Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 8,875 Comments »

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50 Comments / 8875 Comments

  1. @Sebastien Zorn

    On the other hand, in his first term, Trump allowed veterans to bypass the VA and go to any health provider.

    So?

    Does it justify screwing them out of their benefits in his 2nd term?

    He might have done nice things in his 1st term to induce them to vote for him in the next election.

  2. @Sebastien
    Netanyahu did vote for the disengagement several times, then he announced his resignation and then voted against it in the first of the final votes. So, it is a bit technical but he did vote against the actual disengagement, but by the time this last vote took place, it was a fait acompli. Early on in the deliberations regarding disengagement, it was agreed that the concept of disengagement would be voted upon and only later, just before the evictions began, the final votes on the relative settlements evictions would take place. Netanyahu voted for all of the early votes regarding disengagement, and he also refused to lead the opposition to the disengagement at that time as the settlers were begging him to do. The jeers which came from his colleagues and the press as he voted in favor of disengagement make it clear that few believed that Bibi actually supported disengagement, and he tried to reinforce this fact by missing votes when possible.
    Additionally, his demand that the vote on the evictions be put off a year or more after the ‘principle’ was voted upon added to the clarity of his opposition. The reason for all of this chicanery, as you no doubt recall, was related to Bibi’s financial reform bill, which was being written and voted upon during the same time, and any minister who voted against disengagement would be fired by Sharon. So Bibi refused to lead the public campaign against disengagement and voted for disengagement, and his financial reforms were eventually voted into law, twelve days before he resigned. Of course his declaration of resignation was on August 7, 2005, and the first vote on the evictions took place on August 9, the date after which his resignation would take effect. So Bibi got his economic reforms passed, announced his resignation, and voted against the evictions for the first 4 settlements.

    So, technically both Bibi and Yishai are correct in their depictions of what took place, but the truth is that Bibi betrayed/failed (perspectives will differ) the settlers and the Right in leading an insurrection in the party at the outset of the disengagement debate. By August 2005 when he finally cast his ‘no’ vote, the debates were long over, and these final votes on the act of disengagement were entirely moot. He succeeded in getting only four others to vote with him, 17-5 in favor of evicting the first 4 of the 21 settlements. The right and the settlers would never forgive him for this.

    Importantly, during the debate over the ‘principle’ of disengagement, Likud held a party vote which showed that 60% opposed disengagement. Sharon shrugged, made a few changes, and proceeded as if he had a mandate to proceed with disengagement rather than having been given a mandate to oppose it.

  3. @Adam,
    The concept of a Cleft Nation indicates a built in revolutionary element in the nation – it is in fact the complete opposite of what might be described as a homogenized population. The Arabs and the Europeans and the Soviets and even the Indians used the concept of the Cleft population as a basis of homogenizing their lands via population translocations. Many of these translocations took place on a false basis, such as the ejection of the the docile Jews from all of Arabia, but it was employed in many areas to prevent civil chaos due to the incompatibility of the relative populations.

    There is not greater example of a cleft nation than in Israel where the cleft minority has used pogroms, terrorism, and even missiles, and armed military attacks against the majority. The international community has been responsible for funding the cleft terror organizations, including the PA and Hamas, but we should be very clear that it is not just the Europeans, as the Americans are still funding the terrorist organizations under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid’ while knowing full well that the aid is used to subsidize the terror opperations. They also fund UNRWA which has militarized and weaponized the Cleft population.

    One thing more, the Cleft is intended to reference the minority, not the majority, so the Pals are clearly the Cleft population in Israel, but the Jews are not.

  4. @Peloni Yishai Fleischer said Bibi voted for the Gaza disengagement and I’ve heard others say this. I listened to Bibi’s autobiography on Audible – so it’s hard for me to find the exact spot – but I distinctly remember him saying he voted against the disengagement but remained in the government so that, as finance minister, he could get his economic reforms through putting Israel on a more capitalist basis because he calculated that with a socialist system, Israel would not generate enough revenue in the coming years to pay necessary military expenditures. Your thoughts please.

  5. @peloni–Peloni, if I understand you correctly, when you speak about a “cleft nation,” you mean that the Jews and Arabs live inthe same country, The Land Israel (aka Palestine) west of the Jordan and the Arava. but have completely different ideologies and loyalties, and are engaged in a kind of civil war with each other. The Europeans and the “international community” are inciting and even paying the Palestinian Arab “cleft” of this divided nation to wage war on its Israeli Jewish “cleft.” Do I understand you correctly? Have I got it right? Thanks for explaining, Adam D.

  6. Festivities for the Birthday of Der Fuehrer:

    Tanks, soldiers and country singers: Inside the Army’s 250th celebration
    Updated May 21, 2025 at 5:58 p.m. EDT

    Plans for the sweeping festivities honoring the Army’s 250th birthday on June 14 are roaring into focus. But the full cost is unknown, Army officials said.

    More than two dozen tanks, 34 horses, 50 helicopters and thousands of troops — many in period costume from past wars — will be part of the sweeping military celebration in D.C. next month to honor the Army’s 250th birthday, officials said Wednesday, offering new details on the multimillion-dollar event.

    The festivities for June 14 — which is also President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday — will feature country singers Noah Hicks and Scotty Hasting, Army officials said at a news conference about the specifics of an extravaganza that could cost the Army alone an estimated $25 million to $45 million.

    Army spokesman Steve Warren said Wednesday that he did not have an estimate for the entire government’s cost.

    “That amount of money is dwarfed by 250 years of service and sacrifice that American soldiers have given this country,” Warren said. “This is an opportunity to really strengthen the connection between America and her Army.”

    Events are planned across the country and around the globe, officials said. But the occasion is unlikely to engulf a city quite like it will the nation’s capital, where the National Mall will host a day-long festival, fireworks will decorate the sky and thousands of troops traveling to participate will sleep in downtown buildings. Officials estimate 200,000 people — about five times the capacity of Nationals Park — will attend.

    Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks, according to America250. Army officials Wednesday said there is no plan for the Army to officially recognize the president’s birthday during the celebration.

    The day will culminate with a parade, with troops wearing uniforms representing every U.S. conflict dating back to the Revolutionary War… [etc., etc.]

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/05/21/army-parade-trump-birthday-plans/?utm_campaign=wp_the7&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F42ae4a7%2F682f0168f062960b82a49adb%2F6537bfde53777545026df362%2F28%2F100%2F682f0168f062960b82a49adb

  7. @Adam

    What do mean by “Cleft?”

    I really should use the term Cleft nation rather than just Cleft. You can make a quick search of ‘cleft nation’ to appreciate what is meant by this.

    Quoting from Ted’s article “The West should make amends to the Jewish people for this historical injustice”:

    “A cleft nation is one in which the major ethnic groups are so clearly separate from one another in terms of values that it is difficult to form a national culture. These groups tend to be insulated from one another, particularly if they do not share the same or similar religions and value systems.”

  8. @peloni: peloni, your reply anwsers most of my questions. But it also makes me ask another one. What do mean by “Cleft?”
    I assume it is one of the slanfg definitions that are current. And I am am not up on present-day slang. My knowledge of slanf does not extend beyongd the sland that was current in the northeastern U,S, when I was growing up between the 195os and the 1970s. And ‘cleft: was a slang expression back then, at least not where I lived.

    I assume you are not using this word with its traditional dictionary meaning, either a “cleft” in a rock” or a “cleft palate.” or similar types of clefts.

    When I looked for the meaning of ‘cleft”in dictionaries of contemporary slang, I found there were many definitions for the term. Which further left me unable to know what you meant by it. While there are many slang meanings of ‘cleft,” the most common one is an “asshole.” Did you mean that the Palestinians in general are assholes? Or that the Hamasniks, in particular are assholes. Or that their European and American supporters are assholes?

    Please post me a reply. Many thanks, Adam D.

  9. @Adam

    Peloni, …. Please step up to the plate and answer my questions.

    It isn’t just that there is no famine in Gaza, but there has never been a famine in Gaza. Indeed, the international community prizes the Gazans above all other people, and their is an excess per capita price paid in Gaza over all other peoples around the world. It begs the question as to why it is so important to the international community that the Gazans not only be well fed, but that they remain well fed in the middle of a war zone, given the logistical difficulties of having to coordinate the delivery of the massive food stuffs to an internationally recognized terror enclave. The answer to this is of course clear enough that the purpose is to keep the Pal Cleft well in place to maintain its weaponized activities against Israel.

    More specifically to answer your question, Israel stopped shipping food into Gaza sometime ago, but prior to this, food was being shipped there from Israel , from Jordan and even from Cyprus, if memory serves me correctly. And the food was delivered in such outrageously large quantities that much of the ‘humanitarian aid’ was thrown away due to spoilage before being used. Meanwhile the goods which were able to be stored were warehoused, and this has been the source of the food keeping the Gazans fat and happy up to this point, but the warehouses are running low, which is why the international community is up in arms, as it would not serve to have their happy weaponized Cleft too upset and hungry, and thereby more readily interested in finding their feeding trough somewhere safer and more distant from the war zones in Gaza. Recall that the Gazans are the human shields which keep Hamas safe and keep the Israeli’s being condemned, when the exact opposite of this paradox should be the focus of the international community, that is, if they really gave a tinker’s dam for the Gazans…which of course they do not.

  10. Thank for your reply, Rafi. But it doesn;t completely ansermyquestion. If Israel has prevented supplies from coming in, why is it that photographs and film clips taken by journalists and even by Hamas members that have appeared in the international press show anyonewho llooks like they are starving. And this despite the repeated claims by the press and UN agencies, such UNWRA, that millions of peoplein Gaza are either starving on the verge of starving, the photographs of Gazans show no evidence of this. Also, pictures taken at Gazans hospitals appear to show people receiving medical treatment from doctors , physicians assistants or nurses, Some picture show people being treated or diagnosed with advanced medical machines. And several organizations boast in their public statements, some of them for fundraising purposes, that they are providing medical aaid to Gazans.

    Obviously, someone is lying. Gazans are receiving food and medical care from someone, It is clear from the photographs and video clips that no one there is starving, and that no sick people are being dying becaus eof lack of treatment.
    But where are the food and medical supplies coming from? No one seems willing to share this information.

    Peloni, you are probably the best informed individual at Israpundit. Please step up to the plate and answer my questions.

  11. Thank for your reply, Rafi. But it doesn;t completely answer my question. If Israel has prevented supplies from coming in, why is it that photographs and film clips taken by journalists and even by Hamas members that have appeared in the international press show anyone who llooks like they are starving. And this despite the repeated claims by the press and UN agencies, such UNWRA, that millions of people in Gaza are either starving on the verge of starving, the photographs of G000azans show no evidence of this. Also, pictures taken at Gazans hospitals appear to show people receiving medical treatment from doctors , physicians assistants or nurses, Some pictures show people being treated or diagnosed with advanced medical machines. And several organizations boast in their public statements, some of them for fundraising purposes, that they are providing medical aid to Gazans.

    Obviously, someone is lying. Gazans are receiving food and medical care from someone, It is clear from the photographs and video clips that no one there is starving, and that no sick people are being dying because of lack of medical treatment.
    But where are the food and medical supplies coming from? No one seems willing or able to share this information.

    Peloni, you are probably the best informed individual at Israpundit. Please step up to the plate and answer my questions.

  12. @ Adam, until today Israel had stopped for around 45 days any supplies entering Gaza. They now have let in supplies because Trump demanded this of the Israelis.

  13. I am confused about what is going on in Gaza. The main stream media claims that Israel has not let any food come into the strip for 45 days. I don’t know whether this is true or not. The media claims people in the Strip are “starving.” Trump has echoed this allegation.but the pictures shown on the mainstream media don’t appear to show anyone who is starving. What have people been eating over the past 45 days, since it appears that they have been eating something. Is it true that many people in Gaza are starving. or on the verge of starvation? Or is this fake news?

    The Israeli English-language media has not been at all helpful about this situation. They have been silent about the food situation in Gaza, and about whether any supplies, such as food and medicine, are reacing people there over the past 45 days. As usual, they seem oblivious to Israel’s obvious public relations problem caused by these allegations.

    Someone at Israpundit, Pelobni or anyone else at Israpundit, please inform me what the actual situation is in Gaza concerning food, medicine and other essential supplies. Someone or other should inform American Zionists, such as myself, what the facts are.

  14. Andrew Cuomo Joins Grand Marshal Harley Lippman to March in Israel Day Parade

    NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani doubles down on bizarre refusal to sign resolution condemning Holocaust

    Four other fellow socialist Dems joined Mamdani in not signing onto the pro-Israel resolution: Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher (D-Brooklyn), Claire Valdez (D-Queens), Marcela Mitaynes (D-Brooklyn) and Sarahana Shrestha (D-Ulster).

    That resolution called for “congratulation the State of Israel on the 77th of its establishment and reaffirming the bonds of friendship, cooperation, and shared values between the people of the State of New York and Israel.”

  15. NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani doubles down on bizarre refusal to sign resolution condemning Holocaust…Four other fellow socialist Dems joined Mamdani in not signing onto the pro-Israel resolution: Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher (D-Brooklyn), Claire Valdez (D-Queens), Marcela Mitaynes (D-Brooklyn) and Sarahana Shrestha (D-Ulster).

    That resolution called for “congratulation the State of Israel on the 77th of its establishment and reaffirming the bonds of friendship, cooperation, and shared values between the people of the State of New York and Israel.”

    https://nypost.com/2025/05/17/us-news/mamdani-doubles-down-on-bizarre-refusal-to-sign-resolution-condemning-holocaust/

  16. Trump Puts Terrorist on Commission for Religious Liberty
    MAY 17, 2025 9:00 AM BY JOHN D. GUANDOLO

    After inviting a Hizbollah leader to his inauguration, appointing Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood leaders to be the Ambassador to Kuwait and the U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles, and cutting deals with the leading supporters of global terrorism – Qatar and Saudi Arabia – most of us thought things could not get worse in the Trump Administration.

    Alas, we were wrong.

    It appears key people inside the Trump Administration are intentionally bringing terrorists into the White House to undermine U.S. national security.

    Friday evening – May 16th – the Trump Administration announced the new names for the advisory board for the Commission on Religious Liberty. Included among the names of individuals to serve on the “Advisory Board of Lay Leaders” were Ismail Royer and Shaykh Hamza

    Yusuf.

    Hamza Yusuf is an Islamic scholar, a Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood leader, and a supporter of Al Qaeda & Hamas terrorists.

    Randall Todd “Ismail” Royer is a terrorist. A real terrorist…

    https://jihadwatch.org/2025/05/trump-puts-terrorist-on-commission-for-religious-liberty

    https://gellerreport.com/2025/05/convicted-islamic-terrorists-appointed-to-white-house-advisory-board.html/

  17. Alice Herz-Sommer: The Pianist Who Played Through the Darkness ???

    Alice Herz-Sommer’s life stands as a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit—and to the profound, life-saving power of music in the face of unimaginable horror.

    Born in Prague in 1903, Alice was a gifted classical pianist from a young age. Her talent would not only define her life’s purpose but also become her anchor during one of history’s darkest chapters.

    In 1943, Alice—then 39, not 18 as sometimes mistakenly reported—was deported with her young son and family to Theresienstadt (not Auschwitz), a Nazi ghetto and transit camp. While there, she became part of the camp’s cultural life, performing over 100 concerts for fellow prisoners. These performances, often staged under Nazi supervision, were paradoxically both propaganda tools and vital emotional lifelines.

    In a world stripped of humanity, Alice’s music brought fleeting beauty, comfort, and dignity. For her, the piano was survival—a daily act of defiance and remembrance. “I felt that this is the only way to survive,” she later said. “Music is God.”

    After liberation in 1945, Alice moved to Israel, where she taught at the Jerusalem Academy of Music. Later in life, she settled in London, continuing to teach and inspire until the very end.

    Her story gained global attention through the Oscar-winning documentary The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life, which portrayed her unwavering optimism and love for life, even after all she endured. Remarkably, Alice played piano and lived independently well past 100.

    In 2014, she passed away at the age of 110, then recognized as the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor.

    Alice Herz-Sommer didn’t just survive the Holocaust—she transcended it through art, kindness, and unshakable hope. Her legacy continues to remind us that even in the bleakest places, beauty and spirit can still endure.

    ?? “I never hate. Hatred brings only hatred.” — Alice Herz-Sommer

    – FB group: “90’s history “

  18. An opening page of the Shevet Jehuda by Solomon ibn Verga. Shevet Yehudah is a history of persecutions of the Jews authored by Solomon ibn Verga. This page is from a 1709 copy of the work, held by the Library of Congress in Washington DC.

    Solomon ibn Verga or Salomón ben Verga (Hebrew: ???? ??? ?????, c. 1460 – 1554) was a Spanish historian and physician. He lived in Spain and also in Lisbon, a refugee from the persecutions and expulsions of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula at the time. In Lisbon he lived as a Marrano, a Jew who accepted Christianity but often secretly kept their Jewish faith and customs. He was in Lisbon in 1506 as a witness of the massacre of Jews in the city at the time. He also was involved in raising money to pay ransoms to free imprisoned Jews.

    Later he escaped to Turkey, probably to Adrianople, where he wrote the Shebe? Yehudah (Shevet Yehudah) an account of the persecutions of the Jews in different countries and epochs. In a short preface he says that he found an account of some persecutions at the end of a work of Judah ibn Verga, which he copied; to this he added a narration of the persecutions of his own time, the compilation being afterward completed and edited by his son, Joseph ibn Verga. The title “Shebe? Yehudah”, which is an allusion to Judah ibn Verga (“shebe?” in Hebrew being the equivalent of the Spanish “verga”, “staff”), refers to Gen. 49:10.

    The work contains an account of 64 persecutions, besides narratives of many disputations and an account of Jewish customs in different countries. Ibn Verga endeavored to solve the problem why the Jews, particularly the Spanish Jews, suffered from persecutions more than any other people. He gives various reasons, among them being the superiority of the Jews (“whom the Lord loves He chastens”: Proverbs 3:12), and chiefly their separation from the Christians in matters of food; their troubles were also a punishment for their sins. In general, Ibn Verga does not endeavor to show the Jews as faultless; he sometimes even exaggerates their “sins.”

    As this work is the compilation of three authors, it is not arranged in chronological order. There is no connection between the narratives, but the Hebrew style is clear. Ibn Verga knew Latin, and derived many narratives from Latin sources. This work contains also a treatise on the form of the Temple of Solomon. Leopold Zunz, the German-Jewish 19th century scholar, noted in 1840 the importance of the work for historians, as it contains a considerable number of names of places, as well as a description of customs and historical events. For Zunz, this work was very important in adding to the picture of Jewish history in the medieval and early modern period.

    In particular, the work details accounts of the Rhineland massacres of 1096, the massacres around the Shepherds’ Crusade of 1320, the massacre of 1391, the Lisbon massacre, and the Disputation of Tortosa.

    – From FB group: Leo Baek Institute

  19. Avi Abelow:

    Interim report on Trump’s Middle East trip: No, he did not turn on Israel!

    Yes, horrible Optics. BUT – No Pressure on Israel. No Terror State. No Illusions. And not Narcissistic.

    Do I wish he would have handled Qatar and Syria differently? Yes! But, never is foreign policy based on values or justice, rather it’s always, always about interests.

    I encourage the following. Take a moment and imagine if this trip had been made by Biden, Obama, Bush, or Clinton….

    Had that been, announcements would already be flying out of Washington and Brussels about a renewed push to create a 23rd Arab Muslim terror state—one that would serve as a launchpad for more October 7ths.

    Israel would be told to stop flattening Gaza, to “de-escalate,” and to make room for the very terrorists who butchered our babies. The world would praise its own immorality while demanding that we commit national suicide.

    But this isn’t Biden or Obama. This is Trump.

    And under Trump, he used his trip to business deals that benefit the U.S. economy, and neuter China and Iran, without any talks or announcements that pressure Israel to stop or retreat. We are not being told to commit another strategic disaster like the 2005 disengagement, stop the war in Gaza or pull out of Syria.

    The only thing is talk about humanitarian aid situation in Gaza.

    That is not Trump “turning on Israel”.

    No, in reality, we are continuing to advance in Gaza and we remain in Southern Syria.

    We are flattening Gaza—morally, militarily, and justifiably—as Gazans flee their homes by the thousands. This is exactly what must happen.

    Israel is finally, after decades of restraint, fighting to win.

    And this time, there is no fake “peace process” waiting in the wings. Instead, we are steadily implementing what can only be called the Trump Emigration Plan—the only just, moral, and correct way to end this war and secure a future for Jewish children in the Land of Israel.

    Overnight, Israel conducted a massive wave of attacks in both northern Gaza and eastern Khan Younis—airstrikes, naval fire, and artillery bombardments that signaled a clear prelude to the next phase of ground operations.

    The results:

    – In Beit Lahia and Jabaliya, our forces struck hard from the air and moved forward on the ground.
    – In As-Salatin–Al-Atatra, the IDF advanced amid nonstop shelling, causing widespread Gazan flight.
    – In Al-Qarara, near the Kisufim axis, a massive barrage triggered another mass evacuation (attached picture).

    At least 30 reported dead, over 70 wounded or missing, all because Hamas still uses its population as human shields, even in hospitals!

    The message is clear: Hamas will be uprooted, Gaza will fall, and Israel will not stop.

    Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: the optics of Trump’s visit with Qatar and the Syrian ISIS leader are—frankly—terrible. Yes, it looks and seems horrible. But optics aren’t the full story.

    What Trump is trying to do here is far bigger than meets the eye.

    Trump is attempting a bold geopolitical strategy: isolating China and Iran by realigning Sunni Muslim regimes—like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and even Syria—toward America.

    It’s a Cold War-era move: divide your enemies by peeling off their allies. He also wants to give the growing isolationist wing in the Republican Party a reason to believe that he’s doing everything possible to prevent another major American military entanglement in the Middle East.

    Personally, I think the strategy is naive.

    You can’t change a 1,400-year-old religious jihadist ideology with a handshake, some compliments and a few investment deals.

    You can’t “normalize” with regimes that teach their children to hate Jews, encourage Americans to destroy America via Al-Jazeera programming, and dream of a world without Israel.

    But at least Trump is trying something other than the usual doctrine of the swamp forcing Israel to surrender, which was the focus of all U.S. foreign policy until now.

    That said, let’s be absolutely clear: the only true and lasting end to this war will NOT come from diplomacy—it will come from Jewish strength and moral clarity. Israel must make Gaza Jewish again!

    No more terror zones. No more giving our land to jihadists.

    Gaza must be liberated—fully, permanently—and repopulated with Jews. The Arabs of Gaza must emigrate en masse, voluntarily or incentivized, to other countries, as per Trump’s emigration plan. All of them, as Gazans are Hamas. Hamas are all Gazans.

    That is the only way peace will come. That is the only way our enemies will truly learn the cost of waging war against us.

    Because if they remain—if even a remnant of that ideology stays behind—it will be seen by the Arab Muslim world as victory. And it will guarantee more war. More terror. More October 7ths.

    Victory is not just about defeating Hamas. It’s about restoring Jewish sovereignty and pride over every inch of our land—including Gaza, and then in Judea & Samaria as well. That’s what true justice looks like. That’s how you ensure that Never Again isn’t a slogan—it’s a strategy.

  20. I finally got to sample Israel’s Osem ketchup with my cottage cheese. Leaves Heinz in the dust. Here is a feeble rebuttal from self-hating Jews. I finally understand why Nixon, the antisemite, fell in love with Israel and over-rode Kissinger in’73. Very expensive here because of the tariffs. but, President Trump must rescue John Kerry’s wife’s family’s business, of course. What can you do? Sigh.

    https://www.koshernexus.org/2015/09/heinz-ketchup-today-tomorrow-and-into-the-future/

    I bet it’s great on omurice, too.

    https://cookingwithremi.com/recipes/suz-cruz-omurice

  21. @Sebastien Zorn

    Re: Avi Abelow’s post on FB

    This is exactly like during the Great Revolt (which ended in the destruction of The Second Temple) – the Judean elite was on the side of the Romans.

    One example – the traitor Josephus.

    And, as usual, there was a lot of infighting among the Jews, even (or especially) in the besieged Jerusalem.

  22. Sebastien, Peloni, Edgar, etc.

    Trump & Saudi Arabia contain enought fuel to start a firestone that can suck all the oxygen from important news. In my own mind, I see these things happening in the background, important things:

    1. Trump has the potential to considerably help Israel; but in order to do so, he must secure his own power base.

    2. His power base is the American people; and the big issues, to them, seem to be the economy and the border. There are many social issues as well; but the economy and the situation caused by lawlessness coming in from the border have to be secured before all others.

    3. Widespread corruption in America is thwarting the solution of these issues.

    I came across the following, about Texas Governor Abbott being in bed with the Deep State and cartels on the US southern border. This is big enough to undermine Trump,and all the benefit we could otherwise get through him:

    “Gov. Abbott Has Taken $1.4 Million From The Developer Of Colony Ridge”

    https://rumble.com/v6tdnrt-yon-5142025-battleground.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp

    It’s worth a look-see.

  23. Avi Abelow on FB: Houston, we still have a problem!!! The Deep State Is Still Running the IDF—and They’re Blocking Us from Following the Directives of the Government to Win the War
    While our holy and brave soldiers, including my own sons, are putting their lives on the line, the senior echelon of the IDF—infested with the same deep state mentality, led by the legal advisors, that failed us on October 7th—is still sabotaging our path to victory.
    While finally the talk is about winning, on the ground, the soldiers are experiencing something completely different.
    I can’t tell you how many times it has been reported that the government gives directives on how to win and the senior command says “we can’t do that. The legal advisors say it’s against international law”, when it is isn’t! These legal advisors are prioritizing the lives of an enemy population, endangering our own soldiers and the whole Israeli population by stopping us from doing what is necessary to win.
    I want to share with you a raw, honest message from an IDF reservist who just came out of Gaza. He exposes exactly how the senior command is recycling failed strategies, ignoring field reality, and dragging this war out indefinitely. Read his words. Share them. And open your eyes.
    ——-
    “Hey guys,
    I just got back from joining the commander’s jeep the brigade, and I have to share something. When I saw the new order, I had the craziest déjà vu. The order we received is exactly the same as the operation the IDF carried out in January 2024—same forces, same locations, same chaos. The commanders may be new, but they forgot that we reservists are still here, and we remember exactly what went down a year and a quarter ago.
    Guys, I know how tough it is dealing with a year and a half of reserve duty—I’m facing the same struggles at home. After hearing in the media about the cabinet’s approved plan to separate the population from Hamas, transfer them south of the Morag axis, and launch an offensive operation to end the war, I told my family—and told you: “We’re finally going to finish this story in Gaza and return to life. Let’s hang in there for one last act.” I felt like we were about to win.
    But after seeing the actual IDF plan, I’m telling you—none of what the media reported is true.
    The population isn’t being moved south, the aid to Gaza hasn’t stopped, and we’re going back to the exact same places and the same plan we already carried out a year ago.
    This plan looks like copy-paste—no accounting for how the terrain has changed, no acknowledgment of how much more professionally we now fight, no grasp of how Hamas has learned our vulnerabilities. Most of all, the plan screams lack of belief from its authors that we can actually defeat Hamas. The disconnect from the ground is insane. We already know we can move the population south easily. We know we can flatten large areas quickly. We know the people in Gaza are mentally broken.
    When I heard the army say in the media that it would take two years to “cleanse Gaza,” I couldn’t understand where they got that nonsense. Now that I’ve seen the plan—it makes sense. They designed it to drag out. But I’ll tell you this: we can subdue Gaza in three months. The only reason we’re not doing it is because someone doesn’t want to. If we separated the population and cut off water, electricity, and aid—we’d have Hamas begging us to take back the hostages and just let them leave.
    What this plan tells me is that we’re about to be stuck in reserves for another two years. Insanity.
    Guys, I’m not trying to demoralize anyone. We’re going to fight—no matter what! But we have to be realistic and understand: right now there is no IDF plan for victory! We have to hope that someone in the IDF command will finally reconnect to reality and go back to the original plan—separate the population, and define anyone outside the humanitarian zone as a terrorist. That’s how we can empty the strip and finish off Hamas!
    If there’s no movement inside Gaza, we’ll need far fewer soldiers, and we can bring all the hostages home—with minimum risk to our forces.
    Let me remind you: on October 7th, it was the soldiers and warriors on the ground who saved Israel—not the IDF senior command. Since then, the initiatives of us and many other soldiers and officers have reshaped this war and how the IDF fights. Even now, we have to change things from the bottom up, push forward, and fight under any conditions—until victory!”
    ———
    This is why I have been spending so much time exposing the deep state in Israel. They are literally stopping us from winning this war! That is why this war is taking so long. This is the horrendous situation that Netanyahu, and his governments, have had to deal with for decades. To lead a country when a group of unelected officials, behind the scene, always work to sabotage the plans, and the public has no clue about it so they blame Netanyahu and his “right-wing” government that can’t follow through on the policies they were elected to implement.
    With all that, we are experiencing a wake up process with more people understanding this absurd reality, and we will overcome it to win this war!
    At the end of the day, it is our holy, brave soldiers on the ground together with Hashem above, who will provide this victory, despite the sabotaging of the unelected defense and legal officials at the top.
    Strengthen your faith, because only in Hashem can we trust, that is our secret power.
    We are making it happen!!!
    (Image: the attack yesterday against the leader of Hamas in Gaza)
    Am Yisrael Chai!!!