Shabbat shalom! And I hope you all have a great, safe, and yummy Thanksgiving!
A tip of the kippah this week to Ilana Dayan, who delivered a landmark speech last week at the Weizmann Institute in Israel to huge acclaim. Dayan is an Israeli investigative journalist, anchorwoman, and attorney. She is best known as host of the investigative television program Uvda (“Fact”) on the Israeli Channel 12. Her remarks, in my opinion, represent the heart and soul of the Israeli people. The speech is 25 minutes if you have the time, you will appreciate it. Essentially, she is calling on Bibi and his administration to be accountable and establish a task force to investigate the October 7 failings. Here is a short passage, in her own translation from the original Hebrew version:
That’s, essentially, what I wish to say: Out of the love for the profession I chose, which has become my mission; out of a simple love for this country, out of my deep connection to this land and its people: We must ask the questions, to try to get answers, but mainly to make sure that we never stop asking. Because there is no revival for a place where even the questions are dead. Because what has been broken here must be fixed. And to fix it, we need to know. And to know, we need to ask. The act of questioning is, therefore, the patriotic act these days, and it is not unnecessary to say this.
The refusal to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate how the catastrophe of October 7 occurred reduces, with every passing day, the chance of discovering the facts, unearthing the truth, and restoring public trust in those who make life-and-death decisions. You might well ask: of all the scandals and displays of indifference around us – why focus on this question? Because of the stubborn and cynical refusal, And because this refusal is not accidental. And mainly because it undermines the two pillars without which there will be no healthy and free society here: They’re called TRUTH & TRUST.
We could sure use some truth and trust here in the good ole US of A. While the cabinet clown car continues to be filled with Donny-dumb-fuck’s deck of deplorables, he seems to be losing patience with the process and just naming whomever spoke to him last to whatever cabinet position came to his warped mind. One of my favorite Never Trumpers, Jeff Tiedrich, had this to say:
think about it: Captain Crazypants famously has the attention span of a coked-up squirrel — so of course it took barely a week for him to reach the ‘let’s just get this fucking shit over with as fast as possible’ stage of the process.
and why not? Donny’s already picked the important honchos: Matt Gaetz to lead the Department of Retribution, Pete Hegseth to head the Department of Abandoning Our Allies, and Tom Homan to lead the Department of Rounding Up Undesirables.
after that came the doling of favors to cronies. Bobby Brainworms to head the Department of Dying of a Preventable Disease, Tulsi Gabbard to lead the Department of Letting Putin Know What We’re Up To, and the Space Nazi to head the Department of Giggling Like a Loon While Breaking Shit You Don’t Understand.
So, if Putin doesn’t push the nuclear button and start WWIII, we have a long four years ahead of us. As the Grateful Dead noted, “What a long strange trip it’s been” and I’m sure the trip will get even stranger. Truth and trust have never been in more peril.
And speaking of truth and trust, the International Court of Criminals should rot in hell considering the enormity of their lies and lack of credibility. At the ICC, there is no trust, and no truth. You all know I am no fan of Nut-and-yahoo and his cronies that are dividing the great Israeli nation, and I would love to see Bibi exit stage right. But the ICC issuing arrest warrants for both the leaders of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, and the leaders of Israel, a democratic state engaged in self-defense against those very same terrorists, is extraordinary and deeply flawed. As most sane adherents of the truth have pointed out, this decision is not just morally indefensible, it was wrong on the merits, wrong on the process, wrong on the facts, and wrong on the law.
The ICC’s bogus charges against Israel are based on alleged violations of the Rome Statute, yet according to Mark Goldfeder, Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, they conspicuously omit the full statutory language that would clearly exonerate the accused.
Bibi and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are accused of engaging in “starvation as a method of warfare.” Article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute, however, explicitly defines this crime as “intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.”
This is a specific intent crime. It is not enough to demonstrate that civilians suffered based on decisions Israel made while fighting Hamas; the prosecutor must show that Israel acted with the deliberate aim of starving civilians as a method of warfare. This is patently untrue. Israel has made extensive efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, even under the extraordinary challenge of Hamas’s systematic theft and weaponization of such supplies. Any accusation that Israel’s objective was to starve innocent civilians—rather than to compel the surrender of Hamas combatants—is not merely unfounded but a libelous distortion of the truth.
And that’s just one of the bogus issues the ICC is claiming in their indictment. I could go on, but you get the drift. Just another drop in the anti-semitic bucket that is already overflowing. For more on this topic, here is a link to Goldfeder’s essay. Rep Richie Torrez, D-NY, had this to say:
The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against the leadership of Israel represents the weaponization of international law at its most egregious. The ICC has set a precedent for criminalizing self-defense: any country daring to defend itself against an enemy that exploits civilians as human shields will face persecution posing as prosecution.
Let’s move on and get to the good stuff. Here then, finally, is your weekly buffet of baffling, beguiling, and sometimes bitter news for the Jews copied and pasted from the likes of The Forward, Kveller, Times of Israel, Haaretz, The Jewish Chronicle, JTA, and other reputable sources of all things Jewish-y.
- Oh no Canada! – Canada has announced, among other countries, that they will arrest Netanyahu following the ICC warrant if he steps on Canadian territory. . Canada, which once exported tens of millions of dollars’ worth of arms to Israel, has now said it will abide by the ICC warrant, joining the Netherlands, Ireland, and Switzerland. A number of other Western countries, including Britain, France, Italy and Sweden, remained non-committal. Others that are led by conservative ideological allies of Netanyahu — including Austria, Argentina and Hungary — have said they will ignore the warrants. Aside from damaging Israel’s foreign relations, the warrant puts a serious crimp on Netanyahu’s ability to travel as he seeks to defend the country’s conduct in its multi-front war.
- Breaking news: Rabbi kidnapped? Netanyahu’s office confirms that the Mossad spy agency is investigating the disappearance of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan in Abu Dhabi. Kogan disappeared on Thursday, Bibi’s office says, and the incident is being treated as terrorism. Yikes.
- One nation under God – The orange turd has been privately promising groups of pastors and Christian activists that they’ll have ideological influence over the White House, and the country. As The Forward’s Mira Fox reports, powerful individuals and interest groups have been working to erode the boundary between church and state, hoping to create a country ruled by Christianity, and they see Trump as a divinely appointed soldier to help them do so. She offers up a guide to the Christian nationalists who could sway Trump. Go deeper ►Related: According to polling, more than half of Republicans are “adherents or sympathizers” of Christian nationalism, an effort to blur the line between church and state. The movement has alarmed Jews and other religious minorities.Plus: Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, has views that are consistent with a strain of Christian nationalism that believes in applying biblical laws to modern life. He also has a number of Christian and Crusades-inspired tattoos.
- The latest on the wars:
- Lebanese source says Beirut is seeking changes to US-backed ceasefire proposal; according to Israeli defense official, a deal with Hamas also seems possible for first time in a while. (Times of Israel)
- Nearly 100 trucks loaded with food and other aid were stopped at gunpoint in the Gaza Strip and looted, a U.N. agency said. It was unclear who carried out the ambush. (NY Times, Times of Israel)
- T’ruah, the rabbinic human rights organization, is calling on the United States to stop sending bombs and other non-defensive military aid to Israel. (Religion News Service)
- The Biden administration imposed a new round of sanctions on an Israeli settler group for causing violence in the occupied West Bank. Trump could reverse the decision. (JTA)
- And the latest on campus…
- About a dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators shouted “Zionists are not welcome here” and other slogans outside Harvard’s Hillel Monday night to protest an event featuring a former spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces. (Harvard Crimson, X)
- Tufts University extended the suspension of its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter until 2027, citing “multiple violations of university policies,” including promoting violence. (Algemeiner)
- The University of Arizona created an endowed chair in Holocaust studies with a $2 million gift from an anonymous donor. Leonard Hammer, a Judaic Studies lecturer, is the first to hold the position. (U. of Arizona)
- Four University of Rochester students were arrested on felony charges over “wanted” posters featuring Jewish professors that went up on campus, instigating outrage and fear. A fifth student is being investigated. (NBC News)
- Harvard’s only Yiddish professor was denied tenure, blocked by the university president himself in a decision that the professor involved, Saul Noam Zaritt, has filed a grievance over. (Harvard Crimson)
- 🏆 Apple doesn’t fall far award – Paul Coates, a publisher and the father of author Ta-Nehisi Coates, recently republished an infamous antisemitic tract. On Wednesday, the National Book Awards is set to give him a lifetime achievement award. (JTA). 📚 Elsewhere in the literary world, dozens of authors withdrew from the Giller Prize in Canada because its main sponsor is a bank with ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer. (JTA)
That’s all for now. For more truth and trust, keep reading the JNR! And let’s be careful out there. And have a great, safe, and yummy Thanksgiving!
Brad out.
Jew News Review 