Meeting Miri Regev
By: Larry Gordon
It was a feisty but deeply meaningful discussion. The exchange was held over dinner at one of New York’s premier glatt kosher steakhouses, Reserve Cut. Ms. Regev is Israel’s current Minister of Transportation and was in New York before heading to Washington, DC to meet her American counterpart, Sean Duffy, who is the Trump Administration’s Secretary of Transportation.
Regev, 60, is a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and is seen as a possible future Prime Minister, representing new future leadership. She has an extensive military background, holding the rank of Brigadier General in the IDF and also serving as official IDF spokesperson. Regev was here in New York in part to pave the way for the arrival later this month of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who will address the UN General Assembly.
One of her first meetings was with Delta Airlines, which confirmed they would resume service to Israel as of September 1, with one nonstop flight daily, with plans to double that by December. United Airlines, another popular carrier for travelers to Israel, resumed daily flights three weeks ago.
Interestingly, Delta and United’s resumption has a great deal to do with Israel finally doing what they should have done long ago—and that is eliminating the Houthi leadership, including their prime minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, and several other senior officials, which they accomplished with airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen last Thursday.
At the same time, the Trump administration took the bold move of refusing to issue visas for Palestinian leaders, including their 90-year-old president, Mahmoud Abbas, so they cannot attend the annual UN meetings in New York City. The PA has never condemned the attacks of October 7, and they continue to pay murderers large sums of money that are commensurate with the number of Jews they kill or injure.
They are paid one sum for murdering a Jew and a lesser amount for inflicting an injury. The Trump administration has warned the PA that economic aid will cease if that policy is not changed, but so far there has been no movement in that direction. The issue came to the attention of the Biden administration numerous times, but they took no corrective action.
About 30 people from various parts of New York and New Jersey attended last week’s dinner with Ms. Regev, which was hosted by the Israel Heritage Foundation. Many issues were discussed, but if there was a basic theme to the evening, it was about America’s support of Israel, and in particular the tremendous support that America’s diverse Jewish communities have for the Jewish State.
Regev reiterated what Congressman Brian Mast said at a meeting last week sponsored by NORPAC here in the Five Towns. At that event, Rep. Mast said that while Israel will ultimately triumph militarily and will physically destroy Hamas and similar terror groups in and around Israel, the war has been going on far too long and Israel is losing the public relations war that is so important to the image of the Jewish state as well as to Jewish communities around the world.
Today, Israel enjoys the unstinting support of President Trump, with Israel enjoying the good fortune of Trump and Netanyahu seeing eye to eye on most major issues. The president, unlike his predecessor, who took his cues from former President Obama, has given Israel a free hand to do as they please to handle their implacable enemy in both Gaza as well as Judea and Samaria.
In a curious move this summer, the U.S. managed to make a deal with Yemen’s Houthis that called for the U.S. military to leave them alone so long as they did not attack U.S. shipping on the high seas off the shores of Yemen. But Israel was not included in that arrangement, and the terror group kept launching missiles and drones in Israel’s direction.
Trump never told Bibi that he had to absorb that kind of aggression, and over the past weekend, Israel finally forced them into a reconciliation and an accounting. Israeli Air Force fighters swooped down over Sanaa, Yemen where the prime minister and his top brass were meeting, and managed to kill 12 of the 17 leaders, including the Houthi Prime Minister.
Some guests at the dinner with Minister Regev expressed concern about support for Israel waning among American Jews as well as both parties in Congress. One participant stood up and addressed Ms. Regev, saying that if the war is not over by the end of 2025, Israel will lose even more support amongst young Republicans, whose support is most vital.
Another participant added that the war has been going on so long to the point that people are being constantly deluged with accusations of genocide and starvation where in reality none of that is taking place. But the truth does not seem to matter anymore.
As we head to the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks, Hamas has been devastated, but still hangs on with what might be their last breath so long as they can inflict damage on Israel, which they are doing successfully.
President Trump in an interview last weekend with The Daily Caller said that he is aware that Israel is losing support in Congress from both parties. Within Israel, the country is also split on how to go about attempting to end the war.
Relatives of hostages that are being held in Gaza want to see an end to the conflagration regardless of the cost, and can anyone really blame them? But after all this time, Israel cannot accept a ceasefire and also withdraw from all the territory that they now control in Gaza in exchange for just half of those being held by the Hamas terrorists.
These are very difficult decisions and Minister Regev agrees with the right within the Likud coalition. Israel has the opportunity to do away with Hamas and Islamic Jihad permanently. It is hard to imagine what life will be like in places like Sderot if someday soon, bomb shelters will actually become obsolete.
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
