Thursday, January 01, 2026

01/01 Links Pt2: Netanyahu pledges support for global Christian communities under Islamic threat; Australian business leaders call for Bondi Royal Commission in open letter

From Ian:

Douglas Murray: Alaa Abd el-Fattah and our misplaced priorities
Unfortunately, the government has made such a big homecoming fandango for El-Fattah that a few people have started to look into what our latest arrival actually believes. Of foremost concern is the fact that he seems not much to like the country that has done so much to spring him from Sisi’s jails. In a set of social media posts from 2010, he called the British people ‘dogs and monkeys’. He also described British history as ‘pure BS’, claiming that we ‘enslaved a fifth of humanity’ and ‘massacred millions’. Why exactly someone would want to come to a country filled with so many infidel ‘dogs and monkeys’ is, I suppose, a question for another day. But these are El-Fattah’s views about us and once again we can all agree there is nothing wrong with that and it all just makes him another weave in the rich tapestry of our diverse and multicultural nation.

In a set of other online posts, El-Fattah said he wanted to kill ‘all police’, and – astoundingly enough – he has stern views about Jews and Zionists. The latter should, according to our latest import, all be killed. It is ‘heroic’, he has said, to kill ‘any colonialists and especially Zionists’, adding of Zionists: ‘We need to kill more of them.’

It is worth dwelling on that. After the Manchester synagogue attack in October, Starmer, David Lammy and all the rest of them stressed how we can’t let ‘hate’ into our country, and need to stop people riling up nastiness. But all the time they were making a priority of bringing a man into the UK who hates the British people, wants police officers to be killed and thinks the only good Zionist is a dead Zionist.

At such moments, of course, Starmer’s political opponents realise that there might be some political capital to be made from highlighting this obscenity. Robert Jenrick and others spent the post-Christmas period rampaging across X trying to highlight El-Fattah’s historic views and point at Starmer’s evident present-day numpty-ness.

But, as I can often be found saying, there is always another level to this hell. On this occasion it comes from the following fact.

It is not merely Starmer who has made El-Fattah into the human rights case de nos jours. It turns out that each of our swiftly rotating previous Conservative governments also thought that his case should be a priority for them. Liz Truss’s government thought so, as did Rishi Sunak’s. The Home Office also made the release of this Egyptian a priority by granting him citizenship. The then foreign secretary James Cleverly boasted: ‘We will continue to work tirelessly for his release.’ Again, you and I may have thought that the Home and Foreign Offices might have tried to bring migration down several notches. Instead they ramped migration up to historic highs. And why not, when they were working so ‘tirelessly’ for El-Fattah’s release.

Which party was in power when British citizenship was given to El-Fattah while he was still in jail? Why the gloriously competent Tory government of Boris Johnson, of course.

In any case, put aside for the time being the political game which has resulted from the case and consider the following rather more important question. Does anybody anywhere in government have access to Google? Or any other search engine? Does anybody in the Home Office have the capability to press ‘Control’ and ‘F’ on their keyboard and search for past public comments by a foreign national they are so eager to bring into the UK? There was a time when we might have had some faith that a British official might phone an Egyptian counterpart and ask a few questions about a chap before awarding him citizenship, let alone making a ‘priority’ of getting him on to these shores. But all the government officials, Labour and Conservative MPs, and actresses such as Olivia Colman, who campaigned for El-Fattah’s release seem not to have taken a moment even to Google him.

That is the problem for the UK. Everything that should be a priority is not a priority, and the last things that should be a priority are made a priority by governments of all stripes. Happy new year, by the way.
Human Rights Commissioner demands PM call Royal Commission into Bondi terror attack
Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay has thrown her weight behind calls for a federal Royal Commission into the Bondi terror attack, as pressure mounts on Anthony Albanese to reconsider his refusal.

Ms Finlay publicly endorsed a Royal Commission on Wednesday night, warning that a narrow review into intelligence and law enforcement failures would not go far enough to confront the underlying causes of the massacre.

Her intervention comes after the Prime Minister on Thursday refused to reveal the unnamed "actual experts" who he claimed advised him against establishing a Royal Commission.

The Commissioner said the attack could not be separated from the surge in antisemitism gripping the country and argued the issue demanded the most powerful form of public inquiry.

“The Richardson Review will examine our national security framework. But understanding the deeper causes of violence is critical,” Ms Finlay said in a post to LinkedIn.

“The Bondi terrorist attack was driven by anti-Semitism. Confronting that directly must be a national priority.

“A federal Royal Commission is essential to fully understand what has happened and ensure it never happens again.” Former Army chief accuses government of blocking Bondi enquiry
Scores of Australian business leaders call for Bondi Royal Commission in open letter
More than 100 Australian business leaders from across the country have called for a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the Bondi terror attack in a powerful open letter.

The written statement, signed by the scores of top business leaders, calls for a Commonwealth Royal Commission into antisemitism and the events leading up to the Bondi massacre.

The signatories include former Reserve Bank governors Philip Lowe and Glenn Stevens, and a wide range of current and former chairs and CEOs including Tennis Australia chairman Jane Hrdlica, Woolworths Group chairman Scott Perkins and GrainCorp's Alison Watkins.

In total, 138 businessmen and women have called for the royal commission into the “national crisis”, which they argue requires a “national response”.

Their letter adds to the growing chorus of voices – including Jewish leaders, politicians and Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner – who have called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to establish a royal commission to investigate the tragedy.

The non-partisan statement noted the families of the victims of the Bondi terror attack have been joined by a “wide cross section of leaders” publicly campaigning for a royal commission.

“As business leaders and proud Australians committed to upholding our values of tolerance and mutual respect, we recognise the need for clear answers as to how the Bondi massacre could occur,” the open letter read.

“We must end the unprecedented harassment, intimidation and violence directed at the Australian Jewish community since October 7, 2023.

“This is a national crisis, which requires a national response.”


Anti-Israel activists clash with deceased hostage Ran Gvili's family at Netanyahu Miami shul speech
Anti-Israel activists clashed with the family of deceased hostage Ran Gvili outside the Shul of Bal Harbour on Wednesday, according to footage published by social media influencer Joseph Waks and photographs posted by the 50501 activist movement – amid protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to local leaders and the Jewish community at the Miami house of worship.

Bereaved mother Talik Gvili tore into two a cardboard sign belonging to keffiyeh-clad pro-Palestinian activists, as the demonstrators exchanged slogans and swear words with pro-Israel attendees.

Gvili’s aunt Tami Tzioni told N12 that the fallen police officer’s parents were unharmed in the incident, but there was fear that a greater incident could have occurred.

“You can see how hard it is for Talik; it hurts her to be there, and people don’t even pay attention to it. You can see the pain on her face in everything that happens there,” Tzioni said in a Thursday interview with N12.

The anti-Israel activist carried signs calling Netanyahu a “baby killer” and comparing Israel, its prime minister, and US President Donald Trump to excrement.


Netanyahu pledges support for global Christian communities under Islamic threat
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday told a group of evangelical Christian leaders in Florida that Israel will back persecuted Christian communities being threatened by radical Islam around the globe.

His remarks come less than a week after the United States launched strikes against the Islamic State group in Nigeria in response to attacks targeting Christians.

“We are joining an effort to have basically a united nations of countries that support Christian communities around the world, beleaguered communities who deserve our help, just as you are helping us, we want to help back,” Netanyahu said. “And we’re capable of doing this. In Africa, with intel, in the Middle East, with a lot of means that I won’t itemize each one.”

He noted that Christians are under attack across the Middle East, including in regional rival Turkey, and that Israel is the only country in the region that protects its Christian community, which makes up just under 2% of the country’s population.

“Christians are being persecuted across the Middle East, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Nigeria, in Turkey and beyond,” he said. “We’re also aware of the fact, as you are, that one country protects the Christian community, enables it to grow, defends it, and makes sure that it thrives, and that country is Israel. There is no other. None.”

Netanyahu reiterated that Israel has “no better friends” than the evangelical Christian community, which, he said, has “stood by us through thick and thin.”

“It’s hard for me to conceive of the emergence of the Jewish state, the re-emergence of the Jewish state, without the support of Christian Zionists in the United States, also in Britain, but the main thrust was in the United States in the 19th century,” he said. “Christian Zionism facilitated the rise and success of Jewish Zionism.”


Jews are Missing and Injured in Deadly Swiss Explosion
Several members of the local Jewish community were injured in a powerful explosion that tore through a bar in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans‑Montana during New Year’s Eve celebrations, with one community member still unaccounted for, according to local Jewish leaders.

Swiss authorities say the blast, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. at the underground Le Constellation bar, killed at least dozens of people and injured roughly 100 others, many seriously. The exact death toll has not yet been officially confirmed, and authorities have not reported any Israeli nationals among the victims.

The explosion happened near the local synagogue serving the small Jewish community in Crans-Montana. Rabbi Yitzhak Levi, the local Chabad‑Lubavitch emissary, said several members of the community were injured by the force of the blast and flying debris.

“We heard a massive explosion in the middle of the night and immediately understood that something terrible had happened,” Rabbi Levi said. “Within minutes the streets were filled with people, ambulances, and rescue forces. It was complete chaos.”

According to Rabbi Levi, at least one member of the Jewish community remains unreachable hours after the explosion. Community members have been working closely with emergency services to locate the missing individual and account for all residents.
Herzog tells Swiss counterpart that Israel is ready to help after deadly ski resort blaze
President Isaac Herzog speaks with his Swiss counterpart, President Guy Parmelin, after some 40 partygoers were killed and 115 were injured in a blaze at a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana.

Herzog’s office says in a statement that the president expressed his condolences to Parmelin on behalf of the country and told him that Israel was ready to assist in any way it could, as Swiss authorities face the challenging task of identifying the victims.

He told the Swiss president that Israel has both “experience and advanced capabilities” that it has honed over the years, “in the fields of locating and identifying victims of fires, as well as in the treatment of burn victims in fire-related incidents.”


Bondi victims’ families are ‘experts’ we should be listening to in regard to royal commission
Never mind what former High Court chief justices are telling you.

Or former governors-general, State premiers from your own side of politics, your own backbenchers, ex-security agency bosses, more than 100 barristers and a growing crowd of Jewish community leaders and rabbis.

And feel free to disregard the heartfelt, desperate pleas from the grieving families of the 15 souls gunned down on Bondi Beach.

What would they know?

On Tuesday, Anthony Albanese was asked again to justify his refusal to call a royal commission into the events of December 14 and the potential missed opportunities to prevent the bloodshed that occurred there.

It’s a question the Prime Minister has been asked many times in the past two weeks. And clearly, he’s getting sick and tired of it.

Mr Albanese again said an independent review to be conducted by former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson — the terms of reference for which make no reference to anti-Semitism — would provide better answers than a Commonwealth royal commission.

“Our position is not out of convenience, it is out of conviction that this is the right direction to go in,” he said

“And the actual experts, who are the current experts, have all recommended this course of action. And we are following the advice that we receive from authorities who are in 2025 dealing with this atrocity.”

The “actual experts”. Not the armchair amateurs, like those grieving the alleged murders of their family members. Not the Jewish community leaders who have spent the past two and a half years trying desperately to make their warnings about the dangerous rising tide of anti-Semitism heard.


Bondi attack must prompt a reflection on antisemitism in the arts
Last year, I returned to university to start an oral history and creative nonfiction project about my 102-year-old grandmother – a Holocaust survivor from Berlin. It brought me into contact with many other Jewish writers.

I loved talking about our different projects, but these conversations almost always came with a warning from those more experienced than me: the creative industries have become increasingly unwelcoming, if not outright hostile, to Jewish projects.

There is evidence to support this assertion. A report released in August by the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University uses the term “ambient antisemitism” to describe this phenomenon.

It describes antisemitism in the creative and cultural industries as a systemic issue exposing contradictions in the values of cultural inclusion, diversity and the importance of lived experience.

“Many stakeholders attributed their experiences to ‘unconscious antisemitism’, which is a lack of understanding that certain views are harmful or damaging, resulting in the perpetuation of harm without anticipating the consequences,” the report said.

The research documents how social media platforms have become sites of political mobilisation and harassment within creative communities. I have seen too many people suffer from it.

The report is based on 95 research participants, including artists, philanthropists and arts industry representatives who attended one-on-one interviews or a group workshop.

It found many Jewish artists had withdrawn from former creative networks or public roles after experiencing “professional cultural homelessness”.

The problem with ambient antisemitism is it is difficult to pin down and harder to prove. Often, conversations about scrapped shows or nixed book deals are held verbally, leaving no digital trail. But for those experiencing it, the consequences are real and life changing.

For two years Jewish artists and writers have raised the alarm about concerts being cancelled, book deals withdrawn, and art galleries targeted.

Acclaimed documentary maker Danny Ben-Moshe has completed shooting a film on antisemitism in the Australian arts. He says Jewish artists often feel the arts community just isn’t interested in their experiences of antisemitism.

“Lived experience is supposed to be believed, except for us [Jews],” he says.


New Chabad center deploys at site of Bondi terror attack, dispensing acts of kindness
A new Chabad center has been set up on Sydney’s Bondi Beach at the site of the Hanukkah terror attack earlier this month, from which the Hasidic group specializing in Jewish outreach seeks to share acts of kindness with passersby.

The center is being called “Ohel Eli and Yaakov” in memory of Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, two Chabad emissaries killed in the December 14 attack in which 15 people were murdered and dozens injured.

“It’s not really a full Chabad house,” said Rabbi Noach Koncepolski, the project’s founder. “It’s more like an expanded kiosk where we hand out food and help Jews put on tefillin [phylacteries]. The idea is to have a point of connection to share some kindness, to have a moment of sweetness, with anyone passing by.”

“We’re calling it a ‘mitzvah house,'” he added, using the Hebrew word for good deeds.

The morning after the attack, Koncepolski and some friends headed over to the Bondi Pavilion site and started offering to help people put on the phylacteries used in Jewish prayers.

“It just blew up immediately,” Koncepolski recalled, saying his group put tefillin on 1,500 people a day that week. “After that, we started handing out Shabbat candles and handing out food. During Hanukkah, we gave out thousands of doughnuts to Jews and non-Jews alike.”

Now, he added, the team still puts tefillin on “hundreds” of people each day, and hands out pastries and candies to passersby.


Australian family makes aliyah from Sydney, becoming 2026's first olim
A Jewish family from Sydney, Australia, became the first family to make aliyah in 2026, landing at Ben-Gurion Airport on January 1 and receiving Israeli ID cards upon arrival, the Aliyah and Integration Ministry announced on Thursday.

The Zaks family includes father Trevor, mother Dalit, and daughter Ashira. Their son, Levi Zaks, immigrated earlier and has joined the IDF, according to the ministry.

Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer congratulated the family, saying their decision to move to Israel, while their son serves in uniform, is “heartening and encouraging.” He said the ministry is working to encourage aliyah from Australia and has taken, and will continue to take, significant steps to support newcomers.

Recent government initiatives have focused on easing absorption for families and professionals and on financial steps to support newcomers.

“Olim come here because of their solidarity with Israel,” Sofer has said in recent interviews, adding that reforms are intended to make the process smoother for young families. “The choice of the Zaks family to make aliyah, especially as their son serves in the IDF, is heartening and encouraging,” he said.

Over 20,000 new olim in 2025
According to the Aliyah and Integration Ministry and the Jewish Agency, Israel ended 2025 with some 21,900 immigrants from 105 countries.

The agencies said France and the United Kingdom posted the sharpest growth in arrivals, while Russia remained the top source country despite a large year-over-year decline. The data were released against the backdrop of the war and rising antisemitism overseas, according to the ministry and the Jewish Agency.


Harley Finkelstein: Canadian Jews are being targeted simply because they are Jewish
Neither of these incidents had anything to do with Israel. Neither involved politics or public policy. They were celebrations of Jewish life, interrupted because they were Jewish. To be clear, I am not writing to defend Israel or to debate foreign policy. I am writing to explain what has changed for Jews in Canada, even when our lives, our culture and our communities have nothing to do with geopolitics.

That distinction matters.

I am not sharing these stories to ask for sympathy. I am sharing them because we have waited far too long to call this what it is.

What began as chants has crossed into intimidation. What is excused as advocacy now routinely crosses into harassment, disruption and outright antisemitism, playing out openly from places like the Eaton Centre to university campuses across the country.

This has gone too far. When Jewish community events are disrupted, when Jewish leaders are targeted simply for being visible and when Jewish students are told where they can and cannot exist safely, we are no longer talking about protest. We are talking about the normalization of hatred.

The data is stark. Jews make up around one per cent of Canada’s population yet account for roughly 70 per cent of religion-motivated hate crimes. These numbers are not abstract. They show up in classrooms, on campuses and in moments that should be defined by joy.

And now, for the first time in my lifetime, Jewish residents in Canadian cities are having mezuzahs ripped off their front doors. A mezuzah is not a symbol of Israel or a political statement. It is a small piece of parchment placed on a doorway to mark a Jewish home. It is a sign of faith, identity and belonging. Tearing it down is not protest. It is intimidation directed at Jews for being Jews.

Canada has allowed hatred to become normalized under the thinnest veil of advocacy. Behaviour that would be immediately recognized as bigotry if directed at any other community is too often rationalized when Jews are the target.

Calling this out is not inflammatory. It is necessary.

My grandparents survived hatred. My parents fled it. My children should never have to learn to live with it. Canada can still choose differently, but only if we are willing to name what is happening now.

What we tolerate next will define us.
Dov Forman: British Jews can’t endure another year of anti-Semitism
By the end of the year, polling has now confirmed what many Jews had been quietly saying for some time: a majority of British Jews do not believe they have a long-term future in the UK. That finding should have stopped the country in its tracks. Instead, it passed with a few headlines and then silence.

This is the most damning indictment of 2025. Not simply that anti-Semitism surged, but that it was normalised. Each incident treated as discrete. Each failure explained away. Responsibility endlessly deferred.

Anti-Semitism is cumulative. It builds through language, through tolerance of intimidation, through the erosion of moral clarity. By the time violence erupts, as in Manchester, the groundwork has already been laid.

British Jews are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for what every minority should expect: safety, equal protection under the law, and the confidence that when hatred emerges, it will be confronted, not excused, contextualised or ignored.

The snapshot of anti-Semitism in Britain in 2025 raises an unavoidable question for the country as a whole: is this really what we want Britain to look like? A society where it feels as though we are one missed plot, one failed intervention, one undercover sting away from an atrocity far worse than those we have already seen in places like Bondi?

It also raises a far more personal question for Britain’s Jews, one that no one should ever have to ask about their home: is it safe for me, as a 22 year old Jew, to build my life and raise my family here?

As Britain moves into 2026, that question is no longer theoretical. Either anti-Semitism is confronted, seriously, or Jews will stop asking whether they have a future here, and start preparing for the possibility that they do not.


Palestinian father reveals how Hamas manipulates Gazan teens to join terror ranks
While Israel and the US continue to insist on the need for Hamas to disarm, the terror group is reasserting control in parts of the Gaza Strip by recruiting new members to its military wing and civilian institutions.

A Palestinian father, referred to as Mustafa for security reasons, said that Hamas has been offering cash to teenagers to tempt them to join the group. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, he described how Hamas tried to recruit his 16-year-old son in central Gaza.

"One day, three men came up to my son. They were not in Hamas uniforms, just regular clothes, and gave him 200 shekels," Mustafa said. "They told him, 'Take this, buy yourself something.'"

The Palestinian teenager was confused and asked them why they gave him the money. "We help people," they replied.

They also offered to give him another 1,500 shekels if he agreed to work for them, either in the police force or by engaging in Hamas's activities.

"He didn't know what to do, and was scared," Mustafa told the Post. "He went home and told his older brother what happened. His brother got upset and immediately knew something was wrong. So he told him, 'If they come again, don’t take anything and don’t talk to them. Just tell them that we get by, and that our father supports us.'"

Mustafa, a Fatah supporter, is currently living near Ramallah. He was part of the PA security forces in Gaza until 2007, when Hamas toppled the PA and seized control of the strip. After the Hamas coup, he and hundreds of security personnel fled to the West Bank, leaving their families behind.


Hezbollah given 'final chance' to disarm by Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt
Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey gave Hezbollah a "final chance" to disarm and surrender its weapons to the Lebanese government, Saudi-owned outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Wednesday, citing Lebanese ministerial sources.

As per the report, the three nations heavily involved in mediation efforts told the Lebanese terrorist organization that a move to disarm would "spare Lebanon an Israeli strike" that would "deepen the gap" between Hezbollah and the Lebanese people.

Trump to Israel: Strike Hezbollah if necessary
The reported message to Hezbollah follows The Jerusalem Post's Tuesday confirmation that US President Donald Trump gave Israel approval to strike Hezbollah "if necessary."

During a Monday meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Trump was quoted as saying that "if the Lebanese army doesn’t succeed in disarming them, and Israel believes an action is the necessary thing to do [then the US backs Israel]," according to a source familiar with the details who spoke to the Post.

Further, the US president reiterated his position that "Hezbollah must be completely disarmed" during the meeting.


What could lead to the collapse of Iran's regime, 47 years after the revolution
As a witness to the Iranian Revolution of 1979 while serving as military attaché and head of the Ministry of Defense mission in Iran, I have since volunteered to lecture at the IDF, the Mossad, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and most academic institutions on the topic of the revolution, its causes, and the dramatic events that accompanied it.

Among other things, I discuss the life-threatening risks involved in rescuing 33 members of the Israeli delegation and transporting four Persian fallow deer from Iran to Israel (there are currently about 500 free-ranging Persian fallow deer in Israel's wilderness).

Although 47 years have passed since the revolution, which I experienced and witnessed at every stage, I am often asked: What conditions could lead to the collapse of the Iranian regime today?

It is clear to everyone that the regime will do everything it can to ensure its survival. It controls all government institutions and the state budget, enjoying significant support from the residents of tens of thousands of villages in Iran, a population that is significantly behind urban residents and, like the autocratic religious regime, opposes any process of modernization or profound change.

What conditions could lead to the regime’s collapse?
The question of whether and when the current regime in Iran may collapse has occupied researchers, politicians, and the public for many years.

Despite external pressures, sanctions, and international isolation, history shows that such regimes typically fall as a result of deep internal processes. A review of the Iranian reality points to several key conditions, the existence of which, separately or collectively, could significantly undermine the regime's stability.

In my opinion, the most important condition, similar to that which occurred in the 1979 revolution, is a prolonged general strike by the country's central sectors, primarily the oil and gas sector. Such a strike requires an organized economic system to ensure food supply and basic support for the strikers and their families, a necessary condition for the continuation of the struggle.

Another significant factor is the defection of security forces from the regime to the side of the people. This includes not only regular army soldiers but also members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), internal security forces, police, and local militia units.

Such a change in loyalty is not merely symbolic: it strengthens the protest by providing skilled manpower and weapons. It could even lead to the opening of weapon depots to the protesting public. This would strip the regime of its central advantage, the monopoly on violence, and leave it vulnerable to unprecedented attacks.
Iranian Basij member, several protesters reported killed on fifth day of nationwide protests
Officials told Maariv journalist Avi Ashkenazi that they were preparing for Iran to potentially launch an attack on Israel, particularly as the regime’s hold over the Iranian people is challenged.

“The Iranian government has set its own priorities: first, to reestablish an offensive posture against Israel before dealing with Iran’s economic distress, water shortages, and welfare problems,” a senior military source told Maariv.

Ashkenazi wrote, “Although Tehran lacks the ability and desire to enter another war with Israel now, it may feel cornered.”

This comes as Tehran has spent the last several days pointing blame at “enemy inducements.”

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Brig.-Gen. Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, the security and law-enforcement deputy to the interior minister, was quoted in state-affiliated media as saying, “In my opinion, a large part of the currency problems and fluctuations is affected by the psychological atmosphere of the market. The enemy is desperately seeking to take advantage of the created atmosphere. People should be aware of this issue and not be influenced by the enemy’s insinuations. The market should continue its work peacefully, and people should not worry.”

The IRGC also attributed the dissent to “cognitive warfare, psychological operations, and narrative creation.”

“Despair, instilling fear, and encouraging surrender to the enemy in the current circumstances are clear examples of seditious behavior,” it said.

The protests are the largest seen across Iran since the regime murdered 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in custody after she was detained for wearing a head covering incorrectly.


Norway wasn’t innocent during the Holocaust
With less than a stellar record in the treatment of Jews during World War II, one would think that today’s Norway would be far more sensitive to the only democracy in the Middle East—namely, the Jewish state of Israel. Israel and Norway share not only democratic norms but many of the same freedoms, albeit under different and, in Israel’s case, difficult circumstances. Surrounded by Islamic fanatical terror groups such as Hamas to its west, Hezbollah to its north and the Islamic Republic of Iran to the northeast, Israel must protect freedoms while fighting for its survival. Unlike Norway and its Nordic neighbors, it is surrounded by societies with murderous religious intolerance seeking to wipe out the Jews of Israel, and if possible, Jews worldwide.

Hamas perpetrated the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust on Oct. 7, 2023. The Norwegian government, however, has refused to designate the Palestinian-led Hamas as a terrorist organization, despite the fact that the European Union and the United States have done so. In fact, Norway views Hamas as a legitimate political player and considers maintaining relations as part of its long-standing role in Middle East peace negotiations. Norway’s capital of Oslo was the site of the secret 1993 negotiations between the Palestinian Liberation Organization, led by its leader, Yasser Arafat, and Israel. Hamas, however, rejects any such negotiations with Israel and vows to repeat many more atrocities like those done on Oct. 7.

Norway called the subsequent Israeli military response to Hamas’s unprovoked incursion into Israel and cold-blooded massacre of 1,200 mostly innocent Israeli civilians “disproportionate” and a violation of international law. Apparently, the Norwegians who have not known incursion against their sovereignty and war since the Second World War cannot comprehend the meaning of self-defense. Israel’s actions were as justified as the Allied bombing of Nazi Germany during World War II and the U.S. response to Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans.

Norway today, along with the Republic of Ireland and Spain, is one of the most anti-Israel states in Europe. In May 2024, in the midst of the war in Gaza, Oslo announced its decision to recognize a “Palestinian state,” a move intended to support a two-state solution but, in essence, rewarded mass murderers and terrorists. Recognition is tacit approval of Hamas’s goal of destroying Israel. And while the Palestinian Authority uses more tactical diplomatic moves, its ultimate goal is the same—that of the liquidation of the Jewish state.

The actions of the Norwegian government helped to legitimize the significant pro-Palestinian demonstrations that took place in cities like Oslo and Bergen, where some participants expressed anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish sentiments, including chanting slogans and displaying symbols that were widely seen as supportive of Hamas or hostile to Israel.

Additionally, while many Western nations have suspended funding of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Norway has insisted on continuing its financial support, despite findings of UNRWA’s complicity with Hamas and revelations by the United Nations itself that some of its staff participated in the Oct. 7 massacre and kidnapping of civilians in southern Israeli communities.

To add more fuel to the fire of Norwegian insensitivity, the Norwegian foreign ministry advised Norway’s King Harald V against sending official condolences to Israel and the victims of the terror attacks post-Oct. 7, citing the “political nature of the conflict.” It was a decision that caused controversy and was viewed by the Norwegian Jewish community as a second “betrayal,” the first being during World War II and the Holocaust.

Whether it is appeasement of Islamic groups or outright antisemitism, the behavior of Norway’s government is disgraceful. The leadership panders to terror while exhibiting hostility to a fellow democracy it owes a moral debt to in light of its Holocaust-related history.


Knesset approves law to mark immigration story of Moroccan Jews
The Knesset passed a bill on Wednesday to mark the immigration of Moroccan Jews to the State of Israel and to commemorate those who perished on the way, Hebrew media reported.

The proposal, submitted by Shas Party chairman and lawmaker Yinon Azulai, stipulates that a special national day will be observed annually on the 23rd of Tevet, which usually falls in mid-to-late January.

Knesset Member Aryeh Deri of the Shas Party hailed the parliament’s approval. “This is an important day and the closing of a circle for the proud Moroccan community. The time has come for the State of Israel to remember and honor our dear parents and grandparents, who risked their lives to immigrate to the Land of Israel and to continue there the traditions and heritage of their ancestral home,” he said.

He later on added on X that he was “proud and delighted” that the motion had passed.

The date of commemoration marks the sinking of the ship Egoz on Jan. 11, 1961, whose 44 Jewish passengers from Morocco—half of whom were children—had drowned.




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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2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

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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