Monday, May 05, 2025

05/05 Links Pt1: Israel issues ultimatum to Hamas: Deal within two weeks or expanded war; Why Aid Groups Won’t Help Gazans Unless Hamas Also Benefits

From Ian:

Israel issues ultimatum to Hamas: Deal within two weeks or expanded war
If Hamas does not agree to Israel’s proposed outline – including the release of 10 hostages in exchange for a 45-day ceasefire – the military operation in Gaza will be significantly expanded, the security cabinet decided on Sunday night.

“The security cabinet unanimously approved the operational plan presented by the chief of staff to defeat Hamas in Gaza and bring back the hostages,” a senior political source said after the meeting.

“The plan includes... seizing and holding territory in Gaza, moving the Gazan population southward for their protection, preventing Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, and launching powerful strikes against Hamas – all actions that will help bring about its defeat.”

During the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan is effective because it can achieve both primary objectives: defeating Hamas and returning the hostages.

“It differs from previous plans by shifting from targeted raids to seizing territory and maintaining control over it,” he added.

Israeli officials stated that the operation would begin only after US President Donald Trump completes his visit to the region next week. The American leader is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and, in a first in years, Qatar.

Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post they believe Trump’s visit may bring some progress in negotiations toward a deal.

However, it remains unclear in Israel whether the ultimatum will lead Hamas to soften its positions.

No turning back once operation underway
On Monday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich emphasized that the cabinet had made a dramatic decision: there will be no withdrawal, even to secure the release of hostages.

“Once the maneuver begins, there will be no retreat from the territory we’ve taken – not even for hostages. The only way to free them is to defeat Hamas. Any withdrawal would bring the next October 7,” he said.

In practice, according to an Israeli source who spoke with the Post, Hamas has less than two weeks to agree to a deal.
Netanyahu: ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to seize, hold Gaza ground
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said the offensive marks a strategic shift.

“The goal is complete control of the Gaza Strip,” Zohar told Kan Reshet Bet radio. “This move does endanger the hostages—it doesn’t help them—but there is no other choice but to bring about a decisive outcome.”

Zohar said previous restraint was driven by a desire to maximize the return of hostages. Now, he added, “Hamas may soon realize it has no choice but to return the captives and remove itself from Gaza.”

Hebrew-language media outlets are widely disseminating remarks by a senior Israeli defense official warning that Hamas has until the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the region to reach a hostage deal and avoid the impending offensive.

“Gideon’s Chariots” will commence if no agreement is secured before Trump concludes his Mideast trip next week, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates between May 13 and May 16.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi backed the decision in a series of posts on X, calling it “a courageous first step toward total victory.”

“Control of the territory—not raids. Decisive victory, destruction of the enemy, and return of the hostages. Emigration—not illusions. Without hesitation. With power. With God’s help,” Karhi wrote.

Karhi also took aim at former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, blaming him for resisting calls early in the war to restrict aid to sterile zones, free of terrorist control. “Only uncompromising military and diplomatic pressure will defeat Hamas and free the hostages,” Karhi wrote. “We must destroy Hamas. We must maintain continuous, deep control—not temporary raids.”

Karhi emphasized that Israel should promote emigration from Gaza as a long-term solution: “The real and lasting answer will come only through the full advancement of the emigration plan—‘Force him until he says, I want it.’”

New Hope Party Knesset member Ze’ev Elkin told Kan radio that Hamas could still receive a short-term ceasefire in exchange for hostage releases, but warned that conditions on the ground are rapidly changing.

“Hamas should not assume the terms on the table now will remain in place later. Once we capture territory, there’s no guarantee we’ll withdraw,” Elkin said.

Zohar concluded his remarks with a warning to Israel’s enemies, referencing the Houthi missile strike on Sunday morning near Ben-Gurion Airport. “Anyone who collaborates with the Houthis will pay a price many times what Israel pays. We know how to hit hard—and that’s what we will do.”
John Spencer: Operation Gideon’s Chariots: Israel’s Next Phase in Gaza
This moment is an inflection point. If no hostage deal is reached by the time President Trump visits the region, Israeli officials have indicated that the full campaign will begin.

What happens next will shape Gaza’s future for decades. This isn’t just a military operation—it’s a test of whether Hamas’s grip can finally be broken, and whether something better can survive in the ruins it leaves behind.

This will not be easy—and it will not be quick.

Success will require a sustained IDF presence, large-scale force commitment, and continued evacuation of civilians—a process that Hamas actively sabotages. Clearing dense urban terrain and Gaza’s vast tunnel networks is slow, dangerous, and deadly. And as every military leader knows: the enemy always gets a vote.

The situation is fraught with unresolved questions.

President Trump has proposed letting civilians who want to leave Gaza do so—but Egypt continues to block such movement, refusing to assist or open the Rafah crossing. Beyond that, it is still unclear what political or administrative powers will emerge to govern Gaza after Hamas. Will it be clan-based leadership, municipal councils, or some other form of local governance? That answer remains elusive.

Then there is the massive challenge of rebuilding. Who will pay for Gaza’s physical reconstruction? Who will do the work? International donors are hesitant, and many regional actors are wary of stepping in. But regardless of who funds or manages the rebuilding, one fact is clear: the IDF will have to maintain a security presence in held areas to enable any meaningful recovery or governance to take root.

Ultimately, Israel is preparing to clear and hold territory—but it also intends to build. Security, aid, governance, and hope. The goal is twofold: to shatter Hamas’s belief that Israel lacks the will to dismantle its grip, and to offer civilians in Gaza hope that something better can come after Hamas.

That appears to be the vision behind Operation Gideon’s Chariots. Whether it can be realized will depend not only on what happens on the battlefield and in the political realm—but on what follows after the fighting stops.


Seth Mandel: Why Aid Groups Won’t Help Gazans Unless Hamas Also Benefits
The groups’ explanations fall into two general categories. The first is logistical: Protecting aid distribution requires having fewer distribution centers within the Gaza Strip. Currently, the aid has been going to Hamas, which has hoarded some and sold the rest at marked-up prices. This keeps Hamas in power and, crucially, it negates the goal of the aid by putting it out of reach of the people who actually need it. A wider security perimeter for the distribution center—only possible with fewer such centers—is one solution to the problem.

But what if the aid groups don’t want to solve the problem? The other, main problem with the plan, says the UN, is that it is “designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic.”

Translation: Israel’s plan enables it to feed the Palestinian population without sustaining Hamas. In other words, it is the only kind of plan that truly makes sense at this point in the war. The subtext of the UN statement, however, is rather astonishing. It is essentially saying that not feeding and supplying Hamas is contrary to the principles of humanitarian intervention.

And I suppose in a way it is—contrary to the UN’s conception of humanitarian intervention, that is. Let’s remember that UNRWA, the UN agency devoted to the descendants of Palestinian refugees, including those internally displaced within what was then Mandate Palestine, was established separately from the UN agency that handles all other refugees. It counts as refugees many millions of people who are manifestly not refugees, even by the UN’s own definition. Its primary use of funding is toward schools that hire Hamas members, serve as Hamas battle stations and weapons depots, and which replaced an educational curriculum with a program of indoctrination into medieval anti-Semitism.

The purpose of all of this is, obviously, to prolong the conflict by teaching violence, offering no alternative, and refusing to resettle refugees and their descendants until Israel is destroyed and the Jews can be wiped out.

The truth is, Hamas has entirely coopted anything that might once have been called a “pro-Palestinian” organization outside of Gaza. Campus pressure groups fly the Hamas flag and wear the green headband, all while Hamas openly murders, maims, and tortures the Gazans who want to be free. Aid groups’ new policy of refusing to feed Gazans unless they and Israel acquiesce to continued Hamas rule—and let’s be frank, that’s exactly what this is—serves the same purpose.


Trump: We’ll help ‘starving’ Gazans get food, but Hamas ‘making it impossible’
US President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration will help get food to “starving” Gazans amid a two-month-and-counting Israeli aid blockade, but added that Hamas has made it “impossible” by diverting humanitarian assistance for its fighters.

“We’re going to help the people of Gaza get some food. People are starving, and we’re going to help them get some food,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House.

Israeli officials to date have claimed that Gazans are not yet starving and that enough aid entered the Strip during a six-week ceasefire to sustain the Strip for an extended period of time, even though they have also argued — like Trump — that Hamas has been stealing aid.

Data and testimony from inside the Strip point to a worsening hunger crisis and rising rates of malnutrition, while Jerusalem works on implementing a new system to distribute aid in a manner that it hopes will prevent its diversion by Hamas. International aid organizations briefed on the initiative said Sunday that they won’t cooperate with it, as it doesn’t properly address the humanitarian crisis.

“A lot of people are making it very, very bad,” Trump continued. “Hamas is making it impossible because they’re taking everything that’s brought in.”

The president added that Palestinians in Gaza are “being treated very badly by Hamas.”


IDF to clear northern Gaza, send civilians south for aid pilot program
As part of the impending widening of the invasion of Gaza, the IDF plans to completely clear the northern part of the enclave, sending its citizens to southern Gaza, where a new humanitarian aid pilot program will begin, a senior security source said on Monday.

The announcement means the IDF will finally be effectively implementing the “General’s Plan,” which was widely discussed for much of 2024 but never implemented under a mix of pressure from the Biden administration and objections within the IDF itself.

According to the plan – originated by former National Security Council chief Giora Eiland and adopted by a group of senior reservist officers who were upset that the war was not leading to a quick enough defeat of Hamas – if all civilians were cleared from northern Gaza, then the IDF could let loose completely against any remaining Hamas terrorists in the area.

Israel has faced less American pressure regarding its war tactics since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

The senior security source added that most of Gaza, other than certain set-aside zones, would be cleared and that northern Gaza, especially, would be mostly flattened as the IDF did in the Rafah area by the Morag Corridor.

This would make it much harder for Hamas to continue to hide in northern Gaza.

It would also make it easier, said the source, to separate groups of Gazans to receive food without Hamas interference.


Reports: Arrested Iranian suspects may have been ‘hours away’ from ‘major attack’ on UK synagogue; no confirmation
British media reports say that speculation is mounting that the eight men, including seven Iranian nationals, who were arrested in the UK over the weekend had been “hours away” from carrying out an attack on a synagogue. There is no confirmation of the reports.

According to The Telegraph, “the target may have been a synagogue or another target linked to the Jewish community.”

The Daily Mail says a “major attack” was planned.

Britain’s counter-terrorism police arrested the eight men in two separate operations.

On Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals, were detained on suspicion of terrorism offenses over a plot to target specific premises. The arrests were made in Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester.

In a separate operation on the same day, three Iranian nationals were arrested in London as part of another counter-terrorism investigation, the Metropolitan Police said in a separate statement.

Experts tell the Daily Mail that elite SAS soldiers were likely to have joined the arrest raids, with sources telling the outlet a “major attack” was planned.


Seth Frantzman: Goal of Israel’s new Gaza plan conquest and long-term boots on ground -analysis
What does Hamas think?
Hamas had committed so many atrocities on October 7 that it knew Israel would return to Gaza. The terrorist organization’s objective was to end the process of Israel “managing” or “shrinking” the conflict.Hamas has always thrived on war and conflict. It was founded in the late 1980s during the First Intifada to profit from the conflict.

The terrorist organization thrived in the 1990s, opposing the Oslo peace process using bombings. In the Second Intifada, it once again gained influence through warfare. After the Disengagement in 2005, Hamas took over Gaza. However, it found itself under siege and contained there.

Hamas has been plotting how to escape Gaza since the 2009 war in Gaza. It moved its key leaders to Doha, a US ally.It then received funding from Doha via Israel. It was able to lull Israel into a false sense of security, which ended when it decided to launch its invasion on October 7, 2023.

The terrorist organization wanted to use the war to take over the West Bank. It held the belief that, via hostage deals, it could drag out the war for years and slowly gain popularity.

Hamas also estimates that the Palestinian Authority’s head, Mahmoud Abbas, is not likely to survive much longer, since he is nearing 90 years old.

This would give Hamas what it wants in the West Bank. Backed by Doha and Turkey, along with Iran and perhaps Russia or China, it could then catapult itself into the West Bank. It wants Gaza reunited with the West Bank.

As such, Hamas may hope that the new Israeli operation continues and that Gaza is unified with the West Bank.Israel’s policy since 2007 has been to keep Hamas-run Gaza separate from the PA-run West Bank.

Top officials have said that they do not want Hamas or the PA running Gaza. However, so far, a third polity has not been found to administer the area.

The new operation does not seem to have a vision for who will govern the civilian areas. There is a fresh initiative to get humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilians that is supposed to bypass Hamas.

How will Hamas members who dress as civilians be kept out of this new system? Many hurdles remain.


IDF soldier dies in car crash during operational activity near Gaza border
An Israel Defense Forces soldier died in an “operational car accident” near the Gaza border, the military announced on Monday morning.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, 41, from the central city of Rehovot, served in the 5067th Engineering Battalion of the Combat Engineering Corps, the military said in its official announcement.

A total of 854 IDF troops have been killed since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror invasion of the northwestern Negev.

On Sunday morning, the IDF announced that two soldiers were killed during clashes with Palestinian terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to an initial IDF probe, the troops were struck by a blast while inspecting the entrance to a tunnel located inside a building in Rafah.

On Friday, an IDF soldier died in a car accident during operational activity in the Golan Heights.

Sgt. Niv Dayag, 19, from Ramat Hasharon, served in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion. During the crash, two additional soldiers in the 890th Battalion and a soldier from the 474th Brigade were lightly injured. The circumstances of the incident remain under review.




Israel strikes Houthi port in Yemen after attack on Ben-Gurion Airport
Israeli fighter jets attacked the Houthi-controlled Hudaydah port in Yemen, which serves as a “major” income source for the terror regime, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday night.

“The strike was conducted in response to the repeated attacks by the Houthis against Israel, during which surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were launched toward Israeli civilians,” the IDF stated.

“The terrorist infrastructure sites struck in the Hudaydah port serve as a central supply source for the Houthis, used for the transfer of Iranian weapons,” per the IDF, which said it also attacked a concrete plant, located east of the city.

The plant “functions as a significant economic resource and is used for the construction of underground tunnels and terrorist infrastructure for the Houthis,” the Israeli military stated. “The strike on the terrorist infrastructure sites was conducted precisely, with measures taken to mitigate harm to vessels docked at the port.”

Arabic media reported that U.S. jets participated in the attack, which came in response to a Houthi missile attack near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, but a U.S. official told Axios that Washington had prior knowledge of but didn’t take part in the attack. Israel HouthisIsraeli forces attack a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen on May 5, 2025. Credit: Israel Defense Forces.

The Houthi missile hurt six people on Sunday and halted flights at the Jewish state’s main airport temporarily.

An initial Israeli Air Force inquiry found that the missile was not intercepted due to a technical malfunction in the interceptor. No issues were found with detection systems or alert protocols.


Does Israel have the military ability to defeat the Houthis?
The Houthis in Yemen said on Sunday night that they are working on imposing a "comprehensive air blockade" on Israel by repeatedly targeting the country's airports. This followed a strike from a missile fired by the group that injured three near the airport, and repeated previous attempts to strike Israel.

In an update from The Jerusalem Post Studio, senior Middle East analyst Seth J. Frantzman discusses what military capabilities the Houthis have after US strikes against them, and why they are so hard to fight.

He will also explain whether the Houthi threat to Israeli airspace is one that should concern Israelis, discuss how it can deter airlines from flying to the country, and break down Israel's abilities to fight back against the organization.




An illusion of calm: Israel's expanding buffer zone in Syria
At the Quneitra border crossing — the only passage between Israel and Syria — an IDF paratrooper from the 202nd Battalion opens the yellow gate on the Israeli side. Helmetless due to the low threat level, he’s followed by another soldier who unlocks the inner gray gate leading east.

Roughly 80 km (50 miles) from the crossing, Israeli Air Force helicopters recently air-dropped aid to Druze communities near As Suwayda. More than 20 wounded Syrian Druze have also been evacuated through this gate for medical treatment in Israel. Despite the ongoing massacres of Druze by jihadist groups just miles away, the Israeli-held border zone remains quiet.

Six months after the IDF took control of the Syrian Golan without a fight, Israeli military presence has tripled. The IDF now operates along both sides of the border with three times the number of routine security battalions. The abandoned Syrian military outposts — once adorned with Syrian flags and portraits of Hafez Assad and his son Bashar — are fading symbols of the old regime.

In the northern Syrian Golan, 20–30 km (12-18 miles) from the border, the IDF has permitted forces loyal to new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa — leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — to act as a local police force in local towns. Israeli troops move freely through these towns en route to nine new outposts built in Syrian territory. The area is considered secure.

In contrast, the southern Golan remains volatile. The Sunni-majority villages on the road to Daraa, once supportive of Jabhat al-Nusra during Syria’s civil war, have not disarmed. Unlike the quieter north, there’s no cooperation with Israeli forces.

Two weeks ago, paratroopers from the IDF’s 890th Battalion came under heavy fire while patrolling the Syrian town of Nawa. Gunmen fired from balconies with heavy machine guns. The soldiers took cover and were unharmed.
IDF raids and destroys Syrian regime HQ on Mount Hermon
Israel Defense Forces troops operating near the Syrian border have located and destroyed the central military headquarters of the former Syrian regime in the Mount Hermon region, the IDF announced on Monday.

During the operation, Israeli forces uncovered bunkers and an extensive weapons cache, including artillery, mortars, rocket launchers, explosives and landmines. All materials were either seized or destroyed.

The command post had served as a key strategic hub for Syrian military units once responsible for the Hermon front during the Assad regime’s pre-civil war period.

“This is part of our ongoing effort to dismantle hostile infrastructure in Syria and secure the safety of Israeli civilians, particularly in the Golan Heights,” the IDF said.

The latest operation follows a broader escalation in Israeli military activity across Syria, including a wave of airstrikes over the weekend targeting air defense systems and regime assets near Damascus, Hama, and Daraa. According to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the IDF carried out over 20 strikes—the most intense Israeli aerial assault in Syria so far this year.

Israeli officials have linked the increased military activity to rising threats against Syria’s Druze minority. In recent weeks, violent sectarian clashes have left more than 100 dead, prompting Israel to bolster its presence along the border and warn Damascus against further targeting of Druze villages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in coordination with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, issued a stern warning last week: “We will not allow regime forces to move south of Damascus or pose any danger to the Druze community.”

The military also confirmed the evacuation of five wounded Syrian Druze civilians to Ziv Medical Center in northern Israel for treatment.

The IDF said it remains on high alert, continuing to monitor developments in southern Syria, and is prepared to respond to attempted infiltrations or attacks near Druze-populated areas.


John Spencer: TV7 Israel – Hudson Institute's Deep Dive – Israel At War Update – May 05th, 2025

Call me Back Podcast: EMERGENCY EPISODE: Houthi Missile Hits Ben Gurion Airport - with Nadav Eyal
The Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday morning. The IDF said it tried to intercept the missile using Arrow and THAAD systems, but failed. A number of US and international airlines have since suspended flights in and out of Israel. This was the first time the Houthis had successfully hit Israel’s national airport. To help us understand what happened and possible next steps, we are joined by Call Me Back regular Nadav Eyal for an emergency episode.




Former Second Daughter Ella Emhoff Endorses Anti-Israel Radical for N.Y. Mayor
Former second daughter Ella Emhoff on Sunday endorsed radical anti-Israel socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York.

In a video taken at a rally/rave at the Brooklyn Steel music venue, Emhoff said that the "next mayor of New York City," Mamdani, is "going to make New York happier, healthier, and more affordable."

While Mamdani has indeed campaigned on "affordability" issues like freezing rents, instituting a $30-per-hour minimum wage, and building "vibrant green spaces" in the city’s public schools, it is his fervent hatred of the Jewish state—and, by some accounts, the Jewish people—that has defined his candidacy.

Just a week after October 7 and before Israel began its ground operation in Gaza, Mamdani took to the street (and was arrested) outside Senator Chuck Schumer’s (D., N.Y.) home in Brooklyn, demanding that Schumer prevent Israel from retaliating against Hamas.

It was not the first time he showed concern for the plight of the terrorists who murdered over 1,200 Israelis. On October 8, Mamdani released a statement decrying "Netanyahu’s declaration of war, the Israeli government’s decision to cut electricity to Gaza, and Knesset members calling for another Nakba."

He proclaimed that the correct way for Israel to respond to the most brutal attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust was through "ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid."

While Emhoff’s stepmother, former vice president Kamala "Momala" Harris, currently has her hands full "weighing a gubernatorial bid in her home state, a third run for the presidency, or not seeking elected office," it is unclear whether her father, Doug Emhoff—freed from the responsibilities of the U.S. Holocaust Museum board—will turn his attention to better educating his daughter on the issue of anti-Semitism.


Paging Iran! Mossad Calling! 🤸‍♀️🪂 Air-B-And-Gaza: Israel Moving In
🪂 🤸 Welcome to the A Paratrooper and a Yogi Walk Into a Bar... Podcast, where veteran paratrooper Andrew Fox and expert yogi Shana Meyerson discuss the most interesting events relating to Israel, war in the Middle East, and antisemitism in the past week. 🥂

YOGI YADA-YADA WITH SHANA: Shana discusses the Israeli imperative to destroy Iran's nuclear program and the various ways they may go about doing it...with or without American help. 🤸

JUMPING IN WITH ANDREW: Andrew talks about Israel's approval of a full-throttle Gaza occupation plan if Hamas refuses to give up the hostages in the next ten days. 🪂




Barstool Sports founder plans to send patrons with hate signs to Auschwitz
Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, stated on Sunday that he intended to send the patrons of his bar in Philadelphia, who displayed signs directing an expletive at Jews, to visit Auschwitz.

“Rather than ruin a couple 20-year-olds’ lives, maybe this can be used as a teaching moment,” stated the businessman, who has millions of followers on social media and is known for his pizza store reviews.

Portnoy, who is Jewish, said he had been “shaking” because he was so angry. “I’ve been hunting down waitresses, the table who did it,” he said, adding that he wanted consequences for actions. “The two waitresses responsible for the table were already fired.”

When he called one of the two waitresses, he reached her at a dance recital, and she asked if she could call him back in 20 minutes, Portnoy said. “No, you can’t,” he said. “This is your one chance to talk to me. Idiot. Total idiot.”

Portnoy also said he reached one of the two people who displayed the sign and had him crying on the phone.

The Republican Jewish Coalition thanked Portnoy for his response. “I don’t agree with Dave on a lot, but I do on this,” stated actor and comedian Ben Stiller.

“Everyone should keep this energy and hunt down the scum who are proudly antisemitic,” wrote Meghan McCain, the commentator and daughter of the late senator and presidential candidate John McCain.

Ben Waxman, a Democrat and Pennsylvania state representative who represents South Philadelphia, wrote that he condemns the “act of hate speech that sadly occurred at a Jewish-owned business in my district.”

“Everyone is welcome here, and we reject these kinds of acts in the strongest terms,” he stated. “Grateful to Dave Portnoy for taking quick action and speaking out forcefully against what occurred.”


'Bait and switch' Dave Portnoy blasts Philly station, ‘scumbag’ reporter over interview about antisemitic ‘f—k the Jews’ sign at Barstool bar
Dave Portnoy said a local ABC news affiliate tried to “bait and switch” him during an interview about the incident involving an antisemitic sign at his Barstool Sansom Street bar in Philadelphia on Saturday.

In a video posted to his social media on Monday, the Barstool Sports founder included a partial recording of the interview, which showed him in a “contentious” exchange with an unnamed female reporter, who he said tried to “ambush” him by blaming him and his company for the incident.

Portnoy claimed the reporter “tried to say Barstool and I and white men were responsible for the incident,” — during which a sign that said “F–k the Jews” was displayed by bottle girls at the club in a now-viral video on social media.

“ABC News Philadelphia, they reached out, they begged me to do an interview,” Portnoy said in the video. “They gave me the reporter’s name, and then they do a bait and switch and a new reporter shows up to do it this morning.

“She starts OK, asking questions about the bar, how’d it happen, responsibility, blah blah blah, and then she shifts and then she does what a media scumbag does.

“She pulls a quote out of her ass from I don’t even know, a made-up journal, some professor… They say that Barstool Sports creates a culture of harassment and that basically I’m responsible for this happening at my own bar. I’ve never heard of the quote.

“Oh, you’re saying some f–king liberal college professor said they don’t like Barstool? So I was like ‘who f–king said it and what is this journal? We go back and forth and Austin starts taping it.”

Portnoy included a recording, which showed him in a tense back and forth with the reporter during the virtual interview.


JewishUncensored: Hasan DUMBFOUNDED as Ethan Proves He Hates Jewish People!



Greta Thunberg blames Israel for drone strike on Gaza aid ship
Climate activist Greta Thunberg blamed Israel for the drone attack on a vessel transporting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that occurred in international waters off Malta early on Friday.

In a video posted to Instagram, Thunberg stated that she had planned to board the ship in a mission with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) to “end the siege and open a humanitarian blockade” in Gaza.

“This is yet another crystal clear example of how international law and human rights are being completely disrespected,” Thunberg claimed in the video while wearing a keffiyeh scarf, commonly associated with pro-Palestinian groups.

Thunberg told Reuters that the attack had "caused an explosion and major damage to the vessel, which made it impossible to continue the mission."

"I was part of the group who was supposed to board that boat today to continue the voyage towards Gaza, which is one of many attempts to open up a humanitarian corridor and to do our part to keep trying to break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza," she said.

FCC claims thirty people were onboard the ship
In a social media post on Friday, the FFC claimed that some 30 people were on board the ship at the time of the strike, which occurred shortly after 12 a.m., The Jerusalem Post previously reported.

However, the government of Malta issued a statement later saying 12 crew members and four civilians were on board the vessel, with no casualties reported.


Pro-Hamas activists detained after disturbing Dutch Memorial Day ceremony
Police in Amsterdam arrested six pro-Hamas protesters after they disturbed a moment of silence during the country’s Remembrance of the Dead memorial ceremony in the Dutch capital on Sunday night.

According to local media reports, the activists unfurled a Palestinian flag and yelled “Free Palestine” as they were detained.

One of the suspects was identified as Elise H., in keeping with local privacy laws that prohibit the publication of the last name pending criminal proceedings. The activist previously posted a selfie showing herself wearing a sweater that read “Death to Israel” on social media.

In a separate incident, an activist hoisted a Palestinian flag and shouted, “Shame on you, blood on your hands” during a speech by Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. Dozens of people turned their backs towards the premier during his remarks, the local ANP press agency reported.

Remembrance of the Dead, marked annually on May 4, commemorates all Dutch civilians and troops “killed or murdered in the Kingdom of the Netherlands or anywhere else in the world in war situations or during peace-keeping operations since the outbreak of the Second World War.”


Anti-Israel singer Kehlani’s taxpayer-funded Central Park concert canceled after Adams ramps up pressure
The Big Apple has pulled the plug on the planned controversial Central Park concert featuring Jew-bashing performer Kehlani — after pressure from City Hall, The Post has learned.

The City Park’s Foundation, a taxpayer-funded organization, canceled the Summer Stage benefit concert, which was billed as “PRIDE WITH KEHLANI,” after intense fallout from the announcement, sources said.

The move comes just hours after the Adams administration sent a letter to the foundation, which was obtained by The Post, threatening to pull the licenses for all of the summer series’ shows over the concert.

“We write to advise you that we have security concerns about this event, given the controversy surrounding Kehlani’s scheduled performance at Cornell University (causing University officials to cancel the appearance), the security precautions needed for an event like this in Central Park, and the security demands throughout the City for other Pride events during this same period of time,” First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro wrote in the May 5 letter.

The foundation later said in a statement, “We strongly and emphatically believe in artistic expression of all kinds.

“However, the safety and security of our guests and artists is of the utmost importance and in light of these concerns, the concert has been cancelled.”

Kehlani is known for her controversial music video that begins with “Long live the Intifada,” which invokes violent acts on the Jewish community.

She also has infamously shared a map online that eliminates the state of Israel and refused to condemn Hamas for the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.




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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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