Wednesday, January 03, 2024

01/03 Links Pt1: Israel Has Committed No War Crimes—Hamas Has; The Hamasification of the Red Cross; US Intel Confirms Hamas Used Shifa Hospital

From Ian:

Alan Dershowitz: Israel Has Committed No War Crimes—Hamas Has
This brings us to the law of war. The only requirement of proportionality under international law is that when combatants are targeted in areas where civilians are present, the value of the military target must be proportional to the number of anticipated civilian deaths. This highly subjective judgment can’t be the basis of a war-crime prosecution, unless the judgment is utterly unreasonable. The 2-to-1 ratio is not only reasonable, but far better than that achieved by other armed forces facing comparable situations. Thus, were Israel to be prosecuted for violating the principle of proportionality, that would necessarily involve the application of a double standard against the Jewish state.

The charge of genocide made by South Africa is even less persuasive. Real genocides have taken place in the world today, especially in Africa. South Africa has been silent about these neighboring genocides. And it is weakening the term itself by selectively politicizing it against Israel. Gaza has grown in population during the period in which genocide is charged. Israel has provided health care to Gazans in need of Israeli hospitals. It provided high-paying jobs in Israel to thousands of Gazans. These aren’t the actions of a nation engaged in genocide.

Genocide is directed against an entire people, not just criminals and terrorists among them. To accuse Israel of genocide is to fail to distinguish between the legitimate military goal of ending a terrorist organization, such as Hamas, and the illegitimate goal of ending the existence of an entire ethnic or religious group.

The term genocide was coined to describe the Nazi effort to rid the world of all Jews. Accusing Israel of genocide is a form of Holocaust denial, since no one even suggests that Israel has extermination camps, gas chambers, or other mechanisms that exemplified the Holocaust. If Israel were to be found guilty of genocide, the very meaning of that horrible crime would be diluted beyond recognition. It would then apply to the US bombing of Hiroshima, the British bombing of Dresden, and the killing of civilians during the Afghan, Iraqi, and Syrian military actions.

Every civilian death in wartime is a tragedy, and Hamas knew it was signing the death warrants of many civilians when it attacked Israel and then hid its war machinery among Gaza’s civilian population. The death of a human shield is the legal and moral responsibility of those who deliberately placed civilians in harm’s way. Consider the following example: A bank robber starts shooting at customers. When the police arrive, the robber grabs one of the customers and uses her as a human shield. A policeman, in an effort to save the lives of customers, tries to shoot the robber. But the hostage suddenly makes a move, and then the policeman’s bullet hits and kills her. Under the law of every nation, it is the hostage taker, not the policeman who is guilty of killing the hostage, even though the bullet that killed her came from the policeman’s gun.

It is Hamas and its Iranian patrons that should be on trial, not the victims of Hamas barbarism.
US intelligence confirms Shifa hospital was Hamas command centre
US spy agencies verified Israeli claims that Hamas and another Palestinian terrorist group used Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as a command center and to hold hostages, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

In late November, the Israel Defense Forces released extensive video evidence of terror tunnels under Shifa Hospital—the Gaza Strip's largest medical facility—saying it “unequivocally" proves the modus operandi of Hamas, "which systematically operates from hospitals.”

The terrorist group held at least three of the estimated 240 hostages it kidnapped on October 7 at Shifa, the IDF said.

Nevertheless, critics continued to claim that the IDF had little evidence Hamas used the hospital as a command post.

"In the weeks since the operation, news organizations have continued to raise questions about Hamas’s presence at the hospital. And health and humanitarian organizations have criticized the Israeli operation. A humanitarian team led by the World Health Organization, which visited Al-Shifa immediately after Israeli forces stormed the hospital, called it a 'death zone,'" the Times reported.

But a senior US intelligence official said Tuesday that the American government was convinced that Hamas used the hospital complex to direct terrorist forces, store weapons and hold “at least a few hostages.”

The official also said US spy agencies had information that Hamas destroyed evidence before the IDF operation at the hospital got underway.
How Hamas covered its tracks in Gaza's Shifa Hospital before IDF's raid - NYT
Hamas terrorists took measures to prepare for the IDF's November raid of Shifa Hospital in Gaza by destroying documents and transferring hostages to an alternate location, according to intelligence documents obtained by The New York Times.

The report said that US intelligence found that Hamas destroyed technology and documents crucial to the organization's operation, with Shifa hospital as a home base.

US intelligence sources emphasized that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad used the hospital as a command center for terrorists in the field fighting against Israeli forces. This intelligence assessment was conducted after Israel insisted that Hamas had built a huge military compound under the hospital – which, according to the report, had become a "legitimate military target for Israel."

Hostages not located, but remains found nearby
While inside the hospital complex, the IDF did not find hostages but did find an arsenal of weapons behind medical equipment. The bodies of two murdered hostages were found surrounding the complex.

The IDF's findings at the Shifa hospital grounds indicated use of the space as a military compound, uncovering meters of tunnels complete with living rooms, kitchenettes, toilets, and other infrastructure.

The route of the tunnel, revealed after the shaft seen in the photographs published by the IDF spokesperson, passes under the building of the Qatari hospital located in the Shifa complex and is lined with electricity and communication infrastructure throughout.


Seth Mandel: The Hamasification of the Red Cross
At the ICRC, Krahenbuhl will work with Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric. Two years before Krahenbuhl joined UNRWA, Spoljaric was ending her tour there.

The revolving door between UNRWA and the Red Cross—both its president and director are now alumni of UNRWA—isn’t limited to the top jobs, either. On Twitter, a hawkeyed Israeli-American noticed that UNRWA commissioner Philippe Lazzarini had previously worked for the ICRC in Gaza, and found a few other such connections lower on the totem pole.

UNRWA operates nearly 300 schools in Gaza alone. Its textbooks are famously full of incitement against Jews. When the head of an Israeli education nonprofit visited one such school and asked the children what they learned, the students responded: “They teach us that the Zionists are our enemy and we must fight them,” and: “They teach us that [Jews] are bad people. They killed our young.” Haaretz’s Ronny Linder recently pointed out that education makes up the bulk of UNRWA’s spending in Gaza. And UNRWA teachers have been taking to Telegram to celebrate Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.

It’s no wonder, then, that the Red Cross has been such a mammoth disappointment during this conflict, ignoring the Israeli hostages for long stretches and helping Hamas cover up its use of hospitals for war crimes.

But the ICRC and UNRWA have two different reputations to manage. UNRWA is known for its rancid anti-Semitism, its self-sustaining system of funding patronage jobs by keeping Palestinians in refugee status, and its role as Hamas’s education ministry. That the Red Cross seems to be going down this same road is a genuine shame. UNRWA may be an irredeemable bastion of violence and hate, but the Red Cross is more than a subagency of Hamas. Or at least, it was.


JPost Editorial: What will happen to Gaza once the war is complete?
Last week, Gotliv said at the Knesset plenum that Israel needs to resettle in Gaza to teach the Palestinians a lesson.

"How can I embarrass it [my enemy]? I can conquer and settle the northern Strip,” she said. "We can settle there, we can rebuild this country, bring it back to its former glory... occupation is not a dirty word."

The far-right cacophony from Netanyahu’s allies that diametrically clashes with the positions of the US, as well as the consensus within Israel, is likely why the prime minister is pushing off discussion of the day after, going so far as to postpone a war cabinet meeting on postwar arrangements for the Gaza Strip, a delay which has reportedly frustrated the Biden administration.

Decisions can be delayed, but eventually, Netanyahu will have to seriously lead a vigorous debate on how to rehabilitate a post-war Gaza that will enable its residents to rebuild their lives and keep Israel secure.

Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Ofir Kunis told KAN Radio on Monday that he thinks a consensus within the government can be achieved with principles being that Israel would establish a buffer zone of two-three kilometers inside Gaza and that a Palestinian state would not be established.

That’s a basis for talks and discussion, not the shoot-from-the-hip bluster of Smotrich and Gotliv. For the good of the country, its ties with the US, and its future unity, Netanyahu must rein in those loudmouths and face the huge challenges facing Israel and Gaza before the day after.


How Israel's alleged assassination of al-Arouri ends an era for Hamas
Now it appears the Arouri era may be ending. He was a living embodiment of Hamas terrorist privilege. His ability to move around the region with ease was an example of how the genocidal terrorist group operated openly. Hamas exploited the region. With Iran’s backing and cash support, it was able to manipulate the region and also build up its massive terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.

Arouri was a key part of that machine. He was also able to network in Turkey, and most recently in Beirut to increase threats to Israel. Many media outlets in the region are now reflecting on the life of Arouri. Al-Ain media in the Gulf and Arab News both have put up articles discussing his life and his operations over the years.

The Arouri era is also marked by a period in which Hamas built up its capacity in Gaza. It came to rule the coastal enclave in 2007 and its leaders now relax abroad while they have helped Hamas in the Strip leverage its rule to become a regional terrorist threat. The October 7 attacks illustrated this. Although Hamas was much less influential in the 1990s, it was able to galvanize support even then.

For instance, Khaled Mashal was able to travel to Jordan during those years. Hamas leaders who were briefly exiled to Lebanon in the '90s by Israel received international support. However, the group was more isolated in the early 2000s during the Intifada.

Arouri’s role in the region was key to the group's expansion over the last decade, even though it was contained in Gaza. Hamas expanded in the region, and it got more legitimacy, which it has exploited after October 7. Arouri was a symbol of this attempt by Hamas to grow its influence, networking from Qatar to Turkey to Lebanon.


Israel official says no current talks with others on Palestinian emigration

After US censure, Smotrich repeats call to resettle Gazans

Blasts kill 200 as Iran marks three years since Soleimani killing Seth Frantzman: Were terrorists behind the explosions in Iran?
Indications of a planned attack
Iranian Tasnim News says that the explosion happened on a road leading to the Martyr’s Cemetery, which is east of the city of Kerman. The cemetery is described as a large sprawling area, surrounded by crags and hills on one side and a park and small forest on the other, according to the reports in Iranian media. Between these two areas resides a series of small streets.

Suddenly, an explosion occurred, and it was followed shortly by a second one. According to reports, several bags exploded. These were said to occur near the Qoli Bey Gate, and people were evacuated down the street nearby. Videos showed bodies in the street and people running away.

Initially, the explosion was thought to be an accidental blast. However, two explosions would point to a group being behind this deadly incident. Tasnim News claimed the “perpetrators of this incident apparently detonated the bombs by remote control.” Tasnim News also said that no senior IRGC members were present at the event.

A history of internal attacks
Iran has numerous groups that have various causes and reasons to dislike the regime. There are resistance groups in Ahvaz that support the Arab minority there and groups in Baloch province who demand rights for the Baloch. There are also Kurdish groups that want rights for Kurds in northwest Iran. In the past, Iran has also been the target of attacks by ISIS and Al Qaeda.

These numerous groups have carried out terror attacks within Iran in the past. In August, for instance, there was an attack at a Shi’ite Muslim shrine in Shiraz. There was also an attack in this area in October 2022, which ISIS claimed responsibility for. In 2018 there was a gunmen attack on a military parade in Ahvaz in which 25 people were killed. In 2010 suicide bombers carried out an attack on a Shi’ite Muslim funeral in Chabahar, killing 39 people. Reports blamed a Sunni group called Jundullah for the attack.

January 3rd marks the anniversary of Soleimani’s death. He was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020. Yesterday Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Beirut. Recently, Iranian IRGC officer Razi Mousavi was also killed in Syria.


Israeli hostage killed during attempted rescue in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces revealed on Wednesday that Sahar Baruch, who was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel, was killed during an attempted rescue operation last month in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF has been unable to determine the exact cause of Baruch’s death during the Dec. 8 operation.

Two Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded in the rescue mission, according to reports.

Kibbutz Be’eri on Dec. 9 announced that Baruch, 25, a resident of the border community, had died in Hamas captivity without providing additional details.

“We demand the return of his body as part of any hostage deal. We won’t stop until everyone is home,” kibbutz officials said in a statement at the time.

Hamas is still holding more than 120 hostages, although not all of them are believed to be alive. One hundred ten have been released, most in a ceasefire deal that Hamas violated on Nov. 28.


IDF checking possible terror tunnel near Hebron
The Israel Defense Forces are investigating a possible terrorist tunnel that soldiers discovered near Jewish communities in the Hebron Hills in Judea.

In a viral video shared to social media earlier this week, an IDF reservist claims that “after a long period in which residents of Telem and Adora in the West Hebron Hills heard digging noises,” troops were sent to inspect Palestinian structures in the area of Khirbet Tayibe.

“To our surprise, in addition to illegal construction, we found a tunnel here that looks exactly like the Hamas infrastructure we are familiar with from the Gaza Strip—only this is in the Palestinian Authority,” said the reservist.

The soldier then lowered himself some five meters (16.5 feet) into the shaft, revealing several subterranean chambers that could be used for hiding illegal weapons or terrorists.

The shaft was located a few hundred yards from Telem, a community of some 80 families northwest of Hebron.


IDF proof: Hamas, PIJ use young children for Gaza terror activities,
A large amount of evidence has been collected as part of the IDF's ongoing military campaign against Hamas in Gaza proving the indoctrination of children from a young age to hate Israel and Jews, as well as theoretical and practical military training.

The IDF published on Wednesday collated photos and videos showing children undergoing military training, posing with weapons, and even simulated drills in a mock tunnel.

It is also well documented by international organizations that Palestinian textbooks used in Gaza's schools, including those run by international agency UNRWA, contain antisemitic and anti-Israel tropes, and over the 16 years Hamas has been in power, hundreds of thousands of children have enrolled in the terror group's summer camps, where children are also taught learn to shoot weapons, fight against tanks and even kidnap soldiers. These camps are known as the early stages of training for Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. ID cards collected by the IDF also show children's membership in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Hamas continues using minors during war
Even during the ongoing war, when holding such training camps is impossible, Hamas continues to utilize those underage for various tasks, including sending children to deliver both messages and ammunition. Prior intelligence from the IDF of one Hamas commander in the "Zeytoun" Battalion has demonstrated the logic behind Hamas's use of children in war beyond indoctrination.

Children are used to transfer ammunition with the understanding that the IDF will not harm them due to the Israeli military's compliance with international law. Examples include the transfer of explosives in vegetable bags by children in Gaza and the sending of children to combat zones after attacks in order to assess the damage and report it to Hamas terrorists who are hiding in shelters.


Houthi terrorists meet Iranian officials, coordinate Middle East

Hamas Killed My Daughter. My Husband Is Still a Hostage
Tsachi cried, begging to figure out where his 18-year-old was bleeding from, exclaiming, "She's dying." I left Yael to see Maayan in a pool of blood. I felt her body, looking for the bullet wound, and understood then that it was too late. Maayan was shot in the head and was already dead. I looked at Tsachi and began crying.

The men took us out of the safe room and into the living room and set us on the floor. They took my phone and asked for my passcode. With it, they got into my Facebook account. Later, I would learn that Hamas live-streamed its attack that day on Facebook, using our smartphones. Family, friends, and others around the world watched Hamas' brutality and violence in real-time as they entered our home, started shooting, and killed our daughter.

Tsachi was now in deep shock, holding his head in his hands, his face without expression. He was one of the strongest people I know, but on that day, he was a broken man. The kids asked if their father was injured. I had to tell them that the blood on his hands was Maayan's and that she was dead.

Sirens informing us of incoming missiles from Gaza started whaling again. I sheltered my kids as best as I could and the men tried to reassure me, saying "They [Hamas] know where we are," and "They won't shoot missiles here, you are safe." Yael asked: "Why are you doing this?" and "Why did you kill my sister?" They responded, casually, saying "Don't worry. Your sister is with Allah."

Our home became a Hamas headquarters of sorts and an RPG launching pad. Nine men settled in and brought in another kibbutz family, the Mirans, who were now hostages with us. They were a family of four, a mother, father, two daughters, aged 2 years old and 10 months. Later, two more women joined us, a mother and her daughter.

At around noon, the men asked Tsachi and Omri, the Miran husband and father, to stand up. They were handcuffed with zip ties and taken away, barefoot. They would be taken to Gaza that day. Before Tsachi was taken away from us, I told him how much I loved him and implored him not to be a "hero" by taking dangerous risks. Our kids begged these men not to take their father away or to kill him. They responded in a matter-of-fact way, "It is okay, he will be back." We haven't heard a word from Tsachi since that fateful day.

Later that afternoon, at around 5:30 p.m., IDF soldiers came to rescue us. I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Maayan. Her body remained on the kibbutz until it was cleared from terrorists three days later and then it would be weeks more before we held her funeral. Maayan was a ray of light, a unicorn. How could anyone kill a unicorn? I wondered.

Almost three months later, the kids are still crying. They miss their father every day. My son only sleeps with me. The Red Cross hasn't visited Tsachi or any of the other hostages, we are told. But, our entire family and a community of friends that has embraced us is resolved to bring Tsachi home. I am doing everything in my power to bring him home alive and well. He's my husband, of course, and my better and stronger half. He has to live for our daughter Maayan, and be able to hug our living children again. He needs to come home.


Comfort among the mourners
The fact that my private mourning has a public effect hit home in a bigger way, a month after October 7th, when I attended a memorial and protest service at the Knesset. The organizers asked to bring signs, so I had a sign printed that included Hayim’s photo and a description of his many occupations. I invited friends to come along and hold them with me. The colorful sign, designed by my CWJ co-worker Rachel Stomel, came out so well that I felt a bit like an over-achiever, but holding it felt good. I needed my grief to be recognized. A steady stream of people approached me at the event, sharing how they had also lost friends and family in Holit. Others had been Hayim’s students at the pre-army academy where he taught, his academic colleagues, journalists, and people who knew me from online spaces.

But I was most moved by what happened afterward while waiting with my friends at the bus stop. The ten or so people waiting noticed the signs with Hayim’s picture and began to ask questions, listening intently as I told them about his life. They stood in a half circle around me. A woman I didn’t know who had attended the memorial sat next to me on the bench and clutched my hand.

“Who is he named after?” asked one woman. (My mother’s father, Hayim Yisrael).

After I mentioned that my father was a Holocaust survivor from Poland, she asked,“What hasidut was your father from?”

“Gur” (Gerrer), I replied.

“I knew it!” she said.

A young haredi woman and her husband approached before continuing down the street. “Our apartment in Netivot suffered a direct hit,” she said. “I feel for you.” The bus never did show up.

I saw a comment by someone who confided that he envies people who lost family members in the massacre. I completely understand. In a way, carrying that sign, whether the physical sign or the permanent one in my heart, is a privilege. Some of those people at the bus stop, particularly the haredim, might not have had another way to feel connected. Carrying my sign around, whether figuratively or literally, comforts me and, so it seems, comforts others.

In truth, all of us in Israel, along with Jews around the world, are in mourning. We all need comfort. Hamas didn’t attack Hayim personally because of who he was, or even in spite of the fact that he was a peace activist. (Unfortunately, some people have coopted his memory in order to justify a hateful agenda against all Arabs.) Hamas attacked Hayim because he was a Jew and an Israeli. In that way, those terrorists who killed him attacked us all. We are all mourning, not only for the 1,200 who were killed, for our fallen soldiers, and, I hope, for the innocent Palestinians on both sides who have been killed. We mourn our sense of security, the faith in our government’s ability to protect us, and the happy times we enjoyed before October 7.

May we all be comforted among the mourners of Jerusalem and Zion.


The Commentary Magazine Podcast: Israel’s Choices, Harvard’s Corruptions
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
Dan Senor joins today’s podcast to talk about the major developments in Israel over the past few weeks—the assassination of a top Hamas terrorist in Lebanon and the Supreme Court’s overturning of judicial reform there. Then we get to the larger meaning of Claudine Gay’s resignation from Harvard.


Does Israel target civilians?

"You're Putting Words In My Mouth" - Mustafa Barghouti vs Douglas Murray And Colonel Kemp
The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has once again ignited a heated debate between two prominent figures, former British Army Colonel Richard Kemp, and Mustafa Barghouti who is the Palestinian National Initiative Leader.

The fiery debate on Piers Morgan Uncensored was guest hosted by Douglas Murray, with all three expressing their contrasting views on the recent killing of the deputy head of Hamas in Beirut.

Their clash highlighted the complex nature of the conflict, with arguments revolving around the right to defend oneself, civilian casualties, and accusations of white supremacy.

Mustafa Barghouti at one point accused Colonel Richard Kemp of putting words in his mouth.




Caroline Glick: David Goldman: US Has Made Grotesque and Catastrophic Errors
Has US foreign policy made the world more unstable? Should Israel seek military independence from its most trusted ally?

Caroline Glick interviews author and Spiegler columnist David Goldman to discuss how America's mistakes in almost every aspect of its foreign policy (China, Iran, Ukraine, Afghanistan, etc.) has caused its power to wane globally. He also delineates the steps that Israel needs to take to strengthen its position and come out of Oct. 7th stronger than ever.


Pence Heads to Israel for Meetings on Gaza War
Former vice president Mike Pence is heading to Israel on Wednesday to meet with the Jewish state's leadership and survey the country's war effort against the Iran-backed Hamas terror group, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

Pence will take off Wednesday and spend about a week touring war sites in Israel's southern territory, as well as its northern border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah militants—also backed by Iran—have been increasing their cross-border attacks and threatening to open up a new front in the war.

The former vice president's trips will likely overlap with an upcoming visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, though it is expected the two statesmen will carry different messages to the Israeli government. The Biden administration's top diplomat has been leaning on Israel to quickly end the war and pump aid into the embattled Gaza Strip, even though aid dollars are known to be stolen by Hamas. Pence, on the other hand, will carry a message of U.S. solidarity with Israel's military, which is working to eradicate Hamas and secure the Jewish state's borders.

"Now more than ever the United States must show our support for our most cherished ally, Israel, and we must continue to stand by them as they wage war on Hamas after the brutal terrorist attack on the Israeli people," Pence told the Free Beacon ahead of the trip. "As long as I have a voice I'll use it call on America to continue to be the leader of the free world, to stand with our allies against the dark regimes of our time, and make it clear that the American people will stand with the people of Israel today, tomorrow, and every day as they do what needs to be done to hunt down and destroy Hamas, once and for all."


Released Israeli Hostage REVEALS The Truth About Hamas Captors
After spending more than 50 days in captivity in Gaza, all the while suffering from a largely untreated gunshot wound in her arm, Mia Shem gave an interview to Israeli television, telling the world what it was like to be a hostage of Hamas. Her bottom line? Everyone in Gaza is a terrorist. There are no innocents.

In case you don’t want to believe her however, there are even more reports, from IDF soldiers, confirming her words. We’re going to dive into all of that on today’s show.


The Israel Guys: Top Hamas Leader ELIMINATED - Good Riddance!
A top Hamas leader was eliminated yesterday by Israel in Beirut, Lebanon. And in another good riddance, Harvard’s highly esteemed president, Claudine Gay resigned.

Also some epic footage of the Israeli Air Force taking out terrorists with UAVs.




Rabbi Accuses Utah Jazz of Making Him Put Down ‘I’m a Jew And I’m Proud’ Sign After Kyrie Irving Complaint

Anti-Israel activists planning one of the biggest demonstrations since Hamas terror attack
Anti-Israel activists are planning one of the biggest demonstrations since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 later this month in London.

The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) along with Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Al-Aqsa, the Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament are organising ‘a global day of action’ on January 13.

The JC understands coaches are being laid on for activists from various cities including Birmingham in an attempt to generate the highest attendance possible. Demonstrations are also being planned in various towns and cities across the UK.

Calls have now been issued urging the Metropolitan Police to ban the planned demonstrations. Anti-Israel protests over the last few months have been dubbed ‘hate marches’ by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Memorial for Holocaust era children vandalized following pro-Palestinian rally
'Trains to Life – Trains to Death' by Frank Meisler commemorates the 10,000 Kinder transport Holocaust survivors and millions of children killed by the Nazis

Memorial for Holocaust era children was vandalized in Berlin, after pro-Palestinian activities in the area. Despite anti-Israel demonstrations being banned by German authorities over the holiday period, demonstrators had illegally rallied on New Year's Eve and hundreds were arrested.

While German security forces had to deal with thousands of young lawbreakers throwing explosives and attacking police, vandals sprayed graffiti on the bronze statues of children, covering their eyes and overall degrading the bodies, as well as depicting what looks like a mosque on the chest of one child and one suitcase.

The 'Trains to Life – Trains to Death' bronze sculpture by Frank Meisler had been created to commemorate the 10,000 "Kindertransport" Holocaust survivors, contrasted by the millions of other children who were transported by train and killed by the Nazis.

"The monument was not vandalized by accident, the damage to it was intended to weaken the Jewish spirit by damaging the most important symbols to us. All the anti-Semites were told 'you will not succeed'. There is a clear connection between the denial of the Holocaust and the denial of the acts of terrorism on October 7," Revital Yakhin Krakowski, deputy director general of the World March for Life, told Israel's Channel 12.


Hamas Terrorist Supporters Hijacking the Public Space
It’s astounding to think that a war anywhere in the world would become such a public cause by supporters of one side or another that it would dominate and even hijack the public space. That has not happened even with Russia’s attack on Ukraine, even with the wide display of blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag in solidarity with their plight, and a corresponding wide boycott of Russia and Russian products.

Other than the 2014 kidnapping of Nigerian girls by Islamist Boko Haram terrorists which generated its own hashtag, no recent wars in Africa or Asia came close to the visibility of that in Ukraine.

As much as solidarity with Ukraine was widespread, in no case was there widespread public disruption in protest of Russia’s aggression, or in support of Ukraine, or of any other war. Until this October.

Israel’s war against Hamas has triggered widespread public disruptions by terrorist supporters around the world. Calling them terrorist supporters is not rhetoric but fact. Even before the bodies of the 1200 people massacred by Hamas terrorists on October 7 had been identified, massive public protests took place. Shockingly, astoundingly, the protests were not against Hamas’ atrocities and war crimes, but against Israel.

The world and millions of Hamas terrorist supporters turned a blind eye. They deny Hamas committed such atrocities; that families were bound by metal wires and incinerated alive; that women were gang raped and executed in the most violent ways, that babies were beheaded and children murdered before their parents’ eyes and parents murdered before their children’s eyes; that tens of thousands of rockets were fired at Israeli communities by the terrorists; or when the terrorists’ own rockets fell short and killed Palestinian Arabs in Gaza.

Sadly, this kind of behavior and manufacturing of lies is all too expected from Hamas and its terrorist supporters. Now, however, we’ve seen them raise the bar on their incivility by shouting down and threatening others, and hijacking the public space over and over. They have effectively opened countless fronts of this terrorist war, not just against Israel but against the West, with particular disdain for Jews and Christians.


Anti-Israel Girl Who Attacked Teenager in IDF Sweatshirt Graduated From Barack Obama School for Social Justice
The chick who lost her mind on a 16-year-old in an IDF sweatshirt graduated from the Barack Obama School for Social Justice.

Not kidding. Palisade Preparatory School in Yonkers, NY, changed its name to the Barack Obama School for Justice at the start of the 2022-23 school year.

From earlier today:
A few anti-Israel dumbs accosted a family of four at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey because the 16-year-old wore an IDF sweatshirt.

Her 12-year-old sister was with her.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the American Dream Mall is known for its “kosher dining options and being a location frequented often by local Jewry.”

Disgusting: “You’re a wh*re! Your mother is a wh*re! Your grandmother is a wh*re!”

She sounds lovely: “Free Palestine! F*cking die, b*tch!”


PreOccupiedTerritory: Gazan Shot At By Hamas For Trying To Get Food Really Thrilled You’re Boycotting Starbucks (satire)
A resident of this battered coastal territory voiced his relief and gratitude today upon hearing that while he must brave gunfire from Islamist regime thugs to secure basic necessities that the international community has sent, you, at least, have extended crucial assistance in the form of refusing to patronize a retail coffee chain with no clear connection to the conflict between the Islamists and Israel.

Abdel Aziz Shukri, 44, expressed appreciation this morning for your valiant support of his struggle to survive amid the theft of critical supplies such as food, drinking water, cooking gas, and basic medical and hygiene supplies by Hamas fighters. In particular, Shukri noted your determination to fight for Palestinian protection through the tried and true method of boycotting Starbucks, a company that has zero representation or business in Israel, the country you blame for Shukri’s suffering and that has allowed those supplies into the Gaza Strip where Hamas steals them and shoots at anyone who tries to stop the theft.

“It’s heartening to know there are people who have my back, even if they’re far away,” the father of seven gushed, absently rubbing his forearm where a Hamas bullet grazed him when he climbed aboard a supply truck to grab some flour before Hamas men could drive it away and hide it in their underground bunker network. “I’m no expert on international relations or economics, but I assume the noble souls refraining from overpriced bean water know what they’re doing, and I thank them for it.”

Experts remain baffled by the widespread activism ostensibly aiming to help Gaza Palestinians, including graffiti on the Lincoln memorial, the harassment of commuters and shoppers, and attacks on random Jews around the world, but, in their humility, allowed that perhaps the morally superior activists engaging in those activities had access to levels of revelation and information that made the connection between their operations and the victims of Hamas’s weaponization of Palestinian suffering clearer.




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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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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