Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during ‘Christian Conference’ in Jerusalem, July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

On the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified Israel’s recent military strikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar and compared the al Qaeda suicide attacks on US soil to the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel’s strike on Tuesday, which targeted Hamas leaders based in Qatar, was widely criticized by governments around the world, including France, Britain, Turkey, and the US. American President Donald Trump said the strike in Qatar “does not advance Israel or America’s goals” while Qatar’s prime minister accused Israel of derailing Gaza ceasefire efforts, in which Doha has been a mediator. Netanyahu said the strike was a direct response to the deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Monday, for which Hamas claimed responsibility.

In a video shared on Wednesday, the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, Netanyahu said Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught — in which Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages across southern Israel — was his country’s version of the Sept. 11 attack that killed nearly 3,000 people and led to the US invasion of Afghanistan.

“We remember Sept. 11. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery on American soil since the founding of the United States,” Netanyahu explained. “We also have a Sept. 11. We remember Oct. 7. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

Justifying the Qatar strike, the prime minister said the US promised to punish the terrorists responsible for 9/11 and Israel vows to do the same for those who carried out the Oct. 7 attack.

“What did America do in the wake of Sept. 11? It promised to hunt down the terrorists who committed this heinous crime, wherever they may be … Yesterday, we acted along those lines,” he said. “We went after the terrorist masterminds who committed the Oct. 7 massacre. And we did so in Qatar which gives safe haven, it harbors terrorists, it finances Hamas, it gives its terrorist chieftains sumptuous villas, it gives them everything.”

Netanyahu said Israel “did exactly what America did when it went after the al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and after they went and killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.” He argued countries worldwide that condemn Israel for the attack in Qatar “should be ashamed of themselves” and “should applaud Israel for standing up to the same principles and carrying them out.”

“I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will,” Netanyahu declared in conclusion.

Other Israeli officials who shared messages in tribute to the anniversary of the 9/11 attack include Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar. “Remember 9/11. Remember the victims. We stand together in our shared fight for freedom and against terror,” he wrote in a post on X.

In another post on X, former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman noted that Israel’s 9/11 Living Memorial in Jerusalem is the only 9/11 memorial outside the US that features the names of all the victims. “Combining 9/11 with the death of Charlie Kirk makes today especially somber,” he wrote, referring to the Wednesday’s assassination of the conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder.

A post on the official X accounts for the State of Israel and the Israel Foreign Ministry said that the 9/11 Living Memorial in Jerusalem “represents the unbreakable bond between our nations.”

“The United States and Israel stand together in grief and resilience, and in the determination to fight terror and defeat it” the post also stated. “The memory of those who died on that fateful day, will forever live in our hearts.”

US House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to members of the media at the Capitol building, April 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the annual defense policy bill, authorizing nearly $900 billion in military spending including a slate of provisions aimed at bolstering Israel’s security.

Passing by a vote of 231 to 196, largely along party lines, the bill underscores Washington’s continued military and political support for the Jewish state as it wages war against Iran’s network of terrorist proxies in the Middle East, primarily targeting Hamas in Gaza.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025 includes more than $650 million in direct US-Israel defense cooperation programs and several new policy directives. The measures were praised by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has been lobbying for expanded security commitments.

The package includes $500 million for missile defense cooperation, including funding for the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow systems, along with bilateral research, development, testing, and evaluation. Another $35 million is directed toward joint emerging technologies, ranging from artificial intelligence and quantum to directed energy and cybersecurity. The bill also earmarks $50 million for anti-tunneling programs and $70 million for counter-drone efforts.

Beyond funding, lawmakers moved to extend the War Reserve Stockpile Authority for Israel until 2029, ensuring Israel continued access to US military equipment pre-positioned in the region. The NDAA also requires the Pentagon to provide briefings to Congress on the status of aircraft and air-launched munitions approved for delivery to Israel.

Several provisions target international institutions seen as hostile to US and allied forces such as Israel. The bill directs the Pentagon and State Department to work with NATO and major non-NATO allies to block enforcement of International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants against American or allied military personnel. It also prohibits US Defense Department participation in international defense exhibitions that exclude Israeli firms, an increasingly common occurrence in Europe.

In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and now-deceased Hamas terror leader Ibrahim al-Masri (better known as Mohammed Deif) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for starvation in Gaza and the persecution of Palestinians — charges vehemently denied by Israel, which has provided significant humanitarian aid into the war-torn enclave throughout the war.

Lawmakers also mandated new assessments on regional security threats. The NDAA requires studies on preventing Hamas and other groups from using tunnels or maritime routes to smuggle weapons, along with reports on the status of integrated air and missile defense across US Central Command’s area of responsibility. 

To deepen industrial cooperation, the bill establishes a US-Israel defense innovation field office in Israel and starts a new Defense Industrial Base Working Group to explore opportunities for greater integration between the two countries’ defense sectors. The Pentagon is also directed to continually assess the impact of foreign arms embargoes and sanctions on Israel’s military readiness.

The Senate still needs to finalize its version of the defense bill and reach a consensus with the House, before the legislation can head to US President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

Lahav Shani, future chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, stands on stage after receiving the Golden Medal of Honor from the City of Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa via Reuters Connect

A group of musicians launched a petition on Wednesday night urging an upcoming international music festival in Ghent, Belgium, to reconsider canceling a concert by the Munich Philharmonic, which was called off because its future chief conductor, Lahav Shani, is Israeli and also the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Munich Philharmonic was scheduled to perform on Sept. 18 at the Flanders Festival Ghen with Shani as conductor. Shani will take over as conductor of the Munich Philharmonic for the 2026/27 season. Organizers of the festival, taking place in the Flemish region of Belgium, said on Wednesday they made the decision to cancel the concert “on the basis of our deepest conviction that music should be a source of connection and reconciliation.”

They said in a released statement that the Tel Aviv-born director “has spoken out in favor of peace and reconciliation several times in the past, but in the light of his role as the chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, we are unable to provide sufficient clarity about his attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv.”

“In line with the call from the Minister of Culture, the city council of Ghent and the cultural sector in Ghent, we have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime,” organizers added. “Given the inhumanity of the current situation, which is also leading to emotional reactions in our own society, we believe it is undesirable to allow this concert to go ahead. We have chosen to maintain the serenity of our festival and safeguard the concert experience for our visitors and musicians.”

Tickets purchased for the concert will be fully reimbursed and ticketholders are “currently being contacted personally,” organizers said. They additionally claimed that the festival “aspires to be a place where artists, audiences, and staff can experience music in a context of respect and safety” and “remains committed to the universal power of music.”

On Wednesday night, a group of musicians, led by the Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, started a petition that urges the Ghent Festival of Flanders to immediately reverse its “morally bankrupt decision” to cancel the concert with Shani and to uphold “the values of dialogue and openness.” More than 3,000 people have signed the petition, whose co-authors include British pianist Danny Driver, American conductor and violinist Joshua Weilerstein, and Belarusian musician Kyril Zlotnikov.

“The Ghent Festival has chosen to punish an artist on the basis of his nationality alone,” the musicians wrote in their petition. “What is more insidious is the implication that any artist, Israeli or otherwise, will only be accepted if they express unequivocally the ‘correct’ opinions.”

“This decision will do nothing to save a single Palestinian life, bring a hostage home, or to make any improvement to the unbearable civilian suffering currently taking place in this conflict,” they added, referring to the war in Gaza. “It will, however, resonate loudly with those who equate an artist’s nationality with an excuse to exclude them from the cultural sphere.”

In a joint statement, the Munich Philharmonic and city of Munich said they were “appalled” by the cancellation of the concert. They accused Flanders Festival Ghen organizers of caving to “pressure from activist groups and Belgian politics,” and defended Shani.

“Lahav Shani is stepping up for understanding, humanism and dialogue in all his work as a musician and a human being,” they said. “We strongly refuse to bring Israeli artists under general suspicion and collectively punish them. Banning people from the stage, concert hall, or other public places because of their origin or religious affiliation is an attack on essential European and democratic values.”

Munich Philharmonic Director Florian Wiegand said he was “stunned” that the festival “is making such an unimaginable decision,” while Marek Wiechers, head of cultural affairs in the city of Munich, described Shani as someone who “stands for humanity, reconciliation, and understanding like no other, with his integrative work and attitude.”

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter called the decision “utterly incomprehensible” and declared: “The City of Munich, and I personally, stand firmly with the Munich Philharmonic and with their future chief conductor, Lahav Shani.”

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said it “firmly condemns the decision” and expressed “profound regret” over the move.

“In the world of music and art, there is simply no place for withdrawing an invitation based on one’s place of origin,” the orchestra said. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Munich Philharmonic for their steadfast support of Lahav Shani, and we send Lahav a warm embrace of solidarity and encouragement.”

Israel’s Ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenzweig-Abu described the decision as “antisemitic,” and accused festival organizers of “racism” and “discriminating a person based solely on his origin.” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot told the local radio station RTBF he thinks the cancellation is “excessive.”

“We must not confuse the Jewish community and Israelis with Netanyahu’s policies,” he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer criticized the move as a “disgrace for Europe” and said in a statement that “under the guise of supposed criticism of Israel, a cultural boycott is being carried out here.”

The Flanders Festival Ghen runs from Sept. 12- Oct. 2. The event attracts more than 50,000 visitors and showcases classical music, as well as world music and jazz, according to its website. The festival hosts at least 180 concerts and more than 1,500 international artists. Flanders Festival Ghent is a member of the Federation of Flanders Music Festivals (FMiV) and the European Festivals Association (EFA).