Monday, November 11, 2024

11/11 Links Pt1: Justifying the ‘Jew Hunt’; Dear Jared Kushner, the Jewish people need you; IDF seizes ammunition hidden Gaza aid convoy

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Justifying the ‘Jew Hunt’
This is what the counternarrative surrounding Amsterdam is doing. And it’s edifying to see the counternarrative crafted and released into the air vents in real time.

There’s an easy test to see whether the “Jewish soccer hooligans” blather is yet another “109 soon 110,” only this time from the left: Even if you were to grant the worst possible interpretation of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans’ behavior, would it mitigate the evil of the pogrom? Did random Jews deserve to be stabbed and run over because other Israeli soccer fans were rowdy? To even write out that question is to see how much of a lunatic you’d have to be to entertain it.

And yet we also know that you cannot grant the worst possible interpretation of Maccabi fans’ actions. For example, we now know that the small number of Israelis who picked up sticks or other makeshift weapons had done so because they were set upon by organized attackers. We now know that taxi drivers were not victims of Israeli abuse but rather were the ringleaders of what the pogromists referred to as the planned “Jew hunt.” We now know the disingenuous nature of the accusation that random Jews deserved to be stabbed because some Maccabi fans interrupted a moment of silence for victims of a flood in Spain: The announcer was speaking in Dutch, which only one team’s fans in the stadium could understand. We now know that the rumor that Israelis were disruptive at a casino is false and that what actually happened is that an employee of the casino alerted the pogromist organizers to the Israelis’ location so they could be hunted. (Those last two details come to us from excellent reporting by the Wall Street Journal.)

So we’re left with a video of some Maccabi fans singing an anti-Arab chant as they’re being escorted by police away from crowds that taunt them and which the police assume will get into a violent confrontation with the Israelis. The people claiming that video is what led to a preplanned pogrom are telling on themselves, both because they don’t know what “preplanned” means and because there is a sociopathic element to their justifications.

And history is littered with them. In 1881, Jews in Alexandria were accused of kidnapping and killing a Greek child in a ritual murder—the classic blood libel. A newspaper reporter wrote that, in light of a similar accusation made against the Jews in Syria, “the position taken up by the Greeks is not on the face of it so absurd, untenable and prejudiced as the European colony would have us believe. If the voice of the vast majority be the voice of the people, and if it be true that vox populi vox Dei, then one should surely pause before exonerating the Jews of Alexandria of every suspicion of guilt.”

His point was: Could it be that the Jews keep getting accused of the same thing and yet all of these accusations are false? Could it be, today’s anti-Semites on both left and right will ask, that the Jews keep getting kicked out of their “host” countries and yet it is always the host countries’ fault? In the past year there have been Jew hunts not just in Amsterdam but across Europe and even an occasional version in the U.S.; could it be, we are asked, that none of those Jew hunts were the Jews’ fault? And don’t get so defensive, these pundits and activists insist; they’re just asking questions.
Brendan O'Neill: The moral ghettoisation of the Jews
There seems to be a new rule on the woke left: if some members of an ethnic group behave badly, we should not be surprised if other members of that ethnic group get attacked. Will this rule be applied consistently? Will they say, next time a few fuming Islamists gather in a city centre in Britain to burn the UK flag or the Israeli flag and to chant about the return of Muhammad’s army to finish off the Jews, that we shouldn’t be surprised if EDL-style racists then go out and attack random Muslims? That these people ‘fucked around and found out’? Of course they won’t. I hope they won’t. So why are they ceaselessly mentioning that some Maccabi fans are idiots, as if this explains why some Jews got beaten to a pulp in a self-described jodenjacht?

Worse than the contextualisation is the moral inversion. In accusing all of the visiting Israelis of ‘rampaging’ through Amsterdam, of being ‘racist’, even of bringing ‘the spirit of Israeli fascism’ to Europe, the left turns truth and reason utterly on their heads. The Israelis are accused of doing what was in truth done to them. It was the self-confessed ‘Jew-hunting’ mob who rampaged. It was they who stamped racism on to the streets of Amsterdam. It was they who embodied the ‘spirit of fascism’ with their vile demands to know who’s an Israeli, who’s a Jew, so that they might know who to batter. To accuse the victims of something not unlike fascism of being the real fascists is almost unimaginably cruel, even by the standards of the post-truth woke left.

We cannot overlook the magnitude of what happened last week. A literal Jew hunt unfolded in one of the cities that trembled under Jews hunts in the last century, and some in our intellectual classes essentially said: ‘Well…’ People who write for newspapers, who are feted by the BBC, who move and shake in the middle-class universe of performed virtue scratched their chins, offered up explanations, saw a young Jew with the gash of an anti-Semite’s boot and wondered: ‘Is this a thug who deserved it?’ This was more than hypocrisy. It was more than the identitarian downplaying of anti-Jewish racism that has become tragically commonplace on the modern left. It was confirmation of a new moral ghettoisation of the Jews, of their unforgiving exclusion from the entire realm of progressive sympathy.

In essence, a new edict of expulsion has been issued against the Jews not from the physical kingdom of the nation state this time, but from the moral kingdom of elite empathy. They are to enjoy none of the rights or privileges of woke concern. No other social group can be victim-blamed, but they can be. No other ethnic group’s ‘truth’ about the hatred they experience may be discounted, but theirs can. No other group is forbidden from making sense of their current persecution through their past persecution, but they are. Witness the rage against those who have used the word ‘pogrom’ to describe the hunt in Amsterdam. The words ‘genocide’ and ‘Holocaust’ have already been stolen from the Jews, and are now used against them by a woke elite convinced Israel’s war on Hamas is a new species of Nazism. Now, ‘pogrom’ is taken from them, too. Not only is their persecution denied – the very linguistic tools through which they might describe their persecution are denied to them as well.

To my mind, the chattering classes’ ‘contextualisation’ of the violence in Amsterdam could prove more dangerous, in the long run, than the violence itself. The Jews’ black eyes and torn skin will heal. Their attackers – we hope – will be brought to justice. But the grim ‘intellectual’ singling out of the Jews as a lesser identity, to whom few of the new moral codes apply, will linger. The pogrom is over – the spirit of the pogrom lives.


JPost Editorial: Dear Jared Kushner, the Jewish people need you
As Kahana’s report noted, your return is seen as a “sign of renewed hope”—a phrase that perfectly captures the collective sentiment of those who value Israel’s future.

Israel has survived many trials, but survival is not enough.

What we need now is a path forward, one that secures our place in the Middle East and strengthens our partnerships around the globe.

This isn’t just about politics; it’s about the future of the Jewish people, our homeland, and the legacy we leave behind.

We need leaders who can translate our hopes for peace into actionable policies, who can influence Washington’s decisions, and who can champion the vision of an Israel that thrives within a peaceful and stable Middle East.

Jared, this is a historic moment for you, for Israel, and for the Jewish people.

You have proven time and again that you have the skills, the knowledge, and the tenacity to make a difference.

This is a call not just to resume a role but to take on a responsibility that history has placed upon your shoulders.

We urge you to accept this responsibility and to use your voice, your vision, and your influence for the greater good.

As Isaiah said so wisely (Isaiah 32:17), “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

True peace comes through righteous actions, aligning with the Abraham Accords’ vision of peace through diplomacy.

The Jewish people, Israel, and the Middle East need you. Do it.
Trump nominates Stefanik for UN envoy role
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in his upcoming administration.

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement quoted by the New York Post.

Stefanik confirmed in a statement that she has accepted the role.

“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” she said.

“During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate,” she continued.

Stefanik told the Post that “President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead—both at home and abroad,” adding that “America continues to be the beacon of the world, but we expect and must demand that our friends and allies be strong partners in the peace we seek.”

CNN reported on Sunday that Trump had offered the role to Stefanik, prompting a series of congratulatory statements.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote that she “will take the United Nations by storm, take on the anti-U.S. and Israel bigotry, combat Jew-hatred and hold adversaries to account.”

“Elise will be a strong voice advancing U.S. foreign policy and helping to reestablish America’s leading role in the world,” Lawler added.


ICC to launch sexual-misconduct probe of top prosecutor
The International Criminal Court will launch an external investigation into sexual-misconduct accusations against its top prosecutor, Karim Khan, the court in The Hague confirmed on Monday.

“After having consulted the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), I am seeking on behalf of the ASP Presidency an external investigation into the matters related to alleged misconduct by the ICC prosecutor,” Päivi Kaukoranta, the president of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which oversees the top court, said in a statement on Monday. “The involved parties have been informed.”

“The Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), which exercises full operational independence from the International Criminal Court and reports directly to the ASP, is competent to investigate such allegations,” stated Kaukoranta.

The external probe is “being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process, in conformity with the legal framework of the ICC and the IOM and following a victim-centred approach,” he added.

The outsourced probe was green-lit last week at a meeting of the internal ICC watchdog, three sources acquainted with the matter told the Associated Press on Saturday.

The sources said at the time that it was unclear who would lead the investigation. Options included European law-enforcement officials and a law firm.

The oversight body of the ICC was also mentioned as a possibility, but it might be ruled out for conflict-of-interest concerns over Karim’s spouse, who has previously worked for the agency in Kenya probing cases of sexual harassment.
Senator likely to join Trump admin blasts ICC for Israel probe
Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, widely anticipated to secure a position in the new Trump administration, issued a statement on Sunday night condemning the International Criminal Court‘s warning regarding possible arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“The International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction in Israel and its illegal pursuit of Israeli officials is built on a lie,” the lawmaker said. “Any attempt by kangaroo court prosecutor Karim Khan to threaten the United States or our allies should be seen as an act of aggression and face swift retaliation.”

Cotton stressed that “a bipartisan majority in the House [of Representatives] has passed a bill to sanction Karim Khan and anyone else involved in any U.S., Israeli or other allied citizen being wrongfully targeted by the ICC. [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer should immediately bring this up for a vote in the Senate.”

In September, Khan presented the judges’ panel with a request to rule on warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who was subsequently killed by the IDF during the fighting in Gaza. Khan withdrew the arrest warrant request for Sinwar and for his predecessor as Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July.


Austin cautions Katz on meeting US demand for Gaza
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a strong message to his new Israeli counterpart Israel Katz about meeting Washington’s demands on Gaza aid, speaking during their first phone call on Friday.

In mid-October, the Biden administration sent a letter to Jerusalem containing an ultimatum: Improve the humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave within 30 days or risk a hold-up in the supply of U.S. weapons.

According to the leaked contents of the letter, U.S. officials asked Israel to make 15 policy changes in Gaza by a Nov. 13 deadline or risk an arms embargo.

Since the letter, aid to Gaza has increased substantially, but the humanitarian situation remains difficult.

In their call, Austin reportedly requested an immediate increase in aid. He was quoted as saying that “30 days have passed since we sent the letter to the prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu]. I request that you bring its contents up for discussion in the Cabinet. I am pleased to hear that there has been a recent increase in aid. Israel should continue to do so and ensure that there are no harm to noncombatants in Gaza.”

Katz responded that “Israel wants to work cooperatively with the U.S. on this issue, but Hamas is stealing the goods. We want to ensure that it reaches the civilians and is not used for other purposes.”

According to the Pentagon readout of the call, Austin used more diplomatic language without going into specifics, citing “the need to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.”

IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani tweeted on Saturday that 713 aid trucks have entered the northern Gaza Strip via the Erez West Crossing since the beginning of October, while announcing that another crossing will open to facilitate the entry of aid, which COGAT (the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit) on Friday said will be at Kissufim.

Since the start of the war 13 months ago, 39,000 trucks carrying more than 840,000 tons of food have entered the Strip.

“The problem isn’t the lack of aid entering Gaza, it’s the threat of Hamas looting the aid trucks. Humanitarian aid is going into Gaza daily. For the past months and even now, aid that was sent into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing is waiting to be picked up on the Gaza side. Currently—700 trucks worth,” Shoshani wrote.
Qatar denies expelling Hamas despite Biden administration claims
The Qatari Foreign Ministry emphatically denied reports of Hamas’s expulsion from Doha, after U.S. officials said that Qatar demanded the Palestinian terrorist group depart.

“The media reports regarding the Hamas office in Doha is inaccurate,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry statement from Saturday reads. “The main goal of the office in Qatar is to be a channel of communication between the concerned parties.”

While the statement described cease-fire and hostage release negotiations between Israel and Hamas as “stalled,” Qatar, the primary mediator presenting Hamas’ side in the talks, said it will “resume [mediation] efforts … when the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war.”

A day earlier, Biden administration officials confirmed reports that Qatar told Hamas leadership that they are no longer welcome in their country.

“Hamas is a terrorist group that has killed Americans and continues to hold Americans hostage. After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, its leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner,” a senior Biden administration official told Jewish Insider on Friday. “We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas’s rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal.”

A U.S. official disputed Qatar’s official statement and stood by the assertion that Qatar had requested Hamas’ leaders leave Doha.


MBS accuses Israel of Gaza genocide, calls for ceasefires
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Monday that Israel is committing a campaign of “genocide” in Gaza, a charge that Jerusalem vehemently denies.

The kingdom’s de facto ruler called on the international community to “immediately halt the Israeli actions against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon.”

Jerusalem has also repeatedly emphasized that its fight is with Hezbollah terrorists and not with the Lebanese people.

The prince’s harsh criticisms of Israel’s military confrontations with the Iranian-back terrorist organizations came during a joint Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit held in Riyadh on Monday.

Arab and Muslim leaders arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for the summit organized by the country’s foreign ministry to focus on the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud announced the summit in late October.

Attendees would “discuss the continued Israeli aggression on the Palestinian territories and the Lebanese Republic, and the current developments in the region,” the official Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.
New Israeli Ambassador to US REVEALS Jerusalem's Plan
Gabriel Groisman, host of "Standpoint with Gabe Groisman," interviews the recently appointed Israeli ambassador to the United States, Dr. Yechiel Leiter.

They discuss his journey from Scranton, Pa., to the Jewish state, his military service, and the historical context of Israel's political landscape.

A heartfelt tribute is paid to Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, the ambassador's son and Groisman’s friend, who lost his life fighting terrorists Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Dr. Yechiel Leiter
01:27 Journey from Scranton to Israel
02:22 Military service and historical context
04:11 The 1982 Lebanon War and Its aftermath
10:27 Iran's influence and the new cold war
16:07 The need for strong American leadership
21:54 Oct. 7: A wake-up call for Israel
29:05 The political landscape for American Jews
31:03 Demographic challenges and immigration needs
32:30 The impact of ideas on society
33:29 Remembering Moshe: A personal tribute
39:40 Moshe's legacy and the call to action
54:15 Resilience and optimism in Israel's future


UKLFI: UNRWA: What Have We Learned and What Will Happen?
This is a recording of a UKLFI Charitable Trust webinar on "UNRWA: What Have We Learned and What Will Happen?" With Dr Einat Wilf and Dr Adi Schwartz, chaired by Natasha Hausdorff which took place on Sunday 10 November 2024.

Dr Einat Wilf and Dr Adi Schwartz wrote an important book titled “The War of Return” which was published in English in 2020. In it they explained how UNRWA had created a permanent “refugee” problem and fostered the “right of return” of Palestinian “refugees” which is now a fundamental obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Events since October 2023 have also exposed the involvement of UNRWA staff and the use of UNRWA facilities and resources in terrorist activities.

On 28 October 2024, the Knesset passed two Bills regarding UNRWA. The first, passed by a majority of 92-10 of the Knesset’s 120 members, prohibits any activity by UNRWA within Israel. The second, passed by 87-9, ends the agreement between Israel and UNRWA and prohibits any contact between Israeli government agencies or representatives and UNRWA as from 3 months following the enactment of the Bill.

The legislation has been fiercely criticised by UN bodies and Western governments, mainly on the ground that UNRWA is needed to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians. However, Palestinians have complained that “the laws aim to liquidate the issue of refugees and their right to return”.


Government says it will not allow events to be ‘hijacked’ by antisemitism
The Government has said it will “not allow cultural and sporting events to be hijacked” after Israel warned its citizens abroad to avoid such occasions in the wake of violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam.

Police in the Dutch capital launched a large-scale investigation on Friday after gangs of youths conducted what Amsterdam’s mayor called “hit and run” attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans that were apparently inspired by calls on social media to target Jewish people.

Five people were treated at hospitals and more than 60 suspects were arrested.

Israel’s National Security Council on Sunday claimed pro-Palestinian groups were calling for further attacks on Israelis and Jews in multiple European cities – including in the UK – “under the pretense of demonstrations and protests”.

It urged Israelis abroad to follow “precautionary” travel measures, including “categorically avoid attending Israeli sports/cultural events abroad”, “stay away from demonstrations and protests of any kind”, and “be extra careful about concealing anything that could identify you as Israeli/Jewish”.

A statement said: “In the past few days, there have been calls among pro-Palestinian/terrorist-supporter groups to harm Israelis and Jews, under the pretense of demonstrations and protests, taking advantage of mass gatherings (sports and cultural events) to maximize the damage and the media coverage.

“In addition, preparations to harm Israelis have been identified in several European cities, including Brussels (Belgium), major cities in the UK, Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Paris (France – around the upcoming match of the Israeli team on November 14).”

In response, the UK Government said police and security services were working “to ensure the safety of every community in this country”.

A Government spokesperson said: “There is no place for antisemitism on our streets and we will not allow cultural and sporting events to be hijacked by those who seek to promote hate.

“Those who push this poison – offline and online – will face the full force of the law.

“Police and the security services continue to work to ensure the safety of every community in this country.”
PROOF! The 'Jew-Hunt' in Amsterdam Was Planned | Jerusalem Minute
Terror apologists have already flooded the international media with excuses and explanations for Thursday night's "Jodenjacht" (Jew-hunt) in Amsterdam. However, the evidence shows that the antisemitic attacks were preplanned and coordinated by local Islamist cells.

JNS CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief Alex Traiman and Middle East correspondent Josh Hasten tell you what we know so far on the latest episode of "Jerusalem Minute"!

Also, they cover last week’s U.S. elections and what the results mean for Israel; Iran’s response and threats to President-elect Donald Trump; the ongoing war in Lebanon; the "Trump effect" in Qatar and more.

Don’t miss the up-to-minute news on “Jerusalem Minute!” Subscribe to ‪‪‪@JNS_TV‬

Chapters
00:00 Trump's Reelection and Its Impact on Israel
02:55 The Biden-Harris Administration vs. Trump: Approaches to Israel
05:48 Reviving the Palestinian Authority: Implications and Concerns
09:08 Netanyahu's Political Maneuvering: Firing Defense Minister Gallant
11:51 Rising Anti-Semitism: Attacks on Israelis in Amsterdam
15:08 Qatar's Role in the Conflict: Pressure on Hamas
17:59 The Lame Duck Period: Challenges for Israel
21:08 Iran's Threats and Regional Stability
23:49 The Future of U.S.-Israel Relations: Key Appointments and Policies




Fatah official says Amsterdam violence against Israelis proves ‘world sick of Jews’
Fatah official Tayseer Nasrallah justifies the wave of violence against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last week, calling the attacks “proof that the world is sick of the Jews,” according to quotes published by Palestinian Media Watch.

“What happened in the Netherlands two or three days ago is the best proof that the world is sick of the Jews, and is sick of the Israeli arrogance, and cannot stand this huge amount of hatred towards people,” the Palestinian Authority official says on state television.

Israeli officials said 10 people were injured in the Thursday violence by local Arab and Muslim gangs against Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans. Hundreds more Israelis huddled in their hotels for hours, fearing they could be attacked. Many said that Dutch security forces were nowhere to be found, as the Israeli tourists were ambushed by gangs of masked assailants who shouted pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans while they hunted, beat, and harassed them.

However instead of decrying the violence, the PA on Friday called on the Dutch government “to investigate the [Israeli] hooligans and defend the Palestinians and Arabs in the Netherlands from these Israeli settlers and soldiers, who came to the Netherlands to transfer their racist ideas and their crimes to the European capitals.”


NSC warns travelers anti-Israel orgs plan more pogroms
Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) issued an alert for Israeli travelers on Sunday in the wake of the Nov. 7 attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, warning that anti-Israel groups have called to harm Israelis and Jews elsewhere in Europe.

Pro-Palestinian groups are planning to harm Jews by exploiting gatherings at sports and cultural events, the NSC said. Networks have been identified in a number of European cities, including Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris, where the Israeli national team will play on Nov. 14.

The NSC issued the following guidance:
1. In the coming week, avoid attending sporting and cultural events altogether, with a special emphasis on the upcoming Israeli national team game in Paris.
2. Stay away from demonstrations and protests of any kind.
3. Immediately notify local security forces of any incidents of threat/ assault.
4. Be extra careful to keep Israeli identification symbols private, including when booking taxis, or hiring vehicles using apps.
5. Check before traveling to areas prone to violence and disturbances, high crime or that have large immigrant populations from countries hostile to Israel.

Despite the NSC warning, thousands of French Jews are planning to attend the Paris match, Knesset member Yosef Taieb from the Shas party told the Knesset’s Education, Culture, and Sports Committee on Monday.


Belgian cops nab six alleged copycats of Amsterdam pogrom
Police in Antwerp, Belgium, arrested six people on Sunday, including a 17-year-old, on suspicion of conspiring to attack Jews from the city’s heavily haredi community.

The suspects were apprehended after exchanging messages on social media following the assault of dozens of Israelis in Holland’s capital of Amsterdam, Belgian police officials told De Morgen daily on Monday.

The incident in Antwerp coincided with concern that the assaults in the Netherlands—the country’s biggest series of antisemitic assaults in decades—mark the beginning of a new wave of coordinated attacks by Muslims in Europe against their Jewish neighbors.

“Some young individuals agreed to perpetrate a similar action in Antwerp in the Jewish Quarter, which is why we heightened security,” the city’s police commissioner Wouter Bruyns told De Morgen.

Following the arrests, footage of the beating of a haredi Jew in Antwerp in October surfaced on social media on Sunday. It shows three males following a Haredi male, shouting “Free Palestine” and beating him.

The victim is 14 years old, according to Michael Freilich, a Jewish federal lawmaker from Antwerp. The family did not file a police complaint “as this is a regular occurrence in town,” he told JNS on Monday.

The teenager received bruises from the beating. His family has decided to file a police complaint following the video’s surfacing, Freilich said.


‘The point where it’s gone too far’: Sharri Markson slams antisemitic Amsterdam attack
Sky News host Sharri Markson slams the assault on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam outside the stadium following a Europa League game.

“We're now witnessing violence erupt in every western city in the globe,” Ms Markson said.

“This is the point where it's gone too far.”


‘Important story’: Sharri sits down with a victim of attack on Jews in Amsterdam
Sky News host Sharri Markson discusses the attack on Jewish people in Amsterdam with a victim of the attack Ofek Ziv.

“This is an important story, five people were hospitalised and 20 to 30 injured,” Ms Markson said.

Ms Markson sat down with Mr Ziv to discuss the event which placed five people in hospital and injured many more.




‘Overwhelmed with disgust and fear’: Senator slams attacks on Jews in Amsterdam
JA21 Party Senator Annabel Nanninga says she is “overwhelmed” with disgust following racist attacks on Jewish members of the Amsterdam public.

“Overwhelmed with disgust and fear and tremendously worried about how will we ever make this right,” Ms Nanninga said.

“This has been the result of course of a build-up that has been going on for a long, long, time.”




Emerging Lebanon accord: IDF to have right to respond to violations
The emerging ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization includes the following principles, Israel Hayom has learned:

Hezbollah will withdraw its forces north of the Litani River and will not renew its military presence in the area between the Litani and the Israel-Lebanon border.

The Israel Defense Forces will pull back from Hezbollah’s current first line of positions in Lebanon, returning to the international border. The Lebanese army will dismantle Hezbollah’s remaining infrastructure in the area between the border and the Litani within 60 days of signing the agreement.

The agreement will include international guarantees from the United States and Russia to prevent Hezbollah from rearming. As part of this framework, Syria will be responsible for stopping any weapons transfers from its territory to Lebanon, in contrast to the situation that prevailed in the years before the war.

In any instance of a violation of the agreement—whether by Hezbollah’s rearming or military actions against Israel or Israelis—the IDF will have the right to act in response, with international backing.

Israel Hayom has also learned that Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will depart for Russia, as previously reported by Army Radio, and then to the United States to finalize the remaining details of the agreement. Among other meetings, he is expected to meet with President-elect Donald Trump.

On Saturday night, a senior government official confirmed to Israel Hayom that substantial progress had been made in diplomatic negotiations on the northern front.
Hezbollah terrorist behind Hariri murder killed in Israeli strike
A Hezbollah commander convicted for the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri was killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Syria, Arab media reported on Sunday.

Salim Jamil Ayyashm, a senior member of the Iranian terror proxy’s assassinations unit (Unit 121), was reportedly eliminated near the Syrian city of al-Qusayr in the Homs region.

In 2020, he was sentenced in absentia to five life sentences by the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon for his role in the assassination of Hariri, who was killed along with 21 others by a car bomb in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005.

The U.S. State Department had offered a $10 million reward for information on his whereabouts.

On Sunday, Al-Arabiya reported that the head of Hezbollah’s “Golan file” had been killed in an Israeli strike in Damascus earlier in the day.


IDF major KIA in Gaza, bringing the military’s death toll to 783
An Israel Defense Forces reservist was killed fighting Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Monday evening.

IDF Maj. (res.) Itamar Levin Fridman, 34, from the Red Sea city of Eilat, served as a commander in his hometown’s Lotar counter-terrorism unit, a special forces team whose mission is to protect the safety of residents and tourists in southern Israel, and specializes in the rescue of hostages.

Fridman was killed by an anti-tank missile fired by Palestinian terrorists.

The military launched a major operation in the northern Gaza city of Jabalia in early October, following indications of a Hamas resurgence there.

On Friday, the army announced that Master Sgt. (res.) Guy Shabtay, 39, of the Alon Brigade’s 8207th Battalion, from Jerusalem, succumbed after being wounded while fighting in Southern Lebanon two weeks earlier.

On Thursday, IDF Sgt. Ariel Sosnov Sasonov, 20, from the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, was killed by a Lebanese rocket in northern Israel.

The IDF military death toll in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ground operation there on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 369, while the official figure for all fronts since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre is 783.

Additionally, Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, a member of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage rescue mission in Gaza in June, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in the Strip in May.


How IDF's deception strategy led to Hamas's unraveling in Jabalya
After Sinwar's elimination, Division 162 launched a bold gambit: feinting toward central Gaza while racing to encircle Jabalya.

It was clear to the entire Southern Command leadership that it was only a matter of time before IDF forces would clash with Hamas's renewed organization in the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

Hamas operatives surrounded themselves with more than 55,000 civilians who served as human shields and hoped this would prevent the IDF from engaging with them.

Intelligence sources insisted that Hamas's organization of more than two thousand terrorists included a governing center controlling all of the northern Gaza Strip, including the Al-Atatra neighborhood, Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and additional villages.

Therefore, Southern Command assessed that striking the broad terror center in the Jabalya refugee camp would bring a broad effect: a decisive victory over northern Gaza Strip brigade forces, damaging Hamas's ability to control the entire northern area, and striking Jabalya's terror infrastructure, which has long served as a symbol of resistance against Israel and the IDF.

The turning point regarding the continued fighting in the Gaza Strip came during a situation assessment discussion held by the IDF’s General Staff, which called the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by IDF fighters proof of Hamas's collapse in Rafah.

In that same discussion, it was already clear that Southern Command was ready and prepared for the next stage: fighting in northern Gaza.

During preparations for the new battlefield, Southern Command commander Major General Yaron Finkelman insisted on incorporating ‘deception and trickery’ into the operation plans to outsmart what remained of Hamas's military wing in northern Gaza.

The conditions were complex since most of the IDF's attention and resources were concentrated in Lebanon.

Division 162, under the command of Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, saw this as a positive challenge despite the fact that the forces needed to jump from Rafah to the northern Gaza Strip without Hamas understanding where the division’s next move would be.

Major General Finkelman set the rules, and in the brigade battle teams, they translated the requirements into drawings on the map.


Assessing Hezbollah’s severely depleted stockpile
Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah over the past two months has caused devastating losses to the terror organization’s once-formidable arsenal.

Waves of large-scale Israeli Air Force strikes destroyed tens of thousands of enemy projectiles, alongside the elimination of Hezbollah’s senior military-terrorist leadership and severe harm caused to field-level commanders.

Despite attempts to conceal and protect its weaponry, by entrenching it in civilian village homes and under multi-story apartment buildings in Beirut and other cities, Hezbollah’s missile supply has been heavily damaged. Questions remain, however, about the exact inventory Hezbollah retains and its capacity to fire further strikes. The Shi’ite group itself may not be fully aware of what is left of its arsenal.

According to a statement made by former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Oct. 29, Hezbollah has lost most of the rocket and missile capabilities it possessed prior to joining the war in support of Hamas.

“I estimate the remaining capacity of the missiles and rockets to be on the order of 20% [of the previous arsenal], and also it is not organized in the way that it used to be, in a way that [Hezbollah] could fire [major] volleys,” Gallant said during a visit to IDF Northern Command headquarters in Safed.

Before the IDF’s extensive aerial and ground strikes, some in the military assessed that Hezbollah could fire more than 10,000 projectiles per day in the first week of the conflict, with most of them targeting the north and some central Israel. Now, Hezbollah is managing to fire between 100 and 200 rockets daily on average aimed at northern Israel, with sporadic attacks reaching central regions.

As Israel’s targeted ground operations continue in Southern Lebanon, alongside dozens of daily airstrikes throughout Lebanon, significant Hezbollah weapons stockpiles and infrastructure are still being uncovered and dismantled.

On Nov. 9, the IDF announced that troops of the IDF’s 769th “Hiram” Territorial Brigade, operating under the 91st “Galilee” Division, dismantled approximately 300 terrorist facilities and confiscated an array of weaponry, including Kornet anti-tank missiles, RPGs, combat equipment and intelligence materials. In one notable discovery, IDF troops located a mobile missile system with 24 rockets ready to launch against civilian communities in the Galilee, concealed in a forested area and attached to a civilian structure. The IDF has secured the system and moved it into Israel.

Alma Center estimates

According to estimates by the Alma Research and Education Center, which specializes in threats from the northern arenas, prior to September, Hezbollah possessed 65,000 rockets with ranges of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles), 5,000 rockets and missiles with ranges of between 80 and 120 kilometers (75 miles), 5,000 missiles with ranges of between 200 (125 miles) and 700 kilometers (435 miles), and 2,500 unmanned aerial vehicles.

In addition, the Alma Center estimated that Hezbollah possessed some 150,00 mortar rounds, for a total arsenal of some 225,000 explosive charges (not including the UAVs).

The exact condition of Hezbollah’s remaining arsenal is challenging to verify.

On November 10, Walla reported that IDF assessments indicate that Hezbollah has lost about 80% of its rocket arsenal for ranges up to 40 kilometers (25 miles).

The report also estimates that, at the start of the conflict, Hezbollah had approximately 5,000 medium-range rockets, a number that has now dropped to fewer than 1,000. Additionally, its short-range rocket stock has fallen from an estimated 44,000 to below 10,000
The Israel Guys: Missiles Are Pouring Into Israel From All Sides Everyday
Enemies from all sides are continuing to fire rockets, drones, missiles and other projectiles into Israel on a daily basis even as ceasefire talks are moving along between Israel and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Qatar is getting scared now that Trump is elected and is kicking out all of the Hamas leaders from the country.


Houthi missile triggers sirens in Jerusalem hills
A ballistic missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia triggered sirens in the Judean Foothills and the Lachish region on Monday morning, including in Beit Shemesh, Adora, Tzora, Beit Guvrin, Sarigim, Karmei Tzur, Kfar Etzion and Kiryat Arba.

The missile was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

A fire in Beit Shemesh initially reported to have been caused by interception fragments was later said to be a case of arson.

Iran’s terror proxy in Yemen took responsibility for the ballistic missile launch, claiming to have targeted Nahal Sorek, an Israeli army base southwest of Jerusalem.

The Houthi attacks comes after U.S. airstrikes targeted Houthi facilities in Yemen on Saturday night.

U.S. Central Command forces “conducted multiple airstrikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” a U.S. defense official told ABC News.


Hezbollah rockets wound three in Haifa area
The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah targeted the Haifa area with a massive rocket barrage on Monday afternoon, wounding three Israelis.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service, reported that the wounded were a 52-year-old man who was listed in moderate condition after being hit with shrapnel in his back, as well as a 55-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy with minor injuries.

Around 80 rockets were fired in an initial barrage, followed by a second attack consisting of approximately 10 projectiles, the Israel Defense Forces told reporters. Most rockets were intercepted or hit in open areas.

Shortly following the attacks, the Israeli Air Force announced it had struck a rocket launcher used in the attacks on the country’s north.

Earlier on Monday, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization launched some 50 rockets into the Lower Galilee.

Three people sustained shrapnel injuries; a 27-year-old woman who was in moderate condition, a 35-year-old man whose condition was not specified and a one-year-old infant who was listed as being in fair condition.

Only some of the rockets were intercepted, according to the IDF.

A residential building in the city of Karmiel suffered a direct hit.


IDF seizes ammunition hidden in internal coordinated Gaza convoy
The IDF discovered ammunition hidden in a convoy traveling between north and south within Gaza during a security check on Monday, the military said in a Monday statement.

During the passage of a convoy coordinated with the international community, the IDF detected unusual movement and ordered the convoy to stop at a checkpoint on the humanitarian aid route for inspection.

During the inspection, IDF troops discovered a bag containing ammunition for firearms.

They swiftly arrested those involved, which included members of the convoy, and transferred them for further investigation.

IDF questioned members of relevant organizations
They also questioned members of the relevant organizations.

The IDF emphasized that "This was an internal convoy traveling inside the Gaza Strip from the north to the south, and not through the crossings designated for bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza."


IDF expands Gaza humanitarian zone
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday that the Gaza humanitarian zone has been expanded in coordination with the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the international community.

Gazans in the expanded zone have access to field hospitals established since the start of the war, tent compounds, shelter supplies and provision of food, water, medicine and medical equipment, the IDF said.

The army published a map of the expanded zone, including via the X account of Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

“The IDF will continue to work toward achieving the objectives of the war, including dismantling Hamas and returning all hostages,” the IDF said.

The expanded humanitarian zone comes amid an operation to root out a Hamas insurgency in Jabalia and other areas of northern Gaza and as the outgoing Biden administration pressures Jerusalem to meet its demands for Gaza aid.


Newly-elected Michigan senator hailed as ‘whip smart,’ ‘big supporter of Israel’
Jewish political insiders and a Detroit-area rabbi told JNS that they have high hopes for Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who narrowly defeated Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, for the Senate seat of retiring Democrat Debbie Stabenow.

With 99% of the votes counted, Slotkin had secured 48.6% of the vote (2,708,212 votes), compared to 48.3% (2,687,995 votes) for Rogers. The Libertarian and Green Party candidates each drew about 1% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.

Steve Rabinowitz, a Democratic consultant in Washington, D.C., and the founder and president of Bluelight Strategies, told JNS that he has known Slotkin since her first run for the House in 2017.

The Jewish congresswoman and former CIA analyst, who served in defense and intelligence roles under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, including acting U.S. assistant secretary of defense, is “whip-smart, hardworking and totally dedicated,” Rabinowitz said.

“She has also long been a big supporter of Israel, even in the face of its detractors, particularly in Michigan,” he told JNS. “Elissa Slotkin will make a terrific U.S. senator, continuing in the great tradition of Michigan senators.”
Call me Back Podcast: The Far Left's Gift to Trump - with Ritchie Torres
Regardless of who you voted for in the U.S. presidential election, many of us are continuing to attempt to unpack what happened in this extraordinary election. There has been a lot of analysis of the various demographic shifts.

But less attention has been paid to Jewish voters and the role they played - as well as the issues of the Israel-Hamas war and rising antisemitism in the U.S. How did these issues impact how Americans - both Jewish and non-Jewish - chose to vote?

To discuss, our guest today is Congressman Ritchie Torres. Rep. Torres lives in the Bronx and represents New York’s 15th congressional district. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the House’s Elect Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. He has been on the front lines of electoral politics this year, both in his congressional district in the Bronx, and nationally, as a champion on the issue of Israel and antisemitism.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
04:18 General takeaways from the election
08:22 How do working class people respond to far left slogans?
13:55 Were these types of concerns being discussed within the Democratic Party prior to November?
17:22 How did the Jewish vote make an impact in the election results?
24:28 Kamala Harris playing both sides on the issues of anti-semitism and the Israel-Hamas war
28:31 Choice of Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro for VP
31:25 The rise of anti-semitism in the US and the Democratic Party’s response




J Street Fundraises over ‘Nightmare Scenario’ of Netanyahu, Trump Partnership
J Street, the George Soros-funded far-left organization that claims to be pro-Israel but typically opposes the Israeli government, is fundraising over what it calls a “nightmare scenario” of partnership between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump.

In a fundraising email Sunday, Adina Vogel Ayalon, J Street’s vice president, lamented the result of the U.S. election and urges President Joe Biden to act against Israel, as a lame duck.

Ayalon wrote:
In Israel, we’re bracing for an unrestrained Netanyahu who’ll soon have full White House backing for his pro-war, anti-democratic, annexationist agenda. We’re deeply concerned that he and his far-right partners will take this as a green light to inflict yet further devastation on civilians in Gaza, resume their assault on Israel’s democracy, abandon hostage negotiations, and move forward with annexation in the West Bank and settlements in Gaza.

It’s a nightmare scenario.

With Congress returning to Washington on Tuesday and the White House transition underway, I want to share more details of our plans – because the work starts now.

Most urgently, J Street has assembled a raft of actions President Biden can take now to improve humanitarian aid access, reinforce American and international legal safeguards, restrain far-right extremists, and help return hostages to their families and end the war.

President Biden is a Commander in Chief with real international influence, and he’s got a powerful window of opportunity to impact the situation on the ground for the better. He must use it.

At its website, J Street urges the Biden-Harris administration to do the following in its final days in office:

1. Rally strong, enduring international pressure for a deal that frees Israeli hostages and ends the war in Gaza;
2. End Israel’s restrictions on aid to civilians in Gaza, especially the near total obstruction of aid to north Gaza, so that US law is upheld;
3. Impose sanctions against extremist Israeli leaders and entities for supporting settler violence;
4. Sponsor a balanced UN Security Council resolution outlining a path toward peace and drawing a red line against annexation;
5. Give a major address reflecting on your decades of experience, outlining the choice ahead for Israelis, Palestinians and the region between perpetual war and comprehensive regional peace and security.
Ex-IDF Soldier Becomes First Republican in 50 Years to Win New York State Assembly Seat in Long Island District
A former officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) became the first Republican to win a state assembly seat in northern Hempstead, Long Island in more than 50 years.

Daniel Norber narrowly defeated two-term Democratic incumbent Gina Silitti to capture the 16th District of the New York State Assembly. The district encompasses most of Nassau County, an area which maintains a significant Jewish population.

Norber’s victory came amid a huge surge in support for Republican candidates across the country. US President-elect Donald Trump won the 16th District by over 2,000 votes, assisting Norber, a dual US-Israeli citizen, secure victory in his history-making down-ballot race.

The ex-IDF officer’s win also came in the midst of increasing antisemitism across the country. In the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Jewish families in Nassau County have reported being targeted with hate crimes.

In September, a Jewish family in Nassau County alleged that a suspect urinated on their front door and yelled antisemitic slurs. Months earlier in April, county officials denounced antisemitic graffiti which covered the faces of hostages taken captive by Hamas during the Oct. 7 onslaught. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is Jewish, has also accused Civil Service Employees Association Local 830, an 8,000-member local union, of antisemitism for distributing flyers depicting him with devil horns.

Silitti, Norber’s opponent, found herself in hot water with the local Jewish community after one of her staffers bashed Israel on social media.

“She wasn’t sensitive to what was going on. I felt she was out of touch,” Norber, 45, told the New York Post.


‘A crisis of antisemitism’: Australian Jewish Association receives death threats
Australian Jewish Association President David Adler claims Australia has a “crisis of antisemitism” after the organisation received death threats, warning them to not attend Labor’s misinformation legislation meeting.

“It’s not an isolated example, we have received many threats as have many people in the Jewish community,” Mr Adler told Sky News host Peta Credlin.

“We have a crisis of antisemitism in this country and unfortunately, our government and law enforcement authorities are not yet dealing with it properly.”




Actress Susan Sarandon claims blacklisted over pro-Palestinian rally, antisemitism
Actress Susan Sarandon claims she was blacklisted from Hollywood because of her antisemitic statements in an interview with the Sunday Times.

In November, Sarandon joined a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City, where she stated that “a lot of people were afraid of being Jewish at this time and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.”

In the interview, she stated that she had intended to express concern over antisemitic attacks and made “a terrible mistake” in the way she phrased it by implying that “until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution when the opposite is true”.

Since October 7, American Jews have experienced a historic “explosion of anti-Jewish hate,” according to findings by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack.

The ADL survey found that there have been more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the US since October 7, which is the highest number ever recorded in the history of the league.

Sarandon said in the interview that after her statements from the rally were publicized the fallout was immediate, “I was dropped by my agency, my projects were pulled,” she says. “I’ve been used as an example of what not to do if you want to continue to work.”




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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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