In a special breaking news edition, Lt. Col. (res.) Avital Leibovich, director of AJC Jerusalem, joins us to break down Israel’s Operation Shield and Arrow and the threat posed by the Iranian-backed terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has fired over 500 rockets towards Israel since Tuesday. Leibovich also provides an update on how Israelis are coping with the latest escalation and efforts being made towards a ceasefire.  *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC.  ___ Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Avital Leibovich ___ Show Notes: Take action: Urge Congress to Stand with Israel Against Terrorism Read: What to Know About the Gaza Strip, Terrorist Rocket Attacks, and More 5 Things You Need to Know About Israel’s Iron Dome Defense System and Those Who Voted Against It Listen: Israel at 75: 7 Things You Should Know About Israel: Listen to these seven episodes of AJC’s People of the Pod featuring leading Israeli and American scholars, experts, and influencers that will help you learn more about the complexities, triumphs, and challenges facing Israel today. AJC CEO Ted Deutch on the Importance of Jewish American Heritage Month: This May, AJC is proud to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month and the countless contributions that Jewish Americans have made as patriotic citizens, creative artists, brilliant scientists, and star athletes. To kick things off, we’re joined by AJC CEO Ted Deutch to hear his reflections on his first several months at AJC, what he’s looking forward to at AJC Global Forum 2023 in Tel Aviv, and how he’s marking Jewish American Heritage Month. Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org   If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, tag us on social media with #PeopleofthePod, and hop onto Apple Podcasts to rate us and write a review, to help more listeners find us. __ Transcript of Interview with Avital Leibovich Manya Brachear Pashman:  Welcome to a special breaking news edition of People of the Pod to bring our listeners up to date on what's going on in Israel. Joining me is Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich, Director of AJC Jerusalem. Avital, welcome, and I hope you are safe. But how are you doing? Tell me. Avital Leibovich:   Thank you. It's an opportunity for me to be here with you today and to share from the ground our experiences here in Israel. This is already the third day of the operation. There's tension in the air, but I think that our resilience as Israelis is quite strong. And I'm sure we will overcome this situation as we have in the past. Manya Brachear Pashman: So what is going on there–who is firing the rockets that are now falling on Israel? Avital Leibovich:    So the operation is directed towards the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Islamic Jihad in Gaza is the smaller of two terror groups in Gaza. It's backed and funded and directed by Iran. And its charter is pretty clear, I would say. Basically, the organization believes that Israel has no right to exist. And in order to make sure that we will not exist, Iran is funding its military capabilities. They have managed to build an arsenal of rockets, of mortars, of drones. They have managed to train soldiers, militants in order to conduct anti-Israeli operations.  And Israel decided to initiate an operation, following two events. The first event was a week ago, where over 100 rockets were fired by this organization, the Islamic Jihad, within 24 hours, towards Israel. And the second event actually took place on Pesach, on Passover, in which 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon within 10 minutes by factions of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Lebanon. So this was an opportunity to make sure that Israel is preventing further escalation and basically defending its people. Manya Brachear Pashman: So where's Hamas in all of this? Avital Leibovich:    So H