There was a direct hit just off the runway of JFK International Airport earlier this morning. The Iran-backed ICBM from Yemen caused major panic throughout the Central New Jersey/New York area, but caused little damage. Eight people were treated for light injuries and several for shock. All air traffic was temporarily grounded. Several major airlines have announced they will stop air traffic to the United States completely due to the high risk.

NOT! But it got your attention. Nu? So if this DID happen, what do you think the American response would be or SHOULD be?

https://youtu.be/qPJdium4y7g?si=WBX158hLbx92FwB3

For the past four days, Israel has been rocked by Red Alerts. A couple days ago we were awakened just after sunrise by the loud crash of an interception near Haifa. There was another interception at 5:30 am on Friday over Afula/Megiddo, which is just 16 miles south of us as the crow flies. Shrapnel hit a kindergarten, but because of the early hour, there was no one present, thank G-d. Another missile launched yesterday from Yemen was targeted for the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv center of Israel. And at 9:24 this morning, my alert went off again. This time, the missile slipped through without being intercepted.

A Houthi ICBM hit adjacent to a service road just off a runway at Ben Gurion International Airport. This happened just before the Knesset and Security Cabinet were set to meet to vote on an escalation by the IDF in Gaza. All flights were delayed – following the normal procedure when a missile is detected. Several planes that were about to land were diverted from their routes, taking almost an hour for the landings to be re-routed and re-approved. Air India turned their plane around completely and landed in Dubai. Air Europa in Madrid was about to take off, but had their passengers disembark just prior to leaving the gate. At this point, many foreign airlines are conducting situation assessments or are completely canceling all flights to Israel. Austrian Airlines and Swiss Air have canceled flights until further notice.

It has been reported that so far, eight people were slightly to moderately injured. Several are being treated for shock. There was widespread panic at and around the airport, understandably. This has caused an escalation in events. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz stated, “Anyone who targets us will face a response seven times as strong.” We wait to see the response. The reason there was a failure to intercept the missile is under investigation.

https://youtu.be/jSm-VfX5XD4?si=6BKOsX-4OWh5_YKp

In other news, Friday night were listened to the IDF jets take off and head towards Syria, where they bombed several Iranian supplied weapons depots and rocket launching sites. After the Assad regime was toppled just a few weeks ago, the rebels, who claimed to be moderate and peace loving, Hayat Tahrir-Al Sham (HTS) and ISIS, are ruling Syria as a transitional government. They have begun an ethnic cleansing of the Christian and Druze populations.

Several Christian cities have been invaded by the Islamic radicals, targeting homes and killing people, raping the women and burning homes and churches. Captured men are being forced to crawl on their bellies and behave as animals before they are executed. The men are forcibly shaved of their beards and mustaches, a symbolic attack on their religious identity. Last week a fake audio recording was played of a Druze man supposedly cursing Mohammed and the rebel faction. It was a complete setup that caused the jihadists to storm Druze towns bent on revenge. The mainstream media has labeled them “clashes,” but the Druze of Syria were under attack as of last week. Over 100 people have been killed including a Druze mayor.

The Druze are an ethnic religious minority that live mostly in Northern Israel, Lebanon and in Syria. They are NOT Muslim. For centuries, they have been persecuted for refusing to convert, which have made them insular and strong warriors. In Israel, the Druzim (over 150,000) are fully integrated into our society, and are deeply integrated into our military. They serve as security agents and personal bodyguards. The Israeli Druze have multiplied and prospered, enjoying freedom as full citizens. In Syria, they are greatly outnumbered and have asked for Israeli protection.

In an extraordinary act of unity, the Druze men of Israel stormed the border fence in the Golan Heights (the same one Max used to patrol) and crossed over into Syria to rescue their separated relatives. On Friday night, the IDF finally stepped in launching massive airstrikes against the extremist militias, Tons of humanitarian aid was delivered and again, a triage unit set up in the space between Israeli and Syrian territory. Several of the wounded Syrian Druze were transported to Israeli hospitals. Israel has sent a message. They will defend the Druze. The IDF will not allow any more hostile forces near our borders.

In the meantime, the media, when you can find coverage, downplays this. The world is mostly silent. If you are more afraid of being labeled ‘Islamophobic’ than you are of standing up for the targeted cleansing worldwide of ethnic minorities….true definition of genocide… then you should reconsider your worldview. We must speak up for the Druze. We must speak up for the Christians whether in Syria, in Nigeria, in Sudan, in India, in China or elsewhere.

Remember the fires raging throughout the center of Israel just this past Wednesday and Thursday? 18 suspects were arrested for arson, all Palestinian. Wednesday night a miracle occurred. The rainy season in Israel is long over. It has been a super dry winter for us. But in the middle of the night, thunderstorms moved in. Completely unexpected. Not forecast at all. The rains were just enough to help the fires come under control. Planes from Cypress and Croatia came to help. All of the wildfires were extinguished in full by Friday morning.

We have just received news that for the first time in six decades, Israel will reinstitute the death penalty. The interrogated, confessed, tried and sentenced Hamas terrorists who murdered, raped, and kidnapped innocent Israelis and burned their homes, cars and land, will be hung. Capital punishment has only been used twice in 1962. The bill was passed by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation and remains to be voted on by the Knesset on Wednesday. It is expected to pass.

Amnesty International has already condemned the bill arguing that the death penalty is “cruel, inhumane and humiliating.” Hostage families have raised their voices in concern that passing the bill would endanger the lives of the remaining captives in Gaza who are still alive.

Last week the government called up tens of thousands of reservists in anticipation of a large scale intensification of the war with Hamas. Several scenarios for a hostage release have been proposed by Israel, the US delegation and several the mediating countries. All have been flatly rejected by Hamas. It has just been released for clearance, that two more IDF soldiers have fallen in Gaza.

I really want to end this on a positive note. The weather is variable, but turning warmer and I have been working to fully plant my garden. The carrots, yellow beets and radishes are coming in. I’ve planted six varieties of heirloom tomatoes as well as bell peppers, eggplant, yellow squash and green beans. The herbs are all thriving. If all goes well, I shall have the tomatillo seeds sown in a couple days. I’m looking forward to a fruitful (vegetable-full) summer. Hopefully, I will be able to include a few interesting spotlight interviews in the coming weeks. And hoping everything calms down militarily.