Jordan condones Islamic violence on Temple Mount

It's hardly a shock they'd do it, though:

Amid escalating diplomatic tensions with Jordan over recent clashes on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday that he views “with utmost severity” comments blaming Israel for the violence.

Bennett spoke after Israel’s Foreign Ministry directly accused Jordan of “backing those who… resort to violence.”

Alluding to comments made earlier in the day by Jordan’s prime minister, Bennett lashed out at “the remarks accusing Israel of the violence directed against us,” and fumed that “there are those who are encouraging rock-throwing and the use of violence against the citizens of the State of Israel.

This is unacceptable to us,” he said. “This is a reward for the inciters, especially Hamas, which are trying to ignite violence in Jerusalem. We will not allow this to happen.”

This is one thing, in itself, where Bennett's right upon, even though again, he has blame of his own to shoulder in how he's handled things. With that told, here's where the Jordanian government reared their ugly head, demonstrating their true image influenced by Islam:

Earlier Monday, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh hailed Palestinian rioters and used unusually hostile language to condemn “Zionist sympathizers” and what he called Israel’s “occupation government.”

“I salute every Palestinian, and all the employees of the Jordanian Islamic Waqf, who proudly stand like minarets, hurling their stones in a volley of clay at the Zionist sympathizers defiling the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli occupation government,” Khasawneh told a session of the Jordanian parliament.

Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar directly responded to the Jordanian prime minister’s remarks, tweeting that “statements made by senior officials in the Kingdom of Jordan are grave and unacceptable.”

“The sovereignty of Israel in Jerusalem as its capital is the guarantee of freedom of worship for members of all religions in the city. The attempts of extremist and terrorist elements, such as Hamas, to ignite the territory through a false anti-Israel campaign are transparent and should be condemned,” he added.

And while Saar's response is valid, in itself, let's not forget he too has blame to shoulder, mainly because he went into this government as part of a boycott of Netanyahu, not out of altruistic motives.

This editorial makes a point what the real motivations were by the jihadists:

The Muslims who stockpiled stones, rocks, logs and firecrackers in al-Aqsa did not do so for religious purposes. They prepared for a riot – to attack police and Jewish worshipers – not for prayers. Police did not storm al-Aqsa Mosque to “conquer” it. They broke in to arrest the rock throwers who had barricaded themselves inside after Friday prayers. Some of the masked Palestinians waved Hamas flags and praised arch-terrorist Muhammed Deif as they tried to bombard the Jewish worshipers who had come to pray at the Western Wall at the start of the Passover holiday.

[...] It is Jewish worship that is limited at Judaism’s holiest site. The Muslim extremists object to any Jewish presence on Temple Mount and now refer to the entire area as “al-Aqsa” and yesterday they threw rocks at buses traveling to the Western Wall. Jews who ascend Temple Mount note, however, that part of the area serves as a soccer field, far from serving religious needs.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority have all accused Israel of carrying out “provocations” and an “assault” at the site. They are hoping to turn it into a battle cry. It is easy to rally Muslims everywhere around the lie that al-Aqsa is in danger and needs defending. The terrorist organizations are hoping that this becomes as self-fulfilling prophesy.

And Jordan's only adding fuel to the fire by backing this up, which demonstrates what an enemy country they actually are. It suggests that one day, relations with them will fall apart altogether, so long as they adhere to the Religion of Peace.

Israeli police must stop confiscating weapons of Jews defending themselves against Muslim attackers

Ariel Kahana brought up a very disturbing tactic by the leftists running the Israeli police that's actually been in use for decades:

Amichay Ben Saadon is not alone. There are thousands just like him in Israel. Attacked, usually by Arabs, tried to defend themselves with the weapons the State of Israel authorized them to use for precisely such a situation. As Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said just a few weeks ago, "Whoever has a license to carry a weapon, this is the time to carry it."

While the diplomatic echelon has encouraged civilians to defend themselves, the Israel Police has done the exact opposite. It has systematically punished those facing attacks and constantly backed up the attackers. It is hard to believe, but this is the twisted approach.

I personally know of dozens of cases in which the Jews who were attacked were taken into custody and their weapons were seized for a prolonged period of time. This is because when both sides filed a complaint, the Israel Police chose to adopt the Arabs' version of events. When the law enforcement system automatically believes an abused woman but not an abused man, it will also prefer the Arab attacker's version to that of the Jewish victim.

And why? Because these are mainly leftists who're running these double-standard policies that're meant to put the right to self-defense on trial, and always view the adherent to the Religion of Peace as the "victim". Read more of it to know why this must be addressed, and put to a stop. Not to mention that the government must make a call for the bias to cease as well. It's very similar to the propaganda the left in the USA was pushing, "believe all women", as though a woman supposedly can't lie about sexual assault. Yet when the Religion of Peace is involved, past conduct in Europe, for example, takes the side of Islamofascists over rape victims. This kind of victimology has to stop.

China, Fearing Regime Change by the U.S, Bulks Up Its Nuclear Deterrence Capabilities

An eye opening report. 

My first thought, "Well that's just great (*Eye-roll*)."

At the Wall Street Journal, "China Is Accelerating Its Nuclear Buildup Over Rising Fears of U.S. Conflict":

China has accelerated an expansion of its nuclear arsenal because of a change in its assessment of the threat posed by the U.S., people with knowledge of the Chinese leadership’s thinking say, shedding new light on a buildup that is raising tension between the two countries.

The Chinese nuclear effort long predates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the U.S.’s wariness about getting directly involved in the war there has likely reinforced Beijing’s decision to put greater emphasis on developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent, some of these people say. Chinese leaders see a stronger nuclear arsenal as a way to deter the U.S. from getting directly involved in a potential conflict over Taiwan.

Among recent developments, work has accelerated this year on more than 100 suspected missile silos in China’s remote western region that could be used to house nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the U.S., according to analysts that study satellite images of the area.

American leaders have said the thinking behind China’s nuclear advance is unclear. Independent security analysts who study nuclear proliferation say they are also in the dark about what is driving Beijing after exchanges between Chinese officials and analysts mostly dried up in the past few years.

The people close to the Chinese leadership said China’s increased focus on nuclear weapons is also driven by fears Washington might seek to topple Beijing’s Communist government following a more hawkish turn in U.S. policy toward China under the Trump and Biden administrations.

American military officials and security analysts are concerned China’s nuclear acceleration could mean it would be willing to make a surprise nuclear strike. The people close to the Chinese leadership said Beijing is committed to not using nuclear weapons first.

China plans to maintain an arsenal no larger than necessary to ensure China’s security interests, they said, adding that the Chinese military believes its nuclear weapons are too outdated to present an effective deterrent against a potential U.S. nuclear strike.

“China’s inferior nuclear capability could only lead to growing U.S. pressure on China,” one person close to the leadership said.

Nervous international reaction to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s call for his nuclear forces to be put on alert following his invasion of Ukraine has offered Chinese officials a real-world lesson about the strategic value of nuclear weapons. So did Ukraine’s decision in 1994 to turn over the nuclear weapons left in the country after the breakup of the Soviet Union in return for security assurances from the U.S. and Russia.

“Ukraine lost its nuclear deterrence in the past and that’s why it got into a situation like this,” said a retired Chinese military officer with ties to the country’s nuclear program.

The people familiar with the Chinese leadership’s thinking said Beijing hasn’t conveyed any adjustments to the country’s nuclear policy as a result of developments in Ukraine. China’s Ministry of Defense didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The people have knowledge of Beijing’s thinking about nuclear policy through their work with various agencies involved in security issues. None are directly involved in the setting of nuclear policy. They didn’t preclude that future developments might change Beijing’s approach and said other factors may also be influencing the leadership’s approach to nuclear weapons.

Their observations nevertheless bring greater clarity to a shift in Beijing’s thinking that has far-reaching consequences globally. Rising tension between the U.S. and China over nuclear weapons could throw the world back into a Cold War-style nuclear standoff similar to that seen in the decades following World War II between the U.S. and Soviet Union.

The risk of miscalculations this time could be higher, however, because while the U.S. and Soviet Union communicated about their nuclear weapons during arms control talks from the late 1980s, the Chinese program and Beijing’s thinking on the role of nuclear weapons has been shrouded in secrecy. China has declined to engage in nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., saying Washington should first reduce its nuclear inventory.

U.S. government and private sector estimates put China’s nuclear arsenal in the low hundreds of warheads, far below the roughly 4,000 warheads held by both Russia and the U.S. The Pentagon says it now expects China to have 1,000 warheads by the end of this decade.

Satellite images taken during January show the last 45 of the temporary covers over each of 120 suspected missile silos near the city of Yumen have been removed, suggesting the most sensitive work at all of the silos has been completed, said Matt Korda, a senior research associate for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington. At two other smaller silo fields in western China, work is at earlier stages.

The silos at each of the sites are large enough for a new long-range Chinese missile known as the DF-41 that was put into service in 2020 and is capable of hitting the U.S. mainland, analysts say. Tests of missiles that are launched from aircraft and can carry nuclear warheads also give Beijing a stronger chance of being able to retaliate if it is hit first in a nuclear attack.

In public, China has played down its nuclear pursuits.

“On the assertions made by U.S. officials that China is expanding dramatically its nuclear capabilities, first, let me say that this is untrue,” Fu Cong, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s arms control department, said earlier this year. He said that China is working to ensure its nuclear deterrent meets the minimum level necessary for national defense.

Chinese leaders had seen nuclear weapons as being of limited value because they don’t offer realistic options for fighting most wars. A major shift occurred in early 2020, according to the people familiar with the leadership’s thinking, as the U.S. government hardened its stance toward Beijing in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Strong criticism of the Communist Party from senior Trump administration officials spurred a consensus among Chinese leaders that Washington was willing to take greater risks to stop China’s rise, some of the people said.

A May 2020 speech in Mandarin by former Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger was particularly alarming, they said. Speaking on the anniversary of a pivotal 1919 student protest in China, Mr. Pottinger said: “Wasn’t the goal to achieve citizen-centric government in China, and not replace one regime-centric model with another one? The world will wait for the Chinese people to furnish the answers.”

“The speech was obviously calling the Chinese to topple the Communist Party,” one person familiar with the Chinese leadership’s thinking said.

In response to a request for comment, Mr. Pottinger said that such an interpretation was “a profound admission that the Communist Party knows it has failed to deliver citizen-centric governance, and it confirms what everyone already suspected: What Beijing fears above all is its own people.”

At the same time, increased support from the U.S. for Taiwan, a democratically self-ruled island that Beijing views as a part of China and has vowed to put under its control, prompted Chinese leaders to debate the prospect that the U.S. might be willing to use nuclear weapons in a conflict over the island, according to the people close to the leadership...

 

2 people murdered in terrorist attack on Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Street

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid's disastrous government has led to more tragedy on Dizengoff Street, a commercial neighborhood:

Two people were killed and eight people were wounded - some seriously - in what appeared to be a terrorist shooting attack in the center of Tel Aviv on Thursday night. The attack took place in multiple locations on Dizengoff Street, a popular scene filled with restaurants and bars in the main Israeli city.

The gunman was feared to still be on the loose and large security forces - police and IDF soldiers - were running down the main Tel Aviv boulevard in search of the attacker. Police are asking the public to stay at home and get off the streets until the gunman is caught.

At least four of the wounded were said to be in critical or serious condition, according to Sourasky Medical Center. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz were making their way to the Kirya Military headquarters in Tel Aviv and receiving regular updates about the attack.

Gantz is clearly also to blame for failing on his part to prevent this from an army perspective. Now, they've led to yet more horrific disaster as a result of this mess.

Update: another terrorist who'd been part of this latest attack was found and killed:

Israel was on high alert after a Palestinian terrorist killed two people and injured several other on a busy street in central Tel Aviv on Thursday night. The terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces several kilometers away in Jaffa on early on Friday morning.

Dizengoff Terrorist identified

Identified as 28-year-old Ra’ad Fathi Hazem from the Jenin refugee camp, he was located hiding near a mosque in Jaffa by two Shin Bet officers who identified a suspicious figure who was similar to the suspect. According to reports, Zaydan pulled out his gun and fired 10 bullets toward the officers who returned fire and killed him.

Walla! Reported that it's believed that Hazem knew the area and that he hoped to hide in the mosque during the first Friday prayers of Ramadan.

The Shin Bet said that he had no known organizational affiliation, previous arrests or security background. Palestinian reports said that his father was a senior officer with the Palestinian Authority security forces but retired about a decade ago. His uncle praised the attack on Facebook, saying that he had joined his uncles who were affiliated with Fatah and were killed in clashes with security forces.

His father was later filmed outside his house telling a crowd that had gathered that “You will see the victory soon… God, liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the occupiers.”

The agency said that Hazem had entered Israel illegally and that it is being investigated if he had received any support.

Some could say that this particular jihadist acted as a lone wolf attacker, yet predictably, they carefully avoid any deeper discussion of Islamofascism and its role in this incident. What it does reveal is the minds of the attackers.

Update 2: Nadav Shragai makes a valid point on how lone wolves are part of a murderous ideology.

Update 3: Robert Spencer points out how British news sources like the UK Guardian and Reuters have villified Israel in all this.

China's dictator supports the Taliban

The Chinese communists have just revealed they embrace the Taliban in Afghanistan, and want everyone else to do so as well:

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping praised the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” of Afghanistan in a message to a foreign ministers’ meeting featuring a Taliban representative on Thursday, encouraging neighboring countries to “do their best” to support the “Afghan people.”

China is currently hosting a two-day summit in Anhui province of regional leaders to discuss the future of Afghanistan. Taliban “Foreign Minister” Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived on Wednesday and is participating in conversations with China and other top diplomats.

This is definitely bad news. Commies of modern times are definitely taking this world in the direction of darkness and barbarism if this is type of movements China's government is embracing.

Will Joe Rogan's enemies thank him for praising Israel?

Podcaster Joe Rogan, who was recently attacked by PC-advocating leftists, made a case in praise of Israel for focusing on more serious issues than what the leftists in the USA do:

Podcaster and media persona Joe Rogan showered praise on Israelis in his recent podcast on March 23, saying their experience in the Middle East's hostile environment has steeled them for the complexities of life and has led them to appreciate it.

The podcast featured a lengthy discussion with tech entrepreneur Antonio Garcia Martinez on a whole range of issues, including the influence of progressives on the daily discourse in the United States, which according to Rogan, sometimes results in "nonsense problems" taking center stage. At one point, Rogan, said that Israelis generally don't have debates over gender pronouns and other progressive matters, because of the other problems in life, recalling the impression he got from an Israeli friend's attitude toward life.

Read the rest. I don't suppose Dwayne Johnson, Neil Young and Ava duVernay would be willing to apologize to Rogan after all the trouble they - and other such leftists - caused him over stuff they hold a hypocritical position upon? This is very impressive stuff Rogan's brought up, and he should be admired for it. Something the majority of Hollywood tragically won't do. Those Hollywooders who attacked Rogan should be ashamed of themselves.

Update: Rogan also deserves praise for raising the issue of transsexual men robbing women of victory in sports.

DCU Holiday Bash #1 from 1997 featured a laughably stupid Green Lantern story about Hanuka

The 3rd volume of Green Lantern from 1990-2004 has long been notorious for plenty of reasons, from the stealth leftist politics and other smutty elements Gerard Jones injected, to the repellent fridge story Ron Marz wrote in 1994, but in addition to that, there was also a short story starring Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan's tediously scripted and forced replacement circa Emerald Twilight, that was just as dreadful as what the flagship series turned out to be. The tale in question comes from DCU Holiday Bash, published in early 1997, 1st of 3 specials from the late 90s, and was written by Michael Jan Friedman, a book writer who'd worked on a few comics in the 90s (including The Darkstars, which became something like a refugee camp for former GLs and even a depowered Donna Troy in its latter half), and judging from how insulting to the intellect the tale was, Friedman was hardly an improvement over Jones and Marz. Here's 3 panels from the story in question, which wasn't much more than 10 pages. It chronicles Kyle going to retrieve an oil vessel used for the Hanuka holiday from some neo-nazis who'd stolen it from a synagogue. Let's begin with this scene:

So what we have here are a few people preparing for the Hanuka holiday, with the woman discussing how great it is, and the script hits a historical pothole when she's written telling how Judah the Maccabee fought against the "Roman overlord of Palestine". Say what?!? So Friedman was perpetuating the falsehood of using a name the Romans invented for delegitimizing Israel in ancient times (not that he actually acknowledges that, of course), and to add even more unintentional comedy to the mix, he never did any proper research to comprehend that the empire occupying Israel at the time was the Greek-descended Seleucid empire, led by Antiochus III. Why, if that's supposed to be Judah atop the horse there, I'm equally put off by how he's made to look like he's wearing an Arabic keffiyeh on his head, a depiction that's admittedly occurred in other 20th century depictions of ancient Israelites too, but doesn't offer an accurate portrayal. I thought it was bad enough Jones basically invalidated Israel by not bringing up the name in his writing, in an early effort to ramrod the whole false narrative of a palestinian Arab/Islamic people that's become a common falsehood for years, into mainstream comics. With this, it looks as though Friedman also comes from a monumentally cynical leftist background, and saw nothing wrong with injecting some of his own contempt into another GL story he'd written up. Now, here's the second panel:

Here, Kyle discovers the lady is a female rabbi, which in Hebrew/Yiddish could be pronounced rebbetzin, and it's made out to look like such a religious figure shouldn't be asked on a date any more than a Catholic nun. This also had me groaning, because unlike the setup the Roman Catholics go by, in practically all sects of Judaism, rabbis and rebbetzins can marry. Even in the Reform sect, which I assume is what the lady is meant as an allusion to. The only hurdle is whether the suitor can convert to Judaism.

Curious thing about this story is that it's a rare moment I know of where Kyle almost ended up dating a lady guest who wasn't an established DCU cast member, yet the writers and editors involved instantly back away from any such possibilities. Which, in all due honesty, is as pathetic as the rest of the Rayner era. That aside, I wonder if DC published this story as a shield against all the GL fans who took offense at the abuse they'd heaped upon Hal, no matter their personalities or conduct. Well if so, then let me just say that, as somebody living in the land where Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's ancestry came from (Hal's co-creators John Broome and Gil Kane were also of Jewish descent), I find it most extremely objectionable they'd use anything to do with my ethnicity and/or country's founding religion as way to hide from criticism of bad directions. It's simply unacceptable, yet judging from what we've seen in more recent times, such tactics have become the norm in ways much more grimy than before. Criticize poor writing and direction involving a POC/LGBT practitioner introduced in a forced and contrived manner to check a diversity box, and the left wants to call even the most honest and law-abiding person who dares do so a racist/homophobe/transphobe/islamophobe. Not because they think it's true, but because they want that to be the case. It's utterly shameful. And here, if this 1997 story were anything similar, the worst thing about it is the inaccurate history and other details used in the process. Now, the third panel:

After capturing the neo-nazi thugs thanks to what must've been a holiday miracle of finding reserve energy in his power ring (it seemed to short out momentarily while he'd raided their lair), Kyle returns the valuable to the synagogue, where the female rabbi is then seen at the end doing prayer recital, and while it may not be visible in the front-based illustration, you can see from the back she's wearing a Judaist skullcap, which is accepted in the Reform sect, and some rebbetzin in their movement do wear skullcaps. Though why nobody working in comicdom on tales like this wants to acknowledge that is beyond my comprehension. And that's what makes this story all the more laughable, IMO. That there's only so much space an editor can provide in a book like this is no excuse.

Wow, I thought it was bad enough when Jones was in charge of the GL franchise at the time he was assigned, and if sales plummeted while he was writing, his flaccid scripting was the culprit. And Marz's work wasn't any better. But if this is any indication, Friedman also had some appalling approaches to writing sans any good research or sense of respectability for history. Looking back, it's amazing Hal Jordan never seemed to turn up directly in stories like these, and if not, that's actually a good thing. Sure, some could argue a story like this doesn't have anything that couldn't have been done with Hal, and it's not like he never appeared in stories with political allusions decades back, but seeing how shoddy these 90s tales truly were, that's why it's better if Hal didn't appear in them at all. If anything, such tales are symbolic of what went wrong in the 1990s, and how it affected future storytelling going forward into the current century.

Fear returns to Israeli streets

Lilach Shoval makes the point following the recent terrorist attacks in Beer Sheva, Hadera and Bnei Brak:

Tuesday's terrorist attack leaves no doubt that fear has returned to Israel's streets. In the three attacks that took place within the past week, 11 Israelis in three different central Israeli cities were killed. And yet, the Bnei Brak terrorist attack was somewhat different from those in Beersheba and Hadera, because the perpetrator was not an Arab Israeli, but a 27-year-old Palestinian, a resident of the Arab village of Ya'bad, who had previously managed to cross into Israel illegally.

Yes, the Shin Bet faces a significant legal barrier in monitoring Arab Israeli citizens, but it can in no way be a valid excuse when it comes to a Palestinian infiltrating Israel with weapons and carrying out a deadly attack in civilian population centers.

What highlights the failure further is that the defense establishment was aware of the terrorist, who had been imprisoned in Israel before, and should have been closely monitored by the Shin Bet, especially in light of recent events.

Until Tuesday night, the defense establishment hoped that the deadly attacks within the Green Line that had been carried out by Islamic State sympathizers would not motivate Palestinian copycat attacks, but prepared for this scenario nevertheless. This was one of the reasons the Israel Defense Forces decided earlier this week to reinforce four battalions in Judea and Samaria. The same reinforcement units were also assigned the mammoth task of reducing as much as possible the illegal crossing into Israeli territory.

The Shin Bet's difficulty comes as no surprise. For years, Israel has chosen to turn a blind eye to the breached security barrier, partly because illegal immigrants make a living in Israel, and the better the economic situation in Judea and Samaria, the fewer chances for a terrorist attack. But this has meant that easy access to Israel can be exploited by terrorists.

Many of the illegal immigrants in Israel were shielded by the leftist courts over past years, that too has resulted in serious damage to south Tel Aviv, in example. Just as disturbing are the businesses willing to employ interlopers.

The authorities have arrested several suspects in the terrorist attack in Bnei Brak, but coming after the tragedy rather than preventing it is not enough. Stronger security is needed to deal with these horrors, and the Bennett/Lapid government is not qualified for the job.

Islamic "modesty cell" operated at Ben Gurion University campus

A repellent incident was discovered at the Ben Gurion University of 3 Muslim students who tried to enforce Islamic modesty upon Arab girls studying there:

Ben Gurion University President Professor Daniel Chaimovitz on Saturday revealed that an Islamist "modesty" cell had been operating on campus, including by using threats, to ensure that female Arab students were dressed appropriately.

Three students were members of the cell, he said.

"When we discovered what was happening, we were shocked, Arabs and Jews alike," Prof. Chaimovitz told a journalist during a Shabbatarbut (political and cultural forums that take place on the Sabbath) event in Be'er Sheva.

"There was a small cell of Islamists who took photos of female Bedouin students - and sent photos back to their clans if they were not dressed modestly enough."

According to Prof. Chaimovitz, the cell was discovered thanks to complaints by the female students.

"This is a very complex situation from a societal perspective, because they cannot complain publicly," he explained. "We live in something very complex, but we dealt with it. We did not deal with it in the same fashion we deal with other things."

However, Prof. Chaimovitz would not answer whether the students who were in the cell still study at the university.

"There are things which we keep within the house," he said. "But I can tell you that the behavior no longer exists. I am very proud of this."

National Union of Israeli Students Chairman Elchanan Felhaimer said that on Sunday, he will examine the incident together with the relevant sources in the university.

"I condemn this incident, and see dramatic importance in the freedom of occupation, speech, and clothing in the public arena on campuses," he said.

On this, let us be perfectly clear: women can wear what they want, and this is one more reason why I find the Haredi demand for modest dress by women offensive, not just because it's demeaning to the fairer sex and extremely divisive, but also because it takes attention away from incidents like this one involving the Religion of Peace. Those in Jewish society who demand this kind of atrocious conduct, no matter their background, are adding insult to injury in view of what Islamofascists do. Indeed, there's only so many in Israel who owe an apology for advocating anything even remotely similar to what Islam does. How are we supposed to combat Islamofascism if we allow such absurd beliefs to function within our own societies?

Biden gives amnesty to 75K Afghans despite failures in vetting

Fraud-in-chief Joe Biden continues to cause disaster and peril for the USA by giving 75,000 Afghan "refugees" amnesty (Hat tip: Geller Report):

President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is giving temporary quasi-amnesty status to nearly 75,000 Afghans in the United States, including those fast-tracked into the U.S. over the last seven months despite vetting failures.

To date, Biden has resettled more than 85,000 Afghans in American communities across 46 states since mid-August 2021. That resettlement failed to properly vet Afghans against counter-terrorism databases, the Department of Defense’s Inspector General revealed last month.

As of November 2021, the report states 50 Afghans already in the U.S. have been flagged for “significant security concerns.” Most of the unvetted Afghans flagged for possible terrorism ties have since disappeared in the U.S. In one instance, only three of 31 Afghans flagged months ago for security concerns could be located.

Some of the so-called refugees who're being granted "amnesty" were, according to previous reports I'd read, going to be given residency in swing states. But what's really disturbing is that no Republican governors balked at having potentially dangerous pseudo-refugees housed in their states. If they don't vet them any more than the federal government, how do they expect to keep their communities safe?

Despite the vetting failures, Biden is continuing to bring Afghans to the U.S. at least through August. Currently, some 100,000 Afghans are seeking U.S. entry but remain in Afghanistan.

Now, DHS will provide Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to tens of thousands of Afghans — helping them evade deportation from the U.S. and providing them with work permits to take American jobs.

The move will help keep nearly 75,000 Afghans in the U.S.

And what if a sizable number of them adhere to Islamic jihadism, or any kind of uncivilized beliefs? This is exactly why it's not "temporary" so much as it's bound to be permanent, and will hurt the USA in the long run. As will any and all Republicans who allow this to continue.

After throwing his boss under the bus, Mike Pence visits Hebron

The former veep who betrayed Donald Trump now has the audacity to visit Hebron in Israel after playing a key role in leading to where we are now under fraud-in-chief Joe Biden:

Members of the Jewish community in Hebron, Baruch Marzel and Rabbi Hillel Horowitz, accompanied Pence on the visit.

During the visit, Pence met with the chairman of Otzma Yehudit, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir.Baruch Marzel introduced Ben-Gvir to Pence and said: "He also lives here in Hebron and represents us in the Knesset."Ben-Gvir added, "I am fighting against our enemies." Mike Pence said in response: "That's what I heard. Stay strong, and we'll stand with you."

Really? Well how come Pence didn't stand with Trump last year when he had the chance? If it hadn't been for Pence's refusal to ensure there'd be an investigation into the election fraud, we might not be at this low point in time. His visit, regardless of whether it's to such a famous city, is coming a bit late, and at a time when Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are doing their own damage to Israel after all the hard work Benjamin Netanyahu did to improve Israel's standing. Based on which, I don't think Pence belongs here at all. Traitors are reprehensible.

Update: and regarding Biden, it's worth noting that his handling of the war Russia's waging against Ukraine has been an utter fiasco.

Russia turns against Israel as well, attacking sovereignty of Golan Heights and Jerusalem

As if it weren't bad enough Russia invaded Ukraine, and already caused more than enough murders there, now they're turning against Israel as well, using the Golan Heights and Jerusalem as their excuse for assault:

Moscow took issue with Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and Jerusalem just prior to its attack on Ukraine.

“Russia doesn’t recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights that are part of #Syria,” its deputy ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told the UN Security Council, which held a debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday.

The monthly Security Council meeting took place as the General Assembly debated the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

Polyanskiy spoke just hours after Israel broke its neutrality on the conflict, as it gave a nod in support of Ukraine.

No doubt, this will become a very bad situation in this region soon enough, as Russia could indeed make it hard for Israel to attack Iran. If anything, this certainly exposes Russia's continuing antisemitism in politics.

Muslims in France enraged over the focus on the Religion of Peace in this year's elections

As can only be expected when they cause such horrors through their very adherence to the world's most violent religion. The UK Mail (via Jihad Watch) has this report:

French Muslims have spoken of their fury as politicians have focused on Islam during the presidential election campaign, with one far-right candidate describing a town as ‘Afghanistan two hours from Paris’.

They fear that anti-Islamic rhetoric has now been normalised in France by far-right candidates such as Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen of the National Rally, with some Muslims saying they now live under ‘permanent suspicion’. [...]

The anger at anti-Muslim rhetoric in France comes after Zemmour caused a fresh outcry on Monday by describing the town of Roubaix in northern France as ‘Afghanistan two hours from Paris’.

Zemmour, who has twice been convicted of hate crimes for statements about Islam, told France Inter Radio: ‘French people who are Muslims must live in the French way and not consider that sharia law is superior to the laws of the republic.’

He made the comments after a French journalist who fronted a documentary about the rise of radical Islam in Roubaix was given police protection after receiving death threats over her investigation.

Ophélie Meunier, 34, revealed Sharia-compliant faceless children’s toys being on sale in the town, as well as restaurant booths to ‘shield’ women from the male gaze.

For Muslims, who make up almost nine per cent of the country’s mainland population, they have been made uneasy over the bursts of rhetoric against them during the presidential election campaign.

‘Sometimes I tell myself that no one can understand quite how violent this is,’ said Fatma Bouvet de la Maisonneuve, a psychiatrist of Tunisian origin and author of the book ‘An Arab Woman in France’.

Acknowledging that people can be tempted to turn in upon themselves, she said: ‘Frankly, sometimes we just want to meet among Arabs to tell each other how bad things are,’ she said….

‘I feel bad, very bad,’ said Khadija, who asked that her second name be withheld.

‘A few days ago, my five-year-old daughter told me that she did not like being Arab,’ she said, complaining of ‘living under permanent suspicion, no longer knowing what’s behind the baker’s smile, or what people really think’.

Zemmour was right to raise all these issues. Sooner or later, all hell is going to break loose, and it practically demonstrates how this whole world is on the way to collapse from all the PC fiascos that have taken place over past decades, and whose results we're now seeing in motion. And those Islamists who won't come to terms with how it's their Religion of Peace that's the cause of suspicion should be ashamed of themselves for refusing to acknowledge facts.

Israeli Muslim police commander resigns after video footage shows him acting irresponsibly

The following police commander may have once made headlines as the first Muslim to maintain a high ranking position in the Israeli police. Now, however, he's had to resign in disgrace after video footage published by leftist Haaretz, of all places, showed him not acting properly when dealing with a serious case of criminals:

Israel Police Asst.-Ch. Jamal Hakroush resigned on Monday amid controversy surrounding footage from September that showed him stepping over the body of a person who had been stabbed. Hakroush was the head of a police division charged with combating violence in the Arab-Israeli sector.

The footage, published by Haaretz, showed Hakroush stepping over the body of Ghazi Amara, who had just been stabbed in an altercation and was lying down bleeding in a stairwell at an iron factory in Kafr Kanna, near Nazareth. The video seems to show Hakroush leaving the scene without offering assistance. Amara later died of his wounds.

According to Haaretz, Hakroush returned to the scene about 10 minutes after leaving, with police already having arrested the suspected murderer. Reports by Israeli media questioned why Hakroush had not taken control of the scene. Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Yaakov Shabtai has opened a commission of inquiry into the incident.

Now that is a very serious example of negligence and irresponsibility. It really shows this man, who's apparently an Islamic adherent, is not really fit for the job. As noted below:

Hakroush was “a pioneer and a figure who allowed Muslim society to dream and dare to strive for the highest ranks in the Israel Police,” he said. “I thank Commander Hakroush for 44 years of public service.”

IIRC, he was appointed to the higher rank via the Netanyahu government, and now it turns out he wasn't deserving of his job at all. A total embarrassment he turned out to be, suggesting he allowed his ideology to impede on acting responsibly.

Bedouin in Negev rioted over TuBeshvat tree-planting, and once again, government caves

The Islamists now wagging the tail of the dog practically encouraged riots by Bedouin against the Jewish National Fund's tree planting for the TuBeshvat holiday:

Rioting by Bedouin residents of the Negev that began Tuesday night in protest over JNF-KKL teams planting trees continued overnight Thursday. Rioters threw rocks at the car of a security guard who was on his way to Tel Sheva. The guard managed to seek cover at a police checkpoint, but his car was set on fire.

In a separate incident, a police officer sustained minor wounds after rioters threw rocks at a police car on Highway 80, near the Nevatim air force base, breaking its windows. The officer was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Here's more on the news:

Hundreds of Bedouin protesters clashed with police on Thursday afternoon for the third day in a row over a controversial forestation project in the Negev Desert, despite reports indicating the government was seeking a compromise.

The demonstrators blocked the Route 31 highway near the southern village of Sawe al-Atrash, and some hurled stones at officers, according to police.

[...] Police said 13 people were arrested at Thursday’s protest.

[...] Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, the Kan public broadcaster reported Wednesday that an “unprecedented” plan was to be advanced by the government that would include recognition of 10 to 12 Bedouin villages that are currently illegal.

The report said that planned planting in the most contentious areas — where the Bedouin al-Atrash clan lives — won’t resume next week to give the negotiations a chance to progress, though it will resume elsewhere.

In other words, now they're going to cave to violence, validating supposed villages that weren't built with the proper permits. This is as atrocious as it's sad.

Sara Haetzni Cohen commented on the resulting dhimmitude that led to this:

Throughout Zionist history, the Jewish National Fund planted trees in order to preserve the land for future use. As in the past, so too today, it is meant to preserve areas from illegal construction. This week as well, the JNF began to prepare the land in the Negev for tree planting.

The matter was debated last year and was even approved by the Supreme Court of Justice. The area is disputed, with a Bedouin tribe claiming it has ownership, but the government wanting to register it as state land. However, since the tribe was never able to prove it owns the land, planting the trees is the most minimal step the government can take to prevent its overtake.

Tree-planting is also easily reversible. If the tribe ever proves the land belongs to it, it will be able to decide whether to keep or uproot the trees. One thing is clear, even to the Supreme Court: unless trees are planted in the area, it will be lost.

But unfortunately, the Israeli government gave in to violence again.

The planting stopped and the violent demonstrators won. The same Bedouins who earlier in the week threw stones at a train with the intent to cause a massive accident, the same Bedouins who set the Jews' cars on fire, who smashed cars and busses, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, and burnt tires. These people achieved their goal.

And it's disgusting.

The Jerusalem Post editorial, however, took a very pathetic approach to how they covered this whole incident:

It’s a classic case study of competing narratives from which all sides can learn a lesson. On the one hand, Israel has every right to exert its sovereignty within its territory, conduct forestation projects and plant trees wherever it wants on state land – including the Negev. On the other, the local Bedouin communities see the tree-planting on land they use for farming as part of an ongoing government campaign to expel them from their unrecognized homes. It’s the government’s job to negotiate a path between the two.

If there's no valid legal files to prove ownership, the Post cannot pretend as though there are. Yet the problem here is that they're acting as though the Bedouin clans actually have some sort of valid claim, without even confirming whether such legal documents exist. It's reason enough to boycott the paper, which has otherwise proven an utmost embarrassment for the English-language press in this country.

Benny Gantz intends to enable a palestinian state

Sara Haetzni Cohen says the left-wing defense minister is preparing grounds for a terrible situation for Israel:

Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the politician who has escaped the ire of the public perhaps the most, now stands at a key position where no one – neither from the coalition nor from the opposition – dare attack him.

Gantz is taking us back to the 90s and the Oslo Accords. The flattering meetings, talk of brave actions, forced smiles, and that which the PA officials say in their own language, in Arabic. Gantz sees steps that build trust, they see struggle. Gantz sees peace, they see weakness.

While Gantz says that "the one responsible for sending troops into battle is the one responsible for preventing it," while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declares that "the aid we received will help the Palestinian hold onto his land and give him time to continue to fight the occupation."

History is repeating itself as if we have learned nothing from the first strategy.

The trust-building steps that Gantz has taken without asking anything from the PA in return are three-fold: economic, territorial, and demographic.

One of the worst pseudo-politicians in history could very well undo all the hard work that was done over the past years by the Likud government. It's very sad.

Bennett sold out Negev and Galilee

As Benjamin Netanyahu points out:

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the government ahead of the approval of the "Electricity Law" that will allow illegal homes in the Arab sector to be connected to the electricity grid.

Netanyahu said that "last week the first Israeli-Palestinian government of Bennett and the Muslims approved the reunification of 10,000 Palestinians. Today they add to the crime and approve the 'Electricity Law' which allows electricity for tens of thousands of illegal buildings without a building permit.

''They are selling the Negev, the Galilee and the Triangle, After these illegal homes tens of thousands more will follow. In doing so, they are giving weight to the "Palestinian right of return" vision.

Netanyahu accused: "Bennett, Sa'ar, Lapid and Gantz - you know exactly what you are doing. You are selling the country to the Islamic movement for your political survival. Shame on you."

What Bennett's done is prove a supposedly religious politician can be just as awful as a secular one, and take repellent directions causing serious damage to the country.

The fiasco of the French legal system endangers Jews and women alike

A legal expert told why it was clear Sarah Halimi's Muslim murderer would not be prosecuted for his heinous crime, because the justice system in France is basically dominated by bigoted, corrupt scum who have to be removed from positions they don't deserve:

His grandson, French attorney Nathanael Majster, 54, spoke of his grandfather during his testimony before a parliamentary commission of inquiry set up by the French National Assembly into the possible police and judicial misconduct during the investigation of the murder of French Jewish doctor and schoolteacher Sarah Halimi in the heart of Paris on April 4, 2017.

"As the grandson of a deportee, I cannot make peace with the fact that in modern-day France, a Jew is thrown to death off her balcony and this is received by complete indifference and organized lies," Majster told commission members, explaining why he joined efforts to reveal the truth about the gruesome murder, and that the Muslim perpetrator will not be prosecuted and will be allowed to return to his everyday life without paying for the terrible deed he committed.

"In my professional life, I have not defended matters relating to the Jewish community," Majster told Israel Hayom. "However, in this case, I was one of the first ones to warn of the shortcomings of the legal system. No one cared about the fate of this poor woman.

The catastrophe with the Halimi case isn't the only horrific situation going on France. A similar case occurred involving judoka Margaux Pinot, whose coach and would-be boyfriend Alain Schmitt was acquitted of spousal assault after he'd attacked her and left her bruised in the past month:

French athletes have expressed disbelief over the acquittal of a coach accused of domestic violence against Olympic judo champion Margaux Pinot.

Ms Pinot accused her partner and judo trainer Alain Schmitt of punching and attempting to strangle her during an altercation over the weekend.

The Olympic gold medallist, 27, filed a complaint against Mr Schmitt.

He was arrested but denied the allegations and was acquitted in court.

A judge said there was not "enough proof of guilt" for the prosecution to proceed when delivering his verdict in a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

"A court is never there to tell who is telling the truth and who is lying," the judge said.

This is also some of the worst BS I've ever seen a judicial official spewing out. Yet nothing shocking here either. The judge has one of the most repellent excuses to avoid punishing an offender he must sympathise with. Pinot responded later with the following:

Shortly after the hearing, Ms Pinot tweeted a picture of her swollen face, marked by cuts and several bruises.

In one tweet, in which she alluded to her wounds and "the blood strewn on the floor of my apartment", she asked: "What was missing? My death at the end, perhaps?"

"It was probably judo that saved me," she added in the tweet. "And my thoughts are also with those women who can't say the same."

She herself is very lucky to have survived this assault. The Israeli judoka federation wisely banned Schmitt from a job they originally offered him to work as a trainer for their classes. This travesty of justice is exactly why I feel that what began with antisemitism doesn't stop there. Gender bigotry is another serious issue that's not being handled properly in France either, recalling there were cases where Muslim rapists were let off the hook, in example. It wouldn't be shocking if the judiciary had refused to prosecute Schmitt even if Pinot had died, as has tragically been the case so far with Halimi. This is exactly why it'd be strongly advised for everyone concerned about antisemitism to condemn gender bigotry as well. The French judicial system is in very dire need for replacing every bad apple they've got there. As soon as possible.

Destroying Jewish buildings after a terrorist attack does not improve the situation

After the murder near Homesh, the government and authorities went about the wrong way:

Right-wing lawmakers expressed outrage on Friday after security forces demolished several buildings – including the local yeshiva – in the Homesh outpost in Samaria just hours after a memorial service was held in honor of resident Yehuda Dimantman, who was murdered last week in a terrorist shooting attack.

The Religious Zionist Party said in a statement, "The tens of thousands of Jews who went up to Homesh ... expressed the values of devotion and belief in the righteousness of the path. In contrast, [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett, [Interior Minister Ayelet] Shaked, [Yamina MK Nir] Orbach, [Religious Services Minister Matan] Kahana, and their associates expressed the complete opposite: the loss of values, selfishness, deceit, and falsehood.

"They understand that the energies of the devoted public who went up to Homesh and with them the public that believes – traditional, Orthodox, secular – can overthrow the government they formed with the extreme Left and terrorism-supporting Arabs."

"Like [former Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon did in his time, so too Bennett and Shaked switched sides. They will do everything, and we mean everything, to protect their seats. Including destroying settlements in Israel. The destruction is meant to weaken and hurt, but we will persevere."

It's good they're reminding of what a repulsive piece of garbage Sharon turned out to be in the end. What he did really wound up leading to a disastrous atmosphere as seen today. The actions of the government must be condemned for the harm it causes.

Arab girl stabs neighbor in Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood

There's been more jihadist knife violence occurring in Jerusalem, and this time, it's in the Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood itself:

A woman, 26, was seriously injured from a stabbing near the entrance to the tomb of Shimon Hatzadik in Jerusalem Wednesday morning. The woman was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus with the knife still in her back.

Before 9:00 AM, Police announced that they caught the stabber, an Arab girl, 15, who was discovered inside a school in eastern Jerusalem. She used a 30 cm. knife to attack her victim.

A teacher, and two additional students were arrested, along with the terrorist.

Video footage shows the terrorist waiting for a victim to follow, stabbing her, and then running away.

“When we arrived at the scene, we saw near the entrance to the tomb of Shimon HaTzadik a woman with children who was on her way to bring them to daycare when she was stabbed,” said MDA paramedics Moshe Cordova and Dudi Gur. “She was fully conscious and walked. We provided her with life-saving medical care and urgently evacuated her to the hospital when her condition was serious but stable. On the way she communicated with us.”

After being treated at Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital, the hospital now lists her condition as lightly wounded and she is stable and conscious. She was treated her for a stab wound to the back. The mother was released from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

The children were not harmed and remained under the supervision of police officers on the scene.

The women's very lucky to be okay. But here's the really disturbing part:

Authorities announced Wednesday that the woman who was stabbed earlier in the day in Jerusalem's Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood (also known as Sheikh Jarrah) is 26-year-old Moriah Cohen. She was attacked while walking her children to school by a 15-year-old girl who lives in the neighborhood.

[...] When asked whether he knew the attacker, Dvir said, "It seems she is a neighbor of ours. She followed my wife. Moriah got to an intersection not far from our house. She told me that one of our sons screamed, 'Mom, you have a knife in your back.' It was a miracle.

"The terrorist was probably startled by the situation and fled, which was a miracle because our five children were there. Had she continued, I don't know how the situation could have ended. Ever since Operation Guardian of the Walls, our house was hit by 11 Molotov cocktails, and targeted by rockthrowers. We will continue to live here, that is part of our mission.

"Moriah is feeling well. The knife was long but did not injure internal organs. Please God, she will recover and be discharged from the hospital today."

In November, Israel Hayom interviewed Moriah and Dvir, who spoke about their lives in the flashpoint neighborhood.

Again, they're lucky. In this Times of Israel report, which uses the MSM requirement to call the neighborhood by an Islamic name:

Police said the suspect was a 14-year-old girl who lives in Sheikh Jarrah. A member of a well-known local family, the suspect lives in a home, like many in Sheikh Jarrah, embroiled in a court battle with Jewish groups that have contested the property’s ownership.

“The stabber is our neighbor, she lives right across from us,” husband Dvir Cohen told media, though he admitted the families are not friends.

Police officers arrested the girl a short time after the stabbing at her neighborhood school. Her father and mother were also detained for interrogation, as well as another student, a teacher, and the school’s principal.

School staff will be questioned as to whether there was any prior knowledge that the girl planned to carry out an attack, Channel 13 News reported.

[...] The incident comes after a string of similar terrorist attacks in Jerusalem. On Saturday, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed a man walking next to the Old City, then was shot dead by Border Police officers.

[...] Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu also wished Cohen a full recovery and recommended that “an iron fist is the only answer to the increase in the number of terror attacks.”

Leader of the opposition far-right Religious Zionism party MK Bezalel Smotrich said he will hold an “emergency meeting in the Knesset to discuss the matter of increasing violence by Arabs against Jews across the country.”

Seems the girl let the legal matters go to her head, and her parents certainly did, to the point of influencing their children to commit such a horrific act. Now, they're all in big trouble with the law, as are some of the school staff at what's possibly an Islamic madrassa.

Israeli police and prison service corruption must be mended

Two serious issues involving leftist corruption in the Israeli police and prison system came up this week. The first involves the police forcing a "star witness" in the trumped up accusations against Benjamin Netanyahu to testify against him:

Nir Hefetz, the prosecution’s star witness, said his police interrogation included attempts to destroy his family, as former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense team cross-examined him before the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday.

Hefetz had served as a top aide to Netanyahu for years until 2017, but was flipped by the police into being their key witness against Netanyahu after 15 days of interrogation and detention.

As part of his strategy to undermine the testimony of Hefetz against Netanyahu as coerced and manufactured, Defense lawyer Boaz Ben Tzur was trying to emphasize for a second day how allegedly abusive the police treatment of Hefetz was.

It goes withou saying that to abuse the man in such a way is monumentally offensive, and it certainly damages the police's credibility by making it look more like they stalked his family. This should by all means serve as an important message why leftist partisans cannot remain in running the police.

The second involves the wardens in the prison system "pimping out" female guards to Islamic terrorists, no matter how sexually abusive the latter were:

In June 2018 at 8 p.m., then-Channel 20 journalist Liran Levi broke a story that should have caused an earthquake in this little Israel of ours. He exposed a scandal at Gilboa Prison, [in] which senior prison officials allegedly pimped out young female guards to keep terrorist prisoners happy, allow them to do what they wanted with the women. The same guards were reportedly subjected to sexual harassment and even assaulted by terrorists, and will carry the scars for the rest of their lives.

No one believed Liran. Maybe because it was Channel 20, maybe because he was a young reporter, maybe because it was too horrifying to be true. But Liran didn't give up: he attached himself to the female guards, probed, challenged the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Police, and the State Attorney's Office. Despite everything, the investigation against the prison's intelligence officer, Rani Basha, was closed by Deputy State Attorney Momi Lemberger.

Last week, maybe because of a miracle, the scandal resurfaced when Gilboa Prison Warden Freddy Ben Shitrit testified before a government panel probing a prison break. Ben Shitrit mentioned the "pimping incident," which did not happen on his watch, and admitted that the prison would "pimp out" young female soldiers assigned there and "supplied female soldiers to terrorists for sexual purposes." Is Ben Shitrit trying to distract people from the terrorists' escape? It's not impossible. Still, we should thank him. Too many people swept the affair under the rug too quickly, leaving behind three female guards who were humiliated and scarred and a lack of justice.

Read more. This too is most extremely horrifying, exposes leftist gender bigotry within the prison operating system proper, and cannot be ignored under any circumstances. It's a total embarrassment.

Israel's president Isaac Herzog visits Hebron

The current Israeli president paid a Hanuka visit to Hebron and the Cave of Patriarchs, and was wise to do so, not letting left-wing objections to his visit deter him:

The historic ties of the Jewish people and the State of Israel to the biblical city of Hebron are beyond dispute, President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday, as he marked the first night of Hanukkah by lighting a candle in the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

“My brothers and sisters, today too, with all the complexities – and I am not ignoring these complexities for a moment – the historical affinity of the Jewish people to Hebron, to the Cave of the Patriarchs, to the heritage of our matriarchs and patriarchs, is not in doubt,” Herzog said. “Recognition of this attachment must be beyond all controversy.”

Palestinians and Israeli left-wing politicians and activists protested his decision to visit the city, which they do not recognize as having any connection to Jews despite the Cave being considered the resting place of the patriarchs and matriarchs.

Hamas threatened violence in the wake of Herzog’s visit to Cave.

Well he was wise not to cave to that any more than to the leftists in the Knesset. That's why he's certainly earning some credit and admiration for attending the ceremony at the Patriarchs Cave in Hebron, and proving above all that he can put the subject above politics, as it should be. Thank goodness sanity's prevailed here. A real Hanuka miracle indeed.