Shalom all,

The number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 217. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 552.

“The willingness of the world, including many of the educated elites in the West to dismiss the importance of the crimes perpetrated in southern Israel three months ago, to be effectively neutral about the murders, rapes, torture and kidnapping committed by Hamas and the Palestinians—or actually to take the side of the murderers, rapists, torturers and kidnappers—isn’t just shocking. It’s a seminal moment in modern history that not only illustrates the moral bankruptcy of a significant segment of contemporary opinion but also provides an explanation for how the Holocaust happened. As hard as it may be for us to accept, this demonstrates that Holocaust commemorations or even education programs about the destruction of European Jewry in the mid-20th century either don’t make people less likely to support more Holocausts; even worse, all this might be counterproductive.”

Today, January 27th, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, that was declared by  Resolution 60/7, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on November 1, 2005. The Preamble to the Resolution, and Articles 1, 3 and 5, state: 

“Reaffirming that the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice…

“1.   Resolves that the United Nations will designate 27 January “as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust…. 

“3.    Rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or in part;…

“5.   Condemns without reserve all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, wherever they occur.” (Italics in original)

In its 85th plenary meeting, held on January 26, 2007, the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution 61/255 Holocaust denial, which reaffirmed its above Resolution of 1 November, 2005, and declared, that the U.N.:

“1.   Condemns without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust;

“2.   Urges all Member States unreservedly to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end.”  (Italics in original)

Apparently, the politicos in the U.N. came to understand that their prior Resolutions were like clouds without water, the General Assembly, 20 January, 2022, adopted a second Resolution dealing with Holocaust denial (Resolution 76/250). Its lengthy Preamble stated, in part: 

“Bearing in mind that the founding principle of the Charter of the United Nations, ‘to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’, is testimony to the indelible link between the United Nations and the unique tragedy of the Second World War,

“Recalling the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind,…

“Deeply concerned about the prevalence of impunity in some instances, and the lack of accountability in some cases, in addressing violence against persons on the basis of religion or belief in public and private spheres, and stressing the importance of making the necessary efforts to raise awareness to address the spread of hate speech against persons on the basis of religion or belief,…

“Noting that Holocaust denial refers to discourse and propaganda that deny the historical reality and the exstent of the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis and their accomplices during the Second World War, known as the Holocaust or Shoah,

“Noting also that Holocaust denial refers specifically to any attempt to claim that the Holocaust did not take place, and may include publicly denying or calling into doubt the use of principal mechanisms of destruction (such as gas chambers, mass shooting, starvation, and torture) or the intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people

“Bearing in mind that Holocaust denial in its various forms is an expression of antisemitism,”Noting that distortion and/or denial of the Holocaust refers, inter alia, to:       

“(a)  Intentional efforts to excuse or minimize the impact of the Holocaust or its principal elements, including collaborators and allies of Nazi Germany,       

“(b)  Gross minimization of the number of the victims of the Holocaust in contradiction to reliable sources,     

“(c)  Attempts to blame the Jews for causing their own genocide,     

“(d)  Statements that cast the Holocaust as a positive historical event,       

“(e)  Attempts to blur the responsibility for the establishment of concentration and death camps devised and operated by Nazi Germany by putting blame on other nations or ethnic groups,…

“Noting with concern the growing prevalence of Holocaust denial or distortion through the use of information and communications technologies,…       

“1.   Rejects and condemns without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part:       

“2.  Urges all Member States to reject without any reservation any denial or distortion of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in fujll or in part, or any activities to this end;…        

“5.  Urges Member States and social media companies to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denied or distortion by means of information and communications technologies and to facilitate reporting of such content….”

Reading the above Resolutions of the U.N. and taking into account the events leading up to, including and following the massacre that took place on 7th October, one would have to seriously question whether the U.N. serves any socially-redeeming value, particularly when it comes to issues relating to Israel. Only two weeks before the murderous onslaught of Hamas and other terrorist organizations and groups, the head of the present “Palestinian” Authority – an outspoken Holocaust denier – was allowed to address the General Assembly of the United Nations, where he accused Israel of every wrongdoing and demanding that the U.N. upgrade the status of the P.A. from an observer state and recognize “Palestine” as a member state. Even the recognized leftist-leaning Israeli news site entitled one of its articles: “Mahmoud Abbas: Once an Antisemitic Holocaust Denier, Always an Antisemitic Holocaust Denier”. 

In his Statement yesterday, Friday, regarding International Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Joe Biden, said, in part: “This year, the charge to remember the Holocaust, the evil of the Nazis, and the scourge of antisemitism is more pressing than ever. On October 7 Hamas terrorists unleashed pure, unadulterated evil on the people of Israel, slaughtering approximately 1,200 innocent people and taking hundreds more hostage – including survivors of the Shoah.  It was the worst atrocity committed against the Jewish people in a single day since the Holocaust. In the aftermath of Hamas’s vicious massacre, we have witnessed an alarming rise of despicable antisemitism at home and abroad that has surfaced painful scars from millennia of hate and genocide of Jewish people. It is unacceptable. We cannot remember all that Jewish survivors of the Holocaust experienced and then stand silently by when Jews are attacked and targeted again today. Without equivocation or exception, we must also forcefully push back against attempts to ignore, deny, distort, and revise history. This includes Holocaust denialism and efforts to minimize the horrors that Hamas perpetrated on October 7, especially its appalling and unforgiveable use of rape and sexual violence to terrorize victims.” 

The realities of the Holocaust are undeniable, yet many, like the head of the so-called “Palestinian” Authority, continue to deny them, pervert facts and attempt to justify why it happened, even blaming the Jewish people for causing their own Holocaust. All this is in blatant violation and total disregard of the Resolutions that have been passed by the U.N. General Assembly. Realistically, the “Palestinian” Authority and Hamas may be at odds with one another for hegemony over the residents in their respective areas. But, they both have the same ultimate goal, namely, the elimination of the State of Israel.

Yesterday, at a Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stated, in his opening remarks: “We have seen an outburst of antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry around the world. Every one of us must resolve to stand up against the forces of hate, discrimination and division.” At the same event, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, pointed out the hypocrisy of the U.N.’s proclamations in the light of its behavior – or better yet, lack of behavior, as he stated:“Today is not only a day of remembrance; this day was designated to also prevent future acts of genocide — to internalize the lessons of the Holocaust…To this day, no U.N. institution has condemned the October 7 massacre. It’s shocking.”  And, as survivors of the Holocaust and October 7th testified on the floor of the U.N. before 100 ambassadors from countries all over the world, Ambassador Erdan added:“110 days ago, the Jewish people underwent the most brutal massacre since the Holocaust. Hamas terrorists murdered and burned families alive, shot at revelers at a music festival – it was a genocide. This murder is part of the radical Islam’s plan to annihilate the Jewish people…When I stand here and expose the lies against Israel at the UN, I always remember that the ambassador of Babylon no longer exists and the flag of the Roman Empire no longer waves. What still exists? A flag with the Star of David symbol. We are still here.”  (my emphasis)

Most of the member states of the U.N. are pushing for a “two-state solution” to the ongoing conflict between Israel and various terror-based groups that refer to themselves as “Palestinians”. Even the U.S. is pushing hard in this regard, while claiming to back Israel’s right to defend itself. The reality is that allowing such a “Palestinian” state to exist would necessitate redefining Israel’s borders, slice Israel in half to allow a contiguous area for that state to exist, further allowing more home-grown terrorist organizations to crop up and threatening the existence of the State of Israel. But, following the events of 7th October, the Hamas terrorists’ leadership dismissed any desire of reaching a solution with Israel, particularly a two-state solution (even if that possibility were to exist). In an interview with a Kuwaiti podcaster last week, Senior Hamas official Khaled Mashaal, said that there is “nearly a consensus” within the “Palestinian” community, they will not give up their dream of land stretching “from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea” – in other words, the so-called “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria), the Gaza Strip and all of Israel. In order to make that dream a reality, they need to eliminate the State of Israel.

So, why is it that there is no condemnation from the U.N. about a specific intention to commit genocide against the Jewish people? Why doesn’t a member state file a petition with the International Court of Justice against Hamas? Simply, because Hamas is not a “state”, neither is the “Palestinian” Authority. As Ambassador Erdan noted: “To this day, no U.N. institution has condemned the October 7 massacre.“

For Holocaust Remembrance Day to have any significance outside of Israel, there needs to be active participation by the international community. Governments need to do more than just talk. They need to take action against calling for another Holocaust against Israel, as well as to deal with those who deny the Holocaust in line with the U.N. Resolutions mentioned. If not, then the Resolutions are not worth the paper they’re written on.

Whether or not countries put action behind their words regarding Holocaust remembrance, the words of Ambassador Erdan will continue to ring true: “[The] ambassador of Babylon no longer exists and the flag of the Roman Empire no longer waves. What still exists? A flag with the Star of David symbol. We are still here.”  Yes, we are still here – Hamas or no Hamas, Hezbollah or no Hezbollah. Iran or no Iran, Houthi shmouthi. We’re not planning to go anywhere. The U.N. will cease to exist before Israel does.

“This is what the Lord says, He who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of armies is His name: ‘If this fixed order departs from Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘then the descendants of Israel also will cease to be a nation before Me forever.’ This is what the Lord says: ‘If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also reject all the descendants of Israel’.” (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

The Dry Bones Blog – 26 January, 2024

Have a healthy and God-honoring week.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

Shalom all,

“There can be no peace without justice, and no justice without truth.” (thinc-The Hague Initiative for International Co-Operation, 12 January, 2024)

Tomorrow, Sunday, 14 January, 2024, will be the 100th day since Hamas terrorists committed the massacre of more than 1,200 people, young and old, men and women, babies and nonagenarians alike. And, while the memories of some of our senior citizens might be fading, they still acknowledge that this present war is the longest in our brief 75-year history. The mind has difficulty trying to grasp that a child spent his first birthday in a terror tunnel, or in some other facility controlled by a callous, blood-thirsty, death-glorifying terrorist group, a group that is driven by blind hatred and lacks any moral conscience.

As of today, Israel’s best estimates are that 136 people continue to be held hostage by Hamas, “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad and other terrorists, affiliated and non-affiliated. Israel’s response to the terrorist invasion of 7th October (nicknamed “Black Saturday”) has resulted in the alleged, but unproven, deaths of some 23,000 people, which includes close to 10,000 armed terrorists and combatants and has caused multitudes of others to vacate their homes in various locations in the Gaza Strip. This is a consequence of war. On our side, in addition to the 1,200 victims of the onslaught of Black Saturday, as well as the thousands who were wounded on that day, Israel has suffered the loss of 187 soldiers (11 more since my last post) and is making every effort to tend to the more than 6,000 members of the IDF, who were wounded in the Gaza War during the last 100 days.

This war has revealed anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred across the global spectrum. Like roaches that come out of hiding when exposed to the light, antisemitism has been revealed on the streets of major cities, in the workplace and in places that used to be referred to as “educational institutions”, which now attempt to justify calls on their campuses for the genocide of the Jewish people. 

“And how many hours a day did you do lessons?” said Alice, in a hurry to change the subject.

“Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle: “nine the next, and so on.”

“What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice.

“That’s the reason they’re called lessons,” the Gryphon remarked: “because they lessen from day to day.” — Lewis Carroll, Alice in,Wonderland, Chapter 9, The Mock Turtle’s Story.

We laugh at the seeming stupidity of the Gryphon, a characteristic so profoundly evident on college campuses around the world today, until we come to a statement from the Queen of Wonderland:

“No, no!” said the Queen. “Sentence first—verdict afterwards.” —Chapter 12, Alice’s Evidence.

If we try to put that into perspective, we see that the Queen’s statement was reversing the proper order of things, which should have been the verdict first and, if found guilty, then and only then, the sentencing. That situation aptly describes the accusations of genocide brought against Israel in the International Court of Justice, in The Hague.

The internationally-renowned Attorney and author, Alan M. Dershowitz, puts the situation somewhat in perspective, in his article, The International Court of “Injustice” Begins Its Blood Libel Trial Against Israel, which was published yesterday by Gatestone Institute International Policy Council, which I would suggest that you read.

In a similar vein, South Africa’s filing an application with the International Court of Justice puts the cart before the horse and creates a situation of reversing the party responsible for carrying the burden of establishing guilt in a criminal case “beyond a reasonable doubt”. No reasonable-thinking person would agree with S.A.’s contention that Israel has infringed the Genocide Convention or that genocide is, or could be, taking place by Israel’s response to the massacre that occurred within our land by terrorists based in the Gaza Strip. 

The 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention was enacted following the mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust. It was actually the first human rights treaty adopted by the General

Assembly on 9th December, 1948, and became effective over two years later, on 12 January, 1951, and obligates signatory states to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. The General Assembly actually made genocide a crime under international law by Article I of Resolution 96, dated 11 December, 1946. Article II of the Convention defines genocide as certain, specified “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

This past Thursday, South Africa alleged before the ICJ that Israel has genocidal intent against the so-called “Palestinians” in the Gaza Strip, in its war against Hamas and other terrorist groups. Yesterday, Friday, Israel forcefully rebutted those claims,

Yesterday, Friday, Israel forcefully rebutted those claims, pointing out, among other things, that the claims of S.A. actually relate to laws of armed conflict rather than any alleged genocidal intention and, as a result, the court has no jurisdiction of the matter. Israel’s legal team also cogently argued that the harm done to the civilian population in Gaza is the result of Hamas’s widespread use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes, including residences, schools and hospitals, even U.N. facilities. This was in addition to pointing out in detail Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian casualties by, among other things, warning them to vacate areas of potential conflict, of providing humanitarian assistance and even setting up field hospitals in Gaza for the benefit of Gazan civilians. Israel forcefully rebutted those claims, pointing out, among other things, that the claims of S.A. actually relate to laws of armed conflict rather than any alleged genocidal intention and, as a result, the court has no jurisdiction of the matter. Israel’s legal team also cogently argued that the harm done to the civilian population in Gaza is the result of Hamas’s widespread use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes, including residences, schools and hospitals, even U.N. facilities. This was in addition to pointing out in detail Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian casualties by, among other things, warning them to vacate areas of potential conflict, of providing humanitarian assistance and even setting up field hospitals in Gaza for the benefit of Gazan civilians.

Genocide is not new. In the Book of Exodus, we read of Pharaoh’s plans to kill all of the male children of Israel, to cause them to be thrown into the Nile River to drown them, while the girls would be allowed to live (Exodus 1:22). Some time later, after the Exodus from Egypt and the conquest of Canaan, we read a story in 2 Kings 8:11-13, relating to a meeting between the prophet Elisha and Hazael, the king of Aram (now Syria), which reveals some elements strikingly similar to the events of 7th October:

11 And he stared steadily at him until Hazael was embarrassed, and then the man of God wept.
12 And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” And he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: you will set their fortified cities on fire, you will kill their young men with the sword, their little ones you will smash to pieces, and you will rip up their pregnant women.”
13 Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant—a lowly dog—that he could do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

In more recent times, genocide was committed against people in different countries, such as Armenia, Rwanda and Cambodia. But, of course, the greatest acts of genocide were committed by the Nazis against the Jews during the Holocaust. When we consider such atrocities, we are forced to confront the question of how members of the human race can commit such heinous acts against other humans. We end up with an inability to come up with a rational explanation, other than to conclude that evil exists and is actively functioning in this world. It is a spiritual evil that perverts the mind and warps the understanding, resulting in misguided thoughts of supremacy over others and self-exaltation that seeks to justify the widespread killing of other people groups.

To allege that Israel’s actions of self-defense against Hamas, “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups, constitutes genocide or an intention to commit genocide, is nothing less than an attempt to re-write, or at least add to, the definition of genocide. South Africa also called upon the ICJ to issue a provisional ruling requiring Israel to cease its military operations. If, God forbid, such an effort succeeds, it would mean that Israel would be demanded to stop the war against Hamas and withdraw its troops. It would be unable to defend its citizens who are being attacked, who are being held hostage and who are displaced from their homes due to ongoing missile attacks from those who would seek to destroy us as a nation, that the name of Israel would be no more (Psalm 83:4). The same would be true for any other nation seeking to defend itself against terrorist groups.

If S.A., or anyone else, wants to argue that genocidal acts were or are being committed, then the blame has to be placed squarely upon Hamas as the perpetrator, and not upon Israel, who was the victim. As argued by Advocate Becker before the ICJ, in points 22 and 23 of his opening statement before the ICJ: 

“22. First, that if there have been acts that may be characterized as genocidal, then they have been perpetrated against Israel. If there is a concern about the obligations of States under the Genocide Convention, then it is in relation to their responsibilities to act against Hamas’s proudly declared agenda of annihilation, which is not a secret, and is not in doubt. 

“23. The annihilationist language of Hamas’s Charter is repeated regularly by its leaders, with the goal, in the words of one member Hamas’s political bureau, of the “cleansing of Palestine of the filth of the Jews.” It is expressed no less chillingly in the words of senior Hamas member, Ghazi Hamad, to Lebanese Television on October 24, 2023, who refers to the October 7 attacks, what Hamas calls the Al-Aqsa Flood, as follows: “The Al-Aqsa Flood”, he says “is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third and a fourth.” In the continuation of this interview, Hamad is asked: “Does that mean the annihilation of Israel”. “Yes, of course,” he answers. “The existence of Israel is illogical”; and then says “Nobody should blame us for the things we do. On October 7, October 10, October 1,000,0000—everything we do is justified”. Given that on October 7, before any military response by Israel, South Africa issued an official statement blaming Israel for the “recent conflagration,”—essentially blaming Israel for the murder of its own citizens—one wonders whether the Applicant agrees.”

In its multitude of claims, S.A. failed to establish the essential element of genocide, namely, intent. As argued by Advocate Becker in point 48 of his opening address to the court:

“48.  The key component of genocide—the intention to destroy a people in whole or in part—is totally lacking. What Israel seeks by operating in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a people, its people, who are under attack on multiple fronts, and to do so in accordance with the law, even as it faces a heartless enemy determined to use that very commitment against it.” (emphasis mine)

So, like the Queen’s comments in Alice in Wonderland,  we see that the present proceedings regarding S.A.’s application to the ICJ is not to open the eyes of the Judges, but to blindfold them, to receive a warped presentation of distorted allegations and, in essence, to pronounce judgment, without the establishment of guilt.

But, irrespective of the outcome of the case before the ICJ, in the court of world public opinion, the burden is being placed upon Israel – the defendant – to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it does not have an intention to commit genocide, instead of placing the burden responsibility on South Africa, as the accuser, to prove that Israel does have that intention – a burden that S.A. has failed miserably to establish.

On another matter, massive protests took place this evening in Israel, calling for a hostage-release deal “at any price”. We all want the war to end. We all want all of hostages who remain alive to be released and return home. We all want the families of the hostages to be re-united with their loved ones. We all want our soldiers to walk out of Gaza and not be carried out. We all want the wounded to be treated and healed. We all want the bereaving families, who lost loved ones to be comforted. We all want that no weapon formed against Israel would prosper. But, to release over 6,000 prisoners, many of whom have committed terrorist acts against Israel in the past, is to release a ready-made army that will seek to carry out the threats of renewed “7th October” attacks. We would have to be out of our minds to do that.

Several weeks back, we asked for prayer for Amitai Argaman, who was seriously wounded and lost both legs in the fighting in Gaza. He was interviewed by Yoseph Haddad, an Arab Israel, who is a strong voice for Israel, both here and abroad. On his instagram page, Haddad wrote (free translation from Hebrew): “On 7th October, when the war broke out following the terrorist massacre committed by Hamas, Amitai immediately was called up and then entered Gaza with his companions, where they fought like lions against the Hamas terrorists. On the tenth of November, he was seriously wounded by a booby-trapped shaft in Khan Younis, where he fell along with a number of his comrades in arms. Amitai himself was in a life-threatening situation after he lost his 2 legs and was also injured in his arm and his eye. But, just as he fought there in Gaza, so he is also fighting today every moment in his long rehabilitation. He sacrificed his body for the country he loves so much, and for all of us. This is the opportunity to say “thank you” and I wish we were worthy of his sacrifice and contribution for us. Thank you, hero, and continue to be strong and be an inspiration to all of us.” Amitai’s story appeared on the evening news of Channel 13, during the course of which he also stated: “I was wounded in a just war, it was not in vain.”

Please continue to pray: for the soldiers, that they would all return in peace; for the hostages, that they are still alive and will be released; for the grieving families of members of the IDF killed in action and for the families awaiting the return of their loved ones from captivity; for healing of the thousands of war wounded and the almost quarter of the nation suffering post-traumatic stress following the events of 7th October; for wisdom for the government and courage to pursue what needs to be done; for wisdom, boldness, strength and skill for the IDF; for the lying tongue to be confused and confounded; and for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be honored as a result of what is happening with Israel today.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing. May you have a great week and find favor in the sight of God and man.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 174. Seventeen percent of them were killed by “friendly fire”.  The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 507. 

A group of reservists set up a protest vigil near the Prime Minister’s Office, demanding that the fighting not stop until Hamas is defeated. These are soldiers who have been involved in the heat of battle, who have had brothers-in-arms fall and die near them, who understand the need to remove the evil of Hamas far from our doorsteps. They are protesting outside of the P.M.’s office because they know that the decisions that will be made about how to continue the Gaza War will be a political one.

A senior Islamic Jihad official told the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen channel: Islamic Jihad and Hamas responded in a joint document to the Egyptian proposal for a deal. According to the official, the first clause is a ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza, in addition to the restoration of the Strip with guarantees from the UN Security CouncilHe also said: “Everything that is disseminated in the media about exchange transactions that are divided into phases is only after the implementation of a ceasefire and the withdrawal of IDF forces, and not before.”  Ismail Haniya, the head of the Hamas political bureau, added that “The Israeli hostages will not be released except on our terms.” 

The demands of Hamas and the “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad are outrageous and unrealistic. The IDF has already decided to “draw back” a bit by releasing thousands of troops, as part of its planned next phase of the war. Hamas’s “demand” that the IDF withdraw all of its forces is a non-starter. Similarly, the restoration of the Gaza Strip, if it will be done at all, will be accomplished with funds from pro-Hamas and anti-Israel countries and organizations. 

But, Haniya had more things to say, that are in the realm of fairy-tales that have a happy ending (according to the story teller). In this regard, he stated: “We are open to the restoration of a national authority and a national government in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We emphasize the activity based on the plan of resistance, which is prioritized by the establishment of a state with Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return. A settlement in the Palestinian issue without Hamas and the resistance is an illusion and a mirage.” So, there we have it in a nutshell. The Hamas terrorist organization that split from the Fatah organization, which “rules” the “Palestinian” Authority in Judea and Samaria,Jerusalem wants to reunite for the purpose of “resistance”. It should be recalled that the leadership of Hamas and the leadership of the P.A. cannot stand each other, to put it mildly. But, they both have a common goal, namely, the destruction of the State of Israel. There are 4 more points made by Haniya in one sentence: (1) establishment of a “Palestinian” state; (2) the capital of that state is to be Jerusalem, and (3) the terrorists want a “right of return” for all the Arabs who left Israel before the War of Independence and, (4) the resolution of the “Palestinian” issue – which remains undefined, but probably is intended to include all of the other points, has to be done with “Hamas and the resistance”. In other words, Hamas has no intention to disappear. To the contrary, it intends to be involved in all aspects of establishing and following through with “Palestinian” statehood.

A note about the “Palestinian” demand for a “right of return”. This is an attempt to flood Israel with millions of descendants of Arabs who left Israel prior to the start of the War of Independence. I wrote about this in my post of September 8, 2018, entitled “UNRWA – Debunking and Defunding a Deception – Part One”. Hamas can’t win a military war with Israel, so it is once again raising its plan to destroy Israel by changing the demographics. 

Hamas should start to reconsider its position in light of the high number of senior operatives who have been eliminated by Israel. The latest one is Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau and a founder of the terror group’s military wing. 

Al-Arouri was killed in Beirut, Lebanon, by a bomb that hit the Hamas offices there, which are located in an area that is a stronghold of the Hezbollah terrorist organization. According to Lebanese state media, the blast was caused by an Israeli drone strike. He is responsible for setting up the local branch of Hamas in Lebanon. After Israeli officials publicly stated that all of the senior member of Hamas are fair game, al-Arouri threatened Israel with a major response, if there would be targeted killing of Hamas leaders. Two other senior Hamas military officials were among the five people killed along with Al-Arouri, which is a major blow to the terrorist organization. 

Mark Regev, the foreign media spokesman for P.M. Netanyahu, during an MSNBC interview, said that “Obviously in Lebanon, there are many Hezbollah targets, but whoever did this strike was very surgical and went for a Hamas target because Israel is at war… Whoever did this has a gripe with Hamas…Whoever did this, it’s not an attack on the Lebanese state. It’s not an attack on the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Whoever did this, it’s an attack on Hamas, that’s very clear.” 

In a similar vein, the IDF Spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, began his nightly briefing today with the statement that Israel’s military is at a “very high level of readiness – in all arenas, in defense and offense. We are in a high statement readiness for any scenario…The most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas.” He did not mention al-Arouri and obviously was trying to calm the concerns of the Hezbollah. After the briefing, Hagari was asked whether he expected Haifa to come under attack by the Hezbollah as a result of al-Arouri’s killing, to which he responded: “I’m not referring to what’s been said here [by the reporter] and in other places. We are focused on fighting Hamas. We have been from the start, and we will continue to be.”

Following the death of al-Arouri, Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, said among other things, that al-Arouri’s assassination was a “terrorist act”. His statement is a clear example of “the pot calling the kettle black”. After earlier stating that the hostage negotiations will take place only in accordance with the terms of Hamas, in a form of protest over al-Arouri’s killing, the terrorist organization froze all talks for the release of hostages.

The tense situation in the north is now hot. It hasn’t yet reached its boiling point. But, as a result of today’s events, it may be a long night.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The steady increase in the number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 173. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 506. 

At the stroke of midnight, Israel, like every other country in the world, bid farewell to 2023 and looked forward to 2024. Unlike prior years, however, New Year celebrations were few and far between here. Some Israelis who were still making an effort to celebrate, could relate to the statement in Francis Scott Key’s, The Star-Spangled Banner, “And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air”. What they saw were not fireworks of celebration, but rather, missiles of destruction. Portions of the night sky were lit up with a rocket barrage – at least 27 of them – that were indiscriminately launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip into civilian-populated areas in the center of the country. Two thirds of those missiles were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems, while the other 9 fell in open areas. The IDF posted, in part: “While 129 Israelis are still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza, Hamas also decided to start 2024 by launching a barrage of rockets at Israel…There is no ‘happy’ New Year until they are all home.” Some of the rockets that were intercepted can be seen here. If this were to happen in your country, how do you think your government would respond? 

Negotiations that leaves Hamas alive and in control of Gaza is a “bandaid solution”. – Sometimes, during the course of communicating facts and realities, we simply need to make the obvious explicit! Former Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mark Regev, during an interview on Fox News , did exactly that. He made it clear that if Hamas were to surrender, the war could be over right away. He added:  “There’s no point in doing half measures. Because if we do half measures and Hamas stays in power, we’ll just have another war in the near future…[An] artificial ceasefire ahead of time [is] just a bandaid solution condemning us all to another Gaza War in the near future… The real solution is the destruction of Hamas’s military capabilities and the end of their rule over the Gaza Strip.”

Hamas understands that, as well. But, we are dealing with a fanatical, blood-thirty, murderous terrorist group, who are committed to the destruction of Israel and whose representatives have stated publicly that they would re-enact October 7th again and again. So, the likelihood of Hamas surrendering is close to nil. Maybe some of them might take matters into their own hands and eliminate their leadership, so that Israel doesn’t have to do it. Still, many Hamas leaders live abroad and, they live very well. It is doubtful that they would willingly give up their lifestyles of residing in 5-star hotels in foreign countries, like Qatar, or Turkey, in order to bring about an end to the fighting in Gaza, which is far removed from them.

In the meantime, the IDF is pressing forward with its ground offensive and discovering weapons of Hamas in almost every civilian facility, whether it is a medical facility, an educational facility or simply a residential facility. And, despite the IDF’s successes in finding and destroying much of the terrorist tunnel infrastructure, there is still a vast number of tunnels criss-crossing the Gaza Strip, which provide ample locations in which to hide. So, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, along with their bodyguards and military units, still have lots of holes to crawl through.

Lawsuit filed against a number of defendants, including various Israeli defense organizations, by Nova survivors for NIS 200 M. – The Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet (Security Service) and Police were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed today by 42 survivors of the Re’im music festival. The 42 plaintiffs in the lawsuit  are seeking Two Hundred Million Shekels (approximately US $55,555,000) as damages for the alleged negligence of the defendants. They allege, among other things, “The disaster [of October 7th] could have been avoided at so many points in time…One phone call separated the plaintiffs’ lives and the integrity of their bodies and souls from the destruction of their lives.” We should be careful not to form opinions about the responsibility of the defendants. The filing of a lawsuit, in and of itself, is not sufficient render judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. They still have to prove their case, which has a number of aspects to it. (The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him. – Proverbs 18:17) But, why file the lawsuit now? Wouldn’t it have been better to wait until the war was over before creating another potential, financial burden on the government and on the legal department that has plenty of other matters to deal with at the moment?

Is the “Unbreakable Bond” between the United States and Israel beginning to break? – In a speech by Israeli President Isaac Herzog before a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on July 19, 2023, he stated, among other things, “Our bond may be challenged at times, but it is absolutely unbreakable.” There is no question that a special relationship exists between Israel and the United States. There is also no question that the relationship is now being strained because of the Gaza War. For that, we can blame both President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu, both of whom allow politics – with its positions, power and prestige and … pride, to enter into their thinking processes and decisions.

This is Israel’s war, that in a certain sense is being fought on behalf of all democratic nations that want to avoid the influence and possibility of a “Hamastan” being formed inside their borders. Our friend, Uncle Sam, is helping by supplying much-needed ammunition to fight the war, as well as military support by U.S. warships and aircraft carriers in our backyard. But, as friends often do, Uncle Sam is trying to persuade Israel how to conduct the war (cut back on troops inside the Gaza Strip; provide humanitarian aid to the people there – even though most of its ends up in the control of Hamas, including fuel, which is needed to keep the fresh-air systems working inside the tunnels and thus prolongs the war; be careful to protect the civilian population while you’re trying to locate terrorists who use the civilian population as human shields, and, don’t take too long to finish up the war).

Ynetnews, referring to a report in the New York Times, wrote: “According to a report in the New York Times, the relations between U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have become increasingly strained. Biden spoke with the prime minister 14 times recently. ‘Every call is tense and sometimes sharp,’ U.S. officials told the Times, often describing them as difficult but constructive. The tone insiders used was along the lines ‘Look, man, you’ve got to do more about this or take this more seriously.’ The administration believes Israel has a right to self-defense, the threat from Hamas must be removed, humanitarian aid to Gaza must be increased and civilian casualty numbers decreased. Although Biden’s officials have been highlighting the latter points, the president publicly at least, spoke more of the first two.”

Is it possible that the impending departure of the USS Gerald Ford, the newest and largest U.S. aircraft carrier, along with the five warships that are part of its fleet, is the result of that “strained” relationship? Purportedly, the return of that carrier to its base in the U.S. is consistent with its deployment schedule. But, the departure of the USS Gerald Ford also takes with it the “deterrent aspect” that its mere presence in the region was able to convey. Would it have been so out of the ordinary if, because of the “unbreakable bond” between our two countries, the U.S. would allow the carrier to remain in the area until the Gaza War was over? After all, Uncle Sam and Uncle Izzy are supposed to be friends, right? And friends don’t abandon friends in the middle of their difficulties. Or do they?

Well, it’s a new year. We should hope that we can fix the problems that occured in the year that just ended.

The Dry Bones Blog – 31 December, 2023

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

May 2024 be “the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God;  To comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,  the cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.” (Isaiah 61:2-3)

May God crown the new year with His goodness, may it be a year of good health, strength, wisdom and grace and may we all find favor in the sight of God and man. “The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The steady increase in the number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 170. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 503. 

Hamas agrees to negotiations “in principle”, with demands. – Over the last couple of weeks Israel has been pursuing steps to bring Hamas back to the negotiating table. Hamas has repeatedly taken the position that it would not agree to renew negotiations unless there was a permanent ceasefire – a move which would bring the current Gaza War to an end. According to various media reports in the Hebrew media, Hamas is stepping back from its demand for a permanent ceasefire, but Hamas representatives say that Israel is leaking false information.

The latest update, according to a report The Times of Israel today (Saturday), is that Qatari mediators informed Israel “that Hamas “agrees in principle” to resume negotiations for the release of further hostages taken by the terror group during the October 7 atrocities, in exchange for a truce of up to a month in the Gaza Strip.” Although such a communication suggested progress in resuming negotiations, according to a senior Hamas official, the terrorist group continues to premise its willingness to renew negotiations on Israel’s agreeing to a permanent ceasefire.

The article in TOI further asserts that the head of Israel’s Mossad, David Barnea, submitted a proposal for the release of only 40 hostages, in exchange for the release of “Palestinian” security prisoners and a ceasefire of up to one month. The Qatari response: “We move from a freeze [in talks] to a situation that is very cold.” 

Israel is expanding the ground operation in the Gaza Strip and has succeeded to take control of large areas of the enclave, as well as destroy considerable numbers of the tunnel infrastructure. Its achievements have been remarkable, to say the least. Military leaders here say that the Hamas leadership has been seriously diluted and that the days of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif are numbered. But, we have also paid a painful price for the military advances in terms of IDF deaths and the thousands of soldiers who have been wounded.

I have not made it a secret that from my point of view, further negotiations with Hamas and with “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad, would be counter-productive to the goal of eliminating both the head and the capabilities of those terrorist organizations. The pressure on the Israeli government is considerable. Countries are condemning Israel for the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip (based on unsubstantiated reports from the Hamas-controlled health department). And, from within our borders, the families of the remaining hostages are clamoring for Israel to make whatever deal is demanded of us in order to bring about the return of those who are still being held by the terrorists. 

The present proposal to sit down Hamas and renew negotiations is submitted by Israel. That, in and of itself, is problematic. A proposal to renew negotiations should have been made by Hamas, without any demand for a ceasefire. By Israel’s pursuit of Hamas, again through Qatar and with the help of Egypt, Israel demonstrates a weak position and shows itself vulnerable and willing to yield to terrorism. By agreeing to any kind of ceasefire, without the return of ALL of the hostages, Israel is walking back from its original position, in which it declared its twin goals of eliminating Hamas and returning the hostages. It boggles the mind that after almost three months of fighting, Israel would agree to negotiate for the return of less than one-third of the remaining hostages and agree to a cessation in the fighting for an extended period of up to a month. Such a delay would, effectively, end the war. It would halt the momentum and the motivation of the IDF to press on to victory and accomplish its stated goal of eliminating Hamas. Two thirds of the remaining hostages would still be held in captivity and further negotiations would be required to bring about their release, if ever. The holding of Israeli hostages is the “Ace in the hole” for the terrorists. In the end, Hamas will be able to accomplish its goal of causing all of the “Palestinians” to be released from Israeli prisons, including those found guilty of murder, as well as those who are serving several life sentences and those terrorists who were captured during the present war. Everyone here wants the hostages to be released. But, we still don’t even know how many of them are still alive, what their condition is, or even everyone’s name. We’re still trying to identity some of the bodies of those who were killed during the Hamas massacre, some of whom were burned beyond recognition. If we pursue this negotiation and agree to the demands of Hamas, then we will suffer defeat a second time – the first time being on October 7th.

In line with a potential renewal of negotiations, an article appeared in TOI a few days ago, which stated, in part, that in exchange for an agreement that would release all of the hostages. “Israel is reportedly weighing the option of not killing Hamas leaders in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif, if and when the opportunity arises, and instead handing them immunity of sorts and deporting them to Qatar or another country.”  While such a solution is far from ideal, it would at least accomplish one of Israel’s goals, namely: the return of ALL of the remaining hostages. It would also result in no more deaths of IDF fighters, who are pressing forward and looking in every nook and cranny to locate and eliminate Hamas terrorists, as well as to locate and destroy more of the terrorist tunnel infrastructure. Even though Sinwar and Deif would remain alive to attempt to organize more massacres against Israel, their days outside of the maze of tunnels in Gaza would be numbered. 

And then we have the Israeli left telling us to swallow our pride and end the war. – I try not to get embroiled in the “rightist” versus “leftist” camp. But, sometimes it is impossible to avoid. Ehud Olmert, who regrettably was a former Prime Minister of Israel during 2006-2009, during whose term in office the Second Lebanon War took place. He wrote an Opinion piece published in Haaretz two days ago (December 28th). In his totally negative arguments, many of which are directed against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he advocates to end the fighting and bring all of the hostages home, including soldiers and the bodies of Israelis held by Hamas for years. He begins his article with the following claim: “The odds of achieving the complete elimination of Hamas were nil from the moment that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared it the chief goal of the war. Even then it was clear to anyone who thought about it that the complete destruction of the terrorist organization is wishful thinking that is militarily unfeasible even under conditions unlike those that exist in the Gaza Strip.”

Olmert speaks about different military operations, from the time of the second intifada up to the fighting in 2021, asserting that they were not as impressive as the present war. But, he conveniently omits any reference to the Second Lebanon War, which was conducted under “his watch”, the results of which we are still dealing with today regarding Hezbollah. We could have severely weakened that terrorist organization, but Olmert put a stop to the IDF’s advancement and the war ended with a U.N. Security Council Resolution (#1701), which is being totaling ignored by Hezbollah.

In esence, he is telling Israel to do the same thing that happened back in 2006, when Israel was advancing against the Hezbollah in Lebanon. “I believe that the time has come for Israel to express its readiness to end the fighting. Yes, end the fighting. Not a pause and not a temporary cessation of two, three or four days. An end to the hostility – period. At that time, Israel will need to bring back the hostages, those who are alive and those who are dead. If we wait, it won’t be long before the only ones we can bring back will be the dead, because there won’t be any living ones. A cessation of hostilities must be conditioned on the release of all the hostages, every last one of them, the soldiers and the bodies of all those who have been held by Hamas for years. All of them.In exchange, Israel will have no choice but to release all the Hamas prisoners it holds.”

He goes on to say: “If there is no other way to bring the hostages home, there is no way to avoid a swap. The obligation of the State of Israel to those of its citizens who were abducted … is greater than the shame entailed in making concessions to Hamas.” Then, of course, he leads up to the contention that we have to negotiate with the “Palestinians” on the future of the Gaza Strip, with the mediation of Egypt. We’ve heard that before: Israel is urged to plan for the “day after”, to rehabilitate Gaza and then allow it to set up a “Palestinian” state, that would include the area of Judea and Samaria (“the West Bank”).

It appears that Olmert misses the point that the obligation of the State of Israel is to all of its citizens, not just to those who were taken hostage. The kind of concessions that he advocates would not only bring shame on us, as we would be yielding to terrorists, who are sworn to the ultimate destruction of Israel. It would also be an open invitation to terrorists of all kinds to kidnap one or more Israelis in an effort to achieve their goals vis-a-vis Israel. He also presumes that an end to the fighting will definitely result in a return of all of the hostages. In reading his Opinion piece, one would have to question what he is more opposed to – the war or to P.M. Netanyahu. We should be thankful that he doesn’t have the power or authority to put his opinions into practice.

Like a trampled spring and a polluted well, so is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked. (Proverbs 25:26)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive is up to 168. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 501. 

Is it fair to single out one soldier among the many who fought and died and to write something that relates to him only? It is done all the time. Each morning since October er 7th, the news of the day begins more or less with the words, “Cleared for publication”, followed by a list of the names, ages, place of residence and military units of those who were killed in action, or who died of their wounds. I’ve written in the past about specific soldiers who fell since the beginning of the ground offensive by the IDF into the Gaza Strip.

All of the soldiers should be honored and remembered, not only by their families and friends, but by the entire nation, on whose behalf they fought and on whose behalf they died. Some were involved in combat while doing compulsory service. Others, who completed their compulsory service and were discharged, were called up to their reserve units. Still others, who didn’t have to serve, volunteered, were trained and fought alongside their brothers-in-arms against evil, hateful, murderous terrorists, who threatened and continue to threaten the very existence of the State of Israel. 

It’s been a long week and I’ve reflected much about the present state of affairs regarding the Gaza War, the hostages and their families, the alleged ongoing negotiations for another, considerably more difficult hostage/prisoner exchange, and about the many voices within the land, as well as those from abroad, who are telling Israel to admit defeat and to end the war, so that the hostages (who are still alive) can be brought home. Of course, some of those voices are more concerned about the people in Gaza than they are about the murderous onslaught that took place on October 7th by terrorists with no moral compass, who value death over life. So, I made the effort to put aside the war for a day and to share a story about one of our many heroes. We are all familiar with the expression: “All gave some. Some gave all.” The following relates to one who “gave all”. 

Captain (in the reserves) Shaul Greenglick z”l (z”l = zichrono l’vracha – May his memory be blessed) was killed in action this past Monday in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. He was 26 years old. Shortly after the Gaza War began, he appeared in the popular show, “The Next Star”, and sang “I am a Blind Bat” – a song about finding courage while living with deep pain, which includes the following words: “Give me strength to find courage within me, to see a sign, because even the child that was within me died some time ago. I am a blind bat screaming my life in the dark. I’m asleep but my heart is awake as I’m addicted to joy and write at night a song that clears me of sadness and I run out of air.” He was told by judges on the program: “You have a natural talent. You were born with an amazing voice.”  Another judge commented: “I’m happy to see you wearing a uniform, because it’s reassuring that someone like you is in uniform. I would be happy to see you representing Israel at Eurovision.”

Even though he advanced to the next level, he dropped out of the competition, putting his new dream aside to fulfill an old dream, fighting for the nation of Israel: “I imagined this year differently; a year of ambitions and fulfilling dreams. Now I am living an old dream, to fight for my country, and we are currently in the middle of the night … a new dream and another dream will have to wait a little longer. Thank you for the warm and encouraging words and for the good reviews. I hope this period passes and that it will pass quickly…I promise to continue fighting for this country that I love and for my dreams in the future. At the moment, there is only one thing on my mind, and that is to continue fighting in the darkness until we see the light.”

The Algemeiner published an Opinion piece by Ronn Torossian, in which he concludes: 

“This beautiful soul was killed because of a war started by a Palestinian society that produced and still supports Hamas — which seeks not to build and celebrate life, but to destroy it.

“He is dead because this time, the Jewish people are choosing to live.

While Shaul Greenglick is dead, we will never ever quit. We will fight, and the Jewish people will live. Hamas and our enemies will be eliminated and the Jewish people will endure. We shed tears for the dead because we value life, but we must fight on for them. We will show strength and we will win, as our people have throughout history.

“Shaul Greenglick’s father wore his son’s uniform, and saluted his fallen son at his funeral. A final salute for our fallen hero. Heartbreaking. May his memory forever be a blessing.” To these words, we give a hearty “AMEN!”

The Dry Bones Blog – 26 December, 2023

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Shabbat Shalom.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive jumped to 167. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th has now reached 501. 

From time to time, I had pointed out that the situation with the Hezbollah terrorist organization based in Lebanon has been heating up. It was developing a slow boil, with increased missile and anti-tank launchings steadily increasing. As a result of the serious missile threat from Hezbollah, residents in northern communities were requested by the Israeli government and the IDF to abandon their homes and take up temporary residence further south, purportedly out of harm’s way. But, as the Gaza War presses on and is far from being over, the cross-border military encounters with the Hezbollah has developed into a second front. There are some who try to deny that we are in active involvement with this terrorist organization, but the reality is otherwise. The Hezbollah is another puppet proxy of Iran. While some politicians in Lebanon do not want to be drawn into the Gaza War or engage in an all-out war with Israel, the decision is not up to them, but up to the Hezbollah and, ultimately, up to Iran.

Barrages of about 30 rockets were launched by the Hezbollah yesterday towards the northern city of Kiryat Shmona and regions in the Western Galilee, as well as towards the coastal city of Rosh Hanikra and other communities. This afternoon, a Hezbollah unmanned aerial vehicle (a fancy name for a “drone”) crossed into Israel, setting off sirens in Acre (Acco) and several suburbs of Haifa. It was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force and shot down. One of my brothers-in-law was with my mother-in-law in one of the bayside suburbs along the northern part of the Gulf of Haifa. When the sirens went off, they went into the security room until the “all clear” was given by the IDF Home Front Command. He said that the sirens were operating at full blast (as they should) and that the explosion following the downing of the drone was deafening. They were only 13 km (8 miles) from us. Yes, the situation is definitely heading to a boil.

Although Israel is preparing for a full-fledged confrontation with Hezbollah, the decision makers in Lebanon are fully aware of the ability of Israel to turn Beirut into a northern Gaza. May it be that cool heads in Lebanon will prevail who will weigh the potential consequences of pursuing a third war with Israel and conclude that the negatives far outweigh any remote, potential benefits.

The War Wounded – the population usually overlooked by the media during war. – In mid-December, the Ministry of Defense stated that since the invasion of the Hamas terrorists on October 7th, over 6,000 members of the IDF, police and other agencies of the nation’s security forces, have been wounded. Approximately 900 are members of the IDF, who were wounded since the beginning of the present ground offensive which began in late October. The figures speak for themselves. Our prayers should also be focused on them and those who treat them, as well as those those come alongside and advocate on their behalf.
As noted by The Times of Israel today: “In a country with compulsory military service for most Jews, the fate of soldiers is a sensitive and emotional topic. The names of fallen soldiers are announced at the top of hourly newscasts. Their funerals are packed with strangers who come to show solidarity. Their families receive generous support from the army. But historically, the plight of the wounded, though lauded as heroes, has taken a backseat to the stories of soldiers killed in battle. After the fanfare surrounding tales of their service and survival recedes, the wounded are left to contend with a new reality that can be disorienting, challenging and, for some, lonely. Their numbers have not had a significant bearing on public sentiment toward Israel’s wars in the way that mounting soldiers’ deaths have. The exceptionally large numbers of wounded in this war, however, will provide a visible reminder of the conflict for years to come.”

And, as pointed out by Edit Sharon Gittelman, Senior Researcher at the Institute for National Security: “There are wounded whose lives have been ruined…They will have to contend with their wounds their entire lives.”

Soldiers fight. Most survive war, some are killed, some are wounded. There are increasing reports of some of the hostages who were killed, or died, while being held in captivity by Hamas. Some families will never again see their loved ones who were killed in action. Some who were wounded in action may never be able to see their families again because of injury to their eyes. The hostages and the families of the hostages have concerns whether they will ever see one another again. Some family members of hostages go to great lengths to reach “people of influence”, who might be able to help to release one or more hostages. The mother of Noa Argamani is one of them.

Noa, 25-years-old, was one of an estimated 250 people abducted by Hamas and other terrorists, as well as Gazan civilians on October 7th. A brief video of her being taken hostage was published worldwide. In the footage that has been shown thousands of times over, we see Noa calling out to her boyfriend, who was also taken hostage at the same time.

Liora Argamani, Noa’s mother, in a video appeal to President Joe Biden and in a follow-up letter to him on Christmas Day, urged him to help her to see her daughter again. She indicated that she was suffering from brain cancer and her desperate plea was to be able to hug her daughter once more before departing this world. Liora’s situation and request came to the attention of CNN anchor, John Oz, who reported on the matter. He was emotionally moved and his voice broke, as he shared a small portion of her video. As mentioned, Liora renewed her plea in a letter to President Biden, stating: “I am terminally ill with Stage 4 brain cancer. All that’s running through my mind before I part ways with my family forever is the chance to hug my daughter, my only child, one last time…It’s Christmas now, and I would like to request from you, Mr. President, as a present, to see my daughter again before I leave this world…My daughter Noa is a contagiously happy and resilient young woman. She loves to dance, loves music, loves being with her friends and family…She deserves to be back where she belongs, pursuing her dreams, surrounded by love and care. She deserves to see her mother alive one last time.” In the earlier video, she said: “I am Liora Argamani, Noa’s mother, the beautiful girl kidnapped on October 7 by Hamas to Gaza…I have cancer. Brain cancer. I don’t know how long I have left. I wish for the chance to see my Noa, at home. I call upon President Biden and the Red Cross to bring back my Noa as soon as possible so that I get the chance to see her.” And then, addressing her daughter, she stated: “Noa, I want to tell you. If I don’t get to see you, please know that I love you very much. Please know we did everything we could to get you released. The whole world loves you.”

May it be that Liora’s request for the return of her daughter, Noa, will be granted. Not only for Noa’s release, but for the release of all of the hostages, without compromising on the goal of eliminating the evil of the terrorists (Hamas, “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad and others) from our midst.

A radical Muslim went from Jews hatred to preaching love for Israel. – Kasim Hafeez grew up hating Jews. He read a book by Alan Dershowitz, titled The Case for Israel. His original intention was to negate the claims made in the book. But, he couldn’t. He is now a converted Christians, working with Christians United for Israel – the title of the organization reveals its goal. As Jeremiah points out: Nothing is too difficult for God (Jeremiah 32:17).

Let’s keep that in mind when we pray for wisdom for the government of Israel, wisdom, strength, boldness and skill for the IDF, grace for the wounded and for the medical teams providing care for them, protection and freedom for the hostages, comfort for the families who have lost loved ones, for those whose dreams have been shattered and for those who yearn to be reunited with their families. “Comfort, comfort My people.” (Isaiah 40:1)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive jumped to 161. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th is reaching close to 500.

Proposed terms of negotiations are not in line with Israel’s objectives. – Egypt and Qatar are the two main “movers” in the attempts to lay out the ground work for a second round of negotiations for the return of hostage/release of prisoners and cease fire. In the background of those attempts is the leadership of Hamas. So, it shouldn’t come as a major surprise that Egypt’s proposal is heavily in favor of Hamas, while holding out the carrot before Israel for the initial return of dozens of hostages.

The essential of Egypt’s proposal, which was prepared together with Qatar, is far-reaching in its scope and goes beyond the cessation of hostilities, are the following : (1) It starts with a ceasefire for a period of up to two weeks, during which time the terrorist organizations (Hamas and “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad and, perhaps others) would return between 40 to 50 hostages. These would include women, elderly and sick. In exchange, Israel would release between 120-150 additional “Palestinians” presently in Israeli jails. (2) Additional negotiations that would be conducted during this initial ceasefire stage would focus on extending the ceasefire and the return of additional hostages, including bodies of Israelis still held by the terrorists. (3) The two drafters of the proposal would hold meetings with all of the different factions of “Palestinians”, including Hamas, with the goal of getting those factions to agree to the setting up of a government of “experts”, who would rule both the Gaza Strip and the “West Bank” (Biblical Judea and Samaria) until the various “Palestinian” factions resolve their disputes. Once that happens, those same factions would further agree to hold both presidential and parliamentary elections. (4) While all of the “Palestinian” factions are pursuing the goals mentioned in the above third point, Israel and Hamas would “negotiate” an “all-for-all” deal, one that would result in (a) the return of all remaining hostages (b) the release of all of the “Palestinian” prisoners (c) the withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza and (d) the cessation of rocket attacks into Israel by “Palestinian” terrorists. That’s the general idea.

Realistically, however, the likelihood that Israel would be willing to accept those proposals is close to nil. While emptying Israeli prisons of some 8,000 prisoners would be economically beneficial for Israel, considering the extremely high cost of providing for them, their release in exchange for about 130 hostages could quickly and easily replenish the losses incurred by the terrorists since October 7th.

Moreover, the proposal totally ignores Israel’s stated goals of eliminating Hamas, as well as its repeated insistence on maintaining military control in the Gaza Strip for a period of time, presently unknown, but at least for the foreseeable future, after the war ends. It is foolish to believe that the terrorist hierarchy of Hamas would voluntarily agree to turn over the reigns of power and authority to any group of “experts”, presently unspecified. 

The three “Ds” for peace: – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel would not agree to end the war until its goals are obtained. In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, he laid out three prerequisites for peace between Israel and its “Palestinian” neighbors, which can be summed up, as follows : “1) the destruction of Hamas; 2) the demilitarization of Gaza and 3) the deradicalization of Palestinian society,” all of which he expanded upon in the above-mentioned op-ed.

In the meantime, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant does not see an early end to the Gaza War. Addressing Members of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) today, Gallant stated: “This is a long, tough war. It has costs, heavy costs, but its justification is the highest that can be”, noting that Hamas will pay for its barbaric attack of October 7th, “whether it takes months or years.” He put the present picture together in his statement that Israel is now fighting on “seven fronts” and responded, so far, to six of them. That’s a polite way of saying that we are involved in a multi-front war.

In an earlier post, it was pointed out that in an effort to avoid an all-out conflagration with Lebanon, Israel was demanding that the Hezbollah terrorist organization move northward to the Litani River, creating a buffer zone of about 30 km from the border with Israel. This would allow for the displaced residents to return to their homes in the north. Apparently, P.M. Netanyahu is backing away from his earlier demand, due to pressure being exerted by the U.S. and France, who are trying to stave off a full-scale war with Lebanon. That leaves the terrorist group to continue to act in complete violation of U.N. Resolution 1701, which created a buffer zone that has the Hezbollah has blatantly ignored. No one seems to be complaining about this, except for Israel.

Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel for the death of IRGC general in Syria. – Razi Mousavi was a close friend of Iranian General Qassim Soleimani, who killed by the U.S. in 2020. Mousavi himself was killed yesterday (Monday) in an airstrike in Syria, attributed to Israel. He was also an adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which threatened that Israel would end up paying for killing him. That is one of the 7 fronts that Gallant mentioned. Iran has so far operated by its puppet proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis, the 3-H club. But, it won’t sit on the sidelines for too much longer.

The Dry Bones Blog – 21 December, 2023

The “West” is urged to take in refugees from Gaza. – According to some Israeli Members of Knesset, both in the coalition, as well as in the opposition, one of the solutions to the problem of Gazan refugees is for other countries to welcome them. Over a month and a half ago, the Wall Street Journal published an Opinion piece by those Members of Knesset which included, among other things, “The international community has a moral imperative—and an opportunity—to demonstrate compassion, help the people of Gaza move toward a more prosperous future and work together to achieve greater peace and stability in the Middle East.” This would not be a “transfer”, but a humanitarian solution for those Gazans who want to leave and relocate to another country. Egypt is not in favor of it. One European diplomat reported that he was told by an Egyptian official: “You want us to take one million people? Well, I am going to send them to Europe. You care about human rights so much – well, you take them.”  None of our neighbors want to take in the people from Gaza, who refer to themselves as “Palestinians”. I am presuming that they don’t want to take the chance that among those Gazans will be other non-desirables that go by the name of “Hamas” or “Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”

Hezbollah strikes a church in Galilee. – During a heavy exchange of fire between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the latter fired a missile that struck St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in the Village of Iqrit, in Western Galilee. Where is the international outcry? Or is it only when Israel is alleged to have bombed a church in Gaza that the world has something to say?

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

Shalom all,

The total IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 156.

Today, much of the world celebrates Christmas. But, in Israel today, the celebrations are few and far between. As long as I can remember, right after Thanksgiving, many communities in Israel began preparations for Hanukkah and Christmas. In Haifa, where we are, certain main roads would be adorned with lights and decorations. Downtown Haifa would celebrate what has come to be designated as “the Festival of Festivals” – a multi-cultural time where the three major faiths would celebrate different religious festivals, drawing crowds to Haifa from all over Israel. But, not this year. Holiday lights and decorations that usually adorn restaurants and different types of businesses in the areas that usually have lots of visitors are not present this year. The festivities of December are absent. The crowds that swarm the attractions of Haifa didn’t come this year. Lots of businesses are suffering from the fallout of the war. And everyone here is affected by it in one way or another. Certain non-profit organizations tried to lighten up the day, particularly for younger children in communities where there is a large concentration of Arab Christians. On the whole, however, this is not the “season to be jolly”.

The “Palestinian” Authority, the semi-political structure that was birthed following the disaster of the Oslo Accords, is failing in its responsibilities of governing Islamic communities in Judea and Samaria. Yet, many governments would urge that the leadership of the “Palestinian” Authority also take responsibility for the governance of the Gaza Strip when the present war is over. The utter folly of such a move would be obvious to anyone who would bother to take to time to take a good look at what is being proposed. That will be discussed another time. 

As usual and as expected, the leadership of the “Palestinian” Authority blames Israel for destroying Christmas. The absurdity of it all is lost on many who fail to understand that Islam has no lost love for Christians – whatever type of Christian one may claim to be. Islam’s primary goal is to get rid of the Sabbath worshippers – the Jews, and then to get rid of the Sunday worshippers – the Christians. And, of course, there is the yearly claim that Yeshua (Jesus) was a “Palestinian”, a title that they try to place on Him decades before the term “Palestinian” (from “Palestina Capitolina” – the designation given by the Romans to the area now known as Israel, after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.) was ever used. So, when we hear pious statements from any Islamic leader that laments the absence of Christmas celebrations, we should rejected them without giving them a second thought. 

Okay, those are followers of Islam. But, what about those who call themselves “Christian”, who celebrate all of the worldly aspects of Christmas, but hate the Jews? Russell Moore, in his article appearing in The Washington Post of October 31, 2018, stated it clearly: “If you hate Jews, you hate Jesus, too.” . If one really wants to celebrate Christmas, it needs to be remembered that Christ = Messiah, is and always will be – not was – Jewish. If you are looking forward to the return of The Prince of Peace, pray for the Jewish people. He will return to Jerusalem, not to the United States, not to Europe, not to Asia or to anywhere else. 

And yet, many who celebrate Christmas around the world, whatever religious affiliation they claim, also take aim against Israel and the Jewish people because of what is happening in the Gaza War. When will the world ever learn? Golda Meir, addressing the Israeli Knesset shortly following the Munich massacre of Israeli athletes in 1972, stated: “From the blood-drenched history of the Jewish nation, we learn that violence which begins with the murder of Jews, ends with the spread of violence and danger to all people, in all nations. We have no choice but to strike at terrorist organizations wherever we can reach them. That is our obligation to ourselves and to peace.” (my emphasis)

For those who celebrate this day, please remember to pray for the people to whom He came and whom He sought. One day, nations and individuals will be judged on the basis of how they relate to and treat the Jewish people: “When you do this for the least of these, My brethren (i.e., the Jewish people), you do it for Me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Pray also for those in countries throughout the world, who celebrate Christmas with little or no concern that the day commemorates what is traditionally considered to be the birth of a little child, a Jewish little child, who will grow up to become the “King of the Jews”, upon Whom the sins of the world was placed, so that sinners, even the worst of sinners, can be forgiven and reconciled to an all-holy God. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) This is the day which the Lord has made; Let’s rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

Bless, because He blessed YOU to be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The IDF suffered the loss of 14 soldiers and officers, who were killed in action over the weekend (Friday afternoon through Saturday until evening), Three of them were from Haifa. One of the families is known to me. This evening yet another soldier was K.I.A., bringing the total IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive to 154. This is heart-breaking news.

Shalom all,

“Construction over destruction”? Every once in a while, in the midst of a multitude of media babble, one well-written article, expressed clearly and with understanding, stands out. And, when that article appears in a leftist newspaper, but advocates pursuing “an absolute military victory”, we should take a few moments to read and consider what is being proposed. Such is the case with the Opinion – Let the Israeli Army Win the Hamas War Decisively, written by Israel Harel, that appeared in today”s Haaretz . The author cogently points out that even if we accomplish our goal of eliminating the military might of Hamas, the likelihood is that we will still be facing future wars by those have the same “murderous ideologies”. 

However, he further notes: “But it is entirely possible that if the Israel Defense Forces is permitted this time to achieve a decisive, absolute military victory (and not only to obtain “successes,” as in the 2014 Gaza war), as the prime minister, defense minister and IDF chief of staff have established as among the goals of the war, decades of quiet could be reached. In the absence of the Hamas army – and with an IDF that controls the Gaza Strip and moves aggressively to prevent this army’s reconstitution – Gazans are likely to choose construction over destruction.” (my emphasis)

The positive aspects of a Gaza Strip without Hamas are numerous. But, in order for those aspects to become a reality, “the goals of the war must be adhered to strictly”. Harel further points out that while an additional “humanitarian pause in exchange for the release of hostages” may be favored by politicians and even by some senior military commanders, it is not favored by the families of fallen soldiers, nor by the combat soldiers in the IDF. The momentum of the military should not be stopped, nor should we “create new bereaved families through capitulation to foreign interests”. Harel urges that now is the time to “Take advantage of the soldiers’ endless willingness to fight a decisive war, despite the dangers it holds for them…Israeli soldiers of all stripes and tribes have come together for this campaign, knowing that they are liable to die in a war whose goal is to prevent further wars.” Another “humanitarian pause” in the war could prove disastrous for the morale and motivation of our troops.

The Dry Bones Blog – 8 December, 2023

Our government needs to understand that we can’t placate the enemy, whose ultimate goal is the removal of Israel from the map of the Middle East, and from the world itself. We can’t go back to our old way of thinking that we can successfully negotiate with the devil. We can’t. It’s time to stop trying to negotiate with a blood-thirsty, totally immoral terrorist band, that exalts death the way that we exalt life. We will end up freeing all the “Palestinian” prisoners in Israeli jails, many with blood on their hands, who will immediately join the rank and file of Hamas and “Palestinian Islamic Jihad” and other terrorist organizations. We will not get all of the hostages back through negotiation – even today, the terrorists expressed a potential willingness to release up to 40 hostages. What about the rest? The hostages are their leverage and they need to hold on to some of them in order to keep the terrorist leadership alive. If another hostage/prisoner release deal is concluded, it will also necessitate the end of the war and leave the terrorist leadership alive, to plan and attempt execute another October 7th. The end will be disastrous for Israel. It will demonstrate our weakness – kidnap an Israeli and we will yield to whatever demands are made of us. The world wants Israel and the Jewish people to be  perpetual victims and it will treat us as such, if we fail to defend ourselves and do what is necessary to remove the evil from our midst and from our neighborhood.

Two thousand years of persecution and wandering. Now, we are home and the enemy of our souls wants to remove us from here. We are like a tree firmly planted by streams of water. Our roots go deep. Winds and storms may cause us to bend here and there, but they can’t uproot us. May God grant us wisdom, strength, boldness, skill and determination, to press on to a decisive, absolute victory over our enemies. It CAN be done. This IS still a land of miracles.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

Shalom all,

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

As we draw close to the end of the 78th day of the war, Israel focuses on three main areas that need to be resolved, two of which will be discussed here: the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon, the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip and the Yemenite Houthis terrorists in the area of the Red Sea. The fighting in Gaza continues, with considerable success against Hamas forces, including the elimination of “a senior Hamas official responsible for arms trade, production and procurement for the terror organization’s military wing”. But, there are questions and possible developments regarding the Hezbollah.

A senior official in the Hezbollah was asked whether the implementation of a second, major front along the northern border of Israel would be productive in bringing about an end to the Gaza War. He replied, “We asked our brothers in Gaza what could we do? If to initiate an all-out war in Lebanon. Would that stop the war in Gaza or not?…Their response was no, it would not stop it, the war in Gaza will not end, only with Israel’s victory inside Gaza.” (my emphasis)  The same report by The Jerusalem Post quotes the reply of Hamas to be that “the fighting in Gaza will not cease. Only with a victory over Israel within Gaza.“ (my emphasis) 

If the response of Hamas, according to The Times of Israel was honest (which is always doubtful) that the war will end only with an Israeli victory, it would reveal much about the present mindset of the Gaza-based terrorist organization. From a practical point of view, Hamas cannot succeed militarily against Israel. But, it does hold a critical “playing card”, namely, the hostages. From prior reports, it became clear that Hamas understands that once it releases the hostages, there would be nothing to hold back the IDF from pursuing its original goal of eliminating the Hamas terrorists and its infrastructure. 

Hence, the only real options at present are three-fold: fight to the death; surrender or try to hold out for a political solution that will allow for the return of the hostages, while keeping the leadership of Hamas alive to fight another day. The first option is sheer foolishness on the part of Hamas. The second option, surrender, is unrealistic, as “losing face” in the region of the Middle East is worse that being killed in battle. That leaves the third option for Hamas, of trying to “hang in there”, until enough pressure is placed on Israel that the latter would agree to almost any renewed hostage-release deal as well as the terms that would be dictated by Hamas. It needs to be remembered that in this area of the world, if you do not lose decisively, you are deemed to have won. This bring us to Hamas’s reply quoted in The Jerusalem Post article, namely, that the war will only end after a victory over Israel within Gaza. As noted above, militarily, and by God’s grace, that is not going to happen.

So, is there a possibility of avoiding an all-out second front in the north? Beirut (Lebanon’s capital) says “yes”, but there are conditions. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 , which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and which both sides agreed to within two days of its passage, provides, in part, as follows:
“The Security Council…Expressing its utmost concern at the continuing escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and in Israel since Hizbollah’s attack on Israel on 12 July 2006, which has already caused hundreds of deaths and injuries on both sides, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons…

“1.  Calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hizbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations;…

“8.  Calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long- term solution based on the following principles and elements:

– full respect for the Blue Line (a temporary line of withdrawal from Lebanon by Israeli troops, set by the U.N. in 2000)  by both parties;

– security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL as authorized in paragraph 11, deployed in this area;…

–  no sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorized by its Government;…

“15.  Decides further that all States shall take the necessary measures to prevent, by their nationals or from their territories or using their flag vessels or aircraft:

(a) The sale or supply to any entity or individual in Lebanon of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts for the aforementioned, whether or not originating in their territories.”

From the above Resolution, it is clear that Hezbollah initiated attacks against Israel and that there was to be a demilitarized zone from the Blue Line all the way north to the Litani River in Lebanon. But, more importantly, there was to be an arms embargo on Lebanon. With this in mind, and with the realization that the Hezbollah controls Lebanon in much the same way that Hamas controlled the Gaza Strip, we can understand that promises by the Hezbollah are meaningless. It immediately and consistently violated the terms of Resolution 1701, entered the demilitarized zone and has significantly increased its weapons of war, which poses a serious threat to Israel.

And so we return to the possibility of “implementing” an existing U.N. Resolution that would help to end the Hezbollah’s cross-border attacks on Israel. Lebanon Prime Minister, Najib Mikati,  expressed a “readiness” to act according to international resolutions “on condition the Israeli side does the same, and withdraws — according to the international laws and resolutions — from occupied territory.” The territory in question is actually “disputed”, but controlled by Israel, following Israel’s without from the south of Lebanon in 2000. 

While Mikati’s comments were made about two months ago, little has been done to more the matter forward. Jerusalem is open to resolving the present conflict with Beirut, but said that if a deal is not reached if a deal is not reached under which Hezbollah would be moved north of the Litani River (around 30 km (20 miles) from the border, an all-out war would be possible. Israel’s Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, said this past week that Hezbollah can be moved northward, either by diplomacy or by force. Maybe for once, diplomacy will work. Lebanon is facing a severe economic crisis and its leadership realizes that the last thing it needs now is an all-out war with Israel. Israel also wants to avoid an active second front and return the displaced residents to the communities in the north. Both sides will benefit from a cessation of cross-border hostilities. The main question is whether Hezbollah’s puppeteer, Iran, will pull its strings towards war.

In the meantime, the U.S. is making efforts to mediate between the two countries. And while pursuing such efforts, “U.S. officials have made it clear to their counterparts in Lebanon and Israel that peace cannot be restored to the northern border before the conflict in Gaza ends. The officials said that Hezbollah and other militias in Lebanon are not expected to cease firing at Israel as long as the war in Gaza continues.”

The UN approves resolution requiring additional aid deliveries to Gaza. – The U.N. Security Council adopted 2720 (2023) a watered-down resolution yesterday (Friday), which included the following:

“The Security Council…“2. Reaffirms the obligations of the parties to the conflict under international humanitarian law regarding the provision of humanitarian assistance, demands that they allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population through the Gaza Strip, and in this regard calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”

In its Preamble to the Resolution, the Security Council repeated its warped understanding of the issues between Israel and its neighbors, by “Stressing that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967, and reiterating the vision of the two-State solution, with the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian State.” In paragraph 12 of the Resolution, the S.C. reiterated “its unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions, and in this regard stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.” (Underlined emphasis mine)

At first, I wondered how the U.S. could refrain from voting, when the resolution contained so many historically erroneous language. Then I remembered that the “two-state solution” is part of the O-Biden Administration’s planned goal for the region “the day after” the war ends. This international body has an agenda and it is definitely not favorable, or even impartial, towards Israel. Its representatives should take time out from their idyllic sand-castles in fantasy land and spend a month living in Judea and Samaria (which it refers to as the West Bank). I would have suggested that they spend that period of time in the Gaza Strip, but it appears that the Strip is presently undergoing renovations. If they don’t act on that suggestion, then they should consider speaking to hostages who has been released, who once thought that Hamas possessed a trace of humanity, but whose thinking is now totally opposite. As one mother and daughter explained it: “I don’t want anyone to think we had it good there, that they’re good there, that we saw humanity there…We believed that there are no bad people – only people who have it bad. But there are bad people…We will never forgive and we will never show any kind of empathy towards these people…If we previously believed that there was a chance for peace, we’ve lost all faith in these people, especially after we were there and among the population.“  Enough said!

As for supplying more humanitarian aid to Gaza, the U.N. continues to live in “lalaland”.

The Dry Bones Blog, 22 December, 2023

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

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

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 137.

I did not write yesterday. I needed a break.

“It’s not your fault.” – It was not the kind of response that one would have expected from members of a family, whose son was one of the hostages tragically killed in a war zone in Gaza by the IDF. Iris Haim, the mother of Yotam Haim, one of the three hostages mistakenly killed during an IDF operation near Shejaiya, in a recorded message to the soldiers in the the unit that killed him, said : “I am Yotam’s mother. I wanted to tell you that I love you very much, and I hug you here from afar…I know that everything that happened is absolutely not your fault, and nobody’s fault except that of Hamas, may their name be wiped out and their memory erased from the earth…And don’t hesitate for a second if you see a terrorist…Don’t think that you killed a hostage deliberately. You have to look after yourselves because only that way can you look after us…At the first opportunity,  you are invited to come to us, whoever wants to. And we want to see you with our own eyes and hug you and tell you that what you did — however hard it is to say this, and sad — it was apparently the right thing in that moment. And nobody’s going to judge you or be angry. Not me, and not my husband Raviv. Not my daughter Noya. And not Yotam, may his memory be blessed. And not Tuval, Yotam’s brother. We love you very much. And that is all.”  That incredible statement reflects more than just compassion, understanding and forgiveness from a family dealing with the sorrow, grief and pain of loss. It expresses the spirit of the nation that recognizes that the country is at war, that the IDF has placed itself in the line of danger, risking and giving the lives of our soldiers for the sake and protection of all of Israel, so that all of our families can live out our lives and sleep in peace. It is not only a verbal expression of love, it is love in action. We salute the entire Haim family. May the memory of Yotam be blessed!

Renewed negotiations? Hamas is not interested, at least for now. – Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, in an interview with a Lebanese television channel, said on October 24th, that if given the opportunity, Hamas would repeat the October 7th attacks many times, until Israel is exterminated. We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it twice and three times. The Al-Aqsa Deluge [the name Hamas gave its October 7 onslaught] is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth…Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs.”  Now, he told the Qatari owned media conglomerate, Al Jazeera, that the terrorist organization is not interested in another hostage release deal, even if there would be a pause in the fighting for three weeks. “Some people are looking for a small pause — a pause here and there for one week, two weeks, three weeks…But we want to stop the aggression [completely]…Because I think Israel will take the card of the hostages, and after that they will start a new round of mass killing and massacres against our people. I think we will not play this game.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday (Wednesday) that the U.S. is working to negotiate another hostage-release deal, that Israel also wants, but that “the problem is Hamas”. He added that there’s no expectation for such a deal to take place immediately, but that the U.S. is “pushing it” and hopes the discussions and negotiations “lead somewhere.” 

But, in the backdrop of attempts to negotiate another deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said earlier this week that Israel would not prematurely end the fighting in Gaza and that we would not cave in to pressure to do so, adding that media conjecture that a ceasefire is about to take place is “detached from reality.” He added, “We are continuing the war to the end. It will continue until Hamas is eliminated – until victory…Whoever thinks that we will stop is detached from reality. We will not stop the fighting until all of the goals that we have set are achieved: The elimination of Hamas, the release of our hostages and the removal of the threat from Gaza…All Hamas terrorists, from the first to the last, are dead men walking. They have only two possibilities. Surrender or die.”

So, negotiations are proceeding for another hostage exchange, that the U.S. is pushing for, with the assistance of Egypt and Qatar (who is the primary financial backer of Hamas and provided protection to senior Hamas officials still living in its territory) and with the hope that negotiations will lead somewhere. Part of the deal will undoubtedly include another ceasefire, possibly an extended one. Hamas doesn’t want partial ceasefires. It was a total cessation of hostilities and is not interested in renewing negotiations in the absence of an end to the war. Netanyahu says, “surrender or die”, and Israel will continue the war and achieve its goals. If what Netanyahu says is true, why is Israel willing to continue to negotiate? Is talk of “victory” against Hamas just another political statement that sounds good, but is empty in reality? At least one prominent columnist and author thinks so.

Daniel Pipes is the President of the Middle East Forum. In his excellent article, The Rapid Return of Israel’s Disastrous Policy, appearing in Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2024 , Pipes premises that “Understanding the mistakes that led up to the Hamas massacre provides a basis to evaluate Israel’s long-term response to that day [October 7th]” and contends that “the presumptions behind those mistakes remain in place and will not change unless Israelis adopt a radically different attitude toward the Palestinians.” He walks us through the changes in attitude, and therefore, in policy, relating to the deadly massacre that took place two and a half months ago in the communities that make up the “Gaza Envelope”. Specifically, the language of the government, as well as of the population, went from initial shouts calling for victory in seeing Hamas destroyed, to a willingness to make painful concessions in order to free the hostages, which outweighs the destruction of Hamas.
Noting that initial calls for “Victory had become a matter of consensus, or so it appeared.” He added: “But did that ferocity signify a fundamental shift in outlook or just a passing surge in emotions? Mounting evidence suggests the latter. American novelist Jack Engelhard noted in late November about the mood in Israel: ‘I am so damn depressed. … I hardly hear any talk of victory anymore.’ Indeed, the robust rhetoric of victory following Oct. 7 ended as abruptly as it began, replaced by negotiating with Hamas over terms for the release of just some of the hostages. More profoundly, Israeli officialdom and public alike showed signs of hastily reverting to the attitudes and policies that had led to Oct. 7.” Pipes points out that those policies rested on the assumption of economic benefit and that fact that Israel is strong enough to be able to make concessions.

He discussed the ill-advised first hostage deal, pointing out that despite calls to eliminate Hamas and the inability to negotiate with the evil that is Hamas. Pipes also mentioned some of the terms of the deal, as well as its implications, which included a comment from an Israeli Colonel, Shai Shabai: “Hamas’ ‘continued hold on the hostages has one object: to use endless negotiation in order to undermine the dismantling of its political and military power’.” The article went on to speak of Netanyahu’s concession to Qatar that Israel’s “Mossad would not go to the emirate to kill Hamas political leaders” residing in Qatar. But, it also specifically noted that even some family members of hostages argue that the only way to get the hostages released is to pursue Hamas “with all of our strength, without interruption and without surrendering to their demands, as if they are the victors.”

Pointing out that Israel’s mood quickly returned to business as usual, Pipes concludes his article with the following words: “This reversion also fits a much larger pattern. From 1882 until the present, the two feuding parties to this conflict have compiled extraordinary records of sterile continuity. The Palestinians maintain a mentality of rejectionism (no, no, and never to everything Jewish and Israeli), while Zionists stick to conciliation (accept us and we will enrich you). The two go around and around, hardly evolving or making progress. Change will only come when Israelis break with the traditional Zionist mentality and seek Israel Victory.” I would recommend reading the article in its entirety. It is clear and factual and definitely speaks to the situation existing today. It would be wonderful if Israel’s leadership would read it and reconsider its ways. Sometimes, we need to go back to the beginning in order to remember where we need to arrive at the end.

Finally, the media quickly jumps on every opportunity to show that some Jews are opposed to the continuation of the Gaza War and call for its end. Publicly opposing the Gaza War, and the manner in which Israel is fighting that war are counter-productive and damaging and both align with and add to the attacks of our enemies. In this regard, I would recommend a reading of Jeffrey Cahn’s blog that was reproduced yesterday in The Times of Israel. I note, in particular, Cahn’s last paragraph under point “3” of the five points mentioned in his article: “War, as they say, is hell — always. Demanding only Israel wage bloodless war is denying only Israel, and Jews, the right to defend ourselves. This double standard has a name: antisemitism. By playing into this narrative, Jews ourselves are supporting this classic antisemitic trope.”

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing,

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 127.

Will we negotiate or will we not negotiate? That is the Question. It appears that the rumors flying around are correct and that attempts are being made to get new negotiations started. But, and there is always a “but”, Israel will not be negotiating from strength or from an equal bargaining position. 

Apparently, following initials contacts to see whether renewed negotiations for a hostage-release deal is even possible, Reuters reported yesterday, in part: “Two Egyptian security sources said on Sunday that Israel and Hamas are both open to a renewed ceasefire and hostage release, although disagreements remain on how it would be implemented. Egypt and Qatar, which had previously negotiated a week-long ceasefire and hostage release, insisted on expediting aid and the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing before any negotiations could begin…An Israeli official said aid had been allowed to enter Gaza, after Egyptian sources initially said it had been held up…Hamas is insisting on setting the list of hostages to be released unilaterally, and demanding that Israeli forces withdraw behind pre-determined lines…While Israel agreed on Hamas setting the sources said, it demanded a timeline and to see the list before setting the time and duration of the ceasefire [adding], Israel refuses to withdraw [and] Hamas says a complete ceasefire is a prerequisite to hostage release.” According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, referred to by The Times of Israel : The present “talks ‘are just the beginning’ and that the process would be ‘long, difficult and complicated’.”  

Aside from allowing Hamas to pick and choose whom to release, the above article continued that Israel is looking for the return of “elderly and sick men and the remaining women and children”, and has not “ruled out the possibility of offering to release more significant Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of killing Israelis in terror attacks or masterminding them, if this leads to a significant deal”. 

The problems of the next negotiations, if, in fact, they will take place, elevate the position of Hamas. IT DECIDES who will be returned, even though Israel wants a timetable and a list of those to be released before any potential ceasefire takes place. Hamas breached the prior deal by refusing to provide a list of the women who were supposed to be released. It wanted to release some men and even some corpses. Israel refused to allow it to breach the agreement with impunity and followed through on its promise to renew military action. If Israel wants the remaining women and children, as well as the sick and elderly, but Hamas has the right to decide who it will release, then Israel’s wishes can be totally ignored. A family of four, including a ten-month old baby, can still be held hostage (even though Hamas claims that they were all killed when Israel bombed certain locations in Gaza). Moreover, and more importantly, we are setting ourselves up for yet an additional hostage release fiasco, maybe even two ore more. The next negotiations ARE NOT INTENDED to BRING THEM ALL HOME, NOW. There is little doubt that the soldiers, whoever is still alive, will be the last to be released, if at all. The leaders of Hamas realize that when ALL of the hostages are returned to us, it will lose the playing card that keeps Israel from pulling out all the stop to complete its mission of eliminating Hamas, wherever its leaders may be found.

War according to the Biden timetable. Is the Biden Administration pressuring Israel to end the Gaza War? Some say “yes”, the Biden Administration says “no”. U.S. officials, unnamed of course, reported that President Joe Biden gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until January 1, 2024, to wrap up the war. An article in World Israel News essentially presents a summary of the meeting that took place between Jake Sullivan, the National Security Adviser for the White House, and Prime Minister Netanyahu. The summary was reported by U.S. National Security Council Spokesman, John Kirby.
As Kirby relates it

:1.   Last Thursday, prior to the above meeting, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Jake Sullivan that the war would last for “more than several months”.

2.   Sullivan and Netanyahu spoke about “the next phase of Israel’s military campaign”.

3.   They also spoke about “efforts Israel is now undertaking to be more surgical and precise in their targeting and efforts that are taking to help increase the flow of aid”.

4.   Also discussed was the concern of the Biden Administration over the number of casualties of the war that have been reported by Hamas’s Health Ministry, notwithstanding that the numbers reported have not been independently verified.

5.   Then there is the goal that is stated in general, political terms, which the layman needs to have deciphered. “Kirby said that the Biden Administration would like to see a transition from ‘high-intensity clearance operations, which are ongoing now, to ultimately lower-intensity focus on high-value targets, intelligence-driven raids and those sorts of more-narrow surgical military objectives’.”  Would someone like to clarify exactly what message that statement is intended to convey? Are the “high-value targets” referring to Hamas leadership abroad that Israel should do away with, then declare victory and walk away, leaving Hamas alive and kicking? It will be like Israel declaring that evil wins and that there is finally a war that we cannot win decisively, particularly when that evil threatens our existence.

Obviously, any request or demand to finish the Gaza War by New Year’s Eve is a pipe dream. We will not be singing, “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind.” Hamas is playing for time, hoping that the U.S. will substantially cease its support of Israel if Israel does not cease the war by the end of the year. Friends don’t pressure their friends to endanger themselves, their families, their communities and their nation. Or do they? I have often said that the problem with politics is, simply, politicians. And it seems that the self-serving nature of politics is alive and well in the “unbreakable” alliance that Israel and the U.S. share. But, is what is supposed to be “unbreakable”, actually “breakable”?

The answer would apparently be a reluctant “yes”. If asked why, the answer would be simply, “politics”.
Publicly declaring a deadline for the ending of the present war is a polite, but arrogant, way of telling Israel that it should cease from pursuing the goal of defeating Hamas. And, for that matter, Israel should not make too much of an effort to protect itself from Iran and its other two proxies, the Hezbollah terrorist organization and its cousin, the Yemeni Houthis. The three Iranian proxies affect major areas of concern for Israel – Gaza, Lebanon and the Red Sea.

Caroline B. Glick is well-known to the vast supporters of Israel around the world for her clarity and insight regarding Israel and what concerns Israel. In her article in Jewish News Syndicate entitled, Standing up to the American colossus , Glick deals with all three of the major threats against Israel and raises a significantly relevant question to events unfolding before our eyes:

“Why is the United States leveraging its position as Israel’s primary arms supplier and diplomatic shield at the United Nations—that is, its position as Israel’s ally—to compel an Israeli military defeat at the hands of Iran and its proxies, in a war that Israel rightly views as an existential conflict just as fateful as its 1948 War of Independence?

“The answer is politics.

“As the war in Gaza has progressed, President Biden’s political problems have multiplied. To win next November, Biden needs to secure the coalition of Democrats and Independents that elected him. But that coalition is split over the war. Most Independents support Israel. But according to a Wall Street Journal poll, 25% of Democrats support Hamas over Israel and only 17% of Democrats support Israel over Hamas. (Forty-eight percent of Democrats support Israel and Hamas equally). To win the election, Biden needs to rebuild his coalition and he can only do this by ending the war. And he can only end the war by forcing Israel to stand down, and so lose.

“Israel doesn’t have to accept this state of affairs. According to a Harvard/Harris poll, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys significantly more public support in the United States than Biden himself. Israel itself is supported broadly by 81% of Americans. The Harvard/Harris polling data has several internal contradictions, but the thrust of the data makes clear that Israel enjoys the support of a broad cross section of American society, including key Biden constituencies.

“If Israel stands its ground and refuses to buckle to the administration’s bullying tactics, and if Netanyahu explains Israel’s position in a way the American public can understand, it will be able to maintain the support of the majority of Americans for its war effort and compel the Biden administration to stand with the Jewish state as we prosecute this life and death struggle to victory.”

Well said, Carolyn. Now, do Uncle Izzy’s leaders have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to Uncle Sam’s bullying? They don’t have to draw back in docile submission. They don’t need to be anxious. There is One who says, “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will listen.” (Isaiah 65:24). He longs to be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18). We remain the people of His pasture and He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. If only Israel would turn and ask Him for help.

The Dry Bones Blog – 18 December, 2023

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 122.

Urijah Bayer is with the Lord Yeshua. Attached is a notice from the family about Urijah’s passing. Please keep the family in your prayers.

This war is taking a toll on the nation. We see it in the faces of the population every day. There is a type of lethargy that permeates society. We continue to function, to work, to manufacture and produce. We have to. Life doesn’t stop, but sometimes events take our breaths away.

What could have been an occasion for rejoicing was turned into time of mourning.The events surrounding the tragic deaths of three of the hostages, who were killed by the IDF, continue to sharpen the divide between the two primary goals of the Gaza War that seem to be almost irreconcilable, namely, the defeat of the Hamas terrorist organization and the return of the remaining hostages. On the one hand, Israel wants to eliminate the leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization and to crush, or at least to severely weaken, its infrastructure. This requires an all-out commitment and effort that needs to put aside other considerations that could weaken the resolve to “get in, get the job done and get out”. On the other hand, Israel wants to bring about the return of the hostages. This also requires an all-out commitment, but one that necessitates the diminishing, or halt to its commitment to eliminate Hamas.  Both situations require compromise and capitulation on Israel’s part.

The IDF was highly motivated when it began the ground offensive. They were determined. They looked forward to achieving their goal. They were discovering Hamas strongholds and tunnel systems under hospitals, government offices, schools and even military equipment in locations belonging to UNRWA. The IDF was making great advances, causing heavy losses to Hamas fighters and the destruction of many of the tunnels and facilities for the manufacture of weapons. But, as the numbers of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip began to increase, world sympathy shifted from Israel (to the extent that such sympathy existed in various countries) to the poor Gazans, most of whom were in total support of Hamas and its massacre of Israelis on October 7th. Friends, as well as foes, pressed Israel for a “humanitarian” ceasefire. 

While the nations clamored for Israel to be more mindful of the civilians in Gaza and should take more precautions to protect them, the families of the hostages were becoming organized. They received financial backing from presently undisclosed sources, they made photos, t-shirts, bumper stickers, billboards, and even necklaces, all demanding the return of the hostages, NOW! And they were vocal. Their voices became louder and louder, not only locally, but internationally. Posters of the hostages seemed to appear everywhere. Relatives met with foreign officials and with international organizations. As a result, the Israeli government was being pressed. It needed to pursue the goal of eliminating Hamas, but it couldn’t ignore the families. And then, Hamas wanted to negotiate a ceasefire.

Negotiations were conducted and despite the initial opposition of the IDF to a ceasefire, an agreement was reached. A number of hostages were returned, in exchange for 3 “Palestinian” prisoners in Israeli jails for every 1 hostage that Hamas agreed to return. The issue of the hostages was and remains Israel’s soft spot. The protesters yelled that every additional day that the hostages spend in the Gaza Strip endangers the lives of all of the hostages. And, in light of the tragic killing of the three hostages by the IDF, their argument now includes that even if some of the hostages somehow manage to get free, their lives may be at risk from “friendly fire” – a misnomer if every there was one.

Israel capitulated. The negotiations resulted not only in a hostage and prisoner exchange. It also resulted in a temporary ceasefire, which Hamas used to its advantage. The IDF was told to wait. Its momentum was temporarily halted. And then Hamas violated the ceasefire and the war was resumed. Up until that time, the IDF had lost around 70 of its soldiers from the time of the beginning of the ground offensive. After the fighting was renewed in earnest and during the last two plus weeks, the number of IDF casualties increased by 52, and now stands at 122. The world still accepts the unproven narrative of Hamas regarding the number of “innocent Gazan civilians” killed.

Israel’s prime backer and supplier of much-needed military supplies is telling Israel that its time to get rid of Hamas and complete the war is limited. The implied threat is that if we don’t end the war according to Uncle Sam’s timetable, he will cut off our allowance, i.e., the U.S. will stop sending military supplies. They want us to draw back on the number of IDF fighting personnel in the Gaza Strip and also to change the manner in which Israel conducts the war, within approximately a three-week time frame. This will not be accomplished.

The Netanyahu government is now between a rock and a hard place. If Netanyahu confronts the Biden Administration, it may help him to regain his much-needed support of right-wing voters, who want the war to continue until Hamas is obliterated. But, in the process, we could lose a strategic vote on the Security Council of the UN. Israel was and is being pressed to do more on an “humanitarian” level and allow the Gazans to receive supplies, medical equipment, food and even fuel – which Netanyahu said would never enter the enclave (never say “never”). Israel is compromising on the war effort in order to receive massive support of munitions and other military supplies from the U.S. so that the war effort could continue. Circular reasoning! These military supplies are also intended to bolster Israel’s position against the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.

Israel is facing pressure from within from the families and friends of the hostages, and from without, from friendly and not-so-friendly governments to enter into a ceasefire “that will last”. And, it is yielding to those pressures. Israel wants to have a second round of negotiations for the return of more hostages – not ALL hostages, but MORE. Yehya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, is standing fast: no more discussions until Israel stops the fighting. We are fighting and moving forward militarily. On the political end, we are being pushed back to the starting line. In fact, we are being pushed even further back, because the Biden Administration is taking a hard line regarding “the day after”. It wants a “two-state solution” to the Arab-Israeli conflict, headed up by a Holocaust denier, who also denies the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th and who wants Israel to be destroyed. Netanyahu, and others in the government and in the nation, are vehemently opposed to the establishment of a “Palestinian” state or the dead and buried “two-state proposal”.  

And so, another type of war is brewing, to be added to the present one in Gaza, the one that will break out with Hezbollah, the one that the Houthi’s are pushing for and the one that some of our cousins here are waiting for.

Israel continues to wait for her Messiah, while many of us pray for Messiah’s return. Only then, when the Prince of Peace reigns, there will be no more war.

Today’s post is a very brief, and selective, summary of how we got to where we are. Tomorrow, by God’s grace, we will return to discussing “other things”. In the meantime, we all need a break from war.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing,
Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive now stands at 119.

Latest update about Urijah Bayer (as of 18:35 this evening): Following examinations this afternoon, the family was told that Urijah is not responding to stimulation and it appears that he is brain dead. Tomorrow, the medical staff will begin a series of examinations to determine whether, in fact, he is considered brain dead or not. The family is thankful for everyone’s prayers and support.

The nation mourns the tragic loss of three hostages: As is probably widely known by now, three hostages who were mistakenly believed to be terrorists, were killed by the IDF. Following an initial probe of the incident by the senior officer of the Southern Command, the situation appears to be as follows: A soldier stationed inside of a building in the Shejaiya neighborhood Gaza City saw three men coming out of a building dozens of meters away. They were shirtless and one of them carried a makeshift white flag. Believing that those moving towards him were attempting to lure the IDF into a trap, as has happened a number of times before, the soldier opened fire, killing two of the men, while shouting “terrorists” to the other forces. The third man was wounded, but managed to run back into the building that they existed from. The Officer commanding the battalion was inside the same building from which the soldier had fired. He went outside and told the forces to cease firing. Then they heard someone yelling “Help” in Hebrew, apparently the third hostage. A few moments later, the third man came out of the building and another soldier opened fire and killed him. It was only then, because of the third man’s appearance, that it was understood that he was one of the Israeli hostages. All three bodies were taken back to Israel for identification.

The Officer said that no “Palestinian” civilians had been identified in Shejaiya for a number of days. But, the only people in that area who wore civilian clothes were Hamas operatives, who collected abandoned weapons, then opened fire on the IDF and fled into other buildings. Some who wore civilian clothing also turned out to be Hamas suicide bombers. The IDF did not expect to see hostages walking around freely in the battle zone. 

The two soldiers who killed the three men were said to have acted contrary to established protocols. The IDF said, however, that the conditions of war, in the field, caused them to do what they did. The area where the hostages were killed was near the location of a deadly battle two days earlier, which resulted in the deaths of nine soldiers, two of whom were senior commanders. 

New protocols were issued by the IDF immediately following this tragic incident, which included: “There is a possibility that hostages were abandoned or escaped, and forces should be aware of the possibility of such an encounter and pay attention to tell-tale signs, such as speaking in Hebrew, raising hands, and clothing.”
Two days earlier, on Wednesday, the IDF saw a building that was spray-painted with the words “SOS” in English and the words “Help, three hostages”, in Hebrew. At the time, the soldiers who found the building believed it was bobby-trapped, as a number of other locations had been. Now, the IDF is investigating a possible connection to the three hostages mistakenly killed.

As for the soldiers who were responsible for killing the hostages – they are receiving psychological care.

Following the shooting deaths of the hostages, Herzi Halevi, the IDF Chief-of-Staff said today, in part: “The IDF and I, as its commander, are responsible for what happened, and we will do everything to prevent the recurrence of such cases in future combat…The three hostages, who survived seventy days of hell, approached IDF soldiers and were killed by our forces’ fire. There is nothing IDF soldiers and commanders in the Gaza Strip want more than to rescue hostages alive. In this case, we failed to do so…I believe the three hostages did everything to make us understand – they moved without shirts so we wouldn’t suspect a bomb on their body and held a white cloth to signal us. The shooting of the hostages was in violation of our rules of engagement. It’s forbidden to shoot at someone waving a white flag and seeking to surrender. However, this shooting occurred in the heat of battle and under extreme pressure…Our soldiers have been fighting for seventy days in Gaza and other fronts, bravely and resolutely to protect our home. In one moment, the complexity of our just war in Gaza is manifested. We went to fight to dismantle the enemy across the border, and to bring the kidnapped men and women home. Without determined fighting, we cannot bring back the hostages nor can we restore security to our communities. We must continue to fight vigorously, without losing sight of our objectives.”

Adding to Halevi’s comments, Israel Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, speaking at a joint press conference this evening with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and War Cabinet Minister, Benny Gantz, said: “As defense minister, I take [responsibility] for everything that happens in the security establishment, and everything that happens in this war, the achievements and the costs, and the severe mistakes. The same is true for the incident yesterday…I have lost commanders and brothers in arms, I have seen a lot of difficult incidents, a lot that were close to me, including friends dying in battle. This is one of the most tragic incidents I have ever known…The price of war is very high. We pay it every day, but when you know that you are on a path  that is just, then you are willing to pay a price until you achieve your entire goal, which here is destroying Hamas and returning all the hostages to their homes.”

“Why is it so difficult for the IDF to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities?” This was the simple, straightforward question posed by Anshel Pfeffer, in the Haaretz News today. His answer: “Hamas’ Gaza fortress is a military target like no other…The militarization of the Gaza Strip in the 16 years since Hamas seized control of the enclave from the Palestinian Authority in a bloody coup has created a battlefield without precedent in the history of war. Hamas was digging tunnels even before it took over Gaza in 2007, but those were mainly smuggling routes under the border with Egypt and a few attack tunnels under the border with Egypt – such as the one it used in 2006 to carry out the attack in which IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was captured and two members of his tank crew were killed…{There] are probably not enough bunker-busting bombs in the world to destroy the tunnels and the thousands of Hamas fighters still hiding in them.” 

Whatever our thoughts may be of the Gaza War and, particularly, of the unspeakable tragedy of killing some of the very people that the IDF was trying to rescue, we cannot condemn what happened from the comfort of our homes. We should be free to express those thoughts after we spent seventy days fighting terrorists in a extremely difficult war zone; after we experience the loss of more than 120 of our brothers-in-arms, including many officers whom we have known and served with for years and after we suffer from extreme exhaustion in combat. But, not now.

We need to be careful not to judge too quickly and not to pursue a knee-jerk reaction to a tragedy of war. The goals remain the same – elimination of Hamas and the return of the hostages who are still alive. We cannot, indeed, we must not, allow our emotions to rule our decisions, particularly in the middle of a war and in the face of a deadly enemy. But, it looks like some want to do just that.

Hostage families demand new “exchange” deal: Families of hostages still held by Hamas held a protest yesterday, urging the government to take the initiative to secure the release of the hostages. Chants from the crowd include, “Their time is running out! Bring them home now! There is no victory until every last hostage is released.” Many reject the premise that the military offensive will help to pressure Hamas to release the hostages.

In line with the pressure being placed on the government, David Barnea, the head of the Israel Mossad, met with the Prime Minister of Qatar to discuss the possible continuation of contacts between Israel and Hamas. Apparently, the meeting was set before the incident involving the three hostages who were mistakenly killed by the IDF. There’s a lot of background noise and the positions of the parties remain far apart, but the way the situation stands at the moment, even if Israel wants a deal, there isn’t one on the table. 

It cannot be said with certainty that the “release” of hostages in the middle of a war zone was intentional on the part of Sinwar. But, the tragic deaths of those three hostages evoked what could be considered as an anticipated outcome from the Israeli public, particularly from the families of those still being held hostage, namely: added pressure to make a deal with the devil for the return of the hostages – at any price, be it a full ceasefire and/or the release of all “Palestinian” prisoners. 

The demand of Yahyeh Sinwar to return to the bargaining table hasn’t changed: “All the hostages in exchange for all of the “Palestinian” prisoners held in Israeli jails.” The situation is now about 130 hostages in exchange for about 6,000 prisoners. Israel is reportedly prepared to enter into a partial release of hostages – all the women, children, elderly and wounded, in exchange for a temporary ceasefire. This time, however, Israel will have to keep a cool head and keep up the military pressure. Although Sinwar is getting closer to the chopping block, apparently, he still feels so secure in his hiding place that he sets the bar for discussion so tremendously high. When the idea of renewed negotiations is thought through, we have no choice to come to the conclusion that the decision to negotiate and the terms of the negotiation are both in the hands of Sinwar. Amazing, simply amazing!

Second front in the north, while the Gaza War continues: The “fighting” is getting considerably worse. The IDF is preparing its troops for combat in Lebanon. May it be that the temperature gets turned down, before a multitude of people get burned. This situation needs to be followed up.

More prayers for wounded brethren. Please add the following soldiers, brothers-in-the-Lord to your prayers:Elia (from a congregation in Haifa – condition not known); Sean (on a respirator – in Soroka Hospital, in Beer Sheva); David (both legs amputated – in Tel HaShomer Hospital, in Tel Aviv). These are all the details I have at the moment.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 119!

Update about Urijah Bayer: His situation was reported this afternoon by the twin sister of our daughter-in-law, who is married to Urijah’s cousin: “After a conversation this morning with the doctor responsible for treating Urijah, we had a clearer understanding of his situation. Urijah is still sedated and on a respirator. He has injury on both sides of his brain and spreading edemas. A lot of pressure is applied and the fear is that the edemas will eventually lead to death. If the condition of the edemas improves, they fear irreversible brain damage. Praying for a miracle for Urijah’s condition. Praying for a miracle for Urijah’s condition. May God give strength to the family to be alight and a witness to those around them and wisdom for the treating physicians.…We are thankful that so many people are praying for Urijah and for us. We feel we are being covered by the hand of God.”

The IDF ended the Feast of Hanukkah with 8 night flares over Khan Younis. It served as a simple reminder that as dark as the night may appear to be, it can never overcome the light.

War Timetable – To be set by Israel, not the U.S.: Briefly stated, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, yesterday and informed him that the Gaza War will continue for several more months. He said that Hamas “is a terrorist organization that built itself over a decade to fight Israel and built infrastructure under the ground and above the ground, and it is not easy to destroy them. It will require a long period of time; it will last more than several months, but we will win, and we will destroy them [Hamas]. So thank you once again for coming to Israel, for helping us and for supporting us.” Other matters were discussed as well, including Iranian aggression through its other proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen and Gallant said that Israel would support efforts from the international community in countering naval threats, adding that Israel will act to defend itself against any threat. 

“Horror video of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit”: The title of the film is: “Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre”, but it has come to be know as the “Horror Video of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit”. It is not for public release, but to select groups. It is been screened about 200 times and watched by over 4,700 people in over 50 countries. “The common denominator for all screenings is that when the film ends, there is silence, a deafening silence that seems to last forever and persists until people manage to move and stand up,” Horowitz says. “Everyone is left exhausted, feeling hollow, unable to grasp that this is what happened here, and the number and types of murder. It is something that the soul cannot comprehend, the human mind cannot contain the evil and the cruelty.”  Hanukkah may be over, but the IDF continues to get rid of the darkness from Gaza.

Indiscriminate bombing: Earlier this week, U.S. President Biden said that Israel was losing international support because of “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza. This morning, Hezbollah launched missiles into northern areas of Israel and later this afternoon, Hamas launched a barrage of rockets towards Jerusalem. One landed in near a hospital in Ramallah. Why is there no international condemnation of Hamas’s truly “indiscriminate bombing”? They claim that Jerusalem, indeed, all of Israel, is theirs. One of the easiest ways to disprove someone’s claim to ownership is to reveal the ease by which they are willing to destroy it!

Hamas leaders flee Qatar, close cell phones: Qatar, whose representatives helped “negotiate” a ceasefire/hostage exchange deal a few weeks ago, allowed the Hamas terrorist organization to open an office there in 2012. Qatar has also given shelter and official “protection” to senior leaders of Hamas, such as Ismail Haniyeh, Abu Marzook and Khaled Mashaal, to name just a few. On December 3rd, Ronen Bar, head of the Israel’s Shin Bet (Security Agency), said that Israel would eliminate Hamas leaders living in Qatar and Turkey. Apparently, with the considerable losses of senior Hamas personnel due to the Gaza War, a number of Hamas leaders took Ronan’s Bar’s threats seriously and left Qatar, taking their support staff with them, and cut off all communications, including their cellphones. They are undoubtedly relocating to other, more Hamas-sympathetic countries, whose doors are wide open to them, such as Iran, Lebanon, Turkey  and Algeria. These leaders have lived the life of luxury, while most of the citizens of Gaza lived in conditions of poverty. These Hamas “big shots” now show themselves to be cowards. They can run, but they can’t hide. They fear Israel and will try to hide in their holes. But, Israel will catch up with them in the end and carry out its threats. In the meantime, let them sweat.

I began this post with an update about Urijah Bayer. I want to report about another family, of triplets who were almost inseparable for 23 years, until the battles in the south of the Gaza Strip. When their mother found out that she was pregnant with triplets, the doctor told her: “It is my obligation to tell you that in the case of triplets, we recommend embryo dilution. It is in your best interest and theirs”. Embryo dilution? Her response was: “I knew how to do dilution with Tipex [white out], but in my womb who of the three would be chosen to die? And what if the medical procedure harms the other two embryos? Who are we to interfere with the works of the Creator of the world?” This moving story is actually in Hebrew and would take a while to relate. 

But, in short: Yehonatan (“Yoni”) was the first to be killed in a battle in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza. His rank was First Sergeant and he believed and acted upon the belief that “You don’t leave friends during war.” On the door of his room was a huge poster with a verse from Psalm 18:37: “I pursued my enemies and overtook them and I did not turn back until they were consumed.”  For Yoni, this was more than just a slogan or a motto. It was his way of combining his love for the land and his love for the Bible. After suffering a leg injury, when he was able to rejoin his unit, he grabbed his gear, signed out for a weapon and rejoined his tank unit. Their mother said: “I sent three sons to war. one to Jenin, one to Sejaiyeh and one to Khan Younis. When the military came to notify the family, she asked, “Which one? Which one of the three?” Later, at the funeral, she said: “Yoni always said to me, ‘Why are you worried? Our tanks are powerful, we have a spiritual covering’…The missile that hit Yoni was close and targeted. He was killed on the spot.” His older brother, Michael, said regarding him, that Yoni dreamed of being a gardener. He added: “In whatever field you choose to touch, you must be the best.” He added, “It’s something deeply rooted in our home, in our education, and Yoni refused to give up on this dream.” Indeed, he gave his all for what he believed in, as so many continue to do even as this is being written. He was a true son of Israel. “Yehi Zichro Baruch!” May his memory be blessed!

Shabbat Shalom.
Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is now up to 116.

Prayer for Urijah Bayer: I’m starting this post with a prayer request. Urijah (pronounced Uriah) Bayer, 20, was seriously wounded in a military operation in the Gaza Strip and is presently in the intensive care unit of Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva. He is suffering severe head wounds from shrapnel, is sedated and on a respirator. Urijah is a brother-in-the Lord and we know the family. Please keep him and his family in prayer. They are also requesting prayer for wisdom for the medical team that is treating him in light of his complex situation.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. Media has a way of distorting events to create an impression that is factually unfounded. Such is the case when reports filter in that the Hamas terrorist group may be prepared to recognize Israel, as a way to end the present Gaza War. Must Abu Marzouk, the deputy leader of the Hamas political bureau, speaking from Doha, the capital of Qatar, said earlier this week: “We seek to be part of the PLO and respect its commitments …You must follow the official position. The official position is that the “Palestine” Liberation Organization has recognized the State of Israel.” 

But, talk is cheap. Kobi Michael, a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), reported last year: “Hamas is more popular than Fatah. And Hamas perceives itself as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority. Abu Mazen (aka Mahmoud Abbas) has a very clear understanding in this regard…Viewing the gap between the two in a broader regional context helps explain why reconciliation is a pipedream…Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. That is one axis. The Palestinian Authority is part, or a component, of the Arab Sunni pragmatic axis, which is led by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. These two camps are in a very bitter and bloody competition for hegemony and influence in the region.” (emphasis mine)

Maurice Hirsch, head of legal strategies at “Palestinian” Media Watch (PMW), agrees with much of Kobe Michael’s analysis, and adds that “each sees the other as illegitimate…Both organizations simply want to be the organization that’s running the PA…There are no real ideological differences between Fatah (the PLO) and Hamas. That has to be clearly understood. Both seek the destruction of Israel. Both believe in using violence to achieve that.” 

So, when we hear or read that Hamas now wants to reconcile with, and become part of, the PLO, in order to end the Gaza War, we should take such statements with a grain of salt. Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel and its ideology includes that Islam will rule the world, that it will annihilate the United States and conquer Europe. So much for the “religion of peace.”

It is of utmost importance that “the West” get a handle on the ideology of Hamas. Maybe if it does, it will finally begin to understand what Israel has been dealing with and why Hamas MUST be eliminated. MEMRI (The Middle East Media Research Institute) has compiled segments from MEMRI’ s TV archives that “include statements by top Hamas officials … as well as sermons and broadcasts on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV, on Islam’s future conquest of the West, elimination of the U.S. and future global takeover.” This should be sent to every politician in your respective countries. Maybe it will open their eyes to see what their ears refuse to hear.

Renewed hostage release negotiations? Reports are circulating of “informal, initial talks” to “formulate an outline for a new [hostage] deal” with Hamas. The assertion is that Israel asked Egypt to mediate a deal. This information is reported in today’s Times of Israel, which refers to a “London-based pan-Arab news site” that quotes “unnamed Egyptian sources. How’s that for getting at the facts? Pressure is increasing on the Netanyahu government to do more to bring about the release of the hostages. Actually, the demand of the relatives of the hostages, as well as some hostages who have been released in the prior deal, goes as far as wanting to release all “Palestinian” prisoners to get all of the hostages back. The likelihood of Israel agreeing to that is nil. And, while we should never say “never”, we need to keep in mind that the murderous Hamas organization stated earlier that there will be no further negotiations without the cessation of the fighting by Israel. The leftist news journal, Haaretz, reported yesterday, citing a source familiar with the contacts, that “Currently, there aren’t any ongoing negotiations for a deal. There are preliminary talks aimed at assessing whether both sides are willing to discuss terms for a new deal…An Israeli official estimated that Hamas might attempt to promote a deal in the coming days in an attempt to gain additional relief that would allow them to recover from setbacks in the battles against the IDF.” 

There’s the political word, and then there’s the truth. Earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned that Israel was “starting to lose support by the indiscriminately bombing that takes place” in the Gaza Strip. That comment was politically expedient and followed the voices of various governments that sought to compel Israel to unilaterally bring about a humanitarian ceasefire, because of the number of civilian casualties claimed by the Hamas-controlled Health Department in Gaza. 

But, yesterday, John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council spokesman, told a different story. He expressed praise for the way in which Israel’s military acts to protect the civilians in Gaza. Among other things, he mentioned that the IDF warned residents in certain area before the IDF entered in pursuit of Hamas terrorists. “They have published online maps of places where people can go or not go. That’s basically telegraphing your punches!” And then he added: “There are very few modern militaries in the world that would do that. I don’t know that we would do that.”  He also mentioned that the IDF was adhering to the advice of the U.S., carrying out fewer airstrikes in the south than it did in the north, even carrying out the ground offensive in a manner less than what was originally planned. The world community continues to rumble and roar about the increasing number of civilian deaths resulting from the fighting, demanding that Israel “do more” to protect them. It  needs to be remembered that everything coming out of the mouths of Hamas officials, including the unverified reports of the Gaza Health Department, tends to be either a lie or totally exaggerated. And governments continue to “buy Hamas’s lies” – anything to accuse Israel of wrongdoing. John Kirby’s report should be sent to every nation that voted in favor of demanding that Israel effectuate a humanitarian ceasefire.

A few more months to finish the Gaza War. In a meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, said that Israel needs between three to nine months to completely finish the war in the Gaza Strip. This is due, primarily, to the fact that it will take that much time to dismantle the vast terrorist infrastructure. This time frame continues to be at odds with the Biden Administration’s urgings to finish the war in the coming weeks. We’re in a “wait and see” mode, how Israel’s “allies” will respond to Israel’s need for time to finish the job the way it needs to be finished. But, in the end, whether they agree or not, we have no choice. Israel MUST dismantle Hamas. This does not need a lot of clarification.

Turkey’s Minister Died: Two days ago, in the post regarding the 67th day of the war, I mentioned that a Member of the Turkish Parliament, after a speech condemning Israel and saying that Israel would “suffer Allah’s wrath”. Further details of his speech have emerged, revealing that those comments were part of a condemnation of the Turkish government’s policy toward, and continuing trade with, Israel. He accused the government of having “the blood of “Palestinians” on your hands…You contribute to every bomb Israel drops in Gaza.” He died today. Could it be that following his diatribe against Israel, he “suffered Allah’s wrath”?

End of the Festival of Hanukkah. Tonight was the 8th day of Hanukkah and the lighting of the last candle. While the light from the candles has been extinguished, we remember that God called Israel to be a “light to the world”. This is no small task and we certainly cannot do it in our own strength. We need to be strong “in the Lord” and in the power of His might, not ours. And IF our ways are pleasing to the Lord, He will cause even our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7). A time is coming when nations “will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.” (Isaiah 2:4) May it be soon!

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,
Day 68

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is up to 115, with a total of 444 killed from October 7th. 

Today’s updated figures include 10 IDF soldiers K.I.A. yesterday, 9 of whom in the battle in Shejaiya and 1 in a separate incident in the northern Gaza Strip. Among those killed in an ambush in Shejaiya was Colonel Itzhak Ben Basat, 41, the most senior member of the IDF to be killed in the present ground offensive. The fighting in Shejaiya, one of most heavily fortified strongholds of Hamas, is particularly difficult because it is a densely populated area. It is one of the major challenges of urban warfare. This is deadliest single military loss since October 7th. May all their memories be blessed.

Almog Boker, is an award-winning journalist of Israel’s Channel 13. Upon hearing of the warriors who fell in the battle of Shejaiya, he commented in his post on “X” (formerly Twitter), Boker wrote: “Shejaiya cannot exist the day after. Shejaiya is the backyard of Kibbutz Nahal Oz [one of the hardest hit communities in the “Gaza Envelope”], and if we want to allow the residents of Natal One to return home, we must demolish all the buildings and flatten this neighborhood of Nazi terror. The soldiers report that every house there is a Hamas house! There is no reason to go from house to house and endanger the soldiers. We have to destroy all the buildings from the air, with tank shells and artillery batteries and thus cleanse this dangerous area. It’s either them – or us.” [translation from his post in Hebrew] At last, a national reporter not afraid to suggest leveling a Hamas-controlled area. It sounds better than suggesting that it be turned into a parking lot, although that would not be a bad idea.

Some of Israel’s top political echelon want to present the situation, and particularly the hard-fought battle in Shejaiya, as being part of Hamas’s final efforts and that the terrorist organization is showing signs of collapse. But, it cannot be said with any degree of certainty to what extent the IDF has succeeded in eliminating Hamas or its capabilities. Despite considerable, international pressure to force Israel to immediately cease its military actions in the Gaza Strip, Israel continues to pursue its goals with the backing, at least for now, of the Biden Administration. Still, there are rumblings emanating from Washington that there is an unstated countdown for Israel to end the war. With the clock ticking, Israel has to act in a race against time, to accomplish its goals of defeating Hamas, destroying its military capabilities and find and free the hostages who remain alive.

Against the hour glass of unspecified time for Israel to achieve its objectives is the resistance on the part of Hamas to roll over and die. According to some of Hamas’s senior officials (who reside in Qatar, of course), only a small percentage of its resources (in manpower and weaponry) has been used. While we don’t know how many of its fighters are still alive, we do know that Hamas continues to have the capacity to launch missiles against Israel from Gaza, even though the quantity is considerably less. Despite the destruction and/or capture of the parliament building, legal structures and even mosques, Hamas continues to put up resistance, revealing, in a sense, that it doesn’t need any outward symbols of power to continue to exist and to keep up its fight. Everything else is secondary and of lesser importance. 

The international community rants about the collapse of Gaza infrastructure and about the need for increased humanitarian aid to be sent into the Gaza enclave, with the recognition that a lot of the humanitarian aid is appropriated by Hamas. The terrorist organization has little concern for the civilian population in Gaza and is willing to offer it up on the altar, if it would advance its purposes of fighting against and destroying Israel. Moreover, while capturing or killing Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas mastermind behind the October 7th massacres, it is doubtful that this, in itself, would cause the total collapse of Hamas. And it could well be that the “resistance” called for by Hamas will continue with a leader by a different name. But, the war MUST continue until Israel’s stated goals are achieved. The international community, which sits in its ivory towers, has little understanding of the pure evil of Hamas and even less concern for what Israel has suffered and continues to deal with. Many countries, particularly in Europe, are pulling out all the stops in an effort to force Israel into a unilateral ceasefire. On the other hand, Israel is facing increased internal pressure from relatives of those still held hostage by Hamas, who are demanding to “bring them all home, NOW” – meaning, at any cost. I wonder how they would react if the events of October 7th would happen to them.

Despite the pressures that Uncle Sam is exerting upon Israel to expedite the conclusion of the Gaza War, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, made clear that the war against Hamas will continue, “with or without international support. A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel.”

If the world is really interested in bringing about a ceasefire, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, has the clearest and easiest suggestion how to do it. He held up a sign at a meeting yesterday of the General Assembly, which stated: “For a Ceasefire Dial: +970-599373765 Ask For Yahya Sinwar”, who bears the responsibility for the present war. The number is Sinwar’s Hamas office. The General Assembly did what it usually does, namely, voted against Israel and passed yet another overwhelming, but non-binding, resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. The resolution failed to condemn Hamas atrocities. Amazingly, it added that it demands “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access” – a demand that will fall on the deaf ears of Hamas. The full text of the resolution can be seen here.

Little by little, a speech here, a speech there, and the ultimate goal of the Biden Administration is revealed: Yesterday, President Biden told a group of donors to his re-election campaign that Israel “can’t say no” to a Palestinian state.” Sounds like a replay of the Obama Administration.

A “Palestinian” state has to connect Gaza and Judea (i.e., the “West Bank” of the Jordan River) and Samaria under one rule, one leadership … and one contiguous area. Take a look at a map of Israel (you may need a magnifying glass to see it on a world map) and draw a line from the Gaza Strip to the area known as the West Bank. In order to have a contiguous area, Israel needs to be divided into northern Israel and southern Israel. One doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to under that this “Two-State” setup is a plan for disaster.

For all those in the European Union who keep pressuring Israel and demanding a ceasefire, this simple photo should suffice (translation: “Simple enough for everyone to understand, true enough to annoy many” – my emphasis and apologies in advance to my friends in Italy if I did not translate the words correctly).

The present war is designated as “Operation Iron Swords”. Coincidently, National Geographic reports on a finding of four, well-preserved, Roman swords, probably from the time of the Bar Kochba Revolt in 132-135 C.E. They are steel swords, “with crafted iron and wood-made handles”. The finding and the excellent condition of the swords caused National Geographic to list them as the “Number-One Find for 2023”.

Adding Insult to Injury:  Yaakov Ozeri served in the armored corps and was killed in a battle in the Gaza Strip on November 7th. He was 28. Upon visiting his grave site yesterday, his family was devastated to discover that the gravestone was defaced and that the emblem on his tombstone of the Israel Defense Forces and the flags placed around the grave were marked with an “X.” Yaakov’s sister, Nora, expressed the reaction of the family, stating in part:  “We are shocked, our brother fell defending the State of Israel, and this is what they do to him in the State of Israel. It’s hard for me to hear that they say it’s not personal, it’s against the symbols of the State of Israel. It’s very personal. My brother gave his life for this country.” Yaakov’s widow related that they were high-school sweethearts and that she is now 27 weeks pregnant. He felt their pre-born daughter kicking for the first time before returning to his unit, from which he never returned. She added, “He could have been an amazing dad.” May his memory be blessed.

There is mixed opinion regarding the situation with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Some believe that a political solution can be worked out that will cause the terrorists organization move further northward, away from the border with northern Israel. Others believe that it’s just a matter of time before a full-blown war with Hezbollah will break out. Last Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to the terrorist group: “If Hezbollah chooses to start an all-out war, it will single-handedly turn Beirut and southern Lebanon into Gaza and Khan Younis.” But, what about Israel, with well over 100,000 Hezbollah missiles aimed in our direction? No matter how we look at it, the next war involving Hezbollah will also involve other players and it’s going to be a mess. May God keep us under the shadow of His wings and cause that no weapon formed against us would prosper.

And what about Yemen’s Houthis? Their slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”. Even though they deny being an Iranian proxy, it is now unquestionably part of the “Axis of Resistance”, rallying behind the “Palestinians”, and aligning itself with Hamas, Hezbollah and, of course, Iran, which provides the armaments, the training and the funding of the Houthis. Part of the ripple effects of the war in Gaza is that the Houthi rebels, located about 1,000 miles south of Israel, are increasing their attacks on shipping close to the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait. They claim to be doing so in protest over Israel’s actions in Gaza, notwithstanding that many of the ships that they attack are not owned by Israelis. This not only imperils cargo and shipments coming through the Suez Canal, but it also increases the international impact of the Gaza War. The Houthis also launched drones and missiles targeting Israel. In the last few days, they threatened to attack any vessel that they believe is coming to, or leaving from, Israel. According to Duncan Potts, a former Vice-Admiral in the British Navy, “These attacks have the potential to become far more of a global strategic economic threat than simply a regional geopolitical one.” Shipping costs for vessels traveling in the Red Sea have already begun to Israel and have to take other, lengthier and more costly routes to arrive at their destinations. Right now, the Houthis are an annoyance and for some, an expensive annoyance. But, when their annoyance becomes an irritation, they will have to be dealt with, either by the U.S., or another foreign country – like Saudi Arabia, or Israel, or a combination of them.

This is the seventh night of Hanukkah. Part of the celebrations of Hanukkah involve the spinning of 4-sided tops called “dreidels”. On each side is a letter, with a slight difference between a dreidel from outside of Israel and one from inside of Israel. Written on the sides are the Hebrew letters “nune”, “gimel”, “hay” and “shin”, being an anagram for “A great miracle happened there!”. In Israel, they are “nune”, “gimell”, “hay” and “poh”, representing “A great miracle happened here!” The city of Netanya, located along the Mediterranean coast between Haifa and Tel Aviv, put up a sign to the entrance of the city, saying in words: “A Great Miracle Will Happen Here”, adding below that statement, “A joyful and bright Hanukkah to all of the residents of Netanyahu and its visitors.”

Amen, despite the difficulties of the Gaza War, may that great miracle happen and may the remainder of Hanukkah be joyful and bright for us all.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is up to 105.

From the start of the ground offensive, 20 members of the IDF, one-fifth of the 105 who were killed in action, were killed not from hostile action of our enemies.

13 were killed because they were mistakenly believed to be Hamas terrorists.

1 was because of a stray bullet

2 were killed APC or tank accidents

2 were killed by machine-gun discharge

2 were killed from shrapnel (e.g., from explosions set off by the IDF),

While the number of casualties is related to a variety of reasons, the bottom line is that operational accidents and bilateral shooting incidents are events that should have been avoided in the vast majority. It is one thing to lose a soldier in active combat, it is something else entirely for a soldier to lose his life, while in a combat situation, but not as a result of being killed by the enemy. The pain of loss over each soldier killed in action against the enemy is great; the pain of loss of a soldier’s life from accidents or “friendly fire” is that much greater.

U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed what he referred to as his “unshakeable” commitment to the safety of the Jewish people and the security of Israe, during a Hanukkah celebration at the White House. He added, “I ran into trouble and criticism when I said a few years ago that you don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist.” While condemning the silence over growing antisemitism, Biden described Hanukkah as a “timeless story of miracles”, but acknowledged that this year was different, because of the Gaza war. But, he added that the bombing in Gaza is causing Israel to start to lose the support of the international community for the war. The conduct of the war and the “timetable” will undoubtedly be major subjects of discussion when U.S. National Security a/dviser, Jake Sullivan, visits Israel this week and meets with government officials.

In line with those considerations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed thanks for the support and full backing of the U.S. regarding Israel’s ongoing ground offensive in Gaza, despite the growing international calls for a ceasefire in the war. He acknowledged that there was “disagreement” with President Biden about “the day after Hamas”, but was hopeful that both government will be able to reach agreement on this matter, as well. The “disagreement” relates to who will govern the Gaza Strip after the war is over. Biden’s proposition is that Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the “Palestinian” Authority “take control” over both Gaza and the West Bank (i.e., Judea and Samaria). Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to this idea, asserting that  Gaza “will be neither Hamas-stan nor ‘Fatah-stan.'” Fatah is, essentially the group of “Palestinians” under the leadership of Abbas. But, behind all of the talk about the “day after”, the big issue is the establishment of a “Palestinian” state, with the goal of a “two-state solution” to the ongoing conflict with those referring to themselves as “Palestinians”. In short, Biden wants it and Netanyahu is opposed to it.

Is Syria beginning to join in? Three rockets were launched towards Israel from Syria today, one of which landed in an open area here, while the other two fell inside Syrian territory. The IDF targeted its response to the areas where the missiles were launched.

Increased tensions with Hezbollah. While the Gaza war will continue to fill headlines for an extended period of time, Israel’s concerns are focused on the situation with the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon. Yesterday’s post dealt with a Hamas “subsidiary” group that was being established in Lebanon, obviously with the goal of carrying out a northern version of the massacre of Black Saturday of October 7th. While Lebanese politicians express opposition to be manipulated by Iran into engaging another war with Israel, the reality is that the civilian government there will not make that decision – it will be made by Hamas. 

Israel needs to be cautious in dealing with Hezbollah. A diplomatic deal cannot be worked out with that terrorist organization. Its word is meaningless and it has already substantially violated prior commitments and, particularly, the UN resolution 1701 following the Second Lebanon War of 2006, that set a buffer zone in Lebanon of 30 kilometers from the border with Israel.

Over 1,000 rockets have been launched towards Israel from Lebanon since the beginning of the present Gaza war. This is truly a drop in the bucket, considering the extensive missile arsenal maintained by Hezbollah. If a full-blown war were to take place with Hezbollah, it could unleash literally thousands of target-directed rockets per day.

Netanyahu has “encouraged” Hezbollah not to pursue aggressive military action against Israel, and threatened to turn Lebanon into another Gaza if it did so. Undoubtedly, this terrorist proxy of Iran is considering the possibilities of the “Third Lebanon War” with Israel and counting the cost of pursuing it. The IDF on the other hand will be facing a difficult situation following an initial onslaught of rockets aimed at military facilities and civilian infrastructure.

While an out-and-out war with Hezbollah will have severe consequences in both countries, the one that will be pressing the buttons or pulling the strings is Iran. How can Israel deter Hezbollah from further escalating the present cross-border actions? That is the question that senior military and political leaders in Israel are trying to answer.

Turkish MP speaks against Israel – suffers a heart attack: Hasan Bismet, a Member of the Turkish Parliament, in a riled speech against Israel, claimed that Israel was incurring the “wrath of Allah”. Moments after concluding his diatribe against Israel, he suffered a heart attack.

Unashamed to stand for and with Israel: Aaron Nadbornik, the President of the Jewish Community of Finland, attended a reception at the Presidential Palace with his wife, Galit. The occasion was Finland’s Independence Day. Yaron wore a necklace with the inscription “Bring Them Home Now”, referring to the hostages being held by Hamas. His wife, Gali, wore a dress, specially designed, that displayed the names of the hostages. “Kol Hakavod!” Way to go!

Members of the IDF are celebrating Hanukkah in the cold of Gaza this year.

The last time they did that was in 1956. Attached is a photo of the IDF on top of the roof of the Police Station in Gaza, after it was captured by Israel in 1956.

Please remember to keep praying. God longs to be gracious to us. (Isaiah 30:18)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is up to 104.

“Vanguards of the Al-Aqsa Flood”: While the Israel-Gaza War attracts most of the world’s attention, few pay attention to non-“war” militancy and even fewer pay attention to events that, in themselves, are non-combatant. But, while much of the western world sleeps, the perpetrators of evil continue to plan and plot, with the goal of perpetrating acts of terror.   MEMRI, The Middle East Media Research Institute, reported on December 5th that one day earlier, the Lebanon office of Hamas, located in Beirut (yes, they DO have a location in the capital of Lebanon), released a statement announcing the establishment of a new group, called “Vanguards of the Al-Aqsa Flood”. As noted by MEMRI, the statement pointed out that this “new group” was formed “to emphasize the role of the Palestinian people, in all places it is found, in resisting the occupation by all available and legitimate means, to complete what was achieved by the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood,’ to side with the steadfastness of our Palestinian people, our valiant resistance and the sacrifices our people have made, and to strive for the participation of our men and youth in the project of resisting the occupation and to benefit from their capabilities and abilities of their knowledge and skills.”  It also called upon young “Palestinians” to join the group and become involved in “shaping the future of your people and liberating Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.” One would have to ask why Hamas, the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip that is succumbing to the military advances of the IDF, would make a public announcement of the establishment of a “subsidiary”, calling “Palestinians” wherever they are, to join its terrorist ranks and goals. The answer should be obvious. They are planning a replay of their invasion and massacre of October 7th, only this time, in the north, from Lebanon instead of from Gaza.

The announcement was not received with joyful shouting, but with opposition. According to Khaled Abu Toameh, writing for Gatestone Institute International Policy Council, Lebanese leaders expressed criticism and warnings that involvement with Hamas would have disastrous consequences for the country, that has experienced severe economic crisis over the last four years. The last thing they would want is to be plunged into another war with Israel. Some even called for the expulsion of Hamas leaders from Lebanon. At the same time, there is a widespread recognition that the presence of Hamas, and even the issuance of its above announcement, could only happen with the knowledge and consent of Hezbollah and with the supervision of Iran. There is growing opposition in Lebanon, as well as by many Middle-East Arabs, of being manipulated by both Hamas and Hezbollah, proxy-puppets of Iran, and being drawn into a holy war with Israel. May this “opposition” to Iran’s tactics increase beyond any expectation of any terrorist organization.

With all of the attention focused on this detail or that, we could easily lose sight of the bigger picture, namely, that the goal of the Hamas leaders is not just the ethnic cleansing of Israel from the river to the sea, but the establishment of a global, Islamic caliphate, with its capital in Jerusalem.

Back to the Hamas group based in Gaza: The IDF’s successes in the northern sector of the Gaza Strip has caused many Hamas leaders and fighters to seek refuge in areas in the south. It was widely believed that among those who “headed south” was Hamas chief, Yahya Sinwar. The IDF captured Yousef al-Mansi, the Hamas minister of communications, who informed the Israel General Security Service (Shabak) that Sinwar is very “unpopular” in Gaza. As noted in World Israel News, al-Mansi told Shabak: “People are saying, ’Sinwar and his group have destroyed us. We have to be rid of them”, adding: “Everyone hates Sinwar…[and people are] praying night and day that God should free us from him” and his fighters.

IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari reported Saturday night that from the interrogation of Hamas terrorists who surrendered to the IDF, it was disclosed that the Sinwar-led leadership of Hamas denies the reality on the ground and that, “The higher-ups complain that the Hamas leadership is out of touch with the tough situation they are in on the ground…There is a ‘widespread feeling that the Hamas leadership underground does not care about the public in Gaza who are above ground’.” 

The information provided by the terrorists who surrendered helps the IDF to refine their targets. But, the best information would be for some of the terrorists to reveal where Sinwar is hiding. While the elimination of Sinwar would not necessarily bring about a dismantling of Hamas, it could convince other leaders of Hamas to leave the Gaza Strip for pastures elsewhere, like Egypt or Qatar.

Qatar, as you will remember, was the lead negotiator that brokered the hostage-release/prisoner exchange/ceasefire agreement. In an effort to keep Qatar as the lead negotiator, P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu kowtowed to them and agreed not to order targeted killings of Hamas leadership residing in Qatar, who enjoy the hospitality and protection of the Qatari government. The Qatari school system promotes antisemitic and anti-Israel content in all levels of “education”. During the course of prayer at a Qatari School, an Imam cursed the Jews and called them enemies of Allah. At an elementary school in Doha, the capital of Qatar, a students’ artwork exhibition included a display entitled “The Traits of the Jews” and described them as “arrogant, jealous, deceitful, corrupt, prophet-killers, divided and polytheistic.” Qatar will continue to provide financial support to Gaza. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, its Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, stated in an interview with CNN: “Our mandate is our continuous help and support for our brothers and sisters of Palestine. We will continue to do it systematically as we did it before.”

From all the countries in the world, couldn’t we have found a negotiator who was genuinely impartial? If there really are no impartial potential negotiators, then I would recommend that Lithuania, one of the most Israel-friendly and supportive countries in the world, should be part of the negotiations, if and when they should resume. I would also recommend Argentina.

Argentina is becoming Israel-friendly: Defying expectations, Javier Milei, a self-declared “anarchy-capitalist” was elected as Argentina’s new President last month. In his inaugural speech yesterday, he referred to the story of the Maccabees and stated, in part: “It is not by chance that this assumption takes place in the holiday of Hanukkah, the festival of light, and that the same celebrates the true essence of freedom…The war of the Maccabees is the symbol of the victory of the weak over the powerful, of the few over the many, of the light over darkness and overall of the truth over untruth.”  Milei, who is not Jewish, said he is interested in converting and has been studying with an Argentinian rabbi. For his first visit to a foreign country, he is planning to visit Jerusalem and has promised to move Argentina’s embassy from Herzliya to Jerusalem. Undoubtedly, he has appropriated God’s clear message: “I will bless those who bless you.” (Genesis 12:3)

May we be worthy of their sacrifice: That is the essence of a mother’s statements at the funeral of her son, who was killed in combat. I’ve attended many funerals in Israel, too many, in fact. They included the funerals of soldiers, some of whom I knew, others whom I related to, in a sense, as family. Emotions swell, tears flow, the heart beats, as thoughts race through my mind of another life that ended barely before it began. Sometimes, the words stated during a time of loss are able to encourage others to look forward, to press on, to accomplish what others began, but were not able to complete because their lives were cut short. In his moving article: When it finally hit home, Avi Mayer describes briefly, among other things, some words of a sister: 

“It was so clear to you…As soon as we had a sense of what had happened, you went to pack a bag. You didn’t even wait for the official word. You just left, even though you didn’t have to. It was clear to you that if your country is in trouble, and if your friends are fighting, you have to be there.” 

This was followed by the words of the soldier’s mother, as she stood by the fresh grave of her son. As Mayer reported it:

Finally, Sarit approached the lectern. “Here lies pure gold,” she began. She described Ben as having lived life to the fullest, a “dream child.” “You managed to connect to everyone, to see the good and the funny in each person,” she said. “I once told you that if you were to stand next to an electrical pole for more than five minutes, you two would also become good friends.” Ben, she said, had dedicated his life to the security of Israel, and had lived a life of value and meaning, but never at the expense of family or friends. “Thank you, Ben, for living a full life,” she said. “Thank you for making us proud, thank you for all the laughter and friendship with me, the silly humor we shared, thank you for being here with us in all your fullness. You are still with us and always will be.”

Then she looked up and addressed the tear-streaked faces around her.

“And now to you, to all of you, to all of us, to the Jewish people in the Land of Israel,” she said forcefully. “As a storyteller, I tell you: our story has a happy ending. We are going to win. We have no other choice. We are a people who want to live, unlike our enemies, lowly and miserable, cowards, Nazis and their accomplices, who sanctify death. We will live, and thrive, and build.”

“And our leaders must be worthy of us, of the Israeli spirit that beats within each of us, of the Israeli spirit that beats within our incredible soldiers,” Sarit continued. “If our soldiers have managed to put themselves aside and the nation at the center, it is incumbent upon our leaders to do the same. Leaders who don’t understand that, leaders who go around with arrogance, should make way for those who do know what to do. Because we have to win. It’s either us or them. It’s either the Nazis and their accomplices or us.”

“Do you hear, people of Israel?” she said, her voice rising. “World, do you hear? Do you hear, lowly enemies who desire death and evil? Am Yisrael Chai – the Jewish people live, forever and ever and for all eternity, standing tall and with our heads held high. Now more than ever, be strong, believe, demand the good, insist on the good, and we will win.”

Tonight, we lit the fifth candle of Hanukkah. And we prayed. May we add to our prayers: “He who blessed our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, may He bless our soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces!” (Mi sheh berech avoteinu, Avraham, Yitzchak v’Yaakov, hu yivarech et hayilenu, Tzavah Hahagana l’Yisrael!)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

This was prepared last night, but due to a technical problem with the computer, it was not able to be sent out, so it is being sent tonight. It will be followed by the report for Day 66.

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is up to 98.

Timetable to end the war? There are three weeks remaining before the end of the year. This, apparently, is the timetable that Uncle Sam is placing on Israel to complete its military operation in the Gaza Strip, to withdraw Israel’s troops and re-deploy them along the border areas. Of course, no one can state with absolute certainty that Israel will stop the war at the stroke of midnight before the second hand of the clock marks the new year. Israel, for its part, may not be able to conclude the war and may stretch it out for a few more weeks into January. But, at some point, Netanyahu will have to refuse the “urgings” of the United States for Israel to withdraw from Gaza, particularly if Yahya Sinwar is still alive and the remaining hostages are not released or freed.

If the reports are true, and the U.S. is, in fact, pressuring Israel to end the war within a relatively short period of time, then Sinwar may well understand that all he has to do is hang in there for another 3 to 6 weeks and trust that Washington will do the rest to bring the present round of fighting to an end.

According to various reports, the IDF is expecting to exercise complete control of the northern sector of the Gaza Strip. After that, will devote its energies to the battle for Khan Yunis, which is a major Hamas stronghold where Sinwar and other senior members of Hamas are believed to be hiding. The IDF is trying to obtain strategic information from the approximately 2,500 Gazans, which include Hamas fighters, who have surrendered to the IDF. But, given the massive tunnel network established by Hamas, it is not beyond the realm of reason to anticipate that Sinwar may attempt to move further south, toward the Rafiah Crossing, or, more likely, that he will try to enter into Egypt through the system of tunnels used for smuggling. If that were to happen, we may have to search for Sinwar elsewhere and Egypt will be drawn into the web of war, something that it is making every effort to avoid.

These possible developments add to the pressure on Israel to “get the job done”. P.M. Netanyahu also delivered a message to the Hamas terrorists, telling them that the war was going to end soon and that there was no reason for them to lose their lives fighting to protect Sinwar. So, he urged them to put down their weapons. Some are taking that advice.

Another reason to end the war is due to the presence of viruses in the water supply of the Strip. This contamination, coupled with the overburdened hospitals and shortage of medicine and food, could affect the population as a whole, as well as possibly the approximately 140 hostages that remain under the control of Hamas. A number of hostages have already died – or have been killed – and, from reports of hostages who were released, the sanitary conditions accompanying their captivity is far from healthy, adding to the urgency of extricating them in one way or another.

When we finish with Hamas, we’ll most probably have to deal with Hezbollah: There’s always some threat coming from Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of the Hezbollah, has been making threats against Israel for years. The last time his threats took the form of action was during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which lasted 33 days. Since then, Hezbollah has built up a substantial arsenal of projectiles, short-range and long-range, numbering well over 100,000, all pointing in the direction of Israel. While Hezbollah has not fully entered into the military fray between Israel and Hamas, nevertheless, it slowly, but steadily, increases its missile launches into northern communities in Israel. It also is moving closer to the border with Israel, in violation of a UN Security Council resolution of 2006, which set a 30 km buffer zone in southern Lebanon. A not-so-small concern of Israel is that it would have to actively fight a northern front, while still massively involved in the Gaza Strip. As long as Hezbollah’s rockets and UAV remain on the level of taunts, Israel has the opportunity to finish the war in the south and then take appropriate action against Hezbollah.

Then there are the Houthis from Yemen, who continue to make their presence known, either by launching missiles towards the southern city of Eilat, or by hijacking shipping in the Red Sea. They have undertaken to become another thorn in our flesh. At some point, they will cross a “red line”, either of ours or of the United States, and action will have to be taken that goes beyond shooting their projectiles out of the air. Who would have thought it? Houthis from Yemen. And all the while, Iran, who pulls all the strings of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi, sits on the sidelines, while its proxies take center stage.

No “Palestinian” workers to be allowed back from Judea and Samaria: Israel’s socioeconomic cabinet discussed the issue of whether “Palestinian” workers from the West Bank (=Judea and Samaria) should be allowed back into Israel. Contrary to the position taken by P.M. Netanyahu, who was in favor of allowing them entry, the cabinet overwhelmingly voted against it. National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, said that he was opposed to the idea of “allowing thousands of day workers residing in the ‘Palestinian’ Authority to start entering Israel regularly again”. He is fighting even the idea of ever again allowing Arab workers from Judea and Samaria back into Israel, referring to such a desire as part of the old “conception”. What may not be widely known is that prior to October 7th, Israel issued about 17,000 work permits for “Palestinians” entering from Gaza. They were “employed” in whatever areas were necessary – agriculture, industrial areas, food factories, medical facilities, hotels and even burial societies. Some of them carried out reconnaissance for Hamas, providing detailed drawings and locations of specific targets that ended up in the hands of Hamas. The final decision regarding the re-issuance of work permits for “Palestinians” will be decided by the Security Cabinet. But, hopefully, the days of Israel’s reliance on “Palestinian” workers are over.

Renewed negotiations for release of hostages? Qatar’s Foreign Minister said that mediation efforts are continuing to secure a new ceasefire arrangement and secure the release of more hostages held by Hamas. At the same time, he said that Israel’s continued bombardment in the Gaza enclave narrows the window of negotiation. Hamas has threatened that none of the hostages will leave alive, unless Israel agrees to its demands. Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said “Neither the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership… nor its supporters… can take their prisoners alive without an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance.” P.M. Netanyahu refused to enter into negotiations at this time, saying that conditions were not yet right. Faced with that demand of Hamas, conditions will never be right.

A brief look at some of the rockets of Hamas: The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade is the military wing of Hamas and, at least for now, is led by the elusive Mohammed Deif. They managed to update a brief video revealing some of the missiles that they launch against Israel.

This is the fourth night of Hanukkah. Each night, as we light an additional candle, we remember the miraculous victory over our enemies that God brought about.

The Dry Bones Blog – 10 December, 2023

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is up to 97. That number includes 3 from our block – 1 from the festival, 2 from IDF.

Fall-out from the UN Security Council vote: As expected, the U.S. is receiving condemnation for having vetoed the Arab-backed resolution that called for the immediate, humanitarian ceasefire. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, which authorizes the head of the UN to raise threats he sees to international peace and security – a provision that hasn’t been used at the UN since 1971. According to Guterres, “there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza”, adding that Gaza is at “a breaking point” that would result in “a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.”

The head of the UN (an organization that has repeatedly and unashamedly passed more resolutions against Israel than against any other country) and the thirteen member states of the Security Council that voted in favor of the resolution, fail to acknowledge the “big picture”. 

The present war and situation is Gaza is a consequence of a bloody invasion and massacre terrorists who rule the Gaza Strip, who thrive in Gaza, where most of the citizens are in line with the terrorist ideology to destroy Israel. Since 2007, when Hamas took over the rule in the enclave, repeated terrorist incidents have taken place against Israel. Tens of thousands of projectiles have been launched against Israel over the years, including up to this very day. Israeli citizens have been subjected to attacks, some have been killed, many have been wounded and considered damage has been caused by Hamas, “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad and other terrorists emanating from Gaza. Enough is enough!

The UN has taken a microcosmic view of the situation, believing that the present war is due only to the pogrom that took place on October 7th. Yes, we want to release the hostages and bring them home. Yes, we want to eliminate Hamas and prevent it and other terrorists in Gaza from committing a replay of October 7th. But, Israel has always said that it wants to live in peace and has entered into agreement after agreement that Hamas and its ilk has failed to live up to. Israel vacated all of the settlements in Gush Katif in 2005, removing some 9,000 Israeli citizens from the Gaza Strip, leaving it in the hands of Gazans, who left it in the hands of Hamas, a totally immoral, evil terrorist organization that exalts death and celebrated the devastating massacre on October 7th. Its leaders even stated publicly that it intends to commit similar massacres until the Jewish state is totally eliminated.

The slaughter that took place on October 7th was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. Israel has responded to prior attacks by Hamas against Israeli citizens, to prior rocket attacks, to prior vehicle ramings, to prior isolated incidents of terror. But, this latest attack struck the heartstring of the nation. Israel is committed to eliminating Hamas and its leadership, to locating and returning all of the hostages. The leadership of Hamas, like the leadership of the Hezbollah, assign others to do their dirty work, while they hide in underground bunkers or reside abroad in 5-star hotels abroad. The terrorists like to operate from underground tunnels and sneak out of their holes like snakes crawling out of their dens to seek their unsuspecting victims and bring them back with them into their burrows. 

The Arab world, and countries expressing anti-Israel sentiment, as well as antisemitic organizations and demonstrations, try to paint a picture of Israel being an occupying, apartheid nation that is carrying out genocide and ethnic cleansing against Gazans, as well as being expansionist, while conducting an immoral war. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are no Israeli communities in Gaza – so much for any claim of being an occupier or practicing apartheid (apart from the Islamist claim that all of Israel is “occupied territory”). The population of Gaza has significantly increased, rather than decreased – so much for the claim of attempting genocide and ethnic cleansing of Gazans. Israel abandoned its communities inside of Gaza 18 years ago – so much for a claim of being expansionist. As for conducting an immoral war, no nation in the world has a military more moral than Israel. Every effort has been made by the IDF to minimize civilian casualties. But, the Hamas terrorists are like cowardly cockroaches, hiding behind whatever will give them protection, intentionally using civilians as human shields, fighting from inside civilian locations, in hospitals, schools and UN facilities (known by those institutions and yet, denied by them). And, at the end, they will crawl back into their holes and tunnels and then cry “foul”.

The cries of Hamas to the Security Council to “save the Gaza Strip” and to bring about a ceasefire to the “brutal war”, is nothing more than Hamas pleading for help to keep it alive to fight another day. The “crime” that the Arab nations accuse Israel of committing in this war is simply the our fighting to survive. The fighting and the war can end today, if Hamas surrenders and returns ALL of the hostages, including the remains of Israelis who were taken captive by the people group that refers to itself as “Palestinian”. Whatever “humanitarian crisis” exists in the Gaza Strip today is the result of oppression and reckless indifference to the lives of Gaza residents by Hamas, pure and simple. They have voluntarily injected themselves with cancer cells and allowed that cancer to grow within them unchecked. Sometimes, drastic surgery is needed to remove the cancer and prevent it from spreading. And, if it is denied treatment, it will result in the death of the host.

Much of the world community, and particularly the Arabic-speaking nations, gaze upon the present war situation and say, “poor Gazans”, while they make no attempt to provide the remedy that can stop the Gazans from dying, namely: to force Hamas to surrender and force it to release ALL of the hostages. They speak the same language as Hamas. They provide the financing to Hamas and the materials needed for establishing an enormous labyrinth of tunnels. They know that the humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip on a daily basis is grabbed up primarily by Hamas to keep its terrorist network functioning, while ordinary citizens of Gaza are suffering as a direct result of Hamas’s apathy to the plight and, indirectly, as a result of the atrocities committed on October 7th. 

P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu, while serving as Knesset Chairman, said on August 14, 2006,  “If the Arabs lay down their arms there will be no more war, but if Israel lays down its weapons there would be no more Israel.”  Some things are so clear they need no elaboration.

The Red Cross reprimands hostage families:  Families of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas were reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross .

Generally speaking, The International Committee of the Red Cross is supposed to be “an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.”  The respect that Israel may once have had for this humanitarian organization has dropped considerably, as a result of its lack of action and apparent indifference regarding the hostages being held by Hamas. Some considered that this organization’s involvement consisted of providing taxi service for transporting hostages released by Hamas to the control of Israeli authorities.

The attitude towards the Red Cross worsened considerably after a meeting this held between that organization and Roni and Simona Steinbrecher, the parents of Doron Steinbrecher, who is being held hostage by Hamas. Doron’s parents that that the Red Cross was going to provide the medication needed by their daughter. But, instead, they were told by representatives of the organization, “Think about the Palestinian side…It’s hard for the Palestinians, they’re being bombed.” Incredible! What about impartiality? What about providing “humanitarian … assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence”? And to think that people actually donate money to an organization that adds insult to injury by failing to abide by its own “mandate and mission”.

Failed attempt to rescue hostages: The IDF Spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, announced briefly yesterday that two members of the IDF were seriously wounded during a failed attempt to rescue hostages. He added that the IDF “will continue to act in a number of ways, operationally and with intelligence…to return all the hostages home, and to obtain information on them.”  National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said today in a television interview that efforts to rescue hostages are incredibly high risk “because their captors are waiting with their fingers on the trigger”, adding, that is what resulted in two IDF commandos being injured yesterday. Even though two terrorists were eliminated, no hostages were found to be present at the location where the operation took place.

Hamas operatives surrendering to the IDF? Yes, it is estimated that more than a hundred and fifty Hamas operatives have surrendered to the IDF in areas of northern Gaza, while the fighting continues in the southern portion of the enclave. <https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel-at-war/1701980659-over-150-hamas-terrorists-surrender-to-idf-forces-in-khan-yunis> The terrorists were arrested and are being interrogated by Unit 504 of the Intelligence Corps and the Internal Security Service.

Deadline to end the war? Nothing like being sure of what is unsure. Here are some straight-forward headlines:

December 7th: “White House official: ‘We haven’t given Israel a deadline to end the war’.”

December 7th: “White House: We havaeli military operations, Israelis will decide their course’.”

December 8th: “Biden administration said to demand Israel conclude war against Hamas by end of year”

December 8th: “The United States has given Israel a deadline: Here’s when the war must end. The administration of U.S. President Joseph Biden has given Israel a deadline to end the war against Hamas by the end of the year.”

December 9th (today, at 11:33 a.m.): “US on report it gave war deadline: ‘These are Israeli military operations, Israelis will decide their course’.“

December 9th (today, at 18:09 p.m.): “Biden gives Israel until end of year to finish Gaza war – POLITICO.”

Whose war is this, anyway? Lest we forget, election politics will be the focal point of 2024 in the U.S. Does any politician want to focus his campaign on the support or lack of support for Israel’s war with Gaza?

If America behaved more like a Christian country should, Jews would be more secure! How’s that for a statement?

Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. He is the co-founder of Prager University and author of a Torah commentary. In an eye-opening article appearing in Jewish Journal on December 7th, he wrote, in part: 

“Since World War II, most American Jews have believed that the more secular American society is, the more secure their status. This has been, as I have argued all of my life, a colossal error. Indeed, it may turn out to be a fatal error. With the outburst of unprecedented levels of antisemitism, American Jews are living the famous warning: ‘Beware what you wish for; you just may get it’.”

Prager quotes a portion of Mark Twain’s famous essay “Concerning the Jews” that appeared in Harper’s Magazine in 1899, as well as a number of sources lauding the accomplishments of the Jews and their contribution to American society. But, significantly, he points out: “The primary reason American Jews have lived in the most Jew-friendly, even Jew-honoring, country in history is that most Americans have been Christian. But we must make a key distinction here. American Christians have been not just Christian, as Europe was, but Judeo-Christian…[A]lmost to a man the Founders were Judeophiles.” 

I would encourage you to read his article, which is not lengthy and will close with Prager’s closing comments: “As I said to John Anderson, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, on his podcast: “I say this as a Jew … I don’t romanticize Christianity when I say its death is the death of the West. I am rooting for Christianity’s survival as much as you, the Christian, are. Look around, my fellow Jews. Are you happy with the results of the secularization of America? Do you feel more secure? Or less?

“I ask you: Is it not obvious that when more Americans attended church every Sunday, America’s Jews were far more secure?”

Food for thought.

Tonight is the third night and the third candle of Hanukkah. Part of the prayers that accompany the lighting of the candles includes the following:

“Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers, in those days at this time.” We know that the Lord our God is the same yesterday, today and forever. What he did then, He is still able to do now. May the miracles of defeat of our enemies that were performed for the Maccabees also be performed in our time as well! 

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

Due to a late arrival home today and a desire to get this out before midnight, most of the items that I had originally intended to comment on will not be discussed today. But, there is one of considerable interest and importance.

The United Nations was due to vote on a brief draft Resolution on yesterday (Friday), but the vote was delayed for several hours at the request of the United Arab Emirates, who drafted the proposed Resolution. On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is also the former Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and a member of the Portuguese Socialist Party, who has long called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza War, called for a special meeting of the UN Security Council in an effort to invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter. The action taken by Guterres is extraordinary, as he sought a Security Council Resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire of the war. The requested delay until 3:00 p.m. New York time, was to allow for a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the “Palestinian” Authority and Turkey – obviously. with the goal of trying to get the U.S. to abstain from the vote. Of those six ministers mentioned (of five States – the “Palestinian” Authority is not a State), only two (Egypt and Jordan) have peace treaties with Israel, whose representative was not invited to participate in that meeting. Although the vote, originally scheduled for early Friday morning, was delayed, the Security Council nevertheless convened for a briefing by Guterres, whose comments include: “I urge the council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, pointed out that there already was a ceasefire and that it was broken by Hamas on October 7th. He added: “The irony is that regional stability and the security of both Israelis and Gazans can only be achieved once Hamas is eliminated, not one minute before…So the true path to ensure peace is only through supporting Israel’s mission – absolutely not to call for a ceasefire.”

The text of the Resolution, which originally made no reference to condemning the Hamas attacks, was amended to add that both “the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law”, as well to “demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, commented before the vote that if the Security Council fails to adopt the resolution, it would be “giving Israel a license to continue with its massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.” As noted, Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, but has repeatedly condemned Israel’s efforts at self defense, which includes the destruction of Hamas and other terrorist entities in the Gaza Strip. It also fails to see the opposite side of the coin, namely, that if the Security Council did adopt a Resolution calling for an immediately ceasefire, it would, in terms similar to Safari’s statement, “give a license to Israel’s enemies to continue with its massacre of Israelis wherever they made be found.”

The Dry Bones Blog <blog@mrdrybones.com> – 8 December, 2023

At least nine votes needed to be cast in favor of the Resolution, which can be vetoed by any one of the five permanent members of the Security Council: the United States, Russia, China, France or Britain.

At the time of the vote, Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, exercised the veto power of the United States and informed the Security Council: “While the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire…This would only plant the seeds for the next war because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace.” He added: “Unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were ignored” leading to an “imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way. And so, we regretfully could not support it.“ (see at 3:53 p.m.)

In response to the decision of the Security Council that rejected the Resolution, and in remarks reflecting a clear allusion to the Festival of Hanukkah, Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, stated: “A little light rejected a lot of darkness…It is shocking that when Hamas is firing rockets at Gush Dan from population centers in southern Gaza, the UN is busy with a disconnected deliberation about a distorted resolution that is directed at the wrong side and does not even condemn Hamas…A ceasefire is possible, only with the return of all the hostages and destruction of Hamas.”

We need to give credit where and when credit is due. We may not always agree with the actions and decisions of the United States, as they relate to the present Israel-Gaza War, and we certainly are not happy with the pressures that Uncle Sam exerts on Israel. But, in this instance, the U.S. showed itself to be a true friend of Israel, understanding the real issues and the absolute imperative to continue this war until all of its goals are achieved. May that be soon.

That’s it for now. Time for Shabbat rest.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

Shalom all,

The number of IDF members killed in action since the beginning of the ground offensive is up to 89.

One of five soldiers killed in action in the Gaza Strip today was Master Sergeant Gal Eizenkot, the 25-year-old son of Gadi Eizenkot, the former Chief of Staff and a current member of the War Cabinet. Gal was serving as a Medic in the reserves, after having completed his compulsory service in an elite special operations unit. His unit spotted a tunnel shaft on the outskirts of the city of Shijaiyah and when they approached, there was an explosion from the shaft, which caused him to be critically wounded. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Gadi Eizenkot was visiting IDF commanders in the south when he was notified of the explosing and that his son, one of five children, was critically injured.

Projectiles were launched from areas next to tents that housed civilians. Incredibly, rockets were fired from humanitarian “safe zones” set up in Gaza for civilians. These areas are supposed to be free from hostilities. Yet, two separate rocket barrages were fired from the these “non-combatant areas”, targeting the southern major city of Beersheva. Three hours earlier, a rocket misfied, causing many within the area of the “safe zone” to scramble for shelter.

With the IDF continuing to press southward in the Gaza Strip, tens of thousands of Gazans are fleeing towards the Rafiah Junction with Egypt. For its part, Egypt stationed thousands of troops and erected barriers to prevent a massive influx of Gazan refugees.

It was also reported that civilians in Gaza are claiming that Hamas appropriated for itself all of the food brought into the Gaza enclave by the humanitarian trucks, leaving the citizens without food and hungry. This was Israel’s concern from the outset, namely: that humanitarian aid would enter the Gaza Strip, but the people would not benefit from it, because it would be seized by Hamas. Notwithstanding that knowledge, Israel continues to allow humanitarian relief to enter into the Strip. What is done with that aid is the responsibility of others.

Today is the 7th of December. Two months ago today, Hamas and other terrorists groups broke through the fence separating the Gaza Strip and violenting attacked multiple communities in what is referred to as the “Gaza Envelope”. The terrorists were determined to cause as much death, destruction and chaos as possible, committing unfathomable atrocities, raping, mutilating, dismembering and burning residents in those communities, as well as those participating in an outdoor festival, not far from the border fence.

The following article gives a description of some the atrocities committed by Hamas. Additionally, a doctor who treated some of the released hostages reported that a number of them were “sexually assaulted or abused.” Families of hostages remaining in Hamas captivity are said to be in danger of abuse and/or death and continue to put pressure on the government to agree to the release of all of the so-called “Palestinian” prisoners in Israeli jails, in exchange for the release of all of the remaining hostages, now said to number around 140.

Pressure is also mounting from “our friends”, like the United States, who reportedly has its own demands on Israel, such as: not to destroy a lot of buildings in the south, as it did in the north; not to cause the removal of residents in the south, like the IDF did in the north; not to start a war with the Hezbollah in Lebanon; not to consider Jewish re-settlement in Gaza when the war is over; not to leave too much territorial open space between Israel and Gaza. But, Uncle Sam continues to squeeze Uncle Izzy to bring about an end to the Gaza War. Biden is facing an election year and his support of Israel is, apparently, beginning to take its toll on him politically, and he wants the war to end.

The leftist-leaning news outlet, Haaretz, stated the matter this way:

“Netanyahu believes Biden is weeks away from calling for the war to end. Israel will soon conquer all the neighborhoods of Gaza City, and the military is already operating in the southern part of the coastal enclave, breaking through Hamas resistance in Khan Yunis. The only areas of Gaza that Israel hasn’t entered yet are in the southwest, where numerous civilians are living in crowded refugee camps after fleeing their homes.

“We’re getting close to the point where Biden will be able to tell Netanyahu: I gave you full backing for weeks, despite strong opposition from within my own party and constant complaints from close allies. You’ve reached almost every corner of the Gaza Strip. Now it’s time to pull out most of the soldiers, rebuild the Israeli communities on the Gaza border, and start planning the future so that something like October 7 can never happen again.“

Wars cannot be fought according to someone’s political time-table. Israel will probably yield to some of America’s demands, but there will be a point at which it will have to say, “No”. The war should end when Israel’s goals are met, not when the United States gets back on the campaign trail for the elections that will take place in 2024.

When the United States was attacked on the 7th of December, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared before the U.S. Congress that it was a “day that will live in infamy forever.” The 7th of October, 2023, is Israel’s “day of infamy”. America took action against Japan and entered into the Second World War, eventually fighting in the European arena as well. They needed to make sure that Japan and its allies were defeated and that there would be no re-occurrence of Pearl Harbor or an attempt by any country to control the world. Israel took action against Hamas and needs to make sure that Hamas, along with its allies, are defeated, so that there will never be a re-occurence of Black Saturday, the 7th of October. It took over 3.5 for America’s involvement in WWII to end successfully. We have been fighting for 2 months and are pressing forward to our goal of eliminating Hamas, “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups, and we should be allowed to finish the job without foreign political concerns from the U.S., the U.N., the E.U. and whoever else has a problem with an Israel that can defend herself, instead of again agreeing to be lambs led to the literal slaughter. 

A friend should be a friend in all types of weather, not just in fair weather.

Hanukkah started tonight:

Tonight is the beginning of the Festival of Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah). It is an 8-day celebration, marking the miraculous victory of the Maccabees – Jewish freedom fighters – over the Seleucid Greeks that controlled this area back in the year 139 B.C. Every night during the eight nights of Hanukkah, special candelabras (called Hanukkiahs) are lit, adding an additional flame each night, until on the eighth night nine flames are burning brightly – the servant candle and the eight other candles lit from the servant candle’s flame. The candle lighting can take place anywhere, but it is usually at home and the Hanukkiahs are placed on a table or near a window. Some communities have a large, electric Hanukkiah and every night, one additional candle is turned on and added to the others, until all nine lights are lit. 

Hanukkah falls on the exact same exact each year, according to the Hebrew calendar, which is a lunar calendar. It always begins on the 25th day of ninth month of the Jewish calendar, Kislev and ends on the second day of the tenth month, Tevet. 

The message of Hanukkah is one of the triumph of light over forces of darkness and the freedom to worship God.

The candle-lighting ceremony is usually accompanied by certain blessings and songs. Part of the blessings that are recited when lighting the candles includes: 

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time.

“Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.”

One of the songs that is sung contains these words:

“We have come to banish the darkness,

In our hands light and fire.

Every one is a small light,

And together we are a strong light. 

Be gone darkness, move on blackness!

Be gone away before the light!”

What was true during the time of the Maccabees remains true today. “Light dispels the darkness.” Each of us individually is but a small light, but together the light that we emit can banish the darkness. 

Wherever we go in Israel there are signs, posters, stickers and miscellaneous items that say that “together we will be victorious”, “our unity will bring about our victory”. From every corner, leftist and rightist, the realization is the same: “Hamas is evil; it represents the devil incarnate; it is the blackest of the black.” It needs to go! 

Whatever light we have, as a people, we received from the Lord, Who dwells in unapproachable light. We need to keep our eyes on Him, even as the Maccabees kept their eyes on the Holy One of Israel and sought to cleanse the Temple to restore proper worship to Him. When we do that, the light that we will reflect together will be able to overcome the darkness of every evil. And then we can say, with those of old, “Be gone darkness, move on blackness! Be gone away before the light!” But, we should always remember, we do not generate the light, we only reflect His light in our lives.

Isaiah 10:17 – “And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.“

Happy Hanukkah!

Bless, be blesed and be a blessing.

Marvin

Shalom all,

The IDF moves south and surrounds Khan Yunis: Multiple brigades of the IDF were involved in the massive effort to gain control over Khan Yunis, the most crucial city in southern Gaza and the stronghold of Hamas. It is also the home of the two main Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif. In the process, the southern command of the IDF was able to surround the home of Yahya Sinwar, which was destroyed by the air force before the ground troops arrived there. Unfortunately, Sinwar, the mastermind behind the terrorist slaughter of 7th October, was not in his home at the time it was destroyed.

Upon learning that Sinwar’s house was surrounded by the IDF, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked: “Yesterday I said that our forces can reach anywhere in the Gaza Strip. Now they are surrounding Sinwar’s house. So his house is not his fortress, and he can escape, but it’s only a matter of time before we get him.”

In addition, a major IDF force, that included two Divisions, pressed on into Shejaia, in northern Gaza, which is said to be the greatest remaining stronghold of Hamas in that area.

The three members of the War Cabinet held a press conference last night (5th December), during which they responded, among other things, to questions whether the continued humanitarian aid and fuel into Gaza decreases the leverage over Hamas regarding the release of the hostages. P.M. Netanyahu said there was no contradiction between the war effort and the supply of humanitarian aid. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented that the ground offense both requires and enables humanitarian aid, which, in turn, gives Israel the “right to demand” that Hamas fulfill its commitment to allow the hostages to vbe visited by the Red Cross, or, at the very least, to supply the hostages with needed medication. Netanyahu also spoke with the head of the Red Cross and requested that she speak to Qatar, which has proven to have leverage over Hamas, and tell them to exert pressure on Hamas to allow the Red Cross to visit the hostages still being held by Hamas, which now number 138. At the present time, it appears that Israel speaking with the Red Cross, the Red Cross speaking with Qatar and Qater placing pressure on Hamas to allow visits by the Red Cross are all wasted efforts. There was no follow-up to Netanyahu’s request. The situation of the hostages clearly deteriorates with each passing day. Some have been killed while in captivity, while others have died. They need much prayer coverage. And the government needs abundant wisdom to deal with the pressure of the families to make any deal necessary in order to bring about the release of the hostages.

Spies in the IDF? An article in The Guardian stated that among the various documents recovered by the IDF following the massacre of 7th October “was a thorough map of an Israeli military base, arguabaly more detailed than would have been required by the IDF itself. Compiling such a map could only have been done using ‘inside knowledge’ – almost certainly from a Hamas spy – an Israeli intelligence source said…The detail and sheer scale of the information found have led insiders to conclude that Hamas engaged in ‘years of planning’ – an effort that the IDF and other Israeli intelligence agencies simply failed to take seriously as a threat. There are details of weapon stores and home-produced guides to the munitions available.” (emphasis mine) The article also states that in addition to the 1,200 who were killed, “300 were taken hostage” (not the approximately 240 that has been constantly reported).

Antisemitism on college campuses: The presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) testified before the House Education Committee and Workforce. They were grilled and slammed for allowing the rise in antisemitic speech and incidents. New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik proved to be the leader of the Committee’s questioning, as she was the toughest critic of the failure of those institutions of “higher learning” to curb the antisemitic incidents in their respective universities. In particular, Harvard University President Claudine Gay received the brunt of Stefanik’s unrelenting questioning, and even called for Gay’s resignation, noting that Harvard ranked “the lowest when it comes to protecting Jewish students”. 

When Rep. Stefanik asked if “calling for the genocide of Jews” was against the codes of conduct of the respective universities, the answer of all three presidents hedged their responses and said that the answer “depended on the context”. A short, three and a half minute video of the Committee Hearing, appearing on “X” (formerly Twitter) can, and should, be seen here . Should any of those universities still be treated as “esteemed institutions of higher learning”, or of high-priced campuses that provide unrestricted opportunities for the promulgation of hate and the encouragement of antisemitism, where their “learning” is takes place when the students “join the crowd” and “go with the flow” of intolerance. If the founding fathers of those institutions could see what happened to these institutions, they would probably roll over in their graves.

Opening the “tunnel” floodgates: It is reported that the IDF is planning to flood the Hamas tunnels with sea water. One of the reasons is to make the tunnels unusable. The other, more practical reason, is to cause the terrorists hiding in the tunnels to come out of the tunnels to escape drowning. It may take a while to arrange the piping system necessary to flood the tunnels. But, since so much of the tunnel network is located under existing buildings, both private and institutional, perhaps the fastest way of flooding them would be to blow holes in Gaza sewer system and let the sewage seep into the tunnels. It might expedite achieving he goals intended.

Sometimes, we’re in such a hurry, we just want to fill the car with gas and get moving to avoid getting stuck in the rush hour. And when we are in a rush, we often forget a few things.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing,

Marvin

Shalom all,

Seven members of the IDF were killed in action today, bringing the death toll to 82 since the beginning of the ground offensive, which includes twelve K.I.A. since the resumption of the fighting.

Every now and then, another video of body cam surfaces and we get a glimpse of one or more events that took place on October 7th. In the extraordinary short video that is in the annexed article (in Hebrew where the arrow is on a blue circular background), we see one Israeli woman, Amit Susana, struggling against seven armed terrorists and trying to prevent being taken captive. The last part of the video clip shows one of the terrorists hitting her on the head before she was dragged off by her captors. Susana was returned last week from Hamas captivity in the seventh round of the hostage/prisoner release “deal”. She gave permission for this clip to be shown on one of the leading television stations here.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, more and more information is being accumulated detailing the broad scope and brutality of sex crimes perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, including, but not limited to, rape of women and genital mutilation of men, Matthew Miller, the Spokesman for the U.S. State Department, stated in a press conference yesterday:

“The fact that they continue to hold women, hostages, the fact that they continue to hold children, hostages, just the fact that it seems one of the reasons they don’t want to turn women over they’ve been holding hostage, and the reason this pause fell apart, is they don’t want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them during their time in custody…There is very little that I would put beyond Hamas when it comes to its treatment of civilians, and particularly its treatment of women.” 

Even at a heated meeting today with P.M. Netanyahu and members of the War Cabinet, some of the families of hostages still being held by Hamas were joined by two female hostages, who related some of their experiences while in captivity. One of them spoke of the physical beatings, the humiliation and even the shaving of all the hair of their bodies, as well as the psychological warfare. A representative of the families also spoke of the hunger and the sexual abuse suffered by both women and men.

The failure of women’s rights organizations and women’s groups to speak up and condemn the sexual assaults committed by Hamas on and after October 7th is a travesty. Only now, there is a trickle of activity from those women’s rights activists, after almost two months following the brutal massacre and widespread and systematic sexual attacks against Israeli women (and men). 

The global silence was attacked by Gal Gadot, who wrote in her Instagram account, “The world has failed the women of October 7th…[Two] months later, women are still hostage to these rapists and the world has failed to call this situation what it is: An urgent emergency that demands a decisive response.” She urged all women, and particularly, “all those who have done so much for women’s rights globally [to] join in the demand that Hamas release every single woman hostage immediately – not after the next round of international mediation, not after another day. These women cannot survive another moment of this horror.”  Gadot is joined by a host of other individuals, who are condemning women’s groups for their silence over sexual assaults committed against Israeli women by Hamas. One of them is a former “Miss World”, Linor Abargil, who presented a stirring speech on this matter at the U.N. yesterday. It was reported in ynetnews, is short and worth noting:

“My name is Linor Abargil, and I am a rape survivor,” said Abargil, who herself suffered a horrific rape before being crowned Miss World 1998. I was only 18 at the time. It’s been 25 years. Since October 7, I’ve been hearing the demons in my head, the terrible videos, bringing everything back. I feel their pain, their lives that were taken.

“I remember the days I spoke up in public about my personal experience 25 years ago. I remember the warm embrace of the international women’s organizations. I felt I had support, that someone believed me, that someone listened to me. Did these organizations demand any proof then? Did they question my version? Did they ask to conduct a comprehensive investigation before jumping to conclusions? No! 

“How convenient it was at that time for these organizations to use my name, my fame, to invite me to their conferences, that are in a world of their own. To take a photo as the woman who became for them a symbol. How ashamed I feel that I was nothing but an extra in their production.

“Why? Because today in these conferences, they don’t want to present the blood stains on the pants, the desecrated bodies of my sisters, the blood-thirsty Hamas terrorists even documented their war crimes, and still, most women’s organizations are silent.  

“The truth will be revealed, we will not forget them and we will ensure that the world will not forget them. We will be the voice taken from them.”

The IDF reports that it is also concerned that the women who remain as hostages are still suffering sexual abuse.

The stories of Israeli women of sexual assault and abuse stand in contrast to the denials of Hamas. The blood-stained evidence and the accounts of victims and eyewitnesses do not appear to be enough for the world to reject the proven lies of Hamas. And yet, the lies of Hamas continued to be accepted. Maybe now, his visit to Israel and meetings with survivors of the massacre, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), will take action to follow up his statement that, “The attacks against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7 represent some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, crimes which the ICC was established to address.”

You don’t own me! Rimon Kirsht was held hostage by Hamas and was released in the hostage/prisoner exchange “deal”. Despite her ordeal, when she was being transferred from Hamas custody, she faced one of the terrorists with a look that spoke volumes. Wearing pink pajamas supplied by Hamas, she kept her head high and looked him straight in the eyes, waved him off and then gave him no further attention. The momentary stare was enough to express, in words unspoken, “you don’t have any more control over me.” She maintained her dignity. Then, she assisted an elderly hostage and they both walked away from the vehicle and from the terrorists that held them hostage for the better part of two months and then brought them to the transfer point. Rimon’s story reached across the oceans and even The New York Post reported on the event, stating: “At the moment of her release, Kirsht stared down one of the armed Hamas captors before cocking her head and walking away with her arm around fellow hostage Merav Tal.”  Her first words were regarding her husband, who remains a Hamas hostage:  ”Get Yagev home”. Amen! May they be reunited soon!

The Times of Israel regularly publishes a “Remembrance” page, entitled “Those We Have Lost.”  It contains “Stories of civilians and soldiers killed since Hamas’s onslaught on Israel on October 7, 2023“. If you click on the link and then on the photo, it will open a more detailed story about the person behind the photo.

Three nations are said to be willing to recognize a “Palestinian” state. It is being reported that Belgium, Norway and Spain are preparing to recognize a “Palestinian” state. This is simply AMAZING!!! The pre-requisites for recognizing a state are absent when dealing with “Palestinians”. To begin with, they have no established territory that anyone can agree to, not even those who call themselves “Palestinians” – unless, of course, one accepts the narrative that all of the land “from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea” (meaning the elimination of the State of Israel) belongs to a group of people called “Palestinians”. Still, this is historically and factually without foundation. 

Then, of course, there is the question of a permanent population and an authority with power to govern that population, as well as institutions that affect the lives of the people. There is Hamas in the Gaza Strip, that has “controlled” the Strip since 2007. And there is the “Palestinian” Authority that purportedly has control over the lives of so-called “Palestinian” residents living in Judea and Samaria (commonly referred to as “the West Bank [of the Jordan River]). Both “authorities” are at serious odds with one another, with the P.A. even holding several hundreds of Hamas political prisoners in its jails. So, there is no governing authority to be recognized.

Moreover, recognition of a “Palestinian” state has resolve the “myth” of “Palestinian” refugees. That is an entire story of itself and not for this post. Suffice it to say, that this poses a unique problem of recognizing “Palestinian” refugees who would be living in a “Palestinian” state, who could no longer be considered refugees.  So, the bottom line is that recognizing the existence of a state in the absence of the basic requisites for the establishment of a state, is absurd. Then again, when we consider the increasing antagonism towards Israel by some of the nation states of Europe, we should not be surprised if some of them act more out of hatred towards Israel than out of concern for those who refer to themselves as “Palestinians” and if they fail to use a modicum of common sense in their proclamations.

Fighting in Gaza: The IDF continues to make gains in its actions in Gaza. But, it has been a difficult day, with the loss of 7 members of the IDF. Notwithstanding the intense fighting in Gaza, Hamas still managed to launch a heavy barrage of 15 rockets towards Israel, with resultant shrapnel landing in different places in Tel Aviv, including a main street, a school and part of the beach, causing property damage and injury to one person. Rockets also caused damage to the southern city of Ashkelon this morning and injured two elderly women. As the fighting continues, so does the pressure on Israel – pressure from within by relatives of the hostages to do whatever is necessary to bring about the release of the hostages, even if it means the release of all of the “Palestinian” prisoners in Israeli jails – and pressure from without, condemnation of Israel for allegedly failing to conduct the war in such a way as to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza (most of whom align themselves ideologically with Hamas and Islamic Jihad). The government will possibly, at some point, yield to these pressures and declare a premature end to the fighting, leaving Hamas alive and kicking.

Attached is a photo of a new symbol that has been engraved on the gravestones of some of those who were killed on October 7th. A clarification for those readers in the West: Israeli dates first show the day, then the month, then the year.

Golda once clearly stated: “We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs – We have no place to go.”  

And to close out the day, attached is a link to another of Golda’s statements that is as applicable today, as it was when she declared it dozens of years ago.

Please remember that Gaza is only one location where the fighting is taking place. There is also the military action against the Hezbollah terrorist organization from Lebanon and, the relatively little known, but increasingly annoying, Houthis from Yemen. Really, Yemen, of all places. Your prayers are greatly solicited and genuinely appreciated.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin

Shalom all,

As of this writing, the number of reported IDF casualties since the beginning of the ground offensive now stands at 75.

Up to this point, I made every effort not to show or link to videos of the atrocities that took place during the Hamas-led massacre of October 7th. Nevertheless, a grisly montage of video and photos of the massacre and brutality was put together by Israel, from body cams of the terrorists, as well as from security cameras of the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip that were attacked, and they were shown to selective audiences. With the release of 81 Israeli hostages, it was inevitable that their stories and what they experienced while in captivity, would begin to be revealed and shared. And, after almost two full months since the events that took place on the Shabbat of Simhat Torah, now referred to as the Black Saturday, numerous accounts are being gathered from survivors of the terrorist invasion and some are being screened.

I was considering attaching today a link to some of the testimonies of survivors of the Nova festival. But, the testimonies are beyond difficult to hear and I opted not to link to it. 

Different kinds of reports are also emerging following the release of some of the hostages. Seasoned social workers, with dozens of years of experience, reported the difficulties of dealing with so much trauma, not only on the part of the released hostages, but on the part of their families as well. One article (unfortunately, it is only in Hebrew) states, in part (my translation): 

According to Etti Kisos, VP and head of the Social and Personal Services Administration, there is a very large difference between the abductees: “Even in the experience they went through, they were held in different conditions, by different people, some above ground, some underground, some in groups, some alone. And this is also where complexities come in, of how the family members contain this thing? How many are encouraged to share? How many are even able to hear? This is a very complex period. What feels very strong to us is that there is no uniform line for everyone.”

“Families were actually torn apart because some were in captivity and some here, and what we see now after they are reunited does not resemble anything that was before October 7 … The people who were there came back different, and the people who were here are not the same people either. The struggles are different, you have to find everyone’s place within the family, even before the consequences of what everyone brings with them from the captivity and the trauma, a little to see how to reconnect. How you are bridging a gap of what was here two months, when the person closest to you was not part of this thing.” Many are suffering from depression and panic and are trying to deal with them There is a need to pray for those who were released, to pray for their families and to pray for those professionals trying to help them all to cope with what happened and is happening and to be victorious in their efforts.

Two weeks after the massacre of Black Saturday, it was reported that the Mossad and Shin Bet set up an operations center to track down and kill members of the Hamas commando unit (the Nukbha forces) that spear-headed the onslaught of October 7th. The unit will be named “Nili”, after the World War I-era Jewish underground organization. The name is actually an acronym for a Hebrew phrase: “Netzach Yisrael Lo Yishaker”, which means “the Eternal One of Israel will not lie.” 

The command center’s goals will include the elimination of all the Nukbha members who were involved in the terrorist assault.

The two masterminds of the massacre that are at the top of the command center’s “most wanted” hit list are: the political leader of Hamas,, Yahya Sinwar, and Hamas’s military commander, Muhammad Deif. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, said at the time: “Hamas members have two options: Either die in their positions or surrender unconditionally. There is no third option. We will wipe out the Hamas organization and dismantle it of all its capabilities.”

The 61-year-old Sinwar, of course, is more widely known, after he was elected Hamas leader in Gaza in 2017. He is a founding member of Hamas and rose through the ranks as the prime mover and instigator against Israel in the terrorist organization. He was referred to as “the face of evil” and a military spokesman declared him a “dead man walking.” He was serving four life sentences for killing two Israeli soldiers, but was released in 2011, as part of the deal for the release of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, which saw 1,100 “Palestinian” security prisoners released at the same time. The results of that “deal” are being dealt with now. Before being released, Sinwar spent 23 years in Israeli jails and learned Hebrew, among other things. 

Sinwar and Deif were both born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza and they were added to the United States’ list of most wanted international terrorists in 2015.

Muhammad Deif is less known and there are not many up-to-date, full-face photos of him. He is referred to by an assumed name, that means “Guest” in Arabic, because, reportedly, he never spends more than one night in the same place. He has survived at least half a dozen attempts to kill him.

Prime Minister Netanyahu gave instructions to eliminate every member of Hamas, even if they are located abroad. But, then, he made a concession to the Qatari negotiators that Israel would not target Hamas members on Qatari soil, who are enjoying the comforts of “the good life”, as well as the protection of the Qatari government.

The elimination of Sinwar and Deif would be a devastating blow to Hamas, which has lost many senior members during the present Gaza War.  Clearly, one of the reasons that Sinwar has insisted on the release of all of the “Palestinian” prisoners being held by Israel is due to the need to train many of them to replace the depleted leadership of Hamas. But, Sinwar and Deif, continue to elude the forces of the IDF … at least for the moment!

Renewed targets: Notwithstanding P.M. Netanyahu’s concession to the Qatari negotiators, The Wall Street Journal reported on December 1st that “Israel’s intelligence services are preparing to kill Hamas leaders around the world when the nation’s war in the Gaza Strip winds down, setting the stage for a years long campaign to hunt down militants responsible for the Oct. 7 massacres.” Senior members of Hamas (which is designated as a terrorist group by Australia, Canada, the European Union, Israel, Japan and the United States) who are residing in Qatar are living it up in 5-star hotels, while enjoying privileged treatment by the Qatari government. Some are also in Lebanon, Iran and Turkey and enjoy varying measures of protection in those countries, as well.

In a recording aired by one of Israel’s leading television news stations, Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, is reported to have said: “The cabinet has set us a goal, in street talk, to eliminate Hamas. This is our Munich [a reference to the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre]. We will do this everywhere, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar. It will take a few years but we will be there to do it.”

Following the release of that report, a spokesman for Hamas reportedly said that it is not concerned by the threats and that if Israel tries to carry out those threats, it would constitute a violation of the sovereignty of the foreign country. Without question, a targeted killing of Hamas leaders on Qatari or Turkish soil, while the hostage-release negotiations were ongoing would have endangered the diplomatic efforts to free the hostages, so the plan was tabled, at least for a while.

But, now that the negotiations are over and Hamas has stated categorically that it will not release any more Israeli hostages until Israel stops its military action in the Gaza Strip, there is no longer any reason not to pursue senior Hamas leaders and eliminate them – clearly, one of the moves that could well shorten the present war.

It didn’t take long for Turkey to respond to the report of possible targeted killings of senior Hamas leaders. It warned Israel of “serious consequences”, if Israel tried to assassinate Hamas members living outside of Israel, including Turkey. What can we expect from “birds of a feather” that flock together?

There goes our planned vacation! As a result of rising antisemitism worldwide, particularly since October 7th, Israel’s National Security Council is urging citizens to reconsider non-essential travel and not to visit countries with travel warnings in place. According to a report of i24new a few hours ago, Israel raised the travel warning for 80 countries, including Western Europe. The report added: “Travelers were also advised to avoid anti-Israel demonstrations, to remain vigilant and not to openly display Israeli or Jewish symbols.”

The full list of travel advisory alerts can be found on the National Security Council’s website.

Sky News “Interview”: I’ll leave you with this incredible claim during an interview with Sky News, where the interviewer said that “Palestinians” in Gaza don’t have electricity. The response of the IDF Spokesman was that the “Palestinians” have enough power to film on their phones. Then, all of a sudden, there was no more time for the interview. This is truly priceless.

The Gaza War: The media are reporting serious battles taking place now in Gaza. Those words are intended to prepare the public for an increase in casualties and wounded. May it not be! Let us keep in prayer, with faith.

“But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.” (Psalm 3:3)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin