#Yoav Daniel

[footballmanageraddict]

EuroTrip | Part 38 | Exciting Israeli Title Race

#FM24 #EuroTrip Part 38: Exciting Israeli Title Race. Trebor Mahtal joins his 23rd club as he moves to Israel with @HBS_FC. A bright start soon fades as they go into a final day title race with the reigning champions. Read here:

Success in Turkey amid chaotic finances saw Trebor Mahtal back on the job hun in the summer of 2057. Now at the ripe old age of 73, the remaining nations on Mahtal’s EuroTrip adventure were Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Northern Ireland and Poland – some of which he was more interested in than others. At the start of the summer, there were very few…

[vyorei]

LMAOOOO THEY'RE SO FUCKING PREDICTABLE WE SHOULD PLACE BETS

[zvaigzdelasas]

[CNN is US Private Media]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday and accused him of adopting an “anti-Israel narrative,” revealing a deep rupture at the top of the Israeli government as the Middle East risks spiraling into a full-scale regional conflict.

Israeli media reported this week that Gallant, speaking to lawmakers in a private security briefing, had dismissed Netanyahu’s war aim of achieving “absolute victory” over Hamas as “gibberish,” branding those who say this is achievable as “heroes with war drums.”[...]

“When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he harms the chances of reaching a hostage deal,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. It said Gallant was obligated to pursue the twin goals of Israel’s war in Gaza: Eliminating Hamas and the release of the hostages seized by Hamas in the October 7 attacks.[...]

On Monday, the European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell told CNN he would put forward a proposal at the EU to sanction far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

Borrell had called for sanctions against Smotrich and Ben Gvir in a post on X, days after Smotrich said it would be “moral” to starve two million Gazans until Israeli hostages are freed.[...]

In his leaked comments, Gallant also claimed he had in October proposed a pre-emptive attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, but that Netanyahu had not supported the strike and had missed the opportunity.

“The conditions today for a Lebanon war are the opposite of what they were at the beginning of the war,” Gallant reportedly told lawmakers.[...]

Gallant joins a number of senior Israeli officials to have questioned Netanyahu’s aim of destroying Hamas. In June, top military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the idea that Israel could “make Hamas vanish” is “throwing sand in the eyes of the public.”

CNN recently reported that nearly half of Hamas’ military battalions in northern and central Gaza have rebuilt some of their fighting capabilities, despite Israel’s unrelenting [genocidal war of extermination], according to a joint analysis with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project and the Institute for the Study of War.

Crumbling failed apartheid state [13 Aug 24]

[sayruq]

Last week, Politico reported that President Joe Biden would “consider” conditioning military aid to Israel if the country launches a large-scale invasion of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering. “It’s something he’s definitely thought about,” said one of the four anonymous US officials cited as a source. This was about as weak of a position as could be imagined: The President had definitely thought about maybe doing something. Still, even this proved too much. One day later, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the article was based on “uninformed speculation” by anonymous officials and that he wouldn’t be entertaining hypotheticals about how the US would respond to a major invasion of Rafah, which US officials have signaled they would accept in a more limited form. The dismissal was the latest indication of the administration’s almost complete unwillingness to even discuss imposing serious consequences on Israel for waging a war that has killed more than 30,000 people, most of whom were women and children. Instead, the administration has adopted a newfound feeling of impotence. As State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller put it last month, “The United States does not dictate to Israel what it must do, just as we don’t dictate to any country what it must do.” The absurdity of this position was made clear when a reporter interjected, “Unless you invade them.” Miller couldn’t help but laugh. It has been obvious for months that there are many things the Biden administration can do to restrain Israel and distance itself from a war that has been condemned throughout the world. The problem has not been a lack of options but a lack of political will. Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator who is now the president of the US/Middle East Project, told me, “I think many of us who had very low expectations of the US and of Biden have had a rude awakening as to how much lower the actual performance has been [compared] to even the lowest of low expectations.”

As evidence of how important US backing has been for Israel, Levy cited veteran Israeli journalist Yoav Limor, who wrote in Hebrew earlier this month that without “Biden’s support, Israel would long ago have been forced to stop the fighting in Gaza due to a shortage of weapons, while at the same time it would have been forced to deal with United Nations Security Council resolutions (and possibly sanctions) against it.” Still, Levy thought it might take weeks or months of sustained US pressure to compel Israel to change course. In any case, Biden is under no obligation to provide thousands of bombs to a country whose leader has consistently ignored him as Israel wages a brutal war that has leveled much of Gaza and caused children to die of starvation. “We need to stick to our own values,” Ford said. “If our values say, ‘Starving children is way beyond the pale,’ then we need to react to that and take stern action, whether or not it changes Israeli policy.”

[palms-upturned]

Israel continues committing crimes against civilians and putting out propaganda to weakly justify their sieges on hospitals, now not only in Gaza, but the West Bank, too. They’re even committing precisely the crime they keep accusing Hamas of by using seized schools and health centers for military purposes.

Via Al Jazeera:

Israel’s defence minister claims ‘Hamas has lost control of Gaza’

Nov 13th, 18:30 GMT

Yoav Gallant says Hamas does not have the power to stop Israel’s military, saying Israeli forces have intensified operations against Hamas tunnels in Gaza.

“Hamas has lost control of Gaza. Terrorists are fleeing south. Civilians are looting Hamas bases,” he said.

Gallant said that “each day”, Israel kills more Hamas commanders and fighters, adding that Israel’s army continues to operate “in the heart of Gaza City”.

(Emphasis mine)

UNRWA says received reports Israel used school, health centres for military operations

Nov 13th, 20:50 GMT

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said it received reports that Israeli forces “conducted interrogations and arrests” of internally displaced Palestinians in the installations in Gaza City.

They entered one school and two health centres with tanks, UNRWA said.

“In one health centre, five people were reportedly killed. According to the reports, IDPs [internally displaced persons] were subsequently forced to leave the UNRWA installations and move south towards Wadi Gaza. Witnesses reported that Israeli forces then struck the two health centres with artillery fire,” the agency said, adding that it was verifying the reports.

“If confirmed, the military use of UNRWA facilities raises serious concerns, as such use puts civilians at serious risk of harm. Directing attacks against civilian objects is a serious violation of international law. Health centres, in particular, are also afforded special protection against attack.”

Israeli military says ‘signs indicating’ captives were held at al-Rantisi Hospital

Nov 13th, 21:00 GMT

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari has said “signs indicating hostages were held” in a basement room within al-Rantisi Hospital in north Gaza had been discovered.

Hagari made the claims in a video shot by Israeli forces in the children’s hospital.

In the video, Hagari pointed to women’s clothing, what appeared to be a rope on the leg of a chair, as well as an “improvised” toilet and other infrastructure.

He also pointed to what he called a “guardian list” on the wall, where he claimed fighters signed into shifts to watch the captives. He called the items evidence that captives had been held there.

(Emphasis mine)

Israeli forces stormed West Bank hospital, interrogated medical staff: Health ministry

Nov 13th, 21:15 GMT

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces left after interrogating staff at an eye hospital in Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah.

In a post on social media, the ministry condemned the raid as a blatant violation of health institutions, similar to what Israel has been doing in Gaza.

[girlactionfigure]

⚠️ SPECIAL IDF UPDATES ON HOME FRONT COMMAND GUIDELINES AND POTENTIAL ESCALATION ⚠️

Following a situational assessment, the IDF has announced changes to the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines, effective today at 20:30. These changes apply to the Lower Galilee, Upper Galilee, Haifa Bay, Central Galilee, and parts of the southern Golan Heights (Emek Hayarden), while communities along the confrontation line, the northern Golan Heights, and other areas in the southern Golan Heights will continue to follow existing guidelines.

The updated guidelines include restrictions on gatherings, limiting them to 30 people in open areas and 300 in enclosed spaces. Work is allowed if a protected space is available, and educational activities can proceed as long as there are secure spaces.

Residents are urged to follow the official instructions published on Home Front Command channels, which are updated on the National Emergency Portal and the Home Front Command app.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warned of potential rocket launches and other threats in the coming hours, advising that additional changes to guidelines could occur depending on developments. Hagari emphasized the importance of adhering to Home Front Command guidelines and staying informed about any further updates.

⚠️ALERTS NOTICE - those watching Israeli TV on computer or phone app, Homefront has confirmed that Homefront alerts MAY NOT APPEAR (we’ve noticed this on Ch. 14 and Kaan 11, Homefront confirmed the issue).

⚠️EDUCATION.. From the Haifa line to the north, classes will continue as usual and provided that there are protected spaces nearby. In other places, distance learning will probably take place. All trips in the areas in question (Haifa to the north) will be cancelled.  Check with your city - dial 106 - or school.

⚠️ In a special emergency situation declaration, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed new measures for the home front. A high-level security meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, key government ministers, top IDF officials, and other security agencies, is scheduled to take place soon at the IDF’s Kirya HQ. Senior officials have indicated that a dramatic escalation could be imminent.

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Scenes of fighters with the al-Qassam Brigades clashing with enemy soldiers and vehicles in the Gaza Strip in recent days. Sources say 21 Israeli soldiers were killed in a recent strike on soldiers occupying a building in the south of Gaza.]

🇵🇸⚔️🇮🇱 ☠️ 🚨

💥RESISTANCE KNOCKS OUT 21 ISRAELI OCCUPATION SOLDIERS IN SINGLE STRIKE ON BUILDING IN THE GAZA STRIP💥

The Israeli media is reporting the deaths of 21 occupation soldiers involved in the invasion of the Gaza Strip after Resistance forces fired a rocket into building being occupied by the soldiers as part of operations in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to reports, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) were in the process of rigging several buildings in the south of Gaza, close to the border with the colonial Israeli settlement of Kissufim, using demolition explosives, when Resistance forces fired an RPG into the building, resulting the building's collapse onto the soldiers inside.

The Israeli occupation authorities released the names of the soldiers killed in the operation.

The names of the soldiers killed are as follows:

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Haifa.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Mevo Beitar.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Ramat Gan.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Kiryat Arba.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, 27,of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Alon Shvut.

☠️ Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yehud-Monosson.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Jerusalem.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin, 23, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Tel Aviv.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Rishon Lezion.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rahat.

☠️ Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Givatayim.

☠️ Master Sgt. (res.) Elkana Vizel, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Bnei Dakalim.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.

☠️ Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Elazar.

☠️ Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rosh Haayin.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, 35, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Herzliya.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Itamar Tal, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Mesilot.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Adam Bismut, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, 40, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Zichron Yaakov.

☠️ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Daniel Kasau Zegeye, 38, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yokne’am Illit.

#source

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[quercus-queer]

Happy Thanksgiving otherwise known as Drama with a Side of Turkey... if someone picks a fight with you about current events here is a very brief surface level list of talking points

According to Article 3 of the Geneva Convention and Article 6 of Additional Protocol II collective punishment is a war crime.

Israel Katz himself is quoted as saying "they [Gazans] will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world."

Furthermore Article 51 of the Berlin Rules on Water Resources prohibits combatants (in this case the Israeli military from removing water infrastructure.

International Humanitarian Law prohibits any siege depriving civilians of essential goods while Yoav Gallant's "defense tactics" are a complete blockade of Gaza. It is well documented by the United Nations and journalists how deprived the civilians in Gaza are by the Israeli aggression.

The so-called gracious “evacuations” ordered by Israel is a crime according to the International Criminal Court under forcible transfer. 

The use of white phosphorus violates Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons as the Israeli army is using it directly against human beings in a civilian setting.

Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on earth with 47.3% of the population being under 18 there is no circumstance in which any incendiary weapon should be deployed in Gaza let alone community centers.

In case there is doubt, there are videos of white phosphorous being used in broad daylight and on hospitals (Al-Durrah Children's Hospital).

The air strikes themselves violate international law as Daniel Hagari himself has stated that the emphasis of the Israeli air strikes is on damage and not on accuracy.

The Israeli government has carried out air strikes on the Al-Shati refugee camp sheltering over 90,000 refugees from Israeli aggression.

Targeting commercial centers like the Jabalia camp market which has been attacked multiple times since October 7th is a war crime. 

It is a war crime to target buildings dedicated to education or charitable purposes.

On October 17th Israel carried out an airstrike on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency school in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. A United Nations school within a refugee camp.

Israeli officials later claimed United Nations workers are Hamas allies

Medical neutrality as described under the Geneva Convention has been violated as stated by the World Health Organization…

Every hospital bombed is another war crime Israel has committed. Bringing back the white phosphorus issue, Israel hit Al-Durrah Children's Hospital with white phosphorus munition. Bringing back water resources and collective punishment (which I hope we established was bad), the remaining hospitals are collapsing due to lack of electricity and water. 

"But Hamas tunnels! Human shields! Guards! Weapons!" None of that negates a hospital's protected status as described in the Geneva Convention.

It is a war crime to attack buildings dedicated to religion regardless of who is housed but especially if its housing refugees... obviously... again its in the Geneva Convention.

The Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and Al-Sousi mosque have been directly attacked

The intentional targeting of journalists is a war crime according to the Council of Europe.

There are 31 journalists who have been killed along with their families being targeted.

On October 10th Israel bombed a residential building (war crime) which also contained journalist offices (war crime). You can take a pick of whether they were targeting civilians or journalists, either way it’s a war crime. 

Killing surrendered civilians OR SURRENDERED COMBATANTS is again a war crime.

Israeli officials still have no comment on the video of IDF forces executing four unarmed Palestinian men kneeling on the ground (one of which was waving white clothing).

Videos have also surfaced of IDF soldiers violating international law by assaulting detainees and committing sexual humiliation.

Israel has expanded their attack to neighboring countries by carrying out air strikes in Lebanon, ready to fulfill their manifest destiny of Greater Israel.

Under the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Israeli settlement of Palestine is a war crime. Obviously that is beyond a lot of peoples willingness to comprehend so lets reiterate what is happening right now. 

The average age of dead people in Gaza is 5.

More facts: Israel does not reflect the Jewish people or Jewish values they are a settler colonial state enacting apartheid and committing genocide. Conflating Israel with jewish people is anti-semetic. Evangelicals are the largest zionist group in the world because they are anti-semetic. AIPAC is the largest donor to politicians. Israel has systemically harmed holocaust survivors (1/3 of survivors in Israel are in poverty, they called them "soap bars", and said they were "inferior" as they were like "sheep to the slaughter"). Israel has violated Ethiopian Jewish woman's autonomy (Depo-Provera (contraceptive) every three months in Israeli clinics without their knowledge) and police brutality. Israel is a safe haven for pedophiles.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Israeli Holocaust historian Omer Bartov:

it is important to put the current events in the correct historical context and to diagnose as best we can their deeper causes. A misdiagnosis of such causes, or a denial of them altogether, will only make things worse. It would appear that precisely because of this misdiagnosis or denial, Israel is currently balanced over a precipice, as an increasing number of well-informed commentators are warning (see for instance Thomas Friedman’s op-ed in the NYT). The potential for a regional, if not world-wide conflict, is growing. Making things worse is Israel’s forced displacement of over a million civilians—the majority of whom are Palestinian refugees of the 1948 Nakba and their descendants—from their homes in the northern part of Gaza to the southern part, even as the IDF is now reducing much of that northern part to rubble. By most accounts it has already killed ten times as many Palestinians, including numerous children (who make up 50% of the overall population there), as those murdered by Hamas. Most recently, displaced Gazans in the eastern part of the southern Strip have been ordered to move to its western part, adding even more to the congestion. This military policy is creating an untenable humanitarian crisis, which will only worsen over time. The population of Gaza has nowhere to go, and its infrastructure is being demolished.

In justifying these actions, Israeli leaders and generals have made terrifying pronouncements. On October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Gazans would pay a “huge price” for the attack by Hamas, and that the IDF would turn parts of Gaza’s densely populated urban centers “into rubble.” On Oct. 28, he added, citing Deuteronomy, “You must remember what Amalek did to you.” As many Israelis know, in revenge for the attack by Amalek, the Bible calls to “kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings.” Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog condemned all Palestinians in Gaza: “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true.” Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Israel Katz similarly stated: “No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter, until the abductees return home.” Member of Knesset Ariel Kallner wrote on social media on October 7: “Right now, one goal: Nakba! A Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of ‘48. Nakba in Gaza and Nakba to anyone who dares to join!” No one in the government denounced that statement. Instead, on November 11, security cabinet member and Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter reiterated: “We are now rolling out the Gaza Nakba.”

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, stated on October 9, “we are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly,” a statement indicating a dehumanization of people that has genocidal echoes. He later announced that he had “removed every restriction” on Israeli forces, and that “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.” On October 10, the head of the Israeli army’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Major General Ghassan Alian, addressed the population of Gaza in Arabic, stating: “Human animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water, there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell.” The same day, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced that in the bombing campaign in Gaza, “the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy.” Also on October 10, Major General Giora Eiland wrote in the mass circulation daily Yedioth Ahronoth: “The State of Israel has no choice but to turn Gaza into a place that is temporarily or permanently impossible to live in,” adding that “Creating a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a necessary means to achieving the goal,” and that “Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist.”

Omer Bartov :: Co-Chair, Genocide, Holocaust and Disaster Studies, CGC; Author “Genocide, the Holocaust and Israel-Palestine: First-Person History in Times of Crisis”

[mariacallous]

MADRID, PARIS and LONDON (JTA) — As the bloody war in Israel and Gaza continues to escalate, many European Jews are bracing for reverberations far from the frontlines.

On Saturday, Hamas launched a surprise attack by land, air and sea, killing at least 900 Israelis, wounding more than 2,000 and taking more than 100 captive. Israel has responded with airstrikes that have killed close to 700 Palestinians. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip, while Hamas has threatened to execute its civilian hostages.

But in cities across Europe, crowds have celebrated just streets away from vigils for the dead. Groups cheering the Hamas assault as “Palestinian resistance” to the Israeli occupation have danced on the street in London and handed out sweets in Berlin. In France, far-left movements called the terror attack “heroic.”

Jewish communal officials in Europe anticipate that the fighting in Israel will ignite antisemitic threats in their communities. Police have increased surveillance around synagogues, Jewish schools and other institutions in Germany, Britain, France and Spain.

Germany

Berlin police were on alert Saturday night, just hours after Hamas’ incursion, as dozens of people gathered to cheer and hold up victory signs on the Sonnenallee, a boulevard in the city. Police announced they disbanded the gathering for chants “glorifying violence” and made multiple arrests. Two officers were injured in the clashes. Earlier in the day, officers also responded to activists who were celebrating with baked sweets while draped in Palestinian flags.

“An escalation of the situation in Israel unfortunately always has an impact on our community,” said Ilan Kiesling, a spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Berlin group.

Kiesling told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the fighting in Israel and Gaza triggered “great uncertainty” in the local community, with parents asking for detailed information about the security measures in kindergartens and schools.

The Central Council for Jews in Germany also said it was in close contact with security authorities to ensure that Jewish institutions nationwide had heightened protection.

“No violence, no riots and no hatred on German streets,” the group said in a statement.

Britain

In London, Daniel Sugarman saw that a local kosher restaurant had its glass door shattered on Monday morning. Pita, a business in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green, reported its cash register was stolen. New graffiti that read “Free Palestine” also appeared on a bridge nearby, though it is not known if the slogan and the burglary are connected.

The Metropolitan Police Service told the JTA that no arrest has been made and the incident is not currently being treated as a hate crime. But Sugarman, Director of Public Affairs for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, worried the fighting in Israel would set off hate in his community.

“This is about trying to make British Jews feel unwelcome and threatened where they live,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the incident, saying he stood with Jewish Londoners and the culprit would “face the full force of the law.”

The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity dedicated to security for British Jews, reported  an increase in antisemitic abuse and threats over the past few days, and said it was prepared for more serious attacks.

“The number of incidents that have come in since Saturday is running at roughly triple what we would normally expect for this period,” Dave Rich, head of policy at the CST, told the JTA.

“We expect that number to go up,” Rich added. “We are still logging and verifying things before they are put into the system.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed it was increasing patrols across the city and providing safety advice to synagogues, mosques and businesses. Officers said they have attended to some “low level public order incidents” that circulated on social media, such as a celebration in the Acton area in which a group of men danced, cheered and waved Palestinian flags while cars honked in support, but all of the incidents were resolved without arrests.

The CST was working closely with the police to ensure it has a reinforced presence in Jewish areas. “We are not starting from scratch,” Rich said. “We’ve been around this course several times before. We have built up plans over many years.”

France

In France, which has the largest Jewish population in Europe, police have arrested 10 people in connection with 20 reported antisemitic incidents since the Hamas assault. The reports include threats to synagogues and to customers who have visited Jewish businesses. Police also received a flood of complaints about antisemitic hate speech and glorification of terrorism online, resulting in 44 open investigations.

This spike in incidents over three days was “dramatic,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday, announcing reinforced security measures in 400 Jewish gathering places across France. As a sign of solidarity with Israel, the Eiffel Tower was lit in white and blue, the colors of the Israeli flag, on Monday night.

A segment of the country’s political left has distanced itself from near-unanimous condemnations of the Hamas offensive within the French political class. Some self-described “post-colonial” movements on and parties on the far left in France have praised the attacks.

Among them is the Indigenous Party, which tweeted on Sunday, “May the Palestinian Resistance, which carries out its actions with determination and confidence in heroic conditions, receive our militant fraternity in these terrible hours. Palestine will triumph, and its Victory will be ours.”

The statement sparked public outrage and calls for the party’s dissolution. Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, director of the American Jewish Committee in France and several other European countries, noted that penalties for advocating terrorism in France can reach five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros. Offenses committed on social media can lead to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 euros, taking into account the broader reach of such activity online.

Myriam Ackermann-Sommer, the first Modern Orthodox female rabbi in France, said her community was stung by the way some political leaders had celebrated Hamas’ acts of terror.

“Of course, we were hurt by how far-left parties have reacted. Many people in our congregation consider themselves on the left of the political spectrum and this is very hurtful to them,” she told JTA.

Rabbi Yves Marciano of Paris’ Les Tournelles Synagogue said that while bolstered security around places of worship was helpful, the risk to individuals is often greatest when they are not at synagogue.

“With my kippah, I can be seen from afar,” he said. “I am identified and identifiable. And, Mr. Darmanin can’t do anything about that. So, we are very worried about the near future.”

Spain

In Spain, Madrid’s main synagogue in the heart of the Chamberí district was defaced with graffiti that read “Free Palestine” next to a crossed-out Star of David on Sunday. Officials from the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain told the JTA the graffiti was removed from the synagogue’s main doors a couple of hours after its discovery.

The Spanish interior ministry has also bolstered police surveillance around synagogues and Jewish landmarks, according to Isaac Benzaquén Pinto, president of the Jewish federation. There are an estimated 12,000-15,000 Jews living in Madrid.

“Our community has always been known for being tightly knit whenever it is targeted, and this is an attack on Israel and all of Jewry as a whole. We stand unconditionally with the victims, all of them, the State of Israel and its army whose mission is to defend its people,” said Benzaquén Pinto.

In Ceuta, a small Spanish enclave on the North African coast near Morocco notable for its concentration of Spanish Jews, local authorities have particularly reinforced police surveillance and protection at the local synagogue and Jewish cemetery. Jews in Ceuta, mostly of Sephardic descent, have historically been targeted by antisemitism due to the geopolitical situation of the region, including a series of antisemitic incidents in recent years.

“As to this new wave of violence against Israel and the Jewish people, unfortunately, this is not new. We, as well as international organizations and the European Union, have been condemning this renewed surge of violence for a long time,” said Benzaquén Pinto.

Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida called the Hamas attack “unjustifiable” on Monday. He expressed concern that members of the Sumar political coalition — which includes far-left and green parties and is working to join a ruling parliamentary coalition after elections in July — hesitated to denounce Hamas.

The far-left Podemos party posted on X that the violence in Israel and Gaza was the fruit of Israel’s occupation and avoided outright condemnation of Hamas’ actions. On Monday night, the party led hundreds of people in a demonstration at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square to “convey all our solidarity to the Palestinian people.” Demonstrators chanted slogans such as “Zionist State, terrorist State” and “It is not a war, it is a genocide.”

The Anti-Defamation League reported a spike in antisemitic rhetoric online during the 18 hours after war broke out on Saturday. Its data indicated that extremists and white supremacists across the world were emboldened in online spaces, some cheering Hamas, some circulating conspiracy theories and some discussing hopes for violence against Jews in the rest of the world.

[catdotjpeg]

At least 210 Palestinians were killed and hundreds of others were injured on Saturday in the central Gaza Strip, in what Israel is celebrating as a “heroic” military operation to rescue four Israeli captives that were being held in Gaza.  Palestinian media reported intense bombardment in the early afternoon local time in various areas in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Video footage from the main market in the Nuseirat refugee camp showed crowds of Palestinian civilians fleeing under the sound of heavy artillery fire. 

Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif reported that Israeli forces “infiltrated” the Nuseirat refugee camp in trucks disguised as humanitarian aid trucks.  The Gaza government media office said in a statement that Israeli forces launched an “unprecedented brutal attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp” directly targeting civilians, and that ambulances and civil defense crews were unable to reach the area and evacuate the wounded due to the intensity of the bombing. The media office added that according to its count, at least 210 Palestinians were killed and an estimated 400 others were injured during the Israeli operation.  Video footage published on social media showed dozens of bodies of men, women and children lying in the streets in the Nuseirat area, as well as bloodied and injured civilians being rushed to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Al Jazeera quoted Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan with Doctors Without Borders as saying the  emergency department at Al-Aqsa Hospital “is a complete bloodbath … It looks like a slaughterhouse.” “The images and videos that I’ve received show patients lying everywhere in pools of blood … their limbs have been blown off,” she told Al Jazeera, adding “That is what a massacre looks like.” As the death toll from the central Gaza Strip continued to rise, Israeli reports emerged that four Israeli captives were rescued in the operation and transferred back to Israel.  The four captives were identified as Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. They were all reportedly taken on October 7th from the Nova Music festival in southern Israel close to the Gaza border. According to Israeli media, the four captives were found in good health, and were transferred to a hospital in Israel where they were reunited with their families. One member of the Israeli special forces was killed during the attack.  Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari as saying the captives were “rescued under fire, and that during the operation the IDF attacked from the air, sea, and land in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah areas in the center of the Gaza Strip.” Haaretz added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the operation on Thursday evening. Netanyahu hailed the operation as “successful,” while Gallant reportedly described it as “one of the heroic operations he had seen in all his years in the defense establishment, according to Israeli media. The families of Israeli captives held a press conference on Saturday afternoon in reaction to the news. Relatives of the four captives rescued on Saturday praised both the Israeli military and the government. Some relatives of the remaining captives still being held in Gaza demanded an end to the war and a prisoner exchange in order to secure the release of those still being held in Gaza.  On Saturday evening local time, spokesman for the Qassam Brigades Abu Obeida said “the first to be harmed by [the Israeli army] are its prisoners”, saying that while some of the captives were freed in the operation, a number of other Israeli captives were reportedly killed. The Israeli government and military have not commented on the reports that Israeli captives were killed in the operation.  It is reported that there are 120 captives still held in the Gaza Strip, including 43 who have been killed since October, many reportedly by Israel’s own forces. 

On its official Telegram channel, Hamas said the release of the four captives “will not change the Israeli army’s strategic failure in the Gaza Strip” and that “the resistance is still holding a larger number of captives and can increase it.”

-- From "Israel kills over 200 Palestinians to rescue 4 captives; U.S. allegedly involved in operation" from Mondoweiss, 8 Jun 2024

[vyorei]

Report from Hamdah Salhut who's currently in Occupied East Jerusalem

[zvaigzdelasas]

The head of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah party said on Saturday that its armed wing had used new types of weapons and struck new targets in Israel, and pledged that the front against its sworn enemy would remain active.[...]

On Saturday, in a televised address, he said Hezbollah had shown "a quantitative improvement in the number of operations, the size and the number of targets, as well as an increase in the type of weapons". He said it had used a "Burkan" missile that carries an explosive payload of 300-500 kg, as well as weaponised drones for the first time. Nasrallah said the group had also struck the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona for the first time in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that killed three girls and their grandmother this month.

"This front will remain active," he pledged.

Soon after, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops near the Israel-Lebanon border: "Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a war that might happen. "It is making mistakes and ... those who will pay the price are first and foremost Lebanon's citizens. What we are doing in Gaza we can do in Beirut." Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said later on Saturday that fighter jets and artillery struck many Hezbollah targets in response to its fire across the border. Israel also struck Syria in response to rocket launches there, the military said.

11 Nov 23

[mightyflamethrower]

(America First Report)—Iran appears to be on the verge of attacking Israel directly. This will be the second time they have attacked this year following a series of drone and missile strikes on April 13. Rumors of war percolate as both sides have vowed to escalate beyond a single-day skirmish.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III communicated with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, to reaffirm U.S. backing for Israel as tensions escalate with Iran and its proxies, raising the specter of a broader regional conflict following ten months of fighting against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

During their conversation, Austin and Gallant discussed U.S. military positioning adjustments aimed at reinforcing defenses for U.S. troops in the region, supporting Israel’s defense, and deterring and defusing broader regional tensions, as per a statement from the Pentagon.

This discussion took place as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed a Cabinet meeting that Israel is already engaged in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.

Tensions in the region have reached unprecedented levels following the recent killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Both Iran and its allies have pointed fingers at Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas has begun the process of selecting a new leader.

Netanyahu stated that Israel is prepared for any scenario. In a rare move, Jordan’s foreign minister traveled to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts, with the aim to quell the escalation.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly informed his counterparts on Sunday that Iran and Hezbollah might launch attacks against Israel as early as Monday, according to Axios.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday to coordinate preparations for the anticipated attack, according to the Times of Israel.

President Biden is also set to convene with his national security team in the situation room on Monday to discuss the Middle East situation, as reported by Reuters.

In Israel, some have prepared bomb shelters, recalling Iran’s unprecedented direct military assault in April following a suspected Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals. Israel claimed that nearly all the drones and ballistic and cruise missiles were intercepted.

“For years, Iran has been arming and financing terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including smuggling explosives into Israeli territory for terror attacks against civilians,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagar said in a statement. “The IDF and ISA have already thwarted numerous attacks in which Claymore type explosives were smuggled into the country’s territory. We are determined to continue acting against Iranian terrorism wherever it may be.”

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of around 250 individuals. Israel’s ongoing counteroffensive has been brutal as they seek to completely eliminate Hamas, which has embedded itself among citizens of Gaza, using them as human shields.

The militant group Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire along the Lebanon border since the war began, with the intensity increasing in recent months. Hezbollah stated that its actions are intended to alleviate pressure on fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas.

[triple-tree-ranch]

Aryeh Alexander Sandler, the late 5-year-old

The late Gabriel Issachar Sandler, 3 years old

The late Daniel Aryeh Wiplich, 16 years old

The late Elad Fogel, 4 years old

The late Hadas Vogel is three months old

The late Yoav Fogel, 10 years old

The late Yonatan Palmer, one year old

The late Shlomo Nativ, 13 years old

The late Segev Paniel Avihil, 15 years old

Yonatan Yitzhak Elder, 16 years old

Yondav Chaim Hirshfeld, 18 years old

The late Naria Cohen, 15 years old

The late Yohai Lifshitz, 18 years old

The late Avraham David Mozes, 16 years old

The late Roy Aharon Roth, 18 years old

The late Eliyahu Pinchas Ashari, 18 years old

The late Mazel Zaribi, 15 years old

The late Daniel Waltz, 16 years old

The late Amir Naim, 17 years old

Shaked Lasker, the late 16-year-old

The late Omer Menashe Pisakhov, 8 years old

Ella Aboxis, the late 17-year-old

The late Rachel Hali ben Abu, 16 years old

The late Oz Israel ben Meir, 14 years old

The late Nofer Horvitz, 16 years old

The late Avihai Levi, 16 years old

The late Aviad Yehuda Mansour, 15 years old

The late Yuval Abba, 4 years old

The late Afik Ohion Zahavi, 3 years old

The late Lior Azoulai, 18 years old

The late Aviel Yitzhak Atch, 3 years old

Two-year-old Dorit from the late Binsan movie

The late Roni Sarah Hatuel, 6 years old

The late Merav Rachel Hatuel is two years old

The late Hila Esther Hatuel, 10 years old

The late Hadar Simcha Hatuel, 9 years old

Son Jonathan Zuckerman, 18 years old

The late Lior Liorinka Niv, 3 years old

The late Gilad Giladi Niv, 11 years old

The late Avraham Shaked is one year old

The late Tomer Almog, 9 years old

The late Habib Dadon, 16 years old

The late Benjamin Bergman, 15 years old

The late Avraham Bar-Or, 12 years old

The late Shmuel Zargari, one year old

Noya Zar, the late Aviv, one year old

Liran Zer Aviv, the late 4-year-old

The late Erez Gizro Hershkowitz, 18 years old

The late Tom Hershko, 15 years old

The late Daniel Harosh, 16 years old

The late Shmuel Taubenfeld, one year old

The late Moran Menachem, 17 years old

The late Yuval Mandelwitz, 13 years old

The late Abigail Lytle, 14 years old

The late Noam Leibovitz, 7 years old

The late Tehila Natanzan, 3 years old

The late Elisheva Meshulami, 16 years old

The late Elizabeth Liz Katzman, 19 years old

Asaf Blondi Tzur Zollinger, the late 17-year-old

The late Smeder Firstetter, 16 years old

The late Asaf Steyer, 10 years old

The late Issachar Dov Reinitz, 9 years old

The late Tal Kerman, 17 years old

The late Shani Avitzedek Abutzadeka, 16 years old

The late Asnat Abramov, 16 years old

Matan Ohion, the late 5-year-old

The late Noam Levi Ohion, 4 years old

The late Yael Ohana, 11 years old

The late Orly Ophir, 15 years old

The late Noa Orbach, 18 years old

The late Dvir Anter, 14 years old

Yaakov Avraham Eliyahu, the late one year old

The late Lidor Ilan, 11 years old

The late Oriya Ilan is one year old

The late Gal Eisenman, 5 years old

Gilila Bugla, 11 years old

The late Hodia Hudish Asraf, 13 years old

The late Noy Enter, 12 years old

The late Shubal Zion Dickstein, 9 years old

The late Elmer Dzbrailov, 16 years old

The late Adi Dahan, 17 years old

Jonathan Gamaliel, 16 years old

The late Hadar Hershkovitz, 14 years old

The late Rachel Gila Teller, 16 years old

The late Gabriel Hoter, 17 years old

The late Shmuel Ephraim Yerushalmi, 17 years old

Atara Livna, 15 years old

The late Racheli Hali Levy, 17 years old

The late Shiraz Nimhad, 6 years old

The late Shaul Nimhad, 15 years old

The late Liran Nimhad is 3 years old

The late Avraham Eliyahu Nicham, 16 years old

Baruch Asher Zvi Markus, 18 years old

Her father, the late Malka, is one year old

The late Nehmi'a Amar, 15 years old

The late Linoi Serousi, 14 years old

Avraham Yosef Haim Seton, the late 17-year-old

The late Gaston Parfi Parfinial, 15 years old

The late Ilan Perlman, 8 years old

Aharon Mordechai Eric Krugliak, 18 years old

The late Sinai Kenan is one year old

The late Tal Tzvi Tlik Kurzweil, 18 years old

The late Ran Koren, 18 years old

The late Gal Koren, 14 years old

Asaf Moshe Tzafira, 18 years old

Avraham Nere' Shebo, deceased, 16 years old

Avishai Yosef Shabo, deceased, 5 years old

The late Keren Shatsky, 14 years old

The late Nathaniel Riahi, 17 years old

The late Erez Shlomo Rond, 18 years old

The late Ofer Ron, 18 years old

The late Yafit Rabivo is 14 years old

The late Daniel Bat-El Shafi, 5 years old

The late Adi Sheeran, 17 years old

Sara Tafarat Shilon, deceased, one year old

The late Gilad Stiglitz, 14 years old

Zvi Yaakov Yisrael Shabu Zal, 12 years old

The late Hadas Turgeman, 14 years old

The late Michael Sherashevsky, 16 years old

The late Assaf Avitan, 15 years old

The late Irina Usadchi, 18 years old

The late Yosef Ish-Ran, 14 years old

The late Yossi Elezra, 18 years old

The late Yuri Goshchin, 18 years old

The late Marina Berkovski, 17 years old

Shoshana Rachel Shushi ben Yishai Zalvat 16

The late Adam Weinstein, 14 years old

Yaakov Israel Danino, deceased, 17 years old

Genia Keren Dorfman, the late 16-year-old

The late Ido Cohen, 18 years old

The late Maria Tagiltsev, 14 years old

The late Tamar Messengisar, 8 years old

The late Jacob Kobi Mendel, 13 years old

The late Aliza Malka, 16 years old

The late Mariana Medvedenko, 16 years old

The late Naftali Ben-Zion Lantzakron, 13 years old

The late Ronen Landau, 17 years old

The late Alexey Lupalo, 17 years old

The late Raya Sahivashordar, 14 years old

Hamda Bracha Sahivashurdar, the late two-year-old

Avraham Yitzchak Sahivashordar, the late 4-year-old

The late Irina Nepomniaschi, 16 years old

The late Yelena Nalimov, 18 years old

The late Yulia Nalimov, 16 years old

The late Avraham Nachman Avrom Nitzani, 18 years old

The late Shalhav Tahiya Pess is one year old

The late Yair Amar, 13 years old

The late Yulia Yael Skalianik, 15 years old

The late Michal Sara Raziel, 16 years old

The late Malka Hana Malki Roth, 15 years old

The late Eliran Rosenberg, 14 years old

The late Simona Rodin, 18 years old

The late Menashe Mani Regev, 14 years old

The late Katrina Arias, 15 years old

Anya Eniota Kazachkov, 16 years old

The late Golan Turgeman, 15 years old

The late Yochaved Shoshan, 10 years old

Yehuda, who is one year old

The late Ofir Rahum, 17 years old

The late Gil-Ad Sha'er, 16 years old

The late Naftali Frankel, 16 years old

The late Adele Beaton, 4 years old

[tieflingkisser]

Israel Is Not Promising to “Scale Back” Its War

As the US secretary of state shuttles to stop the war from expanding, the Israeli defense minister vows “months” more war on Gaza and suggests taking the fight to Iran.

Readers of The New York Times were treated on Monday morning to a breaking-news alert heralding what seemed like a welcome development: “Israel says it has begun to scale back war.” That description, which led the Times website, is about as close to the opposite of the way Israel’s war is heading as could appear in the leading US newspaper. The Israeli Defense Forces spokesman, Radm. Daniel Hagari, gave the Times the interview that it used for its headline. But Hagari’s quotes never actually promise the “less intense phase” in the Times paraphrase. Hagari instead describes the focus of the pitiless Israeli campaign shifting southward—while his superiors in the Israeli government indicate that it could expand regionally. Northern Gaza, which has been the focus of intense Israeli ground operations, will apparently see more of what the Times calls “targeted raids” rather than attacks from larger-scale infantry, artillery, and airstrikes. Some Israeli brigades will redeploy out of Gaza, a development announced last week—but one intended to make the war more sustainable for “prolonged fighting,” as Hagari put it then. That fighting will refocus on the central and the southern regions of Gaza, where Israel had previously demanded that most of the population relocate. “It was far from clear that the new phase of Israel’s offensive would be less dangerous for Gazan civilians,” the Times’ Patrick Kingsley observed. That was quite an understatement, considering the starvation and spread of infectious disease the war has inflicted upon those civilians, all as Israel has destroyed Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.

[...]

If there is a shift in Israel’s war, it’s less about a reduction in intensity in Gaza than it is a refocus against a more distant, formidable enemy. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday night that Israel’s ultimate targets live far beyond Gaza. “My basic view: We are fighting an axis, not a single enemy,” Gallant told the paper. “Iran is building up military power around Israel in order to use it.” Like his colleagues in the Israeli government, Gallant signaled that Israel is running out of patience to negotiate calm on the Lebanese border—but did so by threatening Lebanese civilians, not Hezbollah: “They see what is happening in Gaza. They know we can copy-paste to Beirut.”