Thursday, November 02, 2023

11/02 Links Pt2: We Are Not Asking for Anyone's Permission to Exist; Let Israel Win; Gaza War to Take Several Months; Thousands of Hamas Terrorists Killed

From Ian:

Amb. Dror Eydar: We Are Not Asking for Anyone's Permission to Exist
Let's talk about public diplomacy. We don't have to apologize anymore. We will no longer allow anyone in the world to harm Jews. Period. Without trying to find the reasons for the rage of those who would harm us. We will not participate in this sickening game of attempting to understand evil. Those looking to understand the psychopathology of the Gazans are like those who look for reasons why the Nazis gassed Jews.

In the wake of Oct. 7, the game is over: Anyone who harms Jews or Israeli citizens can have only one fate - to leave this world. A society that murders 1,400 Israelis in all sorts of cruel ways and holds hundreds of hostages should be under complete siege until the hostages are released. We are not asking for anyone's permission to exist, nor are we asking for legitimacy to defend ourselves.

Few in Israel now talk seriously about a Palestinian state. No sane person would agree to allow a society that sees the genocide perpetrated by Hamas and the residents of Gaza against Jews as normal to establish an independent political entity on the mountain range that looks over Israel's large population centers. Were we to do so, we would see in Judea and Samaria what happened in Gaza, multiplied a hundred-fold.
Victor Rosenthal: Passivity is Killing Us
Israel’s defensive strategy in recent years has been primarily passive. Passive defense does not target an enemy, but puts obstacles in his path. Our passive defenses include security barriers on our borders, with a billion-dollar one under and above the ground next to Gaza. We have built a technological marvel of a layered anti-missile defense system. Such means can – sometimes and to some extent – mitigate the damage that an enemy can do, and are an important part of a country’s defensive strategy. But even when they are successful, they do not deter or weaken the enemy. Indeed, they encourage him to improve his technology and his tactics and try again.

In the early days of the State of Israel, there were no Iron Domes or sensor-laden fences. We responded to terrorist attacks by vicious retaliation – for example, by the famous Unit 101, commanded by Ariel Sharon. That is active defense. Active defenses also have a flaw, especially for a country with little strategic depth, which is that an enemy can do a great deal of damage by a surprise attack before a response can be mounted. But an active defense has deterrent power that passive means do not. And, most importantly: a passive defense alone never won a war. The RAF won the Battle of Britain, but it took land invasions from the east and west to defeat the Nazis.

Over-reliance on passive defense can be dangerous. The Maginot and Bar-Lev lines were circumvented, and the Gaza fence penetrated. Iron Dome can be overwhelmed by mass launches of rockets, and is economically unsustainable. Hamas’ success in its murderous attack on southern Israel was made possible in large measure by our overemphasis, over a period of years, on passive tactics. With each round of fighting, Hamas improved its ability to get rockets through the Iron Dome. Because we haven’t seriously tried to destroy its infrastructure, Hamas was able to build and improve the tunnel system that we are now paying in Israeli lives to destroy. And because of our arrogance and overconfidence, the astronomically expensive security barrier proved almost worthless.

And there is another aspect that must be considered: the psychological effect, not just in Israel, but throughout the world. It has become generally accepted that Israel is a target, in way that Russia, for example, could never be. It became understandable that “frustrated” Palestinians could launch thousands of rockets at us while we bombed empty buildings in return, or Houthis in Yemen could launch Iranian missiles at our cities from 2000 km. away. Why not? We didn’t retaliate seriously.
After October 7, we must finally build Jabotinsky's 'Iron Wall'
Jabotinsky understood that Arab acceptance will only come after they see and feel sheer Jewish force. They will come and seek peace only when they witness the resolute and permanent nature of our power. In other words, they will be forced to give up on their goal and dream of ending the Jewish State.

We have sought to do this in the past through concessions, compromise, and peace agreements. We have tried “kind words” and offering “bread and butter”, and they have all been thrown back in our faces.

As Jabotinsky ended the “Iron Wall” essay, “the only way to reach an agreement in the future is to abandon all idea of seeking an agreement at present.”

First, we must force the recalcitrant Arabs to give up their dream of eventually destroying the State of Israel and fight Palestinian violent rejectionism using all of our force, and when this has been achieved, then, and only then, can we start to talk about some type of long-term agreement.

The problem over the last 100 years is that we have got the order wrong, and it has blown up in our faces.

As we are still in shock and trauma over the October 7 massacre, the November 7 anniversary of the publication of the “Iron Wall” should serve as our blueprint for how we act moving forward.

The Iron Wall was not something physical, but an unerring and unceasing security doctrine for the future Jewish State that understood the nature of our enemies and how the conflict must end.

Only an Iron Wall can achieve peace and security for Israel.

It is time to build it.


Let Israel Win
Less than a week has passed since Israel launched a ground campaign in the Gaza Strip, and already there are calls for a ceasefire. Not only should these calls be ignored. They should be denounced.

Why? Because calls for a ceasefire reward barbarism. The usual double standard is hard at work: Hamas terrorists spent years planning the murder of more than 1,400 Jews on October 7, and Hamas terrorists continue to hold hundreds of captives, including Americans, while shelling Israel with indiscriminate rocket fire. Yet it is somehow Israel's responsibility to exercise self-restraint.

This interpretation of the situation is entirely backward. Hamas could end all this tomorrow if it released the hostages, put down its arms, and surrendered. Hamas, not Israel, is the aggressor. Hamas, not Israel, is the "occupier" of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, not Israel, rejects international law. Hamas, not Israel, steals food, fuel, and water from civilians. And the fact that these words need to be written at all is evidence that the culture-producing institutions of the West—the media, the universities, cultural and political celebrities—are irreparably broken.

A ceasefire would be worse than useless. If Israel were to end combat operations now, with Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip and captives hidden in the maze of tunnels known as the Gaza Metro, then the terrorists will score a remarkable victory. Harassment and attacks on Jews worldwide will surge.

Hamas will regroup. Its strategy of using civilians as pawns in a chess match for global opinion will have proven effective once again. Its ranks will swell. It will plot its next move. "The Al-Aqsa Deluge"—Hamas's name for its October 7 crime against humanity—"is just the first time," Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas factotum, said on Lebanese television the other day. "And there will be a second, a third, a fourth."

Hamad's words reinforce the lesson of October 7: You cannot maintain a ceasefire against homicidal maniacs with genocidal intent. Since 2007, Israel believed that Hamas could be bought off, that the price of détente was rocket fire and intermittent conflict to "mow the lawn" of terrorists. Détente was an illusion. Hamas used the pause between wars to plan the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history. Hamas will do so again if given the chance.

Israel won't give it the chance—unless outside pressure forces Israel to halt prematurely. Unfortunately, as I write, the pressure on Israel is intense. The cretins at the United Nations want a ceasefire. So-called peace activists have similar demands. American campuses are rife with pro-Hamas and anti-Semitic voices.
Israel Wages a More Aggressive War Against Hamas
Airstrikes on a densely populated neighborhood in Gaza this week show Israel is waging a broader and more ferocious war to destroy Hamas, an approach that has sparked an international backlash. Israel says the attacks have destroyed crucial military infrastructure and killed key leaders of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Israel has shown a willingness to target Hamas leaders with fewer restraints than in the past - in their homes and underground bunkers in populated areas.

Israel is trying to strike a delicate balance between destroying Hamas and minimizing civilian deaths in an urban area where Hamas' military capabilities are interwoven within residential neighborhoods and in tunnels beneath them. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday, "We are working very, very hard to continue to make sure that our Israeli friends are prosecuting these operations with as much due care to minimizing civilian casualties as possible, and that work will continue."

On Tuesday, Kirby said it was "obvious to us" that Israeli forces were working to minimize casualties. "Sadly, our own experience as a military over the last 20 years has shown us that even with our best intentions and all the efforts that we put into avoiding civilian casualties, we still cause them."

Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli Air Force general and head of Israeli military intelligence, said Israel's shifting war tactics are due to its understanding following the Oct. 7 massacres that Hamas can't be deterred from trying to achieve its aim of destroying Israel. "We are not targeting Gaza's civilians on purpose. We have obligations to defend Israeli civilians. We are in a war with the aim that the brutal massacre of Oct. 7 will never happen again."
Israel's Sensitivity to IDF Casualties
Why did Israel let Hamas build up a terrorist empire? Why did Israel allow Hizbullah to build up an arsenal of 130,000 missiles in Lebanon and sit right on the border and peer into Metulla? The answer is the fear of losing soldiers.

Israel has a tremendous sensitivity to fallen soldiers. Their smiling faces are featured on the front pages of newspapers, their funerals are broadcast on the television news, and their friends and relatives are interviewed on the radio. Because a large percentage of the population has loved ones somewhere in harm's way, almost everyone can put themselves in the shoes of the families of the fallen.

Israel avoided going into Gaza at full throttle in the past to avoid casualties. It avoided going into Lebanon and pushing Hizbullah far beyond the border to avoid casualties. IDF casualties in Lebanon numbered between 16 and 22 annually from 1985-2000.

In both cases, Israel withdrew soldiers from buffer zones it had created to defend civilians, only to find that as a result of these withdrawals, civilians in both sectors were left horribly exposed.

According to Udi Lebel, a researcher at Bar-Ilan University's BESA Center for Strategic Studies, things are different this time. If Prime Minister Netanyahu would have initiated an action into Gaza two months ago to dismantle Hamas, there would have been rigorous protests both in Israel and abroad, with critics saying that war was unnecessary and that Hamas could be contained.

But once Hamas carried out its barbarous attack, once this war was foisted on Israel, once it became clear that the soldiers were fighting to literally protect their homes, it made it easier for the country to absorb the losses because there was a purpose to them.
Amb. Nides: Next 30 days will be 'most critical in Israel's history' | JNS TV
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides discusses the current war effort with JNS Jerusalem Bureau Chief Alex Traiman. Nides discusses the importance of removing Hamas from Gaza, not only for Israel's sake, but also for the Palestinians. He addresses strong U.S. backing for Israel in the conflict, and his view that the Rafah border should be opened for all refugees wishing to leave the strip.


ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS - DAY 27 As the ground offensive advances and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) breach Hamas’s first line of defense, the military reported 17 soldiers killed in the operation.

Gaza War to Take Several Months; Thousands of Hamas Terrorists Killed
The current invasion of Gaza with intense fighting, and later stages of insurgency and lower-grade fighting, will take several months, informed sources have told the Jerusalem Post. Hamas is not expected to surrender at any point.

Hamas is avoiding large-scale battles as they wait patiently to spring ambushes.

Thousands of Hamas terrorists have been killed by the IDF, some 1,500 during the first few days.

Tens of thousands of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad forces remain in Gaza. It is unclear how many are still in northern Gaza.

Soldiers' morale is considered very high. Despite successful ambushes against an armored personnel carrier and a tank, losses have been low, given the challenging urban invasion setting.

Hamas has fired hundreds of anti-tank missiles at IDF forces, mostly without success.

U.S. support has been critical in restocking weaponry, in projecting power to other regional adversaries, and in offering useful advice for fighting in urban settings.

But American military personnel do nothing more than give advice, which the IDF can choose to accept or reject.
3 'We will repeat October 7 again and again' - Hamas official
"Israel is a country that has no place on our land," Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Lebanese news outlet LBCI news this week, according to a report and translation from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) released on Wednesday.

"We must remove that country," he continued.



"We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again. The Al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth. Because we have the determination...to fight."

Civilian casualties and the price of war
Hamad continued, talking about the civilian price of the attack that has been paid on both sides of the war. He expressed that the killings at the Re'im music festival were the result of "complications on the ground."

He also said: "The existence of Israel is what causes all that pain, blood, and tears. It's Israel, not us. We are the victims of the occupation. Full stop.

"Nobody should blame us. On October 7, October 10, October one million - everything we do is justified."

Hamad on the BBC
Last week, Hamad stormed out of an interview with the BBC after he was asked about the terrorist group’s massacre of civilians in Israel on October 7.

During the interview, Hamad reiterated claims made starting a few days after the massacre that Hamas did not intend to kill any civilians during its assault.
Druze Lt.-Col. Salman Habaka killed in Gaza battle

The Quad: Bearing Witness: Kibbutz Be'eri, Hamas and A World Gone Mad
In this week's episode, members of the Quad (Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Emily Schrader and Ashira Solomon) traveled to Be'eri, an Israeli Kibbutz in the South that is the scene of a horrific massacre by Hamas. Cohost Vivian Bercovici (Former Ambassador of Canada to Israel) also speaks to the group from Toronto about the rise of antisemitism worldwide.

The Quad asks the question of what to do in a world where atrocities are committed against Jews and they are either celebrated, denied or rationalized.


David Collier: Things are just not what they seem
The cover image to this piece is a classic, recognisable shot. A brave Palestinian journalist in Gaza, reporting from the front lines.

With no way of fact-checking ANYTHING happening in Gaza, the world’s media is completely reliant on these people. And from the BBC to loud-mouthed celebrities on social media – they all seem to believe everything they are fed. Mainstream media generally has a poor track record for accuracy, but when Israel fights against radical Islamic terrorists in Gaza – the standard of reporting enters a whole different level of foolishness.

It is time to meet journalist Hind Khoudary
Hind Khoudary is an independent journalist from Gaza. She has 72,000 followers on X and 334,000 on Instagram.

She regularly posts updates on what is taking place – and her posts are shared virally – such as a claim just this morning, that Israel had struck a school:

Turkish news agency Anadolu are one of the agencies that currently describe her as their correspondent. Yesterday she was giving them eye witness testimony about how hundreds of Palestinians were killed at the Jabalia camp:

Khoudary also writes for Middle East Eye, and here she is reporting in 2020 for Al Jazeera:

Incredibly, this Gazan journalist is a known terrorist supporter who has openly promoted lying to protect the resistance. Worse still – everyone already knew about this. In 2019, I had caught Khoudary openly supporting terrorists. In this tweet of hers. the glorification of violence (‘nothing better than entering ‘paradise’ with machine guns’) is undeniable:

These two Islamic Jihad terrorists who were killed in action (the terrorist group claimed them) – were described by Khoudary as heroes:

Here is one of them when he was not trying to pass himself off as a civilian:

And finally, this incredible retweet. Hind shares a post about how each person is ‘responsible’ for the security of Gaza – and instructs everyone to self-censor in the name of Palestinian national interest and to ‘back the resistance’. She is openly admitting she is a lying propagandist:

The Hamas snitch
Until my 2019 expose, Amnesty International had (incredibly) used her as a consultant. She is one of those that helped Amnesty ‘prove’ Israel was an ‘Apartheid state’ with her oh-so-honest reporting. Amnesty had even described her as a human rights activist.

The reality could not be more different. Rami Aman was an activist living in Gaza who worked on building bridges between Israeli and Palestinians. On Monday, April 6, 2020, he took part in a zoom call alongside some Israelis – and Hind Khoudary attacked him and the event. In a string of toxic posts on Facebook she denounced the event – eventually tagging 3 Hamas officials to get Rami arrested (or worse):

Within a few hours of her post Rami Aman was arrested by Hamas. He spent six months in jail, and when released he escaped Gaza and went to live in Egypt.


Why your Jewish friends are so afraid

Walter Russell Mead: Anti-Semitism Poisons America
As students and professors at elite universities across the U.S. exulted at the news of mass murder and torture of Israeli Jews by Hamas terrorists, Jewish students were warned to take precautions on campus. That is a problem, and not only for American Jews. The beliefs that have made the U.S. a uniquely hospitable home for Jewish citizens are essential to national cohesion and strength.

For America to work, many different religious and ethnic identities must coexist under a common commitment to constitutional politics and the rule of law. America's vital center is defined by the conviction that people of different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds together can build a peaceful and prosperous society in which all can follow their consciences while upholding the framework of our common life.

Jew-hatred is both a disabling mental virus and a social blight. Societies dominated by irrational hatreds and conspiracy theories are rarely well-governed. Where Jews are hunted in the streets, no one's liberty or property will long be secure. A society whose educated elite has contracted a destructive mind virus in our citadels of learning will neither govern itself well nor have much to contribute to the world.
'It is anti-semitism dressed up as anti-zionism' | Former PM, Tony Abbott on Palestine protests
'It's frankly been nothing less than the most loathsome race hate that we have seen'

'We've seen raucous, sometimes violent mobs, illustrating what can only be described as deep antisemitism dressed up as anti-zionism'

Tony Abbott - Former Prime Minister of Australia




UK students warned to hide Jewish identity as antisemitic incidents skyrocket
Antisemitic incidents have spiked 300% in the United Kingdom following Hamas' unprecedented assault on Israel, leading at least one school to warn its Jewish students to hide their identities.

Administrators told parents that students should avoid wearing uniform jackets that might identify them as Jewish, and for boys to wear baseball hats over their head coverings


Jonathan Tobin: Yad Vashem is wrong about Hamas and the Holocaust
In 1990, just as the age of the Internet was beginning, the term “Godwin’s law” was coined by author Mark Godwin. He observed that the longer any online discussion goes, the more likely it is that someone will make a comparison of something to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. And the person who goes there first usually loses the argument. But Godwin, who is also credited with the invention of the term “meme,” was more prescient than he could have known.

In the ensuing decades, the proliferation of Holocaust and Nazi analogies became commonplace. Partly due to the massive growth in Holocaust education in the United States that sought to universalize the Nazi war to exterminate the Jews, ordinary prejudice was denounced as the first step towards another Auschwitz. Regrettably, this has given rise to an “anyone I don’t like is Hitler” rule on both the right and left in which political differences are compared to Nazi Germans.

But while we are right to demand that the Holocaust be treated as a singular event that should never be mistaken for mere political quarrel, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be compared to historical events in which actual genocide, as well as movements with genocidal intentions, are involved. The genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda, for example, in which entire populations were marked for death does bear a resemblance to Hitler’s “Final Solution.”

Then came the events of Oct. 7. In committing the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust and committing barbaric atrocities on men, women and children, including rape and torture, Hamas made it impossible not to think about the legacy of Nazis. Even those of us who have been most critical of Holocaust comparisons are now forced to concede that we’ve arrived at a moment when doing so is not only appropriate but necessary.

An apt comparison
And that is exactly what many supporters of Israel are doing as they seek to push back against the horrifying efforts to downplay or justify Hamas’s crimes by a growing anti-Jewish movement making its voices heard on the streets of the world’s cities as well as on college campuses.

One who has not shied away from this is Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. Erdan has risen to the occasion during the current crises speaking out boldly against the Jew-hatred and prejudice at the world body in the wake of the Oct. 7 atrocities. But when the United Nations refused to condemn the mass murder in Israel, Erdan had had enough. He said he would don a Holocaust-style yellow Magen David (“Star of David”) with the word “Jude” until it did so.

He has been applauded by those who believe he is right to remind the world body that the indifference to Israeli victims today is reminiscent of the world’s silence and inaction during the Holocaust. But not everyone is cheering for him.

Some “senior officials” in the Israeli Foreign Ministry—always a bastion of defenders of a belief in getting along with Israel’s enemies rather than confronting them—denounced him in the left-wing newspaper Haaretz for what the anonymous diplomats described as a political stunt.
‘Gaza’ daubed in red paint outside the Wiener Holocaust Library

Exposed: Hamas’s propaganda team
Around five dozen individuals, some associated with Hamas and collectively boasting more than 100 million social media followers, have been waging a propaganda campaign against Israel on various social media platforms since the start of the Swords of Iron war on October 7.

These influencers, who identify as independent journalists, are often seen sporting blue press vests and helmets. They have also reportedly found refuge in Al-Shifa hospital, which the IDF recently disclosed serves as a Hamas command and control center, providing them with access to electricity and the internet.

While these individuals may appear to be speaking independently, they effectively act as the mouthpiece for the terrorist organization. Furthermore, they frequently feature in interviews and are quoted in mainstream media, causing their lies to spread.

The Jerusalem Post has located some of these influencers through inside and open sources. It plans to reveal their identities in the coming weeks. Here are some examples:

Plestia Alaqad (Instagram handle @byplestia) has more than a million followers and calls herself an independent journalist but spread the lie on Instagram and in an interview with British TV that Israel bombed the Al-Ahli Hospital and killed more than 1,000 people.

"Yesterday, a complete massacre happened," she said of the missile, which was quickly proven to be a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket and not connected to Israel at all. "Around 1,000 civilians were killed and martyred."

Fewer than 50 people were killed in the incident, according to international independent investigations.

"It's a genocide, literally a genocide, not a massacre," she told Britain's GB News. She threw out several numbers of people dead, including 10 journalists at the time, which the station noted could not be verified.

In her posts, she has not provided any explanation for the commencement of the airstrikes on Gaza - namely, the October 7 massacre.

Another influential figure is Bisan Ouda (known as @wizard_bisan1 on Instagram), who presents herself as a filmmaker hailing from Gaza, Palestine, with a substantial following numbering in the hundreds of thousands. She maintains an active presence on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, as well. Notably, her posts receive endorsements from well-known figures associated with antisemitism and conspiracy theories, including Shaun King, who called on his 5 million Instagram followers to "please listen to @wizard_bisan1 and follow her. She’s on the ground in Gaza now. And needs to be a household name."
Why Do Young Americans Support Hamas? Look at TikTok.
According to a Harvard/Harris poll, 51 percent of Americans ages 18–24 believe Hamas was justified in its brutal terrorist attacks on innocent Israeli citizens on October 7.

I read that statistic at a time where I thought I’d lost the capacity to be shocked. For weeks, I’ve seen the clips and read the firsthand stories documenting Hamas’s atrocities: burned bodies, decapitated babies, raped women, children tied together with their parents, mutilated corpses. I’d seen the rallies on elite campuses celebrating Hamas’s murderous cause, the faculty letters excusing the terrorists. I thought I had grasped the extent of the moral rot. I thought I had seen the bottom.

But I hadn’t.

How did we reach a point where a majority of young Americans hold such a morally bankrupt view of the world? Where many young Americans were rooting for terrorists who had kidnapped American citizens—and against a key American ally? Where were they getting the raw news to inform this upside-down world view?

The short answer is, increasingly, via social media and predominantly TikTok. TikTok is not just an app teenagers use to make viral dance videos. A growing number of Americans rely on it for their news. Today, TikTok is the top search engine for more than half of Gen Z, and about six in ten Americans are hooked on the app before their seventeenth birthday. And it is controlled by America’s foremost adversary, one that does not share our interests or our values: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is Chinese, and in China there is no such thing as a private company. As if to underscore the point, ByteDance’s chief editor, Zhang Fuping, is also the boss of the company’s internal Communist Party cell.

We know of TikTok’s predatory nature because the app has several versions. In China, there is a safely sanitized version called Douyin. That version, using much of the same technology, shows kids science experiments and other educational content, and its use is limited to forty minutes per day. Here in America, the application’s algorithm is exquisitely tuned to prioritize polarizing outrage and addictive, brain-numbing nonsense (at best) and dangerous propaganda (at worst). Put differently, ByteDance and the CCP have decided that China’s children get spinach, and America’s get digital fentanyl.

And we are absolutely hooked, with 16 percent of teens using it “almost constantly.” Today, 69.7 percent of Americans aged 12–17, 76.2 percent aged 18–24, and 54 percent aged 25–34 use TikTok. By tweaking the TikTok algorithm, the CCP can censor information and influence Americans of all ages on a variety of issues. It can shape what facts they consider accurate, and what conclusions they draw from world events.

If you doubt that the CCP would introduce bias—against Israel, against Jews, against the West, or anything else—into apps under its de facto control, consider that on October 31 The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese web platforms Baidu and Alibaba have wiped Israel off the map—literally. The two most widely used mapping programs in China show the outlines of Israel’s territory but do not label it as Israel, and may not have for some time.
Jewish Content Creators Say TikTok ‘Not Safe’ for Jews, Ask for Help Against Online Antisemitism

The Untold Stories of Gazans
Watch this video of a grieving woman in Gaza cry out. She says: “All this is because of the dogs of Hamas.” She’s immediately—literally—silenced.

Why?

Since taking power in a 2007 coup, Hamas has violently repressed all opposition to its rule. There is much to repress: recent Palestinian survey data shows most Gazans distrust Hamas, want an alternative government, and prefer economic development over war. But their individual voices are rarely heard. Those who speak out face prison and torture.

Some foreign journalists try to cover these voices but face deportation for doing so, while others show little interest in Palestinian grievances unrelated to the conflict with Israel.

My organization, the Center for Peace Communications, has been helping the population breach this communications blackout by interviewing Palestinians across the Strip, from all walks of life, about their travails and aspirations. A mother who dreams of her children getting a proper education. A photojournalist punished for taking pictures. A young couple who hopes to start a family, outside of Gaza.

Earlier this year, we released their testimony in a series called Whispered in Gaza: 25 short segments, using video animation to protect their identities, accompanied by Gazan polling, rights reports, and reportage.

Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, we reconnected with these and other Gazans to gather new testimony. We sought to understand their reaction to the Hamas assault and their views of the developing war, and to document their struggle to survive amid cascading tragedies.
UAE official: Abraham Accords here to stay

Jerusalem denies reports Bahrain recalled envoy

Russia: Israel has no right to defend itself against Hamas

US: Russia's Wagner Group to supply Hezbollah with air defense

Ramaswamy Calls for Closure of US Bases in Iraq and Syria

We Found a Dem Congresswoman's Old Blog and It Has Some Troubling Content
As Iran-backed terrorists continue their attacks against Israel on multiple fronts more than three weeks after Hamas massacred in excess of 1,400 innocent people in Israel, the number of Democrats who have publicly defended the terrorists responsible for the violence continues to grow.

In addition to radical (and repeated) liars such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and her fellow Squad members, freshman Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) is apparently another member of Congress who has equivocated, rather than condemned, terrorists now waging a bloody war against Israel.

Representing Washington's third congressional district in the southwest corner of the state, Gluesenkamp Perez was first elected in the 2022 midterms. Per CQ Roll Call's ranking of candidates in the 2024 election, she's the "most vulnerable Democrat" in the country.

According to a blog titled "Cellophane sunrise" run by the pseudonym "pretilytoldtale" on the Live Journal platform, one post discusses how "nothing is black or whi[t]e" and there's a "blurry line" differentiating "a terrorist group" from "a political party" and that "its[sic] unfair to say Hezbollah is an entirely terrorist group."

Here's the relevant section from the blog (typos from the original):
on the way home we shared a cab with hana whos origanally from lebanon, the north eastern part of lebanon ( the christian area). he by no means simplified the situation or really took sides which suprised me- he says nothing is black or while though and its unfair to say Hezbollah is an entirely terrorist group. the IRA, for example,used to be a terrorist group but has successfully morphed to a political party. Its a blurry line in some cases.

That blog, by all indications, was authored by now-Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez, whose legal name is Kristina Marie Perez and is also known under the name Kristina Marie Perez Del Razo.

The profile page for pretilytoldtale has a bio that appears to identify "kristina perez" as the author: "[i] was great; great as the number of people who told [me] so. [i] was right; right as the number of people who belived it. [i] looked at the faces,at the eyes;[i] saw myself born in them, [i] saw myself being granted the gift of life. that was[kristina perez], that, the reflection in those staring pupils, and[ my] body was only its reflection."


House Democrats + 23 Republicans Kill Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Censure of Rashida Tlaib

France and the European Union Are No Friends of Israel
At the recent European Summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government did not make the call for "humanitarian pauses" conditional on the release of the Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.

Thirty-five French citizens were murdered by Hamas on October 7, and nine others are being held hostage (among approximately 230 hostages), but France wants to provide aid to those who are holding them?

Unsurprisingly, according to reports, Hamas has been hoarding the food and medicine intended for the suffering people of Gaza... Cement for "rebuilding Gaza" has instead been diverted to building attack tunnels, and water pipes from the European Union are made into rockets. Hamas has also reportedly hoarded food, water, medicine and fuel, with the fuel being used in their rockets.

Central, however are the hostages. Their release will not be facilitated by a ceasefire or humanitarian corridors; quite the contrary. France and the European Union should have made their aid to Gaza conditional on the hostages' release, and stated that no "humanitarian" aid will be provided until Hamas releases them. Hamas has created this situation, not Israel.
“URGENT” FRIDAY MEETING FOR NORTH WEST MUSLIM LABOUR COUNCILLORS
Guido has learnt that an urgent meeting for North West Muslim Labour Councillors has been organised to “discuss Gaza/Israel” this Friday. Labour MPs and prospective parliamentary candidates are expected to attend as well. Collective responsibility working well…

The event is for the entirety of the North West in a ward next to Unsworth and Bury South, notably an area that has the highest Jewish population outside of London. It comes as over 330 Labour councillors signed a letter urging Keir Starmer to back a ceasefire in Gaza.

The meeting appears to be organised by Deputy Council Leader for Bury Councillor Tamoor Tariq, who has landed himself in trouble recently, leading a pro-Palestine protest last weekend, and bursting into an “unhinged rampage” at Bury Police Headquarter last week. Starmer’s attempt at damage control yesterday on calls for a ceasefire within the party clearly hasn’t hit home…


German Vice-Chancellor Criticizes Silence of Muslim Organizations Over Hamas Atrocities, Threatens Deportation for Antisemitic Offenders

Germany bans Hamas activities in wake of Oct. 7 massacre

PMW: Fatah calls for terror in the West Bank – “Call out Allahu Akbar from the rooftops”

“We are united and aiming our bullets” at Israel, says Fatah official



MEMRI: Palestinian Ambassador To New Delhi: 'Palestinians Will Choose Death Over Becoming Refugees'; 'Israel Is Not Ready For An End To The Conflict And Will Continue Its Bombardment As It Is Being Supported By The U.S. And The U.K.'

MEMRI: Hamas Leader Khaled Mash'al Tells Conference In Pakistan: 'We Have Been Continuing Jihad In A More Confident Manner Than Before'; 'We Will March Further And Enforce The Shari'a Of Muhammad... On This Earth' – Dr. Naji Zuhair: 'We Have Pledged That We Will Expel The Unpious Israel From Palestine'; 'Zionist Enemy Is Even Weaker Than The Spider's Web'



Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan Gets $80 Million Cash Infusion Every Two Weeks, Watchdog Says

Gil Troy: Iran is no mere adversary, it is America's mortal enemy

Half of all Israeli hostage posters in London are ripped down within 48 hours
Half of all the posters in London bearing the faces of hostages held in Gaza are being removed within 48 hours, with many of them ripped down as soon as they appear.

Posters displaying the faces and names of the hundreds of victims snatched by Hamas and held in Gaza since October 7 have become a familiar sight over the past four weeks.

Volunteers have taped up the distinctive red and white posters, emblazoned with the word “Kidnapped” in large letters, on buildings, telephone boxes, shop shutters, lampposts and street signs in an act of solidarity with the victims in Israel and in an effort to keep the hostages front of mind among the wider public.

In London alone, they are putting up at least 40,000 posters each week, according to campaign co-ordinator Ari, who asked to be identified only by his first name due to safety concerns.

But in a disturbing expression of hostility toward the innocent victims, at least 50 per cent of these posters are vanishing from the capital almost as quickly as volunteers can tape them up, according to Ari. Others are defaced. This behaviour is being echoed in other UK cities, and abroad, in the US.

While the community in London is confronted with the sight of the ripped remnants, Greater Manchester Police are investigating after an officer was filmed removing posters stuck to a temporary wall outside a building site close to an area with a large Jewish population.

Asked how long most of the posters in London tend to stay up, Ari said: “Twenty-four to 48 hours maximum, [though] some are there for longer.”

He estimated that within this time frame, at least 50 per cent are removed.

“People, mostly Muslim and ‘free Palestine’ [activists], come and tear them off,” said Ari, an Israeli working in IT.

“We instructed the volunteers not to do anything, just take videos [and ask] ‘Why are you doing that?’”


Stephen Pollard: Why didn't M&S treat a bunch of Grade A imbeciles with contempt?

British war hero warns mob over plot to sabotage two-minute silence on Remembrance Day
The British people will not be intimidated by threats to sabotage our national day of remembrance next weekend, a former top British Army commanding officer, the Royal British Legion and politicians said.

Colonel Richard Kemp, who was awarded the King's Commendation for Bravery, was responding to a rallying cry to boycott Remembrance Day traditions, with one group now calling for a “national march” on November 11, sparking fears of a dangerous “tipping point” in community tensions.

Issuing a word of caution, the Army veteran pointed to the array of people from different cultures and religions who fought and died for the liberties and freedoms we enjoy today.

The retired British Army officer, who served from 1977 to 2006, told Express.co.uk: “It is up to every individual whether he or she wishes to commemorate the supreme sacrifices of our armed forces in war.

“Those who are thinking of boycotting acts of remembrance are at liberty to do so but it is worth remembering that many Muslims as well as Christians, Jews and members of other religions or no religion fought and died for the freedom and liberty we enjoy today.

“All that I would ask is that those who do not wish to take part do not attempt to politicise, protest or disrupt these solemn events which mean so much to so many of our people in this country, including families recently bereaved by sacrifice in war.”


Jewish students start lawsuits to battle campus antisemitism, hate crimes

Next time Sisters Uncut protest about Gaza, perhaps they could take a look at Hamas's record on women's rights

Wexner-funded museum says it will keep up exhibit by Palestinian artist who appeared to celebrate Hamas on social media

Antisemitism on campus: Jacky Rosen wants US government to fight back

Daniel Greenfield: ‘Dumb College Kids’ Have Been Supporting Mass Murder for a Hundred Years

Radical student protesters align with Hamas as heated rallies sweep US colleges
Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, global protests have erupted, reflecting the deep-seated divisions in the ongoing conflict.

American college campuses have become focal points for these demonstrations, with a significant proportion of them aligning with the anti-Israel perspective.

These protests on campus underscore a noticeable shift within educational institutions, with students now more interested in identity politics and social justice than their own education.

"Unfortunately on American University campuses, there is a long and inglorious history of standing with forces of civilisational arson and frankly just all out evil," Newsweek's Josh Hammer told Sky News.

The protests comes as the head of Israel's general staff said the war will continue to intensify as Israel plans to progress.




Sociology Professors Defend Hamas Butchery

Shameful moment pro-Palestinian demonstrators swarm Harvard MBA student shouting 'shame' after he tried to film them at 'die-in' protesting Israel's war with Hamas

Harvard, Penn, Columbia announce steps to address antisemitism following campus turmoil

How Did Student Patrick Dai Become Radicalized At Cornell?

Cornell CANCELS all classes due to 'extraordinary stress' on campus after Patrick Dai appeared in court in court over vile threats made to harm Jewish students

Cornell student Patrick Dai appears in court shackled and is ordered to be held in jail as prosecutors say he visited the dining room where he made threats to harm Jewish students

Jewish cartoonist quits Private Eye over controversial Israel criticism cover

Guardian journalist who retweets pro-Hamas social media account

OMISSIONS IN BBC REPORTING ON FOREIGN NATIONALS IN THE GAZA STRIP

CBC ‘whitewashes’ Hamas terror in article for kids, Canadian watchdog says

YouTuber broadcasts demands for violent jihad… from London

Neo-Nazi is first to face charges following ban on Nazi salute - after proudly declaring 'Heil Hitler' while 'raising his arm' outside court in front of media after separate case

Hundreds of Holocaust survivors pose with posters of Hamas hostages in a statement of solidarity

New York City Marathon runners to wear T-shirts with pictures of hostages held by Hamas

WATCH: Peter Himmelman Releases Pro-Israel Song, ‘Grey Is the Most Dangerous Color’
Songwriter and guitarist Peter Himmelman released a pro-Israel song Wednesday called “Grey is the Most Dangerous Color,” criticizing those who have tried to minimize the atrocities committed by the Palestinian terror group Hamas on October 7.

The lyrics include the following lines:
As you watch the slaughter of babies, will you rationalize it?
Can you call it what it is, or will you sit and analyze it?
You’ve been educated, but your degrees didn’t make you wise
You can’t see the face of evil when it’s right before your eyes

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News, Himmelman said:
I’m no soldier, I’m a songwriter. But when my people, the Jewish people, are in need I use whatever resources I posses to help out.
Right now, the war is being fought on two fronts. The first, is a strategic and tactical military war against Hamas and their ilk. The second is a war of ideas, one which pits the forces of humanity against the forces of death and barbarism. This is a battle that has long needed waging. Stuffed to the gills with money from Qatar, our once great universities are turning out students who have no sense of history, no sense of geopolitics, no sense of right and wrong.
When I saw photos of college students — our supposed best and brightest— chanting “From The River To The Sea,” a barely disguised call for the death of seven million Israeli Jews, I got off the phone with my daughter, took out my guitar and immediately wrote this song.

The song was released through StandWithUs, a pro-Israel group that is active on social media.






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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 19 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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