RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.wsj.com/articles/antony-blinken-israel-hamas-palestinian-authority-gaza-benjamin-netanyahu-3a92fb36?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

While Israel focuses on winning the war against Hamas, the U.S. has been pressing for commitments on what will come next. Speaking in Tokyo last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out five “Nos”: “No forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. . . . No use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks. No reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends. No attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza. No reduction in the territory of Gaza.”

If only the Biden Administration had that many red lines for Iran. The Secretary of State might also recall that the postwar U.S. occupations of Japan and Germany continued into the 1950s and included territorial adjustments.

Mr. Blinken followed his five “Nos” with three “Musts”: the way forward to peace “must include the Palestinian people’s voices and aspirations at the center of postcrisis governance in Gaza. It must include Palestinian-led governance and Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. And it must include . . . a pathway to Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in states of their own, with equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity.”

It is sensible to think ahead but premature to give marching orders for the harmonious future. Israel still has intense urban fighting ahead. What happens after Hamas’s command center underneath al-Shifa Hospital falls? Will a terrorist insurgency persist in Northern Gaza? How will Israel root out Hamas from Gaza’s south, to which most civilians have fled?

The answers can’t help but affect how Gaza will be governed. “The reality,” Mr. Blinken acknowledged on questioning, “is that there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict” in which Israel keeps some control. This is essentially what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said earlier: “I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it.”

If Israel isn’t taking on the terrorists, who will? The rush to empower “the Palestinian people’s voices” after Israel left Gaza in 2005 saw Gazans elect Hamas in 2006. The Palestinian Authority hasn’t held another election in the West Bank, knowing Hamas could win there, too.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

Israel has a diverse and dedicated citizen army defending historical truth against enemies with fanatical hatred. Behind the headlines is a remarkable democracy. Michael Ordman, to his enormous credit, brings us positive news even during a war. rsk

 
Unexpected heroes. One website containing the stories of 27 Israeli citizens who were thrown into life-saving situations on Oct 7.  https://www.israel21c.org/unexpectedheroes/
 
Angels in orange. So many stories about United Hatzalah EMTs who rescued dozens of wounded Israelis on Oct 7.  Some were too harrowing for this newsletter.  At least these ones have positive endings. Since Oct 7, UH EMTs have treated thousands, evacuated hundreds, delivered tons of medical supplies, and much more.
https://israelrescue.org/stories/emt-reunites-with-policeman-he-saved-in-under-fire-rescue/
https://israelrescue.org/stories/jewish-emt-reunites-with-muslim-bedouin-father-and-son-he-rescued-following-october-7th-hamas-attack-that-killed-the-mans-wife/
 
How Kfar Maimon was saved. On Oct 7, dozens of Hamas terrorists invaded the fields of Kfar Maimon, a religious Moshav about 5km from Gaza. They made the mistake, however, of shooting down a passing low-flying helicopter. It was carrying Israeli paratroopers who exited unhurt and eliminated the terrorists.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/379945
 
IDF base reopens. The Nahal Oz surveillance control center overrun by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7 has been reopened at a temporary site on the Re’im army base 2km south of the original base. The (mostly female) surveillance soldiers belong to the Intelligence Corps as did hostage Ori Megidish who was rescued from Gaza.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-story-of-heroism-and-fighting-army-reopens-surveillance-center-raided-by-hamas/
 
Natebuzz is in Israel. Australian actor Nate Buzolic (natebuzz on Instagram with 3.4 million followers) is in Israel for the 26th time. He founded Rova Media 3 weeks ago and has partnered Rabbi Ari Lamm (grandson of former YU chancellor Rabbi Norman Lamm) to change Israel’s poor online image for the younger generation.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/aussie-influencer-natebuzz-in-israel-to-fight-social-media-battle/  
https://www.instagram.com/rovamedia_/ https://www.youtube.com/@RovaMedia
https://www.instagram.com/natebuzz/
 
Protecting civilians in Gaza. Finally, a positive Israel story from the BBC. How Israeli intelligence worked with a Gazan dentist to ensure that hundreds of Gaza civilians were unharmed as the IDF prepared to bomb tower blocks housing Hamas terrorists.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67327079
 
215 Bnei Menashe make Aliyah and join IDF. Since Oct 7, 75 members of the Bnei Menashe community from India have made Aliyah and joined IDF combat units. Another 140 new Olim have joined the reserves.
https://israfan.com/2023/11/07/from-india-to-israel-the-brave-bnei-menashe-joining-israels-defense/
 
Miracle births. (TY Ari) On Oct 7, Hevda Malca was in a safe room in Sderot while Hamas terrorists were rampaging outside. Her sister-in-law Ayala Shlomo was in a safe room in Kiryat Gat when a Hamas rocket hit their house. Both Ayala and Hedva have just given birth at Laniado hospital in Netanya.
https://newsrnd.com/news/2023-10-27-life-is-stronger-than-everything–on-simchat-torah-hide-from-the-missiles—this-week-they-gave-new-life-%7C-israel-hayom.rJk12LFGp.html
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Successful trial of heart support device. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Magenta Medical (see here previously) reported positive results in a 15-patient trial of its Elevate System. The percutaneous Left Ventricular Assist Device (pLVAD) supports circulation in high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (HR-PCI).
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/magenta-medical-reports-positive-results-for-us-early-feasibility-study-of-elevate-heart-pump-in-providing-temporary-mechanical-circulatory-support-during-high-risk-pci-procedures-301968986.html
 
Long-term relief from migraines. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Theranica (see here previously) has reported successful long-term use of its Nerivio Remote Electrical Neuromodulation (REN) device for 409 migraine sufferers in the US. It consistently gave pain relief, functional disability relief and freedom.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-demonstrates-consistent-positive-long-term-adherence-and-efficacy-of-nerivio-for-treatment-of-migraine-301966050.html
 
AI to develop new therapies. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Can-Fite (see here previously) is developing small molecule medicines that address oncology and inflammatory diseases. It has partnered with Collaborations Pharma to use AI and Machine Learning techniques that significantly reduce development time and costs.
https://ir.canfite.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1032/can-fite-to-harness-artificial-intelligence-to-develop
 
 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-scenes-of-genocide-i-saw-in-israeli-morgues-hamas-oct-7-77d45c23?mod=opinion_lead_pos7

A fetal heartbeat flutters and then stills, a bullet lodged in the embryonic heart. The mother survives the shooting and her child’s stillbirth. A body that has been decomposing for almost three weeks lies on the autopsy table, riddled with knife and bullet wounds. Another is nearby, the man’s bluetooth receiver still clipped onto his shirt. Death came as a surprise.

This is Israel. I arrived on Oct. 19 to spend 10 days as a human-rights observer with the permission of the nation’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and help from Israel Defense Forces officer Kobi Valer. As an observant Muslim, I felt a duty to come and bear witness. What I saw will remain with me forever.

Hamas waged its attacks in the nation’s south, but hundreds of its victims have since been moved north. I encountered many of them at the morgues at the Shura military base near Ramle, some 15 miles southeast of Tel Aviv. I toured the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital in Haifa, visiting the neonatal units whose tiny patients had recently been relocated in anticipation of further conflict. I examined bodies and ashes, incinerated teeth and bones. I saw toddlers, teens and adults, young and old, many of them bound, tortured and burned alive.

One word continually came to mind: genocide. No matter how it emerges, the monster is easy to recognize. As a doctor, I had a rare and panoramic view of the aftermath: the targeted people’s long, agonizing journey to death.

This isn’t the first time I have seen Islamist jihadism or even Islamist genocide. I’ve been to northwestern Pakistan and met child Taliban operatives groomed for suicide missions. I still attend to 9/11 first-responders in New York. I’ve been to post-ISIS Iraq to meet with Kurdish and Yazidi survivors of genocide. I’ve spoken with former ISIS child soldiers and the Peshmerga veterans of that brutal and bloody three-year war.

The Oct. 7 genocide was different, more barbaric than anything before it. The attacks were cloaked in the language and metaphors of Islam, yet corrupted with cosmic enmity for the Jewish people, Judaism, global Jewry and the Jewish state.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20134/ceasefires-gaza-hostages

[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] argued that the more that 240 Israelis held hostage by Hamas should be released first. Letting up the military pressure on Hamas, rather than forcing Hamas to concede, will only delay the hostages’ release by enabling the terrorists to keep moving them around and re-hiding them.

The other important consideration the Biden administration has failed to grasp is that, by ensuring Israel achieves its goal of destroying Hamas, Washington would be sending a strong signal to hostile states such as Iran, Russia and China that any attack against the US and its allies would receive a similarly robust response.

At the very least the Biden administration should be urgently reviewing its Iran policy and, instead of obsessing about the prospects of reviving the “nuclear deal” with Tehran… concentrating its efforts on targeting top IRGC commanders, as well as imposing tough banking sanctions against Tehran to limit its ability to fund terrorist groups such as Hamas.

https://quillette.com/2023/11/09/the-barbarian-evasions/ When I ask my students to rethink the universality of human rights, the mere suggestion befuddles them. Creatures of their progressive times, the a priori existence of such rights is as firmly established in their minds as the existence of witches or geocentricity was in the minds of their ancestors. Even as they indulge […]

https://victorhanson.com/squeezing-the-worlds-vulnerable-peoples/

https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/09/squeezing-the-worlds-vulnerable-peoples/

The population of Israel is about 10 million. This represents about half of the world’s Jewish people.

The founding idea of modern Israel was to offer a sanctuary for Jews in their biblical home in the Middle East, in the aftermath of Nazi Germany’s mass murder of 6 million Jews. Yet currently, 78 years after the Holocaust, anti-Israel protestors throughout the Middle East, the great cities of the Western world, and iconic American universities chant death threats and “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.” Their signature slogan is shorthand for the erasure of the Jewish state and everyone in it.

There would currently be zero chance that Jews could live peaceably under any current Middle Eastern government. In the postwar era, nearly a million Jews were persecuted, ethnically cleansed, and forcibly expelled from all the major Arab countries— Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Syria, and Yemen—despite hundreds of years of residence.

Anti-Israel hatred still remains a staple in most of the nearly-500-million-person Arab world, and indeed is commonplace among the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims and their countries at the United Nations.

And Israel is only one of a number of small, vulnerable states. Most of them are in the volatile Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. All are surrounded by hostile neighbors. The others have also suffered a long history of persecution and periodic genocide—catastrophes that are not necessarily permanently relegated to their ancient pasts.

Bitter proxy fighting between Armenian- and Azerbaijan-allied forces in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh corridor recently ended with the defeat of Armenian supported forces. As a result, shortly before the Hamas massacre of Jews on October 7, some 120,000 Christian ethnic Armenians were expelled from the region by Muslim and Turkish-speaking Azerbaijan.