Leading Today In This World

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

Dancing in the East Village. Flooding San Antonio with orange and blue. Crying at Madison Square Garden. The first Knicks championship win in decades had fans from Texas to New York in a frenzy in June 13, 2026.

What different experiences go on in this planet in 1973:  In 1973, Israel fought a major existential conflict known as the Yom Kippur War, a surprise attack on the Jewish observance of their most holy day when people were in their synagogues.  Israel's population then:  Total Population: 3,278,000 to 3,338,000 people.  Jewish Population: ~2.75 to 2.8 million people.  

 Initiated by a surprise joint attack from Egypt and Syria on the Jewish holy day of October 6, the three-week war ( October 6 to October 25, 1973. )   pushed Israel on the defensive, even more than usual.  It was like today's October 7th, 2023.    The Surprise Attack: On the afternoon of October 6, Egyptian troops successfully crossed the Suez Canal, and Syrian forces breached defenses in the Golan Heights. The coordinated two-front assault severely depleted Israeli military reserves.  American Resupply & Escalation: Following initial setbacks, Israel requested massive American military assistance. President Richard Nixon’s administration launched Operation Nickel Grass on October 14, delivering crucial weapons and planes that helped turn the tide of the conflict. The Counter-offensive: With the new supplies, the IDF counter-attacked. Israeli forces pushed the Syrians back beyond the 1967 cease-fire lines and crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt, effectively surrounding the Egyptian Third Army.

This was almost the end of Israel, and they pulled through with the aid of the USA.  Did we hear a cheer of relief?  Did people go crazy over this win of Israel and USA?  Nothing like we heard from the cheers of New Yorkers winning a ball game after being losers for the past 50 years.  

The New York Knicks made history by capturing their first NBA Championship since 1973. They defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 with a thrilling 94-90 victory, clinching the series 4-1 and ending the franchise’s 53-year title drought.  "New York Knicks fans erupted in pure euphoria, flooding the streets around Madison Square Garden and pouring into Seventh Avenue.  Fans revelled in the streets of New York after the Knicks won ... Mayhem mars Knicks euphoria as New York City celebrates first NBA championship in 53 years." 

People take a ball game win far more seriously than a life-saving win of a nation in peril.  It shows a culture's priorities.  What matters;  what turns them on.                                                  

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,(Ayatollah Ali Khamenei served as the Supreme Leader of Iran from 1989 until February 28, 2026- 37 years, when he was assassinated) who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, has been chosen as his successor. Ali was THE SUPREME LEADER, a number one position in Iran. 

Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as Iran’s Supreme Leader, maintains an intensely hostile stance toward Israel, recently declaring that the "Zionist regime" will not exist in 15 years. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have openly placed him at the top of their strategic target list.  Enduring Slogans: Khamenei reasserted that the chants "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" will remain the steadfast rallying cries of the Islamic world, particularly among younger generations.

The "15-Year" Prediction: In a message for the Hajj pilgrimage, Mojtaba Khamenei referred to Israel as an unstable, "cancerous tumor" that is approaching its final stages. He famously shortened a similar 25-year timeline previously established by his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

                                               

     Ali Khamenei-Supreme Leader 19 April 1939--28 February 2026. .Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the long-time Supreme Leader of Iran, was killed in Tehran on February 28, 2026, during a joint U.S. and Israeli airstrike campaign. Prior to this fatal operation, he survived multiple attempts on his life, while his successor was also targeted in 2026.  

 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Tehran  during an opening wave of joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes (codenamed Operation Epic Fury). Precision-guided munitions struck his residential compound.  Confirmation: Following the strikes, the Iranian government and President Donald Trump confirmed his death. 

The president is another matter, and today in the Iranian political system, the president acts as the head of government, while supreme executive and religious authority rests with the Supreme Leader of Iran. 

What does it take to be a leader today of a country, a business?  What will people follow next?  

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Iran

Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles Being Used

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

     Unveiled May 5, 2026 Istanbul, Turkey

Who was just attacked by 20 inter-continental ballistic missiles that can fly the 1,000 miles from Iran to hit Israel?  Israel was.  And is there anything Trump is going to do about it other than blame Netanyahu, the victim?  Does Trump realize how long Israel has been attacked on 7 sides;  by the Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah constantly?  I'll reference Trump to 1967, with the 3 No's against Israel was decided upon in Khartoum, Africa, when Israel was attacked by 7 countries and happened to win.  I don't know about Netanyahu, but I'm really disgusted.  

I'm a little tired of seeing Israel having to defend herself while nobody, especially now, nobody can see why she is still having to defend herself against Iran, who has been arming others to fight against Israel and can now do it themselves with these missiles.   

There hasn't been any cease-fire;  that's not what I call the goings on, anyway.  They take pock shots at each other and it grows.  Israel is losing one or two men every day to these cease fires. 

Since the start of the broader conflict, an overall total of 956 soldiers and 70 police officers have been reported killed.  During the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that took effect on October 10, 2025, militant attacks have resulted in four Israeli soldiers killed according to AI. Information regarding the specific number of IDF troops wounded specifically during this truce period is not consistently reported in official updates.

How Netanyahu can take such tongue-lashing from his "best friend" is beyond me.  It seems to me that Netanyahu should call the shots when it comes to Israel, security, and that's why he keeps still these days, but he has let Trump know that.  

PM Netanyahu rejected claims of US control over Israeli policy, stressing independence while praising Trump’s support in Gaza and hostage rescue efforts.  Netanyahu: "Israel is independent, US does not dictate our policy."  He has said this several times.  Trump is deaf to his pronouncements.  

                                          

       Arrow 3:  A model of an Arrow-3 interceptor is being set up at the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Schoenefeld, near Berlin, on June 3, 2024. (Ralf Hirschberger/AFP via Getty Images)

Luckily Israel  intercepts long-range and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles from Iran using the Arrow 3 and Arrow 2 defense systems, as well as the U.S.-supplied THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system.  The ⁠Arrow 2 and ⁠Arrow 3 are advanced anti-ballistic missile defense systems. They were developed and manufactured jointly by the Israel Aerospace Industries and the United States aerospace company Boeing. Arrow 3: Co-developed with the U.S., this system is specifically designed to engage ballistic missiles outside the Earth's atmosphere during their mid-course flight. It utilizes "hit-to-kill" technology to neutralize long-range threats.  A single Arrow 3 interceptor missile costs approximately $3 million to $4 million, with some estimates reaching up to $3.5 million.  That's why drones are so much cheaper to use.  

An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) carrying a single modern nuclear warhead can completely destroy between 120 and 800 square miles of land. Because the destructive output scales exponentially with the yield of the weapon, the specific area depends on the size of the warhead, which typically ranges from 100 to 800 kilotons.                                               

Trump is all wrapped up in one thing, the Strait of Hormuz.  While Americans are paying outlandish prices for gas, Israelis are huddled in bomb shelters.  I remember when gas had hit a high mark earlier, and my husband and I bought an orange moped and I used that to go to work.  I took it with us to Israel in 1980 and left it in almost1986 for a kibbutz to use.  It's terrible that the attacks of Hezbollah on  Israel  are being held hostage by Iran in causing them to get their way with Trump, but it's happening.  Yet Israel must defend itself, and one way is this Tit for Tat shelling as Israel must remain the strong horse in the Middle East.