Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, December 05, 2018

12/05 Links Pt1: The mole inside the Hezbollah tunnel; PA TV poem: "The Dark-Eyed [Virgins] yearn for me"; Stop Iran's violations of UNSC resolution 2231

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Israel and the U.S. Have Common Interests in the Middle East

The root of Israel’s enduring significance to the U.S. is found in the fact that the Jewish state shares all of America’s core interests in relation to the region.

The first U.S. core interest in the Middle East is to prevent any competing superpower from taking over. The U.S. does not want China or Russia to supplant it as the preeminent superpower in the region, both because such an event would harm the U.S. economically, and because it would make America’s rivals significantly stronger and the U.S. significantly weaker.

Israel shares this U.S. interest. Israel can develop close ties with both Russia and China on a transactional level based on episodic common interests. But unlike the U.S., Russia and China do not share Israel’s permanent perception of its interests the way the U.S. does.

Along these lines, the second permanent U.S. interest in the Middle East is to prevent local powers from dominating the region, proliferating weapons of mass destruction, or acquiring intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Israel’s acute concern with all of these issues has caused it to develop intelligence agencies second to none in gathering and acting on intelligence relating to all of these issues — not only in Israel, but worldwide. Israel’s Mossad’s seizure of Iran’s nuclear archive in Tehran this past January is a testament to Israel’s capabilities.

The Middle East remains the world’s largest incubator for terrorism and the largest exporter of terrorists. Israel’s unhappy distinction is that it has been fighting these forces since before it was established. The U.S. and Israel share a key interest in destroying terror groups operating in the Middle East to prevent them from attacking in the region and throughout the world.

Israel’s intelligence capabilities have foiled Iranian terror attacks around the world and have exposed Iranian agents engaged in purchasing dual-use technologies to advance Iran’s nuclear work.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar: The mole inside the Hezbollah tunnel

This week, for the first time, Israel made public its discovery of the tunnel constructed by Hezbollah and reaching into Israel's sovereign territory. This brought to an end a long period during which a large number of Israelis living in communities adjacent to the Lebanese border reported hearing sounds of digging as well as feeling tremors in the walls of their homes.

Attack tunnels are intended to allow for significant numbers of armed infantry bearing weapons, artillery and supplies, to traverse them within a minimal time span, avoiding Israeli lookouts and thereby gaining the element of surprise. An underground passage grants attackers protection from Israeli bombs, while it also means that the war begins on the Israeli side of the border, in the midst of areas populated by civilians. That fact allows for sudden forays and kidnapping.

However, the discovery and neutralization of the tunnel that Hezbollah dug into Israel's sovereign territory is a technological, operational and intelligence network accomplishment, for additional reasons:

1. Hezbollah based its plans for future wars on these tunnels. Nasrallah has not made a secret of his plans to take over the Galilee in the next war, but because Hezbollah has no means of air transport, it cannot land sufficient numbers of armed forces in Israeli territory, and the tunnels were intended as the substitute for an airlift. By discovering the first tunnel, Israel has eliminated the immediate use of this strategic method, but the IDF believes there are additional tunnels.

An underground passage grants attackers protection from Israeli bombs, while it also means that the war begins on the Israeli side of the border, in the midst of areas populated by civilians.

2. The discovery of the tunnel has proven to the entire world that Hezbollah is acting in flagrant violation of the Security Council Resolution 1701 which brought the 2006 Second Lebanon War to an end. This resolution forbids Hezbollah any presence in southern Lebanon, but now it has become clear that not only is the terrorist organization in that region, it is also violating Israeli sovereignty. It is obvious once again that UNIFIL has neither the ability nor the interest to carry out the mission it was given by the Security Council and Israel has no reason to assume that the international community will act to ensure its security. This violation of a Security Council decision provides Israel with justification, vis a vis the Israeli public and the world, to attack Hezbollah.

PMW: "The Dark-Eyed [Virgins] yearn for me" - poem on official PA TV

The ideal of dying as a "Martyr" continues to be promoted regularly by the Palestinian Authority and Abbas' Fatah party. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that "Martyrs" have cult-like status in the PA.

Following a recent terror attack in which the terrorist stabbed and wounded 4 Israeli policemen, a host on official PA TV read a poem in the terrorist's honor. The poem glorifies Martyrdom-death in battle and states that the 72 "Dark-Eyed" Virgins in Paradise who the Martyr marries according to Islamic tradition, are "yearning" for the Palestinian Martyr:

Official PA TV host: "About the Jerusalem Martyr Abd Al-Rahman Abu Jamal (terrorist, wounded 4 -Ed.) we say:
I am the Palestinian lion cub
I was planted in my land, like the olive and fig tree
My roots reach Canaan
The blood of the Martyrs flows in my veins,
I am like a lion in the fields [of battle]
If the drums of war call
I harvest the souls in the fields
I guard the Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and the [Dome of the] Rock
My eyes will not close, and my head will not bow
I am the Palestinian lion cub
The armies of treachery fear me
The Dark-Eyed [Virgins] yearn for me
I have not sold my homelands, and have not given up my assault rifle
Today I carry my shrouds, and in my heart my faith strengthens
Because victory and liberation are coming at the hands of the lion cubs
[Official PA TV, Good Morning Jerusalem, Nov. 23, 2018]

It should be noted that the terrorist was 17 years old and that the term "lion cub" repeated in the poem is the name for boys in Fatah's youth club, which is named "Lion Cubs and Flowers." The "lion cubs" - children of similar age or younger than the 17-year-old terrorist who is being honored in the poem and who the Dark-Eyed virgins yearn for - are being urged to kill - to "harvest souls" in the battle field.

A host on official PA TV read a poem which glorifies Martyrdom-death and states that the 72 "Dark-Eyed" Virgins in Paradise who the Martyr marries according to Islamic tradition, are "yearning" for the Palestinian Martyr.
Read more here: https://t.co/hGFoGvPetV pic.twitter.com/xd2AJSefxu
— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) December 5, 2018

Where Was UNIFIL While Hezbollah Was Digging Its Terror Tunnel? (Daled Amos)

by Daled Amos

The IDF provides an aerial photo showing the path of the tunnel that necessitated Israel's Operation Northern Shield:

And where was UNIFIL all this time?
In the image below, the UNIFIL watchtower is indicated by the white circle, just hundreds of meters from where the tunnel ended.

Clearly, Hezbollah is not afraid of UNIFIL.
And why should they be?

On August 30, 2018 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2433 extending the mandate of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon:

Reaffirming its commitment to the full implementation of all provisions of resolution 1701 (2006), and aware of its responsibilities to help secure a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution as envisioned in the resolution

And it goes further, explicitly calling on Israel to support the ceasefire:

4. Reiterates its call for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the principles and elements set out in paragraph 8 of resolution 1701 (2006);

Oddly enough, though, Resolution 2433 which renews the mandate does name Lebanon, but does not mention Hizbollah (UN's spelling).
At all.
Not this year, nor last.

That might seem a bit odd, considering the fact that the Hezbollah attack in 2006 is what made this expanded mandate for the already existing UNIFIL necessary.

Thankfully, Hizbollah is mentioned in Resolution 1701 which created this mandate:

Expressing its utmost concern at the continuing escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and in Israel since Hizbollah’s attack on Israel on 12 July 2006, which has already caused hundreds of deaths and injuries on both sides, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons, [emphasis added]

In his article, Hezbollah Ritually Humiliates the UN, Tony Badran describes just how little Hezbollah terrorists think of UNIFIL, and the UN:

On August 4, following a well-established modus operandi, Hezbollah orchestrated an attack on a UNIFIL patrol in the town of Majdal Zoun, north of Naqoura. “The locals”—a Hezbollah tongue-in-cheek euphemism—spotted the Slovak unit taking pictures and surrounded it and obstructed its path. When the patrol tried to escape, the Hezbollah “locals” attacked it, damaging its vehicles. As the patrol moved on, Hezbollah operatives in nearby villages cut it off again, attacked it, confiscated some of its weapons, its cameras and equipment and set fire to their vehicle near the headquarters of the Italian contingent. Later on, Hezbollah “negotiated” the return of the equipment through the LAF, clarifying precisely the role the LAF plays in Lebanon, that of Hezbollah errand boys.

Still, you would have thought that Hezbollah would have had more respect for UNIFIL.
After all, in the past UNIFIL has a history of being helpful to Hezbollah in their fight against Israel.

During that war in 2006, the "neutral" UNIFIL played a decidedly one-sided game

throughout the recent war, it posted on its website for all to see precise information about the movements of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers and the nature of their weaponry and materiel, even specifying the placement of IDF safety structures within hours of their construction. New information was sometimes only 30 minutes old when it was posted, and never more than 24 hours old.

Meanwhile, UNIFIL posted not a single item of specific intelligence regarding Hezbollah forces. Statements on the order of Hezbollah "fired rockets in large numbers from various locations" and Hezbollah's rockets "were fired in significantly larger numbers from various locations" are as precise as its coverage of the other side ever got.

The cooperation of the UN and UNIFIL with Hezbollah goes even further back:

On October 7, 2000, Hezbollah forces illegally crossed the Israeli border with Lebanon through a UN patrolled area and kidnapped three Israel Defense Force soldiers, Adi Avitan, Binyamin Avraham, and Omar Souad. UNIFIL peacekeepers videotaped the incident; however, the United Nations denied possessing any such videotape for almost nine months. On July 6, 2001, The UN admitted, contrary to their earlier denials, that they had possession of the tape as of 18 hours after the incident occurred.

At the time, David Kopel of The Volokh Conspiracy noted how the UN coverup of the gross negligence by UNIFIL went a long way:

One soldiers (sic) said that the brigade should arrest the Hezbollah, but the brigade did nothing.

According to the Indian soldier, the UNFIL brigade in the area "could have prevented the kidnapping."

"I'm very sorry about what happened, because we saw what happened," he said. Hezbollah "were wearing our uniforms and it was too bad we didnâ€™t stop them."

It appears that at least four of the UNIFIL "peacekeepers," all from India, has received bribes from Hezbollah in order to assist the kidnapping by helping them get to the kidnapping spot and find the Israeli soldiers. Some of the bribery involved alcohol and Lebanese women.

The Indian brigade later had a bitter internal argument, as some members complained that the brigade had betrayed its peacekeeping mandate. An Indian government investigation sternly criticized the brigade's conduct.

There is evidence of far greater payments by Hezbollah to the UNIFIL Indian brigade, including hundreds of thousands of dollars for assistance in the kidnapping and cover-up.

The UN cover-up began almost immediately.

Kopel continues with a full description of how the UN not only withheld evidence from Israel, it also destroyed evidence as well.

And it's not as if fear of Hezbollah is the only motivator for UNIFIL to betray their neutrality. Wikipedia reports on an incident in 1992 based on an article in YNet News how UNIFIL helped 2 Lebanese terrorists who escaped from an Israeli prison:

A 2010 book published by Norwegian journalist Odd Karsten Tveit revealed that the Norwegian Army was complicit in the escape of two Lebanese men who were arrested by the Israeli Army and being held in Khiam prison. According to the book, in 1992, two detained Lebanese men escaped from Khiam prison [in Southern Lebanon]. Fearing that they would face torture or execution if caught by the Israel Defense Forces or South Lebanon Army, the soldiers dressed the detainees in UN uniforms, and placed them in a UNIFIL convoy which left Southern Lebanon through Israeli roadblocks. Shortly afterward, Israeli Army commander Moshe Tamir visited the Norwegian battalion's camp, and accused Norwegian commander Hagrup Haukland of "sheltering terrorists". Immediately after the confrontation, the Lebanese men were smuggled onto a bus used by Norwegian peacekeepers on leave, which took them to Beirut.

The long history of UNIFIL incompetence in enforcing its mandate to keep southern Lebanon clear of weapons and Hezbollah terrorists is not surprising, considering its lack of the most basic integrity and failure to fulfill its obligations and neutrality.

The fact that Hezbollah was able to tunnel into Israel without UNIFIL being tipped off by any tremors from just a few hundred meters away speaks for itself.

Badran writes that unlike last year, this year US Ambassador Haley did not even bother attending the UN vote to extend the UNIFIL mandate and did not issue a statement afterward either.

Clearly, there are no words to describe the failure of one more organization of the UN.

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"Don't piss off Muslims" is official EU security policy

Back in 2006, I wrote an essay called "Diplomacy of Fear: The Muslim Way" where I pointed out:

For decades, the Arab world specifically and the Muslim world in general has used threats as its main leverage to get the West to bend to its will. The threats aren't usually direct; most often they take the form of "if you don't do what we want, the Arab street will erupt" or "the terrorists will have an excuse." In other words, if Arab thugocracies do not get what they desire from the West, then they will be powerless to stop the irrational forces within their borders from damaging Western interests.

...European Mideast policy is almost wholly driven by fear of upsetting Arabs and Muslims. Those who claim to be seeking "peace" make the assumption that asking Arabs for concessions is useless and could ignite some sort of negative response - so is makes more sense to pressure Israel into making even more concessions.

How many times have we seen a variant of this recent pronouncement from Mahmoud Abbas:

Mr Abbas said the freeze was causing hardship to ordinary people and would lead to further instability.

"Instability?" We all know what he means by that - he means violence and terror, which is apparently a natural reaction in the rules of Arab physics. If the West doesn't give Palestinian Arabs more and more money, well, hey, he sure can't control his people from the spontaneous inevitable violence (remarkably similar to the violence they seem to have perfected when they had a billion dollars a year coming into their coffers.)

Mahmoud Abbas threatens the Western world and no one bothers to call him on it.

This climate of fear is so endemic that fundamentally irrational and immoral acts by the Muslim world are accepted by the West with little question - to challenge it could put you in the same category as a Salman Rushdie or a Danish cartoonist, and who needs that hassle?

In a speech given this week at Harvard University, High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini shows that fear of irrational responses by Muslims indeed is what drives official EU security policy:

Strategic autonomy for us is about responsibility. It's about being grown-ups and stating what we believe is right, what we believe in is in the interest of Europeans but also of our transatlantic friends....

I know that many people here in America, including in Washington D.C., understand this perfectly well: that our security is tied; that our destinies are connected more closely than we often admit.

So, I don't want to underplay the breadth and the depth of our disagreements with the current U.S. administration: they're there and they're self-evident. Sometimes they are so self-evident that they hide all the rest and this is a shame.

But it is true that on Iran or on Jerusalem we believe that this administration has taken decisions that run counter to our collective interest and to our collective security: our European one but also the US' interest and security.

Any country can move their embassy to any city they choose, with no worries about security. But moving an embassy to Jerusalem suddenly becomes an issue for both European security and, we are condescendingly told, for American security as well.

What is the threat from moving an embassy? The threat is that Muslims will get pissed off.

And the top politicians in the EU have incorporated the fear of irrational Muslims into their foreign and security policies.

So Angela Merkel has personally intervened with European countries to not move their embassies:

The founding director of the European Coalition for Israel in Brussels, Tomas Sandell, announced in a shocking video message on Thursday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel waged a campaign to prevent central and eastern European countries from moving their capitals to Jerusalem to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

Speaking from the European parliament, Sandell said, “What we have found out, something I heard for quite some time already, from central and eastern European countries that would have an inclination to move their embassy to Jerusalem, this is the natural thing for them to do, is that they have received phone calls from Berlin, from Angela Merkel, the chancellor. Basically, this cannot happen under any circumstances.”

Muslims have cultivated this Western fear of them going crazy for over a century, as this 1899 article shows.

This willingness to outsource security decisions to adhere to whatever the Muslim world is threatening today is so much a part of European thinking that they don't even realize how this is a violation of their own principles. It is outrageous that right after that Mogherini claims that the EU policy is about responsibility and being grown-ups and stating what they believe is right, she openly says that all of these high sounding principles are consistent with cowering in fear and buckling under Muslim threats of irrational violence. And then she self-righteously claims that those who do not believe that political decisions must be approved first by the Muslim world are the ones who are acting immaturely.

Letting Muslim threats drive policy makes the world less safe, not more secure. It shows that fear of Muslims, not lofty principles, are the most important drivers for European policy.

A proud state or group of states would not act this way, let alone justify cowardice as a security imperative. But the EU is doing exactly that - and they brag about it!

(h/t Irene)

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Radio Free Asia:

On Tuesday, Scott Busby, the deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. Department of State, said there are “at least 800,000 and possibly up to a couple of million” of Uyghurs and others detained at re-education camps in the XUAR without charges, citing U.S. intelligence assessments.

Citing credible reports, U.S. lawmakers Marco Rubio and Chris Smith, who head the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, recently called the situation in the XUAR “the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today.”

One would think that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation would be in the forefront of the issues being discussed at their conference occurring right now in Istanbul.

But, no, two million Muslims being incarcerated was not even mentioned in the OIC Twitter feed for the conference. The words "China" and "Uyghur" are not used at all in any human rights context.

But guess what topic was number one at the conference?

OIC SG: Since the #Palestinian issue is the core & main issue on the agenda of the Organization, I take this opportunity to commend efforts made by various OIC Institutions to implement the resolutions on #Palestine & Al-#Quds Al-Sharif. #OICACMOI #Palestineday #Jerusalem 1/ pic.twitter.com/gh92wKDCFR
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) December 4, 2018

Palestinians take up all the air in any international gathering. That insistence on prioritizing the Palestinian issue over actual serious human rights abuses actually hurts people.

Just ask the Uyghurs.

(h/t Petra)

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Blood libel: Marc Lamont Hill also accused Israeli Jews of poisoning Palestinian water

SJPLeaks has audio of Marc Lamont Hill saying in September that the pro-Palestinian movement must not "fetishize non-violence", essentially saying that he supports violent "resistance" to Israel - which all Palestinians understand to mean attacking Jewish civilians (and only Jewish civilians.)

This is interesting but not new, since he made the same point in his UN speech.

What is new is that in this audio, Hill accuses Israel of poisoning the water of Palestinians.

The slander that Jews poison the water of non-Jews is a classic antisemitic blood libel that Jew-haters have been pushing since the Black Death of 1348.

Hill is not only accusing Jews of poisoning the water but also of deliberately murdering Palestinian children.

If a far-right personality would say these things, the Left would be merciless on how this is absolute proof of antisemitism. Guess what? This is bona fide proof of Marc Lamont Hill's antisemitism.

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12/04 Links Pt2: Why Does America Spend So Much on Israel?; Anti-Normalization with Israel Is a Failed Policy that Only Hurts the Palestinians; Is the New Israel Fund anti-Zionist?

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Crazy world Iran, France, nationalism

Crazy world: why are the Europeans determined to continue to pour money into the coffers of the most lethal terrorist state in the world, which has been waging a self-declared war against the west for four decades, threatens Israel with extermination and is hell-bent on building nuclear weapons?

Why is the French president Emanuel Macron posturing against western national identity, declaring America to be an enemy and presiding over the disintegration of his country’s internal security while his own citizens are rioting on the streets of Paris against his high-handed policies that treat them with such contempt?

Why has the desire to be part of a shared national identity in the west based on a common culture become tarred as a form of hateful, racist nationalism which threatens minorities – when in fact the opposite is the case ?

Please join me here as I discuss with Avi Abelow of Israel Unwired differences in strategy over Iran, Paris burning down and the nationalism/patriotism debate.

Jason Greenblatt: Anti-Normalization with Israel Is a Failed Policy that Only Hurts the Palestinians

Over the past 22 months, we have focused on a comprehensive peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, irrespective of the plan, Palestinians deserve better lives than they currently have.

We know that the Palestinians are not interested in mere economic peace. Their leaders believe that if Palestinians get too comfortable economically, they would lose interest in the Palestinian cause.

Palestinians are living next door to one of the most technologically successful societies on the planet, yet the Palestinian leadership refuses to engage with Israel for the benefit of ordinary Palestinians. But the Palestinians need economic help now - with or without a peace agreement.

Months ago, in co-ordination with Palestinian, Israeli and American businesspersons, we developed a concept to bring hundreds of high-paying jobs to the West Bank. But the Palestinian leadership blocked the initiative - it's normalization, they say.

This damaging Palestinian policy clouds all economic interaction between Palestinians and Israelis. It directly contradicts what Palestinians agreed to in Oslo. This anti-normalization policy has got Palestinians nowhere and continues to leave them further behind. Palestinians deserve better than calcified positions that have failed to bring peace and failed to bring jobs and opportunity.

Let's be real - 136,000 Palestinians commute to work with Israelis every day because the opportunity is there. Anti-normalization is a failed policy that only hurts the Palestinians.

Why Does America Spend So Much on Israel?

Chanukah video night 3: Technion's Rube Goldberg Chanukiah Lighting Device

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There seems to be a lot of confusion about Hanukah - to the point where it appears to be deliberate.

Let’s begin with what it’s not about.

1) It’s not a Jewish Christmas

In many circles Hanukah seems to have become an imitation Christmas – a holiday of food, lights, decorations and gifts. This is a sad considering that although both holidays fall in December, Hanukah has nothing to do with Christmas and perhaps even more ironically, without Hanukah, Christmas would not exist at all.

All Jewish holidays feature food, but the food is only a symbol, a reminder of the miracle of the holiday.

Hanukah is a holiday of lights but that too is a symbol, to help us remember and proclaim the miracle of the holiday.

Gift giving on Hanukah is not a Jewish tradition at all, only a habit adopted by Jews living near Christians, so that their children would not become jealous of the gifts Christians receive on their holiday. Giving children Hanukah “gelt”(=money) is a Jewish tradition. There are different explanations for this. The Rambam discusses the need to incentivize children to do what will be expected of them as a grown up thus it is appropriate to provide children an example of giving in order to teach them to give to those who have less. Additionally, as the Greek oppressors took Jewish property, giving children money is a symbolic way to celebrate that we have the freedom to choose what to do with what is ours (with the emphasis on using money to support spiritual causes rather than selfish gain). Another explanation is that as even the poorest Jew is supposed to have candles to light for the holiday, in order to prevent shame from children begging for their families, it became a tradition to give money to all the children in the community. Whatever explanation is the correct one (and possibly all are correct to some extent), the goal of Hanukah gelt is the antithesis of the Hellenistic desire towards personal enrichment, but rather being enriched spiritually by using money well.

2) Which miracle?

On Hanukah children play with dreidels marked with letters designed to remind them of the miracle of the holiday. This teaching tool differs depending on location. In the diaspora the dreidels are marked with four letters that say: “A great miracle happened there.” In Israel the last letter is different, signifying that: “A great miracle happened HERE.”

As an American child I didn’t really comprehend the significance. I knew the word “miracle” from storybooks. I knew that “there” meant Israel, a place I had visited as a child. But “there” was far away and had very little to do with my American life.

Without a concrete explanation of what we were commemorating the symbols of the holiday loomed larger than the message they are designed to convey. This opens the door to many unfortunate misunderstandings.

On the Jewish educational site Judaism 101 it says about Hanukah: Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.

Excuse me?

Of course, the miracle of the oil is center to Hanukah but that could not have occurred without the military victory. War isn’t something to be glorified - it’s ugly, painful and results in grief and anguish but from there to the idea that Hanukah doesn’t celebrate the military victory is a huge leap.

From Josephus we learn that the first years following the victory of the Maccabees there were Hanukah celebrations that did not including Hanukah lights. The celebration was of victory – of the small band of warriors against the powerful Greek army, of the small stubborn tribe who clung to their traditions and religion and did not succumb to the compelling allure of the predominate Hellenistic culture.

The Hanukah miracle is the miracle of warriors of the body and spirit who refused to give up their identity and, in their stubbornness, won. THAT is glorious!

The miracle of light, the oil that burned for eight days when it only should have sufficed for a single day is a symbol for the miracle of retaining identity against all odds - a physical manifestation of the victory of body and faith over the powers of assimilation.

When the light of our People should have died out, through faith and hard work, determination and willingness to suffer for a greater good, it did not. The light is important because it is a testament to Jewish faith and that, in return, God grants us miracles. Light without faith would not exist. Light without the military victory would only be a dramatic folk story, easily dismissed and quickly forgotten.

It is the combination of light and victory that makes the miraculous story of Hanukah complete.

3) Without God there is no victory

Matitiyahu, father of the Maccabees, was a Cohen, a priest in the Temple. He was also a warrior, as were his sons.

In an attempt to erase Jewish culture and ensure the dominance of the Greek culture, Antiochus erected a statue to Zeus in the Temple in Jerusalem and demanded the sacrifice of pigs on the altar. It was Matitiyahu, the priest, who set the standard of unwavering Jewish faith. When the Seleucid Greek government demanded the sacrifice to the Greek gods, Matitiyahu not only refused to do so, but slew with his own hand the Jew who had stepped forward to do so. He then killed the government official that required the act. It was his sons who led the revolt against the oppressing government and, against all odds – regained Jewish sovereignty and religious freedom.

Faith is not a sentiment that can remain in the realm of theory, it calls for action. Similarly, victory does not occur due to the actions of man, alone.

In the Torah, before battle, the priest is supposed to tell the Nation (Deuteronomy - Chapter 20):

"Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them.		גוְאָמַ֤ר אֲלֵהֶם֙ שְׁמַ֣ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַתֶּ֨ם קְרֵבִ֥ים הַיּ֛וֹם לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־אֹֽיְבֵיכֶ֑ם אַל־יֵרַ֣ךְ לְבַבְכֶ֗ם אַל־תִּֽירְא֧וּ וְאַל־תַּחְפְּז֛וּ וְאַל־תַּֽעַרְצ֖וּ מִפְּנֵיהֶֽם:
For the Lord, your God, is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.		דכִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּכֶ֑ם לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם לָכֶ֛ם עִם־אֹֽיְבֵיכֶ֖ם לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ אֶתְכֶֽם:

Jewish faith says that God walks with us into battle, to fight for us and save us. This is not a figurative description but a very literal one. The Maccabees must have heard this prayer before battle as do IDF soldiers today. This clip is from Israeli News (Channel 2) at the time of Operation Cast Lead (Gaza Dec 27, 2008 – Jan 18, 2009). It opens with the IDF Chief Rabbi Rontzki reciting the prayer before battle.

The Hanukah song, Maoz Tzur, acknowledges this truth as it appears over and over throughout Jewish history. In the time of the Maccabees, the exile to Babylon, from Haman’s attempt at genocide and slavery under Pharaoh – each time the Jewish people were in danger of being wiped out, physically or through cultural extermination (assimilation) and each time, in different ways, God saved us from our enemies.

Without God there is no victory. Miracles are not a thing of religious fantasy, they are a tangible experience, the deciding factor between life and death, a nation victorious or a nation lost.

4) Holiday, not a holy day

Part of the confusion surrounding Hanukah is that it is a holiday but not a holy day. The story of Hanukah is that of an event in Jewish history and is not part of the Torah. The ritualistic elements of Hanukah center around the Hanukah lights, how they are lit, what prayers are said, not working during the time they are burning and not doing actions connected with mourning.

Hanukah is a celebration of Jewish nationalism (which does not exist without God) and not a holiday of religious holiness although there are some prayers that are specifically associated with Hanukah. It similar to celebrating Israel’s Independence Day which also commemorates the victory of a tiny group of stubborn Jews fighting for sovereignty and freedom, against an enemy much more powerful and well equipped and – by the grace of God – WINNING.

5) The fight for Judea

King Arthur and Camelot are part of a glorious but fictitious story about a King creating a better, kinder reality for England. In contrast, the Maccabees were real people who fought for Jewish freedom and the sanctity of the Temple on the Temple Mount in the heart of Jerusalem.

The Maccabees lived and died in the land which gave the Jewish People our name – Judea.

Today the Jewish fight for Judea continues, it is only the methodology and field of battle that have changed. It is no longer a conquering army but a battle fought with terminology designed to create a new reality, attempting to influence public perception in order to affect political policy. International organizations, companies like Airbnb, the BDS movement and individual Jew-haters call Judea the “West Bank”, a term that is not geographical but political in nature (it would be similar to calling Texas, “North Mexico”). - designed to associate that area of land with Jordan, disconnecting Judea from Zion, as if Zion would exist without Judea.

Modern day fiction cannot change Jewish history however it can change Jewish future. Forgetting our roots enables the fictitious to root itself and become “alternative facts” which are already being used to wipe us off the map – literally.

Jews are from Judea. (And Arabs are from Arabia). It really is that simple.

6) Two front war

The Maccabees fought a battle on two fronts:

· The physical battle against the army of Antiochus who tried, by force, to eliminate Jewish identity – occupying the land, refusing its occupants the right to live and worship as Jews, defiling the Temple in the heart of Jerusalem.

· The spiritual battle against assimilation, necessitating confrontation even with other Jews who found Hellenistic culture alluring and were willing to give up Judaism, to assimilate with the Greeks, forgetting Jewish uniqueness for the ease of becoming like everyone else.

What difference is there between the battle of the Maccabees and the fight of Jews today, particularly Israeli Jews? Today, as in the time of the Maccabees, it seems it would take a miracle to retain Jewish identity and freedom in the face of the modern forces hell-bent on eliminating the Jewish State and Jewish willingness to assimilate in the hope of becoming “like everyone else.”

In a time when many view nationalism, borders and uniqueness to be evils that must be expunged from the world, it is convenient to forget what Hanukah is all about. It is less threatening when Hanukah becomes a trivial imitation of Christmas, a holiday of lights and doughnuts.

Over the centuries fear has led Jews to put their heads down and weather the storm of whatever discrimination or violence was directed at the community: “We survived Pharaoh, this too shall pass.” Living under oppression led Jews to turn within, to focus on spirituality, rituals and theories. Destruction of the Temple, exile and disconnect from the land which gave us our name led Jews to set aside the physicality of Jews life.

We forgot that we come from a nation of warriors.

The re-establishment of the Jewish State led Jews around the world to once again raise their heads in pride. In theory this was pride in prophesy actualized. In actuality this was pride in Jewish identity once again becoming complete. The spiritual Jew, reconnected with the physical Jew. The warrior once again, free in the land from which our people sprang.

This, of course, revived an even greater wave of Jew-hate and subsequent Jewish fear. It is easy for the world to accept the meek Jew, to go through the motions of sympathy for the dead Jew. Strong Jews who can reach their arm across the globe to pluck Jews out of the hands of their enemies are a completely different story. Warrior Jews who refuse to give up, refuse to die and refuse to become like everyone else are threat to a world that demands that all nations relinquish identity, uniqueness and borders.

Frightened Jews, still believe that returning to meekness will appease the haters. If only the Jewish State was less Jewish maybe the hate would die down. If only individual Jews would set aside their Jewish identity, they could become like everyone else and no longer be hated… Fear makes people irrational and unable to learn from the past.

Hanukah is the story of Jewish nationalism. An indigenous people, fighting for their ancestral homeland and tribal rights AND WINNING.

This is the same Jewish nationalism that was objected to when the Jewish State was declared in 1948. The same nationalism that was recently defined by the Nation State law, defining that the Jewish People are the only People who have the right to self-determination as a nation within the State of Israel. All citizens have the right to individual self-determination but only the Jewish Nation has the right to the Jewish State.

No wonder the Hanukah is being minimized and trivialized. Nothing is scarier than a Maccabee.

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What Palestinians want - in their words - when they say "from the river to the sea"

The Forward has a piece from Maha Nassar claiming that the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" really means a country where Jews have equal rights with Arabs in all respects. She says that Zionists are purposefully choosing in interpretation of that phrase that Hamas uses, where Jews have no place in the land.

She is correct in saying that Fatah has never explicitly said what it plans to do with Jews and that there was always a subtext of thought that most Jews would naturally want to leave, but they wouldn't be forced out. That is probably true. But that is a long way from pretending that Jews would have the same equal rights in "Palestine" that Arabs do in Israel today.

So assuming that Fatah represents "mainstream" Palestinian thought (even though Hamas did win the only real elections they ever had!) what is its goal?

First of all, Fatah's goal is not the two state solution. The 2009 Fatah platform, that is still in effect, says "The objectives, principles and methods stipulated in the first chapter of the basic law (charter) of Fatah remain the key elements of our Movement and part of the intellectual and political entity of our people." Here is the first chapter of the Fatah charter that is still in effect for the "moderate," non-Hamas Palestinians:

CHAPTER ONE

Principles... Goals.... MethodsThe Movement's Essential PrinciplesArticle (1) Palestine is part of the Arab World, and the Palestinian people are part of the Arab Nation, and their struggle is part of its struggle.

If, as Israel's critics charge, a Jewish state is by its very nature discriminatory against non-Jews, then they have to admit that an Arab state is by its nature discriminatory against non-Arabs. If they claim that Arabs would be more liberal towards Jews than Israel is towards its Arab citizens, they are knowingly lying.

Article (2) The Palestinian people have an independent identity. They are the sole authority that decides their own destiny, and they have complete sovereignty on all their lands.

No room for Jewish political power.

Article (3) The Palestinian Revolution plays a leading role in liberating Palestine.
Article (4) The Palestinian struggle is part and parcel of the world-wide struggle against Zionism, colonialism and international imperialism.

Even the idea that Jews might want power would be illegal in Palestine, since Zionism is the enemy, not an alternative national movement that deserves equal weight.

Article (5) Liberating Palestine is a national obligation which necessities the materialistic and human support of the Arab Nation.

Article (6) UN projects, accords and resolutions, or those of any individual which undermine the Palestinian people's right in their homeland are illegal and rejected.

The current love of Palestinians for the UN has nothing to do with accepting international ideals of peace and equality.

Article (7) The Zionist Movement is racial, colonial and aggressive in ideology, goals, organisation and method.

Therefore, Zionists would not be tolerated in Palestine.

Article (8) The Israeli existence in Palestine is a Zionist invasion with a colonial expansive base, and it is a natural ally to colonialism and international imperialism.
Article (9) Liberating Palestine and protecting its holy places is an Arab, religious and human obligation.

Jews would have no equal access to holy places. Or access at all.

Article (10) Palestinian National Liberation Movement, "FATEH", is an independent national revolutionary movement representing the revolutionary vanguard of the Palestinian people.
Article (11) The crowds which participate in the revolution and liberation are the proprietors of the Palestinian land.

GoalsArticle (12) Complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.

Yes, even Israeli culture must be eradicated. And if Israeli culture includes Jewish holidays and rituals? Take a guess how much respect they would be given if there is the slightest conflict with Arab and Muslim desires.

Article (13) Establishing an independent democratic state with complete sovereignty on all Palestinian lands, and Jerusalem is its capital city, and protecting the citizens' legal and equal rights without any racial or religious discrimination.

See previous note. It would be equal on paper, but in the end it wouldn't be. Would Jews be able to eat in public on Ramadan? Would Jews be able to sell wine?

Article (14) Setting up a progressive society that warrants people's rights and their public freedom.
Article (15) Active participation in achieving the Arab Nation's goals in liberation and building an independent, progressive and united Arab society.
Article (16) Backing up all oppressed people in their struggle for liberation and self-determination in order to build a just, international peace.

Method

Article (17) Armed public revolution is the inevitable method to liberating Palestine.

This is still part of the Fatah platform, today.

Article (18) Entire dependence on the Palestinian people which is the pedestal forefront and on the Arab Nation as a partner in the fight, and realising actual interaction between the Arab Nation and the Palestinian people by involving the Arab people in the fight through a united Arab front.
Article (19) Armed struggle is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People's armed revolution is a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated.
Article (20) Achieving mutual understanding with all the national forces participating in the armed struggle to attain the national unity.
Article (21) Revealing the revolutionary nature of the Palestinian identity at the international level, and this does not contradict the everlasting unity between the Arab Nation and the Palestinian people.
Article (22) Opposing any political solution offered as an alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation in Palestine, as well as any project intended to liquidate the Palestinian case or impose any international mandate on its people.
Article (23) Maintaining relations with Arab countries with the objective of developing the positive aspects in their attitudes with the proviso that the armed struggle is not negatively affected.
Article (24) Maintaining relations with all liberal forces supporting our just struggle in order to resist together Zionism and imperialism.
Article (25) Convincing concerned countries in the world to prevent Jewish immigration to Palestine as a method of solving the problem.

There is a law that is explicitly antisemitic in the Fatah constitution. Jews cannot immigrate to "Palestine." But Arabs can. The only tiny sliver of land in the world where Jews can freely immigrate must be destroyed in the Arab concept of a liberal, modern state of Palestine.

Article (26) Avoiding attempts to exploit the Palestinian case in any Arab or international problems and considering the case above all contentions.
Article (27) "FATEH" does not interfere with local Arab affairs and hence, does not tolerate such interference or obstructing its struggle by any party.

This is the most liberal interpretation of the phrase "from the river to the sea" possible. There is no Palestinian calling for anything more inclusive of Jews than what is described here.

Anyone who thinks that this is an acceptable or even desirable goal - the creation of yet another Arab state that pay lip service to equality but which is in fact antisemitic (and anti-Christian!) to the core - is fooling themselves.

In reality, the Palestinian state would treat Jews, at best, the same way the Arab political leaders in the West Bank have treated Christians - with such contempt and bias that the vast majority have fled over the decades of both Jordanian and Palestinian rule.

If a state with truly equal rights in the Middle East is the goal, then why does Israel have to be the only state that is morally obligated to be replaced - when it is truly the only state in the world where Jews can have true self determination?

Yes, there is tension in Israel between absolute equality and being a Jewish state. But those who complain that Israel must be dismantled to create an Arab state that would give far fewer rights to Jews than Israel does to Arabs is not interested in equality - they are interested in destroying the human right of self determination for Jews and only Jews. All the talk about a state for all its peoples is simply a catchphrase for destroying the only Jewish state - and replacing it with yet another failed Arab regime.

If there is any iota of evidence that Palestinians can govern themselves in a more enlightened way than any other Arab state, I am anxious to hear about it. And if there is any evidence that a Palestinian state would treat its minorities better than Israel does, by all means, enlighten us.

The very idea is ludicrous, and even Israel's most fervent critics couldn't say with a straight face that a Palestinian state would be more inclusive than Israel is today.

Which means that the people screaming "from the river to the sea" aren't interested in equal rights. They are antisemitic, plain and simple.
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12/04 Links Pt1: Pipes: Pushing for an Israeli Victory Is the Only Way to End the Conflict with the Palestinians; Israel Launches Operation Northern Shield to Expose Hezbollah Terror Tunnels

From Ian:

Daniel Pipes: Pushing for an Israeli Victory Is the Only Way to End the Conflict with the Palestinians

This perverse understanding of how wars end led Israel to make extraordinary blunders in the fifteen years after Oslo, for which it was punished by unremitting campaigns of delegitimization and violence, symbolized, respectively, by the Durban conference of 2001 and the Passover Massacre of 2002.

Such nonsense ended during Netanyahu's near-decade-long term as prime minister, but it has not yet been replaced by a sturdy vision of victory. Rather, Netanyahu has put out brush fires as they arose in Sinai, Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, Syria, and Lebanon. While agreeing with the concept of an Israeli victory when personally briefed, he has not spoken publicly about it.

Meanwhile, other leading figures in Israel have adopted this outlook. Former deputy chief of staff Uzi Dayan called on the army "to return to the path of victory." Former education and interior minister Gideon Sa'ar has stated that "The 'victory paradigm,' like Jabotinsky's 'Iron Wall' concept, assumes that an agreement may be possible in the future, but only after a clear and decisive Israeli victory ... The transition to the 'victory paradigm' is contingent upon abandoning the Oslo concept."

In this context, the statements by Lieberman and Bennett point to a change in thinking. Lieberman quit his position as defense minister out of frustration that a barrage by Hamas of 460 rockets and missiles against Israel was met with a ceasefire; he called instead for "a state of despair" to be imposed on the enemies of Israel. Complaining that "Israel stopped winning," Bennett demanded that the IDF "start winning again," and added that "When Israel wants to win, we can win." On rescinding his demand for the defense portfolio, Bennett emphasized that he stands ‎by Netanyahu "in the monumental task of ensuring that Israel is victorious ‎again."

Opponents of this paradigm then amusingly testified to the power of this idea of victory. Ma'ariv columnist Revital Amiran wrote that the victory the Israeli public most wants lies in such arenas as larger allocations for the elderly and unbearable traffic jams. Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg, replied to Bennett that for her, a victorious Israel means winning Emmy and Oscar nominations, guaranteeing equal health services, and spending more on education.

That victory and defeat have newly become a topic for debate in Israel constitutes a major step forward. As media figure Ayalet Mitsch correctly notes, "even left-leaning Israelis think it's time to win again." Thus does the push for an Israeli victory move forward.

Merkel urged EU countries not to move embassies to Jerusalem

Speaking from the European parliament, Sandell said, “What we have found out, something I heard for quite some time already, from central and eastern European countries that would have an inclination to move their embassy to Jerusalem, this is the natural thing for them to do, is that they have received phone calls from Berlin, from Angela Merkel, the chancellor. Basically, this cannot happen under any circumstances.”

"I have spoken to many Germans these last few days in Brussels," he said. "They are not aware of this, and all of them would be shocked that all of the countries in the European Union today would want to block an embassy move to Jerusalem, not only for your own country, but for other countries that have the conviction [that] this is the right thing to do, the only country to do would be Germany. This is a big shock."

He added that "this is something unprecedented. This is not the Germany we once knew. This is not the even Angela Merkel we once knew when she was elected.”

Sandell said many of Merkel’s telephone calls took place to European leaders in April when “many of the nations were seriously considering moving their embassies.”

Sandell said Merkel’s anti-Israel moves have to do with the Iran nuclear deal, which “has been very much supported by Germany [and] the German government.”

Typical of the denial of the Jewish right to define Jew-hatred is this article appearing in The Middle East Eye:

How the IHRA's anti-Semitism definition is a threat to British democracy

The IHRA definition is yet another tool in the arsenal of Israel’s far-right government and the UK Israel lobby to destroy any possibility of developing an independent approach to Israel-Palestine

The underlying claim is that when Jews want to define Antisemitism, it is really nothing more than an attempt to undermine criticism of Israel.

And now, a similar kind of muzzling of Jewish opinion took place just the other day -- this time affecting how Jews talk about their own holidays.

It started with a tweet about Hanukkah:

It was just an accurate description of the holiday of Hanukkah and of its implications.

But that was just too provocative for some.

Here is how Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney responded -- originally

Coveney questions the Peace Initiative itself ("U say u are working on a New Peace Initiative") and finishes off claiming that this is just one more in a series of "unhelpful statements."

But then Coveney thought better of what he wrote.
Here is the revised version Coveney tweeted after he toned it down a little:

But still: Jews describing Jewish holidays is provocative when they are tied to the history of the Jewish people and how they have fought for their lives -- and their land.

Are tweets like this provocative in and of themselves, or because they go against the ongoing flow of UN bias against Israel? Just yesterday, the UN passed 6 anti-Israel resolutions, including one UN resolution that refers to the Temple Mount only by the Arab name of Haram al-Sharif

Can't have Jews going around pointing out that Hanukkah is predicated on the Jewish identity of the Temple Mount now, can we?

The world may be willing to wish the Jews a Happy Hanukkah, but they are only willing to go so far:

During Hanukkah, the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem is more blatant, but even holidays like Passover, Shavuot, Rosh HaShannah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret remind us of Jewish Jerusalem -- if for no other reason than the prayers that recall the sacrifices that were brought to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The same goes for Tisha B'Av and other fast days that commemorate the destruction of the Temple.

Likewise, even in during the holiday of Purim, which did not even take place in Israel, the status of which day the Megillah is read is dictated on whether the city was a walled city when Joshua conquered the land -- and the only city that fulfills that requirement today is Jerusalem.

So while the world has no problem remaining quiet while Palestinian Arab leaders deny the historical bond between Jews and Jerusalem, when Jews openly celebrate their holidays and their ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, we are the ones being provocative.

As usual.

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Now, this is how to apologize for antisemitism! Only one problem....

After seeing the recent self-serving "apologies" for offending Jews offered by Linda Sarsour and Marc Lamont Hill, it is (almost) refreshing to see what looks far more like a real apology for antisemitism.

Last week I reported on an absurd antisemitic conspiracy theory published by a Canadian Arabic newspaper that claimed that the building of the Titanic was a Freemason/Jewish conspiracy to force three bankers who opposed the Federal Reserve to be killed on its maiden voyage.

I noted that the editor in chief of the newspaper was running for office, and a Canadian journalist made inquiries about the article, prompting the editor to issue this apology:

Important Message to Readers From Medhat Oweida, Editor-in-Chief

Late last night it was brought to my attention that an article was submitted on our online newspaper whose content was offensive and anti-Semitic. The article in question was published on November 11, 2018 by the editor who oversaw the submission process for incoming contributions to the website.

As the editor-in-chief, I would typically be involved in the approval process of any submissions. However, since October 1st, I had delegated this responsibility as I was focused on seeking the CPC Nomination in the federal riding of Mississauga-Streetsville.

I would like to make the following clear:

I do not share the views of the author of the article in question, and I categorically condemn views which spreads hate directed toward any group.

Once I learned of the existence of the article, I took immediate action to have it removed from the website.

The author of the article has been banned from accessing the website.

We immediately parted ways with the editor who permitted the publication of the article.

We are conducting a thorough search of the archives for any other submissions by the same author to ensure removal and to declare we have no association.

We commit to work to improve the submission process to prevent such events from occurring in the future.

As a human rights activist, I spent most my life fighting hatred around the world. As a Canadian Egyptian writer, I have been a proponent of peace between Egypt and Israel and have written articles in support of the peaceful solution of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

In addition, I stand against terrorism and the hate attached to such activities. Part of this fight against extremism is standing for the rights of those who face persecution around the world, in particular members of different minorities, such as the Coptic community in Egypt, Christians in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, and the Jewish community in the Middle East at large.

I deeply regret the offence caused as a result of the publishing of this article. Please be assured it does not reflect my beliefs and I am confident that it will not be repeated in our publication.

This is a real, well written and authentic-sounding apology, complete with concrete actions to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Firing the editor that allowed the publication is an especially bold and appreciated move. There is no justification in this apology at all for what happened, no equivocation, no excuses.

There is only one problem, though:

The offensive article was written in Arabic, but the apology is only written in English.

It seems to me that Medhat should also write an article in Arabic for the Arabic-language readers of his news site - many of whom live in Egypt and other north African countries. Medhat is doing everything he can to ensure that his political career is not hurt by this incident, but if he really cared about human rights and was really against antisemtism as he claims, shouldn't he write an article denouncing antisemitism in Arabic for his Arabic readers?

Antisemitism is rife in the Arab world. Medhat knows this. If he really wanted to contribute to human rights and peace, he would be fighting antisemitism not only in Canada but also where many of his readers are in Egypt and other Arab countries. If he would have translated his apology to Arabic, then that would have shown without a doubt that his apology was sincere. Unfortunately, his failure to do so makes this apology - as well done and as welcome as it is - appear to be political rather than heartfelt.

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