News Digest — 10/19/26
Lebanon Confronts Iran, Demands End To Hezbollah Arms Shipments
Beirut launched a diplomatic broadside against Tehran on Sunday (18th) with Lebanese Foreign Minister Yossef Raggi calling on Iran to stop interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs, challenging the Lebanese government’s decision and supplying Hezbollah with weapons and funds. His remarks came during a meeting of foreign ministers from the organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad, Iraq.
Raggi also called on Tehran and its “proxies” to halt attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and Jordan. He stressed Lebanon’s commitment to a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to the attacks and rejecting any restrictions on navigation through international waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
“Convinced that there can be no sovereignty when weapons are held by multiple parties, no stability when decisions are made outside state institutions, and no sustainable development without a strong and capable state, the Lebanese government decided in August 2025 to place weapons exclusively in the hands of legitimate security forces and extend state authority throughout its territory using its own forces,” Raggi said.
“Nevertheless, despite our repeated warnings about the dangers of dragging Lebanon into future wars, Hezbollah dragged the country into the devastating wars with Israel, in October 2023 and March 2026,” he continued. “Israel launched a fierce military campaign that resulted in the occupation of large parts of Lebanese territory.”
“We condemn the Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which have left destruction and millions of dollars in losses,” Raggi said. At the same time, we demand that Iran stop interfering in our internal affairs.”
‘In June 2026, we reached a trilateral framework agreement with the US and Israel that will lead to a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, the return of displaced residents, reconstruction, the release of prisoners, the restriction of weapons to legitimate security forces and the extension of state authority throughout Lebanese territory.”
IDF Cancels Leave On Election Day Amid Fears Of Iranian Attack
IDF Chief Of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir has ordered a suspension of leave for IDF troops on the day of the Knesset elections, scheduled for October 27, amid concerns over a possible security escalation on one of Israel’s fronts.
The unusual decision comes against the backdrop of heightened concern within Israel’s defense establishment ahead of the elections that Iran or one of its proxies in the Middle East could attempt to exploit the sensitive period.
Last week, it was reported that the IDF was closely monitoring regional developments, particularly Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle tests.
Despite the tensions, defense officials have clarified that there is currently no concrete intelligence indicating that Iran or Hezbollah intends to launch an attack against Israel.
The security tensions come during a particularly sensitive political period, with Israel’s elections scheduled for October 27, followed a week later by the US midterm elections on November 3.
One of the main scenarios concerning security officials is an unintended escalation into a broader conflict. The concern is that a limited operation by Iran, the Houthis, or another Iranian proxy could trigger an Israeli response, subsequently leading to escalation on multiple fronts.
Another scenario under consideration involves a miscalculation of the other side’s intentions, in which defensive preparations are interpreted as preparations for an attack, prompting military responses.
Chief of Staff Zanir warned last week, “In light of the increased number of alerts across all fronts and the sensitivity of this period, the potential for escalation has grown.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the possibility, warning in an interview with Channel 14: “If Iran attacks us, it will make the mistake of its life. We also have the ability to act independently, and I would not advise any of our enemies to test us in any way.”
No Elections, No Reform In The Palestinian Authority -Khaled Abu Toameh
On Oct. 10, PA Leader Mahmoud Abbas announced that elections to the Palestinian legislative Council (PLC), originally scheduled for Nov. 2026, will be postponed until Sept. 11, 2027. It was not the first time that the Palestinian leader had announced elections, raised expectations, and then postponed the vote. Holding elections under the current circumstances would most certainly strengthen Hamas, which won the last PLC elections in 2006.
On Oct. 13, the foreign ministers of Australia, France, Canada, and Britain issued a joint statement expressing “deep regret” over the postponement of elections. They called on the PA to reconsider its decision and hold elections without further delay. What leverage do these Western governments intend to use when Abbas ignores their demands? Or will they issue statements of regret while continuing to provide financial support?
Since 2006, Israel has held nine parliamentary elections, with another this month. The Palestinians , by contrast, have held no presidential or parliamentary elections since 2006. Abbas, now 91, is about to enter the 22nd year of his illegitimate presidency without even seriously having sought a renewed popular mandate at the ballot box. A recent Palestinian poll showed that 79% want him to resign.
What is really needed to help the Palestinian people, now being held hostage by corrupt and self-serving leaders in all of their parties, is not just elections but reforms and serious international accountability, starting with shutting down funding for slow or nonexistent compliance. (Gatestone Institute)
If Gaza Is “Genocide,” What Was Tokyo? – Micha Danzig
On March 9, 1945, close to 300 American B-29s bombed Japan under cover of darkness, dropping 1,665 tons of napalm incendiaries on Tokyo. Between 80,000 and 100,000 people died in a single night. More than 60 Japanese cities followed.
Yet almost nobody calls the firebombing of Japan “Genocide,” and for good reason. Genocide requires intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group “as such.” America aimed to completely defeat a regime that murdered millions of civilians across Asia, massacred Nanjing, ran the comfort women” system of slavery on an industrial scale, and performed human experiments under Unit 731 – a regime whose cruelty rivaled that of the Nazis.
The clearest proof of intent came after the surrender. America occupied Japan, gave it a democratic constitution, fed its people and poured money into rebuilding it. A country bent on destroying the Japanese people, as such, does not spend seven years rebuilding them.
In Gaza, instead of fire, Israel used precision munitions. Instead of surprise, it warned civilians by leaflet, text message and phone call before strikes, and opened evacuation corridors. It moved food and medicine into the territory it was fighting in. It accepted losses no army in 1945 would have accepted to spare enemy civilians.
The law is clear about who bears responsibility when one side hides its war machine among civilians. The 1977Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions forbids using civilians to shield military targets and requires each side to keep military objectives away from populated areas as much as possible. Hamas spent 16 years doing the reverse. The presence of civilians does not make a military target immune. If it did, then every terrorist group and tyranny would win every war simply by hiding among its people. America burned dozens of Japanese cities to the ground and is remembered, correctly, as the nation that defeated a monstrous regime and helped rebuild its people into a free and prosperous ally. Israel faced a more entrenched version of the same problem, chose far greater restraint, and stands accused of “genocide.”
There is one more lesson from 1945: Japan became a free and peaceful nation only after its militarist regime was totally defeated, disarmed and replaced, and its schools stopped teaching children to die for the emperor. Nobody suggested leaving Japan’s rulers in place to rearm. (JNS)
(jns.org)
French Jewish Leader Calls On Government To Declare Emergency
A leader of French Jews on Sunday (18th) called on the government to declare a state of emergency to deal with nationwide rioting, which he said was being organized by the far left.
“I believe we need to declare a state of emergency in France, send in the army, massively increase law enforcement personnel and arrest the rioters and vandals by every means,” Bruno Benjamin, the president of the Marseille-Provence branch of the CRIF umbrella group of French Jewish institutions, told JNS.
On Sunday morning, (18th) congregants of one synagogue in Paris found that it had been ransacked on Saturday (17th), Jewish community sources said.
Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in protests in cities across France over the weekend.
The protests, which have been going on for several weeks in waves, began over conditions in public schools, according to some protesters but have devolved into vandalism, looting, and violence against police. Some 1.200 have been arrested over the weekend and at least 150 police officers were injured. Footage from Marseille showed police coming under heavy volleys of stones and other objects on a central square.
A police station was ransacked in Marseille and in the city of Limoges City Hall was torched.
Many protestors carried Palestinian flags, Benjamin said. Marseille is the second largest city in France and is home to the country’s second-largest Jewish community, after Paris.
In Paris, Meyer Habib, a French-Jewish former lawmaker, told Channel 14 that Place de la Republique, where rioting also occurred on Saturday (17th), was “flooded” with Palestinian flags.
“While French President Emmanuel Macron is giving advice to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about security, the main square in Paris, the Christian Dior shops, the Apple shops, and even grocery stores are looted by whole families, mothers with their children.”
He added, “I feel pain for France, my country, and call on my French brethren “Wake up before it’s too late.”
In Marseille, as elsewhere in France synagogues remained open for morning, afternoon, and evening prayers, with the Jewish community Protection Service, or SPCJ, maintaining vigilance despite weeks of strain, Benjamin said.
Community officials had considered whether synagogues in the city center could come under attack, Benjamin said.
Asked whether the unrest could prompt more French Jews to move to Israel, Benjamin said Jews must retain the freedom to choose where they live.
“Those that want to make aliyah should make aliyah because they want to live in Israel,” he said.
“Those who want to stay must be able to stay, because we must continue fighting to ensure they can live and build their lives in France if they wish.”
Describing the broader violence, Benjamin said vandals had exploited a protest to smash and loot businesses. Some shopkeepers had closed after thieves stole their merchandise and destroyed their premises, he said.
He expressed sympathy for those merchants and for exhausted police officers, saying the unrest had continued for more than a month.
Until the previous day, Benjamin said, he had trusted the authorities’ ability to maintain order. Seeing police overwhelmed had shaken that confidence. “We are questioning whether they can ensure everyone’s safety,” he said.
Benjamin also criticized the display of Palestinian flags at the demonstrations, describing the Palestinian cause as a fashionable rallying point.
Amichai Chikli , Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, touched on the political powers at play amid the riots.
“I was convinced that the Right coming to power in France would trigger a civil war. It turns out I was being optimistic. It has already begun,” Chikkli wrote.
“I wish France victory over barbarism, despite its betrayal of Israel. Belgium and Britain, you are probably next. Get ready,”
France under Macron has adopted an anti-Israel approach, which included recognizing a Palestinian state last year and imposing an arms embargo on Israel.
Watchdog Tracks Over 1,300 Posts Blaming Jews, Israel For France Riots
A wave of unrest that erupted across France over the weekend was accompanied by antisemitic and conspiracy theories on X/Twitter accusing Israel, Mossad, and Jews of responsibility for the violence and destruction in the streets, according to a report published Sunday (18th) by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAN).
The study , conducted by CAN’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC), examined activity on X between October 16 and 18 and identified 1,384 posts linking the riots to Jews or Israel. According to the organization, the posts included conspiracy theories alongside calls for physical violence, expulsion and extermination.
According to the findings, influential social media accounts spread claims that “Mossad is burning France right now” and described the unrest as a “civil war orchestrated by Jewish elites.”
Other accounts linked French President Emmanuel Macron to the Rothschild family, while far-right activists with hundreds of thousands of followers circulated the message: The Jews did this to France. Don’t let them do it to America.”
CAM said this was the fourth time in less than three months that its research center had identified a similar pattern of antisemitic conspiracy theories spreading in response to major news events. The report cited the migrant crisis in Ceuta, the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and an attempted hijacking of a plane bound for Ben-Gurion Airport.
The study also found that accounts subscribed to X Premium, identified by blue verification checkmarks, were among those spreading some of the most extreme messages.
According to CAM, the content received millions of views, with the organization arguing that the platform’s amplification mechanisms helped spread the messages.
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman warned of the connection between online incitement and violence in public spaces.
“Once again we are witnessing the same distorted pattern in which hatred of Jews and Israel becomes the automatic explanation for every national crisis,” Roytman said. “Worse still, social media platforms are incentivizing those who spread hatred instead of stopping them.”
Roytman called on French authorities and social media companies to take action against violence and incitement.
“French law enforcement authorities must take firm action against the rioters, and platform executives must put an end to this lawlessness before lives are lost,” he said.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement is an international, nonpartisan coalition dedicated to combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish communities. Its work includes researching and monitoring antisemitic content online, conducting public awareness campaigns, and promoting policy initiatives with governments and international institutions.
