RSS
For the Sake of Israelis and Palestinians, Israel Must Completely Defeat Hamas in Gaza
Former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar looks on as Palestinian Hamas supporters take part in an anti-Israel rally over tension in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, in Gaza City, Oct. 1, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
It is fitting that Israeli soldiers finally killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the period between the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack, and the Hebrew calendar anniversary on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.
The terrorist leader’s death marks a major milestone in the conflict. But it does not — and cannot — mark the end of Israel’s war in Gaza, or beyond. Those who would urge Israel simply to “move on” fail to understand the sheer brutality that Sinwar orchestrated, and the subsequent necessity of Israel’s operations to defeat Hamas and rescue the hostages.
Both of us witnessed Hamas’ brutality as part of programming organized by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), including an annual trip to Israel for retired senior US military officers.
Yet, even given our background, we were horrified by the raw footage of the attack, much of which Hamas terrorists filmed themselves, and a somber walk about and firsthand observation of one of the many devastated kibbutzim, Kfar Azza.
More alarming is that the full scope of the October 7 atrocities still has not reached the American public. The coordinated air, land, and sea invasion, and the barbaric violence against civilians, including rape, sexual violence, and mutilation, indicated this was not a spontaneous outbreak of violence — but a prepared assault fueled by the conditioned hatred of Jews.
Beyond the death and destruction, the October 7 attack also overturned Israelis’ sense of security and eroded deterrence against enemies even beyond Gaza.
But Sinwar also terrorized his own people. He served 22 years of four life sentences in Israeli prison for murdering Palestinians in his role as a brutal Hamas enforcer, until he was released in 2011 as part of a hostage release deal. Under his rule, life in Gaza even before 10/7 was subverted to Hamas’ military goals. Money and supplies were diverted, and civilian structures were appropriated to build “fortress Gaza” — turning the entire territory into a series of above- and below-ground fortified positions designed specifically for fighting the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Sinwar wanted to bring the fight to the streets of Gaza because he knew they housed a potent weapon against Israel — not any of the tunnels or hidden bombs, but the Palestinian civilians that Hamas would ensure were caught in the crossfire.
Recognizing that Hamas cannot defeat Israeli forces militarily, Sinwar’s strategy sought to maximize the number of civilian casualties in Gaza to rally international pressure against Israel.
With this strategy, Sinwar intentionally sacrificed the lives of thousands of Gazans, and turned that of hundreds of thousands into a living hell. As we detailed in a JINSA report following our trip, Hamas has serially violated international law by turning the civilian population of Gaza into human shields to hide its fighters and weapons inside hospitals, schools, humanitarian zones, and United Nations facilities. It tried to force civilians to remain in harm’s way, attacking those who sought to flee. For those lucky to escape, Hamas nevertheless ensured their suffering by repeatedly stealing humanitarian aid, preventing it from reaching the civilians who need it.
Hamas then weaponized this suffering against Israel, waging a disinformation campaign to blame Israel for civilian deaths and insufficient aid. Indeed, Hamas’s disinformation has generated public pressure that has led to widening public tensions between the United States and Israel, including pauses of key US weapons transfers and threats of an arms embargo.
One senior IDF officer told us that international pressure against Israel was more challenging to Israeli success than any battlefield complexities.
With Sinwar’s death, that pressure is already mounting again, urging Israel to declare victory and end in the war in Gaza. To be sure, the death of Sinwar, the man responsible for the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust, sends a clear message that anyone who threatens Israeli lives will face justice. But it does not mark the end of the war in Gaza, nor the start of a new, more secure future for either Israelis or Palestinians.
This war is not about punishing the man responsible for 10/7. It is about ensuring that 10/7 can never happen again. It is about bringing home the remaining 100 hostages that were taken from their homes and kept, inhumanely, in tunnels for the last year. And it is about dismantling the remaining military capability of Hamas so that Gazans do not, once again, live under a terrorist regime. As long as Hamas persists in Gaza, these goals are not met and this war will continue.
The end of Sinwar is not the end of the war. Hamas will survive Sinwar unless Israel finishes its mission in Gaza. The United States should redouble its support for Israel to prevent the terrorist group’s next leader from rebuilding and not avoid pursuing victory for short term domestic political gain.
Rear Admiral (ret.) Paul Becker served as Director of Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and participated in JINSA’s 2024 Generals and Admirals Program. Ari Cicurel is Assistant Director of Foreign Policy at JINSA.
The post For the Sake of Israelis and Palestinians, Israel Must Completely Defeat Hamas in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
James Carville Accuses Jewish Donors of Using Antisemitism to Abandon Democrats: ‘Just Want Their F—king Tax Cut’
James Carville speaks on the “Politics War Room” podcast. Photo: Screenshot
James Carville, a prominent political commentator and campaign strategist for the Democratic Party, this week accused “wealthy Jewish” donors of using campus antisemitism as an excuse not to give money to Democrats, claiming what they really want are a “f—king tax cut” from Republicans.
On his “Politics War Room” podcast, Carville told co-host Al Hunt that some wealthy Jewish donors are citing examples of antisemitism on university campuses amid the Gaza war as reasons to stop donating to the Democratic Party.
“I hear this all the time. You’ve got to try and raise money from really wealthy Jewish fundraisers. And they say, look, James, I’m a Democrat, but I can’t be a part of a party because of what happened at Columbia [University in New York City],” Carville said.
Columbia has become a hotbed of pro-Hamas activism since the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel.
“What the f—k did the Democrats have to do with what happened in Columbia, by the way?” Carville continued. “But you know, because they have some students at Columbia generally made an ass of themselves, well, I can’t do that, but I can be for a party that everybody endorses the Alternative for Deutschland (referring to the far-right AfD party in Germany).”
Carville then argued that these wealthy donors just want tax cuts from Republicans.
“My instinct is, and they tell me that, they look me right in the eye,” he said. “No, you just want your f—ucking tax cut.”
The longtime political strategist stressed that his comments are not aimed at “most Jewish people” but doubled down on his comment regarding tax cuts.
“That doesn’t apply to most people, most Jewish people see right through that, but the ones that don’t see through it, they just don’t really, at the end of the day, they just want their f—king tax cut. And you can see it every day.”
James Carville launches into an unhinged rant, accusing wealthy Jewish donors of not wanting to give him money for the Democrat Party at fundraisers over rampant college campus anti-Semitism. Carville claims Jews will vote for Nazis just to “get their f-cking tax cuts.” pic.twitter.com/gM5EYHWlaQ
— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) June 5, 2025
Carville’s comments prompted immediate backlash online, with critics accusing the political commentator of parroting antisemitic narratives regarding Jewish people and money.
Carville, the lead strategist in Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign, has repeatedly condemned the Democratic Party for alienating working-class Americans by advancing culturally progressive values. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party has generally been much more critical of Israel since Hamas’s invasion, in many cases championing the anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses.
This is not the first time that Carville’s comments have angered many within the Jewish community. In August 2024, Carville he drew outrage after he said that the American supports Israel over Palestinians because they are “whiter.” Roughly half of Israeli Jews are Mizrahi — Jews who can trace their ethnic origins to the Middle East and North Africa.
Some pro-Israel supporters have argued that a rift has grown between the Democratic Party and Israel in the 19 months following the Hamas-led massacre of 1,200 people and abduction of 251 hostages throughout the southern region of the Jewish state.
Since the conflcit began, Democratic lawmakers have become increasingly critical of Israel’s approach to the Gaza war. Although Democrats have repeatedly reiterated that Israel has a right to “defend itself,” many have raised concerns over the Jewish state’s conduct in the war in Gaza, reportedly exerting private pressure on former US President Joe Biden to adopt a more adversarial stance against Israel and display more public sympathy for the Palestinians. In November, 17 Democratic senators voted to impose a partial arms embargo on Israel, sparking outrage among supporters of the Jewish state.
The post James Carville Accuses Jewish Donors of Using Antisemitism to Abandon Democrats: ‘Just Want Their F—king Tax Cut’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria to Give UN Watchdog Inspectors Access to Suspected Former Nuclear Sites as New Regime Seeks Sanctions Relief
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media, in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2025. Photo: Iranian Atomic Organization/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Syria’s new government has agreed to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog — with immediate access to former nuclear sites, signaling a move to restore international trust as it hopes to have international sanctions lifted.
On Wednesday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told the Associated Press that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has shown a “very positive disposition to talk to us and allow us to carry out the activities we need to.”
After meeting with Sharaa in Damascus, he expressed hope that the inspection process would be completed within the coming months.
The IAEA’s goal is “to bring total clarity over certain activities that took place in the past that were, in the judgment of the agency, probably related to nuclear weapons,” Grossi said.
He also noted that Syria’s new leadership is “committed to opening up to the world, to international cooperation.”
Last year, the IAEA conducted inspections at several sites of interest in Damascus while former President Bashar al-Assad was still in power.
Under Assad’s rule, the country was believed to have operated a secret nuclear program, which included an undeclared nuclear reactor built by North Korea in Deir el-Zour province, in eastern Syria — a fact that was revealed after Israel destroyed the facility in a 2007 airstrike.
Since the collapse of Assad’s regime in December, the IAEA has been looking to regain access to sites associated with the country’s nuclear program.
In addition to conducting inspections, Grossi said the agency is prepared to provide Syria’s new government with equipment for nuclear medicine and to help rebuild the country’s radiotherapy and oncology infrastructure.
“And the president has expressed to me that he’s interested in exploring, in the future, nuclear energy as well,” Grossi said.
Last month, US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria — a major policy shift that aligns with the European Union’s efforts to support the country’s recovery and political transition.
As Sharaa focuses on rebuilding Syria after years of conflict, the lifting of Western sanctions that isolated the country from the global financial system is expected to boost its weakened economy by paving the way for greater humanitarian aid, foreign investment, and international trade.
Earlier this year, Sharaa became Syria’s transitional president after leading the rebel campaign that ousted Assad, whose Iran-backed rule had strained ties with the Arab world during the nearly 14-year Syrian war.
The offensive that led to the fall of the Assad regime was spearheaded by Sharaa’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate.
Since then, Sharaa has repeatedly pledged to unify Syria’s armed forces and restore stability after years of civil war. However, the new government continues to face major hurdles in convincing the international community of its commitment to peace.
Incidents of sectarian violence — including the mass killing of pro-Assad Alawites in March — have deepened fears among minority groups about the rise of Islamist factions and drawn condemnation from global powers currently engaged in discussions on sanctions relief and humanitarian aid.
The post Syria to Give UN Watchdog Inspectors Access to Suspected Former Nuclear Sites as New Regime Seeks Sanctions Relief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Music Festival Showcases Tunnel Installation That Simulates Gaza Bombings
An outside view of the “Unsilence Gaza” installation at the 2025 Primavera Sound music festival. Photo: Screenshot
A reproduction of a tunnel that simulates the sound of bombings in the Gaza Strip is being showcased this year at Barcelona’s annual Primavera Sound music festival, which opened on Wednesday.
The unique installation, titled “Unsilence Gaza,” allows visitors to walk through a dark tunnel-like path where they hear noises of explosions as well as dramatic, ominous music. At the end of the tunnel, there is a wall with a message that says in English, Spanish, and Catalan: “Silence isn’t the opposite of the sound of bombs, it allows them to happen.” The outside of the installation features the message: “When everything blows up, don’t hide in the silence.”
The installation makes no mention of the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organization that started the ongoing war with Israel after it orchestrated the deadly, mass terror attack across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
UNSILENCE GAZA #PrimaveraSound2025 Instalación de 15 metros de túnel que simula el ruido de un bombardeo a Gaza en el festival de #primaverasound de #barcelona pic.twitter.com/L7XnpF06u1
— Barcelona.lives (@BarcelonaLives) June 4, 2025
The installation was designed by Palestinian sound engineer Oussama Rima and is located by the main entrance of the annual music festival, held at the Parc del Fòrum. T-shirts and sweatshirts with the words “Unsilence Gaza” are also being sold at the festival and proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Palestinian Medical Relief Society to support emergency medical aid.
The Primavera Sound Foundation said on its website that the installation aims to remind people about the power of sound and how, especially in Gaza, it is associated with pain, fear, “torture and trauma.”
“We have normalized seeing war, but not listening to it,” the foundation said. “We live in a world saturated with violent images. Hypervisibility has anaesthetised us: we see, but we do not react. Sound, on the other hand, can still move us. At Primavera Sound, sound is emotion, connection, pleasure. But sound can also be the opposite: it can become a weapon. With this installation, we want to remind you that in Gaza and other parts of the world, sound is pain. It is fear. It is torture and trauma.”
In its statement, the foundation made no mention of Hamas or Israel. Instead, it talked about “genocide,” increased military spending, “warmongering rhetoric and attempts to criminalize and silence voices that defend peace.” The installation was conceptualized by the non-profit organizations Casa Nostra, Casa Vostra and the International Institute for Nonviolent Action (NOVACT), with support from the Primavera Sound Foundation.
More than 150 artists will perform at the Primavera Sound music festival this year including Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, Chappell Roan, FKA Twigs, HAIM, Fontaines D.C., IDLES and Magdalena Bay.
The post Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Music Festival Showcases Tunnel Installation That Simulates Gaza Bombings first appeared on Algemeiner.com.