Friday, March 22, 2024

03/22 Links Pt1: China, Russia veto US ceasefire resolution at the UN Security; Israel Won Major Victory by Ignoring Biden; Most Jewish Americans Support Israel's War

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Freezer Burn
Welcome to the new Ice Age. Though the temperatures may be on the rise, and the Middle East is once again on fire, our era will be marked by conflicts frozen in place.

The good news is that it’s a manmade crisis—anthropogenic geopolitical cooling—and therefore it can be stopped. The bad news is we seem to have lost the will to do so.

It’s very easy to understand why frozen conflicts are increasing: The rogue states that power these conflicts have discovered that an Achilles heel of the American-led world order is that the United States considers a conflict that is frozen to be over, when in fact its status is precisely the opposite. These wars are locked in place in perpetuity.

President Biden claims to understand this, at least as it relates to Hamas’s perpetual war on Israel. But just as we have defended Biden when his actions have been better than his words, so too it’s impossible to ignore the administration’s movement away from its earlier, principled stance that a nation attacked has a right to win, and not merely survive, the ensuing war.

“A major military operation in Rafah would be a mistake, something we don’t support,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken is loudly warning Israel. “There’s a false choice involved. It is possible, and indeed necessary, to deal with the ongoing threat posed by Hamas, but without a major military operation.”

“Deal with the ongoing threat posed by Hamas” is quite the choice of phrase. In fact, the war aim is to destroy Hamas. Fewer words, clearer prose—Blinken needs an editor.

The entire point of this conflict is that there should never again be a threat posed by Hamas. There shouldn’t even be a Hamas. This is what happens when you invade a neighboring country, massacre innocents, take hostages—and then refuse to surrender and return those hostages.
Melanie Phillips: The American betrayal of Israel
Israel is not just fighting to defend itself against genocide. It is on the front line of the West’s defense against its enemies and the defense of civilization against barbarism.

Western liberals can’t acknowledge this because they can’t allow their unchallengeable orthodoxies of Palestinian powerlessness, “peace processes” and Western iniquity to be destroyed. So they have turned on the Jews. Jewish suffering has to be erased because it gets in the way of the narrative.

That’s why the eruption of Palestinianism throughout the West is so shattering. People wonder why the forests of Palestinian flags at the incendiary anti-Israel demonstrations are in themselves so intimidating.

It’s because the Palestine cause is not two states side by side. Palestinian identity consists entirely of the intention to eradicate Israel by the hijack and appropriation of Jewish history. Palestinianism stands for the erasure of Jewish national identity and wiping the Jewish people out of their own historic homeland.

That’s why anti-Israel thugs have ripped apart a painting in Cambridge University of Arthur Balfour, the British prime minister who gave his name to the 1917 declaration of British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. It’s why people across the West have been ripping down the posters of the Israeli hostages. They are all trying to rip Israel and the Jews out of their headspace and their world altogether.

That’s why the betrayal by Schumer and American Jews who still support the Democratic Party and its Israel-bashing agenda is so devastating.

According to the Oxford University Press Dictionary of American Family Names, “Schumer” derives from a German word that means a “good-for-nothing.”

Schumer claims instead that his name derives from the Hebrew shomer, or “guardian”; and so he boasts to be the shomer of Jewish values. “What horrifies so many Jews especially,” he said, “is our sense that Israel is falling short of upholding these distinctly Jewish values that we hold so dear.”

How dare he. He is not a shomer. What has horrified so many is that Schumer and other liberal American Jews who are taking aim at Israel’s “right-wing” are using “Jewish values” as a shield behind which they are betraying Israel and the Jewish people and delivering them to their enemies.

Along with the shills for Israel’s surrender in the Biden administration, they present an obscene and disgusting spectacle.

“In every generation,” say the Jews at Passover, “they rise up against us.” To the enemies of the Jewish people today—Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran—we must add the Biden administration, Chuck Schumer and the liberal Jewish fifth column.


China, Russia veto US ceasefire resolution at the UN Security
China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Friday morning, saying the text didn’t go far enough in calling for a ceasefire in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Washington’s resolution, which underwent six drafts, states that an immediate, sustained ceasefire is “imperative” and “towards that end, unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

Eleven council members supported it. Guyana abstained, and China, Russia and Algeria voted against it. (As permanent members, China and Russia have veto power, while Algeria, as a non-permanent member, does not.)

“The American resolution—should it have passed—would have marked a moment of morality for the U.N., a place where good is evil, and justice is injustice,” Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the global body, stated after the vote. “It would have been the very first time that this council—or any U.N. body—condemned Hamas and their brutal massacre.”

“Sadly, for purely political reasons, this resolution did not pass, and terrorists can continue benefiting from this council whitewashing their crimes,” he added.

“The United Nations was established in the wake of the Holocaust to prevent such atrocities from happening again. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, thank you for defending these values,” Erdan added. “Your determination to condemn the Hamas monsters and your conviction that the release of the hostages is not something that can be postponed shows true moral clarity.”

“The council’s decision to not condemn Hamas is a stain that will never be forgotten,” Erdan said.


US: Russia, China 'refuse to condemn Hamas for burning people'
Thomas-Greenfield said that the failure to adopt the resolution was “really outrageous, and it's below the dignity of this body.”

She further charged that Hamas aside, Russia and China took this step purely because it was authored by the United States.

“This is not just cynical, it's also petty. Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed,” she charged.

“Let’s be honest,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “For all the fiery rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace or to meaningfully contribute to the humanitarian response effort.”

The US resolution had the support of 11 UNSC members, enough to pass the text. Three countries — Russia, China and Algeria — opposed it and Guyana abstained.

Russia and China, however, are among five permanent council members who have veto power at the council and their negative votes on the text were enough to cause it to fail.

The resolution had also called for an immediate six-week pause to the war and the release of the remaining 134 hostages.

The US had hoped the resolution would shore up negotiations for a hostage deal taking place Friday in Qatar.

“We'll continue to work toward a deal alongside Qatar, and Egypt, and we will work with any council member that is seriously interested in adopting a resolution that will help make that deal possible,” she said.
'Anything short of total release is not enough,' American hostage families tell Blinken
A dozen family members of American hostages held in Gaza - including the parents of Itay Chen, who was confirmed dead just a few weeks ago - met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday in Israel during his trip to the Middle East.

The families reiterated that anything short of a total release of all hostages – both the living and deceased – is not enough, according to a statement from the group representing the families.

Eight American citizens, including the remains of Chen and married couple Gad Haggai and Judy Weinstein, are still being held by Hamas. Immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages

The families meeting with Blinken came as the US draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire and return of the hostages failed to pass.

During the meeting, the families expressed gratitude for Secretary Blinken’s tireless efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages and thanked the Biden Administration for their pressure on regional actors and Hamas to finalize a ceasefire deal immediately.

Secretary Blinken emphasized that bringing all the hostages home is a top priority of the Biden Administration," the statement said. "Now that it is 168 days after the brutal attack on Israel, the families urged Secretary Blinken to remain focused on ensuring humanitarian aid reaches the hostages, verification of proof of life for their loved ones, and making sure the hostage situation does not become a political issue."
Netanyahu to Blinken: Israel prefers US support but would go into Rafah alone
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Jewish state cannot defeat the Hamas terror organization without going into and destroying the battalions in Rafah.

“I told him that I hope we would do this with U.S. support but if necessary, we will do it alone,” Netanyahu said, after the two met privately on Friday in the Kirya in Tel Aviv, in a translation his office provided of his Hebrew statement.

Blinken is also slated to meet today with the expanded War Cabinet, according to Netanyahu’s office. A schedule released by that the U.S. State Department said Blinken and Netanyahu were slated to meet at 11:15 a.m. Israel time, and that the broader meeting with the War Cabinet was called for 12:10 p.m. local time.

Both were closed to the press, according to the State Department.

The prime minister also told Blinken that he greatly appreciates that the two have stood together in the war against Hamas for more than five months.

“I also told him that we recognize the need to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zones and—of course—also see to the humanitarian needs,” Netanyahu added. “We are working to this end.”

Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’s commitment to Israel’s security and the lasting defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah,” said Blinken, according to a readout that Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, released after the secretary met with Netanyahu and then the War Cabinet.

Blinken “discussed efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire of at least six weeks that would secure the release of hostages and enable a surge in humanitarian assistance,” Miller said, and the secretary “emphasized the need to protect civilians in Gaza and increase and sustain humanitarian assistance, including through both land and sea routes.”
Daniel Greenfield: Israel Won Major Victory by Ignoring Biden
The current Israeli government made the same mistake after Oct 7 that so many previous ones had by assuming that it would retain the support of the White House if it followed its parameters. Instead of a comprehensive siege and rapid forceful assaults, Israel waited. When there were complaints about casualties, it slowed down, sent warnings and put its own soldiers at risk. And lives were lost.

But none of that worked. There was a ticking clock and Biden was bound to eventually pull support. It was only a matter of time.

Now, Israel won a major victory by catching Hamas and Islamic Jihad by surprise. How did it do that? By ignoring the rules that the Islamic terrorists thought Israel had to operate by.

After a previous raid on the Al-Shifa hospital, a Qatari terror base, that had been telegraphed with multiple warnings, Israel returned, struck fast, and took out over 100 terrorists and captured over 600. (The numbers continue to increase.)

Reportedly, Israel has captured top Islamic Jihad leaders and a variety of significant Hamas figures.

Hamas had not been expecting Israel to hit a ‘hospital’ on Ramadan without warning. That was against all the rules out of D.C.
Saudi commentator reveals Israel's new tactic that shook Hezbollah and Iran
In the initial stage, according to Awad, "Israel severely hit Iranian shipment operations to the region and destroyed many weapon shipments that were on their way from Iran.

"In the next stage, warehouses in eastern Syria were attacked and destroyed. [The warehouses] contain[ed] weapons that could have been deployed to the border with Israel within hours. In fact, it undermined Iran's supply lines to Hezbollah and Iranian militias in the region.

"All these actions may serve as a prelude to more significant activities, which may include the destruction of Hezbollah tunnels or at least disrupting the fortifications along the border with Lebanon, stretching over 79 kilometers, as well as in the Golan Heights area, which is expected to be much more challenging.”

Awad went on to clarify that "Geographically, the Golan Heights area – facing Shebaa Farms, is a tough terrain considered a Hezbollah stronghold. Israeli airstrikes will not be advantageous there, and Israel will need to show creativity in finding new operational tactics."

In his remarks, he referred to the Mountains Brigade, which will begin its operations in the coming weeks - at the height of the war, and will operate in the sectors of Mount Hermon and Mount Dov.

“Forces in the Mountains Brigade participated in the 2006 war and come with a deep familiarity with Hezbollah's tunnels,'" he said.

"In recent weeks, Hezbollah has begun building tunnels from Syria to Lebanon, aiming to transfer weapons from the arsenals, but at this stage, there is no benefit in tunnels. I estimate 70%-80% of the arsenals have been destroyed,” Awad theorized. “This is expected to delay any plan Hezbollah seeks to implement, and this may be Israel's opportunity.”
Seth Mandel: Who’s Politicizing Israel?
Take the events of the past week. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, launched an unusually partisan attack on Israeli democracy by giving a speech calling for the collapse of Israel’s unity government, during wartime, because he doesn’t like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Even Israeli opposition figures criticized Schumer’s unprecedented intervention in an allied country’s domestic politics. So did the umbrella group of American Jewish organizations as well as individual Jewish groups.

The motivation behind the speech was unconscionable: The highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker was scapegoating an Israeli leader for the sole purpose of appeasing the pro-Hamas and deeply anti-Semitic elements in his own party so that after November’s election he would still be the Senate majority leader. It was textbook politicizing of an issue at the worst possible time, a shameful and cynical move recognized as such by nearly everyone who saw it.

But Schumer and his defenders came up with a rejoinder to his critics: I am rubber, Schumer explained, and you are glue. Furthermore, I know you are but what am I.

“Kind of an interesting irony,” sneered National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, “which is you have the prime minister speaking on American television about his concerns about Americans interfering in Israeli politics.… In fact, we don’t do nearly as much as they speak into ours.”

This is wrong on so many levels, but for our purposes here its juvenility and hypocrisy are what stand out. You can see the road Democrats were getting tempted to take here—the low one—and just as easily see how disastrous it would be. Nevertheless, they persisted.

Netanyahu asked to address the parties directly via video conference at the parties’ next scheduled meetings. The Republicans agreed. Schumer personally rejected Netanyahu’s request to talk to the Democrats.

The reason Netanyahu asked to speak to the parties at their next meeting is because he cannot, at the moment, address all of Congress, and this is the next best thing. Also, the parties’ concerns regarding Israel differ greatly from each other, and only by privately addressing each party could Netanyahu keep the discussion from stirring the partisan pot and turning members against each other. Netanyahu has also, of late, expressed deep frustration with Israel’s public-relations deficit, and there is wide agreement that the country’s communications teams are struggling to tailor their message more directly to particular audiences.

Schumer was having none of it. Once again, he took explicitly partisan actions against Israel and when the Republicans didn’t follow suit, accused them of partisanship. “I care deeply about Israel and its long-term future,” Schumer said. “When you make the issue partisan, you hurt the cause of helping Israel.”

Politician, heal thyself.
Schumer suggests he’s open to a joint session speech by Netanyahu
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested that he’s open to inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, despite his call last week for the Israeli leader’s ouster.

Schumer’s comments come after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) confirmed plans to invite Netanyahu to speak to Congress, and amid escalating tensions between President Joe Biden and the Israeli prime minister.

“Israel has no stronger ally than the United States and our relationship transcends any one president or any one Prime Minister,” Schumer said in a statement. “I will always welcome the opportunity for the Prime Minister of Israel to speak to Congress in a bipartisan way.”

Johnson said on CNBC on Thursday morning that he would “certainly extend that invitation” to Netanyahu to speak to Congress. But a Schumer spokesperson said that Johnson had not yet discussed the idea with Schumer directly, after first floating the idea on Wednesday. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he hadn’t been consulted either.

Johnson, as House speaker, can invite Netanyahu to address the House, but a full joint meeting of the House and Senate would require Schumer’s support. Johnson and Netanyahu spoke privately on Wednesday.

With a growing number of Democrats pinning blame on Netanyahu for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and rejecting his handling of the war against Hamas, the prospect of a speech by the Israeli prime minister to Congress could be politically explosive, hearkening back to Netanyahu’s 2015 address to a joint meeting of Congress, when the prime minister condemned the nuclear talks with Iran that would months later result in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Fifty-eight lawmakers skipped Netanyahu’s last speech.

Johnson noted on CNBC that he’d also been invited to address the Knesset, adding “we’re just trying to work out schedules on all this.”

He went on to again condemn Schumer’s speech, calling it “almost staggering, just unbelievable,” and a “terrible signal” to the world.

“To suggest to our strongest ally in the Middle East, the only stable democracy, that he knows better how to run their democracy is just patently absurd,” Johnson said. “I mean, imagine if I came on your show this morning and called for regime change in Ukraine. In the middle of their crisis, fighting for their very survival. That’s what Israel is facing right now.”


Most Jewish Americans Support Israel's War Against Hamas and How It's Fought
A Pew Research Center study published Thursday found that 89% of Jewish Americans say Israel's reasons for launching a war against Hamas are justified, among 58% of Americans overall.

62% of Jewish Americans said they approve of how Israel is conducting the war.

61% of U.S. Jews say they are following the news "extremely" or "very" closely. Just 11% of Jews said they were not following the news at all, compared to 43% of Americans overall and 58% of young adults.

Nearly half of Muslim Americans said Hamas had valid reasons for fighting, compared to 22% of Americans overall and 16% of Jews.


Israel losing the hasbara battle because of a broken public relations playbook, experts say
Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Israel’s special envoy for combating antisemitism, said that not only must Israel better organize its public diplomacy efforts – and sharpen its messaging – it must urgently recognize that the war for public opinion is a no less serious war front than the war on the ground.

When it comes to Israel, she explained, “there is an unconventional war for public opinion that has been raging for decades.”

Cotler-Wunsh said that after a series of conventional wars seeking to destroy the State of Israel failed, “Israel’s enemies turned their attention to the war for public opinion, systematically co-opting and weaponizing international institutions, mechanisms and principles to demonize, delegitimize and apply double standards to Israel.” She noted the 1975 “Zionism is racism” resolution at the U.N., the 2001 Durban Conference, which labeled Israel an apartheid state and undermined its legitimacy to exist, and, most recently, “the Orwellian inversion of facts and law accusing Israel of perpetrating a genocide, even as it defends itself from genocidal terror group that committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, and openly declares intent to commit them — again and again.”

“We need to recognize that this unconventional war for public opinion is a national security threat,” Cotler-Wunsh continued. “If that is not reflected in the way Israel prepares for this unconventional war, creating and executing a multifront, holistic national strategy that includes allocation of resources, we’re just reacting from the dock of the accused on which Israel has been seated, we’re just responding, which is where hasbara comes in, we are explaining all the time.”

The former member of Israel’s parliament said that she stopped using the term hasbara because it already assumes that Israel has done something wrong, and demands Israel “explain itself.”

“More than ever, Israel needs an authority mandated to roll out and implement a national strategy for combating antisemitism, recognizing that this is a part of the war that’s raging,” Cotler-Wunsh said.

Oren, who recently returned to Israel from a two-month speaking tour in the U.S., said that amid soaring antisemitism – and the fact Jews are vastly outnumbered around the world – “we must not give up speaking out for Israel.”

He outlined several areas where Israel’s public diplomacy strategy is flawed and needed to be addressed.

First, Oren said that deeply ingrained in the Zionist ethos is the idea that it is not important what the non-Jews think about the Jews.

“Secondly, we are a nation of 9 million who are up against 1.4 billion Muslims with vast resources – even with all our technological know-how and innovation, numbers and resources count,” he said.

Another issue, Oren pointed out, is that Israel’s “narrative is far too complex.” While the other side uses a few powerful key words such as occupation, apartheid, oppression, imperialism, Israel’s story “is far too long and convoluted.”

“We are now living in a post-factual world where facts are meaningless and only feelings count,” he said. “Our whole explanation relies on facts, when everyone else is talking about feelings.”

“But the real reason, the conclusion I have come to after years of being involved in this, is not that we are up against 1.4 billion Muslims but that we are up against 2,500 years of antisemitism,” Oren said. “If you look closely behind the headlines, you see classic antisemtic tropes… accusations that Israel purposely massacres innocents or kills journalists on purpose.”

However, while the odds are stacked against Israel, Oren emphasized that Israel must still make every effort to fight back against disinformation.

“Of course, we have to fight this,” he said. “But we have to be realistic in what we can achieve, and we cannot forget that we are the Jewish state and as a Jewish state we are going to be judged by a different set of criteria.”
Israel concerned that other countries will follow Canada’s lead on arms sale ban
The impact of the ban on Israel’s defense is likely “zero to negative,” former Canadian Ambassador to Israel Vivian Bercovici told Jewish Insider.

“To my knowledge, there’s no there there. Canada doesn’t even have basic equipment for our own army,” she said. “We don’t produce much, if anything, in the way of military arms.”

The items Israel orders from Canada are “things like canvas tents,” that have military and civilian uses, Bercovici said. She noted that many recent media reports mentioned an order of three to six light armored vehicles from Canada that Israel canceled early in the war, if not before.

Ottawa approved CAD 70 million ($52 million) in military export permits to Israel in the first three months since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, but most of it – CAD 47 million ($35 million) – would not have fallen under the the ban, because it consists of goods modified by Israel and then sent back to the Canadian Forces or other Canadian allies, the Star reported. Also not included in the ban are components for F-35 fighter jets that Canada sells to the U.S., some of which are then used by the IDF.

Canadian publication The Maple reported viewing documents that stated Ottawa authorized CAD 28.5 million ($21.1 million) in military exports to Israel in the two months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which is more than the CAD 26 million ($19.2 million) annual record high for such exports.

According to Global Affairs Canada, as the Foreign Ministry is known, the country exported over CAD 21 million ($15.5 million) in military goods and technology to Israel in 2022. This puts Israel among the top 10 export destinations for Canada, but is only a small fraction of Israel’s defense expenditures, which reached $23.4 billion in 2022.

Ottawa’s decision could have a more meaningful impact, however, if other countries see it as a green light to do the same.

According to Bercovici, “the more important aspect of this diplomatic frisson isn’t Canada actually providing anything meaningful in terms of military materiel, but is much more about the precedent. That becomes a different analysis in terms of what diplomatic precedent this sets and Canada’s influence on the world stage.”

Dan Illouz, a member of Knesset from Likud who was born and grew up in Montreal, similarly told JI that “the real damage, when it comes to Israel’s defense, is not only from Canada itself…it’s that Canada is the first G7 country to actually take this step.”

“The G7 includes the leaders of the free world, the countries we want to align with against the Iranian axis,” Illouz added. “The precedent this could set is problematic. Canada is choosing to be on the wrong side of history, and I hope others do not follow. When you start these things, you never know where they will end.”

Other Western countries have taken steps towards halting military exports to Israel. Spain’s foreign minister announced an embargo on arms sales to Israel, and Belgium said it suspended gunpowder exports to Israel.

In February, a Dutch court ordered the government to halt the export of F-35 parts to Israel, stating that there is a “clear risk” that they will be used “in serious violations of international humanitarian law.” The government, however, said it would appeal the ruling.

Though Italy had announced soon after the war began that it would stop arms exports to Israel, citing a law that bans such exports to countries waging war, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said last week that orders placed before the war began were still being fulfilled.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron is reportedly considering such restrictions if Israel enters Rafah.
‘Canada completely lost its moral compass,’ MK says of arms cutoff to J’lem
Canadian-born Israeli MK Sharren Haskel described as a betrayal Ottawa’s decision to halt arm sales to the Jewish state and its latest motion on Palestinian statehood.

“I am so angry. Canada was always held as a symbol of democracy and a nation that values and defends freedom, liberties and inclusiveness. Trudeau’s government is telling the world that Israel doesn’t have the right to defend itself against crimes against humanity and this is moral bankruptcy,” Haskel told JNS.

“Canada completely lost its moral compass and cannot be seen as a strong democracy anymore,” she added.

On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following Ottawa’s announcement that Canada would halt arms sales to Israel.

“Regrettably, the Canadian government is taking a step that undermines Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas terrorists, who have committed terrible crimes against humanity and against innocent Israeli civilians, including the elderly, women, and children,” tweeted Katz.

Canadian arms exports to Israel amounted to over $15.4 million in 2022, according to Canadian government data. (In 2022, Saudi Arabia received about $1.15 billion in Canadian military exports.)


Israeli FM summons Turkish envoy after Erdoğan vows to ‘send Netanyahu to Allah’
Israel’s top diplomat on Friday ordered the dressing down of Turkey’s deputy ambassador after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seemingly threatened to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I ordered the summons of the Turkish deputy ambassador to Israel for a severe reprimand, against the background of Erdoğan’s threats to send Netanyahu to Allah,” Katz wrote on X.

“And to convey a clear message to Erdoğan: You, who support the baby-burners, murderers, rapists and mutilators of Hamas, are the last one who can speak about God,” continued Katz. “There is no God who will listen to those who support the atrocities and crimes against humanity committed by your barbaric friends from Hamas. Be quiet and ashamed!”

At an election rally on Thursday, Erdoğan had threatened to “send [Netanyahu] to Allah to take care of him, make him miserable and curse him,” according to Turkish media reports.

Earlier this month, Erdoğan compared Netanyahu and his government to Nazi Germany.

“Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, are writing their names next to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, like today’s Nazis,” he said.

Erdoğan also placed Ankara firmly on the side of Hamas, which he denied was a terrorist organization. “Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but rather a resistance, and we stand firmly behind them and [are] in constant contact with its leaders,” he said.
Senate Eyes Crackdown on U.S. Aid Group’s Abuse of Taxpayer Funds
A bipartisan coalition of senators is proposing legislation that would stop the U.S. government’s leading foreign aid group from wasting hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds on costly items such as luxury hotels and airfares, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

The legislation, spearheaded by Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) and set to be unveiled later Thursday, would force the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement a series of reforms to drive down the cost of projects and stop it from spending taxpayer dollars on high price items like hotels, lobbying services, and luxury airfares, according to a copy of the measure obtained by the Free Beacon.

USAID, which doled out around $15 billion in 2022 alone, has been in the spotlight as it takes a leading role delivering humanitarian aid in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, an effort that has included pressuring Israel to open up border crossings that ultimately help the Iran-backed terror group siphon goods from civilians.

Ernst’s bill—which is backed by Sens. Chris Coons (D., Del.), Pete Ricketts (R., Neb.), and Tim Kaine (D., Va.)—comes as USAID stonewalls a congressional probe into its spending habits, which have largely gone unchecked. Ernst has been pressing the agency to come clean about its global expenditures for nearly two years, as government oversight reports indicate that 43 percent of USAID’s awards achieved "on average, approximately half of award expectations."

USAID’s budget has expanded by at least 10 percent since President Joe Biden took office and it is now leading efforts to pump humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as Israel fights to eradicate Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks. USAID’s spending in the region has long drawn congressional scrutiny due to the agency’s history of supporting groups that are affiliated with terror outfits such as Hamas.
Israeli determination is needed to dismantle UNRWA
After the European Union and Sweden, Canada has also renewed its funding for UNRWA, while simultaneously announcing this week that it will stop arms shipments to Israel.

The reason is clear: Hamas' propaganda is working while Israel’s diplomacy has failed.

We need to understand something - venting about “everyone hates us" is not a work plan but a failed excuse.

This war has clarified that Israel needs the Western world even when it becomes more difficult, and even when kooky progressives apply pressure in all the wrong places.

It’s an integral part of managing the war. In reality - we cannot say that everyone is antisemitic, and the idea is to find our friends, cooperate, and leverage the just Israeli narrative. There is no other way.

New data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows that the UNRWA situation is even worse than we thought: at least 15 UNRWA employees took part in the October 7th massacre, meaning they are rapists and murderers.

2,135 of UNRWA employees in Gaza are active in terrorist organizations, 485 of them in the military wing, and 18 of them are school principals. It's no wonder that terror infrastructure was found in 32 of UNRWA schools in Gaza.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs defines UNRWA as "beyond repair" - it has simply become an arm of Hamas. So why is it so difficult to promote a coalition that will put an end to the UN organization that manufactures more and more Palestinian refugees and reinforces their illusion that one day Israel will cease to exist and be handed over to them?

"UNRWA can be dried out, not closed," says Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan.
Preliminary probe into UNRWA pushed back at October 7 involvement allegations
Executive Director of United Nations Watch, Hillel Neuer speaks to i24NEWS on the aftermath of UNRWA's involvement in the October 7 massacre and their future in Gaza.


On both sides of Gaza’s border, the IDF is remaking security from the (under)ground up
Hamas commandos from the Gaza town of Khuza'a invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz, less than 2 km. away, on Oct. 7. They left behind a demolished kibbutz soaked in the blood of 38 slain victims, taking 77 hostages with them. To ensure such horrors never occur again, the army is fundamentally reconceiving how it defends the towns closest to Gaza.

The process will see the military shift away from more passive defensive measures to a security doctrine that will push Gazans away from the border, together with a beefed-up force along the fence actively engaged in keeping Israeli towns safe, according to a well-placed defense source.

The IDF located an "approach tunnel" that begins at the first line of houses in Khuza'a and leads to the border fence with Israel. Israel estimates there are hundreds of approach tunnels near the border between Israel and Gaza, meant to allow terrorists to mount a surprise attack on the fence.

The risk of invasion from Gaza underpins the new defense doctrine. This will include a 1 km. buffer zone inside Gaza and a line of military outposts built along the fence and next to communities near the border, promising a massive military presence and immediate response to threats.

Along with manpower, firepower will also be beefed up. The army is looking to station a large number of attack drones in the area, giving soldiers on the border the ability to deploy air power before the air force can arrive.

Beyond that, the IDF is replanning its surveillance array, adding tools and allowing troops to control various surveillance systems from multiple places at the same time. One plan already nearing implementation is the creation of a quick-response counterterror reserve force made up of residents living near the Gaza border with experience in special forces.

On the Gaza side of the border, the building of tunnels will no longer be tacitly tolerated.

The IDF has said that a zero-tolerance approach to tunnel digging will be part of its post-war operational standards; any identification of tunnel digging will be immediately attacked on the ground or by air.
Shifa's raid was symbolic of a new security protocol for the IDF
Senator Chuck Schumer must have decided last week that he wants to see Benjamin Netanyahu remain Israel’s prime minister for years to come. Otherwise, it is hard to understand what the senior senator from New York thought he would achieve when calling for new leadership in Israel while drawing an equivalence between the country’s democratically-elected government, and the terrorist organization in Gaza that the IDF has been fighting for the last five months.

This has nothing to do with what someone’s opinion might be about the prime minister. There is legitimate criticism of Netanyahu and strong feelings that he should have stepped down years ago. There is no doubt that Netanyahu needs to be held personally responsible for the failures that led to this war, and it is even possible that had he done so, the October 7 massacre could have been avoided. He was the prime minister for the last 15 years (except for one) and he set the policy that allowed Hamas to grow in strength.

On the other hand, he is the democratically elected prime minister of this country and the way for him to be replaced is for the Israeli people to do so at the ballot. It is not the place of a US senator – no matter how senior and how pro-Israel he might be – to lobby for elections to replace him. It is also important to keep in mind that while polls show that a new election would replace Netanyahu, those same polls show that a majority of Israelis support his government’s war policies.

One poll from this week saw 82% of Israelis support Netanyahu’s call for an offensive against Hamas in the southern Gaza town of Rafah despite US opposition.

This is a case in which two things can be true – Israelis support the policies of the government at the same time that Israelis want new leadership. But again, this is something for the Israeli people to decide. It is not the place of a foreign government to tell us how we should vote and who should run our country.

THIS POLITICAL tension comes at a time when Israel’s war against Hamas appears to be stuck. While Israel has been warning for weeks of an imminent operation in Rafah – which is needed to further degrade Hamas capabilities and destroy smuggling tunnels from Egypt – the operation is mostly being used right now as a bargaining chip to pressure Hamas to finalize a deal that brings some of the hostages home.

It is mainly for this reason that Israel has yet to begin even the initial step of starting to move the displaced Gazans who are currently in the area of Rafah so they will not be caught in the crossfire if and when there is an IDF offensive in the southern Gaza town. That is the first step that will need to be taken before the first tank enters Rafah.
Shifa Hospital Operation Nets Senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad Operatives
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Thursday that 600 terrorists have been apprehended and more than 140 were killed since Monday during the IDF's operation at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. "This is the largest concentration of terrorists we have captured since the start of the war," Hagai said. "The terrorists from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are surrendering and providing valuable intelligence during their interrogations. We've captured the senior commanders of the PIJ, dealing the terror faction a serious blow." Some of those captured had taken part in the Oct. 7 massacre. Fighting was still taking place.

The operation began on in the early hours of Monday and has been continuing since. In a briefing Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari‎ said some 600 terrorists have been apprehended thus far, and more than 140 terrorists were killed. He said the forces have found weapons in the medical facility as well as intelligence material.

"This is the largest concentration of terrorists we have captured since the start of the war," Hagai said. "The terrorists from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad are surrendering and providing valuable intelligence during their interrogations. "We've captured the senior commanders of the PIJ, dealing the terror faction a serious blow," he said adding the there were still gunfights taking place.

The spokesperson said troops entered the Qatari building in the compound, where the IDF had operated earlier in the war. "This time terrorists were hiding there, and many were killed. Among those who surrendered were people in senior positions whose identity cannot yet be revealed because of the valuable intelligence they are providing. The leaders of Hamas understand well the outcome of this operation, the fatalities and the terrorists captured. The pressure on them will increase," he said.


7 Israelis hurt in hours-long clashes with terrorist in West Bank; airstrike kills him
A Palestinian terrorist opened fire at an Israeli vehicle in the West Bank early Friday morning, leading to an hours-long exchange of fire that ultimately resulted in the gunman being killed in a helicopter strike, according to the military.

At least seven people were wounded in the clashes with the gunman, one of them critically, media reports and hospital officials said.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the incident began at around 5 a.m., with the terrorist opening fire at a minibus near the settlement of Dolev, causing no injuries.

Troops began a pursuit after the gunman, during which they came under fire several times throughout the morning.

According to the IDF’s initial probe of the attack, the terrorist was using a sniper rifle, and he had opened fire from behind makeshift cover in a forested area near Dolev. The gunman moved between several positions that he had set up in the area, which he reached overnight, the probe found.

The IDF said it scrambled an attack helicopter and drones in its search for the terrorist.


Critics Ignore Israel's Humanitarian Efforts for Gazan Civilians
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, claimed Monday, that Israel intentionally causes hunger in Gaza and uses starvation as a war tactic. Yet since the start of the Gaza war, the IDF has been monitoring the civilian situation and is carrying out humanitarian efforts for non-combatants as complementary measures to the IDF's operations.

Israel inspects aid deliveries much faster than the ability of international organizations to distribute it. There were days in which 300 trucks carrying food and humanitarian aid awaited on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing after having gone through Israeli inspection - yet no one took them in.

Israel has recently facilitated additional humanitarian initiatives to ease access to aid to northern Gaza. These initiatives include opening a new crossing in northern Gaza alongside over 40 airdrops and the establishment of a temporary port which has already received 115 tons of food. There has also been a significant increase in security inspection capabilities at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom border crossings. Israel has bolstered personnel, extended working hours, and acquired additional scanners to increase throughput.
Israel Rejects Claims of Limiting Food Aid to Gaza
Israel has recently provided data refuting accusations it was deliberately causing hunger in Gaza. According to official numbers, Israel has been providing humanitarian aid including food, water, shelter and medicine through two border crossings, in amounts that exceed the delivery from humanitarian groups.

Israeli officials say distribution of the aid that is delivered is hampered by an inability of human rights organizations in Gaza to organize orderly provisions in some areas due to the ongoing fighting. They also point to Hamas taking over the aid for their fighters or selling it to vendors at exorbitant prices.

The IDF said Thursday that since the start of the war, over 17,400 aid trucks provided humanitarian supplies to Gaza, including 10,300 trucks carrying more than 218,000 tons of food. The daily average number of trucks carrying food to Gaza before the war was 70. Since the beginning of March, the average has grown to over 125. However, a large portion of the aid has been looted.
David Cameron condemns Israel for ‘arbitrarily’ blocking Gaza aid
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has accused the Israeli government of "arbitrarily" blocking humanitarian aid and water from entering the Gaza Strip.

In a letter to Alicia Kearns MP, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, the foreign secretary said it was "vital" that the number of trucks entering the enclave is increased.

Half the population of Gaza is now at imminent risk of famine amid widespread food shortages, the World Bank warned this week.

Since Israel’s war against Hamas began almost six months ago the number of trucks carrying aid and commercial goods into the territory has dropped from around 500 per day to just 165 on average at the start of March, Lord Cameron wrote.

"It is of enormous frustration that UK aid for Gaza has been routinely held up waiting for Israeli permissions," he said.

"For instance, I am aware of some UK funded aid being stuck at the border for just under three weeks waiting for approval."

Lord Cameron added: "The main blockers remain arbitrary denials by the Government of Israel and lengthy clearance procedures, including multiple screenings and narrow opening windows in daylight hours."

He continued: "I agree with the [foreign affairs] committee that increasing the number of trucks going into Gaza is vital.

“I remain gravely concerned that any aid including UK aid has been stalled, delayed or rejected at the border with Egypt. The Prime Minister and I have raised this consistently with the Government of Israel, including most recently in my meeting with Benny Gantz. I will continue to press this point.”

The distribution of aid within Gaza, meanwhile, has been hindered by Israel preventing staff from getting visas, he added.


IDF Invites British Foreign Secretary Cameron to Inspect Gaza Aid Mechanisms
After British Foreign Secretary David Cameron accused Israel of hindering the flow of aid into Gaza, COGAT, the Israeli body governing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, rejected his accusations and invited him to come and learn about the extent of Israel's humanitarian operations in Gaza. It added that Israel is able to inspect "44 trucks an hour."

COGAT denied Cameron's claim that Israel closes the Kerem Shalom crossing on Saturdays due to the Sabbath. The crossings "are closed on Sabbath by agreement with the UN to enable the UN to collect the aid transferred during the week that has accumulated due to low logistic capacity. Coordinate more aid to Gaza. We will facilitate" it.


Oct. 7 radio transmission by slain surveillance soldier Roni Eshel aired for first time
A raw recording taken from the communication equipment used by an IDF surveillance soldier on the morning of October 7 was aired for the first time by Channel 12 on Wednesday evening, allowing a glimpse into the last hours of the surveillance soldiers on the Nahal Oz military base, who remained at their stations up until the end.

The recordings were taken from the radio of slain soldier Roni Eshel, whose parents allowed the audio to be released to the public after it was shared with them by the IDF.

“All stations receive, four people are running to the fence, confirm receipt,” Roni can be heard saying in the radio transmission, which went out to all soldiers in the area at 6:29 a.m. on October 7. “Two armed people are running at the fence, confirm receipt.”

Moments later, Roni transmitted another message, this time warning of armed terrorists crossing into the no man’s land that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, using the IDF code for the threat, “Turkish horsemen.”

“One armed terrorist has crossed [the border], one armed terrorist, confirm receipt,” she can be heard saying, speaking fast but calmly. She continued broadcasting information about the terrorists she could see crossing the preliminary Gaza border fence as their numbers slowly swelled and they moved toward the reinforced barrier separating the Palestinian enclave from Israel.

“Two people are standing at the ‘Sand Timer’ fence,” she said, her voice signaling urgency. “They’re messing with the fence, confirm receipt.”

“The ‘Sand Timer’ fence has exploded. People have blown up the fence, confirm receipt,” she said a moment later. “Receive, there is a hole in the fence, two people blew up the fence with a bomb. They are standing next to the hole, they haven’t crossed through it yet.”


'Israel doesn't care about you': Former hostage reveals Hamas captors'
Released hostage Sapir Cohen recounted her experience in Gaza, held by Hamas terrorists in an interview with the Italian newspaper Libero Quotidiano, which was published on Wednesday.

On the day of the massacre, Cohen witnessed her boyfriend, Sasha Troufanov, still a hostage in Gaza, "beaten bloody and thrown face-first into the ground." Sasha's mother and grandmother, Yelena Troufanov and Irena Tati, were also taken away, but have since been released.

Cohen recounted that six months before the attacks, she had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. She told the newspaper, “I began to have a dark feeling that something was about to happen. At first I felt physical discomfort. I even started praying, and it was the first time I had done so in my life, because the doctors had told me that the cause of the problem was in my feelings rather than a virus that had actually affected me."

On October 7, Cohen recalled, “The messages warning of the ongoing assault on the kibbutzim began to arrive on our cell phones. And I was in Nir Oz, 15 km from Be’eri, the first target of the attack. We were hoping for the military to intervene in our defense. Instead, terror broke out, accompanied by the screams of Allahu Akbar! We heard the shots and the cries of desperation of those who were forced to witness that massacre. Of those who saw their loved ones massacred by bullets. And at a certain point the door of the house was torn off."

As Cohen was taken to Gaza, she said, "Innocent civilians who supported the terrorists kicked and punched me mercilessly, without stopping. And I couldn't help but protect my head with my hands, invoking God's name so that he wouldn't let me die at that moment."

She also said that while she was in Gaza, her captors tried to convince her that Israel had forgotten about her, and that it doesn't care about the hostages or was prioritizing other issues.


Haviv Rettig Gur: The Gathering Storm
Bari Weiss sits down with the journalist Haviv Rettig Gur.

Haviv is one of the smartest and most thoughtful writers on Israel and the Middle East. He and Bari discussed Israel's uncertain future, what it means for Palestinians, how the current war reflects wider battles in Islam, and why Americans must realize they are living "inside" of history.




The Commentary Magazine Podcast: The Pursuit of Happiness
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
Today we start out discussing a new Pew poll that shows, contra Chuck Schumer and others, American Jews overwhelmingly approve of Israel and its efforts to defeat Hamas since Oct. 7. We then get into the latest World Happiness Report, which finds the U.S. ranking below the 20 most happy countries for the first time in the report’s history. What’s behind our recent unhappiness and why are Americans under 30 most unhappy of all?


Exposing How Media Falls for Hamas Tricks to Gain Sympathy | Fleur Hassan-Nahoum
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum about the current state of Israel amidst ongoing conflict; the specific tricks Hamas uses to deceive the media and Muslims into thinking that Israel is going to invade the Temple Mount; what the mood of Israel has been like since October 7; how 80% of the country is volunteering for the war effort; why Senator Chuck Schumer should be denounced for his interference in Israel’s politics; what conditions would have to be present for a two-state solution to work; and much more.




Ari Fleischer: There’s only one pro-Israel party left in America
As the Biden administration becomes less and less supportive of Israel's war against Hamas does support for the Jewish state remain a bi-partisan issue? Is Sen. Chuck Schumer's speech a symptom much larger? Has the voter base of the Democratic party moved so far left that its politicians need to throw Israel under the bus to win votes?

To discuss all this, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is joined by Ari Fleischer who says that, contrary to the myth of the bipartisan consensus on Israel, there’s been a stark divide on support for the Jewish state between the parties for decades.


'Terrified' leftists are 'enabling' Islamists: Barbara Kay
National Post columnist Barbara Kay joins The Ezra Levant Show, where she tells Ezra that leftists in Canada are terrified of Islamists, which leads to them enabling the pro-Hamas rallies we've seen across Canada.


Antisemitism is no longer taboo in Canada: Ezra Levant
On last night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Ezra examined why antisemitism is no longer confined to the fringes of Canadian society.


‘Unbelievable Smear Against Israel’: Douglas Murray Blasts Claims Of ‘Genocide’
Murray then asked her repeatedly who had sealed off Gaza. Dutton, who said she had been to Gaza, mentioned Israel, the U.S., and “whoever helps the Israelis.”

When Murray asked her who else and she had no answer, he fired back, “Well, as you know, if you’ve been, Gaza also has a border with Egypt. Why do you not mention Egypt? Egypt has a stronger fence to fence in the people of Gaza than Israel does.”

“You might note there were more workers, until the 7th, allowed in Israel to work and indeed to have medical treatments and others considered necessary … plenty more people every day coming into Israel to work from Gaza until the 7th, than were going the other way into Egypt,” Murray pointed out.

“The facts are the facts and I just want to pick you up on something you just did,” he continued. “I think you are uninformed. You didn’t say that Egypt is blockading Gaza. … As you well know, in 2005, Israeli troops ripped Jewish families from their home in the Gaza. … You’ve got to inform your viewer of the facts and you just misled them. In 2005, Israeli troops ripped every Jewish family from their home in Gaza and handed over all of Gaza, which is completely clear of Jews.”

“We can agree to disagree, but don’t misinform your viewers,” he said. “I’m informing them because you’re not. … The point that you keep on trying to distract everyone from is that Israel took every Jew from Gaza in 2005, handed it over to the Palestinians, who then voted in Hamas, to the great detriment of the Palestinian people. They have been ruled by Hamas for the last 18 years. If you want to look for the source of the conflict, look to that fact.”

When Dutton insisted we “are where we are today” because of Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, Murray responded, “You just did it again. You threw in a false fact. We are not where we are today because of settlements in the West Bank that are disputed. That’s not why Hamas broke out of Gaza on the 7th of October and massacred people they hate. It’s not because of the West Bank and you well know it. … They did it, by their own admission, because they wanted to massacre every Jew they could get their hands on, and Hamas has said they will do it again and again. So don’t get on to the distraction of settlements … don’t distract from the crime of Hamas. Don’t do that.”


The Israel Guys: Why the HECK Are We Holding Back On Obliterating Rafah Terror Hub?
Gaza is taking up the space in the media constantly, and specifically as it relates to Rafah. The Israelis do plan on invading Rafah and obliterating Hamas, at the expense of losing support from the United States as well as the UN and most of the Western world. What Joshua digs into today is quite insane!




Newsom Calls for Gaza Ceasefire
California governor Gavin Newsom (D.) in a Thursday open letter to California's Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab-American communities called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.

"It is time to work in earnest toward an enduring peace that will furnish the lasting security, autonomy, and freedom that the Palestinians and the Israeli people both deserve," Newsom wrote.

Newsom said he supports President Joe Biden's call for an immediate ceasefire "as part of a deal to secure desperately needed relief for Gazan civilians and the release of hostages." His call followed Secretary of State Antony Blinken's announcement that the administration is seeing headway in negotiating a ceasefire deal. Hamas has repeatedly rejected previous ceasefire proposals that would release Israeli hostages, including one last month.

Newsom's letter, which expressed support and sympathy for California's Muslims in the wake of Hamas's Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, comes after he has spent months sending mixed signals on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Immediately after the terror attacks, he made a high-profile visit to Israel, highlighting Israeli stories of "unimaginable heroism—and unspeakable tragedy." But he has also fundraised for a Democratic dark money organization that funds one of the state's most prominent anti-Israel activist groups, and he has awarded millions in taxpayer dollars to mosques helmed by anti-Semitic leaders. In January, he met with California's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), giving a high-profile platform to an outfit that federal prosecutors labeled an "unindicted co-conspirator" of Hamas front groups.

California CAIR executive director Hussam Ayloush, who downplayed Hamas's attack, praised Newsom for the letter.

"Governor Newsom's call for an immediate ceasefire embodies an undeniable truth—California will not shy away from standing for justice and human dignity," Ayloush said in a statement. "We hope this decision will stand as a beacon of compassion and moral leadership and compel other officials to do so as well."


Man who used anti-Jewish slur removed from American Airlines flight
A man was forcefully removed from a plane that had not yet departed from Tampa International Airport in Florida after yelling an antisemitic slur at a flight attendant.

The unnamed man, who was aboard American Airlines Flight 2506 bound for Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon, called the airline staff member a “k**e,” according to video that circulated on social media.

He also said, “I’m trying to get to my home country and you all people made it harder for me to get to my home country,” per the New York Post.

Two people who were not in uniform and who identified themselves as police officers reportedly restrained the unruly man.

The flight took off about a half-hour late because of the incident, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer. Airport police said the man was arrested and charged with “disorderly intoxication and two counts of battery,” the paper wrote.


Cult convenience store owner who usually posts images of exotic snacks instead urges followers to 'destroy Israel' alongside gruesome image
A cult shop owner has defied customer backlash by saying he prays that God will 'destroy Israel' and 'get rid of Zionists' despite marketing his store as one that 'brings people together'.

Hazem Sedda, who owns two Redfern Convenience Stores located in the inner Sydney suburbs of Redfern and Newtown, has interrupted his normal Instagram posts of exotic snacks and treats to instead show a room full of dead people.

The image posted last Friday is so confronting, Instagram has veiled it as 'Sensitive Content' and provided a warning that the video 'may contain graphic or violent content'.

In his caption Mr Sedda states the photo shows more than 50 Palestinians 'massacred by Israeli killers' in Gaza.

'These people were waiting for aid to come in so they can get something to feed their children,' he wrote.

'God Help them. I pray to God on the first Friday of Ramadan to destroy Israel and rid the world of Zionists because they are the cause of the suffering of the Palestinian people.'

The post was met with dismay in some quarters.

'This is a horrible thing to share. Pray for peace not death,' one person wrote in the comments.

Another stated that it was was a 'very horrible thing to share'.


Latma - Fake it Out (Israel-Hamas Satire)



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

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