This edition focuses on the basics of why you read this newsletter and one single Call to Action.

• Pointing out the misconceptions that many of you have (or had) regarding Israel that are grounded in media bias and the politically correct view that Israel is all about the Palestinians and support for Israel = support for Bibi.

• Update on what is happening - or not happening - to bring the hostages home.

• Putting the dramatic rise in antisemitism into historical perspective so that we do not return to the 1930s and early 1940s.

In this edition, we're focused on the plight of the hostages - just how much time do they have left- and the obstacles placed by Netanyahu and his government in reaching a ceasefire and deal to release them. We've also addressed some of the latest antisemitism in the world, and try to understand why the world press continues to be so bad at its job when it comes to reporting on Israel.

In this edition we mark the sad birthday of 5-year-old Ariel Bibas, the little redhead being held by Hamas with his baby brother and parents. We also want you to know about the courageous stand taken by Ayelet Samerano against the UNWRA secretary-general in Lausanne.

Read about how long can a hostage survive in captivity, about Turkey in NATO, the threats to Israel from Iran and Hezbollah and what the IDF says might happen.

In this edition, read about how Israelis perceive Netanyahu’s decision to leave for Washington when he is needed at home to complete a deal that might bring many of the hostages home alive. We also cover many of the issues of the past few days and announce that we will move to a weekly format.

In this edition:

• If they were your daughters, would you forget them?: Read about Human Rights Watch Report on October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups, and signs of life from some of the hostages

• Netanyahu heads to Washington; hopes to save his coalition and political career: Read how Israelis wonder if the visit will thwart any possibility of a deal being signed to release the 120 hostages held by Hamas.

• They turned into monsters: Read an open letter by Nobel Prize winner Herta Muller

In this edition:

• In the shadow of Trump: Everything that we write about here today is overshadowed by the attempted assassination of former President Trump. But did you know that there are already antisemitic theories and calls for violence? Sheesh.

• Hostages: What will happen now to the hostages with the attack on Mohammed Deif in Gaza? Will Hamas stop negotiating? Will Bibi harden his stance on the hostage deal?

• Israeli Politics: Israeli chief of staff describes the war and future strategy; outgoing police chief criticizes Ben Gvir and Netanyahu's coalition for politicizing law enforcement; and much more.

In this edition:

• Up Shit Creek Without a Leader: Read how the leadership crisis in Israel is preventing Israel from turning success on the ground into a way to end the existential threat it faces, and how the United States appears headed for its own leadership crisis.

• Hostages: Read about the Four-Day March from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in Support of the Hostage Deal and efforts within the coalition to undermine the deal.

• Rabbis Against IDF Conscription: The Inevitable Mandatory Service: Read about one of the most divisive issues that that Israeli leader have avoided with dealing with for over 75 years - but now has become too urgent to ignore.

• Netanyahu's Coalition: A Week of Unprecedented Threats: Barbara Sher goes into detail about the many political threats that Bibi is dealing with instead of the threats to national security and the effort to bring the hostages home.

In this edition:

• Protests in Israel Mark 9 Months of War: Read about calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Resign, Elections Now and Pushing for the Return of the Hostages

• The Oct. 7 Chain Reaction and Other Dramatic News Since Thursday: The Hamas attack of Oct. 7 seems to have set off a chain reaction that is affecting the entire world, not just Israel. Here we spotlight the events of the past few days related to this chain reaction

• Israel - More Details: The increased intensity of the protests is not the only news in Israel from the past few days. Actually, so much has happened that we include this section to give you the highlights and to explain about the Israel Bonds Paradox..

• Hostages: Read more about the 8 hostages who are U.S. citizens, and about the accusations that Israeli government is trying to sabotage Gaza ceasefire proposal.

In this edition:

• The Escalating Conflict in Israel's North, South and Center: In the north, as the war between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, day 272 marked another severe escalation with over 200 rockets and 20 drones launched from Lebanon into northern Israel. In the South, the situation is similarly dire, with rocket sirens still sounding regularly (including today) in Gaza border communities amid ongoing exchanges of fire. Central Israel too is engulfed in unrest.

• Antisemitism in the UK: Tony Levy goes into detail about the rise of antisemitism in the U.K. For readers in North America, this should serve as a warning of what will happen if the BDS and “Free Palestine” movements are allowed to spread hatred freely.

• Hostages: Read the latest stories about the hostages still in captivity, eight of whom are U.S. citizens.

In this edition:

• The Wars — North and South — Gaza and Lebanon: It looks like full scale war is imminent and many western governments have begun calling on their citizens to evacuate.

• Israeli Politics — Save the Captain If the Ship Goes Down: Read about how the coalition is busy tearing apart the country rather than bringing the hostages home or destroying the Hamas and Hezbollah terror infrastructure.

• Hostages: Read the latest stories from released hostages and their families.

In this edition:

• Are We on the Brink of Another War?: Read about the winds of war as a 2nd front looms.

• 120 Hostages / And Still No Hope - Only Sad News: Read about the hostages and struggle to bring back them home alive.

• Raping a 12 year old in France will not free Palestine: Tony Levy goes into more detail on how the rape of a 12 year old Jewish girl in the name of freeing Palestine is causing French Jews to choose between a party with fascist roots and a coalition that incites violence against Jews..

• Besides Netanyahu’s court cases, why does he act like he does?: This section contains a lot of the insanity of what is going on now in Israel and a little bit about "Poker and Politics" in the U.S. as well

In this edition:

• Attacking synagogues is not about freeing Palestine: We intended to highlight something else, but the recent outbreak of attacks on synagogues and Jews in different parts of the world made us change our minds. When you read this section, ask yourselves if the next Oct. 7 is just around your corner. Hopefully, we're just paranoid and it is not too late change the course of history..

• Israeli Politics: A lot has happened in Israel over the past 4 days. This is where you can read a short summary of the highlights.

• 120 Hostages / How Many More Days?: Every rally and demonstration held in Israel these days begins by marking the number of days and nights the hostages have been held. In this section we ask How Did Netanyahu Make the Hostages a Political Battering Ramp?, include a poem by David Grossman, Suddenly a Scream Flew, and remind you about the hostages who often get forgotten because they are not Israelis.

In this edition:

• Bibi Targets Israel-US Relations: After systematically dismantled much of Israel’s governmental infrastructure, enabling Hamas to penetrate Israel's borders, and mismanaging the war in Gaza, Netanyahu is creating a public feud with President Biden that threatens to destroy the Israel-United States alliance

• Internal Self-Sabotage: Read about some of the acts of self-sabotage that Bibi and our insane government that occurred since our last issue three days ago

• 120 Hostages/257 Days: Sobering and depressing assessments of the number of hostages still alive, Mother of Gaza hostage tells UN Human Rights Council: 'Women's bodies used as political tools', and Amit Soussana's meeting with Kamala Harris

In this edition:

• Déjà Vu - Germany 1933 and Vichy France 1940 Return as BDS: Read about how the Eurosatory 2024 ban on any companies connected to the Jewish state is nearly identical to the German boycott of Jewish businesses in 1933 that quickly led to the holocaust.

• Déjà vu in Israel: Read how Israelis are disgusted by and afraid of their own government. The weekly protest in Tel Aviv has grown to or even exceeded the pre-Oct. 7 levels, and this week road blockages and other actions are expected throughout the week.

• The Multi-front War: Read about the pain Israelis are feeling over the many soldiers who have died and been injured, the upcoming war in the north, and how the “innocent” Palestinians that you read about overwhelmingly support Hamas and the atrocities of Oct. 7.

• 120 Hostages: Read the stories that the western press all but ignore about the real humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In this edition:

• Human Sacrifice at The United Nations: We began this newsletter before Oct. 7, when we believed that you (our readers) needed to understand just how bad our government was and to ask for your help. Since then, world leadership has begun to rival Israel’s political leadership in a race to the bottom.

• “Free Palestine” or “Trump vs. Biden”: Regardless of which candidate is elected, he and possibly his VP will need to deal to deal with the threat that the “Free Palestine” movement poses to Jews, other Zionists, the #MeToo movement, and the basic values of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” for all, regardless of race, religion or national origin.

• Israeli Politics: Bibi deserves to be held responsible for abandoning the entire northern border. Holiday celebrations of Shavuot in northern Israel were interrupted by incoming rockets and explosive drones - but according to the mayors of these towns - not a single government minister or even a member of the coalition thought to call or visit. Plus, there's been an escalation in false arrests and police violence against protesters.

In this edition:

• Finally, Some Good News - Over the weekend, the IDF and other Israeli security forces did the impossible and freed four hostages alive, despite all the odds against it.

• The World’s Hypocritic Oath (as opposed to the Hippocratic Oath) - Read what about how the world tries to frame a heroic rescue as a massacre to be condemned. 40 years ago Bob Dylan described this in his song “Neighborhood Bully”.

• Netanyahu and the Hostages - Read about how Israel’s Prime Minister ignores the hostages, except when there is a good photo opp. This is a sad state of affairs, but a true one.

In this edition:

• Israeli Government from Outer Space - It is as if they live on a far-off planet. But unfortunately for Israel, they're in charge. King Bibi - life in Versailles, Israel, Bezalel Smotrich - it’s not my fault, Miri Regev - evacuees should should be grateful, Amichai Chikli - playing 007, Out of Touch and Out of Control: Israel’s Leadership Crisis

• What Is Happening to Young Jewry in the United States? - Read what about a Senior Reform rabbi in the USA who says that "There are young anti-Zionist Jews who are already lost to us"

• You Too Could Be Next - Read about how the next generation of legal scholars appears to be on their way to bringing back "Separate but Equal"? and how a Free Palestine Group targeted an American High School in New Jersey.

• Hope — Critical Crossroads for Europe and Israel - This section examines the pivotal political shifts in Europe and Israel.

• Hostages - 124 Hostages / 244 Days - Read about how protesters are at every intersection to remind the government that this is their responsibility.

In this edition:

• Biden's Masterstroke - or -Did Biden and Bibi just throw Israel under the bus? - Was Biden’s speech and the invitation of Bibi to speak to a joint session of both houses of Congress a masterstroke by Biden to save Israel from its own leadership, or part of plan by both Bibi and Joe Biden to get reelected at the expense of Israel’s vital interests?

• The War, Religious Conscription, The Deal, Our Future - Read about the events that are currently shaking Netanyahu’s coalition government.

• Hostages - 124 Hostages / 241 Days - Read about the sad discovery of Dolev Yehud: whose remains were only recently identified through scientific analysis

• Strategic Shifts and Judicial Decisions: Shaping Israel's Future - In a week marked by decisive shifts in Israel’s strategic and judicial landscapes (as usual, but maybe more than usual), read about how significant developments unfolded that could reshape the nation's future.

• Hamas and UNWRA - Read about the Knesset advances bill to designate UNRWA as a terrorist organization

In this edition:

• Navigating Israel's Intensifying Challenges - It is Getting Worse! In our May 20 newsletter, we posed the rhetorical question, "It Can't Get Any Worse, Can It?" Sadly, the unfolding events since then suggest that the situation has indeed worsened.

• Are Jews Being Ostrichicized as a 2024 Rerun of 1934? Ostrichicized is not a real word, but in 1934 Jews were both "ostracized" by the Nazi Party and convinced by their friends that it would soon pass and that they should just bury their heads in sand, like an "ostrich", until the rage died down. The rapid rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7 caught us all by surprise.

• Book Burnings and Blacklists. You're all familiar with the "Free Palestine" protests that many claim are "peaceful protests". Did you know that this "peaceful protest" movement has already led to blacklists of Jews, not to mention death threats?

• 'All eyes on Rafah' trend sweeps Instagram, as Israel response banned'. Although influential celebrities lead an effort behind a counter-campaign on Rafah, sharing images of hostages held by Hamas, captioned "Where were your eyes on October 7?" and "Bring Them Home.", their images garnered a mere 600,000 shares before being inexplicably removed from Instagram and the original account blocked.

• Israel's Political Tensions Escalate. Key opposition leaders strategize to dismantle Netanyahu's coalition, urging Benny Gantz to join their efforts in a decisive political move, while National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir is criticized for illegal attempts to control the police, facing backlash from the Attorney General for overstepping legal boundaries.