Caroline B. Glick
 This is What We’re Fighting For – Caroline B. Glick A week into the war against Hamas, it is important to remember why Israel is vital to the Jewish people. The Caroline Glick Show IN FOCUS
(October 13, 2023 / JNS) With the end of a week that started with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring war on the Hamas terror organization that rules Gaza and Jews being threatened by Hamas supporters worldwide, Caroline discusses Israel’s role in the survival of the Jewish people.
ISRAEL AT WAR – WEEK 1: The War for Jewish Survival | The Caroline Glick Show. IN FOCUS
Posted 13October2023:
As Jews worldwide are threatened by Hamas supporters, Caroline discusses the purpose of Israel and its role in the survival of the Jewish people in Israel and worldwide.
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| T. Belman. This is a great interview. The protest movement in Israel is growing. The soldiers and their families are opposed to the elite policies. And the country supports them big time. Watch it grow. A clear victory means Palestinians must be allowed to leave and Gaza must be annexed. |
Caroline B. Glick
 Major in reserves ‘This time, we must demand complete victory in Gaza – Caroline B. Glick’ “The Caroline Glick Show,” Ep. 87
(January 8, 2024 / JNS) This week, Caroline Glick spoke with the founder of “Courage for Israel” Gilad Ach, a major in the Israeli reserves. This group of reservist Israeli Defense Forces soldiers demands from the government that the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip continue until the terror group is completely destroyed.
They discuss the breaking of morale among veteran soldiers who feel that they have been fighting Hamas for decades because of government indecision; what complete victory in Gaza would look like; as well as the disconnect between the dedicated soldiers on the ground and Israeli leadership at the top.
Posted 8January2024 JNS TV:
This week, Caroline Glick spoke with Major in Reserves and founder of Courage for Israel Gilad Ach. Courage for Israel is a group of reserve soldiers that are demanding from the government that they do not stop the war in Gaza until Hamas is completely destroyed.
They discuss
– the breaking of morale amongst veteran soldiers who feel that they have been fighting Hamas for decades because of government indecision
– what complete victory in Gaza looks like
– the disconnect between the wholly dedicated soldiers on the ground and the Israeli leadership at the top.
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Israel’s reality in 10 seconds.
Israel Defense Forces-tweet-13October2023-Israel’s reality in 10 seconds
Israel’s reality in 10 seconds.
 Israel Defense Forces-tweet-13October2023-Israel’s reality in 10 seconds
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We are coming back!
Malkah Fleisher-tweet-26February2024-We are coming back
We are coming back.
With our tractors, with our builders, with our rabbis, with our children.
We are coming back. 🇮🇱
Jeremy Gimpel-tweet-22February 22, 2024-Jewish Farmers from the South
AMAZING!!! Jewish Farmers from the South going past the fence in Gaza and starting to plow the fields to plant new crops. That is Redemption!
 Malkah Fleisher-tweet-26February2024-We are coming back
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 Israel Victory Project https://www.meforum.org/israel-victory-project/ by Nave Dromi
JNS
18October2023 https://www.meforum.org/israel-victory-project/65002/israeli-victory-is-the-only-proportional-response
Published originally under the title “Victory Is the Only ‘Proportional’ Response.”
 Once again, the international community and the media are becoming obsessively focused on the ridiculous notion of “proportionality” in regard to Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.
First, it should be clearly understood that there is no accepted or exact definition of the term “proportionality” or a formula for calculating it.
In general, the principle of proportionality involves a balance between the military advantage that will likely result from a proposed operation and the harm that is likely to be inflicted on civilians and noncombatants.
This is extremely hard to assess for those outside of a military and intelligence apparatus, simply because outsiders do not have access to all the information necessary to make such an assessment.
Unfortunately, however, many ill-informed commentators believe proportionality is simply a numbers game, as if war and conflict were some sort of sports match.
Already, the international media is presenting the casualties among Israelis and Palestinians side-by-side and asking if Israel’s response to the horrors and atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists is proportionate.
Israel seems to be the only country in the world who are never allowed to win a war. Whenever Israel begins to win it is told to stop.
This is outrageous. It implies that once Israel has killed more Palestinians than Palestinians killed Israelis, Israel’s war suddenly becomes illegitimate.
British author and journalist Douglas Murray said during a recent interview that this “would mean that, in retaliation for what Hamas did in Israel on Saturday, Israel should try to locate a music festival in Gaza, for instance—and good luck with that—and rape precisely the number of women that Hamas raped on Saturday. Kill precisely the number of young people that Hamas killed on Saturday.”
“They should find a town of exactly the same size as Sderot, and make sure they go door-to-door and kill precisely the correct number of babies that Hamas killed in Sderot on Saturday, and shoot in the head precisely the same number of old age pensioners as were shot in Sderot on Saturday, just to choose one town,” Murray added.
This response immediately shut up the interviewer who had tried to press Murray on the issue of proportionality. It was an excellent retort, but I would like to turn to another comment of Murray’s that is even more important.
In a recent meeting with Jewish leaders in the U.K., Murray said, “Israel seems to be the only country in the world who are never allowed to win a war. Whenever Israel begins to win it is told to stop.”
This is the crux of the issue.
The proportionality obsessives know Israel cannot be defeated by Hamas, so they want to ensure that Israel does not defeat Hamas.
By mercilessly pushing the proportionality narrative, Israel is being told that, in its wars of defense, it will not be allowed to achieve victory. The proportionality obsessives know Israel cannot be defeated by Hamas, so they want to ensure that Israel does not defeat Hamas.
This diminishes Israel’s security, to which every sovereign nation has a right.
Even if were possible to put aside the bestial manner in which Hamas mercilessly raped women, beheaded and burned babies, and kidnapped old women and children, it is almost trite to say that any nation that lost the same proportion of Israelis in one day to terrorist attacks would use overwhelming force to ensure that those who perpetrated the attacks could never do so again.
We have seen such reactions around the world and the word “proportionality” was never once used during or after such military operations. It is a word that seems to apply only to the Jewish state.
Israeli leaders and the IDF should dismiss such hypocritical criticisms from the international community. They should seek victory and nothing else. Victory must be the only word in our lexicon when we decide how to respond to Hamas’s atrocities.
Hamas must never be allowed to raise their heads again to massacre Israelis. This must be the last war against Hamas.
Hamas cannot be allowed to stand after this war. They must never be allowed to raise their heads again to massacre Israelis. This must be the last war against Hamas. The international community must understand why victory is essential for Israel, for the innocent Gazans who are oppressed by Hamas and for the region and beyond.
Hamas’s defeat will immediately make millions of innocent people more safe and secure. It will end the group’s genocidal actions and aspirations. It will also stand as a warning to other extremist and terrorist organizations around the world who threaten the lives of tens if not hundreds of millions of people.
Clearly, defeating Hamas is the only proportional response possible.
Nave Dromi is director of the Middle East Forum’s office in Israel and head of the Israel Victory Project. She is the author of the book, Rifle Full of Roses, which examines how radical agendas have influenced the IDF in recent decades.
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 The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies BESA https://besacenter.org/ By Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen | 8January2024 | https://besacenter.org/a-new-existential-war-part-iii-forming-a-clear-post-war-national-vision-means-returning-to-the-roots-of-zionism/
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,251, January 8, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: On the morning of October 7, 2023, the strategic Israeli security concept collapsed, marking the end of the 30-year era since the Oslo Accords. With the shocking force of an earthquake, a cultural concept that had its roots planted in the dream of peace, and in the illusion that the State of Israel could aspire to become a kind of Denmark, disintegrated completely. For Israel to achieve victory in the war with Hamas, it will have to adapt its security concept to reflect a new and deeper understanding of the enemy’s perception of the nature of its struggle with Israel.
In the wake of October 7, the State of Israel, its society, and all its institutions are at a critical crossroads. One path forward demands a thorough investigation and examination of everything that failed on that day so the necessary corrections can be made. The second path directs Israel towards a comprehensive inquiry across all dimensions and urges the formulation of a new and updated national narrative in the face of the existential challenge. The question is, which of the two paths is worth pursuing?
This article is divided into three parts. The first examines the roots of the failure of October 7 and Israel’s perception of the struggle on the opposing side. The second describes the ways in which the Israeli security perception needs to evolve to provide a proper response to the opposing side’s perception of the struggle. This, the third, presents the components of the national vision and the principles of action that will ensure the existence of the State of Israel in the face of emerging threats.
“Nation of Israel, for what purpose do you live?”
Despite broad Israeli agreement on the immediate goals of the war as formulated by the cabinet, the debate over its ultimate objectives is intensifying.
This dispute will likely be reflected in the fundamental questions that will be asked post-war, and may also penetrate the discussions of the state inquiry committee that will undoubtedly be established. The committee will naturally address operational and technical questions, the workings of the IDF, General Staff, Southern Command, and Air Force, and regulatory relations between the IDF and the civil leadership. But the depth and scope of this crisis require a comprehensive cultural and spiritual rethinking of how we perceive ourselves and the enemy, focusing on the question of why the enemy fights and what we are fighting for.
Hamas and Hezbollah fight out of religious belief. By contrast, we are not clear on our reasons for uniting to fight wars beyond our desire to safeguard our existence and survival.
A.B. Yehoshua once posed an existential question: “Nation of Israel, for what purpose do you live?” Later, he clarified: “Survival is considered the most prominent aspect of the Jewish people… but it is not survival that is the prominent aspect, but rather how it is done, what its agenda is, what values it holds, and primarily, what its cost is.” (A.B. Yehoshua, Haaretz Books Supplement, 20.2.2013)
This question must be applied to clarify the central inquiry: Nation of Israel, for what purpose do you fight, and how do you fight?
I am not aware of a framework for a state inquiry committee that would know how to address such questions and critically examine the connections between them and the focal points of failure in the security system. Nevertheless, this inquiry, whether conscious or subconscious, will shed light on the investigation into everything that happened at the outset of the war and everything that will happen from its conclusion onwards in the context of the ongoing internal struggle in Israel over conflicting dreams.
What has Zionism achieved? The imposition of doubt
The sudden strike by Hamas thrust the Zionist idea back to the dilemma of its earliest days. It prompted an echoing of the doubt cast during Herzl’s visit: “You might solve the Jews’ problem, but you won’t solve the problem of Judaism.” On October 7, we were forcefully confronted with the fundamental Zionist question: What do the Jews want in the Land of Israel?
The current war, which has enveloped us all, is intertwined with the anxiety of the cultural war that erupted in Israel last year. The crisis of the Jews, which focuses on the question of physical existence, has become entangled with the crisis of Judaism, which has lost its spiritual path.
As early as 2005, Dan Meron touched upon the Zionist dilemma in his book Healing for Touching. A professor of 20th century Hebrew literature, Meron cast doubt on the ultimate goal of the Zionist enterprise, questioning what it has truly achieved since its inception:
…[T]he expectation of Zionism that the distancing of Jews from European societies and their concentration in their own country would lead to the disappearance of antisemitism did not materialize. Even the security of Zionism, which was supposed to be able to extricate the Jewish people from existential threats, leading to a new Jewish existential activism, did not come to fruition and may not reach the goal it set for itself…The historical development of Zionism and its success in achieving Jewish statehood have only led to the replacement of one type of existential threat with another. (Dan Meron, 2005, Healing for Touching, p. 63, translated from the Hebrew)
With these words, Meron raises two challenging questions about the state of Zionism, both of which have been debated since its beginnings.
In one dimension of the Zionist vision, Herzl sought a response to antisemitism. With his visionary breakthrough, he acknowledged that the Jews had not succeeded in finding a solution to the problem of antisemitism even though they had exhausted every possible avenue, including assimilation. He believed that if the Jews could only gather in their own normal state, where they could be accepted as a nation among nations, a state among nation-states, it would bring an end to antisemitism.
We must ask whether over the hundred years since the beginning of the Zionist effort to gather the Jews in their homeland, Herzl’s expectation of the disappearance of antisemitism has been realized. It appears that the opposite has occurred. Antisemitism has emerged in a new form that is more sophisticated, as it is shielded by a kind of vaccine: it is ostensibly not hatred of Jews as Jews, but merely criticism of the State of Israel. Yet fierce antipathy is directed against Jews worldwide whenever they voice complaints about actions that threaten the State of Israel, actions they feel endanger them as well. Jews around the world are thus forbidden to defend Israel or the Jews who live in it or be themselves the victims of antisemitism. The process that was supposed to solve antismitism has instead generated, over the past two decades, a new and equally dangerous form of it. In this way, Meron argues, the Zionist vision has become caught in a deadlock.
In the second dimension, Zionism sought a response to the problem of the need to physically protect Jews, who have never ceased suffering persecution, pogroms, and other threats around the world. In this dimension as well, Meron raises a concern that has troubled many Israelis. There is a fear that despite Israel’s independence and military strength, Zionism has achieved nothing more than to replace one existential problem, like pogroms in Kishinev, with another one, like the Iranian nuclear threat that threatens Tel Aviv or the Simchat Torah massacre of the northwestern Negev. In essence, Zionism has merely swapped ailment A for ailment B.
Yet despite Meron’s reservations, to those who witness the combat spirit of the IDF soldiers and the full support of their parents, the Zionist narrative manifests itself in all its practical simplicity by demonstrating a readiness to fight without hesitation to defend the people and the country. This is a major historical achievement.
Cracks in the “Iron Wall”
A hundred years ago, in the article “The Iron Wall,” Ze’ev Jabotinsky laid the cornerstone for the foundations of Israel’s security perception. As early as 1923, he identified the motivations behind Arab resistance to the Zionist enterprise in the Land of Israel and proposed a strategic approach to achieving Zionist goals.
The relevance of his article to the security challenges of modern-day Israel can be summarized in three statements.
First: The Arab resistance and struggle against Zionism express a religious-nationalist struggle with enduring motivational roots. The idea promoted by the American government and European Union leadership that a positive, lasting solution to the conflict can be arrived at through suitable compensation and willing compromise has been repeatedly revealed as overly optimistic.
Second: The Arab struggle and adoption of terrorist methods and violence do not stem from economic hardship, poverty, and despair, as many in the West and certain prominent Israeli “peace-seekers” claim. Instead, it arises from the Arab hope that Zionist dominance can be consistently challenged and weakened until its ultimate demise. It is not despair that generates Arab terrorism but hope.
Third: In recognizing the first two statements as true, the concept of the “Iron Wall” negates the Arab hope of achieving gains through incessant resistance to the Zionist Israeli presence and authority.
In 1936, during a discussion at the Mapai Center, David Ben-Gurion stated that “there is no chance for an understanding with the Arabs.” Therefore, efforts should be directed towards an understanding with the British. He said, “What can push the Arabs towards mutual understanding with us? Facts! Only after we manage to create a significant Jewish presence in the Land of Israel, with a Jewish force that everyone will see cannot be moved, only then will the preliminary conditions for discussion with the Arabs be established.”
The language and spirit of these words express the Iron Wall position as articulated in Jabotinsky’s article: “As long as the Arabs have even a glimmer of hope of getting rid of us, they will not give up on this hope… A living people agrees to concessions on fateful questions whose importance is immense only when it has no hope, only when not a single crack is visible in the Iron Wall.”
In recent years, deep cracks have appeared in the Zionist Iron Wall. The goal of the current war should be to restore the Zionist Iron Wall and establish it with renewed strength for the next hundred years.
Within this context, the rehabilitation of the communities damaged in Hamas’s attack and the return of the communities to the Galilee and Negev are critical components in the reconstruction of the Iron Wall. This means far more than simply renovation and construction. Ben-Gurion wrote about the sources of strength for victory in 1948: “We reached victory through three paths: the path of faith, the path of pioneering creativity, and the path of suffering.” These will be the paths to victory in today’s war as well.
The collapse of the dream of peace
In his eulogy at the grave of Ro’i Rothberg in Nahal Oz in April 1956, Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan said: “A generation of pioneers we are, bareheaded, with steel helmets and the rifle. We cannot plant a tree and build a home. Our children will not have a life if we do not dig shelters…” The speech concluded with the statement: “Ro’i – the light in his heart blinded his eyes, and he did not see the flash of the mortar. The yearning for peace silenced his ears, and he did not hear the voice of the ambush…”
In the midst of the War of Attrition, at the end of the Command and Staff College course in 1969, Moshe Dayan stated his existential philosophy: “Rest and heritage are longed-for aspirations for us, not realities. And if we occasionally achieve them, they are only short intermediate stations – aspirations for the continuation of the struggle.” Explaining the necessity of an endless struggle, he said: “The only basic answer we can give to the question ‘what will be’ is – we will continue to fight, just as we did in the past, and now too. The answer to the question ‘what will be’ must focus on our ability to withstand difficulties, our ability to cope – more than on absolute and final solutions to our problems. We must prepare ourselves mentally and physically for a prolonged process of struggle.”
These words differ significantly from those expressed by the Israeli leadership in recent decades. For instance, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in his speech at the UN, chose to emphasize: “What Israelis want is a good life for themselves and their families and a future ready for their children.”
Moshe Dayan, despite his emphasis on normalcy, always highlighted the presence in our consciousness of the struggle. This was brutally expressed in his will, where he instructed his three children: “Serve the inheritance of the fathers each one, and the sword over your beds, and in the evening, it will become a legacy to your sons. And now, let each one take his backpack and stick and cross the Jordan in his own way…” (Yael Dayan, My Father’s House, p. 207).
Yael Dayan, representing a generation that has refused to reconcile with the inevitability of constant struggle, described in her book her deep dissociation from her father’s will: “I felt like a person banished from paradise, a curse more than a blessing. We were all destined to work the land and fight, and this was a commandment for our children.” (ibid.)
On Saturday, October 7, the dream of an Israeli paradise collapsed. With the war in Ukraine and even in Western Europe, it has become clear that despite hopes for peace everywhere, there is no paradise on Earth. As expressed in the Negev lullaby my mother sang to me in my childhood, “There is no deep silence without a weapon…sleep, son.”
Conclusion
The State of Israel is in one of the most difficult crises it has ever known. It suffered an unprecedented blow and is required to receive an unprecedented punishment. Asking to return to the familiar track after making technical repairs is asking to escape the true magnitude of the repair that is required. The national leadership of the State of Israel, together with the security system, must be committed in the face of this crisis to formulating a new national security concept.
After the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, will residents of Rosh HaAyin and Kfar Saba lend a hand in the establishment of a Palestinian state that would turn them into border settlements akin to Nahal Oz or Metula? Any arrangement of the territory of Israel between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that aims at a Jewish withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, an uprooting of Israeli settlements, and a defining of the eastern border of the State of Israel in the Rosh HaAyin-Kfar Saba region along Highway 6 would be a Palestinian national victory and an Israeli defeat.
Despite all our faith in the IDF and its capabilities, there is not now, and there will not be, an option to defend the State of Israel along the coastal strip. This fact must be brought to broad national consensus and placed at the center of the Israeli security perception.
view PDF
Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen is a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He served in the IDF for 42 years. He commanded troops in battles with Egypt and Syria. He was formerly a corps commander and commander of the IDF Military Colleges.
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Israel to launch the largest military campaign in West Bank history
Mudar Adnan Zahran-tweet-8January2024-Israel to launch the largest military campaign in West Bank history
Israel is about to launch the largest military campaign in the history of the West Bank to completely exterminate armed cells, dozens of names on the target list…
The operations will introduce “a different utilization of drones “, fighting will be parallel the war in Gaza at the hottest points; those are Jenin and its camp, Nablus and Balata camp, Tulkarm camp, and Shuafat camp…
♾
 Mudar Adnan Zahran-tweet-8January2024-Israel to launch the largest military campaign in West Bank history
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For far too long, Zionism has been stuck in a defensive mode. Op-ed.
Howard Rotberg 9December2023 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/381680
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
– Bob Dylan
Watching the protests in American and Canadian and European cities where predominantly young people call for a genocide of the Jews in Israel – “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free” – one is struck by some important facts.
First, a lot of the protests are in universities and while Antifa and other anti-liberal groups participate, one can assume that the protesters have a high representation among Muslims and/or university students. Looking at the female protestors, anywhere from 50% to 75% are wearing hijabs.
Second, university professors, mainly in Middle Eastern studies and gender and diversity studies, are indoctrinating their students to hate Israel and Jews everywhere.
Third, while many may be in a country on student or other temporary visas, looking at the population figures for Muslims in the West, they are a growing presence and a growing influence. Surely if we allow people with vile opinions into the country, we must be prepared to live with the consequences once they assume elected office.
Third, this growing influence can be seen in American Muslim areas like Dearbor, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota..
Fourth, although not all the residents there are radical Islamists, we see that they are electing university trained Islamists, such as Ilhan Omar in Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib in Dearborn.
Fifth, these elected representatives organize themselves into radical caucuses allying with left-wing Black radicals and spend a lot of time trying to pressure their governments to take anti-Israel actions.
Sixth, we see in the case of American Secretary of State Blinken, who is apparently Jewish, that efforts are made to pressure Israel to lose the war against Hamas by allowing some Palestinian Arab group, be it the corrupt and hateful Palestinian Authority or others, to participate in the governance of Gaza after the war. Anyone who understands the facts about the history of Palestinian Arab terrorism and rejectionism of peace proposals should understand that America and other western countries have become financial backers of Palestinian Arab terrorism and leaders in the international efforts to isolate and endanger Israel.
And so, in this context, we who support Israel must begin to look at a paradigm shift. According to Merriam-Webster is “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.”
We need a new way of looking at those who support Islamist terrorism whether it is in the UN, in the universities, in the media, or from elected officials who are Islamists – and a new way of dealing with them.
For far too long, Zionism has been stuck in a defensive mode, whether it is trying to deal with an evil United Nations, UNRWA and UNHCR, or international NGOs, including those funded and controlled by antisemites such as George Soros and including BDS boycotters and advocates for diversity and inclusion – which promises inclusion for everyone except the Jews of Israel and their supporters.
Israel has become a powerful country in terms of its military, its high tech sector and its finances, but what good is power if you don’t use it? I am thinking here of using power to shift the paradigm. Specifically the paradigm that Muslims are growing all around the world and have through immigration and demographics grown so much in terms of power in the West that there is nothing we can do, except submit. I discuss this sad submission in my book The Ideological Path to Submission … and what we can do about it. We must address the issue head on – we shall never submit to Sharia Law, jihad and a world-wide Caliphate just as we shall never submit to Hamas, no matter what naive talks emanate from the talking heads in the media.
I have written a lot about Germany and the gradual evolution of its Israel policy from that of “special relationship” to that of a typical European antipathy. See my essays in israel National News: “Germany’s Moral Choice”, January 20, 2020, “Michelle Goldberg and Angela Merkel seek moral absolution in the wrong place”, October 31, 2021 and “A two-state solution for Germany and other migrant-filled European countries”, November 17, 2023.
The demographic situation in Germany, France, Sweden, Belgium etc., and the rise of European leaders on the right, including Orban in Hungary and Gert Wilders in the Netherlands has perhaps opened the floodgates, where the alliance between leftists and Islamists is seen to be bad for society, and people are unafraid to say so and risk the opprobrium from the politically correct.
Here is a speech given by German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck on Nov. 2.
“Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel took place almost four weeks ago now. A lot has happened since then. Not only politically, but especially for the people. So many people’s lives are now consumed by fear and suffering. Public debate since the attack has been heated, sometimes muddled.
“Too much seems to me to have been mixed up too quickly. The phrase, ‘Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’état’ has never been an empty phrase, and it must not become one. It means that Israel’s security is essential for us as a country. This special relationship with Israel stems from our historical responsibility.
“It was the generation of my grandparents that wanted to exterminate Jewish life in Germany and Europe. After the Holocaust, the founding of Israel was the promise of protection to the Jews — and Germany is compelled to help ensure that this promise can be fulfilled. This is a historical foundation of our republic.
“Our historical responsibility also means that Jews must be able to live freely and safely in Germany.”
This statement shows to me that classical antisemitism rising in places where Islamists are taking power means the beginning of a realistic assessment of liberalism and whether individual human rights can coexist with radical Islam.
Germany, despite the passage of time is still known for Naziism just as the Arabs should be known for their terrorist groups. Hamas, while it has awakened the protesting antisemites, has also awakened Good people everywhere to advocate for Good over Evil. It should also awaken the Arab countries who were attracted to the Abraham Accord and who fear Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Toby Axelrod reports in JTA: “Recognizing Israel’s right to exist is now mandatory for those who want to become German citizens in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
“Applicants living in the state will have to confirm in writing ‘that they recognize Israel’s right to exist and condemn any efforts directed against the existence of the State of Israel.”
The paradigm shift must be that the advantages of citizenship in the freedom loving western nations must be reserved for those who do not hate our freedoms and wish to replace them with Sharia law and jihad. America under Biden not only has an open border policy but also does not properly vet regular immigrants. The shift in assumptions and policies must take into account that the world is a nasty place and evil must be constantly fought, and that multiculturalism must be adjusted to recognize that not all cultures are equal.
On the bright side, I believe some young people are ready for a paradigm shift away from the reflexive UN anti-Israel resolutions and the totalitarian leftist-Islamist alliance. For example, the youth wing of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), called the Jusos, in late November, 2019, condemned its leadership’s anti-Israel voting record at the UN. This organization of 14 to 35 year-olds has over 70,000 members. who adopted a resolution that the “disproportionate condemnation of Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East” is a problem affecting UN bodies “that is carried on not only by states of the Middle East, but also European states, who pass, or abstain from, anti-Israel resolutions”. They urged the leadership to “dissociate from the initiatives and alliances of antisemitic member states in the bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations.
Donald Trump was a great U.S. President in foreign matters including Israel and specifically his Abraham Accord. Joseph Biden, perhaps just a tool of his far left and anti-Israel advisors has been one of the worst presidents, specifically for empowering and enriching Iran, the country that boasts of its intentions to use nuclear weapons against Israel.
A paradigm shift must take account of the damage wrought by Biden and how Israel will be able to live safely in a world full of appeasers and antisemites. Although he is helping Israel with arms, Biden wants a shrunken weakened Israel and a strong Iran.
Every Jew must see himself or herself as a Maccabee. From the Maccabees to the IDF, we fight, but on Hanukkah we don’t celebrate a military victory as much as a religious victory. Our Maccabees throughout history will sacrifice on our behalf, and our duty is to properly analyze the shifting paradigms so that we can win the war of ideologies.
Howard Rotberg is the author of The Second Catastrophe: A Novel About a Book and its Author, (about Israel during the Second Intifada), TOLERism: The Ideology Revealed, and The Ideological Path to Submission… and what we can do about it.
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![Keppler, Victor. Buy war bonds: Third War Loan., poster, 1943; [Washington, D.C.]](http://www.jerusalemcats.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Buy-War-Bonds-880x1229.png) Keppler, Victor. Buy war bonds: Third War Loan., poster, 1943; [Washington, D.C.] Israel needs to Sell War Bonds to Rebuild her Industries.
It will take years to correct the damage the generals wrought by reducing the size of the IDF and inducing its total dependence on the United States
Caroline B. Glick
Caroline B. Glick is the senior contributing editor of Jewish News Syndicate and host of the “Caroline Glick Show” on JNS. She is also the diplomatic commentator for Israel’s Channel 14, as well as a columnist for Newsweek. Glick is the senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Center for Security Policy in Washington and a lecturer at Israel’s College of Statesmanship.
https://www.jns.org/rising-from-the-ruins-of-a-generation-of-israeli-doctrine/
(December 22, 2023 / JNS) Two underlying assumptions guided Israel’s security establishment for the past generation. The first asserted that with the end of the Cold War, the era of conventional wars had ended. In the present age, brains, rather than brawn, would rule the roost.
The primary author of the “small and smart IDF” doctrine was Ehud Barak, who served as Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces when the Berlin Wall crumbled. In later years, the slogan was finessed.
A generation of IDF Chiefs of General Staff organized around the vision of a “small, technological and lethal army.”
As Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Brick, (retired) who served as the IDF ombudsman for ten years, has documented, operating under the spell of Barak’s doctrine, the IDF shut down multiple reserve divisions. It cut its artillery forces by 50%. Armored brigades were shut down. The reserve force was reduced by 80% between 2003 and 2017. The non-commissioned officer corps was gutted. The bulk of the IDF budget and nearly all the U.S. military aid were diverted to the Air Force—the strategic arm of the “small, technological and lethal” IDF.
The doctrine was repeatedly exposed as a farce. But to no avail. The air force didn’t defeat the Palestinian terror factories in Judea and Samaria in 2002. The ground forces did. The air force never had a response to missiles from Hezbollah to the north and Hamas to the south. Without regional brigades defending the borders, Israel’s “peacetime” borders with Jordan on the east and Egypt at its west became highways for weapons smugglers.
Brick’s warnings fell on deaf ears until the “small, smart army” fallacy was obliterated by Hamas invaders on Oct. 7. Israel’s multi-billion shekel “smart fence” was felled by bulldozers. Its automatic response system was obliterated by RPGs. Hundreds of soldiers manning these worthless technological wonders were slaughtered or kidnapped. Everything failed.
A microcosm of all things oppressive
This brings us to the second underlying assumption that guided Israel’s security establishment for the past generation. This assumption, also championed by Barak, asserted that Israel’s most important strategic asset was the United States.
Leaving aside the obvious fact that a strategy of dependence on an outside actor effectively gutted Israel’s national independence, on the surface, Barak’s dependence concept seemed reasonable.
The Americans rescued Israel with its weapons airlift in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In 1992, the United States was the sole global superpower. Because Israel was seen as Washington’s “mini-me,” countries worldwide lined up to be friends with Israel, which they perceived as the gateway to Washington. The vast majority of Americans supported Israel. U.S. military aid to Israel enjoyed wide bipartisan support.
Under the spell of Barak’s U.S. dependence doctrine, Israel gutted its domestic military production capabilities. Nearly everything that it had produced domestically—from uniforms to rifles to bullets, to artillery and tank shells—was shut down. Thousands of military industry workers lost their jobs. Knowledge was lost. The contracts moved to the United States. Even projects developed jointly by Israeli engineers financed by America were transferred to the United States for production. So it happened that Israel’s Iron Dome missiles are solely produced in the United States.
Along with Barak, the dependence doctrine’s biggest champions were the air force generals. Under their leadership, Israel’s air force effectively became a U.S. asset. The air force cannot operate without U.S. platforms, spare parts and bombs. All air force ordnance is made in America.
But even during the 1990s and 2000s, the writing was appearing on the walls telling us that things were changing in America. A generation after the United States emerged from the Cold War as the sole global superpower, it struggles to contend with the threat of China, which surpasses it in several key technologies.
Under the spell of globalization, the United States gutted its industrial base. Even if it wanted to, today it is hard-pressed to repeat the 1973 airlift in real time.
Even worse, the end of the Cold War initiated changes in American society that over the past 20 years have exploded in convulsive transformations.
Since the early 2000s, hard-core cultural Marxist progressives have seized control over the U.S. education system at all levels. As a result, young Americans are emerging from high schools and universities with values unlike anything we have ever seen.
The new American values are built around a division of humanity into two classes: oppressor and oppressed. “Oppressors,” young Americans now believe, are evil and must be punished. “Oppressed” are pure and must be empowered. The United States is the chief oppressor. Its social and economic orders must be radically transformed to expiate its sins.
Israel (America’s “mini-me”), and Jews generally, are presented as a microcosm of all things oppressive.
The implications of this progressive indoctrination present America with an existential challenge. If allowed to continue into the next generation, the United States will be destroyed.
For Jews, the threat this indoctrination poses is immediate, as a survey published last week by Harvard-Harris demonstrated.
Harvard-Harris asked their respondents’ views on the Israel-Hamas war, and more broadly, about Jews and Jew-hatred. The answers showed that unlike their parents and grandparents, young Americans have embraced a comprehensive, internally consistent and genocidal hatred for Israel and Jews.
Two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 believe that Jews are oppressors and should be treated as such. Around 70% in that same age bracket believe that antisemitism is rising in the United States generally and on university campuses specifically. They believe that calls for genocide of Jews are hate speech and a form of harassment.
At the same time, 53% of them think this harassment and hate speech should go unpunished.
Similarly, 66% of 18- to 24-year-olds agree that Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 was genocidal. All the same, 60% believe it was justified.
Logically flowing from these sentiments, 51% of young Americans believe that the proper end of the Palestinian-Israel conflict is the destruction of the Jewish state and its replacement with a Hamas-controlled Palestinian entity. That is, the majority of young Americans support the annihilation of the Jewish people.
Unlike the generals’ “small, smart army” doctrine, it took several weeks for the public to see the devastating consequences of their “America-dependence doctrine.”
America in a holding pattern
In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, their faith in American support seemed to be borne out. President Joe Biden and his top advisers pledged their total support for Israel. Biden deployed U.S. aircraft carrier groups to the Eastern Mediterranean and promised $14.3 billion in supplemental military aid to Israel to ensure that Israel has what it needs to successfully win the war.
But in recent weeks, particularly since Israel resumed its operation in Gaza at the end of November after the 10-day hostages-for-terrorists ceasefire, that assessment has changed dramatically. The public has realized that friendliness and declarations of solidarity aside, the United States does not share—and in some areas opposes—Israel’s war aims. To win the war, Israel must eradicate Hamas in Gaza and remove the threat Hezbollah poses to northern Israel. It must also take action to prevent the Houthis from maintaining their effective maritime blockade of the Port of Eilat.
On all of these fronts, Biden and his top aides have made clear that their goals are not the same as Israel’s. They do not seek the eradication of Hamas and the return of the hostages. They seek the end of the war and the return of the hostages. And at the end of the war, they want to rebuild Gaza. They want to use the war’s end as a means to compel Israel into a “peace process.” The goal of that process is to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza, and Judea and Samaria, led by terrorists from the Palestinian Authority which, like Hamas, seeks the annihilation of the Jewish state.
In Lebanon, the administration seeks to prevent war, even though doing so will leave Hezbollah with its capacity to invade the Galilee and destroy strategic targets all over Israel with its massive missile arsenal.
As for Yemen, the United States has demanded that Israel take no offensive action against either the Houthis or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overlords directing Houthi operations from their spy ship in the Red Sea.
Instead, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has formed a multinational task force from which Israel has been excluded. While its purpose is subject still to speculation, to many U.S. and Israeli observers, it appears that America intends to use its coalition to beef up its efforts to intercept Houthi missiles and drones launched against merchant vessels in the Red Sea. That is, as with Hezbollah, the U.S. goal vis-à-vis the Houthis seems to be to end Houthi assaults on merchant ships without diminishing their capacity to carry them out.
As for military supplies, the $14.3 billion is still languishing in Congress. It won’t be considered until Congress reconvenes on Jan. 9 after the Christmas and New Year recess.
It will take years to correct the damage the generals wrought by reducing the size of the IDF and inducing its total dependence on the United States.
‘The IDF is changing its view’
But this week, the Defense Ministry let it be known that it is moving to correct the situation. On Tuesday, Ynet reported that the Defense Ministry is initiating what it refers to as “Independence Project.”
According to the report, the Defense Ministry is launching a crash program with Israel’s military industries and major industrialists to make Israel independent in everything related to ordnance. In the initial phase, Israel will begin producing bombs for its aircraft. Jerusalem also intends to expand its production of tank and artillery shells, as well as assault rifles and bullets. Separately, there is increased discussion regarding the establishment of a missile force as an independent arm of the IDF. The force would reduce reliance on the air force and develop more versatile, more easily defended missile launch platforms and massively expand Israel’s missile and drone arsenals.
After meeting with Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Ron Tomer, the head of Israel’s Industrialists Union, told Ynet, “The war demonstrates our need for a powerful and advanced industrial base to ensure Israel’s national strength and independent capabilities. The IDF is changing its view of how it arms its forces, enlarging domestic production lines in order to be less dependent on ordnance from abroad. The ideal of a small high-tech military did not prove itself.”
Brick and others argue that had Hezbollah joined Hamas in invading and bombing Israel on Oct. 7, Israel may well have been destroyed that day. A combination of Hezbollah’s 10,000-man Radwan Brigades perched at the border and capable of invading the Galilee, and a barrage of up to 4,000 missiles with various payloads targeting Israel’s air bases, and other strategic sites and civilian population centers every day for weeks, would have caused irreparable damage equal in force to a nuclear bomb.
Iran’s decision not to involve Hezbollah on Oct. 7 has given Israel the opportunity to reorganize its forces and prepare for the multi-front war that awaits us. We don’t have a moment to lose.
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Israel can mobilize & equip 350,000 soldiers, its economy, and homefront
Ron M.-tweet-27February2024-Israel can mobilize
Unprecedented: The most important thing learned from the GAZA War is that Israel can mobilize & equip 350,000 soldiers, its economy, and homefront, along with tanks & aircraft to fight for 5 months of daily combat & missile war.
Trust me Iran & Hezbollah noticed. 🇮🇱
 Ron M-tweet-27February2024-Israel can mobilize
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By Simone Ledeen
04January2024 https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2024/01/04/israel_signals_self-reliance_for_weapons_1002676.html
Israel’s declaration that it intends to expand its domestic munitions production heralds a new chapter in U.S.-Israel relations, where strategic recalibration meets the challenges of an evolving international arms landscape. Israel’s announcement signifies a dual aim: to diminish U.S. leverage in its military operations and to confront the relentless shortages prevalent in the global market. In the volatile landscape of global munitions sales, the Black Sabbath massacre orchestrated by Hamas has seemingly propelled Israel into a serious reassessment of how much leverage over its military decision-making it is willing to give the United States.
On December 29th with Israel engaged in heavy fighting during clearing operations in Gaza, and a looming regional conflict on the horizon, the Biden White House approved the second emergency transfer of the month for Israel, this one totaling nearly $150 million in military equipment, including critically important 155mm artillery ammunition. In response to Israel’s previous emergency request, the US expedited the delivery of over 13,000 tank shells.
Historically, the United States has been a key supplier of military aid to Israel, offering critical support in times of conflict. However, the increasing acknowledgment within Israel’s leadership that this dependence also translates to a degree of subservience in military decision-making seems to have prompted a reevaluation. By cultivating a more self-reliant approach to armaments, Israel aims to reduce its vulnerability to external influences, particularly, the leverage that U.S. armaments confer on its military decisions.
While the alliance is rooted in shared values and common interests, the leverage the U.S. holds through the provision of military aid has, at times, led to complex diplomatic negotiations, acknowledging the occasional divergence in goals between Israel and the U.S. The U.S. imperative is not just to address regional conflicts but to grapple with a global market in flux. The global weapons market is always driven by geopolitical shifts, and now more than ever, an insatiable demand for artillery ammunition as two hot shooting wars are taking place.
In recent months, the U.S. had to some extent stepped up production within our defense industrial base to meet immediate demands and replenish stockpiles, but more is needed and quickly. The urgency for increased production becomes not just a response to immediate needs, but a strategic imperative to stay ahead in an ever-evolving defense landscape where the future is increasingly violent and difficult to predict.
In addition to old-fashioned artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly First Person View (FPV) drones, have emerged as transformative assets. The ability to deploy munitions from drones reshapes the dynamics of conflict, presenting both opportunities and ethical challenges.
FPV drones, equipped with real-time video transmission systems, have become linchpins in modern warfare. In both Israel’s war with Hamas and Ukraine’s war with Russia, these drones provide tactical advantages by offering military forces a valuable tool for reconnaissance, target identification, and even the delivery of munitions. Yet, the integration of FPV technology also raises ethical concerns. Battlefield videos from Ukraine show these drones sometimes being used for activities that violate international norms.
In this landscape, the FPV drone discussion stands as a microcosm of the broader challenges and opportunities that define our American path forward. Israel is signaling an intent to chart its own course in the coming months and years, as it must defeat Hamas both militarily and politically, despite pressure for a ceasefire from some quarters.
The recent emergency transfers of military equipment from the Biden White House to Israel have highlighted the constraints that come with heavy reliance on external support. The expedited deliveries, while addressing immediate needs, have underscored the vulnerability inherent in relying on a foreign ally for crucial military supplies during times of conflict and the many reasons why this current global environment requires a new approach.
Simone Ledeen is an accomplished national security professional with expertise spanning defense policy, intelligence, counterterrorism, counter threat finance, and emerging technologies. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, Ms. Ledeen was responsible for U.S. defense policy for Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. She strengthened key U.S. defense relationships through close collaboration with foreign counterparts and oversaw the development and implementation of critical policies and initiatives including in counterterrorism, information operations, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. Ms. Ledeen advises several venture capital and early-stage defense technology firms. Previously, Ms. Ledeen held various leadership roles across the U.S. Government, executing complex operations overseas and spearheading initiatives to counter extremist threats. She received her MBA from Bocconi University and her B.A. from Brandeis University.
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“The lesson from the war in Ukraine and against Hamas is identical: Israel must significantly increase its arsenal,” said a former Israeli defense official.
Yaakov Lappin https://www.jns.org/israel-begins-shift-to-domestic-ammunition-production/
Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com/yaakovlappin.
(February 8, 2024 / JNS) In the wake of the ongoing war against Hamas and its exposure of Israel’s near total dependence on the United States to replenish its stocks of ammunition, Israel has begun shifting toward greater domestic ammunition production.
The Israeli Defense Ministry has begun reaching out to local defense companies to boost production lines and place orders that will ensure they churn out ammunition for years to come, as a top priority.
The ministry saw domestic production as a priority even before the war, but the issue has now risen to the top of the national agenda.
“The lesson from the war in Ukraine and against Hamas is identical: Israel must significantly increase the arsenal with which it enters the campaign,” a former defense official told JNS.
This includes a variety of arms, ranging from Iron Dome interceptors to sophisticated guided air-to-ground munitions and artillery shells. Tank shells could also be a candidate for domestic production.
Yet not everything can be moved to Israel. Military aircraft will continue to be made in the United States.
The cost of producing aircraft for a single military without exporting them to additional clients would make their production a financial non-starter for Israeli defense industries. Nor would the U.S. agree for Israel to begin competing with it in the global fighter aircraft market, as the 1980s Lavi jet project, which shut down for these reasons, demonstrated.
On Jan. 25, ministry director general Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir concluded a working visit to Washington, D.C., where he met with senior U.S. Department of Defense and State Department leadership, as well as with Lockheed Martin and Boeing executives.
Those two companies produce the Israeli Air Force’s growing fleet—F-35s, CH53 transport helicopters, Apache helicopters and F-15s. Israel is reportedly attempting to fast-track some of those deliveries, particularly the Apaches.
“The visit underscored the close cooperation between Israel and the United States since the beginning of the ongoing Swords of Iron war,” the ministry said in a statement at the time. “Maj. Gen. (res.) Zamir engaged in discussions with his American counterparts about armament procurement, aligning with preparations for evolving combat scenarios. The discussions also focused on plans for force build-up in the upcoming multi-year strategy, including the acquisition of advanced platforms and capabilities to maintain the IDF’s qualitative military edge and readiness for diverse scenarios. This approach integrates lessons learned from the war into strategies for obtaining military equipment,” it stated.
Nevertheless, it has become painfully clear that Israel’s dependence on American ammunition supplies, which saw more than 200 cargo planes touch down Israel following Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion, has become a danger to national security and independence.
This dependence means that any Israeli Cabinet must consider the principle of “legitimacy” in its warfare planning—a principle that could become paralyzing if leverage over Israel becomes too great.
Should that principle trickle down into operational decision-making, the result can only harm Israel’s war efforts.
IDF combat officers should be thinkingly purely about how to accomplish missions, while of course adhering to the IDF’s own internal ethical code and upholding its own internal commitment to adhering to the laws of armed conflict. But if concerns over “legitimacy” in the eyes of a foreign government, no matter how close an ally, creep in, due to ammunition reliance, that is a serious problem.
Furthermore, Israel’s current lack of independent mass ammunition production has meant that the IDF needs to weigh its uses of resources carefully in Gaza, when looking at multi-arena threats in the north and at Iran, both of which could become involved in full-scale wars at any time.
Such precaution means that the IDF has been running an “armament economy” regarding certain munitions.
Both the air force and the ground forces must take the prospects of additional fronts catching fire into account.
All of this means that mass domestic ammunition production is a must-have for Israel going forward, and there are encouraging signs that this is in fact what is developing.
This will also create very real economic burdens in the future; American ammunition was bought with U.S. aid money.
For Israel to create and fund new production lines among its defense industries, it will also need to ensure that society can manage this burden by having as many economically productive citizens in the work force as possible.
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While many businesses are shut down due to the war with Hamas, the Israeli arms manufacturing industry has never been in such high demand. 190,000 new applications for weapons licenses were also added to the growing needs of the army and the new readiness teams, with tens of thousands of rifles and pistols already delivered to civilians. The price: loss of contracts abroad
Yuval Azulay
13November2023 https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/o41wmf8hy
A look around at the huge production hall of the pistol and rifle manufacturer IWI in Ramat Hasharon shows the unprecedented panic and pressure that are rising from all directions, on all fronts. All the production machines have been working here non-stop and around the clock for more than a month, even on weekends, providing hundreds of assault rifles every day to the IDF units fighting on the front and to the readiness teams that are arming themselves as well as personal pistols to the civilian market, which woke up frightened by the terror of the October 7 massacre in the south and jumped by hundreds of percent in the last month.
It’s not easy these days in the industry, and in the firearms factories that are urgently needed for both the front lines and on the home front, which is doubly difficult and complex. Many workers were recruited into the reserves by emergency call-ups, and at the same time, the demand from the field is soaring. About 40% of the employees of the arms manufacturer Ematan from Karmiel, owned by Reuven Zada, and about 20% of the employees of IWI, owned by the veteran arms manufacturer Samy Katsav, were drafted into the reserves last month. Both companies are trying to take in dozens of replacement workers to staff the production and assembly floors in order to be relevant to the Israeli arms race.
 IWI factory in Ramat Hasharon (Photo: IWI) Already in the first week of fighting, Katsav recruited all his family members, including children and grandchildren, and put them on the assembly production lines. “Anyone who comes to help these days is welcome and blessed,” he says. “This situation reminds me of the World War II movies of American citizens enlisting in the war effort to defend the home and working in weapons factories.”
Chaya (75) has been working in the assembly workshop for a month with her friend Livna (72), and both roll up their sleeves and assemble guns with skilled fingers in an eight-hour shift. “Look, I already have the hands of a worker,” she says. She is now assembling components for the Jericho pistols, a bit of variety after spending all of last week working on pickguards for Masada pistols.
This is the first time she has joined the effort on the production line, and this indicates the magnitude of the hour. “There has not yet been a situation where I had to come here to contribute to the general effort. During the coronavirus period, there was an extreme shortage of manpower and I wanted to come but they were afraid I would get infected so I stayed at home. My daughter and I are happy here. We feel that we are contributing something.”
The opening shot of the Ministry of Defense
Had this war not broken out, IWI workers would have been busy these days moving their factory from the Elbit Systems complex in Ramat Hasharon to the industrial area in Kiryat Gat. The construction of their new complex, which measures approximately 23,000 square meters, was completed not long ago, and the complex adjustments to its workforce resulting from the dramatic change were also completed. Many dozens of workers from Netanya and northern communities have finished their work at the company in recent months and in their place about 200 workers from Kiryat Gat and the south have been recruited. This period when the demand for weapons soars daily is not the right time to move, and the workers from the Kiryat Gat area are transported daily to Ramat Hasharon.
The engineers of the development department also locked away plans for future products in the vault and left the laboratories to strengthen the production floor. “These are unusually busy weeks, guns are produced here endlessly,” says Lior, head of the gun team at IWI. “We all understand that this is the order of the day. We all have a strong sense of mission, and what is most important to us is that our brothers in the south have reliable and good weapons to protect them.”
But it is much more than “Brothers in the South”. Many more sisters and brothers throughout the country are arming themselves with everything possible: pistols, long guns, short guns, and sights that improve accuracy. “All this demand expresses a very serious vacuum that was created in the field due to previous decisions by the government,” says Ron Pollak, the VP of marketing for EMTAN, who lives in a kibbutz seven kilometers from the border with Lebanon. “In recent years we have gone down to nothing, to zero. Now there is panic and everyone wants to stock up and fill warehouses.”<
Since the beginning of the war, more than 190,000 applications for weapons licenses have been submitted to the Ministry of National Security, and in the first ten months of 2023, more than 210,000 applications have been submitted, and the year is not over yet. So far, about 31,000 licenses have been issued. For comparison, in 2022, 42,000 applications were submitted and approximately 13,000 licenses were granted. In 2021, about 20,000 applications were submitted and about 10,000 licenses were issued. This process of arming is dangerous for many reasons, but the manufacturers and dealers of weapons pull out their ready answers such as “it’s not the gun that kills but the person who pulls the trigger”, and “the licenses are issued selectively and in a professional and responsible process”.
EMTAN’s best-selling gun is the Ramon, named after the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. About two years ago EMTAN signed a contract with the Spanish Federal Police for the supply of about 10,000 such pistols. It is sold in the same markets where IWI aims its best-selling pistol, the Masada, which was also developed in recent years and weighs significantly less than that of the old and well-known pistol, the Jericho. In both cases, the price of one gun ranges between NIS 3,000 and NIS 4,000 ($776-$1,000). Both companies clarified that they did not take advantage of the situation to raise prices.
The guns made in Israel are only a small part of the Israeli gun market, which is mostly made up of imported brands such as Glock, Sig Sauer, CZ, Beretta, Smith, and more. “98% of the guns in Israel are imported,” says the chairman of the firearms division of the Association of Chambers of Commerce, Amos Golan. In the past, Golan was in command of the Counter-Terrorism School and the Duvdevan unit, and today he is the owner of Silver Shadow, which manufactures M4s and related weapon accessories. The focus on purchasing imported guns is mainly due to their international branding, personal taste, and convenience of the user, even though the price level is usually close to that of the local guns.
“There is a large aftermarket for all this equipment, and it can be a tremendous engine of growth. The reality on the ground justifies this. In all the terrorist incidents in recent years, we have seen that in places where there was intervention by armed civilians, the terrorists were neutralized. Even in the Hamas attack in the south, in places where the terrorists responded with fire there was less killing,” says Golan.
A few weeks ago the head of the Samaria Council Yossi Dagan came to Katsav’s factory and left an order for 200 Arad-type assault rifles. The Arad is based on the M4, went on the market last year, was quickly adopted by the Navy, and became the main service rifle of the special unit fighters. Now that the defense system has opened the budget dam, the demand for the Arad is also increasing from units in the Ministry of Defense and members of standby units, for whom the new standard is of a standard infantry fighter in the IDF.
At the beginning of the month, the Ministry of Defense’s procurement administration ordered thousands of long-barreled M4 tools manufactured by their two companies from Mazada and Matsav, for more than NIS 100 million ($25 million). The Ministry of Defense’s invitation is only an opening shot. The IDF intends to equip itself in the coming months with tens of thousands more M4 rifles, and the procurement administration of the Ministry of Defense intends to publish another tender. In the upcoming tender, a third Israeli manufacturer, Golan’s Silver Shadow, which manufactures in Or Yehuda and is supposed to move the production to a new factory it has established in Modiin, will come into the picture in the coming months. He owns another factory in the USA. “It is important that the state purchases its assault rifles from Israeli companies,” says Golan. He expects the Ministry of Defense to divide the procurement pie equally between the three manufacturers and prefer them over foreign manufacturers.
Katsav looks at the procurement fever, knows that this is only the beginning, and remembers the days that followed the Yom Kippur War. Katsav, 77 years old, is a veteran of Israel’s defense industries. He founded the SK group of arms companies which, apart from IWI, includes Meprolight which develops and manufactures electro-optical sights for rifles and pistols, and Camero which deals with radar technology which detects and identifies happenings behind walls. In addition, he owns Israel Shipyards together with Shlomi Fogel and Asi Shmelzer.
The shock of the massacre in the south does not leave him. “They did things to us here that were not seen even in the Yom Kippur War,” he says, “These are exactly the same stories I heard from my mother-in-law, may she rest in peace, a survivor of Auschwitz from the time of the Holocaust. How is it possible? How does the world not want to see we are right and understand us?”
“Abroad, they take advantage of the situation to steal contracts”
The war in Gaza has captured the entire Israeli arms industry, IWI, and its members within it, with the production floors busy with work against the background of the global armament fever created by the war between Russia and Ukraine. On the first day of the war, they quickly aligned with the Ministry of Defense’s expectations, diverted all production to the needs of the IDF, and stopped exports, for all that this implies. “We immediately stopped the export work and diverted all activity to Israel without waiting to be told to do it,” Pollak says. “The very next day we sent out the first truck and in the first week of the war we supplied about 12,000 rifles to readiness teams and the army and thousands more guns to stores.”
Katsav also understood very quickly the magnitude of the catastrophe: “First and foremost is the priority of the IDF, the police, and our security forces, there is no doubt at all. The needs of the Israeli security forces are at the forefront of our minds, and only then exports.”
The VP of Marketing and Sales of SK Ronen Hamudot says that most customers abroad show empathy for the situation in Israel, but there are also those who are less patient and insist on receiving the goods on the specified date. “We do all we can to postpone delivery dates abroad. Most customers understand, but there are those who insist on receiving at the time we agreed on in advance. We understand that whoever buys something needs it and this situation requires us to make tremendous efforts because the country is also under a kind of siege. It is very difficult to fly in raw materials, the prices have soared and we are constantly looking for creative solutions.” Katsav and Hamudot also recognize attempts by competitors in a world where contracts have been taken from us. “They understand that we are all here being recruited for war and are trying to steal contracts from us, turning to our customers with tempting offers,” says Katsav.
Normally, about 90% of its produce is intended for export. However, against the background of the huge surge of manifestations of antisemitism that is sweeping the world, IWI canceled its participation in three defense exhibitions – in Thailand, France, and Colombia – in order to reduce prominence, also on the recommendation of security officials. “There aren’t many flights anyway and most of our attention is directed to the IDF anyway,” says Pollak.
The arms companies do not mourn the opportunities they are losing these days abroad. There they know that in the thick of the battles it will be very easy to sell to the world weapons that were used by the IDF’s special units in the war in Gaza. “Sales to the IDF and the Israeli security forces are a sign of quality for any product in the arms sector,” Hamudot says. “Sometimes the first question a potential customer asks us is whether the IDF and the police have been equipped with weapons. If the answer is positive, the chances are that we will move forward towards a deal.”
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Israel must also lower its dependency on the US for arms. On the bright side, the Abraham Accords are still intact
Efraim Inbar 23December2023 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-going-to-need-a-bigger-army-and-other-lessons-from-this-war/
The war on Hamas is not over, but certain lessons already seem very clear.
The US has displayed great support for vanquishing Hamas, and this has enhanced Israel’s position as a valued American ally. Yet, the American motives are suspect. The Biden administration’s support is predicated by an obsession with the Two-State paradigm, which requires eliminating Hamas from Gaza and restoring the moribund and corrupt Palestinian Authority (PA) there. Moreover, the American embrace aims to restrain Israel from attacking Iranian proxies, a move that could lead to a regional escalation – something Washington is eager to avert. This has been the major motive for sending aircraft carriers to the region.
The US has no appetite to take on the main culprit for the Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi aggression against Israel, Iran. Washington, which had pressured Saudi Arabia to stop fighting the Houthis, even warned Israel not to take independent action to defend the freedom of navigation for its ships in the Bab-al Mandeb Straits. It is not clear how determined the international flotilla that the US has initiated will be against the Houthi threat. So far Washington has preferred a defensive posture.
The war has proved also that the two-state paradigm is still the international Pavlovian response to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, even though the war shows clearly that the Palestinians cannot become a good neighbor – not even in the next generation. The PA refused to condemn the Hamas atrocities and even called upon Hamas to join the PA as a junior partner in ruling over the Palestinians. Palestinian hatred towards Israel has reached incredibly high levels. A September 2023 poll showed that the Hamas candidate for prime minister has a 60 percent support rating in the Palestinian territories. A June 2023 poll indicates that two-thirds say Israel will not celebrate the centenary of its establishment, and the majority believes that the Palestinian people will be able in the future to recover Palestine and return its refugees to their homes. Polls taken after October 7 show immense support (around 80%) for the barbaric Hamas attack. Unfortunately, this ideology has many adherents in the Muslim world. Moreover, Hamas has established kindergartens, schools, social services, and mosques, ensuring that it is firmly entrenched in Palestinian society. Its messages are popular and fall on responsive Palestinian ears. The antisemitic wave engulfing many Western states reinforces the current high level of Palestinian hostility toward Israel. Much of the world refuses to see the unpleasant facts that defy a widely-held paradigm.
The war also facilitates the continuation of the global ostrich syndrome concerning Iran’s nuclear advances. Despite the worrisome November report by the IAEA about further growth in Iran’s breakout capabilities as a result of the continued growth of enriched uranium stockpiles, the US appears to have paid scant attention. Moreover, Iran, in a continuation of its strategy to reduce transparency over its sensitive nuclear programs, withdrew the designation of European inspectors with experience in enrichment technology, thus further handicapping attempts to inspect its nuclear programs. This elicited no Western response. Israel is busy with its war on Hamas without a clear effective strategy to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
On the bright side, the Abraham Accords seem to have overcome a difficult test. The UAE and Bahrain maintained their diplomatic relations and even Saudi Arabia signaled its intention to continue with the normalization process. Similarly, Egypt and Jordan cooperate with Israel in providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. All these Arab states relish the fact that Israel is doing the dirty job of administering a serious blow to the Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brothers.
Israel needs a quick decisive victory over Hamas, primarily to restore lost deterrence. It cannot survive in the Middle East if it is not feared. Fear is the best political currency in this region. In addition, it must meet several immediate challenges.
Jerusalem cannot change the asymmetric nature of its relations with Washington which will always act upon its perceived interests. Yet, it is imperative to lower the dependency upon the US for ammunition and weaponry. It is largely a question of allocating enough money to have a larger storage capability and more investment in R&D. Israel’s military industries probably need compensation for a quick transition to an emergency mode to supply the IDF. The goal is not to free Israel of the need to rely on the US but to increase Israel’s freedom of action for longer periods in emergencies when the two states do not see eye to eye. [Israel needs to copy what Russia did with her Military-Industrial Complex to beat any Sanctions or Arms Package Vetoes]
Indeed, Israel must allocate much larger amounts of money for its defense budget. It needs a larger standing army that can better protect Israel’s borders and a stronger military able to fight at least on two fronts simultaneously. Shortening the period of compulsory military period is no longer an option and increasing the pool of available conscripts is necessary.
Hezbollah’s joining the fray could have been an opportunity to defeat another Iranian proxy, but Israel did not capitalize on this because of a shortage of adequate available military might. In the future, an opportunity for a preemptive strike should not be missed. Deterrence requires maintenance, and the use of force is one of its lubricants.
A nuclear Iran is an existential threat that the international community, and primarily the US, refuses to deal with. Israel is on its own, and it is naive to believe that anything but a preventive Israeli military strike, will eliminate this challenge. Israel has to refocus and prepare to end the nuclear threat.
Dealing with the Palestinian challenge requires patience because there is no ending to the conflict any time soon. There is little chance of the dysfunctional Palestinian national movement evolving into a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority (PA) of the nature the Americans dream about. Any Palestinian entity will continue to constitute only a marginal security risk as long as Israel is determined to mow the grass as often as needed.
About the Author
Efraim Inbar is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) and head of the program on Strategy, Diplomacy, and National Security at the Shalem Academic Center.
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The fight against Nazism is what historically unites Russia and the Middle Eastern country, the foreign minister believes
28December2023 https://www.rt.com/russia/589831-lavrov-israeli-gaza-hypocrisy/
 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov © Ramil Sitdikov; RIA Novosti The declared goals of Israel in its ongoing operation against Hamas militants in Gaza seem nearly identical to Moscow’s in its campaign against the Ukrainian government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in an interview with RIA Novosti on Thursday.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has been carrying out a relentless bombing campaign in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza over the past two months following a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli territories on October 7. The attack by the Palestinian militants left some 1,200 people dead and saw the kidnapping of over 200 hostages. Israel’s response, meanwhile, has reportedly cost the lives of over 21,000 people, according to Gaza health officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the end goal of the IDF is the complete destruction of the Hamas movement in all its forms, as well as the elimination of all extremism in Gaza.
Lavrov, however, noted that these goals seem similar to “demilitarization” and “denazification,” which Moscow has been pursuing in Ukraine since it launched its offensive in February 2022.
The diplomat noted the hypocrisy demonstrated by Israel’s former government under Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who condemned Russia’s military operation and accused Moscow of attacking the civilian population and annexing parts of Ukraine. “This was unfair,” said Lavrov.
At the same time, the minister pointed out that the current Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu – who took office for a sixth term in December 2022 – has avoided making any statements against Russia, despite international criticism and finding himself in “a difficult situation.”
Lavrov further recalled that Netanyahu had held two phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the Israelis had helped Moscow evacuate Russian citizens from Gaza.
“Therefore, we need to be very careful about our common history with Israel and, above all, the history of the fight against Nazism. This is the main thing that unites us historically,” Lavrov said.
Russia has repeatedly called on both Israel and Hamas to stop hostilities in Gaza, with Putin stating that the only way to resolve the Middle East crisis was through a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, has refused to send military aid to Ukraine and has instead offered himself as a potential mediator for peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.
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Peloni: As Alex Grinsberg noted earlier this year, Russia and Iran are each driven by their respective national interests which are not mutually aligned.
Iran International Newsroom, December 24, 2023 https://www.israpundit.org/khamenei-silent-as-russia-again-undermines-irans-territorial-integrity/ Original Source: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202312248912
Russia’s support for the United Arab Emirates in its dispute with Iran over the ownership of three Persian Gulf islands has turned into a controversy in Tehran.
The Iranian leadership, typically reticent about Russia’s double standards, has, for the second time this year, heightened its response to Moscow’s stance. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s most senior foreign policy adviser, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, implicitly criticized Russia’s behavior by stating, “Iran will not allow any foreign entity to intervene in its internal affairs.”
In a similar situation earlier this year, Velayati, following Russia’s joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in September, emphasized the importance of Iran’s friendly and strategic ties with Russia. He pointed out that both sides’ bilateral and regional interests should be considered. Notably, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remained silent, as is often the case, regarding Russia’s actions that undermine Iran’s territorial integrity.
Recently, the Iranian Foreign Ministry criticized “part of the statement of the 6th Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum held in Morocco, dismissing the claims on three Iranian islands as baseless and unacceptable.” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani asserted that “The Islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb are eternal parts of Iran and inseparable from the Islamic Republic.” He underscored that Iran’s sovereignty over these islands is non-negotiable, emphasizing the country’s commitment to protecting its territorial integrity.
 Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on July 19, 2022 In response to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, Iranian international lawyer Reza Nasri highlighted that Russia’s support for the UAE’s sovereignty claims over the Persian Gulf islands contrasts with Iran’s support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict. Nasri emphasized the need for Russia to be a strategic ally to Iran and called for respect for Iran’s territorial integrity.
Britain, which maintained control of Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunb it had occupied in the 19th century, withdrew its forces from the Persian Gulf in 1971 and the United Arab Emirates was formed. However, Iran’s Imperial government at the time decided to reclaim what it believed were historical Iranian islands.
Mohammad Reza Shah sent the Iranian navy to secure all three in November of the same year, two days before UAE was established. Iranian forces remain on the islands, with only Abu Musa having much of a civilian population of several thousand.
X (Twitter) users criticized the untimeliness of Russia’s behavior, especially as Iran is working to finalize a strategic security pact with Russia. Some social media users labeled Iranian officials as “traitors” over Tehran’s response.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian called on Moscow to respect Iran’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, after Russia supported the UAE’s sovereignty claims over three Persian Gulf islands. He said during a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov: “The Islamic Republic of Iran completely rejects any claim in this regard by any party. Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries is one of the fundamental principles in relations between countries, and Tehran makes no compromises with any party when it comes to respect for its territorial integrity and sovereignty issues.” Lavrov responded that “The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been respected by Russia and Moscow’s official policy in this regard should never be doubted.”
Earlier in this year, the media pointed out that some Iranian hardliners supported Russia’s humiliating stances on the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf. At the time Raisi-administration-owned daily Iran charged that Iranian media outlets that criticized Russia’s positions get their orders from the United States.
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Antisemitism, Jew-hatred – whatever term you use – is soaring to alarming levels not seen since the Holocaust. How did it get to be so bad, so quickly when we have equality, civil rights, and religious freedom?!
Rachel Avrahami | Posted on 22December2023 | https://breslev.com/4079674/
 The Shocking Truth by Rachel Avrahami Shocking. Unbelievable. Unconscionable.
The now infamous and completely morally corrupt testimony of the three University presidents of MIT, UPenn and Harvard was shocking beyond words. The Presidents didn’t even try to lie or cover up their gross and intentional negligence towards Jewish students. Even more appalling than the smug and brazen refusal to answer simple yes or no questions by Representative Stefanik in the now famous clip, was the utter silence they gave to Rep. John James, an African-American congressman, when he asked the question: “Just remind us, what each of you are doing on your college campuses [to combat antisemitism]?” (I highly recommend that you take a minute to watch it for yourself HERE).
We all know that if these questions were directed at the Universities’ responses regarding the rights of any other minority group, the answers would have been decisive and definitive.
We see across the board – whether it’s University silence about the threats to Jews on campus that lead one student of UPenn to testify before Congress that “I do not feel safe,” or the silence of the UN and other leading feminist organizations in the face of the atrocities and crimes against humanity against Jewish women committed by Hamas on Simchat Torah, or the silence and deafening inaction of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) to help the hostages in any way – the world has once again chosen to stand against Jews, against morality, and against God Himself.
Even worse, bodies like the UN and the ICC which were created supposedly to ensure that there would “Never Again” be a Holocaust allowed on this planet – are exactly the bodies that are not only silent in the face of the Holocaust and blatant act of genocide that occurred on Simchat Torah, openly refusing to condemn Hamas, openly refusing to help Jews, but have even become Israel’s worst enemies, gaslighting Israel to say that Israel is doing to Gazans what Hamas actually did to us! The world bodies are even bringing incredible pressure to bear to try to stop Israel from retaliating and eliminating the threat Hamas poses to doing what it already promised to try to do: to commit the genocide of October 7 again and again and again, God should save us!
When the pot boils, the froth comes to the surface. Against this backdrop, global antisemitism is soaring. Neo-Nazis are marching in broad daylight at the University of Wisconsin, and pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas antisemites are marching around the world. Antisemitic attacks and vandalism are reaching a tipping point. Jewish college students are told not to wear Jewish symbols, and a student at NYU testified before Congress that she was attacked by another student while wearing an American-Israeli flag pin – and nothing whatsoever was done to her attacker who continues to roam freely around campus! [Editor’s Note: According to data compiled by the Mosaic organization for the Knesset Subcommittee for Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy, campus antisemitism has risen by 700% since 7-Oct.] So much for “speech can become harassment if it leads to conduct” – it’s a bunch of bull anyway, but even to that they turn a blind eye! And hot off the press – hundreds of bomb threats to synagogues across America this past Shabbat.
Scary and depressing does not even begin to describe the deep sea of terror and dread shaking every Jew on the planet to the core. It’s like we’ve been taken back in time into a black and white Holocaust horror film that we never dreamed we would be in.
I know as a born JAP (Jewish American Princess) I’ve found myself thinking many times that all this is just too much for me. We were taught that this level of Jew-hatred was over, put into a glass box in a Holocaust memorial. Isn’t the new post-modern world past all this hatred?
It seems that the answer is very clear – all the rules and protection and equality apply to everyone except Jews.
Jews are still hated, still gaslighted, still held to double-standards, still labeled with whatever the society deems as bad – even if it means total hypocrisy. Even if it means that Jews defending themselves will be labeled as the very “Nazis” who murdered 6 million of us. That Jews in our own lawful land will be called “occupiers.”
And it’s showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. In fact, Rabbi Arush has already given multiple warnings (see Rabbi Arush’s video Q&A on Aliyah) that the danger to Jews is liable to get a lot worse, Hashem should save us.
(PS – Check out Rabbi Arush here saying that while Jews outside the Land do not feel safe, the most secure place is in the Land of Israel and especially in Jerusalem, which enjoys Hashem’s special protection. And contrary to what most think, Rabbi Arush says that after Mashiach comes, it will be a lot HARDER to get to Israel.
So come NOW! We don’t know when it will be too late… I shake while reminding you that the Jews in Europe also thought they had more time.)
I don’t know about you, but having our belief and trust in equality being spit in our faces in this matter has me shocked – and scared.
Emuna – or Hell
The point is not to bring everything out of the shadows in order to wring our hands. The point is to see where the world is going and realize that Rabbi Arush’s motto of “emuna or Hell” has never been so clear as right now.
What’s the emuna? Rabbi Arush recently said that it’s forbidden to refer to the massacre of Simchat Torah as “Black Sabbath.” He said, “It was White Sabbath! The light of repentance came into the world! We see how many Jews are returning to Hashem because of what happened! Every day – more Jews! The light and happiness in the Upper Worlds are unimaginable. The whole world has waited for these days since creation!”
Meanwhile, every week Rabbi Arush reminds us to never stop seeing Hashem in the miracles of the thousands of missiles of every type launched at Israel, and “statistically, zero killed.” How much Hashem is protecting us every minute – and to be filled with gratitude, thanking Hashem all the time.
I don’t know about you, but it’s incredibly difficult to hold on to that reality out here in “the real world.” A world filled with yet another soldier who fell in battle. A world filled with a true war on social media, and yet another story from a captive who was taken hostage on Oct. 7.
This is exactly the point.
As I mentioned in my article Not Just Another War, this is fundamentally a spiritual war for each and every Jewish soul. Will we hold onto our emuna, as Rabbi Arush teaches us to – or not???
Will we spend all day crying over the news and the feed, worried about what the next moment will bring? Or will we spend all day thanking Hashem for protecting us?
Will we see the heavy darkness of antisemitism everywhere? Or the beautiful light of Jews unifying to help each other and finding their Jewish identity as never before?
No one is immune from this war. Each and every one of us is struggling with it – and victory is not guaranteed, no matter who you are!
Take it from me – I’m first in line to testify that I struggle with this fight multiple times each and every day, even with all my closeness to the teachings of emuna. I lose battles, and sometimes I feel that I can’t win. But the energy I receive when I’m in “emuna” mode keeps me going, even if I unfortunately spend plenty of time reeling in Hell…
What gives me strength is Rabbi Nachman’s teaching: “Who is the one called victorious? The one who doesn’t put down his weapon.”
The weapon of the Jew is prayer.
So as long as you keep praying and begging Hashem for emuna, and doing your very best to follow Rabbi Arush’s advice, reading The Garden of Emuna and strengthening your emuna – Rabbi Nachman promises you will win!
Update: If you still aren’t convinced of just how clear and present the danger is to Jews in America, journalist Ami Horowitz spoke to 35 random students on a left-leaning campus. 80% of them supported killing Jews around the world, specifically hitting soft targets like schools and synagogues. 50% were willing to put money towards the cause. Not one pushed back. Watch for yourself.
Please read the continuation of this article – Why is There Antisemitism?
***
Rachel Avrahami grew up in Los Angeles, CA, USA in a far-off valley where she was one of only a handful of Jews in a public high school of thousands. She found Hashem in the urban jungle of the university. Rachel was privileged to read one of the first copies of The Garden of Emuna in English, and the rest, as they say, is history. She made Aliyah and immediately began working at Breslev Israel.
Rachel is now the Editor of Breslev Israel’s English website. She welcomes questions, comments, articles, and personal stories to her email: rachel.avrahami@breslev.co.il.
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On Simchat Torah, Hashem reminded us that those who celebrate and follow His Torah are protected. What can we do for those who were killed on that day while celebrating a licentious event? A LOT!
David Ben Horin | Posted on 24December2023 | https://breslev.com/4080632/
 Simchat Torah for Our Martyrs by David Ben Horin All the pundits on podcasts are trying to tell us why the Simchat Torah massacre happened and what they think will happen next. They’re all wrong.
Somebody asked me whether to call the massacre the “Oct 7 Massacre” or the “Simchat Torah Massacre”.
It’s Simchat Torah.
It’s the day Hashem reminded His children, the Jewish people, and the rest of the world that those who dance around His Torah celebrate His blessing and protection. Those who spend their days dancing around a huge idol lose His protection against the savages and monsters of this world.
The IDF can’t protect us. On Simchat Torah, they didn’t. The Mossad, Shin Bet, or American aid didn’t turn away the barbarians at the gate.
The gates that turned away these animals were at the only two kibbutzim in the Gaza Belt that were dancing around the Torah.
This reaffirms the Torah truths in the portion Ki Tavo. It’s a reaffirmation of the Jewish way of life: The life Hashem commands us.
From the day Adam was cast out of Paradise to today, Hashem blesses His people with strength. Hashem blesses His people with peace. (Psalms 29:11)
Hashem makes a distinction between those who follow His Torah and those who don’t. These are the lessons of the Simchat Torah Distinction.
What Happens Next
It’s a hard truth to swallow.
We are at war. Our brothers are still in captivity. The wounds of this horrible catastrophe are still open.
However, we in Israel are strong. In our Land, Hashem blesses us with the mental toughness to accept the truth, and the truth is that we must make repentance. We must return to God.
We must place a carpet ban on idolatry, sodomy, non-kosher foods, and breaking Shabbat or Jewish Holidays that Hashem commands His people.
In his Mishnah Torah, the Rambam tells us that when we are physically sick, what normally tastes good tastes repulsive, and what normally tastes repulsive tastes good. When you get a sore throat, somehow Ginger Ale becomes a delicacy.
The Rambam takes it to the next step by teaching that the same is true for our soul. When we are spiritually sick, things like sex, drugs, clubbing, flashy cars, and all-night gambling binges seem appealing.
Investing the night in Torah study, prayer, and visiting the sick doesn’t seem as enticing – even when we know where the first set of activities will ultimately place us versus the second set of Divine mitzvot.
The secular professors and military analysts, along with many generals and ministers, are talking about conquering Gaza, only to give it back to the PLO or to the local Gazan population on “the day after.” Didn’t Hamas mutate out of the local population? Doesn’t the PLO still pay its citizens a monthly salary to kill Jews?
It’s the Rabbis who are saying we must conquer Gaza and rebuild its Jewish communities so that we can always keep an eye on the Gazans.
For the past 5,000 years of human history, that’s what conquering nations did. They annexed the land and started planting their people on it. The only difference is that God never commanded America to conquer Mexico and start putting its people in their northern provinces of Nevada and California.
We are commanded to live in Gaza because it is part of the Land of Israel.
Following the Rambam’s teachings, the spiritually healthy are the ones who are morally and intellectually healthy. They are the ones who know right from wrong – in everything.
Make Martyrs Out of Them
What will become of those who were murdered on Oct 7? What of those who were violated? What of those 1,200 people who were murdered, raped, and tortured after two days of dancing around an idol and licentiousness?
We send them to the highest levels of heaven.
Every Rosh Hashanah, we are all judged — both the living and the dead.
Hashem judges the living on their actions. But what about the dead? They have no actions to speak of in this world. What will they be judged on?
The dead are judged on the actions they cause after their death.
Suppose a man teaches his children to guard Shabbat every week. If his children continue to keep Shabbat after he passes, then Hashem will judge this man for the mitzvot his children do because he showed them how.
There are countless times where a parent came to a son or daughter in a dream and asked them to perform a mitzvah in this world so the parent could rise higher in the Next World.
Like on earth, heaven has good places and better places. You can live in a simple 2-bedroom apartment in Lod. You save up, get a higher-paying job, and pretty soon, you can move into a nice penthouse in Beit Shemesh. Hashem can pull you from a place in heaven that feels equivalent to the 2-bedroom flat in Lod and elevate you to the heavenly equivalent of the penthouse in Beit Shemesh – or better.
This is what we can do for the fallen.
Every prayer we recite, every charity we give, every kindness we perform, every line of Torah we learn because of what happened last Simchat Torah transforms our brethren into catalysts of mitzvot. Immediately, they are Zicuy Rabin – they bring us closer to Hashem.
They go from victims to martyrs. They go from being buried beneath the earth to vaulted high above the heavens.
They can get judged for performing the greatest mitzvah in the Torah.
If you recite the Shema tonight because of the horrors of October 7 and the lessons learned, it is in their honor. They were the reason you did something for Hashem that you never did before.
God gives you the chance to raise their spirits – literally!
With every step of repentance we make, as individuals, as communities, and as a nation, we elevate Klal Yisrael. Hashem willing, we merit God’s protection against all our enemies. This is also promised in parsha Ki Tavo.
If we learned on October 7 that the curses of parsha Ki Tavo are as real today as they always were, then we know for a fact that the blessings of Ki Tavo – that we will be powerful and prosperous and that Hashem will bless us in victory for everything we do – are also as real today as they always were.
This is the Simcha of the Torah our Father gives us.
***
David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, millions of sunflowers, and Matilda, our local camel. David‘s Israeli startup, 300 Marketing Solutions, is a lean marketing agency for startups and small businesses that creates and promotes SEO-optimized ROI-driven to the right audience on LinkedIn to make your business the star of the show.
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You support Terrorists, you get..
Ari Sade-tweet-8November2023-You support Terrorists, you get
You murdered, raped, burnt, beheaded, and kidnapped our people. Men, women, children and babies, and you celebrated it! And streamed it live! Proudly!
This is a fraction of your punishment. Return the hostages and surrender. We might let you live.
#HamasisISIS
#BringThemHome
 Ari Sade-tweet-8November2023, You support Terrorists-you get
Dr. Eli David-tweet-31December2023-You celebrated the massacre on 7October and now expect us to have sympathy for you
You celebrated the massacre on October 7, and now expect us to have sympathy for you?
_
 Dr. Eli David-tweet-31December2023-You celebrated the massacre on 7October and now expect us to have sympathy for you?
 Why Islam canot coexist with not just the Israelis but all non-Muslims
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American farmhands and cowboys on their way to Israel
Lenny Ben-David-tweet-6November2023-American farmhands and cowboys on their way to Israel
American farmhands and cowboys on their way to Israel to help farmers in Israel after the #Hamas attack. Many lost their lives and/or farm workers.
That’s love! Thank you.❤️
 Lenny Ben-David-tweet-6November2023-American farmhands and cowboys on their way to Israel
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Lawmakers want answers from the Pentagon on how U.S.-made weapons may have ended up in the hands of Hamas terrorists who slaughtered Israeli civilians.
 A young boy holds a U.S.-made M4A1 rifle during a rally of Hamas supporters, at the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, on Dec. 12, 2014. (Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images) By Tom Ozimek
(emphasis zerohedge https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/unconscionable-republicans-press-pentagon-over-american-made-weapons-hamass-hands)
23October2023 Updated: 24October2023 https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/republicans-press-pentagon-over-american-made-weapons-in-hamass-hands-5515455
Citing reports that advanced U.S.-made firearms have ended up in the possession of the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, several House Oversight Committee Republicans are demanding answers from the Pentagon about what’s being done to make sure American-made weapons don’t end up in the wrong hands.
“The Committee has seen reports that U.S.-manufactured weapons are being redistributed and resold in secondary markets to terrorist organizations, including Hamas,” wrote House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in an Oct. 23 letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Mr. Comer and Ms. Greene cited a series of media reports indicating that American-made weapons were being diverted and ending up in the hands of terrorists.
One source of these U.S.-made weapons is reportedly the roughly $7 billion stockpile left behind in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Another is related to the arms that the United States is providing to Ukraine amid its war with Russia but that are being diverted to the Middle East by various actors, including gun-smuggling criminal groups.
“The potential possession of U.S. weapons by terrorists is alarming in light of the terrorist group’s recent horrific attack on Israel,” the pair of lawmakers wrote, referring to the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas operatives that killed about 1,500 Israelis, mostly civilians—many of them in barbaric fashion.
In their letter, they demanded a staff briefing from the Pentagon by the end of October on what procedures the Department of Defense (DOD) has in place “for preventing, addressing, and mitigating weapon diversion abroad.”
 A Ukrainian serviceman checks his U.S-made M4A1 carbine after cleaning it at a base in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 23, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chima/AFP/Getty Images) ‘Arsenal of Anarchy’
Israel Captures Hamas Navel Commander; 9 Americans Killed by Hamas Attacks: US
In their letter, Mr. Comer and Ms. Greene cited a number of media reports indicating that American-made weapons were ending up in the hands of those who may wish to use them to harm the United States and its allies.
One of these is a June 15 report by Newsweek that cites a high-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander as saying that the Israeli military was concerned that U.S.-made weapons provided to Ukraine were being diverted and ending up in the hands of Israel’s enemies in the Middle East.
“We are very worried that some of these capabilities are going to fall to Hezbollah and Hamas’ hands,” the IDF commander told the publication.
Since the Russia–Ukraine conflict erupted in February 2022, the United States has sent more than $46 billion in military assistance to Kyiv, sparking worries that some of that massive flow of arms was being diverted and ending up in other regions.
While a report in March from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime found that “there is currently no substantial outflow of weapons from the Ukrainian conflict zone,” it warned of the prospect of serious proliferation.
The report’s authors warned in a statement that when the war ends, “Ukraine’s battlefields could and will become the new arsenal of anarchy, arming everyone from insurgents in Africa to gangsters in the streets of Europe.”
While it’s impossible to tell without further investigation where the weapons are coming from, it’s been alleged that some U.S.-made weapons are finding their way to Gaza and into the hands of Hamas.
In their letter, the GOP lawmakers said that “recently released photos show Hamas terrorists allegedly holding what appear to be H4A1 Carbines,” a type of weapon that they point out was specially designed for U.S. Special Operations Forces.
“This would not be the first time our military service members and allies have been targeted by terrorist organizations misappropriating American-made weapons,” the lawmakers wrote, citing the massive $7 billion arsenal that ended up in the hands of the Taliban.
Taliban Seize $7 Billion Worth of US Weapons and Equipment
After U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, they left behind billions of dollars of American-made weapons and equipment.
A Pentagon watchdog reported in August 2022 that “U.S.-funded equipment valued at $7.12 billion was in the inventory of the former Afghan government when it collapsed, much of which has since been seized by the Taliban.”
The report, which was confirmed by the DOD, indicated that the equipment that had fallen into Taliban hands included military aircraft, ground vehicles, weapons, and other military equipment.
The items that ended up in Taliban hands included large equipment like Black Hawk helicopters and Humvees, as well as small but sophisticated arms like M16 assault rifles and M4 carbines.
“We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with U.S.-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces. This poses a significant threat to the United States and our allies,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters in an email last year.
Lt. Col. Emron Musavi, an Indian army spokesperson, told CNBC in an email last year that weapons left behind by U.S. forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan were making their way into other conflict zones, including in India-controlled Kashmir, which some terror groups are trying to annex for Pakistan.
“It can be safely assumed that they have access to the weapons left behind,” he told the outlet, amid reports that operatives from Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, two Pakistan-based groups designated by the United States as terrorist organizations, had been spotted with U.S.-made arms like M4s and M16s.
 Military vehicles transferred by the U.S. to the Afghan National Army in February 2021. Afghanistan Ministry of Defense/via REUTERS
 Taliban stand guard at an entrance gate outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul, on Aug. 17, 2021. (Javed Tanveer/AFP via Getty Images)
Demands for Oversight
The letter from Mr. Comer and Ms. Greene is not the first time Republicans have pressed the Pentagon on U.S.-made weapons falling into the wrong hands.
Shortly after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, several Republican senators demanded the DOD provide full accounting over the weapons and equipment that were captured by the Taliban.
“As we watched the images coming out of Afghanistan as the Taliban retook the country, we were horrified to see U.S. equipment—including UH-60 Black Hawks—in the hands of the Taliban,” Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and two dozen other senators wrote to Mr. Austin.
“It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies,” the Republicans added.
“Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
Tom Ozimek
Author (Reporter)
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
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The pivot reflects Indian domestic politics and new interests in the Middle East
Banyan 2November2023 https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/11/02/narendra-modi-has-shifted-india-from-the-palestinians-to-israel
FOREIGN NEWS usually gets short shrift in India. Yet for the past month the country’s television channels have been dominated by wall-to-wall coverage of events in Israel and Gaza, mostly from Israel’s perspective. News anchors in bulletproof vests stand in the desert delivering breathless reports on the aftermath of Hamas’s atrocities in Israel on October 7th. Talk-show hosts restage the Palestinian terrorist group’s attack from Gaza with toy soldiers and miniature bulldozers. Weeks into the war, coverage remains intense.
The media’s fascination with Israel’s plight and retribution coincides with a marked shift in the Indian government’s stance on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It has moved from backing the Palestinians to more or less unqualified support for Israel. The pivot is based on a realist reappraisal of Indian interests in the Middle East. It has also met with strong public backing from Narendra Modi’s domestic supporters, which is gratifying for Mr Modi’s government ahead of state elections this month and a general election next year.
In the past, like many countries in the global south, India tempered any expression of support for Israel with expressions of concern for the Palestinians’ plight. No more. Mr Modi took to X (formerly Twitter) within hours of Hamas’s assault to express his horror at the “terrorist attacks” and declare that “we stand in solidarity with Israel”. It took five days for India’s Ministry of External Affairs to reiterate, in response to questions from reporters, that India continued to support a two-state solution to the conflict. On October 27th, in a departure from its usual voting record, India abstained as the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza; it objected that the text did not condemn Hamas’s assault.
The shift reflects India’s growing defence and commercial ties to Israel. Co-operation between the two countries has been deepening ever since Israel provided India with military help during the Kargil war against Pakistan in 1999. That was long before America took a serious interest in military co-operation with India. Over the past decade India has bought missiles, drones and border-security equipment (and probably surveillance software, though it has not admitted this) from Israel, making it the Israeli defence industry’s biggest foreign customer.
A bromance between Mr Modi and Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has deepened the relationship. So has the two countries’ shared preoccupation with fighting terrorism, especially the Islamist variant. Explaining the abstention in the UN vote, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, said in a speech on October 29th that India took a strong position on terrorism “because we are big victims of terrorism”.
India has also been increasing its ties with Gulf Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. And it can ill afford to alienate them; it depends on them for much of its oil and goodwill towards an estimated 9m expatriate Indian workers. Yet the fact that both countries have recently moved closer to Israel has allowed Mr Modi to effect his shift with alacrity. Even in the current crisis, the Saudis and Emiratis appear reluctant to allow the events in Gaza to cause a rupture in their long-term rapprochement with Israel.
Domestically, the Modi government’s pivot is essentially all upside. The Congress-led opposition has condemned it; leaders of India’s 200m Muslims have heavily criticised Israel’s military response. Yet the Indian middle-class that mostly backs Mr Modi is especially concerned about Islamist terrorism. Its members look on Hamas’s attack and recall the tragedy Mumbai suffered in 2008, when Pakistani Islamists killed 175 people and wounded more than 300 during a four-day rampage. It included an attack on a Jewish community centre in the city, where the terrorists murdered the rabbi and his pregnant wife.
There is a small risk the government will overplay its hand. As the civilian death toll in Gaza rises, India’s Arab partners might turn against the Israelis and their backers more aggressively. Mr Modi has latterly hedged against that possibility. He has reached out to Palestinian leaders, offering Indian condolences and humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, his Hindu-nationalist henchmen are unrestrained in using the conflict to stoke the Islamophobia that has propelled their party’s rise. Even if Mr Modi’s pivot becomes difficult abroad, it will probably help him win elections.
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For Egypt, Gaza is a forward outpost that keeps IDF forces occupied in the south, disturbs Israel, and prevents it from strengthening. Op-ed.
Tzachi Levi
20October2023 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/378874
The diplomatic tug-of-war between Israel and Egypt over the opening of the Rafah Crossing has the potential to decide the future of the Gaza Strip and the war altogether.
The question is as follows: Which side will succeed in forcing the other to take responsibility for the residents of the Gaza Strip? Israel has demanded the opening of the Rafah Crossing in one direction, and according to several media outlets, has offered Egypt, along with the United States and the United Arab Emirates, a series of economic benefits in exchange for opening the crossing.
The Egyptians, for their part, refuse to open the crossing even to Gazans who are citizens of foreign countries, and instead calls for sending supposedly “civilian” aid into the Strip to prevent a humanitarian crisis and the wave of refugees that Egypt fears.
Not for nothing, this issue was ostensibly at the center of the Egyptian President’s meetings with international leaders, came up in the Netanyahu-Biden meeting, and received special attention from the King of Jordan.
What is unfolding before us us is a diplomatic “chicken fight,” the outcome of which may decide the entire war and shape the Middle East for years to come.
Many in Israel, from all ends of the political spectrum, understand that even if we eliminate all the tens of thousands of terrorists in the Strip exactly as the Israeli government has stated, Iran is not going anywhere, and, absent a meaningful permanent Israeli or international force on the ground, in a few short years a new Hamas or some other radical regime will be established in the Strip, thus setting up the next inevitable confrontation. Under such conditions, it will be impossible to rehabilitate the towns around Gaza that were ravaged by Hamas’s war crimes.
In light of this reality, the resettlement of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip in Egypt and elsewhere in the Muslim world, should become an overt political goal of Israel. This is the most humane solution to the situation, both for Israel and for the Gazans, many of whom want to emigrate from the Strip anyway and were imprisoned in it by Hamas.
It is worth noting, in addition, that there is nothing that discourages Arab aggression more than the loss of land. Therefore, in addition to the military goal of ending Hamas’ rule with minimum loss of civilian lives, the extension of Israeli sovereignty to all or some of the Gaza Strip would act as a powerful deterrent against Israel’s other enemies which are thinking about attempting to commit another heinous act such as the one we witnessed on the morning of October 7th.
Egypt sees the situation differently.
For the Egyptians, the loss of the Strip would be a strategic problem. For Egypt, Gaza is a forward outpost that keeps the IDF forces occupied in the south, disturbs Israel, and prevents it from strengthening.
Anyone who follows the strengthening of the Egyptian army from visible sources, and sees the huge bridging array it is building above and below the Suez Canal, and the military procurement in the tens of billions of dollars in all army arrays: sea, land, air and even satellites, understands that Egypt sees Israel as its main military adversary, in spite of the peace agreement.
Most of Egypt’s military exercises are directed against Israel, and that is why we can see reports, in the open media, about a long series of Egyptian violations of the peace agreement, which limits the deployment of Egyptian forces in Sinai, under the pretext of a war against ISIS.
For many years, Egypt has allowed the strengthening of terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, during both the Mubarak and Morsi eras. During the el-Sisi era, Egypt increased its supervision and control over what entered the Strip while building a massive barrier on the Egyptian side of the border. All this is just an indication that what did enter, apparently entered with an Egyptian “blind eye”.
Israel needs to think strategically about how to encourage Gazans to make their way into Egypt.
Israel must take advantage of the severe economic crisis in Egypt in favor of organizing international aid to the country in exchange for the absorption of all or some of the Gazans. Just recently, the Moody’s rating agency lowered the Egypt’s credit rating from B3 to Caa1. Indeed, Egypt is on the verge of insolvency, which may endanger the stability of the regime in the near term.
In the first stage, Israel needs to increase the humanitarian pressure on the Gaza Strip so that eventually hundreds of thousands of hungry and thirsty Gazans will break through the Rafah Crossing.
In the second stage, when Egypt will face the finished fact of an influx of refugees in its territory, it is recommended that Israel and the US organize the international community, UNRWA, and the International Monetary Fund, to flow economic aid to Egypt, to enable the absorption of some of the Gazans in Egypt.
It is important to understand: The Gazans whom Hamas imprisoned in the Strip, very much want to emigrate from it. Turkey, which is ready to take them in, is a very popular destination, as is Europe, which is obliged to take in those to whom UNRWA has granted a refugee certificate. The percentage of the Gazan population that will eventually be taken in by Egypt is lower than the country’s annual birth rate, which is over 2 million babies a year.
And in relation to housing solutions – in Egypt there is a stock of vacant apartments for immediate occupancy of at least 2 million apartments, a result of the regime’s planned economy.
Success in the diplomatic struggle with Egypt over the opening of the Rafah Crossing will shorten the war and therefore reduce the risk of opening more fronts.
Emptying the population of its Arab inhabitants while applying Israeli sovereignty means an overwhelming victory that will restore deterrence in all sectors, strengthen the Abraham Accords, and bring peace with Saudi Arabia.
In the Middle East, one does business only with the powerful, and Israel must recognize the opportunity to project power, while changing the Middle East for generations.
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23October2023 http://myrtlerising.weebly.com/blog/another-true-account-of-shabbat-saving-a-life-plus-a-message-from-the-next-world
Someone wrote me the true story of a young man, a friend of the correspondent’s son, who was encouraged by other friends to attended the “rave” party near the Gaza Strip on Shabbat/Simchat Torah.
As the correspondent explained:
My son says the parties are full of eastern “spirituality” and he’s been warning his friends who go to them about the avodah zora aspects of them.
He says they “worship the speakers” or something.
They don’t mean it to be avodah zora, but it’s not good.
Yet the son’s friend recently took Shabbat upon himself and managed to resist his friends’ repeated urgings to go with them to the party.
As is now self-understood, that refusal to attend the party for the sake of Shabbat saved that young man’s life.
So many people saved their own lives by either not attending the party at all or leaving before Shabbat!
Yet the brother of another friend did attend the fateful party.
Afterwards, no one knew where he was.
One night shortly after, the father of the missing boy had a dream. As the correspondent describes it:
…his father dreamed that his son was holding a golden sefer and he said, “Don’t worry, Abba. I’m learning Torah with Hash-m.”
The next day, the family was informed the boy was found, but hadn’t survived the attack.
Who Knows the Cheshbonot of Shamayim?
While we’ve been hearing a lot about people saved from slaughter by last-minute teshuvah or even just progress in their mitzvah-observance, we remain unable to know the final moments of those who didn’t survive.
Yet from the accounts of the people who knew them well, we can glean indications regarding their last moments, that some managed to do some kind of teshuvah or some kind of kavanah to die al kiddush Hashem (for the sanctification of God’s Name).
And we know from great tzaddikim and talmidei chachamim like Rav Yehudah Petayah, that even a split-second thought of teshuvah the moment before death still holds tremendous power for atonement in the Next World.
(For more on that topic, please see here: minchat-yehudah-part-i-teshuvah-and-what-happens-after-you-die.html.)
In conclusion, let’s take comfort in the words of the Me’am Lo’ez on Parshat Beresheit (page 184):
If a person has been killed by the gentiles, his image is engraved on [the angel’s] vestments, and [the angel] brings it to the highest heaven.
There, this person is recorded in the Great Book.
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Emuna gives us powerful tools to cope with anxiety, fear, pain, and confusion. How can we use those tools to strengthen ourselves in the war situation?
Rachel Avrahami | Posted on 13October2023 https://breslev.com/4061929/
 Overcoming the TERROR – Rachel Avrahami Hashem is God, ein od milvado, there is no nature and no Hamas. What happened is somehow for the best and will go down in the annals of history along with the Holocaust as something we cannot understand why. Now, we look forward, never forgetting that the Guardian of Israel does not slumber and does not sleep!
That being said, we’re all nervous wrecks. We’re all shocked, appalled, suffering, and overwhelmed. We’re all glued to our phones and computers to check the news. Round-the-clock updates. It’s almost impossible to put it down.
However, the solution is specifically the opposite – stop looking at the news and start praying! Here is why:
Sitting around looking at “what is going on” is just a trap of the Evil Inclination. It might even dress up like a tzaddik, saying “Oh, you need to know what exactly to pray for, and to pray with more feeling.” This is all a lie, for a few reasons:
- The media is part of the Other Side, it’s not from the side of holiness. It sells lies and slander all the time. Even if it’s “true,” it’s not the whole truth, which is emuna and Hashem. Whatever you read is only taking you away from the simple emuna and truth of the Almighty God and the true emuna that Hashem loves you, everything is good, and it’s only getting better and better.I refer once again to Rabbi Arush’s article (Who Doesn’t Like to Pay?) about how the biggest judgements come specifically from our difficulty in truly believing this, and that being unable to believe that it’s only getting better can create the reality that it won’t, Hashem should save us!
- Watching the media makes it hard to hold on to your emuna, because the media makes us afraid, anxious, depressed, sad, and worse. All those negative emotions are the opposite of emuna! Rebbe Nachman teaches that what you are afraid of is allowed to rule you. That’s incredibly dangerous at any time, and especially right now. We want to be 100% only under Hashem’s personal Divine Providence. For that, we need to fear only Him and look only to Him and believe only in His power and guidance. If we’re looking only to His Providence, we are not biting our nails over what already happened and what might happen in the next moment.Only when we disconnect from the news, can we connect to the emuna truth we need to hear and repeat to ourselves constantly: Every bullet and every missile has its address; everything comes only from Hashem Who loves us. Even when, G-d forbid, He takes people in the sanctification of His Name, even that is good and from love in a way we simply cannot understand in this world. Every one of us is here for a purpose and a rectification. If it’s our rectification to die, then there is no escaping it. If not, there is even less reason to be afraid! Whatever it is, only Hashem is in charge – not Hamas, not chance, not the wind, and not anything else, including the Iron Dome!
- The media desensitizes you. You become numb. In addition to the fear and sadness which shuts down the heart and thus the ability to speak, you stop being sensitive to the suffering in the same way.Hence, now you have less emuna, more fear, and more numbness. Most of the time, that creates a blocked heart that cannot pour forth words of personal prayer or emotion into Psalms and the like. You become totally neutralized – which of course is the goal of the Evil Inclination that told you to “check the news” in the first place!
Why is this Evil Inclination to see what is happening so difficult to overcome? Because it’s part of the sin of Adam. In checking the news, we are grasping onto straws in a subconscious effort to take back some semblance of control when we feel so scared and so helpless.
The key is to take that fear and helplessness and turn it into prayer to Hashem! Because we truly are helpless – but only to Him!
And Hashem has the biggest Hands and the biggest Shoulders that can protect us and carry us and provide for us, without or without natural means.
It’s very hard to let go of the desire to be in control, to be “like G-d” and know everything that is going on, as if it’s going to help us manage or control the future. But the more we can “let go and let G-d” so to speak, the more we will be more relaxed and filled with emuna – which Rabbi Arush calls “the ability to cope.” Who doesn’t need that right now?
Then there is simply the incredible amount of wasted time spent checking on the situation! Set a timer for five minutes and see how little you manage to do. I found it to be more like 15 – 20 minutes, multiple times a day!
Let’s compare that to praying for the Jewish people – every word is equivalent to the number of Jews, which thank G-d still stands at approximately 15 million according to Rabbi Arush. So, in five minutes you just did BILLIONS of mitzvot! Forget about one hour! Even one sentence is so precious!!!
Finally, there is the psychological reality that when someone does something to help himself, there is less trauma and feelings of paralysis and helplessness. Checking the news only adds to these feelings and makes everything WORSE, not better. But sitting down and praying makes you feel so much better, because here you actually did something to help yourself and the situation! There is just so much that needs to be done right now and so many prayers that need to be said – get to work! Who has time and energy to waste?
Hence, the Evil Inclination ensnares us and makes us think that by checking the news we’ll feel better and more in control. In reality, he is just selling us spam that makes us sick. He makes us unable to do what really will make us feel better and will give us power to make things better – words of emuna and prayer.
I readily admit that it’s really hard to stop checking in, but you’ll feel so much better as you conquer the drive, and really the addiction, to the news, to the news-feed, and everything like it. You’ll feel better because you’re not ingesting poison, and because G-d willing now you’ll be freer to pray and follow the rest of Rabbi Arush’s advice which really will help you take back your personal power!
Make sure to also read Rabbi Arush’s newest update on the situation, Redemption is the News here.
The Jewish people is counting on you now to do your part – don’t let the Evil Inclination neutralize you!
PS. After I wrote this article, a hidden tzaddik spoke about the great need to learn Torah and pray Psalms instead of listening to the news, “which is all nonsense; all the news is against religion, against Torah, against the Land of Israel.”
With Hashem’s help, I will be continuing this series with more advice on how to cope in the aftermath and the war, whether you’re in Israel or abroad.
***
Rachel Avrahami grew up in Los Angeles, CA, USA in a far-off valley where she was one of only a handful of Jews in a public high school of thousands. She found Hashem in the urban jungle of the university. Rachel was privileged to read one of the first copies of The Garden of Emuna in English, and the rest, as they say, is history. She made Aliyah and immediately began working at Breslev Israel.
Rachel is now the Editor of Breslev Israel’s English website. She welcomes questions, comments, articles, and personal stories to her email: rachel.avrahami@breslev.co.il.
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October 15, 2023 https://www.thinkforyourselfpublishing.com/only-fear-hashem/
I couldn’t get into my blog for three days…
Maybe it got hacked, maybe it didn’t.
Who knows.
In the meantime, I’m here to tell you that the only thing to fear right now is Hashem.
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Like so many of us, I have been on a crazy roller-coaster ride of ‘OK’ and ‘not-so-OK’ the last week, but I feel like all the tehillim, all the prayers, the teshuva, the mesirut nefesh, the chessed, the people getting behind the Rav and following instructions – it’s all starting to send some light into what is still a very heavy and dark situation.
Our enemies are still pulling the wool over so many people’s eyes with all their propaganda about ‘Iran, Iran, Iran’.
And now also ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’.
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Bottom line:
It’s the US that is behind what is going on now.
Without the shadow of a doubt.
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But that’s not what I’m here to tell you, or harp on.
The truth is coming out all over the place – and there is nothing they can do to stop it.
But in the meantime, we need to keep the prayers and all the other stuff going.
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Tachlis:
The Rav a few days ago said this:
Everyone should take it upon themselves to say the Book of Psalms, because now they want to enter Gaza.
They are afraid and therefore they are pushing it off.
They are scared thousands of soldiers could die.
When you go in [to Gaza], you can’t tell who’s a terrorist and who’s a soldier.
They could start shooting each other, and a thousand soldiers could die from the gunfire of our own forces.
The war has been 4 days (during the lesson) and they have not yet entered Gaza, they are scared to death to enter Gaza – who knows who will live and who will die.
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The Rav’s lessons are full of hints and secrets.
When he tells you: a thousand soldiers could die from being shot at by our own forces, he is hinting to some very terrible things about what is really going on here, God forbid.
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In the meantime, please also do whatever you can to get the Rav’s prayers around to as many soldiers, people and bases as you can.
One of the Rav’s gabbays put out a message last week that even a tenuous link to the Rav – even just having one of his unnamed prayers in your home – is enough to be considered to be ‘connected’ into the circle of the Tzaddik.
This is the prayer the Rav wrote especially to protect our soldiers now:
 Prayer for the soldiers Click to Enlarge
Print off a few copies, and give them out to as many people, as many soldiers, as you can.
They don’t need to know it’s from the Rav.
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In the meantime, I am personally praying we stay the heck out of Gaza, and that this all ‘dies down’ again so we can get to the way more important job of figuring out who the real traitors in our midst are.
And which State, or ‘States’, planned and financed the terrible pogrom on so many thousands of Jews last Shabbat, with the help of those traitors in our midst.
God has His own way of dealing with our enemies, and sending hundreds of thousands of our precious Jews into narrow, booby-trapped alleyways, following orders from people who at the very least are covering up for the mass murderers of thousand of Jews doesn’t sound like the best plan, at this stage.
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Remember this:
The Rav said that if a war does happen, God forbid, it will end with an earthquake.
He also said many, many times over the last few years that in the month of Cheshvan, the sea will be full of ships from the nations of the world coming to attack Israel.
And the sea will split miraculously, and all those enemy ships will sink to the bottom of the ocean.
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When Gush Katif was destroyed as per the instructions of our same ‘friends’ in sheeps’ clothing 18 years ago, there was a lot of rumours discussing an imminent tsunami hitting Gaza, and explaining that this was the reason the Jews had been moved out.
Take a look at THIS (it’s a xtian blog, but it preserved some links on the ‘geula’ blogs from around that time.)
This is a snippet:
“A recent Jewish prophetic blog was posted on August 5, 2005 on both the Years of Awe and the “Moshiach and Geula, End of Days Prophecies, Geula, Moshiach, Gog and Magog,”orthodox and mystical Jewish blogsite that made the following claim. The claimant for this post referenced the Hebrew site, Moriyah.org, stated:
Years of Awe and Moshiach and Geula – HaRav Baruch Shapira, ztvk”l, said ten years ago: “I am a big prophet and head of the 36 hidden tzaddikim, and my prophecy is that in the future they will drive out complete settlements from the Gaza Strip, and immediately afterwards there will be a very strong earthquake in the area of Gaza and a huge wave will come and wash away the whole area into the sea, along with all the Palestinians.“
====
Those tsunami rumours resurfaced again in 2014.
But the bit that was ‘missing’ from all those discussions is that you need massive earthquakes, in order to have massive tsunamis.
In 2023, right now, the earthquakes are picking up all over the world.
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A couple of months ago, the Rav talked repeatedly about big quakes hitting Israel, but said that the quakes won’t harm Jews, and will just cause the mosques and churches to fall.
Earthquake = tsunami = sea splitting and enemy warships being totally sunk to the bottom of the ocean = Gaza flooded.
(There is some weird kink in the topography of the sea bed in the Mediterranean, that appears to suggest that if a massive tsunami does hit, Gaza will take the brunt. But clearly, still a very serious circumstance, and still a lot of prayers required for everyone.)
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So, let God do His thing.
And do yours, by praying, making teshuva and carrying on with the kindnesses and the charity.
Over the next 30 days of Cheshvan:
> Every day, women should aim for one whole book of tehillim a day – but do whatever you can manage, without letting yourself off the hook.
> And men should aim for three books a day, plus 10 pages of Gemara – but again, do whatever you can manage and push yourself to just keep doing a bit more.
> Turn off the lying news – it just pulls people into despair and fear.
And then the miracles will come.
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Honestly?
The miracles are already coming.
A week ago this time – I truly thought we’d be in the middle of a war on three fronts, thousands of rockets every day and God forbid, thousands of precious Jews bogged down in Gaza being killed by yet more ‘friendly fire’ (ahem….)
None of that is happening.
Yet.
And BH, it won’t happen at all.
But keep going with the tehillim and prayers!
Because only the ‘voice of Yaakov’ can finally destroy the ‘Iron Swords’ of Esav, once and for all.
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By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels – 16November2023 https://nocamels.com/2023/11/from-parenting-to-practicalities-baby-forum-evolves-for-wartime/
Israelis struggling during the country’s ongoing war with Hamas have found support from an unexpected quarter – an online platform for new parents that now also offers access to a range of free services from temporary housing and professional counseling to babysitting and home-cooked meals.
The Jama website was created to help guide new parents through the first period after childbirth by connecting them to one another and offering them free and paid professional seminars.
But now, recognizing a broader demand during wartime, it has created a universal marketplace for Israelis wanting to offer their skills and services for free to those in need.
The original site was born in 2019, just a few months after co-founder and COO Maya Dayan Shalev found herself struggling with postpartum depression following the birth of her first child.
“When I became a new mom, I felt like I was diving into this world without any preparation, without anyone to guide me and without anyone to hold my hand,” she tells NoCamels.
“We used to raise kids in tribes, in communities, and somewhere along the way, things changed and we now do it all alone,” she says. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
When Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting 240 others, Israelis around the country rushed to help the victims and their families – and the soldiers quickly called up to wage war on the terror group.
But according to Maya, there was not a unified channel to coordinate the outpouring of goodwill.
“We saw that so many people wanted to help one another,” says Maya. “There was no one place that could organize everything in a smart way.”
Maya and her brother Kfir Dayan, Jama’s CEO and co-founder, quickly realized that they in fact already had their own platform that had been created solely to bring people together.
As Jama was created as a map showing users the location of other parents nearby with children of a similar age, it was easy to adapt to its new purpose.
“We took our map that usually connects between parents and parenting events, and turned it into a place to offer any kind of help you want, or to come and [accept] that help,” says Kfir.
The Jama team – which consists of both Israeli and Ukrainian developers – needed just 48 hours to add a new section and make it accessible to all Israelis in need.
The site’s artificial intelligence platform, which analyzes data provided during registration and subsequent navigation to provide the most relevant content, is now also used to suggest services required by the new wave of users.
“That’s what I love most about the Israeli nation,” says Kfir. “When you’re in trouble, people that don’t even know you will come and help you.”
The first feature of the new section, which is called Jama Help, was a way for people to advertise homes and rooms available to people who had to evacuate from southern Israel due to the security situation with Gaza.
From there, Jama Help expanded to include donations for army equipment and professional and psychological services. And then Israelis with no professional training in mental health also joined the platform, offering to do whatever they could for anyone in need.
“People wanted to offer any kind of help. There was someone who wanted to cook for others, teachers who wanted to teach students for free,” says Maya.
“It was amazing to see how much help there was in just a few days. It really warmed our hearts.”
Today, Jama Help is open to anyone who wants or is in need of assistance of any kind.
Registration for Jama Help requires providing some basic data such as location, a phone number and date of birth. For now, the site is only in Hebrew, but the siblings plan to make it available in English too.
Thousands have now signed up to both offer assistance and find a helping hand, says Maya.
Users who want to offer a service simply click on the plus sign at the side of the map, which takes them to a form where they select the kind of service they have, such as a vacant apartment or room or professional help, the dates and location of the assistance, and how many people can be accommodated.
And while there are other initiatives that attempt to coalesce both services on offer and requests for help on a single platform, Kfir says that Jama Help’s AI shows users the most relevant offers for them based on their activity on the website.
“I think that all of us as startups – and as people – have the ability to affect for good,” says Maya.
“That was the inspiration behind Jama Help: the belief that everyone has the ability to help, and the knowledge that we had the technology to make it possible.”
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November 5, 2023 by Lazer Brody
Functional Trauma Stress Disorder: Civilians Under Siege
 FTSD-Functional Trauma Stress Disorder-Civilians Under Siege Everyone is aware of PTSD – post-trauma stress disorder. This is the emotional and psychosomatic aftermath of war and severe life-threatening situations. Yet, few people – unless they live in the Ukraine, Israel or any other place with constant or prolonged wartime conditions, are aware of FTSD – functional trauma stress disorder.
The Severity of FTSD
Several aspects FTSD render it a greater challenge that PTSD. for example:
- While PTSD is post-trauma, FTSD is ongoing trauma.
- While PTSD is easy to recognize and identify, FTSD is not.
- Therapists are very familiar with PTSD, but less so with FTSD.
- While those with PTSD are usually willing to seek and accept help, those with FTSD might not even be aware that they need help.
- PTSD sufferers are rarely in denial. FTSD sufferers are liable to consider their suffering as a weakness and therefore use denial as a defense mechanism.
The FTSD Lab
The Current Simchat Torah War (aka “Iron Shields”) began with the Hamas massacre of 1400 innocent Israelis on October 7, 2023. That day was both Shabbat and Simchat Torah. The entire nation of Israel went from extreme joy to extreme fury and indignation. Hamas kidnapped another 241 people (at the time of this writing – the count goes up almost daily). Yet, the south of Israel continues to bear the brunt of the war. For years, southern Israeli cities, towns and villages have suffered intermittent rocket fire. Every child under the age of 16 has been born into the reality of bomb shelters. As a health coach, spiritual guide and former IDF combat soldier, many people have sought my help. The following is the result of my personal experience and observation.
The Symptoms of FTSD
People with acute FTSD suffer one or more of the following symptoms:
- Disorientation – in the middle of a task, they forget what they were doing. They go from one room to another, and forget what they wanted to accomplish. Perhaps they open the refridgerator and forget what they wanted.
- Fuzzy thinking and lack of focus – they read a sentence 3 times and either lose their place or forget what they read.
- Difficulty in concentrating – they experience sluggishness and require much more time to accomplish routine tasks.
- Fear of the future – they fear that the next missile attack will hit them or their home. They also have a doomsday outlook where small problems mushroom in their minds to life-threatening dangers.
- Short-temperedness – they are easily aggravated and react sharply or with anger.
- Futility – this is especially pronounced among civilians and all those who are not able to actively share in the war effort.
- Sleep Disorders – wake up multiple times during the night.
- Digestive disorders – from extremes of loss of appetite to heavily emotional eating and dinking.
- Headaches, muscle tension and tightening, diaphram pain, difficulty in breathing and similar psychosomatic disorders that cause actual physical suffering.
- Sadness and depression.
Coping with FTSD
Conventional therapy doesn’t have effective answers to FTSD. The reason is that emotional strength comes from the soul. FTSD is the result of the current trauma being stronger than the soul in its current state. If the soul is stronger than the body, then it can cope with the current trauma and overcome it. But, the more the body overcomes the soul, the more it suffers from FTSD.
Coping with and overcoming FTSD necessitates strengthening the soul. We accomplish that by learning emuna. The body might worry about danger, but when the soul is strong in emuna, it elicits Hashem’s help in overcoming the danger. That is how King David can so calmly declare, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You [Hashem] are with me (Psalm 23:4).
In light of the above, prayer, recitation of Psalms and especially personal prayer are wonderful relievers of PTSD. Reading emuna books and most effective in neutralizing FTSD. I strongly recommend 3 Words of Emuna for immediate relief and 13 Principles of Emuna for longterm treatment.
Don’t Be in Denial
Be honest with yourself. Don’t be in denial. If you experience one or more of the abovementioned 10 symptoms, admit it to yourself. Living in the south of Israel, at one time or another, I’ve felt each one. Yet, I’ve coped and continue coping with the very same advice I give you, And remember: you don’t learn emuna from eating chocolate ice-cream. Challenging times are a wonderful opportunity to gain genuine spiritual and emotional growth. May Hashem help us to be successful and may we hear good news from one another, amen!
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The Judean Staff News 10January2024 https://thejudean.com/index.php/news/2332-israel-looking-to-replace-all-palestinian-labor-with-foreign-workforce
In the aftermath of the heinous October 7 attacks, Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat from the Likud party articulated a decisive albeit controversial strategy: phasing out Palestinian labor in favor of foreign workers, effectively shutting the doors to Palestinians which would have dire consequences for their economy, but bring many Israelis peace of mind. This shift is not just a reactionary measure to a single tragic event, but a profound reevaluation of national security and economic strategy.
On October 7, Israel experienced one of its darkest days, revealing vulnerabilities in its labor force composition. Speaking at a conferfence in Jerusalem, Minister Barkat pinpointed the employment of Palestinian workers as a security risk, alleging some were involved in intelligence gathering for Hamas. This accusation is part of a broader narrative that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is complicit, through its “pay-for-slay” program, in incentivizing violence against Israelis.
To mitigate this risk, Barkat proposes a radical overhaul of Israel’s labor market. The plan involves transitioning from Palestinian to foreign labor, emphasizing the need for rapid action. The minister’s plan is underpinned by the belief that foreign workers present a significantly lower security threat and can effectively fill Israel’s labor needs.
Currently, Israel hosts approximately 130,000 foreign workers but needs an additional 170,000 to meet demand. Barkat’s recent discussions with India’s economy minister highlight the global nature of this labor shift, with countries like India eager to participate. This move is not just about filling low-skilled jobs; it’s about strategically aligning Israel’s workforce with its economic ambitions, pushing Israeli workers towards high-tech and skilled sectors.
Barkat dismisses concerns of collective punishment towards Palestinians, arguing that Israel is not responsible for job creation in the Palestinian territories. He stresses that the PA must foster its own economic growth and employment opportunities.
In the broader context of Israel’s economy, Barkat remains optimistic. Despite temporary setbacks due to regional conflicts, he sees a pattern of resilience and growth in Israel’s economy, particularly in the high-tech sector. The government’s billion-shekel investment in building industry clusters, following Professor Michael E. Porter’s economic model, is a testament to this optimism. This initiative aims to foster public-private partnerships, boosting Israel’s competitive edge globally.
In conclusion, Barkat’s strategy represents a significant pivot in Israel’s labor and economic policies, driven by security concerns and economic aspirations. While the move may have profound implications for Israeli-Palestinian relations, it is seen by the minister as a necessary step in ensuring Israel’s long-term security and economic prosperity.
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Indians Set to Replace Palestinian Workers From Gaza/West Bank in Israeli Jobs After October 7 Massacre
DomPachino101-tweet-1April2024-Indians Set to Replace Palestinian Workers From Gaza-West Bank in Israeli Jobs
Indians Set to Replace Palestinian Workers From Gaza/West Bank in Israeli Jobs After October 7 Massacre
“Thousands of laborers are expected to work in the embattled construction sector, which relied almost exclusively on Palestinian workers before war.”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/04/indians-set-to-replace-palestinian-workers-from-gaza-west-bank-in-israeli-jobs-after-october-7-massacre/
 DomPachino101-tweet-1April2024-Indians Set to Replace Palestinian Workers From Gaza-West Bank in Israeli Jobs
By RAJESH KUMAR SINGH and BISWAJEET BANERJEE
Updated 3:04 PM GMT+3, January 25, 2024 https://apnews.com/article/india-israel-hamas-war-recruitment-jobs-646b684c10a4384213b399fe6c221151
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Thousands of Indians flocked to a recruitment center on Thursday for jobs that would take them to Israel despite the three-month Israeli-Hamas war that is devastating Gaza and threatening to ignite the wider Middle East.
Many among the crowd of men, mostly skilled construction workers and laborers, said they would take their chances in a country embroiled in war as they are struggling to find jobs in India, where unemployment remains high despite a swelling economy.
Anoop Singh, a college graduate and construction worker, was told he would make about $1,600 a month if he was selected to go to Israel — significantly more than the $360 to $420 he could get as a monthly wage for the same work in India.
“That’s why I have applied to go to Israel,” he said as he waited at the center in Lucknow, the capital of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, for his job interview.
The men said they had heard media reports that Israel is facing a labor shortage after barring tens of thousands of Palestinian workers following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
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Israeli agriculture and the Gaza War
This season’s yield of strawberries will also be lower than usual.
https://www.jns.org/imports-to-offset-israeli-shortage-of-onions-tomatoes/
(January 18, 2024 / JNS) Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture will increase imports of onions and tomatoes to offset a projected shortage through the end of March.
No shortages of peppers, carrots, potatoes or sweet potatoes are expected.
A gap in the supply of cabbage has been narrowed, and it is expected to return to normal in about two weeks.
The ministry added that this season’s yield of strawberries will be lower than usual, but the scope depends on the availability of professional workers for picking.
Israeli agriculture is facing staggering losses in production and manpower. Before Oct. 7, Israel had 29,900 foreigners, mostly Thais, working in farms, orchards, greenhouses and packing plants. Nearly all have returned to Thailand.
Farmers also employed 10,000-20,000 Palestinians, depending on the season, but they are currently denied entry into Green Line Israel.
Israeli workers who might have filled the gaps have been called up for military reserve duty.
And because of security concerns, farmers near the Gaza and Lebanese borders cannot access many of their fields and orchards.
A survey of 389 farmers conducted by the MIGAL Galilee Research Institute in November found that 89% of Israeli farmers had experienced some form of damage, and 96% expected more during the next three months. While farmers in the Gaza and northern regions have had the greatest disruption, all areas have been severely affected, and the impact is expected to continue for months to come.
Nearly three-quarters of the farmers, 72%, said they have experienced disruptions to their workforce, even in areas not near Gaza or Lebanon such as central Israel and the Jordan Valley.
Access was another problem cited by farmers, with 23% saying they couldn’t reach their fields to plant, pick crops or perform routine fertilizing or irrigation work, or damage control. Those farmers were primarily near the Gaza and Lebanese borders.
When asked to estimate their expected losses, farmers on average predicted a 35% drop in both production and revenue. But farmers in the area near the Gaza border—regarded as Israel’s breadbasket—projected on average a 70% loss of produce and 69% loss of income.
Reader’s Comments:
Zelda Torna
Many of us in Israel would rather eat more sweet potatoes and fewer tomatoes —- rather than put our lives at risk 24/7 with Palestinian workers in Israel’s Farms & Agricultural areas. Given the situation in the world today, surely there are more than enough foreign workers who will do an excellent job, and will NOT be a threat. On the contrary, it will improve relations with their home country….. because Israel treats its workers very well. Remember, it was Hamas who killed the Thai workers…..
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AI reviews scans at Sheba Medical Center and sends alerts to doctors’ phones, while at Hadassah, wounded soldiers recover quickly after surgeons remove bullets with robots
By Renee Ghert-Zand
17January2014 https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-cutting-edge-israeli-med-tech-is-boosting-survival-rates-of-war-wounded/
 Dr. Gal Yaniv sits next to his computer at Sheba Medical Center that shows how Aidoc platform used AI to identify potentially lethal tiny aneurysm in brain of Nova festival victim and immediately notified relevant medical staff to take action, December 28, 2023. (Renee Ghert-Zand/Times of Israel)
A 23-year-old woman was shot multiple times by Hamas terrorists from Gaza as they savagely attacked the outdoor Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. One of the bullets penetrated the woman’s left eye and lodged in the right side of her brain.
By the end of that horrific day, the terrorists had butchered 1,200 people in southern Israel, mainly civilians. An additional 240 were taken hostage to Gaza. Thousands of others, like the woman from the festival, were injured and rushed to Israeli hospitals.
Fortunately, the young woman survived.
She and other wounded civilians and soldiers have not only doctors and other medical staff to thank for saving their lives, but also new Israeli-developed medical technologies.
The death rate among wounded soldiers in the current war is 6.7 percent, which is less than half the rate during the Second Lebanon War and 2.5% less than that during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.
This can be attributed to faster evacuations from the battlefield to hospitals (an average of one hour and 6 minutes faster) and better protective equipment. However, medical advances based on new technologies developed since earlier conflicts also play a critical role in boosting the survival rate.
 llustrative: Lahak-United Hatzalah medivac teams fly air rescue missions across Israel’s south on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy United Hatzalah) Artificial intelligence streamlines patient treatment
Upon arrival at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, the woman from the music festival underwent a variety of scans, and a bleed was detected in one of the arteries in her brain.
“I got a notification when any patient with a brain bleed came in that day,” said Dr. Gal Yaniv, head of endovascular surgery at Sheba.
That notification came not as a call from his colleagues at the hospital, but via an automatic alert to his computer and an app on his phone thanks to an artificial intelligence platform called Aidoc.
Every scan done at Sheba is pushed through a dedicated server programmed with Aidoc’s pathology-detecting technology. A radiologist will also read the scan, but Aidoc acts faster and is critically important when every lifesaving moment counts.
“Time is life. Aidoc sends the push notification to the relevant doctor wherever they are for treating the problem. When they get it, they can see the patient’s scans and begin streamlining their treatment plan and the necessary intervention immediately,” Yaniv said.
“In a mass casualty event like October 7 and the war, Aidoc is especially useful in assisting us to triage and prioritize care for patients,” Yaniv said.
“In a mass casualty event like October 7 and the war, Aidoc is especially useful in assisting us to triage and prioritize care for patients,” Yaniv said.
Yaniv is co-founder and chief medical officer at Aidoc, which provides 17 AI solutions for radiology (X-rays, computed tomography, and ultrasound). The company was established at Sheba in 2016 and has been used at the hospital since 2018. Now some 1,200 hospitals worldwide are using the platform.
Thanks to this advanced AI technology, Sheba’s neurovascular team was able to act quickly in the Supernova victim’s case. An angiogram detected a tiny aneurysm in a small distal vessel in her brain that had to be closed immediately to prevent a dangerous re-rupture, which would have likely led to death.
“Fortunately, everything was caught in time and treated properly and the young woman is now recovering from this and her other wounds in our rehabilitation center,” Yaniv said.
Using surgical robots to remove bullets and shrapnel
 Prof. Leon Kaplan performs robot-guided minimally invasive spine surgery to remove a bullet from an injured IDF soldier at Hadassah Medical Center, December 2023. (Courtesy of Hadassah) At Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Dr. Josh Schroeder, head of the spinal deformities surgery department, has used robots in his work for the last decade.
“Robotic spine surgery to treat scoliosis and other deformities is our bread and butter. The robot guides us in the placement of pedicle screws, for example,” Schroeder said.
While surgical robotic technology has been around a while, Schroeder, along with Prof. Leon Kaplan, and Prof. Meir Liebergall, used it in a novel way in late December to treat a soldier who had a bullet stuck in his sacrum, the large triangular bone at the base of the spine.
Leaving the bullet in the body was not an option, as it would affect the nerves going down the leg and could also lead to lead poisoning.
“The soldier was initially brought to another hospital, and they said they could only operate by opening up the body. We said we could do robotically-assisted minimally invasive surgery. It would take no more than one and a half hours instead of half a day. And the recovery would be much easier and quicker,” Schroeder said.
The Hadassah surgeons used the Mazor robotic guidance system sold by the Israeli company Medtronic. Hadassah has one such robot at each of its Jerusalem campuses. The surgery to remove the bullet from the soldier was done at the Ein Kerem hospital.
 Bullet removed from injured IDF soldier by Hadassah Medical Center spine surgeons using robot-guided minimally invasive surgery, December 2023. (Courtesy of Hadassah)
The team uploaded computed tomography scans from before the surgery and two “fluoro shots” (X-rays) taken in surgery. The robot merged all this input and calculated the exact location for the surgeons to go in and extract the bullet.
“We’ve also used the robot to do minimally invasive surgery to fix fractures in soldier’s spines, remove shrapnel, and treat various injuries of October 7 victims,” Schroeder said.
“We can do this because the robot gives us the perfect trajectory for going in to fix the problem,” he said.
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![Keppler, Victor. Buy war bonds: Third War Loan., poster, 1943; [Washington, D.C.]](http://www.jerusalemcats.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Buy-War-Bonds.png)
Hamas on Campus
Lawfare against Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Stop the Anti-Semitism on campuses
Benjamin Netanyahu-tweet-24April2024-Stop the Anti-Semitism on campuses
Anti-Semitism on campuses in the United States is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s.
The world cannot stand idly by.
Benjamin Netanyahu-tweet-24April2024-Stop the Anti-Semitism on campuses
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UC-Berkeley Law Prof: Don’t Hire My Anti-Semitic Law Students
“It’s time for the adults to take over, and that includes law firms looking for graduates to hire.”
Posted by Mike LaChance October 16, 2023 https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/10/uc-berkeley-law-prof-dont-hire-my-anti-semitic-law-students/
Steven Davidoff Solomon is trying to hold these students accountable. There is a lot of this going around right now and it’s encouraging.
He writes at the Wall Street Journal:
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CEOs Vowing Not to Hire Harvard Students Who Signed Letter Blaming Israel for Hamas Attack
“I would like to know so I know never to hire these people”
Posted by Mike LaChance, 12October2023 https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/10/ceos-vowing-not-to-hire-harvard-students-who-signed-letter-blaming-israel-for-hamas-attack/
Some of the student groups at Harvard who signed on to this are already scrambling to distance themselves from it. This is why.
The New York Post reports:
Joel M. Petlin-tweet-2November2023-message for the deans of law schools
Some of the largest law firms in the country have a message for the deans of law schools who have tolerated Antisemitic activities conducted by their students:
If you want your graduates to get good jobs in our law firms, stop producing Antisemites.
Joel M. Petlin-tweet-2November2023-message for the deans of law schools
largest law firms-Letter to Deans
UPDATE:
Joel M. Petlin-tweet-12November2023-message for the deans of law schools
More law firms keep lining up in the fight against Antisemitism.
There are now 2️⃣0️⃣6️⃣ firms that have signed the @sullcrom
letter to law school deans.
Each one sends an important message. I hope that they get it and remove Antisemitic students and faculty from their campuses.
Joel M. Petlin-tweet-12November2023-message for the deans of law schools
largest law firms-Letter to Deans-12November2023
Examples of Anti-Semitic Law Students
See Post: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/corporations/harvard-letter-israel-columbia-ivy-davis-polk-law-firm-student-rcna120881
NBC News-tweet-17October2023-Top US law firm Davis Polk announces it had rescinded letters of employment for three law students
The @ColumbiaSJP @ColumbiaJVP letter had nothing to do with supporting Palestine & everything to do with celebrating & glorifying the torture, murder and mutilation of 1,300 Israelis and abduction of an additional 200. Civilians. Women. Babies. Innocents.
Do better, @Newsweek.
HonestReporting-tweet-18October2023-The @ColumbiaSJP @ColumbiaJVP letter had nothing to do with supporting Palestine & everything to do with celebrating & glorifying the torture, murder and mutilation of 1,300 Israelis and abduction of an additional 200. Civilians. Women. Babies. Innocents.
Do better, @Newsweek
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Statement on Israel and Anti-Semitism From Leading Asset Managers
Noah Pollak-tweet-20November2023-Statement on Israel and Anti-Semitism From Leading Asset Managers
Some of the biggest names in finance have signed a public statement declaring they will not hire Hamas supporters and anti-semites at their firms:
“We call on our colleagues to join us in pledging to protect and support our Jewish and Israeli employees, family, and friends against violence and hate.”
Signatories include @BillAckman, @CliffordAsness, David Einhorn, Michael Steinhardt, Sander Gerber, Jon Jacobson, Peter Feld, Seth Fisher, Jeff Talpins, Doug Silverman, Ross Stevens, @boazweinstein, @michaelfertik, Dan Sundheim, Ryan Tolkin, and many more. Over $1T total under management.
Thank you gentlemen for taking a stand.
Statement on Israel and Anti-Semitism From Leading Asset Managers
Alex Berger New York https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/asset-manager-community-supports-israel
Asset Manager Community Statement of Support for Israel
We stand united in our support for the State and people of Israel. We mourn the senseless and barbaric acts of mass terror. We condemn Hamas and their collaborators.
The attack in Israel is an attack on all of us. Israel is the Start-Up Nation. Its innovations make the world a better place.
We stand with Jewish communities around the world, which are experiencing antisemitic harassment and violence. We are profoundly disturbed by people who are indifferent when confronted with Jewish suffering or who organize to blame Jews and celebrate hate. Supporters of hate will have no place in our organizations or our community.
We call on our colleagues to join us in pledging to protect and support our Jewish and Israeli employees, family, and friends against violence and hate.
Since 1948, the State of Israel has been a source of hope, strength, and innovation. Israel has given our industry and the world an abundance of moral, intellectual, and material gifts. Now, in Israel’s hour of need, we, the undersigned, pledge to do everything we can to support the Jewish state and the Jewish people. We support Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, and against all people, states, and organizations who threaten the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Never again will we sit by while peace-loving people are slaughtered en masse.
***
The following are among the signatories to the petition.
Sander Gerber, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner, Hudson Bay Capital
Yoav Roth, Managing Partner, Hudson Bay Capital
Bill Ackman, Chief Executive Officer, Pershing Square Capital Management
Robert Agostinelli, Co-Founder, Rhone
Clifford Asness, Managing and Founding Principal, AQR
Brett Barth, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, BBR Partners
Zachary Berger, Managing Director, ArchPoint Investors
Andrew Bernstein, Chief Executive Officer, Aeolus Capital Management
Marty Burger, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Artisan RE Ventures
Douglas Cifu, CEO, Virtu Financial
Brett Cohen, JGB Management
Aaron Cowen, Chief Investment Officer, Suvretta
Alexander Crisses, Managing Director, General Atlantic
David Einhorn, President, Greenlight Capital
Isser Elishis, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Waterton Global Resource Management
Peter Feld, Managing Member, Starboard Value
Seth Fischer, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Oasis Management
Matan Friedman, Chief Investment Officer, Generate Capital
Stephen Goldstein, Senior Managing Director, Evercore
Adam Herz, Co-Founder, Coalition Investment Partners
Jon Jacobson, Non-Executive Chairman, HighSage Ventures
Todd Kantor, Founder and Managing Member, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC
Adam Katz, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Irenic Capital Management
Jeremy Katz, President and Chief Operating Officer, D1 Capital
Ilya Koffman, Founder and Managing Partner, Turnspire Capital Partners
Jonathan Kolatch, Partner, Jasper Lake LLC
Greg Lippman, Chief Investment Officer, LibreMax Capital
Marc Majzner, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Clearline Capital
Candice Richards, MidOcean Partners
Evan Roth, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, BBR Partners
Steven Roorda, Partner, Stonebridge Capital
George Rohr, President, NCH Capital
Douglas Silverman, Managing Partner, Senator Investment Group
Paul Singer, Chief Executive Officer, Elliott Management
Michael Steinhardt, Steinhardt Management
Ross Stevens, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Stone Ridge Asset Management
Dan Sundheim, Founder, D1 Capital
Jeffrey Talpins, Chief Executive Officer, Element Captial
Udi Toledano, Managing Partner, Good Springs Capital
Ryan Tolkin, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Schonfeld
Boaz Weinstein, Founder, Saba Capital
Rich Abbe, General Partner, Iroquois Capital
Aimee Almeleh, BlueMountain Capital
Alex Berger, Managing Director, Hudson Bay Capital
Scott Black, Chief Legal Officer, Hudson Bay Capital
Shlomo Cohen, Managing Director, Jones Trading
Halit Coussin, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Pershing Square Capital Management
Seth Damski, Chief Executive Officer, Old City Securities
Victoria Drabkin, Senior Vice President, Macquarie
David Feldman, Portfolio Manager, L1
Michael Fertik, Founder & Managing Director, Heroic Ventures
Jay Freedman, Principal, KPMG
Ian Jacobs, Managing Partner, 402 Capital
Max Karpel, Partner, Akin Gump
Nadav Klugman, Partner, Mayer Brown
Sam Leffell, Hudson Bay Capital
Alan Leifer, President, Leifer Capital Advisers, LLC
Noam Lipshitz, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
Amy Margolis, Hudson Bay Capital
Michael Masri, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Abel S. Osorio, Partner, Turnspire Capital Partners
Greg Racz, President and Co-Founder, MGG Investment Group
Zoya Raynes, Managing Director, Bank of America
Brian Rebhun, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
David Reichsfeld, JP Morgan
Adam Rosenbluth, Managing Director, Bank of America
Michael Roth, Ares
David Salanic, Co-Managing Partner, Whitefort Capital
Craig Sedaka, LibreMax Capital
Mark B. Spiegel, Stanphyl Capital
Matthew Weinstein, Portfolio Manager, Hudson Bay Capital
Rami Zaitchik, Director, Bank of America
Noah Pollak-tweet-20November2023-Statement on Israel and Anti-Semitism From Leading Asset Managers
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Harvard 2024
Harvard Chabad-tweet-25April2024-Harvard Passover 2024
I’m hearing from first-year students who, while studying for exams in their dorm room, are being confronted with terrifying chants of globalize the Intifada – a call for the murder of Jews. I’m now receiving calls from their parents who are frightened to learn that Hamas supporters are being allowed to camp out in Harvard Yard – in brazen defiance to the university’s explicit guidelines – and are chanting in support of terrorism and call for the murder of Jews.
The last two nights at the Harvard Chabad Seder table, along with Jews around the world, we read the words of the Passover Haggadah
how “in each and every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. And the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hands.” That those who seek the destruction of the Jewish people are receiving support from Harvard students and other university students around the country – as we heard today from Hamas, should shake every moral person to their core.
We call on University leadership to remove these Jew haters and Hamas lovers who are continuously and brazenly violating university code of conduct, not to mention their own humanity.
– Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, Jackie and Omri Dahan Harvard Chabad Jewish Chaplain
Harvard Chabad-tweet-25April2024-Harvard Passover 2024
Hillel Fuld-tweet–24April2024-Antisemitism in America is not so bad and you’re exaggerating
One month ago, I heard this sentence over and over: “You are being an alarmist. Antisemitism in America is not so bad and you’re exaggerating. It can never happen in America. The public wouldn’t allow it.”
Ladies and gentleman, Harvard, 2024.
Hillel Fuld-tweet-24April2024-Antisemitism in America is not so bad and you’re exaggerating
Yael Bar tur-tweet-15February2024-Harvard Yard 2024
Harvard Yard 2024: Jewish students woke up this morning to see posters of innocent Israeli hostages completely defaced.
Let’s put aside discussions of codes of conduct and ousted presidents for a moment. I want to ask @Harvard: what is the value of my degree when fellow students think that it’s acceptable to use intimidation and violence as an argument? What are they learning if they repeat hateful lies to a point where the face of a kidnapped baby held by Hamas for over 4 months is too offensive to bear?
Yael Bar tur-tweet-15February2024-Harvard Yard 2024
AsperGirl-tweet-15February2024-Harvard Graduate Hiring Freeze
1. Declare a boycott/moratorium on hiring Harvard grads
2. Recruit firms & large companies to sign on
Do we really want to encourage student bodies behind this culture? Students of the classes of 2024 – 2028 should be held to a standard
AsperGirl-tweet-15February2024-Harvard Graduate Hiring Freeze
Harvard Graduate Hiring Freeze
Bill Ackman-tweet-31December2023-Company Background Check Won’t Turn Up a Harvard Diploma
Bill Ackman-tweet-31December2023-Company Background Check Won’t Turn Up a Harvard Diploma
Company Background Check Won’t Turn Up a Harvard Diploma
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When You Realize Nearly Everyone In Your University Wants You Dead
How, how, how did this come to pass? There is no evil like the academic who provides the ideological foundation for the extermination of a people, and insists that you call that program “virtue.”
Posted by Andrew Pessin 22October2023 https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/10/when-you-realize-nearly-everyone-in-your-university-wants-you-dead/
University of Wisconsin–Madison 11October2023Hamas Israel Palestine Protest
Four days in, after explicit images of the slaughter had been blasting around the internet nonstop for days, my college administration, and my faculty colleagues, had remained silent. In contrast, when a single Black man died by a police officer far away a few years ago the place had exploded for days. When an administrator more recently scheduled an event at a venue that 40 years earlier had racist admissions policies there were weeks of outrage, the canceling of classes and then of the administrator. The misuse of pronouns here can get you disciplined on a bias charge, in this age of microaggressions and in the name of promoting inclusion.
But when (now) 1400+ Jews are slaughtered in cold blood, live on camera, there is—silence.
And not just slaughtered: bloodthirsty murderers going house to house, murdering entire families, children, grandparents, medics and first responders, raping women and little girls, abusing corpses, burning down houses with their families inside like in medieval times, paragliding into a music festival with automatic weapons gunning down 260 young adults (same age as our students), not to mention taking 200+ hostages (women, children, elderly) whom they have threatened to execute publicly (assuming they are still alive) —no different from the Nazi Einsatzgruppen, except that the Nazis didn’t have the ability to also livestream their atrocities—
There was silence.
Actually worse: business as usual. Chatter about upcoming events, department business, the usual weekly newsletters, announcements re upcoming meetings. Nothing to talk about, folks, it’s just Jews being slaughtered on the largest scale since the Holocaust.
“We must take care of our students”—a wonderful rallying cry that fills up our airwaves whenever any identity group is perceived to have received a harm, however abstract that harm is, however removed that harm might be from them directly and personally.
Except for Jews—whose family members, friends, and acquaintances were literally just gunned down, raped, burned alive, decapitated, all livestreamed. (They used one grandmother’s phone to film their execution of her, then posted the video to her own Facebook account so everyone she knew could witness it—which is how her family learned of her fate.)
How would they feel if that were their grandmother?
If they watched her be executed with their own eyes?
Did this community truly have no care or concern for its Jewish members?
I didn’t want to believe it.
But this isn’t just about my institution. Apart from a small handful of university presidents who responded appropriately (such as at the University of Florida), most were either silent like mine or (eventually) expressed tepid, neutral, general words of dismay without truly acknowledging what had just happened before our very eyes. Although admittedly these responses were at least marginally better than what happened and continues to happen on many other campuses: active, large, loud rallies where students and faculty and at least the occasional administrator openly endorsed and called for the deaths of Jews.
But only marginally: the silence, and the tepidness, convey the same message, if slightly less explicitly.
The problem is nearly—everywhere.
Other people saw the problem earlier, but for me it was around 2014 that I began to understand that nearly everyone not merely at my institution but at these very many institutions, including the best institutions, really—hated—the Jews. But since I first saw it I’ve also seen it getting worse, and now it is shockingly unambiguous. I no longer have the occasional worry that my concerns are maybe a little paranoid, apocalyptic, overly emotional.
It is now clear.
Many, many people in our universities don’t merely really hate the Jews, but actually—want them dead.
In 2023 America, not to mention around the globe.
Take a look at the rallies the first week after the massacre at Harvard, at Yale, at Princeton, at Columbia, at Georgetown, and at the University of North Carolina where one very excited young woman screamed exuberantly, “We are all of us Hamas!”
Hamas, which openly calls for, and acts to bring about, the death of every Jew on the planet.
At the University of Washington rally “for Palestine” a young woman Jewish student was filmed sobbing in front of a seemingly indifferent administrator, “Why are you allowing this to happen here? They want us dead!”
How, how, how did this come to pass?
Know this to start: Israel is home to half the world’s Jews, and the majority of the other half are closely connected to it, identify with it, support it, have family, friends, acquaintances there. It is safe to assume that most Jewish persons on your campus either know someone who was just murdered in their homes or taken hostage and perhaps soon to be executed publicly, or knows someone who does. That means not only that most Jews on your campus have just suffered an incalculable concrete personal loss, but that anyone who wants Israeli Jews dead must also want these Jews dead—because these Jews mostly support those Jews, and may even be related to them.
There is no comfort in imagining, well maybe they want to kill the Jews there, but here, in the US of A, in 2023, I am safe.
Do not forget that point.
This may be the US of A in 2023, but what we’re seeing is an old story, dressed up fresh for the 21st century Western world.
Years of lies, fertilizing the soil, all deliberately designed to delegitimize and dehumanize the Jew, to label the Jew as inhuman, demonic, pure evil. Once you are convinced that the Jew represents evil, then killing Jews becomes not only acceptable but even obligatory. If the Jew is evil, then you in turn must be a very good person in killing him. The Christians did this for centuries, portraying the Jew as literally the fleshly embodiment of evil in their rejection and crucifixion of Jesus. The Germans and the Nazis did this for decades in racial terms, inspired by the antisemitic conspiracy-theory forgery Protocols of the Elders of Zion, even developing a whole academic discipline to document and thus demonstrate the evils of the Jews. After some decades of this program, killing Jews isn’t merely easier but becomes an act of virtue.
The newer lies, now also several decades old, are merely superficial variations on the older lies, aiming to better reflect the specific evils of today. The charges of “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing,” “settler colonialism,” “apartheid,” and more recently “Jewish supremacy,” not to mention probably every single thing most people believe about Gaza—you may be sure that all of these are lies, in fact easily documentable and demonstrable lies for anyone who takes a few minutes to honestly evaluate them. (Maybe people don’t know that rather unlike most “open air prisons” or “concentration camps” Gaza has four-star hotels and restaurants, luxury cars, ritzy malls, affluent neighborhoods, fancy beach resorts, and an obesity problem, not to mention a massive military infrastructure.) These charges don’t have to be true, they just have to be widely circulated, widely repeated, and widely believed, so that the Jew becomes the embodiment of whatever is considered most evil today.
And this is what the “pro-Palestinian” movement, along with its numerous “progressive” allies, has successfully accomplished.
After twenty years of the “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions” (BDS) movement against Israel, orchestrated on campus by the now more than 200 chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), their short-term goal, that of damaging Israel economically, was a bust; but the long-term goal, the real goal, has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Whether or not a particular BDS resolution passes or fails on a given campus, the campaign itself soaks the campus in all the lies above for weeks on end, year after year. Most students don’t really follow the details, but come away thinking, man, those Jews with their genocide, apartheid, and supremacy, must really be pretty evil.
And now in 2023 no one blinks an eye when SJP asserts boldly, baldly, as if factually, on their recent social media celebrating the slaughter of 1400 Jews, that every single Israeli Jew is a “settler.” In today’s campus vernacular the slur “settler” rivals in evilness the slur “Nazi,” which they also sling against Israelis. If every Israeli Jew is a settler, then every Israeli Jew is evil, and therefore legitimately murdered. That includes the babies, and the grandmothers, and the unarmed dancing teenagers, and by the way it also justifies torturing them and raping the women before you murder them, which also occurred on a significant scale. (The first report to the Red Cross on the hostages noted that many suffered from “severe injuries due to rape.”)
Every Israeli Jew is guilty. And if every Israeli Jew is guilty, is evil, then so is every other Jew who supports them and may even be related to them.
There are no innocent Jews.
The actual Nazis couldn’t have orchestrated it better.
Those administrators, those faculty members, those students who say nothing while 1400 Jews are slaughtered—and livestreamed, with the most horrific recordings circulating the globe getting millions of views and shares and likes and celebratory comments—Do they remain silent because they too believe these Jews actually—deserve this?
One liberated kibbutz included the bodies of 40 babies.
Babies.
Some beheaded.
Are there no innocent Jews, who don’t deserve this fate?
Babies, grandmothers, dancing peaceniks, living in their ancestral homeland, in an internationally recognized UN member state, in territory that is not disputed except by those who believe that no Jew is innocent?
If they can’t condemn this—if they remain silent—then they must believe these Jews deserve it. I can draw no other conclusion. Is it possible that these academic colleagues, sophisticated, educated, refined, “experts” in values—for do they not daily proclaim their expertise in values, in their anti-racism, their anti-hate, their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion?—is it possible that the people we work with, share offices with, who teach our children, share the belief and value system of the ancient and medieval Christians, the modern Nazis?
And of the contemporary Islamic Resistance Movement, otherwise known as Hamas?
Hamas has made no secrets of its views. From its founding charter—which literally openly endorses the murder of every Jew on earth, and quotes repeatedly, and “factually,” from the antisemitic Nazi-worshipped forgery Protocols in order to support its view that every Jew deserves to be murdered—to literally every action, every behavior, and every statement in the 40 years since, it has been telling you exactly what it thinks.
They tell us this openly, and have been telling us this openly for decades. A week after the massacre their leaders called on every Muslim on earth to bring the jihad to everywhere on earth, which prompted attacks in several European countries and had the FBI on alert here.
This isn’t hard to figure out. This movement is not about peace, about negotiation, not about “two states,” not about “justice,” not about Palestinian self-determination, not even about bettering the lives of Palestinians, all the things that should rightly matter to genuine progressives.
It is about murdering every Jew on earth, starting with the ones in Israel. (They also are interested in removing Christians, for the record, but the Jews are the first priority.)
That the animus is not restricted to Israeli Jews is also clear by the global reaction. Mass rallies in major cities around the globe, celebrating the slaughter and attacking local Jews and Jewish institutions. And back to campuses: SJP immediately launched a social media campaign celebrating this mass slaughter of Jews (which they call “resistance”), and then launched a campaign to “bring the resistance” to every campus they could, in order to “dismantle” Zionism on every campus. Lovely words—except when “resistance” openly means “slaughter every Jew,” when “dismantling Zionism” means removing, “by any means necessary,” anyone on campus who believes that Jews have human rights too, and when they illustrate their campaign with a celebratory image of the paraglider armed with automatic weapons about to embark on gunning down every unarmed dancing teenager in his sight.
This is open endorsement of, and incitement to, mass homicidal violence—occurring on, and directed towards, not only Israel and Israelis but our very campuses.
They don’t even hide it. They’re proud about it.
They were exulting in it.
“We are all Hamas!” the young woman in North Carolina screamed. Can you imagine if she were your roommate, your classmate, your student?
Hamas, SJP, have never hid their intentions. “Resistance,” and “By any means necessary,” even “decolonization,” are the sanitized way they like to put it, but as you see them chuckle in glee, in ecstasy, over this mass slaughter, giving those snuff videos millions of views and likes and glowing reviews, it looks a lot less sanitary.
When an openly genocidal Jew-hating group declares, and then perpetrates, their intention to slaughter Jews, is it not advisable to #BelieveThem?
And when a campus group does the same?
Silence?
Really?
Is there any other identity group about which it would be acceptable to celebrate their mass slaughter, and campaign to bring that slaughter to your campus? What exactly are all those diversity and inclusion administrators paid to do, if not to prevent this?
Or at least condemn it?
But silence is what we got on my campus, and on many campuses.
Is that because people—our administrators, our colleagues, our students—agree? That every Jew is guilty, that every Jew is evil, that every Jew must be eliminated?
Is that what they are thinking, when they look at their Jewish colleagues, students—at you—even if they are good enough not to say it aloud?
That the answer is yes is supported by what, of course, predictably, happened next.
Jews began to defend themselves. And the world, including campuses, promptly erupted and continues to erupt in outrage at every single measure Jews take in so doing. There isn’t a single nation on earth that wouldn’t respond massively to such an attack, but when Jews do it, every measure is instantly labeled an aggression, an atrocity, a war crime, there will be international tribunals, etc. That is because in their eyes Jews do not have the right to defend themselves, the right that all other human beings have—because after a generation of the program academics and their students now apparently believe that Jews are so demonic they are not even endowed with the “human rights” championed by all the anti-Israel “human rights” NGOs, whose condemnations of Israeli self-defense are as loud as anyone else’s.
One other thing also happened next. The more decent among the academy did have some words of concern about the massacre but couldn’t resist even a nanosecond before appending to those words their “explanations,” their “context,” the “nuance,” the “what choice did they have” rhetoric—invoking, after all, the “blockade,” the “occupation,” the “apartheid,” etc. The lies, the damned lies, doing all the work, obscuring the fact that the Palestinians, even Hamas, did and do have many other choices available besides slaughtering Jews, including that of actually making peace with Israel.
One academic actually said the following to me. The reason she was silent to that point wasn’t that she hated Jews, she said, but that she was trying to understand the conflict from multiple sides, because it is after all extremely complicated. When this person was confronted with the mass sadistic slaughter of 1400 mostly civilian Jews including babies, in other words, her response was “I need to hear more perspectives.” Imagine saying on a campus today that you were suspending judgment on the George Floyd case, and on the general phenomenon of anti-Black racism, and while you’re at it on slavery too because the situation is “complicated” and there are other “sides,” including the side that held that all Blacks are evil and deserve to be enslaved or eliminated.
Is there any other identity group about which it would be acceptable to justify their mass slaughter by providing “context,” insisting on “nuance,” wanting to see the “other side”?
Academics are supposed to be in the subtlety and nuanced business, and indeed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is complex, and there is lots of room for reasonable debates about many aspects of it.
But that is not what’s going on here.
The issue at hand really is extraordinarily simple: either those raped and murdered and abused and burned and decapitated babies and families and grandmothers deserved that fate, or they did not. Any “but,” any “explanation,” any “context,” any “complication,” any “both sides,” any “all lives matter” (as many of those tepid university statements exhibited) blames the victim for their slaughter and comes down as a vote that they deserved it—because, in the end, because no other explanation is possible, they must believe that every Jew is evil, and that the medieval Christians and modern Nazis and contemporary Hamasniks have it right.
Anything less than outright unqualified condemnation of this act is a signal to your Jewish colleagues, peers, and students, that their very existence on this planet is an aggressive provocation to you. The tepidity and the silence may be marginally better than the “Intifada!” and “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Death to the Jews!” chants heard on all too many campuses this past week, but they signify exactly the same thing.
Here is one other neat trick, pointing again to the same conclusion. Many instantly responded to the onset of the Israeli response by calling for de-escalation, by condemning genocide. Beautiful: who could be against de-escalation, and for genocide? But here’s the problem. Wasn’t Hamas’s mass sadistic slaughter of some 1400 mostly civilians just a little bit of a, you know, escalation? And part of an explicit campaign of, you know, genocide? How does one come out for de-escalation only after the Jew-slaughterers have finished their slaughter, and without even acknowledging that slaughter? How does one come out against genocide only after the openly genocidal group has finished its round of genocidal activity, and do so without even acknowledging that genocidal activity? Think about the message that sends to Jewish community members: we have no objection when you are attacked, but we condemn you when you respond. Or maybe: genocide is dreadful, except when it’s perpetrated against Jews.
Not to mention that there is a whole other mode of de-escalation, and genocide prevention, that these folks entirely overlook. They could demand that Hamas return all the hostages immediately and surrender, and then the war is over, instantly. You don’t get more de-escalating and anti-genocidal than that. Yet somehow that is not the mode they are calling for.
Make that condemnation of the Hamas slaughter, full stop, unconditional—and then perhaps we can have reasonable discussions about many things, including about the scope and nature of the Israeli response.
Anything else and the conclusion is inescapable: they just want Jews dead.
For the record, it is possible to be “pro-Palestinian” yet also condemn this massacre, full stop. That really isn’t so hard to work out. And yet finding a person or two on a campus taking that position will keep you busy for a pretty long time.
Even as I write this I cannot fully believe it, but it really is past denying. As that young woman at the University of Washington sobbed, “They want us dead.”
It is Hamas, I obviously believe, that is profoundly evil. But one thing to their “credit,” I suppose: they at least tell you who they are, they are open about it, they may be violent religious extremist fanatics but at least you know who you are dealing with.
But the academics—the professors, the administrators, now a full generation of students and young alumni—the people who justify that violence, who create entire ideologies that fertilize the ground by painting the victim as the evil one, as the one who deserves this extermination, are at least equally evil. They may not pull the trigger but they create the conditions that make the trigger pulling justifiable and therefore feasible, and do so in a massively deceptive way. The entire “Anti-Zionism” campaign of the past two decades was just that, a wolf in sheep’s clothing: take the eternal hatred of the Jew and wrap it up as “political critique,” or “human rights,” so that it will be allowed to enter the academic arena, where it will seep into the brains of unsuspecting students. In the past decade the “wokeness” and “diversity” program added fuel to this fire, prettying up that sheep, turning Western Jews into privileged white supremacist oppressors of people of color while their Israeli Jewish siblings oppress the Palestinians of color, so that in the name of all the higher virtues it became acceptable and then obligatory to start hating the Jews, all of the Jews, who now represent the ultimate evil in their 21st-century eyes. That is precisely what the medieval Christians and the modern Nazis did, and what those academic “progressives” and “Anti-Zionists” who have been propagating these vicious lies for many years under their various jargony names have been doing.
There is no evil like the academic who provides the ideological foundation for the extermination of a people, and insists that you call that program “virtue.”
“Death to the Jews!” at least has the decency to be explicit.
But the tepidity, and the silence from administration, from the diversity administrators, from the faculty, on so many other campuses—says the same thing.
They really want us dead.
[Featured Image: Pro-Hamas protest at University of Wisconsin (“Glory to the martyrs, glory to the murders”), via Twitter]
——————-
Andrew Pessin is Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies at Connecticut College, and Campus Bureau Editor of the Algemeiner. Among other works he is co-editor of Anti-Zionism on Campus: The University, Free Speech, and BDS. More information about him and his work may be found at www.andrewpessin.com.
[See Next Post: Not So Safe Space ]
Stumbled upon a protest today at the @UWMadison
campus, gross chants including “glory to the murders”
They believe the only good Jew is a dead Jew #IStandWithIsrael
Geoffrey Datz-tweet-11October2023-protest at the UWMadison campus-gross chants including-glory to the murders
The folks screaming “Intifada, Revolution” on college campuses aren’t talking about Israel anymore
The Persian Jewess-tweet-18April2024-The folks screaming Intifada Revolution
The folks screaming “Intifada, Revolution” on college campuses aren’t talking about Israel anymore.
They’re talking about America.
Wake Up and Smell the Jihad.
#AmericaUnderAttack
The Persian Jewess-tweet-18April2024-The folks screaming Intifada Revolution
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Why Can’t They Just Leave The Jewish Hostage Posters Alone?
Mentally healthy people just walk by a poster they don’t like. Psychopaths and sociopaths tear them down, and when you throw in DEI-infused dehumanization of Jews, you get the anti-Israel movement we now have.
Posted by William A. Jacobson, 9November2023 https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/11/why-cant-they-just-leave-the-jewish-hostage-posters-alone/
NYU Students Destroy Israeli kidnapped Posters
There has been a wave of vandalism of posters placed in various locations of Israelis who were kidnapped by Hamas, other terrorist groups, and “civilians” on October 7.
While I haven’t done a rigorous statistical survey, anecdotally I and others have noticed that the poster-rippers and other violent anti-Israel protesters disproportionately are young women.
Ian Haworth-tweet-9November2023-Why are most of the people tearing down pictures of hostages women
Why are most of the people tearing down pictures of hostages women?
Israel War Room-tweet-8November2023-
NEW: A USC student is caught on camera laughing and tearing down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas.
Ian Haworth-tweet-9November2023-Why are most of the people tearing down pictures of hostages women
William A. Jacobson-tweet-9November2023-kidnapped poster destroyers are young women
What’s really striking is how many of these violent demonstrators and kidnapped poster destroyers are young women, seems like a significant majority
Ron M.-tweet-9November2023-
Higher education in America.
@UCLA: Covered faces wearing keffiyehs and beating the effigy of the Jew/PM of Israel.
Los Angeles. 2023.
William A. Jacobson-tweet-9November2023-kidnapped poster destroyers are young women
StopAntisemitism-tweet-1November2023-NYC-couple tearing down flyer of kidnapped Israeli children
NYC – a couple is spotted on West 4th tearing down flyers of kidnapped Israeli children taken into Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
Recognize them? DM us!
StopAntisemitism-tweet-1November2023-NYC-couple tearing down flyer of kidnapped Israeli children
Manhattan Mingle-tweet-This young poster ripper is the logic we are fighting against
This young poster ripper is the logic we are fighting against. Parents, it’s time to delete Tik Tok from your children’s devices! UES 79th Lexington @bethanyshondark @visegrad24 @canarymission @StopAntisemites @ViralNewsNYC
Manhattan Mingle-tweet-This young poster ripper is the logic we are fighting against
Viral News NYC-tweet-7November2023-She cut the poster like she was trying to kill the hostages
Mill basen Brooklyn NY
This person came out with a knife and started cutting a poster of kids who were either killed or kidnapped by hamas terrorists.
She cut the poster like she was trying to kill the hostages.
Viral News NYC-tweet-7November2023-She cut the poster like she was trying to kill the hostages
Noah Pollak-tweet-7November2023-This is what our schools are producing now
It’s amazing how many of these psychos either work in higher education or graduated from college within the past few years. This is what our schools are producing now:
Canary Mission-tweet-7November2023-
NEW Canary Mission profile. Azali Ward, who is the VP of Student Mentor Leads for Diversity Chief Office @FordhamNYC
& an asst coach @BaruchCollege, helped rip down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. https://canarymission.org/individual/Azali_Ward
Noah Pollak-tweet-7November2023-This is what our schools are producing now
New York Post-tweet-9November2023-NYC woman ranted-I’ll kill you Jews
NYC woman who tore down hostage fliers ranted ‘I’ll kill you Jews’ before attack, victim says https://nypost.com/2023/11/09/metro/melissa-ugur-ranted-ill-kill-you-jews-victim-says/
“The incident unfolded as hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers skyrocketed since the raging Israel-Hamas war started last month, with a whopping 214% surge in antisemitic incidents in October, the NYPD announced Wednesday.”
New York Post-tweet-9November2023-NYC woman ranted-I’ll kill you Jews
StopAntisemitism-tweet-17October2023-The lack of humanity is extremely concerning
HORRIFYING- NYU students walking around campus removing posters featuring missing Israelis being held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
The lack of humanity by your students is not only heartbreaking but extremely concerning @nyuniversity
@NYUCampusSafety
StopAntisemitisms-tweet-17October2023-The lack of humanity is extremely concerning
There are many more examples posted at StopAntiSemitism, Canary Mission, and elsewhere on Twitter.
They have smug grins and a glee on their faces just like the sadists who tortured and mutilated Israelis on October 7. The posters for them are a proxy for Jews in the flesh. If you wonder how “normal” people can turn into barbarians, you are witnessing it in real time.
William A. Jacobson-tweet-9November2023-It’s the same glee you see
It’s the same glee you see on the faces of the people tearing down the Kidnapped posters
John Roberts-tweet-8November2023-This Canadian journalist’s reaction to screening the raw footage of 7October
This Canadian journalist’s reaction to screening the raw footage of Oct. 7:
I watched Hamas hack innocents to death. The worst part was their glee | National Post
William A. Jacobson-tweet-9November2023-It’s the same glee you see
The posters attract these deranged haters like flies. They just can’t help themselves.
Why not just walk on by? Why not put up your own posters? Why the need to destroy? They are taking out some life frustration and letting loose the demons within them on Jews who are victims.
I read a really good description of what is at least part of the problem, by Antonio García Martínez writing at The Tablet:
A lot of people are waking up to the dehumanization of Jews through CRT/’anti-racism’/DEI. We’ve been screaming about it for years. We even started a website to document how deeply the racialized pathology has spread (CriticalRace.org).
But we’re just “right wing” so we never penetrated the broader and mostly liberal American Jewish community. Now that Bari Weiss is writing about it, though, its okay for liberal Jews to call out the DEI monster:
It’s no coincidence that so many of the poster-rippers are in college or work at colleges. That is where the DEI-indoctrination is the most intense.
This is not a working class phenomenon.
NYScanner-tweet-27October2023-Friday morning in Forest Hills, Queens
Friday morning in Forest Hills, Queens. Seems like some good old New Yorkers are pissed.
NYScanner-tweet-27October2023-Friday morning in Forest Hills-Queens
This is a DEI-addicted illness.
Of course, there are other factors. Some are motivated by traditional Islamist Jew-hatred, some by traditional leftist-Jew hatred, some are just deeply unhappy and disturbed people with deep emotional problems who have found someone else to make miserable.
Mentally healthy people just walk by a poster they don’t like. Psychopaths and sociopaths tear them down, and when you throw in DEI-infused dehumanization of Jews, you get the anti-Israel movement we now have.
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Liberals more distant from Israel
JPPI-tweet-6November2023-New JPPI Poll
New JPPI Poll: The survey examines whether the events make US Jews feel “closer” or “more distant” from Israel. In this question, there is a substantial decrease in the proportion of very liberal or fairly liberal Jews who consider that the events will make them feel closer to Israel, alongside a slight increase in those who estimate that the events will make them feel “more distant ” from Israel (notably, among very liberals, from 5% to 13%). Additionally, there is an increase in the proportion of those who believe that the events will “not change” their degree of closeness to Israel.
The survey was conducted among 696 Jews in the United States.
JPPI-tweet-6November2023-New JPPI Poll
Elder of Ziyon-tweet-6November2023-If your entire worldview
If your entire worldview is that the world is divided between “oppressors” and the “oppressed,” then anything that shows that you are wrong and sometimes Jews can be oppressed enrages you.
Which is why people tear down the “kidnapped” signs. The signs violate their religion.
Elder of Ziyon-tweet-6November2023-If your entire worldview
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Please walk away from the people in your life who are..
Jordyn-tweet-8November2023-Please walk away from the people
To my Jewish American brothers and sisters – I mean this with love: Please, PLEASE have some self-respect. Walk away from the people in your life who are liking or sharing social media posts wrongfully accusing Israel of genocide, ethnic cleansing, or apartheid after Israeli communities were just massacred in the most inhumane, barbaric ways. I am begging you. Have some self respect and let them go.
Let. Them. Go.
Jordyn-tweet-8November2023-Please walk away from the people
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How are Jewish students coping with antisemitism on campus?
How are Jewish students coping with antisemitism on campus?
A @UBCPsych study is recruiting Jewish students to take part in a study on stress and coping. If you self-identify as Jewish and attend a college or university, we would love to hear from you.
https://delongis.psych.ubc.ca/participate/jewish-on-campus/
How are Jewish students coping with antisemitism on campus
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Jewish students, university campuses can be tough places these days
noa tishby-tweet-3March2024-Jewish students university campuses can be tough places these days
I recently spoke to more than 4000 Jewish teens at @BBYOInsider. And I told them, very soon, most of you will go to college. That’s exciting. But for Jewish students, university campuses can be tough places these days.
So I want to run through a few things that you will encounter on college campuses. Because you need to be prepared.
When you get to college you’re going to run into groups which are a part of the boycott Israel movement. These groups will pretend to be all about justice, freedom and human rights, which is great, except that’s not what they are about. These groups intention is to destroy the only Jewish state in the world. They don’t hide it, they just hide it from you.
They will tell you that they don’t hate Jews, they just hate Israel or even better “Zionists”. Never mind that Zionism only means that Jews are allowed to have a state, like every other people, and that most Jews believe in that.
They will tell you that Jews have nothing to do with the Land of Israel. But the simple truth is: Israel is a massive part of Jewish identity. It’s where Jews and Judaism come from and where we have always had a presence. We’re called Jews because we come from Judea.
Why am I telling you all this? Because they want to tell you that your identity is wrong and that there is something wrong with you. That being Jewish, being a Zionist is something to be ashamed of. They want you to hide your Jewish identity.
But Jewish people are done hiding. We are not going to live in hiding. We live in a time when everyone is encouraged to celebrate who they are. Every identity is expected to be accepted. And should be. Gender identity. Sexual identity. Ethnic identity.
We have to celebrate our Jewish identity as well!
So now, at college and beyond: walk with your heads held high. Take pride in who you are and what you represent. Flaunt your star of David, invite all your friends for Shabbat. find a nice Jewish boy. We will not hide and we will not let the haters tell us who we are or who we can be.
Now go have a great weekend, have fun get inspired and don’t forget – Am Yisrael Chai
noa tishby-tweet-3March2024-Jewish students-university campuses can be tough places these days
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21April2024-Jewish students at Colombia University, “Return home as soon as possible and remain home antisemitism explodes on campus.”
Belaaz News-tweet-21April2024-Jewish students at Colombia University Return home as soon as possible and remain home
🇺🇸✡️ — NEWS: Jewish Rabbi at Colombia University and Barnard College, Rav Elie Buechler, sent a WhatsApp message to all Jewish students warning them to “return home as soon as possible and remain home antisemitism explodes on campus.
“It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home…”
Belaaz News-tweet-21April2024-Jewish students at Colombia University Return home as soon as possible and remain home-Rav Elie Buechler-21April2024
Rav Elie Buechier
Dear Yavneh,
What we are witnessing in and around campus is terrible and tragic.
The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy.
It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.
It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus.
No one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school.
If you need assistance please reach out to me.
Belaaz News-tweet-21April2024-Jewish students at Colombia University Return home as soon as possible and remain home
Jewish students at Colombia University Return home as soon as possible and remain home-Rav Elie Buechler-21April2024
Dr. Logan Levkoff-tweet-22April2024-Jews are not safe in NYC
Jews are not safe in NYC.
Shame on you @Columbia.
Shame on you @nyuniversity.
Shame on you @TheNewSchool.
@NYCMayor @GovKathyHochul it’s fucking time to do something.
Dr. Logan Levkoff-tweet-22April2024-Jews are not safe in NYC
Nefesh B’Nefesh: Live the Dream US & CAN 1-866-4-ALIYAH | UK 020-8150-6690 or 0800-085-2105 | Israel 02-659-5800 https://www.nbn.org.il/ info@nbn.org.il
It’s time to come home! Nefesh B’Nefesh: Live the Dream 1-866-4-ALIYAH
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Israeli student at Columbia “We currently fear for our personal safety”
Shai Davidai-tweet-24April2024-Israeli student at Columbia
I just got an email from an Israeli student at @Columbia.
Don’t listen to me. Listen to them:
“Dear Shai,
I am writing to you as a concerned Israeli student at Columbia University, along with 133 fellow Israeli students. On April 23rd at 8:00 AM, we addressed a letter to President Shafik, Co-Chair Shipman, and Co-Chair Greenwald, expressing our fears about our safety on campus and the critical need for immediate action. I have attached the letter for your reference. We are reaching out because we believe that our concerns are being neglected by the university administration, and we recognize the significant role that the media is playing in these recent events. We fear further escalation of violence on campus and want to ensure that our voices are heard and that preventive measures are taken to safeguard all students. We believe that increased media attention can help bring about the necessary changes and hold the university accountable for ensuring a safe environment for everyone.
We request that when posting the letter it is done anonymously, as we currently fear for our personal safety.”
Shai Davidai-tweet-24April2024-Israeli student at Columbia
Shai Davidai-tweet-24April2024-Israeli student at Columbia_letter
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Columbia is currently preventing its Jewish professors from entering the campus
Dr. Eli David-tweet-22April2024-Columbia is preventing its Jewish professors from entering the campus
🚨 Breaking: @Columbia is currently preventing its Jewish professors from entering the campus.
A dark day in the history of the US 🇺🇲
_
Dr. Eli David-tweet-22April2024-Columbia is preventing its Jewish professors from entering the campus
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Not So Safe Space
Anti-Israel Berkeley students attacked a Jewish girl at the university
Visegrád 24-tweet-3March2024-Anti-Israel Berkeley students attacked a Jewish girl at the university
Anti-Israel Berkeley students attacked a Jewish girl at the university, choking her as other “protesters” spit in the face of another Jewish student while shouting “Jew Jew Jew Jew”
Crickets in national media.
Antisemitic physical attacks at universities are becoming a norm
Visegrád 24-tweet-3March2024-Anti-Israel Berkeley students attacked a Jewish girl at the university
Retsef Levi-tweet-19November2023-Liyam Chitayat antisemitism at MIT
Heartbreaking.
Courageous and authentic testimony by Israeli-American MIT PhD, Liyam Chitayat, about antisemitism at MIT.
Commons in Boston, Nov 19, 2023.
@BillAckman @MIT
Retsef Levi-tweet-19November2023-Liyam Chitayat antisemitism at MIT
Antisemitism at MIT
StopAntisemitism-tweet-16October2023-
Heartbreaking 💔- students at UC Berkeley plead with Vice Chancellor of DEI Dania Matos and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Steve Sutton to protect their Jewish students as promotion of Hamas intensifies on campus.
StopAntisemitism-tweet-16October2023-students at UC Berkeley plead with Vice Chancellors to protect their Jewish students
Kassy Dillon-tweet-5March2024-Smith College’s antisemitism problem
NEW: Mezuzahs were stolen from door frames and swastika graffiti has appeared near Smith College’s campus.
In response, the school’s president felt the need to condemn Islamophobia and have an advisory committee consider divesting from companies doing business with the IDF.
Kassy Dillon-tweet-5March2024-Smith College’s antisemitism problem
Annie Vail-tweet-29October2023-
Currently on a @Cornell discussion forum, the kosher dining hall (104 west) is now on lockdown and Jewish students are scared to leave their rooms. @GovKathyHochul @HenMazzig
Annie Vail-tweet-29October2023-Currently on a @Cornell
discussion forum, the kosher dining hall (104 west) is now on lockdown and Jewish students are scared to leave their rooms. @GovKathyHochul
@HenMazzig
Kyle Becker-tweet-25October2023-
NOW: Jewish students at @cooperunion
are locked in the school library because a pro-Hamas gathering found out scared Jews were sitting in the library.
So they brought the protest inside and blocked all the exits. Then the banging started.
Whateverdear-tweet-25October2023-
This is an attempted pogrom.
Kyle Becker-tweet-25October2023-Jewish students at cooperunion are locked in the school library
Whateverdear-tweet-25October2023-This is an attempted pogrom
The Reaction to the pogrom
Benjamin B@dejo-tweet-26October2023-See below my email
Benjamin B@dejo letter to
cooperunion president
Not So Safe Space
Eliana Rudee – Not So Safe Space 2017 contest video 1080p
2017 contest video from “Inspired by Israel” Video Contest http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/inspired-by-israel-video-contest-gallery/ on the Israel Video Network. http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/not-so-safe-space/ or https://player.vimeo.com/video/207474009
Written and Produced by Eliana Rudee, Actresses: Dana Mileguir
“Thank you to the Sderot Media Center for their footage! Published: March 20, 2017”
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https://amgreatness.com/
How Were the Universities Lost?
The Ivy league and their kindred so-called elite campuses may soon go the way of Disney and Bud Light
By Victor Davis Hanson 7December2023 https://amgreatness.com/2023/12/07/how-were-the-universities-lost/
After October 7, the public was shocked at what they saw and heard on America’s campuses.
Americans knew previously they were intolerant, leftwing, and increasingly non-meritocratic.
But immediately after October 7—and even before the response of the Israeli Defense Forces—the sheer student delight on news of the mass murdering of Israeli victims seemed akin more to 1930s Germany than contemporary America.
Indeed, not a day goes by when a university professor or student group has not spouted anti-Semitic hatred. Often, they threaten and attack Jewish students, or engage in mass demonstrations calling for the extinction of Israel.
Why and how did purportedly enlightened universities become incubators of such primordial hatred?
After the George Floyd riots, reparatory admissions—the effort to admit diverse students beyond their numbers in the general population—increased.
Elite universities like Stanford and Yale boasted that their so-called “white” incoming student numbers had plunged to between 20 and 40 precent, despite whites making up 68-70 percent of the general population.
The abolition of the SAT requirement, and often the comparative ranking of high school grade point averages, have ended the ancient and time-proven idea of meritocracy. Brilliant high school transcripts and test scores no longer warrant admissions to so-called elite schools.
One result was that the number of Jews has nosedived from 20-30 percent of Ivy League student bodies during the 1970s and 1980s to 10-15 percent.
Jewish students are also currently stereotyped as “white” and “privileged”—and thus considered as fair game on campus.
At the same time, the number of foreign students, especially from the oil-rich Middle East, has soared on campuses. Most are subsidized by their homeland governments. They pay the full, non-discounted tuition rates to cash-hungry universities.
Huge numbers of students have entered universities, who would not have been admitted by the very standards universities until recently claimed were vital to ensure their own competitiveness and prestige.
Consequently, they are no longer the guarantors of topflight undergraduates and professionals from their graduate programs.
Faculty are faced with new lose/lose/lose choices of either diminishing their course requirements, or inflating their grades, or facing charges by Diversity/Equity/Inclusion commissars of systematic bias in their grading— or all three combined.
The net result is that there are now thousands of students from abroad, especially from the Middle East, far fewer Jewish students, and student bodies who demand radical changes in faculty standards and course work to accommodate their unease with past standards of expected student achievement.
And, presto, an epidemic of anti-Semitism naturally followed.
In such a vacuum, advocacy “-studies” classes proliferated, along with faculty to teach them.
“Gender, black, Latino, feminist, Asian, Queer, trans, peace, environmental, and green”-studies courses demand far less from students, and arbitrarily select some as “oppressed” and others as “oppressors”. The former “victims” are then given a blank check to engage in racist and anti-Semitic behavior without consequences.
Proving to be politically correct in these deductive gut-courses rather than pressed to express oneself coherently, inductively, and analytically from a repertoire of fact-based-knowledge explains why the public witnesses faculty and students who are simultaneously both arrogant and ignorant.
At some universities “blacklists” circulate warning “marginalized” students which professors they should avoid who still cling to supposedly outdated standards regarding exam-taking, deadlines, and absences.
All these radical changes explain the current spectacle of angry students citing grievances, and poorly educated graduates who have had little course work in traditional history, literature, philosophy, logic, or the traditional sciences.
Universities and students have plenty of money to continue the weaponization of the university, given their enormous tax-free endowment income. Nearly $2-trillion in government-subsidized student loans are issued without accountability or reasonable demands that they be repaid in timely fashion.
Exceptions and exemptions are the bible of terrified and careerist administrators.
Faced with an epidemic of anti-Semitism, university administrators now claim they can do little to curb the hatred. But privately they know should the targets of similar hatred be instead blacks, gays, Latinos, or women, then they would expel the haters in a nanosecond.
What is the ultimate result of once elite campuses giving 70-80 percent of their students As, becoming hotbeds of dangerous anti-Semitism, and watered-down curricula that cannot turn out educated students?
The Ivy league and their kindred so-called elite campuses may soon go the way of Disney and Bud Light.
They think such a crash in their reputations is impossible given centuries of accustomed stature.
But the erosion is already occurring—and accelerating.
At the present rate, a Stanford law degree, a Harvard political science major, or a Yale social science BA will soon scare off employers and the general public at large.
These certificates will signify not proof of humility, knowledge, and decency, but rather undeserved self-importance, vacuousness, and fanaticism—and all to be avoided rather than courted.
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Israel-Hamas War Proves America’s Ivy League Colleges Are Festering With Violent Antisemitism – Part One
“Astonishing,” “astounding,” “awesome,” and “incredible” were some of the adjectives used by Columbia University tenured professor Joseph Massad to describe the rape and murder rampage by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel on October 7. Massad, who…
Rachel O’Donoghue 5November2023 https://honestreporting.com/israel-hamas-war-proves-americas-ivy-league-colleges-are-festering-with-violent-antisemitism-part-one/
Pro-Palestinian-students
“Astonishing,” “astounding,” “awesome,” and “incredible” were some of the adjectives used by Columbia University tenured professor Joseph Massad to describe the rape and murder rampage by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel on October 7.
Massad, who has taught Modern Arab Politics at the New York institution since 1999, lavished praise on the barbaric attack in a piece published in the Electronic Intifada, which is edited by Ali Abunimah and infamous for promoting hateful rhetoric.
“What can motorized paragliders do in the face of one of the most formidable militaries in the world?” Asks Massad in his opening line, referring to the armed paragliders who swooped on the Supernova musical festival and slaughtered hundreds of revelers. “Apparently much in the hands of an innovative Palestinian resistance,” he crows in response to his question.
It’s truly sickening stuff; a shameless celebration of wanton violence against primarily unarmed men, women and children by a professor at one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States.
And yet, it is not surprising.
Something is rotten in America’s elite educational establishments; Ivy League schools are becoming breeding grounds for extremism and intolerance.
This has been no better exemplified than in the weeks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, when students at nearly every Ivy League college have attended marches and protests where they have openly voiced their support for the Hamas attacks and called for the extermination of the world’s only Jewish state.
HonestReporting-tweet-5November2023-Eretz Nehederet takes pro-Hamas university students to task
Eretz Nehederet or ‘A Wonderful Country’ takes pro-Hamas university students to task for ignoring what’s right in front of them.
HonestReporting-tweet-5November2023-Eretz Nehederet takes pro-Hamas university students to task
Columbia University
Massad’s support for Islamist terrorism and indiscriminate violence against Jews is disturbing. Even more disturbing, though, is the Columbia University leadership’s refusal to take any action against — even to condemn — the academic.
Shortly after Massad penned the article, Columbia student Maya Platek started a petition, which has now been signed by nearly 70,000 people, calling on Columbia University to hold him accountable.
“Massad’s decision to praise the abhorrent attack encourages violence and misinformation in and outside of campus, particularly putting many Jewish and Israeli students on campus at risk. Moreover, many students have expressed that they feel unsafe in the presence of a professor who supports the horrific murders of civilians,” states the petition.
While the university has completely ignored the petition and the concerns voiced by Jewish students, members of the faculty have come out in support of pro-terror students, including more than 100 academics who signed a letter demanding that such students not face consequences for praising the attacks.
“In our view, the student statement aims to recontextualize the events of Oct. 7, 2023, pointing out that military operations and state violence did not begin that day, but rather it represented a military response by a people who had endured crushing and unrelenting state violence from an occupying power over many years,” the academics wrote of the attack.
The academics’ letter was released after a leading law firm rescinded job offers to students at Columbia University and Harvard University who signed statements in support of the attacks.
While Columbia University President Minouche Shafik joined forces with other college heads to announce a vague plan to combat antisemitism on campus, it appears to be a superficial effort considering that Shafik also praised the “persistence” of Columbia students accused of antisemitism.
Visegrád 24-tweet-1November2023-Jewish students at Columbia University
Jewish students at Columbia University in New York City release at statement saying they are being intimidated on campus and that the university is doing absolutely nothing about it
Visegrád 24-tweet-1November2023-Jewish students at Columbia University
Harvard University
Among the worst behavior witnessed on college campuses since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last month has been at Harvard University, where students belonging to the recently-formed group Graduate Students 4 Palestine (GS4P) spearheaded numerous campus protests.
The most shocking scenes of anti-Israel and antisemitic hatred occurred at a so-called “Stop the genocide in Gaza” die-in demonstration at the Harvard Business School on October 18, when a pro-Israeli student attempting to film the protest was assaulted by a mob that had surrounded and taunted him with screams of “Shame, shame, shame.”
The mob of aggressive pro-Palestinian students reportedly included one of the founders of GS4P, Elon Tettey-Temalko, a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, and Harvard Law Review editor Ibrahim Bharmal, whose name has since been scrubbed from the website page naming the board of the editors.
Aviva Klompas-tweet-1November2023-The pro-murder-pro-kidnapping mob
The pro-murder, pro-kidnapping mob is targeting and harassing Jewish students at @Harvard.
Aviva Klompas-tweet-1November2023-The pro-murder-pro-kidnapping mob
Antisemitism and hostility toward Israel and Israeli students are not new phenomena at Harvard — indeed it is a festering problem that has long been ignored by the university administration.
There have been numerous incidents at the elite college over the years, including the Cornel West tenure controversy, which HonestReporting has documented and is indicative of a culture of intolerance toward Israeli and Jewish students.
Just last month, Harvard refused to take action against Harvard Kennedy School Professor Marshall Ganz, who was found to have discriminated against Israeli students, subjecting them to “anti-Israel and antisemitic bias,” according to a third-party investigator.
Far from rebuking the academic, Ganz was praised for his civil rights work in the Harvard Gazette, which is the university’s official news website.
Cornell University
Classes had to be canceled at Cornell University and 21-year-old computer science student Patrick Dai was arrested after he posted several violent threats directed at Jewish classmates on a Cornell student forum.
Dai appeared in federal court earlier this month after he logged onto the forum using the screen name “Hamas” and threatened to slit the throats of Jewish people and described them as rats and pigs. In one post he warned he was “gonna shoot up 104 west,” in reference to a dining hall that mostly caters to Jewish students and is next to the Cornell Jewish Center.
While Cornell University’s president made the decision to cancel classes and condemned antisemitism on campus in a statement, it is clear that the problem of anti-Jewish hate at Cornell is more entrenched and widespread than one individual student.
Russell Rickford, a history professor at the college, issued an apology after he was filmed at an October 15 pro-Palestinian rally on the Ithaca, New York, campus praising the attack that had occurred one week previously. “Hamas has challenged the monopoly of violence” and “shifted the balance of power,” he told a crowd of young people. “It was exhilarating. It was energizing,” Rickford added of watching the attack unfold.
After initially standing by his statements, Rickford later rowed back on his remarks and apologized “for the horrible choice of words,” admitting they were “reprehensible.” He is currently on a leave of absence from the university and will not teach this semester.
Cornell president Martha Pollack and board of trustees chairman Kraig Kayser condemned Rickford and explained the college is “taking this incident seriously and is currently reviewing it, consistent with our procedures.” Whether that review will result in Rickford’s permanent dismissal remains to be seen.
Yale University
There have been accusations that Yale University ignores the problem of antisemitism on its campus — from inviting antisemitic speakers to visit campus and address students during Jewish holidays to anti-Jewish fliers being handed out on campus.
Yale also proved little had changed with regard to how it deals with antisemitism following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, including the university refusing to remove a professor who praised the Hamas attack.
Zareena Grewal, associate professor of American studies, ethnicity, race and migration, described the events of October 7 as “extraordinary,” adding in another post on X (formerly Twitter) that “Israel is a murderous, genocidal settler state and Palestinians have every right to resist through armed struggle, solidarity #FreePalestine.”
Despite a petition calling for her to be fired being signed by tens of thousands of people, Yale released a statement in support of Grewal’s right to “freedom of expression.”
Meanwhile, the Yale Daily News, which is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States, published the most extraordinary apology after initial articles it published reporting on the Hamas attacks were later “corrected” to remove reference to terrorists raping and beheading people.
Explaining how the actions of murderous terrorists were sanitized in this way, the student newspaper’s editor Anika Seth explained they were “wrong to publish the corrections” and claimed they only did so because the “specific forms of violence” had not been independently confirmed by the source cited in the article.
“It was never the News’ intention to minimize the brutality of Hamas’ attack against Israel. We are sorry for any unintended consequences to our readership and will ensure that such erroneous and damaging material does not make it into our content, either as opinion or as news,” the apology added.
Zach Kessel-tweet-30October2023-Yale’s student newspaper is running cover for Hamas
At the end of a column by @sahar_tartak, editors at @yaledailynews affixed a “correction”, saying claims that Hamas raped women and beheaded men are “unsubstantiated”. @Yale’s student newspaper is running cover for Hamas.
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/10/12/tartak-is-yalies4palestine-a-hate-group/
Zach Kessel-tweet-30October2023-Yale’s student newspaper is running cover for Hamas
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Photo credit: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
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Why Antisemitism, Anger and Intolerance Have Infected America’s Ivy League Colleges – Part Two
We recently examined the alarming escalation in antisemitism seen on US college campuses — specifically at the Ivy League universities of Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Columbia — since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October…
Rachel O’Donoghue November 8, 202 https://honestreporting.com/why-antisemitism-anger-and-intolerance-have-infected-americas-ivy-league-colleges-part-two/
We recently examined the alarming escalation in antisemitism seen on US college campuses — specifically at the Ivy League universities of Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Columbia — since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
In this second part, we will look at the remaining four Ivy Leagues, charting how America’s most elite educational establishments have become havens of intolerance and why so many of their students harbor such hatred toward both Jews and the State of Israel.
University of Pennsylvania
Two weeks before Hamas’s barbaric rampage through southern Israeli communities resulted in the biggest loss of Jewish life in a day since the Holocaust, the University of Pennsylvania was embroiled in an antisemitism scandal when notorious Jew-hating musician Roger Waters was invited to speak on campus.
Waters, who is best known as a founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd and for goose-stepping on-stage while dressed as a Nazi, was asked to address attendees at the “Palestine Writes Literature Festival” before he was banned from campus following a backlash by critics who had noted that the event was scheduled to coincide with the Jewish High Holiday period, thus reducing the likelihood of Jewish students protesting antisemitic speakers.
In the lead-up to the festival, which went ahead as scheduled with Waters speaking remotely, numerous incidents of antisemitism were recorded on campus, including a swastika that was drawn inside the school’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design and the arrest of a man who entered the Penn Hillel and screamed statements such as, “F—k the Jews” and “They killed JC,” a reference to the myth that Jews are responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus.
In light of the Waters controversy, UPenn President Liz Magill belatedly announced her personal commitment to addressing antisemitism at the college, adding: “The University of Pennsylvania has a long and proud history of being a place for people of all backgrounds and faiths, and acts of antisemitism have no place at Penn.”
How utterly hollow those words were.
In the days and weeks after Hamas terrorists murdered and kidnapped more than 1,400 Israeli civilians, UPenn has again allowed antisemitism to rear its head on campus.
The university administration’s first statement to condemn the Hamas atrocity was more than a week after it took place. On Sunday, October 15, Magill sent an email to the university community.
“I want to leave no doubt about where I stand,” it said. “I, and this university, are horrified by and condemn Hamas’s terrorist assault on Israel and their violent atrocities against civilians. There is no justification — none — for these heinous attacks…”
However, the email apparently only came after Jon Huntsman Jr, the former governor of Utah and former US ambassador to China, Russia, and Singapore, told Magill that his charitable organization, the Huntsman Foundation, would be pulling donations from the university over the issue of antisemitism.
For some UPenn students, though, the email’s failure to mention Palestinians was akin to not recognizing their “existence,” and they organized a mass walkout of classes in response. Videos and photos taken of the protest show students chanting slogans such as, “Intifada, Intifada,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” A handful of students reportedly harassed a rabbi who was manning a tefillin stand on the route marchers took.
Other wealthy UPenn donors have since followed Huntsman Jr’s lead and pulled funding from the college, including Marc Rowan, who contributed more than $50 million in 2018, and Steve Eisman, who demanded his name be removed from a university scholarship.
Canary Mission-tweet-5November2023-Canary Mission profile-Tara Tarawneh
NEW Canary Mission profile. Tara Tarawneh, a student at @Penn
& writer for Penn’s student newspaper, glorified the massacre of Jews at a pro-Hamas rally: “I remember feeling so empowered and happy…I want all of you to hold that feeling in your hearts.”
https://canarymission.org/individual/Tara_Tarawneh
Canary Mission-tweet-5November2023-Canary Mission profile-Tara Tarawneh
Princeton University
In August this year, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote a letter to Princeton University’s senior leadership about a book that was approved to go on the syllabus of the Near Eastern Studies Department’s “Decolonizing Trauma Studies from the Global South” course.
The book, “The Healing Humanities: The Right to Maim,” written by Jasbir Puar, falsely claims that Israel harvests the organs of Palestinians and that the country has a policy of trying to maim Palestinians.
Despite the text promoting a modern-day blood libel, Princeton’s President Christopher L. Eisgruber refused to remove the text from the syllabus on the grounds that it would be “censoring” the curriculum.
“Those who disagree with a book, or a syllabus, are free to criticize it but not to censor it,” he wrote. “Such arguments are the lifeblood of a great university, where controversies must be addressed through deliberation and debate, not administrative fiat.”
However, one must question the sincerity of Eisgruber’s view about fighting censorship, considering the fact that under his tenure, Princeton scrubbed the name of America’s 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, from its public policy school on the basis that Wilson’s “racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake for a school or college whose scholars, students and alumni must stand firmly against racism in all its forms.”
Incidentally, as Michael Goldstein pointed out in the Jewish Journal, the inclusion of Puar’s antisemitic tome in the curriculum actually marked the second time the “Israelis harvest Palestinian organs” blood libel had been legitimized on campus. Just months before the Puar controversy, professional Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd, who has accused Israelis of eating Palestinian organs and lusting after their blood, was paid to give the Edward Said lecture at the university’s English Department.
Many in Princeton’s undergraduate student body have also been gunning to pass a resolution in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which seeks to isolate and eventually dismantle the Jewish state.
What followed a March 2022 vote on BDS was reminiscent of something out of a banana republic. In total, 44 percent of students voted in favor, 40 percent voted against and 16 percent abstained, which was supposed to mean the resolution immediately failed, because abstentions prevented a majority.
However, a dispute ensued about how abstentions would be counted, with Eric Periman, then-president of the Princeton Committee on Palestine (PCP), which sponsored the resolution, arguing the pro-BDS camp had won.
Around the same time that PCP was pushing for Princeton to support BDS, the group made crystal clear its real target when it held a protest outside the campus Center for Jewish Life (CJL) in which protestors held signs with phrases commonly used by Hamas such as, “from the river to the sea” and during which PCP President Periman suggested Princeton’s Jewish students were complicit in human rights violations.
Dartmouth College
Two pro-Palestinian students were arrested at Dartmouth last month after they allegedly trespassed on the grounds of the university’s Parkhurst Hall late at night and threatened to “escalate” and take “physical action” against college administrators in a document titled the “Dartmouth New Deal,” which demands the school divest from “Israeli apartheid.”
“You have until the first day of the winter term to publicly address our demands and outline a plan to meet them. If you fail to do so, we will escalate and take further action,” the document reportedly warned.
The arrests followed at least one pro-Palestinian rally in which attendees reportedly chanted, “Israel is a terror state.”
The Dartmouth Review-tweet-28October2023- Hanover Police arrested two pro-Palestinian protesters
Around 1AM today, Hanover Police arrested two pro-Palestinian protesters who were camped on Parkhurst Hall’s front lawn, charging them with a misdemeanor for criminal trespassing. The two students were released on bail later in the morning.
The Dartmouth Review-tweet-28October2023-Hanover Police arrested two pro-Palestinian protesters
However, while Dartmouth has grappled with more isolated incidents of anti-Jewish hatred on campus, including a swastika being carved on the college green and a public menorah being shot at with pellets, it should be noted that the general response by the university leadership to the Israel-Hamas war last month has been commendable.
Spearheaded by a group of Middle Eastern academics at the college, two public forums were set up on October 9 that featured professors from Israel, Lebanon and Egypt discussing the conflict, which were attended by hundreds of students in-person and online.
Encouraging students to attend the forums, the university’s President Sian Leah said: “I watched with growing horror the Hamas attack on Israel this weekend, the escalating violence, and the devastating loss of life, especially among civilians… In every conflict, one of the most important roles a university can play is to help us understand it, and to make a space for dialogue and community.”
Leah’s dither-free response to the attacks, which was in stark contrast to the leaders of so many other colleges, was a welcome change from her predecessor Philip Hanlon, whose role in attempting to hire BDS-supporting Professor N. Bruce Duthu as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences had been criticized as another “chapter in the school’s history of anti-Semitism.”
Brown University
Brown’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an organization that has a well-documented history of disseminating vicious anti-Israel propaganda and vilifying Jewish students, was already organizing pro-Palestinian campus protests as Hamas terrorists were still cutting their bloodsoaked path through southern Israel.
In addition to organizing several student walkouts, the group posted on October 12 a statement to its Instagram account in which it claimed Israel was responsible for the Hamas massacre and stated it stands in “solidarity with the Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation.”
At one such campus rally, an SJP member was captured on film telling the crowd: “Palestinians will die for justice and will die to return to our land. Glory to our martyrs from the river to the sea … Palestine is the hope of the world.”
Apparently, explicitly supporting a proscribed terrorist organization that is sworn to the destruction of both Jews and Israel is not enough to get the group banned from Brown’s campus.
Although Brown University’s President Christina H. Paxson has opposed calls for the college to adopt a pro-BDS stance, the school’s response to antisemitism among the Brown community has been criticized, particularly after several high-profile incidents at the college over the past two years, including swastikas drawn around campus and antisemitic threats directed toward Brown Hillel.
Brown University-Students for Justice in Palestine-instagram-12October2023
Brown University-Students for Justice in Palestine-instagram-12October2023
It is not so difficult to explain why so many students — many of whom would proudly describe themselves as “anti-fascist” — are so intolerant toward Jews and Israel.
Wall Street Journal columnist Barton Swaim described the scenes on American campuses as a product of the Marxist theories that have been taught for decades in higher education establishments:
And that is the crux of it: for American students, Israel and Jews are privileged, and privilege is the new original sin.
Found this article informative? Follow the HonestReporting page on Facebook to read more articles debunking news bias and smears, as well as others explaining Israel’s history, politics, and international affairs. Click here to learn more!
Photo credit: Simona Granati/Corbis via Getty Images
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StandWithUs
StandWithUs Supporting Israel
The StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department has never been busier as we respond to the explosion of antisemitic events since the massacre by Hamas on October 7. In a given year, we typically receive around 270 requests for legal help. In the last few weeks, since October 7, we have received nearly 400 requests through our legal hotline.
In response, we are utilizing all legal tools at our disposal, including sending demand letters and preparing Title VI complaints against universities, filing discrimination complaints, building cases for potential lawsuits, holding campus police accountable for misconduct, and so much more.
While many of the cases are coming from StandWithUs-affiliated students, we are also seeing an influx of new students, professors, and community members who have never before reached out to StandWithUs. We are also utilizing the hundreds of lawyers in our pro bono network like never before. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support
from the legal community.
We Have Reached Out to Thousands of Universities Nationwide
In line with StandWithUs’ commitment to supporting students facing anti-Jewish bias, we’ve reached out to thousands of universities nationwide. We’ve reminded them of their legal responsibilities to Jewish and Israeli students and outlined specific actions they should take to align themselves with Title VI, civil rights laws, and criminal laws.
Read the letter here.
Read an op-ed in Algemeiner about this initiative here or Below.
Reminding Schools of Their Legal Obligations During Anti-Israel Protests
In light of ongoing anti-Israel rallies and protests, the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department has written legal letters to universities and high schools. Sample university letters are UCLA and Pomona. For a high school sample letter, click here.
Setting the Stage For Title VI Civil Rights Filings
Check out an example of one of StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department’s recent demand letters to a university, setting the stage for a Title VI civil rights filing. This letter sheds light on the various challenges Jewish and Israeli students face on campus, including assault, disruptive protests, and illegal masking at George Mason University. Read the letter here, and explore other demand letters here.
Taking Action Against Medical Professionals Espousing Bias Against Israel and Jews
StandWithUs, in collaboration with Stop Antisemitism and the National Jewish Advocacy Center, is actively working to hold medical providers accountable for expressing antisemitism. Such expressions may interfere with their ability to provide proper care to Jewish and Israeli patients. Keep an eye on our newsletters for campaigns targeting medical providers in your area and learn how you can support these efforts.
StandWithUs Legal Hotline
To report an antisemitic incident:
https://www.standwithus.com/report-an-antisemitic-incident.
The Importance of Reporting Antisemitic Crimes
This new fact sheet from StandWithUs Legal explains how to report an antisemitic hate crime and how to interact with the police, including what information to give and ask for. See Matt Lebovics’s article HERE on the underreporting of antisemitic hate crimes, interviewing Yael Lerman, Director of the StandWithUs Legal Department.
Antisemitic Crimes Fact Sheet
https://www.standwithus.com/post/antisemitic-crimes-fact-sheet
This fact sheet from StandWithUs Legal explains how to report an antisemitic hate crime and how to interact with the police, including what information to give and ask for. For any questions, please contact legal@standwithus.com.
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Jewish Students are standing up to the Antisemites
The Persian Jewess-tweet-26April2024-Shofar Blast at UCLA
Shofar Blast as counter protest against the Pro-Hamas encampments at @UCLA.
🥹💙🇮🇱💙🥹
#AmYisraelChai
The Persian Jewess-tweet-26April2024-Shofar Blast at UCLA
Afshine Emrani MD FACC-tweet-26April2024-A UCLA professor being schooled by a Jewish student
A @UCLA “professor” being schooled by a Jewish student on the definition of “genocide”
These schools are infected by Islamist, Communist, Leftist feelings and emotions of rage based on no logic. 🤦
Afshine Emrani MD FACC-tweet-26April2024-A UCLA professor being schooled by a Jewish student
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Jews on these campuses need to leave
Caroline Glick-tweet-5December2023-Jews on these campuses need to leave
Jews on these campuses need to leave. These Nazis are done with us. We need to be done with them — except for the lawsuits. Those need to be filed one after another, after another, until they are bankrupt. We can’t win them back. But we can make them poor.
Rep. Elise Stefanik-tweet-5December2023
🚨🚨🚨Presidents of @Harvard @MIT and @Penn REFUSE to say whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” is bullying and harassment according to their codes of conduct. Even going so far to say it needs to turn to “action” first. As in committing genocide.
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND ANTISEMITIC. They must all resign immediately today.
Caroline Glick-tweet-5December2023-Jews on these campuses need to leave
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Let’s Meet the Challenge of Rising Campus Antisemitism Through Legal Remedies
by Carly Gammill and Yael Lerman 9November2023 https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/11/09/lets-meet-the-challenge-of-rising-campus-antisemitism-through-legal-remedies/
Opinion
The surge in anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment in response to Hamas’s October 7 massacre, especially its blatant celebration by people around the world, is cause for serious alarm. This is particularly the case on college campuses, where Jewish, Israeli, and Zionist students across the nation face incidents of ostracism, harassment, discrimination, threats, and violence in unprecedented numbers.
Of course, antisemitism and its glorification are not new phenomena. In 1939, for example, the freshman class at Princeton University voted Adolf Hitler the “greatest living person.” The following year’s freshman class repeated the vote with the same results, as, regrettably, did students at Georgetown University.
But we have two key advantages over our 1930s and 1940s counterparts. First, we know what happened the last time we hoped and waited for the antisemitic rhetoric rampaging universities to subside. Instead of being eradicated, it merely appeared to lay quiet for a few decades as it simmered and then exploded in the last few weeks, beyond any level we’ve previously experienced in the US.
We therefore have a duty to ensure that university administrators are on clear notice of their legal obligation to protect their Jewish and Israeli students from a pervasively hostile campus environment. And if they deliberately ignore our warnings, it is our duty to hold them accountable.
This is where our second advantage comes into play. We now have a powerful legal tool in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). A cornerstone of American anti-discrimination law, Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs receiving Federal financial assistance. Recipients who fail to comply with their responsibilities under Title VI risk the loss of their Federal funding. While there is no confusion that the “national origin” category of Title VI covers Israeli students, the US Department of Education has repeatedly affirmed that its protections also extend to groups based on real or perceived shared ethnicity or ancestry, including Jews.
In accordance with the lessons of history and the longstanding commitment of StandWithUs to support students in the face of anti-Jewish bias and bigotry, on November 6, 2023, our Center for Combating Antisemitism and the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department wrote to university general counsels and vice presidents for student affairs across the nation to remind them of their legal duties to Jewish and Israeli students and identify specific actions they should take to align themselves with the requirements of Title VI and other civil rights laws. As explained in the letter:
(1) While students generally have the right to express their views on campus, academic departments, student government bodies, and registered student groups, do not have the right to misuse university resources — such as official school social media accounts and access to email listervs — to propagate hatred or incite violence. Such actions run afoul of professional standards, violate university policies, and create a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students.
(2) Universities have the responsibility to ensure that hateful speech does not escalate to harassment, discrimination, or criminal conduct on campus. If and when it does, it is not protected by academic freedom or freedom of speech, and the university administration is obligated to take the necessary steps — including punitive measures — to remedy the harm caused and deter such conduct from recurring.
(3) It should be self-evident that Hamas’ massacre, dismemberment, rape, beheadings, and kidnapping against anyone, let alone children, babies, the disabled, and the elderly, can never be justified. Yet moral clarity on these matters appears to be lacking within higher education institutions. University administrators should set the tone on their universities by using their voices to unequivocally condemn such acts of terror. This would clarify the university’s position as opposed to allowing the appearance by student groups who are pro-Hamas to represent the university.
(4) University administrators must ensure that faculty are unable to misuse their class time (including cancelling classes) for political indoctrination, especially when it may serve to marginalize Jewish students and support or promote terrorism.
(5) While the right to protest is generally protected under the First Amendment, allowing outside community members, who may harbor antisemitic intentions, to participate in student protests on university grounds is not necessarily protected. Administrators should do all in their power to limit non-student access to student events, check for valid student identification, and address unlawful behavior — including by making arrests where appropriate — to help protect the safety of all students.
(6) To the extent permissible under applicable law, universities should prohibit the wearing of masks during demonstrations. They should also ensure robust enforcement of laws prohibiting the wearing of a mask to conceal one’s identity during the commission of a crime. These actions can help prevent violence and harassment on campus and protect the safety of all students.
Universities today once again find themselves torn between asserting their inclusive values and acting on them. This time, we have the benefit of hindsight and the legal tools to protect students. It is the obligation of college and university administrators to apply both. And it is our organization’s mission to ensure that they do.
Carly Gammill is the director of the StandWithUs Center for Combating Antisemitism. Yael Lerman is the director of the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department.
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A guide to the chants at ‘pro-Palestinian’ rallies:
Please send this to anyone at a School, College or University. Parents, Students, Administrators and Teachers. These are Felony Death Threats. This violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/antisemitism-dcl.pdf
Click to download PDF file UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION-OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS-antisemitism-dcl
This is not free speech.
Elder of Ziyon logo http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/
Elder of Ziyon-tweet-29October2023-A guide to the chants at ‘pro-Palestinian’ rallies
Re-upping this meme for those who witnessed the disgusting worldwide demos on Shabbat.
Elder of Ziyon-tweet-29October2023-A guide to the chants at ‘pro-Palestinian’ rallies:
A guide to the chants at ‘pro-Palestinian’ rallies:
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Arab Funding of American Universities: Donors, Recipients & Impact
Daniel Pipes-tweet-24October2023-
I just rediscovered @MitchellGBard’s Nov. 2021 study, “Arab Funding of American Universities: Donors, Recipients & Impact.”
According to @USEdGov figures, colleges and universities in 1986-2021 “received nearly $8.5 billion from [official] Arab sources.”
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/arabs/Arab-Funding-1121.pdf
Daniel Pipes-tweet-24October2023-Arab Funding of American Universities Donors Recipients Impact
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‘Dark Money Nightmare’: How Qatar Bought the Ivy League
by Robert Williams
31December2023 https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20265/qatar-bought-ivy-league
Testimony by three Ivy League university presidents
The hapless testimony by three Ivy League university presidents from Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce can be traced to Qatar and its insidious campaign to buy itself influence in US academia.
Qatar, oil-rich and with an estimated population of only 2.5 million, is the largest foreign donor — that we know about — to American universities, with at least $4.7 billion donated between 2001 and 2021. Many of those billions went unreported to the Department of Education, according to research done by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). Under federal law, colleges and universities that receive donations from foreign sources that total at least $250,000 must disclose such transactions to the Department of Education.
Qatar is far from the only authoritarian nation that donates to American universities. According to a Department of Education report from April 2023, American universities and colleges have received $19 billion from unreported sources, more than half of which has come from authoritarian and antidemocratic Middle East governments.
Flouting the law by failing to disclose foreign donations to universities has been declared a “dark money nightmare.”
Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos wrote in February 2023:
To assess properly the damage that Qatari influence in the US is causing, it is important to understand what Qatar stands for and promotes. Qatar has for decades cultivated a close relationship with the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, whose motto is: “‘Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.” Its aim appears to be ensuring that Islamic law, Sharia, governs all countries and all matters.
Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, has enjoyed Qatar as its main sponsor, to the tune of up to $360 million a year, and was until recently the home of Hamas’ leadership. In 2012, Ismail Haniyeh, head of the terrorist group’s political bureau, Mousa Abu Marzook, and Khaled Mashaal, among others, moved to Qatar for a life of luxury. This month, likely because of Israel’s announcement that it will hunt down and eliminate Hamas leaders in Qatar and Turkey, the Qatar-based Hamas officials reportedly fled to other countries.
Qatar was also home to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who was exiled from Egypt, until his death in September 2022. According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:
Qaradawi also founded many radical Islamist organizations, which are funded by Qatar. These include the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which released a statement that called the October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas against communities in southern Israel an “effective” and “mandatory development of legitimate resistance,” and said that Muslims have a religious duty to support their brothers and sisters “throughout all of Palestine, especially in Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem, and Gaza.””
Qatar also still is home to the lavishly-funded television network Al Jazeera, founded in 1996 by Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al Thani. Called the “mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Jazeera began the violent “Arab Spring,” which “brought the return of autocratic rulers.”
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, made 13 demands of Qatar: “to cut off relations with Iran, shutter Al Jazeera, and stop granting Qatari citizenship to other countries’ exiled oppositionists.” They subsequently cut ties with Qatar over its failure to agree to any of the demands, including ending its support for terrorism, the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Jazeera.
The Saudi state-run news agency SPA said at the time:
This is the kind of influence that US universities and colleges are more than happy to see on their campuses in exchange for billions of dollars in Qatari donations. According to ISGAP:
In November 2023 ISGAP published a report, “The Corruption of the American Mind: How concealed foreign funding of higher education in the United States predicts the erosion of democratic values and antisemitic sentiment on campus.” It found that there is a direct correlation between antisemitism and censored speech on campus and undocumented contributions from foreign governments, notably Qatar. According to the report:
Qatar makes it possible for Ivy League universities to claim that they receive no funds from the Qatari state, because the donations are funneled through the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, a not-for-profit organization established in 1995 by the Emir of Qatar. This ensures that the foundation can identify itself as a private organization, which enables Qatar to conceal its state funding as private donations.
In a report published this month, “Networks of Hate: Qatari Paymasters, Soft Power and the Manipulation of Democracy,” ISGAP wrote:
The issue of Qatar on US campuses, as serious as it is, is only part of a larger picture of Qatari influence in the US and the rest of the West.
Qatar funds US think-tanks, such as the Richardson Center for Global Engagement and the Brookings Institution, and infiltrates US media. In 2021, Qatar pledged that it would invest $10 billion in US ports. According to the US State department:
In February 2022, former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim said in an interview, according to MEMRI, that Qatar had many journalists “in different countries” on its payroll.
Robert Williams is a researcher based in the United States.
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Cornell Hillel Posts Warning After Threats To Jewish Students, Kosher Dining Hall
“Cornell Police Department is on site and monitoring the situation…. We advise that students and staff avoid the building out of an abundance of caution.”
Posted by William A. Jacobson 29October2023 https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/10/cornell-hillel-posts-warning-after-threats-to-jewish-students-kosher-dining-hall/
Cornell Hillel Warning Threats-10-29-2023
104 West is the home of Cornell’s Kosher Dining Hall, and is also next to the Center for Jewish Living.
Cornell Hillel has posted a warning on Facebook that the dining hall is on lockdown after online threats:
Cornell Hillel Warning Threats-10-29-2023
These apparently are some of the online threats:
Isaac de Castro-tweet-29October2023-There’s more.
Isaac de Castro-tweet-29October2023-There’s more.
[See referenced Tweet next.]
Annie Vail-tweet-29October2023-
Currently on a @Cornell discussion forum, the kosher dining hall (104 west) is now on lockdown and Jewish students are scared to leave their rooms. @GovKathyHochul @HenMazzig
Annie Vail-tweet-29October2023-Currently on a @Cornell
discussion forum, the kosher dining hall (104 west) is now on lockdown and Jewish students are scared to leave their rooms. @GovKathyHochul
@HenMazzig
I have warned the Board of Trustees about the antisemitism problem on campus, but have been ignored, “Cornell did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jacobson’s call to evaluate antisemitism on campus”.
MORE TO FOLLOW
We don’t know yet the source or seriousness of these threats, or who is behind them. (I should also add that at Legal Insurrection we have covered here a long line of campus hate hoaxes, so we can’t rule that out until more is known.)
But anti-Israel activists have been getting more and more aggressive, Anti-Israel Graffiti Appears on Campus at Cornell University.
Israel War Room-tweet-25October2023-Amid increasing Jew-hatred and several pro-Hamas rallies on campus
The President of Cornell issued this all campus email at approxiately 7 p.m. tonight (emphasis in original):
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Why Was It So Hard For Elite Universities To Condemn Hamas Terrorism?
by Tyler Durden, 21October2023 – https://www.zerohedge.com/political/why-was-it-so-hard-elite-universities-condemn-hamas-terrorism
Authored by Marc Zvi Brettler & Michael B. Poliakoff via RealClear Wire,
America’s leading universities have an antisemitism problem—and it starts at the top. This past week, university presidents and deans across the country wrote to their students and faculties to express concern in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas. What they said, and what they did not say, provides a window into the culture of intellectual and moral rot and cowardice that reigns at these once-great institutions.
Those who attack Jews or Israel are all too often exempt from their excoriation. Hamas terrorists massacred some 1,300 Israelis, took approximately 200 hostages, most of them civilians, and left an additional 3,200 injured, but you would not know it from some university leaders’ missives this week.
At Harvard University, President Claudine Gay has issued three muddled statements, under pressure, on the horrific events. Her first statement was a tepid confession of “heartbreak” that implied an equivalence between the Hamas attacks and Israel neutralizing the terrorists. This embarrassment was signed by all the university’s senior deans. Only after a barrage of online criticism—and threats by donors—did she muster the strength to condemn the child killers. Not content to leave it alone, she has issued another statement, but still without criticizing the 30-odd student groups who professed to “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible” for the murder, rape, kidnapping, and torture of Jews, referring instead to the principle of freedom of speech. Let us be clear that these students have freedom of speech, but so does Claudine Gay. She has the right to condemn their words. In 2022, Harvard denounced in no uncertain terms “the capricious and senseless invasion of Ukraine.” Harvard knows how to speak clearly about Ukrainian victims but not, apparently, about Jewish victims.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik offered a masterfully slippery statement: “I was devastated by the horrific attack on Israel this weekend and the ensuing violence that is affecting so many people.” While all lives matter, the mention of “ensuing violence” is a reference to Israeli targeting of terrorists—putting it on a par with raping and pillaging by Hamas. She implied moral equivalence.
The moral lassitude and obscurantism of Shafik’s statement trickled down. Columbia College Dean Josef Sorett emitted the following: “The events in Israel and Gaza over the past several days have shocked the world and impacted many of our students.” Dean Sorett’s “events in Gaza” are, of course, Israeli military operations undertaken in self-defense and in an effort to kill murderers, which he places on par with the door-to-door murder of civilians in Israel.
The dean of Columbia Law School did not outclass her colleague. Gillian Lester wrote to her students and faculty, “The violence that erupted in Israel and Gaza this past weekend is nothing short of tragic,” again implying a moral equivalence between the enemies of the Jewish people and their victims.
At Middlebury College, the senior leadership wrote to “acknowledge the untold pain, suffering, and loss of life unfolding from the violence happening now in Israel and Palestine.” President Laurie Patton seems unclear about who is making the violence “happen.” She goes on to warn against “hate, racism, ethnic discrimination, antisemitism, or Islamophobia.” The equivalence is complete, and we can move on to meet the real threat: Islamophobia. Compare this muddle to the perfect clarity of Middlebury’s official response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine: It “wreaked untold havoc in the lives of innocent civilians. Russia’s aggression against its democratic neighbor is a violation of international law, made only more egregious by its escalation in the face of international condemnation. I join that condemnation in solidarity with our Middlebury community.” How easy it would have been to revise that statement ever so slightly to say that Hamas “wreaked untold havoc in the lives of innocent civilians. Hamas’s aggression against its democratic neighbor is a violation of international law, made only more egregious by its escalation in the face of international condemnation. I join that condemnation in solidarity with our Middlebury community.”
The University of California–Berkeley, which spends $36 million annually on its Division of Equity & Inclusion, may be the most openly antisemitic campus in the country. Its law school is under federal investigation for discriminating against Jews. Student organizations there expressed their “unwavering support” for the Hamas pogrom. The president refused to condemn this statement. Instead, he expressed his heartbreak at “the violence and suffering in Israel and Gaza,” pointedly comparing Israel’s self-defense to the terrorist attacks themselves, gesturing, like too many others, to the “complex history” of the situation.
In reality though, no complexity is so great as to obscure the distinction between the intentional slaughter of innocents and targeted strikes against terrorists. Some schools eventually issued careful statements—but their initial reaction—or lack of reaction—is most telling, especially when contrasted with quick and decisive past declarations of outrage.
At Stanford University, the administration has covered itself in special disgrace by adding dishonesty to cowardice, despite finally acknowledging the horror. Criticized for its silence about the weekend’s slaughter, Stanford claimed in an unsigned statement that it “does not take positions on geopolitical issues and news events.” But when Russia invaded Ukraine, Stanford’s president released this statement: “The unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the attack it represents on democracy, is beyond shocking.” He continued, “It has been remarkable to witness the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people.” Stanford also commented when a child’s skipping rope was found in a tree in 2021, where it had been tangled for some years, officially denouncing it as a “a potent symbol of anti-Black racism and violence that is completely unacceptable under any circumstances.” Stanford discovered the principle of institutional neutrality, it seems, just in time for the Sabbath assault on Israeli civilians.
Under the principle of institutional neutrality, colleges and universities should indeed refrain from speaking corporately on contemporary social or political issues, unless they transcend the institution’s values as a whole (such as the wanton taking of innocent life by terrorists). Higher education’s mission is to encourage diversity of thought. But condemning brutality and savagery, whether the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a policeman, or the civilian carnage Hamas wrought, is not a political statement. No one has asked presidents to endorse Zionism or the two-state solution or anything vaguely geopolitical. They needed only to affirm human decency without which the university is a place of moral chaos.
However serpentine the ongoing contortions of these administrators, what is revealed in these official reactions by colleges is a cancerous moral rot and intellectual confusion. Bothsidesism is a symptom; the root cause is worse. They were perfectly able to rush to condemn the murder of George Floyd, the seedy depravities uncovered by the #MeToo movement, and the brutal invasion of Ukraine—as they should. They pronounce vocally and volubly on the events of January 6, 2021, and on horrible killings at houses of worship. They take flamboyant public positions on everything from affirmative action to climate policy to marriage equality. So why is it so hard to condemn the slaughter of Jewish babies? Why is it so hard to offer proper support and empathy to their grieving Jewish students?
The University of Pennsylvania’s president had no word of censure for Penn’s Palestine Writes festival, which ran between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and featured Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, notorious for exhibitionist antisemitism. Then came the anemic initial response of Penn’s president to the Hamas atrocities. Jon Huntsman, a Penn graduate and donor and a former governor of Utah, pinpointed the cause of his alma mater’s failure: “Moral relativism has fueled the university’s race to the bottom.” If only Penn’s administration possessed such moral (and pedagogical) clarity.
To be fair, some universities have offered proper statements that unambiguously condemn the pogrom of Hamas. But these are few and far between. The United States used to lead in higher education, but now we need to look for leadership abroad, for example in the exemplary statement of the German Rectors’ Conference that noted quickly, clearly, and unambiguously:
We are deeply shocked and appalled by the terrorist attack of Hamas on Israel, the terrible massacres, and the kidnappings.
On behalf of all German universities, I would like to express our sincerest condolences and heartfelt sympathy. We are deeply saddened by the senseless loss of life. Our thoughts are with those killed and injured, those still in danger, and their families and friends.
As the German Rectors’ Conference, the voice of German universities, we stand in solidarity with the Israeli universities and academic colleges and all their members. We would be grateful if you could share this message of sympathy and solidarity with your member institutions.
Educational institutions have a responsibility to educate and lead—not only in subject matters but in basic issues of morality. Those who fail to condemn the slaughter of children and fail to show empathy to their students who identify with this slaughter, are failing their mission at the most basic level.
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Antisemitic NGOs justify terror in three stages – opinion
It is incumbent that the audiences for NGO propaganda – diplomats, UN officials, journalists, academics and the government allies and funders of these NGOs – firmly reject lies and fictitious claims.
By DANIEL SEGAL
20OCTOBER2023 https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-769333
It must be difficult to be a pro-Palestinian propagandist these days. After all, how can you possibly defend the gruesome slaughter of over 1,400 innocents, torture, rape, defiling corpses?! Yet there is a network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are doing their best to justify the unjustifiable.
For the past week, my colleagues and I at NGO Monitor have carefully examined the output of NGOs that claim human rights agendas, many funded by European governments, and analyzed their claims and argumentation. We have identified a three-staged process by which NGOs work to erase the heinousness of Hamas crimes and fuel the international demonization of Israel.
Justifying and celebrating attacks
The first stage is open justification and celebration of the attacks as “resistance” against a “settler-colonial state.” For example, the 150-member Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) “saluted this honorable image that our people are sketching,” having faced, “for more than 75 years, a racist, fascist occupation,” and stated that “the Palestinian people… are resisting this with all valor and sacrifice.” BADIL, a Palestinian “return” NGO, wrote, “resistance is the most human and legitimate act” because “the Palestinian people have been suffering for 75 years of colonial-apartheid regime, ethnic cleansing, forcible transfer/displacement.”
Similarly, an advocacy officer from Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P) referred to “Palestinians resisting Israeli colonization & trying to take back their land.”
These and other examples demonstrate how the initial NGO responses celebrated the “accomplishments” of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist groups, i.e. the mass killing, abduction, and other heinous crimes against thousands of civilians.
Whataboutism and shifting focus
Next, NGOs moved on to stage two: trying to shift media and political focus by inventing Israeli atrocities that are similar to the actual brutality of Hamas. Palestinian NGOs have always delegitimized Israel’s right to self-defense and denied the existence of Palestinian terrorism, which they invariably decorate as “resistance.”
Israel’s military response targeting terror infrastructure in Gaza provided another opportunity to accuse Israel of committing the worst crimes. For example, a joint statement from the PFLP’s NGO network – Al-Mezan, Bisan, Al-Haq, DCI-P, Addameer, Union of Palestinian Women’s Committes (UPWC), and others – demanded that the EU “fully denounce Israel’s indiscriminate military reprisals…and intervene to protect the Palestinian people against Israel’s incitement to genocide.”
In another statement, Al-Haq accused Israel of “targeting male and female civilians and civilian objects in such a way that amounts to acts of genocide.” Zakaria Bakr, who heads the Union of Agricultural Work Committees’ Gaza Fisherman Committee, wrote, “We are living through an action of ethnic cleansing and genocide accompanied by starvation…what we are living through is more powerful and stronger than the holocaust which the Zionists talk about.” Palestinian Medical Relief Society Director Mustafa Barghouti published a statement referencing an Israeli “plot…to carry out the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip.”
Of course, all these NGOs, primarily funded by their European government patrons under the facade of “human rights,” were entirely silent on Hamas’s genocidal violence. Stage three is reminiscent of a standard tactic employed by those caught red handed – deny, deny, deny. As they recognized the need to salvage international support for the Palestinian cause, some NGOs began denying that the atrocities and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Hamas actually happened. Good Shepherd Collective, which describes itself as “an anti-Zionist, anti-colonial organization,” alleged that “zionists” (sic) were sharing “AI generated images, trying to convince us that Palestinian resistance fighters simply must be the barbarians they believe them to be.”
An official of Al-Haq, described as a “highly respected Palestinian NGO,” claimed that the Israeli Air Force bombed Israeli cars – burning the occupants – and that an Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs video of the aftermath was “deceptive and misleading.”
Denying Israel’s claims as honest
This third stage is particularly pernicious, since it is often accompanied by the notion – sometimes explicitly, sometimes implied – that Israel orchestrated the deception to fool the world into a permissive attitude towards war crimes in Gaza.
These three stages might be familiar. They are the same tactics used by antisemites who deny the Holocaust and its magnitude, e.g., claiming that only “a few hundred thousand were killed.” Or by those who suggest that Jews were persecuted because of their economic status, because “they engaged is usury,” or for their “social behavior.” And then there are conspiracy theorists like Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who declare that Zionists cooperated with the Nazis or that Jews were behind the Holocaust.
The NGO propaganda playbook is not unique to the political dimension in the war to eliminate Israel or even to centuries of antisemitism against the Jewish people. But now, it a central front in a deadly conflict involving a heinously brutal terrorist group. It is incumbent that the audiences for NGO propaganda – diplomats, UN officials, journalists, academics and the government allies and funders of these NGOs – firmly reject their lies and fictitious human rights claims.
The writer is a researcher at NGO Monitor (www. ngo-monitor.org), a Jerusalem-based research institute.
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VIDEO: Israel Complies With The Law Of Armed Conflict When Defending Against Terrorists Hiding Among Civilians
Proportionality relates to loss of civilian life “which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated…. So there is some requirement of proportionality in international law, but it’s not proportionality between the casualties on your side and the casualties on the other side….’
Posted by William A. Jacobson 14June2021 https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/06/video-israel-complies-with-the-law-of-armed-conflict-when-defending-against-terrorists-hiding-among-civilians/
LIF-How Israel Implements The Law Of Arme Conflict In Targeting Terrorists Hiding Among Civilians-Speaker
On Wednesday, June 9, 2021, the Legal Insurrection Foundation held an online event on How Israel Implements The Law Of Armed Conflict To Defend Against Terrorists Hiding Among Civilians.
The event was a reaction to the outrageous lies, misinformation, and disinformation spread regarding Israel’s conduct in the May 2021 conflict initiated by Hamas firing thousands of rockets at Israeli cities.
Israel Law of Armed Conflict-speakers screenshot
The original event post has full biographies of the speakers. You know me and Kemberlee, and we were honored to be joined by two experts in the fields of international law and the law of armed conflict:
PROF. EUGENE KONTOROVICH
COL. ELI BAR-ON, IDF, RET.
The presentations by Prof. Kontorovich and Col. Bar-On contain many interesting and important visuals:
Israel Law of Armed Conflict-Legal Input into IDF Operations
Israel Law of Armed Conflict-Target Spreadsheet
HIGHLIGHT REEL
Israel Complies With Law Of Armed Conflict – Highlights
Read More HERE
Israel Complies With Law Of Armed Conflict – Full Program
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Calls for Israel to restrain itself are ILLEGAL | The Caroline Glick Show
Posted 15October2023 JNS TV:
Is Israel really violating international law in the war against Hamas?
The Biden administration, the EU, the UN, Arab nations and others have begun to wage a campaign to restrain Israel’s efforts to destroy Hamas in Gaza. The campaign is based on allegations that there is a contradiction between Israel’s military operations and the laws of war.
To understand the nature of these claims, and what the laws of war require from Israel, as well as from the nations waging this campaign against Israel, Caroline spoke with Prof Avi Bell. Bell is a world expert on the laws of war and international humanitarian law.
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Better Question: What Does International Law Require The Rest of The World To Do About Hamas? (Daled Amos)
18October2023 https://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2023/10/better-question-what-does-international.html
daled amos
By Daled Amos
These days, when people talk about what International Humanitarian Law requires in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre of Israeli citizens, the discussion falls first on what limitations need to be placed on Israel. Almost as an afterthought do a few people ask what international law requires of Hamas.
That in itself demonstrates an odd sense of priorities among the global community.
But a third topic in international law is being ignored, namely: what are the obligations of the international community in the face of this terrorist attack. By merely sitting back and focusing on Israel’s obligations, the nations of the world run the risk of themselves violating international law.
First of all there is the Genocide Convention. It was approved for ratification by the UN General Assembly in 1948 and went into effect in 1951. According to Article I:
The convention addresses an act committed with the intent to destroy, even in part, a
Genocide includes — among other things — killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting conditions with the intent to cause the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part. In addition to being directly involved in the genocide, this law also applies to conspiracy, incitement, complicity and even the mere attempt to commit genocide. In addition, the convention not only rulers but also public officials and private individuals liable for punishment.
Then there is UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), which was passed in response to the jihadist attack on 9/11, making this resolution especially relevant to the current situation, given the obvious similarities. It was passed under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, making it binding on all UN members, unlike other UN resolutions.
According to Article 2, All States shall:
According to Article 3, All States shall:
Furthermore the resolution
On Sunday, Caroline Glick spoke with Professor Avi Bell — an expert in International Law — about the legal obligations of the rest of the world in response to the Hamas terrorist attack, and how nations are violating those obligations. Some of his insights are summarized in a JNS article published yesterday.
Bell makes reference to UN Security Council Resolution 1373, and illustrates how some of its requirements are being violated. For instance:
This puts the claims of the obligation to provide humanitarian aid to Gazans in a different light, considering how Hamas terrorists are sure to take – and have taken – the aid for themselves.
Professor Bell also points out how Qatar’s involvement, supported by the Biden administration, is also in violation of Resolution 1373:
Like Resolution 1373, article VII of the Genocide Convention also addresses the issue of extradition:
This becomes relevant because CDR David Levy writes about Hamas Leadership and America’s Extradition Option for The Begin-Sadat Center For Strategic Studies:
Levy writes that the fact that the US does not have an extradition treaty with Qatar does not have to make it impossible to get that country to hand over the terrorist leaders:
The article details examples of the US “holding those responsible for the deaths of its citizens accountable” and Levy brags that this is part of a long-standing US tradition. The article would be more convincing if we had not seen the failure of multiple administrations to apply the necessary leverage to get Jordan to hand over the mastermind of the Sbarro massacre, responsible for 16 deaths, including 2 Americans.
If a country like the US will not apply international law for itself, what are the odds we will see any country apply international law for others?
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