Texas Senator Ted Cruz appears to be setting the stage for a 2028 presidential run, carving out his lane as a traditional Republican who favors a strong U.S. role abroad—and doing so by picking a public fight with Tucker Carlson. Axios reports that Cruz’s growing feud with the populist commentator is no coincidence: it’s helping him contrast his interventionist worldview with Carlson’s isolationist bent and, in turn, drawing a sharp line between himself and Vice President J.D. Vance, a close Carlson ally and early favorite for the GOP nomination.
By directly calling out Carlson’s views, accusing him of antisemitism, and blasting his recent interviews, Cruz is aligning himself with the party’s establishment wing while staking a claim as its unapologetically pro-Israel defender. “We have a responsibility to speak out even when it’s uncomfortable,” Cruz said in a statement to Axios. “When voices in our own movement push dangerous and misguided ideas, we can’t look the other way. I won’t hesitate to call out those who peddle destructive, vile rhetoric and threaten our principles and our future. Silence in the face of recklessness is not an option.”
Carlson, for his part, brushed off Cruz’s criticism with characteristic sarcasm. In a text to Axios, he called the senator’s attacks “hilarious.” “Good luck,” Carlson said. “That’s my comment and heartfelt view.”
Cruz has spent the past several weeks doubling down on his offensive against Carlson—both on social media and from the podium at high-profile conservative gatherings. Their simmering tension burst into public view following a June appearance on Carlson’s podcast, when Cruz blasted the host for opposing Trump’s missile strike on Iran’s nuclear facility. He later took issue with Carlson’s criticism of Israel’s campaign in Gaza and of U.S. funding for Ukraine’s defense. “On foreign policy, Tucker has gone bat-crap crazy,” Cruz said afterward. “He’s gone off the rails.”
The senator’s rhetoric has only intensified since. In multiple speeches, Cruz accused Carlson of “anti-semitism” and condemned him for giving a platform to white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. During a fiery late-October address before the Republican Jewish Coalition, Cruz labeled Carlson a “coward” and “complicit in evil.” At a later appearance before the Federalist Society in Washington, he escalated further, saying Carlson had “spread a poison that is profoundly dangerous” by featuring Fuentes, whom he described as “a little goose-stepping Nazi.”
Cruz’s broadsides have found sympathetic ears among influential conservatives. Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire has similarly torched Carlson for the Fuentes interview, accusing him of normalizing extremist views “conservatives shouldn’t embrace.” This week, Cruz is expected to carry that message to the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly.
According to top Republicans, Cruz’s offensive is resonating with major pro-Israel donors angered by Carlson’s flirtation with Fuentes and alarmed by the GOP’s drift toward isolationism. “It’s definitely getting noticed,” said Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks, telling Axios that many donors see Cruz as a necessary counterweight to the party’s inward turn.
Many of those same donors previously backed Nikki Haley, the hawkish former U.N. ambassador, during her failed 2024 primary bid against Trump. Now, they’re keeping an eye on Cruz as he quietly builds the infrastructure for another presidential campaign. The senator, who finished second to Trump in 2016, has been ramping up appearances before major Republican groups—from Miami-Dade’s GOP to the Maverick PAC for young conservatives—and is planning a donor retreat for next year. His popular podcast and radio show have also become powerful tools for raising small-dollar contributions and broadening his base.
Cruz’s position as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee has further strengthened his connections with major financial figures, especially given his opposition to Trump’s tariff policies. He’s also begun endorsing key midterm candidates, potentially earning political favors that could prove valuable down the road.
Still, Cruz faces a difficult challenge. The Republican electorate has shifted sharply in recent years, trading George W. Bush–era interventionism for an “America First” approach that favors restraint abroad—a philosophy Carlson and Vance both champion. Initial polling shows Vance with a commanding early lead in a hypothetical 2028 GOP primary, and many donors remain hesitant to cross the Trump White House by backing anyone else.
Vance, however, has made clear he wants no association with Carlson’s controversial guest. Unlike Carlson, he has condemned Nick Fuentes outright, calling him a “total loser.” Fuentes, notably, has targeted Vance personally, making racist remarks about his wife, Usha, who is Indian American.
{Matzav.com}
Hamas-controlled Gaza is complaining that Israel is making them “gain weight.” After two years of war and near-famine, markets have reopened under a ceasefire — but the local terrorists and residents say that the shelves are stacked with chocolates, soda, and cigarettes instead of life-sustaining goods.
Monther al-Shrafi, a Gaza City resident, said he now sees aisles “overflowing with chocolate, soft drinks, and cigarettes, items that once felt like a ‘dream’ during the famine.” But the basics, he insisted, are nowhere to be found. “Can you imagine that there is chocolate in Gaza while there are no antibiotics? Or there are fruits but no wound dressings or sutures?” he asked Middle East Eye. “Here in Gaza, there is a shortage, or even near absence, of essential items that the human body needs, such as meat, chicken, fish, and eggs, which are basic components of a healthy diet.”
Following the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing for the first time since March 2, when its closure triggered a humanitarian crisis in the Strip. With limited aid and goods now trickling in, some food staples have reappeared — but others remain tightly controlled.
Trucks have brought in wheat flour, rice, pasta, semolina, potatoes, and canned vegetables. Stores are also seeing sugary imports: chocolate, jam, butter, processed cheese, and soft drinks. But animal protein remains scarce. Eggs are nonexistent, dairy products rare, and frozen meat prohibitively expensive. When available, a single kilogram of frozen chicken costs roughly 80 shekels, or about $25.
“I don’t feel any improvement in the food situation [after the ceasefire], because the items available in Gaza are unhealthy,” Shrafi said. “Canned and dried foods cannot replace basic natural foods like eggs and fresh meat. So there is no recovery from the effects of famine.”
The medical situation is even worse. Shrafi said he went “from pharmacy to pharmacy” looking for medicine but came up empty-handed. “My daughter suffered from an infection in her toe, and I could not even find painkillers to ease her suffering,” he said. “Antibiotic pills are missing, and if available, they are sold at exorbitant prices far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, who have been crushed over two years of ongoing extermination. Pharmacies, medical supply stores, and hospital departments in Gaza are completely empty of many essential items that patients need.”
Officials from Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health accuse Israel of continuing to restrict medical shipments even after the ceasefire. “These persistent restrictions have led to shortages in drugs reaching 56 percent, while shortages in medical consumables are at 68 percent, and laboratory supplies at 67 percent,” said Zahir al-Wahidi, director of the Health Information Unit. “Orthopaedic surgeries face an 83 percent shortage, open-heart surgeries 100 percent, and kidney services and bone fixators 80 percent. The most severe gaps are in emergency services, anaesthesia, intensive care, and medications for surgical procedures.”
Gaza traders must obtain Israeli permission to import goods. Items can be blocked through outright bans or indefinitely delayed applications. Wahidi said that “what has entered over the past year is only a fraction of what is needed, six or seven small shipments that do not cover the requirements for a large number of drugs and consumables, which should cover two years of deprivation.”
In recent weeks, the influx of trucks has revived Gaza’s markets, filling streets with color and activity for the first time in months. Vendors are selling chocolates, coffee, and fruits, creating the illusion of recovery. But according to local lawyer and researcher Abdallah Sharshara, this apparent abundance hides a nutritional crisis. “Most of these goods consist of carbohydrates, sugars, and starches,” he told MEE. “These include flour and various types of cheese used in sweets and pizza, in addition to sugar and flour derivatives used in confectionery production.”
Sharshara argued that Israel is intentionally steering consumption toward unhealthy imports. “It is clear that this focus on importing such items indirectly pushes people to rely on them as their main food source, while also forcing humanitarian organisations to focus on purchasing and distributing these products, as they are the only ones available in the local market,” he said.
He also claimed Israel’s import policy aims to manipulate appearances. “There is now an abnormal increase in people’s weight. It appears that the Israeli occupation is trying to conceal the crime of starving Palestinians by creating an opposite image, one of rapid and unnatural weight gain,” Sharshara said.
Sharshara said he personally lost 20 kilograms during the height of the blockade but has recently gained much of it back. “I had lost weight because of the limited and repetitive food options we were forced to eat throughout the past year,” he said. “Now, I eat the same portions, but they lead to weight gain because I am compelled to consume carbohydrates, processed cheese, and manufactured meat, that’s what’s available. They’re forcing us to gain weight systematically.”
Social media users in Gaza have echoed those claims, saying that while candy and soda are back, meat, eggs, and medical goods remain unavailable. “Israel is creating a misleading impression that the blockade on the Palestinian people has been lifted, as people are now eating a lot of pizza and sweets, giving the illusion of comfort or abundance,” Sharshara said. “Fresh meat and eggs are still banned from entering Gaza, and fishermen are only allowed to fish within a very limited maritime area. The goal of allowing goods to enter partially is to prevent anyone from claiming that Israel is blocking them completely. But in reality, when you divide these goods by the actual needs of the population, the per-person share is extremely small. That’s why we say that even if Israel allows some goods in, they do not truly reach the people.”
For Hamas and its residents, it seems that while the famine may have ended, their war against Israel still comes at a cost — one measured not in hunger, but in the hollow calories of a siege built on sugar and deprivation.
{Matzav.com}
Michelle Obama declared during a recent appearance in Brooklyn that she would not be entering the political arena, insisting that Americans still are not ready to elect a woman — or, in her words, “a Black woman like me” — as president.
Promoting her new book The Look at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Obama pointed to Kamala Harris’s 2024 defeat by Donald Trump as proof that genderism continues to shape the country’s politics. “As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” she told the audience. “That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not.”
She went on to lament the cultural attitudes that she believes still stand in the way of female leadership. “You know, we’ve got a lot of growing up to do,” she said. “And there’s still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it.”
Reflecting on her years as First Lady, Obama said she faced hostility even from within her own political camp. She recalled how, during her husband’s 2008 campaign, she was unfairly portrayed by Democrats as angry and unpatriotic. “Let me be clear, these were our people who were going after me,” she told the audience. “This started when we were running against our party. The beginning of turning me into an angry shrew who diminished her husband, who didn’t love her country, who was unpatriotic…These people are lying. They’re making stuff up because they’re trying to win.”
She said that entering the White House only deepened her awareness of the challenges she faced. “So, I knew this immediately. And I knew this coming in as First Lady, that I was in charge of my story, my narrative,” Obama explained. “I had to be smarter than them. I had to outsmart everyone and that came to everything I did, including what I wore.”
Obama added that she felt isolated even within her husband’s campaign team. “I didn’t even feel I had the support of the campaign,” she said, claiming the staff “were white folks, too.”
{Matzav.com}
Mounting tensions surrounding the Chok HaGiyus have led police to increase security for two United Torah Judaism representatives, Rav Moshe Gafni and Rav Yaakov Asher, following threats and violent demonstrations by fringe extremists within the chareidi community.
According to reports on Channel 12, the two veteran lawmakers were placed under the second-highest level of security protection, which includes home surveillance and personal guards. Police officials said that both MKs had received multiple threats connected to the ongoing public debate over the government’s proposed draft bill.
On Motzoei Shabbos, protests erupted outside the home of Yaakov Asher in Bnei Brak, where a group of agitators gathered to voice their anger. The same night, another mob attacked the vehicle of Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur, shattering its window. The violence was swiftly and unanimously condemned across the political spectrum, with leaders from all factions decrying the actions as an assault on basic decency.
The uproar comes as the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee continues its discussions on a proposed law designed to regulate army service exemptions for bnei yeshiva. The bill seeks to codify the existing arrangement allowing full-time Torah learners to remain in the beis midrash.
{Matzav.com}
Outgoing New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday during a visit to Israel that if he were a Jewish New Yorker he would be concerned about his children following this month’s election of his replacement, Zohran Mamdani.
“If I were a Jewish New Yorker I would be concerned about my children,” Adams said at a Tel Aviv event organized by the Combat Antisemitism organization. “We need to be honest about the moment and cannot sugarcoat it.”
He cautioned that it has now become “cool and hip” to be antisemitic around the globe, including in New York City—home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel—and that a whole generation has been raised on lies picked up via social media.
“You have people walking around the country with signs saying Queers for Palestine, and that is queer when the only place you can walk around in the Middle East being queer is Israel,” he said, adding, “They’ve hijacked the conversation.”
Israel lost the narrative
The outgoing mayor, who has been a stalwart supporter of Israel, noted that the human story behind the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of Israel never got across in the United States, leading Israel to lose the mainstream public.
“The story was never really told about Oct. 7,” he said. “You heard about it but you never knew what really happened.”
Israel supporters failed to come up with messaging that connected with everyday people, and the story was seized by their opponents, he said.
“The Zohrans of the world shoved the images of every baby killed in Gaza… and became a symbol of what people were angry about,” he continued.
New York Jews must “prepare themselves”
New York Jews must not be complacent amid this burst of antisemitism that is likely to increase after Mamdani’s victory, said Adams, who added that the city is going in the wrong direction.
“The New York Jewish community must prepare themselves,” he said. “This is a period where you need to be conscious about the level of global hostility towards the Jewish community. If you say everything is fine you are setting yourself up for failure.”
About one third of New York Jews voted for Mamdani according to exit polling, highlighting the divide between the predominantly liberal American Jewish community and Israel.
“Abnormal became normal”
According to Adams, Mamdani’s refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” during the election campaign and the fact that he cruised to victory nonetheless was indicative of the abnormal becoming normal in New York.
“People are comfortable with being antisemitic,” he said.
“I’m not just your mayor,” he said to rousing applause. “I’m your brother.”
Mamdani is set to take office on January 1.
{Matzav.com}
