An Attack of Literal Biblical Proportions

An Attack of Literal Biblical Proportions
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
October 22, 2023

This past Shabbat, October 21, 2023, also Chesvan 6, 5784 on the Hebrew calendar, in shuls (synagogues) the world over, the Jewish people read from the Torah (the Five Books of Moses/Scripture), Parshah Noach - the weekly portion about Noah and the Great Flood from Genesis 6:9 - 11:32. This is part of the Covenant between G-d and the Jewish people.

Noah, deemed the only righteous man, is instructed by G-d to “build a large wooden teivah (ark).” G-d informs Noah that “a great deluge will wipe out all life from the face of the earth, but the ark will float upon the water, sheltering Noah and his family, and two members (male and female) of each animal species.” (www.chabad.org)

But why? Because the Torah says, in Genesis 6:11-13, “And the earth was corrupt before G-d, and the earth was filled with violence. And G-d saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. And G-d said unto Noah: ‘The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’” Because the L-rd saw His own creation and what it had become, and it most certainly was not good in His eyes.

There’s more to this than the study of this past Shabbat’s Torah portion, but it is derived linguistically. The word violence, used several times in the Torah reading, in Hebrew, phonetically, is hamas - yes, pronounced the same as the radical, militant, Islamic terrorist group of the same spelling - Hamas. With the number of people, young, old, Jewish-Israeli, Arab-Israeli, Christian-Israeli, male, female, within the government, not part of the government, military, non-military saying Hamas is worse than ISIS, speaks volumes. A militant, Islamic terrorist organization with a name translating to mean “violence” is not coincidental - names have meanings, and dates are chosen for significance.

The heinous acts of barbarism meted out by Hamas have been compared to the savagery that was the Holocaust. The slaughter of innocent women, children, elderly, the rape of women and children, the beheading of babies on October 7, reaching beyond 1,400 murdered Israelis - non-combatants, civilians, more than 260 music festival attendees, wheelchair-bound Holocaust survivors - the enormity not seen since the Holocaust itself.

This invasion of Israel, this attack of Jewish Israelis, for one reason, and one reason only, because they believe in, and worship, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has been celebrated en masse on college campuses and on city streets the world over. Cities including, but not limited to Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco in the United States, as well as Brussels, London, Paris, Sydney, and Tehran to the tune of hundreds of thousands took to the streets supporting Palestinians and Hamas, many disbelieving the realities of Hamas’s brutal crimes against humanity. 

And let’s not forget Washington, DC - where hundreds protested in the Cannon Office Building and thousands more outside the Congressional building. There are many who would call the behavior of this group an insurrection, but that won’t be reported by the so-called mainstream media. This rabid anti-Israel group is called Jewish Voice for Peace - that’s right - Jewish. This radical group of self-hating Jews supports the propaganda peddled by Hamas and their Palestinian pawns. It is the “largest Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.” (www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org) 

This dangerous radical group of, it’s hard to call them Jewish, supporters of the Palestinians, calling Israel Palestine on their website, supports a Palestinian homeland, and fell prey to the propaganda arm of Hamas, as did the so-called mainstream media, falsely calling Israel an apartheid state, falsely calling Israel a colonizer. Ponder this question: If Israel is surrounded by foes, and surrenders land when signing peace treaties, what land have they colonized? Hearing crickets. And why? Because Israel does not colonize land.

Hamas, as well as the militant Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah, attacking Israel from Lebanon in the north (both funded proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran), have the same goals emblazoned into their charters - the eradication of Israel and the annihilation of global Jewry. With objectives and aspirations like these, there are no negotiations to be had with these murderers. There is no two-state solution for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, only the Final Solution - just as the Nazis designed.

Many of the protesters against Israel and for the Palestinians and Hamas are college-educated, middle-upper class, white liberals indoctrinated on the very campuses that also held rallies. Schools such as, but not limited to Arizona State, Columbia, CUNY campuses, Harvard, Indiana, Kent State, NYU Law, Penn State, Purdue, UC Berkeley, U. of Chicago, U. of Cincinnati, UConn, U. of Louisville, U. of Michigan, U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, U. of Pennsylvania, USC, U. of Virginia, and Yale. Jewish students on these, and many other campuses, are reporting an exponential rise in anti-Semitism, and have expressed fear in walking around campus. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas supporters hide behind masks while those rallying for Israel do so openly and with pride.

Supporters of Palestinians and Hamas deny that Hamas uses both its enemies and its so-called brethren as human shields - placing their rockets, and other weapons in schools, hospitals, civilian residential areas, even mosques. Holding more that 220 hostages supports the human shield notion. This is not the sign of a religion of peace. There would be no war had Hamas not invaded and attacked Israel. But the Hamas philosophy includes “a jihad for victory or martyrdom.”

"To Hamas: if you're not a coward, then give back every single hostage because you wouldn't  need them. You would fight like a man. You would fight eye to eye, you wouldn't need human shields to do the job," said Senator Katie Britt (R-AL).

In addition to the propaganda war Hamas is waging, its hypocrisy knows no limits. The supporters of Palestinians and Hamas demanded proof when told about the Hamas dastardly, heinous slaughter of women, children, and elderly. This includes the rape of children, the decapitation of babies and the kidnapping of wheelchair-bound Holocaust survivors. Yet there is absolute rejection of proof - even video proof by Hamas itself.

Yet, when Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza is allegedly bombed, all the same people above including the so-called mainstream media, leap in a single bound to take as gospel, the words of a terrorist organization - Hamas. As Hamas blames Israel, the media genuflects, all the protestors become apoplectic, and do not demand the same proof they expected regarding the horrifying barbarism perpetrated by Hamas. And while the proof became patently clear that Israel did not bomb the Gazan hospital, and that it was Islamic Jihad’s own misfired rocket that took out the parking lot next to the hospital, and 500 Palestinians, as initially, wrongly reported died, were not killed.

Both US Reps Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) posted immediately to social media their blame of Israel for the bombing of the hospital. Even after proof Israel did not bomb the hospital, neither Omar nor Tlaib have yet to remove their posts from social media blaming Israel. In fact, Tlaib went one step beyond her initial blame. At a Palestinian rally in Washington, DC, Tlaib ranted hysterically, “I can cry. We can cry. If we’re not crying, something is wrong,” on October 18. Just days before, Tlaib walked stone faced, and stone cold silent when asked about the Hamas decapitation of Israeli babies. She would utter nary a syllable - not even to condemn the decapitation of babies.

Tlaib, Omar, and the rest of the anti-Semitic so-called squad have also demanded that the United States allow about a million Palestinian so-called refugees into the country. So-called refugees because history proves otherwise. https://sanfordspeaksout.blogspot.com/2023/10/israels-911-biden-has-blood-on-his-hands.html 

A million unvetted Palestinians?  Consider that Jordan’s King Abdullah II said neither Jordan nor Egypt would allow any of the wayward Palestinians into their countries. There are 48 Arab/Muslim nations, and none of them have agreed entry to any of the Palestinians. Yet, Israel, the lone Jewish state also says no, and Israel is blamed for all the evil in the world. Most certainly the United States should follow Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, especially with the growing number of illegals flooding the southern border of the United States coming from roughly 100 countries, including Iran, Lebanon, and Syria.

Going back to the protesters and supporters of Palestinians and Hamas, each one of them should be asked these simple questions. Do Jewish people have the right to live? Do Jewish people have the right to a Jewish homeland? Perhaps those are not simple questions as more and more of the younger supporters of the Palestinians and Hamas in the United States and overseas believe Hamas had the right to invade Israel and commit the acts of butchery they executed.

Israel does not start wars. The day Israel loses a war, G-d forbid, Israel ceases to exist. Israel is in a constant battle for survival, and that is not hyperbole. Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth Prime Minister said “we Israelis have a secret weapon - we have nowhere else to go.” Where do the Jewish people go when the rising anti-Semitism becomes too arduous under which to live in countries outside Israel, in the Diaspora? If not Israel, where?

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. 

Israel's 9/11; Biden has Blood on His Hands

Israel’s 9/11, Biden has Blood on His Hands
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
October 13, 2023

A peaceful Shabbat morning, which would usher in Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, a period of joy and celebration among the Jewish people the world over suffered a violent shattering by an invasion into Israel by the fanatical, militant, radical, Islamic Palestinian terrorist group Hamas from Gaza.

As of this writing, the slaughter that saw more than 1,300 Israelis murdered on October 7, 2023 is the deadliest day, the single greatest loss of Jewish life, murdered simply for being Jewish and/or Israeli, since Hitler’s Holocaust of European Jewry. The Israeli cabinet declared war for the first time almost 50 years to the day of the Yom Kippur War - October 6, 1973. For a brief history of the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) War: https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/yom-kippur-war And as they did 50 years ago, and every other time Israel has been attacked and invaded, Israel will once again, rise up, swiftly dispatch their foes, and live another day, year, generation, millenia.

Shemini Atzeret literally means eighth day stop. It immediately follows the seven day celebration of Sukkot - the Feast of Tabernacles. This eighth day is designed to celebrate and observe one more day more privately - between Man and G-d. That observance leads directly to the very public and festive celebration of Simchat Torah - the Joy of the Torah. Jews dance with the Torah and sing as the conclusion of the reading of the Torah is observed, followed immediately by beginning a new cycle of Torah reading, starting of course, with Genesis. And it’s not just the reading of “G-d’s infinite wisdom,” but the study and learning of “new and loftier interpretations.” (www.chabad.org)

“We are entering a new day of fighting the terrorists, fighting those barbarics, the evil,” said Danny Danon, former Ambassador to the United Nations and former member of the Knesset. “You faced it with 9/11,” the attack “was unprovoked. But the Israeli people, we are strong, we are willing to fight. We are united. We support the Prime Minister.” We are “in the fight for our lives,” continued Danon, who was also asked about the current protests in a divided Israel. 

“When we are under attack, we put our differences aside. We don’t have any arguments. We are one people together. We mobilized the reserves - my son, entire families - the people want to fight. We stand together. Fifty years ago we fought the Yom Kippur War - it was much harder than today, and we showed our ability to come together, and that is what is happening now. The Israelis are coming together in order to fight against the evil force of Hamas,” said Danon.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “Israel is at war with Hamas.” The Hamas terrorists launched a surprise, sneak attack from Gaza across the border into southern Israel. Hamas perpetrated ground attacks on Ashkelon, Be’ eri, Erez Crossing, Kfar Aza,  Magen, Nir Am, Nir Oz, Ofakim, Re’ im Army Base, Sderot, and Zikim Base. Additional assaults found their targets Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, and Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, as well as Be’ er Sheva, Kerem Shalom, Kibbutz Re’ im, Kibbutz Sufa, Kissufim, Nahal Oz, Netiv Haasara, and Yakhini. Within 72 hours the fanatical, militant, radical, Islamic Palestinian terrorist group Hezbollah launched a dozen rockets into Israel from Lebanon. This is now a two front conflagration with Hezbollah attacking from the north along with Hamas invading from the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu’s response has been swift and impudent - that Israel would “crush and destroy Hamas.”

Kfar Aza saw perhaps the most barbaric, monstrous, unconscionable measure of depravity one could imagine - or not imagine - 40 babies slaughtered, many beheaded - decapitated, left strewn about, among the more than 200 corpses discovered by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Some of the parents witnessed the executions of their babies, just before the Hamas terrorists killed those very parents. More stories of man’s inhumanity to man could be witnessed on the very videos shot by the Hamas terrorists themselves as acts of pride. (It seems Hamas took a page out of the Nazis playbook as to this day there are films of the Nazis slaughtering Jews en masse.) Entire families burned alive. A murdered woman with her newborn baby still attached to the mother’s umbilical cord could be found. These reports were multi-sourced. Israeli soldiers invited the media to bear witness to the unspeakable carnage and report the truth. A truth that included what many said was the “smell of death.” Additional atrocities as reported by i24 News Israel included 70 Hamas terrorists butchering their way through a town of 700.

These horrifying scenes, this level of depravity, knows no bounds with these subhuman monsters, and it is difficult to accept and absorb, and harder even to bear witness. Yet, it is imperative for civilized people to see and hear these accounts in order to understand the level to which these monsters will sink. The taking of hostages - women and children of all ages from infants to the elderly and infirmed in wheelchairs, even an 85 year old Holocaust victim - victimized again, for the second time in her life, this time by Palestinian Nazis. 

The mendacity of Hamas representatives and spokesmen, as if we should believe a single syllable emanating from their filthy mouths, suggesting the Israelis killed were all soldiers. Evidence to the alternative suggests otherwise. Should we believe their words or their videos? Videos of kidnappings, shootings - bodies found with a dozen, 20, or more bullet holes. These Hamas terrorists kept killing the Israelis even after they were dead. These soulless ghouls pulling people out of their vehicles, invading their homes, dragging people out of their beds, conducting house to house and apartment to apartment searches reminiscent of the methodical searches for Jewish people masterminded by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

And the wanton massacre of 260 young people simply attending and enjoying a music festival in the Negev Region near Kibbutz Re’ im as bullets rained down upon them in droves. Additionally, an unknown number of these young people have been kidnapped into Gaza. Were these young people uniformed soldiers hell bent on the destruction of anyone, anywhere? Certainly not; so, again, more lies from Hamas. ZAKA, a non-governmental “Jewish charity that provides humanitarian aid and rescue in Israel” (www.zakaworld.org) removed bodies from the site of the SuperNova Music Festival.

“My heart is filled with concern and passion,” said Shahar Azani, a former spokesman for the Israeli consulate in New York. “Even though our eyes may be tearing at this point, they’re also filled with the fire of determination and resilience - resilience that manifests in this small note of a four year old girl to a soldier on the front,” continued Azani as he held up a note of thanks written in Hebrew to IDF soldiers from his niece.

Just about anyone interviewed, whether Israeli civilians, American civilians in Israel, American civilians with family in Israel, members of the Israeli government or the government of the United States has said this unprovoked attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas is, in effect, Israel’s 9/11, some have suggested a comparison to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

“Babies, women, elderly, were dragged outside of their homes; were taken hostage. This is our 9/11,” declared Gilad Erdan, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations. Erdan equated the murder of 1,300 Israelis to the potential slaughter of 45,500 Americans on 9/11. Such an atrocity would have made a nation of greater than 340,000,000 completely apoplectic and more out for blood than they already were on that fateful day. “We should all understand this - from today on, things will never be in Israel as they were. But we are strong. We are resilient people. We’ve gone through hardships and we will win also, this war. We will prevail,” assured Erdan.

“This is a grotesque act of war. Watching the videos of what is happening - these Hamas terrorists are targeting civilians. They’re murdering women. They’re murdering children. They’re murdering the elderly,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “They’re firing into a rock concert. They are brutally raping women and they are brutally raping children, and they’re dragging them back to Gaza. These are horrific war crimes, and what is infuriating, is that this attack was paid for by billions of dollars that Biden sent to Iran, sent to the Ayatollah. Hamas is a proxy for Iran. I lead a group of senators calling on the administration to stop sending money to these terrorists,” said Cruz.

“We’ve compared this attack to 9/11 and we’ve talked about the Yom Kippur War of 1973. To me, it harkens back to Pearl Harbor,” said Dan Hoffman, former CIA Station Chief. “This was a massive incursion, attack on Israel’s border, land, air, and sea, with thousands of missiles, some of which penetrated the Iron Dome. Palestinian terrorists, Hamas terrorists, cut the perimeter fence and terrorized Israel, Israeli citizens. There will be time for the forensics to determine where the intelligence failure took place and why, but right now Israel has to take the fight to the enemy. Israel has no choice but to defend themselves and rid the planet of Hamas. What scares the Ayatollah the most - peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia; the Abraham Accords,” said Hoffman.

“First of all, we’re praying for the people of Israel. This is an absolute disaster for the people of Israel in terms of the attacks on these great people, our allies and our friends,” said US Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX). “We stand, I stand fully behind Prime Minister Netanyahu, and there needs to be a united strong message from the people of this country that we will fully back Israel. The videos that I’ve had sent to me from sources inside of Israel make the stuff y’ all are showing on Fox look like child’s play. It is an absolute abomination. What we’re seeing is savagery. What we’re seeing is direct attacks on civilians. Prime Minister Netanyahu is 100 percent correct to say that he’s going to take buildings in the Gaza Strip down to rubble, where Hamas is using to hide behind civilians,” said Roy.

“The world must allow Israel to defeat Hamas - they’ve committed atrocities the likes of which I don’t think we’ve seen since the Holocaust. So, this has shaken the country to its core,” said David Friedman, former US Ambassador to Israel. “This is very difficult to watch - painful to watch. I’m here in Jerusalem, in and out of shelters all day long. Jewish people murdered, civilians murdered, pulled out of their homes and murdered and all through a very carefully planned, highly expensive, sophisticated act by Hamas with lethal and advanced equipment. How did Hamas get all that stuff? They don’t earn any money - they’re a terrorist organization. They get money from Iran, which we are  now appeasing, and facilitating, and lifting sanctions, and emboldening them, and making them richer. So we’re giving Iran money to help Hamas. The Palestinian Authority gives a lot of money to Hamas. The Palestinians put on plays to teach their children in Gaza to hate Israel. Children five, 10 years old dress up as terrorists, and others dress up as Jews, and they kill the Jews and the parents all applaud. We’re funding that,” said Friedman.

The word “allow” spoken by Ambassador Friedman is troublesome, and this is not the first time words like, allow, permit, authorize, sanction are bandied about as though Israel, an independent sovereign nation, needs any other nation’s permission to defend itself - defend - as in having already been attacked. The next set of instructions Israel is typically offered is to proceed with caution, to resist full-scale retaliation, to delay further actions - even before any response has been given. Joe Biden advised Israel to adhere to the “rule of war” regarding its response, which, quite frankly, is rather insulting considering that Hamas started this war, invading Israel and committing acts of barbarism so heinous they are comparable to the Nazis and Isis.

And with regard to exercising restraint, US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, put her ignorance on full display, when, after condemning the Hamas attacks, called for “an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation is urgently needed to save lives.” Lives would never have been in danger or lost if not for the Hamas invasion of, and attack on, Israel, as well as the murder, rape, and kidnapping of Israeli women, children, and the elderly, including a wheelchair-bound female Holocaust survivor.

“It’s basically about keeping your border safe - that’s the lesson I think America can gain from as well. You’ve got to know who’s in your country. You’ve got to know what’s on your border. You’ve got to protect your border from bad people and unfortunately [this] may be the most painful lesson in its 75 year history,” said Freidman, making a solid observation about the sieve of a border in the United States Southwest.

Joe Biden has blood on his hands, for, aside from the $6 billion unnecessarily unfrozen for Iran, the southwest border of the United States, in its porous condition, has attracted more and more illegals from more and more countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Mauritania, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen, who continue pouring across our southern border unvetted, unchecked, uncompromised who are unabashedly un-American - it's just a matter of time.

“People call it Israel’s 9/11 - it’s more like Israel’s Pearl Harbor. The difference between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor is that in Pearl Harbor we knew exactly who the enemy was; 9/11 took some time to figure out who the enemy was. This we knew in advance exactly who the enemy was, that they were trying to kill us, and we still failed to stop it from happening. So, it’s a crushing blow to Israel, I think, and I hope and I pray that this lesson will now be internalized within Israel. I hope among Israel’s allies around the world, including my country, America, to get back to basics - you can’t win a football game with a quarterback and a wide receiver. You need a guard. You need a tackle. You need a running back. You need the whole package, and even the old fashioned security devices and practices are both important. Let Israel defend itself and eradicate this scourge. The whole world will be a safer place - not just Israel,” said Friedman.

“Israel is a small country of less than 10 million people - the size of New Jersey - so we’re dealing with something that is very similar to the United States’ 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, with a few differences,” said Noa Tishby, an Israeli activist who served in the IDF. “Around 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, the enemy was far away. The enemy - we had to go and chase down the enemy in Afghanistan in caves. And this, the enemy was in our homes, in our bedrooms, among our children. And the enemy, we know exactly where that enemy is. So, sadly, we’re going to have to do what needs to be done, in order to take care of this problem,” she continued. 

The use of the adverb “sadly,” speaks volumes, as just about everyone, when they speak of war or armed conflict, uses such words - sadly, unfortunately, glumly, mournfully - because Israelis would prefer not to enter into armed conflict. They don’t suffer from the same maniacal bloodlust as Hamas, Hezbollah, Isis, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda, among, sadly, many others who have mastered depravity and moral turpitude to an art form.

“Everybody that I know, knows somebody that was affected in one way or another,” said Tishby, who is Israel’s first Special Envoy for Combating anti-Semitism and Delegitimization. “The stories are horrific. I personally am praying for my members of the family that are fighting right now, that are literally fighting Hamas on the border and within Israel, right now as we speak. What we are witnessing now, what has happened in Israel in the past few days, is nothing short of the worst day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. This is the largest number of Jews that have been slaughtered in one day since the Holocaust. And as a Special Envoy for Combating anti-Semitism and Delegitimization of Israel, I have been warning for a very long time that the slow erosion of Israel’s standing in the world, this demonization, dehumanization, vilification of Israel is going to allow for a massacre.  And this is sadly, what we’re seeing right now,” said Tishby.

Responding to a question about civilian casualties and global criticism, Tishby said, “this is one of those times in history where my country really shouldn’t care about what the world is saying, but of course, we do care. Israel can do no right in terms of some fractions of American society. When we look at representatives like Rashida Tlaib, that are watering down what happened in the past couple of days and equivocating it and using ‘what-about-ism,’ when you talk about a  massacre of women, children, the elderly, babies that are kidnapped - I don’t know if you’ve seen the video of the two-year-old that is now in the hands of Hamas, when you’re equivocating that, in any way shape or form, you are yourself the problem.”

Tishby referenced US Rep. Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most virulent anti-Semitic, anti-Israel members of Congress. Tlaib flatly blames Israel unilaterally, placing no blame on Hamas, for the slaughter of innocent Israeli civilians. In fact, Tlaib is so supportive of the heinous actions of Hamas, she refuses to condemn the slaughter of babies, many of whom were decapitated. Hillary Vaughn of Fox News peppered Tlaib with questions about those Hamas murdered babies down a long hallway in one of the Congressional office buildings until they reached a “members only” elevator when she and two staffers disappeared having uttered not a single syllable. The slaughter of babies. Tlaib wouldn’t even condemn that. In an unconscionable statement, Tlaib said “I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity. The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”

There is so much to unpack in Tlaib’s tale of fiction. The lives that she invisions for her people is more likely to be achieved in Israel than in Gaza. Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. For as tiny as Israel is, it is an oasis of freedom, equal rights, and human dignity. As is mentioned elsewhere, Israel gave a 24 hour advance warning to the civilians to evacuate north Gaza. Hamas prevented that from happening in order to use their own people as human shields, the same way Hamas stores its weapons and munitions in or under hospitals, elementary schools, even mosques - knowing Israel’s IDF would not target such places. The same can be said of alleged suffocating and dehumanizing conditions, that it is Hamas that is guilty of these charges. Again, who uses whom as a human shield?

If Gaza is not considered part of Israel, and the sources of the statistics presented below indicate Gaza and the West Bank are independent of Israel, then what blockade is Tlaib talking about? If Gaza and Israel are independent of one another, for Palestinians in Gaza to enter Israel, they would need permission the same as any American would need to visit Canada or Mexico. If Gaza and Israel are independent of one another, there is no occupation because Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005. And perhaps the biggest lie of all, calling Israel an apartheid state. In Israel, the Knesset (Parliament) is comprised of Jews and non-Jews, Israelis and Arabs. There are no mandatory race laws or segregation. There’s a reason the gay pride parade in Tel Aviv is one of the biggest in the world. In 15 of the 18 “official” Arab countries, homosexuality is punishable with prison, or in some cases, execution. There are horror stories of gays being thrown from rooftops of buildings to their deaths in these countries. That Tlaib has both a Palestinian and a pride flag outside her Capitol Hill office is counterintuitive. Tlaib faced questions about having the Palestinian flag and was defended by longtime US Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who said, “she’s Palestinian.” Hoyer did not say she’s Palestinian-American. If Tlaib is simply Palestinian, she has no business serving in the United States Congress. The ideals Tlaib is seeking for her people can be found in Israel for people who are able to live peacefully. They most certainly are not available under Hamas’ iron fist in Gaza.

The same answer can be offered to US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) who said “we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending US government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid.” There are neither.

“This is what we’ve been saying for a long time - the Palestinian people are oppressed. They are oppressed by their own people. They are oppressed by Hamas. Hamas, just so we are clear, is a radical Islamist genocidal organization that is hell bent on one thing, and one thing only - and that is destroying, killing, and slaughtering as many Jews as they possibly can. This is something I’ve been talking about for many years. The reason I know this, is because this is in the Hamas charter. They are not hiding that they are about slaughtering Jews. Israel needs to do what it needs to do, and has every single right to defend herself. Right now, there is pretty much support from wall to wall because this event is so evidently horrible, that the support is there. Israel uses its weapons to protect her citizens. Hamas uses its citizens to protect their weapons,” concluded Tishby, the founder of Act for Israel.

In addition to the more than 1,300 murdered Israelis, a number that includes at least 29 slain Americans, more than 150 people are being held hostage including at least 20 Americans, and Italy reported that Hamas has at least 10 Italian nationals. People the world over visit Israel for many reasons, and unfortunately with the unpredictability of militant Islamic terrorists, there’s no good or bad time to visit, so people visit. For years I debated when to go to Israel. There comes a point where you have to just commit to making the pilgrimage to one of the most transcending places on G-d’s green earth. We did. Suffice it to say I could write another column on that phenomenal experience. We felt safe; we were safe. Our tour guides had an IDF background, and whether by bus or on foot we truly felt safe. Granted there are members of the military on practically every street corner, but that works for me, and I publicly thank them again for their service to a great and grateful nation.

As for the current struggles, Prime Minister Netanyahu said it best. “Although Israel did not start this war, Israel will finish it.” Now it's time for the IDF to do their jobs, eliminate Hamas from existence and turn Gaza into a parking lot. This can be done with the aid of the 360,000 Reservists called up for duty. So important is it for Israel to vanquish this enemy that Israeli airline El Al, with the blessing of the Orthodox community, is breaking with tradition and flying on Shabbat for the first time since 1982 in order to transport reservists. Israel, in spite of its size, is not asking the United States for manpower. The US is sending munitions, aircraft carriers, and fighter jets, as well as moving several warships closer to Israel, the Pentagon reported.

Hamas and Hezbollah are bought and paid for proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism since the days of the Iranian Revolution that saw the Shah of Iran deposed and Ayatollah Khomeini installed as the fanatical Islamic despotic ruler of Iran from 1979 until his death on June 3, 1989, at age 86. On November 4, 1979 a group of radical Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in the Iranian capital of Tehran, taking, initially, 66 hostages. For various reasons, 14 hostages were released. The remaining 52 extended their imposed stay for a total of 444 days until January 21, 1981, thus ending the Iranian Hostage Crisis hours after President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. (Pray this is not the commencement of history repeating itself.)

In the decades since, the Islamic Republic of Iran ratcheted up its fanatical behavior with the imposition of “Classic” Sharia Law. They have been madly attempting to acquire the components necessary to build nuclear bombs, regularly threatening the United States and Israel, which Iran refers to as the “Great Satan” and the “Little Satan” respectively. The Islamic Republic of Iran has employed the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah as their pawns to do the dirty work they, themselves, are not willing to do. “We need to listen to what they say. They want to wipe the state of Israel off the map. When the Islamic Republic of Iran chants ‘death to Israel,’ they also chant ‘death to America,’” said Morgan Ortagus, former spokesperson for the State Department under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as a US Navy Reserve Officer. Pompeo himself said Iran is the greatest threat to civilization itself.

“Iran is the biggest danger to the future of the free world - it doesn’t want to see normalization,” said Erdan. There is no doubt Iran was strongly disenchanted with the possibility of Israel and Saudi Arabia moving toward normalized relations, much the way Israel solidified with Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates during the Trump administration, under the Abraham Accords. “We are committed to destroying Hamas’ infrastructure - dozens of Americans are among the hostages,” said Erdan.

This was a “coordinated, expensive, detailed sneak attack,” said foreign policy expert Lisa Daftari. “This is not just Hamas - this is Iran wanting an all out war against Israel. It’s not just Hamas - it’s [Iran] using a multi-pronged approach - by sea, by land, by air - they’ve been working on this for a very long time. Look at Iranian media - you look at the leaders inside Iran - they’re not only celebrating, they’re bragging about having a hand in this. They literally are saying, if you think we weren’t behind this, we were behind it. Not only that, it would be very naive to think that the Biden administration in the last three years going back to the negotiating table multiple times removing vital sanctions  from Iran’s regime, and, of course, unfreezing $6 billion just a few weeks ago. Just to talk about giving $6 billion to the regime gave them confidence to do so, so we know that Iran’s regime was absolutely behind this, and we emboldened them to do so,” concluded Daftari, host of the Foreign Desk podcast.

Biden’s fecklessness and weakness were on full display in the major foreign policy blunder, authorizing the unfreezing of $6 billion worth of Iranian assets. This should have been a simple swap - our prisoners for Iran’s prisoners. No muss, no fuss. No money should have been part of the deal. US Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), also in the running for the GOP presidential nomination said that such an unprecedented deal would create “a market for hostages,” and that it would be open season on every American leaving the country, making them vulnerable to kidnapping for enormous ransoms and political blackmail.

Biden has blood on his hands by virtue of unfreezing that $6 billion which, although both Iran and the US State Department say has not been touched and is in a bank in Qatar, a third party, gave Iran the opportunity to free up a different $6 billion, already in Iran’s coffers, to carry out their heinous and nefarious plots with Hamas as their surrogate, as has become evident. As so many have correctly avered, that money is fungible, and would not necessarily be earmarked for food, medicine, and humanitarian relief, as intended. Knowing the money exists and is within reach is a game changer for Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. 

Scott is working within the Senate to refreeze those very assets. “You can’t make a good deal with a bad actor,” said Scott. Knowing that money would be used for evil rather than good, that Iran could inch ever closer to achieving their goal of a nuclear reality, that money must be refrozen, and all sanctions must actually be enforced. Those sanctions include thwarting Iran from gaining profits in the energy sector. Iran has not demonstrated its worthiness to rejoin the community of civilized nations. Biden and his administration are complicit with the Islamic Republic of Iran by unfreezing assets Iran doesn’t deserve, and capitulating on Iran’s ability to rake in upwards of $60 billion in energy sales to the Chinese Communist Party.

On Wednesday October 11 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) announced they will introduce legislation and seek unanimous consent to refreeze the $6 billion Biden released to Iran, via a bank in Qatar, in August. This should pass 100-0, but maybe not.

“Iran is the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism. In addition to funding Hamas’s devastating terrorist attacks against Israel, the regime’s proxies have attacked dozens of American targets in the region in recent years. The Biden administration’s decision to let Iran access the $6 billion immediately freed up other money for the regime to fund its attacks in Israel. The Biden administration should immediately freeze the funds,” said the press release from Cotton’s office. The bill itself is but two pages. As of Thursday night October 12, the funds were re-iced.

Hamas, founded in 1987 in the Gaza Strip as an Islamic resistance movement, won Gaza’s 2006 election. No elections have been held since. Hamas is funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran, who provides the terror group with training and weapons. Hamas is Sunni Muslim, as are 87-90 percent of all Muslims. The Hamas charter labels Arabs who negotiate peace with Israel as a traitor to the Arab world and to Islam - that every Jewish man, woman, and child is a legitimate target for their nefarious agenda. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Australian law, British law, Canadian law, European Union law, and Japanese law.

Hezbollah, founded in 1982 in Lebanon following the Lebanon War, also received training from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hezbollah ascribes to the Shia branch of Islam, just as their benefactor Iran does, but they are in the minority, as only 10-13 percent of Muslims are adherents to Shia.

Where the two terrorist organizations agree, is in their charters. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have language in their charters calling for the complete and total destruction and elimination of Israel and the entirety of the Jewish people in perpetuity. With that being said, it is complete ignorance for anyone to suggest either Hamas or Hezbollah want or would agree to a two-state solution, as has been recommended by just about every politician under the sun.

The sentiments presented by LeElle Slifer from Texas in an interview with Steve Doocy on Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning October 11 were nothing short of brilliant. She was discussing the murder of her mother’s cousin by Hamas and other family members being held hostage by the Hamas thugs. “Calling it war crimes is even charitable. This is jihad. There are no rules in jihad,” said Slifer. “They’re raping women in fields. They’re beheading babies. They’re executing the elderly in the streets. It’s appalling, and the world has to step up and get these hostages out. It’s the worst nightmare possible. And not only that, my cousin [and] my friends have been called up to the Reserves, into Gaza, to try to extract them. This is not the end of the death toll. There will be more to come. It’s unimaginable. I pray; I pray that [her two relatives] will come home safely. Hamas will stop at nothing. They’re using these people as pawns. They don’t want a two-state solution - they want the FINAL SOLUTION, and they don’t care how many Jews, how many Americans, how many of their own people have to die, in order for them to wage their jihad,” said a justifiably impassioned Slifer. We must pray for the safe return of her family and all the family members still missing or in captivity.

Slifer rightly called for the world to step up. “When the Emergency Security Council of the UN convenes, we expect everyone who supports democratic values, liberal values - we expect all of them to support Israel, to condemn explicitly Hamas, and say that they support 100 percent, our right to defend ourselves. We are going to use every means at our disposal. We are fighting the way you fought against Isis, against al-Qaeda - these barbaric terrorists have the same ideology. We should all understand, Hamas is not looking to compromise, to have a dialogue with Israel. They only want to annihilate the one and only Jewish state. Their charter says loud and clear - you should butcher every Jew that you meet,” said Ambassador Erdan.

Heading into week two of the war, the tables are beginning to turn. Rockets being fired into Israel have been defended by the Iron Dome, as the IDF readies itself for a ground assault in Gaza. Unlike Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, IDF soldiers will not intentionally seek out women, children, the elderly or the infirmed to torture and savagely attack, then kill. Instead, as has long been Israel’s tradition, warnings will be given to civilians to flee homes, apartments, other buildings, while military missions can be carried out limiting the amount of brutality, carnage, and collateral damage that may befall a limited number of civilians. Who does that? Israel does. But, Hamas and other Gazans prevented Palestinians in Gaza from fleeing - their own people. This is an intentional ploy to get their own people killed, and once that begins to happen, global media, the UN, anti-Semites, and anti-Zionists the world over will condemn Israel most vociferously. This is not a guess, but instead the M.O. of the terrorists to martyr their own people. And make no mistake, from the first Palestinian civilian to get killed, Israel must prepare for an onslaught of criticism from the mainstream media, the United Nations, the White House - in spite of Biden’s speech agreeing that Israel has the right to, and must, defend herself.

“The United States stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people - full stop,” said Joe Biden, more than 48 hours after the Hamas terrorist attacks began. “There’s never a justification for terrorist attacks and my administration support for Israel is rock solid and unwavering. Let me say this as clearly as I can - this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching,” said Biden.

At no point did Biden say that his administration would stand beside and support Israel for as long as it takes - the oft repeated mantra pertaining to his support for Ukraine. At no point did Biden mention the Islamic Republic of Iran - the largest state sponsor of terror, and the brains and muscle behind the October 7 brutal Shabbat assault on the people and land of Israel. Yet, there were celebrations in Iran. And making matters worse, Biden, in his infinite stupidity, is now, on October 13, advising Israel to delay the ground effort.

And as former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC) aptly stated, “this should be personal for every woman and man in America. Why? Because when they did this surprise attack, when they took these hostages, when they murdered these families they were celebrating. And what were they celebrating? They were saying ‘death to Israel, death to America.’ This is not just an attack on Israel, this is an attack on America because they hate us just as much. And what we have to understand is this is the reason we have to unite around making sure our enemies do not hurt our friends. America can never be so arrogant to think that we don’t need friends, just like we needed them on 9/11… that’s why Israel needs us when Hamas and Iran are doing this. And I’ll say this to Prime Minister Netanyahu, FINISH THEM! FINISH THEM! Hamas did this, you know Iran’s behind it. FINISH THEM! They should have hell to pay for what they’ve just done,” said an ever supportive of Israel Haley who is seeking the GOP nomination for president in 2024.

“These attacks were dastardly, driven by Tehran, and America needs to stand by Israel - not just rhetorically, but we need to do everything we can to help Israel,” said Robert O’ Brien, former National Security Advisor under President Trump. O’ Brien suggested the US send the Hostage Rescue Team of the FBI and the hostage rescue elements of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to Israel to help recover the more than 150 hostages - Israeli, American, and others. “The Israelis are very capable of hostage rescue, but this is just going to be overwhelming. They need our support, and we should send our hostage rescue specialists to Israel tonight,” O’ Brien said on Saturday.

It is not hyperbole when Israelis speak of every battle or war as the fight of their lives, the fight for their lives, or the fight simply to exist. Every day is a fight for survival of the state of Israel. Every day. The day Israel loses a war, Israel ceases to exist. There is but one Jewish state on the entire planet - ONE. Following the Holocaust the Jewish people said, and continue to say, never again. We will stand by that and we will stand with Israel.

At 8,522 square miles, Israel ranks number 152 out of 223 countries, globally, in size. By comparison, Israel is between the size of New Jersey and New Hampshire. Compared to the 18 nations considered “Arab countries,” that surround Israel, Israel is smaller than all but four, one of which Bahrain, is part of the Abraham Accords. Arab Countries are defined as speaking Arabic and adhering to Islam. (www.worldatlas.com) The 18 Arab countries total 4,565,648 square miles - a whopping 535.75 times larger than Israel. Again, to compare, the United States is 3,797,173 square miles. (www.britannica.com) This excludes Iran, which although more than 99 percent of its population are Muslim, their main spoken language is Farsi, thus not a part of the Arab countries list, but does weigh in at 629,674 square miles, and is a perpetual threat to Israel, as demonstrated by their overwhelming and irrefutable connection to Hamas and Hezbollah.

With a population of 9.18 million people, Israel ranks 98th out of 234 countries. The city of Cairo, Egypt has a population of 10.9 million people, topping Israel by itself by 1.7 million people. The combined population of the 18 Arab countries is 455.87 million people - good for 49.66 times Israel’s population. Population figures are as of 2023. (www.worldpopulationreview.com) 

On the faith front, the global Jewish population is 13,850,000 or 0.2 percent of the global population. The Muslim population is 1,598,510,000 or 23 percent of the global population, or 114.21 times greater than the global Jewish population. The population of Israel is 75.22 percent Jewish. Put in perspective, the population of the United States is 1.77 percent Jewish. There are 48 countries with Muslim populations greater than 55 percent, 32 of those nations have Muslim populations above 90 percent, including Iran at 99.5 percent, which, as stated earlier, is not counted among the Arab nations on account of its language. Of the 18 Arab countries, 12 have Muslim populations above 90 percent. (www.worldometers.info)

What is the point of all this mathematical gymnastics? To demonstrate that Israel is outsized and outnumbered by such extreme percentages as though the lone Jewish state is adrift on a tiny island surrounded by sharks who have not eaten in an overextended period of time. Make no mistake, Israel is far from helpless and is a First World country, but when dwarfed by such extremes and with a target on their backs by  millions and millions of people who wish to rid the world of Israel and the Jewish people, a nation of their own, tiny that it is, must continue to exist and thrive - which Israel does. Terrorists have a goal to disrupt society as well as murder Jews and eliminate Israel. Clearly, the notion of yet another agreement to normalize relations, this time with Saudi Arabia, was unacceptable to Iran, and since the war began a week ago, that agreement has been shelved. Under the Abraham Accords during the Trump administration, relations were normalized between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the UAE. Treaties with Egypt and Jordan were inked decades prior in 1978 and 1994 respectively.

Having spent time in Tel Aviv, a vibrant, thriving, modern (I think too modern) First World city looking as it did, to then see the footage from Tel Aviv this week, portions of it bombed out like a Third World city, is rough. It’s sad and depressing, and it didn’t have to be that way. When Israel vacated Gaza in 2005 they left its infrastructure intact. What did the Palestinians do - tore down virtually every installation and even destroyed the agriculture/vegetation that started to thrive. If you want to talk about a miracle, visit Israel and see their brilliant irrigation systems - brilliant because of what they can grow in a desert.

These people have chosen to live like vagabonds because they need the refugee standing to keep their insidious fight alive, however disingenuous it is. The Balfour Declaration, issued in 1917, for the purpose of establishing a Jewish homeland, reestablishing would be more accurate given the Biblical edicts handed down from G-d, packs a wallop of a punch for such a short document.

There appeared an introductory sentence above the following as well as a concluding sentence below the following. The text that follows, while brief, should raise no questions regarding the declaration and the disposition of all who lived there, and that is exceptionally important.

“His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/text-of-the-balfour-declaration 

Beginning with the fact there were no Palestinians in the land of Israel before the Jewish people, and Judaism predates Islam by centuries, Islam was founded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in the 7th Century, half a millennia after Christianity, and the Jewish calendar just hit 5784 last month. If anything, the Palestinians have a greater issue with the Saudis rather than the Israelis. Alternatively, the Palestine of the Balfour Declaration eventually became two lands - Palestine, for the Jews, and Transjordaan for the Arabs. Quite frankly, the Jewish people should have been more disgruntled than the Arabs/Palestinians because the land of Transjordan calculated to nearly 80 percent of the initial Palestine.

The Arab/Muslim populations were never exiled from the land of Israel, unlike the Jews throughout the ages having been expelled from numerous countries. The Arabs/Muslims have chosen refugee status for generations to garner global and media sympathy, which simultaneously allows for a direct reaction of laying blame on Israel and the Jewish people around the world. Here’s the dirty little secret the media, the progressives, the supporters of Palestinians, Hamas, and Hezbollah don’t want decent society to learn and understand. All the Arab and Muslim nations referenced above - another reason for the mathematical gymnastics - denied entrance to the Palestinian refugees. In 1948, the year of the birth of Israel, there were 700,000 Palestinians living there. They were not asked to leave. They were not forced to leave. Yet, they made their choice. But, if each of those 48 nations could have allowed 14,600 to immigrate over a period of time, this problem would have been resolved 75 years ago. And if 48 Arab/Muslim countries didn't welcome their brethren, why should Israel be obligated in the one and only one Jewish nation. To whom does this make sense? (Even in today’s crisis Egypt worried that if they opened their border to the Palestinians seeking to flee Gaza there would be terror reprisals from Hamas.)

There comes a point where it is time to move on. Following WWII and the Holocaust of European Jewry there were six to eight million “displaced persons,” regardless of who or where, their homes either ceased to exist or belonged to others after various governments took them from people. By the end of 1945, there remained about one million displaced persons, who either couldn’t or wouldn’t return home, of whom some 250,000 were Jewish. DP camps were established, primarily in Germany, and, strange as it may sound, at some of the concentration camps. Reluctantly, the United States accepted 50,000, and another 150,000 settled in Israel - nowhere near the 700,000 Palestinians already there. The last of the DP camps shut down in 1957 (it was the last one since 1952). 

The post WWII refugees were not refugees for the rest of their lives or into future generations. They moved on, as difficult as it may have been - considering the number of DPs who had absolutely nothing and absolutely no one in their lives - all property taken or stolen, all family members murdered, but they moved on. The so-called Palestinian refugees have chosen not to move on. They live in squalor because they have relegated themselves to a tiny place with one of the densest populations per square mile. They live under the iron fists of Hamas terrorists who deprive their own people of food, water, electricity, medicine. Virtually all monies Hamas garners is used for weapons, munitions, and digging intricate tunnels under Gaza. They teach hatred of Jews, Israel, and the United States to their children as young as three and four years old. They are not above strapping bombs to their children or turning women into suicide bombers. They could have chosen to build legitimate schools, maintain the infrastructure that remained when Israel left Gaza in 2005, create a livable and perhaps thriving society, and become genuine neighbors as a member of the community of civilized nations. They chose not to.

A sampling of countries that exiled their Jewish populations: Algeria 1963, Austria 1422, Bohemia 1640, Bulgaria 1352, Cuba 1959, Ecuador 1939, France 1394, Hungary 1360, Iraq 1948, Jamaica 1665, Libya 1935, Moldova 1831, Netherlands 1442, Persia (Iran) 1656, Portugal 1497, Russia 1772, Spain 1492, West Bank 1948, Uganda 1972, and Yemen 1678. This is far from an exhaustive list. And in a number of cases, the Jewish people experienced multiple exiles and returns from many of the countries. (www.docdroid.net) Those experiences, multiple pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe, and of course the Holocaust of European Jewry lent credence to the 1948 founding of the State of Israel. Is there any wonder Israel is prepared to fight to the last individual for the sake of preserving the one and only one Jewish state on the planet? After all, to paraphrase Golda Meir, where else will the Jewish people go? Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel said “We Israelis have a secret weapon - we have nowhere else to go.” The long standing enemies of Israel and the Jewish people would simply prefer there be no Israel and that there be no Jewish people remaining on earth. This is not dramatic hyperbole, because as has been noted above, the language of the charters of Hamas and Hezbollah call for just that.

Eretz Yisrael - the Land of Israel in Hebrew, is the Biblical, ancestral, G-d given, eternal  home of the Jewish people. The tables are turning as the war enters its second week. The IDF is doing its job, which in this case includes warning the 1.1 million civilians living in northern Gaza to evacuate before the IDF does what it must to restore order, eliminate its enemies, and pray that they do not need to pick up arms again. Is there any other military entity that tips its hand before taking action? It’s demonstrative of the vast difference between Israel and each and every one of its enemies. Israel’s enemies seek the total destruction of Israel and of the Jewish people. Israel doesn’t even seek to destroy anyone, they simply just want to be left alone in peace. They are armed to the rafters out of necessity. It’s called “peace through strength,” as President Ronald Reagan famously stated.

If Hamas would lay down its arms, there would be no more war. If Israel would lay down its arms, there would be no more Israel. That is a paraphrase from Israel’s own Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who often says: “If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more ‎violence. If the Jews put ‎down their weapons ‎today, there would be no ‎more Israel.”

With so many mentions of, and comparisons to, the Yom Kippur War of 1973 it conjures up more Meir, subject of a rather popular movie this year, and her waxing philosophical. “When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

May the memories of the murdered Israelis be for a Blessing. Never again, means never again. Am Yisrael Chai! (The people of Israel live!)

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Three times "land, sea, and air" were mentioned by three people above. Those words are also used in the prayer for the well being of the Israel Defense Forces recited each Shabbat. This is that prayer: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/prayer-for-the-well-being-of-the-israel-defense-forces 

Speaker Vacancy Stymies House Work

Speaker Vacancy Stymies House Work
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
October 6, 2023

For the first time in American history the Speaker of the House of Representatives has been removed from the Speakership. While Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) maintains his seat in the House, he, by virtue of being on the short end of a 216-210 vote, is no longer Speaker of the House. A small insurgency, lead by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) fostered the removal of McCarthy along with the backing of the entirety of the Democrats present on Tuesday, October 3.

As though the struggle for McCarthy to become Speaker in the first place, a draining 15 rounds of voting in January, wasn’t challenging enough, a rule imposed that any single House member could seek the removal of the Speaker, put McCarthy in a position of tap dancing on the head of a pin. Just because someone has the right to do something, doesn’t mean he or she should exercise that right. Good judgment is often the better part of valor and Gaetz picked an inopportune time to display his poor judgment. 

Hopefully upon selection of the next Speaker of the House the power of one member to seek the ousting of the Speaker and upend all other House business will be rescinded. It is not healthy to have a revolving door in the Speakership simply because one House member is disgruntled or has an axe to grind - this did not seem to be the intent of the Founders and Framers of the United States government upon inception more than 240 years ago.

Gaetz pulled the trigger on removing McCarthy because Gaetz claimed McCarthy did not keep his word regarding appropriations bills - wanting 12 separate bills instead of an omnibus bill lumping all expenditures into one behemoth of a bill. With 12 individual appropriations bills it would be more efficient and easier to exact deeper cuts to the spending, which has been out of control for decades, regardless of which party is in the majority.

But in a effort to stave off a government shutdown once the deadline for the appropriations passed, McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a short-term spending bill - another deadline of November 17 looms on the horizon. The temporary stopgap, known as a “clean Continuing Resolution,” simply continues spending at the current levels - not necessarily a good thing, but it keeps the government functioning (which, granted to some, is not a good thing).

Gaetz held his ground and followed through with his effort to have McCarthy removed over what Gaetz felt was disloyalty to the party. “A vote for a continuing resolution is a vote to continue the Green New Deal, a vote to continue inflationary spending, and the most troubling of fashions, a vote for a continuing resolution is a vote to continue the election interference of Jack Smith. We told you how to use the power of the purse: individual, single-subject spending bills that would allow us to have specific review, programmatic analysis and that would allow us to zero out the salaries of the bureaucrats who have broken bad, targeted President Trump or cut sweetheart deals for Hunter Biden,” said a somewhat grandstanding Gaetz from the House floor on September 12. Somewhat grandstanding, because what Gaetz said is true and accurate, but the more immediate issue at hand, avoiding a government shutdown took immediate precedence, which McCarthy defended.

“At the end of the day, keeping government open and paying our troops was the right decision. I stand by that decision. If I have to lose my job over it, so be it,” said McCarthy.

And as politics makes strange bedfellows, it took eight Republicans - seven strong conservatives and all 208 voting Democrats to sink McCarthy. Those eight Republicans are Andy Biggs (AZ), Ken Buck (CO), Tim Burchett (TN), Eli Crane (AZ), Matt Gaetz (FL), Bob Good (VA), Nancy Mace (SC), and Matt Rosendale (MT).

Mace, the more moderate of the anti-McCarthy octet, said her vote was “about trust and keeping your word.” McCarthy “has not lived up to his word on how the House would operate.” Mace supported McCarthy for Speaker in January. Even conservative stalwarts such as, Lauren Bobert (CO), Byron Donalds (FL), Paul Gosar (AZ), Anna Paulina Luna (FL), Mary Miller (IL), Ralph Norman (SC), Scott Perry (PA), and Chip Roy (TX) who voted against McCarthy for Speaker in January, voted to retain him now, except Luna who is on maternity leave. Six other members also did not vote due to absentia: Cori Bush (D-MO), John Carter (R-TX), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) - attending the funeral of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK), and Emilia Strong Sykes (D-OH).

While there were some Democrats who supported the recent spending bill, all 208 Democrats present voted to oust McCarthy. This is a GOP civil war and it is not up to the Democrats to save McCarthy, yet had four Democrats voted with the 210 Republicans, McCarthy’s Speakership would have survived by a vote of 214-212. Four Democrats with solid bona fides in their districts that could survive some pushback could have worked with McCarthy behind the scenes for a future quid pro quo. Jerry Connally (VA), James Clyburn (SC), Debbie Dingell (MI), Lloyd Doggett (TX), Steny Hoyer (MD), Ro Khanna (CA), James McGovern (MA), Frank Pallone (NJ), Bill Pascrell (NJ), and Dean Phillips (MN) come to mind. Any four of them could have made some backroom deal with McCarthy to save his bacon with little consequence at home.

Now, thanks to Gaetz and his shortsightedness, the House is closed for business until a new Speaker is elected. Gaetz is being vilified by Republicans in and out of Washington and he did not come armed with a plan. Gaetz should have had one or two GOP members willing to stand for a vote to become Speaker that same day. Instead, no sooner than Tuesday October 10 or Wednesday October 11 will the Republican caucus begin the process of selecting a new Speaker. Gaetz, in this instance, is not being self-serving, announcing he has no desire to become Speaker. 

Gaetz did suggest a few members, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (LA), as “the type of person I could see myself supporting. I could see myself supporting Tom Emmer (MN). I could see myself supporting Mike Johnson of Louisiana. I could see myself supporting Jodey Arrington of Texas. I could see myself supporting Kevin Hern of Oklahoma,” said Gaetz.

As of this writing both Scalise and Jim Jordan (OH) have tossed their hats into the ring for Speaker. Both received votes in January for this post, yet neither was a nominated candidate. It begs the question, what changed for these two House members since January? I like both Scalise and Jordan, but Scalise is recovering from blood cancer, thus my support would be with Jordan, who I would have preferred in January in the first place. Former President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Jordan.

The bottom line is, Gaetz may have had good intentions based upon why he wanted McCarthy out, yet the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and as the New York Post reported on Wednesday, “The Gaetz of Hell,” seemed an apt headline, given the predicament the GOP now finds itself. Jordan will be a stronger Speaker; a stronger leader who is more fiscally conservative - to which the GOP must aspire. 

Serious spending cuts must be made starting with every penny dedicated to the millions of illegal aliens roaming around this country. Cuts to duplicate programs, cuts to unnecessary research programs that could be funded by universities or the private sector in general, cuts to those government personnel deemed “non-essential,” government funded public-private projects such as electric vehicles and any other government sponsored corporate welfare initiatives/bailout funding should all be sliced and diced. It is high time the GOP stop behaving like Democrat-lite, get spending under control, stop printing money as though it were bathroom tissue, stop being afraid of the Democrats and their media lapdogs - they don’t like us to begin with, pandering to them will change nothing but to make the GOP weaker, which it can ill afford. Unite behind one strong Speaker candidate and get back to the business of protecting this country, fixing the economy, sealing the border, and yes, making America great again. If not now, when? If not us, who?

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

*A failed attempt to dislodge the House Speaker occurred in 1910. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-revolt-of-1910-against-speaker-joseph-cannon/ 

Is Theft Even a Crime Any Longer

Is Theft Even a Crime Any Longer?
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
October 2, 2023

If theft is no longer prosecuted is it still stealing? Theft and/or stealing, by definition, is the illegal taking of goods/items/merchandise/things that do not belong to the person taking them - whether by force or not. It is morally wrong, but it may no longer be legally wrong. Apparently, retail theft has become de facto legal.

In states like the People’s Republic of California, where theft of goods below $950 goes unprosecuted, it is the honest law abiding consumers who ultimately pay the freight. So why shop at all? At least why shop in stores? There’s an enormous black market, growing each and every day that rampant theft continues out of control and unchecked. 

And it’s profitable - just do the math. For a person working five days a week and 50 weeks a year, allowing for the standard two weeks of vacation time, a person stealing the maximum $950 worth per day without being prosecuted and then selling said merchandise at a 50 percent “discount,” could net $118,750 - tax free. Someone must have done those calculations. Apparently many someones have done those calculations as according to the National Security Research Survey,  in 2021 retail theft industry losses reached $94 billion, and in 2022 they rose to $112 billion.

The higher the percentage of shrinkage causes stores to close, whether anchor stores in malls such as Nordstrom, that recently closed in San Francisco, or the corner CVS or Walgreens. When stores close, unemployment rises, which taxes the system when people file for unemployment resources - money paid for by the taxpayers. 

When stores close, neighborhoods are impacted multi-fold. The residents in those neighborhoods suffer from a lack of resources - groceries, prescription medicines, and even gasoline. Typically those residents are older, retired, living on fixed incomes with a lower level of mobility. When stores close, neighborhoods are also impacted by a loss of tourism. A loss of tourism impacts hotels and restaurants deleteriously, which once again claims jobs. Big box stores/department stores can afford to close - they exist in multiple locations and those consumers too far from the stores physically, can shop online, which is safer these days. Target alone is shuttering nine stores in New York City, St. Louis, and San Francisco.

But mom and pop businesses cannot afford to close and they also are having a harder and harder time paying their ever-rising insurance bills. The more stores are robbed, the less likely they can keep their doors open. There have been videos where criminals literally tell shopkeepers and store owners “you have insurance,” as they fill giant lawn/trash bags full of merchandise and nonchalantly walk out the door. The increasing rash of smash and grabs are even more costly.

Employees are specifically told not to confront the criminals. In cases where some employees have attempted to do so, successfully or unsuccessfully, they have routinely been fired, much to the objections of the public. Yet while theft continues unchecked, stores put more and more of its merchandise under lock and key behind a plexiglass protector. This creates a 30 percent loss of sales, according to Kevin O’ Leary, chairman of O’ Leary Ventures.

“No, it’s not sustainable,” said O’ Leary when asked on the Fox News noon hour program “Outnumbered.” Grocery margins are typically three to five percent and shrinkage used to be 1.5-2 percent, and profits could still be earned, explained O’ Leary. Today, shrinkage is over five percent, sometimes up to seven percent. “It’s completely unprofitable,” said O’ Leary, also a co-host of the popular television program ‘Shark Tank.”

A place like “San Francisco is probably the case study for this whole situation - everybody’s pulling out - the grocery stores are pulling out, the hotels are pulling out, convention centers are shut down - there’s nobody there - it’s not safe to walk at night - the place has become a war zone. It’s not politics, it’s bad policy, and it’s not sustainable,” continued O’ Leary.

Actually, it is politics - bad policies are created and implemented by bad politicians and supported by corrupt district attorneys (appointed or elected) who refuse to prosecute the habitual reprobates who make a living stealing on a daily basis. Increased cost of security measures, whether human or material (locks, glass cases), increased cost of insurance premiums, and other theft prevention methods are simply passed along to the consumers - those honest, law abiding schmucks who continue voting for those same useless politicians who clearly do not have the best interest of their constituents at heart. And when these miscreants are not prosecuted they are not sent to jail, nor is there a police record of their crimes, thus no proof of recidivism. No cash bail, in places like Illinois, is also a disastrous policy.

This growing trend of not prosecuting theft only leads to an increase in other crimes as criminals push the envelope of the limits of what they can get away with. Law enforcement is not supported by the politicians therefore they are reluctant to pursue thieves. The men and women in blue either don’t want to end up with black and blues, they don’t want to be sued, nor do they want to lose their jobs because the powers that be don’t have the temerity to do what is right, support their officers and let the people know theft is still a crime punishable by law.

Election Day 2023 is one month away. Use your voices at the ballot boxes and elect responsible citizens who will protect the rights and property of the innocent while pursuing and prosecuting the guilty, making the quality of life so much better for everybody. A return to civility is imperative. Efficient and productive law and order is one step in the right direction. The people owe it to themselves.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.