A Time For Everything
War Day 324
WAR Day 324
IDF soldiers in Gaza
Since October 7, 2023, when 3,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel’s southern border, murdering over 1200 people and kidnapping 242 back to Gaza, over 700 Israeli soldiers have died and 4377 have been injured, 651 seriously. Since October 27th, when Israeli troops entered Gaza to confront Hamas, 337 soldiers have died, 2250 have been injured, of them 423 seriously. There are now 24 soldiers hospitalized in serious condition, 171 in moderate condition, and 8 lightly injured. Last weekend five Israeli soldiers were killed in the war, one recently married with a pregnant wife.
Since late July Israel has been waiting anxiously to be attacked by Iran, Hezbollah and Iran’s proxies.
Iran has been threatening reprisal for Israel’s assassination of Hamas’ politburo chief Ismail Haneyeh in Tehran at the end of July. According to pundits, Iran has so far been dissuaded from attacking Israel directly as long as the US keeps its warships off Iran’s coastline. Iran, say the pundits, does not want to go to war with the USA and face overwhelming military capabilities.
The US has made it clear it would support Israel should Iran strike. Much as the US did when Iran launched a missile and drone strike at Israel on April 13-14 when the combined US and Israeli defenses eliminated 97 per cent of the missiles and drones launched from Tehran.
However, Israel has been warned by the US that should Israel launch a preemptive attack against Iran, the US would not support Israel.
CENTCOM headquarters at Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar
According to Ron Ben Yishai, Ynet news’ veteran military correspondent, Israel is now under the umbrella of CENTCOM, U.S. Central Command “As soon as the order was issued by the Pentagon, the IDF became an active partner in the pro-Western military coalition in the Middle East.
“Despite not being formal, this alliance holds operational implications exceeding those of NATO, of which North American and European countries are members.
“For Israel, the operational implication is the ability to benefit from intelligence and other military factors deployed by the Americans, in cooperation with Sunni Arab countries across the Middle East.”
According to Ben Yishai, CENTCOM provides “American operational deployment in Israel’s defense.” This includes a system of early warning sensors designed to “quickly identify and decipher” any threat from ballistic or cruise missiles to armed drones. This complements the naval and air systems “unprecedented in their scope” that are already in the Middle East or are on their way.
USS Abraham Lincoln strike group
This includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier task force with dozens of fighter jets and three missile destroyers. The Roosevelt will soon to be replaced by the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group, with F35C stealth fighters already on bases in the region. The Lincoln is now steaming towards the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean.
The US also has two other missile destroyers in the Red Sea and another in the Persian Gulf. And then there’s the Sixth Fleet missile destroyer USS Bulkeley cruising in the Eastern Mediterranean that can intercept ballistic missiles launched from Iran.
There’s also the USS Georgia, a missile guided submarine patrolling near the USS Bulkeley, with the latest cruise missiles that have a 1700 km range. And then there’s the USS Abraham Lincoln task force,
And if these weapons don’t give Iran pause, there’s the ATF (amphibious task force), cruising near Cyprus, with three landing ships, a mini-helicopter carrier and US Marines fighter jets that can also behave like helicopters.
Ben Yishai reports that “The very composition of this force constitutes a clear threat to Iran. The message is clear: If an all-out war breaks out following an Iranian attack on Israel, the US won’t be content with defending its allies, but will also attack Iran and its proxies alongside Israel.
“This system’s main pillar, known in Israel as the Sky Defense Chain, deployed from Israel to Iran, is a system of detection means including Israeli and American satellites, permanent ground installations deployed, among other places, in the Gulf states, Egypt and, obviously, in Israel. It is made up of warning and control facilities and F35 jets capable not only of interception, but also serving as airborne intelligence installations with various sensors capable as operating detection and warning systems for CENTCOM.
“This strategic system’s third component is the ongoing communication CENTCOM maintains with all countries in the region. This communication allows for cooperation between countries that do not have official dialogue or official relations, such as Israel and several Arab states.
Reportedly, because of the CENTCOM deployment, Iran has postponed their own attack but has given orders to their proxies to do the work for them and thus not risk being attacked by the powerful US warships. Observers say that Iran wants to wait patiently until the US military clears the region before striking Israel. Preferring the rely on their proxies to do the dirty work.
Pundits say that Hezbollah doesn’t sneeze without Iran’s permission, but was planning for the reprisal to the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah’s military commander Faud Shakur on July 30th in Beirut.
According to CNN, “Hezbollah is believed to be the most heavily armed non-state group in the world. Backed by Iran and based in the eastern Mediterranean country of Lebanon, the Shia Islamist group has been engaged in confrontations with Israeli forces on Lebanon’s southern border since October 8.
“The cross-border hostilities have raised the specter of a regional conflagration and prompted intense diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions. Though no match for Israel’s military might, Hezbollah’s increasingly sophisticated arsenal has the potential to inflict significant damage on Israel and its allies in the region.
According to Channel 12TV, Hezbollah has between 120,000-150,000 missiles that can be fired at Israel reaching from the Lebanese border nearly to Eilat in Israel’s south.
Experts say Hezbollah could fire as many as 8,000 a day for weeks. 70,000 of these missiles have a range between 10-70 Kilometers (@6 1/2 miles to @45 miles). And between 5,000-15,000 rockets with a range of 70 kilometers to 200 kilometers (@45 miles to 140 miles).
Ben Yishai writes, “Israel would also have to contend with Hezbollah’s strategic depth. The group is part of an Iran-led axis of militants spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq. Some of these groups have increased coordination significantly since October, when Israel launched a war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked the country. This axis is known in Israel as the “ring of fire.”
Israel has also gathered intelligence that Hezbollah has miles of tunnels, built with North Korean help, big enough to move trucks and mobile rocket launchers.
On Saturday, the IDF said that they expect the Hezbollah attacks within the next few days. IDF spokesman Gen. Daniel Hagari told a press conference on Sunday night that Israel had been monitoring Hezbollah movements for several weeks and determined that Hezbollah was about to launch an attack.
Israel Air Force F-15 fighter jet
Israel received intelligence, through many sources like the Mossad and the IDF’s 8200 intelligence unit, that Hezbollah was planning to attack central Israel and IDF military and civilian sites, including perhaps the runways at Ben Gurion airport. Intelligence reports said that the Hezbollah attack was to take place at 05:00 on Sunday morning.
The Times of Israel reported that US Joint Chiefs chairman Charles Q. Brown landed in Jordan on Friday to visit Egypt and Israel. Brown told reporters that the US military buildup aims to deter an Iranian attack. He also said that a hostage deal could ‘help bring down the temperature’
Israel learned that Hezbollah was planning a massive missile attack on Israel at 05:00 on Sunday morning August 25th. At 04:30, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
One hundred Israeli war planes attacked hundreds of targets in Southern Lebanon, even though Israeli hostage and cease-fire negotiators were on their way to Cairo for ceasefire talks.
According to the IDF Israeli jets destroyed thousands of missiles, weapons ammunition, and drones that were going to be used to attack Israel at 05:00.
Speaking to Channel 12TV, Gen (res.) Israel Lev said Israel had planned this attack months ago. Lev said the attack was brilliant.
Gen (res.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu, former head of the Israel Air Force, told Channel 12TV that the attack required coordinating 100 fighter jets and had to be precisely implemented, with each plane in its own zone, and attack flight path, to avoid collisions, and successfully reach their targets.
According to Ron Ben Yishai, “…the IDF's preemptive strike disrupted Hezbollah's plans to launch a combined rocket and drone attack on the holy Shia day of Arbaeen, which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in the Battle of Karbala.
“This event in the Shia world is comparable to that of Tisha B'Av in Judaism, and Hezbollah likely aimed to carry out its attack on this day to achieve surprise, assuming Israel wouldn’t expect an attack on a holy Shia day that would disrupt the holiday for most of Lebanon's Shia population.
Also, according to Ben Yishai, “…the number of targets (for the thousands of missiles Hezbollah planned to launch) was limited, and included only military targets, reflecting Hezbollah's clear intention, likely influenced by Iranian demands, to avoid a full-scale war.
Hezbollah drone downed by Israel Air Force
At 06:30 Hezbollah, nearly an hour after Israel’s preemptive strike, Hezbollah launched 320 rockets at Israel. Most fell in the upper Galilee and the Golan Heights. Shrapnel from one of the Iron Dome anti-missile rockets fell in the town of Acre lightly wounding a woman. Hours later the Israeli air force shot down two drones over the Mediterranean Sea that were headed for Tel Aviv. Later drones were downed over the Sea of Galilee, apparently fired from Syria.
Ynetnews reported that an Israeli navy soldier was killed and two injured by shrapnel from the Iron Dome anti-missile rockets that were fired at Hezbollah missiles and drones fired at Israel.
Ynet’s military correspondent Ron Ben Yishai reported: “The current escalation’s status remains unclear. Hezbollah claimed the morning's launches were just the first phase of its attack, and that it struck 11 targets in the north with approximately 320 launches.”
The IDF spokesman Gen. Daniel Hagari vehemently denied any IDF targets were hit in the Hezbollah strikes.
Observers say that Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a ‘war of attrition.’ Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, Hezbollah fires rockets, sometimes in the hundreds during a day, at northern Israel.
Reportedly, during the preemptive strike, Israel was careful to stay within the accepted boundaries of this war of attrition by only striking targets in Southern Lebanon and not attacking Hezbollah’s long range rockets and heavy missiles such as the Fateh-110 and Zelzal that are stationed near Beirut. Attacking those locations could have prompted a harsh Hezbollah response leading to a regional war. A war that, according to reports, neither Hezbollah nor Israel wants. At least not at this time.
After Israel’s preemptive strike, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that the Israeli strike was not the end of the exchanges. He warned Iran that this was only one stage of the action to remove the Hezbollah threat from Israel’s north. Other sources say that they expect the Iranian proxy in Yemen, the Houthis, to attack Israel in the coming days.
On Sunday afternoon Hezbollah chieftain Nasrallah went on TV and said that Hezbollah had exacted the revenge they sought for the killing of Hezbollah military chief Fuad Sakur. But Nasrallah warned that more strikes could come in the future. He also pointed out that he was not speaking for Iran or the Houthis in Yemen.
According to Ynetnews, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani by telephone late Sunday, “Iran's reaction to the Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran (the killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh) is definitive, and will be measured & well calculated," Araghchi also wrote on the social platform X. "We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it, unlike Israel.”
Italy’s Tajani called for “restraint and to pursue a constructive approach in order to stop the cycle of military actions in the region, which only risks bringing more suffering.” (Italian soldiers serve in UNFIL , the United Nations Forces in Lebanon).
According to Ynetnews, on Monday, Iranian military Chief of Staff Gen. Muhammad Bakri spoke at the inauguration ceremony of the new Defense Minister, Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, and said that "revenge on Israel is inevitable." According to him, "Iran will decide how and when to take revenge. The Axis of Resistance will avenge the blood of Ismail Haniyeh, each (member of the Axis) according to his plan and capacity. What we saw yesterday is part of the revenge," he said, referring to the Hezbollah attack.
According to Reuters, on Monday, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi clarified that the ongoing escalation places the region as a "hostage," for the possibility that the war will expand into a regional war.
Meanwhile, the 500th arms, ammunition and medical supplies airlift arrived in Israel on Monday.
GAZA
IDF soldier in Gaza
Israeli troops are reportedly still pushing into central Gaza as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar still holds out hopes for a regional war. According to a report in the UK’s Daily Express, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has left the tunnels under the Gaza Strip and is now walking around "dressed as a woman,” and only returns to the tunnels for 24-36 hours at a time.
Pundits say that Sinwar is still waiting for Israel or Iran and/or Hezbollah to step over the red line bringing the entire region, including the West Bank Palestinians, into the conflict.
According to the IDF’s spokesman’s office, the IDF has destroyed 150 of the 180 tunnels in the Rafah area killing hundreds of Hamas terrorists. Fighting also continues in the Khan Yunis area.
Channel 12TV news military correspondent Nir Dvori said Sunday that it would take months for the IDF to clear out all of the Hamas terrorists from Gaza.
IDF soldiers are still being killed or wounded by road-side bombs hit by their APC (Armored Personnel Carriers) anti-tank rockets, or booby-traps in buildings.
Five IDF soldiers were killed last weekend.
Hamas leader Sinwar has so far avoided capture, sometimes by minutes. One IDF patrol reported they’d found his hideout but he’d escaped.
In a Ynetnews report Brigadier General Dan Goldfus said, “His coffee was still hot," after the division raided his underground lair in January.
"Everybody makes mistakes - just as (military commander Mohammed) Deif did," said Shalom Ben Hanan, a former Shin Bet security agency official involved in the hunt for Sinwar. "Sinwar will be killed. If we do not finish him off and destroy the remnants of the Hamas armed terrorists, Sinwar will have his victory - which is dangerous for us and the world."
According to NPR, Bassam Naim, a leader in the Hamas Politburo, has said that Hamas is willing to concede on governing Gaza after the war, but will not to lay down their arms. Hamas, according to NPR, was founded in 1987 as an Islamic Palestinian movement, and took over Gaza in 2007.
Naim, a surgeon, has lost both his mother and grandchildren to IDF bombs. He came to Doha, Qatar for a meeting and now can’t get back to Gaza.
Naim told NPR, “We (Hamas) were nearly deleted from the agenda of the region and the international community.” Because of the Hamas massacres of Oct 7th, Naim said, “I think today the situation is totally different.”
According to the Times of Israel, on August 10th Israel attacked a Hamas headquarters located in a Gaza school, and killed Walid Al-Sousi, a senior Hamas commander. The IDF also destroyed a military headquarters located in a mosque in the area of the al Taba’een school.19 terrorists were reportedly killed in the operation. Some in the international media mistakenly reported that Israel had attacked a school with children in it.
Meanwhile, according to Ynetnews, Israeli police detained 14 settlers as dozens of far-right activity tried to breach the Gaza border for prayers.
NORTH
Rockets falling in Golan Heights
The war of attrition in the north continues.
According to the Times of Israel, the IDF said 320 rockets and 20 drones were launched from Lebanon in Sunday morning’s attack. The rockets covered a broad swath of the north from Katzrin in the east to Acre in the West.
The north has been hit with rockets on almost a daily basis. According to Channel 12TV news, over 1200 rockets were fired at the north from Lebanon during the month of August.
In the latest attack, Hezbollah is said to have been targeting Mossad headquarters, and that of the 8200 intelligence corp. The IDF destroyed thousands of missiles and drones some thought to have been aimed at Tel Aviv.
The Times of Israel reports that diplomats have confirmed that neither Israel nor Hezbollah wants a further escalation. However Hezbollah leader Nasrallah has said he reserves the right to strike Israel again. He also claimed falsely that Hezbollah missiles had hit Israeli military targets.
Ehud Yaari, Arab affairs correspondent for Channel 12TV said in the years he’s been covering Nasrallah he has never seen him issue such a outrageous string of lies as in today’s speech.
Meanwhile, residents of the north of Israel lauded the Israeli airstrikes but some told Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet they felt like second class citizens. Had Hezbollah been firing rockets on a daily bases at Tel Aviv a preemptive strike against Hezbollah would have happened months ago.
Nearly 60,000 residents of the north of Israel have fled their homes during this war of attrition. Some have filtered back, however most are still staying away. Those with school aged children are registering them in schools in the middle of the country.
Gen (ret.) Benny Gantz agrees with the residents of the north and told the media the attack was too little and too late. He also called on knesset members of move to the north.
Also, while sirens again sounded on Monday in Israel along the Lebanese border, IDF jets reportedly broke the sound barrier over Beirut, apparently as a reminder of what Israel’s air force could do should the need arise.
HOSTAGES
Woman walks billboard with hostage photos in Tel Aviv
Israel’s hostage negotiators have returned yet again from more talks, this time in Cairo. Reportedly, the talks went well but would take time to conclude. US sources say they are optimistic an agreement will be made in the coming weeks.
One of the sticking points is PM Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel maintains control of the Philadelphi corridor that sits above a plethora of Hamas smuggling tunnels used to bring weapons and supplies from Egypt into Gaza.
According to the Times of Israel, Israel’s security chiefs have privately been arguing that they could manage a full IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor and from Netzarim, at least for the duration of the deal, and believe that the concession is worth making in order to save the remaining living hostages before it is too late.
According to Reuters, a senior Egyptian official told the local Egyptian TV channel Al-Kahera Al-Ahbariya that "Egypt will not accept an Israeli presence at the Rafah crossing or the Philadelphi corridor."
Some security experts say that Israel could put in hi-tech sensors and cameras to monitor the corridor without having Israeli troops present. However, Netanyahu refuses to agree to these methods.
Several former generals in the IDF have said that the goal of obtaining the release of those hostages still alive should be of primary importance, and that the IDF could always go back in and retake physical control of the Philadelphi corridor.
Experts say that no more than a 25-50 hostages are still alive out of the 109 still held in captivity. Also, the bodies of five more hostages were discovered by IDF troops. All apparently had bullet wounds in their heads indicating that they had been murdered while in captivity.
Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin at DNC
Speaking at the Democratic Convention the parents of hostage Hirsch Goldberg-Polin received a standing ovation amid cries of “Bring Them Home.”
However, pundits believe that PM Netanyahu is hesitant to agree to any terms to free the hostages fearing the collapse of his fragile coalition. Ultra-right wing coalition members Ben Gvir and Smotritch have threatened to leave the government should Netanyahu agree to a cease-fire that entails releasing terrorists held in Israeli prisons.
Weekly, sometimes daily, protests still take place calling for a successful negotiations to free the hostages. Lately, calls are also heard simultaneously for a new election
Channel 12TV reported that in a leaked recording of the meeting on Friday between PM Netanyahu and families of the hostages, a relative of one of the hostages can be heard telling the prime minister that the president of the United States cares more about the sexual violence carried out against hostages than he or other Israelis.
“Do they understand in Israel that girls there are being raped now? Do you understand that? Because [US President Joe] Biden understands that,” she said during the meeting, which included both former hostages and family members of captives still held in Gaza.
In a newly leaked audio of that meeting aired on Channel 12TV, Netanyahu also told the hostages’ families that Israel ‘didn’t lose’ on Oct 7th when it failed to stop the Hamas massacre. He said that during the Holocaust the Nazis committed an ‘October 7th’(massacre) 4,500 times a day.
WEST BANK
Damage to home and car in West Bank Palestinian town of Jit
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli settlers stormed the West Bank town of Jit just north of Nablus. One Palestinian, 23-year-old Rashid Seda, was shot and killed and another critically wounded by gunfire as over 100 masked settlers torched at least four homes and six cars. Four Israeli settlers, including a minor, were detained by police over their suspected involvement in the attack.
In an apparent criticism of the settler rampage, PM Netanyahu said only the police and the army had the authority to fight terrorism, not anyone else.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog strongly condemned the attack.
National Security Minister, far-right Otzmah Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, said that the army and the police were to blame for not adequately protecting the settlers. Ben Gvir thought the settlers were justified in doing what the army should be doing.
However, according to Ynetnews, the US has said that Israel must stop the settler violence.
Meanwhile, according to Ynetnews, the IDF conducted a major operation in the West Bank, using air strikes in the Jordan Valley for the first time. About 400 troops raided the northern Jordan Valley and Samaria. This was the 20th major West Bank operation this year. Guns and explosive devices were seized.
Earlier, on August 12th, an Israeli civilian was killed and another hurt in a Jordan valley attack. In that attack, Yonatan Deutsch, 23, was killed by a terrorist using an assault rifle.
On August 14th, according to the Times of Israel, the IDF said troops were operating in the cities of Tubas and Tamun, where 5 Palestinian gunmen were killed in a firefight.
on Thursday, according to Channel 12TV news, Ronan Bar, head of the Shin Bet, sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu spelling out his belief that the violence of the settlers was a threat to the very existence of the state of Israel. He wrote “a secret sense of backing” from the police was emboldening Jewish terrorists. He also strongly hinted that the settler violence was being encouraged by National Police Minister Ben-Gvir.
Ben Gvir reportedly stormed out of a cabinet meeting later that day after the government rejected his demand that Bar be fired over the letter. According to the Times of Israel, on Sunday, Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party took out ads in Hebrew newspapers denouncing Bar.
When Netanyahu asked if any arrests had been made after the deadly settler rampage in the Palestinian village of Jit Bar answered “two.”
When asked why not more Bar answered, “That’s the role of the police. There’s no police in Israel.” National Security Minister Ben Gvir is in charge of the police.
Armed terrorists at a Jenin refugee camp funeral
Also, Iran is hoping to incite West Bank Palestinians to join the “Resistance Axis.” According to Ynetnews, these efforts are “Financed by Iran, inspired by Hamas.” And as a consequence, West Bank terror battalions grow.
According to Ynetnews, “Well-organized groups numbering dozens emerge in northern West Bank refugee camps carrying out increasingly daring attacks and then post the video on social media sites like Tiktok and Instagram to entice more recruits
According to pundits, Iran’s terror arm, the one closest to Israel, is no longer Hamas or the Islamic Jihad but the Iranian financed "battalions of terror" operating in the West Bank against civilians and security forces.
“These battalions are made up of dozens of terrorists who seek to aggrandize their prowess and the reputation of the camp they represent. Security forces estimate there are 15 battalions currently active, mostly in the northern West bank.”
According to reports, these terror groups in the West Bank operate where there is no local government and where the Palestinian Authority struggles to enforce order.
RED SEA
Greek oil tanker Sounion ablaze in Red Sea
The Sounion, a Greek-registered oil tanker with 150,000 tons of crude oil aboard, was set ablaze on Friday when it was struck by a rocket fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, abandoned the vessel and the ship was left adrift in the Red Sea.The crew were rescued by a French destroyer and on Thursday taken to nearby Djibouti, the European Union's Aspides naval mission in the Red Sea.
CENTCOM also reported that they’d destroyed 2 Houthi vessels heading towards targets in the Red Sea.
POLITICS
Former Prime Minister Neftali Bennett
A recent Channel 12TV poll showed that should elections be held today, former Prime Minister Neftali Bennett would garner 71 Knesset seats in a coalition he put together, compared to only 44 seats for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud-led coalition.
39 percent of respondents said Bennett is more suitable to lead the country compared to 31% for Netanyahu.
However, this would only come about if there were new elections, something that is not scheduled to happen until 2026.
According to Bret Stephens writing in the New York Times, Neftali Bennett has said that he is in favor of a preemptive strike on Iran, going for the body of the octopus rather than the tentacles. “Across the middle East and the world for that matter, Iran funds, arms and directs them (Iranian proxies) and hardly pays the price.”
According to the NYTimes article, Bennett said, the “…only option is to topple the Iranian regime before it fully acquires a nuclear weapon…It is foolish to fight the arms when we could engage with the head.”
According to the Times of Israel, Bennett has also called on all senior leadership, political and military, to be replaced as he indicates a possible return to politics.
According to Haaretz, other security officials also want a surprise attack on Iran.
One pundit commented on Bennett’s call for new leadership, pointing out that Bennett himself had been part of the various governments that had gone along with Netanyahu’s ‘conception’ that Hamas could be neutered by pouring money into their coffers.
National Security Minister Ben-Gvir on Temple Mount
Also, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went up on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on August 13th to hold prayers during the Tisha-B’Av fast day, dedicated to the memory of the destruction of the First and Second Temples. This was in contravention to a status quo agreement with the Moslem Wakf, that is in charge of the Temple Mount, that no Jewish prayers will be held there.
The Prime Minister has said that Ben Gvir went outside the boundaries of the status quo and did not have any authority to do so.
On Monday Aug 26th, Ben Gvir “sparked an uproar,” according to the Times of Israel, when he again declared that Jewish worshipers have the same rights as Moslem worshipers on the flashpoint Temple Mount, a site that is revered by Moslems around the world as a the third holiest site in Islam.
Ben Gvir also called for the construction of a synagogue on the site, considered the holiest in Judaism. However, ultra-orthodox Jews have long considered the Temple Mount, that once held two ancient Biblical temples, a place so holy that Jews should be forbidden to step foot there until the Messiah comes.
Ultra-Orthodox Shaas Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said Ben Gvir’s comments on the Temple Mount were irresponsible and “put doubt into Israel’s strategic alliances with Muslim states as part of an alliance against the evil Iranian axis.”
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli security officials view violations of the status quo as having the potential to set off mass unrest, as the Temple Mount has been the scene of frequent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces, and tensions at the disputed compound have fueled past rounds of violence.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has been at logger-heads with Ben Gvir, said “Ben Gvir’s actions endanger Israel’s national security and its international standing.” Gallant wrote on X, “The action the IDF took yesterday to thwart a Hezbollah attack strengthened Israel, Ben Gvir’s statements weaken it.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party wrote on X that “The whole region sees Netanyahu’s weakness against Ben Gvir…He can’t control the government even when it comes to a clear attempt to destabilize our national security.”
Benny Gantz, head of the opposition National Unity party, said he expects little from Netanyahu, “who allowed an irresponsible arsonist to bring us down into an abyss in exchange for political quiet.”
Observers say that Ben Gvir is a publicity hound, doing outrageous things to keep him in the news. This tactic, they say, that has made him popular with ultra-nationalists. Some liken him to former US President Donald Trump who is a master at controlling the news cycle and making certain he is a topic of one of the lead stories.
ANTISEMITISM
Anti-Israel protest at UCLA
According to the Times of Israel, anti-Israel groups plan to further disrupt US campuses by uniting as the ‘Student Intifada.’ This group condones violence and is vocal in their anti-West and anti-capitalist views. “… the protesters are preparing to sow more chaos this year as experts warn of intolerance for other views.
“There are already calls for masked vigils in support of “Palestine.”
According to the Times of Israel, “University leaders should expect the students to become more strident in their demands this fall,” said Lauren Post, an analyst with the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.
“They are going to increase their efforts to drive Zionist institutions off campus. They are going to make the average Jewish and Zionist student increasingly uncomfortable. We can expect to see zero compromise from these groups,” Post said.
According to Dr. Steven McGuire, the Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni,“Their animating thing is a desire for radical revolution. The groups are a mixture of radical Palestinian nationalists who do not think Israel has the right to exist. On the other hand, you have card-carrying Marxists who are revolutionary in nature and who see Palestine as a key issue for advancing a global revolution,” McGuire said
Add to this the fact that Iran has already lauded the pro-Palestinian anti-Israeli protesters as a “Resistance Front” in the war to eliminate Israel, and the fall semester seems like a time ripe for conflict and potential disaster.
Firebomber in kefyeh outside French synagogue
Meanwhile, according to CBS news, a terrorist suspect was arrested in Paris for the arson attack on a the Beth Yaacov Synagogue in the French resort town of Montpellier. French police apprehended and detained the suspect behind the arson attack on a synagogue in a southwestern Mediterranean town that injured a police officer, the country's acting interior minister said early Sunday.
A police officer who walked up to the site of the fire was injured after a propane gas tank in one of the vehicles exploded, the prosecutor's statement said. Five people, including the rabbi, who were present in the synagogue complex at the time of the attack were unharmed, it added.
Across the ocean, according to the Times of Israel, over 100 Jewish institutions in Canada have received bomb threats.
And the prestigious Ramaz Jewish High School in New York, founded in 1937, has said that none of their students plan to enroll in Columbia university’s undergraduate liberal arts college this fall.
According to the New York Post, for the first time in more than two decades, none of the graduating seniors who attended the Ramaz School, will attend Columbia College. One student will attend Columbia’s School of General Studies, and another Barnard College, a Columbia affiliate.
Columbia president Minouche Shafik has resigned citing the toll of controversies over pro-Palestinian protests.
The newspaper Campus Reform reported that there has been a 1,000 percent increase in anti-Semitism following Hamas’s Oct 7 massacre and kidnapping of Jewish civilians. The paper reported that the Anti-Defamation League recorded 400 anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses between Oct 7,2023-Dec 7,2023, compared to 33 during a similar period last year.
According to Campus Reform, “In April, Jewish students near the Columbia pro-Hamas encampment were allegedly told to “go back to Europe” and “go back to Poland.” Protesters also reportedly yelled in Arabic, “Oh Hamas, oh loved one, hit/strike Tel Aviv.”
And San Francisco has indicted 26 anti-Israeli protesters who blocked the Golden Gate Bridge for hours.
EDITORIAL
Kohelet’s (Ecclesiastes) often quoted phrase about timing.seems quite appropriate these days.
Ecclesiastes 3:8 “..a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”
Israel is now in the time for war. Maybe one day there will be a time for peace.