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Israel Isn’t Going Anywhere
Protesters hold signs demanding the liberation of hostages who are being held in the Gaza Strip after they were seized by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 21, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org – Trying to understand current events in the Middle East without knowing its history is doomed to failure. Trying to understand Israel without an understanding of Jewish history and Zionism is equally futile.
Over 100 years ago, the Jewish people began to realize they would never be safe without their own land, government and army, along with the power to determine their own future. For its entire history, the State of Israel they founded has been under attack. Although Israel has extended its hand in peace to its enemies from the beginning, it has never known a day of peace.
It will take historians decades to understand what led to the Oct. 7 massacre. Undoubtedly, many of Israel’s enemies—and even some friends—will blame Israeli policies. Many Israelis and their supporters will claim it was the age-old antisemitism embraced by Islamic fundamentalism.
History teaches that the latter are correct. Arab and Muslim violence against Jews goes back to the origins of Islam. Palestinian Arab violence against Jews began decades before Israel was founded. Hamas’s dedication to violence is hardwired into its very being.
There are many people, including some Jews, who attempt to differentiate between the Jewish people, Zionism and the State of Israel. Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists make no such distinction. Palestinian terrorists have targeted Zionist Jews and non-Jews, anti-Zionist Jews in Israel and anti-Zionist Jews outside of Israel. Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims and their supporters regularly call for the murder of Jews. This violence is based on hate, not politics.
Moreover, hate does not self-generate. It is justified by culture and ideology. Mainstream Palestinian ideology is racist and genocidal. It maintains that Jews have no history in the Land of Israel and thus no right to live in it. As a result, Palestinians wrongly believe that their terrorism will eventually succeed in ethnically cleansing Israel’s Jews.
The Palestinians don’t understand that this is suicidal. Zionism is not a modern colonialist ideology. It is the modern expression of a belief that is thousands of years old. The deep connection the Jewish people have to their historic homeland is rooted in every aspect of Judaism. The idea that the Jews would wait 2,000 years to return to their land, risk life and limb to restore it to its former glory, build an entire country and then abandon it is absurd.
Supporters of the Palestinians make a similar mistake. They either fail to understand that the Palestinians support ethnic cleansing or actively support it. That this is both morally obscene and ultimately self-destructive does not occur to them.
The overwhelming majority of Jews are Zionists. Their support for the Zionist movement’s belief that the Jewish people have a right and a need for a homeland hasn’t waned. In fact, with each Palestinian attack, Zionists feel their belief that the Jews will only be safe on their own land with their own army to protect them is confirmed once again. Israel’s enemies should study Jewish history. If they did, they would understand that the Israeli people and their state aren’t going anywhere.
The post Israel Isn’t Going Anywhere first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Caitlin Jenner to Participate in Tel Aviv Pride Parade for 1st time
Caitlyn Jenner speaking at the 2018 Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala. Photo: Screenshot.
i24 News – Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic champion and leading figure in the transgender community, will participate in the Tel Aviv Pride Parade for the first time, scheduled for June 13.
The Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, as well as the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, will host her for three days during the city’s Pride events. The program for the media personality, who has over 15 million followers on social media, includes a press conference before the festivities. Jenner will also explore the country’s tourist attractions with a visit to Jerusalem.
This visit is part of a broader diplomatic strategy, including international journalists who will tour the country, meet with representatives of the gay community, and attend various events, hosted by the Tourism Ministry. Six delegations of LGBTQ+ influencers from around the world are expected this year by the Foreign Ministry. These groups, composed of representatives from civil society, the media, academia, and digital influencers, will visit community organizations in Jerusalem, Beersheba, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.
Authorities are presenting this initiative as a demonstration that “the Jewish state remains the only democracy in the Middle East where everyone is accepted, regardless of religion, race, or gender.” Tel Aviv is described as “a symbol of openness and acceptance of others.” The influence of Jenner, an award-winning cultural and television icon, transcends American political divides, reaching both liberal and conservative audiences.
The post Caitlin Jenner to Participate in Tel Aviv Pride Parade for 1st time first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Body of Mohammed Sinwar Recovered from Gaza, Taken to Israel
A screengrab shows according to the Israeli Army, Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar, taken from a handout video, released Dec/ 17, 2023. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – During excavations carried out recently in the area of the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, several bodies were found – i24NEWS learned on Sunday that one belonged to late Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, which is now being held in Israel.
On Saturday night, the Israel Defense Forces published documentation from the underground space located under the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. The tunnels include a command and control complex from which the fighting was conducted by senior Hamas commanders. During the scans, several additional bodies of terrorists were found.
About three weeks ago, Israel heavily shelled the hospital area, targeting the underground space below it, where the terrorist organization’s headquarters was located. In recent days, Israeli forces have been operating in the area, with an emphasis on underground tunnels, and have located the body. The IDF’s recovery of Sinwar’s body contradicts a previous report, according to which Hamas recovered his body from the tunnel under the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, and buried it in a tunnel in the Deir al-Balah area.
Sinwar was one of the senior and veteran figures in Hamas’ military wing, and took a significant part in the planning and execution of the murderous massacre on October 7, 2023, in which he served as head of the operations headquarters. After the assassination of military commander Mohammed Deif, Sinwar was appointed by his brother, late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, to the position. He was an influential and central factor in the organization’s decision-making, promoting Hamas’s effort to rehabilitate after IDF operations.
Now, Israel possesses the bodies of both Sinwar brothers, with much of the Hamas leadership eliminated in the more than 600 days since the war began.
The post Body of Mohammed Sinwar Recovered from Gaza, Taken to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Militants Kill Gaza Civilians, Publicly Asserting Brutal Control
A drone view shows buildings lying in ruins, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Al-Basos
i24 News – The Israeli army released footage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday showing a Palestinian brutally shot dead in public by what the military claims is a Hamas militant.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, General Ghassan Alian, released the footage via military channels. According to the official statement, the brutal execution took place last weekend in a Gaza City square, in front of witnesses. Israeli military authorities described the footage as “exceptional documentation” illustrating the Islamist movement’s methods against its own population.
General Alian addressed the residents of Gaza directly in a statement – “Hamas, terrorists, and criminals are killing you and do not care about your lives,” he said. “There is no difference between a dictator who kills in silence and a terrorist who massacres openly. Both are your enemies and the enemies of life.”
Alian described the act as “a desperate, further, and failed attempt to sow public fear in order to preserve Hamas’s rule, power, and governance, while cynically trampling on and exploiting the residents of Gaza for the survival of the Hamas terrorist regime and the preservation of its rule.”
Meanwhile, the IDF is intensifying its operations in key flashpoints in Gaza, particularly in Jabalia and Khan Yunis. Military forces continue to reach areas where they were not previously present.
The post Hamas Militants Kill Gaza Civilians, Publicly Asserting Brutal Control first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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