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Sunday, June 23, 2024

06/23 Links: Biden’s whole-of-government hostility to Israel; Netanyahu cites ‘dramatic drop’ in US arms supplies; 6 dead, 13 wounded in shooting attack on Russian synagogue

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Biden’s whole-of-government hostility to Israel
The top U.S.-Israel story of the week is the prospect of a massive ground war in Lebanon.

The main question dominating the discourse is whether the Biden administration intends to provide Israel with the munitions it requires to prosecute such a war successfully. The White House says it has Israel’s back. But recent U.S.-Israel backstories indicate that Israeli anxiety about the U.S. position on munitions is well founded.

Two back stories that have generated minor splashes signal clearly that contrary to President Joe Biden’s oft repeated “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” his administration is implementing a whole-of-government policy of criminalizing Israel and its citizens.

The first story relates to stepped-up U.S. sanctions against Israeli nationals and organizations. The second is the reported change in U.S. policy regarding visa and immigration applications from Israeli citizens.

Immediately after the Hamas-led Palestinian invasion and slaughter of Oct. 7, the Egyptian government announced that contrary to the binding requirements of international humanitarian law, Egypt would prohibit Gaza residents from transiting Gaza’s international border into Egypt to seek refuge either in Egypt or in third countries through Egypt.

Far from opposing Egypt’s unlawful action, the U.S. administration supported it. Egypt was not responsible for protecting the residents of Gaza from the war their regime opened against Israel. Israel was.

Days after Oct. 7, the administration began demanding that Israel provide a constant and ever-growing supply of food, water, medicine and other goods to the residents of Gaza. As the administration routinely ratcheted up its demands, it cited wholly unsupported, and now discredited, claims from the U.N. that Gaza was on the verge of famine.

Although the Netanyahu government quickly folded under the administration’s barely disguised threats to accuse Israel of war crimes, the Israeli public has been all but united in its opposition to the U.S. position.

Videos from Gaza have emerged daily since November showing Hamas gunmen seizing the aid trucks and shooting civilians who try to seize bags of flour and other goods from the trucks. Last week, former U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross reported on his X account, “A UN official told me lately that 80 percent of the humanitarian assistance going into Gaza has been looted by criminal gangs or Hamas.”

After Israel began permitting hundreds of truckloads of supplies to enter Gaza directly from Israel in late January, a Direct Polls survey found that 82% of Israelis believed that the trucks should only be allowed to enter Gaza if Hamas released all the hostages.

A near consensus view in Israel throughout the past eight and a half months is that the humanitarian aid undermines the war effort by keeping Hamas fully supplied; maintains Hamas’s grip on power by enabling the terror regime to control who gets fed and cared for; and endangers IDF soldiers on the ground in Gaza.
JPost Editorial: Human shields? UN, you’re blaming the wrong side
The recent accusations by a senior UN official against the Israel Defense Forces, in which she picked a little-known instance of the IDF supposedly using a human shield, shows that she has forgotten or is ignoring Hamas’s long-standing and pervasive practice of using them in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Such are the core tactics aimed at manipulating both military operations and international perceptions.

On Saturday, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese accused the IDF of using a human shield, citing a video showing an injured Palestinian civilian tied to a military vehicle in Jenin.

The IDF has not commented on the allegations, and the authenticity of the video could not be verified by the Post.

Hamas has used the human shield tactic at least since 2007: placing military assets and personnel in civilian areas to increase the likelihood of collateral damage – civilian deaths and wounded – during Israeli counter-attacks.

These are not incidental tactics but deliberate ones designed to exploit Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian harm and to gain international sympathy for the inevitable collateral damage to civilians.

During the 2014 Tzuk Eitan conflict in Gaza, it was reported that Hamas also used schools, hospitals, and densely populated residential areas to store weapons and launch rockets.

This included the use of the infamous Al-Shifa Hospital, which The Washington Post described as a “de facto headquarters” for Hamas leaders, who could often be seen crisscrossing hallways and taking over back offices.
Hamas is the enemy of the Palestinian people
On 7 October last year, Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. Despite this demonstration of anti-Semitic barbarism, many Western anti-Israel activists continue to see Hamas as some sort of ‘resistance’ movement, fighting for Palestinian nationhood.

This view couldn’t be more wrong. As Italian journalist Paola Caridi shows in her largely sympathetic account of the group, Hamas: From Resistance to Government (originally published in 2009 but updated last year), Hamas is not and never has been a national-independence movement. It is above all an intransigent, religious movement set on the destruction of Israel. The exhaustion of Palestinian nationalism

To get to grips with the nature and development of Hamas, it’s important to understand the broader historical background. The central problem here for Palestinians and Israelis is that their national aspirations are irreconcilable.

Israel was founded in 1948, after Jewish people revolted against Palestine’s British rulers. (With a mandate from the League of Nations, the British took over from the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled Palestine for over four centuries, at the end of the First World War.) During the 1920s and especially the 1930s, Palestine’s indigenous Jewish population was supplemented by refugees from Eastern Europe and later Nazi Germany. This growing and increasingly restive populace rebelled against British occupation, just as neighbouring Iraqis did in the 1920s and 1940s, and Egyptians did in the late 1910s and early 1920s. In doing so, these rebellions laid claim to new nations, which claimed descent from ancient civilisations.

Many Arabs, caught in the crossfire of the often violent Jewish struggle for an Israeli state in the late 1940s, fled to the neighbouring territories of the Egyptian-governed Gaza Strip and the Jordanian West Bank. In 1967, Israel defeated the Arab coalition of Egypt, Jordan and Syria in the Six-Day War. Through this war, Israel conquered the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, complete with their Arab populations. These became the ‘occupied territories’.

As the Six-Day War demonstrated, the Arab world refused to accept Israel’s existence. Arab nations took Israel as an affront to their own independence. Yasser Arafat, born to Palestinian parents in Cairo in 1929, co-founded the paramilitary organisation, Fatah, in the late 1950s. Its object was to fight for a Palestinian state. In 1967, Fatah joined and became the dominant faction in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which was then a national-independence movement. Arafat became PLO leader in 1969.

Israel’s leaders always understood that the national aspirations of Palestinians were irreconcilable with the existence of Israel. Hence, Israeli prime minister Golda Meir insisted in a 1976 New York Times op-ed that there were no ‘Palestinians’, only Arabs, living in Egypt, Jordan and Israel itself.


Netanyahu cites ‘dramatic drop’ in US arms supplies
There has been a steep drop in American weapons shipments to the Israel Defense Forces, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, days after accusing Washington of withholding military aid.

“Around four months ago, there was a dramatic decrease in the supply of armaments arriving from the U.S. to Israel,” the premier explained in Hebrew remarks ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

“For many weeks, we appealed to our American friends to speed up the shipments. We did this time and time again. We did this at the highest levels, and on all levels, and I want to emphasize: We did this behind closed doors,” said Netanyahu, according to a readout from his office.

While Jerusalem received “all kinds of explanations,” the U.S. allegedly failed to fast-track the expected military aid. “Specific items trickled in, but the bulk of armaments were left behind,” charged Netanyahu.

In a video message published on June 18, Netanyahu went public with the dispute, saying it was “inconceivable” for the administration to withhold weapons and ammunition during its war with Hamas in Gaza.

“Israel, America’s closest ally, [is] fighting for its life, fighting against Iran and our other common enemies,” he said in the clip, adding that Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Israel this month that “the administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks.”

The premier said on Sunday that “after months with no change in the situation, I decided to express my concerns publicly,” noting that his experience has taught him that this was “essential” to unblocking the arms shipments.

“As prime minister of Israel, my role is to do everything to ensure that our heroic fighters have the best means of combat,” said Netanyahu.


Israeli Defense Tech is About to Have a Moment
It is now clear that over the years Hamas significantly transformed itself through its close collaboration with the Iranian axis. This axis, which is responsible for the deaths of many Americans over decades of the Global War on Terror, has grown much more confident through the Biden sanctions waivers and the Iranian regime’s growing partnership with Russia. This evolving alliance is reshaping the geopolitical landscape. Not since the Cold War's end a generation ago have military power and defense capabilities been so vital.

At the same time, and because of these ongoing and expanding conflicts, there is a global munitions shortage. This shortage affects a wide range of munitions, particularly artillery shells, precision-guided munitions, and anti-tank missiles. Here is the stark reality staring us in the face: when it comes to military power, there is no capability without capacity. No country can expect to prevail in war without a robust defense industrial and manufacturing base that can produce weapons and munitions at speed and scale. For instance, we are not producing nearly enough 155mm artillery shells. Scaling up production can take several years, in some cases due to dependencies on specialized materials. The need for skilled labor is also a significant issue. As new production lines for advanced military equipment take years to set up, the shortage keeps getting worse.

All these challenges demand a collaborative and decisive response if we are to emerge victorious. And it is “we,” not “they,” as this is a global conflict. Israel must continue to adapt and quickly. Integrating their air and space domains is essential for maintaining its regional military superiority. Israel’s reliance on US-supplied aircraft further highlights the need for such integration. Long-endurance logistics and maintenance will pose challenges in Lebanon, straining Israel’s resources in a protracted conflict.

I’m a proud American who served my country in a civilian capacity in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Both of my brothers served in the Marine Corps—one did multiple tours in Iraq and one served in Afghanistan. I share in the collective horror of GWOT veterans who watch our streets being filled with the demonic rage we sacrificed so much to keep on the other side of the world. But here they are. And the time for hiding and cowering is behind us. Now is the time to invest in Israeli defense tech, to partner with and benefit from their combat-tested solutions against our common enemy. Make no mistake—those of us in the West are in deep trouble. This is an all-hands-on-deck scenario. As warfare evolves, we must ensure we are adapting to these changes for our own national security and in partnership with our allies for their own. Investing in the best and most innovative defense technology created by the Startup Nation in a time of expanding global war is not just a wise strategic move, but a moral imperative.
Support and drones supplies: India's close relations with Israel
India has been providing significant military assistance to Israel since Oct. 7.

Indian media reported in February that India was supplying Israel with advanced Hermes 900 drones manufactured in Hyderabad in a factory established by Israel to supply these drones to the Indian military.

Twenty drones were converted specifically for the IDF due to the shortage created during the war.

India has also supplied Israel with artillery shells and other weapons since the start of the war.

"The Indians always remind us that Israel was there for them during the Kargil War," says Daniel Carmon, former Israeli ambassador to India, referring to India's military conflict with Pakistan in 1999.

"Israel was one of the few countries that stood by them and provided them with weapons. The Indians don't forget this and might now be returning the favor."
Hen Mazzig: No, Israel isn’t a country of privileged and powerful white Europeans
The likes of Women’s March activist Tamika Mallory, Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill and, more recently, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) falsify reality in their discussions of Palestinians’ “intersectional” struggle, their use of the term “apartheid” to characterize Israeli policy, and their tendency to define Israelis as Ashkenazi Jews alone.

I believe their misrepresentations are part of a strategic campaign to taint Israel as an extension of privileged and powerful white Europe, thereby justifying any and all attacks on it. This way of thinking signals a dangerous trend that positions Israel as a colonialist aggressor rather than a haven for those fleeing oppression. Worse, it all but erases the story of my family, which came to Israel from Iraq and Tunisia.

For most of history, the Mizrahim have been without sovereignty and equality in the Muslim world. In Iraq, despite being “equal citizens” on paper, my family experienced ongoing persecution. The first organized attack came in 1941, the brutal Farhud, a Nazi-incited riot that claimed the lives of hundreds of Jews and forced the survivors to live in fear. My great-grandfather was falsely accused of being a Zionist spy and executed in Baghdad in 1951. My mother’s family was permitted to emigrate that same year, but with only one suitcase.

Any erasure of the Mizrahi experience negates the lives of 850,000 Jewish refugees just like them, who, even in the successor states to the Ottoman Empire of the early 20th century, were treated as “dhimmis,” an Arabic term for a protected minority whose members pay for that protection, which can be withdrawn at any time. Demographic ignorance also works to deny the existence of almost 200,000 descendants of Ethiopian Jews who were threatened by political destabilization in the early 1990s and airlifted to Israel in a daring rescue operation.

One of Judaism’s central themes is a story of national liberation in the face of imperial powers. Israel is a place where an indigenous people have reclaimed their land and revived their ancient language, despite being surrounded by hostile neighbors and hounded by radicalized Arab nationalists who cannot tolerate any political entity in the region other than their own. Jews that were expelled from nations across the Middle East, who sacrificed all they had, have been crucial in building and defending the Jewish state since its outset.

Without a doubt, the creation of Israel provided a haven for Jews who survived the Holocaust and extreme oppression in Europe. However, we cannot acknowledge that history at the expense of Mizrahi Jews, who with so many others, regardless of skin color, shared the desire for a Jewish state long before the establishment of Israel.
Gil Troy: 12 Tough Questions and Simple Answers About Israel
Calling Israel "colonialist" negates Jews' indigenous ties to their homeland, while rejecting Christianity too. Jesus emerged in a deeply-Jewish Land of Israel also called Judea. Jews are the original aboriginal people, being tied to the same land, praying to the same God, maintaining the same traditions and culture for millennia. Whether you're religious and believe the Bible, or historically-oriented and trust archaeological evidence - or both! - the Land of Israel has always been central to the Jewish people.

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is national not racial. There are light-skinned Palestinians, while many Israelis are dark-skinned. Some want to inject America's racial dynamics into the Middle East, simply to make Israel look bad. In a matter of decades, despite few natural resources, using their smarts and their sweat, Israelis built a strong country with a thriving start-up scene. Israelis shouldn't apologize for succeeding.

In 1967, under attack, Israel won the Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, the Golan from Syria, and Jordan's "West Bank," what Jews called "Judea and Samaria" since Biblical days. Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt in 1979 - hoping for peace. Israel withdrew from much of the West Bank under Oslo in the 1990s - only to suffer waves of Palestinian terrorism from 2000-2003 that murdered over 1,000 innocents. In 2005, Israel withdrew completely from Gaza, only to see Hamas slaughter over 1,200 people on Oct. 7. Most Israelis wonder why Palestinians remain so preoccupied with trying to kill them.

Over 70% of Americans support Israel and like Jews. But a rabid minority hates Jews. Polls show that the overwhelming majority of Jews - young and old - see Zionism and Israel as central to their Jewish identities. True, a few outspoken Jews who attract lots of attention reject Israel. But they are trying to undo the core consensus most Jews have accepted since the Holocaust that ended in 1945 and the State of Israel which began in 1948 - that Judaism, Zionism, and support for Israel are intertwined and mutually reinforcing.

Sometimes, I'm not worried - I'm terrified! We've seen Gazans slaughtering our kids, Hizbullah rocketing houses up north, and 320 Iranian missiles trying to eradicate us. Worry, yes - but despair, no. Golda Meir said you can't be a Zionist and a pessimist. I'm a Zionist. Knowing Jewish and Israeli history, I remain an optimist, and blessed by Zionism, today's greatest Jewish renaissance project.


Yisrael Medad: Diasporic deviance syndrome
Were you aware that the Dreyfusards, those seeking to exonerate the Jewish captain of France’s army who was accused of spying for Germany, were not only working for France and for Jews, but that their campaign “was also a fight for Black people, for LGBT people, for indigenous people, for Palestinians”? That is the opinion of Noah Berlatsky.

In a 2019 op-ed piece on JNS, I employed the term “Diasporic supremacy” to relate to the new form of anti-Zionism that has developed, as well as the smug “we-do-not-agree-with-Israel’s-government” attitude of the liberal Jewish establishment. Noah Berlatzky’s above-quoted opinion is an excellent, unfortunate example of the workings of the minds of Diasporic supremacists. It has now evolved into a Diasporic deviance syndrome.

Noah, I discovered, edited an online comics-and-culture website “The Hooded Utilitarian” for a year or so and authored a book on Wonder Woman in comics. He is pro-Diaspora and, of course, critical of Israel. How critical?

He quotes Omar Bartov and opines that Israel is a country with “a policy of war crimes.” Israel is led by “genocidal bigots and religious fanatics” who engage in “war crimes and ethnic cleansing.” He is positive that Zionism is colonialism because, well, he adopts all the definitions that so describe Zionism. Truth is not what is, it seems, but how one defines the parameters of a situation.

In the following excerpt, he demonstrates that particular convoluted thinking well:

“The core of colonialism isn’t a violation of ancestral land claims. It’s the ability to decide, through force, whose weight anchors the land, and whose bodies can simply be brushed away … Israeli arguments that their ancestors lived on the land are largely irrelevant to colonial dynamics. What is relevant is the fact that Israel sees itself as arbiter of resources and of life within Gaza.”

Berlatzky knows that the Jews possess the better claims for ancestral lands. He may have sung at a Shabbat meal a zimra, a religious hymn, composed by Rabbi Yisrael Najara. Najara resided in Gaza and his hymnal was published in Safed in 1587. He may have read of Shabtai Tzvi, a false Messiah, whose publicist in the 1660s was Nathan of Gaza. Gaza, Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, Hebron and many other locations of Jewish residence throughout a 3,000-year history, even during conquest, subjugation and occupation, are Jewish ancestral lands. So Berlatsky simply cancels the worth of that claim in favor of some dumbed-down sloganeering.
Le Monde Editorial: Anti-Semitism is a poison, whether it comes from the left or the right
ven in 1936, a year which saw the victory, in the face of fascism, of the Front Populaire alliance of Socialists and Communists and the appointment of Léon Blum as prime minister of France, anti-Semitism was not a major theme in the electoral campaign. That goes to show how serious the current situation is: With just a week to go before an election that could tip France to the far right, public debate, electrified by the rape of a Jewish teenager in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie, is degenerating into controversies on anti-Semitism. This observation alone shows the extent to which the political world has lost its bearings, with some parties having no qualms about exploiting the prejudices that led the world to catastrophe in the 20th century.

The first manifestation of this great misguidance is the leadership of the Rassemblement National (RN), consolidated since its victory in the European elections. The RN is heir to a party, the Front National, co-founded by a former member of the Waffen-SS and Jean-Marie Le Pen, a convicted anti-Semite and denier of the Holocaust's gas chambers. None of the maneuvers designed to "de-demonize" the RN can erase the anti-Semitic roots and racial obsessions of a movement whose new self-proclaimed philosemitism is merely a screen for its hatred of Muslims.

The keystone of the RN's policy platform is the concept of "national priority," undermining the constitutional principle of equality. The fact that Jordan Bardella – who in November 2023, before retracting his statement, denied Jean-Marie Le Pen's anti-Semitism – is now publicly withdrawing the nomination of a candidate who made a dubious tweet about the gas chambers shows the ambiguities of the proclaimed spring cleaning.

Strategy of chaos
Against this facade, the left must oppose its historical intransigence by emphasizing its historical intransigence, from the Dreyfus affair to Vichy, towards all forms of racism and anti-Semitism. Instead, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, himself accustomed to nauseating innuendos and reviving old leftist flaws, is trying to exploit the anger linked to the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza to win over voters from immigrant backgrounds. He denies the surge in anti-Semitic attacks and the fears of many Jews, shrugging off his critics because of presumed Jewishness or belonging to a "colonial left." In doing so, he is only adding fuel to the fire, essentializing every French Muslim as a Palestinian victim and every French Jew as a supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu. What is he waiting for to withdraw his nomination of candidates who call Raphaël Glucksmann a "Zionist" or equate Hamas with a "resistance" movement?

This strategy of chaos is as deliberate as it is deadly for the left, whose facade of unity, built in record time since the dissolution decided by President Emmanuel Macron, is cracking in the worst way. This strategy benefits the RN, as witnessed by the terrible change of heart from the exemplary Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld, who has said he would be prepared to vote RN. It compromises anti-racism and the fight against anti-Semitism as the glue holding the left together and the gateway for generations of young people to its ideal of equality. But this desire to define people by their community is also disastrous for French society, which, with Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim populations, risks being plunged into violence by importing the Middle East conflict.
Marine Le Pen's National Rally is better for French Jews than the left, says Nazi-hunter
Despite its well-documented history of anti-Semitism, Jews in France might vote for Marine Le Pen's National Rally party over increasingly anti-Israel left-wing parties, said Nazi-hunter and historian Serge Klarsfeld on French national television LCI channel this week.

Klarsefld was born on September 17, 1935, in Bucharest. In 1943, his father sacrificed himself to the Gestapo while he, his mother, and his sister hid in their Nice home. After being rounded up by the French Vichy police, Klarsfeld's father was later sent to Auschwitz, where he was believed to be murdered, according to the couple's website.

In the interview, Klarsfeld said that if the upcoming French parliamentary elections end in a decision between La France Insoumise (far left wing) or the National Rally party (right-wing), he would choose the latter.

"When there is an anti-Semitic party and a pro-Jewish party, I will vote for a pro-Jewish party," he said.

The National Rally party, led by controversial figure Marine Le Pen and current president Jordan Bardella, counts among its founding members a Nazi paramilitary solider, reported WSJ in a report this week. Given that Klarsfeld, 88, is a Holocaust survivor, many in France, including fellow Jews, have responded with shock.

Klarsfeld stated that the real threat to French Jews came from the left, not the right, and that he wouldn't hesitate to vote for Le Pen if the alternative was the leftist coalition, referred to as the New Popular Front.

"I would not hesitate; I would vote for the National Rally. The crux of my existence is the defense of Jewish memory, the defense of persecuted Jews, and the defense of Israel. Now, I am faced with the extreme left, who, under the influence of La France Insoumise, has antisemitic undertones and violent forms of anti-Zionism. The National Rally, however, has been transformed."

“The National Rally supports Jews, supports the state of Israel,” Klarsfeld continued.
Antisemitism Gets Normalized by Good People Who Do Nothing
Aleksander Janik was seen on video and by witnesses (including Ben) hitting Rabbi Chezky Wolff with his bag, sending the rabbi tumbling to the street.

Wolff claimed that in addition to the alleged assault, Janik called him a “dirty Jew,” which Janik denies, claiming Jewish heritage himself. (It is not insignificant that Janik hails from Poland, a land with its own centuries-long legacy of widespread antisemitism.) Janik was later arrested and charged with committing a hate crime, assault with injury, and assault with intent to cause injury.

But Ben’s story is one of optimism—about the response of the well-meaning denizens of Manhattan responding to this act of violence.

These attacks on Jews are becoming, sadly, commonplace in every city where there are Jews. But there’s something about how often they’re happening in New York—home to the most Jews anywhere on this planet outside of Israel—that’s particularly disturbing.

The head of the Brooklyn Museum’s home was vandalized last week, with a faux-blood-stained banner calling her a “WHITE-SUPREMACIST ZIONIST.” The NYPD reported antisemitic hate crimes surged by over 40 percent over the past year. And some anti-Israel protests on college campuses have made Jewish students and faculty reasonably fear for their safety.

We are becoming inured to the danger that comes with the normalization of Jews being scapegoated and targeted for violence.
'Denazification' must be implemented in Gaza and the West Bank if we are ever going to see real peace
How do we truly eradicate Hamas when it is an ideology just as much as it is an established terror organization? The Palestinian Center for Policy published a new poll indicating that 2/3 of the Palestinian public continue to support the Oct. 7 massacre, 75% are "satisfied" with Hamas's performance in the war, and over half believe that Hamas is "the most deserving" of leading the Palestinian people. These findings are consistent with polls published three and six months ago.

Some assume that the only reason why Palestinians would commit the cruel acts of Oct. 7 is because they were left with no other choice. In their minds, people could never act in such barbarity unless they were pushed to such a breaking point of misery. This line of thinking absolves Palestinians of agency and it ignores the research which proves that Palestinian terrorism is not mere desperate moments of insanity but planned and organized, usually driven by deep-rooted antisemitism.

Post-World War II, Germans went through a "denazification" process, where the Allied forces had to remove Nazi ideology, influence, and personnel from German society, government, and institutions. This model must be implemented in the case of Gaza and the West Bank in a post-war reality if we are ever going to see real peace. The leadership of Hamas must be removed entirely and put on trial, any terror-related groups and gangs must be eradicated, and the Palestinian education system must be reformed to promote coexistence.
Daniel Pipes: A Decent Gaza Is Possible, but First, the Palestinians Must Lose
While Israel enjoys a huge economic and military edge over its Palestinian enemies, Israel's leaders have sought to conciliate them rather than defeat them. The Jewish state strategically seeks to end the conflict through a curious combination of enriching and placating Palestinians. This approach accounts for its current predicament.

The Palestinian center of gravity lies in the hope to destroy Israel and replace it with Palestine. Accordingly, Israel's goal must be to extinguish that hope. Ridded of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, Israel can then work with the growing body of Palestinians ready to come to terms with Israel's existence and seeking to benefit from it. This means constructing administrations in Gaza and the West Bank by working directly with moderate Palestinians to build a decent polity comparable to what is found in Egypt or Jordan.

It means supporting the voices of moderates and amplifying in Arabic the message of Palestinians calling for an end to a century of futile rejectionism in favor of building something positive. But this will happen only if Israel breaks with its tradition of conciliation and instead seeks victory.
David Collier: Red-handed: Catching the BBC pushing fake news
On June 21, the BBC published a story about how Gaza's water system is broken - and how it is crippling children and making them sick.

On the 19th, it published a story about how Gazan children are living "alongside rotting rubbish and rodents." On the 18th, there was a story about "a desperate mother's plea to feed her baby."

It's the same story packaged 1000 different ways, as the BBC pushes out empty, skewed and fact-free propaganda articles like a drumbeat.

The latest article about the water system contained images of healthy-looking parents sitting next to extremely sick children in hospital beds. Parents who clearly eat well do not let their children suffer from famine. Something else is at play.

BBC ran an image of a broken child - Yunis Jumaa - next to his healthy-looking mum, who informed readers: "when he developed this malnutrition and dehyration, he became as you see him now."

Yet just before the BBC published their story, Canadian CBC published the same photo, noting that Yunis had quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy.
BBC accused of not disclosing that killed Palestinian journalists were Hamas supporters
The BBC has been accused of failing to tell viewers that some Palestinians it had described as “journalists” killed by Israel were Hamas supporters.

Media campaigners have pointed out that some of those highlighted by the corporation as having been killed since Israel launched its response to the Oct 7 attacks appeared to be militants who had praised and even worked for the terror group.

They said the BBC was too quick to describe Palestinian militants and activists killed in the conflict as journalists.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) – which lobbies for a fair representation of Israel – claimed that 55 out of 69 Gazans and Lebanese described as journalists in a BBC Arabic article about media workers killed since Oct 7 had either voiced support for the killing of Israelis or had worked for outlets which did.

Two of these – Mohammad Jarghoun and Assaad Shamlakh – were mourned by friends on social media as members of the “resistance” and “jihad fighters”, while a third, Mustafa el-Sawaf, had been a member of Hamas’s political leadership for nearly two decades.

Additionally, Israel’s Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre has claimed that more than half the journalists that the Hamas media office says were killed in the Gaza Strip between Oct 7 2023 and Feb 18 2024 were affiliated with terrorist organisations, including 44 from Hamas and 19 from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

The claims came as it transpired last week that three Israeli hostages were being held captive in the home of a Palestinian journalist and his father, a doctor, before they were rescued by Israeli troops.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) accused Abdallah al-Jamal, the journalist, of being a “Hamas terrorist” who had detained Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv in his family home.

Jamal, who wrote for The Palestine Chronicle, a news website based in Washington, was killed along with his father, Ahmed, and his wife, Fatima, in the raid that freed the hostages last Saturday. The IDF said Jamal had also been a contributor to Al Jazeera.

The claims raise questions about the extent to which some Palestinian journalists can be regarded as independent and objective reporters working for recognised media organisations.
At least 6 dead, 12 wounded in shooting attack on Russian synagogue, Orthodox church
Unknown gunmen fired automatic weapons at a synagogue and Orthodox church in Dagestan, Russia at 6 PM on Sunday, local time, a Russian Interior Ministry official told TASS.

Six police officers were reportedly killed alongside a security guard and priest in the attack and an additional 12 were wounded, according to Reuters.

One of the officers was killed at the synagogue, according to RIA, while the other and 6 wounded were shot at a nearby traffic police post. It was also reported that a priest and security guard were victims of the attack, although it is unclear if this means that they were killed or wounded.

The attack was believed to be carried out by ISIS, according to N12 and Jewish community reports.

The gunmen, who fled the scene, were said to be driving a white Volkswagen Polo, with a 921 license plate. RIA reported that the identities of the shooters have now been established. Two of the attackers involved in a series of shootings in southern Russia's Dagestan region on Sunday have been shot dead, Russian news agencies quoted the Interior Ministry as saying.

A fire later broke out at the synagogue, and emergency services are reportedly attending to the fire.

"At approximately 18:00 [Moscow time] in Derbent, unknown persons fired at a synagogue and a church with automatic weapons. According to preliminary information, one police officer was killed and one was wounded. The car in which the suspects fled was identified as a white Volkswagen Polo, license plate 921 The circumstances are being clarified. Information about the dead and wounded police officers is being clarified,” a ministry source told TASS.

“In Makhachkala, unknown persons fired at a traffic police post on Ermoshkin Street. The 'Interception' plan was announced. The identities of the attackers are being established,” the regional Internal Affairs Ministry reported.

Fighting was later reported in the streets of Makhachkala.

Dagestan official Sergei Melikov, according to RIA, called the shooting an attempt to destabilize Russian society. He stressed an operational headquarters has been created, all necessary decisions will be made in the interest of the safety of local residents.

Israel's foreign ministry confirmed that in Makhchakla, shooters fired on two synagogue guards inside of their cop car, and then entered the synagogue hall. At the time of the shooting, worshippers weren't present.

The ministry later added the clarification there was a "combined attack in two cities in the Dagestan region, Makhachkala and Derbent.

"The synagogue in Derbent was set on fire and burned to the ground. Local guards were killed. The synagogue in Makhachkala was attacked by gunfire; no further details are available. At the same time, churches were attacked in Makhachkala, and a priest was murdered in Derbent.

"As far as is known, there were no worshippers in the synagogues at the time of the attack, and there are no known casualties among the Jewish community.

"The Israeli embassy in Moscow is in contact with the heads of the Jewish community in the region. We will continue to update as more details become available."


Jewish community in Dagestan: history and recent challenges
Despite their drastically diminished numbers, the Mountain Jews in Dagestan and elsewhere in the North Caucasus have maintained their communities. However, recent years have seen an increase in interethnic tension and acts of violence, prompting many to consider emigration for safety. Roman Ashurov, a prominent community member, highlighted the dangers faced, including kidnappings by Chechen gangs who targeted Jews for ransom, as reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

In recent years, the Jewish community in Dagestan has faced significant threats, including a notable terrorist incident on October 29, 2023, when a mob stormed Makhachkala Airport in search of Jewish passengers arriving from Israel. This attack was incited by ongoing global antisemitic agitation linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The mob, shouting antisemitic slogans, managed to breach airport security and caused significant chaos, leading to the airport's temporary closure and heightened security measures by local authorities, according to Jerusalem Post articles.

This incident wasn't isolated. Just earlier that day, a Jewish center under construction in Dagestan was set ablaze, with the words "Death to the Jews" inscribed on its walls. These events underscored a worrying rise in antisemitic violence in the region, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and extremist propaganda.

Local and international Jewish leaders have expressed deep concern about the safety of Jews in Dagestan. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, emphasized the need for Russian authorities to take decisive action against such extremism. Similarly, the Coordination Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus condemned the riots, highlighting the importance of maintaining interfaith harmony. This perspective was shared by both the Post and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Despite these challenges, the Jewish community in Dagestan, particularly in cities like Derbent and Makhachkala, continues to strive for peace and coexistence. However, the recent violent incidents have prompted many to consider emigration for safety, adding to the long-standing trend of Jewish emigration from the region due to economic hardships and security concerns.


UN Watch: Contempt For Colonna: UNRWA Leaders Continue to Promote Terrorism
Presented to Parliament of the Netherlands The Hague, 20 June 2024

I. Despite Promising to Implement Colonna Reforms, UNRWA in Gross Violation of Neutrality Obligations

As documented below, UNRWA is in gross breach of the neutrality commitments that it recently made to donor countries in order for them to reinstate funding, including the agency’s promise to implement all of the findings of the April 2024 Colonna Report. Dutch aid minister Liesje Schreinemacher told parliament in April that the Netherlands would not renew funding to UNRWA unless it implements the Colonna Report’s recommendations. In light of UNRWA’s handling of the al-Sharif case, which is documented below, we urge the Netherlands not to resume funding to UNRWA.

Despite UNRWA knowing for more than a decade that the head of its teachers union in Lebanon, Fathi al-Sharif (a.k.a. Fateh “Abo Amin” al-Sharif), overseeing 39,000 students in 65 schools, is part of Hamas and an overt promoter of terrorism, the agency is refusing to fire him.

UNRWA chief Lazzarini initiated an external review of UNRWA in mid-January 2024 in response to revelations about the agency’s terror ties, including a 3,000-member UNRWA staff Telegram group and the participation of at least 12 UNRWA employees in the October 7 Hamas attack. The mandate of that review, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, was to “conduct an independent review of mechanisms and procedures to ensure adherence by UNRWA to the humanitarian principle of neutrality.” The Colonna Review Group published its final report, containing 50 separate recommendations, on April 20, 2024. This was immediately followed by a commitment from UNRWA to implement the report, and a cascade of donors agreeing to renew funding.

Separate and apart from UNRWA’s commitments under the Colonna Report, UNRWA is also bound by UN & UNRWA staff regulations on neutrality (See Colonna Report p. 18), the UNRWA Code of Ethics (newly updated in February 2024), and commitments to other donors. Both UN and UNRWA regulations require staff to “avoid any action and in particular any kind of public pronouncement which may adversely reflect on their status, or on the integrity, independence and impartiality which are required by that status.” The Code of Ethics further explains that UNRWA employees should “not take sides in situations of armed conflict, public controversies or other political, racial, religious, or ideological disputes.” The Code of Ethics is also clear that “attending demonstrations … that are political or could become politicized” or “displaying controversial flags or symbols, or holding political meetings or religious services in UNRWA installations” all constitute neutrality breaches.

Regarding specific donor commitments, we note that when the European Commission announced on March 1 that it would allocate an additional 68 Million Euro to UNRWA, it highlighted UNRWA’s commitments to (1) review its staff to make sure they did not participate in October 7, (2) launch an audit by EU appointed external experts to review UNRWA controls to prevent involvement of staff in terrorist activities, and (3) strengthen its department of internal investigations. It also welcomed the Colonna review which would “assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious breaches.”

Likewise, even though the U.S. funding freeze has been extended until March 2025, $121 million had already been transferred to UNRWA by the end of January 2024, and UNRWA is still bound by its commitments in its 2023-24 Framework Agreement with the U.S. These include, (1) addressing neutrality violations in line with UNRWA’s neutrality framework, including prompt and transparent disciplinary proceedings for staff violations, (2) ensuring U.S. assistance is not used to aid a refugee “who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestinian Liberation Army, or any guerilla-type organization or anyone who has engaged in any act of terrorism,” and (3) to ensure that U.S. funding “does not provide assistance to, or otherwise support, terrorists or terrorist organizations.”


Smotrich eyes ‘mega-dramatic’ shift to up control over Judea and Samaria
Israel’s government is implementing a seismic shift in the way it manages the civil administration of Judea and Samaria by transferring authority from military to civilian hands.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionism Party, described the advances that had been made, and their significance, to a gathering of leaders from Judea and Samaria at Shacharit Farm, an Israeli community in western Samaria, on June 9.

Smotrich said it was critical that control of civilian matters in Judea and Samaria be taken out of military hands to energize the growth of Jewish communities and block a carefully laid Palestinian Authority plan to establish facts on the ground via illegal construction, part of its quest for a state.

“We are in the middle of a huge job right now to implement a completely new enforcement system in the Civil Administration,” Smotrich said.

“If everywhere else in the State of Israel there are certain goals for enforcement, in Judea and Samaria there is one big consideration. And in the end, it is what to do geopolitically, strategically and security-wise,” he said.

Referring to a meeting he had with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Smotrich said, “I spread out a map on the entire table and I showed him what happened in the last 10 years of his rule in Judea and Samaria.” The map revealed the extent of land lost to illegal P.A. land seizures under the Fayyad Plan.

(Salaam Fayyad, P.A. prime minister from 2007 to 2013, devised a plan to take over Judea and Samaria’s Area C, a region defined by the Oslo Accords as fully under Israeli control. The P.A. has carried out the plan virtually unhindered by the Israeli government.)

“[Netanyahu’s] eyes darkened. He said, ‘This happened under me?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Why? Because what can you do? For the army, this isn’t at the top of its priorities,” Smotrich said, explaining that the IDF doesn’t see illegal P.A. construction as a key security issue.
IDF: Troops in Rafah raze Hamas training facility, raid senior commanders’ offices
Troops raided and demolished a Hamas training complex in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday, as Israeli tanks were said to approach the nearby “humanitarian zone” of al-Mawasi, amid indications Jerusalem was seeking to arrange for the Strip’s post-war governance.

The so-called Abu Said outpost, belonging to Hamas’s Tel Sultan Battalion, was captured by the 401st Armored Brigade. The IDF said troops at the base located the office of the Tel Sultan Battalion’s commander, Mahmoud Hamdan, as well as a weapons depot and several tunnel shafts, which the army said it would investigate.

Elsewhere in the outpost, the IDF said it had raided the office of Yasser Natat, a Hamas commander responsible for the Rafah Brigade’s rocket fire on Israel and troops in Gaza. Soldiers from the 401st Brigade also launched an assault on a separate training site in the area, where weapons, additional tunnels, and intelligence materials were found, the military added.

The raids came as the IDF said early Sunday it had carried out dozens of airstrikes on terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip over the past day. However, the army did not provide an update on a Saturday strike on Gaza City that reportedly targeted senior Hamas official Raad Saad.

Also Sunday, the military said that the Israel Air Force struck a site where Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives were gathered that was previously part of UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City.

The IDF said it carried out aerial surveillance ahead of the strike carried out by fighter jets, used a “precision munition” and used various intelligence, to prevent harm to civilians.

“This is another example of Hamas’ systematic exploitation of civilian infrastructure and the civilian population as a human shield for its terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement.


Wounded in Gaza RPG attack, ICU doctor is treated, unrecognized, by his own colleagues
Yoav Bichovsky, a senior doctor at the intensive care unit at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, wasn’t recognizable to his own colleagues when he returned to the hospital from reserve duty as a combat medic — this time, as a patient, unconscious and seriously wounded.

Bichovsky, 47, volunteered on October 7, after the Hamas terror group’s deadly attack on southern Israel, when thousands of terrorists invaded the country from Gaza, killing 1,200 people, taking 251 hostages, and sparking the ongoing war in the Strip.

Bichovsky was sent to Gaza intermittently, returning to his work at the hospital in between. But on March 31, after he had been serving for three days in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, an RPG struck his vehicle, seriously wounding him and two other soldiers.

When Bichovsky, along with the other two injured soldiers, arrived at the hospital, he was unconscious and suffering from a head injury. Staff took his fingerprints and entered them into the military identification database, but he wasn’t identified.

Strikingly, none of those treating Bichovsky, many of whom knew him well, recognized him either at first, until Adam Saparov, an intensive care doctor and close friend of Bichovsky, realized the patient’s identity.

“From the outside it sounds very strange, but you must understand, when a wounded person arrives, in the first few minutes or even the first few hours, sometimes it’s very hard to identify him. I won’t get into the graphic details, but it’s hard sometimes,” Amit Frenkel, one of Bichovsky’s colleagues, told Channel 12 news in a report broadcast on Saturday night.


IDF soldier Malkia Gross KIA in Gaza
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military announced.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Malkia Gross, 25, from Susya, served with the 205th “Iron Fist” Reserve Armored Brigade’s 9212th Battalion.

The military was probing the circumstances of his death.

The IDF’s 162nd Division continues to carry out targeted counterterror raids in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, with soldiers locating weapons and underground infrastructure, the military said on Sunday morning.

The Givati Infantry Brigade, which is part of the 162nd Division, eliminated a squad of armed terrorists in the area.

At the same time, forces of the 99th Infantry Division worked to “clear the center of the Gaza Strip of terrorist infrastructure, weapons and armed terrorist squads,” the IDF said in the Sunday announcement.
Hezbollah suicide drone attack wounds IDF soldier
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was seriously wounded on Sunday afternoon when the Hezbollah terror group launched a salvo of suicide drones at Israeli territory.

Several hits were reported in the attack on the Galilee, which set off air-raid sirens in communities along the Lebanese border.

The wounded soldier was evacuated to Ziv Medical Center in Safed and his family was informed, the IDF said.

“Around 1 p.m., a soldier was brought to the Ziv emergency room who was seriously wounded by shrapnel in his shoulder, as a result of the barrage near [Kibbutz] Ayelet HaShahar,” Ziv Medical Center announced.

“The soldier is conscious and in stable condition, and after a series of tests, he was brought to vascular surgery by Dr. Victor Assaf (director of the Vascular Department), as well as orthopedic surgery by Prof. Alex Lerner, director of the Department of Orthopedics,” added the hospital.
Hezbollah storing Iranian weapons at Beirut airport
Hezbollah is storing massive amounts of Iranian armament at Rafic Hariri International Airport, Lebanon’s main civilian airport, staff say.

Hezbollah has been accused of using the Beirut airport for weapon storage in the past, but whistleblowers say it has ramped up the practice since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

“This is extremely serious, mysterious large boxes arriving on direct flights from Iran are a sign that things got worse,” an airport worker told The Telegraph. “When they started to come through the airport, my friends and I were scared because we knew that there was something strange going on.”

He feared that an explosion, or an attack on the airport to destroy the weapons, could cause major damage to Beirut, similar to the 2020 port blast that devastated much of downtown. That explosion was blamed on a weapons warehouse belonging to Hezbollah.

“Beirut will be cut off from the world, not to mention the number of casualties and damage,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time before a disaster also happens at the airport.”

Stored weapons include Iranian-made Falaq artillery rockets, Fateh-110 short-range missiles, mobile ballistic missiles and M-600 missiles with ranges of more than 150 miles, The Telegraph reported.

AT-14 Kornet, laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), Burkan short-range ballistic missile and RDX, a widely used explosive, are also stored at the airport.

Another whistleblower said, “For years I have been watching Hezbollah operating at Beirut airport, but when they do it during a war, it turns the airport into a target. If they keep bringing in these goods I’m not allowed to check, I really believe I’ll die from the explosion or I’ll die from Israel bombing ‘the goods’. It’s not just us, it’s the ordinary people, the people coming in and out, going on holiday.

“If the airport is bombed, Lebanon is finished,” he added.


Hezbollah threatens war ‘without rules’
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group overnight Saturday threatening to wage war against Israel “with no restraints.”

In a video message, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said, “In case an inclusive war is imposed on Lebanon, the resistance will fight without restraints, without rules, without limits.”

The minute-long clip then shows footage of various sites in central Israel, along with their GPS coordinates.

“Whoever thinks of war against us, will regret it,” the video ends.

Last week, U.S. presidential envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to prevent all-out war on the Jewish state’s northern border.

Hochstein met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling the premier that de-escalation was possible but that there was no “magic solution” to the situation, which he said was largely dependent on what happens with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The White House official reportedly rejected Jerusalem’s demand that a diplomatic deal to end the conflict in the north be based on the implementation of U.N. Security Resolution 1701—which was adopted to end the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and calls for a demilitarized zone from the Blue Line to the Litani River some 18 miles to the north.

Instead, he said it should include a range of options, including moving Hezbollah six miles from the border. He stressed that the United States was concerned about further escalation and called for calm on both sides.


'Held by human monsters': Former hostage Ilana Gritzewesky slams gov't at Tel Aviv protest
"I was brutally kidnapped on October 7. My jaw was injured, my arm was dislocated, and I lost hearing in my left ear," former hostage Ilana Gritzewesky told a crowd of thousands Saturday evening during a demonstration in Tel Aviv.

In her speech, Gritzewesky recounted her abduction to Gaza and her plight as a hostage for 55 days.

She was released from captivity on November 30. Her partner, Matan Zangauker, is still a hostage in Gaza.

"I was kidnapped while everything around me was burning," she said. "The neighbors in the kibbutz were screaming for help while terrorists were taking me to Gaza on a motorcycle."

She told the crowd that during her time in captivity, she "was held by human monsters."

Gritzewesky also recalled the intense bombings around her in Gaza. "I heard every explosion, every moment I felt I was going to die. The shockwaves from the shelling shook every building I was in," she recounted. "On the other side, we experienced terrible abuse from the terrorists at every moment," Gritzewesky added.

"We lost hope, felt helpless, didn't sleep, didn't eat, only fear and anxiety overwhelmed us," she described.

She then shared that while in captivity she and others held hostage with her were able to see the demonstrations and rallies in Israel calling for their release and felt like she was "not forgotten."

She saw that "there were people fighting for us" and said that watching these demonstrations gave her hope.

Gritzewesky said that her soul is still captive in Gaza, and Hamas controls her all the time.


Ricochet PodCast: Staving Off Annihilation with VDH
Victor Davis Hanson is back! He joins Rob and Steve Hayward to discuss his latest must-read, The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation. Aside from the cheery discussion on civilization obliteration, the trio finds their way into digressions spanning the cameos of great men in the Old Testament to the spectacular blunders of the modern era. Is there any hope to be found in this eleventh hour?
Ruthie Blum joins Scripps News for updates on the Israel-Hamas War, Hezbollah and Lebanon.
Ruthie Blum, former adviser at the office of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, award-winning columnist, senior contributing editor at JNS, and co-host of "Israel Undiplomatic" on JNS TV, joins Scripps News for updates on the Israel-Hamas War and Hezbollah, Lebanon and Israel's northern border.


What's the deal? Jerry Seinfeld’s brutal comeback as anti-Israel hecklers crash another show on Australian tour from hell
Jerry Seinfeld has brutally shut down yet another group of anti-Israel hecklers at his Melbourne show, the latest in a series of disruptions during the legendary American comedian’s Australian tour.

Seinfeld was performing in front of thousands of fans at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night when, towards the end of his set, a group of anti-Israel protesters began chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

The 70-year-old — who is widely considered one of the best stand-up comedians of all time — immediately mocked the group for having paid to attend his show.

“I think you need to go back and tell whoever is running your organization, ‘We just gave more money to a Jew,’” he said as the crowd erupted with laughter.

“That cannot be a good plan for you. You gotta come up with a better plan.”

The protesters were escorted out of the arena by police.

Around a dozen anti-Israel protesters were seen earlier in the night outside the venue holding signs reading “F**k Jerry Seinfeld”.

The latest interruption came after similar incidents at Seinfeld’s shows in Sydney and Adelaide.

Footage from his Adelaide appearance on Tuesday showed two men disrupting the show, standing up and yelling at Seinfeld, with the audience booing their behavior.


NYC Jewish family pummeled at 5th-grade commencement by attendees shouting ‘Free Palestine,’ mom says
A Jewish mom and her husband were attacked and beaten at a Brooklyn elementary school graduation by an Arabic-speaking family — who taunted them with shouts of “Free Palestine!” “Gaza is Ours!” and “Death to Israel!” she told The Post.

The mayhem erupted at PS 682 in Gravesend just after the school’s fifth-grade graduation — which was themed, ironically, “All you need is love.”

Instead, the Jewish woman’s husband was thrown to the ground by members of the other family. One man put him in a chokehold, he said. Others grabbed his legs as they kicked and punched him. One woman repeatedly whacked him with the sharp heel of a black stiletto, the mom told police.

“They targeted my family because we are Jewish,” said the mother, whose 10-year-old twins witnessed the assaults.

“A graduation event that was supposed to be joyous and memorable turned into a violent and traumatizing one.”

It was one of the worst outbursts of antisemitism in NYC public schools since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel and war in Gaza, because it escalated beyond words, said Tova Plaut, a city educator and advocate for Jewish peers.

“We consistently warned that tolerating overtly antisemitic views would create a toxic environment for Jewish students and families, inevitably leading to physical violence,” Plaut said. “This has now occurred.”

The Jewish mom, Lana, and her husband Johan, a Dominican who is Catholic, recounted their horrific experience to The Post in frustration because the NYPD did not classify the incident as a hate crime.

But after the couple urged the NYPD to reconsider, a spokesperson said Saturday, “The Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.”


Warnings signs for Biden’s Jewish support as war in Gaza drags on and antisemitism rises
Trump, meanwhile, is now attempting to move past his often bumbling and occasionally offensive appeals to Jewish Americans to earn their vote.

“If you want pretty tweets, vote for Biden. If you don’t want dead Israelis, vote for Trump,” said Morgan Ortagus, a spokesperson for the State Department under Trump, in a staged debate with the Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Haile Sofer about the election in front of a crowd of hundreds at the American Jewish Committee’s conference in Washington last Tuesday.

But in one measure of how they went over, when Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan took the stage for the next session, he received two standing ovations: one before and one after two anti-Israel protesters walked up to interrupt him.

Israel has often proved to be a vexing topic for Trump to speak about during his comparatively brief political career. Trump’s support among Jewish voters in 2020, at 30% according to Associated Press exit polls, was the highest for a Republican presidential candidate in decades.

The former president is frustrated he didn’t get more support from Jewish voters for the long-sought moving of the American embassy to Jerusalem and has many times made comments like the ones he made in April, saying that “any Jewish person that votes for Biden does not love Israel, and frankly, should be spoken to.”

The Abraham Accords normalizing Israeli relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates negotiated under Trump were a significant and substantive move toward peace. But in the first weeks after October 7, Trump said Netanyahu has “rightfully been criticized” for failing to stop a “very smart” Hamas.

He has offered no substantive alternative proposals for getting to a deal or long-term post conflict plan. He has not condemned antisemitic incidents, and often talks about hostages in reference to the January 6, 2021, Capitol rioters in prison, not the estimated 120 Israelis (including five American citizens) still being held by Hamas.

But protests and the many incidents like Jews being screamed at and harassed on college campuses through the spring are what Lee Zeldin, a Jewish former GOP congressman from New York, said is where the political risk is for Biden.

“Right now, the Democratic Party is in a moment where they have to choose to successfully lead these forces instead of being led by them,” Zeldin said. “Every effort to pander to [Palestinian American Congresswoman] Rashida Tlaib and those ‘Abandon Biden’ voters in Michigan has the risk of alienating Jewish voters in the Detroit suburbs.”

The Republican Jewish Coalition, of which Zeldin is on the board, is planning to spend at least $15 million in micro-targeted support of Trump and other Republican candidates in states where Jewish voters make up more than the margins of victories in recent races. The expected central theme of that effort, according to one of the people involved, will be: As a Jewish American, do you feel safer than you did four years ago?
AOC, Bernie Sanders dubbed ‘sellouts’ by far-left group at NYC Jamaal Bowman rally for not being pro-Palestinian enough
Red alert!

Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unleashed chaos at a rally for Bowman’s primary campaign in the Bronx Saturday — where the host congressman spat out a fiery speech threatening to show “who the f–k we are.”

Bowman flexed his muscles — literally — throughout the “get out and vote” rally at St. Mary’s Park, while his “Squad” counterpart, AOC stormed the stage to a Cardi B song and frantically knocked over her mic as she ranted about “kicking some Wall Street ass” to the crowd of 300.

He also put the blue in Democrat, as he profanely ripped critics while trying to rally the vote in his tough fight against Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a moderate Democrat.

“We are gonna show them who the f— we are! We are gonna show them who the f— we are!” he shouted.

At one point he lifted up a stool and exhorted the crowd to chant “ceasefire now” in regard to the war in Gaza. He also cursed as he ripped the pro-Israel AIPAC group.

“Our people are more powerful than their power. It is time for us to show them the real power of the people. We’re going to show them how mighty we are … We are gonna show f—ing AIPAC the power of the motherf—ing South Bronx,” he said.

The rally, also attended by former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, was aimed at helping him pull out of his poor polling for his June 25 primary Latimer.

Meanwhile, outside the park, the anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime, run by radicals Nerdeen Kiswani and Fatima Mousa, hosted their “Flood the Bronx for Gaza” to counter the rally to rip Sanders and AOC as “sellouts” for not backing Palestine enough to their liking.

Some banged drums while others held signs with slogans like “For class war to free Palestine! Dump Genocide Joe and the Squad.”


Heathrow staff 'wearing pro-Palestine badges' 'harassed' Israeli passengers and subjected them to 'degrading treatment' after customs official 'spotted Israeli flag on their luggage'
Heathrow staff wearing pro-Palestine badges 'harassed' Israeli passengers and subjected them to 'degrading treatment'.

Passengers complained that they were targeted after staff noticed the Israeli flag on their luggage and were 'shunted' into a separate room.

When passengers asked why they were being treated differently, staff reportedly told them that as customs officials they could do whatever they wanted.

The complaints have prompted a Home Office investigation by their professional standards unit.

This comes after two Israeli survivors of the Nova Music Festival attacks were 'detained for two hours' at Manchester Airport earlier this year.

The passengers arrived at Heathrow on an El Al flight from Ben Gurion airport and were passing through the airport at 10.30pm when a customs official noticed the Israeli flags on their bags.

The officers ushered the whole group into a separate room for checks and the travellers said their luggage was scanned The Times reported.

One passenger told the group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) they were walking towards the exit when a customs officer appeared and demanded one of the passengers explain what was on his suitcase.

When the man replied that it was an Israeli flag, the the customs officer reportedly told all those on the flight to move to a separate room.

One traveller said that the customs officers had told them they could do whatever they wanted.

They added: 'It was a horrible feeling to be shunted into another room.'

The Home Office is now investigating the incident as staff wearing political badges is in contravention of both the airport's uniform policy and the Equality Act 2010.

According to UKLFI the security staff engaged in 'unwanted conduct' relevant to a protected characteristic - being Jewish and Israeli and as a result those people were intimidated.


Anti-Israel protesters in NYC wave Hezbollah, Hamas flags, hold portrait of Sinwar
Anti-Israel protesters at New York City’s Hunter College over the weekend displayed symbols of the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups and chanted in support of violent “resistance.”

Footage from the Friday rally showed protesters, many of them wearing keffiyehs, chanting, “We won’t condemn resistance,” apparently in support of terror attacks. They also chanted “Israel will never win,” and called to “free Palestine.”

Protesters were seen waving a flag with the emblem of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, carrying a Hezbollah flag, and brandishing a portrait of Hamas’s Gaza ruler and October 7 massacre mastermind Yahya Sinwar.

One of the activists was also seen peeling off an anti-Hamas sticker from a traffic light, while another was seen trampling on an American and Israeli flag — a gesture that is often seen in anti-Israel rallies in the Middle East.

The rally was organized by the hardline pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime, a group that has been behind some of the most extreme protests in New York since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.


Chicago's Buckingham Fountain vandalized by anti-Israel activists
Chicago's Buckingham Fountain was vandalized on Saturday by anti-Israel activists, who dyed the water blood red and painted pro-Palestinian slogans.

The Chicago Park District stated on social media on Saturday that the historic fountain "will be closed until further notice to perform maintenance due to overnight vandalism."

Palestine Action US shared photographs of the incident on Sunday, in which the phrases "Gaza is bleeding" and "Stop the genocide" could be seen around the fountain. 'We will not stop escalating,' say activists

"A group of comrades sent a message to so-called Chicago as the city prepares to host NASCAR and other frivolous festivals this summer. The underlying message accompanying these images should also be known: we will not stop escalating, so long as we live in a world that requires genocide to function," the activists said in a communique through the anti-Israel group.

"To the capitalist class: today we defaced your beloved Buckingham as a symbol of our power and seriousness. Tomorrow, we come for your pockets and your weapons. We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

The activists said that they would not allow normalcy in US society until various conflicts had been resolved.


Each-way Albo disappoints Jewish community yet again
It has been well documented that the St Kilda office of Macnamara MP Josh Burns was vandalised, fire bombed and attacked earlier this week. A picture of Mr Burns was defaced with horns and the words “Zionism is Fascism”. This was for one reason only – because Mr Burns is Jewish and represents a large Jewish constituent within his electorate. If this is not a deliberate act of antisemitism then I don’t know what is.

Burns is not alone when it comes to Marxist destruction. Labor MPs Peter Khalil and Daniel Mulino and the offices of Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus have also been damaged by vandals.

Predictably, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered a lukewarm, measured response. The best that each-way Albo could dish up was that “we’ve got to dial this down. The people who were responsible for this attack should face the full force of the law. It is very distressing for Josh and for his staff.”

No mention of this being a focused and targeted attack on Mr Burns because he is Jewish, let alone any mention of the dangerous escalation of antisemitism in Melbourne that is being fueled and driven by the Jewish people’s biggest threat, Adam Bandt and the Australian Greens.


NYC teacher group behind anti-Israel walkouts gets thousands in George Soros funding
A group of New York City public school teachers behind controversial pro-Palestine student walkouts has received thousands of dollars from George Soros’ Tides Foundation, The Post has learned.

Teachers Unite, a registered not-for-profit based in Manhattan’s Financial District, received $11,000 in 2023 from the billionaire left-wing investor’s social justice philanthropy.

Teachers Unite boasts a mission of “developing the leadership skills of progressive educators” and fighting the “school-to-prison pipeline,” according to tax filings and its website.

But in recent months, the teachers group has pushed the controversial anti-Israel walkouts in NYC public schools and held organizing meetings in schools across the city, according to posts on Instagram.

The group shared an eight-page toolkit for walkout participants that demanded, “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” and “Protect teachers facing retaliation from administration and parents for teaching about Palestine.”

The group is headed by co-executive directors Charlotte Pope and Bella Week, who didn’t appear in city payroll records.

At least one of its recent board members is a member of the powerful United Federation of Teachers union.


Reform candidate said 'powerful Jews' want ‘third-world Muslims’ to come to UK
"Powerful Jews" are “agitating” to import “third-world Muslims” into Britain, a Reform UK candidate has alleged on social media.

The candidate for Bournemouth West, Ben Aston, claimed that Jews were planning to organise Muslim migration into Britain and that the UK government was “injecting” Britain with African men.

According to the Times, on a now-deleted X/Twitter account, Aston, 43, commented on a post in October that said, “how are Jews meant to feel safe in the UK?”.

Aston replied: “These endless takes from Jews are horrendous. Many of the powerful groups agitating for the mass import into England of Muslims from the Third World are Jewish. The resultant societal problems have been visible for decades.”

A keen cyclist, Aston had previously used his X account, @ldnparks, to advocate for cyclists’ rights in London.

Using the account, Aston replied to a post criticising the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge.

He wrote: “They are currently doing [this] all over England. Injecting large numbers (eg. ~ 80 per hotel) of illegal African economic migrant men into provincial English communities. This is a concerted and deliberate effort.”

On another occasion, Aston posted an old video of a red bus in London and added: “Native Brits displaced by millions of immigrants, imported on the altar of GDP”.

Party leader Nigel Farage is facing mounting pressure to remove the candidate over the comments which he posted on social media last year.

Sir Conor Burns served as the Conservative MP for Bournemouth West from 2010 until the election was called. He has written to Farage demanding Aston’s suspension.

“These comments are antisemitic and hugely offensive,” he wrote. “Decent people will be repelled by them. Reform are raising totally legitimate issues and I find myself in some sympathy with some of them. However, Aston is clearly a nasty bigot.

“I have known Nigel Farage for almost three decades and know he will have no truck with them. He can act decisively and suspend his candidate, condemn his remarks and urge his supporters not to vote for Aston in Bournemouth West.”


Hamas to recruit Gazan youths in Khan Yunis comeback
Hamas is making a comeback to regain control of Khan Yunis as well as recruiting new fighters from young adolescents in the 18-year-old range both in southern and northern Gaza.

The trend has continued since the IDF withdrew from Khan Yunis on April 7. Still, Army Radio reported on Sunday, and the Jerusalem Post confirmed with multiple sources that the Hamas comeback trend in Khan Yunis could be crossing crucial thresholds.

Hamas to recruit close to 20,000 new Palestinian terrorists?
The Gaza terror group is now holding new training camps for its new recruits to replace the 14,000-16,000 of its fighters who the IDF has killed, the approximate similar number who have been wounded, and the around 4,000 who have been arrested, though an unidentified number of these may have been released.

Even without reinforcements, it is believed that Hamas retains around 5,000-10,000 of its pre-war fighters, though in recent months, they have often been more spread out and operating in much smaller cells close to single digits as opposed to operating in organized battalions with 1,000 or thousands of ground forces operating in unison.

With reinforcements and organizing actual training camps, there are concerns that Hamas could start the process of reconstituting its battalions in Khan Yunis.

No sources knew the volume of new recruits that Hamas has managed to engage so far in the last 10 weeks since Israel's withdrawal.


Iranian-American unveils mural honoring Jewish and Iranian women
Iranian-American artist Hooman Khalili has unveiled a new mural in the Galilee city of Safed honoring four Persian and Israeli women killed or injured by the Islamic Republic in Iran or by its proxy Hamas in Israel.

The symbolic painting, meant to highlight the historical connection between the Jewish people and Iranian women, was unveiled two months after Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones in an unprecedented direct attack on the Jewish state and as the war against the Iranian-backed Hamas in Gaza rages for a ninth month.

The Iranian-born artist’s mural depicts two Israeli soldiers of Persian heritage killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 massacre, which triggered the war, alongside a Kurdish-Iranian icon who was beaten to death by the Islamic regime, and an Iranian woman who was blinded by Iranian authorities during an anti-government demonstration.

Titled “Woman, Life, Freedom,” the rallying cry against oppression and for women’s rights, in English, Hebrew and Persian, the mural of the four women reads: “Esthers of the World Rise Up.”

It features Sahar Saudyan, a 21-year-old IDF captain from Rosh Ha’ayin who was killed during the Hamas onslaught while operating an Iron Dome anti-missile battery in southern Israel; Staff Sgt. Shirel Haim Pour, a 20-year-old from Rishon Leztion killed when Hamas terrorists overran the Nahal Oz military base near the Gaza Strip; Iranian Mahsa Amini, who became an icon for oppressed women around the world as news spread of her death after being arrested by Iranian morality police for “improperly” wearing her hijab two years ago; and Elahe Tavakolian, who was shot in the eye and blinded during nationwide protests in Iran in September 2022 against Amini’s death in custody.

“I want to show that the Jews in Israel are standing with the women of Iran,” Khalili told JNS over the weekend. “The images honor two Persian Jews who fell on Oct. 7 and the brave women of Iran who have stood up to their oppressive regime, and the connection and love between the people of Iran and the people of Israel.”

Qatar Banned US From Using Its Military Base Against Iran
In early 2024, as the US and Qatar quietly extended the use of America’s largest military base in the Persian Gulf, they appeared united in their support for US military activities from Al Udeid Air Base.

This unity persisted until April, when the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a massive rocket and missile attack against Israel.

Qatar declared, according to an April report in the Iranian government-controlled media, that the US is barred from using its airspace in Qatar. Doha hosts key leaders of the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist designated organization.

In one of the starkest signs of Qatar impeding the US from defending its allies in the Mideast and American national security interests, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published on Thursday a scarcely noted 2012 interview with Qatar’s former Prime Minister Hamid bin Jassim, who said Qatari foreign policy prohibits military operations against Iran.

Hamad bin Jassim (HBJ) told the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera Network in an April 1, 2012 interview that “The Iranians and the Americans know that we oppose any military action against Iran." When asked by Al-Jazeera "Will the Americans ask for your permission?,” the former Prime Minister said "The Americans know that we will not accept any hostile action from Qatar, against any neighboring country, especially against Iran."

Al-Jazeera said, "There is now escalation between Iran and the US. Couldn't the Al-Udeid Air Base be used to...", prompting HBJ to stress "I have told you that we will not accept – I am saying this clearly and underlining it twice... We will not accept any hostile action against Iran from Qatar. Full stop."

HBJ’s statement appears to render the Al-Udeid base futile against one of America’s principal enemies, the Islamic Republic, which the US has consistently designated a state-sponsor of terrorism since 1984.

Rich Goldberg, who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, told Iran International, “There’s little value in having a base right next to our greatest threat in the region if a primary condition for having the base is that it can never be used to confront that threat.” Goldberg is a senior advisor for the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Tehran Judiciary Sentences 73 US Officials to Pay $9bn for Killing Soleimani
Tehran's judiciary chief Ali Alghasi-Mehr announced that the Criminal Court of Tehran has sentenced the US government and officials to pay a total of $9 billion over the targeted killing of Ghasem Soleimani and sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Alghasi-Mehr alsos aid that 73 US officials were notified to announce legal representation for the court proceedings concerning the case of IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

On January 3, 2020, President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport that resulted in the death of Soleimani. The US justified the action by claiming Soleimani was actively planning attacks against American diplomats and military personnel in Iraq and the broader region.

Last year, Iran's judiciary said it has identified 97 suspects in the killing of Soleimani, including former US President, Donald Trump.Mohammad Mosaddegh, Deputy Chief of Iran's Judiciary, announced on Wednesday that "legal measures have been initiated against 73 Americans" including Trump and former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.

Soleimani, who held a prominent role in Iran's military and intelligence operations abroad, oversaw the support and coordination of various militant proxy groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Shiite militias in Iraq, which frequently targeted US forces.

Starting in January 2021, Tehran openly indicated its readiness to carry out deadly missions within the United States to seek revenge for the killing. It consistently singled out Trump, Pompeo, and former CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie as top-priority targets for potential retaliation.

In 2022, late President Ebrahim Raisi told the UN that Donald Trump should face trial for his role in the Soleimani killing, and this year, continues to call for "vengeance" to the military man's killers.


'Escalate for Palestine:' Belgian Holocaust memorial defaced
A Brussels memorial to non-Jews who worked to rescue Jews from the Nazi genocide campaign was defaced with anti-Israel messages on Tuesday, Jewish organizations said.

“Escalate for Palestine, everyone,” the graffiti on the Monument to the Righteous of Belgium read, according to a photograph published by Belgian League Against Antisemitism vice-president Odile Margaux. “We are all equal.”

The European Jewish Congress said on Saturday “This outrageous disrespect of Shoah victims doesn’t advance the Palestinian cause. It is simply unacceptable.”

Margaux noted that the vandalism occurred a few days after the defacement of a stele dedicated to Belgian resistance fighters who attacked a convoy to Auschwitz.

'A despicable stain'
The Coordinating Committee of Belgian Jewish Organizations (CCOJB) on Tuesday denounced the spray painting of the plaque commemorating Youra Livchitz, Jean Franklemon, and Robert Maistriau, who participated in the attack on the twentieth convoy from the Mechelen transit camp to Auschwitz.

The plaque was spray painted with a white swastika and the white nationalist version of the Celtic Cross.
Miami bagel shop vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti for the fourth time since October 7
A kosher Miami restaurant was vandalized last Sunday with pro-Palestinian graffiti, the Miami Police Department and Holy Bagels & Pizzeria said.

The restaurant and a flag had been vandalized with “antisemitic graffiti,” the police said in a statement last Monday. The police asked the public to help identify the suspect, whose image they showed.

“As a society, we must unequivocally reject and not tolerate hate crimes in any form,” Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said in a statement. “Discrimination, violence, and prejudice have no place in our communities, and it is essential that we stand against such acts to create a safer and more inclusive community.”

The phrases “Free Palestine’ and “stop genocide” had been spray painted on the windows, the restaurant said last Monday on Instagram. A half-American, half-Israeli flag was also spray-painted with the slogan “free Palestine,” it said.

“This is what they do,” Holy Bagels & Pizzeria the restaurant said. “They hurt and destroy and want us to cover in fear. But we are strong and united, and only love will destroy their hate. We will not back down, [and] we stand forever united with Israel.”

Federal Judge Roy Altman, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Kava came to the restaurant on Tuesday to help clean the graffiti.


'We will remain a puppet of Israel,' Dan Bilzerian says in antisemitic post
American high-stakes poker player Dan Bilzerian published a social media post on Saturday expressing belief in several conspiracies and accusations against Israel, contending that it controlled the United States.

"[Jeffery] Epstein['s] island was an Israeli Mossad op[eration to blackmail US politicians," Bilzerian said on X. "AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] makes our government put Israel’s interests before ours. Covid[-19] was a scam, and we got poisoned while Israeli big pharma made billions, and our Israeli-controlled government and media forced it. The US is an occupied nation."

The post, which garnered two million views and hundreds of comments about Jews and Israeli control, was not the first time Bilzerian has engaged in harsh rhetoric about Israel.

According to a Jun 10 post by Bilzerian, "Until AIPAC registers as a foreign agent, we will remain a puppet of Israel."

Bilzerian, a social media influencer from Florida, had on Sunday shared a quote often falsely attributed to Voltaire and was actually said by American neo-Nazi Kevin Alfred Strom.

"If you want to know who rules over you, just look for who you are not allowed to criticize," Bilzerian falsely quoted.
Study Shows Israeli Teens Excel at "Creative Thinking"
The percentage of Israeli 15-year-olds who excel at "creative thinking" is among the highest in the world, according to the 2022 Creative Thinking Assessment, an international study of 63 countries, released on June 18.

30% of Israeli students rated "excellent" in creative thinking, compared to the OECD average of 27%. The study found that among Hebrew speakers, 35% were rated "excellent," one of the highest rates in the study.

"Creativity is the ability to bring up multiple ideas and solutions," explained Prof. Anat Zohar, Chair for Integrated Studies in Education at Hebrew University.

In Israel, "there is a tendency to think out of the box, to be creative about things, to look at different angles and look for different solutions."

"There is something about Israeli culture that encourages wide, divergent creative thinking," Zohar said.
Here's why Israel should still remain optimistic during the war
I sense an air of despondency in Israel right now.

Some might even call it despair.

I have heard comments such as “We are losing this war” or “We will never be secure in our beds again.”

Someone even asked me last Shabbat whether I thought Israel would still exist in 20 years’ time and whether I had considered leaving the country and bolting for the “safety” of my “home” in the UK.

These are comments and questions that would not have been dreamed of 10 months ago. But people are weary.

They are weary of the war, which, despite the warnings from the army and government early on that it would be a long battle, we can’t accept has lasted 50 times longer than the Six Day War and shows no signs of ending any time soon.

They are weary of the constant bickering, bad behavior, and lack of statesmanship from those tasked with leading the country.

They are weary (and in many cases angry) at the terrible press that Israel is receiving on the international stage.

They are weary (and so terribly sad) about the loss of so many hero soldiers and the plight of the hostages in the hell-hole of Hamas captivity.

There is fear, too.

Fear of what the future may hold for us – hence the questions asked of me above.

Fear that rising antisemitism, already growing in recent decades, has been fueled by Israel’s response to the October 7 massacres.

We read of attacks on synagogues from Berlin to Paris to Tunisia to New York. For many Jews around the world, the attack feels like a precursor to the pogroms we thought had been consigned to the dustbin of history. This has shattered our belief that a homeland was meant to protect us from precisely this happening again.

It is hard for many to see the rainbow after the storm.

Focusing on the positive

But see it, we must.




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