Israel at War: Philadelphi Tunnel Vision - Ruthie Blum

 

by Ruthie Blum

This is why Cairo was so opposed to the IDF incursion into Rafah. It knew full well what it's been hiding for all these years from its Israeli peace partners.

• "[These leaked briefings to the press] create a false impression that Hamas has agreed to a deal while the government of Israel is opposed to it. The complete opposite is true... [Hamas] is doing all this because it wants to recover and rebuild, and return again and again to the massacre of October 7, as it has promised to do." — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, August 4, 2024.

• It is thus a relief and an expression of his leadership that Netanyahu is not budging on key conditions for a deal with the devil. One of these, which Hamas has nixed, is a list of the hostages still alive.

• This is why Cairo was so opposed to the IDF incursion into Rafah. It knew full well what it's been hiding for all these years from its Israeli peace partners.

Egypt was so opposed to the IDF incursion into Rafah because it knew full well what it's been hiding for all these years from its Israeli peace partners. Pictured: A large Hamas tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, beneath the Philadelphi Corridor, discovered by the Israeli military on August 4, 2024. (Photo source: IDF)

It beggars belief that Israeli defense chiefs with the highest security clearance have been leaking to the media transcripts of top-secret meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a hostage-release deal with Hamas. Such clearance isn't easy to come by, as anyone who ever went through the process of obtaining even lower levels of the coveted status can attest.

This involves a thorough grilling — including for many who've previously undergone the procedure — with endless forms to fill out, lengthy interviews and lie-detector exams. The point is that each person participating in sessions relating to the war has gone through this and signed legally binding confidentiality agreements.

It's a wonder, then, that none of the suspects has been forced to take a polygraph test to determine who, among the select few in the war room, has broken the law by violating his vow of silence. It's not surprising, however, that Netanyahu finally lost his temper — regardless of the alleged "shouting session" last Wednesday, during which he reprimanded the crew for being lousy negotiators.

"I am prepared to go very far to release all of our hostages, while maintaining Israel's security," he said at Sunday's Cabinet meeting.

"Our commitment stands in complete contrast to the leaks and mendacious briefings [to the press] on the issue of our hostages.

"These briefings harm the negotiations and, to my great regret, they also mislead the hostages' dear families. They create a false impression that Hamas has agreed to a deal while the government of Israel is opposed to it.

The complete opposite is true. The simple truth is, that as of now Hamas has not agreed to the most basic conditions of the outline.

"While we have not added even a single demand to the outline, it is Hamas which has demanded to add dozens of changes. It has not withdrawn its demand that Israel not be able to return to the war. It demands that we withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah Crossing—its lifelines, which would allow it to rearm and rebuild its strength....

"Hamas is also unprepared to allow any mechanism to check for and prevent the passage of munitions and terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip. It is doing all this because it wants to recover and rebuild, and return again and again to the massacre of October 7, as it has promised to do."

Netanyahu then reiterated that it is Hamas, not the Israeli government, which is preventing the release of the hostages. And that it is Hamas, not the Israeli government, which opposes the proposed deal.

Never mind that no average person, let alone Cabinet ministers, should doubt for a second or require reminding of this fact. Still, the "anybody but Bibi" campaign, which has representatives in Netanyahu's inner circle, cannot shed its pre-Oct. 7 mentality.

The frame of mind they're unable to shake has two elements. One is an irrational hatred of Netanyahu specifically and contempt for the national camp in general.

The other is adherence to interconnected ideas about Israeli legitimacy and deterrence. In their worldview, "peace and quiet" trumps "peace through strength."

To them, purchasing the former cannot be accomplished without Israeli concessions, and the latter is not realistic for a country whose behavior arouses the ire of the "international community."

Ironically, Netanyahu is actually better than this community's own politicians at treading cautiously through both types of minefields. Not that it earns him any accolades at home or abroad.

On the contrary, his accommodations always provide his detractors with an excuse to berate him for belligerence directed at Israel.

It is thus a relief and an expression of his leadership that Netanyahu is not budging on key conditions for a deal with the devil. One of these, which Hamas has nixed, is a list of the hostages still alive.

Another is Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt and the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts the Strip in two, from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea. Naturally, neither Hamas nor Cairo agrees to this stipulation.

That Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Israel Security Agency director Ronen Bar and Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, head of the IDF's Missing and Captive Soldiers Division, consider it an obstacle to a deal they fear will evaporate if it's not reached immediately, is a travesty.

Apparently, Mossad chief David Barnea isn't on board with that assessment, though he's lumped in with the rest of them in reports on the "rift" between Netanyahu and his "defense chiefs."

According to the press, citing anonymous officials, the latter feel that the prime minister "doesn't care about the hostages." Channel 12's Guy Peleg, a leading Netanyahu-basher, went as far as to say in a radio interview that Netanyahu wants them dead.

The public isn't buying it, particularly not now, with the exposure on Sunday of a huge terror tunnel under the Philadelphi Corridor. A fraction of the sprawling network of cross-border tunnels in the area, this one is 10 feet high and equally wide—massive enough to enable Humvees and other large vehicles to transport weapons, building materials and terrorists from Egypt to Rafah.

This is why Cairo was so opposed to the IDF incursion into Rafah. It knew full well what it's been hiding for all these years from its Israeli peace partners.

The tunnel in question was discovered by the fighters of IDF Division 162 and is being examined by the Yahalom Unit of the Engineering Corps. Plans for its destruction are underway. Part of it will be blown up, and the rest sealed with concrete and iron.

Disturbingly, the IDF brass didn't publicize the finding until a photo of the tunnel was posted online by one of the soldiers in the field. It was only after the image began circulating on the internet that the IDF Spokesperson's Unit had to come clean with inquiring journalists.

This probably won't stop Netanyahu's critics from insisting that he's sentencing the hostages to death by not giving in to Hamas. But most Israelis aren't that stupid or wicked.

The picture of the tunnel was sufficient for most of the populace to grasp its greater significance. It was the only "leak" this week worthy of praise rather than censure.

Ruthie Blum, former adviser at the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is an award-winning columnist and senior contributing editor at JNS, as well as co-host, with Amb. Mark Regev, of "Israel Undiplomatic" on JNS-TV. She writes and lectures on Israeli politics and culture, and on U.S.-Israel relations. Originally from New York City, she moved to Israel in 1977 and is based in Tel Aviv.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20846/israel-gaza-philadelphi-tunnels

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Rashida Tlaib shares fake poll claiming half of Israelis support rape of terrorists - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Noura Erakat admitted to posting fake news about Israeli public opinion on rape, which was shared by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the U.S. Capitol

(photo credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)

US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib reposted on Wednesday a doctored poll claiming that 47% of Israelis believe IDF soldiers have a right to rape Palestinians. It was tweeted by Noura Erakat, who later admitted on X that it was fake.

Erakat posted a doctored image of an N12 poll on Wednesday, stating, “When you tell a society they have a right to commit genocide, surely they believe they have a right to rape,” suggesting that 47% of Israelis believe that it is justified to rape a handcuffed terrorist.

In her post, which has since been deleted, Erakat shared an image with the poll’s title completely changed. Originally, N12’s poll illustrated the Israeli public’s stance regarding the claims that the Israeli government relies on terrorism supporters.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib reposts a doctored poll on X which claims that Israelis agree that IDF soldiers are allowed to rape a Palestinian. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X)

However, the doctored image which Erakat shared on X claims that 47% of the Israeli public “agree that a soldier is allowed to rape a Palestinian.”

Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib shared Erakat’s post, contributing to the spread of anti-Israel propaganda.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has retweeted the tweet on the left which contains a digitally altered image.

That is NOT what the poll question was.

The poll question was do you think the government has surrendered to terrorist supporters?

The authentic poll, in the screenshot… pic.twitter.com/8QRLgvgHu8

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 8, 2024

However, shortly after Tlaib shared the post, American journalist Yasher (Alex) Ali posted on X, stating, “Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has retweeted the tweet on the left which contains a digitally altered image.”

He further noted that "the authentic poll... was from 2022.

Deleting the fake news

After deleting the original post, which Ali shared, highlighting in yellow what Congresswoman Tlaib reposted, Erakat deleted her original post and shared: “Rep Tlaib trusted me, and posting this [without] cross-checking was my mistake.”

Additionally, Ali messaged Erakat, stating, "That poll is fake. I don't expect some random loser to care, but I do expect a member of Congress not to retweet this dreck. You're a disgrace, Rep. Tlaib."

Rep Tlaib trusted me & posting this wo cross checking was my mistake. But surely u understand how one would take this poll to be true in light of video of gang rape of a Palestinian detainee & Knesset + public debate on whether such rape should be ok. THAT is the disgrace, Alex. https://t.co/H3tWWgnXQD

— Noura Erakat (@4noura) August 8, 2024

In response to the message Ali sent Erakat, she argued that “surely [you] understand how one would take this poll to be true in light of [a] video of gang rape of a Palestinian detainee & Knesset + public debate on whether such rape should be ok.”  

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-813852

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Harris campaign denies support for Israeli arms embargo - Hannah Sarisohn, Reuters

 

by Hannah Sarisohn, Reuters

The Harris campaign said in a statement that Harris reaffirmed "that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities," an aide said.

 

Kamala Harris is seen against the backdrop of an American weapons shipment. (illustrative)

(photo credit: VIA REUTERS)

In an effort at damage control, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign reaffirmed her support for Israel Thursday after initial reports of her meeting with pro-Palestinian leaders before a rally in Detroit suggested that she expressed an openness to an arms embargo for Israel.

A campaign source told The Jerusalem Post that Harris “did not express openness to an arms embargo.”

In a post on X, Harris’s National Security Adviser Phil Gordon said Harris has been clear and will always ensure Israel can defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.

“She does not support an arms embargo on Israel,” Gordon wrote. “She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.”

According to a statement from a campaign spokesperson, Harris has “prioritized engaging with Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian community members and others regarding the war in Gaza” since October 7.

Several pro-Palestinian protestors interrupt a speech by US Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris during a campaign rally in Romulus, Michigan, US, August 7, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/REBECCA COOK)

'Kamala open to an embargo'

The spokesperson said in Wednesday night’s meeting with Uncommitted National Movement’s leaders Laya Elabed and Abbas Alawieh, Harris “reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities.”

“The vice president is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deal currently on the table,” according to the campaign spokesperson. “As she has said, it is time for this war to end in a way where: Israel is secure, hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.”

The Uncommitted National Movement had said late on Wednesday that Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, “shared her sympathies and expressed an openness to a meeting with Uncommitted leaders to discuss an arms embargo” during the interaction while campaigning in Detroit, according to a campaign aid.

Alawieh said on Thursday that both he and Elabed specifically asked for a meeting to discuss the demand for an arms embargo on Israel, “and in both cases, Vice President Harris expressed an openness to following up.”

He said he was very encouraged by his engagements with Harris’ office and “we’re hopeful that continued discussions will continue to be fruitful.”

The Uncommitted Movement amassed sizable vote totals in presidential nominating contests in Michigan, Minnesota, and Hawaii, and has won at least 25 delegates. Leaders have said they want to use their influence at this month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In a reminder of how divisive the issue has been for Democrats, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters briefly interrupted Harris’ speech in Detroit on Wednesday, chanting, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.”

She paused for a moment, saying she believed in democracy and the importance of every voice, and then added, “But I am speaking now.” When the chants continued, she repeated, “You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

Trump has criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israeli security failures that enabled Hamas to carry out the October 7 massacre and said he would work to bring about a quick end to the war. 

Hannah Sarisohn, Reuters

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-813817

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Concerning America's Ability to Protect and Defend Its Very Future - Lawrence Kadish

 

by Lawrence Kadish

Over the last number of years, China has been confronting Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan with provocative naval and air exercises. Now add the United States to their list of targets. This time, however, they are working in close coordination with the Russians.

 

On July 24, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska. Pentagon officials say this marks the first time our two adversaries have been intercepted while operating aircraft in a clearly coordinated flight meant to be just provocative enough to send a message. Pictured: F-35 and F-16 fighter jets of the US Air Force intercept an H-6 bomber of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force flying near Alaska on July 24, 2024.

While the world's attention is focused on the Middle East as the next probable flashpoint, it would be wise to look to the skies over the Bering Sea, near the coast of Alaska.

China's People's Liberation Army Air Force is now getting a good look at the continental United States. And they are doing it from bombers flying in formation with their allies, the Russians.

Over the last number of years, China has been confronting Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan with provocative naval and air exercises. Now add the United States to their list of targets. This time, however, they are working in close coordination with the Russians.

On July 24, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska. Pentagon officials say this marks the first time our two adversaries have been intercepted while operating aircraft in a clearly coordinated flight meant to be just provocative enough to send a message.

The Russian TU-95 Bear and Chinese H-6 bombers did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace. In addition, they were intercepted by U.S. and Canadian fighter jets, so it's not as if they were unobserved. But then again, that was not their intent.

The Chinese Defense Ministry responded with a statement that suggested there was nothing unusual or threatening about this sortie. Rather, it was "joint strategic aerial patrol in the relevant airspace of the Bering Sea." The Ministry's spokesman told the press that "[we are] further testing and enhancing the level of cooperation between the two air forces, as well as deepening strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation between the two countries."

"This action is not aimed at third parties, it is in line with relevant international laws and international practices and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation," Zhang said.

Russia insisted the exercise was part of a 2024 military cooperation plan and "not directed against third countries."

However, the presence of Chinese aircraft appears to be a new development. In March, the head of US Northern Command, General Gregory Guillot, said China was pushing farther north into the Arctic and he expected to see aircraft there "as soon as this year potentially."

"It is a very big concern of mine."

China considers their country a "near-Arctic" nation and has worked to expand its presence in the far north, including through its cooperation with Russia.

At a time when China and Russia are watching our American democracy in turmoil, they are placing bets on whether they will confront a strong, resolute president in 2025 or one that has neither the skill nor the will to retain our nation's global leadership. During the next few weeks, Iran may very well test our nation's resolve. But in 2025, China and Russia will do far more than that. They will test our ability to defend our very future.

Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20848/concerning-america-ability-to-protect-and-defend

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The Harris Flop Would Be Scarier Than Her Flip - Victor Davis Hanson

 

by Victor Davis Hanson

The Harris-Walz message is clear: “In order to run your country for the next four years, we must lie and deceive you for the next three months.”

 

Joe Biden won in 2020 on the premise that until the November election, he would pose as good ol’ Joe from Scranton and not scare voters.

So Biden talked about “unity” and “competency.” He erased his prior wild primary pandering to left-wing voters about shutting down fracking and opening the border.

But as soon as he was elected in 2020, Biden became the leftist veneer for a hyper-radical Obama third term.

Fooled and naïve voters were shocked that their supposedly moderate candidate turned into a veritable neo-socialist president.

In general, the left acknowledges that its spread-the-wealth, high taxes, big government, open borders, soft on crime, and woke DEI agendas don’t appeal to 51 percent of the people.

That reality requires disinformation for leftist policies to be implemented.

No one voted for the Biden-Harris ticket to borrow trillions sparking hyperinflation, to wage war on fossil fuels, to go woke, to welcome in 10 million illegal aliens, to abandon $50 billion in weapons to the terrorist Taliban, and to find America facing existential wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and soon perhaps over Taiwan.

But getting leftists elected requires fooling the American people into thinking their “moderate” campaign veneers will continue into their presidencies—even though they never do.

So, for now, Harris and her new vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, will smother all their cherished left-wing positions—at least until November.

The two left-wing chameleons will assume the temporary identities and policies of “moderates.” That is a de facto admission that they know that the public does not want any of their true agendas.

The temporary metamorphosis means that the leftist nominees superficially feign agreement with what most Americans support—energy independence, low taxes, limited government, strong defense, deterrent foreign policy, secure borders, legal-only immigration, and assimilation rather than woke/DEI tribalism.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the most brazen and extreme examples of left-wing flip-floppers in memory.

But for both, the cartwheeling will still be difficult.

Harris is utterly incapable of articulating a coherent thought without a teleprompter or a staged interview. Walz is a buffoon who, in his first speech as the nominee, screamed out the “couch” lie about J.D. Vance and then stupidly bragged of his falsehood.

Harris, until recently, was proud that she had been one of the most radical California politicians in memory. She ran such a hard-left, polarizing presidential bid against Biden in 2020 that she could not capture even a single Democrat delegate.

Now she has selected as her vice president pick the most left-wing governor in the nation. Walz, during the long 2020 summer of rioting, allowed BLM and Antifa to run amuck in Minnesota while his new partner Harris raised bail for those jailed for violence.

Walz, like Harris, has done his best to stop pipelines and curtail fossil fuels.

He once boasted that “Democrats go into depression” when they see electoral maps shaded in red, “but it’s mostly rocks and cows that are in that red area.”

Apparently, his advice for Democrats was just to win urban areas and don’t sweat alienating greater rural Minnesota regions where fewer voters live—a blueprint for their 2024 campaign.

That snark was an expansion of Barack Obama’s dismissal of rural Pennsylvanians as “clingers” and Hillary Clinton’s trashing of the rural working class as “deplorables.”

By selecting the hard-left Walz, Harris reminds the nation who runs the Democratic Party. It is preparing for a hard-left neo-socialist administration—while it seeks to deceive the public for the next 90 days that Harris-Walz are temporary moderates.

Like the cognitively challenged Joe Biden in 2020, word-salad Harris won’t be let out to campaign much by her wary handlers.

Instead, she will outraise Trump, count on non-Election Day balloting, pose as a centrist, and let her surrogates, like the blowhard Walz, brand Trump as a criminal extremist.

But if the current initial Harris-Walz flipping is embarrassing, their eventual post-November flopping back to the left will be shameless—and dangerous for the nation.

In 2025, under a Harris-Walz presidency, borders would again magically evaporate. Millions more illegal aliens would regroup and flood into the U.S.

Printing more trillions of dollars would spike more hyperinflation. Cutting defense would further encourage even more wars in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

More woke and DEI mandates would ensure more tribal disunity.

Harris-Walz would try fulfilling earlier promises to ban fracking and horizontal drilling, render the U.S. vulnerable to hostile foreign oil producers, distance the U.S. from Israel, and out-appease Biden’s coddling of Iran.

They would continue the crazy left-wing war on the Supreme Court and implement Joe Biden’s plan to neuter it.

But for now?

The Harris-Walz message is clear: “In order to run your country for the next four years, we must lie and deceive you for the next three months.”

Victor Davis Hanson

Source: https://amgreatness.com/2024/08/08/the-harris-flop-would-be-scarier-than-her-flip/

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New Oct. 7 documentary brings individual stories of heroes and victims to the forefront - Gadi Zaig

 

by Gadi Zaig

The film, which includes unseen footage of the Hamas attacks, also explores the resilience of the Jewish people in time for its official release on Tisha B'Av.

 

Aish CMO Jamie Geller speaks with Iris Haim, mother of Gaza hostage Yotam who was mistakenly killed by the IDF.

(photo credit: Courtesy of Aish)

A new documentary about the Hamas massacre titled October 7th: Voices of Pain, Hope, and Heroism brings individual stories of some of the many heroes and victims of the tragic day and the ongoing war since, which had its premiere on Wednesday night.

It includes unseen footage of the Hamas attacks from that dark Saturday morning, some of which was taken from personal family archives.

The documentary, which is set to be released next Monday on Tisha B’Av, was produced by the Aish Jewish organization. Their vision is to create a culture of Jewish learning and to inspire people to live more spiritual and thoughtful lives through sharing Jewish wisdom, according to their website, where you can also pre-register to watch the documentary.

Aish CMO Jamie Geller interviews retired IDF Maj Gen Noam Tibon who saved his son and family on October 7 (credit: Courtesy of Aish)

Split into five separate stories, the film features the parents of those who were victims or taken hostage on that day, some of whom were in attendance at the premiere.

One was retired IDF Maj.-Gen. Noam Tibon, who saved his son, Amir, and his family while they were in Kibbutz Nahal Oz when the terrorists attacked. As soon as he was notified that his son was in danger, he rushed to the Gaza border communities from Tel Aviv, armed only with a handgun. Tibon goes further into detail about his experiences that day in the documentary, including fighting Hamas terrorists in the kibbutzim.

What should audiences take away from this film?

“You don’t leave anyone behind,” Tibon told The Jerusalem Post when asked what the most important lesson to learn about the film was. “When I was on my journey that day, I didn’t leave anyone behind. Everyone that I met – people from the Nova festival, wounded soldiers, and members of Kibbutz Nahal Oz – I took care of all of them,” he stressed.

The story he told in the documentary garnered a round of applause from viewers at the film’s premiere.

Aish CMO Jamie Geller speaks with Alon and Sheerie Mesika, whose son Adir was murdered at the Nova festival on October 7 (credit: Courtesy of Aish)

Another person featured in the documentary is Julie Kuperstein, Bar Kuperstein’s mother. He is still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Julie told the Post that she hopes audiences will “hold on to hope and faith” and know that “the creator is the one who runs the world, not us, and that everyone is in his hands.”

The other three families included Jen Airley, whose son Binyamin was killed while fighting Hamas terrorists early in the war and was shown to have a strong passion for Israel in the documentary.

Another parent in the film was Iris Haim, whose son Yotam was taken hostage by Hamas and was mistakenly killed by the IDF after he and two other hostages were misidentified as Hamas terrorists. Haim said that it was not the IDF’s fault, and put the blame entirely on Hamas for kidnapping her son.

The last parents featured in the documentary were Alon and Sheerie Mesika, whose son Adir was murdered at the Nova music festival. Adir followed his father in his passion for jewelry design, and after his death, his father gave away diamond rings in his memory to soldiers who wanted to propose to their partners and build a Jewish household.

The resilience of the Jewish people

While highlighting the stories of some who were impacted by the October 7 massacre, the film also explores the topic of Jewish resilience, relating this aspect to the viewership.

The documentary also followed Jamie Geller, Aish’s chief media and marketing officer and the documentary’s producer, as she interviewed the five families.

“The five families that I’ve met, that people will meet when they watch this film, are true heroes of the Jewish people and have taught me what true faith is.

“Their resilience has taught me that it is not enough to survive our collective or personal tragedies and traumas... we have to thrive even in the face of this. And to see what they have done has made me, just being in their presence and hearing their stories, feel like a better person.

“I know what my purpose and my responsibility are to the world to make it a better place, even in the face of living through something such as October 7,” she said.

Geller also remarked on the significance of releasing the film on Tisha B’Av, as it is a day noted in the Jewish calendar when disasters in Jewish history occurred with the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

“It’s a day when people are in prayer, they’re fasting, and what has become common in the last few years in the digital age is to watch programming on that day that will help you get in touch with this very emotional mourning period,” she explained. “How do we connect with the loss of a temple that we never saw? So different organizations and companies have created programming so that people can watch from the comfort of their homes.”

Geller mentioned that Aish this year has made the October 7 film free of charge on their website, as opposed to other programs that may charge for viewership.

Senior Aish educator Rabbi Dov Ber Cohen, who is also featured in the film, told the Post that the film informs audiences of the “resilience of the Jewish people. We’ve been through more persecution than any other nation – through the Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms, being twice exiled from our own land, the Holocaust, and now October 7. Although we feel our pain, we never play a victim role, and we always get up.

“Not only do we carry on surviving, we become greater, and we impact other people in a positive way,” Cohen continued. “We bring culture into the world, morality, spirituality, technology, and civilization. We say, ‘We know you might want to kill us, but not only are we not going to die, we’re going to bring light to the world and touch everyone else’s lives.’” 

Registration to watch the film is available here.

Gadi Zaig

Source: https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/article-813919

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World leaders greet terror-supporting Palestinian Authority figure at Olympics - Ephraim D. Tepler and Itamar Marcus

 

by Ephraim D. Tepler and Itamar Marcus

[I]t is not surprising that European leaders maintain warm relations with Palestinian terror supporter Rajoub, considering that through their financial contributions to the PA, the EU countries knowingly serve as accessories to PA terror funding.

 

The 2024 Paris Olympics has served as a warm environment for terror-supporting Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub to cozy up to world leaders. Rajoub has openly called Jews “criminals,” “terrorists,” and “worse than the Nazis.” He has described Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on October 7 as “epic” and consisting of “acts of heroism,” and he has also threatened another, “more violent explosion.”

Nonetheless, this did not prevent the International Olympic Committee, or other world leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, from greeting Rajoub and posing with him for pictures. Just before the opening ceremonies, Rajoub posted pictures on Facebook of himself being welcomed by these and other dignitaries.  

Posted text: “During the reception held by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Mrs. Brigitte Macron for [Fatah Central Committee Secretary] Jibril Rajoub at the French presidential palace (Élysée Palace) [parentheses in source] shortly before the launch of the Olympic Games in Paris, the capital of France.

Some of Rajoub’s meetings with a number of heads of state and senior international statesmen.  #Jibril_Rajoub”

[Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, July 28, 2024]

These greetings and meetings come as no surprise considering that in December 2023, the International Olympic Committee already sent a message of support to Rajoub, who serves as Palestine Olympic Committee chairman.

Likewise, it is not surprising that European leaders maintain warm relations with Palestinian terror supporter Rajoub, considering that through their financial contributions to the PA, the EU countries knowingly serve as accessories to PA terror funding. Furthermore, it is not surprising that the UN secretary-general greets Rajoub, as UNRWA employees have been found to be Hamas operatives.

Palestinian Media Watch has informed International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach of Rajoub’s hate speech and terror support in the past. PMW has also submitted official complaints to the committee. As we have demanded previously, the IOC should be ashamed of itself and should cut off all ties with the Palestine Olympic Committee until terror-supporting Rajoub is replaced.

Ephraim D. Tepler and Itamar Marcus
Source: https://palwatch.org/page/35373 

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Suspects in Swift concert terror plot wanted to 'kill as many people as possible' - Joseph Weber

 

by Joseph Weber

Concert organized expected as many as 65,000 fans inside the concert venue and as many as 30,000 outside.

 

The two suspects in the foiled terror plot on Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, Austrian authorities said Thursday and that they confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”

Three sold-out concerts were canceled Wednesday at Ernst Happel Stadium because of the plot, which was to be executed Thursday and Friday. 

Concert organizers expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside, according to the Associated Press.

Officials said the19-year-old Austrian suspect began working on the plot in July and had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group militia. He planned to use knives or homemade explosives to carry out the attack outside the stadium, the wire service also reports.

They also found Islamic State group and al-Qaida material at the home of the second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian. He was employed a few days ago by a company providing services at the venue for the concerts.

 
Joseph Weber

Source: https://justthenews.com/world/suspects-swift-concert-terror-plot-wanted-kill-many-people-possible

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FBI let suspect in plot to kill Trump into U.S. on parole despite terror ties, Iran trip, memos show - John Solomon and Steven Richards

 

by John Solomon and Steven Richards

Asif Merchant was granted a ‘significant public benefit’ parole in April and overstayed his permission before being arrested.

The FBI allowed Asif Raza Merchant, the Pakistani man charged with plotting with Tehran to assassinate Donald Trump and others, to enter the U.S. in April with special permission known as “significant public benefit parole” even though he was flagged on a terrorism watchlist and recently traveled to Iran, according to government documents reviewed by Just the News.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force interviewed Merchant, fingerprinted him and inspected the contents of his electronic devices when he arrived at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in Houston, but then let him leave with the special parole that expired on May 11, the memos state.

“Subject was polite and cooperative throughout encounter,” the FBI interview memo reads. “... Subject's notable travel outside of country of citizenship includes a recent trip to Iran.”

Merchant wasn't arrested until July 12, after a confidential human source ascertained he had tried to line up assassins and was planning to leave the United States, the FBI said.

The memos add a new twist to an assassination plot that was uncovered before Trump was shot by a 20-year-old American in Butler, Pa., but not announced until earlier this week. Authorities say they don't believe there is connection between the two assassinations plots.

The FBI declined to comment about the documents obtained by Just the News. But, the JTTF interview summary and immigration records give some rich detail about what the bureau knew before it allowed Merchant to enter the country and what conditions they placed on his entry.

The immigration records from his arrival in Houston on April 13 clearly stated in bright red that he was flagged by the Department of Homeland Security database with the identifier “WATCH LIST” and denoted as a "Lookout Qualified Person of Interest."

Despite direct travel to a country with known terrorist activity, the memo relays that Merchant was “released without incident” into the United States and was “free to travel to desired destination,” which was listed as a family member's home in Texas.

Law enforcement officials who alerted Just the News to the FBI's role in April compared the parole decision to an earlier law enforcement controversy known as the "Fast and Furious" scandal in which federal agents allowed U.S. guns to flow to Mexican cartels in hopes of tracking crimes.

The parole in Merchant's case, the officials said, would allow agents to try to flip Merchant as a cooperator or try to determine why he was coming to the United States and who he might be working with. But such tactics also carried a risk that agents might lose track of him, the officials said. 

The records show that Merchant was allowed to stay in the country beyond the May 11 expiration date for his parole. 

While there is no statutory or regulatory definition of a public benefit parole, according to the DHS, a variety of factors can be used to determine whether a subject qualifies, and the status is extended based on a benefit to the public, not the individual.

“Parole based on significant public benefit includes, but is not limited to, law enforcement and national security reasons or foreign or domestic policy considerations,” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website says.

The Justice Department says Merchant tried to hire an individual for an assassination plot shortly after he entered the country in April and that individual become a confidential informant for law enforcement after reporting the contact.

Merchant reportedly asked the informant about various methods to carry out an assassination attempt.

He also told the confidential source that the planned assassination would occur after he left the United States and that he would communicate with the individual to relay instructions. However, law enforcement intercepted Merchant before he left the country. 

After the charges against Merchant were announced earlier this week, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency issued a new warning Wednesday to its field offices that Iran or its proxy groups may try to transport “operatives, money or materials” across both the southern and northern U.S. borders to carry out attacks on the United States.

In the memo, which was obtained by Just the News, the CBP’s Office of Field Operations directed agency personnel to take a “heightened posture due to ongoing security threats,” including against possible attacks on the United States mirroring the recent Iran-backed Hezbollah rocket attack on an Israeli town in the Golan Heights.

The memo also warned that heightened tensions across the Middle East due to Israel’s retaliation for the Golan Heights strike – the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital – increased the risk of a terror attack in the United States.

The memo specifically urged CBP personnel to implement “hardening measures” at ports of entry such as the airport in Houston where Merchant arrived and was subsequently released into the country.

Merchant was ultimately arrested on July 12 as he attempted to make arrangements to leave the country.

Prosecutors unsealed a complaint against him earlier this week, charging him with organizing a “murder-for-hire” plot in a scheme to assassinate U.S. politicians or government officials. Justice Department and FBI officials said Merchant was working “on behalf of others overseas” and pointed the finger at Iran.

“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today’s charges allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI.”  

Though Trump, a former GOP president running for reelection in 2024, was not named in the complaint directly, sources confirmed to ABC News that he was one of the intended targets.

The revelation that Merchant was stopped at a port of entry but permitted to enter the United States, even with terror ties, follows a report from the House Judiciary Committee that found the Biden administration’s DHS released 99 individuals on the terrorist watch list into the country between fiscal years 2021 and 2023 and has 34 others in custody who have not yet been removed.

During those years, Border Patrol encountered individuals from 36 different countries with an active terrorist presence, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Yemen, the report says.

In June, eight men from Tajikistan were arrested in coordinated sting operations across the United States because their suspected ties to the Islamic State terror group. All eight of the suspects crossed the southern border, but their criminal background checks were clean when they crossed, NBC News reported.

 
John Solomon and Steven Richards

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/fbi-let-suspect-plot-kill-trump-us-parole-despite-terror-ties-iran-trip-memos

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Telling Their Story: Israeli Warriors in a Political Game - Nils A. Haug

 

by Nils A. Haug

Instead of deterring Iran, the Biden-Harris administration has been promoting a deal for Israel to surrender more of its already miniscule territory to Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon. Why Israel or any country would ever willingly agree to such stupidity is never asked.

 

• [T]he Biden-Harris administration has not only been vacillating on military support for Israel, but also endeavouring to micromanage Israel's war operation. A tragic outcome of these haphazard policies is that they are resulting in more deaths, prolonging the war and delaying Hamas's release of the hostages.

• The vacillation and political gamesmanship by the Biden-Harris team have only encouraged Iran to develop its nuclear weapons for what the mullahs apparently plan to be the destruction of Israel and ultimately the US.

• Instead of deterring Iran, the Biden-Harris administration has been promoting a deal for Israel to surrender more of its already miniscule territory to Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon. Why Israel or any country would ever willingly agree to such stupidity is never asked.

• "Since October 7th, Hezbollah has fired 7,000 drones, missiles, and rockets at Israel. Yet Israel is the one accused of 'escalation.' Israel may be the only nation on earth that would be accused of escalation after daring to defend itself against 7,000 mass murder attempts by the world's most heavily armed terrorist organization. The absurdity of the double standard has become too glaring to ignore." — US Congressman Ritchie Torres, D-NY, x.com, August 3, 2024.

• Countless civilian deaths in both Israeli and Gaza have doubtless resulted from signals sent by the Biden-Harris administration that they are hostile to Israel, determined to have Hamas win, and still fund Iran.

• In addition, the Biden-Harris administration has delayed weapons for Israel, and warned that "the U.S. will not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran." Iran's ruling mullahs could only conclude that the Biden-Harris administration was done with Israel and sending them and their proxies... a green light to escalate their attacks.

• Although the US finally sent 12 destroyers to the region... in general, the Biden-Harris administration's approach has been to undermine Israel's efforts to defend itself and rescue its hostages -- some of whom are also US citizens -- and strengthen Iran's and Hamas's commitment finally to "wipe Israel off the map." After all, why should they agree to a ceasefire if the US keeps insisting on a ceasefire that assures them they will win?

• In addition, civilian deaths would have been dramatically reduced on both sides, and the hostages released. Instead, the US has been engaging in political games -- as it is doing with Ukraine's efforts to defend itself against Russia -- all while people are being killed.

• Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas clearly feel no pressure from the US to cease their relentless attacks. They are right: there has been none.

• "Islamism has never ceased to threaten the West, and there have been numerous terrorist attacks—and thwarted attempts—in France, Belgium, and Spain in recent years... At what point in history did we decide that it is more important to protect the aggressor than the attacked?" — Itxu Díaz, Spanish author, tabletmag.org, May 23, 2024.

The Biden-Harris administration has not only been vacillating on military support for Israel, but also endeavouring to micromanage Israel's war operation. A tragic outcome of these haphazard policies is that they are resulting in more deaths, prolonging the war and delaying Hamas's release of the hostages. Pictured: Israeli soldiers inspect the entrance to a Hamas terror tunnel just oustide an UNRWA compound in Gaza City, on February 8, 2024. (Photo by Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

"They are fighting like lions in these alleys, under constant threat. They are heroes. This is not a simple war," recalled Lt. Col. Almog Rotem, a battalion commander in the Israel Defense Forces, about what is faced by his soldiers in the Rafah campaign, in Gaza. "This was a severe event that should never have happened but did. We're in a grueling, challenging war.... My heart goes out to the families of the fallen; we will... complete the mission.... Not a single soldier has said, 'I don't want to continue.'"

The context is a desperate search and rescue operation for hostages from many nations taken into captivity by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and incarcerated in deep tunnels under the earth on that dreadful day. "[T]otal victory," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the US Congress, means that "we destroy Hamas' military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home."

Reportedly due to political concerns over Muslim voters in the US, the Biden-Harris administration has not only been vacillating on military support for Israel, but also endeavouring to micromanage Israel's war operation. A tragic outcome of these haphazard policies is that they are resulting in more deaths, prolonging the war and delaying Hamas's release of the hostages.

The IDF's necessary assault on Rafah for its self-defense and attempts to determine the location of senior Hamas leaders were postponed time and again due to US and international pressure. These postponements not only put the hostages at greater risk of torture and death -– bodies of five murdered hostages were recently discovered -- but increase the risks to soldiers come to rescue them. Some hostages were eventually rescued from Rafah; perhaps others could have been, except that during the interim period they had been transferred elsewhere.

The US-dictated delay of sending Israel's forces to Rafah allowed Hamas to set lethal traps for them when they eventually did arrive. Tragically, some were killed as a result, presumably unnecessarily:

• Three soldiers killed on May 18, 2024, by an IED (improvised explosive device).
• On May 28, three soldiers killed by a booby-trap;
• In June, eight soldiers perished when their vehicle hit an IED in the same area.
• Also in June, four Israeli troops killed in booby-trapped building in Rafah.

Hamas was able to set these traps during the three months in which there was a lull in fighting, a period forced upon Israel by the inept US administration.

Despite initially sending munitions and expressing an "ironclad" commitment to Israel's survival in the face of a multi-pronged attack by Iran and its proxies, the US administration under Biden has grown weary of the domestic political fall-out from supporting Israel. The absence of strong statesmanlike leadership from the US -- with Biden again projecting weakness on the world stage and his underlings no better -- has resulted in a compromise of Israel's geopolitical interests in the region, which, incidentally, align with those of the US and the West.

According to the journalist Caroline Glick:

"On the ground, the U.S. has micromanaged, slowed, subverted and delegitimized Israel's war in Gaza, and blocked it from taking decisive action against Hezbollah, the Houthis or Iran.

"The administration has embargoed and slow-walked weapons transfers to Israel to prevent it from defeating Hamas or moving to offense against Hezbollah."

Consequences included the unnecessary deaths of IDF soldiers, forced to enter enemy tunnels -- death traps that could have been destroyed or degraded by the precision weapons and 2,000 pound bombs Israel had asked for as it tries to defend itself on seven fronts, but which the US administration denied.

Neutralizing the danger of Hamas therefore entails the ability of Israel, with full forces and required munitions, additionally to face Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The vacillation and political gamesmanship by the Biden-Harris team have only encouraged Iran to develop its nuclear weapons for what the mullahs apparently plan to be the destruction of Israel and ultimately the US.

Instead of deterring Iran, the Biden-Harris administration has been promoting a deal for Israel to surrender more of its already miniscule territory to Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon. Why Israel or any country would ever willingly agree to such stupidity is never asked.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, fully aware of US pressure on Israel -- but never on Hamas or its sponsors and protectors, Qatar and Iran -- has apparently decided that it would be advantageous to continue bombarding Israel. According to US Congressman Ritchie Torres:

"Since October 7th, Hezbollah has fired 7,000 drones, missiles, and rockets at Israel. Yet Israel is the one accused of 'escalation.'

"Israel may be the only nation on earth that would be accused of escalation after daring to defend itself against 7,000 mass murder attempts by the world's most heavily armed terrorist organization.

"The absurdity of the double standard has become too glaring to ignore. Yet ignored it continues to be."

In a recent, horrific, possibly miscalculated, rocket attack on July 27, twelve youths of Israel's Druze community were murdered by Hezbollah while innocently playing soccer.

Countless civilian deaths in both Israeli and Gaza have doubtless resulted from signals sent by the Biden-Harris administration that they are hostile to Israel, determined to have Hamas win, and still fund Iran. Vice President Kamala Harris failed to greet Netanyahu upon his arrival in Washington DC, or attend his address to Congress, and repeated her enthusiasm for creating a Palestinian State. In addition, the Biden-Harris administration has delayed weapons for Israel, and warned that "the U.S. will not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran."

Iran's ruling mullahs could only conclude that the Biden-Harris administration was done with Israel and sending them and their proxies -- Hezbollah and the Houthis -- a green light to escalate their attacks.

Although the US finally sent 12 destroyers to the region, probably as a warning to Iran, in general, the Biden-Harris administration's approach has been to undermine Israel's efforts to defend itself and rescue its hostages -- some of whom are also US citizens -- and strengthen Iran's and Hamas's commitment finally to "wipe Israel off the map." After all, why should they agree to a ceasefire if the US keeps insisting on a ceasefire that assures them they will win?

If the Biden-Harris administration had simply stood by Israel, provided the required materiel, and warned Qatar, Iran and its proxies that if they did not stop their war immediately the costs to them would be unimaginable, it would have been over by now. In addition, civilian deaths would have been dramatically reduced on both sides, and the hostages released. Instead, the US has been engaging in political games -- as it is doing with Ukraine's efforts to defend itself against Russia -- all while people are being killed.

Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas clearly feel no pressure from the US to cease their relentless attacks. They are right: there has been none.

So, the war against Israel continues on multiple fronts, with civilians, hostages, and Israel's soldiers suffering the consequences.

Spanish author Itxu Díaz wrote:

"Islamism has never ceased to threaten the West, and there have been numerous terrorist attacks—and thwarted attempts—in France, Belgium, and Spain in recent years. It is difficult for intelligence services to monitor extremism in Western countries with so-called no-go zones where the police can't enter. Yet not even this disorderly and chaotic commitment to multiculturalism would be a problem if the inhabitants of these no-go zones did not have among their vital objectives the destruction of the West, the killing of Christians and Jews, and wiping Israel off the map, and if European elites did not persist in denial of this reality.

"One of the great differences between how Israel is defending itself against Islamic terrorism and how the West defends itself is the former's integrity. Israel clearly represents a culture... at the very root of Western civilization, and, more importantly, a moral code that limits man's capacity for destruction. The Israelis... to their credit... refuse to lie about the nature and motives of their attackers...

"At what point in history did we decide that it is more important to protect the aggressor than the attacked?"

Israel will again overcome all challenges to its people, its homeland and the West. It always has.

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. Retired from law, his particular field of interest is political theory interconnected with current events. He holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology. Dr. Haug 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, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Jewish News Syndicate, Anglican Mainstream, Document Danmark, and others.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20844/israeli-warriors-in-political-game

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