RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-gaza-end-game/

Tony Blinken is back in Israel for his ninth visit since 10/7. I wish I had his frequent flyer points.

Humor has always been a part of warfare. In order to endure oftentimes unspeakable experiences or images, people sometimes need to find a way to laugh. There is a story of British warships preparing to engage a German U-boat wolfpack in the Battle of the Atlantic. A submarine commander messaged his destroyer counterpart that in the event of engagement with the enemy, he would plan to stay on the water surface. The destroyer captain dryly responded, “So do I (meaning not get sunk).”

The Gaza war has also intertwined some jokes and laughter along with the pain, tears, and suffering. Very early in the war was the “Lego Gaza City” set with all gray parts heaped in a huge mound—just like the real thing. There was the UberEats type delivery soldier bringing food on a bicycle to his comrades in a destroyed building in Khan Yunis. And who could forget the soldier who knocked on the door of a house in Gaza to no answer. When he moved away the camera showed that nothing but the door was left to the entire building. While rockets and drones were actively on their way from Iran, one fellow put up a short video. He begged the Iranians to attack the “Jewish holy sites” as he showed on a detailed map of Israel. Each site was a branch office of the Israel Tax Authority.

As Tony Blinken once again returns to Israel, the question is what is the endgame? Hamas kidnapped so many Israelis—both live and dead—in order to use them as their strongest bargaining chip in finishing off the war. I do not believe that Yahya Sinwar or anyone else in Hamas expected the war to go as it has, with tens of thousands of Gazans dead, many of them Hamas members. I don’t think that they expected the massive levels of destruction that have led to thousands of buildings being destroyed and many thousands more being in need of dire repair before anyone will use them again. I doubt that they expected Israel to easily grab the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egyptian border and thoroughly flatten Rafah as Israel has done.

Hamas ostensibly should be like Germany or Japan and simply say yes to whatever is offered to them. They—as the Palestinians always have—are certain that they are the victors. They “demand” (like a guy with a gun facing him “demanding” something) that Israel stop fighting, remove all troops and give Rafah back to Hamas for more weapons running. While the Saudis seem to have unlimited oil, the Palestinians seem to have unlimited chutzpah. Israel is supposed to just get up and leave Gaza as if nothing happened on 10/7 or thereafter during which over 300 Israeli soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza. Hamas, or what’s left of it, is delusional. They want to go back to the 6th of October with a slightly less valuable real estate portfolio.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/08/the_gaza_pier_debacle_it_s_worse.html

On July 14th, in The pier to nowhere is going away, I wrote:

When what’s left of the pier is finally removed and probably, scrapped, we can be certain, just as with the withdrawal debacle in Afghanistan, the MMPA will declare it a brilliant success and an example of the military acumen and inspired leadership of Joe Biden. Interestingly, at his recent NATO conference, Biden sort of allowed the pier wasn’t as successful as it could have been.  And like that disaster, we’ll never know the true financial and human cost.

The horror of it is Israel has ports that could have been used far more safely to offload supplies, but then the MMPA couldn’t brag about their stunningly successful relief efforts. As always, our troops suffer to enable feckless political stunts, but at least Joe got his photo ops.

Graphic: X Screenshot

Since then, the media, and the Harris/Biden Administration–Joe Biden, vanishing POTUS—have ignored the unfolding debacle. The pier, badly damaged and sort of repaired, supposedly has been dismantled, and multiple US Army(?) ships are in little better shape. Earlier reports indicated those ships had substantial difficulty, so poor was their mechanical condition, even getting to the Middle East. Now it appears they’re no longer able to return to America under their own power. 

Roughly seven months after setting sail for the US military’s troubled temporary pier mission off the Gaza coast, three US Army boats are expected to have to be hauled back to the US by contracted civilian vessels behind schedule, raising more concern about the state of the Army watercraft at the center of a major effort to bring humanitarian aid into war-torn Gaza.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20895/israeli-imperative-destroy-myths

[I]t’s crucial not to lose sight of the bigger picture: the acute multi-front assault on the Jewish state since Oct. 7 and the chronic one that’s been going on from various directions for decades.

Today’s PA leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has the same agenda as his predecessor [to annihilate the Jewish state in stages], but dresses differently for foreign consumption. Having his pocket lined with millions of dollars, euros and shekels doesn’t hurt in this effort, since the mega-wealth enables him to purchase the best that Armani has to offer. It has also provided him with the cash to fund his “pay for slay” policy.

Though Fatah, the faction headed by Abbas, is a longtime foe of Hamas, it shares the rival group’s aim of eliminating Israel. To this end, the schools, mosques and media it controls glorify “martyrdom for Allah.”

Nevertheless, the U.N. continues to treat the PA as a “moderate” entity whose goal is independent statehood, free from the ostensible shackles of Israeli “occupation…” The idea behind this fallacy is that a reformed Palestinian group can replace Hamas in Gaza when the war is over. Good luck finding anyone in the PA who fits the bill…

This hasn’t prevented the administration in Washington from clinging to the notion of a viable “two-state solution” in the la-la-land of U.S. foreign policy. This outlook poses an even greater threat in the long term than the Hezbollah drones and rockets that the IDF destroyed early Sunday.

Most sane analysts understand that Hamas and Hezbollah are Iran-backed terrorist organizations whose military capabilities have to be countered. But illusions about the PA remain dangerously intact. It’s imperative for Israel to destroy the myth along with enemy missiles.

Israel’s preemptive strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon during the wee hours of Sunday morning temporarily shifted focus away from Hamas in Gaza and from the next round of bogus “ceasefire” negotiations in Cairo for the release of hostages.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/08/23/hamas-alone-is-to-blame-for-the-deaths-of-those-hostages/

A bizarre debate has blown up. All over social media, people want to know: who’s responsible for the deaths of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were discovered by the IDF in a tunnel in Khan Younis this week? Initial reports suggest the men might have died from suffocation after the IDF bombed a nearby Hamas position, causing carbon dioxide to flood the dank lair in which they were chained up. So it’s on Israel? They did this? CNN reports that the IDF was asked if it ‘killed the hostages’ at a recent press conference. Others are more brutal: those six poor souls were ‘butchered by the Israeli military onslaught’, says Owen Jones of the Guardian.

Let’s save these people some time. Let’s nip in the bud their moral deflection dolled up as critical analysis. The sole responsibility for the deaths of these six men lies with the gang of fascists who dragged them from their homes on 7 October. It lies with the Jew-haters who spirited these Jews from the safety of Southern Israel into the inevitable warzone of Gaza. It lies with the army of anti-Semites who treated the men like animals, violently robbing them of their liberty and hauling them into the dark heart of a deadly war. These men would be alive today were it not for the fascist actions of Hamas, and that’s all there is to it.

No sooner were the men’s bodies discovered than the cry went up: they died ‘as a result of [an] IDF bombing’. It seems so red is Israel’s bloodlust it even kills its own. If it was true they died as a result of a leak unleashed by the IDF’s pounding of Hamas, that would make their grim fate doubly tragic, we’re told. Here we had six Israeli civilians, four of them in their seventies or eighties, whose lives were first turned upside down by violent Islamists on 7 October, and then brought to an end as a consequence of the actions of their own army. Their deaths are proof, said Muhammad Shehada of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, that Israel’s ‘war of extermination on Gaza’ is ‘the biggest threat to the hostages’ lives’.

Soon, however, an inconvenient discovery intruded on these feverish efforts to blame Israel for the death of its own people. IDF autopsies discovered ‘marks suggestive of gunshots’. ‘Bullets were found in the bodies’, said the Hostages Family Forum, which represents the relatives of the Israelis still held captive in Gaza. No, these ‘marks’ do not prove the men were executed by their captors. As the New York Times reports, it is ‘too soon to determine whether gunshot wounds were the cause of death’. But these scars of the inhuman treatment meted out to the men by Hamas certainly complicate the early IDF-blaming narrative of Hamas’s Lord Haw Haws in the Western media.

So the debate goes on: did Hamas kill the men or did the IDF? Were they ‘butchered’ by reckless Israel or by their captors? As one report asks: did the IDF ‘again accidentally kill Israeli hostages’ or was this a ‘Hamas execution’? Who’s to blame? I’ll give you a clue: it’s the terrorist army who forced the men against their will to become actors in an apocalyptic war. It’s the racist gunmen who dragged the men into an underground hell that they knew perfectly well would be fired on and bombed. It’s Hamas. The commentariat’s reluctance to hold Hamas responsible for anything, even its own wicked deeds, is getting scary now.

 www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

Another week of Israel with one hand fighting a war against those who love death, and with the other hand working to create a better future for those who love life. Michael Ordman

POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
 
Oct 7 hero rehabilitates IDF soldiers. On Oct 7, Lt Yehonatan Skariszewski fought Hamas terrorists and guided over 100 Nova festival survivors to safety. He now works for NGO “For the Home, For Tomorrow,” training ex-combat soldiers in manual skills as therapy to counter anxieties following their active service.
https://www.jns.org/oct-7-hero-saved-dozens-at-nova-festival-now-rehabilitates-combat-soldiers/ 
 
Inspiration from Israelis returning home. (TY Ruth Kaplan) On Oct 7, residents of Kibbutz Magen fought off dozens of invading Hamas terrorists (video link below). They were then evacuated to the Dead Sea, from where 90% have since returned to their Kibbutz. Their stories of resilience give strength to Jews everywhere.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/kibbutz-magen-first-border-community-to-return-home-inspires-boston/ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_nBmWIVPDU 
 
Resilience in the North. While Israeli citizens in the South are returning to their homes, many in the North have never left. The residents of this region – Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druze alike – have become the guardians of their homeland, refusing to abandon the land they love, even in the face of unimaginable adversity.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/07/23/the-unbreakable-bonds-stories-of-resilience-from-israels-embattled-north/ 
 
Far-seeing enhancement. (TY UWI) While regular IDF soldiers have modern weapons, reservists lacked precision scopes for their Negev guns. So, several Israeli civilians voluntarily developed the Tomer Adapter, named after Tomer Nagar – a “Negevist” who fell while bravely defending the Kissufim military post on Oct 7.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/idf/its-saving-our-lives-israeli-hack-gives-precision-to-first-generation-machine-gun/2024/07/30/ 
 
Donations for Northern hospitals. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) is donating $1 million to the Tzafon Medical Center (Poriya) to bolster its Trauma Unit. It is also funding $620,000 worth of new equipment and medical supplies at the Italian Hospital in Nazareth.
https://israfan.com/p/ifcj-boosts-northern-israels-medical-infrastructure-162m-donation 
 
Thousands of American volunteers. (TY Stefan) Another article publicizing the work of volunteers from America. They include some 3,500 who came on missions organized by JNF-USA since Oct 7, helping repair, rehabilitate, and rebuild Gaza border communities and giving vital motivational support.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-810564 
 
Helping rebuild Israeli communities. Russell Robinson, CEO of JNF USA, describes how his organization is building a community center 2km from Gaza. Self-funded volunteers on JNF-USA trips are cleaning up schools so that children can resume their studies. In the north, JNF-USA is building culinary and medical centers.
https://video.i24news.tv/video/brightcove/6360820023112/6360820023112_hls 
 
Reduced university tuition fees for reservists. Some 500 Tel Aviv University 1st-year students beginning their studies in the coming academic year who have served at least 30 days in the reserves since the beginning of 2024 will be entitled to a tuition discount of NIS 2,500, covering about 25% of total tuition fees.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-811913 
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Rejuvenating cancer-killing cells. Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University have discovered why natural killer (NK) cells in the immune system lose their ability to fight cancer. They introduced nanoparticles that silenced the enzyme DGK alpha and the transcription factor Egr2, returning the NK cells to normal function.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/394893  https://www.biu.ac.il/en/article/581709 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDjFPY3zcmk 
 
Cancer pain treatment now used in US. (TY Nevet) The US is now recommending the innovative pain relief treatment for pancreatic cancer patients developed at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center (see here previously). 125 international patients received radiation treatment to the celiac plexus nerve. 53% reported significant benefit.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-811486 
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(24)00223-7/abstract 
 
Wearable can predict epileptic attacks. Israel’s Blink Energy has developed a tiny device, fitted to one eyelid, that monitors and analyzes blink patterns to detect or diagnose health conditions. E.g., to warn of an imminent epileptic seizure; or if about to fall asleep at the wheel; or to diagnose Parkinson’s disease or sleep disorders.
https://www.israel21c.org/eyelid-wearable-can-predict-and-alert-to-epileptic-seizure/ 
https://www.blinkenrg.com/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTfrhaxO7ig 
 
Fighting superbugs. Latest article about Israel’s NanoSynex (see here previously) and its antibiotic diagnosis test. The $11 million funding from investors, the IAA and Europe has helped it develop the product to test up to 20 patients at once and determine the correct antibiotic to use against bacteriological infections.
https://nocamels.com/2024/07/startup-fights-superbugs-antibiotic-resistance-with-rapid-testing/ 
 
The secrets of nutrient absorption. Scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute and Sheba Medical Center have compiled the first detailed map of the various activity areas in the human small intestine, revealing what makes it so effective at absorbing nutrients and protecting the body from infection.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/394262  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07793-3 
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/navigating-digestive-tract 
 
Can you shed light on this? (TY Ron M) I don’t know why an 8-year-old child swallowed a flashlight part – but he didn’t die. Doctors at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital removed the object, which had created an electrical circuit in the child’s esophagus. In another hour, it could have caused irreversible damage.
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/s1z5jfb000 
 
Antibiotics from pepper. Researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have created a derivative of the long pepper plant that disrupts the chemical communication between bacteria. The PL-18 derivative of Piperlongumine reducies bacterial virulence by disrupting the biofilm that surrounds bacteria.
https://nocamels.com/2024/07/bgu-study-finds-antibiotic-properties-in-pepper-plant/ 
 
Detecting COPD with a smartwatch. Israel’s RespirAI uses artificial intelligence and smartwatch sensors to monitor chronic patients e.g., with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). RespirAI compares oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) and EKG data with the wearer’s physical movement to predict imminent deterioration.
https://www.israel21c.org/copd-flareups-could-be-predicted-via-smartwatch/  https://www.respirai.com/ 
 
Diagnosing high-risk fat. All fat is not created equal. Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have devised a non-surgical miRNA biomarker biopsy test for visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation, which is derived from a specific type of body fat that poses a high cardio-metabolic risk in obese individuals.
https://www.israel21c.org/if-your-fat-is-vat-fat-you-could-be-at-higher-risk/
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/109/3/858/7274810 

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.