#Hamas is a terrorist organization that benefits no one but themselves

[the-ships-to-rule-them-all]

I don’t think people realize how all consuming October 7, the war and the rising antisemitism is to most Jews right now. I was just on a five day family trip and nearly every single conversation ended up circling back to what’s going on in Israel, across the world and at home. My mom knew Vivian Silver, an incredible peace activist thought to be held hostage and I had to sit there and watch her realize that not only was Vivian murdered at her home 38 days before but that she was likely burned if it took this long for her body to be identified. I was forced to sit there and watch my mom, my favorite woman in the world, watch her face crumple. We were sharing updates, accounts to follow, venting and releasing frustrations. It is a constant unbreakable struggle right now for me and most Jews I know to not be glued to our phones, to not pay attention. Because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t. Because we can’t afford to turn our backs on what’s going on. And there’s a deep ever present grief not only for the victims of October 7th, the innocent citizens of Gaza, the hostages and also for my own personal sense of safety and security. I am also grieving what is a shattering beyond measure of my present and future trust in people as I’ve witnessed how easily well intentioned kind hearted people have decided to say nothing, publicly or privately, or who have quickly fallen into vicious antisemitic rhetoric. I’m just sharing into the void at this point but it’s been unimaginably hard on a personal level. I’m not the same person I was when I went to bed on October 6. It’s as though I’m a shadow, made of grief and anger and tiny fractured bits of hope. Every piece of joy feels as though it’s been muted because of how quickly it fades. And even the moments that last are related to my Jewish identity somehow. I am not sure where I go from here.

Have a cat gif for reading all of that

[fdelopera]

JVP Explained

So, I've been seeing WAY too many gentiles ignorantly uplifting an American "Jewish" group called JVP this past month.

Members of JVP have been very loud this past month, pretending that they speak for Jewish people. They do not.

As a Jew, I'm here to help you understand who this group is, why they act in the blatantly antisemitic ways they do, and why they are dangerous to Jewish people around the world.

And, as an ACTUAL Jewish voice, I am here to tell gentiles to STOP uplifting them.

If you have never heard of "Jewish Voice for Peace" (JVP), or even if you have, I want to give you an analogy that will help you understand this group:

JVP are to Jewish people what Blaire White, Kalvin Garrah, and Caitlyn Jenner are to trans people.

And it's worse, because JVP have gentiles (non-Jews) in their membership. (At least Blaire, Kalvin, and Caitlyn are actually trans.) So for JVP to even call themselves a "Jewish voice" is a lie.

Like Blaire, Kalvin, and Caitlyn, JVP's Jewish membership desperately want to be seen as "the good ones" by bigots, and they are willing to throw vulnerable people in their own community under the bus just for a chance to be accepted by those bigots.

JVP has been called out REPEATEDLY by the Anti-Defamation League for harassing observant Jews at synagogue, harassing queer observant Jews, invoking the antisemitic blood libel canard against Jewish people, and most recently, cheering on and uplifting Hamas after their pogrom on October 7. Among many, many other antisemitic offenses.

There are LEGITIMATE and VALID ways to protest the atrocities and war crimes of the Israeli government.

Let me say that again.

There are LEGITIMATE and VALID ways to protest the atrocities and war crimes of the Israeli government!

But JVP doesn't do that.

Instead, JVP chooses to amplify Neo-Nazi dogwhistles, harass American Jewish people at shul, and uplift Hamas — an antisemitic terrorist organization.

You DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT!! get to call yourself a "Jewish voice for peace" and then use BLOOD LIBEL, UPLIFTING ANTISEMITIC TERRORISTS, and HARASSING OBSERVANT JEWS as a way to "criticize" the Israeli government.

You are not a "freedom fighter." You are just a Jew who is a self-loathing, Jew-hating antisemite.

Now, if you're queer like me (nonbinary, genderfluid Jew here, hi!), you're likely aware of how Blaire, Kalvin, and Caitlyn have harassed countless other trans people, especially nonbinary people, for not being trans in the "right way." They do this because they are desperate for approval from right-wingers. Why? Because they, and trans people like them, have a deep sense of self-loathing, shame, and guilt about being trans. They think that if they harass other trans people, right-wingers will accept them. All they want is for right-wingers to tell them, "It's okay, we know you're not like those cringy trans people over there. You're some of the good ones."

Right-wingers then benefit from this "relationship" because they can deny that they are transphobic bigots. Right-wingers can say things like, "I don't hate all trans people. I watched a couple of Blaire White's YouTube videos, and she's alright." So by seeking out right-wing approval, people like Blaire are making it more difficult for other trans people to fight back against anti-trans bigotry. But Blaire doesn't care, so long as Republicans will pat her on the head and tell her she's "one of the good ones."

JVP are very similar to this, except that they are seeking approval from extreme left-wing groups. Jews in JVP may be on the opposite end of the political spectrum, but they are behaving in the exact same way as Blaire, Kalvin, and Caitlyn. They are members of a marginalized group who are seeking approval from bigots, and they're throwing their community under the bus in the process.

JVP's Jewish membership desperately want to be seen as "Good Jews."

(JVP's gentile membership, of course, are just leftist antisemites and are there to harass Jewish people they deem to be "Bad Jews.")

Why? Why do Jews in JVP want to be seen as "the good ones"?

Because Jews in JVP have a deep feeling of self-loathing, shame, and guilt about being Jewish, and they think if leftist groups tell them, "It's okay, you're some of the good ones," that this will somehow assuage their guilt for being Jewish.

This self-loathing, shame, and guilt goes far beyond the current Israel/Palestine conflict. That's just how it is manifesting right now. There have always been Jews who have wanted to assimilate into gentile spaces and be told that they're "the good ones." There have always been Jews who are ashamed of being Jewish.

Jews in JVP consider spreading antisemitic Neo-Nazi conspiracy theories, uplifting Hamas, and further marginalizing other Jewish people to be a small price to pay if it means that they are provisionally "accepted" by certain antisemitic gentiles. Even though these antisemitic gentiles will discard the Jews in JVP as soon as it is expedient to do so.

And of course, just like Blaire, Kalvin, and Caitlyn do with right-wingers, the Jews in JVP sanction left-wing antisemites to say: "I don't hate all Jews. I'm not antisemitic. I just hate Israeli Jews 'Bad Jews.' I just want those 7 million Israeli Jews 'Bad Jews' to be exterminated."

Sure, Jan. Sure, you're not antisemitic. You just want 7 million Jews mass murdered. In case you didn't know, you absolute ghoul, that's the very definition of antisemitic.

Oh, and Gentiles, many of you have gone mask-off enough with your Jew-hatred this month for us Jews to know that when you say "Israelis," "Zionists," "Zios," "Zio scum," "Zio rats," and every other permutation of those words, you really mean "those dirty Jews I'm allowed to hate publicly now."

But the Jews in JVP haven't studied their Holocaust history. The Jews in JVP don't care to remember that the Nazis, too, rounded us up into groups of "Bad Jews" and "Good Jews" — or, really, "Bad Jews" and "Useful Jews." Then the Nazis used the "Useful Jews" to attack the "Bad Jews." Finally, they shoved ALL the Jews that they could get their hands on into the gas chambers and tried to kill every last one of us.

And what I know from studying Holocaust history is that as soon as Jews start getting sorted into camps of "Good Jews" and "Bad Jews," you had better say, "Fuck no, I'm not being a Good Jew!"

You had better get into the "BAD JEW" camp as FAST as you can and start SPEAKING OUT, and uplifting the Jewish community, and supporting as many other Jews as you can.

If you try to be a "Good Jew," antisemites will just use you as a useful idiot and a pawn against other Jews. Then within a short period of time, you will find that EVERY Jew is lumped into the "Bad Jew" camp. And EVERY Jew is now in danger. Including you, O "Good Jew" who tried so hard to convince antisemites that you were "one of the good ones."

If JVP studied Holocaust history, they would see that they are being useful idiots for Neo-Nazis, Hamas, and other antisemitic groups that want Jews around the world to be eradicated. (You should read Hamas' excruciatingly antisemitic charter sometime. I have. The group is literally founded on Jew-hatred.)

But the Jews in JVP do not study Jewish history, or Holocaust history.

The Jews in JVP don't want to acknowledge the truth:

In siding with the Neo-Nazis, the Hamas supporters, and the other antisemitic groups that are co-opting the Free Palestine movement and turning it into a movement of Jew-hatred, the Jews in JVP are signing their own death warrant, too.

It's only a matter of time, O "Good Jews," before you are rounded up with us "Bad Jews." Because to antisemites, we're all just "dirty Jews who deserve to die."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Daniel Villareal at LGBTQ Nation:

Anyone with eyes in their head can see that the American government and media both have a clear pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian bias. Neither one officially recognizes Palestine as a state, and any criticisms against the Israeli government or in favor of Palestinian civilians are automatically labeled (at best) as ignorant, misinformed, and over-idealistic or as hateful, antisemitic, and pro-terrorist. The goal of these denunciations seems to have only one aim: to silence any criticism of Israel. I’m sick of it… and I’m not alone.

In numerous conversations, when I have argued that perhaps the Israeli government is becoming increasingly right-wing, I have been told that Israel is a queer oasis in the bigoted Middle East and that all of Israel’s neighboring countries are rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ and will gladly kill their own queer citizens. When I mention that Israel’s military-enforced policies of forced displacement and segregation against Palestinian citizens could violate their dignity and human rights, I’m reminded of the Holocaust — as if I somehow forgot — and am told that Hamas wants to exterminate Israel and all Jews and that all of Israel’s neighboring countries have threatened to wipe Israel off the map as well. If I mention any recent news report about Israeli forces killing Palestinian journalists or civilians, I’m informed that I do not know my history and that Palestine’s government has repeatedly allowed terrorists from its region to infiltrate Israel and commit atrocities against innocent Israelis. [...]

When any politician or activist publicly criticizes Israel in the media, they’re denounced, and we’re told that we must defend Israel at all costs to protect stability and U.S. interests in the Middle East and to offer a shining beacon of Western democracy to the people living in the otherwise barbaric region. These talking points are reinforced by American media, which commonly depict Israel as a bustling modern nation and depict all other Middle Eastern countries as war-torn deserts consisting of mostly huts, murderers, and goats. These things have all been pretty uniform throughout my entire life: Israel can do no wrong. To imply otherwise is to show your own stupidity or align with Nazis and terrorists. End of conversation. As if numerous progressive Jews and international human rights organizations, like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, haven’t asked the same questions or reached the conclusion that Israel is hardly above reproach. The other not-so-subtle implication is that anyone who wants to criticize Israel openly should either be Jewish themselves or at least have university degrees in Israeli history, Middle Eastern studies, and international political science.

[...] The October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and recent reports that an estimated 35,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel’s military destroyed Palestinian homes, schools, hospitals, and vital infrastructure. I’ve been thinking about it as more and more voters vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primaries, signaling to President Joe Biden that America’s mostly unconditional support of Israel could cost him the election. I’ve been thinking about it as bipartisan politicians urge mayors, police, and the National Guard to violently disband pro-Palestinian student encampments on university campuses rather than engage in good-faith discussions about the institutions’ investments in businesses that benefit from Israel’s conflict.

As a journalist, I would normally turn to trust U.S. news sources to learn more about what’s happening on the ground in Gaza. But journalists and aid workers are being killed there, media outlets that criticize Israel run the risk of driving advertisers away, and pro-Palestinian journalists sometimes get hate mail and death threats. As a result, I hear even less in the news about Palestine than I do about Africa. I want to be clear: I denounce all terrorist actions and the murder of civilians, regardless of nationality. I support Israel and Palestine’s right to exist and the right of all people to peacefully practice their religion without any threats of violent persecution. I acknowledge that antisemitism is real, that hateful attacks on Jewish people and neo-Nazi activity have increased over recent years, and that some of Israel’s critics are bigoted. I also know that some white Christian nationalists and Republicans who support Israel don’t actually approve of anyone who doesn’t embrace Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior. Rather, they support Israel because of Biblical prophecies that say its existence will bring about Jesus’s return and the end of the world.

Daniel Villarreal wrote in LGBTQ Nation on how America needs to speak up on the abuses the Israel Apartheid government have heaped on Palestinians and the effects of silencing criticism of Israel has had adverse effects on discourse.

[landbacktoindigenouspeople]

This is reply to @palestineforlife in a little better format. First of all, thank you for responding respectfully! As I mentioned earlier, I reviewed your link, and I have to ask: are you aware of how much misinformation and propaganda are circulating right now? There’s a huge amount, and anything you see online needs to be critically analyzed before accepting it as truth.

For example, the video link you shared raises questions. It’s incredibly easy for someone to manipulate emotions by staging something like filling aid bags with sand and claiming they’re evidence of suffering caused by the Jews. There tons of aid going to Gaza. In just the previous week, from 8-14 of December, there was 14,051 tons of aid delivered. Every aid shipment is documented by its origin and the route into Gaza (I.e. aerial route, maritime, via Jordanian route, Kerem Shalom, etc). Are you suggesting that they empty these 14 000 TONS, that's 655 truckloads of aid in a span of a single week (check out how much there has been in a month) and fill them in with... sand? Or just some? Where does the actual aid go, the supplies you think are being switched to... sand,because that's a lot of stuff what you don't need and warehousing that is ging to be hell. That is all something you cannot really do... very covertly, so maybe that video seems a littl suspicious to me.

Given the prevalence of propaganda designed to play on emotions, it’s worth asking: why and how would Israel even benefit from such actions? Civilian deaths in Gaza are a PR disaster for Israel. That’s why Israel often goes to great lengths to avoid them, even at the risk of their own soldiers. Israel delayed its ground operations in Gaza to minimize civilian casualties. It knows civilian deaths would only fuel anti-Semitism, something already pervasive worldwide.

Israel has invested significant resources into providing Palestinians with basic necessities, including medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. Meanwhile, Gazan leaders divert funds toward personal luxuries, terror tunnels, and weapons rather than their citizens’ welfare. Does it make sense for Israel to starve people it has spent so much money and effort to assist (and treat in their hospitals etc.), knowing it would only worsen its image globally? The idea doesn’t hold up without solid evidence.

Additionally, there’s documented evidence of Hamas exploiting aid. No one likes to actually mention the word Palestinian terrorists or Hamas stealing the aid, but it happens. For instance, they’ve been caught stealing humanitarian aid meant for Gazans and even killing civilians trying to access it. Here’s one report: NY Post article. WCK is thus far the only aid organization who doesn't seem to cover up that they employees are/were Hamas but instead took action.

It’s also worth addressing the double standards. If you’re concerned about Palestinians suffering in Gaza, why hasn’t there been similar outrage over Palestinians being starved and brutally treated in Syria? (granted, the man from the video could and most likely has some medical condition but... you also know they are starved and abused in Syria) Syrian forces have killed Palestinians with brutal chemical weapons, and Bashar al-Assad has been welcomed back into the Arab League despite atrocities. Because killing half a million of their own citizens and bombing tens of thousands of Palestinians is acceptable if you are an Arab. Amnesty International and the ICC barely address these issues. Why? Because it doesn’t involve Jews, it seems to be ignored. Not a single arrest warrant unless your are a minory defending your rights to exist (take a look at how the Kurds are treated in Syria, how Turkey is killing them there but sush, it's an open secret). I look at your links, I ask for you to please look at mine.

Finally, if you want to discuss Apartheid, hatred or discriminatory treatment, it’s worth reflecting on how some narratives of victimhood and blame may themselves be steeped in propaganda. There are examples, even from Palestinians themselves, that confirm the validity of these claims. You could talk about Apartheid, how some people are dirty and unfit to be buried on Muslim land (again... Muslim lands because Muslims like the Palestinians violently conquered the region and Jews were either violently oppressed or driven off. Is this propaganda?

Maybe. You just see it a lot, some of it even posted by Palestinians themselves, so you decide.

But before you decide, please check out people like Tal Oran (his instagram), Rawan Osman (she's Syrian- Lebanese Arab and tells you how she was teached to hate Jews and she grew up in a very secular household), she is not the only one, antisemitisms is unhinged levels! and it has always existed in the Middle East. Check out Luai's vids, he's an Yemeni arab who was taught to hate the Jews and Israel. or Tmasundin, Israeli Arab Bedouin, who disagree that there's an "apartheid" (he's not the only one, talk to Israeli arabs, everyone is of couse allowed their own opinion and there is going to be all shades between love and hate). Or Mansor Ashkar who is a Druze and talks about Druze in Israel, also visited the sate of the nation episode. I cannot recommend enough to try to listen as many people as possible. People are of course biased but the more you listen to different viewpoints, the more you start to realise how complex everything is. Tldr: Arabs could have had a second Arab nation in Palestine (Jordan is 60%-75% Palestinian) but they have rejected the thought several times. I'm starting to think there's a reason for it and it's not pretty. Actual minorities in the Middle East (oppressed by islamists/radical muslims) would accept a land for themselves with celebrations. Ask yourself why the Palestinians have refused several times.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Since October 7, anti-Isral propaganda disguised as a "social justice" movement has flooded Instagram.

Influential individuals and organizations are working together to systematically promote a deliberate disinformation campaign aganst Israel that ultimately benefits Hamas.

They use social media to propagate false narratives, specifically targeting young left-leaning Americans, and orchestrating what might be the most significant propaganda offensive against the Jewish community since World War II.

Polls have found that half of young American adults side with the terrorist organization Hamas, responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre of over 1200 Israeli civilians and capture of over 200 hostages. And that their actions can be justified.

One organization responsible for disseminating the most deceptive anti-Israel propaganda aimed at influencing Americans' opinions is the Institute for Middle East Understanding.

The IMEU is backed by millions of dollars from wealthy donors like the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Rockefeller Brothers' father is John D. Rockefeller Jr., the "primary financier" of Nazi eugenics research.

The IMEU is extremely influential. They've gained hundreds of thousands of followers in just a few weeks. Their highly misleading posts get tens of thousands of Likes and Shares.

They accomplished this by copying the tactics of "anti-racist educators" on Instagram that launched the Black Lives Matter protests and riots in 2020.

In this 2021 panel, prominent anti-Israel activists explain how they use research from "Palestine Studies," a frivolous scholarship based on "decolonization" and Critical Theory, to create "social justice content" on Instagram to target American progressives.

IMEU Communications Director, Omar Baddar (salary: $100,000) explains their pivot from traditional media to social media, because social media offers greater control over the narrative.

He believes Palestinians should not be blamed when they instigate violence because:

"Israel as an occupying power is inherently the initiator of violence."

So, Israel simply existing is the real problem.

A key part of their strategy in targeting Americans involves drawing analogies to the USA's history of slavery and discrimination against black people:

"Jim Crow segregation is obviously something that every American understands, so explaining how the parallels between Israeli apartheid and that are very useful. For us, a central point is tying what is happening in Palestine to American moral responsibility."

Following these tactics, they saw a "massive explosion" in their following.

"The massive, massive, massive explosion in the shares and follows."

Their efforts succeed at deliberately misleading people and depriving them of key information and historical context that would allow them to better understand the nuances of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Public opinion serves as Hamas' most potent weapon against Israel and American progressives are unwittingly being used as pawns in a scheme that ultimately benefits the terrorist organization.

Full investigation:

==

If it feels like western countries are in a re-run of the fanaticism and riots from three years ago, it's because they are. It's a shame they learned nothing from being conned by BLM propaganda.

At least it makes sense now how the "Be Kind" pronouns people who saw Nazis everywhere became pro-Sharia Nazis themselves, aligning with murderous, far-right Islamic jihadist terrorists, to the point of some of them even deciding Osama bin Laden was the good guy. FFS...

[vague-humanoid]

Among the proposed measures are several that are quite absurd, including, for example, cutting public funding to cultural institutions that question Israel’s right to exist or that collaborate with institutions or individuals that reject Israel’s right to exist – which would effectively mean any institutions in countries of the Muslim world that don’t recognize Israel. It would mean that Germany can continue to buy gas from Qatar or sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, but that cultural exchange would be prohibited.

The resolution calls upon states to enforce various sanctions, from deportations to denying the right to family reunification, reducing social benefits and denying work permits to residents of Germany who ‘support terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Samidoun, or incite hatred against Jews’.

The issue is: how is ‘support’ defined? From what we have seen the past few weeks, concern for the fate of Palestinian civilians is broadly defined as support for Hamas.

Most tellingly, the bill entails only a single passing mention of the threat posed by right-wing extremist groups and political parties to Jewish life, despite the fact that 84 per cent of antisemitic crimes in Germany come from the far-right, and that a deadly attack on a synagogue in Halle in 2019 was committed by a neo-Nazi. This is a cynical omission considering that the occasion for the bill – the 9th of November – commemorates pogroms committed by the Nazis.

It’s as if non-Jewish Germans themselves are traumatized. Through a sort of twisted inheritance of their own history as persecutors, they can participate in contemporary Jewish suffering. That is how I have read the prevailing response.

@moonisneveralone

[lonelyvomit]

I'd much rather have 'did not participate as a stand against genocide' on our ESC track record than swipe this under the rug. yeah isreal shouldn't participate but both sides (isreal and palastine) are just as bad as eachother hamas is literally a terrorist organisation, so isn't yle threatning to pull out basically like genocide bad terrorism good.

it's easy for it to seem that way with the very pro-Israel coverage of the situation in the news, but no, the parties are in no way equal.

I'm gonna put a longer response under read more.

firstly it's worth noting that Hamas isn't just the military group, it's a political organization. an extremely nationalist one, yes, but a political organization none the less. meaning that fighting to eradicate Hamas isn't fighting to wipe out a specific, numbered army of people, it's an attempt to destroy a political opinion and point of view, which is basically impossible. the are nationalists in every country in the world, always has been, always will be, and in a colonized state like Palestine, that party having a large support should be no surprise to anybody. to truly destroy Hamas is impossible without wiping out the entire population. that is generally called genocide.

and being a political organization, Hamas also provides social services in Gaza, such as education and healthcare. not only is that a reason for Palestinians to support them, but this is what Israel is using to excuse killing Palestinian civilians. they've blown up schools and hospitals. they've cut off food, water, fuel, humanitarian aid sent to civilians. they've killed journalists. there are laws even to fighting a war, meant to protect innocent civilians, but fighting a political organization apparently means being allowed to break them and kill anybody who is benefiting from any services that party provides. including the children and the sick.

last but not least, Palestine is not a country at war - it's scattered land areas that have been under Israeli occupation and organized oppression for decades. Palestinians are separated, controlled, opressed groups of people without official armed forces of their own. yes, there's a militant group of Hamas, which has been branded as a terrorist organization for a lot of the same acts that Israel has been doing to Palestinians without any backlash at all. Hamas takes hostages. but Palestine having no justice system at all and being under Israeli military justice system, has allowed Israel to detain people for unlimited amounts of time with no hearing, lawyers, connections outside, or necessary even having been told what they're being detained for, and if they get a hearing, it's with Israeli soldiers. there are no unbiased judges present. the actions here are the same, the difference is that Israel has the overwhelming power to do it "legally", which is why the hostages they take are just called prisoners.

Palestinians are not a threat to Israel. there's no war. there's just ethnic cleansing by genocide, and people who are being called "just as bad" for not keeling over and letting themselves be slaughtered peacefully.

[barbarastreisandof]

Hamas is not a terrorist organization.

The Israeli government is a terrorist organization.

The Palestinian people as a demographic do not hate Jewish people.

Jewish Israelis as a demographic hate Palestinians.

These are facts that are only provocative insofar as they go against the mainstream narrative. If you spend time learning about the history of the region and the people, and spend time talking to Israelis and Palestinians, spend time reading their respective literature and engaging with the news published by Haaretz, spend time watching Al Jazeera, you will come to understand these things as pretty uncontroversial normal statements of fact.

I'm saying these things plainly here so you, as the reader, can check in with your emotions reading them. If you find yourself getting defensive or angry or nervous or upset reading these things, that is a strong indication that you are not very knowledgeable about what's happening and would benefit from learning more.

Hamas won elections overwhelmingly in 2006, getting over 70 seats in the legislature. Israel and the US promptly blockaded Gaza and arrested 68 of those elected. Hamas has tried peace and negotiations many many MANY times. The peace march in 2018 where thousands of Gazans marched to the wall to draw attention to the genocide taking place were met by Israeli snipers who spend days killing and shooting out the knee caps of literally thousands of Palestinians. The Al-Aqsa Flood was an attempt by Hamas to confront the IDF around Gaza. They did not know there was a music festival taking place and upon realizing it, immediately began asking people where the military was and taking hostages. The IDF responded by shooting from among the crowd at Hamas militants while an IDF Apache helicopter shot indiscriminately at the crowd and later, IDF artillery was launched at Hamas as well as at Israeli civilians. The operation by Hamas had been planned for two years to target IDF military installations. Of the roughly 1200 Israelis killed on October 7th, 1/3 were military and of the remaining civilians, almost all were killed in the crossfire between Hamas and the IDF, and many possibly even MOST of those were killed by the IDF themselves in an attempt to kill Hamas.

That is not a terror attack just because people were terrified. Terror attacks are defined as targeting civilians for the purpose of terrorizing a populace in service of a political or ideological objective. Civilians getting killed during an attack on military infrastructure is not a terrorist attack.

Conversely, Israel has continuously and openly committed terrorist attacks against the Palestinian people for 75 years. Even before then, the Zionist settlers who were occupying Palestine engaged in terrorism in Palestinian villages. A man named Orde Wingate trained Zionist troops in what was called hasiyur ha-alim, or 'violent reconnaissance'. It was a terrorist method utilized by the Hagana, the Zionist paramilitary group that aided in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and formed during the British mandate. This is the practice: Pick a village that has no defense or weapons so there is no risk of combat, enter the village around midnight, stay for several hours and wait. Shoot anyone that leaves their home during this time. Then depart after several hours have passed.

This example is particularly stomach churning and I would genuinely caution you to skip it if you're at all unsure. It concerns the killing of gay men by the Israeli military and it is one of the more horrific things I've read.

This is a passage from the book Brothers and Others In Arms, a collection of interviews with gay and bisexual Israeli soldiers.

The state of Israel has been a terrorist organization from the beginning - the Jewish Zionist population in 1947 was 600,000 compared to the 1.3 million Palestinians living on that land. Terrorism was an essential tool in gaining power and ethnically cleansing the land of Palestinians and has remained a key pilar of Israeli policy toward Palestinians ever since.

It is crucial to talk about Zionist Jews and Israeli Jews and not simply "Jews" because "Jew" is not a universal identity the way Zionists make it out to be. The vast majority of Palestinians do not hate Jewish people or oppose the Jewish faith. Jewish people existed peacefully among Christians and Muslims in the region for a long time, which is why when the Zionist movement chose Palestine as the location for a Jewish only theocracy and there was a large influx of Jewish Zionist immigrants, Palestinians hardly took notice or felt concerned. They had no reason to think in the years between when the Zionist project began and when the Nakba took place in 1948 that their Jewish Zionist neighbors and friends and community members would turn against them or want to expel them from the land. The Palestinian people have no historical or present day grievances with Jews, what they DO have are grievances with Zionists and Israeli Jews who insist on a Jewish-only state on Palestinian land.

Conversely, the vast majority of Israeli Jews DO have a problem with Palestinians and DO see Palestinian liberation and freedom as a threat. If you look at polling and public opinion and Israeli politics since the state's creation, what you will find is support for either complete Palestinian genocide, or support for a two state solution where Palestinians are ghettoized and forced to live as they do now - on tiny tracks of separate, disparate plots of land that are managed and defined by the Israeli government. What almost no Israeli Jews support is a single secular state where Palestinians have equal citizenship and where Jewish citizens do not receive special rights or privileges.

That is because Israel has a concept and practical entity is a Jewish supremacist theocracy whose entire reason for existing IS to be a Jewish state, which by definition means legal and institutional authority for Jews above all others. That project is inherently at odds with the Palestinian population who is A) Majority NOT Jewish and B) are the rightful and original inhabitants of that land and thus wish to return to the now occupied homes that were once theirs.

This is a broad strokes overview of the initial four points but I want to emphasize: if you take the time to learn more about all of these things what you will find is that I have downplayed each of these facts. I have understated Hamas' role as a governing body that provides healthcare and services to Palestinians, I have downplayed the conscious and deliberate terrorism inflicted by the Israeli government and by Israeli settlers, I have undersold just how much Palestinians want a free state that is open to Jews as it is Christians and Muslims, and I have vastly understated just how much the average Israeli resents and derides the average Palestinian.

These are things you can learn about on social media, but they are best learned through reading books and through first hand engagement where possible.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine - Ilan Pappe Orientalism - Edward Said The Holocaust Industry Norman Finkelstein Expulsion of the Palestinians - Nur Masalha These are good starting places. From here, it will become obvious what to read next. Be patient and remain committed to genuine growth and learning and you will come to have a much stronger and clearer intuition when it comes to processing the news and understanding what is happening not just in Palestine, but across the globe.

[warningsine]

Except Hamas is a terrorist organization that has been perpetuating that Jews have caused the anti-Semitism directed at them.

Abducting and killing Jews and raping Jewish women in the name of a radical ideology is, in fact, anti-Semitism.

Learn to separate average people from their governments.

Believe it or not, surveys in Gaza and the West Bank have shown that the vast majority of average Gazans are not only frustrated with Hamas's governance, but that they do not align themselves with Hamas's radical ideology either.

44% of Gazans said that they don't trust Hamas at all and 23% of them that they don't have a lot of trust in their government. 72% of Gazans think that their government is corrupt.

The last elections were held in 2006 and only a portion of Gazans would cast a ballot for Hamas nowadays.

Only 24% said that they'd vote for Haniyeh (the leader of Hamas), while 67% think that Abbas (the president of the Palestinian Authority) should resign.

Unlike Hamas, whose goal is to destroy the Israeli state, the majority of Palestinians (58% in 2021) favor a two-state solution with an independent Palestine and Israel existing side by side. 73% of Gazans (2023) favor a peaceful settlement to the I-P conflict—not that this seems feasible right now.

The only one that has actually benefited from the Israeli massacre on 7 October? The Israeli (and the Iranian) government.

Netanyahu used it as an excuse to blatantly lie, claim that all Gazans are terrorists, continue to oppress Palestinians and commit atrocities and acts of genocide.

As for the Israelis' trust in their own government? It has hit rock bottom (20%). New polling data shows that only 20.5% of Jewish Israelis and 7.5% of Arab Israelis trust in Netanyahu.

[ideal-girl]

This isn't meant to be offensive, but it might be.

This isn't meant to be a "rant", but it might be. 

Don't read. 

I believe that most people on the internet are "slightly stupid" and are definitely not well-educated or well-informed, and so they get taken advantage of by people who are not all that bright themselves, but who are more eloquent and exploitative with whatever brain cells they do have. 

USA has the ability to eradicate entire nations, despite not being to locate them on a map. Why would you encourage the USA to be apathetic towards other nations when it has that type of power?

They want the USA to be rampaging beast because it benefits their country right now, but what happens when their country no longer serve the USA's interests? Won't they become disposable again? We are an apathetic, ignorant, and violent nation, and so not very trustworthy or "righteous" in the end. 

Why is it always "nuanced" or "subconscious", when everything is clear and simple? Why can't you speak your truth, without trying to fool people? What are you trying to hide? That's the kind of "communication" or "discourse" that annoys me. I especially resent the people who accused me of a having subconscious belief, just because they couldn't accept that I wasn't what they wanted me to be, which is evil. I notice that a lot of people are trying to implicate others for having "Freudian Slips", which in actuality everything they perceive about the other is a self-projection. 

I will give an example. 

There was a blogger who said that we refuse to vilify Rapist Hamas because we are trying to spare the Palestine, and actually support the genocide (which they classified as "self-defense") ON A SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, despite the extreme destruction not being even being effective or reasonable means of vindicating those women.

It's difficult to vilify an organization or anyone without tangible or reasonable evidence of what they did wrong. Most people did believe that the Hamas was an Anti-Semitic, Terrorist Organization that was raping and killing women and babies, but those accusations were either disproven or were never proven at all. I have encountered a lot of people who claim on this very site (Tumblr) to have photos and videos depicting Hamas committing mass rapes, but not one of them as have ever presented that evidence or identified their source. 

That's because they are lying. 

This doesn't mean that Hamas never raped anyone. It means that there is no evidence of those specific crimes and it means that when people lie about having evidence when they do not, they lose credibility to people...who were not going to support the genocide anyways! We are smart enough to understand that you cannot punish, let alone kill someone, for a crime they did not commit! That's why you have to resort to gaslighting people into believing that they are on your side by turning their own "subconscious" against them, as if you have the capacity to know them better than they know themselves. 

The reason why you believe that everyone is insincere, virtue-signaling, and bigoted is because you are insincere, virtue-signaling, and bigoted. You are lying, and that's why everything is so "nuanced", "complicated", and "difficult" for you. You're lying, and it's hard to keep lying when there is so much evidence and so much logic that discredits the false reality you are broadcasting to other people who you believe are less intelligent than you. 

I started off this "rant" stating how I believe that a lot of netizens are "slightly stupid", because a lot of information is presented to them as if they are stupid, and it works because they are. USA is being encouraged to not educate itself about other countries or foreign affairs because we're too stupid to get it (but we're smart enough to engage in warfare). We can't grasp that genocide is virtuous because it's too nuanced for us. We also don't know how to behave as activists, which is to be permissive and neutral, because we're just...stupid.

We have to follow behind deceitful, hypocritical, bigoted, and self-projecting people because something within us is not "good enough". And then I have to observe and/or endure you idiots harassing and abusing people in the name of justice when they are the one who needs vindication, not you or the people who influenced you to be evil on their behalf.

This is another conversation for another day, but I also dislike the tactic of gaslighting people into believing they are evil for not supporting genocide. If they aren't trying to convince people they are stupid and confused, they are trying to convince them they are horrible people for...having moral standards and boundaries. 

This is harsh truth you need to accept TODAY: You are not "entitled" to better treatment than what you give someone else. You don't get to call a child an animal and then get offended when someone calls else you an animal for raping and dehumanizing them. You don't get to masturbate to dead children and then get offended when someone wishes death on you. You don't get to commit crimes against humanity, and then self-victimize when people choose to hate and punish you for what you did. You aren't the victim; people have to vindicate them because of you!

You are not entitled to someone else's life ("forgiveness") ! They do not have to help and heal you! They do not have to exist on your terms! They don't!

(What happened to sincere apologies and self-accountability?)

Don't expect someone else to rebuild the bridge you burned. Don't assume that forgiveness means clemency for you or that’s even truly done for your sake. That's something a lot of abusive people have to realize, whether they are genocidal or not. Those who do not understand that people do not have to exist on their terms are not ready to be trusted or forgiven anyways. 

[codaynamics]

someone please help me get out of this state or destroy it all. either or.

Thank you for contacting me regarding the ongoing situation in Israel. The United States and Israel remain unwavering partners in defending our shared interests and promoting peace and security in the region.

          On the morning of October 7th, while most families and children were waking up for the day, Israelis were woken up by the sound of rockets and Hamas terrorists crossing into their country by land, air and sea. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, at least 31 Americans are dead, 199 families were informed their loved ones are held hostage in Gaza, and thousands are injured, with numbers only continuing to climb. Israeli civilians and soldiers continue to endure attacks from the Iranian-backed terrorist group, Hamas, which publicly seeks the destruction of the Jewish state and its people. 

          Innocent families were murdered in their homes. Babies were killed and some were ruthlessly beheaded. Children were burned alive. Teenage girls were raped and then burned alive. An elderly wheelchair-bound woman, who was later identified as a Holocaust survivor, was brutally dragged through the streets of Gaza. Children who witnessed the murders of their parents have been kidnapped and are now being held hostage by Hamas. More than 250 young people were savagely murdered, while attending a music festival in Southern Israel. Many shot in the back as they tried to run away. The atrocities are too numerous to fully recount, but the images seen will never leave our memories.

          Since 2021, I have continued to fight to pass my Stop Taxpayer Funding of Hamas Act, to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to perpetuate terrorism in Gaza or fund any United Nations organization teaching anti-Semitic propaganda. Senate Democrats have continuously come to the floor to block this bill, including on Wednesday, October 18th, less than two weeks after the despicable Hamas attack. I will continue to ask for its passage and have recently included a provision ensuring that all hostages held by a terrorist organization have been freed prior to the transfer of any U.S. government funds to Gaza. 

          As Israel continues to face threats to its sovereignty, I remain steadfast in my support. Recently, I led a group of 10 senators urging President Biden to immediately reconvene the G7 nations and take coordinated action to further isolate Iran with severe sanctions; this action will strike the Ayatollah and Iranian mullahs' wealth that directly supports their evil endeavors. I've co-sponsored the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad International Terrorism Support Prevention Act, which imposes sanctions on Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and their affiliated groups. As a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, Israel merits our full support.

          The United States and Israel share a special relationship that has only grown stronger over the years. Our strategic military partnership benefits both nations and contributes to the stability of the Middle East. I have supported legislation calling for the Emergency resupply of Iron Dome funding through the appropriations process. My solidarity and steadfast support for the Israeli people includes providing them with all the tools that they need to deter the terrorist murderers that are committing crimes against humanity on their soil. This year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized funding for the Iron Dome, David's Sling Weapon System, and Arrow 3 Upper Tier Interceptor Program. I will continue to collaborate with my colleagues to protect and defend Israel’s right to exist and defend themselves from terrorists and the Iranian regime. 

          Florida has maintained a strong relationship with Israel, and I have personally championed this partnership throughout my career. As a former Governor, I took a firm stance against discrimination by prohibiting state agencies and local governments from contracting with companies supporting the BDS movement. Additionally, I made over five visits to Israel, emphasizing our robust economic ties and celebrating the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, an important recognition of Israel's historical and cultural significance. I also successfully fought for $2 million in security funding for Jewish Day Schools in Florida for much-needed security and counter-terrorism upgrades such as video cameras, fences, bullet-proof glass, alarm systems and other safety equipment.

          In my role as your United States Senator, I have been actively involved in legislative efforts to combat intolerance and support Israel and the Jewish community. I've sponsored and supported numerous pieces of legislation, including the Preventing Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Act, the Anti-BDS Labeling Act, the Combatting BDS Act, and a resolution condemning acts of violence against Jewish people both in the United States and worldwide. Throughout the state, my team has remained in close contact with Jewish and community leaders to offer support and ensure that the necessary resources are expedited to Israel. I have met with many Rabbis and Jewish leaders to reassure my unwavering commitment to supporting the State of Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas and protecting our Jewish citizens in Florida. Anti-Semitism is a plague on society and must be condemned wherever it is encountered. Our Casework Team has been actively assisting constituents in Israel and Florida's Jewish community who have federal casework issues. If you or anyone you know needs assistance with a federal agency, please contact my team HERE.

          Today and every day, the United States must stand with those who champion freedom and democracy, unequivocally condemn terrorism, and oppose those who disregard human rights. I will remain dedicated to protecting and supporting our ally, Israel, and acting against those who wish to harm it.

          Once again, thank you for reaching out to me. I am honored to support Israel and represent the citizens of Florida, and I appreciate your valuable input on this matter. Should you have any further questions or require additional assistance, please submit a request on my website rickscott.senate.gov on our “Help With A Federal Agency” page.

[eretzyisrael]

When Will a Stand Be Taken Against the Promotion of Murder? - by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld

In civilized societies action should be taken against anyone who expresses the desire to commit murder. The Iranian government, Hamas, Hezbollah, various clerics, and other influential figures within the Muslim world, as well as neo-Nazis and other extreme rightists, openly proclaim their desire to commit murder or even genocide against Jews and Israel. Many in the Western world either refuse to heed these statements or actively support them. Many others relentlessly criticize Israel and remain completely silent about Palestinian promotion of the killing of Jews.

Civilized societies should not be silent when people state their intention to murder even a single person, let alone commit genocide. Many Western politicians and other prominent members of society do not seem to agree with this fundamental truth. In the non-Western world, many people have no inhibitions about saying, directly or indirectly, that they approve of murder in some cases and would personally commit it if the occasion arose. This is most easily seen when the potential victims are Jews. The leaders of Iran, for example, have spent four decades frequently and explicitly expressing their zeal to commit mass murder via the total destruction of the State of Israel. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has used familiar language to state this desire. Earlier this year he employed the phrase “final solution” on his website in yet another call for Israel’s destruction. Perhaps reminded of the phrase’s genocidal origin as the Nazi euphemism for the extermination of European Jewry, Khamenei later invoked a classic antisemitic trope by claiming that the extermination of the predominantly Jewish population of Israel would have nothing to do with Jews. “Eliminating the Zionist regime doesn’t mean eliminating Jews,” he said. “We aren’t against Jews. It means abolishing the imposed regime…Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Palestinians [would] choose their own government and expel thugs like [PM Benjamin] Netanyahu.” This Western-friendly waffling notwithstanding, Khamenei has made no attempt to conceal his true feelings. He has spoken of Israel as a cancer that must be forcibly cut out. In 2018 he tweeted: “Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.” Other leading Iranian figures have spoken out in favor of the destruction of Israel, some explicitly mentioning the leveling of Israeli cities. Yet Iran is allowed to remain an unhindered member of the United Nations. The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas—elected as the majority party by the Palestinians in 2006—also openly and frequently discusses its desire to commit genocide against the Jews. This aspiration is clearly stated in its charter, which states: “Hamas looks forward to implementing Allah’s promise however long it might take. The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: ‘The [Day of Judgment] will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him!’” Senior Hamas officials occasionally call publicly for the murder of Jews. In 2019, Fathi Hammad, a member of the Hamas Politburo, urged members of the Palestinian diaspora to kill Jews around the world. Hammad said: “You have Jews everywhere and we must attack every Jew on the globe by way of slaughter and killing if God permits.” The Palestinian Authority (PA) provides generous financial payments to terrorists and their families. It thus creates a huge incentive for Palestinians to murder Jews in Israel. Nor are these pensions limited to the murderers. If Palestinians are killed in an attempt to murder Jews, the financial benefits they would have received accrue to their families. This amounts to a “pay for slay” policy—in other words, the PA actively promotes and encourages the murder of Jews. In 2019, the PA spent 570 million shekels (about $160 million) on rewards to terrorist prisoners. By August 2019, the Palestinian terrorists who in 2001 killed 15 Israeli civilians—about half of them children—and wounded many more in the Jerusalem Sbarro restaurant bombing had received more than $900,000 from the PA. In May 2020, the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization, Hassan Nasrallah, referred to the creation of Israel as “the establishment of this virus of an entity, this cancerous tumor amidst our umma.” He added, “Israel has no legitimacy to exist at all and must be destroyed.” Clerics and other influential figures within the Muslim world also call for the extermination of Israel and Jews. Some of these figures have a very broad and influential platform. In 2012, the cleric Futuh Abdel Nabi Mansur officiated at a nationally televised service at the Cairo Tenaim Mosque. The service was attended by then Egyptian president Muhammad Morsi. The cleric said, “O Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters; O Allah, disperse them and rend them asunder; O Allah, demonstrate your might and greatness upon them.” Morsi could be seen saying “Amen.” There is also prominent support for murderers elsewhere in the Muslim world. On November 18, 2014, two Muslim terrorists from East Jerusalem murdered six people at a Jerusalem synagogue, including a heroic Israeli Druze policeman. The terrorists were killed. The next day, Jordanian parliamentarians held a moment of silence for the murderers. They read aloud verses of the Quran “to glorify [the terrorists’] pure souls and the souls of all the martyrs in the Arab and Muslim nations.” The Jordanian PM, Abdullah Ensour, sent a condolence letter to the families of the terrorists in which he ”[asked] God to envelop [the terrorists] with mercy.” Neo-Nazis and other extreme rightists also call publicly for “death to the Jews.” Some have carried this out, as was seen in massacres at two US synagogues. In a similar case in Germany in October 2019, only a strong door stood between Jews praying inside the Halle synagogue on Yom Kippur and a man who had come to slaughter them. These murderous individuals, while very dangerous, have only local capabilities as yet and are thus not in the same criminal league as Muslim countries and major terrorist organizations that promote murder and genocide. Beyond the would-be mass murderers themselves are those who finance and promote them. Iran and Qatar make money available to Hamas that enables the group to finance its anti-Israel operations—money that it withholds from its own population to further its own ends. Several Western and other countries give money to the PA, a body that openly promotes murder. They claim their money is not being used to pay pensions to terrorists and their families, but they have no way of ascertaining this. The PA can use whatever funds it has available, including donor funds, to pay Palestinians to kill Jews. In the Western world, a variety of senior figures and bodies exhibit the opinion that when Jews are the target, the promotion of murder or genocide ceases to be objectionable. Some of them go so far as to directly promote the interests of the murderers. A striking example is former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who welcomed representatives of Hamas and Hezbollah to the House of Commons and called them his “friends” and “brothers.” Others include former US President Jimmy Carter and Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 2014, they co-signed an op-ed in The Guardian suggesting that Europe and the US should recognize Hamas as a political movement. They failed to mention that Hamas is an organization with genocidal aspirations. This was a showcase of senior human rights advocates promoting the interests of would-be mass murderers. The Dutch government advisory body Adviesraad Internationale Vraagstukken (AIV, or Advisory Council of Foreign Affairs) is in the same category. It issued a report in 2013 recommending contacts between the EU, the Netherlands, and Hamas. The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) wrote to Dutch PM Mark Rutte to disband the AIV for this recommendation, which would obviously come at Israel’s expense. The AIV’s recommendations were not accepted, but the organization was not disbanded. Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, does not bother to conceal his comfort with the extermination of the State of Israel. He said in an interview: “Iran wants to wipe out Israel. Nothing new about that; you have to live with it.” Another category—a major one—is those who freely criticize Israel but never mention the criminality of the major Palestinian bodies. They certainly never acknowledge those bodies’ open promotion of murder and genocide. If they criticize the Palestinians at all, they do so superficially and focus on other issues. One influential person who does this is US Senator Bernie Sanders, a Jewish politician who was a leading contender for the US Democratic presidential nomination. When he addressed the Israeli-Palestinian problem during his campaign, he spoke of the Palestinians’ dignity and called the Israeli government “racist.” European parliamentarians regularly criticize Israel while averting their eyes from Palestinian invocations of genocide and murder. In the Netherlands, at least one-third of the 150 parliamentarians have done this. In the Swedish and Norwegian governments the percentage is probably higher. Then there are those who unintentionally help would-be genocidal murderers. In 2015, then US President Barack Obama initiated the extremely flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement with Iran, which enabled the Iranians to sustain their quest for nuclear weapons with impunity and intensify their subversive and terrorist activities in the Middle East. In the context of this analysis one should also look at what is often called “Holocaust inversion.” This is exhibited by people who claim Israel intends to exterminate the Palestinians and/or that Israel is like the Nazis. In 2020, the Hungarian Action and Protection League commissioned a report by Hungary’s Inspira Ltd in which interviews were held with members of the adult population between the ages of 18-75 in 16 European countries. Twenty-four percent said they believe Israelis behave like Nazis toward the Palestinians. The main representative study before Inspira was published in 2011 by the University of Bielefeld on behalf of the German Social Democratic Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Their research was undertaken in seven European countries. The interviewers polled 1,000 people per country over the age of 16 in the fall of 2008. One question was whether they agreed with the assertion that Israel is carrying out a war of extermination against the Palestinians. The lowest percentages of those who agreed were in Italy and the Netherlands, with 38% and 39% respectively. Other figures were Hungary 41%, the UK 42%, Germany 48%, and Portugal 49%. In Poland, the figure was an astonishing 63%. It is not only Europe’s leaders who have lost their moral grounding. These results reflect the profound moral decay of major segments of the population of the European continent.

[the-record-columns]

Oct. 23, 2019: Columns

Ava Dowell — ‘My Journey’

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Ava Dowell is truly in inspiration just to be around.

She speaks from the heart, a thankful and faithful heart, of her life with cancer. She has become a nationwide advocate for Breast Cancer Research and help for dealing with cancer and its survivors--which she proudly numbers at nearly four million women. 

A Wilkes native, Dowell has spent much of her life in Seattle, and her tireless advocacy and work on breast cancer awareness is celebrated during "Ava Dowell Day" there.

She is referred to by many as the Wilkes Face of Breast Cancer. This past Saturday she sponsored a Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon at the Wilkes County Public Library in North Wilkesboro.  Among the various handouts was a copy of what she refers to as "My Journey," It follows below.

My Journey

During my annual mammogram in April 2011, the image did not detect a tumor that was in my right breast.  (As I have learned later, this was due to the density within the breast.)  However, three months later while showering, I noticed this lump-like knot grossly protruding from my right breast.  I was in total shock!  It had been lying dormant and unnoticed.

I contacted my primary doctor immediately, and she ordered a MRI and biopsy.  I was diagnosed with TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER, a very serious Breast Cancer diagnosis.  My awesome medical team recommended that I seek a second medical opinion.  The Seattle Cancer Alliance Center confirmed the original diagnosis. My next step was to meet with the oncology surgeon.  I knew that I needed support to help me navigate this important meeting.  I asked my girlfriend of 30 years to attend the meeting with me.  Also, the Director of the Breast Cancer Survivor Group (Angel Care), who is also a breast cancer survivor, was able to attend as well.

  As you would imagine, the whole situation was overwhelming.  All of us listened carefully and took many notes.  After many long exasperated hours of prayer, discussions, etc., I opted for bilateral mastectomies; followed by eight aggressive cycles of chemotherapy.  The chemo drugs felt like a human mass of fungus flowing though my body.

  Through it all, I knew that I would not let breast cancer, and the negative effects of chemotherapy treatment defeat me!  I was going to FIGHT this Cancer!  My medical team had explained to me about the daunting pros and cons of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.  I didn't allow my medical team, including my primary care doctor of 29 years, influence my thinking.  I was going to succeed.

  The diagnosis of CANCER has made me look at my life and how I want to live it.  I believe I have a God given purpose to be a change agent for spreading breast cancer awareness.  I am now an advocate for breast cancer research and educating women on the importance of early detection.

  I am committed to attending breast cancer symposiums and conferences to further my education.  My mission is to be a voice to women who need the moral support to fight this terrible disease.

  It doesn't matter what type of Breast Cancer or the Stage of your diagnosis.  The bottom line is making sure you get the best treatment possible, and that means EARLY DETECTION!!!!!  Please join me...not only get your examination, also talk to family, friends, etc., to ensure they do the same.

  Support one another with God in your heart.  Together we can find a CURE.

  Many blessings to you all.

   Ava Dowell

  “Attention Please: Halloween Has Been Cancelled”

By HEATHER DEAN

Record Reporter

The words in the headline of this column is exactly what some children across the nation are hearing from their school system administrations.

The reasoning is that Halloween is not an inclusive enough holiday.

Chicago school district said, “As part of our school and district-wide commitment to equity, we are focused on building community and creating inclusive, welcoming environments for all. While we recognize that Halloween is a fun tradition for many, it is not a holiday that is celebrated by everyone for various reasons and we want to honor that. We are also aware of the range of inequities that are embedded in Halloween celebrations that take place as part of the school day and the unintended negative impact that it can have on students, families, and staff. As a result, we support our schools that are moving away from Halloween celebrations that include costumes and similar traditions.”

The scary part? It’s not just in Illinois. This has been taking hold with Iowa, Connecticut, and New Jersey on the list, some cancelling parades, zombie walks, and even trick or treating citing safety issues.  Other states, including Delaware, Alabama, Missouri, California, Virginia, New York and Georgia, have strict rules for trick or treating.

Halloween has been celebrated in this country since the late 1600’s and evolved across the years from America’s melting pot of immigrant cultures. So, it’s under attack why, exactly? Avoiding hurt feelings? Slacking on the part of Educations system?  Nah, just follow the money and the people behind it…

Corporations continue to rack up. Halloween comes in second only to Christmas in spending, with an average $2.5 billion a year and gaining, and continues on the upward slant of becoming people’s favorite (guilt-free) holiday.  And why wouldn’t it be?  It’s the one day a year you can be anything you want, differences don’t matter, and everyone gets a treat regardless.

Halloween is firmly planted in our society; it’s as American as pumpkin pie for goodness sake. But that’s not what many in the Church want to hear.  In 2017, a poll showed that 87 percent of believers feel that Christians should not celebrate Halloween, while 13 percent believe it’s okay. I mean it’s got to encompass at least four of the seven sins, right? Some may consider that percentage low, but I can tell you first hand that many in this county refuse to be a part of our annual Halloween Parade, (even though it’s a fundraiser for a non-profit that benefits kids in this county) citing religious beliefs.  

My childhood religion was part of the 87 percent to the extreme. Growing up in what I fondly refer to as “the cult” we were not allowed to celebrate any holiday. During class birthday, Valentines Day, and St. Patrick’s Day parties, class field trips to see the symphony perform a Christmas show at the Walker Center, even making Mothers’ Day cards, we had to go sit in the library and do school work. Attending the school’s “fall festival” was walking a tight line, because many of the staff dressed up in costume and handed out candy. Even then, I would never consider it fair to cancel a holiday just because of us three kids who didn’t celebrate.

Here in Wilkes, I know of children who’s only Halloween celebration they will get is in the class, because families can’t afford costumes, or gas to take the kids out.  And what’s next, telling an entire class of elementary students that they can’t color handouts of Hanukah or Kwanza candles, and Yule logs because they are “not a holiday that is celebrated by everyone for various reasons?”  

Since North Carolina is not on this list yet, may I ask a small favor? Don’t be a Halloween Nazi.

If a kid comes to your door, festival or trunk-or-treat, and you judge them to be “too old for this” just give them the candy anyway. At least they aren’t in a gang, vandalizing, or doing drugs. They say it takes a village, so I admonish you to keep “building community and creating inclusive, welcoming environments for all” in your Halloween festivities, not the lack thereof.  

No Peace or Prosperity for the average "Palestinian"

By AMBASSADOR EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

The Palestinian leadership is basically divided into two entities.  One is Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist organization, which governs Gaza, and the other is the PA/PLO.  The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) is the national representative of the Palestinian people. It runs the Palestinian National Authority (PA), the semi-autonomous government tasked with managing the Palestinian territories (until it makes a deal with Israel). Fatah, the secular nationalist political party that’s dominated Palestinian politics for decades, controls the PLO and PA.  In practice, the PLO runs the government in the West Bank but not in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas. It also conducts peace talks on behalf of the Palestinians, but its authority to implement those deals has, in the past, been hampered by poor relations with Hamas.

Hamas, which won the last Palestinian election and controls the Gaza Strip, rejected the recent “Peace and Prosperity Plan” being discussed since Hamas is guided by the Islamic principle of “Jihad” – holy war against the non-believers – and openly rejects Israel’s very right to exist. Any plan that does not wipe Israel off the face of the globe is, was, and always will be, unacceptable.  For them to accept any plan that changes the status quo, the PA/PLO would have to give up their eternal narrative of victim-hood and accept Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state with defensible borders.  Somehow the woes of twenty-five years of failed leadership for the Palestinian people are all blamed on Israel. It's time for the world to encourage a new path for those calling themselves Palestinians.  If the Palestinian people truly want a better life, it’s time they end their perpetual discourse which defines them as constantly facing adversity and suffering loss and blaming it all on Israel.  It's time for the Palestinians to move forward toward a future defined by dignity, integrity, honesty and a heartfelt desire for peace and cooperative existence. Their biggest enemy is not Israel nor the United States.  The biggest enemy of the Palestinian people is the evil dwelling within their own hearts, minds, culture and ideology.  For decades they have blamed the Israeli “occupation” for everything deemed wrong in their lives thus absolving themselves of any responsibility. Until the Palestinians change their mindset and embrace values conducive to nurturing an atmosphere of peace, they will never move an inch toward gaining a better and brighter future – with or without an independent state.

So, why has the Palestinian leadership rejected the Peace and Prosperity Plan?  To begin with, the plan demands accountability.  The reforms which the Peace and Prosperity Plan suggested to the Palestinian legal, educational, and health systems reflected deep-seated and wholly justifiable criticism of the failed, biased, and ineffectual systems of the PA/PLO, which has abused billions of dollars of donor aid. But the primary obstacle came when the US authors of the plan dared to state that the financial resources raised would not be given directly to the PA/PLO but rather would be “administered by a multilateral development bank” that would ensure its efficient and effective allocation so that “all the Palestinians – not just the wealthy and connected – share in the benefits of peace.” This is the real reason for the PA/PLO rejection of the plan. It's no secret that for years the Palestinian leaders have fed their own bank accounts with millions of dollars of donor aid. This is how the late Yasser Arafat, president of the PA, was able to maintain a residence in Paris on the Champs Elysees in which his wife resided most of the time.  The current president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, a.k.a Abu Mazen, has an estimated net worth of well over $100 million much of which is believed to have come from embezzlement. 

In order to maintain wealth, power and authority, it’s advantageous to keep the masses poor, downtrodden and agitated.  This, in a nutshell, is why the leaders of the Palestinian people have rejected a plan that would have given the average Palestinian a shot at a life of peace and modest prosperity.

The Cake Went Upside Down

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

It was a busy weekend for on location productions. It all started early Saturday at the Taylorsville Apple Festival as we continued our search for some of the tastiest apple pies in the Carolinas. Cameras were on location early enough to see the morning come alive.  

We were aware of the reputation of two fried apple pie makers and were in time to witness the line of people waiting for the pies before the festival officially opened. It was a great visit with the pie makers and those who were in line for not just one pie, but 10 to 20 pies.

The fresh hot apple cider was also a big treat. We watched as the apples we put in a grinder and then into a crusher to make pure juice. It was heated and then served; No need to add sugar, Mother Nature added the perfect amount.

It was then time to join camera crew members already in Hudson, NC. This was the beginning of our two-day coverage and stage production around Jan Karon Days. Jan was born in the Dula Hospital in Lenoir and then lived with her grandparents in Hudson as a child.  

Jan Karon is best known and admired for her New York Times bestselling Mitford novels. Her accomplishments are significant and that’s why the first celebration of Jan Karon Days was so special.  

Our involvement started a few months prior with call from Hudson resident and Commissioner Ann Smith. It was during that conversation that I became more than a little intrigued with idea of doing a segment around Hudson and Jan Karon.

Little did I know from that call the story would turn into far more than a short segment. As our research developed, I filled my Audible book listening line up with Mitford books.    

As many of you know, I spend a great deal of time traveling the Carolinas for story research, development or on location production. All that translates to a lot of time for me to think and listen.

Father Tim and many of the Mitford residents became my traveling companions. There were many moments of laughter, reflection and consideration. While I enjoy reading, I love hearing a story come to life with the spoken word.

After many visits and calls with the dynamic trio of Ann, Cathy and Janice at the HUB Center in Hudson, we were ready for our action-packed weekend.

Everyone was in place for the 11:30 a.m., Jan Parade which featured a blending of local dignitaries and Mitford personalities. Jan rode in a red convertible driven by Father Tim and her car would slow and stop as fans approached.

The parade was delightfully charming with seemingly endless smiles.

And then it was time for a special lunch gathering. The lunch was preset and consisted of very healthy portions of a tasty chicken salad, pasta salad, assorted cheeses and grapes. The center piece of each table was a beautiful Orange Marmalade Cake.

All was going well. I shared a table with our crew and Hudson leaders. We were all enjoying our chicken salad but there was much talk about the cake. I decided that I would cut the cake. Some wanted smaller pieces, and some wanted larger pieces.  Regardless of the size, we all loved the cake and with almost half remaining, it was time for a few smaller second pieces. So…I went in to do my work once again. The thing that I did not consider was the fact that I had already cut half the cake and the weight of the remaining cake was mostly on one side. As I went in for the second round, I touched the side of the cake stand. I’m not sure how, but it was as if time slowed as we all watched the remaining cake turn completely upside down.  

Amazement and laughter ensued; everyone looked our way and the chef arrived with an offer to bring a new cake.

The rest of the day went well and ended with a dinner theater experience.

But one thing is for sure, the Upside-Down Orange Marmalade Cake is best enjoyed with friends and laughter.

Thanks for the memoires Jan.

I’ll tell you about Sunday next week. It was a grand day indeed.

Carl White is the Executive Producer and Host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In The Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its 11th year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturday’s at noon and My 12. The show also streams on Amazon Prime. For more information visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com. You can email Carl at Carl@lifeinthecarolinas.com

[queernuck]

Are We There Yet: Metapolitics, Metaphysics, & Revolution.

A joke common among UChicago students, found on t-shirts and other memorabilia, is “That’s all well and good in practice...but what about theory?” Largely derived from a sort of reversal on the relationship between engineering and physics students, as well as between physicists who see themselves as more “material” and thus “practical” in that they more directly inform the thinkability, the space of thought possible for engineers, it jokes about the way in which UChicago has very well-known programs in physics, in theoretical mathematics, in many disciplines of the refused-metaphysical that are better known that the departments one might associate with a school such as MIT. Of course, this also leads us to invoking the Chicago Boys, and the larger neoliberal bent of UChicago as a school: the school’s hospital was famously resistant to adding an Emergency Unit, the continued employment of Friedman was a major means of spreading neoliberal ideology throughout economics departments as a whole, creating the sort of rhizomal exchange of ideology that solidified neoliberal policy, and more than that how the Chicago Boys were part of an American neocolonial invasion, the preparation and enacting of what presents itself as a fascist, genocidal intervention in Chile through the installation and support of Pinochet, the likes of which is being mirrored through postmodern and neocolonial means of control in nations like Venezuela. We can see very easily the practice, but what of the theory?

To evoke Badiou’s discussion of Rancière, and the “thinkability” of politics, the way in which groups such as the Chicago Boys influence the political is not merely through their economics: if neoliberal policies are desired, they will be enacted. Politics that are neoliberal in character, in ideological maneuvering, predate the neoliberal realm of thought. However, what the creation of neoliberal ideology does is that it makes-thinkable the neoliberal, it makes it such that one can create a structure of justification, of realization whereby the neoliberal becomes not merely a program of rejection or austerity, but in fact is realized in a positive fashion. This is where Žižek might say the European Union failed in large part in Greece, even while succeeding: the structures of austerity imposed were known not as austerity, but as reforms in the name of neoliberal growth, a specific stoking that would bring Greece back to the threshold of proper European appearances. This very plainly did not work, and yet the debt continued to pile up. The austerity was to be solved only by more austerity, the creation of infinite cyclic debts, debts never meant to be paid, were part of a symbolic exchange through which the neoliberal creation of a simulacra of Greece could be realized and woven into the already-simulated Greek economy. While American parlance called certain economic actions “stimulus packages” it is perhaps more accurate to call them stimulated packages, in that the shifting of commodities at hand is one that stimulates certain flows of a natural, healthy economy with the hope that a sort of sympathetic magic will then develop the proper response from the market. Of course it is more complicated than that, but I wish to use that as an illustrative notion in order to critique the ideology of neoliberal structure, of neoliberal acts of ordination, such that we may do the same of our own politics, our own metapolitical holdings.

America adopts the democratic paradigm even in its war crimes: the joke about bombs representing democracy is often echoed among left-liberals, but is itself found among those on the right wishing to offer the same sentiment: that the acts of deterritorializing violence are colonial, are not representative of the democratic ideal the United States is founded on. In the case of reactionaries one finds a certain turn to this, one unsurprisingly often repeated by liberals, that this presents the necessary deterritorializing force through which democracy may be realized. Democracy is unthinkable so long as the city stands, so long as a city against the colonizer can present itself, even if it does so amidst structures of fascist resistance. This is how entire states are ordained as terrorist: the specific means by which legitimizations of violence against Hamas have been spread through a deterritorialization carried out from the seat of an F-15. It is not in attacking every village, every building that one creates assemblages of terror, but rather in creating a means by which any attack may be justified within the larger oppositions of terror, assemblages of terrorist bodies, that one finds the act of supposed-democracy carried out by the IDF’s Air Force. That the genealogy of these aircraft is directly descended from American stock is unsurprising, as America has been hegemonically the arbiter of democratic success for decades, especially following the fall of the Soviet Union: the vacuum left by the end of this conflict was quickly filled by the means in which American ideology realized that the spread of democracy could apply not only to the Soviet Other, but to any potential colonial subject deemed undemocratic. This forms the process by which one finds the American gaze fixated in Orientalist, Balkanized, neoliberal means: it is not in bringing democracy, but in bringing a connection to the democratic structure of American imperial control that one is able to reconcile the democracy of American colonialism and the ideology of the American state. 

When comparing action and ideology, the very means by which questions of success or failure are ordained is largely toward ends that specifically are contained within the vast and eternal scope of the capitalist act of coherence: a protest is only meaningful if it can realize itself within capitalism, even if it has anticapitalist ends. Occupy Wall Street was largely met with mild reforms and some symbolic gestures of acquiescence, far from the radical critiques many hoped to make within it. Demands to end the violence of policing are met with body cameras on gay cops. This is not to condemn these actions, nor to condemn the larger structure of advocacy. However, it is part of realizing that neoliberal inquiry, imposition, is part of advocacy and that there is only a specific break when the measure between ideal and action is outside the possibilities of liberal politics. One such movement is the movement towards the riot. 

When we riot, why are we rioting? The means by which the left have adopted various justifications for rioting as a sort of strategic rejoinder to reactionary critique is understandable, as the means by which these politics reckon actions has the benefit of hegemonic rearticulation, of capitalist reterritorialization, on its side. It can name marches, protests, strikes that are amenable to a postmodern gaze, it may even institute images of police brutality (always antiblack or antisemitic or homophobic or otherwise repeating violence) in order to critique itself retrospectively for harms it still commits. Conversely, the riot is now, is here, is going on and perhaps even of our own doing. The line between protest and riot can grow thin, and when hegemony favors fascism the confrontation is by nature uneven. It is through a creation of the democratic political ideal We have found ourselves asking this question without realization in many ways, and the common theme of organization, the notion that action will present itself as the best means of moving forward, has been a persistent but largely untenable one in the wake of Charlottesville. What is necessary for the theoretical, as well as for “theory” as a particular theoretical, is specifically contained within larger articulations of the relationship between the ideological and the concept of what constitutes action, measures of politics that effectively proscribe the means by which one moves forward.

Obviously, commonality of desire can be a strong point of organization, but this must be at once investigated specifically because of how flows of desire can so quickly be restructured, directed by machines of capital such that they are eventually contained within machines of the despotic, bureaucratic body, coopoted by parties of socialism through reformation, as if this goal were meaningfully possible while maintaining the structures of capital that make such politics possible. It is an ideological turn that makes these reformist solutions thinkable, and to accept them as anything other than attempts at creating conditions which will eventually be seized by proletarian revolution is to effectively capitulate to the neoliberal sphere of acceptability that many of these politics eventually rely upon. Recognizing that it is through a metapolitical arbitration, instead, that one must articulate a certain thought, that it is in making a politics first thinkable, and then articulating from that, that one is able to create the politics of revolutionary thought. However, that particular process is so often confused by questions of what is necessary versus what must be maintained as best. Some accept the notion of a Vanguard because they believe that it is not only the best means of realizing socialist change, but the only possible one, arguably entering into a sort of ontological acceptance of the Vanguard that can allow for a far too eager imposition of “Vanguard” as a label. Conversely, the commitment to the rejection of politics of a Vanguard as a means of articulating an anti-hierarchical commitment, even as part of organizing without hierarchical realization in one’s organization is criticized for not presenting a meaningful alternative, for not suggesting how the changes at hand are to be discussed, much less implemented. Change may be thinkable, but moreover in a revolutionary sense it must be matched with an understanding of material conditions that rejects bourgeoisie reckonings of the social and instead questions these structures at their most basic.

Deconstructive critique of neoliberal ideology, acting in a sort of reterritorializing fashion that follows behind neoliberalism, can be an incredibly effective means of discussing structural violence, of critiquing the neoliberal ideation as realized through the political, but that this process of measuring is so often reliant upon bourgeoisie structures of knowability, of articulation, of what constitutes meaningful experience cannot be ignored. Instead, it must be taken as part of the larger task of making revolutionary thought thinkable, the way in which consciousness can originate from the proletariat itself. That there are reactionary elements within the proletariat, the structural presence of the labor aristocracy, the aspirations to petit-bourgeoisie status, well-to-do peasants, is part of realizing that international resistance to colonial violence is just that: international, reliant upon the means by which colonial separation has created these delineations and reterritorialized topographies that often require negotiating, if not entirely rejecting, identities such as national character. The metaphysical of this, the metaphysics of metapolitics, comes to the fore at this point: the metapolitical can be an arbitration of what politics are best suited for a certain contingency, for discussing certain aims with certain supposed colonial subjects, but where must we draw these conclusions from? What then, constitutes knowing, constitutes the Other, constitutes meaningful encounter rather than simply passing political theatre? Perhaps there may even be a joy, a certain discordant tune to be heard in the theatre of politics, in the poetry of the philosophical communist, in the very sort of champagne socialism that has been forced upon us by reactionary flows of ideological renaming. The metaphysical duty lies in creating the thinkable, but moreover in where the thinkable becomes-thinkable, what it is that is thinkable as a result.

[libertariantaoist]

What in the name of Allah is going on with the  spat between Qatar, on one side, and the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates,  and most of the rest of the Arab states on the other? Accusations that Qatar  is the fulcrum of “terrorism” in the region, emanating from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi  – the twin epicenters of Islamic extremism on earth – seemed to have been broadcast  from Bizarro World. And the incident that sparked the controversy — in which  much of the Arab world, led by the Saudis, blockaded tiny Qatar — added the  extra-hot spice of cyber-espionage to an already indigestible dish.

Shortly after President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he announced  his “anti-terrorist” initiative, the web site of the Qatar News Agency, run  by the Qatari government, was hacked.  A “fake news” story was posted by the hackers, purporting to describe a speech  given by the current Emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad  al-Thani, in which he called for better relations with Iran, praised Hamas and  Hezbollah, and predicted that Trump’s term in the White House would be short.  

Despite the Qataris’ claim – since verified  by the FBI, according  to Qatar’s foreign minister – that the Qatar News Agency site had been hacked,  and that the Emir had given no such speech, both the Saudis and the UAE, through  their official media outlets, launched a campaign targeting Qatar. Overflight  rights were revoked: diplomatic contacts ended: Qatar citizens were forbidden  to enter Saudi/UAE territory even to change planes. And in a public  statement delivered in the rose garden of the White House President Trump  clearly sided with the Saudi/UAE consortium, complementing a series of remarkably  stupid tweets that basically said the same thing.

The US news media managed to get a  Russian angle on all this, claiming that “Russian hackers” were behind the  targeting of the Qatar News Agency: as usual they offered no evidence for this  assertion. Yet just who was behind this hacking incident seems crucial to understanding  the real genesis of – and motive behind – the Qatar controversy, which could  augur a new regional crisis possibly dragging in Iran.

So let’s look at the timeline in the context  of yet  another hacking incident, this one involving the hotmail account of Yousef  Al-Otaiba, the UAE’s well-connected ambassador to the US. The hackers, who call  themselves “GlobalLeaks,” released a tranche of emails between Al-Taiba and  individuals connected to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD).  The Foundation is a pro-Israel thinktank originally called “Emet:  An Educational Initiative, Inc.,” founded in 2001 by a group of pro-Israel  billionaires and designed to blunt growing American sympathy for the Palestinians.  FDD has since expanded its mission, under chief honcho Clifford May, to encompass  a full-scale projection of Israeli propaganda in the US. The Otaiba-FDD emails  reveal extensive cooperation between the ostensibly ultra-Islamic UAE – which,  like its Saudi allies and much of the Arab world, has never recognized the state  of Israel — and the staunchly Zionist FDD. (See some of the emails here, here, here, and  here.)  A great deal of the back and forth is between FDD general counsel and former  Bush era National Security Advisor John Hannah and Mr. Al-Otaiba.

The emails detail FDD’s efforts to show Al-Otaiba that UAE companies doing  business with Iran need to be sanctioned: a “target list” is included. The correspondence  also details plans for a June 11-14 meeting with FDD personnel and UAE political  and military officials, including the ambassador, FDD CEO Mark Dubowitz, and  former US defense secretary Robert Gates. And most significantly, on the agenda  was “discussion of possible U.S./UAE policies to positively impact Iranian internal  situation” including “political, economic, military, intelligence, and cyber  tools” designed to “contain and defeat Iranian aggression.”

Hmmmm… “cyber tools,” eh?

Now add to the timeline this  reporting by the New York Times:

“[T]hree days after the Trump meeting  in Riyadh, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies held a conference in  Washington dedicated to criticism of Qatar, titled ‘Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood’s  Global Affiliates.’

“Robert M. Gates, the former defense secretary and a friend of Mr. Otaiba,  gave the keynote. Attendees included many of the authors of the critical op-ed  articles and senior Obama administration officials. Organizers encouraged Mr.  Otaiba to attend, and his staff sent Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, a detailed  report.

“No representative of Qatar was invited. The hack of the Qatari news agency  took place after midnight that night.”

What a coincidence!

As this  piece in the Washington Post puts it, the speculation that “Russian  hackers” under Russian state control are behind the Qatar hack is “unlikely.”  Emails from the hackers bearing Russian “(.ru) addresses seem designed to put  detectives off the trail. The Post piece avers that hackers-for-hire  were the responsible parties, but the question is: who were they working for?

Which leads us to a larger question: who benefits?  Clearly both the Saudis and the Israelis – whose semi-clandestine alliance has  been documented in  this space – had everything to gain from this intra-Arab spat. United by  fear and hatred of Iran, Riyadh and Tel Aviv have been quietly cooperating to  unite the Sunni Arabs against Iran – and draw the United States into open conflict  with Tehran. Both abhorred and denounced the Iran deal, and are seeking to actively  undermine it: that’s another item at the top of the FDD/UAE meet up.

Another factor is the relationship between Mr.  Al-Taiba and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a powerful figure in the  administration: the ambassador has been described as Kushner’s “mentor”  when it comes to schooling him on all matters Middle Eastern. Kushner, for his  part, is a strong advocate for Israel.

There are no innocents, no “good guys” in this  part of the world: the reality is that all of these Middle Eastern actors have  been subsidizing terrorist outfits, in Syria and elsewhere. The Saudis are perhaps  the worst  offenders: their worldwide  network of radical Wahabist mosques and “educational” outfits has been pushing  a terrorist agenda for decades. The UAE has also been a lucrative source of  funding for radical Islamic terrorism, notably in Afghanistan  and Pakistan. And while Qatar has not been stingy in this regard, its stance  has been notably non-sectarian: while they’ve given support to the Muslim Brotherhood  – perhaps the least radical Sunni organization – they are also capable of sending  official  congratulations to recently re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.  This is their great “sin” in the eyes of the Saudi-led Sunni Axis: they have  tried to mediate the Sunni-Shi’ite religious war, which threatens the entire  region with the kind of bloody turmoil that occasioned Europe’s Thirty Years’ War between  Catholics and Protestants.

 The idea that Qatar is solely responsible for the growth and development of  Middle Eastern terrorism is laughable on its face: that narrative simply won’t  stand even the most careless scrutiny. And the proposition that Saudi Arabia  is any kind of anti-terrorist bulwark is a cruel joke. That the Trump administration  is taking this line is absolutely criminal: it amounts to appeasing and succoring  the epicenter of radical Islamic  terrorism.

The crazy notion that Iran is the world’s leading  exporter of terrorism is a page right out of the Israeli-Saudi playbook: for  the Trump administration to echo this nonsense contradicts the facts and contravenes  American interests in the region. For it is the  Saudis who have been funding and arming ISIS, and al-Qaeda, in Syria. And  the Israelis have openly  proclaimed their preference  for ISIS over Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. It is radical Sunni fundamentalists,  not pro-Iranian Shi’ites, who have been conducting a global jihad against American  and European targets. Iran is fighting ISIS in Syria – while the US in bombing  Syrian government troops, the main obstacle to the ISIS/al-Qaeda forces.

The Saudi-Qatari conflict has all the hallmarks  of a joint Saudi-Israeli operation, complete with cyber-hacking, a full-scale  propaganda war, and a clueless Uncle Sam stupidly falling for a brazen deception.  What’s amazing is that, despite the plethora of evidence that the whole thing  is a pretty transparent put up job, the usual suspects continue to get away  with it.

[bamboomarket72-blog]

“We Try to Learn Every Terrorist Attack”: Inside the Top-Secret Israeli Anti-Terrorism Operation That’s Changing the Game

I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed. —Psalm 18:37 (motto of Israel’s clandestine counterterror squad)

On a spring evening in late April, I traveled to a fortified compound in the Ayalon Valley between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The location is not identified on Waze, the Israeli-built navigation tool, and so, as far as my app-addled cabdriver was concerned, it does not exist. Then again, the same could be said for its inhabitants: YAMAM, a band of counterterror operatives whose work over the last four decades has been shrouded in secrecy.

Upon arrival at the group’s headquarters, which has all the architectural warmth of a supermax, I made my way past a phalanx of Israeli border police in dark-green battle-dress uniforms and into a blastproof holding pen where my credentials were scanned, my electronic devices were locked away, and I received a lecture from a counter-intelligence officer who was nonplussed that I was being granted entrée to the premises. “Do not reveal our location,” he said. “Do not show our faces. And do not use our names.” Then he added, grimly, and without a hint of irony, “Try to forget what you see.”

YAMAM is the world’s most elite—and busiest—force of its kind, and its expertise is in high demand in an era when ISIS veterans strike outside their remaining Middle East strongholds and self-radicalized lone wolves emerge to attack Western targets. “Today, after Barcelona,” says Gilad Erdan, who for the past three years has been Israel’s minister for public security, “after Madrid, after Manchester, after San Bernardino—everyone needs a unit like YAMAM.” More and more, the world’s top intelligence and police chiefs are calling on YAMAM (a Hebrew acronym that means “special police unit”). During his first month on the job, recalls Erdan, “I got requests from 10 countries to train together.”

I made my way to the office of YAMAM’s 44-year-old commander, whose name is classified. I am therefore obliged to refer to him by an initial, “N,” as if he were a Bond character. N’s eyes are different colors (the result of damage sustained during a grenade blast). His shaved head and hulking frame give him the vibe of a Jewish Vin Diesel. At his side, he keeps an unmuzzled, unbelievably vicious Belgian shepherd named Django.

Near Tel Aviv, Israel. March 1978. The aftermath of a bus assault by P.L.O. guerrillas, which claimed the lives of 37 Israelis and wounded 71.

Photograph by Shmuel Rachmani/AP Images.

Last fall, Israeli officials agreed to provide Vanity Fair unprecedented access to some of YAMAM’s activities, facilities, and undercover commandos. When I asked N why his superiors had chosen to break with their predecessors’ decades of silence, he gave an uncharacteristically sentimental response: “It’s important for operators’ families to hear about our successes.” (Field “operators,” as they are called, are exclusively male; women sometimes serve in intelligence roles.) N does not discount less magnanimous reasons for cooperating, however.

First, YAMAM has devised new methodologies for responding to terrorist incidents and mass shootings, which it is sharing with its counterparts across the globe. (More on this shortly.) Second, Israel, as an occupying power, faces international condemnation for its heavy-handed approach toward the Palestinians; as a result, some top officials evidently felt it was time to reveal the fact that governments—including a few of Israel’s more vocal critics on the world stage—often turn to them, sotto voce, for help with their most intractable security problems. And last come the bragging rights—perhaps the unit’s most meaningful rationale.

YAMAM, it so happens, recently won a bitter, 40-year bureaucratic battle with Sayeret Matkal, a secretive special-forces squad within the Israel Defense Forces (I.D.F.). Sayeret Matkal was formerly the ne plus ultra in this realm; indeed, Vanity Fair, in an article published right after the 9/11 attacks, called the group “the most effective counterterrorism force in the world.” It counts among its alumni political leaders, military generals, and key figures in Israel’s security establishment. And yet, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Sayeret Matkal veteran, had to quietly designate one unit to be the national counterterror A-team, he chose YAMAM over his old contingent, which specializes in long-distance reconnaissance and complex overseas missions.

Netanyahu’s decision, supported by some of the prime minister’s fiercest foes, had all the sting of President Barack Obama’s selection of the navy’s SEAL Team Six (over the army’s Delta Force) to conduct the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. YAMAM is part of the national police force—not the military or the Mossad, which is Israel’s C.I.A., or the Shin Bet, the country’s domestic-security service, which is more akin to Britain’s M.I.5. And yet, in recent months, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has blurred some of the lines between these agencies’ duties. YAMAM’s primary focus involves foiling terror plots, engaging militants during attacks, combating crime syndicates, and blunting border incursions. In contrast, the military, in addition to protecting Israel’s security, is often called upon to respond to West Bank demonstrations, using what human-rights activists often consider excessive force. But as Hamas has continued to organize protests along the fence that separates Israel and Gaza, I.D.F. snipers have been killing Palestinians, who tend to be unarmed. What’s more, Hamas has sent weaponized kites and balloons into Israel, along with mortar and rocket barrages, prompting devastating I.D.F. air strikes. While members of the YAMAM have participated in these missions as well, they have largely played a secondary role.

Off and on for a year, I followed N and his team as they traveled, trained, and exchanged tactics with their American, French, and German counterparts on everything from retaking passenger trains to thwarting complex attacks from cadres of suicide bombers and gunmen firing rocket-propelled grenades. YAMAM’s technology, including robots and Throwbots (cameras housed in round casings that upright themselves upon landing), is dazzling to the uninitiated. But so are the stats: YAMAM averages some 300 missions a year. According to N, his commandos have stopped at least 50 “ticking time bombs” (suicide bombers en route to their targets) and hundreds of attacks at earlier stages.

“I’ve been out with the YAMAM on operations,” John Miller, the New York Police Department’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, told me in his office, a few blocks from the World Trade Center. “There are a lot of outfits that have a lot of knowledge and do a lot of training, but that’s different from a lot of experience.” He pointed out that for every terrorist attack in Israel that makes the news, there are 10 that are prevented by YAMAM acting on perishable intelligence provided by Shin Bet.

Avi Dichter agrees wholeheartedly. After serving in Sayeret Matkal, he joined the Shin Bet and in 2000 rose to become its director. He now chairs the Committee on Defense and Foreign Affairs in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. For years, he admitted, counterterrorism officials shared only a portion of their most sensitive intelligence with covert operatives, out of fear of its being compromised. Now, Dichter says, YAMAM representatives sit in Shin Bet’s war room to ensure they have the full picture. “It took us a long time to understand that you can’t keep information from the unit you’re asking to perform a mission, because what they don’t know may undermine the entire operation.” When I asked him how he would describe the unit to outsiders, he said, “YAMAM is a special-operations force that has the powers of the police, the capabilities of the military, and the brains of Shin Bet.” They are, in effect, the spy agency’s soldiers.

Nowadays, some terrorists aren’t interested in negotiations or even survival.

The N.Y.P.D.’s Miller, for his part, claimed U.S. law-enforcement agencies benefit from YAMAM’s successes. A former journalist, who once interviewed bin Laden, Miller maintained, “You can learn a lot from the YAMAM about tactics, techniques, and procedures that, when adapted, can work in any environment, including New York. It’s why we go to Israel once or twice a year—not just to see what we’ve seen before but to see what we’ve seen before that they’re doing differently. Because terrorism, like technology—and sometimes because of technology—is constantly evolving. If you’re working on the techniques you developed two years ago, you’re way out of date.”

Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump’s secretary of Homeland Security, concurs: “We have a lot to learn from [Israel—YAMAM in particular] in terms of how they use technology as a force multiplier to combat an array of threats. Over the last 15 years, we at D.H.S. have partnered with them on almost every threat.”

A NEW PARADIGM

“I saw a few Hollywood movies about fighting terrorism and terrorists,” N said. “But the reality is beyond anything you can imagine.” Back in the States, I trailed him and his entourage, who met with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau, as well as New York City’s Emergency Service Unit, which falls under Miller. “Terror organizations used to take hostages because they wanted to achieve a prisoner exchange; now they’re trying to do something different,” N observed, remembering a bygone era when terrorism was a violent means of achieving more concrete political ends.

The conventional wisdom for how to deal with fast-moving terrorist incidents has evolved over time, most notably in hostage situations. Since the 1960s and 70s, first responders have sought to establish a physical boundary to “contain” an event, engage the perpetrators in dialogue, draw out negotiations while formulating a rescue plan, then move in with a full team. Similar principles were adapted for reacting to kidnappers, emotionally disturbed individuals, and mass-casualty incidents.

But over the last 20 years—a period that dovetails with N’s rise from recruit to commander—he and his colleagues have come to treat terror attacks the way doctors treat heart attacks and strokes. There is a golden window in which to intervene and throw all their energy and resources at the problem. While units in the U.S. have tended to arrive on the scene, gauge the situation, secure a perimeter, and then call in specialists or reinforcements, YAMAM goes in heavy, dispatching self-contained squadrons of breachers, snipers, rappellers, bomb techs, dog handlers, and hostage negotiators. Metaphorically speaking, they don’t send an ambulance to stabilize a patient for transport. They send a hospital to ensure survival on scene. Moreover, they establish mobile units with clear lines of authority, not an array of groups with competing objectives. These teams can rove and respond, and are not unduly tethered to a central command base.

“The active shooter changed everything,” John Miller elaborated. Nowadays, the terrorist or mass murderer isn’t interested in negotiations or even survival. “He is looking for maximum lethality and to achieve martyrdom in many cases.” Because of this, the response teams’ priorities have shifted. The primary objective, said Miller, echoing YAMAM’s strategy, “is to stop the killing. That means to use the first officers on the scene whether they’re specialized or not. The other part is to stop the dying. How do you then set parameters inside as the people are chasing the threat, going after the sound of gunfire, engaging the gunman? How do you get to those people who are wounded, who are still viable, who could survive? American law enforcement has struggled with [this] since the Columbine case”—when responders waited too long to storm in. “We’ve got to get inside within 20 minutes. It can’t be within the golden two hours—or it’s not golden.”

Major O, the 37-year-old who commands YAMAM’s sniper team, explained that one of the unit’s signature skills is getting into the assailant’s mind-set. “We try to learn every terrorist attack everywhere in the world to find out how we can do it better,” he noted. “Our enemies are very professional, too, and in the end they are learning. They try to be better than us.”

To maintain its edge, YAMAM, after analyzing far-flung incidents, fashions its training to address possible future attacks. In the time that I spent with the operators, they rappelled down a Tel Aviv skyscraper and swooped into an office dozens of floors below, testing alternative ways that responders might have confronted last year’s Las Vegas attack in which a lone gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel fired more than a thousand rounds at concertgoers, killing 58. A YAMAM squad also spent hours on a dimly lit platform taking over a stationary Israeli passenger train—alongside members of France’s elite Groupe d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale. (The French had come to Israel, in part, to practice such maneuvers, evidently mindful of 2015’s Thalys rail attack, which recently found its way to the big screen in Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris). And at a telecommunications facility north of Tel Aviv, Israeli operatives simulated a nighttime mission with Germany’s vaunted Grenzschutzgruppe 9, facing multiple gunmen and explosions in all directions. Taking it all in, I felt like I had unwittingly been cast as an extra in a Michael Bay movie.

As they briefed their European guests, the YAMAM team preached its gospel of never allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good. “To be relevant and to win this battle, sometimes you must go with 50 percent or 70 percent knowledge and intelligence,” N said. As he considered what his counterparts faced at places such as Orlando’s Pulse nightclub or the Bataclan concert hall, in Paris, N asserted that in today’s scenarios, unlike those in the 20th century, “we don’t have the privilege of time. You must come inside very fast because there are terrorists that are killing hostages every minute.”

Dimona, Israel. March 1988. The so-called Mothers’ Bus attack, in which three nuclear-research workers were executed by P.L.O. terrorists.

From Polaris.

THE SECOND DIRECTIVE

The inside story of YAMAM’s genesis has not been told by its leaders, until now.

In 1972, during the Summer Olympics in Munich, members of the Palestinian group Black September kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli teammates. The cold-blooded attack—and Germany’s botched response—prompted Israel’s prime minister Golda Meir to initiate Operation Wrath of God, sending hit squads to track down and kill the group’s organizers and others (later depicted in Steven Spielberg’s Munich). And though it may have escaped public attention, a secret second directive would go forth as well, which ordered the establishment of a permanent strike force to deter or defeat future attacks.

This mandate would not be realized until two years later, after terrorists sneaked across the border from Lebanon, killed a family of three, and took over an elementary school in Ma’alot with 105 students and 10 teachers inside—hoping to negotiate for the release of their brethren held in Israeli prisons. Sayeret Matkal raced to the scene and mounted a disastrous rescue attempt. Twenty-one students perished. Addressing the Knesset, Meir exclaimed, “The blood of our children, the martyrs of Ma’alot, cries out to us, exhorting us to intensify our war against terrorism, to perfect our methods.”

Following the attack, counterterrorism responsibilities—especially the delicate art of hostage rescue—shifted from the I.D.F. to a new police unit, initially dubbed the “Fist Brigade” and, later, YAMAM. Chronically underfunded, ostracized by the military, and deemed an unknown quantity by the intelligence services, the unit was a backwater. That is, until Assaf Hefetz was put in charge. He was a well-regarded I.D.F. paratrooper with important friends, among them future prime minister Ehud Barak. Hefetz had supported the April 1973 operation in which Barak—famously disguised as a woman—infiltrated Beirut and killed several Palestine Liberation Organization leaders as part of Israel’s ongoing retaliation for Munich. Hefetz professionalized YAMAM, persuading skilled soldiers to join his new police commando unit—whose work was a secret to all but a handful of Israelis.

In May, I visited Hefetz, aged 74, in the seaside hamlet of Caesarea and found a man with the body of a 24-year-old and the hearing of a 104-year-old. Like many of his generation of Israelis, he speaks his mind without regard for how his words may land. “After 18 months, I had recruited and trained three platoons, and I knew that my unit was much better than the army,” he insisted. “But I was the only person in the country who thought so.” In due course, he found an eager partner in the spymasters of Shin Bet, who agreed to let YAMAM try its hand at the treacherous work of neutralizing suspected terrorists.

Still, it was Hefetz, personally, who first put YAMAM on the map. On the morning of March 11, 1978, armed guerrillas arrived on Zodiac boats from Lebanon, coming ashore near Haifa. Once inland, they encountered and murdered an American named Gail Rubin, whose close relative happened to be Abraham Ribicoff, a powerful U.S. senator. Next, they flagged down a taxi, murdered its occupants, then hijacked a bus. Traveling south along the picturesque coastal highway, they threw hand grenades at passing cars and shot some of the bus passengers. The attack was timed in hopes of disrupting peace talks between Israel’s prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.

The rolling pandemonium came to a halt at a junction north of Tel Aviv. “When I arrived, my unit was [still] an hour away,” Hefetz recalled. The bus had stopped, but it was a charred wreck. “No one knows [exactly] what happened. Call it the fog of war.” Hefetz soon learned that some of the assailants had escaped on foot and were moving toward the beach. He grabbed his gun and gave chase, eventually killing two of them, capturing a third, and rescuing some of the hostages. In the process, he took a bullet to his right shoulder and lost hearing in one ear. The incident, known as the Coastal Road Massacre, claimed the lives of more than three dozen people. But Hefetz’s valor raised the question: given what YAMAM’s commander accomplished on his own, what could the unit as a whole do if properly harnessed?

The answer was a decade in coming, during which time YAMAM was bigfooted by Sayeret Matkal during its response to terrorist attacks. In the notorious Bus 300 affair, for example, Sayeret Matkal commandos stormed a bus to rescue hostages and claimed it had killed four terrorists when, in fact, two had survived. The pair were turned over to Shin Bet operatives, who, a short distance away, murdered them in cold blood. The debacle and its aftermath, which disgraced Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom—who had ordered the on-site assassinations and then tried to cover it up—left an indelible stain on Israel’s institutions and international credibility.

For every terrorist attack in Israel that makes the news, there are 10 that are prevented.

In 1987, Alik Ron, a man with deep credentials and a devil-may-care attitude, took over YAMAM. He had served in Sayeret Matkal and participated in the legendary 1976 raid on Entebbe, in which an I.D.F. team stormed a Ugandan airport and successfully freed more than 100 hostages. “I was in our most elite units and took part in the most celebrated mission in our history,” said Ron, who in retirement has become a gentleman farmer. “Only when I was put in charge of YAMAM did I realize I was in the company of the most professional unit in Israel.”

And yet when he first addressed his men to say how proud he was to lead them—describing all the great things they would accomplish together—they broke out laughing. Apparently, the operatives were fed up with being highly trained benchwarmers, always left on the sidelines. Ron persevered nonetheless. And he is withering in his assessment of his old unit (Sayeret Matkal) and its overseers. “Nobody, nobody, not the head of Shin Bet, not Mossad, not the prime minister, can give me an order [to kill terrorists after they have been captured]. He can get me an order, but I will do like this,” he said, lifting his middle finger. “I will not murder them. I will have already killed them in the bus.”

Ron soon got the chance to try things his way. In 1988, he learned that three terrorists had crossed in from Egypt and hijacked a bus full of working mothers on their way to Dimona, the epicenter of Israel’s top-secret nuclear-weapons program. As Ron raced toward the Negev Desert to link up with his team, he saw CH-53 Sea Stallions on the horizon heading in the same direction. Pounding his fist on his dashboard and unleashing a stream of expletives, Ron recalled, he screamed, “Sayeret Matkal . . . again?!”

Ehud Barak was on one of those helicopters, a man who would go on to hold virtually every position in Israeli officialdom—prime minister, defense minister, commander of the armed forces, and head of Sayeret Matkal. Recalling his first encounter with YAMAM 30 years ago, Barak, now 76, expressed astonishment at how Ron and his team had somehow managed to arrive ahead of Sayeret Matkal’s helicopters, raring to go. “We asked them what they brought with them,” Barak recalled. “It ended up they brought everything which was needed for taking over the bus. So we let them do it.”

Israeli-Egyptian border. August 2011. Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak (gesturing) visits the scene of a deadly jihadist incursion.

From the Israeli Defence Ministry/Getty Images.

According to David Tzur, who was a major at the time and would later take over as YAMAM’s commander, the so-called Mothers’ Bus incident was a turning point because it showcased the unit’s speed, judgment, and agility. “We were called to the field at 7:30 in the morning,” he said. “Before we arrived, [the attackers] had killed three hostages.” At around 10:30, the team’s snipers shot two of the attackers while other YAMAM members stormed the bus and shot the remaining assailant. “No hostages were killed during the operation,” Tzur proudly recalled. Israel’s national-security apparatus—including skeptical I.D.F. generals—took notice and recognized that when it came to counterterrorism they had a scalpel at their disposal instead of blunter instruments. “I don’t believe that anyone has a better unit,” Barak observed. “They are kind of irreplaceable.”

THE ROAD TO SINAI

Lately, YAMAM has gotten used to terror’s new face: extremists intent on inflicting maximum carnage with maximum visibility. “I’ve been in dozens of operations and many times under fire, [facing] many terrorists and suicide bombers,” N admitted. “But the [one] I remember more than all the others is the terror attack on the border in the Sinai Desert.”

It was August 2011, six months after the Arab Spring ouster of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak—and three years before ISIS formally declared its caliphate. YAMAM, tipped off by Shin Bet that a large-scale attack was imminent somewhere along Israel’s southern border, dispatched one squadron and a sniper team by helicopter. They waited through the night before getting word that shots had been fired at a bus, injuring passengers inside. A family of four, traveling the same highway, was ambushed and slaughtered. “This group of ISIS-Salafi jihadists that came from the Sinai Desert, they were a different challenge for us,” N said of the 12-man death squad. “We know from intelligence that they received training abroad. They were proficient with weapons, grenades, explosive charges, [and even] had handcuffs to kidnap people.” They also brought cameras to film their handiwork.

N, who was a squadron commander at the time, was fired at twice as his YAMAM team arrived on the scene. In the skirmish, one militant detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and a bus driver, and, N recalled, “a terrorist shot a surface-to-air missile at one of our helicopters, but it missed.” Two gunmen were spotted crossing the highway. One was killed in an exchange of fire while a second took aim at a passenger vehicle, killing the driver. By midafternoon the scene seemed to be under control, and Pascal Avrahami—a legendary YAMAM sniper—briefed his superiors, including then defense minister Barak. A short time later, shots rang out from the Egyptian side of the border. Four YAMAM operators scrambled for cover, and in the frenzy a 7.62-mm. round hit Avrahami above the ceramic body armor covering his chest. The sniper, a 49-year-old father of three, had been killed by an enemy sniper, who simply melted back into the desert.

I joined N this past April at Mount Herzl, the final resting place of many of the nation’s fallen warriors. It was Israel’s Remembrance Day, a somber holiday when life and commerce grind to a halt. On this day, N spent time with Avrahami’s parents at their son Pascal’s grave, embracing them and reminiscing about his outsize role in the unit. (The previous evening, as the sun descended, squad members had stood in the courtyard of the YAMAM compound, having refreshments and trading stories. Family members of slain commandos were taken inside a darkened shooting range where their loved ones’ holographic images were projected in midair. The scene was otherworldly but somehow appropriate for this secretive, high-tech cadre.)

On this Remembrance Day, N mourned the loss of his friend, whose 24 years of service made him YAMAM’s longest-serving member. But he stopped at one point to stress that his team is focused less on the past than on the future: “We know the enemy will always try and do something worse, something bigger, something extraordinary that they never did before. And for this scenario we are preparing ourselves.”

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/inside-yamam-top-secret-israeli-anti-terrorism-operation