Opinion

Last week’s observance of Israeli independence was customarily observed by Modern Orthodox yeshivahs with the expected simulations of a shuk, where tables displayed falafel, shawarma, and Bissli, with flavors of Prigat to wash down these fast-food dishes. Israeli pop music played to set the mood.

85% percent of Democrats back blocking Israel arms,
underscoring party’s surrender to fringe

Last week, the Department of Justice dropped a political bombshell: A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on 11 criminal counts. These include six counts of wire fraud, four counts of false statements to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. According to the indictment, between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals associated with some of the most notorious violent extremist groups in America, including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and the National Socialist Party of America. The very organization that built a nine-figure empire by positioning itself as the nation’s premier watchdog against “hate” is now accused of paying the haters themselves.

Zohran Mamdani assumed office as mayor of New York City amid high expectations from his democratic socialist base and rock-bottom expectations from everyone else. Behind his smarmy smile and his social-media presence is an empty suit whose socialist goals are getting a bucket of cold water dumped on them, alongside a series of appointments and decisions that have left residents either scratching their heads or running for their lives.

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino is no stranger to having partisan attacks lobbied at her. Her public political persona began with a viral video of her as a citizen confronting then Mayor Bill DeBlasio on the street. She then turned a defunct corner of Queens into the Republican hotspot in New York City, winning a council seat (and the admiration of New York Republicans statewide) for her efforts. The Democrats view her as public enemy #1, so they are using their governmental power to file ethics complaints in an attempt to bring her down.

The current war involving Israel and the United States against Iran is the latest in a series of battles involving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies. Each time Israel went to war, the desired outcome was to “finish the job” and provide the home front with extended periods of peace. Is this an achievable outcome, and what exactly does it mean?