Israel -

US funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system used to enjoy bipartisan support. Not anymore.

April 13, 2026David Leibermann

A growing number of leading progressives, including the leading liberal pro-Israel lobby, have come out against continued American funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami on Sunday joined Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna, along with Jewish Democratic congressional challenger Brad Lander, in opposing future budget earmarks for Israeli defense […]

42 Jewish authors slam Jewish Book Council for ‘bias toward centering Israeli and Zionist voices’

April 10, 2026David Leibermann

Dozens of anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jewish authors are criticizing the Jewish Book Council, a historic literary group, for what they said was a “bias toward centering Israeli and Zionist voices” and “narrowing its vision to a Zionist approach to Jewish culture.” A new open letter signed by 42 authors argues that the council, which was […]

In ‘Yes!,’ Israeli director Nadav Lapid skewers his country’s ‘moral abyss’ after Oct. 7

April 9, 2026David Leibermann

In November 2023, as much of the Jewish world was still reeling from the Oct. 7 attack, a newly formed Israeli organization called The Civil Front released a hair-raising video. The short film depicted rows of Israeli children singing an adaptation of “Hareut,” a 1949 poem by the influential Israeli poet Haim Gouri that commemorated […]

US and Iran agree to ‘fragile’ 2-week ceasefire; Israel says deal does not extend to Lebanon

April 8, 2026David Leibermann

Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Wednesday as a tenuous ceasefire took hold in its monthlong war with Iran, which it has conducted jointly with the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump and the prime minister of Pakistan, which brokered the truce talks, announced the two-week halt in hostilities late Tuesday, as Trump’s deadline […]

4 killed in Haifa strike as Trump issues ‘you’ll be living in Hell’ ultimatum to Tehran

April 6, 2026David Leibermann

Four people — including a couple in their 80s — were killed when an Iranian missile crashed into their home in Haifa on Sunday, in the latest direct strike in the month-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The missile was not intercepted because it had broken off from a larger munition, determined Israeli authorities, who said […]

Seder under sirens: Israelis mark Passover in the shadow of war with Iran

April 1, 2026David Leibermann

TEL AVIV — The day before Yael Ben Cnaan was set to take over ownership of Bishvil Flowers, a corner flower shop located in the upscale Lev Hair neighborhood, an Iranian cluster munition landed on the street outside. The March 9 impact shattered the store’s windows and left shrapnel holes in the walls. The flowers […]

Silence is not solidarity: Diaspora Jews must speak when Israel strays

March 31, 2026David Leibermann

In 2010, I said something I thought was unremarkable — that the government of Israel’s actions directly affect me as a Jew living in London. “When they do good things it is good for me; when they do bad things, it’s bad for me,” I said, noting that Israel lies at the heart of my […]

Israel passes death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks against Israelis

March 30, 2026David Leibermann

The Israeli parliament passed a law on Monday mandating the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly attacks against Israelis. The law, which was approved by the Knesset in a vote of 62-48 following nearly 12 hours of debate, marked a victory for Israel’s far-right following a years-long push to increase […]

IDF suspends unit that detained CNN crew in the West Bank, as Herzog condemns settler violence

March 30, 2026David Leibermann

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday reiterated his condemnation of settler violence in the West Bank after more than 1,000 Diaspora Jews signed a letter last week urging him to intervene. In a letter published on X, Herzog thanked the letter’s signatories for their concerns regarding the “recent surge of violence by extremist elements in […]

Their sons survived the battlefield but not their wounds. Now these Israeli mothers mourn together.

March 30, 2026David Leibermann

TEL AVIV — On the morning she left Jerusalem for a health retreat for bereaved mothers, Taly Drori was surprised to recognize another woman in her rideshare. More than two years earlier, they had often crossed paths in the intensive care unit of the same hospital, where their sons were being treated in neighboring rooms. […]