AISH Honest Reporting

Passover’s Message of Hope after Oct 7; Passover Crash Course; Why All Those Fours?
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Wed, Apr 17 at 12:45 PM

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Passover’s Message of Hope in the Aftermath of Oct. 7
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PASSOVER’S MESSAGE OF HOPE IN THE AFTERMATH OF OCT. 7
MOIS NAVON
Rabbi Akiva’s mysterious Passover Seder that is found in the Haggadah yields a relevant insight for today.
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From:
today@aish.com

Wed, Apr 17 at 12:45 PM

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Passover’s Message of Hope in the Aftermath of Oct. 7
LATEST
PASSOVER’S MESSAGE OF HOPE IN THE AFTERMATH OF OCT. 7
MOIS NAVON
Rabbi Akiva’s mysterious Passover Seder that is found in the Haggadah yields a relevant insight for today.
October 7 has left us in trauma. We walk around doing what we need to do, trying to live the life of October 6. But we are in mourning. We cannot imagine a world different than that of October 8. In the redemptive spirit of Passover, I offer this short insight gleaned from Rabbi Akiva, the “prophet” of hope.

It happened once [on Passover] that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak and were telling the story of the exodus from Egypt that whole night, until their students came and announced, “The time for [reciting] the morning Shema has arrived.”

This narrative of the sages gathering in Bnei Brak is found in the Haggadah immediately after it taught that “even if we are all wise, insightful sages … we are to tell the story.” On the simplest level, then, the narrative of the gathering in Bnei Brak comes to serve as a shining example of how even those who clearly know the story, nevertheless, gather to expound upon it (Malbim Haggadah). Furthermore, the gathering serves to set the high bar on just how far one must go to ideally fulfill the commandment of telling the story – i.e., “until … the time for the morning Shema has arrived” (Sacks Haggadah).

But the expression – “the time for the morning Shema has arrived” - begs us to dig deeper. If all the narrative wanted to share was the upper limit to end the Seder, it could have said as much in more simple terms: dawn.1

Rabbi Akiva was known as the bastion of faith and optimism of his time – a time of destruction and persecution.

Indeed, the gathering in Bnei Brak is shrouded in sublime mystery. To begin, why was the gathering in Bnei Brak at, what turns out to be Rabbi Akiva’s house (Talmud, Sanhedrin 32b)? This is especially strange because Rabbi Akiva was their junior – Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya was the nasi, religious head of the Jewish community, Rabbi Yehoshua was his deputy; Rabbi Tarfon was Rabbi Akiva’s first teacher and Rabbi Eliezer was an elder statesman (Sacks Haggadah). Adding to the mystery is that R. Eliezer himself is on record as exhorting all to spend their holidays at home with their own family (Sukkah 27b). Why would these community leaders leave their families to spend the entire Seder night with R. Akiva?

The answer, explains Rabbi Yehiel Epstein (Haggadah Leil Shiumurim), is because R. Akiva was known as the bastion of faith and optimism of his time – a time of destruction and persecution. Indeed, with the Temple lost, the sages were in the depths of despair and depression. The Talmud (Makkot 24a-b) describes Rabban Gamliel, along with three of our Bnei Brak seder guests, R. Elazar ben Azarya, R. Yehoshua and R. Akiva, reacting to evidence of the Temple’s destruction. The sages cry and tear the clothes in mourning, but R. Akiva smiles. The sages ask R. Akiva the meaning of his incongruous reaction, to which he explains that if we have lived to witness the prophecies of destruction, surely the prophecies of redemption will come true. The Rabbis exclaimed, “Akiva you have consoled (nechama) us!”

R. Akiva was able to smile in the face of adversity for he lived according to the belief that “whatever the All-merciful does is for the good” (Ber. 60b). He maintained this faith to his dying day when, as the Romans flayed the skin off his face, he used his last breath to say Shema (Ber. 61b). But why the Shema? What is the meaning of the Shema?

R. Shimshon Raphael Hirsh explains that the Shema – “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Ehad” – is too wordy to simply declare that God is one – for that we could have sufficed with “Hashem Ehad – God is One.” And if we wanted to say that God acting in mercy (signified by God’s Name: Hashem) and God acting in judgment (signified by the God’s Name: Elokeinu) are both aspects of the same One God, we could have sufficed with “Hashem Elokeinu Ehad – Hashem, our God, is One.” But in saying “Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Ehad” we declare our faith that, whether we see God acting in mercy (Hashem) or acting in judgment (Elokeinu), we accept it is all coming from God’s mercy (Hashem) - “even as Elokim (Judgment), He is Hashem (Mercy)” (Hirsch, Deut. 6:4; see my “Yosef is Still Alive - A Lesson In Divine Providence”).

While we are yet in the midst of the deepest darkness, the time has come to express our faith that God’s Judgment is an expression of mercy.

It is not an easy statement of faith, and so we cover our eyes while saying its words, indicating that while we may not see how this is in our world, we accept it nonetheless. It is this statement of faith that concludes that exemplary Passover Seder in R. Akiva’s house. “The time for the morning Shema has arrived.” While we are yet in the midst of the deepest darkness, the time has come to express our faith that “even as Elokim (Judgment), He is Hashem (Mercy),” that “whatever the All-merciful does is for the good.” For, indeed, just as surely as dawn follows night, our redemption will follow dark and difficult times.

And that brings us to the present. We cannot compare the cataclysm that was the destruction of the Temple to the destruction of October 7, yet we can compare the essential feelings of despair. Just as Jews then walked around in mourning, at a loss to imagine a positive future, so do we today walk around with a heavy heart, at a loss to imagine that the much talked about “day after” holds anything positive. It is precisely here that we must remember Rabbi Akiva’s faithful optimism. We must realize that even when God relates to us in Judgment, as Elokim, He is acting mercifully, He is Hashem,” that “whatever the All-merciful does is for the good.” We must take solace (nechama) in the knowledge that if we have lived to witness the prophecies of redemption (Jer. 33:10), surely the prophecies of its completion will come true (Jer. 33:11).

But the complete materialization of the redemption, notes R. Yehuda Amital, takes time. The Talmud explains that redemption comes, “little by little, like the dawning of the day” (JM Ber. 1:1). Through the long night we must remain faithful. The time for the morning Shema has arrived.

Interestingly, a parallel gathering of sages in Lod phrases the same upper limit as “until the cock crowed” (Tosefta Pesachim 10:12). Both gatherings end at dawn, but one is announced by an animal, the other by humans. The contrast suggests that while the cock signals the physical arrival of the rising sun, the students refer to something more sublime.
READ MORE https://aish.com/passovers-message-of-hope-in-the-aftermath-of-oct-7/?src=ac

https://aish.com/the-jihadist-who-converted-to-judaism/?src=ac
THE JIHADIST WHO CONVERTED TO JUDAISM
YEHUDIS LITVAK
Yaron Avraham’s Journey from a Shahid in Training to a Committed Jew.
Israel Levels Iranian Consulate In Damascus Killing Head Of IRGC In Syria

Syrian news reported that the IAF destroyed the consular section of the Iranian embassy and the ambassador's residence, killing Mohammad Reza Zahedi and five other IRGC officials there.
https://www.israelunwired.com/?
Mohammad Reza Zahedi was reported to be a top commander in IRGC’s Quds Force — responsible for the unit’s operations in Syria and Lebanon, and thus the most senior commander of Iranian forces in Syria and Lebanon.

The strike in Iran took place shortly after Israel’s top general Herzl Halevi was in the Northern Command where he held a situational assessment meeting and “approved operational plans” in regards of the war against Hizbullah in Lebanon. Last week the IDF held a military wide “surprise drill” simulating an all out war with Hizbollah.

Last night’s strike represents a serious escalation with Iran. An attack on a country’s embassy or consulate is considered a direct attack on that country.

Akbari, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria: “The Zionist regime targeted the building with six missiles and I was at my workplace in the embassy.”

One of the questions that is being asked is why would Israel carry out such a serious attack now when it needs to hold back a second front? The fact is, Israel has everything it needs to take care of Rafah. The 98th Brigade under General Goldfus only has to be given the order and it will continue Southward, either capturing the Gaza/Egypt border or enter into the heart of Rafah beforehand. 

The Northern front is considered the more serious of the two and without taking at least to the Litani if not farther North, Israel remains in existential danger. The Biden administration may not want Israel to go into Gaza, but trying to stop Israel from taking on Hezbollah and Iran would cost Biden the election - after all Iran and Russia are in an alliance and it is hard to argue for Ukraine’s war against Russia and not back up Israel’s against Iran.

By jumpstarting the Northern war now – Israel takes the pressure off of its troops outside of Rafah and reshapes the war between Israel and Iran. As the Northern war progresses - expect the 98th Brigade and others to enter Rafah and take it over.
WATCH https://pulseofisrael.com/2024/03/18/netanyahu-responds-biden-schumer/

https://aish.com/risking-his-life-to-recover-bodies-on-october-7/?
Risking His Life to Recover Bodies on October 7
by Yehudis Litvak
March 10, 2024
Simcha Greiniman, a veteran volunteer for Zaka, witnessed the horror of the Hamas massacre upfront.

In the days following the Hamas brutal terrorist attack on October 7th, Simcha Greiniman, senior volunteer for Zaka International, was charged with collecting the victims’ bodies and body parts in the burned houses and cars in the south of Israel. Having witnessed the horrific sights, he now travels around the world, presenting the hard evidence of Hamas crimes.
For the past 32 years, Simcha Greiniman has been volunteering for Zaka International, a rescue and recovery organization dedicated to identification of the deceased under difficult circumstances and bringing them to burial. Father of five and grandfather of three, Simcha works as a carpenter for his day job, but he is always on call and ready to respond to any emergency.


On October 7th, Simcha was celebrating Simchat Torah together with his family in his synagogue in central Israel. At 2:20 PM his phone rang. Because Simcha is a medic, he carries his phone with him 24/7, even on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and if it rings, he answers.

“That’s when it started,” says Simcha. Until then, his town of Modiin Ilit did not have any sirens and no one suspected that anything was amiss. “I pick up the phone and it’s a major from the army. I served in the IDF search and rescue special forces for 27 years, so I was always connecting the army and Zaka on the scenes. The army asked me to call up about 30 people. I got them ready to go on a bus.” All 30 are Orthodox residents of Modiin Ilit who have served in various IDF special forces.

He went home to inform his wife of the situation. “At 2:45 p.m., a full bus left from Modiin Ilit. I am told that I’m next in line to be called up.” A few hours later, Zaka asked him to come to the scene and bring his large truck, which is generally used to transport equipment, not bodies. Not a good sign.

“I take a group of five people with me, volunteers who are capable of dealing with hard situations, people I can trust to cope with whatever awaited us. We head toward Ashkelon, where we are asked to help at the hospital. On the way, I am told to change direction towards Sderot, further south. The whole time there are sirens and we have to jump out of the truck and lay down on the side. When we get to Highway 34, I stop at the light. I can’t continue driving because I can’t believe what I am seeing. On my right side, I see a car flipped over and bodies outside. On the other side, I see a burnt car and more bodies outside. We wondered if a missile fell there and we had somehow missed a siren.

“I called Zaka right away to ask what was going on and if we should get off the truck and start collecting the bodies. I didn’t want to take any chances of doing something without knowing what we were heading towards. The answer was straight: shut your lights – it was dark already – and whatever you do, don’t stop the truck. They said, ‘If you stay in this position, in the next few minutes you’ll become a target. There are terrorists in the fields around that area, and you better get out of there as fast as you could. Head towards the entrance of Sderot.’



“We drive as fast as we could, driving in between the bodies and the burnt cars. As we get to the entrance of Sderot, we hear massive shooting at the police station two blocks away. Bombing, shooting – it’s crazy what’s going on, and all this under constant missile attacks! Every few minutes you have to jump out and take cover.

“As I park the truck, I see a burnt ambulance and an empty terrorist car with a machine gun on top. On the other side, there is a police tent with a pile of 22 bodies already waiting for me. We are asked to start loading those bodies. We load them. They tell me to take all the bodies now, even though there isn’t room to properly transport them in a dignified manner. This is for two reasons. Number one: if we leave any body, it could be abducted into Gaza. And number two: if we leave bodies outside, we have to leave at least two soldiers to watch those bodies, and they need every soldier to respond to the attack.

“So we make another pile of bodies, and another pile and head back on Highway 34, with four Jeeps with soldiers guarding the truck so we don’t get hit by terrorists. Along the way, we stop to collect more bodies on the road while the police take pictures and collect information.

“At the first car, the two front doors are open and there are no bodies, but there are trails of blood. One goes into the field, another goes to the other side of the highway. We check around and collect those two bodies and we look at the back seats. There are two baby car seats ridden with hundreds of bullets.

“The second car is totally burnt. We see a skeleton, totally burnt. We try to pick up those bones to collect them, and they disintegrate in a second. There’s nothing left, only ashes. That means that the heat in the car reached over 600 degrees Celsius. We have to bring special vacuum cleaners to vacuum every corner of the car and make bags with marks: this came from the front of the car, from the back, right side, left side, clearly marking all the evidence.”


Identifying the remains that disintegrated into ashes posed a problem for the State of Israel, which does not yet possess such technology. The United States built a device for extracting human DNA from ashes following the 9/11 terrorist attack. This device takes seven months to build, and once it’s ready, it takes several months for the extraction process to be completed. Israel is currently building such a device. Meanwhile, many of the bags with ashes were sent to the US for identification, which is still ongoing.

That day Simcha and his team collected 72 bodies. “My truck, from floor to ceiling, was packed with bodies – police officers, soldiers, civilians, and terrorists,” he says.

In the aftermath of the attack, Israelis also collected 1,500 bodies of terrorists. They keep them in the hope of exchange for bodies of Israelis held by Hamas.

Simcha continues, “The next morning, we continue collecting on Highway 232. We are attacked by two terrorists, who shoot towards us. A soldier that is with us gets killed on the spot before both terrorists are killed by other soldiers.”

For the next 18 days, the team continued collecting bodies and body parts in the kibbutzim in the south. They were asked to deal with 1,750 cars that contained human remains. “I worked on these cars one by one,” Simcha says, “making sure every drop of blood came to burial.”

They also went through all the houses in the areas that were attacked. “I know what happened in every house,” he says, “There are no words to explain what we went through, what we dealt with, and what we saw. But I do not know any names. That way I can keep some emotional distance and be able to live with the situation.”

Testifying Around the World
Simcha says, “I got a call from Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador at the United Nations, to come to speak in the UN about women’s rights, about what I saw. I testified about it. The government then took me to speak to the press around the world. I just came back from Washington, D.C. where I met a lot of congressmen. Two weeks ago, I spoke in the Parliament in England, France, and Germany.



“I do not hold back, like I am doing now, and I give them all the horrific details about what we saw. It took these nations 50 years to deny the Holocaust, but it only took 50 seconds to deny what happened over there. When I bring the hard evidence, no one can face me and say that it never happened. We have all the information, everything is documented.”

How does Simcha deal with such heartbreaking work without falling apart? “It’s not easy,” he says. “My life has a mission – I am here for the Jewish people. It is a merit to help families recover the bodies of their loved ones and help them to reach closure. I am doing something that not everyone is able to do. Thank God, I am able to do it.”

Simcha has risked his life for the sake of this mission. “Firemen run into fires because it’s their mission in life,” he says. “We run into places where we can fulfill our mission.”

Simcha calls for all the Jews around the world to stay united and to continue praying for Zaka volunteers, emergency responders and soldiers, so that they can all continue their holy work.

Click here to comment on this article https://aish.com/risking-his-life-to-recover-bodies-on-october-7/?src=ac

https://aish.com/in-17th-century-venice-a-female-jewish-literary-sensation/?src=ac
In 17th Century Venice, A Female Jewish Literary Sensation
by Dr. Yvette Alt Miller
February 18, 2024
11 min read

Sarra Copia Sullam was a famous Jewish writer at a time women and Jews were marginalized.

A new novella is bringing attention to a fascinating Jewish woman of the Renaissance era. Sarra Copia: A Locked-In Life by Nancy Ludmerer (WTAW Press: 2023) tells a fictionalized version of the life of Sarra Copia Sullam, a Jewish woman who ran a literary salon in her home in Venice’s Jewish Ghetto in the 1600s. Educated men – both Christian and Jewish, including religious leaders – frequented Sarra’s home, listening to this brilliant Jewish woman expound on the great ideas of the day.

“I want the Sarra Copia in the book to come alive for readers,” explains Ludmerer, in a recent conversation with Aish.com. Here are a few facts about Sarra Copia’s remarkable life.

Born in the Jewish Ghetto
The word “ghetto” originated in Venice. In the Middle Ages, over a dozen bronze foundries were located on a small island in the city. The work required fires and was so dangerous in an urban setting that the metalworks were forced to relocate outside the city. The land where the foundries once stood was damp and undesirable and stood empty for years. In 1516 the Venice city governors voted to relocate all Jews in the city to the cramped island of Ghetto, offering them security, in return for their freedom.



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Thousands of Jews lived in the Ghetto. During the day, Jews were allowed to do business throughout Venice, but at sundown they had to return where they were locked in for the night. Metal gates barred passage across the island’s only link to the the rest of Venice. The Jewish community was forced to pay guards to man the gates. The only exception were Jewish doctors, who were allowed to leave the Ghetto after dark if they were summoned to treat a gentile patient.

Venice’s Jews faced many other restrictions, as well. They were forced to wear yellow hats and other garments, and could practice only a small handful of professions. For many years, it was illegal to study the Talmud in Venice. Yet Venice’s Jewish Ghetto offered European Jews relative freedom compared to many other locales. Jews moved to Venice from throughout Italy, as well as Spain, Portugal, Germany and elsewhere. The Ghetto hummed with activity and intellectual debate. Five synagogues bustled with prayer and study every day. By 1650, approximately 4,000 Jews lived in the Ghetto, and nearly a third of all the Hebrew language books published in Europe were published in Venice.

Sarra Coppia Sullam was born into this heady environment in the year 1592. Her father, Simone, was a successful Sephardi trader who died when Sarra was fourteen years old. Reading about Sarra and her family on a visit to the Jewish cemetery in Venice is what first spurred Nancy Ludmerer to write a novella based on Sarra’s life. She is buried next to her father, “who encouraged her gifts,” Ludmerer explains. “I was so struck by his will: he had so much respect for his wife and daughters. He specified that his daughters were free to marry whomever they pleased. His wife was the executor of his will. In addition to taking care of his family, he specified an annual donation to poor Jews in the holy land.”

Sarra’s Life in the Ghetto
Little is known about Sarra’s personal life. She married very young. Her husband, Jacob Sullam, was a banker and a prominent leader of the Venetian Jewish community. Sarra had a daughter who died before her first birthday. After a subsequent miscarriage, Sarra and Jacob were never able to have more children.

Jewish Ghetto in Venice

It’s likely that as wealthy, prominent people, Sarra and Jacob had a relatively spacious room in one of the buildings ringing the two courtyards of the Jewish Ghetto. Yet even for those comfortably off, the Ghetto was terribly overcrowded. Unable to build outside the confines of the Ghetto, Venetian Jews built up, adding story upon story to existing buildings. The Venetian Ghetto has the world’s earliest “skyscrapers”: seven and eight story apartment buildings built at a time when such heights were unheard of for residential buildings. With thousands of people confined to such a small area, the buildings were cramped. More than one large family often lived together in a single room.

At night, when the Ghetto gates swung shut and were locked by the island’s guards, Sarra and Jacob – like all their friends and relatives – were unable to leave, forced to pace the cramped courtyards with thousands of other Jews if they wished to leave their small, dark living quarters and get some fresh air.

Rabbi Leon of Modena. (Apparently the Jews of Italy didn’t adopt the custom of wearing a head covering.)
A sense of the rich intellectual world that Sarra inhabited can be gained by taking a look at the work of Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh de Modena (also known as Rabbi Leon Modena) (1571-1648). The Sullams and the Modenas socialized together, and Sarra was a congregant and a disciple of Rabbi Modena. Biographer Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm notes that Rabbi Modena “had an astoundingly versatile mind, and became expert in such diverse subjects as music, mathematics, philosophy, science, etc. He spoke and wrote Italian and Latin fluently, wrote good poetry, and was an expert orator. Above all, he was a master of Jewish learning, and was considered to be one of the foremost (rabbinic leaders) in Italy” (quoted in The Early Acharonim, Artscroll: 1989). Like Rabbi Modena, it seems that Sarra also enjoyed a rich and varied intellectual life.

Opening a Literary Salon in the Ghetto
Literary salons were fashionable across Europe during Sarra Copia’s life. These were formal gatherings at a specified time each week or month, where people would gather to share poetry, listen to lectures, and debate great themes of the day. The most famous literary salon in Venice took place while wearing masks, affording participants the chance to remain anonymous while they shared controversial opinions. A handful of salons in Venice had been led by Christian women through the decades: Isotta Nogarola (1418-1466), Cassandra Fedele (1465-1558), Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547) and others led successful salons. But doing so could be dangerous for women; one biographer notes that “while these women earned recognition for their literary skill, male associates often responded to them with slander, sexual interest, or indifference” (quoted in Sarra Coppia Sulam: A Jewish Salonniere and the Press in Counter-Reformation Venice by Lynn Lara Westwater, Toronto Italian Studies: 2019).


In 1618, when she was about 27 years old, Sarra Copia took the unusual step of opening her own monthly literary salon inside the Jewish Ghetto. It was an instant success, with prominent intellectuals gathering in Sarra’s home to hear her speak, to exchange ideas, listen to poetry, and play games. Prof. Howard Adelman of Queens University in Ontario describes the scene: “There was a stream of distinguished visitors – from Treviso, Padua, Vicenza, and beyond (who) congregated because she was a brilliant conversationalist…” Her salon was so impressive that the priest Angelico Aprosio, who was a member of Venice’s most prestigious literary salons, called Sarra’s gathers an accademia, an academy.

Ludmerer vividly imagines what Sarra’s salons might have been like: “We read and discuss works-in-progress, philosophy, religion. Sometimes we play music or sing. I decide the order of events - a delicate matter - and when appropriate, express my opinions…Often, I am the only Jew; invariably the only woman. On religious matters, I am outnumbered and outmanned. Nonetheless, I hold my ground.” (quoted from Sarra Copia: A Locked-In Life by Nancy Ludmerer, WTAW Press: 2023).

Resisting Advances from a Poet-Writing Monk
Ansaldo Ceba (1565-1623) was a poet who lived in a monastery in the Italian city of Genoa. He and Sarra never met, but they carried out a public literary discourse with one another – until, it seems, Ceba fell in love with Sarra.

MOREhttps://aish.com/in-17th-century-venice-a-female-jewish-literary-sensation/?src=ac

https://aish.com/journalists-who-are-really-terrorists/?src=ac
Employing terrorists as journalists has to stop.
There’s a good chance that some of the news you’re consuming about Israel and the current war in Gaza is being reported by so-called “journalists” who in fact are members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Some of the most respected media voices in the world - including the Associated Press (AP), CNN, The New York Times, the BBC, and others - have employed people to report the news who are either terrorists or actively support terrorism. With Hamas and other terror groups tightly controlling any and all information and media access in Gaza and the West Bank, even the most respected news outlets often hire reporters no matter what their affiliations, or to repeat claims from terrorist-affiliated sources, no questions asked.

The problem is widespread and serious, coloring the globe’s perception of Israel and spreading smears against Jews and the Jewish state.

Hamas Terrorists “Reported” During the October 7 Attack
Hamas’ deadly attack on Israeli towns and communities began at 6:30am the morning of October 7, 2023. It was a quiet day with little going on: a Jewish holiday and Shabbat to boost. Offices and schools were closed across Israel and no major events were planned in the small kibbutzim (farming communities) and towns which Hamas attacked.

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Yet even at the beginning of Hamas’ deadly rampage - which would soon leave 1,200 Israelis dead, many more injured, and hundreds taken hostage - international news agencies Associated Press (AP) and Reuters were reporting live from these sleep communities. How? Having international reporters from major news outlets stationed in obscure farming towns isn’t the norm on quiet holiday mornings. Both Reuters and AP have denied having any prior knowledge of Hamas’ attack, yet it seems they knowingly bought news photos and articles from “journalists” who traveled into Israel from Gaza with Hamas terrorists, and reported from the midst of the massacres, unharmed.

Later on, other major western outlets, including CNN and The New York Times, hired some of these same people as freelance journalists, despite evidence they were working alongside Hamas.

Take the prolific “journalist” Hassan Eslaiah, one of four Hamas-linked “reporters” who provided live coverage of Hamas’ massacres to AP on October 7. Previously captured in a picture with Hamas mastermind Yahya Sinwar, Eslaiah seems to have very friendly relations with Hamas at the very least, and possibly is a fully-fledged member of the terrorist group. At 5:59 am on October 7, just before Hamas commenced its attack, Eslaiah posted on Telegram the message “We wake up to the great gifts of God. The spirit has returned, and our blessings have increased.”

Despite clearly being a part of Hamas’ fighting force, AP and CNN bought Eslaiah’s photos and stories.

Soon after that, Eslaiah caught a ride on the back of a Hamas-driven motorcycle from Gaza into Israel, where he continued to post on X about Hamas’ unfolding murders, rapes, kidnappings, and attacks. In one Tweet he appeared standing in front of an Israeli tank, without wearing a press badge or protective helmet. “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements,” he wrote. He later wrote glowingly about Hamas’ attack.

Despite clearly being a part of Hamas’ fighting force, AP and CNN bought Eslaiah’s photos and stories. Eslaiah provided news photos of Hamas terrorists entering Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where they soon murdered scores of civilians, including children, and captured Hamas members setting fire to an Israeli house where civilians were sheltering inside. In one video, as the media watch group Honest Reporting revealed, Eslaiah is captured speaking in Arabic about a burned-out Israeli tank, saying, “Everyone who were inside this tank were kidnapped, everyone who were inside the tank were kidnapped a short while ago by al-Qassam Brigades (a division of Hamas’ army), as we have seen with our own eyes.”

Other “reporters” who provided material for AP, Reuters, CNN, and elsewhere appeared to be similarly embedded with Hamas. Ali Mahmud and Hatem Ali, who also worked for AP, for instance, were able to send AP pictures of Israeli prisoners being kidnapped and forced into Gaza by Hamas fighters.

Despite his ties to Hamas, Yousef Masoud won a prestigious George Polk Award in Journalism for his photography related to the Israel-Hamas war that was published in the New York Times.

Repeating Hamas’ Claims
As Israel’s war with Hamas grinds on, much of the world’s press is repeating Hamas claims as independently verified facts, disseminating news stories that parrot Hamas’ propaganda.

It’s crucial to realize that there is no independent press sector in Gaza. In 2016, Human Rights Watch reported that “Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza are arresting, abusing, and criminally charging journalists and activists who express peaceful criticism of the authorities” and “in Gaza, forbidding journalists from reporting on certain issues or stories.” In 2022, Al-Monitor documented Hamas officials arresting and abusing journalists who tried to report about Hamas’ corruption.

Given the absence of independent journalistic voices in Gaza, news outlets around the world simply repeat Hamas’ claims as fact.

Given this absence of independent journalistic voices in Gaza, news outlets around the world simply repeat Hamas’ claims as fact. Take the Washington Post. In an October 24, 2023 article, they parroted Hamas’ claims about the numbers of Gazans killed in Israeli airstrikes, labeling their source the bland-sounding “according to Palestinian authorities.” Readers following the link for this claim, however, arrive at an official Hamas Facebook Page.

Newspapers, television and radio stations, and news sites continue to repeat Hamas’ claims about the increasing death toll during the war in Gaza. In a recent article repeating Hamas death figures, for instance, PBS simply called Hamas the “Health Ministry”. PBS noted that “the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its records, but says that around two-thirds of those killed were women and children.” This whitewashing of Hamas and treating the terror group as a dispassionate and credible source is damaging, leading news consumers to trust Hamas, to mistrust Israel, and conditioning us to accept Hamas’ claims.

As the war in Gaza continues, news outlets are making ever bolder claims about Israeli actions - often parroting terrorist-affiliated groups.

For instance, one February 22, 2024 article in The Guardian accused Israeli troops of “executing” an innocent Palestinian schoolboy, shooting him in cold blood for no reason. Their source? The group Defense for Children International - Palestine, a worthy sounding organization, but one that’s been documented to have “numerous individuals” who are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is designated a terrorist organization by the USA, Canada, European Union, and other nations.

Fighting Back
In the face of so much misinformation, we can all work to hold news outlets accountable.

Some people who were directly affected by Hamas’ October 7 attacks are fighting back in the courts. In February 2024, relatives of Israelis who were kidnapped or killed, and survivors of the attack, sued AP for knowingly buying photos from Hamas affiliated people they then called “journalists”. Although AP has denied it and its reporters had any advanced knowledge of Hamas’ attack, they have removed the names of some of the photographers and journalists they credited on October 7 from their archived stories about that day. CNN has ended its journalistic relationship with Hassan Eslaiah, who traveled into Israel along with Hamas fighters (but not before insisting they do not have “any reason to doubt the journalistic accuracy of the work he has done for us.)

As news consumers, we can fight against coverage that excuses Hamas. Write to the editor to complain each time you read or hear biased coverage. Point out that Hamas and other terrorist groups are not credible sources for information. Post on social media and speak up. Don’t give up in the face of false and distorted coverage. It’s up to all of us to help set the record straight.

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Christian Dior and the Jews
https://aish.com/christian-dior-and-the-jews/?src=ac
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by Dr. Yvette Alt Miller
February 7, 2024
13 min read
The true story behind Apple TV’s new series about the fashion designer’s actions during and after WWII.
Apple TV’s New Look is described as an “emotionally thrilling series” about “the shocking story of how fashion icon Christian Dior and his contemporaries…navigated the horrors of World War II and launched modern fashion.”
Biographies of Dior often emphasize his work with the wives of high-ranking Nazis during World War II. While Jews and others were being deported, tortured, and murdered in France and across Europe, Dior spent most of the Second World War in Paris, measuring and dressing German and other women with close ties to Nazi officials. Yet Christian Dior had another, less well-known side: his beloved sister Catherine was a hero in the French Resistance, and Christian offered her both emotional and material support through some of the war’s darkest times.
Here are a few facts about Christian Dior and the remarkable legacy he left behind.
Upper Class Childhood
Dior was born into a wealthy family in the picturesque French town of Granville in 1905, located in the Normandy region of France. The hyper feminine clothes that would eventually make Dior famous harked back to the romance and beauty of his childhood home before the devastation of World War I.

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Dior would conjure this magical time again and again in his fashion designs. “I picture it now as a happy, jaunty, peaceful time when all we thought about was enjoying life. We were carefree in the belief that no harm threatened the wealth and lifestyle of the rich nor the simple, thrifty existence of the poor. To us the future would bring nothing but even greater benefits for all. Whatever life might have bestowed upon me since, nothing can rival my memories of those sweet years,” he later recalled. (Quoted in Christian Dior: The Man Who Made the World Look New by Marie-France Pochna: 1994)

During the Great Depression, the Dior family lost its fortune. Christian became a fashion designer, then an art dealer, selling works by avant garde painters in Paris. Many of the painters he championed were Jews, such as Max Jacob, Man Ray, and Eugene and Leonid Berman. The goal of the gallery he ran with his business partner Jacques Bonjean “was to introduce the painters we know personally and already admire greatly.” Unlike some Frenchmen at the time, Dior mixed freely with Jews, betraying no antisemitism or sense of social superiority.
French Couture in Wartime
When World War II broke out, Dior was drafted into the French army and put to work farming in the French countryside. It was backbreaking work, but he enjoyed it. Dior realized that 1.5 million French soldiers had been captured by Nazi troops and were languishing in POW camps in Germany, and that he was lucky to have been spared.

In 1941, Christian Dior was released from the army and returned to Paris and resumed fashion designing, landing a job in the Lucien Lelong fashion house where he partnered with an up and coming designer named Pierre Balmain to create wartime fashions.
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https://aish.com/who-are-the-ethiopian-jews/?src=ac
WHO ARE THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS?
TZVI GLUCKIN
A look at the history, traditions, and heroic airlift to Israel of the ancient Jewish community of Beta Israel.

A look at the history, traditions, and heroic airlift to Israel of the ancient Jewish community of Beta Israel.

Who are the Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel)?
Ethiopian Jews are Jewish people who, for centuries, lived in the Lake Tana region of northern Ethiopia. The community’s origins are uncertain, although travelers, scholars, and others mention them in accounts dating back to the 15th century—and possibly even as early as the ninth—while the community’s own oral history dates them back to biblical times.

Ethiopian Jews are commonly referred to as Beta Israel, which means “House of Israel” in Ge’ez—the classical Ethiopian language that Jews and Christians still use as a liturgical language—although nowadays, most Ethiopian Jews speak Amharic.

Much of the Ethiopian Jewish community was airlifted to Israel in the 1980s and 90s in response to the Ethiopian Civil War and subsequent famine. Today, Israel’s Ethiopian Jewish community numbers about 168,000,1 which includes both immigrants and their descendants.

https://aish.com/the-search-for-the-ten-lost-tribes/?src=ac
THE SEARCH FOR THE TEN LOST TRIBES
AVI ABRAMS
What happened to the ten tribes and where are they today?
by Avi Abrams
February 4, 2024
7 min read
What happened to the ten tribes and where are they today?

Biblical archaeology has come a long way over the past century and a half. Discoveries in modern times have unearthed ancient cities, houses, temples, stone tablets, burial caves, coins, jewelry, clothing, weapons, and more, all testifying to what life really was like during the Biblical period.

There are some explorers who are searching for the ten lost tribes of Israel, the majority of the Jewish Nation who were conquered, forcibly displaced, presumably assimilated into other nations and lost contact with the rest of world Jewry over the centuries. In recent years, there has been a renewed enthusiasm in this search among certain native peoples of Asia, Africa, and beyond who retain traditions, customs, and historical memories connected to the Jewish People. But first, some historical context.

The 12 Tribes
The founding father of the Jewish nation was Abraham. The family legacy of monotheism (later to be known as Judaism) was passed on to his son Isaac who passed it on to his son Jacob who was given an alternative name, Israel. Israel had 12 sons; Reuben, Simon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. During a global famine, the family migrated to Egypt where they significantly multiplied. The 12 sons of Israel developed into the 12 tribes of Israel, otherwise known as the Children of Israel, which is how the Bible most often refers to the Jewish People. (The tribe of Joseph actually became two tribes, descendants of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.)

The 12 tribes eventually inherited 12 portions of territory within the Land of Israel and this remained so for centuries. About 3000 years ago, the 12 tribes were united into a unified political entity led by King David and was inherited by his son King Solomon. This unified Jewish monarchy lasted about 73 years and was called the Kingdom of Israel.

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With the succession of Solomon’s son Rehoboam, only two of the tribes, Judah and Benjamin, located in the south of the country, remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty while the other 10 tribes came under the leadership of a tax collector from the tribe of Ephraim known as Jeroboam. The realm of Jeroboam retained the namesake, the Kingdom of Israel since it included most of the Israelite tribes, and the realm of Rehoboam was known as the Kingdom of Judah, since the tribe of Judah was much larger than Benjamin.

The Chagall Windows depicting Jacob’s 12 sons

The two Jewish kingdoms, Judah and Israel, sometimes went to war with each other and other times cooperated with one another both for trade purposes and to combat mutual external threats. In the year 722 BCE, the Assyrian Empire defeated the Kingdom of Israel and forcibly deported most of its population. The question that has piqued the interest of scholars for generations is: What happened to the ten tribes? Where did they end up and who are they today?

Where Did They End Up?
The Bible does give some clues as to destination points of their deportations from ancient Israel: “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and exiled the Israelites to Assyria, and he repatriated them in Halah, and in Habor, the Gozan River, and the cities of Media” (Kings II 17:6).

Clearly, the general area we’re talking about here refers to the Assyrian homeland in what is today northern Syria, northern Iraq and northwestern Iran, in other words modern day Kurdistan. Although the Biblical place names are contested, the reference to “the cities of Media” are commonly understood to be in the region of Hamadan, Iran. Although there are no traces of the lost tribes in that area, it could have been a starting point for a migration further to the east.

Afghanistan and Pakistan
The Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan and Pakistan who migrated to the area in ancient times from northwestern Iran, have long intrigued seekers of the ten lost tribes. On the surface, this is a group of 25 million people practicing a stringent form of Sunni Islam. Many members of the Pashtun are actually associated with the Taliban so it’s not exactly the first place you would expect to find lost Jewish tribes, but there’s more to it.

The Pashtun do have historical memories of their ancestors originating in ancient Israel. Their tribal names very much resemble Israelite tribal names; Rubeni, Gadi, Ashuri, Efridi, Shinwari, Lewani, and Yousefzai. Many Pashtun people have a distinct Semitic appearance in contrast to other tribes of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They circumcise male babies on the eighth day, women light candles on Friday night, they practice levirate marriage, and even have cities of refuge as mandated by Biblical law. Unlike typical Muslim custom, the Pashtun move back and forth when they read the Koran in a similar manner to Jews who engage in prayer and Torah study. Many of the Pashtun also have sidelocks similar to Orthodox Jews. Interesting connections!

India
Within India, there are several groups who claim descent from the ten tribes including the Bene Israel, the Bene Ephraim, and Bene Menashe. The Book of Esther seems to indicate that there were Jewish populations in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus: “It was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia” (Esther 8:9).

Jews of Cochin, A Malabar Jewish family (1900)

All these groups practiced the most basic levels of Judaism, circumcision and Shabbat, without retaining much more knowledge of their Jewish roots. Between the 18th and 20th centuries, these groups became increasingly in contact with world Jewry and started practicing Judaism to a greater extent. In the aftermath of Israeli independence, large chunks of these populations have immigrated to Israel, but many remain behind.

Ethiopia
The Beta Israel tribes of Ethiopia have long been theorized to be members of the ten lost tribes. According to one local tradition, they are descendants of the tribe of Dan who left ancient Israel prior to the exile. Another tradition places their origins in the union between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba whose visit to Jerusalem was recorded in the Book of Kings.

Interestingly enough, the Judaism practiced by Ethiopian Jews overemphasized certain Jewish customs like family purity to the extent that married women actually moved into a different house (or hut) during their menstrual cycle. Ethiopian Jews also were not familiar with the common Jewish custom of tefillin (phylacteries), which is practiced by men. This points to a Judaism that could have been taught by a Jewish woman following her conversion, someone like the Queen of Sheba. Reference to Jewish communities in northeast Africa is even recorded by the Prophet Isaiah: “And it shall come to pass that on that day, the Lord shall continue to apply His hand a second time to acquire the rest of His people, that will remain from Assyria and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Cush and from Elam and from Sumeria and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea” (Isaiah 11:11).

Pathros is understood to be southern Egypt and Cush is interpreted either as Sudan or Ethiopia.

Conclusion
There are in fact dozens of ethnic groups around the world who claim Israelite origins, some with stronger cases and others with less evidence. Highlighted above are just the most common cases. It’s interesting to note that today’s Jewish population of some 15 million is not much more than it was 3000 years ago. As we uncover more and more ethnic groups with ties to ancient Israel, we are perhaps seeing a Jewish family reunion on a massive scale the likes of which were spoken by the prophets:

“So says the Lord God: Behold I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will place them with him with the stick of Judah, and I will make them into one stick, and they shall become one in My hand” (Ezekiel 37:19).

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Avi Abrams has been a licensed tour guide and trip planner in Israel since 2015. Originally from Montreal, Canada, he resides with his family in Netanya . Avi has a B.A. double major in Political Science and Middle East Studies from McGill University and served as VP Hillel for Montreal campuses while in college. He is passionate about teaching the story of the Jewish people through tours, online classes, and articles.
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https://aish.com/who-are-the-baddest-jewish-women-in-history/?src=ac

Click here if you are unable to view this video.
In this Jew Know It episode, we delve into the captivating narratives of some of the baddest Jewish women in history – from ancient times to the modern era, these remarkable figures have left an indelible mark on Jewish and global history.

Deborah the Judge
In a tumultuous time for Israel, Deborah emerged as a powerful figure. Mentioned in the biblical book of Judges, she lived around the eleventh century BCE. Deborah was not only a prophetess and a judge but also a formidable force in military strategy. Under "Deborah's Palm Tree," people sought her guidance, and she crafted brilliant battle plans that led to Israel's victory over the Canaanites. Known as the "mother in Israel," Deborah's leadership and empowerment left an indelible mark on history.

Queen Esther
Aish
Judaism and the Holiness of Eating
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The tale of Esther unfolds in the Persian Empire around 350 BCE. Faced with an order to annihilate all Jews, Esther devised a plan. After urging the Jewish people to pray and fast, she risked her life by approaching the king unsummoned. Impressed by her bravery, the king offered her anything she desired. Esther seized the moment, revealed her hidden Jewish heritage, and thwarted Haman's plot, saving the Jews from destruction. This deliverance is celebrated as the festival of Purim, thanks to Queen Esther.

Judith Beheading Holofernes
In the second century BCE, Greek rulers imposed a disturbing rule requiring Jewish brides to spend a night with a Greek military officer. Enter Judith, who devised a clever plan. Leaving the city, she requested "alone time" with a Greek commander. After a feast where he became intoxicated, Judith took matters into her own hands and beheaded him. Displaying the commander's head on Jerusalem's walls, she sparked a turnaround in the Jewish revolt against the Greeks. Judith's story echoes resilience and resourcefulness.

Golda Meir
Born in Kiev, Golda Meir became Israel's 4th Prime Minister in 1969, making her one of the first female heads of government globally. A champion for Zionism, she played a pivotal role in establishing the State of Israel. Known for her sharp wit and determination, Meir shattered barriers in politics and advocated for women's rights during the Yom Kippur War. Her legacy continues to inspire resilience and determination.

Hannah Szenes
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Hungarian-born Jew Hannah Szenes exemplifies courage and sacrifice during World War 2. Joining the Jewish underground in Palestine, she became a Special Ops Paratrooper and parachuted into enemy territory in Hungary. Captured by Hungarian authorities, she endured torture without compromising crucial information. When offered clemency, she chose death by firing squad, leaving a legacy of fortitude and selflessness.

The Lioness Brigade:
Fast forward to October 7th, 2023, when the Lioness Brigade, an all-female tank squad in the Israeli Defense Forces, confronted a brutal attack by Hamas. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Or Ben Yehuda, the 13-member squad engaged in a 14-hour firefight, turning the tide against Hamas. Their courage showcased the strength and determination of female combat soldiers, drawing inspiration from the legacies of courageous Jewish women.

As we conclude this journey through the lives of extraordinary Jewish women, it becomes clear that their legacies of courage, resilience, and determination continue to resonate through time. From Deborah's strategic brilliance to the Lioness Brigade's contemporary valor, these stories serve as an inspiration, reminding us that the strength of Jewish women has played a pivotal role in shaping the course of history.

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https://aish.com/meet-brigham-young-universitys-jewish-quarterback/?src=ac
MEET BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY’S JEWISH QUARTERBACK
ARYEH GENGER
Proudly wearing his Star of David at the Mormon university, Jake Retzlaff is taking the world by storm.

Proudly wearing his Star of David at the Mormon university, Jake Retzlaff is taking the world by storm.

This past year has been an eventful one for Southern California native, Jake Retzlaff. This proud, Star of David necklace-wearing Jew was recruited as the #1 Junior College QB in the nation to Brigham-Young University, one of the most esteemed football programs in the US. In an exclusive Aish.com interview, the star quarterback described what it’s like to be the first Jew at BYU, a Mormon university, to play in this position and to be one of the few Jewish footballers in the country who is taking the world by storm.

Judaism was always a big part of Retzlaff’s life. As a kid going to school with only a few other Jews, Retzlaff had gotten used to showing off his unique Jewish practices and customs to others. “For Passover, when I would bring chocolate-covered matzah to school, all the kids would be like, what is this? And then they’d try it and get excited for me to bring it next year.”

Aish
Miracle Morning
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He went to Sunday School as a kid, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, went to a Jewish sleepaway camp, and would go to Friday night services. With a football coach for a father and two older brothers, he was always immersed in sports. “There wasn’t a sport I didn’t play, from basketball to baseball to football. But I didn't know I was going to go all in on football until my junior year. I always thought that there were people more talented than me, faster than me, stronger than me, and taller than me. So I said if I want to make it, I’m just going to work harder than everybody else.”

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Going into his Senior year, Retzlaff was revved up and felt like a man on a mission. However, in a COVID-shortened season, his dreams were brought to a halt, and his aspirations to play at a Division 1 program seemed all but extinguished. He decided to go the Junior College route and prove his play to recruiters on a smaller stage.


“I had the benefit of my brother already being at a junior college playing football. Junior college is a different type of grind. When you see someone is a JUCO product, you kind of have a different respect for them. I was working a job during the season, trying to pay rent, and all the while trying to play football.”

Retzlaff put his heart and soul on the field and set records alongside his Wide Receiver older brother. Retzlaff joked that being one of very few Jews in Claremont County, he worries that he and his brothers may have given the town the wrong impression. “My two brothers and I were always dominant in sports. Now that town thinks Jews are the best athletes around.”

By the end of his second JUCO season, he started to get some real interest from recruiters across the country and was being lauded as the #1 Junior College talent in the nation. Eventually, he received calls from several Division 1 programs, and Retzlaff settled on BYU.

When they get to know me, they get to understand that Jews are not aliens.

With religion being such a big deal at BYU, Retzlaff’s Jewish identity was amplified immediately. The responsibility of being a proud Jewish quarterback isn’t lost on the 21-year-old. “I definitely understand the importance of my responsibility to represent the Jewish people on the field. Maybe there's a bigger spotlight on this now than there ever has been, but that's just another way for people to get to know me better. When they get to know me, they get to understand that Jews are not aliens. And especially with the news today, with everything going on, I want them to know we're still normal people.”

The local Jewish community welcomed Retzlaff with open arms. He tells me that he’s “been over to the local Rabbi's house for Shabbat dinners and went to the Utah Jazz Jewish Heritage Night, which was a pretty surreal experience.”

LATEST
THE WOMEN WHO FOUGHT THE WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND WON
SUSAN HORNIK
Charlottesville shows what happens when antisemitism is allowed to metastasize.
Karen Dunn is one of the U.S.’s most sought-after lawyers and is widely recognized for securing courtroom victories in difficult cases. In Sines v. Kessler, she won a groundbreaking verdict against the leaders of the neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements in America responsible for the racially-motivated violence in Charlottesville, VA in 2017.

That led to her being featured on HBO MAX’s 2023 documentary, “No Accident,” which chronicled the groundbreaking civil rights trial following the deadly white nationalist rally.

This is the only case where I felt like I was living every day in a bubble of hate and violence.

“It would take me 500 pages to write about everything I thought and felt during the trial,” Dunn told Aish.com in an exclusive interview. “I have tried many cases, including as a prosecutor, and this is the only case where I felt like I was living every day in a bubble of hate and violence due to the evidence of intense racial hatred we presented. It felt surreal.”

READ MORE https://aish.com/the-woman-who-fought-the-white-supremacists-and-won/?src=ac

HEZBOLLAH: 12 FACTS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
DR. YVETTE ALT MILLER
https://aish.com/hezbollah-12-facts-everyone-should-know/?src=ac
Key facts to help you understand events today.

Since October 7, Hezbollah has launched over 1000 rockets into Israel from its bases in southern Lebanon. Here are 12 facts about Hezbollah that everyone needs to know.

1. Hezbollah was the brainchild of Iranian religious leaders.
Hezbollah was the brainchild of two Iranian clerics and close friends: Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini and Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur. Khomeini would go on to lead the Iranian Revolution of 1979, after which he became the Supreme Leader, or Ayatollah, of Iran, with Mohtashamipur as his loyal lieutenant (and later Iran’s Minister of the Interior).

Aish
Mourner’s Kaddish: The Jewish Prayer for the Dead
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Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur
Since soon after its founding in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) maintained military training camps in Lebanon. In the early 1970s, Mohtashamipur forged links between the troops he and Khomeini were raising and PLO fighters, allowing Iranians to train alongside the PLO. This required a great degree of diplomacy since PLO leaders adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam, while Iranians are mostly from the Shi’ite branch of Islam. Normally bitter enemies, Mohtashamipur’s fighters and the PLO found a common enemy which united them: Israel.

2. Hezbollah was designed as a tool of Iranian domination.
From the beginning, Hezbollah’s founders viewed it as a way to extend Iranian influence into its southern neighbor Lebanon, and eventually to attack Israel.


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Journalist Ronen Bergman notes “At the training bases, PLO experts taught young men the arts of sabotage, intelligence operations, and terror tactics. For (PLO leader Yassir) Arafat, having Khomeini’s men train at his bases was a way to acquire support for the Palestinian cause and to make himself into an international figure. But for Khomeini and Mohtashamipur, it was part of a long, focused strategy: to eventually extend the Islamic revolution they were fomenting in Iran to Lebanon, a small country in the heart of the Middle East, with a large population of impoverished Shiites ripe for incitement. Khomeini wanted to stake out ‘a forward strategic position that brought us close to Jerusalem’ - Lebanon’s border with Israel.” (Quoted in Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman: 2018)

Hezbollah continues to be funded primarily by Iran, and to take most of its orders from Iran’s leaders. It is also supported by Syrian leader Bashar al Assad, who provides funding and fighters to the group. In the complicated world of Lebanese politics, Hezbollah is a powerful voice for Syria’s involvement in Lebanese governance and life.

3. Hezbollah means “Party of God”.
Hezbollah formed during Lebanon’s brutal civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 1990. Before its civil war, Lebanon’s governance was carefully divided between three ethnic groups: Christians, Sunni Muslims, and Shiite Muslims. In order to gain allegiance from Shiites and others, Iranian clerics set up a network of Islamist schools and charities, establishing what some observers called a “state within a state”. It was particularly active in the south of Lebanon, where there is a large Shiite population. Hezbollah was formally established in 1982, though much of its infrastructure had been in place for years.

4. Hezbollah seized power after the PLO left Lebanon.
The late 1970s was a violent time along Israel’s northern border as the PLO staged a series of audacious raids into Israel. On the morning of March 11, 1978, PLO terrorists docked a boat they’d piloted from Lebanon along Israel’s coast. The terrorists shot a passerby whom they asked for directions, then killed the occupants of a taxi and used their car to drive along Israel’s coastal road. They hijacked two public buses, amassing 70 hostages, and shot at and lobbed grenades at cars on the highway. By the end of the day, 38 civilians were dead and 71 wounded.



The following year, the PLO again invaded Israel from Lebanon, landing a boat in the Israeli city of Nahariya. After shooting a police officer, terrorists entered an apartment building and kidnapped and later killed a young father named Danny Haran and his four-year-old daughter Einat. Hiding from the terrorists, Danny’s wife Smadar hid with the couple’s two-year-old daughter Yael in a storage cabinet - where Smadar accidentally smothered Yael to death trying to quiet her whimpering cries lest the terrorists hear them.

After these and other attacks, Israel launched an attack on PLO bases in southern Lebanon in 1982, eventually driving the PLO out of Lebanon. (It quickly re-established its headquarters in Tunisia.) With a power vacuum in southern Lebanon, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini sent 1,500 soldiers to the region in 1982 to train local Hezbollah fighters and organize the group’s military headquarters and soldiers.

At first, Hezbollah’s stated aim was to drive Israeli soldiers out of Israel's self-declared buffer zone along Lebanon’s border with Israel. After Israel withdrew all of its troops from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah continued to build up its army and attack Israel.

5. Hezbollah soon established itself as one of the world’s most deadly terror organizations.
The year after its formation, Hezbollah began attacking not only Israeli but also American targets. On April 18, 1983, Hezbollah terrorists attacked the US Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. Six months later, on October 23, 1983, a Hezbollah suicide bomber detonated a massive bomb outside US military barracks in Beirut, killing 241 American servicemen and women. Moments later, another Hezbollah bomber targeted a French military base, killing 58 French paratroopers.

Rescuers probe the wreckage of the U.S. Marine barracks near the Beirut airport, a day after a suicide truck bombing

Other Hezbollah attacks include: the 1984 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut (63 killed); a 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight from Egypt to the United States (1 American soldier killed); the bombing of Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 (29 killed, 242 injured) and the massive bomb that destroyed the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires two years later, in 1994 (85 killed, over 300 injured); the 2007 attack on a US military base in Iraq (killing 5 soldiers); and an attack on a tour bus carrying Israelis in Bulgaria in 2012 (killing 6 and injuring 32).

The United States declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization in 1997. Canada did the same in 2002. The EU declared Hezbollah’s “military wing” a terrorist group in 2012.

6. Hezbollah sits in Lebanon’s Parliament.
Under the terms of the ceasefire of Lebanon’s civil war, Hezbollah was the only militia group allowed to keep its weapons. Since then, Hezbollah has maintained both a massive standing army, as well as operated a Lebanese political party.

Hezbollah first ran for - and won seats in - Lebanon’s parliament in 1992. Today, it holds 13 seats in Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament. In addition to its political activities, Hezbollah provides a vast array of social services, replacing the Lebanese state in some areas of the country, and buying public support with its largess.

7. Hezbollah is worth billions of dollars and much of it comes from criminal enterprises.
In a 2021 report, the US State Department noted “Iran continues to provide Hizballah with most of its funding, training, weapons, and explosives, as well as political, diplomatic, monetary, and organizational aid.” The State Department estimates that Iran gives Hezbollah “hundreds of millions of dollars annually”.

That’s only part of Hezbollah’s extensive funding network. Syria’s leader Bashar al Assad gives Hezbollah extensive support, as do Shiite Muslims around the world. Hezbollah is funded by “profits from legal and illegal businesses. These include smuggling contraband goods, passport falsification, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and credit card, immigration, and bank fraud.”

8. Hezbollah has built up a massive army.


Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, boasts that Hezbollah has an army of 100,000 soldiers. (That number dwarfs the size of Lebanon’s standing army.) Experts estimate that Hezbollah maintains an arsenal of 130,000 rockets, including precision missiles, armed drones, and anti-tank, anti-aircraft, and anti-ship missiles. Hezbollah claims they have the capability to send rockets to all parts of Israel.

9. Hezbollah is dedicated to Israel’s destruction.
Hezbollah is an intensely hostile enemy on Israel’s northern border. It has sent thousands of rockets into Israel through the years, and has attempted ground invasions of the Jewish state. In September 2006, Hezbollah fighters crossed into Israel and attacked Israeli forces, killing eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two. That sparked a limited war, which saw Hezbollah send over 3,000 rockets into Israel, killing over 130 people.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has sent arms, including bombs, guns, and anti-tank missiles to terrorist groups bedeviling Israel, including the Palestinian Authority, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas. In June 2002, Nasrallah praised suicide bombings inside Israel for “creating a deterrence and equalizing fear.”

In 2019, Hezbollah fired antitank missiles at an Israeli army base near the Lebanon border. In 2020, Hezbollah attacked an Israeli military base in the Israeli town of Menara. The following year, Hezbollah once again sent a volley of missiles into Israel. Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, Hezbollah has been attacking Israel daily, sending thousands of missiles into Israel.

10. Hezbollah maintains close ties with Hamas.
Hezbollah officials have boasted of their close ties with Hamas, and have said they were in contact with Hamas organizers of the massive October 7 attack which saw 1,200 Israeli murdered and about 240 taken hostage.



Reuters explains that “Hezbollah has been a source of inspiration and support for other Iranian-backed groups across the Middle East. It has trained armed groups in Iraq and taken part in fighting there.” Iran maintains proxy armies in Lebanon (Hezbollah), Iraq (various groups, including Kata’ib Hizballah), Yemen (Houthis), and Gaza and the West Bank (Hamas).

11. Hezbollah has a special unit dedicated to invading Israel.
Hezbollah maintains a special 2,500-man unit called Radwan force that is dedicated to plotting against the Jewish State. Radwan fighters wear all black - even blacked out goggles - and are highly trained and motivated to invade Israel and wreak mayhem, much as Hamas did in Israel’s south on October 7. Radwan has even built a huge network of tunnels from Lebanon into Israel; the Israeli Army monitors them and blocks them when they detect them.



A month before Hamas’ attack, Radwan forces staged their own practice, “simulating attacking Israeli communities, capturing prisoners and shooting Israeli symbols, including the Star of David. With motorcycles, unmanned aerial vessels, well-stocked weaponry… You name it, they displayed it,” explained Orna Mizrachi, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. “The unit’s aim is to infiltrate Israel and conquer swaths of the Galilee.”

On January 7, 2024, Israel assassinated Wissam Hassan al-Tawil, the deputy head of a unit inside Radwan’s forces. According to Hezbollah, he had “led several operations targeting Israeli military sites and deployments near the border since Oct. 7.”

12. Hezbollah is popular around the world.
Inside Lebanon, Hezbollah is widely popular. Roughly a third of Lebanese people want Hezbollah to declare war on Israel. (80% of people in Lebanon support Hamas’ October 7 attack.)

In the West, Hezbollah has plenty of supporters as well. Former British Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn invited Hezbollah (and Hamas) representatives to Britain’s Parliament and once called them his “friends”. (He has recently apologized for doing so.) In London, anti-Israel marches have featured Hezbollah flags and chants of “We are all Hezbollah”.

In the days and weeks to come, it is likely that we’ll be hearing more about this terror group. If the recent past is any guide, much of what we will read on social media and in the news will be inaccurate. It’s crucial we each educate ourselves about Hezbollah’s bloody history and speak out about this brutal terror organization.

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10 Historical Facts About Israel Every Young Jew Should Know
by Elliot Mathias
January 7, 2024
6 min read
Because you cannot comprehend the current situation without understanding the broader context.

After spending time speaking with young liberal Jews about their views on the situation in Israel, I found that while many have strong opinions on the current situation, very few have a sense of the history of Israel, the Middle East, and how we got to this point.

Many young liberal Jews are shocked by what happened on October 7th. But they also feel that the terror attack on Israel didn’t happen in a vacuum. While not necessarily justifying the horrible massacre that happened, they do feel that Israel is the oppressor of the Palestinians, stealing and occupying their land. If Israel would just allow the Palestinians to have their freedom and independence, then there would be no conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

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You cannot comprehend the current situation without understanding the broader context. Here are 10 historical facts that every young Jew should know about Israel.

1. Jews are the indigenous people to the Land of Israel.
Many believe that Israel is a foreign, colonialist power that has come and taken the land from the indigenous Palestinian population. In fact, the Jews are the indigenous population. There has been a continued presence of Jews in the Land of Israel for over 3800 years. While other people also have a connection to the Land, the Jews have been connected to Israel for millennia before Islam or Christianity were even started.

2. Jews did not choose to leave the Land of Israel – they were forcibly exiled by the Babylonians and then by the Romans.
Even when most Jews were exiled from their homeland by the Romans, there remained a population of Jews in the Land of Israel until today. A few episodes in history that demonstrate this include: after the Roman exile, Jews in Israel wrote the Mishna, a codification of Jewish law in the 3rd century; at the time of the Arab conquest in the 7th century, the majority of the population was Jewish with an estimated number between 300,000 and 400,000; when the Crusaders arrived in Jerusalem in 1099, Jews were the majority population; in the 1500's, great Jewish mystics and scholars lived in Tzfat, leading a population of over 10,000 Jews.

3. The Jewish connection to the Land of Israel stayed strong even for most Jews who were exiled from their land.
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Jews dreamt and prayed to return to their homeland, including liturgy about returning in their daily prayers. And many did in fact return. Throughout the Middle Ages, Jewish leaders and communities from throughout Europe attempted to settle in Israel – some successfully and some not. As an example, in 1211, a group headed by over 300 rabbis from France and England arrived in Israel.

4. The immigration of Jews that led to the creation of modern-day Israel began in the late 1800’s.
As Jews entered the land of Israel, they purchased the land that they settled in, mainly from Turkish or Arab land owners. They did not steal or usurp the land from anyone – they purchased it. Additionally, the land that they purchased was mainly uninhabited. Photos of Israel from the early 1900's shows a land filled with sand dunes and swampland.

5. There was no Arab Palestinian country that the Jews came and took over.
When Jews were returning in the late 1800's and early 1900's, the Ottoman Empire controlled the Land of Israel. Both Arabs and Jews lived in the Land under Ottoman rule. After World War I, the British took over control. Again, the Jews and Arabs were two communities living in this land controlled by an outside power.

6. The UN’s Partition Plan.
In 1947 after the British decided to leave, the United Nations suggested a Partition Plan to divide the Land of Israel into 2 countries – a Jewish state and an Arab state. This would have created an independent “Palestinian” state. The Jewish establishment agreed to the partition, though it was a small piece of land. The Arab leadership refused the Partition, stopping the creation of this Arab state in the Land of Israel.

7. The Birth of Modern Israel in 1948
After the Partition Plan failed, Israel declared its independence in May 1948. It was immediately attacked by neighboring Arab countries Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. The stated goal of these Arab countries was to destroy Israel. During this war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled from their homes. Some fled because the Arab armies told them to, and some were forced to flee by the Israeli army. Refugees are a sad product of almost every war. Sadly, these Arab refugees occurred because of a war that did not need to happen and Israel did not want.

8. The Three Nos
In 1967, Israel was attacked again by Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. In defending itself, Israel took control of the Gaza Strip from Egypt and the West Bank from Jordan, which is where the vast majority of Palestinians live today. Israel did not instigate the war to conquer these lands and occupy its inhabitants – it was attacked and took control of these areas in a defensive war. Soon after the war Israel made it clear it was open to negotiate to return these lands in exchange for peace. At an Arab League summit soon after, a response to Israel was proclaimed which became known as the “Three Nos”: no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel and no peace with Israel.

9. Peace Attempts
Israel tried multiple times to make peace with the Palestinians which would have resulted in an independent Palestinian state. The main effort towards this was the Oslo Accords of the 1990’s. Israel agreed to hand over control of land in Gaza and the West Bank slowly as the Palestinians proved their peaceful intentions. But after numerous terrorist attacks by Hamas, the process failed. In 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the Palestinians 100% of the Gaza Strip and 97% of the West Bank to create an independent State. The Palestinians, led by Yassir Arafat, did not accept this offer. US President Bill Clinton, who oversaw the negotiations at Camp David, stated that the failure of this peace deal laid squarely on Yassir Arafat and the Palestinians. Again, the Palestinians refused the offer of a Palestinian state.

10. Leaving Gaza in 2005
In 2005, Israel unilaterally left the Gaza Strip – removing its entire military presence, as well as over 7000 Israeli civilians who were living in Gaza. The Palestinians had another opportunity to create an independent State. Instead, they continued to attack Israel through rockets and terror attacks in Israeli cities. Eventually Israel enforced a blockade around Gaza to prevent further attacks and isolate Hamas.

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Elliot Mathias

Elliot Mathias is Aish's Chief Operating Officer for Global Activities, as well as Executive Director of Aish New York. Elliot is also the founder of Hasbara Fellowships, a program he created while studying at Aish in Jerusalem, Hasbara Fellowships grew under his leadership to become one of the premier campus Israel advocacy organizations in North America, training and supporting thousands of students to stand up for Israel.

Claudine Gay’s Resignation and Harvard's Antisemitism Proble
by Shabbos Kestenbaum
January 7, 2024
4 min read

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The Harvard President’s resignation gives Harvard the opportunity to transform itself into the academic institution where a true culture of free speech and protection from mob rule can be achieved.

“If Harvard is the canary in the coal mine for what is deemed acceptable behavior towards Jews in universities, then I can assure you there is danger ahead.”

I wrote those words in an op-ed in October…of 2022.

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Since then, Harvard students have routinely disrupted classrooms calling for the freeing of Palestine “from the river to the sea,” yelled for the “globalization of the Intifada” at Jewish students trying to attend class, routinely torn down posters bringing attention to Jewish children kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, have been physically accosted and spat on, and perhaps most infamously, our President refused to answer whether the calls for Jewish genocide violated official policy, offering instead to contextualize the problem.

Presently, I sit in classrooms alongside students who have praised Hamas’s actions on social media, learn from Professors and guest lecturers who deny the use of rape, against Jewish people on October 7th, and even see students call for the murder of prominent Jewish activists.

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Thankfully, as of this week, the road to recovery has been paved.


With the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, Harvard has the opportunity to transform itself into the academic institution it initially sought out for itself, one where a true culture of free speech and protection from mob rule can be achieved.

Under her leadership, Gay had fostered an environment whereby Harvard became dominated not by the smartest voices, but by the loudest voices. Intimidation and bullying tactics, such as surrounding and occupying university buildings, have become routine. Failure to address individuals by their preferred gender pronoun can, and has, garnered disciplinary actions. 96% of the faculty identify as “somewhat” or “very” liberal. The campaign against beloved Professors who questioned illiberal racial ideologies, such as Ronald Fryer and Ronald Sullivan, was exacerbated by Gay’s tenure as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Yet, perhaps most fundamentally, as Brett Stephens wonders: “How did someone with a scholarly record as thin as hers — she has not written a single book, has published only 11 journal articles in the past 26 years, and made no seminal contributions to her field — reach the pinnacle of American academia?”

To answer this question, look no further than my classmates and their reactions concerning Gay's resignation. Some have already insisted that her replacement not meet an intellectual or academic criteria, but instead “be a black woman.” Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is an insidious ideology, one whereby all peoples must be categorized as either oppressed or oppressor, and it has become a hallmark of the Harvard educational process and Gay’s ideology which has led to the explosion of antisemitism on campus. I just received an email from a Harvard professor telling me that he is not allowing his kids to wear a Star of David on campus. Jews do not feel safe.

The lack of personal responsibility from someone who just last week led one of the most important American institutions is stunning.

Perhaps most frustratingly, Gay used her forced resignation not as an opportunity to apologize and bring about much-needed change concerning the accepted behavior towards Jewish students, but doubled-down. Gay blamed outside “demagogues” and “racial animus” instead and completely ignored the accusations of plagiarism in her work. While I certainly condemn disgusting racist attacks, her inability to recognize it was her exacerbation of antisemitism on campus and the plethora of allegations of plagiarism in her academic writing that led to her ouster, was deeply disappointing. It is no surprise, therefore, that antisemitism on virtual Harvard group chats has exploded since her departure. The lack of personal responsibility from someone who just last week led one of the most important American institutions is stunning.

Ultimately, as a Jewish person, I hope this difficult time not only for Harvard, but for our country, can be an opportunity for growth. One in which society stands firm in its commitment to stamp out the oldest form of hate in the world. For if we fail to meet this moment, I fear its next iteration is only a matter of time.

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Elaine, peace is powerful!

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever… but it was Christmas, and what happened next was astonishing, writes Stanley Weintraub, author of the book, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.

“The Germans set trees on trench parapets and lit the candles. Then, they began singing carols, and though their language was unfamiliar to their enemies, the tunes were not. After a few trees were shot at, the British became more curious than belligerent and crawled forward to watch and listen. And after a while, they began to sing.

By Christmas morning, the "no man's land" between the trenches was filled with fraternizing soldiers, sharing rations and gifts, singing and (more solemnly) burying their dead between the lines. Soon they were even playing soccer, mostly with improvised balls.”

Though the war had to continue, as commanders on both sides ordered their troops to restart hostilities, this interval of peace during war was extraordinary and unprecedented.

Elaine, this is the season of peace. And the Prince of Peace has commanded us to be peacemakers. May we become known for initiating peace -- in our homes, in our families, in our workplaces, in every which situation. And never forget to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Dallas, TX)
(Baltimore, MD)

Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. Be sure to check it out!



Editor's Note: Would you prayerfully consider giving a year-end donation to Worthy Ministries? Your support will help us grow, allowing us to hire additional writers and staff for the coming year.

Editor's Note: We are planning our Winter Tour so if you would like us to minister at your congregation, home fellowship, or Israel focused event, be sure to let us know ASAP. You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information.

https://aish.com/understanding-the-israeli-palestinian-crisis-a-comprehensive-historical-primer/?src=ac
UNDERSTANDING THE ISRAELI / PALESTINIAN CRISIS: A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORICAL PRIMER
DW DUKE
A clear, brief history of the Mideast conflict that is required reading to better understand what is happening today and a path forward in seeking a resolution.
The Backdrop
October 7, 2023, was a normal day for twenty-two-year-old Shani Louk. Shani, a tattoo artist from Germany was visiting a peace rally in Israel called the Supernova Festival which is a celebration of the end of Sukkot. As Shani danced with her friends, she failed to notice the thousands of Hamas militants who arrived without warning and began killing as many people as they could find. Shani was one of the victims. After killing Shani the Hamas militants stripped off her clothes and paraded her naked body through the streets of Gaza in the back of a pickup truck while cheering and shouting “Allahu Akbar.”

Shani was one of the victims of the Hamas assault that resulted in the death of over 1,200 people in Israel with several thousand more injuries. The massacre brought immeasurable grief around the world. Many supporters of Palestinians were shocked and grieved that their champion, Hamas, would engage in such a brutal slaughter. Others doubled down and adopted the mantra “Free Palestine by any Means” and “From the River to the Sea.” On the Jewish side of the conflict were the questions why did this happen? Why do they hate us so much? What did we do to deserve this? Ironically, the Supernova Festival was intended to be a peace rally to support peaceful relations between Israel and Palestine, yet Hamas attacked the festival anyway killing hundreds of attendees. The question is why.

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Having closely observed the conflict between Israel and Palestine for decades it occurred to me that modern media provides very little information about the actual dispute between these people which results in widespread ignorance of the issues. For example, in listening to discussions about the conflict, it is apparent that few people are aware that the Palestinian Authority and its adversary Hamas, are branches of the militant groups of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammed Amin al-Huseini, who was the co-author, with Adolph Hitler, of the Nazi plan to concentrate and exterminate all Jews in Europe then in Palestine.

Prior to the October 7, attack, I had been assisting families in Palestine obtain food and medical care. During the course of our conversations, I had occasions to discuss their situation in depth. I learned that in one family the father was disabled due to an injury sustained in a military conflict with Israel. One of their sons was also disabled and the mother was the sole source of income. She sells fruits and vegetables from a fruit stand at the side of the road. The young woman explained that medical care is unavailable except to the wealthiest families and wealth is determined according to one’s rank within Hamas or within the sphere of Hamas’s influence.

https://aish.com/madison-grant-the-american-eugenicist-who-inspired-hitler-to-eradicate-the-jews/?src=ac
Madison Grant: The American Eugenicist Who Inspired Hitler to Eradicate the Jews
Jews in the Land of Israel #2: From Ottoman Conquest to the 18th
by Kylie Ora Lobell
December 19, 2023
7 min read
The prominent wildlife conservationist and friend of Theodore Roosevelt was a notorious racist who impacted Nazi ideology.

Madison Grant, a lawyer and wildlife conservationist, released his book “The Passing of the Great Race” in 1916. In it, he proposed the Nordic race from northwest Europe, who were white, were culturally and biologically superior to all other people.

He wrote, “Man has the choice of two methods of race improvement. He can breed from the best or he can eliminate the worst by segregation or sterilization.”

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Grant was racist towards all non-whites including Italians, Syrians, Blacks, and Jews. He was anti-immigration, anti-desegregation, and advocated for white people to only marry other white people. He called white Americans with Nordic ancestry the “native Americans,” discrediting anyone else who emigrated to the U.S.

“The man of the old stock is being crowded out of many country districts by these foreigners just as he is to-day being literally driven off the streets of New York City by the swarms of Polish Jews,” he wrote. “These immigrants adopt the language of the native American, they wear his clothes, they steal his name and they are beginning to take his women, but they seldom adopt his religion or understand his ideals and while he is being elbowed out of his own home the American looks calmly abroad and urges on others the suicidal ethics which are exterminating his own race.”

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Grant not only wrote about sterilizing non-whites and breeding more white people – he also advocated for these eugenicist policies in the U.S. government. Decades later, his dangerous ideas would catch on and inspire Hitler to pursue the Final Solution to get rid of the Jews altogether.

Who Was Madison Grant?
Madison Grant was born into a wealthy family in New York in 1865. His ancestors were some of the first immigrants to settle in New England colonies. His father, Gabriel Grant, was a surgeon and health commission who received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his work at the Battle of Fair Oaks during the Civil War.

Grant and his family would spend summers at their country estate in Long Island, where he explored the surrounding wildlife. He fell in love with hunting and was an early member of the newly formed Boone and Crockett Club. After studying at Columbia College (now Columbia University), he became a lawyer and spent much of his time going on big game hunting expeditions.

Madison Grant, second from left, councilor for the Save the Redwoods League, presented the dedication of the Bolling Grove in August 6, 1921, in honor of Colonel Raynal C. Bolling, the first American officer of high rank to fall in the world war.

Alongside Theodore Roosevelt, his friend and a fellow hunter, as well as some other colleagues, Grant worked to conserve parks and wildlife across the nation. As a result of their efforts, they protected the endangered bison in Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains, which was one of the first national wildlife refuges in the U.S. He also fought to protect Glacier National Park in Montana, Olympic National Parks, and the redwoods in California’s sequoia forests.

Grant rose to fame and prominence through his conservation work. When he published his book “The Passing of the Great Race,” he tried to pass off racism as science. He advocated for eugenics, a scientifically inaccurate theory that human beings can be improved by selective breeding, and that white people are superior. The eugenics movement started in the late 1800s when Charles Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton released his book “Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development” and argued that disease and health as well as social and intellectual characteristics were based on the concept of race.

U.S. eugenics poster advocating for the removal of genetic "defectives" such as the insane, "feeble-minded" and criminals, and supporting the selective breeding of "high-grade" individuals, c. 1926
Grant’s influence grew amongst those who were racist and against immigration around the turn of the 20th century. He served as president of the Eugenics Research Association, and he was a member of American Defense Society and the Immigration Restriction League, two anti-immigrant lobbying organizations. He also co-founded the Eugenics Committee of the United States of America to promote eugenics policies in the U.S., and he organized the second and third International Eugenics Congresses, which took place at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 1921 and 1932.


It was there that Ernst Rüdin, a eugenicist, became popular; he served as the chairman of the Society of German Neurologists and Psychiatrists in the Nazi party and helped write the 1933 German Sterilization law. This law led to tens of thousands of people being forcibly sterilized in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands undergoing the same torture in Nazi Germany.

By the time Grant passed away in 1937, his book had sold 16,000 copies in the U.S. alone, and it was on the fourth edition of printing. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge were said to have been influenced by the book, and it was often quoted by politicians on the floor of Congress.

During that same time, the theory of eugenics had become popular worldwide, with Hitler leading the eugenics movement in 1930s and 1940s Germany to destroy the Jewish people – along with any other minorities or disabled people that did not fit the “superior” mold.

How Grant’s Book Impacted Nazi Ideology
“The Passing of the Great Race” was the first non-German book that the Nazis reprinted when they took over Germany. Hitler referred to it as “my Bible,” and referenced it in his autobiographical, antisemitic manifesto, “Mein Kampf.”


Along with sterilizing hundreds of thousands of non-white Germans, Hitler euthanized at least 70,000 adults and over 5,000 children in Germany, Austria, and additional occupied territories. Hitler used Grant’s theories to justify his systematic killing of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust and a number of other people, including individuals with disabilities and the Sinti and Roma, who were not white and did not fit into his idea of perfection, the “Aryan” race.

When the Nuremberg Trials were held after the war, the German side used “The Passing of the Great Race” in their defense, saying that Nazi eugenicists were inspired by this book and other U.S. based policies to carry out their evil plans.

Grant’s Disdainful Legacy
While Grant may have been an important figure during his life, he left behind a disgraceful legacy. Even though he worked towards conserving parks, it is his eugenicist, racist teachings that will define him. In fact, in 2021, California State Parks removed a memorial to Madison Grant from Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, and ensured that he would be known for his racism and not for his environmental work.

“California State Parks and our partners recognize the dark truth behind some of the 20th century’s most prominent conservationists, including League founder Madison Grant,” said North Coast Redwoods District’s superintendent Victor Bjelajac. “Grant used his privilege to advocate for and influence the development of discriminatory laws impacting millions of people across the world.”

He continued, “While we value his contribution towards protecting ancient redwoods, we fully reject his racist ideology and are committed to creating a park system for all people, regardless of race, creed, or ethnicity. The Madison Grant Memorial has stood in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park for three quarters of a century. It is long overdue that we remove it.”

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The organization was founded as a committee of various affiliated medical organizations in Paris in 1919, and has included Christian (Red Cross) and Islamic (Red Crescent) medical organizations for over a century. (The group grew out of the American-founded Red Cross, which dated to 1881.) For over 60 years following Israel’s founding, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement forbade Israel’s Magen David Adom (Red Magen David) organization from formally joining the group. Their opposition was so forceful that in 2001, the director of the American Red Cross, Dr. Bernadine Healy, was forced out of her position after she championed Israel’s membership. “I’d say the Red Cross isn’t a healthy culture,” she said at the time. Magen David Adom finally was allowed to join in 2006, so long as the Palestine Red Crescent Society joined as well as a counterweight.

Palestine Red Crescent Society
Many casual observers around the world assume that the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, is somehow apolitical and staffed by foreign, neutral professionals. In fact, it relies on local affiliated organizations to provide service on the ground in conflict zones. In some of the Middle East, that means the de facto Red Cross presence is the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

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Founded in 1968 by Yasser Arafat’s brother Fathi Arafat, the Palestine Red Crescent Society declares that it “operates in Palestine and the diaspora.” It operates throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Although, as a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the Palestine Red Crescent Society is duty-bound to help all people within its area of operations, the group has for years refused to give life-saving treatment to Jews who’ve been shot or otherwise injured in terrorist attacks in the West Bank. The group is headed by Mr. Marwan Jilani, the PLO’s former Deputy Permanent Observer to the United Nations and a former minister in the Palestinian Authority.

Operating Alongside Hamas

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society is undeniably offering lifesaving aid in Gaza. At times, Hamas has been critical of the organization, accusing it of colluding with Israel in helping to evacuate Palestinian civilians out of the north of Gaza during fierce fighting between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza City, when Hamas strenuously tried to get civilians to remain in the battle zone.

Yet the Palestinian Red Crescent Society works alongside Hamas, possibly out of necessity given the iron fist with which Hamas rules the entirety of Gaza. Captured Hamas fighters have described over and over again how Hamas soldiers operate out of Gaza’s hospitals, use Gaza’s ambulances to transport fighters and weapons, and use patients and civilians who seek shelter in hospitals as human shields.

Take Al-Shifa Hospital, which Hamas fighters used as a base as they battled Israeli forces in the first half of November. Prior to the current war, the Palestine Red Crescent Society openly worked “in partnership” with Hamas to upgrade Al Shifa Hospital. It was surely no secret to administrators inside the hospital that Hamas used Al-Shifa as a headquarters, yet throughout the long battles in and around the hospital in November, Red Cross and Red Crescent spokespeople condemned Israel’s actions over and over again - and never Hamas’, remaining silent about the open secret of Hamas’ control of the hospital. Red Crescent personnel brought medical supplies to the hospital and evacuated patients from the hospital throughout battles there, likely coordinating their activities with the hospital’s Hamas controllers. Robert Mardini, the Lebanese-born engineer who serves as Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, demanded that Israel stop its military operations at the hospital immediately, using the authority of his position to condemn Israeli actions as heartless - though never said a word about Hamas’s use of the hospital.

Once Israeli forces succeeded in entering the hospital, it became clear that contrary to Red Cross claims, Al-Shifa had indeed been a military site. Israeli fighters found caches of weapons and tunnels used by Hamas fighters, video footage of Israeli hostages being brought into the hospital, and the body of Yehudit Weiss, a 66-year-old woman kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. A Hamas fighter captured in the hospital confirmed its use as a military base: “doctors were furious because Hamas operatives and operatives of other terror groups were inside the hospital…dressed as nursing staff and other medical staff ‘to blend in with the hospital wards.’” He estimated that about 100 Hamas fighters operated openly in Al-Shifa, especially in the Intensive Care Unit.

Another Hamas employee who’d sheltered at the hospital with his family, Hamuda Riad Asad Shalamah, said he moved his family to the hospital because he considered it “safe and secure” because of the Red Crescent’s presence there. Yet once in the hospital, he realized it operated as a weapons depot for Hamas. “What I saw was how they wrapped the rockets with mattresses and hid them…and also guns.” Hamas showed no concern for the wellbeing of the civilians inside the hospital, he said: if “one of their rockets would explode, it could kill 50 of us, or more.”

Yet the Red Cross has dismissed these claims, as has the Palestinian Red Crescent Society as lies. They have never offered proof that their workers were not present during Hamas’s sustained and extensive activities in medical centers and ambulances in Gaza.

Disproportionate Focus on Israel
Since the current war began, the Red Cross has provided some real aid and medical help on the ground in Gaza - and also issued lots of statements and sound bites as its leadership take to the airwaves around the world, granting non-stop interviews and issuing statement after statement about the war. Perhaps unsurprisingly given its history, the vast majority of these statements are highly critical of Israel, while it’s vanishingly rare for the Red Cross to criticize Hamas.

Between October 8 and December 11, 2023, 77% of Red Cross tweets were criticizing Israel.

Geneva-based monitoring group UN Watch documented all tweets published by International Red Cross and Red Crescent President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger and Director General Robert Mardini between October 8 and December 11, 2023. Well over three quarters of all tweets - 77% - criticized Israel. Only 7% of tweets were critical of Hamas.

The Jerusalem Institute for Justice has studied the Red Cross’s social media posts. It found that in the days following Hamas brutal attack on Israel, which killed 1,200, injured thousands, and saw 240 Israelis kidnapped, the Red Cross posted “no posts, images, graphics, or videos” about Hamas’ attacks. Instead, the organization has shown a clear double standard in its public relations, criticizing Israel harshly and repeatedly, while largely giving Hamas’ targeting civilians and blatant violations of the rules of war a pass.

Failing to Help Israeli Hostages
Nowhere is the Red Cross’ failure to help Jews as much in evidence as in its sluggish reaction to Hamas’ kidnapping of 240 Israeli hostages. The Red Cross declares that the 3rd Geneva Convention, which lays out rules governing treatment of prisoners during wartime, gives it special powers. “We aim to secure humane treatment for all detainees,” the Red Cross notes on its website. “We visit detainees during armed conflicts and other situations of violence…” Except, it seems, when it comes to the Israelis being held by Hamas, who are experiencing many of the crimes prohibited by the 3rd Geneva Convention, including starvation, physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, starvation, and the withholding of medical aid.

Take the case of 84-year-old Elma Avraham who was abducted from her home by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Elma’s daughter Tali Amano and her son Uri Rawitz collected all of Elma’s medications and brought them to a meeting with the Red Cross. Amano recalls that the Red Cross official they met refused to take the medications: “They said no, we can’t.” Later on, the family went to the Tel Aviv offices of the Red Cross and tried once again to hand over their mother’s medication. Once again, Red Cross officials refused to take them.

Elma Avraham was finally released on November 26. The great grandmother, who before October 7 had lived independently, was semi-conscious and had to be airlifted to a hospital after her release. “She was abandoned twice,” explained Elma’s daughter: “Once on October 7 and a second time by all the organizations that should have saved her and prevented her condition.”

Under the terms of the November 24 - December 1 truce between Israel and Hamas, the Red Cross was supposed to be granted access to the Israeli and other hostages held by Hamas. Despite the stated aim of the Red Cross to visit the hostages, and despite the many ties forged through previous collaborations between Hamas and Red Crescent Movement, this never happened. The Red Cross’ inactivity now echoes its actions between 2006 and 2011, when it never visited captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held by Hamas in Gaza for five years. It also echoes the Red Cross’ unwillingness to help Jews during the Holocaust, when it declined to jeopardize its relations with Nazi Germany by demanding to visit Jewish prisoners.

Haranguing Relatives of Israeli Hostages
Another Israeli hostage who desperately needs medication is Doron Steinbrecher, a 30-year-old veterinary nurse. She takes medicine every day, and her parents Roni and Simona Steinbrecher are desperate to get her this vital medication, as well as to hear news about their daughter’s condition. In December, the Steinbrechers were invited to a meeting with the Red Cross; they assumed the organization would tell them they were trying to visit their daughter and brought her medication to the meeting. Instead, the couple were shocked to be lectured by Red Cross Officials.

Red Cross officials refused to accept Doron’s medication or offer reassurances that they would find out if Doron is still alive, and told his parents, “Think about the Palestinian side.”

Red Cross officials refused to accept Doron’s medication or offer reassurances that they would find out if Doron is still alive, Red Cross officials crossly told her parents: “Think about the Palestinian side. It’s hard for the Palestinians; they’re being bombed.” Doron’s anguished mother told reporters “we left there as we entered: without new information, without something new, and with disappointment.”

Demand Action
It’s time for the Red Cross to do better. A coalition of 50 organizations around the world is circulating a petition calling on the Red Cross to “locate and establish communication with the Israelis held hostage…Call for Hamas to cease its heinous acts of raping and sexually abusing Israelis…Condemn the use of human shields as military targets, including hospitals and schools, and the horrifying practice of exhibiting and mutilating dead bodies (and to) Facilitate the immediate return of the Israeli hostages. Consider adding your voice to this vital petition.

You can contact the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement online here https://www.icrc.org/en/contact or at:

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
19 Avenue de la paix
1202 Geneva
Switzerland
TEl: +41 22 734 60 01

Finally, posting about the hostages helps to keep the issue alive. Use the hashtag #Bringthemhome. Encourage others to reach out to the Red Cross to demand that it do its job.

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https://aish.com/the-search-for-king-davids-tomb/?src=ac
THE SEARCH FOR KING DAVID’S TOMB
AVI ABRAMS
Is King David really buried on Mount Zion? The debate goes back as far as Talmudic times.
If you ask any tourist who has visited Jerusalem’s Old City, “Where is the Tomb of David located?” they’ll tell you, “On Mount Zion, on the ground floor underneath the Last Supper Room.” After all, it’s in all the guide books. The site is located just outside the boundaries of the Old City near Zion Gate, one of the seven entranceways into the ancient town.

But scholars and archaeologists throughout the ages have pondered if the current site of David’s Tomb is, in fact, the true location of where the Jewish king was buried some 3000 years ago.

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This is not just a question of modern archaeology but a debate that goes back as far as Talmudic times.

The entrance to the Tomb of David

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The Bible records the burial of King David as follows: “And David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David” (Kings I, 2:10). The implication is that David was buried in the City of David, not Mount Zion, and therefore the current location for David’s Tomb cannot possibly be where the Biblical king was actually buried.


Both sites, the City of David and the Tomb of David on Mount Zion, are located relatively close to each other, a distance of about 2500 feet. The City of David, however, is a ridge on a much lower elevation near the Kidron Valley, whereas Mount Zion is located on one of the higher points of the ancient town. They’re both technically outside the current walls of the Old City that were last rebuilt by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century, but in earlier historical periods, both areas were included within the boundaries of Jerusalem.

However, during King David’s lifetime, Jerusalem exclusively consisted of the City of David. Mount Zion, where David’s tomb is currently located, would have been outside the walls of the city at this time.

Zion Gate

On the one hand, it does make sense that David’s tomb would have been immediately outside Jerusalem and not inside the city itself. During this time period (the Iron Age), cities were the sizes of small neighborhoods by our standards. Only royalty, noblemen, administrators, and tax collectors lived in the cities. Space would have been extremely limited. The land mass of the City of David for example is only about 12 acres. There wouldn’t be much room for tombs. Burial outside the city would have been much more logical.

If that’s the case, why does the Bible specifically write that he was buried inside the city?

Another problem with David being buried inside the city is regarding ritual impurity. In Judaism, dead bodies impart ritual impurity. In ancient Jewish towns, we typically find graves outside the confines of the city to avoid physical contact with the source of impurity.

The Tomb of David on Mount Zion

In Jerusalem for example, tombs of historical figures can be found in the hills surrounding the Old City. The Talmud therefore asks the question how could David have been buried inside the city under these circumstances?

Rabbi Akiva claims a tunnel was constructed from David’s tomb in Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley that extracted the impurity from the king’s tomb. This piece of information actually gives us a clue as to the tomb’s location.

Mount Zion is too far away from the Kidron valley. Such a tunnel would have to slope down the hill into the Tyropean Valley and cut through the width of the City of David and out into the Kidron Valley. But if the tomb was in fact located in the City of David, only a very short tunnel would be needed, as the City of David overlooks the Kidron Valley.

Antique photograph of the Tomb of David

Given the Biblical and Talmud data, a French archaeologist by the name of Raymond Weill led excavations in the City of David in search of David’s historical resting place in the years leading up to World War I. His research did unveil nine burial caves in the southern portion of the City of David, which he felt could be good candidates, but it turns out they date to the Second Temple period based on Greek inscriptions found there. No tomb or any material evidence from the period of King David was ever discovered at the site.

If the City of David did not yield the expected results, only one option remained and that was to excavate the Mount Zion site itself.

Inside the Tomb of David

One of the few Israeli archaeologists who excavated under the Tomb of David on Mount Zion was Dr. Gabi Barkai. Below the sarcophagus, which was built in the Crusader period for symbolic reasons, a staircase was discovered that leads to a secret passageway. Following the tunnel brings you into an ancient burial cave, which was excavated by Dr. Barkai. Based on pottery finds, he was able to date the cave to the First Temple period.

While Dr. Barkai accepts the Biblical narrative as the City of David being the true burial place of King David, he claims the Mount Zion tomb may be associated with Biblical Judean kings from Menashe onwards. Being a rebellious king who embraced idol worship and burned Torah scrolls, it’s possible that the Jewish religious leadership denied him burial near David’s tomb. It is interesting to note that by Menashe’s time, the boundaries of Jerusalem had expanded to the area of Mount Zion. From his generation onwards, the Bible records the Judean kings as being buried in a place called Gan Uzzah, not the City of David. It’s possible that the tomb we typically associate with King David may actually be that of the last Biblical kings of the Davidic dynasty, but not David himself.

Archeological site in the City of David

I’m no archaeologist, but if you ask my opinion as a tour guide, I would say something rather unconventional, but perhaps a resolution to this mystery. In the City of David, we can clearly see the ancient wall of Jerusalem from the Biblical period, but only on the eastern side facing the Kidron Valley. We have never found a wall dating to Biblical times on the western side of the City of David facing Mount Zion. Furthermore, we have never done extensive archaeological excavations on Mount Zion itself. For that reason, perhaps our assumption that the City of David was limited to the ridge was incorrect and perhaps it did in fact extend to Mount Zion even during the lifetime of King David.

If that’s the case, then what we call Mount Zion today may have been a part of what the Bible calls the City of David. This would mean the traditional site of David’s tomb could in fact be where he was buried after all.

Inside the Tomb of David

In any case, the Tomb of David is a great place to visit on your next tour of Jerusalem. More important than where exactly he died is how he lived. You can read the story of King David in the Book of Samuel and read his personal prayers in the Book of Psalms.

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Aish
4 More Myths About Israel’s War with Hamas
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In 1286, the German ruler Rudolf I designated the Jewish community as servi camerae regis, or "serfs of the treasury," which meant Rudolf could directly tax the Jewish community on top of the heavy taxes already imposed by local nobles. Together with his family and students, Rabbi Meir decided to leave Germany and move to the Land of Israel. Tragically, as the group traveled through the mountains of Lombardy, an apostate Jew accompanying the archbishop of Mainz recognized him.

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Rabbi Meir was arrested and brought back to Germany, where he was imprisoned and held for an exorbitant ransom in the fortress of Ensisheim in Alsace, by orders of King Rudolf.


Meïr of Rothenburg – Photo from the Museum of Rothenburg
The Jewish community immediately set about raising great sums to free Rabbi Meir from captivity. But as Rabbi Solomon Luria (1510-1573) later wrote, Rabbi Meir refused to be ransomed:

“I heard about our teacher and Rabbi, Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg… who was held captive in the fortress at Ensisheim for several years, and the king demanded from the communities a preposterous ransom. The communities wished to pay but Rabbi Meir would not allow it, saying that it is not permitted to ransom captives for more than their worth. I am flabbergasted, as he was an exceptionally great Torah scholar, and there was none like him in Torah and piety in his generation, and it is permissible to ransom him for all the money in the world…

“Clearly, his opinion was that if they ransomed him, the rulers would take the greatest Torah scholar of each generation into captivity for ransom so great that the Jewish communities of the diaspora would not be able to ransom them, and the Torah would be forgotten from Israel. I also heard that the same evil ruler wanted to seize his student, [Rabbenu Asher]. He heard about this and fled to Tulitila and was saved by God’s compassion and mercy. Because of this, the pious one [Rabbi Meir] said that it is better that a little wisdom be lost from Israel than the total loss of all Torah scholarship. And this is the sign [that he was correct], that at that time they ceased seizing the sages of the diaspora.” (Yam Shel Shlomo, Tractate Gittin).

For seven years, Rabbi Meir remained a prisoner, until his death in 1293. His body was only returned to the Jewish community 14 years later when a wealthy Jew, Alexander Suskind Wimpfen of Frankfort, paid a large ransom.

Redeeming Captives
If he were alive today, what would Rabbi Meir say about Israel’s hostage exchange with Hamas? Would he approve or disapprove?

Maimonides writes: “There is no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives. For a captive is among those who are hungry, thirsty, and unclothed and he is in mortal peril. And one who averts his eyes from redeeming them transgresses ‘Do not harden your heart or shut your hand,’ and ‘Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor,’... and nullifies the commandments of ‘You shall surely revive your brother’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Maimonides, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 8:10).

Now that some of the hostages have been freed, we know that Hamas terrorists tortured and starved them while they were in captivity. Every moment the remaining hostages spend in captivity under the control of Hamas is a danger to their lives, and they are almost certainly suffering from trauma, hunger and medical problems. Redeeming captives as quickly as possible is a matter of life and death. Surely Rabbi Meir would agree!

Nevertheless, as Rabbi Meir’s own experience shows, there are complicating factors. The sages explain that we “must not ransom captives for more than their value, for the good order of the world” (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 45A). If Jews are willing to pay any price, no matter how exorbitant, to free their loved ones whom have been taken hostage, the enemies of our people will only be encouraged to kidnap more Jews in the future.

Gilad Shalit
The people of Israel learned this truth the hard way on October 7. In 2011, Israel released 1,027 convicted terrorists in exchange for Corporal Gilad Shalit, a soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas six years earlier. Though the price was unquestionably exorbitant – 1,207 terrorists for one soldier – the deal was supported by a majority of Israelis, including 26 government ministers, who desperately wanted to bring Shalit home, at any price.

Gilad Shalit
As Rabbi Meir understood, a lopsided deal like the Gilad Shalit exchange only encourages antisemites to abduct more Jews. Among the terrorists released in 2011 was Yahya Sinwar, the now infamous leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the mastermind of the October 7 massacre and abduction.

Significant Differences
Though Rabbi Meir’s case is instructive, there are significant differences between his story and the current situation. During his seven-year ordeal, it does not appear that Rabbi Meir’s life was at any point in danger. The same, sadly, cannot be said of today’s hostages, several of whom have already been murdered by Hamas.

Some rabbis argue that when hostages’ lives are stake, the normal rules forbidding exorbitant ransom fees do not apply.

Some rabbis argue that when hostages’ lives are stake, the normal rules forbidding exorbitant ransom fees do not apply, for Jews are required to break almost of the rules of the Torah in order to save a life. Others, however, argue that we must not pay exorbitant fees even to save a life, for doing so will only endanger the lives of other Jews in the future.

When grappling with the demands of terrorists like Hamas, a critical distinction must be made. Whereas Rabbi Meir’s case was deeply traumatic and potentially dangerous to the Jewish community, the kidnappers were motivated by financial considerations. By contrast, Hamas is fighting a genocidal war against Israel in which the very survival of the Jewish nation is at stake. During wartime, the normal rules of redeeming captives are suspended, for any concession to the enemy is likely to be perceived as a dangerous sign of weakness.

Should Israel negotiate another ceasefire with Hamas to release more hostages? It’s hard to imagine a more painful dilemma.

When the Canaanite king of Arad attacked the Israelites as they wandered through the wilderness, his armies took captives from Israel. The rabbis explain that only one prisoner, a handmaid, was taken prisoner. Nevertheless, Moses did not enter into negotiations for her release. Instead, the people went to war and freed the hostage by destroying the enemy.

On September 6, 1970, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian terrorist organization, hijacked a TWA flight with 310 passengers. The non-Jewish passengers were freed, but the terrorists held 56 Jewish passengers in custody, including Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, one of the great rabbis of the generation. As the drama played out, some rabbis argued that due to Rabbi Hutner’s unique status, the hostages should be redeemed even at an exorbitant price.

Hijacking of TWA plane by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

But Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky (1891-1986) disagreed, arguing that the standard rules of redeeming captives only apply during a time of peace. During a time of war, he asserted, it is forbidden to redeem hostages for financial payments, for doing so actively assists and strengthens the enemy that is trying to destroy the Jewish people.

In the deal with Hamas, Israel was required to allow large amounts of “humanitarian aid” to enter Gaza which was soon confiscated by Hamas terrorists. Will these supplies assist and strengthen Hamas in their genocidal war against Israel and endanger the lives of Israeli soldiers? Though we cannot answer with certainty, the answer is likely yes.

Should Israel negotiate another ceasefire with Hamas to release more hostages? It’s hard to imagine a more painful dilemma. May God give Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government the wisdom and strength to choose correctly, and may all of the hostages soon be freed and returned to their families, in good health.

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WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A JEW AT NYU?
BELLA INGBER
This college student powerfully describes to Congress what it’s like to be a Jew on campus today.
This college student powerfully describes to Congress what it’s like to be a Jew on campus today.
Thank you all for having me and for giving me the opportunity to share with you my story. My name is Bella Ingber. I am a junior at NYU and I'm going to try to answer the following question for you from my personal experiences: What is it like to be a Jew at NYU?

Being a Jew at NYU is walking to class and passing torn and defaced posters of innocent hostages with the words occupier and murderer written across their faces.
It is going to Booth's library to study and being interrupted by unauthorized protests, where students and faculty call for a globalized intifada revolution, an incitement to violence against Jews everywhere, and a call for the annihilation of the Jewish state and my friends and family who live there.
Being a Jew at NYU is being surrounded by students and faculty who support the murder and kidnapping of Jews because after all, as they say, resistance is justified when people are occupied.
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The search for the lost Ark was not just an innovation of Hollywood, but a real adventure that took place in the secret tunnels of Jerusalem.
The iconic film Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, tells the epic story of a globetrotting archaeologist racing against time to recover the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis get their hands on it. According to the Bible, the Ark was a wooden box overlaid with gold built by Moses in the Sinai desert to house the tablets of the Ten Commandments that represent the supernatural covenant between God and Israel. The Ark remained inside the Tabernacle (a portable version of the Temple) during the wandering of the Israelites through the desert and was later kept inside an off-limits chamber known as the Holy of Holies inside the Temple built by King Solomon in Jerusalem.

What happened to the Ark? This question has boggled the minds of historians and archaeologists alike.
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The Ark of the Covenant, Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Bible does mention that when the Temple of Solomon was destroyed by the armies of Babylon some 2500 years ago, the Temple vessels were extracted and brought as loot to Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), but no mention is made of the Ark. We also know from historical sources that during the Second Temple period, the Ark was not present in the Holy of Holies.
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So what happened to it? (Harrison Ford obviously doesn’t have it.)
The Book of Chronicles indicates that 22 years prior to the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, King Josiah had the ark moved out of the Holy of Holies and transferred to the “House that Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel, built” (2 Chronicles 35:3). This is perplexing because the house built by Solomon is typically associated with the Temple that was already where the Ark was being housed.

According to a Jewish Oral Tradition, the Ark was in fact moved to an underground chamber that could only be accessed through a complex system of hidden tunnels beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This underground chamber would have been built by King Solomon who foresaw the future destruction of the Temple centuries earlier and prepared for the survival of the Ark in the architectural plans of the building itself. When the time arose and danger became more apparent, the Ark was relocated to its designated hiding place where it remains until today.

Now this is where the story starts to get juicy.

Indiana Jones, the fictional character, is actually based on a real archaeologist by the name of Vendyl Jones who did in fact conduct a tremendous amount of research in Israel seeking out the lost Ark. Jones traced the location of where he thought the Ark might be to the Judean desert some 20 miles east of Jerusalem. He claimed that it was connected to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem via a long subterranean passageway. Such a belief may actually not be so far-fetched.

Vendyl Jones
While Jones didn’t find the Ark, another figure may have come even closer. After the Six Day War when the Old City of Jerusalem came under Israeli sovereignty for the first time, archaeologists dashed to the area around the Temple Mount to conduct excavations. Over the next few decades, a series of tunnels that follow the street level from 2000 years ago beneath the Western Wall Plaza were uncovered. The site today is open to the public and is popularly known as the Western Wall Tunnels.

In 1981, just one month after the Indiana Jones film was released, Rabbi Yehuda Getz, the rabbi of the Western Wall, was called to descend into the tunnels while they were still being excavated in search of the lost Ark. While most of the tunnels follow parallel to the Western Wall, there is one point in which the wall opens up into a gigantic passageway. This magnificent corridor popularly known as Warren’s Gate is about 18 feet wide and 36 feet high. Its association with the name Warren is because it was originally discovered by a British archaeologist called Charles Warren back in 1867.
Rabbi Yehuda Getz
While the large gate was sealed centuries earlier by Saladin after his conquest of Jerusalem, it would have theoretically operated as a passageway through the Western Wall underneath the Temple Mount in earlier centuries. In the times of the Second Temple, this was used as one of the gate entrances to Temple Mount, and not just any gate, but the gate in closest proximity to the Holy of Holies where the Ark would have been stored.
Inside the tunnels of the Western Wall
Although the gate was blocked when Rabbi Getz approached the area, a small 2-foot-wide opening was uncovered by the excavation team. After saying a short prayer, the rabbi descended into the passageway that had been abandoned for hundreds of years. The area was filled up with water and sewage so in order to properly excavate the site, it would have to be cleared out. Rabbi Getz called an engineering crew to enter the passageway, but the loud noises attracted attention from the Muslim worshippers above who dashed into the tunnel through manholes.

Carrying tools to seal up the hole, confrontations broke out between the Muslim worshippers and yeshiva students who came to support the rabbi. According to the Israeli Status Quo law, access to the Temple Mount is supposed to be for Muslim worshippers only with permitted visits by non-Muslim tourists at certain designated times. Nevertheless, Rabbi Getz claimed that the law was inapplicable to areas beneath the surface of the Temple Mount and that excavations should be permitted there. Due to the sensitive nature of the holy site, the opening was sealed up by Israeli authorities and the passageway remains unexplored.

While we don’t know whether or not the Ark of the Covenant was in that particular shaft, what is clear is that Jerusalem is full of hidden tunnels and concealed archaeological gems. In future articles, we will probe through other passageways in Jerusalem discovering their stories and secrets along the way.

Inside tunnels of the City of David

Aside from Jerusalem, there are a few groups around the world that have historically claimed to possess the lost Ark ranging from the Vatican, to Ethiopia, South Africa, Yemen, and even Ireland! Wherever the Ark is actually located, according to Jewish tradition, it will be restored to its original chamber in a rebuilt Third Temple for which we hope and pray.

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HENRY KISSINGER IN 10 QUOTES
DR. YVETTE ALT MILLER
A complex and controversial man, Kissinger was both marked by his Jewish identity and at times publicly rejected it.
Born in 1923 in the German town of Furth, Henry Kissinger, who has died aged 100, rose to become one of the most influential National Security Advisors and Secretaries of State ever to serve in the United States - and one of the most consequential and well-known Jews of modern times.

Kissinger advised 12 American presidents, wrote dozens of books on politics and foreign policy, and helped bring about some of the most consequential political breakthroughs of the 20th century. Kissinger helped open American diplomacy to China in 1972, orchestrated America’s controversial extrication from the Vietnam War, helped end the Yom Kippur War in 1973, pave the way for the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty in 1979, and helped rachet down tensions between the USA and USSR during the peak of the Cold War.
A complex and controversial man, Kissinger was both marked by his Jewish identity and at times publicly rejected it. Here are 10 quotes by and about Henry Kissinger that give a sense of the many contradictions of this brilliant, complicated statesman.

1. “I have reached a stage where I speak no language without an accent.” - Henry Kissinger https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-30/as-heinz-and-henry-kissinger-brought-germany-redemption
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https://aish.com/ben-and-gali-both-lost-their-right-legs/?src=ac
Ben and Gali, An Engaged Couple, Both Lost Their Right Legs
by Yehudis Litvak November 28, 2023
They were at the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked.
Before attending the Nova music festival in the south of Israel on October 7th, Gali Segal and Ben Binyamin were a regular Israeli engaged couple, planning their wedding. They got engaged on a trip to Italy, where Ben presented Gali with a ring and a beautiful bouquet of roses.

The couple have known each other for seven years. Gali is studying interior design and Ben works in real estate, but his passion is soccer. He played in the national league as a defender. “Soccer is my whole life,” he says.
About Israel’s War with Hamas
Together with some friends, Ben and Gali went to the Nova music festival to celebrate Ben’s birthday. The celebration turned into a nightmare.

“Suddenly, we saw mortars exploding,” says Gali. “We started running towards our car.”

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Ben Binyamin (right) and his fiancee Gali Segal speak to Channel 12 news from hospital, November 17, 2023. (Channel 12 news screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The couple and their friend Shani got into their car and began driving, but other people warned them not to continue. They saw a mobile shelter and a policeman motioned to them to go inside.

The tiny shelter was full of people, squeezing inside to stay safe. Then Ben, Gali, and Shani heard gunshots coming closer and closer. People were screaming. The terrorists were shooting at the people crowded at the entrance to the shelter.

“I pulled Ben and Shani down so they wouldn’t get shot,” says Gali.

Ben adds, “Several minutes after the shooting, I saw a grenade.”

There was a loud explosion.

“I thought to myself that we stood no chance of getting out of there,” says Ben.

“We must have lost consciousness,” says Gali.

When they opened their eyes, everything was black.

Gali says, “I remember seeing Shani walking out of the mobile shelter, talking on the phone. She said, ‘Gali and Ben are injured, maybe dead.’ She wasn’t sure if she should run away or stay. And I couldn’t call out to her. I couldn’t speak.”

Many were hurt in this explosion. Surrounded by cries for help, Gali felt around her body.

“I went into complete shock,” she recalls. “I screamed, ‘I don’t have a leg!’ And Ben, next to me, said, ‘Save your strength! Stop screaming!’ He said to me, ‘If that’s our fate, if that’s what’s supposed to happen to us, at least we’re together.’ It felt like the end.”

Right then, a SWAT officer, part of the security team at the festival, arrived at the mobile shelter. He exchanged fire with a terrorist shooting at the shelter and managed to get inside where he found many people screaming for help.

“Thanks to him, we’re here,” says Gali. “If he hadn’t come at that exact time and had managed the situation the way he’d done, we wouldn’t be here.”

The officer stopped cars fleeing the festival and asked them to take the wounded to the ambulances waiting at the entrance.

When Gali and Ben were pulled out of the shelter and taken to the ambulances, neither of them knew if the other one was still alive.

Gali says, “The whole time in the ambulance, I was in shock. I was screaming. And when we got to the hospital, I kept asking everyone, ‘Where is Ben?’”

Ben recalls, “When I arrived at the Soroka Medical Center, my vitals were low. They thought I wouldn’t make it.”

When Gali was wheeled through the hospital hallway, she saw Ben in a bed nearby. He saw her too, and they called out to each other.

Gali says, “The moment we realized we were both alive was such a relief!”

Their joy was marred by the realization that they both lost their right legs.

Two days later, Ben and Gali were transferred to the Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera. In the following weeks, Ben underwent three surgeries, and Gali underwent seven. Throughout this time, they remained next to each other in the hospital, supporting each other as they came to terms with their losses and coped with physical and emotional pain.

Slowly, they learned of the extent of Hamas’s horrific terror attack. Their friend Shani was declared missing and later found dead.

The hospital staff is going out of their way to help the couple recover, from providing medical care to organizing a challah separating ceremony in the department.
Gali and Ben are still looking forward to their wedding, but they have a long road ahead of them.

WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUJq8kU9Peo

Ben says, “We looked out the window, and we saw two soccer fields. I looked at them and started crying. Like I’ve lost what I’d devoted my whole life to… I don’t think it sunk in just yet.”

After a month in the hospital, the couple was transferred to the Tel Hashomer rehabilitation department where they are busy with physical therapy. This wasn’t how they’d expected to spend their engagement.

Gali says, “There are times when I’m optimistic and say that it’s just a leg, it’s not such a big deal. And there are other times, when I say, ‘It’s not me.’”

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