News Digest — 11/5/26
‘Immediately And Forcefully:’ IDF Chief Issues Stern Warning To Hezbollah
IDF Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir warned Hezbollah on Wednesday (4th) that the IDF would respond immediately and forcefully to any attempt by the terrorist organization to rebuild its capabilities or threaten communities in northern Israel.
“We will not allow Hezbollah to establish terrorist infrastructure in the area. Any attempt by the enemy to entrench itself, build up its capabilities, or threaten northern communities will be met immediately and forcefully,” Zamir declared during a visit to the Northern Command and the 91st Division.
The Chief of Staff was accompanied by Northern Command Commander MG Rafi Milo, Ground Forces Commander MG Nadav Lotan, 91st Division Commander BG Yuval Gaz, and additional senior commanders.
During the visit, Zamir conducted a situational assessment at the 91st Division, toured the Khiam area, observed a demonstration of the new “Combat Robotics Team” model, and met with brigade commanders operating in the division’s sector.
Addressing the security situation along the northern border, Zamir emphasized the IDF’s commitment to protecting Israeli communities.
The 91st Division serves as the forward defense line for northern residents. The division is advancing a forward defense posture in front of the communities,” he stated.
“The operational reality is constantly changing and evolving, but our commitment remains to establish robust border defenses and ensure the security of the residents of the north.”
Zamir also accused Hezbollah of serving Iranian interests at the expense of Lebanon and its citizens.
“Throughout the war, Hezbollah has proven once again that it is an Iranian proxy and not a ‘Lebanese’ patriot.’ Its actions have harmed the interests of the State of Lebanon and its citizens,” he said.
“The IDF remains alert to developments in near and distant areas and is prepared to strike any enemy that attempts to harm us, as we have done in the past.”
Referring to the military’s achievements against Hezbollah, the Chief of Staff said the Northern Command had significantly weakened the terrorist organization throughout three years of fighting.
“Throughout three years of fighting, the Northern Command has fought, struck Hezbollah, and degraded many of its capabilities. If required, we will know how to expand our achievements,” Zamir warned.
During the visit, troops from the 769th Brigade and the 869the Field Intelligence Battalion presented the “Combat Robotics Team” model for the first time.
Zamir praised the development, emphasizing the importance of deploying robotic and technological systems ahead of and alongside soldiers to improve operational effectiveness and protect troops.
“This model reinforces the principle that the IDF stands ahead of civilians and embodies the innovative concept that robotic and technological means operate ahead and alongside our troops. In doing so, you are increasing operational effectiveness and bolstering force protection,” he explained.
The Chief of Staff described the new capabilities as significant advancement and praised the cooperation between the Northern Command and the Ground Forces.
“I have immense appreciation for this effort. This is a significant leap forward, and I am impressed by the close integration between the Northern Command and the Ground Forces,” he said.
Zamir instructed commanders to accelerate the integration of robotic capabilities into combat units to achieve operational superiority and an advantage on the battlefield.
Concluding his remarks, the Chief of Staff expressed appreciation for the soldiers and commanders of the 91st Division.
“Deep appreciation goes to the 91st Division and the troops operating in the area. The achievements you have led are a source of immense pride and will be etched in the legacy of the IDF for generations to Come.”
Palestinian Teacher Praises Terrorists Of Oct. 7 Attack
Israel police opened an investigation into a Palestinian schoolteacher in his 30s on suspicion of incitement and expressing support for a terrorist organization following a series of social media posts glorifying terrorism, police confirmed on Wednesday (4th).
According to police, security agencies have been monitoring social media platforms to identify individuals suspected of inciting violence, supporting terrorism, or glorifying terrorists. The efforts involve cooperation among multiple security agencies, from gathering intelligence on suspects to carrying out arrests and other operations.
After identifying the posts, IDF troops raided the suspect’s home in the West Bank village of Tell, arrested him and transferred him for questioning.
Investigators found that the suspect had spent months publishing social media posts inciting terrorism, praising terrorist organizations, and expressing support for security prisoners, police said.
He also had an illustration depicting a Hamas terrorist on a paraglider, per Oct 7.
In another post, he referred to the terrorists as “my brothers, my loved ones and my cousins, the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on the soil of the homeland, charging forward and not retreating.”
Investigators also uncovered posts glorifying the October 7 massacre.
The investigation comes amid broader efforts by Israeli security forces to identify and arrest individuals suspected of inciting violence online.
Police said they would continue taking action against incitement and support for terrorism, both in public spaces and online, particularly posts expressing support for attacks against security forces.
AIPAC Backs New US-Israel Security Talks, Reaffirms Aid Support
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Tuesday (3rd) reaffirmed its support for the existing US-Israel military aid agreement and backed negotiations on a new security pact, after US President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired earlier in the day that assistance would end by year’s end.
The Jewish Institute for National Security of America questioned whether an agreement to end assistance this year had been reached, while the Zionist Organization of America expressed concern about an early cutoff.
The existing memorandum of understanding provides $38 billion in military assistance over 10 years, through fiscal year 2028.
AIPAC said a new agreement would further strengthen the partnership, adding that cooperation between the allies helps keep both countries secure, promotes regional stability and benefits their economies.
“President Trump’s statement today about foreign aid to Israel seemed to have caught everyone by surprise,” JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky wrote on X. “We’re not aware of any agreement to end the aid this year.”
Makovsky said both countries have been working on a new memorandum to replace or follow the existing agreement. He urged “one final MOU of equal dollar value to the existing one,” warning that an abrupt end to assistance “serves neither country’s economy nor security interests.”
JINSA ultimately favors replacing the aid framework with a strategic partnership centered on military, technological and intelligence cooperation, he added.
The Zionist Organization of America said it was “concerned” about Trump’s announcement. Its national president Morton Klein, noted that ending assistance this year would be almost two years earlier than the current agreement provides.
“The ZOA is questioning why the US isn’t also ending the more than $4 billion in annual US aid to the Arab Muslim countries of Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, and Lebanon, and the Palestinian Authority entity, especially when those countries vote with the US less than 10% of the time at the United Nations,” the ZOA said. “By contrast, Israel is a reliable ally that votes with the US at the United Nations over 90% of the time—more than any other nation.
Speaking on Fox News on Tuesday (3rd), Trump said he and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu had agreed months earlier to end the payments.
“By the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel,” he added. “We’ll help Israel if they need it.”
BG (res.) Amir Avivi, an Israeli security expert and founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, told JNS on Wednesday (4th) that Netanyahu had been pushing for an end to aid to reduce Israel’s dependence on foreign weapons supplies.
“Israel needs to be able to defend itself by itself,” Avivi said, calling for production of military capabilities and munitions to move to Israel and for strengthening the country’s defense industries.
“We also have to remember that in the past, three or four billion dollars was a big amount of money,” Avivi said. “Today with Israel’s economy, it’s a very small part of our overall budget.”
He argued that the assistance did not justify dependence or a lack of full sovereignty and control over Israel’s future.
Avivi noted that weapons had been withheld by the United States twice at defining moments during military operations, leading Israel to conclude that it could not remain dependent. He also cited growing opposition to assistance within the United States.
However, he said the timetable remained uncertain.
“As far as I know, it’s supposed to be a gradual process,” Avivi said. He said it remained unclear whether assistance would end gradually or “stop at once.”
Netanyahu previously advocated a longer transition. “I want to taper off the military aid within the next ten years,” he told The Economist in January.
Under the current agreement, reached during the Obama administration, Israel receives $3.8 billion annually, including $500 million for missile defense cooperation. The remainder is typically used to purchase American military equipment, including F-35 fighter jets.
Israel also received billions of dollars in supplemental appropriations after the 2021 Gaza war and in 2024 following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Trump said on Tuesday (3rd) Israel would remain able to purchase American weapons. “They can buy whatever they want,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment to JNS, and Netanyahu has not publicly addressed Trump’s statement.
How Trump will implement a cutoff remains unclear. The House included billions of dollars in assistance to Israel in its fiscal 2027 State Department appropriations bill and National Defense Authorization Act, neither of which had passed the Senate.
(jns.org)
“Incredible Jewish Support Ahead Of Anti-Israel Bicycle Ride, Philly Jewish Eatery Owners Say, ‘We Won’t Cower’
Yehuda Sichel, who owns the restaurant at Huda in Philadelphia, has been getting “incredible” support from the Jewish community after anti-Israel groups said that they would hold a boycott bicycle ride past his restaurant on Sunday (8th), on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, he told JNS.
Those who support Huda and all the other targeted Jewish-owned restaurants are organizing a community food crawl, to which residents are invited to gather at Huda, which is located near Rittenhouse Square in Center City, at 11:a.m. on Nov.8.
The square, which William Penn planned in the late 17th century is where the “boycott ride” is slated to occur at the same time.
“Instead of a boycott, let’s show up for our local Jewish-owned businesses,” an ad promoting the crawl states. It also lists shops at K’Far Cafe, and Mac Mart, along with Dizengoff, Goldie and Schlesinger’s.
“The outpouring support from the Jewish community has been incredible, and we’re truly grateful,” Sichel said. “People have been showing up to support businesses, and we look forward to welcoming everyone on Sunday (8th). We won’t cower,” he said. “We’ll show up strong with pride and solidarity and keep the focus on peaceful support.”
It’s deeply personal” for Sichel, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, to see Jewish businesses targeted on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, he said.
I’m proud to be Jewish and supportive of Israel,” he said. “Neither should make my business a target.”
The Anti-Defamation League is urging Philadelphians to dine at Jewish owned eateries this week. “This is no coincidence,” the ADL said of the boycott timing. “It is a deliberate message of hate and intimidation.”
“The protest is an attempt to intimidate a Jewish community that has faced generations of violence, exclusion and antisemitism,” the ADL said. “We refuse to let hate win.”
Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass” or the November Pogroms) was a massive, state-sponsored wave of violent anti-Jewish attacks against Jewish businesses, synagogues, and other infrastructure across Nazi Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland on November 9-10, 1938.
(jns.org)
Tens Of Thousands March In Peru In Support Of Israel, Against Antisemitism
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Peru on Monday (2nd) for a demonstration against antiSemitism and in support of Israel.
The event, held in Lima, was organized by the Germany-based March of Life movement, in partnership with the Worldwide Missionary Movement, to bring together Christians and the South American country’s local Jewish community to support Israel, fight antiSemitism, and remember the Holocaust.
According to various reports, 40,000-60,000 supporters showed up.
Israeli Ambassador to Peru Gali Dagan attended and delivered remarks to the tens of thousands of people who were there.
“Since the massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas terrorists brutally murdered 1,200 Israeli men, women, elderly, and children, and kidnapped 251 people to Gaza, we have witnessed an alarming escalation of manifestations of antisemitism in different parts of the world,” the diplomat said, before citing examples of resilience in the face of such adversity.
Dagan noted Peruvian diplomats Jose Gambetta and Jose Barreto, who during the Holocaust saved the lives of Jews in Europe by providing them with passports to Peru.
“The memory of the Holocaust demands consistency from us. We cannot remain indifferent when intolerance and antisemitism manifest themselves again,” he continued.
“Every message counts. The best response to hate speech is a firm, courageous, and supportive voice,” he added.
Dagan also expressed his “sincere gratitude” to the government of Peru for just last month adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of antisemitism.
The IHRA definition, which has been widely adopted around the world, includes Holocaust denial and modern forms of antisemitism targeting Israel, such as demonizing the Jewish state and denying its right to exist,
Monday’s (2nd) show of support for Israel comes amid a surge in diplomatic momentum for the Jewish state across Latin America.
Across the region, several governments moved to downgrade or sever diplomatic ties with Israel following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, as part of broader efforts to pressure and isolate the Jewish state over its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Now a broader geopolitical shift is unfolding across Latin America, as a growing number of conservative governments seek closer ties with Israel, allowing the Jewish state to build on this emerging trend by expanding cooperation, strengthening alliances, and deepening bilateral relations throughout the region.
The growing momentum in Israel’s relations with Latin America builds on the expanding reach of the Isaac Accords, a framework signed earlier this year by Argentine President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deepen ties with governments across the region while strengthening cooperation against antisemitism and terrorism.
Modeled after the Abraham Accords—a series of historic, US-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries—the new initiative aims to deepen political, economic, and cultural ties between the Jewish state and Latin American governments, with expanded cooperation in technology, security, innovation, trade, and economic development as countries across the region work together to address shared security challenges.
The Isaac Accords also seek to institutionalize expanding cooperation with Latin American partners through enhanced intelligence sharing, security coordination, and joint law enforcement efforts targeting Iranian proxy networks and transnational criminal organizations operating across the hemisphere.
