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Friday, November 06, 2026

11/06 Links Pt1: Holocaust survivor dies from Bondi Beach terror attack injuries, raising toll to 16; The fashionable one-state ruse to destroy the only Jewish state

From Ian:

The fashionable one-state ruse to destroy the only Jewish state
After the Green Party adopted its policy that “Zionism is racism”, Prime Minister Andy Burnham correctly, if belatedly, labelled this “antisemitic”, telling Labour councillors to end power-sharing agreements with Green colleagues who do not reject it. With his customary courage in leadership, the Greens’ Zack Polanski attempted to duck the issue entirely, dodging his own conference to lose the contest for Sir Keir Starmer’s former parliamentary seat, then saying he would have voted against the “imperfect” motion. One is reminded of Brave Sir Robin, from the film Monty Python And The Holy Grail – he who nearly fought the fierce dragon of Angnor, and almost stood up to the vicious chicken of Bristol: “When danger reared its ugly head/He bravely turned his tail and fled”.

Identifying as an anti-racist sits at the core of any Good Person™’s self-image. So too, lately, does a monomaniacal, existential loathing of Israel. This creates an irreconcilable dichotomy, because as every Good Person™ knows, antisemitism is bad – in theory. One must be seen to oppose it, or at least make generic noises to that effect, while avoiding any awkward specifics. But how, then, to advocate for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish majority state?

Enter the fashionable ruse, deployed in the Green motion, of the one-state solution. Simply place the Jews and Palestinians together, in one big, happy democracy. Why, it’s so obvious, it’s a wonder they’ve wasted all these decades attempting anything else. Surely the only thing that has been prolonging the conflict is not furious rejection on the Palestinian side of any continuing Jewish presence in the region, including that the majority of Israeli Jews descended from families ethnically cleansed from the Arab and Muslim world since the Second World War. Nor the poisonous Islamist adoption of Nazi-brand antisemitism. Nor the reciprocal hostility that has undeniably arisen in Israel, feeding the ultra-nationalist Right. No, it’s just that the silly things haven’t tried living in Kumbaya-flavoured unity.

One wonders whether the One-State Solutionists would be so keen on the idea if (a) Jews in this putative federation would likely outnumber Palestinians, rather than vice-versa; and (b) Israel was actually, not purportedly, genocidal towards its antagonists – rather than vice-versa. And when I say one wonders, I mean one does not wonder at all.

Israel exists precisely because Jews can’t trust a non-Jewish majority to protect them, and as evidenced by Hamas’s 2023 pogrom, the only reason a real genocide isn’t happening right now is that Israel has borders and a military.

The one-state solution is a classic example of the abstract utopianism long indulged in by a certain type of leftist, without skin in the game and safely shielded from the consequences, eager to risk catastrophe for others to gratify their own particular ideological fetishes. Call it the Lord Farquaad phenomenon, after the preening princeling from Shrek: “Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.”

Curiously, no prominent One-Stater has proposed the same remedy for the long and lethal quarrels of the Indian subcontinent. Then again, there are no Jews involved. True, some of the loopiest also seem to think a one-state solution is the answer to Russia’s war on Ukraine, but most would be rightly appalled by the notion.

The number of countries in which Arabs constitute the majority or largest plurality – not including Palestine, whose national status remains unresolved – is 18. The number of countries in which the same is true of Muslims is 50. The number of Jewish majority countries: one.
Rowan Dean: Australia’s shameful era of progressive antisemitism
Hallelujah! I opened my newspaper on Friday to read, in black and white, the two words I never thought I would hear any Australian academic or Labor appointee ever dare utter. Two words I have spent the last 15 years of my life writing about, warning about, raging against, and shaking my head in despair about. Two words that have poisoned this country, two words that have torn this country asunder, and two words which have been ignored, mocked and denied.

Progressive antisemitism.

In June 2014, I published an article in The Spectator Australia called Dinner Party Antisemitism in which I warned, quote, how ‘even otherwise intelligent and normal people will often reveal their hatred over a few glasses of wine’.

Dinner party anti-Semitism
I went on to define ‘dinner party antisemitism’ and how to spot it. I wrote: ‘Dinner party antisemitism crosses all political boundaries, age groups, geographical and socio-economic divides, and is just as likely to occur in a trendy inner-city restaurant, at a Western suburbs barbeque or within the elegant confines of a plush North Shore dining room.’

In other words, progressive antisemitism. That was over 12 years ago. And I have often spoken at many functions, on TV shows, in print, at conferences, and, yes, at dinner parties, about how the so-called left-wing progressives – I actually think regressive is a far more accurate description – but those of the so-called intellectual left – there’s another oxymoron for you – the luvvies, the lefties, with their moral posturing and self-assured sanctimony and eagerness to tolerate Islamist and third world antisemitism posed a terrifying threat to this country. Frequently I was laughed at, more often simply ignored, especially when I was on the ABC.

But this morning – finally – Jillian Segal, the antisemitism envoy, has belled the cat, with an updated and damning report into Australian antisemitism, in which she says…
‘Modern, progressive antisemitism is the most pervasive manifestation of antisemitism facing Australia today. It serves to justify and legitimise antisemitism, providing it with intellectual and cultural credibility and, ultimately, making it fashionable. It does this by effectively laundering far-left antisemitism and Islamic extremism through a progressive lens, such as social justice and human rights, together with traditional antisemitic tropes, giving fundamentally extremist ideologies an apparently acceptable face.’

Finally. There you have it folks, from the official Labor-appointed antisemitism envoy. As the Australian newspaper continues…
‘“Progressive antisemitism” has been identified as the most corrosive form of anti-Jewish hate in Australia, under special envoy ­Jillian Segal’s sweeping new ­agenda to drive discrimination and bias against Jews out of universities, the health sector, media, and the arts.’
The Australian prime minister wants to turn down the temperature
For all the talk of lowering the temperature, one word is missing: consequence.

If an Islamist preacher incites violence, the law should respond. If a Marxist activist unlawfully threatens someone, the law should respond. If a far-right agitator does the same, the standard must be identical.

There must be no ideological indulgences or special treatment for fashionable causes.

Australians need confidence that police, prosecutors and governments enforce the law impartially, rather than allowing political pressure to determine which conduct attracts scrutiny. Even the perception of selective enforcement damages trust. Distrust breeds the resentment that political leaders claim they want to reduce.

The horror of the antisemitic Bondi massacre, threats against elected representatives and allegations of attacks on MPs should not be conflated or assigned a common motive. They do, however, underline the importance of protecting citizens and public officials alike.

How many more tragedies or threats will it take before the government demonstrates that public safety matters more than the sensitivities of political movements?

To those who believed the hatred and intimidation of the past three years were merely a Jewish problem, history offers a warning: it never ends with the Jews. Antisemitism is not simply an isolated prejudice. It can be a warning sign that the social rules protecting everyone are weakening.

What a society tolerates risks becoming normalized. What becomes normalized can enter the mainstream. Each outrage makes the next less shocking until behavior once considered unthinkable begins to seem ordinary.

Jewish Australians have warned about the danger of antisemitism masquerading as political activism. Those warnings deserve to be taken seriously not only because Jewish Australians are entitled to safety, but because the principles at stake protect every citizen.

When intimidation is excused as righteous protest, it does not remain confined to one community. A democracy that makes exceptions for hatred undermines the very freedoms it claims to defend.

Albanese is right that Australia needs to turn down the temperature. But temperatures do not fall because a prime minister repeats a phrase at a press conference.

They fall when leaders hold allies and opponents to the same standards, when unlawful threats attract consequences and when Australians can trust the law will be enforced without fear or favor.

If Albanese wants to lead, he could begin by acknowledging that his own political side is not immune from inflammatory rhetoric. He could challenge extremism in movements he sympathizes with, rather than leaving the impression that civility is principally a duty for his opponents.

The prime minister does not need another speech about turning down the temperature. He needs to demonstrate that there are consequences for those who deliberately turn it up. And perhaps, for once, he could lead by example.


Holocaust survivor dies from Bondi Beach terror attack injuries, raising toll to 16
Eva Geller, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor who was seriously wounded in the Bondi Beach terror attack nearly a year ago, died in a Sydney hospital overnight Thursday, raising the death toll from the massacre to 16.

Geller was among dozens wounded when two gunmen opened fire on a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, 2025. Fifteen people were killed in the shooting, which Australian authorities have described as an antisemitic terrorist attack.

Australian-Israeli human-rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky, who survived the attack, mourned Geller’s death on Friday.

“Absolutely devastating,” Ostrovsky wrote on X. “Eva Geller, 90, shot during the Bondi terror attack, has just died, following complications from her injuries, becoming the 16th victim of the massacre. Eva was a HOLOCAUST survivor!

Geller, who fled Romania as a child during the Holocaust, had been in and out of the hospital because of the extensive injuries she suffered in the shooting, according to Australian media.

Rabbi Aron Moss of Nefesh Synagogue in Bondi Beach, which Geller attended, said doctors had initially told her that she would never walk again.

Through determination, however, she managed to walk again and lived to celebrate her 90th birthday, Moss said. Although largely bedridden after the attack, she retained her positive outlook.

Geller had lost many relatives during the Holocaust and later lost her husband at a relatively young age, according to the rabbi.

‘An act of terror and antisemitism’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed condolences to Geller’s family and the Jewish community following her death.

“Eva should have been able to celebrate Chanukah in peace and safety and instead, her life was changed forever by an act of terror and antisemitism,” Albanese said.

New South Wales police said they were aware of Geller’s death and were awaiting further advice while working with the coroner’s office.

Police have said the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, were inspired by Islamic State. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son survived and faces 15 murder charges and a terrorism offense.

The Dec. 14 attack was Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in decades. The New South Wales government has since made a rapid-response police unit permanent, citing the Bondi Beach antisemitic terror attack and an increase in religiously motivated and hate-related offenses.


Gil Hoffman: Think you understand Israel's election? Here are 10 things the world may have missed
Five months ago, I wrote a column called “10 scenarios to prepare for in explaining the election.”

The goal of the column was to educate readers in advance, knowing that our elections could be used for or against Israel in the international court of public opinion.

The facts, of course, may not matter to brainless comedians like Michael Che, who “joked” on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update: “People voted in Israeli elections, which is great to see, regardless if you’re on the Right side, the Left side, or genocide.”

Thankfully, most of the world’s population still has better taste and a better sense of humor than him.

So for them, it’s important to look back at what I recommended back then and offer new explanations of our elections now that the results are in.

The 10 possible outcomes were: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets reelected (still unclear); someone other than Netanyahu comes to power (unclear); National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir doubles his mandates (didn’t happen); not enough Arabs elected (LOL); no party that wins any seats is led by a woman (happened); the IDF draft being a major issue (happened); a massive turnover (happened); elections delayed by all-out war (maybe next one); Netanyahu suffers health setback and quits at the last minute, Joe Biden-style (perhaps in the 2036 race); and multiple elections with no government (still quite likely).

Most of these scenarios will be addressed in the new explanations. But the issue of women not heading any elected slate remains a serious problem.

Former deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel’s Israel First party received a very disappointing 955 votes, the Fair Trial party led by assassin Yigal Amir’s wife and mother won a surprisingly high 774, and the Women’s Voice/Vote party won only 712, perhaps because voters did not understand why it was led by a man.

For the reported 67,000 Israelis who came here to vote and are returning home, and for the rest of us sticking around, here are 10 talking points for explaining our election results to the world.

1. To Bibi or not to Bibi
Netanyahu’s coalition bloc fell from 67 seats to 53. This likely happened because Israelis vote on security and were upset about October 7 and his lack of accountability for the massacre.

Why did he not fall further? Because Israelis vote on security and they saw that their security situation has improved significantly on all fronts. As Netanyahu said when he addressed the UN General Assembly in September in a speech aimed more at readers back home: “Remember the beepers?”

2. 'Apartheid' abandoned
In August, I wrote a column called “The election that buries the apartheid myth.” That was proven correct in retrospect, with the 17 Arabs elected in Arab parties and the two Druze in Zionist parties proving how far away we are from a regime that prevented Blacks from voting.

Israel should be credited for empowering its minorities, and this is the news that Che should really be talking about.

3. No Arab minister ≠ racism
When this is written, it is still unclear whether Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot will seek a minority government that relies on an Arab party (or two, in some way). But it appeared unlikely that there would be an Arab minister, despite the Arab turnout rising from 53.2% in 2022 to an estimated 77%.

It must be explained that this is not because of racism. If a minister could deal only with fighting crime and poverty in the Arab sector, there may be no objection, but when Ra’am was in the coalition, they were relied upon to vote on sensitive security issues. The same would have to happen to back a minority coalition, and the security situation is still too problematic for that.

When interviewed by i24NEWS’ Ariel Oseran live on election night, Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas declined to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization, in what should have been an easy question.

4. You say you want a (half) revolution?
Out of the 120 MKs in the outgoing Knesset, only 61 will be returning. In a sign of a healthy democracy, there will be 47 new members of parliament and a dozen returnees. There were 5,716,665 ballots cast in a country of some 10 million people, of which more than 3 million are too young to vote. The voters took the election seriously.

A surprisingly small number (1,050) cast protest votes for the Pirate Party.

5. The October 7 MKs
The new Knesset will be blessed by plenty of representatives who became household names since October 7. There are family members of hostages: Zvika Mor (Religious Zionist Party), Talik Gvili (Likud), Sharon Sharabi (Yisrael Beytenu).

There are family members of victims: Eisenkot, Shira Shapira (Yashar), Omri Ronen (Democrats); there are war heroes: Yair Golan (Democrats), Noam Tibon (B’Yachad), Elisha Meidan (Likud), Itamar Eitam (Religious Zionist Party).

This will ensure that the massacre and the mistakes that precipitated it will remain on the agenda here. It must remain on the international agenda as well.


Border Police catch driver in haredi disguise
Border Police officers arrested seven Palestinians who were in Israel without permits at the a-Za'ayyem crossing on Thursday after a vehicle carrying the group raised their suspicions.

During the inspection, officers discovered that the driver, who was also in Israel without a permit, had grown pe'ot (sidelocks) and was wearing a kippah and traditional haredi clothing, apparently in an attempt to conceal his identity and avoid detection by security forces.

The arrests took place during a Border Police operation near Jerusalem, where officers spotted the suspicious vehicle and instructed the driver to pull over.

A search of the vehicle revealed six passengers who lacked permits to stay in Israel. A check of the driver's identification showed that he, too, was in the country without authorization.

Authorities suspect that the driver had adopted a haredi appearance to blend into the ultra-Orthodox community, hoping to pass through the crossing without attracting the attention of security personnel.

Seven Palestinians arrested, vehicle seized over illegal modifications
Further inspection revealed that the vehicle had previously been taken off the road and was also being driven illegally. The car, known in Israel as a "mashtuba," was also found to have had its license plates replaced.

Authorities took the seven suspects, residents of the Hebron and Tulkarm areas, into custody and transferred them to the Investigations and Intelligence Division of the Jerusalem Perimeter Border Police for further questioning.


UN appoints Israeli to Independent Audit Advisory Committee
Shay Mizrahi, Deputy Director General and Head of the Local Government Audit Division at the State Comptroller's Office, was appointed on Friday as a member of the United Nations Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC) for a three-year term.

This marks the first time an Israeli has been appointed to the committee, which oversees the organization's auditing mechanisms, risk management, and financial controls.

The IAAC, a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly, is also in charge of advising the General Assembly on transparency, accountability, and the management of UN resources.

Mizrahi ran as a candidate for the position under the UN’s Western Group, which has previously only been represented by American candidates, with the support of Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon and the delegations of friendly countries.

Mizrahi has more than two decades of experience holding senior positions in the State Comptroller's Office. He also served as Israel’s representative on an OECD peer review team, represented the State Comptroller's Office in international forums of supreme audit institutions, and led cooperation initiatives with audit bodies in Europe.


Two missiles struck Iran's Qeshm Island after aircraft heard above
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that initial reports indicated that two missiles had struck Qeshm Island, adding that there was no official information on possible damage.

Tasnim said further details would be released once relevant authorities confirmed the incident.

The state news agency IRNA had earlier reported that local witnesses said two projectiles had struck the Suza area of Qeshm Island in southern Iran after the sound of an aircraft was heard over the island.

Ongoing US, Iran negotiations
On Saturday, Qatar’s International Media Office denied circulating reports that the United States and Iran had failed to reach an agreement to end their war, describing these allegations as false and misleading.

It said the Qatari prime minister had affirmed that both sides continue to work toward an agreement.

The statement added that Qatar’s mediation efforts are ongoing, in close coordination with Washington and Tehran, to support the negotiations.

Hours after the reported explosions, Iran state media reported that it had shot down a US MQ-9 drone over Qeshm Island on Saturday. On Friday, Iranian air defenses destroyed a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media, citing the IRGC, reported on Friday.



 

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