As for the next bout? Israel will be ready, as always, long before its adversaries realize the game has changed yet again. But what about the rest of us?
In a nutshell, there are 2 wars, the physical, military war and the propaganda, PR war. We can all agree and take pride that Israel is decimating the enemy in the military war. Any objective person can see how effective the IDF has been and how incredible the planning and the intelligence has been. The only goal left is to take Iran out of the nuclear game. Once that is done, we can claim victory. What I love about the ceasefire is that it has the benefit of biding time until Biden is gone for good and Trump, a true ally will be in power. Israel, combined with the US will take care of the Iranian nuclear program.
Now for the other war, the PR war. We are losing terribly. The enemy has beat us on every front, from their chants, their demonstrations, their use of the media, they are destroying us. We are not unified, we have no central leadership and basically its a whining and asking for donation army of fat cats. No accountability, no access ..... truly laughable.
After all this time, not even a self defense program in our Jewish schools so that we know how to protect ourselves. Not even a Jewish Defense League .... relying on city police to keep order aint working out too well, is it? Just the other day, Trudeau said he would arrest Bibi if he came to Canada so what is our UNIFIED response ..... what are we doing about it? Well, one hand is doing this and one leg is doing that but no major frontal attack, is there?
Getting into a rant but the Diaspora Jew is doing very little but the blame should always go to leadership and the large Jewish organizations. They truly suck!
One more point .... This antisemitism that is directed against us happens to be one of the ugly symptoms of this ideological war being waged against all of Western culture. By focusing solely on this symptom and not including the others, we are alienating ourselves from our allies and that is pretty damn strategically stupid. Remember before Oct 7th? America was the White Colonizer, America was built on slavery, tear down the statues, Capitalism is evil, defund the police etc. The people pursuing this Marxist/Islamist agenda are exactly the very same enemy that are anti Israel and Pro Hamas. As usual, we have done a terrible job explaining that to the public. People get involved in what affects them and we have made anti semitism just a Jew problem. How stupid is that?
Hi Jerry…you’re right. Keep on writing. Didn’t you have lunch with Rabbi Kahane? What a gift. He was the exception. And his precise point is we must be armed: in kinetic and well as propaganda war.
Lucky enuf to have lunch twice and M, he was so charismatic and so warm. I heard he became very extreme in Israel but what people call extreme, may simply be wise and prophetic.
Speaking of writing, I find FOJ getting kinda redundant ..... like having the same salad everyday with different dressing. Wish it would expand some of the essays especially Hoffman's to a Jewish as well as non-Jewish audience because in reality we are fighting the same enemy.
I just turned 70 and as a present, werent you going to join my FB group? or was that on my 71st birthday? Long Covid brain fog so cant remember.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and best wishes always.
What a wicked smart analysis, Joshua. You are so correct that vigilance and complacency are an imperative focus that must be in effect 24/7. That is the reality for Israelis and for Jews globally. My concern is for those Jews who shed tears for the Palestinians and look at Israel's actions as the problem. They are the ones who empower the PR because they are used by the enemy, "Look, a Jew is saying this so it must be true." This attitude is fresh in my mind since reading an article by a Rabbi who lives in one of my former towns in PA. (Pennsylvania, not THAT PA) She gives several paragraphs of history about the massacre of Jews, and then in the remaining paragraphs cries tears for the Palestinians who have to go through checkpoints to get to hospitals in Israel, how their homes in the West Bank are fortified with bars on the windows, netting held by bricks so vendors wouldn't face harrassmeent by the "settlers." She continued with settlers putting fire upon wheat fields, All this was from her last trip to Hebron in 2013, and she's writing about it now. She was accused of propaganda at that time. She then completes her diabtribe that in 2024 Reuters and the NYT (as if I would take their reporting as the final word) claimed that international volunteers were attacked, non-violent activists raped and imprisoned. It seems the settlers are the most despicable people in the peaceful West Bank. She uses the words, brutality, fear, and carnage by the settlers in Hebron, for this is her focus in the article. I say all that because when we talk about PR, and we have Jews like this feeding into the Jew hating frenzy, it is a difficult battle. I still remain optimistic because I voice my opinion, and will, to the publication this article appeared in. Having said all that, there aren't enough superlatives for this article. I remain confident that Israel and the Jewish people will continue to do what is necessary to preserve their country and way of life.
Good article, as usual, Josh. I'm concerned about the thousands of Israeli citizens displaced from their homes and still cannot return. The ceasefire doesn't help this - in fact, it delays their return further. I'm concerned about IDF soldiers and their families. About the hostages; what is left of them - poor souls. I pray for them daily. About the Israeli businesses affected badly by a world that stopped buying Israeli products. I'd like to buy everyday items from Israeli businesses but don't know how to do this in a practical way. I wish El Al would devote flights solely to delivering goods to the US and Canada.
I was born in Canada. I'm 71; use a wheelchair and wouldn't even know how to start making Aliyah. But I truly hate Canada now. It betrayed me as a citizen by letting Jew-hating rioters go free while police try to restrict the movements of law-abiding Jews. I have learned not to trust any gentile, these days. Recently the superintendent at my apt. building blamed Israel for "all the deaths in the Middle East". I never expected this supposedly "nice" guy of being anti-Semitic. But he is.
Yes. Bibi must have a plan to agree…USA gov did not ask on behalf of Israel. No one would know of hostages still held if they listened to this lying administration. Biden, handlers, or staff never mention them nor do they care. No plan whatsoever to help. It was plainly stated by a senator to Tommy Tuberville that ‘we want Ukraine for the mineral resources in the ground.’ (See Steve Bannon on War room, last Friday for that full statement). Thats why all of USA support goes to Ukraine and almost none to Israel.
Let's see how long this ceasefire holds and what Israel does if it does not hold both in Lebanon and Iran. I don't like the fact that the IDF's degree of surveillance and right to respond is limited north of the Litani but Israel needs the arms that have been embargoed by Biden, Blinken and Sullivan
All true, but, at some point, Israel must deal a death blow to Iran especially before a nuclear breakout. Otherwise, the conflict continues in perpetuity and the calculus changes.
I guess the one thing to remember is that Israel doesn't honor ceasefires, because it is an ethnosupremacist terrorist state state bent on taking large swaths of land from its neighbors.
You may have won this round, but you have lost the next generation. At least in the United States you have. And I would say in Europe as well. Americans are pissed. They’re broke, and they’re mad that their national treasure goes to support Israel. I know. I’ve been living here for the last14 months in the red estate in the country. Americans are fed up with Israel and the carnage of the civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. You don’t hear much about it in the media, but I’m telling you, the anger is there.
“A ceasefire, by definition, is a cessation of hostilities. . . . A ceasefire is the battlefield equivalent of a timeout, not an endgame. The rockets stop rocketing, the borders quiet, but the tensions simmer unabated, waiting for the next spark.
Compare Hoffman's accurate observation with Biden's comments announcing the ceasefire “I just spoke with the Prime Ministers of Israel and Lebanon . . . their governments have accepted the United States' proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollal . . . This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” ~ https://www.c-span.org/video/?540239-1/president-biden-remarks-israel-hezbollah-ceasefire-dealI have a devastating conflictBetween Israel and Hasbulla
The disconnect between the two is that Hoffman's is grounded in law and in fact, the other in an ethnocentric political agenda. Unfortunately, he wields tremendous power and influence over Israel.
“Hamas, Hezbollah and their patron, the Islamic Republic of Iran — do not in any way, shape, or form view these pauses as opportunities for reconciliation. Instead, these groups use ceasefires as tactical breathing spaces, times to rearm, regroup, and refine their strategies for the next confrontation.”
The Koranic term for this tactic is called ”Hudnah.” You make a peace treaty with your enemy for 10 years after which time you are free to resume hostilities. However, according to the precedent set by Mohammed himself, if before the expiry date of the treaty you become strong enough to destroy him, you have the right to break the treaty and attack him with full force and fury.
“October 7th revealed a chink in Israel’s otherwise impenetrable armor.”
France's Maginot line and Germany's Siegfried line bears out the truth that what we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat. Israel, take heed.
“In essence, they are not adversaries but nuisances — dangerous, yes, but ephemeral. They are the wolves who fancy themselves lions, only to find that the jungle belongs, and will always belong, to Israel.”
While reassuring, these sentiments too easily lull everyone into complacency, a very dangerous place to put oneself, because as history shows time and again, it easily leads to disaster.
“You can be sure that Israel’s security and defense establishments will be ready for the next bout against any adversary which dares to pick a fight it can never win against the Jewish state.”
To claim that anyone who picks a fight with Israel can never win should keep in mind two old adages "Never is a very long time” and ”Never say never.” We have been beaten and dispersed too many times to ignore our vulnerabilities.
“But what about the rest of us? I am talking about Jews, Zionists . . . Supporting Israel means . . . strengthening Jewish unity, educating the next generation about what is truly at stake, and ensuring our communities have the tools to counter the propaganda wars that rage alongside the military ones.”
One propaganda Jews seem to have swallowed hook line and sinker is the cunning separtion of Jewish identity from Zionism. Ever since the first exile in 597 BCE, Jews have yearned to return to their homeland whenever they have been forced from it. Contemporary Zionism is but the most recent iteration of that yearning. Our enemies hive off Judaism from Zionism to separate Jewish identity from its ancestral land, the more easily to alienate Jewish support for it in preparation for its conquest. Jews who make this separation wittingly or not play into the hands of their enemies. As Hoffman astutely observes, “we have learned that the fight is not just over borders or missiles — it is over identity” and Zionism is an integral part of the Jewish identity: it is the core of the Covenant and through it whom we are as a people.
“Or will we assert, boldly and unapologetically, the truth of who we are — a people with a 3,000-year-old legacy of resilience, faith, and justice?”
The truth of who we are is not a legacy of anything. We are a people defined by our homeland, something neither Jew or non-Jew should ever forget.
(replyin' to Jerry's comment re the PR war--fer some reason I cannot git the reply button ta work..)
PR war ignored at our peril--it's not even unity we need tho'--it's debates with the pund-dits (Blumenthal, Pape, Greenwald...an' non-joos with MASSIVE foller'ins like Caitlyn Johnstone...many more) -- gotta git schmarties ta debate 'em all / well publicized... Need the likes of Francisco-Gil White, Nick Freitas, Col Richard Kemp, etc etc. Something hosted by Rogan mebbe? He rounds up all sides... It's gotta be BIG cuz anythin' less won't cut it... We are hated... it's ugly... but if we ignore it we'll end up scramblin' fer attics an' soon....
It was blackmail from Biden/Blinken when USA did NOT gave arms to Israel. It is insufficient to fight with bare hands. Now , when O’BIDEN got his long wanted “ permanent “ ceasefire, now USA is giving those arms to Israel for the next battle with Iran and its proxies . The final peace will come only after Shechinah is dwelling in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. At this moment USA needs Israel to promote US military industry. HASHEM wants Total Peace Everywhere. Corrupt politicians and leaders have ruined, small number elite is pressing masses for personal welfare and prosperity. HASHEM Almighty will soon take the lead and make everything anew and better . The Third Temple and the Kingdom of Israel ( Davidic Dynasty) are eternal and Sanhedrin will also be in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem!
In a nutshell, there are 2 wars, the physical, military war and the propaganda, PR war. We can all agree and take pride that Israel is decimating the enemy in the military war. Any objective person can see how effective the IDF has been and how incredible the planning and the intelligence has been. The only goal left is to take Iran out of the nuclear game. Once that is done, we can claim victory. What I love about the ceasefire is that it has the benefit of biding time until Biden is gone for good and Trump, a true ally will be in power. Israel, combined with the US will take care of the Iranian nuclear program.
Now for the other war, the PR war. We are losing terribly. The enemy has beat us on every front, from their chants, their demonstrations, their use of the media, they are destroying us. We are not unified, we have no central leadership and basically its a whining and asking for donation army of fat cats. No accountability, no access ..... truly laughable.
After all this time, not even a self defense program in our Jewish schools so that we know how to protect ourselves. Not even a Jewish Defense League .... relying on city police to keep order aint working out too well, is it? Just the other day, Trudeau said he would arrest Bibi if he came to Canada so what is our UNIFIED response ..... what are we doing about it? Well, one hand is doing this and one leg is doing that but no major frontal attack, is there?
Getting into a rant but the Diaspora Jew is doing very little but the blame should always go to leadership and the large Jewish organizations. They truly suck!
One more point .... This antisemitism that is directed against us happens to be one of the ugly symptoms of this ideological war being waged against all of Western culture. By focusing solely on this symptom and not including the others, we are alienating ourselves from our allies and that is pretty damn strategically stupid. Remember before Oct 7th? America was the White Colonizer, America was built on slavery, tear down the statues, Capitalism is evil, defund the police etc. The people pursuing this Marxist/Islamist agenda are exactly the very same enemy that are anti Israel and Pro Hamas. As usual, we have done a terrible job explaining that to the public. People get involved in what affects them and we have made anti semitism just a Jew problem. How stupid is that?
papa j
Hi Jerry…you’re right. Keep on writing. Didn’t you have lunch with Rabbi Kahane? What a gift. He was the exception. And his precise point is we must be armed: in kinetic and well as propaganda war.
Lucky enuf to have lunch twice and M, he was so charismatic and so warm. I heard he became very extreme in Israel but what people call extreme, may simply be wise and prophetic.
Speaking of writing, I find FOJ getting kinda redundant ..... like having the same salad everyday with different dressing. Wish it would expand some of the essays especially Hoffman's to a Jewish as well as non-Jewish audience because in reality we are fighting the same enemy.
I just turned 70 and as a present, werent you going to join my FB group? or was that on my 71st birthday? Long Covid brain fog so cant remember.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and best wishes always.
papa j
This war is not over. There is a once in a lifetime opportunity to deal with the Iranian threat once and for all. Israel must not squander it.
What a wicked smart analysis, Joshua. You are so correct that vigilance and complacency are an imperative focus that must be in effect 24/7. That is the reality for Israelis and for Jews globally. My concern is for those Jews who shed tears for the Palestinians and look at Israel's actions as the problem. They are the ones who empower the PR because they are used by the enemy, "Look, a Jew is saying this so it must be true." This attitude is fresh in my mind since reading an article by a Rabbi who lives in one of my former towns in PA. (Pennsylvania, not THAT PA) She gives several paragraphs of history about the massacre of Jews, and then in the remaining paragraphs cries tears for the Palestinians who have to go through checkpoints to get to hospitals in Israel, how their homes in the West Bank are fortified with bars on the windows, netting held by bricks so vendors wouldn't face harrassmeent by the "settlers." She continued with settlers putting fire upon wheat fields, All this was from her last trip to Hebron in 2013, and she's writing about it now. She was accused of propaganda at that time. She then completes her diabtribe that in 2024 Reuters and the NYT (as if I would take their reporting as the final word) claimed that international volunteers were attacked, non-violent activists raped and imprisoned. It seems the settlers are the most despicable people in the peaceful West Bank. She uses the words, brutality, fear, and carnage by the settlers in Hebron, for this is her focus in the article. I say all that because when we talk about PR, and we have Jews like this feeding into the Jew hating frenzy, it is a difficult battle. I still remain optimistic because I voice my opinion, and will, to the publication this article appeared in. Having said all that, there aren't enough superlatives for this article. I remain confident that Israel and the Jewish people will continue to do what is necessary to preserve their country and way of life.
Good article, as usual, Josh. I'm concerned about the thousands of Israeli citizens displaced from their homes and still cannot return. The ceasefire doesn't help this - in fact, it delays their return further. I'm concerned about IDF soldiers and their families. About the hostages; what is left of them - poor souls. I pray for them daily. About the Israeli businesses affected badly by a world that stopped buying Israeli products. I'd like to buy everyday items from Israeli businesses but don't know how to do this in a practical way. I wish El Al would devote flights solely to delivering goods to the US and Canada.
I was born in Canada. I'm 71; use a wheelchair and wouldn't even know how to start making Aliyah. But I truly hate Canada now. It betrayed me as a citizen by letting Jew-hating rioters go free while police try to restrict the movements of law-abiding Jews. I have learned not to trust any gentile, these days. Recently the superintendent at my apt. building blamed Israel for "all the deaths in the Middle East". I never expected this supposedly "nice" guy of being anti-Semitic. But he is.
Sorry for the rant. Thanks for reading.
Yes. Bibi must have a plan to agree…USA gov did not ask on behalf of Israel. No one would know of hostages still held if they listened to this lying administration. Biden, handlers, or staff never mention them nor do they care. No plan whatsoever to help. It was plainly stated by a senator to Tommy Tuberville that ‘we want Ukraine for the mineral resources in the ground.’ (See Steve Bannon on War room, last Friday for that full statement). Thats why all of USA support goes to Ukraine and almost none to Israel.
Let's see how long this ceasefire holds and what Israel does if it does not hold both in Lebanon and Iran. I don't like the fact that the IDF's degree of surveillance and right to respond is limited north of the Litani but Israel needs the arms that have been embargoed by Biden, Blinken and Sullivan
All true, but, at some point, Israel must deal a death blow to Iran especially before a nuclear breakout. Otherwise, the conflict continues in perpetuity and the calculus changes.
This is probably true.
I guess the one thing to remember is that Israel doesn't honor ceasefires, because it is an ethnosupremacist terrorist state state bent on taking large swaths of land from its neighbors.
You may have won this round, but you have lost the next generation. At least in the United States you have. And I would say in Europe as well. Americans are pissed. They’re broke, and they’re mad that their national treasure goes to support Israel. I know. I’ve been living here for the last14 months in the red estate in the country. Americans are fed up with Israel and the carnage of the civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. You don’t hear much about it in the media, but I’m telling you, the anger is there.
Peace comes when one side definitely wins.
“A ceasefire, by definition, is a cessation of hostilities. . . . A ceasefire is the battlefield equivalent of a timeout, not an endgame. The rockets stop rocketing, the borders quiet, but the tensions simmer unabated, waiting for the next spark.
Compare Hoffman's accurate observation with Biden's comments announcing the ceasefire “I just spoke with the Prime Ministers of Israel and Lebanon . . . their governments have accepted the United States' proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollal . . . This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” ~ https://www.c-span.org/video/?540239-1/president-biden-remarks-israel-hezbollah-ceasefire-dealI have a devastating conflictBetween Israel and Hasbulla
The disconnect between the two is that Hoffman's is grounded in law and in fact, the other in an ethnocentric political agenda. Unfortunately, he wields tremendous power and influence over Israel.
“Hamas, Hezbollah and their patron, the Islamic Republic of Iran — do not in any way, shape, or form view these pauses as opportunities for reconciliation. Instead, these groups use ceasefires as tactical breathing spaces, times to rearm, regroup, and refine their strategies for the next confrontation.”
The Koranic term for this tactic is called ”Hudnah.” You make a peace treaty with your enemy for 10 years after which time you are free to resume hostilities. However, according to the precedent set by Mohammed himself, if before the expiry date of the treaty you become strong enough to destroy him, you have the right to break the treaty and attack him with full force and fury.
“October 7th revealed a chink in Israel’s otherwise impenetrable armor.”
France's Maginot line and Germany's Siegfried line bears out the truth that what we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat. Israel, take heed.
“In essence, they are not adversaries but nuisances — dangerous, yes, but ephemeral. They are the wolves who fancy themselves lions, only to find that the jungle belongs, and will always belong, to Israel.”
While reassuring, these sentiments too easily lull everyone into complacency, a very dangerous place to put oneself, because as history shows time and again, it easily leads to disaster.
“You can be sure that Israel’s security and defense establishments will be ready for the next bout against any adversary which dares to pick a fight it can never win against the Jewish state.”
To claim that anyone who picks a fight with Israel can never win should keep in mind two old adages "Never is a very long time” and ”Never say never.” We have been beaten and dispersed too many times to ignore our vulnerabilities.
“But what about the rest of us? I am talking about Jews, Zionists . . . Supporting Israel means . . . strengthening Jewish unity, educating the next generation about what is truly at stake, and ensuring our communities have the tools to counter the propaganda wars that rage alongside the military ones.”
One propaganda Jews seem to have swallowed hook line and sinker is the cunning separtion of Jewish identity from Zionism. Ever since the first exile in 597 BCE, Jews have yearned to return to their homeland whenever they have been forced from it. Contemporary Zionism is but the most recent iteration of that yearning. Our enemies hive off Judaism from Zionism to separate Jewish identity from its ancestral land, the more easily to alienate Jewish support for it in preparation for its conquest. Jews who make this separation wittingly or not play into the hands of their enemies. As Hoffman astutely observes, “we have learned that the fight is not just over borders or missiles — it is over identity” and Zionism is an integral part of the Jewish identity: it is the core of the Covenant and through it whom we are as a people.
“Or will we assert, boldly and unapologetically, the truth of who we are — a people with a 3,000-year-old legacy of resilience, faith, and justice?”
The truth of who we are is not a legacy of anything. We are a people defined by our homeland, something neither Jew or non-Jew should ever forget.
(replyin' to Jerry's comment re the PR war--fer some reason I cannot git the reply button ta work..)
PR war ignored at our peril--it's not even unity we need tho'--it's debates with the pund-dits (Blumenthal, Pape, Greenwald...an' non-joos with MASSIVE foller'ins like Caitlyn Johnstone...many more) -- gotta git schmarties ta debate 'em all / well publicized... Need the likes of Francisco-Gil White, Nick Freitas, Col Richard Kemp, etc etc. Something hosted by Rogan mebbe? He rounds up all sides... It's gotta be BIG cuz anythin' less won't cut it... We are hated... it's ugly... but if we ignore it we'll end up scramblin' fer attics an' soon....
It was blackmail from Biden/Blinken when USA did NOT gave arms to Israel. It is insufficient to fight with bare hands. Now , when O’BIDEN got his long wanted “ permanent “ ceasefire, now USA is giving those arms to Israel for the next battle with Iran and its proxies . The final peace will come only after Shechinah is dwelling in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. At this moment USA needs Israel to promote US military industry. HASHEM wants Total Peace Everywhere. Corrupt politicians and leaders have ruined, small number elite is pressing masses for personal welfare and prosperity. HASHEM Almighty will soon take the lead and make everything anew and better . The Third Temple and the Kingdom of Israel ( Davidic Dynasty) are eternal and Sanhedrin will also be in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem!