The Arab Oct. 7: Iran’s attacks collapse coexistence

 This moment came when Iranian regime missiles and drones targeted the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. 

The pragmatic and rational approach adopted by several Arab states failed to moderate the erratic behavior of the ideological regime ruling Iran. Arab nations pursued coexistence through trade, financial engagement, and, in Qatar’s case, political alignment with Islamist movements. The outcome proved catastrophic.

Despite extensive trade and financial ties with Tehran, the UAE was targeted more than Israel itself. Qatar, meanwhile, reportedly lost nearly 17% of its liquid gas capacity, amounting to an estimated annual revenue loss of $20 billion.

Why?

Because the regime in Tehran resents the Arab world’s vision of development, stability, and prosperity, a model increasingly admired by ordinary Iranians.

As long as this regime remains in power, sustainable regional development will remain impossible, as any progress can be quickly reduced to ashes.

It is a well-established economic truth that capital is timid, fleeing at the first sign of instability. International investors and global markets understand the risks of coexistence with an unpredictable ideological regime that prioritizes revolution and terror over peace and prosperity.

Just as Israel could not live peacefully alongside Hamas and Hezbollah, Arab states will struggle to achieve lasting stability while the ideological center of regional militancy remains in Tehran.

Any support for “peace” with this regime is ultimately little more than a temporary plaster over a deep and widening wound.

The long-term peace and prosperity of the Arab countries neighboring Iran are inseparable from the interests of both the Iranian people and Israelis: The end of the regime in Tehran and of the ideology that has destabilized the region for decades.

The writer is an Iranian journalist and former editor-in-chief of ManotoTV.

Qatar Buys Influence Through USA Education

 Is it any wonder that anti Semitism is on the rise in the USA, when vast amounts of Qatari money are pumped into the education system almost without control. These details taken from the Foundation of the Defense of Democracies recent report.

It should be remembered that Qatar is the main sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood

HIGHER EDUCATION. The U.S. Department of Education launched a foreign funding dashboard in January 2026 showing that Qatar has pumped $8.8 billion into the U.S. higher education system since 2001. That sum positions Qatar as the largest foreign funder of U.S. higher education, surpassing China by approximately $2 billion.

Section 117 of The Higher Education Act requires schools to disclose gifts and contracts from foreign sources that exceed $250,000. The schools that receive the most funding from Qatar are those with satellite campuses in Doha: Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, Texas A&M University, Georgetown University, Northwestern University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Texas A&M announced in 2024 that it will close its Doha campus by 2028. In March, the House Education and Workforce Committee released a report explaining that “financial incentives are a motivating factor” for universities to maintain their campuses in Qatar, and that the incentives often benefit their home campuses. Northwestern, for example, “annually transfers part of its management fee” from Qatar to its communication and journalism schools in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern and Georgetown are also “contractually required to abide by the ‘applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar,’” which has allowed schools to “perpetuate antisemitism without apparent consequence” and left them “struggling to uphold free speech principles.”

The funds disclosed to the Department of Education are only part of the story. Researchers at universities across the country receive funds from Qatari sources that they are not required to disclose. Qatar has funded projects at Northwestern University, Rutgers University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington to the tune of more than $6 million. This is not an exhaustive account of Qatari-funded research projects.

K-12 SCHOOLS. There is no equivalent reporting requirement for K-12 schools. Public records from a range of school districts in major cities across the country document over $8 million in support from Qatar Foundation International (QFI) since 2010. QFI is the American arm of the Qatar Foundation, which is run by the Qatari royal family. QFI primarily funds teacher trainings, Arabic language and culture programs, and student trips to Doha.

The $8 million figure here is likely an undercount because it reflects spending only in selected districts. Moreover, The Wall Street Journal reported that QFI gave $30.6 million to dozens of schools between 2009 and 2017.

YOUTH PROGRAMS. In addition to direct funding for schools, Qatar has disbursed grants to a range of youth programs, including Boys & Girls Clubs; Learning Undefeated, which brings STEM education to underserved communities; and Break the Barriers, which provides extracurricular programming for students of all ages and abilities.

The report by FDD provides a good first glimpse at Qatari dollars in America. It is certainly not the final word on the problem. But it should prompt a serious discussion. From there, one can only hope that a more serious national dialogue, followed by legislation or other government measures, can begin to tackle the problem.

 

The Giving Tree

 (Cross posted from Grandma's Army )

There's a well-known children's book by Shel Silverstein about a boy and a tree. The boy keeps taking from the tree. The tree keeps giving. The boy never says "thank you" the tree never says "no". Until the stump of the tree is all that's left.

This is similar to the story of Israel and the "Palestinians": Israel is the tree. The "Palestinians" are the "boy". Ungrateful, entitled, and permanently dissatisfied. In addition, the "boy" is invariably hostile.

Baum/Boim (tree in Yiddish), is a common Jewish surname: applebaum (apple tree), birnbaum (pear tree), kirschbaum (cherry tree), nussbaum (nut tree), feigelbaum (fig tree), mandelbaum (almond tree).

Here are a just a few examples of THE GIVING BAUM:

Rescue from neglect and poverty:

From 1948 until 1967, the "West Bank" of the Jordan river was controlled by Jordan. Jordan treated it as far less important than the "East Bank". King Abdullah revoked citizenship from many of the residents who, overnight, became stateless. They couldn't visit or buy land in Jordan. The area remained neglected and underdeveloped.

In 1967, Israel was attacked by Jordan from this territory and won a war of self-defense. It took control of this region. This is what followed: Israel connected the local population to water and electricity; life expectancy rose by decades; medical services became accessible; infrastructure was built; modern agricultural was introduced; Arab men were given employment in agriculture and building; a modern economy was formed.

But the "boy" responded in only one way: RESISTANCE!

Even after a terrorist committed a horrifying attack, was arrested, and sent to prison - Israel treated him in a highly unusual way: Comfortable living quarters; education and hopefully, rehabilitation.  And the "boy"?

He waits for a hostage exchange, gets released and returns to terror.

Peace offers:

Israel has agreed to several major peace offers, from the Peel Commission in 1937, to the Abraham Accords in 2020. Always making concessions that could have ended the conflict and brought prosperity to the region.

The "boy refused every single one of them.

Life saving:

Most people are unaware of the fact that Yahyr Sinwar, the instigator of the horrendous events of October 7th, was treated for brain cancer in an Israeli prison. Israel saved his life. Israeli hospitals treated family members of Hamas and Palestinian Authority leaders, as well as thousands of "Palestinian children from Gaza and the "West Bank." And the "boy"? He recovers and returns to terrorism.

Humanitarian Aid:

Israel sent tons of food into Gaza. Another highly unusual practice of feeding the civilian population of one's enemy, many of whom supported terrorism. Hamas prevented their own citizens from accessing the aid - selling it at inflated prices to their fellow Gazans. The money was used to pay fighters and to recruit new ones. And the "boy"?

He convinced the world that the bad tree was starving them.

The question is: Why is Israel the eternal giver? And why are the "Palestinians" the eternal takers?

It has nothing to do with the so-called Nakba of 1948. It has nothing to do with the so-called "Palestinians". This dynamic existed long before the Arab "Palestinians" ever existed. It is time for the tree to learn what the book doesn't teach. That endless giving without boundaries is not morality. It is self-destruction.

What Happens When Jihadists Smell Weakness

 by Khaled Abu Toameh

Full article at https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22582/jihadists-smell-weakness

§  The message emerging from Hamas -- and Iran -- is unambiguous: Hamas and Iran believe they are winning.

§  Iran has been dictating to Washington when and with whom it will negotiate. Washington apparently never insisted upon face-to-face negotiations with Iran. Why not? By discontinuing talks with the US, Iran also succeeded in maneuvering the Trump Administration into two huge victories for the current regime. First, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out in "Iran Gets Trump to Rescue Hezbollah," US President Donald J. Trump demanded that Israel stop defending itself against attacks from another proxy of Iran: Hezbollah in Lebanon. Second, Iran -- as a result of a much-publicized shouting match between Trump and Netanyahu – masterfully created "daylight" between its two main adversaries: Israel and the United States.

§  These are not the words of a defeated terror organization. These are the words of a group that believes time is on its side.

§  Abu Obeida's remarks are particularly alarming because they come after nearly three years of war, the elimination of many top Hamas leaders, and countless declarations by international mediators that Hamas would eventually be removed from power.

§  Instead, Hamas is still standing. Hamas, like Iran, appears increasingly confident.

§  The "Board of Peace" was supposedly created to bring stability to the Gaza Strip, end Hamas rule, and establish a new political reality after the war.

§  The truth is that the "Board of Peace" has failed in its central mission.

§  Recent reports that the Trump Administration pressured Israel to cancel a planned strike against Hezbollah targets in Beirut's Dahiya district sent a troubling message throughout the region.

§  For Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, any indication of friction between the US and Israel is good news. Terrorists thrive on the perception that their adversaries are divided.

§  Across the Middle East, terrorist organizations constantly search for signs of weakness among their enemies. Jihadists interpret "restraint" quite differently from the way Western policymakers do. What many Western leaders describe as diplomacy, patience, or de-escalation is frequently seen by Islamists as surrender, fear or exhaustion.

§  Weakness, hesitation, and public divisions send exactly the wrong message to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. Every appearance of indecision only encourages further aggression and convinces terrorist leaders that persistence will eventually bring victory.

§  The latest Iranian and Hamas statements are not merely propaganda. They are a warning. The question is whether decision-makers in Washington are listening.

New Book "David and Goliath"

In the Middle East, Arabs talk openly about Israel as Europe shuns it

 For full article see https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/bk2jdi4zzg

Opinion: In Europe, mentioning October 7 can bring accusations of genocide complicity, but across the Middle East people scarred by Assad, Hezbollah and Iran speak about Israel openly, sometimes with envy, as a country that rose from ruin and is here to stay

Francesca Borri|12.08.25 

t“In 1948, my uncles stayed in Haifa, and today my cousins are doctors and engineers,” a Palestinian I met in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus told me, during a story I prepared for a mainstream Israeli newspaper.

“In the end, those who found themselves in Israel succeeded more than those who found themselves among the Arabs.” Yarmouk was once the capital of the Palestinian diaspora. It no longer exists. Assad bombed everything.

The Middle East is confusing right now. In Jenin, an activist who used to travel to Ramallah to buy wine to drink in secret with friends told me, “Everything here is stuck in place, culturally and socially. If it weren’t for the occupation, we would all want to live in Tel Aviv.” In Baghdad, a musician said, “After the Holocaust, the Jews started again from zero. Look at Israel now. For a moment, don’t look at the occupation. Look at the economy, the technology. Here, by contrast, there is only what was built hundreds of years ago. There is only what we inherited. We only destroyed.”

In Beirut, the barista at my favorite cafe is an admirer of Netanyahu. “I don’t relate to the occupation. Netanyahu is a decision maker. He has a strategy I don’t agree with, but he goes straight ahead. And here? Here there isn’t even a government. Here we don’t even know who decides.”

In Europe, if you so much as mention the October 7 massacre, they accuse you of complicity in genocide. In bookstores, you can find everything; everyone has written a book about Gaza, but you can’t find Eli Sharabi’s book “Kidnapped.” You try to understand Israel, and they tell you there’s nothing to understand, that everyone is a murderer. In the Middle East, it is the opposite. People speak openly about Israel, a country like any other country, one that exists and will continue to exist, that will face criticism but will not be erased.

Maybe that is not so strange. On October 7, no one answered Hamas’ call. No one joined the war, not even Hezbollah, not even Iran. For all Arabs, what was clear to Syrians long ago was suddenly clear again: they are pawns. For Assad, for the Gadhafis, for the Saddams, opposition to Israel was mostly rhetorical, an excuse to impose permanent emergency rule, justify general collapse and cling to power.

Now there is a new Middle East. You can choose to fear it and bomb it, or be brave and talk to it. Assad left Syrians in absolute poverty. But one day we hope to walk in Damascus the way we walk in Paris, London or Venice, and we will find the antiques shop beside the Umayyad Mosque, where all of Syria is still whole. It is packed with carpets, textiles, ceramics and silver. The owner knows the history of every object and every corner of Damascus. Listening to him over a cup of tea is like stepping into “One Thousand and One Nights.” His name is Salim Hamdani. He is Jewish.

The Gaza Roadmap: A Diplomatic Fantasy That Keeps Hamas in Power

 Full report at https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22543/gaza-roadmap-diplomatic-fantasy 

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  May 26, 2026 

• Hamas remains armed, organized, and committed to its declared goal of destroying Israel through jihad (holy war). Yet instead of confronting this reality, international diplomats continue to indulge in dangerous fantasies about negotiating Hamas out of existence.
• [Nickolay] Mladenov [former United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process] added that the biggest obstacle to full implementation of the ceasefire remains "Hamas's refusal to accept a verified decommissioning, relinquishing coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza."
• That Mladenov is appealing to the UN Security Council to pressure Hamas reveals the core flaw of the entire approach: the "Board of Peace" and its international sponsors continue to view Hamas as a rational political actor rather than what it actually is: a jihadist terror group.
• Mladenov's roadmap repeatedly speaks about "reciprocity," "verification," "implementation mechanisms," and "phased decommissioning."
• Hamas's charter states that "Israel will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it," and mandates jihad as a religious and individual duty for all Muslims to "liberate Palestine."
• Hamas [in the "roadmap"] is even being allowed to remain armed and influential during the early stages of the transition process....
• This is unacceptable and contradicts the very spirit of the UN Security Council Resolution 2803, on which the roadmap claims to be based. The resolution authorizes a temporary International Stabilization Force and requires the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, including the full disarmament of Hamas and the destruction of all its military infrastructure.
• The message being sent to Hamas is unambiguous: continue holding your weapons, continue ruling the Gaza Strip through intimidation and terror, and the international community will keep negotiating with you.
• The latest roadmap explicitly states that the proposal "does not call for immediate surrender or unilateral disarmament." Instead, it outlines a "phased, Palestinian-led internationally verified process."
• Hamas... has already made clear that it rejects the proposal altogether.
• Hamas is again telling the world openly that it has no intention of disarming. It wants to remain in power so it can continue pursuing, with the help of the Iranian regime, its jihad against Israel.
• While diplomats hold meetings in Cairo, New York, Doha, and Ankara, Hamas uses time to entrench itself, rearm, regroup, recruit, and tighten its control over the Gaza Strip's population.
• Despite recognizing this reality, the proposed solution is still more diplomacy, more negotiations, and more phased implementation mechanisms.
• The new roadmap offers no serious answers because it is based on the false premise that Hamas will agree to disarm and give up power through negotiations and diplomacy.
• The hard truth is that Hamas will not voluntarily disarm. It will not transform itself into a peaceful political movement. It will not abandon its jihadist ideology because of UN resolutions or international conferences.
• When the Mladenov roadmap inevitably collapses under Hamas's rejectionism, the world may finally be forced to admit what should have been obvious long ago: Negotiations do not defeat Islamist terrorist groups. As with Afghanistan and Iran, deciding not to defeat them only re-empowers them.