News Roundup for December 16, 2025
From Military Discourse to Security Through State Craft, Times of Israel
J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes, “The leadership of the centrist parties is also huddled around the military tribal campfire, afraid to talk about a political solution, lest it diminish the perception of ‘security above all else’ that it seeks to project to the public.”
Trump: US ‘Looking Into’ Whether Israel Violated Gaza Truce by Killing Hamas Leader, Times of Israel
“Israel fears Washington may push to advance to the next phase of the ceasefire, even if Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last deceased hostage held in Gaza, is not returned, and before a clear operational plan is established for Hamas’s disarmament, the Ynet news site reported last week.”
‘Much More Is Needed’ As Storms Flood Gaza’s Tent Camps, Israeli NGOs Race to Raise Money and Aid, Haaretz
“IsraAID cited the major risk of disease outbreaks and hypothermia, as Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure is strained beyond its limits and displaced communities lack sanitation.”
Antisemitism Tensions Rise as NYC Young Republicans Host White Nationalists, Conspiracy Theorists at Annual Gala, The Forward
“Those who did attend the gala included a NYYRC member and former George Santos staffer who had posted a video depicting Jews as cockroaches, costing him his job on Matt Gaetz’s news show; politicians from Germany’s far-right party which the country officially labeled an extremist group; Jared Taylor, the editor of a white supremacist website called American Renaissance; and Sneako, the streamer who posts antisemitic content and has said ‘people are sick of hearing about the Holocaust.'”
Nearly Two Years After Gaza Paramedic’s Death at Sde Teiman, Israel Has Yet to Provide Answers to His Family, Haaretz
“Khaled, a paramedic from Khan Yunis, set out on December 2, 2023 – a day after the collapse of the first Gaza cease-fire – to evacuate wounded people from northern Gaza to the south. The operation was coordinated with the IDF, but despite this, and for reasons that remain unclear, he was detained by soldiers. According to the state, he died that same day.”
Jewish Donors Help Raise $1.3M. For Ahmed Al Ahmed, Muslim Man Who Disarmed Bondi Beach Attacker, Jerusalem Post
“Praise also poured in on social media from Jewish leaders in the United States, including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.”
ICC Rejects Israeli Bid to Halt Gaza War Investigation, Reuters
“The ruling means the investigation continues and the arrest warrants issued, opens new tab last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant remain in place.”
Australia Welcomed My Family’s Holocaust Survivors — and Bondi Beach Soon Became a Symbol of Renewal for Me, The Forward
Andy Carvin writes, “Bondi is the one I will always think of as our family beach in Australia, and the veterans’ clubhouse as our local pub. It’s a place where I got to rediscover my family in a way that all too many Jewish Americans will never get to do, reuniting with the descendants of relatives who escaped the horrors of the Holocaust and found refuge in a new home.”
Does the Road to Disarming Hamas Lead Through Qatar and Turkey?, Foreign Policy
John Haltiwanger writes, “Qatar and Turkey, which along with the United States and Egypt are guarantors of the Gaza cease-fire, have long-standing relationships with Hamas and have hosted its leaders and officials. Doha and Ankara leaned on their ties with Hamas to help convince the group to agree to the cease-fire, with U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack saying that the ‘cease-fire in Gaza would not have happened without Turkey’ and its ‘relationship with Hamas.'”
