RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.commentary.org/seth-mandel/youre-lucky-to-survive-being-freed-by-hamas/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-

The full range of emotions one experiences on hostage-release days can blindside a person. One expects to be flooded with relief, then perhaps joy, at the sight of a young Jewish woman reunited with her family and friends after over a year in the dark dungeons of one of the most evil forces on earth.

But when Israeli hostages are released by Hamas, Gazans first film themselves hungrily getting in their last war crimes before the coming drought. It is dangerous business, this getting freed by Hamas.

So the emotions begin not at relief but at horror: The price of freedom is one last, live torture session. “Holding hostages is illegal under international law, and it amounts to a form of torture,” said the UN’s own torture expert upon the announcement of the cease-fire deal. Now it can be told.

No one really wants to watch the videos of well-dressed, well-fed, well-made-up Gazan “civilians” boasting of holding Israeli hostages in their homes—talk about now it can be told—but we do, because after the horror comes the relief.

Not before a bit of anger, though. Young Israeli women and old Israeli men are paraded not in front of baying mobs but through them. This part introduces another emotion: disgust. One expects that now that Hamas fighters are wearing their uniforms for the first time in over a year it would be easier to tell them apart from those around them. But somehow everyone in these scenes blends in with one another. When it comes to crowds of people gleefully mobbing an abused woman, what they are wearing isn’t terribly relevant or noticeable.

Arbel Yehud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80, looked like they were reenacting the Egyptian pursuit of the Israelites into the wilderness, the captors possessed by regret that these Jews might yet live. Agam Berger, 20, was forced to perform a choreographed stage scene for the leering Hamas men and wild-eyed crowds beyond them.

Once through this last trial, they were handed over to the Red Cross, who also transported five freed Thai nationals: Bannawat Seathao, Pongsak Thenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnao, and Watchara Sriaoun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R60deV8N-Pw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75anxnRPSKY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKaYuw9QsCA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-A21Y3oJ-M

Israeli citizen Amit Soussana, 40, an attorney, after hiding in a closet in her bedroom, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, located very close to the Israeli border with Gaza.

Amit, released from Hamas captivity in November 2023,  after 55 days in Hamas’s captivity, in a one-time testimony: “I gave everything I had, I thought I was going to die; I was sexually assaulted in Hamas captivity.”

Amit, who fought for almost an hour against the terrorists who kidnapped her from her home and also survived the terrorist who hurt her, tells of one harrowing moment, from which she thought she would not make it out alive, and of a young soldier – Liri Elbag – who stood up to the terrorist and saved her life.

In a difficult-to hear/read testimony, Amit tells that she was sexually assaulted by one of her captors – in a children’s room where she was chained, less than 3 weeks after she was kidnapped from Kfar Azza. In an interview with the “New York Times” she also spoke about the courageous struggle that was documented against the kidnappers on October 7: “I didn’t want them to take me like an object.” She was injured, held in 6 different places, including a tunnel, 40 meters deep, and was also tortured: “They thought I was hiding information.”

She made the decision to speak out of fear for the safety of the kidnapped people who were left behind in Gaza.

What Bibi Should Say to Trump:  “Get rid of Steve Witcoff, Michael DiMino and Massad Boulos as a start.  Then, we’ll be able to have a sensible chat about our neighborhood in the Middle East.”  

“Also, get American troops out of Israel.  We’ve proven that we can handle the situation quite well.  Former CIA officials should not be at checkpoints into Israel and we don’t want to see American lives sacrificed for the Jewish State.  Not only would it be a terrible tragedy for the U.S. but the negative press could kill our defensive war and make Israelis sitting ducks for another genocide. 

“Have you looked at the massacres in the Sudan, the organ harvesting in Communist China, the beheadings in Nigeria and the new law in South Africa to expropriate farms owned by Whites after decades of mass killings? Why are people in your administration singling out Israel for special treatment?”

“When U.S. officials talk about so-called “aid” to Israel, Americans need to understand that it is an investment with an unmatched ROI.  Israelis build, test, modify and improve American weapons systems and supply some of the best intel in the world.  We are NOT a drain on the U.S. budget as our value-added is nonpareil.  There is NO comparison between the situation vis a vis Israel and the corruption and drain on American resources in Ukraine.  THAT situation is NOT a win-win.  

Remember:  Former Secretary of State and U.S. Army General Alexander Haig  observed 35 years ago and it still resonates today: “Israel is the largest American aircraft carrier in the world that cannot be sunk, does not carry even one American soldier, and is located in a critical region for American national security.”

Janet Levy,
NYC

P.S. Note:  The Haig quote that I mentioned at the end is no longer available on Google or Brave. When I entered, “Who said Israel is an aircraft carrier for the U.S.,” nothing registered.  I had forgotten the origin of the quote – Haig.  I finally tried Firefox and voilå.  Therefore, it may be useful to keep this quote handy or memorize it for future use.  

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21366/gaza-boots-on-the-ground

Reprinted by kind permission of  Front Page Magazine.

The Biden administration rolled Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s envoy, into signing off on their deal to save Hamas…

Witkoff admitted to Fox News that he had done nothing but agree to the Biden administration’s May 27 protocol… and all he had done was to “speed up the process” by pressuring Israel into making every possible concession to Hamas. By getting Trump to accept the Biden deal, Witkoff and his allies in the Trump transition team, some of whom are associated with the pro-Iran Koch network, had also bound President Trump to a comprehensive nation-building project…

Trump is right to be skeptical. And he was right when he said: “You certainly can’t have the people that were there. Most of them are dead. But they didn’t exactly run it well. They run viciously and badly. You can’t have that.”

But the deal foisted on him by Biden, Qatar, Witkoff and his Koch network allies does just that. It saves Hamas and puts the terrorists back in power.

The Trump administration can exit the Biden deal and the sooner we do it, the easier it will be.

Any rebuilding will be to the benefit of Hamas. And will put billions into the pockets of Islamic terrorists, just the way that our reconstruction projects in Afghanistan financed the Taliban.

And having US veterans risking their lives to inspect terrorists moving around Gaza is senseless.

American soldiers are headed to Gaza.

They’re not there to fight Islamic terrorists, but to secure the disastrous Biden deal that saved Hamas by monitoring and inspecting the Gazans traveling across the “Netzarim corridor.”

One of the companies is UG Solutions, founded by a former Special Forces veteran, which hires US military vets to provide security. Hiring veterans as contractors became a common practice during the War on Terror because it allowed politicians to avoid accountability for US casualties.

Hundreds of Americans were killed working as contractors in Iraq, including, in one of the most infamous incidents in the war, when four ex-Special Forces contractors working for Blackwater had their bodies dragged through the streets, were beaten, hacked and hanged from a bridge while the Arab Muslim mobs of men, women and children cheered. The scene played out again in Benghazi, when two former Navy SEALS working as CIA contractors were murdered.

How soon until it plays out in Gaza?

Bringing in veterans as contractors has been a longtime way to disguise “boots on the ground.” But the men in those boots are still veterans who believe they’re serving their country. And when they die, it’s Americans dying to carry out the policies of their Commander in Chief.

NO URL…..ERIC LEVINE IS AN ATTORNEY IN NEW YORK

President Trump’s statement that resettling Palestinians living in Gaza “could be temporary or long term” has raised many eyebrows.

[Gaza is] literally a demolition site right now … So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change…You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing…You know over the centuries it’s had many, many conflicts.  And I don’t know, something has to happen.

Although Trump’s statement is controversial and an abhorrent nonstarter to some, his suggestion is actually quite rational.  The history of the Middle East and other regions around the world is full of examples of resettling refugees to give them a chance at a better life for themselves and future generations.

At a minimum, Gazans who want to leave should be given the opportunity to do so. As unlikely as that opportunity is, even more unlikely are the odds that Hamas will allow them to leave. They will be labeled as “traitors” and shot. Hamas has no intention of allowing any Gazan to resettle. Every Gazan is effectively a prisoner of Hamas.

For 75 years the Arab and Muslim worlds, with the open assistance of the United Nations, have waged war against Israel. Some Arab states have made peace with Israel. For other Muslim countries – such as Iran and its terror proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis – the effort to destroy Israel continues. As a critical component of that war, Hamas repeatedly uses Palestinian civilians as props and human shields in their propaganda war to show the world Israel’s “inhumanity” as it exercises its legitimate right of self-defense.

As Trump’s statement on resettlement makes clear, there is another path forward.

Throughout history, refugees have been offered asylum in host countries where they can start new lives.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-israel-bomb-gaza-hamas-war-023b36984c6116c128b5e47f117bba2a

President Donald Trump said he would like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session Saturday with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also said he has ended his predecessor’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point meant to reduce civilian casualties during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, which is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.

“We released them today,” Trump said of the bombs. “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time.” Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, “Because they bought them.”

Aboard Air Force One Saturday, President Donald Trump said he wants Jordan and Egypt to accept more Palestinian refugees and floats a plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza and has spoken to Jordan’s King.

Trump has built his political career around being unapologetically pro-Israel. On his larger vision for Gaza, Trump said he had call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt.

“I’d like Egypt to take people, and I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, we just clean out that whole thing.”

Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, “I’d love for you to take on more, cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.”

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

First: The return of more hostages to their families is the most joyful scene one could imagine. Behind these headlines, and in spite of ongoing hostilities, Israel’s research and development of technology and medicine that cure or alleviate want and suffering throughout the globe continues apace. The economy is strong and grows. Foreign workers return to productive farms and a sense of a peaceful future in a thriving democracy is more of a reality. Read Michael Ordman’s dazzling catalogue of positive news. rsk

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Fast track for blocked blood vessel treatment.  (TY Atid-EDI) The US FDA has granted Fast Track Designation to Israel’s BioGenCell (see here previously) for the development of BGC101 – its lead candidate for treating severe Critical Limb Threatening Ischemia (CLTI).
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biogencell-receives-fda-fast-track-140000739.html
 
European approval for stroke therapy. Israel’s Brain.Q (see here previously) has received the CE-Mark for its BQ 2.0 system, designed to reduce disability following ischemic stroke, the number one cause of disability worldwide. Brain.Q is also enrolling in the EMAGINE II pivotal study to seek US-FDA clearance.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/startup-news/brain-q-achieves-ce-mark-for-its-breakthrough-therapy-for-reducing-disability-following-stroke-and-welcomes-stacey-pugh-as-chairman-of-the-board
 
Positive proof of concept for arthritis treatment. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Raphael announced positive proof-of-concept clinical study results of its HPC1 non-psychoactive cannabinoid-based formula developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. 12 adult participants reported lower pain levels and better sleep quality.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/raphael-pharmaceutical-announces-positive-proof-130000207.html
https://www.raphaelpharmaceutical.com/
 
Innovation in Cardiovascular Interventions. Israel recently held the 2024 conference on innovation in interventional cardiology (ICI) for the 29th year in Tel Aviv. Levron Medical won the $200,000 Jon de Haan Innovation award for its Cardio-Respiratory Physiological Assist  (CRPA) Treatment..
https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/tech-and-start-ups/article-829448  https://icimed.org/
https://www.levron-medical.com/
 
Revolutionizing healthcare in the South. The new Mor Institute’s Be’er Sheva branch allows residents to get cancer screening, low-radiation CT scans, virtual colonoscopies, eye care services such as retina consultations and OCT exams, cardiac tests like Holter monitoring and vascular ultrasounds, bone density tests, and more.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-836357
 
Training for the best doctors. With medicine being so complicated, all major medical centers are establishing programs to help junior doctors improve the quality of treatment and research. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center has established its “Elite Residency and Training Center” for 100+ doctors learning a specialty annually.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-834346
 
 

https://www.renewamerica.com/columns/sharpe/250123

Palestinian Arab terrorist manipulation of the media will persist as long as people continue to prefer myths rather than facts.

This phenomenon is not new, but it seems that even eight years after a documentary, which officially exposed it was launched, many people have still not even heard of Pallywood.

So what is Pallywood? It is a combination of “Palestinian propaganda” and “Hollywood fantasy.” It is an exposure of “media manipulation, distortion and outright fraud by the Palestinians and other Arabs, jihadists and Islamists, assigned to win the public relations war against embattled Israel.”

In 2005, Professor Richard Landes of Boston University produced an 18-minute online documentary video called Pallywood. In this documentary, he exposed an entire film industry, in which the stars are Palestinian terrorists and their supporters, the crew is mostly independent video journalists, and the fools are we.

Pallywood presented a “behind the scenes” glance of the carefully staged scenes of Palestinian Arabs allegedly attacked by Israeli forces, which are then presented on the news as “raw footage of the reality in the Gaza conflict.”

The phenomenon of Pallywood is widely and carefully planned. News broadcasts are eager to air raw footage of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, and as a result they are being far too uncritical when examining the authenticity of the footage, and the airing of complete lies that give the audience the narrative the Hamas terrorists want you to see.

https://jihadwatch.org/2025/01/palestinian-authority-says-hamas-disguised-as-civilians-caused-civilian-deaths-and-destruction-of-gaza?utm_source=rss&utm_

No one will pay any attention. They’re far too invested in demonizing Israel.

“Palestinian Authority: Hamas disguised as civilians caused civilian deaths and destruction of Gaza,” by Ephraim D. Tepler and Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch, January 23, 2025:

The Palestinian Authority’s official daily admitted that Hamas terrorists disguised themselves as civilians and used civilian homes to launch attacks, thus deliberately increasing casualties in Gaza. Moreover, the PA called Hamas insolent for only putting on uniforms during the ceasefire in order to take credit.

Headline: “Shame branches out from faith”

“When three female Israeli hostages were released, Hamas members recently appeared armed and masked in their army uniforms, and in a completely flashy manner! Over the last 15 months of the war, we have not seen any of these activists in these uniforms. They were dressed in civilian shirts and pants, wore sandals (!!) [parentheses in source], and some were in pajamas. From among people’s homes – as Al-Jazeera TV presented them – they fired their [RPG] rockets at the occupation army’s vehicles, and retreated behind these homes. This matter, in addition to the racist and violent Israeli response to these rockets, is what contributed to increasing the losses among civilian residents of the slaughtered Gaza Strip…

When shame ends, only insolence remains. For 15 months of harsh war, Hamas did not dare to show even one of its operatives in military uniforms (!!) [parentheses in source], but when the ceasefire agreement stipulated that the cannons be silenced, Hamas brought out its operatives in military uniforms – not only for display purposes, but also to fabricate a victory narrative!”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 22, 2025]…