Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 23-24/2023
Toppling the Iranian Jihadi and Terrorism Regime Is a Peace Global Necessity/Elias Bejjani/December 23/2023
WSJ: Biden pressured Netanyahu to abandon plans for preemptive strike on Hezbollah/Ynetnews/December 23/2023
War dampens Christmas spirit in southern Lebanon
Lebanese TV cameraman wounded in Israeli air attack
US presses Israel to 'avoid escalation in Lebanon'
Patriarch al-Rahi's message to Lebanese politicians amid presidential vacuum
Hezbollah's Kaouk: Any Israeli targeting of civilians would be met with swift and robust resistance response
MP Khawaja to LBCI: I hope parliamentary blocs would reconsider Berri's presidential initiative
Israel shells south Lebanon, airstrike wounds Al-Manar cameraman
Hezbollah mourns the martyr Ali Hussein Hareb from Yaroun
Israeli army conducts raid near UNIFIL center along Khardali River
Energy Minister Fayad: Beirut River falls under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Ministry
Safieddine: We're the ones who decide the fate of the South
Lebanon floods: 4 refugee children killed, MP almost drowns

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 23-24/2023
Malign Iran is threat to the world, warns Cameron
Muslim migrants are destroying European culture, says Poland’s ex-PM
UN report says nearly 577,000 people starving in Gaza
UN rejection of Gaza ceasefire giving Israel ‘license to kill’: Arab League Chief
Israel-affiliated merchant vessel hit by aerial vehicle off India
Iran threatens to shut Strait of Gibraltar as tensions ramp up
Hamas and Palestinian Authority split on UN Gaza resolution
Israeli strike kills 76 members of one Gaza family, rescue officials say as combat expands in south
Iran threatens Mediterranean closure over Gaza, without saying how
Third phase of war: Israel plans military redeployment in Gaza
Israel and Hamas measures get a look as most US state legislatures meet for first time since Oct. 7
Toronto police warn people participating in upcoming demonstrations to follow the law
Turkey detains 304 people over suspected Islamic State ties
Egyptian, Iranian presidents discuss Gaza developments, restoring ties
UN Security Council voices ‘alarm’ at spreading violence in Sudan
Report: Putin privately signals interest in ceasefire in Ukraine

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 23-24/2023
Three Things the Biden Administration Must Do Now to Stop Iran's Mullahs/Majid Rafizadeh/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/December 23, 2023
Multilateral cooperation must not fall by the wayside/Sri Mulyani Indrawati/Arab News/December 23, 2023
Why aren’t Jewish groups fighting DEI-based antisemitism?/Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS/(December 23/2023
The Mullahs and the Dragon ...Tehran and Beijing, in a dangerous alliance/Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh/National Review/December 23/2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 23-24/2023
Toppling the Iranian Jihadi and Terrorism Regime Is a Peace Global Necessity
إسقاط نظام إيران الجهادي والإرهابي ضرورة عالمية للسلام
Elias Bejjani/December 23/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/125427/125427/
In the turbulent landscape of global terrorism, one nation stands out as a clear and present danger to peace and stability: Iran. The Iranian regime, under the control of the Mullahs, has been orchestrating a wave of atrocities across multiple countries, spreading its malevolent influence through assassinations, explosions, and the promotion of hatred and jihad. This ominous role extends to its armed proxies, strategically positioned in Iraq, Syria, Gaza, Yemen, West Bank, and the Red Sea, disrupting the peace in these regions and beyond.
Iran's destructive agenda is evident in its tight grip on armed proxies, unleashing chaos and undermining peace efforts in Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza, Iraq and Syria. The Iranian-backed militias have become instruments of havoc, exacerbating tensions and impeding any prospects for stability. In Gaza, the Iranian regime's support for militant groups fuels the ongoing conflict, perpetuating the cycle of violence and making a sustainable peace seem unattainable.
A particularly alarming aspect of Iran's aggressive strategy is its interference in the Red Sea through Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthi attacks against commercial ships pose a significant threat to international trade routes, jeopardizing the economic stability of the region. This maritime aggression not only endangers innocent lives but also disrupts the global supply chain, emphasizing the urgent need for decisive action against Iran's expansionist ambitions.
The Mullahs' anti-peace agenda is further evident in their oppressive measures against the Iranian people. Fabricated charges, arbitrary death penalties, and a regime built on oppression and dictatorship tactics have become the norm. The Iranian people endure daily hardships, their voices stifled in the face of an authoritarian regime that prioritizes its own survival over the welfare of its citizens.
Iran's anti-feminism policies add another layer to its regressive practices. Women in Iran face systemic discrimination, limiting their freedoms and opportunities. The international community must not turn a blind eye to the plight of Iranian women and the oppressive conditions they endure under the Mullahs' rule.
As the Middle East continues to grapple with unrest and conflict, it is imperative to recognize that the root cause lies in the Iranian regime's expansionist and destructive agenda. The international community must unite to support efforts to topple the Mullahs' regime and replace it with a government that prioritizes peace, stability, and the well-being of its citizens.
In conclusion, the global community must not underestimate the threat posed by Iran to global peace and security. The Mullahs' regime is not only fanning the flames of conflict in various nations but is also inflicting untold suffering upon its own people. It is high time for a collective and resolute response to dismantle the apparatus of terror that Iran has become, paving the way for a more stable and peaceful future in the Middle East and beyond.

WSJ: Biden pressured Netanyahu to abandon plans for preemptive strike on Hezbollah
Ynetnews/December 23/2023
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyxjun4vt#autoplay
Based on intelligence about imminent Hezbollah attack, Israeli warplanes were reportedly in the air awaiting orders when Biden spoke to Netanyahu on Oct. 11 and told PM to stand down; Netanyahu denies report. Israel planned to launch a preemptive strike against Hezbollah on October 11 which was narrowly averted due to intervention from U.S. President Joe Biden, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The assault plan came on the heels of Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel and, according to the report, was based on intelligence Israel had that Hezbollah attackers were preparing to cross the border as part of a multi-pronged attack. The U.S. reportedly deemed the information unreliable.  Israeli officials told Ynet that Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, approached Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, leaders of the centrist National Unity party and then part of the opposition. He urged them to form a broad national unity government and convene the war cabinet, calling it "a matter of life and death."The cabinet convened for briefings amid alarms of widespread drone attacks across northern Israel. Cabinet members headed to the bunker, with officials sensing a potential pretext for an attack. However, it was later confirmed that there were no drones, and the alarm was false. The Journal reported that Israeli warplanes were in the air awaiting orders when Biden spoke to Netanyahu on Oct. 11 and told the prime minister to stand down and think through the consequences of such an action, according to people familiar with the call. U.S. officials reportedly first learned of Israel's intent for a preemptive strike on the morning of Oct. 11 at about 6:30 a.m. Washington time when Israeli representatives urgently informed the White House of a suspected Hezbollah assault. Acknowledging the need for assistance, Israel sought American backing for its proposed action, according to U.S. officials. On that morning, Biden's intelligence, military and national security chiefs met to discuss Israel's plans, where it was noted that U.S. intelligence did not align with Israel's. After being briefed, Biden spoke with Netanyahu and the war cabinet, urging Israel not to proceed with the strike. Netanyahu wasn't entirely convinced, while more hawkish members of the war cabinet, particularly Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, argued that a broader war was inevitable and wanted to proceed with the plans. The U.S. responded that a larger war could still be averted. Gallant continued to insist that a preemptive strike was necessary, but the majority of war cabinet members believed the focus should remain on Gaza, not the northern front. Following further discussions and meetings, six hours later - according to the report - Israel abandoned the preemptive attack and essentially accepted the American assessment that there was no evidence of an imminent Hezbollah attack. The Prime Minister's Office denied the report. "The report is incorrect. From the first day of the war, the prime minister decided that Israel would first seek a decisive victory in the south while maintaining strong deterrence in the north. This policy was adopted by the cabinet," Netanyahu’s office said in response.

War dampens Christmas spirit in southern Lebanon
AFP/December 23, 2023
QLAYAA, Lebanon: In the Lebanese Christian border village of Qlayaa, the priest urged his parish to keep the Christmas spirit alive despite clashes between Hezbollah and Israel forcing many to flee. Nestled among lush, green fields and flowing olive groves, Qlayaa has echoed to the sound of bombing on an almost daily basis since October 7. “Of course we are upset and bothered by the war... but we want to feel the joy of Christmas,” father Pierre Rai told a dwindling number of parishioners in Qlayaa’s Maronite Saint George Church. “So long as we have decided to remain in this village, and in other southern Lebanon border villages, we must live and enjoy each thing in its right time.” For nearly three months, Israeli rockets have been falling close to Qlayaa, which lies less than five kilometers (three miles) from the border. So far, however, the Christian villages in the area have been spared destruction.
Since hostilities began, more than 140 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including more than a dozen civilians, three of them journalists, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, at least four civilians and eight soldiers have been killed, according to officials. Despite the violence, the church has put up lights, a life-sized manger and is planning recitals and activities for the community’s children. A massive Christmas tree decorated with red ornaments sits in the village’s empty square, with reindeer statues nearby. Lebanon’s south is home to a plethora of religious communities, but it is mainly dominated by the powerful, Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement. The region was battered by a years-long Israeli occupation that ended in 2000 and again in the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Residents along the border are used to “difficult times,” said father Antonios Farah, “but we have decided that this year we will celebrate Christmas as usual.” “This is our way to pray for peace,” he said, dressed in a black robe and sitting in the church. The streets of the small village are usually bustling with visitors around Christmas, when many of those living abroad return.
But this year, “only about 60 percent of the village population is still here” with none of the expatriates coming home, he said, adding that the streets were deserted after nightfall. According to updated figures from the International Organization for Migration, the hostilities have displaced more than 72,000 people in Lebanon, most of them in the country’s south. Qlayaa resident Suzy Salameh, 47, has put up a voluminous tree in her home and said she was praying for peace. “We are trying to celebrate Christmas despite... the war, the bombings,” she said, standing beside a conifer decorated with silver ornaments, garlands and purple lights. “God willing, the birth of Jesus will bring about peace in our country and in all the countries around us.”But not everyone in the village was so optimistic. In a house close to the church, Layla Wana sat alone with her husband under a big Christmas tree. “We’re not feeling the Christmas spirit at all,” said Wana, 67, dressed in a black tracksuit. “Some of our children are abroad, others are in Beirut,” she said. “But we will remain in our house and we will not leave, even if it means we will die here.”

Lebanese TV cameraman wounded in Israeli air attack
Arab News/December 23, 2023
BEIRUT: A Lebanese TV cameraman was injured on Saturday in Israeli air raids near the Al-Khardali River, the first time the area has been targeted since the outbreak of fighting along the southern Lebanon border. Khader Marquez, a cameraman with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel, was crossing a road when missile fragments from a blast about 50 meters away struck his right eye.A reporter, Ali Shuaib, who was driving a press vehicle, was unhurt. A female representative from the National News Agency in Marjayoun, Aline Semaan, and MTV correspondent Roger Nohra were traveling in a convoy behind the first vehicle, but also escaped injury. The Al-Khardali River forms a link between the Nabatieh and Marjayoun districts in UNIFIL’s area of peacekeeping operations. Shuaib said that he was reporting on damage caused by an Israeli raid on the nearby town of Kafr Kila. “Some civilians accompanied us, and we completed a report on their steadfastness,” he said. “While we were moving to another location, there were raids near the Al-Khardali River, and then there was a raid near us. “We were part of a convoy of cars on this vital road. It is relatively far from the circle of confrontations, and it is a road linking the Nabatieh area to the eastern and central sectors,” said Shuaib. Clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army entered their 77th day on Saturday with a lull in fighting that one security source attributed to “stormy weather in the region.”Hezbollah said that it targeted a deployment of Israeli soldiers near Birkat Risha, and also struck Israeli army positions in the Shebaa Farms with two missiles. Later in the day, the militant group said that it had attacked Israeli infantry at Tallet Al-Tihat and Jabal Nadhar. Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Aita Al-Shaab, while the Ain Al-Zarqa area between Tayr Harfa and Alma Al-Shaab was also hit by intermittent shelling. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Saturday that the military carried out raids on Hezbollah targets, including operational and terrorist infrastructure, and a military compound. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Golani Brigade, which was withdrawn from Gaza, will soon be deployed along the border with Lebanon. Adraee said on social media that “the Golani Brigade’s withdrawal from Gaza is a warriors’ break, and the brigade will assume new missions in new areas with new responsibilities in the coming days.”Hezbollah announced the death of two fighters, Hassan Abdul Nabi Tlays from Brital in Bekaa and Ali Hussein Harb from Yaroun in southern Lebanon, bringing its total losses since the start of hostilities to almost 120.

US presses Israel to 'avoid escalation in Lebanon'
Naharnet/December 23/ 2023
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and urged him to “avoid escalation in Lebanon,” amid continuing cross-border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, the U.S. State Department said. “Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of measures to prevent the conflict from expanding, including affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank and to avoid escalation in Lebanon,” the State Dept. said. “Secretary Blinken reiterated that Israel must take all possible measures to avoid harm to civilians and underscored the U.S. commitment to promoting tangible steps toward the realization of a future Palestinian state,” it added. Since hostilities began in October, more than 140 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also more than a dozen civilians, three of them journalists. On the Israeli side, at least four civilians and eight soldiers have been killed, according to Israeli officials.

Patriarch al-Rahi's message to Lebanese politicians amid presidential vacuum
LBCI/December 23/ 2023
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, in his Christmas message, said: "Our people in southern Lebanon who are suffering from a war that was imposed on them and they do not want it, and none of us or the Lebanese want it."He expressed solidarity with the people in South Lebanon as well as with the people in Gaza who are facing a "genocidal war." In his message, al-Rahi emphasized the need for political leaders in the Lebanese Parliament, government, parties, and parliamentary blocs to seek the guidance of God's word, enlightening consciences. He urged them to emerge freely from the darkness of their selfish and sectarian interests and to lead the country out of the presidential vacuum, especially in this critical phase of Lebanon's history. Al-Rahi addressed the officials by saying: "You are committing a crime against the Presidency, the constitutional institutions, and the Lebanese people, while you continue to depend on the election of the head of state to a person, project, or hidden goal, and the victim is the state with its entity and the people with their stolen rights."In addition, he questioned the motive behind delaying the election of a president, emphasizing the necessity of protecting the country from the disintegration of its institutions, the dispersion of its people, and the absence of its representation in ongoing discussions in international capitals concerning the turbulent Middle East region. Al-Rai said: "Will you tell us why you want to destroy the state by not electing a president for it? And you know very well that there is no state without a president! They talk about consensus around the person of the president. This consensus occurs during successive election cycles following the rule of democracy."He asked, "Who protects the constitution in the absence of the president, and he alone swears an oath to defend it? Al-Rai continued: "In his absence, who heads the two constitutional institutions, the Parliament and the government, in terms of controlling the harmony of their work, as they are the two wings of the state, and it is the president's duty to ensure their harmony, under the pretext of respecting the constitution?"

Hezbollah's Kaouk: Any Israeli targeting of civilians would be met with swift and robust resistance response
LBCI/December 23/ 2023
Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a member of Hezbollah's Central Council, reiterates Hezbollah's steadfast dedication to the resolute protection of civilians in Lebanon, emphasizing that "any Israeli targeting of civilians would be met with swift and robust resistance response, employing a principle of reciprocity—an eye for an eye, home for a home, depth for depth."Kaouk's remarks transpired during a commemorative ceremony organized by Hezbollah in honor of "Martyr on the Road to Jerusalem" Mohammad Hassan Jafar Makki. The event was attended by religious scholars, activists, notable figures, the families of martyrs, and a gathering of residents.He noted that the decision of the resistance factions in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen is to remain in continuous confrontation against the Israeli enemy as long as aggression persists. Kaouk pointed out that the factions successfully besieged the enemy through marches and missiles from all directions, from southern Lebanon to Iraq, Yemen, and Gaza. He argued that this has forced the enemy to suffocate, highlighting the effectiveness of this strategy in compelling a halt to aggression against Gaza. Kaouk addressed Israel's daily threats and demands, dismissing them as mere fantasies. He stated that "Israel has been defeated, and the defeated cannot dictate terms. Despite the enemy's attempts to raise its voice through threats, their leaders cry out in pain and defeat, unable to impose conditions."

MP Khawaja to LBCI: I hope parliamentary blocs would reconsider Berri's presidential initiative
LBCI/December 23/ 2023
Member of the Development and Liberation Bloc, MP Mohammad Khawaja, affirmed that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri considers the primary concern today to be the election of a president due to the unsustainable continuation with a caretaker government. Khawaja hoped that parliamentary blocs, especially the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), would reconsider. He highlighted Berri's balanced and practical presidential initiative, which aims to bring forth a president within ten days. On LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show, Khawaja clarified that Berri's initiative centers on dialogue followed by open electoral sessions for the presidential election. In another context, Khawaja highlighted that it is the Israelis who are violating Resolution 1701, not Lebanon. He stressed that since the first day of border clashes between Lebanon and Israel, the resistance has sought to keep border areas and villages safe. To this day, the resistance remains committed to the rules of engagement. Khawaja considered that the southern resistance had taken precautionary measures to prevent an Israeli war on Lebanon, not the other way around. Regarding the recent flooded road persisting until today, Khawaja wished caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that there would be cooperation between the service ministries and serious coordination to address issues affecting citizens.

Israel shells south Lebanon, airstrike wounds Al-Manar cameraman
Naharnet/December 23/ 2023
Israeli artillery shelling targeted several Lebanese border areas on Saturday, as an Israeli airstrike wounded a cameraman from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television. State-run National News Agency said artillery shelling hit the Ain al-Zarqa area between the border towns of Tayr Harfa and Alma al-Shaab. Violent artillery shelling also targeted the outskirts of the border town of Deir Mimas and the Khardali Valley area. And following an Israeli airstrike on an empty house in Kfarkila in the morning, an Israeli fighter jet fired a missile near a car transporting journalists from Al-Manar television in the al-Khardali area, wounding the network’s cameraman Khodor Markiz in the eye. Several civilian cars and the correspondents of MTV and the National News Agency were also passing on the road during the strike. Al-Manar reporter Ali Shoeib, who was with Markiz in the car, noted that the convoy of vehicles was passing in an area that is relatively distant from the clashes zone. “It is a road that links that Nabatieh region to the eastern and central sectors” of south Lebanon, Shoeib said. “What happened will not scare us,” he stressed. Hezbollah meanwhile announced the death of two more of its fighters in south Lebanon. Since hostilities began on October 8, a day after Hamas’ unprecedented operation in south Israel, more than 140 people have been killed in south Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including more than a dozen civilians, three of them journalists. On the Israeli side, at least four civilians and eight soldiers have been killed, according to Israeli officials.

Hezbollah mourns the martyr Ali Hussein Hareb from Yaroun
LBCI/December 23/ 2023
On Saturday, Hezbollah mourned the martyr, Ali Hussein Hareb, known as “Jaafar,” from Yaroun, south Lebanon.

Israeli army conducts raid near UNIFIL center along Khardali River
LBCI/December 23/ 2023
In a recent development, the Israeli army conducted a raid along the Khardali River on Saturday morning, situated south of the Litani and in proximity to the UNIFIL center. The military action prompted the Lebanese army to reroute vehicles at the Khardali checkpoint, indicating heightened regional tensions.

Energy Minister Fayad: Beirut River falls under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Ministry
LBCI/December 23/ 2023
The caretaker Energy Minister, Walid Fayad, clarified that the Beirut River is within the boundaries of maritime properties and, therefore, falls under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Ministry. As for river streams, they are the responsibility of the Energy Ministry, especially regarding natural problems. Fayad said to LBCI that it was not the Beirut River that overflowed, but there were encroachments near it, "which we warned about previously." The Energy Minister emphasized that Public Works Minister Ali Hamie, who considered the Beirut River to be the Energy Ministry's responsibility, is incorrect. Fayad explained that the unprecedented amount of rainfall overwhelmed all roads, noting that all streets in Lebanon "flooded" due to the inability of Lebanon's roads to accommodate this quantity. He affirmed that the Energy Ministry has fulfilled all its duties.

Safieddine: We're the ones who decide the fate of the South
Naharnet/December 23/ 2023
The head of Hezbollah’s executive council, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, has stressed that his party is “not the resistance that awaits the Americans and Israelis to decide its fate.”“We are the ones who decide the fate of the South, the border and the future of this country at the level of confronting the enemy, whom we will not allow to attack Gaza undeterred,” Safieddine said. “Had we bowed to the threats of the Americans, the Western nations and the Zionists, we would have given them a chance to swoop on us without warning on a certain night and they would have been able to surprise us at any given moment,” the senior Hezbollah official added.

Lebanon floods: 4 refugee children killed, MP almost drowns
Arab News/December 23, 2023
BEIRUT: Heavy rainfall in the Zgharta region in northern Lebanon has caused a landslide, killing four Syrian refugee children. The Lebanese Civil Defense sent out rescue missions to help those trapped in their vehicles or homes, remove mud and rocks from the roads, and release water from flooded areas. The children were killed after the ceiling of a room made of corrugated iron collapsed on them during heavy rain. The quantity of rain that fell on Saturday along the Lebanese coasts and inland areas is being blamed for the tragedy. MP Halima Kaakour nearly drowned while she was swimming in the sea during the stormy weather. She was rushed to the hospital after swallowing a large amount of water. The low-pressure system affecting Lebanon will last until early Monday morning before gradually subsiding. It has brought cold air masses, a temperature drop, heavy rains, scattered snow, and strong winds reaching 90 kph in some areas. It peaked on Friday night and Saturday, causing rivers to overflow and the sea level to rise and flood the coasts. Streets and highways were inundated with unprecedented amounts of water, which the storm drains could not handle. The flood crisis has emerged as Lebanon grapples with deteriorating infrastructure due to administrative corruption and a need for more maintenance. The low-pressure system led to the flooding of the area around the Beirut River and the inundation of the Sacred Heart Hospital, with water entering the emergency and radiology departments.
Parking lots were also flooded.
Water surrounded citizens in their cars and school students on buses, seeping into shops, homes, and warehouses. Landslides occurred and sidewalks collapsed, including the famous Raouche Rock Corniche sidewalk. Water and sand levels rose in the Ramlet Al-Baida area in Beirut. Due to record-high water levels, people could not get out of their cars in several areas in Beirut’s eastern and western suburbs, especially in the Karantina area, Bourj Hammoud, the airport road, and inside the tunnels. Civil defense personnel had to rescue people — including children and pregnant women — using cranes or by breaking car windows. No region in Lebanon was spared from torrents and floods, starting from the Abu Ali River in the north and passing through the Jaj River in Jbeil, Nahr Al-Kalb, the Beirut River, and the Ghadir River. The waters reached the Burj Al-Barajneh tower and the area of Hay El Sellom in the southern suburbs of Beirut, while the Hazmieh road turned into a swamp. In the Chouf region, rocks and street walls collapsed, houses and several cars were damaged, and the roads in the city of Tyre in the south turned into swamps. A Civil Defense source said the water in the Karantina area in Beirut rose to about 10 meters due to the Ministry of Energy’s failure to clean the riverbed. The Lebanese Civil Defense said its personnel rescued 64 students trapped by the torrents in two buses between Nahr Al-Kalb and Jounieh. Two students were administered first aid. The Civil Defense personnel carried out relief missions in Broummana in Mount Lebanon, Beit Chabab, Zeghrine, Bologna, and Antelias, removing water from flooded houses and warehouses. They also rescued two civilians trapped in their vehicles due to mud on the Baskinta road. Rescue boats were deployed to help trapped people reach safe locations, said the Lebanese Civil Defense. Heavy rainfalls caused the river’s water levels in Batroun to rise significantly on Saturday, flooding cafes and restaurants. Social media activists published videos showing water surrounding them while harshly criticizing “the corrupt state.” Officials in public institutions traded blame over the matter. During a press conference, caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh said his ministry was not responsible for isolating and cleaning the river’s course. Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud also denied any responsibility for the capital’s floods.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 23-24/2023
Malign Iran is threat to the world, warns Cameron
Edward Malnick/The Telegraph/December 23, 2023
David Cameron labelled Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah ‘proxies’ for Iran - Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph
Britain will not tolerate the escalation of Iran’s “malign” activities in the Middle East or on UK soil, Lord Cameron has warned.
In his first newspaper interview since returning to government, the Foreign Secretary described Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah as “proxies” for Iran who were contributing to an “extremely high” level of “danger and insecurity” around the world. In a significant toughening of the UK’s approach, the former prime minister told The Telegraph that Iran must be sent “an incredibly clear message that this escalation will not be tolerated”. He pledged that Britain would work with allies to “develop a really strong set of deterrent measures” against Tehran. On Friday night, the US pointed to intelligence showing that Iran was “deeply involved” in planning Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The attacks are already causing major disruption to supply chains across Europe. Lord Cameron also cited “more evidence” of the “unacceptable threat the Iranian regime poses to the lives of UK-based journalists” after it emerged that Iranian spies had offered a people smuggler £150,000 to assassinate two news presenters at a London-based Persian language news channel. The Telegraph can reveal that the Foreign Secretary summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK to the Foreign Office on Friday over the revelation “to make clear that these threats will not be tolerated”. Since the start of last year, there have been more than 15 credible threats or plots by the Iranian regime to kill British or UK-based individuals, according to government officials.
Lord Cameron’s warning to Tehran signals rising alarm in the Government about the increasing aggression being shown by Iran and groups seen as acting on its behalf, both in the Middle East and around the world, including in Britain.He was speaking following a trip to France, Italy, Jordan and Egypt last week, during which he held discussions about Iran, including in an hour-long meeting with Emmanuel Macron, the French president. Setting out the approach he intends to take to a host of policy areas for the first time, Lord Cameron also: Said “things have changed” since, as prime minister, he declared a “golden era” of relations with Beijing. He added: “We face a more aggressive, assertive China.”
Pledged to “play no role” in a Government review of the sale of The Telegraph after questions over his past links to the United Arab Emirates. Acknowledged that past “economic and other support” sent to Gaza had been used by Hamas to construct tunnels or for “worse things”, but insisted the current supplies awaiting delivery were “food, water, medicine, shelter”. Warned that the prospect of any role for Hamas in a two-state solution must be “beyond the pale”.Said he expected the UK to spend at least another £2 billion next year on military support for Ukraine, adding: “I think we could potentially do better than that.”Lord Cameron identified “the threat of Iran” as one of five significant “crises” creating an “extraordinarily difficult time for the world”, along with the Russia-Ukraine war, the conflict in the Middle East, terrorism and climate change. He said: “Iran is a thoroughly malign influence in the region and in the world – there’s no doubt about that. You’ve got the Houthis, you’ve got Hezbollah, you’ve got the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq that have actually been attacking British and American bases, troops. “And, of course, Hamas. So you’ve got all of these proxies, and I think it’s incredibly important that, first of all, Iran receives an incredibly clear message that this escalation will not be tolerated. “Second of all, we need to work with our allies to develop a really strong set of deterrent measures against Iran, and it’s important that we do that. The level of danger and insecurity in the world is at an extremely high level compared with previous years and decades, and the Iran threat is a part of that picture.”Lord Cameron said he was “extremely concerned” about the Houthi attacks “because the freedom of shipping and maritime security are incredibly important not just Britain, but actually the whole world”.
Houthi rebels pledged to disrupt maritime traffic over Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, attacking at least 15 merchant ships since mid-November.
Earlier this month, the former prime minister announced a new sanctions regime for Iran, which included targeting Tehran’s support for Hamas as part of an initial wave of measures. The UK will also send warships to join Operation Prosperity Guardian, an international naval coalition being assembled by the US to help safeguard commercial traffic from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement. But Lord Cameron’s warning suggests Britain is prepared to take further action, including new sanctions, if the escalation of attacks by Iran and its proxies continues. Asked whether there were other measures, in addition to sanctions, that could be deployed now, he said: “Not for public consumption.” He added: “I think the first thing to do is to get Operation Prosperity Guardian under way, which we’re taking part in, and the second thing to do is a very clear warning to the Houthis and to their Iranian backers that we’re not going to tolerate these continued attacks on shipping.”

Muslim migrants are destroying European culture, says Poland’s ex-PM
The Telegraph/Steven Edginton/December 23/ 2023
Poland’s former prime minister has warned European culture is being “destroyed” by Muslim migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Mateusz Morawiecki, who served as Poland’s prime minister from 2017 until the beginning of this month, said: “We were very open to war refugees from Ukraine when the need was there… We have opened our hearts and our gates for all refugees. “But this is very much different from the huge [amounts of] Muslim migrants from the Middle East who are coming to Germany and France and other countries and who want to change the culture of those countries, those nations.
“I am clearly opposed to such attempts. I’m admiring [of] French culture, Spanish culture and British culture, but I also admire my Polish culture and I want to preserve it, I want to nurture it. “I don’t want it to be destroyed by the Muslim migrants coming from the Middle East or from Africa.” The former Polish PM said Ukrainian refugees were “culturally very similar to Poles” and had behaved “very well” since arriving; an estimated one million Ukrainian refugees currently reside in Poland. According to data from the European Commission, there were more than 230,000 first-time asylum applicants to Europe from the Middle East and Africa in 2022.
One million illegal citizens
The commission also estimates over one million non-EU citizens were illegally present in the bloc last year. Mr Morawiecki condemned the EU’s latest migration pact, agreed by Brussels on Dec 20, which would relocate migrants across the continent and impose fines on countries who refuse to accept their share of migrant quotas. The pact aims to relieve pressure on southern border countries by creating new detention centres, speeding up the vetting of illegal migrants and accelerating the deportation process for rejected asylum seekers. Following elections in October, earlier this month Mr Morawiecki’s conservative Law and Justice Party was removed from government and replaced by a three-party coalition, consisting of the liberal Civic Coalition, the New Left and agrarian Third Way, all led by prime minister Donald Tusk. The previous Polish government fought bitterly against the EU’s migration plans, in particular the clause that would relocate migrants from border countries to other EU member states. Mr Morawiecki described illegal migration as a long-term “threat” to European civilisation and said: “We do not agree on any form of compulsory distribution of migrants across member states. We do not agree to compulsory distribution of migrants into Poland specifically, of course, or paying for not accepting those migrants. “This is one of the biggest threats going forward for the European Union because I think that accepting one or two million illegal migrants can be the beginning of a huge wave that can pose a very serious threat to the whole of the European Union, and the stability of the European Union, and for the security of the European Union.”Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.

UN report says nearly 577,000 people starving in Gaza
Associated Press/December 23/ 2023
An interagency U.N. and NGO report has found that a staggering half a million people in Gaza — one quarter of the population — are starving due “woefully insufficient” quantities of food entering the territory since the outbreak of hostilities on Oct. 7. “It is a situation where pretty much everybody in Gaza is hungry. More than 500,000 people, half a million people, are starving. That means that one in every four people is starving in Gaza as we speak,’’ said World Food Program chief economist Arif Husain. He warned that if the war continues at the same levels and food deliveries are not restored that the population could face “a full-fledged famine within the next six months” with widespread outbreaks of disease. The report released Thursday by 23 U.N and nongovernmental agencies found that the entire population of 2.2 million Gazans are in a food crisis or worse: 478,000 are at crisis levels, 1.17 million are at emergency levels and 576,600 are at catastrophic — that is starvation — levels. “It doesn’t get any worse," Hasain said. “I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed. How quickly it has happened, in just a matter of two months.”

UN rejection of Gaza ceasefire giving Israel ‘license to kill’: Arab League Chief
Arab News/December 23, 2023
CAIRO: The failure of the UN Security Council to agree on a permanent ceasefire in Gaza is equivalent to providing Israel with a “license to kill,” Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has said. The Security Council’s resolution, which was adopted on Friday to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza, was a step in the right direction, but it fell short of the aspired goal to achieve a full ceasefire in the besieged enclave, he added. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza needs serious and firm action beyond “tranquilizers to absorb the international public opinion’s wrath,” Aboul Gheit said. The UN Security Council approved a toned-down resolution that called for urgent steps to “immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities” after a week of vote delays and intense negotiations to avoid a veto by the US. Israel’s intense aerial campaign and ground offensive have left the majority of Gaza in ruins and pushed one of the most densely populated regions in the world into a serious humanitarian crisis. The rising death toll reached 20,000 as the war entered its third month.

Israel-affiliated merchant vessel hit by aerial vehicle off India
Reuters/December 23, 2023
An Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was struck by an uncrewed aerial vehicle off India's west coast, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Saturday, in the first such known attack so far away from the Red Sea since the Gaza war.
A fire on the Liberian-flagged tanker was extinguished without crew casualties in the incident 200 km (120 miles) southwest of the Indian city of Veraval, it said, adding some "structural damage was also reported and some water was taken onboard".
"Merchant vessels are advised these types of attacks are typically targeted at Israel-affiliated shipping, but have in the past mistakenly hit previously Israel-affiliated vessels," Ambrey said. "This event fell within Ambrey's Iranian UAV heightened threat area."An Indian Navy official told Reuters that it responded to a request for assistance on Saturday morning. "The safety of crew and ship has been ascertained. The Navy has also dispatched a warship to arrive in the area and provide assistance as required," the official said, declining to be named as he was not authorised to discuss the incident.
Indian news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake, identified the tanker as MV Chem Pluto carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia. Citing Indian defence sources, ANI said the tanker had around 20 Indians on board.
A Reuters tracker showed the ship was headed towards the Port of Mangalore in India's south. The hit on the vessel follows drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are supporting Palestinians under siege by Israel in the Gaza Strip, on commercial shipping, forcing shippers to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa.

Iran threatens to shut Strait of Gibraltar as tensions ramp up
Jorg Luyken/The Telegraph/December 23, 2023
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea unless Israel stops bombing Gaza, as the US warned Tehran was “deeply involved” in attacks on shipping. “They shall soon await the closure of the Mediterranean Sea, [the Strait of] Gibraltar and other waterways,” Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior member of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said today. The general did not explain how Iran, which does not border the Mediterranean, intended to make good on its threat. Iran’s proxy militias in southern Lebanon and Syria do have access to the sea, through which about a fifth of global maritime trade passes.The Houthis in Yemen, which are backed by Iran, have already forced several major shipping companies to reroute their vessels to avoid the Red Sea by targeting merchant craft with drones and missiles. On Saturday, a Liberian-flagged tanker was struck by a drone while it was sailing in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India, setting it on fire. “Some structural damage was also reported and some water was taken onboard. The vessel was Israel-affiliated. She had last called at Saudi Arabia and was destined for India at the time,” British maritime security firm Ambrey said. The fire was extinguished without any casualties being suffered by the crew. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack came amid a wave of drone and missile attacks carried out by the Houthis. “Yesterday, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz became a nightmare for them, and today they are trapped ... in the Red Sea,” Brig Gen Naqdi said, describing “the birth of new powers of resistance”. The Houthi leadership have described the attacks as retribution for Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which was run by another Tehran ally, Hamas.
They claim that the attacks are targeted against shipping headed for Israel; however, several ships which have been struck have no connection with Israel or the war. On Friday, US intelligence accused Tehran of being “deeply involved” in the operational planning of the Red Sea attacks. US intelligence suggests that Iran has been providing a monitoring system which is essential for the attacks, the National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson told US broadcaster CNN. “Iran has the choice to provide or withhold this support, without which the Houthis would struggle to effectively track and strike commercial vessels navigating shipping lanes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Ms Watson said.
Houthi attacks
“Iranian-provided tactical intelligence has been critical in enabling Houthi targeting of maritime vessels since the group commenced attacks in November,” she added. Iran’s deputy foreign minister rejected the accusations that the country was involved in the Houthi attacks, saying the group was acting on its own. “The resistance (Huthis) has its own tools... and acts in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri told the country’s Mehr news agency. “The fact that certain powers, such as the Americans and the Israelis, suffer strikes from the resistance movement... should in no way call into question the reality of the strength of the resistance in the region,” he added.
War on Israel
The Houthis, who have been fighting against Yemen’s government in a civil war since 2014, are part of an Iran-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the US and the West. The group’s leaders declared war on Israel last month, launching a salvo of drones and ballistic missiles at the southern Israeli city of Eilat more than 1,000 miles away. Iran has repeatedly warned of a widening conflict, and last month, its foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the intensity of the war has rendered its expansion “inevitable”. Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran sees it as “its duty to support the resistance groups” but insisted that they “are independent in their opinion, decision and action”. Last month, Tehran dismissed as “invalid” Israel’s accusations that Houthi rebels were acting on Tehran’s “guidance” when they seized a Red Sea ship owned by an Israeli businessman. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.

Hamas and Palestinian Authority split on UN Gaza resolution
REUTERS/December 23, 2023
CAIRO: The Palestinian foreign ministry and the Islamist group Hamas issued opposing statements on Friday in response to the adoption by the United Nations Security Council of a resolution intended to help bring more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian foreign ministry, which is part of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, called the resolution “a step in the right direction,” and said it would help “end the aggression, ensure the arrival of aid and protect the Palestinian people.” “We consider it a step that may contribute to alleviating the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip,” the foreign ministry statement said. But Hamas, the militants who run Gaza, called the resolution an “insufficient step” for meeting the impoverished enclave’s needs. “During the past five days, the US administration has worked hard to empty this resolution of its essence, and to issue it in this weak formula... It defies the will of the international community and the United Nations General Assembly in stopping Israel’s aggression against our defenseless Palestinian people,” the statement said. Earlier on Friday, amid global outrage over a rising Gaza death toll in 11 weeks of war between Israel and Hamas and a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, the US abstained to allow the 15-member UN Security Council to adopt a resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates.

Israeli strike kills 76 members of one Gaza family, rescue officials say as combat expands in south
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP)/December 23, 2023
An Israeli airstrike killed 76 members of an extended family, rescue officials said Saturday, a day after the U.N. chief warned again that nowhere is safe in Gaza and that Israel's ongoing offensive is creating “massive obstacles” to the distribution of humanitarian aid. Friday's strike on a building in Gaza City was among the deadliest of the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 12th week, said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense department. He provided a partial list of the names of those killed — 16 heads of households from the al-Mughrabi family — and said the dead included women and children. Among the dead were Issam al-Mughrabi, a veteran employee of U.N. Development Program, his wife, and their five children. “The loss of Issam and his family has deeply affected us all. The U.N. and civilians in Gaza are not a target,” said Achim Steiner, the head of the agency. “This war must end.”Israel declared war after Hamas militants stormed across the border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages. Israel has vowed to keep up the fight until Hamas is destroyed and removed from power in Gaza and all the hostages are freed.
More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war to destroy Hamas and more than 53,000 have been wounded, according to health officials in Gaza, a besieged territory ruled by the Islamic militant group for the past 16 years.
Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll, citing the group’s use of crowded residential areas for military purposes and its tunnels under urban areas. It has unleashed thousands of airstrikes since Oct. 7, and has largely refrained from commenting on specific attacks, including discussing the intended target.
On Friday, the U.N. Security Council adopted a watered-down resolution that calls for immediately speeding up aid deliveries to desperate civilians in Gaza. The United States won the removal of a tougher call for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas. It abstained in the vote, as did Russia, which wanted the stronger language. The resolution was the first on the war to make it through the council after the U.S. vetoed two earlier ones calling for humanitarian pauses and a full cease-fire. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his longstanding call for a humanitarian cease-fire. He expressed hope that Friday’s resolution may help this happen but said “much more is needed immediately” to end the ongoing “nightmare” for the people in Gaza. He told a news conference that it's a mistake to measure the effectiveness of the humanitarian operation in Gaza by the number of trucks.
“The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza,” he said. He said the prerequisites for an effective aid operation don’t exist — security, staff that can work in safety, logistical capacity especially trucks, and the resumption of commercial activity. Israel’s aerial and ground offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history, displacing nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and leveling wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report this week from the United Nations and other agencies. Shielded by the Biden administration, Israel has so far resisted international pressure to scale back. The military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said late Friday that forces are widening the ground offensive “to additional areas of the strip, with a focus on the south.”He said operations were also continuing in the northern half of Gaza, including Gaza City, the initial focus of Israel's ground offensive. The army said that it carried out airstrikes against Hamas fighters in several locations of Gaza City.
The army also said Saturday that it has transferred more than 700 alleged militants from Gaza to Israel for further questioning, including more than 200 over the past week, providing rare details on a controversial policy that involves mass roundups of Palestinian men.
Palestinians have reported such roundups in areas of northern Gaza, where ground troops are in control, saying this typically involves all teenage boys and men found in a location being searched by troops. Some of the released detainees have said they were stripped to their underwear, beaten and held for days with minimal water. The military has denied abuse allegations and said those without links to militants were quickly released. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas militants, including about 2,000 in the past three weeks, but has not presented any evidence to back up the claim. It says 139 of its soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive. In the aftermath of the U.N. resolution, it was not immediately clear how and when aid deliveries would accelerate. Currently, trucks enter through two crossings — Rafah on the border with Egypt and Kerem Shalom on the border with Israel.
As part of the approved resolution, the U.S. negotiated the removal of language that would have given the U.N. authority to inspect aid going into Gaza, something Israel says it must continue to do to ensure material does not reach Hamas. Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, thanked the U.S. for its support and sharply criticized the U.N. for its failure to condemn Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. The U.S. vetoed a resolution in October that would have included a condemnation because it didn’t also underline Israel’s right to self-defense. Hamas said in a statement that the U.N. resolution should have demanded an immediate halt to Israel’s offensive, and it blamed the United States for pushing “to empty the resolution of its essence” before Friday’s Security Council vote.

Iran threatens Mediterranean closure over Gaza, without saying how
Reuters/December 23, 2023
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said the Mediterranean Sea could be closed if the United States and its allies continued to commit "crimes" in Gaza, Iranian media reported on Saturday, without explaining how that would happen. Iran backs Hamas against Israel and it accuses the United States of backing what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza, where weeks of bombardment have killed thousands of people and driven most of the population from their homes. "They shall soon await the closure of the Mediterranean Sea, (the Strait of) Gibraltar and other waterways," Tasnim quoted Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, coordinating commander of the Guards, as saying. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group has over the past month attacked merchant vessels sailing through the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel's assault on Gaza, leading some shipping companies to switch routes. The White House on Friday said Iran was "deeply involved" in planning operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Iran has no direct access to the Mediterranean itself and it was not clear how the Guards could attempt to close it off, although Naqdi talked of "the birth of new powers of resistance and the closure of other waterways". "Yesterday, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz became a nightmare for them, and today they are trapped ... in the Red Sea," Naqdi was quoted as saying. The only groups backed by Iran on the Mediterranean are Lebanon's Hezbollah and allied militia in Syria, at the far end of the sea from Gibraltar.

Third phase of war: Israel plans military redeployment in Gaza
LBCI/December 23, 2023
The Israeli War Cabinet intensifies its efforts to devise a plan for the redeployment of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in preparation for the third phase of the ground operation, marking a distinctive shift in the course of battles. During an assessment session with security leaders, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated his threats and determination to achieve the dual objectives of the war: eliminating Hamas and securing the release of Israeli hostages. Meanwhile, Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was singled out as a central target by Israeli threats. The third phase of the Israeli war plan encompasses several key points:
-Israel aims to conclude ground maneuvers by withdrawing military units from the battlefield, particularly those from the reserve forces.
-Israel wants to divide the region into three sectors, each entered by specialized units focusing on assassinations, infrastructure destruction, and tunnel neutralization, especially in the southern region.
- It will execute special operations to rescue captured Israelis.
- It will also establish a security fence to ensure a certain level of safety for residents in the Gaza Envelope.
While the Israeli army continues to promote its purported successes in Gaza, military officials admit that they are far from gaining control over the southern part of the Gaza Strip, particularly in Khan Yunis and Rafah, where extensive battles are ongoing. As the proposed prisoner exchange stalls amid officials' insistence on intensifying the war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to appease the anger of the prisoners' families during a meeting.
However, the majority of families escalated their protests, viewing the preparations for the third phase as a step that could claim the prisoners as its first victims.
Caught between on-the-ground preparations for the third phase and political confusion, security experts and politicians agree that Hamas currently has the say in the prisoners' file.

Israel and Hamas measures get a look as most US state legislatures meet for first time since Oct. 7
The Canadian Press/December 23, 2023
Most U.S. state legislatures will reconvene in January for the first time since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked a war in Gaza and protests worldwide — and they're preparing to take action in response, both symbolic and concrete. Legislatures in at least eight states that were in session late in 2023 have already condemned the attacks. “My worldview was shaped by the fact that my forbearers were not protected during the Holocaust, that no one came to their aid,” said Florida state Sen. Lori Berman, a Democrat who sponsored a resolution that passed unanimously last month in her state. “Silence and indifference are the reason why bad — evil — is able to prevail." Measures have been introduced already for the 2024 sessions in states from New Hampshire to North Dakota, and more are likely. In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 others hostage. Israel responded with attacks on Gaza, leveling buildings, including hospitals, killing more than 19,000, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, and causing 1.9 million Palestinian residents to flee their homes.
Strong emotions about the ongoing war are informed by a long history of conflict.
Since Oct. 7, at least 59 Hamas- or Israel-related pieces of legislation have been introduced in state legislatures. Most are resolutions condemning the attack and supporting Israel. In states including Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, resolutions in condemnation of the attack passed unanimously or nearly so.
Others have different aims: Resolutions in Pennsylvania and Texas would encourage President Joe Biden to facilitate an end to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. A New Jersey bill would have the state reimburse travel bills for state residents who were evacuated from Israel during the attack or afterward.
The issue could become more complex as the war goes on, with Democrats in some states becoming divided on resolutions. In Michigan, the Democratic-led state House adjourned their 2023 session without agreeing on a resolution, as Arab American lawmakers refused to support a resolution condemning Hamas and supporting Israel’s response. Another resolution in Michigan would call on Democrat U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib — the only Palestinian American in Congress — to resign over rhetoric that’s widely seen as a calling for the eradication of Israel. Her statements have already brought her censure from Congress. While condemning the attack is a largely popular position, how the bills do so varies. During a special session this month, the Georgia House of Representatives approved a resolution condemning the attacks. Only two of the 180 representatives voted against the resolution, but 49 didn't vote. Among those not voting was Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Democrat and the first Muslim woman elected to the chamber.
She said in an interview that she told the bill’s authors that she would have supported it if it had said the state stands with the Israeli people, instead of Israel. “You can’t ask me to stand with a country that displaced my grandparents and is now killing people en masse,” Romman said.
Lawmakers are also weighing in on how to handle protests and Palestinian-oriented events at universities, some of them accused of allowing antisemitism. Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania this month defeated legislation to send $33.5 million to the private University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school amid criticism and claims that the university was tolerating antisemitism. Indiana’s Republican House Speaker Todd Huston told his caucus in November that he would prioritize addressing antisemitism on college campuses in light of the Israel-Hamas war. The Indiana House passed a bill during the 2023 legislative session that sought to define antisemitism as religious discrimination and “provide educational opportunities free of religious discrimination.” The bill died in the Senate. “Our Jewish students should know they will be safe on campuses throughout Indiana and not be subjected to antisemitic teaching or materials,” Huston told colleagues in a speech. A Florida measure introduced in 2023 would force public university students who support Hamas and other groups designated as terrorist organizations to pay out-of-state tuition. I saw videos of protests on Florida’s campuses and wondered to myself ‘how many of these pro-Hamas students chanting for the destruction of Israel are taxpayers subsidizing with reduced tuition rates?’” the bill’s sponsor, GOP state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, told The Associated Press in an email. The bill did not advance in a special session in November, but he said he would bring it back. A New Jersey measure would target funding for universities, rather than individual students, prohibiting them from “authorizing, facilitating, providing funding for, or otherwise supporting any event or organization promoting antisemitism or hate speech on campus.” Its sponsor in the Assembly, Republican Alex Sauickie, said he believes the idea can pick up the bipartisan support needed to pass in a Democrat-controlled legislature. Edward Ahmed Michell, the national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that measures restricting speech could be found unconstitutional and he doesn't expect them to gain traction. He said that many of the others, which focus on support for Israel but not for the people of Gaza killed or displaced in the war, are also troubling. “I understand state legislators want to comment on international incidents that are relevant to their constituents, and that’s fine,” said Edward Ahmed Michell, the national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “But they need to be morally consistent.”

Toronto police warn people participating in upcoming demonstrations to follow the law
The Canadian Press/December 23/2023
Toronto police are urging demonstrators to follow the law ahead of planned protests related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue says demonstrations inside private property, such as malls, and those that block critical infrastructure, such as highways and bridges, are not legal.
She says people can be arrested at the event or in the days after if they cross the line from lawful demonstration to criminality. Police announced this week that they had launched an investigation into an exchange between a demonstrator and another person during a pro-Palestinian protest at a busy Toronto mall last Sunday.Pogue says that Toronto has seen 250 protests since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct.7 She says police have observed that some demonstrations are increasingly being attended by people she described as antagonistic. Pogue says there will be a visible police protest at demonstrations planned over the coming days. A pro-Palestinian protest is planned for Toronto's typically busy Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday.

Turkey detains 304 people over suspected Islamic State ties
ANKARA (Reuters)/December 23/2023
Turkish authorities have detained 304 people suspected of having ties to militant group Islamic State in operations across 32 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday. The majority of the suspects were detained in Turkey's three biggest cities of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, Yerlikaya said on social messaging platform X. He said the operation, "Operation Heroes-34", was carried out simultaneously across the country. "We will not allow any terrorists to open their eyes, for the peace and unity of our people. We will continue our battle with the intense efforts of our security forces," he said, sharing footage of the operations which showed police entering apartments and buildings and dragging suspects into vehicles. Islamic State controlled one third of Iraq and Syria at its 2014 peak. Though beaten back, it continues to wage insurgent attacks. It has conducted numerous attacks across Turkey, including on a nightclub in Istanbul on Jan. 1, 2017, in which 39 people were killed. Authorities have ramped up operations against Islamic State and Kurdish militants in recent weeks, after Kurdish militants detonated a bomb near government buildings in Ankara on Oct. 1. Turkey regularly conducts operations at home and in northern Iraq on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it regards as a terrorist organisation.

Egyptian, Iranian presidents discuss Gaza developments, restoring ties
CAIRO (Reuters)/December 23, 2023
The presidents of Egypt and Iran discussed recent developments in Gaza and the prospect of restoring diplomatic ties between their two countries in what Iranian state television said on Saturday was their first phone call. The television said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had called his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The two men met in November for the first time on the sidelines of the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh. "Raisi said Iran was ready to provide all its capacities to stop the genocide by the Zionist regime and send aid to the Palestinians," Iranian state TV reported, adding that it was the first time the two presidents had spoken by phone. Relations between Egypt and Iran have generally been fraught in recent decades although the two countries have maintained some diplomatic contacts. Their call follows other moves by countries in the region to east tension in recent months.
Egypt's Sunni Muslim Arab ally Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Muslim Iran restored diplomatic relations earlier this year while Cairo has mended a rift with Qatar and re-established ties with Turkey.

UN Security Council voices ‘alarm’ at spreading violence in Sudan
AFP/December 23, 2023
WASHINGTON: The UN Security Council expressed “alarm” at growing violence in war-torn Sudan on Friday, a day after it reported that seven million people have been displaced by the conflict. In a joint statement, the Council “strongly condemned” attacks on civilians and the spread of the conflict “into areas hosting large populations of internally displaced persons, refugees, and asylum seekers.” “The members of the Security Council expressed alarm at the spreading violence and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan,” the statement said, reflecting the worsening situation in the country. In addition to the seven million internally displaced people, the UN said Thursday another 1.5 million had fled into neighboring countries. Since fighting broke out on April 15 between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the city of Wad Madani, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Khartoum, had become a haven for thousands of displaced people during the conflict. But the Security Council said fighting had spread there too, causing refugees to flee once again. “According to the International Organization for Migration, up to 300,000 people have fled Wad Madani in Al-Jazira state in a new wave of large-scale displacement,” UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday. As the rival security forces battle for the city’s strongpoints, shopkeepers boarded up their stores this week to ward off looters while women disappeared from the streets for fear of sexual violence. The Council called on the warring parties to allow for “rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Sudan.”It condemned a December 10 attack on a convoy belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross and called for “the scaling up of humanitarian assistance to Sudan.” The war between the army and the RSF has killed 12,190 people, according to conservative estimates by the Armed Conflict Locations and Events Data project.

Report: Putin privately signals interest in ceasefire in Ukraine
Riley Beggin, USA TODAY/ December 23, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been privately signaling that he is open to a cease-fire in Ukraine, the New York Times reported Saturday, despite publicly saying he won't back down from the conflict that has been ongoing since early last year. More than 10,000 civilians have been killed and more than 18,500 injured since the war began, according to the United Nations, in addition to tens of thousands of troops. Putin has been indicating since at least September that he is open to stopping the fighting at the current boundary lines, the Times reported, citing two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and other American and international officials. That's far from Putin's apparent goal of overtaking Ukraine. Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 and quickly overtook large swaths of the country. But Ukrainian forces pushed back hard and successfully forced Russia to retreat from its northern regions. Since Oct. 2022, the battle lines have remained largely the same, with Russia holding parts of the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine. Putin also "sent out feelers" for a cease-fire last fall, according to the Times, and communicated that he was satisfied with the territory they had taken. But sources cited by the Times also warned that it could be an attempt at "misdirection" or that Putin could change his mind if his troops regain momentum. It's also not clear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would accept the deal, as Russia still holds parts of the country. The Russian military had been worn down by early 2023, as professional soldiers were replaced with draftees and prisoners who did not stand up well to Ukraine's forces. Only a small portion of Russians support the war effort, and Putin faced an embarrassing mutiny from mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
However, Ukraine has been unable to retake its lost territories. It's facing wavering support in the West and is competing for international attention with the war in Gaza. Zelenskyy has been lobbying United States leaders to finalize additional aid for his country, including visiting Washington last week to meet with Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden. Biden has requested $60 billion for Ukraine, as well as $14 billion for Israel, $10 billion for humanitarian assistance and $14 billion for the U.S. border. The package has stalled in Congress as the Republican caucus remains fractured over whether to continue to support Ukraine's fight against Russia. The Biden administration has warned that it will soon run out of funding for Ukraine's war effort without additional funds approved by Congress. Republicans refused to vote on the supplemental funding request without significant changes to asylum and border policies.
Bipartisan negotiations in the Senate, including White House officials and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, have been ongoing for weeks. The Senate hopes to reach a deal and vote on it when Congress returns early next year.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 23-24/2023
Three Things the Biden Administration Must Do Now to Stop Iran's Mullahs
Majid Rafizadeh/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/December 23, 2023
If the Biden administration thought that by rescuing Iran's economy, which had hit bottom, and removing the Houthis from the list of Foreign Terror Organizations would make both Iran into an ally, the generosity appears to have backfired.
If the Iranian regime is allowed to advance to nuclear weapons capability, it will be on course finally to drive the US out of the region; threaten its oil-rich neighbors; destabilize Europe; deploy military assets in Venezuela and Cuba, and, at last, come for the "Great Satan," the United States.
It must be made unmistakably clear to Iran that the United States will not allow Iran's current regime, a designated state sponsor of terrorism, to arm itself with nuclear weapons and emerge as yet another global nuclear threat in the Middle East, Europe and South America.
The Biden administration's policies of placating the ruling mullahs of Iran and their proxy, Yemen's Houthis, have clearly failed. If the Biden administration thought that by rescuing Iran's economy, which had hit bottom, and removing the Houthis from the list of Foreign Terror Organizations would make both Iran into an ally, the generosity appears to have backfired. Iran's regime financed and helped plan the invasion of the invasion of Israel by Hamas, which is another Iranian proxy. Iran has been arming the Houthis to target US and its allies in the region, and disrupt the shipping in the Red Sea, and Iran's militias in Syria and Iraq have fired on US troops more than 100 times just since October 17.
It is only the warships that the Biden administration helpfully placed in the Eastern Mediterranean that have most likely deterred yet another Iranian proxy, Lebanon's Hezbollah, from further escalating their attacks on Israel's north. The Iranian regime has become disruptive to the highest level since the Iran-Iraq war, and unfortunately, due to what seems a hugely misguided security paralysis in Washington D.C, shows no signs of letting up.
If the Iranian regime is allowed to advance to nuclear weapons capability, it will be on course finally to drive the US out of the region; threaten its oil-rich neighbors; destabilize Europe; deploy military assets in Venezuela and Cuba, and, at last, come for the "Great Satan," the United States.
Iran's involvement in the wars against Ukraine and Israel continues to broaden. Iran and Russia are fast making headway constructing a plant in Russia that will mass-produce Iranian-designed kamikaze drones, presumably to help Moscow attack Ukrainian targets.
Iran, meanwhile, has been trying, through its proxy, Hamas, to annihilate the "Little Satan," and has reportedly ordered its elite militias in Syria into southern Lebanon "to participate in attacks on Israel." The regime's nuclear program has also reached a critical point as it apparently just is a technical step away from producing nuclear bombs.
The Biden administration, it turns out, has not only been funding both sides of two wars -- Hamas's invasion of Israel, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- it has also indirectly started both wars, dating from its surrender to the Taliban by abandoning Afghanistan. The US also abandoned, as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran surely noticed, an unknown number of Americans; friends who for 20 years had risked their lives helping the US; a $96 million dollar air base, an $806 million dollar embassy, and $7 billion in new, state-of-the-art military equipment.
The Biden administration needs to apply three policies, which in all likelihood it will not do – which is why Iran keeps on escalating:
First, the administration should make it plain to Iran's ruling mullahs that if Tehran advances its nuclear program further, all military options are on the table. It must be made unmistakably clear to Iran that the United States will not allow Iran's current regime, a designated state sponsor of terrorism, to arm itself with nuclear weapons and emerge as yet another global nuclear threat in the Middle East, Europe and South America.
Second, economic sanctions, to cut the flow of funds to Iran and its terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, must be re-imposed, rather than have the US look the other way. The Biden administration, in addition, needs to stand firm with secondary sanctions against countries such as China, which are violating US sanctions by buying oil or trading with Iran. Countries can choose to do business with the US or with Iran -- but not both.
As Tehran's major revenues come from exporting oil, US Senator Lindsay Graham has suggested targeting Iran's oil refineries:
"What I would do is I would bomb Iran's oil infrastructure. The money financing terrorism comes from Iran. It's time for this terrorist state to pay a price for financing and supporting all this chaos."
Removing even just one oil refinery might also "send a message" and persuade Iran's ruling mullahs to rethink their plans.
Presumably intended as bribes in exchange for not starting wars, these billions of dollars are now being used predictably to start wars -- and to finance terrorism. US taxpayers, therefore, have been paying for the murder of at least 31 Americans at the hands of Hamas on October 7; the abduction by Hamas of "20 or more Americans" who have been held hostage; the Iranian bounties on the heads of former US officials, and the finishing touches that Iran is undoubtedly putting on its nuclear weapons program.
In April 2023, a bipartisan group of 12 US Senators urged the Biden administration to enforce Iranian oil sanctions, writing:
"United States sanctions should be enforced to the fullest extent of the law. As Iranian oil sales continue to rise, and the IRGC continues to target U.S. citizens and service members, including inside the U.S., it is imperative that we use all available government assets to limit the activities of the Iranian regime."
Everyone understands that Team Biden wants to win the presidential election next November and are anxious not to provoke an escalation. The problem is that, as with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, it is precisely this posture of fear that invites aggression. "You were given the choice between war and dishonour," Winston Churchill said in response to Chamberlain signing the Munich Agreement in 1938, "You chose dishonour and you will have war."
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2023 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Multilateral cooperation must not fall by the wayside
Sri Mulyani Indrawati/Arab News/December 23, 2023
Global leadership was woefully absent in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, which left no country unscathed. In 2021, I noted that the shape and pace of the post-pandemic economic recovery largely depended on multilateral cooperation. That remains true today, as the global economy, which has yet to bounce back fully from the pandemic, faces a new source of risk: proliferating geopolitical conflicts. Over the last two years, the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and seven military coups in sub-Saharan Africa have increased fragility and displaced huge numbers of people.
And yet, despite conditions that require strengthening collective action, multilateral cooperation appears to be in decline. We are not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030, when an estimated 7 percent of the world’s population will still be living in penury if current trends continue. Moreover, climate disasters are becoming more common — a dangerous and worsening trend. Discouragingly, there is a lack of global leadership in tackling these existential threats to humanity. It would do us well to acknowledge this reality and then decide how to change it.
Even amid overlapping crises, there is good news. The world economy has shown resilience in 2023, despite the slow and uneven recovery since the pandemic. The fight against stubbornly high global inflation seems to be working: inflation is projected to fall steadily from 8.7 percent in 2022 to 6.9 percent in 2023 and 5.8 percent in 2024. This can be attributed to interest rate hikes and lower international commodity prices, although prolonged monetary tightening will slow global economic activity. Meanwhile, gross domestic product growth in some emerging markets and developing economies, especially in East Asia and the Pacific, has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with China, Vietnam and Indonesia among the top performers.
Moreover, at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Marrakech in October, finance ministers and central bank governors agreed on eight global challenges to be tackled together and endorsed the World Bank’s new vision and mission to create a world free of poverty and to boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. This goal underpins the World Bank’s new playbook for development, as well as its enhanced financing model, ensuring that our collective effort to combat global challenges is feasible and strategically sound.
There are three main threats to global growth prospects over the medium term: escalating geopolitical tensions, which could lead to economic fragmentation; technological decoupling, which could prevent the diffusion of new digital technologies to boost productivity; and climate change, particularly its impact on agriculture. Unfortunately, many countries have limited policy space to support economic growth. Monetary policy has become largely restrictive to contain inflationary pressure, while fiscal policy is increasingly constrained, especially in low-income developing countries facing debt distress and the twin challenges of food and energy insecurity.
Geopolitical competition and conflict threaten to undo the gains of globalization. For the last 30 years, cross-border trade and investment have tripled the size of the global economy and lifted 1.3 billion people out of poverty. But today, new wars and simmering tensions could unravel supply chains, halt investment flows, give rise to multiple competing international standards for critical and emerging digital technologies, and lead to greater income and wealth inequalities.
To counter the threat from geopolitics, we must emphasize the importance of rules-based multilateral cooperation that values transparency, certainty and shared prosperity. Concerted collective effort is required to resist fragmentation on all fronts. After all, a breakdown in integration could lead to a sustained increase in price volatility, impede the cross-border flow of commodities and leave us with fewer tools to make global economic growth more inclusive.
Despite conditions that require strengthening collective action, multilateral cooperation appears to be in decline.
Equally worrying is the recent trend toward technological decoupling, particularly between the US and China regarding critical areas like artificial intelligence and semiconductors. This raises the specter of broader fragmentation, which could lead to losses in the order of 5 percent of GDP for many economies.
At the same time, the potential for technological change to contribute to development remains huge. Focusing on services and development in East Asia and the Pacific countries, a recent report by the World Bank found that services firms that use more digital technologies increase their productivity, although adopting them often requires substantial organizational change and complementary investments. Moreover, the diffusion of digital platforms, which offer customers new ways of connecting with suppliers, could drive explosive growth in online wholesale and retail, as it did in the Philippines.
The rapid development of digital technologies, if properly managed, could thus be a boon for sustained economic recovery. We can unite around a common strategy to increase their adoption and prevent fragmentation by ensuring that we account for complementary factors such as skill endowments, regulatory issues and competition levels.
Finally, it has become clear that the impact of climate change on agriculture will worsen global inequalities. In the first half of 2022, we witnessed one of the largest shocks to global food markets in decades, partly owing to poor harvests resulting from extreme weather events. About 80 percent of those most at risk of climate-related crop failures and hunger are in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, where farming families tend to be poor and vulnerable. A severe drought, whether caused by global warming or an El Nino weather pattern, could drive millions more into penury, even in relatively high-income countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
As global leaders, we can advocate policies to help make agriculture more climate-resilient (such as using water more efficiently), manage demand, encourage the switch to less thirsty crops and improve soil health. At the same time, these efforts align with sustainability goals and could also cut greenhouse gas emissions from the food system, which recent estimates show is responsible for about a third of total greenhouse gas emissions and is the largest human-related source of methane, as well as the primary driver of biodiversity loss. Given the rifts and disparities that confront the international community today, strengthening multilateral cooperation is more important than ever. On a positive note, one lesson that global leaders have seemingly learned from the pandemic — an extraordinary and unprecedented event — is the importance of building more resilience. Building on that lesson, we must sharpen our focus on four priorities. We must strengthen the spirit of solidarity, multilateralism and collaboration to pave the way for peaceful conflict resolution and economic cooperation. We must provide well-targeted fiscal support and more robust debt-management mechanisms, particularly for vulnerable countries. We must design policy responses to the current high interest rate environment that balance stability with growth. And we must ensure long-term growth sustainability through comprehensive structural reforms and investment in a green global economy.Monitoring and mitigating potential systemic threats are crucial for economic stability. Now and in the coming years, the actions we take — both globally and locally — will determine whether we rise to the pressing international challenges or fall victim to them. Multilateral cooperation is too important to let fall by the wayside.
*Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Finance Minister of Indonesia, is Co-Chair of the Coalition of G20 Finance Ministers for Climate Action. ©Project Syndicate

Why aren’t Jewish groups fighting DEI-based antisemitism?
Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS/(December 23/2023
The stand of the former ADL and AJC heads against woke ideology is encouraging. But major Jewish organizations still back ideas that breed hate.
They’re a little late to the party, but nevertheless still very welcome. The separate statements of Abe Foxman, the former head of the Anti-Defamation League, and David Harris, the former head of the American Jewish Committee, calling for the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs is welcome. They were dominant figures in the organized Jewish world for a generation and are still regarded as among the most influential voices in the community. So for both of them to come out as opponents of an ideology that has largely taken over the education system, as well as making serious inroads into the corporate world and government, is no small thing.
They join figures like journalist Bari Weiss and a host of other centrist and conservative voices who have been speaking out against the way the woke DEI catechism is both bad for America and fueling a rising tide of antisemitism. It’s been apparent for years that these so-called progressive ideologies like intersectionality and critical race theory have helped create an atmosphere in which Jew hatred has become acceptable behavior on the left. But in the last three months, it became impossible to ignore the cost that Jews in particular are paying for the left’s capture of leading cultural and educational institutions.
In the wake of the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, the sight of left-wing mobs chanting for the destruction of the one Jewish state on the planet (“from the river to the sea”) and in support of genocidal Islamist terrorism (“globalize the intifada”) has shocked American Jewry. Jews are being harassed on the streets of American cities, and the campuses of elite universities have become hostile environments for Jews. Institutions that were quick to silence, shun and punish those who said things that “triggered” left-wingers suddenly rediscovered their support for free speech once it was the progressives who were engaging in controversial conduct. It seems that the Jews are the only minority that is not only not entitled to “safe spaces,” but even to be spared genocidal threats.
Mainstreaming Jew hatred
As the appalling show put on by the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at a congressional hearing made clear earlier this month, the main priority of these schools was to avoid giving the impression that they were taking sides against those threatening Jews, even if meant refusing to say that “genocidal threats against Jews” violated their codes of conduct. But the main conclusion to be drawn from that absurd spectacle was not what happened to those three administrators but why those targeting Jews have been given a free pass by those in charge, as well as much of the corporate liberal media and pop culture outlets.
Advocacy for Israel’s destruction has been mainstreamed on the opinion pages of liberal newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post. And it was not without significance that the weekend after the congressional hearing on antisemitism that the “Saturday Night Live” program—which stopped being funny a long time ago but has instead become, like the networks’ late-night comedy shows, a reliable indicator of liberal political opinion—performed a skit about the event. But rather than poking fun at the three college presidents, the show lamely attempted to lampoon Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for having the temerity to interrogate the trio about their complacency and even encouragement of antisemitism since Oct. 7.
The reason for this has nothing to do with any coherent arguments about recent events or the history of the Middle East. It’s axiomatic that few of those screaming about creating a “free” Palestine “from the river to the sea” can identify either body of water. Nor is it likely that they or the adherents of orthodox liberal views that write and perform for SNL understand that, in contrast to Israel, such a “Palestine” wouldn’t be a safe space for gays, transgender or any other non-Islamist behavior. All they know is that their DEI mindset—a direct descendant of Marxist dialectic—has deemed the Jews to be the villains and that’s enough for them.
The political left in this country has become a lockstep cheering section for the Palestinians and even for the barbaric Hamas terrorists whose atrocities are deemed a form of “resistance.” The reason for this is due to the progressives’ adherence to the woke DEI and intersectional playbook that divides humanity into two distinct and immutable groups that are perpetually in conflict: white oppressors and people of color who are victims. They believe in diversity only with respect to certain racial groups and not opinion. They have replaced “equal opportunity” with its polar opposite “equity,” which demands equal outcomes based on race and background rather than individual ability. And they seek to include only those approved minorities from which Jews are conspicuously absent.
This is a recipe for permanent racial conflict for America as the left now takes it as an article of faith that all of the remarkable progress toward racial equality made in this country since the 1960s is insignificant when compared to the “structural” and “institutional” racism that they believe is everywhere in society. Such views had been marginal until the last decade since the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement since the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. The acceptance of the myth that African-Americans are being hunted down and killed by the police in great numbers grew but it took off in the summer of 2020 after the death of George Floyd created a moral panic about racism that led to “mostly peaceful” riots throughout the country. Though DEI and intersectionality had been gaining ground throughout society before then, especially in the education system, the Black Lives Matter summer of 2020 made it a dominant force with only a few brave conservative voices raised in dissent.
Joining a moral panic
That was bad enough for America, as it worsened race relations after decades of improvement. But as some of us pointed out at the time, this was particularly dangerous for Jews. That’s because the BLM movement was, like the rest of the progressive intersectional mindset, hopelessly antisemitic. Their categorization of Jews as “white” and oppressors, was a permission slip for Jew hatred. As a 2021 survey of DEI college administrators showed, the woke commissars enforcing the new rules were disproportionately anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.
Yet even as it became clear how destructive a force this ideology was, it became impossible for liberals to oppose it. Even U.S. President Joe Biden, who was chosen by Democrats as the “moderate” alternative to more left-wing options, adopted the DEI catechism. He issued an executive order on his first day in office that mandated the creation of DEI plans for every government agency and department and woke commissars to ensure their enforcement.
So it is hardly surprising that the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust on Oct. 7 would generate a spike in antisemitism in places like academia where DEI culture reigns supreme.
But one of the most discouraging aspects of this crisis is not merely the failure of legacy Jewish organizations to lead the fight against DEI but their active support for it. Groups like the ADL and the AJC, which were both considered by many in the liberal-leaning Jewish community as representing mainstream centrism rather than the left wing, were quick to sign on in support of BLM and DEI. And they haven’t wavered in their stands in spite of the mounting evidence that they were aiding and abetting forces that were weaponizing antisemitism, which is the polar opposite of the traditional understanding of their organizational missions. The reason for this is twofold.
The leadership of these and other mainstream groups were primarily interested in staying in sync with their left-wing allies, especially in the African-American community, with whom they shared other positions on domestic issues. The thought of being caught opposing what liberals viewed as not merely the fashion of the moment but the new orthodoxy was intolerable, since it meant running the risk of being accused of racism, no matter how bogus most such charges have become.
It’s equally true that just as politics has replaced the role that religion once played in the lives of most Americans, Jewish groups have also become more partisan in their orientations. That’s particularly true for the Anti-Defamation League, which replaced Foxman in 2015 with former Obama administration staffer Jonathan Greenblatt. While Foxman was certainly a political liberal, his priority was always the defense of the Jews. I had my share of arguments with him over the years, but I was also quick to defend him when he was lambasted in the media for being too pro-Israel.
By contrast, Greenblatt has, at least until the last few months, been more interested in backing Democratic Party talking points than in carrying out the ADL’s core mission. That has been very bad news for the Jewish community. But it has enabled him to outstrip Foxman as a champion fundraiser as he’s reaped donations from individuals and groups that were not interested in backing a traditional Jewish defense organization.
On a fool’s errand
Harris was no partisan but his stewardship of the American Jewish Committee kept it reliably liberal. In 2022, he was replaced by former Democratic congressman Ted Deutsch, who was a strong supporter of Israel but also someone who never strayed far from most liberal orthodoxies.
While ADL and AJC have been outspoken in denouncing the spike in post-Oct. 7 antisemitism, they have not withdrawn their support for the DEI ideology that is its foundation. Instead, they claim they wish to “engage” with DEI administrators in order to convince them to include Jews among those who benefit from this polarizing racial and ideological movement.
That is a fool’s errand.
The DEI crowd is already convinced that Jews and Israelis are white oppressors and Palestinians are their victims who are “people of color.” That’s nonsense since Jews are the indigenous people of Israel, the Middle East conflict isn’t racial and the majority of Israeli Jews are themselves “people of color,” because they trace their origins to the Middle East and North Africa.
Yet what these efforts to “engage” with DEI also fail to comprehend is that any system of thought that categorizes people racially in this manner is profoundly antithetical to the best interests of a Jewish community. The security and success of the Jews in America is based on the very values of equal opportunity and individual rights that DEI is seeking to destroy. As destructive as this is for American society as a whole, DEI poses a direct threat to Jews.
As with their alliances with BLM and other progressives who are committed to opposing Israel, the mainstream Jewish world’s refusal to oppose DEI is not just a mistake; it’s a betrayal of their obligations to their constituents
Foxman and Harris are to be commended for not just drawing the right conclusions. It is to be hoped that many of their fellow liberal Jews who foolishly believed that opposition to DEI, critical race theory and intersectionality was nothing more than a conservative “culture war” issue will now also see the error of their ways and join the growing body of American opinion that realizes just how dangerous these toxic ideas have become. But those who refuse to join them should not be in any doubt as to what they are doing. Those on the left who claim that opposition to DEI is antisemitic, as a recent Vox article claimed, aren’t just trying to divert attention from the truth about woke ideology. They are trying to gaslight liberal Jews into continuing to aid those who seek their slaughter.Those who refuse to recant their support for DEI—whether it is Biden or the ADL and AJC—may claim they care about stopping antisemitism. But their rhetorical condemnations of Jew hatred are meaningless so long as they continue to support the empowerment of a movement that intrinsically targets Jews for discrimination. It would have been better had Foxman and Harris joined this fight years ago rather than waiting until after the danger had metastasized. But they should be welcomed nonetheless to a fight that is, whether most of the Jewish community understands it or not, the one on which their future most depends.
*Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate). Follow him: @jonathans_tobin.

The Mullahs and the Dragon ...Tehran and Beijing, in a dangerous alliance
Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh/National Review/December 23/2023
As Israel and Hamas slug it out in Gaza, the Biden administration is trying to deploy enough naval muscle to intimidate the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies. It has been, however, reluctant to use this power. Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq have bombarded U.S. forces in Syria nearly nonstop, but the White House has struck back with limited air raids, signaling its belief that escalating against Tehran’s proxies, let alone the clerical regime itself, would be counterproductive. Fear of a larger regional conflict, which could easily bring the United States into direct confrontation with Iran, may be deterring Washington more than the U.S. Navy is deterring Tehran. The White House and the Europeans who matter — the French, the Brits, and the Germans — also haven’t wanted to highlight Iran’s pivotal role in provoking this fight: Without Iranian-supplied cash and weaponry, the October 7 assault on the Jewish state might have been a lot smaller, or it might not have happened.
It’s an excellent guess that the Islamic Republic got bolder because it had acquired great-power patrons. With the Israel–Gaza War intensifying, Americans may lose focus on how Tehran is reshaping power politics in the Middle East through its alliances with Moscow and, perhaps more important, Beijing. Great-power patronage for the Islamic Republic is new — most in the U.S. foreign-policy community didn’t see it coming. Moscow’s partnership with Tehran is now explicit, and centered on arms sales and mutual loathing of the United States. Iranian relations with China are more complicated but commercially of far greater consequence. Already, China has greatly undermined the efficacy of U.S. sanctions against the clerical regime, and the partnership has helped to make Iran the dominant power in the Middle East.
To anticipate how these two revisionist states might intersect in the future, though, one must understand the history of Chinese–Iranian interplay.
Communism aside, Iran’s triumphant revolutionaries should have found kindred spirits in China. Two ancient nations with long-standing grievances against the West had managed to achieve their independence from Western-supported governments after tumultuous upheaval. But Communist China had forged close ties with the Iranian monarchy. In August 1978, China’s leader, Hua Guofeng, even visited Tehran and expressed solidarity with the beleaguered shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Ruhollah Khomeini was not one to overlook such slights and denounced Beijing in terms usually reserved for the West: “Our youth must know that China and Russia, like the U.S. and Britain, feed on the blood of our people.” For the ayatollah, this was proof that “neither East nor West” was the only doctrine for the Islamic Republic, a revolutionary state aiming to forge a path as neither client nor ally of any great power.
No nation conducted shrewder diplomacy with the Islamic Republic than China, despite its former support for the shah’s regime. Hua privately expressed remorse for his ill-timed journey: “I apologize to Imam Khomeini for my visit to Iran during the regime of the deposed shah and I support the Islamic Republic of Iran,” declared the humbled Communist. Henceforth, Beijing’s Iran pronouncements highlighted anti-imperialism, third-world solidarity, and respect for Persian accomplishments. China needed allies in critical regions such as the Middle East. Iran’s vast oil reserves attracted Beijing’s attention. But as China started looking to America for commerce and investment, its dalliance with the Islamic Republic waned. Revolutionary Iran was too much a pariah state for a China eager to shed its militant, anti-Western legacy.
Hua’s apology may have done little to assuage Khomeini upon his hearing of it from the Pakistanis in 1979, but his younger disciples, future supreme leader Ali Khamenei and future president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, were attracted to the Middle Kingdom. Mao’s China had managed to advance, in defiance of both the United States and the Soviet Union. Rafsanjani, in particular, was fascinated by the so-called post-Mao China model, by which an autocracy through state capitalism created economic prosperity on a scale that seemed a dreamscape for Iranian revolutionaries. Whether seen as a defiant state challenging Western hegemony or a dictatorship that had discovered the secrets of economic growth, China held a special place in the young clerics’ political imagination.
In the 1980s, Beijing continued to balance its contradictory ambitions. During the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, it prodded the revolutionaries to accept the principle of diplomatic immunity but acknowledged their grievances against America. Beijing abstained from many critical U.N. votes that concerned Iran’s interests, displeasing both Washington and Tehran.
Iraq’s invasion of Iran put China in another quandary. As part of its economic-modernization plan, Beijing had opened important trade relations with the Sunni Arab bloc, which aligned with Saddam Hussein. These emerging ties precluded an alliance with the Islamic Republic. Yet Beijing feared that an isolated Iran would turn to the Soviet Union and further enhance the power of its rival. So China split the difference: It called for an end to the war while selling arms to both sides. Through barter arrangements that involved an exchange of oil for weapons, Iran obtained much-needed aircraft, missiles, and tanks. For the sake of appearances, Beijing sometimes used North Korea as the conduit for these purchases. During the war and well into the 1990s, Iran may have secured upward of 70 percent of its arms from China and North Korea, according to figures from the Middle East Economic Digest.
In the mind of Khomeini, the aging philosopher king, regime survival depended on internal resources and the export of its revolution abroad. The ayatollah and his first (and last) deputy supreme leader, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, were both Islamic Trotskyites who saw the expansion of the revolution as integral to its success. Upon Khomeini’s death in 1989, his cagey successors were committed to preserving their ideological inheritance, but they saw the enormous war damage and the need to revive the economy and rebuild shattered military forces. To accomplish those goals, they had to reconsider their relationship with China, as they had no desire to reconcile with the “Great Satan” or give up their ambition to destroy Israel.
The end of the Cold War was bound to bring the Islamic Republic and China closer together. The quick collapse of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satraps unsettled both nations. They feared that democratization would prove contagious. And then came Saddam Hussein’s impetuous invasion of Kuwait and quick expulsion therefrom by the United States. Neither Tehran nor Beijing expected America to succeed so fast. Both were shocked by its technological edge. Suddenly, America’s unipolar moment had arrived, and the global triumph of liberalism seemed sure to follow.
In June 1989, it appeared that China itself might succumb to people power. Hundreds of thousands of students demanding greater freedom gathered in Tiananmen Square and elsewhere throughout the country. The demonstrations were not confined to Beijing and had the support of elements of the working class and the peasantry. China’s leadership was initially divided, and its army hesitated to harm the protesters. Deng Xiaoping finally ordered a crackdown, to which the West responded with criticisms and sanctions. China suddenly needed friends. It found them in the Global South.
Despite Khamenei’s ascendance to the post of supreme leader, Rafsanjani was initially the man in charge. Neither leader was prepared to dispense with terrorism as an instrument of state or to call off plans to murder Iranian dissidents abroad. This limited Iran’s ability to secure Western investment at a time when it needed to revive its economy. Iran proved its reliability to Beijing by endorsing the Tiananmen massacre. But Rafsanjani wanted not just commercial ties but a strategic partnership. “China is one of the few countries in the world that can be a good friend to those in third world countries who are keen on independence,” he professed.
The Islamic Republic had to pay a price for its ties to China, and China’s sizeable Muslim population offered tantalizing opportunities. Initially, several religious foundations in Iran offered to finance mosque construction in China, but Beijing made clear that even limited forays in this area would jeopardize bilateral relations. As with the Chechen Muslims slaughtered by Russia, Iran studiously ignored the plight of Muslims in China. In a 1989 visit to the country, Khamenei even claimed that “the Muslims of China are satisfied with the policies of the Chinese government with regard to Muslims and the freedom of their faith.”
Iranian delegations now journeyed to China and purchased all sorts of items, including arms. Even more ominous were agreements on transferring nuclear technologies and China’s pledge to construct several atomic reactors in the Islamic Republic.
But Washington and Beijing were not prepared to give up on each other. Too many state visits to America and too many lucrative deals were at stake. Bill Clinton, who had long since jettisoned his campaign rhetoric about the butchers of Beijing, was eager to integrate China into the global economy. His administration granted China membership in the World Trade Organization and, more important, gave it “most favored nation” trading status in the U.S. market. At Clinton’s urging, China suspended nuclear cooperation with Iran and stopped its sale of advanced anti-ship cruise missiles. Beijing now kept Tehran at a distance. Military exchanges between the two sides became covert and limited.
In 2002, a dissident Iranian organization revealed that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure was far greater than previously thought. The program was approaching the point of self-reliance, after which traditional counter-proliferation measures such as more-rigorous export controls would not measurably slow it down. In the aftermath of 9/11, the Bush White House was particularly alarmed about the likely proliferation of dangerous technologies in rogue states. But, overwhelmed with Iraq, the administration eventually turned Iran’s nuclear file over to the United Nations and the Western Europeans, who were scared that the “Texas cowboy” might bomb another country.
Iran’s clerical leaders, too, were frightened. America had toppled Hussein in three weeks — something that the Islamic Republic’s military men had assured them wouldn’t happen for months. The regime was also troubled by the country’s struggling economy, which was about to be hit with more sanctions. The mullahs needed help and turned back to China. Hassan Rouhani, then the chief nuclear negotiator with the Europeans and later the president of Iran, journeyed to Beijing to ask for protection. China’s foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing, disappointed him. “Don’t anticipate that we will stand against” Americans, he told the cleric. China voted for all the U.N. resolutions that helped tighten the economic noose around the Islamic Republic’s neck.
And then came Xi Jinping.
Xi’s China is not interested in even pretending to be a responsible stakeholder. China is now prepared to forfeit financial dividends for its nationalist ambitions, which, in their cultish crudeness and aggressive boldness, echo the rising fascists of the 1930s. Beijing is no longer coy about unifying Taiwan with the mainland by force or asserting its power in the South China Sea. Its costly Belt and Road Initiative is meant to knit together an expansive trade zone in Eurasia under Chinese guidance. And Beijing has become the destination of choice for a gallery of rogue states. The Islamic Republic may have found a great-power patron of greater utility than Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The rise of Xi followed the decline of American hegemony. The aging men of the Politburo had once feared that the end of the Cold War would cause Washington to focus on its rival in East Asia. But the Middle East had intruded. After 9/11, the United States became bogged down, spiritually more than militarily, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither the Bush nor the Obama administration ever confronted Iran’s clerical regime over its lethal anti-American actions in either theater. In Iraq, Iranian support and guidance to Shiite militias sapped American willpower.
The mullahs had once more slipped the noose. In 2015, their nuclear perseverance and obstinacy even compelled Barack Obama to sign an agreement accepting Iran’s status as a nuclear-threshold state, i.e., a state that can assemble a weapon in short order. The Islamic Republic had finally become a worthy partner for a China eager to flex.
Then in 2016, in a show of deference to the prickly Persians, Xi went to Tehran to cement the alliance. Both Xi and Khamenei took turns denouncing the West and trumpeting their new partnership. The cleric intoned, “Iran is the most reliable country in the region for energy since its energy policies will never be affected by foreigners.” In response, Xi stressed, “We decided to turn our mutual relations into… strategic relations.” Even after Donald Trump jettisoned Obama’s nuclear deal and piled on sanctions, the trade between China and Iran was largely unaffected, as China had no intention of adhering to America’s prohibitions.
“Turning east” is the new buzz phrase in Iran’s corridors of power. In 2020, the Islamic Republic announced that it had signed a 25-year agreement with China. The agreement essentially reduced Iran to a vassal state. China wouldn’t just receive oil at discount rates but would penetrate all aspects of Iran’s economy: petrochemicals, infrastructure, telecommunications, and the banking sector. A regime born in a revolution that promised autonomy and dignity had become a junior partner to a rising superpower, selling its resources on the cheap.
Great-power patronage is not without its rewards. Iran has an easier path to the bomb now that trade with China shelters its economy from sanctions, while Russia is a generous provider of military hardware and, quite likely, nuclear technologies (if Iranian physicists and nuclear engineers even need the help). The notion that Khamenei will concede his nuclear assets for sanctions relief has no audience in Iran today. Even the Biden administration has seemingly learned this lesson. Under the guise of releasing dual nationals from captivity, it was silling to transfer $6 billion to the mullahs (the White House has apparently refrozen these funds because of October 7). The hostages are accidental to an arrangement whose essential purpose is to entice Tehran not to test a nuclear device during a presidential-election year. The problem with bribery, of course, is that one must keep paying.
Nor can Americans comfort themselves with the notion that, no matter what differences we have with China, Beijing wouldn’t wish to see an Iranian bomb that could further destabilize the Middle East. Xi had no problem with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which risked unsettling Europe, China’s main trading partner. An Iranian bomb could even expedite America’s exit from a region that its political class still bemoans as the land of “forever wars.”
The Islamic Republic does have to accommodate China’s sensibilities. It is inconceivable that Iran would attack Saudi oil facilities today as it did in 2019, since this could cause a spike in petroleum prices and damage China’s economy. Indeed, the Iranian–Saudi normalization agreement that was crafted through Chinese mediation holds little for the clerical oligarchs. Beijing can showcase its ability to mediate thorny disputes in a critical region. The impetuous Saudi leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, gets a path out of the treasury-bleeding Yemen war that he instigated and a check on bad Iranian behavior that could demolish his grandiose visions.
The mullahs come out of this arrangement, however, largely empty-handed. Khamenei had blamed Riyadh, among others, for the women/life/freedom movement that aimed to topple his regime last year. He’d promised retaliation for Saudi misconduct. He’s certainly gotten some satisfaction from the Hamas onslaught against Israel, which has derailed, and may have wrecked, Saudi–Israeli–American diplomacy to normalize relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem.
An atomic bomb is the theocracy’s trump card. Once in possession of the ultimate weapon, Iran can renegotiate the terms of its compact with China on a more equal footing. It can be less sensitive to China’s mandates and even more assertive in projecting its power. It can rekindle its animosity with Saudi Arabia. (The Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen, who truly loathe the Saudis, will likely be thrilled to start shooting missiles again.) A bomb may allow Tehran to extract its own tribute from its weaker neighbors — the United Arab Emirates often already bends over backward — and menace Israel with greater impunity. But for now, Khamenei seems to have learned an important lesson from Deng, who told subordinates that a rising power should conceal its intentions while building up its capabilities.
Washington ought to look at October 7 as an example of how easily Iran can change Middle Eastern conversations and expectations. It wasn’t just another eruption of the Palestinian–Israeli imbroglio. If the Biden administration chooses to think small, as so far it has, it will be likely to run a dispiriting, ever-weakening defense that can only undermine American resolve to play the great game in the Middle East. Before October 7, most in Washington’s foreign-policy establishment wanted to retrench in the region, seeing it as far less consequential than Europe or Asia. They may still want to. Beijing and Tehran, along with Moscow, have other plans.
*Mr. Gerecht, a former Iranian-targets officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, is a resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
*Mr. Takeyh is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Rising from the ruins of a generation of Israeli doctrine
CAROLINE B. GLICK/JNS/December 23/2023
It will take years to correct the damage the generals wrought by reducing the size of the IDF and inducing its total dependence on the United States
Two underlying assumptions guided Israel’s security establishment for the past generation. The first asserted that with the end of the Cold War, the era of conventional wars had ended. In the present age, brains, rather than brawn, would rule the roost.
The primary author of the “small and smart IDF” doctrine was Ehud Barak, who served as Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces when the Berlin Wall crumbled. In later years, the slogan was finessed.
A generation of IDF Chiefs of General Staff organized around the vision of a “small, technological and lethal army.”
As Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Brick, (retired) who served as the IDF ombudsman for ten years, has documented, operating under the spell of Barak’s doctrine, the IDF shut down multiple reserve divisions. It cut its artillery forces by 50%. Armored brigades were shut down. The reserve force was reduced by 80% between 2003 and 2017. The non-commissioned officer corps was gutted. The bulk of the IDF budget and nearly all the U.S. military aid were diverted to the Air Force—the strategic arm of the “small, technological and lethal” IDF.
The doctrine was repeatedly exposed as a farce. But to no avail. The air force didn’t defeat the Palestinian terror factories in Judea and Samaria in 2002. The ground forces did. The air force never had a response to missiles from Hezbollah to the north and Hamas to the south. Without regional brigades defending the borders, Israel’s “peacetime” borders with Jordan on the east and Egypt at its west became highways for weapons smugglers.
Brick’s warnings fell on deaf ears until the “small, smart army” fallacy was obliterated by Hamas invaders on Oct. 7. Israel’s multi-billion shekel “smart fence” was felled by bulldozers. Its automatic response system was obliterated by RPGs. Hundreds of soldiers manning these worthless technological wonders were slaughtered or kidnapped. Everything failed.
A microcosm of all things oppressive
This brings us to the second underlying assumption that guided Israel’s security establishment for the past generation. This assumption, also championed by Barak, asserted that Israel’s most important strategic asset was the United States.
Leaving aside the obvious fact that a strategy of dependence on an outside actor effectively gutted Israel’s national independence, on the surface, Barak’s dependence concept seemed reasonable.
The Americans rescued Israel with its weapons airlift in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In 1992, the United States was the sole global superpower. Because Israel was seen as Washington’s “mini-me,” countries worldwide lined up to be friends with Israel, which they perceived as the gateway to Washington. The vast majority of Americans supported Israel. U.S. military aid to Israel enjoyed wide bipartisan support.
Under the spell of Barak’s U.S. dependence doctrine, Israel gutted its domestic military production capabilities. Nearly everything that it had produced domestically—from uniforms to rifles to bullets, to artillery and tank shells—was shut down. Thousands of military industry workers lost their jobs. Knowledge was lost. The contracts moved to the United States. Even projects developed jointly by Israeli engineers financed by America were transferred to the United States for production. So it happened that Israel’s Iron Dome missiles are solely produced in the United States.
Along with Barak, the dependence doctrine’s biggest champions were the air force generals. Under their leadership, Israel’s air force effectively became a U.S. asset. The air force cannot operate without U.S. platforms, spare parts and bombs. All air force ordnance is made in America.
But even during the 1990s and 2000s, the writing was appearing on the walls telling us that things were changing in America. A generation after the United States emerged from the Cold War as the sole global superpower, it struggles to contend with the threat of China, which surpasses it in several key technologies.
Under the spell of globalization, the United States gutted its industrial base. Even if it wanted to, today it is hard-pressed to repeat the 1973 airlift in real time.
Even worse, the end of the Cold War initiated changes in American society that over the past 20 years have exploded in convulsive transformations.
Since the early 2000s, hard-core cultural Marxist progressives have seized control over the U.S. education system at all levels. As a result, young Americans are emerging from high schools and universities with values unlike anything we have ever seen.
The new American values are built around a division of humanity into two classes: oppressor and oppressed. “Oppressors,” young Americans now believe, are evil and must be punished. “Oppressed” are pure and must be empowered. The United States is the chief oppressor. Its social and economic orders must be radically transformed to expiate its sins.
Israel (America’s “mini-me”), and Jews generally, are presented as a microcosm of all things oppressive.
The implications of this progressive indoctrination present America with an existential challenge. If allowed to continue into the next generation, the United States will be destroyed.
For Jews, the threat this indoctrination poses is immediate, as a survey published last week by Harvard-Harris demonstrated.
Harvard-Harris asked their respondents’ views on the Israel-Hamas war, and more broadly, about Jews and Jew-hatred. The answers showed that unlike their parents and grandparents, young Americans have embraced a comprehensive, internally consistent and genocidal hatred for Israel and Jews.
Two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 believe that Jews are oppressors and should be treated as such. Around 70% in that same age bracket believe that antisemitism is rising in the United States generally and on university campuses specifically. They believe that calls for genocide of Jews are hate speech and a form of harassment.
At the same time, 53% of them think this harassment and hate speech should go unpunished.
Similarly, 66% of 18- to 24-year-olds agree that Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 was genocidal. All the same, 60% believe it was justified.
Logically flowing from these sentiments, 51% of young Americans believe that the proper end of the Palestinian-Israel conflict is the destruction of the Jewish state and its replacement with a Hamas-controlled Palestinian entity. That is, the majority of young Americans support the annihilation of the Jewish people.
Unlike the generals’ “small, smart army” doctrine, it took several weeks for the public to see the devastating consequences of their “America-dependence doctrine.”
America in a holding pattern
In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, their faith in American support seemed to be borne out. President Joe Biden and his top advisers pledged their total support for Israel. Biden deployed U.S. aircraft carrier groups to the Eastern Mediterranean and promised $14.3 billion in supplemental military aid to Israel to ensure that Israel has what it needs to successfully win the war.
But in recent weeks, particularly since Israel resumed its operation in Gaza at the end of November after the 10-day hostages-for-terrorists ceasefire, that assessment has changed dramatically. The public has realized that friendliness and declarations of solidarity aside, the United States does not share—and in some areas opposes—Israel’s war aims. To win the war, Israel must eradicate Hamas in Gaza and remove the threat Hezbollah poses to northern Israel. It must also take action to prevent the Houthis from maintaining their effective maritime blockade of the Port of Eilat.
On all of these fronts, Biden and his top aides have made clear that their goals are not the same as Israel’s. They do not seek the eradication of Hamas and the return of the hostages. They seek the end of the war and the return of the hostages. And at the end of the war, they want to rebuild Gaza. They want to use the war’s end as a means to compel Israel into a “peace process.” The goal of that process is to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza, and Judea and Samaria, led by terrorists from the Palestinian Authority which, like Hamas, seeks the annihilation of the Jewish state.
In Lebanon, the administration seeks to prevent war, even though doing so will leave Hezbollah with its capacity to invade the Galilee and destroy strategic targets all over Israel with its massive missile arsenal.
As for Yemen, the United States has demanded that Israel take no offensive action against either the Houthis or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overlords directing Houthi operations from their spy ship in the Red Sea.
Instead, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has formed a multinational task force from which Israel has been excluded. While its purpose is subject still to speculation, to many U.S. and Israeli observers, it appears that America intends to use its coalition to beef up its efforts to intercept Houthi missiles and drones launched against merchant vessels in the Red Sea. That is, as with Hezbollah, the U.S. goal vis-à-vis the Houthis seems to be to end Houthi assaults on merchant ships without diminishing their capacity to carry them out.
As for military supplies, the $14.3 billion is still languishing in Congress. It won’t be considered until Congress reconvenes on Jan. 9 after the Christmas and New Year recess.
It will take years to correct the damage the generals wrought by reducing the size of the IDF and inducing its total dependence on the United States.
‘The IDF is changing its view’
But this week, the Defense Ministry let it be known that it is moving to correct the situation. On Tuesday, Ynet reported that the Defense Ministry is initiating what it refers to as “Independence Project.”
According to the report, the Defense Ministry is launching a crash program with Israel’s military industries and major industrialists to make Israel independent in everything related to ordnance. In the initial phase, Israel will begin producing bombs for its aircraft. Jerusalem also intends to expand its production of tank and artillery shells, as well as assault rifles and bullets. Separately, there is increased discussion regarding the establishment of a missile force as an independent arm of the IDF. The force would reduce reliance on the air force and develop more versatile, more easily defended missile launch platforms and massively expand Israel’s missile and drone arsenals.
After meeting with Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Ron Tomer, the head of Israel’s Industrialists Union, told Ynet, “The war demonstrates our need for a powerful and advanced industrial base to ensure Israel’s national strength and independent capabilities. The IDF is changing its view of how it arms its forces, enlarging domestic production lines in order to be less dependent on ordnance from abroad. The ideal of a small high-tech military did not prove itself.”
Brick and others argue that had Hezbollah joined Hamas in invading and bombing Israel on Oct. 7, Israel may well have been destroyed that day. A combination of Hezbollah’s 10,000-man Radwan Brigades perched at the border and capable of invading the Galilee, and a barrage of up to 4,000 missiles with various payloads targeting Israel’s air bases, and other strategic sites and civilian population centers every day for weeks, would have caused irreparable damage equal in force to a nuclear bomb.
Iran’s decision not to involve Hezbollah on Oct. 7 has given Israel the opportunity to reorganize its forces and prepare for the multi-front war that awaits us. We don’t have a moment to lose.