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Israel’s generation of heroes

While walking down the streets of Israel, one is literally surrounded by heroes; modest and anonymous civilians who a moment earlier were on the front lines. Over the past 40 day war our heroes fought against the Islamic Republic of Iran and her proxy forces in the air, on the sea, and on the ground creating a new reality not only in the Middle East but no less for the United States and Europe. One of these many heroes who I personally know is a pilot who flew alongside his fellow pilots thousands of missions under operational conditions that are truly inspiring and unprecedented in modern combat aerial history. I wish to thank you and your comrades for your service, for your fearlessness and modest audacity to complete “mission impossible”. I also wish to thank the hundreds of thousands of ground forces that have been on the front lines for over the past two years and have paid the ultimate price and sacrifice.

As the late Rabbi Saks has written: Throughout modern history, nations of the Middle East have sought to justify their hatred of Israel and of the Jewish nation. In the middle ages, it was religion. In post enlightenment Europe it was science. Today, it is human rights. This is why Israel, the only fully functioning democracy in the Middle East with a free press and independent judiciary is regularly accused of the five crimes against human rights; racism, apartheid, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide. Despite this blood libel that has enlisted millions of supporters throughout the world, Israel has been able to be a partner within a coalition that understands the danger that Iran poses not only for Israel but for all of Western civilization. The current 40 day war with Iran will be entering a period of cease-fire, the number 40 has special significance in Jewish history; the Jewish nation wandered in the Sinai peninsula for 40 years before entering the Land of Israel. Moshe went up to Mount Sinai for 40 days before coming down with the holy tablets and the Ten Commandments. The number 40 has always symbolized throughout Jewish history a leap, a springboard for better days and a fulfillment of our historical destiny.

The current war against Iran is a direct, predictable, and almost inevitable continuation of Israel's wars throughout history. This is not new, this is not the first time, and it will not be the last. Ever since the days of Jabotinsky's "Iron Wall" and Ben-Gurion's security doctrine, Israel has relied on three basic principles: warning, deterrence, and decisiveness. It is no coincidence that the word is "decisiveness" — not "victory." Since the 1920s, Israel has operated from a difficult but consistent premise: final victory is not an option. It is frustrating, it is corrosive, and it is not intuitive — but it is not Israel’s fault either. Ben-Gurion said at the Mapai Council in 1948: "The Arab enemy can lose once, twice, three, ten times — and still exist. He will live on his land, he will lick his wounds, he will try to mobilize new forces and be able to fight again. Our victory does not solve the question. Even if we strike them with a decisive blow, they will remain in their place, the hatred will not cease and they will wait for the next opportunity... We are a small people, we are currently in the country of six hundred thousand people. Facing us stands an Arab world of thirty million. The ratio is one to forty. We can strike them, but we cannot conquer them. We can defeat them again and again, but we cannot destroy them. They will always remain there, and they will always be able to come back and try again. Our victory cannot be final in the sense that it will eliminate their existence or their desire to fight us, because the small settlement does not have the power to subdue an entire world."

Some will say that this has been a consistent failure of the Israeli leadership for generations; unable or unwilling or not knowing how to translate a military achievement as decisive as it is into a political achievement. And some will say — and to a large extent rightly — that it takes two to tango. As Ben-Gurion said: "We know that our will alone is not decisive, neither in the entire world nor in the corner of the world where we live." Israel can want peace as much as it wants, but as long as hundreds of millions of people in our region are raised on an educational, religious, and cultural infrastructure that presents Jews as the devil and an existential enemy — lasting peace simply will not be achievable, no matter how much we want it”.

Therefore, the achievement of the 40 day war against Iran should be measured not against theoretical fantasies of "total victory" — which is not at all achievable, at least according to the greatest leaders and thinkers of Israel throughout the ages — but against realistic alternatives. And from such a perspective, there is no doubt that today is strategically significantly better than yesterday. Yesterday we faced a coordinated existential threat: tens of thousands of terrorists in Gaza, tens of thousands of terrorists in Lebanon, thousands of terrorists in Judea and Samaria (Aka the West Bank), thousands from Syria, and thousands of heavy, fragmenting cluster missiles from Iran — in a coordinated surprise attack. That was the plan. This was the alternative. This alternative was replaced by the reality of a defeated, humiliated, weak, and marginalized enemy. From such a realistic perspective, which distinguishes between real alternatives, one can draw a lot of encouragement.

Our modest and anonymous heroes on the front lines in the skies, on the seas, and on the ground, with the people of Israel proudly standing behind them exhibiting never-ending resiliency have had the privilege of being part of creating this reality. Our heroes have shown not only our enemies but the nations of the world sitting on the sidelines, what it means to be Jewish, what it means to be a proud Israeli, what it means to be a true military professional, and what it means to be the best at what you do. This is a historic moment — a moment that will shape the character of Israel for decades to come. While I look at the world and see countries crumbling, identities being erased, nationalism becoming a dirty word — in Israel the opposite is happening. Our sense of mission, the understanding that we only have one country the State of Israel, and the knowledge that we are all in the same small boat — have made us stronger than ever.

Iran’s plan to threaten the existence of Israel from seven surrounding fronts has backfired, but the Iranian campaign is far from over. The 40 day war has dealt a heavy blow to Iran’s nuclear project and ballistic missile capacity, exposed Hezbollah’s strategy in Lebanon and underscored Israel’s regional clout — but these gains will emerge further down the line, yet the next round is already taking shape

“The common enemy of humanity”

This past week, we were given a stark reminder of the link between classic Nazi ideology and today’s Palestinian related anti-Semitism as expressed by a senior representative of the United Nations. The outrageous and reprehensible remarks of Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories who spoke at a recent conference in Doha, in which Albanese argued that "Israel is a common enemy of all humanity." This conspiratorial and dehumanizing contempt is based on a viewpoint that perceives Jews as the embodiment of absolute evil, similar to what the Jews symbolized according to Nazi ideology, who regarded Jews as subhuman.

It is important to keep in mind the role of Francesca Albanese who is employed by the United Nations, and fulfills an official position that allows her to speak as a purportedly qualified and respected UN expert. Albanese is entitled to disseminate press releases, and reports that are reproduced and made accessible online to governments, academics, the press, and legislators throughout the world. Albanese has denied that Israel has the right to self-defense against Hamas even after the October 7^th invasion of southern Israel by Hamas terrorists who committed countless acts of terror in a litany of brutality and inhumanity; babies slaughtered, bodies desecrated, children burned alive, women raped, parents executed in front of their children, children in front of their parents. Since October 7^th, Albanese has consistently and repeatedly attempted to shift the blame and responsibility for the massacre of 1200 Israeli civilians from Hamas terrorists on to the State of Israel.

Albanese, a committed and vocal supporter of Hamas, and the Palestinian cause echoes the sentiment not only of the Palestinians but also of millions of their supporters throughout the world; Muslims, radical Islamic movements, radicalized supporters in Western Democratic countries in the United States, Europe, Australia, and so forth. The idea that Jews and today’s State of Israel are the “common enemy of humanity” did not originate with Albanese, or with Hamas, or even a contemporary Iranian politician, Ahmadinejad, who has claimed at every opportunity that "the Zionist regime will be wiped out and humanity liberated". The link between Nazi ideology and todays’ pro-Palestinian anti-Semitism as expressed by Albanese did not begin in 1948 or even 1967 but was has its roots in the 1930s of the previous century. In an official Nazi directive of that period: "The extermination of Jewry throughout the world is the precondition for an enduring peace".

The desire to purify the world of Jews has been bequeathed by the Nazis to Hamas terrorists and their Pro-Palestinian supporters. The murder, torture, mutilation of bodies and sexual assaults against innocent Jewish children, women, men and the elderly are nothing less than a pogrom reminiscent of the Holocaust and the Nazi’s genocidal war against the Jewish people. Since its inception, Hamas has openly and consistently declared its determination to annihilate Israel and murder Jews. Their charter quotes a disputed hadith stating explicitly: “The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: ‘O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’” Hamas’s ideology echoes classic European antisemitism and Nazi ideology, which incited the genocide of the European Jews. The Hamas terrorists are modern day torchbearers of Nazi ideology.

The common desire for the total destruction of Jews is shared by Hamas, Albanese, their pro-Palestinian supporters and Nazi ideology. The Nazi’s embraced an anti-Semitism of annihilation called “redemptive anti-Semitism”, namely a form of anti-Semitism that explains all in the world by offering a form of “redemption” by exterminating the Jewish race. Pro-Palestinian Hamas supporters express the same rational for murdering Jews and Israeli’s. Hamas, with its “hour of judgment,” embraces exactly the same demented apocalyptic prophesy. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority broadcast daily programs to children and adults glorifying the murder of Jews and promising heaven (redemption) for those that carry out acts of terror against the Jewish nation. “Redemptive anti-Semitism” has become the major Nazi inspired ideological believe that allows for and encourages the upsurge in deadly anti-Semitic violence of recent years against Jews everywhere, whether in Israel, in the United States, the European continent, and Australia.

The export of redemptive antisemitism from Nazi Germany to parts of the Arab world during and after World War II is not merely a supplementary feature of modern radical Islamism, but at its ideological core. All Islamist groups, including Hamas, embrace it, with results that we saw in full on Oct. 7. The connection between the Palestinians and the Nazi regime is direct. A key player was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who personally met with Hitler, as well as representatives of the Nazi SS intelligence arm during the late 1930s. Not coincidentally, he also consulted with Adolf Eichmann, one of the major directors responsible for implementing the killing fields of the Holocaust. Yasser Arafat, who established the Palestinian Liberation Organization, dedicating his life to murdering Jews, was the beloved nephew of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husseini,

What starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews. The PLO practically invented airplane hijacking. So, today, at every airport in every country in the world, we all line up for security checks. Jews around the world, make no mistake. What transpired on Oct. 7 is not only a conflict, not only a war, but part of our historical struggle against those who wish to annihilate the Jewish people. Francesca Albanese, is only the latest manifestation of this Nazi inspired hatred.

Israel’s looming crisis with young Republicans

This past week we were given a stark reminder of how Israel has lost the bipartisan support of the Democratic Party, nothing new here. Brett McGurk, a senior adviser to former Democratic President Joe Biden, sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu suggested during a recent press conference that the partial US weapons embargo imposed by the Biden Democratic administration was among the factors that contributed to IDF soldiers being killed and wounded in action during the October 7^th war against Hamas. McGurk added that Biden’s “commitment to Israel's security was unwavering throughout the crisis”. However a simple fact-check shows that: Biden imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel; halted the transfer of D9 bulldozers (a critical component of urban warfare in the Gaza front) that Israel had already paid for; Merkava tanks and Self-propelled Howitzers were sent on missions to “soften” forward enemy positions with limited ammunition payloads due to the American embargo, resulting in IDF soldiers being exposed to unnecessary risk. The Biden administration put counterproductive public pressure on Israel enabling Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to believe that he could stretch out hostage negotiations for years. Biden opposed the assassination of Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. The list goes on and on. Within today’s Democratic Party, Jew haters and anti-Semites are mainstream; NYC Mamdani being only the most recent example of today’s anti-Semitic Democratic leadership.

Alongside the Democratic Party veering into open anti-Semitism and opting to end bipartisan support for Israel, there has also been a parallel shift and erosion of support for Israel among young Republicans that needs to be acknowledged. Hostility within the Republican Party toward the US–Israel alliance has been strengthened by underlying trends of Christian nationalism. It has become impossible not to notice the number of right wing influencers—led by Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and Candace Owens—who have been given wide mainstream and social media exposure, and have successfully poisoned the minds of young Republicans and future Republican leaders who spend hours and hours per day on social media and are swayed by content that is purposely produced to elicit anti-Jewish and anti-Israel positions. In a recent Pew survey, half of Republicans under the age 50 expressed an unfavorable view of Israel.

According to these influencers of hate, much of their ideas and way of thinking that they express can be easily found in the “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”; according to these influencers, Jews have been behind every left-wing cause and degenerate social trend since Marx launched his assault on Western civilization. Jews bankrolled the civil rights movement, which destroyed the Constitution, championed open borders and the resulting demographic transformation of America, are responsible for the soft-on-crime policies that have ruined countless American cities. Jewish intellectuals devised and promoted communism, psychoanalysis, sexual liberation, feminism, critical theory, multiculturalism, and a host of other corrosive ideologies that have rotted the American mind and destroyed the fabric of American society. Tucker Carlson has claimed that the Israelis are to blame for 9/11. At the very least, Tucker Carlson has suggested, that Israel had foreknowledge of the attack but kept quiet as they wanted the United States to get ensnared in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Jewish control of the media and Hollywood allows them to deceive honest Christian Republicans. This “new-old” world view has been summarized by the evolutionary anti-Semitic psychologist Kevin MacDonald who attributes nefarious influence to the Jews; According to MacDonald, American society has not committed societal suicide, it was killed by the Jews. The logical extension of this line of thinking goes one step further and claims that the nefarious influence attributed to Jews is not confined to American domestic policy. The Israelis, in cahoots with American Jews here at home, have hijacked American foreign policy to advance their Jewish interests on America’s expense. In the coming years, it will become increasingly difficult to achieve the level of backing Israel has taken for granted from the Republican Party in recent years.

President Trump as a Republican leader has immense influence on the direction of the Republican Party in the coming years and can have a significant role in containing the spread of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attitudes among young Republicans. President Trump continues to maintain the political support not only of conservative elite circles, but equally important among the average Republican, young and old, who aspire to make America a nation based on traditional values. Prime Minister Netanyahu has over the past two years elevated to an unprecedented level Israel’s standing among the current Republican administration by successfully sustaining a close strategic relationship with President Trump and his advisors. This access can be used to get Republican leaders to consider effective measures aimed at containing and delegitimizing the worst expressions of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment among young Republicans.

The State of Israel has to initiate social media campaigns targeting millions of Christian believers by deploying internet based technologies to make the virtual world more pro-Israel. For Christians, standing with Israel is not about endorsing every policy or decision by the Israeli government, it is about aligning oneself with God who has chosen to bless, as written repeatedly in the scriptures, the Jews and the nation of Israel. It is about refusing to hate whom God has chosen to bless. Nations as well as individuals are judged by how they treat God’s chosen people, the Jewish nation. Christian support for Israel is theological, not political or swayed by anti-Semitic influencers spreading their false messianic messages.

To stand with Israel and the Jews, is to stand with the truthfulness of God’s promises. Christian Republicans, young and old, who take the Bible seriously are natural partners to ensure that the Republican Party will not go in the direction of the Democratic Party, and sustain their biblical responsibility towards Jews and the State of Israel.

Refusing to see the writing on the wall

The murder of 15 Australian Jews in the Sydney massacre in the words of New York City’s Mayor, Eric Adams is the 'actualization of globalize the intifada’. What is perfectly clear to Mayor Adams is somehow lost on so many of New York’s Jewish organizations and their leadership. Islamic organizations and their radicalized supporters who have turned out in the hundreds of thousands over the past two years, dismiss the idea of co-existence, they pay no lip service to the two-state solution, and proudly express their desire to annihilate the Jews, all the Jews, wherever they are, whether in downtown Manhattan or in downtown Jerusalem. It seems that the limits of the first amendment and the legal constraints of incitement have no relevancy when Jews are concerned.

Despite this Islamic desire to eradicate the Jewish people, New York’s Jewish leadership are still spewing out the same outdated and politically correct messages in the name of New York’s Jewish community. They refuse to see the writing on the wall, they shy away from gas lighting that support for Hamas plants the seeds of the Islamic threat to Jews in America and to American society as a whole. Over the past two years since the October 7^th massacre, Hamas’ Islamic terrorists and their outspoken supporters have enjoyed the status of celebrities and have been welcomed in the corridors of power and intelligentsia throughout Europe and the United States. No real accountability has been demanded, and no legal or financial deterrence has been provided by the judicial system thereby quietly condoning the rage, violence, and calls for the annihilation of Israel and Jews everywhere.

So how have New York’s Jewish leadership (who happen to support a progressive political agenda) responded? Below are just a few examples of their useless and condescending rhetoric:

• “The pain is beyond description”

• “Our spirit is not broken. The Jewish response to challenge has never been fear or retreat — the Jewish response is to add more light”

• The massacre, “it made me feel my Judaism even stronger.”

• “We still have to be proud of who we are, we still have to celebrate. That’s why we’re all here”

• “Good will always outshine hate”

• “Together, we must work to build a world in which Jews and ‘all people’ can celebrate their faith and their identities without fear of violence.”

• “Wishing you light, strength, and safety as we enter Hanukkah”
  

The clear and present danger for Jews demands that the Jewish leadership of New York stop pandering to the progressive elite within the corridors of Congress and within the Democratic Party at local and national levels. Democratic congressional representatives such as Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Jamal Bowman, Cori Bush, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) who have given their full support to the incitement and violence sweeping the streets of America against American Jews. They have refrained from condemning the calls to eradicate the state of Israel, and have not condemned the acts of violence against American Jews during the demonstrations. These powerbrokers of Jew hatred must be exposed for what they are supporting: The rage and hatred expressed by Hamas supporters will not stop with the Jews and will slowly take form against all non-Muslims, meaning everyone else in the United States who is not of the Islamic faith.

Over the past two years since the October 7^th massacre, New York’s Jewish leadership have raised more than one billion dollars. A sizeable portion of this incredible amount should be siphoned to create a whole new strategy to combat Jew hatred. A whole army of Jewish and non-Jewish lawyers, investigators, social media specialists, must be enlisted to go after every politician, every district attorney, every police commander, every Hamas supporter who have enjoyed immunity and have not been held accountable for enabling the public discourse to threaten, intimidate, and promote physical violence against Jews and their communal institutions.

Only by going on the offensive, can the tide be turned in the war of annihilistic anti-Semitism. Political correctness and pandering to the progressive left will no longer be sustainable. Going after the inciters, the attackers, the supporters who enable an atmosphere of intimidation and fear directed against Jews is the only solution that can begin to change the direction that American society is heading towards.

For the past thirty years, the people of Israel where forced-fed a steady diet of progressive messages that the Palestinians will eventually turn a new leaf and will embrace the two-state solution, and that peace is just around the corner. Victims of terror, were rebranded as victims of the peace process. Every effort was made to avoid taking the offensive; military strategies where based on a defensive posture, and “mowing the lawn” became the pervasive panacea for all security threats. What we got in response was not a true partner for peace but the massacre of Oct 7^th. The greatest single day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

New York City’s Jewish leadership must be willing to declare war against these Islamic inspired global movements and organizations; fully funded, and highly capable influence system that mobilizes mass protests, fuels hatred of Jews, and sustains waves of Jew hatred on university campuses and on the streets of America. Israel has been turned into a symbol of evil for an entire generation who have no idea where Palestine is even located. Now is the time to make a joint declaration of war, a joint front for the Jews of the world and for the State of Israel. Together we can defeat annihilistic Jew hatred and turn the tide of history.