Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, November 14, 2024

11/14 Links Pt1: What an "America First" Policy Means for Israel; HRW's Bogus Gaza "Displacement" Report: Erasing Hamas and Manipulating Facts

From Ian:

Seth Frantzman: Israel must press ahead and finish off either Hamas or Hezbollah – for peace

The IDF is now deployed on two fronts. Five divisions – the bulk of the army – is in the north. Three divisions are operating in Gaza, while two have the job of securing the Gaza border and corridors across the Strip, one of which is south of Gaza City and the other runs along the Egyptian border. In essence, this leaves the IDF with only one division that can act as a mobile hammer against Hamas. It is not hard to transfer forces from the northern to southern fronts. The IDF moved the 98th Division from Gaza to fight in Lebanon in early September. Other units have moved from one area to another.

Israel faces numerous hurdles next year. Fewer IDF reservists are turning up to their units due to the strain of being called up for ten months out of the last year. Israel’s defence budget is ballooning, possibly creating more economic challenges for the country. Essential tools for the war effort such as D-9 bulldozers from the US are also taking time to arrive. Armoured vehicles have seen so much unprecedented action that the IDF now has to outsource repairs for them. This is what a long, intense war looks like.

But for all the challenges ahead, Israel has many opportunities. The incoming Trump administration is expected to be very supportive of Israel. This may deter Iran and its proxies, or at least give Israel a blank cheque to wipe the floor with them if need be. However, a blank cheque can also be deceptive. Israel will have the support it needs but it will need to decide what to do with all these open options.

Handing Hamas or Hezbollah a clear defeat is necessary for peace. Israel has eliminated the leaders of both groups, but the groups have vowed to carry on the war. They also have backing from abroad; Russia, Iran, China, Turkey and other countries have an interest in this war continuing, each for their own reasons. A clear victory on one of the fronts is therefore a setback for Iran in the region, and would also bolster the US and the west globally.

Trump admin will bring ‘new thinking’ to hostage deal stalemate, father of murdered captive says

Relatives of hostages, whom Hamas holds in Gaza, came out of a Wednesday afternoon Oval Office meeting with U.S President Joe Biden hopeful about future progress amid the lame duck period and transition of White House administrations.

JNS asked the family members if Biden had committed to do anything differently in the final two months of his tenure to secure a deal that would release the hostages.

“The fact that there is a new administration that will put new thoughts on the table, new thinking, and I think that–by itself—is a welcome progress,” Ruby Chen, the father of the Israeli-American hostage Itay Chen, whose body is being held in Gaza, told JNS. “We have been in a stalemate for a couple of months on the hostage deal.”

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security advisor, said earlier in the day that the Biden administration “sent a signal” to Trump’s team that it is prepared to coordinate on a hostage deal.

There has been no agreement in place since Hamas broke a ceasefire following last November’s agreement, which resulted in the release of 50 Israeli hostages over a four-day pause in fighting. Some 101 hostages remain in Gaza, 97 of whom were abducted on Oct. 7. It isn’t known publicly how many are alive.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of Israeli-American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told reporters that family members “came away absolutely understanding that with that same energy and investment, President Biden and his team will continue working to gain the release” of all the hostages “every moment up until Jan. 20,” the final day of Biden’s presidency.

Dekel-Chen said that the families are also calling on the incoming Trump administration “to use these next two months not to learn necessarily about the hostages, but to take action immediately with their counterparts in the national security structure of the United States government to make it happen now—before Inauguration Day.”

I am a Palestinian in Gaza. Hamas must cede control and release the hostages

Do not believe the liars who boast from hotel stages and appear on misleading satellite channels. Do not trust the pompous leaders, their assistants, the foolish drummers, or any spokesperson who lacks honor or piety. They are nothing but merchants of lies and fraud.

Believe us—the people of Gaza. We are the residents of worn-out tents, the living saints who see and witness everything. We alone know what has happened and what is happening. We feel the fire of war that was imposed upon us, on a morning we never could have imagined. It fell upon us like a day of reckoning, separating the industry of life from the game of death. We have become targets for bombings and displacement, with no one to protect or help us.

Do not believe the liars, and do not listen to those who invoke our name from afar. Do not call us heroes or steadfast. We are the unfortunate, displaced, exhausted, and suffering.

We have lost everything—everything, except our trust in our Lord to take revenge on those who brought this oppression upon us, who left us prey to be devoured by the occupation. We will also hold accountable those who kill, uproot, and rob us of our land, as well as those who profit from our pain.

This is our reality—plain and honest—not the lies of the deceitful or the claims of fools. Effective intervention must come from the Palestinian leadership led by President Mahmoud Abbas, recognized as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. Hamas must cede its control, allow a ceasefire, and facilitate the release of abductees in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The leadership must bear full responsibility, working with the world and Israel to rebuild Gaza and address all issues, paving the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace and stability alongside Israel.

Iran To Protect Navy, Oil From Israeli Strikes By Sinking Them Underwater (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

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Bandar Abbas, November 17 - Escalating strikes between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel have leaders of the former worried about the vulnerability of its military and merchant vessels, a weak point in the regime's economic security, and as a result they have given preliminary approval to a plan that will send those vessels to the bottom of the Persian Gulf to prevent Israeli airstrikes or cruise missiles from hitting them, sources in Tehran reported today.

The Islamic Republic's continued support for various terrorist militias around the Jewish state, plus its own multiple ballistic and cruise missile attacks, prompted several Israeli reprisals and preemptive operations, the latest of which neutralized Iran's air defense systems, among other strategic targets, rendering sensitive and precarious pieces of the regime's strategic assets only one airstrike or other attack away from destruction or severe damage. Among those assets are elements of Iran's nuclear weapons program and the country's oil export facilities. Tehran will likely send those tankers and a number of both dockside and floating facilities to the sea bed, out of reach of Israeli bombs, missiles, or drones.

"Underwater environments wreak havoc with missile guidance systems," explained Iranian military expert Ayeet Mehrd. "Even pilots attempting to sight their targets visually cannot do so if the target lies below a certain depth. It makes obvious sense to protect whatever Iran can by sinking it in the Persian Gulf preemptively."

Analysts compared the move to siting important military installations or positions underground. "We know that tunnels and underground facilities are a staple of Iran and its proxies in the region," noted Mideast commentator Ahopyu Draoun. "Recent reports even have the Khamenei regime digging tunnels in Tehran itself. The principle for the maritime and naval assets is the same, but without all the digging."

Draoun also noted some potential pitfalls of the move. "Israel has a navy and even submarines," he observed. "Iran's defensive capabilities in that area are... less than impressive. Still, an Israeli operation all the way around the Arabian Peninsula, beyond the Strait of Hormuz, to hit those now-underwater targets, and back again, probably exceeds Israeli naval capabilities. Probably."

The Iranian sources further disclosed that the senior leadership of the regime had begun to lean in the direction of the submerging of the assets rather than a rival proposal involving the movement of the tankers into the interior of the country where Israeli naval assets could not reach them.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

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What a surprise. @UNRWA schools with Hamas-linked principals taught support for terror and martyrdom

IMPACT-SE just released "Review of UNRWA Schools Headed by Hamas Principals." As it says:

[Israel] identified twelve UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip holding senior positions (schools principals, deputies, directors and deputy directors of training centers) as members of Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The intelligence shows that over 10% of the 510 employees in UNRWA's education system in the Gaza Strip, who hold senior positions, are members of Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both of which are designated terror organizations.

Two of the Hamas-member UNRWA employees were principals of schools under which Hamas tunnels were built, as revealed by UNRWA itself: Al-Maghazi Boys Preparatory School B, and Al-Zaytun Boys Preparatory School A. ...

The report found that Al-Maghazi school produced material glorifying violence and terrorism, such as a text describing a firebomb attack on a bus carrying Israelis as a "barbecue party." The report also showed that terrorists such as Dalal Al-Mughrabi, who committed the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, are glorified as heroes in the classrooms of Al-Zaytun Boys Elementary Schools A, an UNRWA school located in the same complex as the Al-Zaytun Preparatory School. UNRWA repeatedly claims that it does not teach content praising Mughrabi, yet these examples are clear evidence to the contrary.

Furthermore, this report exposes new material prepared by and taught in three schools, whose principals were identified as Hamas operatives... Educational content prepared and adopted by these schools promotes libels against and non-recognition of Israel, and gratuitously inserts content promoting hatred and violence against Israel into grammar exercises.

Examples:

An Arabic Language study card produced by an UNRWA school in the Gaza Strip contains a reading comprehension story, cynically celebrating an attack on Israeli passengers traveling on a bus, describing it as a “barbecue party” (ḥaflat šiwā’). Contextually, this story references a 1988 Palestinian attack on an Israeli school bus near the settlement of Psagot in the West Bank, which involved the use of Molotov cocktails.

The 5th grade Arabic Language summary teaches a text titled "I Love My Village" (p. 8) which presents martyrdom in a positive light by praising the fact that the land—referring to Palestine—is “mixed with the blood of the martyrs.” It also teaches students (p. 15) that martyrdom and jihad are “the most important meanings of life” through an exercise practicing vocabulary and Arabic grammar.

On September 9, 2023, the Telegram group for the 5th grade [of one of the Hamas-led UNRWA schools] , class 1, posted a photo of a blackboard in a school classroom in which students are taught a lesson from the PA textbook titled "Hooray for the Heroes", which glorifies individuals affiliated with war, violence, religious extremism and even terrorism, such as Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam. Children are encouraged to see these heroes as their role models: “each of us wishes to be like them”. The blackboard shows the name of the lesson's title and questions from the textbooks discussing the importance of such "heroes".

On March 2, 2022, the Telegram group for the 5th grade, class 1,144 posted images of a classroom blackboard displaying a large photo of Dalal Mughrabi, along with text venerating her from a PA Arabic textbook (Arabic Language, Grade 5, Vol. 2, 2020, p. 52.)145 The next day, on March 3, 2022, the same Telegram group posted photos of the students presenting to the class while standing in front of the blackboard with the lesson on [mass murderer] Dalal Mughrabi. [UNRWA has denied any school teach praise for Mughrabi.]

On September 14, 2023, Malek al-Harazin, a teacher at the school, uploaded a summary of a lesson from the National Education textbook to a grade 5 Telegram group. The summary teaches students that Israel steals Palestinian antiquities, presenting them as Jewish,166 which implies that Israel has no historic connection to the land. The summary uploaded by al-Harazin teaches that the aim behind the robbery of antiquities is to expel Palestinians and to colonize their lands.

Every time UNRWA is exposed, the agency denies, obfuscates and lies about their teachers - while they silently remove them from the classrooms and the websites from the Internet. And they just keep coming back.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

There is an excellent paper at JCPA showing how the EU spent over 1.8 billion euros to promote gender equality among women in the West Bank and Gaza - when the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are explicitly against women's rights.

As I looked a little deeper, I saw that Spain spent €300,000 on "Building a life free of violence against women in Area C of the Governorates of Bethlehem" in 2022. I wondered exactly what the problem is in Area C specifically, which is under Israeli security control.

According to UN documents and others, there is a real problem Since the Palestinian Authority police cannot operate in Area C, some abusive men flee to Area C to avoid being arrested. Also, Arabs who live in those areas do not have to worry about being prosecuted for abusing their wives because of the security vacuum.

So what can be done?

One NGO report summarized recommendations, mostly to add a Palestinian police presence in Area C - which would erode Israel's security control over the area and endanger Israeli citizens.

If Israel occupies those areas under international law, then Israel should be responsible for enforcing all laws including domestic violence among Arabs. Why do no NGOs demand Israeli police arrest Arab wife beaters? If the Israeli police aren't doing their legal obligations, shouldn't there be demands for them to step up? When I was reading about this problem, that was my first thought - this is under Israel's jurisdiction and therefore Israel's responsibility.

So why don't any NGOs or the UN demand Israel adhere to international law?

Because they hate Israel and would prefer Palestinian women be beaten and abused rather than support more Israeli security control over areas it already has control over.

To be sure, Palestinian women are reluctant to go to Israeli police, even in Arab areas of Jerusalem. A Palestinian NGO explains: "If a woman tries to go to the [Israeli] police, the family and community stigmatize her for going to the occupation and harming her family."

But that does not absolve Israel of doing everything it can to prosecute crimes in areas it controls. That is international law. Israeli police have problems in Arab communities in Israel as well, but they have to solve the problem nevertheless - and they also need to in all areas under their control.

I cannot find one NGO that constantly accuses Israel of violating international law to uphold that same law when the lives of Arab women are at stake.

No, instead of insisting that these areas are "occupied" and therefore Israeli security must prosecute Arab abusers of women, they say that Israel must allow a separate, hostile police force into its territory - which erodes Israel's control of the area, and which is their real goal, just as the EU builds illegal Arab buildings, especially schools, specifically in Area C knowing that they will be torn down for being built without permits.

Even for "human rights" NGOs, hating Israel is more important than women's lives.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Human Rights Watch issued yet another report whose only purpose is to demonize Israel.

This one says that Israel is violating international law by forcing Gazans to evacuate areas that are about to be attacked. In other words, Israeli efforts to save civilian lives are being framed as Israeli efforts to wantonly hurt civilians.

As usual with NGOs like HRW, the report is detailed, it is heavily footnoted, it painstakingly builds a case, and uses selective facts to create a huge lie. The lies come both from taking data out of context and, more often, ignoring or belittling all data that contradicts its thesis - a thesis that was created before any "evidence" was gathered.

Here are HRW's main arguments (emphasis theirs.)

Military Imperative and the Security Exception

The burden is on Israel, as the occupying power of Gaza, to prove that overriding military reasons have made its repeated instructions to evacuate – which have displaced nearly all of Gaza’s population – imperative, or the evacuations were necessary for the security of the population itself. The term “imperative” sets a very high threshold – higher than an ordinary assessment of military necessity. Displacement can only be justified if it is a measure of last resort for military operations where there are no feasible alternatives. It does not suffice for civilians to be at risk from an active or reasonably expected threat from an act (the Israeli bombardment) that would deprive Palestinian armed groups of, or secure for Israel, as the occupier, a military advantage. For there to be a military imperative, the operation threatened must be one whose frustration would threaten the entire military objective in the conflict.

Israel cannot simply rely on the presence of members of Palestinian armed groups, materiel, and installations in Gaza to justify the displacement of civilians. Israel would have to demonstrate that displacement of the civilians was, in each instance, its only option.

Evacuating a protected population for their security refers to the temporary removal or relocation of civilians from an area of danger or imminent harm to a safer location. This can be done to protect the population from military operations, ongoing hostilities, or other risks to their safety. While it could be argued that Israel at times moved Palestinians in Gaza to areas that were safer than areas from which they were ordered to leave, this report demonstrates that evacuation routes and so-called safe zones were consistently and repeatedly bombed, undermining the Israeli military’s position that people were being moved “for their safety.” Israel cannot rely on the security and safety of civilians as a justification for evacuating people if there are no safe areas to which civilians can move. Ultimately, as this report will show, even if Israel can demonstrate that its actions fall within the displacement exception, its lack of adherence to the strict protections required to make an evacuation lawful demonstrates that its orders for people to move were a pretext for forced displacement.

Most of the things here are true. Here's how HRW lies with facts and, more importantly, omissions.

Destroying active Hamas tunnels and defeating Hamas battalions are clear and legal military objectives. There are only two alternatives: destroy them without telling the civilians to leave, or destroying them after telling civilians to leave.

While there is no formal definition, it is true that a miliary imperative has higher standards than a military necessity. Israel knows that it will be attacking an area to rid it of Hamas operational capability. That knowledge is absolute. Therefore, telling the population to leave is absolutely a military imperative to adhere to international law.

HRW downplays Israel's military objectives as merely combating "the presence of members of Palestinian armed groups, materiel, and installations." Israel doesn't give evacuation orders (as opposed to warnings) in order to get rid of a few straggling rocket launchers. Using Rafah as an example, Hamas was entrenched above and below ground, so much so that nations advised Israel that it was impossible to evacuate the city. After Israel successfully got nearly the entire population to leave and then rid Rafah off Hamas - a clear, legal military objective - now HRW is saying that the evacuations themselves were illegal.

They were not only legal, but imperative, by any definition.

Another of HRW's implied arguments is that if Israel cannot guarantee safety for every civilian, any attempt to move them is illegal. It is not good enough to move them to places that are "safer." The fact that Hamas units deliberately moved to the center of these humanitarian zones, making them valid military targets, is ignored.

The last sentence quoted includes a huge omission, a fact of this war that is completely ignored in this 176 page report.

Normally in wartime, evacuations are executed by an army that is on the ground and in reasonable control of the area. If that is not possible, an army would cooperate with local authorities to plan and execute the evacuation.

Israel is not fighting that kind of war. It is legally required to clear out s many residents as possible without being physically present. The local authorities are Hamas, and they do not want to save the lives of their citizens - they want organizations like HRW to write reports about how miserable the lives of its citizens are. Hamas' entire military strategy is based on using civilians as shields for their operations.

That makes evacuations - again, evacuations that are mandatory ahead of a planned attack - extremely difficult. Israel has no partner to do what it must do under international law. In such a case, in order to achieve its military objectives, Israel can only do exactly what it did: warn residents to leave, tell them the safest routes, and work with international organizations to create humanitarian zones with tents, food, water, field hospitals and so forth to optimize a very bad situation. If a minority of civilians cannot or refuse to leave, that does not mean the area is forever immune to attack - it means that the proportionality calculation allows military action more easily than it did before the evacuations of most residents.

HRW is demanding the impossible from Israel. Any fair look at both international law and Israel's actions show that Israel did everything possible to protect civilians while being able to fight Hamas.

Throughout the report, HRW is quick to say that Israel is not doing this or not doing that. But it is comparing Israel against standards that cannot possibly be upheld in wartime, especially when Hamas' entire tunnel strategy is to place them under civilian areas.

At no point in the report does HRW suggest how Israel could have done better. It does not suggest a single alternative. The only choice - unstated but inevitably the one HRW approves - is to allow Hamas to continue to survive, thrive and ultimately achieve its own objective of mounting more October 7ths.

This is only one page of the report. HRW's "evidence" is cherry picked and often out of context, and counterevidence is ignored or minimized. Israeli officials who have nothing to do with war strategy are quoted as if they are making evacuation decisions for Gaza. Quotes that were made within hours or days of October 7 2023 are presented as if they were official strategy. Evidence that Hamas itself blocked Palestinians from fleeing to safety are presented as mere allegations which are then minimized - while Israel's actions are presented as settled violations of international law, Hamas actions are mere hearsay and not worth investigating.

I could write twenty articles showing HRW's deceit.

The bottom line is that in this report, and all its others, HRW is saying and doing everything possible to both delegitimize Israel and to strengthen Hamas. Looking at their reports comprehensively, an argument could be made that HRW and Amnesty are illegally providing material support for international terror organizations.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Today's Turkish antisemitism: Two sets of Jews compete for total control of America

We've all heard about the absurd theory, promoted by both Arabs, the far Right and some others, that most Jews are really descended from Khazars, the kingdom that supposedly converted to Judaism.

Turkish antisemites have a mirror image conspiracy theory. They say that the Jews who converted to Islam after the false messiah Shabbatai Tzvi did are really secret Jews who have taken over the Turkish government.

Newspaper El Aziz publishes this bizarre rant, I'm not sure if Google Translate isn't translating well or it just didn't make sense to begin with.:

Do you know what Turkey 's new super agenda is? Jews in Trump's cabinet!

So what was Trump going to do in the USA , the center of World Zionism? Was he going to have a cabinet composed of Muslims?

Even in Turkey, where the overwhelming majority is Muslim, capital, media, politics, bureaucracy, judiciary, army, culture and art community, trade have been under the dominance of the Salonika Dönme Sabbatean Jewish Group for 100 years. Moreover, we are talking about the USA.

The illusionist media and academia have obscured the fact that the Cabinet, established after the elections of May 14-28 in Turkey, has taken control of the state and power by the hypocritical Sabbatean Clique Oligarchy, are crowing on the screens about the Jews in Trump's potential cabinet!

.....What is President Trump's crime? Appointing Jews to the cabinet! The US is already a Jewish empire. It is just a Zionist apparatus under Jewish hegemony from top to bottom.

Then it really gets strange:

What could be more natural than having Jewish names in Trump's cabinet? So why is the Sabbatean Jewish community in Turkey opposing this natural development ?

Because the Jews in the USA are divided into two! Globalist Zionists and Nationalist Zionists. Globalist Zionists want the establishment of the Greater Kingdom of Israel and for China to be the new superpower of the world. Nationalist Zionists, on the other hand, say that Israel is now a very heavy burden for them and an unnecessary burden that they carry on their backs, they want to get rid of it and they want the hegemony of the USA to continue.

The fight between the Globalist and Nationalist Zionists is now a fight to the death. The power and mind behind the Globalists is Israel; the power and mind behind the Nationalists is Turkey.

The Israel-dissimulating Sabbatean Clique Oligarchy illusionist media and academia in Turkey are well aware of this fact and are attacking President Trump through the Jewish ministers in his cabinet in order to wear him down. Because the Sabbatean Jews of Salonika are also on the side of the globalist Zionists in the power struggle in the US. That is why they are at the forefront of hostility towards Trump.

These people are completely nuts.

(Yes, it is AI.)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

11/13 Links Pt2: A Worldwide ‘Jew Hunt’; Natan Sharansky: We Are Never Alone; Fear of the ‘Muscular Jew’

From Ian:

Bret Stephens: A Worldwide ‘Jew Hunt’

Notice what these attackers aren’t saying. They aren’t expressing themselves in the faddish language of anti-Zionism. They aren’t denouncing Israeli policy or speaking up for Palestinian rights. They aren’t trying to make careful distinctions between Jews and Israelis. They are, like generations of pogromists before them, simply out to get the Jews — a reminder, if one was needed, of the truth often attributed to Maya Angelou: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Which makes it even more remarkable how strenuously some people initially tried to obscure the nature of the Amsterdam pogrom. The media are rarely shy about calling out certain kinds of hate crimes as racist. Yet for days the word “antisemitic” was either put inside quotation marks or attributed to Dutch officials when talking about the violence. The identity of the attackers has been treated as a mystery, or a secret, beyond delicate references to people with “a migration background,” in the words of Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

A great deal of attention has also been paid to some Israeli fans who pulled down a Palestinian flag, vandalized a taxi and, in Hebrew, chanted ugly anti-Arab phrases. There’s no excuse for any of that. But rowdy English soccer fans in Germany have been known to celebrate German war casualties. Somehow it doesn’t lead to a frenzy of organized violence.

Nor does it add any light to provide the “context” of the war in Gaza as a way of trying to understand what happened in Amsterdam. No decent person would explain anti-Asian attacks in the United States by observing that attackers might be angry about, say, China’s human-rights abuses or its biosafety standards.

Yet so many supposedly decent people are quick to try to account for the evil that is done to Jews through reference to the evil (as they see it) that Jews do to others. As Leon Wieseltier pointed out years ago, this type of reasoning is not an explanation for antisemitism. It’s the essence of antisemitism.

Antisemitism in Europe has now reached the point where the future of many of its Jewish communities is seriously in doubt. I’m not sure most Europeans understand what a civilizational catastrophe this represents — albeit less for Europe’s Jews, most of whom will find other places to go and thrive, than for Europe itself. The fate of societies that become “Judenfrei” — free of Jews — has not, historically, been a happy one.

The United States is still a long way from this point, thanks to a larger and more politically confident Jewish community, along with a national culture that traditionally has generally admired Jews. But that culture is also under growing threat today, whether from Hamas’s fellow travelers in the Ivy League and the publishing world; Louis Farrakhan’s admirers in the Black community; or the alt-right inveighing, with a sinister wink, against “globalists” and “neocons.”

Americans (and not just Jews) should beware: If we stay on this path, the Jew hunt of Amsterdam may be upon us, too, and sooner than we think.

Natan Sharansky: We Are Never Alone

During a swing through California with the organization Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), Natan Sharansky addressed a private group of donors at a breakfast sponsored by the Jewish Community Foundation, the largest manager of charitable assets for Jewish philanthropists in Greater Los Angeles. Sharansky is chair of the CAM Advisory Board and held meetings in Southern California with Jewish communal leaders and grassroots activists ahead of CAM’s upcoming Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in Beverly Hills on Dec. 11-13. More than 200 mayors are expected to attend the Mayors Summit to share best practices and discuss ways to counter antisemitism.

Sharansky is a modern-day hero, imprisoned for nine years in the Soviet Union for his activism on behalf of Soviet Jews trying to emigrate to Israel. He was finally freed in 1986 and reunited with his wife, Avital, in Israel, where he has lived ever since. Over the years he served in several capacities in the Israeli government, as well as the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, promoting rights for new immigrants, religious minorities, and women. Sharansky’s most recent book is “Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People.” Natan Sharansky, Justin Jampol, founder and executive director of The Wende Museum of the Cold War.

At the breakfast on Nov. 7, Sharansky answered questions by moderator Justin Jampol, founder and executive director of The Wende Museum in Culver City, whose collections and programs focus on the Cold War, and then from the audience. The following are edited highlights from his answers.

Q: How can Israel continue to heal from the war?

Natan Sharansky: Oct. 7 has changed our self-image. We know we can no longer appease our enemies. Yes, mistakes were made by the government and by the military, but we are in a much better place strategically than before. We finally know the real enemy is Iran and we are much less afraid.

Israel is such a small country, and we feel the tragedy of the hostages and the many, many losses of our soldiers. Every loss is deeply felt. But we also have a deeply idealistic young generation whose readiness to continue to fight despite their personal sacrifices is unbelievable. I believe the vast majority of soldiers agree that they must fight until Hamas is destroyed and oppose a ceasefire. I have encouraged soldiers sharing the same tanks to go into politics to expand and broaden our political coalitions. They become close, sharing a tank.

'History is back, and the old normal isn’t returning' Bari Weiss tells young Jewish leaders

“History is back, and the old normal isn’t returning,” Bari Weiss, a journalist and the founder of the Free Press, told an audience of young Jewish leaders at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Washington.

Addressing over 100 participants of the Change Makers Fellowship and thousands of participants from across North America on Tuesday, Weiss urged attendees to recognize the “new world” they faced, one she described as increasingly hostile to Jewish values and identity.

In her speech, Weiss highlighted a series of recent and historical events that she believed marked a turning point for the Jewish community, including the October 7 Hamas massacre and the public displays of anti-Jewish sentiment that followed.

“If it feels like the end. That’s because all beginnings do,” she said, cautioning her audience not to grow complacent. “We bend the arc of history; it doesn’t bend on its own.”

Throughout her address, Weiss underscored the importance of resilience and vigilance in the face of rising antisemitism.

“We must learn… the resilience, the vigilance, the courage, and the pride not just to survive, but to thrive in this new world,” she said, drawing inspiration from Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union who resisted oppression despite immense pressure.

Anti-Zionism is antisemitism
Weiss added, “The task for us at this moment is to learn from those who never had the luxury of losing their instinct for danger.”

Reflecting on recent antisemitic incidents and societal shifts, Weiss challenged the young leaders to be unafraid to speak truthfully and to hold their own communities accountable.

“Anti-Zionism is antisemitism, full stop,” she said, denouncing what she called “the perverse need to indulge in panel discussions” on the matter within the Jewish community itself.

She added, “We need to take the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’ seriously. It is not a fun rally chant. It is a call for violence against our community.”

Weiss also took aim at what she described as “the quiet purging of proud Jews” from influential spaces in art, education, and human rights groups.

11/13 Links Pt1: CIA Officer Arrested for Classified Israel Attack Plans; PIJ releases video of Russian-Israeli hostage; UNRWA’s “Palestine Refugee” Hoax

From Ian:

CIA Officer Arrested in Cambodia for 'Deadly Serious' Leak of Classified US Docs on Israel

An overseas CIA officer was arrested Tuesday in Cambodia and charged with leaking highly classified U.S. intelligence on Israel’s military plans for a strike on Iran, according to the New York Times.

The Times identified the officer as Asif W. Rahman. He was indicted last week on two counts of "willful retention and transmission of national defense information" and transported to federal court in Guam to face the charges.

The leaked documents, which showed Israeli military movements in preparation for a retaliatory strike on Iran last month, sparked an international firestorm, with both American and Israeli officials accusing the Biden-Harris administration of working to hamstring Israel’s sensitive operations. One senior Biden-Harris official described the leak as "deadly serious" and part of "a concerted campaign to leak what at least seems to be classified information by anti-Israel elements."

The materials—compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency—revealed Israeli Air Force movements and munitions ahead of the counterstrike, which was delayed as a result. Israel ultimately made good on its promise to strike Iran late last month, destroying large swaths of Tehran’s air defense systems and several military installations.

Rahman held a top-secret security clearance and could access the information as part of his CIA duties. The documents first emerged publicly on a Telegram channel tied to the Iranian regime.

While the leak served to further erode already tense diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel, the Jewish state made clear that it would not be deterred from a strike on Iran as payback for Tehran's two massive ballistic missile attacks this year.

"After we attack in Iran, they will understand in Israel and elsewhere what your preparations have included," former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said shortly after the classified documents became public. "Everyone will understand your strength, the process of preparation and training—any enemy that tries to harm the State of Israel will pay a heavy price."

The leak also ignited congressional investigations, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) ordering the Biden-Harris administration to brief Congress every two weeks until the leaker was caught.

"This leak is an outrageous betrayal of an ally and a breach of trust that will undermine our relationship with partners for years to come," Cotton said last month in a letter to the White House. "I am deeply concerned as to whether your administration will adequately address this serious security breach."

British cop arrested for supporting Hamas online

Counter-terrorism officers in the United Kingdom arrested a policeman in southwestern England on Tuesday on suspicion of online activity linked to supporting Hamas.

Counter Terrorism Policing South West officers arrested the man in Gloucester, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The officer, who is in his 30s, was taken to a police facility outside Gloucestershire, the BBC reported on Wednesday. It did not say how he expressed or engaged in support for Hamas.

Authorities searched the policeman’s home and vehicle to locate and analyze digital devices, according to Gloucestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson.

“The arrest of a serving officer on suspicion of such a serious offense will no doubt cause our communities concern, as it does everyone who works for Gloucestershire Police,” Mathieson told the BBC. “The arrest has been made to allow for a prompt and effective investigation to take place and we must not draw any conclusions at this stage.”

In the U.K., providing support to a proscribed terrorist group, such as Hamas, violates section 12 of the Terrorism Act.

Following the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, British officials have raised concerns about anti-Israel rallies that may have promoted terrorism, urging that support for Hamas be prosecuted under the full extent of the law.

Canadian teens planned to bomb pro-Israel rally at Parliament Hill

Two Canadian teens who were arrested in December and February planned to bomb a pro-Israel rally at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, court documents obtained by Global News showed on Tuesday.

The suspects, whom Canadian police have identified only as “young persons,” are “alleged to have formed a plan last fall to violently attack Jewish persons in Ottawa, possibly through the detonation of an explosive device at a pro-Israel rally,” the Department of Justice said.

The assertion that a pro-Israel demonstration was the target of the thwarted terror attack appeared in an application by federal lawyers to withhold sensitive national security information from the criminal trials.

One accused is being charged with possessing acetone, oxidizer and metal ball bearings. All are possible components of homemade bombs.

According to the government’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre, the plot was allegedly linked to ISIS, also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh, and was “possibly accelerated” by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

“At least one of the individuals was reportedly in contact with DAESH overseas and the arrests occurred during a period of DAESH calls to violence in response to the conflict,” the agency wrote.

The first suspect was arrested on Dec. 15 and charged with conspiracy to murder and “communicating instructional material related to an explosive substance.” Prosecutors also charged him with recruiting a second suspect to “carry out a terrorist activity against Jewish persons.”

Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Trump trounced Harris and the next morning, she conceded. Now, all that was left was for Dems to do grieve. Except for the small matter of sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with their Trump-happy relatives in just a little over 3 weeks—less at the time of this writing. Should Harris voters be expected to sit across the table from their cretinous MAGA cousins?

Not at all, explained Yale-affiliated psychiatrist Dr. Amanda Calhoun to MSNBC’s Joy Reid. “If you are going to a situation where you have family members, where you have close friends who you know have voted in ways that are against you . . . against your livelihood . . . it's completely fine to not be around those people and to tell them why.”

Calhoun’s advice, I’d venture to say, runs contrary to what most of us were taught by our mothers; namely that is courteous to set aside political differences at the holiday table for the sake of preserving family harmony. We can agree to disagree, because presidents come and go but family is family until death do you part. We spend time with family at the holidays not because they are entitled to our presence, but because it’s a tradition we value and cherish as a society.

In Israel, of course, there is no such November 28th conundrum to worry about. For one thing, most of those celebrating Thanksgiving in Israel are expat Americans. They left their families behind to make Aliyah, so there’s no one to argue with at table.

Then again, Thanksgiving is something expat Americans mostly celebrate for the sake of the food: turkey, stuffing, yams, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pie. And guess what? Sitting down to eat that meal will be pure pleasure not only because of the food and the lack of argumentative relatives, but because Donald J. Trump won—which means that this year, the only arguing around Israeli Thanksgiving tables will be over who gets the wishbone.

With our stateside cousins of course, it is a different story. We spend time with them only virtually in fits and starts. That makes it a little easier to avoid tense subjects. And if ever there was a tense subject it was this election, with most American Jews wildly at odds with their Israeli counterparts.

Our cousins care about the hostages, but not as much as they care about domestic issues, for example reproductive rights. They care about Iran, but they care about abortion more; they have been told that Donald J. Trump will take away their rights to their own bodies. Kamala Harris told them so.

Joy Reid told them so.

In Israel, we understand our Jewish cousins in America have domestic priorities. But we have trouble understanding how they feel about geopolitics. We don’t like to think that they are ignorant, but do they know they voted for a woman who helped fund October 7 and all that has happened in its wake?

Israelis are hyper-aware of these geopolitics. So much so that in the run up to the election, all of us were tense. I was tense. My neighbors were tense. We all knew that Israel’s enemies were watching and waiting to see who would win the election. My personal fear was that if Harris won, Hamas would take it as a green light to shoot all the remaining living hostages dead.

I did not dare tempt evil by voicing my fears, but now, in retrospect, I can talk about it because it didn’t happen—Harris lost. But it was rough. In the run-up to the election I could literally see those executions playing out in my mind’s eye. Over and over again. It was hard to hold down food. Hard to breathe.

I don’t know if I was alone in experiencing these visions—but I know my feelings of dread and terror were not exclusive to me. Everyone around me felt the same way and we were all quietly speaking about it to each other. The election was the Sword of Damocles hanging over not just the hostages’ heads, but all our heads. This was something more than politics.

And it is that “something more” that makes it so difficult to be polite as we were taught, and set aside differences for the sake of family.

I know what you’re thinking. What’s the difference, Harris lost. But you see, it’s the vote that counts. It’s the vote that hurt and cut so deeply.

It’s hard to square it in our heads, how “family” could vote for Harris, someone who sends money to Iran and ties Israel’s hands. Someone who bears responsibility for the fact that the Jewish people are no longer safe anywhere in the world.

Many of us have a very hard time with this. We think of what happened on October 7, of the hostages and of the hundreds of soldiers who have been killed since, beautiful young people, older reservists with wives and children, and we can’t bring ourselves to agree to disagree and move on. It’s just too hard. We can’t look the other way and call it “only politics.”

I myself think back to certain lovely childhood memories from back when I was a toddler, and I don’t know what to do. We are family and yet this "family" prioritizes something other than me, my family here, and our people. They prioritized something other than the hundreds of Israeli soldiers who died defending our people—something other than the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who can’t go home to their homes in the north.

How can I look the other way?

They put us all at risk.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Two recent incidents shows that Hezbollah regards UNIFIL as being an annex to their own forces, and is upset when they don't serve their Hezbollah masters.

On November 1, Israeli naval commandos captured Hezbollah Captain Imad Amhaz in northern Lebanon.

Hezbollah is complaining that Germany, which leads the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force, didn't inform them of the raid ahead of time.

Hezbollah's new leader, Naim Qassem, said in a speech last week, "For the Israelis to enter in this manner is a grave insult to Lebanon and a violation of its sovereignty. Ask UNIFIL, especially the Germans, what they saw that night and what actions they took," Qassem said.

The UNIFIL Naval Force's entire job is to stop Hezbollah weapons coming from the sea. However, Hezbollah expects UNIFIL to be their ally - to provide intelligence, and to avoid performing its mandate.

There was another UNIFIL incident where Hezbollah is upset at UNIFIL and expected UNIFIL to be on their team.

Hezbollah has accused German forces within UNIFIL of shooting down a drone off the Lebanese coast on Oct. 17. The downing of the drone occurred following a series of attacks targeting UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon.

While they officially declared the drone's origin as "unknown," sources close to Hezbollah have suggested that the downed aircraft belonged to the party. An article published in the pro-Hezbollah newspaper Al-Akhbar directly accused German forces of intentionally targeting a "resistance drone," further fueling tensions.

Since 2020, Germany considers all of Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization. Hezbollah's goal in targeting Germany for insults, rather than UNIFIL as a whole, seems to be to get Germany kicked out of UNIFIL as a biased member, since it sells arms to Israel.

Which means, again, that Hezbollah considers UNIFIL to be an ally and it is upset when it does what it is supposed to do: stop proliferation of Hezbollah weapons in southern Lebanon.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

COGAT writes today:

New humanitarian aid crossing:
-A new humanitarian aid crossing Into Gaza - the Kissufim crossing - started operating yesterday. This is part of our effort and commitment to increase the volume and routes of aid to Gaza. The aid enters Gaza after security checks at the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Aid trucks entry:
-115 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, 68 through Kerem Shalom, 32 via Erez, and 15 via the newly opened Kissufim crossing.
-The trucks carried food, shelter equipment and medical supplies, including dialysis machines and water sanitation equipment.

Aid Collection:
Yesterday, only 41 trucks were collected from the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom by international organizations. Approx. 870 trucks worth of aid are waiting for collection.

Why are so many trucks not being picked up?

A COGAT newsletter from last week describes efforts that IDF is making to help the NGOs, information that goes virtually unreported:

Alternative and Dedicated Humanitarian Routes: Israel is constantly working to allow and facilitate aid organizations to transfer humanitarian aid within the Gaza Strip. For example, COGAT worked together with international organizations to facilitate the creation of humanitarian routes and alternative pathways within Gaza that would allow the continued coordination and flow of aid trucks within Gaza. A major route has been expanded to secure transport from northern to central Gaza, even during active, targeted operations. Additionally, subject to operational considerations, attempts are made to implement, on an almost daily basis, tactical pauses along certain routes, allowing for safer movement and facilitating that aid convoys reach their destinations without interference, as well as daily humanitarian pauses in various areas.

Bottlenecks in Aid Collection: At the Kerem Shalom crossing, logistical constraints by the UN agencies have created bottlenecks of aid waiting to be collected and distributed within Gaza. In response, Israel facilitated the entry of additional empty trucks to assist with faster loading and facilitated the entry of forklifts to expedite aid handling.

Assisting aid organizations with overcoming criminality: Israel has taken measures to allow and facilitate the collection of aid by the UN despite criminal elements attempting to loot aid trucks. Measures include coordinating collection from the crossing during various hours, including at night, paving alternative routes, increasing the fence road option to deliver aid directly into central Gaza, and other measures taken by the IDF against the looters.

This is only part of what the IDF is doing to help bring in aid to the people who need it - and not to Hamas. Who reports that they are paving roads to help with aid transportation?

Israel opened up the Kissufim crossing which is closer to central Gaza. But it appears to be window dressing to make the Americans happy, because the aid that was already entering Gaza was not getting distributed. Adding more crossings only marginally helps get the aid to the people who need it.

Israel cannot go the last mile to directly bring the aid to the people who need it - that's the job of the UN and other organizations. They are dropping the ball.

The IDF is doing far more than any news media is reporting. The newsletter describes many more activities that no one else mentions.

Worse, while there are daily meetings between Israel and the UN organizations to coordinate humanitarian pauses, routes, aid transfer, planning for winter needs, expanding humanitarian zones and much more, the NGOs sit back and blame Israel for things that they are responsible for.

As always, the NGOs and reporters write all their stories from the perspective that Jews are intending to murder and hurt as many Gaza civilians as possible. None of that is true, and every issue of the COGAT newsletter proves it. It is a fundamentally antisemitic assumption, and it is what drives more Jew-hatred worldwide.

Is it too much to ask the media to report fairly? Is it too much to ask humanitarian organizations to treat Israel as a partner and not a bloodthirsty genocidal wa rmachine?

Apparently, for today's blood libelers, it is.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Hassan Asfour is the editor of the Palestinian Amad newspaper, which leans towards socialism and is highly critical of the Palestinian Authority. He was one of the PLO negotiators in Oslo and was the PA minister of negotiation affairs in 1999. He himself appears to be communist.

He just wrote in his newspaper how happy he is that Muslims are attacking Jews all over Europe.

The headline: "After the 'Amsterdam Punch', fear haunts them...and it must continue"

Asfour praises the Muslim attackers in Amsterdam as "those who chose Europe as a second country to their original homeland, and whose immigration did not strip them of their stored Arab affiliation."

At the same time he dismisses any accusations of antisemitism on behalf of the attackers, he says,

Yes... persecuting the inhabitants of the Jewish state wherever possible, considering them "wanted by human justice" should be the standard from the act of "human resistance" and a popular implementation of Article Seven of the United Nations Charter.

"The Amsterdam Leash"... Let it be a model for pursuing Jewish fascism in the journey of comprehensive confrontation... and a new symbol of human resistance that does not know defeat.

The utter depravity and profound Jew-hatred of mainstream, respected and prominent Palestinians remains one of the least reported stories in the world.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

11/12 Links Pt2: 2024 has been a year of a ‘tsunami’ of antisemitism; The echo of broken glass from Amsterdam; Afghanistan’s last Jew arrives in Israel

From Ian:

Michal Cotler-Wunsh: What the results of the US election mean for the fight against antisemitism worldwide

In the midst of a raging war of authoritarian regimes and their proxies on civilization, at an existential moment in an algorithmic world rife with conflict, fear, despair and distrust, the results of the U.S. elections offer a glimpse of hope — first and foremost, that common sense will not give up to radical extremes without a fight.

It should be a moment of soul-searching, particularly for those who detest President-elect Trump, including legacy media in an age of digital platforms. It should be a wake-up call to all those who are committed to liberal values, which have been taken captive by a so-called “progressive” left that pulls back and not forward, is rejected by a huge public, and was exposed in the inability or lack of willingness to condemn the horrors of the Oct. 7 massacre.

Instead, many took to the streets in sympathy with its murderous perpetrators, sounding alarms that warn of an international and national security threat — including to the USA. The tsunami of antisemitism that was exposed, unleashed and mainstreamed provided a litmus test on the reality that threatens the foundations of democracies.

It was antisemitism to which the October 7 perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity were indoctrinated, and it is antisemitism, led by a murderous Islamist regime in Iran, that continues to fuel a multi-front war with the intent to destroy Israel, the proverbial Jew among the nations, and all those who support her right to exist.

The previous Trump administration advocated a historic pivot, represented in the Abraham Accords, from the “three no’s” of Khartoum to the three yes’s: to recognition, negotiation and peace. A return to this potential paradigm shift is significant not only for the State of Israel; it constitutes a critical change of perception toward a growing radical evil axis.

Antisemitism, a lethal shape-shifting hate, is a predictor for the collapse of all the spaces and places where it spreads. Its modern and mainstream strain manifests in tearing down posters of baby Kfir Bibas, stolen from his home into the terror tunnels of Hamas; in attacks on Jews/Zionists on campuses, on the streets and online worldwide; and in demonstrations in support of Gaza, including in the streets of New York City, days after six hostages including one American-Israeli were executed after surviving more than 11 months of hell.

Recognizing Israel as what it is — the nation state of a prototypical indigenous people, who returned to their ancestral homeland after thousands of years of exile and persecution — is a necessary first step, which enables negotiations and paves the path to peace.

Antisemitism envoy: 2024 has been a year of a ‘tsunami’ of antisemitism

The violent attack against Jews in Amsterdam over the weekend was not unique to Europe but just another incident in what Israel’s antisemitism envoy Michal Cotler-Wunsh described as a “tsunami of antisemitism” this year.

She said October 7 was the “worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust” and led to the “mainstreaming of antisemitism” around the world, including anti-Zionism, which denies Israel’s right to exist.

Is It Safe For Israelis In Eruope?
Israeli fans were assaulted after a soccer game in Amsterdam by groups of young people. Five people were treated at hospitals, and dozens were arrested after the attacks, which were condemned as antisemitic. According to Cotler-Wunsh, “what is happening in the streets in Europe is happening on university campuses, at sports and cultural events.”

She added that, in the same week, the only kosher restaurant in Washington, D.C. had its windows shattered, and in New York, a father walking with his six-year-old was attacked, with the child nearly pulled from his grasp.

“It’s not just about traveling or not going to sports events,” the envoy said. “It is much larger. It is much bigger. The genie has been let out of the bottle.”

Now is the time to push the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” forward

The Heritage Foundation rightly called the global Hamas support network an existential threat to Israel and all Jews in the Diaspora. In response, they recently conceived of “Project Esther” to serve as an antidote to the Jew-hatred sown in the meadows of higher learning and readily spread in the corridors of democratic policymaking and the mass media. This project is now needed more than ever because the damage caused by the pro-Palestinian interest groups has infected the minds of impressionable youth in the United States, clearly evidenced by the flaming diatribes launched at Jewish students on campuses throughout the country since Oct. 7, 2023.

Unfortunately, the perils of Jew-hatred have not been confined to the hallways of academia. These dangers are now palpable in industry, corporate life and, similarly, in the medical profession. According to the American Jewish Medical Association, founded in the wake of Oct. 7 by New York plastic surgeon Yael Haas, Jewish doctors are increasingly subject to scorn, harassment and deprecation at the merciless hands of colleagues who boldly express enmity toward them.

Tuesday’s election victory declaring former President Donald Trump as the winner of the highest office in the land has lifted the democratic decree that has threatened Israel’s right to defend itself—holding back 2,000-pound bombs and importuning the Jewish state to cease its efforts to eradicate the terror networks abutting their borders. The democratic decree is likewise lifted by the Republican sweep of the Senate. As the majority party controlling the Senate, any of Trump’s future foreign-aid packages to Israel will be less likely to face opposition from the legislative branch.

Just as Queen Esther took a proactive role in removing the decree against the Jews in Persia in the mid-fourth century BCE, we must embrace a proactive role in lifting the decree of destruction placed upon Israel. This decree caused the attrition of support for the Jewish state by a Democrat-led presidential administration and a Democrat-controlled Senate that has been influenced by the Hamas support network.

To combat the effects of the pro-Palestinian groups, we must push forward an agenda to denude college campuses, industries and media of their virulent Jew-hatred, which pose an existential threat to Israel and Diaspora Jewry.

Project Esther, defined by the Heritage Foundation as “a national strategy to combat antisemitism,” has gathered religious groups across the theological spectrum. Forming the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, Project Esther has chosen the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV)—the largest rabbinic public-policy organization in America dedicated to restoring America’s moral foundation—to represent the interests of the Jewish community. Representing 2,500 traditional rabbinic leaders in public policy, CJV has garnered the respect of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. This provides an excellent starting point for reversing the damage of the democratic decree.

Trump’s victory and the simultaneous retaking of the Senate by the Republican Party provide a welcomed opportunity to undo the harm caused by the pro-Palestinian policymakers to Israel’s viability. To that end, it is imperative that we advance a comprehensive plan that assures the Jewish state receives the fiscal, military and practical support it sorely needs.

11/12 Links Pt1: Enthusiasm in Jerusalem as Trump national security team takes shape; Gaza's Forgotten Palestinian Victims: Dissidents Tortured by Hamas

From Ian:

Enthusiasm in Jerusalem as Trump national security team takes shape

Israeli officials were enthusiastic about President-elect Donald Trump’s expected incoming national security team, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as secretary of state and Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Mike Waltz (R-FL) for ambassador to the U.N. and national security advisor, respectively.

A source close to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he is “expected to warmly welcome” his likely counterpart Rubio.

“We’re talking about someone who is not only a firm friend of Israel, but has a consistent track record on the major issues of the day,” such as Iran, the source said.

Officials in other Israeli government offices related to national security had positive things to say about the likely nominees, but did not want to be quoted until they are official. Trump has only announced he is tapping Stefanik for U.N. ambassador.

Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman was the one cabinet minister to comment publicly on Tuesday morning, posting on X that she is “happy and congratulates President Trump for his appointments. Marco Rubio and Michael Waltz are people with their heads on straight and moral clarity. This is good news for the free world and the State of Israel.”

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon posted his congratulations to Rubio and Stefanik, and said that he “look[s] forward to strengthening the enduring bond between Israel and the United States, working together for a safer, more prosperous future for all.”

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana praised the “brilliant pick” of Stefanik, posting photos from her visit to the Knesset last year and calling her “a strong voice of moral clarity and a fierce fighter for what is right,” as well as “a steadfast friend” of Israel and the Jewish people.

Former Israeli National Security Advisor and head of the Misgav Institute for National Security Meir Ben-Shabbat, who served under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Trump’s first term, said that while he does not know the nominees personally, he is familiar with their stances on matters important to Israel.

“There is potential for a dramatic change, to expand the Abraham Accords and continue the vision of the previous term, to bring stability, peace and prosperity, but it must be done through strength,” he said.

With majority, Senate Republicans pledge aggressive action against antisemitism

A spokesperson for Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), who will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he “will continue to do all he can to support Israel in its war against Hamas and Hezbollah, to include the reversal of Biden’s policies of Iranian accommodation and doubling down on efforts to isolate Iran and deny the regime resources to threaten Israel.”

Risch, the spokesperson said, “will continue to counter antisemitism that exists across the world and in places like the [International Criminal Court] and the U.N. If the current Congress continues to stop short of taking action to sanction ICC officials and permanently cease funding to UNRWA, those will be early priorities next year.”

The committee has been at a standstill since April, the result of Risch and Foreign Relations Committee Republicans refusing to move forward on any of President Joe Biden’s nominations or other votes until the panel takes up a House-passed ICC sanctions bill. It is not clear if a bipartisan agreement will be reached before the new Congress begins in January.

Republicans have consistently argued since the spring that their conference would take a more hands-on approach to both Israel and antisemitism. Members have criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for refusing to allow for a vote on the Antisemitism Awareness Act despite facing calls from Jewish leaders and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers to do so; Schumer said in late October that a vote on the AAA would take place after the election.

A spokesperson for Schumer pointed to Republican holds on the legislation, saying that “because of that fact pattern, the goal of passing antisemitism legislation has long been to use a viable, must-pass vehicle to accomplish passage.”

“We fully intend to get it done before the end of the year,” Schumer spokesman Angelo Roefaro said of passing AAA in the lame duck session.

GOP senators have also pointed to the lack of any productive hearings on domestic antisemitism as evidence of Democratic inaction, with several incoming committee chairs saying they’d like to convene hearings on the issue.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has been pushing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the committee’s outgoing chairman, to hold a hearing on the matter since last November. Sanders has refused the requests, despite pressure from HELP Committee Democrats and members of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.

Sen. Marco Rubio: Israel's Enemies Are Also Our Enemies

Israel has been a steadfast U.S. ally, a wellspring of technological innovation, and a force for good in the world. Israel's enemies are also our enemies. The Iranian regime and its proxies - Hamas in Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and a multitude of groups in Syria and Iraq - seek Israel's destruction as part of a multi-stage plan to dominate the Middle East and destabilize the West. The Jewish state is on the front lines of this conflict, fighting with many shared American-Israeli lives.

This makes it outrageous that international institutions are targeting Israel. The International Criminal Court is currently mulling arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials over supposed "war crimes." The court isn't going after Assad in Syria, who gassed his own people. It isn't going after Xi Jinping in China, who is conducting real-time genocide against the Uyghurs. Instead, it's attacking a country whose military has gone to great lengths to protect civilian lives. The hypocrisy is astounding.

In the end, no matter what the international community says, Israel has a right to defend itself, and the United States must support its effort to destroy Hamas as a terrorist threat. We also must support Israel against Iran-backed Hizbullah to Israel's north. (National Review-May 6, 2024)