Israel
June 12, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
When I visited Israel for the first time in 1982, I was told that relations between Jews and Israeli Arab were fairly good. In Haifa, where my father-in-law lived, relations were said to be exemplary. After spending time in Haifa and the surrounding region, it seemed to me that this was true. With the two intifadas, relations deteriorated. By the time my father-in-law died (2003), they weren’t all that good
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June 11, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Having just stepped down as head of the Mossad last week, Yossi Cohen sat for an Israeli television interview regarding the agency’s mind-boggling operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past several years. The Times of Israel has posted the story “In stunning, revelatory interview, ex-Mossad chief warns Iran, defends Netanyahu.” I recommend the whole thing to the attention of Power Line readers. That is one impressive intelligence
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June 10, 2021 — Scott Johnson
When I wrote yesterday about the meeting of Israel’s US/UN ambassador with AP executives on the destruction of the high-rise Gaza building with tenants including both the AP and Hamas, I had not found the statement AP spokesman Lauren Easton issued following the meeting. Here it is: The Associated Press appreciates the opportunity to meet with Ambassador Erdan to discuss the attack on the building housing our Gaza bureau and
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June 9, 2021 — Scott Johnson
I wrote a lot last month about the protestations of the Associated Press when the IDF destroyed the high-rise Gaza office building in which it was holed up with fellow tenants including Hamas. The first post among several was “The AP goes Sgt. Schultz.” AP executives demanded information supporting the IDF’s targeted destruction of the building. Yesterday the IDF issued this announcement: During Operation “Guardians of the Walls” the IDF
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June 8, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Last week I noted Robert Satloff’s analysis of the May 26 New York Times page-one feature on the Gaza war — “They were only children” As Satloff explained, the Times spread displayed thumbnail photos of “69 youths under 18 years old – 67 Palestinians and two Israelis, one Arab and one Jewish – killed in the 11 days of conflict between Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian
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June 2, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
David Ignatius of the Washington Post thinks the U.S. “could take a lesson from what’s happening in Israel” — namely the formation of a coalition government comprised of leaders holding opposite views on key issues. My view is that if there’s a lesson here, it’s not the one Ignatius draws. The Israeli coalition government has aptly been described as “a car with four different wheels, and every wheel is going
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June 1, 2021 — Scott Johnson
I’m guessing most Power Line readers missed the May 26 New York Times page-one feature on the Gaza war — “They were only children.” As Robert Satloff writes, the Times spread displayed thumbnail photos of “69 youths under 18 years old – 67 Palestinians and two Israelis, one Arab and one Jewish – killed in the 11 days of conflict between Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian
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May 24, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
On Saturday, the Washington Post chose as its lead story a piece about Gazans surveying the damage caused by Israel’s response to rocket attacks by Hamas. Those rocket attacks were mentioned only in passing. The Post’s headline story wasn’t exactly news. Everyone knows that Gaza was damaged by Israeli strikes. The story’s only purpose was to garner sympathy for Gazans. Indeed, the story was so slanted that it could almost
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May 21, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, Elizabeth Warren tweeted: This ceasefire is good news, but it won’t bring back the hundreds of innocent civilians killed or prevent future violence. The Biden administration must press for a just, lasting two-state agreement, and that starts with taking all appropriate steps to end the occupation. Warren has it backwards. It was Israel’s decision to stop occupying Gaza that led to the deaths of “innocent civilians” there. If Israel
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May 21, 2021 — Scott Johnson
The Times of Israel reports that “Hamas claims victory as Palestinians celebrate after first night of calm,” and maybe they have a point. Before we take up the point, consider the problem that Israel faced in the hostilities just terminated, however tentatively. The New York Post’s Yaron Steinbuch draws attention to the Israeli military video showing the scope of its airstrikes against Hamas tunnels. Steinbuch links to the video to
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May 20, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Times reports that Israel has announced a cease fire in its battle against Hamas: Israel on Thursday announced a cease-fire in the bruising 11-day war against Hamas militants that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and brought life in much of Israel to a standstill. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the cease-fire after a late-night meeting of his Security Cabinet. It said the group had unanimously
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May 18, 2021 — Scott Johnson
In my posts on the IDF bombing of the Gaza office tower in which the Associated Press was holed up with Hamas military intelligence, I have been groping toward a condemnation of the AP as a Hamas collaborator. The AP has called for an independent investigation of the bombing. I have called for an independent investigation of the AP. The AP’s collaboration with Palestinian terrorists is an old story. I
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May 16, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Trump haters at the Washington Post, the New York Times, and elsewhere portray the latest conflagration in Israel as evidence that former president Trump’s Middle East deals — the Abraham Accords — weren’t worth celebrating, after all. In my view, this line misapprehends what the Accords were about. Trump may have overstated what the Accords meant. Like many a politician, and to a greater degree than most, he oversold nearly
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May 16, 2021 — Steven Hayward
I’m sure most readers have seen this stunning photo from Israel from a few nights back, showing a Hamas rocket attack that was likely attempting to overwhelm Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system. The early reports on this photo didn’t make clear which was which; I assumed (correctly it turns out) that the missiles on the right are the Hamas rockets, and the unusual swirl pattern of the launches on
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May 16, 2021 — Scott Johnson
“I know nothing” was the comic catchphrase of Sgt. Schultz on Hogan’s Heroes. He occasionally varied or elaborated on it, adding “I see nothing.” In the clip below, for example, he declares, “I see nothing. I was not here. I did not even get up this morning.” After its customary warning to protect civilian life, the IDF took out the 12-story Jala Tower housing Hamas military intelligence offices as well
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May 15, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
This week, the Arabic-language social media sites of two English Premier League football teams voiced support for Hamas in its latest confrontation with Israel. The two clubs are Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) and West Ham United. The Wolves’ tweet stated, in Arabic: You don’t need to be Palestinian to speak, you just need to be human. Our hearts and prayers are behind Palestinians. God save the people of Jerusalem & Palestine.
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May 15, 2021 — Scott Johnson
The IDF may have pulled off a tactical coup by luring Hamas leaders to shelter in their tunnel network late Thursday night/early Friday morning when it publicly intimated that it was undertaking a ground offensive into Gaza. Yaakov Katz reconstructs events in some detail for the Jerusalem Post story “Did IDF deception lead to massive aerial assault on Hamas’s ‘Metro’?” Arutz Sheva removes the question mark and adds a metaphorical
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