Israeli military officials prepare for all scenarios while evaluating US strikes and weighing potential targets across Iran.

Defense spending, laws enabling draft avoidance and mounting pressure on the state budget are creating a reality that will burden any future Israeli government. The result: Its room for maneuver will be significantly reduced. 

The Tisha B’Av fast will begin on Wednesday evening and continue until Thursday evening, on the ninth of Av, July 22-23, 2026. Here are the start and end times for the fast across Israel.

Israel’s dependence on foreign supplies after Oct. 7 led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a dramatic decision: expand domestic weapons production. This is also the bitter lesson of the war in Ukraine. Without industrial independence and the ability to supply itself, even the world’s strongest alliances and most advanced weapons cannot prevent a collapse on the battlefield.

Hamas, it should be recalled, calls its October 7 surprise attack the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” For that reason alone, Tisha B’Av deserves to be restored to a central place in Israel’s national identity.