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Far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich to speak to US-based Israel Bonds group on his first US trip as minister
(JTA) — The U.S.-based Israel Bonds organization is set to host Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right Israeli government minister, at an upcoming conference.
The decision stands in contrast to hundreds of rabbis who have said they will not welcome Smotrich, the finance minister and leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party, into their synagogues. They have encouraged other groups to follow suit.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency confirmed Wednesday that Smotrich, who has a history of bigoted statements, will be addressing the Washington, D.C. leadership meeting of the Development Corporation for Israel-State of Israel Bonds, which takes place from March 12-14. Smotrich was recently given authority over civilian life in Israel’s West Bank settlements. He has spent the past several days issuing conflicting statements about whether Huwara, a Palestinian village where settlers rioted and burned buildings following the murder of two Israelis, should be wiped out.
A source familiar with the gathering of Israel Bonds, which sells Israeli government bonds to investors abroad, confirmed Smotrich will be speaking. A spokeswoman for the group said it will not be commenting and that the leadership meeting will be closed to press. Israel Bonds CEO Dani Naveh, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, did not return messages sent via email, text message and LinkedIn.
Israel Bonds does have an interest in the particulars of Smotrich’s job. It works closely with the Finance Ministry to determine where to invest in the country’s economy. It has not been shy in the past about featuring its collaboration with previous finance ministers.
The entry of Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party into the government has triggered a crisis for some American Jewish organizations, who oppose Smotrich’s views on Palestinians and minority groups in Israel. Smotrich supports annexing West Bank settlements to Israel and has called himself a “proud homophobe”.
On Wednesday, he said that the West Bank village of Hawara should be “wiped out” by the government, but later backtracked and wrote on social media that he meant Israel should be “acting in a targeted way against terrorists and supporters of terror.”
More than 330 rabbis have said they will not welcome Smotrich and others in his party into their congregations, and that they will lobby others in the community to boycott them. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations held its colloquy in Israel last month and did not host any sessions with ministers from the Religious Zionism Party, though it did invite them to a lunch for all members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. Israel Bonds is a member of the conference.
There have been reports that the Biden administration will also not entertain meetings with members of the Religious Zionism Party.
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The post Far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich to speak to US-based Israel Bonds group on his first US trip as minister appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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120th anniversary of the Forverts advice column “Bintel Brief”
מזל־טובֿ! דעם 20סטן יאַנואַר 2026 איז געוואָרן 120 יאָר זינט דער גרינדונג פֿון „אַ בינטל בריוו“ — דער עצות־רובריק פֿונעם פֿאָרווערטס. די רובריק איז פֿאַרלייגט געוואָרן פֿונעם גרינדער און לאַנגיאָריקן שעף־רעדאַקטאָר אַב קאַהאַן אין 1906.
כּדי אָפּצומערקן דעם יום־טובֿ ברענגען מיר אײַך צוויי זאַכן:
• ערשטנס, אַן אַרטיקל וועגן אַ טשיקאַווען בריוו וואָס איז אָנגעקומען אין דער פֿאָרווערטס־רעדאַקציע אין יאַנואַר 1949, פֿון אַ לייענער וועמעס זון האָט חתונה געהאַט מיט אַ קריסטלעכער פֿרוי
• צווייטנס, אַ פֿאָרווערטס־ווידעאָ אויף ייִדיש וועגן דער געשיכטע פֿון „אַ בינטל בריוו“, מיטן געוועזענעם פֿאָרווערטס־רעדאַקטאָר באָריס סאַנדלער און דער פֿאָרווערטס־אַרכיוויסטקע חנה פּאָלאַק.
The post 120th anniversary of the Forverts advice column “Bintel Brief” appeared first on The Forward.
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Report: Khamenei Moved to Underground Bunker in Tehran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message, after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Amid tense expectation of US strike on key assets of the Islamic regime, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was moved into a special underground bunker in Tehran, the Iran International website reported on Saturday.
The report further added that the supreme leader’s third son Masoud Khamenei has taken over day-to-day management of the leader’s office, functioning as the de facto main channel for coordination vis-à-vis the executive branches of the government and the security forces.
The report describes Khamenei’s hideout as a “fortified site with interconnected tunnels.”
On Thursday US President Donald Trump said that a “massive” naval force was heading toward Iran.
“We have a lot of ships going that direction just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters.
“We have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see,” Trump added.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, along with three destroyers, was spotted making its way to the Middle East from Asia, according to ship-tracking data.
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Israel, Syria to Finalize US-Brokered Security Deal ‘Soon,’ as ‘Developments Accelerate Noticeably’
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
i24 News – Syrian and Israeli officials are expected to meet soon under US mediation, perhaps in Paris, to finalize a security agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem, a source close to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told i24NEWS on Saturday.
According to the Syrian source, the talks will also focus on various potential joint strategic and economic projects in the buffer zones between the two countries.
“There is very optimistic talk suggesting the possibility of even opening an Israeli embassy in Damascus before the end of this year, given the significant progress in the prospect of Syria joining the Abraham Accords,” the source said.
The original Syrian plan was limited to a security agreement and the opening of an Israeli liaison office in Damascus without diplomatic status, the source tells me. “But developments are accelerating noticeably under pressure from the United States, and specifically by President Trump, and amid growing Syrian openness.”
If Damascus manages to reach an integration agreement with the Druze in southern Syria, similar to its agreement with the Kurds in the northeast, and Israel commits to respecting Syria’s unity and territorial integrity, then al-Sharaa would be open to elevate the status of the agreement with Israel to more than just a security agreement, to also include diplomatic relations and an Israeli embassy in Damascus.
“The al-Sharaa government believes that a viable compromise to advance a peace process with Israel would include a 25-year lease for the Golan Heights, similar to the one Jordan previously signed with Israel over the border enclaves, turning it into a ‘Garden of Peace” of joint economic ventures,” the source said.
The source close to al-Sharaa also tells me that US President Trump is seeking to bring Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Al-Sharaa together for a peace agreement signing ceremony.
It should be noted that Israel has repeatedly rejected returning any part of the Golan Heights, let alone the entire territory.
On another front, the source stated that Damascus intends to adopt a new local administration system based on expanded administrative decentralization to enhance participation in local communities across all Syrian governorates.
According to the source, this solution would resolve persisting disputes with the Druze, Kurds, Alawites, and other minorities. A new Syrian government is expected to be formed within the next three months, the source added.