Josh, I have been making similar points on social media since shortly after Oct 7, when the world - shockingly - drank the Islamo/Marxist kool-aid and cast Israelis and Jews, generally, as the villains in this story. We have been so frightened of "looking bad"; of appeasing defectives in the media and in the Biden Administration that we've downplayed Torah’s G-d given directive that we have an obligation to kill those who come to kill us. Our rallies have nearly always focused on bringing the hostages back instead of vowing to destroy the evil that abducts, rapes, maims and kills Jews and other innocents. Israeli leaders have buckled to pressure from hostages' families and others who held demonstrations geared to saving individual loved ones (and giving the enemy a bargaining chip) than saving an entire nation. Did this "hostage focus” earn us any brownie points with the public? Very few. Not enough to turn the tide of public opinion and certainly nothing that destroys Hamas and others who come to kill us. Did it save hostages? Precious few. When the dust settles I'm sorry to say that the majority of hostages will be dead anyway. Similarly, we gave our strength away by catering to not-so-innocent Palestinian civilians. A move which likewise earned us little favor in the public square and severely delayed our victory over Hamas. How many times must we be hit over the head with the truth before we start thinking like warriors instead of leftist wimps? Israel needs support (both material and spiritual) from the Jewish diaspora to weaken the leftist voices in Israel and help us win this war. Which means driving leftists out of their positions of power in Jewish communities. As a Montrealer, I have a huge challenge with the leftist hegemony in our community, but I’ve taken various actions which hopefully, will plant the seeds of change.
It is truly frightening the wishy washy ambivalence of many Jews and Israelis. I could not bring myself to purchase a "bring them home now" dog tag for this very reason. It should be "Let my people go" at the very least. The onus needs to be fully on obliterating Hamas. And yes, they thought very little of our focus on our innocent hostages' lives, tearing down the signs in many places. Really disgusting.
Actually, our federation posted where the money went. (see link I provided). Some of the outreach is commendable except it is only for support services; not for anything that directly helps the military. Some of where the money went, like to Magan David Adom, is superfluous since folks are already donating to them directly. Ditto for medical centers. And sending money to kibbutzniks near Gaza is just sending money to their leftist friends. Notice that not a single penny went to the religious zionist Jews in Judea/Samaria!! As far as I'm concerned our federation is a lost cause. They never got a cent from me and until they change their direction, they never will. I donate directly to the Jewish orgs I believe in; not to a bunch of leftists. https://www.federationcja.org/en/news/community-update/montreal-sends-urgent-aid-to-israel_103750/
We also do not donate to the federation for the same reasons. Just directly to specific agencies as much as we can. We have good intell in Israel when we need it.
If you know of any military endeavors that need funding to help us win the war, especially those involving tech, let me know. I have a few contacts who know people with deep pockets.
Put your money towards the right cause for Israel. Do some research. Get together with like-minded people. What the hell does a "bring them home" dog tag do to help our people? It's for virtue-signaling jackasses who don't want to get involved. Our federation catered to these idiots with shmaltzy "bring them home" events and trips to Israel geared to the jackasses with deep pockets. The federation claims they raised $26 million for Israel but who knows where the money went? To Gantz and other left-wing politicians? To the hostages' families or to Israel's military? Think I'll piss off our federation's CEO by asking! lol
The first thing to do is speak with Orthodox rabbis in your community to get their take on the situation in Israel and the specific issues they support which align with your values. Then, get involved in events to raise money for that cause. For example, I attended an event held in an Orthodox synagogue to raise money for the Jewish residents of Judea/Samaria (a.k.a."settlers"). This was something our federation would never support since the leftist big shots there are anti-settlers.
Everything you've stated is why the war is still ongoing and I agree with all of it. The West should know from history that since 1948 and the shame of the Arab's loss, the Arabs have continued to plan for the demise of Israel. I totally agree that all the appeasement to the West and the delays they caused, along with Israel in agreement, this war should have been done and dusted. And now I've read (if it's true in total) that Israel will pause, but only during the day, while the "religious" ones celebrate Eid. Unfathomable.
The religious ones, as you put it, should be honored. Pausing to honor G-d, according to our scriptures, is entirely correct. Had Israel followed Torah directives about war and retaining territory from the get-go, we would not be in the difficult position we are in now. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, for example, was strongly opposed to giving back territory that we won. Read this. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6148232/jewish/It-Is-Time-to-Declare-the-Truth-About-the-Jews-and-Israel.htm
Why indeed, when they know Iran and Qatar are the puppet-masters. I'd love to see Israel launch a massive cyberattack on both countries, reducing their infrastructure to ashes.
The religious ones (Muslims) are not honored and that is the problem. I belong to my local Chabad and they're the last ones with courage and determination. Rebbe Schneerson, of Blessed Memory was a brilliant gem for Jews worldwide. I will check out the article, thanks.
I'm doing so much multi-tasking, I misread your statement about Eid. No they should not honor a Muslim religious practice! How disgusting - and stupidly "woke"!
The article I read said Israel would pause the fighting during the day for the Palestinians to observe Eid. I don't believe they feel honored that Israel has taken that step.
It is unfortunate for all of us that the "Greatest Generation" is for the most part gone and has been replaced by the not-so-great generation. Those folks knew how to prosecute a war against monsters. If you have to, you become more monstrous, plaster the s$#t out of them until they give up, and purge the survivors. It may not be pretty nor pleasant, but when you are fighting for your lives, that is the last of your concerns.
I keep saying this: "If we had to fight WW2 today, we'd lose." It isn't pretty but you have to completely bring the enemy to its knees, with complete humiliation and surrender. Then and only then you help rebuild -- your way.
The Israeli left has learned zero from the events of 10/7-Israel needs to level Gaza back to the Stone Age regardless of what the so called "international community" thinks
If Israel dares leave without destroying all the tunnels - and I don't care if that means everything above collapses on top of them - Israel is out of its mind. I'd like to know how all of that building happened in the first place, let alone rockets and weapons getting smuggled in. If the passage to Egypt is an issue, close it up!
How right you are Joshua. I wish that your article could be printed all over the Western world. The West needs a better understanding of what is going on and what must be done to ensure we continue to live in relative freedom. It is not just the State of Israel and the lives of the courageous individuals who inhabit that land that are at stake. If hamas (and I use a small h intentionally and their backers are allowed to win where will they strike next? I STAND WITH ISRAEL, LIBERTY AND FREEDOM TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN WAYS OF OUR OWN CHOICE.
No it is not. That is the whole point of this essay. "The rule of law" only works when all parties acknowledge and adhere to it. When the enemy does not, following "the rule of law" becomes your greatest weakness.
After the Hamas war, there probably will be an Israeli investigation into the causes of -and the conduct of the IDF- during the war. 'Common sense' means the Court in question will listen to the arguments for the necessity of the applied level of violence. And it will take a while, but the 'West' will follow in due time.
This is a superb piece. I agree with every word and had these thoughts myself for a long time! There must be NO mercy with these evil individuals, follow them to every corner they hide in. No mercy! We have rumours in the UK that the bank HSBC was processing Hamas money. If true, they must pay a terrible price. The west has become useless at dealing with these terrorists. I think they need to take a long look at history and how they handled them in the past. We need strength not weakness!
Great article. Israel should not make the same mistake against hezbollah. Move to wipe them out quickly and fiercely with no regard for so-called "civilian" life in Lebanon. Israel is going to get slammed as "war criminals" and accused of committing "genocide" in the international media and social media, by western governments anyhow. Just wipe hezbollah the hell out. And with no hostages being held in Lebanon, Israel has free reign, use it.
I completely agree. I, like so many of us, am flummoxed by this peace-nik attitude, when clearly this is a life or death situation for Israel (and the west). I cannot get out of my head one celebrity’s statement not believing that anyone could use children as shields. Ignorance, yes. My friends aren’t happy when I say stupidity, but I stand by it. A shocking naivety, absolutely. But I also think fear. I trained in martial arts for >30 years, and although I’m not a great fighter, I’ve fought (controlled), and I’ve seen a lot of fighting by those much better than me. “Killer instinct” is something that you can see in a fighter, and when you do see it, it’s scary. It’s a commitment to do whatever you need to win. Not a lot of people have it, and most don’t want it. The moment you choose to use it, it’s much easier to back away from it because it’s the end. You tuck away your empathy and become another part of yourself.
I don’t have it when it comes to karate fighting, but I do when it comes to self-defense. For me, that’s an easy battle, because there’s an aggressor and a defender, not an equality between fighters. And it’s life or death. I think it’s easy for cushy westerners to not want to see what needs to be done to finally keep Israel safe, because they don’t want to know where this can go; they are afraid of anyone exerting that kind of power/strength (and when it looks at them in the face they look away and ignore what they’ve seen). Looking at this from a martial arts perspective, it’s a no brainer.
I’ve read that many of the survivors are done with the trying-to-make-peace ideology. The kibbutz victims were “friends” with Gazans who turned their backs on them and helped Hamas. The survivors learned the hard way. But they’re done.
100% agree!!!! I cannot add anything. Except, Israel has to start manufacturing its own weaponry for future wars, so that we are not dependent on anyone else. Also, I especially support the idea of assassinations.
This is **spot** on. After Iran launched a full scale missle and drone attack on Israel, we should have jointly decimated Iran’s ports and taken out a number of high value military targets — hit them harder and more viciously than they could have ever imagined. Because that’s the only language terrorists understand: savage brutality. And in addition to our foolish belief that diplomacy of any kind works with jihadis and Islamists, we fail in giving the Iranian people the support they need to topple their own government.
Israel has carried out this war as it did the Second Lebanon War in 2006, as if it has all the time in the world.
In reality, time to wage war is limited as Western countries are subjected to news images and open pro- Muslim activism. Eventually this takes its toll and costs Israel.
Better to act with greater strength, speed, range in the initial days because, in the end, they'll still be accused of being worse than Nazis but Hamas will have suffered more.
An initial bombing campaign against all the cities of the Gaza Strip that made the population homeless in the first week of war would have been well within the capabilities of the Air Force and Artillery Corps. In WW2, RAF Bomber Command called it the "dehousing strategy" against Germany. They won.
Josh, I have been making similar points on social media since shortly after Oct 7, when the world - shockingly - drank the Islamo/Marxist kool-aid and cast Israelis and Jews, generally, as the villains in this story. We have been so frightened of "looking bad"; of appeasing defectives in the media and in the Biden Administration that we've downplayed Torah’s G-d given directive that we have an obligation to kill those who come to kill us. Our rallies have nearly always focused on bringing the hostages back instead of vowing to destroy the evil that abducts, rapes, maims and kills Jews and other innocents. Israeli leaders have buckled to pressure from hostages' families and others who held demonstrations geared to saving individual loved ones (and giving the enemy a bargaining chip) than saving an entire nation. Did this "hostage focus” earn us any brownie points with the public? Very few. Not enough to turn the tide of public opinion and certainly nothing that destroys Hamas and others who come to kill us. Did it save hostages? Precious few. When the dust settles I'm sorry to say that the majority of hostages will be dead anyway. Similarly, we gave our strength away by catering to not-so-innocent Palestinian civilians. A move which likewise earned us little favor in the public square and severely delayed our victory over Hamas. How many times must we be hit over the head with the truth before we start thinking like warriors instead of leftist wimps? Israel needs support (both material and spiritual) from the Jewish diaspora to weaken the leftist voices in Israel and help us win this war. Which means driving leftists out of their positions of power in Jewish communities. As a Montrealer, I have a huge challenge with the leftist hegemony in our community, but I’ve taken various actions which hopefully, will plant the seeds of change.
It is truly frightening the wishy washy ambivalence of many Jews and Israelis. I could not bring myself to purchase a "bring them home now" dog tag for this very reason. It should be "Let my people go" at the very least. The onus needs to be fully on obliterating Hamas. And yes, they thought very little of our focus on our innocent hostages' lives, tearing down the signs in many places. Really disgusting.
Actually, our federation posted where the money went. (see link I provided). Some of the outreach is commendable except it is only for support services; not for anything that directly helps the military. Some of where the money went, like to Magan David Adom, is superfluous since folks are already donating to them directly. Ditto for medical centers. And sending money to kibbutzniks near Gaza is just sending money to their leftist friends. Notice that not a single penny went to the religious zionist Jews in Judea/Samaria!! As far as I'm concerned our federation is a lost cause. They never got a cent from me and until they change their direction, they never will. I donate directly to the Jewish orgs I believe in; not to a bunch of leftists. https://www.federationcja.org/en/news/community-update/montreal-sends-urgent-aid-to-israel_103750/
We also do not donate to the federation for the same reasons. Just directly to specific agencies as much as we can. We have good intell in Israel when we need it.
If you know of any military endeavors that need funding to help us win the war, especially those involving tech, let me know. I have a few contacts who know people with deep pockets.
I will let you know. Thanks for asking. There might be something but it's at the very early stages yet.
I've been praying for tech that can be a potential game changer for Israel. Something Bibi (or Ben-Gvir, if he ever becomes PM) can use to keep the White House off our backs. Saw this article in Wired magazine and thought it was very interesting. https://www.wired.com/story/predatory-sparrow-cyberattack-timeline/?utm_source=ground.news&utm_medium=referral
If the article won't open unless you subscribe I can send you a PDF of the article if you email me at: susanhirshorn@gmail.com
Put your money towards the right cause for Israel. Do some research. Get together with like-minded people. What the hell does a "bring them home" dog tag do to help our people? It's for virtue-signaling jackasses who don't want to get involved. Our federation catered to these idiots with shmaltzy "bring them home" events and trips to Israel geared to the jackasses with deep pockets. The federation claims they raised $26 million for Israel but who knows where the money went? To Gantz and other left-wing politicians? To the hostages' families or to Israel's military? Think I'll piss off our federation's CEO by asking! lol
We gave to IDF and Magen David Adom early on. I'm sure I should do more. Thanks for your feistiness! I love it.
Wonderful. One of my favorite charities is Beit Halochem, which helps disabled Israeli war veterans.
Susan, I would be interested in knowing more about your ‘various actions’. What a huge, multi-faceted task we Jews have ahead of us.
The first thing to do is speak with Orthodox rabbis in your community to get their take on the situation in Israel and the specific issues they support which align with your values. Then, get involved in events to raise money for that cause. For example, I attended an event held in an Orthodox synagogue to raise money for the Jewish residents of Judea/Samaria (a.k.a."settlers"). This was something our federation would never support since the leftist big shots there are anti-settlers.
Everything you've stated is why the war is still ongoing and I agree with all of it. The West should know from history that since 1948 and the shame of the Arab's loss, the Arabs have continued to plan for the demise of Israel. I totally agree that all the appeasement to the West and the delays they caused, along with Israel in agreement, this war should have been done and dusted. And now I've read (if it's true in total) that Israel will pause, but only during the day, while the "religious" ones celebrate Eid. Unfathomable.
The religious ones, as you put it, should be honored. Pausing to honor G-d, according to our scriptures, is entirely correct. Had Israel followed Torah directives about war and retaining territory from the get-go, we would not be in the difficult position we are in now. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, for example, was strongly opposed to giving back territory that we won. Read this. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6148232/jewish/It-Is-Time-to-Declare-the-Truth-About-the-Jews-and-Israel.htm
BTW: I am not Orthodox but I believe in Torah.
Read the article: love it; but why don't they disrupt Iran, and Qatar if possible, every single day?
Why indeed, when they know Iran and Qatar are the puppet-masters. I'd love to see Israel launch a massive cyberattack on both countries, reducing their infrastructure to ashes.
Exactly.
The religious ones (Muslims) are not honored and that is the problem. I belong to my local Chabad and they're the last ones with courage and determination. Rebbe Schneerson, of Blessed Memory was a brilliant gem for Jews worldwide. I will check out the article, thanks.
I'm doing so much multi-tasking, I misread your statement about Eid. No they should not honor a Muslim religious practice! How disgusting - and stupidly "woke"!
The article I read said Israel would pause the fighting during the day for the Palestinians to observe Eid. I don't believe they feel honored that Israel has taken that step.
I'm sure they don't feel honored. Leftist woke bullshit on Israel's part.
It is unfortunate for all of us that the "Greatest Generation" is for the most part gone and has been replaced by the not-so-great generation. Those folks knew how to prosecute a war against monsters. If you have to, you become more monstrous, plaster the s$#t out of them until they give up, and purge the survivors. It may not be pretty nor pleasant, but when you are fighting for your lives, that is the last of your concerns.
I keep saying this: "If we had to fight WW2 today, we'd lose." It isn't pretty but you have to completely bring the enemy to its knees, with complete humiliation and surrender. Then and only then you help rebuild -- your way.
The Israeli left has learned zero from the events of 10/7-Israel needs to level Gaza back to the Stone Age regardless of what the so called "international community" thinks
If Israel dares leave without destroying all the tunnels - and I don't care if that means everything above collapses on top of them - Israel is out of its mind. I'd like to know how all of that building happened in the first place, let alone rockets and weapons getting smuggled in. If the passage to Egypt is an issue, close it up!
How right you are Joshua. I wish that your article could be printed all over the Western world. The West needs a better understanding of what is going on and what must be done to ensure we continue to live in relative freedom. It is not just the State of Israel and the lives of the courageous individuals who inhabit that land that are at stake. If hamas (and I use a small h intentionally and their backers are allowed to win where will they strike next? I STAND WITH ISRAEL, LIBERTY AND FREEDOM TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN WAYS OF OUR OWN CHOICE.
Yes! Josh, can you turn your article into a PETITION for Jews the world over to sign?
Spot on, Joshua, although accountability is always necessary to remain within our strongest asset, the rule of law.
No it is not. That is the whole point of this essay. "The rule of law" only works when all parties acknowledge and adhere to it. When the enemy does not, following "the rule of law" becomes your greatest weakness.
That would imply a return to arbitrariness - within the rule of law there still is the common sense to approve necessary violence.
"Western conventional wisdom" — or what you call "common sense" — is exactly why the West continues to fail in the Middle East.
After the Hamas war, there probably will be an Israeli investigation into the causes of -and the conduct of the IDF- during the war. 'Common sense' means the Court in question will listen to the arguments for the necessity of the applied level of violence. And it will take a while, but the 'West' will follow in due time.
They review every action before they do it.
Spot on. The West is in deep denial about the nature of the Jihadist mind and scope of the Islamist threat. Sadly, they are going to find out
This is a superb piece. I agree with every word and had these thoughts myself for a long time! There must be NO mercy with these evil individuals, follow them to every corner they hide in. No mercy! We have rumours in the UK that the bank HSBC was processing Hamas money. If true, they must pay a terrible price. The west has become useless at dealing with these terrorists. I think they need to take a long look at history and how they handled them in the past. We need strength not weakness!
Great article. Israel should not make the same mistake against hezbollah. Move to wipe them out quickly and fiercely with no regard for so-called "civilian" life in Lebanon. Israel is going to get slammed as "war criminals" and accused of committing "genocide" in the international media and social media, by western governments anyhow. Just wipe hezbollah the hell out. And with no hostages being held in Lebanon, Israel has free reign, use it.
I completely agree. I, like so many of us, am flummoxed by this peace-nik attitude, when clearly this is a life or death situation for Israel (and the west). I cannot get out of my head one celebrity’s statement not believing that anyone could use children as shields. Ignorance, yes. My friends aren’t happy when I say stupidity, but I stand by it. A shocking naivety, absolutely. But I also think fear. I trained in martial arts for >30 years, and although I’m not a great fighter, I’ve fought (controlled), and I’ve seen a lot of fighting by those much better than me. “Killer instinct” is something that you can see in a fighter, and when you do see it, it’s scary. It’s a commitment to do whatever you need to win. Not a lot of people have it, and most don’t want it. The moment you choose to use it, it’s much easier to back away from it because it’s the end. You tuck away your empathy and become another part of yourself.
I don’t have it when it comes to karate fighting, but I do when it comes to self-defense. For me, that’s an easy battle, because there’s an aggressor and a defender, not an equality between fighters. And it’s life or death. I think it’s easy for cushy westerners to not want to see what needs to be done to finally keep Israel safe, because they don’t want to know where this can go; they are afraid of anyone exerting that kind of power/strength (and when it looks at them in the face they look away and ignore what they’ve seen). Looking at this from a martial arts perspective, it’s a no brainer.
Well said. You know an article says it like it is when you feel like sending it to everyone you know.
I’ve read that many of the survivors are done with the trying-to-make-peace ideology. The kibbutz victims were “friends” with Gazans who turned their backs on them and helped Hamas. The survivors learned the hard way. But they’re done.
100% agree!!!! I cannot add anything. Except, Israel has to start manufacturing its own weaponry for future wars, so that we are not dependent on anyone else. Also, I especially support the idea of assassinations.
You touched the heart of the problem! Thank you so much for your clear writing!
When is “Never Again” going to be taken seriously?
This is **spot** on. After Iran launched a full scale missle and drone attack on Israel, we should have jointly decimated Iran’s ports and taken out a number of high value military targets — hit them harder and more viciously than they could have ever imagined. Because that’s the only language terrorists understand: savage brutality. And in addition to our foolish belief that diplomacy of any kind works with jihadis and Islamists, we fail in giving the Iranian people the support they need to topple their own government.
Israel has carried out this war as it did the Second Lebanon War in 2006, as if it has all the time in the world.
In reality, time to wage war is limited as Western countries are subjected to news images and open pro- Muslim activism. Eventually this takes its toll and costs Israel.
Better to act with greater strength, speed, range in the initial days because, in the end, they'll still be accused of being worse than Nazis but Hamas will have suffered more.
An initial bombing campaign against all the cities of the Gaza Strip that made the population homeless in the first week of war would have been well within the capabilities of the Air Force and Artillery Corps. In WW2, RAF Bomber Command called it the "dehousing strategy" against Germany. They won.