Mass Shooting in North Jerusalem

Time/Place: ~10:30 a.m. at the Ramot (Ramon/Rama) Junction on Jerusalem’s North side—one of those busy transfer points where multiple routes converge and buses stack up.

What happened:

• Two attackers arrived by car, boarded a crowded bus, opened fire, then continued shooting outside.

• The rampage lasted roughly a minute.

• Casualties: At least 6 killed, about 20 wounded.

• Stopped by: Two armed Israelis—reportedly ultra-Orthodox (Haredi), one an off-duty IDF commander from the new Haredi unit—neutralized the terrorists on scene.

Notes that matter:

• Authorities believe the cell had ISIS ties, not Hamas/PIJ/Hezbollah.

 The world doesn’t slow down, and neither do the threats we face. Yesterday brought a stark reminder of that when two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets buzzed the USS Jason Dunham in international waters.

The Pentagon issued a sharp statement:

“Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter-narco terror operations. The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counter narcotics and counterterror operations carried out by the U.S. military.”

That’s about as clear as it gets. Venezuela—already drowning in corruption, cartel ties, and authoritarian control—is poking the bear. The question is: what should America do about it?

The overflight wasn’t done with Russian-made Flankers, as I might have expected, but with U.S.-made F-16s. Back in the 1980s, Washington sold Caracas two dozen of them. Today, most of those planes are grounded for lack of parts and maintenance. Venezuela claims 14 are still flightworthy, but experts believe the number is closer to three.

That makes the provocation even more interesting—dusting off old American jets to fly dangerously close to one of our destroyers. And make no mistake: the Arleigh Burke-class Jason Dunham could have swatted them from the sky in seconds.

For nearly two years, the war between Israel and Hamas has been framed in the starkest moral terms. Activists, NGOs, and even governments have accused Israel of genocide against the people of Gaza. The word “genocide” carries immense legal and moral weight — it evokes Rwanda, the Holocaust, the deliberate attempt to wipe out an entire people. But when a term this powerful is misapplied, it loses its meaning.

A new, in-depth study from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, authored by historians, military analysts, and legal scholars, takes a hard look at the genocide allegations and finds them built on sand. The report’s aim is not to excuse Israel’s mistakes or downplay suffering in Gaza — but to sift fact from fiction.