Wednesday, March 05, 2025

03/05 Links Pt1: 'This is your last warning!': Trump gives ultimatum to Hamas; Egypt Tells Trump to Pound Sand; 17-year-old Israeli dies of injuries from Feb. 27 terror car-ramming

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Egypt Tells Trump to Pound Sand
Despite presumably having watched the way Donald Trump has responded recently to world leaders who question or challenge him, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has decided to poke the U.S. president in the eye and see what happens.

The much-ballyhooed Arab Plan for postwar Gaza has been released, and it is unimpressive even by the standards of past pan-Arab peace proposals. Perhaps even deliberately so.

Trump’s plan for Gaza—the Riviera on the Med—called for the evacuation of civilians from the enclave so it could be properly cleared and rebuilt. Trump doesn’t seem to care much whether the Palestinians come back after it’s done, though Israeli officials are careful to endorse only voluntary emigration.

Egypt is a solution to this riddle, but it would rather be a problem.

For starters, Egypt could have provided Gazan civilians with a place to go during the war, when Israel was forced to hunt Hamas monsters hiding among those civilians in designated humanitarian zones within Gaza. Sisi chose not to, because his country only wants the few Gazans who can afford to pay through the nose for their freedom.

We can go back further and point out that the war itself didn’t have to happen and that Egypt could very well have prevented it. Cairo had stopped policing the smuggling routes between Egypt and Gaza in the area of Rafah, a town that is split between the two jurisdictions. Those smuggling routes enabled Hamas to resupply and reinforce its army, as well as secure a near-monopoly on certain goods on the Gaza market. Money and manpower, in other words, care of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

We could keep going back even further—Egypt allows no path to citizenship for the original Palestinian refugees or their descendants, and has washed its hands of any stewardship over Gaza, which was once part of its territory—but the record is fairly consistent: Cairo has been, and continues to be, an impediment to a solution to the Palestinian element of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Unless Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is able to negotiate, with the help of Israeli pressure, a continuation of the ceasefire plan, there will be another round of war in Gaza—probably more intense than anything over the previous 16 months. In that case, Egypt will once again have the chance to play a constructive role by allowing temporary Palestinian resettlement so that Israel can end Hamas once and for all. Egypt will again refuse, and then it will again complain about Israel and the lack of a two-state solution.
When Egypt Favored Resettling Gazans in Its Borders
In Cairo yesterday, a summit of Arab leaders adopted an Egyptian proposal for the future of Gaza, which includes a six-month period during which a “non-factional” Palestinian government will administer the Strip, after which the Palestinian Authority will take over. It does not, however, suggest how Hamas will be forced out of power. Hussain Abdul-Hussain calls the plan “dissociated from reality.” Worse still, he writes, it “defers disarming Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other militias until after the creation of a Palestinian state.”

The impetus for the summit wasn’t so much the actual situation in Gaza as the need to provide an alternative to Donald Trump’s plan to remove the population prior to reconstruction. While Arab states have objected to plans to move large numbers of Palestinians outside the Strip, and Egypt most vociferously, this was not always the case. Abdul-Hussain explains:

In 1953, Egypt and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) signed onto a plan to resettle 120,000 Arab refugees from Gaza. . . . At the cost of $200 million ($2.4 billion in 2025 dollars), the Egyptian town of Qantara, east of Suez and 130 miles southwest of Gaza, would become the refugees’ new home. Egypt would divert water from the Nile to allow agriculture and a self-sustaining economy.

Palestinians in Gaza (then ruled by Egypt) protested and rioted to voice their opposition to the plan, staging what is now called the “March intifada.” Egypt, then ruled by Gamal Abdel Nasser,

promised to “end the Sinai relocation project,” but quickly broke its promise. The Nasser regime instead undertook mass arrests and threw its Communist and Muslim Brotherhood leaders into prison, where they remained until July 1957.

Nasser eventually pulled out of the relocation plan for two reasons. First, he was frustrated with the Eisenhower administration for withdrawing its funding of the Aswan Dam. Second, he feared communists on the left and Islamists on the right might use the issue to outflank him. As a result of such domestic machinations, 120,000 Arabs remained stuck in a resourceless strip instead of relocating to an economically viable spot, less than 150 miles to the south.
17-year-old Israeli dies of injuries from Feb. 27 terror car-ramming
An Israeli teenager has died of injuries sustained during a Feb. 27 terrorist car-ramming attack at a bus stop east of Caesarea, local authorities said on Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, the Pardes Hanna-Karkur Municipality named the slain victim as Yahli Gur, 17, a resident of the town located north of Netanya.

Gur studied at a high school in the city of Harish, east of Pardes Hanna-Karkur.

“On behalf of Harish’s residents, I embrace and send condolences to her family at this difficult time. All of Harish grieves with you,” the city’s mayor, Yitzhak Keshet, said in a statement.

Twelve other people were wounded, including two seriously, in Thursday’s vehicular assault at the Karkur Junction, according to medical officials.

Israel Police spokesperson Aryeh Doron told Channel 12 that “after carrying out the car ramming at the bus stop, the terrorist drove another few hundred meters, hitting an officer and his car.” He was shot and killed at the scene, Doron added.

The terrorist was identified by authorities as a 53-year-old Palestinian from the Jenin area in nearby northern Samaria who was illegally residing in the Jewish state while married to an Arab citizen.

The Hamas terrorist organization hailed the attack, saying in an official statement that the vehicular assault was a “natural, heroic response to the brutal aggression and ongoing crimes” committed by Jerusalem.


'This is your last warning!': Trump gives ultimatum to Hamas
"Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you," US President Donald Trump shared on Truth Social and X/Twitter on Wednesday evening, addressing Hamas.

"'Shalom Hamas' means Hello and Goodbye - You can choose, ' his post read.

"Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!" he continued.

"This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance," Trump warned.

"RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!" he concluded.

'Not a single Hamas member will be safe'
"I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say," indicating Trump's desire to back Israel in further military operations if Hamas does not release all hostages.

"I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed."

"Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision," possibly referencing Trump's controversial plans for restoring the Gaza Strip.

Reactions to Trump's post
AIPAC thanked Trump for his "unequivocal demand that Hamas free all the hostages now and for ensuring Israel has the resources it needs to protect its families," in a post on their X/Twitter.

"The government must embrace President Trump's proposal and stop bypassing him from the left. Release all our hostages immediately, or absolute hell immediately," former national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote.

This announcement came after Trump met with a delegation of seven hostages in the White House.


B’nai B’rith thanks Trump for focus on hostages in address to Congress
B’nai B’rith International, a more than 180-year-old U.S. Jewish nonprofit, applauded U.S. President Donald Trump for his devotion to hostages, whom Hamas holds in Gaza, during his remarks to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night and emphasized that Washington must remain focused on foreign aid, including for the Jewish state.

“He has made it clear that the return of all hostages is a priority for the United States,” stated Robert Spitzer and Daniel Mariaschin, president and CEO, respectively, of B’nai B’rith.

The two leaders noted that rescued captives and parents of hostages attended the event as guests of members of Congress. “Their presence was an important way to highlight the hostages’ plight and to remind the world that Hamas started the war and continues the war,” the B’nai B’rith leaders aid.

“We appreciate that the president committed to a peaceful Middle East and referenced the historic Abraham Accords,” they added. “The Abraham Accords are the key to lasting stability in the Middle East and we hope the administration will expand the framework over the next four years.”


Obama Justice Dept., John Kerry ‘systematically derailed’ FBI probe of Iranian terrorists while pursuing nuclear deal: whistleblowers
The Obama administration “systematically derailed” an FBI probe into Iranian terrorists — with then-Secretary of State John Kerry “personally” interfering to block arrests to score a nuclear-weapons pact with Tehran, show newly released bombshell emails.

Newly released unclassified FBI communications from 2015 and 2016 reveal how officials in then-President Barack Obama’s Justice and State departments stopped federal agents from enforcing US sanctions on Iran and set up “a shadow amnesty program that protected scores of additional Iranian criminals.”

The covert effort included the abandonment of “dozens of Iran-related investigations” by the FBI and related cases by federal prosecutors “after recognizing the State Department and DOJ obstruction would thwart effective enforcement efforts,” whistleblowers’ disclosures say.

“Secretary of State [Kerry] personally told DOJ officials that they were to stand down on an arrest,” a disclosure stated, directly contradicting his sworn testimony to Congress in July 2015 that Iran was being “restrained” from implementing its missile programs.

At the same time, Kerry’s State Department was negotiating and would later sign onto the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal.

The agreement lifted economic sanctions and resulted in a prisoner swap between Tehran and Washington — while also coinciding with a subsequently revealed payout of $1.7 billion in cash to the Iranian regime and the release of 14 members of its Weapons of Mass Destruction and ballistic missile programs.

“Kerry and the State Department sold out the safety of Americans and our allies when they provided $1.7 billion in cash to Iran which, unsurprisingly, Iran used to continue development of their weapons programs and to better equip and fund their proxies,” the whistleblowers said.

“The death and destruction seen on October 7, 2023, [in Israel] is only one of the tragic results from providing this cash to Iran and from the State Department, DOJ leadership, and FBI Director Comey systematically obstructing Iranian investigations and prosecutions for years,” the documents say.


ISIS-K member charged with 2021 bombing, US State Dept. says
ISIS-K member Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as “Jafar,” has been charged by the US Justice Department with “providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death,” the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

“This evil ISIS-K terrorist orchestrated the brutal murder of 13 heroic service members,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.

“Under President [Donald] Trump’s strong leadership on the world stage, this Department of Justice will ensure that terrorists like Mohammad Sharifullah have no safe haven, no second chances, and no worse enemy than the United States of America.”

Sharifullah is expected to appear in the Eastern District of Virginia later today, and, if convicted, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

“The lethal attack that killed 13 American service members and Afghan civilians during the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was an act of terrorism,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.

“ISIS-K brazenly claimed responsibility for the carnage. Now, thanks to the assistance of the FBI, Department of Justice, and the CIA, we have secured Sharifullah’s apprehension and transport to the US to face American justice. The FBI will never forget the loss of these American heroes. We will continue to hunt down those who viciously murdered our warriors. We will find all responsible and bring them to justice.”

Sharifullah admitted to assisting with the planning of a suicide bombing in August 2021, in which 13 US military service members and approximately 160 civilians were killed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.


UN to recognize hostage families as victims of Hamas's psychological terror
Several hostage family members were at the UN in Geneva on Wednesday to be presented with a UN report that recognized hostage families as victims of Hamas’s psychological terrorism.

“Unfortunately, even after 515 days, neither me nor my daughters are capable of unpacking what happened on [October 7],” Lishai Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran, said. “We are still there, we are still hostages because Omri has not been returned back to us.”

Miran Lavi said that when she wakes up in the morning, her daughters ask her the same three questions.“Why is Dad still in Gaza? When will he return? Mom, did you succeed in bringing him back?” she said. “Their abandonment fears are felt every minute of every day.”

The report, by Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, was the result of intensive efforts of the Hostage and Missing Families Forum’s legal department, headed by Dr. Shelly Aviv Yeni, KAN said.

The forum reached out to Edwards, who traveled to Israel in December 2024 at the behest of Aviv Yeni. Edwards met with around 20 hostage families and survivors of captivity and toured the Gaza border communities.

In the report, titled “Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: hostage-taking as torture,” Edwards writes that both hostages and their families are “greatly impacted.”

“The physical and mental pain or suffering they experience meets the threshold of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

In Point 74 of the report, Edwards writes, “Hamas has released videos of hostages that torment family members by, for example, asking them to guess which hostage has been killed.”

She included additional examples of psychological torture, such as not receiving official proof of life, not being able to send messages of contact, and not being given any indication of the hostages’ welfare or condition.

Additionally, “bodies of the dead are also used as leverage, preventing families from burying their loved ones.”
Freed hostages suffered severe starvation, muscle loss in captivity, Israel confirms
The extreme hunger the released hostages experienced is “very concerning,” with some suffering a weight loss of 40% of their total body weight, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Medical Division, said the starvation led to significant muscle deterioration, which requires the gradual rebuilding of muscle mass through physiotherapy treatments, which began in hospitals and will be continued in rehabilitation departments after their release.

Hostages suffered infections from drinking sea water
Some of the hostages drank diluted water or seawater, which also affected their immune systems and led to infections.

Mizrahi was asked whether differences in conditions were observed between female and male hostages and replied that all hostages suffered from extremely severe torture.

The hostages incurred significant damage to their mouths, as some suffered from broken teeth and will require prolonged treatments. The difficult psychological state also caused damage to their teeth.

Psychological condition
Regarding their psychological condition, Mizrahi said some of the hostages need to rebuild their lives entirely, and the consequences of captivity will stay with them for a long time.

“The health system will provide all necessary support in the mental health field,” she said.


Murdered hostage Ohad Yahalomi laid to rest at Kibbutz Nir Oz
Ohad Yahalomi, who was murdered in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, was buried at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Wednesday.

His remains were returned to Israel last Thursday, along with those of Itzik Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur, and Tsachi Idan.

The Yahalomi family, alongside the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, invited the public to join in the funeral procession and pay their respects.

The funeral procession departed from Rish LeZion at 8:15 a.m., with eulogies beginning in Nir Oz at 11 a.m. on the lawn by the dining hall, after which the funeral took place at the kibbutz cemetery.

“The light has gone out now, and I am walking in shadows, groping and wondering how to move forward,” Yahalomi’s widow, Bat-Sheva, said at the ceremony. “Over the past year, we missed you in every decision.”

“On Oct. 7th, you went out to protect us—that’s who you were. People ask us if we weren’t afraid to live in the Gaza Envelope and of terrorist infiltrations,” she stated. “We always felt safe when you were with us.”

“The children and I longed for you, and all that time, we had immense hope that you would return,” Bat-Sheva Yahalomi told attendees.


Jonathan Tobin: With Trump’s backing, Hamas’s defeat is now possible
The aid stoppage represents a fundamental change in the way Israel is treating an enemy that makes no secret of its desire to destroy the Jewish state and commit the genocide of its population. It puts Hamas on notice that the gloves may soon be coming off in the war unless it stops playing for time.

That has only been made possible by Trump’s victory last November.

Europe and much of the world still act as if Israel is the only country in the world not allowed to fight to win a war forced on it. But unlike Biden, Trump isn’t worried about international opinion about Gaza. Nor is he constrained to avoid whole-hearted support of the war on Hamas by a faction of his party as Biden was by the left-wing base of the Democrats, where hostility to Israel has gone mainstream. Trump wants the hostages freed, but he’s also floated a plan for not just ousting the terrorists but resettling Gazans elsewhere and turning the Strip into a resort. If Israel chooses to resume the war—the only way to make that or any other postwar plan that is predicated on a non-Hamas government there—he won’t protest or continue advocating for the fantasy of a Palestinian state as Biden did. Indeed, it’s likely that Trump will be cheering on an Israeli offensive.

The next days and weeks will be something of a game of chicken as Hamas and Israel go right up to the brink of war, with both sides daring each other to take responsibility for blowing up the ceasefire talks. The question of which of them has more to lose from such an outcome is open for debate. Netanyahu can’t let Hamas survive, but he also can’t be seen as writing off the lives of any remaining living hostages. Hamas wants to hold onto the hostages because so long as they do, they think they are safe. But they also know an Israel unfettered by American pressure could mean their doom.

Netanyahu now has far more weapons to pressure Hamas than he did before January. By having a partner in Washington who doesn’t believe that Hamas is an “idea” that can’t be defeated but a terror group that can and should be eradicated, he can finally start waging war on it in a way to accomplish that goal.

Such a decision will bring down more opprobrium on Israel than before. And it will likely further fuel the surge of antisemitism spreading across the globe from those who believe that one Jewish state on the planet is one too many. But if anything is certain, it’s that Hamas won’t give up the remaining hostages unless it retains its power and arms. And that is something neither Israel nor the Trump administration should accept.

It remains to be seen if Netanyahu can resist the pressure on him to throw away the sacrifices made by Israel’s soldiers to secure the lives of the hostages. If he does, the primary reason won’t be an American ally that doesn’t think an evil terrorist organization should be allowed to get away with mass murder.


Seth Frantzman: Can the Arab world’s $53 billion plan for Gaza succeed?
Hamas, for its part, also doesn’t seem to want the plan to come to fruition. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the group would not give up its arms. “The weapon of the resistance is a red line, and it is not negotiable,” he said. “We will not accept [any deal] to trade it for reconstruction or the entry of aid.”

In contrast, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appeared to accept it, saying elections could be held if the proposal moves forward. That would mean the PA would have to have an effective role in Gaza to organize the elections.

Abbas has remained in power for two decades and seems to refuse to budge from office because if he does forfeit, it is likely Hamas would try to replace him with a candidate it backs, while the PA would prefer to return its Fatah-led government to the enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of the PA running Gaza; officially, Israel doesn’t want the PA nor Hamas running things in the enclave.

“The statement [regarding the Egyptian plan] continues to rely on the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA – both have repeatedly demonstrated corruption, support for terrorism, and failure in resolving the issue,” the Foreign Ministry said.

According to CNN, the Egyptian proposal is ambitious and envisions the development of “shopping malls, an international convention center, and even an airport within five years. It also aims to attract tourists by building resorts and enhancing the enclave’s Mediterranean coast.” One could argue that the Egyptian plan thus includes some of Trump’s concepts of turning Gaza into a Mediterranean Riviera.

However, Cairo would never want Gazans to be displaced; the unified stance of the Arab states now makes this clear, and they believe there is strength in their unity. They don’t want to pick a fight with the Trump administration, and this is even more true after seeing how it has turned on Ukraine. Egypt, which receives US aid, would never want to get a similar dressing down.

The question regarding the Egyptian plan is whether it will now be rejected while serving as a starting point for more discussions or whether it will fade from living memory. The Arab states have come together in the past with proposals that did not pan out, like in 2002 in Beirut, when a total of 22 Arab states gathered to back the Arab Peace Initiative during the Second Intifada.


Israel, US reject Egypt’s Gaza plan, Hamas welcomes it
Israel and the United States have rejected an Egyptian plan for Gaza’s reconstruction endorsed by an Arab League summit in Cairo on Tuesday, while the Hamas terrorist group welcomed the proposal.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the statement issued at the Emergency Summit of the Extraordinary Arab Summit, accusing it of ignoring the realities on the ground following Hamas’ brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

“The statement remains rooted in outdated perspectives,” the ministry said, adding that it “fails to mention Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack, which resulted in thousands of Israeli deaths and hundreds of kidnappings.” Israel also condemned the summit for its failure to denounce Hamas explicitly.

The ministry took aim at continued reliance on the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), organizations it accused of corruption, support for terrorism and failure to resolve the longstanding conflict.

“For 77 years, Arab states have used Palestinians as pawns against Israel, condemning them to eternal ‘refugee’ status,” the statement read.

Israel also referenced recent proposals that could offer Gazans a new future, including ideas promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump. “There is an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will. This should be encouraged!” the ministry stated. Instead, it accused Arab states of rejecting this opportunity outright while continuing to level “baseless accusations” against Israel.
Why Hamas loves the Arab world’s latest backwards Gaza plan
The much-hyped emergency Arab summit on Gaza ended in Cairo on Tuesday with a 23-point communique.

If you don’t want to wade through all the clauses – filled with tired and outdated ideas like the “right of return,” a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines, Israel-occupied Golan, a UN peacekeeping force, genocide, apartheid, and the “indispensable role of UNRWA” – just know this: Hamas welcomed it.And that is really all one needs to know to judge the plan.

“We welcome the plan to rebuild Gaza, and we call for the provision of all the elements needed for its success,” Hamas said.

Why wouldn’t Hamas embrace it? The plan makes no mention of them – not once – nor does it acknowledge the terrorist organization’s brutal attack on October 7, the event that triggered the war and the devastation that followed.

No accountability for Hamas
Under this proposal, the Arab states and the international community would be expected to contribute some $53 billion for reconstruction. The first phase involves removing unexploded ordnance and clearing millions of tons of debris. The second focuses on building 200,000 temporary housing units. In the long term, 400,000 permanent homes, a rebuilt seaport, and a new international airport would be added.

But in the final communique, is there a trace of anger or even mild frustration at Hamas for bringing about this destruction? Any hint of accountability? Not a word.

The proposal envisions a team of independent Palestinian technocrats running Gaza initially until a reformed Palestinian Authority assumes control. Nowhere does it mention disarming Hamas or demilitarizing the territory – so naturally, Hamas has no objections.

And yet, people call US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans and develop a Riviera in the enclave unrealistic.
Head of US Palestinian affairs office reportedly tells staff he will resign
Hans Wechsel, who has been chief of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem since Aug. 24, told staff on Tuesday that he aims to resign at the end of the month, Jewish Insider reported.

The diplomat said at a staff meeting that he “didn’t like the direction the ship was heading,” per Jewish Insider, which cited four people with knowledge of the matter. (JNS sought comment from the U.S. State Department.)

A veteran diplomat, Wechsel previously worked in Afghanistan, Belgium, Ghana, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The office that he leads, which serves as Washington’s diplomatic conduit to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, is located in the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem but is a separate body.

The office was known as the Palestinian Affairs Unit until mid-2022. Its chief reported to the U.S. ambassador to Israel. The 2022 change was seen as an upgrade in diplomatic ties between Washington and Ramallah.

In a statement upon taking office, Wechsel said that “advancing U.S. support for the Palestinian people will be critically important in the months and years ahead.”
Pentagon deputy press secretary Kingsley Wilson is a prolific purveyor of antisemitic conspiracy theories
Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon’s new deputy press secretary, is facing backlash over a series of recent social media comments in which she has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories, opposed U.S. aid to Israel and amplified Kremlin talking points, among several other remarks that raise questions about her elevation to a key role at the Defense Department.

In social media posts that are now drawing particularly fierce scrutiny, Wilson attacked the Anti-Defamation League for memorializing the lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who is widely believed to have been wrongly convicted of raping and murdering a child over a century ago in Atlanta.

“Leo Frank raped and murdered a 13-year-old girl,” Wilson wrote in response to the ADL in 2023, repeating her claim just over a year later. “He also tried to frame a black man for his crime. The ADL is despicable.”

In a statement to Jewish Insider on Wednesday, an ADL spokesperson said that “white supremacists and other antisemites have long used conspiracy theories about the Leo Frank case to cast doubt on the circumstances of” his “antisemitic lynching.”

“We are deeply disturbed that any public official would parrot these hateful and false conspiracy theories,” the spokesperson added, “and we hope Kingsley Wilson will immediately retract her remarks.”

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, nor did the White House.


Eyal Zamir becomes 24th IDF chief of staff
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir assumed the role of the Israel Defense Forces’ 24th chief of staff on Wednesday, delivering a solemn address emphasizing the gravity of his responsibilities.

Speaking at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, Zamir said: “The mission is clear: to lead the IDF to victory. Hamas has not yet been defeated.”

He pledged to prioritize the return of all the hostages being held by terrorists in Gaza, saying, “We must bring our people home, by any means necessary.” He affirmed his commitment to defending Israel and uniting its citizens.

“The Jewish people are the people of the book, the people of the Torah—but also of action. I call on all parts of Israeli society to participate in the commandment of defending the homeland,” Zamir said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his gratitude to the outgoing chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. “Thank you for your crucial role in our success after [the Hamas-led attacks on] Oct. 7, [2023],” said Netanyahu.

“I recommended you twice, and now, the time of Zamir has come. We worked together for over a decade as military secretary [to the prime minister]. I was impressed by you, by the Zionism that pulsates within you, and by your professional commitment,” he continued.

“Not only new insignia are placed on your shoulders, but also a very heavy responsibility. We are in the midst of a long war, a war of revival, that is being conducted on seven fronts, and its results will have significance for generations. You will lead the challenges of our excellent soldiers with momentum. I wish you all success,” Netanyahu said.


Israel Advocacy Movement: Gad Saad EXPOSES Mohammed Hijab’s Lies About Jews in Islam



‘My house was attacked by anti-Semites’
Anti-Semitism has exploded in Australia since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Synagogues have been set alight. The offices of pro-Israel politicians have been ransacked. Even a Jewish childcare centre was set on fire and covered in racist graffiti. Perhaps most infamously, two Australian nurses openly boasted on camera about wanting to kill Israeli patients.

Alex Ryvchin, CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, was caught up in this wave of hate. In January, the house where he and his family used to live was attacked by anti-Semitic thugs. Alex joined the latest episode of The Brendan O’Neill Show to discuss what has gone wrong in Australia. What follows is an edited extract from that conversation. Listen to the full thing here.

Brendan O’Neill: What happened when your old family home was attacked?

Alex Ryvchin: My wife woke me up at about five in the morning and told me that our old house was hit. She showed me this footage, which was taken by our old neighbours across the street, showing an inferno right in front of our old house.

We lived there for five years and it was a really beloved family home. We bought that house because of my grandfather. He had been an engineer in Kyiv, but couldn’t find work when we first migrated to Australia, because he had health issues and couldn’t speak English. The only useful thing he could do was drive a bus for a Jewish social club of Holocaust survivors. The club would give him $5 a day, and that’s all he was able to earn at that time. I would go with him before and after school, and we would drive up and down this beautiful winding road in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. On one side, you can see views of Sydney Harbor, and on the other side you’ve got the Pacific Ocean. I remember how my grandfather would look at the houses on that road. To him, it was like a utopia. It was everything that he knew he personally would never have, but that he thought he could create for his family in Australia. So when I saw a house on that street for sale, we had to buy it. That house represented a great deal to me.

When more CCTV footage of the attack came out, you could see two guys get out of a car. They had a can of petrol, which they poured like a fuse across the width of the street, leading up to cars parked in the driveway. They lit it and these cars just ignited. They targeted one car in the driveway of the adjoining property, which was still owned by a Jewish couple in their 80s. They daubed it with ‘Fuck Jews’ on one side and ‘Fuck Israel’ on the other. I thought that was very poetic. It’s like two sides of the same coin.

I still don’t think I’ve fully grasped how personal this was and what it means. I’m not a person who frets about security. But when I do pause and contemplate it, it’s a horrible thing to know that I was targeted. My family was targeted. Our former home was targeted, in a residential street where the houses are close to each other. A fire at that scale could have incinerated people in their beds. This is the reality of life in Australia right now.
Second Australian nurse charged for threatening to kill Israelis in viral clip
A second Australian nurse has been charged for threatening to kill Israeli patients, Australian police said Wednesday.

The news comes amid a surge of antisemitic attacks in Australia over the last several months in which synagogues were torched and vandalized, a Jewish day care center attacked and Jewish homes and vehicles defaced.

Ahmad Rashad Nadir, 27, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with using a communication system to threaten, menace or harass, and with possessing a prohibited drug, police said.

Last week, police charged another other nurse at the southwest Sydney hospital—26-year-old Sarah Abu Lebdeh—with threatening violence to a group.

The threats were made during a video chat with an Israeli social media influencer last month.

Both nurses were released on bail and are due back in court on March 19. They were suspended from their jobs last month.

Last month, Australia’s foremost Muslim groups defended the nurses from what it called the “hypocrisy” of their critics. A prominent opposition politician called for defunding the Muslims groups that had defended the pair.
‘Tony Burke is a serious problem’: Pro-Hezbollah preacher set to arrive in Australia
Sky News host Sharri Markson has exclusively revealed that pro-Hezbollah preacher Hussain Makke is set to arrive in Australia for speaking events in Sydney and Melbourne.

Ms Markson raised concerns about why Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is issuing a visa to Mr Makkle, allowing him to enter the country.

“Is Tony Burke really going to allow someone into Australia who calls Nasrallah one of the world's greatest freedom fighters?” Ms Markson said.

“Tony Burke is a serious problem.”


Taking Anti-Israel Demonstrators to Court
Less effective at dealing with self-described pro-Palestinian protesters, if also less willing to accept their demands, were the governments of American cities when these demonstrations were at their height. Anita Kinney writes:

After Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks, anti-Israel protesters repeatedly shut down freeways and other key infrastructure across the United States. A month later, demonstrators snarled traffic on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, causing, among other problems, delayed organ-transplant surgeries. In January 2024, protesters shut down I-5 in Seattle for about five hours. . . . Swift prosecution could have deterred these freeway vigilantes, but local prosecutors initially took a light touch.

To rectify the failure to crack down on this sort of lawlessness, the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI) has filed two civil suits, the first of their kind:

Christopher Manhart missed a flight and subsequent business engagements after at least 40 activists swarmed an I-190 off-ramp into Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Daniel Faoro was trapped in his car for over an hour in Arlington, Virginia, while protesters blocked bridges into Washington, D.C. during rush hour. . . . HLLI has identified scores of alleged demonstrators and articulated the case against them, helping Faoro and Manhart seek compensation for false imprisonment and other wrongful behavior.

These lawsuits are based on a fundamental civil right, guaranteed by the Constitution and common law: freedom of movement. The pro-Hamas blockaders conspired to impede this right. . . . Federal prosecutors, moreover, can use the law to curb anti-Semitic lawlessness and restore law and order in American life. . . . The legal filings meticulously identify the alleged protesters, as well as the network of nonprofits that aided and abetted their conspiracies. Federal prosecutors, in other words, have much of the work done for them.




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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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