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Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis: Multi-Front Terror Assault Impacting Israeli Food Security, Expert Warns
Smoke rises as seen from the Israel-Lebanon border in northern Israel, Nov. 12, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza to the south, together with the ongoing clashes with Hezbollah to the north and Houthi rebels attacking Red Sea shipping from Yemen, has created an impending food security crisis for the Jewish state, according to an expert who spoke to The Algemeiner.
“Israel is heavily reliant on imports for highly consumed food such as beef and fish … More than 70 percent of our food is imported by sea, as well as 85 percent of beef,” said Alla Voldman-Rantzer, vice president of strategy at the Good Food Institute (GFI) in Israel, which is part of an international nonprofit aimed towards building a sustainable, healthy, and just food system.
The institute, explained Voldman-Rantzer, works to “bring forward technology that assists with alternative forms of beef, chicken, fish, and eggs.” Its work has played a role in the growing alternative meat sector, of which Israel is a major global player, birthing companies such as Aleph Farms and Redefine Meat. GFI provides scientific resources for researchers, investors, and startups, all with the common goal of “making Israel a leader” in the food production space and improving the country’s overall food security — defined as a country’s ability to provide adequate access of nutritious and sufficient food to its population.
However, the war in Gaza sparked by the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel has presented a direct threat to that vision.
“The ongoing war has created a serious crisis,” she said, noting that Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control much of Yemen including the capital, have since October attacked several ships in the Red Sea they say have Israeli links or are sailing to Israel, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The rebel movement — whose slogan is “death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory to Islam” — has also claimed responsibility for attempted drone and missile strikes targeting Israel itself.
As a result of the Red Sea attacks, a number of major shipping lines have announced they would forgo the vital trade route and instead opt for a longer, pricier journey around Africa.
The result, said Voldman-Rantzer, is “higher prices and lower supply” for the Israeli consumer.
Her organization has also been urging the Israeli government to make sure plans are made before a potential full-scale war opens up in the north with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terror group based in Lebanon. The Israel-Lebanon border has seen intense fighting between Israeli and Hezbollah forces since Oct. 7.
Such instability at Israel’s borders poses a threat to food that’s not only imported but also grown domestically.
“Most of Israel’s farms are located in the periphery areas, outside of the center of the country … [and] the periphery is very unstable,” she explained.
According to government statistics, roughly 75 percent of all of the country’s crops are grown in the areas around the Gaza border. In the north, meanwhile, it is estimated by the Agricultural Ministry that 70 percent of the eggs originate from areas under risk or evacuated due to Hezbollah rocket fire.
Israel generally has a strong agricultural sector, with a majority of the country’s fruits and vegetables grown domestically — although with out-of-season products imported.
Due to the war, however, many of these farms have been left desolate with crops completely abandoned. Those that are possible to be harvested have been heavily burdened by the fact that Palestinian and foreign laborers are not working.
Palestinian workers have not been allowed in Israel since Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas invaded the Jewish state on Oct. 7 and massacred 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The terrorists also abducted 240 people as hostages back to Hamas-ruled Gaza. Meanwhile, many foreign workers have returned to their countries of origin since the outbreak of the war — for example, the more than 25,000 Thai workers in Israel before Oct. 7 has dwindled significantly.
Many Israelis have tried to fill the gap, but it may not be enough to ensure the security of the country’s food supply, which according to Voldman-Rantzer must “be addressed urgently.”
“The Agriculture Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the government … everyone is saying a lot but no one party has stepped to the plate to make a difference,” she said.
The GFI is hoping the government creates an emergency plan to address food security — a step that critics say is long overdue, noting Israel is the only member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) without one.
According to Voldman-Rantzer, it is essential for Israel to “strengthen the resilience of the food industry.”
The post Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis: Multi-Front Terror Assault Impacting Israeli Food Security, Expert Warns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Two Russian Regions Block Telegram App Over Security Fears
The Telegram logo is seen on a screen of a smartphone in this picture illustration taken April 13, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin.
Authorities in two Russian regions have blocked the Telegram messenger because of concerns that the app could be used by enemies, a regional digital development minister was quoted as saying by the TASS state news agency on Saturday.
Dagestan and Chechnya are mainly Muslim regions in southern Russia where intelligence services have registered an increase in militant Islamist activity.
“It (Telegram) is often used by enemies, an example of which is the riots at the Makhachkala airport,” said Yuri Gamzatov, Dagestan’s digital development minister, adding that the decision to block the messenger had been made at the federal level.
Gamzatov was referring to an anti-Israel riot in Dagestan in October 2023, when hundreds of protesters stormed an airport to try to attack passengers arriving on a plane from the Jewish state. No passengers were injured, and authorities have prosecuted several people over the incident.
News of the plane’s arrival had spread on local Telegram channels, where users posted calls for antisemitic violence. Telegram condemned the attack and said it would block the channels.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the blocks in Russia.
Based in Dubai and founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov, the messenger has nearly 1 billion users and is used widely in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
Moscow tried but failed to block Telegram in 2018 and has in the past demanded the platform hand over user data. Durov is under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organized crime on the app.
Gamzatov, the minister in Dagestan, said Telegram could be unblocked in the future, but encouraged users to switch to other messengers in the meantime.
The post Two Russian Regions Block Telegram App Over Security Fears first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump’s Scottish Golf Resort Vandalized with Pro-Palestine Graffiti
US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House, in Washington, DC, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland has been daubed with pro-Palestinian graffiti, with a protest group claiming responsibility.
Local media on Saturday showed images of red paint scrawled across walls at the course with the slogans “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” as well as insults against Trump.
“Gaza is not for sale” was also painted on one of the greens and holes dug up on the course.
Palestine Action said it caused the damage, posting on social media platform X: “Whilst Trump attempts to treat Gaza as his property, he should know his own property is within reach.”
Last month, Trump enraged the Arab world by declaring unexpectedly that the United States would take over Gaza, resettle its over 2-million Palestinian population and develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Police Scotland said it was investigating.
“Around 4.40am on Saturday, 8 March, 2025, we received a report of damage to the golf course and a premises on Maidens Road, Turnberry,” a Police Scotland spokesperson said, adding that enquiries were ongoing.
Separately on Saturday, a man waving a Palestinian flag climbed the Big Ben tower at London’s Palace of Westminster.
The post Trump’s Scottish Golf Resort Vandalized with Pro-Palestine Graffiti first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Columbia University Promises to Address Trump Administration’s Concerns After $400 Million in Funding Pulled
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, in New York, US, April 30, 2024. Photo: Mary Altaffer/Pool via REUTERS
Columbia University’s interim president said the school is working to address the “legitimate concerns” of US President Donald Trump’s administration after $400 million of federal government grants and contracts to the university were canceled over allegations of antisemitism on campus.
In an announcement on Friday, the government cited what it described as antisemitic harassment on and near the school’s New York City campus as the reason for pulling the funding. The university has repeatedly been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.
“I want to assure the entire Columbia community that we are committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns,” Katrina Armstrong, the university’s interim president, said in a late-night message to alumni on Friday. “To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combating antisemitism on our campus.”
The Trump administration said the canceled funding is only a portion of the $5 billion in government grants that has been committed to the school, but the school is bracing for a financial hit.
“There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care,” Armstrong said.
Federal funding accounted for about $1.3 billion of the university’s $6.6 billion in operating revenue in the 2024 fiscal year, according to a Columbia financial report.
Some Jewish students and staff have been among the pro-Palestinian protesters, and they say their criticism of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism. Minouche Shafik resigned last year as Columbia’s president after the university’s handling of the protests drew criticism from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides alike.
The administration has declined to say what contracts and grants it has canceled, but the Education Department argues the demonstrations have been unlawful and deprive Jewish students of learning opportunities.
Civil rights groups say the immediate cuts are unconstitutional punishment for protected speech and likely to face legal challenges.
The post Columbia University Promises to Address Trump Administration’s Concerns After $400 Million in Funding Pulled first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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