Wednesday, June 04, 2025

06/04 Links Pt1: Boulder and the Gaza Mind-Virus; Holocaust survivor burned in Colorado terror attack speaks out; Why Hamas Rejected Witkoff's Ceasefire Plan

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Boulder and the Gaza Mind-Virus
The terror attack on Jews in Boulder has exposed how deeply heads have been buried in the sand, especially when it comes to anti-Semitism and the left. Reporting out of the Colorado college town has an Invasion of the Body Snatchers quality to it, depicting a community of identical-looking but hollowed-out replacements for the humans that once populated it.

Infected with Hamas propaganda, American cities have become creeping horror flicks, with a trio of New York Times reporters in place of the scriptwriters. In today’s Times, those narrators set the scene:

“In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the college town of Boulder, Colo., has long been known as a laid-back hippie haven. Its residents cherish the outdoors, and its leaders are often elected on reliably liberal promises to expand affordable housing, address climate change and increase racial equity.

“In recent months, however, the City Council has been pulled apart over an entirely different matter: the war in Gaza.

“Pro-Palestinian protesters have regularly interrupted meetings with shouting and other unruly behavior, even prompting the council to temporarily move its meetings online to avoid further disruption and later adding rules to more easily bar people from City Hall.”

So the city of Boulder increasingly cannot function, and the reason is Gaza. This is the sort of thing that should have raised alarm bells long before the inevitable anti-Semitic terror attack it produced. How was this not a major story? The pro-Hamas (in some cases Hamas-connected) network in America is grinding the gears of local government to a halt, and the answer in Boulder was: Let’s have our council meetings on Zoom?

“It’s been a hard time here in Boulder,” Mayor Aaron Brockett told the paper. “We reiterate over and over and over again that international affairs are not the business of the Boulder City Council, and our work is to clean the streets and make sure the water comes out when you turn the tap.”

Okay, but… international affairs very clearly are your business now, Mr. Mayor. If you can’t hold meetings in person because of “international affairs,” you have a bit of a situation on your hands.
Holocaust survivor burned in Colorado terror attack speaks out: ‘What the hell is going on in our country?’
An 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who was set on fire by Colorado terror suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman has one sobering question after the heinous antisemitic attack: “What the hell is going on in our country?”

Barbara Steinmetz was the eldest of the 12 victims who were wounded when they were firebombed while advocating for the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

She said the terror has left her asking, “What the hell is going on?”

“We’re better than this,” she told NBC News.

Steinmetz added that she “wants people to be nice and decent to each other, kind, respectful [and] encompassing.”

“That’s what I want them to know. That they be kind and decent human beings,” she said.

Rabbi Marc Soloway, who leads Congregation Bonai Shalom in Boulder, where Steinmetz is a member, said she suffered minor burns but should fully recover.

The faith leader wondered how someone who escaped the horrors of the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were slaughtered, could comprehend the hate Steinmetz experienced on Pearl Street 80 years after the end of World War II.

“Can you imagine the trauma that that reactivates?” Soloway said. “It’s just horrendous.”

Steinmetz and others among the mostly elderly demonstrators were attacked allegedly by Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman while they were peacefully partaking in a weekly “Run for their Lives” walk to show solidarity with the 58 Israeli hostages still in Hamas’ hands.
Family of slain Israel embassy staffer speaks out against activists supporting attack
The family of Sarah Milgrim, a young American who was working at the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC, spoke on television publicly for the first time since her killing last month in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, speaking out against activists justifying her murder.

Milgrim, 26, was fatally shot alongside her boyfriend, fellow embassy employee Yaron Lischinsky, 30, as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The two had just attended a discussion on humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

Their alleged killer, a far-left 31-year-old activist from Chicago named Elias Rodriguez, was arrested and shouted “Free Palestine” as he was led away. Charging documents said he later told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”

In an emotional interview with CBS News, Sarah’s mother, Nancy Milgrim, was asked about activists supporting the shooter. Groups, including a faction of the Democratic Socialists of America and the extremist anti-Israel group Unity of Fields, have supported Rodriguez.

Milgrim’s mother Nancy said, “I don’t know anything about that, but Sarah wasn’t against the Palestinians, she wasn’t against the people in Gaza.”

“She was in all her heart working towards finding a way for everyone to live together peacefully,” she said.

“There’s nothing more important in Judaism than life and the sanctity of life, and to what end is this fighting and sacrifice?” Milgrim’s older brother, Jacob, told CBS. “What does it accomplish taking my sister from me? It’s not going to accomplish anything,” he said.
A Shift Among the Anti-Semites’ Liberal Enablers By Abe Greenwald
Via Commentary Magazine Newsletter, sign up here.

Two young Israeli embassy staffers were murdered, and 12 Coloradans were torched with a flamethrower, and the Times wants to quote a late, spurned ex-wife and remind readers that the president can sometimes be a bit like Archie Bunker. That’s all they can come up with for now. But, in time, I suspect, we will start to see some liberals defensively yet loftily reconsider their support for the campus hordes “in light of recent tragedies.”

It's not surprising that it takes tragedy to finally change liberal minds. In fact, that’s usually the way it works. Liberals tend to come to their ideas through a process of secular faith—faith that they are doing the right thing. This faith makes it hard to disabuse them of such ideas through reasoned argument. Only real-world events can do that.

We’ve seen it recently enough. Liberals abandoned police-defunding after violent crime spiked as a result. They distanced themselves from supporting biological-male participation in female sports beginning with the Lia Thomas debacle and the circulation of viral clips showing female athletes getting thrashed by biological males on the field. And they’ve gone fairly quiet on “gender-affirming” medical intervention for minors now that accurate research has documented the varied horrors it entails.

But they must first let their bad ideas play out, because their faith dictates that such ideas have to be right. The thorough debunking usually takes a few years. Which is why I say that liberals and conservatives generally live in different time zones. Liberals wake up to realities that conservatives understood two years earlier. So given the current trajectory of anti-Semitic violence in the U.S., and considering that we’re a few months away from the second anniversary of October 7, 2023, things seem to be on track.

It's going to be very well and good for those liberals who will make a big show of admitting they got things wrong. This is what an honest and responsible media does, don’t you know? But for the dead Jews, it will be too late. And for them, we should neither forgive nor forget.


US vetoes Security Council resolution, ‘unacceptable’ for what it says, doesn’t say, manner advanced
The U.S. mission to the United Nations vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution, which the body’s 10 non-permanent members introduced and which calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“U.S. opposition to this resolution should come as no surprise,” Dorothy Shea, the acting U.S. envoy, told the council on Wednesday. “It is unacceptable for what it does say. It is unacceptable for what it does not say, and it is unacceptable for the manner in which it has been advanced.”

“The United States has been clear,” she added. “We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza.”

Washington cast the lone vote against the resolution, with the other 14 members of the council voting in favor. As a permanent member of the council, Washington wields veto power over any resolutions. China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom are the other four permanent members.

The non-permanent members, who advanced the resolution, are Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia.

“In recent months, Hamas has rejected numerous ceasefire proposals, including one over the weekend that would provide a pathway to end this conflict and release the remaining 58 hostages,” Shea told the council. “We cannot allow the Security Council to reward Hamas’s intransigence.”

She added that the Hamas terror group is the one that “continues to threaten Israelis and puts Palestinian civilians in Gaza in harm’s way every day, using them as human shields.” Hamas has “brutally suppressed those brave enough to challenge its despotic rule,” she said.

“It is inexplicable that many members of this council still refuse to acknowledge that Hamas could end this conflict tomorrow by surrendering and laying down its arms,” she said. “It is unconscionable that the United Nations still has not labeled and sanctioned Hamas as a terrorist organization.”

“In addition to refusing, once again, to condemn Hamas for the cowardly and evil acts that set this brutal conflict into motion, this resolution contains other serious defects,” she added.


Khaled Abu Toameh: Why Hamas Rejected Witkoff's Ceasefire Plan
The leaders of the Iran-backed Hamas terror group do not seem to be in a rush to end the war with Israel: after all, they and their family members are not living in the Gaza Strip...

Hamas's political leaders, billionaires funded by Iran's mullahs and the rulers of Qatar, live in several Arab and Islamic countries, including Qatar, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon. They and their family members lead luxurious lives in these countries and do not have to worry about lack of food or medicine.

Hamas leaders are in no rush to accept any deal because, unlike most of the residents of the Gaza Strip, they do not have to stand in line and risk being shot by Hamas terrorists for trying to receive food from a humanitarian organization.

Moreover, the Hamas leadership will never accept any ceasefire without prior permission from the Iranian regime. The mullahs in Tehran also appear in no rush to end the war against Israel. They want the war to continue: it distracts attention from Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.

For [Hamas's leaders], the No. 1 priority is to make sure that Hamas remains in power the day after the war

For Hamas, "the end" (eliminating Israel) justifies "the means" (sacrificing Palestinians as "martyrs" in the jihad against Israel).

Hamas staying in power would be great news for the Iranian regime, jihadis, and Islamist terror groups who consider the US the "Great Satan," and are committed to killing Americans, Christians, Jews and all other "infidels."


White House proposes cutting billions in UN contributions
The Trump administration proposed crippling cuts to the United Nations on Tuesday as it sent a package of rescission requests to Congress in an effort to claw back billions of dollars in foreign aid appropriations.

Among the proposals forwarded to Capitol Hill was a rescission request for nearly $437 million, representing the entirety of fiscal year 2025 funds for international organizations and programs, known as IOP. That money largely goes to the United Nations, funding Washington’s voluntary contributions to a number of U.N. agencies.

“In the past, these voluntary contributions have compounded the excessive burden of America’s disproportionately high contributions,” the proposal said. “Enacting this rescission would encourage international organizations to be more efficient, down-scope their sprawling missions and seek contributions from other member nations and donors, putting American taxpayers first.”

A separate proposed rescission would pull $203 million from U.N. peacekeeping missions. That’s part of the $1.4 billion appropriated for that cause in fiscal year 2024.

“U.N. peacekeeping has been fraught with waste and abuse, as evidenced by the abject failure of the Lebanon peacekeeping mission to contain Hezbollah,” the proposal read, alluding to UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force for Lebanon, which patrols the Israel-Lebanon border.

UNIFIL has been heavily criticized by Israel and others for failing to take meaningful action against the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group which long ruled the southern part of the country, and which enhanced its terror capabilities under UNIFIL’s nose, leading to near daily attacks from Israel’s north between Oct. 8, 2023 and Nov. 27, 2024.


Before Attack, Boulder Firebomber Filmed Himself Declaring ‘Jihad for Allah’s Sake’ Is More Important Than His Family
Before carrying out the firebombing attack on peaceful Jewish demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, foreign national Mohamed Soliman filmed himself declaring that "jihad for Allah's sake" is more important than his mother, wife, and children.

The 45-year-old Soliman, who was born in Egypt and lived in Kuwait before moving to Colorado and overstaying a visa, made the remarks in an Arabic-language video obtained and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

"I say to my mother, my wife, my children, my brothers, my people: I attest before Allah and before you that Allah, his messenger, and jihad for Allah’s sake are more beloved to me than you and the whole world are," he said.

Soliman was charged Monday with a federal hate crime and faces additional state charges, including 384 years for 16 counts of attempted murder, 48 years for 2 counts of using an incendiary device, and 192 years for 16 counts of attempted use of an incendiary device.

"Allah is greater than anything," he said in the video. "Allah is greater than the Zionists, Allah is greater than America and its weapons, Allah is greater than the F-35 planes, Allah is greater than everything else. So why do we fear those who are inferior to Allah, rather than Allah himself?"

"Do not forget that Allah is greater than everything. Not the Zionists, America, Britain, France, or Germany—only Allah has the right to be feared," Soliman continued. "If I told my wife and son every day to do something, but they didn’t do it, I would be angry. Maybe I would divorce my wife, maybe I would kick my son out of [my] home. Then what about Allah, who says to us everyday, dozens of times: ‘Allah Akbar.’ Do not forget: Allah Akbar."


Colorado suspect disguised himself as a gardener to approach victims – police
The suspect in the firebomb attack on a rally for Israeli hostages in Colorado on Sunday disguised himself as a gardener to approach the group and has no regrets about the attack that aimed to kill all of the participants at the demonstration, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant filed by a Boulder detective.

The affidavit, filed by a detective who interviewed Mohamed Sabry Soliman after the attack, came alongside a statement filed by an FBI agent who also spoke with the suspect. Soliman is being charged by both state and federal authorities for the attack that wounded 12 in the city of Boulder.

Police first heard about the attack when they received a call at 1:27 p.m. about a man with a “blow torch” who was lighting people on fire. Officers arrived at the scene three minutes later. Witnesses directed them to Soliman, who was shirtless, standing on a patch of grass, facing the bystanders and shouting. He was arrested two minutes after officers arrived.

Witnesses said Soliman, 45, threw the homemade firebombs into the crowd, “which burst upon impact, creating large flames,” the detective said. Eight people were burned or caught on fire, and four victims with minor injuries later came forward. The victims’ names were redacted.

Soliman also used a commercial weed sprayer, mounted on his back and filled with gasoline, as a makeshift flamethrower. The device malfunctioned and caught on fire, prompting Soliman to drop the sprayer and remove his shirt, witnesses later said.


FBI increases number of victims in Colorado antisemitic attack to 15
The number of identified victims in Sunday’s antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colo., has increased to 15 people and one dog, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday.

“The victims range from 25 to 88 years old, eight female and seven male,” the FBI wrote.

The accused perpetrator is a 45-year-old Egyptian, “who had overstayed his visa in the United States and remained in the country unlawfully since 2022,” according to the Trump administration.

Kristi Noem, U.S. secretary of homeland security, announced on Wednesday that she directed federal agencies to “ramp up” crackdowns on those who overstay their visas in response.
The Media, Where I Worked, is Getting Jews Killed
A horrific firebombing in Colorado and the slaughter of a young couple in Washington DC are just the latest terrorist attacks that took place just as powerful news organizations were spreading disproven lies about Israel.

A claim about babies in Gaza was carried unquestioningly by mainstream media, even though it made no sense and was soon debunked. During that time, a radicalized man opened fire in Washington DC, killing a young couple who attended a Jewish event. Then, an equally insane lie about Israel shooting at aid recipients in Gaza spread like wildfire in the news, and a man in Colorado firebombed a march for the hostages held by Hamas. One of the wounded, according to current reports, is a Holocaust survivor.

Is all this just correlation, not causation? Here’s what we can know for certain: The media has a responsibility to tell the truth always. It fails miserably, every day. That’s what I cover in my podcast and newsletter They Stand Corrected. And the media keeps failing to follow basic journalistic standards despite the massive spike in antisemitic attacks. That is an active choice news executives are making.

I saw media failures in action during my 20 years inside the mainstream media. I saw the separate rules just for covering Israel, all of which are designed to present the tiny dot of a Jewish state in the worst possible light. I saw how we lied about “occupation” and “international law.” How we stopped calling terrorism by its name when Jews were killed. How we pushed the antisemitic lie that Jews cry wolf by routinely calling “criticism of Israel” antisemitic.
Boulder attack about ‘total extermination’ of Jews, House speaker says
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for tougher immigration and border enforcement on Wednesday in response to the firebombing attack in Boulder, Colo., on Sunday.

Johnson noted that the alleged perpetrator, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, had been in the country illegally since his visa expired in 2023.

“We need to go find the other Solimans and get them out of America,” Johnson told reporters at the weekly House Republican leadership press conference.

According to prosecutors, Soliman shouted “free Palestine” as he threw molotov cocktails at demonstrators marching to free hostages held in Gaza. He told police after his arrest that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people.”

Local officials said on Wednesday that 15 victims were wounded in the attack and Soliman faces dozens of state and federal charges.

The speaker linked the Boulder firebombing to the arson attack in April on the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and to the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington in May. All of the alleged attackers in those incidents claimed they were motivated by their support for “Palestine.”

“There’s a theme here: why would terrorists target a young innocent couple or peaceful protestors or the governor of an American state with no jurisdiction over a war that’s happening 5,000 miles away?” Johnson asked.

“It isn’t about Palestine, it isn’t about Gaza, it isn’t about any particular conflict,” he said. “It’s because these people want a complete and total extermination of the Jewish people.”

“There is a targeted left-wing antisemitic terror movement on the rise in America,” Johnson added. “It is an evil that we are confronting, and we’ll continue to call it out.”


Family of Colorado Anti-Semitic Terror Suspect Arrested, Facing Deportation: DHS
The family of the suspect in the Boulder, Colo., anti-Semitic terror attack has been arrested by federal immigration authorities, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Tuesday.

"Today, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are taking the family of suspected Boulder, Colo., terrorist and illegal alien Mohamed Soliman into ICE custody," Noem said in a video posted on X. "Now, Mohamed's despicable actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but we're also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack—if they had any knowledge of it or if they provided support to it."

Fox News's Bill Melugin reported the news earlier that afternoon, writing that senior sources within the department said authorities are processing Soliman's family for "expedited removal."

The news comes as the Trump administration has ramped up deportations of illegal immigrants. Under border czar Tom Homan, ICE has arrested more than 158,000 illegal aliens, around 75 percent of whom have criminal convictions or pending charges, according to the DHS.


Scott Jennings: The despicable truth about the explosion of terrorism in America... that liberals will never dare say
What will it take to convince the Left that the existential threat to the American way of life that they keep predicting is already here?

Free Palestine is now the slogan for the global terrorist project. Period.

'We're seeing what appears to be people answering the call from multiple terrorist organizations to act alone on US soil against public events with rudimentary tools,' said John Miller, chief intelligence analyst and former NYPD deputy counterterrorism director, on CNN Monday.

The calls of anti-Israel, anti-Semite zealots to 'Globalize the Intifada' have been heard. How will America respond? How many terrorist attacks must the country absorb before the country acknowledges that non-citizen threats to public safety must be removed?

Under the direction of President Donald Trump, more than 110,000 illegal immigrants have been deported from the US but there are still those who say the program is somehow extra-legal and authoritarian.

These are the same people who cheer as Democrat members of Congress led junkets to El Salvador to bring suspected human traffickers, like illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, back to American soil.

There are the same people who disrupt Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and allegedly assault federal agents.

Who are they fighting for?

Certainly not the American Jewish community.

On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a warning on X to those who'll do Americans harm:

'All terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump Administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you.'

If the Left is so determined to find the monsters in our midst, perhaps they should look first at those they're harboring.


‘What’s the problem?’: PSC co-founder claims Boulder flamethrower attack is ‘what Palestinians experience every day’
Tony Greenstein, a founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), has caused outrage with an X post which seems to justify Monday’s “terror” attack in Boulder Colorado.

Responding to an X post by international human rights lawyer and “proud Zionist” Arsen Ostrovsky, which read: “When they say ‘Globalize the intifada’ ...” along with a picture taken in the aftermath of the attack, Greenstein, who is Jewish, wrote: “They were marching in support of genocide and got a taste of what Palestinians experience every day - what's the problem?”

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the 45-year-old Egyptian national allegedly behind the attack, has now been charged with a federal hate crime and 16 counts of attempted murder.


Israeli arms sales break record for 4th year in row, reaching $14.8 billion in 2024
Annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2024, for the fourth consecutive year, amounting to double the value of exports of five years ago, according to Defense Ministry figures released Wednesday.

The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known as SIBAT, said defense exports totaled nearly $14.8 billion last year, up from $13 billion in 2023 — the previous record high. Between 2018 and 2020, that number hovered between $7.5 billion and $8.5 billion.

Ministry officials said they were increasingly concerned that some governments, especially in Western Europe, were canceling weapon deals with Israel or otherwise sanctioning Israeli defense firms over the war in the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, Spain canceled the purchase of anti-tank missile systems with an estimated value of 285 million euros from a subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael defense firm.

Despite the concerns, the number of weapon sales has continued to rise.

“This is the highest figure ever recorded and the fourth consecutive year in which a new record was set for Israel’s defense exports,” the ministry said.

With the outbreak of war with the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023, the Defense Ministry said it began operating in an “emergency mode,” with defense contractors being drafted to the war effort by manufacturing weaponry and equipment for the Israel Defense Forces around the clock, alongside orders for foreign clients.

“The unprecedented operational achievements, along with the combat experience gained by Israeli developments during the war, created high demand for Israeli technology among many countries,” the ministry said.

Air defense systems, missiles, and rockets made up the largest chunk of exports at 48 percent — up from 36% in 2023, according to the ministry’s figures

Vehicles amounted to 9% of arms sales; satellites and related equipment were 8%; radar and electronic warfare systems were 8%; and manned aircraft and avionics were another 8%.


Rafael unveils new laser interception systems, will showcase them at Paris Air Show
After the Israeli military last week disclosed it had been using a laser interception system to shoot down Hezbollah drones amid the fighting in Lebanon last year, the Rafael defense firm unveiled on Wednesday several new versions of its Iron Beam and other laser systems.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said it would showcase its family of “high-energy laser weapon systems” at the Paris Air Show, set to be held later this month.

The systems included the Iron Beam 450, an upgraded version of the in-development Iron Beam, which is set to be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces by the end of 2025.

Rafael said the Iron Beam 450 is “widely considered the most advanced high-energy laser air defense system in the world,” and is capable of shooting down drones, rockets, and other aerial threats up to distances of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

“These upgrades enable longer-range interceptions, faster engagement cycles and even more precise targeting, while maintaining its unique advantages: speed-of-light threat neutralization, negligible per-intercept cost and wide-area defense against rapid and complex aerial threats,” Rafael said.

The Iron Beam is not meant to replace the Iron Dome or Israel’s other air defense systems, but to supplement and complement them, shooting down smaller projectiles and leaving larger ones for the more robust missile-based batteries such as the David’s Sling and Arrow systems.


Seth Frantzman: Lessons from the drone attack on Russia’s airbases
Small drones need new tech
The use of small drones on the battlefield is not a magic wand that changes the face of war. They may carry warheads such as grenades or mortar shells, and they can monitor enemy movements. However, small drones usually cannot fly for very long. They are also vulnerable to wind gusts, cold, and heat. Over time, all of these challenges are being overcome.

Yet, these challenges are not only about improving technology. Drones are usually flown by someone with a controller. Many Ukrainian drones are what are called “first-person-view” or FPV. This means the operator can see what the drone sees as it careens toward an enemy position. However, drones can be jammed. Israeli companies have pioneered in this regard. All of Israel’s large defense companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Elbit Systems, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, make counter-UAS systems. Many smaller Israeli companies are also pioneering this technology, which is increasingly being used by the IDF in the current war.

How can drone operators get around the new technologies? In Ukraine, a lot of drones are now being flown using fiber optic cables. This prevents jamming because there is no radio frequency used to guide them.

A game changer?
The Ukrainian attack on the Russian airfields has been seen as a game changer in warfare. Some have compared it to a Pearl Harbor-type of event. The Japanese navy in World War II pioneered the use of aircraft carriers used on long-range missions to wreak havoc on December 7, 1941. The US also had aircraft carriers. However, Japan showed how its use of the air arm at sea could sink major ships, such as the sinking of the British Prince of Wales and Repulse on December 10, 1941. Within a year, the US had gained the upper hand after the Battle of Midway, and it was Japan that was losing the carrier battle at sea.

The Ukraine attack, therefore, is an important incident, but this capability was widely expected. Countries that are making large numbers of drones, such as China, are feared because of what large drone swarms can likely achieve on the battlefield. Drones have already wreaked havoc in unexpected ways. Iran used drones and cruise missiles to attack a key energy facility in Saudi Arabia in 2019, for instance.

Ukraine is showing what is possible. It overcame the logistical problem by putting drones in trucks and being able to infiltrate deep inside Russia. They had some kind of pre-programming and capabilities that appear new. Nevertheless, the mission took more than a year to plan.


IDF soldier KIA in Gaza, bringing wartime toll to 862
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday announced that Master Sgt. (res.) Alon Farkas had been killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip.

Another soldier from the same unit was seriously wounded in the incident and was evacuated to the hospital for treatment, according to the military.

Farkas, 27, from Kabri, a kibbutz in the Western Galilee, is the 862nd Israeli soldier to fall in combat since the Hamas-led terrorist assault on Oct. 7, 2023. The death toll among IDF troops in Gaza since the start of the ground incursion there on Oct. 27, 2023 now stands at 417.

The IDF announced on Tuesday that three soldiers had been killed in Jabalia in northern Gaza—Staff Sgt. Lior Steinberg, 20, from Petah Tikva; Staff Sgt. Ofek Barhana, 20, from Yavne; and Staff Sgt. Omer Van Gelder, 22, from Ma’ale Adumim.

The soldiers’ vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, according to Hebrew media reports.


Palestinians with IDF uniforms arrested at Tel Aviv light-rail station
The Israel Police arrested two illegal Palestinians who crossed into Tel Aviv from Samaria with IDF uniforms, following a report they were carrying “suspicious luggage” at a light rail station on Wednesday.

Security officers at the Elifelet light rail station reported the two men, according to a police statement shared with JNS. The Palestinians were seen “disembarking from the train carrying suspicious luggage,” it said.

Police forces and bomb disposal units were called to examine the bags and did not find weapons or hazardous materials, police stated, adding that officers did find “clothing items” suspected to be issued by the Israel Defense Forces, “specifically a pair of pants and a jacket.”

The two suspects, a 44-year-old resident of Nablus (Shechem) and a 59-year-old resident of Beita al-Tahta, were taken into custody for further questioning by Israel’s security agencies, according to the statement.


There's a way to aid Gaza. I know, my foundation just helped deliver 7 million meals... without incident
It’s time to be honest about humanitarian assistance in Gaza. The incumbent system is morally bankrupt. Grift is not a bug—it is a feature. The decades-long cycle of empty statements, inflated budgets, and institutionalized failure has created a self-sustaining machine that feeds off misery, undermines peace, and instinctively demonizes America and Israel.

The current system fuels fate.

Here’s an example. Just days ago, the world should have celebrated the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's week of success. Over 7 million meals were delivered free to Gazans -- no trucks seized, no aid diverted, no violence at distribution sites. The system worked despite Gaza's volatility. Gazans spontaneously thanked America and President Donald Trump.

Instead of celebrating GHF, the international press swallowed a Hamas disinformation campaign wholesale. Hamas falsely claimed 31 Gazans died at our distribution site. Global media printed headlines treating Hamas' claims as fact. When GHF's denials were questioned but Hamas' statements were believed, GHF released CCTV proving the truth.

Yet fabricated headlines still deceive online, even fooling U.N. Secretary General Guterres, who spread them the next morning (and has yet to correct his mistake). Guterres’ statement came just hours after someone incited by this fake news set Jewish Americans on fire at a Colorado hostage vigil.

What the media should be doing is joining us in telling the truth about the systemic failure for years in Gaza and the United Nations should be working with us to fix the system. The current systems, built to serve the Palestinian people, have not just been ineffective—they have been actively complicit in perpetuating suffering. These organizations speak of "human rights," yet remain silent when terrorists steal international aid, embed rockets in schools, and use hospitals as human shields.

From UNRWA to the Human Rights Council, bigotry has been wrapped in bureaucracy, funded by American and European tax dollars, and aimed squarely at helping terrorists wage a never-ending war with Israel.

Activists disguised as humanitarians clutch their pearls and rush out press releases in support of these failed systems, exactly as terrorists hijack aid trucks or beat dissenting Palestinians in the street trying to get to humanitarian aid. The silence is deafening, but actually, it’s worse. They keep spreading with no scrutiny the profane lies of Hamas.


Israel’s new aid delivery system blasted as ‘inhumane’ by UK minister
Israel’s newly introduced measures for aid delivery in Gaza are“inhumane, foster desperation and endanger civilians”, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has told the House of Commons.

In his latest statement to MPs the Labour minister said:“We are appalled by repeated reports of mass casualty incidents in which Palestinians have been killed when trying to access aid sites in Gaza.

“Desperate civilians who have endured 20 months of war should never face the risk of death or injury to simply feed themselves and their families. We call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events for the perpetrators to be held to account.

“Israel’s newly introduced measures for aid delivery are inhumane, foster desperation and endanger civilians.

“Israel’s unjustified block on aid into Gaza needs to end – it is inhumane. Israel must immediately allow the United Nations and aid partners to safely deliver all types of aid at scale to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity.”

He added:“It is deeply disturbing that these incidents happened near the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites, they highlight the utterly desperate need to get aid in. The Israeli government says it has opened up aid access with its new system, but the warnings raised by the United Kingdom, United Nations, aid partners and the international community about these operations have materialised and the results are out.”
Ex-Tory minister accuses Israel of operating ‘a shooting gallery’ in Gaza
Former Tory minister Kit Malthouse has accused Israel of having replaced the previous aid distribution system in Gaza with “a shooting gallery, an abattoir, where starving people are lured out through combat zones to be shot at.”

In his latest anti-Israel outburst the former education minister berated foreign office minister Hamish Falconer saying:”We’re all frankly getting a bit fed up with the theatrics in this chamber.

“If I’m honest with the minister, it feels like the whole House is being played. He shows up, he mouths the words full of condemnation and being appalled, and very occasionally, the government leaks out just enough sanctions. Frankly, I’m afraid, colleagues, to keep the Labour benches from open revolt.”

Malthouse said since the minister had last given a statement, Israel had announced 22 new West Bank settlements.

He then claimed the Israeli government has replaced the UNRWA Palestinian relief agency’s aid distribution system “with a shooting gallery, an abattoir, where starving people are lured out through combat zones to be shot at.”

Malthouse has long been an outspoken critic of Israel, and was joined in the Commons by Tory MPs Jeremy Wright and Roger Gale who both issued their own condemnation of Israel’s war in Gaza.


Corbyn attempt to force probe into UK involvement with Israel in Gaza passes first hurdle
Jeremy Corbyn’s attempt to force an independent inquiry into UK involvement with Israel’s war in Gaza has passed its first hurdle in the House of Commons.

The former Labour leader, who now sits as an Independent MP, on Wednesday brought forward a Ten-Minute Rule Bill calling for an “independent public inquiry” into the UK’s co-operation with Israel since October 2023.

He told the Commons:”The public deserves to know the full extent of the UK’s complicity in these atrocities.”

MPs still in the Commons voted the bill through. It was backed by nine left-wing Labour MPs, including Ian Byrne, Richard Burgon, and the suspended MP Zarah Sultana, along with the other pro-Gaza independents.

Despite passing its first reading, Corbyn’s bill is most unlikely to return for parliamentary debate, as it will be added to a long list of private members’ legislation, for which there will be no government time.
GHF says sites won’t reopen tomorrow morning as planned after one-day shut-down
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says its distribution sites will be opening later than normal tomorrow due to maintenance and repair work.

The announcement from GHF on its Arabic Facebook page doesn’t specify which of its sites will open tomorrow and when, in what will likely further complicate efforts by Gazans to plan lengthy walks to pick up aid.

The GHF post says the organization will share information on opening times as soon as the work is complete.

A GHF spokesperson separately says that the sites won’t reopen tomorrow morning, but will resume operations later in the day. However, he doesn’t say when.

GHF did not open its sites on Wednesday, after eight consecutive days of operation. The shutdown was implemented in order to carry out logistical work in order to more safely accommodate more Palestinians at distribution sites.
JPost Editorial:Media blood libel over alleged Gaza aid shooting will have far-reaching repercussions
This blind, one-sidedness, made no easier by the IDF’s delay in presenting the facts, throws shadows when an incident actually occurs in which Israel may be culpable.

On Tuesday, the IDF acknowledged that it shot at several suspects who advanced towards troops about half a kilometer from a GHF aid distribution site, after initially firing warning shots on Tuesday, the military said. The suspects were seen deviating from the designated access routes at the site, according to the IDF, and it was looking into reports of casualties. The IDF noted that the shooting occurred about half a kilometer from the aid center.

The response came much more quickly than the Sunday incident, showing that the IDF is aware that delays in responding are damaging.

War is conducted in a fog, and the truth can be murky. However, the world media’s tendency to assume that Israel is responsible for any atrocity that Hamas attributes to it is indicative of the coverage of the Gaza war in general. Most stories about destruction in Gaza now rarely even mention the 58 hostages being held by Hamas, let alone the October 7 attack. And when they do, it’s like a footnote that is totally disconnected from the Israeli ‘aggression’ that’s the main focus of the vast majority of stories.

The blood libel conducted against Israel over the weekend regarding the aid center shooting is bound to have far-reaching repercussions, some of which will be felt in the US, Europe, and anywhere that Jews stand proudly for Israel.


BBC defends Gaza coverage after White House criticism
The BBC has defended its coverage of the war in Gaza, after the White House criticised its reporting of an apparent incident in the territory, which reportedly left a number of people dead.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the corporation, after updating an article’s headline with new information, had to “correct and take down” its story about fatalities and injuries following a reported incident near an aid distribution centre in Rafah.

The BBC said it has not removed its story and explained that its headlines about the incident were “updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources”, which is “totally normal practice”.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Ms Leavitt responded to a question about the incident and said: “The administration is aware of those reports and we are currently looking into the veracity of them because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas with total truth.

“We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC, who had multiple headlines, they wrote, ‘Israeli tank kills 26’, ‘Israeli tank kills 21’, ‘Israeli gunfire kills 31’, ‘Red Cross says, 21 people were killed in an aid incident’.

“And then, oh, wait, they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying ‘We reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any evidence of anything’.”


Melanie Phillips: An updated note from the resistance



Export of Arms to Israel: Law and Policy
This is a recording of a UKLFI Charitable Trust webinar on Export of Arms to Israel: Law and Policy With Natasha Hausdorff and Anne Herzberg, which was held on Tuesday 3 June 2025.

On 2 September 2024 the UK government suspended licences for the export to Israel of military equipment that might be used in Gaza, except for parts for F35 aircraft.

Parts for F35 aircraft are exported by the UK to a pool controlled by the US. The UK government cannot control their subsequent use, short of refusing to supply them altogether, which would have a serious impact on the forces of the UK and its allies around the world.

This decision to suspend licences was not based on any finding that Israel had committed any violations of international humanitarian law in its use of the arms supplied. Indeed the UK government’s military advisers expressed their approval of the IDF’s conduct of hostilities on the information available. The decision was instead based on allegations that Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel had been abused and that Israel could have done more to facilitate humanitarian supplies.

The NGOs, GLAN and Al Haq, had brought a claim for judicial review against the UK government, seeking to stop the sale of all military equipment to Israel. Following the UK government’s decision on 2 September 2024, the claim was limited to the licences for F35 parts. The case was heard in the High Court in London on 13-16 May 2025. The Court has not yet given its judgment.

In this webinar Natasha Hausdorff and Anne Herzberg (who attended the hearing) discuss the law, the policy, the politics and the role played by NGOs in relation to this issue.


Hamas' Media Training Program | How BBC & Mainstream Media Fall For Lies
Israel is fighting two wars: one on the battlefield—and one in the headlines. In this explosive episode, Eylon Levy is joined by Israeli-American OSINT sleuth Eitan Fischberger, who breaks down how Hamas has manipulated the global media narrative through lies, disguises, and infiltration.

Fischberger, whose online following rocketed since October 7, reveals:
• How open-source evidence shows Gaza “journalists” moonlighting as Hamas commanders
• The Hamas-run media training programs feeding footage to Al Jazeera and CNN
• The shocking case of a hospital director exposed as a Hamas colonel
• Why the IDF’s failure to communicate evidence is costing Israel the information war
• Why major news outlets refuse to admit they’ve been duped by terrorists

🔎 Watch how one man’s keyboard is doing the work of an army—and why the West's naïveté is Hamas’s greatest weapon.

00:00 - Introduction: Two Wars, One Battlefield
02:20 - Meet Eitan Fischburger: The Accidental Analyst
05:10 - What Is OSINT and Why It Matters
12:00 - Case Study: Journalists Trained by Terrorists
21:30 - Social Media Evidence: The Sloppy Terrorist Trail
25:15 - Why the IDF Isn’t Winning the Info War
32:30 - Can the Narrative Shift? A Battle for Truth


Caroline Glick Denounces the Media’s Shoddy Journalism in Gaza & Urges Trump to Disarm Iran
Caroline Glick, International Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, exposes the media’s role in fanning the flames of anti-Semitism and applauds the president’s stern warning to Iran.




‘Targeted attacks’: Authorities urged to ‘seriously’ investigate antisemitism at US universities
Sky News host Rita Panahi discusses the shocking “escalation” in antisemitic attacks in the US.

This comes after US President Donald Trump attempted to block foreign students from studying at Harvard University.

“If it was a right-wing movement behind these acts … I would imagine the reaction would be a little bit more serious than what we're getting here,” Ms Panahi said.

“These are targeted attacks; they are an act of domestic terrorism, and I wonder whether the authorities are looking at them as seriously as they should.”


Douglas Murray blasts ‘low-level copycats’ at Harvard for inane letter blaming Israel for war
Author Douglas Murray has condemned students at Harvard University for acting like “low-level copycats of the thugs of Hamas” during their pro-Palestine actions on campus.

“The students at places like Harvard, from the 7 October 2023 onwards, were making it clear which side they were on,” Mr Murray told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

“They were saying in a joint letter … that the Israeli government, not Hamas, the Israeli government was responsible for all violence.

“Since then, students at Harvard and other elite universities have been allowed to rampage across university … basically act as low-level copycats of the thugs of Hamas they seem to admire so much.

"They’ve spent the last 18 or so months calling for the intifada, the uprising, the violent terrorist uprising to be globalised.”


Media ‘too willing’ to accept ‘death cult’ Hamas’ claims as fact without verifying
Sky News host Chris Kenny slams the media coverage of Gaza being “too willing” to accept Hamas’ claims as fact before verifying.

“When it comes to the war in the Middle East, I have pointed out time and time again how lies and propaganda are being amplified by the media right around the world with politicians kicking in as well, a whole lot of people who should know better,” Mr Kenny said.

“The United Nations and their agencies are central to this anti-Israeli narrative, too, and it is perpetuated by the political left, especially, although as we know when it comes to antisemitism, the extreme right joins in too.”


Germany: Never Forget The Power Of Words! 🤸 🪂 Delivering Aid, Delivering Victory
🪂 🤸 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 examines what is really behind German threats to take "steps" against Israel? Is an arms embargo imminent? 🤸

JUMPING IN WITH ANDREW: Andrew looks at the alleged killing of 31 Gazans at the US-Israel Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution center and the media response to the event. 🪂

Andrew Fox is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He served for 16 years in the British Army, leaving the Parachute Regiment with the rank of Major. He completed 3 tours in Afghanistan including one attached to US Army Special Forces, as well as further tours of Bosnia, Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He was a senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, teaching in the War Studies and Behavioural Science departments. In the last year he has visited Gaza twice as well as Hezbollah tunnels in Lebanon. Andrew is a regular Middle East commentator on GB News, TalkTV and LBC radio, and has been published in The Spectator, The Sun, The Daily Telegraph, New York Post and The Tablet, amongst others.




Piers Morgan: Numbers Aren’t Your Strong Point—But Lies, Hamas Propaganda, and Anti-Israel Obsession Are
Piers Morgan couldn’t help himself. In his latest so-called debate between comedian Dave Smith and international lawyer Natasha Hausdorff. The so-called “debate: was a staggering display of contempt for both basic debate etiquette and respect for the woman and legal expert he invited to his show. At one point, Piers even sneered that “numbers aren’t her strong point,” a cheap, sexist jab suggesting she’s somehow stupid. In reality, the one who showed no grasp of numbers, facts, logic or any journalistic integrity was him.

Piers claims that his shift away from supporting Israel wasn’t the result of being threatened, bullied, or pressured—they are also not based on facts. But the facts and numbers simply ”aren’t his strong point,” or support his narrative. That leaves one plausible conclusion: Tucker Carlson’s claim that Piers once told him he “hated Israel with every fiber of his body” is the real driving force behind his relentless demonization of Israel. It also explains why he treats every guest who is invited to his show and challenges his view with open hostility, constant interruptions, and utter contempt.

Since numbers “aren’t Piers’ thing”, I’m going to help him out: he interrupted Natasha Hausdorff 103 times. Her longest uninterrupted statement lasted 38 seconds, and she generally wasn’t allowed to string five words together before being cut off. Dave Smith spoke uninterrupted nearly every time he had the floor. Piers only interjected 3 times: the first so Piers could clarify his own viewpoint, the second was to agree with Dave, and the third was to pivot back to attacking Natasha. Dave’s longest uninterrupted monologue rolled on for over three minutes. How do you like those numbers, Piers?

Piers Morgan has relentlessly pushed the same false narrative that Israel is starving Gazans or attacking civilians on their way to get food. Let’s start with the most basic and shameless lie—a display not only of journalistic failure, but of a complete lack of integrity as a human being. Israel is not targeting civilians around food distribution points, and that’s not an opinion—it’s documented fact. Hamas itself has admitted to executing people in Gaza. There’s drone and CCTV footage as evidence, even the BBC and The Washington Post—initially eager to repeat Hamas propaganda—retracted their reporting. And yet, Piers Morgan still claims “there is no evidence” that Israel wasn’t responsible. That’s not ignorance—it’s deliberate deception.

As for “starvation,” Natasha clearly explaining that six to eight months’ worth of food had entered Gaza during the last ceasefire. He brushed it off because it doesn’t fit his story. But this is the story: Gaza has more calories per capita than Norway, far exceeding humanitarian standards, while receiving 28 times more aid than the rest of the world. But the real story, billions in cash aid—primarily UK taxpayer money—are flowing into Gaza, not to feed civilians, but to finance Hamas, a fact exposed by NGO Monitor weeks ago. Food is available, but it’s stolen and resold at absurd prices.


Freedom flotilla will not be allowed to dock in Gaza, sources confirm to the 'Post'
The IDF decided that the "Madleen," which is sailing to Gaza and carrying 12 pro-Palestinian activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, will not be allowed to approach or dock in the Gaza Strip, KAN reported on Wednesday.

A senior Israeli defense source confirmed the matter to The Jerusalem Post, adding that Defense Minister Israel Katz is expected to make more decisions on Thursday.

The ship is expected to arrive within a week.

According to the KAN report, Israel initially considered allowing the ship to dock in Gaza after security officials determined it did not pose a threat. However, authorities later reversed this decision.

IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters at a press conference: “The IDF is prepared to operate on all fronts, including in the maritime arena,” adding: “We will act accordingly.”

If permitted to dock, the activists would have been stranded in Gaza. To avoid setting a precedent that could undermine the blockade, Israel decided not to allow the Madleen to approach Gaza.




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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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