Tuesday, September 10, 2024

09/10 Links Pt2: How Anti-Zionists Are Unintentionally Killing DEI; PA: “Biden should stand trial as a war criminal; ”Tucker Carlson – The anti-William F. Buckley

From Ian:

Matti Friedman: When We Started to Lie
Exactly ten years ago, during an Israel-Hamas war that seemed major at the time but seems minor now, I published two essays describing my time reporting on Israel for the Associated Press. “Is there anything left to say about Israel and Gaza? Newspapers this summer have been full of little else,” I wrote at the time. “Television viewers see heaps of rubble and plumes of smoke in their sleep.” It wasn’t the volume of coverage that unsettled me in the summer of 2014. I was writing about something that had gone unreported, and which has done much to shape reality in the decade since—a change not in the news but in the newsroom.

The essays—the first for Tablet, and the second for The Atlantic—described my experience as a reporter watching from the inside as a major news organization lost its way in one of the world’s most heavily covered stories. To this day, nothing I’ve ever written has been quoted back at me more often. The essays go back into circulation every time there’s an explosion of violence here, and it happened again after the Hamas attack of October 7. I reread them recently, as the new tragedy in Gaza balloons into a moment that feels like a civilization shift, as rallies against “Zionism” become a staple of life in cities across the liberal West, and as a war launched by Muslim fundamentalists is recast with global success as a story of Jewish brutality, influence, and mendacity.

The most important thing I saw during my time as a correspondent in the American press, it seemed to me, was happening among my colleagues. The practice of journalism—that is, knowledgeable analysis of messy events on Planet Earth—was being replaced by a kind of aggressive activism that left little room for dissent. The new goal was not to describe reality, but to usher readers to the correct political conclusion, and if this sounds familiar now, it was both new and surprising to the younger version of myself who was lucky to get a job with the AP’s Jerusalem bureau in 2006.

The story I found myself part of proposed, in effect, that the ills of Western civilization—racism, militarism, colonialism, nationalism—were embodied by Israel, which was covered more heavily than any other foreign country. (Israel takes up one one-hundredth of one percent of the surface of the world, and one fifth of one percent of the landmass of the Arab world.)

By selectively emphasizing some facts and not others, by erasing historical and regional context, and by reversing cause and effect, the story portrayed Israel as a country whose motivations could only be malevolent, and one responsible not only for its own actions but also for provoking the actions of its enemies. The activist-journalists, I found, were backed up by an affiliated world of progressive NGOs and academics who we referred to as experts, creating a thought loop nearly impervious to external information. All of this had the effect of presenting a mass audience with a supposedly factual story that had a powerful emotional punch and a familiar villain.

“The lasting importance of this summer’s war, I believe, doesn’t lie in the war itself,” I wrote as the fighting petered out in 2014. “It lies instead in the way the war has been described and responded to abroad, and the way this has laid bare the resurgence of an old, twisted pattern of thought and its migration from the margins to the mainstream of Western discourse—namely, a hostile obsession with Jews.” It’s possible that I understated the problem.
From academic guardians to political operatives
It’s hard to deny the once-storied AAUP, esteemed for its commitment to academic integrity, has been captured by activists who are more concerned with advancing their political goal of dismantling the Jewish state than with advancing the group’s scholarly mission.

This shift from scholarship to anti-Israel politics, as expressed by the AAUP’s approval of academic boycotts, not only corrupts AAUP’s mission and degrades its reputation, it can cause real harm to higher education in America and beyond.

What few people realize is that although an academic boycott of Israel ostensibly targets Israeli universities and scholars, there is simply no way it can be implemented without directly suppressing the educational opportunities and academic freedom of students and faculty on U.S. campuses, as well as inciting antisemitic animus and harm towards Israel’s on-campus supporters.

Specifically, implementing academic BDS means boycotting the educational programs in or about Israel on one’s own campus, and seeking to cancel or shut down Israel-related events and activities; encouraging academic programming and campus events that portray Israel in a wholly negative light, as a pariah state unworthy of normalization; shunning collaborations with Hillel and other Jewish organizations and the students and faculty who affiliate with them; and denigrating, protesting and harassing members of the campus community who express positive views about Israel.

The AAUP’s reversal of its long-standing opposition to academic boycotts marks a significant blow not only to Jewish students and faculty but to the future of higher education and the society that vitally depends upon it. By condoning an academic boycott that replaces genuine scholarship with political activism aimed explicitly at dismantling the Jewish state and purging Zionism and Zionists from the academy, the AAUP has made a mockery of the professional standards it has, for more than 100 years, been relied upon to uphold. It has shown itself to be a deeply corrupt organization, antithetical to the core principles of American higher education, and wholly unworthy of the public’s trust.
Yisrael Medad: The Jewish 'status quo' violated? Jewish historical narratives are too often ignored
Until 1911, that is
On Monday, April 13, during Passover, the Parker Expedition Affair, the search for “Solomon’s treasures,” exploded. The guardian of the Haram al-Sharif was bribed to let the British adventurers in to the Dome of the Rock. Their digging was discovered. Riots broke out in Jerusalem. At the Wall, the Sephardi custodian was set upon and beaten. Benches were broken.

It is unclear whether there is a direct connection, but in early November that year the status quo came to an end. Jews were informed that no benches or stools would be permitted at the Western Wall. The complaint of the locals was that Jews bringing chairs would allow them in the future to assert ownership. Chairs, tables, and separation screens now were deemed “innovations.” Appeals went out to the sultan in Turkey.

A British official was to later testify that if chairs were allowed, next would come benches, then permanent seating, “and before long, the Jews would have established a legal claim to the site.”

The July 26, 1912, issue of the Chicago Sentinel, a Jewish weekly, reported, a bit garbled, that an order from Constantinople “announces that the recent interdict prohibiting the Jews from worshiping on Friday evenings at the Western Wall in Jerusalem has been removed.” What the editor couldn’t have known as he went to press was that on July 22, the night of Tisha B’Av, the Western Wall had been smeared with feces. And not for the first or last time.

It was from this period that the struggle over the rights of Jews at the Western Wall became a central political element in the relations between Jews and Muslims in the early years of the Mandate. Chaim Weizmann tried solving the matter by purchasing the neighborhood, as did others before him.

In May 1920, a month after the riots, the Wakf unilaterally attempted to fix the upper layers of the Wall. Benches were removed by the Wakf in early 1922 and Yom Kippur 1925. In 1923, the approach to the Wall was closed to Jewish worshipers on the first day of Passover, as the British feared disturbances.

Following the violent incident of the removal of a partition on Yom Kippur, September 29, 1928, Mufti Amin al-Husseini organized actions that would highlight the Muslims’ exclusive claims to the Temple Mount and its environs. He ordered new construction in proximity to the Western Wall.

Eventually, on November 19, 1928, a white paper was issued. Quoting the 1911 prohibition, Leopold Amery, secretary of state for the colonies, pronounced there had been an infraction of the status quo, which the government was unable to permit.

As a result of the ensuing 1929 riots, an international commission was appointed. On December 1, 1930, it declared a prohibition on bringing “benches, carpets, mattings, chairs, curtains, and screens” to the Wall and “to blow the ram’s horn” at the Wall, all in force until 1948.

That situation continued throughout the Jordanian occupation.

No full Jewish rights. No Jewish privileges. No more previous status quo. That is, until 1967, when full Jewish sovereignty was renewed.


The Gaza War and Europe: Can the Continent Play a Positive Role in The Middle East?
For the most part, European relations with Israel have been characterized by extensive trade, vague expressions of support, self-righteous lecturing and condemnation, and the massive funding of anti-Israeli NGOs, often with terrorist ties. Efraim Inbar argues that the continent would be better served if it set itself firmly on the side of Israel and its Arab allies, not only for moral reasons, but also for considerations of Realpolitik:

[T]rying to save an Islamist mini-state [in Gaza] that serves Iranian interests on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean is a strategic folly; oversensitivity to the human cost in eliminating it makes little strategic sense. Its location near the Suez Canal, an important choke point and sea route, as well as to the gas deposits in the sea lends importance to who rules this area. The Europeans should appreciate efforts to minimize the presence on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean of Islamic radicals whose influence has already spread to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, and the Sinai Peninsula.

The timidity of the U.S. and its European allies in dealing with the Houthis, an Iranian proxy blocking the Bab al-Mandab Strait, an international waterway, is intriguing. Forcing naval traffic to go to Europe around Africa, instead of the Suez Canal, carries financial costs and inflicts significant damage to the economy of Egypt, a pivotal pro-Western state in the Middle East. Tolerating this situation only encourages Iran to become more aggressive in its actions in the region and less fearful of Western retaliation.

Indeed, nowadays Iran is the main source of trouble in the Middle East. If Europe is serious about minimizing the dangers emanating from the Middle East, it must adopt a more confrontational posture toward the mullahs in Teheran.

Europe should also overcome its obsession with the two-state solution.
Prof. Anne Bayefsky: 'PA Gen. Assembly resolution declares open season on Israelis'
Professor Anne Bayefsky, President of Human Rights Voices and Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, spoke to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about the United Nations General Assembly resolution drafted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria within six months and many international actions against Israel.

Prof. Bayefsky began, "The stage has now been set for a full-fledged effort by the United Nations to destroy the Jewish state by means of the first-ever wholly Palestinian-drafted resolution. It is scheduled for adoption at an 'Emergency Session' of the General Assembly on September 17 and 18, 2024."

She explained how the PA was allowed to submit such a resolution. "Post-October 7, the General Assembly upgraded the status of what the organization labels the 'State of Palestine.' The move was an obvious reward for terrorism and had the predictable effect on Palestinian strategy: more terror and more intransigence. The upgrade included the power 'to submit proposals' and to 'introduce them.' That was May 10, 2024 and the new powers were to take effect from the start of the 79th session of the General Assembly, which begins today, September 10, 2024. The result was immediate: a 'State of Palestine' resolution dedicated to Israel’s delegitimization and demolition."

"The Palestinian resolution castrates Israel’s very legitimacy by claiming that the country is engaged in apartheid and 'particularly severe forms of racial discrimination,'" she said.

"Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Allegedly, modern Israel – founded in the wake of the most egregious crimes against humanity in our age – perpetrates crimes against humanity. To the resolution’s authors, facts don’t matter. Apartheid 'Palestine' is the planned state where no Jew will be tolerated, while in Israel, Arabs have more rights and freedoms than in any Arab state. It’s a classic Nazi antisemitic inversion technique. Switch victim and perpetrator," Prof. Bayefsky said.

According to Prof. Bayefsky, "The resolution marks the return of the General Assembly’s 1975 Zionism-is-racism libel. In fancier updated lingo, Israel is said to 'treat Palestinians differently on grounds prohibited by international law' that 'amounts to prohibited discrimination and constitutes systemic discrimination based on, inter alia, race, religion or ethnic origin.'”

She stated that "the resolution seeks to terminate the viability of the Jewish state by introducing a global system of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS). "

"BDS extends to what is referred to as 'Israeli settlements and their associated regime.' The resolution demands an end to 'any engagement, directly or indirectly, with any businesses or services operating in the settlements.' It applies BDS to a definition of 'occupied Palestinian territory' that purports to include Judaism’s holiest sites for over 2,000 years, Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and its Western Wall," she said.

Prof. Bayefsky warned, "The reach of the BDS campaign embedded in the resolution is enormous. It covers 'all states' and 'their nationals, and companies and entities under their jurisdiction, as well as their authorities.' Countries, individuals and businesses are all told: 'do not act in any way that would entail recognition or provide aid or assistance in maintaining…policies and practices that impede the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination.' Meaning, whatever Palestinians want, whenever they want it."

"The resolution sets out a whole smorgasbord of BDS plans to financially wreck Israel such as 'abstaining from entering into economic or trade dealings' and 'preventing trade or investment relations.' A Mack truck can be driven through the occasional phony limiting factor – variously described as dealings 'which may entrench its [Israel’s] unlawful presence in the Territory.'"

“'All states' are told to 'implement sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes.' Against whom? '[A]gainst individuals and entities and officials identified as responsible for the maintenance of Israel's unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.' In effect, an open-ended global pogrom to sanction, ban and bankrupt supporters of Israel, that is, anyone or any business that the jackals deem 'responsible.,'” she said.
JPost Editorial: New York’s Jewish community should not be forced into hiding
As antisemitism rises across New York City, Jewish communities face a painful dilemma: Should they avoid visiting one of the world’s most iconic cities for their safety, or should they remain visible and outspoken, sending a message of resilience in the face of growing hatred?

The recent spike in antisemitic incidents in New York has led several Jewish organizations to issue warnings. Yigal Brand, CEO of the World Betar Movement, urged Jews to think carefully about visiting the city. “The situation is dire, and we call on the authorities in New York to free the hands of the police and allow them to act with decisiveness against the criminals and put them on trial,” he said, adding that the World Betar Movement will continue to protect the Jewish community in New York and the broader US.

In August, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) reported 19 antisemitic incidents – an increase from 12 recorded in the same month last year. The broader picture is even more concerning: In June, 45 antisemitic incidents were reported, with 30 incidents occurring in July. This year alone, 44% of hate crimes in New York targeted Jews, making them the most victimized religious group.

From Israel, we feel for American Jews. No one should have to choose between hiding their Jewish identity and protecting their safety. The freedom to walk the streets with pride, whether wearing a yarmulke or a Star of David, should be a right guaranteed to every Jew, wherever they may live. Yet the reality in New York suggests that this freedom is under threat.

Since Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, antisemitism has surged worldwide, including in the US. “Jews were targeted in 57% of all hate crimes reported to the NYPD last month,” according to a July 2024 report. Even more troubling is the volatility in these numbers, with Jewish advocacy groups noting that the increase in anti-Israel protests may have played a role in the fluctuating figures.

While New York has long prided itself on its diversity and tolerance, the city’s Jewish community has found itself increasingly vulnerable. “The persistence and increase in anti-Jewish incidents have prompted targeted interventions by federal, state, and local governments,” a New York State Comptroller report noted.
US charges terror leaders with planning crimes, including against Jews
The U.S. Justice Department announced a 15-count indictment on Monday against two men who it said lead a “transnational terrorist group,” and who allegedly solicited hate crimes and the murder of federal officials and sought to support terrorists.

Dallas Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, Calif., and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho, were arrested on Friday, per the Justice Department. Each leader of the Terrorgram Collective faces up to 220 years in prison, the department added.

“Today’s indictment charges the defendants with leading a transnational terrorist group dedicated to attacking America’s critical infrastructure, targeting a hit list of our country’s public officials and carrying out deadly hate crimes—all in the name of violent white supremacist ideology,” stated Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general.

The duo, which is accused of soliciting the crimes on the Telegram platform, allegedly sought to enlist “others to engage in hate crimes and terrorist attacks against black, immigrant, LGBT and Jewish people,” according to Kristen Clarke, assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights.

“Hate crimes fueled by bigotry and white supremacy, and amplified by the weaponization of digital messaging platforms, are on the rise and have no place in our society,” Clarke stated. “Make no mistake, as hate groups turn to online platforms, the federal government is adapting and responding to protect vulnerable communities.”

Humber and Allison allegedly operated with a “hit list” with “U.S. federal, state and local officials, as well as leaders of private companies and non-governmental organizations, many of whom were targeted because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity,” per the Justice Department.
Seth Mandel: How Anti-Zionists Are Unintentionally Killing DEI
If there is any good that can come of this, it’ll be the emergence of a wider understanding that DEI cannot be fixed. Indeed, it would be ironic if SJP made its first and only positive contribution to society by accidentally condemning DEI to oblivion.

But another comment by one of the walkouts is much more illuminating about the motivations behind campus anti-Semitism. This RA said: “One of the facilitators even identified as ‘Israeli’ and made mention of this multiple times. He justified his authority on the topic by citing his 12 plus years spent in ’48 Palestine, going so far as to call ‘Israel’ [sic] a ‘beautiful land.’”

Let’s just state this as plainly as possible: the Jewish person facilitating the anti-bias training exists, and his existence bothered Rutgers RAs so much they refused to be in the same room with him.

There’s no reason to pretend that taking offense at the word “Israeli” to describe a person from Israel is anything other than Jew-hatred. This idiot at Rutgers is very young, but he has accrued a lifetime’s worth of bigotry in his rotted brain even if he is just regurgitating SJP propaganda. His use of the term “’48 Palestine” to describe Israel, combined with his offense at the word “Israel,” is an expression of nothing more profound than blood-and-soil nationalism.

It is also a reminder that the debate over Israel long ago ceased being about Israel. Over the weekend, at the Venice film festival, a filmmaker named Sarah Friedland gave an acceptance speech in which she said: “As a Jewish American artist working in a time-based medium, I must note, I’m accepting this award on the 336th day of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and 76th year of occupation.”

Seventy-six years of occupation? Seventy-six years ago was the founding of the Jewish state, of course. When anti-Israel activists mention “the occupation,” they mean Jewish sovereignty of any kind—Tel Aviv as much as any outpost in the Jordan Valley.

DEI is unsalvageable because it cannot reconcile itself with Jewish rights of any sort. And too many universities will be unsalvageable if they cannot face up to what their anti-Zionist hordes actually believe, starting with the unwillingness to share a room with a Jew.
‘Pretty insane,’ comedian says of pro-Hamas frat ‘social experiment’
Pretending to recruit for a pro-Hamas fraternity on a college campus taught two Jewish comedians how much future leaders can be sheep.

Zach Sage Fox, the CEO and founder of a production company, and Yechiel Jacobs posed as recruiters for a fictitious pro-Hamas fraternity and sought members.

In a 90-second video titled “Rush Hamas” that they posted on social media, the two comedians don red visors, sunglasses and red tank tops that approximate the word “Hamas” in Greek Letters—eta, delta, mu, delta, sigma.

“It’s back to school season, and you know what that means,” they say. “Antisemitism.”

“We’re starting a new fraternity,” they say, gesturing to the text on their shirts. “Hamas.”

They ask one group, “Are you guys anti-Israel?” Several students say that they are. “We’re putting together a Hamas fraternity,” the two say. “This is a Hamas represent come together.”

Some students identify themselves as freshmen at New York University. The undercover comedians are told another student goes to Columbia University. “Dude, Columbia is like one of the biggest like Jew-hating schools out there,” the duo says.

Anti-Israel film event to raise money for Gaza nixed amid uproar
Following an outcry, far-left activists in Haifa on Monday postponed plans to raise money for Gaza at a benefit screening of a movie that critics call defamatory of Israeli troops.

Director Mohammad Bakri, best known for his controversial 2002 film “Jenin, Jenin” about the Battle of Jenin during the Second Intifada, was scheduled on Monday to attend the screening in Haifa of his sequel, titled “Janin, Jenin” (2024). Proceeds were earmarked for the Think Gaza donation drive.

The film is about Israel’s recent actions in Judea and Samaria but features some footage from the 2002 film, which the High Court of Justice in a rare move in 2022 banned for screening in Israel, citing its mendacious defamation of troops who fought in the Second Intifada fro the year 2000 to 2005. The film had been the subject of legal action for years.

Bakri said the postponement was due to personal reasons but activists against anti-Israeli defamation said it was the result of their mobilization to bring hundreds of protesters to Haifa if the screening goes forward. The outcry reflects diminishing tolerance in Israeli society for Bakri’s trademark packaging of anti-Israel propaganda in the documentary film format.

Shai Glick, CEO of the B’Tsalmo human-rights group that headed the pushback in Haifa, told JNS that the cancellation was the result of pressure from the office of Mayor Yona Yahav on local representatives of the far-left Hadash Party, whose activists had organized the screening. Hadash is part of Yahav’s governing coalition in the city council.

“The city realized that screening during wartime a collection of defamatory lies to raise money for Gaza would not look good, and attract protests by hundreds of opponents. So they shut it down,” Glick said.
Poll: Jews not heavily influenced by presidential candidates’ views on Israel
The Jewish Democratic Council of America released its September 2024 National Poll of Jewish Voters, which shows broad support among those polled for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and a clear deprioritizing of Israel as a factor in their vote.

The survey, conducted from Aug. 27 through Sept. 1, asked 800 Jewish registered voters 48 questions. They first assessed demographics, Jewish background, denominations of religious practice, party preferences and ideological self-identification.

While all participants identified as Jewish, 76% named Judaism as their religion, while others chose atheism (8%), agnosticism (5%), “something else” (2%) or “nothing in particular” (9%).

On ideology, the 800 Jews were divided into 44% liberal, 38% moderate, 16% conservative and 2% unsure.

Later questions asked for opinions on ranking societal and other issues, in addition to who survey participants intended to vote for in the November presidential election. Harris led former President Donald Trump by a 72%-25% margin.

In response to “How emotionally attached are you to Israel?” some 75% answered “very” or “somewhat,” while 25% chose “not too” or “not at all attached.” Israel ranked low on influencing votes, where it tied for ninth along with “Social Security and Medicare” on a ranking of 11 issues. “The future of democracy” topped the list; abortion ranked second.

While most (40%) said the Biden administration’s policies on Israel would not influence their vote, 36% said the president’s approach made them more likely to vote for Harris and 24% felt less likely.

Those surveyed definitively showed opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with 30% holding favorable opinions compared to 63% unfavorable.


South African chief sheikh Riad Fataar proclaims: 'I am Hamas!'
Sheikh Riad Fataar, president of South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), expressed staunch support for Hamas. In a speech he gave last week in Cape Town, Fataar was heard saying “I am Hamas, Cape Town is Hamas. Viva Hamas Viva! ...We support Hamas because Hamas follows the Aayah [verse] in the holy Quran...: ‘Fight those who fight you.’” The Sheikh also degraded the Christian teaching of giving the other cheek, adding, “You slap me – I slap you back!”

The MJC is regarded as the most influential Muslim organization in the Western Cape area. For this reason, Fataar’s remarks were met with much disdain from the Jewish community in the country, fearing that they would incite violence against Jews.

Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Warren Goldstein, commented on these remarks, adding: “This disturbing support for a brutal terror organization is not isolated to the MJC. It is part of a concerted effort to radicalize many stakeholders in South Africa, including the mainstream media, academia, and government. This radicalization takes the form of stigmatizing Israel by the false accusations of genocide and the moral equivalence between Hamas, a murderous terror organization, and Israel, a free democracy fighting for its life within the ethics of international law.

“This campaign has been effective which is why the open support of Hamas by the MJC is only being raised as an issue by the Jewish Report. None of the other media consider it objectionable or even noteworthy. The MJC statement is also a timely reminder for law enforcement to investigate the allegations raised by global media on how funds raised by the MJC and others for Hamas, have been banked and transferred from South Africa via local banks to Hamas, an organization on global terror lists,” added the chief rabbi.

Rolene Marks, national spokesperson of the South African Zionist Federation, commented: “If Sheikh Riad Fataar, president of the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa, tells the world ‘I am Hamas’ then he is admitting publicly he is a terrorist. Hamas is recognised internationally as a terrorist organisation and was first recognised as one by the US in 1997.
Andrew Roberts Talks Takedown of Tucker Carlson's Favorite Historian With Piers Morgan
British historian and Winston Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts joined Piers Morgan on Monday to discuss his takedown of Darryl Cooper, the little-known pseudo historian who, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, dubbed Churchill the "chief villain of World War II."

Roberts dismantled Cooper's claims in a Washington Free Beacon piece published Friday and told Morgan that Cooper made "eight or nine major accusations" against Churchill, "none of which were true." Cooper, whom Carlson introduced as America's "most important popular historian," has a history of spreading neo-Nazi views.

In a since-deleted tweet, he said an image of Hitler marching through Nazi-occupied Paris was "infinitely preferable in virtually every way" to an image of drag queens from the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. He also showcased a mug he purchased from an avowed Nazi. Cooper called the man a "friend" in the wake of his Carlson interview.

"The shocking thing for me was that Tucker Carlson was taking him seriously at all," Roberts said of Cooper. He particularly criticized Cooper's claim that Churchill was "bailed out" of bankruptcy by Zionists, calling it "utter conspiracy theory nonsense, and also pretty dark."

"The true most powerful irony of all of this is that if Adolf Hitler had won the Second World War and Winston Churchill hadn't, we wouldn't be having this argument. There would be no free speech," Roberts concluded. "All of freedom of expression ultimately comes down to the fact that he was willing not to make peace with Hitler but instead to extirpate Nazism."


Tucker Carlson – The anti-William F. Buckley
The radical left and the radical right always end up being shockingly similar, at least in their views about Jews. Owens and Carlson are closer in outlook to the most radical members of the Democratic Party on the issues of Israel and the Jews than they are to the mainstream Republican Party or even to the views of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

Jews Trump likes the most, the Jews who are proud of their religion and their ethnicity and stand up for themselves and their people, are the Jews who Owens and Carlson have the biggest problems with.

If Tucker Carlson’s influence continues, if it grows, the future of the Republican Party could look a lot like the present of the Democratic Party. All of the accomplishments of William Buckley could be undone, leaving Jews facing a party that tolerates Louis Farrakhan and Ilhan Omar’s antisemitism on the one side, and a party that tolerates the antisemitism of Candace Owens and Darryl Cooper.

Since October 7, American antisemites have largely targeted Democratic politicians in their demonstrations, because they know their antisemitism will have a more sympathetic audience and greater influence there than it would if they demonstrated against the Republican Party right now. That could change if the Republican party moved in the direction of Tucker Carlson. If antisemitism became mainstream in the Republican party, the antisemites, the flag burners, the ‘Death to America’ mobs would have new targets ripe for pressuring the way they now pressure the Democrats.

For their own sake, and for the sake of the entire country, American Jews cannot let this happen. Jewish Republicans, especially, must lead the effort to continue the work of William Buckley and exile the likes of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens to the fringes of the party and the conservative moment where they belong. Republicans, from Donald Trump to the youngest congressman, should recognize that Carlson’s path leads to the appeasement of the people who burn American flags, the destruction of history, and the mainstreaming of antisemitism, and reject him and his influence.

One party falling prey to antisemitism is already too much. Two would be catastrophic, both for the Jewish people and for the United States of America.
Honestly with Bari Weiss: World War II and the Rise of Anti-History
Tucker Carlson is perhaps the country’s most influential conservative commentator; his eponymous podcast is routinely among the most downloaded shows on the internet. Despite his endless fulminations against the mainstream media, Carlson has an impeccable mainstream media pedigree. He’s hit for the cycle on cable news, having hosted shows on Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. After he was fired from Fox News in 2023, under circumstances that are still hotly disputed, Carlson quickly reconstituted his career on his own—free of corporate shackles, with no institutional guardrails, and with a professed willingness to explore topics that his former mainstream media colleagues wouldn’t touch.

Last week on his show, he did just that, airing an interview with a man most people in the mainstream won’t touch: a podcaster named Darryl Cooper, who Carlson called “the most important historian in the United States.”

In reality, Cooper is an amateur historian with no publishing record—no books, no academic articles. He produces a popular history podcast called Martyr Made, in which he does deep dives into subjects like the Israel-Palestine conflict, the cult of Reverend Jim Jones, and the trials of Jeffrey Epstein. He has previously described his personal politics as those of a “non-racist fascist.”

On Carlson’s show, Cooper demonstrated some of those fascist tendencies when he identified Winston Churchill—not Adolf Hitler—as the “chief villain” of World War II. He wasn’t a hero at all, Cooper argued, but a “psychopath” who forced Nazi Germany into a war that it didn’t want. And what of the Holocaust? Cooper doesn’t speak of Jewish victims, but vaguely and airily of “prisoners of war. . . local political prisoners and so forth” who the Nazis “just threw. . . into camps, and millions of people ended up dead.”

In September 1941, a mere week after Nazi troops occupied the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, that city’s Jews were ordered to congregate for “resettlement.” Under threat of severe punishment, they obliged. . . and were loaded into trucks to be transported a short distance to Babi Yar, a ravine just north of the city. In a two-day orgy of violence, 33,000 Jews ended up dead. Innocents, not prisoners of war; children forced to lie on top of those pushed into the pit before them, then executed with a bullet in the back of the head. This is how they ended up dead.

Tucker Carlson, who has the ear of millions of conservatives, including Donald Trump, and who secured a prime time speaking spot at the Republican National Convention, said nothing in response to Cooper’s revisionism. No pushback. Not an arched eyebrow. Just unalloyed praise for an extremist autodidact, America’s “best” historian.

Cooper defended himself on Twitter by assuring his critics that Hitler was indeed desperate to make peace and was also willing to “work with the other powers to reach an acceptable solution to the Jewish problem.” Jewish problem was not in quotes. When another user pointed this out, Cooper responded: “Was there not a problem involving the Jews in Europe at the time?”

Hitler apologia and antisemitism packaged as brave historical inquiry is not new. We’ve heard versions of these arguments from cranks, extremists, and anti-Americans on the left and right, for decades. But why is there a sudden resurgence of these odious ideas on the American right?

Today, we talk to Victor Davis Hanson to help us answer this question. Hanson is a classicist and historian, the author of two dozen books, including the critically acclaimed The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won. And for years, Hanson was a weekly guest on Tucker Carlson’s television show
Every Jewish House Democrat condemns Carlson’s interview with Holocaust denier
Several high-ranking Republicans also privately expressed deep concern about the Trump campaign’s failure to distance itself from Carlson and the interview.

“They ignore this at their own peril,” one senior lawmaker told Jewish Insider of the campaign’s dismissive posture toward the situation.

“The political implications of Trump and Vance handling this Tucker thing incorrectly are huge,” another member of Congress and a supporter of the campaign, told JI. “Every respected operative in this business could recognize how problematic this could become. This election will be won on the margins by swing voters in the suburbs. It’s nonsense to think something this outrageous couldn’t swing the race by alienating just enough people.”

“This is not the behavior of a winning team,” a third GOP lawmaker said of the situation. They added that they hoped the campaign would reverse course but had little optimism that a shift would happen.

In a statement provided to JI by a Vance spokesman last week, the Ohio senator declined to distance himself from Carlson but spoke out against Cooper.

“Senator Vance doesn’t believe in guilt-by-association cancel culture but he obviously does not share the views of the guest interviewed by Tucker Carlson. There are no stronger supporters of our allies in Israel or the Jewish community in America than Senator Vance and President Trump,” a Vance spokesman said at the time.

Later at a campaign stop in Arizona, Vance told a gaggle of reporters: “Agree or disagree with anything Tucker Carlson or his guests say, we believe in free speech. We believe if you don’t like an idea and – obviously the Holocaust was a terrible tragedy and it’s something that we have to make sure doesn’t get repeated anywhere in the world — the best way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to debate and push back against bad ideas. It’s not to suppress and censor them.”

Vance is scheduled to be interviewed by Carlson during the talk show host’s nationwide tour on Sept. 21 in Hershey, Pa. Sources close to the campaign have told JI that there are no plans to cancel Vance’s appearance.

Many of the Republicans who spoke to JI for this story expressed discomfort about criticizing Carlson publicly for fear of retribution or harassment.

Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) dismissed antisemitic elements of the right wing as a small fringe after he was asked about the subject during an interview at the MEAD Summit in Washington. Cotton said he does not “see it much from Arkansans,” who he said largely support Israel and “see the difference between right and wrong.”

“We should not truck with or tolerate that kind of Holocaust denialism or antisemitism, no matter what quarter it comes from, and whether it’s based on that kind of historical denialism, or what you see in certain quarters in America today, especially on our campuses,” Cotton said.


Candace Owens claims YouTube suspended her after interview with Kanye West
Candace Owens, a controversial right-wing commentator and media personality who has been repeatedly accused of antisemitism by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and others, claimed on social media on Monday that her YouTube account had been suspended after she interviewed Kanye West.

The suspension followed an interview with West, who threatened to go “death con 3” on Jewish people and was voted ‘antisemite of the year’ in 2022 by antisemitism watchdog group StopAntisemitism.

Owens said that her interview with West was removed as “hate speech” following it being “mass reported by Zionists.”

A screenshotted message from YouTube was shared by Owens, which reveals YouTube made the decision to remove the video as it “claims that Jewish people control the media.”

Owens later reshared a post on X, formerly Twitter, which read “We are few in numbers in this world but we have important positions in the globe hierarchy, don't mess with the Jews, b****. #CrazyCandace #Jew #Israel”

Comments made by Kanye West and Candace Owens
Both Owens and West have been repeatedly accused of antisemitism.

In August, during an interview with American-British influencer Tristan Tate, Owens claimed that Joseph Stalin was a Jew, Sigmund Freud was a Kabbalistic pedophile, and the Germans were ethnically cleansed by the Jews after World War II.

In July, Owens questioned the authenticity of some accounts of Nazi experiments, describing them as “absurd” and a “tremendous waste of time and supplies,” ultimately labeling them as “bizarre propaganda.”


How NGOs have driven the UK’s dangerous double standard on Israel
The new UK government, under Sir Keir Starmer, claims to support Israel's right to self-defence. Yet, simultaneously, in the past few months it has enacted multiple policies that weaken Israel's security and threaten regional stability. This contradictory approach is not just confusing — it’s dangerous.

Much of the push to limit support for Israel comes from activist NGOs and the unverified and misleading information they market. These organisations distort the facts and complexities of the conflict in order to influence important government decisions, such as the partial arms embargo enacted this week. Other British policies that followed similar NGO campaigns include the abandoning of challenges to the International Criminal Court’s pursuit of arrest warrants for top Israeli officials and the decision to resume funding to UNRWA despite links to terrorist activities.

By validating the false narratives of biased NGOs, the UK government is undermining its commitments to help Israel defend against Iran and the latter’s global terror network, as well as normalising antisemitism and jeopardising the safety of British Jewish communities.

For years, politicised NGOs have lobbied the UK government to impose an arms embargo against Israel as part of broader efforts to limit Israeli self-defence measures. The war that began when Hamas brutally murdered more than 1,200 people in Israel, kidnapped 251 others, and committed other unspeakable atrocities became an excuse for NGOs to intensify their efforts.

On October 18 2023, a coalition of activist NGOs, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), sent a letter to the then-Secretary of State for International Trade, Kemi Badenoch, demanding an immediate suspension of all arms exports. By December, they escalated with legal proceedings, statements, petitions, and further letters to key officials falsely accusing the UK of complicity in “genocide”.

The persistence eventually led to policy impacts. Just days ago, the UK suspended 30 arms export licences to Israel, claiming a "clear risk" that the equipment could be used in serious violations of international law. This decision, while framed as only a partial embargo, achieves the core result sought by NGO activists: weakening Israel’s image and legitimate right to defend itself at a time of intense threats.
Israel Divestment Vote at Brown: Proof That Not All Votes Are Created Equal
There are certain words in liberal democracies that we are taught to cherish. “Freedom” and “rights” are among them. So is “vote.” The freedom to vote ensures that our rights are protected.

So why would Joseph Edelman, a trustee of the Brown Corporation, resign from his post because of a vote? If he feels strongly about an issue, shouldn’t he stick around and express his view through a vote?

It turns out that even a vote is not all it’s cracked up to be.

In this case, an anti-Israel group at Brown has been pushing for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel. In the midst of last year’s protests, Brown agreed to hold a vote on the issue in exchange for the demonstrators to dismantle their encampment. In other words, it looks like they were bullied into the vote, which is scheduled to take place next month.

Beyond anything else, let’s get one thing out of the way: The Achilles heel of all boycotts against Israel is the sheer discrimination of singling out the world’s only Jewish state while ignoring real genocidal regimes.

After being attacked on Oct. 7 in the worst massacre of its history, Israel defended itself to regain deterrence against its sworn enemies. Is that cause for divestment?

Is Israel’s defensive war in Gaza worse than what evil regimes like Russia, Iran, China and Syria have been doing for years?

This only begins to describe the anti-Israel nature of the story.

For any university to even consider divesting from Israel is borderline self-destructive. Israel is a vibrant society bursting with innovations, especially at its many universities. Every college in the U.S. has an interest in nurturing investment in such a thriving academic environment.

But perhaps worse of all is the fact that the movement at Brown pushing for Israel divestment, the Brown Divestment Coalition (BDC), is poisoned by bad faith.

For starters, a recent report submitted to Brown identified 45 false claims made by the BDC.

“First, they broke both the law and university policies,” the report concluded. “Then, as extensively documented below, they lied to the university about nearly every aspect of their cause. Now, the BDC expects the university to harm its own interests and violate its own values in service of the BDC’s bigoted demands.”

The report highlights two issues crucial to any university–credibility and bad faith: “[Brown] has a moral and professional obligation to embrace and embody intellectual honesty…As the record shows, the BDC is not willing to engage honestly with the facts. Instead, it seeks to exploit Brown for purely partisan ends.”
MSCI accused of using site tied to Gaza hostage-holder to penalize companies doing business with Israel
In July, the heads of three House committees—on education, oversight, and ways and means—urged the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the Palestine Chronicle and its parent nonprofit People Media Project, which they said “appear to be at the very least complicit in supporting Hamas and at worst full-fledged financiers of terrorism.”

The letter came after the revelation that a writer from the publication both supported Hamas and held Israeli civilian hostages in his home. But despite this context, a major U.S. investment advisory firm uses Palestine Chronicle as a source to assign damaging ratings to a major U.S. company that does business in Israel.

A source familiar with the practices of the New York-based MSCI told JNS that the firm, which is already under separate multi-state investigations for assigning damaging investment ratings to an Israeli military defense contractor and Israeli banks, uses information from the publication to assign a “severe controversy” rating to the construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. It also assigns a similar rating to the telecommunications company Motorola.

JNS sought comment from MSCI, which has consistently denied supporting or practicing boycotts against Israel.

In a 2024 report on Caterpillar, MSCI cites a Palestine Chronicle article about British college students calling on their university to divest from Caterpillar, because the company makes equipment used for demolitions in Judea and Samaria.

Socially-conscious investors often turn to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings of firms like MSCI for guidance on investment options and could be swayed from investing in companies accused of poor corporate practices, including human-rights violations.
Penn creates new Title VI religious and ethnic inclusion office
The University of Pennsylvania—whose embattled president Liz Magill resigned in December after testifying before a House committee that it wouldn’t necessarily violate school rules to call for genocide of all Jews—has created a new Title VI office of “religious and ethnic inclusion.”

The entity responds to recommendations of the Philadelphia school’s Jew-hatred task force and its Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community, it stated.

The office “ensures that Penn can continue to fulfill its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and under Penn’s own policies, to protect students, faculty and staff from discrimination based on their religion, ethnicity, shared ancestry or national origin,” the university stated. The office also provides a “critical central point of contact for Title VI training and compliance,” it said.

“Over the past year, our campus and our country witnessed a disquieting surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of religious and ethnic intolerance,” stated Dr. Larry Jameson, the school’s interim president. “This type of prejudice is simply unacceptable, and has no place at Penn.”

The school expects to open the office this fall under the co-leadership of Majid Alsayegh, who founded a project management firm and who works in interfaith dialogue, and Steve Ginsburg, a former Anti-Defamation League executive.
UKLFI: Capital On Tap credit card restores transactions with Israel
Several of Capital on Tap’s customers approached UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) with concerns that the company had put Israel on a “restricted” list, and was not allowing any financial transactions with Israel.

Capital on Tap claimed that it was complying with its “obligations under national and international law” by putting Israel on a restricted list, alongside countries including Congo (Democratic Republic), Russia, Serbia, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

UKLFI wrote to Capital on Tap and pointed out that there is no national or international law that means that Israel should be placed on a restricted list. Furthermore, Israel is not on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “black and grey” list and is not a “high-risk” jurisdiction.

Only a governmental body or a regulator, not a private company, can declare a country to be “prohibited” and then only for valid reasons.

UKLFI pointed out that Israel is a democratic nation that is in compliance with FATF and other requirements and is recognised as a leader in the world’s financial markets and regulation. It is not proper to impose prohibitions, blocks or conditions on a monetary transaction or transfer involving Israel or Israelis.

Happily, Capital on Tap has reversed its decision, and on 8 September 2024, sent out a notice to its customers telling them

“We’ve expanded the list of countries where you can use your Capital on Tap Business Credit Card. We noticed that in the past year, your card was declined by a merchant in Israel due to restrictions. We’re happy to confirm you can now spend there.”

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI commented: “We are pleased that Capital on Tap has now removed Israel from its Restricted list and its customers can use the credit card as usual.”


'Our Students Don't Want To Bring Danger to Our Campus': Prof on Columbia's Top Disciplinary Body Defends Anti-Semitic Agitators Who Occupied Campus Building
A member of Columbia University’s top disciplinary body defended the anti-Semitic student agitators who took over a campus building in the spring, arguing their behavior was "reactive" and came after university officials "pushed aside" their demands, including divestment from Israel.

Those remarks came during the course of an Aug. 23 meeting of the Columbia University Senate. Susan Bernofsky, a professor of writing who has expressed dismay that a "right-wing rag" like the Washington Free Beacon breaks news about Columbia, bemoaned "having to put so much time, energy, and thought into disciplining students for their actions." Former Columbia president Minouche Shafik's resignation, she said, provided "an opportunity for a reset," one that Bernofsky argued should be used to collaborate with student activists rather than to discipline them.

"I'm a rules committee member, but speaking for myself at this point," Bernofsky said, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by the Free Beacon.

"The encampment was one of a series of escalations that happened over the course of many months," she argued, after university officials declined to discuss "the endowment and all these things and divestment possibilities."

"This conversation was pushed aside and turned into a series of escalations that ended up with an encampment and an occupation of the hall, which is something none of us want."

Bernofsky's defense of violent student agitators comes as the rules committee she sits on conducts a "comprehensive review" of Columbia's protest policies.
Millionaire's spoiled son smirks in court as he's hauled before judge for burning Israeli flag at Columbia protest
The smirking son of a millionaire advertising tycoon appeared in court on charges of arson and criminal mischief for allegedly setting fire to an Israeli flag during a pro-Palestine protest.

James Carlson, a father-of-two, was arrested at Columbia University on April 30 after police disbanded a two-week campus encampment.

The 40-year-old is accused of burning another person's Israeli flag during a protest on the campus on April 20.

Carlson is not a student, staff, or faculty member at Columbia. He is facing separate charges of trespassing in the third degree regarding that specific incident.

He has also been charged over damages made to police property inside a holding cell after he was arrested on April 30 following another protest.

Police allege he kicked and broke a glass panel in the holding cell.

Carlson was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday following District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr's announcement that he would be indicted.

He was all smiles in the court room, and brought a poster which read 'US Jews say ceasefire in Gaza now' to display before his case was heard.

District Attorney Bragg said: 'This defendant's alleged activity went beyond legal and peaceful protest.

'Committing arson in a crowded protest endangers the safety of others, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated.'


MEMRI: Qatar Is Responsible For Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's 2,977 Murders On 9/11 – At The World Trade Center And The Pentagon, And On Two Other Hijacked Flights – That Are Only Some Of 31 Attacks And Plots That He Outlined In His Own Confession
On this day 23 years ago, Al-Qaeda carried out wide-ranging attacks on U.S. soil – against the World Trade Center (an estimated 1,600 dead in the North Tower and another 1,000 in the South Tower) and the Pentagon (125 dead), by hijacking four American flights – American Airlines Flights 11 (92 dead) and 77 (64 dead) and United Airlines Flights 175 (65 dead) and 93 (44 dead). For this 23rd anniversary, we are republishing a newly edited version of an analysis by MEMRI President and Founder Yigal Carmon, originally published on August 5, 2024.

It should be emphasized that while 15 of the 19 perpetrators were Saudis acting as individual members of Al-Qaeda, 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was, in the period prior to the attacks, an employee of the State of Qatar and enjoyed the safe haven that it granted him. During his time as an employee of the Qatari Ministry of Electricity and Water, he engaged in terrorist activities such as attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his visit to Manila and an attempt to down civilian airliners over the Pacific (the Bojinka plot), as he was under the patronage of Qatari Minister of Awkaf Abdallah bin Khaled Aal Thani of the Qatari ruling family.

The Rescinded U.S. Plea Bargain With 9/11 Mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammad And His Responsibility For The Attacks
The U.S.'s plea bargain with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammad (KSM) would have prevented the full exposure of Qatar's role and responsibility in the attack.

The plea bargain, which was rescinded by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, brought to light new and old documents about KSM's role in terrorist attacks against the U.S. and other countries while working as an employee of the state of Qatar. The documents also reveal that Qatar facilitated KSM's activities and his escape from arrest by the FBI.

When the FBI came to Doha in 1996 to arrest KSM (see his confession below), the only ones reportedly to be informed of this, in confidentiality, was the Qatari emir and the palace. Within hours, KSM had disappeared (see page 91 of the 9/11 Commission Report, on KSM's escape from Qatar).

KSM's escape from Qatar was also revealed by Richard A. Clarke, counterterrorism advisor to Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush, in his 2004 book Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, pages 152-153:

In the book, Clarke wrote that a report had stated that KSM learned about the U.S. plan to capture him: "We were, of course, outraged at Qatari security and assumed the leak came from within the palace." One report, Clarke said, contended that KSM had "fled the country on a passport provided by the [Qatari] Ministry of Religious Affairs." That government ministry was headed by Abdullah bin Khalid Aal-Thani, a member of the Qatari ruling family.

Qatar's role in enabling KSM to escape arrest by the FBI (only to continue on to terrorist attacks like 9/11) constitutes a major political and criminal indictment of the government of Qatar.
PMW: Palestinian Authority demonizes Biden: “Biden should stand trial as a war criminal”
The United States has been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip over the last year while severely restricting Israel in its fight against Hamas. It has even withheld important ammunition. Nevertheless, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ senior advisor declared that President Biden “should stand trial as a war criminal.” He also said that “the US is the true criminal in this war” and that he really does not “distinguish between a Democratic administration and a Republican administration.” Furthermore, he relegated Israel to being a mere “colonialist American interest.”

“The US is a partner in committing this crime, a partner to a war crime… Even [US President] Biden himself must stand trial as a war criminal.”

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, July 27, 2024]

“The US is the true criminal in this [Gaza] war… Honestly, I don’t distinguish between a Democratic administration and a Republican administration. Both of them are equally bad, and both of them are enemies of the Arab cause and the Palestinian cause in the same way.”

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Sept. 3, 2024]

“What are the American soldiers doing in this region? Is this their land? Are they guests in the region? Of course not. They are invaders. They are occupiers. They are raiding this region. They are attempting or taking action to defend the Zionist colonialist project. Israel is a colonialist American interest.”

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Feb. 2, 2024]




MEMRI: Columnist In PA Daily: Hamas October 7 Attack Was A Reckless Operation That Led To The Destruction Of Gaza
In his August 19, 2024 column in the Palestinian Authority (PA) daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, journalist Bassem Barhoum slammed Hamas, writing that its October 7 terrorist attack was a reckless move that did not achieve the stated goals or advance the Palestinian national cause but only led to the destruction of Gaza. Some Palestinians, he said, pinned false hopes on the attack, thinking that it would bring them closer to liberation, but immediately after it ended, they realized their mistake and saw that the Palestinian cause had in fact suffered a setback.

Noting that some Palestinian elites call the attack "a conscious, planned and calculated response" to Israel's conduct, Barhoum said that they are being paid to claim this and are serving foreign agendas that contravene the Palestinian interests, and that their claim is a terrible and destructive deception.

"We are approaching the eleventh month of the genocidal war that has led to all the destruction and devastation in the Gaza Strip and has left more than 200,000 Palestinians dead, injured or disabled and over 20,000 imprisoned. Despite all this, some still ignore the main question, namely, did those who planned the October 7 [attack] want all of this to occur? The second question – which allows us to momentarily put aside the horrifying magnitude of the losses, and reflect – [is the following]: Did the Al-Aqsa Flood [i.e., the October 7 attack] achieve any of its goals on the national level? Have the Zionist violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque stopped? Have the occupation's detention facilities disgorged all of our prisoners? And more importantly, has the Zionist project halted its expansion, settlement, and Judaization...? We see the West Bank continuing to be torn apart... and we are negotiating for the Israeli occupation forces to withdraw from Gaza...

"True, the war is not over, so we cannot yet draw final conclusions, although reality speaks for itself. However, some elites insist on [claiming] what even Hamas itself does not [claim], and volunteer to say that the 'flood' was a conscious, planned and calculated response [to Israel's conduct] – and this [claim] is a terrible and even destructive act of deception. This cannot be a naive statement – [they] are being paid to say it. This reflects the extent of the damage done to our elites and to a significant part of our political echelon. Perhaps it reminds us that some Palestinian elites, and even some factions, have long been dependent on [various] donors or regimes. In any case, this has had a very negative impact on the Palestinian national consciousness and on the Palestinian cause, which has been peddled until it has become like a garment [so tattered that it is] difficult to mend.

"These people might say that the majority of the Palestinian public sees the situation as they do – but who says that the majority is always right? Especially considering that the Palestinian consciousness has been subject for decades to extensive and focused abuse. Were most of the Palestinians correct when they believed that the nationalist Arab parties and regimes would liberate Palestine on their behalf? Especially when Gamal Abdel Nasser rushed into the June 1967 war? And there are many [more] examples of this kind.

"The Palestinian people is searching for any move that might give it hope, and this is understandable. However, [the Palestinian people] itself has become an object of exploitation, because [various] players have long been carrying out actions that have dire consequences for the Palestinian cause. When these actions occurred, many of us thought they would bring us closer to freedom, [but] the moment they ended, we discovered that we were mistaken and that our cause had become even more difficult.


Iran Could Dash To Build a Nuclear Weapon Before Biden Leaves Office, Experts Warn
Iran could rush to build a functional nuclear weapon ahead of the 2024 presidential election should it assess that Donald Trump is poised to win, U.S. foreign policy experts are warning as Tehran works to undermine Trump's White House bid.

"Iran may seek to establish a nuclear fait accompli before the next administration takes office in January 2025, especially if Iran perceives the new administration to be more hawkish, unpredictable, or otherwise less constrained," the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank wrote in a recent assessment detailing Tehran’s march towards an atomic bomb.

That assessment comes as Iran seeks to influence the outcome of the November election, including by targeting the Trump campaign with a cyber operation. The campaign announced an Iranian hack in August when stolen materials were sent to news outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post.

U.S. intelligence officials have signaled that Tehran opposes Trump's bid to return to the White House, as it did in 2020. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris opposed Trump’s decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal, and political pundits expect her to pursue fresh diplomacy with Iran.

Regional analysts tracking the situation say that Iran is already in "the process of significantly advancing its nuclear weapons program in the coming weeks while Americans are preoccupied with politics at home and Israel is busy battling Hamas and Hezbollah." Iran has been furiously enriching uranium, the key fuel for a bomb, at several contested military sites hidden from international inspectors.

Iran is already on the "threshold" of a nuclear bomb, needing just a week to fuel its first warhead and a month for seven more—work that already has regional analysts warning that the Middle East is on the cusp of a "nuclear Oct. 7th."

Iran currently has the technical ability and resources needed to fuel 13 nuclear bombs in just four months, a significant acceleration that has taken place primarily under the Biden-Harris administration.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assessed that Iran is "one or two weeks" away from producing weapons-grade uranium, making this "the shortest period of time that U.S. officials have ever publicly referenced Iran producing that quantity of weapons-grade uranium," according to FDD’s analysis.

By contrast, just before Trump left office in November 2020, Iran needed around three-and-a-half months to produce the fuel for a single weapon. Presently, Iran could fuel 12 weapons within this same time frame.

Iran’s nuclear work went into overdrive after the Biden-Harris administration began relaxing sanctions on the hardline regime and renewed diplomatic efforts to ink a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear accord. Tehran has received upwards of $100 billion in sanctions relief over the past several years, with these funds helping to power its advancements toward a nuclear bomb.


Italian fans turn backs during Israeli anthem, accuse Israel of Gaza genocide
Dozens of Italian soccer fans shouted, “genocide committed by Israel in Gaza” during the playing of the Israeli National Anthem at the Bozsik Arena stadium in Budapest on Monday night.

Due to security risks, the match between the Italian and Israeli teams took place in Budapest despite Israel being considered the host. As is customary, the national anthem of the hosting team was played just before the match.

The visiting team’s fans decided to express their political stance concerning Israel and the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, and in protest, they turned their backs, chanted anti-Israeli rhetoric, and termed Israel’s operations to dismantle Hamas and rescue the remaining hostages as “genocide committed by Israel in Gaza.”

The images from Budapest sparked outrage not only in Israel but also in Italy. The Italian media identified those behind the protest, emphasizing they were members of a far-right group known for being both anti-Semitic and nationalist.

Around 40 of those associated with the far-right group attended the match against Israel, not as soccer fans, but in an attempt to "stir cheap political provocations," as reported in the Italian media on Tuesday morning.

The Italian media condemned the actions, saying, "Seeing the images from Budapest is revolting. " They added, "no matter the circumstances, it is a blatant display of disrespect."
Jihadists sentenced to jail in Belgium for plans to kill Jews, gays
A Belgian court on Monday gave lengthy prison sentences to two members of a Muslim terrorist cell for plotting to attack local Jews and other targets.

The court in Brugge sentenced a man and his wife, from Chechnya, Russia, to 15 and eight years in prison respectively. Four of their co-conspirators, including the man’s brother, received suspended sentences and fines. A seventh defendant was acquitted, the Antwerp-based, Dutch-language news site HLN reported.

The man, identified as Abubakar S., and his accomplices had planned in the summer of 2023 to attack a target in a Jewish neighborhood of Antwerp and a gay bar while luring police and emergency services into a trap, HLN reported.

“They had worked out remarkably concrete plans to carry out attacks,” Amélie Van Belleghem, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, told the media.

Michael Freilich, a lawmaker in the Belgian parliament who is Jewish, told JNS that his own predominantly ultra-Orthodox community of Antwerp is especially at risk in Europe because of its visibility. Freilich commended the police, which got to the conspirators thanks to an informant or agent.

Antisemitic incitement is happening in Belgium outside Muslim circles, as well, Frelich noted. He cited a recent column by author Herman Brusselmans, who wrote that he’s resisting the urge to “ram a knife through the throat of every Jew.” The incendiary remarks, which caused a public outcry and spurred legal action, come at a time when anti-Jewish hatred is escalating around the globe, including in Belgium, in the wake of Israel’s 10-month-long war against Hamas in Gaza.

On social media, Brusselmans’ comments generated an outpouring of unabashed antisemitic incitement, Freilich said on Monday at a conference organized in Jerusalem by the Israel Defense and Security Forum and Hungary’s Danube Institute.
Israel among highest in education expenditure as measured against GDP — study
Israel’s expenditure on education as compared to GDP is among the highest in the OECD, according to the annual OECD Education at a Glance 2024 report, released on Tuesday. The report also found that Israel’s population of youth, by percentage, is the highest among OECD countries.

In 2021, Israel spent a full 6.1 percent of its GDP on education, a figure that includes public pre-schools up to funding for universities and other secondary school institutions, according to the report.

Besides Israel, only Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom invested over 6% of their GDP into education. The OECD average for the same year was 4.9%.

In 2021, Israel’s GDP was $488.5 billion, according to World Bank statistics.

A full 43.1% of Israel’s population in 2022 were youth, defined as those aged 0-24, the highest percentage in the OECD, where the average is 29.7%. The report found that Israel’s proportional youth population remained stable from 2010-2022, while the percentage of youth in OECD countries decreased.

The Israeli K-12 education system had an average class size of 28 in 2022, as compared to the OECD average of 23, and early education programs had 19 children for every 1 staff member, as compared to the OECD average of 12.

Teacher salaries in Israel, with the exception of high-school teachers, increased 9-10% between 2022 and 2023, compared to the average OECD increase of 4-7%, according to the report.
Gal Gadot to join President Herzog for ‘Voice of the People’ inaugural symposium
President Isaac Herzog will hold an online symposium to officially launch the Voice of the People initiative, aiming to bring together Jewish voices from around the world to highlight the unity and resilience of the Jewish people in the face of unprecedented challenges, it was announced Tuesday.

The two, featuring renowned Israeli actress Gal Gadot, will discuss the importance of Jewish perseverance in the current global landscape and the power of Jewish identity.

Additionally, the symposium is also set to include a conversation between journalist Tamar Ish-Shalom and Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of Oded and Yocheved, hostages from the October 7 attacks. The two will share their family’s journey of struggle and hope.

A performance by Michal Greenglick, sister of fallen soldier Shaul, will pay tribute to those who lost their lives in defense of Israel.

“Our Jewish culture celebrates the living vitality of discourse.” the president wrote, “It is our responsibility to deepen the conversation between us- to come together and have honest discussions about vital issues facing the Jewish people. To develop the next generation of committed Jewish leaders, who will bring their gifts and their talents to preserving our precious peoplehood.”

All are welcome
According to the official site of Voice of the People, the initiative aims to serve as a global collaborative forum, impartial and inclusive, and to secure a prosperous future for the Jewish people and Israel.

President Herzog will personally invite 150 Jewish leaders from around the globe to participate in this event.

The event will be held on Sunday, September 15, 2024, at 7 p.m. Israel Time (12 p.m. EST).




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2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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