February 21, 2025

No, All Palestinians Don't Back Hamas' Depravity. And All Israelis Don't Back Ben-Gvir's Bloodthirsty Vengeance

When Hamas releasing the bodies of four Israeli hostages – a grandfather, a mother and her two young children – is greeted with calls by Israeli far-right politicians to 'wipe out, punish and destroy', it is necessary to remember that neither Palestinians nor Israelis have a monopoly over depravity, or decency.
"The Nazis brought their children to watch the 'show.' They brought their children to watch the coffins of babies they had murdered," wrote an incognito member of an Israeli WhatsApp group on Thursday. "There are no innocents in Gaza! Not even a one-day-old baby," the person concluded.
As Israelis waited miserably for the bodies of the four hostages – Shiri Bibas and her young children Kfir and Ariel, and the elderly Oded Lifschitz – it was hard to find any words. So I listened to those around me.

The ultranationalist former minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would like to bring back into his government, entreated his X followers to "remember these moments. … The joy of these animals of prey. The bloodthirstiness. The clear knowledge that these Nazis cannot be allowed to live. … Nazis don't deserve humanitarian [aid]," Ben-Gvir continued. "Not fuel. Not electricity. Not caravans. … No cease-fire, no withdrawal. Only the gates of hell!"
The previous evening, he had offered more ideas: "Destroy, topple, amputate, wipe out, crush, explode, burn, brutalize, punish, ruin, flatten. Destroy!"

Israelis who insist that all Palestinians are guilty for October 7 even have a response ready when told of Palestinians who have written private messages to Israelis condemning Hamas violence toward civilians in general and October 7 in particular. They won't write publicly, Israelis insist, because they fear what they characterize as the overriding Palestinian social norm in favor of massacres.
But on Wednesday ahead of the hostage release, my feed was full of Palestinians saying so publicly. A Palestinian writer from Israel posted: "Nothing justifies the kidnapping of babies. NOTHING!" She was reposting Ihab Hassan, a Palestinian who uses terms like "depraved" or "cowardice and vile depravity" for Hamas, "war crime" regarding the Bibas family, and states that "Hamas is a stain on our cause."

A Palestinian UN diplomat, Ambassador Majed Bamya, posted a condemnation of violence against both Israeli and Palestinian children. Aziz Abu Sarah, a longtime Palestinian friend, has made a lifetime of publicly condemning violence against civilians of all sides, calling for peace and working in partnership with Israelis. These commitments were Aziz's response to his brother's death after being beaten in Israeli prisons decades earlier.

Further, one could easily accuse all Israelis of being bloodthirsty and vengeful, given Thursday's coverage in both the right-wing and mainstream media of Hamas' sick ceremony transferring the bodies.
But Hostage Square in Tel Aviv didn't quite match that impression. Clusters of people wandered around under intermittent rain, looking mostly dazed with sadness. A cameraman fiddled with his frame, tears staining his cheeks. A group of premilitary academy students affiliated with the Reform movement sang along to a leader playing mournful songs on the guitar.

Tal Arnon, a 46-year-old language editor, was weeping softly before we spoke. She described herself as rather left-wing. Does she still feel left-wing on a day like this? "More than ever," Tal said, without hesitation. She couldn't help thinking of the "pain of the mothers in Gaza, which we don't see," and spoke of people destroyed and buried under the rubble.
She flatly rejected the notion that "they're all responsible," as many Israelis believe. And "if anything good can come out of this Shoah," she said, using the Hebrew term for the Holocaust, perhaps there will be an agreement with the Palestinians – "like after the war with Egypt."

Source : Haaretz

Continue reading @ https://archive.md/Bz7SX

February 13, 2025

Democrats chief Golan calls for probe into ties between PM's office and Qatar: 'Suspicion of treason'

By Sam Sokol
Today, 11:48 am

Allegations that a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did public relations work for Qatar while on the premier’s payroll indicate that “there is a suspicion of treason in the Prime Minister’s Office that must be investigated,” The Democrats chairman Yair Golan declares.

According to a report aired Monday by Channel 12 news, Eli Feldstein, a former military spokesman for the prime minister, was employed by a Qatar-funded company to improve public perception of Doha around the Gulf country’s role in hostage deal mediation between Israel and Hamas.
Feldstein is also a key suspect in a scandal surrounding the leak of classified IDF documents to and from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Channel 12’s report revealed “apparent evidence of a business, financial, and personal connection between the Prime Minister’s Office and an enemy state before and during the war,” Golan alleges.

“Netanyahu’s closest advisers — people from the most important office in the State of Israel — who allegedly received payments, maintained connections, and did business with the state that funded Hamas,” he says, calling on the Shin Bet security service and Attorney General’s Office to open a criminal investigation for treason.

Source : https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/democrats-chief-golan-calls-for-probe-into-ties-between-pms-office-and-qatar-suspicion-of-treason/

February 8, 2025

Hostage's mother: Netanyahu is lounging in a DC hotel while we watch a Holocaust reality show .

By Noam Lehmann
Today, 9:27 pm

Some 1,000 people protest outside the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, accusing the government of abandoning the hostages to certain death, after captives Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi returned to Israel this morning visibly emaciated.

The Begin Road protest, held down the block from Hostages Square, is bolstered by some 300 anti-government protesters who marched over from Habima Square, where they heard speeches from several public figures including The Democrats chief Yair Golan.

The Begin Road protesters accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to block the deal from progressing to its second phase — potentially leaving dozens in captivity — so his government stays intact. The premier, currently in Washington, decided not to commence talks on the second phase on Monday, as scheduled in the Gaza deal, reportedly to first discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump.

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan Zangauker has been held in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and is not up for release in the deal’s first phase — roars to the crowd: “I love you, but I’m boiling.”
“Our prime minister is lounging in a Washington hotel while we watch a Holocaust reality show,” she says, accusing Netanyahu of agreeing to a protracted deal specifically so he could back out of it.

Source : https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hostages-mother-netanyahu-is-lounging-in-a-dc-hotel-while-we-watch-a-holocaust-reality-show/

November 25, 2024

Opposition warns coalition not to try renewing judicial 'coup' under cover of war

Foreign Minister Sa’ar defends government actions, asserts that concerns over threats by senior minister to change the regime, abolish High Court are overblown by the media

Opposition politicians warned the government Monday against trying to revive the largely shelved controversial judicial overhaul, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition stepped up attacks on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and the Supreme Court in recent days.

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz vowed that “we will not allow a coup to be carried out under the cover of war.”

“Arrogance, intoxication with power, contempt, and smugness have returned. The coup d’état is on the table,” Gantz told reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

The government views Israel’s security establishment as “part of the Deep State,” the attorney general as “a problem for the State of Israel,” and the media as “too free,” he contended — referring to reports that Netanyahu may be looking to fire the attorney general, IDF chief of staff and Shin Bet chief.

Source : https://www.timesofisrael.com/opposition-warns-coalition-not-to-try-renewing-judicial-coup-under-cover-of-war/

November 17, 2024

Two Flares Fired at Netanyahu's Private Home in Caesarea, Israeli Security Service Says

After Israel's police force and security service described the incident at Netanyahu's house as a 'dangerous escalation,' Justice Minister Yariv Levin called for the government's contentious judicial overhaul to be renewed in response

By Noa Shpigel, Bar Peleg and Chen Maanit
Nov 17, 2024

Two flares were lit on Saturday night next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea and landed in his yard, according to the Shin Bet security service and Israel Police.

Netanyahu and his family members were not at the residence at the time, and no protests for the hostages or against the government were held in the area, ever since the focus of the protests shifted to Jerusalem.

The police and Shin Bet said in a statement that a large number of security forces arrived at the scene and collected evidence as part of an investigation that was opened into the incident.

"This is a serious event that constitutes a dangerous escalation and the necessary investigative actions will be taken accordingly," they said in a statement.

Source : Haaretz

Continued @ https://archive.md/FSeHY#selection-979.0-979.158

October 29, 2024

Netanyahu Can Smell Total Victory - Over Israel

The smugness exuding from coalition lawmakers' speeches signals that by the end of the Knesset's winter session, Israel will be even less tolerant, and more racist, corrupt, and oppressive than it already is. One thing will remain unchanged: the ultra-Orthodox still won't serve in the army.

Yossi Verter
Oct 29, 2024

The last sentence of the opposition leader's speech to the opening of the Knesset's winter session perfectly described the scene in the house. "You no longer have any shame," Yair Lapid told cabinet ministers. That was an understatement, almost British-style.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers were savoring the very fact that they're still in power a year after the disaster of October 7, 2023. And the opposition seemed defeated before the session even began.

Netanyahu and Co. celebrated their total victory on Monday. It was a victory over the norms demanding that they take responsibility for the massacre, over moral values, over statesmanlike behavior, over the decisive majority of Israelis who have lost faith in them and over the hostages' worn-out families, who have gotten a cold shoulder from most members of the governing coalition.

Continued @ https://archive.md/27wqo

Source : Haaretz

October 28, 2024

How Jewish Supremacy Tore Israeli Society Apart

We once marched together at protests, but in the intervening years you and many others have changed your views. An open letter to a right-wing friend

Not long ago, by chance, I happened on a post of yours, long and well-reasoned, not particularly militant, that generated numerous Likes. In the distant past we were friends, almost best friends. We shared a similar worldview, similar dreams and hopes. Since then we have gone our separate ways. Occasionally we send each other a greeting, albeit in the knowledge that beyond this the affinity between us has faded.

But I see your words before me now, and they prompt me to examine the distance between us, the separate worlds, but also perhaps to discern what is left of the connecting dots. In what follows I will try to do this as honestly as I can and through this, you will get a response to what you wrote.

Do you remember how, back then, on the eve of Yom Kippur, after the end of Shabbat Shuvah 5743 (Sept. 25, 1982), we stood together, shoulder to shoulder, among a mass of people in what was then called Kings of Israel Square, today's Rabin Square, in Tel Aviv? With awe and dread we stood there, in a suffocating crush. We stood and cried out over the massacre of innocents in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon. A massacre perpetrated on the watch of the Israel Defense Forces, in the midst of a controversial war.

About a tenth of the population of the State of Israel stood together with us on that evening after Shabbat. The streets around the square were teeming with women and men; together we demanded the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the events of that massacre. About a month later, the Kahan Commission was established; it submitted its conclusions four months later. Immediately afterward, and in the wake of the same chain of events, Emil Grunzweig, an educator and peace activist, was murdered not far from the Knesset during a Peace Now rally, whose participants were violently attacked along the way. We remember the blast of the grenade that killed Emil. It was a sign of things to come.

(Four paragraphs).

Continue reading @ https://archive.md/ohAX2

Source : Haaretz .

October 19, 2024

Hezbollah Drone Hits Caesarea Home; Netanyahu Residence Was Target, PMO Says

Source: Haaretz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife were not present on site at the time of the attack ■ Eyewitness: 'I saw the drone arrives and heard it hit' ■ The Shin Bet security service convenes an urgent situation assessment

A drone was launched on Saturday from Lebanon toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in the central Israeli city of Caesarea, according to a statement by the prime minister's office.

The Prime Minister and his wife, Sara, were not present on site at the time of the attack, and there were no casualties, the statement added. The Shin Bet security service is conducting an urgent situation assessment following the incident.

The attack involved three drones. Two were intercepted and one struck a home in Caesarea, the IDF said. Sirens were not activated in the city prior to the attack.



Read more: https://archive.md/7PPxH#selection-537.0-537.76

October 17, 2024

Israel at War, Day 376: Netanyahu's Party Invites Israelis to 'Resettling Gaza' Event

IDF says it struck 'strategic weapons' stored by Hezbollah in underground facility in Beirut ■ EU countries contributing to UNIFIL have no intention of pulling back troops despite calls from Israel to withdraw, Austria's FM says ■ IDF says it allowed 50 aid trucks into north Gaza ■ U.K. PM Starmer says his government is considering sanctions against far-right Israeli ministers ■ Here's what you need to know 376 days into the war

( snip )

■ PM Netanyahu's Likud party circulated an invitation to an event near the Gaza border titled "Preparing to Settle Gaza." The event, scheduled for next week, will feature the construction of a sukkah as part of a "city of sukkahs" initiative by the Nachala movement, which is known for establishing illegal outposts in the West Bank. Several Likud members as well as government ministers, such as far-right ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, are expected to attend.

Source : Haaretz

Link : https://archive.md/lXHWY#selection-1279.0-1287.307

October 16, 2024

Netanyahu Has Been Kept in Power by the Hatred He Created

By Nehemia Shtrasler
Oct 15, 2024

How is it possible that after such a terrible year, Benjamin Netanyahu is still in power? How is it possible that after the massacre for which he is responsible, the 1,698 people murdered or killed in combat and the deep nadir to which he has brought us, not only hasn't he been kicked out of office, but he has grown even stronger thanks to Gideon Sa'ar joining his government? It looks like he'll survive as prime minister until the next scheduled election – or perhaps even longer.

He is the worst, most neglectful, most irresponsible prime minister we have had since the state was founded. His failures stem from two key traits: cowardice and procrastination. He is incapable of making decisions. He always postpones difficult decisions and waits for a miracle. Maybe something will happen and the problem will evaporate. That's how he's always been, on every issue, including the economy.

(snip)

In other words, he is the most irresponsible prime minister we have ever had. A prime minister who genuinely endangers our existence. For years, he has acted in utter defiance of Israel's defense doctrine. He hasn't created any deterrence. All his reprisal operations were just to pay lip service, and after each of them, he would boast about how he had hit, destroyed and assassinated, while Sinwar kept laughing and building his arsenal.

Nor has Netanyahu led us to a swift victory. Instead, he has dragged us into a long war of attrition, which means more deaths, more destruction and a severe blow to the economy. Moreover, Israel's defense doctrine includes the need for support from the superpowers, but Netanyahu has managed to pick fights even with the most Zionist American president ever.

Four paragraphs ......to read the rest :

Source : Haaretz
Link : https://archive.md/ug6yi