Questioning Starts at the 1:59 Mark
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Pro-Palestinian protesters are proving why Israel is needed
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| Mijal Bitton, PhD |
Here’s a secret that many of the protesters in university encampments and on city streets don’t seem to be in on:
The more they demonize Israel, the more they reawaken Jewish identity and strengthen Zionism.
As a community leader and Jewish educator in the United States, I have been living in the shadow of the horrors of October 7. We have seen the worst carnage against Jews since the Holocaust, video-broadcast by brutal terrorists. We have witnessed the avalanche of rising antisemitism around the world, including allegations last Saturday that a 12-year-old Jewish girl in France was gang-raped while being subjected to religious slurs. We have found out that too many of our allies right here at home refuse to speak up when Israelis are murdered or when American Jews who care about Israel are excluded from polite society.
While the intensity of the campus protests are simmering down with the end of the school year, the virulence of demonstrators outside college quadrangles are only intensifying the fear Americans Jews are feeling. Last week, protesters in Lower Manhattan targeted an exhibit dedicated to the memory of the hundreds of young Israelis murdered or kidnapped from the Nova music festival. They unfurled a banner proclaiming “Long Live October 7” and held signs declaring that Zionists “are not Jews and not human.” Days earlier, crowds chanted “kill another Zionist now” across from the White House in Washington.
But paradoxically, every day since October 7, I have also seen how this rise in antisemitism and anti-Zionist rhetoric is inspiring Jewish pride and solidarity with Israel among so many young Jews. I have seen this as a visiting researcher studying American Jewry at New York University. And I have seen this as the spiritual leader of Manhattan’s Downtown Minyan, a congregation filled with the diverse, ambitious and socially liberal young professionals who thrive in New York.
I have heard from many young Jews around America newly awakened to their Judaism. Some confess that they haven’t been to synagogue since their bar or bat mitzvahs but they want to come back now. Others have asked me how to get dozens of mezuzahs for their friends to hang beside their front doors. I see many sporting new jewelry expressing both pride and pain: prominent Magen Davids alongside dogtags calling to “Bring Them Home Now.” I am in regular conversation with dozens of Jewish leaders, rabbis and educators, and we’re all experiencing this — we’re running out of chairs for programs and struggling to meet demand for Shabbat dinners.
Some things about Israel I can never understand
Every so often, several “small things” about Israel pile up and drive me crazy. None of them seems enough to write about as a full article, but each of them disturbs my sleep. So, when enough accumulate, it is time to write, recite “krishma” (Yiddish slang for the Judaic “Kriat Sh’ma” bedtime prayer), get a good night’s sleep, and begin a new day dealing with my pulmonologist, cardiologist, or any other among a dozen other “-ologists” in my two-year-old lung’s inner circle. So here goes:
1. Taking a Casual Shabbat Day Walk in an Arab Village in Fatahland
US Ambassador Lew's Idotic Clueless Statement : 'A Palestinian state would be a defeat for Hamas'
US Ambassador Jack Lew spoke to the Herzliyah Conference, convened by the Reichman University today, about the Israel-US partnership.
''The best way to define the strategic relationship between the United States and Israel is to look at what's happened over the last eight months. Any question about the US support for Israel is something I don't understand. That doesn't mean we haven't asked questions, but we're not at a different point in terms of the US support for Israel."
He also commented on his vision for the future of the conflict. ''We have been urging Israel to defeat Hamas as a military and governing power. The provision of humanitarian assistance has been crucial to keeping the pathway open to success. When the war ends there has to be a vision for a future. Israel can't be exposed to another October 7th, but there also has to be a conversation about the future of the Palestinian people and a pathway toward a future of self-governance.''
Lew noted that such a plan for the Palestinians would have positive implications for Israel as well. ''Israel is on the brink of being accepted by all of the moderate Arab countries. I don't think you can get there if you don't also have a pathway for dealing with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people. Getting a Palestinian state, a demilitarized autonomous governing body that provides for security and dignity, would be a defeat for Hamas."
Lew also noted that doing so would unite many countries against the Iranian axis. ''We saw a hint of the power that could give us during the Iranian attack. An alliance of moderate countries against Iran's extremism would bring enormous benefits.''
He also urged a prisoner exchange deal as part of a ceasefire. "People need to come home to their families, and that's just a human issue that has to be resolved. Strategically, a hostage deal and ceasefire would open a doorway to a discussion with Hezbollah about avoiding a war and to normalization discussions with Saudi Arabia."
One party that will need to be involved in the process, Lew claimed, is the Palestinian Authority. ''There's only one group of people who can do the work to make civil order come back. We've got to figure out how to get those people to work in a way that meets everybody's needs.''
Lew addressed a remark by US Air Force General Charles Brown, who serves as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who recently warned that the US will have a hard time aiding Israel in the event of a war against Hezbollah. ''We've made clear that we continue to support Israel and its need to defend itself. We've also made clear that we think the right course of action is to try to avoid a war in the north. We're urging a diplomatic solution.''
Lew has a certain degree of optimism going forward. ''This war could end in a better place. Israel is already in a better place in several ways, and its resilience has been inspiring. The United States and Israel as partners can succeed in almost anything that we work together on.''
Lew has set the future of the region as his personal goal while in office. ''I thought I was coming into a position where the number one objective would be completing a Saudi normalization deal while I was here. I'm committed to still having that be the objective.''
Black LA Mayor Allowed Pogrom in LA ala Dinkins in Crown Heights!
Early Sunday morning, The Los Angeles Times dubbed Karen Bass “mayor of the city of the eternal future” in a profile in its “L.A. Influential” section that spoke of “Los Angeles’s first female and second black mayor” as “instantly hyper-alert, composed and commanding,” and a “pragmatic leader.”
Bass made “good on a campaign pledge to push a fractious patchwork of government actors toward something resembling coordination” and “commands respect with an outstretched hand instead of a clenched fist,” the Times reported.
Hours later, as clenched fists had targeted Jews in what many called a “pogrom” outside Adas Torah, an Orthodox synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, many were asking where Bass was and why police weren’t protecting Jews.
“Pro-Hamas and Hezbollah extremists violently attacked American Jews in Los Angeles and the politicians ordered the police to do nothing to defend them,” wrote Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Radical leftists and Islamists are ruining our country.”‘
Noah Pollak, a political consultant and writer, wrote that he was at the synagogue for an event on Sunday.
New Ambassador of Argentina to Israel a Frum Rabbi
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Monday welcomed Argentina’s incoming envoy, Rabbi Shimon “Axel” Wahnish, during a meeting in Jerusalem.
“I had the pleasure today of receiving the new ambassador of Argentina to Israel, Shimon Wahnish, on the day of his inauguration,” tweeted Katz.
The top diplomat noted that under the leadership of President Javier Milei, the relationship between the two nations will reach new heights. “I am sure that we will soon see the new embassy of Argentina in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Israel,” added Katz.
Rabbi Wahnish—the spiritual leader of Argentina’s pro-Jewish president—previously led the Moroccan Jewish community of Buenos Aires. He holds a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology and also studied at the ultra-Orthodox Negev Yeshivah in the Israeli city of Netivot.
Milei and Wahnish met in 2021 after the former faced accusations of antisemitism while serving as a senator. The two subsequently developed a close relationship, studying Torah together.
As Milei rose to national prominence, the politician remained close with Washnish, attending lectures at the Great Temple of Piedras Street and joining the rabbi’s family for Shabbat dinners and Jewish holidays.
In February, Milei and Washnish visited the Jewish state on one of the president’s first diplomatic trips since being elected four months prior. The three-day solidarity visit signaled a shift in Buenos Aires’s policy toward the United States and Israel after decades of backing Arab countries.
Upon landing in Tel Aviv, Milei immediately reiterated his pledge to move his nation’s embassy to Jerusalem and open a new chapter in bilateral relations. He said he was also working on a project to declare Hamas a terrorist organization, calling this “one more token of the historical closeness, and support and friendship between our peoples.”
The trip also included a visit to a kibbutz on Gaza border that was hard-hit by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem and a stop for prayer at the Western Wall.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Milei during a meeting at his office in Jerusalem, “Your stalwart support for Israel in so many forms is deeply, deeply appreciated. Welcome to Jerusalem. Welcome, friend.”
Graphic Video Of 3 Hostages Being Abducted,
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC FOOTAGE
Stop scrolling. Don’t look away. Watch.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 24, 2024
This is the reality of what happened to Israelis on October 7– execution, mutilation, kidnapping, proudly filmed by the captors themselves.
Hersh, Or, Eliya and the 117 hostages, we will continue doing everything in our power to bring… pic.twitter.com/j895HImTlY
In an attempt to pressure the Israeli government to complete a deal with Hamas to release hostages, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released on Monday the video of the capture of hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin (23), Eliya Cohen (26), and Or Levy (33), who were kidnapped on October 7. Goldberg-Polin, Cohen, and Levy all attended the Nova festival.
The footage, taken from Hamas terrorists’ cameras, included the moments of the kidnapping of the three hostages as well as the time they spent in a mobile shelter.
Parts of the video have been blurred as per the families’ requests, the forum noted, but they are still very graphic and jarring to watch. Hersh can be seen in the video badly injured, with his arm blown off, and the other hostages are also injured at their capture.
In a statement published with the video, the forum wrote, “This harrowing footage stands as a damning testament to the 262-day-long abandonment of our loved ones. Hersh, Eliya, and Or were taken alive, and they must return alive, today.
“Every day that passes puts the hostages at greater risk and diminishes our chances of bringing them back safely.
“After nearly 9 months of fighting and despite recent achievements, it’s clear to everyone that returning all 120 hostages is only possible through a deal! We must approve and implement an agreement that will bring all hostages home – the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial,” the statement added.
WikiLeaks’ Assange Released in Plea Deal
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will allow him to walk free and resolve a long-running legal saga that spanned multiple continents and centered on the publication of a trove of classified documents.
Assange left a British prison on Monday and will appear later this week in the U.S. federal court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific. He’s expected to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information, the Justice Department said in a letter filed in court.
The guilty plea, which must be approved by a judge, brings an abrupt conclusion to a criminal case of international intrigue and to the U.S. government’s years-long pursuit of a publisher whose hugely popular secret-sharing website made him a cause célèbre among many press freedom advocates who said he acted as a journalist to expose U.S. military wrongdoing. Investigators, by contrast, have repeatedly asserted that his actions broke laws meant to protect sensitive information and put the country’s national security at risk.
He is expected to return to his home country of Australia after his plea and sentencing, which is scheduled for Wednesday morning, local time in Saipan, the largest island in the Northern Mariana Islands. The hearing is taking place there because of Assange’s opposition to traveling to the continental U.S. and the court’s proximity to Australia, prosecutors said.
Attorneys for Assange didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Monday, June 24, 2024
Doctors at biggest children’s hospital in US are manipulating parents into giving kids life-changing trans treatments, whistleblower nurse claims
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| Vanessa Sivadge |
A nurse at the nation’s largest children’s hospital says doctors pressured parents to give their kids hormone therapy and other transgender medicine interventions — warning that their children might kill themselves if they held off on treatments.
Vanessa Sivadge has worked at a Texas Children’s Hospital clinic where kids are given gender-affirming care since 2021. She said that doctors there are more driven by “ideology” than what was best for the youths, many of whom had additional underlying problems.
“Parents were manipulated by doctors with an ideological agenda to go down this path of medical transition for their child,” Sivadge told The Post in an exclusive interview.
“And I do think that doctors would use manipulative language to suggest that if they didn’t do this their child would commit suicide or they would harm themselves.”
Sivadge, 31, also alleged that doctors would miscategorize the treatments to justify gender-affirming care. She believes that the doctors are using the strategy to get around a ban by Texas Medicaid on covering hormone treatments for transgender medicine.
However, Sivadge said she does not directly know whether the treatments are being charged to the publicly-funded health insurance scheme.
AOC Unhinged at Antisemite Bowman's Rally
Desperate Dem Rep. Jamaal Bowman enlisted heavy artillery from his party’s progressive wing for a weekend rally in The Bronx to try to shore up his flailing re-election bid — but viral clips of the event’s cringey on-stage antics show the last-ditch effort badly back-fired.
Footage from Saturday’s campaign rally at St. Mary’s Park in Mott Haven showed the severely struggling incumbent and fellow “Squad’ member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez acting like buffoons from the stage, gifting the Internet with heaps of unintentional humor.
AOC kicked things off by stomping around on stage to a blaring Cardi B song, appearing to try to summon the pomp of a superstar rapper about to perform her biggest hit to an adoring crowd.
'Plan for 72 hours without power; 4,000 missiles in a day'
Roy Levi, the Mayor of Nesher, a town near Haifa, and the deputy chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities spoke to Lior Rosenfeld on his program on Radio Tzafon 104.5 FM about the possibility of long power outages if a major war broke out with Lebanon.
"I think the problem stems from the fact that everyone throws different information in the air and no one talks with the citizens and tells them what's happening. I remind you of the story of the blackout scenario that was hidden from the local authorities as well until I broke it to the media. From the moment they began to speak about it, each one pulled it in a different direction according to their interests," Levy stated.
He explained that "in all of the scenarios that simulate, the talk is of a minimum of 72 hours without power. And I tell people to prepare for more than that since if there are 72 without power or even just 24 hours, it's better to be ready when there are no medicines or a way to warm up food for babies and you have no way to use the basic necessary facilities. If the cell tower's power is restored, it doesn't help if the phone's battery is dead."
Levy added: "We hear that they are preparing for a bad scenario of at least 4,000 missiles on our area in a day. Therefore, all these stories that the power grid won't be hit or that it will be repaired immediately; I don't see people going to repair anything with 4,000 missiles a day. We need to prepare for at least 72 difficult hours, maybe even more, I say plan for even a week. I'm sure that by the end of that week, there won't be a remanent of Lebanon left and they will beg for a ceasefire. But we need to be tough and be part of the war since the strong backing that we will give to the IDF will allow the IDF to win and take out the threat from the north."
Crazed Joey Sends His Top General to Warn Israel that US won't be able to help Israel in case of war with Hezbollah
US Air Force General Charles Brown, who serves as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned that the US will have a hard time aiding Israel in the event of a war against Hezbollah.
According to Brown, Iran will provide significantly more support to Hezbollah than it provided to Hamas, "particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened."
He also warned that due to the type of weapons Hezbollah uses, the US will not be able to provide the same level of assistance to Israel during the war.
According to the Associated Press, Brown said that the US has warned Israeli officials "to think about the second order of effect of any type of operation into Lebanon."
He also urged them to consider how such a war "might play out and how it impacts not just the region, but how it impacts our forces in regions as well."
On Sunday, Brown acknowledged Israel's right to defend itself, but told Reuters that, "Hezbollah is more capable than Hamas as far as overall capability, number rockets and the like."
How 'cornered rat' Yahya Sinwar survived 8 months of war
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip and mastermind of the October 7 massacre, has survived more than eight months of war by hiding like a "cornered rat" in tunnels underneath Gaza, according to a counter-terror expert.
The New York Post quoted Colin Clarke, a member of the New York-based Soufan Group and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, as saying that Sinwar is "likely still in Gaza, deep within the tunnel network and surrounded by hostages to secure his safety."
“Sinwar is someone who is out for his own survival," Clarke added. “It’s his ultimate goal, like a cornered rat.”
Canada Plans to Evacuate 45K Citizens From Lebanon, Kuwait Already Began
As fears of a breakout of a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon grows, Canada is preparing to evacuate about 45,000 of its citizens living in Lebanon, in what will be the largest evacuation in Canadian history.
The Gulf country of Kuwait already began sending airplanes to Lebanon on Shabbos to evacuate its citizens.
Channel 12 News reported on Friday that Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly informed Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz that Canadian military forces have already been sent to the area to prepare for the evacuation.
According to the report, the conversation between the two was “tense.” Katz pressured Joly to urge the Canadian government to pressure Iran to reign in its proxy group Hezbollah and prevent an escalation of the conflict.
Following the conversation, Katz wrote on X. “Israel cannot allow the Hezbollah terror organization to continue attacking its territory and citizens, and soon we will make the necessary decisions. The free world must unconditionally stand with Israel in its war against the axis of evil led by Iran and extremist Islam. Our war is also your war, and Nasrallah’s threat to Cyprus is just the beginning. Evil must be defeated, as history has proven in the past.”
Hezbollah continued to escalate its attacks on Israel on Sunday, launching numerous suicide drones at northern Israel, including an attack near a major Rafael defense factory. An IDF soldier was severely injured in an attack on an IDF base and several fires were ignited by drone hits.
Netanyahu Was 1000% Correct :US OFFICIALS ADMIT: Arms Shipments To Israel Decreased By 50% In Recent Months
US officials and Israeli security officials on Sunday confirmed to Channel 12 News that there has been a slowdown in the transfer of arms shipments from the US in recent months.
In the first months of the war, about 240 arms shipments were delivered to Israel. In recent months, about 120 shipments were delivered, a decrease of about 50%.
The Biden administration has also specifically delayed a shipment of precision bombs and has yet to move forward with the sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel even after two top Democrats finally agreed to the sale last month.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explained why he publicly criticized the Biden administration last week for restricting arms shipments to Israel, saying that “about four months ago, there was a dramatic drop in the supply of arms from the US to Israel.”
“For many long weeks, we appealed to our American friends to speed up the shipments. We did this time and time again – at the highest levels, and at all levels, and I want to emphasize – we did this behind closed doors. We received all types of explanations but we didn’t get one thing – the basic situation didn’t change.”
Violent Hamas Thugs Terrorize Los Angeles Jewish Community Who Fight Back
Violent clashes erupted in the Pico-Robertson area as pro-Hamas terrorists confronted Jews.
The violence started near the Adas Torah synagogue on Pico Boulevard on Sunday morning.
At 10:52 a.m., pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in front of the Adas Torah synagogue at 9040 W. Pico Blvd., west of Robertson Boulevard, and blocked the doors. They were met by counter-demonstrators, some carrying Israeli flags, according to Los Angeles Police Department Officer Tony Im.
Police in riot gear arrived to restore order.
What began as heated verbal exchanges escalated into physical altercations. Videos posted on social media showed punches being thrown, people being wrestled to the ground, and kicked. The violence began when pro-Palestinian protesters tried to stop people from entering the synagogue.
“Do your message, spread your message, it’s the First Amendment. But when you’re pepper-spraying little girls, it’s messed up,” said Mishah Klein, a local resident.
Several people were detained at the scene, but according to the LAPD, no one was officially arrested. One person was cited for refusing to disperse.
Eight Talmidim of Hesder Yeshivas Tragically Fell in Past Week
Tragically, a number of Hesder Yeshivos suffered casualties over the past week. In total, eight Hesder students or alumni were killed R”L, plunging their respective yeshivas into deep mourning.
Sergeant First Class (Reserve) Malkia Gross, a student at Or Etzion, fell in battle over Shabbos. He was in his seventh year in the Or Etzion.
In addition, three students of the Shalavim Yeshiva fell: Sergeant Shalom Menachem, Sergeant Yakir Ya’akov Levi, and Sergeant Elyahu Moshe Zimbalist. Two alumni of the Ma’alot Yeshiva: Senior Staff Sergeant Major Elon Waiss and First Sergeant Tzur Abraham. An alumnus of the Otniel Yeshiva, Captain Eitan Koplovich. And a student at the Yeshiva of Yaffo, Sergeant First Class (Reserve) Saadia Yaakov Dery fell.
Sunday, June 23, 2024
Hysterical!! Parts of $320 Million US-Built Gaza Pier Wash Up on Tel Aviv Beach
#BREAKING the never ending saga of the disastrous US floating pier in Gaza.
— #EBluemountain1 🎗 (@EBluemountain1) June 22, 2024
Parts of the pier detached and floated far north coming to land on Frishman Beach in Tel Aviv!!! pic.twitter.com/IBvb5MyPMC
The US-built temporary floating dock off the coast of Gaza is becoming more temporary than ever, it seems.
A part of the pier broke off and floated its way on Saturday to Frishman Beach in Tel Aviv, arriving at around lunchtime.
The $320 million pier has faced myriad challenges since its first installation last month, having broken apart and floated to Israel a few weeks ago, arriving that time in Ashdod.
Despite rumors the project would be terminated, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted a statement on the X social media platform this weekend, saying the pier had been rebuilt and would continue serving as a conduit for humanitarian aid to Gaza delivered via a maritime corridor via Cyprus.
“At approximately 8:52 am (Gaza time) June 19, United States Central Command (US CENTCOM) personnel supporting the mission to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, re-anchored the temporary pier to the beach in Gaza,” CENTCOM wrote.
“The temporary pier had been relocated to avoid forecasted high seas and to ensure the structural integrity of the pier and safety of our service members. At no time during this event did US troops enter Gaza,” CENTCOM emphasized. Entry of US personnel to Gaza is strictly prohibited by Hamas terrorists who still maintain some control over the enclave.
“Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance across the temporary pier began delivery again today, June 20, and approximately 656 metric tons (1.4 million pounds) of aid were delivered to the beach in Gaza. This is the largest single day delivery of aid to date,” CENTCOM wrote.
“To date, over 4,160 metric tons (9.1 million pounds) of humanitarian aid have been delivered from the pier to the marshaling area where they can be collected by humanitarian organizations for onward delivery.”
It’s not clear how the pier could have been used to deliver aid when parts of the structure washed up Saturday in Tel Aviv …
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