Best-selling late 17th-early 18th-century English playwright William Congreve hit the curative psychological nail on the head when he observed: “Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast.”Indeed, it undoubtedly does, but there are plenty more benefits to be had from quality, adventurous, and alluring sonic wares.All that and class entertainment are on offer at this year’s Voice of Music Festival, the 41st edition, taking place at the Pastoral Hotel at Kfar Blum, in the far northern reaches of this battered and beautiful country, October 28-November 1.AdvertisementAs anyone who has attended the annual classical music event there in the past surely knows, holding a festival in such pleasant surroundings enhances the aural experience, complementing the onstage mix with other sensory pleasures.There is more of that in the offing. The folks over at the hotel have been hosting the festivalgoers and artists in style for some time now and, more recently, have been expanding the facilities and upgrading the aesthetic backdrop so that the event is now a fully in-house spread that is just as pleasing on the eye as on the ear.<figure><img alt="Celebrated Pop-Rock pianist-singer Shlomi Shaban runs the rule over his stellar career to date at Kfar Blum." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742127"></figure>They have added an all-purpose concert auditorium building and are now investing in beautifying the commodious grounds, betwixt the sprawling lawns dotted with shade-giving trees.And that’s even without noting the peerless majesty of the Golan Heights and steepling Mount Hermon seemingly – even without pre-winter whitecap – but a stone’s throw away to the east.Hotel deputy CEO Michal Moraly took me for a guided tour of a place I have come to know well over the past two-plus decades of popping up North for the music-based cultural weekends and the music festival.They do say that familiarity can breed contempt, suggesting that one can become inured to charms encountered too often; but in all this time, my enjoyment of the accommodation and facilities offered by the Pastoral Hotel has dimmed nary a jot. There is nothing formulaic about the rooms and suites, housed in Italian-style, two-story buildings around the grounds.Now the hotel plans to up the Tuscany ambiance ante by some deft design reimagining, such as the installation of ponds complete with goldfish and lilies, and an aqueduct to add the sound of gurgling water to the twittering of birds, and a soundtrack of pop and folk favorites gently piped through speakers at various vantage points.The renovation and refurbishment program also includes constructing a large swimming pool, shaped to follow the contours of a grand piano, and relocating the gym from the basement of the spa wing of the main building to an upper floor overlooking the pool.The current gym will be turned into an activity space for kids, as the hotel aims to bring more families and younger folk into its consumer catchment reach.<figure><img alt="Pianist-artistic director Ofra Yitzhaki has crafted an eclectic program of concerts and events." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742128"></figure><h3>Keeping cool in Kfar Blum</h3>The Voice of Music Festival traditionally takes place in the summer, when the thermometer mercury level is high and even short walks between the comfortable air-conditioned concert halls and your accommodation or the dining room can get the sweat glands working overtime.The forthcoming edition was shifted down the calendar due to yet another round of regional altercation, which means that the festivalgoers get to bask in gentler meteorological conditions betwixt the musical entertainment.But even when the festival reverts to its regular July slot, the new pergolas, complete with climbing vegetation, fountains, and shaded benches should provide some respite from the summer heat.Once again, veteran pianist-educator Dr. Ofra Yitzhaki serves as artistic director, and has put together a varied program that arches across manifold genres, eras, mindsets, and formats.Over the years, open rehearsals have become a popular addition to the program, offering fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses of what goes into the elbow-grease preliminaries for the staged end product.Each of the first four days features a bunch of Open Rehearsal spots, both at the hotel Opera Hall and at the nearby Charles Clore Center, as ensemble players go through their paces while toiling on scores by the likes of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Ravel.<figure><img alt="Vocalist-actress Ola Schur Selektar partners with Ofra Yitzhaki in the Hebrew Love Song Selection concert." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742129"></figure>But Yitzhaki does not focus exclusively on the usual suspects. There are more contemporary works in the five-day agenda, such as by 20th-century American composer Samuel Barber, compatriot Florence Beatrice Price, Jewish Austrian-American modernist Arnold Schoenberg, and, coming bang up to date, contributions from 89-year-old Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov and 68-year-old Danish counterpart Bent Sorensen.Yitzhaki says she tends to keep an open mind, ear, and heart when crafting her curatorial offerings.“When I put together the festival program, I feel a threefold obligation: towards the audience, the musicians, and towards that abstract entity that is music,” she declares. “I want to provide the audience with a heart-lifting experience and give the musicians a repertoire that brings them joy and interest. But I feel it is also my job to care for culture.”For Yitzhaki there is far more on the line than just giving the patrons a decent return for their hard-earned shekels.“[I am duty bound] to preserve the gems through superb performances, generating cultural contexts that make it possible to gain a new and refreshing perspective, linking the music of the past and the music of the present, and to safeguard a place for local classical music so that art from here, from Israel, can progress and grow.”<h3>Trumpeting homegrown composers</h3>That is, indeed, a lofty, commendable aim, with the artistic director putting her money where her mouth is – for example, with the inclusion of the first airing of Piano Concerto No. 5 by Israeli composer Naama Perel-Tzadok, and the premiere of a definitively cross-cultural work by 28-year-old oud player-composer Onn Yosef Kadosh, Homage to Scarlatti for Flute, Harp and String Trio. The latter was commissioned by the festival with the support of the Israel Music Institute.There is also a multidisciplinary aspect to the rollout, with Yitzhaki flexing her curatorial muscle to include a multifariously crafted production of Prokofiev’s perennially popular Peter and the Wolf.The rendition at Kfar Blum will be spearheaded by the Tel Aviv Wind Quintet, with the polychromic performance taking in acting and movement under the directorial aegis of theater and opera performer, dancer, and sound and video artist Ari Teperberg.Any onstage object is fair game for the artistic process, as junior audience members get a close earful and eyeful of the instruments doing their melodious thing.With the classical world as a whole grappling with the ongoing challenge of aging audiences, the Culture and Sport Ministry-aided fivesome might just spark some youngster’s imagination and even inspire them to consider getting hands-on instrumental knowledge of their own.At the very least, catching a live rendition of the Prokofiev work may induce a lasting interest in the classical music world, thereby nurturing future musical consumership.Literature gets a vicarious look in, with Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), string sextet with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra violinist and concertmaster Nitzan Bartana and fellow IPO member cellist Linor Katz in the lineup.Verklärte Nacht feeds off a poem of the same name by German poet-author Richard Dehmel. It is a romantically inclined chart in which the composer expresses his ardor for his then-future wife Mathilde Zemlinsky, who happened to be his teacher’s sister.The Schoenberg work appears in a concert that goes by the tantalizing name of Kee Saarta Alai (For You Stormed Me), with the epexegetical addendum of “Love and Passion in Songs, Music and Texts.”The title hails from a poem by feted Israel Prize laureate poet Natan Alterman, which some may recognize from pop-folk readings by Arik Einstein and Chava Alberstein put to music by iconic songstress Naomi Shemer.The eponymous number features in the Hebrew Love Song Selection concert opener, with Yitzhaki accompanying vocalist-actress Ola Schur Selektar.The October 31 (10:30 a.m.) performance concludes with Rachmaninoff’s Trio elégiaque No. 1 in G minor, with Katz in the thick of things here, too, along with violinist Natasha Sher and pianist Renana Gutman.The overarching sensibility also comes through loud and strong in the October 31 (5 p.m.) concert by the Cecilia Octet vocal troupe, one of the few extramural events, at Domus Galilaeae.The Christian meeting place, used primarily for seminars and conventions, sits atop the Mount of Beatitudes and commands a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee from the north.Another off-campus vignette, the Family Picnic vignette, takes place on the banks of the River Jordan with the high-spirited Jerusalem Street Orchestra, under baton-wielding founder Ido Shpitalnik, doing the sonorous honors.<h3>The thinking behind the creation</h3>As usual, Yitzhaki puts in an extra couple of dozen shifts over the five days, giving festivalgoers insights into the machinations behind the lives and scores of a broad sweep of creators.She opens the Work in Focus three-parter on the second day of the festival, at 4 p.m., with a talk about 20th-century Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu and his 1992 work And Then I Knew ‘Twas The Wind.That is followed, at the same time on the morrow, with a talk about Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag, who turned 100 in February.The program includes renditions of excerpts of Kurtag charts by Yitzhaki, along with Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra flutist Rotem Bartan.The series closer, on October 30 (5 p.m.), called Secrets from the Safe, sees Yitzhaki once again behind the piano keyboard, playing a broad selection of works, with some in-between verbal enlightenment about the featured music.There is some local stuff-strutting in the Café Concert section, which has the Upper Galilee-based Classis Trio of cellist Oshri Shatil, French horn player Shir Farkash, and pianist Liri Dubin playing a selection of light classical works and Israeli songs.The October 29 (5 p.m.) date also features some original material.The previous day, Bartan joins the other members of the Rosemarin Ensemble, US-born violist Itamar Ringel and harpist Marina Fradin, in an adventurous program that takes in scores by 20th-century Israeli composer Marc Lavry, Bartok, Mozart, and genre boundary-leaping Israeli composer Gilad Cohen.There will also be some intriguing arrangements of Israeli songs in the first Café Concert showing.Other than the single-item final day, which brings the curtain down on the festival program with the Nahal Sheli (My Stream) concert at 11 a.m., the daily agenda ends in suitably more laid-back fashion with The End of Day 10:30 p.m. slots in the Pastoral Hotel lobby.The quartet-based fixtures feature various musicians from the festival roster playing chestnuts from the chamber music repertoire. Audience members, ensconced in comfortable armchairs and sofas in the inviting lobby layout, will no doubt enhance their relaxing listening pleasure with a nightcap and possibly a nibble of something tasty.And if you take the all-embracing, nonjudgmental view that music is just music, and don’t attach too much importance to genre pigeonholing, you should enjoy the headlining act on opening day, as celebrated pop-rock pianist-vocalist Shlomo Shaban takes the stage of the Beit Ha’am auditorium on Kibbutz Kfar Blum. His 8:30 p.m. solo date is described as “an intimate journey between his songs and the works and songs that paved his artistic road.”Over the past three decades or so, the classically trained ivory tickler has cemented his place in the uppermost reaches of the national showbiz scene, with his singular vocals, eclectic musicianship, compelling songwriting, and tongue-in-cheek asides. Yitzhaki is surely on a winner with that one.Veteran rock singer Nurit Galron bookends the nonclassical festival fare on October 31 (9 p.m.).The Galron slot will be preceded by a rendition of Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D Major, after which the members of the foursome that performs the Mozart quartet will join Fradin, clarinetist Danny Ardman, and guitarist Adam Ben Amitai to back Galron, as the evergreen 75-year-old vocalist rolls out some of her yesteryear hits, including “Ani Eshtagea” and “Ze Hageshem.”The Voice of Music Festival clearly keeps its programmatic options open, and the 2026 spread offers quality and varied sounds, as well as enlightening and fun events, all in one of the country’s most beautiful pastoral spots. Sounds delightful.For tickets and more information:&nbsp;www.kol-hamusica.org.il

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Kfar Blum’s Voice of Music Festival offers five days of musical discovery in Israel's North

Anyone who has ever visited the Old City of Jerusalem doesn’t need to be told that it is a special place. Fine, so it’s a walled hilltop spot that countless civilizations have fought over for millennia, and it continues to spark political-ethnic frictions.But the payback for the swinging-door history is that each culture left some kind of aesthetic imprint there.Tzafi Shelef will do her best to ensure that as many of us as possible are aware of some of the delightful, often time-worn, decorative items that can be seen as one makes one’s way through the alleyways and broader thoroughfares that crisscross the ancient compound.Advertisement<h3>Catching the details</h3>Shelef is an architect who serves as the Jerusalem district manager of the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel.As such, she has the professional and street-level collateral for leading the God of Small Details tours on October 15 and 22. Both start at 3 p.m. from the New Gate near the southeastern corner of the walled city and are part of the expansive roll-out of this year’s Open Houses festival.<figure><img alt="The massive door of the Armenian monastery has kept the building and inner yard intact for centuries." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742170"></figure>The forthcoming edition, overseen by perennial manager Aviva Levinson and curated by Omri Zilka and Or Haklay, offers no less than 171 tours, encompassing a multitude of beautiful, striking, historic, futuristic, and significant sites across the capital over two weekends, October 15-17 and October 22-24.The majority of us probably, in these tension-strapped times, visit the Old City infrequently, if at all. If that is indeed the case, at least from a purely visually pleasing and intriguing standpoint, with the implied depth of historical subtext, more’s the pity.There is so much to explore and enjoy on even the briefest of forays as one leaves the bustling, traffic-laden western part of Jerusalem into the multilayered tapestry of humankind, and its fascinating detritus dotted around its four quarters.For our pre-festival jaunt, Shelef took me primarily through the Christian section, which is littered with ornamental vestiges of the quarter’s long-storied past. But you need to take your time.If you’re heading, say, to the Western Wall or to chow down on some hummus at Lina’s in the Muslim Quarter, the edifices you pass by may just be a blur as you stride purposefully, navigating your way across the pockmarked flagstones.The Old City really is another world, a sort of parallel universe to the 21st-century pace of life outside.“You really have to make a point of looking at the things here,” says Shelef, “and maybe the next time you walk around here, you’ll also notice this beauty.”<h3>Interdenominational coexistence</h3>The architectural fixtures and fittings you may espy comprise a storyboard of the backdrop to the unique urban space. They provide glimpses of the folks that populated the place, their physical and cultural milieu, and the way they viewed the world around them.For example, you may catch the sign above the Knights’ Palace of the Latin Patriarchate, which sports a shield with a cross with a crosslet in each quadrant. This is a Christian heraldic symbol of the Jerusalem cross, aka the Crusader’s cross, which served as the coat of arms of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 for almost 200 years.Soon after she began regaling me with some ins and outs of the fetching historical elements in clear view, Shelef referred me to the extensive bibliography lovingly compiled by late Jerusalem-born architect and architectural historian David Kroyanker, who passed away last year at the age of 86.Having met and interviewed him on several occasions, usually following the release of yet another wonderfully crafted tome documenting Jerusalemite structural gems, quite a few of which have sadly fallen prey to the city’s frenetic redevelopment axe, I am somewhat familiar with his invaluable, painstakingly accrued output.Shelef recommends a perusal or two of some of his books – not only to take in some local architectural knowledge, but also to gain a handle on some pertinent professional jargon.“All his books have explanations of the terminology used in them. He also included illustrations and photographs relating to them,” she notes.That’s handy, and kudos to Kroyanker, but there’s nothing like getting out there and seeing the architectural facts on the ground with your own eyes, particularly in this increasingly computer algorithm-based (dare I say AI-created) virtual world of ours. Then again, you might care to pop over there armed with the relevant Kroyanker volume.“He mentions so many styles and elements, many of which we will see on my tours,” Shelef advises. “There are eclectic architectural styles, Byzantine, Baroque, Mamluk, and Classical. You find them here all jumbled up.”Apses, cornerstones, atrium, basilica, pediment, pier, and hachkar are also in the Kroyanker index of useful terms. With my archeological background, I was familiar with all the aforementioned except for the last one.“That’s a memorial stone in Armenian,” Shelef enlightens me. “You’ll see that in the Armenian Quarter.”That makes total sense if one considers that the Old City is probably the richest and best-delineated archeological tell in the world. Often, conquering civilizations built over the previous lot’s buildings and facilities, culling stones and other constructional features into their own structures in “secondary usage” style.But they also tended to spread out. There was little room for maneuver within the confines of the ancient walls and, hence, the city’s man-made stratigraphy generally evolved neatly and strictly vertically.<h3>Community aesthetics</h3>We eventually set off from our perch near the New Gate, from where, amazingly, I espied several foreign tourists. Shelef first drew my attention to the multifarious assortment of masonry employed by various artisans and builders during the course of the city’s history.“We examine the type of stone, the cut, the shade, and the way it was set,” she explains. “And you can tell the Christian denomination or ethnicity by the style.”One of the darkly jocular observations about the Jews riffs on our tendency to squabble or, at least, endeavor to have our individual say on whatever matter happens to come up.Shelef says that is not a uniquely Jewish trait, and that Christians also have their differences of opinion and challenging interfaces. We catch the symbol of a cross, which appeared to come from Orthodox Christian climes.“That’s right,” Shelef confirms my stylistic observation. “That’s Greek Orthodox, although it’s on the wall of the Latin monastery.” How come? “The monastery operates under the aegis of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.” The interdenominational plot thickens.We came across an abundance of symbols, ornamental vignettes, and others of a more political-religious nature. It is truly astounding and compelling to find such subtle, charmingly fashioned building augmentation, with the differently shaped crucifixes, coats of arms, crests, and other aesthetically pleasing shapes.It was all made by hand, with nary a 3D printer in sight. Oh, for times gone by when we had time for everything, when we got on with things rather than constantly seeking online amusement and/or thrills.That may, of course, be something of a Hollywood-esque faux nostalgia-laced view of gentler times, when it took months to travel across Europe or to get to the New World, on the other side of the pond, or when you communicated with loved ones by writing letters.It may have taken an eternity to get to New York, but at least you got there without jet lag. And you had the pleasure of anticipation before getting the lowdown on how your friends or relatives were doing in relatively distant domains.Daydreaming aside, the results of those less technologically-aided times will make for delightful viewing as Shelef guides her wards along the God of Small Details circuit.<h3>Armenian by design</h3>My next stop in the Old City was a rendezvous with Arek Kahkedjian, a Jerusalemite member of the local Armenian community who earns a crust as a guide in the Quarter.His Open Houses contribution includes six tours: three on October 17 and three the following Saturday, starting at the entrance to the Armenian Museum at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. on each of the two days.The imposing edifice originally served as a hostel for Armenian pilgrims. It was built in the mid-19th century and also provided accommodation for priests and monks, as well as for orphans whose parents had been murdered in the Armenian genocide in 1915-16.Here too, in the adjacent monastery inner courtyard, there was plenty that caught the eye. High up on one of the building walls I saw, in the masonry, a rectangular frame dominated by a cross with curve-ended arms that produced the shapes of three rounded tips.“That represents the Holy Trinity,” Kahkedjian explains. “You’ll see that a lot in the Armenian Quarter.”Lower down the wall, within arm’s reach, a whole flurry of crosses had been etched into the stones. They were clearly not the work of practiced artisans.“They were made by pilgrims,” our guide notes. Graffiti? I venture. “You could say that,” Kahkedjian chuckles. “It has a name in Armenian – hachkar.”Thanks to David Kroyanker and his literary work, we’d already come across that term.The monastery has been around since Crusader times, nigh on a full millennium. The spot is a kind of ethnic bubble, surrounded by 500-year-old walls.“They precede the [outer] Turkish walls, and you hardly hear any Arabic here,” says the guide. “You hear the language the people that live here brought with them: Armenian.”Apparently, local school students are taught the language, although Kahkedjian says he only speaks Armenian and can’t read or write it.More’s the pity, but the efforts to keep the language a going communication concern, in the absence of an independent national homeland, are impressive. No doubt a certain Eliezer Ben Yehuda would have approved.There are inscriptions about the monastery complex which, to my British-born eyes, looked a little like Thai or Hindi lettering. But it was Armenian, which, I learn, is not a Semitic language and miraculously came into existence in the fifth century CE, making it a relative newcomer to the regional linguistic mix.The alphabet and its 36 letters arrived engraved in stone, hence the rough, hand-hewn “graffiti crosses” on the monastery’s interior layout.The yard also sports a couple of large stone monuments to important historical Armenian figures, including St. Jacob of Nisibis, a third-century ascetic and bishop. He is also known as St. James, and there is a street by that name nearby.It was fascinating to gain a little knowledge about one of the Old City’s principal but lesser-known ethnic groups.<h3>Tours all over the place</h3>As we made our way back to the New Gate, we reemerged into the rat-race dynamics of the modern city, and my thoughts turned toward the plethora of Open Houses items on offer later this and next weekend.Artistic directors Zilka and Haklay seem to have covered just about every base, taking in fresh-out-of-the-wrapper spots such as the brand new Hebrew University dorms at the Givat Ram campus and the Jerusalem Gateway Quarter at the western entrance to the city, with its planned skyscrapers and state-of-the-art facilities.Naturally, you can’t have a Jerusalemite version of Open Houses, celebrated in more than 50 cities worldwide, without digging into history – ancient and more recent alike.The latter is addressed by, for example, guided tours of the former National Library building on the Givat Ram university campus and the charming Sergei’s Courtyard.There are more educational/enlightening items, such as a visit to the Food Rescuers’ HQ at the Wholesale Market and the Light, Angle and One Good Moment smartphone photography workshop in Talbiyeh.The Israel Museum and Bloomfield Science Museum are also on the festival’s roster, and there are plenty of al fresco tours, such as visits to Rupin Park and the intriguingly named First Living Structure in Israel at the Nili and David Jerusalem Bird Observatory.Quite a few of the events require prior registration. For more information: batim.itraveljerusalem.com/all-tours-2/

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Jerusalem’s Old City reveals its hidden beauty on Open Houses tours

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Channel 14 presenter Yinon Magal for calling Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" and accused the opposition of failing to condemn similar insults against Likud voters during an interview with Radio North on Sunday."That is a highly inappropriate remark, and I condemn it," Netanyahu said, referring to Magal's comments about the former IDF chief of staff.However, the prime minister also criticized what he described as a double standard in the treatment of his political supporters, calling on Eisenkot to condemn derogatory remarks directed at Likud voters.Advertisement"I would be happy if Gadi Eisenkot condemned all the remarks by Gali Albin and others about Likud supporters being chimpanzees and baboons. It is inappropriate.”Magal made the comments during a Saturday evening broadcast of Channel 14's political talk show The Patriots, accusing Eisenkot of serving as a figurehead for an Ashkenazi political elite. He also claimed that Eisenkot's campaign manager, Ronen Manelis, was directing him behind the scenes.<figure><img alt="Israeli radio presenter Yinon Magal attends the Muni Expo 2024 conference in Tel Aviv, on June 10, 2024" src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/603113"></figure><h3>Netanyahu criticizes insults against Likud voters</h3>Eisenkot responded to Magal's remarks by condemning the language and suggesting someone else was behind the presenter's comments, without identifying them.Asked about the resurgence of ethnic divisions in Israeli political discourse, Netanyahu acknowledged that such rhetoric remained prevalent, while arguing that it was disproportionately directed at his supporters."We haven't escaped it, even though Yinon said something [Saturday] that he should not have said. But every day I hear the condescension, patronizing attitude, and contempt toward Likud voters, who are called monkeys, baboons, and chimpanzees.""I wish this were a one-time phenomenon. It happens every day, and almost all of it is directed at Likud voters," he added.Netanyahu then turned to accusations directed at him personally, criticizing Eisenkot for what he described as a failure to condemn the use of the word "traitor" against the prime minister."Every single day, they accuse me, the prime minister of Israel, who has dedicated his life to the country, risked his life for the country, and continues to dedicate his life to the country, and they call me a traitor," Netanyahu said.The prime minister argued that such rhetoric should have disappeared from Israeli political discourse following the 1995 assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin."I stood at demonstrations even before Rabin's assassination and said that he was not a traitor, that he was mistaken. But I am called a traitor on an hourly basis. Does Gadi condemn that? Gadi Eisenkot not only fails to condemn it, he personally uses it against me," Netanyahu said.<h3>Ben-Gvir defends Magal, rejects racism accusations</h3>Ben-Gvir came to Magal's defense in a post on X on Sunday, arguing that the presenter's remarks had been taken out of context and that accusations of racism against him were unfounded."I have known Yinon Magal for a long time. We have had quite a few conversations, both professional and personal, and I can say unequivocally: Trying to portray him as a racist and a bigot is simply ridiculous," Ben-Gvir wrote.The national security minister recalled that Magal had given him a platform early in his political career, at a time when other media outlets were unwilling to do so."Yinon was among the few and the first to give me a microphone back then, when others shut me out. And he knows very well that I am a proud Mizrahi, with a mother from the Kurdish Quarter and a father who grew up near Mahane Yehuda Market!"Ben-Gvir maintained that Magal's use of the word "monkey" was intended as a political characterization of Eisenkot rather than an ethnic insult."It is clear to everyone that Yinon used the term 'monkey' in a political context, meaning, according to him, a puppet candidate being promoted by others. To turn that into a racist statement against Mizrahim is a complete distortion of what was said.""I am Mizrahi, and proudly so! And I am the last person who would suspect Yinon Magal of seeing me or other Mizrahim as 'monkeys.'"Ben-Gvir also defended Netanyahu against accusations of ethnic prejudice, citing his experience working alongside the prime minister."It is exactly like the attempt to pin this on the prime minister. Bibi has never mistreated me or anyone else on ethnic grounds. I sat with him in the inner cabinet for two and a half years, and he never made a remark or displayed an attitude based on ethnicity."The minister called on those criticizing Magal and Netanyahu to reconsider their interpretation of the presenter's remarks."So, to everyone rushing to label Yinon and attack Bibi, you should stop, listen to what was actually said, and look in the mirror. Not every remark is racism."He concluded with a message of encouragement to Magal: "Yinon, don't let the noise silence you."

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Netanyahu condemns Magal's 'monkey' remark against Eisenkot, calls out opposition

Yinon Magal, host of "The Patriots" on Channel 14, called Yashar party chairman and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot a "monkey" on Saturday evening, claiming that Ashkenazi Jews were controlling him behind the scenes. The remarks, made during an episode of the political talk show, prompted a sharp response from Eisenkot, who suggested that someone else was behind Magal's comments.During the discussion, Magal said, "He's a monkey, he's a monkey. Are you impressed by the fact that he's Mizrahi?" He later added, "They put a monkey there, and behind him all the elitist Ashkenazim are running him."Magal also singled out Eisenkot's campaign manager, Ronen Manelis, claiming that he controlled Eisenkot and told him what to say. Addressing another panelist, Magal added, "They gave you a Moroccan prime minister, as if we don't see the reality. It's the emperor's new clothes."Advertisement<h3>'The problem is not Yinon Magal,' Eisenkot says in response</h3>Eisenkot condemned the remarks, saying, "Yinon Magal said I'm a monkey being controlled by Ashkenazim, so I have nothing to say in response to something this low."<figure><img alt="Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot speaks during a conference organized by the Israel Democracy Institute in Tel Aviv, October 15, 2026" src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742241"></figure>He went on to suggest that Magal was acting on behalf of someone else, though he did not identify the person. "The problem is not Yinon Magal, but the man standing behind Yinon Magal."Eisenkot also pledged to bring political change, adding, "We will bring change to the country. We will remove the phenomenon of Magal-ism ... from our lives and bring about a better country."

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Israeli TV host calls Gadi Eisenkot a 'monkey', alleges behind-the-scenes control

The Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) approved on Tuesday a NIS 33 million budget to support 22 communities along the northern border, 2 to 5 kilometers from the Lebanese border.Under the decision, each community evacuated during the fighting that has not yet received JNF support will receive 1.5 million NIS for infrastructure rehabilitation and development.Among the benefiting communities are Kibbutz Ma'ayan Baruch and Kibbutz Dan in the Upper Galilee Regional Council, Beit Hillel, and Ramot Naftali. The plan also includes the remaining communities in the Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council, Liman in Mateh Asher, Ibn Menachem, Elkosh, Goren, Manot, and Avdon in Ma'ale Yosef, as well as Kerem Ben Zimra and Alma in the Merom HaGalil Regional Council.AdvertisementUnlike the government's uniform funding model, JNF adopted a graduated support model based on distance from the Lebanese border and the severity of damage to the communities. Under this framework, front-line communities, including Kibbutz Manara and Moshav Dovev,&nbsp;are eligible for NIS 2.5 to 3 million per community. The current phase approves support for communities 2 to 5 km from the border, while the next phase plans to fund approximately 1 million NIS for each community 5 to 9 km away.The funds are earmarked for infrastructure development, upgrading and fortifying public buildings (such as kindergartens, community centers, and dining halls), and enhancing open public spaces. Residents and local leadership will decide on specific projects independently.<figure><img alt="A rainbow appears in the sky in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, May 4, 2026." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/730406"></figure><h3>Communities to be visited, plan to begin soon</h3>JNF professional teams are scheduled to visit the communities in the coming days to formulate the project list, aiming to begin execution within roughly a month and a half. This step joins additional JNF investments in northern cities and regional hubs, including Tiberias (allocated approximately NIS 35 million), Karmiel, Afula, and Beit She'an.JNF Chairman Eyal Ostrinsky commented on the expanded support plan: "We decided that JNF's northern rehabilitation efforts will not stop at the 2-kilometer border line. Adjacent communities within up to 5 km also paid a heavy price during the war and continue to pay."Ostrinsky added: "JNF stands with the women and men of the North, and I promise we will remain shoulder-to-shoulder with them. In our view, national responsibility means looking at the broad picture, not leaving communities behind, listening, and helping. JNF acts to make rehabilitation a reality on the ground."The Moshavim Movement welcomed the decision. Amit Yifrach, the Movement's general secretary and chairman of the Israel Farmers Association, said JNF is a true partner to the moshavim and the entire rural sector. He said this cooperation will strengthen border-adjacent moshavim and rural settlements as a whole, emphasizing that the resilience of border communities is integral to the resilience of the State of Israel.

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JNF allocates NIS 33 million to rebuild border-adjacent northern towns 2-5 km from Lebanon

The average Israeli student's monthly expenses have reached NIS 6,907, nearly half rely on financial assistance from their parents, and 29% are considering leaving Israel after graduation, according to the National Union of Israeli Students' 2026 survey, released ahead of the academic year's opening on Sunday.The survey reveals the financial and emotional toll of higher education in Israel.Alongside the financial difficulties, the survey highlights the impact of the war on students who served in the reserves, with 64% reporting emotional and social difficulties upon returning to their studies. Meanwhile, 38% of all students believe their academic institutions are not adequately preparing them for the age of artificial intelligence and changes in the labor market.AdvertisementThe findings were published ahead of the opening of the new academic year on Sunday, October 18, amid a complex economic and security situation.<h3>Working, relying on parents, and still struggling to make ends meet</h3>According to the survey, 81% of students work while pursuing their studies, compared with 79% in 2024. Working students are employed for an average of 97 hours a month and earn approximately NIS 6,235 gross. Despite juggling work and studies, only 49% are employed in fields related to their academic programs.<figure><img alt="Israeli students walk near the entrance to Bar Ilan University, central Israel, November 21, 2024" src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/740537"></figure>The average monthly expenses of a student in Israel stand at NIS 6,907, up NIS 28 from the previous year.Housing and household maintenance constitute the largest expense, averaging NIS 3,155 a month. This is followed by groceries for home consumption at NIS 1,463, entertainment at NIS 751, and transportation at NIS 724.Regional disparities are also evident. The Central District recorded the highest average monthly expenses at NIS 7,258, compared with NIS 6,392 in the Haifa District.Nearly half of students (49%) receive financial assistance from their parents, up from 46% the previous year. The average monthly assistance is NIS 2,252, up NIS 100 from the previous year.In addition to family assistance, one in five students has taken out a loan during their studies. Among borrowers, 61% took out loans exceeding NIS 20,000.The average loan amount reached NIS 49,849, up NIS 1,716 from the previous year. Half of borrowers said the loan helped them to a great or very great extent to complete the academic year.Financial difficulties are also affecting students' ability to plan for the future. Some 67% cannot save money regularly each month, while 38% believe they will never be able to buy a home.Nevertheless, this represents an improvement over the previous year, when 42% believed they would be unable to buy a home.The housing situation is also affecting living conditions. Some 22% of students reported having to compromise on the quality of their accommodation because of the cost of living or rental prices, while 14% moved back into their parents' homes.Half of respondents live in rented apartments or sublets, while 31% live with their parents.One of the survey's most notable findings concerns the risk of students dropping out of higher education.Some 33% said they had considered dropping out in the past year, as Walla first reported. Among those who considered leaving their studies, 50% cited financial difficulties as a primary reason, 41% pointed to difficulties coping with their academic workload, and 22% reported mental health difficulties.<h3>Reservists return to campus but struggle to resume normal life</h3>The war continues to affect students' academic lives. Some 27% of respondents reported being called up for reserve duty during the academic year, compared with 23% in the previous survey. Another 16% said they were spouses or partners of reservists.Among students who served in the reserves, 64% reported that returning to their studies was emotionally and socially challenging to a great or very great extent.Nearly half (47%) felt a sense of distance, alienation, or lack of understanding from students who did not serve in the reserves.The difficulties extend beyond emotional and social challenges.Only 43% of student reservists said the academic accommodations they received, including extended assignment deadlines, attendance exemptions, and special examination dates, helped them catch up on missed coursework to a great or very great extent.Another 26% said the accommodations helped them only to a small extent or not at all.Student reservists have also faced financial difficulties related to their reserve service, including disputes over eligibility for municipal tax discounts.The issue of equality in military service also weighs heavily on reservists.Some 68% reported significant feelings of frustration, burnout, or anger over the unequal distribution of military and reserve service obligations.Another 38% said this inequality significantly or very significantly undermines their motivation and willingness to report for reserve duty in the future.Half of student reservists said financial compensation was a significant consideration or positive incentive in their decision to report for duty or extend their service, beyond their sense of mission.Some 22% said they had to postpone one or more courses until the summer semester or the following academic year, while 58% completed the year as planned.<h3>Concerns over artificial intelligence and future employment</h3>Alongside financial and emotional difficulties, students are expressing concerns about entering the workforce.More than 40% of respondents are considerably concerned about finding their place in the job market after completing their degrees.Some 38% believe their academic institutions are not adequately preparing them for the age of artificial intelligence and technological changes in the labor market.The findings come as efforts to introduce artificial intelligence into Israel's education system continue, including cooperation between the Education Ministry and technology companies.Despite these concerns, students' salary expectations keep rising.The average monthly salary students expect to earn about two years after graduation is NIS 16,657, up NIS 631 from the previous year.The nature of academic studies is also changing.Some 49% of students attach great or very great importance to maintaining in-person learning and a physical presence on campus, although most do not wish to attend classes in person every day.Some 27% prefer coming to campus two days a week, 23% prefer one day, and another 23% prefer three days.Only 3% want to attend campus five days a week.<h3>Nearly three in 10 students consider leaving Israel as trust in government declines</h3>The economic and security situation is also influencing how students view their future in Israel.Some 29% of respondents said they would consider moving to another country after completing their studies, compared with 26% the previous year.Another 56% said they were not considering leaving, while 15% remained undecided.Among students considering emigration, 79% cited the cost of living as one of the main reasons, 46% pointed to the security situation, 20% cited their employment prospects, and 20% identified the political and diplomatic crisis.Trust in the government has also declined.Some 63% of students believe the current government does not look after their interests at all or does so only to a limited extent, compared with 57% the previous year.Meanwhile, the proportion of students who are highly or very highly optimistic about Israel's future has fallen from 37% to 31%.When asked which issues would most influence their votes in the next Knesset elections, 67% selected the cost of living and the economy, 37% chose internal security and personal safety, and 35% identified foreign and defense policy.Another 27% cited education and social policy, while only 15% selected the identity of the prime minister as one of the two issues most important to them.<h3>Students with disabilities and student parents face additional challenges</h3>The survey also examined the circumstances of students with disabilities.Among respondents in this group, 62% said their academic institutions were physically accessible to a great or very great extent, while 12% reported limited or no accessibility.Nevertheless, concerns about life after graduation remain significant.Some 47% of students with disabilities are highly or very highly concerned that their disability will constitute a significant obstacle to entering the workforce.Another 26% expressed moderate concern, while only 27% reported little or no concern.Students who became parents during their studies also face difficulties.Only 39% said the support they received from their academic institutions after the birth of their child was adequate to a great or very great extent.Another 30% felt the support was limited or entirely inadequate.The National Union of Israeli Students' 2026 survey was conducted among approximately 12,000 respondents ahead of the new academic year, which began on Sunday, October 18. Conducted for the 17th year in its current format, the survey examined students' financial circumstances, integration into the labor market, satisfaction with their academic institutions, and the impact of the war on their lives.

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Nearly one in three Israeli students considers leaving country as living costs soar - poll

ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv will celebrate Aliyah Day on Sunday, October 18, beginning at 5 p.m., with an evening of food, films, music, and conversation dedicated to immigrants and their contributions to Israeli society.Aliyah Day, established by the Knesset in 2016, recognizes the importance of Jewish immigration to Israel and honors immigrants’ contributions to the country.Now in its third year, the museum’s “Oleh Oleh” initiative is organized with Nefesh B’Nefesh, the Nadav Foundation, local authorities from around Israel, and organizations that support immigrants.AdvertisementNew arrivals and longtime residents are invited to participate in activities in English, Spanish, Russian, and French.This year’s theme is the Jewish and Israeli dining table, exploring how food connects people with their memories, traditions, and communities.<figure><img alt="Immigrants from North Africa on board a ship." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742341"></figure><h3>ANU offers guided tours, film screenings</h3>A market featuring kosher food stalls, games, and activities will run from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Classic films and rare archival footage documenting immigration journeys, drawn from the museum’s Oster Visual Documentation Center, will screen from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.Two rounds of guided museum tours, offered between 6:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. in Hebrew, English, French, Russian, and Spanish, will explore the connections between Jewish food, memory, culture, and identity.From 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., immigrants from different countries and generations will gather around tables to share their experiences of making Israel their home.A live performance and folk dancing will conclude the evening from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.ANU CEO Oded Revivi said the event recognizes immigrants as partners in shaping Israeli society.Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, co-founder and executive director of Nefesh B’Nefesh, emphasized that integration continues beyond arrival, through friendships, social connections, and opportunities to develop a sense of belonging.Admission includes all activities. Food at the market is sold separately.For more information, go to the ANU website at anumuseum.org.il/he/events/olim-event

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ANU marks Aliyah Day with a tribute to Jewish dining, memories, traditions

Following an initial season that drew an estimated 160,000 visitors, the international light exhibition LUMAGICA is scheduled to return to Hayarkon Park (Ganei Yehoshua) starting November 12.The upcoming iteration features an updated thematic concept developed specifically for the local venue by global design teams and local artists.Produced by MK Illumination, the installation utilizes approximately three million LED lights, kinetic sculptures, and interactive elements.AdvertisementLogistics began nearly a year in advance, involving production across four facilities in six countries and the maritime transport of 15 tons of equipment. The scale of the prior event earned the Tel Aviv location a placement within the organization’s top 10 European parks last year.The global production framework required simultaneous coordination across multiple manufacturing sites, using 12 shipping containers and specialized gear air-freighted directly to Israel to meet the complex infrastructure demands.<figure><img alt="LUMAGICA event in Tel Aviv." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742342"></figure><h3>Key features at LUMAGICA Tel Aviv</h3>Key features of the upcoming layout include a field of roughly 30,000 illuminated artificial tulips. The centerpiece consists of a 30-meter-wide water screen displaying video art, accompanied by an original musical score composed by artist Misha Anton.The venue will also accommodate a European-style winter fair, incorporating two dining spaces, food stalls, and a carnival games sector.Designers have structured the layout to prioritize the active visitor experience, aiming to move attendance away from passive observation. Visitors are invited to physically step inside the light environments, becoming an integrated component of the illuminated installations, flower fields, and technological displays.According to the production team, the objective is to leverage color, movement, and sound to immerse the public directly into the nocturnal journey.Standard admission tickets cost NIS 109. The exhibition will operate from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays.

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LUMAGICA light festival returns to Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park after 160,000 visitors in first edition

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the incident in the West Bank, where a group of European diplomats claimed to have been attacked by Jewish settler extremists on Saturday, saying that "serious accusations require serious evidence.""We urge caution before drawing conclusions from today's reports that European diplomats were attacked by masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria. Any violence against diplomats is unacceptable. The more serious the accusation, the greater the demand for compelling evidence," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.AdvertisementThe statement by Netanyahu also claimed that the reports come amid a "coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge.""We may see further allegations in the coming days. By the time the evidence is fully examined, the reputational damage from premature conclusions may already be done," the statement continued, adding that the PMO has "called on the public and responsible journalists to demand verifiable evidence, reject hearsay, and refuse to turn unproven allegations into a collective indictment of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria."Masked men reportedly attacked European diplomats in the West Bank.<h3>Eisenkot calls incident part of 'Jewish terrorism'</h3>Former IDF chief of staff and head of the Yashar party Gadi Eisenkot said on Saturday that the settler extremists who attacked a group of diplomats are "Jewish terrorists" and blamed the government for the violence wave in the West Bank."What is happening in the West Bank is Jewish terror under the auspices of the government," Eisenkot said in an X/Twitter&nbsp; post. "Once again, within a single day, groups of violent lawbreakers attack foreign citizens -- and this time, diplomats and official officeholders.""A handful of criminals is burning up the last shreds of legitimacy left to the State of Israel, endangering security forces, and harming the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria and national security," Eisenkot added. "No one in the leadership will be able to claim that they weren't woken up in time and that they weren't warned."Ofer Winter, head of the People of Israel party, also condemned the attack. "The violence displayed by a handful of extremists in Judea and Samaria against diplomats is grave and deserves total condemnation. This violent fringe does not represent the residents of the West Bank," he said."Everyone who supports the settlement movement must condemn this violent fringe and take firm action against it," he added.<h3>Foreign Ministry condemns incident, Belgium demands sanctions against settlers</h3>Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also addressed the incident, saying that he "strongly condemned the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters in the area of Taybeh" and that the ministry was in contact with the ambassadors of the affected countries."Without detracting from the severity of the incident, it is unfortunate that the visit was not coordinated with the IDF in advance. Such coordination could have helped safeguard the visitors’ security," he added.The Belgian Foreign Affairs minister, Maxime Prevot, condemned the attack and added that the Belgian government will continue to push for sanctions against "those responsible for this violence and those who support them.""As the occupying power, Israeli authorities must protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice. Impunity for violent settlers must end," he said, adding that the attacks "cannot be separated from Israel’s illegal settlement policy."According to the IDF, the security forces didn't manage to arrive at the scene because no soldiers were present at the site during the attack. "The report was sent to the brigade operations room, which is designated to receive reports from security personnel only, and not from civilians," the military argued.

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Netanyahu warns of 'campaign to smear Israel' after European diplomats attacked in West Bank

Erez Halevi, one of the most original and intriguing figures in Israeli pop music during the 1980s, died on Saturday at the age of 71.Halevi will be remembered above all for Kach Bara Otcha Hateva&nbsp;("That's How Nature Made You"), a gentle, beautiful song that, over the years, became much more than a hit. It evolved into something of an anthem of self-acceptance and the freedom to be who you are.The song appeared on Halevi's debut album, Halayla ("The Night"), released in 1984. Halevi wrote the lyrics and composed the music for every song on that enchanting album, which was produced by Matti Caspi, who also played nearly all the instruments.AdvertisementAlongside the title track and Hadayagim ("The Fishermen"), Kach Bara Otcha Hateva&nbsp;was one of the highlights of a highly unusual album that brought together soft pop, melancholic melodies, intimate vocals, and Halevi's distinctive high-pitched voice.Over the years, the song took on new meaning. The LGBTQ community embraced it as a symbol of acceptance of others and resistance to attempts to impose identities on people that are not their own.<h3>A song that became an anthem of self-acceptance</h3>Halevi himself recounted that he wrote the song in response to expectations placed upon him as a musician of Yemenite descent, who was supposedly expected to create Mizrahi music. According to Halevi, the song was written in opposition to any establishment that seeks to dictate how an individual should be.The song went on to take on a life of its own, with interpretations by other artists, including Dudu Tassa and Ivri Lider.Halevi's career did not follow the conventional trajectory of a pop star. He released additional albums over the years, including Matzav Beinaim ("Intermediate State") and Hasha'ar Niftach ("The Gate Opens"), but largely withdrew from the Israeli music spotlight.Halevi is gone, but Kach Bara Otcha Hateva, alongside Hadayagim and Halayla, will remain among the most wonderful moments in Israeli music for generations to come.

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Erez Halevi, Israeli pop pioneer and voice of self-acceptance, dies at 71

Israel-based Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine underwent surgery at Beilinson Hospital on Saturday after being attacked by Jewish rioters during an olive harvest in the Binyamin region of the West Bank on Friday, Walla reported on Saturday.Levine, whose condition was described as moderate, sustained injuries to her limbs, according to medical information provided. Speaking to Walla, she said she had also suffered injuries to her back and a rib, describing a prolonged assault during which her cameras and personal belongings were stolen.She alleged that IDF soldiers witnessed the attack but did not intervene to protect her.AdvertisementDays before the assault, Levine had returned from covering the war in Ukraine. On her way back to Israel, she traveled through Poland, where she met her son. She recalled that even then, he had told her he was more concerned about her work in the West Bank than her coverage of the war in Ukraine.That fear manifested on Friday during the olive harvest in Binyamin.<figure><img alt="Heidi Levine, a photojournalist with the Washington Post, speaks to journalists at the hospital after sustaining multiple injuries during an alercation between Israeli extremist settlers on Palestinians harvesting olives, in Ramallah in the West Bank, October 16, 2026." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/742311"></figure><h3>'They slammed me to the ground and kicked me again and again'</h3>According to Levine, the two sides had been relatively evenly matched before the soldiers arrived. She alleged that when the soldiers reached the scene, they fired tear gas toward the journalists and Palestinians, causing those present to disperse.Levine said she was then left alone."At that point, they realized I was alone and decided to attack me," she recounted.According to Levine, approximately 15 rioters ran toward her, assaulted her, and stole her cameras, photography equipment, identification documents, and jewelry."They slammed me to the ground and kicked me again and again and again, while stealing everything from me," she said.Levine alleged that the soldiers witnessed the assault but did nothing to stop it or separate her from her attackers."Fifteen people are beating a woman. Why didn't they help me? Do they care where the woman is from? Whether she's from Poland? Or American? To understand that they need to save her?" she said.Following the attack, Levine received treatment at a hospital in Ramallah. She was subsequently transported in a Palestinian ambulance to a checkpoint, where she was transferred to an Israeli ambulance for the journey to Beilinson Hospital.She said military personnel questioned her during the transfer, describing the treatment she received there as "pretty disgusting."Levine underwent surgery on her left hand on Saturday morning. According to her account, doctors had to stitch numerous deep cuts.She also said four vertebrae in her back and a posterior rib had been fractured, despite her wearing a protective vest and helmet during the assault.Her son, Michael, told Walla, "My mother went through a very frightening lynching as a woman, regardless of politics."He said her back was expected to take weeks to heal.Michael added that this was not the first time his mother had been attacked while working as a journalist.According to him, her vehicle had previously been set on fire, overturned in another incident, and, on a separate occasion, a settler punched her.He alleged that none of those incidents had received an adequate response.<h3>Netanyahu calls for investigation as Levine demands arrests</h3>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the incident on Friday, saying that "those responsible will be brought to justice."However, in a post on X/Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that many facts surrounding the incident had yet to be established.He cited a report claiming that approximately 200 Arabs and left-wing activists had confronted 40 young Israelis, saying the investigation should determine who initiated the violence.Levine expressed disappointment with his response, saying she felt Netanyahu was casting doubt on the credibility of her account.She called for a thorough investigation and arrests, demanding that authorities stop allowing lawbreakers to operate without interference.Levine also categorically rejected a claim by the Yesha Council that a young Israeli had helped her during the incident."That is a blatant lie," she told Walla.According to Levine, the video presented to support the council's account had been edited in a way intended to reinforce its version of events and did not reflect the assault she described.On Saturday, hundreds of former senior defense, police, and judicial officials, along with academics and business leaders, published a letter supporting Levine.Among the signatories were former IDF chief of staff and defense minister Moshe Ya'alon, former Mossad director Tamir Pardo, former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ami Ayalon, and former Israel Police commissioner Moshe Karadi.The signatories expressed solidarity with Levine, concern for her well-being, and wishes for a speedy recovery.According to Levine, her son spoke with the US deputy secretary of state, who told him the United States would keep pressing for a thorough investigation and expected arrests.Now, from her hospital bed, Levine is making the same demand: that the attack not end with another condemnation, but with an investigation that results in those responsible being brought to justice.

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Washington Post photojournalist undergoes surgery after settler attack, demands arrests - interview

Three years after Hamas’s October 7 attack, Israel is still fighting a war it was never prepared for, one in which the weapons are not missiles or tanks but headlines, social media posts, and the narratives that shape how the world sees the Jewish state.For Gil Hoffman, a veteran political analyst who has spent much of his career examining how Israel is portrayed abroad, this battle is not simply a public relations issue, but a strategic threat that the country’s leadership has repeatedly failed to recognize.Hoffman covered politics for WT for nearly a quarter century, before taking over as executive director and executive editor of HonestReporting to “lead the fight for Israel on the media battlefield.”AdvertisementHe spoke with the Post this week in the wake of the publication of his new book, The Blood Libel Machine, which argues that the spread of anti-Israel narratives and the surge in global antisemitism were not simply spontaneous responses to the war, but the result of a premeditated information campaign that had been in the works for decades.On October 7, 2023, that media battlefield took on a new urgency. As Hamas terrorists crossed into southern Israel, the images and accounts of the massacre spread quickly around the world.<figure><img alt="A billboard in Times Square displays the message ''Israel is committing genocide'' as part of the campaign by Game Over Israel calling for a boycott of Israel by national soccer federations over the war in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., September 16, 2025." src="https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/681646"></figure><h3>Israel failed on a major front: The media landscape</h3>Hoffman saw that Israel had been caught off guard in two distinct but interconnected arenas. In his book, he describes October 7 as not only a military and intelligence failure, but also a failure on the media front.Three years on, he said, Israel still fundamentally misunderstands how to communicate with the world.Israel’s failure to prepare for the media battlefield“Hamas planned this war in order to impact public opinion around the world,” he said. “Their goal was not Nova, which they did not know about; it was New York, and Israel played into their hands. They wanted Israel to respond with what they could call disproportionate force, no matter what it would be, and return the Palestinian issue to the international agenda.”Israel not having a plan on this front, just like it didn’t have a plan on the military front, has harmed the Jewish state “tremendously,” Hoffman added.“Every day since October 7 has become easier on the military battlefield. Every day since October 7 has gotten progressively harder on the media one.”The contrast is central to his book. Israel has devoted enormous resources to its military prowess, but Hoffman argues that successive governments have treated public diplomacy as a secondary concern, despite its potential influence on both domestic security and the security of Jewish communities abroad.According to Hoffman, the problem begins at the highest levels of government.“They did not realize they need to be taking into account how the decision they’re about to make in Gaza, in Iran, against Hezbollah, how these decisions are going to impact the Jews in Golders Green and in New York. They did not take it into account whatsoever.”Another strategic failure Hoffman identified is Israel’s tendency to remain on the defensive rather than challenge the credibility and motivations of those shaping the international narrative.Much of Israel’s media strategy, if there is one, has focused on rebutting misinformation, disputing facts and figures, and pointing out flaws in logic.Hoffman said Israel needs to be much more on the offensive.In his book, he lays out four necessary strategies he believes must work together: offensive and defensive messaging, both within the context of the conflict and beyond it.“I count four. It makes a Venn diagram that works all together. If you’re missing out on any of the four, then it’s inadequate. So, yes, we need to be blackening the names of the people fighting against us.”For example, Israel should be “outing” international anti-Israel figures who are accepting huge amounts of money from Qatar, Hoffman argued.“We need to be outing that. It’s not legitimate, the way that Qatar is influencing the world. Al Jazeera is not a legitimate news organization. It’s a propaganda mouthpiece of a terrorist-supporting state. People need to know that. People need to know what they can and they can’t trust.”Qatar occupies a prominent place in Hoffman’s analysis. The Gulf state, which has hosted Hamas political leaders and played a central role in negotiations involving Israel and Hamas, funds Al Jazeera, one of the most influential Arabic-language news networks in the world. Hoffman argues that Qatar’s financial and media influence warrants greater scrutiny.The offensive strategy also needs to be employed more on college campuses, where, for a very long time, the pro-Israel groups have been trying to be “nice,” and Hoffman says they “need to be less nice because the anti-Israel organizations on their campus are not nice.”He believes pro-Israel students and organizations need to be more assertive in challenging anti-Israel activism rather than relying primarily on dialogue and attempts to persuade those already strongly opposed to Israel.This also connects to Qatar, given the extensive reporting indicating significant academic institutional ties between the Gulf state and US universities.How international institutions shape the narrativeOne of the most challenging aspects of this media fight is combating the dominant narrative disseminated by human rights bodies and NGOs, Hoffman said.The United Nations, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and others have been instrumental in legitimizing the anti-Israel rhetoric used in public and private spaces. Because of these organizations, buzzwords such as “genocide,” “apartheid,” and “ethnic cleansing” have become normalized in day-to-day discourse and in international media outlets.Hoffman said he wanted to speak to journalists who covered the conflict during the war and “give them the benefit of the doubt.” He said he asked them why they believed Hamas.“They said, ‘No, we didn’t believe anything from Hamas. We believe the organizations [like the UN].’ And they believed Hamas.“These organizations were the ones who spread the propaganda and sanitized what a terrorist organization [Hamas] told them. Then the media quote these reputable organizations around the world, and it becomes a vicious circle. As Gerald Steinberg, the founder of NGO Monitor, understood way back at the Durban [Conference], this was going to cause damage to Israel, and now the entire world needs to understand that.”The Durban reference is significant. At the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism in South Africa, an accompanying NGO forum became the focus of controversy over antisemitism and the portrayal of Israel. Its declaration described Israel as an apartheid state and accused it of genocide and ethnic cleansing, language that would become increasingly prominent in subsequent campaigns against the Jewish state.In Hoffman’s view, the events surrounding Durban were not an isolated episode but an early indication of how human rights terminology could be used as part of a broader campaign to delegitimize Israel.“So, that’s part of that blood libel machine, the way in which – wittingly or unwittingly, and, unfortunately, too often wittingly – these NGOs were part of it. So the blood libel machine is the media. It is Qatar. It is Hamas. It is the anti-Israel organizations around the world.”<h3>Fighting back against the machine</h3>Fighting this is an uphill battle, partly because these organizations are viewed internationally as the beacons of justice and paragons of morality. It is not easy to convince skeptics that their findings and public statements should be subjected to the same scrutiny as those of governments and other parties.“It’s hard, but we need to be constantly putting out facts,” Hoffman continued. “We know how many tons of aid we’re giving to Gaza. We know what everything Israel did unprecedentedly to help an enemy combatant in the time of war. We know how much effort Israel made to minimize civilian casualties. Little by little, we can chisel away at this false narrative that has been hoisted upon the world.”Hoffman’s determination to remain optimistic is a recurring theme throughout both the book and the interview, even as he describes the scale of the challenge facing Israel.“I didn’t want to write a book of gloom and doom. I wanted to write a book that would give people hope.“That’s why the subtitle of the book is Exposing the anti-Israel Hate Network, and How to Fight Back. I give people 30 different tools they can use, whether it’s in mainstream media, social media, or AI platforms.”Rather than leaving readers with a diagnosis of the problem, Hoffman devotes a substantial portion of the book to practical action. He does not believe it is too late for Israel to turn the tide.“It’s not too late. Every day, every single person on social media and even people who aren’t on social media, in the checkout line of the grocery store, everybody can make an impact.“I don’t view it as this mountain that’s insurmountable. I believe in celebrating incremental success. And we, every day, can change minds. Not of the most extreme people, but of the overwhelming majority.”One way he suggests people take action is by engaging more critically with international media and holding them accountable when they find incorrect or biased reporting.“People often ask me, should I cancel my subscription to The New York Times and other media outlets for being anti-Israel?“I say absolutely not. You need to be reading it. If you want to hurt them, then read them more carefully. If you see something problematic, send it to the media watchdogs like HonestReporting or to journalists themselves, or send it to their local media and point out that their rival had made an error. And that’s all part of regaining deterrence on the media battlefield.”This approach is shaped by his years in journalism and media monitoring. Rather than disengage from outlets they distrust, Hoffman argues, readers should become more informed, attentive consumers of their reporting.He cited an example of when, during coverage of the release of the final 20 living hostages in October 2025, CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour claimed that Israeli hostages were treated “better than the average Gazan” because Hamas used them as bargaining chips.Someone flagged the comment, and Hoffman himself then contacted Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who contacted CNN and requested that she be held accountable.Amanpour subsequently apologized, calling her comments insensitive and wrong.“That came from ordinary people who were watching and made sure that we would realize this. And so people can have that role when they see things that are egregious.”Social media also has the technology for users to critically engage. For example, users on X/Twitter can add community notes on posts that are incorrectly presented or are missing key information.Looking to Israel’s next governmentWhile Hoffman does believe responsibility can rest with individual news consumers, his criticism ultimately returns to Israel’s political leadership and its failure to treat public diplomacy as an essential element of national security.While citizens may help challenge misleading narratives, only the government has the authority and tools to establish a coordinated, long-term communications strategy, one that anticipates the international consequences of its actions rather than responding after the damage has been done.“They need to be taking this just as seriously as the nuclear threat from Iran, because it’s an existential threat to the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish people around the world.“And they need to be caring about the way every decision they make is perceived abroad.”With Israel’s October 27 elections approaching, the question is whether a new government, regardless of its political makeup, will be prepared to invest in the media battlefield as seriously as it invests in conventional security.“It doesn’t matter who wins the election. They all need to make sure the next government allocates just as much, if not more, funding to media strategy and public diplomacy. They need to have people ready 24/7 to go on the media and explain what’s going on here, in every language imaginable.“The embassies and consulates abroad are dreadfully underfunded. And that needs to be changed, because those are the people who are building the relationships with the people there on the ground and with the media.”Hoffman makes the case that the fight over Israel’s international reputation will not end when the fighting on the ground does. It will continue in newsrooms, universities, online platforms, and in day-to-day communication.And while governments bear the most responsibility for preparing Israel to confront that challenge, Hoffman’s resounding message is that the battlefield is no longer theirs alone. Its outcome will also depend on whether those watching from the sidelines are willing to take action.

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Israel must treat the media war as seriously as Iran’s nuclear threat, Gil Hoffman says