Dror Or, born August 10, 1976, 48 years old Dror Or was born and raised inKibbutz Re'im, Israel.He later moved to Tel Aviv to attend culinary school and worked in several restaurants before settling with his family in his wife Yonat's hometown of Kibbutz Be'eri.
Israel was brought an unidentified hostage body. It has been identified by authorities as Dror Or, the third-to-lasthostage, on his journey to be laid to rest. Dror Or's remains were recently returned to Israel, and as of November 30, 2025, there are two deceased hostages whose remains are still in Gaza. No living hostages remain in Gaza.The individuals whose bodies have yet to be returned are:
1. Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer.
2. Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai national who worked in agriculture in Israel.
Or's remains were returned to Israel by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad andHamasvia the Red Cross last week. The Israeli cheesemaker Dror Or was born onAugust 10, most likely in1976. He was 48 years old when he was murdered on October 7, 2023.An Instagram post from August 10 suggests that day was his 49th birthday, which would place his birth year around 1976.He was a respected chef and cheesemaker from Kibbutz Be'eri, survived by his three children and parents. His body, which had been taken hostage to Gaza, was recently returned to Israel for burial.
"The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Or family and all the families of the abducted fallen," said the Israeli Prime Minister's Office."Dror Or, the hostage whose body was released to Israel last week, is buried in Kibbutz Be’eri and eulogized by his family and friends. He is buried next to his wife,Yonat Or, who was killed on October 7, 2023. Her body was discovered several days after the Hamas terrorist attack. Two of their three teenage children were taken captive that day and released in November 2023.
Somehow, Hamas knew this body was a hostage body and kept it 3rd to last to hand over, hoping to gain some privileges, no doubt. When told that all hostages needed to be released, Dror had been held back. They are hold the last body. Dror Or was considered a living hostage until May 2, 2024, when intelligence revealed that he was killed on October 7 and his body taken captive to Gaza.
Dorit Or, Dror’s mother, describes his birth and upbringing in Kibbutz Re’im, his place as the middle brother, his love of basketball, and his path to becoming a chef, meeting his wife Yonat and moving to Be’eri. She calls her son and daughter-in-law “people of freedom and light, of spirit and creativity, who knew how to dream and turn dreams into reality.”
Andriy Yermak (b: November 21, 1971) age 54, in Kyiv, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) Yermak's Russian mother Maria met his Kyiv native Jewish father, Borys on a school trip of a Leningrad school to Kyiv.
Andriy Yermak, a prominent Ukrainian official and former film producer, has a Jewish father and Jewish relatives in Israel, the US, and Belgium. He sees a connection with Israel. “[Ukraine] is a great nation in the center of Europe, and this is a great nation which wanted to be free, to be independent,” he continued. “And I’m sure that our history will be so great, as great as the history of Israel, and the relations between our countries, the relations between our people, will be stronger, and we can always say that we are real friends.”
A political earthquake in Ukraine has taken place as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak, the country’s second-most-powerful person, was forced to resign amid a corruption scandal. This comes as Ukraine is enmeshed in negotiations with the Trump administration on a possible end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Jack Hewson joins John Yang with the latest from Kyiv.
Andriy Borysovych Yermak (Ukrainian: Андрій Борисович Єрмак; born 21 November 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former film producer who served as the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine from 2020 to 2025, after being appointed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In 1995 he received his master's degree in international private law. In 1997, Yermak founded his own law firm and worked in the field of intellectual property and commercial law.
Yermak became acquainted with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2011, when Zelenskyy was the general producer of the TV channel Inter. The two became friends.
He just resigned on 28 November 2025. Yermak resigned from his position as the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine after his home was raided by anti-corruption agents.
He stated he is going to the front lines and has claimed his innocence. In a text message to The Post, Yermak said he is going to the front lines and is prepared for any reprisals, calling himself an "honest and decent person". His statement was made in an impassioned message to the New York Post following anti-corruption raids on his home and office, where he maintained his innocence and expressed a desire to avoid creating political problems for President Zelenskyy.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The resultant conflict is the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, and a major escalation of the war between the two countries that began in 2014.In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatists in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region after Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted in theEuromaidan protests. Russia's military seized control of Crimea in February 2014, followed by a disputed referendum in March that led to Russia's formal annexation of the peninsula. In April, fighting began in the Donbas between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatists, initiating a conflict that would last for years.
Will Zelensky be able to stand up to Russia now without Yermak?
As for the Front Lines, The "front lines" associated with the name "Yarmak" in Ukraine refer to the areas around the southeastern city ofHuliaipolein the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.Mayor Serhii Yarmakserves as the mayor of Huliaipole, a city that has been subject to continuous Russian shelling and is considered a front-line town. Due to the proximity of active combat and severe attacks, most residents have fled, leaving only a small fraction of the pre-war population.
Another individual,Andriy Yarmak, an agricultural economist, is involved in discussions and analysis regarding the global food crisis stemming from the war, rather than military front lines. There is also mention of a Ukrainian rapper namedYarmakwho has been on the front lines questioning a Russian prisoner of war.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus(Hebrew: יהונתן קונריקוס; born 1979) in Jerusalem is 46 years old. He was raised in Malmo, Sweden from the age of 13. In 1997 when 18, he joined the IDF, serving in the Givati Brigade, and remained there till 2021 when he was 24 before returning to duty as a reservist in 2023; at the age of 26. His alma mater is Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is now a Swedish-Israeli spokesperson and media commentator that I depend on.
He did a lot more in the IDF. From 1997 to 2000 he served as an infantry soldier in an elite unit insouthern Lebanon.From 2000 to 2005 he served as acompanycommander in Gaza.He then became responsible for analyzing military doctrines of the United States, Great Britain, France, and to some extent Germany.He subsequently became a liaison officer between the IDF and United Nations peacekeeping forces – first in Lebanon (UNIFIL, 2009–11), then in theGolan Heights(UNDOF, 2011–13), and then as Deputy Chief Liaison Officer of theIDF Northern Command(2013–14).Conricus was the international spokesperson of the IDF in theIDF Spokesperson's Unitfrom 2017 to 2021. All this at such a young age, which is quite typical of our Israeli services.
People in the United States are not receiving accurate information about Israel. It's usually on the negative side which is mostly misinformation. I believe many would appreciate hearing from reliable people instead of websites for one reason or another are so slanted.
Lt. Col. Conricus is the son of an Israeli mother and a Swedish father. His grandfather, Daniel Bornstein, grew up in Oswiecim in Poland, where Nazi Germany operated the Auschwitz concentration camp, and was a Holocaust survivor along with his sister. The rest of Bornstein's family was murdered.He graduated with a BA in Middle Eastern and Military Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He speaks the Swedish Scanian dialect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuCwD0nRvHY
He also served as a military diplomat.Conricus served for three years, from 2014 to 2017, at the United Nations in New York City, seconded and on loan to the Office of Military Affairs of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). He was an Assessment Officer, and during that time he learned Arabic. He was the first Israeli officer to hold any position at the UN.He was responsible for collecting information for UN forces deployed in war zones around the world, including in Nigeria, Somalia, Congo, and Ukraine, and assessing risks.
Along came the worst event Jews around the world and particularly Israel has ever faced. Hours after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Conricus returned to duty as a reservist and was appointed international spokesperson for the IDF. He served in that position for the following three months. During that time, he would commonly do 30 interviews in a 24-hour period. He gave interviews on, among others, BBC, CNN, Sky News, NBC, and ABC News. After the October 7, 2023, attack he said: "If Hamas were to come out of their hiding places.., return our hostages — all 212 of them — and surrender unconditionally, then the war would end.If they won't, we will probably have to go in and get it done."[
He's the man to look for that's giving a report on Israel. One reason he's been so popular is that he speaks as well, in English, as Netanyahu, who I have always thought was the best. Both speak intelligently and are better in English than most Americans! They are so rational! He's making progress. He's appeared on the following:
ABC News and ABC News Live: He has been interviewed multiple times on ABC platforms, including speaking with David Muir and Linsey Davis.
CNN: Conricus has been featured on CNN, for example, speaking with Erin Burnett.
Fox News and Fox Business: He has provided commentary and analysis to various Fox News platforms, including Fox News Digital and LiveNOW from FOX.
CBN News:
You can tell; Jonathan is one of my favorite people!
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. Stretching across the Horn of Africa, it borders Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the east. In 1945, during the Potsdam Conference, the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland as the Trust Territory of Somaliland, on condition.
Leaders of the Isaaq clan photographed in Hargeisa in 1958 during the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester's visit to Somaliland
What a distinctive Jewish name, Isaac, for a Muslim clan! We have found Jews in Ethiopia and have taken most to Israel. Let's see if anything has been done on their DNA.. The DNA of Isaaq Somalians is primarily East African, with high frequencies of the paternal haplogroup E1b1b-M215 (especially the EV32 subclade). Couldn't this clan be telling us they were from the Jewish line with the name of Isaac? I think so. Then they were one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, winding up by then in Muslim lands.
Presence in Jewish groups: E1b1b is found in various Jewish populations, including Sephardic Jews, and is present at roughly 20% in Ashkenazi Jews, often belonging to the E-M123 sub-clade.
Ilhan Omar is from Somalia
This lineage of clan Isaaq is common among East Africans, and some Isaaq subclans also show a significant presence ofhaplogroup T, which may be linked to ancient migrations and connections to the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The overall genetic makeup of the Isaaq, like other Somalis, reflects a deep East African foundation with layers of ancient admixture from West Eurasian sources, primarily through historical trade and cultural exchange rather than large-scale intermarriage. There are no Jews in Somalia; only Muslims. Ilhan Abdullahi Omar(October 4, 1982)43, is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. Ilhan Omar came to the U.S. in 1995 at age 12. Shemust have entered our Jr. High School then, and at 14 went to high school.
She was born in Somalia, and her family fled the country's civil war, spending four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating, so from 8 to 12 was in the refugee camp.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States. As of 2023 Census data, approximately 63,192 people in Minnesota had Somali ancestry. The total number of Somalis who have entered Minnesota over the decades is a complex figure, as many came from other U.S. states after initial processing, not directly from Somalia.
Overall population estimates: Estimates for the total Somali population in Minnesota (including those born in the U.S.) have ranged from 40,000 to over 80,000 in recent years.
Refugee resettlement numbers: Since 1993, more than 26,000 Somali refugees have settled in Minnesota through official resettlement programs. Between 2003 and 2012, 75% of all refugees resettled in Minnesota came from Somalia.
Recent trends: In the 2023 fiscal year, 443 people from Somalia made up the largest group of new refugees arriving in Minnesota, a significant increase after years of low numbers under the Trump administration.
Why They Came to Minnesota
Overall population estimates: Estimates for the total Somali population in Minnesota (including those born in the U.S.) have ranged from 40,000 to over 80,000 in recent years.
Refugee resettlement numbers: Since 1993, more than 26,000 Somali refugees have settled in Minnesota through official resettlement programs. Between 2003 and 2012, 75% of all refugees resettled in Minnesota came from Somalia.
Recent trends: In the 2023 fiscal year, 443 people from Somalia made up the largest group of new refugees arriving in Minnesota, a significant increase after years of low numbers under the Trump administration.
Somalis arrived in large numbers primarily as refugees fleeing the violent civil war, famine, floods, and drought that have plagued their home country since the central government collapsed in 1991.Resettlement Agencies: Minnesota had well-established, effective non-governmental resettlement agencies (like Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities) with a long history of helping refugees integrate, which made the state a preferred location for the U.S. State Department to place new arrivals.
Ilhan is so involved with Hamas' position against Israel that she hasn't heard that Somalia is changing towards Israel and is considering normalizing relations.
Over 400 Somalis were living in Minnesota with Temporary Protected Status as of 2023, said Trump. He is ending it.
Ilhan is part of "The Squad" a group of similarities. They are all against Israel whenever any matter comes up. They, being Democrats, press their peers to vote the same way.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., speaks at the Capitol in Washington on July 15 along with fellow Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York to address critical remarks by President Donald Trump.Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images file
She is now a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis.
Fox 9 reports that What we know:
A letter co-signed by Reps. Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Rep. Brad Finstad and Pete Stauber urge U.S. Attorney Rosen to "conduct an open investigation into reports that Minnesota taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the Al-Shabaab terrorist network in Somalia."
More specifically, the letter says that "it is alleged that Minnesota’s Somali community… has been sending millions back to Somalia" through an informal money trafficking scheme. The letter cites a report from the right-leaning thinktank Manhattan Institute.
Action must be taken at both the state and federal level to crack down on illicit remittances and any other payments making their way to terrorist groups. Al Shabaab (Harakat Al Shabaab Al Mujahidin, Mujahidin Youth Movement) is a Somalia-based insurgent and terrorist group that U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) in 2022 labeled "the largest, wealthiest, and most lethal Al Qaeda affiliate in the world today." AFRICOM reports that the group poses the greatest danger to U.S.
Somalia has an estimated population of 18.1 million, of which 2.7 million live in the capital and largest city, Mogadishu. As one of Africa's most ethnically homogenous countries, around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis. The official languages of the country are Somali and Arabic, though Somali is the main language. Somalia has historic and religious ties to the Arab world The overwhelming majority of the population are Sunni Muslims.
