1/ Six days after October 7th, a genocide studies professor declared Israel's response "textbook genocide" — before a single independent casualty count existed and week before an IDF soldier entered Gaza. 2/ A year later Amnesty admitted, on page 101 of its own report, that it was rejecting the ICJ's actual legal standard because that standard "would effectively preclude a finding of genocide." Internal staff at Amnesty revealed the report was called "the genocide report" before the research even began.

1/There is an implied antisemitic trope buried in Ro Khanna's objection to this initiative. It is worth surfacing, because the same trope appears all over when anti-Zionists talk about any partnership with Israel or Israelis. 🧵

https://twitter.com/RepRoKhanna/status/2074917700220883153

2/Khanna's word is sovereignty. Not "too expensive," not "bad oversight," but that integrating with Israel makes America lose our sovereignty — as if Israeli technology in a US system does something to the country that British or Australian technology doesn't.

1/ On Friday, I posted a Substack that for the antisemite, nothing a Jew says will ever be enough to pass the purity test.

Proof positive comes from Senator @Scott_Wiener . 2/ Wiener had already caved to the anti-Israel mob last January whe, in response to pressure, he said Israel was guilty of "genocide" in Gaza.

It didn't help. The mob goes after him anyway.

Nothing a Jew says can make him acceptable to the modern antisemites.

1/ When today's "progressive" far Left Jews compare their anti-Zionism to that of the Bund, it turns out that they are right.

It is not the compliment they pretend it is. 2/ In 1929, only a week after the Hebron massacre of Jews and two days after murders spread to Safed, 3000 Bund members met in Warsaw to blame Zionists for the Arabs murdering Jews.

The parallels to how the Left reacted to October 7 are eerie.

1/ Sam Harris asked a simple question: What would each side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict do if it had the power to do whatever it wanted? If Hamas had that power, it would carry out a genuine genocide, a project it has announced repeatedly and acted on when it could. (If the PA had it, they would put all the Jews on ships to Europe.) If Israel had it, there would be peace. 2/ He said this is the only important question, because both sides have different interpretations of the past and litigating that is a waste of time. And this is why he refuses to debate Israel-haters.

1/ Here is yet another case of @Amnesty literally making things up when it comes to Israel. 2/ It issued a press release on a report by the NGO @HelpAge about the (very real) problems older Gazans have in wartime.

But it claimed HelpAge said things it did not say.

I haven't been writing much about the Iran situation because there are so few facts. No one knows what's going on, everyone is guessing, everyone is frustrated, analysts are filling the gaps with their own politics.

But I have my own guess as to whats' happening that fits the facts we do know.
1/ Trump is running hot and cold between being a warmonger and wanting a ceasefire. Netanyahu seems to be supporting Trump. The conventional wisdom is that time is on Iran's side, and every delay by Trump is a victory for the IRGC and the hardliners. What is really going on?
2/

1/Every negative news story about how hard the Iran war is actually proves why it had to be fought — and why we nearly waited too long. 2/U.S. intelligence says the war hasn't changed Iran's nuclear timeline. Iran still has its highly enriched uranium stockpile, buried in tunnels American munitions can't penetrate.
Critics say: proof the war is failing.
The correct reading: proof of what a decade of delay costs.

In April, based on the Lebanese Ministry of Health's numbers, I wrote that roughly 80% of Lebanese deaths in the current war were adult males — far above their approximately 37% share of the population.

That by itself is improbable if Israel is bombing and destroying indiscriminately, the way the media likes to imply.

But it turns out those incredible numbers are not even close to the reality.
1/ Their latest infographic shows that there have been 2,679 deaths, of which 2,459 are adult males - which is 91.8%.

Comparing the April 17 and May 3 numbers, we see the number of women killed and injured has gone down, not up, meaning that they ministry was classifying some people wrongly.

91.8% males is very impressive. But even that is an undercount!

2/

The Manhattan Institute did a survey of Democrats (registered voters plus Kamala Harris voters.) It asked about antisemitism, and the answers show that Jew-hatred is becoming normalized in the Democratic Party.
1/ 4% of Democrats describe themselves as openly antisemitic. Among voers 18-29, the percentage increases to 8% - one in twelve young Democrats aren't just "anti-Zionist" but literally hate Jews. (The correlation with antizionism is undeniable now.)
But that's not the worst part.
2/

I read all 162 articles of Palestine's new draft constitution — the one France helped write. It doesn't mention Israel. It doesn't define borders. It declares "genocide" as constitutional fact. It makes the right of return unamendable. And it erases Judaism entirely from a document governing Jerusalem.
Abbas promised Macron he'd condemn Oct 7, reform textbooks, demilitarize, and hold elections. France recognized Palestine. Then Abbas drafted a constitution that makes it unconstitutional for any future Palestinian leader to sign a peace treaty with Israel. France didn't just enable this — Macron announced a joint committee to help draft it.
The constitution mandates perpetual prosecution of "genocide" perpetrators — no statute of limitations, no pardons, no amendments allowed. Israel has universal conscription. Connect the dots: every Israeli adult is a constitutional target, and the ICC warrant machinery can never be switched off. Europe built a legal machine and aimed it at itself and its legal systems can be swamped with spurious "genocide" accusations against everyone who ever served in the IDF (not only Gaza.)
And if a new Palestinian leader wants to make peace with Israel, amend the "right of return," remove the genocide accusation - he can't. It is unconstitutional to change those parts.
This isn't a constitution for a state. It's a constitution against a state — the one next door.
Details in next tweet. This is a long post, but it is very important. elderofziyon.substack.com/p/the-new-pale…

So I decided to ask different AIs to create a plot of a Jewish Christmas movie. My prompt: "Write the plot for a movie where a committed Jewish person is unwillingly stuck inside a Christmas movie."
A thread of the responses, and my ratings. 🧵 Meta:

Title: "Stuck in a Winter Wonderland"
Protagonist: David, a devoted Jewish man who runs a small deli in New York City. He's proud of his heritage and traditions, and loves celebrating Hanukkah with his family and friends.
The Premise: One day, while watching a classic Christmas movie marathon at his sister's house, David gets sucked into the TV and finds himself trapped inside a cheesy, over-the-top Christmas movie called "A Winter Wonderland". The movie is full of clichés, from the quaint small town to the handsome, charming lead actor.
The Conflict: David is horrified to find himself in the middle of a Christmas movie, surrounded by Christmas trees, decorations, and carolers. He's determined to find a way back home, but every time he tries to escape, he's pulled back into the movie. The lead actor, a charming but dim-witted guy named Nick, thinks David is a new character in the movie and tries to befriend him.
The Comedy: As David navigates the absurd world of the Christmas movie, he encounters a series of wacky characters, from a wise-cracking elf to a villainous toy manufacturer. Despite his initial reluctance, David starts to enjoy the ridiculousness of the movie and even finds himself developing feelings for a lovely Christmas shop owner named Emma.
The Heart: As David gets closer to Emma and the other characters, he starts to realize that the true meaning of the holiday season is about kindness, generosity, and community - values that are just as important in Judaism as they are in Christianity. David starts to see the beauty in the Christmas traditions and even finds ways to incorporate his own Jewish heritage into the movie.
The Climax: Just as David is starting to feel at home in the Christmas movie, he's confronted by the movie's villain, who threatens to ruin the holiday season for the entire town. David uses his wits and resourcefulness to help the townspeople defeat the villain and save Christmas.
The Resolution: As a reward for his heroism, David is given the chance to return home to his own world. But before he goes, he says goodbye to his new friends and Emma, who has become the love of his life. David returns home, but with a newfound appreciation for the holiday season and the people who celebrate it.
The Twist: As David settles back into his life in New York City, he starts to notice strange things happening around him. The deli's Christmas decorations seem more vibrant than usual, and the customers are all singing Christmas carols. David starts to wonder: did he really escape the Christmas movie, or is he still trapped in a never-ending winter wonderland?

I give this two stars. I specifically did not want an inter-religious romance which is why I used the word "committed." And the end is a nightmare!

Nobody knows anything about the future of Syria and the region. But here are three things we do know and lessons we can learn, today. ift.tt/thjMHIP The rapid fall of the Assad regime in Syria is stunning.

There is no shortage of analysis, but essentially every "expert" in the field is warning of things that could or might happen.

What I haven't seen is any of these experts admitting that they couldn't see this coming.

The Middle East is the most watched, analyzed and studied region on Earth. Isn't it strange that no one saw the coordination necessary for the disparate Syrian rebel groups to mount this offensive?  The planning  must have taken weeks, if not months. Israel's escalation against Hezbollah in September would undoubtedly have either started these plans if not accelerated already existing plans.

Where were these analysts then? And - why should we believe any of them now when they didn't see this coming?

We can expect to see analysis in the coming weeks of how the signs were there all along, all ignoring that these supposed experts missed those signs.

Lesson #1: Media and academic experts are no better at predicting what will happen than anyone else.

I have a few nitpicks but altogether this is a decent essay.

time.com/6763293/antise…
Of course, @time is part of the problem of spreading the new antisemitism.
Its initial report of #October7massacre was about Israel's response, and didn't mention any Israelis were killed. elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2023/10/repreh…

Ten of the basic facts that the news media doesn't report:

1. The conflict is older than Israel and older than Zionism. Arabs have held Jews in contempt since Mohammed.

2. You cannot assume the Palestinian side is rational. Their mindset is governed by an honor/shame mentality that is more important than what is best for Palestinians altogether.

3. That same honor/shame mindset means that lying is acceptable - or even mandatory - when the truth is embarrassing.

4. According to surveys, Palestinians are the most antisemitic group on Earth. Not "anti-Zionist" - antisemitic.

5. Urban warfare is the most difficult warfare there is. The extensive tunnel system makes it perhaps the most difficult in history.

6. If Hamas survives the war, it is a major blow to the entire Western world's freedom.

7. The only winner when Gaza civilians die is Hamas.

8. Hamas' entire war strategy is based on Israel not wanting to kill civilians and willing to do anything to protect Israeli civilians. In short, Hamas views Israel's morality as its weakest attribute.

9. Palestinians - West Bank and Gaza, Fatah and Hamas - overwhelmingly support murdering Jews. A huge majority have supported the most heinous specific terror attacks. And they overwhelmingly do not support a two state solution, except as a stage to destroy Israel.

10. The IDF is a professional army. It doesn't act out of revenge or fury. Every move it makes is for a specific military purpose and every attack has a specific military target in mind. Supporting data:

1. The Quran includes the themes that Jews - as a whole - are "killers of prophets" and that they cannot be trusted to hold on to their side in agreements.

The Jews of Yemen wrote a letter to Maimonides in the 12th century asking for advice on how to deal with their persecution. His response included very pointed criticisms of how Arabs treat Jews throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds.

The "kinot" - intricate poems chanted on Tisha B'Av, the Jewish fast day that recalls many historic tragedies - include oppression by Arabs of Jews. And some communities like the Tunisian and Moroccan Jewish communities wrote their own kinot about pogroms and attacks on their communities centuries ago.

19th century travelers throughout the Middle East often noted that the worst insult an Arab could hurl at another was to call him a "Jew."

All of these were before modern Zionism.

The Arabs don't hate Jews because of Israel. They hate Israel because of Jews. And all the talk about "Nakba" or "occupation" or "apartheid" are excuses for Arab hate created after the fact, not explanations of it.

Abbas tells UN that the Kotel is exclusively Muslim: "The occupation government is also violating the city of Jerusalem and its people, assaulting our Islamic and Christian sanctities there, and violating the historical and legal status of the holy places, especially the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which international legitimacy has recognized as an exclusive right for Muslims alone, including the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall and the Buraq Wall (Kotel), according to the report of the League of Nations in 1930."
He also called for "an apology, reparation, and compensation" from the US and Britain for the Balfour Declaration.

Somehow, between 1921 and 1948, under full British control, Zionists managed to build a prosperous economy and effective governance.

Palestinians have had since 1994 with more autonomy than Jews had. And yet they blame Israel for their failures.

@DrHananAshrawi

https://twitter.com/Haitham47117914/status/1677797271268671490

The only reasonable response to this has been that the Zionists had large amounts of capital from the Jewish diaspora.

This is true - and it proves my point. Jews didn't depend on anyone else to build their nation. They funded it themselves, they drained the swamps themselves..

The ONLY people to have dug underneath the Temple Mount in the past century are Muslims.

Here is a 1990s photo of the Waqf digging out Solomon's Stables to build a huge underground mosque. They destroyed countless artifacts from the times of the Temples.

@UNESCO was silent. @UNESCO More on this issue here, since Palestinians claim that Israel is digging under the Temple Mount and that no Jewish artifacts were ever found in the area - which is absurd.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2023/05/arab-n…

A lot of Israel haters have discovered this account in recent months. To help you out, here are some of my themes, all of which I have backed up with voluminous evidence on my blog.
🧵 1. Anti-Zionism is thinly veiled antisemitism

"Human rights" organization @Amnesty is openly advocating the forcible removal and ethnic cleansing of 670,000 Jews from their homes.

Normally, that's a war crime.

They have NEVER insisted on that in Western Sahara or Northern Cyprus or anywhere else.

ONLY FOR JEWS.

https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/1630904473123008514

@amnesty The Encyclopedia of Human Rights says settlers have human rights and ethnically cleansing them wholesale is clearly a violation of those rights.

It was talking about Northern Cyprus.

When Jews have a different set of rules than EVERYONE ELSE, that is antisemitism from @Amnesty.

1898.

Must be the "occupation." 1903.

Must be the "settlements."