Keshet Chaim Dance Ensemble celebrate "Israel at 78" Ceremony in L.A. April 30, 2026
Rabbi David Baron, concerned about media mischaracterizations increasing anti-Jewish hostilities around the world, celebrated Israel's Independence at Bev. Hills Temple of the Arts
Senior Rabbi David Baron of Beverly Hills Temple of the Arts, greeted a large, mixed audience commemorating Israel's 78th Independence Day. Speaking from the podium he declared, "We're guardians also because we guard the special relationship between our United States of America and the state of Israel. And and we've been doing that for a long time since Israel's founding and before.
And what's truly remarkable, if you need any proof, can there be a better proof than the American forces and the Israeli forces fighting shoulder to shoulder to destroy the horrific Iranian regime.
You know, we're guardians together as Jews, as fellow Jews."
Rabbi Baron continued, "But we must not forget we also have friends who are fellow guardians - our brothers and sisters in the many numerous Christian communities who support Israel. Tonight, I welcome everyone here to our our beautiful home, this Temple of the Arts Saban Theater, we're having all of you here to celebrate. I want to acknowledge my friend, Bishop Juan Carlos Mendes, who represents 2,000 Christian churches who stand with Israel."
"Churches in Action's" Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez at service for Israeli Memorial Day '25
"Churches in Action" leader Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez, attending an Israeli Memorial Day ceremony last year told us, "It's always very interesting to to see how Hamas plays this card of being victims after they are the aggressor. And it's very sad to see how the double standard that we that we have - that that we have one one standard for Israel - which is so high with morals and ethics - and yet we have no standard for Hamas. They can do whatever they want and yet they're still depicted as the victims."
Yisrael Bachar, Israeli Consul General to S.W. USA
Israeli Consul General to the Southwest US, Yisrael Bachar told JNS correspondent Aaron Bandler, "Well, it's exciting to see a lot of people who are working hard to support the state of Israel coming again tonight to celebrate 78th Anniversary for the state of Israel, our Independence Day. Truly, it's remarkable to see the community coming time after time, helping time after time, cooperating and putting effort, time and money with us to do these events. I think that shows the beauty and the bond between the diaspora and their care for the state of Israel. And definitely this bond that's what keeps us strong, relevant and the good and special relationship between Israel and America and this relationship is the most important to the State of Israel."
"Given like what's going on in the Middle East right now and you know of course earlier this week you know the assault of the Jewish man at nearby Congregation Adas Torah. I'm going to speak about anti-semitism tonight. It's unfortunate and definitely we need to demand more from the authorities to do more against anti-semitic actions that happens here and occurs here in LA. The only way to fight it is twofold. one, more Jewish education, and two, more aggressive law enforcement."
At a time of renewed war pressure on Israeli civilians, Magen David Adom remains the emergency network that runs toward the blast sites, supplies the nation’s blood, and helps hold Israel’s civilian resilience together.
By Scott Jacobs | JooTube.TV
As Israel faces renewed rocket and missile attacks, the country’s civilian first responders are once again being pushed to the front lines.
When missiles hit homes, apartment blocks, or public gathering places, the people rushing toward the destruction are often paramedics and volunteers from Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service.
“While Israelis stay in shelters, the men and women of Magen David Adom run out of the shelters toward the buildings that were hit.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 8:21–8:48
At the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville in February, I spoke with Uri Shacham, Chief of Staff of Magen David Adom, about what MDA actually does, how it prepares for wartime mass-casualty events, and why its role has become even more critical as Israel confronts escalating regional threats.
More Than Ambulances
Magen David Adom is often described abroad as Israel’s version of the Red Cross. But that shorthand barely captures its real function. In practice, MDA serves as Israel’s nationwide ambulance service, a central pillar of its blood services system, a humanitarian network, and a mass-casualty response force all at once.
“Magen David Adom is Israel’s emergency services system. In practical words, it is the ambulance service for the entire State of Israel — but it is also the national blood service supplying hospitals and the IDF.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 0:18–0:44
Shacham explained that MDA collects more than 250,000 units of blood annually, processes those units, and distributes them to hospitals throughout Israel. The Israel Defense Forces also rely on blood supplied through MDA’s system. In wartime, that function becomes indispensable, because rapid access to blood can directly reduce mortality for critically wounded soldiers and civilians alike.
Israel's Red Cross, Magen David Adom's Chief Uri Shacham, shows stats of their operation
MDA also operates across the full social fabric of Israeli life. Shacham stressed that there is no discrimination in its lifesaving mission, whether in blood services, volunteering, or emergency treatment. In the field, the patient comes first.
“It’s not uncommon to see an ambulance with a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew as one team… because the only thing that matters is the person who needs help.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 1:55–2:34
A Nationwide Network of Lifesavers
According to Shacham, MDA operates roughly 2,000 ambulances, about 200 ambulance stations, and more than 3,000 emergency vehicles in all. It is supported by nearly 40,000 people, the overwhelming majority of them volunteers.
One of the most important innovations in MDA’s model is the motorcycle fleet. These medics can cut through traffic and reach patients before an ambulance does, allowing treatment to begin in the earliest minutes of a crisis.
“The motorcycles rush through traffic and arrive first to the scene, allowing the paramedic to begin treatment before the ambulance even arrives.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 3:27–4:21
The Protected Blood Center That Came Online After October 7
Among the most consequential projects MDA undertook was the creation of a secure blood services center capable of operating during wartime. With the help of American donors, that vision became the Marcus National Blood Services Center, much of it built underground for security.
“When Israel needed a secure blood compound after the atrocities of October 7th, the new blood center became operational two days later and provided what the soldiers and the injured needed most.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 5:22–6:06
According to Shacham, the facility became fully operational on October 9, 2023, just two days after the October 7 atrocities. That meant that when Israel suddenly needed a secure, high-capacity blood operation under wartime conditions, MDA was ready.
“Magen David Adom is much more than an ambulance service… it is the backbone of Israel’s resilience.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 6:24–6:46
Missiles, Mass Casualty, and the Scale of Threat
Shacham drew a sharp distinction between the kind of rockets long fired from Gaza or by Hezbollah and the much larger destructive potential of Iranian ballistic missiles. The scale of the threat changes the emergency burden dramatically for first responders.
“An Iranian missile carries at least a thousand pounds of explosives — like a bus full of explosives falling from the sky.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 7:53–8:18
“While all the Israelis stay in the shelter, Magen David Adom people run out of the shelter… toward that whole block that collapsed when the missile hit.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 8:21–8:48
Preparing Now, Not Later
Shacham said MDA has been expanding ambulance readiness, stocking vehicles, increasing training, conducting surprise drills, and improving coordination with the IDF. That preparation is based on the understanding that if a major escalation comes, it may come suddenly.
“We don’t know when it will happen, but we understand that it will. So it’s not a matter of if — it’s a matter of when.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 9:44–10:17
How Supporters Abroad Can Help
Magen David Adom relies heavily on donations to expand its fleet, acquire medical equipment, strengthen blood services, train paramedics, and prepare for large-scale emergencies.
“When you support Magen David Adom, you support Israel.”
— Uri Shacham Video: 12:29–12:38
What Shacham describes is a model of national resilience built not only on military defense but also on civilian response. In Israel, where threats can emerge with little warning, Magen David Adom remains one of the institutions that makes ordinary life possible.
That is why MDA’s importance rises every time the war reaches deeper into civilian life. It is not merely there after tragedy. It is one of the reasons more people survive it.
In an exhibition game, Team Israel held a 2-1 lead over the NY Mets in the 8th inning
A fan's TeamIsrael T-shirt carictacures Kevin Youkilis in Jew Crew's center spot
Against the backdrop of an ongoing war in the Middle East, rising antisemitism around the world, and the weight of collective Jewish identity, Team Israel arrived in South Florida to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic — and they are not just here to play ball. From the stands at Clover Park to the concourses of Miami, a clear message is emerging from team executives, federation officials, and fans alike: Israel's presence at this tournament carries meaning far beyond the diamond.
In conversations at the tournament venues across South Florida, team executives and federation officials shared what this moment means — for the players, for the diaspora, and for the sport itself in Israel.
"The Name on the Front": On Jewish Pride and Resilience
Jason Pressberg, U.S. Operations Managing Director for Team Israel, was candid and passionate when asked what it means for Israel to compete during such a fraught moment in Jewish history. His answer centered on a single word: resilience.
"The Jewish people, thank God, are tremendously resilient. Israel is going through a tremendously challenging time and yet the Jewish people continue to celebrate — people are getting married, having babies, life is continuing even from the Israeli bunker."
Jason Pressberg on resilience — 0:23 to 0:56
Pressberg described the unique composition of Team Israel, noting that the roster is built largely of American Jews with Israeli citizenship — including star pitcher Dean Kramer of the Baltimore Orioles, who has two Israeli parents. But it is the spirit of the enterprise, he said, that defines it.
"In professional sports, you place the name on the back — you're enriching yourself. With Team Israel, it's always about the name on the front. You care so deeply about representing Israel and the global Jewish people who truly are one united family."
Pressberg on the team's identity — 2:10 to 2:30
Pressberg acknowledged the difficult competitive landscape Team Israel faces in what he called the "pool of death" — matched against the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the Netherlands, and Nicaragua, each a formidable baseball nation. The Dominicans and Venezuelans, he noted, field rosters that resemble MLB All-Star teams.
"We think there's a real opportunity to beat the Nicaraguans like we did in 2023, compete against the Netherlands, and hopefully sneak one through on either the Dominicans or the Venezuelans and make our way into the next stage."
Pressberg on competitive expectations — 4:56 to 5:31
Looking beyond the WBC, Pressberg set his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where baseball is returning as an event. Team Israel qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Games — one of just six nations worldwide to do so — and is determined to return. He described the organization's long-term mission as one of cultural connection and nation-building through sport, growing the game among Israeli children even as rockets fall.
"This national team is really about Jewish pride and facing growing antisemitism head on. There's no better way than succeeding on the base path, playing at the highest level with Israel across your chest and with a heavy but determined and resilient heart."
Pressberg on antisemitism and purpose — 6:07 to 6:24
"We Flew Here to Play Baseball," Attracting Support as Athletic Competitors, Whatever Our Circumstances
TeamIsrael's bench coach, Kevin Youkilis revealed his yarmulke during singing of Hatikvah in this clip shared by fan, Ari Ackerman. Youkilis said, "It's not just about Israel- it's about the Jewish community all over the world!"
At Clover Park in South Florida, David Friesem — a U.S.-based executive with Team Israel — offered a notably different perspective. Where Pressberg spoke of symbolism and pride, Friesem drew a firm line between sport and politics.
"I think it's wrong to connect politics and baseball. We planned this way in advance. It's really important for the sport in Israel. So we come here, we play baseball, and then we go home and deal with our trouble."
David Friesem on separating sport from politics — 0:06 to 0:43
Friesem acknowledged the personal weight of the moment — noting he has family in Israel navigating hard times — while maintaining that the WBC commitment was made long before the current conflict escalated. For him, the tournament's importance is fundamentally about sport development.
"From overseas, there's a lot of support — from various federations, Jewish federations, Christian federations. We're based on donations from abroad. So it's very important that we make a good impression here and people feel that we're growing."
Friesem on international support for Israeli baseball — 0:46 to 1:04
Friesem's remarks underscore an important operational reality: the Israeli baseball program runs on philanthropic support from abroad, making tournaments like the WBC not just athletic showcases but critical fundraising and visibility platforms. A strong showing — or even a respectable one — translates directly into sustained interest and donations.
"Peaceful Approach": ex-I.A.B. President Dr. Jordy Alter on Sports Diplomacy and Grassroots Growth
Perhaps the most evocative interview came from Dr. Jordy Alter, the immediate past President of the Israel Association of Baseball ("I.A.B.") a — the federation that governs the sport on the ground in Israel itself. Speaking from the WBC venue, Dr. Alter framed Team Israel's participation in explicitly diplomatic terms.
"It's an incredible opportunity for us as a team representing Israel to share with the world the peaceful approach that the Jewish people have towards the world — and this is reflected in sports. To be representative of the country of Israel at a time like this gives tremendous strength to our friends and families back home, and also to all Jews all around the diaspora."
Israel Association of Baseball executive on sports diplomacy — 0:01 to 0:40
He went on to describe the scope of baseball in Israel today — a sport that has grown from a niche American import into an organized national program with over a thousand young players competing in six levels of leagues across the country, from the south to the north.
"The Israel Association of Baseball runs leagues in Israel from ages six and up. We have six different levels of leagues, over a thousand kids playing all over the country — from the south up to the north."
On baseball's grassroots growth in Israel — 0:44 to 0:58
Three Voices, One Team
What emerges from these three conversations is a portrait of an organization navigating multiple identities at once. Team Israel is a competitive baseball program with serious athletic ambitions — gunning for the next round of the WBC and eyeing the 2028 Olympics. It is also a fundraising enterprise dependent on diaspora goodwill and international federation support. And it is, inescapably, a symbol: of Jewish endurance, of Israel's presence on the world stage, and of the complicated, sometimes contradictory relationship between sport and geopolitics.
TeamIsrael fan sports a team cap and a clever"Matzo Ball'er" t-shirt
Pressberg wears that symbolism proudly and speaks of it freely. Friesem prefers to compartmentalize, insisting that baseball is baseball and the war is the war. The Israeli federation executive threads a middle path — acknowledging the moment's weight while framing the team's participation as an act of peaceful engagement with the world.
Together, they represent a microcosm of how diaspora and Israeli Jews are processing an extraordinarily difficult chapter — not in spite of the game, but through it.
Update: Team Israel finished Pool D with a 2-2 record, defeating Nicaragua and the Netherlands before falling to Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. While the result ended their run in the 2026 Classic, the finish was sufficient to maintain their qualification status — ensuring Team Israel will return to the next World Baseball Classic, scheduled for 2029.
Videos produced by JewTube.Info. Interviews conducted at Clover Park and in Miami, South Florida, March 2026, during World Baseball Classic pre-tournament activity.
As Israel faces intensified scrutiny not only in diplomatic arenas but across cultural institutions, the question of hasbara—public representation and legitimacy—has taken on renewed urgency. For the Israel Film Festival, however, that question is answered less through messaging than through cultural presence.
That posture comes at a moment of heightened international tension. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington to coordinate with the White House on the escalating threat posed by Iran, the broader context is impossible to ignore.
Protest sign in D.C. reads "Save Israel From Netanyahu"
Iran’s long-term preparation and arming of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis set the stage for the current conflict; Hamas’ October 7 '23 attack—widely understood as having jumped the gun on Tehran’s regional strategy—triggered Israel’s incursion into Gaza. The military damage inflicted on Hamas’ infrastructure and guerrilla forces has since been reframed in much of the global discourse as a moral indictment of Israel itself, intensifying the parallel information war that now surrounds the conflict.
It is against this backdrop that cultural platforms, including film festivals, are increasingly scrutinized for how Israel is portrayed—or whether it is portrayed at all.
The Festival’s Answer: Culture, Not Curation by Ideology
Festival Director Meir Fenigstein does not approach hasbara as something to be engineered film by film. In his view, the act of holding the festival—year after year, in Los Angeles—is itself a meaningful form of representation.
“We have different kinds of films,” Mr. Fenigstein explains. “We have films about October 7. We have action movies. We have comedies. We have dramas.” Some of this year’s selections are already enjoying strong theatrical runs in Israel, while others are being introduced to American audiences for the first time.
The festival, which opened on Wednesday, February 4, runs through February 21, with tickets available at https://israelfilmfestival.com. Beyond screenings, it brings Israeli directors, producers, and actors to Los Angeles, creating direct encounters between artists and audiences. Over the years, Mr. Fenigstein has brought hundreds of Israeli film professionals to the United States, a practice he sees as central to the festival’s mission.
Eti Tsicko, director, interviewed by Israeli-American actor / director, Mike Burstyn
While the term hasbara often invites expectations of political filtering, Mr. Fenigstein rejects that premise. “The festival itself, by having the festival, is good hasbara for Israel,” he says. “But to go into each film and decide if it’s good or not good for us—we’re not there. We are doing a film festival.”
This year’s lineup includes films such as Nandauri, directed by Eti Tsicko, which has been running successfully in Israel for several months, as well as A Burning Man, featuring Shai Avivi. For Mr. Fenigstein, the relevance of these films lies not in whether they deliver an explicit message, but in the fact that they emerge from Israeli society and are presented without ideological pre-screening.
The cumulative effect, he believes, is credibility: Israeli life shown as it is, rather than as it is argued.
Honoring Lawrence Bender: Memory and Meaning
The festival’s cultural emphasis is further reflected in its decision to honor Lawrence Bender with the 2026 Visionary Award.
Israel Film Fest director Meir Fenigstein and Lawrence Bender, recipient Visionary Award 2026
While Mr. Bender’s long collaboration with director Quentin Tarantino includes films such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, it is Inglourious Basterds that stands apart in its resonance for Jewish audiences. The film’s imagined rewriting of history—granting Jews a decisive victory over the Nazi leadership—has come to be viewed by many as a form of symbolic justice.
Reflecting on the script, Mr. Bender recalled telling Tarantino, “Thank you so much on behalf of all the Jewish people in the world. Thank you.” That reaction, he has said, came from recognizing what the film offered emotionally, even as it departed from historical fact.
What's Inglorious Basterds producer Lawrence Bender working on next?
Bearing Witness in Israel
Mr. Bender’s connection to Israel deepened further through his recent work on Red Alert, filmed in Israel after October 7 and during active hostilities. It was his first time filming in the country, and the experience proved transformative.
“From my first day, being in the middle of a missile alert,” he recalled, “it’s a very strange experience being someplace where someone’s trying to kill you.” The production placed him in direct contact with families of hostages and victims, including time spent at Hostage Square while the war was still ongoing. “It was extremely life-changing,” he said. “I felt I needed to make a great show—to show the world these families and what they had to go through.”
Asked at the festival about a past political position related to Iran and the JCPOA, Mr. Bender declined to address the question publicly. “I’m not here to talk politics,” he said. “I’m happy to be here, to be with my people, and not to really talk politics.”
That decision mirrored the festival’s own stance.
Culture as Counterweight
At a time when Israel’s military actions are often divorced from their initiating causes in public discourse, the Israel Film Festival does not attempt to rebut accusations point by point. Instead, it insists on something more durable: sustained cultural presence. By presenting Israeli cinema without reducing it to advocacy, and by honoring artists whose work engages history and lived experience, the festival advances a quieter but resilient form of hasbara—one rooted in humanity, ethics, and creative truth.
Red Alert helped earn Inglorious Basterds producer, Lawrence Bender a Visionary Award" from "Israel Film Festival.
At Consumer Electronics Show / C.E.S: What effect has the Gaza War had on the appeal of Israeli brands at the annual conventions? Mr. Lior Konitski, Vice Dir. Gen., Israel Export Institute.
Orthodox Jews at #CES gather for daily prayers quorum at exhibition.
GlobalFoundries' sales director, Yossi Benizri, a French-Israeli at CES
Yossi Benizri tells JewTube.Info about his experiences with religious practices and prejudice in different countries. The French-born, Israeli man discusses the uniqueness of encountering Orthodox Jewish prayer practices at a tradeshow booth in France and shares his observation that it's Muslim prayers that are commonly seen in public spaces in France. When asked about discomfort with praying in public or potential discrimination, Mr. Benizri expresses confidence and pride in his identity as an engineer working in the high-tech industry with a business connecting Israeli companies to the manufacturing of semiconductor devices.
Candid explanation of Orthodox Jewish philosophy from leader of religious Jewish prayers at C.E.S.: Maurice Ashear of Vivitar Corp of New Jersey.
"Hailo" edge A.I. processors from Israel - Made in Israel - Sold from Germany throughout Europe
At a public Hanukah menorah lighting on Bondi Beach, Sydney Australia on December 14th, Sajid Akram (50) and his son Naveed Akram (24) fired rifles that injured more than 40 people and killed 15 people (including British-born Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger (a father of five children).
Two days prior to the attack in Sydney, the FBI in arrested four L.A. members of a far-left, pro-Palestinian extremist group for plotting to detonate pipe bombs at five or more locations on New Year's Eve (labeled Operation Midnight Sun).
In the wake of news of the this anti-Jewish influenced violence, Rabbi Moshe Levin of Lubavitch synagogue Beis Bezalel in Los Angeles defended holding his community's public menorah lighting with attractive music.
Speaking at that community gathering, Levin declared that Hanukkah menorah lightings are more important than ever. He particularlyemphasized that the menorah’s flame represents an unbroken spiritual light stretching back more than 2,000 years — a light no empire or act of hatred has ever been able to extinguish. “When things grow dark, Jews don’t retreat,” he said. “We respond by lighting more light."
How wise a public Hanukah menorah lighting this week? Chabad Rabbi Moshe Levin, Beis Bezalel
Rabbi Levin said the goal of such violence is to intimidate Jews into silence and fear. Instead, he argued, the proper response is to strengthen Jewish identity and public expression.
Chabad of L.A. held its scheduled public menorah lightings and music with private security as well as local police around the city - including at a carnival / concert on Sunday 21 Dec.
Drawing on the teachings of King Solomon and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, he noted that Jewish history shows light emerging strongest from darkness, and that pride in Jewish faith is a source of protection, rather than vulnerability.
Rabbi Levin concluded that public displays of Jewish life are not acts of defiance - but affirmations of continuity and faith. “A little light pushes away a lot of darkness,” he said, adding that each mitzvah strengthens the world and brings humanity closer to redemption.
Alan Zipper, Community Engagement Liason, for L.A. Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky's district participated in a different orthodox menorah lighting on a different day.
What "We Think it's Funny" podcaster, Daniel Lobell takes seriously this holiday season.
Ken Abramowitz of SaveTheWest at the Republican Jewish Coalition
In a recent interview at the Republican Jewish Coalition Summit, security analyst Ken Abramowitz delivered a blunt assessment of today’s Middle East power dynamics: Israel, not the United States,is the only nation capable—and willing—to stop Hamas and disrupt Iran’s march toward nuclear weapons. It’s a provocative claim, but Abramowitz’s reasoning is rooted in a simple formula he repeats throughout the conversation: to win a war, a nation needs the ability to act and the will to act. According to him, America has the first, Israel has both—and in the current geopolitical environment, willpower is the decisive force.
Mr. Abramowitz, founder and President of Save The West, begins by describing what he calls the “two elephants in the Middle East room”—the Qatar–Turkey–Muslim Brotherhood bloc representing Sunni Islamist power, and the Iranian regime leading the Shiite axis. He characterizes both as “death cults” that gain influence through intimidation and violence. These regimes, he warns, are not passive observers. They actively maneuver to shape U.S. foreign policy, often to the detriment of American allies.
From his perspective, Qatar and Turkey have successfully pressured the White House to restrain Israel, particularly in its campaign to dismantle Hamas. Washington’s desire to manage diplomacy, hostage negotiations, and global perception creates what Abramowitz sees as an unnecessary straightjacket around Israeli action.
This is where his larger point emerges. America possesses overwhelming military capability, but frequently lacks the political will to use it decisively. Israel, in contrast, is a small nation surrounded by existential threats; hesitation is a luxury it cannot afford. As Abramowitz puts it, Israel “has the arms and the will,” a combination no other Western ally possesses.
This fusion of capability and resolve makes Israel, in his view, a kind of extension of American power—the actor that will do what Washington cannot or will not. For Abramowitz, this is not a criticism of the United States as much as a recognition of geopolitical reality. Democracies with global commitments tend to avoid prolonged or high-risk military actions. Israel, by virtue of its geography and history, makes decisions through a different lens: survival.
He applies this logic directly to Hamas and Iran. Abramowitz argues that Hamas cannot be appeased or reformed and that attempts at negotiation inevitably fail because violent ideological movements only stop when they are forcibly stopped. He draws comparisons to Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, al-Qaeda, and ISIS—entities ultimately defeated not by diplomacy but by sustained military force.
The same logic, he says, applies to Iran’s nuclear program. While the United States has the technical ability to eliminate Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, it lacks the political will to risk escalation. Israel, he insists, has both—because it must. The difference between “should” and “must,” he suggests, is the gap between American caution and Israeli necessity.
Abramowitz also acknowledges a tension inside U.S.–Israeli cooperation: the prioritization of hostage recovery in Gaza. He says President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu made a conscious choice to allow Qatar and Turkey to mediate in order to secure the release of 20 living hostages. That humanitarian decision, he argues, came with a strategic cost—slowing Israel’s military momentum. Yet he views this as a calculated tradeoff rather than a strategic blunder.
Ultimately, Abramowitz’s warning is less about today’s headlines and more about tomorrow’s stakes. The Middle East is not a region where ideological movements retire peacefully. He believes the U.S. will eventually come to the same conclusion he has: force, not negotiation, will determine the future of Hamas and Iran. When that moment arrives, he argues, Israel will be the nation carrying out actions that align with American interests—even if Washington cannot say so openly.
Whether one agrees with Abramowitz or not, his message is clear: capability is not enough. In the Middle East, the will to act is the ultimate currency of survival—and he believes Israel is the only nation prepared to spend it.
Zohran Mamdani led a protest in New York City in 2021, calling for an end to US aid to Israel.(photo: Javier Soriano in NY Post 10/31/25)
New Yorkers' electing Islamist-Marxist, Zohran Mamdani to the mayoralty of New York City last night is a bookend to another milestone in NYC Muslim supremacist Jew-hatred. On today's date November 5th 1990, 35-years ago, Egyptian-Islamist, El Sayid Nosair assassinated Israeli Parliamentarian Rabbi Meir Kahane the NYC-raised founder of the Jewish Defense League following a talk the Jewish leader delivered at a NYC Marriott hotel.
The Jewish Defense League, which served as a deterrent to violence against Jews on US streets - would also counter-protest anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hate protests on US streets. The JDL'ers own street protests to free Jews persecuted for practicing their faith in the Soviet Union contributed to the Soviet government opening their gates for the Jews to emigrate, which led to the ultimate opening of emigration and the end of Communism in the Soviet Union.
Rabbi Meir Kahane's Jewish Defense League rallied for police protections, deploying civic patrols and retaliatory deterrents.
How ironic that within 35-years of an Islamist's slaying Rabbi Kahane, who was loathed by Islamists for standing up for Jews' rights against Muslim persecution (as well as confronting their slanderous street protests against Israel) that New York Democratic voters would elect a practicing Islamo-Marxist who directed anti-Israel protests in the US himself - to oversee and manage New York City entirely!
Within days, a trial is scheduled for another Muslim anti-Zionist, Loay Alnaji, who is charged in the death of Jewish-American, Paul Kessler in Los Angeles 2023. Mr. Kessler, 69, brought a flag to counter-protest a vitriolic Islamist protest of the Jewish State, not too dissimilar to the anti-Israel protests that helped bring Zohran Mamdani to prominence and power. Lacking a Jewish Defense League-like counter-protest, such as Stand with Us used to organize, Mr. Kessler and his colleague, Jonathan Oswaks, came without adequate deterrent protection.
Paul Kessler (on left) died after Loay Alnaji (seated on right) struck him in the face with a bullhorn he protested Israel with at a Thousand Oaks, Calif demonstration by the Islamic Society of Simi Valley
We spoke with former Kahanist, Jewish Defense Leaguers, Mr. Shannon Taylor and Ms. Fern Sidman in NYC in 2018. They assess the state of anti-Semitism from the far-right and
the far-left. How will pro-Israel and pro-Jewish demonstrators be organized to counter the inevitably emboldened anti-Israel demonstrations that will grow under the Mamdani regime in NYC?
New Yorkers' electing Mamdani occurred during this week of Kristalnacht and the assassinations Rabbi Meir Kahane and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Mr. Shannon Taylor, an acolyte of Rabbi Kahane, recalled in video the context of the event and its aftermath. He assesses the Kahane and Jewish Defense League legacy in Jewish leadership today.
Recorded November, 2018 in Manhattan.
Question: This is the 28th commemoration of the night of the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane. What was the event like to your recollection?
Mr. Shannon Taylor, eyewitness to Islamist assassination of JDL leader Rabbi Meir Kahane
Taylor: "I've been, as I said, on every unhappy event that ever would take
place. I was also at Avery Fisher Hall
when Arafat came in with his two guns -
and Bruce Teitelbaum and Suri Kasira and Mayor Guiliani's head staff, Mastro, the new chief of
staff told me he was there with his guns. I was the first to challenge him and
I was going to take the picture of a
lifetime like I took the picture for
evidence of the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane on November 5th 1990 at 9:00 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel not too far
from here on the eastside. But I was so
mad at Arafat I couldn't concentrate on
the picture and I took his ponytails. And
the result was that I'm still looking
for jobs because I could have retired on
that picture. But every Jew in that place
hugged him. They hugged Arafat, the same ones who condemned
Kahane and wouldn't have him in B'nai Zion-invited Arafat in the B'nai Zion
when he was on that tour. He was
uninvited to Avery Fisher Hall and after
I challenged him, Rudy Guiliani (to his
credit and he got credit from all over
the world for this because I put the
story in the Post enough the New York
Times) Rudy Giuliani summarily threw him out
he left with a whimper.
Florence Schwartz (left) and Izzy Katz (right) comforts Rabbi Meir Kahane, whom Islamist, El Sayyid Nosair shot through the neck at the east-side Marriott in Manhattan in the first Islamist terror attack on US soil. Police had no translators for his Arabic documents containing plans to blow-up the WTC. (Photo: Shannon Taylor)
And on Kahane's assassination, I want you to
know the police station was no more than
five minutes away- but it took 20 minutes
for them to get there. And the detectives have since been
dishonorably investigated. And they
commingled all the evidence the
Homeland Security took away every
evidence that was relevant. I went
to Jeff Sessions who was the head of the
FBI who believed me it was a conspiracy. As did the A.D.A. Greenbaum from
Morgenthau's office. And Sessions was
fired by Clinton because he didn't want to
have anything to do with fighting
terrorists. And then New York was
supposed to be a terrorist-ridden city ,
so they didn't publicize anything the
stories died away and Nosair was
acquitted the first time!" Question: What was the
scene like?
"Well, picture that synagogue
today in Pittsburgh. Picture a guy in a
civilian crowd well nobody has a gun (except my friend Ralph Elder who had
just left). And in comes a gunman and
shoots him right square in the face
where I was standing. And I was taken
away from security so this could be done.
So you wonder about the security, you
wonder about the enforcement. But Kahane was so strong and so healthy at 58 - 10-years younger than Meir when Meir died
that his heart beat for another hour.
But
the same Jewish doctors who couldn't
save him - saved his assassinator, Nosair.
El Sayyid Nosair mugshot 1993
And Nosair said it was a Jew killed him, it was a Jew! And counselor a Jew came to
defend him when Ron Kuby who was not a
Jew but pretended to be a Jew and a
member of the JDL. It was the farce of farces - on one side were all of Al Qaeda . Everybody involved in the bombing in 9/11 was there protesting in
favor of the assassination of Kahane. And
everybody who was a righteous Jew was
on the other side protesting them!
And
when the sentence came down that
acquitted the murderer of the murder
that everybody knew he did, even
Schlessinger, my mother-in-law's opera
mate, who I had a sit next to the judge
who never got certiorari after that to
stay on longer,
he said the verdict make no sense and because of the evidence I had of the
gun that I saw Nosair had (I took a
picture of he spent another year and a
half in jail) and so they had the
evidence when in '93 the World Trade
Center blew up the first time to keep
him there after that event and then read
in Arabic what they should have read in
the beginning. It' still didn't help them for
9/11.
No matter how many times I warn the
mayor and his staff and them and the FBI
and so on they were all blind deaf and
dumb as they are today
- except for Trump.
Trump is the only
person who was seeing and hearing and
knows. And because all the villains of
the world know he knows - they condemn him
instead of saying "come and rescue us!
Come bring in more terrorists! Don't keep
them out!" This is the Jewish
organizations' answer. And there's a
protest tomorrow for Trump, so we're on
the streets, too."
Question: Who's on the streets?
"The ones who believe in the Trump
administration, that America protects
Jews at it did my father who performed the
French and American armies and in the
resistance and the Israeli independence
War. He came here found a marvelous life
in this marvelous country and these
bastards are not going to ruin it. And the
media that protects them is not going to
ruin it. And the politicians on
the Left are not gonna ruin it. They are
losing - they will lose, they will always
lose. Am Yisrael Chai! As Carlebach wrote for Meir Kahane's rescue of Soviet Jews."
Question: Do you believe there
was a conspiracy to hide El Sayid Nosair's notes about leading to the 1993
World Trade Center bombing?
Mr. Taylor: "No question
that there was a conspiracy and the death of
Meir and Binyamin Kahane. Binyamin
killed on the Millennium and Israel and
Meir killed November 5th, 1990. But it was not
a conspiracy to conceal the notes the
notes were there nobody wanted to read
them nobody in law enforcement bothered. I went to every . . . I went
to every law-enforcement agency the
Federals confiscated most of it and they
didn't have Arabic translators. And Morganthau's office was convinced it
was one person on Prozac. Like the one
who downed the Egyptian airplane who was
out of a job and who was in fact
an emissary of the PLO.
Etz Chaim synagogue massacre memorial
These are not lone soldiers!
They are part of conspiracies with deep money and deep training. And the one who went into the (Pittsburgh) temple today was an
assassin! He had us he had rifles and
handguns and only experts use! And he led
his men know and his women know who watch
his blog that this is the day and we're
too dumb to recognize it or take it
seriously! Meir Kahane took it seriously, as did Shlomo Carlebach. They brought Jews to
Judaism, they said not one inch from
Israel, and they would have protected us
today - but we don't have any Jews today
to protect us anywhere!
I might add that Dov Hikind was in the forefront of always
protecting Jews. And he was there in
Crown Heights when the locals went up
against us and the Mayor Dinkins and his
staff were told by Governor Cuomo to do
nothing. So if you're expecting
protection from government, or you're
expecting protection from your friends,
you're not gonna get it.
Speaks with my father's voice who went through
everything, that God Almighty
should see us through. We have the
strength and the intelligence and the
ingenuity to overcome all adversity - but
we don't have the ability to confront
ourselves. We have to, somehow or other ,
put reason in the minds of people who
are normally reasonable. To see who the
enemy is - that this is not an
Orwellian world - that there is right and
wrong there are no gray areas where
events like this take place. The
assassination of Kahane or the death of
Carlebach, where they should have had a
defibrillator on the plane. Now he would
have been alive today and now they do. And certainly not a synagogue that
should have had guns.
But I want to make
one last point- that Cincinnati, that
everybody talks about. The Democratic
mayor the Democratic white mayor of
Cincinnati allowed the Nazis to hold submachine guns in front of the
synagogue doors."
Question: No, you mean Charlottesville?
"Yes, Charlottesville.
I love Cincinnati of course, it has
challenged me but I love Jefferson. So they allowed the machine guns in
front of the synagogue doors the entire
morning and that's the responsibility of
the mayor and his police to have removed
them. And the Jews had to go out through the
back. But our days of going out through
the back or depending on law
enforcement are over! We are now going to
take ourselves very seriously against
our own enemy and against the enemy from
outside. And I put my faith and trust in this administration with Trump and Governor Cuomo - because they are both
very good friends of the Jews and have
always been."
Fern Sidman, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Voice of New York weekly newspaper (and former activist with Rabbi Meir Kahane joins the discussion).
Ex-JDL'ers on Kahane's yahrzeit- anti-semitism on the Left and Right, but who will organize opposition against them under the expected Mamdani emboldenment?
