With the deaths of two American soldiers at a U.S. base in Jordan, and another soldier still missing, the situation in the Middle East is clearly escalating at a rapid pace.
On Saturday afternoon, the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide travel alert, urging its citizens to "exercise increased caution" when traveling outside the United States. The alert stated: "Heightened tensions in the Middle East raise concerns that Iran-backed groups will act against U.S. interests and American targets overseas. U.S. citizens may also encounter travel disruptions due to flight cancellations." In addition, over 60 U.S. refueling aircraft are being transferred this weekend from around the world to Israel, and the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday afternoon that fighter jets from around the world are also being sent to the region, all of which are signs of impending escalation.
At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, CENTCOM announced that it had begun a new wave of airstrikes on Iran, on the orders of President Donald Trump. According to the statement, "The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and to swiftly punish the Revolutionary Guard forces that attacked American soldiers in Jordan." By 4:30 p.m., the Iranian news agency Mehr reported that the U.S. military launched strikes in the area of the city of Sirik in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz. Strikes were also reported in the area of the city of Hajiabad in the south of the country. By 5:30 p.m., several explosions were heard in the city of Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz.
Arab media reported on Saturday that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei will not appear in public "until the end of the war with the U.S." Many non-Arab media outlets (including the U.S. administration) are reporting, and have been reporting for months, that Khamenei is either not alive, or that he is so disfigured from the attack that he cannot show himself.
Domestically, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told the New York Times that he is still interested in bringing about the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he arrives, as expected, in the city for the UN General Assembly in September. According to him, it is unclear whether he has the legal authority to order the New York Police Department, which he oversees, to detain a foreign leader like Netanyahu. He noted that he is in "active discussions" with the city's legal department on the matter.
All federal authorities have made it clear that any city official is in violation of the Logan Act, among other federal laws, if he attempts to interfere in international affairs. In fact, there have been numerous previous instances, including when Arafat first spoke at the UN, when city officials were told to stand down and remove themselves from anything international. In fact, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz responded to Mamdani's statement, writing on X that "the threats to arrest Netanyahu will not materialize. The U.S. is not a party to the Rome Statute and federal authority supersedes the mayor's wishes. This is political theater."
Mamdani obviously knows this, but wants to incite even more problems in his city and in this country. If he were to actually try to arrest Netanyahu, any or all of the following could happen:
- Mamdani himself could be arrested by federal authorities for violating multiple federal laws.
- Mamdani could also, according to some experts, be arrested for treason.
- Widespread riots could, and likely would, erupt across New York City... both for and against Israel; for and against Mamdani; and for and against U.S. federal authorities... all of which could/would allow the mayor to enact emergency executive powers.
- Potentially, this could force the United Nations to be removed from New York City.
This kind of action is contrary to U.S. foreign policy and is, in effect, according to constitutional experts, not only a violation of federal law, but also a treasonous act of secession from the United States. It could easily force the federal government to send federal troops into New York City, creating violence, demonstrations, riots, and tremendous chaos... all of which are things that Mamdani desires.
Israel is not about to let itself be bullied by the antisemitic mayor, and Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said that "Mamdani failed in managing the city of New York. Instead of focusing on his responsibility as mayor and confronting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he chose to incite hostility and create headlines by attacking the State of Israel. The Prime Minister of Israel will come to New York, address the General Assembly of the UN with pride and stand before the world."
As we commence this new week, we prepare ourselves for the holiday of Tisha b'Av, which begins on Wednesday evening. Many horrible things throughout Jewish history have happened on this date, including, among other events, the destruction of the First Temple, the destruction of the Second Temple, the expulsion from England, the expulsion from Spain, the approval of the Final Solution, the deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka death camp, the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, and, although it didn't happen on Tisha b'Av, we remember the horrors of Oct. 7.
We read the Book of Lamentations on this holiday and remember these many sad events. But this holiday is also one of hope and faith. For despite each of these calamities, the Jewish people have come through them, survived, and thrived around the world. If we remember the pain, we must also remember that, from a macrocosmic view, there is also joy and gratitude... for Am Yisrael Chai is not just a slogan, it is a commitment and an affirmation of the reality that we continue, and always will continue, to live and thrive as Jews.
May this coming week show us the total defeat of the enemies of Israel; and may we all always have faith that God will continue to keep His Covenant with the Jewish people.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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