The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
"It's a big development. It's a lot of money going to be spent and we've already spent some, but we're going to spending a lot more."
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.
President Donald Trump has announced a major trade corridor connecting India, Israel, Italy and the United States.
This ambitious project aims to reshape global trade with extensive investments in ports, railways and undersea cables.
The announcement came during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Thursday.
“We agreed to work together to help build
one of the greatest trade routes in all of history. It will run from
India to Israel to Italy and onward to the United States, connecting our
partners by ports, railways and undersea cables. Many, many undersea
cables. It’s a big development. It’s a lot of money going to be spent
and we’ve already spent some, but we’re going to spending a lot more,”
Trump said.
DOGE’s exposure of USAID’s slush fund is a hard-fought victory against the Deep State, but as Churchill warned, it’s only the end of the beginning. The battle to reclaim government rages on.
After years of battlefield defeats, on November 10, 1942, Winston Churchill’s resolute voice
filled the Mansion House during the Lord Mayor’s Luncheon to announce
the outcome of the Battle of El Alamein: “Now, however, we have a new
experience. We have victory—a remarkable and definite victory. The
bright gleam has caught the helmets of our soldiers, and warmed and
cheered all our hearts.”
One cannot help but wonder if Republican-populists and/or MAGA
supporters felt the same way upon learning of the Department of
Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) revelations regarding the United States
Agency for International Development’s (USAID) unconscionable
expenditures and, subsequently, President Trump and Secretary of State
Rubio’s swift shuttering of what constituted the Democrat Party’s
taxpayer-subsidized, over $32 billion (2024) international and domestic
political slush fund.
But USAID is not the only taxpayer-subsidized slush fund the
Democrats enacted to fuel their party and, indeed, the entire political
infrastructure of the left. One need only look at the
multi-trillion-dollar spending spree, including bills such as the
deceptively named “Inflation Reduction Act,” to understand how the
then-Democrat majority and Mr. Biden skyrocketed both the federal debt and inflation for their own partisan gain at the expense of the American people.
As the unearthed revelations
cascade into the avalanche that felicitously sweeps and buries USAID in
the dustbin of history, one can limn the outline of the monster it
created. Over the past several years, the public has become increasingly
aware of how the Democrats have weaponized the police and surveillance
powers of the state against their political enemies for partisan gain.
Within this public awakening, the focus has been understandably upon
which powers and positions the Democrats had weaponized. What DOGE has
done with USAID is to commence closing the loop by investigating how the
Democrats and their Deep State have weaponized government funds.
The emerging contours of USAID’s unaccountable and injurious
weaponization of public funds for progressive aims are a repulsive
entity using the American people’s money to wage war against Americans
and our allies around the world. Using passthroughs, both
internationally and domestically, USAID has foisted progressive
imperialism upon our more culturally traditional nations, including the
United States; interfered in elections and otherwise destabilized allies
who were not leftist enough; created media echo chambers by subsidizing
leftist information outlets; and even underwriting groups designated as extremist/terrorist organizations.
In sum, USAID has knowingly, willfully, and deliberately abetted the
undermining of America’s domestic unity, prosperity, security, and
tranquility, and that of many of our allies.
Eyes welling with crocodile tears and cynically cradling the poor as
props to shield their rampant malfeasance, the paymasters of USAID claim
removing their control of these tens of billions of dollars will wreak
havoc on indigent peoples. It will wreak havoc on USAID’s NGOs and
sundry Democrat Party cohorts’ taxpayer-subsidized funding streams. But
the harsh truth is that USAID’s multibillion-dollar laundry mat of
passthroughs and unconscionable expenditures cheats the poor and the
hungry. Every dollar USAID’s now-fired partisan political progressive
hacks siphoned off for their faddish left-wing projects at home or to
foment instability in an ally of America abroad was another dollar’s
worth of food stolen from the mouths of starving children in a
developing nation.
Perhaps it is a tender mercy that these administrative state
mountebanks’ hubris renders them immune to self-awareness. For if they
were capable of it, they would die of shame.
Nonetheless, these brazen zombies of the Deep State lumber into the
federal courtrooms of their judicial activist cronies and beseech them
to forestall the destruction of USAID, to allow them to keep their
grubby, self-entitled mitts on your hard-earned money; and to persist in
reigning supreme and impervious over the sovereign citizenry.
Consequently, carrying the historical analogy further, in the
struggle to reassert the sovereignty of the citizenry over their servant
government, by creating and directing the DOGE, President Trump has won
a battle against a well-entrenched bastion of the Administrative State.
But, as with the Battle for North Africa, other engagements in even
more well-fortified theaters remain to be stormed.
Recognizing the hard slog ahead is not meant to diminish the present
gleam of victory against the federal Leviathan or chill the warmed and
cheered hearts of MAGA supporters and Republican-populists. The Battle
of El Alamein was a key step in rolling back and ultimately defeating
the Axis.
Thus, it is wise to also recall the caution the Prime Minister
advised in the warm glow of an initial victory: “Now this is not the
end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the
end of the beginning.”
Fight on!
***
An American Greatness contributor, the Hon.
Thaddeus G. McCotter (M.C., Ret.) served Michigan’s 11th Congressional
District from 2003-2012 and served as Chair of the Republican House
Policy Committee. Not a lobbyist, he is a frequent public speaker and
moderator for public policy seminars and a Monday co-host of the “John
Batchelor Radio Show,” among sundry media appearances.
by Andrew Mark Miller , Aubrie Spady , Deirdre Heavey
Since its launch, Elon Musk's DOGE has uncovered billions in wasteful spending across the federal government
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's efforts at President Donald
Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have revealed a
number of examples of government waste that have dominated headlines in
recent weeks, as his team continues to audit the federal government
despite Democrat opposition.
Here are some of the top-lines from DOGE's findings:
Musk reveals ‘Iron Mountain’ mine nightmare
Musk revealed this week that DOGE is investigating a limestone mine in Pennsylvania where federal employee retirements are processed manually.
"Federal
employee retirements are processed using paper, by hand, in an old
limestone mine in Pennsylvania. 700+ mine workers operate 230 feet
underground to process ~10,000 applications per month, which are stored
in manila envelopes and cardboard boxes. The retirement process takes
multiple months," Musk announced on X.
Elon Musk's DOGE efforts have uncovered several examples of wasteful spending.(Getty,AP.DOGE/X.)
Musk
said only 10,000 federal employees can retire a month because it takes
so long to process the paperwork and sort through the millions of manila
envelopes. He described the "Iron Mountain" mine as a "time warp"
slowing down a completely manual federal retirement process.
This
photo, posted by DOGE on Feb. 11, 2025, shows the old limestone mine in
Boyers, Pennsylvania, where the organization says about 700 workers
operate more than 230 feet underground to process about 10,000 federal
retirement applications per month.(DOGE / X)
"The
limiting factor is the speed at which the mine shaft elevator can move,
determines how many people can retire from the federal government. The
elevator breaks down sometimes, and then nobody can retire. Doesn't that
sound crazy?" Musk told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
DOGE-inspired EPA locates $20 billion in waste
The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), inspired by DOGE's crackdown on
federal spending, said it had located $20 billion in tax dollars within
the agency that the Biden administration reportedly "knew they were
wasting."
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin exposed $20 billion in wasteful spending at the agency.(Al Drago)
"An
extremely disturbing video circulated two months ago, featuring a Biden
EPA political appointee talking about how they were ‘tossing gold bars
off the Titanic,’ rushing to get billions of your tax dollars out the
door before Inauguration Day," EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a
video posted to X on Wednesday, citing another video from December.
The
EPA found that just eight agencies were controlling the distribution of
tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to different entities "at their
discretion," such as the Climate United Fund, which reportedly received
just under $7 billion.
"The ‘gold bars’ were tax dollars, and
‘tossing them off the Titanic’ meant the Biden administration knew they
were wasting it," Zeldin said, vowing to recover the "gold bars" that
were found "parked at an outside financial institution."
Signage at the headquarters of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C.(Reuters)
Zeldin
said that the "scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history, and it
was purposely designed to obligate all the money in a rush job with
reduced oversight."
In a Fox News interview, the EPA
administrator praised DOGE’s work at the agency and said that the
cost-cutting department is "making us better."
"They come up with great recommendations, and we can make a decision to act on it," Zeldin said.
DHS clawing back
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government's leading disaster-relief arm, gave over $59 million to house illegal immigrants in luxury New York City hotels just last week, DOGE uncovered.
Migrants are seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.(Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service)
The
spending was exposed by Musk on Monday, who wrote in a post on X that
"sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to
the President’s executive order," which put FEMA under review to improve
the agency’s "efficacy, priorities and competence."
Of the $59.3
million, $19 million was for direct hotel costs, while the balance
funded other services such as food and security, a New York City Hall
spokesperson confirmed to Fox.
One day after the spending was
uncovered by DOGE, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed
that "Secretary [Krisit] Noem has clawed back the full payment that FEMA
deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels," a DHS
spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Asylum
seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted
into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York
City.(Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency)
Shortly afterward, Trump, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, suggested that FEMA should be abolished.
"FEMA
spent tens of millions of dollars in Democrat areas, disobeying orders,
but left the people of North Carolina high and dry. It is now under
review and investigation," the president declared.
"THE BIDEN RUN
FEMA HAS BEEN A DISASTER. FEMA SHOULD BE TERMINATED! IT HAS BEEN SLOW
AND TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE. INDIVIDUAL STATES SHOULD HANDLE STORMS, ETC.,
AS THEY COME. BIG SAVINGS, FAR MORE EFFICIENT!!!" the president added.
Pentagon wasted thousands on coffee cups and soap dispensers
The
Pentagon’s $850 billion budget could be next up on the bureaucratic
chopping block. Fox News Digital reported this week accusations of waste
and inefficiency within the U.S.’s largest discretionary budget.
The Defense Business Board found in 2015 that the Department of Defense could save $125 billion over five years by renegotiating service contracts and consolidating bureaucratic processes.
A
congressional inquiry in 2018 found the Air Force was spending $1,300
for each reheatable coffee cup aboard one of its aircraft. The Air Force
spent $32,000 replacing 25 cups, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley,
R-Iowa.
A two-year audit by the Defense Department Inspector
General last year found that Boeing overcharged the Air Force by 8,000%
for soap dispensers. They overpaid by $149,072.
U.S.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivers remarks during a meeting
with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon on Feb. 5
in Arlington, Va. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump's new defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said he welcomes DOGE at the Department of Defense.
"We
will partner with them. It's long overdue. The Defense Department's got
a huge budget, but it needs to be responsible," Hegseth told Fox News.
Questionable spending in USAID's $40 billion budget, including ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq
Sen.
Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, who says she
speaks to Musk about spending cuts every few days, recently published a list of projects and programs she says the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has helped fund across the years.
Ernst described "wasteful and dangerous" spending that had gripped taxpayers until DOGE stepped in.
Sen. Joni Ernst highlighted that USAID "authorized a whopping $20 million to create a ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq."(Getty Images)
Ernst highlighted that the agency "authorized a whopping $20 million to create a ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq."
Under the Biden administration, USAID awarded $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshopto
produce a show called "Ahlan Simsim Iraq" in an effort to "promote
inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and
sectarian groups."
Several more examples
of questionable spending have been uncovered at USAID, including more
than $900,000 to a "Gaza-based terror charity" called Bayader
Association for Environment and Development and a $1.5 million program
slated to "advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia's
workplaces and business communities."
Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
Andrew Mark Miller , Aubrie Spady , Deirdre Heavey
The great British statesman Winston Churchill said in 1922 that Jews had returned to Palestine, as it was called then -- based on its revised name, given by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was trying to sever Judea from the Jews -- "as of right and not by sufferance, and that this was based on their ancient historical connection."
Zionism is simply the right
of the Jewish nation to live peacefully in its ancestral home -- the
land promised them in millennia past. Canaan is their inheritance, and
has served as their sanctuary for nearly 4,000 years in a world that
largely despises them.
The great British statesman Winston Churchill said in 1922 that
Jews had returned to Palestine, as it was called then -- based on its
revised name, given by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was trying to
sever Judea from the Jews -- "as of right and not by sufferance, and
that this was based on their ancient historical connection."
The biblical Song of Deborah praises those tribes who
participated in the battle under the leadership of Barak, the son of
Abinoam, and scorns those who did not: "Why did you sit at home among
the sheepfolds?" the song asks; "Why did Dan stay home?"
The great British statesman Winston Churchill said in 1922
that Jews had returned to Palestine, as it was called then -- based on
its revised name, given by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was trying to
sever Judea from the Jews -- "as of right and not by sufferance, and
that this was based on their ancient historical connection." Pictured:
Prime Minister Churchill makes a speech on the radio for VE Day, on May
8, 1945. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
"Even an ancient vision has its moment of birth," wrote
the Israeli poet Nathan Alterman (1910-1970). Alterman lovingly
described Israel: "The surroundings of the Kinneret have been a kind of
symbol of earthly beauty to us...."
Alterman's vision of Israel, Eretz Yisrael, and her natural beauty, seems to have been given birth through a deep commitment to an ancient
promise made by the Creator to the patriarch Abraham, forefather of all
Jews. This covenant was repeated to his son Isaac and then grandson
Jacob, again by the Creator. Moses emphasized this promise at Sinai when he declared to the twelve tribes that G-d would restore to them the land of their ancestors.
In this way, the area to be possessed became known to the world at large as the "promised land." The biblical book of Bereshit (Genesis) records the extent of the land, Zion.
What exactly is Zionism? Zionism is simply the right of the Jewish
nation to live peacefully in its ancestral home -- the land promised
them in millennia past. Canaan is their inheritance,
and has served as their sanctuary for nearly 4,000 years in a world
that largely despises them. Zion (now Israel), is the place they can
gather to practice their faith without persecution. The right of religion is an integral part of the covenant dedicating that land to them.
The modern movement for returning to the land was initiated by Theodor Herzl in 1897. He declared
that the purpose of Zionism was to "establish a national home for the
Jewish people, secured by Public Law." On this basis, Zionism is
believed by some to be a narrow ideology with emphasis on Jewish
nationalism and statehood. Although those two concepts can find some
validity, Zionism is not an ideology but an enactment of promises made
to the Jewish nation many thousands of years ago, and kept alive into
the present era.
The great British statesman Winston Churchill said in 1922 that Jews had returned to Palestine, as it was called then -- based on its revised name, given
by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was trying to sever Judea from the
Jews -- "as of right and not by sufferance, and that this was based on
their ancient historical connection."
The question that needs to be asked is why so many Jews would
vehemently oppose their nation's legitimate occupation of the land that
was promised them? It is to be expected that non-Jews have their own
views on the subject, but those are, in principle, quite irrelevant to
Jewish rights to the land. Nonetheless, contrary opinions from Jews in
the diaspora and within Israel's society itself, as well as non-Jews
can, unfortunately, make peaceful, secure, and undisturbed occupation
for the majority quite complex, to say the least.
Many Haredim (ultra-orthodox Jews) believe that the establishment of
Israel as a secular state in the modern day is premature, as
establishment should only occur in the coming messianic age. Yet, the
desire of most religious students is presumably to live and study in
their ancient homeland, notably in its capital, Jerusalem, and to receive numerous state benefits granted to low-income families, such as subsidized daycare for children.
Despite their dedicated study of the scriptures and associated writings, and many being teachers of Torah,
the argument of Haredi leaders against most of their community members
doing serving in Israel's military in the defense of the land and its
people is not sustainable, biblically or otherwise.
There are historical precedents
that even religious leaders, such as rabbis, have joined their brethren
in battle, for the Israelite army "was always accompanied to the field
by a priest." The Book of Numbers records that to defend against the Midianites:
"Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe,
together with Phineas the son of Eleazar the Cohen [priest], with the
vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand."
Religious leaders historically had, and still have, a duty towards the spiritual well-being of the troops and to encourage them.
The biblical Song of Deborah
praises those tribes who participated in the battle under the
leadership of Barak, the son of Abinoam, and scorns those who did not:
"Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds?" the song asks; "Why did
Dan stay home?"; and, "they did not come to help the Lord— to help the
Lord against the mighty warriors." Only those warriors concerned for the
survival of their tribes and the nation, were left to fight the enemy.
Moses challenged
the two tribes who did not wish to cross the Jordon River with the
others, and fight for the land promised them: "Moses said to the
descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, Shall your brethren go
to war while you stay here?" Moses considered it sinful for them not to
join the rest in conquering the land. Their participation in battle was
essential to enable the assembled tribes to conquer the land from sworn
enemies.
In 1948, when yeshiva students of the respected scholar, Israel's
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Benzion Uziel, asked whether or not they should
seek exemption from joining the War of Independence, he told them:
"How can you ask for such a thing? Were it not for my old
age and illness, I would pick up a rifle and hand grenade and defend my
Jerusalem, the place I was born; my neighbor's homes; the streets and
alleyways of the Old City and the Yohanan Ben Zakkai synagogue. How can
you raise such an outrageous request while everyone else is fighting?
This is a war of life and death. It's a mitzvah [divine obligation] to fight. Remove these baseless ideas from your minds and go join the fight."
Thousands of Haredi Jews, in fact, already do serve in Israel's military and are considered among its finest, especially in combat.
"All Israel are responsible for one another" ("kol yisrael arevin zeh bazeh"), according to the Babylonian Talmud. The late UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks emphasized its meaning, saying: "Responsibility in Judaism belongs to all of us and we cannot delegate it away." Sacks further explained:
"Covenant societies exist not because they have been
there a long time, nor because of some act of conquest, nor for the sake
of some economic or military advantage. They exist to honour a pledge, a
moral bond, an ethical undertaking. That is why telling the story is
essential to a covenant society. It reminds all citizens of why they are
there.... They are honouring the obligations imposed upon them by the
founders.
"It is utterly astonishing that the mere act of telling the story,
regularly, as a religious duty, sustained Jewish identity across the
centuries, even in the absence of all the normal accompaniments of
nationhood – land, geographical proximity, independence,
self-determination – and never allowed the people to forget its ideals,
its aspirations, its collective project of building a society that
would be the opposite of Egypt, a place of freedom and justice and human
dignity, in which no human being is sovereign; in which God alone is
King."
According to the journalist Caroline Glick, who is now international affairs adviser to the Israeli government:
"It is the resurrection of strategic independence — of Zionism — that will secure Israel's future for the next hundred years."
As even the Qur'an states that this land was reserved for the "children of Israel", "the people of the Book":
"And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, 'Dwell securely in the land of promise.'" ( Qur'an 17:104)
"O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah has assigned to you..." (Qur'an 5:21)
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A Lawyer by profession,
he is member of the International Bar Association, the National
Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Dr. Haug
holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology and is author of 'Politics, Law,
and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and
'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His
work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind,
Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association
of Scholars, Jewish Journal, James Wilson Institute (Anchoring Truths),
Document Danmark, and many others.
So-called “charities” aligned with Hamas have been trucking in aid in broad daylight.
Symbols of so-called "charities" proscribed for links to the Hamas
terrorist group appear on aid trucks destined for the Gaza Strip.
Credit: Courtesy of Hakol Hayehudi.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on
Wednesday warned all parties bringing aid into the Gaza Strip that
attempts to smuggle unauthorized goods or equipment constitute grounds
for the seizure and confiscation of the truck and the sanctioning of the
driver.
Katz issued his announcement through the
National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel, saying parties
held accountable will include merchants, truck owners, truck drivers,
warehouses and packing houses.
The minister’s warning followed an investigative report by HaKol HaYehudi (“The Jewish Voice”) on Feb. 10 revealing Hamas-aligned groups were sending aid to the terrorist group.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who
like Katz is a member of the Security Cabinet, sent a letter that same
day to Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman—military secretary to Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—citing the Hebrew news site’s report and
calling for action.
Smotrich congratulated Katz for taking
immediate steps. “This important exposure prevents unnecessary risk to
Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers,” he said.
Israel poised to strike Iran nuclear sites, US intel warnsFeb. 13, 2025“As I have warned more than once, in
writing and in speech, the State of Israel must take full responsibility
for the distribution of humanitarian aid and completely prevent it from
reaching Hamas. The absurdity must stop,” Smotrich said.
HaKol HaYehudi revealed that two
organizations designated by Israel as terrorist entities in 2008 (mainly
for raising money for Hamas) were bringing goods into Gaza. (The outlet
told JNS that it suspects other proscribed groups are also bringing in
goods, but it doesn’t yet have definite proof.)
The two groups are the Australia-based
Human Appeal International and the Turkish Humanitarian Relief
Foundation (IHH), which was also sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury
Department in 2008. IHH is infamous for organizing the Mavi Marmara Gaza
protest flotilla in 2010.
The groups engage in so-called Da’wah;
that is, propagandizing globally for Hamas and its terrorism through
welfare, educational and cultural activity.
HaKol HaYehudi uncovered the
method these groups use to send their supplies to Gaza. First, they
transport it to Jordan, where it passes through the Jordan Hashemite
Charity Organization, which is authorized by Israel to send trucks into
Gaza. Jordan has even parachuted equipment into Gaza several times.
The
symbol of IHH, a proscribed “charity,” appears prominently on aid boxes
destined for Gaza. Credit: Courtesy of Hakol Hayehudi.
In most cases, the equipment enters the
Gaza Strip via the Allenby Crossing from Jordan to Israel. Once in Gaza,
supplies are delivered to operatives of IHH and Human Appeal, where it
is turned over to Hamas, helping to maintain the terrorist group’s grip
on power.
(Many of the local activists who wear aid vests are, in fact, activists affiliated with Hamas, HaKol Hayehudi reported.)
The Hamas-aligned groups do not hide their
provenance. Truck convoys from Jordan display banners bearing the
symbols of IHH in some cases. Boxes are clearly marked with IHH or Human
Appeal logos.
In recent days, tent camps have been
sprouting up less than two miles from communities in Israel on the other
side of the security fence.
These camps appear mainly in northern Gaza, which Hamas is eager to repopulate after Israel evacuated the Netzarim Corridor, which divided the Strip into two.
The tents bear large brands of one or another of the terrorist groups, HaKol HaYehudi noted.
Yet, Israel’s security establishment had denied previous reports in 2023 by the news site, along with Israel Hayom, another Hebrew-language outlet, that Hamas-affiliated groups were sending aid and equipment into Gaza.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), in response to an Israel Hayom
report, said “the security establishment is conducting a monitoring
process” and that “so far, there has been no indication that the
aforementioned declared organizations have brought goods into the Gaza
Strip.”
Tents
in the Gaza Strip clearly marked with the symbol of IHH, a designated
terrorist group in Israel. Credit: HaKol HaYehudi/Facebook.
In response to a HaKol Hayehudi
request for comment on the new revelations, COGAT, the Defense
Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit,
insisted that “there is no coordination or engagement between the
organization in question and COGAT for the purpose of bringing tents
into the Gaza Strip. We emphasize that before bringing aid into the Gaza
Strip, without exception, it undergoes a strict security check at the
various crossings.”
The Shin Bet declined to respond to HaKol Hayehudi’s inquiries, citing earlier reports by the news site that were unflattering to the security agency.
The latest celebrity petition about the post-Oct. 7 war is yet another example of how the “as a Jew” crowd expresses their identity by supporting those who seek Jewish genocide.
Pro-Palestinian protesters, including American Jews, demonstrate near
the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2025. Photo by Hanna
Leka/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images.
It turns out there are some people who still believe in the symbolism and power of full-page advertisements in The New York Times.
Among them are a great many Jewish celebrities and rabbis who believe
the institution that remains the most important forum for left-wing
journalism is the right place to feature their views about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs and President Donald Trump’s policies.
So it was to the print edition of the Times that these quintessential “as a Jew” types turned to vent their anger about Trump’s proposal
to send Palestinian Arabs out of Gaza. To them, the idea of taking a
population primarily composed of people who claim to be refugees out of
an area that has been devastated by war and giving them an opportunity
for a new and better existence represents “ethnic cleansing.”
It was signed by a variety of “a,” “b” and
“c” list actors and celebrities, as well as a few hundred liberal
rabbis. You’ve heard of some of them: actors Joaquin Phoenix, Wallace
Shawn and Debra Winger and playwright/screenwriter Tony Kushner. The
names of others, like Jonathan Glazer,
who got his 15 minutes of fame by denouncing Israel at last year’s
Oscars ceremony when accepting an award for a movie about the Holocaust,
may also ring a bell. Still others have attained a degree of notoriety
by being inveterate Israel-bashers and anti-Zionists like writers Peter
Beinart, Judith Butler and Naomi Klein.
The rabbis are a mixed lot. Some are still
trying to maintain a line between what we used to call “liberal
Zionism” and the intellectually fashionable stance of those who are
explicit about favoring the destruction of Israel. Some of them gave up
that pretense and are among those who seek to give a dubious religious
endorsement to a position opposing the defense of the one Jewish state
on the planet against genocidal terrorists.
But wherever they fall on that spectrum,
they are the contemporary public face of those who seem to think that
the essence of Jewish identity is to be found in that disreputable
stance.
Full-page ads in the Times may
still cost a lot of money, even in an era when the overwhelming majority
of those who read news outlets do so digitally rather than in print or
only on social-media platforms. But the choice to go that route is more
about serving notice to the left-wing political ecosphere that many
prominent Jews take the side of those who oppose Israel’s existence and
against those, like Trump, who have made it clear that they wish to
eradicate Hamas terrorists rather than the Jewish state.
From
left: James Wilson, Leonard Blavatnik and Jonathan Glazer accept the
Oscar for Best International Feature Film “The Zone of Interest” during
the live “ABC” telecast of the 96th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at
Ovation Hollywood on March 10, 2024. Credit: Academy of Motion Picture
Arts & Sciences.
Can Trump succeed?
The feasibility of the president’s idea is debatable.
It’s not clear how it will be implemented,
or if any Arab or Muslim nation is prepared to take in and absorb
anything more than a token number of Palestinian Arabs, as Jordan’s King Abdullah
was strong-armed by Trump to do in a visit to the White House this
week. And there’s no doubt that Hamas and its many enablers in the West,
as well as among nations in the region, are bitterly opposed to it.
They’re against anything that will reduce their ability to use civilians
as pawns in their ongoing efforts to turn back the clock to a point in
time when the modern-day State of Israel didn’t exist.
If it is to happen, it would be predicated
on a resumption of fighting in the Strip, presumably after the
ceasefire-hostage release deal inevitably collapses. Despite the green
light he received from Trump this week to return to the effort to
eradicate Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prefers to
stick to the terrible deal he was forced into accepting if it means that
more of the remaining Israeli hostages are released. But given that
Hamas will never agree to give up power in Gaza or its goal of returning
the conflict to where it was on Oct. 6, 2023—meaning that it would be
free to make good on its pledge to launch more Oct. 7-style
atrocities—the war is bound to resume sooner or later.
The existential nature of the battle
against Hamas is clear to almost all Israelis, including those who
oppose Netanyahu. But it is of no interest to the “as a Jew” Jews, be
they film industry figures, anti-Israel scribblers or liberal rabbis.
Their effort is spearheaded by a group
calling itself “In Our Name.” Its website states a goal of raising money
to help “organizations that support Palestinian-led efforts to build
safety, dignity and self-determination in Palestine, and that support
solidarity and other organizing among Palestinian and other Arab and
Muslim communities in the United States.”
Ignoring the reality of Oct. 7
The language it employs is an effort to
distinguish itself from the allegedly more avowedly anti-Israel groups
like Not in Our Name, Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. Even in the
first days after the attacks on Jewish communities in southern Israel,
members of this group were already fundraising and organizing to oppose
Israel’s efforts to defend itself against those who had committed mass
murder, rape, torture, kidnapping and wanton destruction on Oct. 7.
But any spin of In Our Name supporters as
being somehow more principled or humane than those extremists is a
distinction without a difference. Like those who have been demanding a
cease-fire from the moment Hamas’s invasion of Israel was turned back,
all of these people remain, at best, Hamas’s “useful idiots.”
Those who are raising funds to be employed
in Gaza for the purposes stated are, whether they fully understand it
or not, essentially propping up what is left of the rule of Hamas over
the Palestinians. To speak of Palestinian “self-determination” in the
context of the current war or to help bolster the network of pro-Hamas
organizations that have spread the message of hatred for Israel in the
United States should not be mistaken for neutrality about the terrorist
movement that launched this war and seeks to keep it going until Israel
surrenders or collapses.
While the supposed stated purpose is
merely “humanitarian aid,” the world has seen in the last 16 months that
most, if not all, of the money sent into Gaza is used in one way or
another to bolster Hamas.
The signers of the letter might disavow
any connection to antisemitism. But their willingness to stand behind
the anti-Israel movement that has flourished on college campuses and in
the streets of American cities is nothing less than an endorsement of
the surge of Jew-hatred that has been mainstreamed on the left since
Oct. 7.
Woke antisemitism
At the heart of this form of activism is
more than the unrelenting hostility to Trump felt by many Jewish
liberals and left-wingers. It’s also rooted in the toxic myths of
critical race theory and intersectionality, as well as the associated
woke catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Trump is
successfully opposing these terrible ideas as he seeks to roll back the
hold that these leftist beliefs, which fuel antisemitism, have had on
American society and governance.
The “pro-Palestinian” movement on the left
isn’t a philanthropic effort to help Palestinian Arabs who have been
used as props in the futile century-old war on Zionism. If it were,
they’d be cheering Israel’s efforts to get rid of Hamas or the concept
of resettling the descendants of the 1948 Arab refugees just as the even
more numerous Jews who fled or were forced out of their homes in the
Arab and Muslim world were long ago resettled.
This was made explicit by their statement
in which they specifically support “Palestinian liberation.” They made
clear that they don’t believe that working to destroy the Jewish
state—something that could only be accomplished by the genocidal plans
of Hamas—is antisemitic. They think that liberal Jews can only
demonstrate their virtue by joining the left’s crusade to delegitimize
Israel’s self-defense.
The push for Palestinian
“self-determination” is a thinly veiled version of the idea that Israel
is an illegitimate “settler-colonial” and “apartheid” state that should
be dismantled. The notion that the conflict can be solved by a two-state
solution is a myth that has been debunked repeatedly since 1948 as the
Palestinian Arabs have rejected every offer of statehood and
independence. They have told us again and again that they refuse to
accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders
might be drawn. To continue pushing for Palestinian statehood after
those rejections is tantamount to acquiescence or endorsement of the
struggle to destroy Israel, and has absolutely nothing to do with
wanting peace.
Real ‘ethnic cleansing’
Moreover, the irony of Jews who think
expelling hundreds of thousands of Jews in Judea and Samaria from their
homes to create a Palestinian state is a virtuous cause expressing
horror about “ethnic cleansing” is lost on the political left.
Equally important, those who claim the
Palestinians must stay forever in Gaza aren’t interested in their
welfare. Suffice it to say that the real “ethnic cleansing” movement is
not the idea of resettling people who claim to be refugees someplace
other than one run by terrorists whose only goal is to use it as a
launching pad for unending war on the Jews. Ethnic cleansing of Jews
from their ancient homeland isn’t just the goal of Hamas. It is
inextricably tied up with Palestinian national identity and also backed
by other supposedly more “moderate” Palestinian factions.
Post-Oct. 7, to refuse to see this isn’t
just a matter of ignorance or deliberate blindness to the nature of a
conflict that even most left-wing Israelis understand is about their
existence. At this point, to ignore the truth about the political
culture of the Palestinians is tantamount to supporting Jewish genocide.
The Times ad doesn’t express the
views of a significant number of American Jews or even most liberal
Jews. But it does provide a degree of intellectual cover and legitimacy
to the antisemitic movement that seeks to label Israel as a pariah
state. As such, it is part of the effort to complete the transformation
of the Democratic Party into a bastion of anti-Zionism and antisemitism,
as well as boost efforts to enshrine it as the orthodox position in
left-wing outlets like the Times.
A line must be drawn
That is why the response of American Jewry
to this latest iteration of the “as a Jew” phenomenon should not be
complacency or ignoring it as insignificant.
As much as many Jews regard Trump as
beyond the pale, they need to understand that whatever their feelings
about him, opposing his pro-Israel policies and realism about the
Palestinians isn’t routine partisanship or liberal idealism. We’ve come
to the point that it must be seen as an expression of neutrality or even
tacit support for a Nazi-style war against Jewish existence being waged
by a bizarre red-green alliance of leftist ideologues and Islamists.
It’s time to tell these “as a Jew”
renegades that we will not accept their claim to the moral high ground
against Israelis or even Trump. Functional support for Palestinian
“self-determination,” which means backing Hamas and its war, isn’t
morally neutral or an expression of liberal Judaism’s universalist and
humanitarian ideals. It is an immoral stance that puts its supporters on
the side of 21st-century Nazis. Such persons deserve to be held up for
opprobrium, not lauded for their supposed “courage” for opposing Trump,
conservative Jews or Israel. It is they—and not Netanyahu or Trump—who
must be treated by all decent persons, no matter their political
affiliations, as pariahs who richly deserve our contempt.
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of the Jewish News Syndicate, a senior contributor for The Federalist, a columnist for Newsweek and a contributor to many other publications. He covers the American political scene, foreign policy, the U.S.-Israel relationship, Middle East diplomacy, the Jewish world and the arts. He hosts the JNS “Think Twice” podcast, both the weekly video program and the “Jonathan Tobin Daily” program, which are available on all major audio platforms and YouTube. Previously, he was executive editor, then senior online editor and chief political blogger, for Commentary magazine. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of The Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia and editor of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger. He has won more than 60 awards for commentary, art criticism and other writing. He appears regularly on television, commenting on politics and foreign policy. Born in New York City, he studied history at Columbia University.
The IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi said the IDF is "preparing offensive plans" while making "immense" efforts to return all the hostages.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a backdrop of Hamas terrorists in Gaza.(photo credit: Canva, REUTERS/Adel Al Khader)
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Hamas failed to
release all the hostages by 12 p.m., a deadline he imposed after the
terror group threatened not to release any hostages, and the US "will
back" whatever decision Israel makes in response.
"Hamas
has just released three Hostages from GAZA, including an American
Citizen. They seem to be in good shape! This differs from their
statement last week that they would not release any Hostages," Trump
wrote on Truth Social. "Israel will now have to decide what they will do
about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL
HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!"
Hamas
threatened to withhold hostage releases, alleging that Israel violated
the ceasefire agreement - an accusation denied by Israel.
Shortly
after, the IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi said that the IDF
is making "immense efforts" to bring all the remaining hostages back to
Israel "while simultaneously preparing offensive plans."
"Alongside
the great excitement that comes with the return of every hostage, we,
in the IDF, remember our duty to bring them all back," he said.
(L-R) Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn, and Alexander Sasha Troufanov on
stage with Hamas terrorists in Khan Yunis, February 15, 2025. (credit:
REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu will have a telephone conversation late on Saturday evening
with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron
Dermer, the heads of the negotiating team, and senior defense officials
to discuss Israel's position on Trump's ultimatum, Walla reported.
Otzma
Yehudit Chairman Itamar Ben Gvir addressed Netanyahu Saturday evening
regarding Trump's statement and called on him to "stop missing
opportunities."
"They
didn’t return everyone! A right-wing government must adopt President
Trump’s words and unleash hell on Hamas," Ben-Gvir declared.
Returning to war?
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously demanded, in response to Hamas's
threat, that the hostages be released or Israel would return to war.
"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the
ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense fighting until Hamas
is decisively defeated," Netanyahu said on Tuesday, adding the decision
had been reached unanimously by cabinet members.
Despite their stable condition, the hostages face a long psychological rehabilitation process.
(L-R) Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn, and Alexander Sasha
Troufanov on stage with Hamas terrorists in Khan Yunis, February 15,
2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)
Alexander Sasha Troufanov, Sagui Dekel Chen, and Iair Horn
appeared thin and pale at the Red Cross handover point in Khan Yunis on
Saturday, but were able to stand, support their own weight, and walk
independently.
These
initial signs suggest their medical condition is stable and does not
require emergency hospitalization at Soroka Medical Center or Barzilai
Medical Center in the South.
At
the reception point in Re’im, military doctors conducted initial
medical examinations, accompanied by a mental health officer who will
continue to support them until they reach Ichilov Hospital and Sheba
Medical Center.
The
hostages received their first refreshments, including tea with sugar,
applesauce, and a few biscuits, along with a dose of vitamin B1
(thiamine) to prevent refeeding syndrome, a potentially life-threatening
condition.
After
reuniting with their families and undergoing additional tests—such as
blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation, temperature, and initial blood
tests—they were airlifted via Yasur helicopter to rehabilitation wards
for further treatment.
Released hostage Sagui Dekel Chen reunites with his wife Avital after
498 days in Hamas captivity. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Concerns of irreversible health damage
Despite
their stable condition, the hostages face a long psychological
rehabilitation process. Medical staff are concerned that prolonged
starvation and a lack of protein, vitamins, and minerals may have caused
irreversible damage to the heart muscle and other body systems.
Troufanov’s
family expressed relief and gratitude: “We are overwhelmed with emotion
and gratitude for Sasha’s return home after 498 long and harrowing days
in captivity. On October 7, Sasha wdas brutally abducted from his home
and shot in both legs. Seeing him today strengthens us and gives us
great hope for the long rehabilitation process ahead. This is a moment
of immense relief for us, his friends, and everyone who held on to hope
and prayed for his return.”
Retirements of coal-fired power plants in the U.S. are being delayed or canceled, while nations in Europe and Asia are showing growing interest in American coal.
The Miami Coal Forum,
an annual conference on topics concerning all aspects of the coal
industry, wrapped up on Thursday. Emily Arthun, CEO of the American Coal
Council, told Just the News that the event saw record-high attendance with over 200 people attending the three-day event.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, all fossil fuels faced ever increasing regulatory burdens,
and the coal industry was not immune. The Environmental Protection
Agency issued rules aimed at shutting down coal-fired power plants,
including the “Good Neighbor” rule and the power plant rule, both of which were expected to drive up costs and lower reliability of the U.S. electricity grid.
In Wyoming, which produces 40% of the nation’s coal, the
Bureau of Land Management approved a Resource Management Plan in
November that blocked all new coal leases. Under these ongoing attacks, coal production peaked out in 2007, and it’s been declining ever since.
With the second Trump administration comes a whole new outlook on energy,
including plenty of support for fossil fuel development. With the
energy vision for America decidedly shifting, and a citizenry eschewing
"green" products, even the coal industry is hoping to see some
improvement.
“There’s definitely a level of reserved optimism,” Arthun
said of the atmosphere at the coal conference. She said “reserved”
because coal has been a whipping boy for climate activists going back to the Obama administration, and there’s no certainty how Congressional elections will turn out in two years or who will occupy the White House in 2029.
“Speed is of the essence. We need to be working together to get things done,” Arthun said.
Peak coal predictions and an all-time high
Coal consumption has been declining along with production
in the U.S. as a result of coal plants being shut down and increased
competition from cleaner-burning natural gas. While coal may not compete
with gas on emissions, it’s cheaper and easier to transport and store than gas.
The U.S. was able to rapidly increase the amount of natural gas it produces as a result of shale technologies that unlocked gas from previously inaccessible deposits
in hard rocks deep underground. Developing shale resources, however,
requires infrastructure and technical expertise, and not all countries
have shale resources to develop. This makes coal an attractive option in
many cases. Shale oil is extracted from shale rock formations through
surface mining or hydraulic fracturing ("fracking").
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has long predicted
that global coal use was nearing its end. In 2015, the IEA claimed that
the “golden age of coal in China seems to be over.” In 2024, China saw the highest level of construction
of coal-power capacity in the past decade. India, the world’s second
largest consumer of coal, uses more coal today than Europe and North
America combined. The IEA’s latest coal report
stated that global coal demand in 2024 was expected, when final figures
are tallied, to have grown by 1% to an all-time high of 8.77 billion
tons.
Energy expert Robert Bryce explains on his Substack that electricity drives economic growth, and coal is the easiest way to generate large amounts of the electricity.
“Burning coal also allows China and India to continue
manufacturing, and exporting, a myriad of items — from solar panels and
iPhones to clothing and jewelry — that Western consumers can’t imagine living without,” Bryce wrote.
Export opportunities
This means that there will be ongoing global demand for
coal, and the industry is eyeing coal exports to ensure markets for its
products. In 2023, the United States exported about 100 million short
tons of coal to at least 71 countries. According to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration, India was the largest purchaser of American coal, followed by Japan and the Netherlands.
West Virginia state Sen. Chris Rose, a Republican
representing a district in the north of his state, has been speaking
with representatives in Italy, Japan and India about importing more of
West Virginia’s coal. It benefits the industry, he told Just the News, but also helps with Trump’s trade conflicts with China.
“My job is to promote my state’s coal, obviously, but I’m
also advocating for the coal industry as a whole. Right now, a lot of
countries…consume a lot of China’s coal and gas. And to help President
Trump win this trade war, they could consume all the coal and gas we
would sell to China, but it would be delivered to these other nations
instead. Then, we won’t pay China’s tariffs,” Rose explained.
Arthun said there was a lot of talk of export opportunities
at the coal conference this week. They had an increase in the number of
international attendees, including people from Japan, Poland and South
America.
While the U.S. has plenty of coal to mine and export, she
said, the challenges lie in if it can be exported to foreign markets
economically. There is a concern about export opportunities out of the
West Coast, which has been hostile to building new export terminals, and the industry hopes to enhance export opportunities out of East Coast ports.
“If we can do it economically, international markets would like to have American coal,” Arthun said.
American consumption
Coal proponents may have hope for an improving domestic demand as well. A New York Times analysis
from this week found that a third of the coal plants in the U.S. with
planned retirement dates have either pushed those dates off or canceled
their retirements. Energy Secretary Chris Wright this week told Bloomberg Television that the U.S. should stop closing coal-fired power plants.
“We are on a path to continually shrink the electricity we
generate from coal. That has made electricity more expensive and our
grid less stable,” Wright said, adding that it will be essential to the
U.S. grid for decades to come.
During the extreme cold that descended on the U.S. during
January, natural gas supplies in the Northeast were spread thin, and it
was coal, along with oil, that kept New England residents from
freezing, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Seeking regulatory certainty
Arthun said the industry is looking to work with Congress
and the Trump administration to overturn some of the anti-coal
regulations rolled out under the climate-focused Biden administration.
The industry is also looking at creating more regulatory certainty that
would make investments more secure.
Rose is sponsoring a bill that’s based on the Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia v. EPA,
which determined that the EPA exceeded its authority to regulate
greenhouse gas emissions. Rose’s bill would codify state sovereignty
from federal environmental regulation and permitting.
“If upheld all the way by the Supreme Court, it would be a
huge model piece of legislation for other energy states to follow,” Rose
said.
While predictions of the end of coal are frequent, it
appears, at least for now, that reports of coal’s death are wildly
exaggerated.
