RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21184/syria-enemies

[T]he use of the label “Levant” (Sham) puts a question mark in front of the “liberating force.” Using that medieval term instead of the word Syria, which jihadists have always regarded as alien because it was put in use under the French mandate, the group and its backers implicitly deny the existence of a Syrian nation-state.

Some in Turkish political circles regard the creation of “artificial states” after the fall of the Ottoman Empire as an act of revenge by Western powers against the Turkish caliphate, which for centuries had represented the Islamic challenge to Christendom’s goal of ruling the world.

In Erdogan’s view, that could reopen the Turkish claims, if not of sovereignty at least as having “special rights,” to parts of Iraq and Syria.

Denying the existence of a Syrian nation with full rights to statehood and territorial integrity poses a risk to the security and stability of the whole region.

Almost dormant for four years, last week the volcano of the Syrian uprising erupted with a vengeance. In four days, its lava covered the country’s second largest city Aleppo before moving towards central cities of Hama and Homs on its way to the capital Damascus.

The force that carried out the operation came under the label “Mission to Liberate the Levant” (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) but was quickly identified as a reincarnation of the Victory Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), which was the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda.

Whoever redesigned that force as a “new and improved product” wanted to achieve three goals.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21180/make-persia-great-again

Unlike Iran’s regime, the country’s people are overwhelmingly pro-American and pro-Jewish — sentiments rooted in a historical alliance that made Iran the closest ally of both Israel and the United States before the mullahs came to power. The regime’s anti-American and antisemitic stance is an affront to the true nature of its citizens, who yearn for peace and global partnership.

Without the oppressive ruling mullahs, Iran could once again be a force for good, both domestically and globally. Freed from their brutal rulers, the Iranian people could channel their immense talent and potential into rebuilding their nation as a thriving hub of innovation, culture and prosperity. This revival would not only uplift Iran but also finally bring peace and stability to the Middle East and beyond, setting an example of what a liberated, flourishing nation can achieve.

Finally, there should be no negotiations, deals or trades with the regime. Such engagements only empower and legitimize the mullahs while undermining the people’s struggle for freedom.

The time has come to support the cause of the Iranian people and ensure that this great nation, with its rich history and boundless potential, rises once more – without mullahs.

Historically known as Persia, Iran stands as one of the most illustrious civilizations in human history. For centuries, it was a beacon of cultural, scientific and political advancements, earning respect and admiration across the globe. This legacy of greatness persisted until 1979, when a group of Islamic fundamentalists, obsessed with religion, hijacked a revolution that drastically altered the nation’s trajectory.

The mullahs seized control, installing a theocratic Islamist regime that has since ruled with an iron fist — arguably one of history’s most brutal and oppressive reigns. The proud heritage of a nation that once symbolized enlightenment and progress has been overshadowed by a reign marked by suppression, regression and fear.

https://www.thefp.com/p/niall-ferguson-the-rot-in-britain?utm_campaign=email-post&r=8t06w&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Something is rotten in the state of Britain. It was epitomized by a recent event at the Oxford Union, the 201-year-old debating society that is such a distinctive and admirable part of Oxford life. It was at the Union that, 40 years ago, I spoke as freely (and indeed as irresponsibly) as I ever have, discovering in the process that I was not cut out for politics. It was there that I saw great debaters of the past, present, and future.

But I never saw anything like the events of November 28.

The motion for debate was in itself a provocation: “This House Believes Israel Is an Apartheid State Responsible for Genocide.” But what was truly shocking was the conduct of the president of the Union, an Egyptian student named Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy, who appears to have abused his position by openly siding with those proposing the motion and treating the opposing speakers with contempt.

According to the broadcaster, Jonathan Sacerdoti, who was arguing for Israel’s side, Osman-Mowafy canceled the traditional pre-debate group photographs, but posed alone for private photos with the anti-Israel team. During the debate, the pro-Israel speakers were repeatedly heckled by the crowd. At one point, a young woman stood up and screamed at Sacerdoti: “Liar! Fuck you, the genocidal motherfucker!”

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a senior Hamas leader who defected to Israel, who was arguing alongside Sacerdoti, was met with jeering derision and cries of “traitor” and “prostitute” (in Arabic). Yousef asked the audience to indicate by a show of hands how many of them would have reported prior knowledge of the October 7, 2023, atrocities to Israel. Not even a quarter of the crowd raised their hands.

For the other side, Miko Peled, an Israeli general’s son turned radical anti-Zionist, described the murders, rapes, and kidnappings of October 7 as “acts of heroism.” The Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd, who has equated Zionism with genocide, began his speech by announcing that there was “no room for debate” and ended it by walking out of the chamber. The motion passed by 278 in favor to 59 against.

Reading reports of this shameful fiasco at my alma mater, I found myself wondering: Where are the Thought Police when you really need them? After all, the Oxford Union’s latest debate sounded a lot like one of those “noncrime hate incidents” that currently consume so much of the British police’s time.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm-plus/canadas-cops-stand-on-guard-for-hamas/

Montreal. In the 1980s and 90s, when I lived in New York, I made several summertime trips to the Canadian metropolis. It was a beautiful city, pleasant and safe, with a great art museum, plenty of terrific restaurants, and fun nightlife along Rue St. Catherine. If the clerks and cabbies and waiters in Paris responded rudely to my entreaties, invariably delivered in my imperfect but earnest French, their counterparts in Montreal were as genial as could be, at least once it had been established that I was not that dreaded thing, an English-speaking Canadian, but rather an American whose French somehow came out sounding more like their distinctive dialect than like the original version of the language that was the pride of the City of Lights.

Speaking of language, I especially enjoyed walking around Westmount, Montreal’s upscale English-speaking neighborhood, where (as we all recently discovered) Kamala Harris lived when she was in high school. From there – this became an annual routine (or should I say ritual?) – I would walk up a forested slope to the immense St. Joseph’s Oratory, which loomed over the city from the top of Mount Royal. Inside the church, the air was always dense with the scent of hundreds of lighted candles. Nailed to a high wall and lit by candlelight were hundreds of crutches that had been left there over the decades by handicapped people who claimed to have been cured thanks to the prayers they had sent up from this sacred place. Leaving the church by descending its front steps, 283 in all, I would always encounter a sea of people, all of them at the ends of their pilgrimages, and all of them climbing slowly on their knees up to the great church doors, their hearts filled with faith and hope.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21168/hamas-hezbollah-lies

“Where is the victory? How much did it cost? What defeat is more terrible than such losses? How can one claim victory in the face of a massacre that has destroyed all the logic of resistance? It’s not too late to ask Hezbollah to explain its unilateral and deadly decision to open the confrontation [with Israel] under Iran’s cover.” — Nabil Bou Monsef, prominent Lebanese journalist, kataeb.org, November 27, 2024.

Over the past 14 months, Hamas and Hezbollah have dragged the Palestinians and Lebanese into wars that have claimed the lives of thousands of people — all to serve their patrons in Iran. Instead of admitting their defeat, both in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the terrorists, at the behest of Iran’s mullahs, are continuing to sell imaginary victories to the Arabs to encourage them to join the Jihad (holy war) against Israel.

After the recent ceasefire deal with Israel, supporters of the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah claimed “victory.” Some celebrated the alleged victory by firing guns into the air and flashing V signs. Many Arabs, however, saying that Hezbollah had lost hundreds of its members, including top leaders, and caused significant damage to Lebanese homes and the country’s economy, have been mocking the terrorist group.

Hezbollah’s hasty declaration of “victory” is similar to that of Hamas, Iran’s Palestinian terrorist proxy in the Gaza Strip. After earlier rounds of fighting with Israel that severely damaged the Gaza Strip’s civilian and military infrastructure, Hamas commanders would typically emerge from the debris and proclaim “victory.”

Like Hezbollah, many Palestinians and Arabs mocked Hamas for its fake wins. Even now, Hamas continues to pretend that it is winning the war, which began when the terrorist group invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering 1,200 Israelis, many of whom were tortured, burned alive or beheaded. Countless others were raped, and 240 were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where 101 – many of whom are dead — are still held captive.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/12/04/stabbed-by-an-islamist-now-silenced-by-the-state/

Earlier this year, activist and blogger Michael Stürzenberger became the victim of an Islamist attack because of his harsh criticism of Islam. Now, six months later, he has been convicted for incitement to hatred and given a fine by a regional court in Hamburg – also because of his harsh criticism of Islam.

In May, a former refugee from Afghanistan targeted and attacked Stürzenberger and six others during a rally organised by Stürzenberger’s campaign group, Pax Europa, in Mannheim, south-west Germany. The incident left one policeman dead, Stürzenberger severely injured – he needed several operations on his face and knee – and a nation in shock.

Stürzenberger’s incitement conviction is not directly related to the incidents in Mannheim. Instead, it relates to statements he made at a rally in Hamburg in 2020. He was originally found guilty of incitement to hatred and given a six-month prison sentence at a Hamburg court in September 2022, but appealed the conviction. Last month the court upheld the original verdict, but reduced his sentence to a fine of €3,600.

According to reports, his punishment was reduced because he had since become a victim of an assassination attempt. Another mitigating factor was that he had not given any public speeches since the Mannheim attack.