Israel Under Great Stress Now and During High Holidays

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

Israel is currently on high military alert as defense officials warn of a heightened risk of Iranian attacks targeting Israelis both at home and abroad ahead of the Jewish High Holidays.

 The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) begins next week on September 11, 2026. Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel is tracking signs that severe economic distress and regional escalations might push Tehran to launch "desperate measures". 

Israeli source says Tehran may strike Israel directly or use proxies to erode defenses and pressure Washington back to talks as economic and political leverage shrinks.

Targeting Patterns: Minister Katz noted that Iranian forces historically "tend to attack during Jewish holidays".
Shifting Arenas: Channel 12 news reports indicate that Israel's security leadership believes Iran's Quds Force and Hamas are shifting focus, escalating efforts to stage high-profile attacks on Israelis or Jewish community targets overseas during the holiday period and around the upcoming third anniversary of October 7.
             Strategic Warnings and Defensive                                 Readiness
While the United States and Iran have been trading heavy military blows across the Middle East—with recent Iranian missile and drone strikes hitting U.S. positions in Jordan, Kuwait, and the UAE—Israel has not been directly involved in this latest round of active fighting. However, Israeli leadership has issued severe warnings to prevent Tehran from executing an escalation.                                                



Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a sharp warning... saying Israel anticipates Iranian attacks in the coming days during the Jewish holiday period and that any such attack would be met with a military response unlike anything in history...
Strikes on Infrastructure: Israel warned that any direct assault from Tehran will lift all military constraints. Katz explicitly threatened that a counter-offensive would target Iran's national energy and civilian infrastructure, sending the regime back to the "Stone Age and darkness."                                                       

                                                                                           
                                                                                               
Netanyahu's Stance: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel possesses the "strength, the determination and the internal unity" to defend itself, confidently stating at a Rosh Hashanah event in Tel Aviv that toppling the weakened Iranian regime is "within reach."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Daily Impact on Tel Aviv  
The ongoing threat environment continues to place      operational stress on the country. Tel Aviv and other    metropolitan areas remain under constant surveillance and defensive alignment. The U.S. State Department    has reissued security alerts for the broader Middle        East, advising travelers to maintain vigilance regarding airspace closures, potential flight disruptions, and          unforeseen regional escalations.                                      
                                                                                                 
Resource:
AI
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syttgtf00fg?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=editorial-push




 regional escalations

Reaction To France, England and Canada's Mean Threat to Israel

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                       

            I'm almost 91 and Jerry is younger;  we coffee at an assisted living center. We both came from the same neighborhood but didn't know each other;  now we are neighbors here.  

My morning coffee-time cheerfulness has been obliterated by the news from the web that those liberal countries of England, Canada and France have threatened Israel now if they don't end the war, and end it their way, with a 2-state solution, most likely. These 3 say they want their peace.  They aren't involved in the fight.  None of their sons or daughters are in the fight.  Israel has 50,000 of their children fighting in Gaza at the age of 18 and up, both male and female, for this is the fight for their very existence. 

 In 1980, my husband and I were there, going through a training and using an M-1 rifle in 3 positions.  We had moved to Israel  like a few other Americans had.  I have dual citizenship like the last American hostage, Alexander  had that Trump managed to rescue.  

In a round-about-way, they are threatening the USA, since the USA is threatening Iran with the nuclear weapons that we don't want them to be able to produce.  

The question is:  Will these 3 countries be true to their threat and attack Israel if Israel continues with Operation Gideon's Chariots?  Their resume shows that they are not the brightest light bulb in the pack. 

 France gave in immediately to Germany.  We of my generation should remember that, though we were quite young.  History can remind you.  England believed all the promises and Churchill had to take over and get tough.  

England's British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made promises of peace just before WWII broke out. His most famous promise, "Peace for our time," was made following the Munich Agreement in September 1938, where he agreed to allow Hitler to annex the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. He believed this would avert further aggression and war. However, this policy of appeasement is now widely criticized, as it ultimately failed to prevent the outbreak of war, with Germany invading Poland in 1939. Churchill's  unwavering resolve, especially in the face of the fall of France, was instrumental in preventing Britain from surrendering to Nazi Germany.   Ah, yes, the danger is in the surrendering.  

Canada is a branch of England.  They are followers.  Trump wants to buy this country, so they are not happy campers with him.  Trump also wants to buy Greenland.  Neither country is up for sale.  Trump is a real-estate man, always.  

The German western campaign into the Low Countries and France shattered Allied lines. Within six weeks, Britain evacuated its forces from the Continent and France requested an armistice with Germany. Paris, the French capital, fell to the Germans on June 14, 1940.  The Germans had marched into Europe in 1939.  

Israel's previous winning was was in June of 1967 when they gained land accidently by defending their people and existing land.  This unnerved all the Muslim countries.  The Khartoum Conference in Africa said no to peace with Israel-saying this in 3 different ways so one could understand:  

The 1967 Arab League summit was held on August 29 in Khartoum as the fourth Arab League Summit in the aftermath of the Arab defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War, and is famous for its Khartoum Resolution known as "The Three No's"; No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel.

I suggest that these 3 Democratic countries ask themselves what they have done to change the Arab's opinions, like joining the Abraham Doctrine and give reasons why? Hmmm.   

Resource:

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/netanyahu-accuses-france-britain-canada-emboldening-hamas-2025-05-23/

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/chamberlain-and-hitler/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/netanyahu-accuses-france-britain-canada-emboldening-hamas-2025-05-23/

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/19/middleeast/israel-pushes-deeper-into-gaza-what-we-know-intl

Dealing with Ottoman Empire and Now Turkey

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

Jews lived in the area of Asia Minor before the Empire existed as a synagogue was in the old capital of Brusa in 1326.  Later, other Jewish communities were brought in by conquest with the capture of Salonica in 1430 and Constantinople in 1453.  After 1492 (Spanish Inquisition) sultans opened the gates of the Ottoman Empire to the refugees of Spain and then Portugal, etc,  and the Turkish Jewish community was of importance.  Jews were great in trading and were an artisan element of their population.   

Christianity's history centers on the city of Constantinople (Istanbul), a Turkish city.    Jews during the Byzantine Period suffered continuous persecution.  It was captured by the Turks in 1453 by Sultan Mehmed II.

The fall of Constantinople was May 29, 1453, and the conquest of  Constantinople was  by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. The dwindling Byzantine Empire came to an end when the Ottomans breached Constantinople's ancient land  after besieging the city for 55 days.

Jews lived here in 1919 with a population of 90,000, but only 20,000 were here by 1990.  The Ottoman Empire lasted for 400 years, lost to Turkey, who were the Ottomans, in WWI when they were on the wrong side of the war.  Palestine, renamed Palestine by Romans in 135, was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 to 1917.  37,000 Jews emigrated from Turkey to Israel in 1948.  

 Anti Semitism comes to us from both Christianity's history, and to a lesser extent from Islam's history. Jews were always 2nd class citizens (dhimmis)  in Islamic countries.   Since 1948 it has come from all the Islamic nations blatantly while Christianity's existed as a residue from former times, picking up  momentum recently.                                 

It's been very strong from Turkey, showing up in the incident of a Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara leading a Gaza flotilla to break Israel and Egypt's blockade,  ignoring the warnings of this going against Israel's plea. The organizers were connected to Hamas (IHH), a terrorist group of Palestinians.  The UN which ultimately condemns Israel automatically, again condemned Israel.  

The two countries were close allies, but relations broke down after the killing by Israeli commandos of 10 Turkish activists on board a ship that was part of an aid flotilla attempting to breach the blockade of Gaza on 31 May 2010.  At the end, "Israel formally apologized to Turkey in 2013 and in 2014 committed to paying compensation to the families of the victims. But the Gaza naval blockade has not been lifted.

                                          

                        Erdogen, born 26 February 1954

What has caused Recep Erdogen, President of Turkey, to become so religious and down on Israel?  He's acting more like Iran's Ayatollas.  He  comes from an Islamist political background and is self-describing as a conservative democrat, and has promoted socially conservative and populist policies during his administration. They would both benefit if they had good relations, especially over gas and oil.  Israel continues to be a partner in NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue along with Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Mauritania and Morocco.

In July 2020, Erdoğan ordered the reclassification of Hagia Sophia church as a mosque. It's also called the Turkish Ayasofya, Latin Sancta Sophia, also called Church of the Holy Wisdom or Church of the Divine Wisdom, an important Byzantine structure in Istanbul and one of the world's great monuments.

The redesignation has been controversial, invoking condemnation from the Turkish opposition, UNESCO, the World Council of Churches, and many international leaders.   

Turkey is involved with Russia in Syria.  ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president on Friday confirmed the country tested its Russian-made S-400 missile defense system, despite objections from the United States. 

 Erdogen is interested in a piece of land of Syria.  Idlib Governorate is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the south, and Latakia Governorate to the west. 

But in a nod to Turkey’s interests, a deal also puts the brakes on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s push to reclaim control over all of Idlib province, the last opposition-controlled region that borders Turkey.

Erdogan said he and Putin agreed to help refugees return to their homes. More than 900,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since Assad’s forces began an offensive in December backed by Russian airstrikes.                              

Greece, Italy, Cyprus and France at 

                          military practice August 2020

 The Greeks and Turks are again locked in a quarrel about the territorial status of Mediterranean real estate and waters — and more importantly the oil and gas reserves beneath them. The energy potential of the eastern Mediterranean has raised the stakes. Neighboring powers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are being drawn into a standoff as the risks rise of open conflict between NATO allies.

They have come to these agreements: Turkey will reportedly not demand the full lifting of Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza, settling for greater access and presence in Gaza. Israel will acquiesce to continued Hamas political activities in Turkey and will not demand the removal of Hamas operative al-Arouri from Turkey, but will get Turkish assurances that al-Arouri’s involvement in terror will cease.)  Now we see that Hamas's 2nd home is Turkey!  

Ankara’s current regime under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been increasingly hostile to Israel for the last decade, comparing the country to Nazi Germany and vowing to “liberate” al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Reports now indicate that intelligence and military assessments in Israel see Ankara as a challenge and threat.

Resource:https://www.jpost.com/tags/israel-turkey-relations

https://www.bbc.com/news/10203726

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/06/23/are-turkey-and-israel-on-the-verge-of-normalizing-relations/#:~:text=Israel%20formally%20apologized%20to%20Turkey,blockade%20has%20not%20been%20lifted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recep_Tayyip_Erdo%C4%9Fan

https://www.voanews.com/europe/turkey-greece-maritime-squabble-risks-unfortunate-war

https://apnews.com/article/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/erdogan-confirms-russian-s-400-missile-defense-system-tests-despite-u-s-objections

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

Attack of Orthodox Jewish Man on New York City Subway By Muslim Teen

Nadene Goldfoot
Friday on a New York City subway must be a hectic day with everyone rushing home to Brooklyn.  On this past Friday,  a Jewish man wearing a kippa  was on board, probably anxious to get home and get prepared for Shabbat, and was approached by a gang of 9 older teenagers with a greeting from one of Assalamu Alaikum, the Muslim greeting of " peace.be with you."  In Hebrew it's Shalom Aleikhem (peace unto you). In Israel and New York  most Jews  just say Shalom, which can mean peace, hello and goodbye.  

After being uptight all week with the Boston terrorist marathon massacre,  the Jewish  man didn't answer.  He knew that something was up with so many around him and felt alarmed.  He tried to ignore them.  The Boston terrorists were on the run and the older one was already killed and the 19 year old was being hunted, not to be caught until that Friday evening.

 Stephan Stowe, age 17 was the group ring leader evidently for he had started the conversation.  Stowe "became combative"  when the Jewish man didn't respond.   The conversation  turned accusatory from Stowe with the Jewish man in denial with his retort and told Stowe to leave him alone.

That's when Stowe threatened him with "I'm going to kill you right now!  He then swore at the man, and in an apparent reference to the Holocaust added,  "They should have killed all of you.!"

The man got the attention of the conductor of the train  and the police were waiting for Stowe at the next stop.  He did not go quietly. The Jewish man took his picture with his phone and Stowe grabbed it and deleted the picture.   A chaotic screaming and yelling ensued that is on the video below.  One of the gang, a 22 year old woman, Sheniqua Joseph,  hit the policeman and then yelled about him, interfering with the arrest, and instead got arrested herself.  The whole fracas was filmed by a bystander with his phone and uploaded it on  You Tube.   It had turned into some type of brutality against the policeman, something you don't want to do.  But today with all the gadgets, you just can't get away with it, as the Boston terrorists have found out.

Agitating people on a subway is a crime that will be punished heavily.  Stowe was arraigned on 8 charges; grand larceny (which was charged as a hate crime), resisting arrest and harassment.  We don't want this to become a practice like it has become in Malmo, Sweden and France.  Jews are facing threats and attacks there like what went on in Germany before WWII.

Resource:  http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/04/19/disorder-on-new-york-city-subway-after-teen-tells-jewish-man-they-should-have-killed-all-of-you-video/#
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/04/19/disorder-on-new-york-city-subway-after-teen-tells-jewish-man-they-should-have-killed-all-of-you-video/#

Iran's Threat to Israel When Announcing Missile Tests This Week

Nadene Goldfoot
Iran threatened Israel in 2005 with Ahmadinejad saying that Israel must be wiped off the page of time-meaning wiped off the map.  Israel has been hearing threats like that since 1948, but not from people like Iran's leaders.  We know that allowing Iran to get nuclear arms would be a threat to Israel's existence.  We have 7 million people living there.  This cannot happen.

Iran just announced to the world that it will be doing 3 days of missile tests this week.  She expects to see this as a message that Iran is standing up to bullying and will respond to anything. " If Israel takes any action, that will be their excuse to wipe them off the face of the earth", said Hajizadeh, head of the guards' airborne division.  That could only mean decisive air-born attacks, and to wipe someone off the face of the earth implies atomic warfare, which is doubtful that they are prepared to do this weekend.  It sounds like they are goading Israel into acting, just like bullies do on the playground.

The missile tests will pretend to hit air bases in the region which of course are the USA's.  They think that if they show they can hit our bases there in the gulf, the USA will be afraid and won't support Israel.  They want to show that the USA ships are in Iran's range of missiles and weapons.

If anyone has threatened their oil markets, they turn around a threaten them with reprisals.

This threat come on the day Europe began enforcing an oil embargo and harsh new sanctions which is about time.  They will ban imports of Iranian oil by EU states and will make it difficult for other countries to trade with Iran that were enacted this year but only came into effect today.  That must have given the countries time to stock up on these supplies. The market affected in Iran is 18% of its exports.  EU companies area not to transport Iranian crude or even insuring shipments.  This should hurt its trade worldwide.  This is being done to seek a peaceful resolution  about Iran's nuclear program.  Jay Carney from the White House hopes Tehran will change their tune later this week in the talks in Istanbul.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, unfriendly also with Iran whose countries face Iran on the Gulf have announced they will also have their own joint air force exercises today that will last for several days.

Now while threatening Israel that they can blow up their whole country from one side of their mouth, they are telling everyone that they are not seeking the bomb in their nuclear technologies.  Mahmoud Bahmani, governor of the Iranian central bank said that they are implementing programs to counter the sanctions.  In the meantime, his rial currency and rising inflation are taking effect, but that Iran has $150 billion in foreign reserve to protect them, so evidently he's not worried at all.

The last warning came from Ali Fadavi, Revolutionary Guards commander who said that Iran would equip its ships in the Strait of Hormuz with shorter-range missiles.  In other words, if anyone comes into their waters, they're going to be hit.

Resource:  news.yahoo.com/iran-threatens-israel-eu-sanctions-force-185016871.html