The Israeli government will finish the war against Hamas and return the hostages, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer declared at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Monday night.

“There are people you’ll meet in Israel who say, you know, forget about the hostages, just finish the war. And the people who say, finish, you know, forget about the war, just return the hostages,” Dermer told JNS CEO and Israel Bureau Chief Alex Traiman during an interview.

“We’re not going to do that. That’s not where Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is. It’s not where I am,” said Dermer, who has led the indirect negotiations for a hostage deal with the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza in recent weeks.

“I think we have to work on achieving those goals, and we’ve gone pretty far, and what will happen the ‘day after’ in Gaza is a discussion—lots of discussions we’ve had behind the scenes,” he added.

However, 12 months from now, Jerusalem’s seven-front war across the Middle East will be “over,” he declared, adding, “Israel will have won.

“I think you will see many peace agreements that either have been forged or will be forged in the coming years of President Trump’s presidency,” Dermer predicted.

“But the key to that, and this is important to remember, is victory. In the Middle East, when you win, when you’re strong, that’s what attracts others,” he said.

“You never want to have daylight with the United States if you can afford not to have daylight,” Dermer said of Jerusalem’s relations with the American administration. “It’s never a good thing, because it sends a message to Israel’s friends and Israel’s enemies when we are aligned with the United States.

“A public disagreement is never in your interest unless you have a vital national interest, where sometimes you have to air that. Otherwise, you try to resolve these things behind the scenes,” Dermer said. “And I think in Trump’s first term, that’s exactly what happened.

“I think it’s important to understand that Israelis would love to see the war end—every Israeli. Anyone who has a son, a brother, a nephew, a niece or a daughter in the army wants the war to be over,” he said.

According to Dermer, “That’s not the real question. The real question is: Do you end the war with a victory or with a defeat? Do you accept the terms of those who committed the atrocities of October 7, or not?

“We are going to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities and end its rule in Gaza. We will ensure that Gaza can never again pose a threat to the State of Israel. And we are committed to bringing all our hostages home. These are the goals we have set, and we fully intend to achieve them,” vowed Dermer.

Former Hamas hostage Noa Argamani wore a stunning yellow maxi dress to the Time100 Gala in New York on Saturday in a touching tribute to those still held by the terror group.

Argamani has become one of the most prominent figures in Israel and around the world in recent months, using her public platform to convey one clear message—the urgency of bringing all the remaining hostages home.

The 27-year-old was included in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2025 as a result of her tireless advocacy.

Her dress, created by Israeli designer Eli Tala, was sewn in just three days before her flight to New York and conveyed her powerful message with elegance and style.

Yellow has become the global symbol for the struggle to return all hostages, including Argamani’s partner, Avinatan Or, who has been held captive by Hamas for 569 days.

The couple’s abduction, including footage of a screaming Argamani being ripped from Or’s arms and driven away to Gaza, has become one of the most enduring images of the October 7, 2023 terror attacks.

Her gala dress, a chic one-shoulder design, was made of satin fabric in a soft, refined yellow shade that shimmered under the bright lights of the red carpet.

The cut was classic A-style – fitted at the top and gradually widening toward the skirt, creating a flowing and sophisticated look.

Argamani’s participation in the prestigious event placed her alongside US President Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei, billionaire Elon Musk and Hollywood stars like Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively.

The Time100 Gala is one of the most significant events on New York’s calendar, bringing together icons, leaders and influencers from all industries around the world for an evening of dialogue and celebration. For Argamani, it was another opportunity to remind the world that the struggle to return the hostages continues, and that those still in captivity must not be forgotten.
Speaking at the gala, she pledged to continue her efforts to secure their release, saying: “Until my boyfriend and all the remaining hostages are home, I will not heal. I will keep fighting as much as I can to bring everyone home.”

It comes after she became the first former hostage to address the UN when she gave testimony to its Security Council in February.

During her evidence, Argamani said that she and Or had been “living in a nightmare” and urged her own government to ensure the full release of all remaining hostages.

Speaking before the collapse of the most recent ceasefire, she said: “The deal must go on in full… my partner and many other hostages are only supposed to be released in the second stage of the deal.

“I know what it [feels like] to be left behind, or watch other hostages being released to their families… I can’t even begin to explain the feeling of being the one who was left behind.

“But I can tell you this is exactly how the hostages are feeling today – abandoned by the world.”

Sali, the LSW Posting for Yaakov. I was not able to make a blog posting till now. Our dear beloved Yaakov Kirschen passed away on April 14, 2025 at the age of 87. I am so devastated. I will try to eventually post some of his old but still relevant cartoons, and keep his blog alive. Thanks to everyone who have sent me condolances and memories. Thank you also so much to everyone who donated. I will try to keep you all up to date and with some oldies but goodies. If anyone feels like donating to help out the LSW, here is a link. Donate to Dry Bones https://tiny.cc/3oncvz He was always fighting for Israel and the Jewish People, and Aliyah, so I thought this cartoon might be appropriate. Much love to all of you loyal Dry Bones fans. Shabbat Shalom. Sali Ariel (the LSW), Long Suffering Wife, for Yaakov Kirschen

Yom Hashoah this year is being commemorated in the shadow of the worst outbreak of Jew hatred seen since the Nazi era.

Survivors of those years’ genocidal convulsions could never in their wildest nightmares have imagined a resurrection of this virulent virus sweeping every continent.

Those who coined the slogan “never again” devoutly believed that the civilised world had finally learnt its lesson and that Jews would never again have to face unbridled enmity of the most lethal kind. Optimists were convinced that benign enlightenment towards Jews would finally dawn. In fact, these individuals were so sure that in many cases, they actually returned to live at the scenes of the crimes, confident that the hate of the recent past was just a bad dream.

Unfortunately, what they forgot or preferred to ignore was the inconvenient fact that most of the perpetrators were never punished and merely melted back into local communities as respected citizens. There was no recanting of recent acts, and in most cases, a veil of amnesia descended whereby children and grandchildren had no idea of the dirty deeds of their parents and grandparents.

In Germany, at least some attempt at Holocaust education was instituted, while in other European countries, shameful collaboration by more than willing accomplices was covered up and whitewashed.

In South America, war criminals sought and found refuge. A few faced justice, but the vast majority lived out the rest of their lives safe in the knowledge that they had got away with their murderous deeds.

The multitudes who danced in the streets and celebrated the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in 1948 fervently believed that at long last the international community had genuinely shed its past hate. It seemed that the world had finally righted millennia-long prejudices and Jews could now look confidently forward to recognition and respect.

How wrong can one be was proven almost immediately.

The Soviet Union and its captive satellites showed their true intentions by suppressing any manifestations of Zionist feelings. In addition, the age-old theological Jew hate of the Eastern Orthodox Churches combined with communist ideology and Stalin’s paranoia saw a swift return to persecution and repression. The gulag replaced the concentration camps, and a long, hideous night of delegitimisation against Jews and Israel followed.

Conveniently ignored in the West’s appeasement of oil-rich Arab countries was the Islamic religious and lay leaders’ embrace of Hitler and his genocidal plans for the Jews of mandated Palestine. This desire to eradicate any Jewish presence in the ancient Jewish homeland incubated and then erupted after Nazism’s defeat.

This reality needs to be acknowledged if we are to honestly face the challenges now confronting Jews, not only in Israel but also elsewhere.

The sad reality is that, apart from an initial and shocked reaction once the horrors of the Shoah were finally revealed, it took only a few short years for the hate virus to openly reappear. After the war ended most people were ashamed to express any sort of Jew hate openly. Many took this as a sign that finally sanity had prevailed and at long last the oldest surviving virus had been vanquished.

Unfortunately, this assumption was widely optimistic given past historical precedents.

The first serious Holocaust museum and memorial, Yad Vashem, was opened in 1957 in Jerusalem. Twelve years after the end of hostilities it was apparent that something serious must be established to not only commemorate the Shoah but also to educate future generations. The realisation that ignorance of what happened during the period from 1933 to 1945 was becoming widespread led to other Holocaust museums being established in various countries.

Students who have toured these memorials no doubt leave with a better understanding of what prejudice can precipitate. The impact of a visit to one of these museums or to a concentration camp itself is dramatic. It is tragic therefore that only a miniscule number have had that experience. For the vast majority of today’s non-Jewish pupils, Holocaust studies are non-existent and consequently, their knowledge of those years is shaped entirely by social media distortions. Never having met a Jew or knowing anything about their history the blank minds are fertile ground for every variety of fake fictitious allegations.

Viruses mutate, and Judeophobia is no exception.

Back in the 1930’s the Nazis told the Jews to get out of Germany and go to (mandated) Palestine.

Today’s successors scream that the Jews should get out of fictional Palestine and return to where they came from.

Once it was the fascists and Nazis who shouted such epithets.

Now, the demented mobs of ignoramuses have the backing of the United Nations and its associated corrupted groups.

The anti Zionism and Israel venom being spouted and promoted on every continent is a virulent mutation of the ancient Jew hate now conveniently dressed up in the latest crusade.

It is now a lethal combination of religious, theological jihadist ideology and secular Western hate against not only Jews but also the whole concept of democratic liberal values.

This year, on Yom Hashoah, as Holocaust survivors and participants in the March of the Living visited Auschwitz, anti-Israel demonstrators confronted them and shouted support for Hamas and a Jew free Palestine. This shameful display on this particular day exemplifies their real agenda. It is a clarion call for the eradication of any Jewish sovereignty and for a repeat of what happened at Auschwitz.

As usual, Jews are the canary in the mine. Once they have been disposed of those who espouse support for Israel and a democratic world will be next. Just look at which regimes are lining up against the Jewish State and you will get a very good idea of where this is all heading.

What lessons can we draw this year on Yom Hashoah?

Since 7 October 2023, many Jews have received a brutal wake-up call.

Some, but not all, have finally woken up to the fact that hallucinatory visions of messianic peace were illusions. Those conditioned and educated to hate Jews and whose agenda is the elimination of Jewish sovereignty cannot be hailed as really doves of peace in disguise. There will always be some who would rather try to curry the sympathy of the murderers and their cheerleaders.

For the vast majority of Jews, especially in Israel, this Yom Hashoah is a sobering day of remembrance and a day to resolve that never again will we be sacrificial offerings to please a hypocritical and uncaring international community.

It is incumbent on Jews wherever they may be living to forcefully respond as the ancient hate runs rampant worldwide, and politicians mouth meaningless mantras. Diaspora Jews should send their teens to Israel for an educational experience and to see the reality of a vibrant Jewish life. Visiting Holocaust museums is not enough. They need to be equipped with historical facts about the centrality of Israel and the miracles of its rebirth.

They also need to be inoculated with a decent dose of knowledge so that they can fight back against the deniers, delegitimizers and self-loathers who learn from a very young age how to hate.

These lyrics from the show, South Pacific, encapsulate how effectively hate spreads:

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear
You’ve got to be taught from year to year
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late
Before you are six, seven or eight to hate
the people your relatives hate

YOU’VE GOT TO BE CAREFULLY TAUGHT.

Last night Netanyahu gave a message to the nation, basically explaining why we can’t surrender to Hamas!

And all the mainstream news channels on tv (11, 12 and 13) either cut Netanyahu’s comments off in the middle or only showed an edited clip of his remarks later on. Whether one likes the Prime Minister or not, he still is the Prime Minister and the mainstream media should not be taking a political stance in its reporting by acting like this.

All this, while Israel fights a war for our very survival, the political left, the mainstream media, former defense officials, and their echo chambers are fighting a different battle—a campaign literally to surrender to Hamas!

But thank G-d, Prime Minister Netanyahu is standing firm. And last night, he made it crystal clear: “If we give in now, all our achievements will be lost. We have no choice but to keep fighting until victory.”

He’s absolutely right.

In fact, Netanyahu dropped a bombshell most media outlets are ignoring: Hamas isn’t just demanding an Israeli withdrawal. Israeli journalist Amir Segal highlighted from Netanyahu’s words that Hamas is demanding a binding United Nations Security Council resolution that would officially declare the war over—and forbid Israel from ever resuming the fight, even if Hamas rebuilds, rearms, and prepares the next October 7th-style massacre.

Think about that.

Hamas trusts the international community—not Hamas, the international community—to shackle Israel from defending itself ever again against the very Islamonaz*i barbarians who burned babies, raped women, and dragged our elderly into terror tunnels.

If this doesn’t expose the absolute moral bankruptcy of the United Nations and international “law,” I don’t know what does.

Instead of using 18 months to pass binding resolutions punishing Iran and Qatar—the states who funded, armed, and trained Hamas—to pressure Hamas to release our hostages, they are being looked upon to protect the terrorists from the Jewish state trying to stop them. And we all know that the UN would do that!

It’s insanity.

We are in a defining moment of Jewish history, and the Prime Minister understands what’s at stake. Iran is watching. Hezbollah is watching. The entire world is watching. And they are all hoping that the left succeeds in pressuring Israel to back down and surrender in the name of the hostages —not because it will bring peace, but because it will bring our defeat.

Let’s break this down. The left is promoting a fantasy: that if we just “end the war,” Hamas will let the hostages go, the violence will stop, and the world will reward us. This delusion is not only dangerous—it’s exactly what Hamas is hoping for. As Netanyahu warned, Hamas isn’t stupid. They’re demanding binding international guarantees that Israel won’t restart the war once the hostages are released. Why? Because they know if we stop now, they’ve won.

Netanyahu made it clear: if we had listened to the political left from day one of this war, we would never have taken out senior terrorist leaders like Sinwar, Deif, or Nasrallah. Syria would still be a full Iranian stronghold. And Israel would be under existential threat from every border.

This isn’t rhetoric. This is reality.

And yet, what does Channel 12 do in the middle of a live wartime address by the Prime Minister? They cut him off. They silenced the elected leader of Israel—during war—because he called out their dishonest commentary.

This is the same Channel 12 that backed Biden’s betrayal, opposed the IDF entering Rafah, promoted the fantasy of leaving the Philadelphi Corridor wide open to weapons smuggling, supported the release of thousands of terrorists, and now cheerleads the absurd idea that we can trick Hamas into a ceasefire and then “go back to war when we feel like it.”

This isn’t about politics. This is about the survival of the Jewish people.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said it best: If we don’t finish off Hamas, then October 7th will happen again—it’s only a matter of time. He’s not giving up. He’s not backing down. And neither should we.

To the leftist leaders and activist protestors: You’re not bringing the hostages home—you’re making it harder to bring them home, you are literally damning them to death in Gaza. You’re strengthening Hamas. You’re prolonging the war. And your hatred for Netanyahu has blinded you to the damage you’re doing to Israel.

We just ended the Passover holiday, when we remember the Exodus from Egypt and our journey to freedom to worship Hashem. But freedom never comes from surrender. It comes from strength, faith, and leadership that doesn’t flinch in the face of evil.

We’re in a war not just for land—but for our future.

Netanyahu’s holding the line. And the Jewish people must stand with him—not because he’s perfect, but because in this moment, he’s right. And history will remember who had the courage to say so.

And also internalize this, on top of their campaign to literally surrender to Hamas they also say that we must stop this war because we have achieved “no achievements from the war,”

So, here is a partial list of achievements from this war to internalize, and share far and wide:

Around 80% of the hostages have been returned. Yes, we still want to save every last one, but it is truly remarkable that we have been able to save all the ones we have, and that can’t be ignored!

• Rocket fire from Gaza has decreased by over 99%
• Approximately 20,000 Hamas terrorists have been eliminated
• Hamas’s senior leadership has been taken out
• The U.S. is advancing a plan for the evacuation of Gaza
• Thousands of Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated
• Around 80% of Hezbollah’s capabilities have been destroyed
• Hezbollah’s senior leadership has been targeted and killed
• Hezbollah is now hiding—and afraid to shoot
• The Iranian terror axis has been effectively dismantled
• Iran has been pushed out of Syria, and militias there have been destroyed
• The Syrian army’s capabilities have been decimated
• The IDF controls Mount Hermon’s crown and southern Syria
• Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have withdrawn from fighting
• The Houthis have taken more damage than ever before
• Iran’s strategic air defenses have been destroyed
• Iran’s economy is in historic crisis
• Around 1,000 terrorists in Judea & Samaria have been eliminated
• Thousands more terrorists have been arrested
• Tens of thousands have been evacuated from terror camps

On top of all this, the aim of Iran and Qatar was to totally destroy Israel on Oct 7th and truly commit a mass genocide of all of us, and miraculously that overall plan was stopped!

But sure, they say “No achievements.”

We will remain sane, positive, spread our gratitude to our holy IDF soldiers and to Hashem for all that they have done to get us to this point, pray for our remaining hostages to free them, and support Netanyahu for his leadership despite our evil enemies, the international pressure to stop, and the internal challenges led by the mainstream media.

We still have so much to do to accomplish total victory, but we are on the way!!! Just imagine where we, the Jewish people are 80 years ago and where we are today. Never lose perspective!!!

Hold your heads up proud!

Am Yisrael Chai!!!