Rambam (|Shemoneh Perakin 8) The Mutakalllimun are, however, of a different opinion in this regard, for I have heard them say that the Divine Will is constantly at work, decreeing everything from time to time. We do not agree with them, but believe that the Divine Will ordained everything at creation, and that all things, at all times, are regulated by the laws of nature, and run their natural course, in accordance with what Solomon said, "As it was, so it will ever be, as it was made so it continues, and there is nothing new under the sun".
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
White House’s Iran memes horrify many veterans of U.S. wars
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/03/25/veterans-backlash-white-house-iran-memes/
When the retired U.S. Army colonel Joe Buccino first saw White House posts mixing Iran war footage with clips from cartoons and video games, he felt something he had rarely experienced from American military messaging: disgust.
But President Donald Trump’s top communications team, he said, had decided to treat the international conflict like a big joke. Veterans who were already questioning the war’s strategy and endgame, he added, were unnerved to find the nation’s highest office posting pop-music-scored clips of missile strikes, mixed with footage from Call of Duty and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
However, officials there have also said that public outrage is key to driving up views. When the singer Kesha complained that her song had been used in a war meme TikTok, White House communications director Steven Cheung said on X: “All these ‘singers’ keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about.”
John Vick, the executive director of Concerned Veterans for America, a conservative advocacy group, told The Washington Post in a statement that the military’s success deserves to be celebrated, but that “gamifying or making light of war also undermines the sacrifice of the Americans who have died, and obfuscates the cost of open-ended conflict.”
Tehran Says Trump’s Claim US Wants Deal Is ‘Fake News’
Iran has rejected as "fake news" President Donald Trump's claims that a deal to end the war is near, as Tehran continued to bombard the Gulf states.
The Trump administration sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran via Pakistan, it has been reported. But Iranian military spokesman Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari appeared to mock these attempts, telling state television: "someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you."
Angels Are The Natural Forces And Processes
Moreh Nevuchim (02:06) All parts of the Universe, even the limbs of animals in their actual form, are produced through angels: for natural forces and angels are identical. How bad and injurious is the blindness of ignorance!
Moreh Nevuchim (02:06) G-d gave the seed a formative power which produces and shapes the limbs, and that this power is called “angel,” or that all forms are the result of the influence of the Active Intellect, and that the latter is the angel, the Prince of the world, frequently mentioned by our Sages, and he will turn away; because he cannot comprehend the true greatness and power of creating forces that act in a body without being perceived by our senses. Our Sages have already stated—for him who has understanding—that all forces that reside in a body are angels, much more the forces that are active in the Universe.
Epic flurry: How Trump’s words on Iran have yo-yoed over three weeks of war
Over the course of nearly a month since the first US strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump has yo-yoed from demanding “unconditional surrender” to teasing a possible detente.
Confusion has become a mark of this war.
Trump is folding on Iran as war goals still unmet and regime remains intact
https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/r1w3c8yjbl
When it comes to the Iranian regime, the very fact that it remains in power constitutes a victory; Even if Trump did not intend to retreat, from the moment he entered the negotiations track, Iran found itself exactly where it wants to be
After the 12-day war, both Netanyahu and Trump issued a series of statements declaring total victory. “Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed — and anyone who says otherwise is spreading fake news,” Trump declared in an official White House statement on June 25, 2025. “In the 12 days of Operation Rising Lion we achieved a historic victory that will stand for generations. We removed two immediate existential threats: annihilation by nuclear bombs and annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles… We destroyed Iran’s missile production industry,” Netanyahu said in a special address on June 24, 2025.
These were false statements. After all, at the start of the current round, both Trump and Netanyahu said we are going out to destroy the nuclear facilities, the missile stockpiles and the missile production industry. In other words, we have returned to square one. For more than three weeks, the United States and Israel have been bombing Iran’s missile production industry — and it is reasonable to suspect it has not yet been destroyed.
Despite everything, it is now necessary to wait. The real test will be in the implementation of the conditions Trump outlined. Will the uranium indeed be transferred to the United States? Will ties with proxy forces be severed? Will the regime truly commit to halting missile production? And even if the answer is yes — at least on paper — when it comes to the Iranian regime, the very fact that it remains in power constitutes a victory. All other violations will come later.
Trump says talks with Iran progressing, as Israel said to fear premature ceasefire
Israel’s Channel 12 news reported Tuesday that the Trump administration has conveyed 15 conditions to Iran as its terms for ending the current war, which an Israeli official familiar with the matter later confirmed the details of to The Times of Israel, while expressing skepticism that Iran will agree to such a framework. The official also confirmed that Washington informed Jerusalem ahead of its negotiations with Tehran on ending hostilities, which began on Sunday, without specifying how far ahead of time.
Nonetheless, it said, Jerusalem is concerned that Trump and his team want to push quickly for “a framework agreement, an agreement in principle” with Iran, rather than insisting on these demands as a condition for halting the war.
“The scenario of a rapid, ambiguous agreement in principle is giving Israel’s political and security leaders sleepless nights,” Channel 12 reported, because it risks a situation in which the Iranians would essentially have emerged with the upper hand, with the conflict ending before the precise terms are agreed.
Regardless of Washington’s negotiations with Iran, US and Israeli officials told Channel 12 that they did not see the war ending or even pausing in the next two to three weeks, as reaching a deal is expected to take longer.
Iran has denied engaging in talks with the US, and officials familiar with the matter have clarified that what has taken place in recent days has been more of a passing along of messages through mediators.
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
‘If Iran keeps its uranium, everything was for nothing’: Experts, officials react to Trump's pause
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-891082
A five-day halt in strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, following what President Donald Trump described as “productive” talks, is fueling debate over whether pressure is easing too soon.
In Israel, the announcement was met with uncertainty about what the pause might actually lead to. Israeli lawmaker Ram Ben Barak of Yesh Atid, who served as deputy director of the Mossad and director general of the Intelligence Services and Strategic Affairs ministries, said the real test will be the terms of any agreement that emerges from it.
Speaking to The Media Line, he cautioned that ending the war while Iran still holds enriched uranium and continues to develop its missile program without meaningful limits would be a difficult outcome. “If the war ends with enriched uranium still in Iranian hands and their missile program not limited and supervised, then everything we did was for nothing,” he said. “It would be very, very disappointing.”
Those comments echo a wider concern in Israel that the gains made on the battlefield could be diluted if any agreement stops short of addressing Iran’s core capabilities. Ben Barak made clear he is not opposed to a deal in principle but stressed that its terms will be decisive. “In the end, every war has to end with an agreement; you don’t fight forever,” he said. “But the agreement has to reflect what we achieved up to now, and not give the Iranians something for nothing.”
Iranian source says US initiated ‘outreach’ to end war, as Israel and Tehran continue to trade strikes
https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-24-26
• US-Iran contact: An Iranian source told CNN there had been “outreach” between the United States and Tehran and that Iran is willing to listen to “sustainable” proposals to end the war. Other countries are pushing for a diplomatic solution, with Pakistan offering to host talks involving Iran, Israel and the US.
Knesset passes law expanding powers of Israel’s rabbinic courts to arbitrate civil matters
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-891046
Under the law, rabbinical courts may act as arbitrators only with the consent of all parties.
A law that will expand the power of rabbinic and Sharia courts in Israel and grant them authority to act as arbitrators in limited civil matters was passed in the Knesset plenum in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The Religious Courts Arbitration Bill, backed by the government, passed with 65 lawmakers in favor and 41 against.
The bill was debated for many hours late into Monday night before it was approved after strong objection from the opposition over claims it could undermine the state’s democratic character and harm women’s rights. Numerous objections were also raised to passing the controversial law during wartime.
It was decided to exclude from the scope of the law arbitration any criminal or administrative matters, as well as proceedings in which the state or a local authority was a party. Matters involving married or formerly married couples were also excluded.
Trump says peace talks progressing as Iran officials deny negotiations
Officials from several governments knowledgeable about the diplomacy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive negotiations, said the conversations so far were indirect through the mediators. Iran publicly insisted there were no direct or indirect conversations and it was uninterested in having them.
Noting that strikes from both sides are likely to continue “until negotiations can formally begin,” the former official said that “the expectation is to move from a phase of reciprocal military strikes to de-escalation, then to calm, followed by a complete end to the war and ultimately toward negotiations that yield positive and mutually satisfactory outcomes, ensuring that such a conflict does not recur.”
Israeli officials doubt Iran will accept Trump’s ‘surrender’ terms
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkxmcblowl#autoplay
Jerusalem closely monitoring talks amid doubts Iran will agree and fears Trump may compromise under pressure; fighting in Lebanon intensifying regardless of any deal
Israeli officials are expressing deep skepticism over the chances that U.S.-Iran negotiations will lead to an agreement to end the war, even as they continue to closely monitor the talks.
Officials said a U.S. proposal reportedly presented to Iran includes sweeping demands, such as curbs on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, removal of enriched uranium and an end to support for regional proxy groups.
There is concern in Israel that Trump may seek a deal to halt the fighting amid rising energy prices and domestic and international pressure, potentially compromising on some demands to secure a quick resolution.
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