News Digest — 10/30/26
Central Elections Committee Publishes Final Election Results, Knesset To Be Sworn In Nov. 10
The Central Elections Committee published the final results of the national election, without any changes to the party breakdowns from the previous update, on Thursday (29th).
The final seat allocations in the 26th Knesset are as follows: Likud 27; Yashar 27; B’Yachad 12; Joint List 11; The Democrats 9; Ra’am 8; Yisrael Beytenu 7; United Torah Judaism 7; Otzma Yehudit 7; Shas 6; and Religious Zionism 6.
The final official results will be submitted to President Isaac Herzog on November 4 following any examinations of errors or inquiries. The Knesset is slated to be sworn in on November 10.
The final results leave the pro-Netanyahu bloc with 53 seats, the anti-Netanyahu bloc with 48 and the Arab factions with 19.
The final voter turnout was 77.9% of eligible voters, with 5,716,665 votes cast.
The Reservists (2.7%), People of Israel (1.7%), Charedi Public (0.2%), all failed to cross the 3.25% electoral threshold.
Ten US Military Aircraft Arrive In Israel As Americans Warn of ‘Short Focused’ Iran War – Report
Ten US Air Force (USAF) transport aircraft arrived at IAF bases in southern Israel as part of a larger Middle East air convoy transferring military equipment across the region, KAN News reported on Thursday (29th).
The aircraft , which came from Texas’ Fort Bliss base, are likely stocked with air defense systems intended to protect regional assets amid reported US warnings earlier this week of a potential “short, focused war with Iran,” according to KAN.
Fort Bliss base hosts one of the US military’s largest air defense stockpiles, with the report suggesting that the aircraft may be replenishing US interceptor missiles in Israel on systems like THAAD and Patriot.
Other aircraft in the air convoy landed in Jordon, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, with the KAN report coming after an earlier report that the US had transferred an additional Patriot system to the region pending a potential escalation with Iran.
The report did not specify which transport aircraft arrived in Israel, though they are likely C-5M Super Galaxys, C-17 Globemaster IIIs, or a combination of the two, since both can lift such heavy cargo.
According to the report, the aircraft landed at the Ovda and Nevatim IAF air bases, with Nevatim home to several F-35I squadrons.
An Israeli source told KAN that the US and Israel are closely coordinating on Iran, with reports that an additional US naval aircraft carrier will join American forces in the region, alongside an additional Marine unit.
“Although a decision has not yet been made on the matter, the Americans and Israel are preparing for any decision that [US] President Donald Trump makes,” the source said.
Additional reports cited by KAN said that US forces across the Middle East are replenishing weapons stockpiles, with some American troops ordered to leave the region.
Hezbollah Explosives Case Continues To Roil Lebanese Politics As Ministers Boycott Cabinet Meeting
At least four Lebanese ministers boycotted a cabinet meeting on Thursday (29th) in protest of the state’s delay in referring Hezbollah to the Judicial Council over the Iran-backed group’s attempts to traffic hundreds of kilograms of explosives to Beirut, according to statements by the officials and media reports.
Hezbollah acknowledged that the explosives were theirs, but said they were intended for use against Israel.
The shipment’s purpose remains under investigation amid concerns among Lebanese officials that the explosives could threaten domestic security and potentially be used in political assassinations.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Judge Claude Ghanem, the government commissioner to the Permanent Military Court, was expected to receive on Thursday (29th) the findings of investigations conducted by the Directorate of Intelligence of the Lebanese Army, as well as the Information Branch (intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal investigation unit of the Internal Security Forces), paving the way for charges against suspects whose involvement has been established.
Investigators identified seven suspects, including the two men found in the vehicle carrying the explosives who remain in custody.
The Lebanese Forces (LF) party ministers, led by its president, Samir Geagea, announced that they would not attend Thursday’s (29th) cabinet session, protesting what they described as delays in referring the case to the Judicial Council.
In a statement on X, Geagea criticized the government’s handling of the case, arguing that the ministers’ absence from the meeting did not mean they would stop challenging the government from within. He also criticized Hezbollah, describing it as an organization operating outside the law.
The cabinet had postponed a decision on the referral, pending further investigation, amid disagreements over the timing and handling of the case. Justice Minister Adel Nassar has continued to argue that it should be deferred to the Judicial Council, not the military courts, warning that it goes beyond the transportation and storage of explosives and poses a threat to national security and civil peace.
Nassar told Alsharq Al-Awsat that the transportation and storage of the explosives endangered Lebanese lives and that Hezbollah’s acknowledgment of ownership, alongside its stated intention to use that shipment on a “new support front,” was an admission that Hezbollah intended to continue placing Lebanese national security at risk.
Previous reports said that the postponement of the referral had resulted from discussions among parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, President Joseph Aoun, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
Very Little Is Likely To Change After Israeli Election – Bret Stephens
The first thing to say about Tuesday’s (27th) election in Israel is that the country had one. Competitive, lawful, on schedule. That’s more than can be said of the Palestinian Authority under the presidency of Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected to a four-year term in 2005 but has bypassed elections ever since. It’s more than can be said for Hamas, which won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, went to war against its domestic political opponents, and has ruled through fiat and fear ever since.
It’s difficult to take Israel’s inveterate critics seriously when they demand a “Free Palestine” without registering the slightest audible objection to the tyrannies in Ramallah and Gaza; or when, in the name of freedom and equality, they seek to abolish the Middle East’s only functioning liberal democracy.
For an election widely billed as the most important in the country’s history, very little is likely to change, at least as far as the outside world is concerned. Not one of the leading contenders wants a Palestinian state. Not one of them is going to remove Israelis from the West Bank or issue a blanket ban on settlement construction. Not one of them wants anything less than an assertive military posture toward Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
Of the many intellectually flabby critiques of Israeli policy since Oct. 7, the idea that Israel should have traded its physical security for the sake of some added dollops of liberal pity is among the flabbiest. Israel doesn’t exist to showcase Jewish victimization. It exists to end it.
At stake is whether a people who have borne the burden of Hamas’ terror and Iran’s missiles and a nonstop state of emergency and the unceasing chorus of global condemnation that is one part ignorance, two parts bigotry and three parts self-delusion should have a government worthy of their sacrifice, steadiness and courage. (New York Times)
Germany’s New Antisemitism Commissioner Warns Of Hatred At Levels Unseen ‘Since The Holocaust’ – By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner
Germany’s newly appointed federal antisemitism commissioner, Katharina Von Schnurbein, has warned that the country is facing an alarming resurgence of open, brazen, anti-Jewish hatred, vowing to confront the crisis as she begins her new mandate.
“We have reached a point that has probably never existed since the Holocaust,” Schnurbein told the Disseldorf-based newspaper Rheinische Post in an exclusive interview.
“Antisemitism has never gone away,” the new German official continued. “But those who make antisemitic statements today no longer fear any consequences.”
The 53-year-old political scientist officially took office as Germany’s Commissioner for Jewish Life and the Fight against Antisemitism on Wednesday (28th), succeeding Felix Klein, who stepped down to become the country’s ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (OECD) in Paris.
“Criminal offenses must, of course, be prosecuted consistently,” Schnurbein said.
“But it is essential that everyone recognize the fight against antisemitism as their responsibility. When antisemitic remarks are made in our communities, we must be willing to speak out against them, even when doing so is difficult.”
Schnurbein warned that antisemitism threatens not only Jewish life but also the very foundations of Germany’s democracy and core values, urging society to send a clear message that anti-Jewish hatred has no place in the country.
“The political extremes—from Islamists to left-wing and right-wing radicals—may have little in common, but they share a common ground in anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” the German official said.
“If the center fails to draw a firm line and say, ‘This far and no further,’ then ‘Never Again’ will have failed.”
Jewish leaders and political figures have welcomed Von Schnurbein’s appointment, with the Central Council of Jews in Germany expressing support for her role at a critical time for Jewish life in the country.
In one of his final interviews before leaving office, Klein, the former antisemitism commissioner, had called for tougher laws and a stronger criminal crackdown, arguing that those who publicly glorify the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas at demonstrations should face at least six months in prison.
The German official also urged authorities to deport foreign nationals without valid residence permits after they have served their sentences.
Klein further advocated for mandatory antisemitism training for teachers, stressing that educators must be equipped to identify and confront anti-Jewish hatred as Jewish students face mounting harassment and hostility in schools.
He argued that school curricula should portray Jewish life in a more positive and comprehensive way, ensuring students do not view Judaism primarily through the lens of antisemitism, the Middle East conflict, or the Holocaust, but develop a broader understanding of Jewish history, culture and life.
Among other measures, Klein also advocated expanding the powers of customs authorities to crack down on the financing of terrorist organizations while calling for continued support for successful local antisemitism-prevention initiatives.
Over the past three years, Germany has continued to grapple with persistently high levels of antisemitism, with last year’s figures reaching record levels amid growing concerns over the safety of Jews and Israelis across the country.
According to Germany’s Federation Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS), 8,725 antisemitic incidents were recorded nationwide in 2025, marking a slight increase from the previous year and setting a new record.
While last year’s total reflects only a modest rise of 98 incidents compared with 2024, this latest figure represents a roughly 28% surge from 2022, before the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when 2,480 incidents were documented.
With an average of roughly 24 incidents per day, the report documented 178 physical assaults, and 257 threats, as well as widespread harassment, property damage, and intimidation targeting Jewish individuals and institutions.
Officials have even warned that the real number of antisemitic crimes is likely much higher, as many incidents go unreported or are never formally classified.
In one of the latest incidents, a 60-year-old Jewish man was brutally attacked in a Berlin park on Saturday (24th) after revealing his Jewish identity, with the assailant punching him and kicking him to the ground.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the attack as a suspected aggravated assault with an antisemitic motive, but no suspects have been identified yet.
Shortly after the incident, the victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where he received treatment for facial injuries.
In a separate incident in September, a woman wearing a Star of David pendant was stabbed in central Berlin after being confronted by two unidentified men.
