RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20888/kamala-harris-jewish-liaison

A member of John Kerry’s team under President Barack Obama, whose biased attacks on Israel and support for Iran and Islamic terrorists in Israel helped lead to the current regional crisis, [Ilan] Goldenberg had spent the years leading up to October 7, 2023 doing everything possible to make the Hamas attack happen.

He had urged that more money should go into the Hamas territory and argued that Israel should allow in workers from Gaza. “You used to have 25,000, 100,000 Gazans working inside Israel. That needs to happen again.” That led to Oct 7.

Harris’s new Jewish “liaison” opposed every single pro-Israel move by both Republicans and Democrats, whether it was moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, or even cutting off aid to the “pay-for-slay” program of the Palestinian Authority. Instead, he urged anti-Israel moves, including a unilateral recognition of a “Palestinian” state on Israel’s territory.

Goldenberg had been a vocal proponent of the Iran nuclear deal, and attended an event by National Iranian American Council (NIAC): the Iran lobby. He had argued that, “In the aftermath of a successful nuclear deal, U.S. relations with Iran should shift from that of an adversary to that of a competitor.”

And Goldenberg had been part of the team that was responsible for and had defended the Obama administration’s opposition to Israel at the UN.

Previous Jewish liaisons were usually involved with Jewish communal life and could speak to a variety of issues. Goldenberg is simply an anti-Israel activist whose only issues are empowering Iran and Hamas.

Instead of selecting someone from the Jewish community or any of her political aides, Harris chose someone whose sole function will be to justify her anti-Israel policies to the Jewish community, and who will filter any efforts by the Jewish community to push back against them.

During the 2021 battles with Hamas, Goldenberg explained why Biden was only pretending to support Israel.

Lies, deceit and manipulation with the aim of empowering Hamas and destroying Israel.

The Kamala campaign and her political allies are leading a fundamental break with Israel, even before the election, while disguising it with happy talk for the benefit of some of their donors.

The appointment of one of the most persistently hostile foreign policy figures as a ‘liaison’ to the Jewish community sends a powerful message that this administration will be as anti-Israel as him and that Kamala will reconfigure her relationship with American Jews around her anti-Israel policies. Not even Obama went that far. What does it say that Kamala is already doing it now?

https://mailchi.mp/dd9d88d97a17/israel-current-events***

Gaza
There were serious developments in Gaza this week. First of all, 6 dead bodies of Israeli hostages were retrieved by the army from a tunnel. It was already known that 5 of the 6 had been killed. It was suspected that the 6th was killed, but hadn’t been confirmed. All 6 had been kidnapped alive from communities adjacent to Gaza on Oct. 7th. It is unclear as to how they all were killed, but there are suggestions that at least some of them were killed by IDF attacks near the tunnel where they were being held. There are some on the left who are blaming Prime Minister Netanyahu for this, but that just shows how crazy and bitter these people are. 

In a bit of a surprise move, Israeli forces pushed through a section of the Gaza Strip (Kissufim) all the way to the beach this week. This is the third corridor that crosses the entire Strip that has been created by the IDF since the beginning of the current conflict. It’s unclear what exactly precipitated the move, but is likely connected to a recent uptick in rocket fire. In the areas of the other two corridors (Netzarim in the middle of the Strip and Philadelphia in the south bordering Egypt), the IDF continued this week to eliminate terrorists and destroy tunnels. It was announced this week that over 150 tunnels in the Rafiach area have been destroyed so far. Two reserve soldiers were tragically killed this week in the Netzarim corridor by a roadside bomb. Another soldier was also killed while engaging terrorists. 

The hostage negotiations appear to be deadlocked. Hamas refuses to agree to a deal in which Israeli forces remain in Gaza. So far, Prime Minister Netanyahu has refused any scenario where troops are pulled out of certain areas, like the Netzarim and Philadelphia corridors.

No, Mr. President, suicide bombers and the Israeli army are not the same.

“We’ll keep working to bring hostages home and end the war in Gaza and bring peace and security to the Middle East,” President Biden said Monday night at the Democratic National Convention. He went on to say that “Those folks down the street”—the anti-Israel protesters—“have a point: a lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”

On Sunday night in Tel Aviv, a suicide bomber accidentally blew himself up as he was about to enter a synagogue. The Tel Aviv police chief said that if the bomb had not gone off accidentally, “it would have caused vast damage and multiple casualties.”

The would-be bomber was a Palestinian from the West Bank, and Hamas—Israel’s main adversary in the Gaza fighting—claimed credit for his would-be attack and vowed to carry out more.

If the bomber had succeeded to enter the synagogue, his act would not have been the same as Israel’s antiterror warfare in Gaza, which, like all antiterror warfare in populated areas, sometimes exacts civilian casualties—though “No urban fight in history has resulted in such a low ratio” of civilians to combatants killed.

But the Biden administration has for a while been embracing moral equivalency regarding the Israel–Hamas war in Gaza, and now characterizes it as a war that simply has to end so that peace can prevail. “Peace” means a return of the Israeli hostages neatly balanced by a complete, or near complete, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

https://www.jns.org/the-art-of-

Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday night, after two days in Doha with mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States. The one party absent was Hamas.

Nevertheless, President Joe Biden seemed to think that this was a minor detail not worth mentioning. Tardy to arrive at an event at the Oval Office—after signing a proclamation for the establishment of a national monument commemorating the 1908 Springfield Race Riot in Illinois—he told guests and reporters, “One of the reasons I was late for y’all is because I was dealing with the ceasefire effort in the Middle East. And we are closer than we’ve ever been.”

Adding a caveat, he said, “I don’t want to jinx anything. But, as my grandfather said, ‘By the grace of God and with a lot of luck, we might have something.’ But we’re not there yet. We’re much, much closer than we were three days ago.”

This particular trip to fantasy land can’t be chalked up to dementia. Team Biden has been consistent in its push to end “Operation Swords of Iron” since Oct. 7—weeks before any Israeli boots stepped on the ground in Gaza.

Leaving aside his administration’s open hostility toward the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and overt desire to topple the longest-serving leader in Israel’s history, America under this crew has an aversion to asserting its power in the world. This explains its refusal to step up to the plate on Oct. 8 and let Hamas honcho Yahya Sinwar know in no uncertain terms that he’d better cough up the hostages, especially those with U.S. citizenship, or else.

https://mailchi.mp/dd9d88d97a17/israel-current-events

Iran/Hezbollah/other evil crazies have still not retaliated for the recent assassinations of terrorist leaders. Why is that is the question that everyone is asking. Is it a strategic move? Are they scared of the repercussions? Are they waiting for a hostage/ceasefire deal in Gaza to get them out of the whole situation, at least temporarily? My bet is on the last one. As time has gone by, the pressure for a deal to free at least some of the hostages has intensified. Israel could try some kind of rescue attempt in the near future, but barring that, it would seem a deal is on the way, along with a way out for Iran/Hezbollah/Yemen and possibly Hamas, at least in the short term. I’m not saying I think this is a good idea, but I think this is where this is going. 

Meanwhile in Gaza
The IDF continues to hammer away at terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. In an attack on a terrorist headquarters located in a school, at least 31 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed. The Muslims and their allies have labeled the successful attack a massacre. Idiots. An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Gaza this week by a sniper. Despite this tragedy, there are many successes in the field. It all comes back to the original gamble by the head of Hamas Sinwar – how long can Israel continue to destroy Hamas before the international/domestic pressure stops it. If they get to Sinwar and his lieutenants, total victory can be achieved. Otherwise, Hamas remains a threat in Gaza. 

I read an interesting take this week that suggested that as long as the religious/right-wing community is willing to stay in reserve duty and fight in Gaza, the war will keep going. In essence, a grassroots situation where the lower ranking soldiers force the hand of the secular leftist leadership. A fascinating phenomenon indeed. 

Of course, occasionally the secular left will fight back, like they have in persecuting the reservists who are accused of abusing an imprisoned Nukhba terrorist from Oct. 7th. They even brought in the terrorist to testify! Let’s just say that in traditional Judaism we invalidate the legitimacy of testimony of a witness for much less than the hideous crimes of  Oct. 7th. As of now the soldiers have been released to house arrest. It’s a nice attempt to kill the morale of the other reservists, but unlikely to work. 

Finally, the top brass of the army and other security services (ie. secular leftists) are currently very publicly emphasizing their approval of any hostage deal, even one requiring a full pull out of Israeli forces from Gaza, including the border area with Egypt. Obviously, it’s not their job to support or oppose any deal, so it makes such behavior even more suspicious. They want this war over so they can start planning their asylum in Portugal. They might be surprised at how much of Israel would support such a move by them, but want the war to continue, without them in charge.