Chit Chat

By Peloni

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 | 9,205 Comments »

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72 Comments / 9205 Comments

  1. The NY Post says Governor Hochul is unpopular citing a poll in which she is 1 percent behind Stefanik. Aside from this being well within the margin of error, I queried AI Overview for more detail and Hochul is popular in NYC and the Hudson Valley, i.e, downstate, and more than 10 points ahead in that poll but not upstate.

    Then I asked whether NYC and Hudson Valley voters outnumber upstate voters, and it replied in the affirmative by an overwhelming margin.

    Despite her blunder in endorsing Mamdani, who did not return the favor, saying she had her differences, she just said she won’t raise taxes as he wants and she just sent refund checks of $200 to many people.

    She is still pro-Israel, and has maintained former Governor Cuomo’s executive order banning BDS, so, even though I disagree with her on issues like no cash bail, have to check and see whether she modified that position, she defends the status quo vis a vis tenant protections.

    So, barring a dramatic change, I will vote for her again. Pity. I’d vote for Stefanik for U.S. Senate in a heartbeat but not Governor.

  3. “Leaders of Dutch Christian Zionists protested on Thursday in Amsterdam against the Royal Concert Hall’s decision to cancel a Chanukah concert because it features a cantor who serves in Israel’s army.

    Separately, France’s culture minister, Rachida Dati, condemned calls to boycott the Israel Philharmonic and prevent that orchestra from performing in Paris on Thursday at the seat of its local counterpart.”

    https://www.jns.org/christians-protest-amsterdam-venues-chanukah-boycott/

  4. Question
    When the pro Palestinian mob cry foul at the ‘ ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their indigenous homeland in 1948 ‘ do they include the following
    – the hundreds of thousands of Arabs coming into Palestine on the back of the economic benefits brought by Zionism , referred to by Churchill in several Parliamentary speeches
    – the forty thousand Syrians criticised by the Governor of Houran Province for leaving Syria and going to work in agricultural land bought by Jewish organisations in Palestine
    – the thousands of Bene Sahk Arabs travelling from Transjordan into Palestine as described by Sir John Finn , high ranking British Diplomat in Palestine
    – the thousands of Arab immigrants coming into Palestine from 1880 until 1939 as variously diarised by Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen , British Military Attaché in his Middle East Diaries 1910 – 1950
    – the cited immigrants from 18 Arab countries referred to in the various editions of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica from 1911 onwards

    Peter Baum

    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DG8QEbxzM/?mibextid=wwXIfr

  10. “Django Reinhardt’s “Blues en mineur” was recorded in Brussels in April 1942, during the German occupation of Belgium and France. The recording session was notable for also being one of the few instances where Reinhardt’s violin playing was captured on record. 
    The composition and recording of the song highlight several elements of Reinhardt’s career and personal history during the war:
    * Continued professional life: Despite being a Roma (Gypsy) artist—a group targeted by the Nazis for persecution—and a performer of jazz, a style condemned as “degenerate music,” Reinhardt continued to perform and record in occupied Paris.
    * Protection by German officers: His survival was partly a result of his fame and talent, which earned him fans among some high-ranking German officers. One such fan, Luftwaffe officer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, known as “Doktor Jazz,” intervened on Reinhardt’s behalf on several occasions.
    * Brussels recordings: During the occupation, Reinhardt traveled and recorded in Brussels, which is where the famous session for “Blues en mineur” took place in 1942.
    * Musical symbolism: While not an overt protest song, the act of a Roma musician performing a jazz composition during the occupation carried powerful symbolism. It was an affirmation of artistic and cultural identity in defiance of the oppressive Nazi regime that sought to erase both. “
    – AI Overview

    “Blues En Re Mineur (remastered)”

    https://youtu.be/vW9ydje4z58?si=Y4MdM0cy28q_eT2o

  11. President Trump threatens US military action in Nigeria over ‘treatment of Christians’

    https://youtu.be/_-zJeOGBBZE

    US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issues a stark warning over Nigeria’s handling of religious freedom. Following President Donald Trump’s call for “fast” military action to protect Christians, tensions escalate as the US signals potential intervention against terrorist threats. Nigerian authorities reaffirm their commitment to protect all citizens regardless of creed, but the situation remains tense. …

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxlPkPu91Fw

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxlPkPu91Fw

  14. Of maturity and student government I’m reminded of this blast from the past:

    Zuleika Dobson, full title Zuleika Dobson, or, an Oxford love story, is the only novel by English essayist Max Beerbohm, a satire of undergraduate life at Oxford published in 1911. It includes the famous line “Death cancels all engagements” and presents a corrosive view of Edwardian Oxford.[1]
    Zuleika Dobson

    Publication date
    26 October 1911
    Publication place
    United Kingdom
    Media type
    Print
    In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Zuleika Dobson 59th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
    The book largely employs a third-person narrator limited to the character of Zuleika (pronounced “Zu-lee-ka”),[2] then shifting to that of the Duke, tthen halfway through the novel suddenly becoming a first-person narrator who claims inspiration from the Greek Muse Clio, with her all-seeing narrative perspective provided by Zeus. This allows the narrator to also see the ghosts of notable historical visitors to Oxford, who are present but otherwise invisible to the human characters at certain times in the novel, adding an element of the supernatural.
    Robert Mighall in his Afterword to the New Centenary Edition of Zuleika (Collector’s Library, 2011), writes: “Zuleika is of the future … [Beerbohm] anticipates an all-too-familiar feature of the contemporary scene: the D-list talent afforded A-list media attention.”[3]
    Beerbohm began writing the book in 1898, finishing in 1910,[4] with Heinemann publishing it on 26 October 1911.[5] He saw it not as a novel, but rather as “the work of a leisurely essayist amusing himself with a narrative idea.”[6] Sydney Castle Roberts wrote a parody, Zuleika in Cambridge (1941

    Plot
    edit
    Zuleika Dobson—”though not strictly beautiful”—is a devastatingly attractive young woman of the Edwardian era, a true femme fatale, who is a prestidigitator by profession, formerly a governess. Zuleika’s current occupation (though, more importantly, perhaps, her enrapturing beauty) has made her something of a small-time celebrity and she manages to gain entrance to the privileged, all-male domain of Oxford University because her grandfather is the Warden of Judas College (based on Merton College, Beerbohm’s alma mater). There, she falls in love for the first time in her life with the Duke of Dorset, a snobbish, emotionally detached student who—frustrated with the lack of control over his feelings when he sees her—is forced to admit that she too is his first love, impulsively proposing to her. As she feels that she cannot love anyone unless he is impervious to her charms, however, she rejects all her suitors, doing the same with the astonished Duke. The Duke quickly discovers that Noaks, another Oxford student, also claims to have fallen in love with her, without ever having even interacted with her. Apparently, men immediately fall in love with her upon seeing her. As the first to have his love reciprocated by her (for however brief a time) the Duke decides that he will commit suicide to symbolise his passion for Zuleika and in hopes that he will raise awareness in her of the terrible power of her bewitching allure, as she innocently goes on crushing men’s affections.
    Zuleika is able to interrupt the Duke’s first suicide attempt from a river boat, but seems to have a romanticised view of men dying for her, and does not oppose the notion of his suicide altogether. The Duke, instead pledging to kill himself the next day—which Zuleika more or less permits—has dinner that night with his social club where the other members also affirm their love for Zuleika. Upon telling them of his plan to die, the others unexpectedly agree also to commit suicide for Zuleika. This idea soon reaches the minds of all Oxford undergraduates, who inevitably fall in love with Zuleika upon first sight.
    The Duke eventually decides that the only way he can stop all the undergraduates from killing themselves is by not committing suicide himself, hoping they will follow his example. By an ancient tradition, on the eve of the death of a Duke of Dorset, two black owls come and perch on the battlements of Tankerton Hall, the family seat; the owls remain there hooting through the night and at dawn they fly away to an unknown place. After debating whether to follow through with his suicide, while seeming to decide at last to embrace his life as just as valuable as Zuleika’s, the Duke receives a telegram from his butler at Tankerton, reporting the portentous return of the owls. The Duke promptly interprets the omen as a sign that the gods have decreed his doom. He proudly tells Zuleika that he will still die, but no longer for her; she agrees as long as he makes it appear that he is dying for her by shouting her name as he jumps into the river. Later the same day, a thunderstorm overwhelms the Eights Week boat races while the Duke drowns himself in the River Isis, wearing the robes of a Knight of the Garter. Every fellow undergraduate, except one, promptly follows suit.
    All of the Oxford undergraduates now dead, including, with some delay, the cowardly Noaks, Zuleika discusses the ordeal with her grandfather, who reveals that he too was enamoured by all when he was her age. While Oxford’s academic staff barely notice that nearly all of their undergraduates have vanished, Zuleika decides to order a train for the next morning… bound for Cambridge.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuleika_Dobson

    Read it when I was a kid. Thought it was hilarious, insincere apologies to any surviving bereaved.

  15. Columbia College students vote in support of all three fall 2025 referendum questions
    Only around two thirds of voters supported reinstating public campus access, while more than 80 percent favored excused mental health days and student representation in presidential search committees.

    “…The fall 2025 ballot results overwhelmingly supported the referendums, but also revealed remarkably low turnout: only 780 Columbia College students voted out of a group of around 5,000—around 15 percent. These numbers are also lower when compared to past referendums: 1,245 students voted in the spring 2025 referendum, 871 students voted in the fall 2024 referendum, and 2,013 students voted in the spring 2024 referendum, which took place during the April 2024 “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”.”

    https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/10/30/columbia-college-students-vote-in-support-of-all-three-fall-2025-referendum-questions/

  20. Latest Quinnipiac poll has 60% of Jews voting against Mamdani. How is it that 4 out of 10 Jews would be so devoid of self interest as to vote in their own oppressor? Insanity, simple insanity.

    • @Peloni Yes, “Chickens for KFC”, indeed! And this is without the rent freeze (which I would otherwise support):

      “Jews for Zohran’ knock doors as Mamdani’s past IDF comments resurface
      Mandy Patinkin joins the fray.”

      “…The antisemitism curriculum that Mamdani supports
      Mamdani announced during the last mayoral debate that he would implement “Hidden Voices,” a school program that teaches New York City students about Jewish American history. (The curriculum became available to schools this year.)

      “Hidden Voices” uses different language about Israel and Zionism than Mamdani, according to a review by The Forward.

      The program defines Zionism as “the right to Jewish national self-determination in their ancestral homeland.” Mamdani has said that he is “not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else.” He supports the right of Israel to exist not as a Jewish state, but as a state “with equal rights for all.”…”

      https://www.jta.org/2025/10/29/politics/jews-for-zohran-knock-doors-as-mamdanis-past-idf-comments-resurface

      My comment: Why on earth hasn’t anyone challenged this twelver shia muslim to say if he feels the same way about Iran, not to mention the 22 explicitly Muslim Arab states and the 57 states in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, 10 of whom don’t even have Muslim majorities, such as Uganda, where he also has citizenship! Does he support BDSing them? Does he condemn the muslim genocide of Christians in Africa? Of black muslims by Arab muslims? The ICC also placed arrests on Hamas leadership. Will he arrest any Hamas representative who sets foot in NYC? Hamas describes itself as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, another offshoot of which, CAIR which $100,000 to his campaign. Will he give it back and condemn them? Will he arrest them? Does he still give his love to the Holy Land Five?

      Does he think Jews should have equal rights on the Temple Mount and in Judea, Samaria and Gaza? Should the millions of descendants of the Jews in Saudi Arabia Mohammed had killed and those who may have escaped, get their homes back? Perennial refugees of the Jewish Nakhba? (They want to be the Jews? Fine, lets trade places. One good dystopian fantasy deserves another. 😀 )

      • AI Overview

        +13
        The “Holy Land 5” refers to five former officials of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), once the largest Muslim charity in the United States. They were convicted in 2008 of funneling money to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charity was shut down by the U.S. government three months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
        The connection between the Holy Land 5 case and 9/11 is rooted in the “War on Terror,” which expanded the U.S. government’s counter-terrorism powers and led to increased scrutiny of Muslim charities.
        The Holy Land Foundation and its officials
        The charity: HLF was a Texas-based organization that provided humanitarian aid to Palestinians. U.S. officials, however, accused it of acting as a front for financing Hamas. In December 2001, just months after the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration shut down the charity and froze its assets.
        The individuals: The five officials prosecuted were Shukri Abu Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader, Abdulrahman Odeh, and Mohammad El-Mezain.
        The trial and convictions
        The charge: The men were accused of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
        The two trials: The first trial in 2007 ended in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a verdict on most charges. In a second trial in 2008, all five men were convicted.
        The sentences: The men were given sentences ranging from 15 to 65 years in federal prison.
        Controversy and appeals
        The case has been highly controversial, with ongoing debate surrounding the evidence and severity of the sentences.
        Evidence and defense arguments: Civil liberties groups and defense lawyers argued that the convictions were based on weak evidence and that the charity’s aid went to legitimate welfare committees. The case also involved concerns over the use of secret, undisclosed evidence during the trial.
        Appeals and outcomes: The convictions were upheld on appeal. While two of the men have been released after serving their sentences, three remain in prison as of 2022. Efforts by human rights groups to secure pardons for the men have been unsuccessful.

    • The question is how much Trump needs to deliver relief to China to get this non-guaranteed result. I’m sure Xi is smiling on his way home, something like Arafat after the Camp David accords.

  22. Thousands of bodies are littered on roads outside Sudan’s El Fashir, and witnesses say that thousands more have been taken hostage by the RSF, VG reported citing an aid worker.

    But no Jews, no news…

      • @Michael

        The Situation in Sudan looks like an anti-Christian genocide

        The Christian Genocide has been spreading across all of Africa. It has been an important test which has seen the world lay quiet and, in this silence, supportive of this systematic slaughter of Christians in the continent on which Christianity was once well established, but is today under a general siege. I am quite relieved to hear Trump’s comments on what is taking root in Africa, even if it has been going on for more than a decade and a half while the silent support of the West encouraged the conquest of that continent which has been steadily advancing to this day.

        • @Peloni When people talk about 7th century barbarism, I think they may not realize that before that, the Middle East was predominantly Christian, with large Jewish, Zoroastrian, and polytheist or animist minorities who did not behave like barbarians. Afghanistan was Buddhist, Pakistan was a mix of Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu. I knew an Iranian Marxist who had come to the U.S. as a student in the early ‘60’s and stayed, now deceased, he’d be in his ‘90s. who said he thought Islam was an advance for its time. No, it was a great leap backward by thousands of years.

          • @Sebastien

            I think they may not realize that before that, the Middle East was predominantly Christian,

            True. The lack of education about history, among other topics, is a worrying failing in the West. Like the sovereignty failings in Israel over the past decades, the missing education among Western populations can not be remedied in a short span of time, and this will have a protracted consequence even if the underlying issue begins to be addressed currently.

            1

  24. I used to enjoy listening to or watching Central Synagogue’s Shabbat services which are broadcast live on WQXR FM, on Youtube and on the Jewish cable channel on RCN (though I no longer have a tv, just internet) until the rabbi made her first political statement last month – condemning “Settler Violence.” And I lost interest.

    1

  26. Pay-for-Slay continues
    Itamar Marcus|Oct 26
    Despite the Palestinian Authority’s ongoing claims that it stopped rewarding imprisoned terrorists and the families of “Martyrs,” Palestinian Media Watch can report that yesterday, Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10:00 AM, the PA post offices paid terrorists’ salaries and stipends to families of terrorist “Martyrs.”

    Because the PA has told the donor countries that it stopped the Pay-for-Slay program, it made no official announcements and it delayed the payments so that everyone, even the terrorists’ families, would think that the program had ended. However, yesterday, the PA did pay the salaries.

    https://palwatch.org/page/41634

    Also Oct 26

    Fatah sets conditions for administering Gaza
    The Fatah movement, led by Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), emphasized that any future arrangement in the Gaza Strip must be conducted under Palestinian national legitimacy, embodied in the PLO and the State of Palestine.
    Dalit Halevi
    Published: Oct 26, 2025 at 12:03 AM (GMT+2)

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/section/25

  28. AI Overview

    +10
    Reports about Leonid Brezhnev ordering the firing of Jewish musicians from the Bolshoi are based on the plot of the 2009 film The Concert, not on historical fact. While the film takes inspiration from the reality of Soviet antisemitism, there is no evidence that Brezhnev personally issued an order to fire specific Jewish musicians at the Bolshoi Theatre.
    However, the Brezhnev era was marked by heightened antisemitic policies, and Jewish artists and intellectuals faced discrimination and persecution.
    Key facts about the historical context:
    Discrimination and career barriers: Though Jewish artists were prominent in Soviet music, they faced significant career obstacles. During the 1960s and 70s, many were denied opportunities for promotion or foreign travel.
    The refusenik movement: Many Jewish artists and intellectuals became “refuseniks”—individuals denied permission to emigrate from the Soviet Union, primarily to Israel. For example, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported in 1974 that French artists appealed to Brezhnev to allow three prominent Jewish refuseniks—a journalist, a writer, and a cameraman—to emigrate.
    Dismissal of musicians from other orchestras: An incident closer to the plot of The Concert occurred in 1972, before Brezhnev’s death. According to the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, 25 Jewish musicians were fired from the Soviet All-Union Radio and Television Orchestra in retaliation for the emigration of their former conductor, Yury Aronovich.
    Stalin’s earlier purges: It was Stalin’s regime, not Brezhnev’s, that carried out the most brutal purges of Jewish artists, particularly in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This included the infamous “Night of the Murdered Poets” in 1952, where prominent Yiddish writers and artists were executed.
    The movie’s plot is an adaptation of these historical realities, condensing the widespread prejudice and discrimination of the Soviet era into a specific, dramatic event involving a famous institution.

  29. I just came home and saw an improperly placed garbage ticket on the
    door of
    the building. Under name was the landlord’s corporate name, the address of
    the building followed by LLC and then an un-filled out category: gender.

    I’m surprised they didn’t put gender at birth, gender preference and preferred pronouns as they do on hospital forms, while they were at it. One good fiction deserves another, n’est pas?, pardon my French. 😀

  30. I am rewatching “The Concert” (2009) Russian and French with English subtitles. Melanie Laurent, Valery Guskov. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video. I saw it at the Paris theater when it came out (It’s a French film.) I don’t want to give it away but it’s one of my favorite Jewish films. I will say this: You’ll laugh and cry, leaving the “theater” whistling a happy tune.

  31. I voted earlier this morning. Voted for Cuomo for mayor, Republican for all the other positions even though I didn’t know any of these people but knowing the Dems like Juumane Williams for Public Advocate were awful. Abstained from voting for the judges as there were only 2 party lines represented, Dem, and Working Families Party (which is the same as DSA). Voted no on all the ballot proposals. Knowing, all the while that I was just spitting in the wind. What can I say? Jews vote. We may or may not pray but we religiously vote, knowing in either case, that it may or may not make any difference at all. If we are alllowed or able to, in both cases, which has not always been the case and even now, even in Israel, i.e., the Temple Mount.

    https://www.meforum.org/middle-east-quarterly/temple-mount

    https://www.kestenbaum.net/auction/lot/Auction-96/096-099/

    Scroll down for explanation

    The election workers seemed thrilled to see me in this enormous but almost entirely empty voting place. No lines at all.

    Mamdani will be elected with the usual low turnout as he was in the primary, same way the Knesset vote approving Oslo was shoved through.

    If voting was mandatory as it is in these 22 countries – I knew about the Dominican Republic – I wonder how things would turn out (no pun intended).

    https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/22-countries-voting-mandatory

    Arguments for and against:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting

  32. Maybe 30 years ago when I played 2nd violin in an amateur string quartet, the elderly Austrian? Jewish violist told me that this quartet we were about to play, Haydn’s string Quartet Opus 54 No. 2 in C Major was called, “The Rabbi” by gentile musicians and “The Chasid” by Jewish musicians.

    This article says it was the first of 6 quartets written by Haydn for a Hungarian violinist and so these passages – and one whole movement – are supposed to sound like Gypsy/Romani music but they sound very Jewish to me. What do you think?

    https://www.brentanoquartet.com/notes/haydn-quartet-opus-54-no-2/

    Live performance played by Danish String Quartet in Tel Aviv posted in 2017.

    https://youtu.be/dGgmFFMFICc?si=_qxo6-vLEFqqBHAD

    1

  34. @ Peloni I think this is a terribly important article and deserves to be reposted and maybe even put in the permanent index because its the crux of the matter and it’s not going away any time soon. What do you think? I don’t know if Israpundit posted it a long time ago. It rings a bell.

    The Inside Story of How Palestinians Took Over the World
    The brilliant Palestinian plan to capture the pliable minds of American college students was laid out in front of me 25 years ago, during a very sinister business meeting in Israel.

    by Gary Wexler

    Nov -8, 2023

    https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/columnist/365220/the-inside-story-of-how-palestinians-took-over-the-world/

    1

  35. Who were the assailants? And this was in Skokie, where the ACLU defended the right of Nazis to march in the ‘70s (Danny Kaye starred in a movie about this where he played an elderly holocaust survivor leading the legal fight against them.)

    And ON Oct. 7th? There’s more to this.

    “Advocates decry ‘pogrom on the playground’ after Jewish children targeted in Chicago suburb on Oct. 7
    The Village of Skokie has closed its investigation. Parents and advocates want to see hate crimes charges.“

    https://www.jta.org/2025/10/24/united-states/jewish-children-in-chicago-suburb-shot-with-pellet-guns-on-oct-7-pogrom-on-the-playground

  36. Are we seeing the collapse of the Trump construct for Gaza and the Middle Eaast caused by ignorance or neglect of history, both historic and more modern?
    His choice of Qatar and Turkey to have central roles in the re-establishment of Gaza are critical mistakes from an Israeli perspective.
    Trump is ignoring radical Islamic Muslim Brotherhood connections of these bad actors who will utilise (not remove) Hamas in a new Gaza.
    His ignorance, or deliberate sweeping aside of Jewish claims to Judea and Samaria, a witnessed by jarring statements by his VP Vance in Jerusalem were
    deeply offensive in Israel.

    Now comes news that his choice as US Ambassador to Kuwait has been critically questioned in the House including by close Republican Trump allies.

    Amer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., and President Donald Trump’s embattled nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, struggled to win over skeptical senators of both parties during his confirmation hearing on Thursday as he faced a grilling over his long record of promoting antisemitic ideas and embracing anti-Israel positions as an elected official.

    Ghalib was grilled by Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which began when the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), called out his litany of antis-emitic comments and denial of sexual violence during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

    It culminated with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), after questioning Ghalib about his past opposition to the Abraham Accords and support of boycotts against Israel, announcing at the end of the hearing that he would not be able to support his nomination.

    The Middle East has been a graveyard of emperors. Trump should step with care.

    Barry Shaw,
    Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.

    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17gtqb5Pmr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

  37. @Peloni My last post here is in moderation because it is too long. Perhaps you could see fit to make an exception or if not post it as an article, my first? I think it introduces an important point. If you agree.

  38. Nov. 9th is another date on which Israel and Jews must be hyper alert.

    Marx wrote a famous pamphlet entitled. “The 18th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon.” I was thinking about this famous passage, which is quite perceptive: “The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service, borrowing from them names, battle slogans, and costumes in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honored disguise and borrowed language.”

    https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/ch01.htm

    And then I thought to inquire what the 18th Brumaire referred to (silly me, I even wrote a paper on it in college.)

    “In political/historical usage, Brumaire can refer to the coup of 18 Brumaire in the year VIII (9 November 1799), by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the government of the Directory to replace it with the Consulate, as referenced by Karl Marx in his pamphlet, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte…”

    https://en.wikipedia.org
    Brumaire – Wikipedia

    “AI Overview”

    “The Balfour Declaration was published on November 9, 1917, though the letter containing the declaration was dated November 2, 1917. This public announcement of support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, issued by the British government, appeared in the press on this date. “

    When I was a useful idiot during the
    first intifada, I was on the the steering committee of the NYC chapter of the
    first group to call itself, “The
    Palestine Solidarity Committee” but with, “formerly Nov. 9th,” appended.”

    What else did General Bonaparte do in 1799, one might ask. And it clicked.

    “Letter to the Jewish Nation from the French Commander-in-Chief Buonaparte?(translated from the Original, 1799)
    General Headquarters, Jerusalem 1st Floreal, April 20th, 1799, in the year of 7 of the French Republic
    BUONAPARTE, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMIES OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC?IN AFRICA AND ASIA, TO THE RIGHTFUL HEIRS OF PALESTINE.
    Israelites, unique nation, whom, in thousands of years, lust of conquest and tyranny have been able to be deprived of their ancestral lands, but not of name and national existence!
    Attentive and impartial observers of the destinies of nations, even though not endowed with the gifts of seers like Isaiahand Joel, have long since also felt what these, with beautiful and uplifting faith, have foretold when they saw the approaching destruction of their kingdom and fatherland: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35,10)
    Arise then, with gladness, ye exiled! A war unexampled In the annals of history, waged in self-defense by a nation whose hereditary lands were regarded by its enemies as plunder to be divided, arbitrarily and at their convenience, by a stroke of the pen of Cabinets, avenges its own shame and the shame of the remotest nations, long forgotten under the yoke of slavery, and also, the almost two-thousand-year-old ignominy put upon you; and, while time and circumstances would seem to be least favourable to a restatement of your claims or even to their expression ,and indeed to be compelling their complet abandonment, it offers to you at this very time, and contrary to all expectations, Israel’s patrimony!
    The young army with which Providence has sent me hither, let by justice and accompanied by victory, has made Jerusalem my headquarters and will, within a few days, transfer them to Damascus, a proximity which is no longer terrifying to David’s city.
    Rightful heirs of Palestine!
    The great nation which does not trade in men and countries as did those which sold your ancestors unto all people (Joel 4:6) herewith calls on you not indeed to conquer your patrimony; nay, only to take over that which has been conquered and, with that nation’s warranty and support, to remain master of it to maintain it against all comers.
    Arise! Show that the former overwhelming might of your oppressors has but repressed the courage of the descendants of those heroes who alliance of brothers would have done honour even to Sparta and Rome (Maccabees 12:15) but that the two thousand years of treatment as slaves have not succeeded in stifling it.
    Hasten! Now is the moment, which may not return for thousands of years, to claim the restoration of civic rights among the population of the universe which had been shamefully withheld from you for thousands of years, your political existence as a nation among the nations, and the unlimited natural right to worship Jehovah in accordance with your faith, publicly and most probably forever (Joel 4:20).”

    https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/letter-to-the-jewish-nation-from-napoleon

    “The Liberation of the Jews 1808
    A Prayer for Napoleon

    Source: Les décisions doctrineles du Grande Sanhédrin. Verdier, Lagrasse, 2008, Translated for marxists.org by Mitchell Abidor.
    Liberated by the French Revolution, devoted to the republic that made this possible, French Jewry was no less loyal to Napoleon, who in this area at least continued the work of the First Republic. In 1806 Napoleon convoked the first Great Sanhedrin in centuries, including rabbis from France and newly conquered Italy. The Emperor posed twelve questions on the place of Jews in French society, concerning matters like polygamy, divorce, and usury, and the result of their responses and the assembly itself was an even firmer anchoring of Jews within French society. An Imperial Decree of 1808 prescribed “the reciting of prayers said in common in temples for his majesty the Emperor and King and the Imperial family. David Sintzheim, president of the Sanhedrin and the Central Consistory of French Israelites, “considering that it is important that the formulation of this prayer be uniform for all synagogues of the Empire,” composed the following.

    Eternal God, master of the Universe, from the height of thy Throne, thou tilt the gaze of thy Providence towards the heavens and the earth.
    Power and might are thine; through thee alone all things grow, all things become strong; through thee kings reign; it is thee who distributes the Scepter for the governing of nations.
    Cast from thy sacred residence a favorable, blessed gaze, preserve and assist our august Sovereign, Napoleon the Great, Emperor of the French, King of Italy.
    Amen.
    Pour upon him the treasure of thy benedictions; extend the length of his reign into the most distant future.
    Amen.
    May thy divine eye ceaselessly watch over him, and his brow be ever adorned with a crown of immortal glory.
    Amen.
    May his enemies yield before him, may happiness, peace, and tranquility accompany his reign.
    Amen.
    May the rays of thy light guide and protect him; may thy mercy and grace serve as his shield.
    Amen.
    May Louise, his beloved Companion, that model queen, participate in his glory and his happiness.
    Amen.
    Forever increase the might, grandeur, and elevation of our Sovereign and those of his family.
    Amen.
    Ensure the happiness of Israel by rendering us worthy of his benevolence, and see to it that we are agreeable in the eyes of all who approach him.
    Amen.
    Receive our expressions and the wishes of our hearts with favor; grant them, God our Creator and our Liberator.
    Amen. “

    https://www.marxists.org/history/france/revolution/1808/prayer-napoleon.htm

    And this year:

    “November 9th, Global Shutdown for Palestine”

    https://www.answercoalition.org/nov_9_palestine

    And all because I suddenly thought to query what the significance of Nov.9th was to the “‘Palestinian’ Solidarity Movement”.

    I had never thought to ask. You see, I was just there because I was a Marxist and that was the cause of
    the moment. (Also, because it shut out genuine liberals) as was everybody else in the group, though from different parties or
    tendencies. 12 people, half Jewish-Americans, half Pal-Americans. And then for events or mailings we got volunteers from other groups. The whole left was like that back then, a shoe-string operation. People came after work or school.

    I recall what I was taught in College, “great essays come from asking great questions.”

  39. Oh wow, a bad Samaritan.

    “Only Samaritan terrorist in Israel released in hostage deal
    Nader Sadka, 48, from Mount Gerizim, is the only Samaritan ever convicted in Israel for security-related offenses. He was sentenced to six life terms for planning and carrying out attacks against Israelis – and has now been released as part of the hostage deal.”

    Arutz Sheva

  40. “160 of the newly-freed terrorists left jail millionaires
    ‘Pay to Slay’ salaries paid to imprisoned terrorists over the years turned 160 of the 250 deadly terrorists released into millionaires, former military prosecutor says.”

    Arutz Sheva

  42. Jack Ciattarelli’s Muslim affairs advisor bragged at campaign event that he doesn’t take money from Jews
    The New Jersey GOP gubernatorial nominee was honored at the Muslims 4 Jack event alongside Ibrar Nadeem

    Jewish Insider (paywall)

    We have to look at every candidate carefully and not let either party take our vote for granted.

  45. “Adam Taylor’sPierre De Jager5h-Q SearchFollowing – Kelly Elder McMillanArdie GeldnYou don’t have to know the face of this man, who was born in Haifa 45 years ago and grew up in the city. But you should know – he saved hundreds of Israelis.21h · GJulia GoreOn October 7, 2023. On that day, terrorists planned to travel on jet skis (motorcycles) from the Gaza Strip to Ashdod and Ashkelon. There were between 50 and 100 of them – armed with machine guns, Hamas. Grenades and other weapons, fighters from the most elite unit ofCharles KaVeet Viva.And he was the commander of the naval base in Ashdod, Eitan Paz. He received intelligence information on the night of October 6-7 about an impending attack from the Gaza Strip. As the initial investigation by the Metachiel revealed, he was the only senior officer who, on his own initiative, mobilized all the ships and boats of the flotilla, and sent them to the maritime border to protect the residents of Ashdod and Ashkelon from the attack of the militants. This was the only military unit that deployed early and immediately attacked the terrorists. They destroyed almost all of the attackers. A small group of militants broke through the first fence, ran into the second, and landed not in Ashkelon, but on the beach of Zikim. There they encountered young soldiers who had tried only a few months earlier. Our sailors literally saved the lives of the residents of Ashkelon. And Eitan Paz, commander of the naval base, prevented many casualties by sending ships to sea on the night of October 6-7, 2023. You don’t have to know him at first glance, but you should know – he saved hundreds of lives on that terrible day.”

    Facebook. Original in Hebrew. Photographed in translation app. Unable to cooy or share directly.

  46. Netanyahu’s statement: “Rafah crossing will not open until further notice.

    Its opening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfills its part in the return of the hostages and the fallen.”

  47. @Peloni It’s taking me to the payment page instead of the login page. I contributed recently, by the way.

    Oh, so now, I have edit, again? There’s a bug somewhere.

    • @Sebastien
      It isn’t the payment page, it is the default page for the site, which has the donation buttons on it. In any event, thanks for letting me know. I will work on fixing it. I apologize for the inconvenience.

  48. Israel Hayom:”Trump authorizes CIA ops against Venezuelan ‘narcoterrorists’
    by Miri Weissman
    Trump defended intervention by reiterating unsubstantiated assertions that Venezuela released prisoners, including mental health facility inmates, into America and transported substantial…”

    My comment: Uh uh.So the homeless woman sleeping on a bench in the subway set on fire by a Venezuelan illegal and the cops attacked in Times Square by Venezuelan illegals last year – never before mind you, just last year – all coincidence, eh? Because what? Now that Trump replaced the lying Dems, I suppose nothing the government says can be trusted? “Unsubstantiated.” ?

  49. @Sebastian, I noticed your comment about Trump asking to stop on the way to the Knesset to buy chala. while the story has a nice sound to it, it doesn’t stand a reality test. Bnei Brak isn’t on his route.

    • Very interesting article. It sounds as if they would all depart for Libya or Tunis, just like Arafat did and then come back to settle in Israel in one of their Arab towns. I could suggest a few: how about Ramle (a stone’s throw from Ben Gurion Airport) or Jaffa (a district of Tel Aviv) or Acre (Aco in Israel) or Melabis (now Petach Tikva).
      I guess a real Arab town like Hebron (Khalil) or Tulkarm or Jenin wouldn’t be satisfactory without some Jews to mess with.