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Recently, I wrote why I have been writing memos for well over 60 years and lamented more good people were reluctant to speak out thus, leaving the stage to haters. Consequently, intimidation has morphed into the loss of freedom of speech on campuses and throughout the nation.
I am ecstatic Hamas' barbaric display of who they are has caused offended righteous to now speak out, l causing the haters to slink back into the sewers from whence they came.
Once the reluctant start speaking out it will spread and, like W D 40, I expect a crescendo will form.
"Anti-Semitism is not just an offensive form of 'hate'. It is a malicious and deranged mindset that incites not just hatred of Jews but the belief that they are the mortal enemies of everyone else. It thus puts a target for destruction on the back of every Jew. t/h to Melannie Phillips"
Also, the Republican members of Congress seem to have gotten their own act together and might be very close to choosing a Speaker. They finally seem to have realized they were hired to earn their salary by working for "we the people" and not to debate among themselves. DUH!
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Apparently Newsom's Senate selection has created a backlash allowing a strong candidate, like Republican Garvey, to possibly take Feinstein's seat.
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(The IndependentStar.com) – In a surprise move, Major League Baseball legend Steve Garvey has announced he’s running as a Republican for the US Senate in California in an effort to flip the seat of Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who passed away recently.
90-year-old Feinstein died last month after serving in the US Senate for 33 years. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom (D) appointed pro-abortion activist Laphonza Butler to serve the rest of her term.
A legendary player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres from the 1970s and 1980s, Steve Garvey announced his senatorial bid in a campaign video released on YouTube on Tuesday.
“Our campaign is focused on quality-of-life issues, public safety and education,” 74-year-old Garvey said in a statement.
“As a US senator, I will serve with common sense, compassion, and will work to build consensus to benefit all of the people in California,” he added
His first campaign video stressed the best moments from his professional baseball career from 1969 to 1987, The Washington Times observes in a report.
It notes Garvey won the National League MVP title in 1974.
“I never played for Democrats or Republicans or independents. I played for all of you. It’s going to be a common sense campaign,” he declares in the campaign ad.
Garvey calls for a temporary shutdown of the Southern Border over the illegal immigrant invasion but is against a nationwide abortion ban.
In his video, he points out that California “at one time was the heartbeat of America,” but has turned into “just a murmur.”
“In baseball, it’s not about the individual; it’s about the team. I believe the same holds true for politics. It’s time we come together, find common ground and work toward a brighter future,” he declares in his release.
In the GOP senatorial primary in California, Garvey will face Coast Guard veteran James Bradley and nonprofit executive Sarah Sun Liew, among others.
Meanwhile, three current US House members – Reps. Katie Porter, Adam B. Schiff and Barbara Lee – are vying to win the Democrat primary and Feinstein’s former seat. It is yet unknown if the newly appointed Laphonza Butlet will also join the Democrat race to try to keep the seat in the 2024 election.
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Israel’s 5th Day of War
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Today has been one of the most difficult days of the war so far. Our recovery people have been in the south collecting bodies now for two days. Most of them have said that what they saw was worse than anything they have ever seen and that was even from some battle-hardened veterans. The barbarism on the part of the Hamas marauders knew no bounds, causing our teams to view the mutilation of women, children and old people along with young adults, all of which was almost beyond belief.
Today’s upwardly revised numbers show 1,200 Israelis dead with 3,400 now wounded, some in very serious condition. Those numbers will probably grow as there as still people unaccounted for. 14 Americans and 17 Brits are among the dead (or missing) with 20 Americans still categorized as unaccounted for. The government now says that there are 150 hostages being held in Gaza as well.
The Israeli Defense Forces have called up an additional 60,000 reservists bringing the total to 360,000. Mobilizing that many people on short notice for an unexpected war presents major challenges to feed, transport and support so many troops. Thankfully, in Israel, when a war begins the country becomes united and totally committed to supporting our troops. Someone I know just sent us an email that he is on the way to deliver pizza from Modi’in to troops assembled in the Etzion area south of Jerusalem. Another friend told us today she made 2,000 tuna fish sandwiches at a Chabad facility in Jerusalem to be sent to the troops near Gaza
The Israel Air Force has conducted 2,300 air strikes on military targets in Gaza, most of which are situated in residential apartment blocks. As a result, almost 1,000 Gazan citizens have also lost their lives.
Of course, Hamas is trying very hard to change the narrative. In an interview on London’s Sky New earlier today, Dr. Basam Naim, the Head of Political and International relations for Hamas spouted the new line of lies to justify the carnage. The interviewer asked him how Hamas could justify the slaughter of over 1,000 Israeli non-combatant civilians who were just living their lives? Naim replied that Hamas did not kill any civilians. In their mind every Israeli is living on land that is part of Palestine and, therefore, every Israeli is a soldier who is deserving of death. Thankfully the interviewer, who was aghast at the response, pushed back hard. You can see the full program here…
Yesterday we also saw action on the Lebanese and today on the Syrian border as well. The infiltration of terrorists from Lebanon were neutralized but, in the gun battle, two members of the IDF lost their lives. Today, there were also some mortars lobbed at Israel from Syria. Those borders will need to be watched carefully. The arrival of a US Aircraft Carrier off of Israel’s shores earlier today will, hopefully, convey a message to Lebanon not to carry this further.
We also often forget the personal side of all of this. There were people who were scheduled to be married this week where one or both of the partners received a call up notice. Our Rabbi married one of those couples earlier in the week. The young man received a call up notice (Tzav 8 as it is called here) to report to duty on Monday but he was scheduled to be married that evening. The army gave him an extra day to report, so he could be married on Monday as planned and then left for his post on Tuesday morning.
In addition, most of the communities close to the Gaza border have been evacuated so the IDF can mass their troops, vehicles and tanks there. Some of the hotels at the Dead Sea made their rooms available to the evacuees at reduced rates which were paid for by generous donors around the world.
So the sad saga continues and we pray that our troops will be successful, that the war will end and our young men and women will return home to their families, whole and in good health.
Sherwin Pomerantz has lived in Israel for 40 years, is CEO of Atid EDI Ltd., a international business development consultancy. He is also the Founder and Chair of the American State Offices Association, former National President of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel and a past Chairperson of the Board of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.
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If you doubt the ultimate goal of radical Muslims, whatever radical Muslims, means, you should find the attached of interest.
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This from a friend and fellow memo reader:
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To my non-Jewish friends on Israel’s war
What our friends and neighbors should know about Israel's battle for survival.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, many have reached out to me asking about Israel. Here is some info that may be helpful:
The world saw the face of evil several days ago. Hundreds of heavily armed terrorists poured across the Israeli border and committed the worst atrocities that most of us have witnessed in our lifetime. We have all seen devastating images of war, but the savage brutality that Hamas wreaked on babies, children, women and the elderly is beyond belief. Jaws dropping, stomachs churning, unable to breathe, we whisper: How is this possible? Is this not the 21st century? Have we been transported back some thousand years to the Dark Ages? Who dismembers children with glee? Who rapes women to death? Who stomps on the faces and crushes the skulls of those they have already murdered in cold blood?
Some might wonder whether I have to be so graphic. I wish I didn’t, but I do. It’s important to record and report these things, because much of the world’s media won’t. They’ll document Israel’s “disproportionate response,” but they’ll gloss over the monstrous savagery that precipitated Israel’s resolve to finally rid the world of an evil that it tried (and failed) for decades to mollify and pacify.
There is a reason Israel’s attempts at peace with the Palestinians have failed. It is not because they have not been made in good faith or without serious compromise. Don’t forget that Gaza was under Israeli control from 1967 until 2005, when it was given to the Palestinians as a gesture of peace by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Nearly 10,000 Israelis who lived in the Gaza Strip were forcibly removed by the Israeli government. Many throughout Israel were fiercely critical of Sharon’s move, but the prevailing attitude was that sacrifices were necessary for the sake of peace.
Unfortunately, peace was never a possibility. That is because there is and always has been a significant faction within the Palestinian populace who will do anything to foil any peace with the “Jewish pigs and dogs.” Though there are Palestinians who have been brave enough to consider coexistence, they have done so at the risk of their own lives. Many who have tried to work with Israel have been murdered as “collaborators,” their corpses strung up or tied to the backs of cars and dragged through the streets. The mantra on the Palestinian street (and even in rallies yesterday in New York and elsewhere throughout the West) has been “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” In other words, the stated (and chanted) goal is not coexistence, but to rid every last inch of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (i.e., Israel) of every last Jew.
Again, there are plenty of good and decent Palestinians who desire a life without conflict and hatred. Yet they are led by, and interspersed with, others whose bigotry and blood lust are far stronger than their humanity or love of life. While honest, hardworking Palestinians have been subject to checkpoints, restrictions and limitations to their freedoms, the fault lies squarely with their own people, who have made it impossible for Israelis to know which Palestinians they can trust and which they can’t. How can one offer freedom of entry and unchecked liberty to a populace that is known to contain some percentage of those who would surely go on a murderous rampage the moment they were given a chance?
The argument has been made that these terrorists are simply “freedom fighters” who are expressing the inevitable rage of being “occupied” and oppressed for decades. But this is demonstrably false. If it were the case, then one would have to assume that Palestinian violence against Jews began with the 1967 occupation. Prior to that, there would arguably be no reason for this murderous rage. Or maybe it could be suggested that the violence began with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 because there were Arabs displaced when the British split the land between Arabs and Jews.
But how then would we explain the Hebron Massacre in 1929 (19 years before Israel was founded) when 67 Jews were killed and 57 wounded? Or the Jaffa Riots in 1936 when nine Jews were killed and 40 wounded? Or the Tiberius Pogrom in 1938 with 19 Jews killed? Or the over 50 attacks on civilians in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s that left scores dead and hundreds wounded?
The fact is that the murderous evil that showed itself over this past weekend is not about territory and is not the result of occupation or oppression. It predates the State of Israel and it goes far beyond Israel’s borders. If the Hamas terrorists had access to New York, Paris, London, Rome, Berlin or any other city around the globe where there are “infidels” who practice their own religion and live democratically, they would gladly and gleefully rape the women and brutally murder the children. That is why the governments of all these democracies around the world are standing with Israel today and clearly affirming Israel’s right to defend itself and decimate Hamas completely.
It is the responsibility of all civilized people to make peace when peace is possible. But it is also vital to identify evil and to fight it vigorously and decisively when all other options have failed.
Jews around the world are in mourning. We are a small and interconnected people, and every one of us knows someone who has been harmed or is now in harm’s way. We are burying over 1,000 dead and praying for the thousands wounded, the hundreds still missing or taken captive and the brave young soldiers who are fighting to secure our future.
It is important that our non-Jewish friends understand the reality of what we are fighting and why. This is not a “two-sided” story and there is no place for moral relativism here. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, a small country that has tried at great cost for 70 years to coexist with its neighbors. It has been invaded by barbaric forces and is now fighting for its life.
War is tragic, and there will be “collateral damage” and loss of innocent life as Israel takes out the Hamas cowards who knowingly and intentionally hide themselves and their weapons in school buildings, mosques and civilian centers. The difference is that Israel does everything in its power to avoid civilian deaths while Hamas does everything in its power to kill as many civilians as possible. The terrorists have chosen this path and they have left Israel no choice.
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Ted Cruz Warns Biden Will Drop Out Of The 2024 Presidential Race And Be Replaced By This Potential Contender: 'View This As A Serious Danger'
Joe Biden could be forced to pull out of the Democratic primary race and a surprising candidate could be parachuted in at the Aug. 2024 party convention, says Ted Cruz
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Sent to me by our Australian "cousin."
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I’ve borrowed the title of this week’s post “Eyeless in Gaza” from Aldous Huxley’s novel (1936) who in turn borrowed it from a phrase in John Milton's “Samson Agonistes.” Like the legendary Samson in Gaza, we were blinded by a false sense of security.
I’m quite familiar with the Gaza periphery, its communities and terrain. I was a member of Kibbutz Nirim for four years when I settled in Israel in 1961.
My eldest daughter, Daphna, was born there.
At that time, Gaza was an Egyptian enclave and the Egyptians were our enemies. Since then, a lot has changed. New communities have sprung up, Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel and Hamas controls the Gaza Strip
Later, I left Nirim and moved to Ein Harod.
I have family and friends at Sde Nitzan, one of the Gaza periphery communities. Over the years we visited them often, visits that enabled me to continually update my “mental map” of the area.
That being said, I am hard put to understand what happened there.
The round-the-clock TV panel discussions only tend to add to the confusion.
Surfing the internet hasn’t been too productive either.
Invariably commentators, observers and experts of all kinds have likened Israel’s current imbroglio to past military intelligence failings. They say it was our “Pearl Harbour Moment”, Israel’s “9/11” and of course, the Yom Kippur War intelligence fiasco.
Let’s forget comparisons and concentrate on how Hamas managed to fool us.
In my humble opinion Lt. Col. (res.)Peter Lerner, a former IDF spokesperson managed better than many other observers to explain how we were hoodwinked.
I am including here some of his conclusions: -
“What is clear, is that Israel’s advanced technology, ironclad defense systems, and some of the best intelligence units in the world, faltered.
How did Israel, a nation always on alert, find itself in this precarious position?
Mainly because of complacency rooted in a perception of our own invincibility, a failure to adapt to evolving threats, and in my opinion a severe underestimation of Hamas’ capability and resolve, what is called in Israel ‘the concept.’
Our society is in a state of shock and disbelief. Not now, but eventually the government and the defense establishment will be held accountable.
Israel's robust defense system, the Iron Dome, has successfully intercepted countless rockets over the past decade. Combined with a billion-dollar barrier built along the 65-kilometre demarcation line with Gaza, a false perception of infallible security was created. A perception that Hamas is not interested in war with Israel because of the price the organization and the people of Gaza have paid over the last 10 years. This might have led to a skewed sense of invulnerability even against land-based invasions, overshadowing the need for ground defense preparedness.
Historically, the threat from Hamas has been asymmetric warfare, with rockets, tunnels, and suicide bombers. The concept of a large-scale land invasion might have been discounted as a viable threat, given Hamas's resource constraints and Israel's military superiority. There might have been errors or misinterpretations of data regarding Hamas's intentions or capabilities, echoing the intelligence failures of the Yom Kippur War.
Israel might not have conceptualized a direct, bold land invasion by Hamas.
Once the dust settles, lessons need to be learnt in order to prevent future miscalculations, we will need a holistic re-evaluation.
While air defense is crucial, ground and cyber defenses should not be neglected.
Israel must continually reassess its threat models, understanding that adversaries can and will adapt their tactics.
Bridging the gaps in intelligence gathering, interpretation, and dissemination is imperative. This might mean investing in more human intelligence on the ground and fostering better communication between agencies.
Israel should periodically review past mistakes, both its own and others', ensuring that complacency never sets in again.
It’s appropriate at this juncture to include other sources: -
Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) quoting a number of experts and former intelligence officials said,
“The Hamas assault by air, land and sea raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence agencies apparently did not see it coming.” In response, U.S. officials said that if the Israelis knew an attack was imminent, they did not share it with Washington.
Colin Clarke, senior research fellow at The Soufan Centre, a nonprofit that focuses on global security issues, said Israel had to bear the main responsibility for failing to anticipate Saturday’s attack.
“Israel has exquisite, world-class intelligence collection and analysis capabilities and would have a far better picture of what’s going on in its own backyard. This one falls squarely on the Israelis,” he said.
“I’m truly astonished for something of this magnitude to go down and for the Israelis to have no clue that it was about to happen. I’m just speechless,” Clarke said, adding, “They have had sources inside these Palestinian groups for years.”
At this uber-political time in Israel’s history when the Prime Minister and his government have conducted a campaign against the faith of the public in all the institutions, the courts, the police, the military and the civil service. It is imperative to strengthen the institutions not weaken them.
The Hamas land invasion is a wakeup call. Terrorist organizations and many in our region have still not come to terms with Israel’s existence. Many of them, like Hamas, are bent on Israel’s destruction. Most of them are incapable of destroying Israel. Nevertheless, this war underscores the timeless lesson that no matter how advanced or prepared a nation believes itself to be, there's always room for improvement, always a blind spot, and always an evolving threat lurking in the shadows. The cost of overlooking these lessons is tragically high.
I want to conclude on a brighter note.
All over Israel people have voluntarily organized and sent packages of food and clothing to army units lacking them. Places not in the line of fire, like my own kibbutz are hosting families evacuated from the Gaza periphery communities. By some accounts, 360,000 reserve army soldiers have been mobilized. In some units the turnout exceeded 100% (people voluntarily reporting for duty).
The call up has been mainly in preparation for a ground operation in Gaza. The first cargo plane carrying “advanced armaments” from the US ``designed to facilitate significant military operations” landed in Israel on Tuesday night.
According to the Financial Times the US is sending ammunition and interceptors to replenish the Iron Dome air defense system. It has also moved a naval carrier strike group, including its largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, from near Italy to the eastern Mediterranean to deter the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. In addition, it is believed that it will supplement Israeli surveillance in the area.
The Financial Times also reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu has suggested that civilians ‘leave’ the Gaza strip, stoking concern in neighbouring Egypt. The US is discussing safe passage for civilians with its regional allies, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, without providing details. Egypt is unwilling to fully reopen the Rafah crossing, the only exit out of Gaza. The UN will try to set up a hub for refugees near Rafah while trying to negotiate a humanitarian corridor, Sullivan said. I hasten to add that Israel has no intention of conquering or depopulating the Gaza Strip. It merely wants to degrade Hamas’ military capability and at the same time avoid harming the civilian population.
Finally, I want to thank my family and friends abroad for their concern regarding our safety. The last time I checked we were all safe, sound and accounted for.
Have a good weekend.
Beni,
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