“I don’t speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don’t have the power to remain silent.” Rav Kook z"l
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
NYU Fires Prestigious Cancer Doctor for Supporting Israel
A Jewish cancer biologist who headed New York University Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center sued his employer for wrongful termination after he was allegedly fired for social media posts related to the current Israel-Gaza War.
Dr. Benjamin Neel, the former director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center, filed the lawsuit Thursday in the New York State Supreme Court, claiming he was a “casualty” of the cancer center’s “ill-considered plan to feign the appearance of even-handedness,” Business Insider reported.
Israel Gove Totally Ignores Massive Danger: PA has built 18,899 illegal buildings in Area C on the Judea and Samaria border.
Regavim published a special warning criticizing the illegal construction by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the borders of Judea and Samaria.
Tamar Sikorel, Regavim spokeswoman, discussed the threat that has been brewing for years along the Green Line. without any binding response from Israel: “Regavim maps the areas of Judea and Samaria, as well as the Negev. Now, following the Gaza war and the explosion of the conspiracy in the Gaza Strip, we have decided to undertake a special inspection operation of what is happening on the seam line. We have mapped the entire length of the fence from the north of the Jordan Valley to the south of the Dead Sea, a distance of about three hundred kilometers, up to one to four kilometers from the fence. This of course is Area C, an area that is completely controlled by Israel and is supposed to be sterile, guarding the security of the cities in the center, the coastal plain, and Ben Gurion airport.”
Sikorel continued: “The data we found is frightening and threatening, telling an explicit and clear story: The PA has built 18,899 illegal structures along this line that are sitting right on the fence - for example, in the IDF training area in the Samaria region, whose proximity to Rosh Ha’ayin is ridiculous, and overlooks Benny Gantz’s personal balcony.”
“This has been clear to us and to all residents of Judea and Samaria for many years. Now it will explode after October 7th. If the distance between Gaza and Ofakim is 25 kilometers, here it is barely 5 kilometers," she said, noting that this construction of almost twenty thousand buildings is in addition to the construction of about 100,000 buildings further into the area. She stressed that the focus in this mapping effort was made precisely around the Green Line, in order to understand the threat this construction poses to the settlements surrounding Judea and Samaria.
“The statement we are trying to hone now is that it is true that there is illegal construction that needs to be fought against, but there is illegal construction that also poses a real danger; a ticking bomb. It does not depend on whether we withdraw from there or not. This involves a moment's decision by the Palestinian Authority, as a leading terrorist organization, to turn its guns on the center of the country. Maybe it's time to wake up here as well and realize that abandoning this area could lead to disaster, as we saw in the Gaza Strip.”
How Israel’s new laser-defense system will turn the tables on Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran
Israel’s defenses took a giant leap forward this week when — for the first time ever — it used a laser beam to shoot down an incoming rocket fired by terrorists in Gaza.
This isn’t science fiction, but the product of years of research and experimentation.
The US military is doing its own laser-beam or “directed energy” research, and Israel and the United States cooperate.
Lockheed Martin and Israel’s Rafael are developing Iron Beam, and ultimately it can mean not only ground-based laser defenses but lasers to mount on ships and planes as well.
Israel fielded the weapon for the first time in combat a few days ago, and it could change the country’s air-defense posture in the next few years.
It’s called Iron Sting and is part of the larger Iron Beam laser-defense system.
According to many Islamic scholars, every Muslim is obligated to fight for the destruction of the State of Israel.
Islam’s Attitude Towards the Jews
As a continuation of what I wrote last week about the culture of Islam, it is fitting in these days to add and reflect on the roots of the attitude of Muslims towards Jews. Inspired by the Tanach (Bible), the prophet of Islam Muhammad was revealed the tremendous power that lies in belief in one God who has no corporeal manifestation besides His creative and commanding word. Based on simple acceptance of the fundamentals of belief, reward and punishment in the Tanach, Muhammad harshly criticized the Jews and claimed against them that they are ungrateful – after God chose them from all peoples, took them out of Egypt with signs and wonders, split the sea for them, gave them the Torah, and bequeathed to them the good land – they sinned, and rebelled against Him. Thus, they deserved to be punished with all the punishments written in the Torah.
Muhammad’s hope was that the Jews would accept his tidings and crown Islam as the religion continuing the Torah, and thereby also correct their sins and merit to be the nobility of Islam. But when they refused to do so, he accused them of continuing to sin against God, and claimed it is Allah’s will that they be severely punished and degraded for rebelling against him. Subsequently, he accused the Jews of being led by their inclination, and in order to make things easier for themselves, falsified parts of Scripture, while Islam must correct this by means of absolute acceptance of the commandment on its highest level.
The Attitude of Islam and Christianity towards the Tanach
Elon Musk to donate all X revenue from war to Israeli hospitals & Red Cross'
X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk announced today (Tuesday) that the organization will donate all revenue from content related to the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization to Israeli hospitals and the Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations in Gaza.
"X Corp will be donating all revenue from advertising & subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross/Crescent in Gaza," Musk posted on X.
In response to a question from a user about how X will ensure that its donations in Gaza do not end up in the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization, which has a history of stealing humanitarian aid for military purposes or to enrich its leaders, Musk wrote that "we will track how funds are spent and go through Red Cross/Crescent. Better ideas are welcome. We should care about the innocent regardless of race, creed, religion or anything else."
Earlier Tuesday, a group of 27 House Democrats sent a letter to Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino accusing X of profiting from accounts that engage in "glorifying barbaric acts of violence against Israelis."
Government approves deal under which 50 living Israelis will be released in batches during a four-day ceasefire. The releases will begin on Thursday
The government overnight Tuesday approved the deal for the release of some of the hostages being held in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian Arab terrorists who are imprisoned in Israel and at least four days of a ceasefire.
The Religious Zionist Party voted in favor of the deal after a consultation among the members of the faction. The ministers from Otzma Yehudit voted against the deal.
According to the outline, 50 living Israelis will be released in several batches throughout the four days of the ceasefire.
Every day, 12 to 13 hostages will be released. For every 10 additional Israeli hostages who are released - another day of a pause in the fighting will be given. Israeli officials believe that in addition to the 50 hostages, Hamas can release another 30 Israelis.
Accordingly, 140 terrorists will also be released in several phases. The IDF will continue to encircle the northern Gaza Strip. In addition, fuel will only enter Gaza during the days of the ceasefire. The IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) will continue intelligence-gathering operations.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has pledged to return 30 out of 40 children. About 8 out of 13 mothers will be returned, and an additional 12 elderly women will be returned as well.
Hostage Deal Could Bring ‘Disaster’ on Israel
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir warned on Tuesday that an emerging deal to secure the release of some hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in the war against Hamas could backfire.
Ben-Gvir said he was “very concerned” that the exact details of a potential agreement were not being divulged, and that members of the government are “not being told the truth.”
“The rumors are that the State of Israel is once again going to make a very, very big mistake in the style of the Shalit deal,” in which Jerusalem released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including current Hamas chief in Gaza Yahyah Sinwar, in exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Many Palestinian terrorists freed in previous deals returned to terror, and unconfirmed reports suggest that some of them subsequently joined Hamas’s elite Nukba force and participated in the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis.
Ben-Gvir said that a deal could therefore “bring disaster,” adding that fuel being allowed into the Strip might end up being used by Hamas to power its terror machine.
The national security minister slammed the War Cabinet‘s acquiescence last week to a U.S. demand that fuel be regularly supplied to Gaza.
Hamas has also reportedly demanded that Israel refrain from using surveillance drones during any potential truce.
According to a Channel 12 report on Tuesday, Israel and Hamas are “very close” to a deal that would secure the release of some hostages being held by the Palestinian terror group in the Gaza Strip.
The report cited a senior Israeli official who said that while the sides have agreed to the outlines of an agreement, the parties are still hashing out various technical issues.
The deal under discussion would reportedly include the release of around 50 hostages, most likely women and children, in exchange for a ceasefire of 3-5 days. Ten hostages would be released per day, with additional captives possibly being released if the ceasefire is extended, according to the report.
Hamas is holding some 240 Israelis hostages in Gaza, who were captured during the terror group’s Oct. 7 invasion of Israel.
Also Tuesday, a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the sides were at their “closest point” to a deal and had reached the “critical and final stage” of negotiations.
Qatar, along with Iran, is Hamas’s foremost financial backer and has reportedly been mediating indirect talks between the Palestinian terror group and Jerusalem.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Jerusalem is “meticulously” verifying the names on the list of Palestinian prisoners who could be released as part of the deal to ensure that none of them are connected to Hamas.
Egyptian sources told the Journal that one scenario would see a five-day pause in fighting and Hamas releasing 50 hostages on the first day, followed by 10 hostages each day that the truce is extended. Hamas would guarantee that mothers are not separated from their children, according to the report.
The Washington Post on Saturday reported on a similar framework of a potential deal.
According to the Egyptian officials, one of the main complications is the inability of Hamas to account for the whereabouts of the hostages it and other terror groups in Gaza are holding.
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
She is a "Hate Crime Task Force member" yet she claimed babies murdered by Hamas were ‘fake,’ and compared Israel to Nazis
A member of a Maryland task force aimed at combating hate crimes published numerous antisemitic social media posts, including claiming that the babies brutally murdered in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack were “fake,” and comparing the nation of Israel to Nazi Germany.
Zainab Chaudry, an anti-Israel activist who serves as the director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Maryland office, made the posts in the weeks following Hamas’ attack, which saw more than 1,200 people killed, including children and babies, as well as numerous rapes and destruction of property.
“I will never be able to understand how the world summoned up rage for 40 fake Israeli babies while completely turning a blind eye to 3,000 real Palestinian babies,” Chaudry wrote in a Facebook post dated Oct. 26.
“[T]hat moment when you become what you hated most,” Chaudry wrote in an Oct. 17 post, including two photos of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, one showing it lit up with the Israeli flag in solidarity with Israel following the attack, and another from a ceremony in 1936 when it was decorated with the flag of Nazi Germany during the Olympics that year.
Progressive Western women converting to Islam, since 10/7 Hamas attack
A growing number of young, progressive Western women are converting to Islam, citing the Israel-Hamas war as motivation for the conversion – and they're documenting their journey on social media.
Hoover Institution research fellow Ayaan Hirsi Ali issued a warning on the new trend during "America's Newsroom," arguing young women are "throwing away" their freedom with the decision.
"You are converting to throwing away your freedoms as a woman," Ali told Dana Perino on Monday. "Islamic scripture, Islamic law, Sharia law and Islamic practice is crystal clear about the position of women, and it's inferior to men. Your testimony is half that of a man. Your husband can beat you. You have absolutely no freedom."
"Everything is about your guardian having authority over you. First your male father, and then later on your male husband, and if those aren't even available, even your own male son has authority over you," she continued. "So if that's what they want to revert to, good luck with that."
The left-leaning women making the decision to convert have shared their religious diversion on TikTok, with many wearing the hijab, reading the Quran, attending pro-Palestinian protests and even learning Arabic as they accuse Israel of genocide.
One activist, Alex, who is a self-proclaimed "leftist queer gremlin," took her shahada shortly after purchasing the Quran, to officially dedicate herself to the Islamic faith.
She was supposedly inspired by another social media user, Megan Rice, after she detailed the Palestinians' "ironclad faith" in wake of the war. She claimed Israel's retaliation after October 7 spurred her interest in conversion.
Hackers are taking over planes’ GPS — experts are lost on how to fix it
It’s one of the most terrifying events imaginable.
There have been over 50 recent reports of frightening cyberattacks that have altered planes’ in-flight GPS, leading to what experts described as “critical navigation failures” onboard the aircraft.
More frightening still, industry leaders thought that this type of hacking was not possible and are at a loss over how to fix the now glaring security failure. Since late August, they have been observed throughout the Middle East, particularly over Israel, neighboring Egypt, and Iraq.
In September, the FAA issued a warning on the “safety of flight risk to civil aviation operations” over the spate of attacks, according to OpsGroup, an international collection of pilots and technicians who first brought attention to the terror.
The attack, called GPS spoofing — when a navigation system is given counterfeit coordinates — isn’t new and applies to all modes of transportation. Ten years ago, a group of college students at the University of Texas bragged that they moved an $80M yacht off its course as a school project. In 2015, a security researcher also hacked a United Airlines flight and modified its course as a warning over security flaws.
How many aid groups knew Hamas was hiding in a hospital and lied about it? Did the American Red Cross know?
Hamas used Gaza City’s Shifa hospital as a base of terror operations. That’s the obvious conclusion following Sunday’s discovery of a large terror tunnel under the hospital along with videos of Hamas bringing Israeli hostages inside.
Now comes an important question for Congress:
Which US-funded international organizations knew the truth about Shifa and helped Hamas conceal its war crimes?
The Israel Defense Forces this weekend discovered a tunnel beneath Shifa hospital that extends 10 meters down and 55 meters across — leading to what might be a booby-trapped door. Special units that specialize in handling explosives have been summoned to break through to the next section.
Meanwhile, Israel also released security footage showing two hostages brought through Shifa by Hamas terrorists following the Oct. 7 massacre as hospital workers looked on — suggesting a widespread conspiracy to conceal both the presence of hostages at Shifa and Hamas’ terror infrastructure within the compound.
Israel last week found two other hostages dead near Shifa. One of them, according to Israel, was murdered inside the hospital.
Red Cross president meets Hamas leader Haniyeh in Qatar
Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, on Monday visited Qatar where she met with the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.
To date, the Red Cross has not been permitted to visit the more than 200 hostages who have been held by Hamas in Gaza since its deadly terrorist attack against Israel on October 7.
“The ICRC continues to appeal for the urgent protection of all victims in the conflict, and for the alleviation of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip. ICRC staff in Gaza have been delivering life-saving assistance, and an ICRC surgical team continues to perform operations. The ICRC is calling for sustained, safe humanitarian access so it can increase its work,” the ICRC said in a statement following Spoljaric’s visit to Qatar.