Jacob Jaffa

Assistant News Editor

Jacob Jaffa is the JC's Assistant News Editor. His specialist topics include UK and US politics, the far-right and antisemitism in Europe. You can reach him on jjaffa@thejc.com

Latest from Jacob Jaffa

Israeli Politics

Netanyahu speaks to former aide Urich for first time in a year as Qatargate restrictions lapse

The former prime ministerial spokesman recently announced his intention to return to government work if he clears his name

2 min read

Jonatan Urich arrives for a court hearing in the Qatargate investigation at the court in Lod, January 6, 2026 (Flash90)

The Mount Hermon Observatory on the Golan Heights on September 21, 2025 (Getty Images)

US lays out plan for ‘Zermatt-style’ ski resort in Syria after security deal with Israel

1 min read

Emergency services at the scene of a bus ramming that killed a Charedi teen and left three others injured during an anti-enlistment protest in Jerusalem on January 6, 2025 (Flash90)

Charedi teen killed in bus ramming during Jerusalem anti-enlistment protest

2 min read

Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor by New York Attorney General Letitia James (L) alongside his wife Rama Duwaji (R) in the former City Hall subway station on January 1, 2026 (Getty Images)

Tel Aviv stock exchange courts New York-listed Israeli companies after Mamdani inauguration

1 min read

Netanyahu backs Ben-Gvir’s push for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount

Israel’s national security minister has long maintained that prayer, including full prostration, should be allowed at the site, and has even suggested the construction of a synagogue there

1 min read

January 6, 2026 13:46

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir seen after a visit at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City during Tishah b’Av, on August 3, 2025 (Flash90)

West Bank to receive first 4G mobile network after Israel-backed telecom deal

The Gaza Strip will remain on 2G connection, while Israel is now transitioning to full 5G coverage

1 min read

January 6, 2026 11:35

Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi (Flash90)

Israel strikes Hamas and Hezbollah ‘weapons production sites’ in Lebanon

The IDF said it targeted weapons storage facilities and ‘military infrastructure’ in the southern regions, including in the country’s third-largest city

1 min read

January 6, 2026 10:20

An Israeli strike on the village of Kfar Hatta, in southern Lebanon on January 5, 2025 (Getty Images)

Israeli Islamist party to accept first Jewish candidates at next elections

‘I would be honoured if they joined’ said Ra’am party leader Mansour Abbas of his Jewish allies in the Knesset

1 min read

January 6, 2026 09:57

Ra'am party leader Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on January 5, 2026 (Flash90)

Shas threatens to vote down state budget unless Charedi draft bill passed first

Netanyahu’s coalition has until March 31 to reach a compromise with its Charedi partner or face being forced into fresh elections

1 min read

January 5, 2026 13:44

Shas party leader Aryeh Deri leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on November 24, 2025 (Flash90)

Jewish former Labour councillor pleads guilty to sex offences against teen girl

Liron Velleman, 30, sent the 13-year-old victim explicit images and asked her whether she was a virgin

1 min read

January 5, 2026 13:03

Tehran ‘in survival mode’ as Trump threatens ‘hard hit’ over protestor killings

Ayatollah Khamenei has pledged to put demonstrators ‘in their place’, but pressure is mounting on his regime as an economic crisis and fresh conflict with the US loom large

2 min read

January 5, 2026 11:24

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks after casting his vote for the presidential runoff election on July 5, 2024 in Tehran, Iran (Getty Images)

Could Khameini be the next Maduro?

With the Venezuelan dictator seized and deposed, and the US escalating its rhetoric against Iran, the Islamic regime’s supreme leader finds himself in the hot seat

2 min read

January 5, 2026 10:55

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei (left), during a state television broadcast in June 2025, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after being seized by US forces in Caracas on January 3 (Getty Images/Truth Social)

Ex-JFS pupil Charlotte Niddam confirmed dead in fire at Swiss ski resort

The 15-year-old was killed in the blaze during a New Year’s party, as were Jewish sisters Alicia and Diana Gunst

2 min read

January 5, 2026 09:55

US military ‘locked and loaded’ to intervene if Iran harms peaceful protestors, says Trump

The president’s threat came after Iranian-linked militias in Iraq claimed the Islamic Republic’s new arsenal of ballistic missiles could reach as far west as Egypt and as far north as Ukraine

2 min read

January 2, 2026 11:04

US President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (off frame) at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025 (Getty Images)

Minutes of West Midlands Police meeting contain no suggestion Jewish community backed Maccabi fan ban

Representatives of the force even noted that Jewish groups ‘expressed concern that banning away fans could be perceived as antisemitic’, according to official records disclosed under a Freedom of Information request

2 min read

January 2, 2026 09:42

A man protests the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans ahead of the team's Europa League match against Aston Villa on November 06, 2025, in Birmingham (Getty Images)

Hamas unveils new spokesman after confirming death of Abu Obeida

The move comes just weeks before the group is expected to elect a new leader for its political wing

2 min read

December 31, 2025 14:48

Hamas' new military spokesman, who took on the mantle of Abu Obeida from Hudayfa al-Kahlout, confirms the death of his predecessor in a video address on December 29, 2025 (Hamas)

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Jacob Jaffa

Latest from Jacob Jaffa

Netanyahu speaks to former aide Urich for first time in a year as Qatargate restrictions lapse

US lays out plan for ‘Zermatt-style’ ski resort in Syria after security deal with Israel

Charedi teen killed in bus ramming during Jerusalem anti-enlistment protest

Tel Aviv stock exchange courts New York-listed Israeli companies after Mamdani inauguration

More from Jacob Jaffa

Netanyahu backs Ben-Gvir’s push for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount

West Bank to receive first 4G mobile network after Israel-backed telecom deal

Israel strikes Hamas and Hezbollah ‘weapons production sites’ in Lebanon

Israeli Islamist party to accept first Jewish candidates at next elections

Shas threatens to vote down state budget unless Charedi draft bill passed first

Jewish former Labour councillor pleads guilty to sex offences against teen girl

Tehran ‘in survival mode’ as Trump threatens ‘hard hit’ over protestor killings

Could Khameini be the next Maduro?

Ex-JFS pupil Charlotte Niddam confirmed dead in fire at Swiss ski resort

US military ‘locked and loaded’ to intervene if Iran harms peaceful protestors, says Trump

Minutes of West Midlands Police meeting contain no suggestion Jewish community backed Maccabi fan ban

Hamas unveils new spokesman after confirming death of Abu Obeida