Monday, March 23, 2026

03/22 Links: Netanyahu: Iran a threat to entire world; Over 4,500 injured in Israel since start of ‘Operation Roaring Lion’; BBC News and the Tale of Two Hospital Explosions

From Ian:

John Spencer: The rise of the ‘leadership first’ strike — and why it’s so important in warfare
The Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz described war as a contest of wills between political communities. His framework assumed friction, uncertainty, and resilient command structures under pressure.

What he did not imagine was a world in which the senior political and military leadership directing a war might be physically targeted in the opening minutes of conflict through integrated intelligence and precision strike.

The objective of these strikes is not simply destruction. It is a disruption.

For decades, opening strikes focused on suppressing air defenses, destroying aircraft on the ground, and degrading infrastructure. The goal was to weaken an enemy’s military capacity.

Today, some states are experimenting with something different: targeting the leadership directing the war itself.

That possibility introduces a new dimension to deterrence.

If adversaries believe their political and military leadership could be struck in the opening phase of a conflict, the personal risks of initiating war change. Deterrence has traditionally relied on threatening damage to territory, forces, or infrastructure. Leadership vulnerability adds another layer to that calculation.

This capability is not omnipotent. Intelligence can fail. Targets can escape. Succession structures can absorb the loss of leaders.

But the increasing ability to locate and strike senior leadership rapidly at the outset of conflict represents an important shift in how wars may begin.

For centuries, eliminating a supreme leader was usually the end of a war.

In the emerging character of modern conflict, it may sometimes become the opening move.
To Fulfill Iran War's Objectives, More Time Is Required
The regime in Iran continues to function and fight, largely because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has effectively taken control of the state and is directing the war effort.

Both Israel and the U.S. seek to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, ideally permanently, and to deny it the ability to develop and produce ballistic missiles and drones in quantities and sophistication that no defense system could counter. These are the two existential threats the war is meant to eliminate, at least for years, even if the current regime survives.

Israel is acting across multiple channels to create conditions in which the Iranian people will want and be able to take control of their fate. Efforts to weaken the regime include targeted strikes against security officials and political leaders, and attacks on Basij and Revolutionary Guard facilities.

Israeli officials report results including defections, particularly among Basij members. At the same time, efforts are underway to organize opposition groups and encourage public protests. According to informed sources, these efforts are beginning to bear fruit.

Iran has learned lessons from previous confrontations and prepared well for the current war. It dispersed its military assets geographically and granted local commanders authority to act based on pre-set directives. It moved critical assets underground, including nuclear laboratories, ballistic missiles and launchers, drones, and even fast attack boats. Iran also divided the country into 31 ballistic missile commands, each with independent launch authority. Iran has also moved much of its nuclear weapons program infrastructure underground.

Israel is targeting Iran's missile, launcher, and drone production infrastructure spread across the country. The air force will likely need at least two more weeks to achieve a satisfactory level of damage. Meanwhile, interception rates by Israel's air defense systems have risen from over 85% to more than 90%.

In both Iran and Lebanon, significant achievements have already been made. But for the war's objectives to be largely fulfilled and for those gains to endure for years, more time is required.
Iran Believes It's Winning and Wants a Steep Price to End the War
Three weeks into the war, the Iranian regime is signaling that it believes it is winning and has the power to impose a settlement on Washington that entrenches Tehran's dominance of Middle East energy resources for decades to come.

Despite optimistic U.S. and Israeli pronouncements, Iran has retained the ability to fire dozens of ballistic missiles, and many more drones, every day across the Middle East. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf's chokepoint, remains only possible with Iranian permission. Surging oil and gas prices are exacting growing pain on economies worldwide.

Tehran has pledged that it will agree to a ceasefire only if Washington and the Gulf states pay a steep price. The spokesman of the Iranian Parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said any talks with the U.S. are off the agenda as Tehran "focuses on punishing the aggressors."

"This hubris is dangerous because they are not smart enough to understand that President Trump will never let them win. They don't understand how far he's willing to go," said Jason Greenblatt, who served as the White House special envoy for the Middle East. "The cost of not taking care of the problem will be many times more expensive over many, many years."

Demands voiced by Iranian leaders in recent days as conditions for ending the war include massive reparations from the U.S. and its allies and the expulsion of American military forces from the region. They have also called for transforming the Strait of Hormuz - an international waterway where free navigation is guaranteed under international law - into an Iranian toll booth controlling 1/3 of the world's shipborne crude oil. It is hard to imagine the U.S. - or the Gulf states - accepting such an arrangement.


Netanyahu: Iran a threat to entire world
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused the Iranian regime of endangering the world, following a wave of missile attacks he said targeted civilians and holy sites in Israel.

Speaking at the site of a missile strike in the southern city of Arad, the premier said: “In the last 48 hours, Iran targeted a civilian area. They’re doing that as a mass murder weapon. Luckily, no one was killed, but that’s due to luck, not their intention. Their intention is to murder civilians.”

Later, at the impact site in Dimona, Netanyahu repeated the warning, saying that while buildings can be rebuilt, lives cannot, and urging Israelis to follow Home Front Command orders.

“I’m here in Dimona with Mayor Benny Biton, and I see exactly what I saw in Arad and since the beginning of the war. Whoever hears a warning or a siren and enters a protected space, or a safe room, or a shelter—nothing happens to them,” Netanyahu said. “There was one exceptional case where a missile hit directly on an old bomb shelter; two people were killed, but everyone else was saved. Since then, anyone who’s been in a safe room or protected space—nothing happens to them.”

More than 115 people were wounded Saturday night in Iranian missile strikes on Arad and Dimona.

Netanyahu said in Arad that the Iranian regime had fired on Jerusalem, hitting sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

“That’s 4,000 kilometers. I’ve been warning all the time. They now have the capacity to reach deep into Europe. They already have fired on European countries—Cyprus. They are putting everyone in their sights,” Netanyahu said, adding that the regime is “stopping a maritime international route, an energy route, and trying to blackmail the entire world,” referring to the Strait of Hormuz.

“This regime threatens the entire world and must be stopped,” he continued, adding that Israel and the United States are coordinating efforts against Tehran and calling on other nations to join them.


Sa’ar slams German amb. in public clash
A sharp public diplomatic clash broke out on Sunday between Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert after the ambassador grouped Hezbollah and Iranian attacks on Israel with violence by Israeli settlers in Palestinian villages in a post to X/Twitter.

“A day of outrage and sadness: a farmer killed by Hezbollah up north, hundreds injured by Iran‘s missiles in the South and Center. And in a parallel reality: the violent settler rampage in Palestinian villages following the tragic and to be investigated death of one of their own," Seibert wrote in his post.

Seibert’s post came after two deadly weekend incidents. In the north, Ofer “Pushko” Moskovitz, an avocado farmer and spokesman for Kibbutz Misgav Am, was killed in a Hezbollah attack. Yehuda Shmuel Sherman, 18, from Elon Moreh, lost his life in a car-ramming attack near Homesh in the West Bank, while his brother sustained injuries.

Sa’ar responded publicly on X, slamming Seibert for equating the two.

“Ambassador Seibert finds it very difficult to condemn attacks against Israelis without bringing up the Palestinians," he wrote. "His obsession with Jews living in Judea and Samaria prevents him from even condemning the death of a Jew caused by a Palestinian."

"Good to know that a new ambassador will soon arrive, one who will strengthen Israel-Germany relations.”

The final line was especially striking in tone, given Germany’s status as one of Israel’s central European allies during the current war with Iran. Earlier this month, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited Israel and publicly emphasized Berlin’s support for Israel as the conflict continued.


Iran targets civilians out of desperation, CENTCOM chief Cooper tells anti-regime outlet
Iran has increased its targeting of civilian sites across the Middle East out of "desperation," US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Admiral Brad Cooper told London-based anti-regime outlet Iran International on Sunday.

"They're operating in a sign of desperation... In the last couple of weeks, they've attacked civilian targets very deliberately, more than 300 times," Cooper said, noting that Iran's military capabilities have deteriorated since operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury began on February 28.

The strain on the regime has forced it to reduce the volume of attacks on its neighbors and Israel, Cooper said.

"At the beginning of the conflict, you saw large volumes in the dozens of drones and missiles. You no longer see that. It's all one or two at a time," he told Iran International's Samira Gharaei.

The US and its allies are working to secure shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, Cooper said.

In order to do so, the militaries have been weakening Iran's naval capabilities, including sinking or severely damaging approximately 140 vessels since the operation began, he told the outlet.

"The Strait of Hormuz is physically open to transit. The reason ships are not transiting right now is because the Islamic Republic is shooting at them with drones and missiles," Cooper told Iran International.

US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the US could strike Iran's power plants within 48 hours if the strait is not fully opened.


Revealed: Iran Came Close to Assassinating Senior Israeli Officials
Three weeks before Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli intelligence received information that Hizbullah, at Iran's direction, was planning to assassinate former Israeli Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon.

On Sep. 15, 2023, Ya'alon was planning to participate in a charity bike ride in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, as he had been doing for years. But before dawn, Israel Security Agency operatives told him he was not to leave the house.

At 6:30 a.m. a powerful Claymore-type explosive device detonated in Yarkon Park, planted beneath a tree on Ya'alon's planned riding route. Only by sheer luck was no one hurt.

With the help of security cameras, the ISA traced those who had planted the bomb and arrested them that same day.

The investigation found a skilled and well-equipped terrorist cell had been operating inside Israel, headed by Ibrahim Makhoul, an Israeli citizen, recruited by Hizbullah in an operation directed by figures in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It later became clear that the same terrorist network had planned to assassinate another former senior security figure using an additional Claymore device, someone who held one of Ya'alon's former positions.


Greek Patriot Air Defense System Intercepts Iranian Missiles in Saudi Arabia
A Greek-operated Patriot air defense system intercepted two Iranian missiles targeting oil refineries in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Greece's Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said.

Greece has deployed a Patriot air defense battery, operated by Greek personnel, in Saudi Arabia since 2021 under an agreement to help protect the kingdom's energy infrastructure.
IDF strikes Syrian regime sites in defense of Druze
The Israel Defense Forces overnight on Thursday struck Syrian regime targets, responding to attacks against the Druze minority in the As-Suwayda region, the military said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the strikes were a warning that Jerusalem “will not stand by and will not allow anyone to harm the Druze under the cover of our war against the Iranian terrorist regime and against the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.”

“If necessary, we will strike with even greater force. The prime minister and I have made it clear and issued a warning: anyone who harms the Druze in Syria—brothers of our Druze brothers in Israel—will be harmed,” he said.

“We will continue to act with determination and strength across all fronts to protect our allies and ensure the security of Israel,” according to Katz.

The military said it struck a command center and weapons depots located inside military compounds belonging to the Syrian regime in the country’s south.

“The IDF will not tolerate harm towards the Druze population in Syria and will continue to operate to defend them,” it stated. “The IDF continues to monitor developments in southern Syria and will operate in accordance with directives from the political echelon.”

The latest Israeli military action in Syria came amid renewed violence in the predominantly Druze province in southern Syria, where clashes between government forces and local armed groups again have intensified in recent days, reportedly after a group of Druze militiamen attempted to enter regime-held territories.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that while Jerusalem remains ready to negotiate a new security agreement with the Syrian regime, it will “stand by its principles” to prevent a repeat of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Israel orders all Litani River bridges destroyed to hem in Hezbollah
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, after an assessment of the situation in Lebanon with top-ranking Israel Defense Forces staff on Sunday, said he and the prime minister have ordered the IDF to “immediately destroy all the bridges over the Litani river” to prevent the movement of Hezbollah terrorists and weapons to the south.

On March 18, the IDF destroyed two bridges over the Litani after destroying one on March 13, reportedly the first targeting of Lebanese state-owned infrastructure since the start of hostilities.

Katz also ordered the IDF to speed up the destruction of homes in southern Lebanese villages to eliminate terrorist infrastructure, following a similar model used by the Israeli army in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip.

“The IDF continues its ground maneuver in Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah terrorists and reach the anti-tank [firing line] ... in order to protect the settlements,” he added.

On Sunday, Hezbollah hit a car in Misgav Am, a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee, with an anti-tank missile, killing one Israeli. Misgav Am is located directly on the border with southern Lebanon. Anti-tank guided missiles have an effective range of 2.5 to 5.5 kilometers (1.5 to 3.1 miles).

“We are determined not to allow the pre-Oct. 7 reality to return,” said Katz. “We promised to protect the residents of the north, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“The IDF will continue to allow the evacuation of residents of southern Lebanon north to the Litani River from the war zone for their protection,” he added. The IDF ordered all Lebanese residents south of the Litani to move north on March 4. An estimated 1 million Lebanese have been displaced to date due to the fighting.


Over 4,500 injured in Israel since start of ‘Operation Roaring Lion’
A total of 4,564 people have been evacuated to hospitals since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion” against Iran on Feb. 28, Israel’s Health Ministry said on Sunday morning.

As of 7 a.m., 124 remained hospitalized—one in critical, 13 in serious, 26 in moderate and 84 in good condition, according to the ministry.

Over the past 24 hours, hospitals received newly 300 newly injured people. Eight were listed as being in serious condition, 29 were moderately wounded and 256 sustained light injuries, with one under medical evaluation.

Iranian ballistic missiles struck the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad on Saturday night, injuring 115, including 12 with serious injuries.

On Sunday morning, one person was killed when the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon targeted Israel’s Galilee Panhandle.

After speaking with the mayors of Dimona, Arad and Rishon Letzion—where an Iranian cluster munition damaged eight sites, including a closed kindergarten, without causing injuries—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night reiterated the importance of entering bomb shelters in accordance with the instructions of the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command.

“We are determined to continue striking our enemies on all fronts,” said Netanyahu, calling it “a very difficult evening in the campaign for our future.”
Israeli Medics Confront Cluster Warheads
Chaim Rafalowski, disaster management coordinator of Magen David Adom, described the new operational reality Israeli emergency responders face from Iranian missiles carrying cluster warheads, which disperse multiple smaller bombs over a large geographical area. Instead of responding to one impact site, emergency teams may suddenly face incidents scattered across neighborhoods and towns.

"They spread over about 10 km.," Rafalowski said. "One such missile will give us...10, 12 scenes where the cluster bombs landed and exploded." For emergency services, that means dividing personnel, ambulances, and equipment across numerous locations at once. Bomblets that fail to detonate immediately can explode later. "It's a great safety issue for our personnel because they might step on something that could explode."

For emergency workers, the alarms that sound are a call to action. Many MDA volunteers keep ambulances at home and respond directly from their neighborhoods. "When the alarm goes off, they put their family in the shelter...they put on their helmet, their flak jacket, and wait for the dispatcher to call them."


Missiles from Iran injure 15 in Tel Aviv
Fifteen people were wounded in Tel Aviv on Sunday when fragments from intercepted Iranian missiles fell across the city, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.

The injured included a 53-year-old man who suffered moderate wounds and was listed in satisfactory condition at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center’s Ichilov Hospital, and 14 others who suffered light injuries and were reported in good condition. All were evacuated to Ichilov or to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.

Police, border police and bomb disposal units worked to secure multiple impact sites, the Israel Police said.

Police said personnel were isolating the areas where the fragments hit.

Magen David Adom said its medics and paramedics “have been dispatched to search areas where reports were received, as well as to assist people who were injured while making their way to bomb shelters.”

Search and rescue teams were operating for hours at impact sites in central Israel, alongside emergency services, the military said. The Home Front Command urged the public to avoid gathering in the area and to follow emergency instructions.

Channel 12 News reported that an impact was identified on the Ayalon Highway, near Habima Square and in the Kerem HaTeimanim neighborhood, with traffic disruptions on the busy thoroughfare in central Tel Aviv caused by a fragment that fell on the highway.

Additional strikes were reported in Petach Tikvah, Ramat Gan and Givatayim, though no injuries were noted there. A vehicle was struck at one of the sites.


Allegations against ICC war crimes prosecutor still under review despite report he was cleared
Allegations of sexual misconduct against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court are still under review by the court's executive branch, an internal memo shared with staff on Sunday said, after a media report that he had been exonerated.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who investigates war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, has stepped aside temporarily pending an investigation into accusations of a non-consensual sexual relationship with a lawyer in his office. He rejects allegations of wrongdoing.

After a year-long investigation, the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services submitted its confidential fact-finding report in December to the ICC's executive branch, known as the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties.

A news report in the Middle East Eye on Saturday said Khan had been cleared of the allegations.

But in a memo to court staff, which Reuters reviewed, the Assembly's President Paivi Kaukoranta said: "The disciplinary process before the Bureau is ongoing and remains confidential. No decisions have been taken, and no weight should be given to recent media speculation."

The court, the office of the prosecutor, the Assembly, and external lawyers representing Khan did not respond to emails seeking comment, which were sent on Sunday outside of normal working hours.


David Collier: BBC News and the Tale of Two Hospital Explosions
Everyone remembers the story.

On 17 October 2023, reports emerged of an explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Within minutes, claims of an Israeli airstrike killing hundreds spread around the world. The BBC was central to that coverage, giving the story sustained prominence and leading with it for days.

The truth began to emerge quickly. The explosion was caused by a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket, which landed in a car park rather than the hospital itself. The number of fatalities was significantly lower than first reported. But by then, the original narrative had already taken hold, and several outlets, including the BBC, were reluctant to let it go.

The BBC’s reporting drew widespread criticism and serious allegations of bias. Yet in the absence of a comparable event, its coverage could still be framed as a one-off failure.

That is no longer the case.

On 16 March 2026, an apparent Pakistani airstrike devastated a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul. Early reports were strikingly familiar: a hospital hit, claims of hundreds dead, and attribution to an airstrike – swiftly denied by the air force accused.

These similarities created a rare opportunity. A near like-for-like test of how the BBC responds to such events.

The comparison is revealing. And it is deeply troubling.

Exhibit A, The Al-Ahli Explosion
On 17 October 2023, as news of the explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital spread, BBC News rushed to present it as an unfolding “live” story. The initial headline was bold and unequivocal: “hundreds killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital”

Exhibit B, the Kabul Strike
Now compare that with the explosion at the hospital in Kabul.

On 16 March 2026, an explosion ripped through a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul (sometimes identified as “Amed”). As with Al-Ahli, local officials were initially claiming that hundreds had been killed. Yet the BBC headline reduced this to “dozens killed.” That figure is not clearly attributed within the article, leaving it unclear whether the editorial team were given it or determined it internally.

The headline also fails to identify Pakistan as the state accused of carrying out the strike, and reduces the medical facility to a “rehab centre,” a characterisation that sits uneasily with the BBC’s own reporting. In 2023, BBC journalists visited the same site and described it plainly as a hospital. There was no ambiguity there.

Below the BBC’s headline, I have included contemporaneous reporting from the Financial Times, CNN, The Independent, and The Guardian, to illustrate just how far out of alignment the BBC’s framing was:
NYC first lady created artwork for DSA’s anti-Israel campaign
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife was deeply involved in a democratic socialist activist campaign pushing political candidates critical of Israel and backing a controversial bill targeting pro-Israel charities, The Post has learned.

First lady Rama Duwaji, who Mamdani has bizarrely claimed isn’t a public figure, created artwork for the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America as the lefty group unleashed a public campaign called “PalestineOnTheBallot.com.”

The effort promoted candidates running in Democratic Party primaries who snubbed funding from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and vowed to support the Not on Our Dime Act — a bill that would punish or dissolve registered charities found to support “Israeli settler violence.”

The bill was sponsored by her husband, who was then a state Assemblyman.

Duwaji, a professional illustrator, provided graphics for the DSA’s “PalestineOnTheBallot.com” effort, The Post has learned.

“The Democratic primary is on June 25 and Palestine is on the Ballot, even for your NY State Reps,” the animated message on TikTok and Instagram for the DSA said.

“Are your New York Reps pro-ceasefire? Do they want to end subsidies for Israeli war crimes? Are they taking money from AIPAC of NY?”

The animation shows a ballot, where voters can plug in their address to see where their elected officials stand on the Palestinian-Israeli war in Gaza, along with illustrations of voters.

“Go to Palestine.com to see where they stand. Then, make your voting plan and get out the vote for pro-Palestinian socialists who need your support,” the pitch said.

“Animation by Rama Duwaji.”

The PalestineOnTheBallot.com website also called on supporters to volunteer for ex-Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s failed re-election campaign. A foe of Israel, Bowman was trounced in the Democratic primary by George Latimer.
Jubilee: Would Jesus Support Donald Trump? | Roundtable
00:00 Intro
00:34 Trump vs. Iran
14:51 Religious Identity
34:07 Uncontrolled Migration
47:22 James Talarico
01:02:07 America & Israel
01:16:07 47% of Americans




Australian premier booed at Sydney mosque for Israel stance
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was heckled by Muslim worshippers during a visit to Lakemba Mosque in Sydney for Eid prayers on Friday morning.

Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who also serves as minister for immigration and citizenship, were invited to the celebration marking the end of Ramadan by the Lebanese Muslim Association.

An attendee accused the pair of “supporting genocide,” as others repeatedly shouted “Boo” and “Get out of here,” the BBC reported.

A man was seen on video tackled to the ground by a security guard and escorted outside, after which he was released without charge, the Australian Associated Press reported.

“We understand that emotions are high, particularly given the ongoing suffering in Gaza and the devastation in Lebanon,” the Lebanese Muslim Association said later in a statement, per the BBC.

“These are not distant issues for our community. But we also need to be clear. Choosing to engage with the elected leadership of this country is not a betrayal of those concerns. It is how we give them a voice,” the association added.

After the event, Albanese described the mosque atmosphere as “incredibly positive,” adding that “if you got a couple of people heckling in a crowd of 30,000, that should be put in that perspective,” according to Sky News.

Fears within the Jewish community have risen in Australia since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which culminated in the Bondi Beach mass shooting attack by a Muslim father and son at a Chanukah candle lighting event on Dec. 14, 2025, claiming 15 lives.

While Jewish groups have criticized the Australian government for doing too little to guarantee their safety, the Muslim community has also expressed its dissatisfaction after the outlawing of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group that calls for a single Islamic government across the Muslim world and to implement Sharia law globally.
‘He has learned nothing’: Albanese’s ambush at Sydney mosque analysed
Sky News host James Macpherson reacts to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visiting a mosque in Western Sydney on Friday morning.

“Some of his Muslim friends don’t think he’s half as great as he thinks he is,” Mr Macpherson said.

“If Anthony Albanese walks away from Friday thinking it was merely bad luck … then he has learned precisely nothing.

“This was a meeting that went exactly as intended.”


Why is Tucker Carlson Whitewashing this Fascist?

Former US counterterror chief Kent insists on Israel's influence in US-Iran war in WaPo interview
After announcing his exit from the Trump administration, Kent was subjected to criticism by officials over his stance against the war.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Kent's resignation letter "had many false claims," while she also called Kent's statements about Israel and its influence on Trump's decisions "absurd."

US Senator Ted Cruz blasted Kent, along with several other members of his party, and right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson, for their lack of support for US Operation Epic Fury in a Wednesday interview.

"If any official in the administration disagrees with the national security policies of the president, he or she should resign," Cruz said about Kent's resignation.

Additionally, Semafor reported on Wednesday that Kent is under an FBI investigation for allegedly leaking classified information.

The investigation pre-dates his departure as the head of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday, Semafor added. The FBI declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

A source also corroborated the report to NBC News.


San Francisco paper refers to civil rights nonprofit, with which Berkeley settled Jew-hatred suit, as ‘Zionist org’
The San Francisco Chronicle is drawing criticism, and a “community note” clarification on the social network X, after it reported that University of California-Berkeley had settled a Jew-hatred lawsuit not with a civil rights nonprofit, but with a “Zionist organization.”

“UC Berkeley has settled a Zionist organization’s lawsuit by agreeing to instruct students, faculty and staff on the dangers of antisemitism and to pay $1 million to cover the group’s legal fees and costs,” the paper reported in its news section. “But the settlement does not appear to have accomplished the suit’s main goal: requiring student groups to allow Zionists, who define Israel as a Jewish state, to speak at their meetings.”

Gabe Stutman, news editor at the J. The Jewish News of Northern California, called attention to the article.

Nowhere on the “about” page of the website of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which settled the suit with Berkeley, do the words “Israel” or “Zionist” appear.

It identifies as an “independent, unaffiliated, nonprofit corporation established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all” which “engages in research and legal advocacy to combat the resurgence of antisemitism on college and university campuses, in the workplace and elsewhere.”

The center “empowers students by training them to understand their legal rights and educates administrators and employers on best practices to combat racism and antisemitism,” it says.

Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center, told JNS that “we understand that those who characterize us that way, rather than as the civil rights organization we are, generally aim to marginalize us or undermine our efforts.”

“However, we are proud of that characterization, even if it is not the direct focus of our mission,” Marcus told JNS. “Our mission is to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and to promote justice for all.”


ADL expert warns of growing online antisemitism fueled by AI and gaming platforms
When the Anti-Defamation League’s Oren Segal visits Massachusetts next week, he plans to deliver a clear warning about how rapidly evolving technologies are transforming the spread of antisemitism and extremism.

Segal, the ADL’s senior vice president of counter-extremism & intelligence, will be the keynote speaker at the group’s event in Auburndale on March 26 honoring its community partners, “Standing Together: Combating Antisemitism, Extremism, and Emerging Threats in AI and Online.”

Segal said the details of his talk will depend on events unfolding in the days ahead. But the core message is already clear: AI tools, social media platforms, and gaming ecosystems have become powerful engines for amplifying antisemitic content and disinformation.

“Technology is literally transforming how antisemitism is spreading,” Segal said during a recent interview. He said artificial intelligence does not merely mirror existing bias; it can “amplify it at scale,” reaching audiences faster and in more insidious ways than traditional channels.

Segal said these dynamics are especially visible in the context of the current war involving Iran, where conspiracy theories and age-old antisemitic tropes are being repackaged and pushed online to global audiences.

According to ADL’s monitoring, users on major social media platforms are only “a couple of clicks or swipes away” from content tying the conflict to unrelated scandals such as the Epstein files, or invoking classic antisemitic myths about Jewish control, greed, and bloodlust. These narratives, he said, are finding “modern vehicles and modern tools” that give them unprecedented reach.

Segal believes many ordinary users underestimate how pervasive such content has become in their feeds. He said people are being “inundated with disinformation, if not outright antisemitism,” often without realizing how coordinated or widespread it is.

Compounding the problem is the rise of generative AI, which enables the creation of convincing but entirely fabricated images and videos. Segal pointed to AI-generated clips that purport to show massive bombardments of Tel Aviv or other locations, including imagery of the city under a mushroom cloud – events that never occurred.

He said the proliferation of fabricated war footage creates a “double crisis:” not only do false depictions inflame tensions and spread hatred, they also cause viewers to doubt authentic evidence of real atrocities. “When there’s so much false information out there, it makes people question anything they’re seeing, even the real stuff,” he said.

Segal reserves some of his strongest concerns for gaming platforms and adjacent online ecosystems, where younger users spend significant amounts of time.

He cited an ADL report on Steam, one of the world’s largest online gaming and social platforms, which identified millions of pieces of antisemitic or extremist content. According to the report, users routinely employ avatars and profile images to display Nazi symbols, terrorist organization logos, or images of past antisemitic mass shooters.


‘Wild antisemitic scrawls’: Margate exhibition featuring ‘Nazi imagery’ slammed
Drawings at an art gallery in Thanet in Kent have been accused of featuring imagery that is antisemitic and Israel’s representative to the UK has called for the authorities to intervene.

JC writer and Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel posted on social media following her visit to Matthew Collings’ Drawings Against Genocide at the Joseph Wales Studios in Margate that she was “shocked by the use of Nazi imagery – the room is full of the Star of David pasted around figures meant to be Israelis and the Jewish ‘lobby’ spewing blood”.

In her post on X in which she shared some of the images, Strimpel said she confronted Collings, claiming that he dismissed her concerns, accusing her of “repeating ‘hasbarah talking points’ because ‘you’re defending a genocide’” and equated Israel with the Nazis.”

Images in the exhibition include one of a smiling IDF soldier, with a Star of David in between their legs, standing over what appear to be a pool of blood and a human skull. The caption “New order forever now” featured several more skulls and a pool of blood.

A different image cast doubt on Hamas’ sexual violence against Israelis on October 7, saying prominently: “No evidence that sexual violence was used on October 7”, despite testimony from survivors and a report by the Dinah project, partly funded by the British government, found that it was “widespread and systematic”, with gang rape occurring in at least six separate locations in southern Israel.


USPS worker charged with felony, misdemeanors for allegedly attacking 4–year–old near Monsey
The Town of Ramapo Police Department said on Saturday that it was adding a felony charge, attempted second-degree assault, to the two misdemeanors with with it charged Gabriel Stan, 39, a U.S. Postal Service worker who allegedly shoved a 4-year-old Jewish boy to the ground in the heavily Jewish area, near Monsey, N.Y., at around 6:25 p.m. on March 19.

“I have viewed the video depicting an incident involving a physical attack on a small child. The content of this video is very disturbing,” stated Michael Specht, supervisor of the Ramapo Town Council, on Friday. “Ramapo Police have treated this matter with extreme seriousness and have now arrested the suspect.”

The Monsey Scoop originally shared the footage. It referred to the site of the alleged attack as Monsey. The police department said it took place in the “Viola section of the Town of Ramapo,” which is near Monsey.

The press release from the police department on Saturday stated that the felony charges were added “due to the ages of the victim and the suspect (suspect over 18-years-old and victim under 7-years-old).”

Video footage appears to show the mailman, who works for the independent federal agency, shove an Orthodox boy to the ground, after the latter walked on the sidewalk near where the USPS van was parked. The boy stands up immediately, picks up his fallen yarmulke and walks away.


Ask Haviv Anything: 100: They escaped Europe — then parachuted back in, with Matti Friedman
In 1944, as the gears of the Holocaust turned toward Hungary, 32 young Jewish volunteers did the unthinkable: they parachuted into the genocide. They were a motley bunch, including a celebrated poet and a nearsighted 40-year-old pacifist. They were sent by the British to rescue downed pilots and by the Zionist leadership to save Jews. They stood almost no chance of success, and by every military metric, they failed. They organized no uprisings; they liberated no camps. Yet, as Matti Friedman reveals in his riveting new book Out of the Sky (https://www.amazon.com/Out-Sky-Untold..., their mission was never really about military tactics. It was about story-telling. They set out to show that even in the 20th century's deepest, darkest valley of death, a Jew must still strike a match. To prove that the Jewish people were no longer mere victims of history, but authors of it.

Their fame in today's Israel suggests that in that, at least, they were successful.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Mati Friedman's New Book
02:54 The Historical Context of the Yishuv and WWII
05:51 The Desperation of the Jewish Community
08:51 The Paratroopers' Mission and British Attitudes
11:59 Chaim's Journey and the Complexity of the Mission
15:19 The Ironies of the Paratroopers' Objectives
18:01 The Power of Storytelling in Zionism
20:56 The Philosophical Implications of Narratives
24:19 The Dual Mission: Personal and Military
27:22 Chana Senesh: A Poetic Heroine's Journey
32:17 The Capture and Fate of Chana Senesh
34:32 The Paratroopers' Disillusionment
38:47 Zionism: A Tragic Necessity
42:04 Heroism in the Face of Despair






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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