Monday, February 17, 2025

02/17 Links Pt2: A letter to my anti-Zionist Jewish friend; No, free speech did not cause the Holocaust; Antisemitic nurses video ‘tip of the iceberg’

From Ian:

A letter to my anti-Zionist Jewish friend
My sense is that you are struggling with something akin to white saviour complex and I am sorry. I am sorry because of the way you describe your blissful teenage years in a Zionist youth movement which now make you feel ashamed. That is so sad.

I do not feel torn or anguished with where I stand. I will stand with the only country that will keep me and family safe if the world turns against us. I will criticise what it does but I do not have a vote in Israel so moaning from the sidelines achieves little. We all want peace and security but I don’t believe you would accept living next door to neighbours who repeatedly commit to murdering your family if you give them the chance. You don’t mention the multiple offers of a Palestinian state turned down time and again. Instead, you blame Israel – victim blaming. There is a word for this too. It breaks my heart that so many educated liberals are leaving Israel and I only pray that they will return one day.

When you list the voices you have been influenced by, I understand how you have got to this point. Tareq Baconi – a man who clearly believes not that the time for two states is over, but “that it never should have existed in the first place because Israel is and always has been illegitimate”. Does he say any other countries should be dismantled? Not that I can see. Pankaj Mishra who says the Holocaust has been “perverted to enable mass murder” and give Israel impunity. I appreciate that you have been trying to educate yourself but take a step back and ask yourself whether you have been infected by their rhetoric.

You say you don’t want Israel to cease to exist. Your words suggest otherwise. To double down in your criticism of Israel at a time like this – well, it must be hard being you. I think this is what I find so obscene – the doubling down, now, after a massacre. If you want to be “that anti-Zionist Jew”, please understand why friends like us don’t want to be around you. We are exhausted just living right now, we don’t have the bandwidth to argue with our own. Your colleagues hide behind a thin veil of anti-Zionism. I just can’t quite believe that you have joined them.

Without doubt, if the world does turn on us, you will be queuing up with your family to get on that El Al flight. You’ll be OK with the women in hair wraps then.

Ending with a Golda Meir quote “we have no place else to go”.
Fear forces Berlin Jews to hide their identity in community paper
Growing security concerns have prompted the Jewish community in Berlin to implement a protective measure: publishing only the first letter of community members’ surnames, rather than their full family names, in birthday announcements in the community newspaper, Bild reported on Friday.

The community’s monthly journal, Jewish Berlin, traditionally includes a “Mazel tov” section for good wishes to those over age 65, as well as to print birth and children’s bar/bat mitzvah celebration announcements.

The publication recently added an explanatory note to the section: “Dear community members, in light of current anti-Israel and antisemitic incidents, we are now printing only birthday and bar/bat mitzvah names with abbreviated surnames as a precautionary security measure.”

Speaking with Bild, Ilan Kiesling, spokesman for the Jewish community in Berlin, explained that this decision was implemented shortly after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, stemming from heightened security concerns for community members.

Kiesling emphasized that this precautionary step aims to “minimize the potential for hostile actions against our community members,” citing specific concerns about Hamas supporter demonstrations in Berlin’s streets and the dramatic increase in antisemitic attacks following Oct. 7.
Does New Zealand's foreign policy betray Western values?
New Zealand’s role in international forums such as the United Nations offers a revealing window into this divide.

In 2016, New Zealand co-sponsored a UNSC resolution alongside Venezuela, Malaysia, and Senegal that denied Jewish indigeneity in Israel, and more recently, it abstained from voting on a resolution allowing condemnation of Hamas, for the first time ever. These actions, viewed by many as hostile to Israel, highlight a growing divergence between New Zealand’s foreign policy and that of its traditional Western allies.

In fact, New Zealand’s record on Israel at the UN mirrors the positions of more authoritarian regimes, like Iran, rather than Western democracies. It was only after October 7, 2023 – when Israel faced an unprecedented attack by Hamas – that New Zealand belatedly designated Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations, joining other members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

New Zealand’s refusal to establish an embassy in Israel, while maintaining one in Iran, speaks volumes about its foreign policy priorities.

Additionally, the country’s recent lobbying for a premature ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict raises questions about its commitment to Israel’s right to self-defense. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s recent statement that he would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an International Criminal Court warrant further signals a growing divergence between New Zealand and the US

New Zealand’s voting record on the disproportionate number of resolutions at the UN is more aligned with Iran than with the US, according to UN Watch.


Rubio defends Vance's Munich speech as CBS host suggests 'free speech' caused the Holocaust
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Vice President JD Vance's speech in Germany slamming Europe's penchant for censorship on Sunday.

Rubio clashed with CBS host Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" after she suggested that free speech had been "weaponized" to bring about the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.

Brennan highlighted Vance's speech to the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week, which criticized European allies for adopting a "soviet"-style approach to censorship.

"What did all of this accomplish, other than irritating our allies?" Brennan asked.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected claims from a CBS host that "free speech" caused the holocaust. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

"Why would our allies or anybody be irritated by free speech and by someone giving their opinion? We are, after all, democracies," Rubio said. "The Munich Security Conference is largely a conference of democracies in which one of the things that we cherish and value is the ability to speak freely and provide your opinions. And so, I think if anyone's angry about his words, they don't have to agree with him, but to be angry about it, I think actually makes his point."

"Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide," Brennan replied. "He met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that."

"Well, I have to disagree with you. No - I have, I have to disagree with you," Rubio said as the pair talked over one another. "Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal because they hated Jews and they hated minorities and they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews."

He added, "There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none. There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were the sole and only party that governed that country. So that's not an accurate reflection of history."


No, free speech did not cause the Holocaust
This actually turns history on its head. The truth is that, before their rise to power, Nazis and their ideas were regularly censored. Anti-Semitism and ‘insulting communities of faith’ were imprisonable offences in Weimar Germany. Leading Nazis, including Joseph Goebbels, Theodor Fritsch and Julius Streicher, were all prosecuted for falling foul of these laws. Streicher was imprisoned twice. Editors of the Nazi newspaper, Der Stürmer, were taken to court on at least 36 occasions. Overall, there were more than 200 prosecutions of anti-Semitic speech in the 15 years before Hitler came to power.

Far from tackling genocidal anti-Semitism, the state’s crackdowns actually helped it to flourish. It allowed leading Nazis to pose as martyrs, as silenced truth tellers. ‘Why is Hitler not allowed to speak?’, reads one Nazi propaganda poster. ‘Because he is ruthless in uncovering the rulers of the German economy, the international bank Jews and their lackeys, the democrats, Marxists, Jesuits and Freemasons!’ Each act of censorship could be spun into a propaganda victory.

Today’s reductio ad Hitleram appears all the more absurd when you consider what is actually being censored under the guise of tackling hate speech. In Germany, on the weekend that followed Vance’s speech, more than 50 homes were raided in a single day in relation to speechcrimes. Possible punishments include fines, imprisonment, and phones and laptops being confiscated.

The speech being criminalised can range from explicitly far-right and racist views to nothing more than an insult directed at a politician. When a city senator in Hamburg was caught breaking social-distancing rules during the Covid pandemic, an exasperated local resident tweeted, ‘You are such a penis’. Three months later, six police officers raided the Twitter user’s house to search for his electronic devices. One politician alone, German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck, has filed over 700 complaints to police over ‘hate speech’ he has supposedly received. In one instance, a pensioner was fined €7,800 for calling Habeck a ‘complete idiot’. To suggest this police work is vital to preventing the next Holocaust is risible.

If anything, the Nazi era ought to be treated as a warning of the dangers of censorship, not as a spur for more of it. During the Third Reich, opposition parties were banned, books were burned and dissenters were jailed or thrown into concentration camps. It is the crushing of free speech that allows totalitarian rulers to cling to power and cover up their crimes, not the exercise of free speech.

JD Vance was surely right to chastise Europe’s troubling turn against the precious liberty to say what you think. It is not the ‘weaponisation of free speech’, whatever that means, that should worry us, but the weaponisation of the Nazis’ crimes for distinctly illiberal ends. To blame free speech for the Holocaust is historically illiterate and morally reprehensible.
‘I don’t care about Palestine’: Jerry Seinfeld shuts down pro-Palestine activist
Jewish actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld has brutally responded to a pro-Palestine social media influencer, telling the activist “I don’t care about Palestine”.

Seinfeld made the blunt comment after he was ambushed with slogans while posing for a selfie in public.

A clip posted by the Instagram page Subway DJ showed the influencer approaching Seinfeld and asking for a selfie, which Seinfeld consents to.

But as the two posed together, the influencer held up a peace sign and said “Free Palestine”.

When Seinfeld did not respond, the activist, who reportedly requested the photo outside an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, prompted him to “maybe” say the same.

Seinfeld replied: “I don’t care about Palestine,” before walking away from the influencer.

Subway DJ has previously posted guerilla-style ambushes of Seinfeld in public places; in November, they filmed him on a New York City street as people approached him for autographs and, over a loudspeaker, chanted: “Jerry, Jerry, don’t support genocide... stop supporting Israel.”

Seinfeld, meanwhile, has been consistent in his Israel advocacy, frequently voicing support for the war against Hamas since October 7 and meeting with hostages’ family members in 2023.


Major investment firm removes red flags against Israeli banks for services provided over Green Line
The major, New York-based investment advisory firm MSCI, which reported more than $743 million in operating revenue in the final quarter of 2024, appears to have removed damaging assessments it assigned to four large Israeli banks based on their provision of services in Judea and Samaria.

Meanwhile, MSCI has flagged Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems for providing weapons to Israel in its war against Hamas.

JNS confirmed that MSCI, a producer of ESG (environmental, social and governance) ratings reports, removed the human-rights “controversies” it had tagged on Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot, publishing a “report update” on each bank earlier this month.

JNS previously reported that the four banks got “yellow” MSCI ratings—or “severe-to-moderate” levels of concern—in the categories of social and human-rights concerns, per public data on the firm’s site. A source with knowledge of the more comprehensive information that MSCI provides to clients told JNS in August 2024 that the advisory firm ranked all four Israeli banks with “severe” controversy scores for doing business in Judea and Samaria, citing anti-Israel sources to bolster its claims.

The “report update” issued this month removes those sources for all four banks. However, MSCI has not yet adjusted the ratings for any of the banks, leaving their previous scoring in place, with Bank Hapoalim holding an AA rating; Bank Leumi and Bank Mizrachi-Tefahot still assigned A ratings; and Israel Discount Bank holding a BBB rating.
Are hospitals abroad safe for Israelis after Australian antisemitism?
ONCE AGAIN, there is a sense of having crossed over into the dark side of history, when humans are willing to take the life of another person just for the sin of their heritage. Who they are, or what they’ve contributed to society, is of no consequence to the one who has the power of life and death over them.

For them, the only consideration is the family into which someone was born, condemning them to a swift removal from the rest of humanity.

While we may think that only radical Muslim employees are suspect in this type of insidious event, what is to stop any “woke” young person whose extreme viewpoints of Israelis or Jews are so toxic that they, too, are not above taking the life of an innocent person whose last name reveals their ethnicity?

Do we now have to be concerned about our safety as a result of the madness that has taken hold of an entire generation of young people who view terrorists as “freedom fighters,” or the disenfranchised whose violent acts should be tolerated as legitimate expressions?

It’s one thing to defend yourself while on the street. But it’s another thing to find yourself in the most vulnerable of all positions – sick, in need of medical assistance by those tasked with your care – and finding out that these are people who despise you enough to kill you. How can anyone confront such an evil?

What if you are visiting a country where such things are happening? How easy is it for healthcare workers to access a patient’s personal information? It’s not just a name that could jeopardize the care they are given, but also their home address, if they are from Israel.

For those reluctant to acknowledge the fast-spreading cancer of Jew-hatred, shocking revelations such as this hospital story are a reminder that there are some people whose extreme bias against Israel can and should be worrisome when it comes to the oath they take to serve the public.

If this can happen in a hospital, should we also worry about other mental health venues where the population is at the mercy of others? Just how far into insanity have we gone that we must constantly ponder the likelihood of a personal attack in a world that has abandoned the values of moral decency, tolerance, and the acceptance of others?

Why aren’t diversity and inclusion extended toward Jews, who represent the greatest of all diversity, comprising those who come from the Middle East, South America, the Baltic states, and even the Far East, to name a few?

Sadly, it seems that Jews are perceived, by some, as a one-size fits all white, oppressor category. Of course, nothing could be farther from the truth, but the ugliness of prejudice has no factual or educational basis. It is simply a feeling, based on one’s personal loathing and inability to judge an individual for who they are and what virtues they possess.

It’s an incurable sickness that cannot be treated. No medical prescription or treatment can cure the dark heart of hatred.

In the meantime, traveling Israelis should pray for a safe and healthy visit when planning their next trip. Israelis and Jews who live abroad should be more vigilant than ever when it comes to healthcare because what you don’t know could really hurt you.
Antisemitic nurses video ‘tip of the iceberg’ as Sharri Markson exposes toxic healthcare culture
The Bankstown nurses video shocked us all, but it turns out it’s simply the tip of the iceberg.

I can now further expose a toxic and racist culture in the Australian health sector with shocking cases of doctors praising Hamas and saying Zionists should be destroyed.

They are still registered health professionals holding down jobs.

Jewish doctors claim prejudice against Jews is systemic in the health system.

In fact, more than 260 Australian doctors wrote to Health Minister Mark Butler on 26th October 2023 to raise the issue, but nothing was done.

The letter to the federal Minister asked him to instruct AHPRA and the Australian Medical Council to investigate instances of antisemitism.

They described it as a systemic problem, writing: "It is entirely unacceptable for any medical professional to use their platform to spread discriminator or hateful remarks, especially in a divisive manner".

They attached a dossier with the worst offenders - and remember this was right after October 7.

They also asked for him to send a reminder to all medical professionals that hate speech violates the core principles of healthcare.

No action appears to have been taken.

So, the antisemitism has continued - and Jewish patients were left vulnerable.

In one of the most abhorrent examples, Dr Mohamed Ghilan, shared a post saying: "Live like Sinwar or die trying".


Muslim bodies, extremists close ranks around nurses at centre of antisemitic video
Prominent Muslim bodies and extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir have closed ranks around the nurses who were caught threatening to "kill" Israeli patients on video, claiming the media and politicians had shown "hypocrisy" in their response to the antisemitic clip.

Former Bankstown Hospital Nurses Ahmad "Rashad" Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh made the threats in a video later published by Israeli social media influencer Max Veifer, with the pair also claiming they would refuse to treat patients from Israel.

Both were subsequently suspended and New South Wales Police are investigating whether there are grounds to bring charges against the pair.

Condemnation of the clip was swift and widespread, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and NSW Premier Chris Minns among those to brand the nurses' actions unacceptable.

However, in a joint letter responding to the scandal published on Sunday evening, Muslim groups hit back, claiming the pair were victims of "calculated, politically motivated outrage".

"We condemn the hypocrisy over nurses controversy," the statement begins.

"As representatives of Muslim Community in Australia, we affirm that all forms of discrimination based on race and religion are unacceptable, and that healthcare should be provided justly to all.

"However, this statement addresses the selective outrage and political motivations surrounding the recent controversy."

The letter goes on to accuse the media and politicians of rushing to condemn the actions of the two nurses while at the same time providing "active diplomatic and journalistic cover for ongoing crimes by the Zionists".


Sydney city council passes BDS motion against companies operating in the West Bank
The Sydney City Council passed a BDS motion against companies operating in the West Bank and east Jerusalem on Monday, according to city councilors and local Australian sources.

Sydney Mayor Clover Moore had introduced recommendations to supposedly replace the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions components of the motion, but Australian Jewish groups, anti-Israel organizations, and pro-Palestinian politicians perceived the item’s passing as a BDS victory.

The modified “Report on City of Sydney Suppliers and Investments in Relation to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaigns,” which in its original form had been unanimously recommended by the Corporate, Finance, Properties and Tenders Committee last Monday, was supported by all but one city councilor at Monday’s meeting.

The city acknowledged that it had no investments or contractual relationships with Israeli and non-Israeli companies operating in the disputed territories and listed in a United Nations Human Rights Council register. It said Sydney had preexisting policies in place to “ensure our investment and procurement practices avoid supporting socially harmful activities, including abuse of human rights.”

Sydney Jewish leaders said while the council believed it had removed the BDS component of the report, it still referred to the UNHRC register.

The original report called for monitoring of the UNHRC register for city compliance and to review all procurements to ensure that they are acting in accordance with the database.

The review of the city’s connections to Israeli companies came after a June 24 council decision that its CEO prepare a report on the means to impose restrictions on investments and procurement related to human rights and weapons related to BDS.
Nazi graffiti sprayed on shop founded by Holocaust survivors
Antisemitic vandals have spray-painted Nazi symbols and slogans on a building in Melbourne that formerly housed a business founded by Holocaust survivors.

The vile graffiti was discovered on the site of Gottlieb’s Builders Supplies, which closed down recently having been founded in 1965.

Its founder was a Holocaust survivor who emigrated to Australia and set up the stalwart suppliers, according to a report from The Nightly.

But the roller door on the storefront, which has remained locked shut since it the business collapsed, has now been painted with a swastika and the phrase “gas the Jews”.

Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said: “Mr Gottlieb knew every plumber by name, everything was done by handshake. What his grandchildren said to me when they told me [about the attack] was that were thankful [their grandparents] were not alive to see this, as it looks completely foreign from the Australia they knew.

“Something we know from history is that antisemitism exists under the surface. When it’s out of its box, and it is allowed to come out, it is much harder to put back in. That is what we are experiencing right now. It was not taken seriously enough at the beginning or called out.”

The attack is the latest in a string of antisemiitc incidents that have blighted Australia in recent weeks, with the majority of the disturbance has been in Melbourne and Syndey, which together house the majority of the country’s Jewish population.


The university could be the last bastion of woke
Woke advertising seems to be falling out of fashion. Multinational corporations are dropping mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training programmes. In the US, President Trump has recently signed executive orders ending ‘radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing’.

Yet, at the very moment the elite obsession with woke ideas seems to be losing its grip on wider society in the West, the UK higher-education sector appears to be more in thrall to it than ever. Indeed, universities that fail to pledge allegiance to the cult of diversity may soon face cuts to their research budgets.

Currently, British universities receive £2 billion a year of taxpayer funding to support academic research. This comprises a significant proportion of their revenue – second only to student tuition fees at many institutions. Allocated according to a Research Excellence Framework, this money has always come with strings attached. But under new guidelines published this month, universities will now need to prove they are ‘robustly’ tackling inequality and promoting diversity and inclusion before receiving funding. This will be done by, among other things, recording the numbers of black, Asian and mixed-race academics eligible for research funding and demonstrating the success of staff from ‘under-represented groups’ when it comes to applying for promotion.

This latest demand on those seeking research funding has nothing to do with their subject expertise and runs counter to both academic freedom and the pursuit of intellectual excellence. It simply adds to the myriad ways in which every aspect of higher education is geared around promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Even now, academic-funding bodies, such as the Economic and Social Research Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, require applicants to submit DEI action plans. UK Research and Innovation describes equality, diversity and inclusion as ‘integral’ to its ‘vision and mission’.

Yet, as political commentator and former academic Matthew Goodwin explores in his new book, Bad Education, too few working within universities are willing to push back against the politicisation of higher education. As a result, ‘our universities are no longer interested in their original purpose’, he writes, ‘they are no longer prioritising the search for truth, learning, and evidence over dogma’. They have been captured by a ‘new dominant ideology’, he argues, which has been imposed on staff, students and administrators, and now fully permeates all aspects of academic life.


FDD: New Al Jazeera Program Reveals Coordinated Effort With Hamas To Reshape October 7 Narrative
Latest Developments
Al Jazeera’s Cooperation With Hamas to Reframe Terror: A report published on February 14 by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center details direct communication and cooperation between Hamas and Qatar’s state-owned Al Jazeera news network. The report concludes that Al Jazeera’s recent investigative program “What Is Hidden Is Greater” attempted to present a narrative of Hamas’s “victory” in Gaza following the onset of the current ceasefire. Additionally, the program used interviews with members of Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades to falsely present the October 7, 2023, attacks as a justified military operation “intended only to harm Israeli military personnel and abduct soldiers while not harming children and the elderly.”

Outlet Aired Exclusive Footage With Senior Hamas Figures: Al Jazeera’s program aired exclusive, previously unseen footage with former senior Hamas members Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar taken during the war. Deif was seen in Hamas command bunkers examining maps and giving orders, and Sinwar was shown moving through the rubble of Rafah disguised as an elderly man. The IDF killed both Sinwar and Deif during the war.

Documents Show Hamas Orders to Murder Jews, Take Civilian Hostages: Despite Al Jazeera’s coordinated effort to reshape Hamas’s October 7 atrocities as a military operation, documents discovered by the IDF during the war display instructions from al-Qassam Brigades leaders to brutalize Jews, both soldiers and civilians, “in the name of Islam.” Additionally, an Arabic-Hebrew phrasebook was found in the Palestinian enclave containing sentences like “Take off your pants,” “I will kill you,” and “We will kill the captives,” along with phrases for directing men, women, and children hostages.

FDD Expert Response
“The general public must understand that Al Jazeera effectively acts as Hamas’s de-facto media arm to the Arab world and the international community. Al Jazeera has aired favorable interviews, documentaries, and ‘exclusive’ footage from Hamas for many years, requiring close relationship and coordination between both parties. Thus, it’s not a coincidence that Al Jazeera news crews have favorable access to Hamas over local media outlets in Gaza.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“I’m not sure how much longer the Treasury Department can avoid the elephant in the room that Al Jazeera has provided material support to a designated terrorist organization and should likely be subject to terrorism sanctions authorities at this point. Certainly, Congress could compel a determination to be made within a certain period of time, and victims of October 7 can file civil suits for damages.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor


Bassam Tawil: Don't Be Fooled: The Palestinian Authority Did Not Halt Payments To Terrorists
"Abbas claims to have ended the 'Pay for Slay' program – but it's just a rebranding... Terrorists and their families will still receive payments, just through a 'foundation' under Abbas's control instead of a ministry. The new foundation remains tied to the PA, making this a deceptive move, not real reform. The PA must truly end terror payments and incitement - not just change how they guise them." — Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, X.com, February 12, 2025.

The Palestinian Authority has made it clear that it is making this change not because it believes it is wrong to fund terror, but because it needs US money. The Arabic version of the decree clearly states that the main goal is to "restore international aid programs that were suspended in the past years, which we need to implement development and economic recovery programs."

While several international media outlets continue to argue that Abbas halted the payments to the terrorists, Monica al-Jaghoub, a senior official with the PA's ruling Fatah faction (headed by Abbas), denied the claims.

The reality is that Abbas did not -- and never will -- stop the payments to terrorists and their families.


‘All options on the table’ against Iran, says Waltz
“All options are on the table” to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump is “deadly serious when he says Iran can never have a nuke, and certainly not on President Trump’s watch,” Waltz told Fox News Sunday when asked about a potential U.S. military action against Tehran’s nuclear project.

He declined to provide details on what actions the United States would take, but stated that the Islamic Republic is “an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have [its] finger on the button.”

Washington can talk to the Iranians, if “they want to give up their entire program and not play games as we’ve seen Iran do in the past in prior negotiations,” Waltz continued.

But in any case, “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. That wouldn’t only be existential for Israel; I think it would be existential for the entire world because it could kick off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East,” he said.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is looking to mediate between Washington and Tehran, CNN reported.

The report did not indicate whether Riyadh had made a formal offer on the matter, but suggested that it sought to improve its relations with Iran, a former enemy of the Saudis.
Montreal synagogue vandalized with Nazi swastika graffiti
A Montreal synagogue was vandalized with Nazi swastika graffiti on Saturday, according to Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom and Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante.

Rabbi Lisa Grushcow said in a Sunday Instagram post that the sabbath day vandalization was "more a matter of if rather than when" with rising antisemitic incidents in the Canadian city.

"This is our holy space, where we come to pray, to build a community for children to learn, to play, and to grow, where we cook food for the hungry, where we do our bit to make the world a better place," said Grushcow.

Plante said on X Sunday that the antisemitic graffiti on the synagogue that she had recently visited was unacceptable. The mayor assured that the Montreal Police were investigating the incident.

Grushcow said that the hate was painful, but the "silence of our friends is disturbing."

Hate was designed to isolate
The rabbi urged Canadians to reach out to their Jewish friends during such a time, as hate was designed to isolate. Grushcow also called on others to educate themselves on the Holocaust to see where such hate leads.

"We don't like this history either, but ignoring it doesn't make it go away," said Grushcow.
Jewish Florida man arrested after shooting 2 Israelis he thought were Palestinians
A Jewish man in Miami Beach was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of attempted murder, a day after opening fire at a car in which he said he saw “two Palestinians” inside.

However, police said that the victims were actually two Jewish Israelis visiting the US. The victims, Ari Rabey and his father, initially thought they were being targeted in an antisemitic attack..

Mordechai Brafman, 27, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after he shot at the car 17 times with a semiautomatic handgun on Saturday.

Police said there was no altercation between Brafman and the two victims before the shooting, which they described as unprovoked, reports said.

According to the arrest sheet, Brafman said that while he was driving his truck, “he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.”

Neither victim was killed. One was hit in the left shoulder, while the other was grazed by a bullet.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for Brafman to be charged with a hate crime, which would increase the severity of his offenses.

Brafman, who is married, gave his occupation as plumber, reports said.

A year ago he was interviewed by local media after vandalism to a bagel store on Miami Beach that had displayed an Israeli flag, Hebrew media reported. At the time Brafman called for more unity and less conflict between people.
Israeli AI cybersecurity startup valued at $1.1 billion after major funding round
Israeli startup Dream Security, which develops software to protect critical national infrastructure sites — like oil, water, and energy facilities — from sophisticated cyber attacks, raised $100 million in its latest funding round, announced Monday, giving the two-year-old company a valuation of $1.1 billion.

Dream Security was co-founded in January 2023 by Shalev Hulio, months after he stepped down as CEO of embattled cyber espionage firm NSO Group, which he co-founded; former chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz; and Gil Dolev, founder and former CEO of Wayout Group, an intelligence-gathering company focused on IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

The new investment was led by US private equity firm Bain Capital Ventures. Other participants in the funding round included Group 11, founded by Israeli-American venture capitalist Dovi Frances; Israeli private equity firm Aleph led by Michael Eisenberg; New York-based private equity investment firm Tru Arrow Partners; and Abu Dhabi-based Tau Capital.

Based in Tel Aviv and with offices in Vienna and Abu Dhabi, the startup said it has built an artificial intelligence-based AI security platform that is designed to “think like both a defender and an attacker” to help industrial companies and governments protect critical infrastructure from both known and emerging generative cyber threats. The platform was designed to outsmart cyber attackers and provide organizations with real-time insights and defense mechanisms to prevent breaches before they materialize.

“Never before has a company been founded with the primary mission of providing national cybersecurity protection for a country or a government,” said Dream CEO Hulio. “We founded Dream to deliver a solution that truly works for nations, specifically because it was designed with their needs in mind.”

Dream said it has generated more than $130 million in annual sales in 2024 by selling its platform to governments and national cybersecurity organizations.

“Sophisticated cyberattacks on our critical infrastructure are increasing in both prevalence and complexity,” said Dream President Kurz. “During my time as prime minister, I saw firsthand how these attacks can cause real human damage, and have the capacity to disrupt society at large.”




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PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



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2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

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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