Why Arabs Are Celebrating the Death of Hassan Nasrallah - Bassam Tawil

 

by Bassam Tawil

"Honestly, Lebanon should toss Nasrallah into the sea like the U.S. did with Bin Laden—no land deserves that filth. Though, I do feel bad for the fish." — Amjad Taha, United Arab Emirates, to his 571,000 followers on X, September 28, 2024.

 

Translations of this item:

Dutch

• "Israel just made all the Middle East happy tonight." — Israeli-Lebanese Christian journalist Jonathan Elkhoury, X, September 27, 2024.

• "As a Lebanese, this is one of the happiest days in Lebanon's history.... As a human being who holds peace before my eyes, this is the most important day for our region. Nasrallah and Hezbollah have terrorized the Lebanese people since the 1980s.... Every Lebanese and every decent human being should feel joy at the downfall of one of the greatest evils of our time. Now, we have a real chance to look forward... and sitting down with Israelis and the West for genuine negotiations on normalization and peace between our countries—Israel and Lebanon." — Jonathan Elkhoury, X, September 24, 2024.

• "Honestly, Lebanon should toss Nasrallah into the sea like the U.S. did with Bin Laden—no land deserves that filth. Though, I do feel bad for the fish." — Amjad Taha, United Arab Emirates, to his 571,000 followers on X, September 28, 2024.

• All the students at US university campuses who have been protesting Israel's war against Iran's terror proxies, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, should hear the voices of these Arabs. These voices demonstrate how many Arabs have also been harmed by terrorism and how they wish for a better future for their children and their people. These voices also show that in the war against Islamist terrorism, a growing number of Arabs consider Israel an ally.

The killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has shown that many Arabs considered him an enemy and arch-terrorist. Nasrallah was responsible for killing not only many Israelis but also many Arabs, especially in Lebanon and Syria. That is probably why the news of Nasrallah's elimination was greeted with jubilation by many Israelis and Arabs. Pictured: Some of the hundreds of Syrians celebrating the killing of Nasrallah in the streets of Idlib, Syria, on September 28, 2024. (Photo by Muhammad Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, was often described by many in the West as a "formidable enemy" of Israel. Nasrallah's death, however, has shown that many Arabs, including some of his fellow Lebanese citizens, also considered him an enemy and arch-terrorist. The Hezbollah chief was responsible for killing not only a large number of Israelis over the past three decades, but also many Arabs, especially in Lebanon and Syria.

That is probably why the news of Nasrallah's elimination was greeted with jubilation by many Israelis and Arabs.

Hezbollah has long been an ally of the Ba'ath regime of Syria, ruled by the Assad family. Hezbollah has helped the Ba'ath regime during the Syrian civil war in its fight against the Syrian opposition, backed by the US.

Hezbollah's intervention in the Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011, was pivotal in helping regime security forces regain control of several Syrian provinces, including Aleppo, and in maintaining its grip on power despite widespread opposition. For many Syrians, particularly those in opposition-held areas such as Idlib, Hezbollah's involvement in the war is synonymous with oppression and violence.

One Syrian wrote:

"I'm in idlib right now and the Syrians are out on the streets celebrating rumours of the death of Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, aka Hezboshaytan ["the party of Satan"]!

"Just a few days ago Hezboshaytan bombed a village here, today we buried a 1 year old baby and his mother that were killed."

Syrian journalist Omar Madaniah posted on X a video of hundreds of Syrians in the streets celebrating the death of Nasrallah, with some handing out sweets, and commented:

"Hassan Nasrallah should kill himself if he does not die, especially after he saw the overwhelming joy of the people after the news of his death.

"His killing of hundreds of thousands of Syrians removed the mask of 'resistance' from his ugly face, and he was unable to wear it again."

Images and videos circulating on social media featured Syrian children holding banners expressing gratitude to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for authorizing the assassination of Nasrallah. One banner reads: "Thank you, Netanyahu. We want you to take out the criminal [Syrian President] Bashar Assad." Another banner reads: "Thank you, Netanyahu. You have brought joy to the children of Syria."

In still another video, an imam of a mosque in Syria is heard announcing through a loudspeaker: "Thank Allah for the death of the oppressor Hassan Nasrallah."

Israeli-Lebanese Christian Jonathan Elkhoury commented:

"Syrians are celebrating tonight handing over baklawa [pastry] following the news that Nasrallah might be dead.
Nasrallah and Hezbollah butchered the people of Syria, helping Assad regime kill his own people.
Israel just made all the Middle East happy tonight."

In another post on X, Elkhoury wrote:

"As a Lebanese, this is one of the happiest days in Lebanon's history. As a Middle Easterner, this is one of the most transformative days for the Middle East. As a human being who holds peace before my eyes, this is the most important day for our region.

"Nasrallah and Hezbollah have terrorized the Lebanese people since the 1980s. He is responsible for the continuous downfall of Lebanon's economy and sovereignty. He bears responsibility for countless assassinations of fine Lebanese men and women, solely for opposing his grip on our precious country.

"Nasrallah is also responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Syrian children, women, and men, as well as for other atrocities across the Middle East.

"Every Lebanese and every decent human being should feel joy at the downfall of one of the greatest evils of our time.

"Now, we have a real chance to look forward, ensuring Hezbollah's weapons are handed over to the Lebanese authorities, and sitting down with Israelis and the West for genuine negotiations on normalization and peace between our countries—Israel and Lebanon."

Amjad Taha, an expert in Strategic Political Affairs from the United Arab Emirates, praised Israel for assassinating the Hezbollah chief:

"This morning dawns without Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, no longer casting his shadow over Lebanon. What a joyous afternoon it is! An early Merry Christmas and Hanukkah echo in the air. A truly historic day—one that fills the heart with pride. Well done, Israel—sincerely and forever. Today, the Middle East embraces a new light, with Israel at the heart of a bright and beautiful future. Israel has triumphed, and its enemies fade, now and for eternity. The 7th of October stands as a testament: you dared, and now they shall dare no more. [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, you are next."

In another post on X, Taha, wrote to his 571,000 followers:

"Repost if you're still celebrating. Like if you're wondering which part of the filthy terrorist they're burying. Honestly, Lebanon should toss Nasrallah into the sea like the U.S. did with Bin Laden—no land deserves that filth. Though, I do feel bad for the fish. Any ideas?"

Kareem Rifai, who describes himself as an "anti-authoritarian advocate Syrian Circassian," commented on the celebrations in his country over the death of Nasrallah:

"The last time we saw Free Syrians celebrate like this was after [Iranian President Ebrahim] Raisi's helicopter crash — but the reaction to Nasrallah tonight is even more energetic."

Many Lebanese have also expressed joy over the death of Nasrallah, whom they hold responsible for the assassination of several of their country's politicians, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, who was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 2005. A United Nations investigation team found evidence of Hezbollah's responsibility for Hariri's assassination. A UN-backed tribunal issued four arrest warrants to members of Hezbollah.

Some Lebanese believe the assassination of Nasrallah provides an opportunity for their country to end Hezbollah's state-within-a-state status in their country. Lebanese columnist Nadim Koteich remarked:

"The most dangerous thing for Lebanon is today is not the departure of Hassan Nasrallah from the scene. The most dangerous thing facing Lebanon today is the absence of the State of Lebanon. I call for an emergency meeting of all Lebanese leaders to discuss a unilateral ceasefire to save Lebanon. I call on the Lebanese Army to restore law and order."

A Lebanese social media user called JannatM urged all Lebanese to demand an end to Hezbollah's control of Lebanon in the aftermath of the elimination of Nasrallah:

"The Lebanese abroad must take to the streets in front of their embassies and peacefully express their rejection of Hezbollah and the current government, and a demand a government that represents them.

"Move.

"Don't miss the opportunity.

"Even if it doesn't happen now, the world with know that your country is being kidnapped [by Hezbollah]."

All the students at US university campuses who have been protesting Israel's war against Iran's terror proxies, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, should hear the voices of these Arabs. These voices demonstrate how many Arabs have also been harmed by terrorism and how they wish for a better future for their children and their people. These voices also show that in the war against Islamist terrorism, a growing number of Arabs consider Israel an ally.

Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. His work is made possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.

Source:https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20984/arabs-celebrate-nasrallah-death

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

As US gives $336 million to Palestinians, PA demonizes it as the “head of global terror” - Nan Jacques Zilberdik

 

by Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Fatah official denies Israel's self-defense in Gaza: Europeans created Israel to steal oil, now Israel wants the gas in Gaza

 

• Abbas spokesman: US is cause of "chaos, wars, and instability

• Fatah official: US is "head of global terror"

• Abbas' advisor:
  - Hamas' massacre on Oct. 7 was just an "excuse" for Israel to carry out "aggression" on "US instructions" 
  - Israel is fighting Gaza war for the US, goal is to eliminate Palestinian cause
  - The US administration is "the biggest liar" and "a threat"

• Fatah official accuses NATO and the world: "World stood idly by facing unprecedented Nazi holocausts led by NATO, as the NATO states opened their weapons depots to slaughter our Palestinian people"

• Fatah official denies Israel's self-defense in Gaza: Europeans created Israel to steal oil, now Israel wants the gas in Gaza

The US has announced that it is giving the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank additional humanitarian aid worth $336 million.

But in response to all the US support during the war (and prior), the PA is relentlessly demonizing the US as being the aggressor and mastermind behind Israel's war against the Hamas and Hezbollah terror organizations, regardless of the fact that both terror organizations first attacked and continue to attack Israel and Israeli civilians. Worse still, three days ago, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman also blamed the US for "the continuing chaos, wars, and instability" in the region:

"Official Spokesman for the [PA] Presidential Office Nabil Abu Rudeina [said]… the successive American administrations bear responsibility for the continuing chaos, wars, and instability through their mistaken policy and provision of political, monetary, and military support for the continuation of the occupation (i.e., Israel), which has encouraged it to commit more crimes against our people and against the peoples of the region in Syria and Lebanon, alongside the ongoing threats against other regions."

[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 29, 2024]

While many Western governments have been highly critical of Israel's response to Hamas and Hezbollah's attacks during the ongoing 2023 Gaza war, and have supported the idea of having the PA take power in Gaza after it is done, the PA and its ruling Fatah party have, on the other hand, made their hostility to the West clear in numerous recent conspiracy theories and statements of demonization. Even as Abbas was again welcomed in the US last week, his PA and Fatah officials are busy bad-mouthing the US administration, accusing it of being behind the war and using Israel as its pawn.

A regular columnist of the PA's mouthpiece Al-Hayat Al-Jadida accused the US of being guilty of "war crimes" in Lebanon:

"The US has been a central partner in managing the operations against the Hezbollah leadership and its activists who are wanted by the [American] administration and Israel…. The American administration is involved in the war crimes against the Hezbollah leadership and activists… [Hassan Nasrallah should] delay and not be dragged after the Israeli and American desire to pull him into the complication of a regional war."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida website, Sept. 22, 2024]

In a recent interview, Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki referred to the US as "the head of global terror." Perhaps this is no surprise considering that Zaki also serves as Fatah Commissioner for Arab and China Relations:

"Fatah Movement Central Committee member Abbas Zaki… called for a comprehensive agreement and a code of honor between all parts of the Palestinian people and its movements (i.e., Fatah and Hamas), according to which the main contradiction is with the Israeli occupation and the rest are secondary differences that our preoccupation with them serves the plots of the occupation (i.e., Israel)… led by the US, the head of global terror."

[Al-Quds website, Sept. 8, 2024]

Earlier this year Zaki accused the US, and "not Israel," of waging a war to "slaughter the Palestinian people":

 

Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki: "The US is the one waging the [Gaza] war, and not Israel… It is the one waging the war and it is the one that is striving with all its effortsto slaughter the Palestinian people… Our central issue is to stop this cursed war, this barbaric war, which is worse than Nazism."

[Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page,
Jan. 20, 2024]

Similarly, PA Chairman Abbas' Advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash has accused the US of pulling the strings in Israel's war against Hamas, claiming Israel just "carries out American instructions" " and the US is "pushing" Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu "towards extremism" with its "hostile, immoral, and illegal position":

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Israel's sovereign is the US, unfortunately. The US even today opposes a resolution proposal at the [UN] General Assembly calling to end the occupation. Imagine, this is the level of American hostility to the Palestinian rights… The one who is strengthening the position of [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu and pushing him more and more towards extremism is the American administration's position. The American administration's position is a hostile position, an immoral and illegal position, and honestly it is the one that bears responsibility for the scope of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people."

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page,
Sept. 18, 2024]

 

Al-Habbash: "Everyone knows that all the cards are in the hands of the US, not in the hands of Israel. Israel is nothing more than the one who carries out the American policy. If the American administration would have wanted to tell Israel ‘Enough,' the war would have ended (i.e., the 2023 Gaza war; see note below -Ed.). But it doesn't do this and attempts to mislead and spread lies to extend the aggression to achieve the same goal. The goal is to erase the political aspect of the Palestinian cause and change the rules of the game, even in the West Bank."

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Sept. 11, 2024]

Al-Habbash: "Israel exploited and used what happened on Oct. 7 [2023](i.e., Hamas' massacre and launch of terror war) as an excuse to carry out aggression that was planned and prepared in advance against the Gaza Strip, as part of the aggression against the Palestinian people. What happened on Oct. 7 is not the cause of the aggression…

[Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu is just a clerk of the American administration, and all of Israel is just subordinate to the American administration and carries out its instructions and serves its policies. Israel is nothing more than an American interest that is carrying out the American policies. We don't need to speak with Netanyahu because he has no authority of his own. We must speak only with the American administration that alone bears the magnitude and responsibility for the continuation of this aggression." 

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Jan. 29, 2024]

Al-Habbash:"There is no bigger liar than the US administration, no bigger liar than [the US] exists.The American administration is inventing lies against us, as it has done through all the last decades… We are an unarmed people. We are a people that has been living under occupation for more than 70 years…. We are just trying to protect our existence. What threats are they talking about? If there is a threat to peace and security, it is the occupation (i.e., Israel) itself. Israel itself is the threat, and the US with all its racist policies, double standards, and aid to Israel is the true threat. We are a people that is seeking peace… We do not constitute a threat to anyone."

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud  Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Aug.29, 2024]

Palestinian Media Watch also reported on other anti-US remarks by Abbas' advisor, including the accusation that US President Biden is a "war criminal who should stand trial."

While emphasizing that the real war is "against the US and not Israel," Abbas Zaki has also stressed the Palestinians' "strong connection and strategic partnership with China"

Zaki: "Our war now (i.e., 2023 Gaza war) is a war against the US and not Israel because Israel's guarantee of life is the US… Old colonialism, in other words the European colonialist states, wanted to take the Jews and create a base close to them that is hostile to their surroundings, and offered to establish Israel in Argentina, Uganda, and the like. But when the oil was discovered, the lifeline of modern industry, they wanted to take control of the Middle East region from the ocean to the gulf, and therefore Palestine fell victim to this oppressive criminal alliance… What is the meaning of Zionism? Taking control of the world… We anticipate that a massacre will happen, [the Israelis] will take action now to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and build the Temple, and they have already brought the [red] heifers, and if they will do this, Allah willing Israel will end… The US is the one that is fighting against us now. If the war was Israeli-Palestinian, the Arabs would have eliminated Israel a long time ago… Our connection with China is very strong, we have a strategic partnership with China. Our connection with Russia is very strong… Israel could not fight against any faction, not even against a state, if not for the US, and Allah willing the US will not be the world ruler."

[Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page,
May 16, 2024]

Zaki also lashed out at NATO, not only claiming  that Israel's defensive response to Hamas' terror war against it equals "Nazi holocausts," but also that these are "led by NATO":

According to Zaki, Oct. 7, [2024] (i.e., Hamas' invasion and massacre to launch its terror war on Israel) came to disrupt the plans and arrangements that bypassed Palestine and addressed the [Middle East] region, and afterwards the world stood idly by facing unprecedented Nazi holocausts led by NATO, as the NATO states opened their weapons depots to slaughter our Palestinian people."

[Al-Quds website, Sept. 8, 2024]

Zaki also repeated the conspiracy theory that Israel is not fighting Hamas in Gaza for security reasons, but rather because it wants to steal natural gas resources discovered there:

"Zaki emphasized that Israel is striving to decide the conflict and empty the land of its Palestinian owners, and he noted that the goal of the war in the Gaza Strip is not security-related, but rather it deviates beyond this and includes economic targets, like the [natural] gas reserve that was discovered northwest of Gaza."

[Al-Quds website, Sept. 8, 2024]

 Zaki first voiced this accusation in an interview last December:

Zaki: "[The Europeans] could have put Israel in Uganda or in Argentina, but then oil was discovered [in the Middle East], and they wanted to establish this human body in Palestine to separate between the Arab west and east, to impose their hegemony on the region's resources to prevent the Arabs from [creating] their unity and their future. Today [natural] gas has also been found in the northwest Gaza Strip, and an opportunity was created for them [Israel] to expel the Gaza Strip [residents] and eliminate its existence."

[Lebanese TV channel Spot Shot, YouTube channel, Dec. 26, 2023]

The following are longer excerpts of the some of the statements cited above:

Headline: "In an exclusive interview with Al-Quds, Zaki: The occupation is taking action to turn the Palestinian territories into a hostile environment for its people in order to press them to emigrate from their homeland"

"Fatah Movement Central Committee member Abbas Zaki… called for a comprehensive agreement and a code of honor between all parts of the Palestinian people and its movements, according to which the main contradiction is with the Israeli occupation and the rest are secondary differences that our preoccupation with them serves the plots of the occupation (i.e., Israel), which has based itself on the ‘divide and conquer' of Britain, led by the European colonialism, and ‘distributing the divided' led by the US, the head of global terror…

According to Zaki, Oct. 7, [2024] (i.e., Hamas' invasion and massacre to launch its terror war on Israel; see note below) came to disrupt the plans and arrangements that bypassed Palestine and addressed the [Middle East] region, and afterwards the world stood idly by facing unprecedented Nazi holocausts led by NATO, as the NATO states opened their weapons depots to slaughter our Palestinian people…

Zaki emphasized that Israel is striving to decide the conflict and empty the land of its Palestinian owners, and he noted that the goal of the war in the Gaza Strip is not security-related, but rather it deviates beyond this and includes economic targets, like the [natural] gas reserve that was discovered northwest of Gaza."

[Al-Quds website, Sept. 8, 2024]

Posted text with Al-Habbash's interview: "[PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud] Al-Habbash on [Egyptian] Al-Nile TV: We will defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque regardless of the sacrifices, and the responsibility for the Al-Aqsa Mosque is Arab and Islamic, not just Palestinian."

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Aug. 29, 2024]

Posted text with Al-Habbash's interview: "Al-Habbash on [Egyptian] Al-Nile TV: ‘Israel' used Oct. 7 (i.e., Hamas' massacre and launch of terror war on Israel) as an excuse to implement plans and plots that it prepared in advance to eliminate the Palestinian cause" 

[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Jan. 29, 2024]

The "opportunity created for them" mentioned by Zaki in the video interview refers to the 2023 Gaza war that PA and Fatah leaders frame as "Israeli aggression," claiming Israel exploits the war to "empty Gaza of Palestinians."

Nabil Abu Rudeina also serves as Fatah Central Committee member and Fatah Commissioner of Information, Culture, and Ideology, and is a former PA Deputy Prime Minister, PA Minister of Information, and advisor to senior Fatah terrorist Khalil Al-Wazir "Abu Jihad."

Hamas war on Israel October 2023

Mahmoud Al-Habbash

Abbas Zaki

Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Source: https://palwatch.org/page/35529

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

'Persona non grata': Israel bars UN secretary general Guterres from entering country - Mathilda Heller

 

by Mathilda Heller

"Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres," he concluded.

 

UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York City.

(photo credit: Mike Segar/Reuters)

Israel's foreign minister declared UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres 'persona non grata' and was henceforth banning him from entering Israel, according to a post on X/Twitter on Wednesday.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller later stated the US believes this step is  "not productive at all" due to the UN's role in the region. 

"One of the things we've always said that Israel needs to be cognizant of throughout this conflict is its standing in the world, and steps like this are not productive to improve its standing in the world," Miller added. 

The ban on entry, said FM Israel Katz, was due to Guterres's failure to "unequivocally condemn" Iran's massive missile attack on Israel.

"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil," Katz wrote.

A resident clears debris following the October 7 attack by Hamas in Kibbutz Be’eri. For many generations to come, 5784 will be remembered as a year of catastrophe. (credit: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO)

He added that Guterres is yet to denounce the October 7 massacre, which is approaching its one year anniversary, or condemn Hamas's use of sexual violence.

Katz also criticized the Guterres for not leading "any efforts to declare [Hamas] a terrorist organization."

"A Secretary-General who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran—the mothership of global terror—will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN."

"Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres," he concluded.

Following Israel's invasion of Lebanon on Monday, Guterres posted on X/Twitter that he was concerned with the escalation and said an "all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected."

Following the Iran attack on Israel on Tuesday night, Guterres called for a ceasefire.

Israel was not mentioned in the posts.

Failure to condemn Hamas

In April, the United Nations omitted Hamas from its blacklist of state and non-state parties guilty of sexual violence in 2023, due to a lack of what it deemed to be credible evidence.

The blacklist was part of a larger annual report on sexual violence authored by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was “disgusted” by the report in a statement released to the media.

“Guterres has turned the UN into an extremely antisemitic and anti-Israel institution during his tenure which will be remembered as the darkest in the organization’s history,” Katz said.

Tovah Lazaroff and Jerusalem Post Staff contibuted to this report.

 
Mathilda Heller

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-822984

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

The secret of Netanyahu’s unacknowledged and historic popularity - Caroline B. Glick

 

by Caroline B. Glick

To a large degree, the international narrative regarding the prime minister is shaped by media coverage in Israel. But the Israeli public isn’t buying it.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the plenum hall of the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, Sept. 30, 2024. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

It was strange to watch Fox News’ Martha MacCallum yesterday refer to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unpopularity” in Israel. McCallum is a straight-shooting journalist. So how is it that she is unaware that Netanyahu is the most popular prime minister Israel has had in ages?

Direct Polls is Israel’s most accurate polling company. It was the only one to accurately call the 2022 Knesset elections that returned Netanyahu and his Right-Religious bloc to power. Over the past year, Direct Polls accomplished what was previously considered impossible: It conducted uniformly accurate polls of much smaller local government elections.

Netanyahu’s popularity reasonably sank in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion and slaughter of 1,200 Israelis. But it began rebounding in late November. After National Resilience Party leader Benny Gantz resigned from Netanyahu’s government in June, Netanyahu steadily rose in Direct Polls tracking polls—leading Gantz and Opposition leader Yesh Atid Party head Yair Lapid by double digits in head-to-head matchups. In the intervening months, the gap between Netanyahu and his rival has grown steadily.

On Sunday, two days after Israel eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Direct Polls published the results of its latest tracking poll for Channel 14. It found that for the first time since Oct. 7, the parties comprising Netanyahu’s governing coalition have an outright majority in Knesset seats. If elections were held today, the government would be re-elected.

As for Netanyahu, his popularity has reached epic proportions in Israel’s polarized political jungle, enjoying higher ratings than his top two rivals combined. In head-to-head matchups, he leads Gantz in favorability 52% to 25% and Lapid 54% to 24%.

Related Articles

IDF kills Palestinian who lynched soldiers near Ramallah in 2000Oct. 4, 2024

IDF kills Hamas commander in Samaria’s TulkaremOct. 4, 2024

Police probing Iran link to attacks on Israeli missions in Sweden, DenmarkOct. 4, 2024

Any time Netanyahu walks down the street or his convoy drives past pedestrians, they shout out their support and clamor to take selfies with him. And as Israeli sociologist Dr. Avishai Ben Haim has noted, Netanyahu is the only prime minister since Menachem Begin whose supporters actively pray for him personally.

Despite Netanyahu’s wild popularity, the media narrative in Israel and across the world remains where it was in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7. The standard mantra is the one MacCallum parroted on Tuesday evening. The underlying message is that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to avoid elections.

Aside from being dead wrong, the assertion that Netanyahu is unpopular and is prolonging the war to avoid elections obfuscates the importance of what Netanyahu is doing. If the war is reduced to a question of politics, then we can ignore its strategic significance. And if we ignore the war’s strategic significance, then we can also avoid the issue of the polls, which show that the public is rallying around Netanyahu in a way no Israeli leader has experienced in recent memory. And if we ignore the polls, then we can ignore the reasons for Netanyahu’s historic popularity.

But understanding his popularity is key to understanding not only the political realities of Israel, but the forces driving events.

The sources of Netanyahu’s popularity

Netanyahu’s support stems from two sources. The first is the public’s recognition that Israel is fighting for its survival. The second is the Biden-Harris administration’s hostility.

Oct. 7 was a shattering event. It wasn’t merely a massive terrorist attack. For Israelis, it was a glimpse of the future if Israel fails to win the war. It showed Israelis that we are in a zero-sum game with Iran and its terror proxies. There is no deal to be had with Hamas, Hezbollah or the Iranian regime. Either they win and Israel is annihilated, or Israel wins and they are destroyed as military and political entities. There is no middle ground, no win-win deal.

While the Biden-Harris administration has professed solidarity with Israel since Oct. 7, Hamas’s day of atrocities did not change the administration’s policy goals. Both before and since Oct. 7, the Biden-Harris administration has had two goals in the Middle East—reaching a nuclear accord with Iran through strategic appeasement; and establishing a Palestinian state in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Both of these goals are opposed by the overwhelming majority of Israelis who view both a Palestinian state and a nuclear-armed Iran as existential threats to the country. Given the outpouring of emotional support Israelis received from President Joe Biden and his advisers after Oct. 7, Israelis reasonably expected that they would jettison their anti-Israel policies.

But the administration did no such thing. Instead, just days after Oct. 7, the Biden-Harris administration unfroze $6 billion in Iranian accounts and transferred the funds to Tehran. Despite mountains of evidence, the administration denied that Iran was involved in planning and approving Hamas’s terrorist invasion. And they ignored the fact that upwards of 75% of Palestinians supported the slaughter of that day and no Palestinian Authority official condemned the atrocities.

Far from standing with Israel, as early as Oct. 8, the administration began a policy of gaslighting Israel, intimating that it was on the verge of committing war crimes by insisting that Israel fight in accordance with the “laws of war,” as if there was any reason to think that it wouldn’t do so as a matter of course.

Just a month into Israel’s ground operation in Gaza, the administration began slow-walking offensive weapons, including everything from assault rifles and bullets to tank and artillery shells, and bombs for air force jets. The only armaments that were steadily resupplied were Iron Dome missiles.

From the administration’s perspective, Israel had the right to self-defense but not to victory. To this end, the administration sought to micromanage Israel’s military operations and minimize the strategic significance. Israelis recognized that fighting to a draw meant being defeated.

Gantz, Lapid and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were all willing to accept the administration’s position. It aligned with the way the military had been doing business for decades. Moreover, by accepting the administration’s dictates, they were showered with praise from the administration. The Netanyahu-hating media used their love fests with the White House and Pentagon as a means to present them as statesmen and Netanyahu as an isolated egomaniac who was only keeping up the fight to avoid new elections.

But the public didn’t buy the media narrative. Far from viewing Netanyahu as egotistical, they saw him as their only hope of preventing national destruction. From the very early stages of the war, Netanyahu distinguished himself as the only leader the public saw: Israel is facing foes who want to kill every single Jew they come across, and if we don’t defeat them, they will.

Netanyahu alone pledged publicly and repeatedly that he would not permit Israel’s fallen soldiers to have died in vain and would not relent in the war effort. As U.S. pressure grew stronger and more aggressive, he was also the only one who didn’t falter.

The administration responded to Netanyahu’s refusal to accept anything short of victory by openly interfering in Israeli politics with the clear aim of either neutralizing him within his government or ousting him from power. To achieve the first goal, Biden, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and their subordinates used the public’s call for national unity to compel Netanyahu to give effective veto power over military operations to Gantz by making him a partner in the war cabinet. From his position, Gantz was able to consistently weaken Israel’s military operations in line with U.S. dictates. The administration was also deeply involved in Gantz’s decision in June to exit from the government. The idea was that following Gantz’s resignation, Gallant would rally four Likud Knesset members to leave the government with him and form an alternate coalition with the left. In the event, Gallant was unable to carry out the plan. And in Gantz’s absence, Netanyahu quickly moved to ratchet up the aggressiveness and the effectiveness of Israel’s war effort in Gaza. The public strongly supported Netanyahu’s moves. Any chance that Likud MKs would join the opposition disappeared.

The symbiotic relationship that the Biden-Harris administration cultivated with the Israeli left did not weaken Netanyahu politically, as the media and its political allies on the left assumed. To the contrary. Since the public agreed with Netanyahu that this was a war for national survival, as the public grew more aware of the administration’s opposition to Israeli victory, its support for Netanyahu grew. Likewise, politicians like Gallant, Lapid and Gantz, who are perceived as having good relations with the Biden administration, became objects of suspicion.

What moved Netanyahu’s approval ratings from the impressive 40s to the stratospheric (in Israeli terms) 50-plus was his trip to Washington in late July. Israelis overwhelmingly view the U.S.-Israel alliance as a strategic imperative. So while they approved Netanyahu’s refusal to bow to American pressure, they worried that the media were right when they accused him of wrecking U.S.-Israel relations.

The enthusiastic response Netanyahu received from lawmakers from both parties as he delivered his speech to the joint houses of Congress, and his successful meetings with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump demonstrated to the Israeli public that Netanyahu’s pursuit of victory didn’t dampen U.S. support for Israel at all. Netanyahu’s biggest jump in approval came following that visit.

The purpose of the myth of Netanyahu’s unpopularity

This returns us to the persistent media myth regarding Netanyahu’s unpopularity. To a large degree, the international media narrative regarding him is shaped by the Israeli media’s coverage. With the notable exception of Channel 14, Israel’s print and electronic media have been central actors in the left’s longstanding efforts to demonize the prime minister with the goal of ousting him from power. To this end, since the early stages of the war, the coverage has been defeatist and demoralizing. For instance, Channel 12’s correspondents and commentators reacted to the announcement by the IDF on Sept. 27 that Nasrallah was killed with mournful faces and barely hidden disappointment. In contrast, the public was elated and energized by the news.

By insisting that Netanyahu is unpopular, and his unpopularity is driving his determination to bring victory in war, the media drives a narrative that ignores the strategic implications of ending the war without defeating Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran.

But the public isn’t buying it. Netanyahu supported because by insisting on fighting to victory at all costs, and then doggedly maintaining allegiance to his pledge, Netanyahu regained the public’s trust. And now that his determination is yielding victories, from day to day, Netanyahu’s unrelenting determination increases his popularity and makes the administration, the opposition and the media appear increasingly ridiculous and irrelevant in the eyes of the Israeli public.

Caroline B. Glick is the senior contributing editor of Jewish News Syndicate and host of the “Caroline Glick Show” on JNS. She is also the diplomatic commentator for Israel’s Channel 14, as well as a columnist for Newsweek. Glick is the senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Center for Security Policy in Washington and a lecturer at Israel’s College of Statesmanship. She appears regularly on U.S., British, Australian and Indian television networks, including Fox, Newsmax and CBN. She appears, as well, on the BBC, Sky News Britain and Sky News Australia, and on India's WION News Network. She speaks regularly on nationally syndicated and major market radio shows across the English-speaking world. She is also a frequent guest on major podcasts, including the Dave Rubin Show and the Victor Davis Hanson Show.

Source: https://www.jns.org/the-secret-of-netanyahus-unacknowledged-and-historic-popularity/

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

Liz Cheney aside, Trump's GOP critics mostly coming home as they find Harris more odious - Ben Whedon

 

by Ben Whedon

Go along to get along? This week has seen a handful of high-profile figures line up behind Trump, bolstering intra-party unity just in time for the election’s final stretch.

 

When faced with the prospect of a Kamala Harris presidency, a number of high-profile Trump opponents within the GOP have swallowed their pride and backed the former president, seemingly deeming him the lesser evil.

While Trump has always contended with a “Never Trump” faction of the Republican Party, typically dominated by Bush-era foreign policy hawks, he lost a contingent of generally pro-MAGA figures in the wake of the 2020 election after the Jan. 6 riot and his efforts to contest the results.

Now, the latter contingent at least, seems to be lining up behind the former president. Despite their frustrations with him, their policy disagreements with Harris are evidently too substantial to defect outright.

This week alone has seen a handful of high-profile figures line up behind Trump, bolstering intra-party unity just in time for the election’s final stretch.

Brian Kemp

Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., made his first public appearance with Trump in years on Friday as the pair addressed the press on their efforts to aid the victims of Hurricane Helene.

The event in Evans, Ga., was largely non-political and focused on the relief efforts. “I want to thank President Trump for coming back to our state again for the second time to view storm damage and keep a national focus on our state as we recover,” Kemp said.

Speaking to reporters afterward, Trump insisted he enjoyed a “brilliant” relationship with Kemp, noting they had previously worked together on storm relief while he was in the White House. Trump insisted he was “not thinking about voters” but “thinking about lives” with his appearance.

The Georgia governor and Trump famously split over the 2020 election and the former president’s efforts to challenge the results. Georgia narrowly broke for President Joe Biden after a steady trickle of ballots put him over the top. The result was considered an upset and the Peach State stood at the center of Trump’s election challenges.

The pair maintained a public feud for years, though they managed to reconcile in late August and Kemp officially endorsed Trump on the final day of the Democratic National Convention.

"We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House," Kemp said.

Gordon Sondland

Gordon Sondland, a witness in the Trump impeachment made headlines this week after he publicly reversed his opposition to Trump in an MSNBC appearance, citing the poor leadership of the Biden-Harris administration. Sondland served as Trump’s ambassador to the European Union and testified during the first impeachment trial.

“Why was it important for you to say ‘no more Trump’ because of his Jan. 6 comments and do you stand by that?” an MSNBC host asked Sondland on Wednesday.

“No, I don’t stand by it and I’ll tell you why,” he responded. “I’ve now lived four years under the Biden-Harris policies and I have to say that those policies are not only becoming an existential threat to our country’s way of life but to our allies as well.”

When pressed on the prospect of supporting Trump, Sondland replied “It is a yes for me… That is how badly the Biden-Harris team has prosecuted their job.” He added that, despite his qualms about Jan. 6, he saw “so many attacks on Democracy that eclipse Jan. 6.”

Nikki Haley

Typically regarded as one of the GOP’s more hawkish figures on foreign affairs, Haley reiterated her support for Trump this week in a letter calling him a “peacemaker,” signing on to the statement alongside more than 300 national security figures, NBC News reported.

"The policies of the Biden-Harris Administration have invited conflict, diminished America’s standing around the globe, and imperiled our national security," they wrote. "Over the last four years, peace throughout the world has been upended by America’s emboldened adversaries."

The letter came amid mounting tensions in the Middle East after Iran launched a volley of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Haley previously challenged Trump for the Republican Party presidential nomination and was his final serious challenger in that contest. She did not endorse Trump until months after dropping out and spoke at the Republican National Convention, where she urged his detractors to embrace their common policy views.

Bill Barr

Former Attorney General William Barr also signed on to the Wednesday letter. Barr quit the Trump administration in late 2020 amid frustrations with his boss’s election challenges. 

While he spent years criticizing the former president, he announced in April that he would nonetheless back Trump, saying "[t]he threat to our country is from the far-left and the drive that’s been occurring toward really a socialistic system and one that brooks no opposition, that cancels people.”

Trump, at the time, accepted Barr’s endorsement and quipped that he would stop referring to Barr as “lethargic” in response. 

Some Republicans breaking for Harris

Not all Trump critics have reconciled themselves to Trump's candidacy. Some, such as former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., have opted to break for Vice President Kamala Harris. Cheney campaigned with Harris in Ripon, Wisconsin on Thursday, insisting she was still a “Ronald Reagan conservative” and confirming her opposition to Trump.

The Wyoming politician famously led a group of House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump after Jan. 6. The effort was unsuccessful and saw the conference boot her from her leadership post. An irate Cheney served on the Jan. 6 Committee, a panel Republicans universally regarded as an anti-Trump partisan farce. She ultimately lost her primary to a Trump-backed challenger in 2022.

But Cheney is not alone in still opposing Trump in her plans to participate in a fireside chat on Oct. 9 with other ex-Trump supporters to make the case against the former president. Also planning to participate are former White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin, Jan. 6 Committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson, and former White House aide Sarah Matthews.

An unnamed source involved told CNN the four women will “offer a warning about the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy and the rule of law,” making the case about “the need for independents, moderates, and Republicans to stop him from getting back in office.”

Ben Whedon

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/wkdtrumps-gop-critics-coming-home-they-find-harris-more-odious

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

US: In Danger of Losing Freedom of Speech, Replaced by Politburo - Robert Williams

 

by Robert Williams

Recently, a video of vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz has also been circulating in which he alleged that there is "no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy."

 

• What [Biden-Harris administration climate envoy John Kerry] does not mention, of course, is who decides what is "disinformation," or if it is just whatever the current government wants the public to think.

• Recently, a video of vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz has also been circulating in which he alleged that there is "no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy." Some have implied that Walz does not understand the First Amendment, but his statement, arguably, should not be viewed so much as being about what the First Amendment is, which he as Governor of Minnesota obviously knows, but what some political leaders would like it to be.

• [Meta founder and CEO Mark] Zuckerberg also noted that he had agreed to kill the Hunter Biden laptop story on his social media platforms after the FBI, treacherously, falsely "warned us about a potential Russian disinformation operation about the Biden family and Burisma in the lead up to the 2020 election." As it turned out, it was 51 former US intelligence officials who deliberately lied in a 2020 letter that the laptop story was Russian disinformation -- lies that signatories such as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, ex-intelligence heads of the CIA and other analysts and officers still refuse to apologize for, with some of them instead referring to their treacherous behavior as "patriotism."

• Evidently, according to some of those in power, government disinformation is good -- freedom of speech for the citizenry is bad.

• In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration's Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy demanded that social media stop certain people from publishing their expertise and views.

• "We partnered with Google... For example, if you Google 'climate change,' you will, at the top of your search, you will get all kinds of U.N. resources." According to Fleming, the partnership came about after U.N. officials were "shocked to see that when we Googled 'climate change,' we were getting incredibly distorted information right at the top.... We're becoming much more proactive. We own the science, and we think that the world should know it, and the platforms themselves also do." — Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, yahoo.com, October 4, 2022.

• In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration had attempted to do something similar in the US, when it actually created an Orwellian Ministry of Truth called the "Disinformation Governance Board," under the Department of Homeland Security. The initiative met with so much backlash that it had to be scrapped just three weeks later.

• No one can tell you that some politicians do not have totalitarian ambitions. They have not even tried to hide it.

Last week, at a World Economic Forum (WEF) panel on climate, former US Secretary of State and Biden-Harris administration climate envoy John Kerry complained that the First Amendment prevents the US government from shutting down what it deems to be "disinformation" on social media, which makes it more difficult to "hammer disinformation out of existence... particularly in democracies," he lamented. Pictured: Kerry delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 17, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Some politicians in the US are itching to take away your free speech rights and, given the chance, if they get enough votes, they will. How do we know? Because they tell us that they will.

Last week, at a World Economic Forum (WEF) panel on climate, former US Secretary of State and Biden-Harris administration climate envoy John Kerry complained that the First Amendment prevents the US government from shutting down what it deems to be "disinformation" on social media, which makes it more difficult to "hammer disinformation out of existence... particularly in democracies," he lamented.

What he does not mention of course is who decides what is "disinformation," or if it is just whatever the current government wants the public to think.

What comes immediately to mind are government narratives such as the Russia collusion hoax, that Covid-19 was transmitted by bats, or that Hinter Biden's laptop, according to no fewer than 51 former intelligence officials, was "disinformation." All those allegations of disinformation, we now know, were themselves disinformation.

"The dislike of and anguish over social media is just growing and growing," Kerry said.

"It is part of our problem, particularly in democracies, in terms of building consensus around any issue. And people go and self-select where they go for their news, for their information. And then you get into a vicious cycle. So it is really hard, much harder to build consensus today than at any time in the 40-50 years I've been involved in this. You know there's a lot of discussion now about how you curb those entities in order to guarantee that you're going to have some accountability on facts, etc. But look, if people only go to one source, and the source they go to is sick, and, you know, has an agenda and they're putting out disinformation, our First Amendment stands as a major block to be able to just, you know, hammer it out of existence."

What is Kerry's solution to the Democrat conundrum of not yet being able to shut down the internet like they can in Communist China? Winning the upcoming election.

"So what we need is to win the ground, win the right to govern, by hopefully winning enough votes that you're free to be able to implement change," Kerry said in what can probably best be described as a significant heads-up.

Earlier last month, Hillary Clinton was trotted out; she went on MSNBC with host Rachel Maddow to say that "disinformation," and "propaganda" -- seemingly codewords for any opposition to a political agenda -- should be criminalized, no less. But first, incredibly, she compulsively rehashed the Russia collusion hoax and disinformation campaign of eight years ago -- which her presidential campaign had fabricated. Clinton said:

"It's important to indict the Russians, just as [Robert] Mueller indicted a lot of Russians who were engaged in direct election interference and boosting Trump back in 2016. But I also think there are Americans who are engaged in this kind of propaganda, and whether they should be civilly, or even in some cases criminally, charged is something that would be a better deterrence, because the Russians are unlikely, except in a very few cases, to ever stand trial in the United States."

Recently, a video of vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz has also been circulating in which he alleged that there is "no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy." Some have implied that Walz does not understand the First Amendment, but his statement, arguably, should not be viewed so much as being about what the First Amendment is, which he as Governor of Minnesota obviously knows, but what some political leaders would like it to be.

Alexandra Occasio-Cortez also joined in the call for censorship:

"We have to figure out how we reign in our media environment so that you can't just spew disinformation and misinformation. It's one thing to have differing opinions, but it's another thing entirely to just say things that are false. And so that is something we are looking into."

What are these politicians "looking into?" How to abolish the First Amendment? How to circumvent it?

Democrat megadonor Bill Gates recently implied that those who share drawbacks of vaccines, in which he is heavily invested, should have free speech curtailed:

"We should have free speech, but if you're inciting violence, if you're causing people not to take vaccines, where are those boundaries that even the U.S. should have rules? And then if you have rules, what is it?" he asked. "Is there some AI that encodes those rules because you have billions of activity, and if you catch it a day later, the harm is done."

Democrats have not stuck to fantasizing about totalitarian utopias – they have censored and misinformed Americans on several occasions:

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee in late August, admitted that the Biden-Harris Administration had "pressured" Facebook to censor Americans around the Covid-19 pandemic and claimed to regret not having stood up to them:

"In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn't agree."

Will the Supreme Court, which in June threw out lower court rulings that the Biden administration had coerced social media companies to comply with its censorship on the grounds of lack of evidence, take up the case again?

Zuckerberg also noted that he had agreed to kill the Hunter Biden laptop story on his social media platforms after the FBI, treacherously, falsely "warned us about a potential Russian disinformation operation about the Biden family and Burisma in the lead up to the 2020 election." As it turned out, it was 51 former US intelligence officials who deliberately lied in a 2020 letter that the laptop story was Russian disinformation -- lies that signatories such as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, ex-intelligence heads of the CIA and other analysts and officers still refuse to apologize for, with some of them instead referring to their treacherous behavior as "patriotism."

Evidently, according to some of those in power, government disinformation is good -- freedom of speech for the citizenry is bad.

There are more examples of government-initiated censorship and disinformation campaigns directed at Americans. In testimony by journalist and author Michael Shellenberger in March 2023, he speaks of an entire "Censorship Industrial Complex," which includes a multitude of organizations, reportedly funded by the Biden-Harris administration that all contribute to growing and maintaining the censorship of US citizens. He mentioned, among other examples, the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy theory, and those who called the Covid lab-leak hypothesis as a "debunked conspiracy theory."

"This disinformation campaign was advanced by National Institutes of Health head Francis Collins and NIAID's Anthony Fauci, who oversaw the U.S. government's response to COVID. Emails made available show that at least two leading researchers told Collins and Fauci in February 2020 that a lab leak was possible and likely. Collins and Fauci publicly dismissed the lab leak theory as a conspiracy theory even though they knew it wasn't, perhaps for fear of harming cooperation between the U.S. and China or of being implicated in the pandemic since Fauci was instrumental in offshoring this research to Wuhan after Obama banned it on U.S. soil."

One of the most exorbitant and costly government disinformation campaigns has centered on climate change. To get people to submit to this agenda, dissenting voices need to be censored, so that only one "consensus", as Kerry put it, exists. In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration's Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy demanded that social media stop certain people from publishing their expertise and views.

"The tech companies have to stop allowing specific individuals over and over again to spread disinformation," she told Axios, agreeing that "misinformation and disinfo around climate [is] a threat to public health itself."

In her preposterous self-righteousness and disregard for the First Amendment, she was in fact only parroting what her globalist colleagues at the UN are already implementing.

The UN's Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming announced in October 2022, at a World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Meeting that the UN "owns the science" on climate change and that it had therefore partnered with Big Tech, including Google, to launch staggering censorship and disinformation campaigns.

"We partnered with Google," Fleming said. "For example, if you Google 'climate change,' you will, at the top of your search, you will get all kinds of U.N. resources." According to Fleming, the partnership came about after U.N. officials were "shocked to see that when we Googled 'climate change,' we were getting incredibly distorted information right at the top."

"We're becoming much more proactive. We own the science, and we think that the world should know it, and the platforms themselves also do," she declared with a straight face.

In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration had attempted to do something similar in the US, when it actually created an Orwellian Ministry of Truth called the "Disinformation Governance Board," under the Department of Homeland Security. The initiative met with so much backlash that it had to be scrapped just three weeks later.

No one can tell you that some politicians do not have totalitarian ambitions. They have not even tried to hide it.

Robert Williams is based in the United States.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20987/us-losing-freedom-of-speech

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter

The electric vehicle doom loop gets absurd - Mike McDaniel

 

by Mike McDaniel

It looks like Ford wants to lose even more money in 2024.

 

As the electric vehicle (EV) market continues to collapse into a smoking pile of melted metal and plastic politicians, and EV makers, are finally, belatedly, taking notice.  How could they do otherwise? Government hasn’t yet taken upon itself the power to force Americans to buy EVs or to destroy their internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, but whenever the election is decided after November 5—if Trump’s ahead, there will be many votes to “find”—that might change.

Political reality is forcing even some Democrats/socialists/communists to change sides:

Eight Democrats voted with the House GOP to overturn a Biden administration rule that forces automakers to make a significant portion of their fleet electric.

The Democrats who voted in favor of overturning the rule were Reps. Yadira Caraveo (Colo.), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), and Mary Sattler Peltola (Alaska).

Are they doing that because they recognize the reality of physics and the realities of Americans who can’t afford and don’t want EVs that can’t meet their needs? Of course not! Each and every one is in a tight race for reelection. One Republican understands what’s really happening:

The EPA’s latest tailpipe emissions rule is not really about reducing air pollution. It’s about forcing Americans to drive electric vehicles,’’ said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

She called the rule “unreasonable” and “just another example of how the Biden-Harris administration’s rush-to-green agenda is handing China the key to America’s energy future, jeopardizing our auto industry and forcing people to buy unaffordable EVs they don’t want.’’

Graphic: X Screenshot

They don’t want them in part because when EV batteries get wet, particularly from saltwater, they burst into flames, and even explode, as unfortunate EV owners inundated by Hurricane Helene have discovered. Cars, trucks and scooters have melted down. Firefighters haven’t been able to get to many of them, which is a lesson we’ll shortly revisit.

In the meantime, Ford has dramatically scaled back its EV production plans. Ford is making only two EVs, the F-150 Lightning and the Mustang Mach-E, and has tried to sell them by dropping prices. That hasn’t worked, not only because few Americans want to buy them, but in 2023, Ford lost a reported $4.5 billion on its EVs. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, Ford lost $1.3 billion, which is twice what it lost in the first quarter of 2023. That’s a loss of about $132,000 for each EV sold in the first quarter of 2024 alone, above and beyond the cost to make them.

Even a company with a woke CEO like Jim Farley can’t long endure those kinds of losses. Publicly traded companies, at some point, have to answer to shareholders so Ford has come up with a brilliant new plan to lose even more money: they’re going to give away home chargers to anyone who buys a new EV:

Buy a new Ford EV and get a free home charger as part of its new “Ford Power Promise.” The program is designed to finally put the EV misperceptions to rest while making it even easier to go electric.

It’s “not range anxiety, but change anxiety,” Martin Delonis, Ford’s senior manager of business innovation and E-Marketing, explained.

After some digging, Ford found that buyers on the fence about driving an EV are mostly worried about how far it will drive, its costs, and its quality.

Considering buying and installing a fast charging station in a home can cost as much as $11,000, this would seem to be a good idea, except Ford apparently isn’t saying what sort of charger it’s supplying, nor have I been able to find any information on that elsewhere.  Ford lists only one charger that might qualify, the Ford Connected Charge Station for $799.00.  Ford’s site tells us it will produce 27 miles per hour of charging for a Mach-E and from 19-20 miles per hour for a F-150 Lightning.  That’s 10 hours for 270 miles of possible range for the Mustang and about 16 hours to get about 300 miles for the F-150. Which means this is a middling charger, not a fast charger. That’s not going to sell many EVs.

The aftermath of Helene offers additional realities. If your EV doesn’t burn down due to saltwater immersion, from where is the power going to come to charge it? Supposedly, with the right gear, an F-150 can run your home—until it drains the battery, and what’s going to recharge it then?

It looks like Ford wants to lose even more money in 2024. I wonder when they’ll recognize the reality that has been persistently whacking them alongside the head?

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. 

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/10/the_electric_vehicle_doom_loop_gets_absurd.html

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter