In the clamor for a ceasefire in Gaza, there sure is a lot of ceasing on demand. A multitude of ultimatums, public outcries and violent actions during protests that require arrest.

Nothing is too sacred to disrupt: “Gas the Jews!” abhorrently shouted at the Sydney Opera House; Armistice Day in the United Kingdom overrun with mobs of antisemites parading through Central London; the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center enflamed by un-peaceful protests reminiscent of the Dark Ages.

This worldwide onslaught, undertaken mostly by Muslims and their “progressive” acolytes (and useful idiots: See Susan Sarandon), carried signs and chanted slogans calling for the end of a variety of Israeli cruelties: “occupation,” “apartheid,” “genocide,” “blockade” and “open air prison.” That’s a lot of ceasing, but it can be distilled to a single objective, what’s truly motivating the protestors: “Cease Jews!”

There is madness and nihilism among us—infecting minds, poisoning hearts, revealing truths. We have given radical Muslims license to forcibly hijack our streets and call for the death of Jews—wherever they may be found. The irony, of course, is that with each of these grotesque hate-fests, Jew haters are making the case for a Jewish homeland, for why the existence of Israel has, aside from the Holocaust, never before been this essential.

Such a marked contrast from the somber assemblies that Jews undertake in support of Israel. No hoarse shouting; no “death” chants and flag burnings. A tale of two communities. Which do you prefer as neighbors and fellow citizens? So stark are the side-by-side comparisons that people choosing the pro-Hamas camp can only mean one thing: antisemitism is alive and well, with practitioners shamelessly availing themselves of this permissive moment of unabashed hatred.

How else to explain the mindboggling lack of outrage with beheadings of Israeli infants and gang rapes of Jewish teenage girls? The victims on Oct. 7 were not enemy combatants. Just like Hamas’s launching of indiscriminate rocket fire at Israel since 2007, Jews need not wear an IDF uniform to be targeted for death. The savagery of Oct. 7, and the refusal of so many to condemn the actions of Hamas, suggests that so long as it is directed against Jews, violence is excusable, crimes are comeuppance, terrorism will go unnamed and Hamas will be treated like heroes.

Soon after Israel began its counteroffensive, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. It declined to make any statement condemning Hamas.

The U.N. Women’s organization, with its specific mandate to protect women from sexual violence, demanded a ceasefire without mentioning Hamas or including a single word of disgust for the unspeakable violations against Jewish women that took place on Oct. 7. Those words only recently arrived, but tepidly stated and silent about who was to blame. The U.N. General Secretary also was inexcusably late in mentioning that Hamas broke a ceasefire on Oct. 7 by breaking every known rule of armed conflict.

It’s far worse than withholding outrage. There is also an obscene denial of the horrors that took place. Apparently, Israel fabricated the whole thing. The Jewish state staged its own massacre. The home movies taken by Hamas and treated like a Hollywood premier on social media must be fake, too. Gazans are so predisposed to being used as human shields, they actually believe that the rest of the world is as depraved as they are.

People are actually saying such things, and far too many are believing it. We are facing a pernicious strain of antisemitism never before seen. The evidence left behind is not DNA, but AI—a combination of pure ignorance and diseased malice. The alliances Jews once believed they could rely upon have disappeared into the fog of the culture wars. Jewish Lives Don’t Matter and Believe Survivors unless they’re Jews.

This is the reason why the Squad, progressives in Congress, university faculty and their mindless students have been so begrudging and dismissive when it comes to condemning Hamas. For them, this particular breed of terrorists are, in actuality, freedom fighters engaged in acceptable acts of resistance. In their twisted moral logic, the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization is what makes its trademark Jew-hatred so attractive.

This is why they can’t stoop to reproaching Hamas. In the vocabulary of the West, “terrorism” is a negative. But for Hamas apologists, being called a terrorist is not an insult, but an allure. After all, Hamas achieves what casual, cocktail party antisemitism can never accomplish: a demonstrated capacity to rid themselves of Jews, murdering them—even the infants.

We should tragically presume that those who remain silent must regard Hamas as antisemitic rock stars, deserving not of just deserts, but everlasting praise.

As for the rest of us—Jews and non-Jews alike—surrounded by such anti-American animus and agitprop, we should prepare ourselves to accept that our cherished liberal values are under attack, that civilization itself is in jeopardy. Criminality and mass rioting is being normalized—whether it is smash-and-grab at the Apple Store or the disruption of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in the Big Apple.

Tolerate moral relativism too long, capitulate to the new order of woke-fueled protocols, and you end up with moral rot, confusion and mediocrity.

You don’t have to look very far. A high school in Queens turned into a lynch mob for a teacher who stood up for Israel. Firebombs were thrown at a Jewish Center in Montreal. As many as 15 synagogues in New York City received bomb threats this past Shabbat.

Much of this was taking place during Israel’s four-day ceasefire. So, is this really about the killing of Palestinian civilians? No protests erupted to denounce the 100,000 civilians killed in Ukraine. Are Palestinian lives more worthy than other civilians?

And where was the worldwide demand to return the Israeli and American hostages? Instead of blaming Israel for defending itself, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama, Tony Blair and the U.N. secretary general should have traveled to Egypt, and standing at the border with Gaza, demanded through loudspeakers: “Let the Jewish people go!”

Latent antisemitism is a thing of the past. Jew-hatred has returned, openly, and it is raging. After thousands of years, emanating in fits and starts, what is finally long overdue is the ceasing not of fire, but antisemitism.

Originally published by The Jewish Journal.

The head of  the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, said on Sunday that Israel will eliminate the leaders of Hamas in Qatar and Turkey.

"The Cabinet set us a goal. In the words of the street, it is to eliminate Hamas, and we are determined to do it. This is our 'Munich,'" said Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, referring to "Operation Wrath of God," which Israel launched against the terrorists responsible for the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

It was the first time Bar had commented on the Gaza war, according to Channel 11.

Bar was repeating guidance handed down by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told reporters on Nov. 22, “I have instructed the Mossad to act against the heads of Hamas wherever they are.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at the same press conference that Hamas leaders were living on “borrowed time.”

“They are marked for death,” he said. “The struggle is worldwide, both the terrorists in Gaza and those who fly in expensive planes.”

Israeli officials told The Wall Street Journal that plans are in the works to target Hamas leaders in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar, a Gulf state that has allowed the terror group to run a political office in Doha for a decade.

Israel has experience in carrying out targeted assassinations overseas. Citing the book, “Rise and Kill First” by Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman, the Journal reports that Israel has conducted more than 2,700 such operations since World War II.

The most recent, well-publicized assassination attributed to Israel was of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020. was shot to death while driving in Abs0ard, east of Tehran.

It's also widely accepted that Mossad agents, disguised as tourists and hotel staff, were behind the January 2010 assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al Mabhouh in Dubai.

In 1997, Netanyahu, then serving his first term as prime minister, ordered a hit on Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Jordan. Mossad agents injected Mashaal with poison but were captured. The fallout led to the release of Palestinian prisoners, the most high-profile of them being Hamas's spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

Yassin was assassinated via IDF helicopter in the Gaza Strip in 2004, an operation personally overseen by then-Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon.

Nearly one in two Israelis continues to volunteer nearly two months into the war with Hamas, according to a survey released on Monday, one day before International Volunteer Day.

Forty-five percent of Israelis have reported volunteering, including 49% of Jewish Israelis and 28% of the Arab sector, according to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem study.

Arabs make up about 20% of Israel’s population.

The rate of volunteerism remains higher than in previous crises, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic when 20% of the Israeli population reported volunteering, and is steady around the record-high number of volunteers during the first month of the war. 

A full quarter of the volunteers identified themselves as "spontaneous” volunteers who stepped up due to the war, which broke out on Oct. 7, with only 20% having a history of regular volunteering.

Volunteers reported high rates of satisfaction and relief due to their activities, and expressed a strong intent to continue volunteering post-war.

Nearly half of the volunteers defined themselves as coming from secular backgrounds, surpassing those from the traditional and religious sectors, and a reversal of the pre-war trend, the survey found.   

Additionally, a significant number reported above-average incomes, reflecting diverse economic backgrounds among volunteers.

Volunteering during this conflict spans age groups, the survey showed, including 43% of Israelis aged 18–35, 52% aged 35–55 and 47% aged over 55.

Nearly 70% of volunteers have engaged in activities within their local communities, through various affiliations like schools, youth movements and professional groups, the survey found.

“During this tumultuous time, the surge in volunteering reflects a powerful testament to the resilience and unity of Israeli society,” said professor Michal Almog-Bar, head of the Institute for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy at Hebrew University, who conducted the survey. “The emergence of diverse volunteering patterns underscores our ability to adapt and collaborate, highlighting the crucial role each individual plays in shaping a stronger, more cohesive community.”

Israeli Military Police on Sunday night arrested the soldier who shot and killed an Israeli civilian during a terror attack in Jerusalem last week, the army said.

Three Israelis were killed and six others wounded on the morning of Nov. 30 in a terrorist shooting on Weizman Boulevard at the main entrance to Jerusalem.

Yuval Doron Castleman, 37, was driving on the other side of the road from the bus stop where the attack took place. He exited his vehicle, walked across the street and engaged the two Hamas terrorists, who had already killed three people.

The two off-duty soldiers and Castleman managed to kill the Hamas gunmen, but Castleman was then mistaken for an additional assailant and fired upon.

Surveillance video footage shows that Castleman was shot after putting his weapon down and his hands in the air. He reportedly yelled, “Look at my ID, I’m Jewish.”

The IDF said that the soldier's detention was "preliminary" and that he will continue to be interrogated on Monday.

The arrest comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for a “thorough inquiry” into the killing.

“Yuval Doron Castleman is a hero of Israel. In a supreme act of bravery, Yuval saved many lives. However, unfortunately, a terrible tragedy occurred there and the man who had saved others was killed. There must be a thorough inquiry,” Netanyahu said after speaking on the phone with Castleman’s father.

“I spoke today with Yuval’s father Moshe, the salt of the earth, a Zionist family, an exemplary family. I and the entire nation mourn with them over the death of a hero of Israel,” said Netanyahu.

Moshe Castleman earlier on Sunday said that the soldier had “carried out an execution” of his son and demanded an investigation, saying that no officials had reached out to the family since the incident.

Yuval “did everything he needed to do so they [the soldiers] could identify him. He went down on his knees, opened his jacket to show he didn’t have any explosives on him, yelled at them, ‘Don’t shoot, I’m Jewish, I’m Israeli,’ and they continued to shoot him,” said Moshe.

“How is it possible to think he was a terrorist? It’s inconceivable,” he added.

Moshe said that Yuval had served in the Border Police and Israel Police before becoming a lawyer.

In response to a question during a Saturday night press briefing regarding his government's policy of relaxing conditions for civilians to acquire firearms licenses, Netanyahu said the policy would be continued.

"The reality of armed civilians is that many times it saves lives and prevents a great disaster. In the current situation, the policy should be continued. We may pay a price for it, that’s life,” he said.

War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz tweeted on Sunday that “the case of Yuval the hero is not ‘life,’ but a warning sign that requires learning lessons that will save lives in the future. May his memory be for a blessing.”

On Oct. 7, the Hamas terror group slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and foreign visitors in a carefully planned massacre that included the brutal torture and disfigurement of victims. Hamas abducted more than 240 other people, including more than 30 children, and took them to the Gaza Strip, holding them as hostages.

Human Rights Watch, ostensibly one of the world's most respected moral organizations, waited more than two days to issue a statement. When it did, the text was not a clear and direct condemnation of this monstrous war crime. Instead, Omar Shakir (HRW's Israel and Palestine director) framed the unfathomably evil terror attack as a justified reaction to Israeli policies, which, in HRW's list of slogans, include war crimes, unprecedented repression, unlawful closure of Gaza, inhumane acts, "domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians" and "crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution."

After Israel's military entered Gaza to destroy the massive terror infrastructure there, Shakir and Program Director Sari Bashi repeated the slogans and added other accusations, such as "deliberate, indiscriminate, or disproportionate attacks" in numerous media appearances and social media posts. The Israeli victims were mostly erased.

For those who have closely followed HRW's role as one of the leaders in the campaign to single out and demonize the Jewish state as the world's worst violator of human rights and international humanitarian law, this is not surprising. In 2009, HRW founder Robert Bernstein, writing in the New York Times, condemned his own organization for "turning Israel into a pariah state."

Credit for exploiting moral principles adopted after the Holocaust, and weaponizing them to target Israel, goes to HRW Executive Director Ken Roth (1993-2022), who launched this strategy more than 20 years ago. Roth and his acolytes created an aura of moral authority that, with the assistance of a massive budget (over $100 million in 2022), was instantly echoed and adopted by many journalists, U.N. officials and academics.

Until now. Two major revelations have ripped away the curtain from HRW's moral facade, revealing a thoroughly corrupt organization. The first was in the form of an email sent to all 600 staff members by senior editor turned whistleblower Danielle Haas on her last day on the job (Nov. 14), which condemned the deep hostility to Israel that permeates every aspect of HRW. The second revelation was the publication by the authoritative Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) of a secret January 2018 letter allegedly authorizing the transfer of 3 million euros (about $3.75 million at the time) from Qatar to HRW.

Haas's email provided confirmation and examples of the "years of politicization" that stained all of HRW's activities related to Israel, violating "basic editorial standards related to rigor, balance, and collegiality." She noted that HRW's response to the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre invoked "the 'context' of 'apartheid' and 'occupation' before blood was even dry on bedroom walls" and "could easily be construed as blaming the victim." Blaming Israel and its Jewish supporters for terrorism and antisemitism has been one of HRW's frequent themes. Although Haas did not mention Roth's name, his 29-year obsession with Israel was apparent in her depiction of the "shattered professionalism, abandoned principles of accuracy and fairness," and the ways that HRW "surrendered its duty to stand for the human rights of all."

HRW's moral decay is also reflected in the malicious campaign to label Israel as the world's only "apartheid state"—that, as in the case of South Africa, has no right to exist. In launching a 2021 campaign on this theme, HRW sent advanced copies of a 217-page pseudo-research report filled with legal-sounding jargon and propaganda to allied journalists as part of its standard media manipulation strategy. Haas notes that HRW's leaders (i.e. Roth and acolytes) knew the text "would rarely be read in full. And there is little doubt it has not been by those—including Hamas supporters—who now bandy about the term with appalling ease." For those who worked hard to avoid seeing the extensive rot at the core of HRW, the evidence is now inescapable.

A week later, a second earthquake ripped through HRW's carefully manicured curtain of secrecy. On Nov. 22, 2023, MEMRI posted a letter in Arabic apparently showing that Qatar—the petroleum-rich Gulf kingdom that supports Hamas, runs Al Jazeera's propaganda and buys influence through multi-million dollar donations to universities, the prestigious Brookings Institution and elsewhere—secretly funds HRW. The letter, dated Jan. 15, 2018, refers to a payment in the amount of 3 million euros made to the HRW organization, signed by Abdullah Bin Khalaf Hattab al-Ka'bi, director of Qatar's Office of the Prime Minister and addressed to Finance Minister Ali Sharif al-Emadi.

The Qatari funding (the 2018 letter refers to an "additional" donation) to HRW is entirely consistent with the organization's promotion of Palestinian and Hamas propaganda, and demonization of Israel under the façades of human rights and international law. In 2009, Roth and HRW started hiding the organization's full list of donors—an early red flag for an NGO claiming a moral agenda. In parallel, Roth sent Sarah Leah Whitson, head of the Middle East division and a career Israel-hater, to raise money from Arab regimes (another red flag), including Gaddafi's Libya.

Most details of this effort remain hidden, but in 2020, an internal leak was published revealing a $470,000 "donation" from a corrupt Saudi billionaire. Whitson, who suddenly left HRW at the time that this was leaked and is now at a propaganda NGO with mostly secret donors called DAWN, has other links to Qatar-funded platforms, so that the funding for HRW fits the pattern.

The combination of the whistleblower email and the funding scandals means that HRW's future is very precarious. According to Haas, there are others among the staff who agree with her "but are fearful to speak out." However, the financial and moral corruption combined with the culture of hate and fear could lead others to follow.

Roth retired in 2022 (and bullied his way into a brief Harvard fellowship), but retains control through his hand-picked senior staff and board members who rubber-stamped this corruption. They should be pressured into resigning immediately. In addition, an independent investigation of all financial activities covering the past 25 years is required, accompanied by the examination of possible violations by Roth, Whitson and others of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The damage done to the moral core of human rights and to Israeli victims of Hamas terrorism is incalculable and irreversible. But an internship or work experience at HRW is no longer an asset, and being listed as a donor in HRW's glossy PR publications is worse than embarrassing. After 30 years of impunity, Human Rights Watch will need a total rebuilding with an entirely new leadership if it is to survive and return to the agenda for which it was created.

Originally published by The Gatestone Institute.

On this week's episode of "The Yishai Fleisher Show," Yishai and Malkah Fleisher struggle between high and low spirits, between terror and Jewish victory—and the only solution is to Be the Maccabee! Then, Ben Bresky speaks with 99-year-old reporter Walter Bingham, who went back to Germany to relive the Kindertransport. Finally, Yishai talks with the young Jews of the Aardvark gap year program.

Produced by Yishai Fleisher and the Land of Israel network and part of JNS’s library, “The Yishai Fleisher Show” is a popular English-language podcast exploring Israeli life, politics and Jewish thought.

Drawing on his experience as a journalist, legal and biblical scholar, Israel Defense Forces soldier and spokesman for the Jewish Community of Hebron, Fleisher sheds light on everything from global and Middle East news to weekly Bible/Torah study, health, family, and, of course, the amazing rebirth of Israel.

This webinar was generously sponsored by Donna Gary in loving memory of her husband Stuart Hunter Gary.

After the sadistic, savage Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, Israel has had little option but to respond with force against the Gaza-based terror group. Is the current conflict simply another Israel-Palestinian war, or are there wider implications for all of us, in the West? To what degree is Iran involved in this war? How intent is Iran on staying out of this war, and to what degree are its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria and the Houthis in Yemen, willing to get involved? There are approximately 40,000 U.S. troops right now in the Middle East—to what degree are they at risk? What are the prospects of this becoming a wider war?

Here to answer this and more is Ambassador Yoram Ettinger.

About the Speaker: Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger is an insider on U.S.-Israel relations, Mideast politics and overseas investments in Israel’s high-tech sector. He is a member of the American-Israel Demographic Research Group (AIDRG), which has documented dramatic flaws behind demographic fatalism on one hand, and a Jewish demographic momentum on the other hand.

He is a consultant to members of Israel’s Cabinet and Knesset, and regularly briefs U.S. legislators and their staff on Israel’s contribution to vital U.S. interests, on the root causes of international terrorism and on other issues of bilateral concern.

During a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Monday, Mathias Cormann, Secretary General for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), said he expects Israel's economy to grow by 4.5% in 2025.

Cormann's statement demonstrated the OECD's faith in Israel's economy in the longer term, even after the organization lowered Israel's growth forecast from 2.9% to 2.3% in 2023 and predicted a still sharper reduction of 1.5% for 2024 (compared to 3.3%) due to the Oct. 7 attack.

Cohen detailed the moves Israel's government and Foreign Ministry were taking to keep the economy's wheels turning during the war.

Israel is a world leader in the fields of food security, water, climate and agriculture, and will continue to be so after the fall of Hamas and the return of the hostages, he said.

Cormann proposed the OECD's aid tools for dealing with the challenges posed by the war in Gaza.

The two also discussed promoting regional projects with an emphasis on cooperation with the countries of the Abraham Accords.

"The State of Israel entered the war in Gaza in a solid economic situation and with the ability to provide the best response to the needs of the Israeli economy," said Cohen.

"The extent of the war's impact on the main growth engines of the Israeli economy, especially technology and innovation, is relatively low," he added.

"Past experience proves that after the end of security crises and wars, there is accelerated growth, and the expected increase in immigration to Israel from around the world will also contribute to the strengthening of the Israeli economy," he said.

Three IDF soldiers were lightly wounded overnight Sunday by mortar shells launched from Lebanon toward Israeli military posts in the Shtula area near the Israel-Lebanon border.

On Monday morning, mortar shells were fired from Lebanese territory at an IDF post in the area of Yiftah, according to the military.

The IDF struck the source of the launches with artillery.

Several launches were also identified on Monday afternoon from Lebanon towards the Har Dov region, falling in open areas and another launch towards Misgav Am.

In response, the IDF struck the source of the launches.

In addition, the IDF said on Monday afternoon it targeted an operational headquarters and other terror infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanese territory.

On Sunday, Ziv Medical Center in Safed admitted 12 people who had been wounded by an anti-tank missile from Lebanon earlier in the day.

One woman and 11 men between the ages of 20 and 65 were lightly wounded, the hospital said.

Several additional people, soldiers and civilians, were also lightly wounded in the attack, and a military vehicle in the area of Moshav Beit Hillel in the Eastern Galilee was damaged, the IDF said.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.

The military on Monday revealed that on Sunday an Israel Air Force fighter jet successfully intercepted a hostile aircraft that was on its way to Israeli territory from Lebanon.

IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee tweeted on Monday that Hezbollah restarted attacks on Israel on Friday after a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza ended, holding the Iran-backed terror group responsible for disrupting the calm on the border area.

"Hezbollah once again proved disruptive to the calm that had prevailed along the northern border and allowed many residents of southern Lebanon to return to their homes," wrote Adraee.

"Hezbollah broke the calm in support of the child killers and kidnappers of women affiliated with Hamas-ISIS. Hezbollah has proven once again that the Lebanese state is not its top priority. Hezbollah was the party that disturbed the calm on the border. Hezbollah is harming the Lebanese state," he added.