Meir Ben Shabbat: Unfortunately, some countries fall prey to Hamas’ manipulation. The world finds it easier to identify with the suffering of the weaker side. Israel gains sympathy only when its mutilated citizens’ bodies dominate news broadcasts, and even then, it is short-lived. The horrors of October 7 were quickly forgotten. Leaders criticizing Israel must understand that their conduct encourages terror elements to exploit civilian suffering. Accepting demands to halt the war because of civilian casualties—caused by terror groups—only strengthens that method, which will not be limited to Gaza.

Published in Arutz Sheva, August 1, 2025.

Ruth Wasserman Lande: If you are willing to have your daughters 30 metres away from terrorists who have said again and again, very, very unashamedly, that they will carnage, massacre, rape and burn them because they are British or Christian or whatever it is that you belong to. And you feel that your government should not do anything at all. Plus, your government would be giving food to those specific people, who wish and claim and claim again that they will ravage, massacre, burn and rape your daughters. And you feel that this is a normal situation and you feel it is correct to give them a state which they had since 2005. They had independence. And what did they do with that independence? They carnage their own territory.

The interview took place on Channel 7 on July 31, 2025.

Meir Ben-Shabbat: There is a difference between difficult conditions that emerge from a lengthy war and intentional starving on Israel’s part. If Hamas will release the hostages and disarm, the war will end.

Instead of defending itself, apologizing and explaining, Israel should promote the plan for voluntary immigration from Gaza … while putting Hamas under pressure.

Israel needs to continue its war until it reaches all of its goals. This is an existential war for Israel.

Published in The Media Line, July 30, 2025.

Lahav Harkov: Israel needs a formal, professional, civilian body responsible for public diplomacy, with a budget and full-time paid personnel enabling it to operate more fully at all times, not only in wartime. Having consistent names and faces that journalists and the public know will allow for more effective communication when a crisis breaks out.

Published in Mishpacha, July  29, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael:The reopening of the IDF’s field hospital in southern Syria serves as a clear signal that Israel is not abandoning its allies.

Israel needs to maneuver between the need to protect its vital security interests, the ethical-historical commitment to the Druze citizens of Israel and the Druze minority near its borders, and the need to establish coordination and cooperation mechanisms with a stable and non-hostile Syrian regime as a basis or infrastructure for further cooperation and for Syria’s inclusion in the new regional architecture in the spirit of U.S. President Trump’s vision.

Published in JNS, July 30, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: Unfortunately, we didn’t do that. We didn’t choose any strategic path or stick to it. We’ve been dancing something like a Yemenite dance—two steps forward, one step backward—and eventually we found ourselves in this mess.

Now we are reaching this option while being in the worst position with regard to the international community, and after paying very heavy prices in every aspect one can think of.

The interview took place on ILTV on July 28, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: Erdogan has ambitions to make his country the dominant regional power and “expand Turkish hegemony in the broader Middle East,” with Syria a key target.

Israel’s agenda in Syria is different. We don’t have any territorial demands there, but as long as we are not sure the regime in Syria is stable enough and reliable enough, we will remain there.

Published in MSN, July 28, 2025.

Arsen Ostrovsky: You can have 100 countries saying the earth is flat and that won’t make it true.

Published in Jewish Journal, July 26, 2025.

Ruth Wasserman Lande: We tend to focus constantly on the Israel–Palestine conflict — the Muslim-Jewish, Arab-Israeli dynamic. But I want to offer a different lens. If we take a step back and look globally, the core struggle is actually between Shiite and Sunni Muslim extremists. Within that larger battle, we are caught in the middle. Both sides are striving to establish an extreme global caliphate based on Sharia law — one according to Shiite principles, the other Sunni. And what lies at the center of their ambitions? Jerusalem. That’s what makes us a target — not just Israel, but also America, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Understanding this broader context helps us better analyze events like October 7, the aftermath, and the recent 12-day Iranian-Israeli war.

The full conversation took place before student representatives in Washington, USA.

Prof. Kobi Michael: I’m not familiar with any such report, but I am familiar with many warnings that were published by international organizations about the catastrophe that exists in Gaza and how in two months or so, 40 or 50,000 people will die because of hunger, but nobody has died because of hunger, because there is no hunger, if there are some local problems of supply, it is because of Hamas – not because of the IDF.

Hamas loots, robs and steals the humanitarian aid, partially for themselves, to feed themselves and the rest is sold in very high prices to the local population in order to make money..

Published in Fox News, July 22, 2025.