Jonathan Feldstein

Jonathan Feldstein | Jun 21, 2026 The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

On May 15, as has been done for decades, Palestinian Arabs, their supporters and Israel detractors observed the “Nakba” or the catastrophe of Israel’s birth in 1948. In order to understand the veracity of that narrative and how it’s been conflated in modern dialogue and reporting, it’s important to understand what lies behind that.

The destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem pulled the rug out from under the cornerstone of Jewish life, something which we still experience today. Sadly, there are parallels in the Roman siege and conquest of Jerusalem 1956 years ago with the current siege of Western society by Islamists today.

'Colonialism opened the doors for Europe's Islamic population growth'

Share Across the world last week, Jews observed the saddest day on the biblical calendar, a day of mourning and fasting in commemoration of the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE) and the Second Temple (70 CE), along with other calamities that have befallen the Jewish people on the same day — the ninth of the month of Av — across millennia. These are not a coincidence, and our observance and mourning are with deep introspection.

This week is the 25th anniversary of one of the most horrific terror attacks in Israel during what is referred to as the Second Intifada. During the period from late 2000 through the first half of 2005, more than 1000 Israelis were killed and several thousand wounded as a result of countless Palestinian Arab suicide bombings, shootings, stabbings, and more. While hardly a week went by without some such terror attack, the Aug. 9, 2001, bombing of the Sbarro pizza restaurant in central Jerusalem remains one of the most vivid and vulgar, still today.

In June, I attended a campaign event in Jerusalem featuring former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Today’s silence conjures memories of past pontifical silence during the Holocaust. For Jews and Christian Zionists, Pope Pius XII's silence remains a harrowing memory and indictment.

On August 16, 1966, an Iraqi Air Force MiG-21 touched down at an Israeli air base after a daring flight across the Middle East.