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Biden Administration Has Provided ‘No Evidence’ of Israel Denying Aid to Gaza Civilians: Expert
US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Biden visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The Biden administration has provided “no evidence” that Israel is deliberately denying humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza as part of its war strategy against Hamas, an expert and former top US policy adviser told The Algemeiner on Tuesday, in response to a letter from the White House warning Israel that US arms shipments could be cut off unless the humanitarian situation in Gaza improves within 30 days.
John Hannah, former national security adviser to US Vice President Dick Cheney, added that it would be a “disaster” for President Joe Biden’s legacy if he were to withhold military support from Israel at this critical juncture.
“There’s no doubt the situation on the ground in Gaza is dire for innocent civilians. That’s the reality of war in general and urban warfare in particular,” Hannah said. However, he emphasized, “the administration has so far not produced any compelling evidence that Israel is weaponizing starvation against civilians.”
The White House letter, addressed to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, expressed concern over what it said was a significant drop in aid deliveries to northern Gaza in recent months. The letter stated that the decline raised questions about Israel’s compliance with a National Security Memorandum (NSM) issued by Biden earlier this year.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrote that Israel “must — starting now and within 30 days — act on the following concrete measures” to ensure the flow of aid, warning that “failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy under NSM-20 and relevant US law.”
The memo, sent just weeks before the Nov. 5 presidential election, requires US security aid recipients, including Israel, to ensure that humanitarian aid is not obstructed in areas where American-supplied weapons are being used. The administration’s concerns are rooted in reports from international aid agencies and the United Nations that aid deliveries to Gaza have plummeted, raising the risk of widespread famine.
However, Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, pushed back against these accusations, pointing to Israel’s efforts to keep aid flowing despite the complexities of urban warfare and the presence of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group committed to Israel’s destruction and seeking to retain control of the neighboring enclave.
“The facts are that the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has facilitated the delivery of more aid to territory controlled by the enemy than any military in the history of warfare, despite knowing with certainty that doing so is actually strengthening Hamas and making the IDF’s job harder,” he said.
According to Blinken and Austin, the amount of aid that entered Gaza in September was the lowest in a year. They urged Israel to allow at least 350 aid trucks into Gaza each day, facilitate aid routes through Jordan, and end the “isolation” of northern Gaza by ensuring continued access for humanitarian organizations.
The letter also called for temporary pauses in IDF military operations to enable aid deliveries, stating that “multiple evacuation orders have forced 1.7 million people” into increasingly precarious living conditions.
Hannah argued that these demands overlook the significant risks Israel is already taking by allowing aid into an active conflict zone. “There simply has been no famine or mass starvation despite all the dire warnings that the sky was falling,” he said, criticizing what he called unfounded accusations against Israel.
“On the contrary, in the face of incessant accusations since Oct. 7 from the United Nations and humanitarian aid agencies that Israel is systematically withholding aid and Gaza is on the precipice of widespread famine, the IDF has time after time shown the charges to be blatantly false,” Hannah said.
In April, Blinken warned Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid, stating, “If we don’t see the changes that we need to see, there’ll be changes in our policy,” though he stopped short of explicitly threatening an arms embargo.
However, a month later a report authored by renowned academics and public health officials found that humanitarian aid allowed into the Strip from the period of January-April amounted to more than 3,000 calories per person per day.
In June the IPC Famine Review Committee walked back its own prediction that Gaza was in danger of famine, saying that the findings were “implausible” and the original March review was based on inadequate information.
“Given the record of past calumny against the IDF, people are right to be deeply skeptical that the charges against Israel this time are true,” Hannah said.
Hannah highlighted the broader geopolitical consequences of the Biden administration’s stance, saying that “the fact that the administration would leak this letter and attempt to undermine and weaken Israel in the middle of a brutal multi-front war will be celebrated by Hamas, Iran, and Hezbollah and won’t reflect well on the Biden administration.”
Hannah’s most pointed criticism was reserved for the potential fallout if the Biden administration decides to follow through on its threat to restrict military aid to Israel.
“It would be a disaster for Biden’s legacy, and for his image as a life-long Zionist, if he were to choose to end his presidency by withholding arms from Israel at its moment of greatest peril in the last 50 years,” Hannah said.
The post Biden Administration Has Provided ‘No Evidence’ of Israel Denying Aid to Gaza Civilians: Expert first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
The post ‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.