RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20625/warriors-of-israel-defending-freedom

These assaults are not only aimed at Israel and its inhabitants but, ultimately, at the West.

Adversaries of the West — whether religious fundamentalists or authoritarian states such as China, Russia, and Iran and its allies — appear intent upon imposing a new totalitarian world order. To do so, they seek destruction of the two main countries standing in their way: United States of America and Israel, the global champions of democracy, freedom, Western values, and human rights.

Regrettably, with freedom often comes the need to protect it, at times by force, from those who would take it away. Sometimes, this requires measures open to criticism by those who may have a different goal….

“Therefore, having judged that to be happy means to be free, and to be free means to be brave, we do not shy away from the risks of war.” — Pericles, funeral oration, 432 BCE.

Israel… is fighting for the values of civilization opposing terrorist barbarism so that the rest of us in the West will not have to. We should be sending whatever they need to end the terrorism, not withholding precision-guided weapons — especially, as we sanctimoniously claim, if we do not want to harm civilians.

“I have faith in the Jewish people. Let Israel be given a chance, let hatred and danger be removed from her horizons, and there will be peace in and around the Holy Land.” – Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, December 10, 1986.

As people of peace, the warriors and all citizens of Israel long for such a time with all their hearts, but first there are battles to be won.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20624/israel-gaza-egypt-border-rafah

Hamas and Egypt were quick to issue statements denouncing the capture of the Rafah border crossing, claiming that the move would “threaten” the lives of the Palestinians and hinder the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptians and Hamas have good reason to be angry with the presence of the IDF at the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing. For several years, Palestinians who wanted to exit the Gaza Strip via the terminal have alleged that they had to bribe Hamas and officials. Hamas and Egypt are now afraid of losing the Palestinian milk-cow.

“It is our right to travel without bribes and without corruption. We are living under a [Hamas] dictatorship.” Abu Amr was later arrested by Hamas security officers, who confiscated her mobile phone and ordered her to delete the Facebook post. — Noha Abu Amr, Palestinian journalist, 24.ae, January 24, 2024

[A] Palestinian man in the US [said] he paid $9,000 to get his wife and children on the list. On the day of travel, he was told his children’s names were not listed and he would have to pay an extra $3,000. He said the brokers were “trying to trade in the blood of Gazans”.

[T]he company [Hala Consulting and Tourism Services] owned by an influential Egyptian businessman and ally of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi] is estimated to have made a minimum of $118 million from desperate Palestinians trying to leave the Gaza Strip. “By the end of this year, if the April average continues, the company may earn well over half a billion dollars from the so-called VIP list of people Hala is transferring across the Gaza-Egypt border. ” — Middle East Eye, May 1, 2024.

An international charity [that does not want to be named] with extensive experience in providing emergency aid in wars…is also being forced to pay $5,000 per truck to a company linked to Egypt’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) to get aid into the Gaza Strip. — Middle East Eye, January 30, 2024.

The Palestinians actually owe Israel a huge debt of gratitude for finally driving Hamas out of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.

Egypt and Hamas are, it seems, indifferent to the pain endured by the Palestinians they are effectively imprisoning. All that matters to them is making more money off anyone desperate to leave the Gaza Strip.

On May 6, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, drawing condemnations from the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group and Egypt.

The IDF said it had “intelligence that terrorists were using the border crossing for terror purposes.” A day earlier, Hamas terrorists fired rockets from near the Rafah terminal toward the Kerem Shalom area (near the Israel-Gaza border), killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding several others.

In response to the Israeli military operation, Hamas and Egypt were quick to issue statements denouncing the capture of the Rafah border crossing, claiming that the move would “threaten” the lives of the Palestinians and hinder the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip.

“Egypt condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, and the resulting Israeli control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing,” read a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

https://amgreatness.com/2024/05/09/try-a-little-honesty-about-israel/

Scan news accounts of anti-Israel campus and street protestors. Read their demands and manifestos. Collate the confusion after October 7 from the Biden administration.

Here are ten of their most common untruths about October 7 and the war that followed.

“Progressive Hamas”: Gay and transgendered student protestors in America would be in mortal danger in Gaza under a fascistic Hamas that has banned homosexual acts and lifestyles. Anyone protesting publicly against Hamas or its allies would be arrested and severely punished.

Women are segregated in most Hamas-run educational institutions. Under the Hamas charter, women are valued mostly as child-bearers. By design, there are almost no women in high positions in business or in government under Hamas.

“Colonists and Settlers”: Students scream that Israelis are “settlers” and “colonists” and sometimes yell at Jewish students to “go back to Poland.”

But the Jewish presence in present-day Israel is deeply rooted in ancient tradition. Dating back at least three millennia, the concept of “Israel” as a distinct Jewish state, situated roughly in its current location, is ingrained in history.

By contrast, the much later Arab invasions of the Byzantine-controlled Levant and their arrival in Palestine occurred about 1800 years after the establishment of a Jewish Israel.

“Two-state Solution”: When student protestors scream “from the river to the sea,” that is not advocacy for a two-state solution. It is a call to eliminate the state of Israel—lying in between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea—and its 10 million Jewish and Arab citizens. The Hamas charter is a one-state/no-Israel agenda, which we saw attempted on October 7.

“Occupied Gaza”: Gaza was autonomous. The Israeli border is closed, but so is the Egyptian border. There have not been any Jews in Gaza for nearly two decades.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20622/palestinian-state-massacres

If the Saudis were really interested in normalizing their relations with Israel, they could have done so long ago. Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is delaying the move, in part, reportedly, out of fear of facing a backlash from his own people. He may, however, also have serious reservations that he would prefer not to talk about in public.

Like most Arabs, the Saudis could not care less about a Palestinian state and might secretly prefer not to have one at all. They are no doubt aware that the Palestinians themselves are the biggest obstacle to the establishment of a state of their own. During the past half-century, they have acted as a serial wrecking ball to every peaceful place they set foot.

The last thing most Arabs want is a Hamas-controlled Palestinian state. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain justifiably regard Hamas and other Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to their national security, most likely the main reason they all have refused to take in Gazan refugees.

Blinken’s claim that a Palestinian state would “isolate” Iran and its proxies is pure nonsense. The opposite is the case. Qatar, the Iranian regime and its proxies would doubtless be extremely happy if the Biden administration would allow them to establish a terrorist state on Israel’s doorstep. This state would be used by Iran and its terrorists as a launching pad for more October 7-style massacres of Israelis to further their goal of destroying first Israel, then the Arab States.

It is Israel — not Iran — that will find itself “isolated” and surrounded by Iran-backed Islamist groups….

A Middle East that includes a Palestinian state controlled by Iran and Islamist terrorists will be a less secure region, especially after Iran acquires nuclear weapons.

First, Biden, by reconfirming that terrorism “works,” would embolden all the other terrorists. Just keep on terrorizing everyone, and, when your demands are met, keep on upping and hardening them.

More significantly, by appeasing Iran, Qatar and potential voters in Michigan by creating a Palestinian State, the Biden administration will in fact be inviting Iran to initiate still more attacks – not only on Israel but also on US forces in the region….If Iran finally coerces the US to withdraw from the area, as reports indicate it might be doing, the regime will finally be able to take over its neighbors’ oil fields and holy sites without worrying about the US interfering.

Meanwhile, as the Biden administration, busy trying to win re-election in November, seems to have no idea how to end all the conflicts it ignited, directly or indirectly, in Gaza, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. The US has been backing both sides of all of them. Iran, presumably taking advantage of these distractions, and perhaps as a consolation prize for losing Hamas -– has been moving to take over Sudan. It is a country rich in oil, gold, rare earth minerals and terrorism — and felicitously positioned to help Iran fire unlimited combat drones – the planet’s new “cheap, instant air force” — at both Israel and US forces, and enable Iran to use Sudan’s port on the Red Sea to continue obstructing maritime traffic.

After all, if terrorism “works,” why stop?

https://www.jns.org/al-jazeera-plays-the-free-speech-card/

The brouhaha surrounding the closure of Al Jazeera’s Israel operations is part of a broader disinformation campaign against the Jewish state. Even the way the move is being portrayed by the Qatari media outlet—as a violation of free speech—is a lie.

Not surprising, given that mendacity is a requirement for employees of the network. But bad journalism isn’t behind the legislation, which passed last month in a landslide Knesset vote and unanimously by the Cabinet on Sunday.

Indeed, if slanted coverage had been the impetus for the law, the government would long ago have banned Al Jazeera, as well as most other broadcasters and print publications, including the Hebrew-language ones. Contrary to negative narratives, Israel actually adheres to the tenet (coined by Voltaire biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall): “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” 

No, the bill, which allows Israel to temporarily shutter foreign broadcasters deemed to be a threat to national security during the war against Hamas in Gaza, was born and approved as an emergency measure in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre. It arose as a result of Al Jazeera’s involvement in, support for and obfuscation of the atrocities committed by Hamas on Simchat Torah—and in its abetting the terrorist organization’s falsification of ostensible Israeli crimes.

https://www.jns.org/never-again-3/

In an announcement on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi reminded the troops of their mission.

Referring to the siren during which the entire country stands in silence for two minutes to honor the “six million who were murdered in the ghettos and extermination camps, in the killing fields and the death marches,” he wrote: “For a moment, we will bow our heads and connect with the memory of our people who were persecuted and murdered simply because they were Jews. Then we will raise our heads, proudly carrying on their sacred legacy, and continue to take action to ensure that the national home that they longed for, but did not attain, will stand forever.”

The latter, he stressed, “is our duty, our mission, our promise.”

Given the current circumstances, crafting the otherwise standard annual message must have been cringe-inducing for Halevi. Under his watch, the military not only was caught off guard by the Oct. 7 massacre, but didn’t arrive on the scene of the carnage for at least eight hours.

By the end of that Black Sabbath, more than 1,200 corpses—sexually abused, shot, burned, beheaded and mutilated—were left strewn across southern Israel and another 250 were abducted to Gaza. The desperate cries for help from those who ended up losing their lives still echo, haunting the surviving witnesses and shaking the rest of the country’s confidence.  

While penning the announcement to “IDF servicemen, soldiers, commanders and civilian employees,” did Halevi’s thoughts stray to last year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day—the theme of which was the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising—when he assured us that the IDF was “strong and will continue to maintain Israel’s security”? After all, less than six months later, thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed the Gaza border fence and subjected Israelis to atrocities that would have made the Nazis envious.

Faced with no choice but to mention the above, he stated, “These days, we are in a war where, at its onset, we failed in our mission and lost many—civilians, soldiers, civilian rapid-response-team members and security and rescue personnel. Entire lives were cut short in their prime in a war that was also thrust upon us by a wicked enemy who rose up to destroy us.”

 www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

Go beyond the hyperbole and bias of headlines and venomous antisemitic chants of campus protests and read about the real Israel cataloged by Michael Ordman. Even during wartime Israel’s research and technology works 24/7 to better the lives and aspirations of citizens in every continent of the globe. rsk

POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
 
Ari leaves the ICU. (TY Yanky) Ari Spitz, a Givati Brigade soldier, has regained full consciousness one and a half months after being severely injured in Gaza. He is considered one of the most severe casualties of the war.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/388392  
 
From battleground to bakery. Yedidya Harush has literally fought his way through combining IDF reserve duty with running a matzah-baking factory. Using personal loans, crowdfunding, and a generous JNF grant, he provides a livelihood to his 50 employees, and hand-baked matzah to IDF soldiers and evacuees.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/from-battleground-to-bakery-one-mans-mission-to-support-his-community-with-matzah/
 
Helping a community to heal. The Jewish National Fund-USA’s Build Together plan has brought volunteers from around the world to help rebuild communities following Oct 7. One such is Moshav Mivtachim where some two-thirds of the 450 residents have now returned home to the pleasant surprise of a refreshed town.
https://www.jns.org/wire/a-community-heals-together-with-american-volunteers/
 
Look who helped Israel against Iranian attack. Saudi Arabia acknowledged that it had helped the newly forged regional military coalition – Israel, the United States, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and France – repel an Iranian attack against the Jewish State. They intercepted dozens of drones heading for Israel.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/artc-saudi-arabia-publicly-acknowledges-role-in-defending-israel-against-iranian-attack  https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/the-gulf/artc-uae-saudi-arabia-privately-shared-intelligence-with-u-s-on-iranian-attack-report  https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1jlzltga
 
Thanking our friends. Some non-Israeli whose post Oct 7 support for Israel has been no less than heroic. This article thanks Douglas Murray, Sen John Fetterman, Rep Mike Johnson, Rep Richie Torres, Rep. Claudia Tenney, Sid Rosenberg, Floyd Mayweather, John Spencer, Richard Kemp, Pete Hegseth, and many others.
https://www.jns.org/hats-off-to-the-heroes-and-heroines-in-israels-existential-battle/
 
Sylvan Adams talks about rebuilding the South. Philanthropist Sylvan Adams is interviewed on I24 News  a few weeks ago about how his $100 million transformational donation to Ben Gurion University (see here previously) to rebuild Israel’s south devastated on Oct 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWKoc_hvEVY
 
 
ISRAEL’S  MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Robotic cataract surgery demonstrated. Top cataract surgeon David Chang performed the first-of-its-kind robotic cataract procedure on a porcine eye, using the ORYOM platform from Israel’s ForSight Robotics (see here previously) at the annual ASCRS Ophthalmology Conference in Boston.
https://www.firstwordhealthtech.com/story/5846609   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAO0il3Xwog
 
Using AI in neurological therapy. Tel Aviv’s Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center has partnered with Israel’s NeuroBrave to develop brain-computer interface (BCI) solutions for both complex neurological conditions and patient care. One example is to translate a non-communicative patient’s brainwaves into speech.
https://nocamels.com/2024/04/top-tel-aviv-hospital-using-ai-in-neurological-therapy/  https://neurobrave.com/
 
AI for mental health care. A new platform, called LIV, developed at Israel’s Sheba Hospital in the wake of Oct 7, streamlines intake of patients for mental healthcare. LIV’s GenAI (generative artificial intelligence) “converses” with a prospective patient to generate possible diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-anxiety-surges-during-war-israeli-genai-platform-can-ease-psychiatrists-workload/
 
Successful trial to grow your own bones. Israel’s Bonus Bio (see here previously) has completed Phase II clinical trials of its BonoFill for facial reconstructions, with a 90-percent success rate. The company is now entering phase three trials in the US. Read how BonoFill uses fat cells from your body to grow new bones.
https://nocamels.com/2024/04/biotech-firm-grows-bone-from-your-own-tissue-for-seamless-healing/
 
European project to cure muscular dystrophy. Technion Professor Shenhav Shemer has joined DREAMS ((Drug REpurposing and Artificial intelligence for Muscular disorderS), a European Union-funded project to discover treatments for rare neuromuscular disorders such as muscular dystrophy, suffered by some 400,000.
https://ats.org/our-impact/technion-researchers-awarded-prestigious-grants-for-brain-research/
 
Healthier fish. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have proved that breeding disease-resistant carp can make fish farming more sustainable and profitable. It can even keep non-resistant fish healthier. The study bred fish with built-in immunity to the common cyrpinid herpes virus that kills 60-80% of infected fish.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/researchers-study-how-to-keep-our-gefilte-fish-healthy/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-55133-2#Sec2

https://amgreatness.com/2024/05/04/reconstructing-gaza-the-international-communitys-cycle-of-impotence/

If ever there was an example of the lethal, recurring consequences of the self-proclaimed “international community’s” inanity and impotence, it is their recurrent bouts of vows to reconstruct Gaza.

In their own version of the movie Groundhog Day (sans happy ending), the United Nations, the Biden administration, and other largely western nations have plans for rebuilding and revitalizing post-war Gaza. (Proximity to the Hamas terrorists makes neighboring Arab nations far more pragmatic in their planning.) The international community’s plans—much of them taxpayer subsidized—are expansive, expensive, and will ensure perpetuation of the Hamas terrorists’ cycle of violence against Israel.

And, tragically, this will happen regardless of whether the international community delivers on their promises.

To begin, the tragic recap:

Hamas launches a terrorist attack against Israel and murders, rapes, tortures, and kidnaps civilians;

Hamas holds the kidnapped civilians as an insurance policy and human shields against Israeli retaliation;

Hamas further uses Gaza’s civilians and critical infrastructure, such as hospitals, as human shields;

Hamas directs a propaganda operation through its supporters in the west, including leftists on college campuses, and in various international institutions demand a cease-fire to insulate Hamas against the consequences for their terrorism—as well as the large swath of the Gaza population that approves of their terrorist attack against Israeli civilians;

The international community rebuilds and revitalizes Gaza and insulates and rewards Hamas for its terrorist attack;

And reinforces among the Gaza population that they are correct in supporting Hamas’ hatred, terrorism, and genocidal aims, which are deemed justified, indoctrinated and celebrated throughout successive generations.

Rebuild, revitalize, repeat…