09/06 Links Pt1: The Oslo effect; Walz: Anti-Israel protesters ‘speaking out for all the right reasons’; Trump: If you vote Democrat, Israel will no longer exist

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The Oslo effect

This is all utterly delusional. For two decades, Egypt was complicit in the construction and use of the Philadelphi tunnels; entrusting it with Israel’s security would be to put the fox in charge of the henhouse. Israeli reliance on electronic sensors was one of the reasons the Oct. 7 pogrom happened.

As for the IDF returning to the corridor after it pulled out, the same argument was used by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the 2005 disengagement from Gaza when he pulled Israel out of Philadelphi—the issue over which Netanyahu resigned from that government. Just as international pressure meant the IDF never went back in despite the subsequent barrages from Gaza, so a return to the corridor would now be a total non-starter.

Despite the thousands on the streets, most Israelis get this. In one opinion poll, 79% agreed that Israel needed to control Philadelphi permanently to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza. When asked more emotively whether Israel should control Philadelphi “even at the expense of a hostage deal,” more respondents said it should than those who balked at preventing a hostage deal.

Gantz, Eizenkot and Gallant are part of a military and security establishment whose morally and intellectually bankrupt “conceptziya” brought about the Oct. 7 catastrophe in the first place.

Netanyahu, too, was part of that same establishment and in due course must be held to account for the heavy responsibility he bears.

However, those who aren’t blinded by a pathological hatred of him can see that he is holding off intense American pressure to pull out of Philadelphi, just as they can also see that America itself bears a significant measure of responsibility for the hostages’ fate.

The Biden administration forced Israel to proceed in Gaza far more slowly than the IDF judged necessary to defeat Hamas and thus save the hostages. Worse, for three months, the administration stopped Israel from entering Rafah—below which the six hostages were murdered last week. If Israel had been free to proceed at its own pace, those six captives and many others might have been saved.

Whatever happens to Netanyahu, the left will almost certainly discover that, for the second time, it has made a terrible strategic error.

The first such error was the 1993 Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinians political power and status—with the Americans even training their police—on the assumption that they intended to live in peace alongside Israel.

This was a victory of fantasy over reality. The eventual result was more than 1,000 Israelis murdered in the five-year intifada from 2000 to 2005, and an enduring culture of indoctrination and incitement that today has turned Judea and Samaria into another genocidal front for Iran.

The catastrophic Oslo “conceptziya” caused the Israeli elites to ignore the clear evidence of Islamic holy war by the Palestinians and to believe that Israel could keep a lid on potential trouble. They believed that their enemy was not genocidal Palestinianism. It was Netanyahu.

That’s also why they spent most of last year fighting judicial reform. And the same people are now sickeningly weaponizing the hostages to the same end—to remove Netanyahu from power. You don’t have to be a Netanyahu fan to be revolted, frightened and enraged.

The effect of the Oslo nightmare was to wipe out the left’s chances of gaining political power. The public’s revulsion and anger that these same types of people have been doing the work of Hamas for it by promoting Israel’s surrender means that this terrible betrayal won’t be forgotten or forgiven. It will be the Oslo effect on steroids.

Arsen Ostrovsky: To End the War In Gaza, Pressure Hamas' Sponsors, Not Israel

Hamas made their response clear—with bullet holes to the heads of the six hostages, including Hersh.

Yet, like clockwork, the international community instead chose to single out Netanyahu and Israel, for opprobrium.

It is hardly surprising therefore, that Hamas continues to reject every proposal put before them, when they know they can sit on their laurels and wait for the international community to up the pressure on Israel. By focusing its attention on Israel, the U.S.is empowering Hamas and removing any incentive for the terror group to compromise or reach a deal.

If the international community, led by the U.S., wants to actually advance a hostage deal, they could do so by demanding that American allies such as Qatar and Turkey use all of the levers at their disposal to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal.

Hamas operates extensive financial and business networks out of Qatar and Turkey, while its leaders live in luxurious accommodations in Doha. Qatar's Al Jazeera media empire is Hamas' primary outlet for its propaganda, not only inciting terror, but undermining moderate governments interested in Middle East peace. Turkey has given senior Hamas leaders Turkish passports in order to facilitate their travel around the world.

Perhaps if the international community spent a fraction of the energy they do on pressuring Israel to make further concessions, to instead applying unyielding pressure on Hamas and their state sponsors, primarily Qatar, Turkey, and of course Iran, we could have already reached a deal and saved countless lives.

The U.S. must show Doha and Ankara that there is a costly price to pay for failing to pressure Hamas, which knowingly-executed a U.S. citizen in cold blood. There are numerous steps that the Biden administration and Congress can take. Congress should demand regular reports on any and all entities providing material support to Hamas in Qatar and Turkey (as well as in additional countries such as Malaysia, Algeria, Egypt and Lebanon), in order to examine their eligibility for sanctions. Sanctions should also be placed on Qatar's Al Jazeera for its terror support.

The U.S. should demand that the Qatari and Turkish governments extradite Hamas leaders involved in the murder of US citizens, especially following the Justice Department's announcement this week of terrorism charges against senior Hamas leaders. The U.S. could also take steps to make it easier for private victims of terror to bring lawsuits against all countries which have provided support to Hamas. If Qatar fails to take swift action to force Hamas to accept a deal, Doha should lose its status as a major U.S. non-NATO ally, which Biden granted it in 2022.

The international community, and especially the U.S., now faces a choice. It can continue its rhetoric against Hamas while focusing real pressure on Israel. Or it can act to truly increase the chances of a deal, by placing unyielding pressure on Hamas and its state sponsors. Only the latter can save the lives of the hostages being held in Gaza, while ensuring security for Israel and a future of stability in the Middle East.

The new hostage paradigm

Israel’s past willingness to trade more than 1,000 terrorists for a single Israel Defense Forces soldier (Gilad Shalit) sent a clear message to its enemies: Israel will make outrageous concessions to secure hostages. This policy has emboldened groups like Hamas who understood that hostage-taking is like kryptonite for Israel. They believed that they could exact tremendous concessions because of the Israeli people’s commitment to each other. Hamas turned this beautiful characteristic into an Achilles heel. It is incumbent upon Israelis to adjust the way they approach these challenges, and this new doctrine must be adopted.

It is quite interesting—and concerning—that hundreds of thousands of Israelis fail to recognize this reality. It is almost as if they do not understand that making a deal at any cost will only serve to further embolden their enemies and encourage them to repeat such actions in the future. The surprising lack of understanding highlights the complexity of the issue and also the level of trauma that so many Israelis have been exposed to.

Similarly, and perhaps even more inexplicably, American Jews have been highly critical of Netanyahu. At a time when the Jewish people face immense challenges, it is astonishing that the leader of the only Jewish state is subjected to criticism from every armchair general with an opinion. This is the height of irresponsibility. People should think twice and then think again before putting pen to paper to criticize the democratically elected prime minister of Israel.

The idea that Israel would sacrifice critical military objectives such as control over the Philadelphi Corridor to secure the release of hostages is simply untenable. This corridor is vital for cutting off Hamas’s supply lines, preventing rearmament and limiting their ability to continue their terror campaign. The United States will have a new president in nine weeks, and it is completely uncertain what that administration’s policy will be vis à vis Israel and the war in Gaza. Facts on the ground matter.

Diplomatic pressure from the United States and the international community could easily prevent Israel from re-entering this critical area if it were to leave now. Losing control over the Philadelphi Corridor would severely undermine Israel’s ability to choke off Hamas’s resources and win the war.

We must have faith in our leaders, recognizing that both our enemies and allies are watching Israel closely. Netanyahu is acting in what he believes to be the best interest of Israel’s present and future. He was elected by the people, and if they are unhappy with his decisions, those same people can vote him out of office. In the meantime, we must respect and support the difficult choices his government is making.

The harsh reality is that the hostages may be lost. Israel must do everything within its power to bring them home but not at the expense of its broader strategic objectives. We must not allow our enemies to believe that taking hostages will lead to major concessions. It is time to create a new hostage doctrine. There must be a happy ending to this story, and there can be by ensuring a victory over Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

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An article in an African-American newspaper from 1918 shows how people of color used to look at Jews as both partners and role models

 James Weldon Johnson was a civil rights pioneer in the early part of the 20th century. He was a leader of the NAACP.  Johnson was also a gifted writer and poet. He was also US consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua and later became the first African American professor to be hired at New York University.[

He was also an editor at the The New York Age, "The National Negro Weekly." 

Here was his column from February 02, 1918.

It describes how Black people in America had historically found inspiration from the stories of the Jews in the Bible, and how they should continue to learn how to achieve equality by emulating Jews of the day.

It is a remarkable editorial from a remarkable man. It has a couple of anachronisms and some subconscious antisemitism, but no more than any other American newspaper of the era. 

There is far more wisdom from James Weldon Johnson in 1918 than we are hearing from too many Black leaders today.

It is a common thing for the American Negro to compare his condition with that of the Jews. The drawing of this comparison is not a modern thing; it dates back to the early days of our history in this country. As soon as the transplanted Negro became familiar with the Bible his imagination at once seized upon the similarity between his own servitude and the bondage which the Israelites underwent in the land of Egypt. This theme furnished the chief inspiration of the early preachers and the makers of the old slave songs. Even today, the sermons of the primitive Negro preachers are little more than a recital of the trials and tribulations of the Hebrew Children.

It was this theme which drew from the heart of some unknown Negro the noblest strain of music that America can call its own, "Go Down Moses." The influence for good of the story of Israel on the mind of the Negro slave cannot be estimated. He learned how the Lord's chosen people suffered under old Pharaoh, but were at last delivered; and he firmly kept the faith that some day the Lord would also deliver him. And his faith was justified, for his deliverance did come. And it came in a manner even more miraculous than did the deliverance of the Children of Israel; not through fleeing the land of his bondage, but through a life and death struggle between his oppressors and their own blood brothers. But who can say what would have been the story of the Negro in America under two centuries of slavery had he not been strengthened and sustained by that faith? And as the Negro in slavery drew inspiration and comfort from the story of the ancient Jews, so does the Negro of today draw encouragement and hope from the experiences of the modern Jews.

He feels that the Jewish race is set before him as an example of what can be accomplished by a people with great odds against them, and that what the Jew has done the Negro may do. This comparison is strikingly logical and at many points the parallel runs astonishingly close. Both peoples are physically marked; the Jew, however, in a much lesser degree than the Negro. Both peoples have a history of bondage and persecution. They both have to contend against unreasoning race prejudice.

Neither of them - unlike the Japanese - have a strong nation of their own blood behind them to force and enforce any demands whatsoever. And it has not been possible to crush either of them by oppression. Nevertheless, there are points of wide difference; and I believe the Negro can profit as much by a study of these differences as he can by a study of the points of similarity. In fact, it is these very points of difference rather than the points of similarity that offer the Negro the most valuable lessons.

It must be remembered that much of the prejudice against the Jew is of his own making. He generally holds himself apart and aloof from other peoples; and whatever humiliation he may suffer, deep down in his heart he feels a superiority to the gentile. And why should he not? The Jew is the one aristocrat among races. All the others are parvenus. His career began with the beginning of recorded history and continues down to the present in one long line of glorious accomplishment.

The great peoples that started with and even after him have perished or degenerated; Egypt and Babylon and Greece and Rome have passed away, but the Jew still remains a powerful influence in the world to-day. The great characters in no age of the world's whole history can be named without naming a Jew. And so it is that prejudice against the Jew does not spring from the feeling that he is an inferior. Indeed, it often springs from the direct opposite feeling.

Sometimes the fear of his strength and his intelligence outweighs all the other objections to him. Thus, he is minus the handicap under which the Negro constantly struggles. This characteristic of the Jew may be summed up in the common phrase, race pride. And the secret of his race pride is this: he has produced such an array of men who have helped shape the thought of the world that his equality stands demonstrated, it cannot be questioned. In like manner, the Negro to overcome the stigma of inferiority must produce exceptional men; he can do it in no other way.

No amount of mere mediocre progress or even phenomenal progress on the part of the mass can do it; there must stand out many peaks towering above the average level. It is often said that the American Negro made his gravest mistake in thinking of the accomplishment of this too soon; that the thing for him to do is to give up such dreams and apply himself to the common things of life; and that by faithful plodding he will some day reach the top and be hailed as an equal. England produced a Shakespeare when the ability to sign one's name was a mark of learning; and to-day her highest title, that which makes every Englishman proud of his race, rests not upon the fact that she produces more manufacturing cotton than any other country in the world, but upon the fact that she produced a Shakespeare.

Every time a Negro does something exceptional he weakens opinion as to the inferiority of the race. If in the next fifty years we should produce one universally acknowledged poet, one universally acknowledged musician, one universally acknowledged dramatist, and one universally acknowledged novelist, more would be done to break down the idea of Negro inferiority than could be done by all the faithful plodding of the whole mass. And I say this realizing fully how vitally important the faithful plodding is. I need not add that this idea of inferiority must be completely broken down before the Negro can have a fair chance with the other elements in the American group.

Now, of course, we cannot turn out geniuses by merely running our boys and girls through schools and colleges; but we can give encouragement and support to our talented youth., Whenever we find one that shows the divine spark, let us not put the spark out, but do all we can to help fan it into a flame. Cannot some of our men or women of wealth or some of our organizations with money see what a paying investment it would be to offer substantial scholarships to boys and girls in our schools that show exceptional talent in literature or art?

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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!

 

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The question that every Western candidate should answer: "Do you support a Palestinian state likely to be led by Hamas?"

Yesterday, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz told a public radio station, "We can't allow what's happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves. We need to continue to put the leverage on to make sure we move toward a two-state solution. I think we're at a critical point right now. We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction, We’ve said it and continue to say it, getting a cease-fire with the return of the hostages, and then moving towards a sustainable, two-state solution is the only way forward." 

The phrase "two state solution" has been a mantra for years among Democratic leaders. It seems to be a safe, universally accepted idea, only oppose by crazed right wingers and Jewish extremists. 

Politicians in the US especially but also in Canada and Europe have been repeating the phrase "two state solution" as their shorthand for claiming to be pro-Israel.  That is pretty much the only criterion for J-Street to throw their support behind leftist candidates, even if they are virulently anti-Israel in every respect. 

However, since October 7, that safe political position should not be safe. Every poll taken in the West Bank and Gaza since October 7 shows Palestinians overwhelmingly support Hamas over every other political party. The Gaza polls are suspect, but there is little doubt that Hamas would win in a free election today.

Anyone who is saying they support a Palestinian state today is supporting a Hamas-led state. Either the candidates know this or they don't know this, and either way it shows that they are unqualified for office.

Rather than look at the "two state" issue as a mere checkmark for candidates, the media should ask the question as "Do you support a Palestinian state likely to be led by Hamas?" If the answer is no, then they must answer how they could ensure that Hamas would not lead a democratic Palestinian Arab state, or if they prefer a brutal Fatah-led dictatorship, which is the only other option at this time.

George W. Bush went through all of this during the last Palestinian election, apparently convinced that democratic elections were a magic formula to ensure moderate leaders. The result was that Hamas was elected and the Western world was forced to jump through hoops to say they support democracy but don't support Hamas. 

Today, no one could claim to be surprised that Hamas would lead any Palestinian state - whether through elections or through civil war.

The hypnotic appeal of the phrase "two state solution" must be pierced. And it is up to the media to ensure that every candidate answers the basic question of how they can support a Palestinian state where a majority of people support not only Hamas but also the October 7 massacres.

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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!

 

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09/05 Links Pt2: Biden-Harris Give Up the Big Gaza Lie; VDH: The Truth About World War II; Gunman opens fire near Israeli consulate in Munich

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Biden-Harris Give Up the Big Gaza Lie

The Biden administration is really pushing the limits of “better late than never.” The president and his team have finally begun acknowledging what has been all too obvious: Hamas is the reason there has been no second ceasefire deal.

After falsely blaming Israel for months, the president’s team has pivoted to the truth. It’s not clear why. Maybe the backlash to Biden effectively blamed Benjamin Netanyahu instead of the actual barbarians who shot the hostages this past weekend convinced the White House to switch gears. That would be nice. Who knows.

Late last night, Axios—the Biden White House’s chosen vehicle for mouthpiecing its Israel-related positions and policy shifts—reported the following: “One of the main questions raised during a meeting President Biden and Vice President Harris had with their national security team on Monday was whether there is a hostage-release and ceasefire in Gaza deal Hamas would ever agree to, U.S. officials said.”

To be clear: the administration has been (mostly) blaming Israel for the failure of a deal that they now acknowledge never fully materialized. Further, while Biden & Co. know there are versions of the deal that Israel would accept, they have yet to be convinced Hamas has any interest in any version.

It’s important to remember that these conclusions reached by Biden’s team are the result of months-long negotiations, and therefore Hamas’s obstructionism is by definition not a new problem. The administration didn’t just figure this out; it has known that Hamas’s intransigence has been the status quo for months. And officials from the president on down have chosen, in that time period, repeatedly to castigate Netanyahu.

There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. Biden and Harris have been egging on the societal divides in Israel and undermining its political stability on false pretenses.

So Biden gets no credit for finally acknowledging, through a carefully placed leak, that he has been purposely misleading the American people on why one of their fellow citizens was just executed in Gaza. The same is true for Kamala Harris, though the implications for her are even worse. Harris has been using false information to turn the public against Israel in order to lay the groundwork for a cooling of relations with our ally.

The Cost of the American Jewish Vote

Rather, I implore American Jews – especially those who are committed Democrats – to hold the (future) Harris-Walz administration to account.

I especially call upon those with the economic and social capital to have leverage with the Walz-Harris administration, including their surrogates, advisers, and donors, to use their access and support to advocate strongly for Jewish interests.

And I appeal to the conscience of the candidates to adopt the policy platform I outline here, not only to secure the Jewish vote, but because it’s the right thing to do.

1) Freeing the American-Israeli and All Hostages
While we hope that the hostages may be freed before inauguration day, it is the responsibility of the Biden-Harris ticket and subsequent administrations to exert maximum pressure on Hamas, with or without a ceasefire deal, to secure the release of the American-Israeli citizens, to whom it has a special obligation, and all hostages. Not only must all military and diplomatic efforts be directed at Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, the US must take steps either to eliminate or extradite Hamas leaders living abroad. Further, given Qatar and Turkey’s role as state sponsors of terror and their patronage of Hamas, the USA must reconsider its alliances until all the hostages have been released.

2) Arms Sales
While for its own national security, Israel must wean itself off its dependency on American armaments (which is a kickback scheme to the US military-industrial complex) the Harris-Walz team must clarify its intentions on allowing Israel to “defend itself,” including the specific weapons systems it will sell (or not) during their term. American Jews are entitled to make an informed decision about what will be done to prevent another 10/7 from ever happening again in exchange for their vote.

3) Antisemitism
The dramatic acceleration of antisemitism in America cannot go unchecked by the Harris-Walz administration. The candidates must announce a new national strategy coordinating the federal, state, and local levels to curb the scourge of the world’s oldest hatred in the United States. The administration must turn its attention inward toward the cancer of antisemitism (and anti-Americanism) within the Democratic party. Congress, at the behest of the President, should continue its investigations into campus antisemitism and hold administrations to account, including by suspending federal funding to universities that perpetuate a hostile climate for Jewish students. Last but not least, while not all Jews agree on the definition of antisemitism, the administration must recognize that the vast majority of American Jews consider Zionism and Israel a key component of their identities. If the administration cannot put forward a detailed program on antisemitism, American Jews shouldn’t vote for a party that doesn’t prioritize their safety.

4) Iran
Behind both the domestic flare of antisemitism and Middle East war is the rogue state of Iran, which seeks to destabilize the Western liberal order, including by leading the planning of the 10/7 attacks and funding encampments and protests in the US. The United States must confront this threat with both more aggressive military postures and diplomatic measures, including not reinstating the JCPOA, and standing with other Western, Middle Eastern, and other nations (including Israel) to strongly deter Iran. Continued weakness on Iran should cost the Harris-Walz ticket the Jewish vote.

I realize this program of action may be uncomfortable for many American Jews, who have family traditions and ideological commitments to the Democratic party. But with Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s blood spilled, and so many other lives lost and threatened both in Israel and the United States since 10/7, let not Jewish blood come cheaply – the cost of the American Jewish vote for the Democratic party must include policies that will advance Jewish security and identity for the future.

Anti-Israel group funded by Soros gains influence with 60 Biden White House visits

Over the course of President Joe Biden‘s time in office, an anti-Israel group that receives large checks from Democratic megadonor George Soros has seen its top staffers score 60 trips to the White House for high-level meetings, according to records.

Officials at Emgage, a group that has promoted the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, have hobnobbed at the White House on at least 60 occasions combined since 2021, according to White House visitor logs reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

Emgage notably blamed Israel for allegedly provoking Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack last year and counts Khurrum Wahid, an attorney who was reportedly placed on a federal terrorist watch list and has a track record of associating with Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups, as one of its leaders.

The frequent White House visits illustrate how national anti-Israel groups have gained influence and a seat at the policymaking table in the Biden-Harris administration. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, much to the ire of Republicans and pro-Israel groups, continue to press for a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict.

On Sunday, Israeli forces announced they recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last year. The hostages were found in a tunnel in Rafah, a southern city in Gaza that Biden has urged Israel not to invade.

Emgage, which was formed in 2006, describes itself as “a family of organizations dedicated to building political power for Muslim Americans.”

The Emgage umbrella includes Soros-backed nonprofit groups and a political action committee spending money in elections to boost Democrats such as Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA), and Susan Wild (D-PA), Federal Election Commission filings show. Emgage partners on initiatives with the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America — two unindicted co-conspirators in a 2009 terrorism financing case.

Between 2021 and 2024, Emgage CEO Wa’el Alzayat, a former Obama State Department official, visited the White House at least 24 times, according to White House visitor logs.

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Rats, Roaches Pretty Sure They'll Finish All The Food Aid Before Leftist Group Finally Gets Around To Delivering It To Gaza (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

Tel Aviv, September 5 - Vermin busy consuming the "famine relief" resources at a warehouse in central Israel expressed confidence today that they will have time to eat the entire stock of products, because the organization storing it remains unlikely in the foreseeable future to find a suitable public-relations moment to make an ostentatious demonstration of providing the relief to the starving Palestinians to the south.

Rats, roaches, houseflies, and various other creepy-crawlies made their prediction Thursday afternoon, following months of idleness in the facility rented by the Standing Together movement, which has been laboring to identify and exploit an opportunity to signal their righteousness in as public a fashion as possible by supplying several tons of food to Gaza, where reports of hunger persist despite no actual shortage of food or any spike in the incidence of malnutrition since Israeli operations in the territory began late last year.

"We're pretty sure we can finish all of this before it can be delivered," asserted Remy, the head of a rat clan that now numbers in the thousands. "I wasn't so sure when the food storage began back in February, but back then we were just a handful of rats. In the intervening months we've had help from maggots, cockroaches, ants, and the occasional feral cat. With our reproduction rate and the approaching temperate weather of the autumn, it will take, I should say, no more than six weeks to get through the entire supply."

The other scavengers seconded Remy's assessment, with provisos. "Cold weather might set in and slow us down," cautioned Ahmad, a cockroach. "That could extend the timetable into the winter. There's certainly no air conditioning in here, so I doubt there's going to be heating, either. There's also the remote possibility, though it remains a possibility, that Standing Together will bite the bullet and decide to deliver whatever food is left."

"I admit that latter possibility is a long shot," he acknowledged. "Far-left activism doesn't lend itself to effective aid operations. It's primarily about feeling righteous, not about helping those who need it. I appreciate the selfishness. Game recognize game."

Israeli Arabs who contributed the bulk of the foodstuffs have grumbled about the failed delivery of their donations, while Gazans who have tracked the project continue to complain that the organizers appear more interested in finding ways to create a disruption and media circus to embarrass Israel than in providing any actual aid.

"But we're used to that from our own leaders already," conceded a Deir al-Balah resident.

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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!

 

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09/05 Links Pt1: Beware False Moral Equivalence Between Israel and Hamas; A Hostage Deal Is a Poison Pill for Israel; Retracted [Sinwar’s plan to ‘smuggle hostages to Iran’]

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: The ‘Blame Israel First’ Chorus

Benjamin Netanyahu is not the reason six hostages were executed last week, even if one agrees with various criticisms of individual decisions and policies of his during the course of the war. Even on the subject of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations themselves, there is far more certainty about what’s going on in the private councils of the government than is warranted. Is Netanyahu the main source of obstruction? Based on the timeline and the reporting, no, he does not appear to be. But I don’t know for sure and neither do those insisting he is .

Yet you wouldn’t know that by reading the commentary. In Haaretz, Dahlia Scheindlin—author of several heartfelt and right-minded pieces on the war and the West’s hypocritical silence on the sexual violence perpetrated against Israelis on October 7—described the anti-Bibi protesters as “driven half-mad by the Netanyahu government’s soulless resistance to a deal while Hamas dispenses of the hostages.” In a story next to Scheindlin’s, Yossi Verter accused Netanyahu of having “put an end to the hope beating in the hearts of most Israelis that the hostage deal currently on the table would finally be signed… Instead of considering how to prevent the murder of the remaining hostages, he ranted, puffed his chest and winked as if to say: Wait and see what happens next.” Rabbi Jill Jacobs, head of a progressive Jewish activist organization, slammed any Jewish organizations that are “not clearly calling for the Netanyahu administration to agree to a deal that will end the war.”

“End the war” here appears to mean something tantamount to “surrender.” Otherwise it completely ignores the role of Hamas, which started this war and refuses to end it by returning the hostages and submitting.

Netanyahu’s greenlighting of rescue operations after having already concluded one ceasefire-for-hostages deal has made it pretty clear he is anything but indifferent to the fate of the hostages. And it is risible to suggest that this government isn’t even “considering how to prevent the murder of the remaining hostages.”

These accusations aren’t mere policy criticism, they are the embodiment of blaming Israel first. Hamas kidnapped those innocent Israelis; Hamas starved and tormented them psychologically and maybe physically; and Hamas shot them in cold blood, while brave Israeli soldiers risked their lives to try to save them. Let there be no suggestions of moral equivalence between the two.

Beware False Moral Equivalence Between Israel and Hamas Militants

There is, however, one rule of war that is arguably even more fundamental than protecting civilians from deliberate attack: the obligation to treat humanely any captive or detainee. This obligation is reflected in Common Article 3, a provision that is "common" to, or shared across, each of the four 1949 Geneva Conventions. These treaties—the only treaties that have been nearly universally adopted by the nations of the world—are devoted to protecting victims of war and "ameliorating" the suffering caused by armed conflicts.

Most of the provisions of these treaties apply only to "armed conflicts" between states. But Common Article 3 is the exception. This provision of the treaties binds all organized armed groups engaged in "conflicts not of an international character," meaning conflicts that do not involve hostilities between two or more states. No such article, or obligation, existed prior to 1949. But in the wake of the brutal civil wars that raged before and immediately after World War II—most notably the Spanish Civil War, in which it is estimated that more than 250,000 civilians and detainees were summarily executed—the states that revised the 1929 version of the conventions agreed to this new obligation.

This was a remarkable achievement, as it resulted in the first application of international humanitarian law to the realm of internal armed hostilities like civil wars. States and the armed groups fighting against them were now obligated to respect what the International Court of Justice later called the "minimum yardstick" of humanitarian protection.

Since 1949, Common Article 3 has evolved to reflect the most basic humanitarian obligation of the law of armed conflict. In addition to a general humane treatment obligation applicable to any person, "not taking an active part in hostilities," the article specifically prohibits murder and summary execution. And to reemphasize, this obligation applies to both state armed forces and non-state organized armed groups like Hamas. Murdering people at your complete mercy because they have been captured and detained is therefore rightly condemned as among the most egregious violations of international humanitarian law.

Of course, it is no surprise that Hamas operatives engaged in this barbarism. This is the very nature of every aspect of their terrorist operations, which demonstrate a complete and pervasive disregard for even the most basic rules of war. And the murder of these captives truly symbolizes the depth of their illegality and immorality. Even armed groups that abuse detainees will rarely sink to the level of summary execution. Hamas, however, once again shows the world the bottomless depths of its barbarism.

This tragic incident also reminds us that there is simply no moral equivalency between Israel and its illicit enemies. Indeed, Hersh Goldberg-Polin's murder was only the final manifestation of Hamas' modus operandi. He suffered months of inhumane treatment as a detainee after being gravely wounded when Hamas operatives deliberately and unlawfully attacked him and other civilians huddled together in an effort to avoid the massacre that befell hundreds of civilians at the Nova music festival.

Critics of Israel will no doubt immediately cite the (often inflated and unverified) numbers of civilians killed in Gaza as the result of combat operations in Gaza to justify their efforts at, "equality of condemnation." But as any prosecutor can readily explain, there is no equivalency between those who deliberately kill and those who cause unavoidable killing even when following the law. This is what this comparison truly reflects: one side of the conflict that deliberately attacks and murders civilians, and another side that consistently implements its legal obligation to avoid, whenever feasible, that consequence.

War may be hell, but the hell that Hamas has created for the civilians it slaughtered, the detainees it abuses and murders, and the population of Gaza it has deliberately exposed to the avoidable consequences of war is a hell that even war does not condone. There is no comparison.

Bret Stephens: A Hostage Deal Is a Poison Pill for Israel

The highest justification for fighting a war, besides survival, is to prevent its repetition. Israel has lost hundreds of soldiers to defeat Hamas. Thousands of innocent Palestinians have died and hundreds of thousands have suffered, because Hamas has held every Gazan hostage to its fanatical aims. Hamas was able to initiate and fight this war only because of a secure line of logistical supply from Egypt.

Israel's control of the Philadelphi Corridor largely stops this. To relinquish it now, for any reason, forsakes what Israel has been fighting for, consigns Palestinians to further misery under Hamas, and all but guarantees that a similar war will eventually be fought again. Why do that?

Some argue that Israel can always retake the corridor if Hamas fails to fulfill its end of the bargain or if Israelis feel their security is again at risk. That argument is a fantasy. Once Israel leaves Gaza, international pressure for it not to re-enter for nearly any reason short of another Oct. 7 will be overwhelming.

Some 60 hostages are believed to still be alive. Any decent human being must feel acutely sympathetic to their plight. But sympathy cannot be a replacement for judgment.

Israelis have spent the past 11 months suffering the bitter and predictable consequence of the Shalit deal. In 2006, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas and held in Gaza. He was released five years later in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners. Those released included Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Oct. 7. The Shalit deal came about on account of intense public pressure to free him.

A good society will be prepared to go to great lengths to rescue or redeem a captive, whether with risky military operations or exorbitant ransoms. Yet there must also be a limit to what any society can afford to pay. The price for one hostage's life or freedom cannot be the life or freedom of another - even if we know the name of the first life but not yet the second. That ought to be morally elementary.

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In a world where Ahlam Tamimi walks free, US terrorism charges against Hamas officials are only window dressing

From the US Department of Justice:

The Justice Department announced today [Tuesday]  the unsealing of terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges against six senior leaders of Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charges relate to the defendants’ central roles in planning, supporting, and perpetrating the terrorist atrocities that Hamas committed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 (the October 7 Hamas Massacres), involving the murders and kidnappings of countless innocent civilians, including American citizens, which was the culmination of Hamas’s decades-long campaign of terrorism and violence against Israel and its allies, including American citizens. The defendants are either deceased or remain at large. 

... “Yahya Sinwar and the other senior leaders of Hamas are charged today with orchestrating this terrorist organization’s decades-long campaign of mass violence and terror — including on October 7th. On that horrible day, Hamas terrorists viciously massacred nearly 1,200 innocent men, women, and children, including over 40 Americans, kidnapped hundreds more, and used sexual violence as a weapon of brutality,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Since that horrific day, we have worked to investigate and hold accountable those responsible, and we will not rest until all those who kidnapped or murdered Americans are brought to justice. "

The actual effect of the charges is next to nothing. Half of the accused are dead; the ones that are alive are not going to put themselves in any position to be extradited.

As Andrew McCarthy writes:

It’s telling that the Justice Department chose to proceed by criminal complaint rather than an indictment. An indictment can be a “speaking” instrument, reciting a narrative framework for the charges, but often it just states the statutory offenses alleged. To get an indictment, the Justice Department has to present the case to a grand jury — which might ask nettlesome questions, like: “Why are we charging a dead guy?” Because an indictment is a necessary step before a defendant can be tried, it usually conveys a seriousness of purpose, a readiness to proceed with prosecution.

By contrast, a criminal complaint is just a sworn affidavit by a law-enforcement officer (here, as in most federal cases, it’s an FBI agent assigned to the investigation) attesting that there is probable cause to charge various offenses. 

In short, it is literally meaningless.

But could it be perceived as a strong anti-terror statement? Perhaps there is some symbolic value that might frighten Hamas?

Not at all. Especially since there was another similar action taken against another Hamas terrorist, and the US did not do anything to enforce it.

From the same Department of Justice in March 2017:

A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi,.... a Jordanian national in her mid-30s, with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against U.S. nationals outside the U.S., resulting in death. The charge is related to the defendant’s participation in an Aug. 9, 2001, suicide bomb attack at a pizza restaurant in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including two U.S. nationals. Four other U.S. nationals were among the approximately 122 others injured in the attack. Also unsealed today was a warrant for Al-Tamimi’s arrest and an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and arrest warrant. The criminal charge had been under seal since July 15, 2013.

...

“Al-Tamimi is an unrepentant terrorist who admitted to her role in a deadly terrorist bombing that injured and killed numerous innocent victims. Two Americans were killed and four injured. The charges unsealed today serve as a reminder that when terrorists target Americans anywhere in the world, we will never forget – and we will continue to seek to ensure that they are held accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord.

The US saying that they will continue to seek to hold terrorists responsible means nothing when it has not done nearly enough to extradite Ahlam Tamimi from Jordan - a country that is heavily dependent on US aid yet has not experienced any real pressure to send Tamimi to the US.

The Tamimi case shows that the US government will do whatever it takes - unless it might upset another government. Jordan has an extradition treaty with the US and has extradited terrorists in the past, but refuses to send Tamimi to the US for trial because she is a hero in Jordan. Even though the US has great leverage over Jordan, it refuses to use that leverage to brig Tamimi to justice. 

Does anyone think that the US will put any pressure on Qatar to extradite Meshaal?

When the US says one thing but acts the opposite way, the message is heard loud and clear throughout the Middle East: America will not put its money where its mouth is. Hamas doesn't cower in fear from statements like this - it laughs at them. 

You know who Hamas leaders do cower in fear from? Israel, which actually will do whatever is necessary to bring these monsters to justice. And the only true justice possible for Hamas terrorists is to eliminate them.

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Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks on Philadelphi corridor, negotiations, international pressure (video+full transcript with slides)

Last night, Netanyahu spoke to the foreign press to clear up a lot of misconceptions that are being stated about Israel's conduct during this war, including from allies and within Israel itself.

It is important not only because it is a clear argument but also because it is official - not a spin or second-hand analysis from either anti- or pro-Israel pundits.

_______________________

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Remarks at his Press Conference for the Foreign Media

Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks, this evening (Wednesday, 4 September 2024), at the GPO in Jerusalem:

"Israel is experiencing days of horror, sorrow and rage. A week ago, we experienced such horror.

Yesterday, I visited in Ashkelon the family of one of the hostages murdered in cold blood. A day earlier, I spoke to several of the families of these murdered hostages. It tears your heart out. I said to them that I'm sorry. I apologized that we, we didn't get them out. We worked so hard to get them. We were close. But we didn't. And they changed the torment of families worried about their loved ones to families grieving for their fallen beloved. That sentiment I know because I belong to that family. But it's a horror.

We also lost brave policemen and brave soldiers who were fighting in the Gaza front and I embraced their families as well. All our people do.

On October 7th, we experienced the worst savagery in this century. On October 7th, we experienced the worst savagery meted on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. These savages massacred our people. 1,200 civilians. They beheaded our men. They raped our women and then murdered them. They burnt babies alive. They took 255 of our people hostages to their underground dungeons. That's a horror that the world saw and responded to initially.

It's important that we remember it. But we were given a reminder. A terrible reminder. Last week, when these savages murdered six of our hostages in cold blood. They riddled them with bullets. Then they shot each of them in the head. Some of them several times.

And these are the savages, these are the terrorists that Iran implanted next to our border as elsewhere. And we're committed to defeating them, to extirpating this evil from our midst. I want to talk to you today about some of the things that we must do to achieve that goal, including the questions of the Philadelphi Corridor.

But before I do that, I want to give your readers and viewers some context because often you see maps of Israel. You think it's a Goliath.

Well, I'd like to give you first an overview of where Israel is. 

This is the Middle East, and this is the entire Arab world, and this is Israel. It's one of the world's tiniest countries. I give it the, you know, the thumb test. This is a big one, so you need a bigger thumb. But it's a tiny country. It's one of the tiniest countries on the planet. It's, I think one tenth of one percent of the territory of the Arab world, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's two tenths of one percent.

It goes from the river. The river is right here. That's the Jordan River. To the sea, the Mediterranean Sea. So, when Hamas is talking about liberating Palestine from the river to the sea, basically, what they're saying is destroying Israel.

And the entire width of this, it's probably around the width of the Washington Beltway, it's all together in its widest point is about 50 miles. Right here. Tiny.

And here's Gaza there. This is the red thing that you see here. That's Gaza. Now I want to zoom in. When I zoom in, remember how tiny this is. Remember the distances here.

Now, take a look. Here it is enlarged. This is Israel. This is the Mediterranean Sea. The Jordan River is right here.

This is Egypt and the Sinai desert. Now, look at Gaza. Where is Gaza? Gaza is implanted in this tiny country 30 miles from Tel Aviv, 40 miles from our capital Jerusalem, 30 miles from Beer-Sheva. These are three of Israel's largest cities. Gaza is within spitting distance to them.

Israel, up to the disengagement agreement of 2005, Israel controlled this border under an agreement with Egypt after the Camp David Peace Accords. We controlled this part, which is called the Philadelphi Corridor, I'll talk about that in a minute, right down to Eilat in the Red Sea. This was our border. And while there was, I would say a minimal amount of terrorism, that wasn't, we didn’t really face a big problem.

Let's zoom in on that a bit more. Here's Gaza Strip enlarged. Again, this is the situation in Gaza before the disengagement of 2005. And the Gaza Strip is firmly under Israeli control. We control the maritime border. You can't smuggle in weapons. They tried but we stopped it. You control the land border. And you control this border between the Sinai desert, Egypt and Gaza. The Gaza Strip, it's controlled. This is the Philadelphi Corridor. This is the Rafah Crossing. Controlled by the IDF.

Now look at the distances from Gaza. It's four miles to another city in Israel called Ashkelon, where I visited that bereaved family yesterday. It's a population of 170,000 people. They are four miles away. But some of our communities like kibbutz Be'eri, which was one of the hardest hit, is one mile away from Gaza. Kfar Aza is less than one mile away. It's literally walking distance. Okay.

And so, as long as we controlled this, these communities, sometimes they were harassed by this rocket or that rocket but it was marginal. We controlled the security situation. But something happened in 2005. Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza. It just went out. It took out everything. It took out the army. It stripped, uprooted communities, took out 10,000 people.

The army left the Philadelphi Corridor. Here's what happened.

This is Gaza after the disengagement. And Hamas now has a weapon smuggling operation nurtured by Iran, financed by Iran, supplied by Iran, delivered by Iran.

And here's what happened. That Philadelphi Corridor became completely porous. The other borders controlled by us. But once this was perforated, even though the policy of Egypt was to prevent it, you know, it didn't necessarily work, it didn't, it didn't succeed. And this border once we left our side of the Philadelphi Corridor, rockets went in, missiles went in, drones went in, ammo went in, weapons manufacturing equipment came in, tunnel drilling equipment came in.

Once we got out, once we left the Philadelphi Corridor, Iran could carry out its plan to turn Gaza into a base, a terrorist enclave that would endanger not only the communities around it but would endanger Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beer-Sheva, the entire country of Israel. It became a huge terrorist base because we left that Corridor.

So, we vowed, or I would say, all this, you have to understand that the centrality, the centrality of the Philadelphi Corridor to the arming of Gaza, to the arming of Hamas and this all led to the October 7th massacre, which Hamas has vowed, proudly vowed to do again and again and again.

We vowed that they won't be able to do it. So we said, as far as Gaza is concerned, three war goals: The first war goal was to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities. The second was to free our hostages. And the third was to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.

And all three of those goals, all three of them go through Israel's control of the Philadelphi Corridor. And it's obvious why. You want to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities – You can't let Hamas rearm. It's obvious. So you have to control the corridor. You can't let them have…by the way, it's not only to prevent them from terrorizing us, attacking us, it's also to prevent Hamas or any other terrorist organization from terrorizing the people of Gaza.

Gaza cannot have a future if Gaza remains porous and you can enable rearmament of terrorists through the Philadelphi Corridor.

The second thing is to release the hostages. First of all, you can't prevent, if you leave this Corridor, you can't prevent Hamas from, not only, not smuggling weapons in, you can't prevent them from not smuggling terrorists, hostages out. It's walking distance, nothing. They can easily smuggle hostages out here to the Sinai desert in Egypt, they disappear. It's crossing distance. The distance is nothing, it's meters, meters away.

They cross the, the barrier above ground. They don't even have to go underground. They disappear in the Sinai and then they end up in Iran or in Yemen. They're gone forever.

And you need something to squeeze them, to prevent them, to put pressure on them to release the remaining hostages. So if you want to release the hostages, you've got to control the Philadelphi Corridor. 

And the third reason, the third goal of ensuring that we prevent Gaza from being again a threat to Israel. It's clear. Gaza must be demilitarized. And it can only be demilitarized if the Philadelphi Corridor remains under firm control and is not a supply line for armaments and for terror equipment.

I think that's clear to most Israelis, to all Israelis. But a question has arisen: that may be the case, but why don't you leave Gaza for 42 days, you could come back. Well, aside from what I said that they could smuggle the terrorists out. I want to show you what they've got under Gaza. I didn't show you that. So I want to show you that.

This is what they have under the Philadelphi Corridor. Just so you understand the supply lines we're talking about. This is one of the tunnels there. Look at the engineering, look at the investment here, look at what they've got. We've got dozens of such tunnels, dozens of such tunnels, underneath the Philadelphi Corridor. 

To give you an impression of the size of these things: This is a soldier. This is a tunnel. You could drive a truck through this. Indeed, you could. Here's a truck, or it's a Humvee. This is a huge, huge problem.

Now, you're just going to walk away? It's obvious we have to control it, right? I think, once you see this, you understand that? But then the next question is, okay, you leave and you come back. That's what they tell us. Okay. We'll have complete international legitimacy to come back. Sorry, we've gone down that route. We were down that route when we left Lebanon, and people said you can leave Lebanon and you can come back. The first time they fire a rocket you can come back, the world will support you. It didn't. And we've been out of Lebanon for 24 years.

They said the same thing when we left Gaza in the disengagement. They said, you can leave, and the first rocket. I remember, Prime Minister Sharon said this to me. The first rocket above ground or below ground, we'll be able to go back in. It's been 20 years and we haven't gone back in. Because you all know and understand that the international community, including friendly countries, under enormous domestic pressure because of the propaganda that's leveled against Israel and against them, there'll be enormous, international pressure not to come back. What is their message? End the war. End the war. And so, when we want to come back and resume, we'll pay an exorbitant price in many fields, including in the lives of our men.

To come back? It's not a just a military question. It's a military, political, strategic question. And we make that decision. We're not going to leave. 42 days? We're there. I don't want to leave in order to come back in, when I know that we didn't come back in. And it's not going to take another 24 years to come back in. And God knows what price we'll have? How many more massacres? How many more kidnappings? How many more hostages? How many more rapes? It's not going to happen.

So, people said, yeah, but if you stay, this will kill the deal. And I say, such a deal will kill us. And there won't be a deal that way. This is a false narrative. I'm willing to make a deal. I made one already, one that brought back 150 hostages, 117 alive. And I'm committed to return the remaining 101. I'll do everything I can to get them in.

But leaving Philadelphi does not advance the release of the hostages, because the deal cannot be advanced. They'll give you a minor part if they give anything, and keep the rest. Go and argue. You know when they started giving us hostages? When we went into Philadelphi. When we went into Rafah. When we controlled the Rafah Crossing. That's when they felt the pressure. As long as they didn't feel the pressure, they wouldn't do it. The first batch, the first deal that we got, was a result of our invasion, the military pressure we put in. They gave us the hostages. After that, they thought, well, you know, we'll have the international pressure turn on Israel so we won't have to do, we won't have to make any concessions. But after Rafah, their tune changed, and they began to change. If we leave Rafah, if we leave the Philadelphi Corridor, there won't be any pressure. We won't get the hostages.

I said I'm willing to make a deal. The real obstacle to making a deal is not Israel and it's not me. It Hamas. It's Sinwar. On April 27th, I put forward a proposal by Israel, which Secretary Blinken called extremely generous. On May 31st, having met Blinken again, I said, we agreed to the US-backed proposal, and Hamas refused. On August 16th, the US brought forth what they called the final bridging proposal. Again, we accepted, Hamas refused. On August 19th, Secretary Blinken said, Israel accepted the US proposal, now Hamas has to do the same. On August 28th—that's a week ago—the deputy CIA director said Israel showed seriousness in the negotiations, now Hamas must make the deal. This was last week. So, I ask you, what has changed. What has changed in this week? What's changed is that they murdered six of our hostages in cold blood.

Now, the world will seriously demand that Israel make concessions after this massacre? What message does this send to Hamas? I'll tell you what the message is. Murder more hostages, you'll get more concessions. That's not only illogical, it's not only immoral, it's downright insane. So, it's not going to happen. We have red lines before the murder. They haven't changed. We'll hold to them. But we also had flexibility. And I'll tell you one thing, Hamas will pay for this. That you can be assured. We'll make sure that we extract that price from them. But we are firm on our red lines, including the Philadelphi Corridor, for the reasons I described here. I'm flexible where I can be. I'm firm when I have to be.

I think there is a possibility of getting this deal if we stick to this strategy. I said before, we got 150 hostages out because we combined a firm stance with military pressure. And I said that Hamas after that relied on international pressure, but it had weakened. And then we went into Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor, so it got strengthened, and they were beginning to balk. A condition that they said they'd never accept, a red line, is that we must commit to getting out of Gaza and enabling Hamas basically to take over Gaza again. End the war, get out, let them retake Gaza. That's obviously something we couldn't do.

They said there'll never be a deal. Well, they started caving in there after we took the Philadelphi Corridor. And then they started backing off. You know why they waited? Why they started backing off? Because they waited for Iran to start a general war with Israel. That didn't happen. So then they waited for Hezbollah to start a general war with Israel. That didn't happen either. So now they resort to the final tactic. They're going to sow discord and create international pressure, again using the hostages, even after the murder. And this is something that's not new because they started this a year ago.

You should see this. I mean, this is their tactic. This is Hamas orders for psychological warfare, found in Hamas underground command post on January 29th, that's right after the beginning of the war, 2024. And this is the original document in Arabic. Our soldiers found it.

And here's what it says: Push photos and videos of hostages. Put it out in the media, because that creates enormous psychological pressure. Who's not affected by it? Any human being seeing these souls, these girls, these people, young people from those dungeons, you're affected by. Second: Increase psychological pressure on defense minister. Third: Continue blaming Netanyahu. And fourth: Claim ground operation will not release hostages.

That's Hamas', it's not only their talking points, it's their strategy. And their idea is this will sow internal discord and increase international pressure on Israel. That's what they hope to achieve. And they hope, they think this will happen. Well, it won't happen. I can tell you why it won't happen. I'll tell you why they'll fail. Because overwhelmingly the people of Israel are united. They understand everything that I said here. Overwhelmingly. You should know that. It's important. And the second thing is, we're committed to achieving our goals—all three goals: Destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities, releasing all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza does not become a threat to Israel anymore. And all these require standing firm on the things that will ensure the achievement of these goals. And with G-d's help, and with our people's will, and with the courage of our soldiers, we will achieve all goals.

_______________________________

If one wants to argue against Israeli policy, argue against the actual policy and analysis - not a mind-reading fantasy of what you believe Bibi thinks.

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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!

 

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09/04 Links Pt2: The Che Guevara of the Tentifada; Debunking Darryl Cooper; Archaeology is a big problem for the Palestinian cause

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: The Che Guevara of the Tentifada

The moments of clarity keep piling up. The latest one is thanks to the newest progressive hero, Abu Obeida, a senior Hamas official and spokesman for the terror group’s “military wing.”

It would be silly to pretend that anybody could’ve mistaken Obeida for a well-meaning functionary in the past, but he did us the favor this week of making his evil—and thus his admirers’ moral depravity—inarguable.

After Hamas executed six hostages less than a week ago, and their remains were discovered by IDF troops less than a mile from where they had just rescued another hostage, Obeida explained that such horrific crimes were now officially Hamas policy: “Let it be clear to everyone that, following the incident in Nuseirat, new instructions have been issued to the Mujahideen tasked with guarding the prisoners. These instructions outline how to handle the situation if the occupation army approaches the location where the prisoners are being held.”

The “incident in Nuseirat” is the IDF rescue of four hostages in a residential neighborhood in Gaza, including Noa Argamani. If Hamas fears hostages will be rescued, they will execute them in cold blood.

So says Abu Obeida, the Che Guevara of the tentifada.

That characterization is not an exaggeration, either.

At the Northwestern camps, a protester donned a hoodie with what is becoming the iconic picture of Abu Obeida, masked and in military fatigues with a finger in the air, on the front. Ohio State’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine sold oil paintings of the image. The University of Wisconsin-Madison protests featured a banner with Obeida’s picture on it with the words “Glory to the Resistance.”

In case it was unclear why they admired Abu Obeida, the University of California-Santa Cruz encampments featured the written slogans “Death to Israelis” and “Glory to Abu Obeida.”

A Harvard graduate student, at a protest in New York, led the crowd in a chant of: “Strike, strike, Tel Aviv. Abu Obeida, our beloved.” Footage shows him leading chants at tentifada rallies at Columbia and the City University of New York.

Growing signs of antisemitism in the open

The current dehumanization of Jews all over the world and of Israelis of all kinds involves the false narrative that Jews are all white, successful and perpetrators rather than victims. Jews cannot win. Perceived success brings scorn and the internalized versions are heartbreaking.

The Santa Ana, California school district has taken this one step further as they are actually teaching students to be antisemitic! The ethnic studies steering committee noted in its agenda that it needs to address “the Jewish question” and that they would hold meetings on Jewish holidays to avoid Jewish participation.

The curriculum passed as senior committee members stated, “Jews are not a disadvantaged ethnic group in the U.S. because they were never slaves,” and “We only support the oppressed, and Jews are the oppressor.” The sole Jewish member of the committee was described by the leader as a “colonized Jewish mind” and a few other choice words not fit for print.

Earlier this summer I resigned from the board of directors of the UMass Amherst Alumni Association. I am a grateful graduate, but when I asked leadership to discuss antisemitism and to craft a statement for our website or quarterly that I offered to write, the board declined.

I was clear this was not about Israel but simply about hatred against Jews. For Jewish students and alums, it feels important at this moment. The ADL gave UMass Amherst the grade “F” for not combating antisemitism on campus. I offered a simple way to start to turn things around and for Jews to feel as safe as everyone else on campus.

Here’s what I would have written: “The UMass Amherst Alumni Association stands against the hatred of Jews and we support the safety and well-being of Jewish students and alumni.” Period, not but. If otherwise well-meaning organizations cannot do this, we are swimming in normative antisemitism. It’s unconscionable.

Archaeology is a big problem for the Palestinian cause

The stone seal that was just discovered doesn’t have any inscriptions referring to “Palestine.” It doesn’t refer to any indigenous Palestinian holidays, nor does it bear any ancient Palestinian symbols—because none of those things exist.

The writing on the seal is Hebrew, not Arabic. The name written on it is a Jewish name, not an Arab or Muslim name: Yeho’ezer ben Hoshayahu. The black stone seal was found near the Temple Mount’s southern wall,

That name is very similar to the name of one of King David’s warriors mentioned in the Torah. It’s not similar to the name of the warrior of some “Palestinian” king—because there never was such a thing.

It’s also very similar to a Jewish name mentioned in the biblical book of Jeremiah. It’s not similar to any names mentioned in the Quran. As a matter of fact, the city of Jerusalem itself is not mentioned in the Quran either. Isn’t that fascinating? Despite all the platitudes we hear about how Jerusalem is the “city of three ancient faiths,” Jerusalem does not appear a single time in the Quran.

Filip Vukosavovic of the Israel Antiquities Authority said the newly discovered seal, which dates to about 700 BCE, was used by someone who “held a senior position in the Kingdom of Judah’s administration.” Note: Kingdom of Judah, not Kingdom of Palestine.

It was only some 1,400 years after the creation of that seal, in the seventh century CE, that the Muslims of the Arabian Peninsula invaded and occupied the Land of Israel. The Muslim occupiers never called the country “Palestine.”

Altogether, the archaeologists of the Temple Mount Sifting Project have uncovered several thousand items related to the biblical period. And not one of those items—not one—refers to “Palestinians.”

No wonder the Islamic religious authorities treat the debris from their renovations as garbage. They know that every scoop of dirt can reveal additional evidence that the rightful owners of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel are the Jews.

The Islamic officials on the Temple Mount would like to hide the past. Fortunately, however, Israel’s archaeologists have come to the rescue—that is, the rescue of Jewish national history. In the course of fulfilling the noble scientific purpose of archaeology, they are reaffirming the deep roots of the Jewish people in the Holy Land.

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09/04 Links Pt1: A Letter to My Israeli Neighbors; Israel Complied with UN Resolutions; Peace Never Came; Lammy's lamentable libels

From Ian:

A Letter to My Israeli Neighbors

To my neighbors, to my supposed enemies,

These have been the darkest of days for you. They have been dark for me, too. All I want to do is give you a hug. But I cannot do that.

For one, I am a Palestinian who lives in a small village in the West Bank. The crossings have been closed ever since October 7, so I cannot physically reach you, despite being just a few miles away.

But beyond the practical barriers that exist between us, people like me aren’t supposed to embrace people like you. Where I come from, we are called traitors for doing just that.

I had always been proud to be Palestinian. That changed on October 7. Seeing those images of women, children, and elderly taken as hostages or killed by Hamas, I felt deeply ashamed that such hate could have any home among my people. And I said so. I spoke out publicly on social media—saying that the massacre was unequivocally wrong—and expressing my love for my friends in Israel.

Now, I’m trying to flee the neighborhood I called home for my entire life because the people around me don’t understand how I could hold such a belief. Because being called a traitor means something where I live. It means groups like Hamas will try to kill you.

If I’m a traitor for saying that murdering and kidnapping innocent women, babies, and the elderly is wrong then yes, I am a traitor. If I’m a traitor for weeping alone in my bedroom over the murder of six more innocent souls by terrorists who are on the side of endless death and destruction, then yes, call me a traitor.

Ian Haworth: Joe Biden Blames the Jews for the Crime of Fighting to Live

Netanyahu's duty, as prime minister of Israel, is to return the hostages and ensure peace and security for his own citizens. Biden's duty, as president of the United States, is to do the same for his own citizens, one of whom was just murdered by Hamas. And yet Joe Biden is pushing Hamas propaganda, blaming the Jews for the actions of those who wish to destroy them.

First, let's say that a ceasefire is the most important goal (which, it must be said, it is not). Israel has accepted multiple deals. Meanwhile, Hamas — the terrorists who are busy murdering Israeli hostages — has not.

If one side accepts a deal and the other does not, in what world is the side that accepted the deal to blame for the other's rejection?

But second, and far more importantly, do not miss the deeply antisemitic trick being played by Biden and those who are propping him up.

Hamas set this timeline in motion. Hamas engaged in the deadliest day of violence against Jews since the Holocaust on Oct. 7. Hamas slaughtered 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians. Hamas raped, tortured, mutilated. Hamas took hostages. Hamas murdered hostages.

But when Jews have the audacity to defend themselves against an ongoing threat — Hamas, after all, has promised to continue their attempted genocide no matter the cost — Jews are to blame, and Hamas is blameless.

Jews are to blame when they are attacked by Hamas, and Hamas is blameless. Jews are to blame when they fight back against Hamas, and Hamas is blameless. Jews are to blame when they agree to ceasefire or hostage agreements that Hamas rejects, and Hamas is blameless.

In a sane world, Hamas would be condemned as the evil barbarians they are, and Israel celebrated for their entirely justified actions in defense of their own sovereignty.

But we do not live in a sane world. For Hamas, who needs friends when you have enemies like Joe Biden, the same sort of naive, clueless and bigoted morons who would have blamed Jews for the spread of disease hundreds of years ago, who today blame Jews for committing the ultimate crime: fighting to live.

Israel Complied with UN Resolutions; Peace Never Came

In 2000, Israel did not foresee Nasrallah transforming his militia from defensive to offensive. Perhaps that was why, in 2005, Israel replicated its unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon by conceding Palestinian territories, even without prior agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) under Mahmud Abbas.

Israel dismantled settlements, pulled out 10,000 Israelis, and withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip entirely and the northern part of the West Bank, around Jenin and Tulkarem.

Withdrawal was expected to boost the popularity of the PA, but its corruption and incompetence cost it the legislative election that Hamas won in 2006. By June 2007, Hamas had violently ejected the PA from Gaza. Palestinians now had two governments.

In the West Bank, under PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the economy grew and security improved. Fayyad’s competence, however, deprived Abbas and his cronies of their public money spoils.

In 2013, Abbas ejected Fayyad, causing a backslide in the economy and security. Hamas started recruiting in Jenin, from where the terrorist group organized attacks — such as shootings, ramming cars, and knifings — against Israelis. The Israeli military was forced to operate in the West Bank, thus compounding Palestinian misery. When Abbas visited Jenin in July 2023, Palestinians chased him away.

Since October 2023, Israel has had to go into most of Gaza and intensified its incursions into the West Bank. Israel has also had to fight against Hezbollah to restore normalcy to its north.

Thirty-one years after Israel started experimenting with coordinated withdrawals with Palestinian leaders, 24 years after Israel unilaterally withdrew from Lebanon, 19 years after it left Gaza and Jenin, and only one year after Jerusalem signed on to a US-sponsored maritime border demarcation deal with Beirut, none of the deals or unilateral withdrawals brought Israel peace.

For its concessions, Israel got a Hamas massacre of 1,200 of its citizens on October 7, the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. Then, on October 8, Israel found itself facing Hezbollah attacks that have depopulated its north.

And despite all of this, UN Secretary-General Guterres believes the end of Palestinian and Lebanese violence against Israel will only result from more Israeli withdrawals, as if three decades of Israeli concessions have not proven the futility of compromising — and that Jews, Israelis, and foreign citizens will die as a result.

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