Wednesday, November 05, 2025

11/05 Links Pt1: Boris Johnson: 'Strange to see intellectuals supporting Hamas'; Douglas Murray: "If there's an American flag at an anti-Israel protest, it's only there to be burnt"

From Ian:

Eugene Kontorovich: Israel: A Model Ally, a Model Society
President Trump’s historic Gaza Peace Plan, which stopped the war by making Hamas release the living hostages it held, is a good time to reflect on the broad sweep of the war in Gaza, both in the field and in the arena of public opinion. In the past two years, a country of ten million people, attacked literally from all sides, defied expectations by not only beating back its attackers, but also fundamentally reordering the Middle East. This triumph showed a level of social cohesion and patriotic dedication long unseen elsewhere in the West. At the same time, the country found itself a target of bogus accusations aimed ultimately at delegitimizing any free country’s resistance to a barbarian onslaught.

The Course of the War
Let us start not in Gaza, but with what was Israel’s more formidable foe to the north. Hezbollah’s arsenal of hundreds of thousands of missiles, amassed in southern Lebanon over two decades under the indifferent eyes of UN peacekeepers, was a Damocles’ sword over Israel’s head. Pre-war scenarios envisioned thousands of Israeli fatalities in a confrontation with Iran’s leading proxy force. Yet none of these scenarios came to fruition. Now Hezbollah is in tatters, the feckless peacekeepers are on their way out, and Lebanon’s president is publicly talking about peace with the Jewish state. In the process, Israel eliminated numerous senior terrorists who had been wanted for decades by the U.S. for their role in the mass murder of Americans. Despite the large bounties the U.S. put on their heads, no one could touch them: until Israel did. No other ally in recent memory has avenged attacks on Americans in such a manner.

Now, let’s turn east. Before the war, Iran was on the final lap of its decades-long race toward nuclear weapons, which would put it in a position to extort not just Israel, but the whole world. For decades, international affairs and security experts confidently opined that Israel lacked a serious military option against Iran’s nuclear program and that attacking Iran would unleash what even many on the right predicted would be “World War III.” Instead, Israel broke the illusion of Iranian invulnerability and set the weapons program back by years. In the process, it did not suffer a single military casualty.

The attack on Iran’s nuclear sites forged a historic new military partnership between Israel and the United States. In previous conflicts, the U.S. got bogged down with cumbersome and ineffective “coalitions of the willing.” With Israel, America had a one-state “coalition of the able,” which did most of the heavy lifting against the Islamic Republic (and its Houthi partners). This let the U.S. administer the final blow without putting a single soldier on the ground.

In the year leading up to Oct. 7, 2023, Israel faced a serious internal challenge as proposals for judicial reform led to divisive protests, funded in part by the Biden administration. Some air force pilots dramatically, but it turns out not sincerely, threatened not to defend the country. Social critics (and perhaps Hamas) read too much into this spectacle, which was really a melodramatic family quarrel. Israeli society came together with an unbelievable cohesion from the first day of the war to the last. Responses to call-up for reserve duty ran to 150 percent in the first days of the war. Even two years later, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers with jobs and families called up for hundreds of days, morale and participation remained extremely high.

Israel called up 360,000 reservists at the peak of the war. Yet there has been no large-scale draft evasion and shockingly little grumbling. The heroism, dedication, maturity, and sensitivity of nineteen and twenty-year old recruits stunned even old-timers who have seen their share of wars. The public weathered regular rocket barrages from Gaza and Lebanon, and more terrifying missile attacks from Iran and Yemen, with sangfroid.

What’s even more stunning is that throughout this two-year period, Israel’s fertility rate didn’t waver—in fact, there was a baby boom. Israel has the highest fertility rate in the West, with an average of 2.5 children per woman (more than three if counting only religious women), higher than any other OECD country.

There is a lesson here. Israel serves as an ideal ally for the United States and a role model to America’s treaty alliance partners. Israel mobilized more troops for active duty in this war than the combined mobilization potential of the United Kingdom, France, and a number of other NATO allies. America has spent untold billions on the conflict in Ukraine, which still has not introduced general conscription for eighteen-year-olds (though older cohorts are drafted), afraid the public would not bear it. America has troops deployed to Europe and Asia for countries that may not be willing to fight for themselves. On the other hand, Israel has taken on dedicated enemies of America, like Hezbollah and Iran, singlehandedly.

Israel fought for two years because it realized after October 7th that it could no longer survive surrounded by heavily armed Iranian proxies. It has now destroyed Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” and instead is in peace negotiations with the former Iranian satrapies of Syria and Lebanon. This is the reason President Trump recently called Netanyahu “one of the greatest wartime leaders.”
'Strange to see intellectuals supporting Hamas': Boris Johnson speaks on Palestinian recognition
In a direct attack on the BBC and Britain's recognition of Palestine, former British prime minister Boris Johnson said it was "strange to see intellectuals supporting Hamas."

During a European Jewish Association conference (EJA) in Krakow, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sharply criticized the lack of political leadership in the West, condemned the BBC’s coverage, and called the Labour Party's decision to recognize a Palestinian state "a mistake driven by internal pressure."

The discussion opened on a somber note by EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, who declared that "this is the worst time for Jews since World War II." Rabbi Margolin noted that recent surveys show that about 20% of Europeans blame Jews for the war in Gaza. "Jews are afraid to live in Europe," he said.

Rabbi Margolin emphasized that all strategic programs, definitions (such as the IHRA definition), and the appointment of envoys to combat antisemitism have resulted in "zero impact" due to the lack of implemenation.

Johnson, who joined the discussion, agreed with the severity of the situation. "It's very sad to see this rising," he said. "Politicians must show leadership... it's not just a matter of enforcement against people who are violent toward Jews."

Criticism of the left and the BBC
Johnson expressed astonishment at what he called a "strange paradox" in Western politics. "It is sad and surprising to see a large number of middle-class intellectuals wearing keffiyehs, marching in the streets of London, and calling for Israel to be wiped off the map," he said.

His finger was also pointed at the media, particularly the BBC. When one of the participants asked about bias in the British broadcasting corporation, Johnson replied that "they made a corporate decision to cover the Gaza conflict in a certain way. I think it was very sad, and I think it caused huge damage."

Johnson urged political leaders "to tell the truth" about the difference between Israel and Hamas, "an organization that still holds to its charter calling for the destruction of Israel."


Hostage remains arrive at forensic facility for identification, Health Ministry confirms
The remains of a slain hostage arrived at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir for identification, the Health Ministry confirmed late on Wednesday night.

The IDF and Shin Bet received the remains from the Red Cross, and transferred them from Gaza to the institute.

Hamas said it would return a slain Israeli hostage earlier in the evening in a social media post.

After Tuesday's return of Staff-Sergeant Itay Chen, there are seven remaining slain Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza.

The remaining slain hostages are Meny Godard, Hadar Goldin, Ran Gvili, Joshua Loitu Mollel, Dror Or, Lior Rudaeff, and Sudthisak Rinthalak.
US convenes UNSC, submits resolution regarding Gaza force, Israel not informed beforehand, NSC says
The US held a meeting with members of the UN Security Council, submitting a draft resolution regarding the Gaza post-war International Stabilization Force (ISF), on Wednesday.

"Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the United States will again deliver results at the UN – not endless talk. The parties have seized this historic opportunity to finally end decades of bloodshed and make the President’s vision of lasting peace in the Middle East a reality," the US mission to the UN stated.

Israel did not receive the draft of this resolution beforehand, a senior figure of Israel's National Security Council said on Wednesday.

Israel's Security Cabinet has not yet discussed the draft. "We did not receive the document; that's not correct at all. Journalists have more information; it doesn't make sense," said a cabinet source.

"Since these are the most dramatic issues, we must be involved. The fact that the prime minister thinks the resolution could be molded in Israel’s favor does not mean we can relax and assume it will be in our favor. We are in a make-or-break event. It is 'take it or leave it,'” the source argued.

US submits draft to UNSC
The draft submitted by the US to the UNSC would include an initiative to establish an international force that would operate in the Gaza Strip for at least two years, and whose task would be to demilitarize the strip, along with establishing a new Palestinian police force.

This interim force, which would operate under a unified command and in close coordination with Israel and Egypt, would also have the task of training new Palestinian security officials.

The draft also establishes a non-political Palestinian technocratic committee to manage civil services in the Strip until institutional stabilization. In other words, a local government without a party mandate, which would replace Hamas as the governing force in the Strip.

Additionally, according to the proposal, all mechanisms, civilian and security, will operate for only two years, until December 31, 2027, with the possibility of a future extension in coordination with Israel and Egypt.
Joshua Namm: What Just Happened?
How do we know that these forces, whether Turkish, Egyptian, Qatari or Gazan won’t be used against the IDF? If that does occur, will Trump claim it was not Hamas who attacked, and therefore try to block Israel from retaliating? Or, will the United States brand them “rogue elements,” and therefore not punish the perpetrators, as was the case when the two IDF soldiers were murdered.

Lastly, and possibly the most dire for Israel’s future is that Trump seems to have extracted an agreement from Israel not only to not annex any part of Gaza, but also not to annex Judea and Samaria. Democrats, who have been overwhelming hostile to Israel, especially post-10/7, are fully in support of that stance, and have encouraged him to “reinforce” that position.

Trump himself even threatened to pull all support from Israel if it goes forward with annexation. Do I even have to point out here that this is not, remotely, the act of a friend?

In fact, since the agreement was signed, America’s sole priority has been to preserve the ceasefire, not for Israel to emerge as the clear winner in this conflict. Examples have been common since the signing, but the most recent is America’s apparent pressure resulting in Israel agreeing to allow isolated Hamas terrorists to rejoin its main fighting force if they first give up their weapons. Which means, obviously, that they will potentially live to fight another day, and would merely need to acquire new weapons.

It is extremely short-sighted, and that is the kindest way that I can describe it.

None of this is descriptive of anything that resembles a “victory.” When the U.S. assisted Israel in its operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities earlier in the year, Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” (while defending his order to Israel to not kill Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei). Iran obviously didn’t agree to anything resembling that in the end. Similarly, after two years of threats to “destroy Hamas” – it continues to exist as a fighting force, a threat, and as murderers of Jews. In fact, because the agreement contains provisions to rebuild Gaza, again by Turks, Egyptians and Qataris - their recovery seems well on its way.

The only way to end evil is to destroy it. How did we not learn that lesson EVEN after 10/7?
British man arrested in UK over alleged Hamas terror plot
A British man has been arrested and faces extradition to Germany, where he is accused of playing a key role in a Hamas-linked terror cell plotting attacks on Jewish targets.

The 39-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on Monday and appeared later the same day at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

He was remanded in custody, and is being held in prison on remand and is due to appear in court via video link next week.

The Briton is wanted by Federal Police in Germany as part of a major counter-terrorism operation, which last month led to the arrest of three men suspected of preparing acts of violence against Jewish targets in Germany on behalf of Hamas.

ITV News has been told that the British suspect is the son of a senior Hamas official.

The militant group has previously denied links to the three men and called the allegations unfounded.

The trio, who were arrested in Berlin, have been described by German prosecutors as Hamas operatives, responsible for sourcing weapons and ammunition to be used in acts of domestic terror targeted at Jewish or Israeli institutions.

"In the course of today's arrests, various weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle and several pistols, as well as a considerable amount of ammunition, were found," the federal prosecutors said in their statement published last month.

The men were identified only as German citizens Abed Al G and Ahmad I, and Lebanese-born Wael F M, in line with privacy laws.


Nine pedestrians wounded in western France ramming, suspect shouts 'Allahu Akbar'
A driver rammed into pedestrians and cyclists on France's Oleron island off its Atlantic coast on Wednesday, wounding several people before being arrested, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said in a post on X/Twitter.

The 35-year-old suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is Greatest") when arrested by police, the local prosecutor, Arnaud Laraize, told Sud Ouest newspaper.

French media said the motive for the attack remained unclear and that the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office was not in charge of the inquiry at this stage. The prosecutor's office could not immediately be reached for comment.

At least nine people were wounded when the suspect's car hit them in various areas of Oleron island, the mayor of Dolus-d'Oleron, Thibault Brechkoff, told BFM TV. Nunez said two of the wounded were in intensive care - some French media later said that was the case for four of them.

Le Parisien newspaper said investigators were looking into the possibility that the suspect might be mentally disturbed.

Known to the police for petty crime
The man was previously known to police for petty crime, including driving while drunk, as well as drug-related offenses, local newspaper Charente Libre and other French media reported, citing the mayor of Saint-Pierre d’Oleron, Christophe Sueur.

Charente Libre newspaper named the suspect as "Jacques G" and said he was French. It did not cite its sources.
Germany bans Islamist group for incitement, calls for global caliphate
Germany on Wednesday announced a ban on the Islamist Muslim Interactive group and ordered the confiscation of its assets, citing the organization’s calls for a global caliphate and incitement against Israel.

Berlin will bring “the full force of the law” against anyone who calls for a “caliphate on our streets, incites hatred against the State of Israel and Jews in an intolerable manner, and despises the rights of women and minorities,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.

German authorities believe that Muslim Interactive, founded in 2020, is affiliated with the global Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which Berlin banned in 2003 for promoting violence, including against Jews.

German security authorities had already listed Muslim Interactive as an extremist group. It calls for a global caliphate and rejects the democratic order as enshrined in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany.

In overnight raids on Tuesday, law enforcement searched seven properties in Hamburg and 12 more in Berlin and the state of Hesse. The raids are also focused on two other suspected extremist groups, Generation Islam and Realität Islam, the ministry added.

In April 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed there would be “consequences” after 1,000-plus people participated in a Hamburg demonstration organized by Muslim Interactive that called for the imposition of Islamic law and the establishment of a caliphate.

“It is quite clear that all Islamist activities must be tackled using the possibilities and options of our constitutional state,” Scholz stated.
In Germany, Jordan’s queen equates Israeli language on Gaza to Nazi propaganda
Speaking at a youth conference in Germany on Monday, Jordan’s Queen Rania appeared to equate Israel’s attitude toward the Palestinians to Nazi Germany’s dehumanization of Jews.

Rania addressed the One Young World Summit in Munich, which brought together young prospective leaders from all over the world. During her speech, she spoke of hateful rhetoric as a precursor to atrocities around the world.

“To dismiss it as ‘just talk’ is to ignore how every genocide has begun: with words,” she said. “Dehumanizing speech has served as the prelude to some of the worst chapters in human history. In the 1930s in this very city, the Nazi party called Jewish people vermin. In Rwanda, public radio broadcasts described the Tutsis as cockroaches. In Myanmar, nationalists compared the Rohingya to stray dogs.”

Rania, who is of Palestinian descent, recounted that “in the aftermath of the October 7 [Hamas] attacks [on southern Israel], when an Israeli official announced a complete siege on Gaza, he described the population as ‘human animals.’ He was operating from a time-tested playbook: Convince the public you are dealing with beasts, and violence becomes not just acceptable, but necessary,” she said.

Rania was referencing then-defense minister Yoav Gallant, who said two days after the October 7 terror attack, as the dimensions of the atrocities committed by Hamas were becoming clear, that he had ordered “a ‘complete siege’ of the Gaza Strip.”

“We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly,” he said at the time.


IDF chief weighs swap of 200 Hamas terrorists for soldier’s body
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir recommended to the political echelon on Tuesday that they consider releasing 200 Hamas terrorists trapped in IDF-controlled parts of Gaza in exchange for the body of IDF Lt. Hadar Goldin, which has been held in Gaza since 2014.

“No live terrorist will be released without the fallen soldier” being returned, said Zamir, according to Ynet. All terrorists should be eliminated as a general rule, but U.S. restrictions are understandable, he added, according to the report.

“Israel is not interested in allowing them safe passage, but the Americans, under pressure from mediators, are putting heavy pressure on Israel to allow them to be transported to Gaza in Red Cross vehicles and without weapons,” Channel 12 News reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday that “Israel’s policy in Gaza is clear: the IDF is operating to destroy the tunnels and eliminate Hamas terrorists without any restrictions within the yellow area under our control.”

He continued: “The goal, alongside the return of all hostages—living and deceased—is the dismantling of Hamas’s weapons and the demilitarization of Gaza.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ruled out the safe movement of some 200 Palestinian terrorists from the Yellow Zone in Gaza, under the control of the IDF, to the territory ruled by Hamas.


For fourth consecutive day, IDF kills terrorists trying to cross Gaza truce line
Israel Defense Forces soldiers eliminated two Hamas terrorists who tried to cross the ceasefire line in central Gaza on Wednesday, in the fourth straight day of incidents along the Strip’s Yellow Line.

“In two separate incidents, two terrorists were identified crossing the yellow line and advancing toward IDF troops in central Gaza, posing a direct threat,” the military tweeted in English. “Following identification, the terrorists were eliminated by IDF troops to remove the threat.”

The IDF stressed that troops “remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to act against any immediate danger.”

On Tuesday, IDF soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian terrorist who crossed the Yellow Line into Israeli-controlled territory in northern Gaza.

On Monday, Hamas terrorists who crossed over the Yellow Line and advanced toward soldiers were eliminated by air and ground strikes.

The day prior, the Israeli Air Force in a targeted strike killed a terrorist who crossed the line and threatened Israeli soldiers stationed there.


IDF drone strike in southern Lebanon kills operative in Hezbollah’s Radwan force
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday killed a member of the Hezbollah terror group’s elite Radwan Force in a drone strike in southern Lebanon.

The strike also wounded one person, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The operative killed, Hussein Jaber Dib, had “advanced terror attacks against the State of Israel and its citizens,” the military said.

He was killed in a strike targeting a car near the southern Lebanon town of Burj Rahal. The IDF published a video of the attack.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the attack took place near a school, causing “panic and terror” among the students.

Since the start of the November 2024 ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF has killed more than 330 Hezbollah operatives in strikes, including 20 in the past month alone, according to the military.

Israel says the operatives were violating the terms of the truce, which allows the IDF to respond to immediate threats.


'Goal was to crush my dignity': Former hostage Rom Braslavski says PIJ sexually assaulted him
Rom Braslavski was sexually abused in captivity by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Channel 13 News reported on Wednesday.

In a clip from an interview set to air Thursday night, the released hostage revealed that his captors stripped him naked, starved him, and tied him up while sexually assaulting him.

“They stripped me of all my clothes, my underwear, everything. They tied me up while I was completely naked. I was torn apart, dying, with no food."

"It was sexual violence, and its main purpose was to humiliate me," he said. "The goal was to crush my dignity. And that's exactly what he did."

Released hostage Rom Braslavski says he 'met with the devil'
“I prayed to God, ‘Please, save me, get me out of this already.’ And you just say to yourself, ‘What the f***?’”

Braslavski told Channel 13 that the abuse happened frequently.

“I don’t like talking about it. It’s difficult. It's something even the Nazis didn't do. During Hitler's time, they wouldn't have done things like this.

"You just pray for it to stop. And while I was there - every day, every beating - I'd say to myself, 'I survived another day in hell. Tomorrow morning, I'll wake up to another hell. And another. And another. It doesn't end.”

Braslavski, of Pisgat Ze'ev, was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival on October 7. He was working as a security guard at the festival and was fighting off terrorists with stones when he was kidnapped.

Tami Braslavski, his mother, said her son “was held alone” by PIJ and was taken down to the tunnels only “two days before his release.”

“His captors demanded that he convert to Islam. He refused. He went through abuse, and I don’t want to elaborate further,” she told Channel 13 News.

In a separate report, Israel Hayom quoted Braslavski’s mother saying that Rom “was held alone for two years, and for part of the time he was held with the bodies of other hostages beside him.”


Elizabeth Tsurkov: Israel’s campaign against Iranian-backed terrorism helped secure release
Freed Israeli-Russian hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov said on Wednesday that Jerusalem’s assassination campaign targeting top Hezbollah, Hamas and Iranian terrorists contributed to hear release from captivity.

Tsurkov, who was held for two and a half years by Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, told The New York Times in an interview published Wednesday that she believes the IDF military campaign “rattled” the terrorist leaders, leading them to view their captive as a liability.

The exclusive interview, in which Tsurkov for the first time revealed the details of physical and mental abuse she underwent in captivity, came around eight weeks after the United States and Israel helped secure her release.

After being kidnapped when leaving a central Baghdad coffee shop in March 2023, the Princeton student was beaten and sexually assaulted in the back of an SUV, she told the Times. “They started twisting my pinkie, almost breaking it,” she recalled, adding that resisting was “pointless.”

At first, the kidnappers seemed unaware she was Israeli, and it appeared as if they had abducted her for ransom, she said. However, a month into her captivity, the situation deteriorated when the guards discovered evidence of Tsurkov’s dual Israeli nationality on her smartphone.

The terrorists accused her of being a spy, to which Tsurkov responded by urging them to read her articles and social media posts in support of the Palestinians and criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'Kataib Hezbollah used me as a punching bag,' Tsurkov says in first interview since release
In her first interview since being freed from two and a half years of captivity in Iraq, Israeli-Russian dual citizen Elizabeth Tsurkov, 38, described methods of torture and abuse she faced at the hands of her captors, Kataib Hezbollah, in her interview with the New York Times published Wednesday.

Tsurkov, who was released in September after her initial abduction from Baghdad in March 2023, was conducting research for her doctoral degree at Princeton University at the time of her kidnapping.

Tsurkov was beaten “senseless”, hung from the ceiling, and electrocuted, according to the report. She was forced into physically challenging positions, causing injuries to her back and shoulders. She had lost consciousness on multiple occasions while being tortured, only to be woken up with water on her face and continued torture. At the hands of this Irani-backed militia, Tsurkov recalled a marathon of psychological and physical torment.

Some of her worst treatment was in her first few months, where she not only received countless beatings, but was sexually assaulted by her captors, the report said.

“They basically used me as a punching bag,” Tsurkov told the NYT.

Tsurkov says that she never saw sunlight during captivity
Kataib Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite militia operating freely in Iraq, is backed by Iran and has been designated a terror organization by the United States, among others. Thousands of militiamen receive salaries from the Iraqi government, pointing to such limited influence by the government over their activity.

Tsurkov was treated at Sheba Medical Center upon her release, and according to the report, the freed woman may have suffered permanent nerve damage. Medical records obtained pertaining to her condition called for long-term rehabilitation.

Her release, similar to that of the Gaza hostages, was initiated through diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration, which reportedly pressed top Iraqi officials relating to her case, “dispatching envoys to Baghdad to demand progress,” the report said.

“I genuinely believe I would have died if they had not engaged so consistently and with such incredible determination,” Tsurkov told the NYT.


Ryan McBeth: How Israel’s Army Got It Right: Lessons from Gaza and Lebanon
After 737 days of war across Gaza, Lebanon, and beyond, I surveyed over 50 Israeli soldiers to conduct a full After Action Review (AAR) of the Israel Defense Forces’ performance.

This video — Part 1: What Went Right — covers the IDF’s standing advantages, combined arms tactics, fire coordination, logistics, professionalism, and medical systems. It’s a ground-level look at how Israel adapted, fought, and learned through one of the most complex multi-front conflicts in modern history.

Future videos in this series will cover What Went Wrong and What You Can Do To Improve:. These are lessons not just for Israel, but for NATO and U.S. forces preparing for the next war.


What’s going on in Israel with the IDF General who dropped her cell phone in the sea?

Jewish National Fund: "If there's an American flag at an anti-Israel protest, it's only there to be burnt" -Douglas Murray
Acclaimed journalist, bestselling author, and one of the most outspoken defenders of the land and people of Israel, Douglas Murray, addressed 3,000 attendees at the Global Conference for Israel about why supporters of Israel must stand proud.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 57: When human rights NGOs fail, with Daniel Balson and Danielle Haas
Human rights organizations help shape the world's understanding of conflicts, including the one between Israelis and Palestinians. Some of the biggest groups, especially Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are immensely influential in government, the media and civil society in Western countries. And for decades, their expertise, detailed reports and moral reputations made them agents of positive change.

But signs are mounting that that's changing, and you don't have to be Israeli to notice it. They publish fewer professional reports, conduct fewer serious investigations, and have shifted their focus to partisan activism. They are often more quick to issue statements on climate issues or police violence in American cities or systemic racism or gender identity than the old bread-and-butter questions on which they built their reputations: international law, war and repressive regimes.

And they have become partisan to the point of often failing that old fundamental mission. One startling example: Amnesty International continues to refuse to publish its report about the October 7 massacre over two years after the event. According to emails from some of the organization's top leaders, they are concerned that such a report about Hamas's egregious human rights abuses might help Israel make the case that Hamas are...well, serial and egregious human rights abusers.

This goes beyond criticizing Israel, which any organization can and should do, to an inability to criticize Hamas.

What happened? How did these organizations become so partisan and polarized, to the point that their original missions are no longer their top priority? How does the severing of ties with Israel's domestic human rights activists - Amnesty abruptly shut down its Israel chapter last year, even as those Israeli activists were stridently critiquing the war in Hebrew to Israelis - serve the cause of human rights or help Palestinians?

We asked two former staffers at Amnesty and HRW, Daniel Balson and Danielle Haas, whether these organizations have lost their way; and if so, what caused it; and how the cause of human rights might be reclaimed from the political partisans who have steered it so far into the culture wars.

Chapters
00:00 The Struggle Within Human Rights Organizations
06:57 The Shift in Human Rights Advocacy
13:47 The Power Dynamics of Human Rights Organizations
20:41 The Excommunication of Dissenting Voices
27:36 The Decline of Research Rigor in Human Rights Reporting
34:19 The Shift to Social Media and Its Implications
37:31 Challenges in Reporting and Editing Processes
39:45 The Intersection of Policing and Human Rights
41:46 Amnesty's Approach to Human Rights
49:17 The Crisis of Credibility in Human Rights Organizations
52:06 The Future of Human Rights NGOs
59:46 Emerging Alternatives in Human Rights Advocacy


Erin Molan: The Muslim Brotherhood MARRIED The Left — Zohran Mamdani is Born | A Deep Dive with Dalia Zyada
In this special edition of The Erin Molan Show (Ep. 42), Erin sits down with Dalia Ziada — Egyptian activist, author, and revolutionary leader who helped spark the 2011 Arab Spring — to expose the history, ideology, and Western infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood.

From the revolution that toppled Mubarak to the rise and fall of the Brotherhood in Egypt, Dalia reveals how this movement evolved — and how its influence merged with the Western socialist and progressive Left, leading to new figures like Zohran Mamdani, who, in her words, represent the ideological “child” of that union.

Now based in Washington D.C. as Coordinator & Research Fellow for ISGAP, Dalia lays out the Brotherhood’s long game, its influence in American politics, and why the West must wake up before it’s too late.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Overview
03:00 Dalia Ziada’s Background
09:00 Origins of the Muslim Brotherhood
15:00 Brotherhood’s Influence in the West
21:00 Challenges of Radical Islamism
27:00 Call to Action Against Extremism




The Propagandist and the Prop: Owens and Finkelstein’s Moral Collusion
There are moments in public life when hypocrisy reaches perfect symmetry — when two people so warped by self-righteous delusion collide in mutual validation. The recent conversation between Candace Owens and Norman Finkelstein was one of those moments.

Owens — a professional provocateur who built her career on conspiracies — interviewed Finkelstein, the self-anointed warrior against Israel who insists he’s “not anti-Zionist, just anti-Israel.” She promoted their exchange on X with the line: “Zionism is an illness that perverts.”

However, the true illness that perverts is anti-Zionism itself: a moral virus that twists history, corrodes empathy, and reanimates ancient hatreds under the guise of virtue.

The Cynical Convergence
Norman Finkelstein, by his own account, is the child of Holocaust survivors. His mother endured the Warsaw Ghetto and Majdanek; his father survived Auschwitz. He has invoked that legacy for decades — wielding it as moral license to attack Israel and claim immunity from criticism. He says his parents’ suffering made him “hate injustice,” that he “abhors antisemitism,” and that his opposition is merely to Israel’s “occupation of land seized in 1967.”

That might sound principled — until you see him sitting across from Candace Owens, a figure who traffics in the very antisemitic conspiracies his parents barely survived.

Owens is not merely “controversial.” She has repeatedly flirted with Holocaust denial and revisionism. She once argued that Hitler’s only mistake was wanting to “globalize.” She’s defended Kanye West’s antisemitic tirades as “honest questioning.” She’s suggested that medieval blood libels — the slander that Jews murdered Christian children for their blood — “might not be myths.” She’s even referred to Gaza as a “real Holocaust,” trivializing the murder of over six million Jews, including nearly all of Finkelstein’s extended family.

Owens has also promoted the classic conspiracy that “Zionists control media and finance” — the same poison that fueled centuries of pogroms. And now, she calls Zionism “an illness.” If words mean anything, this is the language of dehumanization — the rhetoric that has always paved the road to persecution and genocide in Jewish history.

The Useful Survivor
Finkelstein, of all people, should know that history. Yet he willingly lent his name, his intellect, and his parents’ memory to a propagandist who is leading the way in making antisemitism fashionable again.

The man who has spent his career accusing others of exploiting the Holocaust handed moral credibility to a woman who treats Jewish suffering as a punchline and a political prop.

It’s a tragic irony. Finkelstein’s life’s work — railing against what he calls “the Holocaust industry” — has itself become an act of exploitation. His parents’ story has become his brand. And by sitting with Owens, he didn’t just betray that story — he turned it into content. He handed the memory of the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz to someone who denies what they meant.

Owens’s worldview is a conspiracy buffet: the “globalists,” the “elites,” the “Zionists,” the “Deep State.” Interchangeable villains for interchangeable hatreds. And now, the man who once prided himself on purportedly exposing propaganda has become its instrument.


Fears of five protests at Villa-Maccabi game as police prepare action plan
Police are preparing for potential pro and anti protest groups in Aston ahead of the high-profile Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match in the city, with hundreds of officers on standby.

The force is prepared for all eventualities after it received intelligence about planned and potential demonstrations ahead of the Villa Park clash tomorrow night, Thursday, November 6.

A briefing document from West Midlands Police set out that 'pro Palestine' and 'pro Israel' groups were said to be intending to gather before the match, with five events planned.

Police were also preparing in case controversial 'Tommy Robinson' and far right activists turn up, though the convicted influencer told officers he was not planning to attend in person.

The police, local councillors and community leaders all urged people to stay away from the area except for 'essential reasons' so they could 'support public safety and the police operations'.

A briefing, headlined West Midlands Police Briefing and dated Monday November 3, seen by Birmingham Live, confirmed the Aston Villa Safety Advisory Group, a multi-agency group led by Birmingham City Council, recently reviewed its original decision to ban away fans 'and upheld the ban'.

This was based on 'current intelligence and previous incidents' involving Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters, including in Amsterdam in 2024 when there were violent clashes and hate crimes reported.

The briefing also said 'the assessed risk remains high' as they feared away supporters might still travel to Birmingham.

Police said they were 'anticipating five separate protest groups' in the vicinity of Villa Park.

In their briefing, they said previous pro-Palestine demonstrations in the region had been 'well organised and peaceful'. This would be the first involving 'active counter-protests', they said.

As a result police were preparing for 'any contingency'. Some 700 officers, including those drafted in from other forces around the country, were due to police the game.


Former jihadi calls on ‘all Muslims’ to descend on Villa Park – but to leave guns and machetes at home
A former jihadi turned anti-radicalisation campaigner has called on “all Muslims” to descend on Villa Park tomorrow to protest the Aston Villa-Maccabi Tel Aviv match – and counselled them to leave their guns and machetes at home.

Labour peer Lord Austin expressed his astonishment that the Birmingham-based activist Shahid Butt deemed it necessary to offer the advice to bring “no knives, no guns, no machetes”, adding sarcastically that he felt “much more comfortable” about attending the match in light of the comments.

Butt was convicted on terror charges in Yemen in 1999 and served five years in prison. He was among a group of 10 men alleged to have links to Islamic extremists who kidnapped 16 Westerners the previous year, four of whom died in a shoot-out during a rescue attempt by Yemeni security forces.

The campaigner, who travelled Bosnia, Afghanistan and Yemen in the 1990s to fight in foreign conflicts, now openly speaks about his experience as an extremist and does work within the Muslim community to help prevent young people becoming radicalised,

Speaking on a Muslim-interest podcast, Beyond the Surface, this week Butt said: "Every single one of you Muslims from Birmingham, young and old, up and down the country, need to come on the 6th [of November] to Birmingham, to the Villa ground, and need to show your support because … the whole world’s media is going to be there, and those images are going to go all around the world.”

He continued: "I want the Palestinians to see the clips on their TikToks in Palestine, in Gaza, of Birmingham Muslims ... standing there in solidarity."

Butt, who now works on deradicalisation in the Muslim community, added: "I want to give a message for the young generation who are going to be there as well – some advice.

"First of all, do not bring any weapons to this protest – no knives, no guns, no machetes, nothing.”

He added that balaclavas were not necessary either, because “you don’t need to hide your face – unless you’ve got a bit of a sensitive job or whatever and you’re worried about the repercussions or whatever.”

Butt also called on protesters not to “give the big one to the coppers”, reminding them to “let them [the police] do their job.”

His comments have caused consternation, with former Labour MP and Independent peer Lord Austin summing up the sentiment in a post on X: "This nutcase tells people to come to Birmingham to protest on Thursday but asks them not to bring weapons.


Loony lefties SHOW UP to SUPPORT bigoted nursery owner
Anti-Israel activists rallied in DEFENCE of a nursery owner who told a young Israeli woman to “get out of Melbourne” when she applied for a job. They didn’t condemn the racism — they justified it. This is the woke left today.


Anti-Israel demonstrators storm Toronto student event with IDF veterans, one wounded
Anti-Israel activists allegedly stormed a building on Wednesday where a Toronto student group was hosting a lecture by IDF veterans, according to Students Supporting Israel (SSI), wounding one of the guest speakers.

The Toronto Police Service said multiple arrests had been made after officers responded to an incident in which a group of demonstrators forced their way into a building.

One injury was reported, and the investigation is ongoing.

Masked anti-Israel activists allegedly entered the private business where SSI Toronto Metropolitan University was holding its event, and broke a glass door that was being held shut by one of the veterans.

According to SSI, the door was shattered using a drill bit, and in the process the veteran was cut by the glass.

Students for Justice in Palestine TMU called for an "emergency rally" to prevent the hosting of "Zionist murderers" at SSI TMU's "Combat on College" event.

"Our administrations refuse to take action," read an Instagram post by SJP TMU just before the incident. "War criminals will never be welcome in our communities."

Event moved to nearby private venue after denied room on campus
SSI founder Ilan Sinelnikov said that the event had been moved to a nearby private venue after being denied a room on campus.

"What happened at Toronto today with the attack on our students, our speakers, and a local business is the textbook definition of terrorism," said Sinelnikov.

"This is not in Gaza or Europe. This is happening in North America. To say Jewish students, Zionist students are not at risk would be a lie. The universities and their administration, the local leaders, were fulfilling this for years, and we can’t wait for them to wake up if a bigger tragedy is going to happen. The terrorists in Toronto must be arrested and held accountable to the full extent of the law."


Titania McGrath: Gaza betrays LGBTQ+ allies (satire)
It is true that following the announcement of the deal, there were scenes of jubilation on the streets of Gaza. Crowds were seen cheering, waving flags and setting off fireworks. It’s so sad to see this kind of internalised Islamophobia on display.

Have any of these Gazans stopped to think about what this means for people like me? For the past two years we have been marching through London, wrapped in our keffiyehs and Palestine flags. What are we meant to do with our weekends now? I simply cannot fathom the sheer selfishness of it all. Was Greta Thunberg even consulted?

Of course, my fellow activists and I will continue to protest against Israel’s genocide, which it has cunningly prolonged by issuing warnings to civilians before military operations and handing out millions of food parcels. But there is a real risk that if there is a lasting peace our marches might end up seeming redundant and self-serving.

By ending the war, the far right is trying to scupper our peace movement by leaving us with nothing left to protest about. For the sake of all of those on the right side of history, we mustn’t let them succeed.




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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