All armies at war make tragic mistakes. But President Biden and Israel’s critics are cynically exploiting the incident as an excuse to shatter the alliance with the Jewish state.
By Jonathan S. Tobin, JNS 4 April 2024
Palestinian workers transfer the bodies of the volunteers from the World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike from Al-Najjar Hospital to Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, April 3, 2024, Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.
The growing chorus of voices on the political left that have been loudly demanding that Israel’s war on Hamas be stopped have been waiting for this. After months of seeking to leverage false stories such as one about a missile attack on a hospital, downplaying or denying the way Hamas embeds its terrorist forces in hospitals, schools and civilian homes, and flogging statistics about Palestinian civilian casualties that are clearly bogus, the anti-Israel lobby thinks that it finally has a way to force the Jewish state to stand down in Gaza.
A mistaken strike that caused the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers who were bringing food and other supplies into the Strip is being treated as not merely a tragic accident all too common in wars, but as an act of transcendent symbolism that proves that Israel’s tactics are too brutal to be allowed to continue.
By Ted Belman
Occasionally, I receive emails of praise and appreciation.
A few of such emails have been added to this post.
From time to time I will add more .
I was first introduced to ISRAPUNDIT by an associate at the US National Security Agency who has outstanding connections throughout the middle east. [He later served as a top official at the US Department of Energy.] Since then I and many of my associates, both military and civilian, regularly read ISRAPUNDIT for its wide range of interesting, valuable articles. Ted Belman deserves our highest accolades for the first-rate product that he produces.
E. Rowell: One of the things we are noticing is that the US Government/CIA is quietly taking action in preparation for a Donald Trump win in November. To that end, they are trying to arrange events on the ground such as bringing Ukraine into NATO to preclude Trump from ending the War in Ukraine before its acceptance into NATO and they are creating conflicts elsewhere. They seem to be looking to overturn governments rapidly, such as destabilizing Bosnia, Azerbaijan, and Israel. They are hoping to prevent Israel from destroying Hamas and thus the status quo of Iranian hegemony they have been keeping in place since 1979. This article points out the latest country in which the US military is inserting itself. All of these actions are not without consequences….
Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe but US Troops are Now There
By Stephen Bryen, WEAPONS AND STRATEGY 4 April 2024
Strategic Dialogue Group (Photo US Embassy Moldova)
Big Trouble may be brewing in Moldova which is starting to look like a staging area for the EU to offset an emerging Russian victory in Ukraine. Whether this plan will be successful, if it is attempted, is not clear. But Moldova is not the most stable country in the world, and the country is split between pro-EU and pro-Russian elements.
US troops are now in Moldova, along with Romanians. It is ostensibly a military exercise called JCET 2024 (Joint Command Exchange Training). The exercise started on April 1st and will continue until April 19th. According to a statement released by the Moldovan Ministry of Defense, “The aim of the exercise is joint training and exchange of experience between Moldovan, Romanian and American special forces, as well as to increase the level of interoperability between the participating contingents. This year’s event will also be attended by representatives of the State Protection and Security Service and the Pantera Special Forces.”
The 2024 election is between a dangerous madman and Donald Trump.
By Peachy Keenan, AMERICAN MIND 2 April 2024
I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful day with family and friends on the holiest day of America’s liturgical year, the Transgender Day of Visibility. I had never heard of this blessed Federal holiday until a few days ago, but my kids loved it. We had a visit from the Easter Drag Bunny and it/they filled the kids’ baskets with all kinds of treats. Puberty blockers, dilators, lipstick for the boys, packers for the girls. She/They is risen—and you will bow down and worship Her/Them!
Of course, Joe Biden’s Easter sacrilege was only the latest travesty that proves what you and I already know, which is that the 2024 presidential election is a contest between common-sense centrism and dangerously radical extremism.
By Peloni April 5, 2024
In a recent commentary posted by Patrick Byrne on Locals.com (Photo linked above) he explained that
There is going to be huge news in a few days. Rather than give you one MASSIVE update in a few days, I am breaking it up, and will give the baseline explanation now, so when the development comes we can hop right into it.
By Bill Gertz, THE WASHINGTON TIMES 4 April 2024
Israeli soldiers drive a tanks on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, March 10, 2024. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel)
The war between Israel and Hamas has revealed extensive Chinese support for Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups that the U.S. and Israel consider terrorist organizations, according to strategic analyst Guermantes Lailari.
Mr. Lailari, in a report published by the Jewish Policy Center, said that the Israel Defense Forces uncovered large caches of Chinese-made weapons, intelligence-gathering gear and other military supplies during raids in Gaza.
T. Belman. This is an excellent article. I have no quarrel with it. But whatever Russia has done, it doesn’t come close to what the US has done to hurt Israel and continues to do. The US and its lackeys, the UN and the EU, smear Israel daily hoping to create enough public pressure to restrain her. In addition the US puts many obstacles on Israel’s path to victory and threatens to withhold needed munitions. The US and Israel are totally at odds on the day after. In particular, the US wants a Palestinian State and Israel is adamantly against it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu treads lightly with President Vladimir Putin. Russia is not responding in kind, with public criticism increasing.
Steven Erlanger and March 19/24
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with President Vladimir V. Putin in Jerusalem in 2020. Mr. Putin has been a vocal critic of Israel over its war in Gaza.Credit…Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Israel, though heavily dependent on support from the United States, Germany and other Western nations, has been noticeably out of step with them when it comes to relations with Russia during its war of conquest in Ukraine.
Long before Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, the country refused Ukrainian requests to send arms or to apply widespread sanctions on Russia, including stopping flights to the country. Despite the eagerness of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, himself Jewish, to visit the country and show solidarity after the attack, he has never made the trip.
By Seth Mandel, COMMENTARY 2 April 2024
Yesterday, Israel’s Knesset passed a law allowing for the temporary license suspension of media organizations that are found to materially aid a wartime enemy outside of their practice of journalism. The bill is clearly aimed at Al Jazeera, the Qatari state propaganda mouthpiece. It is not, however, a reaction to the propaganda itself.
That may sound confusing. In fact, this issue provides a good example of how to spot a good-faith critique of Israeli policy among the mounds of bad-faith straw men you’ll encounter online.
E. Rowell: Listen to the words of both Mosab Hassan Yousef and Dr. Phil. Mr. Yousef realizes the American students demonstrating on behalf of Hamas would be hated by Hamas, but he understands these students need a cause. “Without a cause you don’t exist.” Dr. Phil also speaks about his upset with American students on campus who say things like “the Jews should be wiped out, just like Hitler wanted.” It’s a moving interview.
By Catherine Salgado, PJ MEDIA 4 April 2024
The son of one of the terrorist group Hamas’s cofounders has a message for Americans and the world: most Palestinians support Hamas, the terrorists want to commit ethnic cleansing against Jews, and any Americans who support Gaza are insane.
US officials tell NBC News that, during their phone call on Thursday, Biden warned Netanyahu that the US could condition military aid to Israel on what it does to address humanitarian concerns in Gaza.
By Elad Benari, ARUTZ SHEVA Apr 5, 2024, 12:16 AM (GMT+3)
Netanyahu and BidenAvi Ohayon/GPO
US President Joe Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their call on Thursday that the US could condition military aid to Israel on what it does to address humanitarian concerns in Gaza and get to a ceasefire as soon as possible, NBC News reported, citing two US officials.
“That was the message,” one of the officials said.
T. Belman. In the second half of this show Caroline devotes herself to lambasting the Biden Administration for cowering before Iran and releasing billioins of dollers to them and for doing its utmost to prevent Israel from executing her plan to move the civilians our of Rafah in order to be able to quickly destroy Rafah and win the war. Biden isw also preventing any Gazans from leaving Gaza as refugees into neighbouring Egypt.
Caroline Glick Show In-Focus
By Jim Hoft, GATEWAY 4 April 2024
Joe Biden and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
In November 2023, the Joe Biden administration extended a sanctions waiver that will allow Iran to collect another $10 billion in funds in order for the mullahs to fund their military operations in the region.
This comes one week after Iranian-backed Houthis attempted to shoot down a US drone in the region and one month after Iran-backed Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,400 Jews in Israel and took another 240 Jews hostage.
It was the deadliest attack on Jews since World War II.
T. Belman. An Israel official who was in the meeting responded about the allegation “a misrepresentation of what occurred in the room. The meeting was constructive and respectful, even during disagreements. There was no yelling at any point.
The meeting grew tense after the Americans questioned an Israeli plan to evacuate more than 1 million Palestinian civilians from Rafah and house them in tents.
WASHINGTON — A virtual meeting on Monday between top U.S. and Israeli officials to discuss Israel’s plans for a ground invasion of Rafah in Gaza grew contentious after the Americans pushed back on Israel’s proposal to evacuate Palestinian civilians sheltering there, said two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official familiar with the meeting.
Ron Dermer, Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, began yelling and waving his arms around as he defended the plan, the officials said. American officials in the meeting, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, kept calm and did not respond in kind, the officials said.
By Victor Davis Hanson, AMERICAN GREATNESS 4 April 2024
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Americans overwhelmingly supported Ukraine—as they did with Israel after October 7.
No wonder: Ukraine was surprise attacked by Russia, and Israel was by Hamas.
It seemed an easy binary of good versus evil: both the attacked Ukraine and Israel are pro-Western. Both their attackers, anti-Western Russia and Hamas, are not.
Now everything is bifurcating. And the politics of the wars in America reflect incoherence.
By Gadi Taub, TABLET MAGAZINE 3 April 2024
Photos of victims at the Nova festival site in Re’im, Jan. 3, 2024/MAJA HITIJ/GETTY IMAGES
Lital Shemesh, a TV news anchor on Israel’s Channel 14, knows terror almost first hand. Last August, her life was suddenly transformed. “I was at home when messages about two murder victims began circulating on the WhatsApp groups of media people,” Shemesh recounts in her new book (in Hebrew). “Shockingly, the Palestinians on the ground snapped photos of the ID cards of the victims, and those pictures were also widely circulated. That is how, on the sofa in my living room, I suddenly saw the beloved faces of my uncle, Silas, and his son Aviad. A terrorist arrived at the workshop where they were having their car repaired, shot them at close range and murdered them.” The next day, Shemesh continues, another terrorist murdered her kindergarten teacher.
“The time has come for more of us to take advantage of this privilege, so we can all join in shaping our extraordinary Jewish nation.”
By Joshua Hoffman, FUTURE OF JEWISH 4 April 2024
A father and son share a moment at the Western Wall (the Kotel) in Jerusalem.
About a week ago, a reader wrote me, saying:
“Is your view of the future entirely bleak, or do you see any rays of hope?”
My response to her was sober: Right now we are in troubling times and we should not pretend otherwise. If we (the Jewish People) want to emerge from this reality with a truly positive, beneficial outcome, I believe we must confront the present situation for what it is, not what we wish it to be.
Will Israel’s government collapse due to the IDF haredi draft crisis? – analysis
By ELIAV BREUER, JPOST APRIL 1, 2024 12:17
The political ramifications of the High Court of Justice’s ruling on Thursday – that beginning on April 1 the state can no longer refrain from drafting haredi men into the IDF, and that state funding to yeshivot will cease beginning on April 1 as well – could go in several directions depending on developments in the coming weeks.
The previous situation was that yeshivot would provide quarterly reports on the number of students, and each student aged 18 and over would receive a yearly deferral until age 26, after which they received a permanent exemption. While different sources include different numbers, the total number of yeshiva students is somewhere in the range of 150,000, and the number of students between the ages of 18-26 is in the range of 60,000.
Peloni: Without support from Bibi’s coalition, Gantz’ departure will only demonstrate his support for American dictates over Israeli victory. The timing of the call for September elections is timed not only to precede the American elections, but to also coincide with the beginning of the new school session in the fall when the families of those families who have been evacuated from the war zone have expectations of returning to their homes, ie the support for continuing the war may be at its weakest.
Netanyahu dismisses coalition partner’s appeal as ‘petty politics,’ claiming elections would harm the war effort, while opposition head Lapid says Israel can’t wait six months
Head of the National Unity party Minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, March 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz called Wednesday for Israel to hold early elections by September, partially wading into a swell of voices urging the government to step down, in light of wide dissatisfaction with the continued captivity of Israelis in Gaza and questions over how the war against Hamas is being waged.
T. Belman. I am not disturbed by his remarks at all. When Trump says “You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done. And, I am sure you will do that. And we gotta get to peace, we can’t have this going on.”, he isn’t calling for a ceasefire but for total victory.
His remarks about the war on Hamas are spun in a way that recalls every previous controversy about things he’s said—and with just as much accuracy.
By JONATHAN S. TOBIN (April 3, 2024 / JNS)
U.S. President Donald Trump carry a speech during an official welcoming ceremony on his arrival in Israel at Ben-Gurion International Airport, May, 22 2017. Credit: Muhammad Aamir Sumsum/Shutterstock.
Has Donald Trump turned on Israel? That’s the question some people have been asking in the wake of an interview he gave to Israel Hayom. Trump’s presidency was the friendliest to Israel of any in history. But the interview became fodder for the latest controversy generated by something he has said with some willing to interpret it as evidence that he has allowed his personal dislike of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to impact his attitude towards the Jewish state.
