Monday, February 17, 2025

02/17 Links Pt1: 500 Days of War; A Watershed Moment in American Jewish History; Hamas expected to return bodies of several hostages; Hamas leaders hoarded stolen aid

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: A Watershed Moment in American Jewish History
Jon Ossoff is Georgia’s first Jewish senator. And the Jews of the Peach State are doing something remarkable: refusing to be taken for granted.

Though this drama is playing out behind the scenes, it represents a watershed in American Jewish politics.

The New York Times has obtained a letter sent privately in December to Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, urging him to run for Senate against Ossoff. The twist: The signatories of the letter included prominent Jewish Democrats.

“I took great pride to see a young Jewish man find the successes that he has,” Isaac Frank, one of the signatories, told the Times. “I just feel like he’s somewhat disconnected from where our community is, given post-Oct. 7.”

The letter to Kemp, as quoted by the Times, says: “As a bipartisan group of leaders in the metropolitan Atlanta Jewish community, we humbly ask you to consider running for the United States Senate in 2026… Should you decide to run in the 2026 election, you would find no better friends, more loyal allies or stronger supporters than us and our community.”

The signatories, especially the Jewish Democrats among them, have done their community a great act of service by insisting that being Jewish does not chain one to either party, that a vote has to be earned, and that a last name alone does not amount to true representation.

What’s their beef with Ossoff? The senator’s vote to withhold U.S. weapons transfers to Israel seems to have been the trigger. This was made worse by watching Ossoff preen on the Senate floor in an eight-minute rekindling of ugly Hamas propaganda in support of withholding those weapons.

Ossoff started off with an ahistorical—but popular—comparison to when President Reagan’s relationship with Prime Minister Menachem Begin was strained by the 1982 war in Lebanon. Contra Ossoff, the moral of that story, when viewed in context, was that Reagan’s anger was based on false reporting and Begin corrected the record with the president. Reagan’s open-minded response to Begin’s insistence that he was being fed a false picture of the conflict contrasts with the Biden administration’s refusal to correct its own misinterpretation of the reality on the ground. Ossoff, too, falls into this category: Unlike Reagan, Ossoff believes the worst conspiracy theories pushed by Hamas and its supporters about the Jewish state and closes his ears to Israel’s counterarguments.

Ossoff spends the first couple minutes of his speech attacking straw men, lazily swatting away nonexistent arguments rather than engaging the actual criticism of his words and actions, both of which were based on false information.

But eventually Ossoff lets loose on the Jewish state. He accuses Israel of “policies that are gratuitously brutal.” Then he jumps into the child-killer blood libel with both feet: “The American people are rightly horrified by the lack of sufficient concern for innocent Palestinian life, that has left so many children unnecessarily dead in Gaza, without limbs or riddled with shrapnel.”

He returned again to the child-killer narrative: “We are talking about precious, innocent children and other innocent civilians who might otherwise be alive or without grievous wounds today.”

He called Israel’s war conduct “horrific” and then, with a false mawkishness unworthy of the United States Senate, implored Israel to “have mercy for the innocent.”

Ossoff’s speech was in November, and it was an agonizingly grotesque spectacle. It was delivered amidst a shocking rise in anti-Semitism, displaying Ossoff’s penchant for rumormongering at a time of genuine danger for American Jews.
How America’s Jews Became America’s ‘New Blacks’
Raise the specter of anti-Semitic racism and you are immediately challenged by those who want to highlight Islamophobia or racism against Arabs. The two are simply not comparable. The response in America to the radical Islamists’ attacks of 9/11 was a culture-wide defense of Islam and the rights of Muslims, and great care was taken to ensure they were protected from mobs.

Nearly a quarter century later, those early efforts have become institutionalized and tenured. Unlike Jews today, Arabs and Muslims are not being systematically excluded from cultural events or academic panels, nor are Muslims prevented from entering schools or workplaces by violent protesters taking advantage of their First Amendment protections.

Muslim student groups have not been picketed like the myriad Hillel chapters on campuses across the nation—including, in late November, at Columbia, where protesters demanded Hillel be shut down. And unlike the calls to divest from Israeli companies, there have been few, if any, student-led divestment demands against Arab or Islamic financial and cultural institutions, despite the billions donated over the past decade by Gulf States to universities—and despite the clear role that wealthy nations like Qatar have played in harboring terrorists.

Indeed, the post–October 7 period has seen a strengthening of cultural and institutional support for Muslim and Arab causes just as such support has eroded for Jews. Last February’s “uncommitted” campaign during Michigan’s Democratic primary, for instance, not only resulted in more than 100,000 voters withholding their ballots for President Biden; it placed Arab and Muslim grievances at the center of the entire presidential race in ways that far exceeded Muslim population numbers. No, racism against so-called Semites (the category was invented by 18th-century German racialist thinkers to include Jews as well as Muslims, since Hebrew and Arabic are both considered “Semitic” languages) isn’t about Muslims and Arabs. It’s all about Jews and Israel.

And, of course, Zionism.

Anti-Semites love to explain away their bigotry due to a justified animosity—an animosity not toward Judaism, but toward Israel. If anything, they believe, it is Zionism that is racist—as codified by the UN’s odious General Assembly Resolution 3379 of 1975, which “Determines that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.”

Resolution 3379 will mark its 50th anniversary this November, a milestone (despite its revocation in 1991) bound to be exploited by the enemies of Israel to maximum effect—arriving, as it will, so close to the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre. By then—two years into America’s anti-Semitic deluge—both the consequences of anti-Semitic racism and Zionism’s role in its contours will be even more fully defined.

As I think about the ways in which American Jews have become the focus of the nation’s new racist tide, I can’t help thinking about my own sons, who via unexpected twists of genetics are far lighter-skinned than myself. They’re unlikely ever to experience the type of racism I’ve known my entire life—including from Jews. Nor might they face the risk of violent (if not deadly) police encounters that have led most African-American families to have “the talk” with their children about how to comport themselves around law enforcement.

Perhaps because my mother is white—or maybe because I was just preternaturally obedient as a teen—we never had that conversation in my home, and I’ve managed to reach far into adulthood without ever tussling with the cops. Still, I am certain I will sit down soon with my boys for our own type of “talk.” That talk will not be about how to handle themselves around police officers. Rather it will center on how to emerge unscathed from the equally dangerous encounters that many American Jews will now inevitably endure as they face anti-Semitic racists.

I’m certain I will be among many Jewish parents having such talks with their kids—the first generation of American whites who will begin to understand much of what it feels like to be black. The first generation of American Jews to have unexpectedly become America’s new blacks.
At Yad Vashem, Rubio says antisemitism is embedded in ‘international organizations’
In remarks during his visit to Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the “ancient poison” of antisemitism “hides behind geopolitics and embeds itself in international organizations, and in the curriculums of our colleges and universities.”

The accusation is one of the most far-reaching lobbed by a Trump official to date.

“We stand here today reminded why it can never be ignored, why it always starts with what some believe as the wild ideas of a random person with no power and no influence; but left unchecked and unchallenged, it can turn into the tragedy that is commemorated here in this building today,” Rubio says.


Marking 500 days, hostage families press gov’t for swift release of all 73
Members of the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages, which represents relatives who oppose concessions to Hamas, urged the Israeli government on Monday to leverage U.S. President Donald Trump’s support to get all 73 remaining captives out of Gaza by March 1, when the first phase of the ceasefire is due to expire.

Speaking at a press conference outside the Knesset marking 500 days since Hamas kidnapped their loved ones during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, Tikva co-founder Tzvika Mor opened by addressing Cabinet ministers who were set to convene to discuss the next stage of the Gaza truce.

“Today, you will talk about our loved ones who remain there,” Mor said. “We told you for 500 days that this way, you will not succeed in bringing everyone back, because talking to Hamas is a waste of time. You decided to negotiate, you decided to go for an agreement: Bring everyone back together.”

Ditza Or—the mother of captive Avinatan, who is not slated to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire—said, “Leverage Trump’s ultimatum. By the end of the 42nd day of the deal [March 1], everyone should be here. If you insist on withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor [on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt], agree to it only after the last of the hostages is home.”

Boaz Miran, who after months of waiting recently received confirmation that his brother Omri was alive and in relatively stable condition as of July, noted, “We at the Tikva Forum have argued throughout this period that all the hostages should be returned together, after Hamas is defeated.

“President Trump has been saying the same thing, and has given the prime minister the option to give Hamas an ultimatum,” Miran said. “I expect the prime minister to continue this stage to its completion, but to present Hamas with an ultimatum between day 42 and day 50, to notify Hamas: Return everyone or we will use all the capabilities and means available to the State of Israel to bring all the hostages back at the same time.”

The Jewish state’s negotiators in Egypt and Qatar are currently focused only on the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza truce.
Hamas expected to return bodies of several hostages on Thursday
Jerusalem is preparing to receive the bodies of four or five hostages on Thursday who were murdered in captivity in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported on Monday.

The ceasefire deal with the Palestinian terrorist group stipulates that the bodies of four hostages will be returned to the Jewish state on the 33rd day of the ceasefire, which went into effect Jan. 19, an Israeli official told Walla news.

According to Kan News, Hamas is scheduled to hand over the names of the slain captives on Thursday morning. Israeli military ambulances will collect the bodies at a meeting point, from where they will be brought to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for identification.

Officials involved in the preparations stressed that the hostages’ families will only be informed after the identification process is completed.

Meanwhile, Ynet reported on Monday night that Israel is demanding the freedom of six living hostages during the seventh release scheduled for Saturday. According to the deal, Hamas is required to release three captives.

In exchange for releasing the additional hostages, the Israeli government has signaled its willingness to allow the entry of hundreds of additional caravans into the Strip, the report claimed.
IDF PodCast: Special Episode: 500 Days of War
For 500 days, Israel has been fighting a war on multiple fronts. In this special episode of Mission Brief, we spoke with soldiers from Lotar, the IDF’s elite counterterrorism unit, who have been on the front lines since October 7.

Lotar has played a crucial role in eliminating threats and protecting civilians.

Hear firsthand accounts of their most intense operations, the challenges they’ve faced and what it takes to be part of one of the IDF’s most elite units.
McGurk, who led talks under Biden, says Hamas reason they failed
As Jerusalem prepares to discuss Phase 2 of the ceasefire with Hamas, Brett McGurk, who led ceasefire negotiations for the Biden White House, offered rare insight into Israel-Hamas dealmaking, blaming the terrorist group for the failure of talks during the previous administration, in a Feb. 14 Washington Post op-ed.

McGurk, who served as deputy assistant to the president and White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, bolstered Israel’s claim that Hamas’s intransigence was the reason a deal couldn’t be reached.

Since the start of the war, families of hostages, and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the group that represents most of them (for four months led by an anti-Netanyahu media strategist), blamed the prime minister and his government for the failure of talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to face criticism on the issue. Most recently, a senior Israeli security official told Ynet on Sunday that Netanyahu is torpedoing negotiations for Phase 2 of the deal.

And on Saturday, Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Setter, who resigned from the negotiating team in October, told Channel 12 that Israel hadn’t done everything it could to bring the hostages home, and had missed two windows of opportunity, one in March and the other in July 2024.

However, McGurk wrote on Friday that throughout the ceasefire negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, “Hamas consistently held back on a commitment to release hostages and aimed to ensure it remained in power after the war ends.”

With the backing of Iran and others, Hamas retreated to its tunnel system to continue to wage war against Israel following its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, he said.

His comments support those of former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told The New York Times on July 4 that Hamas had refused to agree to release the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.


Family, friends fear for fate of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi: ‘He saved our lives’
When Hamas terrorists stormed the farm he was working on in Kibbutz Alumim, Nepali agriculture student Bipin Joshi risked his life to save his friends, who fear for his fate after 500 days he has been in captivity in Gaza.

Unlike some others seized during the October 7, 2023 attack — when thousands of terrorists killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 in southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza — there has been no information about the 24-year-old since that day.

“He knew nothing about this war, and it’s been 16 months that he is captive,” said Himanchal Kattel, a close friend who has Joshi to thank for surviving the attack.

“People should talk more about him,” said Kattel, also a Nepali agriculture student who was working with Joshi at the farm in Alumim, near the Gaza border.

Few in Israel remember Joshi’s name or recognize the face of one of the five foreign hostages still held in Gaza since the 2023 attack — just two of whom, including Joshi, are thought to be alive.

In Nepal, his father Mahananda Joshi told AFP the family was extremely worried, waiting “for any news — anything — about him.”

“So many others have been released but our son remains captive,” said the father.


Seth Frantzman: The PA may want to run Gaza, but it would face numerous obstacles
The Palestinian Authority is capable of managing and rebuilding Gaza, according to Fatah spokesperson Maher al-Namoura. spoke with Al-Hadath in a post that the Arabic media channel put on social media. He made his remarks in a recent discussion with Al Hadath, a Saudi interactive news channel.

This reflects the PA’s policy since 2007 – when it was illegally pushed out of Gaza in 2007 by Hamas – that it should govern Gaza. Fatah is the largest faction within the PA. These days, such comments matter a bit more because there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel and Hamas are also supposed to be entering discussions about the second phase of the hostage deal and ceasefire.

The first phase ends in another two weeks. Israeli leaders have not spoken much about the second phase.

Namoura’s appearance on Al Hadath followed several recent comments he made to media outlets. Fatah welcomes the position of Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab countries against displacing Palestinians from Gaza, he said. He was also quoted as dismissing US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the US could take control of Gaza.

Namoura was briefly detained by Israeli security forces in Dura on February 1, according to Al-Quds, a Palestinian newspaper based in east Jerusalem. His comments about Gaza should be seen within this context.

It is clear that Gaza is in play these days, especially since there are so many comments about its future. While Trump has said Gazans could be resettled elsewhere, he has also called for other countries to pay for rebuilding Gaza, which he considers to be a demolition site because of the damage from the war.

Meanwhile, Hamas has refused to disarm. Hamas official Osama Hamdan made that clear recently. There could be some flexibility in terms of creating a technocratic government in which Hamas continues to pull the strings behind the curtain and feels it has won the war, but it also finds a way to include a veneer of rule by some others.
FDD: ‘Neither Hamas Nor the Palestinian Authority’: Netanyahu Rejects Reports of Gaza Power Transfer
Latest Developments
Netanyahu Rejects Post-War PA Governance in Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on February 17 that “the day after the war in Gaza, neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority will be there.” Netanyahu’s statements came following unconfirmed Arabic media reports that the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist organization had agreed to a conditional transfer of power in Gaza to the PA following pressure from Egypt.

Trump’s Plan Embraced: Netanyahu said that he is “committed” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “plan to create a different Gaza,” — a reference to Trump’s proposal that would allow Palestinians to voluntarily relocate to other nations while Gaza is rebuilt under United States oversight. Egypt has reportedly crafted an alternative plan to present to the United States later this month that aims to rebuild Gaza within three to five years without displacing Palestinian civilians.

Next Phase of Hostage Deal in Negotiations: Israel will send a delegation to Egypt on February 17 for talks on phase 2 of the current ceasefire and hostage deal. The contingent traveling to Cairo will be led by Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the Coordinator for Hostages and the Missing, and another official known as “M.,” from Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet.

FDD Expert Response
“Suppose the United States and Israel identify a suitable candidate to replace Hamas in governing the Gaza Strip. In that case, all parties must recognize that Hamas and other terrorist factions will pose significant obstacles to implementing these plans. Achieving success will require Hamas and its allies to willingly relinquish power, which seems unlikely unless they are forcefully removed. Given Hamas’ track record of prioritizing its rule over civilian lives and its willingness to endure substantial losses to maintain control, it is improbable that the group will abandon its position without another round of significant fighting.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“The PA can barely maintain control in the West Bank, where Iran-backed terrorists have dug in, and violence has skyrocketed. West Bank terrorists not only continue to perpetrate lethal attacks against Israelis but also present a credible threat to Mahmoud Abbas’s leadership. The idea that the aged, ailing, and deeply unpopular Abbas could govern Gaza and prevent a Hamas resurgence in the enclave is far-fetched to say the least.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Networks


Katz forms new body to assist Gaza Palestinians to 'voluntarily emigrate'
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday formed a new body within the ministry that will seek to coordinate and assist Palestinians who wish to voluntarily leave Gaza for third-party countries.

Since US President Donald Trump recently announced his desire to rebuild Gaza into a resort strip after its Gazan population left for other countries, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz have tried to give support to the plan.

Until Trump's recent announcement, Netanyahu had been discussing the involvement of Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and others in managing the Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian population would remain there.

However, Egypt and Jordan, the two main countries Trump hoped would take on Gaza's Palestinian population, have angrily rejected Trump's idea, with all official Palestinian spokespeople rejecting the idea as well.

Israel will help facilitate leaving
However, should some Gazan Palestinians want to leave, and most commentators do believe some small minority will wish to leave, according to Katz, Israel and the IDF will help facilitate their leaving via a mix of land, air, and sea transport options.
Israeli majority rejects Palestinian Authority taking over Gaza, survey
Sixty percent of Israelis, including 56% of Arab Israelis, oppose integrating the Palestinian Authority into a future arrangement in Gaza, according to a recent survey by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA).

The poll was conducted among a representative sample of more than 700 Jewish and Arab Israelis aged 18-65. Some 62% of the respondents, including 68% of Jews and 25% of Arabs, said they were concerned about an attack originating from the West Bank similar to the October 7 massacre.

The survey was carried out by Dr. Menachem Lazar’s Lazar Research Institute. It reflected a shift in public opinion regarding a potential Palestinian state.

Following the October 7 massacre, 67% of Israelis, including 75% of Jews, opposed establishing a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines, according to the survey. Forty-two percent of Arabs supported the establishment of a Palestinian state without conditions, which was a 10% increase from a previous survey.

“The Israeli public is very clear about what it expects from Israel’s leadership when considering ‘the day after’ the war in Gaza,” the report said.

The prospect of normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia has not swayed Israeli opinion, the survey indicated. Opposition to a Palestinian state remained more than 60% even when normalization with Riyadh was offered as an incentive, the report said.

The possibility of Hamas retaining any control in Gaza, whether as a civil or military body, was overwhelmingly rejected by the respondents. The survey found that 82% of Israelis, including 90% of Jews and 33% of Arabs, opposed Hamas remaining in any civilian capacity.

Regarding the notion of Hamas maintaining military power, 94% of Jewish respondents and 46% of Arab respondents opposed the idea.


Hamas leaders hoarded stolen aid, leaked recordings show
Newly uncovered Hamas radio communications from the Swords of Iron war, aired by Israel’s Channel 12 News on Sunday, reveal internal tensions within the terrorist organization, particularly over the distribution of humanitarian aid.

The recordings feature operatives accusing the leadership of hoarding stolen supplies for themselves. One operative even threatens, “Tell the leadership in Khan Yunis—we’ll tear you apart.”

Humanitarian aid became a focal point in the November 2023 ceasefire deal. Hamas had agreed to release hostages in exchange for increased aid entering Gaza, and after the deal, 250 trucks of humanitarian supplies entered the Strip daily. However, these recordings reveal that much of this aid, intended for the civilian population, ended up with Hamas leadership.

Jerusalem’s concerns about the aid focused on how it bolstered Hamas’s strength. Israeli officials argued that it primarily benefited the terrorist organization, enabling it to continue its operations.

Israeli officials shared the recordings with their counterparts in the Biden administration, attempting—unsuccessfully—to push back against White House pressure to continue allowing the daily entry of 250 aid trucks into Gaza after the November 2023 truce collapsed.

A security source quoted in the report stated, “The Americans helped us a lot at the start of the war, but at some point, they tied one of our hands. Not only did the flow of humanitarian aid not feed Gaza’s civilians—it helped Hamas recover, and in that sense, we helped them get back on their feet.”


UK funding to UNRWA under review after ‘concerning’ claims by Emily Damari
The UK is to review its funding to UNRWA following claims made by freed hostage Emily Damari that she was held by Hamas terrorists at sites belonging to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees .

Downing Street confirmed that funding to the Palestinian relief agency would be amongst those commitments reviewed against UK taxpayer priorities.

A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said the government would be looking closely at the findings of an UNRWA investigation into “concerning” claims made by Damari that Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, were misusing their facilities.

In a phone call with Starmer last month, Damari alleged that while being held at an Unrwa facility, her captors only provided her with an out-of-date bottle of iodine to treat gunshot wounds in her leg and her left hand, on which she lost two fingers.

Keir Starmer meets UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini.

On Monday, asked about the government’s forthcoming spending review across all departments, a No.10 spokesperson confirmed UNRWA funding was under review as part of the “principle that all government spending should be assessed against taxpayer priorities.”

Asked about moves by the US and Italian governments who have stopped their funding to UNRWA, Downing Street said it was “right” that UNRWA investigates “the concerning allegations in relation to Emily Damari.”

The spokesperson added:”We will obviously be looking at the outcome of that.”
State Department 'Diversity' Fellows Launched an Internal 'Resistance' Against Israel—and Blinken's Staff Offered Them a Meeting, Emails Show
As the Biden administration grappled with internal unrest over its November 2023 decision to continue arming Israel, a group of State Department "diversity" fellows took the unusual step of authoring their own private "dissent memo" to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, informing him of how they were "actively engaging in resistance" to the policy.

Blinken's staff, internal emails obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show, acknowledged that the disgruntled foreign service fellows did not have standing to submit a formal dissent cable but nonetheless elevated the letter through the State Department’s ranks, eliciting promises to grant the fellows a "sit down" so they could air their grievances, according to the emails.

The full-court blitz to pressure the Biden White House into publicly breaking with Israel is generating renewed scrutiny into the fellowship programs as the Trump administration works to root out so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the federal government. A senior State Department official told the Free Beacon the agency "is reviewing these and other fellowship programs to ensure they are consistent with the president's EOs and the secretary's American First foreign policy agenda."

The fellowship programs in question are the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program and the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Program. A group of foreign service officers hired under those programs authored the previously unreported Nov. 14 memo, obtained through a Center to Advance Security in America public records request.

Both fellowships court university students for a two-year stint in America’s diplomatic corps. The Blinken-led State Department advertised them as part of an effort to "genuinely enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the federal workforce." The programs, according to a November 2022 edition of the agency's in-house magazine, "have increased the number of Foreign Service generalists from underrepresented groups by 33% and the number of women by 6%."

The programs also sparked an internal "resistance" against the State Department's marginal support for Israel under President Joe Biden, according to the internal emails.
Israeli MK Asks Elon Musk to Expose Misuse of U.S. Funds Against Israeli Government
Israeli Knesset member Yitzchak Kroizer, from the Otzma Yehudit party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, sent an letter this week to the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who now heads the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), requesting the exposure of funds previously allocated by past US administrations for activities against the Israeli government.

In his letter, the Knesset Member writes to Musk, “It is well known in both Israel and the United States that previous administrations used American taxpayer money to improperly influence Israeli affairs. The 2015 incident involving the organizations OneVoice and V15, which received funding from the Obama administration while attempting to act against the Netanyahu government, left a lasting negative impression.”

MK Kroizer further stated, “Just this month, Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) revealed that USAID funds were transferred to a rapper in Gaza, who used American taxpayer money to create anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli content…. It is evident that American funds were misallocated in Israel, across the Middle East, and indeed, around the globe.”

In the letter, the Knesset member requested access to available information regarding subsidies and grants given to non-governmental organizations, media entities, and private journalists operating in Israel. “The misuse of foreign aid in Israel, particularly in ways that harm national interests and the democratic process, is an issue of utmost importance.”


920 civilians murdered in terror attacks since October 7, National Insurance Institute reveals
Since the October 7 attack 500 days ago, 920 civilians have been murdered in terrorist attacks, the National Insurance Institute announced on Monday.

The most recent victims were Kobi Avitan, a contractor employee operating for the IDF who was mistakenly killed by IDF troops in Gaza, and Shlomo Mansour, who was revealed to have been murdered in the October 7 massacre and whose body is being held hostage by Hamas.
Violation of peace deal? Israel's US envoy warns Egypt is 'reinforcing Sinai bases'
Egypt has built military bases in Sinai "that can only be used for offensive operations, for offensive weapons," Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, highlighted on Sunday.

Leiter called it a "clear violation of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel - after some 45 years."

He also noted that the Israeli government will present Cairo's military buildup in Sinai "very soon."

Leiter first said this in a meeting with American Jewish organizations on January 28, however the recording of this was just shared online by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in America on Friday, according to the Jewish News Syndicate.

Ten days ago, Egypt released a video showing its army's military capabilities, which includes hundreds of tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and navy vessels.

Last May, retired Lt. Col. Eli Dekel, who has been researching Egypt for 60 years, claimed that Egypt had increased its armored forces by hundreds of tanks.

"I did not find an explanation in the media for why Egypt increased its armored forces by 700 tanks. They call it a cold peace, but that's not what this is," he told Maariv.

The ambassador pointed out the violations in the Sinai Peninsula are "a subject that is bound to come up because it is unacceptable."

He added that the issue has been pushed aside for a long time: "We will put this issue on the table very soon, and in a decisive manner."


IDF confirms it will remain in five Lebanon outposts after deadline
Israel Defense Forces soldiers will remain deployed at five outposts in Southern Lebanon beyond the Feb. 18 deadline set out in the truce deal with Beirut, the army’s Northern Command confirmed on Monday.

Israel’s decision to keep boots on the ground in Lebanon was made in conjunction with the Trump administration. The company-size posts, located within several hundred meters of the border, will be manned by hundreds of IDF soldiers until the political echelon decides otherwise.

The five outposts are located at a hill near Labbouneh, opposite the Israeli border town of Shlomi; on the Jabal Blat peak, opposite Moshav Zar’it; on a hill opposite Moshav Avivim and Kibbutz Malkia; on a hill opposite Moshav Margaliot; and on a hill opposite the town of Metula.

The IDF is taking into account that Hezbollah terrorists may attempt to damage the outposts—which are all located outside of built-up areas—and is preparing for expected provocations against troops.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned Israel on Sunday that if it does not withdraw its forces by Tuesday, “we will know how to deal with it.

“Israel must fully withdraw on February 18, it has no excuse,” the top terrorist leader said in a televised speech cited by the France 24 outlet.

In addition to its continued presence in Lebanon, the IDF is working to build forward operating outposts near every border town. Construction of the outposts has already started and many have already been built.

If the relative calm on the border with Lebanon is preserved, residents of evacuated communities in northern Israel will be able to return to their homes on the planned date of March 1, the IDF statement said.

The truce with Lebanon, which took effect on Nov. 27, mandated an IDF redeployment within 60 days. However, the U.S.-monitored agreement is expected to continue until Feb. 18, the White House said on Jan. 26.
Israel eliminates top Hamas commander in Lebanon
The Israeli Air Force on Monday eliminated the head of Hamas’s Operations Department in Lebanon near Sidon, according to a joint Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) statement.

“Muhammad Shaheen was eliminated after recently planning terror attacks, directed and funded by Iran, from Lebanese territory against the citizens of the State of Israel,” according to the statement.

Shaheen “was a significant source of knowledge within the terrorist organization and was responsible throughout the war for various terror attacks, and rocket launchers aimed at Israeli civilians,” it continued.

According to Israel’s Ynet outlet, which cited government sources, Shahin was planning to attack Jewish targets outside of Israel.

Shahin’s identity was confirmed via DNA testing, a Lebanese security source told Al Jazeera.

The strike comes a day before the Feb. 18 deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanon under the terms of the November ceasefire that ended over a year of war between the Jewish state and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization.


IDF confirms multiple drone intrusions from Lebanon in recent weeks
Three incidences of Hezbollah reconnaissance drones crossing into Israel in recent weeks were not disclosed to the public, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed to Army Radio on Monday.

According to the report, five surveillance drones were launched toward Israel from Lebanon, four of which managed to penetrate its airspace.

However, only one UAV infiltration was publicly reported.

According to the IDF, the other incidents were only confirmed to be real “following an intelligence probe, and after about a week had passed.”

“The IDF reported every incident when it was detected in real-time to the public. The [security] systems identified dozens of incidents that turned out to be false,” the military statement to Army Radio continued.

It was not immediately clear why the IDF did not report on the three successful drone infiltrations after the conclusion of the intelligence investigation, as it often does when senior terrorists are killed.


Commentary PodCast: Gallant: Not a Goofus
Dan Senor joins the podcast today to discuss his remarkable conversation with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on his Call Me Back podcast and its eye-opening detail about the war that erupted on October 7, 2023. Then we talk about the Justice Department, the "constitutional crisis" that isn't, and the controversy in Europe that is.


Did Bibi just drop the ball on Trump’s ultimatum?! | Jerusalem Minute
Prime Minister Benjamin #Netanyahu has come under fire from both sides of #Israel’s political spectrum for not following through on President #Trump’s ultimatum. Trump threatened Hamas last week with “hell to pay” if they didn’t free all the hostages by Saturday, February 15th at 12PM. The deadline passed with only three Israeli hostages freed. Join JNS CEO Alex Traiman and JNS correspondent Josh Hasten for analysis of what could be the reasoning behind Netanyahu’s decision. They’ll also be discussing the latest chaos in Lebanon; King Abdullah’s White House meeting; Marco Rubio’s Israel visit; reactions to Trump’s Gaza plan throughout the Arab world; and much more!


Speaking uncomfortable truths and standing against the grain | interview w/Mort Klein | TALX
National president of the #Zionist Organization of America Mort Klein is no stranger to speaking uncomfortable truths. When other American #Jewish organizations supported #Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Klein and the ZOA stood alone and opposed the move. Today, he continues to be at the forefront of advocating for the Jewish state and for the interests of Jews in America. Tune in to today’s conversation hosted by JNS CEO Alex Traiman for an in-depth conversation about how the ZOA is still leading the way in Zionist advocacy and ensuring that the relationship between America and Israel remains ironclad.


Campus Antisemitism Unmasked | Harvard Lawsuit Shakes Academia
In this fast talking episode of Israel State of the Nation, former Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy sits down with fearless student activist Shabbos Kestenbaum to expose the deep-rooted campus antisemitism and systemic discrimination undermining elite institutions like Harvard. Through hard-hitting insights and firsthand accounts, they dissect a controversial lawsuit alleging violations of the Civil Rights Act and challenge the narrative that has allowed hate to flourish on college campuses.

In This Episode:
🔹 Campus Antisemitism Exposed: Uncover shocking incidents of discrimination and bias faced by Jewish students.
🔹 Harvard Under Scrutiny: Dive into the details of a landmark lawsuit and explore systemic issues at one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
🔹 Bold Activism in Action: Learn how Levy and Kestenbaum are demanding accountability from academic elites and political leaders to safeguard Jewish civil rights.

00:00 Coming Up
00:15 Opening Monologue
03:00 Welcome
04:10 The Lawsuit Against Harvard
14:50 Campaigning for Donald Trump
19:15 Pervasive Radicalization
26:17 Israel as a Bipartisan Issue
30:52 Shabbos’s Approach to Fighting Antisemitism
41:00 The Failure of the Democratic Party
50:18 Outro






Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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

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