Deport Mahmoud Khalil - Yesterday

Deport Mahmoud Khalil - Yesterday
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
March 13, 2025

My mother, of Blessed memory, taught me as a child, when invited to someone’s home do not arrive empty handed. To my mother, unless bringing wine, that meant homemade baked goods, not boxed. In the case of Syrian-born Mahmoud Khalil, protester and agitator extraordinaire, he brought to the United States, his host country while a student, hatred, threats of violence and bodily harm, intimidation, harassment, demands of his host, and provocation to incite violence.

Although in the United States legally, on a student visa and in possession of a green card, as a legal permanent resident, Khalil is rabidly anti-American, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-western values, pro-Hamas, pro-jihad, and pro-Palestinian state - to supplant Israel, a distributor of pro-Hamas propaganda, and clearly falls into the category of “deportable aliens,” as per 8 U.S. Code § 1227.

Khalil, 31, is no longer a student at Columbia University, nor is there any discernible proof he attended its sister school Barnard College. His appearances on both campuses are acts of willful trespassing. Yet, at the very least, since early 2024, he has been visibly active on both campuses inciting to riot and violence against the Jewish community at both Columbia and Barnard - student and faculty alike, organizing protests, making demands against both schools such as divesting any legal, financial interests they have in Israel. Another demand calls for the immediate reinstatement of expelled students, removed for their antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-American, pro-Hamas, pro-jihadi behavior. 

Such behavior puts people’s lives in danger, and the incitement is actually a threat to the national security of the United States. No one has the right to jeopardize the safety and security of anyone in the United States. As a foreigner, a guest in this country, Khalil does not have the right to remain here. Yet, this raises two important issues - free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and familial ties - Khalil is married to an American woman who is eight months pregnant.

Before anyone commences clamoring about the separation of parents and children, as is the far-left’s mantra in an effort to protect illegal aliens in their sanctuary cities and states, a foreigner, even one here legally as Khalil is, is not entitled to more rights than an American citizen. Tens of thousands of American citizens are incarcerated for crimes they have committed and clearly are separated from their spouses, partners, and children. Based on the belief system of the far-left loons, none of those people should be behind bars either. That is patently insane. 

As for Khalil’s First Amendment rights, the First Amendment does not protect incendiary speech that jeopardizes the safety and lives of others - be they Jewish students attempting to make their way to their classes on a daily basis or anyone else navigating their way around campus, as is their right to do so without fear of harm or verbal invective. Yet, Senate Democrats serving on the Judiciary Committee have supported Khalil, for what reason, other than to oppose President Donald Trump, is unknown.

They include Cory Booker (NJ), RIchard Blumenthal (CT), Chris Coons (DE), Dick Durbin (IL), Mazie Hirono (HI), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Alex Padilla (CA), Adam Schiff (CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), and Peter Welch (VT) - most of whom are some of the most liberal members of the Senate.

Khalil is being detained in an immigration detention center in Louisiana. His deportation is being sought on the grounds he violated the Immigration and Nationality Act. Section 237 (a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as codified in 8 U.S. Code § 1227, says “An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.”

In April 2024 Khalil appeared on a Hamas-supported network. Khalil said his support of Hamas and his antisemitic demonstrations and protests were “a gift for the campus.” On April 29, 2024 in response to a question from a CNN reporter whether or not he would leave or end the encampments at Columbia, Khalil said, “of course not. The university is the one who should be listening to us, they should listen to their student body who are demanding that the university end their investment in the war in Palestine. Our demands are the divestment from the Israeli occupation that they are profiting and contributing to the genocide of our people. Once again the university is so stubborn,” said Khalil, calling for liberation by any means necessary. 

This is not a Constitutionally protected activity - supporting terrorist organizations, giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States, thus the arrest by ICE of Khalil on March 9 of this year, as a direct order of the State Department. “This is not just about free speech. This is about people who don’t have the right to be in the United States to begin with,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “No one has a right to a student visa. No one has a right to a green card, by the way,” said Rubio, adding that the visas of Hamas supporters will be revoked. Rubio is exercising his authority appropriately.

“This is the first arrest of many more to come,” wrote Trump on X, in what could become precedent-setting. Guests in the United States are here thanks to the largesse of this country and are expected to follow the laws, as are citizens of the United States. “We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration won’t tolerate it. President Donald J. Trump,” via X, @WhiteHouse. 

“These Jewish students don’t feel safe. Many of these Jewish students have been harrassed repeatedly just trying to get to class,” said former Army Intelligence Captain Jeremy Hunt this week on the Fox News program “Outnumbered.” A green card is a “privilege, not a green light to start breaking our laws, harassing students, stopping the academic work that’s supposed to be going on. And also, for what? To support Hamas? I think it’s ridiculous. And not only is President Trump right to withdraw the funding, detain this individual, but also, look at the funding of these non-profit groups funding these protests. A lot of them have ties with Hamas. We’ve got to look at all the funding that’s been going on. These protests didn’t happen randomly. This was funded specifically by people who hate our country,” said Hunt.

The withdrawal of funding noted by Hunt is the $400 million in grants cancelled by the  Trump administration due to Columbia University’s inability to control and end the rampant antisemitism pervasive on that campus and Barnard. Columbia president pro-tem Katherine Armstrong took to the media, played victim and cried poverty over the loss of the $400 million noting an immediate hiring freeze and fewer PhD candidates admitted. 

“There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research, and other critical functions of the university impacting students, faculty, staff, research and patient care,” said Armstrong. 

What Armstrong did not mention is the $14.8 billion endowment, as of the end of FY-24 (https://endowment.giving.columbia.edu/endowment-performance-and-management/)  (tax free) Columbia is sitting on, with a healthy return on its investment. Make no mistake, I do not begrudge the university, any school, for its ability to raise money on its own. This is not money coming from the government, which means not from unwilling taxpayers. The endowment money comes from willing taxpayers, as it should. How much of a rainy day is Columbia waiting for before it dips into its precious endowment. In fact, why aren’t these endowments taxed? The university, any school, for that matter, is not just a fundraising machine. Its first responsibility is to provide for the safety and protection of its student body - against religious discrimination and harassment, sexual predators on campus, and any other criminal activity that makes a campus an unsafe place for its residents - its paying customers.

House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke of his first hand experience visiting Columbia. “I went to face down the angry mob at Columbia at the height of that stuff - when the pro-Palestinians, pro-Hamas protesters there - I’m telling you, this is my own observation, not something I read in the newspaper - it was dangerous. The administration there refused to take control of that campus. …This madness has to stop. We have to get control of it. This guy [Khalil] apparently was a mastermind of those very things; people screaming at me, wanting to rip me limb from limb because I was there talking about moral clarity and how there’s a right and a wrong. They disrupted the campus. They threatened physical violence of their fellow students. If you’re on a student visa, and you’re in America, and you’re an aspiring young terrorist who wants to prey upon your Jewish classmates, we’re gonna arrest your… tail, and we’re gonna send you home where you belong,” said Johnson.

Adding insult to injury, a raucous protest rally held at and IN Trump Tower in New York City sponsored by the self-hating Jews of Jewish Voice for Peace resulted in 150 people storming in and around the building. Their ugly behavior netted 98 arrests. These so-called Jews demonstrated their solidarity for and with Khalil, demanding the release of this virulent anti-American, anti-Israel, antisemitic, pro-Hamas, pro-jihadi inciter. Most of the attendees wore pre-printed t-shirts and signs demonstrating the inorganic nature of this paid-for protest.

Mahmoud Khalil has every right to hate whomever he wishes. That right ends when it becomes a call for violence, threats on people’s safety, preventing students from attending classes, or just general harassment. The same is true of criticism of Israel. Criticizing policy is perfectly acceptable, and encouraged in places where a modicum of free speech exists. Calling for the destruction of the only Jewish nation on earth, or other legitimate nations for that matter, is also not a protected right. 

Honest discourse should be the bellwether by which America leads the world and encourages other nations to employ. When that appropriate behavior descends into the madness that is Khalil and his minions, sending him and his fellow travelers home is not only the smart thing, but it is the right thing, and the legal thing. It is a privilege for a non-American citizen to enter, and be a guest in the United States. Those who violate the rules and laws of the United States will, and must pay the price. Don’t take for granted the privilege you are being granted, whether as a student, a business traveler, or a vacationing family. Play by the rules, you are more than welcome. Violate them and you will be dispatched forthwith. It’s time to not just Make America Great Again, but it’s time to Make America American Again.

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

IDF Recovers Bodies of Six More Hostages

IDF Recovers Bodies of Six More Hostages
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
September 1, 2024

With much sadness, but little surprise, the deaths of six hostages held in Gaza, including one American, are confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as reported on Fox News, and in The Epoch Times. It is believed Hamas murdered the hostages within the past day or two, also according to the IDF.

The six most recently murdered hostages include Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, kidnapped by Islamic extremist terrorist group Hamas from the Nova music festival in southern Israel last October 7. Goldberg-Polin attended the music festival with friends in celebration of his birthday. The other five murdered hostages are Master Sergeant Ori Danino, 25, Carmel Gat, 40, Alex Lubnov, 32, Almog Sarusi, 25, and Eden Yerushalmi, 24.

Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, spoke on August 21, Day Three of the Democrat National Convention. “This is a political convention. But needing our only son - and all of the cherished hostages - home, is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” said an impassioned Polin.

This tragic news broke on Sunday morning, 330 days following the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel, the slaughter of more than 1,400 people, and the kidnapping of 250 men, women, and children ranging in ages from, on that date, a few months to over 85 years of age. Of the eight Americans among the hostages, at least four are known dead. The status of more than 100 hostages, including up to four Americans, remains unknown. What is known, is that the IDF recovered the bodies of the six murdered hostages from an underground tunnel in Khan Yunis, Gaza. This is a tunnel the IDF recently captured from Hamas in Rafah. 

“A few hours ago, we informed the families that the bodies of their loved ones had been located by IDF troops in an underground tunnel in Rafah. According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” said IDF spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Hamas is responsible for the October 7 invasion of Israel and the massacre of more than 1,400 innocent men, women, and children - the largest massacre of Jewish people in a singular incident since the Holocaust of World War II where the Nazis murdered more than six million Jews. Hamas didn’t simply murder more than 1,400 people, they recorded many of their atrocities including the rape of women and children, the slaughter of children in front of their parents - only to murder the parents, the burning alive of children, also in front of their parents before murdering the parents.

Included in the October 7 massacre by Hamas were more than 200 people from foreign countries outside of Israel, most of whom carried dual citizenship with Israel. The following countries lost the denoted number of nationals - murdered at the hands of Hamas, according to The Times of Israel: France (35), Thailand (33), United States (31), Ukraine (21), Russia (19), United Kingdom (12), Germany (10), Nepal (10), Argentina (9), Canada (6), Romania (5), Austria, China, Philippines, Portugal (4 each), Belarus, Brazil, Italy, Peru (3 each), South Africa (2), and Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey (1 each). Most of these same countries had or still have hostages held by Hamas of indeterminate numbers.

Addressing his nation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal,” in Hebrew.

Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris expressed their outrage regarding the murder of the six hostages by Hamas. “It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” said Biden. Quite frankly, for a  man who has been AWOL from the White House the past two weeks, Biden’s words ring hollow. How will he make the Hamas leaders pay for their crimes? He has done nothing since October 8.

Harris’s words carry no more confidence than Biden’s. “I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world. As Vice President, I have no higher priority than the safety of American citizens, wherever they are in the world,” said Harris.

Yet, it continues to be the feckless “leadership” of the Biden-Harris administration that emboldens not just Hamas, but Hezbollah, another Islamic extremist terrorist group, to continue their bombings and shootings in their attempts to destroy Israel, the world’s lone Jewish nation on the planet. They have attempted to handcuff Israel at every turn in an attempt to secure a ceasefire, which will only make the administration look good, keep Hamas alive and breathing, without making Israel one bit more secure.

Biden and Harris have blood on their hands. While attempting to walk both sides of the street in telling Israel how they have the right to defend themselves, as if Israel needs permission from anyone as an independent sovereign nation, Biden and Harris are also attempting to placate the Hamas wing of their Democrat Party. The ever-growing radical, far-left of the Democrat Party, thousands of whom voted uncommitted during the primaries, have not only demanded an immediate ceasefire since October 8, but don’t even support the right of Israel to exist - taking their marching orders from Hamas and Hezbollah, who in turn are taking their marching orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is the same Iran that during the Trump administration, could not lift a finger against either the US or Israel. Now, thanks to Biden and Harris’s funding of Iran and lifting of sanctions against Iran, has returned the Islamic Republic to its former strength in efforts to build nuclear weaponry to be used against the “Great Satan,” and the “Little Satan.”

Both Biden and Harris continue talking out of both sides of their mouths. Calling for an immediate ceasefire since October 8 supports Hamas, gives Hamas new life, while endangering Israel further. Telling Israel they have the right to defend itself, while also demanding Israel exercise caution and limit their response to the terrorism intended to end the very existence of Israel, certainly is not terribly supportive.

Harris in particular has demonstrated more support for Hamas and the Palestinians by approving the pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, antisemitic rallies, marches, and violence on myriad American college campuses since October 8. Harris has repeatedly said she understands the outrage of their venomous and criminal behavior. She has, on numerous occasions, relied upon statistics provided by Hamas in condemning Israel for the alleged number of Palestinians killed since the Hamas invasion of Israel and slaughter of 1,400 Israelis. The sad reality is Hamas hides among its own people, intentionally putting them in harm’s way and actually killing many of their own people in an effort to curry global support via the media. Hamas, receiving 80 percent of the vote among the Gazans for Hamas to be the elected rulers of Gaza, in addition to hiding among their own people, hides and stores their weaponry in elementary schools, hospitals, residences, and yes, even mosques. 

Additionally, Biden and Harris accuse Israel of withholding food and medical supplies from the people of Gaza, when in reality it is Hamas that hijacks the thousands of trucks rolling into Gaza, and keeps those supplies from their own people, starving them and allowing them to die.

Harris has specifically warned Israel against moving on Rafah, which would be strategically important for Israel to end the war sooner rather than later. “We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way, that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,” said Harris on ABC, on March 24. Is she dictating to Israel? And let’s not forget, Harris, the sitting vice president seeking a promotion this November, boycotted PM Netanyahu’s address before Congress in July.

Biden and Harris simply want to end the war. Israel wants and must win the war. There is an enormous difference. Ending the war allows Hamas to live another day and continue its terror campaign in its effort to eliminate the only Jewish nation on the planet. Winning the war allows Israel to exist, and its people to live and thrive peacefully. Hamas is a terrorist organization hell bent on ending the existence of Israel and killing the Jewish people, while Israel is a legitimate sovereign nation. Hamas and Israel should under no circumstance ever be equated with one another. The fact is, if Hamas puts down their weapons, there will be no more war. If Israel puts down its weapons, there will be no more Israel. May the memories of the hostages forever be for a Blessing.

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

Israel Smartly Says No Deal

Israel Smartly Says No Deal
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
May 6, 2024

On this Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), whatever the latest machinations of an alleged ceasefire deal manifested by Qatar and Egypt have smartly been rejected by Israel. Hamas, a known terrorist organization, actually agreed to this deal, which, after rejecting all others, should tell Israel all it needs to know.

The fact of the matter is that a ceasefire existed on October 6, 2023 before Hamas permeated the peacefulness of a Shabbat morning by invading Israel, slaughtering more than 1,200 innocent children, women, and men. More than 250 hostages were taken by Hamas, a puppet, whose strings are pulled by the Islamic Republic of Iran. And while approximately 40 hostages have been released during an earlier ceasefire, the current ceasefire deal made no mention of further release of additional hostages. Quite frankly, there has been more than a little speculation as to how many of the hostages, if any, are actually still breathing. Such a proposal is only designed to make Israel look like the aggressor - belligerent for not accepting a ceasefire, flawed or otherwise.

Saying no to a ceasefire is the smart decision by Israel, not because they are warmongers, just the opposite. Israel knows a ceasefire is a false narrative because in the charters of Hamas and Hezbollah, both proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the language calls for the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of the Jewish people. When someone says they want to kill you, take them at their word. Since the October 7 massacre there have been countless promises of a repeat of the very same October 7 massacre, not one more time, not 10 more times, not 100 more times, not 1,000 more times, but 10,000 times over. If calling for the destruction of Hamas, if calling for the unequivocal eradication of every last member of Hamas is perceived as overkill on the part of Israel, what then is the promise of 10,000 more October sevenths by Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the Islamic Republic of Iran?

“You cannot negotiate peace with somebody who has come to kill you.” Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister 1969-74

Prime Minister Meir’s prophetic words are also why a two-state solution is no lasting solution whatsoever. Who would support the establishment of a hostile, terrorist, state at their own border? Only a nation or state with a suicide wish. To reiterate, the charters of Hamas and Hezbollah call for the destruction of Israel and the death of the Jewish people. Is there really any other reason necessary to not support a ceasefire or two-state solution?

“The key thing is, the Israelis have to finish this thing. The Palestinians have to accept they’ve lost this war, and will come to some kind of terms. But, what we can’t have is them regrouping because they think the United States has their back, and they’re going to come back and do October 7 again,” said Victoria Coates, former Deputy National Security Advisor during the Trump administration.

Coates’ assertions speak the truth as Joe Biden has been less than full throat supportive of Israel since October 7. Biden has been playing both sides of the same Middle East coin, attempting to support Israel with lip service while simultaneously placating the far-left Hamas wing of his Democrat Party calling for Israel to temper its responses. In doing so, Biden continues to lose support from both constituencies. No problem. No self-respecting Jewish voter in the United States should embarrass him or herself before G-d voting for Biden and/or a party that openly supports raging anti-Semitism from coast to coast. The only real two-state solution Biden desperately wants is Michigan and Minnesota. Neither Israel nor the Jewish people have a friend in the White House right now.

But this is not about Biden. Nor is this about Trump. This isn’t even about the virulent anti-Semitism running rampant on more than 100 college and university campuses across the fruited plain, and the ruination of numerous graduation ceremonies by the pro-Hamas protesters. This is about the survival of Israel and the Jewish people pure and simple; and as a sovereign nation, Israel not only has the right, but the mandate to do whatever it takes to survive as the lone Jewish nation on G-d’s green earth. The majority of Israelis under age 30 do not support a two-state solution, more so than ever since October 7.

Israel exists under the hypocritical, watchful eye of the so-called United Nations, seemingly united only in its constant refutation and condemnation of Israel. Israel fights wars unlike any other nation - declaring its intentions in advance in an effort to protect civilians, providing its enemies with humanitarian aid, and is typically excoriated to temper its response after being attacked; no condemnation for the attacks on Israel. It took months before UN Women condemned the rape of Israeli girls and women. University presidents only condemned campus anti-Semitism in “context.”

In 2022 the United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn Israel more than all other countries combined, by a tally of 18 to 14. Of the 14 non-Israel condemnations, seven cited Russia, two against Iran, and one each against the United States, Afghanistan, Myanmar, North Korea, and Syria. Israel didn’t fare any better last year either, outpacing the world 15 condemnations to seven. Two of the seven non-Israel condemnations cited Russia, and one each against the United States, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, and Syria. At best such a scorecard is a farce. Where’s China? Cuba? Haiti? Libya? Sudan? Venezuela? All paragons of virtue? Obviously not. Yet Israel, defending itself with one hand tied behind its back as described above, is taken to the woodshed more than any other nation.

In the battle of good versus evil, and while no nation is free of foibles and flaws, when Israel vacated Gaza in 2005, which should never have happened, what did the Palestinian people do? Leveled the standing infrastructure left intact by Israelis. Israelis saw no legitimate point in destroying what could still be used. Were the Palestinians to use their engineering skills, which are vast, see 300-plus miles of underground tunnels, livable infrastructure, and weaponry storage, and built houses, schools, libraries, businesses, including resorts on their portion of the Mediterranean Sea - that’s valuable undeveloped real estate, they would have a thriving economy. Instead they are being starved, literally, by the same terrorists they voted to lead them - Hamas. Hamas is responsible for hijacking more than 90 percent of the humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza from Israel and the United States. Hamas is responsible for the slaughter of more of its own people than is Israel, contrary to anti-Israel mainstream “news” reporting.

The Palestinian people have a long history of not taking yes for an answer, dating back more than a century to the 1917 Balfour Declaration when they were given 80 percent of partitioned land that should have all been designated for the return of the Jewish people from the Diaspora to their Biblical, ancestral, and historical homeland Eretz Yisrael. Jordan, then Transjordan, had been designated for the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people have a one-state solution - an Israel free of Jewish people - in its entirety - no compromise.  (https://besacenter.org/palestinian-rejectionism/) 

From their Declaration of Independence, May 15, 1948, Israel suffered massive attacks from all sides - Egypt from the south and southwest, Saudi Arabia from the southwest, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria from the east, and Lebanon from the north. (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/map-of-the-arab-invasion-in-the-1948-war) Internally, Israel experienced attacks from Palestinians.

And thus the importance necessitating Israel’s Rafah operations. The people there have already been given their generous warnings to evacuate. After all, how many civilians are Hamas participants? Sadly, and obviously, unknown. This exercise is vital for the IDF to continue rooting out the more than 300 miles of underground tunnels and its accouterments. Hamas must never be permitted to regenerate. Doing so only keeps Israel at risk, and war a never ending constant in the region. No deal is better than a bad deal.

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

This Chanukah Shine a Brighter Light on Antisemitism

This Chanukah Shine a Brighter Light on Antisemitism
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
December 4, 2023

While the war in Israel heats up once again, thanks to Hamas violating the cease fire, it is also time to focus our attention on the heat of a more serene nature. That would be the heat emanating from the lights to be kindled starting Thursday night as the Jewish community the world over ushers in Chanukah - the Festival of Lights.

Thursday night December 7 (also Pearl Harbor Day - lest we forget), Kislev 25 on the Jewish calendar is the commencement of a festival celebrating sovereignty, religious rights and freedom, as well as protecting and recapturing a homeland that had been many times invaded by Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Syrians.

The mere dates and locations of the history of Chanukah is proof positive that the Jewish people are the rightful residents in the Holy Land - the Land of Israel. The history of Chanukah dates back more than 2000 years - long before Palestinians or Muslims invaded the Jewish Biblical, ancestral, historical homeland of the Jewish people - the indigenous peoples of Israel. The history of Chanukah includes the lands of Judea and Jerusalem.

Chanukah - the Festival of Lights - where we do not hide behind masks as Israel’s and the Jewish people’s adversaries do, nor do we hide in the dark. The Jewish people shine a light as a beacon for the world to see the results of peace and freedom - the same freedom many Arab Israelis have attested that they enjoy as Israelis and not in any Arab/Muslim country.

This year, that beacon of light is ever more important to fight the ignorance that is mounting, virulent Antisemitism from coast to coast in the United States on far too numerous college campuses, in city streets, where violence and vandalism has been growing more frequent akin to Kristallnacht. (https://sanfordspeaksout.blogspot.com/2023/11/jew-hating-like-its-1938.html)

This year, that beacon of light is ever more important to fight the arrogance that campus denizens who clearly have never learned a lick of history, deign to make demands of a foreign government (almost as arrogant as the Biden administration - see Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken). Their arrogance to clamor for a cease fire that heretofore existed on October 6 before Hamas shattered it with their invasion of Israel, their slaughter of 1,400 Israeli civilians, the rape of innocent girls and women, the decapitation of babies, and the kidnapping of more than 240 innocent people from Israel, the United States, Italy, Mexico, and many other nations ranging in ages from, then eight months, to 85 years old. 

It is beyond arrogance when there is video evidence of these crimes against humanity perpetrated by Hamas and uploaded by Hamas, which is then ignored by the useful idiots on campus and within the so-called mainstream media. And useful idiots they are, if they think for one second they themselves would be spared by Hamas - in their anti-Sharia dress, their signs of support for the gay and trans communities, and the self-loathing Jews siding with Hamas. Once again, this arrogance and ignorance stems from a paucity of historical data and knowledge. 

They are arrogant to think their calls for a two state solution will succeed - whether those calls come from campus or the White House - it is demonstrative of their lack of knowledge of history. All anyone need do is read the charters as established by both Hamas and Hezbollah to LEARN that a two state solution is untenable when one of the states only wants the eradication of the other state and the death of the people of that state. Those supporting a two state solution, those supporting Hamas, those chanting the death mantra of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” only seek two things - the destruction of Israel and the death of the Jewish people. They may claim to be pro-Palestinian, but they, in reality, are anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic, anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-democracy, and anti-Western Civilization. They have been indoctrinated to believe in a black and white set of options - oppressors and oppressed, that Israel with its success represents the West, represents white people, and therefore could not be the oppressed peoples, and could only be the oppressors. Once again, the lack of knowledge of history plays a key role.

The reality is that when Israel vacated Gaza in 2005, it left intact the infrastructure - buildings, green houses, schools, hospitals, that would in turn be razed by Hamas, the ruling faction elected in 2006. Hamas has not held a single election since. Hamas has prevented its own people from relocating. Hamas hides behind its children and most vulnerable using them as human shields. Hamas has used billions of dollars worth of materials designated for the infrastructure of Gaza to build more than 300 miles of rather intricate tunnel systems from which to wage war, store weapons, and ammunition under and in hospitals, children’s bedrooms, even mosques - their own holy house of worship. From the category of good versus evil, they could have used their engineering smarts for the betterment of the Gazan people and live life instead of worshiping a cult of death as Hamas does. Learning this and additional genuine history would be a great 2023 Chanukah miracle.

Israel is neither an occupier nor a colonialist as is incorrectly bandied about during the less than peaceful protests and on signs. The Greeks and Syrians occupied present day Israel more than 2000 years ago - including during 222-186 BCE (Before the Common Era), under Antiochus III, king of Syria - oppressing the Jewish people in their Biblical and ancestral homeland. Upon the death of Antiochus III, his son Seleucus IV took the reins, imposing even greater taxes on the Jewish people in an effort to pay his own debt to the Romans. Hellenists attempted to force the Jewish people to worship Hellenist idols, but the Jews resisted as “Judaism emphasizes truth and moral purity, as commanded by G-d in the Holy Torah.” (chabad.org) Seems the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas crowd, “can’t handle the truth,” to borrow from Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992).

Upon the death of Seleucus, his brother Antiochus IV began his reign (174 BCE) - a worse tyrant than his brother before him - responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Jews in the Holy Land. Antiochus IV inflicted numerous Antisemitic laws against the Jewish people, such as forbidding Jewish worship (confiscation of, and burning of Torahs), prohibition of Shabbat observance, circumcisions, and kashrut (observance of dietary laws), all under penalty of death.

This occupation and the Draconian laws imposed upon the Jewish people lead to a series of military battles. The Jewish people won the war for their sovereignty and religious freedoms. (This is something the people of Gaza can do as well for themselves - against Hamas - their de facto masters.) The victory by the Jewish people came under the leadership of Judah, son of Mattityahu, the old priest. Mattityahu instructed the people to “follow the counsel of… Shimon the Wise,” and “their leader should be Judah the Strong,” a.k.a. Judah the Maccabee. (chabad.org)

Judah and his fellow Maccabees returned to Jerusalem, freed their people, and restored their Holy Temple to the Jewish people - only after clearing it of idols, properly cleaning it, and built a new altar dedicated on 25 Kislev 139 BCE. When lighting the new menorah, there seemed to be only enough oil for one night, but “by a miracle of G-d, it continued to burn for eight days,” until new oil became available. (chabad.org)

This very  brief history of Chanukah includes the freeing of Judea - recovered by the Jewish people having been overrun by Syrian armies. The Jewish people celebrated their victory with gratitude to G-d, with Psalms and offerings in a period of thanksgiving.

This second Holy Temple stood for another 210 years (420 in total) until its destruction in 70 CE (Common Era) by the Roman invaders. Jews lived under foreign rule and occupation by Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Syrians.

There are two schools of thought regarding the lighting of the Chanukah menorah. One starts with eight candles and removes one each night until there is but one candle on the eighth night. The other school of thought, and the one followed by global Judaism, is to add a candle each night until there are eight on the eighth night, thus adding to the light, making it brighter, not depleting it, making it darker. There is one additional candle for each night, plus a “leader” candle - the shamash - designated to light all the others.

This year it has been suggested that Jewish people either not light their menorahs or keep them hidden so as not to be seen from the outside in light of the war and the exponential rise in rabid Antisemitism (up 388 percent since October 7 - as per the ADL) around the globe. When the menorah is lit, it should be either in a doorway or on a windowsill so as to BE visible. 

In 2023 that tradition will be upheld once again. We will not be deterred by ignorance. In fact, there have been postings on social media that non-Jews also put a menorah or candles in their doorway or on their windowsill to demonstrate their support of Israel and their Jewish friends and neighbors. Let’s shine a brighter light to rid the world of the oldest hatred - Antisemitism, and create yet another Chanukah miracle. Wishing all a happy, healthy, and meaningful Festival of Lights with plenty of latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot  (jelly doughnuts), while praying for the miracle of the return of the remaining 137 hostages held by Hamas.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He last visited Israel in 2019 with his wife.

For proper Blessings for Chanukah, menorah, and candles, please visit: https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/5746657/jewish/Menorah-Blessings.htm 

Israel, Hamas - No Equivalence - Moral or Otherwise

“One does not deal with terrorists; one does not bargain with terrorists; one kills terrorists.” – Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-90)

Israel, Hamas – No Equivalence – Moral or Otherwise

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

July 29, 2014

I am a Zionist – an unabashed, unequivocal Zionist. That means I support the right of the State of Israel to not only exist, but to zealously defend her borders, her citizens, its way of life and to take any measures necessary to do so.

History, both recent – since the Balfour Declaration November 2, 1917, and Biblical, also supports the right of Israel to exist and fervently defend itself.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ardently stated often that “If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more war. If Israel put down their weapons, there would be no more Israel.”

These are some of the myriad incontrovertible truths that the overwhelming majority of humanity has forgotten – especially Barrack Hussein Obama – never a friend of Israel, as he has said, “Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people.” Obama’s declaration is demonstrative of how obtuse he truly is. After all, how much of a supporter of Israel could Obama be, having called for the return of the Jewish state to its pre-1967 War borders, shrinking its most narrow portion to under eight miles wide? Would Obama accept returning the United States to its pre-Mexican War borders?

To date, nearly 3,000 rockets have been launched from Gaza by the terrorist menace Hamas into Israel and Israel continues to be told by the likes of Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to exercise patience, discretion, and restraint. Eighty percent of Israel is within reach by these rockets, giving 80 percent of the Israeli population under two minutes to reach a bomb shelter. Such calls demonstrate the ignorance of Obama and Kerry, who doubtful would show restraint were a concomitant number of rockets fired into the United States. (Although judging by how Obama is handling the illegal alien crisis on the southern border, I could be wrong.) Does anyone think if 80 percent of the United States was under a constant rocket barrage in New York City, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Denver, Tulsa, San Antonio, among other jurisdictions that it would be taken lightly or with restraint? No way, Jose, nor should it be.

Diplomacy has failed, because the singular goal of Hamas is the destruction of the State of Israel and those who support its existence – not because Israel fires back, as the so-called mainstream media would have the gullible believe.

The cowardly Hamas hides behind its children, preferring to ensure their martyrdom by allowing their deaths – even at their own hands, as hundreds of Hamas’ own rockets are murdering Arab children. Israel has, and this has been their practice for years, given its enemies warnings via leaflets and other media of impending bombings to attempt to spare women and children. Israel does more to protect Arab children then the Arabs themselves.

Ironically, it was in 1967 when Golda Meir, Israeli prime minister 1969-74, said “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

In Israel, minorities, Arabs, women, and homosexuals have more rights, freedoms, and protections than in any Arab nation. When the State of Israel was founded in May 1948 the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who fled, did so by choice. They were not expelled, threatened with death if they didn’t convert, such which is sadly happening to millions of Christians in Isis-dominated regions of the Middle East, they left under their own volition.

Now, generations later, these so-called refugees, still called that to this day, are in economically depressed circumstances by their own choosing. There are many educated, financially successful Arabs living in Israel. Arabs can even be elected to the Knesset in Israel. Yet, Israel is blamed for the so-called refugees enduring their chosen status. Did Jordan offer refuge? No. Syria? No. Qatar? No. Yemen? No. Iran? No. Kuwait? No. Saudi Arabia? No. Oman? No. Lebanon? No. Iraq? No. Egypt? No. Nor any other Arab/Muslim country, yet Israel is still vilified.

While Israel flourishes and prospers using its resources for good instead of evil, the residents of Gaza flounder as the overwhelming majority of their resources are used for evil rather than good, thanks in large part to Iran and Qatar who gleefully fund Hamas and Gazans.

Five cease fires have been accepted by Israel when they have no obligation to do so, as they are permanently playing defense, only this is no game, but the life and death struggle of a nation the size of New Jersey surrounded on all sides by enemies wishing and fighting for Israel’s destruction. In fact, Hamas violated its own cease fire in an effort to paint a negative picture of Israel by firing on its own children.

Netanyahu smartly stated he would no longer worry about the public relations aspect of the current war started against Israel. The public relations wars can never be won by Israel as they face regular condemnation from the United Nations, the global media, and also the Obama administration and its Democratic apologists like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

There can never be a cease fire as long as Hamas exists. Their mission is the destruction of Israel – even at the expense of its own children. Defeating Hamas is not good enough. In fact, the Hamas mission statement says “Israel will exist, and continue to exist, until Islam obliterates it.” Clearly there is no negotiating with such a terrorist entity calling for global jihad and further promises to kill every Jew in the world.

It is the tunnels that must be obliterated and all aid used for munitions and arms must be halted. For even when Hamas is no more, there will be Isis, the Muslim Brotherhood,  Hezbollah, the next group, and the group after that, all hell bent on the evisceration of Israel, the Jewish people, and Zionists the world over. If J Street in Washington, DC recognizes the need for Israel to zealously defend itself, this should be a no-brainer for the rest of humanity.

The Jewish people went like lambs to the slaughter during the Holocaust and were questioned as to why they didn’t defend themselves. The State of Israel learned from that vital lesson and understands well what former president Ronald Reagan meant by “peace through strength.”

The great rabbi Meir Kahane, of Blessed memory, (1932-90) also understood well the mentality of Israel’s foes. “Above all, it is not decency or goodness of gentleness that impresses the Middle East, but strength.” He further added, what is a fatal flaw of the United States, as the current influx of illegal alien children will prove out, “One of the great problems with Americans is that – being a decent people – they assume that everyone else is equally decent.”

“Israel will take whatever action is necessary to put a stop to these attacks by Hamas. This is not merely our right, it’s also our duty,” declared Netanyahu. Amen, Mr. Prime Minister, Amen.

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