Dear A.,

Red alert sirens were triggered across central Israel this morning as the nation’s missile defenses tracked an incoming ballistic missile from Yemen. Fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis, the missile took only 11 minutes to travel the 1,300 miles from Yemen to Israel, and the group claims it was a new "hypersonic ballistic missile."

The IDF reports that the missile fell in an open area and was not intercepted by Israel’s defenses. The attack marks a new escalation from the terror group. In July, the group launched a drone at Israel that exploded in Tel Aviv, killing one Israeli.

Israel responded to the July attack by destroying the Houthis primary port in Yemen in a complex daytime aerial assault. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu foreshadowed a strong Israeli response to this missile attack. "The Houthis should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us," said Netanyahu. "Those who need a reminder are welcome to visit the port of Hodeida."

The Houthis are armed, trained and financed by Iran, with the regime providing more than $100 million in annual resources to the group. Since October 7, the Houthis have fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel and have repeatedly attacked U.S. Navy ships and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.

America must ensure Israel has the offensive and defensive weapons it needs to deter, defend against, and confront Iran and Iranian-backed threats. Click here to urge your members of Congress to stand with Israel and reject any attempt to cut, condition, or block vital U.S. assistance and weapons to Israel.

Israel Attacked from the North and the South

As Israel tracked the incoming missile from Yemen, Hezbollah fired more than 40 missiles and drones into Israel this morning. The Iranian-backed terror group has fired more than 150 missiles this weekend alone and more than 8,500 since October 8.

With near-daily attacks that have forced 80,000 Israelis from their homes in the North, Hezbollah is provoking an all-out war. Israel has the right and responsibility to protect its families from this increasingly dangerous threat.

The Prime Minister warned this week that Israel is facing a "large-scale confrontation" with Hezbollah. The Iranian regime provides Hezbollah with more than $700 million each year, and the terror group has a massive arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles stationed across Lebanon. 

The group employs a similar playbook as Hamas, embedding itself in civilian populations, using Lebanese civilians as human shields for its storage facilities, terrorist fighters, and extensive tunnel network.

America must continue to stand with Israel and ensure it has the resources and diplomatic support it needs to confront Hezbollah.

Confronting Hamas in the Tunnels: "The Hero of Khan Younis"

The Jerusalem Post did an extensive profile of the IDF officer who led Israel’s war effort inside Hamas’ tunnel network under Gaza.

Major General Dan Goldfus is credited with developing the IDF’s tunnel warfare strategy. At the onset of the war, Israeli forces rarely ventured into the tunnels. However, that philosophy evolved starting in January as Goldfus and other IDF leaders better understood the elaborate network.

Initial assessments were that Hamas would use the tunnels to fight. However, Goldfus' personal experiences in the tunnels changed that perspective. He concluded the tunnels were primarily used for movement, storage, and rest — and the entire network was connected.

"In his narrative, it was a single giant network from which it was possible to enter around Erez in northern Gaza and come out at Rafah and Egypt – like the process of water seeping through and flowing down a mountain."

This evolution has enabled special forces units to enter the tunnels in larger forces, with greater frequency, and for longer distances. Goldfus has recently been reassigned to the Northern front.

"J Street has pushed itself outside the mainstream pro-Israel tent."

Since October 7, J Street has continued to support anti-Israel candidates and embrace policies that undermine Israel’s security, all while claiming to represent mainstream pro-Israel views. 

Senior Rabbi Jeremy Barras of Temple Beth Am in Miami, Florida, penned an op-ed exposing the group’s political actions.

Click here to read and share the op-ed.

"J Street is dangerously and deliberately signaling that you can take anti-Israel positions and still receive a 'pro-Israel' hechsher," writes Barras. "Our community should be clear: J Street is not a pro-Israel ally in this fight. Worse, it is emboldening Israel’s enemies."

Barras points to J Street endorsing anti-Israel candidates who accuse Israel of being racist and committing genocide, while refusing to endorse George Latimer and Wesley Bell in their Democratic primary races against Reps. Jamaal Bowman (who was previously endorsed by J Street) and Cori Bush.

"There is no shortage of pro-Israel groups in the political ecosystem helping elect pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Democrats: AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel, and Jewish Democratic Council of America, to name just three. What separates those groups from J Street is that they have moral clarity on what it means to be pro-Israel."