Connect with us

RSS

100 Days: Life on the Israeli Home Front

The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

More than 100 days have passed since October 7, when the world changed for Israelis and all Jews.

On that “Black Shabbat,” as we refer to it in Israel, I woke up expecting to celebrate my wedding anniversary and the holiday of Simchat Torah.

Within minutes, it became clear that what was unfolding was a day that would be seared into the Israeli psyche forever. We are still reeling from the shock, trauma, and grief of the barbaric massacre that took place on October 7, and every moment since, we have been grappling with desperation for our hostages, and the effects of a war that was forced upon us by the Iran-backed Hamas.

We Israelis wake up every morning with a sense of dread, checking the news to see the names of fallen soldiers that have been “cleared for publication.” Still living under the threat of rocket barrages, we are also in a state of constant anxiety about the possibility of an additional front escalating on our northern border.

Last Saturday night — Day 99 since the Hamas Massacre — I went to “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv to demonstrate solidarity with the families of those being held captive in inhumane conditions in Gaza, without having had even one visit from the Red Cross. The next day, bringing to mind some kind of perverse reality TV show, Hamas began releasing “teaser” videos as part of their campaign of psychological warfare, taunting Israelis to guess which hostages were alive and which were dead. In a sick follow-up video, they revealed the results, blaming the IDF, of course, for the deaths of two men from Kibbutz Be’eri.

On Sunday — Day 100 — I met with fellow Israeli members of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Jewish Diplomatic Corps to discuss the volunteer endeavors we have been engaged in. One person has been documenting testimonies of sexual assault that occurred on October 7th. Another had just been released after 70 days of reserve duty. Another has been involved in initiatives to help the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Israelis who can’t return to their homes in the north and south of the country. These are just a tiny fraction of the heroic efforts of Israeli civil society in the wake of the war. Indeed, the resilience and solidarity demonstrated by the Israeli people has been a glimmer of light and hope in what is otherwise one of our darkest hours.

On Monday — Day 101 — as I was working away at my desk, my thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of ambulance and police sirens. A terrorist attack by two Palestinians from the West Bank had struck my suburban town of Ra’anana, killing one elderly woman and wounding 17 others, including children, just a couple of minutes away from my home.

My own children were placed in lock-down in their schools and kindergarten until the police gave us the all-clear that they could be picked up. That night, my husband and I comforted them, telling them that it was OK, that they are safe. But we exchanged a look, knowing that as much as we want to promise them that, there are no guarantees.

And all the while, the battles against Hamas in Gaza rage on — a just war if there ever was one, despite what malevolent actors and states around the globe contend. In my capacity as a member of the WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps, every evening I compile a list of antisemitic incidents around the globe for security officials — a daily reminder that the war is not only being waged here in the Middle East.

And every day, throughout it all, one thought echoes continuously in my mind: We are living in an upside-down world. The fact that Israel is on trial at the International Court of Justice for alleged genocide, the most egregious of all crimes, as it is conducting a war of self-defense against an enemy that truly is genocidal, is a deliberate and malicious inversion of reality.

If the international community truly cared about the Palestinians’ plight for a sovereign state, they would be siding with Israel wholeheartedly, and certainly with not the oppressive terrorist regime who uses its own civilians as human shields, prevents their access to humanitarian aid, and educates its population — with the help of UN funding — to kill Jews wherever they are.

As long as there continue to be forces in this world who sympathize with terrorists, negate Israel’s right to defend itself against those who seek its destruction, and protest Israel’s very right to exist in so-called “pro-Palestinian” marches, the Palestinian leadership has nothing to gain from seeking a two-state solution. They have no incentive to embark on the arduous task of state-building and living alongside a Jewish state, if their wish to destroy Israel is backed by so many.

How can any well-meaning person advocate for a death cult that is supported by the world’s most abhorrent regimes, rather than for the liberal and democratic State of Israel? Is it due to willful ignorance? The success of a disinformation campaign? Plain old antisemitism?

A significant comfort of living here in Israel — even, and perhaps especially, during wartime — is being surrounded by people who “get it.” Jews, Arabs, Israeli citizens from across the political spectrum are painfully aware of who the enemy is and why it is so crucial to defeat them.

Although we disagree on plenty of things, we are united behind one cause, one truth: Israel, though perhaps imperfect, is our home and it must be defended. It is the homeland of all the Jewish people, and it must remain strong, especially in light of the skyrocketing levels of Jew-hatred we are witnessing around the globe. And it is strong.

Israeli society has proven time and time again just how strong, moral, and irrepressible it is. And that is why I know that “Together we will win” is more than just a wartime slogan — it is a promise, and it is our only option.

Ariel Rodal-Spieler is a member of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Jewish Diplomatic Corps, a worldwide network of 400 members in 60 countries supporting the global Jewish community through diplomacy and public policy, under the vision and leadership of WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. Ariel is a translator and writer.

The post 100 Days: Life on the Israeli Home Front first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Post Views: 371
Related Topics:
Continue Reading

RSS

French Jewish Students Forcibly Removed From Spanish Plane After Singing in Hebrew, Camp Director Arrested

A Vueling aircraft approaches landing at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, as Vueling employees prepare for strike, in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 2, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Nacho Doce

A group of 50 French Jewish students was forcibly removed from a plane in Valencia, Spain on Wednesday evening — reportedly for singing in Hebrew — in an incident that led to the arrest of their summer camp director.

The children, aged 10 to 15, are members of the Kineret Club — a summer camp for Jewish families run by the Matana charitable association — which had just concluded their trip in the coastal resort town of Sant Carles de la Ràpita, between Valencia and Barcelona.

According to local reports, the children were singing in Hebrew while boarding the plane to return home, which prompted a hostile response from the crew.

Witnesses say the group then stopped singing and quietly followed boarding instructions, but airport police still intervened and ordered them to disembark.

As the incident quickly escalated, the camp director was arrested after refusing to hand over the children’s cell phones when requested by staff.

Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, condemned the incident in a post on X, accusing the airline of antisemitism and calling for a thorough investigation.

“In line with Hamas’s campaign of lies echoed by Al Jazeera, Haaretz, and others, we are seeing numerous severe antisemitic incidents recently; this is one of the most serious,” the Israeli official said.

However, the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling denied the allegations, insisting the incident was not related to religion but rather that the group was causing a disruption.

In a statement released on Thursday, the airline asserted that the group was removed because of its members’ “highly combative attitude that was putting the safety of the flight at risk.”

Vueling claimed that the group “mishandled emergency equipment and actively disrupted the mandatory safety demonstration,” ignoring “multiple warnings,” which prompted the crew to call airport police.

Other passengers on the plane who witnessed the incident reported that staff made antisemitic remarks toward the group, including one employee who allegedly referred to Israel as a “terrorist state.”

The Kineret Club announced it is taking legal action against the airline over what it called a “purely antisemitic act.” The organization also confirmed that the children are safe in a hotel and scheduled to return home tomorrow.

The World Jewish Congress condemned the incident in a post on X, urging authorities to take swift action.

“Singing in Hebrew is not illegal. Existing as a group of Jewish people together is not illegal. This needs to be taken seriously,” the statement read.

This latest incident comes amid a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes in Spain, where Israelis have faced harassment, intimidation, and even assault following the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Spain has also been one of the harshest critics of the Jewish state since the start of the war in Gaza, mounting a sustained effort against Israel in international forums.

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 atrocities, Spain halted arms shipments from its own defense companies to Israel and launched a diplomatic campaign to curb the country’s military response.

At the same time, several Spanish ministers in the country’s left-wing coalition government issued pro-Hamas statements and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with some falsely accusing Israel of “genocide.”

More recently, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged other members of the European Union to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel over its military campaigns against Hamas in Gaza and the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Last year, Spain officially recognized a Palestinian state, claiming the move was accelerated by the Israel-Hamas war and would help foster a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the time, Israeli officials condemned the decision as a “reward for terrorism.”

The post French Jewish Students Forcibly Removed From Spanish Plane After Singing in Hebrew, Camp Director Arrested first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Post Views: 13
Continue Reading

RSS

Israel Denies Gaza ‘Famine’ Claims, Condemns Failed UN Food Distribution Efforts

Trucks carrying aid move, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri

Israel has rejected claims that its military policies have triggered a famine in Gaza, describing such accusations as inaccurate, politically driven, and detached from reality.

The Israeli government has facilitated the entry of hundreds of aid trucks into Gaza, officials said this week, condemning international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies. One senior security official told reporters on Tuesday that there is no famine in Gaza, pointing to over 950 truckloads of food, water, and medical supplies that are currently stalled at border crossings such as Kerem Shalom.

“We know the calorie value of each truck that enters, and how many people it is enough for,” the official said according to The Times of Israel.

Israel has assigned responsibility to the UN for logistical failures which may have caused a breakdown in aid distribution within Gaza.

According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli military and Defense Ministry body responsible for coordinating aid deliveries to Gaza, said the stockpiled aid in the enclave could sustain the population for over two weeks if properly distributed.

“The bottleneck isn’t on our side,” the official said. “The aid is there. It’s the UN and its partners who aren’t moving it.”

The official added, “We have not identified starvation at this current point in time, but we understand that action is required to stabilize the humanitarian situation.”

Israel has argued that false claims of mass starvation are being amplified by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, and international humanitarian organizations to manipulate global opinion. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims, without evidence, that more than 100 people have died from malnutrition in the beleaguered enclave. Israeli officials emphasize that these figures are unverified and may be inflated for propaganda purposes.

Western-backed attempts to bypass Hamas, such as the US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), have served Palestinians in Gaza over the past few months. However, tragic incidents, including tramplings and occasional gunfire, have killed hundreds of Palestinians attempting to obtain aid at one of GHF’s four distribution sites. Hamas has accused Israel of shooting Palestinian civilians at aid distribution sites. Israel has denied these unverified claims.

The GFH has called on the UN to publicly condemn the killing of aid workers in Gaza by Hamas and to collaborate in order to provide relief to the enclave’s population, accusing the UN of perpetuating a “vast disinformation campaign” aimed at tarnishing the US- and Israel-backed foundation’s image.

Despite the difficulties, the program is seen by Israeli and US officials as a more accountable and secure system than aid distributed through traditional UN agencies, which Israeli investigations have revealed as hotbeds of corruption and infiltration by Hamas operatives.

Nonetheless, international pressure is building on Israel to ramp up aid distribution. However, Israel argues that the international community fails to account for Hamas’s tactics, including documented cases of aid theft and interference with humanitarian workers.

On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) published footage showing five Hamas fighters smiling while eating an assortment of fruits and rice, casting doubt over allegations of a famine in the Gaza Strip. The IDF also released additional recordings from Gaza showing thousands of aid pallets waiting for UN distribution.

“Israel is not preventing the entry of aid trucks or humanitarian shipment into the Gaza. The aid is already across the fence inside the Gaza Strip, ready for distribution, but the UN chooses to slander Israel instead of delivering the food, which now sits idle and rotting,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The post Israel Denies Gaza ‘Famine’ Claims, Condemns Failed UN Food Distribution Efforts first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Post Views: 18
Continue Reading

RSS

Hungary Bans Anti-Israel Irish Band Kneecap for Three Years Citing National Security Concerns

Members of Kneecap pose on the red carpet at the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Hungary has banned members of the Irish rap trio Kneecap from entering the country for three years ahead of their scheduled performance at a major music festival, due to national security concerns surrounding what critics have decried as the band’s antisemitic hate speech and their alleged support for Hamas and Hezbollah.

The Belfast-based band is scheduled to perform on the closing day of the Sziget Festival in Budapest on Aug. 11. Kneecap has stirred controversy recently for a series of anti-Israel comments and a band member’s alleged support for Hamas and Hezbollah, which are proscribed terrorist organizations in the United Kingdom and United States. Kneecap has denied support for both Iran-backed Islamist terror groups.

Hungary’s immigration authority, the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, announced in a Hungarian-language degree on Thursday that Kneecap members Naoise Ó Cairealláin, J.J. Ó Dochartaigh, and Liam Óg ÓhAnnaidh are banned from entering Hungary for three years because their “entry and stay constitute a serious threat to national security.”

Zoltan Kovacs, Hungary’s secretary of state for international communications, further explained in an English-language social media post on Thursday that Kneecap cannot enter Hungarian territory due to their history supporting “antisemitism and glorifying terror.” Kovacs added, “Granting them a stage normalizes hate and terror, and puts democratic values on the line.”

Kneecap’s members “repeatedly engage in antisemitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups” and Hungary “has zero tolerance for antisemitism in any form,” he continued. “Their planned performance posed a national security threat, and for this reason, the group has been formally banned from Hungary for three years. If they enter, expulsion will follow under international norms.”

Hungarian authorities — including Hungary’s Minister for European Affairs János Bóka – members of Hungary’s music industry, and others have been pressuring organizers of the Sziget Festival for some time to cancel the band’s performance because of their comments and behavior, characterizing them as antisemitic. Sziget Festival organizers said in a statement they think the decision to ban Kneecap from Hungary is “unnecessary and regrettable” and may “not only damage the reputation of Sziget, but also negatively affect Hungary’s standing worldwide.”

“Sziget Festival’s values mean we condemn hate speech, while guaranteeing the fundamental right to artistic freedom of expression for every performer,” they added. “Cancel culture and cultural boycotts are not the solution.”

Since Kneecap displayed anti-Israel messaging on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in April, two major music festivals in Germany canceled the band’s performances, and their performances were also canceled at the Eden Project concert series and the TRNSMT festival – both in the UK. Kneecap was further dropped from its US booking agency, and television personality Sharon Osbourne called for their US visas to be revoked.

The Hungarian government has been a vocal supporter of Israel in recent months, going against much of the rest of Europe, which has grown increasingly critical of the Jewish state over its military campaign against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

In April, Hungary’s parliament approved the country’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) because of its “political” stance against Israel and the Jewish state’s military actions during its war against Hamas terrorists in the enclave responsible for the massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The post Hungary Bans Anti-Israel Irish Band Kneecap for Three Years Citing National Security Concerns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Post Views: 17
Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News