Post October 7, not even a single rocket can be tolerated without a substantial response. Substantial.
Also, Israeli society and Legal system must adopt death penalty for terror murderers. If you don't have 250 people serving life sentences for murdering Israelis in terrorism, then there is no one to trade! Firing squad should work fine.
this is so obviously a logical move going forward. Forget about European sensibilities about death penalty. These are jihadis, you are doing them a favor.
Every terrorist going forward who kills an Israeli gets tried and death penalty. Change the rules!
The death penalty for terrorists should absolutely be implemented. This trading of thousands of hardened murderers for a handful of innocent people is insane.
Hang the bastards!!! Like Israel hanged Eichmann. Then cremate their remains. They love death so much. Give it to them!!! As for the Europeans, they are part of a West dying from Islamism and irrelevance. It’s time for the Jews to remember history, and get out while they still can. A German survivor of the Holocaust told me: We Jews thought of ourselves as Germans. We forgot that we were also Jews. Hitler reminded us.!!!
This is. A world wide Muslim religious war....UK France Spain Belgium Canada Sweden Norway Finland Australia have already been conquered by Muslims ....please remember it is perfectly proper for a Muslim to lie to a non Muslim..... please remember.....you will be conquered and killed by Muslims....what are you going to do about this war
Wars of attrition by two sides who both love life are won when one side realizes the futility of continuing; when the most eager to kill have themselves been killed and only the more peaceful remain.
In this situation, against Muslims, who prefer death in martyrdom, the two sides have completely different objectives. Palestinians want to die. Israelis want to live.
Here's why I'm so pessimistic:
1) Due to an extremely effective, social-media-fueled propaganda campaign, United States support for Israel plummeted from +30 to -1, in favor of Palestinians. Support is devastatingly lower among younger aged Americans.
2). Worldwide disdain for Israel is at an all-time high. European countries will arrest Israelis in their countries. Israel cannot use their airspace.
2) Worldwide antisemitism is now at an all-time high. Jewish students on campuses are harassed, intimidated and attacked. Jews are being marginalized in society. Muslims are flexing their power in Europe and governments are caving rather then appear to be anti-Islam.
3) Hamas is already saying that they must be "fully involved" in the establishment and governance of a new Palestinian state.
4) Very liberal Israelis have cemented the value of hostage taking. Their liberalism and lack of death probably also creates a consistent supply of Palestine to be freed to fight again.
5) Despite Trump and Blair's involvement in running Gaza, antisemitic NGOs, like UNRWA, will be running the day-to-day operations. We've seen this play before and it doesn't end well. The UN will continue to make Palestinians their cause célèbre, conferring endless generational refugee status.
6) Hamas and Iran will wait out any conservative, pro-Israel, Republican, US administration(s), while they plot and scheme in the safety, comfort and luxury of Qatar. Eventually, a weak Democrat will be elected as US president and the attack will be 1000x worse than 10/7. By then, Muslim power in formerly Western nations will also be solidified. This is about the long game.
7) Muslims continue to murder Christians worldwide under the cover of the Free Palestine movement, with no one saying a word.
8) Abraham accords could spur some international trade with Israel, but typically, in Muslim countries that make peace with Israel, their populations still despise Israelis, and Jews writ large.
9) The United States continues to have its knee on the neck of Israel because of Israel's dependence on foreign aid, especially in the area of munitions. Israel will never be allowed to actually win any war.
I hope I'm wrong, but if, as it is said, the past is prologue, Israel and Jews are in big trouble. Barring some kind of reform movement in Islam, another crusade, or Israel willing to commit actual war crimes to accomplish their goals, I don't see a happy ending. War crimes you say? How ridiculous? Well, Japan and Germany committed them in droves and what did it take for the world to forgive them? Maybe 10-15 years? Totally worth it.
Seems to me many Republicans were saying they wanted to pull out of 'foreign wars' long before the propaganda spread. It is the left wing Western governments that care about propaganda because of their Muslim voters.
In the United States, Republicans were not supporting Ukraine because of a belief that there was corruption. I believe that we absolutely have done a terrible job supporting Ukraine, especially under Biden, who could have ended Putin's attack before it really got started (when there was a 40-mile line of Russian tanks stranded with no fuel). One plane world have saved thousands of lives. You don't support an ally to a tie - you support them to win.
Absolutely! Two points. First, anti-Semitism hadn’t disappeared. It was just under the surface waiting to come out again. Don’t feel comfortable once the fighting stops. Second, Hamas is really no different from other Muslim jihadist groups such as Isis. People who support the Palestinian cause as represented by Hamas, Iran and Abbas need to be repeatedly questioned how their group is fundamentally different from Isis. Put their morally abhorrent position on the defensive and do it every day.
Hamas is no different from ISiS, but there is one issue which sets them apart .. Hamas claims to represent a ‘displaced people’, one whose supposed claim is to recreate a home they once lost.
I am almost ready to go back to Israel. My parents decided to move to the US when I was 11, but perhaps it was a mistake. US culture is abysmal, not just because of antisemitism. Social media has created cretins. Most people have no time for any edifying activities, they are too busy surviving with their BS jobs, and managing bratty children. There is no real community for most people, except through religious services. I am not sure though that the situation in Israel is that different. I think the Kibbutzes failed because there was not enough specialization and a market for people who were not just farmers, childcare providers and cooks. Looking at an old video about Deganya had me yearning for that kind of community though.
I would encourage you to go, simply because I don’t have long-term faith in American support for Israel, and I truly believe the safest, and best, place for any Jewish person, is Israel. And, no matter what happens next, my expectation is that this is going to become more evident as we move forward.
Thanks. I also have fond memories of the Moshav I grew up in, but that was childhood. While safety is a concern, it is not the main one for me. I just would like to have more community, and one where the adults are leading the kids, not vice versa. One that values connection with each other, leaning, and edifying activities (like intellectual discussions, folks dances and music), which I suppose are Jewish values. I worry that Israel has not been exempt from the general dumbing down and destruction of civic institutions that has been happening in the US.
Israel has not been immune to those things, but I believe you are far more likely to find what you are seeking in communion with Israeli society than anywhere else in the world.
Israelis have fallen human natures like everyone else. They are subject to the same temptations and all the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but they’re not ‘dumb’.
Living in the crucible of fires they must daily face, maligned and defamed, surrounded by so many nursing unreasoning, implacable hatred, goes a long way in helping them resist the decadence and demoralization common in other nations within Western Civilization.
I love Israel, and the Chosen People, with an ‘unreasonable’ passion. I am a native Floridian, and love living here. But the only place I’d rather live, is in Israel - no matter what.
In the meantime, I relish my relationships with Israeli and Diaspora friends, and travel to visit Israel when I can, most recently, last year at this time.
To the shame of Christendom, the only ones Israel can trust to stand with them in the fires, are the relatively small minority of Biblically-literate, tried and tested, mature Christian Zionists. Aside from that, I am in total agreement.
God helping us, whenever opportunities present, we do what we can to change hearts and minds - whether inside the professing Church or amongst the secular world. This is a continuing trial and test of faith, as it is a continuous struggle, with much that would sow discouragement to overcome.
Yet, thank God, we persevere through faith and love, because ‘the love of Yeshua HaMashiach compels us…” (2 Corinthians 5:14a), and “…He who is in (us) is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4b)
This is all brilliant and true. But.... there is a bigger picture. Our discovery of the depth and durability of millenarian Jew-hatred, whose true cause is evolutionary, anthropological and cultural, built by Christianity and Islam to this day- their scriptures remain current- is a concern that lays away from the incidental data of 10/7. The whole world is against us? We have songs about that. The Torah predicted it. Hamas caused much harm but didn't win. It will be kicked out of Gaza, and in Judea and Samaria, where it is worshipped, there will be reckoning as well. Hamas is finished. Israel will survive, re-build and bloom again. Divided as we have been since Israel can call itself that, united we survive. It's a mysterious, miraculous bond, both of memory and of spiritual kinship. Hamas will be gone. Yet Am Israel Khai.
Toda, for the creativity expressed through the pain. Love the Reverse Taglit concept. I've gifted Future of Jewish twice this year, and will continue regardless of news. And yet, baruch HaShem as they come home.
This is international Whac-a-Mole where Israel is allowed ta put a flimsy piece've saran wrap over one hole an' unblocked the others... They give up all their points. Of course it's a boon fer the Moovers & Shakirs takin' bets, regardless of how many jooish pawns are lost in the game... An' the enemy moles hide in the tunnels, thrilled when their targets are lobbed back their way.... Fuzzy logic ta turn this inta a "win"--
Israel's accord with DJT's "Deal" means that takin' hostages is proven strategy...
The hostages are not bein' RETURNED rather than bein' exchanged for keepin' the entire State of Israel Hostage. That's a deal?
Totally disagree. Getting the hostages back is just the first phase. Once they are safely in Israel, Hamas has no more leverage. If Hamas does not agree to disarm voluntarily, Israel will force them by bringing down unprecedented death and destruction to Gaza. No more worrying about hostages. The IDF can take off the gloves and pulverize Gaza into dust.
I’ve had to struggle with such feelings myself throughout the day, despite the fact that I rejoice over the pending hostage release - and I do believe it is a definite Israeli victory.
It doesn’t ‘feel’ like it, because we wanted more. But, whether through the full implementation of this accord, or the betrayal of it by Hamas or others, Israel’s original definition of ‘victory’ will be achieved.
God works in mysterious ways, and this story is far from over. Those who wanted more, and still hope for, or expect, it to come to pass, may yet see those hopes and expectations realized in the near future.
“Victory means restoring deterrence, rebuilding moral clarity, and ensuring that no future enemy believes mass murder and kidnapping can ever yield political gain.“
Israel can restore deterrence, but I don’t believe the other objectives are realistically achievable Joshua; not against these evil people, inspired as they are by evil spirits, in this age of highly-sophisticated deception and mass manipulation.
It is certainly more realistic to focus on further building and strengthening proactive and passive protective measures, as well as reactive capabilities, to deal with the inveterate hatred and vile evil that is focused on destroying Israel.
“Yet another essential recalibration lies ahead: one of sovereignty itself. Israel can no longer afford to outsource its defense, its weapons, or its wartime economy to the goodwill of others.”
Kol Hakavod, Joshua! That is surely one of the most critically important lessons to take from these last few years.
I am a Bible-believing Christian Zionist who has studied End Time prophecy intensely over the past twenty-five years. The picture that arises from that perspective definitely supports and reinforces the criticality of those measures going forward. With all the other pressures acting on the country, the costs of implementing such a strategy will be difficult, socially and politically. But it is absolutely necessary, and the costs of weakness in those areas will be tragic to bear. May the people of Israel be united in bearing that cost, and may no self-seeking political party take advantage of the burdens to weaken that unity and the commitment that it maintains.
“Propaganda cannot be ignored; it must be countered with clarity, speed, and moral confidence.”
I totally agree, but we have already had ample evidence that countering the lies with truth has very little effect on the psychologically and spiritually impaired, deranged masses we are dealing with today.
Yes, the sophistry must be countered with clarity and speed, but the very morality of the IDF may serve to hinder those objectives. For example, claims that the IDF struck hospitals early on in the war were not immediately rejected, because the IDF made the effort to actually verify that they hadn’t; that it was, in fact, errant Hamas rockets that were the culprit.
“A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.”—Mark Twain
That has never been more true than today, and all efforts to counter propaganda are made infinitely more difficult by AI-generated Deep Fakes.
Perhaps the threat of suing the social influencers and media publications that post such vile deceptions, without ‘reasonable’ efforts to verify accuracy, is a viable counter-strategy. It would seem that establishing such reckless publication caused significant harm would be a relatively simple matter.
“If October 7th shattered Israel’s illusion of safety, October 8th shattered the Diaspora’s illusion of acceptance.”
“The war in Gaza revealed a deeper one within the Jewish world: a war over identity, loyalty, and unity.“
“The illusion of coexistence with a genocidal enemy has been shattered — painfully but necessarily.”
All very true; tragic, agonizing and righteously infuriating to witness, but also absolutely necessary. Now comes the hard part.
Israel has suffered grievously over the past several years, with countless wounds and afflictions of body, mind, and spirit in need of healing. The nation and the people have perhaps never been more in need of remembering their God, and of taking to heart His loving counsel:
“When My people, who bear My name, humble themselves, pray, and seek My favor and turn from their evil ways, I will hear in My heavenly abode and forgive their sins and heal their land.”
It took so long for the remaining hostages to be released because Israel’s only friend, US, was under the control of a Democratic regime that withheld the necessary arms Israel was dependent on. Another lesson learned: stop being dependent on American financial and military help. The Diaspora must always help with their money and vote. Step 1: stop voting for Democrats.
I would also add for Israel always to project strength and start by changing the name from IDF to IWF! IDefenseF to IWarF
Post October 7, not even a single rocket can be tolerated without a substantial response. Substantial.
Also, Israeli society and Legal system must adopt death penalty for terror murderers. If you don't have 250 people serving life sentences for murdering Israelis in terrorism, then there is no one to trade! Firing squad should work fine.
this is so obviously a logical move going forward. Forget about European sensibilities about death penalty. These are jihadis, you are doing them a favor.
Every terrorist going forward who kills an Israeli gets tried and death penalty. Change the rules!
The death penalty for terrorists should absolutely be implemented. This trading of thousands of hardened murderers for a handful of innocent people is insane.
Well said on many counts .. especially death penalty for terrorists that murder.
Hang the bastards!!! Like Israel hanged Eichmann. Then cremate their remains. They love death so much. Give it to them!!! As for the Europeans, they are part of a West dying from Islamism and irrelevance. It’s time for the Jews to remember history, and get out while they still can. A German survivor of the Holocaust told me: We Jews thought of ourselves as Germans. We forgot that we were also Jews. Hitler reminded us.!!!
I agree with you 100%.
No point keeping them at tax payers money.
No point in having them live, only to be eeked out by further terrorist attempts to take hostages to swap.
I never thought of that (probably my European sensibilities)! What a fantastic logical idea. Give them no-one to trade.
This is. A world wide Muslim religious war....UK France Spain Belgium Canada Sweden Norway Finland Australia have already been conquered by Muslims ....please remember it is perfectly proper for a Muslim to lie to a non Muslim..... please remember.....you will be conquered and killed by Muslims....what are you going to do about this war
Infiltrated but not conquered.
www.thereligionofpeace.com
I am both hopeful, and very, very pessimistic.
Wars of attrition by two sides who both love life are won when one side realizes the futility of continuing; when the most eager to kill have themselves been killed and only the more peaceful remain.
In this situation, against Muslims, who prefer death in martyrdom, the two sides have completely different objectives. Palestinians want to die. Israelis want to live.
Here's why I'm so pessimistic:
1) Due to an extremely effective, social-media-fueled propaganda campaign, United States support for Israel plummeted from +30 to -1, in favor of Palestinians. Support is devastatingly lower among younger aged Americans.
2). Worldwide disdain for Israel is at an all-time high. European countries will arrest Israelis in their countries. Israel cannot use their airspace.
2) Worldwide antisemitism is now at an all-time high. Jewish students on campuses are harassed, intimidated and attacked. Jews are being marginalized in society. Muslims are flexing their power in Europe and governments are caving rather then appear to be anti-Islam.
3) Hamas is already saying that they must be "fully involved" in the establishment and governance of a new Palestinian state.
4) Very liberal Israelis have cemented the value of hostage taking. Their liberalism and lack of death probably also creates a consistent supply of Palestine to be freed to fight again.
5) Despite Trump and Blair's involvement in running Gaza, antisemitic NGOs, like UNRWA, will be running the day-to-day operations. We've seen this play before and it doesn't end well. The UN will continue to make Palestinians their cause célèbre, conferring endless generational refugee status.
6) Hamas and Iran will wait out any conservative, pro-Israel, Republican, US administration(s), while they plot and scheme in the safety, comfort and luxury of Qatar. Eventually, a weak Democrat will be elected as US president and the attack will be 1000x worse than 10/7. By then, Muslim power in formerly Western nations will also be solidified. This is about the long game.
7) Muslims continue to murder Christians worldwide under the cover of the Free Palestine movement, with no one saying a word.
8) Abraham accords could spur some international trade with Israel, but typically, in Muslim countries that make peace with Israel, their populations still despise Israelis, and Jews writ large.
9) The United States continues to have its knee on the neck of Israel because of Israel's dependence on foreign aid, especially in the area of munitions. Israel will never be allowed to actually win any war.
I hope I'm wrong, but if, as it is said, the past is prologue, Israel and Jews are in big trouble. Barring some kind of reform movement in Islam, another crusade, or Israel willing to commit actual war crimes to accomplish their goals, I don't see a happy ending. War crimes you say? How ridiculous? Well, Japan and Germany committed them in droves and what did it take for the world to forgive them? Maybe 10-15 years? Totally worth it.
Seems to me many Republicans were saying they wanted to pull out of 'foreign wars' long before the propaganda spread. It is the left wing Western governments that care about propaganda because of their Muslim voters.
In the United States, Republicans were not supporting Ukraine because of a belief that there was corruption. I believe that we absolutely have done a terrible job supporting Ukraine, especially under Biden, who could have ended Putin's attack before it really got started (when there was a 40-mile line of Russian tanks stranded with no fuel). One plane world have saved thousands of lives. You don't support an ally to a tie - you support them to win.
Absolutely! Two points. First, anti-Semitism hadn’t disappeared. It was just under the surface waiting to come out again. Don’t feel comfortable once the fighting stops. Second, Hamas is really no different from other Muslim jihadist groups such as Isis. People who support the Palestinian cause as represented by Hamas, Iran and Abbas need to be repeatedly questioned how their group is fundamentally different from Isis. Put their morally abhorrent position on the defensive and do it every day.
The people who support Hamas would also support Isis because they ally with any enemy of the Western World.
Hamas is no different from ISiS, but there is one issue which sets them apart .. Hamas claims to represent a ‘displaced people’, one whose supposed claim is to recreate a home they once lost.
I am almost ready to go back to Israel. My parents decided to move to the US when I was 11, but perhaps it was a mistake. US culture is abysmal, not just because of antisemitism. Social media has created cretins. Most people have no time for any edifying activities, they are too busy surviving with their BS jobs, and managing bratty children. There is no real community for most people, except through religious services. I am not sure though that the situation in Israel is that different. I think the Kibbutzes failed because there was not enough specialization and a market for people who were not just farmers, childcare providers and cooks. Looking at an old video about Deganya had me yearning for that kind of community though.
I would encourage you to go, simply because I don’t have long-term faith in American support for Israel, and I truly believe the safest, and best, place for any Jewish person, is Israel. And, no matter what happens next, my expectation is that this is going to become more evident as we move forward.
May God bless, protect, and guide you.
Thanks. I also have fond memories of the Moshav I grew up in, but that was childhood. While safety is a concern, it is not the main one for me. I just would like to have more community, and one where the adults are leading the kids, not vice versa. One that values connection with each other, leaning, and edifying activities (like intellectual discussions, folks dances and music), which I suppose are Jewish values. I worry that Israel has not been exempt from the general dumbing down and destruction of civic institutions that has been happening in the US.
Israel has not been immune to those things, but I believe you are far more likely to find what you are seeking in communion with Israeli society than anywhere else in the world.
Israelis have fallen human natures like everyone else. They are subject to the same temptations and all the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but they’re not ‘dumb’.
Living in the crucible of fires they must daily face, maligned and defamed, surrounded by so many nursing unreasoning, implacable hatred, goes a long way in helping them resist the decadence and demoralization common in other nations within Western Civilization.
I love Israel, and the Chosen People, with an ‘unreasonable’ passion. I am a native Floridian, and love living here. But the only place I’d rather live, is in Israel - no matter what.
In the meantime, I relish my relationships with Israeli and Diaspora friends, and travel to visit Israel when I can, most recently, last year at this time.
All the best, Mike
The Kibbutzim failed because human nature states that people want to own possessions and raise their own children.
Yes, they may work well for a time, but cannot last for long, without some form of external compelling stimuli or force.
This is no peace. Only a pause. The only choice for the diaspora is Aliyah. A Shoah sequel is inevitable, and Israel can trust no one.
To the shame of Christendom, the only ones Israel can trust to stand with them in the fires, are the relatively small minority of Biblically-literate, tried and tested, mature Christian Zionists. Aside from that, I am in total agreement.
God helping us, whenever opportunities present, we do what we can to change hearts and minds - whether inside the professing Church or amongst the secular world. This is a continuing trial and test of faith, as it is a continuous struggle, with much that would sow discouragement to overcome.
Yet, thank God, we persevere through faith and love, because ‘the love of Yeshua HaMashiach compels us…” (2 Corinthians 5:14a), and “…He who is in (us) is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4b)
Am Israel Chai!
One of the best articles I ever read. TY
This is all brilliant and true. But.... there is a bigger picture. Our discovery of the depth and durability of millenarian Jew-hatred, whose true cause is evolutionary, anthropological and cultural, built by Christianity and Islam to this day- their scriptures remain current- is a concern that lays away from the incidental data of 10/7. The whole world is against us? We have songs about that. The Torah predicted it. Hamas caused much harm but didn't win. It will be kicked out of Gaza, and in Judea and Samaria, where it is worshipped, there will be reckoning as well. Hamas is finished. Israel will survive, re-build and bloom again. Divided as we have been since Israel can call itself that, united we survive. It's a mysterious, miraculous bond, both of memory and of spiritual kinship. Hamas will be gone. Yet Am Israel Khai.
This has been a conflict driven by misinformation, hatred and has resulted in the senseless loss of innocent lives on both sides.
A war where algorithms and AI generated images drove and formed public opinion.
The next couple of days will be difficult and this could easily fall apart.
Thoughts are with the hostages who are waiting to be reunited with their families though for some it will be a bittersweet moment.
Toda, for the creativity expressed through the pain. Love the Reverse Taglit concept. I've gifted Future of Jewish twice this year, and will continue regardless of news. And yet, baruch HaShem as they come home.
This is an excellent analysis The days when IDF brass moved into the political arena are over
imho this is the best take onnit so far ....
https://www.israelunwired.com/trumps-gaza-deal-the-price-israel-pays-for-a-morally-bankrupt-west/
This is international Whac-a-Mole where Israel is allowed ta put a flimsy piece've saran wrap over one hole an' unblocked the others... They give up all their points. Of course it's a boon fer the Moovers & Shakirs takin' bets, regardless of how many jooish pawns are lost in the game... An' the enemy moles hide in the tunnels, thrilled when their targets are lobbed back their way.... Fuzzy logic ta turn this inta a "win"--
Israel's accord with DJT's "Deal" means that takin' hostages is proven strategy...
The hostages are not bein' RETURNED rather than bein' exchanged for keepin' the entire State of Israel Hostage. That's a deal?
Totally disagree. Getting the hostages back is just the first phase. Once they are safely in Israel, Hamas has no more leverage. If Hamas does not agree to disarm voluntarily, Israel will force them by bringing down unprecedented death and destruction to Gaza. No more worrying about hostages. The IDF can take off the gloves and pulverize Gaza into dust.
“…this does not feel like a victory for Israel.”
I’ve had to struggle with such feelings myself throughout the day, despite the fact that I rejoice over the pending hostage release - and I do believe it is a definite Israeli victory.
It doesn’t ‘feel’ like it, because we wanted more. But, whether through the full implementation of this accord, or the betrayal of it by Hamas or others, Israel’s original definition of ‘victory’ will be achieved.
God works in mysterious ways, and this story is far from over. Those who wanted more, and still hope for, or expect, it to come to pass, may yet see those hopes and expectations realized in the near future.
“Victory means restoring deterrence, rebuilding moral clarity, and ensuring that no future enemy believes mass murder and kidnapping can ever yield political gain.“
Israel can restore deterrence, but I don’t believe the other objectives are realistically achievable Joshua; not against these evil people, inspired as they are by evil spirits, in this age of highly-sophisticated deception and mass manipulation.
It is certainly more realistic to focus on further building and strengthening proactive and passive protective measures, as well as reactive capabilities, to deal with the inveterate hatred and vile evil that is focused on destroying Israel.
“Yet another essential recalibration lies ahead: one of sovereignty itself. Israel can no longer afford to outsource its defense, its weapons, or its wartime economy to the goodwill of others.”
Kol Hakavod, Joshua! That is surely one of the most critically important lessons to take from these last few years.
I am a Bible-believing Christian Zionist who has studied End Time prophecy intensely over the past twenty-five years. The picture that arises from that perspective definitely supports and reinforces the criticality of those measures going forward. With all the other pressures acting on the country, the costs of implementing such a strategy will be difficult, socially and politically. But it is absolutely necessary, and the costs of weakness in those areas will be tragic to bear. May the people of Israel be united in bearing that cost, and may no self-seeking political party take advantage of the burdens to weaken that unity and the commitment that it maintains.
“Propaganda cannot be ignored; it must be countered with clarity, speed, and moral confidence.”
I totally agree, but we have already had ample evidence that countering the lies with truth has very little effect on the psychologically and spiritually impaired, deranged masses we are dealing with today.
Yes, the sophistry must be countered with clarity and speed, but the very morality of the IDF may serve to hinder those objectives. For example, claims that the IDF struck hospitals early on in the war were not immediately rejected, because the IDF made the effort to actually verify that they hadn’t; that it was, in fact, errant Hamas rockets that were the culprit.
“A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.”—Mark Twain
That has never been more true than today, and all efforts to counter propaganda are made infinitely more difficult by AI-generated Deep Fakes.
Perhaps the threat of suing the social influencers and media publications that post such vile deceptions, without ‘reasonable’ efforts to verify accuracy, is a viable counter-strategy. It would seem that establishing such reckless publication caused significant harm would be a relatively simple matter.
“If October 7th shattered Israel’s illusion of safety, October 8th shattered the Diaspora’s illusion of acceptance.”
“The war in Gaza revealed a deeper one within the Jewish world: a war over identity, loyalty, and unity.“
“The illusion of coexistence with a genocidal enemy has been shattered — painfully but necessarily.”
All very true; tragic, agonizing and righteously infuriating to witness, but also absolutely necessary. Now comes the hard part.
Israel has suffered grievously over the past several years, with countless wounds and afflictions of body, mind, and spirit in need of healing. The nation and the people have perhaps never been more in need of remembering their God, and of taking to heart His loving counsel:
“When My people, who bear My name, humble themselves, pray, and seek My favor and turn from their evil ways, I will hear in My heavenly abode and forgive their sins and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 (Tanakh)
Am Israel Chai!
It took so long for the remaining hostages to be released because Israel’s only friend, US, was under the control of a Democratic regime that withheld the necessary arms Israel was dependent on. Another lesson learned: stop being dependent on American financial and military help. The Diaspora must always help with their money and vote. Step 1: stop voting for Democrats.
I would also add for Israel always to project strength and start by changing the name from IDF to IWF! IDefenseF to IWarF
Joshua our friend. A little bit of Churchill, a little bit of Ben Gurion, and a little bit of the Lubavicher Rebbe. I'm impressed.