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Monday, August 12, 2024

08/12 Links: IDF confirms 38 terrorists eliminated in Gaza school attack, The Dangerous New Iranian Nuclear Reality, All the Jewish 2024 Olympic medalists

Ian is off today. He will resume creating the linkdumps tomorrow. Here's my second-rate attempt to do about 20% of what he does every day. -EoZ

Iran has not retaliated quickly against Israel because Iran very likely seeks to ensure that its next attack restores deterrence with Israel while simultaneously avoiding a large-scale war. Iran previously attacked Israel on April 13, 12 days after Israel killed one of Iran’s senior-most military commanders in Syria on April 1.[1] Iran and its allies fired around 170 one-way attack drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at Israel in its April 2024 attack.[2] The United States, Israel, and their allies intercepted most of the projectiles, and the Iranian attack did significantly less damage than Tehran intended.[3] Iranian leaders are therefore incentivized to carefully and slowly calculate their next attack to ensure that the attack inflicts serious damage on Israel, thereby restoring Iranian deterrence with Israel. Iran will likely also ensure that the attack will not trigger a major war. Western intelligence sources previously assessed that Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah may attack Israel on the Jewish holiday Tisha B’Av on August 12-13, although Iran might wait longer to conduct its next attack to ensure that the attack achieves its strategic goals.[4]

 Biden saying 'Don't' and other threats seemingly fail to deter Iran as more US Mideast bases hit

The White House is facing withering criticism that President Biden’s "Don’t" attack warnings to Iran are not being taken seriously after Tehran-backed terror militias injured American military personnel at the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq on Monday and is suspected of another attack in Syria on Friday.

On Saturday, Biden once again issued a "Don’t" when asked by reporters what his message to Tehran was. Critics argue his Iran policy is adrift and his warnings to the Islamic republic and its proxies in October and April have not deterred them.

While the IDF announced on Saturday that 19 terrorists were eliminated in an attack on the Tabbayeen School in Gaza, the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence have confirmed that the number of terrorists eliminated in the attack is 38, according to a Walla report.

Security forces are continuing their assessments, and the number may increase, however, this contrasts with Palestinian claims that approximately 100 uninvolved civilians were killed in the attack.

Media Recast Hamas Terrorists as ‘Praying Palestinians’ in School Strike Reports

 Did the media wait to verify the facts before reporting? Unfortunately, no. Instead, they quickly amplified Hamas’ claims, accusing Israel of targeting civilians who were “praying” or “seeking refuge” inside the school, as was claimed in some reports.

For instance, The Wall Street Journal ran a headline accusing Israel of killing civilians, without providing a credible source for the alleged death toll. Reuters followed suit, reporting that “officials” claimed at least 100 people had died—though which officials these were was left unclear.

 Hamas Shuns New Talks on Gaza Ceasefire

The Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist group confirmed in a statement on August 11 that it will not attend talks scheduled for this Thursday aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in captivity. The United States, Qatar, and Egypt earlier announced that the August 15 meeting, expected to be held in either Doha or Cairo, would discuss jump-starting long-stalled negotiations on suspending hostilities in Gaza and recovering the hostages, presently believed to number 111 out of the more than 250 seized during the Hamas atrocities of October 7. While Israel agreed to attend the talks, the Hamas statement said it was calling “on the mediators to present a plan to implement what was agreed upon by the movement on July 2, 2024, based on Biden’s vision and the UN Security Council resolution.”

Everything you need to know about Tisha B'Av

The Tisha B'Av fast is a day of fasting and mourning commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. This day is considered one of the most difficult days in the Jewish calendar, and it includes five afflictions intended to stir the hearts and inspire repentance. Here is a detailed account of the main events that occurred on Tisha B'Av throughout Jewish history.

The Destruction of the Second Temple: A Concise History

Among the Jews of Roman Judaea, different views formed on how to respond to Roman cruelty and corruption. Three main factions emerged.

The Zealots believed that the proper response was an open war with the Romans. They were ready to take on the mighty Roman army and believed that they could win independence from the Roman Empire. Many of them were young and inexperienced in either warfare or politics.

The Friends of Rome, who were mostly the wealthy and powerful Jews, believed that the best approach was to befriend the Roman procurator and his representatives, and thus, avoid their wrath.

The moderate faction would have preferred to throw off the yoke of Rome, but they realized that such a goal would not have been realistic. Thus, they preferred to negotiate with the Romans in order to avoid violent confrontation. The majority of the population belonged to this faction, including the elders and the Sages.

The three factions had similar goals – they wanted to ensure peace and justice for Jews in Judaea. Unfortunately, they could not agree on how to reach these goals, and with time and increased oppression, the factions only grew farther apart.

The rabbis adding Oct. 7 to their Tisha B’Av lamentations

On Monday evening, Jews across the world will gather to hear Megillat Eichah, the Book of Lamentations, referring to the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem, and read Kinot, additional lamentations, including tragic events after the Second Temple was destroyed, the Crusades period and beyond.

Some congregations in Israel and the Diaspora will have new texts to read about more recent, tragic events of Oct. 7, the greatest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.

 Information Warfare | Jonathan Conricus on Israel's 8th Front

Former IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus joins Eylon for a deep dive into Israel's strategic challenges on the communications front. Conricus shares his inside perspective on Israel's approach to information warfare, public diplomacy, and the evolving military strategy against Iranian proxies. He candidly discusses the IDF's tactical successes, the shortcomings in Israel's strategic planning, and the urgent need for a more coherent national strategy against Iran's growing influence. Conricus also offers insights into how Israel can improve its international messaging and why it's crucial to prioritize global public relations in the ongoing conflict.


Kamala Harris’s pastor, Durban and worse

When Rev. Brown said, “America, is there anything you did to set up this climate?” he placed himself squarely in the camp of those who “blame the democracy” for the savage hatred of the jihadis in quest of a global Caliphate.

Under normal circumstances, the grown-ups would have shut him down and shunned him. But those were not ordinary times. On the contrary, the assembled crowd at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium cheered him on and the alleged grown-ups, Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi, spurred to act by a man whose friend had died fighting the jihadis on United Airlines flight 93, left in silent protest.


In Jish, an indigenous Christian minority defiantly stays in Hezbollah’s crosshairs

Like most of his neighbors, Khalloul has stayed in Jish despite frequent shelling, because he won’t be cowed by the Lebanese terror group.

His defiance is characteristic of Jish and its small but tight-knit community of Aramean Christians: a Catholic ethnoreligious group of just a few thousand people who threw their lot in with the State of Israel. They trace their heritage to the ancient Arameans who lived here 3,000 years ago.

Unlike most of their Jewish neighbors in neighboring towns, Jish’s 3,000-odd residents have largely stayed put throughout the current escalation of hostilities with Hezbollah, which led to the evacuation of some 60,000 people from communities near the border.

The Dangerous New Iranian Nuclear Reality 

Iran is so close to a nuclear bomb that we need to rethink how we watch for it. That’s the conclusion of a new report by veteran nuclear inspector David Albright and fellow researcher Sarah Burkhard at the Institute for Science and International Security. Both are highly regarded and fact-based analysts.

Even as Iran increased its enrichment of uranium, the stance of U.S. intelligence—its “mantra,” in the researchers’ telling—had long been that weaponization has been paused. No longer. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s July report now says Iran has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.”
A 22-year-old Brooklyn man was charged with assault as a hate crime after the police said he yelled “Free Palestine” and “Do you want to die?” before stabbing a young man near a synagogue in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn early Saturday morning.

The 22-year-old man, Vincent Sumpter, was charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime in the attack, which occurred around 2 a.m. Saturday on Kingston Avenue, around the corner from the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement on Eastern Parkway. He had not yet been arraigned on Sunday.
Earlier this week, another top Al-Jazeera commentator was responsible for spewing toxic antisemitism on his social media. This time, it was Jamal Rayyan, one of the channel’s most-known faces, who has served as an anchor and commentator at the Qatari mouthpiece for decades.

In a post that reached over 1 million views, almost 7,000 likes, and 1,500 reposts, and which has been deleted since, Rayyan uploaded a picture of Arab leaders convening in a past Arab League summit, adding: “What is this weakness and disgrace? What has gotten into you, Muslims, that you are so quiet? Are there Jews among you who rule?”

The New Wimbledon Theatre descended into chaos earlier this afternoon when a group of 'Parents for Palestine' protesters stormed the venue and began chanting in front of an audience of terrified youngsters.  

Children soon began 'crying their eyes out' while some were parents forced to cover their ears as the protest went on. 

The activists were eventually escorted out of the venue by theatre staff, leaving the audiences filled with children as young as seven and their parents, in shock. 
Vice President Kamala Harris should have been sitting on the dais behind Netanyahu at Congress that day to demonstrate her commitment to America’s top ally. But more importantly, she ought to have been there to listen to one of the world’s elder statesmen and learn from him.

Her decision to go, instead, to a sorority sent a message to Israel’s enemies that if she got elected, God forbid, they could do whatever they wanted to the Jewish state, and she would look the other way.

 Francesca Albanese Under UN Investigation: Hillel Neuer on Channel 13 with Lucy Aharish




The 2024 Paris Olympics conclude on Sunday, and at least 21 Jewish athletes from the United States, Australia and Israel will return home with some new hardware: The tally includes six golds (with one athlete winning two), seven silvers and five bronzes. The medal total of 18 is more than all but 15 countries.

Israel in particular has racked up a historic medal collection, with seven total medals, its most ever in a single Olympics. Israel won three medals on Aug. 3 alone, its most medals in one day. The country now has 20 total Olympic medals, including nine in judo and five in sailing.
Einat Wilf:






 

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