Pages

▼

Monday, October 23, 2023

10/23 Links Pt2: Col Kemp: Time to debunk the media's anti-Israel narrative: You have blood on your hands; Israel confirms Hamas released 2 hostages

From Ian:

Konstantin Kisin: The Day the Delusions Died
When Hamas terrorists crossed over the border with Israel and murdered 1,400 innocent people, they destroyed families and entire communities. They also shattered long-held delusions in the West.

A friend of mine joked that she woke up on October 7 as a liberal and went to bed that evening as a 65-year-old conservative. But it wasn’t really a joke and she wasn’t the only one. What changed?

The best way to answer that question is with the help of Thomas Sowell, one of the most brilliant public intellectuals alive today. In 1987, Sowell published A Conflict of Visions. In this now-classic, he offers a simple and powerful explanation of why people disagree about politics. We disagree about politics, Sowell argues, because we disagree about human nature. We see the world through one of two competing visions, each of which tells a radically different story about human nature.

Those with “unconstrained vision” think that humans are malleable and can be perfected. They believe that social ills and evils can be overcome through collective action that encourages humans to behave better. To subscribers of this view, poverty, crime, inequality, and war are not inevitable. Rather, they are puzzles that can be solved. We need only to say the right things, enact the right policies, and spend enough money, and we will suffer these social ills no more. This worldview is the foundation of the progressive mindset.

By contrast, those who see the world through a “constrained vision” lens believe that human nature is a universal constant. No amount of social engineering can change the sober reality of human self-interest, or the fact that human empathy and social resources are necessarily scarce. People who see things this way believe that most political and social problems will never be “solved”; they can only be managed. This approach is the bedrock of the conservative worldview.

Hamas’s barbarism—and the explanations and celebrations throughout the West that followed their orgy of violence—have forced an overnight exodus from the “unconstrained” camp into the “constrained” one.
Col Kemp: Time to debunk the media's anti-Israel narrative: You have blood on your hands
Discussing the Al Alhi hospital incident with a British reporter, I was told the accusation against Israel was made because it was “a fast-moving news situation”, and that corrections were published by many papers and broadcasters as the situation became clearer. But “clarification” usually meant substituting the false assertions against Israel with reports that “both sides traded blame”. As though there can be any equivalence between a proscribed terrorist murder gang and the official statements of democratically accountable armed forces.

I got no answer from the reporter on why Hamas statements were automatically given immediate credence, including the grossly exaggerated casualty figures churned out by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. When media did correct their fake news it was too late and their stories had already been eagerly recycled, including by politicians such as Canada’s Justin Trudeau and former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as well as human rights organizations like Amnesty International, well known for their anti-Israel bias.

Such stories are also seized on in the streets, leading to mass protests, violence and even terrorism. Three days after media accused the IDF of the Al Ahli incident, the Daily Telegraph reported that a terrorist attack occurred in Britain; when arrested the perpetrator told police he had done it for “Palestine”. No further details have yet been published, supposedly for legal reasons.

In the last few days, Jewish students at colleges in the U.S. and UK have been set on and physically attacked as a result of disinformation spread by the media, which stokes and inflames pre-existing anti-Zionist movements so rife on many university campuses. Police in London report a 1,353% increase in antisemitic offences this month compared to the same period last year.

During a Sky News interview a few years ago, I contested the standard falsehoods about illegal occupation, illegal settlements and the old trope of “Israeli apartheid”. Afterwards, a veteran Sky Middle East correspondent told me privately that he agreed with me. I asked him why, then, did his reporting always reflect the opposite perspective? He told me if it did not he would be fired.

This sums up the intractable problem that dominates the editorial policies of the BBC, Sky and so much of U.S. and European media. That is the lie that Israel is an illegitimate state that deliberately oppresses innocent, peace-loving Palestinians whose land has been stolen. They may not say as much publicly, but the dominant view, even after such horrific attacks as 7th October, is that the Israelis had it coming, or at least have a major share in the blame.

The flimsy mask seemed to slip last week when Sky News journalist Kay Burley claimed the head of the Palestinian Authority mission to the UK had said Israel “had it coming”, a remark he did not make.

Perhaps a case of projection of her own views and so many of her media colleagues? The only way to end the all-pervasive anti-Israel bias in so much of the media is to shake their underlying narrative, which forms part of the greatest slur campaign in history. And how, exactly, do you do that?
NGO Monitor: NGO Atrocity Inversion: False Accusations of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing to Distract from Hamas Massacre
On October 7, Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups perpetrated the world’s deadliest one-day massacre in more than 20 years. The horrific murder, torture, rape, desecration of bodies, and kidnapping of civilians revealed the depravity and evil of Hamas, as well as those who celebrated and justified the slaughter. This posed a challenge for the network of anti-Israel NGOs, many funded by European governments, that try to paint Israel as the worst violator of human rights in the world. In the aftermath of the brutal pogrom, how could Israel continue to be portrayed as worse than Hamas? The solution of these NGOs is to repeat the accusations that Israel is guilty of even more outrageous and extreme international crimes: genocide and ethnic cleansing. The only way to make Israel look worse than Hamas was to allege that it was acting to “eradicate the Palestinian people.” This atrocity inversion – whereby the real crimes of Hamas are projected onto Israel – is a central piece of the demonization campaign, and will play a key role as NGOs and their allies push the UN and ICC to investigate and indict Israelis.
Brendan O'Neill: The Islamo-left is a menace to Jews and decency
This suicide pact between desperate leftists and radical religionists that would string them up given half the chance has now reached an unspeakable nadir. A ‘day of celebration’ is how one of the editors at Novara Media described Hamas’s invasion of Israel. ‘Rejoice’, said the newspaper of the Socialist Workers Party. Hamas’s actions were ‘invigorating’, said a radical Cornell professor. And let’s not forget the unspoken apologism of marching alongside extremists who chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ and call for ‘holy war’ on Israel. That, too, speaks to how thoroughly the left has accommodated to the carnival of lethal reaction that radical Islam represents.

‘But Israel is bombing Gaza, do you really expect us to protest against Hamas?’, leftists will ask. Yes. That is precisely what I expect you to do. A left that took seriously its Enlightenment traditions would absolutely be on the streets supporting the hammering of Hamas. Of this socially regressive, apocalyptically violent movement that is committed to killing Jews. And which is racist in the extreme. And which started the current war. And which is just as happy to sacrifice the lives of Palestinians as it is the lives of Israeli Jews – Hamas knew full well Gazans would die when it invaded Israel and murdered hundreds of its people. Opposing Hamas should be paramount for anyone who believes in secularism, freedom and peace for both Israel and Palestine.

The West’s Islamo-left is playing the exact role allotted to it by Hamas. Hamas banked on getting the cultural elites of the West on to the streets in a frenzy of existential loathing for Israel, and it has got its way. What are a few thousand Israeli and Palestinian lives in comparison with the brilliant PR hit of goading the West’s influencers and luvvies to take to the streets alongside Islamists to demand more punishment of Israel? Our witless chattering classes have no idea of the cog-like role they are playing in Hamas’s vain and demented warmongering on Israel.

Here’s the thing. If you are agitating against Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza but you have not condemned Hamas’s genuinely genocidal terrorism against the Jews of southern Israel, it is possible you are anti-Semitic. If you march with Islamists who referred to Hamas’s slaughter of Israeli Jews as a ‘day of good news’, it is possible you have sided with racial hatred. If you say ‘ceasefire now’ but you don’t say ‘release the hostages’, it is possible you are demonstrating to the world that you value Jewish lives less than other lives. Solidarity with Jews is the priority of all true progressives right now, especially following yesterday’s confirmation that our state, our institutions and the left have abandoned Jews in favour of the deathly embrace of radical Islam’s ‘feeling of revolt’.
Israel confirms Hamas released 2 hostages 'without coordination'
The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas terrorist group said on Monday it had released two female civilian captives in response to Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts. Several moments later Israel said it could confirm that two hostages were released "without coordination with us." The two are Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Kuper, who are in their 80s. Their husbands remain in captivity.

Egyptian TV station Extra News broadcast footage late on Monday that it said showed two women freed by Hamas being transferred from a Red Cross vehicle to ambulances at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

The women were shown being helped into the ambulances and onto beds, awaiting transfer.

Abu Ubaida, spokesman for armed wing, said on Telegram it had secured the release of the detainees "despite the enemy's refusal to accept them since last Friday and their neglect of the issue of our prisoners".

"We decided to release them for humanitarian and poor health grounds ... Despite that, the enemy refused to receive them last Friday," the statement added.

The armed wing released two Americans on Friday, nearly two weeks after Hamas gunmen abducted them and dozens of others near Gaza.
222 Confirmed Israeli Hostages, Families to Appear at UN Tuesday

Anne Bayefsky: Pillay's Pogrom: The UN Tells Palestinian Terrorists, "We Have Your Back"
The United Nations has just released a report that promotes the murder of Jews. The product of a UN “Commission of Inquiry,” created by the UN Human Rights Council and headed by Navi Pillay, comes only days after the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The message from Pillay’s pogrom directly to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations: we have your back.

Navi Pillay was the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights during both the 2008/9 and 2014 Gaza wars, and on both occasions, championed the blood libel and lethal lie that Israel deliberately targeted civilians, including children. UN rules require “independent experts” to be “impartial” and “objective.” Pillay was appointed as Chair of the “inquiry” in 2021 because she was neither. The same is true of the other two members of the “inquiry” – more accurately, inquisition – Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti.

Her latest report is a frightening testament to how today’s war against the Jews is conducted on two fronts, in the field and via the United Nations.

The UN resolution that created the inquisition about Israel resulted from the criminal masterminds at the UN Human Rights Council – undemocratic Islamic states in cahoots with China, Cuba, Russia, and Venezuela. Not a single Western state voted in favor.1 It has an extraordinary budget, an unprecedented mandate with no end date, and an unlimited scope back to “time immemorial,”2 all in pursuit of criminalizing the Jewish state.

The inquisition’s methodology consists of calling for submissions and ignoring all the ones Pillay labeled “pro-Israel.”3 It produces two reports yearly, one to the Human Rights Council and the other to the General Assembly. The recently released report will be presented by Pillay in person to the General Assembly on October 24. It is an opportune time for a Hamas enabler to do damage control; to that end, nothing is sacred.
How could war affect ICC’s view of Israel and Hamas? - analysis
When The Jerusalem Post interviewed Bensouda in The Hague in 2016, she seemed very open to going after both Israel and Hamas simultaneously.

This would be problematic from Israel’s perspective, but Khan could present it to the EU (the US has influence but is not a party to the ICC) as showing that he is acting in a “balanced” way to all sides.

If Khan were to do this now, it would probably not fly because of how far the EU has swung onto Israel’s side following Hamas’s massive massacre of civilians.

But that could change in the coming months.

If the final scorecard shows 5, 10, or 20 times more dead Palestinian civilians versus Israeli ones, the EU, or enough of it, may back Khan taking a “balancing” approach, going after both sides.

The case against Israel would be fraught by the Jewish state having evidence that it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and has sent several IDF soldiers to jail for violations against Palestinians.

The case against Hamas would be much easier because of the blatant targeting of civilians and videos.

But Khan could leave those issues to the ICC itself to resolve at trial.

As the IDF plans its ground invasion, avoiding Palestinian civilian deaths is not just a priority for being human and ethical, which it is, but also to avoid an ICC blowout afterward – or at least to thwart any later attempts by the court to get convictions against IDF troops.
The UN should handle Gaza
The international community cannot pretend any longer that the Palestinian lands consist of a "state" as its "President's" powers, not too uncontested from their beginnings, had expired ten years ago; as the major part of its budget comes from charity flowing in from different parts of the world; and as its people mostly work abroad since there is nothing to do inside its borders except to train to kill innocent bystanders. The best thing that can be done these days concerning the Palestinian society is to build up a wide international coalition being able to fund and govern this land for the sake of its people, investing in its infrastructure and development. The Palestinian society had never existed – it was born as a kind of a military organization aimed at destroying Israel which it had tried to do ever since. Such an activity is incompatible with any concept of people or/and nation – and if the leaders of the Palestinian tribes and clans have no other ideas for leading them, the civilized world should intervene.

The revoking of Palestinian sovereignty and rebuilding of this land under international control appears to be the only existing chance not only to save millions of lives but to draft a totally new way forward for those proto-nations that are now falling into chaos of ethnic and civil conflicts and wars. I understand perfectly well how the Europeans and Americans want to get rid of those "White man's burden" they carried for centuries and have good reasons to apologize for – but it seems that the time has come to once again, with all the morale and values of the 21st century, to make another civilizing attempt. The mistake made by the Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan should not be repeated: The mission of the international society shouldn't be nation-building in the places where nations never existed – it should be to organize a decent life where it has never been organized. Sovereign state isn't the one and only form of human society – and only taking this into account, the world can bring peace to the lands of ancient Judea, and to deliver a decent life to those who now inhabit it.
Robert Satloff: The Absence of Decisive Action by Israel Now Will Invite More Attacks in the Future
Bombing alone cannot succeed in achieving Israel's war aims. Only by the regrettably costly route of ground operations - costly in terms of Israeli soldiers, Palestinian civilians, and perhaps the hostages - can Israel meet the objective of ending Hamas rule in Gaza.

Israel's war aims are to guarantee Gaza cannot be a platform for attacks in the future, to restore the confidence of the Israeli people that its government and army can provide for security, and to reestablish Israel's deterrent power in the eyes of friends and adversaries in the Middle East.

Reestablishing Israel's deterrence is critical to prevent a much bloodier conflict in the future and to open possibilities for a return to diplomacy with Arab states. The region-wide perception of Israel's strength has been the prerequisite of all peacemaking since 1973.

Calls to impose a ceasefire on Israel to achieve "calm" fail to appreciate the enormity of what happened on Oct. 7, not just in its barbarity but in its strategic significance. The effort by an Arab force to take territory inside pre-1967 Israel is as if al-Qaeda took control of Manhattan on 9/11 rather than hit the Twin Towers, forcing the U.S. army to fight to retake the island.

The absence of decisive action by Israel now will invite more attempts of this sort in the future - more sophisticated, more audacious, more lethal.

Demands that Israel present a detailed plan for "the day after" the war are a tool to prevent its decisive action.
Neutrality is complicity
Apparently, it is necessary to re-state the obvious: There is no moral equivalence between Israelis and Palestinians in the current struggle. Especially after the recent Hamas massacres, it should be clear that neutrality is complicity.

Reticence to condemn Hamas and to act resolutely against its monster-master Iran amounts to collusion against Israel. Hesitancy to express explicit support for Israel at this time, which also will mean unequivocally backing Israel in the many months ahead of tough fighting to crush Hamas, is tantamount to siding with the enemy.

For Israeli society, moral standards are clear. Israelis value life, not death. Israel seeks peace with all its Arab neighbors. Israel desires conflict resolution, not annihilation, of Palestinians.

By my count, Israel has put eight far-reaching compromise proposals for peace on the diplomatic table over the past 20 years – all spurned by the Palestinians. It also has fed for decades the Palestinians of Gaza with tens of thousands of tons of fuel, electricity, water, and food; and allowed tens of thousands of Gazans to work in Israel. The Palestinian response: slaughter.

The rejectionism of Palestinian leadership is clear, repeatedly laid bare by atrocious terrorism, the glorification of terrorists by the Palestinian leadership, and the financial support for terrorism of Palestinian governments including that of Palestinian Authority dictator Mahmoud Abbas, and by repeated rejection of all peace compromise proposals.

This is the time for friends of Israel around the world to speak out loudly and unambiguously in support of Israel. To demonstrate moral backbone and address good and evil, not emote limp feelings of concern. To show understanding of the grand strategic challenges posed to Israel and the entire democratic world by this latest genocidal Islamist onslaught. Just as US President Joe Biden magnificently did this week.

Now is the time for all those congressmen and global parliamentarians who have visited Israel, and all those academics and artists who have worked with their Israeli counterparts, to rally to Israel's side.

In this regard, it is wonderful to see the initiative of a bipartisan group of 69 former US senators and representatives, forming "Former Members of Congress for Israel," meant to build and maintain support for Israel during its long war with Hamas. Such steadfast support for Israel projects must be replicated in other sister democracies.
Hamas Attacks: A Turning Point for U.S. Policy
Robert Satloff, Dennis Ross, Michael Singh, and Patrick Clawson
The Hamas attacks against Israel underscore realities that can no longer be overlooked: Hamas is not just some political party with a "military wing." It came to power through a violent coup and is motivated by a jihadist ideology. Hamas is committed to the destruction of the Jewish state. The horrific attacks of Oct. 7 were a reminder that Israel's decades-long battle for survival - within any borders - is not over, despite dramatic progress made toward regional peace.

In its brutality, Hamas has shown itself to be in the same category as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State - except that Hamas is connected to a wider network whose participant groups are influenced or controlled by Iran. This network collectively poses a threat to the U.S. and its allies in the region. Defeating this Iran-led threat network requires unwavering commitment. America and its allies should not view calm as a significant achievement in itself or expend substantial assets just to preserve it.

The failure of many Arab allies (along with others around the world) to condemn Hamas for its targeting of civilians, butchering children, or taking hostages underscores a persistent, deep divide on confronting terrorism - a gap that decades of partnership with the U.S. has not bridged. Addressing this frankly and directly on the governmental and civil society levels is an urgent priority.
Amb. Michael Oren: Hamas Mortally Threatens Israel's Existence
Israel has to destroy Hamas because the attack of Oct. 7 threatens the country's existence. If the conflict ends in stalemate or cease-fire, the terrorists will have gotten away with mass atrocities on Israeli soil. We will never be secure from future onslaughts. Tourism and foreign investment will vanish. The attack informs our enemies that our borders are porous.

Victory is necessary to preserve the idea of Israel, the reason for our existence. Founded in May 1948, three years after the end of the Holocaust, modern Israel promised to prevent its recurrence. Nowhere in the world would Jews be safer than in Israel. Based on that pledge, generations of Israelis sent their children to the army and spent months each year in the reserves. We put up with some of the world's highest taxes and costs of living. We believed the state would always be there in our hour of need.

On Oct. 7, the state failed to anticipate the massive Hamas attack. Only by destroying Hamas can Israel secure our borders and deter our enemies. Only when we have freed ourselves from the threat of Hamas barbarism can we begin restoring our faith in our governing institutions and armed forces.
Mark Levin: Why is Biden lecturing Israel?
George Mason University law professor Eugene Kontorovich joins 'Life, Liberty & Levin' to discuss President Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.




Hamas attack proved two working assumptions wrong
srael will never be the same country it was before the Oct. surprise attack by the Hamas terrorist organization in which 1,400 Israelis were killed. The mind struggles to comprehend how within a few hours, the same amount of lives were lost as during the three years of the Intifada, or the first few weeks of the Yom Kippur War.

When the war is over, we will ask the difficult question of how Hamas infiltrated Israel. But right now, the most important thing is to define how to defeat the enemy and clarify the goals of this war.

Because senior officials are calling to wipe out Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in its entirety, while the War Cabinet seems to be content with merely destroying its military capabilities that would deter it for years from threatening Israel and harming its citizens.

Hamas' killing spree led to the collapse of the concept that Israel stuck to over the past two decades, according to which the terror organization should be viewed as a partner in maintaining peace and stability along the borders. The assumption is that Hamas wants to solidify its rule in Gaza, and as such, would work with Israel in exchange for economic benefits and concessions.

Another concept that has been shattered is that Israel is omnipotent in terms of intelligence and military capabilities and has the power to deter Hamas. After all, what sane organization would put its very existence at risk and take on the most powerful country in the Middle East?
Who Says Hamas Does Not Represent The Palestinians?

New Israeli unit has one goal: Kill all terrorists involved in massacre
In Israel's ongoing effort to track down all those involved in the brutal terrorist attack that left more than 1,400 Israelis murdered, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service) has established a new unit named Nili, an acronym in Hebrew for "The Eternity of Israel Will Not Lie."

The unit is dedicated to hunting down and eliminating every individual who played a role in the massacre in the western Negev settlements two weeks ago.

This force was specifically set up to target members of a special commando unit within Hamas's military wing called Nukhba ("elite") who infiltrated Israel, executed mass killings in various villages and IDF outposts, and then returned to the Gaza Strip.

The members of this new organization function independently from other Command and Control units that are focused on neutralizing strike cells and high-ranking terrorists. This particular mission is distinct, with the organization encompassing both field operatives and intelligence personnel.
120 Haredi Men Registered to Join the IDF — But 200 Showed Up Instead
An official in the Israel Defense Forces haredi recruitment department said Monday that he was shocked to see nearly 200 men standing outside his office, even though only 120 had registered last week to enlist.

“We’re shocked,” the official told Yediot Achronot journalist Yossi Yehoshua. “We will not be able to recruit all of them today.”

This weekend military officials said the IDF recruiting office had received at least 2,000 requests from haredi men to join the IDF and fight against Hamas. Their applications are being processed, and those who are determined to be appropriate will be recruited as volunteers, the IDF said.
Arab-Israeli Reservists Are Fighting Fake News in Arabic
During the current war against Hamas, Arab-Israelis who served in the Israel Defense Forces in a variety of roles have been recruited to the reserves to assist in the effort to inform the Arab world of the Israeli point of view.

Yahya Mahamid, 26, from Umm al-Fahm, who served in the Nahal unit, serves in the reserves as an IDF spokesman. "I prefer to serve where I am most useful. If they had told me that I was more useful at the front, I would have gone there," he says. Mahamid understands the difficulty he faces in explaining the Israeli side to the Arab world. "We are an iron dome in the cyberworld," he said.

Muhammad Kabiya, from a village in the Jezreel Valley, became a network star recently after he was interviewed by the BBC in Arabic and stated that the terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 is against Islam. "This is not the first time I have been interviewed by the BBC, and I always assume that it will not be easy and that the interviewer will not be pro-Israel," he said. "But against all his questions I use my weapon - the facts. With them we always win because the truth is on our side."

"I also receive support from Israeli Arabs - of course there are a few who attack, but the majority are in favor. This is happening because what Hamas did that Saturday was shocking, and shocked the whole world. Forget that they also murdered Arabs there, this goes against everything in Islam and every basic human standard."
The Hamas Disinformation Campaign Against Israel Is Also Brutal
Hamas launched a disinformation assault on Tuesday. Following a week of shock and outrage stemming from its Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis, the terrorist group backed by Iran needed to turn the tide. The explosion at the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in northern Gaza provided the opportunity to win global sympathy and spur Hamas’s allies and supporters to attack Israel with words and weapons.

Leading news outlets around the world ran with Hamas’s narrative of an Israeli missile strike killing hundreds of

Palestinians at the hospital. None of this turned out to be true, according to U.S. intelligence reports. Israel swiftly responded with a steady stream of videos, images, and audio refuting Hamas’s claims.

This would not be the first time Palestinians invented numbers to win sympathy. In 2002, just after a Hamas suicide bombing left 30 Israelis dead and 140 injured at a Passover celebration, Israel launched a raid on the terror group’s hub in Jenin. Palestinian sources originally claimed there were 3,000 dead in the street fighting, later lowering the tally to 500. An independent report found the actual number to be around 50, more than half of whom were terrorists. Despite the clarification, the myth of a Jenin massacre persists.

Perhaps Hamas was hoping for a similar public relations win here.
The UK terror attack we can’t talk about
A man has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a terror attack in the UK. But you’d be forgiven for not knowing anything about it given the scant media coverage.

According to reports in the Telegraph, the authorities are deliberately withholding details from the public and there are severe restrictions on what the media can reveal.

All we are allowed to know for now is that the suspect is currently being held in custody. He is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK in 2020. And he is alleged to have told the police that he carried out the attack for Palestine. If true, this would make it the first suspected terror attack on UK soil to be inspired by Hamas’s pogrom in Israel on 7 October.

Beyond those scant details, what can legally be revealed is highly restricted. Media outlets cannot publish the name of the alleged attacker, the location of the attack or even details about any of its victims, as they might with any other crime.
Why Jews are abandoning the left
To Jews today, it’s clear that the further left you go, the more openly anti-Israel the orientation. Ta-Nehisi Coates, greatly celebrated by the gentry left, has adopted a strong anti-Zionist stance.

Many supposed progressive and mainstream outlets have also been eager to embrace Hamas’s view of last week’s al-Ahli hospital bombing by blaming Israel for the tragedy. Indeed, the Jewish State is now treated far less well in such places as the Guardian, MSNBC, the Nation and the New Republic than at conservative publications like the Spectator, the Telegraph and National Review.

Arguably the biggest game-changer could be the universities, which once represented a cherished means of Jewish achievement and the exemplar of the community’s values. Today, however, campuses have become the epicentre of leftist pro-Palestine agitation.

It is important to note that this is not just a matter of fairly criticising Israel’s government, which nobody should be averse to. Rather, on campuses, we see an ideology openly hostile to Israel’s very existence. Jewish students have faced extraordinary hostility in the wake of the Hamas attacks, but have received little support from university administrators.

Where does this all lead? Clearly, conservatives are likely to gain more support from Jews. In the US, Canada, Europe and the UK, there may also soon develop – particularly as the Palestinian cause becomes identified with Israel’s counter-offensive – an intensifying conflict between establishment groups like the ADL and the most yeasty parts of the modern ‘anti-colonial’ left. There are already reports of protests against Biden’s Israel policy in the State Department and among congressional staff. Even as some dedicated leftists fear that an anti-Israel slant could doom progressivism with much of the Democratic electorate, the energy in the party comes largely from those once fringe, anti-Zionist elements.

For now, support for Israel in the US has soared, including among self-described liberals who previously tilted toward the Palestinian cause. Yet it is likely that this support will wither, particularly on the left, as Israel takes its next steps to protect its borders.

Ultimately, many Jews now face a difficult choice between embracing the centre and the right, or choosing a ‘progressive’ ideology that threatens their historic identity.
Nick Cohen: Left antisemitism will always be sent packing by voters
In these circumstances, the Islamified far left couldn’t oppose antisemitism. Given its allies in the Muslim world, given that white antisemites were now as likely to be found in the far-left’s ranks as in the far-right, a politically necessary purge was unthinkable. A genuinely anti-racist far-left would have purged itself out of existence.

I think Hadley Freeman and others are underestimating the importance of the determination of the best of the Labour Party to take on that peculiar mixture of far-left and far-right extremism.

I know from private conversations that many Labour politicians were appalled by the racism of the members who flooded in during the Corbyn years. But, personal morality to one side, they were also professional politicians, who wanted to win. They understood that the electorate would punish a party that refused to take racism seriously and got too close to men who hated and threatened this country. And they were right.

Post-election polling showed that Labour went down to its worst defeat in 80 years in 2019, in part because voters saw Corbyn’s failure to deal with antisemitism as evidence that Labour was weak and lacking in patriotism.

Labour politicians have been on a hell of a journey since the early 2010s, when they thought they could dismiss leftists with a strange affection for Hamas, Iran, Putin and the conspiracy theories of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as insignificant cranks.

They learned to take antisemitism seriously. They understood what “from the river to the sea” meant and progressed. A counterfactual makes that point for me. Can you imagine the communal fears today if Keir Starmer had not cleaned up his party?

I accept that this week of all weeks, it’s hard to say that the UK isn’t such a terrible place, or that Britain won’t abandon its Jewish citizens. But for all that, it isn’t; and for all that, it won’t.
LegalInsurrection: When You Realize Nearly Everyone In Your University Wants You Dead
Four days in, after explicit images of the slaughter had been blasting around the internet nonstop for days, my college administration, and my faculty colleagues, had remained silent. In contrast, when a single Black man died by a police officer far away a few years ago the place had exploded for days. When an administrator more recently scheduled an event at a venue that 40 years earlier had racist admissions policies there were weeks of outrage, the canceling of classes and then of the administrator. The misuse of pronouns here can get you disciplined on a bias charge, in this age of microaggressions and in the name of promoting inclusion.

But when (now) 1400+ Jews are slaughtered in cold blood, live on camera, there is—silence.

And not just slaughtered: bloodthirsty murderers going house to house, murdering entire families, children, grandparents, medics and first responders, raping women and little girls, abusing corpses, burning down houses with their families inside like in medieval times, paragliding into a music festival with automatic weapons gunning down 260 young adults (same age as our students), not to mention taking 200+ hostages (women, children, elderly) whom they have threatened to execute publicly (assuming they are still alive) —no different from the Nazi Einsatzgruppen, except that the Nazis didn’t have the ability to also livestream their atrocities—

There was silence.

Actually worse: business as usual. Chatter about upcoming events, department business, the usual weekly newsletters, announcements re upcoming meetings. Nothing to talk about, folks, it’s just Jews being slaughtered on the largest scale since the Holocaust.

“We must take care of our students”—a wonderful rallying cry that fills up our airwaves whenever any identity group is perceived to have received a harm, however abstract that harm is, however removed that harm might be from them directly and personally.
Sign the October Declaration
spiked is proud to support the October Declaration, standing in solidarity with Israelis and Jews and against anti-Semitic barbarism.

The declaration, signed by more than 200 people, including Tom Stoppard, Maureen Lipman and Richard Dawkins, unequivocally condemns Hamas’s pogrom in Israel on 7 October, calls for all the hostages to be released immediately, and pledges to stand with British Jews against a sickening rise in anti-Semitism on our streets since the atrocities in Israel occurred. Brendan O’Neill and I are among the signatories.

‘We share the shock and distress of Israelis, British Jews and compassionate people around the world at the unfolding horror and its consequences’, the declaration reads. ‘British Jews should not live in fear because of actions taken by the state of Israel to defend itself. The British state must do everything in its power to protect them.’

‘No one thought this would be necessary in the 21st century but, sadly, it is’, it concludes. Indeed. Please read, sign and share the October Declaration here.
Why Israel’s message is falling on deaf ears

Irish president accused of spreading misinformation about Hamas terror attack

Why Ireland backs Palestinians

State Department Taps Anti-Israel Mayor To Help ‘Shape Foreign Policy for All Americans’

EU envoy to Gaza filmed himself paragliding in the region and declared 'once we have a free Palestine, you can do the same thing' three months before Hamas killers flew into Israel to carry out attack

French assembly speaker: Hard-left leader ‘put target on my back’ for Israel visit



23 Leftist Councillors Quit Party over Starmer’s Support of Israel

Report: Hamas chiefs were asked to leave Turkey after October 7 attacks

My Day in DC: How Leaders like Linda Sarsour are Weaponizing the Media to Foment a Global Campaign Against Jews

UK Union of Academics Voting on Call for 'Intifada Until Victory'

British designer Alice Temperley 'appears to justify' Hamas attack in 'morally repugnant' comments

Cornell University Professor Who Was ‘Exhilarated’ by Hamas Massacre Takes Leave of Absence

Fact-Checking Website Snopes Shills For Hamas & Debates Beheaded Babies in Sickening ‘Debunking’ Articles

Meet the Major US Philanthropy Financing an Israeli-Designated Terror Group

Israel war: Maryland ex-Gov. Larry Hogan drops Harvard fellowship over antisemitism

'I know one woman who has returned to Israel as she feels safer there despite the war. Life in Britain, with its deep-rooted freedoms, should not be like this,' writes Jewish PhD student Daniel Revach

I was a DEI director — DEI drives campus antisemitism



The Campus Peril to Western Civilization



Legal Insurrection: Professor William Jacobson Explains How the Left Took Over Education: ‘We’re in a Collapse Phase’

University Of Toronto Student Newspaper Publishes Multiple Anti-Israel Articles, Including A Justification Of Terrorism

U Of M Newspaper Claims Hamas Attack A Response To “Israeli Settler Colonialism”

After 1,400 Israelis Murdered, Concordia Paper Features Anti-Israel Commentaries

University Of Alberta Student Newspaper Gives Extended Coverage To Anti-Israel Demonstration, Providing No Challenge Or Context To Anti-Israel Disinformation

Queen’s University Newspaper Author Calls Israel “Settler Colonial Regime,” Refuses To Label Hamas Terrorists

The War Israel Cannot Win

Daniel Greenfield: The Media Keeps Calling Hamas Supporters “Pro-Palestinian”

'New York Times' backtracks on Gaza hospital blast coverage

Associated Press Won't Let Reporters Call Hamas a Terrorist Organization

EXPOSED: Reuters Mideast Visuals Chief Openly Supported Terrorism as a Pro-Palestinian Activist

Media Echo Report That Includes Hamas Members as ‘Journalists

Dame Maureen Lipman joins 200 public figures to condemn BBC's refusal to call Hamas 'terrorists' and the surge in anti-Semitism in UK - as actress slams 'bleeding heartless liberals' who fail to criticise attack on Israel

BBC NEWS RETURNS TO ‘REPORTER IN THE RUBBLE’

Nolte: BBC Babies Require ‘Trauma Counseling’ over Israel Coverage Criticism

Hamas is playing poker with a Qatari trump card

MEMRI: The Hamas Charter – The Ideology Behind The Massacre

MEMRI: Tariq Al-Homayed In Message To Khaled Mash'al, Hamas's Leader Abroad: 'You Ask The "Ummah" To "Play With Fire" And March To The Borders' – As You Live 'A Comfortable Life... In Doha'

MEMRI: Egyptian Journalist Ibrahim Eissa: Hamas Considers The Lives Of Palestinians Cheap, It Does Not Care How Many Palestinians Die; They Built Tunnels To Shelter Their Weapons, Instead Of Women And Children

PMW: Fatah applauds Hamas murderers and rapists: “A source of pride, heroism, and honor”

PMW: Young Palestinian children and youth taught to celebrate Hamas’ terror war on Israel “With spirit, with blood, we will redeem you, O Gaza” - Fatah celebrates Hamas’ terror war on Israel

“There are no disagreements between Fatah and Hamas on liberating the Palestinian land”

Palestinians have chosen to side with the axis of terror: Russia, China, Hamas

Israel is a western creation, ”we taught it a lesson” - Fatah official about Hamas’ massacre



Israel’s Strongest Allies Just Unshackled Iran’s Missile Program
Since the attacks of October 7, Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into Israel. Just yesterday, one injured a civilian in the town of Netivot. These rockets (or the technology to produce them) have been provided by Tehran; last week, the U.S. and its allies missed a chance to renew sanctions on the Iranian missile program. But, Jonathan Schachter explains, there remain steps to be taken to stop the Islamic Republic, which is responsible for so many of the Middle East’s current ills:

The evidence is overwhelming—from the far-reaching concessions made [by Washington to Tehran as part of the 2015 nuclear deal], failing to respond to Iranian attacks on U.S. forces, and Israel’s recent gestures toward Hamas, among other things—that containing, placating, or trying to “buy off” Iran and its terrorist proxies only embolden, entrench, and enrich them and incentivize their cruelty. Capitulation and excessive caution are seen as cowardice and a lack of resolve. These are what actually make war more likely.

There is a better way. Coming together now to push back hard against Iran’s nuclear lawlessness, its wanton proliferation of missiles and other weapons to America’s enemies, and its unbridled support for terrorist groups that continue to target Americans, Europeans, Israelis, Arabs, and others in their homes offers the greatest promise of winning the war and defeating Iran.

The U.S. and its European allies face a choice: will they rise to the occasion and meet the just and lofty goals they set for themselves, or will they blink and be forced to issue more frequent and less convincing statements of support for the bloodied victims of Iran’s murderous aggression?


Canadian, UK officials, experts address two-day antisemitism conference in Ottawa

Spanish Jews Highlight Rising Antisemitism, Pro-Hamas Statements by Government Members, in Meeting With Prime Minister

Melbourne principal resigns after Federal Court finds Jewish students were subject to bullying

Amy Schumer: If you call for a ceasefire but not the release of hostages, you may hate Jews

Jewish Musician Releases ‘Anthem’ Song About Being ‘Proud to Be Jewish’ Following Hamas Attacks in Israel



18-year-old pianist opens Carnegie Hall performance with Israeli national anthem



Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. 

Read all about it here!
 

 

at