T. Belman.  It is enough that Ben Gvir takes this position but he should stay in the government. As a government Minister, his voice is much louder. He shouldn’t put Gantz in the position to decide when to end this coalition by leaving it. Mind you, if Gantz leaves the coalition, Ben Gvir could rejoin it if Bibi invites him.  The last thing Bibi wants is an early election.

By SAM SOKOL, TOI    Today, 5:01 pm

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads a faction meeting of his Otzma Yehudit party at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on December 4, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticizes the government’s handling of the war against Hamas, reiterating his demand that terrorists be executed and declaring he will not remain in the coalition if the military offensive doesn’t “continue at full strength.”

Asserting that Hamas is still undeterred after 73 days of war, Ben Gvir objects to the government’s decision to let aid into the Gaza Strip, telling reporters at a Knesset faction meeting of his far-right Otzma Yehudit party that “you don’t bring in 200 fuel trucks, you don’t transfer money to any official.”
Read more…

By Sarit Zehavi and Tal Beeri, ALMA REC    17 December 2023

Photo credit: ALMA Research and Education Center

What does Hezbollah want?

Hezbollah did not desire to be lured into the conflict by the Palestinians on October 7 and to come across as though it was being managed (“playing second fiddle”). Hezbollah was “forced” into the campaign on October 7, but on its terms – in a limited capacity; not as a tag-along, but as a supporter. Hezbollah joined the fight to enhance its narrative, although, it would have preferred to start the major conflict by itself. As far as Hezbollah is concerned, the current scenario is a win-win situation.

It should be noted that Hezbollah has been pursuing a policy of provoking Israel since the end of 2022 and throughout 2023. Hezbollah is interested in war with Israel but through its initiative and timing.

Read more…

Why is the U.S. leveraging its position as Israel’s ally to compel an Israeli defeat at the hands of Iran and its proxies? The answer is politics.

By Caroline Glick, JNS   18 December 2023

The U.S. defense secretary arrived in Israel to discuss shifting to a more targeted approach in Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (left) meets with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv, Dec. 18, 2023. Credit: Israel Defense Ministry.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on Monday, where he was expected to pressure Jerusalem to scale back the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

His first meeting upon arriving in the Jewish state was with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Austin was also expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the third member of the War Cabinet, Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Gantz.

Read more…

Billions in handouts would be contingent on absorbing refugees

by Eliyahu Tulshinski, FRONTLINE      December 15, 2023

As momentum builds for the resettlement of the population of Gaza, activists from the NGO Boneh Israel (literally: “Building Israel”) have presented congressmen with a plan to make U.S. foreign aid to Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, and Turkey contingent on those countries accepting a quota of refugees from Gaza. Recently, former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton and Dutch leader Geert Wilders called to resettle Gaza’s population.

Read more…

Report on the Acquiescence of the Israeli Government in Palestinian Authority First Strike Preparations in Judea and Samaria

by Frontline News Staff   October 23, 2023

T. Belman. In effect, Biden is banning people who oppose the TSS.

By Eugene Kontorovich, NY POST    Dec 17/23

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced visa restrictions on Israelis in response to “settler violence.”

Britain and Belgium plan to follow suit, and other European Union countries will likely jump on the blacklist bandwagon.

The United States frequently uses such visa restrictions to block those guilty of gross human-rights abuses, tyrannical foreign despots and nationals of state sponsors of terrorism.

Read more…

America’s manipulation of the Jewish state is endangering Israel and American Jews

BY Jacob Siegle and Liel Leibowitz, TABLET  Dec 17/23

Two years ago, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez famously wept in Congress after changing her vote on funding Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system from “no” to “present.” The New York Times said that the incident showed progressive members of “the Squad” “caught between their principles and the still powerful pro-Israel voices in their party, such as influential lobbyists and rabbis.” (The line was later removed with no correction.) In People magazine, the congresswoman’s procedural maneuver to avoid voting was appreciated for its pathos: “Ocasio-Cortez Opens Up About Israel Iron Dome Vote That Left Her in Tears: ‘Yes, I Wept.’” In the end, the resolution passed the House 420-9.

Read more…

Mark Levin interviews Alan Dershowitz and David Shoen

THIS IS A GREAT INTERVIEW.  DON’T MISS IT.

YOU MUST LISTEN TO DERSHOWITZ’S RANT.

By David Israel, JEWISH PRESS    December 17, 2023

Let’s put it this way: if some rare disease had swept through America, killing everyone 25 and older, it would become very inhospitable for Jews. A survey conducted online by The Harris Poll and HarrisX within the United States from December 13-14 among 2,034 registered voters, asked, “Do you think that the long-term answer to the Israel-Palestinian dispute is for Arab states to absorb the Palestinians, for there to be two states, Israel and Palestine, or for Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians?” and, God help us, 51% of respondents ages 18-24 preferred “for Israel to be ended.”

Read more…

By Hana Levi Julian, JEWISH PRESS   17 December 2023

By Andrea Widburg, AM THINKER

By David Israel, JEWISH PRESS  17 December 2023

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant./Ministry of Defense

Dozens of IDF war martyrs’ families on Sunday sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet ministers stating, “We, the families of IDF soldiers who fell in the war since Simchat Torah, parents, spouses, and children, have lost what was most precious to us, but we are proud of the fallen and the legacy of heroism they left behind: they went into battle without hesitation and fought bravely and selflessly, out of love and confidence in Israel’s eternity, to save lives and protect the people and the homeland from the cruel enemy who came to annihilate us.”

Read more…

By Ted Belman     Dec 12, 2005,

America was founded by Protestants fleeing from religious persecution. They not only had an appreciation for the need for religious liberty, but also had respect for the Hebrew Bible. As a result, the Constitution of the USA reflected both. One hundred years prior to the Constitution being written, Jews and Protestants in Europe were being burned at the stake for religious heresy.

But before writing the Constitution, America’s founders had to declare their independence from the tyranny of Great Britain. In doing so, they declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What a powerful expression of the ethos of the America.
Read more…

Chris Cuomo, NewsNation Dec 15, 2023

NewsNation host Chris Cuomo is among the journalists who have attended a private screening of raw footage from Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. After watching it, Cuomo says it’s clear that “Hamas wanted war and wanted the Jews to know that they want them to burn. Again.”

By Michael Ordman, VGNI

So many positive news articles last week focused on regenerating life for individuals, communities and in other areas.

Medical regeneration involved rehabilitating wounded IDF personnel; reuniting separated families; two Israeli therapies for regenerating the lives of traumatized children, and another that generates companionship for the elderly. Israelis are able to generate thousands of clinical trial simulations, regenerate eye functionality in glaucoma patients, and can show how dormant bacteria regenerates. An Israeli female Israeli professor is responsible for generating three startups including one that regenerates spinal cords. And an Israeli IDF reservist donated her bone marrow to regenerate a patient’s immune system.
Read more…

A combination of reduced combat intensity with increased humanitarian aid could prolong the duration of fighting, certainly if we add to this the morale Hamas can draw from the harm it has inflicted on our forces, the political pressure on Israel, and the bargaining chips it holds. Israel could then find itself slipping into a protracted quagmire, which will necessarily also increase the risk to our soldiers.

By Meir Ben Shabbat  ISRAEL HAYOM  16 December 2023

“Hamas poses an existential threat to Israel.  There’s no question about the need to take on Hamas.  There’s no question about that.  None.  Zero.  They have every right,” President Joe Biden declared once again this week, in a speech he gave at a campaign event, ahead of the presidential elections.

In an attempt to deflect reports about pressure from Washington, he clarified: “We’re not going to walk away from providing Israel what they need to defend themselves and to finish the job against Hamas. He later, at a fundraising event, expressed his concern about the weakening support for it from other countries of the world “following the indiscriminate bombings that occurred.”

Read more…

By Majid Rafizadeh GATESTONE  16 December 2023

Iran’s militia and terrorist group in Yemen, the Houthis, has ratcheted up attacks on ships in the Red Sea, and escalated the launching of missiles and attack drones at Israel. Pictured: Guided missiles on display at a Houthi military parade in Sanaa, Yemen, on September 21, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images)

• The Houthis have been fortunate to have, as a powerful patron and sponsor, Iran. Their backers in Tehran will not let them run out of ammunition and the Biden administration will not let the Iranian regime run out of funds.
• Iran has been employing every political and military tactic possible — including racing toward nuclear weapons capability — to complete its objectives of annihilating Israel, driving the United States out of the Middle East, and establishing an Islamist caliphate.
• Read more…

Dr. Steve Turley