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But the War Isn’t Over
Relatives and friends of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, react as they watch broadcasts related to his release as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, in Lavon, Israel, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Rami Shlush
A heartfelt Shehechaynu for the returned hostages; for their unconquerable families; for the 915 valiant soldiers of the IDF who died, and the thousands injured; for the strong and capable leaders of Israel and the United States, supported by amazing and capable diplomats. President Donald Trump in the Knesset proved he doesn’t need a Nobel Prize (who wants to be in the company of Yasser Arafat anyhow?). He knows and we know what they did.
But the war is not over. Hamas violated the agreement in the first moment by retaining deceased hostages and putting a Palestinian body in a coffin given to Israel.
Bravo to the Abraham Accords countries, who held fast; to the stalwart supporters of Israel in the US and in countries where it is uncomfortable and even dangerous to wear a Magen David; to military professionals who gave professional military information to those of us who needed to understand the war on the ground and clearly understand that Israel had NOT committed “genocide.”
But the war isn’t over. Despite a clearly defined and publicized line for the IDF to maintain, Gazans have been sent to violate the line. Some have been killed.
Israel remains the regional strong horse despite the grinding of Gaza. Israel’s not-quite-complete destruction of Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran in Syria and Lebanon, and — with American coordination and participation — destruction of enormous swaths of Iranian nuclear and conventional capabilities has been a regional game-changer. Israeli diplomats are talking to Syrian government officials, and Indonesia was a pleasant surprise.
But the war isn’t over. As Palestinian analyst Ahmed Fouad AlKatib of The Atlantic Council posted:
Hamas channels are making it clear and repeating their slogan: “We are the flood; we are the day after.” Their terrorists emerged from the tunnels, and when they’re not executing or shooting Gazans, they walk around markets, steal aid & impose taxes like a gang. This is not the behavior of a group that’s demobilizing or deradicalizing. They are reinventing themselves as policemen and want to have a central role in the future of Gaza.
After two horrifying, terrifying, heartbreaking years, and betrayal, a resilient Israel moves to the next step. Life. Baruch HaShem. But this is why we break a glass at a wedding.
Life means dealing with the world as it is. Hamas is not defeated, Gaza needs a lifeline, and Israel needs recovery. And the President’s plan has 20 points, of which only three — the most important three — have been achieved. There will be pressure for the other seventeen.
The most important “next step” is not “rebuilding” or “investing,” per the Cairo agreement, but to recall Hamas ran Gaza because it overthrew the Palestinian Authority (PA) — the West’s puppet — in a bloody civil war in 2007. The PA “governs” Judea and Samaria only because Israel continually routs Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from its nests in Jenin and Nablus. Can the PA be wiggled back into Gaza? Don’t pretend Hamas is defeated. This, in an ugly nutshell, is the problem of doing “politics” with Palestinian “partners.”
Pay serious attention to Gaza voices. Karim Jouda has been posting from Gaza all along:
For the first time in 20 years, it can be clearly said that there are armed forces in Gaza capable of confronting Hamas’s power from within. No one knows where Gaza is heading, but if Hamas does not make internal Palestinian concessions, the Strip will not calm down.
AlKhatib again:
Hamas’s new terror unit, “Rade3′” or “the deterrer,” joins its “Saham” or “arrow” unit in hunting down Gazans suspected of being opponents of its rule, kidnapping, torturing, executing, and disappearing dozens of people using vans, trucks, and SUVs. Hamas has declared all-out war on all clans, any opposition, and other families or people who are suspected of “harboring” anti-Hamas activists. This has created an unprecedented campaign of terror and fear that’s got everyone worried about being executed for miscellaneous disputes because all it takes is being labeled an “Israeli collaborator” or “traitor” to be killed.
Where is the hope? Where is the life? For Palestinians, it is in the acceptance of defeat and from learning its lessons. Dr. Az al-Din Shihab reacted to Hamas’s declaration of victory:
We were the victims of the destruction that Hamas began from within our own homes — and then the Israeli army unleashed its full force upon us, while Hamas operatives vanished into their tunnels.
May history record the truth: we were defeated — utterly, painfully, and finally. And we, the people of Gaza, are the ones who have the right to say whether we were defeated or not — not those who sit comfortably in Qatar or Turkey…
And somewhere amid all this, I understood something simple yet terrible: My mother’s tears are holier than my homeland itself, and my father’s grief means more to me than any flag.
Sometimes you hit bottom before you rise; Jews have hit bottom many times in our history, but we rise. Whatever progress comes in the President’s plan — there are a lot of good things in it for everyone; a hallmark of Trumpian diplomacy — there are real people in Gaza, some good, some evil, some defeated, some not. And to ignore them is a huge mistake — the future of Israel is intimately tied to what happens there.
The day the living hostages returned was a day to celebrate.
As former hostage Eli Sharabi said, “Now, Life.”
But tomorrow is here.
Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly.
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VIDEO: A creative way to make Yiddish come alive in the classroom
לעסלי טערנער, אַ גראַדויִר־סטודענטקע אין פּראָפֿ׳ אַנאַ שטערנשיסעס קלאַס בײַם טאָראָנטאָ־אוניווערסיטעט, האַלט בײַם פֿאַרענדיקן אַ מאַגיסטער אין ייִדיש־לימודים. זי האַלט, אַז זי — און אַנדערע ייִדיש־סטודענטן — קענען העלפֿן אױפֿהאַלטן די ייִדישע שפּראַך דורכן שאַפֿן נײַע ווערק אין ייִדיש.
מיט פֿינף יאָר צוריק האָט זי אָנגעהױבן שרײַבן און אינסצענירן ליאַלקע־שפּילן אױף ייִדיש. דאָס איז געװען דער אָנהײב פֿון אַ סעריע אויפֿפֿירונגען, ניצנדיק צוויי ליאַלקעס: אַ הײַפֿיש וואָס הייסט הײַפֿישעלע, און אַ פּיפּערנאָטער. יעדן זומער פֿירט זי אויף אַ ליאַלקע־שפּיל אויף דער „ייִדיש־וואָך“, אין איינעם מיטן שיקאַגער ייִדישיסט אַבֿי פֿריד.
לעצטנס האָט טערנער און אַ צווייטער סטודענט, גריים מײַערס, אויפֿגעפֿירט אַ נײַ־געשאַפֿענע ליאַלקע־שפּיל אין שטערנשיסעס קלאַס, פֿילמירט דורך צוויי אַנדערע סטודענטקעס מרים באָרדען און אליזה אַוטען. די פֿאָרשטעלונג, „הײַפֿישעלע און פּיפּערנאָטער קומען קײן ניו יאָרק“, האָט אַזאַ סיפּור־המעשׂה:
הײַפֿישעלע און פּיפּערנאָטער פֿאַרלאָזן זײער שטעטעלע און פֿאָרן קײן ניו־יאָרק, כּדי פּיפּערנאָטער זאָל קענען ממשיך זײַן זײַן קאַריערע ווי אַן אַקטיאָר. דאָס יאָר איז 1916 און די באַרימטע אַקטריסע בעסי טאָמאַשעפֿסקי פֿירט אָן מיט איר אײגענער טעאַטער־טרופּע. זי האָט נאָר װאָס געהאַט אַרױסגעגעבן איר לעבנס געשיכטע.
בעסי מוז אָבער קאָנקורירן מיט איר אומגעטרײַען מאַן, דעם באַרימטן אַקטיאָר באָריס טאָמאַשעפֿסקי, וואָס האָט אויך אַ טעאַטער־טרופּע. באַשליסט זי צו געבן פּיפּערנאָטער אַ ראָלע אין אַ ייִדישער איבערזעצונג פֿון שייקספּירס פּיעסע „האַמלעט“, וווּ זי אַליין שפּילט די הויפּטראָלע.
דאָס וואָס טערנער שרײַבט און פֿירט אויף ליאַלקע־שפּילן ווי אַ טייל פֿונעם ייִדיש־קלאַס קאָן טאַקע דינען ווי אַ מוסטער פֿאַר לערער און סטודענטן פֿון ייִדיש־קורסן איבער דער וועלט. ערשטנס, העלפֿט עס פֿאַרבעסערן די שפּראַך־פֿעיִקייטן פֿונעם מחבר, די ליאַלקע־שפּילער און די צוקוקערס. צווייטנס, קען עס אַרײַנברענגען אַ היימישע, חבֿרישע שטימונג אינעם ייִדיש־קלאַס.
— שׂרה־רחל שעכטער
The post VIDEO: A creative way to make Yiddish come alive in the classroom appeared first on The Forward.
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Israel Competes in World Cheerleading Championships for First Time Ever
Israeli national flags flutter near office towers at a business park also housing high tech companies, at Ofer Park in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 27, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Israel is competing for the first time ever in the 2026 ICU World Cheerleading Championships.
The competition begins on Wednesday, which is also Israel’s Independence Day.
The ISCU, the official cheerleading organization in Israel that is supported by EL AL Airlines, made the announcement and posted footage on Instagram of the athletes and their final rehearsal before flying to the US for the competition, which will take place until Friday in Orlando, Florida. Ludmila Yasinskaya-Demari is the president of the Israel Cheer Union.
“Today, on Israel’s Independence Day, the Israeli cheerleading team has the honor of competing on the world stage,” the ISCU wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s a very moving and meaningful moment for us to represent Israel on such an important day — with pride, strength, and love for our country. Thank you to EL AL for supporting us in this way. There’s something symbolic and special about flying and competing with Israel’s national airline. From Israel to the world — the Israeli team is ready.”
The championship is being held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World, and is organized by the International Cheer Union, the official world governing body for cheerleading. Israel is a member of the European Cheer Union and the International Cheer Union. It will compete in the POM category and in two doubles pairs competitions.
Team USA is after its ninth, consecutive co-ed premier world title at the World Cheerleading Championships. The US has won gold since 2021 and also won the competition from 2016 through 2019. The competition was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2015, the US came in second place behind Team Chinese Taipei. The US is also the defending champion in the All Girl Premier category.
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Rachel Goldberg-Polin Talks in ’60 Minutes’ Interview, New Memoir About Grief After Son Murdered by Hamas
Rachel Goldberg, mother of killed US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin whose body was recovered with five other hostages in Gaza, speaks during his funeral in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. Photo: GIL COHEN-MAGEN/Pool via REUTERS
In a new memoir and “60 Minutes” interview this week, American-Israeli Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a mother of three, opened up about grief and the process of moving forward in life after her only son, Hersh, was murdered while in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.
“To know that your child is being tortured, tormented, starved, abused. He’s maimed. And that’s an excruciating form of suffering,” she told “60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper in a segment that aired on Monday, which was also Israel’s Memorial Day (Yom HaZikaron). “And then what’s so fascinating to me is that when they came to tell us that Hersh had been executed, then I realized that those 330 days had been the good part, because he was alive. And now I’m in this place and this is the rest of my life. How do I walk through this place without a piece of me here?”
“I’m trying to re-understand what it means to be in this world,” she added. “There are millions of us right now who have buried children. There’s nothing unique about me. But it creates light for me to try to give words to the pain.”
Hersh was one of 251 people kidnapped by Hamas-led terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. The 23-year-old was attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel, near the Gaza border, with a friend when he was abducted. Terrorists murdered 1,200 people during the onslaught, including 378 festivalgoers, and wounded thousands more. Hersh hid inside a bomb shelter with others and had his left arm blown off by a grenade before he was taken hostage.
Goldberg-Polin and her husband campaigned tirelessly and met with world leaders around the globe to try to secure the release of the hostages, but on the 328th day of his captivity, Hersh was executed by Hamas terrorists. Israeli soldiers found his body in a tunnel in Rafah on Aug. 31, 2024. Hersh, who was shot six times at close range, and five other hostages had been executed.
Goldberg-Polin further details her grief and talks about the kind of person Hersh was, even as a child, in her memoir “When We See You Again,” released on Tuesday. The book is a “searing portrait of a mother’s grief and strength in the wake of unthinkable tragedy,” according to a description of the memoir published by Penguin Random House.
“There are days when I break completely,” Goldberg-Polin writes in her book. “I have cried for an entire day straight. I didn’t think it was physically possible, but the weeping never let up. That is a very long time to cry. I kept hoping I would run out of tears. And then there are days when there is a whisper of sun. Not out there in the sky. In me. In us.”
She also describes grief, saying: “People want hope, resilience, recovery, strength, survival, healing. They want thriving and rising from the ashes, like the phoenix from the days of yore. But the pain is chronic, ever present, constant, gnawing, circular, not linear.”
Goldberg-Polin told Cooper on “60 Minutes” that she now thinks “grief is actually just this precious badge of love that you wear because someone has died and your love is continuing to grow.”
Former Hamas hostage Or Levy was released in February 2025 along with two others and talked to “60 Minutes” about spending three days with Hersh in a tunnel. He told Cooper that during their time together, Hersh kept repeating the mantra, “He who has a why can bear any how.” The line is from “Man’s Search for Meaning,” a 1946 concentration camp memoir by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, who adapted a similar saying by Fredrich Nietzsche.
“It became our mantra … The only reason why I survived was him,” Levy told Cooper on “60 Minutes.” Soon after his release, Levy got the mantra tattooed on his arm.