VIDEO: What Jews are commanded to do in Torah vs what the Israeli government does, and much more thumbnail

VIDEO: What Jews are commanded to do in Torah vs what the Israeli government does, and much more

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By Rabbi Nachum Shifren

In this week’s Dvar Torah for Shemot, Rav Shifren discusses what Jews are commanded to do in Torah vs what the Israeli government does, and much more.

WATCH: Rabbi Nachum Shifren — JDL USA: Darka Shel Torah HaYom HaZeh – SHEMOT

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TRANSCRIPT

JDL USA presents Rabbi natham schiffren public speaker author and good friend of the late Rabbi mayor Kahana good week to everybody and uh we have shabot coming up tomorrow and glad glad everybody could be here as they say the faithful are assembled thank you so much for coming and joining us what are we doing here you know you’re Wonder here I am with this amazing insane beard disheveled look and talking trash about this that and the other we are the progeny of a great man somebody who woke us up somebody who aroused us each of us from our Slumber each of us individually in so many ways and we’re here to uh make sure that um that that uh that never again is actually real that never again will Jews be slaughtered like they were and I say that with trepidation because well it’s very we’re in a very difficult situation we always have been there’s always been these divisions in Judaism there they were we talked about the helist mikim yavan meaning Greece and then M the helist and what they did what they wrought upon the Jewish people was still we’re still suffering from it thousand years later this week anyway we’re talking about shot this is the Book of Exodus we are now entering a whole different phase we were in the Book of Genesis all the Jewish people Joseph his brothers and all their progyny are now in Egypt I want to point out something and and just deviate a little bit from the our talk about the Torah here you know there’s a saying that Rabbi Kah used to use and it’s a talmudic epigram it’s called how excuse me those that show pity to the to the evil will one day be merciless to the innocent what are we talking about think about it if you know that somebody’s evil and you’re kind to them and and loving and helping them and you know they’re going to kill you or your family why would you do that it’s because something inside of you is twisted or perverted and you see uh goodness where only evil exists the state of Israel is about to make a brutally horrific mistake we’ve done this before previously they exchanged a thousand murderers for one Israeli citizen think about it those is those murderers went on to murder other Jews you know as soon as the quote unquote peace ceasefire whatever you want to call it between Gaza and Israel was known all of the murderers that were in Israeli prisons said they thought this was they thought they were victorious you Gaza is like looks like Berlin after the war and yet they thought they were Victorious uh they say that they’re going to promise many more October 7ths the brother of what’s his name Yi yaka the guy that was killed the leader of the um Hamas uh he uh said there was going to be more October 7th they promised him we believe them I believe them why wouldn’t they when you see a weak Israel now I say that interesting all the soldiers that fell in Gaza Brave Israeli soldiers that gave up their lives so that more Jews could be murdered raped kidnapped sodomized there’s something really evil about this there’s something evil about a government that would do that what kind of government really is there in Israel those of us that are students and followers and lovers of the late great Rabbi mayor Kahana we know what he went what he withstood what the what the trials and tribulations he went through by the Israeli government not by Arabs the Arabs were afraid of him what kind of Israelis let me tell you something that you’re not going to hear from anybody else but me apparently Manan Bean you should rest in peace uh he started out by saying that we will never deal make deals with terrorists that was the back then it was called the PLO Palestine Liberation Organization that was in the 60s 50s and whatnot and people were pretty much in line with that however if you look at those peace people raising hands we want the we want our refugees back we want our prisoners back we want our captives back you know let me just preface by saying that one of the things that Rob G used to love to do is go to the market shuk carel Shuka carel is the marketplace in Tel Aviv m is one on off of yafo Street in Jerusalem who is in those marketplaces what kind of Jews own places there whenever reabana used to go in there they used to they used to close it down the people loved rabana they would close down their their their Falafel stands or their fruit stands or nuts or or or bread or whatever it is they were selling in order to greet Rabbi Gan and shake his hand and not be distracted by customers which which in Israel is a big thing life life is uh marginal there with the way things are with inflation and whatnot but who are those people those are mainly spartic Jews the spartic Jews in Israel loved Rabbi Kong why ashkanazi Jews never lived in in Arab lands ashkanazi Jews are white Jews Gringos whites whatever you want to call them from Russia from Germany Romania Italy they never lived with Arabs the sapharic Jews lived with them and they never want to live with them again they knew who the Arabs were this isn’t a question of racism or this or that it’s just it is what it is the Arabs are going to declare war against Israel again and again and again it could be that you got some as Israeli friends or Muslim Friends The Devil comes out in times of stress and Times of Crisis uh contentiousness and he reveals himself in different people different ways whether it’s a knife in the back whether it’s an PG whether it’s blowing up a a Pizza Station whether it’s kidnapping a little girl and raping them keeping them hostage this is what Israel’s been dealing with since 19 since the day that the modern era started where there was this uh feeling of East East versus West kind of thing so what we’re have what we’re talking about here is two different different kind types of Jews I don’t want to get get into this too much but it’s there realize that it is there no normal spartic Jew is going to be carrying a PE is going to carry a peace now Banner peace now means basically I don’t care if I live or die I just don’t want uh I just want freedom I want peace I want this that and the other it’s not how life Works especially in the US excuse me in the Middle East you should know that every year Saddam Hussein may his name be blotted out every year tens of thousands of people go to his grave to celebrate his birthday why would they do that he killed half a million of his own people because the Arabs understand strength and they despise weakness that’s why they loved Biden for example he was their guy putting pressure on Israel this and that and the other that’s another story there should be an Israel that he has to put pressure on pressure on Israel needs to be ultimately independent but that’s another story this interestingly enough the statement those that have mercy on the evil people will one day be evil to those that are innocent and we see this through throughout Israel’s policies we saw it in gush katif where Israel are beaten up where where settlers were beaten up by Israeli policemen we see it at the Temple Mount why is the Jew not allowed to pray on the Temple Temple Mount is where Abraham Isaac and Jacob prayed that’s our institution that’s our Sanctuary why are we not allowed to pray there if there’s any Jews in Saudi Arabia or Iraq they’re probably praying underground hoping nobody will see them pre we saw this with the altalena um Manan was on that ship it was during the early years of the British mandate and the uh the command was given byak Rabin to kill Bean why would why would they want to do that the hunt right was called The Hunt where during the again during the British mandate Jews were cooperating with the Brits to hunt down Jewish Patriots that were against British rule this is unbelievable you can find out for yourself it’s nothing nothing new another example where the Jewish many of the Jewish leadership before State the statehood was uh came from Russia quite quite familiar with KGB and um and zaris uh fascist tactics these to kidnap you know yemenite children that knew nothing but Torah and God and mitzvot and Commandments they came from a very very backward area but they had the Torah they had the love of God that was in their eyes these people were kidnapped many of them sent to places holy places like kutas where they learned how not to eat koser food Etc so all this is going on with the clamor and the Uproar about the hostages Israel is going to make a very very serious mistake and it’s going to be done in the name of those people that have zero clue about where it’s like to live with Arabs and to deal with them what I’m what I want to really say is that um the uh the situation is grim and Israel is about ready to be pressured into something that’s going to really really hurt the Jewish people now one of the things that Rob con mentioned is the concept of War as you know there’s a very famous song by the birds in the 60s it’s called turn turn turn remember that one to everything there is a time and a season Time For Peace time for war now there’s a whole chapter in the Torah Divi devoted to the concept of what it’s like to go to war to be at War and one of the things that it says is in k Kate saying in the uh that’s the name of the paraa is that when you go to war against your enemy the first thing our commentator says well what do you mean you’re going to go War to war against your friend no the idea is that remind yourself that they are your enemy not your friend and therefore treat them as they your enemy the war in Gaza should have lasted 24 hours um now it’s known that 85% of the people in Gaza supported Hamas therefore same thing in Germany the vast majority supported Hitler why that’s why the Allies had no PO problem carpet bombing Germany if anybody’s listened to this and they know a little bit about history European history they’ll know what I’m talking about Germany was uh became a parking lot everywhere was there some good Germans of course but guess what the Allies didn’t have time to interview the good Germans that’s not how it works what Israel should have done is to compete make a cord cordone soner a complete blockade of Gaza no food no no oil no no gasoline no medicine nothing and within 24 48 Hours the hostages would have been released that’s a fact but we didn’t do it the Israelis didn’t do it the other the opposite to Israelis count out to what Biden told them to do go don’t go into ra don’t do this don’t do that not not the Philadelphia Corridor whatever it is but I’m I’m getting into this I I don’t I don’t like to but uh the only time the Israeli governments gets angry they’re not angry at the pal the uh at the terrorists the murder they’re about ready to to go to bed with these guys they’re about ready to do a swap of murderers a thousand murderers who have Jewish blood on their hands they’re about ready to give those guys up and these guys swear they’ll do it all over again what is this what kind of sane people are going to do that answerers nobody so our paral this week is the first par dealing with the Exodus the slavery in Egypt why was there a slavery to begin with well if you’ve been following the pares you can find out that Joseph was became a vice Roy a very C circuitous route became the vice Roy of Egypt and gave sustenance for his brothers there was a very bad famine throughout the land throughout all over the lands and only in Egypt was their sustenance look at how God created everything so that they would go to Egypt they would find sustenance there they would find a place to live a place to study and they were they basically um prospered like crazy so so much to the point where our commentators say that every Jewish woman has at least six kids in her womb I mean it you know alt together you know raising six sometimes 12 kids to the point where the Egyptians said that’s it enough we’re g to put these people in slavery Etc the what is the purpose of the slavery first of all what is let’s look at the name of Egypt in Hebrew it’s called MIT MIT is if you look at the words it’s if you can you can make a uh change it around and you’ll see that MIM are limitations it means in the in the T M SAR is like a border between you a fence between to your your neighbor for example MIM is limitations um construct uh obstructions as it were the Jewish people were like they compared it to like a birth like an embryo grows up in a mother’s womb not knowing anything just they were they didn’t know anything about who they were but interestingly enough they never used non-jewish names and they were there for several hundred years so this is a very big marriage uh in our prayers in our in our liturgy we talk about the uh the um Liberation from Egypt we mention it every single day right giving thanks even to this day and it says that if it weren’t for God taking us out of Egypt we still be there do you believe that it was Prett Grim Jews didn’t have much uh many options back then Egypt was the most powerful force in the world at that point and uh every day we thank God today now that we’re out of Egypt but we’re not out of matar each one of us has our limitations right each one of us if you really look in your heart and you really do a u it’s called a accounting of the Soul as it says that you’ll see that we are uh remiss on each one of us where we’re weak or we fall down and things we have to work on and one of the one of the uh principles of the slavery in Egypt was very the very first part of the the para we talked about aod Kasa hard work they were they they were they were there to make bricks as you know for Pharaoh’s uh tombs I guess the pyramids the TMO tells us that is that is that is how shall I say it that is compared to kushia Kush means a question in the tal questioning learning the tal what does this mean what does that mean we don’t have we’re not slaves anymore we’re doing back breaking work but instead interesting how the Zohar and other for sources tell us that instead of that we have the work of learning Torah learning Torah is hard work if you really want to get into it if you want to learn the T the gamorra mishna all these things takes a lot of energy takes a lot of concentration and uh not not a whole lot lot of video type stuff going on it’s all reading which in our days anybody that’s a teacher knows how challenging that is for our students they were hard work leim or bricks so the the sages said leim is like Li Li means to make sense of something to think about something to establish a code right uh LW right and then we have Kar was the was the um uh the I don’t know what do you call it the things that they made also made the bricks out of they made it with Kamar with with straw Kamar is ker ker of course anybody that studies Torah knows ker is A4 theori arguments that are that are posited in the in the talet this is the new work this is what the cabalists tell us this this is what our our our you know our tradition tells us that sort of thing but beyond that Kur barel Kur barzel is like an is like an iron furnace and that was what the the cabalist used to call Egypt an iron furnace you put something in that’s a little bit you know uh not so pure and the impurities get burnt out the whole thing the 210 Years of Slavery of being in Egypt was for the purpose of purification now you might think you know each one of the males Jewish males were thrown into the into the N Nile River right uh that’s a pretty heavy price to pay I would say right and nonetheless you can’t really have a people that are going to be starting a brand new way of life a new connection with the only exclusive connection with the creator of Heaven and Earth he he decided in his will that there would be a Torah that there would be there would be mitzvot Commandments that would be ours our Legacy till till eternity till the Messianic era so in order to have that we talked about that before the Torah was given to the ish ishmaelites was GI to the basically the the progeny of Esau progeny of Ishmael they refused it they didn’t want to know it was in it the Jewish people however said God whatever is in it we will do you cannot get a people like that unless they’re lock step into doing exactly what they’re told okay there used to be a saying let my people go remember when the Russians Russian Jews were in Russia and communist Russia there was a whole bunch of people act said let let our let our let my people go that they took that from the Torah but what they forgot to put in that in that in that uh slogan is let my people go so that they will serve me on this Mountain sh Bahar the mountain of course was Mount Si and what happened there we became a a we became a people a Jewish Nation so the whole concept of this C Barelle that we mentioned this purification this I mean it’s kind of like going into a 5,000 degree heat and coming out if you survive that you’re going to do exactly what you’re told your mind your soul your body will be a vehicle for godliness that’s that was the whole purpose you’ll remember that Abraham had two options during the the Covenant of the parts some of you may recall in the Book of Genesis and U he fell asleep he had a nightmare God told him you’ve got you’re you’re you’re going to be a your progy is going to be a great people but they will go to they will be enslaved uh if you choose slavery that’s fine or you could choose Purgatory going to hell that sort of thing Abraham chose slavery and uh this is this is it I mean what happened there was the Jewish people became a nation they understood that God took them out of Egypt the 10 plagues of course we remember during Passover and that was the whole purpose right what’s interesting uh another interesting thing it says in the in the paraa that that Pharaoh told the uh told everybody in it’s funny he didn’t just throw tell the the Jewish M made servants to throw the Jewish baby baby boys in the Nile River he did it to his own people too I I could still because they realize that the savior of the Jewish people will be their his water as it were would be through water you recall the you’ll recall the the uh situation where Moses you know he he struck the rock with his with his um staff and water was going to come out and that that whole thing but anyway um yeah so it said it says that the Pharaoh said keep the girls alive the throw the boys into the river so the capitalists will say now what do you mean keep the girls alive Living For What adultery idolatry witchcraft sorcery Egypt was called the the erat arit remember it was a very evil place and this is what they wanted to do they wanted to turn the Jewish girls into be just like them interesting when you look at back when you look back at the at that little story there that snippet you have to sometimes look at your go back to your your um uh class pictures right the 50s 60s whatever look at your first grade class picture second grade class picture those are kids that didn’t have iPhones there was no you know Beyonce there was no whatever all these other things it was real simple some people are glad that those days are over the Eisenhower years whatever you want to call them but you know what I remember we played a lot of football a lot of baseball came home at night and we did our homework and we were tired we went to bed nothing to distract us we were studying we were learning we’re reading as a teacher of over 20 years I can tell you that there’s anybody that thinks reading is on a computer is the way to go is needs to think about it again so with all that having been said this parti starts a brand new a br brand new uh pathway for the Jewish people for us to think about matar MIT Egypt limitations what are we who are we how are we able to get closer to God and no matter who we are no matter what you are no matter what your background is no matter what your ethnicity is there’s a certain level of human conduct that that needs to be promoted and that’s the whole that is the whole thing of the light of the Torah spreading out throughout the whole world and uh if you talk to the original colonists like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson they’ll tell you that at some point Hebrew was going to be the language of the American colonist didn’t work out that way but but um anyway we are very grateful thank God we are free and the Egypt that we are talking about this week is far away from us but we still have a lot of work to do and with that I will wish everybody God bless you all take care pick up a couple of books occasionally look at Psalms look at the Parsha and our hope and prayer is that we do have true peace and uh with that I will say shabbat shalom.

Political Tectonic Shift: Trump Gains Momentum as His Foes Stumble thumbnail

Political Tectonic Shift: Trump Gains Momentum as His Foes Stumble

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By The Daily Signal

“It is not enough in life that one succeed,” the droll economist John Kenneth Galbraith is supposed to have said. “Others must fail.”

We’re at a moment, in this week before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, when the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president is succeeding at just about every enterprise he undertakes, while his political and ideological opponents are failing in spectacularly visible fashion.

This time, Trump won the popular vote with a percentage that, rounded off, is identical to those of former Presidents Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, and Harry Truman. National polls show him with majority approval, something he never achieved before. This year, in contrast to 2017, there are no plans for a counter-inaugural parade or moves by journalists or politicians to style themselves “The Resistance.”

Trump secured the reelection of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in the narrowly divided House by limiting Republicans’ dissenting votes to exactly one. His controversial appointees, at this moment, appear headed for confirmation in the 53-47 Republican Senate.

The lawsuits that Democrats hoped would disqualify him from running or prevent him from winning have crashed and burned. No one takes seriously the Manhattan kangaroo court verdicts against him. Former special counsel Jack Smith’s assertions that he could have convicted him are undercut by the Supreme Court’s unanimous overturning of Smith’s prosecution of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Shunned eight years ago by his presidential predecessors, by Wall Street and by incumbent leaders in just about every establishment institution, Trump will be inaugurated this time with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg on the podium. Leaders of the past, meet the wave of the future.

In the meantime, outgoing President Joe Biden is tarred by his pardon, contrary to repeated promises, of his son Hunter Biden. His heavy spending policies, hailed as a second New Deal, and his open-door immigration policies, hailed as humanitarian, produced inflation and a flood of illegal immigrants, which would have doomed his candidacy even if he had been at full strength and which ended up dooming Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.

His botched withdrawal from Afghanistan plunged his job approval below 50%, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023 obscured his constructive initiatives with allies in Asia and the Pacific.

Biden was elected in 2020 as an experienced insider who would respect experts’ consensus over Trump’s maverick impulses. But the experts have had a bad decade.

They insisted on masking schoolchildren on playgrounds and closed schools too long, setting back learning, especially for disadvantaged children. They suppressed evidence that COVID-19 resulted from a Chinese lab leak because it would have embarrassed the man who proclaimed, “I represent science.”

Enlightened experts called for lenient prosecutors and defunding the police as violent crime spiked and repeated shoplifting became routine in cities like New York City and San Francisco. Misleadingly named “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs proliferated on campuses and in corporations until their iatrogenic effects were documented in The New York Times Magazine.

Most spectacularly, the horrifying fires raging in California seem likely to discredit the liberal Democrats who have a political monopoly there. It’s too early to say exactly the extent to which official negligence is responsible. But even if you blame climate change, California’s concentration on green policies, such as banning gasoline-powered vehicles, have little effect on climate, while failure at mitigation, such as keeping reservoirs filled and clearing combustible brush, have proved disastrous.

This moment will not last forever. Trump’s unorthodox appointees, including Pete Hegseth, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, even if confirmed, could crash and burn within months. The macroeconomy may yield unpleasant surprises. So could foreign crises. Trump will enter the White House, as Democrats note, five months older than Biden was four years ago, and his astonishing robustness and resilience on the campaign trail may not last.

But the possibility also exists that Trump’s leadership may seem successful and generate more support for what is now a Trump Republican Party. Behind the narrowness of his 49.9%-48.4% popular vote margin is polling evidence that 2024 nonvoters, especially among young Hispanic and black people, have soured on Democrats and trended halfway toward Trump Republicans—and could go the full way if Trump seems successful.

It’s a truism that presidents’ parties suffer reverses in off-year elections, but it’s not inevitable. Presidents’ parties’ losses were zero or limited in 1934, 1954, 1962, 1970, 1978 and 2002, and were mostly due to redistricting in 1982. And the schedule of upcoming contests looks mildly favorable to Trump and Republicans.

Virginia and New Jersey elect governors this fall, with incumbents term-limited. In 2021, Republican Glenn Youngkin won with nearly 51% in Virginia, and Republican Jack Ciattarelli almost won with 48% in New Jersey. In retrospect, both results look like a premonition of 2024. In November 2024, Trump won 46% in these supposedly safe Democratic states, similar to what Harris won in the target state of Arizona. He made double-digit gains in suburbs with many Hispanic and Asian voters.

In the 2026 Senate elections, Democrats are defending three incumbents in target states that Trump carried and two more in closer-than-expected Virginia and New Hampshire. Only one Republican is up in a Biden-Harris state: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who won handily in 2020 after trailing in polls all fall.

In the excruciatingly closely divided House of Representatives, only three Republican incumbents represent districts carried by Harris, while 13 Democrats represent districts carried by Trump. Redistricting, which was based on 2012-20 results, no longer favors Republicans, but they have new targets in heavily Hispanic and Asian districts that trended heavily toward Trump in 2024.

These details matter, but less than the basic question of whether the president and his party are perceived as in sync with how the world works. Voters in 2024, faced with a choice between the two immediately preceding presidencies, opted for the supposedly eccentric Trump over the supposedly expert-guided Biden-Harris. There is no guarantee that the verdict is permanent, and one must remember the British politician Enoch Powell’s maxim that all political careers end in failure.

But for the moment, Trump is succeeding, and his opponents are failing. If that success continues—a big “if”—Trump could establish an enduring political template as, I have argued, former Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Clinton did before him.

We’ll see.

COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.

AUTHOR

Michael Barone

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of The Almanac of American Politics.

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VIDEO: PM Netanyahu, ‘I promise we will meet all the war’s goals’ thumbnail

VIDEO: PM Netanyahu, ‘I promise we will meet all the war’s goals’

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By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

Netanyahu: The agreement is the result of enduring heavy pressure — both domestically and internationally.

President-elect Trump emphasized, and rightly so, that the first phase of the agreement is a “temporary” ceasefire. We are retaining significant assets for the future in order to return all of our hostages.

I promise you that we will meet all the war’s goals.

We deeply appreciate President Trump’s decision to lift all restrictions on arms supplies to Israel

We reserve the right to return to war, if necessary, with the support of the United States.

If we have to go back to war, we will do so with new means and with great force.

We will maintain the Philadelphia axis and increase the forces there, contrary to various publications. We will not allow Hamas to smuggle weapons into the Strip or smuggle our hostages out of there.

NEWSRAEL: We will post a version with English subtitles as soon as we get the full transcription. Attached is the full video in Hebrew, with the main points above.

EDITORS NOTE: This 301 The Arab World video is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Netanyahu tells cabinet the two things Trump promised for ‘deal’ thumbnail

Netanyahu tells cabinet the two things Trump promised for ‘deal’

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By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

PM during cabinet meeting told the ministers that Trump had made two important promises to Israel. 

President Trump has decided that upon taking office we will receive back all the weapons that were seized. This is important because if we do not reach Phase II, we will have additional tools to return to fighting.

In addition, President Trump is giving Israel full backing to return to war in the event of a violation of the agreement.

IDF statement

The IDF is preparing to implement the agreement for the return of the hostages that was approved by the political echelon overnight.

The agreement will take effect on Sunday, January 19th, at 08:30, and as part of it, IDF troops will implement the operational procedures in the field in accordance with the set agreements.

The IDF has been preparing to receive the hostages after their release from Hamas captivity and is operating to provide suitable physical and psychological support, with careful attention to every detail.

Alongside the agreement and our commitment to bringing home all the hostages, the IDF will continue to operate in order to ensure the security of all Israeli citizens, particularly those in communities near Gaza.

In final interview as president, Biden tells Israel to ‘accommodate’ Palestinian concerns

World Israel News:

Biden also said that Israel would be unable to thrive in the long term without dealing with the ‘Palestinian question.’

In his last interview as President, Joe Biden told MSNBC that Israel must “accommodate legitimate concerns of Palestinians.”

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns of Palestinians for the long-term sustainability of Israel,” he declared.

Biden also said that Israel would be unable to thrive in the long term without dealing with the “Palestinian question.”

Speaking about his sometimes fractious relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said, “I kept reminding my friend, and he is a friend, although we don’t agree on a whole lot lately, Bibi Netanyahu, that he has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns of a large group of people called Palestinians, who have no place to live independently.”

President Joe Biden signed an executive order extending sanctions on a group of Israeli settlers living in Judea and Samaria, accusing them of “extremism” that undermines American foreign policy and the prospects for a two-state solution.

The sanctions, which target Israeli Jews labeled as “extremists” by the Biden administration, were extended less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office.

Biden initially signed the executive order on February 1, 2024, allowing federal authorities to freeze assets and block transactions involving individuals deemed by the U.S. government to be “extremist Israeli settlers.”

Claims from left-wing NGOs in Israel prompted the move and reports from the United Nations, which accused settlers in Judea and Samaria of engaging in violence and harassment against Palestinian Arabs following the October 7 attacks.

On Tuesday, Biden issued a statement announcing the extension of the sanctions for another year, describing the actions of the sanctioned settlers as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy.

“The situation in the West Bank — in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction — has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region,” Biden claimed.

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Evolution Of Political Parties

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By Long Run News

Political parties have undergone profound transformations since their inception, both in the United States and across the globe. These changes reflect the evolution of societal norms, economic priorities, technological advancements, and ideological shifts. Understanding how modern political parties diverge from their origins necessitates an examination of the principles upon which they were established and the contextual forces that have reshaped them.

The Origins of Political Parties

Political parties were not part of the original blueprint for democratic governance. In fact, the Founding Fathers of the United States expressed deep skepticism about the rise of factions. James Madison, in Federalist No. 10, warned against the “mischiefs of faction,” fearing they could subvert the public good for private interests. Despite these apprehensions, parties emerged almost immediately as mechanisms to organize political competition and governance.
In the early years of the U.S. republic, two primary factions crystallized into parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, championed a strong central government and a modern financial system. In contrast, the Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, emphasized states’ rights and agrarianism. These parties were rooted in clear ideological distinctions and regional interests but lacked the rigid structures and expansive platforms of contemporary parties.
Globally, early political parties often formed around revolutionary movements or narrow class interests. In Europe, parties such as the British Conservative and Liberal parties evolved from parliamentary factions. Similarly, socialist and labor parties emerged in response to industrialization and workers’ rights movements. These early parties were generally ideologically driven, reflecting the specific concerns of their time.

Evolution of Political Parties Shift from Ideology to Pragmatism

One of the most significant shifts in political parties is their transition from strict ideological adherence to a more pragmatic, voter-centered approach. In the United States, this transformation was evident by the late 19th century. The Democratic and Republican parties, which supplanted the earlier Federalist and Whig parties, began prioritizing electoral success over strict adherence to founding principles. For instance, the Republican Party, founded in the 1850s on an anti-slavery platform, shifted its priorities over time, aligning with business interests and later becoming the party of limited government and social conservatism. Similarly, the Democratic Party, originally rooted in Jeffersonian agrarianism and Jacksonian populism, evolved to champion civil rights and progressive policies by the mid-20th century.
This shift is not unique to the United States. In Europe, traditional socialist parties, which once represented the working class, have moderated their platforms to appeal to broader constituencies. This pragmatism often blurs ideological lines, prompting criticism that parties lack a coherent vision.

Centralization and Professionalization

Modern political parties are far more centralized and professionalized than their predecessors. Early parties were loose coalitions of like-minded individuals. Today, parties operate as highly organized entities with national committees, dedicated fundraising arms, and sophisticated marketing operations. The rise of mass media and digital technologies has accelerated this trend, enabling parties to target voters with unprecedented precision.
This centralization has diminished the influence of local party organizations and grassroots movements. In the 19th century, local party bosses wielded significant power, particularly in urban centers. Today, power is concentrated in national leadership, which sets the agenda and controls resources. This shift has alienated some voters, who feel disconnected from party elites.

Influence of Money and Media

The role of money in politics has profoundly shaped modern parties. In the United States, the rise of Political Action Committees (PACs) and Super PACs, coupled with landmark decisions such as Citizens United v. FEC (2010), has made fundraising a central focus for parties. This reliance on large donors and corporate contributions often skews priorities away from grassroots concerns.
Media has also transformed party dynamics. In the 19th century, parties relied on partisan newspapers to disseminate their messages. Today, the 24-hour news cycle, social media, and algorithm-driven platforms have created an environment where sensationalism often overshadows substantive debate. Parties have adapted by embracing sound bites, slogans, and image-based campaigning, which can oversimplify complex issues and polarize public opinion.
Divergence from Founding Principles

Ideological Shifts

Both major U.S. parties have strayed from their founding ideologies. The Republican Party, originally the party of abolition and civil rights, became the party of the “Southern Strategy” in the late 20th century, aligning with conservative white voters in the South. Conversely, the Democratic Party, which once championed segregation in the South, transformed into a coalition of minorities, urban progressives, and liberal intellectuals.
Globally, many parties have similarly drifted from their origins. For example, Britain’s Labour Party, founded to represent working-class interests, has often faced internal conflicts over its ideological direction, particularly during the leadership of figures such as Tony Blair, who embraced a centrist “Third Way” approach.

Populism and Polarization

Modern parties are increasingly shaped by populism and polarization. Populist movements often emerge within or alongside established parties, challenging traditional elites and norms. Donald Trump’s rise within the Republican Party exemplifies this trend, as does the influence of figures such as Bernie Sanders on the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.
Polarization further exacerbates the divergence from founding principles. In highly polarized environments, parties prioritize opposition to their rivals over policy innovation. This zero-sum mentality undermines the collaborative spirit that early parties often embodied, particularly in parliamentary systems where coalitions are necessary for governance.

Fragmentation and Realignment

The rigidity of modern party structures has led to fragmentation and realignment. In many democracies, traditional parties face challenges from new movements and independent candidates. In the United States, third-party efforts such as Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign or the Green Party’s environmental advocacy highlight voter dissatisfaction with the two-party system.
In Europe, the rise of far-right and far-left parties reflects discontent with centrist politics. Movements like France’s National Rally or Greece’s Syriza have capitalized on economic and cultural anxieties, forcing traditional parties to adapt or risk obsolescence.

The Impact of Technology and Globalization Digital Campaigning

The digital revolution has transformed how parties operate. Social media platforms enable direct communication with voters but also amplify misinformation and echo chambers. Data analytics and artificial intelligence allow parties to micro-target voters, raising ethical concerns about privacy and manipulation.

Globalization and Transnational Issues

Globalization has introduced new challenges that parties must address, such as climate change, migration, and international trade. These issues often transcend traditional ideological boundaries, requiring parties to adopt nuanced positions that may conflict with their historical platforms.
Modern political parties are far removed from their origins. While they were once ideologically driven and locally oriented, they have become centralized, professionalized entities focused on mass appeal and electoral success. The influence of money, media, and technology has further reshaped their priorities, often at the expense of grassroots engagement and ideological coherence. Polarization, populism, and the complexities of globalization continue to challenge traditional party structures, prompting realignment and innovation.
Despite these changes, political parties remain indispensable to democratic governance. They organize competition, aggregate interests, and provide a framework for policy-making. The key challenge for contemporary parties is to balance pragmatism with principle, ensuring they remain responsive to the evolving needs of the electorate while staying true to their foundational values.

AUTHOR

Aiman Benjamaa

©2025 . All rights reserved.

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Senators Express Optimism That Trump Will Restore Pro-Life Policies at HHS

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By Family Research Council

Following four years of the Biden administration reversing the pro-life federal policies established during President Donald Trump’s first term, Republican senators are expressing confidence that the incoming Trump administration will put back in place policies that blocked federal funds from going to abortion businesses, allowed pregnancy resource centers to receive federal funds, and stopped the funding of international groups that promote abortion, among other measures.

After Trump nominated former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as his secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last November, concerns arose among numerous GOP lawmakers and pro-life advocacy groups that the former Democrat-turned-Independent presidential nominee would sideline pro-life policies based on his past pro-abortion positions. During his presidential run, Kennedy has called the abortion issue “nuanced and complex” and also said that the state should not “dictate choices that the woman is making” regarding abortion. He has also previously supported (and walked back support for) three-month pro-life protections.

However, Senate Republicans like Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) say they have received personal assurances from Kennedy that he will not pursue pro-abortion policies while in office and will, in fact, enact pro-life ones. Last month, Hawley posted a series of tweets describing his conversation with Kennedy regarding the issue. “He committed to me to reinstate President Trump’s prolife policies at HHS,” Hawley wrote. “That includes reinstating the Mexico City policy & ending taxpayer funding for abortions domestically.”

The senator further noted Kennedy’s promise to have all pro-life deputies at HHS and that he “believes there are far too many abortions in the US and that we cannot be the moral leader of the free world with abortion rates so high.” Hawley also stated that Kennedy promised to reinstate “the bar on Title X funds going to organizations that promote abortion” and to “reinstate conscience protections for healthcare providers.”

During Tuesday’s edition of “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins,” Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) confirmed that he too met with Kennedy and also received assurances from him that he would pursue pro-life policies within the federal agency.

“We had a very robust discussion,” he explained. “In fact, talking about the importance of protecting the pro-life policies in terms of regulations coming out of HHS, but importantly, restoring any policies that the Biden administration has stripped, and to … work with the secretary of State [to ensure] we are doing all we can within the executive branch to make sure these protections are in place and, frankly, expanded. And he told me that he’ll have seven [deputies in] HHS [that] would be pro-life type of leaders. And I appreciate that honesty and frankness from RFK Jr.”

The news comes amid uncertainty surrounding how pro-life Trump’s second administration will be after the president-elect oversaw watered-down pro-life language inserted into the 2024 Republican Party platform last July, which was entirely revamped and truncated from the previous GOP platform. Trump also repeatedly said on the campaign trail last year that he would leave the abortion issue to the states and that some state pro-life protections are “too tough.” The 45th president’s inconsistent rhetoric on the issue has left pro-life lawmakers and advocates wondering if he would, in fact, use his executive authority to undo the pro-abortion executive orders that President Joe Biden enacted.

Nevertheless, in an op-ed published Monday, Hawley reiterated his optimism that the president-elect will restore the pro-life policies that were reversed under Biden. The senator noted that in addition to restoring the Mexico City Policy, barring abortion businesses from receiving Title X grant money, and restoring federal funding to pregnancy resource centers, Trump’s first-term HHS also “restrict[ed] the use of human fetal tissue obtained from abortions.”

“The Biden administration gutted those rules,” Hawley concluded. “Thankfully, it’s a new day. And President Trump has the power to start protecting life again — immediately. He should use that power boldly to protect those who most need it: the innocent unborn.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

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Proposed Gaza Ceasefire Is a ‘Terrible Deal for Israel’

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By Family Research Council

1/17/2025 9:16 a.m. This story has been updated to reflect that the Israeli Cabinet has voted to approve the ceasefire deal.

A prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was reached Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced. But, after “many months of intensive diplomacy” between the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, the deal they devised would require Israel to give away the farm, leaving them no leverage to ensure that all their hostages are safely returned. “It’s a terrible deal for Israel,” complained Frank Gaffney, president of the Institute for the American Future. “I fear that it amounts to a victory for Hamas.”

The details of the deal have not been published, but according to reports, the ceasefire agreement would occur in three phases.

In the first phase, Israel would release 100 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences (a.k.a. “pedigreed jihadists,” Gaffney stated) and 1,000 other prisoners not involved with the October 7 attacks, and Hamas would release 33 hostages in return. “I’m getting some signals out of Israel that this is not the best deal for Israel,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. “I’m told the ratio is 50-to-1 for every hostage.”

These lopsided prisoner exchanges would be spaced out over a six-week ceasefire — an unexplained delay that left Perkins “a little puzzled” — during which time Israel would pull its military out of all the populated areas of Gaza and allow hundreds of aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip, bringing humanitarian aid and tens of thousands of temporary homes.

In the second phase, the two sides would declare a permanent end to the war, and Israel would withdraw the rest of its forces from Gaza. Hamas would also release more hostages in exchange for more prisoners.

In the third phase, Hamas would return the rest of the hostages, including the remains of those it killed. In return, it would get “a major reconstruction plan for Gaza,” in President Biden’s words.

To review, Israel would have to pack up and go home before getting the hostages it came for, and Hamas would not only have its pre-October 7 autonomy restored, but it would get its own personal Marshall Plan, and spring 50 terrorists per hostage.

What an odd way to punish its terrorist atrocities! What an odd way to deter future iterations.

Unfazed by these particulars, Biden declared he was “deeply satisfied” that a deal had been reached — likely so he can claim credit. “We got the world to endorse it,” he boasted. Given how the world feels about Israel, that should be a warning sign.

“I think it’s, in some ways, worse than the plan … that Joe Biden put together” last year, said Gaffney. By agreeing to this deal, Israel would be “effectively surrendering the entirety of Gaza to the people who perpetrated this horrific attack on October 7th,” and who have “been at war with Israel … from the inception of this terrorist organization and will be until it is put out of business.”

“All of the progress that Israel has made to root out Hamas, to deprive it of resources, to close its infrastructure … will essentially be undone because they will be allowed to have the run of Gaza again,” warned Gaffney.

And all of this assumes that Hamas will keep up its end of the agreement through all three phases. But that might be the least likely outcome, based on its past behavior and genocidal hatred of Israel. “Hamas broke ceasefires with Israel in 2003, 2007, 2008, and nine times in 2014,” listed National Review’s Jim Geraghty, not to mention a terrorist shooting during a ceasefire in 2024.

Over the past year, Geraghty continued, “Hamas either rejected ceasefire proposals or hostages-for-prisoners trades, walked away from the table, or refused to restart negotiations in the months of December, January, February, March, April, May, June, and July 2024. … Hamas has proven a bad-faith, bloodthirsty, irrational, and self-destructive negotiator at every step in this process.”

The deal is so bad for Israel that it could put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in trouble domestically. “The Left has, of course, wanted his head on a pike for a long time,” said Gaffney, but “there are a lot of people now on the right who feel that all of this is for naught — all of the war efforts — if this [deal] is allowed to go forward.” Throughout the war, Israel has maintained its sovereign right to self-defense, which involves the right to react to the ongoing threat posed by Hamas, a terrorist group operating from within its borders.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have come out against the deal; while aligned with Netanyahu, they control enough votes to destabilize his coalition. “This could cause his governing coalition to implode,” Perkins exclaimed.

If fact, it seems that Netanyahu himself was reluctant to agree to the deal, until he met with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East. The Biden administration’s State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that input from Trump’s team was “absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.”

“Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu] basically had his knees broken” by Witkoff, said Gaffney. “He took what Donald Trump meant as leverage on the Hamas terrorists, putting them on notice that if the hostages were not released … by the time he came to office … all hell would break loose. Now, that was intended to be pressuring Hamas. Instead, Witkoff — and the Biden team, of course — turned this into leverage on Bibi Netanyahu.”

In fact, Gaffney suspected Witkoff of showing more loyalty to Qatar than to Trump. Witkoff said “that ‘Qatar is doing God’s work in these negotiations.’ I think he might have meant Allah’s work, because what has been done, I think, is not in the service of Israel,” he alleged. “This is a man who may work for Qatar, but I don’t honestly think he’s worked effectively for Donald Trump or the interests of the United States, to say nothing of Israel.”

Trump initially celebrated the “EPIC” ceasefire agreement that “could only have happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies.”

But Gaffney cautioned that Trump might not have the full picture. “I hope that the president, Donald Trump, will think better of this as he learns more about what’s been done,” he said. “I’d be a little surprised if President Trump knew when he put [Witkoff] in this position that he had actually done a $600 million hotel deal with the nation of Qatar.”

The Israeli cabinet approved the deal “after examining all political, security, and humanitarian aspects, and understanding that the proposed deal supports the achievement of the war’s objectives, the Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs (the Political-Security Cabinet) has recommended that the government approve the proposed framework..”

Netanyahu accused Hamas of creating a “last-minute crisis” by making additional demands over the identity of the prisoners Israel will release. Netanyahu explained the deal Israel agreed to “gives Israel veto power over the release of mass murderers who are symbols of terror,” but Hamas now “demands to dictate the identity of these terrorists.”

Instead of approving the lopsided ceasefire right away, Israel launched overnight airstrikes against 50 terrorist targets in Gaza. Hamas-aligned sources claimed that the airstrikes killed at least 75 people — most of whom were probably terrorists. In a statement, the IDF confirmed the death of Muhammad Hasham Zahedi Abu Al-Rus, a terrorist who participated in the October 7, 2023 massacre at the Nova Music Festival.

The world may be ready to move on from Hamas’s atrocities, but Israel will not — cannot — rest secure until the Hamas threat within their own borders has been eliminated.

AUTHOR

Joshua Arnold

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

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Less Work, More Welfare: How Immoral Policies Are Making Americans Poorer

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By Family Research Council

A new report shows that over the last four decades, poor Americans have become far more likely to receive their daily bread from welfare than work. This slide from self-reliance to government dependence serves as an economic barometer of American decline, fueled by perverse incentives created by morally challenged government policies.

The numbers paint a stark picture of American indolence. In 1979, Americans living in poverty earned 60% of their income from work. In 2021, the share had fallen to 25%. That analysis from the Congressional Budget Office shows the startling degree to which, in 42 years, Americans have moved steadily from a paycheck to a handout.

“Low-income Americans are receiving an ever-growing share of their financial resources from government transfers, not work,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who requested the report, in a statement emailed to me. “To improve our nation’s welfare system, we must pursue policies that will lift more Americans out of poverty — including strengthening incentives to seek a job like tying benefits to commonsense work requirements. This will help more of our fellow Americans achieve independence and gainful employment. After all, a job is the best anti-poverty program that exists.”

Smith is to be commended for requesting this report and focusing on a policy solution. The report reveals that some of the great drivers of joblessness are political, some personal. But, as secular government analyses always do, this study ignores the moral components underlying increased welfare dependence.

The fact that more Americans have come to rely on welfare serves as an indictment of a nation that has forgotten the Apostle Paul’s admonition, “If any would not work, neither should he eat” (II Thessalonians 3:10). God gave Adam work to do in the Garden of Eden before the fall and, in the post-exilic world, He intended work to supply our daily needs (Genesis 2:15; Proverbs 6:6-11 and 12:11). Honest work, combined with frugal living, allows Christians to care for the needs of others (II Corinthians 8:13-15; I Timothy 5:3-16).

While some percentage of Americans lack the physical or mental ability to earn a living, the ever-growing number of Americans on welfare rolls far outstrips that of its incapacitated recipients. That proves Americans have lost sight of biblical importance of work: Work benefits our souls, improves the raw materials bestowed in God’s creation, enhances our God-given talents, allows us to provide for our own needs while serving others, and allows us to provide for those truly unable to participate in this ennobling cycle.

The Apostle Paul showed the excellence of work by working as a tentmaker in order to carry out his missionary work. St. Jerome — who translated the Bible into Latin, the language of the West — once asked a monk the same question idle Christians should ask themselves: “If apostles who had the right to live of the Gospel labored with their own hands that they might be chargeable to no man, and bestowed relief upon others whose carnal things they had a claim to reap as having sown unto them spiritual things; why do you not provide a supply to meet your needs?”

When followed, the biblical plan still works. Only 2.5% of Americans who work full-time fell below the poverty level, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another study found only 1.7% of Canadians who worked full-time lived in poverty. In other words, work eliminates nearly 100% of all poverty.

Perhaps more importantly, this report serves as an indictment of family breakdown. “Of the four types of households examined, unmarried households with children had the highest percentage of people with money income below the poverty threshold,” found the report. That reinforces government statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported, “Of people in families, those in married-couple families had the lowest poverty rate (5.2 percent), while those in female-householder families had the highest (23.6 percent).” Both homes led by single mothers and households with cohabiting partners had four times the poverty level of married couples.

On the other hand, traditional married families earned the most money, with a median income of $119,400 in 2023, compared to $59,470 in homes led by single mothers. Even in families where only one person works, single mothers were more than three times as likely to end up in poverty than married couples. In fact, single mothers earn just over $5,000 a year more than single men without children (and thus, without incentives to earn more).

Can it be a coincidence that the number of married households in America has fallen from 71% in 1971 to 47% in 2022? When mothers and fathers cannot take their place in God’s order, and children lack the example of a working father, society sets young people up for a life of government dependence and wasted potential. And our reduced GDP is the least consequential result.

America’s retreat from work serves as an indictment of our welfare system. After the Left’s purposeful throttling of President Donald Trump’s red-hot economy in the name of COVID-19, Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending spree gave workers collecting unemployment a $300 weekly bonus. That surplus gave approximately one in four workers more money than they could earn by working. One study showed that policy alone depressed employment by approximately 14%.

The report also shows the problems presented by counterproductive economic interventionist policies that destroy jobs and opportunity. Politicians promote tax-hikes that raise prices, massive spending that fuels inflation, and subsidies for unpopular products such as electric vehicles — all of which distort the market — for short-term political gain. For example, a minimum wage when raised too high prices out the poorest and neediest from the job market. The CBO estimated a proposed minimum wage hike would give workers an average of $50 a week — and throw 1.3 million people out of the workforce, reducing GDP by $9 billion.

The report also points an accusing finger at our nation’s immigration system. The recent H1-B visa debate provided a healthy spasm against a corporatist immigration system starving American families of good opportunities. During the last four years of the Biden-Harris administration, all net job growth has gone to immigrants. Between 2019 and late 2023, 2.9 million immigrants took U.S. jobs, while 183,000 American citizens left the job force. Mass immigration — illegal and legal — reduces wages, making a welfare check seem far more inviting than 40 hours of toil.

Finally, the report presses charges against American Christians. Why are churches not providing charity on a grander scale for those in need? Why have private citizens outsourced essential functions — like fulfilling Christ’s commandment to feed the hungry and clothe the naked — to the secular state? Government benefits lead to an attitude of entitlement and enable self-destructive pathologies. Secular programs cannot cure the problems secularism created.

Churches alone stand in the position to address the underlying issues that keep sidelined Americans out of the workforce — addiction, depression, lack of motivation, family commitments, lack of child care, etc. — and to elevate even seemingly mundane work to its true spiritual significance.

AUTHOR

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council,

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

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Terrible, Horrible Hostage Deal Announced

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By The Geller Report

Let me preface this post but saying I have not written about the ongoing news reports on this proposed hostage deal partly because I didn’t want to believe Israel would make such a terrible mistake. Hamas is incapable of keeping any agreement and so I hoped it would fall apart at the last minute.

Breaking: Under heavy US 🇺🇲 pressure, Israel 🇮🇱 agreed to release 1,300 terrorists, cease fighting H×mas and leave most of Gaza, in return for release of only 33 hostages (out of 98), of which only 23 alive and 10 dead.(X)

I am hoping that the Israelis are at the very least somehow able to keep track of the worst terrorist killers soon to be released and kill each one as time unfolds.

No pressure has been exerted on Hamas for it to renounce its official charter of genocide towards Israel and Jews everywhere. This failure and its previous promises of more attacks like Oct. 7th. guarantees war in the not too distant future.

I would like to know what Steve Witkoff said to Netanyahu to make him agree to this dreadful deal so quickly. Were encouraging guarantees and promises given to help Israel destroy Hamas in the near future and to wipe out all of Iran’s nuclear facilities with bunker-busting bombs or were intimidating threats made?

In the meantime, I’m sick to my stomach.

Israel plans to release 30 terrorists for each civilian hostage and 50 terrorists for every military hostage, according to Reuters.

Over 6,000 Palestinian terrorists invaded Israel with the chants of “Allah Akbar” as they raped, murdered, slaughtered and butchered Israeli civilians.

Gaza is a barbaric, savage society full of rapists and murderers. They’re all demons and monsters. pic.twitter.com/nfGfJIr4SE

Prime Minister Netanyahu Spokesperson: “Reports about IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi axes are a complete lie; The PM has not given up a millimeter of Israeli control over the Philadelphi axis.”

The hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is expected to be signed as early as Wednesday night and the first hostages my be released on Sunday.

Israel National News: Israeli officials said on Wednesday that there has been a breakthrough in the negotiations to reach a deal with the Hamas terror organization to return the Israeli hostages. “We’re working on tying up the last loose ends before a final agreement,” the officials stated, noting that the agreement will most probably be signed later in the evening or on Thursday.

If the deal were to be signed on Thursday, the first three hostages could be expected to be released on Sunday. On the seventh day of the deal, four hostages will be released, on the 14th, 21st, 28th, and 35th days three will be released, and during the final week, the remaining 14 hostages will be released.

Live Updates:

Wednesday, January 15th:

7:52 p.m.: The Prime Minister’s Office stated that in light of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s firm stance, Hamas backed down from its demand to change the deployment of forces on the Philadelphi Corridor

7:38 p.m: Israel has agreed to double the number of aid truck entering Gaza from 300 to 600.

7:34 p.m.: Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed who have been held hostage by Hamas since 2014 and 2015 respectively, will reportedly be released on the sixth day of the deal.

7:26 p.m.: President-elect Donald Trump: “This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies. I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.

“With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven. We will continue promoting PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords. This is only the beginning of great things to come for America, and indeed, the World!

“We have achieved so much without even being in the White House. Just imagine all of the wonderful things that will happen when I return to the White House, and my Administration is fully confirmed, so they can secure more Victories for the United States!”

7:20 p.m.: Incoming White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told N12: “This deal has been reached thanks to many and it illustrates that a policy of peace through strength wins. Thank you to the Israeli negotiation team, thank you to the Qatris, thank you to Egypt, thank you to the Biden administration, and most of all, thank you to Donald Trump whose policy of peace through strength his what won.”

7:17 p.m.: Israeli President Isaac Herzog met now with the President of the International Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, and her team, who are visiting Israel as part of preparations for the hostage deal.

During the meeting, President Herzog emphasized the utmost importance and sensitivity of this mission. The Red Cross team briefed the President on the preparations for the transfer of the hostages and the various challenges they face.

7:05 p.m.: US President-elect Donald Trump writes on Truth Social: “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”

7:00 p.m.: Reuters reports that in the hostage deal that is expected to be announced soon, Israel will free 30 imprisoned terrorists for ever civilian hostage Hamas releases and 50 imprisoned terrorists for every female soldier who is freed.

6:48 p.m.: An Israeli official has confirmed to Kan News that the disagreement surrounding the Philadelphi Corridor has been solved.

6:36 p.m.: Axios Barak Ravid says a senior US official has told him that a hostage and ceasefire deal has been reached.

6:30 p.m: Hamas says that a short time ago, its leadership gave its answer to the proposed deal to the mediators “The Hamas diplomatic bureau is currently holding an emergency meeting to discuss the mediators’ proposal, Hamas will act responsibly and positively out of a commitment to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip to bring to the end of the aggressions.”

6:06 p.m.: A senior diplomatic source says that at the last moment, Hamas decided to demand new conditions for the hostage deal.

“A short time ago, the Israeli negotiation team updated that the Hamas terror organization decided at the last moment to make new demands – this time regarding the Philadelphi corridor, this is in contrast to the maps that were approved by the Cabinet and the American mediators. Israel strongly objects to any changes to these maps.”

5:58 p.m.: In light of reports about an imminent agreement, the members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated that they welcome and deeply appreciate the return of every hostage – “each one representing hope and relief not only for their immediate family but for our entire community.”

They added that they “urgently call for a framework that ensures the return of every person held captive.

“After more than 460 days, our loved ones continue to endure unimaginable. Though we celebrate each reunion, our mission remains unfinished until all hostages – both the living and the dead – are returned home. For the 30 hostages murdered in captivity, this agreement comes tragically too late.

“This agreement marks a crucial step, but it must be carried through to completion in all its stages. We hope it leads to a comprehensive deal ensuring everyone’s safe return. We will not rest until we see the last hostage back home.”

5:55 p.m.: Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar announced that he is concluding his diplomatic visit to Italy this evening, during which he met, among others, with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, and Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio. Sa’ar also met with the President of Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana and members of the Italy-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association. Additionally, he held a meeting with dozens of influencers and Israel advocacy activists in Italy and gave interviews to local media outlets.

Following the progress in the hostage release negotiations, Minister Sa’ar cut short the continuation of his diplomatic visit, which was scheduled to continue tomorrow in Hungary. He will return to Israel tonight to participate in the expected discussions and votes in the Security Cabinet and government.

5:45 p.m.: Prime Minister Netanyahu has begun a situational assessment with the negotiation team in Doha.

5:38 p.m.: Representatives of President Biden and President-elect Trump will attend the statement by the Qatari prime minister on the hostage deal.

5:12 p.m.: Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs said that the hostage deal includes the IDF remaining on the Philadelphi Corridor and the possibility of resuming combat operations in Gaza if Hamas does not advance to the next stages of the deal.

“The May 27 deal was approved by the US on August 16 and includes the map of IDF forces remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor, a perimeter along the entire Gaza border, and the possibility of returning to fighting at the end of Phase A if negotiations on Phases B and C do not mature in a way that ensures the realization of the war’s goals: the military and governmental destruction of Hamas and the return of all the hostages,” said Fuchs.

5:10 p.m.: Minister Bezalel Smotrich met with Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer to discuss the hostage deal.

5:08 p.m.: Report: Qatari PM will hold a press conference this evening to discuss the hostage negotiations.

4:53 p.m.: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a situational assessment regarding the hostage deal at 5:30 p.m. Israel time.

4:28 p.m.: A Hamas source says the terror organization gave its verbal approval of the deal draft but has not yet approved it in writing.

4:01 p.m.: The Bibas family, whose loved ones Kfir and Ariel are the youngest hostages being held by Hamas, commented on reports that they will soon be released. “We are aware of reports stating that our family is included in phase one of the agreement and that Shiri and the children are among the first scheduled to be released. Given our experience with disappointments, we consider nothing final until our loved ones cross the border.

“We are waiting for certainty regarding their release and condition, and request not to be contacted during this sensitive time. We ask that people refrain from spreading rumors.

“We continue to appeal to the Prime Minister and demand the return of everyone until the last hostage is home.”

3:16 p.m.: The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office denied that Hamas had given a positive answer: “Contrary to reports, the Hamas terrorist organization has yet to provide an answer regarding the deal.”

3:10 p.m.: A spokesman for the Prime Minister clarified that the terrorists who murdered the Fogel family will not be released as part of the hostage deal.

3:06 p.m.: Report: Israel’s Security Cabinet will convene tomorrow morning to vote on the hostage deal.

3:05 p.m.: Sources with knowledge of the negotiations to I24News: Hamas has given the green light for the deal

The breakthrough in the negotiations comes after the Hamas leadership, during a decisive early-morning meeting, came to an agreement on all points and solved all disagreements. Mohammed Sinwar, leader of the Hamas terror group in Gaza and brother of arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 massacre, has granted a ceasefire-prisoner swap deal approval, “in principle,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the report, Sinwar’s approval follows a full day of silence on the part of Hamas and comes hours after the terror group announced that the deal was in its final stages.

During the talks, Hamas accepted, according to the WSJ report, verbal guarantees from the US, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, that Israel will continue the negotiations for a permanent ceasefire following the end of the first stage of the deal.

Parallel to this, a Palestinian Arab source told Kan News that a breakthrough had occurred in negotiations, and an agreement is expected to be announced on Thursday.

The source added that a defining meeting had concluded during the early morning hours, during which Hamas leadership agreed on all points and all of the disagreements were resolved, including most – but not all – of the details on the maps for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.

The source added that an agreement may begin to be implemented within 24-48 hours of it being announced.

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

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“Above Us Only Sky”

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By Jerry Newcombe, D. Min.

Jimmy Carter helped put “born again” Christianity on the map in America. He made a big deal about his having accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Many conservatives were disappointed with his governance, but no one could deny his consistent profession of faith.

When the 100-year old former president’s funeral service was held in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., it was odd that there was a mixture of beautiful Christian sacred music, along with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood singing John Lennon’s atheistic ballad, “Imagine.”

“Imagine” encapsulates a secular worldview very well: “Imagine there’s no heaven / It’s easy if you try / No hell below us / Above us, only sky.”

Wow—no accountability. We can make up all the rules. Live anyway we want to, and we’ll never have to answer for it. As Church Lady might say, “How conveeeeeenient!”

“Imagine” croons on: “Imagine all the people / Living for today…Imagine there’s no countries / It isn’t hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion, too.”

Some of these lyrics seem to be clearly at odds with Carter’s professed faith in Jesus.

In his January 10, 2025 edition of “Gary Varvel’s Views from the Right,” the syndicated political cartoonist comments: “The song, ‘Imagine’ is the opposite of what Carter said he believed. Look, I have some doctrinal issues with Carter’s position on abortion and marriage but he claimed to be born again which requires faith in Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Based on that, I assume Carter also believed in life after death and a literal heaven. So why on earth would Garth sing the song, ‘Imagine?’”

I agree with Varvel that this seems like cognitive dissonance.

But John Nichols writes in The Nation (1/10/25) that Carter did like this particular song. In fact, Brooks and Yearwood also played “Imagine” at the 2023 funeral of Carter’s wife Rosalynn.

Nichols notes: “The late president celebrated the impact and influence of the song, which decries war, nationalism, and the excesses of capitalism.”

Nichols adds: “Carter spoke more than once about his enthusiasm for the song.”

The sentiment of “Imagine” may sound nice. But the reality is very different. The problem with the song is that it attacks the solutions to the stated goals. If the goal is world peace, the last thing you want is the absence of God holding sinful human beings to account. Just ask the victims of Fidel Castro.

What Lennon and Yoko Ono’s song does is to undermine the very solution to the problems that plague humanity. Which has been demonstrated over and over by the atheistic utopian regimes (Mao in China, Stalin in the USSR, Pol Pot in Cambodia, etc.) that engineered the deaths of over 100 million people in the 20th century alone.

America’s founders and early leaders recognized the sinfulness of man and that God would hold us to account one day. That’s why the Constitution has proved so durable.

Most of the original state constitutions, notes historian Bill Federer, author of The Original 13: A Documentary History of Religion in America’s First Thirteen States, required that those who held public office be believers in God, lest they advocate lawlessness.

For instance, Federer cites the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, which required officeholders to acknowledge “one God, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, the Rewarder of the good and the Punisher of the wicked. And I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.” Ben Franklin signed this.

Federer told me, “Later, Pennsylvania’s 1790, 1838, 1874 and 1968 Constitutions contained the wording: ‘That no person, who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments, shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this commonwealth.’” Knowing our accountability to God should change how we act.

The more self-government we practice, the less need we have for external government. And the opposite is true too. The less self-control, the more external control is needed.

And where does self-government come from? From voluntary religion.

Robert Winthrop, a Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the mid-19th century, once put it this way: “Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.”

The problem with the song “Imagine” is that it is predicated on the goodness of man—a chimerical idea at best.

I’ll take the hymn “Be Still My Soul,” set to the music of Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” which was also performed at the former president’s funeral, any day over “Imagine.”

©2025 All rights reserved.

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House Girls’ Sports Vote Exposes Democrats as Unrepentant Extremists

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By Family Research Council

The House bill to protect girls’ sports wasn’t remarkable for passing — it passed last year. What was remarkable is what the vote says about Democrats. In the first big test of whether Joe Biden’s party had learned its election lessons, the answer was a shocking and resounding “no.”

Every Democrat but two — Texas Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar — ignored the rallying cry of November 5 and stood stubbornly on the side of radical transgenderism, leaving our nation’s daughters vulnerable to injury, lost privacy, and stolen innocence.

Perhaps the most astonishing detractor of Rep. Greg Steube’s (R-Fla.) Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act was Massachusetts’s Rep. Seth Moulton (D), who spent the better part of November fending off the Left’s mob after he had the audacity to agree with 72% of Americans that biological boys don’t belong on girls’ teams, in their locker rooms, or atop their podiums. The Marine veteran spoke frankly and refreshingly about his party’s wildly out-of-step views on transgenderism after the election, declaring, “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

Turns out, he wasn’t afraid to say it — he was afraid to defend it. Proving that his party is still wearing an “ideological straitjacket,” as Moulton called it last year, less than 1% of Democrats sided with parents on an issue that most of us still can’t believe is an issue at all. “One of the most common-sense bills that we’ve had is the bill that says men cannot play in women’s sports,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Tuesday. Not a single Democrat supported the legislation when it was brought up in 2023, but that was before the GOP’s nationwide ad blitz outing the Left’s obsession with biological men in girls’ spaces.

And yet, even in deep blue states like New York, 66% of locals are demanding an end to this transgender madness — just a handful of points shy of the national average. “We all know that New York is a liberal state, so this tells you that this should not be a liberal, conservative or Democrat and Republican issue,” state Senator George Borrelo (R) insisted.

Now, Moulton, who was prematurely anointed as a voice of reason among Democrats, claims the bill is “too extreme.” “I’ve stated my belief that our party has failed to come to the table in good faith to debate an issue on which the vast majority of Americans believe we are out of touch,” the congressman told The Washington Post. “We should be able to discuss regulations for trans athletes in competitive sports, while still staunchly defending the rights of transgender Americans to simply exist without fear of danger or oppression. But instead, we’ve run away from the issue altogether. As a result, Republicans are in charge and continue to set the agenda with extremist bills like this.” As he once said to placate the party’s bosses, “I have nuanced views on these issues.”

Unfortunately for Moulton, voters’ views aren’t nuanced when it comes to defending the dignity and rights of women. If political expedience was the goal, this liberal failed miserably. He stood up to the bullies — then surrendered to them. And while not every constituent would have agreed with him, they’d have at least respected Moulton for going to bat for what he thought was right. Now he’s just another weak-kneed Democrat under the thumb of an inflexible, intolerant party. A fraud. In the words of incomparable Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), maybe it’s time to go to Amazon and buy a spine.

“I remember when Rep. Moulton was more concerned with what was best for his daughters than what his party thought. I wish this year’s Rep. Moulton could meet November 2024 Rep. Moulton and catch some of 2024 Seth Moulton’s courage,” FRC’s Quena González told The Washington Stand. “The flimsy reasons he gave for voting today against protecting women is hogwash. All obfuscation aside, there’s a word for not standing up to your little girls — it’s called moral cowardice. And there’s a word for not standing up on an issue that you concede lost your party the last election — it’s called electoral insanity.”

While it would be easy to get lost in the Democrats’ suicidal tendencies, the reality is, House Republicans did do what the country demanded — moving this crucial bill one step closer to reality. Doreen Denny, who, like many conservatives, has been waiting for the day when reason would prevail in Congress, celebrated with The Washington Stand that “the overwhelming mandate of the November election is getting results on Capitol Hill.” Denny, the senior advisor for Concerned Women for America, applauded the GOP majority “for standing for women.” “Now,” she urged, “it’s time for the Senate to get this bill across the finish line.”

But even Denny couldn’t help but shake her head at the asinine, self-defeating strategy of the Left. “Today’s vote could have been a turning point for bipartisanship on this issue,” she told TWS. “Instead, only two Democrats voted in favor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. What a shame. It proves radical special interest groups promoting the trans agenda continue to have a death grip on the Democratic Party.”

The bill’s sponsor, Greg Steube, is flabbergasted that all but two members are willing to gamble on a proposal that has almost three-quarters of the country’s support. “This is going to be an election issue for them in two years,” he told Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on Tuesday’s “Washington Watch.” “Maybe they think that two years is a long time from now. But we saw this as an election issue just a couple of months ago during the presidential race. … This is an overwhelmingly supported issue across America. So it is very shocking. … But it just shows you how out of touch Democrats are with the majority of America.”

Asked to speculate why Joe Biden’s party refuses to line up behind biological reality and fairness, the Florida Republican says it all comes down to fear. “The bottom line is, politically, they’re afraid of their left flank. And if a progressive Democrat comes along and fights them on this issue, the far Left of their party will root out any type of reason on these issues.”

And not only that, Steube argued, they’ll use lies to do it. Perkins pointed to Democrat Ayanna Pressley’s (Mass.) string of falsehoods on the House floor before the vote. “Imagine you are eight years old, trying out for the soccer team, and your coach demands that you show them your genitals. That is abuse. That is exploitation. That is egregious. But it is exactly what this Republican bill does.” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) went so far as to say the proposal would “unleash predators on girls,” without, as Fox News points out, explaining how.

Look, Steube countered, “None of this that they’re arguing is ever going to happen. It’s a lie. It’s to try to enrage people [to think], ‘Oh, that’s horrible,’ and ‘Republicans are bad.’ … And the mainstream media is going to perpetuate that lie. It’s just unfortunate … [because] the bill is very short. It’s like a page and a half or two pages or whatever it is. Read it for yourself if you don’t believe me. But that’s exactly what it [says]: the gender you were assigned biologically at birth will determine what sport you play.”

Understanding the pressure they must have faced, others, like González, applauded the two members who defected to support the bill. “The Congressional Hispanic Caucus still refuses to admit Republicans,” he pointed out to TWS. “It sounds like at least two Democrats realize that, on the policy of protecting little girls, most Democrats are out of step with actual Hispanics. I guess Latinos aren’t Latinxs after all,” he quipped. “Who knew?”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

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Iran Coming Apart at the Seams

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By Jihad Watch

Economically, Iran is in the process of coming apart. Its GDP steadily sinks. More than 40% of Iranians are now living below the poverty line. The rial is at an historic low, having lost 25% of its value just since September; it now stands at 820,000 rials to a dollar. Since the establishment of the Islamic government in 1979, the Iranian currency has undergone an 11,000-fold decline in value.

Politically Iran is on its back foot. It has seen all of its major allies, that were formerly part of Iran’s “Shi’a crescent” — Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Assad regime in Syria —fall away. In Gaza, Hamas is being systematically dismantled by the IDF, with 20,000 of its fighters killed and many more wounded. In Lebanon, Hezbollah has been battered by the IDF. Four thousand of its operatives have been killed, thousands more wounded, and 80% of its once-formidable arsenal of rockets and missiles destroyed by the IAF. Hezbollah had to beg for a ceasefire that requires it to remove all of its men and weapons north of the Litani River. In Syria, the rebels have toppled the Assad despotism, and once the loyal ally of Iran, Syria has now become the archenemy of the Islamic Republic, precisely because Iran for so long supported the Assad regime. Iran invested $50 billion in keeping Assad in power; now that $50 billion has gone up in smoke, and the Iranian people are keenly aware of that loss, which has enraged many of them.

More on the current dismal of Iran’s economy, its military weakness, and the growing fury of its population with the regime of the mullahs, can be found here: “$50 billion to Syria vanished into thin air: Unrest in Iran grows over economic turmoil – interview,” by Peled Arbeli, Jerusalem Post, January 10, 2025:

Iran’s public discontent surged in recent weeks as economic hardships, including widespread power outages and rising inflation, fueled calls for change, Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) researcher Benny Sabti told Maariv on Friday.

Sabti began by describing the growing frustration among the Iranian population. “People are very angry with the regime for squandering funds, oil revenues, and resources on Syria, which fell alongside Hezbollah,” he said. “The regime has poured $50 billion into Syria from 2000 until now, all of which vanished into thin air, along with funds sent to Lebanon and other places.” According to Sabti, the Iranian public views this as “a regime failure.”

Sabti believes recent events have given Iranians hope. He pointed to key incidents, such as the reported elimination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which exposed the Iranian regime’s vulnerabilities, and “the fall of Gaza.” He emphasized: “All of this gives the Iranian public—80% of whom oppose the regime—hope.”…

Most Iranians — 80% of them, according to the Israeli researcher Benny Sabti — oppose the regime and have taken heart from the Israelis’ victories over both Hamas and Hezbollah, for both terror groups are seen, correctly, as allies of the Tehran regime. They have been especially impressed by Mossad’s spectacular ability to assassinate, in the middle of a heavily-guarded guest house in Tehran, the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. These Iranians were pleased when the IAF managed to destroy Iran’s S-300 anti-aircraft systems, and the plant producing fuel for ballistic missiles. They are waiting for an IDF attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which they believe will cause the Iranian leadership to be so publicly humiliated by the “Zionist entity,” as to lose all face, and be vulnerable to being toppled by a popular uprising.

Sabti described worsening living conditions: “There are daily power outages lasting six to seven hours in Tehran and across the country, with even longer outages in remote areas. Water shortages follow the power cuts, and air pollution worsens because there isn’t enough clean gas to heat factories and homes. Instead, they burn ship fuel, which causes severe pollution until it’s stopped. The result is freezing temperatures and city shutdowns.” He added: “On some days, people are forbidden to leave their homes—children, adults, government offices, and banks alike.”…

This is the daily nightmare experienced by Iranians, a nightmare of constant and long power outages, water shortages, a spike in water pollution, a lack of clean gas replaced by ship fuel to heat buildings that results in still greater air pollution, which then leads to heating being cut off, and ordinary Iranians enduring freezing temperatures are told to remain at home in order not to be out breathing the polluted air in the cities.

The regime is so worried about more street demonstrations that it now views as inevitable, that it has now been drilling the security services to deal with such manifestations of popular fury. But clubbing protesters so as to end their demonstrations will only serve to further enrage the demonstrators.

Militarily, Iran is weaker now than it has been at any time since the ayatollahs came to power in 1979. It has been stripped of its former military allies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, the first two because of actions taken by the IDF, the third because the HTS rebels almost bloodlessly overturned the Assad regime, sending Bashar fleeing to Moscow. The Israeli Air Force has stripped Iran of its S-300 anti-aircraft defenses, and of the manufacturing plant where it made fuel for its ballistic missiles.

The 80% of Iranians who now wish for an end to the regime are hoping that Trump will reimpose the sanctions on Iran that Biden had lifted, turning the screws still tighter on the Iranian economy, which will, in turn, increase the level of disaffection with the regime. And they are even hoping for Israel to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, which will be such a public humiliation that could weaken the regime to the point that it will, after 45 years, finally crumble into dust.

AUTHOR

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Muslim University Student Who Plotted Jihad Massacre is Latest Failure of Officials Who Vet Migrants

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By Jihad Watch

The officials who vet migrants are bound as a matter of policy to ignore that there is any such thing as an Islamic jihad, so vetting failures of this kind are bound to happen.

“Egyptian Student Added to CIS National Security Vetting Failures Database,” by Todd Bensman, Center for Immigration Studies, January 10, 2025:

An 18-year-old Egyptian student at Virginia’s George Mason University who now stands charged with multiple terrorism offenses related to a mass casualty plot on Israel’s consulate in New York is the latest addition to the Center for Immigration Studies National Security Vetting Failures Database. The entry brings the total number of analyzed failure cases to 50.

In March 2023, the Center published the database collection to draw “remedial attention” to ongoing government vetting failures lest they “drift from the public mind and interest of lawmakers, oversight committee members, media, and homeland security practitioners who would otherwise feel compelled to demand process reforms”, according to an explanatory Center report titled “Learning from our Mistakes”.

The FBI arrested Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan on December 17, 2024, for allegedly plotting a mass casualty attack on the Israeli consulate in New York. The case is pending in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Hassan, an Egyptian National, entered the United States in July 2022 as a juvenile and lived in Falls Church, Va., although as of January 2025 the visa granted for him to enter had not been publicly reported.

As a juvenile, he may have entered with parents or relatives on a temporary non-immigrant visa, such as a tourist visa or a J-2 student exchange visa, or even on an F-1 student visa, as there is no age limit for student visas. The U.S. State Department would, however, approve any of these visa types and conduct a personal interview of minors older than 14, like Hassan, who was 15 at the time.

However it was that Hassan entered, perhaps even if he illegally crossed a land border and claimed asylum, he was clearly already radicalized as an Islamic extremist, a circumstance that visa adjudicators or even federal law enforcement agents at the border, apparently could have discovered in his online social media accounts.

This is knowable because, within weeks or months of the juvenile Hassan’s 2022 entry, his social media accounts alerted the FBI, which sent agents to interview him “due, in part, to Hassan’s support for ISIS online”, the recent charging documents said.

Although no charges were filed in 2022, at some point soon after the FBI interviews, the U.S. government reportedly decided a mistake had been made. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put Hassan into deportation proceedings, which were pending by the time he enrolled in George Mason University (GMU) to study information technology, probably in 2023 or 2024.

Hassan was still an enrolled active student in the summer and fall of 2024 when FBI agents were again actively investigating him undercover and saw him on the GMU campus, an agent affidavit said.

Again, Hassan’s online activities on several X social media accounts had drawn FBI attention. The bureau sent in an undercover agent online upon discovering that Hassan, who portrayed himself as an admirer of Osama bin Ladin and ISIS branches in Afghanistan and West Africa, was openly fantasizing about killing infidels and wanted to martyr himself in a mass-casualty attack.

Court documents reveal examples of Hassan’s alleged posts of him musing about killing Jews and, in one case, noted that a football player’s forehead was a “sniper’s dream”.

In one X account, Hassan boastfully shared an AI analysis of his profile that stated: “Based on our AI agent’s analysis of your tweets, you are a young radical Islamist extremist who is obsessed with jihad and violence against perceived enemies. Your tweets suggest a deep-seated hatred and intolerance towards those of other faiths, particularly Jews.”

“Yep I am an extremist,” Hassan later posted….

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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The Brutalities Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran Against The Baloch People In 2024

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By Middle East Media Research Institute

Iran | Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1800

Each year, the civilized world expects improvements in human rights, but unfortunately the people in occupied Balochistan, living under Iranian and Pakistani colonial rule, face genocide, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, internal displacements, massive-scale military offensives, drone and other air strikes, targeted killings, including those by Iranian contract killers, mass executions, trade restrictions, and operations on a daily basis by border forces, Iranian military forces, and Islamic Revolutionar Guaard Corps (IRGC) terrorist forces.

Due to restrictions and censorship by the Iranian mullah regime it is extremely hard to collect the data of each victim in Iran’s Occupied Balochistan (IOB) and Pakistan’s Occupied Balochistan (POB) but we have tried to expose Iranian state brutality against the Baloch people. In 2024, the Iranian mullah regime pursued anti-Baloch policies by terrorizing the indigenous people of Balochistan.

120 Executions: 120 Baloch prisoners have been executed over bogus drug-related charges. We retrieved the data of 88 people.

20 Killed In Drone And Other Air Strikes: According to local people, approximately 20 Baloch civilians were killed in Iran and Pakistan’s joint drone and other air strikes. One family has lost eight members, including women, children, and infants.

250 Killed In State-Backed Targeted Killings: Iranian forces have targeted 250 Baloch people from different spheres of life. Iranian border forces have deliberately targeted Baloch fuel carriers with direct fire and bursting the tires of the vehicles, due to which the vehicles overturned and caught fire. The forces often then fled, letting the drivers burn inside the vehicles.

150 Subjected To Enforced Disappearances And Injured: Iran is pursuing the policies of Pakistan’s army by abducting Baloch activists and other political and religious figures.

Hundreds Of Baloch Houses Demolished: The Iranian forces continued demolishing the residents of Baloch localities in different parts of IOB. There are reports of forced evacuations of Balochs from the cities of Chabahar, Zahedan, Khash, Iranshahrs, Harmuzgan, and the coast of Makuran.

40 Landmine Explosions: According to reports, more than 18 people have been killed by landmines and grenades left over from military drills in many parts of IOB. More than 20 have been killed in joint Iranian-Pakistani air strikes. Eight people were reportedly killed from a single family, among them are women, children, and an infant in the Saravan area. Three Baloch hostages were tortured to death in an Iranian jail. Ten innocent Baloch captives died in prison due to a lack of urgent medical assistance.

30 People Summoned To Iranian Intelligence Agencies And Courts: Iranian intelligence agencies, the IRGC, and Iranian revolutionary courts have summoned about 30 Baloch scholars and political activists involved in protests in Zahedan for women’s freedom. Iran has adopted policies similar to those of Pakistan where political opponents are terrorized, intimidated, and forced to make visits to police stations and face hours-long interrogations. According to reports, the  IRGC have threatened dozens of close aides of Maulavi Abdul Hameed, the head of Zahedan’s Mecca Mosque, to withdraw their services and keep silent. Baloch locals have also reported that those who participated in the September 2022 Zahedan protest are still being followed and harassed by Iranian intelligence agencies.

150 Cases Of Physical Harassment: Reports gathered from various sources suggest that about 150 cases of physical harassment occurred in 2024 alone where the Basij, Al Quds Forces, the IRGC, and the Iranian border forces have beaten Baloch civilians, among them women, children, and the elderly, in various parts of IOB.

Note: Incidents of armed robbery, extortion, deaths due to traffic accidents, personal disputes, and other enmity-related incidents are not included in this report.

Table 1: 2024 Summary Of Executed And Targeted Killed, People ­­­­­By Iranian Kangaroo Courts And Iranian Intelligence Agencies

Table 2: 2024 Summary Of Executed And Targeted Killed, People ­­­­­By Iranian Kangaroo Courts And Iranian Intelligence Agencies

Table 3: 2024 Summary Of Executed And Targeted Killed, People ­­­­­By Iranian Kangaroo Courts And Iranian Intelligence Agencies

Table 4: 2024 Summary Of Executed And Targeted Killed, People ­­­­­By Iranian Kangaroo Courts And Iranian Intelligence Agencies

Table 5: 2024 Summary Of Executed And Targeted Killed, People ­­­­­By Iranian Kangaroo Courts And Iranian Intelligence Agencies

Table 6: 2024 Summary Of Executed And Targeted Killed, People ­­­­­By Iranian Kangaroo Courts And Iranian Intelligence Agencies

Table 1: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 2: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 3: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 4: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 5: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 6: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 7: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 8: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 9: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 10: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 11: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 12: Photos And Names Of Baloch Civilians Killed, Executed By Iranian Intelligence, Air Force, Contract Killers, And IRGC

Table 1: 2024 Summary Of Enforced Disappearances, Deportations, Injured And Abductions By Iranian Occupational Forces

Table 2: 2024 Summary Of Enforced Disappearances, Deportations, Injured And Abductions By Iranian Occupational Forces

Table 3: 2024 Summary Of Enforced Disappearances, Deportations, Injured And Abductions By Iranian Occupational Forces

Table 1: Photos And Names Of 2024 Baloch Civilians Who Were Victims Of Enforced Disappearances Or Injured In Direct Fire By The Iranian Regime

Table 2: Photos And Names Of 2024 Baloch Civilians Who Were Victims Of Enforced Disappearances Or Injured In Direct Fire By The Iranian Regime

AUTHOR

Rudam Azad

Rudam Azad is a Baloch writer, Baloch representative, and Human Rights activist. He can be reached on Twitter, @RudamAzad and email rudambaloch@gmail.com.

EDITORS NOTE: This MEMRI column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

I have a dream that beginning on January 20, 2025 all Americans will begin judging people by the content of their characters, not the color of their skin thumbnail

I have a dream that beginning on January 20, 2025 all Americans will begin judging people by the content of their characters, not the color of their skin

/in , , , , /by

By Dr. Richard M. Swier, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)

I am looking forward to January 20, 2025 for two reasons.

First, it is the day that Donald J. Trump is sworn into the office of President of the United States.

Second, because it is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

I wonder, is this happenstance or an act of God?

I remember watching on my family’s black and white television the “I have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 by Dr. King.

WATCH: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Content of Character by Free the People

Dr. King believed in faith, family and freedom. President-elect Donald J. Trump also believes if faith, family and freedom.

Dr. King and Donald J. Trump are both convicted felons.

Both Dr. King and Donald J. Trump have been persecuted for what they believe in.

Both were the victims of an assassin. Donald J. Trump was wounded, Dr. King was killed.

For too long we have fallen into the trap of judging people by the color of thier skins and ignoring the content of their characters. Be it politicians, workers, friends and associates.

I believe that we the people will, beginning on January 20, 2025, go back to the future and judge people solely on the content of their characters.

We will move away from an autocracy and toward a meritocracy in America from the school house to the White House and from the school room to corportate board rooms across America.

We will no longer idolize those solely based upon race or color but rather embrace and hold in esteem those among us of high moral character.

It is time to make America moral again.

It is time to make America healthy again.

And finally, it is time to make America great again!

©2025. All rights reserved.

As Trump’s term approaches, Iranian oil exports collapse thumbnail

As Trump’s term approaches, Iranian oil exports collapse

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By NEWSRAEL Telling the Israeli Story

Iran has increased its oil exports every year since Joe Biden’s administration took office, and last year it exported an average of 1.55 million barrels of oil. 

Shandong Ports Group, one of the largest oil terminals that receives oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela, has banned the entry of oil tankers that have been sanctioned by the United States, in parallel with the significant decline in Iranian oil exports in the past two months.

Most of Iran’s oil is transported to Chinese refineries through this port.

Iran also supplies another part of its oil to the ports of Dalian and Jawshan, to small and independent Chinese refineries, called Teapots, but its volume is much smaller than the oil unloaded in Shandong.

To secretly export oil to China, Iran needs oil tankers called the “ghost fleet” (or “dark fleet”) and to deliver its oil to the ports where the automatic identification system should be turned off.

In October and September, the US imposed sanctions on dozens of tankers belonging to the “ghost fleet,” and Iran’s oil exports to China fell to less than 1.3 million barrels in November and December, 550,000 barrels less than in September.

Reuters reported, citing Kepler statistics, that Shandong ports received 1.74 million barrels of Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan oil per day last year, equivalent to 17% of China’s total oil imports.

Now, no tanker on the sanctions list will be able to deliver Iranian, Venezuelan and Russian oil to Shandong ports.

Reuters has published the names of eight very large oil tankers, each with a capacity of two million barrels, that unloaded their cargoes at Shandong ports last month, most of which were Iranian oil.

In this regard, Homayun Falakshahi, a senior expert at Kepler, told Radio Farda that the most important factor in the fall in Iran’s oil exports in the past two months is the imposition of US sanctions on dozens of “ghost fleet” oil tankers.

He said that since September, unsold oil reserves in Iranian waters have more than doubled to 20 million barrels.

Mr. Falakshahi also stressed that the so-called “teapot” refineries have low efficiency and are highly polluting, and the Chinese government has asked them to renovate or retire.

In recent months, at least three “teapots” have officially declared bankruptcy.

The source of Iran’s declining oil exports is also the fact that Donald Trump, the US president-elect, is set to enter the White House in less than two weeks and is expected to revive the “maximum pressure” policy against Iran.

Sanctions imposed on Iran during his previous term in office reduced daily oil exports from 2.5 million barrels to 350,000 barrels.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Sanctions 5: Trump’s “Maximum Pressure” Targets

Sanctions 1: Impact of Iran’s Oil Exports

Sanctions 2: What Iran Wants Lifted

Sanctions 3: Iran’s Economy in 2020

Sanctions 4: The “Chilling Effect” of U.S. Sanctions on Iran

Sanctions 6: U.S. Sanctions Many Iran Proxies

Sanctions 7: Iran’s Economy by the Numbers

Sanctions 8: Timeline of Sanctions

RELATED VIDEO: Seizure of the impounded oil tanker “Suez Rajan” from the coast of Oman

EDITORS NOTE: This The Nziv Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

UK Now So Orwellian Even Meta Data About Truth Too Dangerous For The British To Mention thumbnail

UK Now So Orwellian Even Meta Data About Truth Too Dangerous For The British To Mention

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By Vlad Tepes Blog

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — George Orwell. 1984

Meta data is information about information.

For example:

A guy commits a crime, and the police suspect it was him, but don’t have a warrant to tap his phone. So they check the available meta data on his phone such as who called, when did they call, and for how long. They can’t hear the conversation, but they can know that say, his mother called at the time of the crime and he didn’t answer, when he normally always answers and they talk for over 20 minutes. But this time he didn’t pick up at all or his phone was off.

With this and similar kinds of meta data, they can get a warrant to do whatever more intrusive searches they want.

When it comes to Muslims committing acts of terrorism or major crimes, we here in Dar al Harb have learned to use meta data to know the motives and nature of these events.

Back in the early days of the jihad on us all, we would hear that a man named Mohammad or a variation of same, would say, randomly stab a bunch of people in the neck while yelling the Arabic Phrase, “Allah hu ackbar”. We were not told this was an act of Islamic jihad, but eventually even the slowest picked up on it.

Then, they stopped telling is the name of the perp. If it was a Muslim name, we knew. That little bit of meta data as enough for us to have forbidden information. It was a Muslim killing random infidels as his religion commands him to do. So they stopped telling us the name, usually for several days or a week till any proper outrage had passed and there was no fear of anyone doing anything effective to stop the mass importation of Jihadis into Western nations.

They also stopped telling us that people yelled allah hu ackbar while committing these acts. Witnesses would be suppressed. Then they would start to not just lie by omission, but lie of fabrication. A dozen years or so ago, the media, facing ever more ludicrous rules from communist organizations like the National Union of Journalists, would create special rules for reporting on what they called “minorities”. Which seldom means minorities, but always means anyone but a white male had to be ‘protected’ such that people might not form a negative opinion about a hostile group before that group was too powerful to control us all. So they started claiming that the jihadi was mentally ill. They would report that the attacker, who usually followed koranic instructions for killing infidels to the letter was mentally ill before they even claimed to know his name. So somehow, they got his medical records unsealed within an hour and without even knowing who it was.

At that point they didn’t care that we knew they were lying to us. There was bugger all we could do about it.

Nonetheless, those of us who cared to know the truth carried on, interpreting meta data into reality as we could. When we heard a nameless person entered a church and cut the head off of a priest for instance, and wrote something in a foreign language, we knew it was a Muslim waging jihad against the infidel in the land of the infidels.

The next big squeeze on what we could know and say came when a Muslim waging jihad on the infidel stabbed something like 11 little girls at a Taylor Swift dance party killing three of them in Southport England. The lies of omissions started. He was a good boy from somewhere in Wales.People who correctly said it was an act of Islamic jihad found themselves sentenced to a year and a half in prison. The public got the message. We cannot interpret the meta data of Islamic jihad as such, or we will be destroyed.

Please watch the whole video below, produced by a regular fellow in the UK trying to describe what is obviously an act of jihad where a nurse was stabbed so badly she is described as having life changing injuries.

This the scariest video out of the UK in many ways. The fact that the public is now so Orwelled, for lack of a better term, that they know they may not speak aloud the truth if it contradicts state narratives, and narratives who’s intent is to destroy every aspect of them, is horrifying.

WATCH: UK: Nurse STABBED In Hospital ATTACK In Manchester!

RELATED ARTICLE: UK: Muslims rape 13-year-old girl, cops tell her father he must let it go or be arrested for being racist

EDITORS NOTE: This Vlad Tepes Blog column posted by is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

18,000 Terrorist Attacks in Israel in 2024 thumbnail

18,000 Terrorist Attacks in Israel in 2024

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By The Geller Report

Now imagine if the U.S was attacked 18,000 times by terrorist armies. What would we do? Any rational American would expect us to take them out. Just as we did after 9/11.

But the Biden Administration, the UN, the EU, the Left, et. al.,  demands that Israel agree to a one sided ceasefire that would enable Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis to fight another day. Not happening!

WATCH: Elon Musk: ‘What sort of actions result in the greater good for Israel?

18,000 terrorist attacks in Israel in 2024

Israeli civilians were attacked on seven fronts last year—Iran, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Yemen and from within Israeli territory.

By JNS, Jan 11th, 2024

Terrorists attacked the Jewish state no fewer than 18,000 times in 2024, killing 134 innocent people and wounding another 1,277, according to data the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office released on Thursday.

Israeli civilians were attacked from seven fronts—Iran, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Yemen and from within Israeli territory—18,365 times last year, revealed the report, which combined data from all security agencies and the country’s emergency response groups.

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Geller Report Staff

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Admin did all it could to prevent Israel from winning

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Trump Is A Deal Man’: Wife Of American Hostage Ryan Corbett Explains Why She Flew To Mar-A-Lago thumbnail

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Trump Is A Deal Man’: Wife Of American Hostage Ryan Corbett Explains Why She Flew To Mar-A-Lago

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By Dr. Richard M. Swier, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)

President-elect Donald Trump shared Thursday, surrounded by Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, that he was being briefed on a potential deal to bring home three Americans held hostage by the Taliban. About 12 hours later, Anna Corbett, the wife of one of those hostages, Ryan Corbett, was on a plane headed towards the “winter White House.”

In a tweet Thursday night, Anna announced that she was packing her bags and heading down to the president-elect’s residence.

Anna has no real plan and, at the time of publication, no meeting on the books with Trump. She’s armed only with the mission of doing anything she can to get her husband home.

“It’s been going on very, very long for our family — 883 days today — and I have been begging and asking for a meeting with President Biden and hopeful that this situation would be resolved during this administration, and have not been given a meeting with the president yet. Anna said in an interview with the Daily Caller as she waited for her connecting flight down to Palm Beach. “In desperation, I decided with the children to plan a trip to Mar-a-Lago in the hopes of meeting with President Elect Trump.”

Anna told the Caller that several politicians are working on trying to get her a meeting with the president-elect.

“I think it would be totally amazing if I had a meeting with him within a day of asking for one, after waiting this long for a meeting with President Biden, and I am desperate,” Anna said.

Anna is packing, kissing her kids goodbye, and heading to Mar A Lago to try to get a meeting with President Trump because we know he can bring Ryan home. Help us make sure he sees this video. We can’t thank you enough for your support. #freeryancorbett #trump #bidenpic.twitter.com/vLf5nttcSX

— Free Ryan Corbett (@freeryancorbett) January 10, 2025

Ryan Corbett, a U.S. citizen from upstate New York, previously lived in Afghanistan with his family from 2010 to 2021, according to a website dedicated to bringing him home. Corbett was running local NGOs in Afghanistan before starting a microloan and consulting business in the country.

Corbett left Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover but made the decision to go back to get his business visa renewed and visit his staff in January 2022. During a second visit using his business visa in August 2022, Corbett was captured by the Taliban.

Over the last two years, Anna Corbett has made 16 trips to Washington, D.C., in an attempt to meet with President Joe Biden about a potential deal to rescue her husband, she previously told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). But in all 16 trips, Biden has never met with Anna.

But Anna is is hopeful that Trump can help her get something done.

“President Trump is a deal man. He has a strong track record of making really tough and significant deals,” a spokesperson for Anna told the Caller.

“The president of the United States, their job is to make the hardest decisions. That’s the stuff that gets to the desk. And for 883 days, Anna has been trying to get President Biden to make those hard decisions, and he hasn’t been willing to do it. And we’re hopeful that this will be different,” the spokesperson added.

With his term coming to an end, Biden reportedly has a deal on the table to rescue Corbett. Biden’s administration has been in talks with the Taliban about an agreement since at least July, and proposed in November that the group release three Americans — George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett and Mahmoud Habibi — in exchange for Muhammad Rahim al Afghani, an Afghan who the U.S. government claims was a high-ranking al Qaeda aide, sources told the WSJ.

Almost 800 days without Ryan. Please @POTUS bring him home #freeryancorbett pic.twitter.com/mSBv356lno

— Free Ryan Corbett (@freeryancorbett) October 15, 2024

The Taliban countered the Biden administration’s deal the same day it was offered, the WSJ reported. The Taliban proposed receiving Rahim and two others for Glezmann and Corbett. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in December that Biden has yet to decide on the deal.

“President Biden’s term is almost over. Before he goes there is talk that he may trade a Guantanamo, al Qaeda detainee for three American hostages held by the Taliban. Should he do that?” Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump on Thursday.

“Well I haven’t looked at it, I will be looking at it. They are showing me tomorrow morning, they are showing me the trade … I haven’t been in favor of the trades they have made, but I am taking a look tomorrow. We will have something to announce tomorrow,” Trump answered.

Anna wants to make the pitch directly to Trump to get her husband home for her family. Captured for nearly two and a half years, Anna explained that Ryan has missed their three kids, Ketsia, 19, Miriam, 17 and Caleb, 14, grow up.

“We’re really close to family, and we’ve done everything together. Living overseas together had a lot of challenges. The children having to transition back to a new life in Western New York, without Ryan, going through so many changes and opportunities, and having Ryan miss all of that has just been very, very difficult for us,” an emotional Corbett told the Caller.

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

The 20+ Safest Online Communities for Kids thumbnail

The 20+ Safest Online Communities for Kids

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By Editorial Board – DrRichSwier.com

Children and the internet are a complicated combination. According to a survey by Internet Matters, children spend an average of 4.4 hours per weekday online. Parents want to know that their children are safe when using the internet, especially unsupervised.

To help, I’ve combed through the internet to find online communities for children that are safe places for them to socialize, express themselves, and learn how to use online services. Each resource has strict security protocols that ensure user safety, including moderating the use of banned words and phrases, chat restrictions, parenting oversight, and controls.

If you are a parent, you can feel your child is safe when they access any of the 23 online communities in this article.

Games

1. Animal Jam

URL: https://www.animaljam.com/

Specialty: Online game

Age Appropriate for: 7+

Price: Free (Premium Items)

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC), iOS, Android, Amazon

Animal Jam is an online space where kids can interact and play with friends in a safe and educational environment. Players can personalize their animal avatar, decorate their den, play mini games, and explore the game’s lush virtual world.

Online safety is a primary concern, with active chat filters and in-game moderators ensuring kids have a friendly and clean online experience. Animal Jam’s developers work closely with the Children’s Advertising Review Council (CARU) and are certified under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

Animal Jam uses its platform to educate children on the dangers associated with being online and empower them to explore the internet safely. They also learn about real animals and their natural habitats. Users can create and accessorize their avatars, as well as their avatar’s homes (aka, dens). The game is free to play but also offers paid subscriptions.

2. Franktown Rocks

URL: https://www.franktownrocks.com/

Specialty: Online Games

Age Appropriate for: 10+

Price: Free

Franktown Rocks is a free-to-play online multiplayer game aimed at children ages 8 to 12. Young gamers get to create their own characters and interact with the online world of Franktown. Users can play games, watch videos, make music, and explore the world using their avatars and a range of vehicles.

Customization of avatars and homes allows young minds to express their creativity in a free and safe space. The game enables users to make friends with other gamers and socialize through shared online activities and experiences.

Franktown Rocks uses human and automated moderation to keep its site safe and enforce a no-bullying policy. The entire Franktown Rocks platform is COPPA compliant, meaning no personal information is collected at any time.

3. Home Base by Scholastic

URL: https://kids.scholastic.com/kid/homebase/

Specialty: Book-based games

Age Appropriate for: All ages

Price: Free

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC), iOS, Android 

Scholastic: Home Base is a free-to-use 3D world that keeps children engaged through interactive stories. The platform uses storytelling to help children improve key education-based skills including  geography, astronomy, physics, spelling, and writing. Users are encouraged to learn how to express themselves through writing stories and creating comics that bring their imagination to life.

Scholastic: Home Base also has over 20 single-player and eight multiplayer minigames that cover a range of styles, from action and strategy to puzzles and word games. The different book-based games are all set within recognizable worlds such as the Marvel Universe, Geronimo Stilton, and The Baby-Sitters Club.

To keep its platform safe, Scholastic Home Base offers 24/7 human moderation and a sophisticated automated filter to ensure content safety. The platform offers two levels of chat capabilities, global and local, for more private conversations between existing friends.

4. Minecraft

URL: https://www.minecraft.net/

Specialty: Gaming platform

Age Appropriate for: 7+

Price: $5.04/Year (Minecraft Education), $6.99 (Minecraft Pocket), $29.99 (Minecraft Desktop)

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC), iOS, Android, Console

Minecraft is an online sandbox game in which the only limits to creativity and exploration are the players’ own imaginations. It is the best-selling video game of all time, with over 300 million copies sold, and is available on all gaming platforms, tablets, PCs, and mobile devices.

As a playable experience, Minecraft is suitable for all ages; however, it does include some combat elements. Players can play the game in two modes: creative and survival. While there is a storyline of sorts that players can complete, many gamers prefer the creative aspect of the game, building complex structures and complete towns and worlds that they can then share with other players.

The concept of Minecraft is simple. Players create and place different blocks of the same size and shape to create whatever they can imagine. The game also has chat filters and a reporting system that helps to control and mitigate inappropriate conduct on the game servers. Accounts also have parental controls, so parents of younger gamers have better oversight of their children’s gaming activities.

Alongside the standard game, Minecraft Education is an alternative version designed to teach users about AI, computer science, and digital citizenship. It helps gamers learn about problem-solving, collaboration, and empathy.

5. Moshi Monsters Rewritten

URL: https://moshirewritten.com/

Specialty: Online game

Age Appropriate for: All ages

Price: Free

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC/Linux)

Moshi Monsters Rewritten is a model of the original game recreated by fans. It gives kids a fun place to explore and collect Moshi monsters. Users must care for their monsters while engaging in social interactions with other players and taking part in a range of educational activities.

The world of Moshi Monsters offers a range of varied activities. In addition to adopting and caring for their monsters, users can customize their monster pets, play games with them, decorate their virtual rooms, engage with others via the Friends Tree and Pinboard, or visit other players’ virtual homes.

Moshi Monsters is a vivid and colorful world, and the central news hub is a newspaper called The Daily Growl. The information displayed is easy to read, perfect for the age demographic of its primary user base.

To keep children safe, the platform monitors and moderates chat rooms using patented filtering technology. Players also have the option to report and block users who violate the game’s code of conduct.

Moshi Monsters Rewritten is not associated with Moshi Monsters or the development studio, The Mind Candy Company.

6. New Club Penguin

URL: https://newcp.net/

Specialty: Online game

Age Appropriate for: 6-14

Price: Free

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC/Linux)

New Club Penguin is a wintery MMORPG set on Penguin Island. Players can customize their penguin avatar and igloo. The island offers 25 minigames in which players earn coins, rewards, and stamps. Coins can then be used to purchase new outfits and decoration items.

New Club Penguin is targeted toward younger gamers aged 6 to 14. Users can connect with others around the world. Maintaining a safe space is essential with such a young player base, and New Club Penguin is moderated 24/7. As a secondary safety measure, players cannot type numbers into the game.

New Club Penguin provides children with a fun and safe online environment to play and explore.

7. PK XD

URL: https://en.playpkxd.com/

Specialty: Games

Age Appropriate for: 9+

Price: Free (In-App Purchases)

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC), iOS, Android

PK XD is an online open-world multiplayer experience aimed at kids aged nine and above. The PK XD universe is a place filled with unbelievable adventures where young gamers can connect with friends and let their imaginations flourish by designing and accessorizing their own avatars and pets.

PK XD also offers users a host of entertaining minigames to play alone or with friends, as well as a myriad of cool vehicles that gamers can use to navigate the PK XD universe.

While players can socialize with one another in the game, the developers of PK XD understand the need for safety; all chatting is done through pre-written phrases. This means no manual text can be entered or sent, keeping the tone of conversations safe and appropriate for the target age group.

8. Roblox

URL: https://www.roblox.com/

Specialty: Gaming platform

Age Appropriate for: All ages

Price: Free

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC), iOS, Android, Console

Roblox is a global platform hosting an estimated 40 million game experiences. While gamers of all ages use the platform, it primarily targets children, typically nine and up.

Users can build their own games and share them with others, or play existing games that others have made. All of the games offer an immersive 3D experience with a design style best described as a mash-up of Minecraft and Lego.

Roblox offers a place for young gamers to meet and explore a range of games, including racing, fashion design, and obstacle courses, as well as hangouts and even concerts. With over 79.5 million daily users, the platform understands the need for rigorous safety mechanics especially given the in-game chat feature, which allows any user to talk to another.

Given Roblox’s huge player base, we recommend parents enable the game’s most stringent safety controls. This includes removing in-game chat options completely or controlling who is allowed to chat with your child’s account. Roblox also offers robust chat filters with human and AI moderators, age-based permissions, spending limits, a built-in reporting system, and even avatar clothing detection to ensure that digital characters remain age-appropriate.

While Roblox is free-to-play, users can purchase premium in-game content. Parents who are concerned about microtransactions may want to monitor or restrict their child’s spending.

9. Stardoll

URL: https://www.stardoll.com/

Specialty: Fashion community 

Age Appropriate for: 13-18

Price: Free 

Stardoll is an online community for teenagers with an eye for fashion and creativity. With almost 500 million players from over 200 countries, it is the largest online community of its kind. Members can create their avatars and let their creativity shine as they clothe their characters, decorate their homes, and socialize with others.

Stardoll members can strike up friendships and spend time together online chatting, playing games, and creating clubs. Stardoll is used by players of all ages; however, accounts for people under 13 have additional restrictions to keep them safe.

Beyond that, Stardoll constantly monitors its platform and has clear rules and codes of conduct. Name-calling and inappropriate language are not tolerated, and those who break the rules risk having their accounts terminated.

10. ToonTown Rewritten

URL: https://www.toontownrewritten.com/

Specialty: Online game

Age Appropriate for: All ages

Price: Free

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC/Linux)

Toontown Rewritten is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). It offers a safe online space for children, teens, and adults. The game has an endless storyline, which is the battle against the cogs, a corporate villain intent on turning the town into a new business.

ToonTown Rewritten offers a wealth of activities, from relaxing to action-packed. Gamers can participate in races, unlock bigger and better karts and new tracks, or go fishing to catch all the different fish species. Other activities include gardening, golfing, hosting parties, and adopting and caring for ToonTown’s native pets, Doodles.

ToonTown Rewritten is presided over by a team of moderators who check every single report that comes through to ensure ToonTown remains a safe online world for players of every age. The game also has measures in place to prevent the use of inappropriate words and phrases in chat sessions and stop the sharing of personal information.

11. Webkinz

URL: https://www.webkinz.com/

Specialty: Online game

Age Appropriate for: 6+

Price: Free (membership options) 

Market(s): Desktop (PC/MAC), iOS, Android 

Webkinz is a bright and colorful virtual world for children aged six and over. Webkinz is a safe and educational platform where users can adopt, care for, and customize their own pets and homes, and can also engage with their friends through a variety of chat areas.

Webkinz provides children with a fun space to express themselves online. Safety is paramount for Webkinz, and all chat areas are heavily moderated while parents are also given additional chat controls, including permission management and third-party ad exposure.

Webkinz claims to be the original toy-to-life game, meaning that many of the playable pets in the game are also available as plush toys in the real world. This allows children to expand their roleplay in real life, encouraging creativity and imaginative play.

Social Media & Forums

12. Azoomee

URL: https://www.azoomee.com/

Specialty: Games and Videos

Age Appropriate for: 5-10

Price: Free

Market(s): iOS, Android 

Azoomee is a BAFTA-nominated app bursting with all the things kids love and designed for children aged 5 to 10. Azoomee provides children with a safe and positive online experience, giving them a platform filled with games, videos, TV shows, activities, and more.

Azoomee’s creators worked with education and children’s media experts to collate a library of shows, videos, and games that aim to engage with children and help aid their development. This includes games that build problem-solving and strategy, as well as videos that fill young minds with wonder and introduce them to topics such as science and the natural world.

The app also has a chat feature, but all friend connections must be vetted and approved by a parent or guardian before communication starts. All parental controls and settings are PIN-protected to ensure child safety is maintained.

Additionally, Azoomee helps educate children on being smart and staying safe online through its series Search It Up, which earned a BAFTA nomination.

13. Grom

URL: https://www.gromsocial.com/

Specialty: Social Media app

Age Appropriate for: Exclusively for kids under 13

Price: Free

Market: iOS

GROM is a child-focused social media platform designed for children aged under 13. The platform is COPPA-compliant and recognized by the CARU Safe Harbor program. GROM provides children with the ability to connect with new and existing friends, share photos, and interact in a moderated environment.

To keep the platform safe, GROM has a 5-layer safety system that uses video-based age recognition, content filtering, human moderation, user reporting, and parental monitoring.

Parental monitoring features include content oversight for all posts, comments, and messages, along with customizable screen times and account settings.

14. KidzSearch

URL: https://www.kidzsearch.com/

Specialty: Search engine/forum

Age Appropriate for: 9-13 

Price: Free

Market(s): Desktop, iOS, Android

KidzSearch is a specialized internet search engine for children. All results are safe and filtered for ages 13 and under. KidzSearch uses Google’s search settings as a base with additional age-appropriate filtering. Kids can customize the background of their search experience on KidzSearch and are encouraged to engage with others in a safe introduction to the online world.

Within the engine, KidzSearch also offers a social media platform designed for children called KidzNet, and an informative Q&A portal called KidzTalk. Both are heavily moderated, and all content is reviewed before being published.

KidzTalk encourages children to ask and answer questions and offers polls, blogs, and quizzes. There are over eighteen thousand questions and more than fifty-one thousand answers currently on the site, and all users are encouraged to submit both whenever they can.

15. Kidzworld

URL: https://www.kidzworld.com/

Specialty: Social hub

Age Appropriate for: 9-16

Price: Free

Kidzworld is a social networking platform created for children and teens aged 9 to 16. The platform offers users a safe and moderated online forum to make friends, socialize, and learn how to express themselves in an online world.

Kidzworld complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and works hard to maintain a platform that protects its members from bullying, inappropriate language, and anyone who doesn’t belong on the platform.

Kidzworld provides an array of online activities to keep users entertained, including chat rooms, forums, quizzes, games, and articles on a wide range of interesting and informative topics.

16. Kinzoo Messenger

URL: https://www.kinzoo.com/kinzoo-messenger

Specialty: Social Media app

Age Appropriate for:  6+

Price: Free

Market(s): iOS, Android 

Kinzoo is a child-focused messaging platform that lets young friends keep in touch through voice and video calls, as well as chat windows that allow the sharing of photos and videos in a safe and secure environment.

Kinzoo also offers a number of free games. When accounts are created, mobile users can select several games for free, with others available for purchase. Providing their friends have the same game, they can play through the app. Mobile users get to choose free games, but tablet users have to pay for any game they play.

Kinzoo holds certifications from kidSAFE+ and COPPA and works in a similar fashion to standard messaging services, but all contacts are controlled through a central parental account.  All incoming friend requests must be approved by the parent on their device before children can chat. Parents can also change PINs and report inappropriate content to the Kinzoo team.

17. LEGO® Play

URL: https://kids.lego.com/en-gb/play-app

Specialty: Creative social app

Age Appropriate for: All ages

Price: Free

Market(s): iOS, Android 

LEGO® Play is a new kid-safe platform that combines the creativity of LEGO with the convenience of technology. LEGOPlay allows users to let their ideas run wild and share their creations with others via a kid-friendly social media feed.

The entire social space is well-moderated, granting children the freedom to explore and connect with new friends. Users can leave comments on other people’s work and build personalized profiles with avatars and nicknames to protect their identities.

The app also offers a range of minigames and LEGO videos for users to fully immerse themselves in the world of LEGO.

18. TrevorSpace

URL: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/trevorspace/

Specialty: Supportive social community  

Age Appropriate for:  13-24

Price: Free

TrevorSpace is an inclusive online platform for young members of the LGBTQ+ community. A social platform targeted toward teens and young adults aged 13 to 24, TrevorSpace provides a safe and supportive space for people exploring their identity and working to understand their sexuality and true self. Users can connect with friends worldwide by joining clubs and sharing their interests to connect with like-minded individuals.

TrevorSpace understands the need for security in the online sphere and maintains its platform by using online moderators and AI technology, ensuring it always offers a safe platform that encourages self-expression free from judgment or harassment.

Educational Platforms

19. Khan Academy & Khan Academy Kids 

URL: https://khanacademy.org/

Specialty: Educational

Age Appropriate for: All ages (2-8 for Khan Academy Kids)

Price: Free (accepts donations)

Market(s): Desktop, iOS, Android

Khan Academy Kids is a child-focused offshoot of Khan Academy, a non-profit organization that offers free, high-quality educational resources without advertisements to children aged 2-8. Older children will find similar resources on the main Khan Academy site.

Khan Academy and Khan Academy Kids offer lessons on a wide range of subjects and allow students to learn at their own pace. The app and website enable kids to satisfy their curiosity about a subject, bolster existing knowledge, and supplement ongoing studies.

All lessons available on Khan Academy or Khan Academy Kids are delivered through a combination of practice exercises and instructional videos. The program also offers a personalized learning dashboard so students can track their progress and adjust their learning to their own pace and capabilities.

20. Scratch 

URL: https://scratch.mit.edu/

Specialty: Coding community

Age Appropriate for: 8-16

Price: Free

Market(s): Desktop, iOS, Android

Scratch is the world’s largest free coding community designed for children aged 8 to 16. Scratch uses a simple visual interface and drag-and-drop features to help young minds build animations, games, and stories. Scratch helps children develop computational thinking and problem-solving skills through creative teaching methods, encouraging self-expression and collaboration. Scratch is free and available in over 70 languages.

The Scratch community is a safe space for people to discuss and share their work with others. Basic private data is taken during sign-up and securely kept; it is never sold or passed on to third parties. The community itself is moderated and has active filters on chat messages to ensure appropriateness at all times.

21. The Open Canopy 

URL: https://learn.outofedenwalk.com/

Specialty: Educational/cultural 

Age Appropriate for: 3-19

Price: Free

The Open Canopy is a fun and engaging online forum for children and young adults aged 3 to 19. The Open Canopy offers students a range of ”learning journeys,’’ 8-12 week curriculum-styled programs. Students from all over the world undertake these journeys and are encouraged to share their efforts on The Open Canopy’s online platform to help young people learn about different cultures.

Seeing the same assignment completed by people of different faiths, races, and geographical locations is an educational and eye-opening experience. The intention is for students to talk to one another and open dialogues that supplement the cultural learning experience offered by the various programs.

Community belonging and accountability are key to the ongoing safety of The Open Canopy students. Participants are reminded to be respectful and reflective, and they are encouraged to speak up and be compassionate, attentive, and brave. There are also clearly written community guidelines outlining what types of posts and language are inappropriate.

22. Tynker

URL: https://www.tynker.com/

Specialty: Coding community 

Age Appropriate for: 5+

Price: Subscription (Quarterly, Yearly, Lifetime)

Market(s): Desktop, iOS, Android

Tynker is an online educational platform that aims to teach children as young as five about coding. It offers a wide range of courses, apps, and lessons that help children develop an interest and gain experience in writing code. The lessons are fun and include teaching children how to create their character skins in Minecraft.

Children get to share their coded games and other projects with fellow users. Tynker uses this sharing capability to motivate children to grow their coding skills. The Tynker platform teaches children how to code in real-world applicable languages such as Python and Java, helping to prepare them for school and the world beyond education.

In dealing with such a young user base, Tynker prioritizes online safety and has moderators checking and approving every project that is published before it becomes available to users. This helps ensure that no age-inappropriate content is shared on the site. The platform has also taken the step to remove messaging and commenting, instead using heart reactions to show support for other coders.

23. Write the World

URL: https://writetheworld.org/

Specialty: Creative writing

Age Appropriate for: 13-19

Price: Free

Write the World is a free online community for young writers looking to find their voice and grow their critical thinking, reading, and general communication skills. The Write the World organization is targeted at people aged 13-19.

On the Write the World platform, young voices can develop in writing, editing, and publishing their work among their peers. They can also learn how to receive criticism and handle feedback. The different educational programs offered on the site incorporate virtual class groups, writing prompts, lesson plans, educational resources, college essay programs, and writing workshops.

Write the World keeps the community safe by monitoring accounts and ensuring registration information is checked and verified. If moderators feel a user infringes on the site’s policies, they will terminate access to the website and groups. Similar steps are taken against accounts that upload inappropriate work or do not comply with the platform’s terms of service and general purpose.

Conclusion

Safety and security are paramount for young people who spend time online. Most of the resources I’ve listed are solely for children and young teens, where they can safely spend creatively and socially. Knowing there are online communities where they can spend their time, with no risk of being exposed to inappropriate material, offers parents invaluable peace of mind.

These online communities offer children a safe space, and many also help teach children about the dangers of the internet and how to stay safe online.

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AUTHOR

Alex Laybourne

Alex Laybourne is a Content Writer for Website Planet.

Alex loves to write about digital commerce, including website hosting, web design, and growing a brand online. Alex’s knowledge of these topics and his writing experience enable him to create content that’s helpful, accurate, and easy to read.

Alex maintained and grew his own blog for several years while working as a freelancer. He’s also a small business owner who understands the importance of online branding and marketing, which is informed by his experience as a product marketer. Having turned to a career in writing over a decade ago, Alex wrote within a variety of industries before joining Website Planet in 2024.

When he’s not working, you’ll likely find Alex writing fiction or immersing himself in a game of Dungeons & Dragons with his friends.

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