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Jewish Professor’s Book Explaining the Truth About the Gaza War Is Much Needed
November 2023: An Israeli soldier helps to provide incubators to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Photo: Screenshot
Thane Rosenbaum’s new book is a breath of fresh air amid the stench of antisemitic slander perpetrated by Jew-hating mobs.
Rosenbaum is a professor at Touro College, a noted interviewer and lecturer, columnist for The Jewish Journal, and author of many books, including the newly-released, Beyond Proportionality: Israel’s Just War in Gaza.
Rosenbaum goes through both the logic and the legalese to demonstrate that Israel is not committing a genocide, and that those who make such erroneous claims are divided into people who do so simply to harm Israel, those who don’t know what the term means, or those creating an alternative definition of the word to try to attack Israel.
Rosenbaum also makes clear that it is a tragedy that Palestinian noncombatants are killed, but that it is difficult to avoid this when Hamas is fighting in civilian areas and using human shields. He also notes there is a possibility that in individual instances, Israel or any country in any war may commit individual war crimes that should be investigated to determine what took place. But Israel never purposefully attacks civilians, as opposed to Hamas, whose primary policy is to target innocent women, children, and men.
Rosenbaum also notes that Hamas has given no figure of how many of its “fighters” or terrorists have been killed, but the ratio of combatant to non-combatant deaths indicates anything but a genocide. He also talks of a friendship with the late Jewish CBS reporter Bob Simon. Rosenbaum recounts that Simon could not tolerate the killing of Palestinian children, which no person of good conscience wants to occur. Asked how to avoid casualties when children are deliberately placed in harm’s way by terrorists, Simon told Rosenbaum he didn’t know how that could be done.
The same is true if you watched as many debates as I have since October 7. When some people say Israel had a right to respond to October 7 but has gone too far, they are often asked what combatant to non-combatant ratio would have been acceptable. Usually, they have no answer. The alternative, as Rosenbaum notes, is that by not seeking to defeat Hamas, Israel would be saying that the Hamas blueprint of murdering and raping civilians, and also taking hostages, should be repeated all over the world — because it worked.
In order to win a war, quite often you kill more people than the other side has killed. This has been true since the beginning of war, and does not mean a war is genocide. Rosenbaum correctly points out that rather than playing with “house” money, Hamas is playing with Qatari and Iranian money, and while Israel makes sure nearly every Israeli home has a bomb shelter, Hamas does not allow its citizens to seek protection in tunnels, claiming most absurdly that it is the UN’s responsibility to provide protection.
He also correctly notes that virtually nothing has been done to stop the spread of antisemitic vitriol on college campuses, which has been fueled by professors who talk about intersectionality and the oppressor vs. oppressed mentality.
One of the important points Rosenbaum makes (which you will never see on Joe Rogan or Piers Morgan’s shows) is that Professor Salman al Dayah, the former dean of the faculty of Sharia law at the Islamic University of Gaza, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack for “violating Islamic principles governing jihad.” Why his voice has not been amplified, or there have not been many others like him is tragic.
But the anti-Israel movement seeks to take away all agency from Hamas and Palestinians, and blame Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu for everything negative that has occurred. In his most sober moment, Rosenbaum writes: “I think it is high time for Israel to stop apologizing for fighting a war in self-defense. It has to stop listening to people who have never been to war, like Joe Biden, Antony Blinken and Barack Obama, who have no understanding about the Middle East where Jews have always faced murderous enemies.”
Rosenbaum’s book is a crucial read at this time, and while many who need to read it may not, if at least some can, it will be extremely worthwhile in the asymmetrical battle Israel and Jews face against blood libels and lies geared to turning the world into Jew haters.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Jewish Professor’s Book Explaining the Truth About the Gaza War Is Much Needed first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Vows to Press on with Offensive
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, August 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Witnesses reported the sound of explosions non-stop overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighborhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia.
Fire lit the skies from the direction of the explosions, causing panic, prompting some families to stream out of the city. Others said they would prefer to die and not leave.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that its forces have returned to combat in the Jabalia area in recent days, to dismantle militant tunnels and strengthen control of the area.
It added that the operation there “enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas.”
Israel approved a plan this month to seize control of Gaza City, describing it as the last bastion of Hamas. It is not expected to begin for a few weeks, leaving room for mediators Egypt and Qatar to try and resume ceasefire talks.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday vowed to press on with the offensive on the city where famine has been declared, which has raised alarm abroad and objections at home. Katz has said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas agrees to end the war on Israel’s terms and release all hostages.
Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City showed it wasn’t serious about a ceasefire.
It said a ceasefire agreement was “the only way to return the hostages,” holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for their lives.
The proposal on the table calls for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza and of 18 bodies. In turn, Israel would release about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Once a temporary ceasefire begins, the proposal is for Hamas and Israel to begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire that would include the return of the remaining hostages.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel would immediately resume negotiations for the release of all 50 hostages – of whom Israel believes around 20 are still living – and an end to the nearly two-year-old war but on terms acceptable to Israel.
‘HUNGRY AND AFRAID’
Around half of the enclave’s two million people currently live in Gaza City. A few thousand have already left, carrying their belongings on vehicles and rickshaws.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40, via a chat app. “No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Others said they will not leave, no matter what.
“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation, even if they did try to leave. “We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money.”
A global hunger monitor said on Friday that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread. Israel has rejected the assessment and says it ignores steps it has taken since late July to increase aid.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
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Iran Signals Willingness to Scale Back Uranium Enrichment to Ease Tensions
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iran may be prepared to significantly reduce its uranium enrichment levels in a bid to stave off renewed UN sanctions and limit the risk of further strikes by Israel and the United States, according to a report published Sunday in The Telegraph.
Citing Iranian sources, the paper said Tehran is considering lowering enrichment from 60% to 20%.
The move is reportedly being championed by Ali Larijani, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who is holding talks with regime leaders.
“Larijani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment in order to avoid further war,” a senior Iranian official told the paper.
The proposal, however, faces stiff resistance from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long opposed concessions on the nuclear program. Still, the report suggests Iran’s leadership may be open to greater flexibility, including the possibility of reviving engagement with Western powers.
Last month, i24NEWS reported exclusively that a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to travel to Iran. The team of technical experts would seek to resume monitoring of nuclear sites, inspections that have been heavily restricted in recent years.
The development comes amid mounting regional tensions and could represent a critical turning point in the long-running nuclear standoff.
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Major Brush Fire Erupts Near Jerusalem, Evacuations Underway
A view of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2018. Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
i24 News – A large brush fire broke out Sunday in the Cedars Valley area, near Route 1 and the Motza interchange, prompting an emergency response from Jerusalem district fire services. Several water-bombing planes were dispatched, and authorities have declared a “fire emergency.”
As a precaution, residents of Mevaseret Zion are being evacuated. Access to the town from Route 1 has already been blocked, and officials are weighing a full closure of the major highway.
Fire crews from the Ha’uma station are on site working to contain the flames, while motorists in the area are urged to heed traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency services.
Eight firefighting aircraft are currently operating above the blaze in support of ground teams. The fire comes amid one of the hottest, driest summers on record, with conditions fueling a series of destructive wildfires across the country.
Officials warn the situation remains critical, as the blaze threatens a vital transportation corridor leading into Jerusalem.