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For most of history, nations went to war, frequently and usually at the caprice of one man, but never without a strategy for victory. It was clear what victory entailed: conquest of the enemy’s territory and subjugation of its population.
In ancient times defeat was often accompanied by the coerced renunciation of gods of the defeated enemy and its embrace of the victor’s culture. In more modern wars, the objective of World War II was the “unconditional surrender” of the Axis forces, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Many Allied soldiers died, and far more enemy civilians were ruthlessly killed, in order to achieve that goal of “unconditional surrender” rather than accept various offers of cease fires that would have left the Nazi regime in place and Japan’s emperor as ultimate authority.
Israel has never enjoyed such victories, firstly because its strategic goals have been more limited – and usually focused on survival.
The War of Independence was successful because nascent Israel repelled numerous Arab invaders, retained most of the territory granted it under the UN’s Partition Resolution and even expanded beyond it.
The Six Day War was arguably an unambiguous victory as well, given that another Arab invasion was successfully resisted, the biblical homeland of Israel was liberated, the Arab nations that invaded were sufficiently cowed at least for a few years – but mainly because Israel had no designs on Egyptian, Syrian, or Jordanian territory outside the boundaries of Israel. The notion of “unconditional surrender” had no relevance, as Israel was content to allow all Arab countries to exist as long as they allowed us to exist.
Wars that do not have the goal of “unconditional surrender” are almost by definition “limited” wars, and all subsequent conflicts have been such limited wars. Enemies attack, we defend. Enemies encroach on our land and commit acts of terror, we respond. Enemies fire rockets and missiles at our cities and we “mow the lawn,” deflate their military capabilities, and wait for the next round.
We play this macabre game and never win.
There is a second reason why victory in any form eludes us. It is because the “international community,” which includes the United States, the United Nations, and most countries across the world, impose cease fires on Israel whenever victory is close – not even the success of “unconditional surrender” but even to save our enemies and allow them to fight another day.
This is unprecedented, and uniquely applied to Jews.
Thus, the Yom Kippur War was halted with Israel on the march to Damascus, with a stronghold in Egypt west of the Suez Canal, and with the Egyptian Third Army surrounded in Sinai. Israel, under pressure, withdrew from Egypt and Syria, allowed the Third Army to escape, and wound up retreating from Sinai. Israel abandoned its positions in Egypt, while Egypt was not forced to vacate its captured land in Sinai.
This was not just a stunning diplomatic defeat; it also enabled Egypt to claim victory in the war, which otherwise would have abruptly ended in a colossal failure.
Similarly, the various incursions into Lebanon from the 1970’s through 2008, always ended with cease fires that left the PLO intact, Arafat still functioning, terror just moments away from recurring, and Hezbollah ascendant and gloating.
*The Ehud Barak-led flight from Lebanon in 2000 catapulted Hezbollah to dominance in Lebanon; Barak’s brazenness in remaining in the public eye, aggressively and abusively, his craving to be taken seriously as a commentator and social agitator, are unusually impertinent illustrations of chutzpah.
*The Olmert-Halutz catastrophic handling of the 2008 Lebanon War – including the unconscionable deaths of Jewish soldiers fighting for territory that would be abandoned the very next day as part of the cease fire – would be disqualifications for either person to be taken seriously but for the utter shamelessness that today pervades public life.
Israel’s historical handling of Gaza has been just as ineffective. For decades, there was never any intention to prevail, to subdue the enemy, and to conquer its territory. All the skirmishes, culminating in the current war, have ended inconclusively, with forced ceasefires. The obvious consequences of this policy are before our eyes: Gaza and Lebanon are powder kegs waiting to explode – and Israel is on the verge of succumbing yet again to a global demand for a cease fire that will yet again save its enemies.
How does one lose a war? This is how:
- A nation states its military objectives – such as defeat of Hamas and its liquidation as a military and political force – and then gradually abandons them under pressure.
- A nation makes pronouncements – “no food or fuel in Gaza until the hostages are release” or “no aid through Ashdod or Erez” – and then under pressure allows food and fuel to resupply our enemies, and then accepts it as its responsibility to resupply its enemy.
- A nation can lose when on its own accord it halts the battle when it has momentum and then informs its enemy in advance where it is next attacking, which gives the enemy time to regroup, rebuild, replenish, and re-strategize.
- A nation can lose when it suddenly adopts the bizarre notion that the fate of enemy civilians is the “top priority” in war – and especially when such risible ideas emanate from diplomats who care not a whit about Israeli civilians in captivity, Israeli civilians who were brutalized in their homes, and Israeli civilians who have spent months dispossessed of their homes.
- A nation allows another country with similar but not identical interests (like the United States) to micromanage the war in terms of goals, tactics, location, timing, and weaponry.
- A nation worries more about the welfare of enemy civilians than about the lives of its own soldiers.
- A nation, shocked by the appalling invasion, murder, abuse, kidnapping, and humiliation of its citizens, allows its righteous anger to dissipate, and instead begins to listen to intellectuals and novelists about how a cease fire will improve its international image.
- A nation’s media gives prominence to those voices that insist that “total victory” is impossible.
- A nation allows the defeated hostile population to remain, which enables them to prepare an insurgency campaign that will cost the lives of its soldiers and sap the spirit and will of the people.
- A nation allows disgruntled supporters of opposition parties to riot, protest, threaten, and intimidate, which encourages the enemy to believe that Israel’s society is at war with itself, collapsing from within, and cannot possibly prevail in this conflict.
And this is what defeat looks like:
- Six months after the start of the war, there are still enemy rockets and missiles falling on Ashkelon, the communities around Gaza, and in the north.
- Tens of thousands of Israelis cannot return to their homes.
- A “cease fire,” which leaves Hamas in power, a return to the status quo ante, and preparation for the next wave of missile attacks, terrorism, and response.
- The release of terrorist murderers in return for freedom for innocent hostages, which only precipitates the next round of kidnappings – for which the enemy laughs at us and pays no price.
- Israel, despite its efforts to avoid collateral damage to enemy civilians, is becoming a world pariah, whose elected government is reviled and whose internal politics are considered appropriate for world intrusion, intervention, and meddling.
- The enemies who attacked us have the world’s sympathy, and we are the world’s villain.
- The enemy leaders gloat at their successes and are considered worthy interlocutors by diplomats and other hypocrites.
I still remember when Israel was the envy of the world because of our steadfast claim that “Israel never negotiates with terrorists” and surrenders to their blackmail. Wow, that was a long time ago, for now most of what we do diplomatically is surrender to terrorists and their blackmail.
Victory is going to require more than slogans that “together we will win.” The anarchists who have been allowed to take over our streets and highways in the last year in violation of the law, and who have resumed their violent demonstrations, would rather see Israel defeated or stalemated, and certainly if a victory helps the Prime Minister remain in office.
It is time we realize what victory does look like and try to achieve it. The world hates us anyway, will not have greater love for us if a cease fire is imposed tomorrow, and, in any event, has more respect for winners than for losers.
It is not too late to achieve victory but our goals must be clear. The cardinal sin was succumbing to the obsession with the welfare of the enemy civilians – yes, those who supported, participated in, and rejoiced over the rapes, murders, and abductions of October 7.
Pursuant to (the farce known as) international law, the Gazan civilians had a legal right to “safe passage” out of a war zone. They were denied that right, not only by Egypt but also by the world community that sees Gazans as an indispensable entity for the continued war against Israel.
*We should be advocating for that right to free passage – and doing it in every television interview and every diplomatic exchange.
*We should prioritize the release of our hostages and tie it directly to the provision of humanitarian aid.
*We should reject with contempt the hypocrisy of nations who wage war, kill civilians, and see no need to apologize for it (see United States, Kabul, August 28, 2021, 10 civilians killed including 7 children, with denials that continued for weeks, and with a Biden apology to the world yet to be offered).
And then we should finish the job.
Victory entails full control over the conquered territory which can never again be used as a launching pad for terror against Israel, an enemy population that leaves because it wants to leave, sees no future for itself in that land, or is encouraged to leave because its opposition to the Jewish national idea is implacable.
We need to remind ourselves of the fundamentals of Jewish destiny that should determine our statecraft. We have returned to the land that G-d granted our forefathers after we forfeited it due to our misconduct.
Our generation was blessed to be the beneficiaries of the prophecy of ultimate return. For thousands of years until today, we have been accused by our enemies of being “robbers,” stealing other nations’ land (Rashi, Breisheet 1:1). That has not changed, and we should not expect it to change anytime soon; but it also requires us not to internalize that false indictment and pretend there is some way we can persuasively defend against it. That charge is built into the history of the world and of the Jewish people, a ubiquitous reminder that we must be worthy of this land, permeate it with holiness, sanctify it with mitzvot, and defend it for the honor of G-d and two millennia of Jews who could not defend themselves and suffered the predations of the precursors of all our enemies today.
Even in these difficult and perilous times, we should count our blessings, among which are the knowledge we have of how wars are lost – but also how wars are won, and how victory in this conflict will have positive ramifications in many spheres, and for years to come.
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, Esq. was a pulpit rabbi and attorney in the United States and now lives in Israel where he teaches Torah in Modiin and serves as the Israel Region Vice-President of the Coalition for Jewish Values and the Senior Research Associate for the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy.
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The BBBegins.
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HUGE: Letitia James to Start Seizing Trump’s Properties – PJ Media
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margoAND:
Smith Likens Trump to Nixon, Accuses Him of Trying To Free Presidents From Laws Against ‘Murder, Treason, and Sedition’ |
By A.R. Hoffman |
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How to lose a war
A nation can lose when it halts the battle when it has momentum and then informs its enemy where it is next attacking, so the enemy can regroup, rebuild, replenish, and re-strategize. And read below to see what defeat looks like. Opinion.
For most of history, nations went to war, frequently and usually at the caprice of one man, but never without a strategy for victory. It was clear what victory entailed: conquest of the enemy’s territory and subjugation of its population.
In ancient times defeat was often accompanied by the coerced renunciation of gods of the defeated enemy and its embrace of the victor’s culture. In more modern wars, the objective of World War II was the “unconditional surrender” of the Axis forces, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Many Allied soldiers died, and far more enemy civilians were ruthlessly killed, in order to achieve that goal of “unconditional surrender” rather than accept various offers of cease fires that would have left the Nazi regime in place and Japan’s emperor as ultimate authority.
Israel has never enjoyed such victories, firstly because its strategic goals have been more limited – and usually focused on survival.
The War of Independence was successful because nascent Israel repelled numerous Arab invaders, retained most of the territory granted it under the UN’s Partition Resolution and even expanded beyond it.
The Six Day War was arguably an unambiguous victory as well, given that another Arab invasion was successfully resisted, the biblical homeland of Israel was liberated, the Arab nations that invaded were sufficiently cowed at least for a few years – but mainly because Israel had no designs on Egyptian, Syrian, or Jordanian territory outside the boundaries of Israel. The notion of “unconditional surrender” had no relevance, as Israel was content to allow all Arab countries to exist as long as they allowed us to exist.
Wars that do not have the goal of “unconditional surrender” are almost by definition “limited” wars, and all subsequent conflicts have been such limited wars. Enemies attack, we defend. Enemies encroach on our land and commit acts of terror, we respond. Enemies fire rockets and missiles at our cities and we “mow the lawn,” deflate their military capabilities, and wait for the next round.
We play this macabre game and never win.
There is a second reason why victory in any form eludes us. It is because the “international community,” which includes the United States, the United Nations, and most countries across the world, impose cease fires on Israel whenever victory is close – not even the success of “unconditional surrender” but even to save our enemies and allow them to fight another day.
This is unprecedented, and uniquely applied to Jews.
Thus, the Yom Kippur War was halted with Israel on the march to Damascus, with a stronghold in Egypt west of the Suez Canal, and with the Egyptian Third Army surrounded in Sinai. Israel, under pressure, withdrew from Egypt and Syria, allowed the Third Army to escape, and wound up retreating from Sinai. Israel abandoned its positions in Egypt, while Egypt was not forced to vacate its captured land in Sinai.
This was not just a stunning diplomatic defeat; it also enabled Egypt to claim victory in the war, which otherwise would have abruptly ended in a colossal failure.
Similarly, the various incursions into Lebanon from the 1970’s through 2008, always ended with cease fires that left the PLO intact, Arafat still functioning, terror just moments away from recurring, and Hezbollah ascendant and gloating.
*The Ehud Barak-led flight from Lebanon in 2000 catapulted Hezbollah to dominance in Lebanon; Barak’s brazenness in remaining in the public eye, aggressively and abusively, his craving to be taken seriously as a commentator and social agitator, are unusually impertinent illustrations of chutzpah.
*The Olmert-Halutz catastrophic handling of the 2008 Lebanon War – including the unconscionable deaths of Jewish soldiers fighting for territory that would be abandoned the very next day as part of the cease fire – would be disqualifications for either person to be taken seriously but for the utter shamelessness that today pervades public life.
Israel’s historical handling of Gaza has been just as ineffective. For decades, there was never any intention to prevail, to subdue the enemy, and to conquer its territory. All the skirmishes, culminating in the current war, have ended inconclusively, with forced ceasefires. The obvious consequences of this policy are before our eyes: Gaza and Lebanon are powder kegs waiting to explode – and Israel is on the verge of succumbing yet again to a global demand for a cease fire that will yet again save its enemies.
How does one lose a war? This is how:
- A nation states its military objectives – such as defeat of Hamas and its liquidation as a military and political force – and then gradually abandons them under pressure.
- A nation makes pronouncements – “no food or fuel in Gaza until the hostages are release” or “no aid through Ashdod or Erez” – and then under pressure allows food and fuel to resupply our enemies, and then accepts it as its responsibility to resupply its enemy.
- A nation can lose when on its own accord it halts the battle when it has momentum and then informs its enemy in advance where it is next attacking, which gives the enemy time to regroup, rebuild, replenish, and re-strategize.
- A nation can lose when it suddenly adopts the bizarre notion that the fate of enemy civilians is the “top priority” in war – and especially when such risible ideas emanate from diplomats who care not a whit about Israeli civilians in captivity, Israeli civilians who were brutalized in their homes, and Israeli civilians who have spent months dispossessed of their homes.
- A nation allows another country with similar but not identical interests (like the United States) to micromanage the war in terms of goals, tactics, location, timing, and weaponry.
- A nation worries more about the welfare of enemy civilians than about the lives of its own soldiers.
- A nation, shocked by the appalling invasion, murder, abuse, kidnapping, and humiliation of its citizens, allows its righteous anger to dissipate, and instead begins to listen to intellectuals and novelists about how a cease fire will improve its international image.
- A nation’s media gives prominence to those voices that insist that “total victory” is impossible.
- A nation allows the defeated hostile population to remain, which enables them to prepare an insurgency campaign that will cost the lives of its soldiers and sap the spirit and will of the people.
- A nation allows disgruntled supporters of opposition parties to riot, protest, threaten, and intimidate, which encourages the enemy to believe that Israel’s society is at war with itself, collapsing from within, and cannot possibly prevail in this conflict.
And this is what defeat looks like:
- Six months after the start of the war, there are still enemy rockets and missiles falling on Ashkelon, the communities around Gaza, and in the north.
- Tens of thousands of Israelis cannot return to their homes.
- A “cease fire,” which leaves Hamas in power, a return to the status quo ante, and preparation for the next wave of missile attacks, terrorism, and response.
- The release of terrorist murderers in return for freedom for innocent hostages, which only precipitates the next round of kidnappings – for which the enemy laughs at us and pays no price.
- Israel, despite its efforts to avoid collateral damage to enemy civilians, is becoming a world pariah, whose elected government is reviled and whose internal politics are considered appropriate for world intrusion, intervention, and meddling.
- The enemies who attacked us have the world’s sympathy, and we are the world’s villain.
- The enemy leaders gloat at their successes and are considered worthy interlocutors by diplomats and other hypocrites.
I still remember when Israel was the envy of the world because of our steadfast claim that “Israel never negotiates with terrorists” and surrenders to their blackmail. Wow, that was a long time ago, for now most of what we do diplomatically is surrender to terrorists and their blackmail.
Victory is going to require more than slogans that “together we will win.” The anarchists who have been allowed to take over our streets and highways in the last year in violation of the law, and who have resumed their violent demonstrations, would rather see Israel defeated or stalemated, and certainly if a victory helps the Prime Minister remain in office.
It is time we realize what victory does look like and try to achieve it. The world hates us anyway, will not have greater love for us if a cease fire is imposed tomorrow, and, in any event, has more respect for winners than for losers.
It is not too late to achieve victory but our goals must be clear. The cardinal sin was succumbing to the obsession with the welfare of the enemy civilians – yes, those who supported, participated in, and rejoiced over the rapes, murders, and abductions of October 7.
Pursuant to (the farce known as) international law, the Gazan civilians had a legal right to “safe passage” out of a war zone. They were denied that right, not only by Egypt but also by the world community that sees Gazans as an indispensable entity for the continued war against Israel.
*We should be advocating for that right to free passage – and doing it in every television interview and every diplomatic exchange.
*We should prioritize the release of our hostages and tie it directly to the provision of humanitarian aid.
*We should reject with contempt the hypocrisy of nations who wage war, kill civilians, and see no need to apologize for it (see United States, Kabul, August 28, 2021, 10 civilians killed including 7 children, with denials that continued for weeks, and with a Biden apology to the world yet to be offered).
And then we should finish the job.
Victory entails full control over the conquered territory which can never again be used as a launching pad for terror against Israel, an enemy population that leaves because it wants to leave, sees no future for itself in that land, or is encouraged to leave because its opposition to the Jewish national idea is implacable.
We need to remind ourselves of the fundamentals of Jewish destiny that should determine our statecraft. We have returned to the land that G-d granted our forefathers after we forfeited it due to our misconduct.
Our generation was blessed to be the beneficiaries of the prophecy of ultimate return. For thousands of years until today, we have been accused by our enemies of being “robbers,” stealing other nations’ land (Rashi, Breisheet 1:1). That has not changed, and we should not expect it to change anytime soon; but it also requires us not to internalize that false indictment and pretend there is some way we can persuasively defend against it. That charge is built into the history of the world and of the Jewish people, a ubiquitous reminder that we must be worthy of this land, permeate it with holiness, sanctify it with mitzvot, and defend it for the honor of G-d and two millennia of Jews who could not defend themselves and suffered the predations of the precursors of all our enemies today.
Even in these difficult and perilous times, we should count our blessings, among which are the knowledge we have of how wars are lost – but also how wars are won, and how victory in this conflict will have positive ramifications in many spheres, and for years to come.
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, Esq. was a pulpit rabbi and attorney in the United States and now lives in Israel where he teaches Torah in Modiin and serves as the Israel Region Vice-President of the Coalition for Jewish Values and the Senior Research Associate for the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy.
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Israeli Consul:
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Israel At War
Day 185
Published Daily, Monday Through Friday
Shalom.
To subscribe to our newsletter for more updates and relevant information, click HERE
Southern Gaza Strip
The Givati Brigade combat team continues to operate in Khan Yunis (click HERE to view video footage of their operations). The soldiers destroyed terrorist infrastructure, including a weapons storage facility, more than 40 explosive devices and a ton of explosive materials (see image below):
Additionally in Khan Yunis, soldiers of the IDF's Commando Brigade searched buildings in Khan Yunis while locating weapons, eliminating enemy operatives and dismantling terrorist infrastructure in the area. So far, over a hundred sites have been searched in the area and terrorist infrastructure was found in every location.
During operations, the forces located a terror tunnel route which was approximately 900 meters in length. Inside the tunnel, were holding areas and large quantities of weapons. After examination by the IDF's Yahalom Unit, the forces destroyed the tunnel route. Next to one of the tunnel shafts, a terrorist was eliminated.
Throughout the fighting in Khan Yunis, soldiers positioned themselves in strategic places; they eliminated terrorists and struck combat compounds using precise munitions. In one incident, using a precision missile, the forces eliminated two Hamas operatives and a Hamas team commander.
Northern Arena
On Saturday, April 6, a surface-to-air missile was launched toward an IAF UAV operating in Lebanese airspace. As a result, the UAV was hit and fell in Lebanese territory.
In response, IDF fighter jets struck a military complex and three additional terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Array in the area of Baalbek in Lebanon.
Additionally on Saturday, IDF fighter jets struck a military compound which contained seven military structures belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization’s elite Radwan Forces in the area of Khiam. In addition, the IDF struck a military command center belonging to Hezbollah in the area of Toura.
IDF Eliminates Senior Terrorist of Hamas's Internal Security
Last Saturday, April 6, the IDF announced that it had eliminated Akram Abd Al-Rahman Husein Salamah based on precise intelligence. Salamah's elimination was carried out using IAF fighter jets.
Salamah held several key positions within the Hamas terror organization, including Deputy Head of the Khan Yunis District.
Salamah was responsible for planning and executing significant terror attacks inside Israeli territory, as well as directing terror activities in the Gaza Strip which sought to hinder IDF counterterrorism activities.
IDF Destroys Multiple Terror Tunnels in Khan Yunis
Since the beginning of Operation: Swords of Iron, the IDF has been systematically dismantling Hamas's extensive network of underground terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip. In recent months, IDF soldiers led by the 98th Division and the Yahalom Unit have been operating to locate, map and destroy the tunnels of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade. During the activity, 3 offensive terror tunnels which had been surveilled by IDF intelligence over recent years were located. Following preliminary ground activity, they were then mapped and destroyed. The operation was carried out by the Southern Command's Engineering Array, the Gaza Division, the 98th Division and the Yahalom Unit.
One of the tunnels was first located by the IDF approximately a decade ago. During the IDF's Operation: Guardian of the Walls in 2021, the IDF struck the tunnel from the air, resulting in the elimination of several Hamas terrorists. At the beginning of the current war, it was struck at several points to prevent offensive activity by Hamas. Now, the tunnel has been destroyed by IDF engineers.
Another tunnel was uncovered in 2014. It was long enough to cross into Israeli territory and the majority of the tunnel was eventually destroyed. Hamas made no efforts to repair the tunnel after it was damaged. In recent weeks another section of the tunnel deep inside the Gaza Strip was destroyed
The third tunnel was uncovered in 2019, before the construction of the underground barrier, when one branch of the tunnel crossed a few hundred meters into Israeli territory. It has since been under full operational and intelligence control by the IDF. In this branch of the tunnel, IDF soldiers placed traps and sensors for the IDF to use if needed. Since the beginning of the war, the tunnel has been struck numerous times, along with several other actions that neutralized the branch of the tunnel that crossed into Israeli territory. The tunnel was not utilized by Hamas terrorists during their invasion of southern Israel on October 7th and has been controlled by Israeli security forces throughout the war.
The IDF will continue to work to destroy all of the remaining terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
IDF Chief:
"We Have Paid a Heavy Price in a Very Just War for Our Home"
During a recent press conference, the Chief of the General Staff of the IDF, LTG. Herzi Halevi, reflected on six months of Operation: Swords of Iron - what the IDF and the people of Israel have experience since Oct. 7th, 2023, and what to expect in the weeks and months ahead. To read LTG. Halevi's full remarks, click HERE.
IAF Jets Strike Hamas Rocket Launch Posts Embedded Inside Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis
IAF fighter jets striking a Hamas rocket launch post embedded inside a humanitarian area in Khan Yunis.
Over the last few days, following precise intelligence and operational identifications, Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets conducted a number of strikes on three Hamas rocket launch posts embedded inside a humanitarian area in western Khan Yunis. The posts were used to carry out rocket and missile attacks toward southern Israel throughout the war.
Before the strike, the IDF confirmed the evacuation of civilians and precisely struck the launchers. No uninvolved civilians were harmed by the strikes.
These launch posts are yet another example of Hamas’s exploitation of humanitarian areas and use of Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Yesterday (April 7), three launches were identified crossing from the area of Khan Yunis toward communities near the Gaza Strip in Israel. The launches fell in open areas. Following this, IAF aircraft struck the post from which the launches were carried out, along with additional terrorist infrastructure located in the vicinity of the launch post.
Click HERE to view footage of the IAF strikes on the Hamas rocket launch posts.
IDF Eliminates Commander of Hezbollah's Elite Radwan Unit
IAF fighter jets striking Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.
Overnight, IAF fighter jets struck and eliminated Ali Ahmed Hassin, the commander of the Hezbollah terror organization’s elite Radwan Unit in the Hajir region. The strike was carried out in the area of Sultaniyeh in southern Lebanon.
Hassin was a senior operative in the terror organization and held a rank equivalent to that of brigade commander. In his role, he was responsible for planning and carrying out terror attacks against Israeli civilians in northern Israel.
Since the beginning of the war, Hassin carried out numerous launches toward Israeli territory. During the strike overnight, two additional Hezbollah terrorists who were under his command were eliminated.
To view footage of the strike, click HERE.
Tennessee Passes Joint Resolution Supporting Israel
Last week, the Tennessee State Senate and House Representatives overwhelmingly passed a joint resolution in support of the State of Israel. The resolution condemns Hamas's murderous terror attack on Oct. 7th, 2023 and reaffirms the State of Tennessee's "support and reverence for the resilience of the Israeli people." To read the resolution, click HERE .
Consulate Participates in Atlanta Community Rally Marking Six Months Since Oct. 7th Terror Attacks
Yesterday, members of the Atlanta community gathered in Sandy Springs, GA to mark six months since Hamas's murderous invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7th, 2023, when terrorists slaughtered over 1,200 Israeli civilians and kidnapped 253 more to Gaza. Of those 253 hostages, 133 still remain captive in Gaza.
Consul General Sultan-Dadon spoke at the event, along with state and city officials and community leaders.
Thank you to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and American Jewish Committee (AJC) Atlanta for organizing this special event.
Also, thank you to the Atlanta community for expressing your solidarity with Israel and for joining the call to #BringThemHomeNow.
To view photos of the event and excerpts of the Consul General's speech, click HERE.
133 Israelis remain in Hamas captivity. They have spent the past 184 nights as hostages after being brutally kidnapped to Gaza. Each day, we will be highlighting their stories, until they are all released. Please do your part by sharing THIS POST and in calling for the immediate release of all the hostages. To learn more about the hostages still in captivity and to raise awareness and share their stories, please visit THIS WEBSITE.
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Western Democracy’s Future Depends on Israel’s Victory
If the Jewish state can be bullied into letting Hamas survive, how can any free nation defend itself?
By Gerard Baker
If Israel is prevented from defeating Hamas, we should be under no illusions about what it will mean for the future of democracy. If, under the pressure of internal Democratic politics and global public opinion, the Biden administration forces a “cease-fire” that leaves our closest ally in the region short of victory over an enemy that seeks to destroy it, sooner or later we shall all pay the price.
Of course Israel is battling, above all else, for its own survival. In a hostile region, it is also the sole standard-bearer of individual freedom, tolerant pluralism and self-rule. Contrast the condition of ethnic minorities, women, gays and dissidents in Israel with that of their counterparts anywhere else in the Middle East. We should give thanks every day for the sacrifices Israelis make at the fragile frontier of freedom.
Every Islamist terrorist Israel kills is one fewer threat to the rest of us. Every setback Israel can deal to the Iranian puppet masters of Hamas, Hezbollah and others inflicts a loss on the regime that is sworn to eliminate us, the “Great Satan,” and our allies. There is no historical evidence that appeasing enemies committed to our extinction ever keeps us safe.
But there’s a second sense in which the future of democracy is at stake in the bloody streets of Gaza. If Israel can somehow be bullied into forgoing victory over this enemy, our own capacity to wage wars inflicted on us will be dramatically diminished. We will have allowed a coalition of armchair media critics, far-left agitators and Islamist-sympathizing activists and governments to hold Israel to a standard no nation taking necessary measures to protect itself would ever be able to meet, a standard to which our enemies will certainly never hold themselves.
This reality of asymmetric warfare in the age of an all-seeing media and diminished faith in the virtues of our way of life has been on vivid display in the past week. After near-universal condemnation of Israel for the deaths of seven foreign aid workers in a drone attack, a British army veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, who now serves at a senior level in the British government, put the event in context: “War requires levels of violence and destruction that few truly understand. It requires an acceptance of human suffering among innocents that is unimaginable to most. There is no such thing as a clean war. This one is more visual but not substantially worse than those I fought in,” he told me via text message.
We should be clear about what happened last week on the hazy battlefield of Gaza. The tragic error that resulted in the deaths of those brave and innocent souls was heartbreaking, but it was error. If accidents like this are deemed to discredit and delegitimize Israel’s war effort, then we can forget about our own ability to take the fight to our enemies when we need to. We will have institutionalized an asymmetric form of warfare that we simply can’t win.
Israel has been more scrupulous in its campaign than most armies in history. In World War II the British political and military leadership decided on a strategy they called—in what must rank as one of the most cynical euphemisms in history—“dehousing” German civilians: bombing cities to a level of destruction that would demoralize their inhabitants and make them turn on their Nazi government. The British people tolerated this morally doubtful approach because they had fresh in their minds the memory of the Blitz, when the Nazis successfully “dehoused” many British citizens.
Israel suffered an atrocity on Oct. 7 comparable to the Blitz yet has worked with restraint to limit inevitable civilian losses. If it can’t even be allowed to do that, we are placing impossible shackles on the fighting ability of democratic nations.
Condemning and isolating our only real friend and ally in the Middle East will leave in place the people who perpetrated the Oct. 7 massacre and their sponsors. If this is the way we fight modern wars, our enemies will have freedom to commit acts of bestial savagery on us, knowing that our own scruples will give them an insuperable advantage.
And in demanding that a democratic country conduct war to standards that have never been met by any belligerent in history—and could never be met—we will be signaling the ultimate surrender of our own democracy too.
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US intelligence estimates: Iran won't attack Israel directly
Iranian response to Syria elimination likely to consist of large-scale attacks by missiles, UAVs, intelligence source tells CNN.
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Biden shouldn’t get away with granting a victory to Hamas
U.S. threats have given genocidal terrorists a respite as the media continues to demonize Israel and enable antisemitism. But the war isn’t over yet.
By JONATHAN S. TOBIN
Perhaps Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t blowing smoke. After the announcement of a withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces troops from southern Gaza, he pledged that a date had been set for an offensive into Rafah to complete the job of destroying Hamas’s last remaining active military units. If true, that would mean the assumption that the Israeli retreat from Gaza signaled the end for all intents and purposes of the war that Hamas began on Oct. 7 was, at best, premature.
As the six-month anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel was marked this past weekend with remembrances of the fallen, as well as prayers and demands for the release of the more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas, Israeli optimism about the ultimate outcome of the conflict was hard to maintain. Indeed, contrary to Netanyahu’s words, the Biden administration’s opposition to further efforts to defeat Hamas has forced Israel’s government to back down and accept what appears to be a ceasefire with the current leadership of the terrorist organization without a single hostage being released, then the current situation must be judged to be an unprecedented disaster for the Jewish state.
While Israel’s armed foes and their antisemitic allies throughout the world may have reason to celebrate these events, the outcome of this conflict is not yet decided. Israel’s armed forces have already achieved a great deal in its effort to degrade Hamas’s military capabilities and destroy much of its underground fortress system, and can, given more time, finish the job. Moreover, it’s hard to believe that Netanyahu or anyone tasked with leading the Jewish state will accept an outcome in which it not only suffered the worst mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust but then allowed those pledged to its destruction to defeat it through international pressure and a propaganda campaign.
An honest assessment of events that have transpired these last six months must deem them among the most awful in modern Jewish history. And while it’s easy to get lost in the details of military, political and diplomatic problems, the world should never lose sight of the one element that explains the virulence of Hamas’s murder campaign and indifference to Israel’s rights and security: antisemitism. If the first six months of the war have been filled with disappointments and mistakes, what follows need not be a disastrous conclusion to the conflict. The Israel-haters have hypocritically helped convince liberals in the United States to oppose the continuation of the war; however, efforts to counteract these lies and build support for Israeli victory loom greater than ever.
A foolish bid for sympathy
The war that began with the Hamas rampage of murder, rape, torture, kidnapping and wanton destruction on Oct. 7 dealt a cruel blow to Israel’s ability to deter its foes. Rather than inspiring sympathy from the rest of the world for the IDF’s efforts to ensure that these crimes would never again be committed, the spectacle of Jewish suffering did the opposite. Even before the counteroffensive into Gaza to take down the Oct. 7 murderers began, worldwide media and the leftist-dominated chattering classes had flipped the script about the conflict to treat the Palestinians, who were the perpetrators of unspeakable crimes as the real victims of the war, and the Israeli victims as criminal violators of human rights. Hamas lies about “indiscriminate” and “disproportionate” Israeli bombings and Palestinian casualties being almost solely women and children were not just believed but treated as truthful by a biased press. It even turned around the Biden administration, members of which think that the president might lose his re-election chances in certain swing states because he was insufficiently hostile to the Jewish state.
Just as ominously, throughout the West—and most particularly, in the United States—antisemitic mobs in the streets of cities and on college campuses helped normalize calls for Israel’s destruction and terrorism against Jews in public discourse. Even in a country where, in contrast to Europe, support for Israel is still strong and where official antisemitism has been unknown, Jews are starting to feel increasingly unsafe.
While hostage negotiations continue, President Joe Biden’s pressure campaign has removed all incentive for Hamas to budge an inch from its ransom demands that not only include a massive release of terrorist prisoners held by Israel but also an end to the war. Moreover, should the conflict that began on Oct. 7 conclude with Hamas still in possession of any part of Gaza—and with an active, if heavily damaged, military force still intact—then Palestinians, their enablers and fellow travelers abroad, not to mention their Iranian funders, will rightly consider them to be the victors of the war.
The consequences of such a turn of events for Israel are unthinkable. Hamas’s goals remain the destruction of Israel and the genocide of its population.
Ever since the massacres on that Black Shabbat, the prime minister has been telling his country and the world that Israel would not stop until the Islamist group was decisively and completely defeated. But six months into the conflict, that goal has not been achieved. It’s now apparent that the United States—Israel’s main ally, and principal source of the arms and ammunition — has no intention of letting Hamas be defeated.
American threats
While the current withdrawal of forces is being represented by Israel’s government as merely an effort to regroup and prepare the IDF for the final battle in Gaza, it’s impossible to ignore the underlying context. Biden’s gradual pivot away from his position of strong support for Israel and for the elimination of Hamas after Oct. 7 culminated in the threats he issued to Netanyahu last week in a phone call. The administration let it be known that Biden said if Israel attacked Hamas in Rafah, then he would withhold further military aid. What’s more, it soon became clear that Biden’s foreign-policy team was also making it clear that it would not veto efforts in the U.N. Security Council to pass a binding ceasefire resolution or to grant recognition of Palestinian statehood.
These are not the sort of threats that any Israeli government can ignore or take lightly. Israel depends on U.S. arms to maintain its ability to deter or defeat the forces that seek its destruction. Most Israelis still ignore the United Nations as an irrelevant talking shop. But a binding ceasefire and formal recognition of Palestinian statehood would set in motion a series of events that could make the antisemitic fantasy of transforming the democratic Jewish state into a pariah state shunned and sanctioned by the entire world into reality.
There are reasons to believe that—after a pause of undetermined length—Netanyahu still hopes to make good on his promises. The IDF is reportedly preparing to provide a way for the Palestinians living in the remaining Hamas stronghold a path to escape the fighting and then resume the offensive. But for the moment, the achievement of Israel’s post-Oct. 7 war aims—the total defeat of Hamas and the release of all of the Israeli hostages it holds—are beyond its reach.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for the mistakes that led to this situation. Nevertheless, the main priority for friends of Israel now is to not succumb to recriminations or despair. The Israeli people will ultimately decide whether and when Netanyahu as well as the country’s military and establishment will be held accountable for Oct. 7. And history will determine whether or not Israel’s post-Oct. 7 military campaign was conducted as well as it could have been.
But for now, the priority for both Israelis and Americans who care about the Jewish state must be to loudly and ceaselessly speak about the consequences of letting Hamas emerge triumphant from the fighting.
What Hamas wants
The chattering classes in the United States and their acceptance of the Hamas narrative about Palestinian suffering have helped generate the anger at Israel that pushed Biden to pressure Netanyahu. The influence of leftist woke ideologies on American discourse, which falsely brands Israel as a “white” oppressor populated by “settler/colonialists,” played a key role in enabling this to happen.
Many in the pro-Israel community thought they could ward off such an outcome by speaking solely of the suffering of the Israeli hostages or trying to remind the world about the truth of what happened. The hostages shouldn’t be forgotten and Biden’s abandonment of them, including the Americans still held by Hamas, is disgraceful. So, too, is the willingness of the world to treat Oct. 7 as insufficient reason for Israel to no longer tolerate the existence of a genocidal terrorist state on its southern border.
By now, we should have learned that no matter how many Jews are slaughtered, the Jews can never win the victim game as long as they are also willing to defend themselves, as Israel must. An international community that already treats Israel as undeserving of the same respect and rights given every other nation on the planet just cannot tolerate Israeli military action, no matter how defensible.
Biden has shown that he cares more about appeasing antisemitic voters on the far left and bowing to the dictates of progressives who have made it clear that they will not tolerate an Israeli defeat of Hamas. Indeed, he appears to believe that he must defeat and/or topple Netanyahu before he can beat former president Donald Trump in November. Biden’s supporters also claim that Hamas cannot be really vanquished because it is as much an idea as an organization.
Yet it’s also obvious that the lingering belief on the part of his team of Obama administration alumni running U.S. foreign policy in the need for a rapprochement with Iran is behind this disingenuous conclusion. Ideas can be overcome if those who support them are militarily defeated and left with no choice. But at the moment, the problem is that Washington is refusing to allow one of Tehran’s terrorist clients to be crushed. And it is the tolerance of that fundamentally antisemitic rogue regime and its genocidal allies that has generated this decision.
A world in which Hamas wins
Supporters of Israel therefore should not merely plead for mercy for the hostages or sympathy for the Oct. 7 victims. They must point out that if the United States is going to let terror win this war, it’s not just Israelis who will suffer. A world in which Islamist terrorists are permitted to invade a democratic nation but then be saved from the consequences of that decision is one in which no one in the West should consider themselves safe.
For the moment, the Palestinians—the vast majority of whom support Hamas and the atrocities they committed—have succeeded in portraying themselves as the victims of the conflict they began and which they see as just the latest battle in a century-old war to evict the Jews from their ancient homeland. Too many of those who claim to support Israel have foolishly accepted that it’s possible to compromise with those who hold onto such genocidal and antisemitic fantasies. Even after the crimes of Oct. 7, many still think that the only reasonable outcome to this round of fighting is a willingness to coexist with Islamists pledged to kill the Jews or hold onto myths about their willingness to accept a world in which Israel still exists.
Now, more than ever, the case must be made that the only chance for peace in the Middle East and to stop Iranian-backed terror against the West is for Israel to win this war. The eradication of Hamas is the price not merely for the preservation of Israeli security and existence, but for halting an Islamist wave that Americans—who have tolerated a porous southern border for the past three years —would be foolish to think can’t hurt them.
Biden’s feckless politically motivated policies may have forced a pause in this existential war for both Israel and the West. Yet the surge in antisemitism in the United States created by apologists for Palestinian murderers should be a warning sign that if this is allowed to stand, the consequences will be felt by more than just one Israeli politician. The war with Hamas is not just one for Jewish survival but also part of the battle to defend the West. Americans of goodwill—both Republicans and Democrats—must make it clear to the administration by one means or another that they oppose this misguided move and support letting Israel do what it must to wipe out Hamas.
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My sentiments:
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Israel, Quit Negotiating With These Genocidal Clowns and Wipe Out Hamas Now
Israel, Quit Negotiating With These Genocidal Clowns and Wipe Out Hamas Now
By Matt Vespa
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Israel Is Risking Losing This War by Caring What People Who Hate It Think
By Kurt Schlichter
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Democrats Are Terrified Of Black People Thinking For Themselves
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https://townhall.com/columnist
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The 186th Day of War in Israel
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Amid speculation of the war concluding with the withdrawal of IDF troops from southern Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah and declared “there is a date” for the operation.
In a video message released to the public on Monday, Netanyahu said, “This victory requires entering Rafah and eliminating the terrorist battalions there. This will happen; there is a date.” The Prime Minister on several occasions has emphasized that military activity in Rafah is necessary to eliminate Hamas from Gaza. Monday’s statement came after the IDF removed Brigade 98 from Gaza and said that it was making the move to regroup, not to retreat and that it was preparing for further military activity in Gaza.
The United States reiterated its concerns about military operations in Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are located during the 6-month-long war. US National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters that “we have consistently made clear that we don’t support a major ground operation in Rafah.”
Monday witnessed a significant escalation in tensions as Hezbollah launched several kamikaze drones into northern Israel, targeting various sites throughout the day. The IDF responded with retaliatory strikes in southern Lebanon. This aggressive act by Hezbollah, coupled with accusations from a Lebanese official that Israel is trying to "lure" Lebanon into war, underscores the complex and volatile nature of the current situation.
As for the hostage negotiation, as of this afternoon both sides were still considering a recommendation that there be a short, 3-4 day cessation of hostilities later this week along with the release of 40 hostages and simultaneous return of some number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. Hamas claims Israel has not met its demands but will review in any event.
IAF fighter jets eliminated the chair of Hamas's Emergency Bureau in the Central Camps in Gaza on Monday night, the IDF announced on Tuesday. The terrorist, Hatem Alramery, was killed in a strike with intel provided by the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate. Alramery served as an operative in the al-Qassam Brigades, working on projectile launches within the Maghazi Battalion of the Central Camps.
The war continues with no near end in sight except for the hope, as we begin the new month of Nissan, at some point action will be taken to bring this to a close for the benefit of Israel and Western democracies
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This may be a transcript of a former video that might rove interesting
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