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Turkey is a Middle Eastern Threat by Amine Ayoub Under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has shed its secular foundations, embraced Islamist politics, and adopted the authoritarian playbook of Middle Eastern strongmen. Yet, despite its aggressive foreign policy, Islamist ties, and military adventurism, Western governments continue treating Turkey as a European partner, and clinging to an outdated vision of a NATO ally and a democratic bridge to the Middle East. For nearly a century, Turkey was a rare secular state in the Muslim world. Founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish Republic kept religion at arm’s length, embracing Western-style governance, education, and law. That era is over. Turkey’s alignment with political Islam is also evident in its foreign policy. It has actively supported Islamist movements across the Middle East, providing political and financial backing to groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. While Western diplomats still hope for Turkey to be a stabilizing force, its actions tell a different story. In Syria, Turkey has backed Islamist militias, facilitated the movement of jihadist fighters, and launched military incursions that have displaced thousands. It claims to fight terrorism, yet it has attacked the very Kurdish forces that helped the West defeat ISIS. In Libya, Turkey has fuelled conflict by sending Syrian mercenaries to fight for Islamist factions, while Western nations pushed for diplomatic solutions. In the Caucasus, Turkey has sought to exert influence through military intervention. During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it provided direct support to Azerbaijan against Armenia, sending weapons, intelligence, and foreign fighters. Its relationship with Iran has grown stronger in recent years, with the two countries cooperating on military and intelligence matters. While the West imposes sanctions on Iran, Turkey helps it evade them, facilitating illicit oil and gold trade. Turkey’s close ties with Qatar further expose its regional identity. The two nations share an Islamist ideological bond, with both funding and supporting Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups. Turkey’s dealings with Russia have raised serious questions. As a NATO member, Turkey should be opposing Russian military expansion, yet it purchased Russian S-400 missile defense systems in direct defiance of Western sanctions. Turkey no longer sees itself as bound to Western security structures. Western governments need to craft policies that acknowledge the reality of Turkey’s ambitions, rather than clinging to outdated diplomatic frameworks. Food for Thought: by Steven Shamrak There are no "Right-wing" political parties in Israel. The term is used by Jew-haters and self-hating Jews, the enemy appeasers, to discredit Zionists, who are supporters of the Jewish Independence movement. This is the only national independence movement most ‘democratic’ states and the political Left do not support. Israel needs to stop worrying about what the Western 'traditional' anti-Semites think, and decisively reclaim and reunite Eretz-Israel, the Land of Israel. Israel to Lead a Military Action against Iran President Donald Trump told reporters that if Iran does not give up its nuclear weapons program, military action led by Israel is a real possibility, adding he has a deadline in mind for when the two countries must come to an agreement. The Trump administration continues to try to rein in the country's nuclear program, threatening "great danger" if the two sides fail to come to an agreement. "We have a little time, but we don't have much time, because we're not going to let them have a nuclear weapon. We can't let them have a nuclear weapon. If it requires military, we're going to have military," the president told reporters. "Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They'll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do." Israeli Arabs - Enemies Within A group of 6 Israeli Arabs accused of transferring millions of shekels from Hamas agents in Turkey to fund terrorism in Judea and Samaria. "Screw you" Macron Yair Netanyahu to Macron: ‘Screw you’ to Macron, following the announcement Paris could recognize a Palestinian state later this year. “Screw you! Yes to independence of New Caledonia! Yes to independence to French Polynesia! Yes to independence of Corsica! Yes to independence of the Basque Country! Yes to independence of French Guinea! Stop the neo imperialism of France in west Africa,” Yair Netanyahu tweeted. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his son Yair’s tweet cursing French President Emmanuel Macron, saying he disapproved of the language but supported the substance of the remarks. Hezbollah has to Disarm First Hezbollah is prepared to enter discussions with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun regarding its military arsenal, contingent on Israel pulling out of key areas in southern Lebanon and halting its military activity there. Pressure on Hezbollah to disarm has increased in the wake of the war. Deputy United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus called for the immediate disarmament of Hezbollah and other non-state militias in Lebanon, warning that their continued operations undermine both Lebanese sovereignty and regional peace. Israel has retained control over five strategic hilltop locations in the south, will only transfer control of those positions to the Lebanese Army once the security environment is deemed stable. Just 25% of Gaza Tunnels are Destroyed A security source says IDF succeeded in destroying only about one quarter of Hamas' tunnels in Gaza. Prior to the massacre, Israel focused on tunnels that were dug under the border with Gaza but largely ignored the tunnels being dug entirely within Gaza. There is a significant number of smuggling tunnels which cross from Gaza into Egypt. (Israel can use them to 'smuggle' Gazans to the Sinai under Egypt's system of border walls.) War is going on in Judea and Samaria Is rock-throwing harmless? According to most of the Western press and Al Jazeera it is “non-violent resistance.” In 2024 there were 3,668 instances of rock-throwing. Add to those 843 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 671 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers, 526 explosive charges, 364 cases of arson and 179 terrorist shootings, and you will see there’s a war going on. Not as highly publicized as the one in Gaza. Anti-Israel Barking Dogs of 'Ugly Nazi' Former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine Richard Falk claimed that the October 7, 2023 attacks committed by the Hamas terrorist organization in which about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were massacred, was "long overdue" and "entirely justifiable" even if violations of international law were committed during the course of the attack. Sudan Wants ‘Normalization’ with Israel Lt.-Gen. Al-Sadiq Ismail, the personal envoy to Sudan's military ruler Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, made a visit to Tel Aviv to discuss normalization efforts with Israel. The visit aimed to coordinate with Israeli officials on how to present al-Burhan in a positive light to the new US administration and to address growing tensions with the United Arab Emirates. The envoy told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Al-Burhan wanted to finalize the normalization process between the two countries and arrange Sudan's inclusion in the Abraham Accords in return for Israeli support for Sudan. (What is in it for Israel? When enemies are in need why must Jews help them?) Quotes of the Week: “Enough with the hypocrisy. You welcomed Syrians, Ukrainians, and Afghans – there’s no excuse to deny entry to Gazans. Your silence is not a policy. This is political cynicism! You are trapping the people of Gaza in a war zone – and then blaming Israel for their suffering. This hypocrisy must end.” - MK Dan Illouz, blaming the international communities for refusal to allow Gazans to flee the war zone to other countries – The traditional Western anti-Semites do not care about fake Palestinians – they are just against the Jewish state. All 56 Muslim countries, including 22 Arab states, also do not care about the lives of their ‘bothers’ in Gaza, by not letting them escape the danger of the war. The Roots of the Deep State in Israel by Yotam Eyal The year was 1977 and the State of Israel was in turmoil. After decades in which the Mapai (Labour) party ruled the State of Israel uninterrupted since the founding in 1948, a relatively new party, the Likud Party (founded in 1973), won the Knesset elections. With all good intentions, Mapai was the creation of Zionists who came to Israel from Eastern Europe and Russia, who came with the vision of creating utopia - communism. Mapai was not just a government in the Israeli Knesset; the party's members controlled all the important positions in the Israeli economy. In fact, it was very rare for someone who was not a party member to reach a senior position in the public sector. In that context the Likud victory was not simply upsetting the apple cart, it was catastrophic and was called the "upheaval". Suddenly, after decades of control, it occurred to Mapai leadership that Mapai could not count on always controlling Israeli politics and winning democratic elections. Mapai, and their foreign supporters came up with a devastatingly simple, and effective solution, the Lawyers Program, in partnership with the New Israel Fund (it could be easily called it the “No Israel Fund”). Its goal was to ensure that senior lawyers in the public service would identify with and be indebted to the New Israel Fund, and the mechanism was simple. Every year, the New Israel Fund selected young promising lawyers from within the public service and provided full funding, tuition, room, board and all expenses, for them to earn a master's degree in law at one of the best universities in the United States. To maintain their position as the “natural rulers” investigations are routinely opened against elected officials who try to undermine the power of the deep state. Hidden from the majority of people, the deep state established its power within the legal system, creating a legal structure that operates independently of the Knesset, and sometimes in direct contradiction to it. The vast majority of cases against elected officials and those who oppose the deep state have the intended effect of neutralizing the parties and are later, quietly closed, after the goal of the deep state is achieved. Bringing down Bibi or Bringing Home Hostages? by Eve Young Masses took to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem at multiple locations. Protests were originally called following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he would fire Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar, but calls and plans to protest only intensified after Israel’s return to fighting in the Gaza Strip. | 
