Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, May 21, 2021

05/21 Links Pt2: Caroline Glick: Biden's skin-deep support for Israel; The Squad’s Noxious Anti-Semitism; Throwing Israel Under The Bus Will Not Save American Jews

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The last, overlooked but still active front of World War Two

In World War Two, the allies fought an attempt to conquer and destroy western civilisation and exterminate the Jews.

Today, the Palestinians of both Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah constantly churn out Nazi-style, murderous incitement against the Jewish people. And the Iranian regime, which funds and arms Hamas, has been at war against the west for four decades and regularly announces its genocidal intentions towards the Jews.

So today’s war against western civilisation and the Jews amounts to infernal unfinished business. But unlike the Second World War, when those in the free world on the side of the fascists were regarded as traitors, such people today march on the streets of London and elsewhere arm-in-arm with those pledged to Islamic holy war against the Jews and the rest of the “infidel” world.

In the United States, President Joe Biden told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that America expects an immediate and “significant de-escalation” on the path to a ceasefire. This while the rockets from Gaza were still flying against Israel. The demand was as unconscionable as it would have been to tell the British to de-escalate during the Blitz.

Worse yet, after Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) confronted Biden over the Gaza war and echoed an earlier speech in which she accused Israel of “racism” and running an “apartheid system,” Biden said of Tlaib: “God thank you for being a fighter.”

The heirs to the Nazis are still intent upon the same terrible aims. The difference now is that those fighting for civilisation are being undermined by an enormous fifth column — and even the leader of the free world itself has become a useful idiot for the other side.

Caroline Glick: Biden's skin-deep support for Israel

Until Wednesday, President Joe Biden had maintained a fairly supportive posture towards Israel in the face of the Hamas terror regime in Gaza’s launch of its newest round of war against the Jewish state.

In the first week of the new war, Biden’s administration blocked the United Nations Security Council from adopting anti-Israel statements and resolutions three times.

Until Wednesday afternoon Israel time, Biden avoided publicly calling on Israel to halt its counterstrikes against Hamas and expressed his support for Israel’s right to protect its citizens from Hamas’s missiles.

So it wouldn’t be surprising if some Israelis were flabbergasted when Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday afternoon that he “expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” effectively ordering Israel to stand down by day’s end. But Biden’s week of professions of support for Israel was hardly the last word on his administration’s positions on Israel and the war. Indeed, they weren’t even its first word.

Biden’s actual policies regarding Israel are revealed in three different ways. First, there are the policies Biden had already adopted before Hamas opened its missile offensive from Gaza and its spate of organized anti-Jewish pogroms in mixed Arab-Jewish cities throughout Israel.

Biden’s courtship of Iran through the renewal of nuclear talks in Vienna, in which he has signalled his willingness to end U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, and his administration’s persuasion of Iraq and South Korea to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenue have signalled Iran and its terror proxies, including Hamas, that the Biden administration is abandoning the U.S. alliance with Israel and the moderate Sunni states in favour of Iran and its proxies.

Likewise, Biden’s announcement that he is restoring U.S. funding to UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority despite their funding of terrorism was a tailwind for Iran and Hamas plans to attack Israel. With U.S. funding and sanctions relief, not only did they realize that the United States had their back, Iran and Hamas gained the economic wherewithal to wage war. So too, Hamas was able to use America’s abandonment of Israel as a means to persuade Israeli Arabs that they could safely participate in pogroms against their Jewish neighbours and accept Hamas as their representative.

Here's the speech I gave to the Tikvah Fund Conference in March where I discussed whether American Jewry has a strategy for survival.https://t.co/fwSW3AJxYl
— Caroline Glick (@CarolineGlick) May 20, 2021

The Tikvah Podcast: Michael Doran on America’s Strategic Realignment in the Middle East

In wake of President Biden’s inauguration, experienced foreign-policy hands argued over what could be learned about his administration’s approach to Israel and the Middle East from his early statements and appointments. They faced an unresolved question: would President Biden’s longtime instincts, which tend to be sympathetic to Israel, hold sway over the louder and more progressive voices arrayed against Israel in the Democratic party? Would he continue to support Israel in the Oval Office as he did for so long in the Senate? Or would President Biden advance the strategy pursued by the Obama administration, strengthening Israel’s main adversary, Iran?

This week’s podcast guest believes that the answer has now been revealed. Michael Doran is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a long-time Mosaic writer, and the co-author of an important new essay about the Biden administration’s developing Middle East policy. In it, he argues that instead of working with Israel and the Sunni Arab states to contain Iran, President Biden and his team want to partner with Iran to bring a different kind of order to the Middle East. In conversation with Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver, Doran discusses his argument and explains why Israel and America’s Sunni allies need to prepare for the final act of America’s strategic realignment.

Victor Davis Hanson's The Classicist Podcast: The Israelis, the Palestinians, and the Future of the Middle East

Victor Davis Hanson analyzes the recent conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, how it reflects on the foreign policy of the Biden Administration, and what the consequences may be for the future of the Middle East.

Kuwaiti draft law: Prison for saying anything nice about Israel

From Albawaba:

Five MPs yesterday submitted a new draft law stipulating a jail sentence of between one and three years for people and authorities dealing with or traveling to the Zionist entity.

The bill, submitted by MPs Adnan Abdulsamad, Hisham Al-Saleh, Ali Al-Qattan, Ahmad Al-Hamad and Khalil Al-Saleh, bans any dealing or normalization with the Zionist entity. It also bans any direct or indirect contacts with the Zionist entity and also bans any Kuwaiti or expat residing in the country from visiting the Zionist entity with or without a travel document.

The bill also bans any expression of sympathy with the Zionist entity. It proposes a jail sentence of between one year and three years and a fine of up to KD 5,000 for violators.

This is the kind of freedom of expression that is coming soon to the West.

CNN started referring to "Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry" when citing casualties, Israel haters are livid

One of the small but important victories for truth during the Gaza fighting came from CNN, when it issued this internal memo on May 17:

Superdesk Guidance on Gaza Fatalities

We need to be transparent about the fact the Ministry of Health in Gaza is run by Hamas. Consequently, when we cite latest casualty numbers in attribute to the Health Ministry in Gaza, we need to include the fact it is Hamas-run.

As an example: “Latest figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health put the number of fatalities at…”

From Andrew Carey and Calvin Sims

It is of course entirely accurate to say that Hamas runs the Health Ministry and that the casualty figures are subject to Hamas approval. For example, the Health Ministry seems not to have included most dead terrorists in its figures, making it appear that nearly all of the dead were civilians. Hamas has been censoring nearly all mentions of its dead fighters, which Israel estimates to be around 200. (If the cease fire holds, expect headlines next week that scores of "civilians" buried under the rubble were discovered.)

Someone at CNN was apparently so upset at a memo asking for transparency that they leaked this memo to Al Jazeera, where Senior Presenter and Producer Dena Takruti tweeted the incredible lie that this makes the Health Ministry a target for Israel:

This @CNN internal memo directs staff to say “Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health” when reporting casualty numbers. It was sent by the Jerusalem bureau chief.

This is a page straight out of Israel’s playbook. It serves to justify the attack on civilians & medical facilities

Other stupid takes followed:

It needs to be repeated that, regardless of whether you agree with them ideologically and regardless of whether the US, Israel, and their allies call them “terrorists,” Hamas is The Government in Gaza. This means that they are responsible for providing all municipal and local services. By declaring them a “terrorist organization,” any and all schools, hospitals, water treatment facilities, etc. are therefore transformed through some strange alchemy into legitimate military targets.

Apparently someone thinks that Israel makes targeting decisions based on CNN's nomenclature.

It is instructive to see how many Israel haters were incensed at this memo - meaning that they agree that all casualty figures for Gaza be silently filtered through Hamas.

Which goes to show how little regard for the truth Al Jazeera has, and how widespread support for Hamas is among a certain crowd.

05/21 Links Pt1: Israel’s Unqualified Victory; As Pogromists Activate, Chuck Schumer Cowers; How Europe Became Pro-Israel; Organization of American States designates Hamas a terrorist organization

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: How will we know who won the war?

In a press briefing on Tuesday, President Joe Biden's spokeswoman Jen Psaki indicated that the administration is just as unhappy with the Abraham Accords as the Iranians and Palestinians are. In response to a reporter's question about the Trump administration's peace efforts, Psaki pretended that the Abraham Accords don't exist.

"Aside from putting forward a peace proposal that was dead on arrival," she said derisively, "we don't think they did anything constructive, really, to bring an end to the longstanding conflict in the Middle East."

This asinine statement put paid the notion that Biden will ever opt for an alliance with the Abraham Accords member nations over the Iran/Hamas axis. Just as the administration refuses to even utter the term "Abraham Accords," so it insists on ignoring their political significance for the states of the region and their military capacity to contain Iran.

Despite the massive pressure that has been exerted against Abraham Accords member states to disavow their ties with Israel since Hamas opened its offensive last week, so far they have not wavered. The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco have put out mild statements on the Hamas war. Morocco sent humanitarian aid to Gaza. There have been no anti-Israel demonstrations in the streets of any of the Abraham Accords member states.

Sudan's leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan discussed the issue in an interview with France 24 in Arabic earlier this week. The interview was translated by MEMRI.

In his words, "The normalization [of relations between Sudan and Israel] has nothing to do with the Palestinians' right to establish their own state. The normalization is reconciliation with the international community, and with Israel as part of the international community."

Making clear that Sudan would not be bullied into ending its relations with Israel, Al-Burhan added that the decision to maintain relations with Israel is a sovereign Sudanese decision. It is "the prerogative of the state institutions," said.

Since it is clear that Israel made clear from the outset that it had no interest in conquering Gaza, Hamas will declare victory no matter how much damage it sustained from Israeli airstrikes. So too, after the Biden administration placed the threat of condemning Israel at the UN Security Council on the table in the first days of the conflict, it was clear that Israel wouldn't dare defy Biden for long once he publicly demanded a ceasefire. So Israel stood down without ever stating outright what it would view as a victory in this confrontation.

Despite the deliberate lack of clarity, Israel may well emerge the victor. Two parameters will determine who has won this round of war. First, if the Supreme Court sides with the law and respects the property rights of the Jewish land owners in Sheikh Jarrah, their ruling will deliver a stinging defeat to the Iranian/Hamas axis and their American and European supporters who insist that Jews have no property rights in the neighborhood because they are Jews.

Second, if the Abraham Accords survive the war and ties between Israel and its Arab partners expand and deepen, then Hamas and its partners will be the losing side. As for Mansour Abbas, time will tell if he is a friend or an enemy. But in the meantime, his political survival is a national interest.

Vivian Bercovici: Israel’s Unqualified Victory

Should this cease-fire hold, Israel can be assured that Hamas’ military capability is diminished in the short term. The country can take enormous solace in the fact that a ground war—which everyone dreaded—was avoided. And Israeli intelligence regarding “The Metro”—the underground military infrastructure in Gaza—seems to have been pretty darn good.

Netanyahu avoided a conflict with President Joe Biden, acceding to his clear demands in recent days to negotiate and agree to a cease-fire arrangement. And, as noted by the highly astute British-Palestinian, Ghanem Nusseibeh, Biden was able to take credit for brokering this ceasefire (actually negotiated by Egypt) by finally ending his unofficial boycott of President al-Sisi.

For its part, Hamas has demonstrated a serious ability to manage sustained and serious attacks on Israel, and they have enhanced their profile among radical Palestinians and their supporters, which may well be a majority. Recent polls among West Bank Palestinians indicate that if elections were held today, Hamas would win handily. This is why Abbas “postponed” the elections that were planned to take place this spring, attributing the move to the fictitious Israeli intention to storm and occupy al Aqsa.

Which brings us full circle.

Al Aqsa is not “occupied.” The property dispute involving a Jewish landlord who has held title to certain land in Sheikh Jarrah since 1875—on which Palestinian tenants have resided for more than 50 years, without title—remains unresolved.

And life will ease back into what passes for normal in these parts, until the next flare-up.

John Podhoretz: As Pogromists Activate, Chuck Schumer Cowers

In the city Schumer represents, in the state he represents, Jews are being attacked for being Jews and demonstrators are supporting a terrorist group that is firing rockets at Jews. Where is this vaunted shomer, this supposed guardian of his people? Spiritually cowering under his desk, terrified of a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in his 2022 election. His only significant action since hostilities began was supporting a bipartisan ceasefire statement. At the beginning of the week. The statement did say Israel has the right to defend itself. How nice. And how about my kids walking on the streets of Manhattan, Chuck? Who’s defending them, if only rhetorically? Hey, Chuck: How about your kids?

I am focusing on Chuck Schumer because he is the second or third most important Democratic elected official in America, and his silence speaks volumes about his party’s heartbreaking and disgusting refusal to confront the increasingly unmasked and open anti-Semitism spewing from the mouths and tweets of AOC and her fellow Squad members and other terrorist apologists in the House—not to mention Bernie Sanders, who shames the memories of his forbears with his humanitarian concern for every other minority group on earth save the very people whose blood courses through his ice-cold veins.

There is murder in the air. Do not mistake it for anything else. And do not mistake cravenness, and cowardice, and rancid ambition for anything else, either.

Commentary Magazine Podcast: The Violence Against Jews and the Democrats’ Complicity

Street violence targeting American Jews is on the rise across America. It is being provoked and condoned by progressives within the Democratic establishment, and the party is doing nothing about it.

Douglas Murray: Why do parts of Britain erupt whenever Israel defends itself?

This has been an observable rule throughout each of the interventions in Gaza, however long or short-lived they have been. It was observable during the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Each time the eruption on British streets is worse than the time before.

This exchange, for instance, has only lasted a couple of weeks so far and looks like coming to an end fairly soon. It has not involved a land invasion of Gaza. It has involved rocket barrages fired at Israel from Gaza, responded to by Israeli precision bombing against the launch sites and other targets that Hamas and co have built in among the Palestinian civilian population. So by the standards of previous exchanges this has been minimal. Yet here are just a few of the things that have happened in the UK as a result.

- Large scale protests outside the Israeli embassy in London involving openly anti-Semitic messages, attended by leading politicians of the opposition Labour party. Nine police officers injured by members of the crowd throwing missiles at the British police.
- Convoys of cars of pro-Palestinian activists drive through Jewish-populated areas of London, broadcasting out calls to 'Fuck the Jews. Rape their daughters'.
- While her colleagues are being injured by the mob, a police officer in London promises protestors that she is on their side and says she is ´praying day and night´ to Allah. Eventually joining the crowds, raises her fist and chants 'Free Palestine'.
- Elsewhere on Britain's streets, Muslims call for Jihad.

I could go on. This is just a taster of how Britain — still technically meant to be under Covid restrictions — loses control when a comparatively minor exchange occurs thousands of miles away. Naturally politicians of the mainstream on all sides condemn the outright racism, bigotry, and intimidation. But they have no strategy — how could they? — for dealing with the growing number of people in Britain who find Israeli self-defence so appalling that it makes them call for violence, and commit violence, on the streets of Britain.

Israel can look after her own affairs. But with each conflict Israel gets dragged into the question arises: can Britain look after hers?

Israel’s Allies Bristle at Claim that Iron Dome Perpetuates Conflict

Amidst Hamas’s continued rocket attacks on Israel and the Jewish State’s ongoing response, the Washington Post has published what some lawmakers and foreign-policy experts claim is a misguided “analysis” of the consequences of Iron Dome missile-defense system.

Iron Dome, which was declared operational in 2011, has a simple charge: to protect Israeli citizens from barrages aimed mostly at population centers from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. With a success rate hovering somewhere around 90 percent, it can only be considered an unqualified success by that metric.

However, the Post piece — authored by Israeli professor Yagil Levy — submits that it also has the unintended effect of perpetuating tension and violence in the region.

Levy argues that “by intercepting almost all incoming rockets, Iron Dome released the Israeli leadership from political pressure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

While he acknowledges that Iron Dome benefits Gazan civilians as well as the Israelis by sparing them the “potentially devastating outcomes of an Israeli ground offensive,” he also believes that the “reduced pressure to resolve the conflict with Gaza also means Iron Dome gives Israelis a false sense of security, based on technological success — which isn’t guaranteed forever — rather than political solutions.”

Levy is not the first to express doubts about Iron Dome in spite of the lives it saves on both sides. In 2012, the Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg passed along an anonymous critic’s concern that it would convince Israeli leaders that “the solution to Gaza will not be to simply build bigger and better walls — both on the ground and in the sky” and incentivize them “to put off hard political decisions.”

The IDF lists its accomplishments during the operation

The IDF put out this infographic of its achievements in the past two weeks:

1. Over 100km of Hamas' underground defensive tunnel system ("the Metro") destroyed.

2. 5 senior Hamas and PIJ division commanders taken out.

3. Some 20 high and medium ranking Hamas and PIJ operatives taken out.

4. Some 200 terrorists reportedly taken out.

5. Some 340 steep-shooting-range capabilities hit.

Some 230 surface-to-surface rockets hit.

Some 70 multi-barreled rocket launchers hit.

Some 35 mortars hit.

6. R&D operatives, workshops and development centers severely hit.

7. 10 Hamas government offices, 11 interior offices and 5 terror-funding banks hit.

8. Dozens of terror camps and outposts hit.

Dozens of command rooms hit.

9 multi-story buildings, used for terrorist activity, hit.

9. Enemy raids,

Dozens of attack tunnels

Dozens of anti-tank attacks

7 aerial threats

2 naval threats prevented.

10. 90% of rockets fired at Israel intercepted.

(h/r Yoel)

Hamas' Felesteen reports:

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Eng. Ahmed Abu Ras, called for the necessity of holding a major and central conference for the reconstruction of Gaza on its land.

In press statements, he stressed Gaza's readiness to receive supporters and donors, in order to directly see the extent of the damage caused by the occupation during its aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Engineer Abu Ras said, "We want the donors and supporters to declare their solidarity and willingness to support the reconstruction of Gaza from its land, so that they would witness the extent of the destruction caused by the aggression."

Hamas will have plenty of concrete to rebuild its tunnels!

What a waste

This was the fourth major conflict between Israel and Gaza terror groups since 2008.

Of the three previous ones, Guardian of the Walls most resembles 2012's Pillar of Defense - massive bombing campaign, many Hamas rockets, Iron Dome intercepting most of them, many rockets that fell short in Gaza killing the innocent but Israel being blamed, no ground invasion.

From everything we can see, there is something else in common with Pillar of Defense: Nothing was really accomplished.

Some residents of Israel’s south slam the government over the ceasefire with Hamas, saying the operation in Gaza should have gone on.

“We feel like we’ve gone through it all for nothing,” a man tells Channel 12 news in an interview. “We had achievements thanks to the army, but there is no strategy. What kind of ceasefire is this?”

The mayor of rocket-stricken Sderot, Alon Davidi, joins widespread attacks on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government by officials in Gaza border communities over the ceasefire with Hamas.

“I don’t understand why we’re having a ceasefire, there is no reason for a ceasefire,” Davidi tells Radio 103FM. “The prime minister and the government had our backing, there were achievements but this is not something that changes the balance of power.

Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam, whose city was bombarded almost non-stop with rockets from Gaza over the 11 days of fighting, voices disappointment at the ceasefire, telling the Kan public broadcaster: “We would have wanted Hamas to be eliminated but we know that won’t happen.”

More enraging is that Israel didn't even seem to demand the return of the two mentally ill Israelis being held in Gaza, Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed, as well as the remains of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.

Of the three previous conflagrations, Pillar of Defense resulted in the least amount of calm - less than 18 months before Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.

Hamas is pretending that this was a military victory. Obviously it wasn't. But it was a huge political victory for them - they are now recognized as the real leaders of the Palestinians, and the Palestinian Authority has supported them to the hilt the entire time.

Also, sad to say, Israel's PR efforts during the fighting was even worse than in previous wars. A belated website set up by the Foreign Ministry was worse than useless, with posters being cropped for no apparent reason and no hyperlinks to dig into the statistics they gave. At times over the years it has looked like Israel started to understand the importance of good PR, and that all fell apart here. There needs to be a rapid response team for every single incident before they gain traction and Israel haters take control of the narrative. Sometimes, it is worth giving up some intelligence information to stop the narrative from becoming "Israel is targeting children/journalists."

In the US, we are seeing that large parts of the Democratic Party essentially aligned themselves with a terror group, taking at face value that Sheikh Jarrah is a reasonable excuse for thousands of missiles.

Palestinian activists in the US are proving themselves to be antisemitic as they incite violence - one needs only to look at videos of any of the many demonstrations, even the "largely peaceful" ones, to see this - yet the media is reluctant to call out the antisemitism that has suddenly become the norm on the streets of New York and Los Angeles. Jew-haters are emboldened to attack Jews in broad daylight.

Is this the new normal in NYC? @NYCMayor pic.twitter.com/MvHCj50Kvp
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) May 21, 2021

1/ The type of vile disinformation spread over the past two weeks across social media, the incitement & antisemitic comments made by notable members of Congress, and the doctored photos aimed at vilifying the Jewish people and the State of Israel have led to this situation in NYC pic.twitter.com/J1arHvzQqa
— The Israel Files (@theisraelfiles) May 21, 2021

I don't see anything to be optimistic about.

Pakistani MPs call to nuke Israel, quote Hitler, refer to Protocols

On CNN, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi went on CNN, right after a UN speech vilifying Israel, and he promptly engaged in antisemitic tropes that he doubled down on, twice, when called on it. He said the Israel controls the media with their "deep pockets".when called on it, he said that this was the perception that the world has, and the only way to combat that perception was for the media to stop saying anything sympathetic to Israel.

Interviewer Bianna Golodryga did a good job holding his feet to the fire, although she still let him get off too easily, allowing him to lie by saying that the anti-Israel protests worldwide were for a two state solution and for peace - the chants at those protests for "Khaybar al Yahud" showed that this is clearly not the case.

Qureshi's antisemitism was not even close to the worst from Pakistani officials.

Earlier this week, Pakistan's National Assembly held sessions to bash Israel, and the statements made there show that Pakistan is an evil Islamist nation that celebrates hate and bigotry.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali asked of the army chief of Pakistan, what good was a seven lakh-strong army if it can’t liberate Palestine and Kashmir? Was the nuclear bomb just an artefact to be displayed in the museum? Similarly, Jamaat Ulema Islam’s Mufti Abdul Shakoor was convinced that Pakistan could wipe out Israel from the face of the earth within minutes. After all, Pakistan was “atomi quwat”. Citing how the Taliban forced out the United States from Afghanistan, Shakoor said “Israel was just a small fry”.

Another Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarian Asma Qadeer pleaded with the speaker to let her enroll for jihad, because it was the only option for Pakistan.

Kanwal Shauzab, national assembly member from the ruling PTI, claimed Hitler said: “I could’ve killed all the Jews but I left some to let the world know why I was killing them.” She was rewarded with desk thumping at the revelation of an incorrect quote attributed to the mass killer.

Shauzab then went onto talk about how Pakistan’s atom bomb would only be burst on Shab-e-Barat. Missing the irony of the destruction linked with the atom bomb.

State minister for parliamentary affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, however, didn’t want to nuke Israel, he preferred Muslims preparing/planning like Jews did for the next 1,000 years. Khan referred to ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, a fake antisemitic hoax about a grand Jewish plan for global domination. A crash course on Palestine for parliamentarians outside WhatsApp University looks like the need of hour.

Outside parliament, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) pledged Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan half-a-million workers who could join him to ensure Palestine’s freedom.

“Pakistani Muslims will sacrifice their youth and lives, but they will not accept the filthy feet of Jews in Jerusalem,” TLP leader Ashraf Asif Jalali said in solidarity with Erdoğan..

This is a nation of mentally ill, bigoted and hateful Islamists - who happen to have nukes.

05/20 Links Pt2: John Podhoretz: Israel has acted like a moral beacon in the latest Gaza war against terror; Brendan O’Neill: What’s the real reason so many people hate Israel?; Abraham Accords Hold Firm Despite Gaza Conflict

From Ian:

John Podhoretz: Israel has acted like a moral beacon in the latest Gaza war against terror

The Iron Dome doesn’t just save Israeli lives and property. It has likely saved the lives of tens of thousands of Gazan Palestinians just in the past two weeks.

How? Imagine that the system didn’t exist, that Hamas had collected 30,000 rockets, and then began firing them. Israelis would perish by the hundreds or more. The response would, of necessity, be devastating. Israel would be compelled to enter Gaza with overwhelming force and go street by street, tunnel by tunnel, to locate the rocket caches and blow them up.

It is awful that 60,000 Palestinians have had to flee their homes or been rendered homeless. But every single one of them owes their current parlous condition to Hamas’ strategy of interlacing its weaponry in and around Gaza’s citizenry.

That has other consequences, as well. As Jonathan Sacerdoti recently noted in The Spectator, more than 400 Hamas rockets fired from Gaza have landed … in Gaza. Hamas simply rolls the casualties from those inadvertent acts of self-destruction into the overall toll it blames on the Jewish state.

The central emotional claim against Israel is that disproportionate death toll. But consider what we are being asked to believe here. According to Hamas’ own numbers, something akin to 20 Palestinians a day have been killed. Every civilian death is a tragedy. But the relatively small figures — compare the Gaza figures to the mass horrors of the Syrian civil war — are a testament not to Israel’s barbarism, but to its determination to avoid civilian casualties.

Israel gets precious little credit. It does it anyway. History will record Israel as a moral beacon in this regard. While there has been damage and deaths an Israel, the Iron Dome defense has prevented even more.

As for those who are lining up with a terrorist group and serving its propagandistic interests? If they’re lucky, history will forget them, and their ignominy will not haunt their descendants.

Tablet Unorthodox PodCast: Ep. 275: A conversation with Israeli journalist Matti Friedman, and an audio diary from the bomb shelters in Tel Aviv

This week on Unorthodox, we’re doing our best to process—and help you process—what’s going on in Israel and Gaza.

First we talk with Israeli journalist Matti Friedman, whose recent article for Tablet, “Jerusalem of Glue,” highlights the gap between the outward narrative of conflict and the more cohesive day-to-day reality on the ground in the city. He’s been on the show before, talking about his book Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel.

Then we take you into the bomb shelters of Tel Aviv, where Carrie Keller-Lynn and Aliza Landes, hosts of the podcast Us Among the Israelis, have been documenting their experiences as an audio diary.

Brendan O’Neill: What’s the real reason so many people hate Israel?

There’s a question that hangs like a long, dark shadow over Western leftists’ and liberals’ furious opposition to Israel, and I have never heard a satisfactory answer to it. It’s this: why do you hate Israel more than any other nation?

Why does Israeli militarism offend and horrify you more than Turkish militarism, or Saudi militarism, or American and British militarism for that matter? Why is it ‘genocide’ and ‘war crimes’ and ‘bloodletting’ when Israel takes action against Palestinian militants, but not when Turkey takes action against Kurdish militants? Seriously — what is the answer?

Turkey’s incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan is called Operation Claw-Lightning. It started on 23 April. It is part of Turkey’s long-running war with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the militant Kurdish organisation dedicated to creating an independent Kurdistan and based mainly in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq.

Operation Claw-Lightning is a follow-up to Operation Claw, a Turkish onslaught in Iraqi Kurdistan that lasted from May 2019 to June 2020. Hundreds of people were killed or wounded in that operation. These operations, of course, are only the latest flare-ups in Turkey’s 40-year war with Kurdish militants, which has led to the deaths of around 20,000 Kurdish civilians and the destruction of between 2,500 and 4,000 Kurdish villages.

So where are the Kurdish flags on caring people’s social-media feeds? Why doesn’t Sky News have pained-looking reporters in Iraqi Kurdistan talking to families who have been displaced by the Turkish bombardment? Why haven’t tens of thousands of Brits taken to the streets to register their fury with Turkey, as they have done with Israel following its latest conflict with Hamas in Gaza?

Abraham Accords Hold Firm Despite Gaza Conflict

The current fighting with Hamas has provided the first test for the Abraham Accords.

Last Friday, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed sent his condolences to all the victims and stressed the importance of the Abraham Accords in creating a better future for coming generations.

The most widespread sentiment on social media is criticism of Hamas, an organization which has few fans in the Gulf, mainly because it has brought large-scale destruction to Gaza.

Tel Aviv University Institute for National Security Studies social media analyst Irit Perlov said that the Islamic political leaders of the Gulf see Hamas as almost representing a threat and hence the neutral declarations and lack of condemnation of Israel.

The UAE had wanted to invest in infrastructure projects in Gaza but that readiness has disappeared.

More Gaza memes

I've been busy on Twitter.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly interviewed Israel's former ambassador Ron Dermer to the UN about the current fighting.

Every time Dermer mentioned Hamas's genocidal goals - which are pretty explicit in its still-current founding charter - Kelly interrupted him.

The first time was perhaps not a big deal:

DERMER: It's not a battle between Israelis and Palestinians. It's a terror organization that controls Gaza, not just the terror organization, but a genocidal one that...

KELLY: You're talking about Hamas, which is recognized internationally as a terror organization. Go on.

The next time shows that Kelly, and presumably NPR, have an agenda of downplaying any genocidal intentions from Hamas:

KELLY: Ambassador Dermer, understanding, of course, that every country, including Israel, has the right to defend itself. You are the stronger power here. Why not go first?

DERMER: I don't understand why, if Israel is the stronger power, that makes any difference. You just had a representative, a spokesman for a terror organization. And, Mary Louise, it's important to tell your audience this is an organization that calls for the murder of Jews worldwide.

KELLY: Let me stop you because my question to you is, why doesn't Israel stop the shooting first?

DERMER: I'll answer the question. I'll answer the question. But the context has to be given to the people of the United States. I think you have an obligation as a journalist, to also explain what we're dealing with.

KELLY: Whatever Hamas may or may not be, why not go first? Why not put a cease-fire into place? Why not explore?

What is more enraging is that there is very little pushback from NPR host Steve Inskeep when Hamas representative Basem Naim tells him lies. Hamas' message is allowed to reach American audiences without interruption and his narrative is unchallenged, unlike Dermer.

NAIM: This story didn't start by launching rockets; this story started by forceful eviction of Palestinians from their houses in Sheikh Jarrah, a second Nakba. And this story started by our forceful - full-force planning of storming the most holiest place for 1.7 billion Muslims in the holy month of Ramadan.

INSKEEP: Forgive me. I understand what you're saying, and let's stipulate that Israel did evict families and that there were protests that Israeli police responded to in Jerusalem and that many people were injured.

No one was evicted!

INSKEEP: But if you'll forgive me, I don't - I'm not grasping how firing rockets into civilian areas and receiving fire back from Israel that's been very destructive in Gaza - I'm not understanding how that is addressing the problem that you're naming.

NAIM: It is addressing the problem by - because the international - first of all, I have to clear - to clarify one important point. Anarchy (ph) by people under occupation, regardless of - it is Israelis or Muslims, Jewish - they have the right, based on the international law, to resist the occupation by all feasible means, including armed resistance - when to use it, how to use it.

That is a flat out lie. Under international law one may never target civilians. NPR's listeners won't know this. Perhaps Inskeep doesn't know this.

NAIM: Palestinians have the right to defend themselves. And I have to say, if you consider the launching rockets against Israeli cities is not acceptable or rejected, OK, this is your right, but what do you say about being imprisoned - or, I mean, 2 million Palestinians for 15 years under Israeli siege, suffocating siege, where - so that the United Nations called Gaza as the biggest open-air prison. Our Gaza in 2020 is unlivable.

INSKEEP: You're correct, largely correct, in your description of Gaza. We've reported from there. I've reported from there. You have said in response to the question about why fire missiles into populated areas that you believe Hamas has the right to do this as an occupied people. I guess, then, my next question is whether you think it is wise. By doing this, you've exposed Gaza to an Israeli response that you can't really defend against, and a great number of people are killed. Has this been wise?

NAIM: Israel didn't stop attacking Gaza 24 hours, seven days a week, along the last few years. If you live in Gaza, you can hear 24 hours, seven days a week, air drones in the sky and attacking people here and there. I mean, the Israeli aggression didn't stop because of Hamas rockets.

INSKEEP: How much longer are you expecting the firing to go?

Inskeep, who has already established himself as an "expert" for having visited Gaza a couple of times, doesn't dispute Naim's characterization of Israel constantly attacking Gaza 24/7 even during calmer times.

Before this current fighting, not one Gazan was killed by the IDF in 14 months. Clearly when there is calm from Hamas, Israel responds with calm. Naim is lying - but the NPR "expert" lets him lie without comment, without interruption that NPR hosts do to Israeli guests.

Between these two interviews we see that Israelis will be interrupted if they point out what Hamas is all about, but Hamas won't be interrupted when they spout lies. That's pretty much NPR.

Rabbi Notes Importance Of Judging Others Favorably Who Donate To Rabbi (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

check Lawrence, May 20 - A spiritual leader used his sermon this week to stress the Jewish value of always giving someone the benefit of the doubt in the face of awkward or compromising reports, specifically if that someone has cut a generous check to said spiritual leader, the institutions run by that spiritual leader, or to interests of his family and friends.

Rabbi Tzvi Ut of Congregation Rodef Shalmonim exhorted his flock this past Sabbath to fulfill the divine commandment of "With righteousness shall you judge your fellow," a passage from Deuteronomy that generations of Jewish scholars have interpreted to apply far beyond the verse's immediate context of jurisprudence. Rabbi Ut stressed that the obligation to judge another favorably pertains especially to those who have done so much for the community by contributing funds or goods to the Ut household and to institutions under the aegis of Ut relatives and associates.

"When disturbing reports emerge about pillars of our community," stated the Rabbi, "our first obligation, even in the era of the Me Too movement, is not to prejudge, but to grant the presumption of innocence, because people who donate generously to the Rabbi thereby become worthy of our support. This also holds true for donors to the various educational funds my sons, brothers, Sisters, brothers-in-law, and several nephews administer, of course."

The Rabbi observed the ancient underpinnings of this important teaching. "Indulgences are not a Jewish tradition," he acknowledged, "but the Catholics were onto something. In Avot we are admonished to judge all people favorably, but a close reading of the text of that Mishna bears out not only the understanding of 'all people,' but also 'all of the person,' and as we all know from the conversations that take place during services at our synagogue, about the stock market, cars, renovations, and other business, 'all of the person' in our eyes comes down to his money and how he disburses it."

Congregants gave a mixed response to the sermon. "Well, I didn't fall asleep halfway through, which I guess is something," conceded Jeff Epstein. "I liked the Rabbi's choice of words when he said we must 'suspend' judgment. That imagery of hanging resonated for some reason."

"He should have been even more forceful about it, I think," argued Harv Weinstein. "Actually I might have to write a check or two if I want that to happen, come to think of it."

05/20 Links Pt1: The myth of the Al-Aqsa 'siege' continues to ignite Palestinian violence; Caroline Glick: "Media are Agents of Israel's Enemies in the War Against Israel"

From Ian:

The War Between Wars Heats Up

IN CONFLICTS PAST, senior American officials often stepped in and compelled both sides to see the wisdom of a cease-fire. Sometimes Israel wanted to keep fighting. Sometimes it was ready to quit. But it always acquiesced to Washington, in a nod to the special relationship that the two countries share.

This time, the Biden administration dispatched Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hady Amr in an effort to “deconflict,” as the neologism has it. This decision was a curious one. Protocol dictates that Amr, a relatively low-ranking official, would not enjoy access to Israel’s top decision-makers.

It’s also unclear how much Israel wants to talk to U.S. officials about Iranian-backed terror these days. Tensions are running high owing to the Biden administration’s ill-advised decision to reenter the flawed 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. America’s side of the deal will almost certainly include billions of dollars in cash incentives to the regime in exchange for temporary nuclear concessions. In other words, America is set to fund Hamas indirectly, given the terror group’s patron-client relationship with Iran.

Finally, there is the question of what exactly America seeks to achieve in the region. The Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it seeks to pivot away from the Middle East. But at the same time, it is investing significant time and effort to revive the nuclear deal—which will empower Iran while weakening Israel and the Gulf Arab states. Hamas knows this. And that is likely one reason the Hamas leadership felt sufficiently emboldened to launch this latest conflict.

In other words, this latest round could be an early indicator of the Biden administration’s new Middle East. It’s not a good one.

Commentary Magazine Podcast: Gaza, Commissions, and Pipelines

Today’s podcast goes over the latest in the ideological war of the Left against Israel, the political hijinx over the January 6 commission, and what on earth is going on with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

David Friedman: The myth of the Al-Aqsa 'siege' continues to ignite Palestinian violence

On Aug. 24, 1929, an Arab mob massacred 69 Jews and wounded many more in Hebron, Judaism’s second holiest city which hosts the Cave of the Patriarchs, the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah. The motivation for this unconscionable assault was a false rumor that Jews in Jerusalem were laying siege to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located on the Temple Mount, the third holiest site in Islam and Judaism’s most holy location.

Those seeking to rid the Jews from British Mandatory Palestine, as the land was then referred to, and to override the League of Nations Mandate which established within that territory a national home for the Jewish people, took notice of the extreme emotional reaction they had provoked with the rumor of an Al-Aqsa siege. It became institutionalized within their antisemitic playbook and remains a potent weapon to this day.

It’s not as if anyone really believed that the Jews were interlopers in Jerusalem, where they had lived for thousands of years. Indeed, in “A Brief Guide to the Al-Haram Al-Sharif” published by the Supreme Muslim Council in 1935, the authors, referring to the Temple Mount (“Al-Haram Al-Sharif” in Arabic), acknowledged that “its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot according to the universal belief, on which ‘David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.’” But in spite of, or perhaps because of, this undisputed biblical connection of the Jewish people to the Temple Mount, Arab extremists have played upon the fear and hatred of the Arab street to cause countless acts of violence against Jews throughout the past century.

I saw this first-hand when I was U.S. ambassador to Israel. On July 14, 2017, three Arab Israeli men exited Al-Aqsa and opened fire on two Israeli border police officers, killing them both. It was the first time that weapons apparently had been stored at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, necessitating a brief closure and search of the building. Once the Israeli police had swept the premises, the Mosque was reopened and metal detectors were installed to prevent further dangerous incidents.

The mere placing of the security devices at the entry points — common now to almost all public places (including the Western Wall, where Jews come to pray) — created a huge opportunity for Mahmoud Abbas, the aging and unpopular head of the Palestinian Authority, to establish himself as the “defender” of Jerusalem. Abbas encouraged dangerous violence for nearly a week until the metal detectors were taken down for the Muslim worshippers (but not for those entering through the single gate earmarked for non-Muslims). He knew full well that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was not under attack, but he played up the false rumor to advance his own needs. Lives were lost on both sides by the violence he promoted.

Caroline Glick: "Media are Agents of Israel's Enemies in the War Against Israel"

Eli Lake: A Cease-Fire Is Not Enough When It Comes to Hamas

Today the Palestinians of Gaza are hostages to Hamas. Biden should devise a political strategy aimed at freeing them.

A first step should be in the negotiations for the cease-fire. Biden should avoid the mistake of former Secretary of State John Kerry, who in 2014 tried to negotiate a cease-fire with friendlier patrons of Hamas, such as Qatar and Turkey. Biden should deal primarily with Egypt, whose leader has no love for Islamists such as Hamas and is trusted by the Israelis.

Biden should also demand that any reconstruction aid for Gaza bypass Hamas entirely. This could be done by empowering elements of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, for example, or by working with Arab allies that have already reached diplomatic agreements with Israel, such as the United Arab Emirates. Gazans need aid desperately — but none of that aid should go to the coffers of Hamas.

Biden should also reconsider his decision to renew U.S. funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. Since 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza, the agency has acted as an unofficial arm of the local government in Gaza. At the very least, U.S. aid should be conditioned on purging Hamas members from its payroll.

In the medium term, Biden should seek to revive Palestinian civil society and electoral politics. There have been no Palestinian elections since 2006. Last month, the octogenarian leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, canceled scheduled elections to hardly any protest from the U.S. and Europe. Abbas probably has only a few years left. Biden should begin planning now for elections once he leaves office.

The Joshua and Caleb Network: Israel & the War With Gaza (full update on the current situation)

2 Things to remember about the current situation in Israel. Israel is not responsible for this war with Gaza, and their response has not been disproportionate. Find out why on today’s episode.

Nearly 4,000 rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza over the course of the last week. More than 400 of them landed back inside Gaza and on their heads of their own people.

The Associated Press is upset that Israel bombed the building that they shared with Hamas. They claim that they didn’t know Hamas was there. Are they just incompetent or is the Associated Press collaborating with terrorists?

On today’s episode, we cover all of the stories, details and facts on the ground from the situation here in Israel over the last week and a half. You don’t want to miss it.

How Cynical Must You Be To Support Hamas? (Daled Amos)

By Daled Amos

The Hamas deliberate disregard for human life -- Gazan, as well as Jewish -- is not a secret, though this indifference never dissuades Hamas's admirers.

Last week, The Algemeiner reported on blatant examples of Gazans killed by Hamas:

The volleys of over 600 missiles fired into Israeli territory by Palestinian terrorist groups since fighting began Monday has included at least 150 errant rockets — falling short within the Gaza Strip and causing casualties that Hamas officials have wrongly blamed on Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“We know that one third of the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip did not reach Israel and fell inside Gaza,” [IDF Spokesperson Hidai] Zilberman said. “What we can learn from this is that many Gaza residents who were injured or killed were not hit by Israeli airstrikes but the civilians were hit by rockets from the terrorist groups themselves.” [emphasis added]

These statistics come from Israel.
But you don't have to take their word for it.

Elder of Ziyon points out that corroboration for Gazans being killed by Hamas rockets comes from a pro-Palestinian group too. The anti-Israel NGO, Defense for Children International-Palestine, admits that Gazans -- with no place to take shelter -- are being killed by Hamas rockets:

In a second incident around 6:05 p.m., initial investigations suggest a homemade rocket fired by a Palestinian armed group fell short and killed eight Palestinians, including two children. The rocket landed in Saleh Dardouna Street near Al-Omari Mosque in Jabalia, North Gaza, according to evidence collected by DCIP. Mustafa Mohammad Mahmoud Obaid, 16, was killed in the blast, and five-year-old Baraa Wisam Ahmad al-Gharabli succumbed to his injuries around 11 p.m. on May 10.

Palestinian security sources and explosives experts indicated the cause of this explosion was a Palestinian armed group rocket that fell short. Another 34 Palestinian civilians were injured in the blast, including 10 children, according to DCIP’s documentation.

And as more and more rockets are fired by Hamas in the direction of Israeli cities, more and more rockets fall short, landing in Gaza, causing destruction and even death.

A group on WhatsApp that provides updates from the IDF noted on Wednesday:

This is not the first time Gazans are dodging Hamas rockets.
These faulty rockets were documented in 2014, even before the start of Operation Protective Edge that year.

The blog My Right Word posted documentation by the Gaza Strip NGOs Safety Office (GANSO) from March 2014:

The website no longer exists, but a cached copy of the complete report as a PDF is still accessible online.
The link to the site now forwards you to the American Friends Service Committee.

Hamas rockets crashing into Gaza was recognized as an ongoing occurrence, as mentioned in an earlier report in January, indicating the number of Hamas rockets crashing into Gaza rose from 30% to 50%. Here is a copy of the first page of that report. The cached copy of the complete report is here.

But Hamas-inflicted casualties in Gazan has never dampened Hamas enthusiasm for firing faulty rockets.
Instead, 2 years later -- in 2016 -- Hamas offered to sell their rockets to any Arab country interested in using them to kill Jews:

According to the MEMRI translation:

Fathi Hammad: "This army has its own industry. Incidentally, we are now ready to sell our missiles to Arab countries. These are advanced missiles. If you look into the missile or weapon industries of developed countries, you will find that Gaza has become the leading manufacturer of missiles among Arab countries - I'm not saying Islamic countries. We are prepared to sell them (to Arab countries) - so that they will launch them against the Jews, not for infighting among themselves."

There was no word of any Arab takers, but then again that is not the point. This was all about bragging rights, just as Hamas now claims to be the defenders of Al Aqsa against encroachment by Israel.

Casualties are irrelevant.
They mean nothing to Hamas.
They certainly mean nothing to Iran.
And they don't mean anything to Hamas supporters on social media.

As for Hamas, on May 12, they bragged that they were using up their older, outdated rockets and getting ready to use newer, more efficient ones. That would be a conscious choice to knowingly fire faulty rockets that were sure to cause damage and even death, before using newer rockets that supposedly would avoid damage and death to their own people.

Maybe it was one of those newer rockets that Hamas fired on May 15 -- and landed in the West Bank town of Azzun.

Even Lebanon is getting in on the act. On May 18, six rockets were fired towards Israel -- and all 6 rockets fell short and crashed into Lebanon.

And all the while, social media is thick with the cynicism of anti-Israel attacks against Israel's self-defense against terrorist rockets, ignoring not only that unarmed civilians are the targets but also that the people of Gaza are themselves the victims of Hamas.

Is the support for Hamas 'resistance' any more genuine than the support for BDS that never seems to lead to genuine assistance for the Palestinian Arabs themselves?
Or is this just one more tactic for publicly undercutting Israel in the media?

The AP/Al Jazeera building appears to have been a cyber and signal intelligence hub

The Alma Research and Education Center, which normally does original intelligence analysis of threats on Israel's northern border, takes a look at Israel's bombing of the Al Jalaa towers that housed several media outlets including AP and Al Jazeera.

The roof of the building had a stunning amount of antennas and dishes there:

This is not normal for a media building. These are sophisticated military intelligence gathering tools.

The IDF at the time of the bombing announced that it "contained military assets belonging to Hamas military intelligence." The array of equipment visible indicates that this is an understatement.

Analyst Tal Beeri notes that a week before the bombing, Israel asked that residents of communities near Gaza turn off and disconnect all home security cameras they have inside and outside their houses.

The only reason that makes sense is if Hamas has a way of intercepting the video signals (whether by direct access to the camera or through wi-fi) from miles away, which is certainly possible, especially if the signal is unobstructed - Gaza towers could easily have a direct line of sight into Israeli communities.

Beeri takes an educated guess that Hamas used the building to grab video signals to effectively turn security cameras into their own spy equipment to see where they can plan drone attacks or kidnap attempts.

He says, "The Hamas military intelligence technological research and development unit is accountable for carrying out terrorist activities against Israel and operated inside of a military compound situated within the building. In our assessment, this unit activated offensive cyber or SIGINT capabilities or a combination of both. The antennas on the roof of the building were utilized by this unit to carry out its operations against Israeli targets, both civilian and military."

This is more than plausible. Civilian media hubs do not have that type of array of equipment on their roofs.

And when you understand the potential danger that such an intelligence operation would pose to Israeli civilians - undoubtedly built with Iranian expertise - tweets like this from Ben Rhodes shows how little supposed "experts" know - or in his case, how they try to gaslight everyone.