Friday, November 17, 2023

11/17 Links Pt1: Israel’s strategic imperative; Hamas are cruelly turning hospitals into targets; MeToo unless you’re a Jew; Where are the yellow ribbons?

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Israel’s strategic imperative
Since Oct. 7, Israel has shown its operational competence and national determination. But it has also shown its utter subservience to the United States, a power widely perceived by the nations of the region as both waning and treacherous to its allies.

For its part, the Biden administration is openly subverting Israel’s campaign by demanding it resupply Hamas through so-called “humanitarian aid,” including fuel that Hamas openly diverts to its forces. The administration is also demanding that Israel end the war in a manner that will exact no price on the Palestinians for their bloodlust.

The administration’s demand that Israel abandon Gaza after the war; permit Hamas’s junior partner the Palestinian Authority to take over on the backs of IDF soldiers; and commit to the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem is a demand that Israel hand Hamas’s supporters and partners a strategic victory for their mass slaughter.

Last Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected this U.S. demand. In response, U.S. officials and former officials began briefing reporters that they seek the replacement of the government with “more moderate” actors. In other words, to secure a Palestinian strategic victory, the United States seeks to overthrow the Israeli government in the midst of war. Opposition leader Yair Lapid’s sudden announcement on Wednesday that he seeks to oust Netanyahu from power immediately indicated that the U.S. statements are part of a bid coordinated with Israel’s political left and disgruntled Likud MKs.

As to Lebanon, Netanyahu and the War Cabinet are reportedly abstaining from ordering a preemptive attack on Hezbollah’s strategic assets due to operational constraints, with the bulk of Israel’s forces concentrated in Gaza, and due to U.S. pressure. President Joe Biden and his top advisers have openly expressed their opposition to any significant IDF effort to degrade the existential threat Hezbollah poses.

The current state of affairs was easily anticipated by anyone watching the Biden administration’s open collusion with opposition forces that have sought to oust Netanyahu from power since the results of the November 2022 elections became known. And they were doubtlessly considered by Israel’s enemies as they gamed the current war in the months before Oct. 7.

Many, including Netanyahu, have argued that the strategic goal of Hamas’s invasion was to undermine the burgeoning peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the full economic and strategic integration of Israel into the region. He and others have argued that the success of that integration is contingent on Israel’s victory in the war. This is true.

But it is also true that Gaza is but one front—and the weakest front—in Iran’s war against Israel. If Israel lays waste to Hamas and Gaza but leaves the principal fronts intact, it will not gain deterrence because it will not have won. To win the war, Israel cannot end the war until it decimates Hezbollah’s strategic capacity to lay waste to the Jewish state through a combined missile assault and a ground invasion. And that, too, must be seen as a stepping stone to defeating Iran, either by enabling the Iranian people to overthrow the regime or by massively degrading Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities or both.

Helprin’s claim that Gaza is not an existential threat is wrong in one sense: The assault Israel suffered on Oct. 7 was so massive that it placed Israel’s ability to defend itself and survive in question. As a consequence, it is of existential importance for Israel to utterly wipe out Hamas. But to prove beyond any doubt that Israel will survive, it needs to deny Hezbollah and Iran the continued means to annihilate it. Any military outcome short of this will not be considered a victory where it matters—in the minds of Israel’s partners and enemies.
Seth Mandel: The Heroes of October 7
There is a remarkable story up at the Times of Israel today about Oz Davidian, an Israeli farmer who saved 120 people at the Nova music festival that was the site of a Hamas massacre on Oct. 7. When I first opened the article, I thought it was going to be about Youssef Ziadna, a Bedouin minibus driver I read about a couple weeks ago who saved 30 from that festival by responding to a call to pick up a customer from the event. Ziadna drove into Hamas’s attack and drove out with a minibus full of Jewish Israelis who are alive because of him.

Also today I received an email from an Israeli streaming service promoting the pilot episode of a new documentary series about Oct. 7. The show is called Heroes and the first episode is about Noam Tibon. Noam’s son, Amir, is a reporter for Haaretz whose story of survival on Oct. 7 has been featured in numerous press accounts since the attacks. They survived, in fact, because Noam Tibon, a retired IDF general, is one of the heroes of that dark day, helping to free his son’s kibbutz from the Hamas terrorists who had taken it.

I’ve known Amir for several years and am relieved anew each time I see a different telling of the story, and, reading about Ziadna and Davidian and the others sure to come out, I realized how common that feeling must be by now. This terrible tragedy is also a story of heroes and of survival—it is the story of the Jews.

Ziadna began that day driving a group to the outdoor concert at 1 a.m. He got a distress call from someone in that group five hours later and got back in his car. He thought, he told JTA, it was due to a rocket alarm, part of life as an Israeli in that part of the country. “I didn’t wash my face, I didn’t even get dressed. This is standard over here in the south.”

Once it became clear what was happening, Ziadna drove on through a hail of bullets, filled his car with terrified revelers, and drove off to safety as a machine-gun-firing Hamas paraglider floated above them. Four of Ziadna’s family members have been missing since the attack and a fifth—his cousin—was killed that day.
Arsen Ostrovsky: Hamas are cruelly turning hospitals into targets
In principle, each of these hospitals, which Hamas has totally usurped for purposes of shielding their fighters and weapons, and using them as control and command centers, lose their protected status under international law and become legitimate military targets.

Article 8(2) of the Rome Statute and Article 52(2) of the First Protocol to the Geneva Convention of 1949 both make clear that intentionally directing attacks against hospitals and medical locations, can only be permissible, provided there is a distinct military objective.

In this case, the military objective is clear and defined: to eliminate the threat of Hamas, which continues to use hospitals and other civilian areas in Gaza to plan and execute acts of terror against Israel, as well as rescue the 239 hostages that the terror group is holding captive.

However, merely because Hamas has seized hospitals as their own personal launching pads, does not give Israel carte blanche to automatically attack.

International humanitarian law also dictates that, in the event a decision is made to attack a hospital or such target that would otherwise hold special protected status, there must be sufficient advanced warning provided that goes unheeded, and then ultimately, if an attack should proceed, that it still adhere to the principles of proportionality.

In each case, Israel has been providing repeated warnings for civilians to evacuate and have created safe passages for them to do so. In circumstances where warranted, the IDF have even aborted what would otherwise be deemed legitimate military strikes. In the meantime, Israel continues to facilitate the provision of humanitarian goods and medical supplies into Gaza, and to the hospitals.

Quite simply, the IDF have gone to unprecedented lengths, not seen in the history of modern warfare, to avoid and minimize civilian casualties, whereas Hamas are doing everything possible to maximise casualties.

Having discharged its duty to provide ample warning, Israel is also adhering to the doctrine of proportionality, that is, should there be any potential loss of civilian life, that it not exceed the military advantage to be gained from such a strike or action.

The goal here is clear: eliminate Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that seeks Israel’s destruction, and bring back the hostages, following the heinous October 7th massacre.

If the international community truly cares about the wellbeing of civilians in Gaza and is rightfully aghast at the scenes coming out of Shifa, it would be well advised to direct its outrage at Hamas, which continues to unconscionably and illegally, turn hospitals into their personal control and command centers.


Who Is Committing Genocide?
China, Russia, and Iran
Hamas’ barbaric attack on Oct. 7, when the terrorist group gruesomely slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and seized over 200 hostages, most of them civilians, has brought the issue of genocide to the forefront of global attention. The attack, which was the largest massacre of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust, summoned all the old traumas of anti-Jewish hatred and pogroms. President Biden spoke of the “sheer evil” of the Hamas butchery, which included the beheading of infants and small children, the murder of entire families in their homes, the rape and murder of women, and the mowing down of hundreds of young people as they ran screaming from a music festival. At a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rightly called Hamas “the new Nazis” and compared Israeli children trying to escape Hamas gunmen to Anne Frank and other young Jews who “hid in attics” during the Holocaust.

Shockingly, though, and almost incomprehensibly, there’s been a global eruption of protests charging that it is Israel, not Hamas, that’s guilty of committing genocide. Demonstrations across the United States were organized by a campaign called Stop the Gaza Genocide, and there was even a demonstration at the U.S. Capitol organized by a leftist group shamefully named the Jewish Voice for Peace where the signs read “Jews say stop the genocide of Palestinians.” The U.N. human rights official Craig Mokhiber, known for repeatedly charging Israel with genocide, said he was resigning his position because the U.N. was “once again” showing itself powerless to stop genocide in Gaza, while the congressional “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib attacked President Biden for supporting “the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

The accusation of genocide against Israel serves a number of purposes for Israel’s opponents. Gerard Baker said that what is “especially malignant” about the use of the term genocide against Israel is that those propagating it know full well “its resonance in the history of the Jewish people, and they use it deliberately to equate what happened to the Jews at the hands of the Nazis with a military action today that is justified in self-defense.” He called this a form of Holocaust denial since it is “explicitly reducing the Holocaust to the level of a regrettable byproduct of a legitimate military campaign.” Accusing Israel of genocide is a way to delegitimize that military campaign, thereby denying Israel the right of self-defense.

But most important, turning the charge of genocide against Israel also hides the fact that it is Hamas and not Israel that indisputably stands in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The convention defines as genocide “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” (emphasis added). Israel has repeatedly made clear that its intent is to destroy Hamas, not Palestinian civilians. It has called upon civilians to leave the war zone, repeatedly paused its offensive, and opened “humanitarian corridors” that have allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee south. It’s true, of course, that thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, but that is because Hamas has embedded itself deeply into the civilian infrastructure, using civilians as human shields and firing rockets from schools and hospitals. The Al-Shifa Hospital is the most egregious example of a hospital that doubles as a command center sitting atop fuel reserves, and an important part of the vast tunnel network that is used to store weapons and move fighters and resources. The Geneva Conventions regulating the conduct of armed conflict are quite clear that hospitals lose their legal protection if they’re used for military purposes. International law distinguishes between war and war crimes, and it is Hamas that is committing war crimes in ruthlessly using civilians to protect its fighters.

It is also Hamas that demonstrated genocidal intent in the atrocities committed during the slaughter on Oct. 7, which Yossi Klein Halevi has called “a pre-enactment of Hamas’s genocidal vision.” If the jubilation Hamas terrorists displayed in videos of their savage acts that they proudly posted online were not sufficient proof of genocidal intent, the organization’s founding charter (adopted in 1988) stands as the most unequivocal expression of genocidal intent of any government, institution, or political movement in the world.


David French: There Should Be More Public Pressure on Hamas
The overwhelming weight of domestic, international and diplomatic protests against Israel turn this system upside-down. They place political pressure against Israel’s military resolve and — crucially — diminish the chances of legal accountability for the Hamas leaders and commanders who planned and executed a grossly illegal and brutal attack.

These protests also play directly into Hamas’s illegal military strategy. The entire reason for embedding in a civilian population is to make it impossible for others to respond to terror attacks without endangering or killing civilians, and an armed force that is almost certainly unable to prevail in direct combat with the I.D.F. utterly depends on outside forces demanding that Israel stops its attacks.

In addition, these protests are reverberating across the world in the absence of proof of Israeli war crimes (Amnesty International claims there is “damning evidence” of war crimes in several Israelis strikes, and those claims should be thoroughly investigated). The civilian deaths in Gaza are utterly horrific, but they are not on their face proof of I.D.F. wrongdoing. The fact is we don’t yet have the necessary information to adjudicate Israeli strikes, and the existence of civilian casualties is not proof of Israeli war crimes any more than the existence of civilian casualties in any of America’s numerous urban battles in Iraq is proof of American war crimes.

At the same time, it’s important to repeat that Israel has a legal and moral obligation to prevent unnecessary civilian suffering even as it exercises its right of self-defense. Its actions in Gaza should be scrutinized, both now and after the war. Any war crimes should be exposed and prosecuted. Moreover, as I’ve said before, not everything that’s legal is also moral. Israel should hold itself to a high standard, and it is acceptable for the United States and its allies to hold Israel to the same standards it applies to their own military actions abroad.

If the goal, however, is to end civilian suffering, the best course of action is for Hamas to release its hostages, and for its military forces to lay down their arms. That is the solution that is by far more in line with the entire postwar legal structure designed to end or limit armed conflict, and that should be the primary object of international pressure.
Eve Barlow: Where are the yellow ribbons?
November 1979. In the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, 52 Americans were taken hostage by Iranian students. They were held in captivity for 444 days. For more than a year, the American public became more and more passionate about bringing the hostages home, and to show their support for them and their families, they wore and posted yellow ribbons. The ribbons represented a hope by Americans everywhere for the safe return of people just like them.

It was such a big movement there was even the reprise of a song – “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” – covered by both Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra to fuel the moment. Where are they now? (Well, Frank’s dead but you get my point).

Over 40 years later, we have no yellow ribbons for the nine American hostages in Gaza. Why is that? Are they not just like us? A few days ago, someone asked me if the antisemitism in America is just ignorance or if something more odious is going on. I said it’s a bit of both. There’s an overwhelming ignorance about the war in Gaza and why Israel has to disarm and eradicate Hamas, but the lack of empathy for these nine American hostages, specifically, stems from something a lot more odious. The Jewishness of these hostages, and the fact that they were taken when in Israel, has cancelled out their nationality. They are no longer American. They belong elsewhere - back to where they came from, you could say. What ancient antisemitic rhetoric that is. You see, the American hostages are not real Americans. Because they’re Jews.

In Dara Horn’s “People Love Dead Jews”, she talks about the myth of Ellis Island. Horn demonstrates that the nice and sort of clumsy story told to generations of American children - that their grandparents and great grandparents had their names changed by clerks at Ellis Island – is just another case of non-Jews and participating Jews creating stories to try and soften the realities of antisemitism in places we would like to believe it doesn’t exist. It is not true that the clerks misspelled the names, or haphazardly changed them on the Jews’ entry into the land of milk and honey and equal assimilated opportunity. Oh no.

The Jews who came to America didn’t want to admit that in some ways their new neighbors were as hostile as the ones in the places they fled from. Name-changing became a trade-off and a strategy for survival in an America that was often intolerant to the Jews. And the truth is that the Jews who found themselves starting from scratch faced unspeakable challenges and changed their names to find jobs, to prevent their children from being discriminated against, and to give themselves a shot at success.

And succeed the American Jews did. American Jews became leaders in every industry, their names are proudly displayed on donated buildings in America’s top institutions. American Jews have held positions in some of the most prestigious places in every state. And yet, the ignoring of our nine American hostages takes us back to Ellis Island where we were just Jews. Not Americans. Jews. Jews who face an intolerance towards us that is, dare I say it, also American. If antisemitism wasn’t American, then where are the yellow ribbons for the nine American hostages in the tunnels of hell in Gaza?


UN official causes uproar over claim that Israel doesn't have right to defend itself against Hamas terrorists
The U.N. special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory claimed this week that Israel does not have a right to self-defense against Hamas under international law and accused the country of committing "war crimes."

The comments from Francesca Albanese came Tuesday during an address to the National Press Club of Australia, when she deemed Israel's right to self-defense "non-existent" under international law as she took aim at the war-torn country for its "unrelenting bombardment of Gaza" and other actions.

Israel, according to Albanese, cannot claim a right to self-defense because they are not under threat from another state.

"Israel cannot claim the right of self-defense against a threat that emanates from a territory it occupies, from a territory that is under belligerent occupation," Albanese said from the event in Canberra, Australia.

"What Israel was allowed to do was to act to establish law and order, to repel the attack, neutralize whomever was carrying out the attacks and then proceed with law and order measures ... not waging a war," she added.

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, slammed Albanese's comments, saying they go "hand-in-hand with all her other legally-indefensible claims" surrounding the conflict.

"Starting from October 7th until now, no major U.N. actor has said plainly that Israel has a right of self-defense. This is despite the fact that the U.N. Charter unambiguously declares every U.N. member has the inherent right of self-defense," Bayefsky claimed in an email to Fox News Digital. "In the deafening silence, anti-Israel and antisemitic extremists hiding under the titles of U.N. 'experts,' have gone on the offensive and proclaimed that Israel has no U.N. Charter right of self-defense against the barbaric Palestinian terrorists who slaughtered and butchered their people. The Nazis said the same thing of their Jewish victims."

"Albanese’s abhorrent remarks go hand-in-hand with all her other legally-indefensible claims, such as defending a Palestinian 'right to resist' that 'requires violence.' Likewise, Navi Pillay, head of a U.N. so-called ‘Commission of Inquiry’ against Israel created back in 2021, has repeatedly spoken since October 7th of a Palestinian right of 'armed struggle.' These aren’t misguided lawyers. They are champions of hate, of antisemitism, of lethal violence against the Jewish people. It is an atrocity that they are given U.N. titles and a global platform of any kind at all," Bayefsky added.
United Nations props up ‘dangerous woman’ making disturbing claims on Israeli war
Sky News Digital Editor Jack Houghton has labelled United Nations Special Rapporteur for Palestine Francesca Albanese “dangerous” after her address at the National Press Club.

The UN expert tried to make a legal framework for why Israel was wrong to respond to the crimes of Hamas.

“Albanese, who is supposed to be an impartial observer and advocate for the region, made the case that Israel is an occupier, therefore, has no jurisdiction for retaliation,” Mr Houghton said.

“This woman is dangerous and the fact the UN props her up and our National Press Club books her as a speaker is absolutely insane.

“Not only were Albanese's comments appalling and widely condemned by the Jewish community, they were actually fundamentally revealing.”


UNRWA head: Philippe Lazzarini: Israel's massacre in Gaza leads to Nakba-like exodus
It is crucial that we express our profound outrage at the appalling massacre that has unfolded in Israel. No civilian should ever become a hostage or be reduced to a mere bargaining chip. However, it is both irresponsible and insincere to indiscriminately accuse all Gazans in order to justify violations of international humanitarian law. Such a practice undermines the painstaking efforts of the international community to establish that every conflict must have its boundaries.

The widening of collective punishment to encompass all civilians in Gaza, extending even to the West Bank where Palestinian farming communities are being unjustly uprooted from their homes and lands, based solely on their Palestinian identity, poses a haunting threat. It has the potential to plunge the entire region into an unfathomable abyss. The ramifications of the war in Gaza may reverberate far beyond its borders, igniting an inferno that engulfs the entire area. As I pen these words, Israeli forces are coercing those who find themselves stranded in northern Gaza, often the most vulnerable individuals unable to relocate for their own safety, to flee southward. Tragically, bombings and strikes continue to claim lives, leaving the southern region dangerously unprotected. What lies in store for the more than 2 million Palestinians trapped within the confines of this cramped southern enclave?

They now face an uncertain future, confined to a small area, compelled to seek refuge in the southwest, where they have been promised water and food by the UN. This dire situation should never have come to pass. For both Palestinians and experts well-versed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the current exodus bears an unsettling resemblance to the original displacement of approximately 750,000 individuals from their towns and villages in 1948 – a traumatic event known as the Nakba.

This week, several Israeli politicians have unabashedly called for a recurrence of such a tragedy, a sentiment that has deeply resonated throughout the region. However, these measures being taken will not yield the cherished peace and stability that both Israelis and Palestinians yearn for and deserve. Razing entire neighborhoods to the ground, regardless of the residents who call them home, cannot serve as a viable solution to the abhorrent acts committed by Hamas. On the contrary, it risks plunging the region into a harrowing chapter of darkness. The International Criminal Court holds the jurisdiction to examine and pass judgment on the alleged war crimes; crimes against humanity; and acts of genocide committed by both sides. It is imperative that the responsible individuals are held accountable for their actions.

Until that crucial moment arrives, we must urgently strive to mitigate the ongoing crisis. Immediate activation of a humanitarian ceasefire is necessary, alongside the removal of the blockade imposed upon Gaza, permitting unobstructed access for continuous and meaningful humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. These vital measures are not only equitable and essential for the civilians residing in Gaza, but also for the well-being of civilians in Israel. It is vital to remember that the children tragically lost in Gaza were not “terrorists,” “inhuman creatures,” or “people to be erased.” Like all children, they brimmed with life, dreams, and aspirations. This massacre must cease immediately, for it represents our final opportunity to salvage what remains of our shared humanity. – Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general


Israel won't accept ceasefire in Gaza without mass release of hostages

Mission Brief: The Official Podcast of the IDF: International Law and the War Against Hamas - with an IDF Legal Officer
In this week's Mission Brief, we're joined by an IDF officer from the International Law Department. He explains the steps the IDF takes to ensure compliance with the laws of war, and some of the biggest misconceptions around the legal aspects of the war against Hamas.




Joe Rogan: Ex-CIA Operative Mike Baker Gives His Analysis on the Israel-Hamas War



WATCH: Israeli officer hunts down terrorist, foiling mass terror attack

Israeli killed, five hurt in terror shooting near Jerusalem

IDF recovers body of second Israeli hostage near Shifa Hospital in Gaza

Israeli education minister plans ‘Yad Vashem-like’ Oct. 7 memorial

MeToo unless you’re a Jew
After accompanying British troops as they liberated Bergen-Belsen in April 1945, Richard Dimbleby produced one of the most viscerally horrifying — and powerful — dispatches in the BBC’s history. “I find it hard to describe adequately the horrible things that I’ve seen and heard,” he began, “but here unadorned are the facts.”

His language was spare, his descriptions factual — and yet, his bosses didn’t want to broadcast the report. A compromise was only reached after he threatened to resign and his script was cut in half. The reason, his son Jonathan later revealed, was that “the BBC needed more sources to support what had happened to Jews and worried that if you mentioned one group of people and not others, it might seem biased or wrong”.

The events of October 7 do not compare to the Holocaust, but a similar reluctance to consider both its primary victims remains. We see it in the defaced posters of kidnapped Israelis by people who claim they are “propaganda”, in the antisemitic disinformation peddled online, and in the weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations that fail to call out Hamas’s terrorism. But perhaps most peculiarly, we also see it in the silence of organisations and activist groups dedicated to fighting for women’s safety.

After Hamas terrorists set about murdering, raping and abducting as many women as they could, one might have expected widespread condemnation from the West’s feminist groups. After all, Hamas had provided enough evidence of its crimes — within hours, they were posting footage of abducted young women in bloodied trousers being paraded around Gaza. Even beforehand, its feminist credentials were hardly glowing: it mandates the hijab, has made it illegal to travel without a male guardian, and refused to ban physical or sexual abuse within the family.

The response among the majority of groups committed to ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) was threefold: to keep quiet, to disbelieve the victims, or to insinuate they deserved their fate. In the words of 140 American “prominent feminist scholars”, to stand in solidarity with Israeli women is to give in to “colonial feminism”.

Here in the UK, this approach is perhaps best embodied in the work of Sisters Uncut, a charity that boasts its own “Feministo” committed to “taking direct action for domestic violence services”. Until this month, the activists’ work has generally taken the form of media-savvy stunts: dyeing the water of Trafalgar Square’s fountains red, setting off rape alarms outside police stations, occupying the roofs of council buildings. Yet all paled in comparison to the demonstration it organised earlier this month: a call for Israel to put down its weapons that ultimately shut down London’s Liverpool Street Station.

Afterwards, the charity issued a 600-word statement, filled with references to “apartheid”, “genocide” and disproved reports that the IDF had bombed Gaza’s Al-Ahli hospital. There was no mention, however, of the 239 abducted Israelis, roughly 100 of whom are believed to be women, or the sexual assaults that took place on October 7. When journalist Hadley Freeman pointed out this wasn’t terribly feminist of them, the group responded by claiming reports of Hamas’s sex attacks amounted to “the Islamophobic and racist weaponisation of sexual violence”. Towards the end of their rambling statement, they concluded: “no people would ever accept being murdered, humiliated, dispossessed, racially targeted, oppressed, cleansed, exiled and colonised without resisting.”

Other feminist groups fell into a similar victim-blaming step. Southall Black Sisters, another charity committed to ending violence against women, did at least mourn the loss of life on both sides, but blamed it on “the Israeli government’s declaration of war on Gaza”. Elsewhere, Women for Women UK, which specialises in helping “women survivors of war” and calls itself a “non-partisan organisation”, has decided to raise money only for Palestinian women. Even Women’s Place UK, once viewed as an outlier for its brave campaigning for women-only spaces, decided to call for an “immediate ceasefire” without mentioning sexual violence.




Nitsana Darshan-Leitner: The Hamas sexual pogrom and the deafening silence of the world’s feminist movements

Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Hamas’ mass terror attack became personal

Gaza Laborers’ Troubling Role in the Pogrom

RHONYC star's plastic surgeon husband offers FREE services to victims of Hamas' barbaric attack on Israel and anti-Semitic hate-crimes saying 'we want to feel like we are doing something'

Truck dashcam footage shows farmer dodging bullets as he saved 120 from music festival

Survivor of Hamas' attack shares terrifying survival story
A survivor of Hamas’ attack, Ariel Ein-Gal, has sat down with Sky News host Erin Molan and recounted the horrific details of the incident which killed hundreds of people.

Mr Ein-Gal was camping on a beach in southern Israel near the Gaza border with friends when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.

He recalled how he and his friend were woken up to loud banging and sirens.

“At first we saw two boat containers so we hid there for 20-30 min and afterwards we saw three boats coming in our direction, at first we didn’t know who those boats were, we thought maybe it was our navy," he told Sky News host Erin Molan.

“They started shooting at us and we realised that this was Hamas terrorist so we screamed to everyone, 'terrorist, run'.

“We ran as east as we could as far we could from the beach until we got to a nearby military base."




Rabbi Shmuley torches narrative of Israel occupying Gaza
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says Hamas is an "abomination to Islam" as even the State of Palestine President is afraid of going to Gaza.

The Rabbi joined a panel with Muslim philosopher, scholar and YouTuber Mohammed Hijab to debate Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

“They (Hamas) won an election in 2006, had a civil war with Mahmoud Abbas (State of Palestine President), they took the Palestinian officials, threw them off buildings,” Rabbi Shmuley told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan.

“Mahmoud Abbas is afraid to go to Gaza, he is terrified of Hamas, he hasn’t been there since 2007.

“Hamas is an abomination to Islam.”




Ben Shapiro: A Generation of Bin Laden Fans
The TikTok generation discovers Osama Bin Laden’s letter to America – and they’re into it; the media label Donald Trump Hitler after another intemperate comment at a rally, then do the same to Elon Musk – even while they downplay the atrocities of Hamas; and pro-Hamas protesters get violent in Washington D.C.


'Idiocy’: Douglas Murray on TikTok users praising Osama bin Laden's ‘Letter to America’
Author Douglas Murray has blasted young social media users for sharing and praising Osama bin Laden’s 2002 ‘Letter to America’.

The ‘Letter to America’ detailing the former Al Qaeda leader's justifications for the 9/11 attacks was shared millions of times on TikTok.

“The parents of these kids of young people have completely failed, they’ve completely failed to educate their children in any way whatsoever,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

“These children have become these empty-headed, empty vessels in which any ignorance it seems can pour.

“I’m amazed by this like there aren’t many things I feel like I can still be amazed by.

“The staggering idiocy of these people is just legion.”


Megyn Kelly: The “Disgusting” Media Continues to Not Care About Israel, with Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz
Megyn Kelly is joined by Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz, authors of "Stolen Youth,” to discuss the media’s dishonesty about Israel, labeling Israel’s military as “terrible,” the different conspiracy theories and false narratives they continue to report, Al Jazeera’s propaganda, and more.


1 in 10 American Jews Showed Up in D.C. on a Tuesday to Stand for Israel

Washington Free Beacon: A Tale of Two Protests
Two very different groups of protesters marched on Capitol Hill this week: 1) Israel supporters who sang and prayed for the victims of Hamas terrorists, and 2) Hamas supporters who chanted anti-Semitic invective and assaulted a police officer—injuring several others—while attempting to barricade the Democratic Party headquarters.


Israel-Hamas conflict bringing out a ‘violent and angry’ section of Democratic Party
Political journalist John Fund says the Israel-Hamas conflict has brought out a “violent and angry” section of the Democratic Party who are pro-Palestinian.

“They are now asserting themselves and they’re about 20 in the Democratic House Caucus that will vote against measures opposed to Hamas,” Mr Fund told Sky News host James Morrow.

“The rest of the party is terrified that the American people will see that the Democratic Party is identifying with these people or not disciplining them."

Mr Fund’s remarks come after protesters clashed with law enforcement outside the Washington headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.

“That is why I think they had to shut down the DMC protest because if they didn’t there would be another protest the next day,” he said.


What I Saw at London's Palestine Rally Frightened Me - James Lindsay
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to James Lindsay about his recent experience walking through a "Free Palestine" rally in London; whether pro-Palestinian protesters made any effort to distinguish between supporting Palestinians and Hamas; why the presence of the Socialist Workers Party of the U.K. exposes a connection between the far Left and Islamists; why people should be willing to risk losing something in order to stand up for their beliefs and to expose the injustices they see; his transition from being a liberal atheist to finding common cause with conservative religious people; and why taking personal responsibility is key to creating a better future.


SpectatorTV: Labour's Gaza split & Sunak's Cameron gamble – The Week in 60 Minutes
Freddy Gray is joined by Sir John Redwood MP and Baroness Kate Fall, former advisor to David Cameron to discuss Rishi Sunak’s major reshuffle. Will his gamble pay off? Also on the show, The Spectator's politics correspondent James Heale and former Corbyn strategist discuss whether Keir Starmer has lost control of his party over pressure to call for a ceasefire in Gaza; Kate Andrews explains why halving inflation figures aren't a reason to celebrate and Jean Twenge joins with Louise Perry to discuss why smartphones are making our kids anxious and depressed.

00:00 Welcome from Freddy Gray
02:53 Will Rishi Sunak’s gamble pay off? With Sir John Redwood and Baroness Kate Fall
19:44 Is Keir Starmer losing control of his party? With Carl Shoben and James Heale
33:23 Are the inflation figures a cause for celebration? With Kate Andrews
45:03 Are smartphones making children anxious and depressed?


All In Podcast: E153: In conversation with Jared Kushner: Israel-Hamas War, paths forward, macro picture, AI
(0:00) Bestie Intros: Sacks keeps receipts!
(1:14) Jared Kushner joins the show: background, Trump's campaign validation
(13:12) State of Israel vs Hamas, escalation risks
(23:04) Historical context around Israel's relationship with the Arab world, understanding the modern Middle East
(38:55) Failed solutions, Israel's response, paths to stability
(1:04:54) GOP debate, establishment blind spots, pragmatic politics, tribal infighting
(1:15:36) Improving macro picture, potential impact on 2024 election cycle
(1:28:03) Russia-Ukraine
(1:32:53) Big week in AI: OpenAI DevDay, xAI launches Grok, Kai-Fu Lee's announcement


The Israel Guys: EXPOSING Hamas For Who They REALLY Are | EPISODE #1
Hamas. Most would agree they are a monstrous terrorist group whose sole mission is to kill as many Jews as possible, with the ultimate goal of eradicating the nation of Israel. After the horrific massacre that the world was witness to on October 7th, 2023, where 1,400 Jews were tortured, raped, mutilated and then murdered, and 243 civilians taken hostage, the world’s sympathies lay squarely with Israel….but not for long.

After a few unbelievable days of bi-partisan support for Israel from people all over the world, the narrative quickly shifted.

The time has come to cut through the fog of propaganda so that we can discover the truth that has been in the shadows for years. Hamas is not a militant group, they are not freedom fighters, and they certainly have no “right” to murder and torture anyone.

The time has come to expose Hamas for who they really are.


The Israel Guys: The IDF Just Captured The Gaza Harbor | UPDATE On Israel’s War With Hamas
The IDF just captured the Gaza harbor, thwarting Hamas plans to infiltrate Israel by sea.

The IDF is also beginning to release photos and videos from inside the Shifa hospital, showing Hamas weapons inside what is purported to be the terrorist’s main command center.

And an absolutely disgusting lie from the BBC


Hamas is not just a threat to Israel, says European Parliament member
Member of the European Parliament, Assita Kanko says Hamas is not just a threat to Israel but to the Jewish community worldwide.

“Hamas is not only a threat to Israel, it's also a threat to women, it's a threat to all Jews worldwide because it's based on radical Islam,” she told Sky News host Erin Molan.

“It's completely absurd that we need to convince people that they have to fight for this, but usually they will support migrants who are not integrating, who are not defending our values, but supporting Hamas.

“For example, or other conditions and Sharia elements just because they want to have the votes.

"But politics should be about ideas, not about complying with the opposite of our freedom.”




‘LA Times,’ accused of Jew-hatred in past, calls for ceasefire in editorial

Batya Ungar-Sargon on Antisemitism in America
Batya Ungar-Sargon, Opinion Editor for Newsweek, and author of "Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy," talks with Matt about the rise of Antisemitism in America. They discuss the Ben Shapiro vs. Candace Owens feud, comments by Tucker Carlson and Jason Whitlock, and more.




‘Just say yes’: Nasser Mashni ‘danced around’ Israeli hostage question
Sky News Digital Editor Jack Houghton says Nasser Mashni “danced around” a question on ABC’s Q+A asking if he would call for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.

On a Q+A episode on Monday, the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network boss was probed by host Patricia Karvelas before he finally conceded that the hostages should be released.

“Just say yes, the innocent civilians should be released. Is that not hard?” Mr Houghton said.

Mr Houghton reflected on the “trainwreck” episode which angered everyone from all sides of the debate.

“Nasser Mashni was a panelist, a decision which outraged the Australian Jewish community.”


Queensland Muslims ask for police protection over New Zealand far-right activist’s pro-Israel protest

Andrew Klavan: Are These Celebrities Terrorist Sympathizers?
The ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict has seemingly brought everybody and their mother out of the woodwork to voice their inane opinions on the matter. This particular handful of celebrity virtue signalers certainly surprised me with who they've chosen to support.


The Babylon Bee: Hamas Terrorist Explains Complex, Nuanced Goals In Palestinian Conflict
What exactly do Hamas terrorists want from Israel? It's complicated, but we try to get to the bottom of it in this interview with an actual, real-life Hamas spokesperson.


The Most Chilling Aspect of the Anti-Israel Demonstrations

Meet the American millionaire Marxists funding anti-Israel rallies

You Have the Right To Be Doxxed

Bennet Staffer Demands Ceasefire Against Hamas

'Deliberate insult to UK!' Colonel Kemp’s outrage at 'vile' thugs desecrating memorials

Lord Walney: The marches are fuelling a highly intimidatory atmosphere for Jews in Britain

Anti-Israeli group gives out NYC map calling for 'direct action' on Jewish-linked landmarks - as city blasts 'hateful rhetoric' and alerts the NYPD

At least 50 protesters arrested after Bay Bridge in San Francisco is SHUT DOWN by hundreds calling for Gaza ceasefire amid APEC summit

Veterans condemn police response to pro-Palestine marchers who 'desecrated' a war memorial in London after officers stood by and watched protesters scale the monument



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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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