The Latest From @MacTaskForce
Iranian and Venezuelan activists Masih Alinejad and Leopoldo López know the evils of repressive regimes from the inside, and are speaking up at a time of rising tensions.
Both warn that attacks against U.S. “interference” often end up strengthening the very dictators brutalizing their people. Iranians and Venezuelans have tried everything: mass protests, negotiations, sanctions, and years of diplomatic pressure, and none of it delivered their freedom.
Their message is that when people attempt to undermine U.S. efforts that actually shift the balance against dictators, it hands regimes exactly what they want: time, legitimacy, and continued control.
Standing with people oppressed by ideologically repressive regimes means listening to those who’ve paid the price for resisting dictatorship. Silence, and participating in false moral equivalence, only prolong the regime’s control over them.
A Korean content creator living in Israel shares her experience in her native language.
She shared that she felt safe walking the streets at night, exploring Jerusalem’s market, and eating iconic Middle Eastern street foods.
From late-night strolls in Tel Aviv to the flavors of hummus and falafel, Israel’s streets are full of life and light.
🎥: k__yjj
Forty days after tens of thousands of loved ones were killed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, families across the country chose courage over fear.
In Iranian tradition, the 40th day of mourning is sacred. But this time, remembrance became something more, an act of resistance.
For Israelis, this response is painfully familiar. After October 7th, “We will dance again” wasn’t just a feel-good slogan, but a refusal to let terror define the future.
Now, in different languages but under the same threat of massacre, both peoples are sending the same message: grief will not be controlled by those who rule through fear.
When regimes try to silence memory, it’s the memory itself that becomes their power.
We will stand with the Iranian people until freedom.
On the first Friday of Ramadan, tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers are making their way to Jerusalem’s Old City, and Israeli authorities are working to ensure they can do so safely and freely.
In a region where religious persecution is the horrific norm, Israel continues to protect access to holy sites for Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike.
Security and religious freedom are not contradictions. In Israel, they are upheld side by side.
This is what democracy in the Middle East looks like.
Israeli Member of Knesset Sharren Haskel extended warm wishes to Muslims in Israel and around the world for a blessed Ramadan, a powerful reminder of what real democracy looks like in the Middle East.
In Israel, religious freedom isn’t a slogan, but a lived reality. Muslims, Jews, Christians, Druze, and others pray openly, celebrate their holidays, and serve in public life together. Ramadan is observed freely, and all communities gather without fear.
At a time when extremists try to divide faith communities and weaponize religion for political gain, gestures like this matter. They reflect a core democratic value: every person deserves the right to practice their faith with dignity and without coercion.
Ramadan Mubarak to all who are observing.
Israeli Arab IDF Captain Ella Waweya, the highest-ranking Muslim Arab woman serving in the IDF, shared a powerful message to the Arab world wishing everyone a blessed, secure, and peaceful Ramadan.
Her position and steadfast Israeli pride challenge the narratives extremists try to sell. She is proudly Muslim, proudly Arab, and proudly Israeli. She, like the IDF, is proudly committed to protecting human life.
Captain Waweya makes clear that these identities do not contradict one another. They reflect a vision of a Middle East built on coexistence, stability, and shared security instead of division and hate.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar delivered a blunt message at the UN Security Council: Israel will not apologize for defending itself, and it will not be intimidated by what he described as the UN’s “anti-Israel obsession.”
Sa’ar made it clear that Israel is a peace-seeking democracy, standing on the front lines against radical forces that openly call for its destruction. He reminded the international community that attempts to eliminate the Jewish state began the moment it was reborn in 1948, and those efforts have not ceased.
For the past two and a half years we’ve seen that genocidal rhetoric against Israel hasn’t weakened, but intensified. Sa’ar also importantly warned that Israel is not the only target. The same extremist ideologies threatening Israel also threaten the broader West.
Israel will continue to speak the truth, defend its rights, and stand firm against those who seek its destruction.
Everyday Syrian Druze citizens have delivered a message of deep gratitude to Israel for intervening to protect Druze communities from Islamist violence in southern Syria.
For the Druze, this is not about politics, it’s about safety. Israeli Druze serve in the IDF in significant numbers and have long-standing ties to their brothers and sisters across the border. When Syrian Druze came under threat, Israel acted. Many now describe that intervention as a protective shield at a moment of existential danger.
While extremists preach division and hatred, this moment tells a different story: minority communities in the Middle East are recognizing who shows up for them when lives are on the line.
Voices from the Syrian Druze community are now openly expressing readiness for reconciliation and a future built on security and mutual respect.
