RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.jns.org/public-charter-schools-puts-benefits-of-teaching-hebrew-to-the-t

The Mill Basin Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, N.Y., in Israel. Credit: Alex Traiman. Credit: Alex Traiman.
The Mill Basin Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, N.Y., in Israel. Credit: Alex Traiman. Credit: Alex Traiman.
An experimental approach to learning Hebrew is strengthening the identity of Jewish students who cannot afford a private-school education, while simultaneously building pro-Israel advocates from other faiths.

An experimental approach to learning Hebrew is strengthening the identity of Jewish students who cannot afford a private-school education, while simultaneously building pro-Israel advocates from other faiths.

Now in its ninth year, the Hebrew Public network of 13 charter schools utilizes a blend of startup philanthropic funding and state funds to offer high-quality bilingual education to Jewish and non-Jewish students alike. Currently, these schools run in New York, New Jersey, California, Minnesota and Washington, D.C. New schools are scheduled to open soon in Philadelphia and Texas.

The school teaches Hebrew to all its students—about half of them Jewish. Classes on other traditional public-school subjects are also taught in Hebrew. The school does not teach any subjects on Jewish faith, but does offer information on Israeli culture, history and national holidays, which often overlap with Jewish holidays.

“We are not a Jewish school. We are the only public-school network in North America that teaches Hebrew to kids of all backgrounds,” says Valerie Khaytina, chief external officer of Hebrew Public.

The network—with more than 3,000 students—was started by the Areivim Philanthropy Group and the Steinhardt Philanthropic Foundation in 2009 to provide a free alternative for parents and students searching for an education that could provide Jewish identity, but without the burdensome costs of a private Jewish day school, which can range anywhere from $10,000 to over $20,000 per year.

“The Areivim group sought to find the next big idea to actually make Jewish education affordable for all children,” explains Khaytina. “At around the same time, they got to learn about the concept of charter schools. And they said, ‘OK, that sounds great.’ Then they learned that to be a charter school, you have to be open to everybody. So, there is no religion in our schools.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13308/ilhan-omar-rashida-tlaib

“Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” — Ilhan Omar, in a tweet, November 2012.

“When a politician singles out Jewish allies as ‘evil,’ but ignores every brutal theocratic regime in the area, it’s certainly noteworthy….” — David Harsanyi, New York Post.

“With many Jews expressing distaste for an ‘illiberal’ Israel, it’s little surprise that the bulk of American Jewry isn’t overly bothered about the election of Socialists who are unsympathetic to the Jewish state or consider Zionism to be racist.” — Commentator Jonathan Tobin.

Ilhan Abdullahi Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Harbi Tlaib of Michigan will be the first two Muslim women ever to serve in the US Congress. Most of the media coverage since their election on November 6 has been effusive in praise of their Muslim identity and personal history.

Less known is that both women deceived voters about their positions on Israel. Both women, at some point during their rise in electoral politics, led voters — especially Jewish voters — to believe that they held moderate views on Israel. After being elected, both women reversed their positions and now say they are committed to sanctioning the Jewish state.

America’s first two Muslim congresswomen are now both on record as appearing to oppose Israel’s right to exist. They both support the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Both are also explicitly or implicitly opposed to continuing military aid to Israel, as well as to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — an outcome that would establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Instead, they favor a one-state solution — an outcome that many analysts believe would, due to demographics over time, replace the Jewish state with a unitary Palestinian state.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/will-restraint-be-netanyahus-downfall/

Addressing his controversial decision to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas following more than 24 hours of incessant mortar, rocket and missile fire from Gaza into southern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained:

“In normal times, a leader must be attentive to the hearts of the people, and our people are wise. But in times of crisis, when making critical decisions in the field of security, the public cannot always be a partner in the crucial considerations that must be concealed from the enemy. At these moments, leadership is not to do the easy thing; leadership is to do the right thing, even if it is difficult. Leadership is sometimes facing criticism when you know confidential and sensitive information that you cannot share with the citizens of Israel, and in this case with the residents of the south, whom I love and appreciate greatly.”

Netanyahu made these statements on Wednesday at a memorial service for David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, whose tough leadership and party’s 30-year domination kept him at the country’s helm for longer than any of his successors thus far.

Almost simultaneously, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation, on the grounds that Netanyahu had ignored his objections to the ceasefire and “capitulated to terrorists.”

This is the same Netanyahu who, while in Paris on Sunday—where he joined world leaders in marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I—likened Hamas to ISIS and said: “There no diplomatic solution to Gaza.”

The hours following Lieberman’s figurative bombshell were spent more on media analysis of Israel’s internecine political strife and on Netanyahu’s chances for surviving an early election than on the literal explosive havoc wreaked by Hamas on the Jewish communities in rocket range of Gaza.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271940/ceasefire-halts-palestinian-terrorists-rocket-joseph-klein

A shaky ceasefire has put at least a temporary halt to the most serious violence in and around the Gaza Strip since the 2014 Gaza war. However, while the ceasefire managed for now to prevent the violence from spinning out of control into a much wider and destructive war between the Palestinian terrorists and Israel, it has left Hamas’s weaponry and military infrastructure intact for their use against Israeli civilians on another day. The terms of the ceasefire thus divided the Israeli government. Defense Minister Liberman resigned in protest, denouncing the ceasefire agreement as “surrendering to terror.” He said that his party would pull out of the ruling coalition, potentially precipitating early elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his government’s decision to enter into the ceasefire. He said that “in times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public can’t always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy.”

Before the ceasefire took effect on Tuesday, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists had launched approximately 460 rockets and mortar rounds towards southern Israel, about a quarter of which were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Enough of the rocket barrage aimed at civilian population centers in Israel got through, however, to cause multiple casualties and property damage, while sending terrified children to hide in bomb shelters. A Palestinian worker from Hebron was killed after a direct hit on a building in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. At least two women were critically injured.

The Palestinian terrorists’ attacks followed on the heels of their confrontation with members of an Israeli covert intelligence mission inside Gaza last Sunday. Seven Palestinian militants, including a senior Hamas military commander, and an Israeli lieutenant colonel died during the confrontation. Rather than agree to treat the incident as an isolated skirmish and maintain the tenuous ceasefire that had previously existed between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian terrorists deliberately put civilians in harm’s way by launching their barrage of rockets indiscriminately at Israeli cities and towns. In a virtual declaration of war, Hamas warned that “millions” more Israelis would be subject to rocket fire.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271939/israel-remains-steadfast-face-hamas-war-crimes-ari-lieberman

It began as a covert intelligence operation, one of many conducted by Israel in the hostile and densely populated Gaza Strip. Most of these operations occur without incident but on Sunday, we were reminded that these covert activities are not without extreme risk.

An undercover force reportedly from the elite Sayeret Maglan unit entered the Strip in civilian clothing using a nondescript vehicle. While in the Gazan city of Khan Yunis, the vehicle drew the suspicions of Hamas operatives who were in the vicinity. As the terrorists closed in, the Maglan boys opened fire on the AK-47 toting gangsters instantly sparking a ferocious firefight.

Three of the terrorists were shot dead during the initial exchange. The Israeli vehicle then frantically made its way through narrow streets of Khan Yunis toward the safety of Israel all while Hamas vehicles were giving chase. The Israelis called in for air support. Drones hovering above fired at the pursuing vehicles, destroying them, and killing an additional four more terrorists.

When it was over, seven terrorists, including a senior Hamas commander and one Israeli soldier were dead. The senior terrorist commander was identified as Nour Baraka, who oversaw terror tunnel operations. The deceased Israeli was a Lt. Colonel and a member of Israel’s Druse minority sect. His name has not been released to the public and he has only been identified as Lt. Col. “M.”

http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/11/13/gaza-rockets-pound-israel-killing-one-wounding-dozens/

Gaza terrorists kept up their most intense rocket fire on Israel since the 2014 Gaza war over Monday night and Tuesday morning, killing a civilian in Ashkelon and wounding dozens across Israel’s south.

Starting from Monday afternoon, hundreds of projectiles fired from Gaza pounded Israeli communities, a day after a botched Israeli intelligence operation in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of an Israeli officer and seven Hamas operatives, including a key Hamas commander.

Magen David Adom emergency medical personnel were on the highest alert level, administering first aid to at least 55 people in a number of locations across southern Israel.

The man killed in Ashkelon was Mahmoud Bashir Abu Asbah, 48, from the Arab village of Halhul, near Hebron. He was killed when a rocket fired from Gaza scored a direct hit on an apartment building. His body was only discovered an hour after the impact, when a civilian surveyor working for a construction company came to film the damage and found the dead man and a seriously wounded woman in her 40s in the rubble.

The IDF said some 400 rockets and mortars had been launched from Gaza since Monday afternoon, with about 100 of them intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

School was canceled in many areas in southern Israel and a local election was postponed because of the threat of further attacks.

Over recent months, the sides have come close to a major escalation several times, only to step back in favor of giving a chance to a long-term Egyptian-mediated truce.

However, the current level of escalation and angry rhetoric, including Hamas’ warnings to strike deeper inside Israel unless Israel halts its strikes in Gaza, may make it more difficult to restore calm.

Israel’s Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, which had been due to meet Tuesday afternoon, pushed its meeting forward to 9 a.m. to discuss the next steps.

http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001807.html

Yesterday at least 20 Israelis were injured in the largest ever number of rocket attacks in a single day by the Hamas terror organization. And yet there has been very little reporting of this in the international media, and even where there has been coverage it has often been inaccurate. (Serious reporting will only start when Israel finally starts to defend itself, in order to then portray Hamas as the victims.)

Over 400 rockets have been fired into Israel in the last 24 hours. Houses, buses and shops have been hit all over southern Israel. One man was killed by a rocket that partially destroyed an apartment building. An Israeli 19-year-old is in critical condition. Other Israeli children were injured as rockets slammed into homes. An elderly woman was also seriously injured. One dog in Israel died of injuries from a Hamas rocket. Prime Minister Netanyahu is being criticized in Israel for his weak response.

Israeli casualties have not been far higher, thanks to the technologically amazing Iron Dome system shooting down many incoming rockets and people sheltering in underground bomb shelters. Schools in southern Israel are closed today as children are being told to stay in bomb shelters.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13297/hamas-missiles-qatari-money

The renewed Hamas attacks on Israel serve as a reminder that the terrorist group is not interested in a real truce. Hamas wants millions of dollars paid to its employees so that it can continue to prepare for war with Israel while not having to worry about the welfare of its people.

Qatar’s $15 million cash grant has failed to stop Hamas from launching hundreds of rockets into Israel. On the contrary, the money has only emboldened Hamas and increased its appetite to continue its jihad to eliminate Israel. All the money in the world will not convince Hamas to abandon its ideology or soften its position toward Israel.

What the international mediators need to understand is that there is only one solution to the crisis in the Gaza Strip: removing Hamas from power and destroying its military capabilities. They also need to understand that there is only one language that Hamas understands: the language of force. The assumption that if you pay terrorists millions of dollars, they will stop attacking you — rather than using the funds to build up their forces — has proven to be false.

Last week, as efforts were underway to achieve a new truce between Hamas and Israel, this author asked a legitimate and straightforward question: Can Hamas be trusted?

The conclusion was that a real truce between Israel and Hamas can be achieved only after the Palestinian jihadi terrorists are removed from power, and not rewarded for violence and threats.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-hamas-seek-calm-after-gaza-raid-goes-awry-1542033474

TEL AVIV—Israel’s military and Gaza militant groups exchanged heavy fire in an escalation of hostilities that threatened to upend fragile cease-fire talks that had been gaining momentum.

Israel said Hamas and other militant groups fired more than 300 rockets at Israel on Monday in what is the largest barrage aimed at the Jewish state from the Gaza Strip since their war in 2014. The militants said they were responding to an Israeli operation Sunday night in Gaza that left seven Palestinian militants and an Israeli military officer dead.

At least one Israeli was seriously injured on Monday when an antitank missile fired from Gaza struck a bus near the border, Israeli paramedics said, and at least 10 others were lightly injured by shrapnel in or near the Israeli town of Sderot. Homes in the Israeli towns of Ashkelon and Netivot took direct hits from rocket fire, according to videos shown on Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.

In response to the rocket fire, the Israeli military said it carried out 70 airstrikes against military targets in Gaza, including the building that housed Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV station, an official media arm of the militant group. Israel accused the outlet of directing terror activities against it.

The strikes killed at least three Palestinians and injured nine others, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an armed group, said two of the dead were their members, and Islamic Jihad, also an armed group, said one of the dead belonged to it.

The attacks were the most intense fighting in weeks on the Gaza border, following a period of calm that coincided with stepped-up peace talks between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, mediated by Egypt and the United Nations. After months of worsening restrictions on Gaza, Israel had begun allowing humanitarian aid from Qatar to flow in, easing conditions there.

The relative quiet was broken Sunday night by what Israel described as an intelligence-gathering mission gone wrong.