Israel's War Against Hamas - Updates

[Sixties Fan]

“It is very worrying that Jews in the Netherlands are held responsible for conflicts taking place in the Middle East,” read the CIDI report released on Tuesday. “It seems as if Israel is being used to beat Jews.”

According to CIDI researcher and policy advisor Hans Wallage, it’s not only the numbers that have grown — the range of attacks on Jews has increased as well.


“I see way more variety of different incidents that I didn’t see before, and also more variety in the place where it happens,” Wallage told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “There are a lot of schools — elementary, high schools, universities — having way more incidents that I didn’t see before the 7th of October.”

In one school, a Jewish boy was threatened with a knife and hit on the head with a bottle while classmates called him “kankerjood,” a Dutch slur meaning “cancer Jew.” Another boy was told that his classmates would throw him off a bridge and drown him because he was Jewish. Recurring reports describe students being accosted for wearing Star of David necklaces, being shown the Hitler salute and being told that Hitler “didn’t finish his job.”

Wallage believes the rash of school incidents has to do with social media, which gives children unprecedentedly rapid and unchecked access to hate speech, conspiracy theories and incitement.

“We don’t have a filter as adults sometimes, but children completely don’t have a filter of what to share — they share everything,” he said. “What’s a lie? After a while, if you read it all the time and share videos all the time online, it’s going from the online world to the real-life world.”

Most of the conspiracy theories circulating through Dutch schools follow old antisemitic tropes, simply repackaged for a younger generation, said CIDI director Naomi Mestrum.


“It’s the same conspiracy theories,” Mestrum told JTA. “Jews control the world and the media, and this [Hamas attack] must be fake, they staged this because it fits their agenda.”

Outside of schools, CIDI has recorded mezuzahs torn off doors and swastikas sprayed on windows, along with frequent threats and verbal abuse. General antisemitic statements on social media are excluded from the figures, unless they were specifically sent to an individual through a direct message.

Shortly after Oct. 7, the only Jewish weekly magazine in the Netherlands — Nieuw Israelietisch Weekblad, known in English as the Dutch Jewish Weekly — switched from its clear plastic packaging to anonymous white envelopes, according to editor-in-chief Esther Voet. She said that her staff was flooded with calls from anxious subscribers who didn’t want their neighbors to know they were Jewish.

Although it is typical for antisemitism to flare in the Netherlands during conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian territories, CIDI researchers said they have never seen a surge of incidents like this before. And like other Jewish communities across Europe, many Dutch Jews feel they are in new territory.

“People feel that it’s different now, and it will be forever different from now on,” said Mestrum.


(full article online)

Antisemitic incidents up 800% in the Netherlands since Oct. 7, Dutch watchdog reports

“It is very worrying that Jews in the Netherlands are held responsible for conflicts taking place in the Middle East,” said a watchdog group.

forward.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

IDF battles Hamas near Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital; 9,500 rockets fired since Oct. 7

US: Israel agrees to daily humanitarian pause; Israel: Nothing new * Army reacts to repeat attacks from Lebanon * PIJ sends signs of life from 2 hostages * IDF ground op toll at 35

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

This video shows Gazan journalist and actor Ali Nasman ecstaticallycelebrating the abduction or killing of an Israeli soldier, by displaying the soldier’s ID card, helmet and ammunition magazine, while he participated in Hamas’ massacre on October 7.

Gazan journalist and actor Ali Nasman: “Allahu Akbar (i.e., “Allah is greatest”), here, here, here. Here is [the Israeli soldier’s] ID card. Here is his [ammo] magazine, here is his helmet. Well, Shlomo, and here are the written plans. Here, here, nothing like it. Go!”

Posted text: “From the [Gaza] Envelope (i.e., Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip)…
Allahu Akbar (i.e., “Allah is greatest”) and praise Allah”

[“The Sons of the Homeland,” Telegram channel, Oct. 7, 2023]​

This journalist who participated in the terror attack was subsequently killed by the Israel army in an airstrike.



Other journalists also reported live from the invasion and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has demanded clarifications from the bureau chiefs of the media organizations that employed them, among them AP, Reuters, CNN and The New York Times.

[Israeli GPO, Nov. 9, 2023

Gazan journalist participated in Hamas massacre, ecstatically displayed soldier’s ID card, helmet and magazine | PMW Analysis

Gazan journalist participated in Hamas massacre

palwatch.org

 

[rylah]

 

[Sixties Fan]

We are a community in mourning, and there is much to mourn.

We mourn the savage mass murders in our community and so many others. We mourn the loss of family, friends, colleagues, neighbors. We mourn the barbaric kidnappings of the innocents of all ages of our region. We mourn the destruction of so many homes and communities and dreams. We are in mourning for the loss of our sense of security. We mourn the carnage of our beautiful region — our “95% Heaven” where I felt safe enough to roam the fields on my own, at all hours, with the border clearly in sight, armed only with my camera.

We mourn the loss of our ability to rely upon all that which we trusted was keeping us safe.

Each of us arrived at the conclusion at a different time on October 7th, when the penny dropped for each one of us, as we sat in our saferooms, bullets shreiking outside, hearing the sounds of voices in Arabic and waiting for the door to be forced open. Or maybe it happened as we were being evacuated under fire, after waiting for 11 hours for our rescuers to come. Or while we were in our kibbutz community center, with the stories of what really happened being whispered among the adults, with rockets still exploding just outside. Whenever it happened for each of us, individually, at some point the cruel realization hit like a Mack truck: that everyone and everything in the supposedly protective layers of security which we believed were embracing us, sheilding us and defending our families in protective, all powerful parental arms, had failed.



(full article online)

PHOTO ESSAY: My people of Kibbutz Nirim, in black and white

Though we are disillusioned, displaced and mourning, we are also proud, resolute, and resilient. Together, we will find our way home

blogs.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Following the horror of October 7, many Jews were appealing to non-Jews on social media, “Reach out to your Jewish friends. They are not ok.”

So I did. The responses I received were warm and grateful. Yet mere expression of non-Jewish solidarity is hardly adequate to meet the enormity of this moment and the challenge we are facing.

That’s right, I said, “we.” And no, I am not Jewish.

The historical relationship between the Jewish people and the non-Jewish world is complex and often unbearable. The persecution of Jews is unmatched in human history and has taken place in nearly every generation and geographic location. The Holocaust was the culmination of this nightmarish pattern.

Those who thought the human race had somehow evolved since the Holocaust received a reality check on October 7. The painful lessons of history and the appalling reaction today from many non-Jews to the Hamas massacre may have led Jews to believe they are alone.

I am here to say, You are not.

I am a Christian, which complicates our relationship. While the history of the Jewish people with the rest of humanity is difficult, their interaction with Christians has often been traumatic. Of course there are exceptions and one must be wary of generalizations. Still, the historical record is unassailable.

Because of that legacy, many Jews are understandably wary when Christians support Israel and the Jewish people. Surely there must be some ulterior religious motive, they wonder.

My support for Israel and the Jewish people does indeed have a religious, or rather Biblical, component. But it is so much more than that and has nothing to do with an effort to convert Jews and nor is it based on some kind of apocalyptic theology. I support Israel because it is the historic Jewish homeland, because Israel provides security and self-determination for Jews, and because of the many good things Israel gives to the world. No nation should be forced to justify its very existence.


(full article online)

I’m not Jewish, but this war is my struggle too

The appalling reaction to the Hamas massacre may have led Jews to believe they are alone. I am here to say, You are not

blogs.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 1

I don’t care that you sympathize with Hamas.

I know you wouldn’t tolerate any of the things they did to us if they would’ve done it to you.

I don’t care that you’re outraged by Israel’s response to the massacre more than the massacre itself.

What of a humanitarian gesture to release our 230+ hostages – elderly, children, babies – snatched from their cribs?

I don’t care that you’ve rallied for Palestine as part of your march for LGBTQ rights, trans rights, workers rights, socialism, climate change, intersectionality, Black Lives Matter, fighting Islamaphobia and ‘all forms of racism.’

Your gullibility would be laughable if it wasn’t so hypocritical. None of those things exist under Hamas.

I don’t care that you ‘love Jewish people – just hate Israel’, that you have some friends that are Jewish, that maybe you’re ethnically Jewish yourself – and therefore you’re entitled to levy every libel in the playbook against us.

Words matter. They lead to actions. When a lie is repeated often enough it’s accepted as truth. You are laying the groundwork for more attacks against us.

I don’t care that you wave the flag of ‘human rights’, that you’ve become overnight experts in international law, that you shout fancy slogans you don’t understand such as proportionality, occupation and apartheid.

Your humanity is selective. In your mind, human rights don’t apply to us because we are undeserving. You didn’t speak up when our women and children were horribly assaulted.

I don’t care if you think we are colonialists, imperialists and settlers and that we should just go back to where we came from.

We are back to where we came from.

I don’t care if you believe in a one-state solution, a two-state solution, a federation, an internationalized Jerusalem or any other theory drawn up in your ivory tower.

We won’t readily hold out our necks and endanger our lives in order to satisfy your thought experiments and placate your conscience from afar.

I don’t care if you consider yourself anti-Zionist but not antisemitic.

We’ve seen enough Jews around the world attacked over the last 3 weeks under the guise of ‘anti-Zionism’.

I don’t care that you think we are too powerful, too technologically advanced, too sophisticated.

If we didn’t build ourselves up to this point we’d get eaten alive by Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Iran and Palestinian terrorism.

Dear world: I don’t care

I don’t care if you’re out on the street, waving your flag and chanting your slogans. We won’t die silently the way you want us to

blogs.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 2

I don’t care that you blame us for 1948 refugees, for the fact that they have no state, for the keys that they wave in their fantasy of ‘right of return.’

Three weeks ago we got a glimpse of what that ‘return’ looks like and what it means for our children.

I don’t care if you think we aren’t real Jews, that Zionism has nothing to do with Judaism, that Jews are a religion and not a nationality and so we deserve no state.

Your denials have zero impact on the strength of our ideals and the self-affirmation of our identity.

I don’t care that you accuse us of flaunting the myriad UN resolutions, inquiries and statements.

They reflect more on the institutional decay of the UN than on us.

I don’t care about your media coverage, the lies, the equivocation, the acceptance of Hamas talking points and statistics.

Your echo chamber is just another weapon in their strategic arsenal.

I don’t care that you accused us of bombing the Al Ahli hospital.

It was only a matter of time before you found a symbol for Israel’s wickedness. The subsequent retractions were a fig leaf once the truth emerged that Islamic Jihad was responsible and that the hospital is still standing.

I don’t care that you see us as a criminal state, a terror state, usurpers, baby killers, Christ-killers, Khaybar Jews or any other depravity that exists in your mind.

Your libels lay the groundwork for our dehumanization. Rings a bell. We will fight it.

I don’t care that you’ve inverted the truth by accusing us of genocide.

If positions were reversed and Hamas held the power we do now, you’d see what a genocide looks like.

I don’t care that you’re angry, boiling and outraged.

I don’t care that you’re glued to your TV screens and Telegram channels.

I don’t care that you’re mad.

I don’t care if you’re out on the street, waving your flag and chanting your slogans.

We won’t die silently the way you want us to.

For the first time in 2,000 years we are organized, we are motivated and we will defend ourselves.

We fight for light over darkness,

Morality over evil.

Not that it matters to you – but we will stick to the rules and hold the high moral ground not because you expect it from us, but because they are a value for us.

We will do so ethically and thoughtfully, for we are the People of the Book.

Dear world: I don’t care

I don’t care if you’re out on the street, waving your flag and chanting your slogans. We won’t die silently the way you want us to

blogs.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 3

Our power and strength are a necessity because the alternative for us is:

Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Pittsburgh, Toulouse, Farhud, Hebron, Birkenau, Belzec, Babi Yar, Kristalnacht, Kielce and Kishinev.

Do you think for a moment that we would return to that reality just to make you feel a little better?

You are deeply mistaken…

World,

For so, so long, I really, deeply cared.

I cared about fitting in;

I cared about what you think;

I cared about being a model citizen;

I cared about setting a personal example of how a tiny people in a tough neighborhood could still be a Light unto the Nations.

How the world’s oldest minority – now a majority here – could treat its own internal minorities par excellence amidst the complicated and messy reality of ethnic conflict;

How we could painfully dismember parts of our homeland and offer them on the platter of peace to Palestinians that want neither peace nor some parts (they want all of it);

How we could dazzle you with USB sticks, drip irrigation, operating system kernels, Nobel Prize winners, swallowable medical cameras, deep tech, quantum mechanics, generative AI and cures for disease.

But now I’m finally accepting that you don’t care.

You never did.

You don’t see and you don’t hear.

And because I cared about what you think so much, that so deeply hurts.

But you don’t have my best interests at heart.

You take issue with my base identity, with what I represent.

Don’t expect me to wait for your approval this time.

It doesn’t matter what I do, you’re not going to change.

It doesn’t matter how I act, because your issue is with who I am.

Now I’m going to block out your noise and do what it takes to win this war.

Today
Finally
I no longer care

Dear world: I don’t care

I don’t care if you’re out on the street, waving your flag and chanting your slogans. We won’t die silently the way you want us to

blogs.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[surada]

The ancient synagogue of Gaza, dating back to 508 CE during the Byzantine period, was unearthed in 1965. Situated in what was once the bustling port city of Gaza, known as "Maiuma" or El Mineh (the harbor) at the time, this historical site now resides within the Rimal district of Gaza City. The Egyptian archaeologists initially identified it as a church, but a remarkable mosaic featuring King David playing a lyre, labeled in Hebrew, was subsequently found.

This mosaic, measuring 3 meters high and 1.9 meters wide, provided insight into the art and culture of the era. Curiously, it was first mistaken as depicting a female saint playing the harp but was later associated with Orpheus, a figure from Greek mythology, with ties to Jesus or David in Byzantine art.

The ancient synagogue of Gaza, dating back to 508 CE during the Byzantine period, was unearthed in 1965. Situated in what was once the bustling port city of Gaza, known as "Maiuma" or El Mineh (the harbor) at the time, this historical site now resides within the Rimal district of Gaza City. The Egyptian archaeologists initially identified it as a church, but a remarkable mosaic featuring King David playing a lyre, labeled in Hebrew, was subsequently found.

This mosaic, measuring 3 meters high and 1.9 meters wide, provided insight into the art and culture of the era. Curiously, it was first mistaken as depicting a female saint playing the harp but was later associated with Orpheus, a figure from Greek mythology, with ties to Jesus or David in Byzantine art.

Synagogue mosaic of King David (credit: AVISHAI TEICHER/WIKIPEDIA)

Property damage on historical pieces​

Sadly, the main figure's face was damaged shortly after its discovery. Following Israel's capture of the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six Day War, the mosaic was moved to the Israel Museum for restoration, where it remains a testament to the rich history of the region.

Nowadays, visitors can marvel at the mosaic floor of the synagogue in the Museum of the Good Samaritan, located near the Jerusalem-Jericho Road close to the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. One of the most renowned panels in the mosaic floor portrays King David, identified by a Hebrew inscription reading "David," as he plays the lyre with a gathering of docile wild animals before him.

IDF soldiers pray in ancient 6th century Gaza synagogue for first time in decades

A number of posts suggest that soldiers prayed at the ancient synagogue, though IDF rules have reportedly kept soldiers from sharing them for safety.

www.jpost.com

The history of Gaza is rich.. it wasn't just Jewish.

 

[surada]

Part 3

Our power and strength are a necessity because the alternative for us is:

Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Pittsburgh, Toulouse, Farhud, Hebron, Birkenau, Belzec, Babi Yar, Kristalnacht, Kielce and Kishinev.

Do you think for a moment that we would return to that reality just to make you feel a little better?

You are deeply mistaken…

World,

For so, so long, I really, deeply cared.

I cared about fitting in;

I cared about what you think;

I cared about being a model citizen;

I cared about setting a personal example of how a tiny people in a tough neighborhood could still be a Light unto the Nations.

How the world’s oldest minority – now a majority here – could treat its own internal minorities par excellence amidst the complicated and messy reality of ethnic conflict;

How we could painfully dismember parts of our homeland and offer them on the platter of peace to Palestinians that want neither peace nor some parts (they want all of it);

How we could dazzle you with USB sticks, drip irrigation, operating system kernels, Nobel Prize winners, swallowable medical cameras, deep tech, quantum mechanics, generative AI and cures for disease.

But now I’m finally accepting that you don’t care.

You never did.

You don’t see and you don’t hear.

And because I cared about what you think so much, that so deeply hurts.

But you don’t have my best interests at heart.

You take issue with my base identity, with what I represent.

Don’t expect me to wait for your approval this time.

It doesn’t matter what I do, you’re not going to change.

It doesn’t matter how I act, because your issue is with who I am.

Now I’m going to block out your noise and do what it takes to win this war.

Today
Finally
I no longer care

Dear world: I don’t care

I don’t care if you’re out on the street, waving your flag and chanting your slogans. We won’t die silently the way you want us to

blogs.timesofisrael.com

How sad.

 

[Sixties Fan]

A drone caused a large explosion at an elementary school in Eilat on Thursday afternoon, injuring one civilian, reported the Israel Defense Forces.

“A UAV hit a civilian building in the city of Eilat, in southern Israel. The identity of the UAV and the details of the incident are under review,” said the IDF.

A 20-year-old man suffered from smoke inhalation and was evacuated to the city’s Yoseftal Medical Center, the Magen David Adom emergency response service said. In addition, paramedics treated five people suffering from anxiety.

“A short time ago, there was an explosion at the Tze’elim School in Eilat,” said Education Minister Yoav Kisch in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Those present at the school at the time of the explosion were special-education students who were in the bomb shelter, said Kisch.

“I spoke with the mayor of Eilat, Eli Lankri, and with officials of the Ministry of Education in the city and they updated me on the details and the steps being taken,” he added.

Lankri ordered the cancelation of all after-school activities set to take place on Thursday, the Eilat Municipality announced.

Israel bolstered its naval presence in the Red Sea area last week following repeated missile and drone attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The IDF said that missile boats were deployed “in accordance with the assessment of the situation, and as part of the increased defense efforts in the region.”

On Oct. 31, Israel’s Arrow aerial-defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired at the Jewish state from the “Red Sea area.”

A spokesperson for Yemen’s Ansar Allah, the official title of the Houthi movement, confirmed the terrorist group had fired ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, at Israel.

One Person Injured in Drone Explosion at School in Eilat | United with Israel

A 20-year-old man suffered smoke inhalation.

unitedwithisrael.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

The history of Gaza is rich.. it wasn't just Jewish.

Repeating a copy and paste, and learning nothing of the history before WWI. Or after.

How sad.

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

The Central Committee of Fatah met on Thursday evening , and issued a statement that read in part:

The Central Committee of the “Fatah” movement held a meeting, this evening, Thursday, at the mobilization and organization headquarters of the “Fatah” movement.

The Fatah Central Committee affirmed, in a statement, that the occupation’s expansion of its aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem and its holy sites, will only make us more committed to our legitimate national rights and more determined to defeat this criminal occupation .

No matter what crimes and massacres the occupation commits, our people will remain steadfast and stationed on the land of their homeland and will not leave, and just as our people in Gaza were steadfast and thwarted the displacement plan, our people in the West Bank will continue their steadfastness on the land of their homeland and their struggle until the occupation is defeated and the independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital .

Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinasaid almost identical words about the Gazan and west Bankers' "steadfastness."

OK, so Gazans ae steadfast in not leaving their land, and West Bankers are steadfast in not leaving their land. Fine.

But aren't they both "Palestine?"

They say that the Gazans cannot go to Egypt because, somehow, it would be a new nakba. (Their being in an intense war zone is far better, it seems.) But why can't the West Bankers take in thousands of the Gazans for the duration? They would still be in their homeland, right? No nakba! No ethnic cleansing! Steadfastness on their land!

What's the downside?

Once again, we see how the zero-sum mentality works - and how much Palestinian leaders treat their own citizens with contempt.

With this example, we can calculate a formula to see exactly how little Palestinian lives are worth to their leaders.

Their calculus is, if something helps Israel at all, it must be resisted at all cost. Includiing sacrificing their own people.

When a Gaza civilian (or someone they claim is a civilian) dies, that hurts Israel's standing in the world a minuscule amount. Hamas, Fatah and the PA are saying that this PR value is worth more than their lives.

Israel is trying to minimize innocent casualties. Hamas wants to maximize them. And the "moderate" Palestinian Authority fully agrees with Hamas.

Now, let's say that the Gaza health ministry claims that Israel killed 246 people today. How much worse does Israel suffer, in public relations terms, compared to if they claimed Israel killed 245 people?

What is the PR value of person #246?

Everyone can see that it is practically nothing. No one will be angrier, no additional resolutions will be passed, no extra letters to the editor or outraged tweets. Person #246's life is worth exactly nothing in terms of PR.

Even though the propaganda value difference between the claiming that 245 and 246 innocent people were killed in one day is practically nil, to the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, their lives are worth even less than that.

Person #246, whose death accomplished exactly nothing, is more valuable dead than alive to his or her "leaders."

Mahmoud Abbas could save the lives of hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands. He would prefer them dead.

And these are the people the Biden White House wants to control Gaza.

Proving, mathematically, that Palestinian lives are worthless to their own leaders

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 1

Pierre Rehov is a French-Israeli filmmaker known for his movies about the Arab–Israeli conflict, Israel in the media, and Palestinian terrorism. I had the opportunity to speak with him about his thoughts about the latest brutal attack by Hamas.

Pierre Rehov

(This interview was edited for clarity and brevity)


In your interviews of members of Islamic Jihad, Al Qaeda and Hamas, what did you find motivates these terrorists?

There are many answers to that and 2 levels of answers.

One level is political: they are brainwashed. These terrorists actually believe Islam must prevail and conquer the world. But I was more interested in their personal stories. Most of them were suicide bombers who were unsuccessful in their mission. But there was one who succeeded, but his life was saved in an Israeli hospital. I wanted to know what motivated them to want to kill themselves like that.

Also, I sent a team to Japan to interview former kamikazes and see what they thought about Muslim "kamikazes." The Japanese kamikazes were ashamed because they acted out of honor and would only target military personnel. They were not like the Palestinian terrorists, whose main goal was to terrorize, to target women and children. The terrorists would avoid the army and the police; they just wanted to target as many women and children as possible.

Below:

In a promotional excerpt of Rehov's Path To Darkness on YouTube a former kamikaze relates
(at 1:43):

I was angry that terrorists used our tactic to carry out such dirty acts. Then people started calling them "kamikaze." I could not stand it.

I asked the Hamas prisoners why they did that -- what would it do for them? They described their actions as nationalistic and in terms of duty. I realized that I was talking to people with a high level of frustration, living in an oppressive society where they would have no real chance of going out with girls and getting married. Without this outlet, these kids were prime targets for the local imam or leader who encouraged them to kill themselves, a few Jews -- and end up in heaven.

And if they fail in their mission and end up in prison, they will receive a stipend from the Palestinian Authority and their families will be honored as a family of heroes. It is a whole society built around a hatred of Jews. It is not by accident that they become terrorists.

Interview With Pierre Rehov: "Hamas Made A Big Mistake" (Daled Amos)

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 2

Have you seen any differences in the motivation among different terrorist groups?


No. Hamas made a big mistake. Most of the massacres on October 7th were committed not by Hamas people but by Gazan civilians they allowed to follow them in. Hamas had orders to commit a certain number of crimes, tortures, and kidnappings, but they were followed by over a thousand civilians from Gaza who were more than happy to torture, set people on fire, kill them, and call their families. Hamas did not expect them to then film themselves because they were so proud of themselves. Those videos are now all over social media.



In the past, Hamas always had the same strategy. They would attack Israel, Israel would retaliate, and then Hamas would hide behind civilians and use them as human shields. When Israel would then bomb Gaza, Hamas would show pictures that the media, especially the left-wing media, would be only too happy to publish. They would call the Israelis "murderers" and everyone would be on Hamas's side.


This time, the Hamas atrocities can be found all around the Internet, and they cannot lie about it anymore. They thought things would turn out the same way as in 2014, that Israel would retaliate, followed by another ceasefire and demands that Israel stop.



This time it is not going to work. Also, they thought with Israel's anti-government protests, left-wing vs right-wing, people protesting in the streets against judicial reform, religious vs non-religious, and everyone fighting against each other -- that Israel was divided and weak. But on October 8th, Israel woke up. It is not going to give up on getting back the hostages and it is not going to give up on getting rid of Hamas. No matter the cost.

Interview With Pierre Rehov: "Hamas Made A Big Mistake" (Daled Amos)

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 3

Why is it that this time around, with all the brutal murders, there are still sympathizers with the Palestinian terrorists?


Lenin had a phrase for people like this: useful idiots. Those brainwashed kids know nothing about history, like the kids in the 1970s who followed Che Guevera and Castro because it was so cool to be against capitalism. Today, the new hero is the Hamas terrorist who continues to attack Israel after all the Arab armies were unable to defeat it, so Palestine became a big symbol. You also have the communists, whose goal is to destroy capitalism and the West. Remember, the Palestinian cause was invented by Yasir Arafat in 1964 with the help of the KGB. Arafat wanted to pull the Arab countries together against Israel. The Soviet Union allied with the Arab countries because they opposed the US. Anotherfactor in the creation of the Palestinian people is that between WWI and WWII you had the Grand Mufti who tried to inspire the Arabs with a sense of nationalism against a Jewish state.


The history of pre-Israel Palestine, especially the developments between WWI and WWII is complicated. How can you explain that to a kid 20 years old, when you can just give him a Palestinian flag and tell him to go with his friends in the street and sing "Palestine Will Be Free!"


Meanwhile, antisemitism is back big time. I would say we are back to where we were in 1938, having another Chamberlain trying to make peace with Hitler, the same way that Obama tried to make peace with Iran. Iran was aware of what Hamas was going to do. In fact, Hamas was originally supposed to attack on Passover. Iran asked them to hold on and wait because they were in the middle of a deal with Biden who was going to give them six billion dollars. Iran wanted to get the money first, and then Hamas could go ahead and attack Israel. Not all of the details are clear.


Iran and Hamas did not anticipate that Biden would send the USS Gerald Ford and USS Eisenhower to the Middle East to protect Israel. If the Gazan civilians had not been filming all those atrocities, maybe Biden would not have felt forced to act so strongly on the side of Israel. Any human being, whether you are on the left or the right, Democrat or Republican, would have to be a soulless person to not be shocked or disgusted by what happened.


Besides being known for their terrorism, Hamas is also known for its propaganda. Do you think that Hamas has been as successful in its propaganda as it has been in the past?


No. A lot of people woke up, especially the Jewish community in general and the Jewish community in America in particular. Even someone like Bernie Sanders said there should not be a ceasefire. How shocked must he have been to realize at a certain point that this was not the Palestine he was dreaming of, to realize that here was a Nazi type of organization, with the goal to conquer the Western world -- but with Israel in the way, they cannot go ahead with the rest of the plan.


As far as the pogroms of the Jews are concerned, in the Muslim world you had Morocco in 1907 when sixty-five Jews were murdered in the same way. There was Hebron in 1929, when the Grand Mufti Hussein claimed Jews wanted to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque. There was the Farhud in Iraq in 1941. But it was not just Jews. Look at Yasir Arafat, the PLO and Fatah. When they were in Lebanon, they completely destroyed the Christian city of Damour in 1976, a few weeks before Sabra and Shatila.

Interview With Pierre Rehov: "Hamas Made A Big Mistake" (Daled Amos)

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 4

You have said that to interview Hamas terrorists in Israeli prisons, you need the permission of Hamas as well as of Israel. Why would Hamas give permission to speak to Hamas terrorists in prison?


First, there is the propaganda value of the interview. Also, for the terrorists, having a reporter with a movie team, a translator, a soundtaker, and a cameraman -- it's kind of fun in the middle of the boredom.



Remember, they think differently than a Westerner. They took pictures of themselves committing massacres. Even the Nazis did not do that; they tried to hide everything they did. These terrorists did not try to hide; they posted what they did on social networks. They are proud of what they did and believe they are right. They want to convince me. My only goal was to expose them and try to understand them on a personal level.


Do you think this time Hamas will again get a ceasefire?


This time will be totally different. If the government of Israel stops or allows a ceasefire without getting rid of Hamas and getting back the hostages, the people of Israel will hang Bibi. Nobody in Israel wants a ceasefire. Everyone in Israel wants to go all the way. The leader of Israel has to do what the people want. It is a trauma beyond anything that anyone in the world can fathom at this point. It is a repetition of the Shoah. It is in our DNA. We will not forget what happened in the Holocaust. We will not forget the pogroms in Russia and Poland. We will not forget the Inquisition, the Crusades and the Warsaw Ghetto. This time it is one time too much. There is a big difference.



This time our enemies are dealing with a country with a very powerful army.

Interview With Pierre Rehov: "Hamas Made A Big Mistake" (Daled Amos)

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com