RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20686/iran-burns-middle-east

Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron came to Jerusalem, where he told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza. “The ordeal of the Palestinians in Gaza must end,” Macron said, without even bothering to demand the release of the remaining hostages as a precondition for his fever-dream of a ceasefire. So far, Hamas has rejected all proposals but one, and that came only after extreme military, not diplomatic, persuasion.

World leaders like Macron play a game of “pretend.” According to it, the situation in the Middle East is an issue between Israel and the Palestinians; and if just that is resolved by establishing of a new Palestinian terrorist state, “peace” will drift down upon the region. Of course, the idea is demented, as the world leaders are undoubtedly aware, but they continue to propose it – but only to the victim, Israel, which was attacked without provocation and is still being attacked; never to Hamas, Qatar or Iran, the parties that ignited the war. The ceasefire that the world claims it wants could be delivered this week if Iran and Qatar seriously ordered their proxies to stop, and Hamas and Hezbollah laid down their weapons.

Clearly Iran and Qatar have no intention of doing any such thing: they undoubtedly see their job as keeping their proxies in power to be able to strike again.

World leaders, however, are not demanding that Iran or its proxies stand down. The main reason Ireland, Norway and Spain have recognized a borderless Palestinian terrorist state is that they do not have to live with the consequences. Maybe Spain would also like to recognize a State of Catalonia? Ireland, even at the height of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, never demanded that all the Welsh, Scots and English leave Britain, to have it peopled only by Irish Catholics.

Conspicuously, the same Macron who is ordering Israel to lay down its weapons in Gaza has been silent when it comes to asking that of Hamas and Iran.

Iran’s proxy Hezbollah already is the main power inside Lebanon; a new ineffectual border agreement will not change that. Furthermore, a border agreement is not what Biden wants. Biden’s policies, like Obama’s, are all about strengthening Iran in every way, including allowing it to fully realize its nuclear ambitions.

“Most importantly, these profits have enabled Iran to accelerate completing its nuclear weapons program, if it has not already done so and is not just being paid to stay quiet before the US presidential election this November.” — Majid Rafizadeh, Gatestone Institute, June 1, 2024.

Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah, having fired thousands of rockets, guided anti-tank missiles and exploding drones into Israel since October, has lately ratcheted up its attacks even more, killing and wounding Israelis and igniting massive wildfires that have so far consumed more than 3,500 acres of farmland, forest, brush.

For months, a steady stream of world leaders has flocked to Israel to pressure it not to defend itself. Israel has now been attacked incessantly for eight months by Iran and its proxies in Gaza and Lebanon: Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Since October 7, 2023, they have rained down more than 10,000 rockets, missiles and attack-drones on a democratic country smaller than New Jersey, presumably in attempts to obliterate it, or at least cause mass slaughter.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/06/10/the-racism-of-never-blaming-hamas-for-anything/

So rescuing hostages is a war crime now. A ‘grave, grave war crime’, in fact. That’s according to the Guardian’s Owen Jones who is outraged that IDF troops used a humanitarian truck to sneak into the town of Nuseirat where they rescued four of their hostages from the clutches of Hamas and its local heavies. Kenneth Roth, formerly of Human Rights Watch, is also fuming over the IDF’s Trojan Horse antics, reminding Israel that it has a legal duty ‘not to disguise soldiers as civilians’. These people are nuts. What do they expect the IDF to do? Knock on the doors of the fascists holding their compatriots and say: ‘Can we have our Jews back, please?’

There is frothing anger online over Israel’s rescue operation in Nuseirat. It is bloody proof of Israeli deceit, people are saying. From the ‘war crime’ of troops wearing civilian disguise to the subsequent streetfighting and airstrikes that caused many civilian deaths, this was a wicked massacre, says the anti-Israel set. They’re in agreement with Hamas, which has accused Israel of carrying out a ‘complex war crime’ in Nuseirat. Just one thing is missing from all this boiling commentary: any acknowledgement whatsoever of Hamas’s responsibility for bringing this hellish situation about. When is Hamas going to get some credit for its evil?

From what we know, the raid of Nuseirat seems to have been a difficult, daring strike. It was given the name ‘Seeds of Summer’. It had been planned in great detail, with the IDF even building mock-ups of the two apartment buildings they believed the four hostages were being held in, in order that they might train for all eventualities. It is reported that the special forces were disguised as displaced Gazans. They told locals they were moving into the apartment buildings. But once inside they started their op, taking out the men who were guarding the hostages and taking the hostages to freedom.

When Hamas clocked what was happening it fired on the IDF troops, reportedly with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades, explosive devices and mortar rounds. A battle ensued. Israeli airstrikes were called in. And many died. Fewer than a hundred, according to Israel; more than 250 according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

All the fingers are being pointed at Israel. Not only by the usual suspects of the Israelophobic ‘left’ but by the mainstream media, too. ‘An Israeli operation rescues four hostages and kills scores of Palestinians’, said CNN’s headline. The BBC all but made itself an outpost of Hamas propaganda with its early headline on the raid. ‘Gaza health ministry says Israeli hostage rescue killed 274 Palestinians’, it announced to the millions who peruse the BBC for their news. Here was the public broadcaster splashing not with the liberation of four Jews from the captivity of a racist terror group, but with Hamas’s self-serving claim that Israel, and Israel alone, caused the civilian deaths in Nuseirat.

The political class stooped even lower. There is ‘outrage’ in European political circles over this latest ‘massacre’ in Gaza, reports the Guardian. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, called it ‘another massacre of civilians’. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, said the Nuseirat raid is proof of Israel’s ‘genocidal intent’. She accused Israel of killing ‘at least 200 Palestinians, including children’, all while ‘perfidiously hiding in an aid truck’. This was ‘humanitarian camouflage’ for genocide, she thundered.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20690/palestinian-civilians-complicit-in-hamas-crimes

If groups do not want their civilians killed during hostage rescue operations, they should not start unprovoked wars, then complain when they are hit back. They also should not take hostages, then hide them among the civilian population. It is not complicated.
The Palestinian families can hold only themselves accountable for the scores of Gazans who died during the rescue operation. Those families were not coerced or threatened into keeping the hostages inside their homes. The exact opposite is true: They were delighted to help Hamas because they support the terrorist group.
Unsurprisingly, Abdallah [Al-Jamal, a Gazan journalist who imprisoned three male hostages in his home] also worked for the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera network, which has long been serving as a de facto mouthpiece for Hamas and other Islamist terror groups.
Abdallah’s most recent article, dated June 3, was headlined: “My House Will Always Be Open – Stories from the Gaza Siege.
Indeed, the Palestinian journalist’s house was open – but only for hostages kidnapped by Palestinian murderers, thugs and rapists from a music festival on October 7.
The Biden administration and those in the West who have been crying about the “innocent” and “uninvolved” civilians killed and injured since the beginning of the war initiated by Hamas should direct their anger towards the Palestinians, not Israel, for aiding and abetting murderers, rapists, and kidnappers.
“Even if they were [coerced and threatened], what would it have taken to get into contact with anyone from the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and say, ‘I’m being forced to hold hostages in my house; please come get them out and take my family with them.’ These families made the same choice hundreds of thousands of Gazans made and continue to make daily. They choose to help Hamas, they choose to hate Jews, they choose to participate in the killing and torture of Israelis, and they continue to support a murderous terrorist organization even if it means the death of them and their entire families.” –Raylan Givens, X, June 9, 2024

We must also not forget the thousands of “ordinary” Palestinians, to many of whom Israel had given work permits, who crossed the border into Israel on October 7 and took part in the crimes against Israelis.
The Israeli rescue operation serves as a reminder that Israel is continuing to do everything possible to save its citizens, while Hamas – with the help of many “ordinary” Palestinians — is doing its utmost to save itself, including sacrificing its own citizens.

The courageous Israeli operation that resulted in the rescue of four Israeli hostages on June 8 has confirmed what many Israelis and Palestinians have known for some months: that Palestinian civilians were, and continue to be, complicit in the crimes carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas prior to October 7, 2023, and onward.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/israel-rescues-hostages-world-mourns-deaths-of-hamas-supporters/

In a daring raid on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Police, and Israel Security Agency (ISA) rescued four hostages who had been in the clutches of Hamas terrorists since the barbaric October 7 attacks: Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21,; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. Decent people everywhere rejoiced, while Hamas apologists in the U.S. government and Western media were left rending their garments in mourning for the jihadists and their supporters killed in the raid.

This downer of a New York Times headline captured the disapproving spirit of the media response to the glorious hostage rescue: “Israel Rescues 4 Hostages in Assault That Killed Scores of Gazans.”

The actual number of Palestinian dead is unconfirmed as of this writing; CNN, the most distrusted name in news, reported that the Gaza Ministry of Health, the propaganda organ of Hamas, claims 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 injured – a number you can be sure has been inflated higher than a Chinese spy balloon. The IDF estimated that the number of casualties from the operation was “under 100.”

Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan contributed to the anti-Israel media narrative by stating that “innocent people were tragically killed in this operation. The exact number we don’t know, but innocent people were killed and that is heartbreaking. That is tragic.”

But ­how does he know innocent people were killed? Hamas itself does not distinguish between their militant and civilian casualties, and perhaps we shouldn’t either. According to a March poll of Palestinians, 71% of all Palestinians supported Hamas’ decision to attack Israel on October 7; 59% of all Palestinians think Hamas should rule Gaza; and 70% were satisfied with the role Hamas has played during the war. Support for Hamas has increased since the October 7 attacks.

https://www.jns.org/compassionate-israelis-complicit-gazans/

When the news broke in Israel on Saturday that four hostages had been rescued in a daring military operation, the entire country wept with joy. Literally. Even typically cynical broadcast journalists couldn’t contain their tears as they reported from the field and in-studio.

Beachgoers who learned of the event via cell phone alerts urged the lifeguard to announce it in his megaphone. Once he obtained permission from the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality to do so, he happily obliged.

As he belted out the names of Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv—and punctuated the declaration with “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The Jewish People Lives”)—the crowds on the coast erupted in ecstatic applause.

Israelis at cafes, parks and movie theaters had a similar collective reaction. Ditto for those vacationing abroad.

The only members of society initially unable to participate in the celebration were the Shabbat-observant. Not wishing them to miss out on the jubilation, Israelis hung signs in stairwells to let their religious neighbors know what had transpired.

Others yelled out windows to passersby walking home from synagogue. Such scenes of solidarity made everyone resume crying.

They served as a reminder that Israelis have a familial bond and consider it urgent to share good tidings with one another. Later, everybody would find out about the day’s tragedy: that Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora from the National Counter-Terrorism Unit succumbed to wounds sustained in the heroic operation.

https://pdavidhornik.substack.com/subscribe?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=email-subscribe&r=8t06w&next=https%3A%2F%2Fpdavidhornik.substack.com%2Fp%2Fwhy-is-hizballah-escalating&utm_medium=email

Last October 8, one day after the October 7 massacre in southern Israel, Hizballah began firing projectiles into northern Israel. That situation—along with the possibility of a ground invasion by Hizballah’s Radwan force—necessitated an evacuation of about 60,000 Israelis from a 5-kilometer strip along the border to temporary lodging farther south in Israel, where they remain to this day.

Since that time the Israel–Hizballah exchange of hostilities across the border stayed on a relatively low flame and was perceived as a sideshow to the bigger conflict in Gaza. In recent weeks, though, Hizballah has sharply escalated its attacks. They include an increased use of explosive-laden drones, the first use of the heavy Falaq-2 rocket and of antiaircraft missiles, as well as strikes deeper into Israeli territory than before, reaching as far south as Nazareth and a suburb of Haifa.

In terms of casualties on both sides, Israel has had the upper hand—by far—throughout the conflict. On the Israeli side, 10 civilians and 15 soldiers have been killed; on the Hizballah side, the deaths number about 340 of its own fighters, about 60 members of other terror groups, and dozens of civilians. But instead of being deterred, Hizballah has lately been escalating. One question is where it leads; many think it’s leading inevitably to a much bigger war—and, possibly, very soon. The other question is why Hizballah is ramping up the hostilities to a level not seen since October; following are possible answers.

https://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

This week beginning on the evening of June 11 and ending on June 13, Shavuot  the Jewish Festival of Weeks, celebrates the harvest of first fruits and commemorates the giving of the Torah and Commandments at Mount Sinai. The release of four Israeli hostages by the IDF in Gaza enhances our celebration and appreciation of our faith and legacy.

Michael Ordman’s weekly posting enhances our appreciation of present-day Israel, whose contributions and innovations in medicine, science, technology, evolve 24/7 to benefit humanity.

Happy “Shvues” as we pronounced it in the Bronx to all who observe. rsk

ISRAEL’S  MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Penetrating the BBB.  The nano-platform technology of Israel’s NanoCarry traverses the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) to deliver potentially life-saving therapies to the brain.  Its initial target is HER2 breast cancer brain metastases for which there is no treatment, even though the original cancer can now effectively be cured.

https://nocamels.com/2024/05/penetrating-brains-natural-barrier-to-deliver-life-saving-drugs/

https://nanocarry.com/

Predicting what cancer cells will do next. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem analyze cancer patient biopsies and use AI to predict disease progression or chemotherapy resistance. Using the science of nano-informatics, they expose cells to nano particles, record absorption levels, and model cellular behavior.

https://www.israel21c.org/scientists-use-ai-to-predict-what-cancer-cells-will-do-next/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj4370

Sickle cell disease treatment trial. Israel’s BiolineRX is to conduct Phase 1 clinical trials on sickle cell disease (SCD) patients at multiple locations in the US.  It will use its motixafortide stem cell therapy (see here previously), currently used to treat multiple myeloma. SCD is caused by a mutation of the hemoglobin gene.

https://nocamels.com/2024/05/israeli-biopharma-firm-leading-us-trial-of-potential-scd-drug/

The long road.  Back in 2015 (see here previously) Israel’s Ben Gurion University researchers discovered the link between protein macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Now they are leading an international team to use it as a potential cure.

https://nocamels.com/2024/05/israeli-led-study-discovers-proteins-potential-as-als-treatment/

The right antibiotic in 90 mins. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed optical sensor technology that can identify the correct antibiotic for urinary tract and other infections in just 90 minutes. They worked with Technion alumni in a Maryland USA company and at John Hopkins University.

https://ats.org/our-impact/new-device-rapidly-identifies-exact-antibiotic-needed-for-infections/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/advs.202303285

An ambucar needed for Netanya. Israel’s United Hatzalah is appealing for funds to purchase a rapid response vehicle – known as a minilance (mini ambulance) ATV (all-terrain vehicle). It can bring a team of up to five UH volunteers and veteran lifesaving medics to the scene of a local emergency within minutes.

https://israelrescue.org/mymitzvah/minilance-a-rapid-response-vehicle-for-netanya/

Eradicating the last polio virus. Ben-Gurion University has received a $1.3 million grant from the Gates Foundation to develop and validate a novel and safe approach for measuring immune responses to polioviruses.

https://provaeducation.com/news/ben-gurion-university-scientist-to-contribute-to-the-eradication-of-polio/2466922/    https://www.bgu.ac.il/en/news-and-articles/hertz-gates-foundation-grant/

Merck boost for antibody design startup. Israel’s Biolojic Design (see here previously) is partnering Merck, to develop molecules that could be the basis for therapies to treat cancer and other immunological disorders. The venture is potentially worth up to 350 million euros to the Israeli company.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bybenkovr

Treating late life depression. (TY Atid-EDI) The US FDA has extended its approval of the Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation system from Israel’s BrainsWay (see here previously). It can now be used to treat depression up to the patient’s 86th birthday. The previous maximum age limit was 67.

https://www.brainsway.com/news_events/brainsway-receives-expanded-fda-labeling-to-treat-late-life-depression/

Exercises restore eyesight. Israel’s RevitalVision (see here previously) has been very successful in improving the condition of the visually impaired. On average, the structured on-line brain exercises achieve a measurable improvement of 20 – 25%, equivalent to an extra two lines on a standard eye chart.

https://www.israel21c.org/improving-vision-with-at-home-brain-exercises/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Iauuv13Ujw

Watch out for snakes. Doctors saved an Israeli woman in her 50s after she was bitten by a snake in southern Israel. She was brought to Ashdod hospital by family members who also brought the snake.  Doctors were able to identify the snake and administer the correct anti-venom serum.  The article contains some important advice.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/390948

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2024/06/some-wars-simply-must-be-won/

The equation in the Israeli-Gaza war is much more straightforward. If Israel wins, the people of Gaza will have a chance for a peaceful more prosperous future – the fruits of defeat. The people of Israel will live more securely. If Hamas wins, it will not only put Israeli lives at growing risk, it will embolden its enemies more generally and put the very existence of Israel at risk. And if Israel were to lose to an invading Islamic force, slaughter would ensue, of that there is little doubt. The stakes are much higher than in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. So much higher that there is no cost in terms of blood and treasure that should not be expended to ensure Israel wins. No level of support that should be withheld from Israel.

When is winning a war absolutely necessary? It can be hard to say. Was Harold’s defeat at the hands of William in 1066 a good or bad thing for England, and for Britain and the world, in the light of subsequent history? I do know that Magna Carta subsequently came into being and that Britain ran an empire and was instrumental in freeing the world of slavery, in enshrining the rule of law, and in shaping and making the modern prosperous world. Not bad while, at the same time, colonising, civilising and populating the new territories of North America, Australia and New Zealand; and, to boot, inventing association football and cricket and other sporting codes.

So there it is — and I haven’t mentioned Sir Isaac Newton nor any of the scientific, engineering and artistic feats bequeathed to mankind. If Harold had won would this have changed history for the better or worse?

My only purpose in bringing this up is to suggest that losing a specific war might not be a bad thing when viewed in a counter-factual historical perspective.