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What It Means to Bring a Jewish Child Into the World Today
A Birthright Israel trip. Photo: Facebook
I am 29.5 weeks pregnant with my fourth child, and I increasingly wonder if I am making a mistake.
Not because I don’t desperately want this child. I do. With every fiber of my being. Not a day has gone by over the last seven months in which I haven’t felt grateful to be carrying this child, despite the pain and agony of a pregnancy that forces me into a wheelchair because of pain walking and standing, a pregnancy which has me made me sick non stop; a pregnancy which keeps me up throughout the night. I know I can handle all of that.
What makes me doubt whether I am doing the right thing in bringing another Jewish life into the world right now is the fact that two beautiful young Jews, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, can get shot by a cold blooded murderer in the name of “social justice” as they left a panel discussion aimed at finding solutions to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza. And the world says almost nothing.
Where is the outrage? Where are our non-Jewish friends and allies? The same questions we’ve asked every single day since Oct. 7, 2023.
The free world has either buried its head in the sand and turned a blind eye to the rising tides of radicalization and antisemitism — or worse, justified it because of the same pernicious lies touted by “reputable” organizations and institutions like the United Nations, and the International Criminal Court, not to mention the mainstream media, the British Parliament, and members of our own Congress. The false accusations of genocide and apartheid take their toll, eroding the world’s ability to care about the murder of innocent, Zionist Jews.
In 2025, after all, Zionist or even Israeli, has become a radioactive label — something people want to stay far away from. One only need to walk through a college campus today to see the workings of that hate machine, which pedals “social justice” and “free speech” as the justification for vile slogans just the same as the ones uttered by the murderer of Yaron and Sarah, like “Free Free Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free,” and “resistance by any means necessary.”
It would be better if the world was shocked and outraged when those violent and threatening slogans actually lead to violence — and yet, more than anything, the resounding response is… silence.
I desperately find myself scrolling through my social media, looking for some affirmation, some validation, that my Jewish children’s lives matter outside of my Jewish world. But the outside world seems to be mostly ignorant to the news out of D.C., and despite many Jewish friends’ pleas — “check in on your Jewish friends” today” — a total of zero of my non-Jewish friends actually do reach out.
It’s not that I think my non-Jewish friends don’t care. I know they do. But whether because the news of these beautiful souls’ death hasn’t registered across their feeds, or because they don’t want to get “political” — after all, these young bright souls, on the verge of engagement, worked at the Israeli embassy, so there is that “radioactive” bit again — it’s easier for them to stay silent.
What they fail to realize, what we have been screaming out time and again for the last 18 months, is the age old truism that what starts with the Jews, never ends with the Jews. We are but the canary in the coal-mine, the weathervane for the ailments of our failing, faltering society.
If nothing else, at least the gloomy weather feels in sync with the mood, I thought to myself, as I numbly went through my day. Some small measure of external validation.
“I don’t think I can wear a kippah anymore,” my husband says, for the first time, as he walks in through the door last night. This is my husband, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, who refused to take off his kippah, the physical representation of his Jewish identity, even after his father was beaten to a pulp on the streets of New York City just because he was wearing a kippah. My husband, who refused to take off his kippah after October 7, when he had to walk through hateful masked hooligans blocking foot-traffic outside of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, ah the irony.
But in some ways, last week feels like a turning point. A sickening dawning realization, that nowhere feels safe for Jews anymore. That my husband and I — who years ago was on ACCESS, the same young leadership board of the AJC that Sarah was involved with, the organization that hosted the event at the museum — could easily have been attending that very event or one like it … that Yaron and Sarah could have been us.
And that is why a part of me cannot help but wonder if I am making a mistake. The lonely echo chamber of justifying our existence has gotten lonelier with every passing day. And yet … the greater part of my being, the inexplicable “link in the chain” part of my soul, knows that the only answer as Jews that we have ever or will ever know in the face of the ongoing cycle of attempted genocides towards our people, is to bring more Jewish life into this dark and morally upside down world.
Because even in the darkest times of our history, we have chosen to imagine the light we cannot see, to find the crevices of hope in the greatest depths of despair, to provide for ourselves the answers and the validation that we aren’t getting from the outside world — that if you prick us, we do in fact bleed.
Daniella Kahane is a Peabody Award winning producer, writer, and the Co-Founder and CEO of WIN (Women in Negotiation), as well as the Co-Founder of Atoof, an original luxury artisanal Judaica collection.
The post What It Means to Bring a Jewish Child Into the World Today first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance
A resident enters a FEMA’s improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, US, Oct. 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness, the Trump administration has announced, tying routine federal funding to its political stance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency stated in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its “terms and conditions.” Those conditions require they certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for funding.
The requirement applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries, and backup power systems among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.
The requirement is the Trump administration’s latest effort to use federal funding to promote its views on Israel.
The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees FEMA, in April said that boycotting Israel is prohibited for states and cities receiving its grant funds.
FEMA separately said in July that US states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government arrest migrants, an administration priority.
The Israel requirement takes aim at BDS, the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement designed to isolate the world’s lone Jewish state on the international stage as a step toward its eventual elimination.
“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement.
The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal. The BDS movement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The American Jewish Committee supports the Trump administration’s policy, said Holly Huffnagle, the group’s director of antisemitism policy. The AJC is an advocacy group that supports Israel.
Under one of the grant notices posted on Friday, FEMA will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas.
New York is due to receive $92.2 million from the program, the most of all the recipients. Allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative risk of terrorism,” according to the notice.
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Iran Sets Up New Defense Council in Wake of War With Israel
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran‘s top security body approved the establishment of a National Defenxe Council on Sunday, according to state media, following a short air war with Israel in June that was Iran‘s most acute military challenge since the 1980s war with Iraq.
“The new defense body will review defense plans and enhance the capabilities of Iran‘s armed forces in a centralized manner,” the Supreme National Security Council‘s Secretariat was quoted as saying by state media.
The defense council will be chaired by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and consists of the heads of the three government branches, senior armed forces commanders, and relevant ministries.
On Sunday, the commander-in-chief of Iran‘s military, Amir Hatami, warned that threats from Israel persist and should not be underestimated.
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Israel to Decide Next Steps in Gaza After Ceasefire Talks Collapse
Smoke rises from Gaza as the sun sets, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel‘s next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option.
Last Saturday, during a visit to the country, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza.
But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the military offensive in Gaza and annexing parts of the shattered enclave.
The failed ceasefire talks in Doha had aimed to clinch agreements on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages Hamas is holding would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
After Netanyahu met Witkoff last Thursday, a senior Israeli official said that “an understanding was emerging between Washington and Israel,” of a need to shift from a truce to a comprehensive deal that would “release all the hostages, disarm Hamas, and demilitarize the Gaza Strip,” – Israel‘s key conditions for ending the war.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that the envoy’s visit was seen in Israel as “very significant.”
But later on Sunday, the Israeli official signaled that pursuit of a deal would be pointless, threatening more force: “An understanding is emerging that Hamas is not interested in a deal and therefore the prime minister is pushing to release the hostages while pressing for military defeat.”
“STRATEGIC CLARITY”
What a “military defeat” might mean, however, is up for debate within the Israeli leadership. Some Israeli officials have suggested that Israel might declare it was annexing parts of Gaza as a means to pressure the Palestinian terrorist group, which has ruled the enclave for nearly two decades.
Others, like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir want to see Israel impose military rule in Gaza before annexing it and re-establishing the Jewish settlements Israel evicted 20 years ago.
The Israeli military, which has pushed back at such ideas throughout the war, was expected on Tuesday to present alternatives that include extending into areas of Gaza where it has not yet operated, according to two defense officials.
While some in the political leadership are pushing for expanding the offensive, the military is concerned that doing so will endanger the 20 hostages who are still alive, the officials said.
Israeli Army Radio reported on Monday that military chief Eyal Zamir has become increasingly frustrated with what he describes as a lack of strategic clarity by the political leadership, concerned about being dragged into a war of attrition with Hamas terrorists.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the report but said that the military has plans in store.
“We have different ways to fight the terror organization, and that’s what the army does,” Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said.
On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which included a call on Hamas to hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Hamas has repeatedly said it won’t lay down arms. But it has told mediators it was willing to quit governance in Gaza for a non-partisan ruling body, according to three Hamas officials.
It insists that the post-war Gaza arrangement must be agreed upon among the Palestinians themselves and not dictated by foreign powers.
Israel‘s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar suggested on Monday that the gaps were still too wide to bridge.
“We would like to have all our hostages back. We would like to see the end of this war. We always prefer to get there by diplomatic means, if possible. But of course, the big question is, what will be the conditions for the end of the war?” he told journalists in Jerusalem.