TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, JEWISH SUPPORTERS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN USEFUL IDIOTS

AOC and the diminishing prospects for Jewish Democrats

Centrists may be wrong to think that they can steer their party in a moderate direction. Looking to 2028 and beyond, the implications for supporters of Israel are ominous. 

 

By Jonathan S. Tobin

 

JNS

Apr 4, 2025

 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) speak to supporters during the “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” rally at Civic Center Park in Denver on March 21, 2025. 

 

These are hard times for Democrats. In 2024, Republicans won control of the White House and both houses of Congress. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January for the start of his second non-consecutive term, they seem lost. The energy and conviction with which he has pursued his agenda to fundamentally change the federal government and topple the woke leftist control of education has left a leaderless opposition eating his dust.

They are unable to undermine him in the way they did at the start of his first term in 2017, when an anti-Trump “resistance” took to the streets, and acceptance of the conspiracy theories of their Russian collusion hoax put him on the defensive. They can hold onto hope that gaffes like Signalgate will mean more than a tough news cycle or that his tariff policies will fail. But beyond that, all they can do at the moment is engage in pointless theatrics and stunts, such as their silly waving of placards during a presidential address to Congress or the 25-hour Senate filibuster conducted by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) that was unconnected to any legislative objective.

More than that, the 2024 results seemed to indicate a genuine realignment of the electorate, with working-class voters of all races moving toward the Republicans, and Democrats being confined to upper-income credentialed elites and the very poor. If that continues, it’s a formula for similar outcomes in the future.

But stasis is antithetical to politics. Any current GOP triumphalism or Democratic depression is, by definition, a transitory phenomenon. Administrations of either party are an economic downturn or some other fiasco that is perceived as indicative of its incompetence (such as the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan that was the turning point for President Joe Biden), away from an inevitable descent into political disaster. As much as most Americans are, regardless of their feelings about the results, still savoring the conclusion of an endless 2024 presidential contest, that means that talk about 2028 has already begun.

That makes the debate about the future direction of a Democratic Party still struggling to understand why they lost in 2024 something about which everyone, including their opponents, should take an interest. That’s especially true for Jewish Democrats, who have watched with dismay as their party’s intersectional left-wing take control of their electoral base. The question they need to be asking themselves now is whether someone such as the ardently pro-Israel Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the leader of the leftist “Squad,” represents the future of the Democratic Party.

Who will lead?

Many Democrats would probably say now that representing the party’s future as a choice between those two idiosyncratic figures is a mistake. AOC wasn’t even mentioned in a recent Washington Post list of 12 people who might fill the leadership vacuum at the top of what it described as the “listless vessel” that is the current Democratic Party.

A look at that list would be reassuring to centrist or moderate Democrats, as it is topped by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and includes others, like Fetterman, who would like to be seen as representing an alternative to the faction of the party that has been led in the last decade by Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent Socialist from Vermont. They hope that the party’s tilt to the left under Biden, and especially during the 2024 campaign, as first the president and then Vice President Kamala Harris tried in vain to appease voters who resented their half-hearted support for Israel, should be seen as a lesson learned that will not be repeated in the future.

They were also probably reassured by a Senate vote on Sanders’s latest effort to punish Israel for seeking to defend itself against genocidal Palestinian terrorists since the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Jewish senator’s proposal to block $9 billion in arms sales to Israel was resoundingly rejected by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 83-15.

It is discouraging to think that 15 senators would oppose aiding the Jewish state in the middle of an ongoing conflict with Iran’s terrorist proxies. But those who prefer to see the glass as being half-full can point to the fact that this means that the Democratic Senate caucus voted in favor of Israel by a 32-15 margin, even as the GOP was unanimously behind it. Moreover, four of those who voted against Sanders’s effort voted in favor of a similar resolution last fall, including Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga). Ossoff came under withering criticism from Georgia’s Jewish community for siding against Israel and is facing a potentially tough re-election fight in 2026.

But any assumption that a 2024 post-mortem will incline the Democrats to turn back to the center may be mistaken. By any measure, the energy within the Democratic Party remains with its left-wing base, not its less radical establishment.

Those who voted against Sanders may, while still virtue-signaling their opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and concern for the casualties caused by a war launched by Hamas that most Palestinians support, still want to be perceived as pro-Israel. But it is precisely those more centrist Washington officeholders who are largely the focus of grass-roots anger from Democrats who want their representatives to do anything, no matter how pointless, to vent their rage at Trump.

Moreover, the further assumption that the Democratic Party establishment can, when it wishes to, squelch the party’s left, whenever it wants to, may also be mistaken.

That’s what happened in February 2020 when Sanders seemed on track to win the Democratic nomination for president after Biden flopped in Iowa and New Hampshire. In the South Carolina primary, however, African-American voters rallied to Biden, and then the other candidates fell into line and withdrew from the race, allowing him to coast to victory while spending the early months of the pandemic and the rest of the year largely hiding in his basement.

A turn against Israel

The Democratic Party of 2025, let alone 2028, is not the same. Most members of Congress may still not wish to be seen as being too far to the left. But their party base, if not all of their voters, has no such qualms. And as far as Israel is concerned, the impact of the post-Oct. 7 war and surge of antisemitism that has swept across the nation have solidified the trend that was already turning the party against Jerusalem.

As the most recent Gallup tracking poll indicates, voters who identify themselves as Democrats have decisively turned against Israel, favoring the Palestinians over Israel by a shocking 59% to 21% margin. By contrast, Republicans favor Israel by 75% to 10%, and independents do so by a smaller margin of 42% to 34%.

Though that means that a majority of Americans remain pro-Israel, it is also a clear sign that figures who might have been deemed out-of-step with the majority of their party’s voters only a few years ago can enter the next presidential cycle secure in the knowledge that they speak for the overwhelming majority of Democrats.

And that is where AOC comes in.

It may be hard for many observers to wrap their heads around the idea that someone who has seemed to symbolize 21st-century radicalism is a presidential possibility. As much as it is easy to deride her policy proposals like the “Green New Deal” or the abysmal ignorance about issues like the conflict in the Middle East that she often displays, it would be a mistake to underestimate her political savvy or ability to put herself in a position of influence in a party that has been gradually shifting farther to the left for the last two decades.

Sanders passes the torch

As has been made clear in the last year, Sanders is passing on the leadership of the party’s left wing to AOC. The two of them have often campaigned together, and most recently, went on a so-called “fighting oligarchy” tour, where they drew large and enthusiastic crowds in Nevada, Arizona and Colorado.

 

 

Sanders is passing on the leadership of the Democratic Party’s left wing to AOC

 

That has prompted a flurry of articles in liberal and left-wing publications about AOC’s 2028 prospects. She has plenty of options.

One is staying in the U.S. House of Representatives and rising in the party’s leadership. If the Democrats regain the majority in a now narrowly divided House in the 2026 midterms, then it would give a platform for her ideas while sitting in a safe deep-blue seat.

Another option would be to run for a seat in the Senate in 2028 by challenging Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Beating Schumer, who has continually held public office since January 1975, would be no easy task, even in a Democratic electorate that leans as far to the left as that in New York. But the longtime New York senator, who will be 78 in 2028, is emblematic of the party’s failed geriatric leadership to which AOC, who will turn 39 that year, is an obvious antidote. He’s also alienated Democrats, who think he’s been insufficiently obstructionist toward Trump 2.0 and the pro-Israel community for his attacks on the Jewish state’s government since Oct. 7, and his advice to Columbia University that only Republicans care about antisemitic mayhem on its campus.

It’s also possible that AOC will conclude that with Sanders’s support and an existing Democratic field that at the moment is made up of figures unlikely to capture the nation’s imagination, 2028 would be the best time to try for the presidency.

The ‘core values’ of the Democrats

Those urging her to choose that option were bolstered by a CNN poll that showed that of the leading Democrats, she “best reflects” the “core values” of the party.

That advantage shouldn’t intimidate her potential opponents since she topped a list of 26 Democrats with only 10% giving her that title. Still, it is significant that in doing so, she finished ahead of people like former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris, though it’s hard to imagine the latter trying again for the presidency after her 2024 debacle. Even more interesting is the fact that Shapiro—the early favorite of pro-Israel moderates—got only 1% in the poll of Democrats while Fetterman received zero support.

As the flurry of flattering articles about her in the liberal press, such as one by New York Times columnist Michelle Cottle and a separate Times news analysis indicates, AOC is widely liked by her fellow congressional Democrats and is working to build bridges with the moderates.

More important than that—and unlike a lot of people on the left who are supposedly smarter than her—AOC deserves credit for trying to downplay the ideological divide in her party. Instead, she is taking a page out of the playbooks of both Sanders and Trump by demanding that the Democrats must give up being the party of the educated class and credentialed elites. Instead, she wants it to go back to its roots as a party that represents working people.

Her ideas, like the radical environmentalism of the Green New Deal, would be terrible for everyone, especially for working-class Americans, since those who aren’t privileged rich people would be hurt by abandoning fossil fuels and other measures that benefit the upper classes. The same is true for her support for open borders that depress the wages of lower-income Americans and make housing less affordable. Still, she does understand that the globalist economics pursued by the establishments of both major parties until the advent of Trump have devastated blue-collar voters.

Her undoubted charisma and support that she’s always gotten from the liberal press who have helped her go mainstream are formidable advantages heading toward 2028.

It remains to be seen how she would fare in a presidential campaign, however, since the only way to know if a candidate, no matter how popular or well-funded, is ready for prime time is for them to run. And three and a half years away from the 2028 general election, it’s unclear how the nation will perceive Trump 2.0, and whether Vice President JD Vance, the current front-runner for the GOP nomination, will stay in Trump’s good graces. And that’s not taking into account whether Trump is really serious about finding a way to evade the barrier to an unconstitutional third term erected by the 22nd Amendment.

The left wing of the Democratic Party is unlikely, as it did in 2020, to allow the D.C. establishment to stay in power again. The party base’s rage at Trump, especially if, unlike in his first term, he proves impervious to attempts to sabotage his administration, will be vented at centrists as much as it will be at Republicans.

A bipartisan consensus is dead

That’s bad news for the dwindling number of Democrats like Fetterman, who would like to reassemble the old bipartisan pro-Israel consensus.

AOC is very much in sync with not merely the anti-Israel activism of left-wing Democrats and fellow “Squad” members in the House. She also supports the pro-Hamas mobs on campuses like Columbia University, even as she hedges her bets by saying that she’s against antisemitism while denying that her anti-Zionist allies are Jew-haters.

Those who wonder what will happen to the U.S.-Israel relationship or the fight against antisemitism if the Democrats win in 2028 have good reason to worry. As much as the Biden and Obama administrations saw a steep decline in the influence of pro-Israel Democrats, the Democratic Party of the future that AOC represents is one in which they will have virtually no voice at all. Whether or not she runs, or winds up seriously contending for the presidential nomination, a Democratic Party where someone who shares her views can be spoken of as a realistic possibility for 2028 is one that will have abandoned Jewish voters. It will also mean that any hope that Israel hasn’t become a partisan issue for the foreseeable future is officially gone.

NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER

By Bob Walsh

 

 

 

 

 

Ontario McDougall is, to put it succinctly, a dumb sonofabitch.  Back on March 25 he took some video of himself aiming a rifle at a cop seating in a patrol car, then posted it on social media.  This made it fairly easy for the authorities in Jackson, MS. to figure out who he was and to arrest his happy ass on a charge of making terroristic threats.  He should also be charged with felony stupidity and misdemeanor idiocy, but probably won't be.    

THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS HIS WONDERS TO PERFORM

By Bob Walsh

 

 

A Christian School teacher and youth pastor has just been sentenced to 29 years as a guest of the people of Kansas for stabbing his wife and his four kids and then setting the house on fire.

Matthew Lee Richards, 42, of Shawneee, Kansas had been feeling stress over financial issues back in September of 2023 when he decide the appropriate response to the situation was to murder his family and burn his house down.  He didn't do that good a job of it.  None of them died.

He copped to two counts of attempted murder.  He offered his apologies to all concerned and asserted that he was a monster.  Apparently they were about to be evicted and he never got around to telling his wife and family about it and figured that killing them and burning the house down would be a way around telling them of his financial incompetence.  He was right of course, but it was probably not the best way of dealing with the issue, and they found out anyway so.........

POLICE K-9 KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY

By Bob Walsh

 

 

Blitz

 

 

On April 2 the Wadesboro. N.C. police department ran a traffic stop on a car with what turned out to be a fake license plate.  The driver sped away from the stop and was eventually stopped by spike sticks.

A fight ensued in which the dog's handler was injured and the dog died, though the suspect was apprehended. 

It seems that the dog, whose name was Blitz, was not trained for apprehensions according to the dog trainer, who supplied the K-9 to the department without charge.

The dog's cause of death has not yet been released, nor has the name of the bad guy, who is still in the slammer pending a $60,000 bond. 

BIBAS FAMILY KIDNAP LEADER KILLED IN TARGETED ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE

IDF says it killed terrorist who led Bibas abduction, was likely involved in their murders

Military says Hamas propagandist who was involved in hostage videos and official who funneled cash to terror group’s military wing also killed

 

By Emanuel Fabian  

 

The Times of Israel

Apr 5, 2025

 

Shiri Bibas (left) and her sons Ariel, 4, (top-right) and baby Kfir, who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 and murdered in captivity. 

 

The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet on Friday said a terror operative who oversaw the kidnapping and likely was also involved in the murder of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza.

The military and security agency also announced the killings of a Hamas propagandist involved in the production of hostage videos and an official central to funneling money to the terror group’s armed wing.

The IDF and Shin Bet on Friday said Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Awad, a senior member of the Mujahideen Brigades, a relatively small terror group in the Strip, had been targeted and killed in an airstrike in northern Gaza earlier that day.

In a joint statement, the IDF and Shin Bet said that Awad had invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught and led the abduction of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas.

The IDF said Awad was “likely involved in their murder” during the early weeks of the war.

According to assessments by Israeli officials issued after her body had been identified, Shiri Bibas was “brutally” murdered by her captors in November 2023, alongside her sons, who were killed with “bare hands.” The assessments after a forensic investigation were contrary to Hamas’s claims that the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

 

Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Awad, a senior Mujahideen Brigades terrorist who Israel says oversaw the abduction of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, and was likely involved in their murders, seen in a poster released by the terror group following his killing by Israel on April 4, 2025. 

 

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. Husband and father Yarden Bibas was taken captive separately from his wife and children.

The bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were returned in February as part of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Yarden Bibas was released alive.

The IDF and Shin Bet said Awad was also responsible for the abduction of US-Israeli nationals Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein, who were both killed amid the onslaught in Nir Oz, along with several Thai nationals taken hostage from the kibbutz, the military said.

 

An undated photo of Judih Weinstein and Gadi Haggai 

 

The terror group also confirmed Awad’s death, saying he was a senior military commander and head of its intelligence division. The IDF said he was considered close to the leadership of the Mujahideen Brigades.

“Additionally, as part of his role in the terror group, Awad was engaged in recruiting terror operatives in [the West Bank] and Israel [proper], through which they advanced and carried out attacks against Israelis,” the military said.

During the war, the IDF said the Mujahideen Brigades, which is allied with Hamas, carried out several attacks on Israeli forces in Gaza and against Israel.

Hamas propagandist and financier both killed this week

The IDF and Shin Bet also said Friday that they’d killed a Hamas operative who “served as a propaganda and psychological terror operative” in an airstrike in Gaza this week.

According to the military, Mohammed Saleh al-Bardawil “played a central role in Hamas’s propaganda apparatus, systematically spreading false information and leveraging media as a tool for psychological terror and to promote the murderous narrative of the Hamas terrorist organization.”

Bardawil also worked as a broadcaster with the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa Radio.

The IDF said that “while he was referred to as a well-known journalist in Gaza, he was an integral part of Hamas’s incitement and terror infrastructure.”

 

Mohammed Saleh Al-Bardawil, pictured with two of his children, was a Hamas operative who “served as a propaganda and psychological terror operative”

“Bardawil took an active part in producing the cynical propaganda videos distributed by the terrorist organization Hamas, in which the abducted Israelis were filmed during their captivity in Gaza,” the military added.

According to Palestinian media, Bardawil was killed on Monday in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, alongside his wife and three children.

A Hamas operative involved in funneling money to the terror group’s military wing was also killed in a Thursday airstrike, the IDF and Shin Bet announced.

Saeed Ahmad Abed Khudari was the head of the Al Wefaq Co. currency exchange company, which had been designated as a terror organization by the Defense Ministry for its involvement in transferring money to Hamas.

“Khudari has been involved in numerous financial transfers to Hamas’s military wing over the years and especially throughout the war,” the IDF said.

The military said his involvement in funneling funds to Hamas increased following the killing of his brother, Hamed Khudari, in 2019. His brother had also served as a money man for Hamas, according to the military.

Khudari’s elimination yesterday is “a significant blow to the terror organization’s ability to rearm and reestablish itself,” the IDF added.

SERB REPUBLIC PRESIDENT MILORAD DODIK

The pro-Israel European leader you haven't heard of

President of Bosnia's Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik has been a controversial figure because he has stood for his people. Most recently he was issued an arrest warrant while attending a conference in Israel. He spoke with Israel Hayom exclusively.

 

By Ariel Bulshtein  

 

Israel Hayom

April 4, 2025

 

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik

 

When Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, left the home of the Bachar family in Kibbutz Be'eri, he said one sentence, "I will never forget these words." Previously, for long minutes, they sat facing each other in the living room that remained as it was on the morning of October 7, 2023 – the farmer Avida Bachar and the visiting president. Bachar spoke, and Dodik listened, as one listens to a brother.

Those words he will never forget described how the four members of the Bachar family locked themselves in the safe room when terrorists broke into the kibbutz, how Avida struggled to prevent them from opening the door, how the human savages surrounding the room began shooting and throwing grenades into the safe room, and how the stunned and wounded father saw his wife and son dead before his eyes, and his daughter wounded.

Outside the house, after embracing Bachar, the president was asked if he wanted to provide a statement to the media, and he replied with simplicity and honesty so rare in politicians, "I cannot. How can one speak after what I just heard?" After a few moments, he gestured toward Gaza and remarked, "No coexistence is possible with them, with those who came to murder innocent people and with those who support murderers."

The president of Republika Srpska did not need his current visit to Israel to learn who stands against whom in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is well-versed in the facts and details, and especially brave and determined to recognize the cause that has fueled the conflict for about 150 years – the hatred and desire to destroy Israel.

Dodik has supported Israel for many years, but the October 7 massacre greatly sharpened his position and established him as one of the clearest voices for the Jewish state. Immediately after the massacre, he ordered the presidential building in Banja Luka, the capital of the Republic, to be illuminated in blue and white. "Just think about it – on that very day, the Serbian entity's presidential building in Bosnia displayed the Israeli flag, while the government building in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia's Muslim entity and the capital of the entire country, displayed the terrorists' flag – the Palestinian flag," Dodik (66) notes in an exclusive conversation with Israel Hayom, revealing some of the complexity that has surrounded his country since its establishment.

Bosnia is indeed a unique country unlike any other in the world. Following the Balkan wars, and with the declared goal of preventing bloodshed, three population groups were brought together into a single state framework – Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats. To prevent confrontations, and especially to avoid resolving disputes through weapons, the forces were separated – the Serbian region, called Republika Srpska, was granted extensive autonomy. At the head of the united state stands a collective body, a presidency composed of three representatives from the three population groups.

On the surface, according to the utopian vision of European Union and US representatives who created Bosnia from nothing, the division of powers was supposed to lead to reconciliation. Important decisions, the project's initiators dreamed, would only be made by consensus, no one would impose anything on others, and the afflicted Balkans would be redeemed. In practice, the noble goal was only partially achieved. The guns have indeed been silent in Bosnia for more than 30 years, but the ancient hatreds have not gone anywhere. To a large extent, united Bosnia is a fiction, and Dodik's example of contrasting solidarity expressions to the October 7 massacre illustrates this well. While Bosnia's Serbs stood with Israel as their president directed, the Muslims did not hesitate to support the killers.

"It didn't end with projecting the PLO flag on the government building in Sarajevo," Dodik adds, describing a series of demonstrations supporting Hamas and Hezbollah held in Muslim Sarajevo. "With us in Banja Luka, and throughout Republika Srpska, such a thing could not happen. Support for Israel is absolute."

Iran is not just your problem

Two opposing trends are evident not only in symbolic identification. More than a decade ago, when Bosnia was a member of the UN Security Council and the Palestinian Authority sought international recognition as a state, Bosnia's vote was decisive. The Muslims naturally wanted to support it, but Dodik, representing Republika Srpska, said no. Since foreign policy decisions are supposed to be made by consensus, this effectively meant a veto, and the Palestinian Authority's move was thwarted.

However, the Muslims have also learned to block Dodik's support for Israel. When he publicly proposed moving Bosnia's embassy to Jerusalem, as US President Donald Trump did, it was the Bosniaks' turn to say no.

While the embassy move didn't happen, Dodik has no doubt that Israel's capital is Jerusalem, and that Trump was right. In general, the president of Republika Srpska is a great supporter of the current White House president, and this affinity has a long history. "I didn't hide my support for him even before he was first elected in November 2016, and I paid a heavy price for it," Dodik recalls. "When Trump won the first election, I was supposed to fly to his inauguration ceremony, and two days before the flight, the outgoing Barack Obama administration imposed sanctions on me – a clear political punishment from a Democratic president for my public support of his Republican rival."

Since those days, Dodik has also "earned" sanctions from President Biden, who went further and included the entire political leadership of Republika Srpska and even Dodik's family members on the sanctions list. Hamas and Hezbollah supporters on the Muslim side of Bosnia – how surprising – were not treated similarly. No sanctions were imposed on them.

However, if someone in Democratic circles in the US estimated that punitive measures would break Dodik or force him to fall in line, the assessment proved completely mistaken. During the last election campaign in the US, he again openly supported Trump, and did so with natural, genuine enthusiasm. He walked around wearing the red cap with "Make America Great Again" written on it and showered the Republican candidate and his platform with abundant praise. At the same time, he asked Serbs living in the US last November to vote for Trump, partly because he "will protect family values and other conservative values." After the election, this support did not diminish one bit, even though the Republican administration has not yet moved to lift the sanctions on Dodik.

Q: Do you also support Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip?

"Certainly. His proposal is so logical and correct. Gaza's hostile population needs to go elsewhere. They have shown their nature, we've seen what they want to do to you, even though Israel's hand has always been extended in peace. On October 7, they came to murder innocent, unarmed people who just wanted to live, to celebrate life. When visiting Kibbutz Be'eri or the Nova party site in Re'im, one understands the monstrous nature of the horrific crime committed there. The extremism of Gaza's Arabs brought tragedy to the border communities, but also shattered Gaza and the Western illusion that one can live alongside it in peace and sweep the problem under the rug. After such a massacre, one cannot live beside them, and that's why I support Trump's plan."

Q: Do you find expressions of Islamist extremism in the Balkans as well?

"Absolutely. Hamas and ISIS flags at demonstrations in Sarajevo weren't just symbols – they conveyed a political message. Islamists are not looking for coexistence, they aspire to impose their will and ideology on others. And they still dare to make false accusations against Israel, the victim of the massacre, of committing 'genocide.' For a long time, we have suffered from aggression that resembles what you are experiencing. Iran, for example, is not just Israel's problem. For years, it has served as the main sponsor of extreme Islamic organizations in Sarajevo."

"Know suffering and freedom"

Dodik's concerns are firmly rooted in facts. Extreme Islam has taken root in the Muslim part of Bosnia, and while it's still clearly the domain of a minority among Bosniaks, the trend is frightening. Investigations of attacks carried out by Islamists across Europe have revealed that in many cases, the trails led to Bosnia. Unfortunately, Shiite Iran is no longer the only one sending its poisonous tentacles to the Muslim regions of the Balkan country. Erdogan's Turkey is competing with it for primacy. In this competition, the level of extremism and brainwashing only rises, and that's before mentioning the corrupting influence of Qatar's Al Jazeera, which broadcasts throughout the Balkans in local languages.

 

 Milorad Dodik during the antisemitism conference in Jerusalem, March 2025 

No wonder that in the situation created, President Dodik finds many parallels between the situation of Jews in the Middle East and the situation of Serbs in Bosnia, "Just as Israel does not allow any external factor to dictate when and how it should protect its people, we also reject the idea that those who do not respect us will decide our security matters. Security is not a matter of compromise – it is a matter of survival."

Q: What are you trying to learn from Israel?

"We learn from Israel the meaning of determination, unity, and belief in its strength. Benjamin Netanyahu and the people in Israel demonstrate what every free nation needs – the determination for self-defense when necessary, regardless of the price. This determination didn't grow from politics but from historical experience. Jews and Serbs are two peoples who stood shoulder to shoulder in the 20th century when many hoped to witness our extermination. They didn't succeed, and they will continue to fail. When Israel defends itself, it's not only protecting the present but also fulfilling the vow given in the face of your fathers' suffering and honoring their memory. We understand this because we also repeat this vow at places of suffering and heroism of our people. A Jewish saying states, 'Don't ask how long it will last – ask if it's worth fighting for.' This is the essence of the struggle of Israelis and Serbs – never ceasing to fight for what is sacred to you."

Q: Are there additional parallels between the Israeli story and the story of the Serbs and Republika Srpska?

"Jews are the people who have suffered the most in the world, and Serbs have suffered more than others in the Balkans. Israel refuses to apologize for its existence, and so do we. We defend the truth, we preserve memory, and we understand that history didn't begin yesterday. In fact, at Yad Vashem [the Israeli Holocaust memorial] and Jasenovac (an extermination camp where Nazis and their Croatian Ustasha allies murdered tens of thousands of Jews and hundreds of thousands of Serbs), they recognize the same vow. 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,' says a well-known proverb. This is exactly why we, the Serbs, have a duty to remember – not to hate but to survive. And to prevent injustices from recurring again, whether they affect our people or any other. I believe you see the Serbian people as a true friend and a nation that knows what suffering and freedom are. Both our peoples have learned that the price of freedom is high, but the price of subjugation is even higher. Therefore, we understand each other better than others. Therefore, we stand by each other, in good times and difficult times."

Q: Israel built its strength, among other things, on economic power and technological power. Do you identify possibilities in these areas in Republika Srpska?

"We have resources, knowledge, talented people – we lack peace that would allow us to make use of all these. We have energy sources, agriculture, tourism, and information technologies, but Sarajevo constantly tries to hinder our development. Just as Israel refuses to let others determine its future, we will not agree to become hostages of a political and bureaucratic siege from Sarajevo."

Q: What is the reason that the Muslim majority in Bosnia tries to harass you?

"We don't ask for what isn't ours, but we won't give up what belongs to us. Borders are sacred for every nation, especially when they are anchored in international agreements. For us, the borders of Republika Srpska are based on a spiritual and historical foundation, and the international community guarantees them. Dialogue is only possible when there is genuine mutual respect. Bosnia's problem is that the Bosniak political elite doesn't want compromise – they want supremacy, and that's not the path to stability. We know that agreement should reflect compromise, not surrender. Netanyahu showed it's possible when he signed the Abraham Accords and built relationships with Arab countries while bypassing extremists. That's the model we also want to promote."

Joining hands against hatred

The problem of Republika Srpska is not limited to the expansionist aspirations of Bosnia's Muslim majority, which repeatedly tries to erode its autonomous status. The real difficulty, according to Dodik, lies in the fact that most European countries, except for Viktor Orbán's Hungary, enable this. Due to Bosnia's special structure, the position of external players carries enormous weight – foreign judges are appointed to Bosnia's Constitutional Court, and another foreigner serves as the High Representative, an external administrator with very broad powers.

Managing a country through an external administrator, who wasn't elected by its citizens at all, is an absurdity in itself, but in the case of the current Representative, Christian Schmidt, another component was added to the mix – the appointment of the German Schmidt was not approved by the UN Security Council, and therefore has no validity, at least in the eyes of Republika Srpska's leadership.

Dodik has refused to follow Schmidt's instructions, and as president signed a law passed by parliament declaring that the rulings of Bosnia's Constitutional Court have no validity in Republika Srpska. For these actions, he was put on trial in Sarajevo. How can an elected leader of a political entity be criminally prosecuted for signing approval for a law passed by a majority vote – you ask? It turns out that in today's Bosnia, even the impossible is possible.

But the indictment on an obviously political charge was just a prelude. The real explosion, which now threatens to dismantle Bosnia and perhaps even throw it back into the fire of renewed war, came just as Dodik landed in Israel to participate in a high-level international conference led by Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli. First, the Bosnian court published the Serbian leader's sentence (one year in prison and a ban on holding political office for six years), and a few days later demanded that Interpol issue an international arrest warrant against him.

Another politician might have welcomed the sudden spotlight that landed on him due to the scandalous ruling, but Dodik was mainly embarrassed. Embarrassed that media attention was diverted from the main issue – the fight against antisemitism for which he came to Israel – to the trivial and sensational, "I came to the Jewish state to join hands in the war against hatred of Jews. Antisemitism is evil, which unfortunately did not disappear with the end of World War II. Today it takes new forms, sometimes under the guise of concern for other causes, but in essence, it's the same hatred toward Jews and Israel. Europe shows us that it hasn't learned from the lessons of the past, and that should worry us all. We don't divide Jews into 'good' and 'bad' and don't use double standards. We know very well what it's like to be a victim and how it feels when they want to exterminate you just because you exist. Therefore, antisemitism will never have a place or foothold in Republika Srpska."

"There are no coincidences in politics," Dodik explains the timing of events, as tempers flared around him and media outlets worldwide competed over who would give the most dramatic headline regarding the arrest warrant raised over him. "At the exact moment I arrived in Israel to speak against antisemitism, extremism, and terrorism, Sarajevo takes an act of political and religious hatred, which comes from the same people who marched in the city streets with Hamas flags. Those who paraded with Hamas and ISIS symbols demand my arrest just because I am in Jerusalem, because I stand alongside a nation that knows what it means to fight for survival, because I refuse to be silent in the face of voices of hatred against Jews and Serbs, which are rising again in Bosnia. My message is very clear – I was in Israel when they tried to silence me, and I will come here again."

Seeking to impose foreign values

While Dodik's continued support for the Jewish state is not in doubt, the future of his conflicted country is shrouded in uncertainty, now more than ever. Any violent attempt by the Bosniaks to arrest him could ignite actual battles, but even without that, the shaky union of Muslims, Serbs, and Croats is creaking and falling apart.

Added to the internal tensions is the appetite of the powers, as almost everyone tries to pull the strings. Brussels and Turkey for the Bosniaks, Hungary, Serbia, and Russia for Republika Srpska, and Croatia for the Croats, of course. The tangle is so severe that, as in other conflict cases, eyes are turned toward Trump. Perhaps the savior from the White House will also untie the Bosnian knot, especially since the similarity in worldview between him and Milorad Dodik is simply amazing, and not just regarding their unequivocal support for Israel.

It's no coincidence that the president of Republika Srpska applauds the American president's decisions and his war against radical Left movements. "The protests and demonstrations against me, similar to the demonstrations against Netanyahu in Israel, were funded by the same power centers – USAID and other foundations that seek to shape the world according to their view and impose foreign values on sovereign peoples," explains Dodik, adding that he is convinced that the attempt of foreign influence and "deep state" efforts will not succeed, "Trump, Netanyahu, and I all serve as targets, not because we did something wrong, but because we are not willing to surrender. They cannot defeat us in elections, so they turn to other methods to remove us."

Similar to Donald Trump, Dodik finds himself under a massive attack on another controversial issue – he refused to open the door to Muslim immigration. "Republika Srpska did not agree to become a collection center for migrants because we know what it brings – damage to security, identity, and society," claims Dodik. "Again we see the difference between us and Sarajevo – we protect law and order, while they are interested in irresponsibly flooding the country with migrants under the guise of human rights discourse."

As is customary these days, Dodik also offered Americans to sign an agreement for the search and production of rare metals, which may be present in Republika Srpska's soil. According to him, there is feasibility for finding lithium, magnesium, and other minerals in the eastern part of the region, and their economic potential could reach $100 billion.

"I am convinced that Donald Trump is the man who will liberate the world," Dodik declared after the US presidential election, and it seems that in recent months he has only strengthened in his opinion. Liberating the world is a heavy mission, but perhaps a bit more possible when approaching it together. At least as far as he is concerned, "the Balkans' Trump" is ready to walk toward the goal alongside the original Trump, come what may.

TURKEY IS A WELCOME HAVEN TO THOSE WH WANT TO DESTROY ISRAEL

Turkey has become ‘the central nerve center for Hamas abroad’

Shin Bet uncovers Hamas cell in Nablus run by Turkey-based HQ; observers say Ankara offers freedom of action to Hamas terror operatives. 

 

By Yaakov Lappin

 

JNS

Apr 4, 2025

 

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said “Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them,” and has even threatened military action against Israel

 

A Hamas terror cell in Nablus that received instructions and funding from the organization’s overseas headquarters in Turkey was dismantled by Israeli security forces in recent weeks in what observers say is part of a broader pattern of Turkey serving as a permissive hub for Hamas’s terror operations.

According to a joint statement by the Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) issued on March 25, “a terror cell from Nablus was thwarted, which acted under the guidance and funding of Hamas headquarters in Turkey to carry out shooting and explosive device attacks.” The statement added that “an M-16 rifle and tens of thousands of dollars in cash were handed over during the investigation.”

Six suspects from Nablus were arrested between January and February in a joint operation by the Shin Bet, the Israel Police Central Unit of the Judea and Samaria District and the Israel Defense Forces. 

The investigation revealed that the suspects had received approximately $40,000 from Hamas in Turkey to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli security forces and other targets in Judea and Samaria.

The Shin Bet stated that “the investigation revealed that the cell operated under direct guidance from the Hamas terror organization in Turkey,” and that “significant evidence was gathered which not only thwarted the planned attacks but also enabled the indictment of all involved.” 

One of the suspects led security forces to a hidden roadside bomb buried near a key junction in Samaria. The large metal container filled with explosives was destroyed in a controlled demolition by police sappers.

Col. (res.) Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University and former head of IDF Military Intelligence’s Department for Palestinian Affairs, told JNS on Wednesday, “Turkey at this stage constitutes one of Hamas’s most important operational hubs abroad.”

Milshtein noted that “in Lebanon, there’s been a decline [of Hamas activities] since the war—and Hezbollah is angry at Hamas for trying to heat up the border with rocket fire. In Syria, there is still rebuilding [of Hamas] after Assad’s fall, but it remains limited. As a result, Turkey has become a central nerve center.”

Milshtein added that Istanbul is home to Zaher Jabarin, the successor of Saleh al-Arouri, the late Hamas deputy political bureau chief [eliminated in an airstrike in Beirut on Jan. 2, 2024] who was responsible for Hamas’s Judea and Samaria operations across a variety of fields. “Most operations in Judea and Samaria—especially military ones—are promoted from there,” said Milshtein.

He added, “I assess carefully that Hamas finds it very convenient to operate in Turkey. There’s freedom of action, though not the same intense support as from Iran or Hezbollah. As long as they don’t establish military bases like in Syria, they are allowed to work freely, and of course, it is known that their focus is on promoting terrorism.”

Milshtein said there had been several reports indicating that “it’s not just a free hand, but also training, mainly in intelligence and commando fields, by Turkish security elements.” And, he stressed, “Turkey is a central NATO member.”

Under Jabarin, the core of Hamas’s Judea and Samaria command is run by operatives deported as part of the 2011 Shalit prisoner exchange. 

“A minority are in Qatar and Gaza—where a number of senior headquarters operatives were eliminated during the war—but the core is in Turkey, led by Mousa Dudin,” said Milshtein. 

A number of these terrorists were involved in attacks such as orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in 2014. Milshtein said that this network also continues to explore “breakthrough moves like undermining the Palestinian Authority’s hold on the West Bank,” a strategic vision led by Arouri until his elimination.

Regarding potential counteraction, Milshtein said, “The question of operating against the headquarters in Turkey is very complex, similar to operating against Hamas figures in Qatar. Against those in Lebanon or Syria, there has been no problem, but any assassinations, even quiet ones, in an arena like Turkey would mean friction with Erdoğan, especially now that Ankara is more deeply involved in Syria.”

He concluded, “I assume that as with Arouri and Haniyeh, there would be a theoretical possibility to act against Hamas operatives from Turkey if and when they leave the country for a more convenient arena, such as Iran or Lebanon.”

Michael Barak, senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) and a specialist on radical Islamist and jihadist movements, told JNS on Tuesday, “Turkey is a base for the Muslim Brotherhood. There are networks there that help Hamas with funding, support, religious rulings, and logistics. Turkey has become a reception point for Brotherhood members.”

Barak confirmed that “a Hamas headquarters still exists there—in Istanbul and Ankara—and it is integrated into educational institutions, including universities.” 

He cited the example of Professor Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad financier in the 1990s who was deported from the United States and now operates from a university-affiliated think tank in Ankara. “There he hosts Hamas figures,” Barak said. “Al-Arian maintains ties with Hamas, runs webinars with them on Zoom, and manages Brotherhood-Hamas links, including in India.”

Barak emphasized: “All of these Muslim Brotherhood assets in Turkey assist Hamas—whether through dawa [Islamic outreach], financing, or religious rulings.”

He added that Turkey has become “a reception point for Muslim Brotherhood figures from Libya, Iraq, and Yemen.” 

On March 30, during a Ramadan prayer service, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared, “May Allah, for the sake of his name … destroy and devastate Zionist Israel.” 

He also prayed for “mercy upon the martyrs” of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and wished a “speedy recovery” to their wounded terrorists.

Erdoğan has intensified his anti-Israel rhetoric since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and asserting that “Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them.” Throughout the conflict, Erdoğan has met openly with Hamas officials and even threatened military action against Israel, according to the Washington D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 

Tyler Stapleton, director of congressional relations at FDD, warned, “Erdoğan’s call for the destruction of Israel should force the United States to begin an escalatory ladder of responses to hold Turkey’s leadership accountable.” He said the U.S. should reassess arms sales to Turkey, warning that “Turkey’s ability to purchase advanced fighter aircraft like the F-35 should trigger congressional review.” He added that Washington “should continue to outline restrictions on foreign military financing and the exclusion of Turkey from NATO exercises” as initial steps to address Erdoğan’s hostility against Israel.

ISRAEL NEEDS TO WIPE OUT EACH AND EVERY PALESTINIAN ARMED GROUP IN THE WEST BANK

Israel needs a military operation in Samaria

Terrorists will exploit any vacuum in Israeli control to establish and expand terrorist infrastructures and launch attacks against Israelis. 

 

By Amit Barak

 

JNS

Apr 3, 2025 

Tulkarem brigade of Palestinian terrorists in Samaria 

 

Among my various occupations, I am a tour guide, primarily for Christian groups. On Oct. 7, 2023, I was with a group of Christians from Norway and African countries. It was supposed to be the second-to-last day of their trip.

At breakfast in a hotel in Tiberias, I turned on my phone and started seeing WhatsApp videos, mostly of white pickup trucks driving through the streets of Sderot. I knew something unusual was happening, but I still didn’t grasp the magnitude of the event. Slowly, more and more reports started coming in amid the uncertainty. If this was happening in Gaza, then what could happen in Judea and Samaria? In the north? In the towns along Judea and Samaria? The situation was chaotic.

At that time, I was the commander of the emergency response team in my community in Judea. I knew that the community security officer wasn’t even in Israel at the time, and I was a three-hour drive away. I began sending messages to the residents about how to act and to those on the emergency response team. I said goodbye to my tour group and started making my way home.

My parents, who live not far from the hotel, picked me up, brought me my father’s Israel Defense Forces uniform, as mine was at home and dropped me off at a central junction to begin my journey home. From there, I hitchhiked, ride after ride, with reservists who were already on their way to their units. When I finally arrived home, I greeted my wife and children, and checked on the security preparedness of the community, especially those serving on the emergency response team.

Gradually, the men began disappearing, each one called up to their units. By that evening, I, too, left my family, home and community as I was called to duty.

Almost no men remained in our tiny community of 25 families and a few singles. Despite our proximity to Arab villages, the community was practically defenseless. One could say that we left to defend the State of Israel, but in doing so, we essentially abandoned our families. My settlement, like many others, was left almost entirely in the hands of women. Very few men stayed behind, and the army took time to organize its defense efforts.

Nearly 18 months later, the threat has not yet been removed. It’s no secret that a terrorist infrastructure is always present in Judea and Samaria. The security forces of the State of Israel are in a constant battle against Palestinian terrorism, which seeks to harm Israelis wherever possible. Many of the terrorists originate from areas within Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea near Jericho.

 

A show of force by Lions’ Den gunmen in Nablus,

 

Many of the anti-terrorism efforts in recent months have been focused on northern Samaria, its eastern slopes toward the Jordan Valley and in the Tulkarem area, located in western Samaria.

History has repeatedly proven that where there is no Jewish settlement, there is no security. The 2005 disengagement agreement saw Israel completely leave Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, the latter where four Jewish settlements and military camps were evacuated. This left a significant geographical portion of northern Samaria without a single Israeli presence. The result? The Arabs, often referred to as Palestinians, did not seize the opportunity for normalization or peace. Instead, they exploited the vacuum to establish and expand terrorist infrastructures and launch attacks against Israelis.

From the earliest days of Zionism, it has been clear that security in the Land of Israel is intrinsically tied to the Jewish presence.

Samaria, a biblical heartland liberated in 1967, is often referred to in international political discourse and media as the “West Bank.” This terminology, however, ignores Israel’s historical and legal ties to the land. The Jordan River—though narrow compared to many of the world’s great rivers—defines a region that stretches up to 34 miles at its widest point. Samaria is not only an area of deep historical significance, but also a strategic necessity for Israel’s security. With tall, dominant mountains that serve as a strategic security asset, primarily to protect Israel’s central region, Tel Aviv and areas north of it, where about 70% of the population and 80% of Israel’s economy are concentrated. To the east, the Jordan River and the Jordan Valley act as a natural barrier against military invasion.

Smuggling, however, is a different story.

I heard an intelligence briefing recently that the situation in Samaria (primarily) has worsened since Oct. 7. There are more weapons and more firearms, including various types of weapons and rockets that were not previously present.

One of the greatest threats to Israeli security in Judea and Samaria is the ongoing smuggling of weapons from Jordan. Israel has yet to fully secure this border, allowing a steady flow of arms, many originating from Iran or passing through its channels, into terrorist-controlled areas.

Jordan is aware of this reality, yet the Jordanian army has done little, if anything, to curb the influx of weapons. This echoes Egypt’s passive, or even complicit, role in allowing weapons to be smuggled into Gaza before the Oct. 7 massacre. Egypt’s lack of action raises questions about its involvement and possible indirect benefit from the ongoing conflict and Hamas’s smuggling. The reluctance of Jordan and Egypt to combat terrorism only strengthens Israel’s need for decisive military action.

Tulkarem, a Palestinian city of approximately 90,000 residents, has become a hub of terrorist activities. It is situated on Highway 6, just a few kilometers from Jewish communities in Samaria, the Sharon region and cities such as Netanya and Hadera. This area was Israeli territory even before 1967 and is only a 15-minute drive from the Mediterranean Sea. The Oct. 7 massacre demonstrated how short these distances are, and how vulnerable Israeli civilians and infrastructure are when terrorists exploit such proximities to launch attacks.

The deteriorating security situation in Samaria is a direct consequence of past strategic errors, particularly the 2005 disengagement. Terrorists have taken advantage of Israel’s absence to establish strongholds, smuggle advanced weapons and plot attacks against Israeli civilians. A decisive military operation is now a necessity to restore security, neutralize threats and ensure the sovereignty that Israel must apply over its historic and strategic heartland. Only through action will Israel be able to protect its citizens and secure the future of its land.

OUT ON BAIL AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO MURDER? ... NOT UNUSUAL IN HOUSTON

Murder-suicide suspect was out on bond despite guilty plea for 2019 killing

 

ByJessica Willey  

 

KTRK

Apr 3, 2025

 

14 hours ago

ABC13

Murder-suicide susp

 

 

Insert: Austin Collette

 

HOUSTON, Texas -- A man who pleaded guilty to murder in December and was out on bond fatally shot his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide, according to Houston police.

A welfare check Thursday morning at 1810 Main Street escalated into a SWAT situation involving the Houston Police Department's robot dog. Upon entering the apartment, Houston police discovered the bodies of Austin Collette, 26, and his girlfriend, whose name has not been released.

Authorities believe Collette fatally shot her before he died by suicide.

Court records show that in December 2024, Collette entered a guilty plea for killing Thomas Simmons during a 2019 drug deal gone wrong.

Despite the severity of the charge and a criminal history dating back to age 12, Collette was allowed to remain free on bond while awaiting sentencing-an extra four months of freedom.

"It's a large stressor event, being charged with felonies," HPD Sgt. Mark Holbrook said at the scene. "It can lead to homicide, suicide, people not thinking clearly, when facing a large stressor event like that."

Collette had been under house arrest for over four years while awaiting trial, picking up multiple bond violations and a separate felony drug charge along the way. His most recent violation occurred just days ago when authorities lost track of him for 12 hours due to a reported GPS ankle monitor malfunction, allegedly caused by "metal flakes" interfering and preventing the device from charging, court records show.

Despite this, no action was taken by the court in response to the violation.

Collette's sentencing hearing was scheduled for April 21. He was expected to receive a prison term; probation was not an option.

"It should not have taken nearly this long to prepare a PSI (Pretrial Sentencing Investigation)," KTRK Legal Analyst Brian Wice said. "It is made up of the offense report, the defendant's version of events, and letters of character, and that's it."

Collette's attorney, Kent Schaffer, told ABC13 that it is not unusual for defendants to remain on bond until they are sentenced. However, Wice said the court, in this case, Judge Hilary Unger, could have revoked Collette's bond, and prosecutors could have filed a motion to detain him in jail after the plea. Neither step was taken, per online records.

"This defendant was not eligible for probation. This defendant was going to the penitentiary. This defendant would not be able to appeal whatever sentence was handed down. What could go wrong?" Wice asked. "What went wrong (Thursday) is that he killed another human being."