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It’s Not Just Talk With Iran
US President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, April 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
Two tropes came out of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — it was a great meeting for Israel, and it was a terrible meeting for Israel.
The “great meeting” people note the warm welcome and the fact that Netanyahu was having his second meeting with the president. The “terrible meeting” people note there was no tariff relief and — most important — the president’s announcement that the US is planning direct talks with Iran beginning on Saturday.
“Iran will just stall for time. Iran will cheat like it always does. Iran will use the time to finish its preparations. Iran will …” Iran will what? Yes, it will try to stall. Yes, it will try to continue to cheat. But the opening of kinetic warfare against a country that may actually already have nuclear capability is an enormous undertaking, so it would seem useful for the US and its allies, specifically Israel, to do two things first: talk to Iran while making sure everything is in place, if necessary, for a maximally effective strike against the Islamic Republic with minimal side effects.
This would seem the right moment.
Iran has been ousted from Gaza and Lebanon by Israel, which also paved the way for Iran’s ouster from Syria. There remain Iranian militias in Iraq, but it appears the Iraqis are getting tired of them.
Switch gears for a moment and consider American military activity in the Red Sea, where Houthi terrorists have been a major strategic asset for Iran for years.
On March 15, US Central Command (CENTCOM) informed us that it had “initiated an operation consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen in order to restore freedom of navigation.” CENTCOM also provided details of what it targeted: “The campaign involved a series of air and naval strikes targeting Houthi positions, including radar systems, air defenses, and missile and drone launch sites. These actions were in response to the Houthis’ attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels in the Red Sea.”
If you read the Israeli, British, and professional press, Iran is effectively abandoning Yemen, unwilling to be caught there or resupply the Houthis.
If you look at the mainstream American press, on the other hand, that story hasn’t had much traction. The New York Times explained how much money the US has spent. The Washington Post reported from the region about Houthi casualties and how the numbers differed from the Trump administration numbers. There was a CNN story suggesting that the Houthis are relishing the attacks. CNN had what it called a “Yemen expert” to question the US endgame. “The Houthis have been bombed tens of thousands of times over the past decade and remain undeterred. So, one is left thinking that the bombing is largely performative: let’s show the world — we’ll do it because we can.”
There is likely a correlation between the American media fixation with “Signalgate” stories that claimed classified information went over the Signal system to the Iranians/Houthis regarding the strikes and a media desire to downplay any possible success of those strikes. Regardless of the truth of the accusation, or the propriety of using Signal, if the result of the operation was Iran pulling out of Yemen, the strikes were a success and “Signalgate” is diminished.
So, next, consider the coincident buildup of American naval and air assets in the region closer to Iran. The list of assets — certainly not exhaustive — includes Patriot batteries, THAD anti-ballistic missile defense systems, and military cargo flights including dozens of C-17s and C-5s arriving in US bases across the region. Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, visited Israel for talks with Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on the regional security situation. It was his third visit in the past six months and indicates ever-closer cooperation between two countries with the same end-game — an Iran without nuclear weapons.
It would appear that the United States is planning to take advantage of Iran’s weakened position, to offer the mullahs a chance to step away, and the ability to take the next steps if negotiations fail.
Former CENTCOM commander Lt. Gen. Kenneth Makenzie, Jr., wrote in The New York Times last week that Israel’s presence in CENTCOM — rather than the European Command where it had resided — “aligned Israel with a command center facing the same problem set. That created the structure and processes that have enabled Israel to work with the US and regional neighbors to successfully defend against two major Iranian attacks in 2024. This is a big deal.”
And, perhaps, to prepare for and defend against any Iranian retaliation for military strikes against its nuclear or other assets in the future. That would indeed be a “big deal.” In fact, it would be UUUUUUge.
Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly magazine.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
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