In June 2025, right before the first war with Iran broke out, I was urged by my cousin to join her at what was then called Hostage Square, on Kaplan St. i went against my better judgement.
I heard speaker after speaker decry Bibi this and Bibi that. A Martian landing there would’ve wondered who this Bibi was who was holding all these hostages.
The single word I didn’t hear? You guessed it: HAMAS. I was there for an hour. Not one mention of Hamas.
Here is a story that exemplifies my earlier comment above. Morality not based on Torah is ill-conceived, dangerous and self-destructive. This is an Israeli problem since before the State was formed.
I guess it's more satisfying for westerners to be hyper focused on Israel than on the myriads of problems facing their own dying nations which are being invaded by muslim jihadists. They are losing their identities, their freedom and culture. They are being invaded and replaced with a seventh century minded culture and civilization. People who are miserable failures love to see their betters taken down. That is why Europe seethes with hatred of the Jewish state. No matter who wins Israel's election, Israel will thrive, Europe however is a rotting garbage dump.
Thank you Guy for an excellent piece, which lost me in parts.
This paragraph caught my eye .. "Israel will endure whoever wins, will remain Jewish whoever wins, will remain a democracy whoever wins, because 78 years of evidence say the country is sturdier than its politicians — and always has been." And I do not think that the result of the election will make one iota of a difference, on how the world will view Israel or the Jewish people.
Here in London, an esteemed Jewish journalist was reported in the Jewish News to have spoken at the JW3 premises. His claim was that Israel would be seen in a different light by the world, if Bibi failed to become Israel's Prime Minister in the next election. And for me, that is utter cobblers. That journalist should be ashamed of himself .. I pity those that suffer with Netanyahu Derangement Syndrome.
Most importantly as a diaspora Jew, I will support whoever Israel chooses as its next Prime Minister.
We all know by now that Hamas caused the war that the IDF's arrogant left leaning, pure dumb and duped intelligence failed to prevent. Which is not to say another war, started another way would not have erupted. Israelis who vote to let Hamas rebuild and re-tunnel to attack another day are fools. Same for those who vote to let Iran achieve its goal of another Holocaust, God forbid. My greatest fear and worry is that foreign money will infect the election with protests against anything sensible. Just like the Kaplan movement did to tear the country apart over the Judicial reform. And Hamas took note of that.
The sin of the golden calf wasn't the reason God sentenced us with the forty years in the desert. It was the sin of the spies. Jesus wasn't rejected for political reasons, but because he publicly belittled and maligned the Sages. He taught nothing new. This line sums up much of what you are saying. "The Trotskys start the wars and the Bronsteins die in them." I may not have the quote correctly worded. I cannot remember or find the source. But you get the point. You wrote about.
"Jesus wasn't rejected for political reasons, but because he publicly belittled and maligned the Sages. He taught nothing new."
Did the sages walk on water?
Did the sages turn water into wine?
Did the sages make the blind see, the lame walk?
Did the sages cure leprosy?
Did the sages raise the dead?
Did the sages turn a few loaves of bread and few fishes into enough food to feed 5,000 people?
Do Jews call all these things belittling the sages? After the temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans, the Saduccees (The Sages) never were heard of again.
The Pharisees, the group that saved Judaism after the Temple destruction, were much closer to Jesus in thinking and vice versa. In fact St Paul was a Pharisee.
What Jesus taught and did was new enough such that today he has 1.5 to 2.0 billion or so beleivers.
What Jesus did was challenge the corruption of the institutions of power.
Had he just performed miracles - he would’ve been labeled a prophet and there would be no need for a separate sect.
Which is the point being made in the article, nothing here is a theological challenge to Christian belief, it is self reflection on the long-term impact of sectarian division in Jewish politics.
Jesus’ ideas were neither alien to the Jews or unpopular amongst the Jews.
Name one new idea that Jesus taught that was not already in the Hebrew Bible. Miracles were never to be a sign of the Messiah. See the articles and videos on the Jews for Judaism website and their Youtube channel. Two prophets in the Hebrew Bible raised people from the dead. And what does walking on water have to do with being the Messiah? One of the truths in Judaism is that no man is perfect, not even our greatests, not Moses, and not our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Why do Christians need to have a "perfect" man as their god? It is accepted and understood that the original sect called Christianity change radically resulting in the current religion and its many branches. A virgin birth?! If the Jewish Messish is to come from the line of King David, how can Jesus be the Messiah if he had no father? Remember Jewish lineage is passed down through the mother, but tribal lineage from the father.
You’re right, it is an impossible ask. My hope is that if every time every person writing has just a brief thought of “how could my passion be turned into a weapon to harm someone that I love” we will raise the bar of the discourse incrementally.
This isn’t really about the elections for our enemies, they could weaponize a weather report, but we still need to be better than what our politics have become.
In June 2025, right before the first war with Iran broke out, I was urged by my cousin to join her at what was then called Hostage Square, on Kaplan St. i went against my better judgement.
I heard speaker after speaker decry Bibi this and Bibi that. A Martian landing there would’ve wondered who this Bibi was who was holding all these hostages.
The single word I didn’t hear? You guessed it: HAMAS. I was there for an hour. Not one mention of Hamas.
Here is a story that exemplifies my earlier comment above. Morality not based on Torah is ill-conceived, dangerous and self-destructive. This is an Israeli problem since before the State was formed.
https://vinnews.com/2026/07/30/mk-fumes-after-list-of-teachers-supporting-terror-thrown-into-trash-by-shin-bet/
Thank you. Very important food for thought.
Check out this argument:
World governments and the media hate Netanyahu because he is intransigent. He is not compliant. He will not do what they demand of Israel.
They want a leader who will allow the establishment of a terror state dedicated to his country's destruction to be established on its borders.
Who they do want is an Ehud Olmert who believes that "Palestinians" are Allah's Chosen People and Israel's existence a moral affront to Israel.
I guess it's more satisfying for westerners to be hyper focused on Israel than on the myriads of problems facing their own dying nations which are being invaded by muslim jihadists. They are losing their identities, their freedom and culture. They are being invaded and replaced with a seventh century minded culture and civilization. People who are miserable failures love to see their betters taken down. That is why Europe seethes with hatred of the Jewish state. No matter who wins Israel's election, Israel will thrive, Europe however is a rotting garbage dump.
Thank you Guy for an excellent piece, which lost me in parts.
This paragraph caught my eye .. "Israel will endure whoever wins, will remain Jewish whoever wins, will remain a democracy whoever wins, because 78 years of evidence say the country is sturdier than its politicians — and always has been." And I do not think that the result of the election will make one iota of a difference, on how the world will view Israel or the Jewish people.
Here in London, an esteemed Jewish journalist was reported in the Jewish News to have spoken at the JW3 premises. His claim was that Israel would be seen in a different light by the world, if Bibi failed to become Israel's Prime Minister in the next election. And for me, that is utter cobblers. That journalist should be ashamed of himself .. I pity those that suffer with Netanyahu Derangement Syndrome.
Most importantly as a diaspora Jew, I will support whoever Israel chooses as its next Prime Minister.
We all know by now that Hamas caused the war that the IDF's arrogant left leaning, pure dumb and duped intelligence failed to prevent. Which is not to say another war, started another way would not have erupted. Israelis who vote to let Hamas rebuild and re-tunnel to attack another day are fools. Same for those who vote to let Iran achieve its goal of another Holocaust, God forbid. My greatest fear and worry is that foreign money will infect the election with protests against anything sensible. Just like the Kaplan movement did to tear the country apart over the Judicial reform. And Hamas took note of that.
Very well said, wisdom would have Israeli politicians consider your insights, reality Israeli mouths, especially the media will find it impossible
https://substack.com/@robertmoisescu/note/p-209148372?r=7a02yu
The sin of the golden calf wasn't the reason God sentenced us with the forty years in the desert. It was the sin of the spies. Jesus wasn't rejected for political reasons, but because he publicly belittled and maligned the Sages. He taught nothing new. This line sums up much of what you are saying. "The Trotskys start the wars and the Bronsteins die in them." I may not have the quote correctly worded. I cannot remember or find the source. But you get the point. You wrote about.
"Jesus wasn't rejected for political reasons, but because he publicly belittled and maligned the Sages. He taught nothing new."
Did the sages walk on water?
Did the sages turn water into wine?
Did the sages make the blind see, the lame walk?
Did the sages cure leprosy?
Did the sages raise the dead?
Did the sages turn a few loaves of bread and few fishes into enough food to feed 5,000 people?
Do Jews call all these things belittling the sages? After the temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans, the Saduccees (The Sages) never were heard of again.
The Pharisees, the group that saved Judaism after the Temple destruction, were much closer to Jesus in thinking and vice versa. In fact St Paul was a Pharisee.
What Jesus taught and did was new enough such that today he has 1.5 to 2.0 billion or so beleivers.
What Jesus did was challenge the corruption of the institutions of power.
Had he just performed miracles - he would’ve been labeled a prophet and there would be no need for a separate sect.
Which is the point being made in the article, nothing here is a theological challenge to Christian belief, it is self reflection on the long-term impact of sectarian division in Jewish politics.
Jesus’ ideas were neither alien to the Jews or unpopular amongst the Jews.
Name one new idea that Jesus taught that was not already in the Hebrew Bible. Miracles were never to be a sign of the Messiah. See the articles and videos on the Jews for Judaism website and their Youtube channel. Two prophets in the Hebrew Bible raised people from the dead. And what does walking on water have to do with being the Messiah? One of the truths in Judaism is that no man is perfect, not even our greatests, not Moses, and not our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Why do Christians need to have a "perfect" man as their god? It is accepted and understood that the original sect called Christianity change radically resulting in the current religion and its many branches. A virgin birth?! If the Jewish Messish is to come from the line of King David, how can Jesus be the Messiah if he had no father? Remember Jewish lineage is passed down through the mother, but tribal lineage from the father.
Bless the lord
There is only One. He was not in the form of a human being. We use the capital letter L.
Splitting hairs is a particular talent of Jews.. Appleby? Or is it Applebaum? Same difference.. dont bring a knife to a gun fight.
Accuracy is important. So is a civil discussion.
Sorry
You’re right, it is an impossible ask. My hope is that if every time every person writing has just a brief thought of “how could my passion be turned into a weapon to harm someone that I love” we will raise the bar of the discourse incrementally.
This isn’t really about the elections for our enemies, they could weaponize a weather report, but we still need to be better than what our politics have become.