Thursday, November 07, 2024

11/07 Links Pt1: Israel dodges a bullet; UN Must Stop Protecting Israel's Terror Foes in Gaza and Lebanon; Scapegoating Israel, white progressive projection: Torres slams Beinart op-ed

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Israel dodges a bullet
The Obama and Biden administrations groveled to Iran, negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal that would have legitimized Iranian nuclear weapons after only a few years’ delay and refused to respond with more than a token slap on the wrist to hundreds of Iranian attacks on American assets.

During the Iranian proxy war against Israel following the Oct. 7 pogrom, Washington has put Israel under enormous pressure to surrender, causing the war to be protracted and Israeli troops to be needlessly killed. For Israel, under the Biden administration, America has indeed become “them against us.”

Liberals invert facts like these because they can never allow anything to upset the narrative that defines them in their own eyes as moral and decent—such as that Israel is the rogue actor in the Middle East, or Trump is a fascist—even though the opposite is the case.

Psychologists have a term for this. They call it “projection,” and it is a mental disorder.

Most liberals who told themselves and the world that Harris was on course for an overwhelming victory refuse to acknowledge any reasonable cause for the public to vote for Trump in such huge numbers, such as the cost of living, crime or a collapse of border controls.

This capacity for self-delusion is what characterizes the modern liberal. They will find any number of excuses to justify their own belief system based on a fantasy universe that requires them to lie to themselves to maintain the illusion.

In this presidential election, the American people once again rose up in protest against an entire elite class to reclaim their nation and its culture from those who would destroy it. This was an astonishing, country-wide insurrection against a decadent cultural establishment.

Nevertheless, some 68 million people voted for a candidate who couldn’t string a coherent sentence together—a failing they refused to acknowledge because they were locked into their cartoonish fantasy world in which they painted her opponent as a menace to humanity.

Before Trump had even claimed victory, some of these were threatening to pull the same rolling coup stunt with which they had hounded him in his first term. Would they have as much traction this time? Will Trump be more or less indisciplined and impulsive as president than he was in his first term?

We don’t know. But for the traumatized people of Israel—still under murderous fire from rocket barrages and yet enduring the venomous hostility of much of the so-called civilized world—the election of Donald Trump has punctured their existential loneliness.

Trump is far from perfect. But at this moment, his election feels like deliverance.
John Podhoretz: Let’s Begin Talking About the Jewish Vote
The initial evidence from last night’s election is that there has been a significant shift in the Jewish vote from previous elections, a delta of anywhere from 10 to 40 percent overall. It’s very hard to quantify such things because Jews are few in number, hard to isolate in larger surveys, and hard to pin down. So, for example, one exit poll I saw showed the Jewish vote for Donald Trump in the low 40s; another at 22; another in the 30s. I’m not linking to them because I don’t trust any of them and don’t want to argue with any of them. So I’m instead going to point to certain counties in the United States where Jews reside in slightly or significantly disproportionate numbers. (As the weeks pass and we get accurate final data precinct by precinct in the United States, we can get a clearer picture of the Jewish vote because we’ll be able to key on concentrated areas.)

But look at what my friend Josh Kraushaar, the editor of Jewish Insider, tweeted: “Wow: Trump carried PASSAIC County, New Jersey. Majority/Hispanic electorate and home to a sizable Orthodox Jewish constituency.” Jews make up about 25 percent of the county’s population and it has been a Democratic stronghold forever. Joe Biden took Passaic in 2020 with 57.5 percent to Trump’s 41 percent. Last night, Trump won it with 50 percent to Harris’s 46.5 percent. That’s a 16 point overall swing in Trump’s favor. We don’t yet know how much of that is attributable to the Jewish vote and how much to changes in the Hispanic vote, but Jews surely played a significant role in this change in the county’s political course.

In Palm Beach County, Florida, there are about 175,000 Jews out of a population of 1.5 million, or about 12 percent. Kamala Harris won this county by .74 percent last night. Biden won it by 13 percent in 2020. Trump’s vote climbed nearly 7 percent while Harris dropped 7 points off Biden’s number. Again, we cannot know what the delta was in the Jewish community, but almost exactly the same type of shift happened in Broward County, where Biden got 64 percent in 2020; the vote shifted 14 percent toward Trump this year. Jews make up about 10 percent of the Broward population.

How about Nassau County, NY? Jews make up close to 20 percent of the population. Trump won Nassau by 5 percent. Biden took it by 10 in 2020.

It will take months to get more precise numbers here by going precinct by precinct and even block by block to quantify this change, but this is now something we are able to do if someone is willing to fork over the cash to make a nationwide study of it.

But make no mistake. The steady work is no longer in the waiting. It is in watching the change.
Caroline Glick: The opportunity of Trump’s victory
To contend with the Palestinian threat, Israel needs to extricate itself completely from the strategic deathtrap of the so-called “two-state solution.” David Friedman, Trump’s first-term ambassador to Israel, recently published “One Jewish State.” Friedman’s book sets out the case for Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. In it, Friedman urges Israel to determine its goal for securing its national rights and security needs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Israel should immediately take Friedman’s advice. Netanyahu, his ministers and advisers must determine a clear strategy for extending Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and taking permanent military control of Gaza. They must then work with the Trump administration to secure U.S. support for those plans in the framework of a regional peace.

The moral corruption of the U.N. system is nothing new. But since Oct. 7, Israel has recognized that this system, replete with its in-house terror group the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), terror auxiliary force the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and international courts trying Israel for genocide and treating Israel’s leaders and soldiers as war criminals, is itself a mortal threat to the Jewish state.

Broadly speaking, the U.N. system today is a full-blown alliance of the Marxist, post-national left, China and Islamic terrorist groups. Israel obviously cannot contend with this behemoth on its own. Working with the Trump administration and other nation states that are similarly—if less existentially—harmed by the U.N. system, Israel must spearhead an effort to dismantle, divide and permanently weaken the U.N. system and restore the power of nation states to work separately and in alliance with others to secure international peace and prosperity.

Finally, in light of Israel’s experience with the Biden administration’s exploitation of Israel’s strategic dependence on the United States for munitions as a means to undermine Israel’s war effort, Jerusalem needs to end its client-state relationship with Washington. Israel and the United States must cooperate in transforming the U.S.-Israel bond into a true alliance between a global superpower and a regional power.

Trump’s determination to decrease America’s foreign aid budgets, and his doctrine of supporting allies to enable them to defend themselves as the surest way to decrease America’s need to fight wars, fully aligns his position with Israel’s strategic requirements. Israel should move quickly to forge a new defense relationship with America that would end U.S. military assistance over a 10-year period. During that period, the relationship would shift from supplier-client to a strategic partnership geared toward weapons systems development. To end its vulnerability, Israel should maintain and expand its efforts to rebuild its domestic arms industries with the goal of being fully capable of producing all the munitions it requires to win its wars and preserve post-war peace by the end of Trump’s term. This transformation of U.S.-Israel ties will enable the alliance to survive and thrive over time, to the great benefit of both countries.

In his congratulatory message to Trump on Wednesday morning, Netanyahu wrote, “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”

This is absolutely true. And by firing Gallant, Netanyahu has facilitated the rebuilding of Israel’s alliance with America on firmer footing than ever before. By working together to achieve common goals, Israel and the United States, under Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, can secure the peace of the Middle East and their nations’ separate and common interests in the international arena, to the benefit of the world as a whole.


Israelis Hopeful Trump Shares Their Vision of Peace in the Middle East—and They’re Celebrating His Victory
Israel’s officials joined their counterparts across the Middle East on Wednesday in hailing former U.S. president Donald Trump’s reelection as an opportunity for regional peace.

"I look forward to working with you to strengthen the ironclad bond between our peoples, to build a future of peace and security for the Middle East, and to uphold our shared values," Israeli president Isaac Herzog said in a statement congratulating Trump on his victory.

The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, and Turkey similarly congratulated Trump and pledged to work with him for peace. Even a top official in Hamas—the Palestinian terrorist group that started the Iranian axis’s ongoing war with Israel—expressed hope that Trump would follow through on "his statements that he can stop the war."

But when the Israelis speak of peace, they mean almost exactly the opposite of what their neighbors do. The Arabs and Turks, like the Iranians and their terrorist affiliates, want the fighting to end now that Israel is on the offensive. Israeli officials, by contrast, seek to decisively defeat their genocidal enemies—and they are hopeful that Trump shares their vision of peace.

"When you are strong, when you bring your enemies to their knees, that’s the way to really end wars," Ohad Tal, a member of Israel’s parliamentary defense committee, told the Washington Free Beacon. "I think Trump gets that. Now that he’s back, I think America will return to being the force for global peace and security that it should be. So it’s a happy day for America, for Israel, and for the world."

Israeli officials across the political spectrum have sent congratulations to Trump, but the mood on the right has been downright celebratory.

"Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, said in a statement before the premier had what his office described as a "warm" phone conversation with Trump. "Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America."

Panelists on Israel’s Channel 14, a popular right-wing news channel, pulled out paper cups to toast the president-elect in a studio festooned with digital displays of American flags and Trump’s grinning face.

"God bless America!" one of the panelists shouted. "And Am Yisrael Chai!"

Amir Avivi, a former senior Israeli military official who has advised Netanyahu during the war, told the Free Beacon that Israeli leaders see Trump’s second term as a chance to decisively counter Iran’s decades-long campaign to destroy the Jewish state.

"Israel has never had a better friend in the White House," Avivi said, citing Trump’s first term moves of relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, intensifying sanctions on Iran, and ordering the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. "This is a huge opportunity for Israel to push some very important policies, including taking out Iran’s nuclear program and maybe toppling the regime."

Israel's top brass also expect that with Trump back in office—and Republicans in control of the Senate and possibly the House—they will be freer to wage war against Iran’s main terrorist affiliates: Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"The security establishment’s biggest worry has been that the U.S. has withheld munitions from us in the middle of a war," Avivi said. "This was devastating, and we expect it to change under Trump. We’re going to see full support, which by the way will shorten the war. The more you withhold capabilities from Israel, the longer it takes us to win."
How Democrats Will Blame Israel for Their Defeat
Sometimes it takes a smart outside observer to see things about U.S. politics that Americans might miss. Stephen Daisley is one such observer:

Progressives in search of a scapegoat for their defeat will quickly arrive at Israel, specifically what they regard as the Biden administration and the Harris campaign’s support for Jerusalem in its fight against Hamas and Hizballah terrorists. Expect leftists to point to Harris’s loss of Michigan and especially the collapse of the Democrat vote in Dearborn, a city with significant Arab and Muslim populations. Expect them to say that a different approach, one supportive of the Palestinians rather than the Israelis, would have seen the Democrats hold on to Michigan.

It won’t matter that Michigan voted for Trump in 2020 and that his support there has much more to do with non-graduate white men than it does with Arab-American voting behavior. It won’t matter that Trump’s attitude towards Israel is far more sympathetic than Harris’s. It won’t matter that going down this path will bring resentment and hostility to bear on Arab Americans or Jews or both.

Progressives will see their chance to do something they have longed to do for decades: cleave the United States from Israel and leave the Jewish state vulnerable in a dangerous neighborhood. The surest way to do that is by adopting for the Democrat party the sort of views about Israel seen in center-left parties across the West.
WINNING! What Trump’s Victory Means for America, Israel, and the World | Think Twice
Tobin and Blum discuss all the ramifications for America, Israel, American Jews and more—join them on this episode of Think Twice!


The Israel Guys: Is He Planning Revenge on Israel After Trump's Election Victory?
Is Biden planning revenge on Israel after Trump's election victory? Sounds crazy, but it actually is a possibility The number one reason the Biden administration is Infuriated is that they've lost their opportunity to fully unleash their plans to create a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel. All their middle east plans and policies are on the brink of being reversed. The problem is they still have 74 days in power. The question is, will they go ballistic, pushing ahead their goal of establishing a terror state in the heart of Israel? Will they continue to allow or even start to push billions of dollars into the hands of Israel's greatest enemies? Will they turn on Israel in support of the ICC and ICJ? And lastly, and most likely, will they halt essential military shipments to Israel, at a time when Israel needs it most?




Israel Advocacy: Asking Israelis if they're happy Trump won

Israelis reacting to Trump winning the US elections!
With Donald Trump winning the 2024 election against Kamala Harris, amid widespread Palestinian protests across Western countries and heightened global attention on the Israel-Hamas conflict, we went out on the streets of Tel Aviv to ask Israelis how they feel about the choice of the 47th president by U.S. citizens.




In One Michigan City, a Gay Pride Flag, Rather Than the War in Gaza, Drove Muslims into the Arms of Donald Trump
But what if Muslim Americans don’t come to their political choices the way pundits expect them to? Last month, Timothy Carney wrote an article about his visit to Hamtramck, a small city outside of Detroit with a large Muslim population where Trump won a significant victory. Carney explains why:

If you stroll up Campau [Avenue] through Hamtramck, you’ll see Polish bakeries, mosques, Yemeni grocers, hipster secondhand stores, and Bangladeshi families. When Campau widens to four lanes at Caniff Street, . . . the view is striking: eighteen American flags. It’s a loud display of patriotism in one of the most immigrant-dense cities in America—42 percent of Hamtramck’s residents were born outside of the United States, most of them in Yemen or Bangladesh.

But there’s a story behind those eighteen American flags. . . . The wide stretch of Campau, for a decade, flew the flags of Yemen, Bangladesh, Poland, Jamaica, and dozens of other countries. Then, in 2022, a city official hung up on Campau the latest pride flag, with its colors celebrating diverse sexual orientations and transgender ideology, turning this urban boulevard into a battlefield of the culture wars.

The official who hung the flag didn’t want to start a controversy, but the city had just elected an all-Muslim city council and a Muslim mayor, Ameer Ghalib, and they wanted to take the flag down. Protests ensued, supported by the statewide Democratic party. That experience changed the locals’ political preferences:

Ghalib has endorsed Trump, and much of the Yemeni and Bangladeshi population of Hamtramck has, along with him, walked away from the Democratic party.
Pro-Hamas Bernie Bro Elected to Dearborn School Board
Voters in Dearborn, Mich., a Muslim-American stronghold outside Detroit, have elected a former Bernie Sanders surrogate who defends the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah to serve on the city’s school board.

Amer Zahr, a Dearborn-based activist, has urged Muslims to "stand with" Hamas and Hezbollah and to stop "condemning anti-Semitism." In September, he lamented Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. "No living Arab leader was more respected among the masses. And Israel murdered him," Zahr said of Nasrallah, who U.S. officials have linked to thousands of American deaths.

Now, Zahr will serve on Dearborn’s seven-member school board, which oversees 20,000 students in the Detroit suburb, home to the largest Arab and Muslim population in the country. He finished second place in a crowded field running for two open seats on the school board, according to Wayne County election results. "I look forward to serving on our School Board! We have a lot of work to do. I promise to make you all proud!" Zahr said Wednesday.

Zahr’s victory could reinforce Dearborn’s reputation as a hotbed of anti-Israel zealotry. One analyst dubbed the town "America’s jihad capital" on account of the numerous imams and city leaders that "side with Hamas against Israel and Iran against the U.S." Chants of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" have been heard at rallies this year in the Detroit suburb, including an event in September headlined by Dearborn’s mayor.

Zahr frequently organizes anti-Israel events in Dearborn and neighboring cities. At a rally in 2017, Zahr stated that "whether it's called Hamas, whether it's called Hezbollah, we stand with everybody who stands against the Israeli occupation." In 2021, he urged activists who are "condemning anti-Semitism and condemning terrorism" to "stop it!"


Hillel Neuer: UN Must Stop Protecting Israel's Terror Foes in Gaza and Lebanon
On Oct. 7, 2023, members of the UN organization UNRWA actively took part in the Hamas terrorist massacres in Israel. Last week, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the terrorist who commanded the attack that led to the abduction of American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostages was an UNRWA employee.

Meanwhile, in the months since Oct. 7, members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have provided cover, intentionally or not, for Hizbullah terrorists as they rained down more than 10,000 missiles, drones and rockets on Israeli civilians. The only function UNIFIL performs at this point is to shield Hizbullah's terrorist operation, which continues to threaten Israel from its northern border.

A top Hamas commander killed in Lebanon turned out to be the principal of an UNRWA school - and the head of the country's UNRWA Teachers Union. A Hamas command room was discovered inside UNRWA headquarters in Gaza. That's why last week, Israeli lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to bar the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants from operating within Israel, and severely curtailing its activities in Gaza and the West Bank.

Just like Hamas subverted UNRWA, Hizbullah has subverted UNIFIL. As the IDF uncovers Hizbullah stockpiles of weapons and bunkers in southern Lebanon, their proximity to UNIFIL positions is striking. Under UNIFIL's watch, Iran's terrorist proxy built an arsenal of 150,000 missiles and became far more powerful than Lebanon's own military.

For UNRWA and UNIFIL to continue operating in their present form is untenable. These organizations must be dismantled - so that Gaza and Lebanon can be freed from the control of violent extremists and their enablers.
Now is the time to end UNRWA
Moreover, its facilities have been exploited to house Hamas offices and launch deadly attacks. For many years, all of this was known because Israeli officials provided evidence to the United Nations and asked its donor countries if they should continue to allow an organization with such a troubling track record to continue receiving support from a global institution tasked with promoting peace.

Apart from a few examples, these exhortations were met with a deafening silence, until the massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, when the evidence stared the world in the face as UNRWA staff took part in the bestial bloodletting.

Even the United Nations has admitted that some of its employees were involved in the invasion of Israel, as well as the murder, rape and mutilating of innocent Israelis.

That massacre made an urgent need clear: We must dismantle UNRWA entirely and replace it with an organization led by countries truly committed to the welfare of Palestinians. This new entity should be dedicated to ensuring that international aid is not diverted to empower those who aspire to death and destruction and threaten peace and stability in the region.

For too long, the international community has failed to protect Palestinians from the grip of Hamas, allowing aid to be misappropriated and fueling the very violence it seeks to quell.

In the wake of the horrific events of Oct. 7, we must hold accountable not only those who perpetrate violence but the systems that enable it.

The United Nations, particularly Secretary-General António Guterres, must recognize their complicity and offer an apology to Israel for allowing a U.N. agency to contribute to the conditions that led to such tragedy.

Unfortunately, senior U.N. officials, including the head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, rather than doing some serious soul-searching and embracing the possible need for reform, have merely tried to attack Israel further and given scant attention to the murderous members of its institutions.

This is not a case of a few bad apples as some have tried to excuse it but part of an endemic worldview that sees Israel as an enemy and a Palestinian vision to seek the Jewish state’s end, either through military struggle or by inundating it with the descendants of Palestinians who fled in the middle part of the last century, against all historical norms and practices.

Nevertheless, this is not merely about reassigning blame; it is about reimagining how we support the Palestinian people. They deserve assistance that empowers them, fosters genuine development and contributes to long-lasting peace.

The Palestinian people deserve an agency that finds “durable solutions” for their plight—in the words of UNHCR’s mandate—and not just an institutional obstacle that compounds their misery and institutionalizes their resentment about losing wars and conflicts they started.

By holding organizations accountable and demanding transparency, we can redirect aid to where it is truly needed—supporting the aspirations of individual Palestinians rather than enabling violence against Israel.

Hopefully, this long-overdue step by Israel will lead to a serious re-evaluation of how we approach Palestinian aid. The world can no longer stand by while systems intended to provide relief become instruments of conflict. Let us strive for a future where aid truly serves its purpose, fostering hope, security and a pathway to peace for all in the region.

This can only be achieved once UNRWA has been ended. That time is now.
Israel’s job to replace UNRWA, UN claims
The United Nations said in a letter Tuesday that finding a replacement for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which Israel banned for its terror ties, was Jerusalem’s responsibility.

“If UNRWA is no longer able to operate it would be the responsibility of the Israeli authorities to replace its services that it delivers to civilians, in education, in health, and all sorts of other areas,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ chef de cabinet, Courtenay Rattray, wrote to an Israeli foreign affairs official on Tuesday, saying, “I would note, as a general point, that it is not our responsibility to replace UNRWA, nor do we have the capacity to do so.”

Her letter was in reply to one sent by Israel’s Foreign Ministry to the U.N. General Assembly explaining it would no longer work with UNRWA but “will continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies.”

“Israel expects the United Nations to contribute to and cooperate in this effort,” the letter said.

Israel terminated relations with UNRWA a week after the Knesset, by a vote of 92 to 10, passed legislation on Oct. 28 banning the organization’s operations in the Jewish state.

“UNRWA may be defined by a single word—failure,” Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, told a meeting of the General Assembly on UNRWA on Wednesday. “This idea that UNRWA could not be supplemented is absurd.”
UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff on Thinking Aloud with Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz
Natasha Hausdorff discusses allegations of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law made against Israel and the information on which they are based with Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz of Valley Beth Shalom, California.

Natasha is a barrister at Six Pump Court Chambers, a frequent speaker on international law and a commentator on the Arab-Israeli conflict. She clerked for the late Chief Justice Miriam Naor, President of Israel's Supreme Court, and was a Fellow at Columbia Law School's National Security Law Program. Natasha read law at Oxford University, qualified as a solicitor at Skadden, and subsequently gained an LLM from Tel Aviv University, specialising in public international law. She serves as legal director of UKLFI Charitable Trust’.

On 13 November 2024, Hausdorff will debate political commentator Cenk Uygur as they examine the developing situation in the Middle East and the approach of the International Criminal Court. This dynamic discussion will delve into the intersection of international law and politics and consider the implications of the ongoing Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war. You can watch the debate through the livestream by The Free Press.




‘A highly entrenched adversary’: Five Takeaways on the challenges of urban warfare in the Israel-Hamas war
In a recent episode of Hub Dialogues, John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, co-director of the Urban Warfare Project, spoke with editor-at-large Sean Speer on the Israel-Hamas war and the challenges that come with a war of this nature and scale.

Here are five takeaways from their discussion.

3. Hamas’ dual nature makes it uniquely difficult to fight “Hamas operates not just as a militant group but as a governing entity in Gaza, controlling social structures, education, and much of the population’s daily life. They use this position to build a military force that isn’t just defensive but offensive, possessing both conventional military capabilities and guerrilla tactics.

This dual nature means Israel faces an enemy that controls the battlefield on multiple levels. The use of extensive tunnel networks, urban defences, and embedded positions within civilian areas turns Gaza into a fortress of sorts. For Israel, dismantling this structure means overcoming a highly entrenched adversary without causing undue harm to civilians who are often caught in the middle or manipulated by Hamas. This kind of warfare challenges traditional military doctrine, making precision and intelligence gathering as crucial as firepower.”

4. Tunnels and urban spaces are huge tactical advantages “The strategy of using tunnels and urban areas as defensive advantages has changed modern combat significantly. Tunnels provide concealment and allow for rapid movement and surprise attacks, giving groups like Hamas an advantage despite being outmatched in traditional firepower. For Israel, these tunnels are a strategic challenge requiring a combination of technology, intelligence, and ground operations to locate and neutralize [the enemy].

Urban areas also serve as an asymmetrical equalizer, allowing smaller, less-equipped forces to resist much larger militaries by leveraging the inherent difficulties of city combat. This shift means that militaries worldwide must rethink tactics and strategies, particularly around intelligence and urban-specific technologies, if they are to address the unique complexities that urban warfare brings to the battlefield.”

5. The nature of warfare is shifting “We see that the nature of warfare is shifting. Israel’s relationship with neighbouring countries and its strategic position has made it a focal point for studying urban conflict and the adaptation to modern threats. This conflict isn’t only about local dynamics but about the broader regional and global implications of urban warfare and proxy engagements.

With nations like Iran openly supporting Hamas and other groups, we are in a proxy war context that escalates the conflict’s scale and stakes. As urban conflict becomes more prevalent, these areas are transformed into high-stakes arenas for geopolitical influence. Israel, defending itself and facing external threats from both state and non-state actors, finds itself in a continuous test of tactical innovation and strategic resilience. This war reflects a broader shift in global conflict dynamics, making understanding and adapting to urban warfare imperative for nations globally.”


IDF expands offensive to uproot Hamas in northern Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces has launched an operation to uproot Hamas terror infrastructure in the Beit Lahiya area of the northern Gaza Strip, the military announced Thursday.

Troops began operating around the city, located north of Jabaliya, following intelligence information and a situation assessment indicating a terrorist resurgence in the area, according the IDF.

As part of the operation, the IDF is facilitating the evacuation of Gazans from combat zones via organized routes.

IDF troops also continued to operate in Jabaliya area on Thursday morning, eliminating approximately 50 terrorists over the last 24 hours, according to the military.

Israeli forces also conducted targeted raids in central Gaza during the same period.

In the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, IDF forces killed a number of armed terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure.

In Lebanon, 60 Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated in a number of strikes north of the Litani River on Wednesday, including in the city of Baalbek.

The IAF struck over 110 targets on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Sirens sounded in the southern Israeli border town of Netiv HaAsara on Thursday afternoon, with the IDF saying that a projectile launched from Gaza was intercepted after crossing into Israeli territory. There were no initial reports of injuries or damage.


Call Me Back: GALLANT FIRED, TRUMP ELECTED – with Nadav Eyal & Amit Segal
Hosted by Dan Senor Last night in Israel, in what came as a shock to many Israelis, Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

At the same time, there was a Red Wave that swept through U.S. politics.

As Israelis and Americans simultaneously process these two 180 degree pivots in their respective political systems, we are joined by two CallMeBack regulars to discuss both stories:

Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediiot. He is one of Israel’s leading journalists. Eyal has been covering Middle-Eastern and international politics for the last two decades for Israeli radio, print and television news.

Amit Segal is the chief political correspondent and analyst for Channel 12 News, and for Yediot Ahronot, the country’s largest circulation newspaper.
Scapegoating Israel, white progressive projection: Torres slams Beinart op-ed
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of the staunchest Israel supporters in Congress, criticized liberal writer Peter Beinart’s New York Times op-ed “Democrats ignored Gaza and brought down their party.”

“Peter Beinart has an op-ed claiming that outrage among young black Americans against Israel is one of the causes of Democratic defeat in the 2024 election,” Torres wrote. “Beware of white progressives, who project their own ideological biases onto working-class communities of color.”

“Here’s the ground-level truth. If you’re a young man of color struggling to pay your rent, put food on the table and keep your family afloat, the furthest issue on your mind is a conflict 5,000 miles away,” Torres wrote. “The existential issue for you is inflation. The crippling cost of living is the cause of your discontent. Anyone claiming otherwise is representing their own ideological imagination rather than reality.”

“The far left seems to have a simple rule of scapegoating: When in doubt, blame Israel,” he added.


No sanctions for PSG after fans unfurl ‘Free Palestine’ banner
French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (PSG) will not face sanctions after supporters on Wednesday displayed a massive anti-Israel banner before a home game kicked off.

The decision was made by European soccer’s governing body UEFA, according to Reuters.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau criticized the unfurling of the banner on Thursday, calling it “unacceptable.” Asked by French radio station Sud Radio if he would seek sanctions against PSG, he said, “I am not ruling out anything. I will demand explanations from PSG.”

Before Wednesday night’s Champions League game against Atletico Madrid at Parc des Princes stadium in the French capital, fans in the stands from PSG’s hardline Auteuil Kop group unveiled the banner, which read “Free Palestine,” with the “i” depicted as a map of Israel covered in a Palestinian keffiyeh. A blood-stained Palestinian flag, a masked terrorist, a boy wearing a Lebanese flag, a tank and Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock were also visible.

PSG said after the match that it was not privy to any plans to unveil the banner. The club is owned by Qatar, whose government funds Hamas in Gaza and harbors Hamas terror leaders.

“Paris St Germain recalls that the Parc des Princes is—and must remain—a place of communion around a common passion for soccer and firmly opposes any message of a political nature in its stadium,” the club said in a statement.

Minister Retailleau said: “Of course the club president is responsible. I want to know how this tarpaulin arrived, how it was deployed.”

UEFA told Reuters on Thursday that PSG would not face disciplinary proceedings because it only bans insulting or provocative messages considered political, religious or offensive.

“There will therefore be no disciplinary case because the banner that was unfurled cannot be in this case be considered provocative or insulting,” a UEFA spokesperson said.


Pro-Palestinian Thugs Who Targeted Buildings over Israeli Links Must Be Banned
Last Saturday, Palestine Action took to the streets of London, not to peacefully protest, but to vandalise and deface buildings associated with Jewish businesses and organisations with ties to Israel.

These were not random acts; they were deliberate assaults on groups that stand for British-Jewish values, community support, and cultural exchange. This time, however, Palestine Action went further, trespassing onto private properties, scrawling hateful graffiti, and leaving behind a trail of damage.

These actions were not merely symbolic. They were acts of intimidation aimed at spreading fear and silence within the Jewish community. And under the guise of “activism,” Palestine Action is using anti-Zionism as a cover to legitimise violence, not just against a political position, but against an entire community.

What we are witnessing is a dangerous transformation of anti-Zionist rhetoric into a disturbing justification for violence. Palestine Action’s activities have gone far beyond criticism of Israel’s policies. Instead, they have evolved into a campaign of relentless aggression, harassment, and vandalism aimed at anyone with connections to Israel.

It began with companies like Elbit Systems, but has since expanded to encompass organisations and businesses across the UK, including those working to foster mutual understanding and dialogue. This is not activism, nor is it legitimate protest.

It is a sinister campaign to isolate, intimidate, and silence those who hold any ties, however tenuous, to Israel.

We must call this what it is: extremism. Palestine Action has embraced a philosophy of “by any means necessary,” a mandate that they wield to break the law, deface property, and instil fear.

Each act of vandalism, every shattered window, and every defaced building is a calculated strike against those they deem unworthy of being part of the community. This is not dissent — it is coercion, plain and simple.

Last Saturday’s attacks were only the latest in a string of actions designed to bully organisations like BICOM and terrorise the Jewish community into silence.


Michigan man arrested at US Capitol with weapons, letter about ‘war in the Middle East’
U.S. Capitol Police officers arrested Austin Olson, 27, on Wednesday as the Westland, Mich., man tried to enter the Capitol “with a flare gun, torch lighter and bottles of fuel” and smelling “like he doused part of his clothing with fuel,” Capitol Police stated.

Officers “found what appears to be a manifesto and a letter to Congress,” the latter “focused on the man’s opinions on the war in the Middle East,” Capitol Police stated.

“If our officers did not stop this man, yesterday would have been a very different story than this one,” stated Thomas Manger, U.S. Capitol Police chief. “All of our employees continue to work together around the clock during this heightened security environment.”

The Anti-Defamation League said its analyst’s found Olson’s social media accounts.

That included “a Rumble channel where Olsen uploaded a video of himself reading his ‘letter to Congress’ on Nov. 4. In it, he expresses a variety of antisemitic, anti-Israel and anti-government views, alleging that elected leaders serve the interests of Israel over the American people,” the ADL stated.

“Olsen can be heard saying, ‘The problem is Israel; the problem is you. You have been bought and we have been sold into slavery and called it capitalism. Israel controls our media, our corporations, they control you and they own us’—clearly embracing the antisemitic myth that Jews have outsized power,” the ADL added. “On X, Olson has also expressed a range of far-right tropes and antisemitic views, including endorsing the great replacement theory and the antisemitic myth of deicide.”




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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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