Scores of US university students tour Israel on faith-based ‘Christian Birthright’ trip
(JNS) — Scores of American university students from Ivy League Colleges toured Israel this week on a faith-based Christian trip following a volatile period of antisemitism raking U.S. college campuses triggered by the Hamas onslaught on Israel.
The renewal of the trips dubbed “Christian Birthright” this year for the first time since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks came at a moment of regional uncertainty, and even as the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza was crumbling.
“There is a great hunger and desire out there for students to get back to Israel,” Zach Bauer, CEO of Passages, which organizes the Israel trips, told JNS. “October 7 was a real awakening for a lot of people in an alarming way about what is happening on our college campuses and the need to push back against the nonsense and lies against the Jewish people.”
IDF: ‘ABC’ report on ‘harrowing’ Gaza leaflets is fake news
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces issued a categorical denial regarding a report published by U.S. television network ABC on Wednesday, which claimed that Israel had dropped leaflets over Gaza stating that “the world map will not change if all the people of Gaza vanish.”
The report was featured in an ABC story focused on the war in the Gaza Strip.
The alleged message, which ABC characterized as “harrowing,” reportedly contained statements including “Trump’s Gaza plan — which will impose your forced displacement whether you like it or not.”
According to ABC, the leaflet concluded with the statement: “No one will feel for you, and no one will ask about you. You are left alone to face your inevitable fate.” The network failed to provide any verified evidence of the leaflet’s veracity.
The outlet later deleted the claim, adding an editor’s note on Thursday that read: “An earlier version of this article said that the IDF had dropped leaflets with disturbing messaging. ABC News has not been able to confirm the authenticity of these leaflets. The IDF denies dropping these leaflets.”
IDF hits Hezbollah rocket launchers, underground terror assets in Lebanon
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in Southern Lebanon and underground infrastructure belonging to the Iranian proxy in the Beqaa area in the Land of the Cedars.
“The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel and prevent any attempt by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to rebuild its forces,” according to the military.
On Sunday, the IDF struck a command-and-control center in Southern Lebanon used by Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.
The presence of such terrorist infrastructure “constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” said the army.
