Al-Azhar fatwa committee top dog: ‘Rejoice in the demise of the descendants of the pigs’

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/al-azhar-fatwa-committee-top-dog-rejoice-in-the-demise-of-the-descendants-of-the-pigs;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Pope Francis and Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb signed an agreement a few years back about how violence in the name of religion is a perversion of religion. Is the pope naive, or evil?

“Virulent Incitement By Al-Azhar: Praise For Palestinian Jihad Fighters; Israel Is Destined To Perish; U.S. Is The Greatest Satan; Jews Are Descendants Of Apes And Pigs,” MEMRI, November 10, 2023:

In recent weeks, the Cairo-based Al-Azhar institution, the leading center of religious learning and supreme source of religious authority in the Sunni Muslim world, and senior members of this institution have been voicing support for Hamas and for terrorism and inciting against the U.S. and Israel, while using virulently antisemitic rhetoric….

Al-Azhar Fatwa:  The Occupying Entity Will Perish And The Lives Of The Martyrs Will Be Longer Than Those Of Their Murderers

On October 18, 2023,  Al-Azhar’s “Global Center for Online Fatwas” posted a fatwa on its Facebook page which predicted Israel’s demise….

“…In its steadfastness, resistance, and persistent adherence to its land, the Palestinian people continue to present a model of heroism, despite the danger of the arbitrary Zionist bombardment. It [also] places the world – which remains silent, neglects, or [even] encourages these crimes – in a great human and moral predicament, removing the fake mask of humaneness from its ugly face.

“The term ‘civilian’ does not apply to the Zionist settlers of the occupied land. Rather, they are occupiers of the land who usurp rights, disregard the ways of the prophets, and attack the holy sites in historic Jerusalem and the [sites of] Islamic and Christian heritage there…

“The world deliberately ignores the fact that the occupying Zionist entity is a cancer in the heart of the Islamic and Arab nation. According to international conventions and laws, occupying forces have no right to the land, the resources and the holy sites [they are occupying], and their aggression must necessarily be met with resistance against their usurpation, oppression and tyranny….

Faculty Dean At Al-Al-Azhar University: May Allah Bring Perdition Upon The “Cursed,” “Treacherous” Jews, “The Descendants Of Apes And Pigs”

Addressing Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel in a series of posts on his personal Facebook account, Muhammad Omar Al-Qady, dean of the Faculty for Islamic and Arabic Studies at Al-Azhar University, made virulently antisemitic remarks, glorified the jihad in Palestine and wished perdition upon the Jews….

“It brought the Palestinian issue back to the center of global attention, after it had almost disappeared and been forgotten… It managed to shatter the false myth about the might of the Israeli army and prove that it is weak and exhausted… It proved that the entire West – with the exception of the peoples – is a single community, especially the governments of the greatest Satan, America, and of the European countries, who follow the orders of the Zionist lobby that is part of [the camp of] our treacherous enemy… It managed to eliminate, if only for a while, the vast enterprise of [Israel’s] normalization with many Arab and Islamic countries, which was making large and rapid strides… [The resistance] also made additional achievements, which will be discussed in the future. I ask Allah to strengthen His soldiers and his camp and grant our brothers in Gaza, Palestine and in the rest of the Muslim countries victory over their enemy and ours, the enemy of Allah and humanity, the cursed descendants of apes and pigs [i.e., the Jews].”[5]

In another post Al-Qady wrote: “Allah, bring perdition upon the cursed and treacherous [Jews], the murderers of prophets, of rulers and of decent people, and on whoever helped them and agreed to their deeds…”[6]

Abbas Shuman, Inspector General Of Al-Azhar’s Fatwa Committees: “Rejoice In The Demise Of The Descendants Of Pigs”; The Zionists Are Worse Than Rabid Dogs

Abbas Shuman, formerly the deputy of Sheikh Al-Azhar and currently the inspector general of Al-Azhar’s Fatwa committees, likewise slammed Israel and expressed support for Hamas’ terror attack, gloating over the suffering caused to Israel. For example, on October 7, the day of the attack, he shared a post in which he praised it, writing, “Allahu Akbar, long live the noble Palestinian people. Allah will inflict defeat on the oppressive occupation and shame and disgrace on the Zionists and their supporters.”[8]

Additional posts over the following days were equally vitriolic and even antisemitic. For instance, on October 17, 2023, Shuman wrote, “I knew that the Zionists had no morals, but I didn’t imagine that they were filthier and more despicable than rabid dogs…”[9]

On October 18 he posted, “…The situation has reached the point of bombing hospitals, after the murder of children and even of fetuses, and [has reached the point where] the great satans [i.e. the world leaders] have come to Palestine to publicly support the Zionists. Rejoice in the demise of the descendants of the pigs.”[10]

Lecturer At Al-Azhar University: The Jews Of The World Can Be Resettled In Southeast Russia; Aiding Palestine Is A Religious Duty Of Every Muslim

In an October 19, 2023 article in the Egyptian daily Al-Usbu’, Dr. Ahmad Karima, a lecturer on Islamic law and comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University,  stated that “aiding Palestine is a religious duty of all Muslims, a national duty of the Arabs, both Muslim and non-Muslim, and a moral obligation,” which must be carried out by the Muslim armies, according to their ability and the assessments of the rulers, by the wealthy Muslims, according to their financial ability, and by the clerics and experts, according to their rhetorical ability. Later he described his own efforts in supporting the Palestinian cause, including by publishing books and studies on Palestine and Jerusalem, as well as books on jihad….

300 people heading to DC pro-Israel rally left stranded by ‘deliberate and malicious’ walkout of bus drivers

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/300-people-heading-to-dc-pro-israel-rally-left-stranded-by-deliberate-and-malicious-walkout-of-bus-drivers;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The drivers who walked out are either Leftists or Muslims and probably a mixture of both, full of righteous indignation over false reports of Israeli atrocities.

LEFT STRANDED FOR 8 HOURS

“About 300 Jewish people headed to DC Israel rally left stranded by bus drivers staging ‘deliberate and malicious’ walkout,” by Doree Lewak, Katherine Donlevy and Jack Morphet, New York Post, November 14, 2023:

Hundreds of Jewish people headed to Tuesday’s pro-Israel rally in DC were left stranded when bus drivers staged “a deliberate and malicious walk-off,’’ a major Jewish organization said.

The “anti-protest” left a charted flight from Detroit — about 300 people — on the Dulles Airport tarmac for about 11 hours before being sent back home, causing them to miss the entire March for Israel event.

“I thought it was nuts, I thought it was crazy that we’re blocked from getting to the rally,” Jonathan Kaufman told The Post, adding that there were “frantic” calls to find out what was happening as they were stranded for hours.

“Our right to assembly is a constitutional right — and this was straight up blocking that.”

Kaufman and 900 others hopped on three private planes out of Detroit chartered by the Jewish Federation of Detroit, which also booked several buses to transport the massive group to the march at DC’s National Mall.

A third of the passengers weren’t allowed to leave the tarmac, however, after several buses failed to show up on the tarmac upon their 10:30 a.m. landing, according to a federation spokesperson.

The drivers had organized a “mass sick out” day to prevent Jewish ralliers from attending the much-anticipated march, leaving just a handful available to meet their obligations.

“We have learned from the bus company that this was caused by a deliberate and malicious walk-off of drivers,” the spokesperson told The Post.

The bus company — which the federation repeatedly refused to name — told the Jewish Federation of Detroit that a “significant number” of drivers called out sick when they learned they would be taking hundreds of Jewish Americans to the pro-Israel rally, the organization’s David Kurzmann told reporters at a press conference Tuesday….

The massive group was initially told the busses were struggling to get through security to enter the concourse and reach the tarmac before they were told the truth.

“About an hour and a half later we were told that there was an ongoing walkout of bus drivers from the company that was hired to drive us into the city and that the shortage of drivers was making it very difficult to get us into DC,” Jonah Seinfeld-Chopp, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Michigan, told The Post….

Tulsi Gabbard calls out Biden and Harris for their absence at the largest-ever pro-Israel rally in DC

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/tulsi-gabbard-calls-out-biden-and-harris-for-their-absence-largest-ever-pro-israel-rally-in-dc;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Speaker Johnson's Remarks at 'March for Israel' Rally in Washington DC

The largest pro-Israel rally in American history was attended by an estimated 300,000 people, but Tulsi Gabbard pointed out that “there was a very loud absence”: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not attend. Despite the fact that people attended from all over the country, these two who were “literally just down the street,” said Gabbard, failed to show up, despite their professed support for Israel, and heedless of the fact that antisemitism, including violent attacks on Jews, has soared since October 7.

Also, Hamas isn’t a deadly threat to Israel; Hamas and its jihadi allies are a global threat. Hamas is a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot with affiliates in operation throughout America and the West; they fuel pro-Palestinian rallies, which are gaining traction globally.

“Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard calls out Biden and Harris for not attending March for Israel rally in DC,” by Eden Villalovas, Washington Examiner, November 14, 2023:

Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called out President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for not joining supporters of Israel who gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to rally against antisemitism.

“There’s a very loud absence, though, in knowing that President Biden and Vice President Harris are literally just down the street as people are traveling here from all over the country,” Gabbard said on Fox News before attending the rally herself.

Biden and Harris will arrive in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and are scheduled to participate in a campaign reception in the evening.

“Yet they don’t feel it’s important enough to come and stand with our Americans to send this strong resounding message at a time when antisemitic attacks around the world are at their height, that we will not allow it to continue that we stand with Israel and the Jewish people,” Gabbard added.

Gabbard, a former 2020 presidential candidate, and a U.S. Army Reserve officer, said Hamas’s goal is “not really about the territory between Israel and Gaza or Palestine” but to establish a “global Islamist caliphate and destroy anyone who doesn’t adhere to their radical interpretation of Islam including Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and others.”…

Rashida Tlaib is member of Jew-hating Facebook group that glorifies Hamas, denies Holocaust

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/rashida-tlaib-is-member-of-jew-hating-facebook-group-that-glorifies-hamas-denies-holocaust;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

It is not in spite of things like this that Tlaib is a darling of the Left. It’s because of things like this.

“Rashida Tlaib member of secret Facebook group where Hamas terrorists glorified,” by Peter Hasson, Fox News, November 15, 2023:

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Rashida Tlaib is part of a secret social media group in which its members have glamorized Hamas in its war battle with Israel after the terror group attacked and killed hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians last month, Fox News Digital has found.

The Michigan Democrat is a member of the Palestinian-American Congress group on Facebook. The group is hidden from non-members and does not appear on the platform’s search engine, though Fox News Digital was able to gain access to it.

The group’s founder, Maher Abdel-qader, who has extensive ties to Tlaib and has also been linked to other liberal politicians, has come under fire in the past for his antisemitic social media posts, including questioning if the Holocaust ever occurred.

Rashida Tlaib

The Palestinian American Congress group, of which Tlaib is a member, has featured pro-Hamas posts in the wake of the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

On Oct. 12, one group member posted: “We don’t want to throw you in the sea…we want you to ride it back from where you came.” The message was accompanied by a picture of an elderly Israeli woman and a Hamas fighter holding her captive.

Tlaib FB group

On Oct. 19, another group member wrote about the “achievements” of the “resistance in Northern occupied Palestine,” including dozens of dead Israeli soldiers. The post included a picture of a Hamas fighter….

Tlaib FB group

 

How Iran Fuels the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Why the Islamic Republic has to keep the fire going.

SEE: https://www.frontpagemag.com/how-iran-fuels-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.


Many observers suggest that the elimination of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), or ending their role in Gaza, could lead to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Proponents of this view often assume that Hamas and PIJ are autonomous, unitary actors, overlooking the influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has played a significant role as a peace spoiler in the region. As long as the Islamic Republic’s peace-spoiling efforts are not fully acknowledged and countered, peace between Israelis and Palestinians will remain elusive.

The Islamic regime in Iran, founded in 1979, espoused “the most radical anti-Israeli or anti-Zionist” position in the Muslim Middle East. In a theological innovation, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the new regime, asserted that liberating Jerusalem from the “Zionist enemy” and its return to Muslim hands was a precondition for completing the Islamist revolution and the return of Mahdi, the Shiite 12th Imam.

The regime has started to practice “redemptive anti-Semitism,” a highly virulent form of antisemitism that considers the physical annihilation of the state of Israel to be one of its highest callings. The obsessive focus on Jerusalem has also served a realpolitik purpose. Since the Saudi Kingdom, the main rival of Khomeinism, was the custodian of Mecca and Medina, Khomeini tried to even the playing field by declaring the Muslim shrines of Jerusalem to be of equal value and essentially appointing Iran as its custodian.

Having created this mission, the regime took actions ranging from using merely abusive language to violently foul actions to point out its commitment to obliterating Israel from the face of the earth. Calls for the destruction of Israel, referred to as “the Little Satan,” were a feature of Quds Day, a large annual event to express support for the Palestinians and opposition to Zionism.

However, the new regime had limited resources to confront powerful Israel directly. Instead, they adopted the low-cost strategy of engaging in conflict through proxy groups, which allowed the regime to avoid direct confrontation. The Islamic Republic has spent the last four decades building a network of nineteen terrorist organizations on Israel’s borders, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as 16 other terror groups in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. These proxies enabled Iran to engage in conflict with Israel from multiple fronts.

This highly successful strategy helped the regime to make significant inroads in the Middle East and to encircle Israel from all fronts. Through this strategy, the regime was able to gain strong influence in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad have morphed into radical sub-state actors, virtually able to control their respective territories.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its foreign terror operation unit, the Qods Force, provide these proxy groups with money, training, and weapons to use against the Jewish State. Iran not only provides terror proxies with advanced rockets and armed drones but has also helped them develop drone and missile production facilities of their own, creating a sophisticated arsenal within range of Israeli cities.

The IRGC trained proxy groups to use several asymmetrical tactics against Israel (and the US forces in the region), including kidnappings, hijackings, and suicide bombings (also known as the poor man’s smart bomb), as well as roadside bombings deployed against US and IDF forces to inflict maximum casualties. The IRGC also trained proxies to disperse weapons, infrastructure, and fighters among the civilian population and in local houses and public institutions, mosques, and hospitals to minimize the cost of their actions. They use civilians as human shields, regardless of whether they are killed when the enemy bombs those infrastructures in retaliation.

On several occasions, Israeli leaders were willing to make peace with Palestinians. However, the Iranian regime has categorically opposed it and used its proxy networks to undermine peace efforts.

For instance, when Palestinians and Israelis engaged in peace talks in Oslo and Madrid in 1990 and 1991, the regime in Tehran was greatly alarmed by the prospect of a peace deal and rushed to create a “rejectionist front” to scuttle the deal. As a matter of fact, regime leaders admitted that peace in the region would further isolate them, and challenge not only their revolutionary ideology but also their geopolitical ambitions. For instance, Masoud Eslami, an official in the Iranian Foreign Ministry, wrote, “If the Arabs were to get closer to Israel, Iran would become even more isolated. And then Israel would be in a position to turn itself into a major problem for Iran.” Thus, the regime had no recourse but to order Hamas and Hezbollah to derail the peace talks.

After the initiation of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Islamic Republic promptly organized the International Conference in Support of Palestine in Tehran. At this conference, they offered financial support to Hamas and the PIJ. The regime declared Iran’s readiness to engage in jihad for Palestine’s liberation and pledged to combat Israel alongside Palestinians if necessary. Following this, Palestinian jihadi groups escalated their activities and intensified suicide attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. They also abducted and killed numerous Israelis, aiming to undermine the peace supporters in Israel.

Despite increased efforts, the Israeli intelligence and security services had little luck in preventing the jihadist suicide attacks from mushrooming. As a result, public opinion in Israel turned sour on the peace process, effectively ending any remaining hopes for peace.

Iran’s peace-spoiling blueprint was also visible in the collapse of the Camp David II talks. Despite a generous offer from Ehud Barak – a virtual return to the 1967 borders, a Palestinian capital in the Abu Dis neighborhood, and a condominium in the Holy Basin – Yasser Arafat strangely refused. Several assumptions were offered for Arafat’s sudden change of mind, among them possible intimidation from Iran.

During the late spring and summer of 2000, the IRGC-QF increased training and funding for Palestinian militants. When Ariel Sharon, the opposition leader, decided to visit the Temple Mount on September 28, the jihadists were ready to turn the mass unrest into a new Intifada. They received broad support from Tehran. Between 2001 and 2003, the Israeli Navy intercepted three vessels carrying Iranian and Hezbollah weapons, including Karina A. The latter was purchased by an associate of Arafat and loaded with Iranian weapons in the port of Bandar Abbas.

The goal of the Iranian regime has never changed. The regime continues to undermine peace and create a situation that prevents Israelis and Palestinians from reaching a deal because peace would further isolate Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his regime will continue to support Palestine and bless Jihad against the enemies of Islam, (a reference to Israel), and that the only solution for peace is “the elimination of the Zionist regime.”

Iran’s peace-spoiling blueprint was visible in the Hamas October 7th terrorist attack against Israel. The regime coordinated and ordered Hamas to initiate this conflict with Israel to complicate any attempts by Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel. The Islamic Republic views normalization between Israelis and Saudis as a devastating blow to its revolutionary export doctrine.

Every time Israelis and Palestinians (and Arab nations) work towards a peaceful Middle East, Iran’s Islamic regime intervenes to disrupt these efforts. From a theological standpoint, a peaceful Palestine undermines the regime’s objective of liberating Jerusalem. Consequently, regardless of the destruction of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as long as Tehran’s regime exists with its eschatological beliefs, it will vehemently oppose any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and attempt to thwart it.

Farhad Rezaei is a senior fellow at the Philos Project.

Biden regime doles out taxpayer money to mosques that pray for the annihilation of the Jews

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/biden-regime-doles-out-taxpayer-money-to-mosques-that-pray-for-the-annihilation-of-the-jews;

SEE ALSO: https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-administration-gives-thousands-to-anti-israel-mosques-through-security-grant-program/

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

No surprise here. In the past, there might have been some perfunctory attempt to ensure that the recipients of this cash were “moderate,” but now any such inquiry would be “Islamophobic.”

“These Mosques Pray for the Annihilation of Jews. They Also Receive Money From the Biden Administration.,” by Chuck Ross, Washington Free Beacon, November 13, 2023:

A federal program to help nonprofit groups protect against terrorist attacks has given millions of dollars to mosques and Islamic groups that have praised terrorists and called for the destruction of Israel, according to a Washington Free Beacon review.

The Department of Homeland Security awarded the California-based Masjid al-Ansar mosque $100,000 on March 9 under the Nonprofit Security Grants Program. Moustafa Kamel, the imam at Masjid al-Ansar, earlier this year called Jews a “bigoted and arrogant breed of people” and prayed they “will be annihilated” in a war over the Holy Land, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Then there is the Islamic Center of Detroit, which received $150,000 on Oct. 12, 2022. Its head imam, Imran Salha, said at a pro-Palestinian rally days after Hamas’s invasion of Israel that Muslims have a “fire in our hearts that will burn that state until its demise.” During a sermon in March, he referred to the “sick, disgusting Zionist regime” and prayed: “May Allah eradicate them from existence.”

The rhetoric could fuel the sorts of hate and terrorist attacks that the Homeland Security grants aim to prevent. Anti-Semitic hate crimes have surged 400 percent since Hamas’s attack, in which 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered. A bipartisan group of senators called for additional funding under the program last month to protect against “a potential rise in anti-Semitic threats.”

There is little oversight over which organizations receive funding under the program, which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state agencies. A majority of the grants have gone to synagogues, churches, mosques, and temples that do not support violence or promote terrorist organizations.

But there are also grants to outfits like the Islamic Center of San Diego, a mosque best known as the home to two 9/11 hijackers. Days after the Hamas attack, Imam Taha Hassane defended the attack on Israel as an act of self-defense.

“When people are occupied, then the resistance is justified,” he said in an Oct. 20 sermon. “We cannot accuse somebody who is fighting for his life to be a terrorist. The terrorist is the one who started the occupation, not the one who is defending himself.”

The mosque received $150,000 under the grant program on Aug. 15, according to federal spending records.

At the Flint Islamic Center, which received $300,000 in grants on Oct. 12, 2022, an Islamic scholar asserted in a sermon last month that Jews “literally live for the purpose of genocide” of Palestinians.

“These people … their businesses have foundations just to serve their objectives. They literally live for a purpose of genocide in an occupation like this,” said Shaykh Adbullah Waheed.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an advocacy group identified as a co-conspirator of Hamas, has mounted a public awareness campaign to urge mosques and Islamic nonprofits to apply for Homeland Security grants. CAIR noted that fewer than 50 Islamic organizations had received funding under the program, largely due to “concerns about the potential strings attached” to accepting the federal funds….

Possible Deal to Free Most Israeli Women and Children Hostages Reportedly Near

AP Photo/Adel Hana
Joe Biden said during a briefing at the White House that a deal to release hostages being held by Hamas is near. “I’ve been talking with the people involved every single day. I believe it’s going to happen. But I don’t want to get into detail,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

In Israel, long-time Washington Post foreign correspondent David Ignatius reports on the outlines of a deal.

“The general outline of the deal is understood,” the Israeli official explained in an interview Monday, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. The tentative agreement calls for Israeli women and children to be released in groups, simultaneously with Palestinian women and young people held in Israeli prisons.

Ignatius reports that Mossad is very much involved in this part of the process, verifying the identities of Israeli citizens that Hamas is considering releasing and making sure that Palestinians being released are not connected to Hamas. In exchange for the approximately 70 Israeli women and children, about 120 Palestinian women and children will be released by Israel.

CNN:

As CNN previously reported, in the deal currently being discussed, hostages would exit Gaza in stages on a rolling basis – with priority placed on extra vulnerable groups like children and women. The process is expected to take multiple days.

Only a handful of hostages – including two American citizens – have been released so far since the start of the war. After their exit, Biden revealed that Israel had agreed to a brief pause to secure their release.

One of the complications in the ongoing talks has been verifying the list of names of both hostages and Palestinian prisoners that Hamas and Israel would respectively release as part of the deal, two officials told CNN. Israel wants to make sure none of the prisoners released are connected to Hamas and has been scrutinizing names proposed as part of the process.

Related: Biden's Pledge to 'Stand With Israel' Fraying Around the Edges

Sources for these stories stress that this is not a done deal and that it could blow up at any time at any point.

One of the sticking points is that Hamas itself does not hold all the hostages. Affiliated groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad hold an unknown number.

Washington Post:

The Israeli official said his government is committed to freeing all the hostages, including roughly 90 male civilians and a smaller group of soldiers, whom Hamas probably sees as the most valuable. “We want as many as possible, as quickly as possible, and no one stays behind,” the official stressed.

Hamas has told the Qataris that its operatives seized only Israeli soldiers, but the Israeli official said this claim is false. Hamas holds the “vast majority” of the hostages, including a small number of dead bodies that were taken into Gaza by the terrorists, the Israeli said. Some hostages are kept by other groups, in disparate locations, but Hamas has the power to negotiate for nearly all of them, he argued. One smaller group called Palestinian Islamic Jihad holds about 35 captives, and a militia known as the “shabiha” and other smaller groups hold a few dozen more, the high-ranking Israeli said.

The unnecessary complexity of the negotiations has a purpose; Hamas wants to be able to interpret whatever deal emerges as the most advantageous to them. Then again, this could all be a psychological ploy by Hamas to play with the emotions of the Israeli people to force them to put even more pressure on the government to end the attempt to annihilate Hamas.

Netanyahu Issues Dire Warning About Hamas. Will Biden Listen?

AP Photo/Evan Vucci
During an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a stark message on Monday evening, cautioning Europeans and Americans about the potential consequences if the IDF doesn’t completely eliminate Hamas.

"We have to win not only for our sake but for the sake of the Middle East, for the sake of our Arab neighbors," Netanyahu said. "You know what, for the sake of Gazans who've been held by this dark tyranny that has brutalized and brought them nothing but bloodshed and poverty and misery. We have to win to protect Israel. We have to win to safeguard the Middle East. We have to win for the sake of the civilized world. That's the battle we're fighting, and it's being waged right now. There is no substitute for that victory."

“If we don’t win now, then Europe is next and you’re next,” Netanyahu warned. "And we have to win.”  

For our VIPs: Joe Biden Is No Friend to Israel

“We have to have the forces of civilization beat these barbarians because otherwise this barbarism will spread and will endanger the entire world,” Netanyahu said. “Every American, every civilized country will be under peril. We have to win. There is no substitute for victory. Total victory.”

According to Netanyahu, the "axis of terror," which consists of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and other "minions” of Iran, aims to "bring the Middle East, the world back to the Dark Ages. And on the other side stands Israel, the modern Arab states, of course, the United States, all the forces that want to see peace, and prosperity for the Middle East and for the world. And that's the battle that is being waged right now."

Just this week, we learned that the Biden administration is considering giving $10 billion to Iran by waiving sanctions.

It truly makes no sense why Biden would consider such a thing, especially now. But one thing is clear; he’s not listening to Netanyahu’s warning. 

Frankly, I’m not sure Biden cares.

400 Government Officals Sign a Letter Objecting to Biden’s Israel Stance

Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP
Many years ago, after a hard day of radio journalism and program directing, I stopped at my favorite brewpub for an IPA and some chicken wings. I noticed a few friends who worked for a government agency and struck up a conversation. I mentioned having seen a story on TV at the gym about the federal government offering free health care to illegal immigrants. I opined that there were plenty of Americans who should receive that consideration before it was extended to people who entered the country unlawfully. One of the women looked at me, blinked, and said, "Well f**k you!" 

Alright, then. Good talk. It wasn't the response I expected but considering the fact that people in the federal ecosystem function in an echo chamber, I guess I should not have been surprised. Mike Lee once told me that the people inside the Beltway are essentially unaware of America or the world outside the Beltway. And with the advent of curated media, it should not be an eye-opener that the same mentality extends to many federal employees. That may go some ways to explaining the letter sent Tuesday to President Joe Biden that was signed by over 400 government officials.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the letter, signed by appointees and staffers across 40 agencies. It began by denouncing the Hamas attack on Israel but also stated:

We call on President Biden to urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity, and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

The signers cited an October poll by the group Data for Progress, which claims that 66% of Americans agree that "The U.S. should call for a ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza. The U.S. should leverage its close diplomatic relationship with Israel to prevent further violence and civilian deaths." That percentage includes 80% of the Democrats who were surveyed, 57% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans. The complete set of questions and responses can be found here

Some signatories mentioned they felt that signing the letter could put their jobs at risk. The Times article noted that some officials have said they welcome disagreement but added that employees need to come to terms with the fact that they will not always see eye-to-eye with some policies. 

Related: This Again? Left Rolls Out the Usual Suspects in Anti-Semitism and Doomspeak

Also worth mentioning is the fact that the majority of those who signed the letter are in their 20s and 30s. This means not only are they living in the federal and left-wing echo chambers, but they are closer in age to college students. So, their "academic" experiences are still relatively fresh in their minds. In addition to whatever matriculation indoctrination they may have received, they tend to take that information and use it to view the world as they wish it to be, not as it truly is. Hence, the misguided notion that if Israel were to stop the offensive, doves of peace would descend from the sky, and we could buy the world a Coke and keep it company. (Kids, ask your grandparents about that.) And they are frustrated that their version of events is not the one that is unfolding. 

One can ignore reality all one wants, but it has no plans to go away. And while letters and protests may have served these people well in college, real life and real war are very different than campus demonstrations.

Germany: Muslim youth say ‘First we cut the throats of the Jews, then the gays and finally the Christians!’

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/germany-muslim-youth-say-first-we-cut-the-throats-of-the-jews-then-the-gays-and-finally-the-christians;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The Germans can’t say that they weren’t warned. But they smeared those who warned them as “racists” and “Islamophobes,” and welcomed the fate that is coming to them courtesy of those they began welcoming in massive numbers in 2015.

“Islamism alarm: ‘A 12-year-old came to me and said: “I hate you,”‘” translated from “Islamismus-Alarm: „Ein 12-Jähriger kam zu mir und sagte: ’Ich hasse dich’”,” Focus, November 9, 2023 (thanks to Medforth):

Anti-Israel calls and radical Islamic banners at demonstrations concern German society. Young people in particular seem to be affected. The spokesman for the children’s and youth organization “Arche” also warns about this.

Wolfgang Büscher is worried. The 65-year-old is the spokesman for the children’s and youth organization “Arche,” which looks after around 7,000 children and young people every day in 33 facilities across Germany – many of them with a migrant background. In his work, Bücher has been experiencing increasing radicalization among young people for some time, he tells “Bild.”

Arche spokesman warns against radicalization of young people: “We are facing a catastrophe”
According to the newspaper, Hamas’ terror against Israel is being welcomed and celebrated more and more openly by young people. This is clear from the statement of Arab young people that Büscher quotes: “First we cut the throats of the Jews, then the gays and finally the Christians!”

This statement is not an isolated case, the Arche spokesman reported to “Bild”. “Children and young people are becoming increasingly radicalized. I’ve never experienced anything like this. We are facing a catastrophe.”

Arche spokesman sees no chance of improvement for many young people
After the Hamas attack on Israel, he wore an Israel pin, Books reports. He was openly attacked for this. “A 12-year-old boy came to me and said, ‘I hate you. “We’ll take the country back,” he smiled in my face.”

UCLA: Frenzied pro-Hamas student mob beats Netanyahu piñata to chants of ‘Beat that f***king Jew!’

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/ucla-frenzied-pro-hamas-student-mob-beats-netanyahu-pinata-to-chants-of-beat-that-fking-jew;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The state of higher education in America today is much like it was in Germany in 1938.

“UCLA students batter Bibi piñata to chants of ‘Beat that f–king Jew!,’” by Yaron Steinbuch, New York Post, November 10, 2023:

A crowd of students assembled around the effigy on Wednesday to express their anger at Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Gaza after the Hamas attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, according to a clip posted on X.

Many of the protesters are seen wearing keffiyeh scarves on their heads and over their faces as they take turns pummeling the swiveling piñata amid loud chants.

“Beat that f—g Jew!” a woman screams into a bullhorn as the crowd chants, “Free, free Palestine!”

Eventually, a man grabs the piñata, punches it, and tears it down, to loud cheers.

“I am horrified. This was @ucla today. This is indefensible. They will start with punching piñatas and end with punching Jews,” X user @AYM_Higher wrote along with the clip.

The incident occurred at a rally hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine, who gathered on campus to demand the US “end funding to Israel.”

They were joined by the UCLA chapter of the UC Divest Coalition, according to the Daily Bruin, which reported that the destroyed piñatas also featured a photo of President Biden….

On Campuses, Jewish Students Are Being Harassed, Yelled At, Punched

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/on-campuses-jewish-students-are-being-harassed-yelled-at-punched;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

It’s not much fun being a Jewish student on many campuses today. Pro-Hamas students, who want the only Jewish state to disappear and be replaced by a twenty-third Arab State, may snatch away your Israeli flag and spit on it. They may surround you, preventing you from walking away as they scream “Shame, Shame, Shame” or “apartheid” or “genocide.” They may punch you in the face. They may send you menacing emails threatening to “kill all the Jews.” They may punch you so hard that they break your nose. They may hit you with a stick if you dare to object to their ripping down posters of Israeli hostages. More on this unbelievable state of affairs can be found here: “University of Massachusetts Student Arrested for Allegedly Punching Jewish Student, Spitting on Israeli Flag,” by Dion J. Pierre, Algemeiner, November 6, 2023:

A University of Massachusetts-Amherst student has been arrested for allegedly punching a Jewish student who was carrying an Israeli flag during a gathering held to call for the release of the over 240 people kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Israel on Oct. 7 and taken to Gaza.

After the alleged punch, the assailant snatched the Israeli flag held by the Jewish student and spat on it, according to details of the incident reported by the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the campus newspaper for UMass-Amherst….

“Toward the end of the event [which was sponsored by Hillel], a student approached the gathering and walked through the crowd, aggressively giving people the middle finger,” the statement read. “After the event had concluded and event security had left, the same student returned to the site of the event and punched a Jewish student holding an Israeli flag, then took the flag and spit on it.”

UMass staff witnessed the incident, according to the school’s Hillel, which noted that a police report was filed and that UMass police arrested the individual….

The perpetrator was later released on bail, “with conditions prohibiting them from returning to campus,” according to a statement put out on Monday by university officials, who said the student will be subject to the legal consequences of their actions….

Let us hope that once the university is done with this student, by permanently expelling him, the local DA will step in and charge this now ex-student with battery, which was also clearly a “hate crime,” committed against a Jewish student precisely because he was Jewish.

Last month, for example, an Israeli student at Columbia University was beaten with a stick by another student who had been ripping off flyers with names and photos of Israelis that Hamas had taken as hostages.

What happened to the student who beat the Israeli with a stick? Has Columbia done the right thing and expelled that student, or is it going to submit to the pressure of its antisemitic faculty — one hundred of whom just signed a letter condemning Israel for defending itself — and let the student off with a warning? Whether Columbia does the right thing or not, the Manhattan DA has the ability, and the obligation, to press criminal charges against this student, as in a similar case at UMass/Amherst, for battery.

Two weeks later, a melee ensued at Tulane University in New Orleans in which an anti-Israel activist broke a Jewish student’s nose.

In the Tulane case, the two aggressors were not students but were in a truck that was driven by the pro-Israel demonstrators when they stopped, got out, and started attacking the Jewish students. One of those students was set upon by two pro-Hamas demonstrators, one of whom rained punches on his head and body while the other struck him over the head with a megaphone, breaking his nose.

One hopes, and expects, that both malefactors will be charged by the DA with aggravated battery, given the severity of the injury.

Intimidation and death threats have increased as well. At Harvard University, a mob — some clad in Palestinian keffiyeh scarves — jostled and harassed a Jewish student as he walked across the campus. Among the mob was Ibrahim Bharmal, the editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review — a publication whose past editors include former US President Barack Obama.

You can see here the pro-Hamas students surrounding a Jewish student and screaming “Shame! Shame! Shame!” at him as he tries to break free. Harvard has not yet done anything to discipline those students, much less expel any of them. One expects little from President Gay, who was so belated and Laodicean in her condemnation of the October 7 massacre. And what will local law enforcement do about this angry mob of students who prevented the Jewish student from leaving? Anything? Nothing?

At Cornell University, someone threatened on a social media forum to commit acts of murder, rape, and mass shooting against Jewish students and a kosher dining ball on campus. Patrick Dai, a 21-year-old engineering student at Cornell, was arrested on a federal complaint for allegedly making the threats. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine….

Patrick Dai has now been expelled from Cornell and faces several years in prison. That’s the right result. Those students who are tempted to make murderous threats against Jews on campus will no doubt be reconsidering.

Pro-Israel groups, and pro-Israel donors who lately have been withholding donations to schools they deem insufficient in their lukewarm condemnations of Hamas’ brutality, can keep the pressure on colleges to expel students who engage in antisemitic behavior. And whatever the colleges do or fail to, the local DAs should do their job, and unhesitatingly prosecute antisemitic behavior wherever it appears. Even at Harvard, Columbia, Tulane, Cornell, and now, UMass/Amherst.

UN agency staff celebrated Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/un-agency-staff-celebrated-oct-7-hamas-massacre-of-israeli-civilians;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

UNRWA’s support for jihad terrorists has been abundantly documented, but no one seems to mind.

“UN Agency Staff Celebrated Oct. 7 Massacre, Part of ‘Terror Strategy’ at Root of Hamas Attack, Watchdog Says,” by Debbie Weiss, Algemeiner, November 6, 2023:

Teachers at Palestinian schools run by the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre against Israel and are part of a “national strategy to commit acts of terror,” the head of a watchdog group told The Algemeiner following the release of the group’s new bombshell report on the matter.

At least 14 teachers at schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) publicly celebrated the Hamas atrocities on their social media accounts, with one calling the morning of Oct. 7 an “unforgettable glorious morning,” a report released on Monday by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) found.

The report also identified at least 100 Hamas terrorists who are graduates of UNRWA’s education system. It highlighted Amer Yaser Nazmi Sada, whose diploma was found in the vehicle of one of the terrorists who participated in the Oct. 7 slaughter of Israeli families. The diploma, granted to Sada in 2018 upon his graduation, was signed by the chief of UNRWA’s vocational program in Gaza, Farid Ajmi’an Abu Adhira.

One UNRWA employee in Gaza, Mahmoud Abu Adhm, uploaded several posts supporting the massacre by Hamas, the report showed. In one, posted three days after the attack, Abu Adhm urged the Palestinian terrorist group to kill Israeli hostages, citing Islamic texts: “Do not walk past a captive who has not been given amnesty without striking off his neck so as to terrorize the enemy.”

IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff told The Algemeiner: “When you teach young people to cut the neck of the enemy, do not be surprised when you see acts like that.”

“When you teach young people that Jews should be exterminated, do not be surprised when that is what they attempt to do,” he added.

In another instance, the official Facebook page of an UNRWA elementary school in the West Bank city of Nablus posted a video of a school rally held on Oct. 26 featuring a young boy, accompanied by what seems to be an UNRWA administrator, calling for victory for Hamas’ “jihad warriors” in Gaza and evoking the defeat of the Jews at Khaybar at the hands of Muhammad’s forces in 628 CE….

Alan Dershowitz Admits Barack Obama Has ‘Deep Hatred’ of Israel

AP Photo/Richard Drew, File
During the Obama years, many voices on the right were calling out his apparent disdain for Israel. It was plainly obvious, but many on the left deluded themselves by taking Obama’s public statements in support of the Jewish State at face value while ignoring his actions. One voice on the left that finally seems to have woken up and is finally acknowledging Obama’s “deep hatred” of Israel is famed lawyer and Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz. According to Dershowitz, Obama’s criticism of Israel since the October 7 terror attacks, like calling for an end to Israeli occupation, exposed Obama’s true feelings.

"Do you think Obama understands what his words have meant?” asked Fox News Business host Maria Bartiromo.

“I think so,” Dershowitz told her. “I think he always had a deep hatred of Israel in his heart. He hid it very well. He called me to the Oval Office, and he said Alan, you know I have Israel’s back. I didn’t know he had a target on it. He has never been supportive of Israel. And finally, his true feelings have come out now that he’s no longer president, doesn’t have to be elected.”

"He's never been supportive of Israel. And finally, his true feelings have come out now that he's no longer president and doesn't have to be elected,” he continued. "He has contributed enormously to the problem because he is respected among young people. And if he says the occupation is unbearable and that anything can be done to stop it, he is encouraging people to engage in their antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American attitudes. He should be ashamed of himself. He should apologize, but he won't."

Dershowitz has reportedly had a good relationship with Obama, but he said that relationship is now “over” because of his statements on the Israel-Hamas war.

I’m glad Dershowitz has seen the light, but it bothers me it took him so long to see Barack Obama for who he really is. In my 2016 book, The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama—yes, I know the title is a bit outdated now, I’ve heard it before—I called him the first anti-Israel president and backed it up with a substantial list of Obama’s anti-Israel policies and actions. It didn’t take a political genius to see who Obama really was or what his true feelings toward Israel were. Why didn’t Alan Dershowitz and other liberals (particularly Jewish liberals) see what was going on at the time? 

Thankfully, I think many Democrats are realizing that anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiments are a plague in the Democratic Party. Frankly, I believe Obama made such beliefs fashionable in the Democratic Party, even if many weren’t willing to acknowledge it. So, hopefully, more will see what’s happening and come to similar epiphanies.

You can watch the full interview here:

 

Hamas-linked CAIR demands Biden regime force Israel to release woman who vowed to drink blood and eat skulls of Jews

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/hamas-linked-cair-demands-biden-regime-force-israel-to-release-woman-who-vowed-to-drink-blood-and-eat-skulls-of-jews;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

No surprise here, coming from the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

P3ZlPTEmdGw9MQ.webp

“CAIR calls on Biden to demand Israel release Ahed Tamimi,” by Sam Halpern, Jerusalem Post, November 9, 2023:

The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, has called on US President Joe Biden to pressure the Israeli government to release Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi.

Tamimi, 22, was arrested by Israel on Monday after she posted on Instagram that Palestinians would slaughter Israeli “settlers.”

“Come on settlers, we will slaughter you. We are waiting for you in all the cities of the West Bank. What Hitler did to you was a picnic. We will drink your blood and eat your skulls,” the post read in both Arabic and Hebrew….

“The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Biden administration to demand the Israeli government release Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi and end the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank by government-backed settlers,” CAIR wrote in a press release….

“If prominent Palestinian figures like Ahed Tamimi and her father are not safe from the Israeli government’s escalating attacks in the West Bank, no Palestinian is safe. [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s openly racist, far-right ministers are completely out of control,” CAIR Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said. “The Biden administration must call for the immediate release of Ahed Tamimi and demand an end to the Israeli government’s escalating attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.”…

Additionally, the CAIR deputy director later reposted X posts parroting the debunked claim that Israel hit the Al-Ahli Hospital.

Hizballah unveils powerful Russian-made anti-ship missiles as Iran proxies step up attacks on Israel and US

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/11/hizballah-unveils-powerful-russian-made-anti-ship-missiles-as-iran-proxies-step-up-attacks-on-israel-and-us;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Iran’s proxy war against Israel and the U.S. is escalating. Iran’s most powerful proxy, Hizballah, has now warned of a regional war if Israel continues its action in Gaza, and has unveiled “powerful Russian anti-ship missiles” as a “threat against U.S. warships.” This week, despite American warnings not to escalate, Hizballah fired 20 rockets into Israel, “setting off sirens in the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights.” Hizballah is calling Iran’s proxies the “Axis of Resistance.

Meanwhile, at least 45 U.S. service members have reportedly been injured in attacks from Iran proxies, nineteen of them with traumatic brain injury. To Iran and its proxies, the exchange of fire with America and Israel is nothing less than jihad, while the West downplays the critical importance of this fact.

According to the doctrine of Mahdism, part of preparing for the reappearance of the 12th Imam is removing all obstacles and barriers to his return. Against this backdrop, Iran’s hardline clergy affiliated with the IRGC claim religious hadiths state that the “Jewish state will be destroyed before Mahdi’s arrival.” According to these accounts, which are legitimized through religious scripture, “Sh’ia Muslims will be on the side of the war against Jews” prior to the reappearance of Mahdi. As such, the collapse of
“Israeli regime and Zionist Jews” at the behest of “Iran and the Resistance Axis” will take place “prior to the emergence of Mahdi.”

The Mahdi is the Shias’ 12th Imam, aka the Hidden Imam.

Only a no-nonsense maneuver of deterrence could possibly keep Iran at bay. America’s longtime policy of appeasement under Obama and Biden is clearly ineffective.

“Hezbollah’s anti-ship missiles bolster its threat to US navy,” by Laila Bassam and Tom Perry, Reuters, November 8, 2023:

BEIRUT, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Powerful Russian anti-ship missiles acquired by Hezbollah give it the means to deliver on its leader’s veiled threat against U.S. warships and underline the grave risks of any regional war, sources familiar with the group’s arsenal say.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Washington last week his group had something in store for the U.S. vessels deployed to the region since war erupted last month between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel, shaking the wider Middle East.

Two sources in Lebanon familiar with the Iran-backed group’s arsenal say he was referring to Hezbollah’s greatly enhanced anti-ship missile capabilities, including the Russian-made Yakhont missile with a range of 300 km (186 miles).

Reports by media and analysts have for years indicated that Hezbollah acquired Yakhont missiles in Syria after deploying there more than a decade ago to help President Bashar al-Assad fight a civil war….

Washington says its Mediterranean naval deployment – comprising two aircraft carriers and their supporting ships – aims to prevent the conflict from spreading by deterring Iran, which backs groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad….

Nasrallah said in a speech on Friday that the U.S. warships in the Mediterranean “do not scare us, and will not scare us”.

“We have prepared for the fleets with which you threaten us,” he said….

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