Middle East Press On: Zionist, Congress, Atomic, Auschwitz, Black, Sea: New Age Islam's Selection, 5 April 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
5 April 2025
World Zionist Congress Must Do More to Support Students On College Campuses
Averting Ayatollah's Atomic Auschwitz: The US, Israel Should Bomb Iran Now
Iran Is Nervous About the Trump Administration, But Also Defiant
Can Putin Deliver On Mediating On Trump's Nuclear Talks with Iran?
Netanyahu’s Premiership, Like Nixon’s Presidency In 1974, In Its Final Days
Dysfunction Has Taken Root at The Highest Levels Of Israel's Government
Netanyahu in Hungary, Isolated from The World
Turkiye’s Delicate Balancing Act in The Black Sea
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World Zionist Congress Must Do More To Support Students On College Campuses
By Shabbos Kestenbaum
April 5, 2025
The World Zionist Congress, often heralded as the “parliament of the Jewish people,” convenes every five years to allocate significant funds and shape policy for global Jewish communities.
Yet, in the aftermath of the horrific events of October 7 – when a new wave of antisemitism erupted across the globe, particularly in the United States – the WZC has demonstrated a glaring inability to address one of the most pressing challenges facing American Jewry: the normalization and escalation of antisemitism.
What we are witnessing on college campuses, in public protests, and even in the mainstream media is a dangerous trend: antisemitism cloaked in the guise of political discourse. Jewish students are vilified, businesses are boycotted, and synagogues are defaced.
Yet the WZC, with its substantial budget and global reach, has failed to provide a coordinated, strategic response. Tellingly, other than a thinly detailed “Antisemitism in 2023” report replete with basic factual inaccuracies (such as confusing Penn State with the University of Pennsylvania), the WZC’s Department for Combating Antisemitism & Enhancing Resilience website does not list any other activities or events.
As someone who was thrust into an activist role shortly after October 7, it is imperative not to remain silent in the face of this inertia. The current leadership, predominantly older and disconnected from the realities of younger Jewish Americans, has shown itself incapable of mobilizing the resources necessary to combat this growing threat.
While the congress doles out millions of dollars to projects that, while admirable, often fail to address the immediate needs of today’s Jewish communities, it neglects the single most vital investment we can make: education.
Education is the most powerful tool we have to fight ignorance, hatred, and misinformation. Targeted, cutting-edge programs that equip young Jews with the tools to understand and articulate their identity, counter antisemitic rhetoric, and foster pride in their heritage are paramount.
We need partnerships with university students on the ground who know best how to spend the money. We need online campaigns that expose and counteract antisemitic tropes. We need to reclaim the narrative.
Running for a WZC seat
This is why I am running for a seat at the World Zionist Congress. I represent a new generation of leaders – younger voices who understand the urgency of this moment and are ready to act. If elected, my mission will be to overhaul the way the WZC allocates its resources.
It’s time to shift priorities away from symbolic gestures and toward substantive action. This means funneling funds directly into educational initiatives that address antisemitism head-on in classrooms, online spaces, and public forums. It means ensuring that every dollar spent has a measurable impact.
I have spoken on dozens of college campuses across North America and know a significant number of the Jewish student leaders who’ve taken charge since October 7. It is simply stunning to see how many struggle to get even the most negligible budgets passed by their communal Jewish institutions.
The amount of red tape faced by our Jewish activists on college campuses, who are on the frontlines of the ideological battle, is inexcusable. It goes without saying that most of them haven’t even heard of the World Zionist Congress.
The stakes could not be higher. If the WZC continues on its current path, it risks becoming irrelevant to the very people it claims to represent. But if we seize this moment, we can transform the congress into a force for real, lasting change. We can empower a generation of young Jews to stand tall in the face of hatred, armed with knowledge, confidence, and resilience.
The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and each time, we have risen to meet the challenge. This moment is no different. Let’s make sure the World Zionist Congress rises with us. Please go out and vote.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-848785
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Averting Ayatollah's Atomic Auschwitz: The Us, Israel Should Bomb Iran Now
By Michael Freund
April 4, 2025
Over the past few decades, various efforts have been made to prevent Iran from building a nuclear arsenal, whether through international diplomacy and deals or economic sanctions.
But despite the countless hours and untold energy devoted by the US and others, the tyrants of Tehran are now reportedly within reach of their goal.
They must be stopped at all costs before it is too late.
On March 26, US Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, commander of the US Strategic Command, told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington that if the Iranian regime chooses to, it could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear device in less than a week.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran,” Cotton testified, “continues to expand its nuclear program by increasing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and deploying additional advanced centrifuges.”
He noted that Tehran has reduced the “breakout time” – the time required to produce sufficient weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear weapon – from an estimated 10 to 15 days to just a handful of them.
Simply put, less than 1,000 miles east of Tel Aviv, an atomic Auschwitz is being constructed. Instead of gas chambers being fired up, centrifuges are being installed. And in place of Zyklon B gas, the lethal delivery mechanism of choice is now uranium.
While the language spoken by its Persian architects may be different, the threat to the future of the Jewish people – and that of the entire Western world – is no less grave than it was eight decades ago in Europe.
Hard to 'deal' with the ayatollahs
Negotiations with the ayatollahs are pointless. For years, Iran intentionally deceived the international community, pretending to comply with nuclear agreements while covertly advancing its weapons program, interfering with inspections of its nuclear facilities, and repeatedly defying demands to cease and desist from its dangerous actions.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action temporarily slowed Iran’s progress, but Tehran never fully adhered to the terms of the deal. After the US wisely withdrew from the country in 2018, Iran continued its uranium enrichment, expanding its nuclear capability.
Indeed, just six weeks ago, a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said, “Iran states that it has declared all of the nuclear material, activities, and locations required under its Safeguards Agreement. This is inconsistent with the agency’s assessments.” Translation: Iran continues to lie about the extent of its nuclear program.
The IAEA also noted that Iran’s stock of near-weapons-grade uranium has surged by 50% in just two months. If its current inventory were to be further enriched, the IAEA estimates it would suffice for six nuclear warheads.
A similar appraisal was made on March 28 by Iran Watch, a site run by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, which said, “Iran’s nuclear program has reached the point at which Iran might be able to enrich enough uranium for five fission weapons within about one week and enough for eight weapons in less than two weeks.”
It is this terrifying reality that explains the tough stance taken by US President Donald Trump toward the Iranians, whom he has put on notice that they face bombing “like they have never seen before” if they do not dismantle their nuclear program.
Time to strike
Trump’s approach is precisely what is needed at this critical juncture, if only because it has become abundantly clear that Iran’s leadership has no intention of giving up its nuclear ambitions. The longer the world waits, the closer Iran gets to a functional nuclear weapon.
Just this past Monday, at a sermon delivered in Tehran, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei reaffirmed his previous calls for Israel’s destruction, saying, “Uprooting the Zionist entity is both a religious and moral duty.”
Like it or not, we are all in his crosshairs, and with each passing day the would-be Hitler of Persia is drawing ever closer to his goal of obtaining a nuclear arsenal, threatening everyone and everything that all of us hold dear.
And once Iran dispenses with the Jews, as we know it is the West that will be next. So this is not just Israel’s battle; it is everyone’s war, and it is time for Washington and Jerusalem to act.
Sure, the thought of striking Iran is terrifying. But as frightening as the idea might seem, it pales in comparison with the atomic ayatollahs having their finger on the button and being able to threaten the world with nuclear blackmail and destruction.
A strike by the US and/or Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities is not just a strategic necessity but a moral imperative. It is the only way to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran from destabilizing the Middle East and menacing humanity.
Time is of the essence; there is not a moment to lose. The US and/or Israel should bomb Iran now before it proves too late.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-848734
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Iran Is Nervous About the Trump Administration, But Also Defiant
By David M. Weinberg
April 5, 2025
The Trump administration is deploying an unprecedented amount of US military might to bases in the Middle East, near Iran and Yemen. The military buildup is backed by “maximum sanctions” against Iran and an explicit US deadline of two months for a “deal” to end Iran’s nuclear bomb and ballistic missile programs.
Without a deal, President Donald Trump has said, “there will be bombing.” US National Security Advisor Mike Walz has specified that Iran must “hand over and give up” all elements of its nuclear program, including missiles, weaponization, and uranium enrichment.
Iran is clearly nervous, which is a good thing, but also defiant, which was to be expected.
“Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Khamenei said last month that Tehran would not be bullied into talks with the US by “excessive demands and threats,” and he rejected direct negotiations. He threatened a “harsh blow” if the US attacks Iran.
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard air force this week made the Iranian threat more explicit: “The US has 10 bases and 50,000 troops in the region… If you live in a glass house, you shouldn’t throw stones,” he warned. And Khamenei’s adviser and former parliament speaker Ali Larijani emphasized that if the US bombs Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iranian “public opinion” will pressure the government to “change its policy” and pursue nuclear weapons.
But of course, Iran is rapidly approaching full nuclear military status already, with uranium enrichment and bomb-assembly facilities buried in underground bunkers – irrespective of Trump’s threats.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has enriched uranium to almost-bomb-ready levels (60% and 84%, which are very close to the 90% level necessary for a nuclear weapon), with its stock of refined uranium hexafluoride growing by 92.5 kilograms in the past quarter alone to 274.8 kilograms. By IAEA standards, this is sufficient for an estimated six nuclear weapons, with the final sprint achievable within months.
NO COUNTRY in the world has enriched uranium to 60%, as Iran has, without building nuclear weapons – so Tehran’s intentions are clear. Getting the Islamic Republic to abandon this path (as well as its massive ballistic missile array) will be difficult if not impossible. I am doubtful that even the emerging credible threat of US (and Israeli) military action will do the trick.
Ultimately, Washington will have to act on its threat, and this will have to be soon.
To this end, the US has deployed fighter squadrons, stealth bombers, munitions, and Patriot and THAAD air defense batteries to the region along with two aircraft carrier strike groups. US military cargo flights into the region rose by 50% last month, with at least 140 heavy transport aircraft landing in Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan.
An A-10 ground-attack squadron was deployed to Jordan, stealth F-35s were sent to Saudi Arabia, and at least six B-2 stealth bombers have been stationed on the Indian Ocean island base of Diego Garcia – which is roughly a third of the US Air Force’s B-2 fleet.
(Diego Garcia previously was used as a launch point for bombing missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. The island lies about 4,000 kilometers from Iran and Yemen – close enough to support a large-scale strike on either, while remaining beyond the reach of their drones and ballistic missiles.)
And US Central Command chief Gen. Michael Kurilla was in Israel this week once again for meetings with senior Israeli military officials.
THERE IS more to be done. Richard Goldberg of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington has published a manifesto for “maximum pressure” on Iran that goes far beyond “maximum sanctions.” This includes an end to all sorts of waivers and licenses that facilitate Iranian world trade, rigorous sanctions enforcement (mainly targeting Iran’s oil trade with China), multilateral sanctions on third-party countries (including European countries) that facilitate Iranian banking and Iranian-backed radical Islamist NGOs, and more.
Barak Seener of the Henry Jackson Society in the UK argues for active “destabilization” of the Iranian regime. This includes cyberattacks on Iran’s critical infrastructure, as well as targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure including refining and processing facilities, as well as domestic distribution pipelines and terminals. He also advocates the targeting of IRGC bases and personnel on Iranian or foreign soil.
Gregg Roman of the Middle East Forum has published a comprehensive strategy for democratic transition in Iran, which needs to be put in place even before a strike on the belligerent country. This involves an aggressive information campaign, amplifying internal pressures backing opposition ethnic groups, leveraging regional cooperation networks, dismantling Iran’s regional proxy network (something that Israel already is tackling), and transition planning with post-regime scenarios.
These efforts should include exposing the regime’s repression and human rights abuses and carrying out political warfare against the regime: Constant criticism of its economic failings and brutality, support for Iran’s neighbors if it threatens them, and aid (overt and covert) for efforts by Iranians to protest a regime most of them clearly loathe.
IN A RECENT, thoughtful Foreign Affairs essay, Elliott Abrams reminds us of the overall purpose of all this over Trump’s four-year second presidency: To create a Middle East where Washington’s friends are far stronger and its enemies far weaker than ever before. Israel’s recent successful actions against Hamas and Hezbollah (Iran’s proxies) and its crushing blows on Iran’s air defenses create an opportunity for Washington in this regard.
"Keeping Iran and allies off balance"
“The United States now has a chance to keep Iran and its allies off balance,” Abrams wrote. “Because the only true solution to the problem of the Islamic Republic is its demise, the United States and allies should mount a pressure campaign on behalf of the Iranian people – who wish for the regime’s end more fervently than any foreigner.”
Even if Trump decides to negotiate a bit with Iran before moving to military action, Abrams asserts that it is possible to engage in practical negotiations with an enemy state without losing the sharp edge of ideological combat.
Recall US president Ronald Reagan’s relations with the Soviet Union. “An American president can talk to an authoritarian adversary without sacrificing moral clarity and without dropping support for people yearning to be free of a repressive regime and often demonstrating in the streets, despite the risks,” Abrams said.
“The United States should always view such negotiations as a tactic in the long struggle for a peaceful Middle East – a goal that cannot be reached until the Islamic Republic is replaced by a government that is legitimate in the eyes of the Iranian people and that abandons its terrorist proxies, its hatred of the United States and of Israel, and its desire to dominate other countries in the region. Until that day, the military presence of the United States must not diminish...”
To which I add that Trump’s plans for “winning” in the global struggle against China and his hopes for a reset in relations with Russia depend to a great extent on proving his mettle in a confrontation with Iran.
If the president’s bluster against Tehran ends up with another Obama-style soft deal that just kicks the Iranian nuclear can down the road, then Trump’s presidency is finished, at least in international affairs. He will never be the “transformational” president with “historic” achievements that he so explicitly wants to be.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-848794
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Can Putin Deliver On Mediating On Trump's Nuclear Talks with Iran?
By Daniel Rakov
April 4, 2025
A former head of Israeli Military Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Tamir Hayman, recently said that, while in the past, the borders of the Middle East were drawn in Europe, now, the European borders are being demarcated in the Middle East. He was alluding to the fact that the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations have become intertwined with attempts to prevent the looming escalation surrounding the Iranian nuclear issue.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to US President Donald Trump to mediate in nuclear negotiations with Iran, alongside his proposal to establish an external government in Kyiv, has made it clear that Russia is pursuing two parallel foreign policy tracks. It seeks to accelerate the normalization of its ties with the US and to weasel out of Trump’s ceasefire initiative.
Yet, two significant questions remain: Should the White House rely on Russian promises to deliver on Iran, and is Moscow capable of doing so?
On the Ukraine front, Moscow is eager to continue its invasion unimpeded, helped by Trump’s apparent willingness to support Putin, even as the United States continues to negotiate for a ceasefire. Putin is also keen to disentangle Russia-US normalization from the Ukrainian track. Rather than agree to an unconditional ceasefire, Putin is opting for delay tactics and offering Trump help on other pressing crises.
Putin’s proposal to mediate preceded Trump’s recent ultimatum, which gave Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei two months to reach a new nuclear deal or face consequences, hinting at a possible US-Israeli military attack on Iran.
Moscow has the motivation to promise Trump a foreign policy win. Putin views normalized relations with the US on multiple fronts as a means of increasing Russia’s global influence and restoring its image as a major power on the world stage.
Although Russia has developed close relations with Iran over the past three years – due to Tehran’s military assistance – the Kremlin prioritizes deepening its relationship with the US, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The latter two hold the keys to Russian economic stability through oil price coordination in OPEC+.
Instead of explicitly choosing sides, Russia would prefer to recalibrate its commitments to Iran and portray itself as a bulwark supporter of the Islamic Republic. It might not be a coincidence that the signing of a strategic partnership treaty between Moscow and Tehran was scheduled for January 17, just three days before Trump’s inauguration.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rushed to Tehran on February 25, a week after meeting his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, in Riyadh. On March 14, Russia, China, and Iran met to coordinate their positions on the Iranian nuclear program.
RUSSIA’S CHANGING approach to the Islamic Republic is already showing. Tehran expects Moscow and Beijing to serve as its strategic hinterland, supplying it with arms, deterring its adversaries, deflecting economic pressures, and providing political support to it and its proxies.
But Russia is withholding air-defense systems and modern aircraft crucial for coping with a possible attack on Iranian soil, especially given the damage to Iran’s air defenses that have left it vulnerable following Israeli airstrikes in October. Russian support for the Houthis has also slowed down.
But would Russia help bring Iran to a “yes”?
Russia does not have sufficient influence to coerce Khamenei into succumbing to Trump’s ultimatum and rolling back its nuclear program, and Iran will ultimately decide on its own. Tehran’s choice of Oman as the mediator with Washington reflects that it doesn’t trust Moscow with a go-between role.
Nevertheless, the Iranians are closely following the realignment between Putin and Trump. If Russian and Chinese support cannot be taken for granted by Tehran in the scenario of a military attack, its strategic options will be narrowed, and it will be further isolated and cornered.
For the US, having Putin on board could mean that Moscow will refrain from rushing to Iran’s aid, which increases Washington’s leverage in an Iran deal and serves as a potential game-changer, especially given the short timeline Trump has set.
Khamenei once again faces the dilemma of whether to curtail the nuclear program or face an existential threat to his regime. Iran may agree to “drinking a chalice of poison” by rolling back its nuclear enrichment, dismantling its nuclear facilities, and allowing strict verification measures as it has done in the past.
It may well be easier for the regime to receive that chalice from a Russian or Chinese hand rather than an American one. Putin (and Xi) might give Tehran a more palpable face-saving exit by offering it further civilian nuclear reactors, economic cooperation promises, and even conventional arms.
Ultimately, Russia’s involvement could prove highly useful for a nuclear deal with Iran. However, there is a cost: The extent of Russian support will depend on the Trump administration’s willingness to continue accommodating Moscow’s sabotage of the ceasefire talks with Ukraine.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-848787
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Netanyahu’s Premiership, Like Nixon’s Presidency In 1974, In Its Final Days
By Amotz Asa-El
April 4, 2025
Richard Nixon’s last presidential day was hours away when he began telling his closest aides about his decision to resign.
When it came to Henry Kissinger, the president summoned him to the Lincoln Room where – according to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s book The Final Days (1976) – Nixon burst in tears, fell into Kissinger’s arms, knelt in prayer (and had Kissinger join him), and then cried out loud while punching the floor: “What have I done?”
None of this, as far as we know, is happening these days in Jerusalem.
Benjamin Netanyahu has not knelt in prayer, has yet to ask “What have I done?”, has not been seen crying, even when his mourning people wept day and night, and even if he will reach such a breakdown point, it won’t be in Gideon Sa’ar’s arms.
Even so, Netanyahu’s premiership, like Nixon’s presidency in 1974, is in its final days.
Evidence of this was supplied generously in this week’s rise and fall of Eli Sharvit’s nomination as the next head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), a 24-hour episode that represented Netanyahu’s final loss of touch with reality, morality, and the good of the state.
Shin Bet as a major player
THE SHIN BET, all realize, was a major player in the October 7 fiasco.
The agency, whose key task is to prevent Palestinian violence, failed to detect Hamas’s gathering attack, warn of its approach, and brace for its arrival. This failure is undisputed. “We did not create sufficient warning,” wrote the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, in a letter to the agency’s employees on October 14. “The responsibility for this is mine,” he conceded.
The 59-year-old Bar is a quintessential product of the Shin Bet, where he had served for 28 years when he took its reins in 2021. Like many of its senior commanders, he arrived there after an impressive military service – in his case, as an officer in the elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit.
En route to its top he also excelled academically, in philosophy, political science, and public administration, at Tel Aviv University and Harvard. As a young agent, he took part in multiple operations in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank.
Illustrious though this background is, the events of autumn 2023 may mean that what the Shin Bet now needs is not an insider but an outsider. Someone who would bring fresh thought and new perspectives to an organization debilitated by a monumental debacle.
Seen this way, Netanyahu’s nomination of Adm. (res) Eli Sharvit, a former commander of the navy, was promising.
Having commanded missile-boat fleets and taken part in multiple combat operations against Hezbollah and Hamas during 36 years of distinguished service, Sharvit rewrote the IDF’s naval strategy while new challenges, like the emergence of Israeli gas fields, changed the navy’s tasks.
There was also a good precedent to support the nomination – the 1995 appointment of another former navy commander, Adm. (res.) Ami Ayalon, to head the Shin Bet after its previous fiasco, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Ayalon was clueless about the Shin Bet’s work, but he learned fast and did a born leader’s fine job rehabilitating the Shin Bet from its trauma.
That’s why Sharvit’s nomination seemed like a reasonable, impartial move. That was in the morning. By dusk, the nomination had unraveled, and from its debris emerged a morally naked Netanyahu.
THE CANCELLATION of Adm. Sharvit’s candidacy was not about his abilities, personality, or record. It was about “revelations” that he had taken part in the demonstrations against the Netanyahu government’s constitutional coup.
In the eyes of the political hacks with whom Netanyahu has crowded the Knesset and government, such a show of civic activism is not only a sin but also a strategic threat.
The outcry – hollered on social media by characters like MK Tally Gotliv – should not have impressed, let alone dissuaded, Netanyahu, but it did; swiftly and colossally. And so, on Tuesday morning, the prime minister released a new announcement, fully reversing the previous morning’s statement.
Such sudden changes are bad in any managerial situation, especially appointments, which always involve people and their surroundings. But this was not the appointment of a janitor, secretary, or chauffeur, although that’s how Netanyahu treated it. Heading the Shin Bet is sensitive any time, but doubly so these days. It’s very serious stuff.
Even so, Netanyahu shot this nomination from the hip – there is no evidence he consulted anyone, including Defense Minister Israel Katz – and then canceled it with a terse communique that didn’t even bother giving us citizens a reason, much less explaining how he failed to consider in advance whatever it was that made him change his mind.
And since he offered no explanation, we must explain this ourselves: Both moves reflected nothing but panic, the panic of a sailor atop a sinking ship between gushing waves.
Like Nixon, when he fired White House counsel John Dean, Netanyahu hopes that throwing passengers to the sea will end the tempest into which he has sailed. Panic also made him besmirch police, which Netanyahu accused of treating his arrested aides “like hostages,” in utter insensitivity to what this analogy makes millions of Israelis feel these days.
Similarly, Sharvit’s appointment was designed to serve not the kingdom but the king by confusing the public, just like Bar’s dismissal was designed not to cure the Shin Bet but to obstruct its investigation of Qatar’s suspected infiltration of Netanyahu’s immediate circle.
Well, none of this will work, Bibi. Your time, like Nixon’s in his own twilight, is fast running out, your self-pity and libels are as transparent as your emotional blackmail, and your era – three decades of bravado, egomania, conceit, and flight from responsibility – is ready to end.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-848808
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Dysfunction Has Taken Root At The Highest Levels Of Israel's Government
By Yaakov Katz
April 4, 2025
Monday was a day that will not be forgotten anytime soon. It pulled back the curtain on the staggering dysfunction that has taken root at the highest levels of the Israeli government. What unfolded throughout this day was not just one story but several, all converging in a way that even a veteran Hollywood screenwriter might find too unrealistic.
The day began at around 6:50 a.m. when the Prime Minister’s Office issued a surprise statement announcing the appointment of V.-Adm. (ret.) Eli Sharvit, the former commander of the Israel Navy, as the new head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.
It was a curious choice. Sharvit, after all, comes from a naval background, not from within the intelligence or security communities. His understanding of the intricate inner workings of the Shin Bet, the threats it deals with, and the internal restructuring it desperately needs in the wake of October 7 is, at best, an open question.
What we do know is that Sharvit had some supporters. Gadi Eisenkot, hardly someone who can be described as a card-carrying member of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fan club, offered praise:
“A leader with an ethical and professional backbone… I’m certain he’ll advance the organization according to its purpose and remain loyal to the State of Israel.” High words from a former IDF chief and someone who understands the gravity of what the agency now faces.
It also was not the first time a navy man was tapped to lead the Shin Bet in a time of trauma. After the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 – a moment that devastated and raised serious questions about the agency’s operational capabilities – V.-Adm. (ret.) Ami Ayalon was appointed to shake up and reform it. Netanyahu, undoubtedly aware of this precedent, likely saw Sharvit as his own version of a post-crisis fixer. If Shimon Peres could do it, so could he.
But Netanyahu misread the room.
Within hours, criticism erupted – not from the Left or Center but from within Netanyahu’s own camp. Right-wing lawmakers and commentators quickly pulled up past statements by Sharvit, including his reported attendance at a protest against the government’s judicial overhaul before October 7. That was all it took. What had seemed like a calculated and historically rooted appointment became radioactive.
Netanyahu had to pivot. To distance himself from Sharvit, he offered an alternate explanation after someone discovered an op-ed Sharvit had written two months earlier criticizing US President Donald Trump’s environmental policies. According to Netanyahu’s camp, this single column endangered Israel’s security alliance with the United States, rendering Sharvit unfit to lead the Shin Bet.
By Tuesday morning, the appointment was dead.
Let that sink in: A column about climate change – published months earlier – became the official reason why a decorated admiral, entrusted with the defense of Israel’s waters and naval operations for years, was now suddenly disqualified from leading the Shin Bet.
Alone, this might be dismissed as just another example of the government’s dysfunctionality. Netanyahu’s track record when it comes to senior appointments is riddled with misfires: Yoav Gallant’s failed appointment as IDF chief, Gal Hirsch’s aborted nomination as police commissioner, and numerous others who were floated and then shelved after resistance arose.
But Monday was only getting started.
While Sharvit’s appointment was still being dissected on morning radio, Netanyahu was testifying in his ongoing corruption trial at the Tel Aviv District Court. That, in itself, would have been headline news on any ordinary day. But then came the twist. Mid-testimony, Netanyahu received an urgent call from law enforcement: He was needed immediately – for questioning.
The reason? The expanding Qatargate affair.
That same morning, Zvika Klein, the editor-in-chief of this newspaper and a respected journalist with decades of experience, was also called in for questioning (more on this below). Two of Netanyahu’s closest advisers, Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, had already been arrested. Now, investigators wanted to hear directly from the prime minister.
Netanyahu’s court appearance was cut short. He returned to Jerusalem, where he sat with police investigators for over an hour.
The speed and surrealism of these developments would strain a political TV drama. But this is real life in Israel – a nation fighting a protracted war, facing new threats from Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran, while also contending with what increasingly appears to be a breakdown of leadership.
If the Sharvit debacle exposed a failure in judgment and planning, the Qatargate scandal cut far deeper.
Let’s be clear about what is at stake: Two senior advisers to the prime minister – men with access to some of the most sensitive and classified material the country possesses – allegedly accepted benefits from a foreign nation that has provided financial support to Hamas. Even if Qatar is not a declared enemy of Israel, it is, without question, a complicated and often adversarial actor on the world stage.
How could these advisers have believed that what they were allegedly doing was legal or ethically acceptable? How could they imagine there would not be consequences? Most significantly, how could this have allegedly occurred without the prime minister’s knowledge?
I sincerely hope that nothing comes of these allegations, but it is hard to shake the feeling that something is not functioning right now at the highest levels of government in this country. The appointment of a security chief, who is desperately needed to rehabilitate an agency that we all depend on to keep us safe; the employment of advisers in an office that is meant to be focused on what is right for the country in the welfare of citizens – all seems broken.
This is all happening while reservists are being called up again, some for the fifth, sixth, and even seventh time since the start of the war. They are leaving behind families, jobs, and livelihoods to defend this nation. And yet, at the same time, the ultra-Orthodox continue to enjoy draft exemptions while benefiting from billions in government funding.
We are a country at war; our enemies are many, and their ambitions are deadly. In moments like this, the nation needs unity and, above all, leadership. What we are getting instead is chaos.
And finally, a word about Zvika Klein
I’ve known Zvika for 15 years. He is a close friend and one of the most principled journalists I have encountered in my career. His dedication to the Israel-Diaspora relationship is unwavering, and his appointment as editor of this newspaper was richly deserved.
I don’t know the details behind the police’s decision to question him. But I do know this: In a functioning democracy, journalists must be free to do their jobs without fear of legal harassment. That includes traveling to countries like Qatar, meeting with sources – friendly or otherwise – and reporting back to the public.
I also know this: I do not question Zvika’s integrity. Not for a second.
Monday gave us a glimpse of where we currently stand. And it should worry us all.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-848780
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Netanyahu In Hungary, Isolated From The World
By Hossam Shaker
April 4, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu appeared proud as he received a warm welcome from his closest European ally, Viktor Orban. However, the visit clearly underscored the complex crises facing the Israeli prime minister, who faces legal prosecutions, political challenges, and unrest in the streets.
Ironically, the spectacular gain Netanyahu is trying to achieve through this visit is itself a clear indication that the entire world has decided to consolidate his isolation. Today, the most notorious war criminal has not found a single European capital willing to host him since he became wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his involvement in the genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu should be proud of his visit to Budapest, a country that stands out from the European fold, and whose prime minister continually irritates the continent’s capitals on a number of issues. Moreover, Orban has adopted many approaches that effectively place him at the forefront of the European far-right.
Netanyahu’s visit highlighted the extent of the isolation of the most prominent Israeli official on the international stage. His time of frequent foreign tours has ended and this time he must remain with his wife, Sara, in Hungary, almost closed off to themselves, for four full days, leaving behind intractable crises in war, politics and the judiciary.
And because courting war criminals has its price, this provocative visit has forced Hungary to renounce its obligations to the ICC and defy the world community and its conventions. By hosting Netanyahu, Hungary has adopted a position as if it was a campaign that promotes the arrogance that is perhaps consistent with a slogan such as “partners in support of genocide!”
Hungary has become the target of scathing objections from global civil society and prominent human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Protesters have also marched to several Hungarian embassies to express their anger at the failure to expedite the ICC arrest warrant for the war criminal.
It’s no surprise that this comes from the controversial Hungarian leadership, known for its sweeping bias toward the Israeli occupation in all forums, as evidenced by Hungary’s voting behaviour in European and international bodies. Hungarian delegates at European meetings act as if they represent the Israeli lobby in Europe. They have even obstructed numerous resolutions and statements unfavourable to the Israeli government and settlement organisations, hindering the prospects for a common European position to mature. Thus, it took nearly half a year of delays and procrastination for the European Union to issue a statement supporting a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip (March 2024).
Israeli diplomacy did not benefit from Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the Hungarian capital, as it primarily serves Netanyahu’s posturing within a divided country. It is noteworthy that Netanyahu and Orban share distinct characteristics. Both govern with an authoritarian style that provokes audible criticism and loud objections. Each also has very close ties with another leader who leads a sweeping authoritarian approach: the occupant of the White House, who has the world holding its breath whenever he appears before the cameras. All three boast of effectively subverting international law and ushering in a new era in which there is no room for common human values.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250404-netanyahu-in-hungary-isolated-from-the-world/
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Turkiye’s Delicate Balancing Act In The Black Sea
Dr. Sinem Cengiz
April 04, 2025
The Black Sea has historically been a region of strategic value for Turkiye, Russia and the West. Russia’s war on Ukraine has increased its importance as the region became the center of gravity for Western-Russian rivalry.
Turkiye’s navy is the strongest in the Black Sea, which is also bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, and Georgia. Western allies in the Black Sea, vulnerable to Russia’s policies, are seeking a stronger Turkish presence to enhance NATO’s deterrence and defense capabilities on its southeastern flank. However, the Black Sea is a “gray zone” for Ankara: it cannot fully commit to one side or the other.
This was evident when Turkiye did not join the Western-led sanctions against Russia, and invoked the Montreux Convention to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to the warships of “belligerent powers.” The 1936 agreement gives Turkiye the authority to regulate naval access between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean via those straits. The decision left Moscow unable to reinforce its Black Sea Fleet against Ukrainian attacks, although it also prevented NATO warships from entering the Black Sea to help Ukraine.
This is an excellent example of how Turkiye’s position, as the gatekeeper of the Black Sea, is crucial for the balance of power between Russia and the West in this region. It has the ability to shape events while watching from the sidelines. For this reason, both the West and Russia have accelerated efforts to integrate Turkiye into their Black Sea policies, which will be crucial when the war finally ends. Concerned about its inability to contain a postwar Russia without US support, NATO is establishing a cooperation initiative with Turkiye through Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members.
One form this takes is a proposed new NATO command HQ that will be responsible for improving operational coordination among NATO allies in the Black Sea. Last year, Turkiye, Romania and Bulgaria also established a mine countermeasures task force in the Black Sea, reflecting Turkiye’s commitment to maritime safety. NATO aims to extend this cooperation.
Turkiye’s openness to regional cooperation with coastal states in the Black Sea and its efforts to support Ukraine’s navy are crucial for postwar security.
However, Turkiye is also wary of antagonizing Russia, a dominant power in the Black Sea and viewed as a threat by the West — although not by Ankara, because its perception of threats is different. For example, the eastern Mediterranean holds greater strategic significance for Turkiye than the Black Sea. Turkiye prioritizes positioning its powerful navy in the eastern Mediterranean to protect its interests, which clash with several actors. The increase in Turkiye’s naval capacity in the eastern Mediterranean is not welcomed by NATO allies, while at the same time they seek Turkiye’s support in the Black Sea against Russian dominance. European states have often excluded Ankara from discussions on the eastern Mediterranean.
This European policy has played into the hands of Russia, which filled the void by deepening economic cooperation with Turkiye: for example, the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea. Russia also chose to go along with Turkiye’s balancing act, for example accepting the Turkish role in negotiating the 2022-2023 Black Sea grain deal between Russia and Ukraine: this maintained communication between Moscow and Ankara, which is mostly personal rather than institutional — unlike the Turkish-European/NATO relationship.
The seemingly cozy leadership ties between Turkiye and Russia are shaping their policies in the Black Sea and beyond. For example, in 2023, when Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Vladimir Putin, he referred to the Black Sea as “our Black Sea” to indicate common interests and destiny. However, when relations were tense in 2016, Erdogan said the Black Sea had become a “Russian lake” and advocated a greater NATO presence in the region. Russia will remain the most important factor in Turkiye’s Black Sea policy, shaped by the cooperative and competitive nature of Turkish-Russian relations.
Turkiye’s approach to the Black Sea is not driven solely by the current leadership: it is rooted in a long-standing strategic policy, similar to Russia’s, which views the Black Sea as the gateway to warm waters and the Mediterranean. Navigational safety is therefore crucial for all. For Moscow, it would ease Russian agricultural exports; for the West, it would provide a lifeline for Ukraine’s economic and military survival; for Ankara, it would increase its leverage with the other two.
Thus, Turkiye’s position in the Black Sea will probably affect the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus. It is, after all, Turkiye’s historical backyard. If it carefully reads the situation, Turkiye will stand to be the greatest beneficiary in shaping new dynamics in the Black Sea region.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2595926
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/middle-east-press/zionist-congress-atomic-auschwitz-black-sea-/d/135063
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