Tuesday, March 18, 2025

03/18 Links Pt1: Israeli Strikes in Gaza Take Out 4 Senior Hamas Terrorists, Palestinian Islamic Jihad Spokesman; The UN has become a mouthpiece for terrorist apologists

From Ian:

Ruthie Blum: Striking when the iron’s cold
“Operation Strength and Sword,” the airstrikes in the Gaza Strip launched at 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday, didn’t only come as a shock to Hamas. Israelis, too, were taken aback, since they went to bed on Monday night preparing for a very different battle in the morning. The internecine kind.

Yes, the protest movement declared that it would be escalating its activities. Not that it ever ceased staging rallies against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for, well, just about everything.

For months, its focus has been his failure—for ostensibly personal and political reasons—to “bring all the hostages home now.” And Tuesday marked the 11th day of a more specific demonstration, this one titled the “Kirya Envelope.”

The name is a play on the term for the Gaza-border communities. It refers to the surrounding of Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, where the security cabinet usually meets.

But the hostage crisis wasn’t the impetus for some 100 protest leaders to jump to attention. No, their latest excuse was Netanyahu’s decision to fire Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar.

Never mind that he was the key figure responsible for not predicting and preventing the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023. Forget that he even admitted as much shortly after the deadly Hamas invasion.

The fact that he’s been serving since then as a hindrance to Netanyahu’s pursuit of the war goals is good enough for the “anybody but Bibi” crowd to be on his side. And for Histadrut labor federation chairman Arnon Bar-David to threaten to “grind the economy to a halt.”

Nothing invigorates this otherwise disparate gang of virtue-signalers like gearing up to shut the country down. It’s a motley crew that includes an illustrious list of former political and military officials whose loathing for Netanyahu is only surpassed by their envy of him.
Hamas gathered forces during ceasefire for attempted invasion into Israel
The Israeli security cabinet convened an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss a culmination of alerts over the past few weeks that indicate that Hamas has been making preparations for another invasion into Israeli territory, N12 reported.

Separately, Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated these concerns in a meeting with the Otef Israel Forum, a group primarily composed of residents from the Gaza border region, on Tuesday morning,

"There are constant preparations being made by Hamas for an invasion [into Israel], similar to October 7," Katz said in the meeting.

"We must strike them and completely finish the job through both offense and defense," Katz added. "This is the goal that drives me."

According to the report, security forces have identified a sharp increase in Hamas's efforts to carry out attacks against the IDF in Gaza, potentially indicating a desire to prepare for an incursion into Israel.

Hamas issued a statement later on Tuesday claiming, "The occupation’s claims that the resistance had made preparations to attack its troops are baseless and false pretexts to justify its return to the war and escalation of its bloody aggression."

Similarly, the IDF has struck Hamas terrorists numerous times over the past few weeks, as they used the ceasefire to move around Gaza and attempt to plant explosives near IDF soldiers.

Hamas published a statement on Tuesday saying that Israel's allegations regarding Hamas's preparations to launch an attack on IDF forces "are baseless and merely flimsy pretexts to justify its return to war and escalation of its bloody aggression."

Israel, however, has publicly said that the ongoing strikes in Gaza are not related to fears of an impending attack but are instead in response to Hamas's unwillingness to release the hostages and refusal to advance talks.


Israeli Strikes in Gaza Take Out 4 Senior Hamas Terrorists, Palestinian Islamic Jihad Spokesman
Israel assassinated four senior Hamas members and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization's spokesman in a series of airstrikes launched early Tuesday. It was Israel’s first major military foray into Gaza since a ceasefire was enacted two months ago and signals that both the United States and its closest Middle East ally will no longer wait for Hamas to agree to an extension of that deal.

Hamas confirmed that four of its leaders were killed when Israel conducted "extensive strikes" across the Gaza Strip following consultations with the Trump administration. They include: Issam al-Da’alis, head of Hamas’s administrative committee; Ahmad al-Khatta, the director general of its justice ministry; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, director general of the interior ministry; and Bahjat Abu Sultan, who runs Hamas’s domestic security agency.

Naji Abu Saif, a spokesman for the PIJ terror group that works alongside Hamas, was also killed with his wife and other family members when Israel struck his Gaza home. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claimed that more than 400 people had been killed during Israel’s strike, though these figures are notoriously unreliable. They were nonetheless cited by the likes of the Associated Press, which referenced "Gaza's Health Ministry" but did not disclose Hamas's control over it.

A White House National Security Council spokesman confirmed the United States was aware of Israel’s operations and blamed Hamas for stalling weeks of negotiations aimed at extending the ceasefire and securing the release of 54 hostages, both living and dead, who still remain in captivity.

"Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war," the spokesman, Brian Hughes, said in a statement shared with the Washington Free Beacon.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday evening that "all hell will break loose" if Hamas continues to stall peace talks.

"As President Trump has made clear, Hamas, the Houthis, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay," Leavitt said. "All hell will break loose."

Israel’s military operation was meant to achieve "the war goals as determined by the political echelon, including the release of all our hostages—living and dead," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Tuesday. Last week, Hamas rejected a U.S.-backed plan to extend the ceasefire’s first phase beyond Ramadan and Passover, drawing a sharp rebuke from both the White House and Israel. Military operations are likely to continue so long as Hamas delays the release of the remaining hostages.

Hamas "is making a very bad bet that time is on its side," Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Friday. "It is not. Hamas is well aware of the deadline, and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes."


Israeli strike kills Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Iranian terror subsidiary in the Gaza Strip, confirmed on Tuesday evening “with great pride and honor” that its spokesman Naji Abu Saif, known as “Abu Hamza,” was killed in Israeli strike that day.

The terror group referred in the post on its Telegram channel to the spokesman’s death as a “martyrdom.”

Earlier on Tuesday, sources within the terrorist group told Reuters and Arab news outlets that Abu Hamza had been killed in an Israeli Air Force strike on a residential home in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.

The IDF announced early on Tuesday morning that it launched “extensive” strikes against terror targets in Gaza. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said the military was acting after Hamas rebuffed several proposals from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and others.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The goal of the campaign remains to achieve “the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon, including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” it added.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists participated in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre in southern Israel, in which 1,200 people, mostly Jewish Israeli civilians, were murdered, thousands more were wounded and 251 were kidnapped back to the Gaza Strip as hostages.

Ziad Nakhaleh, the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, claimed on Oct. 8, 2023 that the terror group was holding at least 30 of the Israeli hostages kidnapped to the enclave.


'One-Sided Hamas Support': Board Member of Politico Parent Company Slams Outlet for Anti-Israel Reporting
A member of the board of Politico's parent company on Tuesday condemned the outlet for pro-Hamas reporting on Israel's new airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

"I am on the board of Axel Springer that owns Politico. I consider this article one-sided Hamas support," Argentine businessman Martín Varsavsky wrote on X, responding to the outlet's Monday article "Israel Hits Gaza With New Airstrikes That Kill At Least 200."

Axel Springer acquired Politico in 2014, the same year that Varsavsky joined the company's supervisory board.

Varsavsky said the Politico report "fails to mention that the airstrikes were aimed at eliminating top Hamas military and [that] Israel was successful at doing so."

"It also quotes casualty figures given by Hamas that are not believed to be accurate," he added.


IDF shoots down Houthi missile from Yemen
The Israel Defense Forces shot down a missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists from Yemen on Tuesday night, triggering air-raid sirens in the south of the country, according to an IDF statement.

The incident marked the first time that the Jewish state’s air defenses were activated against a threat from Yemen since the start of the ceasefire with Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 19.

Sirens sounded following “projectile fire from Yemen,” the IDF said in the statement, confirming that alerts were triggered in the Negev area.

“The Air Force intercepted one missile launched from Yemen,” added the military in Hebrew. “The missile was intercepted before it crossed into the country’s territory; alerts were activated according to policy.”

Israel’s Magen David Adom medical response group said it did not receive any calls about shrapnel impacts or casualties in the missile assault, “with the exception of isolated [cases of] panic victims.”

Following the attempted strike, Houthi official Hazam al-Asad tweeted in Hebrew, “The Yemeni people will not leave Gaza alone! The Zionists will pay for their crimes against children, women, and civilians.”


Yarden Bibas, Noa Argamani, and freed hostages accuse Israeli government of abandoning those left in Gaza
The end of Israel’s two-month truce with Hamas, marked by surprise aerial attacks on Hamas leadership on Tuesday morning, is endangering the lives of the 24 hostages still believed to be alive in the Strip, according to released hostages and their families.

Freed hostages including Emily Damari, Noa Argamani, Yarden Bibas, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert shared their fears after Israel restarted strikes on Gaza.

British Israeli Emily Damari, who was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza and released during the first stage of the ceasefire deal, posted on Instagram: “So many things are running through my mind, and I don't know how to express them – but my heart is mainly broken, shattered, and disappointed."

Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir were taken hostage on October 7 and killed in captivity, said: “Israel’s decision to return to fighting brings me back to Gaza, to the moments where I heard the sounds of explosions around me and where I feared for my life as I was afraid that the tunnel where I was being held would collapse.”

“My wife and children were kidnapped alive and were brutally murdered in captivity. The military pressure endangers the hostages while an agreement brings them home.”


No 10 rows back on Lammy’s claim Israel broke international law in Gaza
Downing Street has rowed back on the Foreign Secretary’s assertion that Israel had broken international law by blocking aid shipments to Gaza.

Number 10 said instead that the country was “at clear risk of breaching” its legal obligations after questions were raised about the UK Government’s position following remarks made in the Commons by David Lammy.

Asked by Labour MP Rupa Huq what the consequences would be for the “provocative action” of blocking aid during the holy month of Ramadan, the Foreign Secretary had told the House on Monday: “Well, my honourable friend is right. This is a breach of international law.

“Israel, quite rightly, must defend its own security, but we find the lack of aid – and it has now been 15 days since aid got into Gaza – unacceptable, hugely alarming and very worrying.”

Asked whether Mr Lammy had been speaking for the whole of Government, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “As the Foreign Secretary said, and CDL (the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster) said on the morning round, our position remains that Israel’s actions in Gaza are at clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law.

“And we continue to call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations when it comes to humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.”

But Number 10 declined to say whether the Foreign Secretary had misspoken and would correct the record, insisting the “parliamentary issues” were a matter for the Foreign Office.

The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden had faced questions from broadcasters about how Britain would respond to Israel’s blockade given the Government deemed it in breach of international law.

The senior Cabinet minister ruled out imposing an arms embargo on the country and said the UK would instead use “whatever diplomatic influence we have” to seek to restore a ceasefire.
Lammy: I could have been clearer with Commons statement on Israel
David Lammy has admitted he could have been “clearer” when making a statement in the Commons in relation to claims over Israeli breaches of international law.

Asked if he regretted making the allegation, which contradicted the official UK position, the foreign secretary said:”Ultimately of course these are matters for the courts to determine, but it’s difficult to see how denying humanitarian assistance to a civilian population can be compatible with international law.”

Lammy also condemned what he said was Israel’s “appalling” strikes on Gaza on Monday, which killed several Hamas operatives, in a death toll of over 400.

“We continue to condemn Hamas of course and believe in Israel’s right to security, but all parties must re-engage with negotiations to get the remaining hostages out, we do need to continue to surge aid into Gaza and a secure and permanent end to this conflict is the only way out,” he said.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Lammy said he “could have been clearer” in the chamber after twice claiming categorically that Israel’s blockage of aid into Gaza for two weeks was a “breach” of humanitarian law.

Downing Street said on Tuesday that the comments did not reflect the UK’s position, which warned of the “risk” that Israel could contravene international law with its Gaza blockade.Downing Street rejects Lammy claim that Israel broke international law

Lammy, who had flown overnight from Washington DC, to make his Commons statement on Monday, had at one stage admitted feeling tired and jet-lagged as he spoke.Downing Street rejects Lammy claim that Israel broke international law

But his comments were later condemned by shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel.

She said:“David Lammy’s absolute focus should be on securing the release of the 59 remaining hostages held by Hamas since the atrocities of October 7 2023. The release of the hostages is key to a sustainable end to this conflict and to building a better future.

“Hamas has no respect for international law, human life or human rights. Now is the time for maximum pressure on Hamas.

“Labour should be clear that there is no moral equivalence between Hamas and the democratically elected Government of Israel, and we must have no more poorly judged decisions on arms exports designed to placate Labour backbenchers.”
UK ambassador to Israel voices opposition to resumption of war in Gaza
The UK’s ambassador to Israel Simon Walters has issued a strong statement voicing his opposition to the renewal of the fighting in Gaza.

In a post on social media, Walters said Israel’s latest onslaught would not lead to the defeat of Hamas, nor the return of the hostages.

“Instead, there will be more death: of hostages, of Palestinian civilians, of IDF soldiers,” he said.

Walters added: “I have worked in and around conflicts for thirty years, and grew up in Northern Ireland during the height of the terrorist campaigns. One of the main lessons I take from that experience is that at some point the fighting has to stop and the diplomacy begin. That point is now.”


Qatar, Egypt demand resumption of ceasefire talks, slam Israeli ‘escalation’
After Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes across Gaza early Tuesday morning, effectively ending a shaky ceasefire, mediators Egypt and Qatar urged a return to the truce and condemned the military activity, as other countries in the region slammed Israel.

Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes, warning that Israel’s “escalating policies will ultimately ignite the region and undermine its security and stability.”

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani demanded international action to compel Israel to implement an immediate ceasefire, abide by the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and return to negotiations as called for under the deal signed in January.

According to a Washington Post report, citing a former Egyptian official briefed on the plan, Egypt and Qatar are working together to push for a renewed ceasefire.

“Egypt and Qatar are planning to have quick connection with Israel side for urgent ceasefire and to start arranging quick meetings in Cairo for entering the next phase and exchange hostages and prisoners in order to achieve peace,” said the official. “Egypt is trying to contact the American side to put some pressure on [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] to accept the ceasefire.”


JPost Editorial: The UN has become a mouthpiece for terrorist apologists
The United Nations has once again outdone itself in hypocrisy against Israel, releasing a report last week that accused Israel of “genocidal acts” while yet again ignoring the brutal war crimes of Hamas, including systematic sexual violence and crimes against children. This is not just an oversight; it is a deliberate and shameful act of complicity in the face of unspeakable evil.

The report itself accused Israel of inflicting serious war crimes in its alleged mission to reduce the Palestinian population.

“Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention,” said the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem, and Israel.

Additionally, it accused Israel’s security services of punishing Palestinians after the October 7 massacre, the Hamas-led pogrom in southern Israel, by enforcing forced public stripping and sexual assault as part of their routine operations.

Naturally, Israel denied the charge. The permanent representation to the UN in Geneva said: “The IDF has concrete directives... and policies which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct,” and its review procedures adhere to international norms.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also joined in the fray, accusing the international body of antisemitism.

“The anti-Israeli circus known as the UN Human Rights Council has long been exposed as an antisemitic, corrupt, pro-terror, and irrelevant body,” he wrote.

“The UN once again chooses to attack the State of Israel with false accusations, including baseless claims of sexual violence,” he added. “This is not a Human Rights Council – it is a Blood Rights Council.”
Enough is enough: UN betrays its mission, embraces Hamas propaganda
Passive diplomacy is insufficient in confronting institutional distortions. Israel must now act decisively, proactively, and transparently to dismantle this dangerous propaganda – not only for its own sake but as a global defender of justice and historical truth.

First, Israel must immediately publish a meticulously documented counter report explicitly disproving every false accusation contained in the UN’s recent report. Supported by forensic evidence, independent expert analyses, survivor testimonies, and incontrovertible visual documentation, this report must reach global media and every member state, establishing an indisputable historical record.

Second, Israel should publicly expose the “chain of misinformation” by explicitly naming Hamas-affiliated activists and NGOs who supplied falsified claims to UN investigators. Revealing concrete names, direct connections, and specific misinformation will effectively dismantle these fraudulent narratives at their source.

Third, Israel must urgently call for an emergency session at the UN General Assembly.

Presenting clear, detailed, and undeniable evidence of Hamas’s crimes against humanity – including sexual violence, torture, and terror tactics – will compel the international community to confront its complicity through silence or indifference.

Moreover, Israel should formally demand an official correction from the United Nations, clearly acknowledging the reliance on unverified, terrorist-linked sources. Refusal by the UN to correct these egregious errors should trigger coordinated diplomatic responses alongside democratic allies – including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia – countries that have publicly challenged similar institutional distortions.

Indeed, former US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield recently emphasized, “We must be cautious not to accept information from Hamas without verification, as their goal is to spread propaganda and deceive the international community,” reinforcing international concerns about UN credibility and methodology.

The cost of inaction is severe: if Israel and its allies fail to respond decisively, today’s malicious fabrications risk becoming tomorrow’s accepted historical narratives. Democracies must act now or risk allowing misinformation to permanently rewrite reality.

Israel, by confronting the UN’s institutionalized distortions, acts not merely in its own defense but as a global defender of universal justice and truth.

Consider the tragic story of Shani Louk, whose desecrated body spoke of unspeakable violence, yet whose voice remains unheard by the United Nations. The UN saw genocide – and ignored it. The UN heard survivors’ cries – and silenced them. The UN knew the truth – and buried it.

It has become a distorted mirror, clearly reflecting lies while grotesquely distorting truth. Once humanity’s conscience, the UN now risks becoming its undertaker.

The United Nations was established to say “Never again,” yet today it repeats “again and again,” each time louder, each time more shameful. If the UN chooses lies over lives, deception over duty, and propaganda over principles – then Israel, joined by all who value truth, must choose courage over silence.

Because history remembers not only the crimes committed but also those who refused to stand against them.The United Nations was created to prevent genocide and human atrocities – not to degrade their meaning through political manipulation. Israel’s response must therefore be decisive, transparent, and unwavering – not only for its own sake but for the integrity of global justice itself.
Freed hostage Eli Sharabi to address UN Security Council on Thursday
Freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi is scheduled to brief the U.N. Security Council on Thursday morning.

The Israeli mission to the United Nations told JNS that Sharabi will take part in an yet- unpublished open meeting on March 20 at 10 a.m. Sharabi will become the second freed hostage to address the council, following Noa Argamani’s appearance in the chamber in February.

Sharabi, 53, lost more than 66 pounds in captivity in the Gaza Strip and weighed just 97 pounds upon his release on Feb. 8. His wife, Lianne, and their daughters, Yahel and Noiya, were murdered in Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

His older brother Yossi Sharabi, who was also taken hostage that day, was killed in captivity. His death was announced by officials in mid-January.

Eli Sharabi was part of a freed hostages delegation to Washington that met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on March 5. His younger brother, Sharon Sharabi, said that the invitation came about after Trump watched an interview Eli gave on Israeli television during which he recounted the horrific conditions he suffered in Gaza.

Sharabi met days later with Keir Starmer, prime minister of the United Kingdom, at 10 Downing Street in London. Sharabi’s wife and two daughters were British nationals.

The U.N. Security Council met on Tuesday morning to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. It plans tol convene again on Friday for its monthly scheduled meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian file.
US envoy to UN says blame for renewed Gaza fighting ‘lies solely with Hamas’
The US envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council on Tuesday that blame for the resumption overnight of Israeli strikes in Gaza “lies solely with Hamas.”

Interim Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the terror group has “steadfastly refused every proposal and deadline they’ve been presented over the past few weeks, including a bridge proposal to extend the ceasefire beyond the holidays of Ramadan and Passover to allow time to negotiate a framework for a permanent ceasefire.”

Hamas insisted on sticking to the original terms of the deal, which was supposed to enter its second phase at the beginning of the month. That phase envisioned Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages.

While Israel signed on to the deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu long insisted that Israel would not end the war until Hamas’s governing and military capabilities have been destroyed. Accordingly, Israel refused to hold serious talks regarding the terms of phase two, which were supposed to begin on February 3.

Instead, it pushed for an extension of phase one — which concluded on March 1 — through additional hostage releases. The US adopted this approach, and special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff’s bridge proposal sought to do just that. Witkoff said Sunday that Hamas’s response to the proposal — offering to release one living US-Israeli hostage and the body of four other dual citizens — was a non-starter.

In her address to a Security Council session on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Shea rejected the allegation that Israel is indiscriminately bombing Gazans.

“The IDF is striking Hamas positions. It is well known that Hamas continues to use civilian infrastructure as launching pads, and the United States condemns this practice, as should others,” she said.

“President Trump has made clear that Hamas must release the hostages immediately or pay a high price, and we support Israel in its next steps,” Shea added.


Commentary PodCast: Lighting Up Gaza
Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to discuss Israel's aggressive moves against Hamas in Gaza as the "cease-fire" that ended 18 days ago really came to an actual end with the Jewish state showing its determination to bring this war to its purposeful conclusion—the destruction of Hamas—in concert with the Trump administration taking on the Houthis in Yemen.




The Facts vs. Hamas’ Lies | Citizen Sleuth Exposes the Truth
What is Israel’s strategy to combat Hamas’ global propaganda machine? In this exclusive interview, Salo Aizenberg, an independent scholar and leading voice in exposing misinformation, gives an inside look at how the Israeli government counters Hamas’ disinformation war.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:
How Hamas manipulates the media to spread anti-Israel narratives
The NGO industrial complex that launders Hamas propaganda
Why Israel’s communication strategy struggles against biased global media
The real numbers behind humanitarian aid and the famine myth
How Hamas weaponizes international law to secure military advantages

00:00 - Coming Up
00:21 - Monologue
02:02 - Intro
08:27 - Hamas’ PsyOps Campaign
11:47 - Why Does the Media Believe Hamas?
18:23 - Reverse Engineering the Laws of War
25:58 - Behind the Humanitarian Aid Numbers
44:49 - Debunking the Genocide Myth
56:12 - A Turning Point in Global Opinion?
59:27 - Wrap Up




Call me Back Podcast: The Zionist Opposition - with Yair Lapid
In the immediate aftermath of October 7, 2023, many Israelis expected a political reckoning. Yet, no clear alternative to Netanyahu has emerged. While there is no shortage of politicians who oppose him, the power of those on the center and the left seems stymied at best. We invited the leader of the official opposition in Israel’s Knesset to the podcast to discuss what he and his party stand for, whether the center of gravity of Israel’s politics has shifted, and why Israel’s political opposition does not appear to be a major force today.

Yair Lapid is a former journalist and the founder and leader of Israel’s centrist Yesh Atid party. Since entering politics in 2013, Lapid has served as Israel’s Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, and for a brief time, Prime Minister. He is now Leader of the Opposition.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
06:40 How unique is the vision of the Opposition in comparison to that of the Netanyahu-led government, in terms of the threats against Israel?
11:31 Where was Yair Lapid on 10/07?
20:40 Why couldn’t Lapid join with Ben-Gvir and Smotrich in the government?
22:31 Is it achievable to get the hostages back and destroy Hamas?
24:03 Is there any lesson to be learned from the 2011 hostage deal?
28:19 Balancing role as Leader of the Opposition against role as a voice for Israel internationally
32:51 Assessing how Israel and the IDF have conducted the war
34:57 How has Yair’s thinking on the Palestinians evolved?
38:46 Did Yair have any sense of what was being planned prior to 10/07?
43:27 Hope for the future


Israel Advocacy Movement: SHOCKING Anti-Israel U.N. Report Debunked

Israel strikes on Gaza come after Hamas ‘refused the conditions’ of deal
Former Israeli government official Dror Doron says Hamas “refused the conditions” of the hostage release and ceasefire deal.

Israel has begun launching new air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials have said the strikes came after Hamas refused to release the hostages.


Media and government’s ‘insidious attempts’ to ‘downplay’ Australia’s antisemitism crisis
Sky News host Chris Kenny discusses the media and government’s “insidious attempts” to “downplay” Australia’s antisemitism crisis.

“The insidious attempts to downplay it or even deny it as a problem here in Australia,” Mr Kenny said.

“Such efforts are not only damaging and hurtful to the Jewish community and therefore divisive, they are also plain wrong.”


Jewish Leaders Condemn Greens’ Push to Repeal Hate Laws
Jewish community leaders have condemned calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the Minns government’s handling of the Dural caravan incident, warning that it would provide a platform to ‘gaslight’ the Jewish community and downplay the real threat of antisemitism in NSW.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip defended the hate speech laws passed on 21 February, rejecting claims that they were rushed through solely because of the Dural incident. He argued that despite the revelation that the caravan plot was a criminal hoax, it did not change the fear Jewish Australians had experienced over months of escalating antisemitic attacks.

Ossip described the Greens’ push for an inquiry as a political stunt designed to diminish the seriousness of what the Jewish community has endured. He dismissed suggestions that the laws were enacted in response to a single incident, pointing to a string of antisemitic attacks in recent months, including synagogue vandalism, cars belonging to Jewish families being set on fire, and anti-Jewish graffiti in public spaces.

“The suggestion that these laws were based on just one incident, the caravan plot, is incorrect,” he said. “An inquiry at this stage would merely provide a platform for hostile actors like the Greens party, which has itself been tainted by antisemitism, to gaslight and diminish the seriousness of what the Jewish community has had to deal with in recent months.”

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman has backed an inquiry, arguing that Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley must explain why they caused additional distress for the Jewish community. However, he warned against allowing it to become a wider-ranging review that could be exploited by the Greens. He said the Jewish community had already endured enough stress without the added fear of what was initially framed as a mass terrorist attack. Speakman stated he would only support an inquiry limited to the Dural incident, rather than one that risked being used as a political weapon.

Premier Minns has remained resolute in his defence of the hate speech laws, rejecting claims that the government exaggerated the Dural case to justify the legislation. Attorney-General Michael Daley also insisted the caravan plot had no impact on the content of the legislation, which had been in development before the incident. He pointed to a summer of “absolutely deplorable antisemitic behaviour” as the real motivation for the legal reforms.
Greens push to sink hate laws
In calling for Australia’s new federal hate laws to be repealed, the Greens have “studiously chosen to ignore” the antisemitism behind the caravan hoax.

Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi has demanded the laws be repealed, claiming the government proceeded despite having doubts about the caravan plot. Her comments came after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he knew the incident was not terror-related “for some time”.

The laws, enacted after a rash of antisemitic incidents in Sydney and Melbourne, including shule attacks, car fires and anti-Jewish graffiti, upended ALP policy by introducing mandatory minimum prison terms.

Senator Faruqi told the ABC, “These unjust provisions must be revisited and repealed when Parliament sits again. If the AFP knew almost immediately that the caravan plot was a hoax, why did Labor whip up media hysteria and community fear? We need to know if they pushed these laws through under false pretences.”

Condemning her comments as “mendacious nonsense, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim told The AJN, “Whoever orchestrated the caravan incident and the attacks and threats against synagogues and other targets, and whatever personal gain they were seeking … the method used was unquestionably antisemitic, as the only targets were Jewish community targets.

“Striking fear into our community was an indispensable part of the whole scheme. Further, the principal suspect has a long record of posting overtly antisemitic comments online. Yet the Greens have studiously chosen to ignore all of this.”




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

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