RSS
Why Israel’s Fight Is America’s Fight
Israeli and American air force crews participate in the “Desert Falcon” joint international exercise in Israel in January 2022. Photo: IDF
More than 3,000 years ago, the Creator gave Israel to the Jewish people. Yet, today, Israel faces existential threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Iranian-backed terror groups. What does this mean for the United States? The answer is clear — Israel’s fight is not just about the world’s only Indigenous Jewish homeland, but a battle for the values of democracy and decency — which both our republic holds dear.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., taught us, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
On October 7, 2023, during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israelis and Americans, committing unspeakable atrocities. Babies were murdered, girls were raped, and evil was unleashed. Deplorably, over 18 million of our “fellow” Americans think this is “acceptable.” This wasn’t just an attack on Israel, but an assault on humanity.
Yet, as Congressperson Ritchie Torres (D-NY) tweeted, our country is full of “useful idiots” who parrot terrorist propaganda on college campuses, online, and even in the hallowed halls of Congress and government, thereby letting Hamas literally get away with murder. (In the interests of free speech, would we allow the KKK to march around calling for the extermination of all Black people? I didn’t think so.)
The pro-Hamas mob wants to delegitimize and ultimately destroy an innocent minority group through propaganda — exactly what the Nazis sought to do. And stopping Nazis is as American as you can get.
Iran is the puppet master. Through proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis, Iran aims to destabilize the region, isolate Israel, and advance its nuclear ambitions. Their goal is to use Russia, China, Turkey, and the Arab League, against the Jewish homeland. Weapons and training flow from Iran to terror affiliates worldwide. Have we forgotten November 4, 1979?
This is why the obvious must be said again and again: Hamas and Hezbollah are our enemies as well — and they directly threaten American interests.
US intelligence has repeatedly warned of these groups’ potential to strike within the US and incite violence against Americans. Supporting Israel is not just about our ally; it’s a defense of democracy against the encroaching tide of extremism.
Israel’s military efforts are unmatched in minimizing civilian casualties, yet Israel is vilified in the court of public opinion. (Why are no media outlets comparing the civilian casualty toll of the conflict in Gaza with similar conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, etc? Why are there no protests for the Muslims and Arabs being killed in these countries in horrific numbers?)
The United Nations harbors blatant bias against the only democracy in that region, and is complicit in a UN-Hamas alliance, which is being exposed daily. UN-run schools brainwash kids to hate Jews, funnel our taxpayer dollars to pay for terrorist wealth, and allow their buildings to store weapons and conceal terror tunnels.
For Americans, the choice is clear. Stand with Israel or embolden regimes that celebrate death over life. The US must continue its unwavering support of the Jewish State, both diplomatically and militarily, ensuring Israel’s victory is a victory for humanity. For we all are created in the image of G-d, and we all deserve to live in a world free from terror.
As former US Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) said, “The veneer of civilization is paper-thin. We are its guardians, and we can never rest.”
The author is an active duty service member in the US military.
The post Why Israel’s Fight Is America’s Fight first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels
View of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.
i24 News – Sweden will no longer fund the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Scandinavian country said on Friday.
The decision comes on the heels of multiple revelations regarding the agency’s employees’ involvement in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Sweden’s decision was in response to the Israeli ban, as it will make channeling aid via the agency more difficult, the country’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, said.
“Large parts of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible,” Dousa said. “For the government, the most important thing is that support gets through.”
The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement: “We reject the idea of finding alternatives to UNRWA, which has a special mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees.”
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden’s decision to drop its support for UNRWA.
“There are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach,” she said.
The post Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels first appeared on Algemeiner.com.