Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 139.

Iran actively helping Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea. – On Tuesday, December 19th, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to protect against attacks by Yemenite Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. According to Austin, the nations involved in the operation would conduct joint patrols in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. One day earlier, a senior Houthi official said that the Houthi rebels were “capable of confronting any coalition formed by the U.S. operating in the Red Sea.” The Houthi spokesman said with the exception of ships “belonging to Israel or those heading to Israeli ports”, all other ships are safe. He added that “Any other claim is unrealistic American propaganda aiming to build any international rampart to protect Israel at sea, following the collapse of its concrete walls in the Al-Aqsa Flood”, the name given by Hamas to the October 7th attack upon Israel.

As it now turns out, even though shipping vessels turned off their radios in order to avoid detection, their presence and locations are communicated by an Iranian spy ship, that enables the Houthis to send out drones and then missiles to attack ships passing through the Red Sea. With the Iranians now taking a more active role to support the Houthis, who are attacking the ships as part of their support of Hamas, it will be interesting to see whether the newly-formed international coalition will respond, both to the Houthis and to Iran.

Pennsylvania Democratic Congresswoman accuses AIPAC of being an existential threat to blacks. – Well, we are entering into the theatre of the absurd. Summer Lee is a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania – and a member of the far-left “Squad” in Congress. She severely criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel lobby group, and accused it of racism for not endorsing her. According to the Congresswoman, “AIPAC is not supporting those Black candidates to be supportive of their community’s needs if the only issue it cares about is their own. That’s textbook racism actually.” Apparently, she misses the point that a lobbying organization is supposed to be focused on the goals of the organization, in this case advocating in favor of Israel. AIPAC does not owe anything to Representative Lee. But, in her case, the organization refused to endorse Lee exactly because of her “blatant anti-Israel positions”, which are totally inconsistent with the goals of AIPAC. If that were not enough, on another occasion, Lee wrote: “Since no one else will say it, I will: AIPAC is an existential threat to the Black community and its right to self [determination].”   

I recognize that those who carry the title of “politician” often make claims that are, let’s say, “exaggerated”, but this one stretches the boundary of exaggeration. An “existential threat to the Black community” – really? “[And] its right to self [determination]?” She’ll probably be telling us next that Yehya Sinwar, the head of the Hamas terrorist organization, is actually a Yeshiva boy. 

U.N. representative says killing Israeli soldiers is not a crime. – Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the so-called “Palestinian” territories, stated last week in an interview, “If the “Palestinians” target civilian objects, they commit war crimes…If they target military objects, they do not commit war crimes – they are in line with acts of resistance.”  According to the article in World Israel News , “Albanese criticized Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack because the terrorist fighters targeted Israeli civilians and took hostages. She said, however, that ‘an illegal act of the resistance doesn’t delegitimize the resistance itself’.” On another occasion last month, she said that Hamas was “entitled to embrace resistance”, but contended that under international law, Israel did not have the right to act in self-defense against the terrorist group. And then, in line with other comments that she made which generated calls for her removal from office, the above article notes that “She denounced calls this month for Hamas to release its hostages, calling it an ‘unacceptable’ act of “justifying and deflecting the attention from the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in Gaza.” 

So, there are representatives of the U.N. who have a warped perspective regarding the brutal massacre committed by Hamas on October 7th and Israel’s response to it. But, at least the U.N. Children’s Emergency fund assistance to Israeli children, casualties of war – right? Wrong! Listen to this exposé from the Israeli organization, Shurat HaDin, that sues terrorist organizations on behalf of Israel and victims of terror, with the goal of bankrupting terror organizations “one lawsuit at a time”. May they continue to have great success not only against terrorist organizations, but against those who provide financial backing for them as well.

Israel has made valiant efforts to move Gazan civilians out of harm’s way, urging them to move toward the south and even providing safe corridors for them, so that they would not be prevented by Hamas from moving. The civilian population could be benefitted and helped greatly if Egypt would open its doors and allow Gazan civilians to enter Egypt, but it has refused. So, what is to be done with the fleeing civilian population? Nikki Haley has a great suggestion: They should be sent to “pro-Hamas countries”, such as Qatar, Iran and Turkey, as well as Egypt. In an interview with ABC News, Haley added: “Why won’t Egypt take them? Because they don’t trust which ones are terrorists and which ones aren’t? It’s a sad state of affairs, but the reality of that evil is very clear in Arab countries too. Arab countries have very much always been cautious and know the threats that Iran can place…Why isn’t everybody talking to Egypt? Why aren’t they talking to Turkey? Why aren’t they talking to Qatar? Why aren’t they talking to Iran? Why aren’t they doing something to help the “Palestinians’? Why is it that you come back to Israel and the US? It’s always the case…If [the October 7 attack] had happened to America, do you not think that we would have hit back?” 

Please remember to pray for: wisdom for the government; for wisdom and strength, power and boldness for the IDF; for the hostages who are still alive; for the families of the hostages and the families of those who lost loved ones, and for wisdom and skill for the teams providing medical care to the war wounded.

And with that, may you have a peaceful Shabbat.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin