European Muslim Leaders Visit Israel to Promote Peace, Condemn Extremism Amid Rising Antisemitism

Ailin Vilches Arguello

Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with Muslim leaders from across Europe during a visit to promote interfaith dialogue and regional peace. Photo: Screenshot

In a bid to foster interfaith dialogue, a delegation of Muslim leaders from across Europe met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Monday, kicking off a week-long visit amid growing concerns over rising antisemitism worldwide.

Organized by the European Leadership Network (ELNET), a nongovernmental, nonpartisan group founded in 2007 to strengthen Israel-EU relations, the visit brought together Muslim leaders from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and England to promote interfaith cooperation.

In a post on X, Herzog praised the initiative, saying he was “moved and inspired” by his meeting with the delegation.

“They stand bravely against extremism, and speak out for coexistence and partnership between faiths,” the Israeli leader wrote.

“Here in Israel we live together side by side, Muslim and Jew, together with people of all faiths — and I urged them to take back with them to their communities a message of hope and peace for the future of the region,” Herzog continued.

“Inshallah, we will all see better days, with our hostages back home, and the end of conflicts and suffering in our region,” he said.

The 15-member delegation of Muslim imams from across Europe arrives at a time of rising global antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate crimes — particularly in Europe — following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

“The war that broke out after Oct. 7 is not a war between Israel and Hamas or Israel and Hezbollah but a war between two worlds,” Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, chairman of the Conference of Imams of France, told Herzog during their meeting.

“You represent the world of humanity and democracy,” the Muslim leader said. “You represent the world of brotherhood, humanity, and liberty.”

Imam Chalghoumi noted that members of the delegation were fully aware of the risks they faced due to their visit.

Herzog praised the group for their “courageous” visit. “We are all the sons of Abraham,” he said, expressing hope that regional peace would soon be within reach.

“I believe that the historic progress in our region is the result of dialogue — between Muslims and Jews and between Jews and Muslims,” the Israeli leader said. “Against the extremist forces trying to stop this progress of living together, there are other forces that are growing stronger every day, advancing this vision.”

The delegation also emphasized their message of solidarity and love for the Jewish people, expressing hope for the safe return of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

“We want to see all the hostages home, and also to stop the suffering of the residents of Gaza and live a good life together,” Herzog told them.

After meeting with the Israeli leader, the delegation visited the Knesset and toured Jerusalem’s Old City.

The group is also scheduled to meet with Muslim victims of the Hamas onslaught, visit the Syrian and Lebanese borders, and tour sites in southern Israel impacted by the Oct. 7 attacks.

In a post on X, Noor Dahri, one of the imams in the delegation, praised the visit, saying it was “a great pleasure” to meet the Israeli leader.

“It was a peace journey from European Muslim Imams to Israel,” the Muslim leader said. “We want peace between both nations and strongly condemn political Islam and Islamist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and others.”

IAF strikes Houthi terror targets across Yemen

JNS Staff

Israeli Air Force fighter jets carry out a series of strikes on Houthi terrorist infrastructure in Yemen, July 7, 2025. Credit: IDF.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a series of strikes overnight Sunday on Houthi terrorist infrastructure in Yemen, targeting facilities in the ports of Al Hudaydah, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant.

The operation involved approximately 20 aircraft and the deployment of more than 50 munitions.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the operation was a direct response to ongoing attacks launched by the Houthis against the Jewish state, including repeated UAV and missile assaults on civilian areas.

“These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the State of Israel and its allies,” the IDF said in a statement.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets carry out a series of strikes on Houthi terrorist infrastructure in Yemen, July 7, 2025. Credit: IDF.

The military described the strikes as part of a broader campaign to disrupt the Houthis’ ability to operate in the maritime domain. The Iranian-backed terror group has used Yemen’s coastline to threaten international shipping routes and launch attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea.

Among the IDF targets was the Galaxy Leader, a commercial vessel seized by Houthi terrorists in November 2023. According to the IDF, the Houthis installed a radar system on the ship and have used it to track maritime traffic for potential attacks.

.

.

“The same rule applies to Yemen as to Tehran,” said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. “As part of Operation ‘Black Flag,’ the IDF has launched a powerful strike against terrorist targets belonging to the Houthi regime.

“As I have warned,” he continued, “anyone who tries to harm Israel will be harmed, and anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have that hand cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions.”

During the operation, sirens sounded across several areas in Israel following the launch of two missiles from Yemen. The IDF said interception attempts were made, though the outcome remains under review.

Overnight Saturday, the IDF intercepted another ballistic missile launched by Houthi terrorists in Yemen. The attack triggered sirens across Judea and the Dead Sea region. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee highlighted the persistent threat posed by Houthi missile attacks on Israel, suggesting that the American planes that bombed Iranian nuclear sites last month could be used against Tehran’s terror proxy.

“We thought we were done with missiles coming to Israel, but the Houthis just launched one over us. … Fortunately, Israel’s incredible interception system means we go to the shelter and wait until the all clear. Maybe those B2 bombers need to visit Yemen!” he wrote.

The Houthis have launched dozens of ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones toward Israel in support of Hamas, following the Palestinian terror group’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis also launched missile and drone attacks on over 100 merchant ships in the Red Sea, resulting in the sinking of multiple vessels and the deaths of four sailors, according to the Associated Press.

Jerusalem has conducted multiple rounds of strikes against the Houthis, including a recent operation called “Golden Jewel” targeting the airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students

Reuters and Algemeiner Staff

Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad

Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.

The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.

Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.

A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.

The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.

The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.

Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza

Ailin Vilches Arguello

Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.

“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.

The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”

“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.

The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.

Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.

Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.

According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.

Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.

Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.

Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.

“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.

For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.

In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”

According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.

For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.

Montana Tucker Honors Israeli Courage, Resilience in New Dance Video Filmed on Masada

Shiryn Ghermezian

Montana Tucker at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. Photo: Dan MacMedan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

Jewish-American activist, dancer, and social media influencer Montana Tucker released on Monday a dance video filmed at Masada that honors the bravery and resilience of Jewish people throughout history and Israelis amid the Israel-Iran war.

The video, produced by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), was filmed during Tucker’s solidarity trip to Israel in May, which was her sixth visit to the Jewish state since the deadly Hamas terrorist attack more than a year and a half ago on Oct. 7, 2023. Tucker shared the dance video on social media.

“From the Romans and Persians, to the Nazis, Hamas, Hezbollah, and now the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Jewish people have faced countless enemies. And yet, we endure. We rise,” she wrote in the caption. “Today, I dance at Masada — a symbol of Jewish courage and defiance. I dedicate this moment to the heroes of Israel: the pilots defending the skies, the soldiers guarding the borders, and the millions standing strong in bomb shelters. Am Yisrael Chai. We WILL rise again.”

Masada was a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert in southeastern Israel. It became a final holdout of Jewish rebels standing against the Roman Empire following the destruction of Jerusalem

Tucker and a group of dancers from the Lilach Friedman Dance Center in Israel danced on Masada to a track that included lyrics of “Rise Again” by EV!

“Break down my walls/but I will rise again. Cuz I stand tall/ in my environment,” the artist sings. “How could I ever close my eyes/ and stay silent since/they tried to take me down/with their violence.”

Tucker and CAM have collaborated on a number of projects since the Oct. 7 attacks, including the video “We Can Dance Again,” filmed at the site of the Nova music festival massacre in memory of the 364 music lovers murdered at the event, “I’m a Survivor,” drawing awareness to hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” about Iranian women resisting oppression, and “The Music Never Stopped,” which marked Israel’s 77th Independence Day.

During her most recent trip to Israel, Tucker met with former Hamas hostages Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, who each spent 471 days in captivity after being abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.