Peloni: FDD’s Janatan Sayeh joins Rabbi Pesech Wolicki to discuss the various strategies which might be used to support Trump’s economic war on Iran which Sayeh correctly identifies as a strategic tool rather than a strategy in and of itself.
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Arlene Kushner | August 13, 2026
Every so often these days, I check the news and feel a sudden urge to bang my head against the wall. That urge – which I think can be readily understood by many of my readers – is fleeting. Neither my head nor the wall is at real risk. Rational thinking holds sway and I proceed with my consideration of the latest happenings.
On some occasions, I am sustained by news that is good.
Barry Shaw | The View from Israel | Aug 12, 2026
Javier Milei in May 2024. Photo by Vox España – Flickr, CC0, Wikipedia
Under the enlightened leadership of President Javier Milei, Israel found a true and paassionate supporter of Israel.
by Michelle Terris | Israel Unwired | Aug 11, 2026
My Christian brothers and sisters,
I am asking you to listen to me.
Not as a politician.
Not as the founder of JEXIT.
But as a Jew who loves America and believes deeply in the values that Christians and Jews have shared for thousands of years.
Peloni: As recently noted by Mordechai Kedar, the problem with the efforts in Gaza is that the Americans want a deal, and even a bad deal is preferable to no deal, which is why the 20 Point Plan was initially pushed forward last October. The lack of any interest on behalf of the US in fulfilling the basic goals set forward in Phase 1 of that plan, namely the elimination of Hamas and demilitarization of the Strip is what led to the newly revised Roadmap being pushed thru today, as it is structured for Israel to accept greater risks and offer further concessions to the terrorist organization which carried out October 7. To anyone with the most basic interest in actually pursuing peace, both of these schemes would have been rejected outright, but the need to close the deal with Hamas is once again proving far more relevant than the consequences for the terms under which any deal is struck with these barbarians. When Kushner comes with what are certain to be further demands on Sunday, Bibi should tell him “No”.
Trump envoy Kushner, Board of Peace envoys Mladenov and Tony Blair to arrive in Israel on Sunday
All Israel News Staff | Published: August 14, 2026
After nearly one week without Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, which was reportedly due to pressure from the United States to give the Gaza peace plan a chance, the Israel Defense Forces renewed its strikes in recent days, amid outrage that Hamas was being allowed to recover.
Peloni: The ardent pursuit of peace by Israel and its US allies is part of the reason that peace remains so illusory. The other part is that the Arabs really don’t want peace. They want something for nothing, and selling hudnas to starry-eyed schlemiels has come to be realized as the best avenue by which to gain an advantage over Israel by its neighbors posing as peace partners. If the Arabs want peace, they can have it. If they want something else, why should such demands be entertained on the basis of promising little more than blue sky? As Mordechai Kedar explains below, reciprocity and not concessions is what should form the basis of any and all relationships between Israel and its Arab nations.
Veteran Middle East scholar outlines ten guiding principles that he argues should shape any future negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, emphasizing reciprocity, full normalization and opposition to linking an agreement with the Palestinian issue.
David Bedein | TheJ.ca | August 12, 2026
As speculation continues regarding the possibility of diplomatic normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Israeli Middle East scholar and former intelligence officer Dr. Mordechai Kedar has published what he describes as ten guiding principles that should govern any future negotiations.
Peloni: The change in IRGC leadership makes little difference as only in Iran might a rogue such as Muhammad Baqr Ghalibaf be considered a moderate, as the IRGC would need to conduct some serious off-shore job hunting to find anyone who could truly qualify as a moderate to lead the regime forward. So, yes, the new lineup will be seen to be as radical and unyielding as all those before them. The various threats of ultimate doom for Iran which failed to be enforced over the past months by the US has only made the regime, broken and splintered as it is, all the more certain that their faith is being rewarded in the form of holding the US from making good on their promises. Additionally, the reports of America being out of bullets, as it were, will play an even greater point of validation of the radical Armegeddonist ideology which fuels the resolve of the IRGC, no matter who might be placed in charge of it. So attacks on tankers are continuing. So too are the calls for America to surrender, which should be understood to be sincere announcements of Iranian victory rather than as catcalls from an imploding regime. While the regime may ultimately implode, such a reality remains elusive, and the pronouncements of their sense of strength should be understood to be more real than imagined despite what has taken place. So as Trump is waiting to see the regime collapse as the weight of the US economic war on Iran strengthens, it would be wise for Trump to add to his economic war severe attacks on the power centers of the IRGC and it Basij associates. By doing so, further fragmenting the organization which continues its mocking US war efforts and ignoring the economic hurdles taking effect in Iran will come to see those effects having a greater and more meaningful impact, and Iran’s continued strikes on shipping gives Trump the basis on which to conduct such strikes.
Janatan Sayeh
The latest reshuffle of Iran’s government looks less like renewal than a game of musical chairs among regime veterans.
Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose status and capacity to rule remain unclear, appointed officials to seven posts on August 9. They include the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), chief and deputy chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, commander and deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), commander of the IRGC Navy, and commander of the Basij paramilitary force.
By Marziyeh Amirizadeh
Becoming an American citizen ten years ago was one of the most exciting and proud days in my life. It was not simply because I had fled Iran – the country of my birth – where, after becoming a Christian in 1999 I was arrested and sentenced to death for the “crime” of apostacy. Indeed, the ability to live as a Christian without daily fears of arrest or persecution, much less torture and death was life changing. I was also able to vote in a free and democratic election for the first time in my life. It’s impossible for most Americans to imagine not having the freedoms so cherished for us all– and for which Iranians are struggling and dying in order to gain their freedom from the oppression of the Islamic Republic – and being so foreign and unimaginable for me just years earlier as I sat on death row in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
By Moshe Phillips
“Temple Emanu-El” by Charles, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
This October, one of the most prestigious Jewish congregations in America will have a marquee event where it will host a talk by a pundit who has claimed Jews bribe Congress.
by Gerald A. Honigman
For the Record…
“Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” was a popular educational children’s television show in Canada and the United States which aired from 1968 to 2001 and provided a soothing, relaxed atmosphere for young kids to enjoy while learning important lessons.
Internationally acclaimed actor, Tom Hanks, later portrayed (Reverend) Fred Rogers in the 2019 film, “À Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” and was nominated for an academy award for his portrayal. Read more…
Pablo Nankin, MD | Aug 13, 2026
Thessaloniki. Photo by Andrzej Wójtowicz – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
I recently visited Greece, and I left with the impression that Greece was a modern, civilized European country where visitors of all backgrounds could feel welcome. Recent events have seriously challenged that impression.
By Jalal Tagreeb
Image created via AI
In a video that has circulated widely across Arabic-speaking platforms, Egyptian-born commentator and national security researcher Khaled Hassan delivered what can only be described as a devastating, and unwitting, vindication of Israel’s strategic position in the Middle East. Hassan’s analysis, sharp and unapologetic, was aimed squarely at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood, and what he characterized as their shared ideological DNA. But in laying bare the contradictions, fear, and strategic paralysis of Saudi Arabia, Hassan inadvertently stripped away the last remaining pretexts for the Arab world’s hostility toward the Jewish state.
Kelleigh Nelson
Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence. Thomas Jefferson
The consequences of turning a blind eye to government corruption go far beyond simply letting some corrupt politicians and bureaucrats walk free. Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch
Peloni: Electoral responsibility is one of the most solemn and vital aspects of modern democracies, and it is often the most overlooked. I read a report in recent weeks about some who are anticipating not voting in the coming Israeli elections. Such a move would be a catastrophic choice .
Not voting is, effectively, a vote in favor of the noxious democratic socialist program.
Leonard Grunstein | Aug 11, 2026
Image by landrachuk – Pixabay, CC0, Wikipedia
Voting is a sacred duty; however, making it truly count is a science. I remember well studying the subject in political science in college and applying the cogent lessons we were taught, in practice, as a member of my community.
Operational blindness or a deliberate strategic plan that went wrong? Will we ever know?
Photo via Youtube
On July 26, 2026 Dr. Avi Perry published an article titled “Was Haniyeh the double-agent behind October 7?”. Dr. Perry presents a convincing argument suggesting that Ismail Haniyeh may have acted as a double agent, successfully misleading Israeli intelligence regarding Hamas’s true strategic intentions, causing the IDF to ignore warning signs and thus enabling October 7th. It is very possible that he is right.
Peloni: Peace is something of a mirage which seems to vanish with every step taken in pursuit of it. Indeed, if we are truly interested in finding peace, it would be best if we ignored it altogether in preference of seeking promoting the highest state of preparation with which to respond as the mirage of peace might disappear. Indeed, the conditions under which peace might be achievable requires a sort of oxymoronic twist of our focus, ie peace could only be made possible when defense preparations are maintained and maximized and the topic of peace is entirely isolated from our dialogue and our diplomatic entreaties. By doing so, when or if the underlying Hudna is finally revealed, the state of national preparation will not fail Israel as it failed the Quraysh tribe in Mecca so long ago. Indeed, if the Arabs want peace, let them act accordingly, and it is noteworthy, and revealing, that far too few of them actually do so. Focusing on outmatching the capabilities of neighboring nations, rather than on any sweet and enticing promises which they might speak as it might suit their weaknesses, is how falling afoul of the fate of the Quraysh tribe will be avoided. Take note that with regards to the situation with Iran today, the best way to secure peace with a irascible nation is to see it defeated utterly, and failing this, well, we would simply have to maintain a posture and state of readiness such that, at a moment’s notice, such a defeat can be delivered in any event as needs require it. In the years which follow, should no such need come to fruition, the visage of peace might develop should the hostile intentions of the nation in question finally recede into acceptance. Indeed, this is very similar to the premise of the Iron Wall which Jabotinsky spoke about over a century ago, where the Arabs would grasp that our national resolve was so great that they would finally submit to the reality of our vigilance and capabilities. Yet, for this to come to fruition, we must maintain the reality of our vigilance and capabilities, both to keep the peace, and if necessary, to win the war which might surprise us as it did the Quraysh tribe just before they found themselves vanquished.
Jonathan Feldstein
Signing of the Abraham Accords Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, on the South Lawn of the White House. Photo bBy The White House from Washington, DC – President Trump and The First Lady Participate in an Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony, Public Domain, Wikipedia
In the good old days, Arabs would just rant with wild unabashed rhetoric about destroying Israel outright and driving Israelis into the sea. They would threaten Israel openly, blockade shipping, eject UN “peacekeeping troops,” launch a variety of terrorist attacks, initiate global boycotts of Israel and the companies that do business with Israel, etc. Today, while the chants of freeing “Palestine” “from the river to the sea” still mean driving Israel into the same sea and eliminating the Jewish state, their tactics have changed from outright hostility and threats to something even more nefarious but not new.
By | August 12, 2026
Photo: Abdul El-Sayed, Conlan Houston, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
The Muslim Brotherhood seeks to spread Islam all over the globe and to ensure, as Muhammad said, that “Islam is to dominate and not to be dominated.” Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia have designated it as a terrorist group, and the United States has declared its intention to similarly designate two Brotherhood chapters. So what should we think of Abdul el-Sayed when the Muslim Brotherhood hails his slim victory over Haley Stevens, and El-Sayed does not reject the terror group’s support? More on Abdul el-Sayed’s links to the Muslim Brotherhood can be found here: “Muslim Brotherhood Publication Celebrates Abdul El-Sayed Primary Victory,” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, August 10, 2026:
