Thank you, Israel, for saving the world, defending freedom and reshaping the Middle East

 

In just over a year, Israel has succeeded in reducing Iran’s regional influence, effectively dismantling or weakening the pillars of its strategy—the Syrian regime, Hezbollah, and Hamas.

By Majid Rafizadeh, Gatestone Institute

After Hamas carried out its horrific October 7, 2023 massacre by invading Israel, murdering hundreds of people and kidnapping individuals from various countries, Israel reached a breaking point.

This act of terrorism ignited a wave of decisive actions across the Middle East that catalyzed remarkable developments, aimed at countering and eliminating terror networks.

For decades, the region has been plagued by violence and instability, but Israel’s response marked a significant turning point, showcasing its resolve to confront terrorism head-on and help usher in a new era of security.

Israel has consistently demonstrated its commitment to thorough and resolute action. When it comes to national security, appeasement is not an option. Bribing aggressors only finance their militaries for attacks on the West in the future.

Israel’s approach to combating terrorism has always been characterized by thoroughness and determination — for which is usually put through the tortures of hell by the very countries it is working to save.

Refusing to leave any task incomplete, Israel, in its counteroffensive against Hamas, targeted and significantly diminished the terrorist group’s military capabilities and crippled its ability to function effectively.

The Iranian regime, a staunch supporter of Hamas, reacted by activating other proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, to attack Israel.

In an unprecedented move, Iran also launched ballistic missiles from Iranian soil into Israel, thereby escalating the conflict.

Iran’s regime, however, underestimated Israel’s resilience. As a Persian proverb says, “Iran was playing with the lion’s tail.” The consequences were severe.

Israel’s broader objective appears to be not merely to respond to isolated acts of terrorism, but to dismantle the infrastructure of terror in the region.

With a vision of ultimately fostering peace, harmony, security and prosperity throughout the region, as in the Abraham Accords, Israel expanded its military operations beyond Hamas.

It launched targeted strikes against Hezbollah, significantly weakening its military capabilities, and extended its efforts to Syria, striking Iranian military bases and weapons-supply chains.

These decisive actions underscored Israel’s commitment to reshaping the Middle East into a region free of the grip of terror.

One of the most extraordinary developments spurred by Israel’s actions was the unexpected collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.

Within a week of launching an offensive last month, armed rebel groups achieved what for decades had seemed impossible: the conquest of key cities and the end of Assad’s reign.

This monumental shift not only dealt a devastating blow to Iran’s regional ambitions but also signaled the possibility of a brighter future for the region.

The ramifications for Iran were profound. Losing Syria, one of its closest allies, severely weakened the regime’s ability to project power and support its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In just over a year, Israel has succeeded in reducing Iran’s regional influence, effectively dismantling or weakening the pillars of its strategy—the Syrian regime, Hezbollah, and Hamas.

This achievement is unparalleled. It disrupted decades of Iran’s poisonous dominance in the region.

Thanks to Israel’s strategic and calculated actions, Iran’s regime, which had survived Western sanctions and interventions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, now faces unprecedented challenges to its survival, which cannot come to an end soon enough.

Israel’s efforts to eradicate terrorism and destabilize its sources have largely been accomplished without substantial assistance from Western democracies.

It is now time for the West to step up and support Israel and most of the Iranian people in addressing the root of the problem: the Iranian regime.

This final step requires decisive action to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program and empower the Iranian people to achieve freedom. Make Persia Great Again!

So long as Iran’s regime remains in power, brutalizing its people and making plans for global expansion, there can be no chance for peace in the region.

Removing the regime, often described as the “mother of all terrorism” and the godfather of terrorist groups, would bring lasting security and prosperity to the Middle East and beyond.

With the regime’s collapse, its proxies would be starved of funding and weaponry, paving the way for a more peaceful Middle East. One could then set about subduing Turkey and its terrorist proxies in Syria.

Israel’s contributions to global peace and the fight against terrorism are unparalleled. This small nation has accomplished what many larger powers have failed to do: confronting evil, dismantling terror networks, and advocating for freedom and security.

The world owes Israel an unpayable debt of gratitude for its unwavering courage and commitment to these ideals.

It is time for Western nations to align with Israel, offer their full support, and take the necessary steps to ensure a safer, more secure future for all. Bravo, Israel! Thank you for your remarkable efforts in making the world a safer, freer, better place.

Look at how the media reported the Terrorist Attack in Germany by a Saudi Muslim

 

Saudi Arabia's Chief Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Herzog to Visit Damascus

 Saudi Arabia's Chief Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Herzog to Visit Damascus

In a historic move, Rabbi Herzog is scheduled to meet with representatives of Syria's new rebel government during an upcoming visit to Damascus.

Iran recruiting children for attacks on Israeli targets across Europe

 

 Iran-affiliated groups are increasingly recruiting minors across Europe, particularly in Nordic countries, to carry out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets.

 

In Sweden alone, several incidents involving teenagers have occurred this year, including a 15-year-old attempting to reach the Israeli embassy with a loaded weapon, a 13-year-old shooting at the local subsidiary of Haifa-based defense company Elbit Systems, and a 16-year-old participating in a bombing attempt.

Swedish and Norwegian security services have raised alarms about these Iran-backed operations, with Norway temporarily elevating its terror threat level from medium to high in October, Bloomberg noted. The situation has prompted Norwegian authorities to arm police officers and implement border controls with Sweden.

Iran’s use of children in military operations has historical precedent. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the Iranian military deployed children, some as young as nine, in combat roles including dangerous mine-clearing operations. According to U.N. refugee agency documents, these child soldiers were given “keys to paradise”—symbolic tokens promising immediate entry to heaven if they died in battle against Iraqi forces.

Peter Nesser, a terrorism researcher at Norway’s Defense Research Institute, told Bloomberg that Iranian operatives use social media platforms such as Telegram, TikTok and WhatsApp to recruit attackers. According to tracking data, payments for attacks can range from approximately $1,560 for more serious operations to as little as $125 for smaller-scale incidents.

The Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) stated earlier this year that many recruits were unaware they worked for a foreign power. This was evident in May when police intercepted a teenage recruit who needed to call for directions to the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.

The vulnerability of Nordic countries stems from their traditionally open societies and growing Muslim populations. Sweden, which has welcomed more than 1.5 million immigrants since 1980, faces challenges with integration, as recent surveys indicate that 40% of migrants feel disconnected from Swedish society.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has prioritized addressing youth crime ahead of next year’s elections, while Swedish authorities have introduced youth detention facilities for children under 15 in response to the growing threat.

“They might try to create more havoc,” Nesser warned, discussing the potential for increased Iranian-backed activities in the region after recent setbacks to Tehran’s traditional proxy network in the Middle East.

Georgia homeowner arrested after trying to move back into her own house inhabited by squatter

 A Georgia woman was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing after she tried to move into her own home — but was rebuffed by an alleged squatter.

“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in deplorable conditions while this woman, this squatter, slept in my home,” said Loletha Hale, who was arrested outside her mother’s old home in Livingston on Dec. 9.

Hale had arrived at the house to clean the place out after a months-long battle with the alleged squatter, Sakemeyia Johnson, whom a court had ordered out in mid-November.

But when she arrived, Johnson – who had never been a tenant of Hale, and was merely related to an evicted tenant’s partner — was still inside, and had brought somebody along to intimidate Hale.

“I returned on Monday to start painting and she had broken the locks at my property,” Hale told WSB-TV.

“She just caught up out of nowhere. She had this guy with her, and I locked the door. I locked the screen door, and he forced himself in telling us to get out,” she added.

Hale refused to back down, and the police eventually arrived. And when they did, bodycam footage showed an officer asking her to see Johnson’s side of things.

“Just think of it from this perspective, though. Everybody isn’t as fortunate as you to have a bed. All the little things, a bed in their house, food in the kitchen,” the officer said.

When Hale refused to back down, she was cuffed and carted off, and with her arrest report alleging she “executed an illegal eviction and forcibly removed Ms. Johnson’s belongings,” and at one point “could clearly be heard stating ‘leave before I get my gun.’”

She was charged with a misdemeanor count of terroristic threats and criminal trespassing, while Johnson has received no charges, according to WSB-TV.

“To see that woman walk into my mom’s house while I was in the police car, something is wrong with this picture. Something is inherently wrong with this picture,” Hale said.

Trouble started at the house back in August when Hale says she caught Johnson living there without her knowledge.

Johnson received a squatting citation, but a Clayton County judge ruled “Sakemeyia Johnson is not a squatter” because of her relation to the evicted tenant’s partner – which she could be heard using in her favor on bodycam footage from the Dec. 9 altercation.

“I was written a citation saying I was a squatter. But a judge signed an order saying that I wasn’t a squatter,” Johnson said in the footage.

Hale fought that decision through a series of grueling hearings and appeals, eventually succeeding in legally ousting Johnson on Nov. 18. 

But the woman appears to have ignored the eviction.

“How can she not be squatting when I’ve never had any type of contract relationship with this person?” Hale asked.

Squatting has become a more common problem in Georgia in recent years.

In 2017 there were just three squatting cases, but in 2021 it had climbed to 50.

By 2023, there were 198 civil squatting cases across the state.

Biden commutes death sentences of child killers and mass murderers

 

President Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of 37 of 40 men on federal death row — a list that includes at least five child killers and several mass murders — in a stunning act of clemency just two days before Christmas.

Biden, 82, gave the reprieve to the nation’s most violent murderers — nine of whom were found too dangerous to live after butchering fellow inmates — as part of his effort at “ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” the White House said.

“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said in a statement.

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq halt attacks on Israel

 The Lebanese al-Akhbar network reported on Monday that it had received confirmation from a leader in the Al-Nujaba militia in Iraq that the Iranian-backed militias in the country have agreed to stop their offensive against Israel.

According to the report, the "resistance factions" have reached an agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani to cease attacks on Israel and remain silent on the current developments in Syria.

The militia leader told al-Akhbar that the militias decided not to interfere in Syrian affairs and "to follow the situation from a distance, in addition to waiting to know the orientations of the US President-elect, Donald Trump, and his policy towards the Middle East, specifically Iran."

The leader noted that the militias' Iranian backers granted them the freedom to decide regarding Syria.

He pointed out that "the armed factions adhered to the words of the Iraqi government, especially after what happened in Syria, which says that there may be an intention to drag the country into a scenario worse than the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which may lead to the return of terrorism to Iraq again."

The report also quoted a spokesman for the Sayyed al-Shuhada Brigades militia, Kazem al-Fartousi, who said that the militias' attacks on Israel were "linked to the operations of the Lebanese Hezbollah. When the ceasefire was reached in Lebanon, the operations of the Iraqi factions stopped." He added, "There are also partners in Iraq who have an opinion and reservations about those operations, and they must be listened to.”

While not as vocal as other parties such as Hezbollah, the Houthis, or Iran itself, the Iraqi militias have been behind several drone and missile attacks on Israel since the war began. In September, the militias launched two drones at the city of Eilat. One of the UAVs was intercepted outside of Israeli airspace and the other struck a building in the city. Fires broke out in the city's port and near the Herod's Hotel as a result of falling shrapnel and two individuals were lightly wounded.

Avida Bachar, whose wife and son were murdered on Oct. 7, says that 'if it had happened in Gush Etzion, I would have said, 'Why are they living there?''

 

Avida Bachar, whose wife Dana and son Carmel were murdered in Kibbutz Be'eri in the October 7th Hamas massacre, shares why he thinks it was "lucky" that the massacre occurred in Kibbutz Be'eri.

“I will say something tough. It’s lucky that the massacre happened in Be'eri," Bachar told Channel 12 News. In response to a question from reporter Yigal Mosko, Bachar explained: "I think that if it had happened in Gush Etzion, at that moment, I would have said, 'Why are they living there?'"

He added: "I probably would have said, 'They deserve it,' I would have said all the harshest things in the world. It's lucky that it happened at my home. It's lucky that I paid a lot to learn this lesson. I'm lucky to have learned this lesson."

Avida was severely injured on October 7th and doctors had to amputate his leg.

Several months ago, he told Israel National News about the events of that day from his perspective and how he and his family, all four of them, were inside the house when the terrorists arrived at the kibbutz at 6:30 am, at the same time that massive barrage of missiles were fired at Israel. They reached his home about two hours later.

“Four of us were locked in the safe room; we were holding the door as well as we could. At some point, the terrorists were shooting at us through the door. Carmel and I were both wounded, and we suffered from burns. They fired at the lock of the door and later blew up the window. My wife, Dana, was shot through the window and died around noon. Carmel held out until five pm. He had lost a lot of blood and died. I stayed with my daughter. I was injured and she had been wounded by grenades and shrapnel in her legs. We were waiting for the army to come and rescue us. Towards 7:30 p.m., we heard a big explosion near our house,” describes Bachar.

The IDF tanks that arrived began to blow up the safe rooms. Soldiers came to the family home and rescued Avida and his daughter, leaving the bodies of Dana and Carmel in the safe room

Pope Francis Who Represents a Religion that murdered and Raped Millions of Jews accuses Israel of ‘cruelty’ and slaughtering children in Gaza

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Pope Francis accused Israel twice over the weekend of “cruelty” in the Gaza Strip and claimed that Israeli forces were “machine-gunning” Arab children in the coastal enclave.

On Saturday, Pope Francis gave his annual Christmas address to Vatican department chiefs, during which he condemned an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip that the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claimed killed 25 people.

“Yesterday, children were bombed,” Pope Francis said. “This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart.”

A day earlier, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud) ripped the pontiff over a quote attributed to him in a recently published book in which he appeared to accuse Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Last month, Pope Francis issued a clarification regarding his comments, published recently in Hernán Reyes Alcaide’s new book, Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World, in which he called for an investigation into allegations of genocide in Gaza.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” Pope Francis was quoted as saying. “We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

Following a wave of criticism, Pope Francis said that Alcaide had taken his comments out of context.

The pontiff rekindled the firestorm on Saturday, however, with his fresh allegations against Israel, drawing a sharp retort from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

“Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them,” the ministry tweeted.

“Unfortunately, the Pope has chosen to ignore all of this, as well as the fact that Israel’s actions have targeted terrorists who used children as human shields.”

The ministry called the Pope’s comments “disappointing” and “disconnected” and accused the pontiff of “singling out” Israel.

“The blame should be directed solely at the terrorists, not at the democracy defending itself against them. Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people.”

On Sunday, however, the Pope doubled down on his comments, again accusing Israel of “cruelty” in the Gaza Strip and intimating that the IDF is intentionally massacring Gazan children.

“And with pain I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty,” Pope Francis said after the weekly Angelus prayer.

Mrs Assad Files for Divorce!

 

Reports from Turkish and Arab media suggest that Asma al-Assad, wife of Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad, has filed for divorce.

 Allegedly unhappy with her life in Moscow, she is said to be planning a move to London