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October 2024

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The Biden-Harris Administration, a ‘Ceasefire’ and a Palestinian State by Alexander Maistrovoy

By on October 30th, 2024

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21066/biden-harris-ceasefire-palestinian-state

There seem to be several reasons for the Palestinians’ reluctance to reach an agreement about a two-state solution, and a lasting end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

Any Palestinian leader who has recommended an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been denounced by his people as a traitor and killed. That outcome would seem quite a disincentive. As the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said, “Do you want me sitting up there having tea with Sadat?”

The donations that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have received since 1993 could have turned the West Bank into a thriving area, and Gaza into a “New Singapore” or “Dubai on the Mediterranean,” however, the leaders evidently had other priorities for that cash.

One aim of Abbas seems to be to preserve his own wealth, estimated at $100 million, and the prosperity of his sons, who own the largest businesses in the Palestinian Authority. If donors keep throwing gigantic amounts of money at one — especially unconditionally — why not take it?

In a situation where every attempt to achieve peace turns into another bloody war-experiment, most Israelis have apparently concluded that they would be better off without such a “peace”.

From the point of view of many Palestinian Arabs, and even some Americans, Jews can return to the other countries that wanted to kill them.

At present, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, praised as “The Churchill of the Middle East,” appears determined to disable Hamas and Hezbollah politically and militarily so they will not be able to threaten the security of Israelis again.

Even with a supposed “ceasefire deal,” Sinwar’s successor will no doubt release the hostages as slowly as possible to allow more time for the Palestinians to rearm.

For a ceasefire, Hamas — probably also including Qatar and Iran — is asking for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, far from the smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt. They are also asking for a “permanent ceasefire” — meaning that they want the US administration and the international community to force Israel to stop fighting, but leave Hamas’s leaders and terrorists free to rearm, regroup and ready to fight another day.

In 2023, Israel allowed extra work permits to the Gazans — who then mapped out every house to attack, including “the names of the people, how many children they had and even which of them owned dogs.”

At this point, whatever happens with a ceasefire or not, the region clearly does not seem ready for any kind of Palestinian state — to say the least.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

POSITIVE NEWS FROM ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on October 30th, 2024

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

Many examples of Israel’s determination to rehabilitate the wounded.

An Israeli startup has developed a device that can save millions of stroke victims.

Israeli volunteers are helping Americans recover from recent hurricanes.

An Israeli startup makes flour from the waste from olive oil production.

Take a ride on Israel’s first driverless public bus.

Resilient Israelis make wine and beer while under fire.

Celebrating Sukkot (Tabernacles) in Israel is a unique experience.

POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
 
Sheba hospital’s new rehab center. At Sheba hospital’s new “Returning to Life Rehabilitation Center for War Casualties”, over 600 patients have undergone critical rehabilitation since Oct 7. Sheba’s original rehab unit was expanded to meet the increased demand for trauma care and rehabilitation for civilians and soldiers.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-hospital-transforms-to-meet-wartime-rehab-demand/
 
Farm rehabilitates soldiers. Havat Rom (Rom Farm) some 30 miles from the Lebanese border, contains a farm-to-table restaurant and a glamping site. It also hosts a government rehabilitation program helping people with mental illnesses and disorders, including soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
https://www.israel21c.org/farm-helping-soldiers-with-ptsd-under-shadow-of-war/  https://havatrom.co.il/
https://glow-glamping.com/
 
Back on their feet.  Two articles describing wounded IDF soldiers who are bravely walking again after extensive hospital treatment and rehabilitation.  Major Rotem Shaked Aharon is fortunate to have his original legs, whereas Elisha Madan has two prostheses.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-severely-wounded-idf-soldier-leaves-hospital-on-own-two-feet/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397410
 
1,600+ scholarships. Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) has established a scholarship fund for students in southern border communities. Many are evacuees and still in shock. Returning to studies is a form of rehabilitation. So far, some 1,670 students have received NIS 4,000 each. See also here.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-non-profit-gives-over-1000-scholarships-to-students-gaza-border-communities/   https://donate.kkl-jnf.org/education_jp_full/
 
How Ellay survived. Ellay Golan’s recovery from 8-weeks in a coma to graduating medical school was reported here previously. This article describes how, despite being burned, she bravely fought off Hamas terrorists on Oct 7 to save her 18-month-old baby daughter.
https://www.israel21c.org/rising-from-the-ashes-a-mothers-fight-to-survive/
 
Always thought of others. (TY Yanky) IDF Sgt. Omer Ginzburg may have fallen in battle, but his bone grafts will repair orthopedic injuries; his corneas will give sight to the blind; his skin will treat burns injuries, and his heart valves will also be used. Omer’s parents said, “He always thought of others before thinking of himself.”
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-814321
 
Israel tests 8 anti-drone systems. About time!  The IDF drone interception tests included Elbit (Iron Hawk), IAI (Precise Falcon), Rafael (Typhoon), Aerobotics, Xtend, General Robotics (Pitbull), Smartshooter, Fortem (US) + Elbit. See here for most of these and many other Israeli systems previously reported in this newsletter.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bki2ag2yje
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgaDOTCN5sE
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Pioneering medicine. The Pioneering Israeli Medicine Conference in New York City (Sep 22) highlighted new technologies, innovating hospitals, physical & mental rehabilitation, innovation in emergency medicine. The lessons learned from Oct 7 helped medical professionals prepare for the escalation with Hezbollah.
https://www.israel21c.org/october-7-stats-reveal-extraordinary-lifesaving-medical-efforts/
http://med-conf.scienceabroad.org.il/
 
New metabolites can treat diabetes and obesity. Israel’s Metabolize is testing two molecules that reduce both appetite and weight, helping to treat diabetics and the obese. The phenylalanine metabolite X-Phe and N-acetyltaurine (NAT) don’t have the side effects of existing medications and can be ingested rather than injected.
https://nocamels.com/2024/09/harnessing-our-own-bodies-for-side-effect-free-weight-loss/
https://metabolize.life/
 
3D-printed implants. (TY Atid-EDI) Israeli startups Collplant and Stratasys have commenced a pre-clinical study to test the ability of their 3D-printed implants (see here previously) to promote the growth of natural tissue and completely degrade over time. It may be an alternative to reconstructive surgery after cancer surgery.
https://investors.stratasys.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/903/collplant-and-stratasys-announce-pre-clinical-study-for
 
Bladder cancer test goes to Europe. Italy’s Menarini Diagnostics is to distribute the EpiCheck non-invasive bladder cancer urine test from Israel’s Nucleix (see here previously) in Europe. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer as there are approximately 760,000 people in Europe with the disease.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240909391086/en/
 
Bacteria vs virus test trial successful. Israel’s MeMed (see here previously) successfully completed the first clinical trial of its BV test to differentiate between bacterial and viral infections. The test on 260 patients with suspected lower respiratory tract infection resulted in a 62% relative reduction in unnecessary antibiotics.
https://nocamels.com/2024/10/israeli-test-to-tell-if-infection-bacterial-or-viral-successful-in-trial/
 
Handheld lung test device. Israel’s TechnoPulm is developing a handheld device capable of performing full lung function tests. The tool will replace large, expensive machines with a compact, portable device that weighs just 400 grams. It can be operated in the physician’s office and complete the entire test in under three minutes.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rjzzgmhkjx   https://t-pulm.com/
 
US funding for Israeli Ebola virus treatment. BARDA, part of the US department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, is funding development by Israel’s Redhill of Opaganib (see here previously) for the treatment of the Ebola virus.
https://nocamels.com/2024/10/us-government-funding-development-of-israeli-ebola-treatment/
 
Rejuvenate skin with your own cells. Israel’s Ananda Labs is developing an organic treatment that improves skin elasticity, diminishing wrinkles and scars. Using technology of Hebrew University Prof. Yossi Buganim, Ananda genetically reprograms skin cells into placental stem cells, up to 50% younger than the adult originals.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-company-aiming-to-slow-down-aging/  https://www.buganimlab.com/
https://www.ananda-labs.bio/
 
AI alerts of an impending stroke. More about Israel’s Avertto (see here previously) that has developed the first medical device with an AI alert of an impending stroke based on biological mimicry. Avertto cites studies indicating that 80% of strokes are preventable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBhR72JOSb4
https://www.israel21c.org/swift-stroke-prevention-using-ai-and-artery-monitors/
 
A new path to treating cancer. Researchers at Tel Aviv University a significant portion of cancer cells are “aneuploid” – i.e. have an abnormal number of chromosomes. It means they are more sensitive to certain anti-cancer treatments. Patients with that type of cancer could respond to these individually targeted treatments.
https://www.aftau.org/news_item/changes-in-the-chromosomes-of-cancer-cells-may-increase-their-sensitivity-to-anti-cancer-drugs/  https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-820780

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MEDIA Comments turned off

Heather Mac Donald Journalism Dies in Lockstep To the outrage of their readers and staff, the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times withhold endorsement in the presidential race.

By on October 30th, 2024

https://www.city-journal.org/article/journalism-dies-in-lockstep

The media world is in a fury: the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times recently announced that they would not endorse a presidential candidate. Editors and columnists at both papers have resigned in protest; readers have cancelled their subscriptions en masse. Why the outrage? Because everyone knew that those papers would have endorsed Kamala Harris. Why the certainty? Because the papers’ coverage of Donald Trump has been so unrelentingly negative. (The decision not to endorse was made by the papers’ owners: Jeff Bezos, in the case of the Post, and medical entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong, in the case of the Times.) 

Acknowledgment of that one-sidedness has been unapologetically frank.

Former Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein argued that the non-endorsement decision “ignores the Washington Post’s own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy. Under Jeff Bezos’s ownership, the Washington Post’s news operation has used its abundant resources to rigorously investigate the danger and damage a second Trump presidency could cause to the future of American democracy.”

The editorials editor at the Los Angeles Times, Mariel Garza, was even more explicit. “How could we spend eight years railing against Trump and the danger his leadership poses to the country,” Garza wrote in her resignation letter, “and then fail to endorse the perfectly decent Democrat challenger—who we previously endorsed for the US Senate?” (Garza proved her L.A. Times bona fides by playing the race and gender cards as well as the threat to democracy card: the decision not to endorse “makes us look . . . a bit sexist and racist.”)

It was “patently absurd,” L.A. Times columnist Robin Abcarian told L.A. Times reporter James Rainey, for the newspaper that had written dozens of news stories and opinion pieces about the dangers of Trump to pull back belatedly from endorsing Harris. (Abcarian and Rainey are off in their quantitative estimate of anti-Trump journalism by a factor of at least 1,000.)

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Douglas Emhoff and the Double Standards of the #Metoo Movement The American public and especially our eligible voters are being cheated by Vice President Harris and her husband and her campaign. By David Schoen

By on October 30th, 2024

https://amgreatness.com/2024/10/30/douglas-emhoff-and-the-double-standards-of-the-metoo-movement/

It is difficult to understand where the leaders of the #metoo movement and their fellow travelers at the bar, like Roberta Kaplan, Gloria Allred, and others are when it comes to Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff.  Their silence is deafening and the politically selective expression of their outrage is unavoidably apparent.

Consider just the following:

Mr. Emhoff has admitted not only to cheating on his ex-wife during their marriage but to doing so with their young child’s teacher.  And not only did he cheat on his wife and lie to conceal his affair, he has acknowledged that he impregnated his lover, but that “she did not keep” their baby.

Of course, Emhoff reportedly only came clean about his cheating and lying after he learned that a British tabloid was about to bust him.  It turns out, as reported by CNN, that the affair and terminated pregnancy were known to the Harris/Biden campaign staff prior to the 2020 presidential election campaign, but were concealed from the American people.  We still do not have all the relevant details.

Did Emhoff or anyone on his behalf pay the teacher for her silence?  Did she get an abortion and, if so, did Emhoff pay for it?  If so when was such payment made?  Was it to buy her silence during the election?  If so, will District Attorney Bragg or any other prosecutor bring criminal charges for trying to affect an election or for making an undisclosed campaign contribution?  Has there been any investigation at all in furtherance of the public’s right to know as much as possible about our candidates for president?

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

“Desperate Democrats” Sydney Williams

By on October 30th, 2024

http://www.swtotd.blogspot.com

Polls tell us the election is too close to call, and I am not going to argue with those who make their living predicting what people will do. Nevertheless, Democrats act desperate; they act as though they expect to lose. They know they have played badly the hand they were dealt. That President Biden had been in mental decline was known by all who have watched his appearances over the past few years. Yet Democrats played Sergeant Schultz – “I know nothing” – and re-nominated him anyway. It was only after his disastrous debate with former President Trump on June 27, when his decline could no longer be denied, that he was unceremoniously dumped.

That gave Democrats less than two months to consider candidates who would appeal to a majority of delegates at an open convention to be held in Chicago from August 19 to the 24th. Instead they chose to coronate Vice President Kamala Harris who had only once visited the border for which Mr. Biden had given her responsibility – about her only real responsibility. Previously, she spent four years in the U.S. Senate, where The Hill, based on roll-call votes, placed her as the second most liberal Democratic senator to serve in the U.S. Senate in the 21st century, second behind Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Prior to the Senate, she had served thirteen years as an Attorney General, first of San Francisco and then of California.

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EDUCATION Comments turned off

Hamas Loyalist Professor: Rabab Abdulhadi at San Francisco State University “No innocent bystanders here. Demand Immediate accountability for #IsraeliCrimes.” October 30, 2024 by Sara Dogan

By on October 30th, 2024

https://www.frontpagemag.com/hamas-loyalist-professor-rabab-abdulhadi-at-san-francisco-state-university/

#1: Rabab Abdulhadi, San Francisco State University

Amongst the litany of Jew-hating faculty currently teaching at American universities, one name rises above all the rest—that of San Francisco State University professor of Ethnic Studies Rabab Abdulhadi who is also the founding director of SFSU’s Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative (AMED), an academic program which flouts its anti-Semitism by openly declaring Zionism to be racism and Israel to be the occupier of Palestine. AMED is known for sponsoring events which feature posters reading, “My Heroes Have Always Killed Colonizers,” referring to Israel’s Jews.

On October 7th 2023, following Hamas’s massacre, mutilation, and rape of over 1200 innocent Israelis, and the taking of hundreds more as hostages, Professor Abdulhadi quote-tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar—who has her own long record of anti-Semitism—not to agree with the Congresswoman’s remarks but to chastise her for condemning Hamas’s actions. “Seriously @IlhanMN? ‘Senseless’ #PalestineUnderAttack are merely defending themselves. Are you saying that #Palestinians should be exceptionalized from the right to defend themselves against colonial & racist violence? Check your facts! #FreePalestine #IsraeliCrimes” Abdulhadi tweeted. Apparently one of the House of Representatives leading anti-Semites isn’t extreme enough for the SFSU professor.

Also on October 7th, Abdulhadi tweeted, “It’s worth remembering how vicious colonists act when the colonized dare #breakTheirChains from #Palestine, #Algeria #Vietnam … to #TurtleIsland. No innocent bystanders here. Demand Immediate accountability for #IsraeliCrimes. #BDS.”  Abdulhadi’s clear support for Hamas and their paratroopers of terror is undeniable, as is her belief that none of the 1200-plus victims of Hamas’s barbaric violence—including children and babies who were beheaded and burned alive—can be seen as “innocent bystanders.”

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BOOKS, NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE Comments turned off

How Woke Politics Are Endangering Our Military and Our Nation A review of one of the most important books of the last decade. Jason Hill

By on October 30th, 2024

https://www.frontpagemag.com/how-woke-politics-are-endangering-our-military-and-our-nation/

It is not often that I write a book review and find that the book has gotten under my skin, so to speak. When this happens, as was the case in reading Don’t Give up the Ship: Woke Politics are Endangering our Military and our Nation by The Calvert Task Group, it is because I felt as if I were in the presence of a rare and lost breed of military men: patriotic and possessed of punctilious courtesy, refined manners, liberal education, and personal honor.

Such is the nature of the men who are the authors of this unprecedented book. They are a group of Naval Academy graduates from the Class of 1969. The moniker for the group is derived from Vice Admiral James Calvert who was the inspirational Superintendent of the Naval academy during their attendance. As you read this stupendous book of personal stories, policy recommendations and, as importantly, an analysis of the way in which woke ideology is weakening our military and demoralizing the Department of Defense (DoD), you will witness a phalanx of honorable men, devoutly dedicated to the armed forces of America and to their country who are still putting up a brave fight. They have given every American a secular Bible functioning as a moral inoculant against the idea pathogens infecting our military.

The ultimate goal of the book is to describe and provide solutions for the manner in which Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies, and Critical Race Theory (CTR) are destroying our military.

A Great Reset is taking place in the military of our beleaguered republic. All this is happening while China and Russia are mocking the United States and expanding and accelerating their imperialist plans.

As two of the authors, Brent Ramsey and Michael D. Pefley, point out in one of the essays, Social Justice imposed by the state is annihilating the military. Despite the fact that 45% of the military identify as minorities, the DoD insists that DEI are military necessities.

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Another Never-Trump Fifth Columnist Giving aid and comfort to a party assaulting our Constitution and freedoms. by Bruce Thornton

By on October 30th, 2024

https://www.frontpagemag.com/another-never-trump-fifth-columnist/

Another Trump election, another shameful display of so-called Republican moral preening about Donald Trump being “unfit” for office, a “threat to democracy,” and an “abuser of our allies.” This time it’s William S. Cohen in the Wall Street Journal, an erstwhile Congressman, Senator, and Secretary of Defense between 1973 and 2001.

His tissue of Democrat campaign clichés and smears accompanies a preposterous panegyric to Kamala Harris’s make-believe foreign policy prowess, despite nearly four years of Biden’s and her abject failures abroad. Once again, a Potemkin conservative is carrying water for a party that has moved dangerously leftward as it continues the progressives’ long march to dismantle our Constitution, and with it our unalienable rights and political freedom.

Cohen’s second sentence makes clear his foreign-policy ideology: “Vice President Kamala Harris is an internationalist who believes in the rule of law and in a rules-based system that strives for global order and stability.” In other words, a proselyte of the “rules-based international order” that privileges “diplomatic engagement,” multinational institutions, and international law over a realist policy predicated on conflicting global national interests.

As such, Cohen extols Harris’s “commitment to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence from Vladimir Putin’s criminal onslaught,” a New World Order project par excellence. That is, she supports a foreign policy that privileges the globalist elite technocrats and their interests over our national sovereignty, and our own citizens’ security and interests. Worse yet, Cohen can’t tell us what specific strategy Harris has for resolving this bloody and expensive war.

As for Harris’s loyalty to the “rule of law,” how does that square with Joe Biden’s usurping Congress’s Article One power to make the laws, and instead giving it to unelected and unaccountable federal agency clerks? Or his failure to fulfill his obligation “to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”?

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

The Post-Election Temper Tantrum

By on October 30th, 2024

https://issuesinsights.com/2024/10/30/the-post-election-temper-tantrum/

Two months ago, as the Democrats were preparing for their national convention in Chicago, we were concerned that it would be a repeat of the party’s 1968 convention that was marred by riots. But sanity prevailed. It was a relatively quiet affair. Will the Democrats be just as quiet if Donald Trump wins next week’s election? It’s more likely that they will erupt with rage.

After all, there have been two failed attempts to assassinate Trump. Yes, the suspects in both cases appear to be disturbed. But it’s been the nonstop vilification of the former president from the left that likely motivated them. The prospect of another term for Trump is going to push many over the edge that they’ve been teetering on since the man announced in 2015 that he was running for president.

From the Oct. 28 Wall Street Journal:

Across America, more than a dozen progressives in various positions of influence told The Wall Street Journal that they are dreading the prospect of Trump’s return to power, and dismayed that half the country might see a completely different reality than they see. Some are bracing for unrest. On a recent evening, more than 200 people joined a Zoom meeting titled Mass Training For Women’s Safety Teams — hosted by a Women’s March veteran who noted its timing amid ‘escalating political violence.’”

There is precedent. Trump’s 2016 election win provoked an outbreak of violence that lasted for days.

“For the third night in a row, anti-Donald Trump demonstrators took to the streets in several big cities and on college campuses across the United States, including an outburst of smashed windows and a dumpster fire in Portland that police countered with pepper spray and flash-bang devices,” USA Today reported on Nov. 11, 2016.

The day before, Al Jazeera said the protests against “Trump’s election victory had turned violent.”

Months later, on Jan. 21, 2017, Reuters reported “black-clad activists among hundreds of demonstrators protesting Donald Trump’s swearing-in on Friday clashed with police a few blocks from the White House, in an outburst of violence rare for an inauguration.” At least 217 were arrested.

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