THE FASTED HOCKEY PLAYERS IN ALL OF NEW ENGLAND AS THEY SKATED OFF THE ICE

Police identify hockey shooter who killed two as Robert Dorgan and say suspect also used female name

 

By Melissa Koenig 

 

Daily Mail

Feb 16, 2026

 

 

Robert Dorgan, 56, who also went by the name 'Roberta Esposito,' has been identified as the gunman who opened fire on family members at a high school hockey match on Monday

 

The gunman who opened fire on family members at a high school hockey match in Rhode Island also used a female name, cops say.

Robert Dorgan, 56, who went by the name 'Roberta' and used the last name 'Esposito,' fired at least a dozen shots in the stands at the Dennis M Lynch Arena in Pawtucket on Monday afternoon, killing two people before turning the gun on himself, Police Chief Tina Goncalves said at a news conference Monday night.

At least two people were killed, including a family member and a family friend, in a shooting that authorities said stemmed from a 'family dispute.' 

Three others were also left in critical condition at a local hospital. 

Questions now remain about what may have driven Dorgan to open fire on his own family members, but court documents obtained by WPRI show Dorgan's gender identity was a source of contention with them.

The documents showed he even told police in early 2020 that he had recently undergone gender reassignment surgery - and said his father-in-law wanted him kicked out of their home because of it.

Dorgan claimed to officers with the North Providence Police Department that his father-in-law threatened to 'have him murdered by an Asian street gang if he did not move out of the residence,' according to court documents. 

Chief Goncalves said Dorgan entered the ice rink Monday afternoon to watch the 'Senior Night' hockey game, which a 'relative' had been playing in when he opened fire at around 2.30pm.

After about a dozen shots were fired, the high school hockey players were seen racing to the back of the Dennis M Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on Monday

 

Footage from the scene appeared to show a man in a white beanie walking down the stands and opening fire into the crowd.

The sound of gunshots soon led others in the stands to turn their heads and flee the scene as the gunman kept firing. 

Livestream footage from the game also showed players starting to duck down on the sidelines after about six shots rang out at the rink.

Other players who were on the ice scrambled to reach the sidelines and get to safety. 

After a total of about a dozen shots were fired as spectators could be heard screaming and crying. 

Following the shooting, a woman told WCVB that her father was the shooter. 

'He shot my family, and he's dead now,' the unidentified woman said, adding that he 'has mental health issues.' 

 

An unidentified woman was seen crying following the deadly shooting

Robert Dorgan, 56, opened fire in the stands at the Dennis M Lynch Arena in Pawtucket on Monday afternoon. Police are pictured at the scene

 

A source with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives explained to Fox News that the gunman shot and killed his wife and opened fire on his children before turning the gun on himself.

Dorgan, who told police he had been living at the home for seven years, also claimed his father-in-law told him 'there's no goddam [sic] way a tranny is going to stay in my house.' 

The father-in-law was then charged with intimidation of witnesses and victims of crimes, and obstruction of the judicial system, but prosecutors later dismissed the charges.

Dorgan had also accused his mother of assaulting him and acting in a 'violent, threatening or tumultuous manner,' and his mother was charged with simple assault and battery and disorderly conduct.

The case apparently caused further contention between Dorgan and his father-in-law, with Dorgan telling police his father-in-law 'told me that if I did not drop the assault charges against my mother, that further retaliation could be expected, and that was another reason to have me killed.' 

 

Witnesses were seen standing outside a police perimeter following the fatal shooting 

High school hockey fans are pictured reacting following the fatal shooting

 

The case against Dorgan's mother was also eventually dismissed. 

As Dorgan was making these claims, his then-wife, Rhonda, filed for divorce, court records show.

She is now believed to be one of the victims of the shooting, WPRI reports.

In the court filings, Rhonda initially wrote she was seeking a divorce on the grounds of 'gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits,' but those reasons were later crossed out and replaced with 'irreconcilable differences, which have caused the immediate breakdown of the marriage.'

Their divorce was finalized in June 2021.  

Authorities arrived on the scene within a minute and a half, Goncalves said, and have spoken to more than 100 witnesses as the investigation into the fatal shooting continues. 

They are now asking for anyone with any additional footage from the hockey match to come forward and share what they saw as a co-op team made up of Coventry and Johnston kids took on another co-op team from St. Raphael, PCD, North Providence, and North Smithfield schools. 

 

Two people were killed in the tragedy, which authorities said stemmed from a 'family dispute'

 

'We're looking at all avenues,' Goncalves said, adding: 'It's going to be a very busy 24 to 48 hours.' 

The tournament started at 2pm, and shots were fired just about half an hour later.

'What should have been a joyful occasion, with dozens of families, students and supporters gathered to celebrate Senior Night... was instead marked by violence and fear,' Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien said.

'Our prayers go out to the victims, their families and everyone impacted by this devastating incident.

'Pawtucket is a strong and resilient community, but tonight we are a city in mourning,' he continued. 'We will stand together in support of those affected in the difficult days ahead and we will keep the public updated as confirmed facts become available.' 

Fortunately, none of the hockey players on the ice were harmed in the shooting, which set off a chaotic scene on the ice, Coventry player Olin Lawrence said.

'I was on the ice and I thought it was balloons at first - it was like "bop, bop," and I thought it was balloons, but this kept going - and it was actually gunshots,' he recounted.

 

One hockey player described how he and his teammates barricaded themselves in the locker room following the shooting

 

'And after the gunshots, me and my teammates ran right to the locker room and we just bunkered up and we pressed against the door and we tried to stay safe down there.

'But it was very scary, we were very nervous.' 

It was not a school day due to President's Day, a federal holiday.

Tragic photos of the scene showed parents holding on tightly to their children as they evacuated to the parking lot on Monday afternoon.

Footage also showed parents with their hands on their heads and children - some still wearing their hockey uniforms - crying.

A large yellow school bus was also seen parked outside the arena, along with multiple police officers who roped off the crime scene.

Multiple ambulances were also seen arriving then quickly fleeing to nearby hospitals and one victim was seen being taken out of the arena on a stretcher. 

After shots rang out at the indoor hockey rink, terrified children also ran into a nearby Walgreens pharmacy, screaming, an employee told WPRI.

 

A father is seen hugging his son outside of the Lynch Arena following the deadly shooting

Parents and teenagers were seen walking to an evacuation bus following the shooting

Police and ATF agents are seen investigating the deadly shooting on Monday

FBI Boston said the agency is aware of the deadly shooting and have 'responded to the scene.' 

'We stand ready to assist our partners at the Pawtucket Police Department and @RIStatePolice with any and all resources they need.

'At this time, there is no imminent threat to public safety and there has been no request for FBI assistance. However, the public should continue to avoid the area,' the FBI added.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee also released a statement saying he is 'praying for Rhode Island.'

'Our state is grieving again,' he said of the tragedy, which comes just months after Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente shot 11 people at Brown University, also in Rhode Island.

'As governor, a parent and a former coach, my heart breaks for the victims, families, students and everyone impacted by the devastating shooting at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket.'

The governor then went on to thank first responders and urged anyone who needed support to call 988.

'Agencies across my administration are working together to provide additional mental health resources to students and families this week,' McKee said.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org. 

A SMOKING GUN? ..... OUR 'GRAB 'EM BY THE PUSSY' IN CHIEF WILL ACCUSE THE NEW REPUBLIC OF PUBLISHING FAKE NEWS

New Evidence Torpedoes Pam Bondi’s Claim About Trump and Epstein

A DOJ slideshow suggests that the FBI spoke with an Epstein victim who accused President Trump of assault.

 

By Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling

 

The New Republic

Feb 16, 2026

 

 

Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies during the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice,” on February 11.

 

Newly uncovered details in the Epstein files reveal that the FBI spoke with a victim who accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, despite Attorney General Pam Bondi’s vehement denial that the Justice Department had any such evidence, as of last week.

Agents apparently spoke with a victim of Jeffrey Epstein who also accused Trump of sexually and violently assaulting her. It is unclear what happened with the investigation, though the government deemed her to be a “credible accuser,” according to independent journalist Roger Sollenberger. A woman with identical biological details sued Epstein’s estate and won a settlement in 2021.

The investigation into the accuser is made apparent on a page titled “prominent names” in an internal, 21-page slideshow cataloguing the Justice Department’s various investigations into Epstein and his longtime criminal associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump’s name is listed in the document, along with two allegations against the sitting president.

“[REDACTED] stated Epstein introduced her to Trump who subsequently forced her head down to his exposed penis which she subsequently bit. In response, Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out,” reads the first entry, noting that the victim would have been between 13 and 15 years old and that the incident took place sometime between 1983 and 1985.

But the second accusation against the president, which involves Trump agreeing with Epstein that a 14-year-old victim was a “good one,” carries a different kind of credibility inside the DOJ, since the person who provided the statement was also used as a key government witness to convict Maxwell, according to the files.

“[REDACTED] remembered Epstein introduced her to Trump saying ‘This is a good one, huh’ and Trump responded ‘Yes’. (date range roughly 1984, [REDACTED] would have been 14),” the slide reads.

Trump was mentioned more than 38,000 times in the latest batch of Epstein files, and was flagged in more than 5,300 files in the document cache.

Yet the White House has continued to vehemently deny that Trump did anything wrong while he was close pals with the child sex trafficker—even as evidence emerges to the contrary.

On Wednesday, Bondi went so far as to claim the Justice Department had no evidence that underage girls were at parties attended by the president. California Representative Ted Lieu then accused Bondi of lying under oath, referring to a document from the FBI’s National Threat Operation Center that illustrated a witness had called the bureau to report such a case in 1995. 

MASS IMMIGRATION FROM MUSLIM COUNTRIES IS THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE WEST

The greatest threat to the West is immigration, not Moscow

Europeans were relieved by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Munich speech, as it reaffirmed the Atlantic alliance. But were they really listening to what he was saying? 

 

By Jonathan S. Tobin 

 

JNS

Feb 16, 2026

 

 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers a keynote speech at the 62nd Munich Security Conference in Germany on Feb. 14, 2026. 

 

The initial reaction from Europeans in attendance to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the recent Munich Security Conference was relief. The mere fact that Rubio had reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the Atlantic alliance calmed the nerves of NATO nations. They have been rattled by President Donald Trump’s demands for America’s acquisition of Greenland from Denmark, as well as by the general tone of the administration’s attitude toward its European allies. It was also considered to be not as confrontational as the address given to the same gathering a year ago by Vice President JD Vance.

Vance frightened the Europeans because he bluntly called them out for hypocrisy about democracy. The liberal elites who run most of Western Europe like to talk about defending democratic values, especially in contrast to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. Yet by seeking to suppress right-wing parties that have protested unfettered immigration from Africa and the Middle East, it’s clear that they don’t really believe in such values. Just look at the ensuing impact this has had on their own countries, especially with respect to the growing influence of Islamists.

This particular issue wasn’t mentioned in the secretary of state’s speech, and that gratified the cross-Atlantic foreign-policy establishment that despises the administration both men serve. While they were pleased by Rubio’s emphasis on Europe and the United States needing one another, they also chose to downplay the substance of the address. In many respects, it was similar in purpose to Vance’s more controversial speech.

Rubio’s purpose

Rubio’s main purpose was not so much to mollify the Europeans, who remain up in arms about Trump’s demands for Greenland, despite the fact that they are still unwilling to pay their fair share of the defense of a continent that relies primarily on American military might to preserve its independence. Rather, it was an eloquent reminder that the real threat to Europe is the one posed by the same issue raised by Vance—namely, that the erasure of borders and consequent unfettered mass immigration by those who don’t believe in the values of Western civilization, who are undermining the national identities of those countries.

Equally important, he was again sounding the alarm about the way environmentalist extremism and globalist economics—promoted by the same liberal elites who advocate open-border policies on both sides of the Atlantic—aren’t just undermining Western economies and the futures of their citizens. They’re also hamstringing the ability of these nations to defend themselves. As he rightly asserted, the rational way forward for the United States and its allies is to again embrace the specific civilizational legacy of the West, rooted in democratic systems of government, culture and faith that the toxic neo-Marxist doctrines of the left are trying to destroy. At the same time, Europe should follow America’s lead in attempting to re-industrialize and to stop outsourcing its ability to manufacture goods and defense materials to a Chinese communist state that cares little for its environmentalist pieties and that poses a genuine geostrategic threat.

Above all, Rubio made it clear that their faith in multilateralism and the United Nations is not only letting them down. An unwillingness to acknowledge that the world body has been a dismal failure—not to mention a destructive force that is enabling antisemitism—is a far more crucial difference between Trump and the Europeans than the president’s critics understand.

That didn’t escape the notice of The New York Times. The so-called newspaper of record devoted no less than four separate articles to the job of pointing out that Rubio’s somewhat more diplomatic enunciation of American principles was at odds with the positions held by most NATO member nations, in addition to the Trump-hating foreign-policy establishment in the United States. They were right about that. But far from this being proof that Rubio is just a more pleasant facade to what they see in Trump’s mindless destruction of the post-World War II order, his speech pointed out some basic truths that needed to be reiterated.

What he said also explained why the administration’s approach is not only a justified defense of the interests of the United States and the West, but also in the best interests of the State of Israel and the defense of Jews everywhere.

Obsessing about Russia

The analyses by the Times were correct in pointing out that nowhere in Rubio’s speech did he mention Russia or the claim, so often asserted in Munich by many Europeans, that Moscow is the primary threat to the West.

The reason Rubio omitted mentioning Russia is not because the administration approves of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine or his ill-advised decision to reject American efforts to broker an end to that destructive war. Trump opposes the war and wants it to end on terms that will preserve Ukrainian independence, even if that means that it won’t get back all of the territory it had back in 2014, when the land war really started (a reasonable compromise rooted in what is possible rather than fantasies).

Washington also understands that the nightmare scenarios about the Russian army overrunning Europe after a conquest of Ukraine that were echoed in the Times’s stories are equally unrealistic. In its current state, Russia isn’t capable of posing such a threat. Its failure to defeat Ukraine testifies to that. While still a dangerous rogue nuclear state allied with China and Iran, it is but a shadow of the once mighty Soviet empire that, before its defeat in the Cold War, did pose such a threat to Europe.

The Europeans—and the Americans who agree with them—seem to think it is still 1987, and the forces of the since-disbanded Soviet-led Warsaw Pact face them in the middle of Germany. But they are equally wrong to be so angry about Trump’s demands for Greenland and his more transactional approach to the alliance. If they want to step up and pay for their own defense—a frequent theme echoed by many at the Munich conference this year—they can certainly do so. The only problem is that no one seriously believes that they can or will accomplish that. These countries have grown prosperous while being sheltered by the umbrella of the U.S. defense establishment, with few signs that they are willing to make the sacrifices to pay for the kind of armed force that will ensure their security against Russia or anyone else.

The most crucial issue facing Europe today isn’t the war in Ukraine or Putin. It’s the way so many in the West have abandoned a defense of their own values and civilization. Contrary to the conventional wisdom peddled by the liberal media, it wasn’t Trump that broke the Western alliance. Rather, it was the European elites who abandoned their own heritage and belief in its eternal truth and put in its place a failing neo-Marxist mindset that rendered them vulnerable to subversion from within long before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Immigration and antisemitism

Rubio’s message that this civilization is rooted in part in the Christian faith unsettled many people. That shouldn’t frighten Jews, who should understand that it is the Judeo-Christian tradition that is the guarantee of their freedom and security in Europe, as well as in the United States. The efforts of Islamists and secular Europeans to discard that tradition are directly linked to the red-green alliance of Marxists and Islamists that has been the engine of a surge in antisemitism around the globe since the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab terror attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Pointing this out isn’t xenophobic or Islamophobic; it is simply recognition of an unfortunate reality.

As the Times wrote, the Europe that exists now doesn’t really resemble the one that created and cherished the Western canon that Rubio exalted as being as integral to American identity as it is to that of the old world from which it emerged. Mass immigration from Muslim countries in the past decade and longer has transformed many of these nations for the worse, where belief in their own political, cultural and faith traditions has declined precipitately. Rubio didn’t specifically mention it, but a natural consequence of these trends has been growing hostility toward Israel and Jews that is present everywhere in Europe—except, that is, in those nations, like the Czech Republic and Hungary, which agree with Trump about defending borders and national traditions.

Rubio also didn’t mention Israel, which most Europeans have largely betrayed since Oct. 7. Nevertheless, the foreign-policy principles he enunciated in Munich—opposition to mass immigration from Africa and the Middle East, preservation of borders and Western civilization—are essential to the security of the Jewish state and its war of self-defense against genocidal Islamists.

Many Americans, like the Europeans, have gotten caught up in Trump’s trolling of his critics and his efforts to push allies to start acting as if they are as invested in their own defense as the United States has been. Some, especially in the Jewish community, are also stuck in an outdated mindset that wrongly identifies today’s immigration of antisemitic populations to Western nations as somehow analogous to past chapters of history, in which Jews fled persecution and sought a safe haven in America and elsewhere.

They should realize that the policies stated by Rubio in his Munich speech are not just correct, but inextricably linked to any effort to roll back the tide of Jew-hatred, and the support for Jewish genocide and Israel’s destruction that has gained so much support on the political left. If they are serious about supporting Israel’s continued existence, then they should stop sniping at Trump and obsessing about Russia, and get behind the administration’s efforts to wake up the Europeans to what is really threatening the West.

HERRZOG SHOULD PARDON NETANYAHU BECAUSE HE WAS CHARGED BY HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES

No, Netanyahu wasn’t behind Trump’s tongue-lashing of Herzog

Casting aspersions on the prime minister’s trip to Washington is par for the “anybody but Bibi” propagandists. 

 

By Ruthie Blum 

 

JNS

Feb 16, 2026

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb 11, 2026

 

Those who claim that Benjamin Netanyahu pushed Donald Trump to rant against Isaac Herzog either haven’t been paying attention to the personalities of the U.S. president and Israeli prime minister, or are simply engaging in typical “anybody but Bibi” propaganda.

Here, a recap of the event in question—which caused the anti-Netanyahu punditry to salivate with self-satisfied outrage—is in order.   

Less than a week after negotiations took place in Oman on Feb. 6 between representatives of the American administration and the Islamic Republic, Netanyahu paid an urgent visit to the White House.

The talks had ended without a resolution, as Tehran was adamant that if a deal were to be reached with Washington, it would focus solely on Iran’s nuclear program. Nevertheless, the sides agreed to resume dialogue in the near future—the date now set for Feb. 17 in Geneva.     

Netanyahu’s whirlwind trip to D.C. was a direct result of the above. Though the two leaders didn’t issue a joint statement at the conclusion of their closed-door, three-hour meeting, Netanyahu addressed reporters the following morning—on Feb. 12—before boarding the “Wings of Zion” plane to return home.

“I have just concluded a short but important visit to Washington, in talks with our great friend President Trump. We have a very close relationship, very genuine and very open,” he said in Hebrew. “Of course, the discussions focused on a number of issues, but essentially on the negotiations with Iran. The president … wanted to hear my opinion. I won’t hide from you that I expressed general skepticism about the value of any agreement with Iran. But I said that if an agreement is indeed reached, it must include elements that are very important from … Israel’s standpoint, and, in my view, not only Israel’s.”

He went on, “It’s not just the nuclear issue; it’s also the ballistic missiles and the Iranian proxies. That essentially exhausted the conversation … though, of course, it also touched on Gaza, the region as a whole and other general matters.”

Finally, he said, “In any case, it was another conversation with a tremendous friend of the State of Israel, the likes of which we haven’t ever had.”

Hours later, Trump gave a press conference that caused Netanyahu’s detractors to perk up with glee. But not because the U.S. president said something negative about his Israeli counterpart. On the contrary, what he did was to launch into a tirade against Herzog.

“I think that man should be ashamed of himself [for not issuing Netanyahu a] pardon over this trial that’s going on,” he said. “The president of Israel, the primary power he’s got is the power to give pardons. You know, he said he’s given it five times. Five different times, but he doesn’t want to do it. Because I guess he loses his power. I think the people of Israel should really shame him. He’s disgraceful for not giving it. He should give it.”

This was in reference to Netanyahu’s court cases for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which not only have been going on for six years and counting, but are falling apart with each witness who takes the stand.

Herzog was informed of Trump’s remarks while en route to Israel after a four-day trip to Australia. During the flight, he and his advisers formulated a written response.

“Only upon completion of that process will President Herzog consider the request in accordance with the law, the best interests of the State of Israel, guided by his conscience, and without any influence from external or internal pressures of any kind,” read the reply released by his office. “President Herzog deeply appreciates President Trump for his significant contribution to the State of Israel and its security. Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law.”

This was the second time that Herzog was blindsided by Trump. The first occurred during the latter’s speech to the Knesset on Oct. 13, 2025.

“Hey, I have an idea, Mr. President,” Trump blurted out, off script. “Why don’t you give [Netanyahu] a pardon? … [I]t just seems to make so much sense. You know, whether we like it or not, [Netanyahu] has been one of the greatest wartime [prime ministers]. And cigars and champagne—who the hell cares about that, right?”

The next month, on Nov. 12, 2025, Trump sent a letter to Herzog requesting a full pardon for Netanyahu—who “has stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries and long odds”—on the grounds that “his attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted.”

Trump explained that, while he respects the independence and requirements of the Israeli judicial system, he believes that the case against Netanyahu is a “political, unjustified prosecution.”

Herzog’s office answered with the following statement: “President Herzog holds President Trump in the highest regard and continues to express his deep appreciation for President Trump’s unwavering support for Israel, his tremendous contribution to the return of the hostages, to reshaping the situation in the Middle East and Gaza especially, and to ensuring the security of the State of Israel. Alongside and not withstanding this, as the Office of the President has made clear throughout, anyone seeking a Presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures.”

This spurred Netanyahu—who has insisted all along that he would prefer to see the trial through to the end and be acquitted on all charges—to do just that, on Nov. 30, 2025.

Since then, Herzog has been reviewing, mulling and considering the request before deciding how to rule on it. And though it’s Netanyahu who’s been spending up to three days a week in court, it’s Trump whose patience with the process is wearing thin.

Which brings us to the current brouhaha stirred by the U.S. president’s having put Herzog on the spot, yet again, in what could be called a typically “Trumpy” way. Or, to invoke a recent barb aimed by Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman at The Democrats Party head Yair Golan: “There’s no coordination between his head and his mouth.”

It’s therefore understandable for Herzog to be nonplussed, if not incensed. Insinuating that Bibi was behind Trump’s tongue-lashing, however, is inexcusable.

But that’s just what a “source close to Herzog” did on Feb. 14, at the close of Shabbat.

“If Netanyahu had a hand in this, it is a red line that has been crossed,” the anonymous source told the Hebrew media. “We expect clarification on the part of the prime minister.”

A different “source”—this one in the Prime Minister’s Office—asserted that Trump’s comments about Herzog had been “entirely of his own initiative,” adding that Netanyahu had “learned about [them] from the media and had no prior knowledge of [them], just as he had no prior knowledge of the president’s remarks on this issue in his speech in the Knesset.”

Familiarity with the figures involved is sufficient to realize that Trump doesn’t take orders; he’s nobody’s ventriloquist dummy.

And Netanyahu wouldn’t have wasted precious breath on such a matter under the current circumstances. Certainly not while facing a potential military strike—with or without the United States—on or from the Islamic Republic.

This didn’t prevent the likes of the left-wing Haaretz newspaper, as well as the talking heads on Israel’s similarly bent TV channels, from suggesting that getting Trump to pressure Herzog for a pardon was the real reason for Netanyahu’s sudden trans-Atlantic sojourn.

To use Trump’s word, “shame” doesn’t begin to describe what they should be feeling.

PRAYERS ANSWERED

Wood County, Texas deputy, DPS trooper critically injured but expected to make full recovery after getting shot multiple times in standoff; suspect dead

Two officers are critically wounded after a suspect shot them multiple times while serving warrants at a Wood County home, the sheriff's office said.

 

By Zak Wellerman  

 

CBS 19

Feb 15, 2026

 

 

 

WOOD COUNTY, Texas — A Wood County deputy and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper are both in critical condition after officials say they were shot multiple times by a suspect, who died after an hours-long standoff at a Wood County home on Saturday.

The incident began when Wood County deputies and DPS personnel attempted to serve six felony warrants on the suspect at a home near the intersection of FM 515 and FM 2966. When they tried to execute the warrants, the suspect opened fire on law enforcement with a semi‑automatic weapon, according to the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

Both a Wood County deputy and a DPS trooper suffered multiple gunshot wounds, officials said.

The suspect then barricaded himself inside the home, and the Texas Rangers responded as well. After multiple attempts to persuade the suspect to surrender, law enforcement entered the residence. Once inside, the suspect again began shooting at officers, who returned fire, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect was taken to a Quitman hospital, where he died. The sheriff’s office said several methods were used in attempts to get the suspect to surrender, including tear gas and negotiations.

Both the deputy and the trooper are being treated at a Tyler hospital and are in critical but stable condition, according to the WCSO. Both are expected to make a full recovery, according to Texas DPS Sgt. Adam Albritton.

"Both are in good spirits and surrounded by family and support," a spokesperson for TMPA said. "TMPA will continue to stand with them and their loved ones every step of the way."

The suspect was wanted on the following charges: unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, theft of a firearm, evading arrest with a vehicle, and two separate warrants for possession of a controlled substance.

AOC SUCCEEDS...IN MAKING KAMALA LOOK LIKE A DEEP THINKER

By Bob Walsh

 

 

 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., listens as President of the European People's Party Manfred Weber speaks Friday at a panel at the Munich Security Conference.

 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has delusions of adequacy and may be running for President in 2028, made an appearance at the Munich conference last Friday.  

She was asked about the American policy of support for Taiwan and how far that should go in case of serious action by the ChiComs.  Her response made some of Kamal Harris' word salad assertions on the presidential campaign trail look coherent, scholarly and articulate by comparison.  She used "um" a lot.  A whole lot. 

__________________

 

AOC deploys shocking word salad of 'ums' and 'ahs' after being asked about US defense of Taiwan at Munich Security Conference

 

By James Cirrone 

 

Daily Mail

Feb 14, 2026

 

Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave a garbled answer when asked about how the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.  

Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, said: 'Um, you know, I think that I, uh, this is such a, you know, I think that this is a, um, this is of course, a, uh, very longstanding, um, policy of the United States,' she began.

'And I think what we are hoping for is that we make sure we never get to that point and we want to make sure that we are moving all of our economic, research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise,' she finished.

This how she responded to the question, 'Would and should the US actually commit US troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?' at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday.

Ocasio-Cortez's stumble came as she tried to boost her foreign policy chops and will likely come back to haunt her should she ultimately decide to make a White House run.    

Other panelists included Matthew Whitaker, the US Ambassador to NATO since April of last year, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Whitaker, who had a controversial stint as acting Attorney General in Trump's first administration, offered a bit more clarity on what US policy should be on Chinese expansionism.

 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York gave halting answers at times to foreign policy questions posed to her during panels at the Munich Security Conference on Friday

When asked if the US should miltarily defend Taiwan if China were to invade it, AOC launched into a flurry of 'ums' and 'ahs' before finding her words. (Pictured from L-R: Ocasio-Cortez,Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, US NATO Amassador Matthew Whitaker and Bloomberg TV anchor Francine Lacqua)

Pictured: Taiwanese soldiers engage in an artillery training exercise on August 7, 2024

 

'Well, I mean obviously that would be the president's prerogative as to how to deploy our military. I would just say that we have to deter and defend like we do here on the European continent,' Whitaker said of Taiwan.

Whitmer gave a brief answer but equated defending Taiwan's independence as being as important as defending Ukraine from Russia's ongoing invasion.

Ocasio-Cortez was likely hoping for a decisive performance in Munich, while also seeking to make a stark contrast with Vice President JD Vance's appearance at the conference last year. 

Last February, Vance castigated European countries for their supposed efforts to erode free speech and free expression, while also demanding they spend more of their own budgets on national defense. 

If Ocasio-Cortez runs for president, Vance could be her opponent. In fact, she celebrated a poll in December that had her beating him 51 percent to 49 percent.

Ocasio-Cortez struck a different tone to Vance during her two panels, arguing that the growing gap between the rich and the poor is what is giving way to the rise of authoritarianism around the world.

'Extreme levels of income inequality lead to social instability,' she said, adding that countries should get their 'economic houses in order and deliver material gains for the working class, or else we will fall to a more isolated world governed by authoritarians.'

On other foreign policy questions, Ocasio-Cortez was able to give answers that weren't as halting.

When asked about whether the US should initiate strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails, she was quick to call that 'a dramatic escalation no one in the world wants to see'.

 

Ocasio-Cortez sought to distinguish herself from Vance, who spoke at the Munich Security Conference last year and could be her opponent in the 2028 presidential election. She was the most confident in answering questions about how she would deal with the Israel-Palestine conflict (Pictured: A Palestinian boy walks through the ruins of his neighborhood in Gaza on Friday)

 

'Right now, what the Iranian regime is doing particularly with respect to protesters is a horrific slaughter of, some estimates have it at tens of thousands of people,' she said. 'I think that jumping into strikes is, I think that right now we have so much, to me, there's still so much runway, so much that we can do to avoid that scenario.'

On the topic of the US providing aid to Israel, Ocasio-Cortez was perhaps the most clear.

'I think that the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly Leahy Laws,' she began.

The Leahy Laws, named after Senator Patrick Leahy, are statutes within the US code that prohibit the Departments of State and Defense from funding or training foreign militaries that commit gross violations of human rights.

'The idea of completely unconditional aid no matter what one does, does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza, and I think that we have thousands of women and children dead that was completely avoidable,' Ocasio-Cortez continued.

The topic of her possibly running for president was baked into many of the questions she received on Friday, but she consistently did not take the bait.

Katrin Bennhold, a New York Times reporter who moderated one of the panels Ocasio-Cortez was on, asked her if she would impose a wealth tax or a billionaire's tax if she became president. 

Ocasio-Cortez laughed and shook her head. 'I don't think...we have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax. I think it needs to be done expeditiously.'

The 36-year-old congresswoman, who met the Constitution’s minimum age requirement to run for president last year, has not announced her intention to run. 

She is hugely popular among progressives, but faces an uphill battle to win centrist Democrats and undecided voters should she run for president.  

There is also speculation she will run a primary campaign against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

FINALIST FOR CALIFORNIA TEACHER OF THE YEAR AMONG 11 MEN BUSTED IN SAN JOSE PD SEX STING

Teacher of the Year finalist accused of offering cash for sex to undercover officer posing as 13-year-old boy

 

By Jensen Bird

 

Daily Mail

Feb 15, 2026 

 

 

Ruben Guzman, 31, was arrested on charges of communicating with a minor for sex

 

A San Jose teacher was arrested after allegedly attempting to exchange money for sex with an officer he thought was a 13-year-old boy. 

Ruben Guzman, 31, was honored as the 2024 finalist for California Teacher of the Year and even recognized by the San Francisco 49ers for his work in education.

But on February 3, the assistant principal and math teacher at Sunrise Middle School in San Jose, was arrested during a massive undercover chat operation.

According to a statement from the San Jose Police Department, cops posed as minors online, targeting multiple 'individuals seeking to sexually exploit children.'

'On the evening of February 3, 2026, Suspect Guzman started to communicate with who he believed was a 13-year-old juvenile male,' read the release. 

'The suspect acknowledged the child was underage and told the minor that he wanted to engage in sexual acts, further enticing the minor by offering money in exchange.'

Police say Guzman attempted to meet up with the teen in San Jose, but when he arrived, officers took him into custody.

When they searched Guzman and his car, they allegedly found 'items consistent with the planned encounter.' 

 

Guzman was a teacher at Sunrise Middle School in San Jose for six years 

 

Sunrise Middle School Principal Teresa Robinson told ABC7 that Guzman was a 'highly regarded teacher and administrator' for the six years he worked for her.

'While this is deeply upsetting, it does not reflect who we are as a school,' she said.

'There was nothing in his work record or his prior work record [at] other schools to indicate anyone had any problems with his work.'

Robinson informed parents, provided students with counseling and discussed the issue with them in an 'age-appropriate manner.'

'We are very, very glad that it did not happen, to the best of our knowledge, to anybody at our school; safety will continue to be our top priority,' she said.

Guzman was instructed to stay away from Sunrise Middle School and have no further contact with students, reported KTVU. 

The school is cooperating with the investigation.  

 

A total of 11 suspects were arrested during the San Jose Police's sting operation. Their ages ranged from 24 to 72

 

Between February 3 and February 6, ten other men were arrested in the major operation. The suspects ranged in age from 24 to 72.

The operation was planned in the week leading up to the Super Bowl to combat child exploitation and human trafficking. 

Guzman was booked at the Santa Clara County Main Jail and charged with communicating with a minor for sex. He remains in custody.

Because he was a teacher, the San Jose police believe there may be additional victims. 

They have asked anyone with information to contact the San José Police Internet Crimes Against Children/Child Exploitation Detail Task Force.

The Daily Mail contacted Sunrise Middle School and the San Jose Police Department for comment. 

DESPITE CRASH AND CLASH BETWEEN TEAMMATES, US BEATS GERMANY 5-1 IN OLYMPICS ICE HOCKEY

Embarrassing moment USA hockey stars crash into each other at the Winter Olympics... before having tense exchange on the bench

 

By Isabel Baldwin 

 

Daily Mail

Feb 15, 2026

 

 

Matthew Tkachuk of USA vies for the puck against Germany players

 

The USA men's hockey team narrowly avoided disaster during its clash against Germany in Milan on Sunday. 

The Americans faced Leon Draisaitl and co. in the final game of the preliminary round-robin of the Winter Olympics with a narrow chance of stealing the No 1 seed from Canada. 

However, captain Auston Matthews, 28, and Jack Hughes, 24, almost made that task much more challenging when they took each other out on the ice.

In a barely believable moment, the Toronto Maple Leafs star and New Jersey Devils forward clashed with each other in a high-speed collision. 

The two forwards appeared to each be chasing down a drop pass from defender Quinn Hughes - Jack's older brother. With their focus locked in on the puck, they collided, sending each other tumbling to the ice. 

To make the situation more bizarre, the incident occurred on a power play in the Americans' own end with the US on a man advantage. 

 

The USA narrowly avoided a scare when Auston Matthews (left) and Jack Hughes collided 

The pair (far left) skated into one another at high speed during a US power play

 

Hughes appeared slightly shaken as he took a few seconds to get back to his skates, while Matthews also took a moment to reset. Thankfully for the US, neither player appeared to be injured. 

The USA captain was later spotted exchanging words with his younger teammate on the American bench after they escaped the incident without giving up a goal or causing harm.

Hockey fans were stunned at the moment as they took to social media to mock the two NHL stars. 

'Jack Hughes and Auston Matthews, Olympic hockey players OR figure skating ice duos? the world may never know,' one fan quipped on X.

'Hey Jack Hughes and Auston Matthews, you’re not supposed to take out your own team,' another sarcastic viewer wrote. 

A third said: 'It's been 10 minutes and I haven't stopped laughing about the Auston Matthews Jack Hughes collision.'

'Jack Hughes and Auston Matthews what the hell was that,' another gobsmacked viewer questioned.

Matthews, who was wearing the 'C' on his jersey just as he was in the 4 Nations 12 months ago, managed to redeem himself later in the game when he doubled the USA's lead just minutes into the second period. 

 

US captain Matthews managed to redeem himself with two goals later in the game 

The Americans finished with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Germany on Sunday night 

 

He converted on another American power play - his second power play goal of the tournament - when he forced a rebound home. 

He struck again with 13 minutes remaining in the game to put the Americans up 5-0. Matthews tipped a pass from Jake Sanderson right up under the crossbar to grab his second of the night. 

The USA wrapped up the Olympic preliminary stage with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Germany - an improvement on their earlier shaky 6-3 win over Denmark.

However, the Americans' unbeaten start to the Olympics wasn't enough to clinch the No 1 seed heading into the knockout round, with the USA having to settle for the second seed.

Canada put such a beatdown on France, winning 10-2, that the US would have had to run up the score and beat Germany by 10 goals to pass the tournament favorite. The North American rivals cannot meet until the gold medal game.

They have to get there first. The US is set to face the winner of the qualification round game Tuesday between Sweden and Latvia, while Canada plays Czechia or Denmark in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

SOMEBODY INFORM THE SAUDI PRINCE THAT IT'S TURKEY, NOT ISRAEL

Saudi prince: Israel seeking control from the Nile to the Euphrates

Prince Turki al-Faisal accused Israel of harboring expansionist ambitions similar to Iran's, and said Israel continues to violate the ceasefire in Gaza: "They blame Hamas who come out and shoots at them, but that is no excuse. Hamas has almost been destroyed."

 

by Shachar Kleiman  

 

Israel Hayom

Feb 15, 2026

 

 

 

Prince Turki Al Faisal, the former director of Saudi intelligence

 

Prince Turki al-Faisal said over the weekend in an interview with the Emirati news site The National that Riyadh is seeking to promote "a regime of stability and development instead of the upheavals and negative developments that occurred in the past." Al-Faisal is regarded as one of the senior figures in the Saudi royal family and previously served as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US and as head of Saudi intelligence.

Al-Faisal said there were "players with differing perspectives" in the region and that Saudi Arabia was witnessing competing ambitions. "We see Israel, for example, publicly declaring that it wants to develop what they call 'Greater Israel' from river to river, from the Nile to the Euphrates," he said. "Iran, of course, has its own ambitions. There are also outside powers, the US, China, Russia, Europe and others. Our region has always been seen as a prize for those who aspire to control it."

On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, al-Faisal also questioned Washington's ability to act in Gaza without institutional backing from the United Nations. "Establishing a council requires institutional support and the only alternative is the UN," he said. "NATO will not do it, nor will the Arab League. America alone will not be able to do so."

He further complained that "Israel continues to violate the ceasefire and every day Palestinians are being killed." According to al-Faisal, "They blame what they call extremists, Hamas fighters who come out and shoot at them. But that is no excuse. Hamas has been almost destroyed." Hamas is a Gaza-based terrorist organization that has ruled the coastal enclave since 2007.

Amid heightened tensions with Iran and the possibility of a US strike, the Saudi prince stressed that his country supports diplomacy. At the same time, he assessed that the leadership of the regime in Tehran was under heavy pressure following its brutal crackdown on protests.

"Iran has suffered strong and devastating blows over the past two years," he said. "We saw the uprising. By their own admission, it claimed many lives. So there is a sense of uncertainty facing the leadership in Iran, which perhaps it has not dealt with before." However, al-Faisal added that he did not know whether the recent events would ultimately lead to regime change.

ORGANIZED CRIME IN ISRAEL

Organized crime poses strategic threat to Israel

The ratio of Arab-to-Jewish homicides expanded from 4:1 in 2015 to 14:1 by late 2025.

 

By Shimon Sherman 

 

Israel Today

Feb 15, 2026

 

 

A car that collided with a bus near Sde Warburg after the occupants were shot amid a feud between warring crime families, February 3, 2026.

 

On Sunday, synchronized protest convoys involving hundreds of vehicles departed from the Galilee, the Triangle and the Negev, converging on the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

The demonstration was triggered by a surge in violence during the first week of February that resulted in several fatalities in broad-daylight shootings across several Arab municipalities. The protesters’ central demand was the reclassification of the crime wave as a “National Emergency” to address a homicide rate that, in early 2026, had reached a frequency of nearly one victim per day.

The Sunday demonstrations were followed by sporadic protests and acts of civil disobedience across Israel, including blocking highways, in an attempt to pressure the Cabinet into authorizing broader resources to combat organized crime syndicates in Arab communities. In response to the growing protests, President Isaac Herzog recognized the surge of violence as a “national burden” and said that “turning a blind eye” is no longer an option for the state, in a recent statement.

The crime wave

The recent protest movement is fueled by an unprecedented escalation in violence that has claimed 45 lives since the start of the year. This trajectory follows a record-breaking 2025, which concluded with 252 recorded homicides in the Arab sector, the highest annual figure on record and a nearly 250% increase from the 71 homicides recorded in 2018.

While Israel’s overall murder rate is around 1.6 per 100,000 inhabitants annually, among Arabs the rate is around 12 per 100,000, higher than El Salvador’s and on par with Venezuela’s. While the homicide rate for Jewish Israelis has remained relatively flat, the ratio of Arab-to-Jewish homicides has expanded from 4:1 in 2015 to 14:1 by late 2025.

A recent report for the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) emphasized that at this scale, crime in the Arab community has transitioned from a local issue to a national threat. “Serious crime, and especially organized crime within the Arab sector, has become a strategic threat to the rule of law, national security, and the country’s social fabric,” the report noted.

This crime wave is increasingly characterized by organized syndicate activity. In 2025, the Israel Police seized more than5,600 illegal firearms across the country, with approximately 88% of all homicides in the Arab sector involving firearms. There are an estimated 400,000 illegal firearms in circulation in Israel. Furthermore, the violence has begun to claim a higher percentage of “innocent bystanders,” estimated at 10-12% of victims in 2025, and a record 23 female victims.

The crisis is primarily centered in the north, which accounted for 57% (141 victims) of the previous year’s total, followed by the Triangle and central regions at 28%. The demographic impact is concentrated among the “youth bulge,” with victims aged 18 to 30 accounting for approximately 50% of all fatalities.

Despite the scale of the violence, the clearance rate for murders in the Arab sector remains historically low, hovering between 10% and 15%, compared to over 70% in the Jewish sector.

The ongoing protest movement highlights a significant divergence between the public demand for law enforcement and the internal societal barriers to its implementation. According to a recent JISS report, approximately 70% of witnesses in criminal cases within the Arab sector refuse to cooperate with police investigations. This “wall of silence” is compounded by a deep-seated crisis of confidence; the 2025 Israel Democracy Institute report on public security found that trust in the police among Arab citizens has collapsed to just 19%, with 40% of the population expressing “no trust at all” in the institution.

This refusal to engage with authorities is often driven by a fear of immediate retaliation, as criminal syndicates frequently target those who provide testimony. Within many communities, this has fostered a culture of silence where cooperation with the state is viewed as a significant personal risk, thereby significantly reducing law enforcement’s capacity to bring successful indictments to court. This dynamic creates a situation in which massive street protests demand police intervention while, on the ground, residents often reject the infrastructure or the cooperation necessary for enforcement.

Organized crime in the Arab sector

The violence within Israel’s Arab society is the byproduct of a sophisticated organizational hierarchy dominated by the “Big Five,” a group of major crime families—the Hariri, Abu Latif, Jarushi, Bakri and Qarajah clans. Between them, they control vast swaths of the illegal market in the north and the Triangle regions.

These organizations have transitioned from disparate street gangs into structured organizational hierarchies that provide a parallel “justice system.” This system resolves internal conflicts and land disputes through tribal arbitration, establishing the syndicates as de facto sovereigns that bypass the Israeli judiciary. This institutional power was notably demonstrated during the 2024 municipal elections, when dozens of candidates and officials were targeted by violence or threats, and in several towns, candidates were forced to withdraw or required 24/7 security.

The operational reach of these families is supported by their transition into the legitimate economy through front companies in sectors such as transportation, scaffolding and private security.

In February 2025, the Israel Police conducted a massive raid on the Abu Latif organization, resulting in 36 arrests for the systematic use of violence to dominate state-issued tenders worth hundreds of millions of shekels.

This infiltration is bolstered by a predatory shadow banking system where interest rates can reach 10%-15% per month, leading to a “debt-slavery” loop. To sustain this growth, the syndicates employ a highly effective recruitment strategy, offering young at-risk men starting salaries that consistently out-pay other employment opportunities in the communities.

A major influx of military-grade weapons further props up the criminal system. Criminal organizations have moved beyond small arms to using grenade launchers, weaponized drones and standard-issue IDF explosives stolen from military bases, smuggled from Egypt or Jordan, or purchased from underground factories in Judea and Samaria. Throughout 2025 and into early 2026, these groups have deployed IEDs (improvised explosive devices) for daylight car bombings in dense urban centers.

Deputy Commissioner Maoz Ben-Shabo, the Israel Police’s project coordinator for the Arab sector, highlighted this shift in his testimony to the Knesset National Security Committee on Jan. 29. “The issue of weapons is at the core of criminal organizations. … Today, every organization has several weapons suppliers who provide them with everything—missiles, grenades, rifles or explosive devices,” Ben-Shabo noted.

The criminal black market

The financial foundation of organized crime in the Arab sector is built upon a vast “non-observed economy” that the Ministry of Finance estimates is worth tens of billions of shekels annually.

A primary driver of this shadow economy is the systematic extraction of khawa, or protection money, which the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security estimates nets criminal organizations approximately 2 billion shekels ($650 million) each year. This unofficial tax has become so entrenched that in regions such as the Galilee, it is frequently treated as a fixed overhead cost for construction and commercial development.

The prevalence of this black market is reflected in local financial behavior. According to the Bank of Israel, more than 50% of transactions in Arab localities are conducted in cash, compared to roughly 12% in Jewish urban centers, facilitating a cash-only ecosystem that shields syndicate revenue from state oversight.

This economic structure creates a significant tax-revenue gap that directly hampers municipal development. In several Arab municipalities, property tax collection rates remain below 30%, leaving local councils without the necessary funds for infrastructure or municipal policing. This shortfall is compounded by the widespread use of currency exchange shops, or “change” spots, which the Israel Tax Authority identifies as primary pipelines for laundering illicit funds into clean assets.

Furthermore, the presence of these syndicates distorts the local real estate market. Crime families frequently purchase land and property in cash to launder profits, driving up prices and making legitimate home ownership inaccessible.

The infiltration of the legitimate economy by laundering networks has led to a “resource paradox” where the community pays significantly more in criminal extortion than it does in the taxes required to fund public services. This dynamic reached an initial peak in August 2023, when the Finance Ministry froze 200 million shekels (about $65 million) in municipal balancing grants. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich justified the freeze by stating, “Organized crime relies on money, and most of this money, which is the State of Israel’s, instead of serving Arab Israeli citizens, reaches the same protection collectors.”

By early 2026, the implementation of broader development funds under Government Resolution 550, the 30 billion shekel ($9.7 billion), five-year plan for the Arab sector, remains a point of intense budgetary friction. The state’s difficulty in injecting resources without inadvertently strengthening crime syndicates was underscored by a December 2025 Cabinet decision to divert 220 million shekels (around $71 million) from Resolution 550’s socioeconomic programs directly to the Israel Police and Shin Bet. Social Equality Minister May Golan defended this divestment, saying the funds would “establish a ‘groundbreaking’ program to address ‘the root of the problem,’ which will both supplement and strengthen the existing program to combat crime in the Arab community.”

The causes of the violence

Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Winner, a research fellow at the Israel Center for Grand Strategy, attributed the crisis to deep-seated sociological drivers that exist independently of state policy. “It has to be understood that there is a deep underlying cultural reason which is causing a lot of the violence,” he told JNS. “Blood guilt and family feuds are an institution that is hundreds of years old in Arab society,” he added.

Winner further explained that “murder for your family’s honor is considered an important responsibility,” meaning that individual disputes frequently spiral into generational cycles of retribution. Winner highlighted the scale of this issue, noting that a recent case where more than 20 murders were attributed to one clan conflict.

Winner also pointed to a recent void in the criminal landscape as a significant driver of the current wave. “Several years ago, the police made a serious effort to break up Jewish organized crime in Israel,” which inadvertently “created a vacuum that Arab crime families have slowly filled,” he explained.

These organizations have since “grown in power and strength,” transitioning from local gangs into the dominant syndicates currently active. According to Winner, this unchecked expansion is now reaching a breaking point, “resulting in violence spilling out onto the street.”

The current security climate has further strained the state’s capacity to intervene. Winner noted that “over the past two years, Israel has been dealing with serious threats in Gaza, in the north and in Judea and Samaria,” a shift that “has also taken resources away from the fight against the crime families.”

Consequently, the domestic crisis was “ignored because of more serious threats,” creating a permissive environment for syndicates to expand. This lack of oversight “allowed the crime families to grow without serious pressure,” leaving the police in a reactive posture.

The syndicates have achieved a level of technical sophistication that often exceeds that of the state. Winner observed that “the crime families have adapted themselves very successfully to new technologies,” using “drones or signal interference devices or faster cars” to carry out operations.

This “tech-gap” has altered the lethality of the organizations, as “the crime organizations are surpassing the police in their technological resources.” This strategic edge “makes them a lot more efficient and a lot more dangerous,” allowing them to evade traditional surveillance and outpace law enforcement’s response capabilities.

Winner added that the technological gap is being exacerbated by restrictions placed on police, preventing them from using certain surveillance methods to curb crime.

Police Commissioner Daniel Levi underlined the importance of the technological gap in worsening the crime problem during a situational assessment on Thursday. Law enforcement cannot do its job when “our hands are tied, our ears are muffled, and our eyes are blindfolded,” Levi said.

Winner added, “One of the most important factors is that [the judicial system] does not allow the police to use advanced investigative tools, such as spyware, and they oppose the integration of the Shin Bet into the fight against the phenomenon.”

 Finally, Winner concluded that a major source of the issue lay with the state prosecution. Winner characterized the Israeli legal apparatus as “a completely sick justice system that was failing to keep criminals off the street even once they were caught.”

He argued that the judiciary had become paralyzed by “political questions like judicial reform and conflicts with the government,” which caused the “basic work of prosecuting criminals and making sure that police arrests actually lead to jail time” to languish. This lack of deterrence created a revolving door for violent offenders.