• A report released yesterday detailed that Hamas has a secret headquarters in Turkey for carrying out cyberwarfare and counter intelligence operations, as well as the purchasing of equipment that can be used for the manufacture of weapons.

Gantz’s second trip to Washington in past month over F-35s: Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, in Washington on Thursday. The two signed a joint declaration confirming the U.S.’ commitment to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME) in the Middle East, in light of a possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates following the signing of the Abraham Accords. The document was more of a symbolic gesture, as this responsibility is already enshrined in U.S. law. Israel is the only country in the Middle East to possess the F-35 and therefore the sale of the F-35s to the U.A.E. would hinder Israel’s QME. It is not known if Gantz agreed to withdraw concerns over the sale, but this marks his second visit to Washington in the past month over the matter. Gantz thanked the U.S. for its role in brokering the normalization agreements and said Israel is better situated to confront Iran in light of the new ties.
 
Israel’s only female F-35 pilot named Deputy Squadron Commander: The IDF shared in a statement that “Captain S.,” Israel’s first and only female F-35 fighter jet pilot, has been appointed as the new Deputy Squadron Commander of the 116th Squadron in the Israeli Air Force. Captain S is 26 years old and prior to flying F-35s, she flew F-16s. While there are a few female F-35 pilots in the U.S. Air Force, Captain S is only the second woman anywhere to fly the advanced fifth generation model in combat.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on August 25, 2020 (Twitter)
 
Israel and Sudan normalization announcement likely coming soon: Israel and Sudan are in the process of finalizing normalization efforts between their two countries, according to sources from both nations. A Sudanese official told Israeli publication Israel Hayom, “99% of the details” have been finalized. Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis shared that a formal announcement will come “before November 3rd.” Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok will likely bring the agreement to the interim Parliament to be approved, which may take longer than expected since there is no scheduled date for Sudan’s parliament to be formed. A Wednesday flight between Sudan and Israel, only the second-ever direct flight between the countries, brought an Israeli/American delegation to Khartoum, further signaling Sudan’s willingness to normalize ties. A normalization deal between Israel and Sudan would be especially significant as Sudan is where the Arab League’s Three No’s (no recognition, no peace, no negotiations) agreement was signed in 1967.
 
Israel’s secret embassy in Bahrain for past 11 years: Israel has secretly held an embassy in Bahrain for over 11 years, according to a report by Axios. The secret embassy in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, has been functioning clandestinely since July 2009, under a front called “The Center for International Development.” While the company claimed to work in non-oil investments, it really served as a diplomatic mission, striking business deals between Israelis and Bahrainis. The report comes after Israel and Bahrain signed formal agreements signifying the normalization of relations between the states, including an aviation agreement and a request to open an official embassy in Manama. Thanks to the secret diplomatic mission, the groundwork for the embassy already exists. “All we have to do is change the sign on the door,” an Israeli official told Axios.
 
Iran reportedly behind U.S. election interference scheme: The FBI and Director of National Intelligence in the United States are claiming that Iran is likely behind a campaign of threatening emails sent to Democrats in numerous states this week. The emails, threatening harm to recipients if they fail to vote for Donald Trump, appeared to originate from far-right extremist group the Proud Boys. The organization denies any involvement in the attack, and Director of National intelligence John Ratcliffe said in a press conference that Iran is responsible for sending “spoofed emails” and spreading other misinformation in an attempt to meddle with the forthcoming election. The Treasury Department responded Thursday by issuing sanctions against five Iranian entities believed to be involved. The revelation comes at a critical time for voters facing the threat foreign interference and a president who has been claiming that, “This is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen.”

• This morning, one day after Estonia’s announcement, Guatemala announced that the country will designate all branches of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. This makes Guatemala the eighth country to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization in 2020.

• Last year, then-strategic affairs minister Gilad Erdan (now Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations) threatened to ban Amnesty International from Israel over a report that called on hospitality sites like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor to boycott listings in Israeli West Bank settlements. Erdan said at the time, “Amnesty International, that hypocritical organization that speaks in the name of human rights, is acting to promote a boycott of Israelis as part of a campaign of anti-Semitic delegitimization.” The decision to end American support for these international human rights groups has garnered criticism from career state department officials, who warn that this decision would cause free speech concerns and may not even be legal. 

14 year-old arrested after attack on San Diego rabbi: On Friday, a 14 year-old was arrested on charges of hate crime and battery for his connection with the violent assault of Rabbi Yonatan Halevy last week in San Diego. According to Halevy, a teenager hit him on the head and yelled a racial slur at him outside of the Shiviti Congregation’s synagogue. Prior to the attack, the Shiviti Congregation had already been the subject of taunting and harassment by a group of teenagers, who heckled synagogue-goers and even broke the window of a car. The Anti-Defamation League’s regional director Tammy Gillies said: “We don’t want to be dismissive and say it was just kids, we have to take hate and any hate incident very seriously.”
 
Showdown for top jobs at World Zionist Congress ends in compromise:  Center-left and non-Orthodox Jewish parties avoided being ousted from key leadership positions in the World Zionist Organization, demanding a compromised agreement with the right-wing, Orthodox, and religious-Zionist movements, who hold the majority in the WZO. The original agreement drafted last week, sought to fill nearly all positions of power with representatives from the majority parties, effectively putting an end to any influence the center-left and non-Orthodox movements would have in the WZO. But, following intense pressure from international Zionist organizations, the Congress came to a compromise, filling positions on a rotational basis with the non-majority parties. Leadership of the WZO will still tilt to the right, says Director of the Reform Movement in Israel Gilad Kariv, but this agreement is “more equitable” than its predecessor.

Holocaust survivors Israel “Sasha” Eisenberg, left, and Ruth Brandspiegel are reunited after 71 years on October 3, 2020 (Larry Brandspiegel)
 
Today we celebrate a “miracle” which began on Judaism’s holiest day, Yom Kippur, in which a Zoom service reunited Holocaust survivors 71 years later. American Holocaust survivors Ruth Brandspiegel and Israel “Sasha” Eisenberg reunited at a Yom Kippur Zoom service after losing touch for 71 years. Brandspiegel and Eisenberg’s families were from the same town in Poland and escaped the Nazis to be sent to labor camps in Siberia, where Eisenberg was born. The two families were then sent to a displaced persons camp in Austria, where Eisenberg and Brandspiegel became close friends. After leaving the camp in 1949, the two lost touch, until Brandspiegel heard Eisenberg’s name announced at the virtual Yom Kippur service at the East Brunswick Jewish Center, where her son is a cantor. Eisenberg said: “I called it a miracle because I don’t see any other way that humans can organize such an event and make everything come together.”  On October 3rd, the two were finally reunited in Brandspiegel’s son’s Sukkah; Brandspiegel described the reunion, saying “It’s a shame that we weren’t able to hug under these circumstances, but it was something that I never expected, and this was something that gave me so much pleasure that I’m just crying… Sasha, never forget that moment.”

Today in 1998, the Wye River Memorandum was signed today at the White House, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat. The negotiations were held at a summit in Wye River, Maryland and led by U.S. President Bill Clinton.  The specifics of the Memorandum outlined a comprehensive plan between the PLO, Israel and the U.S. to build peace and put an end to terrorism and violent incitement in the region. The plan called for bi-weekly coalition meetings between the three nations to assess threats, deal with impediments to security, and address the steps being taken to combat terror and terrorist organizations. In exchange, a complicated series of phases would transfer certain percentages of specified areas of land from Israel to the Palestinians. Though the agreement was widely supported by 74% of Israelis, Netanyahu sensed opposition within his Likud party and delayed a vote of cabinet approval. Rather than join a national unity government with opposition leader Ehud Barak, Netanyahu tried to assuage Likud hardliners by stopping implementation of Wye in early December. Disapproval of Netanyahu’s policies led to a vote of no confidence in his government and the May 1999 election of Ehud Barak, who vowed to continue the peace process.