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[MUST WATCH] Dan Senor’s 2025 State of World Jewry Address at the 92nd Street Y (92NY)
Dan’s address expanded upon many of the topics we often discuss on Call Me Back, but it primarily focused on the challenges ahead for Diaspora Jewish communities in a post-10/07 world. Dan also laid out a first draft of an action plan for Jewish Peoplehood that is no longer prominent and weak but one that is instead Jewish and strong.
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Situational Update
According to the Times of Israel: The Israel Defense Force announced Sunday that it has begun “broad” ground operations in several areas of the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening phase of a new major offensive. Visiting Gaza on Sunday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that the military would press forward with the offensive, but at the same time allow flexibility in order not to torpedo talks for a hostage deal that are ongoing in Qatar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the immediate resumption of “basic” humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening, making a highly unpopular decision among his right-wing circles amid mounting US pressure to end a monthslong blockade.
Saudi news (Al-Arabiya) confirms that Muhammad Sinwar, Hamas leader and brother of Yahya Sinwar, is dead, his body (along with at least 10 other senior terrorists) having been found in a tunnel under the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. He played a central role in planning and leading the Oct 7th attacks and the kidnapping of Israeli hostages.
FDD analysis: Overnight operations in Gaza resulted in the elimination of “dozens of terrorists” and the destruction of “multiple terror infrastructures,” the IDF announced on May 17. Among the targets was a two-kilometer underground tunnel in northern Gaza that was destroyed by troops from the IDF Northern Brigade and the Yahalam combat engineering unit. The launch of Israel’s renewed campaign against Hamas terrorists in Gaza — dubbed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” — came as the Iran-backed terrorist organization confirmed that it was participating in ceasefire talks in Qatar without “preconditions.”
Yuval Rapheal in the Eurovision Grand Finale!
On October 7, 2023, Yuval Rapheal was dancing with friends at the Nova music festival. She ran to a bomb shelter nearby and survived. Yesterday, she represented Israel in the Eurovision Grand Finale where she came in second place!
Israeli journalist Marc Schulman reflects: Her selection resonated deeply with many viewers but also drew international scrutiny. Several countries objected to Israel’s inclusion in the competition due to the ongoing war, but the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes Eurovision, ultimately dismissed those calls and allowed Israel to participate.
Noa Tishby writes: Thousands of protesters screamed outside the venue. People tried to storm the stage. They sprayed paint at security guards and forced event organizers to evacuate the Israeli delegation to safety.
Despite protests and threats, she ended her performance with: “Thank you, Europe! Am Yisrael Chai!”
Watch her full performance below:
A Survivor Faces the Cowards by Seth Mandel in Commentary
Ever since Oct. 7, I have strangely looked forward to the annual Eurovision contest. Not for the music, really. Mostly I look forward to the arrival of the Israeli contestant, a rare moment to glimpse an actually brave artist in the sea of “pick-me” conformism that passes for a music scene today.
But this week, Yuval Raphael walked the welcoming carpet at the opening of the Eurovision contest in Basel, Switzerland. Raphael is Israel’s contestant in the competition. Because she is from the Jewish state, the normal fans cheering her were joined by keffiyeh-clad protesters waving Palestinian flags, one of whom made a throat-slitting gesture as Raphael’s delegation went by. He stepped toward the Israelis and spat at them.
Yuval Raphael just smiled and waved, and at one point made a heart gesture with her hands. That’s pretty much how it goes—Israeli hearts and Palestinian neck-slicing; they’re partners in a familiar dance.
She is a survivor of the Nova massacre, the largest mass killing at a music festival in history. Her story is harrowing, and her appearance at Eurovision is, frankly, an inspiring if not historic moment for music fans everywhere.
As Hamas monsters hunted the Jews in and around the Nova grounds on Oct. 7, Raphael and some friends hid in a bomb shelter near the road with dozens of others trying to escape the onslaught. Hamas terrorists shot everyone in front of the shelter trying to get inside and then shot up the inside of the shelter as well, killing most of the civilians. Raphael opened her eyes after the shooters left to find her leg was pinned by a dead body. Raphael’s father, thinking quickly, told her to hang up the phone and play dead as long as the terrorists were stalking the grounds.
She and the others who were still alive did so. The terrorists came back repeatedly and shot up the inside of the bomb shelter every time. In the suffocating heat, in pain from injuries and surrounded by dead bodies, the group then faced a new threat: Terrorists started throwing grenades into the shelter. As bodies exploded around her, Raphael and a few others managed to survive until help came.
So, no, the spitting Palestinian in Basel isn’t going to scare her.
European broadcasters tried to get Raphael disqualified from the contest entirely, on account of her national origin.
Very few artists risk anything in today’s music world. Because Raphael survived a massacre, she might never be truly safe to travel anywhere. She’ll get the cold shoulder from her fellow artists, one suspects, because actual courage repels them.
Israel/Middle East Related Articles
[MUST READ] How Qatar Bought America: The tiny Gulf nation has spent almost $100 billion to establish its influence in Congress, universities, newsrooms, think tanks, and corporations. What does it want in return? By Frannie Block and Jay Solomon with The Free Press
The airplane deal was signed off by Attorney General Pam Bondi. She used to work at a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm that received $115,000 a month from Qatar to fight human trafficking, according to a 2019 contract reviewed by The Free Press.
President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, led lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs when it represented Qatar’s embassy in Washington. FBI Director Kash Patel worked as a consultant for Qatar, though he didn’t register as a foreign agent. And then there is Steve Witkoff, president Trump’s longtime friend and senior adviser…In 2023, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund bought out his faltering investment in New York’s Park Lane Hotel for $623 million.
The question is: How did a refuge of Islamist radicalism, a country criticized for modern-day slave labor, become the center of global politics and commerce? How did this tiny peninsular country of 300,000 citizens and millions of noncitizen migrant workers manage to put itself smack-dab in the center of global diplomacy—and so successfully ingratiate itself within the Trump administration?
But Qatar is also a seat of the Muslim Brotherhood, a crucial source of financing to Hamas, a diplomatic and energy partner of Iran, a refuge for the Taliban’s exiled political leadership, financier and cheerleader of Palestinian terrorism, and the chief propagandist of Islamism through its media powerhouse, Al Jazeera, which reaches 430 million people in more than 150 countries.
Qatar has spent almost $100 billion to establish its legitimacy in Congress
Since 2017, it has spent $225 million on lobbying and public-relations efforts in the nation’s capital.
For comparison, Qatar spent three times more in the U.S. than Israel did on lobbyists, public-relations advisers, and other foreign agents in 2021—and nearly two-thirds as much as China did, according to the government’s latest reports.
What Qatar hopes to achieve through its profligate strategy in Washington is nothing short of a remaking of the global order that secures America’s fidelity to Doha over other Gulf powers, namely Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while neutering the U.S.’s ability to respond to Islamist threats and making our political class willing to overlook them.
Qatar’s economic fortunes soared when American and European energy giants, such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, developed the technology to exploit what turned out to be one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. Qatar began exporting liquefied natural gas to Asia in 1997.
In the early 2000s, Qatar successfully wooed the U.S. away from the air base in Saudi Arabia, where it had been for more than a decade after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. Qatar poured more than $1 billion into the runways, barracks, and hangars of Al Udeid.
In 2022, President Biden declared Qatar a “major non-NATO ally” of the U.S., easing the way for more arms sales and greater U.S. military support.
American diplomats have also expressed gratitude to Qatar for serving as a middleman between the U.S. and adversaries such as Iran, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Tehran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah.
But the intertwined relationship is also a source of growing concern among some current and former officials in the U.S. and Europe. They worry that, especially through the air base, the Al Thanis have far too much influence over Pentagon military strategy and operations at a time when a U.S. or Israeli conflict with Iran is a growing possibility, including potential strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites. Indeed, maintaining the air base in Qatar comes with a significant string attached: The Gulf monarchy has said it would oppose military strikes on Iran from its soil.
Most troubling to Qatar’s critics is its deep, abiding relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood…What’s beyond dispute is that Qatar’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood projects its power across the Muslim world from Jordan to Indonesia.
The U.S. government found that in 2021 alone, Qatar employed 35 registered lobbyists and public-relations firms at a total cost of more than $51 million. In comparison, the total expenditures for the UAE were $35 million. For Saudi Arabia, they were $25 million. The government hasn’t released newer totals.
One of Qatar’s most loyal allies in the U.S. is former congressman Jim Moran. In his 24 years on Capitol Hill, the Democrat from Virginia played an important role in foreign affairs. In coordination with other Qatari-paid lobbyists aligned with Republicans and Democrats, Moran began to promote a network of nongovernmental organizations and think tanks in support of Qatar’s positions on international affairs. Those institutions were often sharply critical of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel.
Qatar is the largest foreign funder of U.S. colleges and universities in the world, spending more than $6.3 billion on contracts and gifts since the government started tracking the data in 1986. In comparison, China spent about $5.6 billion, and Saudi Arabia spent $3.7 billion, NCRI said.
Qatar says it isn’t using its money to buy credibility through U.S. colleges and universities.
At present, Qatar’s influence in Washington is arguably at its strongest point since its independence in 1971.
Those aligned with Qatar will argue that the country is a force for stability in the Middle East and a diplomatic partner that is more transactional than ideological. They’ll admit that Al Jazeera is a problem, but insist that the Al Thanis are committed to liberalizing their society, but must go slowly. These supporters believe that the U.S.’s relationship with Qatar allows Washington to limit its involvement in the region in a way that is more sustainable than it has been in the past.
But what’s at stake is nothing short of American sovereignty and national security. At a moment when so many political leaders, pundits, and ordinary Americans are reaching for explanations of—or entertaining conspiracies about—who really pulls the strings in Washington and beyond, many of them are ignoring a story in plain sight.
Link: How Qatar Bought America
What It Would Mean If Israel Killed Muhammad Sinwar by John Spencer
On May 13, Israeli sources confirmed that the IDF had targeted Muhammad Sinwar—Hamas’s top military commander in Gaza—in a precision strike on an underground command node buried beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis.
Muhammad Sinwar is not a symbolic target. He was one of the principal architects of Hamas’s war.
If his death is confirmed, it would represent the collapse of Hamas’s top Gaza-based leadership. Hamas is not an amorphous guerrilla force. It relies on centralized planning, subterranean communications, and an integrated command structure. Eliminating Sinwar would further fracture that system and disrupt Hamas’s ability to coordinate and adapt under pressure.
Still, wars are not won by removing names from a list. Wars are won when the enemy no longer retains the ability and will to pursue their strategy.
He was not just a battlefield commander; he was a lynchpin in the operational and psychological system that kept Hamas fighting from underground while hiding behind civilians.
In that context, every successful strike against Hamas’s leadership is more than tactical—it is a message.
If Sinwar is dead, it would mark the end of Hamas’s operational leadership behind the October 7 massacre.
That is how war is won. Not just by eliminating individuals, but by breaking the enemy’s ability to continue pursuing its strategy.
Gaza and the Hourglass Dilemma: The Urgent Need for a Decisive Victory by Colonel (res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni with The Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security
Despite its significant achievements and the heavy toll it has inflicted on Hamas... the ongoing conflict has yet to meet its core strategic objectives: dismantling Hamas’s military and governing structures and securing the release of hostages. At the heart of the debate over how to proceed lies the “hourglass dilemma”—a metaphor for the dwindling time available to make critical decisions.
The Gaza front, though critical, is not the only theater demanding the IDF’s attention... Ongoing fighting in Gaza consumes valuable resources... that need to be directed to other arenas.
Ending the Gaza campaign is not just about achieving victory over Hamas; it is also about freeing up capacity for critical reforms... If the IDF shies away from conducting such a campaign, it will continue to be stretched thin across multiple fronts.
It is important to remember that a core principle of Israel’s security doctrine has always been to shorten the duration of conflicts and aim for a swift resolution.
We argue that an intense military operation is the only way to ensure the release of the hostages... Abandoning the war’s core objective—destroying Hamas—could undermine national security and embolden terrorist organizations to make kidnapping a regular instrument of war.
The reserve hourglass serves as a reminder that the time to rally this force for a decisive mission is running out...The reserves are the backbone of the IDF, but they are under immense pressure. Repeated call-ups of reservists for routine tasks or missions without a clear purpose lead to significant fatigue…Without swift action, Israel risks ending up with an exhausted reserve army.
The regional situation adds another layer of complexity. Donald Trump’s presidency has brought both opportunities and challenges. While Trump is known for his strong support of Israel, such support is never guaranteed.
Failing to achieve a clear, swift military decision will leave Israel facing the threat from Gaza indefinitely... Israel cannot afford to be caught in a prolonged conflict during an election campaign.
The various hourglasses—military, internal, reserve, regional, and political—all point to the same conclusion: the time for decisive action in Gaza is running out.
Crucially, the operation must be closely coordinated with the United States and moderate Arab states to reduce international pressure and preserve the gains of regional alliances.
Only a swift, forceful military campaign can achieve the war’s objectives: securing the hostages’ release, ensuring Israeli citizens’ safety, and preventing future kidnappings.
Link: Gaza and the Hourglass Dilemma: The Urgent Need for a Decisive Victory
Hamas Wanted to Torpedo Israel-Saudi Deal With Oct. 7 Attacks, Documents Reveal by Marcus Walker and Summer Said in the WSJ
Top leaders of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel aiming to torpedo peace negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to minutes of a high-level meeting in Gaza that Israel’s military said it discovered in a tunnel beneath the enclave.
The meeting minutes—from an Oct. 2, 2023, gathering of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza—cite Sinwar as saying, “There is no doubt that the Saudi-Zionist normalization agreement is progressing significantly.” He warned a deal would “open the door for the majority of Arab and Islamic countries to follow the same path.”
The goal, he said, is “to bring about a major move or a strategic shift in the paths and balances of the region with regard to the Palestinian cause.” He expected to get help from the other Iranian-backed forces of the so-called axis of resistance to Israel.
Those documents, reviewed by the Journal, show mounting concern among Hamas leaders about the progress of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Officials of all three countries were saying in 2023 that differences were narrowing.
Among the other internal Hamas documents found by the Israeli military and reviewed by the Journal was a September 2023 report that recommended escalating the conflict in the West Bank and Jerusalem to make Saudi-Israeli normalization more difficult.
An internal briefing marked “secret” from August 2022, written by Hamas’s military leadership, concludes: “It has become the duty of the movement to reposition itself to … preserve the survival of the Palestinian cause in the face of the broad wave of normalization by Arab countries, which aims primarily to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”
Link: Hamas Wanted to Torpedo Israel-Saudi Deal With Oct. 7 Attacks, Documents Reveal
Antisemitism
Aiding & Abetting: The CIA Dark Money Network Trying to Overthrow the Israeli Government by Jeremy Musighi
Israel — with a long history of colonization... has twice lost and regained its native sovereignty... Today, it faces a powerful subversive force working in the shadows to once again take power over its land and people.
According to congressional testimony... USAID funneled approximately $1.9 billion into the hands of Hamas terrorists in the time immediately after their October 7th attack on Israel... a significant contributing factor to Hamas’ ability to survive and sustain a prolonged war.
The Kaplan movement was started... by Standing Together, an NGO primarily funded by the New Israel Fund... with donors including Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, and Tides Center (funded by USAID).
BWF’s financial activity includes backing Brothers In Arms — a group that sabotaged Israel’s military defenses before the October 7th terrorist attacks, by running a campaign to convince tens of thousands of IDF reservists to refuse to serve when called.
NGOs in Israel, secretly serving as foreign-backed enemies of the state, have created a psychological environment... the most impactful outcome... has been a developing societal demoralization.
From the media, the activists, and the politicians undermining the government... the overall meme — that the Netanyahu government is the source of all of Israel’s problems... — is deeply planted into the minds of many Israelis.
Each of Israel’s greatest enemies strongly agrees on Benjamin Netanyahu being a threat that must be eliminated... If those who hate Israel and want to destroy it see Netanyahu as a major threat... should we believe their narratives?
Mapping the money networks behind the kinetic and psychological war against Israel reveals a coherent multi-pronged strategy... to subvert its democracy to create regime change.
From my Jewish perspective, fighting for Israel is about sovereignty, safety, and the continuation of our ancient heritage and traditions... Our culture is a rare gem worth preserving.
Link: Aiding & Abetting: The CIA Dark Money Network Trying to Overthrow the Israeli Government
Conservative media targeted by Qatari foreign influence operations by Robert Schmad in the Washington Examiner
After President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, foreign agents working on behalf of the Qatari government appear to have shifted their focus to right-wing media, fueling speculation that the terror-linked Gulf state is attempting to win influence among conservatives.
Between January 1, 2024, and election day, just over 10% of communications sent by Qatari foreign agents to the media were directed to conservative outlets or commenters…
Perhaps Qatar’s biggest victory in its post-election right-wing media campaign thus far was securing an interview between Tucker Carlson and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in March. The interview, which has raked up nearly six million views across X and YouTube, was friendly, with Carlson praising the country.
Qatar paid top dollar to ensure this interview took place. Foreign Agents Registration Act records show that Lumen8 Advisors LLC, a legal consulting company for which very little public information is available, helped facilitate between Carlson and the Qatari dignitary. The Embassy of the State of Qatar pays Lumen8 Advisors $180,000 per month “to provide media and communication coaching and consulting services.”
Established right-of-center outlets like Fox News Digital, Just The News, the New York Post, the Daily Mail, and the Washington Examiner were all targeted to varying degrees by Qatari foreign agents in the months following Trump’s election, records show.
An employee of Fox News, for instance, received a text message from a foreign agent working for Qatar through the U.S. firm GRV Strategies on February 20 regarding a “story idea on foreign policy.” Three days later, Fox published a piece containing a subheading that reads “Qatar holds the line against Iranian pressure for its $6 billion back,” where the author cited a “source familiar with Qatar’s plans” to report that the small nation is aligned with President Trump’s Middle East strategy.
GRV Strategies, which also reached out to outlets like Just the News and the Daily Mail, is a natural choice for any foreign power attempting to place stories in conservative media. Its founder and principal, Garrett Ventry, is deeply embedded in Washington’s right-wing circles.
Qatar pays Ventry’s firm $80,000 a month to assist it with media relations, records show.
Casualties (+1)
Tzeela Gez, 30, was killed while en route to a hospital to deliver her baby when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on Israeli vehicles on Wednesday night in the northern West Bank. During efforts to save her life, doctors performed an emergency C-section to deliver her baby, the medical center said. The newborn was listed in serious condition and was transferred to Schneider Children’s Hospital within the compound, where doctors were working to save his life.
1,873 Israelis have been killed including 856 IDF soldiers and police since October 7th
The South: 418 IDF soldiers (no change since Wednesday) during the ground operation in Gaza have been killed. The toll includes three police officers (two of which were killed in a hostage rescue mission) and two Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
The North: 132 Israelis (84 IDF soldiers) have been killed during the war in Northern Israel
The West Bank: 63 Israelis (27 IDF and Israeli security forces)
Additional Information (according to the IDF):
5,891 (+8 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war, including at least 878 (no change since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
2,667 (+4 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured during ground combat in Gaza, including at least 515 (no change since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
The Gaza Casualty Count: According to unverified figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, 52,862 total deaths have been reported, with a civilian/combatant ratio: 1:1.
[MUST READ] Report: Questionable Counting: Analysing the Death Toll from the Hamas-Run Ministry of Health in Gaza by Andrew Fox with The Henry Jackson Society
On October 7th, Ohad Hemo with Channel 12 Israel News – the country’s largest news network, a leading expert on Palestinian and Arab affairs, mentioned an estimate from Hamas: around 80% of those killed in Gaza are members of the organization and their families.”
Read this well documented piece from Tablet published in March of 2024: How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers
The Associated Press, an outlet with a demonstrated anti-Israel bias, conducted an analysis of alleged Gaza death tolls released by the Hamas-controlled "Gaza Health Ministry." The analysis found that "9,940 of the dead – 29% of its April 30 total – were not listed in the data" and that "an additional 1,699 records in the ministry’s April data were incomplete and 22 were duplicates."
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes official details on every civilian and IDF casualty.
Hostage Update (no change)
There are now currently 57 hostages taken on 10/7 currently in captivity in Gaza (there are 58 hostages remaining in total)
Of the 58 hostages still theoretically in Gaza
35 hostages have been confirmed dead and are currently being held in Gaza
Thus, at most, 23 living hostages could still be in Gaza. It has been reported that only 20 are actually alive.
Hamas is now holding the body of 1 IDF soldier who was killed in 2014 (Lt. Hadar Goldin’s body remains held in the Gaza Strip)
20 hostages remain in captivity and have not been declared dead.
4 hostages are Americans: Meet the Four American Hostages Still Held By Hamas: Itay Chen is assumed to have been killed on 10/7, and Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Omer Neutra have been confirmed to have been killed.
On October 7th, a total of 251 Israelis were taken hostage.
During the ceasefire deal in November of 2023, 112 hostages were released.
38 hostages were released in the first phase of the 2025 cease fire agreement (including 5 Thai nationals)
194 hostages in total have been released or rescued
The bodies of 40 hostages have been recovered, including 3 mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
8 hostages have been heroically rescued by troops alive
Regular sources include JINSA, FDD, IDF, AIPAC, The Paul Singer Foundation, The Institute for National Security Studies, the Alma Research and Education Center, Yediot, Jerusalem Post, IDF Casualty Count, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Institute for the Study of War, Tablet Magazine, Mosaic Magazine, The Free Press, and the Times of Israel