral part of Jewish lands, and has been so for thousands of years and this fact was confirmed by Gaza being included in the lands recognized under the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine as the reconstitution of the Jewish State. The great betrayal of the 2005 Expulsion of Jews from Gaza continues to be illegal, untenable, and ill advised. This great tragedy of the modern age must be avenged in the form of re-integrating this land into the Jewish state, not providing it as a gift to a cabal of international interests which will have no right to the land and no interest in providing any security for Israel while occupying this lost limb of the Jewish State. Bring Gaza home to the people whose graves were forcibly ripped from the ground, rebuild the cities and towns which were leveled, and expel the terror from Gaza once and for all. So yes, Israel should take over Gaza.
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