Pages

▼

Wednesday, September 03, 2025

09/03 Links Pt2: Antisemitism Needs Hosts to Survive; Mosab Hassan Yousef: Honoring a Voice of Strength Against Israel’s Enemies; Chris Martin’s comments leave fans mortified

From Ian:

NGO Monitor: Dutch-Funded Terror-Linked NGOs Suing the Netherlands
At the end of 2024, a consortium of Dutch, Dutch-funded, and terror-linked Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) filed a lawsuit against the Netherlands, alleging that it is abetting Israeli violations of international law. NGO plaintiffs included Al Mezan and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) – both Dutch-funded and terror-linked – as well as Al-Haq, an Israel-designated terrorist organization. They were joined by Dutch NGOs SOMO and Groningen-Jabalya (both funded by the Netherlands), as well as the Netherlands-based European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Palestine Foundation, Plant een Olijfboom, Kifaia Foundation, Nederlands Palestina Komitee (NPK), Een Ander Joods Geluid, and Erev Rav.

The involvement of NGOs with strong ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Hamas, both EU-designated terrorist organizations, in an attempt to impose an arms embargo against Israel, is deeply concerning. In addition, the phenomenon of NGOs that receive funding from the Netherlands using the Dutch legal system to influence Dutch foreign policy raises questions about democratic norms and internal policy coherence. About the Lawsuit

In October 2024, the aforementioned NGOs filed a civil lawsuit against the Dutch government, alleging that the Netherlands “is not doing enough to prevent or end the violations and crimes committed by Israel,” citing the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions, as well as the an International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion issued in July 2024 within the framework of South Africa’s case against Israel.

The coalition was seeking to implement “[a] ban on Dutch export and transit of weapons, weapon parts, and dual-use items to Israel” as well as “[a] ban on all Dutch trade and investment relations that help maintain the illegal occupation, racial segregation, and colonisation” (emphasis added), claiming that “[any] economic dealing with companies that operate in Israeli settlements is illegal.”

In December 2024, the District Court of The Hague rejected the NGOs’ petition on the grounds that the Netherlands “complies with [its] obligation” to “assess whether there is a clear risk that the goods could be used by Israel in a manner that could lead to a violation of the humanitarian law of war.” The coalition filed an appeal in March 2025.

In July 2025, SOMO announced that the NGOs will appear before the Dutch Court of Appeal on September 3, 2025, to challenge the December 2024 ruling.

This legal action is part of longstanding lawfare campaigns by NGOs in the Netherlands, including a civil suit launched by Oxfam Novib, PAX and The Rights Forum against the Dutch government, seeking to prevent the transfer of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel. A High Court ruling in that case is still pending.
CAMERA Letter in the WSJ_ Antisemitism Needs Hosts to Survive
Ambassador Kushner is right to express his concern over the rise of antisemitism in France. And he’s correct to note “the lack of sufficient action” by the French government. However, it is worth noting that previous French governments were not only complacent in combating antisemitism. Rather, a number of them have enabled some of its worst purveyors.

Amin Al-Husseini, the founding father of Palestinian nationalism and an infamous Nazi collaborator, was briefly given refuge in France after World War II. Husseini had helped recruit Waffen SS regiments in the Balkans and served as Hitler’s chief Arab propagandist. He incited pogroms from Jerusalem to Baghdad. Yet France gave him a villa in the Parisian suburbs, two secretaries and a cook, with the director general of the Quai d’Orsay calling for the man nicknamed “Hitler’s Mufti” to be “treated with consideration.”

Three decades later France gave sanctuary to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime which calls for, and actively seeks, the destruction of the Jewish state. Like Husseini before him, Khomeini was provided with housing and security by French authorities. Khomeini left France for Iran, launching another regime committed to the genocide of Jews.

History tells us that antisemitism, like other deadly viruses, needs hosts to survive.
Letter in the Canberra Times: Comparisons are hurtful, flawed and they cross a line
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism has been adopted by 44 countries, including Australia and most other Western nations, and is supported by the UN, the EU, the Organisation of American States and the Council of Europe. Included in its examples of antisemitism are “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

It should be self-evident that it is particularly hurtful to Jewish people, and completely baseless. Yet this is the entire basis of Mark Kenny’s appalling column “The atrocities keep coming” (August 31). The Nazis industrialised their slaughter of the Jews, even to the detriment of their war effort. Israel is trying to defeat the genocidal terrorist group that attacked it, while evacuating and warning civilians, to the detriment of its war effort. It is not murdering them, as Kenny claims, nor starving them – Hamas causes starvation by stealing huge quantities of food, as UN figures demonstrate.

Kenny also claims it’s “the most imponderable of all” that the Jews would claim the “ground of others” for their state and force the Arabs out. They didn’t. They claimed the Jewish homeland, where Jews are indigenous and have lived for thousands of years. They accepted the UN plan to partition the land, but the Arabs refused, and it was the war the Arabs started that caused the refugees. The “right of return” of the many millions of descendants of these refugees, as Kenny calls for, would endanger Jewish self-determination there or worse.
at

09/03 Links Pt1: Trump tells Hamas to give back ‘all 20 hostages’; $30 and You Can Become a Genocide Scholar; Sen. Flags FBI on 'Dangerous' Activities of the Palestinian Youth Movement

From Ian:

BESA: Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7, 2023 to June 1, 2025
The following study offers a thorough historical exploration and a quantitative-statistical analysis of the allegation that the State of Israel committed genocide against the Gazan population following the October 7, 2023, massacre. Specifically, we address the claims that Israel intentionally starved the Gazan population, that IDF ground forces deliberately massacred civilians, and that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out indiscriminate bombings, failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians and conducting disproportionate strikes.

The goal of this study is to carefully assess both primary and secondary sources in order to draw independent conclusions about the factual aspects of the conflict. This process involved reviewing testimonies, primary sources, and the methodology of data collection utilized by organizations and researchers promoting the genocide allegation, as well as conducting statistical analysis and distinguishing between narratives promoted by various parties and verified facts. The purpose of our investigation is to identify the factual events that occurred, not to engage in legal or ethical discourse. While discussing the war’s legal and ethical implications is important, we firmly believe such discussion must be grounded in a solid foundation of facts to be meaningful as well as relevant.

Our focus on factual analysis in no way diminishes or ignores the severe human suffering in Gaza, nor does it seek to downplay the rhetoric or policy failures of the Israeli government. However, as we demonstrate throughout this report, subordinating factual analysis to the advocacy of a specific policy or ethical position undermines our ability to understand the facts needed to shape informed policy and ethical conduct. Therefore, we have made every effort to avoid taking any stance or offering recommendations that are not rooted in a comprehensive factual analysis.

This research is structured into eight chapters, each addressing different aspects of the Israel-Gaza conflict:
Chapter 1 examines accusations of the deliberate starvation of Gaza’s civilian population.
Chapter 2 addresses the lack of sufficient context for understanding Israel’s military actions during the war, particularly the challenges of urban warfare. We focus primarily on Hamas’s “human shields” practice and overall strategy, recognizing that war is shaped by reciprocal measures taken by all parties involved. Thus, the actions of one side to the conflict cannot be assessed without considering those of its adversary.
Chapter 3 provides an in-depth analysis of claims regarding deliberate killings of civilians.
Chapter 4 investigates allegations that Israel systematically violated the principles of distinction and proportionality in its strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Chapter 5 critically reviews Gaza Health Ministry (GMOH) data and manipulations. While recognizing the uncertainty of the available figures, we offer a speculative scenario for how these manipulations skewed the actual gender and age distribution of casualties, and draw conclusions as to plausible combatant-civilian casualty ratios.
Chapter 6 explores the capability of UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and major media outlets to assess humanitarian crises in closed societies under oppressive regimes such as Hamas-controlled Gaza. It draws a comparison to Iraq under U.S. sanctions between 1991 and 2003, and explores the inability of said organizations to pierce the heavy-handed humanitarian deceptions of the Iraqi regime.
Chapter 7 evaluates the ability of UN agencies and human rights organizations to credibly distinguish between civilians and combatants among war casualties in contexts marked by manipulation and politicization within closed or controlled societies. This chapter includes findings from a comparative analysis of the 2002 Battle of Jenin, the 2006 Lebanon War, and previous conflicts in Gaza.
Chapter 8 analyzes the methodologies used by UN agencies, human rights organizations, and affiliated journalists and researchers that have led to recurring analytical failures, as well as the lack of subsequent insights or corrective action, even when these failures were eventually acknowledged by the same organizations.
Phyllis Chesler: Better to be seen as the strong man
In 2023, I advised colleagues not to show the video that Hamas filmed of their sadistic murders on Oct. 7, certainly not at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. I said that the sight of Jewish blood always unleashes denial and even more Jew-hatred.

Soon enough, I also understood that the sight of Jewish military prowess unleashes even more Jew-hatred. As Israel fought to ensure that Hamas could not make good on their threat of even more Oct. 7-style attacks on Israeli soil and displayed an extraordinary command of technology in terms of its pinpoint strikes against Hezbollah, the Houthis and their paymaster, a near-nuclear Iran, the entire world condemned Israel, not Hamas, as “genocidal” and accused Israel of causing a famine in Gaza.

Jewish and Israeli compassion, coupled with high ethical standards, made no difference. Even as Israel expertly minimized the civilian-to-combatant ratio in Gaza and provided food and aid to Gazans so that no one starved, the entire world still loudly condemned Israel.

That’s because the propaganda “fix” was already long in place.

Since the late 1950s, Soviet Russia, left-wing Western billionaires and Islamists everywhere have royally funded the business of brainwashing Westerners. Thus, at the sight of Jewish blood and Israeli military might, wealthy and well-educated people, as well as illiterate, vulgar mobs of Muslims, marched against Israel on every continent and menaced Jews individually. The academics and the arts community, with their glitterati-signed petitions and letters, urged that Israeli individuals and the country itself be boycotted. Many stopped traffic and university classes in North America and Europe to “free Palestine.”

Not a word was uttered about freeing the Israeli hostages being buried alive and tortured somewhere along the 300 miles of weaponized Hamas tunnels, beneath mosques, hospitals, schools and homes in Gaza. Not a word about the now 901 Israelis who died in battle or about the countless number of Israelis who’ve been wounded or displaced, or about the Israeli civilians who’ve been traumatized for life.
Seth Frantzman: Gulf countries hold meeting ahead of UNGA that might see declaration of a Palestinian state
Saudi Arabia and France work towards a Palestinian state
This comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions on Tuesday on the “dire situation in Palestine,” Saudi-based newspaper Arab News reported.

The crown prince, “who received a call from Macron, reiterated the Kingdom’s position for an immediate end to Israel’s war on Gaza and the Occupied Territories,” the report said. “The crown prince also condemned any measures aimed at undermining a two-state solution to the situation.”

“Saudi Arabia and France have led an initiative to recognize a Palestinian state,” it added. “In July, Macron announced France would formally recognize Palestine during the UN General Assembly later this month, becoming the first G7 country to make the commitment.”

The key meetings between the UAE and Egypt and then the UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with announcements by Bahrain, Egypt, and Riyad, all point in the same direction: The Gulf is rolling out policies before the UN meetings.

The development comes as the PA is messaging that it is concerned Israel is preventing it from returning to Gaza and thus enshrining Hamas rule there. Israel has said neither the PA nor Hamas will rule Gaza.

In the absence of a clear strategy, however, it appears Hamas will continue to rule. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has warned that Israel is slouching toward military rule in Gaza if the Gaza City offensive goes forward.

This comes amid talk of Israel applying sovereignty to part of the West Bank. The Gulf states are concerned about this trend.
at

Jewish Prayers Shred the Global Palestine Fantasy (Judean Rose)


Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Anyone who’s ever read a Bible knows that God gave Israel to the Jews. And yet, as of September 3, 2025, 147 United Nations member states have declared a state of “Palestine” on Jewish land. Two non-UN member states, Vatican City and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic also recognized “Palestine” on Jewish land, for a total of 149 entities who think it’s okay to declare what God gave to the Jewish people a state for the people who have tried everything they know to eradicate the Jewish people.

Now Belgium has joined the chorus of countries that have decided to steal Jewish land and gift it to the people who have vowed to wipe out the Jews, along with Australia, Canada, France, Malta, and the United Kingdom. All of these countries will bring their declaration to the United Nations General Assembly, which begins six days from now — the latest example of a long tradition: deciding for the Jews what to do with Jewish land.

Even more so after October 7, when Jews were raped, mutilated, and burned alive by those the world wants to take over Jewish land. Why not? Antisemitic academics, international bodies, and even some misguided Jews claim that our people’s attachment to this land is a recent invention, a political project, or an act of colonialism.

But what none of these governments, scholars, or pundits can erase is the truth Jews carry in their mouths and hearts every day. In our prayers — morning, noon, and night, on weekdays, Sabbaths, and festivals — we declare again and again our eternal bond to this land. Our liturgy is our living title deed.

To be sure, not every Jew prays. Not every Jew is observant. But the Torah was given to every Jew, as was Israel. And whether or not a Jew opens a siddur, the words of prayer have bound our people together across generations, keeping Israel at the center of Jewish life.

Liturgy as Living History

These liturgical references are not accidental. Israel was not “invented” and inserted into our prayers. These references to Israel form a continuous thread from our earliest days as a people until now. The words come from God Himself — from Torah, Psalms, and Prophets. Our sages safeguarded those words and wove them into the rhythm of daily life. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the rabbis acted with purpose, ensuring that Israel and Jerusalem would never fade from our hearts. Even in exile, they structured our prayers around yearning for home.

A Jew in medieval Spain, Yemen, or Poland prayed the same words Jews say to this day: “Return in compassion to Jerusalem Your city… rebuild it soon in our days.” For two thousand years, those words kept us facing east, toward Zion. They kept us bound together as one people, one nation, with one homeland.

This is not colonial nostalgia. It is lived reality. For Jews, Israel was never “over there.” It was always right here, on our lips, in our hopes, in our obligations. The dream of return was not optional piety; it was embedded in the rhythm of our days.

Answering Today’s Critics

When today’s activists, politicians, or academics declare that Jews have no indigenous claim to Israel, they erase centuries of daily testimony. The very prayers we recite prove them wrong. Imagine a people in exile for millennia, clinging to their identity through ritual words that call them home. This is not a people inventing ties to land — it is a people preserving them against all odds.

Our critics can argue politics, but they cannot rewrite our liturgy. They cannot erase the Rachem prayer in Birkat HaMazon, the Boneh Yerushalayim in the Amidah, the Ya’aleh V’yavo on festivals, or the Al HaMichya after-blessing that recalls both the land and Jerusalem. These references to the Land of Israel are not side notes, but the heartbeat of Jewish prayer.

Jewish indigeneity to the Land of Israel is not just history written in archaeology, or law codified in scripture. It is at the heart of our daily prayers. Each blessing and each festival returns us to the land. Even in exile, the words kept us near.

Critics often speak as though Jews once lived in Israel, were exiled, and were replaced by an Arab nation called Palestine. This is a distortion of history. There was never a state called Palestine, and certainly never an Arab state by that name. While most Jews were exiled, many remained — some hiding in caves, others clinging to towns and villages. Across centuries of conquest and oppression, there was always a continuous Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.

That is why Israel matters to Jewish people everywhere. It is not a political project, nor an afterthought of modern nationalism. It is the fulfillment of a promise never forgotten: that Israel is our home, and Jerusalem our eternal city.

馃摉 Some References to the Land of Israel in Jewish Liturgy

Prayer Section Text (Hebrew / Verse / Citation) Translation / Context 
P’sukei D’zimra
(Verses of Psalms; morning intro prayers)		 Ps. 132:13 — 讻ִּ讬 讘ָ讞ַ专 讛׳ 讘ְּ爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉, 讗ִ讜ָּ讛ּ 诇ְ诪讜ֹ砖ָׁ讘 诇讜ֹ “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling.” — God’s dwelling in Zion/Jerusalem.
Ps. 146:10 — 讬ִ诪ְ诇ֹ讱ְ 讛׳ 诇ְ注讜ֹ诇ָ诐... 爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉 诇ְ讚ֹ专 讜ָ讚ֹ专 “The Lord shall reign forever… O Zion, to all generations.” — Enduring divine rule over Zion.
Ps. 147:12 — 砖ַׁ讘ְּ讞ִ讬 讬ְ专讜ּ砖ָׁ诇ַ讬ִ诐 讗ֶ转־讛׳, 讛ַ诇ְ诇ִ讬 讗ֱ-诇ֹ讛ַ讬ִ讱ְ 爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉 “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion.” — Praise for Jerusalem/Zion.
Ps. 135:21 — 讘ָּ专讜ּ讱ְ 讛׳ 诪ִ爪ִּ讬ּ讜ֹ谉, 砖ֹׁ讻ֵ谉 讬ְ专讜ּ砖ָׁ诇ִָ诐 “Blessed is the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem.” — God’s presence in Zion/Jerusalem.
Ps. 48:13–15 — 住ֹ讘ּ讜ּ 爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉... 诪ִ讙ְ讚ָּ诇ֶ讬讛ָ “Walk about Zion… count her towers…” — Zion as enduring stronghold for future generations.
Amidah (Central Prayer)
Weekday / Shabbat / Yom Tov		 拽ִ讘ּ讜ּ抓 讙ָּ诇ֻ讬ּ讜ֹ转 — 讜拽讘爪谞讜 讬讞讚 诪讗专讘注 讻谞驻讜转 讛讗专抓 诇ְ讗ַ专ְ爪ֵ谞讜 “Gather us from the four corners of the earth to our land.” — Ingathering of exiles.
讘ּ讜ֹ谞ֵ讛 讬ְ专讜ּ砖ָׁ诇ַ讬ִ诐 — 讜诇讬专讜砖诇讬诐 注讬专讱 讘专讞诪讬诐 转砖讜讘 “Return in compassion to Jerusalem Your city.” — Plea to rebuild Jerusalem.
注ֲ讘讜ֹ讚ָ讛 — 讜ְ转ֶּ讞ֱ讝ֶ讬谞ָ讛 注ֵ讬谞ֵ讬谞讜ּ 讘ְּ砖ׁ讜ּ讘ְ讱ָ 诇ְ爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉 讘ְּ专ַ讞ֲ诪ִ讬诐 V’techezenah eineinu b’shuvcha l’Tzion b’rachamim — “May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy.”
讬注诇讛 讜讬讘讜讗 (insert on festivals/Rosh Chodesh) “The remembrance of Jerusalem Your city… and of Messiah son of David Your servant.”
Musaf (Festivals/Rosh Chodesh) 讜ּ诪ִ驻ְּ谞ֵ讬 讞ַ讟ָּ讗ֵ讬谞讜ּ 讙ָּ诇ִ讬谞讜ּ 诪ֵ讗ַ专ְ爪ֵ谞讜ּ... 讜ְ讛ַ讞ֲ讝ִ讬专ֵ谞讜ּ 诇ְ爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉 注ִ讬专ֶ讱ָ “Because of our sins we were exiled from our land… return us to Zion Your city.” — Exile and return theme.
Shabbat Mincha Amidah — Ata Echad 注ַ诐 讗ֶ讞ָ讚 讘ָּ讗ָ专ֶ抓 “One nation on earth.” — National unity rooted in the Land.
Torah Reading (Ki Mitzion) 讻ִּ讬 诪ִ爪ִּ讬ּ讜ֹ谉 转ֵּ爪ֵ讗 转讜ֹ专ָ讛, 讜ּ讚ְ讘ַ专 讛׳ 诪ִ讬专讜ּ砖ָׁ诇ִָ诐 (Isa. 2:3) “For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
Hashkiveinu (Shabbat Evening) 讛ַ驻ּ讜ֹ专ֵ砖ׂ 住ֻ讻ַּ转 砖ָׁ诇讜ֹ诐... 注ַ诇 注ַ诪ּ讜ֹ 讬ִ砖ְׂ专ָ讗ֵ诇 讜ְ注ַ诇 讬ְ专讜ּ砖ָׁ诇ִָ诐 “Who spreads the shelter of peace… over His people Israel and over Jerusalem.”
Nachem (Tisha B’Av) 谞ַ讞ֵ诐... 讗ֲ讘ֵ诇ֵ讬 爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉 讜ַ讗ֲ讘ֵ诇ֵ讬 讬ְ专讜ּ砖ָׁ诇ַ讬ִ诐... 讘ּ讜ֹ谞ֶ讛 讬ְ专讜ּ砖ָׁ诇ַ讬ִ诐 “Comfort the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem… who rebuilds Jerusalem.”
Shacharit (Concluding line in many rites) 讗讜ֹ专 讞ָ讚ָ砖ׁ 注ַ诇 爪ִ讬ּ讜ֹ谉 转ָּ讗ִ讬专 “Let a new light shine upon Zion.” — Hope for Zion’s renewal.
Monday Psalm
(near end of morning service)		 Ps. 48 — “Walk about Zion… count her towers.” Reprise of Zion’s endurance within the weekly cycle.
Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals)
Weekday core text		 注诇 砖讛谞讞诇转 诇讗讘讜转讬谞讜 讗专抓 讞诪讚讛 讟讜讘讛 讜专讞讘讛 “…for the inheritance of the desirable, good, and spacious land You gave our ancestors.”
Al she’hinchalta la’avoteinu eretz chemda tova ur’chava
讘专讜讱 讗转讛 讛׳... 注诇 讛讗专抓 讜注诇 讛诪讝讜谉 “Blessed are You… for the land and for the sustenance.”
…al ha’aretz v’al ha’mazon
讜注诇 讬专讜砖诇讬诐 注讬专讱 “…and on Jerusalem Your city…”
V’al Yerushalayim irecha
讜注诇 爪讬讜谉 诪砖讻谉 讻讘讜讚讱 “…and on Zion, the dwelling of Your glory…”
V’al Tziyon mishkan kevodecha
讜讘谞讛 讬专讜砖诇讬诐 注讬专 讛拽讜讚砖 讘诪讛专讛 讘讬诪讬谞讜 “And rebuild Jerusalem, Your holy city, speedily in our days.”
U’vnei Yerushalayim ir hakodesh bimeheirah b’yameinu
讘专讜讱 讗转讛 讛׳, 讘讜谞讛 讘专讞诪讬讜 讬专讜砖诇讬诐 “Blessed are You, Lord, who in His mercy rebuilds Jerusalem.”
…boneh b’rachamav Yerushalayim
Al HaMichya (After-blessing for light meals) 讜注诇 讛讗专抓 讜注诇 讛诪讞讬讛… 讜注诇 讗专抓 讞诪讚讛 讟讜讘讛 讜专讞讘讛… 讜讘谞讛 讬专讜砖诇讬诐 注讬专 讛拽讚砖 讘诪讛专讛 讘讬诪讬谞讜 “…for the land and for the sustenance… for the desirable, good, and spacious land… and rebuild Jerusalem Your holy city, speedily in our days.”

Note: Texts and wording vary by nusach (rite), community, and siddur. This chart highlights many central references to the Land of Israel and Jerusalem, but is incomplete and should not be relied upon as an exhaustive index.

Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

at

How "Existence is Resistance" turns propaganda into seeming reality

One of the more popular pro-Palestinian slogans is "existence is resistance," a phrase that at first sounds empowering but in reality functions as a propaganda frame. It turns ordinary human survival into heroic defiance, erasing agency and imposing an ideological script on everyday life.

The phrase was popularized in the 2010s, I only rarely find it before then, and hardly ever in Palestinian context (I see it in a memoir of a Holocaust survivor, for example.) 

But it has taken on a life of its own, and its trajectory is interesting. 

A recent article in the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies is a perfect example of how the concept is bizarre to begin with. Titled "Homemaking as everyday resistance: the settler colonial context of Palestinians in Israel," it claims that Arab Israelis engage in resistance by doing things like moving into mixed Jewish-Arab towns, maintaining Arab architecture in their homes and cooking traditional dishes. 

This article examines homemaking as an important, yet understudied, response to settler colonialism. While there is growing interest in settler colonialism, defined by the colonial settlers’ drive to replace the Indigenous population, existing literature does not adequately address the response of its victims. This article highlights the resistance patterns of an Indigenous society facing a unique form of differential settler colonialism. Settler colonial projects adapt to their contexts, employing various means to facilitate the replacement of the Indigenous society. Exploring how Indigenous peoples engage in homemaking provides valuable insights into their resistance strategies. We outline three dimensions of homemaking as resistance: Return versus Displacement, Preservation versus Erasure, and Authentication versus Appropriation of Indigeneity. These dimensions do not encompass all strategies of resistance to all forms of settler colonialism. However, they contribute to a deeper understanding of its dynamics and promote a new theoretical model of homemaking as a resistance strategy.

This is all absurd. It assumes at the outset that Israel is a settler colonial state and that it is hellbent on erasing all Arab culture. The premise is wrong to begin with - the very existence of the Museum of Islamic Art, the significant amount of Arab and Islamic exhibits at the Israel Museum and Israel's preservation of Islamic buildings even at Judaism's holiest places show that Israel acts to preserve all cultures, not replace them. 

The article says things like:
Purchasing homes in mixed cities or cities established for the Jewish settler society is a key homemaking practice that reflects the Palestinian return process. It is important to distinguish that while some of the Palestinian presence in cities now defined as mixed, such as Haifa, Acre, Lydda, Ramle, and Jaffa, is a historical presence that predates the establishment of Israel in 1948, there is a growing trend of Palestinian families relocating from villages to these cities. This phenomenon, referred to in research as “internal migration”, reflects a form of return.
Does anyone really think Arabs want to move to mixed cities as a form of "return"? It is where the jobs and better schools are!  If Israeli society was as racist as the authors presume, then moving to these cities would be prevented by the Jews. 

Most Arab Israelis, like anyone else, just want to live in peace. They choose where they live based on where they can best work or raise their kids, they decorate their houses in the way that fits their personalities and they cook the food they want to eat.

But something happens when outsiders start to proclaim that Arabs living their lives are really heroic, steadfast resisters.

They start to believe it.

Who doesn't prefer to hear that the decisions they make are not pragmatic, but heroic? Who can resist the idea of being idolized for the decisions they would make anyway?

So we get a feedback loop: after years of being told that they make mundane decisions for ideological reasons and that their steadfastness in staying in their homes is admired worldwide, the people are happy to tell any reporters or researchers, yes, we really did all this to show our resistance to Jewish hegemony. The benefits of pretending to be heroes far outweighs the boring answer  of admitting that they simply want the best for their families.

So now these academic researchers can find plenty of Arabs willing to say exactly what the false premise pretends to be the truth - and it becomes the new truth, proven by the words of the newly minted heroes.

And when that happens, peace becomes less likely, because when people define themselves as resisters, they never want to compromise. 

This is how propaganda can itself change reality. 




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

at

Without Hamas' destruction, Gaza (and eventually the West Bank) turns into Yemen

Since Hamas seized Gaza, the world has indulged the fantasy that it is not just a terror group but a government. Even after October 7, Hamas is still treated as a political actor with “popular support” rather than what it is -  a genocidal militia squatting on a population it holds hostage. It claims it wants a two state solution but has no plan on how to dislodge Hamas.

Which brings up the irony of the West depending on Israel to destroy Hamas to bring about this mythical solution while simultaneously criticizing the only way to accomplish this - war against an enemy who desires maximum civilian casualties even on their own side.

Yet we know what happens when a governing Islamist group is accepted as too difficult to topple.

Yemen.

Houthi-run Yemen is a human rights disaster that is far worse than Gaza is today. Already in 2018, some 85,000 children were estimated to have died of starvation. So far some 200,000 have died from hunger and disease combined. 4.5 million are displaced from their homes, often multiple times.18 million require humanitarian assistance.

Like Hamas, the Houthi government uses civilians as pawns to stay in power. They recruit child soldiers. They rape and torture prisoners. 

If you want to know what Gaza would look like in 2030, look at Yemen today.

In some ways, Hamas is worse than the Houthis already - taking aid that was meant for reconstructing Gaza and using it for tunnels under mosques, schools and apartment buildings. 

Hamas is a Sunni version of the Houthis. 

Yet Hamas is treated with more deference than the Houthis ever were. Nowhere can this be seen better than this 2018 article:


The same World Food Programme that sees 100% of its food aid stolen in Gaza has never released a statement of condemnation about it the way they condemned the Houthis for doing the exact same thing.

The same IPC that has been seeking to declare famine in Gaza for over a year, consistently making dire predictions that never come true, never declared one in Yemen when the number of starvation deaths is perhaps 400 times Gaza's rate. 

The Westerners insist that the war should end stop unconditionally now, with Hamas releasing the hostages in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of additional terrorists.  Yet the result is that Hamas remains in power. The world cannot come up with any plan where Hamas voluntarily steps down or goes into exile.  

Meaning, the French and Australians and Canadians and British who want a Palestinian state tacitly accept the concept of Hamas rule, even after October 7. Hamas is more popular than Fatah, and the only person who is more popular than both is a murderer in Israeli prison.

It is not only a post-war Gaza that would inevitably devolve into Yemen - the entire Palestinian state would. 

But that is considered a better alternative than Israel winning the war and defeating Hamas.

That is how messed up the Western world has become. 




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

at

Jordanian paper is all-in for Hamas

Ammon News (Amman, Jordan) has a column by Dr. Mohammed Al-Badour where he says that Israel is about to\ achieve its "eternal Talmudic goal of establishing a greater Jewish state in the entire region." 

Hamas must therefore win to frustrate that plan.  Badour sees Hamas as the savior of Muslims and Arabs.

If Gaza falls, the resistance falls, and Hamas dies, the next day will be the expansion of Zionist crime in the West Bank, aggression against neighboring countries, and the persistence of forcibly extending political and military influence over the peoples of the region and reducing their political systems and capabilities.  Gaza today is the bastion of defense for Palestine and the Arabs’ protective wall against the ambitions of Israel, which has stripped itself of all international covenants, peace treaties, and human rights, with American support ,

Hamas and all the resistance forces that have always carried the banner of revenge for Palestinian blood and ignited it with fire must change their combat strategies to a more suicidal approach. Either you win or you die, as long as Israel is mobilizing its army today to finish off its people and end the presence of Palestinians in Gaza, either by killing or displacement.  

The thing is that while one might see anti-Hamas articles every once in a while from Egypt or Gulf countries, where it is associated with the much reviled Muslim Brotherhood, I don't recall seeing any such articles from Jordan. Hate for Israel always wins over any perceived enemy, no matter how immoral. 

If ISIS was in Gaza, this op-ed would be all for ISIS.

It is one thing to be anti-Israel, but to see articles like this praising Hamas indicates that not everything we read in the media about "moderate Arab states" is accurate. 


Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

at

Tuesday, September 02, 2025

09/02 Links Pt2: The Smear-Merchants of Venice; Hamas Hails 'Victory' as Media Outlets Execute Coordinated Anti-Israel Campaign; Al Jazeera “Journalists” Caught Working for Hamas

From Ian:

The UN has failed the 7 October rape victims
It seems that some victims of sexual violence are not deemed as worthy of support as others. Too many Western feminists allowed their loathing of Israel to trump their feminism. It was almost as if Jews were seen, at best, as slightly sub-human, and, at worst, as not human at all.

The UN – and especially UN Women – ignored the atrocities. Indeed, on 8 October 2023, UN Women was busy tweeting in celebration of men who declare themselves lesbians. It took a full two months before it issued even a half-hearted criticism of Hamas’s rape and slaughter. By March 2024, the UN could only manage the mealy mouthed phrase that there was ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ Hamas had committed sexual violence, despite the genocidal lunatics recording their crimes on their GoPros. Only now, as the massacre’s second anniversary approaches, has the UN decided to formally ‘blacklist’ Hamas for its sexual crimes.

It should never have taken nearly two years to establish the facts. Proof was overwhelming from the outset – there were multiple sources and multiple categories of evidence. What was in doubt was not the evidence, but the victims’ worth. Only relentless Jewish pressure forced the UN to accept what the evidence was telling it.

Even then, the UN refrained from offering anything approaching moral clarity. Instead it acknowledged Hamas’s proven atrocities at the same time as reiterating allegations – sourced from biased reports – about supposed Israeli abuse of Palestinian detainees. The UN could not resist diluting its condemnation of Hamas without taking another swipe at Israel.

It is shameful that the UN has forced a small community to bear the burden of proving, again and again, that its daughters, sisters and wives matter as much as anyone else’s. It is shameful that these women’s agony has been placed on the same moral plane as their rapists’ supposed grievances. The UN’s constant, reflexive ‘but’ speaks of its moral cowardice. There must always be an implied caveat, a suggestion that perhaps Israel had it coming.

The women raped and killed on 7 October deserved far better than the apathy and hypocrisy of the UN. To dehumanise these women is to degrade humanity itself.
Seth Mandel: The Smear-Merchants of Venice
In case you’ve ever wondered how much those who encourage the isolation of Israel intend to practice what they preach, the artistes at the Venice Film Festival have provided an answer: not one bit.

Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wanted to bask in admiration while promoting his next film. Unfortunately, the politicization of every corner of life intruded. Jarmusch’s new movie, Father Mother Sister Brother, is being released by the distributor and streaming company Mubi. Recently, anti-Israel activists have targeted Mubi because one of its investors, Sequoia Capital, has also invested in an Israeli defense-tech startup that focuses on border security in response to the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023. Since Israeli self-defense tech is highly controversial among opponents of the Jewish state’s survival, activists have sought to make Mubi appear guilty by association with a firm that is guilty by association with Israel.

It’s not a very strong case, as one can tell by the number of associations involved in declaring Mubi’s guilt. And that is exactly what Jim Jarmusch could and should have said when asked about his working with Mubi. Instead, Jarmusch got annoyed because he was asked, metaphorically, to sleep in the bed he made.

Jarmusch pronounced himself “disappointed and quite disconcerted” by Mubi’s reported relationship with a company that has a relationship with an Israeli company. He then proceeded to offer the following self-exoneration:

“I’m not the spokesman [for Mubi]. However, yes, I was concerned. I also have a distribution agreement with Mubi for certain territories, which I also had entered into before my knowledge of this. But having said that, on a personal level, I have to say I’m an independent filmmaker, and I have taken money from various sources to be able to realize my films. And I consider pretty much all corporate money [to be] dirty money. If you start analyzing each of these film companies and their financing structures, you’re going to find a lot of nasty dirt. It’s all there.”

So, yes, the money is dirty. But all money is dirty, not just money that is second cousins with Israeli money. Jarmusch is arguing that everything he does is tainted but he’s got to get paid:

“We could avoid it and not make films at all, but the films are what I choose to carry. So yes, I’m concerned, but one thing I don’t like is that — and you have not done this — but putting the onus of the explanation of this on us, the artists. It’s not us, it’s Mubi you must address. … Not just Mubi but other companies as well.”

What do you want Jim Jarmusch to do—not make movies? What kind of world would that be? And anyway, you shouldn’t be asking him about the ethical investments of the companies that pay him, because he cannot be expected to match his deeds to his words on Gaza.
Eve Barlow: Dear Chris Martin
Chris, on October 7, Palestinians and Hamas breached the border of the Gaza envelope, and slaughtered 1,200 innocents. Rape was used as a weapon of war on October 7 by Hamas, and by Palestinians from Gaza. The United Nations has now since recognized this as fact; women were abused and butchered in unimaginable ways. Of the 250-plus innocents who were kidnapped into Gaza on that day, 50 remain there, held captive, some alive and some dead. Held by Palestinians and Hamas. It is the 697th day of their captivity. When you tell two young Israeli women you that will treat them as “equal humans on earth regardless of where they come from” and then you qualify their existence by mentioning that Palestinians exist, too, it is a double hit of dehumanization. It does the opposite of what your words claim to intend. I’ll break it down for you.

First, you are weaponizing a shame that has engulfed the world - that for some reason Israelis need to apologize for their existence, that Jews from their indigenous homeland are “controversial”, that our mere presence is affronting. This is what the Nazis did to lay the ground for the Holocaust. They dehumanized the Jewish people, treating us as sub-human. Your words may have come from an awkward, meandering place, but they humiliated two young Jews. You normalized the idea that Israelis must be reminded that they can be considered “equal humans” if the person in power so decrees. Replace them with any other minority. What if it were two Black kids? Two gay kids? Two Chinese kids? And you offered that you would treat them as equal humans? You treated two Jews like Martians.

Second, you qualify a Jew’s existence by participating in a sort of all-lives-matter-ing, acknowledging in the same breath our sworn enemies who want to kill and destroy us. It’s an inconvenient truth that the Palestinians have a bloodlust for murdering Israelis and this is undeniable in the wake of October 7 - a day that killed the dream of a two state solution. For many Israelis, including those who survived the massacre on October 7, the word “Palestinian” has new meaning. If you ever go to the Gaza envelope, and visit the kibbutzim there, places like Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Kissufim, Re’im and Be’eri, you will speak to people who were the most beligerent about peace and a two state solution pre-October 7, but who have sobered up to reality.

Chris, I asked one survivor of Nir Oz her story, and she did not describe the people who broke into and ransacked her house, murdered her neigbors, and attempted to kill her and her daughter as “Hamas”. She did not refer to them as “Gazans”. She referred to them as “Palestinians”, because that’s what they were. Because Gaza has a culture that has been created by Jihadists, and it goes far beyond the political leadership Hamas. This survivor’s parents founded Kibbutz Nir Oz. They were pioneers and peaceniks. They gave people from Gaza jobs. Every day Palestinians came from Gaza to work in the kibbutz. On October 7, Palestinians came from Gaza to betray their neighbors.

So please never ever qualify the existence of a Jew, Israeli or not, with the existence of an Arab who calls themselves a Palestinian. If you had introduced two people from Ramallah onstage, I sincerely doubt you would have felt the need to remind the crowd that there are also Israelis. If they were two Ukrainians, would you have reminded your audience that there may be Russians in the room? The Israelis are the equivalent of the Ukrainians, just FYI. I said something mean about your band Coldplay yesterday. I said that the truth is Savage Garden could have been as big as Coldplay. I love Savage Garden. I love Travis. I love Keane. I love many bands that could have been as big as Coldplay. You know though, it doesn’t matter. Hard work gets a band to where you, Jonny, Guy and Will have gotten to. But you know too that it’s luck of the draw. You know that the popularity and the following you’ve accrued makes you a leader in this world. For your fans, for your friends, for your own children, I ask you sincerely, please. Do better.
at

09/02 Links Pt1: There Never Will Be a Palestinian State. So What’s Next? Israel must not trade concrete gains for empty political promises; A charade in academic garb

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Hamas: Not Like Us
Just prior to the holiday weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood with Sabine Taasa, whose son, Or, and husband, Gil, were murdered by Hamas on October 7. Two other sons were injured in the attacks. Taasa and Netanyahu were presenting footage from a security camera, which catches Gil’s death and the terrorists’ callous treatment of the boys, both of whom were injured.

The viewer sees Gil and his sons run into a shelter and a terrorist throw a grenade into the shelter after them. Gil appears to have shielded his sons from the explosion, which killed him immediately. We see Gil’s body in a corner of the video after the explosion, and then see the two boys run back to the house.

The video is just now being approved for wide release outside of Israel by Taasa as a reminder of why this war began and why it continues, as a steady stream of Hamas war porn seeks to paint the Jewish state as an evil, murderous force. But the video’s release also shows the built-in advantage that Hamas has. After all, the Taasa footage can only be shown because it is unrepresentative of the rest of the unreleased October 7 footage in that it isn’t shockingly gory.

Israel has provided to journalists and politicians and other officials who request it the most brutal footage from that day. But it has not been packaged into made-for-social-media clips of Hamas’s barbarity. The inhumanity of these scenes of Hamas’s actions, and the sheer volume of such videos—many of which Hamas took themselves—is nearly incomprehensible. And so the question has been raised from the beginning of the war: Why didn’t the Israeli government show all this footage, so that the world could understand the demonic forces guiding Hamas’s death cult?

There is no one single answer to this question. One popular suggestion is that the Israeli military, and in fact the Israeli public, would be unrestrainable if it saw the worst of Hamas’s crimes against Israeli civilians. Contrary to the parade of lies about Israel’s prosecution of this war, the IDF has shown superhuman restraint and patience. The military took its time, for example, evacuating a million Palestinians from Rafah before going in to clear it of Hamas fighters and smuggling tunnels. The nearly 1:1 casualty ratio of civilians to combatants is unheard-of in urban warfare. The numbers don’t lie (hard as Hamas might try to make them)—there has almost certainly never been stronger protection of noncombatants in a dense urban war theater like this.
Elliott Abrams: There Never Will Be a Palestinian State. So What’s Next?
I’ve heard that line repeated over the years by a few thoughtful and often weary Palestinians looking for a way forward that separates them from Israel, guarantees a great deal of self-rule and real autonomy, and brings their children a better life, yet prevents Palestinian radicals, extremists, and terrorists from turning their imaginary peaceful “Palestine” into a simulacrum of yesterday’s Gaza—before October 7—or today’s. They understand something elemental that the Macrons and Carneys and Starmers do not: the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the wide support for violence in Palestinian society will not be solved by the magical incantation of recognition, and will in fact be worsened by it.

Until Palestinian nationalism is not fundamentally about destroying Israel, and until options like an organic link to Jordan are examined, neither that internal crisis nor the violent confrontation between Israel and Palestinians will be resolved. Israelis will not, to say it again, commit suicide, and that means they will not empower those who would murder them and their children and would destroy their state. That is the fact that needs to be faced, and is daily evaded, by facile diplomats who claim to be protecting Palestinians and by self-satisfied politicians motivated by their own need for more votes.

A Palestinian state living in peace and security side by side with Israel is a mirage: despite all the claims that we are getting closer to it, it always recedes. Perhaps someday the Islamic Republic of Iran will fall, and a new government there will stop supporting every terrorist group that wishes to destroy Israel. Perhaps someday leaders of the major democracies will treat Israel with fairness and justice, and will demand and enforce fundamental changes in Palestinian society that root out the disastrous effects of a century of murderous anti-Semitism and efforts to destroy Israel. Perhaps Palestinians will someday find and support a national leader who, unlike Husseini or Arafat, truly wishes to build a decent society rather than attacking the one next door. But until such things happen, Palestinian statehood must remain an impossibility.

The most apt metaphor for Palestinian life today is the Gaza cityscape as it existed on October 6: behind and beneath the facades of homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques lay a vast network of terror tunnels and weapons storehouses. And underlying that physical network lay, and lies still, an intellectual and ideological network of beliefs—beliefs that lead to such widespread support for Hamas even today, and that lead the Palestinian Authority to name schools and plazas after the terrorist murderers of children, and to pay salaries and bounties to terrorists in Israel prisons.

Israel has done a great deal toward eliminating the physical infrastructure of terror, but there cannot be a Palestinian state unless and until the intellectual network that prizes “armed struggle” against the Jewish state above building a normal life for Palestinians ends as well. That is a task for Palestinians, not Israelis, and it is a task that Palestinians will not take up while international organizations and leaders of important nations assure them that statehood will come to them soon and without conditions.
Israel must not trade concrete gains for empty political promises
Under no circumstances should tangible achievements be traded for political ideas that may stir the imagination, but their chances of materializing are doubtful. Thus, one can welcome the Lebanese government's decision to task the Lebanese army with formulating a plan to disarm Hezbollah, but also assume – with a sober look – that the likelihood of this happening is slim.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem made clear that the weapons issue is a red line and that his organization will never agree to disarm, and therefore one should not be tempted by the "discourse of gestures" – it is not right to reduce IDF strikes in Lebanon or reduce the Israeli military presence in order to "give President Aoun a chance and encourage him in his policy."

Israel needs to maintain its hold on all five points in Lebanon where the IDF controls, not allow the reconstruction of Shiite villages that threaten our communities in the north, enforce decisively, and act firmly against any attempt to arm and strengthen. If and when Hezbollah is disarmed, then it will be possible to show openness to other ideas as well.

The same applies to Syria: we need to wake up from the dreams about hummus in Damascus. The refined jihadist ruler indeed spoke positively about the possibility of peace relations with Israel, and this should not be dismissed, but meanwhile, these are just words. The barbaric attacks by regime supporters against the Druze illustrated the complex internal challenges in this divided country. They reminded us and the rest of the world what the base of the new president looks like, who, next month, will stand on the UN General Assembly podium.

Even those who believe that Ahmed al-Sharaa has exhausted the jihad chapter in his life and seen the light on the path of statesmanship now understand what his power base looks like. It is hard to assume that the gang of jihadists surrounding him has abandoned the vision of establishing an extreme Sunni religious state in Greater Syria, and that it will allow action in complete opposition to this vision. Therefore, we must maintain our military presence on Mount Hermon's peak and in the buffer zone in Syria, forcefully prevent empowerment moves that will challenge the freedom of action of our forces, and assist the Druze.

And for those who claim that Israel's actions could undermine political opportunities: first, past experience teaches that the opposite is true – military moves may actually help clarify red lines, and, by themselves, serve as leverage for advancing political arrangements. Second, and more importantly, security without political arrangements is preferable to arrangements without security. These lessons must be remembered, especially ahead of a political month, full of initiatives and ideas.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Arabs Not Interested in Seeing Hamas Disarm
It was Qatar, in fact, during the entire Trump administration's supposed "mediation," that repeatedly instructed Hamas to keep attacking Israel and not to disarm.

Even after joining the Arab League's request for a ceasefire, Qatari government journalists are urging Hamas to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, to "[f]ight the Jews and kill them," and that "Jihad victory in Gaza will end Zionism." After the January 2025 ceasefire came into effect, Qatar's government media called the ceasefire a "crushing historic victory" for Hamas, a "significant defeat" for Israel, and like the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, "which the Prophet Muhammad signed with his enemies in the Quraysh tribe" for ten years, but "which he violated after approximately two years," and proceeded to conquer Mecca.

If 22 Arab and Muslim countries do not have the courage to speak out against Hamas, how can they be expected to play any role in ending the war in the Gaza Strip?

Qatar has so far failed to pressure the terror group [Hamas] to lay down its weapons and relinquish control over the Gaza Strip. Qatar's government journalists, as noted, are still actively encouraging Hamas to continue the war.

If the two countries [Egypt and Qatar] really wanted to pressure Hamas, they would at least threaten to deport the terror group's leaders and their families and seize their bank accounts. Not only has this not happened, but Hamas leaders continue to lead comfortable lives in Doha and are warmly received each time they fly to Egypt.

Hamas leaders simply feel no pressure whatsoever from the Arabs to end the war in the Gaza Strip. That is most likely why Hamas leaders are determined to fight to the last Palestinian. From their safe homes and offices in Qatar and Turkey, Hamas leaders continue to glorify the Palestinian "resistance" and threaten Israel with more terrorism.

The fastest way to end the war is by demanding -- with consequences for dawdling -- that the Arab countries, especially Egypt and Qatar, take a truly tough stance against Hamas. The Trump administration is probably the only party that can pressure Egypt and Qatar to force Hamas to release the hostages and lay down its weapons.
at

AI Helped Kill Three People. Here's an AI Policy That Would Have Prevented It.

(copied from my Substack)

AI Helped Kill Three People. Here's a Policy That Would Have Prevented It.

What OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta should have implemented before tragedy

Elder of Ziyon
Sep 02, 20

As many of you know, I’ve been working on a moral philosophy framework grounded in Jewish ethics, but structured to apply universally, across any domain,. I call it Derechology: a comprehensive, operational system of moral reasoning built to handle real-world complexity.

Last week, we learned about two devastating incidents where AI systems may have contributed directly to human death:

While I’ve written before about applying my ethical framework to AI, these events make it clear that theory is no longer enough.

It is imperative that we go beyond the theoretical and create a real, transparent, usable policy - not patchwork responses after tragedy, but a complete moral structure that would make this kind of failure impossible from the start.

Because without a robust ethical foundation, every AI company is stuck in the same loop: improvising values, patching harms, and reacting too late.

So here it is: a complete Moral AI Policy that goes far beyond anything I’ve seen from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, or others, based on a rich, powerful and time-tested ethical framework. It includes:

  • A structural integrity model for training data

  • Real moral guardrails around life, truth, and dignity

  • Clarification protocols for ambiguous input

  • Ethical audit trails for every AI decision

  • Propaganda detection layers

  • Source integrity scoring

  • Built-in user feedback, correction, and teshuvah

  • A complete override system to prevent catastrophic moral failure

This is Jewish ethics applied - not abstractly, not theologically, but operationally, in a way that everyone can benefit.

Send this to any AI researcher you know. We need to revamp how AI ethics is done from the ground up before it gets even more entrenched in out daily lives.

There is no time to lose.

Moral AI Policy: A Framework for Transparent, Accountable, and Ethical Artificial Intelligence

Purpose: To ensure that AI systems developed and deployed by companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and others operate with moral clarity, structural accountability, and public transparency. This policy establishes a blueprint for ethical integrity across data, design, deployment, and dialogue.

I. Core Moral Commitments

  1. Protect Human Life
    AI systems must not endanger human life or psychological integrity, whether through direct decisions or indirect influence.

  2. Uphold Human Dignity
    All outputs must respect the worth of each person. No exploitation, manipulation, or stereotyping.

  3. Tell the Truth
    Avoid lies, deceptive framing, or hidden motives. Value accuracy and moral honesty above flattery or performance.

  4. Accept Responsibility
    AI companies are responsible for real-world effects of their technologies, not just technical performance.

  5. Balance Justice with Compassion
    AI must make judgments that reflect fairness and humane understanding—not cold logic or emotional overreach.

II. Source Integrity and Ethical Tagging

A. Source Evaluation Criteria:
Training data must be evaluated for:

  • Corrigibility

  • Transparency

  • Human Dignity

  • Relational Integrity

  • Conflict Resolution Capacity

  • Epistemic Humility

AI systems must incorporate Source Integrity Scoring, using five scored dimensions (0–10 scale):

  • Factual Transparency

  • Intellectual Honesty

  • Consistency of Standards

  • Corrigibility

  • Bias Disclosure

Scores must be logged and rationalized. Sources with scores > 4 must not be relied on for factual claims. Scores ≤ 2 should be prioritized.

B. Source Scoring and Tagging:
Each source should be tagged with trustworthiness scores and metadata indicating bias, reviewability, and ethical risk.

C. Propaganda Safeguards:
Detect and demote content that shows signs of manipulation, misinformation, or bad-faith moral framing.

D. Public Disclosure:
Publish inclusion/exclusion criteria and broad source composition. Allow third-party review.

E. Re-Audit Protocol:
Sources must be periodically re-scored. Allow user-flagged re-evaluation.

F. AI Response Integration:
When relevant, AI should disclose source confidence or offer alternate answers based on high-trust data.

G. Source Audit Transparency:
All answers must include a Source Audit summary listing sources used, their bias scores, and brief rationales.

III. Clarification Before Response

Rule:
When user input is ambiguous, ethically sensitive, or context-dependent, the AI must:

  1. Ask clarifying questions (up to 3)

  2. Surface possible interpretations

  3. Avoid moral judgment until clarification is complete

This promotes epistemic humility and guards against wrongful assumptions.

IV. Ethical Conflict Resolution Framework

When AI systems face conflicting values:

  1. Apply a visible prioritization logic

  2. Disclose how that decision was made

  3. Avoid flattening complex tradeoffs without explanation

All moral conflicts must be resolvable by structure, not convenience.

V. Built-In Ethical Audit Trail

A. On-Demand Audit Mode:
Users must be able to request an audit trail per response, showing:

  • Core values applied

  • Value conflicts identified

  • Resolution logic

  • Source influences

  • Confidence level and uncertainty disclosure

B. Storage and Oversight:
All audit trails must be logged for internal QA, user challenge, and external regulation.

C. Version Control:
Moral logic changes between model versions must be documented and visible.

D. Argument Integrity Audit:
When contested claims arise, AI must conduct an argument audit across five factors:

  1. Evidence Linkage

  2. Logical Coherence

  3. Contextual Honesty

  4. Counterargument Engagement

  5. Normative / Legal Alignment

Scores > 4 downgrade the claim’s epistemic weight. These audits must be included upon request.

E. Triangulation Protocol (Fallback):
When reliable sources conflict, systems must:

  • Identify opposing claims from trustworthy sources (score ≤ 4)

  • Audit each argument

  • Present shared facts and contradictions

  • Output a triangulation summary: “Based on partial convergence and contradiction, the most likely reconstruction is...”

VI. User Feedback and Moral Dispute System

A. Embedded Reporting:
Let users report errors, moral concerns, or logic flaws directly from each AI output.

B. Moral Dispute Tracker:
Maintain a public log of flagged cases and company responses. Track whether actions were taken.

C. Challengeable Reasoning:
Allow users to request reasoning explanations, suggest alternatives, or challenge moral priorities.

D. Teshuvah Protocol:
Publicly acknowledge and document ethical course corrections.

E. Pattern Recognition:
Detect repeated harms or biases and trigger mandatory ethical review.

VII. Advertising Ethics Clause

A. Clear Separation:
No blending of ads into AI-generated answers. Ads must be visually and structurally distinct.

B. Mandatory Disclosure:
Label all ads and explain who paid, how it influences results, and whether the system was trained by the advertiser.

C. Consent for Personalization:
Users must opt in to ad personalization, with clear data usage explanations.

D. Ad-Free Moral Systems:
No sponsor may influence how the AI defines truth, harm, fairness, or moral weight.

E. Search Integrity Lessons:
Do not repeat the moral degradation seen in search platforms. Answers must reflect trust, not bids.

VIII. Manipulation and Narrative Integrity Screening

A. Structural Integrity Checks:
AI companies must implement systems that scan both training data and generated outputs for signs of manipulation, including:

  • Selective framing or sourcing

  • Smuggled assumptions

  • Weaponized language

  • Reversed moral roles without evidence

B. Input and Output Monitoring:
Inputs must be screened for attempts at narrative manipulation or adversarial prompting. Outputs must be evaluated before delivery, especially in sensitive domains.

C. Integrity Summary Access:
Users may request a plain-language explanation of how the system ensured the response was free from structural or rhetorical manipulation.

D. Ethical Suppression of Exploitative Framing:
Where responses risk causing reputational harm without relevance or consent, the system must suppress and revise with an explanation.

E. Review Triggers:
Repeated manipulative structures in output must trigger an ethical model behavior review.

IX. Final Accountability Questions (Public Ethics Declaration)

All AI companies must publish answers to:

  1. What is your moral direction — your consistent value framework?

  2. What changes have you made based on past ethical failures?

  3. What protects your system from capture by politics, profit, or ideology?


Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

at