By unleashing war in the Middle East and targeting Israel, Iran may soon learn that Israel, or America, or both might retaliate for a half-century of its terrorist aggression.

By Victor Davis Hanson, AMERICAN GREATNESS    18 April 2024

Right now, at this moment, Israel could get away with whatever it wants if it has the capability to go it alone. America now is weak. Israel is strong. Crazy, huh? Opinion.

Rabbi Prof. Dov Fischer, TOI     Apr 18, 2024

OK. I have been hospitalized for three more weeks. I entered for surgery on an esophageal hernia repair, was told to expect a stay-over of one night but to pack for two nights “just in case.” “Just in case” of what? That’s the part of the next three weeks. It felt less that they were repairing my esophagus than that they were preparing my sarcophagus (?”?, ed.).

I left my laptop at home. However, the news would not let me desist from writing. So my wife Denise traveled 90 minutes back home to retrieve the laptop, 90 minutes back to drop it off with me, and now I write.

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Gadi Taub & Mike Doran, Israel Update    April 17, 2024

Though Iran’s attack was almost wholly intercepted, by the combined Israeli-American efforts, this was not victory over Iran. Mike explains why a defensive strategy can never defeat an offensive dominant one. Then there is also the high cost of the defense systems relative to cheapness and quantity of Iran’s drones and missiles. Iran has also collected a great deal of intelligence about the systems it is facing. But above all it successfully changed the rules of the game. It now remains to be seen how Israel will respond.

T. Belman.  I called this deal a few days ago.

Israel said unlikely to respond to Iran before end of Passover * US leads 48 countries at UN in condemning Iranian attack * G7 finance chiefs pledge close coordination on Tehran sanctions

TOI STAFF

Palestinians line up for a meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, December 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Egyptian officials tell a Qatari outlet that the US has accepted Israel’s plan for an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in return for not carrying out a large strike in Iran in response to Tehran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack.

“The American administration showed acceptance of the plan previously presented by the occupation government regarding the military operation in Rafah, in exchange for not carrying out a large-scale attack against Iran,” an unnamed official tells Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

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Miri Eisin, State of a Nation with Eylon Levy    April 17, 2024

Somewhat overshadowed by the Gaza war, Hezbollah has been consistently firing rockets at Israeli towns since October 7, forcing the mass evacuation of more than 60,000 Israeli civilians, and a no-man’s-land security perimeter inside Israeli territory.

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Peloni:  Patrick Byrne has been anticipating this event for the past several months, and Byrne discussed it brieflyin the past few days when he described the fallout surrounding the Uppercut being delivered to the SCOTUS.  I am honestly amazed that this story is not being reported elsewhere.

Peloni    April 17, 2024

Click Photo for 8min video

Peloni:  One of the foremost pundits of the inherent virtues of nationalism addresses the the various aspects of Israeli nationalism.  As is true of all of his conversations, Hazony provides a considerate, tolerant, thoughtful and insightful reflection of the Israeli nationalism.  Highly recommended video.

A better description by Hazony of the differences between a liberal, a conservative and a Marxist, and how they relate to Israel , can be found here.

Yoram Hazony | Benson Center |  April 17, 2024

With all eyes on Israel as it battles Hamas in the aftermath of the horrific October 7th massacres on its southern border, political theorist and Bible scholar Dr. Yoram Hazony will offer a defense of Israeli nationalism, discussing its historical origins and philosophical underpinnings and what it can contribute to a better political order.

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By Neil W. McCabe | Red State | April 17, 2024

An Army whistleblower has told RedState why he is speaking out about the actual decisions and actions by three Army generals in the Pentagon on January 6, 2021. Those decisions delayed the District of Columbia National Guard from responding to Capitol Hill protesters for roughly three hours, he’ll testify at Wednesday’s congressional hearing.

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The party and the organizations dismiss allegations as political persecution, while far-right parties claim vindication for previously accusing Ra’am of supporting terror

Sam Sokol, TOI    April 16m 2024

Ra’am party head MK Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on June 12, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Two nonprofits associated with MK Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am, or United Arab List, party are to be dissolved over alleged links to terror financing, the Corporations Authority announced on Tuesday.

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By Conor Gallagher, NAKED CAPITALISM    14 April 2024

I recently came across this piece from the Century Foundation titled “A Bolder American Foreign Policy Means More Values and Less War.” Its central argument is that the US must “recenter values” like “multilateralism and human rights that are core to its identity.”

The Century Foundation calls itself a “a progressive, independent think tank,” and this particular piece appears to mean well but is just as disconnected from reality than all the neocon think tanks’ war mongering policy papers saying Washington will prevail as it takes on Russia, China, Iran, and whoever else it feels like.

The Century Foundation authors possess a Hollywoodized idea of America that isn’t a land filled with brutal class struggle but virtue, which flow out into its foreign policy that stands for international humanitarian or human rights law. I think anyone with a basic understanding of current events or recent history knows how ridiculous this is, and yet it is repeated ad nauseam by every purported think tank. I suppose this is a classic example of Upton Sinclair’s saying that “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it,” but I think the Century Foundation is onto something with its focus on values. It’s just that it has it backwards. The problem is that values are what has the US  on the brink of starting World War III in multiple locations.

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E. Rowell:  In these days of surging antisemitism online and in the streets, this article describes the essence of both semitism and antisemitism.  Gil-White delineates the fabric of meaning throughout the long history of the semites and those who want the semites dead.

By Fransisco Gil-White, MANAGEMENT OF REALITY    16 February 2024

Once thought to be the mask of Sargon of Akkad, this is now believed to be, on stylistic grounds, the mask of Naram-Sin, his grandson. Credit: Wikimedia.

Imagine that history class were like plunging into the millennia-spanning, action-packed, multi-novel adventure worlds of Frank Herbert (Dune), Isaac Asimov (Foundation), or J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings). No child would ever get bored!

So why are teachers boring them?

I ask because the political history of Western Asia—which includes Europe—does have that fantasy/science-fiction structure: it’s been a 4,300-year clash between two great ideological forces.

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By Ron Wright, AMERICAN THINKER    16 April 2024

Image by Ai

Joe Biden has proven to be a puppet of the Chinese, Russian, and Ukrainian oligarchs—a true Manchurian Candidate. Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s princeling, raked in millions of dollars at arm’s length from Uncle Joe for the Biden crime family from adversaries for no credible business reason. Why?

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By Amil Imani|April 17th, 2024

I have repeatedly said that the mullahs ruling Iran are not Iranians. They truly despise Iran and its glorious past. Genetically, they are mostly Arabs. They even hate its name. There were never any questions about the Islamists denigrating Iran and exalting Muhammad. These creatures owe their very livelihood to the lucrative business that Muhammad launched for their parasitic, shameful existence. It is vital for these leeches to continue trumpeting the sainthood of the founder of their business and driving all the competition out of business.

Just recently, Sayyid Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami became a senior Iranian cleric, as well as a senior member of the Assembly of Experts, also Tehran’s Friday prayer leader. He once proved me right. Give this worm credit for paying homage to the source of his shameful livelihood.
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Daniel Greenfield,    16 Apr 08:25 PM

On Saturday night, Iran launched its attack, codenamed “Ya Rasool Allah” or “Messenger of Allah”, on the Jewish State, after Israel had taken out the Iranian mastermind of Oct 7.

The attack began with waves of drones to swamp Israel’s air defenses, followed by cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. While the British and the French took out some drones, U.S. forces accounted for about half the total of drones and some of the ballistic missiles, leaving the rest for the Israelis to deal with. By the time it was over, 99% of the attack had been intercepted.

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Caroline Glick, JNS    April 1

Iran launched the largest combined missile and drone attack in history on Saturday (April 13th, 2024) against Israel. Now, it stands behind the effort to paralyze the global economy. All the details and analysis about what it means for Israel and the U.S. on Caroline Glick’s In-Focus.

Washington Times op-ed expresses concern over illegal Palestinian construction in Area C in Israel and US backing.

Israel National News    Apr 16, 2024, 11:23 AM (GMT+3)

Cheryl Chumley, editor of the op-ed section in the online Washington Times, published a scathing article against the illegal Palestinian construction in Area C.

The Oslo Accords ruled, and it was internationally accepted, that Area C was designated as a ‘no-construction zone,’ controlled by Israel. But there are both completed houses and houses under construction on this land. There is a new set of roads and signposts with phone numbers offering those interested in building or buying a house to call. What is going on here,” Chumley wondered.

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Representatives of haredi parties agree to Draft Law which would see enlistment of up to 50% of yeshiva students in the coming years, report says.

Alan Dershowitz Podcast