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Monday, January 06, 2025

01/06 Links Pt1: Hamas hostage list includes Bibas children; Biden, Obama, and the Truth About ‘Daylight’; Three killed in terror shooting near Kedumim; When Michael Moore Met Pallywood

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Biden, Obama, and the Truth About ‘Daylight’
In July 2009, Obama met with American Jewish leaders at the White House. He offered some revisionist history of the George W. Bush administration’s work in the Middle East:
“Look at the past eight years. During those eight years, there was no space between us and Israel, and what did we get from that? When there is no daylight, Israel just sits on the sidelines, and that erodes our credibility with the Arab states.”

The absurdity of this statement made it an instant news story at the time. During the Bush administration, and with the Bush administration’s encouragement, Israel quite famously ended its occupation of Gaza in its entirety, and—this part might not have happened without the Bush administration’s involvement—disengaged from parts of the West Bank, too. In concert with the Bush administration, Israel gave the Palestinians their largest onetime grant of sovereignty in the history of the conflict.

In other words, Bush was both unambiguously supportive of Israel and successful at achieving breakthroughs in the conflict that benefited the Palestinians. Obama, meanwhile, went on to have the least success of any president in the Middle East since JFK. That was no coincidence.

What Bush understood was that only a policy of “no daylight” could have brought about the full extent of Ariel Sharon’s disengagement—specifically, the part including the West Bank. What Obama didn’t understand was that his own subsequent policy of daylight paralyzed the conflict, because Israel did make concessions but the Palestinians dug in their heels, preventing those concessions from turning into progress.

The truth is that it’s not difficult to get Israel to make concessions, but only under certain conditions is it even possible to move the Arab side of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Donald Trump came into office and reversed Obama’s daylight policy, and by the end of his term Israel and Arab states had signed historic recognition deals.

Whether there is daylight or no daylight, Israel will make moves for peace—because it wants peace. But only when there is no daylight will the Arab world make reciprocal moves.

This was Blinken’s point. Every time there was daylight between the U.S. and Israel, Hamas backed off from agreeing to a cease-fire and releasing hostages.

Putting daylight between the U.S. and Israel is satisfying to anti-Israel media activists. But it does nothing for the Palestinians, nothing for peace, and nothing for America.
The Postmodern Military
I have tried to highlight what I believe are the main milestones in the West’s and Israel’s military decline, about which much more can, and should be, said. Ben-Gurion’s critical and cautious approach to national security, particularly its military aspects, is long gone—along with conventional war doctrines and a strong operational army.

It might be argued that Israel is winning against Hamas and Hizballah, and thing aren’t so bad as I claim. After all, since October 7, the IDF has waged wars against both terror organizations as well as their masters in Tehran, and appears successful.

I do not share this view. Yes, Israel has, over the last months, achieved much, and the IDF had many tactical successes. Yet the appearance of overall, strategic success is misleading for three primary reasons.

First, on Mida, the website I founded in 2012, Akiva Bigman—a researcher, investigative journalist, and Ph.D. student in military affairs—has compiled the most thorough operational and doctrinal report to date on the IDF’s ongoing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon. The findings are devastating: lack of preparation, poor planning, severe shortages even in basic fighting equipment, dysfunctional battle processes, failures in command, operational incompetence, and lack of a comprehensive strategy have plagued the war from its outset. The IDF’s successes are mostly not due to operational competence but rather to the fighting spirit of the Israeli soldiers on the ground and the massive asymmetry between the IDF and its sub-military opponents, Hamas and Hizballah.

Second, let us examine the situation strategically. Fifteen months into the war, 30 percent of the Gaza Strip—a small territory of merely 140 square miles—has never been entered by the IDF. An additional 40 percent remains free of an IDF presence, because Israeli forces continue a cycle of raiding and withdrawing. Although its military capabilities have been diminished and part of its leadership eliminated, Hamas still retains control over most of Gaza and over its entire population. This situation is not dissimilar to Lebanon, where tactical successes ultimately resulted, under American pressure, in a ceasefire agreement that ensured Hizballah’s survival and subsequent rehabilitation.

Third, when we do what the Israeli security establishment hates to do—factor costs into the equation—we must conclude that, relative to the national investment in the war, it has been incredibly inefficient, especially when one considers that war with these two terror organizations was precisely what the IDF was supposed to prepare for with its $20 billion annual budget. Yet, instead of building a war machine capable of quickly deciding the conflict, Israel has had to allocate massive additional funds—which result in a massive, long-term national debt—and fifteen months later, the situation remains unresolved.

In short, the tactical victories—expected in asymmetrical wars—have not amounted to a strategic achievement. This is a case of underperformance on an alarming scale, with huge costs not only in treasure but in blood. With such massive inputs and limited outputs, the IDF of the 1950s to the 1980s would hang its head in shame. The lack of strategic thinking and competence in operational art led, as is often the case, to attritional raids. While these raids may be tactically impressive, they fail to deliver a lasting strategic impact.

This is why Israel must return to a classical military mindset. The next war might not be as asymmetrical as the conflicts against Hamas and Hizballah. Such a war would require a fundamentally different army and a restored operational art—not the weakened IDF and degenerated command currently in place. And if another asymmetrical war arises, that reformed army would still be capable of fighting it. The reverse, unfortunately, is not true.

Israel must urgently rebuild its security forces. Since an army is only as good as its command, the first priority must be reforming the intellectual military education of our officer corps. Our generals should be educated in military affairs, so they are not swayed by every new fantasy imported from the complacent West. Additionally, we must implement sweeping changes to the personnel, structure, and processes of the security establishment—from the IDF to the ministry of defense—to make it more efficient and war-ready.

Even if one estimates that the chances of war are low, its potential impact is existential, making the risk very high. Moreover, there is always a significant possibility that such optimistic estimations are incorrect. Lastly, nothing deters enemies more effectively than preparedness for war. These fundamental truths have been forgotten in Israel. The rising generation has performed brilliantly on the field of battle, but as they rise to responsibility for planning for future wars, they must bear the onus of reclaiming these principles and use them as the foundation for a comprehensive overhaul of our security establishment.
Officer, lawmaker, now author: MK Tur-Paz publishes his war diary
Yesh Atid MK Moshe “Kinley” Tur-Paz was a typical opposition lawmaker for most of 2023. A backbencher who does not favor stunts and shouting matches, he perhaps stood out most for his kippah and residence in Kfar Etzion, a West Bank settlement, despite representing a party that, by reputation and voting statistics, generally represents secular residents of central Israel.

Yet, like so many other Israelis, Tur-Paz took on new responsibilities in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks and ensuing war with Hamas, becoming, as the title of his book suggests, An MK on the Night Shift. During the day, Tur-Paz was chief of operations for the IDF’s Gaza Division. His book, released in September, is subtitled “A War Diary,” and tells the story of the 85 days he spent on IDF reserve duty in Gaza.

Though Tur-Paz was born in the U.S., MK on the Night Shift is only available in Hebrew.

Tur-Paz, 52, was born in Philadelphia, where his parents, British immigrants to Israel, were serving as Jewish Agency emissaries. He spent years of his childhood in the U.K., where his parents served once again as emissaries. His uncle was Yehuda Avner, the renowned diplomat and advisor to four Israeli prime ministers.

Tur-Paz has a resume made up of elite liberal-leaning Religious Zionist educational institutions: He studied at a high school established by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, and then Har Etzion Yeshiva, known informally as the “Gush.” He led Ne’emanei Torah Va’Avodah, a leading liberal Religious Zionist organization, was principal of the religious feminist high school Pelech in Jerusalem and was CEO of the Religious Kibbutz Movement’s chain of schools before entering electoral politics.

Throughout that time, he made his way up the IDF ranks as a reservist, going from a battalion commander in the Paratroopers Brigade to a lieutenant colonel, and chief of operations for the IDF’s Gaza Division during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge. His reserve duty, and that of other lawmakers, ended in July 2022 when the military no longer allowed Knesset members from serving in its ranks.

On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Tur-Paz was home with his children in Kfar Etzion, a religious kibbutz and settlement south of Jerusalem, when he received an emergency notice from the town’s security officer for residents keep their phones on and that anyone with a weapon should take it to synagogue. He attended that day’s Simchat Torah services, which were disrupted by a rocket siren, sending his family and their neighbors into bomb shelters.

That evening, Tur-Paz’s son, a career IDF officer, called him and said he thought the army needed someone with his experience in Gaza.


Three killed in terror shooting near Kedumim
Three people were killed and eight wounded in a shooting on Monday morning next to the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, located close to Kedumim in northern Samaria, according to the Magen David Adom emergency medical service.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that terrorists had opened fire at a civilian bus and vehicles on Route 55.

MDA paramedics pronounced the deaths of two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s. The scene of a shooting attack near Kedumim in northern Samaria on Jan. 6, 2025. Credit: MDA.

The female victims were later named as sisters-in-law Rachel Cohen, 73, and Aliza Rice, 70, from Kedumim. They were driving together when the Palestinian terrorists opened fire.

Police later identified the male victim as Master Sgt. Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, 35, a father of two, who served as an investigator at the Ariel police station.

A 63-year-old man, the driver of the bus, was listed by MDA as being in serious condition. Among the bus passengers, seven were injured. This included two women, aged around 60 and 70, who were listed in moderate condition. The remaining passengers suffered minor injuries.

They were evacuated to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba and Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.


Families’ anguish as Hamas releases list of 34 hostages to be potentially released
The Israeli government has not received any confirmation that Hamas is willing to release as part of a ceasefire deal 34 hostages whose names were on a list published by media outlets on Monday, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

“The list of hostages that has been published in the media was not provided to Israel by Hamas but was originally given by Israel to the mediators in July 2024,” the PMO said.

“As yet, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment by Hamas regarding the status of the hostages appearing on the list. Israel will continue to act relentlessly for the return of all of our hostages,” added the statement.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported earlier Monday that Hamas was refusing or unable to confirm whether the designated captives are alive.

Saudi daily al-Sharq had previously published what it claimed are the names on the list. An anonymous Hamas official told the outlet that it would take about a week to determine the condition of each captive, a process the terrorist group is reportedly insisting it will undertake only after a ceasefire is in effect.

The list’s publication had caused distress among the hostages’ families, according to Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“The families of the hostages are shaken and upset by the list published this morning,” the forum said. “We call on the media and the public to show sensitivity and responsibility regarding the publication of this and other such things until a deal is signed, and also during it,” the statement continued.

“The time is ripe for a comprehensive agreement that will return all the hostages – the living for healing, and the murdered and fallen for a proper burial. We are leaving no one behind!”

Mossad chief David Barnea was scheduled to arrive in Doha on Monday for continued ceasefire negotiations, foreign sources involved in the talks told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster on Sunday night.

US Special Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk and other top American officials were expected to join as well, according to Ynet.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned senior ministers for an “urgent security discussion,” according to Hebrew media reports.


Hamas hostage list reportedly includes Bibas children
The BBC reported this morning (Monday) that the list of 34 hostages confirmed by Hamas includes ten women, 11 adults aged 50-85, and the children of the Bibas family.

The murderous terrorist organization did not specify which of the 34 hostages included in the list are still alive and which are dead.

An Israeli source confirmed last night that despite the denial by the Prime Minister's Office, Hamas did indeed pass on a list of hostages - but did not say which of them are alive. Overnight, Netanyahu held consultations regarding the hostage deal, during which the departure of the Mossad head to Qatar to advance the deal was discussed.

A senior Hamas source said last night that the terrorist organization had approved a list of 34 hostages that was passed on to Israel. The Prime Minister's Office denied the report. "Contrary to what was claimed, Hamas has yet to provide a list of hostages."

Following the latest report, the Prime Minister's Office stated, "The list of hostages that has been published in the media was not provided to Israel by Hamas but was originally given by Israel to the mediators in July 2024. As yet, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment by Hamas regarding the status of the hostages appearing on the list. Israel will continue to act relentlessly for the return of all of our hostages."

The Bibas family, including parents Yarden and Shiri and their children Ariel and Kfir, were among the 250 people who were abducted to Gaza during the October 7 massacre and held hostage by the terrorists. Ariel was just four years old when he was kidnapped. Kfir, the youngest hostage, was just nine months old. Both children have had a birthday in captivity and Kfir will soon have his second birthday in captivity if he is not released soon. Kfir has already spent the majority of his life as a hostage if he is still alive.
‘Hamas list’ is Israel’s original 40-name July list of hostages for release, minus 4 murdered in tunnel, elderly man killed in captivity, 1 rescued
The list of 34 hostages Hamas sent to a Saudi outlet was merely the list of 40 hostages Israel submitted in July for release in the first phase of a hostage deal, minus five hostages since killed in Gaza and one who was rescued. The Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel it does not specify which of the 34 are alive, and indeed includes no information on the status of the 34.

The July 27 list included Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued in August.

It also included four of the hostages murdered in late August – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi. Ori Danino and Alex Lobanov were killed alongside the four others, but were not on the July list of “humanitarian” hostages because they were “healthy” young men. Hamas deems all Israeli men of military age to be soldiers.

Also on the list was Avraham Munder, kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. On August 20, 2024, the kibbutz announced he had been killed while in captivity in Gaza and his body had been brought back from the Strip by the IDF.

“They haven’t said who is alive and who is not. They haven’t sent any list,” says the PMO official. “So, as far as we stand, there isn’t any progress.”
Trump reiterates: 'If the hostages aren't released by the time I take office, there will be hell'
President-elect Donald Trump, when asked about his warning that "there will be hell if the hostages aren't released by his inauguration," responded, "That is exactly what I meant. If the hostages are not released by the time I take office, there will be hell—no ‘don’t,’ there will be hell. They need to be released now."

The President-elect made the statements on the Hugh Hewitt Podcast on Monday.

Trump added, "I am Israel’s best friend. I moved the embassy to Jerusalem—everything was good, including the Abraham Accords, and every major positive event in Israel recently was because of me. I must also note that I support peace—now is the time."

Trump's "don't" comment appears to be a jab at US President Joe Biden, who warned other actors in the region who were thinking of attacking Israel shortly after October 7. "To anyone thinking of taking advantage of the situation, I have one word: 'Don't,'" Biden said from Israel on October 10, 2023.

Trump initially made his "hell to pay' comment in a post on Truth Social on December 2, 2024. He made the statement after the IDF's confirmation that Hamas killed American-Israeli Omer Neutra on October 7 and has held his body hostage since.

"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," Trump wrote in December.


UKLFI: Kinocide: The Weaponization of Families with Dr Cochav Elkayam-Levy and Natasha Hausdorff
This is a recording of a UKLFI Charitable Trust webinar on Sunday 5 January 2025.

WARNING: This webinar discussed acts of violence, by necessity employing detailed and graphic language at times. This content may be emotionally challenging for some viewers, particularly survivors of violent crimes and atrocities.

Dr Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Founder and Chair of the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, spoke about the report she co-authored, which addresses the systematic targeting of families during conflicts.

By coining the term kinocide, the report sheds light on the deliberate exploitation and destruction of familial bonds to amplify victims' suffering. It highlights the profound and enduring impact on individuals, communities, and societies and calls for international recognition of kinocide as a distinct international crime against humanity by the international legal system.

The full report can be accessed here.


Outgoing PM Trudeau lost confidence of much of Canada’s Jewish community
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will step down from his post and from his party leadership amid plummeting poll numbers and dissent from his own deputies, he announced Monday, a decision that comes as his country’s Jewish leaders have harshly criticized him for perceived failures to support Israel and stand against antisemitism.

Trudeau said he will stay on as a caretaker prime minister until his party selects a new leader. Canadian Parliament will be put on a temporary hold until March to give Trudeau’s Liberal Party time to do so via a grassroots vote shortly before then.

Canada’s next elections must be held sometime before October, and a resurgent Conservative Party has made a play for Canadian Jewish support through outspoken support for Israel and opposition to antisemitism.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process,” Trudeau said during his press conference outside his residence in Ottawa. “This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I am having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”

Trudeau took office in late 2015 and has sought to implement a broad liberal agenda, winning reelection twice. But his approval ratings have cratered in recent months amid concerns about inflation and immigration, with the vast majority of Canadians favoring his resignation.

The recent resignation of his deputy prime minister amid a lack of confidence in his leadership triggered a cascade of unrest within his Liberal party.

That includes indications of declining support among Canada’s approximately 335,000 Jews, who like Jews in other Western diaspora communities have faced a documented rise in antisemitism in the year-plus since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, which killed over 1,200, resulting in the kidnapping of 251 hostages and sparked the war in Gaza.

Multiple synagogues and Jewish day schools in the Toronto and Montreal areas have been targeted by gunfire, rock-throwing and fire-bombing since the attacks. Bomb threats were also sent to major Canadian Jewish groups after the attacks. Canadian universities, cultural centers and groups, like Stateside ones, have also faced upheaval over Israel.

Representatives for B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, two large Canadian Jewish groups, did not immediately return requests for comment on Trudeau’s resignation and do not appear to have commented publicly as of late morning Monday. But both groups have expressed frustration with how Trudeau and his party have approached Israel and antisemitism.
Canada’s Left has an antisemitism problem
Then she wrote her book. It names names. It paints a picture of an NDP government that was rife with indifference or outright hostility to Jews after October 7, immediately calling for statements of solidarity with the Palestinians, glossing over the murder, rape, and abduction of thousands of Israelis and foreign nationals on that bloody day.

If this were a one-off thing, we might decry how Robinson was treated, condemn her cancelation, and move on. As she notes in her book, however, this visceral hatred for Israel and all things Zionist, has become the hallmark, the norm on Canada’s social and political Left. The New Democratic Party, has abandoned its balanced approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, at both the provincial and federal levels, in favor of a radical pro-Palestinian position.

Additionally, with virtually every Canadian election, we see NDP candidates called out and sometimes turfed for their past antisemitic comments. This is not only a problem with the NDP, however. The centrist Liberal party, currently in power in Ottawa, has turned from Canada’s traditional fair brokerage roll to joining the bandwagon of criticism directed at Israel internationally.

Not a traditional case of blood libel
Still, as Robinson notes, this isn’t just a case of traditional blood libel antisemitism.

This is antisemitism wrapped up in the ideological vitriol of anti-colonialist and anti-Western hatred in which every global ill is laid at the feet of those who are white or, in the case of the Jews (and even east Asians), “white adjacent.”

The problem for Israel is that it has historically been cast as the useful scapegoat, ripe for attack. Today, the Canadian Left has happily bought into this mixture of ancient hatred and modern ideology. What happened to Selina Robinson is a sad testament to this fact, but her book is a remarkable and often uplifting effort to shine some light into Canada’s deepening darkness.
Islamic group's upcoming conference urging return of Muslim caliphate and Shariah law brings call for adding it to terror list
A controversial Canadian Islamic group is resurrecting its annual conference calling for the return of an Islamic caliphate and imposition of Shariah law that was abruptly cancelled last year after its sister organization was declared a terrorist entity in Britain.

Both the conference and the organization hosting it — at a secret location on Jan. 18 — are causing alarm over militancy, antisemitism and views on terrorism, bringing calls for the gathering to be cancelled and the group to be listed as a terrorist organization.

Hizb ut Tahrir Canada, the Canadian branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Islamic revolutionary organization, is distributing free tickets to its Khilafah Conference 2025. Khilafah is the Arabic word for caliphate, referring to a Muslim region governed under Islamic religious law.

A promotional video for the conference says “colonialist powers” fear the international Muslim community turning to political and military action. The video fondly evokes old battles of Muslim armies fighting European powers.

The group is seen as starkly antisemitic, hawkish on eradicating Israel, rejecting international cooperation and intervention, and approving of elements of Islamic militant jihadi action.

Organizers of the conference did not respond to requests for comment on the conference and concerns about its content prior to deadline. The Hizb ut-Tahrir central world media office in Beirut did not respond to a request for comment. The central office lists media contacts in 29 countries, but none for Canada.

Last year’s Hizb ut Tahrir Canada’s Khilafah conference was abruptly cancelled by organizers after Britain’s proscription order against Hizb ut-Tahrir under the Terrorism Act. (Canada’s branch does not use a hyphen in its name and has not been designated a terrorist organization in Canada.)

In making the 2024 declaration, U.K. Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organization that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks.”

Some Jewish groups in Canada say the same can be said in Canada.
How TDSB embraced 'anti-Palestinian racism' policies — and sparked debate about antisemitism
The Toronto District School Board controversially embraced “anti-Palestinian racism” policies in 2024, a move that Jewish activists say puts the country’s largest school board on a collision course with its own antisemitism policy — and offers a case study of a broader, divisive discussion unfolding across Canada.

At a time when tensions are growing in Canada over the Gaza war, and against a backdrop of record-breaking antisemitism in Toronto public schools, it has sparked a debate about the degree to which advocating for Palestinians crosses into hate speech and justifies violence against Israel, or the extent to which support for Israel and accusations of antisemitism are targeting Palestinians.

“Jewish children are being victimized in our schools at unprecedented rates, and the TDSB response has been to actively work towards the exclusion of Jewish identity in schools,” TDSB parent Aaron Kucharczuk told National Post. Kucharczuk is part of a growing coalition of community groups worried about the TDSB’s support for a term they say advocates removing guardrails protecting Jewish students.

The most popular definition of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) — created by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA) in 2022 — defines the term as “a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes or dehumanizes Palestinians.” Examples of such discrimination include failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an indigenous group to the region and “defaming” activists with accusations of antisemitism or being “a terrorist threat/sympathizer.”

The neighbouring Peel District School Board has used the ACLA’s precise definition, as have the Thames Valley District School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, according to documents shared with the Post.

While the debate is one over politics in the Middle East and one of domestic and school board politics, it’s also a conflict of definitions.

Drafters of APR and its leading advocates explicitly oppose the district’s existing definition of antisemitism, created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and adopted by the board in 2018. That definition includes Holocaust inversion (comparing Jews or Israelis to Nazis), accusing Jews of dual loyalty or parroting traditional antisemitic tropes about control of media, government or finance.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), a leading proponent of anti-Palestinian racism policies, denounced the IHRA definition of antisemitism as “one of the most significant mechanisms of APR today” in December 2023.

The ACLA and its leadership have also repeatedly taken aim at the antisemitism definition. In March 2022, the organization’s founder, Dania Majid, headlined a panel titled “Resisting IHRA.” One month later, in its landmark report defining the term, the ACLA accused IHRA of conflating “criticisms of Israel as antisemitic” and said “false charges of antisemitism both prioritizes Jewish suffering in the discussion and debases Palestinian narratives.” Two months later, Majid spoke on another panel, “How the IHRA Harm Us,” arguing it constitutes “weaponized antisemitism.”

Majid told listeners during the June 2022 panel that APR “is not the Palestinian version of IHRA, you know, we’re not looking for this to be weaponized like IHRA,” arguing that the intent of the antisemitism definition “is to silence us and to shield Israel from criticism.”

Deborah Lyons, the Liberal government’s Special Envoy Combatting Antisemitism, said that attempts to dismantle IHRA at a time of skyrocketing antisemitism are deeply alarming, given the exceptional level of harassment Jews have experienced since the October 7 attacks.


DECLASSIFIED: The IDF's Commando Raid Deep in Syria | Jerusalem Minute
The Israel Defense Forces has declassified one of its most daring and dangerous operations deep inside Syrian territory. The Israeli Air Force's elite Shaldag unit destroyed an arms manufacturing site that would have played a major role in arming the Hezbollah terror groiup through Iran.

JNS CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief Alex Traiman and Middle East correspondent Josh Hasten have all the details and discuss what the operation means in terms of the IDF's capabilities.

This and other major stories, including President-elect Trump issues another ultimatum on the hostages; sirens sound in Jerusalem due to another Houthi missile; and President Joe Biden is planning a surprise vote at the United Nations while approving an 8 billion arms sale to Israel.


IDF: Two soldiers killed, two seriously injured during fighting in northern Gaza today
Two IDF soldiers were killed and two others were seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.

One of the slain soldiers is named as Cpt. Eitan Israel Shiknazi, 24, a deputy company commander in the Nahal Brigade’s 932nd Battalion, from Eli.

The name of the second slain soldier will be released later, the military says.

The IDF adds that two other soldiers of the 932nd Battalion were seriously wounded in the same incident in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun.
Hochstein: IDF begins withdrawal from south Lebanon town
Israeli forces began withdrawing from the south Lebanon border town of Naqura, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein told reporters during a visit to Beirut on Monday.

“The Israeli military started its withdrawal from Naqura … and back into Israel proper today, south of the Blue Line,” Hochstein said, according to AFP, referring to the U.N.-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel.

“These withdrawals will continue until all Israeli forces are out of Lebanon completely, and as the Lebanese army continues to deploy into the south and all the way to the Blue Line,” he said.

Since March 23, 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has based its headquarters in Naqura.

The Israeli withdrawal takes place midway into a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The ceasefire was signed on Nov. 26 and took effect the following day, ending nearly 14 months of hostilities.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Sunday that if the Iranian-backed terrorist organization refuses to withdraw from Southern Lebanon in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement with the Lebanese government, the deal will be void.

“[T]he first condition for the implementation of the agreement is the complete withdrawal of the Hezbollah terror organization beyond the Litani River, the dismantling of all weapons, and the [removal] of the terror infrastructure in the area by the Lebanese army, something that hasn’t happened yet,” Katz said.

According to the agreement, over 60 days, Israeli forces would gradually withdraw from Southern Lebanon, where they have been operating since early October. They reached as far as north as the Litani River for the first time since 2000.

As the IDF withdraws, Lebanese army forces are to enter these areas and ensure that Hezbollah retreats north of the Litani, located some 18 miles north of the border with Israel.

Israel has carried out several strikes in southern Lebanon since the deal was signed to counter Hezbollah violations of the agreement.
Hamas’s remaining rocket capability: A strategic assessment
Fifteen months into its war with the Jewish state, Hamas is demonstrating continued capability to threaten Israeli territory, maintaining an almost daily pattern of rocket launches over the past 10 days despite significant degradation of its infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

In the latest incident, on Saturday afternoon Israeli radar systems detected a rocket launch from northern Gaza that landed in the Erez region. This followed Friday’s dual launches—one impacting near Kibbutz Nir Am and another in an unpopulated area.

A separate significant development occurred on Friday, when Hamas attempted to target an Israeli helicopter with a man-portable air-defense system. The helicopter emerged unscathed, while the projectile—assessed to be headed toward the Be’eri region—was intercepted by Israel air defense systems.

Security analysts attribute Hamas’s persistent launch capability to several strategic factors. Israeli defense assessments indicate the organization retains a limited stockpile, ranging from dozens to several hundred rockets. With smuggling routes restricted primarily to the Philadelphi Corridor and Rafah crossing, each launch significantly depletes the terror group’s already diminished arsenal.

Defense officials have consistently maintained that completely eliminating Hamas’s rocket capability is an unrealistic objective.

The timing and intensity of recent launches potentially reflect multiple strategic considerations. Intelligence assessments suggest Hamas may be accelerating deployments to prevent stockpile seizures by advancing Israeli forces. Additionally, the increased activity could represent psychological pressure tactics ahead of potential hostage negotiations, exemplified by the terrorist organization’s recent release of footage showing captured IDF soldier Liri Albag.

A more concerning analysis suggests the possibility of operational recovery in areas where IDF presence has diminished. Despite severe disruption to Hamas’s command and control infrastructure, the absence of alternative governance structures may be enabling the terror organization to reconstitute certain capabilities.
Some 40% of Hamas tunnels’ still remain in Gaza, expert says
Israel continued to pound Gaza over the weekend, as Palestinians reported tens of people killed in the ongoing war between the Hamas terrorist organization and the Jewish state.

The Israel Defense Forces announced it had carried out airstrikes against over 100 targets, including Hamas terrorists and rocket launching sites.

For over a year, Israel has staged a massive military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Its stated goals are to remove Hamas as a governing power in the territory and release all the hostages.

In what appears to be an intensification of the fighting and amid the war, Hamas and Israel are engaged in indirect talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire and releasing at least some of the 100 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas since the beginning of the war.

Thousands of Israelis rallied on Saturday evening to protest the government and pressure it to reach a deal with Hamas.

Several weeks ago, there was initial optimism that a deal was imminent. Now, the talks mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar seem to be at yet another impasse.

Israel’s continued military presence in the Gaza Strip and the refusal by the current government to withdraw from the territory, a pre-condition by Hamas for any deal, has so far blocked a cease-fire from being reached.

The army is not only present in Gaza, but it also continues to fight at varying levels of intensity. On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued evacuation warnings for areas in the center of the Gaza Strip ahead of an operation there. The IDF also continued to operate in the north of the territory.

“The area consists of structures overlooking Israeli territory and serves as a central terror hub containing anti-tank firing positions, booby traps, shafts, numerous explosives, and launch sites for targeting Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement.

In addition, the army continues to control the Philadephi and Netzarim corridors in southern and central Gaza, respectively, aimed at blocking Hamas from being able to re-arm and re-position itself.

Adopting a policy of incursions rather than operating in the whole of Gaza continuously, the IDF has found itself often re-entering areas it has already operated in several times.


Israel at War: The Jewish People's Podcast - A New Attempt at Public Diplomacy
In this episode, we sit down with Jewish Insider senior political correspondent Lahav Harkov to discuss Israel’s foreign minister's plan to spend $150 million on hasbara (public diplomacy). Harkov breaks down the strategy, its potential impacts, and the broader international messaging challenges Israel faces.




‘F*** the Jews’: Antisemitic graffiti found in Sydney suburb
New South Wales Police have launched an investigation into an antisemitic slogan found spray-painted on a car in the Queens Park neighborhood of eastern Sydney on Monday.

The offensive phrase, “F*** the Jews,” was scrawled in large black letters on the side of a white car.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denounced the act.

Speaking at a press conference, Albanese emphasized that antisemitism has no place in Australia. “Antisemitism is a scourge, and any incident targeting individuals because of who they are goes against the Australian values I hold dear and that Australians cherish,” he stated.

While Queens Park is known for its significant Jewish community, the car’s owner, Stuart Veron, is not Jewish. Veron described the vandalism as “madness” and “disgusting,” calling the perpetrator a “rat” and noting he felt “unlucky” his car had been targeted, according to ABC News. “My neighbors—they’d be disgusted. There’s no place for this in this community or anywhere in Australia,” he said.

David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, expressed sorrow and outrage over the incident. “It is unacceptable that Jewish Australians, and Australians of all backgrounds, must once again confront such hateful messages in their neighborhoods,” he said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has confirmed that additional police have been deployed to address a worrying increase in antisemitic incidents. According to SBS News, he stated that high-visibility patrols and community engagement efforts are being stepped up to ensure safety.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the torching of a synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, and suggested that the antisemitic act was inextricably linked to the Labor government in Canberra’s “extreme anti-Israelism.”


Sydney rocked by yet another ‘shocking’ antisemitic attack
Sky News host Caroline Marcus discusses “yet another shocking” attack on the Jewish community.

A car in a heavily Jewish populated suburb in Sydney’s east was graffitied with an antisemitic slur.

“The mask about these protests being motivated by anger at Israel slips even further, revealing this simmering Jew hatred underneath,” Ms Marcus said.




'My Grandfather Min. Farrakhan': Black Lives Matter Hires Louis Farrakhan Devotee for Senior Role
A devotee of anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan secured a senior role at Black Lives Matter Grassroots to lead "special projects" for the group as it prepares to resist President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.

Black Lives Matter Grassroots announced in a New Year's message to its supporters on Thursday that it hired Yonasda Lonewolf, a rapper and activist with close ties to Farrakhan, as a "special projects specialist" to help the group as it works to "claim victory over the white-supremacist systems designed to kill our people." Black Lives Matter Grassroots said in the message it would enter 2025 with "the revolutionary spirit of our Haitian forebears" and featured an image of Haitian revolutionaries in the early 1800s lynching French military officers.

Lonewolf doesn’t shy from her devotion to Farrakhan, who has praised Adolf Hitler as a "very great man" and casts Jews as "termites" and "enemies" who control black people. She professed her love for Farrakhan in a 2016 Facebook post and later, in a 2020 Instagram post, described the minister as "my grandfather Min. Farrakhan who also eased my spirit." In 2023, Lonewolf attended Farrakhan’s annual keynote address, where she told the ministry’s propaganda website that she felt "rejuvenated" by his message.

"We are all under attack right now, and it’s the fight against good and evil, at the end of the day," Lonewolf told the Final Call, the Nation of Islam's official publication. "The fact that we still have a great leader amongst us is a testament that he’s standing, that we need to be able to continue." Other Farrakhan devotees interviewed in that article praised the Nation of Islam leader's stand against "the Satanic Jews" and "the Jewish powers that be."

Black Lives Matter Grassroots is an offshoot of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the charity that raked in $80 million during the George Floyd riots in 2020. Black Lives Matter Grassroots broke away from the Global Network Foundation in 2022 after the latter faced intense blowback over using its windfall to purchase ritzy mansions and enrich the friends and family of its founder, Patrisse Cullors.
ICE puts detainer on Jordanian man accused of fake bomb threat
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency that is part of the Department of Homeland Security, told JNS over the weekend that it put an immigration detainer on the 28-year-old Jordanian man Ahmad Jamal Khamees Alhendi, who is accused of lying to South Carolina Highway Patrol and telling it that there was a bomb in his truck.

Alhendi “legally entered the United States on Sep. 20, 2018, in St Paul, Minn., but failed to comply with the terms of his legal admittance,” Lindsay Williams, a deputy ICE press secretary told JNS. “He has a hearing scheduled for Aug. 6. 2026 before an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.”

Williams told JNS that ICE officers “encountered Alhendi after he was arrested on Jan. 2 by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and charged with breach of peace: high/aggravated nature, conveying false information about a bomb threat and operating an unregistered vehicle.”

ICE places immigration detainers on noncitizens, whom state or local officers arrested for criminal activity. A detainer is a request that law enforcement give ICE as much notice as possible before the accused is released from custody, including holding the person for up to 48 hours after the person would be released so that ICE can assume custody.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety stated that Alhendi, of Oak Lawn, Ill., was stopped in a tractor-trailer at about 2:45 p.m. on Interstate 85 in Greenville County “due to a missing license plate on the trailer.”

During the stop, Alhendi “indicated that there was an explosive device inside the commercial vehicle. All six lanes of I-85 were subsequently shut down as the threat was investigated by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, SLED and the FBI,” the department stated. “The tractor-trailer was cleared and all lanes of I-85 were reopened at approximately 7:40 p.m. on Thurs., Jan. 2.”
Daniel Greenfield: When Michael Moore Met Pallywood
Michael Moore makes fake documentaries. At least he used to back when he could get people interested in his made-up documentaries meant to push some trendy lefty narrative. After hitting his high box office and low moral mark with Fahrenheit 9/11, it was all downhill for both him and his backer: Harvey Weinstein.

After lots of failed comebacks, Moore finally found his perfect partner with Pallywood.

Pallywood is the only export industry in the ‘Palestinian’ occupied parts of Israel. Its export is faking photos and videos and distributing them abroad while claiming that they show atrocities. Sometimes the pictures are actually from Syria. Sometimes the ‘actors’ pretending to be mourning their dead kids start laughing in the middle. So professionalism is still Pallywood’s big barrier to total acceptance. And maybe Moore can help.

Both Moore and Pallywood are known for faking and staging scenes and calling the results “documentaries”. Scene after scene in Moore’s movies like Bowling for Columbine never actually happened.

Much like the Gaza genocide

From ‘Ground Zero: Stories from Gaza’ unites Moore and Pallywood. Moore gets to take one more shot at defiling the memory of 9/11 and this time exploiting it to help Muslim terrorists. What could be more perfect?


'It drives the antisemites crazy': French content creator erases pro-Hamas graffiti
Claudine (pseudonym), a content creator from France, has discovered a powerful and innovative approach to expressing her views in public spaces: under cover of darkness, she transforms pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian graffiti into messages supporting hostage return and French values of liberty. "I'm fighting for our freedom," she declares, "public spaces belong to everyone, not to extremists."

Growing up in the southern suburbs of Paris, Claudine was immersed in a multicultural environment where Jews, Muslims, Christians, and secular individuals coexisted against a predominantly leftist political backdrop. Born to a Jewish father who escaped Tunisia in 1960 and a non-Jewish French mother, she was raised with strong principles of liberty and equality, though she identifies as a "secular French Jew."

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, she made a pivotal decision to revisit her graffiti roots with a new mission. "I began with massive graffiti declaring 'HAMAS RAPE' and 'FUCK HAMAS,'" she reveals. Since then, her nighttime missions involve locating anti-Israel graffiti such as "Free Gaza" and "Death to Israel," which she transforms into messages advocating for hostage return, accompanied by French flags.

Her activism has created ripples within the French hip-hop community where she belongs, which she estimates is 90% pro-Palestinian. "They despise me for utilizing tools they considered their exclusive domain," she notes, "but that doesn't faze me. I avoid confrontation, violence, or arguments – I simply take action."




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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

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