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Trump heralds ‘the historic dawn of a new Middle East’ in speech to Israeli parliament after hostages returned
In Jerusalem on Monday, President Donald Trump celebrated the implementation of a viable ceasefire in Gaza with the return of the last living hostages after two years in captivity.
“This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” Trump told the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today, the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.”
Ahead of his address, Trump met with several freed hostages and the families of Israelis who were held by Hamas in Gaza.
On the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Trump recognized its impact. “The United States of America grieved alongside you, and we mourned for our own citizens who were so viciously taken that day,” he said in his speech. “And to all the families whose lives were forever changed by the atrocities of that day, and to all the people of Israel, please know that America joins you in those two everlasting vows: Never forget, and never again.”
Hamas killed almost 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and kidnapped about 250. Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, where the hostages were taken, have since killed at least 66,000 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry says, and left much of the enclave in ruins.
Trump noted that Israel’s military had accomplished what it could. “Israel, with our help, has won all that can be won by force of arms,” he said. “Now, it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”
Trump has received multiple standing ovations and sustained applause during his speech. He was briefly heckled by two members of the Knesset who held up a sign that said “Recognize Palestine.” They were quickly removed.
Acknowledged at the Knesset before Trump’s speech were special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, credited with helping to shape the deal, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others. As Ivanka Trump made her way into the chamber, the Knesset broke into applause. She also received a standing ovation when Trump mentioned, during his speech, that she had converted.
Trump’s popularity in Israel
In his introduction of the president, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Donald Trump is the greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House.”
Trump was the fourth U.S. president to address the Knesset — and only the second Republican, following George W. Bush’s 2008 speech on Israel’s 60th anniversary. He was also the third president to do so after brokering a peace agreement between Israel and its neighbors: Bill Clinton spoke in 1994, a year after the signing of the Oslo Accords, and Jimmy Carter in 1979, after brokering the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. The late Richard Nixon also visited the Knesset during the first-ever U.S. presidential trip to Israel in 1974, though he only spoke at a reception held in his honor.
Netanyahu has addressed a joint session of Congress four times – the most of any international leader.
But Trump made history in Israel by being the first American leader to address representatives of a nation that credits him more than its own leadership with ending the trauma of its longest war. The speech also comes five years after Trump brokered four normalization deals between Israel and Arab states, known as the Abraham Accords. “There’s never been an event like it,” Netanyahu told Israeli reporters as he walked into the chamber Monday.
Leading up to Trump’s speech, the speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, said, “Mr. President, you stand before the people of Israel not as another American president, but as a giant of Jewish history, one for whom we must look back two and a half millennia into the mists of time to find a parallel, Cyrus the Great. You, President Donald J. Trump, are a colossus who will be enshrined in the pantone of history.”
That sentiment was also evident at the weekly Saturday night rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv, where boos erupted at the mention of Netanyahu’s name by Witkoff — in sharp contrast to the enthusiastic applause and cheers for Trump.
Many Israelis credit Trump alone for securing the release of the remaining hostages and ending the two-year conflict with Hamas in Gaza, while blaming their longtime leader for the failures surrounding the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and prolonging the conflict. Some have also accused Netanyahu of showing little empathy toward the families of the hostages and of undermining negotiations for their release.
Trump repeatedly pointed to the massive crowds in Tel Aviv as proof that Israelis were eager to end the war and bring the hostages home.
Nonetheless, Trump struck a positive tone toward Netanyahu, praising his leadership and crediting him for his cooperation in reaching this moment. “He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great,” Trump said about him in the Knesset. That endorsement could boost Netanyahu’s standing with the Israeli public ahead of an election year. Netanyahu was invited by Trump to join him on his ride from Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem Monday, giving the prime minister rare one-on-one time and an opportunity to shape the tone and content of the remarks.
Three members of Netanyahu’s coalition boycotted Trump’s speech, criticizing the terms of the deal and saying there’s no reason for celebration.
‘My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker’
When Trump first campaigned for president in 2016, he vowed to broker the “ultimate deal” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His first term, however, was marked by a series of pro-Israel moves, including relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. His ambitious peace plan, rolled out in January 2020, stalled amid Israeli political deadlock and rejection by Palestinian leaders. He then pivoted toward securing normalization agreements with Gulf states.
During the 2024 presidential election, Trump renewed his pledge to deliver peace in the Middle East, vowing to end the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon while further isolating Iran.
“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,” Trump said at his inauguration.
Ten years after he launched his first White House bid and nine months after returning to power for a second term, Trump managed to eliminate an immediate nuclear threat from Iran, backed Israel in crushing Hezbollah as an Iranian proxy in the north, and last week oversaw the adoption of the first phase of a permanent ceasefire-for-hostages deal that could end the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and potentially bring regional peace.
Trump insists that his 20-point post-war plan would enhance Israel’s standing in America and globally and expand the Abraham Accords, though uncertainty remains about the next phases – disarming Hamas and establishing a coordinated Gaza reconstruction effort.
At the Knesset, Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to the deal, saying, “Mr. President, you are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.”
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Iran Opposes Grossi’s UN Secretary-General Candidacy, Accuses Him of Failing to Uphold International Law
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) quarterly Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
Iran has publicly opposed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi’s potential appointment as UN Secretary-General next year, accusing him of failing to uphold international law by not condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
During a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, sharply criticized Grossi, calling him unfit” to serve as UN Secretary-General next year, Iranian media reported.
“A candidate who has deliberately failed to uphold the UN Charter — or to condemn unlawful military attacks against safeguarded, peaceful nuclear facilities … undermines confidence in his ability to serve as a faithful guardian of the charter and to discharge his duties independently, impartially, and without political bias or fear of powerful states,” the Iranian diplomat said.
With UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ term ending in December next year, member states have already begun nominating candidates to take over the role ahead of the expected 2026 election.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel’s relationship with Guterres has spiraled downward, reaching a low point last year when then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz labeled the UN “antisemitic and anti-Israeli” and declared Guterres persona non grata after the top UN official failed to condemn Tehran for its ballistic missile attack against the Jewish state.
Last week, Argentina officially nominated Grossi to succeed Guterres as the next UN Secretary-General.
To be elected, a nominee must first secure the support of at least nine members of the UN Security Council and avoid a veto from any of its five permanent members — the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France.
Afterward, the UN General Assembly votes, with a simple majority needed to confirm the organization’s next leader.
As head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog since 2019, Grossi has consistently urged Iran to provide transparency on its nuclear program and cooperate with the agency, efforts the Islamist regime has repeatedly rejected and obstructed.
Despite Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes rather than weapons development, Western powers have said there is no “credible civilian justification” for the country’s nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
With prospects for renewed negotiations or nuclear cooperation dwindling, Iran has been intensifying efforts to rebuild its air and defense capabilities decimated during the 12-day war with Israel.
On Monday, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), declared that the IAEA has no authority to inspect sites targeted during the June war, following Grossi’s renewed calls for Tehran to allow inspections of its nuclear sites and expand cooperation with the agency.
Iran has also announced plans to expand its nuclear cooperation with Russia and advance the construction of new nuclear power plants, as both countries continue to deepen their bilateral relations.
According to AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi, one nuclear power plant is currently operational, while other two are under construction, with new contracts signed during a recent high-level meeting in Moscow.
Kamalvandi also said Iran plans to build four nuclear power plants in the country’s southern region as part of its long-term partnership with Russia.
During a joint press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated Iran’s commitment to defending the country’s “legal nuclear rights” under the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal, noting that Tehran’s nuclear policies have remained within the international legal framework.
Iran’s growing ties with Russia, particularly in nuclear cooperation, have deepened in recent years as both countries face mounting Western sanctions and seek to expand their influence in opposition to Western powers.
Russia has not only helped Iran build its nuclear program but also consistently defended the country’s “nuclear rights” on the global stage, while opposing the imposition of renewed economic sanctions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran as a “disgrace to diplomacy.”
In an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), Lavrov accused European powers of attempting to blame Tehran for the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal, despite what he described as Iran’s compliance with the agreement.
Prior to the 12-day war, the IAEA flagged a series of Iranian violations of the deal.
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Eurovision Host Says It Will Not Drown Out Any Boos During Israel’s Performance
ORF executive producer Michael Kroen attends a press conference about the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
The host broadcaster of the next Eurovision Song Contest, Austria’s ORF, will not ban the Palestinian flag from the audience or drown out booing during Israel’s performance as has happened at previous shows, organizers said on Tuesday.
The 70th edition of the contest in May will have just 35 entries, the smallest number of participants since 2003, after five national broadcasters including those of Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands said they would boycott the show in protest at Israel’s participation.
What is usually a celebration of national diversity, pop music, and high camp has become embroiled in diplomatic strife, with those boycotting saying it would be unconscionable to take part given the number of civilians killed in Gaza during Israel’s military campaign following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“We will allow all official flags that exist in the world, if they comply with the law and are in a certain form – size, security risks, etc.,” the show’s executive producer, Michael Kroen, told a news conference organized by ORF.
“We will not sugarcoat anything or avoid showing what is happening, because our task is to show things as they are,” Kroen said.
AUSTRIA SUPPORTED ISRAEL PARTICIPATING
The broadcaster will not drown out the sound of any booing from the crowd, as happened this year during Israel’s performance, ORF’s director of programming Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz said.
“We won’t play artificial applause over it at any point,” she said.
Israel’s 2025 entrant, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova music festival that was a target of the Hamas-led attack. The CEO of Israeli broadcaster KAN had likened the efforts to exclude Israel in 2026 to a form of “cultural boycott.”
ORF and the Austrian government were among the biggest supporters of Israel participating over the objections of countries including Iceland and Slovenia, which will also boycott the next contest in protest. ORF Director General Roland Weissmann visited Israel in November to show his support.
This year’s show drew around 166 million viewers, according to the European Broadcasting Union, more than the roughly 128 million who Nielsen estimates watched the Super Bowl.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.
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Antisemitism Allowed to Fester in Australia, Says Daughter of Wounded Holocaust Survivor
Victoria Teplitsky, daughter of a Holocaust survivor who was wounded at the Bondi shootings, stands at a floral memorial in honor of the victims of the mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jeremy Piper
Government authorities have not done enough to stamp out hatred of Jews in Australia, which has allowed it to fester in the aftermath of Oct. 7, said the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who was wounded at the Bondi shootings on Sunday.
Victoria Teplitsky, 53, a retired childcare center owner, said that the father and son who allegedly went on a 10-minute shooting spree that killed 15 people had been “taught to hate,” which was a bigger factor in the attack than access to guns.
“It’s not the fact that those two people had a gun. It’s the fact that hatred has been allowed to fester against the Jewish minority in Australia,” she told Reuters in an interview.
“We are angry at our government because it comes from the top, and they should have stood up for our community with strength. And they should have squashed the hatred rather than kind of letting it slide,” she said.
“We’ve been ignored. We feel like, are we not Australian enough? Do we not matter to our government?”
The attackers fired upon hundreds of people at a Jewish festival during a roughly 10-minute killing spree, forcing people to flee and take shelter before both were shot by police.
RISING ANTISEMITIC ATTACKS
Antisemitic incidents have been rising in Australia since the war in Gaza erupted after Palestinian terrorist group Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in an attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
A rise in such incidents in the past sixteen months prompted the head of the nation’s main intelligence agency to declare that antisemitism was his top priority in terms of threat.
“This was not a surprise to the Jewish community. We warned the government of this many, many times over,” Teplitsky said.
“We’ve had synagogues that have been graffitied, graffiti everywhere, and we’ve had synagogues that have been bombed,” she added, referring to a 2024 arson attack in Melbourne in which no one was killed.
Teplitsky’s father Semyon, 86, bled heavily after being shot in the leg, and now is facing several operations as doctors piece bone back together with cement, then remove the cement from the leg, which he still may lose, she said.
“He’s in good spirits, but he’s also very angry. Angry that this happened, that this was allowed to happen in Australia, the country that he took his children to, to be safe, to be away from antisemitism, to be away from Jew hatred.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “did nothing” to curb antisemitism.
Albanese repeated on Tuesday Australia‘s support for a two-state solution. Anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protests have been common in Australia since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza.
At a press briefing on Monday, Albanese read through a list of actions his government had taken, including criminalizing hate speech and incitement to violence and a ban on the Nazi salute. He also pledged to extend funding for physical security for Jewish community groups.