Welcome back. This has been an extraordinarily difficult week for the Jewish community—perhaps especially for those of us with close friends, family, and loved ones in Israel. For present purposes, suffice it to say I am praying for the safe return of those currently being held hostage inside Gaza (including many Americans), for the avenging of the blood of the innocents slain in Hamas's unspeakable acts of literal Nazi-style barbarism, and for the safety and success of the Israel Defense Forces in the challenging weeks ahead. Am Yisrael Chai.

With all that said, here are some highlights from the last week.

My most recent column, written before the weekend's unfathomable Islamist pogrom in Israel, focused on last week's dethroning of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) at the hands of a small Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)-led group of Republicans and every single Democrat present in the chamber for the decisive vote. This was a historic occasion—the first time a speaker had been voted out in such manner as this. But what was the purpose of Gaetz's gambit? What is he seeking to accomplish? A review of the totality of the evidence suggests to me that Gaetz likely acted for cynical, self-serving reasons. I am no fan of McCarthy's and I supported the conservative congressmen in early January who pushed him to the brink during his ultimately successful bid for the speakership. Still, chaos for the mere sake of chaos is not good governance. The American people want statesmanship, not nihilism.

I have had two podcast episodes since our last newsletter. First, I recorded an episode last Thursday on the Gaetz-McCarthy fight, which was also the topic of my last column. (You can listen to that episode on Apple, Spotify or here.) Second, I recorded a long, heartfelt, and frankly painful episode on Monday recounting the weekend's truly unspeakable Hamas atrocities in Israel. (You can listen to that episode on Apple, Spotify or here.) As I noted at the outset, this has been a very difficult few days for me, and for countless Jews and Israelis. There are monsters—literal modern Nazis, depraved beyond any possible description—in our midst. In this show, I did my best to soberly deliver the facts, the background, the broader regional and geopolitical context, and what is next to come for the major players involved—such as Israel and the United States. This is a topic I am both very knowledgeable and very passionate about, so you don't want to miss this episode. This issue will not be going away any time soon either, so look forward to more podcasting (and writing) on this topic.

In terms of other media hits and appearances since our last newsletter, I joined "SNC Tonight" on Salem News Channel to discuss the Department of Justice's targeting of Trump supporters; joined "Stu Does America" on BlazeTV to discuss the weekend's unspeakable Hamas atrocities against Israel; joined "NTD Evening News" on NTD News to discuss the same topic; joined "The Jason Rantz Show" on AM 770 KTTH (Seattle) to discuss the same topic; joined "Nights with Chris Boyle" on One America News Network to discuss the same topic; and joined the "Rod Arquette Show" on Talk Radio 105.9 KNRS (Salt Lake City) to discuss the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as U.S. House speaker. (I will likely have many more media hits on the war in Israel in the weeks ahead; I unfortunately had to turn down multiple requests yesterday for a pre-planned travel day.)

Our additional highlighted right-leaning Newsweek op-eds from the past week include selections from Jason D. Greenblatt, Bassem Eid, Aviva Klompas, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

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