Ruth Marks Eglash

Honored to be featured in @Jerusalem_Post ‘Behind the Bylines’ column 💪❤️❤️

🔎 Is Netanyahu real or AI?" an internet headline blared, pointing to a video that supposedly showed the Israeli prime minister with six fingers. But the clip was legit. So how do you prove what is real is real in the fog of disinformation of the Middle East war? ➡️ u.afp.com/Sb8G

Latest statement from the FPA on violent attack by @IL_police on a veteran photographer. @GPOIsrael

I told @TimesRadio that it’s about time international journalists stop referring to propagandists working for terror groups as journalists. The debate was sparked again a few days ago when two Lebanese people working for a media outlet controlled by Hezbollah caused outrage among journalists across the world, many of whom insisted that they were journalists as well. It’s extremely disappointing that they would put themselves in the same category as someone literally doing propaganda for a terror group, purely out of spite for Israel. I hope they would never categorize an Islamic State cameraman filming hostage beheading videos as a journalist. But I honestly don’t know anymore. We’ve seen this debate unfold countless times when Palestinians working for Hamas and Islamic Jihad media were killed in Gaza. There is the same urge to insist that they were journalists. It’s disrespectful and degrading to hardworking journalists who risk their lives on a daily basis reporting from war zones while trying to uphold journalistic standards. The Hezbollah “journalists” couldn’t care less about journalistic standards. They had one job only: to spout propaganda for Hezbollah, a designated terror group—quite literally the opposite of journalism. When internationally recognized journalists line up to come to Hezbollah propagandists’ defense, it sends a horrible signal to many aspiring journalists out there: that no matter how hard they work to live up to journalistic standards, at the end of the day they will be placed in the same category as terror propagandists. And just to be clear, as I know the usual suspects will be very quick to accuse me of condoning the killings of the Hezbollah propagandists: that’s not what this is about. I’m not condoning anything. This is purely a debate about who gets to call themselves a journalist. Some will automatically reply, “Well, where is the red line?” The red line is when you start working for a terror group. Pretty simple

NEW: Israel will create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, Israeli Defense Minister Katz announced.

Some quick remarks: 1. An embarrassing and foolish episode by the Israeli police- but hardly surprising. The police in Israel is in a state of rapid decline and politicization. Some of the reasons are structural; others are directly tied to the appointment of Itamar Ben-Gvir- a convicted felon, a disciple of Kahanism, and a former member of the outlawed racist movement Kach- as minister in charge. This nomination was a personal decision by Benjamin Netanyahu. Ben-Gvir has sidelined professional officers, elevated individuals with little experience to senior roles, and driven standards to new lows. There is now an appeal before the Supreme Court seeking his removal on the grounds that he is effectively not obeying the law. The attorney general- whom Netanyahu is seeking to dismiss- supports the appeal. 2. This event today should not be interpreted as a policy shift in the Old City of Jerusalem. The swift Israeli backtrack reflects that. It is not a case of a policy tested and abandoned; rather, it appears that a junior officer made a discretionary call- amid fears of an Iranian ballistic missile strike- that if there were restrictions on events in the Old City, even the Patriarch and a small entourage would not be allowed entry. 3. This government- again, with Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu’s tacit backing- is the most hostile to other religions since the state’s founding. This is also evident in the erosion of the status quo on the Temple Mount. The former police chief of Jerusalem was fired by Ben Gvir because he didnt agree to make changes to the status quo. Yet freedom of religion remains the law of the land. That is precisely why this story was exposed in the Israeli media and immediately became a major issue, covered as it was: because it is not the norm. Another couple of years with Ben-Gvir with the backing of the Likud, and it might become exactly that.

❗️The Chief of the General Staff concluded an inquiry into the conduct of IDF soldiers toward journalists during the evacuation of an illegal outpost in Judea and Samaria. The inquiry found several failures in the conduct of the soldiers toward the reporters. In addition, deficiencies were identified in behavioral norms, deviations from IDF orders, and inappropriate communication with members of the press in violation of established procedures. As the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, stated: “Weapons are to be used solely for the purpose of carrying out the mission, and never for revenge. We will not accept such incidents within the ranks of the IDF.” The battalion will remain in reserve service and undergo a process to reinforce its professional and normative foundations. The IDF respects and enables freedom of the press in the area and regrets the incident.

The Israeli military’s top general suspended all operational activities of the reserve battalion involved in my team's detention & assault. The reserve battalion, comprised of hundreds of reservists who served in the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion, will be immediately withdrawn from the West Bank and reassigned to training until further notice. The sweeping disciplinary action comes about 48 hours after our report first aired. edition.cnn.com/2026/03/29/mid…

First dig in 40 years at Alexandrion fortress as Heritage Minister invests NIS 300M, warning "forget why we're here, October 7 happens again," while archaeologist says Palestinian construction threatens 5,000 West Bank sites. jpost.com/jerusalem-repo…

Ron Dermer's comeback - How, Why, and What does it mean for Israel's operations in Iran and in Lebanon. Read our explainer! Dermer’s return puts Netanyahu’s 'brain' at center of US-Israel calculus al-monitor.com/originals/2026… via @AlMonitor

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by the Israel Police, the Patriarchate announced. jpost.com/christianworld…

#Israel's #Heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu tells me that archeological sites in the land of the #Bible must be excavated for ideological reasons and because they are in danger of being destroyed by #Palestinians.... Read the interview here: @J_Report jpost.com/jerusalem-repo…

As the war over the West Bank heats up, so does the battle over narratives and who belongs there.... Now, after 40 years, the current Israeli government is moving full-steam ahead with excavating archeological sites to prove the Jewish claims to the land.... How the past is impacting our future..... Read my latest for @J_Report jpost.com/jerusalem-repo…

New for @WSJ: An Israeli strike on a naval outpost in the Caspian Sea targeted Russia’s support for Iran in the war, hitting a supply line that the countries have used to move ammunition, drones and other weaponry, people familiar with the matter said.

BREAKING: Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, head of Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa, visited Khirbet Humsa in the West Bank following a settler pogrom in which a 29-year-old Palestinian farmer was sexually assaulted, his family was beaten, and hundreds of his sheep were stolen. Below is his full statement, translated from Hebrew: Letter from the Head of the Yeshiva, Rabbi Yehuda Gilad With God’s help, Rosh Chodesh Nisan — “a time of atonement for all their generations” Yesterday I went through a very difficult and deeply disturbing experience. I visited Khirbet Humsa (about a 30-minute drive from our yeshiva), where a pogrom carried out by hilltop youth took place about a week ago. I heard the details of what happened there from several sources, including Ruti — a woman I have known for years and trust completely. It turns out that in the early hours of the night, a group of rioters (around 30–40 people) arrived, equipped with sticks and many zip ties. They bound the men (and apparently also two foreign volunteers, though I am not certain of this), and then beat them all over their bodies with fists and clubs. We saw many remnants of the zip ties on the ground. The men required treatment at the hospital in Afula for injuries of varying severity. At the same time, the attackers stole the entire herd — about 300 head — belonging to the few families living there, under unimaginable conditions of poverty. At first, I heard that there had also been sexual violence, and I did not believe it… Yesterday we arrived at the site with Ruti, a friend of mine who is well known to them. When they saw us — Rabbi Avidan Friedman and myself — they visibly recoiled in terror and anxiously pointed to the kippot on our heads. Ruti tried to calm them, explaining that we were not among the attackers. Even so, at the beginning of the meeting, they were hesitant and afraid. I heard directly from a young man — a firsthand witness — what had happened there. From his face, the blue bruise in his eye, and his sorrowful expression, it was clear he was telling the truth. In that same conversation (with the help of a translator), he described in detail the prolonged abuse they endured while bound. Then, with deep shame, he told us something I had previously found impossible to believe. I find it difficult — my hands tremble as I write this about Jews — and yet I will write it, because I am convinced it indeed happened. Yes, these wicked individuals bound his genitals in an extremely painful way — not to mention the humiliation involved. These events recall the pogroms our ancestors endured in various diasporas. Have we become like the worst of the nations? I want to turn to the question: what should be done? But I feel that I am still at the stage of crying out. Alas — what has become of us!

While all eyes are on Iran, another war is unfolding in the West Bank and a battle over claiming historical sites.... #Read my article for @J_Report here: jpost.com/jerusalem-repo…

I have serious problems with the term “settler violence.” It is a generalization that demonizes a community of 500,000 people - almost all of them are good, law-abiding citizens. But we cannot let that defense blind us. What has been happening in the West Bank - like the attacks by Jewish extremists in some 20 locations last night - is an abomination. These actions are anti-Jewish, they are the antithesis of what it means to be Israeli, and they must be stopped with the most aggressive steps law enforcement has at its disposal. Beyond the moral rot, this is a strategic liability. Israel is in a war against Iran and we have a rare moment to unite a global coalition from the US to Europe to the Gulf, but that support is undermined when these attacks occur. @netanyahu knows this and for that reason he went to the IDF Central Command on Friday to try and stop the violence in the middle of a war that needs to be his sole focus. What these attackers are doing is not just criminal; it is a threat to our national security. We cannot defeat our enemies abroad while a violent fringe undermines our legitimacy from within.

Fascinating story

Fragments from an Iranian missile hit #Jerusalem’s Old City …. Meters from the sacred sites of 3 world religions. Non stop missile fire on the holy city today