JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 218 SAT OCTOBER 03,26 - IRANIAN DOLLAR BOMBING.
THE NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.
JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39
32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN) will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them, (MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them; (DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy from there king (KHEMENI CLAN) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS NOW)
WHEN ARE THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL IN THE SPRING TIME.(GET READY ISLAM TO BE BIRD SEED FOR THESE BIRDS)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m0bXU5Xqc5M
The 500 million migratory birds in Israel during the spring arrive from Africa and head toward Europe and Asia, with the peak migration occurring in March and April. While migration starts in late February, the most intense movements, particularly of birds of prey, storks, and pelicans, occur during the third week of March and continue into April.
Key Details on the Spring Migration
Peak Period: Mid-March through April.
Main Migration Route: The birds use the Great Rift Valley, which includes the Hula Valley and Eilat, acting as a "bottleneck" where millions of birds fly through the narrow land bridge.
Best Spots: The Hula Lake Park (Northern Israel) and the Eilat Birding Center (Southern Israel) are primary locations for observing the migration.
Key Species: Hundreds of thousands of white storks, along with black kites, raptors, and pelicans, pass through over these months.
uration: The spring migration runs from late February and continues into June, though the heaviest traffic is in March/April.
The 500 million migratory birds fly over Israel in the fall between late August and mid-December. The peak migration period for the autumn, when the highest volume of bird traffic occurs, is typically October and November.
Key Fall Migration Details
Location: The Hula Valley (Agamon Hula Park) in northern Israel is the premier spot to witness this phenomenon.
Timing: Migration starts as early as late June with some waders, but intensifies from mid-August through November.
Peak Festival: The "Annual Hula Valley Bird Festival" is usually held in November to align with the peak migration traffic.
Key Species: Many birds of prey (raptors), including honey buzzards and steppe eagles, cross during this time, along with massive flocks of storks and cranes.
While roughly 500 million birds pass through in the autumn on their way to Africa, the same number crosses again in the spring (mid-February to May) on their way back to Europe and Asia.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
Iran executes man regime linked to anti-government protests-Tehran announces execution of Siavash Jamshidi, charged with a range of offenses from targeting security personnel during anti-government protests to ‘fraud’ and ‘theft’By AFP Today, 12:53 pm-OCT 3,26
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Saturday it had executed a man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during anti-government protests earlier this year.Siavash Jamshidi was accused of targeting security personnel during mass demonstrations that peaked in January in which thousands of people were killed.Since that time, Iranian authorities have stepped up executions of convicts linked to the unrest.“Jamshidi was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh through brandishing and firing a firearm, as well as conspiracy and collusion against national security,” Iran’s judiciary said, using the legal term moharebeh to mean “waging war against God.”The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said he was also found guilty of offenses not related to the protests, including “fraud, making threats, theft, possession and carrying of an illegal military-grade weapon.”Other charges included “complicity in kidnapping, brandishing a weapon to intimidate, and intentional infliction of bodily harm.”Iran has executed Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, who was arrested during January’s protests in Shahrekord, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency announced Saturday. The judiciary said Jamshidi had been sentenced to death for moharebeh, or “enmity against God,” over accusations that he… pic.twitter.com/WyRby52mio Advertisement — Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 3, 2026-Mizan said Jamshidi was “active” during the demonstrations, which were sparked in December last year by grievances over living costs in Iran, but peaked on January 8 and 9 with huge rallies.Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.Foreign-based non-governmental organizations, however, maintain that Iranian security forces fired on protesters.US President Donald Trump threatened at the time to intervene militarily in Iran. Weeks later in late February, the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on the Islamic republic, triggering the Middle East war.Since then, arrests and executions have multiplied in Iran, linked both to the war and the protests.In 2025, Iran executed at least 1,639 people, the largest number in any year since 1989, according to the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.Amnesty International says Iran carries out more executions than any country except China.
2 Iranians accused of chlorine bomb plot against Manchester synagogue attacked last year-Counterterrorism police say suspects obtained materials to make an IED, scouted targets; interior minister says the pair arrived in UK on a small boat, one was granted asylum-By Agencies Today, 4:47 am-OCT 3,26
Two Iranian men conducted surveillance of a Manchester synagogue that was the site of a deadly attack a year ago as part of a plot to bomb it this year, officials said over the weekend.Prosecutor Mark Luckett said the duo was directed by a third person believed to be in Iran who coordinated plans and provided instructions on making a homemade chlorine bomb. They acquired materials for constructing such a bomb and scouted potentials targets.Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, were arrested on September 20 at the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, when they are accused of carrying out “hostile” surveillance on potential Jewish targets in Manchester, prosecutors said.The two researched attacking the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue and the Jewish Museum in nearby Cheetham Hill, the court was told.Heaton Park was attacked on Yom Kippur last year. Two people were killed on October 2, 2025, when a British-Syrian citizen rammed his car into the gates of the synagogue during prayer services. The attacker stabbed one cognregant to death, then tried to storm the synagogue before police shot him dead. A second congregant was accidentally shot dead by police.Ahmadyan and Salehi were charged Friday with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts.It was not immediately clear from prosecutors’ statements whether they were plotting to attack their targets during Yom Kippur itself.Neither entered a plea during an appearance in Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where Judge Nina Tempia ordered them held until an Oct. 23 appearance at the Central Criminal Court in London.“We do not believe there to be any ongoing threat to the public in relation to this matter,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said in a statement.UK Home Minister Shabana Mahmood said the pair arrived in Britain on a small boat from Europe several years ago. One of the men had been granted asylum, and the other had a live asylum claim, the interior ministry said.“It is no secret that this country faces a range of serious threats from the Iranian regime,”Mahmood said. “They target our Jewish communities and try to silence their critics overseas, often through proxies and criminal networks to hide their involvement.”“These recent events are a stark reminder of the threats posed against this country from both terrorists and foreign state actors,” she added.Detectives said there was no connection between Friday’s charges and the suspected plot involving the RAF Fairford air base, over which a dual UK-Iranian national was arrested on Thursday.British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there were “strong indications” Iran was involved in relation to RAF Fairford, though Iran denied any involvement.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Iranian rial at new record low, just days after previous nadir-Tracking website says currency now sold at 2.688 million to US dollar; Iran central bank injects $2 billion, official blames decline on Washington’s predictions of collapse-By Agencies and ToI Staff 3 October 2026, 11:43 pm
DUBAI — Iran’s rial continued its decline on Saturday, as the central bank announced an injection of up to $2 billion to support the currency while the economy faces US sanctions and a naval blockade.The US dollar was sold at around 2.688 million rials, up from 2.632 million on Friday, according to free-market tracking website bon-bast.com, while alanchand.com reported 2.695 million rials per dollar.It marked a further drop from a record low set last week at 2.5 million rials to the dollar. The currency has repeatedly reached new lows since the war began in February.State television said state banks began selling up to $2 billion to support the currency, which has lost more than half of its value in the past year.With an inflation rate of more than 70 percent, life is becoming ever tougher for ordinary citizens unable to afford basic necessities or rent as a US blockade cuts the state’s financial lifeline – oil exports.Many Iranians seeking safe havens for their savings have been buying dollars, other hard currencies or gold.Mehdi Darabi, an aide to the central bank’s governor on foreign exchange affairs, blamed the decline of the rial partly on what he said were false predictions by US officials of the collapse of the Iranian economy.“It is suggested that the Iranian economy is about to crash… The enemy is using this to affect the exchange rate of our currency,” Darabi told state TV, adding that the current fall of the rial was temporary.US President Donald Trump and his top aides are insistent that Iran’s economy cannot sustain a conflict much longer and have expressed confidence that Tehran will be forced to capitulate.Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an appearance on Fox News, said Iran was heading toward an economic “cataclysm.”Administration officials say that a combination of new sanctions and a US naval blockade aimed at preventing Iranian oil from going to market has imperiled Tehran.
7 YEARS OF DEATH AND HELL.
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(CAN YOU SAY TORNADOES,HURRICANES,VOLCANOES,EARTH QUAKES,LANDSLIDES,FLASH FLOODING,EXPLOSIONS,SNOW STORMS,THEN FINALLY NUKESAND ANY OTHER JUDGEMENTS THE EARTH CAN VOMIT THE SINNERS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH WITH.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.
Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.
LUKE 19:40
40 And He answered and said unto them, “I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
Former leader calls move 'divisive' and 'wrong'UK Greens to vote on motion declaring ‘Zionism is Racism,’ calling to dismantle Israel-Party leader says he will support motion if amended to allow the possibility of a two-state solution, ensure Jewish members who belong to Zionist synagogues are not expelled
By ToI Staff Today, 5:56 pm-OCT 3,26
The UK’s far-left Green Party is expected to vote Sunday on a controversial “Zionism is Racism” motion that effectively calls for Israel to be erased as a Jewish state.The vote is set to take place during the party’s ongoing twice-annual conference currently underway in Brighton, defining the party’s official policy on Israel, with former party leaders calling the motion “divisive” and “wrong.”The measure describes Zionism, which is broadly defined as support for Jewish national self-determination in the land of Israel, as support for “an ethnonationalist Jewish State” and proposes that the party should commit to supporting a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine.”On Friday, during his address at the conference, Green Party leader Zack Polanski — who is Jewish — claimed credit for pushing the ruling Labour party further to the left and the decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.Polanski also called for charges to be dropped against people belonging to the Palestine Action group, which was banned as a terrorist group after a break-in at the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton base in June 2025, in which activists damaged two military planes.“We stand with one voice now as we say: Drop the charges. End the Genocide. Deproscribe Palestine Action,” he said.However, the speech did not address the anti-Zionism motion. But he later told the BBC he would back the motion only if it were changed, including by allowing for the possibility of a two-state solution.He also wants the proposal amended to ensure that it does not discriminate against Jewish party members who belong to Zionist synagogues.Asked by the BBC if the motion was calling for the destruction of Israel, Polanski seemed to agree, saying “That’s why I’m calling for an amendment.”Polanski said he wanted an amendment supporting a “lasting settlement granting equal rights for all” to be “shaped and determined by Palestinians themselves.”“I don’t believe we as a Green Party of England and Wales or even the British government should be deciding what the future settlement looks like,” he said.Polanski, however, shied away from explicitly saying that Israel has a right to exist, saying only that “I believe people have a right to exist.”Pressed again, he said: “Both Israelis have a right to exist and Palestinians have a right to exist.”Polanski also told the BBC he wanted to focus on what the party could “materially do to make a difference,” saying they would campaign to end arms sales to Israel and intelligence sharing.Also asked if he believed that Zionism was racism, Polanski said it depended on how the term was defined.“If your Zionism is the displacement of the Palestinian people then that is clearly racist, and I say that as a Jewish leader of a British political party,” he said.Polanski has made anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian politics a centerpiece of his party’s platform. He’s been focusing on his campaign ahead of a parliamentary by-election on October 8 for an open seat vacated by Keir Starmer, the former Labour prime minister, when he resigned on September 1.The move sparked opposition from former party leaders.“I think there is no single definition of Zionism and, irrespective of the intentions of those who put that motion, I think there is a real risk that it will be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party,” former leader Caroline Lucas told the BBC.The Guardian reported on Thursday that Lubna Speitan, who co-authored the motion, had rejected the amendments.The paper also reported that Speitan was a member of a group called Greens for Palestine, which was not formally affiliated with the party. Nevertheless, the group has been campaigning in recent months to get its members to join the Green Party, specifically to get the motion passed.According to The Guardian, Speitan and Greens for Palestine have links to a group called the more radical Anti-Zionist Movement (AZM), a more militant group that calls for the “so-called Jewish state” to be dismantled, along with “Zionist organisations” in the UK and elsewhere.Jewish members of the Green Party, who refer to themselves as Jewish Greens, said that they would not be taking a stance on the vote, releasing the results of a survey taken among Jewish party members that found about half feared that if it passed, it could increase discrimination against Jewish members.“A question as to whether the passing of the motion could make discrimination against Jews within the Green Party more likely revealed a clear divide in opinion, with 53% of respondents agreeing and 47% disagreeing with this statement,” the survey found.It found that the majority of the more than 100 members polled described themselves as anti-Zionist, but noted that some 20% were Zionist.According to The Guardian, Jewish members of the Green Party have said privately they may not be able to remain in the party if the motion passes.Polanski is the most prominent Jewish critic of Israel in mainstream UK politics. He has called to end all arms sales, trade and diplomatic ties with Israel, and decried Starmer for complicity in what he says is “the very obvious genocide in Gaza.”Israel vociferously denies charges of genocide in the Gaza war that was sparked by the October 7, 2023, with the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.The UK has seen a significant rise in antisemitism since the outbreak of the war and also of anti-Israel activity.On Friday, London’s Metropolitan Police called on a group of anti-Israel activists not to hold a demonstration in the city on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the October 7 onslaught.The Met has urged a group of students planning to march on Wednesday, 7 October – the anniversary of the terror attack on Israel – to hold their protest on a different day. ????l https://t.co/5ZQbFcl33u pic.twitter.com/X71AmKQYMa — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 2, 2026“For many in our city, this will be a day of mourning, a day of reflection, and we are aware of a number of vigil events being planned,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman told a press briefing. “Serious concerns have been expressed about the impact of this march on students and staff, particularly those who are Jewish, the route, and the day it is being held.“Please reflect on the impact and distress it will cause on this very significant day, and exercise your right to protest on a different date,” he said.
Israeli strike targeting Hamas’s de facto Gaza chief kills 5; his fate is unclear-Ali al-Amoudi, former Sinwar confidant, has emerged as a key figure in the terror group amid stalled internal leadership vote-By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff Today, 6:22 pm-OCT 3,26
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Friday overnight targeted Ali al-Amoudi, the terror group’s de facto leader in the enclave, according to a security source, with Palestinian media reporting five people killed, including women.It was unclear whether Amoudi was killed.The strike hit a building in western Gaza City. Palestinian media reported that among those killed were Maisaa Abu Dawood and her daughter Mary, members of Gaza’s Greek Orthodox church.Videos circulating online showed a funeral procession for the pair in the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City on Saturday.Dr. Yasmin Al-Bobo, head of Palestine University’s multimedia department, and her mother were also identified as victims, along with a 21-year-old man.Amoudi was not named among the dead in Palestinian media, though rescue teams were still reportedly searching for additional missing people.The Israel Defense Forces have not yet commented on the strike.Amoudi, a close confidant of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was released from Israeli prison in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange — the same deal that saw Sinwar freed — and later ran Sinwar’s office before heading Hamas’s media apparatus.Amoudi has emerged as a central figure following the killing of senior Hamas leaders, and now effectively manages the terror group’s affairs in the Strip, particularly the work of its political bureau.Khalil al-Hayya, based in Qatar, was elected overall leader of Hamas in July, prompting the group to hold a separate internal election to replace him as its political chief in Gaza.That contest has yet to produce a winner. The first round between Amoudi and Awadallah reportedly ended inconclusively after some voters submitted blank ballots, and a runoff was subsequently suspended after Awadallah challenged aspects of the voting process.Meanwhile, the IDF announced Saturday that two Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders were killed in separate strikes in Gaza City the day prior.One strike killed Ahmed Mahmoud Harb Ramlawi, who, according to the IDF, served as a commander in the rocket unit of Islamic Jihad’s Shejaiya Battalion.A second strike killed Munir Ibrahim Masri, a commander of an Islamic Jihad anti-tank squad, the army said.Both terror operatives had been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians and were attempting to restore Islamic Jihad capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF said in a statement.The weekend strikes came after the military said it killed two Hamas members in separate strikes throughout the week.The targets were identified by the military as Izz al-Din al-Bik, who had overseen the holding of at least 15 Israeli hostages during the war and took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught, as well as Tamer Hamaida, who served as a sniper in Hamas’s military wing.Over 74,200 people have been killed in Gaza since Hamas’s October 7 attacks, including more than 1,400 since an October 2025 ceasefire, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave, although the toll does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.The Israeli military believes that Hamas’s overall toll is largely accurate, with IDF officials estimating that two to three civilians were killed for every dead terror operative.The IDF says it has killed over 24,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,200 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.The October 2025 US-backed ceasefire halted major fighting in the shattered territory, but it failed to end strikes by the Israeli military, which the army says aim to thwart attacks by Hamas and other Gaza terrorists. Gaza remains bisected into Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.US-led efforts to reach a comprehensive deal that would see Hamas disarm and Israel withdraw have stalled amid disagreements over the process.
Israel had ‘not a scrap of information’ on radicalized copilot-Flydubai captain says copilot asked to pray then struck him from behind; describes exactly how he opened cockpit door-Speaking to PM, Smit Machchhar says terrorist Hamam al-Hammami kept crew outside from using code to enter cockpit; report says pilots from Iran, Syria, Iraq have flown airliners to Israel, and that al-Hammami had done so before-By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff Today, 2:11 am-OCT 3,26
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed as “a true hero” the Indian captain who helped thwart the terror attack aboard a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, as the pilot recalled his dramatic account of being bludgeoned by his Omani co-pilot while the aircraft plunged toward the ground.Captain Smit Machchhar spoke to Netanyahu by phone on Saturday, as other details of Wednesday’s rescue on Flight 1073 emerged, along with questions regarding Israeli negligence ahead of the near disaster.Machchhar told the prime minister that shortly before the attack on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, his co-pilot, identified Friday as Hamam al-Hammami, asked to pray.Machchhar said that four or five minutes later, he was suddenly struck with “a big blow” to the back of his head, initially believing the plane had suffered catastrophic damage.“But then, after that, the blows kept coming, one after the other,” said the pilot, who is in the United Arab Emirates recovering from his wounds. “That’s when I realized that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me.”Al-Hammami attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit with a crash ax and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the UAE prosecutor general said Saturday. Crash axes are kept in cockpits for emergencies, including to cut through panels or break windows.Barely able to see after being struck repeatedly, Machchhar said he then felt the aircraft “sharply going down.”His first attempt to open the cockpit door was thwarted by al-Hammami, he said. While lying on the cockpit floor, he remembered hearing people screaming. “I had that one last fight left in me,” Machchhar said“If I don’t do it, I’m going to die,” he recalled thinking. “I gave everything that I had, and just went for the door and opened the door.” Passengers waiting outside then rushed into the cockpit and helped regain control of the plane.Machchhar explained that the cockpit door could be opened from inside using a twist-to-open mechanism, while anyone trying to enter from outside needed a code.“My colleagues from outside were trying to put in the code, but the guy was not allowing to open the code,” he explained.He added that he managed to reach the cockpit doorknob and give it a “short, quick twist” to open.“It’s a twist of fate,” Netanyahu replied, “and it’s a twist of faith, and what you did is remarkable.”During the conversation, Netanyahu invited Machchhar and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an ally of the premier, to light a torch at Israel’s next Independence Day celebration, despite lacking the authority to make the selection unilaterally.Under the government-established selection process, torch lighters are chosen through a public advisory committee and subsequently approved through the designated ministerial process, which under Netanyahu’s recent governments has been led by Likud loyalist and Transportation Minister Miri Regev.“You are a hero of Israel, you are a hero of India, and you are a hero of the entire world,” Netanyahu told Machchhar. “And I can tell you that people here will welcome you with open arms.”Passenger recounts fight to save nosediving plane-Meanwhile, Yaniv Hayun, the plumber who prevented Flight 1073 from nosediving after Machchhar was attacked, offered his own blow-by-blow account of the chaos aboard the plane.Speaking to Channel 12, Hayun said he rushed toward the cockpit after hearing screams that someone had been stabbed, only to be thrown to the floor as the aircraft shook violently.“At some stage I was able to get up when the plane balanced out a little,” Hayun recalled. “Then I went to the door [of the cockpit]. A crew member was standing there, apparently a pilot, as he had on a white shirt… I moved him and opened the door. He didn’t resist. It was a little difficult [to open] because the Indian pilot was lying on the door. The terrorist was bent over with his knees on the controls between the pilot seats in the cockpit and was trying to break the equipment.”Hayun said that he then grabbed al-Hammami by the neck and moved him aside, after which other Israelis managed to tie him up.After pulling the terrorist away from the cockpit, Hayun said he looked through the window and saw the plane heading toward the ground, though “not in a very steep direction.”He grabbed the controls and helped stabilize the aircraft until, seconds later, one of the off-duty pilots aboard took over. He had previously recalled knowing how to stabilize the plane from watching a TV show about airborne disasters.“I went back to the terrorist. A little later we beat him so he wouldn’t resist any longer,” Hayun added.Hayun said passengers remained suspicious of the other crew members after the attack, unsure whether any were connected to al-Hammami, and kept them under close watch for the rest of the flight.Attack said to expose ‘colossal’ Israeli security failure-Al-Hammami, who was reported to have been previously banned from flying by Oman’s national airline over concerns that he had been radicalized, had flown flydubai aircraft on the Dubai-Tel Aviv route several times before allegedly attempting to crash Flight 1073, according to a Channel 12 report on Saturday.Israeli authorities were reportedly investigating whether he had flown the same route in the days immediately preceding the terror attack.Flydubai provided Israeli authorities with the names of the flight crew, including al-Hammami, ahead of Wednesday’s flight, but none sparked security concerns, Channel 12 reported.Israel was unaware that al-Hammami had reportedly been barred from flying by his former employer, Oman Air, over concerns about his radicalization. According to the report, the Transportation Ministry does not oversee foreign airlines’ vetting of pilots as required by law, while the Shin Bet and Mossad do not conduct their own background checks. The ministry confirmed that it does not conduct background checks later on Saturday.Unnamed security sources described the failure as a “colossal security screw-up,” saying al-Hammami had been planning the attack for some time while Israel had “not a scrap of information on him.”As of Saturday, Israeli investigators had yet to be given access to al-Hammami, who is under investigation in the UAE, and are relying on material provided by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where he was first held after the plane landed, the report noted.Channel 12 also reported that Israel, together with unnamed foreign authorities, was “racing against time” to determine whether there were additional pilots from enemy and hostile states flying foreign airlines in and out of Ben Gurion Airport in the wake of the attack.In recent years, pilots from Iran, Syria and Iraq and other enemy states have flown foreign airliners into and out of Israel, the outlet reported, citing unnamed professional sources. These pilots reportedly have dual citizenship, with a second passport potentially issued by a non-enemy state.
Jewish communities worldwide on heightened alert after flydubai terror attack-Netanyahu spokesman says Israel ’employing additional procedures’ in light of ‘intelligence about threats against Israelis and Jews in Israel and around the world’By Tomer Almagor Today, 6:42 am-OCT 3,26
JTA — More than 48 hours after an apparent attempt to crash a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, the terror attack is raising fresh security concerns for Israelis and Jewish communities abroad, while leaving hundreds of Israeli travelers stranded in the United Arab Emirates.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in an interview with CNN that Iranian proxies “are planning attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians abroad.” In a separate statement, Netanyahu said he had instructed Israel’s security establishment “to prepare for additional potential threats.”Doron Spielman, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Friday that Netanyahu’s statement applied to “intelligence about threats against Israelis and against Jews in Israel and around the world,” and that Israel was “employing additional procedures” as a result. He did not disclose the details of the extra precautions.Spielman added that “all of the Jewish communities around the world know that they’ve been on heightened alert since the seventh of October, but especially right now.”The incident has also left Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates, after flydubai suspended its flights to and from Israel while the investigation into the incident continues.Netanyahu had told international media on Wednesday that Israel was preparing “rescue flights” to bring Israelis in the UAE home and had ordered increased security. The measures apply to both Israeli and foreign airlines operating flights to Israel.Dorin Turgeman, an Israeli citizen currently in Dubai, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she had been scheduled to return to Israel Wednesday on a flydubai flight that was canceled. She managed to book a flight with the Israeli airline Arkia but said she remained concerned that it would also be canceled.Turgeman said Israelis waiting at the Dubai airport were moved to an isolated area and that the area was cordoned off.“The situation is stressful,” she said, describing the uncertainty as “very frustrating.”Ophir Shir, an Israeli who lives in Dubai, told the Kan public broadcaster that the incident had “shaken the sense of security” he’d had. As someone who frequently travels the route of the flydubai flight, he noted that, “In the short term, I will definitely be afraid to take such a flight.”Dubai has become an increasingly popular destination for Israelis in the wake of the signing of the Abraham Accords establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE. It also now serves as a major transit point for Israelis traveling onward to destinations in Asia. Israeli travel groups on social media have been filled with posts expressing concern about the security situation and uncertainty over how travelers will return home.“As time goes by, the picture becomes clearer,” Netanyahu said in an official statement Friday about the flydubai attack. “The perpetrator underwent Islamist radicalization. He came to crash the plane. We are now investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.”Netanyahu separately told CNN that Israel believes it should participate in the investigation. He said UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed had agreed that Israel would “join the interrogation.”Netanyahu also told Fox News that “It looks very likely that he was going to down the plane.” He pointed to what he described as “the Islamist tendencies, that radicalization that are found in his background,” saying they were “a pretty good clue,” while stressing that he was not yet drawing a final conclusion.“I don’t make final conclusions yet. But that’s the indication we have now,” Netanyahu said.The UAE on Friday publicly described the incident for the first time as a terrorist attack. Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati official, called it “a dangerous terrorist act and a potential disaster.”The Omani copilot, whose identity has not been publicly released, was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, according to Israeli and international media reports.The other pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, has received widespread praise for his actions during the flight. According to passenger accounts and leaders who spoke with him, Machchhar was injured by the Omani pilot but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to overpower the attacker and safely land the plane.“When I was on the ground, I realized the aircraft was falling down. And I knew in that moment, one last push, Smit! Just do it. The door is right there,” Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a conversation while still wearing a bandage on his head.“And even at that time, he was beating me up. And then I just opened it … and then everybody came,” Machchhar said. “I was doing this for my life, but at the same time, I knew that I couldn’t let everybody else die.”Leaders around the world have praised Machchhar for his actions. Modi told the pilot that his “courage, patience and quick thinking saved the lives of so many people.”US President Donald Trump called Machchhar a “hero” and described his actions as “amazing.” Netanyahu said Machchhar had “prevented a 9/11 disaster.”
Emirati official: No tolerance or leniency toward extremism-UAE says flydubai copilot used cockpit emergency ax to attack captain in ‘terrorist act’
Gulf state’s top prosecutor says probe into Omani attacker ongoing; Dubai’s crown prince visits wounded captain, says he ’embodied highest degrees of courage, care for human life’By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 5:16 pm-OCT 3,26
The copilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a “terrorist attack” with an ax during Wednesday morning’s Israel-bound flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday as the country continued its investigation into the incident.The attacker was identified as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national who had previously been banned from flying by Oman over concerns that he had been radicalized, officials told the Associated Press. UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity.Oman has not commented on the incident.“Investigations into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 found that the copilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack,” Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said in a statement carried by the UAE’s state news agency.The prosecutor general’s comments were the first by Emirati investigators to describe the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.Hammami attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit with a crash ax and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the prosecutor general said. A crash ax is typically kept in cockpits for use during emergencies, in case the pilots must cut through electronics to put out a fire or break the windshield to escape the aircraft.Hamam al-Hammami, the copilot who tried to bring down a flydubai flight to Israel in a terrorist attack on September 30, 2026,, in an undated image from his deleted LinkedIn profile.The Boeing 737 flight was carrying 174 passengers, almost all of them Israelis, when the copilot stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, which plunged nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) in less than 30 seconds.Captain Smit Machchhar, covered in blood, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers to charge inside to overpower the copilot and tie him up and stabilize the plane, while other pilots who happened to be onboard brought the plane to an emergency landing in Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.On Saturday Dubai’s crown prince, who is also the UAE’s defense minister, visited Machchhar in the UAE hospital where he is currently recovering.During a visit to Captain Smit Machchhar… the flydubai pilot who embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life. From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise. We are proud that he is part of our… c.twitter.com /QgpQxdcK5C — Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) October 3, 2026-Machchhar “embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life,” Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said in a statement. “From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise.“We are proud that he is part of our team… part of the story of our nation… and part of what the UAE stands for. A nation of compassion, a nation of peace, and a nation of life.”The investigation into the flight FZ1073, including the suspect’s motives, is ongoing, and the findings will be released once the “necessary procedures” have been completed, the prosecutor general said. The UAE is leading the investigation, and the co-pilot is still in custody in the country. The airline is owned by Dubai’s government.The new details raised questions about how thoroughly flydubai vets potential employees, and how the co-pilot’s presence on a flight filled with Israeli passengers got past Israel’s strict security protocols.Israel’s government has said it has agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots of nations without diplomatic ties from flying there. Israel and Oman don’t have formal diplomatic relations. The UAE government has earned a reputation for effective measures against extremist activities but has bristled in the past over criticism of security lapses.Following the release of the prosecutor general’s statement, Anwar Gargash, a senior advisor to the UAE president, said on X that the Gulf country had zero tolerance for terrorism and would show no leniency toward extremist rhetoric.“The region’s struggle with extremism persists, and justifying terrorism through hate speech is part of the danger, not its margins. The latest terrorist operation is a new warning that the confrontation has not ended,” Gargash wrote.“Here, the importance of the UAE’s early and firm stance is confirmed: no tolerance for extremism and no leniency toward its discourse, for security begins with confronting hate and drying up the sources of extremism,” he added.Flydubai said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation and that it was not in a position to comment further, a spokesperson said on Saturday.In his first public comments on the incident, flydubai Chief Executive Ghaith al Ghaith on Friday said that the flight diverted after a “safety incident” inside the cockpit.New details on co-pilot emerge-Separately, a regional official and a person familiar with the matter said the copilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views. The official said he was moved to an administrative job at Oman Air. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.The copilot was later hired by UAE-based airline flydubai, the person said. It was not immediately clear to what extent the co-pilot was vetted.The Gulf diplomat said he had undergone standard security checks before being hired, but it appears that the checks focused on whether he had been convicted on criminal charges and didn’t go deeper into examining his background for potential signs of radicalization.The regional official also said security agencies from four regional countries were working to establish the copilot’s motives, aided by the United States and other Western governments.The Gulf diplomat said investigations were trying to establish whether the co-pilot acted alone or “has any connection with any extremist groups.”The regional official said the copilot was born in the UAE and his mother is Syrian. He obtained Omani nationality from his father, also an Omani national.The regional official also said the co-pilot had traveled to Syria, with no details.A flydubai spokesperson said in an email that the airline could not comment beyond its official statements and acknowledged “there are many questions at this stage.” There was no immediate comment from Oman Air, and Oman’s government has said nothing publicly in response to repeated questions since the incident.In a statement to the AP, Royal Air Maroc, Morocco’s national carrier, said the co-pilot “completed a three-month theoretical training period with the airline in 2025, as part of the pre-employment process. At the end of this training period, his application was not selected for employment.” There were no details.Keith Coles, a spokesperson for Buckinghamshire New University in England, told the AP that al-Hammami previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management there but “did not undertake any pilot training.” There were no details on the timing.Little else was immediately known about the co-pilot’s background. His Instagram account was active until the day of the flight and then deleted.
First repatriation flight from UAE lands at Ben Gurion Airport-Flydubai terrorist named as Hamam al-Hammami; was banned from flying by Oman for suspected extremism-ABC says Omani copilot who stabbed captain has indicated to investigators he intended to crash the plane in Israel; CNN says social media accounts in his name posted videos after the attack showing Israeli planes filmed from other cockpits and including al-Qaeda figures
By ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 3:20 am-OCT 3,26
The flydubai copilot who attempted to crash a plane full of Israelis earlier this week was previously banned from flying by Oman’s national airline over concerns that he had been radicalized, multiple sources said on Friday and Saturday. Despite this, the Omani copilot was subsequently hired by flydubai, and flew the Dubai to Tel Aviv route.US media outlets on Friday named him as Hamam al-Hammami, 29. On Wednesday, he stabbed the pilot and, according to witnesses, tried to crash the plane in an attempted terror attack. He is now under investigation in the United Arab Emirates.It was unclear whether Muscat shared its concerns about al-Hammami with other countries or airlines. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” without elaborating.US television networks CNN and ABC reported that Oman Air removed al-Hammami from training over concerns about his extremist views, with AP reporting that he was shifted to an administrative position. The ABC report, which cited senior intelligence and law enforcement officials, said he was found to be in possession of extremist material in 2024.A Gulf diplomat told AP he had undergone standard security checks before being hired by flydubai, but that these checks focused on whether he had been convicted on criminal charges.According to ABC, al-Hammami is “cooperating” with investigators and has suggested to them that he intended to crash the plane in Israel. Quoting sources briefed on the investigation, ABC reported: “Al-Hammami… has indicated that his intent was to crash the aircraft in Israel.”CNN reported that al-Hammani was born to an Omani father and Syrian mother in the United Arab Emirates, where he had lived for several years.It said a since-deleted LinkedIn page with the name Hamam al-Hammami showed he worked at Oman Air for a seven-year period ending in February 2025, before starting at Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and departing in January 2026. The network said the profile did not mention flydubai but said a source familiar with the matter confirmed it was his account, which also showed he studied at Buckinghamshire New University in England.The report quoted a source at the university telling CNN that he studied remotely at the school for three years, graduating in 2023 with a degree in aviation management.CNN said that al-Hammami’s X and Instagram accounts were also deleted, with the latter having shared two videos after the attack.The first featured a series of clips that included footage of Israeli planes that were filmed from other cockpits, before ending with photos of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Jordanian triple agent Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who in 2009 carried out a deadly suicide bombing targeting a CIA base in Afghanistan on behalf of the jihadist group.In one clip, which CNN said it geolocated to Dubai International Airport, the person filming zoomed in on an El Al plane. The cockpit screen showed the flight number – OMA624 – and date, October 11, 2023, CNN reported, adding that the flight number corresponded to an Oman Air flight that typically travels from Dubai to Muscat, and that the date was from the period when al-Hammami worked at Oman Air. More clips showing El Al planes and one from Israeli airline Arkia also appeared in the video.The second post reportedly included an AI image of Islam’s three holiest cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, while a defiant poem was recited in the background.CNN said both posts were also shared on al-Hammami’s LinkedIn before it was deleted. “Both were published in quick succession on Wednesday, about nine hours after the incident,” CNN reported. “It is unclear who published the posts or whether they were scheduled in advance.”A flydubai spokesperson in an email to The Associated Press said the airline could not comment beyond its official statements and acknowledged “there are many questions at this stage.” There was no immediate comment from Oman Air, and Oman’s government has said nothing publicly in response to repeated questions since the incident.The Boeing 737 flight was carrying 174 passengers, almost all of them Israelis, when the copilot stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, which plunged nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) in less than 30 seconds.Captain Smit Machchhar, covered in blood, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers to charge inside to overpower the copilot and tie him up and stabilize the plane, while other pilots who were on board brought the plane to an emergency landing in Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.Israeli passengers were flown home on a special repatriation flight from Saudi Arabia — which has no diplomatic ties with Israel — while Machchhar and the attacking copilot were returned to the UAE, Machchhar for medical treatment and the attacker for interrogation.Flydubai said earlier in the day that a full official investigation was underway into the incident.“It is important that we allow this process to establish the facts,” Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith said in a statement.First repatriation flight touches down in Israel-Also Friday, officials from the Emirati airline told Channel 12 News they want to resume services to Israel, but Israeli officials have forced it to cancel flights until further notice.The officials asserted that flydubai was ready to return to Israel on Saturday.The report did not provide a response from officials in Jerusalem.The UAE canceled all flights to Israel following the attack, complicating travel for hundreds of passengers who fly between the countries on a typical day. As a result, Israeli airlines launched repatriation flights, the first of which landed in Tel Aviv just after 1 a.m.The airport listed carriers Arkia and Israir with flights scheduled to arrive from Dubai early Saturday. El Al was expected to fly passengers from Dubai to Israel on Sunday.Dubai has been a popular destination for Israelis since Israel and the UAE established ties in 2020 as part of the Trump administration’s Abraham Accords to normalize ties between Israel and Arab countries.
Jews on ice: These are the Jewish NHL stars to watch this hockey season-Headlined by the gold-medal winning Hughes brothers, all-star Adam Fox and son of Israeli parents Zeev Buium, at least 11 Jewish players are on NHL rosters to start the year-By jacob gurvis Today, 12:23 pm-OCT 3,26
JTA — The National Hockey League season kicked off this week, and the Jewish crop of talent in the league continues to grow, with at least 11 players beginning the season on an NHL roster, and more players waiting in the wings.Here’s who you should watch this NHL season:Zeev Buium, Vancouver Canucks defenseman: The 2024 first-round pick enters his first full season in Vancouver after a blockbuster trade last season that swapped him and fellow Jewish star Quinn Hughes.Buium is the son of Israeli parents, and his brother, Shai Buium, plays in the minor league AHL.Adam Fox, New York Rangers defenseman: The 28-year-old star is beginning his eighth season with the Rangers, where he’s a three-time All-Star and in 2020-21 won the league’s award for best defenseman.Fox has embraced his Jewish identity publicly — including through a partnership with a local bagel shop in 2023.Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils center: Perhaps the best Jewish player in the league, Hughes is fresh off his golden goal in the 2026 Olympics.The Hugheses are the first American family to have three siblings picked in the first round of the NHL draft, and Jack, a two-time All-Star, was the first Jewish player to go No. 1 overall. They are also the first trio of Jewish brothers to play in the same NHL game.Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils defenseman: Luke, the youngest Hughes brother, signed a big extension before last season and is viewed as a potential breakout star this year.Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild defenseman: The eldest Hughes brother, who played with Jack on the Olympic team, is also a two-time All-Star and a former winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy for top defenseman.He was the captain of the Canucks prior to the trade.Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers winger: The 12-year NHL veteran will look to recapture his dominance from a few seasons ago, when he posted 83 and 77 points in ’22-23 and ’23-24, respectively.Hyman, 34, is a Jewish day school graduate, a Maccabiah Games alum and has been active in Edmonton’s Jewish community. He has also said he wears No. 18 in part because of its symbolic meaning in Judaism, and has spoken out against antisemitism.Devon Levi, Edmonton Oilers goalie: Levi, who has 39 games of NHL experience with the Buffalo Sabres, made the Oilers squad as a backup goalie to start the year. The 24-year-old is a native of the Montreal suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, which has a sizable Jewish population, and he attended a Modern Orthodox day school.Max Sasson, Vancouver Canucks forward: Sasson started his third NHL season with a bang, scoring a goal and tallying an assist in his first game. The 26-year-old scored 13 goals with six assists in 66 games last season.Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins goalie: Swayman, who also played for Team USA in the Olympics, is in his seventh season with the Bruins. He co-won the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the 2022–23 season. The Alaska native had a bar mitzvah, wearing a tallis made by his great-grandmother.Jake Walman, Edmonton Oilers defenseman: Walman, the third Jewish member of the Oilers, nabbed 20 points in 53 games last season after signing a seven-year contract extension. The 30-year-old Toronto native is in his eighth NHL season.Jason Zucker, Buffalo Sabres winger: The 34-year-old is entering his 15th season in the NHL, with 832 games and 468 points to his name. Zucker is beginning the season on the injured reserve after undergoing sports hernia surgery. He has a Hebrew tattoo on his left forearm and though he never had a bar mitzvah, he celebrated Jewish holidays with his family growing up.A number of Jewish players are beginning the season in the AHL, the primary developmental league for the NHL: Andrew Cristall, Shai Buium, Ozzy Wiesblatt, Cole Guttman, Sam Lipkin, Yaniv Perets and Oasiz Wiesblatt. NHL veterans Jordan Harris and Luke Kunin are free agents.And there are a handful of players with reported Jewish heritage who either practice another religion or whose Jewish status is not confirmed, including Artemi Panarin, Kiefer Sherwood, Brett Pesce, Andre Burakovsky and Jakob Chychrun.Elsewhere in the Jewish sports world, the MLB playoffs are moving on to the second round, with Max Fried and the New York Yankees facing the Tampa Bay Rays and Rowdy Tellez’s Atlanta Braves playing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Alex Bregman and the Chicago Cubs were eliminated on Wednesday, while Garrett Stubbs and the Philadelphia Phillies were booted last night.Meanwhile, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf joked about the support his ALDS-bound squad has received from Pope Leo, saying, “Imagine a Jewish kid from Brooklyn getting a letter from the Pope…I’m going to convert.”
America’s only major etrog grower is in survival mode as global competition heats up-California’s Greg Kirkpatrick has spent his life growing the ritual fruit used during the Sukkot holiday, but says he’s now being forced to reinvent his business or sell his ranch-By Lea Loeb Today, 11:34 am-OCT 3,26
The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA — On a small ranch in California’s Central Valley, below the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, an orchard grows an ancient and sacred fruit: the etrog, or citron.At just seven acres, the etrog grove at Lindcove Ranch in Exeter is a speck in Tulare County, where about 40 percent of California’s citrus crops are grown. But by another measure, the grove is giant: Lindcove Ranch is the only major commercial grower of kosher etrogs in the United States.“This is my life — I really feel a calling to do this,” said Greg Kirkpatrick, 65, whose family has owned and operated Lindcove Ranch for more than 60 years.The fruit looks like a strange lemon, with a knobby exterior, thick rind and oblong shape. It exudes a sweet, fresh, lemony fragrance. It’s not a fruit that shows up in grocery stores. But for Jews, the etrog is crucial for fulfilling the commandments of Sukkot. During the holiday ritual, which includes a blessing, an etrog is held in the left hand while a bundle of palm, myrtle and willow, called a lulav, is held in the right. Brought together, they are shaken in the four directions as well as upward and downward.The Kirkpatrick family, who are not Jewish, began growing etrogs 46 years ago, when an Orthodox distributor from the East Coast reached out looking for a domestic grower. He wanted to avoid the costly import process of bringing in etrogs from any of the three major growing regions around the world: Israel, Italy and Morocco.Greg’s father, John, who was already a successful citrus farmer, decided to give the specialty crop a chance, and soon citrons became an important part of the ranch’s annual income. Its citron orchard is part of a larger specialty-citrus operation, which includes yuzu, finger limes, makrut limes and sour oranges on about 30 acres. The citron, however, has been the ranch’s top-earning crop.The citron business is a difficult one that Kirkpatrick likens to the diamond industry, with single pieces of fruit selling for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.“It’s not so much how many we can grow. It’s the quality of the fruit,” he said.An etrog must meet stringent requirements to be considered kosher for ritual use. It must be largely unblemished, retain its natural stem, called a pitom, and come from a documented lineage of trees that have never been grafted or crossed with another variety.The requirements make growing them different from growing ordinary citrus, according to David Karp, a pomologist, citron expert and citrus researcher at UC Riverside.“Many people have tried to grow citron in California,” Karp said, noting the financial allure of an etrog’s price tag. “But just because you can grow a lemon well doesn’t mean you can grow an etrog that’s right for Jewish ritual use. You can grow them, but you’ll end up selling them for $5 each, or feeding them to the cows.”Karp said little in horticulture can compare to the scrutiny that etrogs undergo for physical appearance, all for the sake of religious ritual.“There’s nothing remotely like this,” Karp said. “In Japan and perhaps other countries in Asia … there’s a cultural predilection for perfect, extremely expensive fruit that would be given as a gift. But there’s nothing quite like the citron for Jewish ritual use.”A typical crop may begin with 10,000 to 15,000 pieces of fruit, but perhaps only half will be suitable to bring to market, according to Kirkpatrick. His harvesters are trained to pick citrons carefully after inspecting them on the tree.“Being able to judge on the tree if the fruit’s good enough to bring into the packing house or not is important, so we don’t have to spend hours wading through and washing and dealing with fruit that’s not going to make it to the market,” Kirkpatrick said.Once picked, each fruit is placed in its own spot in a foam tray. The citrons do not touch one another through the picking or packing process because even minor bruising or scratches can reduce their value.There are multiple grades of etrog, ranging from cheaper, wholesale stock sold in mail-order sets to exceptionally large and blemish-free fruit sought by elite buyers.For decades, Kirkpatrick mostly sold his etrogs through a specialized marketing network to Orthodox Jewish customers on the East Coast, who seek citrons that are not only kosher but exceptional in size, shape and color.“My partner sells to a very select group of Orthodox Jews in Lakewood, New Jersey, by appointment only,” Kirkpatrick said. “And if you don’t have appointment-grade fruit, they won’t come to buy your fruit.”In 2023, the ranch received about 22 inches of rain and failed to get much of a crop. That same year, John died, leaving the grieving Kirkpatrick family to navigate the business without him. Then, in 2025, the ranch produced what Kirkpatrick thought was a successful crop, but his marketing partner was unable to sell enough of the fruit to recoup the $250,000 it cost to produce. Those years were the two worst for etrogs in the ranch’s history.Distributors simply want more top-grade etrogs than the Kirkpatrick operation is able to supply.Rabbi Menachem Sirota, a longtime etrog distributor based in Lakewood, New Jersey, who has purchased Lindcove Ranch citrons in the past, said he has opted to buy from larger growers who can supply more of the highest grade of the fruit.“Personally, as a wholesaler, I need a very large quantity of nice ones,” Sirota said. “For a while I was getting them from California, but in recent years I was not so satisfied with the quality.”As a result of the huge financial loss from this shift, one of the family’s homes on the ranch ended up in foreclosure earlier this year, Kirkpatrick said. With labor being one of the ranch’s biggest expenses, Kirkpatrick has had to cut back from eight full-time employees to five part-time workers.The family is even thinking of selling the ranch.But for now, Kirkpatrick is trying to save his business by becoming more of his own wholesaler.“We’re reinventing ourselves,” he said.The ranch is focused on selling bulk orders directly to congregations. Just before Sukkot began on September 25, for example, Kirkpatrick delivered a shipment to Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton and Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley, California.Kirkpatrick is also courting a new customer base with a pitch built on a genuine difference between his etrogs and those grown abroad. His etrogs are grown without pesticides or other chemical treatments, so after Sukkot they can be eaten or made into jam, candied peel or liqueur.That sets them apart from etrogs grown overseas, according to Karp.“Because a citron is of little worth unless it’s cosmetically perfect, they spray the heck out of these trees and fruit,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t advise eating etrogs grown outside the United States. “It wouldn’t be my first choice for a marmalade, let’s put it that way.”Whatever Kirkpatrick’s hopes, the fate of Lindcove Ranch, and of California-grown etrogs, will depend on several factors, including the weather and how the next growing season plays out.“I’m a farmer, I’m always optimistic,” he said. “You have to be in the farming business.”
As The New York Times turns 175, the fight over its Israel coverage again heats up-Hometown paper for largest Jewish community outside Israel, NYT has long, tumultuous relationship with Israel and Jews; that’s been sharply back in focus since Hamas invasion of Oct. 7, 2023-By Andrew Silow-Carroll Today, 10:16 am-OCT 3,26
JTA — For generations of American Jews, The New York Times has been more than a newspaper.It has been the hometown paper of the largest Jewish community outside Israel, a daily guide to the city that became the cultural center of American Jewish life and, more broadly, a reflection of the aspirations of Jews who saw themselves as educated, cosmopolitan, culturally engaged and interested in the wider world.And in the 175 years since the paper’s founding on September 18, 1851, no issue has inflamed its Jewish readers like its coverage of Israel. This month, as the Times celebrates its 175th birthday with a series of special features, that argument has gotten new fuel.On September 23, the Florida state pension fund and a conservative think tank that includes shareholders in the Times sued the company, seeking internal records that they say could show whether its board has adequately overseen the newspaper’s coverage of Israel. The plaintiffs allege that repeated errors and other evidence point to a failure to enforce the paper’s own journalistic standards and reflect an anti-Israel bias in its coverage.The Times called the suit meritless and politically motivated, saying it amounted to an attempt to pressure an independent news organization.The lawsuit came days after the publication of a study by Edieal Pinker, a professor at Yale’s School of Management, which is also cited in the lawsuit. Pinker’s study attempts to put numbers behind a complaint made by supporters of Israel: that the Times’s coverage of the war that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks has minimized Israeli suffering and Hamas’s role in the conflict.Pinker examined 1,559 Times articles published between October 7, 2023, and June 7, 2024. He found what he described as a dominant narrative in which Israel was assigned “near-exclusive agency and responsibility” after the Hamas attack. Meanwhile, Israeli casualties after October 7, Hamas fighter casualties and Palestinian violence received much less attention, he asserted. Personal accounts of Palestinian suffering, he assessed, appeared far more frequently than comparable accounts of Israeli trauma.Pinker told JTA that he understands the enormous disparity in the number of Palestinians and Israelis killed in the war. But that, he argued, does not absolve the newspaper for a framing of the war that focuses on Palestinian suffering and downplays Israeli motivations for carrying on the fight.The Times has rejected Pinker’s conclusions. In response to the study, a spokesperson said the newspaper had covered the war “with more rigor than virtually any other US news organization” and that editors make “careful and deliberate choices” about language, framing, prominence and tone in pursuit of independent journalism.Splits, biases and standards-The discourse around Pinker’s study and the lawsuit reflects the American Jewish community’s longtime obsession with the Times’s Israel coverage, as well as splits within American Jewry itself. A cottage industry of media watchdog groups, including CAMERA and HonestReporting, seeks to expose errors in Israel coverage by the Times and other outlets. They focus on stories or headlines that show Israel in a bad light — press criticism mixed with pro-Israel advocacy.Left-leaning academics and journalists often accuse the critics of having their own biases and dismiss their methodology, suggesting they seek to hold Israel above scrutiny and fail to understand the role of an independent press.Eric Alterman, an author and historian who has written extensively about the American media, wrote in his 2022 history of American Jews and Israel, “We Are Not One,” that if anything, the Times has taken a “consistent, if sometimes, subtle, pro-Israel slant.”He cited frequent protests by pro-Palestinian media critics, who think the Times is biased toward Israel, as well as a series of Jewish editors and Jerusalem bureau chiefs who, while often critical of Israel, used terminology and framing that reflect Israel’s perspective. (The word “Nakba,” the Palestinian term for Israel’s creation meaning “catastrophe,” did not appear in the paper until 1998.) But Alterman makes a larger point that is about the audience as much as the newspaper. He believes many American Jews have grown up on the “myth” of Israeli infallibility and see criticism or bad news about Israel as inherently suspect and evidence of hostility toward Israel or Jews.“People who grow up on this myth and who define their Jewish identities by their fealty to this myth … find it very painful, very hard to deal with negative coverage of Israel,” Alterman, a professor of English and journalism at Brooklyn College, said in an interview. “And so, as I report in my book, attacking the media for its coverage of Israel became a manifestation of many a Jewish identity.”For the petitioners in the recent lawsuit — the National Center for Public Policy Research think tank and the State Board of Administration of Florida, who as Times shareholders say they are entitled to inspect company books and records — the question isn’t the Jewish identity of the critics, but what they see as the Times’s board’s failure to enforce the newspaper’s own journalistic standards.The suit includes numerous examples. They point to the Times’s initial coverage of the October 2023 explosion at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Hospital, which attributed the blast to an Israeli airstrike before the paper acknowledged that it had relied too heavily on claims by Hamas. The suit also cites an October 2023 account of a Hamas attack on the Israeli city of Ofakim in which, according to the plaintiffs, editors twice changed references to the attackers from “terrorists” to “men,” which they say reflected a reluctance to use language that cast Hamas negatively.And in one of the highest-profile accusations of media bias during the war, the plaintiffs point to a July 2025 story about a severely malnourished Palestinian boy. While the paper said the subject was “born a healthy child,” the suit argues that Times staff had access before publication to information indicating that the boy had a pre-existing medical condition. (The Times later issued a correction.)-“In the absence of any Board-level oversight,” according to the filing, “journalistic standards have been weaponized within the Company to serve the personal agendas of unchecked editors.”Jewish history-At the center of this debate is not only what may be the most important single news source in the world, but one with complicated Jewish roots. Adolph Ochs, a Jewish newspaper publisher from Tennessee who was born to German immigrants, bought the struggling paper in 1896. His descendants have controlled it ever since. Ochs’s father-in-law was Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, a founder of Reform Judaism in America, and for decades the newspaper’s editorial line reflected Reform’s vocal anti-Zionism.Ochs’s son-in-law, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, would become the paper’s publisher from 1935 to 1961. Any discussion of the Times’s relationship with the Jewish community is haunted by the paper’s failure, under Sulzberger’s watch, to rigorously cover the Holocaust as it happened.When the paper did publish reports on the annihilation of the Jews, former Executive Editor Max Frankel wrote in an extraordinary, overdue mea culpa on the Times’s 150th anniversary, “they were mostly buried inside its gray and stolid pages, never featured, analyzed or rendered truly comprehensible.”While Alterman describes Sulzberger as “an antisemite in his hiring practices and an anti-Zionist in his politics,” Laurel Leff, who wrote about the Times’s Holocaust history in her 2005 book “Buried by the Times,” is slightly more measured.While the Times reported extensively on Nazi persecution and mass murder, it often failed to make clear that Jews were the principal targets of the Nazi genocide. Leff, professor emeritus of journalism at Northeastern University, believes Sulzberger was worried about accusations that the Times would engage in special pleading on behalf of the Jews.“He had a particular sensitivity about the Jewish issue because of his background,” Leff said in an interview. “Because he so much wanted the Times to not be viewed as a Jewish newspaper, and his editors and reporters knew that.”That sensitivity didn’t only manifest in what stories were and weren’t put on the front page. When Abraham Rosenthal joined the paper as a cub reporter in 1941, his bosses assigned him the byline “A.M. Rosenthal” because the paper’s management felt his first name sounded too Jewish.Still, whether chastened by the extent of the Holocaust or just swept up by the prevailing narrative of the day, the Times for many years treated the new state of Israel “as a struggling nation trying to thrive while surrounded by implacably hostile Arab Neighbors,” as former Times reporter Neil A. Lewis wrote in a 2012 paper for the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.“But, over various points beginning in the late 1960’s through the next dozen years, the narrative began to change to a second, more equivocal phase,” Lewis continued. “The template of the small nation as a David battling a Goliath composed of its enemies no longer fit after Israel prevailed handily in the 1967 War. And gradually, the situation of the Palestinian refugees began to emerge.”After Rosenthal rose to executive editor in 1977, the first of five Jews to hold the post over the next four decades, he aligned the paper more closely with the majority of its Jewish readers: still secular, although more open to Jewish stories and Jewish hires. Rosenthal himself, after his mandatory retirement in 1986, transitioned to the opinion pages and wrote pugnacious columns defending Israel’s right-wing Likud Party leaders.“Rosenthal had done more than any one individual to reconcile the Times to its Jewish identity,” Times alum Samuel Freedman wrote in an appreciation when Rosenthal died in 2006. Among other things, Rosenthal ended an “unspoken” policy blocking Jews from reporting on Israel.Not that that shielded the Times from criticism: Thomas L. Friedman, who served as Jerusalem bureau chief from 1984 to 1988, would earn three Pulitzer Prizes for his Mideast coverage but still remained (and remains) a lightning rod for criticism of the paper’s coverage of Israel. (In 1989, a panel discussion featuring Friedman at the 92nd Street Y was interrupted by pro-Israel hecklers who scuffled with security guards. “I spent five years in Beirut. Who thought I’d meet my end at the 92nd Street Y?” Friedman, now a columnist, said from the stage.)-Coverage of the controversial first Lebanon War, by Friedman and others, kickstarted efforts by pro-Israel groups to monitor and criticize the media’s coverage of the region. CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, was founded in 1982 by Winifred Meyer in response to what she and other founders perceived as highly distorted, anti-Israel reporting on Israel’s military incursion. In his 1989 book, “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” Friedman himself criticized the foreign press corps in Lebanon for treating the Palestine Liberation Organization more charitably than it did Israel, the United States or their Lebanese allies.At the same time, the newspaper increasingly came to embody another kind of American Jewish identity: intellectual, urbane, secular-minded, prosperous and engaged with the broader American and international culture. And as the rise of the internet took its toll on other daily newspapers, the Times’s influence only grew.Daniel Okrent, who refereed readers’ complaints as the Times’s public editor from December 2003 to May 2005, said coverage of Israel and the Palestinians is perhaps the most scrutinized topic in the newspaper, with both sides convinced the Times favors the other side. He and his colleagues would brace for a flood of letters after every mention of Israel, however benign.“I think that the feelings on that issue are so intense that people can’t see beyond their own feelings,” Okrent said in an interview.Ari Goldman, a religion reporter who spent 20 years at The New York Times starting in 1975, often bore the brunt of those feelings. An observant Jew, he said he was frequently approached in synagogue by someone asking, “How can you work for that antisemitic newspaper?”“They’d come to shul and wave a piece of paper in my face, and I’d say, ‘Where’s the rest of the paper?’” Goldman, a professor emeritus at the Columbia Journalism School, said in an interview. “If you look at the coverage in general, yes, you’ll find mistakes, and stories that seem like they have a negative bent. But there are many stories that balance that, and many stories that are favorable toward Israel and tell the story more sympathetically.”Goldman insists that Times journalists work hard to get a story right, and that the paper will offer corrections when they don’t. He also sees the recent hire of Yair Rosenberg to a new religion beat focused on Jewish American life as a sign that management recognized a “gap in their coverage.”Critics and defenders agree that the Times often sets the agenda for other news outlets — and for its readers. In her 2005 book “Stars of David,” journalist Abigail Pogrebin asked the Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim about his feelings for Israel. “My attitude toward Israel is the New York Times’ attitude toward Israel,” he replied. “Whatever they tell me is what I believe.”It is this sort of influence that motivates the Times’s critics. While Pinker does not accuse the Times of bias, his study does raise the specter of an “agenda” on the paper’s part to sway public opinion. “I document several imbalances in the reporting of the war that could plausibly influence the opinions of a reader in a direction that is at odds with reality,” he writes in the study.In an interview, Pinker said he sought to move the argument away from individual headlines and toward patterns.“What I find is that there is very little coverage of what you might call suffering or the cost of war on the Israeli side, whereas there is an enormous amount of coverage of that on the Palestinian side,” he said.Those newsroom choices, he said, diminish Hamas’s responsibility for the extent and continuation of the war. Although he didn’t compare the Times’s coverage of the war to that of other news outlets, he did suggest what an alternative “framing” of the conflict might be: “October 7 demonstrated to the Israelis that they have an unacceptable threat in Gaza, and they cannot rest until they’ve eliminated this threat.”Alterman rejects Pinker’s analysis as “almost comical,” saying it didn’t take into account the disparity between the 1,200 Israelis killed on October 7 and the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza in the subsequent war. No news outlet, he said, is obliged to note the persistent trauma and anger felt by Israelis amid the near-daily bombardment of Gaza and critical food shortages seen during the height of a war.“There’s been an enormous amount of reporting on the emotional cost to Israelis and the financial cost to Israelis of the reaction to October 7, but it’s just ridiculous to say that there should be as much reporting on the incident of one day as there have been” of daily military operations during a war that lasted for two years, said Alterman.Alterman also said that the newspaper’s critics fail to account for the separation between the Times’s news departments and its opinion pages.On the opinion side, regular critics of Israel far outnumber its consistent defenders. The former include Friedman, Ezra Klein and Michelle Goldberg, whose criticism often appears to be written from a place of sympathy with a former, more liberal Israel, and contributing opinion writers M. Gessen and Peter Beinart, who have both accused Israel of genocide. All five are Jews.Meanwhile, Bret Stephens follows in a tradition of right-leaning columnists, also Jewish, who consistently defended Israel, including Rosenthal, William Safire and David Brooks. David French and Russ Douthat, two conservative columnists, also tend to defend Israel when they write about the conflict.Earlier this year, when Nicholas Kristof wrote a column alleging sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli security forces, critics suggested it hadn’t been put to the same journalistic scrutiny as a news story. Nonetheless, the Times defended the reporting, saying that details were fact-checked and corroborated where possible with witnesses and confidants.Stephens, who rarely criticizes his employer in public, didn’t respond to Kristof’s column. But just nine days later, in a column cataloguing 25 years of what he described as inflammatory or unverified media narratives targeting Israel, he wrote what could be a manifesto for American Jewish critics of Israel coverage.“The common thread in these and many other stories is that they all involve strenuous, if ultimately embarrassed, efforts to prove that Israelis deliberately seek to kill the innocent and maim the vulnerable, apparently for no other reason than gratuitous cruelty,” wrote Stephens. “This isn’t a matter of reporters’ impartially trying to expose wrongdoing wherever they find it — if that were the case, the errors wouldn’t invariably lean in the same ideological direction. It isn’t speaking truth to power. It’s feeding narratives to the credulous.”For some Jews, the Times’s coverage of Israel, negative or not, is evidence of the newspaper doing precisely what a great journalism outlet ought to do: scrutinizing the powerful, including a government supported by the United States and deeply connected to American Jewish life.For others, the same coverage is evidence that the paper has once again failed to understand the Jewish historical experience — particularly the experience of Jews who see Israel’s security as inseparable from their own.What both sides share is a relationship with The New York Times that can feel both familial and obsessive.“I think it’s a sense of ownership,” said Goldman, imagining the perception of so many of its Jewish readers: “‘I’m a New York Jew. This is my newspaper, and it should reflect me and my ideas.’”
Explainer-What is Oman’s relationship with Israel – if any? The Gulf Sultanate has been thrust into the spotlight after an Omani pilot tried to crash a plane full of Israelis on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv-By Tomer Almagor Today, 9:32 am-OCT 3,26
JTA – The Omani pilot who tried to hijack and crash a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv has drawn new attention to his native country. Oman, which has sometimes been dubbed the “Switzerland of the Middle East,” has long sought to balance its relations with the West and Iran. Its strategic location, combined with its distinctive diplomatic approach, has made it an unusual player in the Middle East.Oman is located on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. It sits alongside the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically important maritime passage through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.Until recently, Oman wasn’t a Middle Eastern country used to finding itself in international headlines. But it has emerged as a key player in recent months after long serving as a central mediator between Washington and Tehran. Its neutral posture, along with its close ties to both the United States and Iran, placed it in an important position during the talks between the two sides before the outbreak of the US-Iran war earlier this year.When Omani mediation failed to prevent the conflict, Oman condemned the joint US-Israeli military campaign launched in February, saying it had “deep regrets at the military operations launched by Israel and the United States of America against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and that it “considers this action to be in contravention of the rules of international law.”Even after Iran itself attacked Oman, which hosts three US military bases, as part of Tehran’s campaign to pressure countries in the region and deter US President Donald Trump, Muscat did not abandon its neutral stance. The targets Iran struck in Oman included a port and oil infrastructure, although the attacks were limited compared with those on other countries in the region.Relations between Washington and Muscat have become further strained as the war has continued. In an opinion article published in The Economist, Oman’s foreign minister described the war as “unlawful” and said the United States “has lost control of its foreign policy.”Trump, meanwhile, threatened to bomb Oman, telling reporters in August, “I don’t think they behaved very well, but we’d handle them very easily just like we do others.” The Wall Street Journal reported that senior US officials had privately accused Oman of being “a duplicitous actor” that largely sides with Iran rather than seeking the best possible deal between Washington and Tehran.While the Gulf state maintains significant ties with Washington, it does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel. The two countries once maintained commercial relations, but those ties were cut in 2000 amid a deterioration in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Contacts between the countries later continued quietly, and Netanyahu visited Oman in 2018 in a rare public meeting between an Israeli prime minister and an Omani sultan.The two countries have held discussions about establishing formal relations, but those efforts have not come to fruition to date. Oman’s position has remained broadly similar to that of Saudi Arabia, which talked openly about the possibility of normalization with Israel but has conditioned that recognition on a clear, irreversible path toward a Palestinian state. Oman has also expressed support for the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020 and have since been signed by a handful of other Muslim countries.Oman’s rhetoric toward Israel has grown harsher since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre and subsequent war in Gaza, and relations between the countries have cooled. Omani officials have strongly criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza and have been particularly critical of Israel’s war against Iran.Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili, Oman’s grand mufti, described Israel’s attack on Iran as “treacherous American-Zionist aggression against Iran.”A strategic Gulf state-Much of Oman’s geographic importance comes from its position along bodies of water through which large quantities of oil transit. Its land, in contrast, is covered by desert alongside a coastal plain that is home to a significant share of the country’s population of roughly 5.5 million.That population is distinctive in the Muslim world: A significant portion of its citizens belong to the Ibadi branch of Islam, a tradition separate from both Sunni and Shiite Islam. The country is also home to a large expatriate population made up of people from different religious backgrounds.Oman is a sultanate, meaning the sultan holds extensive powers. The current ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said, took office in January 2020 following the death of his cousin, Sultan Qaboos, who had ruled the country for nearly 50 years.A significant part of Oman’s economy is based on oil, although the country has sought to diversify its economy. Its strategic location and extensive coastline have also made it a gateway for international trade between Europe and Asia.Oman has so far not issued an official response to the incident or publicly confirmed the identity or nationality of the pilot who allegedly carried out the flydubai attack. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and international media outlets have described the pilot as Omani.In a statement, Netanyahu said that “the perpetrator underwent Islamist radicalization. He came to crash the plane. We are now investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.”
At rally, Trump mocks ‘Gays for Palestine’ over abuses in ‘that part of the world’US president jokes that members of the movement should be sent over as negotiators: ‘You’ll never see them again’By ToI Staff 3 October 2026, 11:56 pm
US President Donald Trump mocked LGBTQ activists in the pro-Palestinian movement on Saturday over rights abuses against members of the community in “that part of the world.”In remarks at a midterm campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama, Trump said that he had recently heard of what he called the “Gays for Palestine” movement. (Activists usually refer to themselves as “Queers for Palestine.”)“Gays for Palestine, how about that,” Trump said. “I saw it today, and I said, ‘Wait a minute.'”“Do you know what they do to gay people in that part of the world? Let’s send them over someday to negotiate. You’ll never see them again. I don’t want to tell you, but they do things you wouldn’t believe.”Although LGBTQ Palestinians have become more outspoken in recent years, gay rights remain highly controversial in Palestinian society. Palestinians who come out face societal rejection, abuse, and threats to their lives.Earlier this year, an Israeli aid group that assists Palestinian LGBTQ asylum seekers published a study that found discrimination against gays is both institutionalized and deeply ingrained in Palestinian society.While there are no Palestinian Authority laws on the books that ban homosexual acts, and although the PA has largely remained silent on the issue in recent years, the study argued that severe persecution of LGBTQ Palestinians — both within their families and by public institutions — has continued, in some cases escalating to attempted murder.Trump: Advertisement I saw a group of people, “Gays for Palestine.” Let’s send them over someday to negotiate. You will never see them again. They do things that you wouldn’t believe in. pic.twitter.com/CmZjMqTh5E — Clash Report (@clashreport) October 3, 2026-In Gaza, which is ruled by the Hamas terror group, homosexual activity is illegal and carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison, according to the Equaldex website, which tracks LGBTQ rights around the world.Israel provides some temporary residency permits for Palestinians fleeing persecution in the West Bank. Most of the passes have historically gone to Palestinians who worked with the Israeli security services. These are eligible for permanent residency in Israel.However, the study found that conditions for gay Palestinians in Israel have worsened since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, with tighter restrictions on residency permits and growing hostility from segments of Israeli society and state authorities.
Settler attacks reported across West Bank as Palestinians begin olive harvest-50-year-old man hospitalized after beating; footage shows vehicle being smashed in Osarin, while attacks and vandalism are reported in several other villages By Noam Lehmann, Emanuel Fabian and Agencies 3 October 2026, 10:12 pm
Palestinians harvesting olives were attacked and property was damaged in several locations across the West Bank on Saturday, according to Palestinian reports.In the village of Osarin, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it evacuated a 50-year-old Palestinian man to a hospital after he was beaten by settlers. He was carried back into the village on a ladder he had reportedly been using to harvest olives.WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, reported that the settlers had hurled stones at homes and vehicles in the village. Footage from the town showed over a dozen people identified as settlers smashing a vehicle parked outside a house.Osarin is located in Area B, where the Palestinian Authority exercises civilian control while Israel retains security control.Israel Police said they had opened an investigation into the incident, with officers entering the town alongside Israel Defense Forces troops to gather evidence and take witness statements.The IDF in its own statement said troops were dispatched to Osarin following “footage and reports of Palestinians and property being attacked by Israeli rioters in the area.” Upon arriving, soldiers found property damage and searched for the suspects, “who had fled before the troops reached the scene,” the military said.Elsewhere, Palestinian olive pickers in Beita were reportedly attacked for a second consecutive day. Security camera footage appeared to show several people identified as settlers running through an olive grove just outside a Palestinian home.Separate footage from the area appeared to show IDF soldiers accompanied by an armed settler gathering Palestinians from the grove, with several later seen seated in a row as troops stood nearby.Palestinian reports said olive trees and crops were also damaged in al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah, while two young Palestinian men were reportedly arrested while harvesting olives in Aqraba, south of Nablus.In Burin, WAFA reported that settlers raided another olive grove and stole produce and harvesting equipment. Troops who arrived in the area reportedly fired tear gas, and the Red Crescent said it treated three people for tear gas inhalation.The incidents came amid heightened tensions across the West Bank as the annual olive harvest gets underway, a period that has frequently seen clashes and attacks around Palestinian farmland. Israel has faced growing international criticism over a surge in settler violence, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has downplayed as the work of a small number of delinquents.Settler violence in the West Bank has risen sharply since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza.Critics accuse the government of condoning and even encouraging the violence, which has led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families.The surge in settler violence has come even as Palestinian attacks against Israelis have declined in recent years, though deadly attacks have continued. Sixty-seven civilians and Israeli security personnel have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank since October 7.During the same period, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, according to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.Nurit Yohanan contributed to this report.
Sources point to 'colossal security screw-up'Regev passes buck on probing pilots as Israel said ‘racing’ to ID potential threats-As flydubai fallout continues, Transportation Ministry says flights aren’t 100% safe and it doesn’t do background checks on foreign pilots; Report: Omani attacker had flown to Tel Aviv before but Israel knew nothing about him-By ToI Staff Today, 4:45 am-OCT 3,26
Transportation Minister Miri Regev and her office faced escalating scrutiny on Saturday over the recent flydubai terror attack, as reports emerged that pilots from unfriendly or hostile states have repeatedly landed planes in Israel in recent years — including the Omani copilot attacker on Wednesday’s flight.Regev and her ministry claimed in response that they are not responsible for any security breaches prior to the attack. The ministry said it does not have the capacity to perform background checks on foreign pilots, adding that there’s no way to definitively ensure the security of foreign flights into Israel.“Those who are supposed to identify the crew are security officials. We are not security officials,” Regev told the Kan public broadcaster on Saturday. “Those who are supposed to say what the threat level is, and whether you can travel to a given destination, are security officials.”Discourse has begun to shift about the flydubai Flight 1073 attack — in which the plane’s Indian pilot and several Israeli passengers foiled the copilot’s attempt to crash the plane, then two other pilots onboard landed it.In addition to accounts of the heroism of those who thwarted the attack, attention has turned to how the incident could have been prevented, and what Israel must do to head off similar attacks in the future. The discussion has become especially heated as Israel’s October 27 election approaches, with opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing him of neglecting security in air travel.Israeli regulations reportedly say that pilots from states that lack diplomatic relations with Israel are prohibited from landing in the country. A law stating that lists of flight crews would be sent to Israeli security agencies passed more than three years ago, according to Haaretz.But Israel’s security establishment has reportedly not acted on those measures. On Saturday, Channel 12 reported that the attacker, copilot Hamam al-Hammami, piloted flydubai planes on the Dubai-Tel Aviv route several times before his attempt to crash Flight 1073. Israeli authorities are checking whether he flew the route days before the terror attack.The network said flydubai gave Israeli authorities the names of the flight crew, including al-Hammami, as required ahead of Wednesday’s flight, and that the list of names raised no security concerns.Israel was not aware that al-Hammami had been barred from flying altogether by his previous Oman Air employer because of concerns over his radicalization, the report said.Israeli investigators have yet to be given access to al-Hammami, who is under investigation in the United Arab Emirates, and are relying on material conveyed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the report noted.‘Racing against time’ to ID pilots from hostile states-But the concern extends beyond al-Hammami, Channel 12 reported. The network said Israel is “racing against time” to determine whether there are pilots from hostile states flying foreign airlines in and out of Ben Gurion Airport and, citing unnamed professional sources, said that in recent years, pilots from Iran, Syria, Iraq and other enemy states have flown foreign airliners to and from the country. The report said those pilots have dual citizenship, with a second passport presumably issued by a non-enemy state.The report said other unnamed international authorities are helping Israel to tackle the apparent security breach.Where the flight crews of foreign airlines are concerned, Ben Gurion Airport has been “a lawless zone,” the report charged, citing unnamed security sources.The report said the Transportation Ministry, which is legally required to oversee foreign airlines’ vetting of pilots flying to Israel, does not do so, and that the Shin Bet security agency and Mossad intelligence agency do not check the backgrounds of foreign pilots either.‘Nothing is 100%’ regarding air security, Transportation Ministry says-The Transportation Ministry confirmed on Saturday night that it does not perform background checks on pilots who fly into Israel, adding that it can’t promise those flights will be “100 percent” safe.In the briefing, according to reports in Hebrew media, the Transportation Ministry’s security division denied that it got the names of the flydubai pilots and crew in advance, or that it has the ability to perform background checks on foreign pilots flying into Israel.“We are not an intelligence body that checks the intelligence background of foreigners,” a representative of the division said in a statement, according to Ynet. “We have no forces abroad. We have no staff that checks every person there.”The division also said that it could not specify how many pilots from hostile states have landed in Israel, and that it could not promise that flights on foreign airlines will be completely secure.The division said it outsources background checks to the airlines themselves.“Nothing is 100% when it comes to security,” the division’s representative said, according to Ynet. Channel 12 quoted the representative as saying that the ministry can’t promise “100% that this won’t happen again,” and that the only foolproof way to stop such threats would be to bar foreign airlines from landing in Israel entirely.Speaking to Kan, Regev likewise refused to divulge any details regarding her ministry’s investigation into the attack, and declined to confirm that al-Hammami had previously landed in Israel.She said Israel’s Tax Authority is tasked with reviewing the plane’s manifest and had received the list of passengers and crew. She added that the Shin Bet is responsible for security on Israeli carriers and the Mossad is responsible for security on foreign carriers.The question of whether the government is culpable for missing warning signs ahead of the attack is playing into the election campaign.Eisenkot: Attack ‘exposed as a terrible failure’ under Netanyahu-On Saturday, Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the centrist opposition Yashar party, tore into Netanyahu over the attack, linking the near-disaster to the premier’s refusal to impanel a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led atrocities. Netanyahu has also not explicitly taken responsibility for failures surrounding the attack, which happened while he was in office.“Those who fear the word ‘responsibility’ and flee from investigating the truth since October 7… are endangering Israel every day with failures and great disasters,” Eisenkot wrote on X. “We got proof of this just this past week, when 180 Israelis were saved thanks to ingenuity and supreme heroism in what is being exposed as a terrible failure under the October 7 government.”“The grave discoveries about the conduct of the Transportation Ministry and the revelation that pilots from enemy states landed in Israel are further proof that the State of Israel is ‘managed’ by a group of people who aren’t qualified or worthy,” Eisenkot added.The unnamed sources who spoke to Channel 12 likewise said that “the colossal security screw-up” exposed by Wednesday’s terror attack is “as large as the miracle” by which the pilot and several heroic passengers overcame al-Hammami and saved the 180 people on the plane.They also compared the incident to the October 7 attack, when “all the facts were out in the open, and nobody looked.” The Omani pilot planned the attack for a long time, they said, “and yet Israel didn’t have a scrap of information on him.”
