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Israeli Forces Redeploy to Northern Gaza to Quell Hamas Resurgence

Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia refugee camp northern Gaza Strip, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo

JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday that Israeli forces had encircled Jabaliya in northern Gaza ahead of an operation there to prevent Hamas from reestablishing itself there.

The army said that soldiers from the 162nd Division were redeployed to the Jabaliya area overnight Saturday after being stationed along the Philadelphi Corridor separating Gaza from Egypt’s Sinai.

Troops from the 401st and 460th brigades had encircled the area and were continuing to operate there on Sunday, according to the IDF. They were assisted by the Israeli Air Force before and during the ground operation, directed by the 215th Brigade. Among the targets hit were weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure, terrorist cells and additional military sites.

The terror group reported that during the operation 30 people were killed and 150 were injured.

“This operation to systematically dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area will continue as long as required in order to achieve its objectives,” the IDF said.

The 162nd Division last month defeated Hamas’s Rafah brigade after four months of targeted raids in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city near the border with Egypt.

Speaking with reporters on Sept. 12, 162nd Division commander Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen declared that “four battalions have been destroyed, and we have completed operational control over the entire urban area.”

However, intelligence showing a Hamas resurgence in Jabaliya prompted the 162nd Division to move north to the neighborhood.

IDF expands al-Mawasi humanitarian zone

The IDF on Sunday morning published a new evacuation map for the northern Gaza Strip, pointing noncombatants to an expanded humanitarian zone at al-Mawasi, which includes field hospitals, tent complexes, food, water, medicine and medical equipment.

As part of the effort to alert the residents of northern Gaza to get out of the active combat zone, the IDF dropped leaflets from the air and Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, tweeted in Arabic with accompanying maps.

“The terrorist Hamas continues its attempts to solidify its terrorist infrastructure in your area, exploiting civilians, shelters and medical facilities as human shields,” Adraee wrote, followed by evacuation details.

“I remind you that the northern Gaza Strip remains a dangerous combat zone,” Adraee warned.

Plans to turn northern Gaza into military zone

Kan News reported around a month ago that senior IDF officials were considering a plan to turn the northern Gaza Strip into a military zone.

Known as the “Island Plan,” it would see the IDF evacuate more than 200,000 Gazans from the northern part of the Strip, placing the area entirely under Israeli military control.

Sinwar wants wider war, not interested in a deal

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wants a wider regional war and is not interested in reaching a ceasefire deal, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing U.S. officials.

The article noted that Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre and who is believed to be hiding in Gaza’s vast tunnel network, has long believed that he won’t survive the war and has hardened his attitude in recent weeks.

Hamas holds 101 hostages, including 97 of the 251 kidnapped during the onslaught on the northwestern Negev nearly one year ago, in which 1,200 people were killed and thousands more wounded.

“Hamas has shown no desire at all to engage in talks in recent weeks, U.S. officials say. They suspect that Mr. Sinwar has grown more resigned as Israeli forces pursue him and talk about closing in on him,” according to the Times.

“A larger war that puts pressure on Israel and its military would, in Mr. Sinwar’s assessment, force them to scale back operations in Gaza, the U.S. officials said,” it continued.

However, despite the war widening to include an expanded conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and a direct engagement with Iran, the Gaza front remains active. American officials said that the failure of Hezbollah and Iran to damage Israel signals the miscalculation made by Sinwar.

The Times article noted that some Israeli officials have questioned whether Sinwar is still alive, with American and Israeli officials acknowledging that there has been no sign of him for months. However, in the absence of hard evidence of his death, U.S. officials believe he is still alive and in charge of Hamas.

Qataris say Sinwar ‘disappeared’

Channel 12 reported on Saturday that the Qatari officials involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas told the families of hostages in recent days that Sinwar has “disappeared.”

“Sinwar is currently not communicating with us. He has disappeared from us as well and has not made contact. He stopped using phones because of the assassinations, and now he communicates using paper and pen, which makes things very difficult,” the Qataris reportedly told the relatives.

The Qatari officials also told the family members that they believe Sinwar has surrounded himself with hostages and that despite his disappearance, there is no indication that Sinwar is dead.

The Qataris, who maintain close ties with Hamas, also claimed that Israel’s policy of assassinations makes reaching a deal more difficult.

“Israel’s assassination policy has worsened the deal. In the past, there was Haniyeh, and he was assassinated. Now there is Khaled Mashal, and he is much more difficult than Haniyeh,” they were quoted as saying. However, the families of the hostages say that these claims should be taken with caution due to Doha’s close relations with the terror group.

Sharon Sharabi, the brother of Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered in captivity and whose body is being held by Hamas, criticized the Qataris at the meeting, telling them that “the blood of our families is on your hands because you transferred the money to the terrorists, but you may also be the ones who can try to save the hostages.”

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Munich Residents Form Human Chain to Protect Synagogue From Anti-Israel Protest Marked by Antisemitic Chants

Anti-Israel protesters march through Munich’s city center near the main synagogue during Shabbat prayers. Photo: Screenshot

Munich residents formed a human chain around a local synagogue in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community in Germany, as an anti-Israel protest marched through the city center during Shabbat prayers.

On Friday night, around 750 people protested against the war in Gaza in central Munich, rallying near the main synagogue at Jakobsplatz as Shabbat prayers took place inside — a demonstration that sparked fear among members of the Jewish community and prevented some from attending services, German media reported.

Organized under the slogan “Stop the Genocide. Free Palestine,” the protest was marked by openly antisemitic chants, as demonstrators shouted “Death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces],” “Zionists are fascists, child murderers, and racists,” and “There is only one state: Palestine.”

Participants in the demonstration not only deny Israel’s right to exist but also dismissed the suffering of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas as a “lie,” minimizing the atrocities perpetrated by the Palestinian terrorist group

One speaker at the rally asserted that the hostages are “mostly Israeli soldiers” and characterized them predominantly as war criminals.

In response to the anti-Israel demonstration, hundreds of Munich residents gathered to form a human chain around the synagogue, rallying under the slogan “Protect Our Synagogue.”

According to local media, one of the speakers at the protest dismissed the human chain around the synagogue as a staged performance by “friends of Zionists and fascists,” claiming that “Zionists are the real antisemites.”

The speaker also asserted that those participating in the human chain were trying to “buy their freedom” from the crimes of their parents’ generation.

Local law enforcement later took over synagogue security, deploying around 150 officers from the Munich Police Department, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.

Charlotte Knobloch, a Holocaust survivor and president of the Jewish Community of Munich (IKG), sharply criticized local authorities for allowing the protest to take place and condemned the demonstration as a “deliberate attempt at intimidation.”

She also expressed her gratitude to the “Munich is Colorful” alliance and the group “Grandmothers Against the Right” for their efforts to protect the synagogue and show solidarity with the Jewish community.

“This human chain sends an important message, especially to the city. Once again, they have proven they can be relied upon — they take action when it matters,” Knobloch said.

Bernhard Liess, the city council chairman, also criticized the decision to allow a pro-Palestinian demonstration with anti-Israel slogans to take place during Shabbat.

Even though demonstrations only require registration and not approval, local authorities can consult with organizers to discuss possible changes if any issues are anticipated.

Germany has experienced a sharp spike in antisemitism since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023.

The number of antisemitic incidents in Germany almost doubled last year, the semi-official German body that tracks antisemitism reported last month.

The Federal Research and Information Point for Antisemitism (RIAS) said it had registered 8,627 incidents of violence, vandalism, and threats against Jews in Germany, almost twice the 4,886 recorded in 2023, and far ahead of 2020’s 1,957.

In just the first six months of 2024 alone, the number of antisemitic incidents in Berlin surpassed the total for all of the prior year and reached the highest annual count on record, according separate figured from RIAS.

The figures in Berlin were the highest count for a single year since the federally-funded body began monitoring antisemitic incidents in 2015, showing the German capital averaged nearly eight anti-Jewish outrages a day from January to June last year.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), police registered 5,154 antisemitic incidents in Germany in 2023, a 95 percent increase compared to the previous year.

However, experts believe that the true number of incidents is much higher but not recorded because of reluctance on the part of the victims.

The post Munich Residents Form Human Chain to Protect Synagogue From Anti-Israel Protest Marked by Antisemitic Chants first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Ocasio-Cortez Campaign Office Vandalized With Anti-Israel Message Amid Backlash Over Iron Dome Funding Vote

US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2024. Photo: Craig Hudson/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

A New York campaign office for US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was vandalized with what appeared to be red paint resembling blood and an anti-Israel message on Sunday night, amid backlash from fellow progressives following her vote last week against an amendment aimed at blocking US funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.

“AOC funds genocide in Gaza,” was written in red paint on the office windows, using the lawmaker’s popular nickname. The vandals also spread paint all over the building’s entrance. Police arrived to the scene early Monday morning.

A group calling itself the Boogie Down Liberation Front claimed responsibility, saying it “stands with the Palestinian people and condemns AOC’s hypocrisy.”

The vandalism came after Ocasio-Cortez on Friday voted against an amendment to the US House’s defense appropriations bill that would have cut funding for the Israeli Cooperative Program — an agreement through which the US provides Israel $500 million for missile defense programs including Iron Dome, which protects against from rockets and missiles launched by neighboring terrorist groups, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The amendment was overwhelmingly defeated in the House by a vote of 422 to 6.

While Ocasio-Cortez ultimately voted against the broader appropriations bill (which ultimately passed the House), her decision not to support the stand-alone measure cutting funding to Israel’s missile defense has drawn strong criticism from fellow progressives, who argued that the left-wing lawmaker betrayed the pro-Palestinian movement.

In a post on the X social media platform, Ocasio-Cortez wrote that the amendment to the military funding bill “does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it. What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue.”

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a prominent far-left organization, repudiated AOC’s vote, accusing the congresswoman of assisting Israel carry out what it falsely described as a “genocide” in Gaza.

“Providing any aid to Israel as they carry out a genocide with US support is completely unacceptable,” DSA said in a statement. “This is even more true of military aid of any kind. Any funds that go to Israel assist this brutal genocide. Any support for Israel legitimizes its eliminationist campaign against the Palestinian people. The fact that Representative Ocasio-Cortez acknowledges that Israel is carrying out this genocide makes her support for military aid all the more disappointing and incongruous.”

DSA and Ocasio-Cortez have recently maintained a rocky relationship. Last year, the organization rescinded its endorsement of the congresswoman, citing her insufficient level of commitment to “Palestinian liberation.” The organization took umbrage with the lawmaker over her decision to co-host an event with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), a Jewish organization that champions progressive policies. DSA also rebuked Ocasio-Cortez for a previous House vote which labeled “denial of Israel’s right to exist” as a form of antisemitism.

On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez took a shot at those criticizing her vote against the amendment, noting she opposed the broader appropriations bill.

“Google is free,” she posted on social media. “If you’re saying I voted for military funding, you are lying. Receipts attached. Drag me for my positions all you want, but lying about them doesn’t make you part of the ‘left.’ If you believe neo-Nazis are welcome and operating in good faith, you can have them!”

The post Ocasio-Cortez Campaign Office Vandalized With Anti-Israel Message Amid Backlash Over Iron Dome Funding Vote first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Jewish Groups Applaud Major Teachers’ Union’s Rejection of ADL Ban

Rebecca S. Pringle, president of the National Education Association, speaks on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, Aug. 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar

Jewish groups this week commended the National Education Association (NEA) teachers union for refusing to adopt as policy a ban on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) voted for by the group’s Representative Assembly during an annual conference held in Portland, Oregon earlier this month.

“We welcome the NEA Executive Committee’s decision to reject this misguided resolution that is rooted in exclusion and othering, and promoted for political reasons,” said a joint statement issued on Friday by the leaders of the ADL, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, and the Jewish Federations of North America. “This resolution was not just an attack on the ADL but a larger attack against Jewish educators, students, and families.”

The statement added, “We are urging educators across the United States to recognize and act on the importance of education about Jewish identity, antisemitism, and the Holocaust that reflect the perspectives and experiences of the vast majority of the American Jewish community … divisive campaigns to boycott, reputable, centrist Jewish organizations and educators normalize antisemitic isolation, [and] othering.”

Passed by a razor thin majority, the ban would have proscribed the union’s sharing ADL literature which explains the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust. In the lead up to the vote, a website promoting the policy, titled #DroptheADLFromSchools, attacked the ADL’s reputation as a civil rights advocate and knowledgeable source of information about antisemitism, the very issue the group was founded to fight.

“Analysis by scholars and journalists makes it clear that the ADL systematically distorts people’s understanding of antisemitism by including criticism of Israel as an indicator of hatred toward Jews,” the website said. “We further urge you to join in nationwide efforts to drop the ADL from schools … Cut all ties with the ADL, including use or endorsement of their curricular materials, participation in their programs, and engagement in their professional development offerings.”

The ban garnered the support of extreme far-left groups — such as Black Lives Matter, Faculty for Justice in Palestine, and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) — and others which have praised the use of terrorism in Israel and across the Western world to advance a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which necessitates destroying the Jewish state. Its approval by the Representative Assembly prompted the ADL to say that the activists behind it were attempting to “isolate their Jewish colleagues and push a radical antisemitic agenda on students.”

In two statements following the vote, one issued by union president Becky Pringle, the NEA said it remains committed to fighting antisemitism and said it had foreclosed the idea of disassociating with the ADL altogether.

“Following the culmination of a thorough review process as governed by NEA rules, including a vote by NEA’s Executive Committee earlier this week, NEA’s Board of Directors — representing the broad and diverse membership of the NEA including representatives from every state — voted not to implement this proposal,” the union, which is the largest teachers labor group in the US, said in a statement on Friday. “After consideration, it was determined that this proposal would not further NEA’s commitment to academic freedom, our membership, or our goals.”

It added, “There is no doubt that antisemitism on the rise,” while noting that its decision to reject the proposal “is in no way an endorsement of the ADL’s full body of work” and implying that the ADL is hostile to “free speech and association.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Jewish Groups Applaud Major Teachers’ Union’s Rejection of ADL Ban first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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