Tuesday, May 06, 2025

05/06 Links Pt1: IDF Destroys Airport Used for Houthis Weapons Shipments; Rubio To Close De Facto Palestinian Embassy; Almost half of Gazans willing to leave

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: Israeli gov't must lay out logic of expanded Gaza operation to the public
This time, the government cannot count on the same automatic legitimacy it enjoyed in the immediate aftermath of October 7. Back then, hundreds of thousands of reservists reported for duty, many without even being called, because the cause was clear: Israel was fighting a war of survival, barbarically thrust upon it.

Nineteen months later, the landscape has changed. A significant segment of the population, whose voices are heard loudly at protests and amplified by a largely sympathetic media, now questions the wisdom of continued fighting. For them, the war’s central goal should be freeing the hostages, and they argue that intensifying the military campaign may not advance that goal but actually undermine it.

This is no longer a black-and-white moment. The Israeli clarity of October 8 has given way to complexity and doubt. In such an environment, it is not enough for the government to announce an expanded military operation and expect unquestioning support, especially when polls show this government does not enjoy broad public backing.

There may well be sound reasons behind the security cabinet’s decision. The government may indeed have a solid plan for how to proceed in Gaza and what should follow. The push to intensify fighting and to conquer and hold territory appears driven by a sober recognition that as long as Hamas remains intact, no sustainable future can take root in Gaza, and that no one but Israel will do the work of removing them.

But this rationale must be communicated. Not everyone will be persuaded, but the government must lay out the logic behind its move.

Otherwise, opponents may succeed in painting this campaign as a “messianic” quest for territorial expansion when, in fact, its stated purpose is to defeat Hamas. If the goal is to remove Hamas and then ultimately withdraw when someone or something else that Israel can live with takes its place, then that needs to be made clear.

The government is asking much of its citizens. In return, the public deserves to understand the mission, not the operational details that must remain classified, but the broad outlines. What is the vision? What is the intended outcome?

It is far easier to rally people when they know what they are being asked to fight for. That “for” must now be clearly articulated.
Gantz: Talk of Palestinian state ‘detached from security reality’
National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz on Tuesday called Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza a “strategic error,” warning that renewed discussions of a Palestinian state or territorial withdrawals are “detached from security reality.”

Speaking at the Makor Rishon Settlement Conference in Ofra, Gantz stressed the importance of maintaining full Israeli security control in key strategic areas.

“We must maintain full security control—in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Southern Lebanon, and along the Syrian border,” he said. “Israel cannot afford to allow a significant invasion threat to develop on its borders.”

While rejecting the idea of rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza, Gantz said the evacuation of communities such as Dugit and Elei Sinai in 2005 was a mistake. The withdrawal, he argued, diminished Israel’s strategic depth and sent a damaging signal regarding the 1967 borders.

Gantz also leveled criticism at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime leadership, accusing the government of prioritizing political survival over national security.
Deradicalizing Gaza Could Be Harder Than Defeating Hamas
The coming Israeli offensive might well mean the defeat of Hamas as a governing force and Israeli military occupation of more territory in Gaza. And that means addressing the question of what will become of the Strip after Hamas is gone. While most discussion of the subject focuses on who will govern and how, Ksenia Svetlova raises a much more important question: what to do with a large population that has been inculcated from an early age with hatred of Jews and admiration for jihad? She looks to the example of other Middle Eastern countries that have faced similar problems.

Three countries—Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan—have distinctive long-term deradicalization strategies that combine security measures with religious, educational, and socioeconomic initiatives.

Following the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Morocco implemented a counterterrorism strategy combining aggressive security operations with socioeconomic development and religious-education oversight. Beyond active security measures, Morocco established the Mohammed VI Institute for Training Imams in 2015 to promote moderate interpretations of Islam based on the Maliki school of jurisprudence, reformed religious-education curricula, and created the Mosalaha (Reconciliation) program for rehabilitating extremist prisoners.

In Saudi Arabia, the Mohammed bin Naif Counseling and Care Center claims an 80-percent success rate in rehabilitating extremists. The Saudi approach separates extremist and non-extremist prisoners, provides extensive post-release incentives including marriage support and employment assistance, and emphasizes family involvement in the rehabilitation process.

Whatever approach is employed, Svetlova argues,
it must be supported and guided by regional powers with records in combatting radicalization. Arab countries with deradicalization experience, including Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, could play roles in such efforts.


A Correct Analysis of Law Does Not Find Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza
Conclusion
It appears that Shaiel is unaware of what the law requires having used the wrong standard of liability to try and stipulate that he has proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Israel is committing genocide. If we were to use this standard it would appear that plenty of doubt exists.

You see, I did not spend the time writing this to do anything other than cast doubt into Shaiel’s argument. If Shaiel was a prosecutor and I the defense attorney, all that I have done here is poke holes in the argument that he raises. However, this thought exercise was mostly unnecessary because the standard being higher than that has not been met.

There’s other issues at play here, Shaiel constantly utilizes statements that were out of context, and each one that he used when in context of the entire statement was directly in reference to the intended recipient of the harm being Hamas, not Palestinian civilians. In fact, in these statements each called for civilians to flee from the warzone.

Moreover, it appears that Shaiel is unaware of how the prongs for inference work from ICTY. Or, at the very least, were misrepresented. When applying them we can analyze:
(1) the general context of the statements do not demonstrate genocidal intent because they each refer to Hamas and call on civilians to flee;
(2) the scale of the harm demonstrates that 60% of buildings have been damaged and not necessarily destroyed, and the total population in 19 months to have lost their lives is about 2.3% of the pre-war population including natural deaths and a large portion of combatants;
(3) the systemic targeting of the protected group(s) has not occurred as Hamas has weaponized civilian infrastructure and Hamas is a large portion of the dead; and,
(4) there is no evidence that the commission of a genocidal actus reus was consciously planned.[36]

Shaiel does raise some good critiques, but unfortunately, he lacks the fundamental understanding of how it works to raise an adequate analysis. He instead focuses on information lacking context that is necessary under the law to fully ascertain what the conduct is. Altogether it is important that we not give heed to those who portray themselves as experts but lack the fundamental skills to give the appropriate analysis. I would be remised if I didn’t mention that there were times when reading Shaiel’s article where I thought to myself “this would be a good point if it was about a critique and not legality, because it doesn’t fit.” Either Israel is attacking Hamas, or it is attacking Palestinian civilians. Luckily for us we have plenty of information to tell us what the reality on the ground is, and how it works.

I am incredibly thankful for the information that has been provided throughout the war to better understand Israel’s adhesion to its legal obligations, and the conduct of Hamas. So, too, must we all do a better job understanding the facts as they present themselves.

Altogether, we have been able to paint a picture of Hamas’ conduct throughout the war, and we know that they act in such a way to increase harm to Palestinian civilians.

Fake information has run rampant throughout this conflict. Unfortunately, all too many have taken this information and run with it. Causing more harm to civilians on both sides of the conflict as it tells Hamas that they can get away with their conduct. Knowledge is important in understanding what is happening, so too is having the fortitude to acknowledge where you lack. I am lucky to have the access I have had to information, and to have worked on saving Palestinian lives early on in the war. Nothing can be done to forgive the conduct that Hamas has displayed as it is not just a demonstration of their lack of caring for Israelis, but their lack of dignity for their own people. Generally, I applaud those who simply want to see Palestinians unharmed and safe, that’s a good thing that should be celebrated, so too should they have a full understanding to better enable that to happen.

I had no joy in writing this piece. Degrading the law to propel political and ideological goals is also disgusting, it should be avoided at all costs. Information is readily available to all of us, but we should make sure that the information is real and not meant to spread misinformation to cause more harm. Ostensibly, we can do better as a whole, but in the end the only genocide that has occurred in this war was committed by Hamas and their friends when they acted with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Jews/Israelis as a national, ethnical, or religious group. Thus, it is important to not bastardize the law behind genocide, but to grapple with it and be better informed about it to prevent the degradation that we are seeing today from so many, including Shaiel.
Marco Rubio To Close State Department's De Facto Palestinian Embassy
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will dissolve the State Department’s Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA), a Biden-era creation that elevated relations with the Palestinian Authority, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

Rubio directed newly installed U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to merge the independent diplomatic office and its responsibilities, including outreach to the Palestinians, with the American embassy in Jerusalem, U.S. officials and congressional sources briefed on the matter confirmed to the Free Beacon. The decision is meant to restore the Trump administration’s first-term vision for a unified U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that reports directly to the ambassador.

The office repeatedly earned the ire of Republican lawmakers for its anti-Israel advocacy during the Biden-Harris administration. In the early hours of Hamas’s October 7 attack, the OPA called on Israel to stand down and forgo any retaliation. Subsequent legislation sought to rein in the office, mandating it periodically report on its public diplomacy and advocacy efforts.

The Biden administration created the OPA in June 2022 against Israel’s wishes, endowing it with the power to operate independently of the American embassy. It has come under fire in the past for its potential violation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which mandated that a single U.S. embassy be established in the Israeli capital.

As a senator, Rubio helped lead the charge against the Palestinian affairs office and the Biden administration’s efforts to ramp up diplomacy with the Palestinian government in the years prior to Hamas’s October 7 attack.

He and a coalition of more than 80 lawmakers raised concerns that the diplomatic outpost was meant to erode President Donald Trump’s decision in his first term to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital and move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv.

By opening the Office of Palestinian Affairs, the Biden-Harris administration signaled that Jerusalem could again be divided under a future peace deal between the Palestinians and Israel.
Contrary to Claims, Aid Trucks with Millions' Worth of Goods Enter Gaza
According to the Israeli government's statements, the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza has been completely halted, with residents of the Strip reporting dwindling supplies of food and basic necessities. However, information obtained by Israel Hayom, indicates that expensive goods are still reaching Gaza by some means. Sources say there is evidence that, in recent weeks, trucks carrying items such as advanced smartphones, fuel, and solar panels have entered the Strip through the Kissufim crossing.

It remains unclear whether the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories is aware of how this equipment is entering Gaza. What is clear, however, is that valuable merchandise is making its way into the Strip and is being sold for large sums of money. Sources were unable to confirm whether this was due to criminal smuggling operations or some other mechanism, but there is no doubt that in some cases, the equipment entering Gaza is brand new.
Almost half of Gazans willing to leave enclave, Palestinian research center finds
Almost half of Gazans may be willing to apply to Israel to help them leave to other countries, according to a survey on Tuesday that also showed significant support for anti-Hamas protests.

The survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research was based on polling of people across the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank between May 1-4, some six weeks after Israeli forces resumed operations in Gaza following the breakdown of a brief ceasefire.

The Center, a think tank based in Ramallah and funded by Western donors, said in the report that 49% of those surveyed declared that they would be willing to apply to Israel to help them emigrate via Israeli ports and airports, against 50% who said they would not be willing to do so.

Israeli officials have said that Israel will help Gazans who wish to leave the enclave, but it has made little headway persuading other countries to accept them. Although Israel's 19-month campaign has reduced most of Gaza to rubble, and a blockade on aid since March has left the 2.3 million population increasingly short of food, many Palestinians believe that leaving would mean effectively surrendering their home to Israel.

Hardline Israeli ministers have made little secret of their wish to see the whole Gaza population moved out of the enclave, in line with US President Donald Trump's plan to redevelop Gaza as a coastal resort under American control.

The survey also found that 48% of Palestinians in Gaza supported the series of anti-Hamas demonstrations that sprang up in various places around the enclave, a much higher level than among Palestinians in the West Bank, where only 14% backed the protests, a rare public show of opposition to the group.


IDF Destroys Airport Used for Weapons Shipments in Devastating Strike on Houthis
Israel "completely destroyed" Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport on Tuesday, delivering a crippling blow to the Iran-backed Houthis who had used the facility to transport weapons and terrorist fighters across the Middle East.

Shortly after the strike, President Donald Trump announced that U.S. military operations against the Houthis will cease after the terror group purportedly agreed to stop their attacks on international shipping lanes and American assets.

Israel’s surprise operation—the largest to date against the Houthis—came in response to a series of missile and drone strikes on the Jewish state, including a Sunday salvo that struck the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, wounding several people. In response, Israel "completely disabled" the Sanaa airport and destroyed a slew of nearby power stations the Houthis were using to build out their military infrastructure. Photos posted earlier on Tuesday showed plumes of thick smoke rising from the airport and nearby areas.

"Three planes out of seven belonging to Yemenia Airlines were destroyed at Sanaa airport, and Sanaa International Airport was completely destroyed," an airport official told AFP, confirming information from the Israelis indicating that half of the carrier’s fleet was wiped out.

The Israel Defense Forces publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had destroyed the Houthis' main air hub and a cement factory "used by the group to construct infrastructure and tunnels," according to the Times of Israel's military correspondent Emanuel Fabian. The IDF said the Iranian proxy used the airport for "the transfer of weapons and operatives," noting that it is "regularly operated by the Houthi regime for terrorist purposes."

Like Hamas and other Iran-backed terror groups, the Houthis used "civilian infrastructure for terrorist operations," the IDF said when it confirmed the operation.

In the wake of the attack, Trump announced that he had called off ongoing American military strikes on the Houthis, saying an intense U.S. bombing campaign has sapped the terrorist organization's willingness to engage in combat.

"They don't want to fight anymore," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We will honor that and we will stop the bombings ... [since] they have capitulated."

Following Trump's remarks, Oman's foreign ministry confirmed that the Houthis had agreed to a "ceasefire agreement" with the U.S. after the Gulf state helped push along diplomacy between the two sides.

"In the future, neither side will target the other, including U.S. vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping," Oman's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Though the American conflict with the Houthis may ease, the terror group warned that it will continue to target Israel. Houthi Supreme Political Council head Mahdi al-Mashat said operations "to support Gaza" will proceed, suggesting that Israel's war against the Houthis could escalate amid its parallel operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


Yemen attacks Tel Aviv airport, Israel’s response and more! | Jerusalem Minute
JNS CEO Alex Traiman and Josh Hasten, JNS Middle East correspondent, break down the biggest stories from Israel and the region following the historic first annual JNS International Policy Summit.

From a Houthi ballistic missile strike at Ben-Gurion Airport that narrowly missed Traiman himself, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bold declarations on Iran and Hamas, this episode takes you to the front lines of Israel’s multi-front war.

In this episode:
What Netanyahu revealed about secret Israel-Hezbollah operations
Why a full military occupation of Gaza may be imminent
The U.S.-Israel divide on Iran and nuclear threats
Fires across Israel: terrorism or “climate change”?
Exclusive insights from Minister Ron Dermer and Ambassador Mike Huckabee
Why Israel may target southern Syria to protect the Druze

As Israel’s enemies grow louder on the battlefield and on Western campuses, Traiman and Hasten bring sharp clarity, policy depth and exclusive access to the most urgent issues affecting the Jewish state.


Trump announces US-Houthi ceasefire, terror group vows to continue Israel attacks
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would halt strikes on the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, saying the Iran-backed group had “agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East,” Reuters reported.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, the president said the Houthis approached the administration on Monday night after a nearly two-month bombing campaign against the group.

“They said please don’t bomb us anymore, and we’re not going to attack your ships,” the president continued. “I will accept their word, and we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately.”

He added that the group had “capitulated.”

The Foreign Minister of Oman, Badr Albusaidi, confirmed that his country had mediated the ceasefire between the United States and the terrorist group.

“In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” Albusaidi wrote.

A Houthi social media account said after the announcement that the group would continue its attacks on Israel.

“We are committed to our operations in support of Gaza, regardless of the sacrifices it costs us,” the media office for the Houthi governor of Dhamar wrote.

On Monday, Israel conducted a wave of strikes on Yemen’s Hudaydah Port in retaliation against the Houthis, who fired a ballistic missile that struck near Israel’s main international airport.

Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration and liaison to Israel on Iran during the Biden administration, called Tuesday’s deal “a win.”

“Still need to end Houthi attacks on Israel, or on their broadly defined ‘Israeli shipping’ interests—often ships with no actual connection to Israel,” Shapiro wrote. “The Israeli strikes on Yemen in recent days, coordinated with the United States, may need to be repeated.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urged Israel to consider striking Iran for its role in supporting the Houthi attacks.

“To my friends in Israel, do what you have to do to protect your airspace and your people,” Graham wrote. “It is long past time to consider hitting Iran hard. It wouldn’t take much to put Iran out of the oil business.”


Israel blindsided by Trump's Houthi announcement, sources tell 'Post'
Israel was not informed in advance about US President Donald Trump's announcement regarding the Houthis, an informed source told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

Trump said on Tuesday that the US will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen after claiming that the Iran-aligned group agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.

The comments came during an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, when Trump announced that the Houthis have said that they no longer want to fight, but did not elaborate on the message.

"They said please don't bomb us anymore and we're not going to attack your ships," Trump said.

There was no immediate response from the Houthis.


Hamas terrorist who held hostages, participated in Oct. 7 massacre surrenders to IDF
A Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7 massacre and was responsible for holding hostages who have since been released from Gaza captivity surrendered to IDF troops operating in Rafah, the military said on Tuesday.

The IDF also said an additional Hamas terrorist serving in the terror group's sniper array had surrendered.

A Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) investigation of the terrorists gleaned intelligence information regarding significant terror infrastructure in the area, the IDF added. Troops operate in Rafah as IDF expands operations across Gaza

Subsequently, troops of the 188th Brigade operating in Rafah located weapons and terror infrastructure and killed terrorists in the area.

These ongoing operations accompany the IDF sending out call-up orders for tens of thousands of reservists starting this past Sunday, on the road toward widening the Gaza invasion.

The military said that the expansion would be in stages, signaling that it could take days or weeks before having a clearer picture of the strategy and impact of the IDF’s further invasion.


Wounded Syrian Druze civilians evacuated to Israel for treatment
Ten Syrian Druze citizens were evacuated over the past two days to Ziv Medical Center in Safed after being injured in Syria, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday.

The IDF remains deployed in southern Syria and is actively working to prevent the infiltration of hostile forces into Druze villages in the area.

“The military continues to monitor the situation closely and remains prepared for a range of defensive scenarios,” according to the IDF.

On Monday, the IDF announced that Israeli forces operating near the Syrian border located and destroyed the central military headquarters of the former Assad regime in the Mount Hermon region.

During the operation, Israeli forces uncovered bunkers and an extensive weapons cache, including artillery, mortars, rocket launchers, explosives and landmines.

The operation followed 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.

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.”


Douglas Murray - Hamas has to lose the war and it has to know it (Pt.1)
Award-winning British author, journalist, and political commentator Douglas Murray returns to State of a Nation for an explosive two-part special.

In this first installment, Murray takes us deep inside Israel’s battle not just on the battlefield — but in the court of global opinion. With rare clarity, he breaks down how media narratives, international hypocrisy, and strategic misinformation are becoming as dangerous as missiles.

In Part 2 of our deep-dive with renowned British author and commentator Douglas Murray, we turn the spotlight to Israel’s communications war. How do democracies like Israel battle a terrorist organization like Hamas on the information front? What happens behind closed doors when world leaders, journalists, and spokespersons debate the truth?

Douglas gives a raw, unfiltered look into the invisible battlefield: one waged on TV screens, in headlines, and through viral tweets.

This is the side of the war you won’t see on the news.


👇 Key topics in this episode:
Why the media war is as important as the military one
The tactics Israel uses to brief foreign press
How Hamas manipulates civilian imagery for global gain
Douglas’s take on the moral confusion in the West
What a real strategy for global messaging could look like

00:00 – Opening & Recap from Part 1
02:42 – Israel’s Media Response Strategy
06:15 – Fighting Propaganda: A War of Narratives
10:50 – Briefing the Press During War
15:08 – Western Hypocrisy & Media Double Standards
19:40 – Psychological Warfare & Image Management
24:05 – How Israel Can Win the Narrative War
27:50 – Final Thoughts: Why This War Is Different


Call me Back Podcast: What’s at Stake in Trump’s Upcoming Gulf Summit – with Mike Singh & Nadav Eyal
Next week, President Trump is heading to Saudi Arabia to convene a summit with leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. The agenda? Arms deals, AI partnerships, and a substantial Saudi investment pledge. Israel isn't on his itinerary, although Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has just announced that he will be traveling to Israel in advance of President Trump’s Middle East trip, and that Secretary Hegseth will be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Katz and Israel’s military leadership. He will then travel to Saudi Arabia to accompany President Trump on his travels.

The Middle East visit will also take place against the backdrop of an important personnel change on Trump’s national security team – namely, the national security advisor Mike Waltz stepping down and moving to the UN.

To unpack what's at stake for Israel and the US, we're joined by Mike Singh, former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council and now managing director at the Washington Institute, and Call me Back regular, Nadav Eyal, columnist for Yediot Ahronot.




Eylon Levy’s brutally honest approach to fighting campus anti-Zionism | True East
IDF Spokesperson (Res.) Major Doron Spielman (see below to purchase his new book) speaks with Eylon Levy, former international spokesperson for the Israeli government, about a battlefield far from Gaza and Iran—the frontlines of Western universities, where Jewish students are under siege.

As antisemitism explodes on campuses from Columbia to Oxford, and pro-Hamas rallies become normalized, Eylon shares chilling firsthand accounts of being chased off university stages and the rising fear Jewish students face just for expressing their identity. But he doesn't stop at diagnosis—he offers a strategy.

Levy outlines how young Zionists can reclaim moral clarity, resist intimidation, and redefine Jewish pride. With powerful insights, he calls on students to adopt a mission mindset—you’re not Gen Z, you’re Gen Zionist—and arms them with the tools to fight back: narrative courage, historical truth and unflinching solidarity.

In this episode:
How elite universities became incubators for radical anti-Zionism
Personal stories of campus intimidation, hate and exclusion
Why antisemitism now comes with conditions: "You can be Jewish, just not pro-Israel"
Advice to students: how to fight back and why it's worth the cost
The long-term stakes for Jewish continuity in the Diaspora
What it means to be a Zionist in 2024 and why it starts in the classroom


The Ayaan Hirsi Ali Podcast: How the Ivy League is turning students against America | Eyal Yakoby | EP14
Ayaan is joined by Eyal Yakoby, a recent graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. Eyal has become a leading advocate in the fight against antisemitism on campus, testifying twice before congress about the discrimination Jewish students are facing at the Ivy league universities. He gives a first hand account of the anti-western indoctrination he was subject to in class and how professors are influencing young impressionable minds to turn against America, Europe, and Israel.


Douglas Murray rips into BBC chair for failing to call Hamas a terrorist group
Author Douglas Murray slams BBC chairman Samir Shah for “trying to squirm” out of answering a question about whether Hamas is a terrorist group.

Mr Shah was unable to answer whether he considers Hamas a terrorist organisation during a Times Radio interview.

“Isn’t it bizarre, Rita? It’s not hard to call Hamas terrorists,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

“It tells us about what he is swimming in at the BBC, that that is a difficult question to answer.”


Jonathan Tobin: Send Barstool Jew-haters to Israel, not Auschwitz
Antisemitism of this sort is never merely routine vulgarity, discourtesy or meanness. Singling out Jews in this matter is the result of a broad cultural movement that, far from involving influencers like Portnoy, is rooted in ideologies that treat Israel and its supporters as uniquely evil. That is especially true since the Hamas-led Palestinian terror assaults on southern Israel that took place on Oct. 7, 2023.

In recent years, students who attend schools like Temple, coupled with more elite institutions like Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania in the same city as Temple, are routinely being fed propaganda about Jews being “white” oppressors of “people of color” due to the pervasive influence of toxic left-wing ideas like critical race theory, intersectionality, settler-colonialism, and the woke catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion that pointedly excludes Jews from its protections. This problem has been exacerbated by coverage of the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has falsely depicted Israel as the moral equivalent of the Nazis, even though it is the Palestinians who have embraced an eliminationist ideology aimed at the destruction of the Jewish state and the genocide of its people.

To his credit, Portnoy responded to accusations that he’s responsible for hate by pointing out that the main engine of contemporary antisemitism is the campaign of vilification of Israel and Jews that has been mainstreamed on college campuses and in the mainstream media.

He’s right about that, but by listening to Kraft, whose foundation’s Super Bowl ad was a primer on how not to educate the public about antisemitism, Portnoy blundered.

Contrary to Kraft’s foolish ad, antisemitism isn’t ordinary intolerance or unkindness. It’s always a form of hatred based on ideas about power with a political purpose.

And if there’s anything to be learned from the enormous effort that has been expended on Holocaust education in the last generation in the United States, it’s that the focus on Auschwitz and the Nazi murder of 6 million Jews isn’t doing much to stop the backlash of hatred against them.

That’s not just because it emphasizes Jewish powerlessness—something that tends to excite antisemites rather than deter them. It is because the ideas driving antisemitism right now cannot be debunked by talking about the crimes of the past, but must instead educate people about why today’s haters are wrong.

If students, waitresses and bar managers think that it’s OK to jovially bash Jews on a typical night out, it’s because they have been indoctrinated in lies about contemporary Israel that aren’t answered by training about tolerance or DEI-style concern about minorities other than Jews.

What is needed in response to all of the incidents of antisemitism that don’t go viral, in addition to those that do, is not a discussion about why people voted for Trump or why they like Portnoy but an understanding of the war being waged by Palestinian Arabs on Israel that is cheered on by a red/green alliance of “progressives” and Islamists. It is no different from the one waged against Jews by the Nazis. Honoring the memory of the Holocaust is vital, but young Americans who hate Jews don’t need trips to a concentration camp. What they could use is a visit to Israel’s Gaza Envelope to see the Oct. 7 killing fields at the Nova music festival site and in the attacked Jewish communities near the border, where unspeakable atrocities occurred.

The “bro culture” at Barstool Sports bars may strike many of us as repellent. But the issue here isn’t Portnoy’s influence or his own bad behavior. It is a media and an education system that hasn’t so much increased its tolerance of Jew-hatred as they have mainstreamed it.

Those who want to reverse this trend should stop pointing their fingers at the pizza guy and start blaming the people who continually put out misinformation about Israel and Jews that fuels antisemitism. And those who want to stop this dispiriting trend should understand that, as important as it may be, Holocaust education isn’t the catch-all answer to Jew-hatred. Individuals with powerful platforms like Portnoy should be focusing more on the battle against intersectionality and DEI—and telling the truth about the foundation of the 77-year-old democratic State of Israel—and stop listening to Jewish establishment figures like Kraft, whose safe-sounding solutions to the problem have already proven to be failures.
Portnoy revokes Auschwitz offer to Temple student allegedly involved in antisemitic bar sign
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, 48, who is Jewish, announced that he was rescinding an offer inviting a Temple University student to visit Auschwitz in Poland. It came following an incident this past weekend when a student drinking at one of his establishments posted a video of patrons displaying a sign with an expletive against Jews.

“Quick update. Mo Kahn is no longer taking any responsibility or involvement for the ‘F*** the Jews’ sign at Barstool Samson,” wrote Portnoy, adding that Kahn was “lawyering up.” Khan, whose first name is Mohammed, posted the video to social media, according to a fact sheet from the American Jewish Committee.

“It is a 180 from my convo with him yesterday,” added Portnoy, referring to Monday. “Needless to say, his trip to Poland has been revoked.”

On May 3, patrons at Barstool Sansom Street in Center City held a sign that said “F*** the Jews” while ordering bottle service, which comes with a personal sign in addition to drinks. A clip went viral on social media, showing the group laughing and dancing, prompting immediate outrage from Portnoy.

He held an “emergency press conference” the following day. Portnoy also announced that he fired the two waitresses involved in the incident.


Greens ran a ‘toxic and divisive’ election campaign for Jewish voters
Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council's Joel Burnie provides his reaction to Greens Leader Adam Bandt potentially losing his seat in Melbourne due to the backlash against his strong anti-Israel point of view.

Mr Burnie claims the Greens’ “obsession of Israel” was a “key pillar” in their political campaign.

“They’ve gone from four seats in the lower house to potentially looks like zero,” Mr Burnie told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“It’s a clear repudiation of the toxic antisemitism emanating out of the Greens Party.

“They ran a toxic and divisive campaign.

“Any tears from Abbie Chatfield or DJ Adam Bandt is irrelevant, they failed dismally in this election and the results are clear as day.”






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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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