Thursday 19 October - Gaza War - Aggregation & Commentary (live)

 Gaza, October 2023. What did you think “Never Again” meant? 

Thank you, Mr. President. 

No US president is “pro-Israel” in the sense that they place the interests of Israel above the perceived interests of the US. And the interests of the two countries do not always coincide.  

In that context, I consider Joe Biden's Shiva visit yesterday to a traumatized Israel with gratefulness. 

As protected as he is, coming here entailed putting his life on the line. He is 80 years old. His steps are halting. His is the raspy voice of an elderly man. He has to squint to read the teleprompter and knows he sometimes repeats himself. 

But as things stand on October 19, 2023, Joe Biden is, in my book, the most pro-Israel president in the 70-plus bumpy years of US-Israel relations. 

I expect he will be the last pro-Israel Democratic president. Of the next one, it will be said, Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. (EXODUS 1:8).

In advance of his arrival, he sent a battle group led by the USS Gerald R. Ford. Some of you will appreciate the irony because Ford was one of the most anti-Israel presidents in the relationship. 

And behind it will come (another irony) a battle group led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Hamevin Yavin.

In two brief statements and in meetings with family members of Israelis taken captive by the monsters of Gaza, he gave comfort and encouragement.

Unprecedentedly, he participated in Israel's war cabinet (as had his Secretary of State Tony Blinkin earlier). 

In doing all this, the Biden administration is signaling Iran and Hezbollah not to launch a preemptive all-out war on Israel. Iran is a nuclear power in all but name. It is controlled by believers in an apocalyptic form of Shi'ism. Hezbollah is exponentially more lethal than Hamas. Biden says that if they attack, the US will intervene on Israel's side. A war with Iran is the last thing ordinary Americans want, so don't tell me Biden is doing this for domestic political popularity.

He mobilized a rearmament airlift to Israel from day one of the war. US intelligence is helping us watch Iran and Syria. He is arranging with Congress to provide us with another $10 billion, mainly in military assistance.

America's unstinting wartime support for Israel is riling the Arab street so much so that Abdullah II of Jordan, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, and the PLO's Mahmoud Abbas (despite being US clients) were afraid they would be overthrown yesterday had they been seen meeting with him as scheduled in Amman. 

Al Jazeera and pro-Islamist social media influencers have fueled a region-wide Arab, Persian, and Turkish frenzy against Israel.

Biden had to beg El-Sisi to allow 20 trucks of humanitarian aid for the Palestinians into Gaza against Hamas's wishes because it wants to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the hopes of staving off an IDF invasion.

Egypt would like you to forget it has placed its own lock hold on Gaza, even as it has been looking the other way as Hamas imports weapons and contraband through tunnels connecting Sinai to Gaza.

The explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City - set off by an errant rocket fired by Islamic Jihad - was a Godsend to El-Sisi, whose restive population can now have their anger turned against the Jews, not his regime. He has given the tightly controlled media the green light to blame the Jews, just like in the old days.

 Today's Al-Youm Al-Sabea 

Some of Biden's decisions are mistaken but excusable. He seems to think that the Palestinians "are not Hamas." Yeah, they are. 

On the West Bank and in Gaza, they went for Hamas the last time the population had a chance to vote. Polls taken before 10/7 showed Hamas would again be victorious in free Palestinian elections.

He also is pouring more aid money down the Palestinian drain—another $100 million in emergency assistance to help civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. The Americans and Europeans have emptied so much money into perennially corrupt Palestinian Authority coffers since 1993 with so little to show for it – in terms of institution building and a willingness among Palestinian elites to inculcate democratic values and coexistence – that it is achingly painful to behold.

And this doesn't even speak to financing UNWRA, whose perverse raison d'etre is to maintain the Palestinians as refugees in perpetuity. 

But good-hearted Westerners need the illusion of momentum. They need to believe that the Palestinians want to help themselves more than they want to destroy Israel. It is an unshakeable delusional disorder. Any criticism on our part will further stress them and may worsen their symptoms. While not encouraging them, an understanding approach is indicated.

Biden's subtle nudging that we do not get carried away by rage frustrates some Israelis. But he's right. Our mission is to defang the Islamist monster's military capacity. To kill its military, political, and Sharia council members. We cannot obliterate the genocidal idea behind Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees, or the PLO. Given these circumstances, we have to be disciplined not to take out our wrath against the civilian population; and not to behave in a frenetic way; we are not murderers, despite what the Palestinians and their fellow travelers say. 

And Biden is right, too, that we need an exit strategy before the IDF launches its anticipated land offensive.

 

 

Wednesday 18 October - Gaza War - Aggregation & Commentary (live)

 Gaza, October 2023. What did you think “Never Again” meant? 

Within moments of the explosion last night at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, the Palestinian narrative – here I mean not just the Islamists, Al Jazeera, but also the PLO in Ramallah along with their enablers in the media and on social media – portrayed Israel as having purposefully bombed the hospital to kill the patients and medical staff.

Knee-jerk headline. The New York Times has a long history of anti-Israelism 

If that is what you still believe, you are an enemy of Israel but get in the back of the line. 

In front of you stands Assad of Syria, who said we had committed the “bloodiest massacre against humanity” in the modern era. Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey called “on all humanity to take action to stop Israel’s unprecedented brutality in Gaza.” 

Days before the hospital explosion, North Korean state media blamed Israel for causing “constant criminal acts against the Palestinian people.” 

Putin’s Kremlin denounced Israel for its “felonious…crime …[its] act of dehumanization.” 

So, here is what really happened: Islamic Jihad was shooting at Israeli civilians, maybe at one of our hospitals, and there was a mishap. One of their rockets fell on a compound near Al-Ahli Hospital, apparently detonating an unlawful arsenal stored between the hospital and an adjacent cemetery.

Here are two Hamas operatives talking about the explosion in real-time:

https://x.com/idfonline/status/1714549126799482925?s=20

(cut and paste into your browser)

Here is Channel 12 Arab affairs reporter Ohad Hemo אוהד חמו setting out in Arabic how the calamity happened.

https://x.com/N12News/status/1714585332228702459?s=20 

And here is footage from around the hospital before and after

https://x.com/LtColRichard/status/1714587192511599022?s=20

For a detailed report, see IDF provides evidence hospital blast was a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari shares drone footage and a recording proving Israel was not behind the attack on the hospital (link)   

In the final analysis, Hamas is responsible for the safety and security of Gazans. They started this war. It is true that a majority of Gazans, indeed of all Palestinians, voted for Hamas in the past election, but that does not give Hamas the right to use them as human shields. 

Which side are you on?

Back in New York, enemies of Israel continue to scapegoat random Jews and Jewish businesses and institutions. (h/t AS)

Tuesday 17 October - Gaza War - Aggregation & Commentary (live)

Gaza, October 2023. What did you think “Never Again” meant? 

Thank you, President Biden. So far, the current administration has deterred Hezbollah and Iran from launching a major attack against Israel, allowing the IDF to focus on Hamas Gaza. The US has already airlifted armaments needed to replenish our stocks and pursue the war, and it will ask Congress for a supplemental military aid package so that Israel can purchase weapons from the US.

On Wednesday, the president will make an unprecedented wartime visit to our country, displaying courage and steadfastness. Military coordination (two aircraft carriers), financial support, diplomatic backing (blocking a Putin-Russian resolution at the Security Council yesterday that would have called for an immediate ceasefire, which would be to the advantage of Hamas), and his personal presence

Keep in mind Secretary of State Blinken is not only here but took part in a war cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv.  Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was just here. He met Israeli leaders face-to-face to “underscore the unwavering support of the US for the people of Israel and commitment to ensuring Israel has what it needs to defend itself.”

This support buys Israel the time to prepare appropriately for the next stage of the war.

Assuming the administration stays the course – Biden will go down in history as the most pro-Israel president. In my book, the only pro-Israel president in history (but that’s for another time).

I think we are about to drop in the polls again – I take this as a good thing. Had the 10/7 Hamas attack cascaded into an all-out defeat for Israel and the butchery of its population, I am confident that every Holocaust museum in the world would have built an annex to memorialize “another six million” or so dead Jews. I would rather crush Hamas, deter future Palestinian Arab aggression, and emerge victorious from this war than be dead and sympathetically memorialized.

Here are some polls put out by Gallup today.

The satanic, hard-to-kill Hamas mastermind responsible for the deaths of more Jews than any other anti-semite since WWII is not a household name. Here, in Hebrew, is a background brief about Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Masri, AKA Mohammed Deif, presented by Yoni ben Menachem, the veteran Arab affairs expert. 

How to follow events in Israel in English -  Beyond relying on the major outlets (discerningly, I pray), my go-to source for Israeli news in English is the Times of Israel.  

Haaretz (a post-Zionist publication with some fine Philo-Zionist writers and good original reporting) and The Jerusalem Post (an annoying website, though good reporters and editors doing their best) are sensible back-ups. On TV, i24 is worth checking. Look for Calev Ben David's program.

Prayer for our soldiers ...

Monday 16 October - Gaza War - Aggregation & Commentary (live)

 

Gaza, October 2023. What did you think “Never Again” meant? 

Today’s Israel Today (page 17, Hebrew) reports that because of the condition of the remains, it could take weeks, perhaps months, for forensic pathologists to identify all the victims of Hamas’s butchery. So far, 532 bodies have been identified. The Times of Israel writes, Awaiting ID, the bodies of Hamas’s victims are stacked on racks in outdoor containers. Haaretz (Hebrew) covers the story here. 

"כולנו רוצים לזהות את החללים כמה שיותר מהר, אבל לא במחיר של טעות"

The Economist pitied Israel on the first day of the war. That was then. Now, on the third day of the war, the magazine’s empathy and patience have evaporated. “The fact that a lot of children in Gaza, Palestinian children, will die in an attack—even if it’s legal—is destructive for Israel’s legitimacy around the world.” The anti-Israel weekly intoned. “Israel must balance retribution against Hamas with the laws of war.”  

JoeTruzman at the Long War Journal has a piece about the specialized Hamas unit likely holding Israeli and American hostages. He notes that "Islamic Jihad claims to have over 30 hostages under their control, whereas the Popular Resistance Committees have confirmed through a message on their Telegram channel that they, too, possess hostages. Moreover, a distressing video released by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades [associated with Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah] exhibits an injured individual accompanied by a terrorist, seemingly en route to Gaza."

He also covers the seizure by the IDF of EFPs, RPGs, and other munitions from

Hamas with Iran's fingerprints all over them. "Hamas’ possession of EFPs and the existence of EFP factories is a strong indication of support from both Hezbollah and Iran. EFPs are known as a signature weapon of Iranian proxies and clients."

Speaking of Iran, Robert Malley is expected to face a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee about how he ran his office as the Biden administration’s special envoy to Iran. Malley lost his security clearance, and there are suggestions some of his aides had unseemly ties with Iran. By the way, in retaliation for Hamas's attack on Israel, the Biden administration and Qatar reportedly "re-froze" that $6 billion in Iranian assets sitting in South Korea that had been released in the recent hostage exchange.

There goes the love. Veteran journalist Gary Rosenblatt sums up the thinking of two keen observers of the Israeli scene, Micah Goodman and Yossi Klein Halevi, on losing the world’s sympathy so soon into the Gaza war. Halevi said, “Israel must do whatever is necessary to reverse the image of Jewish helplessness that it has borne since Oct. 7, with the utter failure of the army, intelligence, and political system to protect its citizens.” Goodman explained, “We want Madonna and Bono to love us, but we want Hezbollah and Hamas and Iran to panic when they think of us,” he said. “The problem is that there is a zero-sum game between these emotions of love and fear.” You have to choose between them. “What we do to restore the fear will erode the love,” he figured. “And if we try to keep the West’s love, we won’t restore the fear of us in the Mideast.”

Not unexpectedly B'Tselem is trying to pull Hamas's chestnuts out of the fire so they can live to fight another day. They are telling Israel:

It is something to remember if you contribute to B'Tselem or the philanthropies and foundations that support B'Tselem. 

A Canadian-based progressive Muslim religious society (yes, there apparently is such a thing) has issued a statement signed by scores of imans denouncing Hamas and its antisemitism. The stationery of the Global Imams Council identifies Najaf, Iraq, as its headquarters. Perhaps it is some kind of oasis in Iran-dominated Iraq. Any sign of a reformation in Islam, no matter how slight, is genuinely welcome.

Mass demonstrations in New York, London, Paris, and elsewhere in the Western world took place Sunday to support Hamas. While many Muslims participated in these rallies, so did considerable numbers aligned with the Left (Jeremy Corbyn spoke at the London protest). 

Leftists have shown an uncanny ability to bridge the gap between Islamic fundamentalism and progressive politics.

 (see picture left).

Sunday 15 October - Gaza War - Aggregation & Commentary (live)

 

For the Medical Community -

Update from Israel: One Doctors Perspective | Prof Mark Clarfield MD FRCPC

Israel at War: Special Online Medical Webinar | Monday 16 October | 7pm BST

Speaker: Prof Mark Clarfield MD FRCPC

Emeritus Professor, Ben-Gurion University; Chair, Israel National Council on Geriatrics

Prof Clarfield will be giving an update from Israel with his perspective as a doctor.

Please click here to register for the event. Sponsored by the Jewish Medical Association of the UK

Sunday's New York Post front page

Thank God for all the anti-regime change “anarchists” and “traitors.”   Reserve generals and pilots and ordinary volunteers on the home front. 

GPS צה"ל הגביר דרמטית את שיבושי ה-GPS לסיכול מתקפת מל"טים של חיזבאללה

השיבוש מכוון גם נגד רחפנים של חמאס וטילי שיוט של איראן. חוקרים אמריקאים איתרו לאחרונה משבש עוצמתי במירון. החסימות מפריעות לתעופה האזרחית ומסכנות מטוסים בנתב"ג

President Herzog met a bipartisan delegation of US Senators this morning (Sunday) in Tel Aviv led by Senate Majority, Senator Chuck Schumer. With Schumer were Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Bill Cassidy, and Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Jacky Rosen. They expressed their solidarity with the State of Israel. (GPO)

Sderot to be Evacuated. Residents will be evacuated from Sderot, at 11:00 today, Sunday, 15 October. (GPO) 

Who is responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza? I mean, who needs to worry about the civilian population in Gaza? Not Israel. Israel is at war with the regime in Gaza. The war aims to remove the regime's capacity to govern and pose a military threat to Israel. So, Israel's first responsibility is to its citizens: crushing Hamas. 

Gazans have been urged to move south of the city of Gaza located in the north of the strip. 

As Aaron Lerner (IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis) points out:

Gazans are not being told by the IDF to travel hundreds of kilometers to reach safety outside of the war zone delineated at this time by Wadi Gaza. Not scores of kilometers. We are talking single digits! Distances which could have been traversed at a snail's pace within the 24-hour warning period. The distance between the northernmost section of Gaza City and Wadi Gaza is no more than 5 kilometers (about 3.1 miles). The northernmost point in the Gaza Strip is only 7 kilometers from Wadi Gaza. UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) could cooperate in moving civilians this short distance or cynically contribute to encouraging human shields for Hamas to remain in place.

Foremost, Hamas is responsible for the people of Gaza. The Palestinian Authority and UNWRA could play a constructive humanitarian role if they'd set aside their animus toward the Jewish state. The oil-rich Arab world can help, too. But just as you don't ask Ukraine to take responsibility for Russian civilians while it strikes at Russian military targets, don't ask Israel to take responsibility for the Gazans. Hundreds of Afgan civilians were inadvertently killed by the British military in Afganistan. The number of Iraqi civilians killed inadvertently by the US numbers in the hundreds of thousands. 

The aims of Hamas are genocidal. It is us or them. If Hamas hides behind civilians, the onus for their deaths is on Hamas, not on Israel. If you don't get that, your moral compass is askew.

I have been channel-hopping in watching coverage of the war. Channel 14 is “all-Bibi-all-the-time” and devotes disproportionate air time to defending their hero. Mainly, this involves panels of pundits blaming Israel’s unpreparedness on someone other than Bibi, on the amorphous “left.” Haim Ramon (a has-been politician from Labor and later the defunct Kadima) is a frequent punching bag. Not sure why.

Channel 11 consistently provides solid non-showy coverage, though I switch to 12 when Ayala Hasson comes on. The veteran journalist was brought over to 11 to try to win over some of the Channel 14 crowd. It has not worked, as ratings for 11 are the lowest of all the channels. My go-to channel is 12. They have the best line-up of talent, even if (former) boy genius Amit Segal gets on my nerves sometimes. I don’t see much of 13 just because I can do only so much clicking with my arthritic fingers. 

For all the channels, my policy is when panel members start shouting and talking over each other, I mute the sound.

Speaking of muting, Netanyahu has received justified criticism for going on TV Friday night. The last time a prime minister went on TV Friday (Shabbat) night was Yitzhak Rabin in 1994 during the kidnapping (eventual murder) of Israeli soldier Nachshon Wachsman by Hamas in Oslo days.

When an anchor tells frazzled Israelis the prime minister has asked to address the nation on a Friday night, the assumption is the news is big and bad. But when Bibi went on TV this past Friday night, it was to blow off hot air. Many people say that the channels should not immediately go live when he is on until they can establish he’s saying something of substance. But in a time of war, that’s not a good idea. 

Things are getting weird when friends and family are sending around a pro-Israel op-ed that ran in the vitriolically anti-Zionist Guardian. But one of their Jewish in-house writers (who’s never been on the fringe left anyway) wrote a column people find worthwhile. So here it is. I prefer Al Jazeera to the Guardian. But that’s a matter of personal taste.

Catching up on the weekend papers...

The Secrets Hamas Knew About Israel’s Military  (NYT)

The Erev in the Trafalgar Square area must be back up. Neturei Karta is my favorite anti-Zionist group.  The secular anti-Zionists are so vanilla, but these characters ... thank you, Woody Allen. And by the time they got home, the chulent was burned. (Daily Mail)