End Run on Three
War Day 586
War
IDF soldiers enter Gaza Operation Gideon’s Chariots
Following US President Donald Trumps four-day whirlwind trip to the Middle-East on May 16th Israel launched Operation Gideon’s Chariots, a massive attack on Gaza, first with artillery and then with tanks followed by five divisions of ground troops.
According to the Jerusalem Post “the five IDF divisions constitute the biggest news for the military in Gaza since early 2024, the last time there was anything near that number of troops in the area.”
Since then, for much of the time, the IDF was down to around 1,000 troops in Gaza at a time.
This followed the inability of the Trump team to extract a ceasefire agreement from Hamas that would have resulted in the release of 58 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, only 24 of them are still presumed to be alive.
The IDF had already notified residents of the northern Gaza strip to evacuate and move to the south and the Rafah border area.
According to the Jerusalem Post, “The Israel Defense Forces announced late Friday (May 16th) that it had launched the first stages of a major offensive in the Gaza Strip, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” that would seek to “seize strategic areas” of the Hamas-run Strip…and to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
Palestinian authorities reported dozens killed in heavy Israeli airstrikes overnight and on Saturday morning.
The military said,“IDF troops in the Southern Command will continue to operate to protect Israeli citizens and realize the goals of the war.”
On Wednesday May 20th, the IDF announced the death of Sgt.Yosef Yehuda Hiram, 22 and on Thursday the death of Sgt. Danilo Mocanu, 20, both killed in the Gaza fighting. This brings the death toll to 858 soldiers killed in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023, eight since the renewed fighting on March 18th.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January, and another 1,600 terrorists inside the country during the October 7 onslaught, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel from Gaza and killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
New Gaza Military Zones
The goal of Operation Gideon’s Chariots is, according to the IDF, to separate Gaza into three zones each controlled by IDF troops. This would require passes and permits to move from one zone to another. Identity cards will be required to move between the zones. In this way the IDF hopes to isolate the non-combatant Gaza civilians from the terrorists.
Military analysts say that within two weeks Israel will have taken control of 70-80% of Gaza.
Also, according to the Jerusalem Post, the IDF and Prime Minister Netanyahu hope that this latest invasion and separating the Strip up into multiple zones, with the Palestinian civilian population limited to possibly 20-30% of its full area, will finally isolate Hamas enough to finish it off or lead it to make more concessions regarding the hostages.
Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas disarm and give up power and release all the hostages before he’d end the war.
During President Trump’s four-day swing through the Middle East, Channel 12TV’s Yaron Avraham said on Wednesday night May 14th, that Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu was now under great pressure from the USA because of US President Trump’s presence in the region.
Pointedly, President Trump did not include Israel on his tour. Some pundits thought had Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza prior to President Trump’s arrival in the region Netanyahu would have been included in talks or issues to be raised.
Others called this an end run by President Trump, avoiding Netanyahu and not including him in the decision making process once it was clear he was ignoring the White House’s request for an end to the war.
Channel 12TV’s Avraham said that prior to his arrival Trump had left Netanyahu with a fateful decision, go with the White House’s desire to end the war and release the hostages or accede to the threats by ultra-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritch and ultra-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir who said they would quit the coalition causing new elections if Netanyahu ended the war. Both Smotritch and Ben Gvir want to see a continuation of the war and an absolute victory in Gaza. Something military analysts say is delusional.
As soon as President Trump had left the region, without a ceasefire, the government launched Operation Gideon’s Chariot. Smotritch and Ben Gvir stayed in the coalition. Netanyahu’s government safely carried on.
According to Ynet’s veteran military correspondent Ron Ben Yishai “Hamas has resigned itself to a prolonged guerrilla war and is increasingly desensitized to the suffering of the civilians in the Strip. While the military pressure may yield results in a few months, chances are that in the meantime, hostages will die, and soldiers will be killed. In short, time is not in Israel's favor.”
Ben Yishai wrote “Instead of demanding that Hamas disarm, Israel must agree to the principle of ending the war in exchange for the release of all of the hostages and redeploying troops to the buffer zone, at least temporarily.
“Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) must agree to cooperate with a joint U.S.-European organization, like the one established in Lebanon, that would be responsible for the demolition of all underground tunnels, rockets and long-range missiles and other weapons such as drones and explosives. The light armor would, in any case, be impossible to locate and extract and such an effort would only be a waste of time and resources.”
According to a Maariv poll published Friday. About half of the public (51%) supports continuing the fighting, while 39% oppose it and 10% remain undecided.
Meanwhile, the IDF continues to fight in Gaza, conduct raids in the West Bank, and attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. And conduct aerial attacks against Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
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US President Trump at Middle East Summit
President Trump’s meetings with the Saudis the Qataris and the UAE among others have made it clear that Israel may well be on their own should the Israeli government not join the Trump plan for what he calls a new Middle East.
Gaza
Hole made by IDF bunker buster bombs on Mohammed Sinwar’s hideout
On May 13 Israel eliminated Hamas chief Mohamed Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas head Yahya Sinwar who was assassinated by Israeli bombs in 2024.
According to Channel 12TV’s military correspondent Nir Dvori, Israel dropped 9 1-ton bunker buster bombs on what the IDF said was a Hamas command center located beneath the Europe hospital in Khan Younis, in central Gaza.
Other media reports that shortly after the initial attack the IDF dropped even more bunker-buster bombs on the area to keep rescue crews from trying to save any survivors from the initial blast. Israel again bombed the same spot on Wednesday May 14 to insure that Mohammed Sinwar, and any other of his commanders, did not survive the blasts.
On Wednesday May 21st, Ynetnews reported that according to a Saudi TV report that Hamas notified Mohammed Sinwar's family of his elimination. On Friday, May 23rd, Saudi TV reported Sinwar was buried ‘quietly’ in Gaza.
Photo of destroyed 1 km long Gaza tunnel complex
Prior to Operation Gideon’s Chariot, IDF forces were led by a captured Hamas operative to a 1 km long tunnel about 25 meters, about 80 feet, underground in southern Gaza’s Rafah area.
According to Ynetnews, inside the tunnel complex, forces discovered living quarters, bathrooms, a kitchenette, blast-proof doors and multiple exit shafts. After thoroughly investigating the site, the IDF said the facility was completely demolished.
Amid international pressure, Israel also began to allow aid trucks to enter Gaza a few days prior to the official UN aid set to begin on Sunday May 25th.
Ultra-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritch and ultra-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir both had threatened to bolt the coalition should PM Netanyahu allow aid into Gaza.
Truck carrying food and supplies entering Gaza from Israel
However, PM Netanyahu allowed five trucks carrying aid to enter Gaza and neither Smotritch nor Ben Gvir left the government. Smotritch told Israeli media “The aid will not reach Hamas.”
Hamas has long been hijacking aid trucks and selling the goods in order to support Hamas operatives and their families, and sell the goods to help pay salaries.
According to Ynetnews, in a recent rare press conference Netanyahu said “that his decision to resume aid deliveries to the Strip on Sunday, a move deeply unpopular among right-wing Israelis, was made to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and maintain support from Israel’s allies.
“Stressing that Hamas loots aid shipments and sells the supplies at exorbitant prices to fund its military activities, Netanyahu said that Israel developed along with the US a humanitarian aid plan to bypass Hamas members. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee earlier this month claimed it was an American plan, not an Israeli plan.
In the press conference Netanyahu said the plan has three stages, the entry of “basic food now” into Gaza to prevent a humanitarian crisis; opening aid distribution points in the coming days by private US security companies; and creating a “sterile zone” in southern Gaza for the civilian population to shelter in.
“In this zone, which will be totally free of Hamas, residents of Gaza will receive full humanitarian aid,” he explained.
The UN shipments, arranged with the help of the US while President Trump was visiting the region, will be comprised of 100 trucks. According to reports, the initial shipment will be guarded by a Israeli troops to prevent Hamas from looting the trucks. Ultimately the Israeli troops will be replaced by civilian US security contractors.
About the lack of food in Gaza, President Trump said on Friday, May 16th. “Many people are starving, a lot of bad things are happening there."
Ynetnews reported that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi claimed during an Arab League summit in Baghdad on Saturday that Israel is using starvation and deprivation as a “weapon” against Gaza’s population.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made a similar accusation in April, saying, “We cannot accept the starvation of Palestinians or the use of aid as a weapon.” Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi has repeatedly claimed that Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians.
Veteran settler leader Daniela Weiss recently sanctioned by UK
According to Ynetnews, on Tuesday May 20th, the United Kingdom announced a pause in free trade talks with Israel and imposed sanctions on West Bank settlers like veteran settler leader Daniela Weiss. The European Union has also agreed to review its cooperation deal with Israel, citing human rights abuses in Gaza.
The Times of Israel reported that on Thursday May 22nd, PM Netanyahu said that the leaders of France, the UK, and Canada are “on the wrong side of history,” after a joint statement in which the heads of state called on Israel to end its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, let aid into the Strip, and allow a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
However, Ynetnews reported that “While these allegations dominate political speeches and media headlines, the reality in Gaza appears more complex.
“Though some markets in Gaza have been photographed empty, residents have also shared images and videos showing bustling food stalls, especially in Gaza City’s Al-Zawiya market. Despite war-related shortages and disruptions, food remains available in many areas, albeit at high prices.
Food market in Gaza City
“Even during the worst times in northern Gaza, people could still buy things, it was just expensive,” said Jacqui Peleg, director of Imshin, a project documenting life in Gaza. She monitors Gaza-based food-related businesses and shares current footage online that contradicts claims of widespread starvation.
“There are gaps. Some people can pay, some can’t. The poor go to soup kitchens, and many of those are privately run.” Peleg added that the narrative of starvation in Gaza long predates the war.
North
Drone strike at Hezbollah terrorist in a car in southern Lebanon
Three members of Hezbollah were killed in separate Israeli drone strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday May 20th, the military said.
The strikes came amid an ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, which obligated the Lebanese terror group to withdraw from the south of the country.
Israel has been hitting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, taking out leaders and commanders when possible. On Thursday May 22nd the Lebanese al Maydeen network, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported extensive strikes overnight in southern Lebanon near the city of Tyre.
In Syria, Israel hit a Hezbollah weapons warehouse near the Damascus airport.
Also, Israel helped the beleaguered Syrian Druze in northern Syria who were being attacked by the new Syrian government who viewed the Druze as a possible enemy and demanded they disarm.
Israeli Druze leaders had approached the government for help pointing out that the Druze were being massacred in Syria. Israel responded to the appeal by conducting bombing raids near the battles.
Despite Syria’s attempted elimination of the Druze community in norther Syria, US President Trump invited the new Syrian President al-Sharaa to a meeting in Saudi Arabia during President Trump’s four-day visit to the Middle East.
According to the Times of Israel, in the meeting President Trump agreed to drop the sanctions against Syria. He said that al-Sharaa was a nice young man who would join the Abraham accords when he felt that Syria was stable.
Israel reportedly questions al-Sharaa’s commitment to normalization with Israel. Al-Sharaa has a history of being a Moslem fanatic who once was a leader in ISIS.
Howevever, on Friday May 23rd, according to Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet, Syrian and Israeli representatives met in Turkey to discuss normalization of ties between the two countries. Reportedly the meeting went well.
West Bank
IDF troops in West Bank
Israel has continued operating in the West Bank. On Tuesday May 13, Israel raided a weapons and explosive lab. Israel also arrested 18 wanted terrorists one of whom was wanted for setting an explosive device that badly injured (killed) an Israeli soldier. Israel security forces also raided a Jenin terrorist center posing as invalids on wheelchairs. In the Azura refugee camp Israel quietly arrested a wanted terrorist while he was getting a haircut.
According to Ynetnews, Israeli security forces also killed Nael Samara, a former Hamas member who served a prison sentence for terror activity and was briefly detained again in 2019 for incitement on social media.
The Shin Bet determined Samara was the Palestinian gunman who carried out a deadly shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Bruchin earlier this month, murdering the 30-year-old pregnant Tzela Gez who was on her way to the hospital to deliver her baby. the military said Wednesday.
Scene of drive-by shooting (left) shooting victim Tzeela Gez (right)
Her husband, who was driving, was lightly injured in the drive-by shooting. The infant was delivered by C-section and is still on life-support.Two other suspects were arrested in connection with the attack.
Despite this shooting, the IDF and police say that since the start of the security operation in the west bank attacks against Israelis has dropped drastically.
One report states the reason for the push against terrorists in the West Bank is that security forces are concerned that an Oct 7th type sneak attack might be launched against Israeli settlements along the border with the West Bank.
Ynet reported that on Thursday May22nd IDF forces arrested 4 wanted suspected in counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank.
Ynet also reported that early Friday morning about 40 Israeli settlers rioted in the village of Burqin in Samaria, setting vehicles on fire and burning house gardens. At least five vehicles and two gardens were set on fire. No injuries were reported. The rioters left the village after IDF forces arrived at the scene, no suspects have been arrested yet.
Hostages
Display at Hostage Square Tel Aviv
In another example of the end run around Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing leaning government, the US made a separate agreement with Hamas for the release of American/Israeli Eden Alexander, 21, who had been held in a cage in Gaza, shackled hand and foot, starved and tortured for 574 days.
With no Israeli involvement US negotiator Steve Witkoff reportedly dealt with Hamas through a Palestinian/American who passed terms and conditions to Hamas for Alexander’s release.
According to news reports, US President Trump had grown impatient with Israel’s PM Netanyahu and his government. Some in the government, like Finance Minister Smotritch, of the ultra-right Religious Zionist party, representing nationalist religious Israelis and settlers, have made public pronouncements that what was important in Gaza was winning the war. Smotritch caused an outcry when he said that hostage release was secondary to destroying Hamas. Smotritch was supported in this idea by ultra-right Otzma Yehudit party leader National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Freed hostage Edan Alexander (4th from right bending over) with family
Pundits say that Ben Gvir and Smotritch want a military government to take over Gaza. And then to reestablish Jewish settlements that were abandoned in 2005 when the Israel government, led by PM Ariel Sharon, evicted 8,600 settlers from the settlements inside Gaza.
US President Trump has said he wants to reach a ceasefire with Hamas, end the war and obtain the release of all of the hostages. Observers say that Trump realized Israel was not going to go along with his wishes so President Trump swept around PM Netanyahu and made a ‘separate deal’ with Hamas without consulting Israel.
Edan Alexander was released on May 13 and flown back to Israel. He was met by his parents, who left Israel when Edan was 3 and settled in Tenefly, NJ. At 18 Edan immigrated to Israel and joined the Army. In a statement to the press, the Alexander family thanked US negotiator Witkoff and US President Trump and pointedly ignored any thanks to Netanyahu.
Later, Netanyahu, Smotritch and other Netanyahu loyalists claimed that without the military pressure on Hamas Alexander would not have been released. Yanon Magal, who runs the right-wing pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 TV harshly criticized Alexander’s parents for excluding Netanyahu in their thank you.
According to the Jerusalem Post, US negotiator Steve Witkoff, who said he’d expected Alexander’s release six-weeks ago but that had been derailed by Israeli moves, presented Edan Alexander with a necklace holding a star of David that had belonged to his 12-year-old son who had died 21 years ago.
Witkoff said he thought that the release of Alexander was only the beginning of a new phase in the war, with a proposed 40-day ceasefire and release of 10 hostages next up on the agenda.,
When Trump was asked about the release of Edan Alexander he said that without the USA Edan would probably have died. And that the USA was saving hostages all along. Without the USA they would all have died,” Trump said.
Red Sea
Houthis demonstrate in Yemen
According to the Times of Israel, the Iranian-backed Houthis held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By that point, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of attack drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
If Iran’s missile and drone attack were included Israel has been attacked more than 350 times since Oct 7,2023.
Since March 18, 2023, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked Israel with 34 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones.
On Tuesday May 13, Wednesday May 14, Wednesday May 21st, Thursday May 22nd and Friday May 23rd sirens went off in Israel sending Israelis scurrying to their bomb shelters and safe rooms. In all but instances the rockets were intercepted in flight and shot down. No damage or injury was caused. But Ben Gurion airport was briefly closed.
Last weeks a Houthi missile landed on the borders of Ben Gurion airport. Following that attack many foreign airlines cancelled their flights.
At least 20 said they would not return to Ben Gurion for several weeks
Although, Delta airlines has already resumed flights to Israel.
The missile that did make it through the Iron Dome and the US-supplied Thaad air defense shield dug a hole in an open field and caused no damage. The Houthis and Iran claimed the strike at Ben Gurion as a big victory.
In response, Israel mounted an attack on the ports and airport in Sanaa, Yemen, with over 20 Israeli planes flying 1700 kilometers each way to deliver their payloads.
Ynetnews reported that on Thursday May 22nd Saudi TV reported a massive explosion at a Houthi weapons warehouse that continued for over two hours. 19 people were reportedly killed. No cause was given for the explosion.
Still, the Houthi missile strike at Ben Gurion airport was a major embarrassment for Israel.
In one example of the end run performed expertly and surprisingly by US President Donald Trump, similar to that with Hamas, a cease-fire was arranged between the US and the Houthis that did not include Israel
Building destroyed by US airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen
Reuters reports that the Houthis agreed to cease firing at US ships passing through the Red Sea. In exchange the US would cease firing at Houthi targets. The US has been intensively attacking Houthi targets since March 15, 2025.
Reuters also reported that under Joe Biden's administration, the United States and Britain retaliated with air strikes against Houthi targets in an effort to keep open the crucial Red Sea trading route, throughRed Sea and Arabian Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
The path for about 15% of global shipping traffic.
According to Reuters, Oman said it had mediated the ceasefire deal, marking a major shift in Houthi policy since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023.
According to the Times of Israel, US President Trump had given the US military 30 days to destroy the Houthi ability to disrupt shipping traffic.
However US forces did not succeed in destroying the Houthi’s firepower. US military officials told US President Trump that to destroy the Houthi missile capability they would need at least 10-months. And they would use Israeli tactics and begin targeted assassinations of Houthi leaders.
According to Ynetnews, President Trump, faced with an expensive, the US had already spent over $1 Billion in the fight, open ended conflict with the Houthis, decided to shut down the operation and reached an agreement with the Houthis.
But, the agreement did not cover Houthi attacks on non-US ships nor did it include a cessation of missile attacks on israel.
Also, President Trump sent negotiators to meet with Iran and lay the groundwork for a new agreement that would limit Iranian moves towards enriching uranium and striving to create their own nuclear weapon. Israel was not consulted, according to the Israeli government, in these negotiations. End Run number two.
President Trump, on his four-day sweep through the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, that pointedly excluded Israel. Trump met with the Saudi Leader Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud also known as MBS and the A Qatari Leader al-Thani.
According to the NY Times, the Saudi’s agreed to purchase $142 billion worth of weapons from the USA. Trump also met with New Syrian president al-Sharaa. And with Turkish president Erdogan.
Kan Channel 1TV reported that Israel was concerned by the sale of weapons to both the Saudi and the Turkish government that included advanced F-35 stealth jet fighters. Alon Ben David, military correspondent of Channel 13 TV, said that the sale worried the Israeli military and eroded what is called the QME the quantitive military edge that Israel has held over the surrounding Arab countries.
The US also reportedly agreed to allow Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear facilities for peaceful use. Another worrisome development for Israel, according to military analysts.
Qatari plane at Mar a Lago in Feb 2025
According to President Trump, the Qatari ’s also offered a $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to replace the aging Air Force One. Trump said that when he received an offer like that he couldn’t turn it down.
Some critics say that it was illegal for him to accept the gift since in the past horses and other animals weren’t allowed in the Presidential library so why would a $400 million plane be allowed. A new Air Force One has already been ordered from Boeing but the company says it will not be ready for a year or two, at least.
Contrary to President Trump’s narrative, CNN reported that in fact the White House had been looking for a replacement for the aging Air Force One until the new one is delivered. Boeing was contacted, according to the report, and suggested the White House contact Qatar who had a number of 747-8 airplanes.
Qatar said they were willing to sell the US the plane. The US was also looking to lease a plane. In the end, for whatever reason, the plane was offered as a gift.
However, the Department of Defense said that the Qatari plane had to be completely refitted, and torn down to the frame and rebuilt from the ground up, an operation that would take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
On Thursday May 21st, the Department of Defense has said that it had agreed to receive the plane. The value of the plane was put at $200 million.
US Senator (D. Ca) Chuck Shumer has questioned the gift saying it would cost several hundred millions of dollars to outfit the plane to meet the stringent security requirements of Air Force One. This when the plane would only be used until the new Air Force One is ready.
One pundit quipped that perhaps President Trump could not turn down a $200-$400 million dollar gift even if it would become a second Air Force One. Maybe, the pundit speculated, President Trump would simply lend the plane to his son and son-in-law or whomever wanted to use it.
Meanwhile, critics point out that President Trumps companies have made inroads to the Middle East with a new Trump Tower to be built in Saudia Arabia and a golf course in Qatar.
Antisemitism
DC shooter Elias Rodriguez arrested after murder
Two Israeli embassy staffers were killed in a shooting attack at the Washington D.C. Jewish Museum. on Wednesday May 21st.
According to the Times of Israel two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., were shot and killed Wednesday evening while leaving an annual American Jewish Committee event for young embassy staff and diplomats at the Jewish museum.
The two were Israeli Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and American Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, who were about to be engaged,
Lischinsky was a research assistant for the embassy, while Sarah Milgrim worked on planning missions to Israel. Reuters reported that, separately, Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were working to restore relations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Reportedly the shooter was identified as Elias Rodriguez, 31, who had purchased tickets to the event At one point Rodriquez had been inside the hall but was escorted out by security guards for some as yet unknown reason.
Surveillance video then shows Rodriquez pacing outside the building. When a group of four people left heading for their parked car Rodriguez pulled out a 9mm handgun.
He then stood stiff armed and opened fire shooting Lischinsky and Milgrim in the back. He kept shooting, even when Milgrim tried to crawl away, until he ran out of bullets. The other two, both Americans, ran away during the shooting.
According to the FBI Rodriquez had purchased in Chicago in 2020 and legally shipped to Washington in his luggage.
AP reported that Rodriguez then disposed of his 9mm weapon and rushed inside the museum. Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and a man came inside looking distressed, they said. Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water, thinking he needed help, without realizing he was the suspect. When the police arrived, he pulled out a red keffiyeh and repeatedly yelled,”Free Palestine,” Kalin said.
Kalin added that the “AJC event was about humanitarian aid…How we can bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then, here he is just murdering two people in cold blood.”
Sarah Milgrim (left) and Yaron Lischinsky (right)
According to the Times of Israel, Rodriquez was born and raised in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois, Chicago, with a degree in English. At the time of the shooting he was employed by the healthcare nonprofit American Osteopathic Information Association, that later expressed sympathy for the victims.
Previously Rodriquez had worked as a content writer for commercial and noncommercial technology firms as well as The HistoryMarkers, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving African American stories
Ynetnews reported that Rodriguez was also identified in a 2018 local news report as a member of the Chicago branch of a national group called ANSWER, an acronym for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, which has organized demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians.
The New York Times reported that Rodriquez has also been an active member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a far-left, Marxist, pro-Palestine group. But that group says he has had no affiliation with them since 2017. This even though he was apparently recently photographed at a PSL meeting in a Chicago bookstore.
After his arrest Rodriguez later told detectives that he admired Aaron Bushnell, an anti-Israel activist who self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy last year in protest, calling Bushnell a “martyr.”
According to the New York Times, Rodriguez told police officers, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” Jeanine Pirro, the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, said her office was investigating the shooting as a hate crime and as terrorism. He was later charged with the two murders.
Rodriguez published a post on the social media site X on Wednesday evening that condemned the Israeli and American governments and what he called atrocities committed by the Israeli military against Palestinians.
Under the title “Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home,” Rodriguez condemned what he called atrocities committed by the Israeli military against Palestinians. The post did not refer directly to the shooting on Wednesday evening, but it justified “armed action.”
According to Ynetnews, Israeli officials said this morning (Thursday May 22nd) that following the attack in Washington, the level of security for Jewish and Israeli institutions in the US has been raised, particularly in the capital. In addition, security and alert levels have been increased at various targets around the world against Jewish missions, envoys and communities , for fear of a copycat and inspired attack, with the fighting in the Gaza Strip intensifying in the background.
Ynetnews reported on Thursday May 22nd that Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced that the Israeli flag would be lowered to half-mast at all Israeli missions around the world. According to the Foreign Minister, the shooting attack in Washington is "the direct result of the virulent and toxic anti-Semitic incitement that has been ongoing since October 7 against Israel and Jews around the world.”
Sa'ar said that “'blood libels’ spread against Israel, pave the way for murder" and called on world leaders to "stop the false accusations, strengthen Israel against the axis of evil." Turning to the international community, the minister said the "blood libels against us have made Jewish blood fair game.”
"A direct line connects anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder," Sa'ar added. "This incitement also includes official spokespeople for many countries and international organizations, especially in Europe. The words, which are the modern blood libels, spread against us about so-called genocide, crimes against humanity and infanticide, pave the way for these murders."
"This is the atmosphere in the world that has turned Jewish and Israeli blood into filth. This is what happens when world leaders surrender to and serve the Palestinian propaganda of terror and lies," the Foreign Minister said.
Foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany called the attack “Antisemitic barbarity.”
One pundit points to a recent letter issued by celebrities and artists during the Cannes Film Festival as an example of what could be called incitement.
According to Variety, a letter signed by 370 artists and celebrities was released on May 13th during the Cannes Film Festival protested Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Another pundit wrote that only a brief mention was made in the letter to the Oct 7th invasion and killings by Hamas. Some of the signatories, like Richard Gere and George Cluny had been frequent visitors to Israel. Gere once (2004?) ran a “master’s class” at the Sderot film school.
Meanwhile Hamas claims that over 50,000 Gazans have been killed since Israel entered the war, but Israel says that tens of thousands of them were Hamas fighters.
Pundits point out that the numbers issued by the Hamas Health Ministry have been often sited as highly exaggerated. One observer wrote that these facts have little impact on the views of rabid anti-Israel celebrities like Sarah Sarandon.
Another observer pointed out that during WWII when the Allies were bombing German towns and cities, over 40,000 Germans were killed during an Allied strike on Hamburg in 1943. No one then claimed any moral clarity about the American strike. Where the hypocrisy comes in is when Israel is held to a different standard than the United States. Or just about any other country in the world. As another pundit quipped, “The world likes to hate Jews.”
Harvard Business School
According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that it was terminating $60 million in federal grants to Harvard University saying the Ivy League institution failed to address antisemitic harassment and ethnic discrimination on campus.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has froze or ended federal grants and contracts for the university worth nearly $3 billion in recent weeks.
Pro-Palestinian Protesters at Columbia University
According to AP, New York’s Columbia University has suspended 65 students and barred alums and over 30 others from entering campus, some from different universities, who occupied the university’s Butler library on May 7th.
AP reported that mask-clad protesters pushed their way past campus security officers, raced into the building and hung Palestinian flags and other banners on bookshelves. Some protesters also scrawled phrases on library furniture and picture frames, including “Columbia will burn.”
80 people were arrested at the demonstration.
In NYC, according to the NY City Mayor’s office website, Mayor Eric Adams appointed a special council to look into antisemitism in New York City. A Jewish activist Moshe Davis was appointed as head of the department.
Also, according to the New York Post, the New York Police Department issued a statement that in 2024 54% of all hate crimes in the city were against Jews. That number had already jumped to 62% in the first quarter of 2025.
Critics of the new department department of antisemitism was a publicity stunt Adams pulled to garner votes for the upcoming mayoral race.
Politics
On Tuesday May 20th, according to the Times of Israel, Left-wing politician Yair Golan faced a wave of backlash from across the political spectrum after he accused Israel of killing babies in Gaza “as a hobby.”
Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff and current head of the The Democrats party, a merger of Labor and Meretz, said in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster that “Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state, like South Africa was, if we don’t return to acting like a sane country.”
Democrat Party leader Maj.Gen (res.) Yair Golan
The political leader, who is not a current member of Knesset, added that “a sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations.”
Golan faced fierce criticism for his statement about the IDF’s actions in Gaza. But he never retreated from his accusation that Israel was being controlled by right-wing fanatics.
A Golan supporter told Israel Radio that Golan was a true patriot. He’d put on his uniform and rushed down to Gaza to help fight the terrorists on Oct 7, 2023. Implied in the statement was that none of those now criticizing Golan had done the same.
On Thursday night May 21st, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first press conference in 163 days.
The Prime Minister first made a long rambling speech and then called for questions by the press. The first one called was a reporter for the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14TV station. Other reporters called on for questions after that were all known Netanyahu supporters. This caused Israel’s Channel 12TV anchorman Danny Kashmarov to quip that once those called were chosen by lottery not chosen to help support government policy.
At the press conference, carried live prime time, Netanyahu defended his policies and attacked his enemies. At certain times he left the podium and stood beside it either leaning on it or standing straight using the microphone as a pointer aimed at the audience. One observer said this all seemed to be well-rehearsed.
Netanyahu seemed to downplay the Hamas terror group’s capabilities saying that on Oct 7, 2023 they ‘Attacked in flip-flops.’
Ynetnews pointed out that contrary to the PM’s claim, the Hamas terrorists had been planning and rehearsing the attack for months, were well-armed and well-informed and highly trained.
At the press conference the PM also falsely claimed that Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha was not attacked when in fact four people were murdered on the Kibbutz.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also named the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s “revolutionary” plan to relocate Gaza’s civilians as a condition for ending the conflict, the first time he has made such a demand. He called Trump’s plan “brilliant,” and said it had the potential to change the face of the Middle East.
According to Ynetnews, Netanyahu also claimed money controversially transferred by Qatar to Hamas was given “on the recommendation of the Shin Bet and the Mossad,” though the head of the former security agency at the time has said he opposed the funds. The prime minister denied that this money, transferred at his urging, enabled the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, which marked the deadliest attack in Israel’s history and day for Jews since the Holocaust.
According to Ynetnews, addressing former IDF deputy chief of staff and current Democrats party leader Yair Golan’s much-panned accusation on Tuesday that Israel is killing Palestinian children for sport, Netanyahu called the statement “appalling.”
“While our heroic soldiers are risking their lives in the Gaza Strip, in order to protect our country and to bring our hostages back, Yair Golan accuses them of war crimes,” he said, adding that it reminded him of medieval blood libels.”
But Golan said in response to Netanyahu’s press conference, “ “I saw a display by a lying, anxious and troubled man who slings mud at everyone and doesn’t take responsibility for anything.
“I have two promises to Netanyahu this evening: I will sue you for defamation for the lies you spread against me, and we will beat you in elections very soon and send you to the pages of history,” vowed Golan.
Latest polls by Maariv show that should elections be held today Netanyahu’s coalition would receive 44 seats and the opposition when led by former PM Bennet 66 seats.
PM Netanyahu (left) Former Shin Bet Head Bar (right)
Meanwhile the High Court ruled on Wednesday May 21st that the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who has since resigned effective June 15th, was illegal. The court also said that Netanyahu was involved in a conflict of interests since members of his staff were under investigation for bribery by the Shin Bet, and he himself was on trial for corruption.
The court also said that the head of the Shin Bet is not a political appointee and thus cannot be fired by the PM. Nor should the Prime Minister be involved in appointing a new head of the Shin Bet due to the same conflict of interests.
Also, in contravention to the High Courts ruling PM Netanyahu on Friday announced the appointment of Major General David Zini as head of the Shin Bet security service.
According to Ynetnews, Netanyahu ignored directives from Attorney General Gili Baharev-Miara that the PM was not to be involved in the appointment of a new Shin Bet head because of a conflict of interests.
Ynetnews reported that the prime minister’s move will escalate the legal confrontation over Netanyahu’s authority to make senior security appointments. They also reported that Gen. Zini was a favorite choice of PM Netanyahu’s wife Sarah.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid encouraged Zini to turn down the appointment. Lapid said Netanyahu has a serious conflict of interests because of the Qatargate investigation of bribes paid by Qatar to members of Netanyahu’s staff. Lapid said that Gen. Zini should not accept the appointment until the High Court rules on the matter.
However Yuval Kaplinsky, a former state prosecutor, told Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet that he saw no clear-cut prohibition by the High Court preventing the PM from appointing Zini and doubted there would be a significant judicial crises because of the appointment. .
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s trial for corruption that began in May 2020 is expected to last until 2026. So far he has completed just 33 ( non-consecutive) days testifying in court. His first testimony in court was on December 10,2024.
Netanyahu frequently uses the excuse he has serious government business, security concerns, of health issues, to avoid court.
Analysts say that should the government fall Netanyahu would have no excuse to avoid court. Now he frequently says he can’t attend court because of pressing government business.
The latest polls show that his coalition would not succeed in winning a new election. In which case, say analysts, he’d be in court much more often and the trial would end much quicker.
However, legal scholars still say that a conviction on the various charges is “complicated.”
Editorial
PM Netanyahu at the recent press conference
At his recent and very rare press conference Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his successes, his current strategy for Gaza, and his plans for the future, all the while attacking those who criticize and oppose his moves.
According to Ynetnews, Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's press conference statements, saying they mean that 'in the coming years, we will wake up every morning to the words permitted for publication. The Israeli taxpayer, the middle class, will have to pay for education, health and garbage collection in Gaza.' Lapid also claimed that 'Netanyahu lied when he said he has full coordination with the American administration. Lapid claims that Netanyahu has lost Trump's sympathy and attention.’
Referencing managed information, Lapid was referring to several laws Netanyahu’s coalition is trying to pass in the Knesset. One is essentially curtailing freedom of the press by making certain the government approves the hirings and firings of the state broadcaster and controls statements made by other media outlets.
According to Media Line, “More than a year after the October 7 attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reignited efforts to overhaul the judiciary and reshape the country’s media landscape, sparking warnings from critics about threats to democracy.
“The government is flooding the Knesset with extreme bills, many of which will likely be struck down by the Supreme Court. However, this tactic is deliberate, it allows them to claim the judiciary and the press are conspiring against them,” This according to Oren Persico, an Israeli media analyst at HaAyin HaShevi’it, a website that covers Israeli mass media, explained during a recent online event.
The attacks against Attorney General Gili Miara Bashara have not ceased. Recently one coalition member has said that the Attorney General has hijacked the High Court for her own political purposes.
Meanwhile, the High Court further infuriated Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition when it found that the firing of Ronen Bar as head of the Shin Bet was illegal and done for political purposes and out of the PM’s self interest.
According to Ynetnews, the High Court said that the Shin Bet head is not a political appointee and thus cannot be fired by the PM. After the ruling Netanyahu’s loyalists attacked the court.
Prime Minister Netanyahu (left) National Security Minister Ben-Gvir (right)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attacked the Supreme Court's ruling, 'Once again, the Supreme Court grossly tramples the government's explicit legal authority with an alarmingly political ruling. Ronen Bar undermined democracy and acted against the government and its ministers, attempting to fabricate cases against them, and now received approval from the Supreme Court, which has once again trampled democracy.’
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi claimed that 'The Supreme Court has disconnected from democracy and common sense, and must be dismantled and reconstructed. The judges of the Constitutional Court that we will establish will judge solely according to Knesset laws. Our Jewish state is the next victim of the duo Amit and Barak-Erez.’
Then there is Israel’s twice thwarted plan to use force to stop development of a nuclear weapon. This week CNN reported that Israel was in advanced planning to bomb Iranian facilities preparing a nuclear weapon.
Reuters reported that while the US is negotiating with Iran over a new treaty limiting Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Iran has said that the talks are not succeeding. But reportedly the talks are ongoing with a 5th session in Rome.
This US move to negotiate directly with Iran was similar to the US move to negotiate directly with the Houthis. In those talks the Houthis agreed not to attack US ships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. In these talks the US is pressuring Iran for a deal. But Reuters says that the talks are faltering over clashing red lines, the US demanding Iran never get a nuclear weapon, and Iran demanding freedom to do as they pleased.
"The plan B was to continue the strategy before the start of talks. Iran will avoid escalating tensions, it is ready to defend itself," a senior Iranian official said.
"The strategy also includes strengthening ties with allies like Russia and China."
On Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected US demands to halt uranium enrichment as “excessive and outrageous”, warning that the talks are unlikely to yield results.
Iran is facing crippling sanctions, the economy is faltering, the population is becoming restless. Because of sanctions Iran has no trading partner for its oil. China has ignored the sanctions and is buying oil from Iran. This infusion of cash has kept Iran afloat.
“Compounding Tehran's challenges, Iran's clerical establishment is grappling with mounting crises - energy and water shortages, a plummeting currency, military losses among regional allies, and rising fears of an Israeli attack on its nuclear sites - all exacerbated by Trump's hardline policies.
Wendy Sherman, former US Undersecretary for Political Affairs who led the US negotiating team that reached the 2015 accord between Tehran and six world powers, said it was impossible to convince Tehran to "dismantle its nuclear program and give up their enrichment even though that would be ideal."
According to Reuters, if talks collapse - a scenario both Tehran and Washington hope to avoid - neither Beijing nor Moscow can shield Iran from unilateral US and EU sanctions.
France, Britain and Germany, though not part of the US-Iran talks, have warned they would reimpose UN sanctions if no deal emerged quickly.
Under the 2015 nuclear pact's UN resolution, the E3 have until October 18 to trigger the so-called "snapback mechanism" before the resolution expires.
According to diplomats and a document seen by Reuters, the E3 countries may do this by August if no substantial deal can be found by then.
"So that means they will come to an impasse, and that we will face the potential for war, which I don't think, quite frankly, President Trump looks forward to because he has campaigned as a peace president," she said.
Israel has been left out of the talks. But has said that even if a deal is reached and it is a bad deal Israel will strike Iran without US approval.
Observers worry that this will start a regional war. Arab parties are against the attack because they worry about radioactive fallout should a reactor be bombed.
Perhaps, said one pundit, this is why Israel’s plans to attack Iran have been leaked. This, even though the Iranian leadership says that talk of the attack is “psychological warfare”
Whatever the reasons for President’s Trumps direct talks with Iran and the Houthis, and for inviting Syria’s new president al-Sharaa for talks, and lifting sanctions on Syria, the result is that Israel has been left out of the loop.
According to veteran military correspondent Ron Ben Yishai writing in Ynetnews, “After the historic Riyadh summit, Turkey's Erdoğan emerges as the biggest winner from al-Sharaa's rise, poised to earn billions, repatriate refugees and expand military influence; Meanwhile, Trump hails the ex-jihadist wearing a suit and softens demands on Damascus—once again sidelining Israel from key decisions
Syrian leader al-Sharaa and Turkey’s President Erdogan
Ben Yishai adds, “The historic meeting on Wednesday (May 14th) between U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first between a U.S. president and Syrian leader in 25 years, is primarily a diplomatic gesture to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in that order.
“Trump's lifting of sanctions on Syria and his presidential handshake with al-Sharaa, until recently labeled an Islamist terrorist, can be seen as a trade-off for trillion-dollar business ventures the U.S., under Trump’s leadership, is pursuing with the wealthy Sunni Gulf states.
“The bottom line: everyone stands to gain from the Trump administration’s rapprochement with Syria’s new regime, especially Turkey, followed by Syria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon, in that order. But Israel remains deeply concerned, not only about the potential jihadist threat posed by al-Sharaa’s regime, but also about Trump’s failure to coordinate his intentions with Jerusalem.
US President Trump (left) Saudi Leader Bin Salman (right)
On Thursday May 22nd, Saudi leader Bin Salman said, “"Netanyahu's influence on Trump has dropped"
“The famine in Gaza has become a major issue. The US president is not acting to stop a conference that Saudi Arabia and France plan to hold next month in New York. A senior Trump administration official told those around him that these and others indicate that "if Netanyahu's influence on Trump was a 9, it has dropped to a 3 or 4". The battle for the US president's ear, and the drastic change since the beginning of the term
Some analysts point out that PM Netanyahu was under tremendous pressure from Washington to reach a cease-fire deal before President Trump arrived in the region. Had Netanyahu done so then Trump may have included Netanyahu in some of the high-level meetings with the regions leaders. But Netanyahu went with political survival, adhering to the cries for a continued war and even occupation of all of Gaza rather than heed Trumps urging for a ceasefire. The result, Trump had no intention of wasting the trip to the Middle East nor making lucrative deals. Thus, Netanyahu was left behind.
So, now we wonder what does this mean long term? PM Netanyahu says there is no split between the US and Israel on policy. They stand shoulder to shoulder he says. But the facts seem to speak otherwise. Trump, according to observers, saw Netanyahu’s goal of continuing the war in Gaza, causing a humanitarian as different from President Trump’s view of the situation.
So, President Trump ignored Netanyahu. Like a star quarterback he tossed the ball, in this case to Steve Witkoff, for an end run, avoiding Netanyahu as the US sought its own plan for the region.
How far behind will Trump leave Netanyahu in the coming weeks and months? Will Trump’s exclusion of Netanyahu from crucial talks and monumental events weaken the PM so much in the eyes of his followers that he’ll be fighting for his own political survival? And if he is booted from power he no longer has excuses to avoid his fate in court.
Time will tell.