Sunday, October 08, 2023

From Ian:

Douglas Murray: Things Worth Remembering: A Time of War
One of the purposes of great literature, and the need to carry it around with us, is to make sense of the world as it happens. Terrible events occur, but if we have the wisdom of the ages in our heads, we can put them into some form of context.

Recent events in Israel have made me think of the Bible, and I’m sure that’s true of many people right now. After Hamas ambushed Israel in the worst attack against the country in 50 years, leaving more than 300 Israelis dead, I’m particularly thinking of one of the most famous lines from Psalms: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

A prayer that millions of people have uttered down the ages, millions more will utter today.

Unfortunately, some people watching the footage of Israeli women dragged out of their homes and children lying slaughtered on the floors, are engaging in a spot of moral relativism, trying to see this terror from “both sides.” Others are arguing we should view this attack “in context,” as though there can be any context for what happened in places like Sderot yesterday. Still, those are the nobler reactions. Iran rejoiced over the massacre with fireworks. In London, some have been seen celebrating the attacks, waving Palestinian flags and blasting car horns.

Because, of course, Israel is the only country in the world that gets criticized when its citizens are butchered.

Fortunately, ancient civilizations have a long culture and memory from which they can draw strength. And there is no older civilization than that of the Jewish people. For millennia, they have outlived every one of their enemies. They have seen off the Romans, the Assyrians, the Pharaohs, and the Babylonians.

They will see off this enemy, too.


Israel at war: The names and faces of Israel's fallen heroes

** Jerusalem Post is under constant cyber attack and may not be reachable **
NGO Monitor: “Resistance” from Gaza: NGOs Justify Hamas Atrocities Against Israeli Civilians
On October 7, 2023 (which was the Sabbath and a Jewish holiday), hundreds of Palestinian terrorists poured across the border from Gaza into Israel, slaughtering hundreds of Jews, and torturing, maiming, and kidnapping others. Gaza Palestinians also engaged in public desecration of victims’ bodies. In parallel, thousands of rockets were fired at Israeli population centers, sending millions rushing to shelters.

Every one of these attacks constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws, which should have brought immediate condemnation from the human rights community.

Instead, NGOs that routinely and forcefully condemn Israel blamed the victims, whitewashed the terrorists, and exploited the attacks to repeat the campaign accusing Israel of “apartheid” and other lies. Amnesty International declared, “The Israeli government must refrain from inciting violence and tensions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, especially around religious sites.” As of October 8 at 4pm (Israel time), Human Rights Watch had not issued a statement, but, in posts on social media (X/Twitter), a senior official referred to the attacks as “resistance to apartheid and oppression” and bashed the United States for its policies toward Israel and in the region.

Save the Children published an anodyne statement, absurdly calling the situation an “escalation in violence between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces in Israel and Gaza.” Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) did not condemn Hamas, including the numerous attacks on Israeli first responders and hospitals, but rather accused Israel of having “struck” a hospital and ambulance in Gaza.

In addition, a number of NGOs claiming to promote human rights actually supported the attacks. The US-based Center for Constitutional Rights posted a statement titled “Israeli Colonial Domination Is Necessary Context to Palestinian Resistance.” Masar Badil and Samidoun, two NGOs linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group, called on people around the world to “support” and “defend” the Palestinian “resistance”; the latter’s branch in Germany distributed candies to celebrate the attacks.

In a joint statement, Al-Haq, Al-Mezan, and Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) – PFLP-linked NGOs that are funded by the European Union, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, and the United Nations– demonstrated that their claim to promote human rights is a cynical joke. Rather than condemn the Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians, the NGOs claimed that “Palestinian armed groups engaged in an operation in response to escalating Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people” and then devoted their entire statement to Israel’s alleged “revenge and reprisal[s].” (Notably, in the context of the May 2023 conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), PCHR published a statement in which it “affirms the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed struggle”; following pressure from European donors, PCHR altered the text to read: “to resist the occupation by all legitimate means in accordance with international law.”)
PreOccupiedTerritory: Human Rights NGOs Rally To Defend Group That Celebrates Murder, Abduction, Rape, Mutilation, Slavery (satire)
Organizations in the forefront of the global campaign to promote accountability for government violations of human rights and dignity closed ranks today to keep the pressure off one such de facto government that just perpetrated thousands of atrocities against civilians in Israel.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Btselem, Breaking the Silence, and other “human rights” groups that have issued frequent condemnations of real and imagined Israeli violations all rallied today to “contextualize” and “balance” the documented war crimes and crimes against humanity that Palestinians have committed for the last two days in and around the Gaza Strip, during and following an invasion from Gaza by hundreds of Hamas terrorists: shooting civilians in the streets, abducting hundreds, gang rape, beating children, executions of prisoners, and mutilation of bodies. In most cases, the Palestinian perpetrators themselves filmed the evidence, for bragging purposes. As of this writing, Israeli dead number more than 600, injured more than 2,000, and abducted at least 100.

“We condemn the violence on both sides and call for deescalation,” read a statement by Amnesty International, which compared Israel’s self-defense measures and hostage-release operations to the Palestinian mass murder and violations that precipitated them.

“It is not helpful to call militants ‘terrorists,'” admonished Ken Roth, former Human Rights Watch chief, focusing on what he felt the most important element of the current situation, in which Palestinian “militants” went house to house in Israel and shot, abducted, and raped civilians, taking hundreds back to the Gaza Strip as hostages and sex slaves.

Breaking the Silence, a small Israeli group that seeks to libel the IDF and enjoys generous foreign funding, aimed to call attention to the “justice” of the situation, explaining that the people of Gaza have no choice but to celebrate barbarity, and besides, have you heard the made-up crimes we’ve attributed to Israel all these years?
Ron DeSantis: Pro-Hamas rallies ‘abhorrent’
Pro-Hamas rallies in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale are “abhorrent,” according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate. “Hamas is a terrorist group that is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and commits atrocities to further that end.”

“We are proud of the relationship between Florida and Israel, and remember well the support we received from the IDF following the Surfside tower collapse,” he added. “Florida stands with Israel as it faces one of its greatest challenges.”

Images and footage of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel rallies circulated on social media, including protests in front of the White House, in Times Square in Manhattan, in Chicago and in the United Kingdom.

“Emboldened antisemites are rallying in New York today. The masks are now off. The supporters of terrorism have made themselves known to the world,” wrote Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.). “If you stand with the New York City chapter of Democratic Socialists of America at this rally, you stand with Hamas. You stand with evil.”


Harper: Anyone Expressing Support for Hamas Is Committing an Offence

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators revel in London as Israelis are murdered

Rachel Riley voices outrage over London 'party' to celebrate terror attack
TV presenter Rachel Riley has voiced her shock after seeing Londoners "partying" and "dancing" in an apparent celebration of the atrocities carried out by Hamas earlier on Saturday.

Writing on social media, she said: "Acton, half an hour ago. Popped into a cafe for some baklava with the kids and our Ukrainian friends.

"People have been brutally murdered, kidnapped and there are people in London dancing."

In another post, she wrote: "I just passed two cars in West London driving with Palestinian flags flying from each window, bouncing up and down in their cars, seemingly celebrating like they were having a party.

"Make no mistake, this is a dangerous and terrifying time for all Jews around the world."

Other members of the public also voiced their shock at seeing motorists draping their cars in Palestinian flags and beeping their horns as they drove down Edgware Road, near the centre of London.

Footage of the celebration, which took place on Saturday afternoon, prompted outrage, with one commentator calling those behind the display "monsters".

It comes as Hamas claimed on Saturday evening it has killed more than 250 Israelis as it launched a massive offensive from the Gaza Strip, including firing more than 3,000 rockets and sending dozens of Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate the Jewish state.


US Muslim group: ‘Maximum pressure’ on Israel, renege on Abraham Accords
Instead of expressing condolences to innocent Jewish victims, the United States Council of Muslim Organizations, which bills itself as the “largest American Muslim civil society umbrella organization,” issued a statement urging Arab countries that had normalized relations with the Jewish state to reconsider.

“The recent unprovoked and continuous attacks by Israel on Palestinian towns, cities and refugee camps have resulted in tragic loss of Palestinian lives,” it stated.

“We condemn Israel’s targeted and indiscriminate killing of civilians, including innocent children, women and the elderly, and we denounce the inhumane siege imposed on the nearly 2 million inhabitants of Gaza, a clear violation of international law and an implied declaration of open war on the Palestinians which oblige them to be in constant self-defense,” it added.

The group, whose statement did not even mention the terrorist attacks against Israel, called on the U.S. government, “which provides military, economic, financial, political, diplomatic, and limitless support to Israel, to exert pressure on the occupation regime to immediately cease these atrocities.”

“Furthermore, we urge Arab and Muslim countries that have normalized relations with Israel to reconsider their approach in pursuit of peace and stability in the region,” the group added. “We must remember that the concept of ‘land for peace’ has been long proposed, only to be ignored and dismissed by Israel, causing humiliation and disgrace to those who proposed it.”

“In solidarity with the Palestinian people and in the spirit of international justice, we call upon the United States government, Arab and Muslim governments and the global community to exert maximum pressure on Israel to halt its provocations and adhere to international demands to respect Palestinian rights to their lands, properties and lives,” the statement concluded. “Only when these rights are recognized can genuine and lasting peace be achieved for all parties involved.”

The umbrella group’s founders include American Muslims for Palestine, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Circle of North America, Muslim Alliance in North America, Muslim American Society, Muslim Legal Fund of America, Muslim Ummah of North America and The Mosque Cares (the ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed).


Over 300 MPs condemn Hamas and voice support for Israel
MORE than 300 MPs and peers from all main parties have sent an unprecedented message of support to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog – including 12 members of the Cabinet and several Labour shadows, including David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary.

The message says they are “united in condemning Hamas’s unprovoked, surprise attack against Israel and its civilians” describing it as a “futile attempt to harm the movement for peace across the region as Israel and its Arab neighbours work jointly for a future of shared prosperity”.

It also points out “the violence has been indiscriminate with people of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds targeted,” adding: “As members of all of the UK’s main political parties we stand in solidarity with Israel and its right to self defence at this time of great need.”

It is highly unusual for ministers and their opposition counterparts to sign a joint statement of this kind. It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunnak and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly unequivocally condemned the Hamas terrorist attack and expressed backing for Israel.

Calling the message “historic”, Tory MP Bob Blackman, who is chair of the Britain-Israel All-Party Parliamentary Group, said it “reasserts our shared condemnation of the Hamas terror group and restatement of Israel’s absolute right to self-defence. We will continue to stand beside Israel at this unimaginably difficult time”.


Hamas is APPLAUDED at event alongside Labour party conference after killing hundreds of Israelis as Palestinian activist says dead terrorists have 'ascended to martyrdom' - while ex-party leader Jeremy Corbyn refuses to condemn terror group
Hamas terrorists who murdered hundreds of innocent civilians in an attack on Israel were applauded at a left wing event in the sidelines of the Labour conference today.

The clapping for the bloody violence broke out among the audience at a meeting to mark 75 years since the Nakba or 'catastrophe' - which led to the creation of the Jewish state.

It came as one of the speakers at the event said she was 'honoured' to be speaking at such a 'historic moment'.

More than 100 people attended the event at The World Transformed, a left wing festival that is not officially linked to Labour but which sprang up while Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader.

Yasmin Elsouda, an activist and member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, told the audience: 'I'm honoured to be speaking at such an historic moment, certainly in my lifetime, in our struggle…

Meanwhile Mr Corbyn, who is still a Labour member despite being kicked out of the parliamentary party, refused to say if he directly condemned Hamas when quizzed by reporters in Liverpool today.

The ex-Labour leader pointed to a statement he issued yesterday over the violence during tetchy exchanges with journalists.

'Why are you interrputing me?,' Mr Corbyn said.

'Yesterday I sent out a statement calling for a ceasefire, calling for peace and calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine which, of course, is fundamentally the background to the whole issue.

'Obviously all attacks are wrong.'

Mr Corbyn has sat in the House of Commons as an independent since October 2020 after being suspended as a Labour MP over his response to a critical anti-semitism report.


The Squad's Socialist Party Rallies in Support of 'Palestine' Hours After Hamas Terror Attacks
The Democratic Socialists of America, which counts six House Democrats as members, will hold a rally in support of the Palestinian cause on Sunday, less than a day after terrorists in Gaza launched the worst domestic attack on Israel since the country's founding in 1948.

The political party's New York City chapter on Saturday announced its "All Out for Palestine" demonstration as rockets rained down on Israel from Hamas terrorists. The assault on the Jewish state, which included attacks on dozens of Israeli cities and towns, has left at least 250 dead and more than 1,400 wounded.

Included in the Democratic Socialists of America are all four members of the left-wing "Squad"—Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Cori Bush (Mo.), and Ilhan Omar (Minn.)—as well as fellow Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) and Greg Casar (Texas). None of their offices responded to a request for comment. Both Bowman and Ocasio-Cortez are members of the organization's New York chapter. Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.) left the party in 2021.

The lawmakers' affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America is the latest incident of overt anti-Semitism from "Squad" members. Omar, for example, in February was removed from her post on the House Foreign Affairs Committee due to her history of anti-Semitic remarks. Omar in 2012 argued that "Israel has hypnotized the world." In 2019, she attacked the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee, saying that U.S. support for Israel is "all about the Benjamins baby."

Omar went on to compare the United States and Israel to terrorist organizations. The Democrat defended herself by claiming she was unaware there were "tropes about Jews and money."

The socialist "All Out for Palestine" rally will take place in Times Square and appears to endorse Hamas's attacks. The Democratic Socialists of America's New York chapter said its supporters are taking to the streets "in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid."


NYPost Ed: Democratic Socialists of America cheer murder and kidnapping of Israelis at hands of Hamas terrorists
Hamas terrorists fired rockets into towns, shot at civilians from paragliders, and kidnapped women and children from their homes. Grandmothers at gunpoint, loaded onto golf carts, to be held hostage or killed by twisted, depraved thugs — supported by soulless New York City progressives.

Yes, in Times Square on Sunday, the Democratic Socialists of America will host an “All Out for Palestine” rally. Wear a mask so you’re not recognized, the organizers say. Best to just let the swastikas do the talking.

“Never mind the hundreds of Israeli civilians and children who have been murdered, wounded, abducted, and terrorized. Their lives mean nothing to the DSA. Nothing,” Congressman Ritchie Torres rightly wrote Saturday. “The NYC-DSA is revealing itself for what it truly is: an antisemitic stain on the soul of America’s largest city.”

The DSA is the party of Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Rashida Talib — and oh yes, New York’s very own Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal “Fire Alarm” Bowman. They are quick to lecture about “extremism” in America. What do they say about this?

Well, already Omar has called for a “deescalation and ceasefire,” meaning that Israel should just accept that 600 — and likely more — of their people were brutally murdered. War crimes should be accepted, because hey, they’re Palestinians.

“Such senseless violence will only repeat the back and forth cycle we’ve seen, which we cannot allow to continue,” Omar wrote.

But this ISN’T a “cycle” of violence. This is one group of people — Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah — intent on Israel’s destruction.

Israel would like nothing more than to live peacefully within its borders, to see Gaza and the West Bank flourish as neighbors. But the Palestinians, stirred up by propaganda, hate and money from Iran, can never accept that.

Consider what this unlawful invasion was in response to: a historic detente between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The “peace” the Squad claims to want.


DSA to hold Pro-Palestine Rally after Hamas kills 700 Israelis, kidnaps defenseless women and elderly, Hochul slams 'abhorrent' event
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, organized by the Democratic Socialists of America, rallied Sunday in the Big Apple — stomping on and burning the Israeli flag — as Islamic terrorists in the Gaza Strip continued their assault on the Jewish state.

Scores of counter-protesters turned out in support of Israel at the Manhattan rally, too, with verbal clashes between the opposing sides escalating throughout the day and at least one skirmish breaking out near the United Nations compound in Midtown.

One attendee in the pro-Palestine camp was pictured holding up an image of a Swastika on their phone — a day after 700 Jews were slaughtered by Hamas.

The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — the party of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Jamaal Bowman and a couple dozen other prominent New York politicians, had announced the 1 p.m. rally in Times Square on Saturday just hours after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that left hundreds dead and thousands wounded.

The announcement drew immediate condemnation from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who called the planned demonstration “abhorrent and morally repugnant.”

A couple hundred demonstrators turned out to the rally on West 43rd Street and Broadway, shouting “Free Palestine!” and holding up signs saying, “End all US aid to Israel,” and “Palestine will be free.”


Gal Gadot, celebrities worldwide condemn surprise attack on Israel

Madonna makes strong statement after Israelis massacred



Stephen Pollard: Why does the BBC refuse to call Hamas terrorists after horrific attack on Israel
The point may seem trivial. And in the context of the sickening barbarity seen today, it looks it.

But the refusal of the two main news broadcasters, the BBC and Sky - and others - to call Hamas terrorists just that- terrorists - is more than merely annoying. It is a reflection of a deeper malaise that affects much of our broadcast media: the idea that there are always two sides to every story.

The phrase, "one man's terrorist is aother man's freedom fighter", beloved of so many supposedly independent, neutral analysts and reporters, is one of the most pernicious and dangerous canards around. It's a supposedly smart take. But in reality it's an extension of the post-modern nihilism that has addled so many brains.

In its notion that there is always another side to a story it really means there is no side. And it's why, today, murderous terrorists who are parading bullet-ridden bodies of Israeli civilians through the streets of Gaza alongside hostages are described not as terrorists but as militants or - as Sky had it - fighters.

But the issue is deeper than that one word. We hear a lot about BBC (and other broadcasters') bias against Israel. That's the wrong way of looking at it, however. They don't set out to frame reports to condemn Israel. The problem is worse than that. Because they cannot see that there can be one side to a description - that calling a terrorist a terrorist is more accurate than calling him a militant - then they cannot see the problem with, as happened today, providing a platform to an apologist for terror to explain why it is justified.


Shame on BBC and CBC
To the BBC, which wrote that there is a "conflict" in southern Israel:

Greetings

October 7th, 2023 was a very dark day for the Jewish people. Hundreds of armed terrorists penetrated from Gaza into the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, shot and murdered hundreds of defenseless people, women, children, old people and more.

These are war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In addition, they took dozens of civilians, women and the elderly hostage and into Gaza, again the most serious war crimes.

In addition, they fired thousands of rockets at medical forces, women and children. They hit a hospital.

Again clear war crimes.

And after that you write that there is a "conflict"? In the Holocaust, would you also write that there was a conflict between Jews and Germans?

Because that's exactly what happening here here, a small holocaust.

You should be ashamed The Jewish people for generations will not forgive you for this betrayal. In the moment of truth, you joined terrorism.

You should be ashamed There are several links so you can see the "conflict" with your own eyes.

Here you will see a 90-year-old woman! who was kidnapped by terrorists. Is this a "conflict" between her and the terrorists? Are you out of your minds or just plain antisemites?

And here is a mother and her two young children.

I demand that you publicly apologize for presenting the above lie and present the truth.
Israel Under Attack: Hamas Invades, Media Fails
On October 7, 2023, as Israelis were celebrating the end of the autumn holiday season, Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack against the Jewish state.

Thousands of rockets have been fired into Israel’s south and center, driving Israelis of all ages into bomb shelters.

Hamas terrorists also infiltrated more than 20 Israeli communities, holding some hostage in their homes while kidnapping others and forcefully taking them into Gaza.

At least 250 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed and 1100 have been wounded.

Yet, while Israel undergoes this brutal invasion, some foreign media outlets have failed to uphold their journalistic integrity – by using neutral euphemisms to describe the Hamas terrorists, by drawing a moral equivalence between Israel & Hamas, and by minimizing the savagery of this attack.


ISRAELIS MASSACRED WHILE BBC WORLD SERVICE RADIO AMPLIFIES HAMAS PROPAGANDA

Media Whitewash Hamas & Parrot Terror Group’s Talking Points

The Guardian Ignores Harrowing Hostage Videos and Hamas Rockets in Sickening YouTube Video

Wire Disservice: Reuters, AP Misrepresent Hamas’ Terror Attack

Exposed: CBC Urges Journalists To Not Call Hamas Terrorists, Cautions Against Saying 2005 Saw An “End Of The Occupation” Of Gaza

Global News Gives Platform To Professor To Justify Hamas’ Murderous Rampage

ROUND-UP OF MEDIA ERRORS IN COVERING HAMAS’S WAR ON ISRAEL – OCT. 8

BBC guest compares Hamas onslaught to Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

BBC WS RADIO AMPLIFIES HAMAS PROPAGANDA

Bruno Mars CANCELS sold-out concert in Tel Aviv as Hamas launches attack on Israel







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