Questions for US Presidential and Congressional Candidates concerning a Proposed Two-State Solution

1. Will you demand that that the Palestinians finally ratify the “Declaration of Principles for Peace” signed on the White House lawn in 1993?

2. Will you demand that the Palestinians finally cancel their charter for the extermination of the Jewish State?

3. Will you demand that the Palestinians cancel their unprecedented law which mandates a salary for life for anyone who murders a Jew?

4. Will you demand cancellation of the new PA and UNRWA curriculum, based on Jihad, martyrdom and “right of return by force of arms”?

5. Will you demand the removal of all weapons from PA and UNRWA schools?

6. Will you insist that UNRWA dismiss employees affiliated with Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Fatah?

7. Will  you introduce UNHCR standards to advance resettlement of fourth- and fifth-generation refugees from the 1948 war who have spent seven decades relegated to refugee status? Current UNRWA policy is that any Arab refugee resettlement would interfere with a purported “right of return” to pre-1948 Arab localities.

8.   Will you demand an audit of donor funds that emanate from 68 nations for the PA and UNRWA, with little transparency?

9.   Given the active participation of the Palestine Security Force (PSF) in the current war, will you demand that the US cease its support of the PSF?

Hezbollah Pager Operation. A few personal thoughts.

Finland’s president defends decisions to buy Israeli arms, not recognise Palestinian state

HELSINKI, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Finland’s President Alexander Stubb defended his country’s decision to buy arms from Israel despite the war in Gaza, saying it had no link to Finland’s unwillingness to recognise an independent Palestinian state at the present time.
Finland is acquiring, opens new tab a ground based, high altitude, missile defence system called David’s Sling from Israel. Helsinki considers the system a high priority for its own defence due to neighbouring Russia’s ongoing missile attacks on civilian and military targets in Ukraine.

The Epic Attack on Hizbullah Terrorists across Lebanon

An ingenious and unprecedented attack against thousands of operatives of the Hizbullah terrorist organization using exploding pagers was carried out in a dozen Hizbullah centers in Lebanon. Israel is preparing for the organization’s revenge response.

The United States is working through diplomatic channels to prevent regional escalation. Iran will determine the nature of Hizbullah’s response. The successful operation does not currently change Israel’s strategic situation.

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Washington’s View of Gaza Truce Does Not Align with Israel’s Security Interests

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The US has spent months trying to pressure Israel into a long-term ceasefire with Hamas that would serve American interests by reducing the danger of regional war that could drag in the US. But Washington’s view of a ceasefire in Gaza and subsequent regional de-escalation fails to address three of Israel’s critical security needs: to ensure the IDF’s freedom of operation in Gaza to prevent Hamas from regrouping; to counter Hezbollah’s massive military-terrorist infrastructure and stop its 11-month-long assault on northern Israel; and to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which are intended to provide a protective cover to the entire jihadist Iranian axis.

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Israel’s bravery has exposed the lie at the heart of Starmer’s foreign policy

Robbed of its moral bearings, bereft of any sense of right and wrong, incapable of distinguishing heroes from villains, the West can no longer celebrate when good triumphs over evil…

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If Ukraine must be allowed to fight, why isn’t Israel?

I’ve been watching a brilliant documentary on BBC2, The Zelensky Story. If you’ve not seen it, I recommend you search it out on iPlayer. Apart from anything else, the archive footage of his early years is fascinating. I hadn’t fully appreciated just how huge a star the proudly Jewish Volodymyr Zelensky was in Ukraine when he ran for the presidency – think Peter Kay, Ant and Dec and Ricky Gervais rolled into one.

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Wretched

10/09/2024. London, United Kingdom. Foreign Secretary David Lammy meets US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. King Charles Street. Picture by Ben Dance / FCDO

Early this past Sunday morning, I was looking at the news headlines and reading the latest wretched pontifications from Blinken and Lammy.

They were reported as once again professing their “support” for Israel but, in the same breath, issuing a warning. Their conditional “love” came with a caveat that despite any provocations, Israel must avoid escalatory actions.

I had hardly finished reading this astounding piece of morally reprehensible advice when, precisely at 6:38 a.m., a loud boom sounded, followed by a series of lesser explosions. Knowing that the seasons were changing, I thought at first that this heralded a thunderstorm, but looking out the window, I could see that this was not the case.

The next possibility was the detonation of a terrorist bomb, but in the absence of sirens and other security activity, I realized that no such event had occurred.

That left the probability of a rocket or missile impact somewhere. Sure enough, breaking news quickly revealed that a Houthi-launched missile had broken up over central Israel and fallen on open ground.

How ironic but somehow timely that this latest manifestation of Iranian-sponsored intentions should occur at the very moment that Israel was being warned not to “escalate” action.

It demonstrates, yet again, more pathetic appeasement so beloved of those whose weasel words carry no hint of determination to actually defeat the axis of evil currently confronting not only Israel but also rapidly diminishing democracies.

When Israel retaliates for this latest attack and any future missile strikes, you can be sure that Blinken and Lammy will be at the forefront of a concerted chorus of condemnation. It does not take a genius to predict the convulsions emanating forth from the UN and “morally outraged” foreign ministries when Israel actually acts to defend its citizens. The UN Secretary-General will once more display his righteous wrath not at the criminal terrorists but at the intended victims for having the audacity to actually hit back.

Australia and New Zealand willingly participated in the latest resolution charade at the UN. Australia abstained and then apologised for not voting in favour of condemning Israel. NZ voted with all the slanderers and hypocrites and then pretended it remains even-handed. It is pitiful to see when craven double standards and spinelessness combine in order to appease facilitators of international terror and distorters of history.

The wretched process of duplicitous double standards is not something that has suddenly sprouted. It has always lurked in the political undergrowth and, like noxious weeds, spread its poisonous tentacles, waiting for an ideal opportunity to burst forth.

The amazing aspect about these particular obsessions is the knee-jerk reactions, which conveniently overlook horrendous acts in the rest of the world while concentrating their venom on Israel.

Take the case of Sudan, which, after fifteen months of terror with thousands dead and millions displaced, elicits nary a peep from the UN and human rights champions worldwide. No university protests, no mass demonstrations, no boycotts and certainly no lost sleep by all those convulsing over Israel.

Allegedly, “peaceful” demonstrations by professional agitators are used to cause mayhem and violence, resulting in inevitable casualties. Overseas recruits are used to show the media that outrage against Israel is a universal virtue. When these participants become casualties, the wrath of the hypocrites descends.

Thus, the UN Secretary General suddenly springs to life and Joe Biden wakes from his slumber to express his outrage. Strangely, however, there is a deathly silence when Israelis, Jews and non-Jews alike, are murdered by terror groups. When a US dual citizen is blown up or shot, there is a momentary expression of regret, but otherwise, it is just business as usual.

This usually is followed by a stream of unsolicited advice usually focused on the need to placate the murderers and a warning not to react in any sort of provocative manner.

Using civilians as human shields, firing rockets from the midst of schools, clinics, kindergartens, mosques and homes attracts no sort of international censure. Instead, when Israel attacks these terror nests, everyone convulses in righteous indignation, not at the terrorists but at the country attempting to protect its citizens.

After the six Israeli hostages were executed by Hamas, the usual perfunctory crocodile tears were activated, replaced swiftly thereafter by admonitions against any retaliatory measures. Everyone seems to have already forgotten that PA/Fatah and Hamas have pledged eternal comradeship with Chinese patronage. Despite this open display of mutual terror ambitions, the US State Department declared that “the Palestinian Authority remains a partner and is committed to peace.” This brilliant piece of diplomatic duplicity followed an attack against Israeli civilians in Judea.

The inevitable question follows – where are the human rights champions?

Obviously, the gangster execution of Israeli kidnapped hostages was not important enough for the likes of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to condemn. After nearly a year of captivity, the International Red Cross has yet to gain access to the hostages and distribute donated lifesaving medications. Like their predecessors who preferred to be fooled by the Nazis and refused to do anything meaningful about blowing the whistle on the concentration camps, today’s representatives have also lapsed into a shameful silence.

Despite clear evidence that it was Hamas who carried out the executions, the United Nations Human Rights Council declared that there was a need to “investigate” who actually did the dastardly deed.

Eleven months after the 7 October pogrom, the US Administration finally got around to issuing Federal terror charges against Hamas leaders. What took them so long? Why has it taken them all this time to actually apportion blame? If elections were not looming, would it have ever happened? Finally, what practical effect will this useless gesture actually achieve?

Meanwhile, the aspiring Ottoman sultan revealed yet again his animosity and ingrained hate against the Jewish State. He issued a rallying cry for the formation of an Islamic alliance against Israel, led no doubt by himself as a latter-day saviour and reincarnation of Saladin. In case his message was not clear enough, Erdogan went on to assert that “Israel seeks to occupy Lebanon, Syria and Turkey between the Tigris and the Euphrates.”

One would think that this outburst of unhinged lies might evince some sort of protest and consequences. Unfortunately, thanks to the morally decrepit state of international relations, neither the UN nor NATO issued any sort of reprimand. Turkey remains a member of good standing at the UN despite flinging the most outrageous slanders against another member state. Instead of NATO expelling Turkey, it looks the other way, and by inaction, it merely validates the hate.

As Hezbollah rockets pound northern Israel and thousands remain homeless, a top US official explains what passes for a magic solution. Diplomacy, he asserts, is the only way to avert catastrophic consequences. Presumably, it is the same sort of diplomacy that resulted in a spectacular end to human rights in Afghanistan and abandoned allies to the tender mercies of the Taliban. The extinguishing of Tibetan independence is another example of brilliant US diplomacy. The Iranian march to nuclear blackmail status is another victory for US diplomacy. In the face of Iranian drones being sent to Russia, plus continuing Russian and Chinese support for the Mullahs, we can all see how successful US diplomatic measures have been. North Korea’s blatant development of nuclear weapons is another perfect example of “successful” US diplomacy in action.

Is it any wonder that most sane Israelis have nothing but contempt for the wretched situations that currently prevail?

The worst part is the complete absence of any international leader like Winston Churchill, who is prepared to defeat today’s axis of evil.

They Shall Fear Our Devotion

Many years ago I was on a student train crossing Western Europe en-route to Eretz Yisrael. After searching unsuccessfully for a deserted spot on the train where I could put on Tefillin and daven, I decided to daven in the small compartment which accommodated 6 people. Before I began, I explained to my compatriots in the berth that I was about to pray, and that they should not be startled at the sight of my phylacteries. I donned the Tefillin on my arm and head, and in due time began to recite the Shmoneh Esrei. Just then the conductor entered asking to see our tickets. With my back towards him, I continued to pray ignoring his attempts to get my attention. Understandably, he was angered by my lack of response, and he started shaking me in order to get me to respond. At this point one of my seatmates, a non-Jew who had seemed somewhat in awe of my Tefiilin, confronted the conductor saying: “Can’t you see this Jew is praying? Leave him be! When he finishes he will find you and give you his ticket”. This, indeed, is what happened.
I always return to this episode in my mind whenever I try to imagine the Torah’s promise from this week’s Parasha that: “The worlds’ nations will see the name of G-d upon you and fear you”, (Devarim 28:10). As Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol explained (Berachot 6a) this Pasuk refers to the Tefillin worn on the head. [The Tosafot suggests that the ‘name of G-d’ referred to here is the name Shin-Daled-Yod which is outwardly visible. The letter Shin is clearly embossed on the side of the Bayit, the letter Daled is situated on the strap circling one’s head (-at the back of the head where the straps are bound together), and together with the letter Yud found in the knot of the Tefillin Shel-Yad, they spell out G-d’s name]. What exactly will the nations fear? Perhaps what the Torah means is that they will be in awe of our devotion and respect us as representatives of Hashem. The HaEmek Davar says : “ When the nations see the high spiritual level of the Jew they will realize that they are not on this level.” The Seforno suggests that this is why Alexander the Great, upon seeing Shimon Hatzadik dressed in Kohen Gadol’d garments, prostrated himself in awe.( Yoma 69:a)
Baruch Hashem, there have been additional moments in my life when I have felt that wearing Tefillin affords one protection. And yet this is not a guarantee we can rely on blindly. Too many times throughout our history, the Tefillin did not afford us protection. Jews have even been murdered while wearing their Tefillin .
Similarly, although the Mezuzah may be Shomer Daltot Yisrael – with the same three letters of the Divine name providing protection for our doors – this does not obviate the need for a good security plan, and 24/7 Shemirah…
[Here too , I have a personal story to share from many years ago: One day I was called in to help with an unusual occurrence in the Mercaz Klita in Beer Sheva. The office had received repeated complaints from the residents of a specific room which was located across the street from an Arab cemetery. For several nights in a row, they were startled by their lights blinking on and off, cabinet doors opening and closing, and the shutters sliding up and down. They had reached the conclusion that the room was haunted and the Olim refused to remain in it. As the Rabbi of the Absorption Center I was asked to come and check the Mezuzah, which the inhabitants claimed was obviously not ‘doing its job’ “protecting” the room. Studying the writing, I quickly ascertained that there were no omissions or spelling mistakes in the words of the mezuzah. However, upon turning the Klaf over, I noticed that there was a problem with the Shin Daled and Yod written on the outside of the Klaf. The three letters were not all there – the Yod was missing, and thus the two letters left spelled the word “Shed”, or demon. After a Sofer added the missing letter, and the Mezuzah was returned to its former place, there were no more reports of any untoward incidents…]
This brings us to a similar promise of divine protection with which the residents of Eretz Yisrael have been blessed.
The Passuk tell us that: “The eyes of Hashem are focused on the Holy Land from the beginning of the year and till the end of the year”. Nonetheless, here too, this promise does not mean that the IDF can in any way lessen their vigilant watch over our borders…
Many rush to claim that the lapse in Divine protection should be attributed to human failing and sin. The Midrash speaks of a king’s son who always would walk close to his father. After some time, the son forsook his father and decided to go off on his own. To the son’s surprise he was attacked by ruffians who had always stayed away for fear of the august majesty of the king. So, too, the Midrash claims, Bnei Yisrael who are protected when they follow the will of Hashem lose their protection when they go against His will.
We have all been moved by the pictures of religious soldiers standing next to their tanks while donning Tallit and Tefillin. This emphasizes what the Rosh says that the Tefillin worn on hands and heads of soldiers guarantees that Moshe’s bracha to the tribe of Gad will come to pass. (Devarim 33:20) :”To Gad he said blessed is the one who helps Gad expand. He dwells like a lion tearing the arm and head of his prey”. On this verse the Targum Yonatan gives his non-literal interpretation.: “They will go out to fight battles against enemies and slay their kings and leaders……”.