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A single arrest has thrown the battle for Israel’s soul into sharp relief
In Israel, an unfolding military scandal has become a mirror held up to a society that seems determined to look away from its reflection.
The protagonist is Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, until recently the chief legal officer of the Israel Defense Forces. At the end of October, Tomer-Yerushalmi wrote in a public resignation letter that she had authorized the leak of a video showing a Palestinian detainee being abused by Israeli soldiers in 2024. A few days later, at the start of last week, she was arrested.
The fact that Tomer-Yerushalmi was arrested should have been an opportunity for national soul-searching. But almost no one asked the most fundamental questions: Why did her transgression happen? Why was she the person to bring the abuse to light?
The answers, I think, tell a grim story about the state of Israel’s national conscience.
The official story, repeated endlessly in the Israeli press, is that Tomer-Yerushalmi violated secrecy laws, obstructed justice, and lied about her role when questioned by the authorities and the Supreme Court. All of those claims may be true. She herself has admitted to authorizing the leak and later trying to hide it.
Television studios hosted panels on whether Tomer-Yerushalmi had disgraced the army. The prime minister’s spokesman, before her detention, issued a statement calling for her arrest. But the widespread outrage has focused overwhelmingly not on what the video revealed, but on the fact that it was leaked.
Why?
Restraint and legality are supposed to distinguish Israel from its foes. The video does not demonstrate those qualities. In it, soldiers at a military detention facility called Sde Teiman, in southern Israeli, escort a blindfolded Palestinian detainee into a tent, largely shielding themselves from the camera’s view. At points, the detainee they surround can be seen pinned against a wall and lying on the floor.
Five reservists were eventually indicted for “severe abuse” of a detainee in relation to the video, with military prosecutors alleging that the victim sustained broken ribs, a punctured lung, and internal injuries consistent with a stabbing by a sharp object.
Wars are ugly, and the enemies Israel faces are real. No one doubts that Hamas and other militant groups have committed barbaric acts. But for Israel to sanction or ignore such abuse against captives would be for it to betray its own moral foundation.
Highly vocal yet minority factions of Israeli society demanded that the reservists be freed and minimized the issue. There was a protest by far-right Knesset members at the base where they served; on social media, some dismissed the gravity of the charges, suggesting that with Israel engaged in so dire a war against so rabid an enemy, the finer points of the law are absurd.
That’s not the only reason that the outrage over Tomer-Yerushalmi’s actions seems shockingly disproportionate. Also important is that across many different administrations, the prime minister’s office has been known to leak as a matter of routine — to almost no protest whatsoever.
I can report from experience that the PM’s office routinely leaks information about classified meetings of the Security Cabinet under absurd conditions. Successive governments have used controlled leaks to shape narratives, deflect blame and undermine rivals. Journalists in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv live off an endless stream of “sources familiar with the matter” or “officials close to the prime minister,” many of them senior officials.
The sanctity of secrecy, apparently, only becomes a principle when someone leaks for moral reasons, rather than political ones. Tell me if that calculus seems reasonable to you.
In a healthy society, I think, people would be much more alarmed by the reasons Tomer-Yerushalmi chose to leak the video, rather than the leak itself. She seems to have believed that the army would bury the incident, or that investigators would be pressured to look away.
Was she wrong? The record suggests not. Look to the West Bank, where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent years amid almost daily violence. Soldiers who allegedly bore responsibility for the deaths — the details of which can be absolutely brutal — have rarely faced serious punishment. The military and state have convicted exactly zero soldiers for abuses during the war.
When the army’s own legal chief suspects a cover-up, she’s raising an alarm about the system she served. The fact that Israel is apparently refusing to listen is telling, and terrifying.
What this episode truly exposes is the extent to which Israel’s moral instincts have been replaced by bureaucratic ones: Maintain the facade, contain the damage and punish the breach. A society that talks more about the propriety of a leak than the content of the leak is a society in denial.
This distortion did not emerge overnight. It is the product of the almost 60 years of occupation that have habituated Israelis to controlling another people; the two-year trauma since Oct. 7 that has consumed our empathy; and the political culture, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that has trained us to prize survival over principle. The result is a public sphere where accountability feels like betrayal, and secrecy masquerades as patriotism.
No one expects a country under constant threat to be saintly. But the essence of a liberal democracy is its willingness to look unflinchingly at its own sins. Israel’s founders built institutions precisely for that purpose: a free press, an independent judiciary, a military legal corps charged with enforcing law in the fog of war. Israel’s current leadership — and to a degree, its media as well — is betraying that legacy.
The post A single arrest has thrown the battle for Israel’s soul into sharp relief appeared first on The Forward.
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Israel Awards Genesis Prize to Gal Gadot for ‘Bravery and Moral Courage’ in Defending Jewish State
Actor Gal Gadot gestures during the unveiling ceremony for her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, US, March 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Israeli actress and producer Gal Gadot has been awarded the 2026 Genesis Prize by Israel in recognition of her strong support and advocacy for her home country amid its war with Hamas in Gaza and despite the negative impacts it had on her career, the Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) announced on Tuesday.
The annual $1 million Genesis Prize, which has been nicknamed the “Jewish Nobel” by Time magazine, honors individuals “for their professional excellence, significant impact in their fields, and dedication to Jewish values.” It is a global award that celebrates “Jewish contribution to humanity” and all recipients donate their $1 million prize to various philanthropic causes.
Gadot called herself a “proud Jew and a proud Israeli” who loves her home country in a statement released by the GPF. The “Wonder Woman” star and mother of four is donating her $1 million prize to organizations that are helping Israelis recover in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent two-year war between Israel and Hamas. A date for the awards ceremony next year was not announced.
“I am humbled to receive the Genesis Prize and to stand alongside the amazing laureates who came before me,” the “Snow White” star said. “[I] dedicate this award to the organizations who will help Israel heal and to those incredible people who serve on the front lines of compassion. Israel has endured unimaginable pain. Now we must begin to heal – to rebuild hearts, families, and communities.”
GFP co-founder and chairman Stan Polovets praised Gadot’s “moral clarity and unwavering love for Israel.”
“The award recognizes her bravery and moral courage – her steadfast defense of Israel at great personal and professional risk, her advocacy for the hostages, her compassion for victims of terror, and her empathy for all innocent victims of this terrible war unleashed by Hamas,” he said. “Her decision to turn the Genesis Prize honor into a mission of healing embodies the very purpose of the prize – to celebrate achievement and channel it for good.”
Gadot condemned the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, immediately after the deadly attack took place in southern Israel and has defended her home country repeatedly since the start of its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. She has called for the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, met with families of former hostages, and arranged in Los Angeles private screenings for Hollywood figures to see uncensored, raw footage that documents the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. In a magazine interview earlier this year, she pleaded for an end to the Israel-Hamas war that includes a “diplomatic agreement that allows all parts of the table to live a good and prosperous life.”
In August, hundreds of anti-Israel activists signed a letter calling on the Venice Film Festival to disinvite Gadot from the event because of her ties to Israel. The festival’s director ignored the boycott efforts and Gadot was still invited, although she did not attend. Award-winning American filmmaker and artist Julian Schnabel, who cast Gadot in his film “In the Hand of Dante” that was premiering at the Venice Film Festival, also criticized the efforts by anti-Israel activists.
Gadot in March became the first Israeli to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in May, the same week that London’s Metropolitan Police arrested five anti-Israel protesters who tried to disrupt her film set in central London solely because she is Israeli.
Gadot played the Evil Queen in last year’s live action remake of Disney’s “Snow White.” She admitted in August that she thinks “pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel” was “greatly affecting” the film and contributed to its poor box office performance after its lead star, Rachel Zegler, proclaimed “Free Palestine” on social media.
Past recipients of the Genesis Prize include singer, actor, and activist Barbra Streisand; filmmaker Steven Spielberg; founder of Blue Square Alliance Against Hate and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and human rights advocate Natan Sharansky.
The 2025 recipient of the Genesis Prize was Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who was recognized for his strong support of Israel. Milei visited Jerusalem in June to accept the award.
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Mississippi State University Student Arrested, Withdraws From School After Antisemitic Rant at Dave Portnoy
Barstool Sports founder and online pizza reviewer Dave Portnoy outside a Starkville, Mississippi pizza shop on Nov. 7, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
A Mississippi State University student was arrested on Monday and charged by police for shouting an antisemitic slur at Barstool Sports founder and online pizza reviewer Dave Portnoy during one of his reviews outside a restaurant in Starkville, Mississippi, officials said.
Patrick McClintock, 20, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace after being caught on video yelling “F–k the Jews” at Portnoy, who is Jewish, and then throwing coins at him outside a pizza shop on Nov. 7, according to the Starkville Police Department. The department launched an investigation following the incident last week and issued a warrant over the weekend. McClintock was processed and later released.
Portnoy was filming one of his “One Bite” pizza reviews outside Boardtown Pizza & Pints when McClintock shouted in the background, “Hey, f–k the Jews, f–k you, Dave” and threw coins at him.
Portnoy replied, “Why don’t you come in the camera, buddy?”
McClintock then approached Portnoy, and during their brief confrontation, McClintock shouted, “Get the f–k out of Starkville.” Witnesses then asked Portnoy what had happened.
“He said ‘F–k the Jews’ and threw s–t at me,” Portnoy replied.
On Monday, Portnoy posted online the video of his pizza review outside Boardtown Pizza & Pints and it included footage of the antisemitic encounter with McClintock. Portnoy also shared McClintock’s mugshot, calling him an “antisemitic piece of s–t” and a “f–king loser.” He added that the incident “did not ruin” his trip to Starkville and thanked locals for their support.
“I’ll never judge one asshole for the entire city,” Portnoy said. “Everyone was super nice and actually bending over backwards during the course of the weekend, being like, ‘We’re so sorry, that’s so mortifying. We wish that didn’t happen.’ And I don’t want simply your apologies. I want outrage and I had it, and that makes me feel good that people were like, ‘This is crazy.’ Thank you for everyone in Starkville who rose up and got [my] back. I do appreciate it.”
A few days before posting his pizza review of Boardtown Pizza & Pints, Portnoy shared on Instagram a review of the Mississippi State University bookstore and gave it a rating of 9.3 out of 10.
Portnoy addressed the global rise in antisemitic incidents in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” that will air over the weekend. In a teaser for the interview, Portnoy talked about his personal experience with antisemitism.
“I’ve seen in my own experience, just being Barstool, the difference between how much hate I get,” Portnoy said. “I mean, occasionally you get a k—k or Jew or whatever. It’s every day now. Like there’s a definitive shift in what’s going on. So yes, now, for me, being a Jewish person, you’ve got to step up. You’re kind of someone people look up to in the Jewish community. You have to be like, ‘Alright, this is not normal.’ People are coming in with real hate.”
Portnoy also revealed that he now has round-the-clock security at his house because of the antisemitic hatred that he has faced.
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Checking Iran’s Enriched Uranium Stock Is ‘Long Overdue,’ IAEA Report Says
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi addresses the media during their Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Sept. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Iran still has not let inspectors into the nuclear sites Israel and the United States bombed in June, the UN atomic watchdog said in a confidential report on Wednesday, adding that accounting for Iran’s enriched uranium stock is “long overdue.”
The IAEA‘s own guidelines say it should verify a country’s stock of highly enriched uranium, such as the material enriched to up to 60 percent purity in Iran, a short step from the roughly 90 percent of weapons grade, every month.
The IAEA has been calling on Iran for months to say what happened to the stock and let inspections fully resume quickly. The two sides announced an agreement in Cairo in September that was supposed to pave the way towards that. However, progress has been limited, and Iran now says the agreement is void.
“The agency’s lack of access to this nuclear material in Iran for five months means that its verification … is long overdue,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in the report to member states seen by Reuters.
CONCERNS ABOUT DIVERSION, INSPECTIONS CRITICAL
“It is critical that the agency is able to verify the inventories of previously declared nuclear material in Iran as soon as possible in order to allay its concerns … regarding the possible diversion of declared nuclear material from peaceful use,” it added.
The report said the quantity of highly enriched uranium Iran has produced and stored is “a matter of serious concern.” The IAEA has now lost so-called continuity of knowledge of Iran’s enriched uranium stocks, it added, meaning re-establishing a full picture will be arduous.
The agency has so far only inspected some of the 13 nuclear facilities that were “unaffected” by the attacks and none of the seven that were, it said.
ENOUGH FOR 10 NUCLEAR BOMBS
One reason Israel and the United States gave for their attacks, which destroyed one of Iran’s three enrichment facilities operating at the time and at least badly damaged the others, was that Iran was getting too close to being able to produce a nuclear weapon.
Western powers say there is no civil explanation for Iran’s enrichment to such a high level. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, and the IAEA said it had no credible indication of a coordinated weapons program there.
The IAEA estimates that before the attacks Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent in uranium hexafluoride form, which can easily be enriched further. That is enough, if enriched further, for 10 nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick.
As a party to the NPT, Iran must send a detailed report to the IAEA on the status of the bombed facilities and its enriched uranium “without delay” but still has not done so, the report said. Only then can the IAEA inspect them.
NEW ENRICHMENT PLANT – STATUS UNKNOWN
While some enriched uranium will have been destroyed in the attacks, diplomats say much of the stock was likely stored at a deeply buried facility at Isfahan where the entrance tunnels were hit but damage appears limited.
Iran informed the IAEA shortly before the attacks it was setting up an enrichment facility at Isfahan, but the agency has not been able to inspect it.
“The agency does not know the precise location of [the plant], its status for safeguards purposes, including whether it contains nuclear material, or whether it was affected by the military attacks,” the report said.
While there is little sign of progress towards a nuclear deal between the US and Iran, both sides say they are open to the idea.