News Digest — 5/4/26
President Herzog To Begin Four-Day Latin America Visit
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will depart Wednesday (6th) for a four-day official visit to Panama and Costa Rica, marking the first visit by an Israeli president to Panama, his office announced on Sunday (3rd).
Herzog will begin his visit in Panama, where he will hold diplomatic talks with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino and senior government officials.
The discussions will focus on expanding bilateral relations.
Panama is considered one of Israel’s close allies in Central America and is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
Israel is the only Middle Eastern country with which Panama maintains a formal free trade agreement.
The visit follows a meeting between Herzog and Mulino at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Herzog is also expected to meet members of the local Jewish community, estimated at 10,000-15,000 people.
From Panama, he will continue to Costa Rica to attend the inauguration of incoming President Laura Fernandez Delgado, at the invitation of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves Robles.
Herzog’s Office described both Costa Rican leaders as strong supporters of Israel.
During his stay, Herzog will meet Fernandez Delgado and attend a gala dinner for visiting heads of state hosted by Chaves Robles.
He is also expected to meet regional leaders from Central and South America, along with international dignitaries attending the inauguration. Later he will meet members of Costa Rica’s Jewish community, one of the oldest in Central America.
Thousands of Costa Rican agronomists, educators, engineers, and public officials have received training through MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, in fields including agriculture, water management, education, public health, and rural development
With Sights On Iran, Israel Greenlights Multi-Billion Dollar F-15, F-35 Deal
A ministerial procurement committee approved the Defense Ministry and IDF’s plan to acquire two new fighter jet squadrons as part of a long-term military buildup push, the military announced on Sunday (3rd).
The deal includes a fourth squadron of Lockheed Martin F-35 “Adir” fighter jets and a second squadron of Boeing F-15IA aircraft, The transactions are estimated at tens of billions of shekels and include the aircraft’s integration into the Israeli Air Force (IAF), overall support, spare parts and logistics.
The Defense Ministry said the approval was given over the weekend and marks the first step in “Magen Israel” or “Shield of Israel,” a force building plan for the coming decade with a dedicated budget of 350 billion shekels.
The approval came less than a month after the end of the war with Iran, while the possibility of renewed fighting remains on the table.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operational lessons from the second Iran war require Israel to continue accelerating force buildup to ensure the IAF’s superiority in the decades ahead.
“The IAF will be required to lead a technological leap in the development and integration of autonomous flight capabilities and advanced defense systems in space,” Katz said
Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram said Israel must act now to preserve the IDF’s superiority more than a decade from now.
“The combination of the different capabilities of the two squadrons will provide the IAF with full flexibility to confront a range of combat scenarios,” Baram said.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Security Council scheduled for Sunday evening (3rd) was canceled, with ministers notified of the decision in the morning. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to hold a smaller consultation instead.
Earlier Sunday (3rd), sirens sounded in Avivim after launches from Lebanon, part of the ongoing fighting with Hezbollah despite a declared ceasefire. The IDF said that one of the launches was intercepted and that the results of other interceptions were under review.
The Board Of Peace Speaks Up About Hamas – Editorial
Hamas has been drumming up talk of “engineered starvation” in Gaza again. But this time, the new Board of Peace has responded. Since the ceasefire last October, the Board of Peace has “SIGNIFICANTLY scaled up support for the people of Gaza,” the organization wrote Thursday (4/30). “Food aid is reaching 3 times more people than before.” Aid trucks are no longer diverted from reaching their destinations en masse.
“The next critical step in Gaza’s recovery,” the Board of Peace added, “is finalizing the process by which Hamas decommissions its weapons and allows for the transition to a new government that will lead the development of this war-torn region.” But Hamas is refusing to disarm.
“The flotilla that was heading to Gaza, with a performative ‘loveboat’ activism of people, know nothing of and care even less for the condition of Gazans. For those who actually want to help Gaza, here is a suggestion: Use whatever influence you have to maintain the pressure on Hamas, so they fulfill their obligations to pave the way forward for the communities they destroyed.”
Amid the Iran war, Hamas has avoided scrutiny for blowing past the Board of Peace’s April 14 deadline to accept its disarmament plan. This is a continuing breach of the ceasefire by Hamas, which means Israel will have to continue holding territory and using force to keep the terrorists off balance. Israel won’t let Hamas rebuild the jihadist fief next door. Now the Board of Peace won’t give Hamas its usual free lane in the propaganda war either. (Wall Street Journal)
(wsj.com)
Akunis: ‘To Those Who Deny Our Existence, We Do Not Need Your Recognition’
Marking the 78th year of Israel’s Independence, Consul General of Israel in New York, Ofir Akunis, delivered a powerful address Sunday evening (3rd) in Manhattan.
“We are proud of our country and our tremendous achievements. To those who deny our existence, we say:we do not need your recognition. We know who we are and we are proud of ourselves,” Akunis said.
“Independence Day is the happiest day for the Jewish people since we were dispersed to exile 2,000 years ago. We returned to our land and built a magnificent state. We are the only democracy in the Middle East., an economic and technological powerhouse,” Akinis added.
“Despite all our achievements, there are many who refuse to recognize our existence. They criticize us automatically without knowing what they are talking about. Some of them are antisemitic and some are racist. To them we say – we do not need your recognition, we know who we are and we are proud of it,” Akunis said.
Akumis called for investment in Israel. “Look at the strength of our economy after three years of war. The world understands that investing in Israel is the right thing,” he said.
“We must be united. Unity is an iron wall for our success. We need to learn from our armed forces what unity is – from those who fight shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield. We salute them and will continue to support and stand behind them.”
“This is the time to put aside what divides us, lower the flames within us, and unite. Only united will we continue to prosper and succeed in standing against enemies who seek our destruction,”Akunis said.
The Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony was attended by hundreds of members of the Jewish community.
The President of Israel. Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar sent recorded greetings in honor of the event.
Additionally, Didi Simchi, father of the late soldier Guy Simchi, who fought with his bare hands against Hamas Nukhba terrorists on October 7, also spoke at the event.
Elected officials from New York and New Jersey, along with consuls general of various countries and heads of Jewish and pro-Israel communities and organizations, attended the event. Members of the media and influencers were also present at the event, which took place at Pier 60 in Manhattan.
Statue Of Pharaoh Who Clashed With Moses Discovered In Egypt
Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered a large statue believed to depict Ramses !! at the Tel Pharaoh site in the Nile Delta, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on April 22.
Ramses !! is thought to be the pharaoh described in the biblical account of Moses and the enslavement of the Children of Israel in Egypt.
The discovery was made at Tel Faraoun , known in ancient times as ‘Imet,’ in the Al-Husseiniya district of Sharqia Governorate, northeast of Cairo, and was part of an archaeological mission by the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt’s eastern Delta.
Officials said the statue consists of an upper torso and head measuring roughly about 7 feet in height and weighing between 5 and 6 tons.
The artifact was found in a damaged state, missing its lower half, and described as being in a “relatively poor condition of preservation.”
Despite the damage, authorities said the statue is “likely representing King Ramses !!,” one of the most prominent rulers in Egypt’s New Kingdom period.
Muhamed Abdel Badie, Egyptian Antiquities official, said in a statement that preliminary findings indicate the statue was originally produced in the ancient capital city of PI-Ramasses before being transported in antiquity to the Tel Pharaoh site for reuse.
Preliminary studies indicate the statue was transported in ancient times from the city of PI-Ramasses to the Tel Pharaoh site, known in ancient times as ‘Imet,’ to be reused in one of the religious complexes, reflecting the religious and historical importance of the site across different periods,” Badie said.
The ministry described the statue as “one of the important archaeological pieces of evidence that shed light on aspects of religious and royal activity in the eastern Delta region.
Following the discovery, the statue was transferred from the temple complex to a museum storage facility in the San El-Hagar area.
The ministry said the move was carried out “in preparation for the start of precise and urgent restoration work, in accordance with the highest scientific standards followed in the conservation and preservation of antiquities.”
Let’s Put An End To Ingrained Jew-Hate In Britain – Lord David Frost
I thought Jewish people were surely as safe in Britain as anyone else. Apparently the British Jewish community must now live in fear. It sees its schools and synagogues under airport-style security and watches its children drilled in responses to attacks – while the rest of the population need do none of these things.
Sadly, security at Jewish institutions has been necessary since the mid-1990s in response to largely foreign-inspired Palestinian and Islamist terrorism. But what we have been seeing recently is different. Our Jewish fellow citizens fear to wear Jewish symbols in the street, to overtly identify as Jewish, and, it seems nowadays, even to go about their normal business in Jewish areas, in short, they are facing a growing campaign of intimidation and systematic incitement to violence.
This has happened because we have let it happen. The political and social response to the Gaza war – caused, let us not forget, by a horrific pogrom of murder, rape, and mutilation – has created a hostile environment. The government’s recognition of “Palestine” – an action which has made precisely zero difference on the ground – has only served to legitimize all those who want to think that “Zionists” are bad people and deserve everything they get.
We don’t have to put up with the terrorizing of Jewish people in Britain. We are going to have to over-correct until something like normality has returned. For now, pro-Palestine marches should be prohibited. Open expressions of antisemitism in the mass media, in mosques, or on the streets need to be banned and prosecuted. We should deport foreign nationals who are guilty of this and revoke British citizenship for those who have acquired it. We need exemplary prosecutions and sentences for any kind of violence or intimidation of the Jewish community.
In short, we need to get tough if we are to reset the norms of civilized behavior in a democratic liberal state. I don’t particularly welcome any of this, but for now, either we ignore the problem and see it get ever worse and ever harder to tackle, or we face up to it while we still can. Do we want to be the generation that let the Jewish community be intimidated into silence or out of the country? Shame on us if we do. But I think, even nowadays, we are better than that.
The writer is a British diplomat who served as a Minister of State in the Cabinet Office in 2021. (Telegraph-UK)
