Sunday, November 09, 2025

11/09 Links: Israel receives remains of Hadar Goldin after 11 years; The UN’s “Gaza Peace” Trap; Triggernometry: Ben Shapiro; BBC chiefs resign after criticism over bias; Kristallnacht survivors: World is once again dangerous for Jews

From Ian:

Pierre Rehov: The Mirage of 'Humanitarian Reconstruction': Billions for Gaza — But Who Will Prevent the Next Jihad?
The UNDP's own auditors uncovered more than 100 investigations into fraud, bribery, and "ghost projects." If corruption could flourish under nominal Iraqi government control, imagine the diversion potential in Gaza — where much of the terror regime remains intact.

Earlier UN experiments, such as the Oil-for-Food scandal, showed how -- when oversight is weak and politics trumps accountability -- "humanitarian" programs become self-enriching rackets.

For years, Hamas forces have been filmed confiscating relief shipments directly from UN trucks and warehouses. It is not chaos; it is a business model.

These are not isolated abuses — they form a structural pattern in which humanitarian efforts in fact bankroll jihad.

After Hamas's October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, investigations confirmed that many UNRWA employees participated in or facilitated the Hamas attacks, leading more than 20 donor countries — including the U.S., Canada, and Germany — to suspend funding. Some countries, however, under political pressure, resumed payments months later, even as fresh evidence emerged of UNRWA staff ties to Hamas's military wing.

The U.S. administration... continues to push for a "political process" aimed at reviving a desired "peace framework" partially disconnected from the region's realities. Washington may view reconstruction as a path to normalization, but for Israel — the country whose citizens were massacred and whose borders remain under threat — security comes before expediency, and survival before consent.
Cynical Publius: "America First" and Israel
"Are you America First or Israel First?" is a false dilemma. It is precisely because I am "America First" that I wholly support current U.S. policies regarding Israel. Support for Israel is solidly in America's best interests.

I lived for extended periods in the Middle East and in other Islamic nations both in military and civilian capacities and I know the ideas and policies that define the region. The entire history of Islam, literally since its inception, is a history of conquering other lands to force their inhabitants to become Muslims.

In Muslim Arab countries, it is possible to become friends with highly educated, highly rational people who are some of the smartest humans you will ever meet. Yet, sadly, when the subject of Israel and/or Judaism comes up, they suddenly lapse into astonishingly irrational beings, asserting wildly antisemitic tropes straight out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Islamic nations have views on personal liberty that are completely and utterly opposed to Western civilization. Every nation but one in the Middle East offers only totalitarian, tyrannical governance. Israel is the only nation in the region that shares Western values of democracy, self-governance, the rule of law, and guaranteed personal liberties.

Israel is a tremendous military ally to the U.S., sharing military intelligence and technology. The only intelligence service that rivals the CIA and the UK's MI6 is Mossad, and the intelligence we share with each other is greatly beneficial to both nations.

Since its inception in its modern form, Israel has been surrounded by Muslim states with a singular purpose of destroying Israel and all of its Jewish inhabitants. Yet the citizens of Israel made the desert bloom and built an economic and military powerhouse out of nothing. We Americans who understand our own pioneering history can see the similarity to our own nation and cannot help but admire it.

Israel has a technology industry that is second only to Silicon Valley, and when it comes to cybersecurity, arguably better. The U.S. and world economies depend greatly on the innovation and products of the Israeli people. Right now, if you are reading this, the only reason you can do so safely without divulging your bank account and other deeply personal information is thanks to Israel.

"Gaza genocide" is a nonsense myth. Israel had for decades offered peace and compromises, and Hamas and Gaza's citizens rejected all of that in favor of death and destruction. Israel's response in Gaza was EXACTLY what the U.S. would have done when faced with a similar situation. To a certain extent, Israel has fought jihad so you and I do not have to. Israel's continued existence benefits America in every way imaginable. So please don't pretend that support for Israel is anti-American.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser: If Hamas Refuses to Disarm, Israel Will Finish the Job with American Backing
The Trump Plan outlines a path for far-reaching change in Gaza, which is to become a de-radicalized, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors. For this vision to have any chance of success, the Palestinian narrative must change from one that denies the Jewish people's right to a state in the Land of Israel and glorifies the struggle to destroy it, to one prepared to build peaceful relations with the Jewish state.

That change must begin with an internal reckoning - an acknowledgment that the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack was a grievous mistake, and that Israel cannot be defeated, certainly not by force. So far, Hamas remains defiant, reflecting not only a refusal to surrender power but also an awareness that disarmament would symbolize an admission of error and guilt.

During the events marking the attack's second anniversary, Arab media criticism did not challenge the "heroism" of Hamas's attackers or the supposed legitimacy of using violence to drive Israel out. Rather, it focused on Hamas's failure to anticipate Israel's response - that exacted a devastating price in lives and property. Even media close to Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood expressed criticism, noting the heavy price the Iranian axis had paid for Hamas's short-sightedness.

What forced Hamas to yield on the hostages? Israel's determination to press ahead on the capture of Gaza City - despite intense international pressure, the wave of Western recognition of a Palestinian state, and the potential costs, together with the massive destruction inflicted on Gaza's infrastructure that included collapsing high-rise buildings - created severe distress within Hamas's ranks.

Although Hamas's propaganda campaigns about "starvation" and "genocide" were highly effective, they failed to stop Israel's offensive. Now the U.S. and Israel must assess whether additional measures can shape how Oct. 7 is ultimately remembered in the Palestinian national consciousness.

Israel and the U.S. must reiterate a credible military threat: if Hamas refuses to disarm, Israel - with full American backing - will resume combat and finish the job. President Trump continues to signal this. Washington and Jerusalem should condition the next stages of the plan - opening the Rafah crossing, expanding humanitarian aid, and launching reconstruction - on Hamas's disarmament.

The mediators must be pressed to use their leverage. They should be made to understand that failure to achieve Hamas's disarmament will not only lead to its forcible removal but will also affect their own relations with the U.S.


Israel receives remains of fallen soldier Hadar Goldin after 11 years
Israel on Sunday received the remains of fallen soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body was held by Hamas in Gaza for more than 11 years, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem announced.

The evening news riveted a nation and brought to an end the family’s long struggle to see their loved one returned home for burial. Goldin, then 23, was killed and abducted by the terrorist group in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, during a ceasefire during the 2014 war (“Operation Protective Edge”).

Four more bodies are still being held in Gaza, those of three Israelis—Meny Godard, Sgt. Ran Gvili and Dror Or—and a Thai national, Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was working in agriculture in Israel at the time of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.

“The Israeli government shares in the deep sorrow of the Goldin family and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The PMO says that Israel is “determined, committed and working tirelessly” to bring back the remaining four slain hostages for burial, adding that Hamas is “required to fulfill its commitments to the mediators and return them as part of the implementation of the agreement.” Photo by Matt Kaminsky/JNSVehicles escorting fallen soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin arrive at the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, Nov. 9, 2025. Photo by Matt Kaminsky/JNS.

“After 11 long and painful years, too long, Lt. Hadar Goldin, a hero of Israel, has today been returned to his homeland,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X. “The people of Israel embrace Hadar’s family today with deep love and boundless admiration for their unwavering strength and relentless, tireless struggle to bring Hadar home. For the hope that never dimmed, for their dignity, Zionism and unshakable faith that guided their every step.”

Herzog thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and his team for their work that brought a painful chapter in Israeli history to an end after 4,118 days.

Hamas said that it “found” Goldin’s remains in a tunnel in the southernmost city of Rafah on Saturday. Goldin was killed on Aug. 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year’s war between Israel and Hamas.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 58: Rebuilding after disaster with ex-hostage Tal Shoham
As Israelis wait with bated breath to discover if the body of Hadar Goldin, killed and taken into Gaza in 2014, will be returned for burial in Israel, we sit down with returned hostage Tal Shoham for a conversation about his harrowing experience and insights into Hamas and Gazan society. Long-time listeners will recognize Tal's name from one of our earliest episodes with his sister-in-law, our friend Shaked Haran, who described her fight to bring back the eight members of her family who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Tal is the last member of her family to come home. He returned in early 2025.

We discussed his survival in impossible conditions of abuse, torture and starvation, his grappling with the uncertainty over his children's survival, and the hard work of rebuilding a home and a sense of safety for children who'd had direct experience of evil.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Tal Shoham's Story
02:48 The Hostage Experience and Release
05:36 The Day of the Kidnapping
08:07 Survival and Negotiation in Captivity
10:48 The Psychological Toll of Captivity
14:05 Life in the Tunnels
16:43 Reflections on Resilience and Strength
31:33 The Cruelty of Terrorism
37:44 Understanding Gazan Society
40:33 The Experience of Release
51:28 Israel's Path to Resilience
Explore the podcast




The UN’s “Gaza Peace” Trap
The Hidden Immunity Clause
Buried in the resolution as a standard UN clause granting full functional immunity to all personnel operating under the BoP and ISF. Modeled on existing UN conventions, it exempts them from local or international prosecution “for acts performed in their official capacity.”

This is the same shield that has protected UN peacekeepers accused of sexual exploitation, arms trafficking, and collaboration with terror groups. The UN routinely refuses to waive immunity, leaving victims without recourse.

In Gaza, immunity would cover not only foreign troops and administrators but also local Palestinian staff. Those most likely to divert funds or aid terror groups would be protected from prosecution under the pretext of “official duties.” It is a legal black hole—one that would sit directly beside Israeli towns.

Israel cannot host another unaccountable experiment in international authority. The same agencies that failed to restrain Hamas through UNRWA would now return, armed and immunized.

The Oslo Framework: Rewriting an Existing Peace Agreement
The resolution quietly circumvents the Oslo Accords—the only mutually recognized framework between Israel and the Palestinians. Oslo requires all final-status issues to be resolved through direct negotiation, not foreign imposition. Yet this plan grants the UN unilateral authority to redesign Gaza’s political and security structure. It replaces Oslo’s bilateralism with a UN trusteeship neither side ever consented to, setting a precedent that Israeli sovereignty can be overridden by bureaucrats in New York.

The “Haiti Model”: A Warning
This structure mirrors the UN’s 2004 “stabilization mission” in Haiti, MINUSTAH—sold as temporary, it became a two-decade disaster of dependency, disease, and abuse. Peacekeepers introduced cholera, commit sexual crimes, and left a hollowed-out state reliant on donors.

Likewise, Gaza’s proposed “local police” would be trained and supervised by the ISF—essentially rebranding Hamas’s existing networks under new sponsorship. It’s not reform; it’s continuity with International recognition.

The Missing Element: Deradicalization
The resolution mentions reconstruction and demilitarization but omits deradicalization. Without dismantling Hamas’s indoctrination system—its mosques, schools, media, and charities—no reconstruction will hold. Gaza cannot be rebuilt on the same ideological foundation that produced jihad. True peace demands confronting the culture of martyrdom, not just its militias.

How to Protect Israel’s Rights and Prevent Another Haiti
- Affirm Israel’s Right to Self-Defense. Nothing in the resolution may limit Israel’s inherent rights under the UN charter, including Article 51 to act in self defense.
- Eliminate Blanket Immunity. Reject any clause granting immunity from prosecution. Personnel operating in Gaza must fall under Israeli or independent international jurisdiction. Every troop-contributing state must prosecute, jail and compensate victims of serious crimes by its forces.
- Grant Israel Veto Power. No personnel, soldier, or administrator may operate in Gaza without Israel’s explicit approval.
- Tie the Mandate to Results, Not Dates. The mission should end once specific demilitarization and governance benchmarks are met, not left to endless renewals without benchmarks.
- Ensure Financial Transparency. Reconstruction funds must be audited by an independent body. The current resolution only bans organizations involved in diverting aid, but not the individuals responsible for it. Nor does it address the diversion or misuse of reconstruction funds—creating a loophole that allows staff implicated in misconduct and corruption to simply move from one organization to another.
- Include Deradicalization Programs. Require curriculum reform, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank.
- Limit UN Security Council Control. The Council may acknowledge—but not create or administer—the BoP and ISF mandates, which must be defined jointly with Israel’s consent.
- Affirm Consistency with the Oslo Accords. Nothing in the plan may supersede the bilateral commitments, guarantees, and rights established under the Oslo Accords.
‘Fake News’: US Confirms Aid Is Flowing Into Gaza, Contradicting Hamas Propaganda
The United States and Israel are moving an average of 674 humanitarian aid trucks through Gaza each day, delivering more than 15,000 loads of commercial goods and medicine since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center, the multinational body running the operations, and shared with the Washington Free Beacon. They contradict Hamas claims that Israel has hampered aid distribution in Gaza—and reports from anti-Israel media outlets relying on the terror outfit to make the same argument.

According to U.S. officials on the ground in Gaza, more than one million Gazans have received food parcels since Oct. 10, while meal production in the strip has increased by 82 percent since late September. Access to clean drinking water and medical services has also increased since the ceasefire. Gazans received 143,000 medical consultations, 900 emergency surgeries, and more than 45 trauma referrals between the date of the ceasefire and Oct. 31. Aid workers are delivering approximately 17,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day, increasing the supply of potable water in Gaza by 130 percent in October alone.

Specific products that had been absent from Gaza for months are now available in the territory, as well. Eggs arrived on Gazan shelves last week for the first time since February, according to U.S. government information on aid efforts reviewed by the Free Beacon. More than 840 pallets of medical supplies—which include maternal and neonatal health equipment—have entered Gaza in recent weeks.

The figures paint a different picture than those alleged by Hamas. The terror group said this week that "only 4,453 trucks have entered Gaza out of 15,600 that should have entered since the start of the ceasefire," which comes out to 171 trucks per day. The terror group’s media office said on Thursday that Israel has "continue[d] to pursue a policy of suffocation, starvation, and political blackmail against more than 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza," stating that Israel has kept products like eggs—which are available in Gaza—out of Palestinians’ hands.

The discrepancy between U.S. statistics and those Hamas has produced suggests the terror group is attempting to undermine the ceasefire and distract from its rampant looting of humanitarian aid convoys. The U.S. numbers also contradict claims from anti-Israel outlets like Drop Site News that the Jewish state has not held up its end of the aid bargain.

"The reality is that Hamas leadership has no control over its followers, and looting of humanitarian aid trucks continues to be a problem," said one senior administration official, who described the Gazan media office’s figures as "fake news."
Seth Frantzman: Israel, Gaza ceasefire opens door for new Cyprus, Greece energy deal
With a ceasefire in place in Gaza, there are many new opportunities arising in the region. While Israel was focused on Gaza, it was difficult for Israel to achieve much outside of the conflict. This put things like the Abraham Accords on ice. It also meant it was hard for Washington to advance cooperation initiatives. Now things are changing. The US has brought Kazakhstan into the Abraham Accords as US President Donald Trump met with leaders of Central Asian countries. The US is also working on deals in the Eastern Mediterranean.

On November 6, the US Embassy in Cyprus put out a statement released by the governments of the United States, the Republic of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel on the occasion of what is called a 3+1 Energy Ministerial. “The energy ministers of the Republic of Cyprus, Greece, State of Israel, and United States, as well as the co-chairs of the United States’ National Energy Dominance Council, met today to reaffirm their shared commitment to promoting energy security and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, including through the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center, as key to regional strategic stability and resilience,” the statement said.

“The Ministers reaffirmed their support for broader regional interconnectivity projects, currently in progress and future ones, within the context of the India Middle East Europe Corridor; energy development; and cooperation on energy infrastructure protection.”

The statement went on to note that the ministers “committed to use the 3+1 format to support the goal of diversifying the region’s energy supplies by reducing reliance on malign actors and improving connectivity between like-minded regional partners. They condemned Russian attempts to circumvent oil sanctions and finance its continuing war on Ukraine. The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to Europe-Israel energy infrastructure cooperation.”

This is important because it helps revive cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean or “East Med.” There had been talks in the past about energy agreements and pipelines, but none of them came to fruition. This was in part because none of the countries were willing to put up the investments needed. Instead, it meant that countries such as Russia or Turkey were moving forward with infrastructure on energy deals.

However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza war have changed some calculations. Turkey has also changed. A new agreement in Iraq has enabled oil to be exported from the Kurdistan region of Iraq to Turkey again, after a cutoff.
Triggernometry: Ben Shapiro on Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes and Zohran Mamdani
Ben Shapiro is a Harvard-educated lawyer, bestselling author, and co-founder of The Daily Wire, known for his sharp conservative commentary and rapid-fire debate style.

00:00 - Introduction
06:36 - Young People's Obsession With Socialism
14:30 - The Civil War On The Right
22:21 - When Did Disagreement Become Cancellation?
27:19 - What Is Tucker Carlson Up To?
34:18 - What Has Happened To Young Straight White Men
36:41 - What Does It Mean To Be On The Right?
41:57 - President Trump Was The First To Disrupt The Status Quo With Humour
43:23 - How Do You Feel About President Trump's Second Term So Far?
45:36 - President Trump's Achievements With Israel, Gaza And What He Can Do Next
48:25 - Have You Been Surprised By The Events In The UK With The Palestine Protests And Anti-Semitism?
49:46 - What's The One Thing We're Not Talking About As A Society That We Really Should Be?


BBC chiefs resign after criticism over bias, including editing of Trump speech, Israel-Hamas War
The director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, and the chief executive of news, Deborah Turness, have resigned following criticism over bias at the corporation, including in the way it edited a speech by US President Donald Trump.

The BBC has been embroiled in a spate of allegations that it had failed to maintain political neutrality in its reporting, including in its coverage of Trump, the Israel-Hamas war, and over trans issues.

In the most recent controversy, the Daily Telegraph had reported for days on an internal document produced by a former BBC adviser on standards who had listed a raft of errors, including in the way a speech by Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, was edited.

The document suggested the flagship Panorama program had edited two parts of Trump's speech together so he appeared to encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.

Respected overseas, questioned over news judgment
Widely respected around the world, the BBC has in recent years been accused of failing to maintain its commitment to impartial news and of struggling to navigate the deeply polarized political and social environment.

The corporation, which is funded by a license fee paid by all television-watching households, also comes under intense scrutiny from some national newspapers and social media, which object to its funding model and perceived liberal stance.

In recent years, it had struggled to contain scandals over the opinion on immigration of its most highly paid sports presenter, Gary Lineker, which briefly led to a walk-out by staff, while it was condemned for showing a punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanting against the Israeli military at Glastonbury.

It also pulled a documentary about Gaza earlier this year because it featured the son of a Hamas member.
BBC forced to correct two Gaza stories a week
The BBC has been forced to correct two stories a week about the Gaza conflict since the Oct 7 attacks on Israel, The Telegraph can reveal.

BBC Arabic has had to make 215 corrections and clarifications over the past two years on stories that were found to be biased, inaccurate or misleading.

The figures follow a week of revelations by The Telegraph of one-sided reporting at the BBC, disclosed in an 8,000-word dossier compiled by a whistleblower, which also accused BBC Arabic of choosing to “minimise Israeli suffering” in the war in Gaza to “paint Israel as the aggressor”.

On Monday, the BBC is also expected to apologise for the misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech in a Panorama documentary, putting further pressure on Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, to quit.

The media bias campaign group Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) obtained the corrections after more than 100 of its complaints over BBC Arabic’s coverage were upheld. They work out as an average of two stories a week.

One of its complaints involved a BBC Arabic report in January this year about the treatment of hostages by the Al-Qassam Brigade, in which the Hamas unit was described as “guarding” the hostages and being “responsible for securing the hostages”, rather than holding them captive.

BBC Arabic – which is part of the World Service and is funded mainly through the licence fee – has also been forced to make more than 40 corrections after Camera complained about stories that incorrectly referred to communities inside Israel’s internationally recognised territory as “settlements” and their residents as “settlers”.

Responding to the figures, Baroness Deech, a former BBC governor, said the broadcaster’s own Executive Complaint Unit (ECU) has failed in its obligation as an internal standards watchdog.

She said: “While BBC Arabic rightly continues to receive condemnation from politicians from all sides of the House for its repeated breaches of BBC guidelines and its flagrant anti-Israel bias, the BBC’s ECU considers it to be entirely blameless.

“The ECU is turning a blind eye to bias within BBC Arabic. We need an independent complaints process because the BBC simply cannot be trusted to mark its own homework.”


UKLFI: Jonathan Turner discusses BBC's false & biased Israel coverage highlighted by whistleblower exposé
The Daily Telegraph published details of a memo by BBC whistleblower Michael Prescott, alleging serious inaccuracy and bias in the BBC’s coverage of Israel and the war in Gaza.

UKLFI Charitable Trust Executive Director, Jonathan Turner, discusses some of the concerns raised, including the BBC’s reporting of Gaza casualty figures, coverage of the International Court of Justice decision and claims of imbalance in reporting letters from pro- and anti-Israel lawyers.

Turner also explains his complaints to the BBC and Ofcom, the BBC’s legal duties under its Charter and Agreement, and his concerns about the BBC Arabic service.




US likely to pressure Israel to ease stance on terrorists in Rafah tunnels, official tells 'Post'
Senior Israeli officials estimate that US pressure will push Israel to show flexibility regarding the issue of the terrorists in the Rafah tunnels, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.

“Outwardly, everyone declares that Israel will not allow those 100–200 terrorists to leave the tunnels, even if they lay down their arms,” the official said. “But behind closed doors, everyone admits: if there is significant American pressure on this issue, Israel will have no choice but to compromise.”

US officials also made it clear in recent days that they want to resolve the issue of Hamas terrorists in the tunnels, saying that they "think [the terrorists] should get free passage, after Goldin's release."

US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, are expected to arrive in Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.

On the agenda is the question of the Rafah terrorists, a topic that worries both the US administration and the mediating countries, who fear that Israeli attempts to capture or kill the terrorists could cause the ceasefire to collapse.

“The American idea is to conduct an experiment: allow them to disarm, leave the area, and begin rebuilding the Rafah region, all as a pilot program for President Trump’s plan to demilitarize Hamas,” another Israeli official told the Post.

The president’s envoys will also discuss the continued implementation of Trump’s plan and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, following Kazakhstan’s recent decision to join the four countries already participating in the agreements.


Jonathan Sacerdoti: When Christian art becomes propaganda: how political forces hijack religious imagery to win the West
The most powerful images in today’s pro-Palestinian campaigns aren’t new — they’re borrowed from Christianity. From the Madonna and Child to David and Goliath, centuries-old sacred symbols have been re-cast to portray Palestinians as modern saints and martyrs, reshaping Western sympathy through religious familiarity.

In this gripping conversation, Professor Miri Rubin (Queen Mary University of London), one of Britain’s leading medieval historians, joins Jonathan Sacerdoti to expose how the emotional grammar of Christian art has been weaponised for political ends — and how its echoes are visible everywhere from social media to pop culture, from the left to the right, and on the front pages of global newspapers.

What you’ll hear in this fascinating discussion:
🕍 How Jewish imagery shaped medieval Christianity — and its legacy in Western art
🕊️ Why Christian iconography still dominates moral storytelling today
📸 How propaganda reuses sacred imagery to provoke emotional reactions
🧠 The psychological power of the “mother and child” pose in photojournalism
⚔️ Why Palestinian PR borrows visual language from Christian Europe
💀 How medieval blood libels echo in today’s online antisemitism
🎭 What modern culture learned from the Church about emotional persuasion
📷 The blurred line between journalism, activism, and visual manipulation
🤖 How AI images will intensify the next wave of ideological propaganda

🎧 Listen to this episode and discover how the ghosts of medieval art haunt our digital age — and how understanding their origins helps us see modern imagery more clearly.


What is the Heritage Foundation defending?
Former Fox News host and current political commentator Tucker Carlson is an antisemite whose racism disqualifies him from the realm of political discourse.

But that really isn’t the point. The fight is about what is “best” for America—an America that, after the Mamdani victory in New York City, has some deep structural flaws. If not addressed with some urgency, the growing chasm will ultimately lead to the unraveling of this miraculous 250-year-old “experiment.”

Kevin Roberts, president of Heritage Foundation, whose intent may be good, has, in defending Carlson, been led down a dead-end street.

Carlson should be “canceled.” After all, what else is there to do if a person or idea is anathema to the core of one’s mission? Roberts has lost focus on what the mission is.

As Americans approach the coming 250th birthday of the United States, our mission should be to celebrate and revalidate the singularity of a nation built on a foundation of Judeo-Christian culture. It is a nation and idea—different in 1776 from all other nations—based on the belief that each of us was created in God’s image, imbued with the rights and responsibilities of that recognition.

The operative word and anchor that holds us together and on course as a nation, as frayed and worn as it has become, is Judeo-Christian. And it is only in the recognition of this core reality that our Judeo-Christian identity can continue to stay the course. Skin color, language and ethnicity of the belief holder are irrelevant.

The foundation of the credibility of the Judeo-Christian “experiment” sits on an irrevocable historical fact. The fact is that the land of Israel is the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity. It was from the land of Israel that the story of the Torah, the Old Testament and the New Testament was received. And it is the Torah, the Old Testament and the New Testament that are the lifelines of Judeo-Christian culture. Every day, new archaeological evidence is uncovered that testifies to these truths.

And every day, this vital lifeline has come under assault. I refer not to the internal force of secular materialism, or woke and progressive ideology, but to the external force of the brand of Islam that the Muslim Brotherhood and Iranian mullahs push.


WaPo Editorial: Zohran Mamdani drops the mask
A new era of class warfare has begun in New York, and no one is more excited than Generalissimo Zohran Mamdani. Witness the mayor-elect’s change of character since his Tuesday election victory.

Mamdani ran an upbeat campaign, with a nice-guy demeanor and perpetual smile papering over a long history of divisive and demagogic statements. New Yorkers periodically checking in on politics could understandably believe that he simply wanted to bring the city together and make it more affordable. That interpretation became much harder after his victory speech.

Across 23 angry minutes laced with identity politics and seething with resentment, Mamdani abandoned his cool disposition and made clear that his view of politics isn’t about unity. It isn’t about letting people build better lives for themselves. It is about identifying class enemies — from landlords who take advantage of tenants to “the bosses” who exploit workers — and then crushing them. His goal is not to increase wealth but to dole it out to favored groups. The word “growth” didn’t appear in the speech, but President Donald Trump garnered eight mentions.

People’s lives, in Mamdani’s world, can be improved only by government: “We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about.” The crowd cheered, of course, but a thinking person might wonder whether it’s good for the institution that has a monopoly on violence to insist that nothing is beyond its purview.


Three Islamist women charged with planning Paris terror attack: 'I want to pay tribute to Bin Laden!'
Three young women have been charged with plotting an Islamist terrorist attack in Paris after they were apprehended by French authorities.

Police acted after an extensive surveillance campaign, where one of the trio declared in a message: “I want to blow everything up there… I want to pay tribute to Bin Laden.”

The three women, identified only by their initials B, 19, K, 21, and A, 18, were placed under formal investigation on October 10 for “criminal terrorist conspiracy” by France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office.

They were arrested three days earlier by officers from the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) after several months of discreet surveillance, telephone interceptions, and tailing.

According to DGSI reports, the women all professed adherence to an ultra-orthodox Islamist doctrine and were rarely seen outside without full face veils.

Investigators say they spent most of their time confined to their homes watching and sharing jihadist propaganda via Snapchat, TikTok, and Telegram.

The DGSI said that a tapped telephone conversation between A and B was among the material that raised an alarm.

While discussing their attendance at the French military celebration, B allegedly said: “I want to blow everything up there… I want to pay tribute to Bin Laden!”

A replied: “If only they (the servicemen at the event) knew there was a terrorist among them,” the transcript reportedly shows.


Canadian sponsor drops Israel cycling team
Premier Tech has ended its co-title sponsorship of the Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) cycling team after near four years, the Canadian company announced on Friday, calling the continuation of the partnership “untenable.”

The move comes after a series of violent race disruptions by pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Europe since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel, culminating in the recent Vuelta a España grand tour cycling competition in Spain when activists stormed the route, directly threatening Israel–Premier Tech cyclists.

“After multiple discussions with the team and careful assessment of all relevant circumstances, Premier Tech has decided to step down as co-title sponsor of the team taking effect immediately,” the company’s press release states.

While acknowledging the team’s decision to remove “Israel” from its name and undertake a rebrand for the 2026 season, “the core reason for Premier Tech to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable for us to continue as a sponsor.”

The team initially removed “Israel” from its uniforms temporarily during the Spanish race to reduce risk—a change that has now become permanent.

The statement also thanked the team, including riders and staff for “the four unforgettable seasons by their side, and to acknowledge their incredible accomplishments and professionalism, both on and off the road.”

In addition to the planned rebrand, Israel–Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams announced last month that he will step aside.

“As an Israeli whose heart and blood are blue and white, as an immigrant who made Israel my home, as a patriot and Zionist who proudly calls himself ‘Israel’s self-appointed ambassador,’ I cannot, at this moment, continue to take an active part in a team that no longer bears the name Israel. Therefore, I am stepping aside and suspending all active involvement with the team,” the Israeli-Canadian philanthropist said.

“I will instead devote myself even more deeply to my philanthropic activities in Israel and around the world. In my role as president of the World Jewish Congress in Israel, I will continue to fight to defend our right, as Jews, to live in peace, safety, and freedom from the wave of hatred, violence, and antisemitism that has surged since the tragic events of October 7,” he added.


Another Israel-Iran war increasingly seen as just a matter of time — New York Times
Another Israel-Iran war is “only a matter of time,” according to a report by The New York Times, which says Iran still has a stockpile of enriched uranium and is racing to build thousands of missiles.

The piece, published Sunday, casts doubt on the idea that the 12-day war between the countries in June eliminated the threat of Iran’s nuclear program. Rather, it says that Middle East officials and experts increasingly believe Israeli and US strikes caused less damage to Tehran’s nuclear facilities than previously thought, and that both countries are preparing for the prospect of another round of conflict.

“Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, enough to make 11 nuclear weapons, is either buried under rubble, as Iran claims, or has been spirited away to a safe place, as Israeli officials believe,” the report said.

Other factors make another war likely, the report said. Among them is an ongoing impasse between the United States and Iran, which engaged in several rounds of talks before the US joined Israel’s bombing campaign in June. In addition, the 2015 nuclear deal brokered between Iran, the US and European countries expired recently, triggering heavy sanctions on Iran.

Those factors, coupled with intensive Iranian work on a new enrichment site it refuses to give international inspectors access to, make many in the Gulf think that another Israeli attack is “almost inevitable,” the report added.

In preparation for the next war, Tehran has greatly increased its missile production, working around the clock in hopes of being able to “fire 2,000 at once to overwhelm Israeli defenses, not 500 over 12 days,” Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, told the Times.

“Israel feels the job is unfinished and sees no reason not to resume the conflict, so Iran is doubling down preparedness for the next round,” Vaez said, adding, however, that there was no suggestion that any renewed fighting was imminent.

While there have been some attempts to revive talks on a new nuclear deal, they have yet to yield results, and last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to cast doubt on whether they would be able to progress any further.


Kristallnacht survivors: World is once again dangerous for Jews
On the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht, three Holocaust survivors who lived through the infamous 1938 Nazi pogrom in Germany as children warned that the world today is once again dangerously unsafe for Jews, urging governments to take decisive action to combat antisemitism and strengthen Holocaust education.

Walter Bingham, 101, George Shefi, 94, and Paul Alexander, 90, who all experienced Kristallnacht, issued a stark joint statement with the International March of the Living, saying that the current wave of global antisemitism mirrors the climate of hate that preceded the Holocaust.

“With today’s antisemitic atmosphere, pogroms against Jews can happen again,” said Bingham, who witnessed Hitler’s rise to power as a boy.

Alexander, whose father was arrested that night and sent to Buchenwald, added: “The world today is no safer for Jews than it was 87 years ago. The images of the past two years remind us of the darkest days of the 1930s in Nazi Germany.”

Shefi recalled waking up to find shattered glass outside a Jewish-owned store and his synagogue burned to the ground.

In the aftermath of the pogrom, all three were sent to Britain on the Kindertransport. Shefi never saw his mother again; she was murdered in Auschwitz. Bingham’s father perished in the Warsaw Ghetto. Alexander, one of the few Kindertransport children to reunite with both parents, later made his way to Israel, where all three survivors now live.

In their statement, the survivors wrote: “We saw with our own eyes how hatred turned to flames, how indifference became complicity, and how the world stayed silent as Jews were attacked. Today, 87 years later, we look around us and say with deep pain: the world has learned nothing.

“Once again, Jews are murdered for being Jews. Once again, synagogues are attacked. Once again, universities remain silent in the face of incitement. In today’s atmosphere, Kristallnacht could happen again.”




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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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

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