The Simchat Torah massacre and Hamas' orgy of murder, kidnapping and nearly a year ago would have been enough to call the year horrible. Sickeningly, it was only the start of a cascading series of events that has wrenched the Jewish people for the successive eleven months.
The terrorists use the hostages to psychologically torture their families and all of Israel.
Hamas murdered hostages in cold blood.
Tens of thousands of Israelis were forced to flee their homes.
And the worst terror attack on Jews since the Holocaust has been a catalyst for more antisemitism than the world has seen since the Holocaust itself. The massacre didn't put the Jew-haters on the defensive - on the contrary, it energized them. There were more hate rallies this year on campus and off than at any time in history.
In only a few months, the modern antisemites managed to mainstream the disgusting slander of Jews committing "genocide." By sheer repetition, they have made that libel into acceptable discourse and, to those who see only a tiny slice of the news, a reasonable interpretation of the news.
The media, instead of reporting the truth, feels compelled to be "evenhanded," and even worse, they are giving more credence to Hamas and pro-Hamas lies than to the reality.
The lies are now gospel in various media, in the UN, in NGOs, in college lecture halls, and even in elementary schools.
The entire purpose of this blog is to fight the lies and report on the truth that you cannot see anywhere else. Over the past year, I exposed the lies of the Gaza health ministry, of UNICEF and other UN agencies, prestigious medical journals, respected NGOs like Save the Children, and major media. I showed that there was no famine in Gaza, and exactly how anti-Israel bias affects the judgment of even the most respected agencies.
I also broke stories that no one else covered, like the epidemic of sexual abuse of Gazans by aid workers - the exact type of story that would get massive coverage if Israel could be even indirectly blamed, but instead is being covered up.
I have covered the huge increase in antisemitism everywhere, and how the Muslim world doesn't even pretend to hide behind "anti-Zionism" anymore. In particular, I exposed the insane antisemitism in Turkish media, a topic largely ignored by other watchdogs.
My definition of antisemitism is getting some attention in academia, being mentioned in a scholarly work as well as in an Ivy League class on the topic.
I also celebrated my 20th anniversary as a blogger this year.
There is only so much that can be done by writing. People, especially the young, don't want to go through the effort to read long pieces. I have therefore spent more time in refining the truth in shorter posts on X/Twitter. My readership has increased dramatically, and I now have 105,000 followers making me a major influencer by any metric.
I have also made hundreds of cartoons and memes this year alone. They have been widely reposted, some viewed millions of times. Cartoons can communicate the truth more effectively than most articles can.
I also have a number of columnists and guest posters, so I have to thank PreOccupied Territory, Varda Meyers Epstein, Forest Rain, Daled Amos and Andrew Pessin for their contributions.
Ian is my indefatigable linkdump poster extraordinaire, whose twice-daily summary of all the most interesting articles and posts is unparalleled. He has also fostered a community of commenters on the site. He deserves unending appreciation.
All of this takes up massive amounts of time and money. Anything you can do to contribute is appreciated.
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I appreciate you being a part of this site, and I wish you and your family a wonderful New Year, one filled with health and happiness. And may this be a year of peace and security for all of Israel.
