(This has been corrected to correctly identify Mansour Abbas)
Tags: 5 Min Read; 5 Min of Videos
From Arabic Language Sources
MK Mansour Abbas (Arab Israeli Member of Knesset) in interview with CNN:
The kidnapping of civilians by Hamas is forbidden according to Islam and must be condemned. Hamas should release the abductees.
I visited the families of the abductees, stood by them and helped them as much as I could.
I call on all Palestinian factions to lay down their weapons and declare a permanent ceasefire with Israel and to join the Palestinian Authority side in a political process instead of the armed activities.
Every time the factions used weapons, suffering and many victims were caused to the Palestinian people. Now in Gaza there are already 15 thousand dead.
Exiled Gazan Journalist
This is what an exiled Gazan journalist wrote a short time ago:
Did the person who made the decision regarding 10/7 estimate that a quarter of what has happened so far would happen in Gaza?
If the answer is yes, then he is a collaborator working in the interest of the occupation or he is a frivolous and reckless criminal or he is crazy.
If the answer is no, then he is a stupid and ignorant donkey.
Read
Word Of The Day: "Westsplaining"
When liberal democratic Westerners try to tell other cultures what is right and wrong, what to do, etc. (Thank you reddit.)
The Tesla That Got Away
"Old news" but new to me: October 7: A resident of Miflasim, near Gaza, (and member of the security volunteers) was paged that morning by the town’s security team. Driving to the meeting point in his Tesla, a truck full of Hamas terrorists[1] started shooting at him. With three shot out tires, he outran the truck and made it to a hospital, despite both the car and his body taking several bullets. Original source in Hebrew.
Watch
Why does the Israeli Army destroy so much of Gaza?
Because, as mentioned in other posts, Hamas has turned schools, mosques and apartment buildings into military bases and rocket launching facilities. With tunnels everywhere. Here is an apartment building, with a room full of rockets. 1 minute. Hebrew with English subtitles.
Al-Jazeera
I have seen several Al Jazeera interviews in Gaza go “sideways” (e.g. not deliver what the journalist wants) and get shut down by the interviewer.
Clarity
I don't like Marco Rubio. I would not vote for him. I would support whoever had a chance running against him. But as it says in Pirkei Avot (kinda): Learn from all people. He demonstrates two things in this clip:
Clarity, consistency & brevity
Lack of "shrillness"
I avoid shrill. Much interesting material has been skipped over the past two months because it’s shrill. In this example, Senator Rubio keeps the shrill where it belongs:
Volunteering
This list of volunteering opportunities came across my radar, if of use.
Thought
Yesterday I mentioned the wave of Islamic extremism that lead to 9/11. The parallel is perhaps deeper.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. had to come to terms with its support for Taliban-precursors in Afghanistan. The chain is something like this:
1979: The USSR invades Afghanistan
1980-1990: The U.S. and Saudi Arabia send growing amounts of military aid to the most viable Afghan resistance movements (the "mujahideen") -- This aid is managed not by westerners but by the Pakistani ISI -- And the ISI would only support religious resistance movements -- Total military aid reached into the billion+/year range in the mid 1980's
1989: The USSR pulls out of Afghanistan
1990+ The mujahideen morph into the Taliban, who rule Afghanistan and allow Al Qaeda to operate from Afghanistan
1993: First Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center
1992, 95, 98: Al Qaeda attacks on the U.S. in Africa and other places
2001: 9/11: Al Qaeda attacks the U.S.
While the U.S. did not directly support Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Al Qaeda arose from the mujahideen resistance to the USSR that was directly supported by the U.S.
In the aftermath of October 7, Israel is coming to terms with having supported Hamas, which then evolved to receive military and financial support from Iran and Persian Gulf Petro states.
The parallel in both cases is that religious extremists build their movements to fight an enemy. Over time, the "enemy entity" changes: From the USSR to "The West" (for the mujahideen/Taliban in Afghanistan); From the "corrupt Palestinian Authority" to Israel (for Hamas).
And in both cases, attacks escalate over time. In the case of Al Qaeda to 9/11 which triggered a full scale response, and in the case of Hamas to October 7.
c.f. 2007 Battle of Gaza; Fatah-Hamas Conflict; Book: Charlie Wilson’s War; Charlie Wilson
Relief Area
Alef
Red Cross Context:
Red Cross in 1944: “We found no trace of installations for exterminating civilian prisoners in Auschwitz” (see below)
Red Cross in 2023: “We found no evidence of weapons or hostages being kept in hospitals in Gaza”
Bet: Ayaan Hirsi Ali: What to make of “Queers for Palestine?”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is in place, Hamas was actually governing Gaza, and what were they doing to homosexuals?”
”They throw them from tall buildings."
Gimmel: More from that dept...
Dalet
My buddy Dan arrived today from Seattle. He isn't here to see me... but he's staying with me, so we went out to shawarma and the beach.... Photos and clips from the shuk and beach today.
I can report that the entire shuk is open, even the touristy stuff.
Stay well,
Raf
(Thank you A.K., M.N., B.S. for content. Thank you A.K. for feedback!)
[1] I have discussed terminology a few times. And…. I am back at “terrorist.” Why? Well, soldiers have some relation to rules of warfare. Even militants do. “Gunmen” is any joker with a gun. Hamas is none of those. So I seem to full circle at “terrorist.”