Friday, November 10, 2023

11/10 Links Pt1: Douglas Murray: I have seen the horror that the world must never forget; David Collier: Southern Israel – my journey into hell

From Ian:

Fred Maroun: Letter from a left-wing atheist Arab to Jewish enablers of Hamas
Claim to believe in Jewish values
You included many references to your “Jewish values” and how important they are to you, but it is obvious that you believe none of it.

Unless, of course, Jewish values consist of misleading the public to enable terrorists to continue having the ability to massacre Jews.

But even you must know that this is not a Jewish value. If Jews were this malicious and self-defeating, they would not have survived as a tiny minority for over three millennia.

You claim instead to believe in the “Jewish values of justice, peace, and compassion”, but you clearly do not believe in these values.

If you believed in justice, you would not support a ceasefire that would allow Hamas to survive so that it can attempt more and more massacres in the future, as it said that it would.

If you believed in peace, you would want Hamas destroyed because you know very well that Israel left Gaza in 2005 but there has been no peace with Israel since Hamas took over control of Gaza shortly after that.

If you believed in compassion, you would not avoid using the word “massacre” to describe what Hamas did on October 7, and you certainly would not ignore the 240 hostages that Hamas holds.

Misinformation works but not this time
Even though you know that you spread misinformation, and even though I and others publicly expose you, you will continue to do it anyway. The reason is simple: it works, especially when coming from people who claim to be Jews.

You are not promoting “Jewish values”. You are instead knowingly enabling Hamas. But that is exactly what you aim to do, so you will continue doing it. You are not “Jews of conscience” as you claim to be.

But let’s be crystal clear. You are not a significant threat to Israel. Despite your misinformation, Israel will prevail. Israel will destroy Hamas, and Gaza Palestinians will have a brighter future, despite your objections.

While you have no faith in Jews other than your own terrorist-enabling tiny minority, and while you certainly have no faith in Israel, I do. I also have faith that Arabs, including Palestinians, can live in peace and can strive if terrorists do not stand in their way. I also have faith in the leadership of President Joe Biden and in the solid bi-partisan support behind him.

Israel will win this war, for its own benefit, for the benefit of the Palestinians, and for the benefit of everyone who cares about peace and justice.

Sincerely,
A left-wing atheist Arab
Ed Husain: The Theology of Hamas
Hamas isn’t only a terrorist group, and it isn’t a Palestinian nationalist movement. It is a religious organization, incubated by the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, departed from Islamic tradition and created Islamism, a totalitarian ideology to resist the pluralist West.

Its worldview, as French political scientist Gilles Kepel has documented, arose in the same intellectual firmament as German Nazism and Italian fascism. The Brotherhood developed a new declaration of faith for its members: “God is our objective. The Prophet is our political leader. The Quran is our constitution. Jihad is our method. Martyrdom is our aspiration.” No Muslim before the 20th century would have belittled his faith’s sacred text by regarding it as a political manifesto.

When Ahmed Yassin left Al-Azhar University in Cairo and founded Hamas in Gaza in 1987, the group’s members placed their hands on the Quran and declared: “I promise to be a good Muslim in defending Islam and the lost land of Palestine.” Theology is central to Hamas’s charter, which declares that “Islam will destroy Israel” and that because “Palestine is an Islamic land,” it is the “individual duty of every Muslim” to liberate it. Hamas calls “the land of Palestine” a waqf, an Islamic endowment. These teachings would have been alien to Muslims who coexisted with Jews for 12 centuries.

Hamas envisages a future Palestine that is judenrein, or cleansed of Jews. Article 7 of its charter declares: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, ‘O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ ” That animus stems in part from its considering the Jews to be European colonialists, ignoring that they’re native to the land and that Islamic armies successfully colonized the Levant. Christians, whom Hamas views as part of the local Arab population, are treated less violently, but they don’t enjoy unfettered religious liberty.

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar has said that Palestine is only a “toothbrush in our pocket.” Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood aspire to create a regionwide Shariah state, a more anti-Western confrontational caliphate in line with Iran’s political model than that of moderate Arab nations in the neighborhood. That intention has led several Arab nations—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt—to ban both groups from organizing within their borders. In 1979 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a peace agreement with Israel. Two years later Islamists assassinated him.
David Collier: Southern Israel – my journey into hell
As part of a small group I was taken under army supervision through an active military zone. Before entry I was kitted up with a helmet and some body armour. We were also given plenty of instruction before the group was allowed to continue. This included strict advice about only taking photos in places in which the families had given permission. The army was everywhere I went, and our trip was constantly moulded around the active battlefield. At times I found myself standing inside a burnt-out house just across from where IDF artillery was pounding at Gaza.

I promised no shocking images – and there won’t be any – but I still have a story to tell. The image below shows the key point at which the terrorists broke through to attack Kfar Aza. The part of the kibbutz immediately behind me as I took this photo was the site of an unspeakable massacre. The built up area in the background is Gaza – this is how close Gaza is to the idyllic community the terrorists came to destroy.

All of us have been affected by what took place on October 7. But as I walked through the devastation, what broke me was not the physical damage – it was the signs of humanity that still remained. For example, in one house – that was completely burnt out, a few playing cards lay scattered on the floor. Everything was gone, much of it consumed by fire – but somehow the playing cards had survived.

Or this one. This house like many was not burnt – but the insides had been brutally ripped apart along with the family who had live there. And on the wall – a sign of optimism and love – and a poignant reminder that life is short.

Here is another one. From the house of another family that had visibly experienced a living nightmare. The scenes inside are never to be forgotten. But this sign was by the front door. It simply reads ‘how fantastic – how great that you came to visit – it is so long since we saw you – where have you been – welcome’.

These are the images that stopped me in my tracks. How can a welcome sign in a house that saw such devastation from unwanted intruders do anything but destroy you inside.

And in every house – the clock had been ticking – and normal life was taking place – until it all stopped. So in one – a place in which the living area looked like a war zone – the kitchen looked virtually untouched. The most obvious result of deliberate destruction of human life. They destroyed the living area – because that is where the people were. An empty kitchen? Of no interest. And there sitting on a kitchen top were sweets waiting for the children to eat them. Given what happened in this particular area – it is unlikely those children survived.

I went inside dozens of homes such as this. Scrawled on some walls outside are warning signs about ‘bodyparts’ that may still exist inside – with instructions not to touch anything. In truth they refer to fragments – potential DNA samples – and this is part of Israel’s search for the remains of several dozen people they have yet to find. Endless, unspeakable, tragedy. And every single home I saw, was once an entire family.

Away from the residential areas – and onto the site of the biggest single massacre of the day. The 100s of young people who had gone to enjoy a rave and never returned home. Much of the clear up has been done – but not all. The mess that is still visible on the ground, along with picnic chairs and coolers is all circled by the signs that still mark the campsite. In this place the signs of massacre have already gone – it looks as if the kids just left a mess (behind me).

Finally I went to Sderot and saw an empty lot where the police station had once stood. Residents who are still there (most have left temporarily) recounted the horror that unfolded on that day. But by this point I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I had no questions left to ask. I remain glad I did it – but there are scars which will take time to heal – and this is from someone who only saw what was left – what about all those who actually survived it.

It is morning now and I have spent the night writing this at Kibbutz Bror Hail. All evening I have been listening to a relentless attack from air and from land. There is a not a single minute when a ‘boom’ is not heard and felt. The IDF are pounding Hamas into hell. After what I had seen earlier in the week in those Kibbutzim, I admit to finding it somewhat therapeutic.


Douglas Murray: On a visit to Israel, I have seen the horror that the world must never forget
Worst was when we came to the home of my guide’s sister. She had been out of the house when the terrorists came in.

Her two teenage sons barricaded themselves into the safe room. Surrounded by their toys and magazines, you could see all the signs of the struggle these brave young lads put up.

But the terrorists broke in, wounded them and stole them — taking them into Gaza.

Then there were the Thai workers who helped in the kibbutz and had their own accommodation. The terrorists had gone from door to door, shooting them.

As in so many other places in the settlements, you could see the stains on the floor where someone had crawled during their last moments or been dragged out half-dead. At the end of this row of accommodation was their bomb shelter.

It was plain from the inside that this was the site of a massacre.

Hamas packed the Thai men and women into this small room and then butchered them. The floor was still thick with their congealed blood.

And here it looked like Hamas had tried to save their bullets. The walls and ceiling — even the air conditioning unit — were all covered in blood spatter.

Here, like so many other parts of the community, there were occasional handprints in blood, where people had tried to stand or avoid being dragged in their dying moments.

These imprints should not be forgotten. These were all people who had done nothing wrong.

To a man, woman and child, they were all just going about their lives.

Most had some dream of peace. Some houses still had their shopping lists on their fridge doors. Others had signs saying “Live and let live.” What do you think? Post a comment.

Hamas didn’t allow them to live. The world must never forget this.

Israel cannot live with Hamas. The world must realize this.
Douglas Murray labels Hamas as 'worse than the Nazis'
Author Douglas Murray says the difference between Hamas and the Nazis is that the latter did feel “some shame” for their horrific acts.

Mr Murray said the Nazis during WWII, including the SS, had to get very drunk in the evening to forget the atrocities they committed against Jewish people.

“Hamas terrorists of October the 7th actually rejoiced in their acts of evil … they actually boasted about them.”

The IDF released a phone recording to social media of a Hamas terrorist bragging to his parents about killing 10 Jews.

“For once it’s not hyperbole to say: even the Nazis … didn’t behave like this.”




Melanie Phillips: Just whose side is America really on?
Even now, the Biden administration still wants to bring Iran on its side. Even now, it is still banging the drum for a Palestinian state despite the murderous terrorism against Jews incited by the people America wants to run it.

As a result, far from having Israel’s back the Biden administration is aiming its knives at it.

The IDF is going to great lengths to protect Gaza’s civilians as much as possible in the middle of a war. It is warning them to evacuate targeted buildings through leaflets, phone calls and “knock on the roof” missiles. It set up a humanitarian corridor to the south, along which it has been guarding evacuees against attacks by Hamas.

Yet despite the fact that the United States took no such steps to protect Iraqi civilians when it flattened Mosul in its fight with ISIS, Washington is increasingly harassing Israel to do more to protect Gaza’s civilians.

This is clearly paving the way for Washington to abandon Israel in the event of a genuinely high civilian death toll in Gaza.

This malignant appeasement of Iran and harassment of Israel goes back to former President Barack Obama. In his recent remarks about the Hamas pogrom and the Gaza war, Obama equated Hamas’s “horrific” atrocities with Israel’s “unbearable” occupation and war.

But Israel hasn’t “occupied” Gaza since 2005. If Obama was referring to the disputed territories, what’s “unbearable” there is the daily and unremitting campaign of murderous attacks on Israeli Jews.

Obama’s attempt to shift the blame for the depraved onslaught against Israeli Jews onto Israel itself was despicable and morally degenerate. Worse, the Biden administration is stuffed with Obama retreads and acolytes. There’s worse still.

In September, the news platform Semafor and the London-based émigré opposition outlet Iran International reported sensationally on a large leak of Iranian government correspondence and emails.

These revealed that, in 2014, senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials initiated a quiet effort to bolster Tehran’s image over its nuclear programme through a network of influential overseas academics and researchers.

This involved Iranian infiltration of the Obama administration. At least two of the people on the Iranian network list were, or became, top aides to envoy Robert Malley. He was the point man on Iran under both the Obama and Biden administrations until he was placed on leave in June following the suspension of his security clearance.

The leaked materials showed that, in 2021, Malley helped infiltrate an Iranian agent of influence named Ariane Tabatabai, who was associated with the Iranian network, into the State Department to assist him in his negotiations with Iran.

Tabatabai then moved to the Pentagon, where she still serves as chief of staff to the Assistant Secretary of Defence for Special Operations Christopher Maier in an office that oversees hostage recovery — including, presumably, the US citizens now being held hostage by Hamas.

No one will say why Malley was suspended other than it was over a “mishandling of classified material”. The tight secrecy suggests that what he did was devastating to national security.

Meanwhile, as Lee Smith writes in Tablet: “Pro-Hamas and pro-Iran influencers inside the Pentagon are briefing that Israel is manipulating the US into a war with Iran.”

Just whose side is America really on?
Caroline Glick: The Hostage Deal and How America Betrays Israel
The Biden administration pledges support for Israel but tries to force Israel to accept a hostage deal and continues to hamstring Israel on the military and political battlefield.

All this and more on Caroline Glick's In-FOCUS!


The Libertarian PodCast: What Constitutes a War Crime?
Hosted by Richard Epstein & Tom Church Richard Epstein explains what constitutes a war crime and how Israel and Hamas differ in their culpability for the tragic loss of life among civilians.




World-Renowned Expert on Urban Combat: Hamas ‘Creating’ Civilian Deaths to Stir World Against IDF
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES
With many concerned for civilian casualties, Spencer insisted that “all the laws of war that were created — really, strengthened — after World War Two, have gotten a lot stronger.”

“No more carpet bombing of cities like the U.S. and every other country involved in WWII were trying… whether it’s the London Blitz or Dresden or what the U.S. did to Tokyo,” he stated. “The idea that you can bomb your enemy to your goals has really happened very few times in the history of wars and worked.”

In addition, he stated, such a strategy “definitely wouldn’t accomplish the Israeli mission of destroying military infrastructure and capability.”

“You have to use joint power: air, land, sea, and cyber,” he explained, “but you have to get in there and clear, destroy tunnels, destroy Hamas members, and destroy Hamas rockets.”

“So from a military analyst perspective I think they’re doing pretty good,” he added.

Regarding civilian casualty numbers, Spencer noted that they are “not unlike other battles” in recent history.

“In the Battle of Mosul, there were 10,000 civilian casualties in a city of 1.4 million civilians where ISIS kept the civilians there for a long time before they could start to evacuate,” he said. “But by sheer numbers, they evacuated 80 percent of the urban areas. And while that’s still hundreds of thousands of people, militaries are never able to empty all of the cities, it just never happened.”

“Even in WWII in the Battle of Aachen, where we cleared the city four times, there were still hundreds of civilians in the city and lots of civilian casualties,” he added.

He also pointed to when U.S. forces “surrounded Fallujah, and spent six months — that Israel doesn’t have — to empty 90 percent of the civilians there,” yet there were still many casualties.

“So there are a lot of similarities,” he noted.

According to Spencer, when an enemy chooses to defend from urban terrain and use human shields, the results we see are “not abnormal.”

“Really, the civilian casualties are 90 percent of the casualties of modern war, not military,” he explained, “because modern war fights are happening in cities, not fights for cities, which is really ancient, fighting for cities.”

Today, in contrast, militaries fight in cities for a variety of reasons, he noted. For example, Hamas militants “can gain a large amount of power [by fighting] in urban environments.”

“They take away the attacker’s military superiority, just to bring the fighting close and have a slugfest,” he said. “So that means more and more warfare.”

“But out of the last 20 years, 90 percent of the casualties of war have been civilians,” he added.

Spencer also explained that “everybody” misunderstands the notion of proportionality.

“We should not be comparing the amount of Palestinian civilian deaths to the amount of Israeli civilians killed on October 7 — 1,400 versus supposedly 10,000 (I’m highly doubtful that’s an accurate number, but it doesn’t matter),” he said. “That’s not the way war works. That’s not even close to the definition of proportionality — it has nothing to do with it.”

“Every civilian death is, of course, a loss, but people that want the end of the conflict because of the fact that it’s not ‘proportional’ to what happened on October 7, have no understanding of war, the laws of war or how the world works,” he added.

Reflecting on his having taught strategy at West Point for years, Spencer determined that Hamas’ strategy is to “create their own civilians’ deaths and get the world to react,” in order to prevent the IDF from eliminating their military capabilities, — “and it is working.”

“Despite the fact that I can tell every news agency in the world that what we’re seeing in Gaza is not unlike what we’ve seen in battles against ISIS in Mosul, Raqqa, Syria, and Marawi — nobody cares,” he said. “They’re still saying, ‘no, no, stop.’”

“That’s the Hamas strategy, to get so many civilians killed that the IDF will have to stop, and Hamas gets to live to fight another day,” he added.

Another Hamas strategy he indicated is that of buying time.

“Most defenders in history lose, but one of the goals can be just to buy time,” he said. “So Hamas is going to use guerrilla warfare, use complex urban terrain and snipers, ambushes, IEDs, and pop out of tunnels, just to slow the IDF down, so that they can’t achieve their goal quickly.”

“The IDF needs time — and Hamas’ strategy is to take that time away from them, by putting all these pressures, getting every Palestinian, every Muslim of the world, to force international leadership to try to encourage the IDF to stop,” he added.

In light of the above, Israel should “absolutely” be given the time and space to achieve its goals.
To even destroy the tunnels, you’ve gotta clear the tunnel. You’ve gotta make sure there’s no military equipment, hostages, or fighters, in them. Then they have to destroy the tunnels, and that would be historic because even some of the ways militaries have destroyed tunnels aren’t an option to fully destroy 300 miles of tunnels. One of the only options is to flood them with seawater — which would necessitate time.

And while the IDF needs to be given the time, he acknowledged, it is crucial to “not allow Hamas’ strategy of buying time to succeed.”


In it to win it: Israel is projecting strength as it embarks on a long and complex mission
Beyond this, this carries paramount importance against Israel's other enemies, who observe and scrutinize its conduct as a basis for their decisions in the present or future. If the thought of waiting until the IDF weakens in Gaza crossed Hezbollah's leaders' minds – so that it could move against Israel only after Israel had been exhausted – it is now clear that they are likely disabused of this, and are now expecting to face a strong, well-trained, and honed army, unlike anything before the Gaza war. The IDF's conduct so far has radiated power. There's also optimism regarding the attainment of the overarching goals.

But for all the gains thus far, there is a ways to go before achieving the war's objectives. The political echelon has instructed the IDF to deal a critical blow to the enemy's capabilities – both its governing ability and military strength. The campaign is not designed to simply exact a price or establish deterrence; the expectation is victory, not just "an image of victory."

Reaching these goals requires time and a methodic, extensive, and prolonged effort; we won't get there through some limited strike or limited operation. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who has stood alongside Israel since Hamas' attack, mentioned during his visit to Tel Aviv that he was the one who planned the American war against ISIS. "I know ISIS well. We have your back," he said. He knows more than anyone else how long it could take to crush Hamas. The comparison between Hamas and ISIS, usually used to illustrate their monstrous behavior, also applies to how to deal with them. Namely, one has to appreciate the complexity and time such an undertaking involves.

Where are we headed? Three stages can be outlined in the reality that will emerge in Gaza. The first, which we are in the midst of, will be defined by the war to topple Hamas' rule and destroy its capabilities. The fighting will occur with varying intensity across the strip for a not-so-brief period. The end of this stage won't be clear cut and probably won't be uniform across the strip. It will then overlap with the beginning of the second stage, characterized by a void of governance in the area. The resulting chaos will lead to internal power struggles within the strip, likely prompting local initiatives to manage civil affairs and undoubtedly exert pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid and let the Palestinian Authority enter the fray. The temporary chaos is likely an inevitable stage in the process of fully purging Hamas from all the ruling power foci in the Gaza Strip. The third stage will herald the new reality after the Hamas era. It's hard to predict how this stage will unfold as it will be influenced by numerous variables and interconnected scenarios.

The guiding principles for Israel's policy at all stages are clear: maintaining Israel's security operational freedom without any constraints; preventing Hamas from ruling the Gaza Strip; preventing the formation of a military threat; and relieving Israel from responsibility for civilian issues.


Inside a Gaza bedroom, soldiers searching for tunnels find how low Hamas can go

'Hamas is the enemy': IDF spokesperson discusses 'humanitarian windows' for civilians
IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus says Hamas "is the enemy" and not the Palestinian civilians as he discussed the ongoing "humanitarian windows" in operation.

Mr Conricus elaborated on the ongoing humanitarian pauses being conducted in which Palestinian civilians are able to move "freely and securely" from the north to south.

"This is the fifth straight day where we have humanitarian windows – either between 9 or 10am to 2pm – where Palestinians are able to move freely and securely from the north to the south in order to be out of harm's way and allow us greater freedom of action to be able to operate against the enemy, which is Hamas and not the Palestinian civilians, Mr Conricus told Sky News Australia.

"We are coordinating with our American allies.

"I think it is a wise practice that we have started and are now continuing to do.

"It serves all the interests and it's a good thing to do to get civilians out of the battlefield.

"In all honesty, we've been trying to do that for the better half of two and a half weeks."




Fights in bread lines, despair in shelters: War threatens to unravel Gaza’s close-knit society
Across Gaza, rare scenes of dissent are playing out. Some Palestinians are openly challenging the authority of Hamas, which long has ruled the enclave with an iron fist. Four Palestinians across Gaza spoke to AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals about what they’ve seen.

A man who was told off by a Hamas officer for cutting the bread line took a chair and smashed it over his head, according to an aid worker in line. In another area, angry crowds hurled stones at Hamas police who cut in front of a water line and beat them with their fists until they scattered, according to a journalist there.

Over the past few night in Gaza City, Hamas rockets streaming overhead toward Israel have prompted outbursts of rage from a U.N. shelter. In the middle of the night, hundreds of people have shouted insults against Hamas and cried out that they wanted the war to end, according to a 28-year-old sleeping in a tent there with his family.

And during a televised press conference Tuesday, a young man with a dazed expression and bandaged wrist pushed his way through the crowd, disrupting a speech by Iyad Bozum, spokesman for the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

“May God hold you to account, Hamas!” the man yelled, shaking his wounded hand.

Gaza’s future remains uncertain as Israeli tanks rumble down the ghostly streets of Gaza City with the goal of toppling Hamas. Palestinians say it will never be the same.

“The Gaza I know is just a memory now,” said 16-year-old Jehad Ghandour, who fled to Rafah. “There are no places or anything I know left.”


Israel ‘Agrees’ to 4-Hour Humanitarian ‘Pauses’ It Was Aready Doing Anyway

The Israel Guys: The IDF CAPTURES a Major HAMAS Stronghold in GAZA
The IDF are pushing full steam ahead in Gaza. They just captured a major Hamas stronghold and are destroying tunnels by the dozen. Also it has come to light that photographers working for CNN, Reuters, and the Associated Press probably knew about the October 7th Hamas massacre ahead of time and didn't warn anyone.




New top American general says Israeli goal of toppling Hamas ‘a pretty large order’

Kassy Dillon: ‘Fighting Like A Lioness:’ Thousands Attend Funeral For American Killed In Jerusalem Terror Attack

SBS bans staff from using words relating to Israel-Hamas war
Sky News Australia can reveal SBS has banned staff from using a range of words, including "Hamas", "ISIS" and "declared terrorist organisations" from their posts on Facebook.

The extraordinary guidelines were given to some employees from foreign language programs, but the network denies it is censorship.

Hamas is a prescribed terror organisation in Australia and its actions have been compared by some world leaders to ISIS and the Nazis.

An SBS spokesperson said staff are not being “editorially censored” in any coverage of the conflict in Gaza and Israel.

“SBS is committed to providing comprehensive coverage of the Middle East conflict across all our language services, as the guidance to staff makes clear,” the spokesperson continued.


Greens' 'pathetic' display in Senate Question Time a 'source of embarrassment'
Sky News host Rita Panahi has slammed the “pathetic, petulant display” from the Greens during Senate Question Time this week which was a “source of embarrassment” for the country, the party and their constituents.

“If you support that type of infantile, irrational, anti-Australian behaviour then you've been failed by the education system, the culture, your parents, or perhaps all of the above,” Ms Panahi said.

“Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi, draped in a black and white keffiyeh ... she stood up in the Upper House and accused our ally Israel of war crimes before raising her fist and shrieking ‘free, free Palestine’.

“Immediately following this outburst all the Greens senators stood up and walked out of the chamber in unison, if only they stayed out.

"And you can see there Victorian MP Janet Rice there lifting a printed Palestinian flag above her head. The whole thing was an attention-seeking stunt that deserves to be mocked."


‘If you support peace, you have to support removal of Hamas’: Dave Sharma
Former Israeli ambassador Dave Sharma says those who support peace in the Middle East must also support the eradication of Hamas.

“Ultimately, if Hamas is left in power, if those who argue for a ceasefire are arguing for preservation of the status quo, all that will lead to is future conflict, future suffering of Palestinian people and future frustrated attempts at peace,” Mr Sharma told Sky News Australia.

“If you actually support peace in the Middle East, if you support a two-state solution, then you have to support the removal of Hamas because they have been an obstacle to all of those objectives throughout.”

Mr Sharma’s comments follow Israel’s agreement to daily “tactical, localised pauses” in its offensive against Hamas.

President Joe Biden had asked the Israeli Prime Minister to introduce the daily pauses during a call on Monday.


'They need to explain': Claims journalists had prior knowledge of Hamas October 7 attack
Author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach criticised a Washington Post columnist's comments calling for Israel to give photographers and journalists “the benefit of the doubt” after claims they had advance knowledge of the Hamas attacks on October 7.

Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle's comments come after the Israeli government lashed the New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters and CNN over allegations photographers and journalists who worked at the outlets had prior knowledge of terror group Hamas' attacks on Israel.

Ms McArdle tweeted, "I understand Israel's anger, but it is morally wrong and a political mistake to target journalists who rushed to cover a story. Possibly some of them are complicit, I don’t know. But Israel should give them the benefit of the doubt,” Ms McArdle tweeted.

Author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach was asked in an interview with Sky News host Rita Panahi about his thoughts on the columnist's call for the Israeli government to give photojournalists the benefit of the doubt.

“Give them the benefit of the doubt, these are media outlets that have falsely maligned Israel for decades. These are media outlets that have demonised the Jewish state for simply defending itself from another genocide, from another Holocaust,” Mr Boteach told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

“They don’t have the benefit of the doubt because their maligning and demonisation of Israel has gone on for so long, that their bias is so apparent, that none of us would be surprised if they had advanced knowledge of the attack.

Author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach went on to question what the photojournalists were doing at the Gaza-Israel border in the first place so early in the morning.

“By the way, what were the New York Times, CNN, and Reuters photojournalists doing on the Gaza-Israel border at 6:30 am on a Saturday morning, were they camping out, were they barbequing for their families,” he said.

“They need to explain how they were there taking pictures if they had no advance knowledge.”


‘Hamas must surrender’: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says it’s hard to put a number on how many people Hamas is prepared to allow to die in order to destroy the state of Israel.

In a fiery debate with Cenk Uygur, Rabbi Shmuley said there was "of course a limit” to the Israel-Hamas conflict and demanded “Hamas to surrender unconditionally”.

“We mourn the death of every Arab, Muslim, Palestinian child as if a Jewish child died,” Rabbi Shmuley told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan.

“They are absolutely equal before God, that’s why Israel withdrew completely and utterly from 2005.

“I don’t want to put a number on how many Palestinian children; I want a ceasefire right now.”


Michigan community threaten to derail Joe Biden's re-election campaign
The Arab-American community in Michigan are threatening to derail US President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign as the White House continues to resist calling upon Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Students and local activists boarded buses for an eight-hour drive to Washington DC to join a national pro-Palestine march.

In 2020, Joe Biden won the state of Michigan by around 155,000 votes – in a state of over 8 million registered voters.

According to exit polling, 145,000 of those voters were Muslim-Americans and they might just not cast a ballot for Joe Biden next time around.

One protester even announced she was “heartbroken” when she thinks back to how she voted for the Democrats.




Daniel Greenfield: What Really Happened at the Museum of Tolerance

PICTURED: Gal Gadot is seen for the first time since her LA screening of Hamas terror attack film ended in mass brawl between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protestors

Why Can’t They Just Leave The Jewish Hostage Posters Alone?

Piers Morgan rips into man caught tearing down posters of Israeli hostages
Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan has ripped into a man caught tearing down Israeli hostage posters in Los Angeles.

Shehab Elrefai tore down posters hung up just blocks away from the LA Holocaust Museum.

He started to laugh during the interview when Mr Morgan pressed him about why he tore down the posters.

“I got to be honest with you, I don’t really care about your subtle nuances or you thinking it’s all entertaining or you laughing,” Mr Morgan said.

Mr Elrefai tried to highlight the number of deaths in Gaza as a result of the conflict before the Sky News Australia host interrupted, saying those deaths had nothing to do with his actions in Los Angeles.

“What you are doing is shockingly insensitive and inappropriate and hurtful to the family members of those taken hostage, including many young children.”




Women tearing down hostage posters in NYC attack Jewish woman

NYC woman who tore down hostage flyers ranted ‘I’ll kill you Jews’ before attack, victim says

New York Crimes: Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters storm NYTimes building and accuse Biden of backing 'genocide' - after Hamas butchered 1,400 Israelis

Baby-faced vandals scrawl swastikas on NYC rooftops

Tensions flare on the streets of Melbourne after burger restaurant run by pro-Palestine owner burst into flames in 'suspicious' circumstances

Montreal town to issue $1,000 fines to people caught tearing down posters of kidnapped Israelis with proceeds going toward fighting Hamas - as tension mounts after shootings at two Jewish schools

Police to form Armistice Day 'ring of steel': Met Police chiefs cancel leave, extend overtime and draft in 1,000 more officers from across UK in desperate bid to head off trouble after giving green light to Gaza demos that clash with Remembrance

French model arrested for mocking report of baby burned by Hamas terrorists



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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 20 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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