Sunday, April 21, 2024

04/21 Links: Netanyahu: Hamas to face ‘painful blows’ in the coming days; Assume Hamas leaders receive UNRWA funding; Columbia rabbi warns Jewish students to go home

From Ian:

Biden’s ‘starvation politics’ help with his base
In recent weeks, massive amounts of humanitarian aid have entered Gaza in hundreds of trucks. Around 500 trucks are entering the strip daily. What is particularly irksome to Israelis is the fact that this abundance is being showered on the Gazans, who democratically chose Hamas, have never revolted against it, and still support the horrific massacre - all while our captives languish in Gaza's tunnels, enduring unimaginable torture.

According to Israeli experts, Gaza is receiving far more than it needs, and the Americans know this down to the smallest details. The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has presented data to the Americans that 21 bakeries are operating in southern and central Gaza and another three in the north. They bake millions of pitas daily. The amount of water produced in the strip exceeds 5 gallons of drinking and cooking water per person per day. There have been 3,350 coordination efforts made between the IDF and aid organizations to facilitate the entry of aid.

This picture is well known to the official American representatives. Yet, they are hounding the Israeli leaders with endless demands. Everyone dealing with the issue knows that Israel is allowing far more than Gaza can absorb. "The Americans are driving Minister Ron Dermer crazy 24/7 with all these things, knowing there's no need for them. The UN inside Gaza is failing to distribute what's coming in. So why is more needed?" asks an Israeli who is privy to the data.

The American pressure results in an increasing burden for the IDF. Soldiers are required to secure the massive supply convoys, the construction of the seaport on the Gaza coast, the laying of a new water pipeline to the strip, and the opening of a crossing in the north. Defense Ministry inspectors spend nights and days examining the contents destined for the enemy, even though the enemy itself doesn't need it.

Meanwhile, the U.S. administration is tacitly endorsing, and sometimes explicitly using, the blood libel about "starvation in Gaza." Yet its officials are well aware that there was never any danger of starvation. Israel has been monitoring the humanitarian situation in Gaza from day one and would never allow this. Yet, the official and deliberate U.S. message is "immediate risk of starvation" - a lie that fuels the anti-Israel propaganda machine, which has been spreading the falsehood of "genocide in Gaza" around the world for months now.

One Israeli official said, "In direct conversations with the Americans, you see they are well-versed in the data. We, inside the room, wonder where they're getting these statements from. They know what's happening. They have an interest in not presenting what they know, and not affirming what Israel is saying. They should be saying, 'There is no starvation in Gaza, and Israel is doing everything it can to get food in. The bottleneck is not its fault.' But they choose not to say that."
Israel Is Hamas’s Most Potent Weapon
Sinwar took this strategy to a new level by building a massive underground city that would suck Israelis into killing Palestinians. Armaments, missile launchers, and terrorist command posts were positioned under hospitals, schools, mosques, and residential buildings, forcing Israelis to kill civilians, whether by airstrikes or in any conceivable ground operation if they were ever to stop the attacks. Sinwar, whose life was saved by Israeli medical intervention during his time in prison, knows that Israel does not execute even convicted murderers of Jews. His goal in provoking Israel into retaliation was to create and keep worsening Gaza’s “humanitarian crisis” and the toll of civilian casualties, thereby eliciting liberal sympathy for the Palestinians and international calls for an advantageous ceasefire while, most crucially, demoralizing the Israelis who must sacrifice their soldiers in a war they would have done anything to avoid.

Has the genius of Israel met its match in the genius of evil? Other commanders in the history of war have been known to sacrifice tens of thousands of their soldiers rather than surrender, but no invader ever turned his enemy into his primary weapon. Sinwar intends never to surrender, hoping that Israel will be forced to kill most of the population of Gaza in order to stop Hamas. The genocide of Jews that he undertook to engineer has already been equalized to a genocide by Jews against the innocent, harmless Hamas electorate.

When Golda Meir famously told Anwar Sadat, “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. But we can never forgive them for forcing us to kill their children,” she divulged Israel’s greatest weakness. Coexistence is to Judaism as conquest has been to Islam, requiring the former to seek accord from the latter. Hamas was first to fully to exploit this political contrast. Liberal democracies are generally loath to go to war, but a look at the Middle East map shows why Israel—when you can find it there—has the ultimate disincentive for military action against neighbors whose acceptance it seeks. As a minority by choice, Jews have always been at the mercy of imperial powers, of which Iran with its proxies is currently the most threatening. To succeed, the aggressor has learned—and demonstrated—that he must come in the form of a victim.

Meir was wiser when she said, “Peace will come to the Middle East when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.” The defeat of Hamas is the necessary precondition for that day, though not yet its guarantee.

And now that sizable numbers of pro-Hamas sympathizers and belligerents are already active in this country, testing its freedoms and liberal virtues, we are seeing whether Americans learn enough from the war in Israel in time to prevent the brewing war against them.
‘Assume Hamas leaders receive UNRWA funding’
People can be excluded from refugee status if they violate the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, per UNHCR’s Resettlement Handbook.

More specifically, those about whom there are “serious reasons” to believe they committed a “crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity” or a “serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge” prior to being admitted to that country as a refugee or who have “been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations,” can be excluded.

Elsewhere in the handbook, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees notes that most acts of violence commonly called “terrorism” qualify, “particularly if they indiscriminately endanger or harm civilians.”

The 1951 convention, which the handbook cites, states that “This convention shall not apply to persons who are at present receiving from organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees protection or assistance.”

The United Nations has come to interpret that clause very broadly to include Palestinian “refugees” as “not only persons displaced at the time of the 1948 and 1967 hostilities, but also the descendants of such persons.”

Funding terror
“If UNRWA were truly applying universal principles, they would certainly remove anyone who belongs to Hamas from their employment from their staff but, in addition, deny them refugee status,” Neuer, of U.N. Watch, told JNS. “I’m not aware that’s ever happened.”

UNRWA has only suspended or removed an employee for belonging to Hamas in very rare instances, according to Neuer.

“I’ve never heard of anyone, though, including some of the chief terrorists, who are denied refugee status or denied aid,” he said. “We can assume that many, if not all, of the Hamas leaders are on the rolls as UNRWA refugees and are receiving funding in one form or another from UNRWA.”


Seth Frantzman: Multi-front threats: Hamas, Hezbollah, and the West Bank
The Gaza Hamas front
First of all, there is an interview that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh gave to Turkish media. I it is highlighted by Al-Mayadeen because of its messaging. Hamas’ leadership visited Turkey over the weekend to cement ties with Ankara and get more support. Haniyeh said in his interview that "if the enemy decides to go to Rafah, our people will not raise the white flag, and the resistance is ready to defend itself." He also said that Israel has not agreed to a ceasefire or to start the war. He appeared to claim there would be no hostage deal. Hamas has stalled on a deal for months. Hamas is hosted by US ally Qatar, which the US and Israel rely on to broker the hostage talks.

Hamas leadership in Doha is now indicating how closely they coordinate with Hamas leadership in Qatar on discussions about Rafah and the “day after” in Gaza. “Regarding the issue of the day after the war in Gaza, and who will assume governance of the Strip, Haniyeh reaffirmed the need for ‘the management of the Gaza Strip to be carried out with Palestinian will,’” the report said.

The northern Hezbollah front
In Lebanon, Hezbollah continues to say it is carrying out precision strikes on Israel. Hezbollah has increasingly said it is targeting Israeli military sites. For instance, last week, the group claimed to target an IDF division and brigade headquarters. It also claimed to target the IDF in the village of Arab al-Aramshe, wounding 14 soldiers. Over the weekend, Hezbollah said that it had “targeted a building used by Israeli occupation soldiers in the ‘Shomera’ colony with appropriate weapons,” according to al-Mayadeen. This is the wording that Hezbollah uses. It claims to use proportional responses to attack Israel using specific weapons, as opposed to arbitrary attacks.

In addition, Hezbollah said on April 20 that “the resistance announced that it had targeted two buildings used by Israeli occupation soldiers in the ‘Matula’ settlement, and two others in the ‘Shlomi’ settlement, with appropriate weapons.” In another statement, Hezbollah claimed it targeted a Humvee using an anti-tank guided missile. “Hezbollah [also] destroyed the spy equipment in Hanita,” Al-Mayadeen reported.
Netanyahu: Hamas to face ‘painful blows’ in the coming days
Israel will inflict “painful blows” on Hamas in the coming days in an attempt to free the remaining 133 hostages held by the terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

“Why is this night different, citizens of Israel? That on this night, 133 of our dear brothers and sisters are not at the Seder table and are still held captive in the inferno of Hamas,” Netanyahu said in his Passover remarks.

“We have already freed 124 of our hostages and we are committed to returning them all home—the living and the fallen,” continued the premier.

“And what is not different about this night? In every generation, they rise up to destroy us, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, delivers us from their hands,” he said, adding: “This time, too, we will overcome those who seek our lives, thanks to our faith, the courage of our soldiers and our unity.”

Comparing Hamas to the biblical villain Pharaoh, Netanyahu noted that Hamas is the only obstacle to reaching a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. “It hardens its heart and refuses to let our people go; therefore, we will bring it more painful blows—and it will happen soon,” he said.

The premier vowed to “increase the military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas, as this is the only way to free our hostages and achieve victory.”

“Together we will fight, and with God’s help, we will win. A kosher Passover to all of the Jewish people,” concluded Netanyahu’s remarks.


Shin Bet shoots down report only 40 hostages alive
The Shin Bet denied a report on Sunday by the British Daily Mail that intelligence gathered by Israel’s internal security service is leading to fears that only 40 hostages out of the 133 being held by Hamas in Gaza are alive.

According to the report from the London-based tabloid, a dwindling number of captives have survived after 253 were kidnapped during the Hamas-led rampage across the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7. The report cites the Shin Bet and anonymous sources to make the claim.

“The publication in question is not true and does not represent the opinion of the Shin Bet,” the agency said. “The numbers mentioned in the article are based on the writer’s opinion only and are not based on information from the Shin Bet.”

The IDF has confirmed that 34 of those taken to Gaza on Oct. 7 are dead, and others are feared to be no longer alive. A total of 1,200 mostly civilians were murdered and thousands of others were wounded during the attack, which included widespread atrocities.

A truce reached last November saw 105 captives released, with three other hostages freed in military rescue operations and four freed separately. The bodies of 12 hostages have been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military.

Negotiations to release the rest of the hostages have been going on for months. They have been mediated by the Americans, Egyptians and Qataris with the involvement of the Israelis and the Hamas terrorist group and have taken place in Cairo, Doha and Paris.
U.S. Officials Watched with Mounting Alarm as Scale of Iran Attack on Israel Became Clear
President Biden and his national-security team watched with mounting alarm on April 13 as monitors in the White House Situation Room showed 30, then 60, then over 100 Iranian ballistic missiles streaking toward Israel. Iranian cruise missiles and a swarm of drones were already in the air, timed to arrive at the same time as the missiles. The scale of Tehran's direct attack on Israel matched U.S. spy agencies' worst-case scenarios, U.S. officials said later.

Biden's top aides watched Iran remove missiles from storage and put them on launchers. When the attack began Saturday night, U.S. officials in the Situation Room and at the Pentagon tracked the three waves of weapons that left Iranian airspace, crossing Iraq and Jordan, racing toward Israel. The scale of the barrage was a shock, administration officials said. "This was on the high end, I think, of what we were anticipating," a senior official said.

No one had ever tried to intercept so many ballistic missiles at once. Washington thought its and Israeli forces could handle 50 ballistic missiles, but more than 100 was unknown territory. Israel's Arrow system intercepted most of the ballistic missiles, while two American destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean downed several others.
Tehran's Menace Persists
The rulers in Tehran know they were able to cross a red line by attacking Israel directly a week ago. Israel and its friends had to expend considerable resources to intercept nearly all of the more than 300 missiles and drones in that attack. And Iran is paying no significant price for it.

The new sanctions announced by the U.S. this week are largely meaningless. They target Iranians involved in the missile program who don't have foreign bank accounts. Iran retains the ability to strike Israel, either on its own or via proxies, at the time of its choosing. Most important, it will also continue to make secret progress on its nuclear-weapons program.

The G-7 foreign ministers called on Iran on Friday "to stop the continuing uranium enrichment activities reported by [the IAEA] that have no credible civil justification and pose significant proliferative risks. Tehran must reverse this trend and engage in serious dialogue." You can imagine the smiles with which those "must reverse" and "engage in serious dialogue" commands were received in Tehran.
Strike Was Meant to Show Iran that Israel Could Paralyze Its Defenses
An Israeli weapon deployed in a retaliatory strike against Iran on Friday damaged a defense system responsible for detecting and destroying aerial threats near Natanz, a central Iranian city critical to the country's secret nuclear weapons program, according to two Western officials and two Iranian officials. The strike, the Western officials said, was calculated to deliver a message to Iran that Israel could bypass Iran's defense systems undetected and paralyze them, using a fraction of the fire power Iran deployed last week when it launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel.

Officials confirmed that Israel had deployed aerial drones and at least one missile fired from a plane far from Israeli or Iranian airspace that included technology that enabled it to evade Iran's radar defenses. Neither the missile nor the aircraft that fired it entered Jordanian airspace.

Israel's use of drones launched from inside Iran and a missile that it could not detect was intended to give Iran a taste of what a larger-scale attack might look like. The attack was calibrated to make Iran think twice before launching a direct attack on Israel in the future.
Why Israel Didn't Clobber Iran
Israeli deterrence is usually about massive use of offensive military force, but this time was different. When Iran launched a missile and drone barrage last weekend, the reported destruction of 99% of Iran's incoming munitions by Israel and its allies was an astonishing display of missile defense. When the Israeli response came early Friday, it was muted, sending a message that it can penetrate Iranian air defenses and hit strategic targets when it chooses.

Israel wanted the last word in this exchange, and it seems to have succeeded. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday, after talks with officials in Tehran, that "Iran does not want an escalation."

Israel is behaving like the leader of a regional coalition against Iran. In its measured response, it appeared to be weighing the interests of its allies in this coalition - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan - which all provided quiet help. It's playing the long game. Israel has allies. That's the new shape of the Middle East. After absorbing Iran's missile assault so deftly, Israel is seen at once as a victim of attack and a master of high-tech defense.
Report: US deployed microwave missiles that can disable Iran's nuclear facilities
According to an exclusive report from DailyMail.com, the US Air Force has quietly deployed a new type of missile that can destroy the electronics of Iran's nuclear facilities using high-power microwaves, without causing any fatalities.

The missiles, known as the Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP), were developed by Boeing's Phantom Works for the US Air Force Research Laboratory. After successful testing in 2012, around 20 of these microwave missiles became operational and were deployed to various locations around the globe in 2019.

As DailyMail.com reports, the CHAMP missiles are air-launched cruise missiles fitted with an electromagnetic pulse cannon that generates a concentrated beam of high-power microwave energy. This energy can fry the computer chips and electronic systems of targeted facilities, rendering them inoperable.

"We hit every target we wanted to," said Boeing's CHAMP Program Manager Keith Colman after the successful 2012 test, adding "Today we made science fiction into science fact."

Mary Lou Robinson, former chief of the Air Force's High Power Microwave Division, confirmed to DailyMail.com that the missiles are "ready to take out any military target, including nuclear facilities."

The key advantage of these microwave weapons is that they can penetrate buried bunkers and command centers through electrical and communications connections, disabling electronics without causing structural damage or loss of life. "The beauty of the HPM missile is that its microwave beam can penetrate bunkers where facilities are hidden without harming humans inside," DailyMail.com reports.

They also have the ability to disable defensive radar systems, striking their targets undetected. "Most amazing of all, the missile renders inoperable any radar that might detect it as it flies to and from a target. Thus, a country cannot take out CHAMP before it strikes and has no way of knowing why its facilities have suddenly gone dead," according to DailyMail.com.
Satellite pics show Iran air base damage after IAF strike
Satellite images published over the past 24 hours show damage to an air base near the central Iranian city of Isfahan following an Israeli strike carried out early Friday morning.

Two images of the Shikari Air Base analyzed by the BBC show that part of an air defense system was damaged. BBC Verify analyzed optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite imagery captured over Isfahan on Friday.

The United States said that Israel carried out a missile strike, while Tehran said that the attack involved three small drones that were neutralized. Jerusalem has not officially confirmed the attack.

According to a Kan News report, the Israeli-made “Rampage” air-to-surface missile was used in the attack. The 4.7-meter (15-foot) projectile can travel at supersonic speed (Mach 1.0–Mach 1.6), making it difficult for air defense systems to counter.

Shikari is located close to the Natanz nuclear site and is reportedly supposed to protect the facility.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that a high-tech missile hit a Russian-made S-300 air defense system at Shikari, citing two Iranian officials. Western officials told the newspaper that the strike was intended to show Tehran that Israel could break through Iran’s defense systems undetected and paralyze them.


Top Faith Leaders, Conservatives Gather to Reject Biden’s Failed Two-State ‘Solution’ for Israel
As President Joe Biden and his Democratic colleagues continue to undermine the U.S.’ longtime strategic alliance with Israel, a recent event saw top faith leaders, Republican lawmakers, and conservatives gather to underscore a unified stance against the failed two-state solution, while promoting the idea of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) as integral to Israel, grounded in a religious and political opposition to Palestinian statehood.

A Tuesday event of the Keep God’s Land organization in Washington, DC, brought together 150 top Christian, Jewish, and conservative leaders to “make their voices heard in opposition to the Biden administration’s push for a unilateral decision of a two-state solution.”

The Leadership Reception, hosted by the Heritage Foundation, featured an array of special guests, including Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, Heritage Foundation President and Army veteran James Carafano, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Israel365 founder Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Knesset Member Ohad Tal, and Trump’s faith adviser Pastor Paula White.

David Friedman, ambassador to Israel under president Donald Trump who serves on the leadership of Keeps God’s Land, rejected the proposed two-state solution, citing widespread Palestinian support for recent attacks on Israel, and arguing for peaceful coexistence for those willing to accept Israel’s sovereignty.

“There is no pathway to statehood for people who feel that way,” he said. “God gave this land to the Jewish people, and the Jewish people can’t give it away.”

“And by the way, not only will the Jewish people prosper in the land of Israel, but those who are willing to live in this land who are non-Jewish people, who are Christian people, who are Muslim people, who are Palestinian — if they accept God’s sovereignty over this land, they will prosper as well,” he added.


IDF: Unit Biden admin to sanction is ‘professional, courageous’
The Israel Defense Forces is not aware of possible U.S. sanctions against its Netzach Yehuda Infantry Battalion but is monitoring the situation, the military said Sunday, responding to reports that the Biden administration intends to blacklist the unit for alleged human rights abuses.

The army added that Netzach Yehuda soldiers are currently fighting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip “with courage and professionalism while upholding the values and spirit of the IDF and the principles of international law.

“Over the past years, the battalion’s troops have been at the core of operational activities, working around the clock to maintain the security of the citizens of the State of Israel, in addition to being a leading battalion that integrates haredi soldiers in the IDF,” added the military.

If and when the White House announces sanctions, the IDF will “investigate any unusual event in a matter-of-fact manner and in accordance with the law.”

Netzach Yehuda is an exclusively male, ultra-Orthodox battalion that, until late 2022, served in the Jordan Valley and Samaria. It has faced accusations of abuse, most notably in the case of 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar As’ad, who in 2022 died after being detained by the battalion.

Under the reported sanctions, Netzach Yehuda would be barred from receiving U.S. weaponry, training with American soldiers or taking part in any activities funded by Washington. If the administration sanctions the unit, it would be the first time the U.S. has taken such a step against the Israeli military.
Netanyahu: Absurd for US to sanction IDF soldiers as they fight terror
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the U.S. for its plans to sanction the IDF's Netzah Yehuda Battalion, some of whose soldiers have in the past been accused of mistreating Palestinians. "At a time when our soldiers are fighting terrorist monsters, the intention to sanction a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low," Netanyahu wrote on X on Saturday evening.

"In recent weeks, I have been working against the leveling of sanctions on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior American government officials. The government I head will act by all means against these moves. Sanctions must not be imposed on the Israel Defense Forces!"

Former Defense Minister and IDF Chief-of-Staff Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet, wrote on X that "The Netzah Yehuda battalion is an inseparable part of the Israel Defense Forces. It is subject to military law and is responsible for operating in full compliance with international law. The State of Israel has a strong, independent judicial system that evaluates meticulously any claim of a violation or deviation from IDF orders and code of conduct, and will continue to do so."

"I have great appreciation for our American friends, but the decision to impose sanctions on an IDF unit and its soldiers sets a dangerous precedent and conveys the wrong message to our shared enemies during wartime. I intend on acting to have this decision changed."


The Women behind the IDF's New Precise Mortar Used in Gaza
The Iron Sting, developed at Elbit Systems, is the world's only mortar munition that becomes a target-guided missile, so that its impact is lethal and smart and reaches the precision level of a room in a house.

"No [other] mortar munition can provide destruction at this level," says Dr. A., 73, who has managed the warhead field at Israel Military Industries (IMI) for 35 years. (IMI has now been acquired by Elbit.)

Elbit VP L. says, "I was an infantry and mortar instructor in the army....I became head of the mortar section responsible for certifying and training infantry fighters for mortars and their operation. Elbit took me on from the army. I've been in the field for 25 years."

"Like Dr. A. is known as Ms. Warheads, I'm known as Ms. Mortars. Any commander with a mortar problem in Gaza will call me directly from the field....They know me from the army from when I was their mortar instructor. Who else would they call?"

With Iron Sting, "a soldier can hit a target with a single mortar in under a minute and, for the first time...there's precise weaponry integrated into the existing system that the soldiers already know how to operate."

Z., 52, said, "I've been involved in Iron Sting from the development stage and I'm now responsible for our production. We've been working hard these past few months and we've been very much part of the war."
Entire IRGC command wing in Syria was eliminated in strike, Bloomberg reveals
The Bloomberg television network revealed overnight into Saturday that in the attack attributed to Israel at the Iranian consulate in Syria, the entire command hierarchy responsible for the activities of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria and Lebanon was killed. According to the report, "the senior officers were pivotal for Hezbollah's activities in the region."

According to the reports, General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy, Mohammad Hadi Rahimi, along with other officers who were killed, were certain that the consulate building next to the embassy was "the safest" in Damascus and that Israel would not dare to attack the site.

Before the airstrike on the consulate building in Damascus, the residences of the ambassador and the consul were supposed to be transferred to a new apartment complex further down the same street, where the two brothers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also live. Shortly before the attack, the senior ranking officials of the IRGC in Syria met on the second floor of the consulate building and decided to stay there.

Iran investigates the Syria attack
The strike at the Iranian consulate in Syria led Iran, for the first time, to respond directly and attack Israel. Immediately after the assassination, Iran began suspecting that groups in Syria were involved in several assassination cases of IRGC personnel in the country over the past few years.

Iran’s suspicion focuses on 18 commanders who were assassinated over a short time in attacks that were attributed to Israel. This is according to a Syrian defector who opposed the Assad regime, who claims to have spoken with an Iranian official.
Hezbollah, Hamas in Lebanon fire rockets at Galilee
Terrorists in Lebanon fired barrages of rockets towards northern Israel on Sunday morning, lightly injuring one Israeli, local media reported.

Iran-backed Hezbollah launched two rockets at Moshav Dovev in the Eastern Galilee, with the projectiles striking open areas. No casualties were reported. No warning sirens sounded during the attack.

Earlier in the morning, air raid sirens sounded in communities in the Western Galilee near the Lebanese border, including Shlomi and Rosh HaNikra.

Hamas in Lebanon claimed in a statement that it had launched 20 Russian-made Grad rockets towards an Israeli army position near Moshav Shomera.

A 36-year-old man was lightly wounded in the Rosh Hankara area as a result of being hit by the tip of a rocket. He was evacuated to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

Overnight Saturday, Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck several Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon, including an observation post in the area of Odaisseh and two military structures in the area of Khiam, the military said on Sunday morning.
IDF soldier dies from wounds suffered in Hezbollah attack
Israel Defense Forces Maj. (res.) Dor Zimel, a deputy company commander in Battalion 8103 of the 6th Etzioni Brigade, succumbed to wounds he sustained in a Hezbollah aerial attack on Wednesday.

Zimel, 27, from Even Yehuda, just outside Netanya, was reportedly set to marry his fiancée next month. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of major.

Nineteen people, including 14 soldiers, were wounded in the missile and drone attack on the northern Bedouin town of Arab al-Aramshe.

The Hezbollah assault involved a two-pronged attack. First, two anti-tank-guided missiles were fired at the town’s community center. When rescue workers arrived, Hezbollah launched a suicide drone towards the building.


IDF reservist kicks Palestinian flag, sets off explosive terror trap
An IDF reservist who was home on temporary leave was lightly wounded after kicking a Palestinian flag in Kochav Hashahar, in the West Bank, and setting off an explosive charge that was implanted under it, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

Initial reports claimed that an Israeli resident of Binyamin, in the West Bank, was lightly wounded.

The IDF later confirmed the Israeli was an IDF solder in reserve who was on vacation.

The military further stated IDF troops were searching the area for suspects.

This attack came shortly after an attempted stabbing and shooting attack on IDF soldiers north of Hebron.

Additionally, on Sunday, there was an attempted shooting attack at Kibbutz Meirav on Mount Gilboa. No injuries were reported, while a compound sustained minor damage, according to the IDF.


18Forty PodCast: Rachel Goldberg-Polin_ A Hostage’s Mother Fighting for His Freedom
Our Intergenerational Divergence series is sponsored by our friends Sarala and Danny Turkel.
In this special episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rachel Goldberg-Polin—whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped by Hamas and is still held hostage in Gaza—about heading into Passover with our loved ones still captive.

Normally, Intergenerational Divergence feels like something of a choice. But now, Jewish families have been split apart by force. In this episode we discuss:

How do we foster a continued connection to the members of our family who are missing?
What difficult thoughts and questions will we bring to the Seder table this year?
What does it mean to express hope via the Pesach Seder amid these bitter times?
We hope wholeheartedly that this conversation about missing our children at the time of Passover will be made irrelevant and the hostages will soon return home.


The Fifth Column: The Battle of Batya (w/ Batya Ungar-Sargon)
You asked, we delivered. Our pal Batya Ungar-Sargon enters the octagon to (politely!) fight the Globalist Fifth on trade, Trump, robots, unions, automation, and a bunch of other stuff. But we also agree on lots of other things! Hear Batya talk about her wild Israel debate on Zerohedge, how her last book foresaw the NPR madness, and why perverse incentives have created a boring media echo chamber.
‘Woke left’ have become ‘cheerleaders for Iran’: Brendan O’Neill
Spiked Online Chief Political Reporter Brendan O’Neill has criticised the “woke left” for becoming “cheerleaders for Iran”.

US President Joe Biden told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that America would not support an Israeli counterattack on Iran after Iran launched its first direct attack on its neighbour this month.

“The woke left have become cheerleaders for Iran; they’ve become cheerleaders for one of the most regressive regimes in the world – a regime where women don’t have freedom,” Mr O’Neill told Sky News Australia.

“Because Iran is standing up against the ‘evil Jewish state’ – which is how the left tends to view Israel – they’re on the side of Iran.

“I think it really demonstrates how crazy people have been driven by Israelophobia.

“They hate Israel with such a passion that they are willing to take the side of Iran, even Hamas.”




Hasan Debates Israeli Children In Hopes Of Finally Winning
Hasan debates a 16 year old Israeli chatter and then debates a supercut of Destiny...




Gigi and Bella Hadid's Palestinian-American father Mohamed APOLOGIZES for sending hateful messages to NY Congressman - but claims the man is still 'a shill being used by Israel'
Gigi and Bella Hadid's Palestinian-American father has apologized for a slew of hateful messages he sent to New York Congressman Ritchie Torres.

Mohamed Hadid, 75, offered a tepid walk back of his attack on Torres, where he began: 'I need to apologize. Not for the anger I feel but for the words I used to express that anger.'

'I intended to express how Mr. Torres is a shill being used by Israel,' the real estate developer added, echoing much of the sentiment in the rest of his apology.

His remarks followed a report by the New York Post detailing how Hadid has spent the past few months targeting Torres online for the congressman's support for Israel following the October 7 Hamas attacks.

In texts to Torres, Hadid branded him 'worse than the rats of the New York sewage system'.

Torres, who is gay, was also told by the model's father that he 'might get a job as a bouncer in a gay bar', and that he should 'dress as KKK to hide that ugly gray colored face of yours.'

In the face of backlash to the messages being published, Hadid issued an apology for his language, but took the opportunity to throw a few more insults Torres' way.

He said that Torres is a 'shill' for Israel, 'a state that not only 'mistreats black and brown people but pinkwashes their atrocities using their projected gay rights as a shield for their human rights violations.'

'My feeling after 76 years of being a refugee from the country where I and my ancestors were born and watching a genocide unfold are at an all time high,' he continued.

'I am watching United States politicians work as AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] messengers of genocide.

'I used the wrong words to express this anger but the anger is warranted. To send black and brown and other marginalized communities to do the dirty work of two countries who have never respected them is wrong.

'I apologize to my community for directing the conversation to this. And even for a minute away from Palestine. All eyes on Palestine. Free Palestine.'


JCPA: The Rise in Antisemitic Attacks in the UK since Hamas’s October 7 Pogrom Is Unprecedented
The Community Security Trust (CST) in the United Kingdom, which monitors antisemitic abuse and attacks, has revealed some alarming data following Hamas’s pogrom in Gaza. They recorded a total of 1,330 anti-Jewish incidents in the UK just in October, with the majority committed by offenders described as non-white.

The hatred of the Jew is prevalent in Muslim societies, and with millions of Muslims moving to Europe and North America, their attitudes toward the Jews continue to be part of their mindsets. My former London-Doha journalist colleagues at Qatari media outlets and Al Jazeera vigorously deny they are antisemites, but rather they are anti-Zionists, for whom, Israel, the only Jewish state, has no right to exist.

In reality, the words “Jews,” “Zionists,” and “Israelis” are used interchangeably, imputing what they conceive as the evil of the one to the nature of the other.

Since the Arab Spring, Al Jazeera has lost considerable credibility among Arab audiences in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, the Gulf monarchies, and among Sunni Arabs in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, with many accusing the channel of being a mouthpiece of Iran’s ayatollahs and its army of proxies, e.g., Hamas and Hizbullah.

Since October 7, I have had numerous discussions with young UK-based Muslims, who sing praises of Hamas and the so-called “heroic resistance,” yet in the same sentence, they deny their “heroes” were rapists, murderers, and kidnappers of babies and elderly. The level of historical distortion and ignorance is beyond a pandemic.

The United Kingdom has seen a drastic surge in antisemitic incidents, and the Henry Jackson Society’s 50-page detailed report, “British Muslims and General Public Attitudes Polling,” shows that “old” antisemitic tropes are widespread among British Muslims. One of the most alarming findings is the legitimizing of Hamas’s cruel brutality against Israeli civilians on October 7. Politicians, like journalists and civil society activists, are frightened to “touch” the subject for fear of being labeled as racist or Islamophobic.
UK Jewish leaders to meet London police chief amid row over anti-Israel protests
The U.K. Board of Deputies of British Jews will meet later this week with Mark Rowley, commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police, after requesting an urgent meeting “to repair a grievous loss of confidence” over his mishandling of anti-Israel protests in the capital, The Sunday Times reported.

“The Metropolitan Police have made a series of high-profile errors in their responses to these demonstrations,” the Board of Deputies said after the leader of a group that fights antisemitism was stopped from crossing a street by a Metropolitan Police officer for appearing “quite openly Jewish.”

“The entirely avoidable mistakes have had a devastating effect on the previously high level of trust held by the U.K.’s Jewish community in the police,” the Board of Deputies said.

On April 13, Gideon Falter, who heads the U.K.-based Campaign Against Antisemitism was prevented by a policeman from crossing a street as an anti-Israel protest passed.

“This is a pro-Palestinian march. I am not accusing you of anything, but I am worried about the reaction to your presence,” the officer told him in a video Falter’s group posted to X on April 18.

“I don’t want to stay here. I want to leave,” Falter explained to the officer, who nevertheless blocked him when he attempted to get by.

Another officer told Falter he would be arrested if he remained in the vicinity “because your presence here is antagonizing them.”


Triggernometry: Asking Palestine Protestors What From the River to the Sea Means...

Now pro-Palestine protesters target the London Marathon: Flag-waving activists demonstrate along route following fears that race would be disrupted
Pro-Palestine protesters have targeted the London Marathon by demonstrating along the route of the event in the capital.

Activists have been seen waving Palestinian flags as they gathered at the security barriers which line the 26.2-mile course this morning.

Organisers had urged pro-Palestine and Israel demonstrators not to disrupt the Marathon and to focus on 'coexistence and togetherness' amid the conflict in the Middle East.

Large numbers of police officers were seen in central London ahead of the event this morning, where 50,000 professional and amateur runners have taken to the streets of the city for the ultra-endurance test.

Photos taken in the early hours of Sunday morning showed police securing the route with sniffer dogs in operation, as well as stewards congregating before the first race got underway at 9.05am.


Anti-Israel NGOs threaten to 'seize' campuses across USA to 'force' BDS
Several national anti-Israel groups have threatened to "seize" universities across the United States to force them to adopt Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions policies on Saturday, raising the specter that encampments and protests like those seen at Columbia University could be replicated across the continent.

"The supposed power of our administrators is nothing compared to the strength of the united students, staff, and faculty committed to realizing justice and upholding Palestinian liberation on campus," National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) wrote on social media. "

In the footsteps of our comrades at Rutgers-New Brunswick SJP, Tufts SJP, and Columbia SJP, we will seize our universities and force the administration to divest for the people of Gaza! Join the Popular University, take back our institutions!"

SJP and the Palestinian Youth Movement published a similar call to action on Friday, telling chapters across the US to be prepared for internal communications for further action. The graphics showed tents with the banner "liberated zone," as appeared in the occupation of campus grounds at Columbia. The graphic was titled "From Columbia to our universities."

At the same time as SJP made the Saturday call to action, other national pro-Palestinian and left-wing activist groups endorsed the call to action.

Within Our Lifetime, responsible for many of the major protests that have caused major disruptions in New York City, made nearly identical statements to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace in which they said they were "committed to supporting and aiding them in their actions and demonstrations."

Democratic Socialists of America and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, allegedly associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group, joined with graphics that stated "we are all SJP."


'Burn Tel Aviv to the ground:' Calls for violence continue at Columbia
Calls for violence and terrorism at the Columbia University encampment protests continued to surface on Sunday in footage published by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists.

“[Izz ad-Din] Al-Qassam [Brigades], make us proud, take another soldier out,” anti-Israel demonstrators chanted on Friday night in a video published on social media by pro-Palestinian activist ThizzL. “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground. Go Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets too.”

On Wednesday, in another video published by ThizzL, activists called for Hamas's military wing to "kill another soldier now."

During a speech live streamed by the Palestine Solidarity Working Group on Saturday night, a protest leader said in a speech, "Let it be known that it was the Al-Aqsa Flood that put the global intifada back on the table again. And it is the sacrificial spirit of the Palestinian freedom fighters that will guide every struggle on every corner of the earth to victory."

"Remember that militancy breeds Resistance," said the speaker. "Thousands upon thousands of students around the world have been moved to rebel because of your militancy."


Columbia rabbi warns Jewish students to go home, don’t come back to campus because of ‘extreme antisemitism’
A prominent rabbi at Columbia University took the drastic step Sunday of warning Jewish students to go home and not return to campus because of “extreme antisemitism” at the Ivy League school.

The dire directive followed yet another night of virulent anti-Israel protests on campus — which included one protester holding up a sign suggesting that students waving Israeli flags should be the next target of Hamas terrorists.”

The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Rabbi Elie Buechler told students Sunday morning over WhatsApp.

“It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.

“It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus,” he said. “No one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school.”

Jewish students who showed up on campus Saturday night to protest antisemitism at the prestigious university carried Israeli flags and sang “One Day,” a song of peace by reggae singer and rapper Matisayhu — only to be promptly attacked by hate speech and threatened with calls to violence, witnesses told The Post.


Jewish Yale student jabbed in eye with flag pole by anti-Israel protesters
A Jewish Yale University student was jabbed in the eye with a flag pole by an anti-Israel protester on Saturday night, Sophomore Sahar Tartak told The Jerusalem Post.

Tartak, a history student and editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press, had attempted to film the pro-Palestinian protest encampment set up on the campus.

The visibly religious Jewish student and her friend were immediately met with a wall of five activists each, who did not allow them to pass.

“One of them takes their Palestinian flag and waves it in my face and then jabs it in the face,” said Tartak.

Tartak reported the assault to campus police, but she is unaware of any action taken besides calling an ambulance for her. She was discharged from the hospital and will not suffer permanent damage. Mentally, however, Tartak said, she was in an “awful” state.

Returning to campus has become a daunting prospect, as she says, “All these students know who I am.”


Iran Has Begun Preliminary Work on Building a Nuclear Warhead
Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says he has tried for years "to make the case that the Islamic Republic is a threat to the region, its own people and the U.S., and that it needs to be dealt with, not wished away."

After Iran's April 13 attack, "At least temporarily - very temporarily - Israel got out of the penalty box and Iran has gone in."

Iran keeps breaking through red lines on its nuclear program "and things that would've been intolerable 10 years ago are tolerable today."

The West once thought Iranian enrichment of uranium was intolerable. "Now, they're enriching uranium to 60%, which is a stone's throw away from weapons-grade."

Of Israel's airstrike in response, Dubowitz said, "'Our air defenses worked, your expensive S-300 didn't. You targeted our air force base, we hit your air force base,' using much less to do much more damage," and near a nuclear facility.

Adding insult to injury, the strike came on Mr. Khamenei's 85th birthday.

Moreover, the strike "reaffirms to the Saudis that Israel is the only country with the will and capabilities to take on Iran."

"I have been led to believe that Iran's weaponization activities have begun. After a long pause during which Iran's nuclear enrichment and missile program advanced, Iran is now taking preliminary steps that will help build a warhead."

"That is headline news, because it contradicts the longtime U.S. intelligence consensus, and it suggests the Iranians are even closer to a deliverable nuclear weapon than we had thought."

"I don't get a straight answer in Washington, but I got a straight answer in Israel: 'We have evidence, we have intelligence. They have begun preliminary work on the weapon.'"
Biden admin funded study involving researcher from Iranian university linked to nuclear program
The Department of Energy (DOE) funded energy-related research involving a scientist from an Iranian university linked to the country’s nuclear program.

The DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is listed as the funding agency for a study on advanced technology that could help power grids go green. One of the seven researchers credited as an author of the study, Mohammad Hasan Ravanji, is a professor of electrical engineering at Iran’s Sharif University of Technology (SUT), a university that has been sanctioned by several Western countries for its advancement of Iran’s nuclear program and connections to the country’s military.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers published the study, titled “Grid-Forming Inverter-Based Resource Research Landscape: Understanding the Key Assets for Renewable-Rich Power Systems,” in their Power and Energy Magazine on February 23.

“The issue here is that a U.S. federal agency is apparently collaborating with a widely-sanctioned university which is one of the worst actors in Iran’s academic space,” Daniel Roth, the director of research for United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Regardless of whether this explicitly has been used to advance Iran’s nuclear centrifuges is beside the point … This shouldn’t have happened in the first place. And we’re not talking about a collaboration on James Joyce or English literature. It’s about science and technology, and obviously, those often have dual uses.”

The DOE announced in 2021 that it would distribute $25 million in taxpayer funds to bankroll a “Grid Forming Research Consortium” based in Golden, Colorado. Several other papers are funded by the same award — number 38637 — and a document published by the DOE-funded consortium references the award number as well.

Ravanji was based at STU from 2013 to 2020 as a researcher and PhD student before spending approximately two years at Australia’s Monash University, according to his LinkedIn profile. He then returned to STU to become an assistant professor there in January 2023, more than a year before the DOE-backed study crediting him was published.

Parts or all of STU have been sanctioned by the U.S. and other Western governments.




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