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Sunday, March 24, 2024

03/24 Links: Why antisemitism and anti-Zionism are so deeply intertwined; The Emirate of Palestine?; Schumer’s Folly; Elon Gold on the Power of Humor

From Ian:

Why antisemitism and anti-Zionism are so deeply intertwined
Statehood is built into Jewish consciousness. Israel is more than just a place where Jews can be free and safe. As Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazic chief rabbi of pre-state Israel said: Israel is not external to Judaism but inherently part of Jewish consciousness. To wit: Jews across the religious denominations pray for the return to Zion in their daily liturgy. And religious or not, the vast majority of Jews feel inextricably, soulfully bound to Israel and describe themselves as Zionists.

So while anti-Zionists defend themselves by claiming they are not anti-Semites, when anti-Zionists declare “no Zionists allowed,” they are actually saying, “No Jews allowed.” The fact that so many anti-Israel demonstrations are targeting Jewish rather than Israeli institutions underscores this dynamic.

The interfacing of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism was never more apparent than on October 7. The goal of Hamas, like their antecedent Haman, goes beyond destroying Israel; its mission – as articulated in the founding Hamas charter – is to kill as many Jews as possible. Jews worldwide felt personally attacked that day, understanding that if Hamas could, each and every Jew would have been murdered.

This doesn’t mean that every anti-Zionist is an anti-Semite. There are always exceptions to a rule. But the exception doesn’t void the rule. It’s one thing to disagree, even vehemently, with some core Israeli policies. But anti-Zionism goes well beyond that to object to the very notion of Jewish self-determination, and thereby target 7 million Jews, half of the world’s Jewish population who are now living in Zion, and many thousands more who yearn to make “aliya,” or move home to Israel.

Indeed, Zionism is a play on the Hebrew word “tziun-metzuyan,” meaning a stamp of excellence. It is there in Israel that all Israelis living in a sovereign nation have the potential to do their humble share to make this world a better place.

Purim is the story of a vulnerable, powerless Jewish people living in the diaspora threatened with physical and spiritual annihilation. Its unwritten message is the necessity for Jews to be Zionist, to live in Zion, to have a homeland wherein it is in their power to protect themselves with strength, and what Israel’s army calls the “purity of arms.”

According to the Book of Esther, the Jews in ancient Persia were ultimately saved by the grace of the king. But the State of Israel allows Jews to save themselves.
Andrew Pessin: The Emirate of Palestine?
There are many competing ideas about “the day after” the Israel-Hamas war, about how to fill the dangerous vacuum left in Gaza should Israel succeed in destroying Hamas. Overlooked, however, is a particularly intriguing suggestion by the anonymous blogger Elder of Ziyon that deserves wider attention.

Thanks for reading Pariah--But The Truth, You Know, Ain't A Democracy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

What are the main possibilities?

Israel doesn't want Gaza back. It doesn't want to govern two million hostile Palestinians, nor take over day-to-day governance. Imagine the suicide bombings at every governmental office. And, of course, it would be "occupation."

Israel has tried empowering local clans as alternate rulers for years and it has never worked out: they fight amongst themselves, there are too many threats from armed Islamists, and no one wants to look like a puppet of Israel.

Some (such as the U.S.) have pushed for a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority (P.A.) to reassert control, but the P.A. is corrupt and weak, despised by its own citizens, in fact complicit in terror against Israelis, and “revitalization” is a farce. The P.A. lost Gaza to Hamas once and would likely lose it again, either by election or by force.

Others have proposed a multinational force or rule that would include Arab states, a kind of “Arab mandate.” Though there are advantages, it means that Gaza would become a hot spot for geopolitical rivalries between at least Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But Qatari influence would be disastrous. Qatar supports Hamas both directly and through Al Jazeera, the most influential source of “news” in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia might want more influence, but without peace with Israel, it is limited in what it can do. Egypt doesn't want Gaza. Egyptians hate everything about it. After all, it was Egypt that turned it into a virtual prison for Palestinian refugees after the 1948 war and to this day.

So who should run Gaza the day after Hamas is eradicated?

When Israel left Gaza in 2005, optimists thought it could become a new Singapore. Palestinian incompetence and Hamas ended that fantasy. Hate for Israel was more important than helping Palestinians thrive.

But, as Elder of Ziyon points out, there is one country that could turn Gaza into that wonderful place: the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). Gaza should become the eighth United Arab Emirate.
Ruthie Blum: The Russian dictator’s double terrorism standards
This is rich, coming from a leader who has been cementing relations with Iran, the globe’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism, and its proxies. One of these is Hamas, whose foot soldiers invaded Israel on Oct. 7, raping, torturing, beheading, burning alive and abducting men, women and babies.

Less than three weeks later, Russia hosted a delegation of their honchos in Moscow. The purpose of the chummy get-together, also attended by Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy foreign minister of the ayatollah-led regime in Tehran, was to come up with ways to stop the “Zionist crimes supported by the United States and the West.”

In other words, the aim of the meeting was to devise a plan to prevent Israel from defending itself and retaliating against the perpetrators of the worst pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust. Oh, and to plot the demise of America and Europe.

More recently, Putin went a step further in his pursuit of terrorism ties. Russia’s envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, mediated talks in Moscow on Feb. 29 between Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian organizations operating in the region, primarily in Syria and Lebanon.

The goal of the three-day event, which concluded on March 2, was to unify the disparate factions towards the creation of a Palestinian government—for a future state—whose members cease infighting and invest all their energy in the shared objective of annihilating Jews.

So, Putin is pre-disposed to Islamist terrorists, as long as he and Mother Russia are not their target. Meanwhile, the ease with which he slaughters those who get on his bad side doesn’t put a dent in his passing of moral judgment on Jerusalem and Washington. His disdain for the latter, by the way, caused him to pooh-poohed its warning this month about an imminent attack in Moscow.

His hypocrisy pales in comparison, however, to that of Hamas, which on Saturday “condemn[ed] in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that targeted civilians in Moscow, killing and wounding dozens of people.”

Putin’s response to the carnage at Crocus City Hall, like the reaction on the part of the genocidal butchers with whom he sided after Oct. 7, gives the term “double standards” a whole new meaning.


Israeli-Palestinian Peace Must Reflect Reality
In pressuring Jerusalem to scale back its military plans and pursue the two-state solution at this moment, its critics ignore an ugly reality on the Palestinian side - that among its leaders and people, there is no constituency for "two states living side-by-side in peace." Pressing for the two-state solution now, while Israel is at war and Palestinians largely oppose co-existence, surely will prove fruitless, setting back prospects of ever achieving peace.

Any hope for Israeli-Palestinian peace rests on Hamas' destruction, which Israel is pursuing, not on a naive "reasonable expectation" that it and such like-minded allies as Palestinian Islamic Jihad will lay down their arms.

True peace must also reside in the hearts of the population. But just 17% of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank supported a two-state solution in a November poll, while 75% supported a "Palestinian state from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea" - replacing what is now Israel. In a December poll, 72% of Palestinians supported the Hamas attack.

Rather than part company with reality, U.S. officials and opinion leaders should embrace it. Long-term Israeli-Palestinian peace requires, among other things, a destroyed Hamas, an overhauled Palestinian Authority, and a spirit of co-existence that's nurtured among the Palestinian people.
Schumer’s Folly
By overseeing the Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza, Netanyahu has once again drawn the Democrats’ ire. Although many on the left claim Bibi is only continuing the war to further his political prospects, the prime minister has been much more moderate than his coalition would like. For example, he agreed to a hostage deal that dismayed the Israeli right.

Removing Netanyahu is not likely to change Israeli policy much. A recent poll reveals that a majority of Israelis oppose a hypothetical political settlement to the current conflict that is far better for Israel than anything Hamas has offered. Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s main opponent, wants to expand the draft to conscript young men from the growing Haredi community. Since many Haredi receive government support, conscripting them would make the war more economical than continuing to pull reservists away from their day jobs.

On the home front, Democrats tend to downplay individual responsibility and explain crime surges, drug usage, and poverty by pointing to larger economic, political, and social issues. Ironically, on foreign policy they often fall off the other side of the horse and act like all of their problems with another country or region are due to one or two individuals. Political leadership certainly matters, and the Middle East has had its share of charismatic heroes and villains that draw eyeballs. But contra President Obama, the Middle East would not "all be easy" if only the leaders there "could be like the Scandinavians."

Biden and Schumer are encouraging their party to make the same mistake again. Since they made their comments, Senate Armed Service Committee chair Jack Reed (D., R.I.) said on the Senate floor, "it is time for new leadership for both the Palestinians and the Israelis." They may think that by drawing a distinction between Netanyahu and the Israeli people, they are somehow safeguarding the Israeli-American relationship from their party’s left wing. But few people stop committing errors when their leaders keep encouraging them to do so.

The Democrats’ Middle East forays have created plenty of tragedy and heartbreak, but not much else. Haven’t we had enough of that?
Gallant heads to US amid tensions over Rafah op
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant departed for Washington on Sunday, at the invitation of his American counterpart Lloyd Austin.

Gallant is scheduled to meet with Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and additional senior officials.

“The parties will discuss developments in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, efforts undertaken to return the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, humanitarian efforts and measures required to ensure regional stability,” the minister’s office said in a statement.

“Gallant will also raise the importance of maintaining and further deepening the important cooperation between the defense establishments of both countries, as well as topics related to force build-up and maintaining the qualitative military edge of the State of Israel,” it added.


Katz: UN ‘an antisemitic and anti-Israel body’ under Guterres
Under the leadership of Secretary-General António Guterres, the United Nations has become “an antisemitic and anti-Israel body that shelters and emboldens terror,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday.

The X post came in response to Guterres’s visit earlier in the day to the Sinai-Gaza border, in which he called a long line of waiting humanitarian aid trucks on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing “tragic” and “a moral outrage.”

Guterres added that “nothing justifies the horrific attacks by Hamas and nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Israel has been fighting a war for nearly six months against the terrorist group in Gaza after its men led a mass invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 mostly civilians, wounding thousands more and kidnapping 253, of which over 100 remain in Gaza.

Guterres also called for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.

Katz tweeted, “the UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres, stood today on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing and blamed Israel for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, without condemning in any way the Hamas-ISIS terrorists who plunder humanitarian aid, without condemning @UNRWA that cooperates with terrorists—and without calling for the immediate, unconditional release of all Israeli hostages. Under his leadership, the @UN has become an antisemitic and anti-Israeli body that shelters and emboldens terror.”


Fighting on two fronts, Israel might be asleep at the wheel on Iran
Four immediate thoughts arise from Dubowitz’s words, followed by a disturbing headline.

• The first issue is Iran’s impressive, diabolical strategy, which pins Israel down to the here-and-now of terrorism so that it is not preoccupied with what it has defined over the past three decades as the No. 1 threat to its existence.

In the complex chess game that Iran and Israel are playing, Tehran currently has the upper hand, and this is very bad news—much worse than what is happening in Gaza (and Lebanon).

• The second issue is professional. Those who are supposed to deal with this matter in Israel are (in descending order) the Mossad, the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate and the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The problem is that their heads are preoccupied with the war.

Mossad Director David Barnea is fully invested in the negotiations for the release of the captives; IDF Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is focused on intelligence for the Hamas war; and Moshe Edri, the head of the AEC, has taken upon himself the establishment and management of the Tekuma Administration for the rehabilitation of the Gaza border communities. Even if each of them is a superman, a mega-mission like the Iranian nuclear program requires full attention and focus.

• The third issue is Hezbollah. Almost all experts believe that the organization is not interested in an all-out war with Israel. There are quite a few reasons for this—such as the destruction in Gaza and the fear of similar damage to Lebanon—but the main one is that Iran, which built and funded Hezbollah and is largely involved in its management, is not interested in this at the moment.

With all due respect to the Palestinian struggle in Gaza and the sympathies Tehran has towards Hamas’s war, the Iranians have a more important thing to worry about—their nuclear program. Hezbollah is meant to deter Israel from attacking Iran or to respond if Israel decides to attack. And if so, if a war is about to be forced upon us in Lebanon, it might be better to have it start with an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, knowing that the outcome on the northern front will be the same.

• The fourth issue is a derivative of the third. To fight in Lebanon, Israel needs international legitimacy. The world is currently not siding with us, and it will not allow Israel to devastate another country in the region. For this to be possible, close coordination with Washington is required, to provide the IDF with an international umbrella and also ammunition and spare parts, and above all broad backing in case the war ignites additional fronts.

The chances that Biden will want this on the eve of the elections is virtually zero; on the other hand, he has vowed that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, and he also knows that the Iranian bomb is not intended for Israel alone: In an Iranian paraphrase of Leonard Cohen’s song—first we’ll take Tel Aviv, and then Manhattan.


Why Mideast Neighbors Won't Offer Refuge to Palestinians Stuck in Gaza War Zone
Images of malnourished children and desperate civilians seeking food and water in war-torn Gaza have flooded both mainstream and social media channels in recent weeks. Yet the reaction of the international community is to force those people to keep living in an ever-worsening humanitarian situation.

Regional nations in the past have offered refuge to civilians escaping wars in Syria, Iraq and Sudan. But they refuse to address people in Gaza who are desperate to get themselves or their families out of harm's way, even temporarily, until a ceasefire is declared. They also do not address the reality that much of Gaza's housing and civilian infrastructure has been destroyed by five months of fighting and could take years to rebuild.

"We are now watching a black comedy scene where Israel is pleading with the Palestinian civilians to empty the areas where Hamas terrorists are hiding, so the Israeli forces can target them, while Arab states and even some Western powers and international organizations are urging and even forcing the Palestinian people to remain in a dangerous territory of war," said Dalia Ziada, director of the MEEM Center for Middle East and East Mediterranean Studies.

"These Arab states and international organizations will later blame Israel for carrying out disproportionate attacks in densely populated areas where Hamas terrorists are purposefully hiding among Palestinian civilians."

Instead of allowing those fleeing the violence to enter, Egypt, which shares a direct border and land crossing with Gaza, has claimed that opening its doors to Palestinian refugees, even temporarily, would constitute a threat to the country's national security. Other Arab states in the region have not been so eager to allow entry to Palestinian refugees. Some are actively even blocking entry by refusing to issue visas to Palestinian passports holders.

Egyptian analyst Ziada said the only way to explain the indifference of Arab countries to the suffering of Palestinian civilians is that "Arab leaders do not really want to carry the burden of rescuing them. They only chose to curse Israel and sing love to the Palestinians....I am sad to say that it is in the best interest of Arab leaders right now for the war to keep going and for the Palestinian civilians to keep suffering, so they have a tool to distract their own people from their failures in running state affairs."
'A huge mistake': Kamala Harris warns Israel against invasion of Rafah
“Any major military operation in Gaza would be a huge mistake,” US Vice President Kamala Harris told ABC News in an interview aired Sunday.

“I have studied the maps, there’s nowhere for those folks to go, and we’re looking at about a million and a half people in Rafah who are there because they were told to go there,” Harris added.

On the topic of Israeli elections, Harris told ABC that it is “on the Israeli people to make a decision about when they will have an election and who they elect.”

Harris made the comment after being asked by ABC if US President Biden description of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech, in which he called for an election in Israel to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a “good speech” meant there should be elections in Israel.

When then asked if Netanyahu was “an obstacle to peace,” Harris avoided answering the question directly, responding that the administration must “continue to enforce what we know to be and should be the priorities‌ in terms of what is happening in Gaza.”

She also added that “we have been very clear far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”Defense Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington Sunday for an official visit. Gallant was invited to meet senior US officials including the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and CIA head William Burns.


Dem Rep. Meeks: I’ve Talked About Getting Money to UNRWA by Proxy, ‘Very Upset’ Congress Defunded It
On Saturday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said he is “very upset” about the government funding bill stripping funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) over accusations that multiple UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attack because they’re the only group that can get aid in and that he’s talked with people “on how we can get resources to them and they may be able to get resources to UNRWA or whoever else” can get aid in.

Co-host Alicia Menendez asked, “Very quickly, though, another complication here is the restrictions on funding to UNRWA. You have a lot of progressives very upset about it. Your thoughts?”

Meeks responded, “I’m very upset about it. We had to strike this deal in order to keep the government open. But we know that UNRWA is the only one that has the ability to get the aid to the people there. So, [that’s] something that was a problem for me, also. But I had to make some decisions, because you give and take when you do these budgets. So, we still — and I’ve been talking to a number of individuals…from other humanitarian organizations on how we can get resources to them and they may be able to get resources to UNRWA or whoever else can get food and aid into the region, absolutely key and essential.”


NYTs: Netanyahu Tells Visiting Secretary of State Blinken: "We Have No Way to Defeat Hamas without Going into Rafah"
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Israeli leaders on Friday to discuss the country's plans to press ahead with an invasion of Rafah in Gaza. U.S. officials have grown more vocal in criticizing Israel's war strategy, but the Biden administration has stopped short of placing restrictions on military aid to Israel. It has also not demanded a permanent stop to Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

After their meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had repeated to Blinken that Israel recognized the need to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian aid for Gaza but was determined to send troops into Rafah, where well-organized Hamas forces remain. "We have no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there," Netanyahu said. "I told him that I hope we will do it with the support of the U.S., but if we must - we will do it alone."

A member of Israel's war cabinet, Benny Gantz, thanked Blinken "for his support for Israel and the deep American commitment to its security." Gantz - a longtime political rival of Netanyahu - said he had emphasized that Israel must "dismantle Hamas' military infrastructure, including in Rafah."

Blinken said in Cairo on Thursday that Israel had taken positive steps in recent weeks to allow more humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza.
WSJ: Why Israel Plans to Attack Rafah despite U.S. Doubts
While the U.S. is trying to dissuade Israel from launching a ground assault on the Gaza city of Rafah, Israel says taking Rafah from Hamas is too important to its strategy for winning the war. Seizing control of Rafah is vital if Israel is to forestall a Hamas-led insurgency in Gaza, said Danny Orbach, a military historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "An insurgency can intensify only when it has safe havens," he said. Israel says Hamas has for years used Rafah and the Gaza-Egypt border zone to smuggle in weapons.

U.S. leaders don't understand that after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, the Israeli public strongly supports eliminating the group as a threat, whatever the cost in Israeli and Palestinian lives, said Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser. "In the end, we have to go there and destroy the military capability of Hamas in Rafah."

Israel has promised it will prepare the evacuation of many of the refugees currently crowded into Rafah before launching a ground assault. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said earlier this month that Israel would work with its international partners to build "humanitarian enclaves" inside Gaza where refugees evacuated from Rafah can get food, water, shelter and medical treatment. A ground assault against Hamas in Rafah would take place only once those facilities are ready.
How the IDF dismantled Gaza's Qatari-funded terror neighborhood
IDF’s Southern Command defined the raid of the Hamad neighborhood in Khan Yunis as one of the most creative maneuvers of the war in Gaza.

The Israeli forces reached operational success quickly, surrounding the neighborhood within 15 minutes. Israeli forces led by the IDF's 98th Brigade also captured two prominent senior Hamas figures during the operation.

The story behind IDF's success in Hamad
Following Operation Protective Edge in 2014, during which the IDF began destroying Hamas terror tunnels and terror infrastructure, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani decided to donate hundreds of millions of dollars for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

A considerable amount of the Emir’s funds was invested in establishing “Hamad City,” a luxurious neighborhood within Khan Yunis. The upscale neighborhood consisted of 124 six-floor buildings with 1060 apartment units, a mosque, two schools, and parks. With the leftover funds, the Emir contributed to the construction of a hospital.

Hamas senior officials and their families moved into this new and opulent neighborhood, which then turned into ruins after the IDF entered as part of the ground operation to dismantle Hamas terror infrastructure in the area.

At the height of IDF operations in Khan Yunis earlier this year, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed a concentration of senior operatives hidden within Hamad City. These included valuable assets for understanding the area, uncovering Hamas's military infrastructure, and information regarding the hostages.

Shin Bet officials made it clear to the commanders in the Southern Command that there were more than 10,000 Palestinians in the area who thought that the neighborhood was protected from attacks for a number of reasons, which include the fact that it was established with Qatari funding and that the IDF had not operated in it except for several airstrikes at the beginning of the ground invasion.

"It was clear to us that there was a high concentration of armed men there and that there were intelligence assets there that we wanted with us," said a military official involved in planning the operation on the neighborhood.
IDF soldiers read Purim megillah in Gaza: WATCH
Israel Defense Forces troops waging war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip marked Purim on Sunday by reading Megillat Esther, the Scroll of Esther. Purim commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther. Haman was vizier to the Persian king Ahasuerus. His plans were foiled by Mordecai and his adopted daughter Esther, who had become queen upon her marriage to Ahasuerus. The day of deliverance became a day of rejoicing among Jews.



‘It’s not easy being a lone soldier, but I would do it all over again’
At the age of 21, Jonas Cohen embarked on a significant life journey by relocating to Israel from the United States in December 2022 through the Garin Tzabar program. This initiative is designed to facilitate service in the Israel Defense Forces and provide support to lone soldiers, that is those without close relatives in Israel who can help them.

In November 2023, he commenced his military service, completing a medic course. He currently serves as a medic at the IDF’s human resources instruction base.

Despite facing numerous challenges and feeling homesick, Cohen expresses no regrets about his decision to make aliyah and says that he would undertake the journey again without any reservations.

He hails from New York and is supported by the Lone Soldier Center—In Memory of Michael Levin, which has branches in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Raised in a religiously observant family as the second of four siblings, Cohen has always felt a strong connection to Israel.

“I was brought up in a household where there was a profound connection to Israel, and I’ve always believed in the importance of contributing to the country. The sight of soldiers always inspired me to envision myself in their position one day,” he reflects.

After spending a year in Israel at the age of 18 to study in a yeshiva, Cohen returned to the U.S. However, within four months, he decided to enlist in the IDF. Through the Garin Tzabar program, he arrived with a group of immigrants at Sde Eliyahu, a religious kibbutz in northern Israel.
Secrets of Shifa Hospital: What Israel found and why the raid broke Hamas
A nearly week-long Israeli raid on the Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City, along with extensive operations in Khan Yunis’s Hamad district have broken the spirit of Hamas, while wrecking the terror group’s efforts to establish a mini-government administration in northern Gaza.

The terror group fears that intelligence gained from Shifa and Hamad will pave the way for an invasion of Rafah.

Since Monday morning, Israeli forces have killed over 140 terrorists holed up inside the compound. Of the roughly 800 terrorists arrested, at least 480 have been identified as members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Israel raided the hospital compound after receiving intelligence that senior Hamas figures were inside the compound planning attacks.

Caught off guard, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad hastily evacuated patients and visitors from the buildings, then hid among the displaced Palestinians, maintaining false identities until they were arrested.

Even now, Hamas leadership does not know which of its senior officials in Shifa have been killed or arrested. But information that has reached TPS suggests that several high-level figures are hiding in buildings near Shifa.

TPS has learned that in one of the hospital buildings, Hamas established a small government administration center with representatives of the government ministries, especially the ministries of education, interior, treasury and the police.

On the day that Israeli forces entered the compound, Hamas was about to pay salaries to hundreds of its civil and military officials. Salaries range from $200 to hundreds of dollars.

Among the Hamas figures killed in the compound was Faiq Mabhouh, who headed the Operations Directorate of Hamas’s Internal Security.


US official accused IDF of sexually abusing Palestinian women, general says
IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi met with the holder of the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio at the US State Department, who accused Israel of "systematically" sexually abusing Palestinian woman, the general explained in an interview on 103FM.

Recounting his meeting, he explained, "It was a meeting that shook me. We sat there, talked about the situation, and suddenly she accused Israel of systematically sexually abusing Palestinian women."

Avivi described his reaction.

"This is absolutely disconnected from reality. But without hesitation, she said, 'The UN presented evidence to the Israeli government.' I told her, 'Does it make sense that this phenomenon would exist and the media would never have reported on it?' I wanted there to be greater awareness... about what is really happening in the US State Department. In the end, I left there with the feeling that they simply don't talk to us and don't pass on any information." Is it the official US position that IDF soldiers rape Palestinian women?

"When we meet with a State Department official holding the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio, every word she utters, as far as I'm concerned, is an official US position. Ultimately, she is a government official. When she says, for example, 'You did not provide evidence that Hamas is stealing humanitarian aid and you are starving the population,' what is she talking about? The IDF spokesperson shows [proof] every other day that Hamas is stealing food.

"You're saying, guys, wake up and sit with these officials because they have a significant influence on what happens at the decision-maker level, and you will work to bridge the gaps.

"We will continue to meet with them, as we did with European Union officials, where many of the people we met said, 'This is the first time we're meeting an Israeli representative,' even though it isn't an official delegation. But we don't have a big Foreign Ministry and not a lot of officials working abroad."


Israeli forces nab five Palestinian terror suspects
Israeli forces arrested five wanted Palestinians in counterterrorism operations across Judea and Samaria overnight Saturday.

In a raid near Bethlehem, the forces also confiscated weapons.

There were no injuries to the troops.

Since Oct. 7, Israeli soldiers have arrested more than 3,600 Palestinian terrorism suspects in Judea and Samaria, of whom about 1,600 are affiliated with Hamas.

The raids came a day after Palestinian terrorist Mujahid Barakat Mansour killed IDF Sgt. First Class Ilay David Garfinkel, 21, in a sniper attack near the Jewish community of Dolev in the Binyamin region of Samaria.

Six other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously.
The Coming Conflict with Hizbullah
The Hizbullah that Israel would face if violence were to escalate to major ground operations is more capable than in 2006.

Hizbullah is larger, better armed, and more experienced, thanks in part to its experience fighting in Syria.

It is designed to fight a campaign aimed at killing Israeli soldiers and civilians at a steady rate through rockets, long-range missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, and drone attacks.

It may also have some ability to conduct combined arms offensives against Israeli troops and limit Israeli air dominance.

Even so, it remains technologically outmatched by the IDF, which has long prepared for a rematch of the 2006 war, has been engaged in a war with Hamas since October 2023, and will be able to bring much greater firepower to bear from its land- and air-based platforms.
Hezbollah fires 50-plus rockets at Israel
Hezbollah fired some 50 rockets at the Galilee before dawn on Sunday, after the Israeli Air Force struck a terrorist site deep inside Lebanon.

The rocket barrage was one of the biggest since Hezbollah initiated a low-intensity conflict against the Jewish state in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of some 1,200 people in the northwestern Negev.

Israeli air defenses intercepted several of the rockets and the rest hit open areas, the IDF said. There were no reports of injuries or damages.

In response, IAF craft struck a series of sites in Southern Lebanon from which some of the projectiles were fired.

Just after midnight on Sunday, IAF jets struck a weapons manufacturing plant in Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold northeast of Beirut in the Beqaa Valley, about 60 miles from the border with Israel.


Israel strikes vehicle in Lebanon, fighter jets neutralize Hezbollah threat
IDF fighter jets attacked a building being used by Hezbollah in the Ayta Ash Shab region and an additional infrastructure being used by the terror organization in Odaisseh, Lebanon, the IDF announced on Sunday.

According to the announcement, these attacks occurred after soldiers from the 869th battalion detected Hezbollah terrorists entering the buildings.

Additionally, the IDF confirmed that multiple anti-tank missiles were launched toward the Ramim Ridge area near the Lebanon border in northern Israel. As a response, the IDF conducted artillery fire at the sources and removed the threat.

Arab media reported that Israel conducted a targeted strike
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli media reported, citing Lebanese sources, that a targeted strike was carried out on a vehicle in Beqaa in eastern Lebanon.

Later, Israeli media, citing Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya, reported that two people were killed in the attack.

Following that, Lebanese media reported that Hezbollah announced that one of the two people killed in the attack was Hussein Ali Arslan, who belonged to the group.


IDF Establishes Field Medical Aid Center amid Shifa Hospital Operation
The IDF announced Saturday that it is establishing a center to provide medical treatment and humanitarian aid to wounded Gazans and medical teams in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City who have been evacuated due to the ongoing military operation.

The IDF has brought in medical equipment and medical teams to monitor the well-being of the evacuated Gazans.

On Friday, IDF soldiers facilitated the entry of trucks full of medical equipment, food, and water into the hospital.

This included ten thousand units of medications, hundreds of pain relievers, over a hundred packages of bandages and infusions, and dozens of advanced monitoring devices.

Additionally, the trucks brought two tons of food and three tons of water.
Hunger in Gaza? 'Israel provides humanitarian aid - but Hamas terrorists taking it over'
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.

Accusations against Israel were made last week by the EU and UN, feeding into a narrative that has been spread on social media and in reports, by Hamas and its supporters around the world. Israel's delayed response to those accusations have solidified the narrative that the civilians in Gaza were suffering from hunger and that Israel was to blame.

According to Israeli officials, distribution of the aid that is delivered either over land or in airdrops is hampered by an inability of human rights organizations working in the Strip, to organize orderly provisions in some areas due to the ongoing fighting.

They also point to Hamas terrorists taking over the aid in order to provide it to their fighters hiding in the underground tunnel network or to sell it to vendors at exorbitant prices. According to reports, the cost of a tomato in Gaza's markets was as high as NIS 24 ($6.60)

The Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on Thursday that since the start of the war, over 17,400 aid trucks provided humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip, including over 10,300 trucks carrying more than 218,000 tons of food.

For context, the daily average number of trucks carrying food to the Gaza Strip before the war was around 70, and since the beginning of March, the average has grown to over 125 — marking an 80% rise.

However, a large portion of the aid is looted, mainly due to the Gazan crowds swarming the trucks.

COGAT was attempting to enlist local Gazans who were not affiliated with Hamas to assist in the distribution of the aid.


J’lem accepts deal to free female soldiers, Hamas yet to respond
Israel has tentatively accepted a preliminary agreement brokered by the United States for the release of the female IDF soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza.

A delegation led by Mossad Director David Barnea returned to Israel on Saturday night after another round of talks took place in Doha, Qatar. Reports indicate that Jerusalem is willing to move forward with part of a broader agreement being hashed out that would include the release of five female IDF soldiers in exchange for 25 Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons (five terrorists for each soldier).

However, sources told Kan News on Sunday morning that they doubt that Hamas will accept the proposal. The terrorist group wants many more Palestinian security prisoners released.

Israeli officials told Ynet on Sunday that there was no crisis in negotiations and that the delegation would return to Doha after Hamas responds, which usually takes a few days. The Hamas delegation in Qatar must communicate with their Gaza leadership, who reportedly have the final say in negotiations.

CIA Director William Burns is expected to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington this week. Burns has played an active role in the hostage talks.

Israel rejects the Hamas demand to end the war and for IDF troops to withdraw from the Gaza Strip as part of an agreement to free the hostages, more than 100 of whom remain in captivity.

Israel also wants the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, killed in action in the 2014 Gaza war (“Operation Protective Edge”), as part of the deal.


MPs demand bias inquiry as Mail reveals Gaza doctors at centre of harrowing BBC report are long-time supporters of Hamas... as these vile anti-Semitic social media posts show
All day long on March 12, the BBC led its radio and TV bulletins with a shocking report from Gaza in which hospital medics described being tortured and abused by Israeli forces.

Even for a conflict overladen with grim testimony and emotive images, this was highly charged material, the kind that could inflame communities in Britain.

What was being alleged, after all, blatantly contravened the fundamental principle that hospitals – in this case the Nasser hospital in the city of Khan Yunis – should be protected in wartime.

International condemnation was swift, with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron among those demanding an explanation from Israel.

The BBC has faced accusations of anti-Israel-bias and of fuelling anti-Semitism, so it was anxious to demonstrate that it went to considerable lengths to corroborate evidence. No doubt it was reassured that the claims came from doctors. Surely reliable witnesses?

But a Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered some disturbing truths about six of the eight medics interviewed – evidence that should, at the very least, have given BBC news executives pause for thought as they rolled out their scoop with dramatic fanfare.

Astonishingly, all six have repeatedly spouted anti-Semitic slurs on social media, with posts ranging from the provocative and inflammatory to the downright obscene.

Last night, our findings prompted demands for an independent inquiry into the BBC report. A peer said the corporation was being 'led by its nose by Hamas'.

In one post, Dr Amira Al-Assouli (misspelled on the BBC caption), whose account of being targeted by Israeli gunfire was at the forefront of the BBC's coverage, plainly supports a Hamas rocket attack on Israel.

'O Lord, turn every Palestinian missile into a Zionist casualty, and turn every casualty into a thousand families that leave our homeland,' she wrote.

In another she said: 'Lord protect our mujahideen [jihadi fighters] and support them with your angels and kill the Jews.'
'The Jew defiled Jerusalem': British MPs demand bias inquiry over BBC doc
Jewish Tory MP Andrew Percy told The Mail, "The BBC seemingly doesn't seem to care that it keeps casually giving airtime to people who openly support the murder and assault of innocent civilians through terrorism.

"The BBC seems unable to appreciate that Hamas and their terrorist network have infiltrated every aspect of life in Gaza, even teachers and medical professionals, some of whom helped facilitate the October 7 attacks and hostage-taking.

"There must be a full independent inquiry undertaken of the BBC's failure to uphold impartiality on this issue.

"Their coverage is fuelling the hate on our streets, and it is fuelling anti-Semitism. They must be held to account."

Theresa Villiers, Tory MP for Chipping Barnet, told the source 'It is shocking our national broadcaster is seemingly basing its reports on the accounts of people who have praised terrorist violence against innocent Israeli citizens.

"The BBC purports to hold itself to high standards for the quality and impartiality of its reporting. It has fallen far short of these standards in this instance, and there needs to be a thorough investigation. Greater care needs to be taken when reporting on such divisive and emotive issues as the Gaza war."

BBC director-general Tim Davie was questioned by the Commons culture selection committee about the investigation by the Mail and potential bias in BBC media reports. He acknowledged that some social media posts had been "unnacceptable" and promised action would be taken.


‘Extinguish the whole thing’: Douglas Murray calls for Israel to ‘destroy’ Hamas
Author Douglas Murray has called for Israel to “extinguish” the war in Gaza by completely destroying Hamas and making sure they are never operationally capable again.

Mr Murray warned that there are consequences for starting a war, and Hamas can’t now put their hands up and “call it a draw”.

“As one of the members of the war cabinet in Israel the other day said, Benny Gantz, there is no point in putting out three-quarters of a fire,” he told Sky News Australia.

“You either put the fire out or you don’t. You don’t put out a bit of the fire and then leave it burning.

“Extinguish the whole thing, or there’s no point, and in the case of Gaza, extinguishing the whole thing is destroying Hamas completely, making sure they are never again operationally capable.”




Bridges Podcast Ep. 2 w/ Ryan McBeth
Ryan McBeth is an intelligence analyst, software architect, cybersecurity guy, and YouTube content creator specializing military, intelligence, disinformation and programming!




Daniel Greenfield: Chicago Politician Stands in Front of PLO, Iraqi Flag, After U.S. Flag Burned
This isn’t a political opposition. This is treason.

After Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez went viral for taking part in a pro-terrorist rally at which an American flag was burned, he claimed that he was far too patriotic for such a thing.

According to the Chicago socialist, and a close ally of failed Mayor Brandon Johnson, “as a proud naturalized American immigrant, Alderman Sigcho Lopez is sensitive to any perception of disrespect towards the country that has provided him with numerous opportunities. He categorically denies ‘choosing’ to speak in front of a burned American flag.”

Lopez claims he didn’t see the flag and was just there to denounce America, Israel and complain about the lack of illegal alien amnesty.

But that’s not what people are seeing. They’re seeing a socialist standing in front of the PLO flag and the Iraqi flag with a burned American flag near his feet.


Soros-linked orgs behind celeb campaign accused of glamorizing Palestinian terror symbol
U.S. organizations behind an embattled celebrity campaign accused of using Palestinian terror symbolism are linked to George Soros' Open Society Foundations (OSF).

"Artists4Ceasefire" met the ire of critics for using a "red-hand symbol" they said was popularized in Palestinian protest movements after a 2000 lynching in Ramallah. The "Artists4Ceasefire" organization is backed by two OSF-linked groups, ActionAID USA and Oxfam America, according to their website.

OSF has been a major donor to Oxfam America since 2016, donating nearly $14 million from 2016-2022. Additionally, the former chief strategy officer of OSF, Smita Singh, is the chair of the governing board of Oxfam America.

According to ActionAID USA's most recent available reports for 2021 and 2022, "The Open Society Institute," currently known as The Open Society Foundations, was listed as a #3 donor on both financial documents.

Operations to prepare for the celebrity campaign to demand a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza began shortly after Oct. 7 attacks, which notably featured Hamas using "rape as a weapon of war" and the kidnapping of American and Israeli civilians.

According to domain registration tracker WHOIS, approximately 10 days after the Oct. 7 terror attacks against Israel (on Oct. 17), the domain for "Artists4Ceasefire.org" was registered.

The campaign made major headlines after being spotlighted by celebs like Billie Eilish and Mark Ruffalo who wore its distinct red symbol at the Oscars.

"To those who wore the red hand pin at the Oscars, this is what every Israeli and Palestinian thinks of when he sees a red hand: the lynching of 2 Israelis by Palestinians in 2000 in a police station," Ofir Gendelman, an Israeli government spokesperson, said. "The murderers drenched their hands in their victims' blood, celebrating their murder. Don't support that."


Pro-Hamas Influencer Jackson Hinkle Banned From Instagram
It’s difficult to say which specific event finally served as the proverbial straw that (partially) broke the camel’s back for Jackson Hinkle’s propaganda machine. However, the posting of numerous photoshopped images depicting him ‘meeting’ world leaders, such as the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, might have been a significant factor in Hinkle’s Instagram page being removed.

Another factor that may have compelled Meta, Instagram’s parent company, to finally take action could have been the steady stream of disinformation published on his page. This includes disputing the well-documented instances of chemical weapons used by Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whom Hinkle adoringly refers to as a “hero.”

In fact, on the very day Hinkle’s social media pages were taken down, he was busy spreading another appalling lie: he stated Ukraine was responsible for the horrific Moscow concert hall terror attack.

And in true Hinkle form, it did not matter that Islamist terror group ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack, including releasing footage that the terrorists filmed of themselves shooting civilians at point-blank range.

As was the case with the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists captured their atrocities on bodyworn cam, Hinkle still denied ISIS terrorists were behind the bloodshed even as they proudly broadcast their murderous rampage to billions around the world.


Tale of two Lebanons: après-ski champagne flows, while 80% live in poverty
Women are draped in fur, men clasp the fattest of cigars and waiters rush around with bottles of tequila that cost five times the monthly minimum wage. It is 3pm on a Saturday afternoon at an après-ski party in the snow-peaked mountains of northern Lebanon, and the economic crisis that has hobbled the country for four years feels a million miles away.

The DJ has flown in from abroad, the champagne is flowing and reality is forgotten in the restaurant as hundreds of people — mostly in their thirties to fifties — dance the afternoon away.

“There is no economic crisis,” laughs Emile, 38, who works for an international private equity firm. “This is just Lebanon. It always has been and it always will be.” Thirty miles away, hundreds of professors at the country’s only public university are protesting that their salaries are as low as $2 per hour.

Lebanon has always had ostentatious wealth and stark inequality. But the gap has never been so jarring.

Since 2019, the currency has lost over 95 per cent of its value, life savings and generational wealth have disappeared, child labour has hit record levels and the middle class has been obliterated.

For ordinary Lebanese people, the shock has begun to recede, though navigating day-to-day life today requires a fairly sophisticated understanding of economics, toggling between multiple exchange rates.

Annual inflation remains above 100 per cent, where it has been for most of the past four years. Individuals and businesses face crippling generator bills because the state provides only a few hours’ electricity a day.


Chinese-Owned Tanker Hit by Houthi Missiles in Red Sea
A Chinese-owned oil tanker was attacked on Saturday off Yemen by ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday. The MV Huang Pu issued a distress call but did not request assistance. A fire broke out on board the ship but was extinguished within 30 minutes. No casualties were reported and the vessel resumed its course for India.

CENTCOM said Houthi rebels had launched four anti-ship missiles in the Red Sea near the MV Huang Pu before a fifth hit the vessel. Following the attack, CENTCOM said U.S. forces engaged six drones launched by the Houthis, five of which crashed into the Red Sea.
Israel is 'anti-human,' Iranian FM tells Palestinian Islamic Jihad
In a phone conversation between the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement Ziyad al-Nakhaleh on Friday, the Iranian FM said the recent developments in Gaza displayed Israel’s anti-human nature and the White House’s support for “the genocide against the Palestinians,” Iranian state media reported.

The Iranian FM continued to say that the young people of the world see the truth of this and that the Gazan people have the world's support. He said that the world understands that defending human rights and the rights of women and children is “a Western political game.” He has previously commented that Western concern for human rights is disingenuous.

The secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement said “the resistance” showed great strength and spirit after six months of “the Zionist regime’s invasion of Gaza.” He also discussed creating unity and field cohesion among “the Palestinian resistance groups,” viewing it as a key to the victory of the Palestinian nation against “the killing machine of the Zionist enemy.”

He particularly emphasized uniting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza to strengthen the “movement.”


Belgian-based Holocaust survivors: Jews are packing their bag, we are scared
Rehoma Sluszny, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor living in Antwerp, told Sky News last week that Jewish people had begun packing their bags to flee amid a spike in European antisemitism.

Antwerp, which reports having the largest Hasidic population in Europe, received 90 reports of antisemitism in the first sick weeks following Hamas's October 7 terror attack, according to the report.

"In Antwerp, the Jews are much more visible with these black coats and big hats, and bunches of boys go by, and they just try to throw the hat on the floor, or when they drive with the bicycle, they try to push them from the bicycle," Sluszny said. "We really feel it - that it's much, much worse than it was before."

Claiming that some people have already packed their bags in anticipation of needing to quickly flee the country, Sluszny said "People who had family who didn't come back from Auschwitz, they are very scared. They think it's going to start again."



Anti-Israel video game to feature Palestinian terrorists as heroes
Video game developer Nidal Nijm Games announced on X on Saturday the upcoming release of two new anti-Israel video games that feature Palestinian terrorists killing Israeli enemies to "free Palestine" following the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Both video games set the Palestinian gunmen as heroic characters and allow those playing to fight for their freedom.

The first game, Sound of Silence, will soon be released on Steam, a video game digital distribution service considered to be one of the leading online gaming platforms.

The game features the main character, Jihad, who is on a mission to free his sister from Israeli airstrikes.

The second game, Toofan AlAqsa, allows the player to be a shooter and kill IDF enemies faster to "finish all levels and free Palestine."

The games are described on the Steam website as "inspired by suffering that is hardly close to reality."

A message attached to the games' Steam page states that they are Nijm's way of expression. "Perhaps this game won't have the huge impact - as expected - that would alleviate the suffering of my people in Gaza, but that's the nature of art, helpless in the face of the machine gun."
Antisemites call to boycott James Bond over reported Jewish lead actor
James Bond fans have called to boycott the franchise after the lead role was reportedly offered to Jewish actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Using the hashtag #BoycottJamesBond on X, users have highlighted Taylor-Johnson’s Jewish origins and protested the choice.

One prominent account by Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis wrote to her 1.2 million followers, “James Bond has been chosen. Aaron Taylor Johnson. AND he's Jewish.”

An additional user, Sam Parker, said, "It's crazy how much reach they have."

It's crazy how much reach they have.#BoycottJamesBond

One comment on the post read, “Trying to clean up the image of Mossad. Or is James gonna be running an international child sex trafficking ring this time like the real world???”

Taylor-Johnson reportedly granted the role

Last week, a source told The Sun, “Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it. The formal offer is on the table, and they are waiting to hear back."

“As far as Eon is concerned, Aaron will sign his contract in the coming days, and they can start preparing for the big announcement.”

Taylor-Johnson reportedly said regarding the role, “I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment."
How Jews Laugh Off and Outlive Their Persecutors | Elon Gold on the Power of Humor - Purim Special!
Elon Gold: the Leonard Cohen of the October 7 war, a title he vehemently rejects and, well, we don’t disagree.

In this special unfunny Purim episode, Eylon & Elon sit down for a cringey pre-game discussion (Elon had an actual comedy show to get to) about the Jewish ability to make jokes in dark times, the differences between Israeli humor and Jewish humor, and a competition on who can interrupt the other more: Eylon or his guest.

Elon also test-drives his Douglas Murray impersonation alongside his seasoned Trump impression which needs no prompting.






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