JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief
Michael Moore-produced film on Gaza sparks instant backlash
Michael, you should be ashamed to put your name on such a soundly disproven lie.
The overwhelming majority of deaths in this war THEY STARTED are literal terrorists. When you subtract the deaths from natural causes, you are literally talking about fewer than 5000 deaths.
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) January 6, 2025
Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has made waves after announcing that he is an executive producer on a film depicting the situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and during Israel’s retaliatory war against the terrorist organization that followed.
The two-hour work, titled “From Ground Zero” made by Watermelon Pictures, features a collection of short films by 22 filmmakers. They span a variety of genres – from fiction and animation to documentaries; each has a runtime of no longer than seven minutes, the Jewish News Syndicate reported.
“The fact that this film exists at all is a human and cinematic miracle,” he posted on X as it hit theaters on Jan. 3.
“Michael, you should be ashamed to put your name on such a soundly disproven lie,” wrote former congressional candidate Brianna Wu. “The overwhelming majority of deaths in this war they started are literal terrorists. When you subtract the deaths from natural causes, you are literally talking about fewer than 5,000 deaths. If Israel is trying to ‘exterminate’ the Palestinians, they suck at it. This makes me wonder what else you’ve lied about in your work.”
Gal Gadot prevented from wearing yellow hostages pin at Golden Globes, while Guy Pearce wears ‘red lynch pin’
Gal Gadot was forbidden to wear the yellow pinat the Golden Globes — in support of the hostages.
But Australian louse Guy Pearce happily wore the infamous lynch pin — symbolic of the disembowelment of two Jews. pic.twitter.com/IFMJbzQSRW
— dahlia kurtz ︎ דליה קורץ (@DahliaKurtz) January 6, 2025
Israeli actress Gal Gadot, star of “Wonder Woman,” has been vocal in her support of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Her activism stands out among the sea of her progressive peers in Hollywood, who, for the most part, are either anti-Israel, apathetic to the war, or quiet supporters of Israel. But Gadot, along with a small group of Hollywood stars, has not wavered in her defense of Israel despite political, social, and professional pressure.
However, Gadot was allegedly banned from wearing a yellow pin honoring the hostages at the Golden Globes.
Ynet and N12 reported that Gadot was forbidden to wear the pin, which is considered a political statement by the awards organizers, even though it does not express support for any political party or for the war itself but is only a reminder that approximately 100 hostages are still held, reported National Review.
At the 2024 Golden Globes, which was just months after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, actor Khalid Abdalla wore a dove pin and white armband to mark “three months of unfathomable death and destruction” and call for a cease-fire in Gaza. Three celebrities at the 2025 Golden Globes, Guy Pearce, Ayo Edebiri, and Steve Way, wore “Artists for Ceasefire” pins.
This “expression” of solidarity is far more politically charged than the yellow ribbon. It is a red circle, with a red palm inside it and a black heart in the very center. The red palm is a visceral reference to the showing of his bloody hands of one of the murderers in Ramallah who lynched two IDF reservists who made a wrong turn into the city in October 2000, less than a month after the start of the brutal and bloody second intifada.
Lawyer for Netanyahu aide: PM knew of the plan to leak highly classified document
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fully aware and even involved in the leaking of a top-secret document to the German newspaper Bild, according to a newly released protocol of a closed-door court hearing in the classified documents case.@BreuerEliav https://t.co/6STZqLUNAj
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) January 8, 2025
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fully aware and even involved in the leaking of a top-secret document to the German newspaper Bild, according to a newly released protocol of a closed-door court hearing in the classified documents case.
The hearing in question was held on Dec. 5 with High Court Judge Alex Stein presiding, according to the Jerusalem Post. At issue was the state’s appeal against a decision by a regional court judge to free the two main suspects in the case to house arrest. The suspects are Ari Rosenfeld, a reserve NCO who allegedly leaked the document in April 2024 to Eli Feldstein, a member of the prime minister’s media team. Feldstein, the second suspect, allegedly leaked the document to the Bild after its publication in Israel was rejected by IDF censorship.
On Sept. 1, a day after the bodies of six recently-executed hostages were retrieved from the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu held a press conference in which he argued, among other things, that the protests that were gaining momentum at the time were playing into Hamas hands.
Trump: ‘All hell will break loose’ if Hamas hostages not released by Jan. 20 inauguration
Trump issues a stern warning to Hamas: “If those hostages aren’t back…by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good frankly for anyone.” pic.twitter.com/xVFZBMvHqt
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 7, 2025
President-elect Donald Trump warned Hamas for the third time in three months to release the hostages it currently holds prior to his Jan. 20 inauguration if it did not want to witness all hell break loose.
“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. “All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is.”
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, said at the same press conference there’s been a lot of progress on efforts to release about 100 hostages held in the Gaza Strip –some of whom are known to no longer be alive – saying he’s hopeful a deal is achieved ahead of the inauguration, reported the Hill.
Italian journalist repatriated after release from Iranian jail
BREAKING
Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist that was arrested in Iran, has been freed and is on her way to Italy pic.twitter.com/Klm61nhqEn— Hamas Atrocities (@HamasAtrocities) January 8, 2025
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested in Iran last month over unspecified charges has been released from prison and is on her way home, according to Iran International.
Cecilia Sala, a 29-year-old newspaper journalist and podcaster, was arrested in Iran last month on unspecified charges despite holding a valid press pass. She was placed in solitary confinement, sparking international concern.
A source familiar with discussions between Sala’s family and the Italian government revealed to Iran International that Tehran has linked her release to Italy’s handling of an Iranian detainee. Iran reportedly signaled that Sala’s freedom depends on the release of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a 38-year-old Iranian arrested by Italian authorities at the request of the United States. Abedini is accused of providing technology used in a drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan.
U.N. Watch: UNRWA forms ‘unholy alliance’ with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorists
BREAKING: New Investigation Exposes UNRWA Ties to Terror Groups
US-indicted Hamas terrorist Ali Baraka with UNRWA rep.
See below: more shocking examples of the UNRWA-terrorist alliance, documented in UN Watch’s new report with 68 exclusive photos. https://t.co/IGM6M1S5QD
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) January 7, 2025
A new bombshell report published by U.N. Watch, which monitors the workings of all bodies attached to the United Nations, accused UNRWA of an “unholy alliance with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations,” according to its own website.
This secret relationship allows the terrorist organizations to significantly influence the policies and practices of a U.N. agency with 30,000 employees, and a $1.5 billion annual budget that is funded primarily by Western states.
The report shows how UNRWA’s international officials, and its senior local managers, routinely meet with terrorist groups in Lebanon and Gaza, mutually praise each other for “cooperation,” and describe each other as “partners.”
The terrorist groups frequently make demands of UNRWA and influence its decisions. Moreover, when the terrorists oppose specific actions by UNRWA – such as the introduction of biometric IDs for beneficiaries of UNRWA financial assistance, an ethics code affirming LGBT rights, or suspension of employees for promoting terrorism–the terrorist groups are often able to foil implementation, including by issuing threats.
Ireland decides to join South Africa’s ICJ ‘genocide’ case against Israel
BREAKING
Ireland has officially announced its decision to join South Africa’s lawsuit at the ICJ, accusing Israel of genocide. pic.twitter.com/7h4tQlbXi1
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 7, 2025
The Republic of Ireland declared Tuesday it would join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the charge of Israel committing genocide against Gazan Palestinians.
And in December, Ireland’s cabinet voted to join the case accusing Israel of perpetrating “genocide” during its war with Hamas in Gaza, brought by South Africa at the International Criminal Court in The Hague last year, reported The Times of Israel.
In December, Israel recalled its ambassador from the Emerald Isle, after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Dublin “encouraged” anti-Semitism, under the leadership of a prime minister whom he claimed hated Jews.
Israel’s relationship with Eire has been fractious for some time, and in May 2024, the Jewish state recalled its ambassador after Ireland was one of three countries saying they would unilaterally back a Palestinian bid for statehood.
Trump shares video alleging ‘deep, dark son of a bitch Netanyahu’ manufactured U.S. entry into Iraq war
Donald Trump Truth Social 03:50 PM EST 01/07/25 pic.twitter.com/HLnrAMfN3d
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 7, 2025
President-elect Donald Trump shared a video on his Truth Social platform containing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist’s claims that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was responsible for the Iraq War launched by the U.S. in 2003, reported Israel National News.
In the video, economist Jeffrey Sachs first claimed that former U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the CIA to depose former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown by rebel forces in November. According to Sachs, Obama gave the order three times in 10 years.
About a minute in, Sachs began discussing the Iraq War and claimed the American government knew there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and only said there were to “sell the war to the American people. He then claimed that the Iraq War “came from Netanyahu.”
“He’s a deep, dark son of a b****,” Sachs said of Netanyahu.
More NYC hate crimes committed against Jews than all other groups combined
Still wondering why Jews don’t feel safe in New York City???
According to NYPD’s just-released end of year statistics, anti-Jewish hate crimes outnumbered those against all other groups COMBINED in 2024.
This is what happens when “globalizing the intifada” is allowed to fester. pic.twitter.com/oxAMykBCIS
— Simcha Eichenstein (@SEichenstein) January 6, 2025
Anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City rose 7% from 2023 to 2024 and made up the majority of hate crimes committed in the Big Apple last year, according to a new NYPD report summarizing the past year, published on Israel National News.
According to the report, of 641 hate crimes committed in 2024, 345 were committed against Jews, compared to 296 against all other groups combined. 55% of hate crimes were committed against Jews.
In addition, while overall hate crimes dropped four percent from 2023 to 2024, 22 more antisemitic hate crimes were committed in 2024 than in 2023 for an increase of seven percent.
Iran carries out air-defense drills close to Natanz nuclear site
Iran is prepping for an Israeli strike…
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency has released footage of an air defense drill, claiming it simulated intercepting a bunker-buster bomb targeting the underground Natanz nuclear facility. https://t.co/u17vbcH5OG pic.twitter.com/mYLgNIJCWW
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 7, 2025
The Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps began a joint air-defense drill near the Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran on Tuesday, testing readiness to protect the sensitive site from potential attacks.
According to the Iran International outlet, during the first stage of the drills, air defense units practiced plans to protect the facility using point-defense tactics to counter a variety of aerial threats under simulated electronic warfare conditions.
State-affiliated media quoted Brig.-Gen. Ghader Rahimzadeh, commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base, as saying the air-defense forces have stationed a series of new systems, which are unknown to the enemies near sensitive centers across the country.
An Iranian air defense radar for the S-300 missile system – a Russian-made surface-to-air system designed to counter air raids and cruise missiles – was targeted during Israel’s strike on Iran in April last year, according to satellite imagery.
Iran pulled almost all its forces from Syria as Assad regime collapsed
Iranian forces have largely withdrawn from Syria following the Assad regime’s December collapse, in a significant blow to Tehran’s strategy for projecting power in the Middle East https://t.co/wq1EQ4K2id via @WSJ
— Dave Carney (@granitewinger) January 7, 2025
The majority of Iran’s forces have withdrawn from Syria over the past month and various armed groups backed by Tehran have disbanded following the fall of the Assad regime, according to the Times of Israel, citing a Wall Street Journal report.
For years, Iran propped up deposed president Bashar al-Assad, while at the same time using Syria as a vital land route through which it could smuggle weapons to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. As such, thousands of Iranian fighters and members of Iran-backed groups were present across Syria when a rebel offensive overthrew the decades-old Assad regime in December.
At the time of the rebel victory over Assad, fighters from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were mainly stationed in eastern Syria the WSJ reports, citing Western and Arab officials. Stationed alongside them were Iraqi, Lebanese, Afghan and Syrian militia forces.
ADL chief addresses Knesset, admits failure to extinguish post-Oct. 7 ‘inferno of anti-Semitism’
Today, I addressed the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee to discuss the inferno of #antisemitism ignited by 10/7. To win this war, we need to innovate our approaches and build new partnerships. pic.twitter.com/2Lgv7FZeqV
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) January 7, 2025
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt addressed Israel’s parliament on Tuesday, and admitted his organization’s failure – as well as the wider Jewish community – to combat the “inferno of anti-Semitism,” which has rocked the world since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.
Greenblatt and other American Jewish leaders who appeared in the Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs called on Israeli lawmakers and the State of Israel to take seriously the need to address global anti-Semitism, reported the Jewish Insider.
“Nobody likes to admit when they’ve fallen short. I don’t like to lose. I personally hate to lose. However, sometimes we need to acknowledge the reality, and I believe it takes confidence to express humility,” he said. “What I learned from working in Silicon Valley, it’s OK to fail as long as you fail forward and learn from it. So that’s what needs to happen now.”
Trump’s Mideast envoy heads to Qatar as hostage deal nears
Witkoff headed to Qatar: Trump’s Mideast envoy to visit Qatar, claiming hostage deal on verge of completion https://t.co/YMk85raV7p via @timesofisrael
— Enia Krivine (@EKrivine) January 8, 2025
Incoming U.S. Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has announced plans to travel to Doha later this week to advance ongoing hostage negotiations.
Witkoff stated Tuesday that a deal is nearing completion and emphasized President-elect Donald Trump expects the agreement to be finalized before his Jan. 20 inauguration, warning that “all hell will break loose” in the region if it is not, reported Ynet.
“We’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha. I think that we’ve had some really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president,” Witkoff said during a news conference Tuesday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump joined the event briefly to provide an update on the talks.
Rare Byzantine-era monastery, wine press unearthed in southern Israel
מנזר מרשים בן כ-1,500 שנה נחשף מצפון לקריית גת >>
מנזר עם רצפת פסיפס צבעונית וכתובת ביוונית, גת משוכללת ומבנים נוספים, התגלה כחלק מעבודות הפיתוח של רשות מקרקעי ישראל להקמת כרמי גת צפון. “זהו האתר הגדול והמשמעותי ביותר שנחשף באזור מהתקופות הרומית-והביזנטית”, אומרים החוקרים. pic.twitter.com/2LHXeKMkfy— רשות העתיקות – Israel Antiquities Authority (@AntiquitiesIL) January 6, 2025
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have uncovered a Byzantine-era monastery, approximately 1,500 years old, featuring a vibrant mosaic floor inscribed with a biblical verse from Deuteronomy 28:6: “You will be blessed when you come in, and blessed when you go out.”
The excavation, conducted as part of development projects for a new neighborhood, where 5,600 housing units are planned, revealed a site of significant historical importance, according to Ynet.
The Israel Antiquities Authority reported the excavation uncovered remains of at least ten structures, including the monastery, a winepress, and a large storage facility. The monastery, dating back to the Byzantine period (5th–6th centuries A.D.), is part of a larger ancient settlement that dates back to the Roman period and was inhabited for around 600 years.
Second Temple-era ritual bath found in private dwelling in the City of David
EXPERTS FIND PRIVATE MIKVAH FROM SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD IN JERUSALEM DIGhttps://t.co/i78xID54oa
Israel Antiquities Authority archeologists say private ritual bath was a luxury few Jews could afford during the Early Roman period
A plastered mikveh (Jewish ritual bath), dated to… pic.twitter.com/FtPLVNMPmh
— Henshi (@HenshiG) January 7, 2025
A plastered mikveh, or Jewish ritual bath, dated to the Second Temple period, was recently uncovered during excavations near the ancient drainage channel in the City of David, approximately 60 meters south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Ynet reported.
“The discovery of this small mikveh, seemingly for private use, provides further evidence that this area of the city housed affluent Jewish residents. A private mikveh was a luxury not everyone could afford,” archaeologists Shlomo Greenberg, Riki Zlot Har-Tov and Peller Heber, who led the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said.
The City of David and the Israel Antiquities Authority noted the ritual bath offers a rare glimpse into the daily lives of Jerusalem’s residents on the eve of the Second Temple’s destruction.
