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Sunday, October 12, 2025

10/12 Links: The End of October 7 Denialism; Israel won its war, but the West’s is only just beginning; Coleman Hughes: Antisemitism and the Black experience; Mr. FAFO Finally Found Out

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: The End of October 7 Denialism
So that’s it—riddle solved, question answered. Every Gazan who stormed through the destroyed border fence that day was a participant in an explicitly genocidal attack with specific encouragement toward heinous crimes against humanity and to document it all so there could be no confusion, no denial, no debate: “Undertake these actions intentionally.”

All of this was obvious from the moment it happened. But the ranks of Western anti-Israel activists are filled with people trained to deny the obvious. Now it is fact, and it is undeniable. Every accusation made against Israel by Hamas’s supporters was pure projection.

One can imagine how frustrating this might have been, at least at first, to Hamas itself. Its top leadership specifically called for the entire world to witness Hamas’s crimes, to know they were intentional, and to inspire others to globalize the intifada along with them. The fact that they inspired more such ghoulishness among Western activists than random Palestinians in the West Bank should haunt us all. Gaza became the last true Nazi citadel, and lots of people in Europe and America thought it was grand.

Moreover, the denialism that crept in was a strategic problem for Hamas. It contradicted the entire point of the operation.

Just as frustrating must have been the slow development of the assumption among many that Hamas’s meticulously planned operation was disordered and disorganized. It wasn’t. It’s just that many Palestinian “civilians” in Gaza joined in the bloodletting, giving the impression of randomness.

Why does it matter that the Hamas attacks were so meticulously organized? Because the idea of “disorganization” has been used by some in the “pro-Palestinian” chorus to claim that the very worst crimes were unintended. Gazans kidnapped and murdered and then mutilated the body of a baby. They were following instructions. Gazans abused defenseless women and children in horrific ways. They were following instructions. Gazans dragged elderly people in failing health across the sand into hellish captivity. They were following instructions.

I suppose “free Palestine” can mean different things to different people. But to those in America, Europe and Gaza, it means everything laid out above.
‘The voice is Jacob’s but the hands are Esau’s’
The October 7 onslaught shattered any pretense that Hamas’s wars were mere repetitions of the past. Unlike previous clashes—from 2008 through 2021—October 7 was designed not to echo history but to reverse it: to reinsert Palestinians into a moral narrative of redemptive violence, where bloodshed could undo 1948. The massacres were not simply acts of terror; they were ritual performances of revenge.

That leap into barbarism shocked the modern conscience but only briefly. In its aftermath, Hamas discovered that atrocity could enhance legitimacy. By obliterating the fragile consensus around “two states for two peoples,” its cry of “Palestine from the River to the Sea” resonated through the Middle East and beyond. Erdoğan defended Hamas; protesters across the West waved its banners in city streets, interrupting classes, graduations, and concerts—all in the name of “liberation.” The massacres were thus reframed as moral theater, violence transfigured into virtue.

To call Israel colonial, racist, and genocidal is to indulge in a narrative detached from evidence but nonetheless seductive. It turns Hamas into a providential force, and its leaders into martyrs of justice. But this mythology traps Palestinians in a cycle of victimhood that precludes the very statehood they claim to seek. Theirs is a political culture that elevates grievance over governance, tragedy over transformation.

Evangelizing martyrdom, Palestinian politics has built its identity around the Nakba, the catastrophe of 1948, rather than around the arduous work of institution-building. Statecraft requires compromise, calculation, and the will to secure material stability—qualities absent from movements that glorify self-sacrifice and see every negotiation as betrayal. State building may be arduous and uncertain, but it is the only one that leads toward independence.

Storytelling, when untethered from analysis, can enchant but it cannot explain. And so, the question remains: when President Trump demanded that Hamas “hurry up or face consequences,” whom was he really warning—the terrorists holding the hostages, or the world still reluctant to confront the myths that sustain the savagery seemingly too costly politically or economically for its leaders to confront?

Only states could broker an agreement to bring back all the hostages and generate the forces to end the Gaza War. States are compelled to engage in rational, strategic calculations to protect territory and resources. Their calculations may sometimes be wrong but they are, at least, subject to bargaining and trading one set of goods for another. The pivot from Hamas to Qatar and Turkey, from terrorist movement to independent states crafted the preconditions for what can easily become another chapter in The Art of the Deal.
Jake Wallis Simons: Israel won its war, but the West’s is only just beginning
The celebrities who spent two years demanding “Ceasefire Now” fell conspicuously silent when Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu secured a ceasefire now. Clearly, they had been hankering only after the kind of ceasefire that followed an Israeli defeat. Or to put it another way, a victory for Hamas.

Was any of this a surprise? The information warfare has been intense. In the heat of battle, the United Nations turned itself into a disinformation machine, endorsing lies of “genocide” and “famine”. Meanwhile, our media erased Hamas, exposing audiences only to pictures of suffering Palestinian civilians. Did nobody wonder how the dead and wounded jihadis had vanished? Any conflict with one side removed makes tragic collateral death feel like “genocide”.

A study by Fifty Global Research Group showed that 98 per cent of mainstream English-language news reports cited Hamas numbers, of which just two per cent were acknowledged as unreliable. By contrast, Israeli figures were cited in only five per cent of reports, and half of those questioned their credibility. No wonder support for the only democracy in the Middle East was left at rock bottom.

Driven by complacency, naïveté and self-regard, the West has driven itself mad. As the dust settles, international isolation may be Israel’s challenge, but that country is resilient. We, on the other hand, have been left with a social rot accelerating our collapse from within.

The excuse of “Gaza” may pass, but after decades of reckless immigration, political sectarianism is here to stay. The hard-Left mobs and Muslim Brotherhood fanatics have won control of our streets, vowing to maintain their aggression regardless of the ceasefire. The Palestine flag now competes with the Union Jack. We don’t know who we are any more.

Donald Trump’s genius has left Israel in a position of great strength. Its society is resilient, its economy booming, its demographics young and growing, its enemies castrated. In the West, meanwhile, we are in great jeopardy on all those counts. Israel’s war may be over, but for us, it is only beginning.
Meir Y. Soloveichik: A Primer for the Promised Land
REVIEW: ‘Explaining Israel: The Jewish State, the Middle East, and America’ by Peter Berkowitz
To have the pleasure of knowing, and learning from, Peter Berkowitz, is to encounter a polymathic mind whose insightful intellect ranges across politics and the academy, law, philosophy, and history. My own experience working with Berkowitz as a member of the State Department’s Commission on Inalienable Human Rights was a true privilege for which I will be forever grateful. The range of Berkowitz’s knowledge can be found in a newly published collection of columns that are ostensibly all about one subject—the state of the State of Israel—but range across 10 years of that country’s controversies and crises, especially on the debate on the future of the Judiciary and the world after October 7.

Some of the reflections regarding the latter subject are especially invaluable. Thus there is Berkowitz’s succinct summary of all that is wrong with the odious International Court of Justice in The Hague. Drawing on his own experience in foreign policy, Berkowitz describes all the true injustices this purported court has ignored. Most noteworthy of all, perhaps, is the "internment of some 1 million Muslim Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party."

And then there is a moving description of the author engaging in the unusual activity of teaching the writings of Burke, Mill, and Locke, to a group of adult members of the Israeli Haredi community (often inaccurately rendered "ultra-Orthodox"). I know of no one else who could have the right balance of gifts to lead this unique form of pedagogy. Berkowitz movingly describes the discussion between himself and his students, and reflects how freedom and religion are not "inevitable antagonists," but rather "working partners and perhaps friends."

How is this balance being struck in Israel, and how comparable is it to the cultural moment in America? Berkowitz compares the two countries at various points in the book, but I am unsure the comparison holds. Thus, praising a book by the Israeli intellectual Micah Goodman, Berkowitz describes how secularism can teach Jewish Orthodoxy that too often it fosters "a sense of guilt stemming from the experience of always falling short of God’s commandments." Mutual understanding between the faithful and the secular, Berkowitz concludes, "may have the additional benefit—in the United States as in Israel—of tempering the increasingly entrenched enmity between right and left."


Who are the 20 living Israeli hostages set for release under Trump's Gaza deal?
Some 20 living hostages are set to return to Israel early on Monday as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Here are their names, faces, and stories.

Avinatan Or
Avinatan Or, the 32-year-old partner of rescued hostage Noa Argamani, was abducted from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023. The couple had spent hours hiding in a ditch after trying to flee by car when Hamas discovered them.

Or had reportedly had the opportunity to escape but did not want to leave behind his girlfriend “at the hands of the monsters,” his mother, Ditza Or, told The Jewish Chronicle.

Or, an electrical engineer for Nvidia and a graduate of Ben-Gurion University, was seen alive by one of the released hostages secured in the last Israel-Hamas ceasefire. His family has received several signs of life throughout his captivity.

Ariel Cunio
Argentinian-Israeli national Ariel Cunio, the 28-year-old brother of fellow hostage David Cunio, was abducted from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz with his partner, Arbel Yehoud.

Little has been shared about Ariel’s time in captivity, though a released hostage confirmed in February that he was still alive.

David Cunio
David Cunio, 33, was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside his partner and twin daughters during the Hamas-led assault on October 7.

His family has since confirmed through released hostages that he is alive, and he is expected to be among those freed in the upcoming deal.

Eitan Horn
Eitan Horn, 39, was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his brother Yair during Hamas’s October 7 attack. The brothers were among the few men in their community taken alive.

His family has been outspoken in the hostage campaign, noting that released captives confirmed Eitan is alive but injured and in need of medical care.

Alon Ohel
Alon Ohel, 23, a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival near Re’im on October 7, 2023.

He appeared in Hamas footage from the massacre and was later confirmed to be held captive in Gaza, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.


Trump to visit Israel for four hours, meet with PM, hostage families
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to touch down in Israel on Monday morning for a four-hour visit that includes meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, other top officials and hostage families.

According to a schedule published by Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday, the American leader will be welcomed at Ben-Gurion International Airport at 9:20 a.m. by Netanyahu and Israeli President Herzog.

At 10:15 a.m., Netanyahu will host Trump in his parliamentary office, followed by a 10:45 meeting with families of hostages held by Hamas.

At 11 a.m., Trump is scheduled to, for the first time, address a special session of the Knesset alongside Netanyahu and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid.

Trump’s historic visit—the first of his second term—concludes at 1 p.m. with a farewell at Ben-Gurion Airport, without a public ceremony.

He will depart Israel for Egypt, where he is expected to attend a meeting with more than 20 world leaders to discuss the Gaza Strip’s future.

The Israeli Defense Ministry put finishing touches in recent days on an elaborate welcome ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport, installing a 164-foot red carpet and dozens of U.S. and Israeli flags as the Jewish state prepares to receive Trump on Monday morning.


Netanyahu calls for ‘healing, unity’ on eve of hostages’ release
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening delivered an emotional national address ahead of Monday’s scheduled release of hostages held by Hamas, calling it “an evening of tears, an evening of joy.”

“Tomorrow, children will return to their own land,” Netanyahu said. “This is a historic event that blends sorrow over the release of murderers and joy over the return of hostages.”

The prime minister said the achievement reflected the steadfast belief of Israel’s soldiers and citizens. “Some did not believe this day would come. But our fighters believed. Many among the people believed. And I believed,” he declared.

Netanyahu urged national unity at what he described as a moment of both triumph and challenge. “I know there are many disagreements among us. But on this day, and I hope also in the period ahead, we have every reason to put them aside,” he said.

“Everywhere we fought—we won.”

He cautioned, however, that the campaign was not yet over. “There are still very great security challenges ahead of us,” Netanyahu said, warning that Israel’s enemies “are trying to rebuild themselves to attack us again.” Yet, he added, “We’re on it.”

The prime minister also said Israel’s recent victories have opened “great opportunities that we have never known before,” expressing confidence that through unity, the nation would meet future challenges and “realize these opportunities.”

Netanyahu spoke of the many meetings he and his wife, Sara, held with the families of the abducted. “We saw their pain, their yearning, their tears,” he said. “I promised them—I will not rest until I bring your loved ones back.”

Concluding his remarks, Netanyahu thanked IDF soldiers, bereaved families, and the citizens of Israel, calling tomorrow “the beginning of a new path. A path of building, a path of healing, and I hope—a path of uniting hearts.”


PM Netanyahu’s Emotional National Address Before Historic Hostage Release (Full English Dub)

Netanyahu lights candle in memory of war victims
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday visited the memorial wall at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem and lit a candle in memory of the murdered and fallen soldiers of the war.

The death toll among Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, now stands at 468, and at 915 on all fronts since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

Twenty hostages are thought to be alive and will be returned to Israel on Monday. For most of them, signs of life have been received—videos from Hamas or messages from captivity survivors who were released in the last deal in January-February 2025.

Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services is prepared to receive the remains of “between one and 28” slain hostages as part of the agreement with Hamas in Gaza, Director-General Yehudah Avidan said on Sunday.

Despite expectations, no one yet knows how many hostages’ bodies will be handed over by the terrorist group, Avidan said.


Spy Eli Cohen’s remains to be transferred to Israel soon from Syria – report
The Saudi channel Al-Hadath reported Sunday that the remains of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who operated in Syria during the 1960s, are expected to soon be transferred to Israel.

The report was not verified and didn’t offer any further details.

Nadia Cohen, the spy’s widow, told Ynet: “The Mossad isn’t familiar with this story, and it isn’t known to them that he’s being returned.”

She described an “internal storm. I have hope that what’s happening in Syria will allow for more flexibility. I am full of optimism all the time, and it’s on my mind and my heart all the time. I haven’t lost hope.”

Cohen was captured and executed by the Syrian regime in 1965 and buried in Damascus. Over the years, Bashar al-Assad’s regime rejected Jerusalem’s requests to receive his body or exchange it for Syrian prisoners held in Israel.

Sunday’s report came some five months after a covert Israeli operation in Syria recovered some 2,500 documents and personal items belonging to Cohen.
Why are they so afraid? The diplomatic fear to show friendship to Israel
SEVERAL ISRAELI sources responded to my account of the fearful ambassadorial aides with a certain amount of trepidation that UN staffers would speak of concern for their job or even life. However, one former Israel diplomat said to me: “No, I’m not surprised. It can be frightening if you’re new to the diplomatic world. If anything,” he said, “I think the situation, despite the war, is improving. More countries, even without official ties with Israel, are still willing to talk to us. Yeah, sure, they don’t want to make it too public, but they’re talking to us.”

In chats I conducted with Israeli, US, and European diplomatic sources, they all stressed that it’s not just relatively junior personnel who are afraid to speak out sympathetically about Israel, and not just in Arab and Muslim countries. All of the diplomats preferred not to get into specifics but noted that within Europe, there are various high-level officials who are “afraid, or at least hesitant, to stick their necks out publicly for us,” as one Israeli official put it.

On a number of occasions, I’ve heard former Israeli officials speak of Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister who lost in the election of July 4, 2024, as a leader “who truly supported Israel and came to our side after October 7, but treaded carefully in terms of how far he went publicly to take up our cause.”

I asked a European official why such a thing is a phenomenon not just in the UK, but perhaps a number of European countries. He replied flatly: “Have you seen our streets? Have you seen the protests?”

I asked him: “Who’s running the show: the government or the protesters?” We were speaking in a phone call – he hung up.

I’D LIKE to end on a positive note. This is a story which I’ve told before but which has now taken a potentially encouraging turn. Back in 1991, at the Madrid Conference, I began exchanging notes with a Lebanese reporter. I was wearing a kippah. An international television crew thought it was an interesting site: a Lebanese reporter sitting with a religious Jew – an Israeli no less.

As the camera light turned on, she ran away in a panic. It didn’t help. I later learned that she had been imprisoned upon returning to Lebanon. Thankfully, she was released, moved to the US, and we’ve been in touch periodically. She tells me now that she is “cautiously optimistic” about the future in Lebanon and is moving back to her home country to try to make a difference.

With a story like that, and an agreement to end the Gaza war, we can only hope that the day will come when we can talk to one another and not fear that we will lose our job, go to prison, or even face a death sentence.


US Jewish community leader lobbied for prominent Palestinian prisoner Barghouti’s release
A major Jewish American community leader privately lobbied for the release of prominent Palestinian security prisoner Marwan Barghouti as part of the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that is expected to commence on Monday, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

As part of his efforts, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder offered to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where negotiations on the agreement were being finalized last week, in order to make the case for including Barghouti on the list of 250 prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails who will be released in exchange for the remaining 48 hostages held in Gaza, according to a senior Arab official, an Israeli official, and a third source familiar with the matter.

The idea was nixed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office amid overwhelming opposition to releasing Barghouti, 66, among Israeli cabinet ministers who signed off on the deal, the three sources said.

Lauder’s decision to go to bat for an individual perceived widely in Israel and in the Diaspora as an arch-terrorist was particularly noteworthy given the Estée Lauder cosmetics company heir’s stature as the head of a major, mainstream Jewish organization.

Barghouti, the former West Bank secretary-general of the Palestinian, secular, nationalist Fatah party headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was sentenced in 2004 to five life sentences for helping plan terror attacks during the Second Intifada that killed five people in Israel.


‘They Said Allah Akbar Then Started Butchering’ | British-Israeli Speaks Of Harrowing Experience
Peter Cardwell speaks with Tal Hartov, a British Israeli, who recounts her harrowing experience of being ambushed and stabbed 18 times while hiking in 2010, resulting in the murder of her friend Christine.

As a Hamas terrorist faces release, Tal reflects on trauma, resilience, and the complexities of justice.




Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 51: Antisemitism and the Black experience
Coleman Hughes is an American writer, host of the podcast Conversations with Coleman, a visiting professor at the University of Austin, and the author of The End of Race Politics.

He joins the podcast to talk about America, the Gaza war and the standing of American Jews in American society. A prominent Black thinker who has written and spoken a great deal about race in America, Coleman also helps guide us through the complicated intellectual and cultural story of Black antisemitism in America.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Context of the Conversation
03:03 The Current State of the Israel-Gaza Conflict
05:46 American Perceptions and Silence on the Ceasefire
08:53 Partisanship and Its Impact on Peace Efforts
11:46 The Role of Trump in Middle Eastern Politics
14:59 Antisemitism in America: A Growing Concern
17:05 Understanding Anti-Semitism: Different Perspectives
20:04 The Intersection of Race and Anti-Semitism
22:11 Concluding Thoughts on Identity and Politics
34:48 The Genesis of Black Lives Matter and Misconceptions
37:05 Understanding Sensitivity to Antisemitism
38:11 Exploring Black Antisemitism
40:29 Historical Context of Black Antisemitism
43:05 The Role of the Nation of Islam
47:37 Cultural Influences on Antisemitism
51:28 The Politics of Envy and Antisemitism
56:22 The Challenge of Historical Narratives
01:01:15 Lessons from Jewish History
01:03:53 Future of Black-Jewish Relations


Call me Back Podcast: Elation, Grief, and A Call at 4AM - with Amit Segal
Ark Media Contributor Amit Segal released a new book titled A Call at 4am, in which he dives into Israel’s thirteen prime ministers and the most critical moments that shaped Israeli history. Dan sat down with Amit to discuss some of the book’s most dramatic moments, from Golda Meir’s sleepless nights before the Yom Kippur War to Amit’s personal conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after the October 7 attack.




The Final 24 Hours Are Here! Trump's Next Move Can Force Hamas To Their Final Defeat

Erin Molan: 'Son of Hamas' WARNS: What Everyone’s Missing About Trump’s Gaza Deal
In this special bonus episode of The Erin Molan Show, Erin sits down with Mosab Hassan Yousef — better known as “The Son of Hamas” and “The Green Prince” — for one of the most powerful and chilling interviews yet.

The son of a Hamas co-founder, Mosab risked his life to expose the terror organization from within, later becoming a source for Israeli intelligence and authoring the international bestseller Son of Hamas.

Now, in the wake of President Trump’s historic Gaza Peace Plan and the release of the hostages, Mosab sounds the alarm on what the world is NOT seeing. He warns that while people are rightfully celebrating peace and progress, a deeper and more dangerous truth may be hiding beneath the headlines.


Australians are ‘protesting for the war to continue’ in Gaza
Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council Joel Burnie criticises pro-Palestine rallies continuing to rage against Israel.

“It is obvious to all who want to see the true intention of this protest movement,” Mr Burnie told Sky News Australia.

“It was never about the conditions of Palestinians in Gaza, it was never about the war, it was never about the so-called famine or the false claims of genocide.

“These protestrs, for some reason, are the only ones left behind who are still seemingly protesting for the war to continue.”


Sydney Pro-Palestine protest falls short on attendance
Thousands protested in Sydney against Israel with a heavy police presence including two busloads of riot squad officers.

The protest saw 8,000 attendees instead of the expected 40,000 and included two arrests.

Concerns about the financial impact on New South Wales' taxpayers from overtime paid to police and emergency services have been criticised






Thorpe vows to ‘burn down Parliament House’ at pro-Palestine march as rallies erupt nationwide
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has told a Melbourne rally she would “burn down Parliament House” for the Palestinian cause.

She made the comments as protesters gathered in capital cities around the country, despite a recently brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Ms Thorpe was one of numerous speakers addressing the Melbourne crowd, with the Victorian Senator comparing the situation in Gaza to the fight for Indigenous rights in Australia.

“We will fight every day, and we will turn up every day and if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point… I am not there to make friends,” she said.

“I am there to get justice for our people, and I am there to free Palestine from the river to the sea.”

She also took aim at the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by US President Trump, and proceeded to scrutinise its efficacy.

“How can we trust Trump and these racist Nazis that continue to violate our lives, our babies, our women, our families, our land?" she said.

“There will be no justice unless Palestine self determines their own destiny."

Demonstrators also gathered in Sydney's Hyde Park on Sunday before marching down George Street to Belmore Park at 1pm.

Up to 40,000 people were expected to attend the protests, according to Palestine Action Group's notice to police. However New South Wales police have since estimated the crowd size at just 8,000 people.
Lidia Thorpe makes ‘unhinged’ threat to burn down Parliament House
Sky News host James Macpherson discusses Senator Lidia Thorpe’s threat to burn down Parliament House over Palestine.

“She made the threat during an unhinged rant at Melbourne’s pro-Palestine demonstration,” Mr Macpherson said.

“Linking the Gazan conflict to Aboriginal rights and questioning the legitimacy of Trump’s peace plan.”


SNP leader John Swinney refuses to apologise for raising recognition of Palestinian state at Jewish vigil for Hamas victims
John Swinney today refused to apologise for raising recognition of a Palestinian state at a vigil for Hamas victims.

The SNP leader was booed by a furious crowd as he spoke at an event at Holyrood to mark the second anniversary of the October 7 atrocities.

But asked whether he regretted making the remarks last week, the Scottish First Minister said it would have been 'hypocritical' not to mention his views on Palestine.

At the vigil, Mr Swinney said believed a Palestinian state was a 'necessary route to securing peace in the Middle East'.

But his address was met with loud chants of 'Bring them home', in reference to the hostages still held by the Palestinian terror group.

Mr Swinney said his job as First Minister was to 'bring our communities together and to ensure that everyone in our society can live in peace and solidarity and safety'.

He added that he stood 'with you in remembrance of those who have lost their lives, I stand in solidarity demanding the release of the hostages and I stand with you demanding peace for all and that we may live in harmony together'.

The SNP leader was booed again as he left the stage outside the Scottish parliament.

Timothy Lovat, chairman of the Jewish Council of Scotland, said he had warned Mr Swinney beforehand that he would be in for a rough ride.

He said: 'He is the First Minister of Scotland and he is expected to attend a vigil like this, I just wish he'd toned down his rhetoric on Palestine previously.'


Andrew Lawrence: How awkward...
Peace in Gaza, yet the protests continue...




Largest US teachers union sends 3M members map that completely ‘erases’ Israel: ‘Inexcusable lapse’
The nation’s largest teachers union reportedly sent its roughly 3 million members a sickening email containing a map that erased Israel “completely” and labeled it as Palestine.

The National Education Association sent the email Friday providing its members with resources for “teaching about indigenous peoples” that included the disturbing map, the North American Values Institute told the Jewish News Syndicate.

The email also linked to shocking material that defended Hamas’ depraved Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to another 250 being kidnapped to Palestine, according to NAVI.

“It’s deeply troubling that the nation’s largest teachers’ union would promote materials trafficking in antisemitic tropes and attempts to rationalize the atrocities of Oct. 7, let alone elevate groups that glorify terrorism,” Steven Rosenberg, the institute’s regional director in Philadelphia, told the outlet.

“At best, this reflects an organization that failed to meet its own standards of critical review and responsibility. That’s an inexcusable lapse for any institution entrusted with shaping young minds.”

The email encouraged teachers to share the “related sources” in their classes.

While the union — made up of educators, students, parents, activists, and community members — has since scrubbed the shocking material from its website, a “Native Land Digital” map on the site still labels Israel as “Palestine” and describes it as “indigenous” to the land.

A spokesperson for the NEA blamed a third-party for the offensive content on the union’s website.

“It has come to our attention that an external resource that was linked to on NEA’s website, which has been widely used by man news outlets and organizations for many years, falls well short of our standards,” the spokesperson told The Post, noting that the union has always “opposed antisemitisim.”

“After we became aware of content on this website — particularly related to Israel and Palestine we conducted our own deeper review including links to additional third-party hosted content. Upon review, we immediately removed it from the website.

“We condemn in the strongest of terms the deeply offensive content linked on the website, and our team is working to identify a resource that meets our specific needs and standards. We have contact the host organization to flag our serious concerns and have urged them to conduct a thorough review.”

Rosenberg said that “quietly” deleting content is not transparent or a form of accountability — and called on the teachers’ union to issue a full explanation and “sincere apology,” according to JNS.


How Some Gazans See Hamas
According to S., a member of Hamas's political wing, "Many people are convinced that Oct. 7 was a fatal mistake, and even longtime supporters are casting doubt."

Mohammed, 43, who has uprooted his wife and children six times, said, "The more time goes by, the more people are having a hard time believing that the organization [Hamas] is acting for them."

"It wasn't like that at the beginning of the war. During the first days there was euphoria, there were people who thought our situation would change, that the invasion of Israel would liberate Palestine. But they didn't imagine that the response would come with so much force."

Nabil, 47, a high school teacher, recalls: "At first I didn't know about the hostages and the harm to families and children, but I know Hebrew, so I started to look for what they were saying on the news in Israel, and I immediately realized that the situation was very grave."

"People around me were talking about Hamas's bravery in attacking Israel that way, but I expected a harsh Israeli response."

When Israel's first evacuation order came, Nabil said, "The operatives disappeared into hiding places and turned their backs on us. I realized that Hamas had abandoned us, that we'd have to manage on our own." "Anyone who had money fled during the first few months. People like me who don't have money or couldn't leave because of their circumstances realized that the attack had brought a disaster down on us and no victory at all."

The bottom line is: Hamas will remain part of Gaza's social and emotional infrastructure as long as there is no sustainable alternative.


Israel detains 15 for celebrating terrorism ahead of prisoner release
Israeli security forces operated throughout Samaria over the weekend to prevent celebrations of terrorism as Jerusalem prepares to free hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners under the ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza.

As part of the operation, which included the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Israel Border Police and the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, 15 suspects were arrested.

In the villages of Silwad and Ni’lin, both located in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria, forces broke up pro-terrorist rallies, confiscated vehicles with Hamas flags and other “inciting symbols,” and detained eight suspects who took part in celebrations, the IDF said.

During additional raids, seven others were detained on incitement charges, including Abd al-Aziz Khamaysa, accused of having a pro-terrorist social media account with tens of thousands of followers.

Khamaysa is the brother of Islam Khamaysa, a Hamas operative from Jenin who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in May 2024, the IDF noted.

Israeli forces “are continuing preparations to prevent acts of incitement and events in support of terrorism as part of the release of the terrorists,” the statement said, adding that “warning calls to prisoners’ families began in recent hours and will continue throughout this week.”


Hamas Allies Open 'Nova' Restaurant to Celebrate Mass Murder Victims
The opening of a new business in the southern Gaza Strip named the "Nova Restaurant & Café" has ignited a firestorm of controversy, with Israeli officials and victims’ families condemning the establishment as a cynical act of mockery targeting the victims of the October 7 massacre at the Supernova music festival.

The name draws a direct parallel to the site near Kibbutz Re'im where Hamas terrorists murdered 364 civilians and security personnel and abducted dozens on the first day of the attacks that triggered the recent war.

A Profoundly Offensive Parallel
The choice of the name "Nova" for a public establishment in Khan Younis, a city that endured months of intense Israeli military operations, is being widely interpreted by many Israelis and Jewish advocacy groups as a celebration or trivialization of the atrocities committed on October 7.

The Supernova festival has become a searing symbol of the day's horrors, and the opening of a cafe bearing its name so close to the border, particularly following the recent ceasefire, is viewed as a deliberate provocation.

Genocide Allegations and the Ceasefire
The café's opening is situated within a deeply complex and polarized narrative currently dominating the region. For months, the Palestinian narrative has focused heavily on Israeli actions in Gaza, with international bodies and activists leveling accusations of genocide and disproportionate force against the IDF. This framing has driven global public opinion and mass pro-Palestinian protests.


Hamas influencer Saleh Aljafarawi, known as 'Mr. FAFO', killed in Gaza
Saleh Aljafarawi, a well-known social media influencer affiliated with Hamas known as "Mr. FAFO", was killed by an anti-Hamas militia in the Sabra neighborhood in southern Gaza City, Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV confirmed on Sunday.

According to reports, Aljafarawi — one of the most prominent pro-Hamas voices online in the Gaza Strip — was found shot in the head.

The influencer had gained global attention for his viral videos from Gaza, frequently appearing in clips even after being falsely reported dead. On several occasions, he filmed himself from hospital beds after reportedly surviving attacks.

Additional reports from the Gaza Strip said that the son of Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official in the group’s political bureau, was also killed during violent clashes with the Doghmush clan in Gaza City.

A senior source in Hamas’s Interior Ministry told the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera that members of Hamas’s internal security forces were killed following an attack by a local armed militia in Gaza City.


Iran says Oct. 7 was 'a costly mistake'
Iranian propaganda confronts reality in an unprecedented editorial from the Islamic Republic newspaper, which is aligned with the regime and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The article describes Hamas' October 7 attack as a "costly failure" and indirectly acknowledges the severe blows suffered by the entire Iranian axis in the confrontation with Israel. The article, appearing in the daily edition as the editorial, describes the Hamas terror attack as a "failure and costly mistake."

"The truth is, contrary to what many commentators and analysts claim, Operation 'Al-Aqsa Flood' was a mistake. We believed this from the first moments we heard about the operation, and after two years have passed, we are even more convinced of it," the article states.

The article continues and lists the blows suffered by Iran's proxy organizations and claims they sustained damage that "destroys years of diligent and meticulous work. Syria's loss and its withdrawal from the anti-Zionist alliance, as it is swallowed by the US and Israel, is one of the most difficult losses in the past two years and should be seen as direct damage from Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," the article states.

The conservative newspaper also addressed the blows suffered by Hezbollah and the elimination of the organization's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and connected Israel's achievements to Hamas' decision to launch an attack on southern communities. Regarding Israel's confrontation with Iran in Operation Rising Lion, the article takes a more cautious language and chooses to mention "the heavy losses Israel suffered" alongside describing senior Iranian officials and civilians killed in Israeli strikes in Iran. "The bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities is another disastrous consequence of the war Hamas started," the article states.


Two Illegal Migrants Arrested On Terror Charges Over Plans To Bomb Chabad Center in Florida
Project Veritas published a breaking report after its reporting led to the arrest of two Brazilian nationals who planned to bomb a Chabad Center in Orlando, FL.

“Following evidence uncovered by Project Veritas, the FBI and Florida police raided the hotel rooms of two illegal immigrants, Janaina Toledo (32) and Leonardo Corona Ramos (42), today,” Project Veritas wrote on social media. “The Brazilian nationals, linked to Tren de Aragua, face charges of underage *** trafficking and planning a terrorist attack on Chabad South Orlando, a Jewish synagogue and school.”

According to the report, the two suspects are currently detained in an Orange County, FL jail, with authorities believing this evidence prevented one of the largest terrorist attacks in Florida history.
Islamic extremist plotted deadly mustard gas attack on UK shopping centre
A Muslim-convert who boasted of wanting to “kill Jews” may have been hatching a deadly mustard gas attack on one of Britain’s best-known out-of-town shopping centres when counter terror police raided his home, a jury heard. Jordan Richardson, 21, had “regularly expressed a wish to kill Jews” and joked about going into a synagogue wearing a suicide vest when police, alerted by social media posts, pounced on his home.

They raided the smart suburban new build in Howden, East Yorkshire, and found a chilling note in which Richardson had written: “Throw all grenades into crowd; Shoot bystanders; Stab anyone who comes close; Do not get taken alive.” Katherine Robinson, prosecuting, said another note contained instructions about how to make mustard gas, and that a crossbow and a knife had also been found at his home.

Ms Robinson told the jury at Leeds Crown Court the defendant had accessed material online which “shows his interest in and affiliation with extreme Islamist ideology, that includes material depicting and glorifying terrorist actions”.

She said: “He regularly expressed a wish to kill Jews, for example using the terminology – ‘the pillagers’, ‘the big noses’ and ‘the money’.

“He suggested going to Palestine to fight Jews and he’s searched for how to volunteer for Hamas from the UK and how to get to Palestine.

“He made a joke about going into a synagogue in a suicide vest.”
Jewish man in Montana assaulted on Oct. 7 anniversary by self-declared Nazi
A Jewish man in Missoula, Montana, was assaulted on October 7 by a self-proclaimed “Nazi,” according to the Missoula Police Department.

On Tuesday, the suspect, Michael Cain, 29, got into an argument with the victim who had a visible tattoo of the Star of David on his forearm. Cain asked the victim about his tattoo and allegedly identified himself as a believer in the teachings of the Nazi party.

When the victim, who told Cain he was Jewish, then asked Cain to show him any Nazi-related tattoos on his body, Cain allegedly kicked and punched the victim, who was seated on the ground.

Missoula police then responded to the Poverello Center, a local homeless shelter where the assault took place, and later apprehended Cain who had fled the scene.

While en route to the local detention center, Cain disclosed to the arresting officer that he was a member of the “4th Reich” and said that while he did not attack the victim because of his Jewish identity, he would have if he had been more adamant about his beliefs, according to court documents obtained by local news outlet KGVO.

Cain was charged with felony malicious intimidation or harassment relating to civil or human rights and his bond was set at $50,000.

Montana is home to just under 1,500 Jews out of a general population of over 1.1 million. In 2023, the Anti-Defamation League recorded just 21 antisemitic incidents in the state.
Morrissey shows in Turkey nixed over singer’s support for Israel
Two concerts by Morrissey set for Turkey were axed amid public pressure from the government due to the English singer/songwriter’s support for Israel, the Euronews Turkish service reported on Friday.

Oktay Saral, chief adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, took to X on Wednesday, saying it is “unacceptable” to bring figures to the country who support “Israel’s oppression in Gaza.”

“The fact that Morrissey, an Israel supporter and Zionist singer, is scheduled to perform a concert at Volkswagen Arena [in Istanbul] on Dec. 16 is a blatant mockery of both our nation’s conscience and the memory of the innocent children slaughtered in Palestine,” he wrote.

He then threatened those responsible for inviting the former Smiths front man.

“The individuals and organizations responsible for this event must be immediately disclosed, and the names behind this scandal must be brought before the public,” he stated.

Istanbul Gov. Davut Gül tweeted, “No event that legitimizes Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people has ever been permitted, nor will they be in the future.”

The organizers of the concerts were cited by Euronews Turkish as saying, “By sharing the sensitivity in our society, we respectfully announce to the public that the concert has already been canceled.”

A public backlash has sparked in recent days over Morrissey’s concerts scheduled for Dec. 6 in Istanbul and Dec. 19 in Ankara.

A post on X from Oct. 8 calling to cancel the concerts by the “Zionist singer” garnered a million views.

Morrissey has performed in Israel several times. In an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel in 2017, he spoke of his “love” of Tel Aviv and said that Israelis “are very generous and friendly. You should never judge a people by their government. It is very rare for the government to reflect the wishes of the people.”
Morrissey - Every Day Is Like Sunday [Live Israel 04/07/2023]





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