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The Philadelphi Conundrum

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands before a map of the Gaza Strip, telling viewers that Israel must retain control over the “Philadelphi corridor,” a strategic area along the territory’s border with Egypt, during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visibly frustrated and at times even rightfully furious, addressed a hostile foreign press Wednesday evening, condemning defeatist elements who advocate for Israel’s withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor—a move demanded by Hamas, the international community, some of the prominent leftist representatives in Israel’s political and defense establishments, and a minority of Israeli civilians.

Clearly under pressure from the international community to leave the corridor, Netanyahu warned repeatedly during the press conference that such a retreat would enable Hamas to maintain power and smuggle in weapons, preventing the demilitarization of Gaza and posing a grave threat to Israel’s security.

National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz and Knesset member Gadi Eisenkot held their own press conference on Tuesday evening, accusing Netanyahu of obstructing a potential hostage deal with Hamas. They also disputed his stance that Israel should maintain control of the Philadelphi Corridor.

But many Israelis believe this type of thinking is misguided and part of the failed “conceptzia” (governing assumptions) that preceded the Oct. 7 attacks.

As Gallant, Gantz and Eisenkot, as well as opposition leader Yair Lapid, have demonstrated in recent days, they and other high-ranking political and military figures still hold on to these defeatist views.

According to Enia Krivine, senior director for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Israel Programs and National Security Network, “Since day one of the war there has been tension between two of the primary war goals—to bring the hostages back and dismantle Hamas.”

Some in Israel’s political and military echelon, said Krivine, “have decided that bringing the hostages home alive has become the paramount war goal and that this moral imperative supersedes the other two goals,” she said.

Thousands of Israelis siding with this view are currently demonstrating against Netanyahu, accusing him of obstructing a hostage deal.

Netanyahu has been criticized by Israelis on the right for not entering Rafah sooner and taking control of the Philadelphi Corridor immediately after the initial military invasion of Gaza on Oct. 27.

Now that Israeli forces are there, Israelis on the left want Netanyahu to withdraw them to facilitate a deal to get more hostages released.

But many experts, including Krivine and former Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, agree with Netanyahu that contrary to what some Israeli defense officials believe, Israel will not be able to easily return to the corridor once it withdraws, as the international community will place heavy pressure on Jerusalem to keep it from doing so.

“There are those who believe that we can temporarily relinquish control—for 42 days—until the first phase of the deal is completed, and then, if the deal does not progress, return and regain control of the area,” said Ben-Shabbat.

“Of course, the IDF has the ability, operationally, [to] reoccupy this corridor even after 42 days, but it’s not just a matter of military capability,” he added. “Everyone understands that once we leave, Israel will face immense diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and other countries not to return.”

Ben-Shabbat, now the head of the Misgav Institute for Zionist Strategy & National Security, in Jerusalem, warned that since we are in the final stretch before the U.S. elections, the expected American pressure “will be extremely heavy.”

“The legitimacy Israel had to occupy this corridor following Oct. 7 will not exist after we leave it,” he said.

Krivine agreed, saying Israel “would [not] have the legitimacy or the support necessary to accomplish this; not from the United States, not from Egypt and not from the international community.”

Part of the reason for Israel’s insistence, she told JNS, is because the third primary goal of the war is “to make sure that Hamas can no longer pose a threat to Israel.”

Part of the confusion leading up to the press conference was that Netanyahu seems to now be saying he does not intend to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, but media outlets had reported that he had agreed to withdraw from parts of the corridor that are heavily populated, in the second phase of a proposed ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu clarified on Wednesday that Israel would be willing to withdraw if a suitable foreign entity is found that is able to properly monitor the border and prevent smuggling there.

It is worth mentioning that the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) was supposed to monitor the Rafah border after Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, but in 2007, after Hamas took over, EUBAM officials simply ran away, fearing for their own security.

Israel is not interested in, nor can it afford, a repeat of such a scenario.

The Philadelphi Corridor was problematic from the very beginning

When Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice overrode strong Israeli objections to giving up control over the Philadelphi Corridor.

Israel knew that without effective control of this strip of land, it would become a conduit for smuggling weapons into Gaza. But heavy pressure from the Bush administration, and Rice specifically, forced Israel to pull its forces from the area.

Rice urged Israel to vacate the corridor as a “peaceful gesture” to the Palestinians. Unfortunately, Israel’s leader at the time, Ariel Sharon, caved to this dangerous request.

While today Egypt denies it has allowed the smuggling of weapons into Gaza, we know this is not true.

Already in 2008, Rice said Cairo must improve border patrol efforts after Israeli officials complained that Egypt was doing a “terrible” job on the Gaza border, failing to stop smuggling of weapons and ammunition into Gaza through tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor.

“We think that Egypt has to do more. Those tunnels need to be dealt with,” Rice said at the time.

Israeli officials said they had sent a video to Washington showing Egyptian security forces helping Hamas terrorists smuggle arms across the border into Gaza.

Egypt responded that it was “doing its best” with the number of personnel it was allowed to deploy at the border under the 1979 peace treaty and a subsequent agreement with Israel.

When Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2013, he allegedly moved to destroy many of the tunnels.

But having uncovered and blocked off 150 smuggling tunnels so far in just the past few months, the IDF has proven that Egypt cannot be trusted and Israel cannot again leave the corridor since Hamas, or other terror organizations, will swiftly return to building new ones.

That decision by the Americans—the type of thinking that continues to pervade the U.S. State Department through the present day—directly led to the tragic events of Oct. 7, the ensuing war over these last 11 months and the continuing tragedy of the hostages in Gaza.

This thinking is the reason Israel was forced to pause fighting for three months earlier in the war, was behind the American pressure on Israel not to enter Rafah and is the leading reason the Americans insist the war “must end now.”

Demonstrating more common sense, Israel’s Security Cabinet voted last Thursday night in favor of maintaining a continued IDF presence in the corridor, even at the cost of a hostage deal.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voted against the decision, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir abstained.

Following news of the execution by Hamas of six hostages, whose bodies were found on Saturday in a Rafah tunnel, Gallant on Sunday called for the Cabinet to reverse its decision, claiming that the corridor is one of the biggest obstacles to a ceasefire deal.

U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his shock and anger over the hostages’ murders and said Hamas leaders must be held accountable.

However, when asked if he felt Netanyahu had done enough to get the hostages released, Biden said “no.”

During a local press conference on Monday, Netanyahu dismissed reports that Biden had criticized him for not doing enough to secure a ceasefire deal, saying he “does not believe Biden said that” in light of the murders.

“What message does this send Hamas?” said Netanyahu.

“I don’t believe that either President Biden or anyone else serious about achieving peace and achieving [the hostages’] release would seriously ask Israel to make these concessions. We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make the concessions,” he added.

What if Israel withdraws?

Ben-Shabbat told JNS that relinquishing control of the Philadelphi Corridor “would encourage Hamas, signal to the residents of Gaza that the terror organization will continue to be the dominant force in the Strip and might even embolden the ‘resistance axis,’ particularly Hezbollah, to take a harder stance against Israel.”

He added: “If, after Oct. 7, and after seeing the implications of military buildup, we don’t insist on this, then it essentially means Israel can be forced to fold on any issue.”

Ben-Shabbat went on to say that “past experience does not allow us to rely on the goodwill of others, especially after what happened to us on Oct. 7.”

He recalled what happened in January 2009 on the eve of the conclusion of “Operation Cast Lead,” when then-Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed an agreement with the United States and NATO for joint efforts to counter the smuggling threat.

“This agreement did not prevent even a gram of gunpowder from being smuggled into Gaza,” he said.

While some argue that it’s not wise to occupy the corridor because it’s a narrow strip of land, and staying there would expose Israeli forces, Ben-Shabbat told JNS that “now is precisely the time for the IDF to carry out all the necessary engineering work in the area to improve conditions for the safety of our forces,” adding, “Who said we have to settle for a 14-meter-wide strip?”

Ensuring the security of Israeli forces “justifies making the necessary changes to the terrain, and the width of the corridor should be determined accordingly,” he said.

In Krivine’s view, Israel may eventually be able to allow the Egyptians or Americans physical control of the corridor, but it would be irresponsible to do so today.

“There is no way to prevent arms getting in—or terrorists and potentially hostages—being smuggled out of the enclave without a credible inspections regime in the corridor both below ground and above ground,” she said. “Until there is a credible inspections regime established that deprives Hamas the ability to rearm, the Philadelphi corridor must remain in the hands of the IDF.”

[Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar “understands that the hostages are his only remaining leverage over the government of Israel,” she said, adding that Sinwar’s “wicked decision” to execute the hostages when IDF forces were so close to rescuing them “was a ploy to create a wedge in Israeli society and pressure Netanyahu into making tough concessions at the negotiating table.”

Sinwar, she said, “knows that Israel’s Achilles heel is its deep valuing of human life, and he understands how to drive a stake into the heart of Israeli society.”

According to Krivine, giving in to Hamas’s demands means that the terror group survives and begins the process of rebuilding.

“There is no third party—not the P.A. and not the moderate Arab states—that will step into the void unless the IDF can ensure that Hamas is unable to regroup and rearm,” she said.

Israel’s path forward

Brian Carter of the American Enterprise Institute seems to agree.

He told JNS that “either Israel or another capable entity must control the Philadelphi Corridor for Israel to prevent Hamas from rebuilding its capabilities to the same level the group reached by Oct. 7.”

Otherwise, he warned, “Hamas will gradually rebuild itself and undo the progress Israel has made toward defeating the group.”

Any outcome that results in a rebuilt Hamas is “unacceptable and would constitute an Israeli defeat,” he said.

According to Carter, the way forward is to find a party that is capable of and willing to control the Philadelphi Corridor.

He believes it is “unlikely” that any force could prevent smuggling under the corridor without a presence on the corridor.

Ben-Shabbat told JNS that Israel can take more steps to ensure it achieves its objectives in this war.

First, Israel must “completely deprive Hamas of control over the supplies entering the Strip,” he said. “This is its lifeline and the main means of maintaining its governance.”

Second, Israel should “divide Gaza into more sections, beyond what currently exists.”

Third, as another former head of the Israeli National Security Council, Giora Eiland, proposed, Israel should launch a “broad operation” in northern Gaza. This means evacuating Gaza City and the northern Strip, closing it off as a military zone, cutting off supplies to the area, and then conducting a thorough military operation to destroy terrorists.

“In my opinion, it is a good option,” Ben-Shabbat told JNS.

“The plan does have its drawbacks though as Israel can expect resistance from the United States and the international community, and the fact that it involves returning many IDF forces to the Gaza Strip,” he noted.

Finally, Ben-Shabbat suggested Israel could “take action” against Hamas leaders abroad.

The post The Philadelphi Conundrum first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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X marks the spot where Elon Musk’s gesture is being debated, derided, defended and disputed

Hours after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, many Jewish groups sounded the alarm when Elon Musk appeared to twice deliver a Nazi salute at the Presidential Parade.

But the Jewish group most famous for fighting antisemitism had a different take.

“It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the Anti-Defamation League wrote Monday in a statement on Musk’s own social media platform X, referring to Musk’s outstretched-arm movement that came as he was thanking his supporters.

The ADL added, “In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning.”

Musk replied, “Thanks guys,” adding a laughing emoji.

Others were less grateful for the ADL’s response. A range of groups on the left have long opposed the ADL for what they say is an improper focus on policing pro-Palestinian speech and advocating for Israel—and they criticized the group’s reaction to Musk’s gesture. But they were joined by others who have aligned in the past with the ADL, including the pro-Israel group Zioness, which said it “vehemently disagreed with ADL’s take on Elon Musk’s behavior today.”

“When we see what is clearly a Nazi salute—without apology or clarification—we must unequivocally call it out. Orgs committed to fighting antisemitism must do so no matter where on the political spectrum it comes from,” the New York Jewish Agenda, a progressive group that has collaborated with the ADL, wrote on X. “If we can’t, we’re not ready for what’s coming.”

At a time when the ADL itself has documented historic levels of antisemitism, how did it decide to give the world’s richest man the benefit of the doubt? The group declined to say on Tuesday.

An ADL spokesperson said CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was unavailable for comment, saying he was at the global economic summit in Davos, Switzerland. Greenblatt is scheduled to speak on a Thursday panel at the forum entitled “Confronting Antisemitism amid Polarization,” alongside teachers union leader Randi Weingarten and former Harvard president Lawrence Summers, both of whom are Jewish. On X, he refrained from commenting on Musk even as he posted to thank multiple airlines for resuming flights to Israel.

The ADL also declined to elaborate on its statement or explain how it was crafted in response to inquiries from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. But in its symbolic pardon of a billionaire who had enthusiastically bankrolled Trump’s campaign, it appeared to contradict its own definition of a Nazi salute, which states that the gesture “consists of raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down.”

The statement also raised questions among many about how the ADL plans to fight antisemitism during the second Trump administration—when a growing number of people in the president’s inner circle, including Musk, have track records that include rhetoric and actions the ADL usually condemns. Shortly after defending Musk, the group condemned Trump’s decision to pardon the Jan. 6 rioters, a group that included members of far-right extremist groups, and also praised his newly sworn-in secretary of state, Marco Rubio.

Into the void created by the ADL’s statement, Jewish and non-Jewish figures alike are deciding how meaningful Musk’s salute really is. The ADL’s own former director, Abraham Foxman, wrote on X that he considered Musk’s actions “very disconcerting,” writing, “Elon Musk may be the world’s richest man but that does not excuse his thanking the Trump supporters with a Heil Hitler Nazi salute.”

Foxman declined to comment to JTA on how the organization he helmed for decades responded to Musk. “The situation is too serious to engage in Jewish internal debates at this time,” Foxman said.

And Deborah Lipstadt, who served as the Biden administration’s special envoy combating global antisemitism until this week, downplayed the incident.

“I believe we have much, much bigger things to worry about regarding contemporary antisemitism than this particular issue,” Lipstadt told JTA, saying she was referring both to Musk’s salute and the ADL’s response. (Lipstadt separately told The Forward she accepted the ADL’s reading of the gesture as “awkward.”) The U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum did not respond to a request for comment on Musk’s gesture.

Others, including many progressives, were quick to denounce Musk, the ADL, or both.

“Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and a high-ranking member of the new Trump administration, gave an unambiguous Nazi salute at a post-inauguration Trump rally,” the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, a progressive group, wrote in a fundraising email topped with an image of Musk’s gesture. “We need to be prepared to call out and fight back against hate and extremism wherever we see it.”

One of the most widely shared condemnations came from Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most prominent progressive voices in Washington.

“Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” she wrote in response to the ADL. “People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them.”

That, in turn, drew backlash from a range of voices chiding Ocasio-Cortez, who is not Jewish, for discounting the voice of a prominent Jewish group.

Zioness, which stated its “vehement” disagreement with the ADL, also accused Ocasio-Cortez of engaging in “exploitation of this moment to openly attack the most identifiable Jewish organization in America.” But it also said, “There is no such thing as an accidental Nazi salute.”

Some people encouraged each other to flood the ADL’s own antisemitic incident reporting system with reports of Musk’s gesture. Jewish actor and former “Unorthodox” podcast co-host Josh Malina, a frequent tweeter, remarked that he would “report the ADL to the ADL,” adding, “Shame on you, ADL.”

IfNotNow, a progressive Jewish group that has been a prominent voice accusing Israel of genocide, said it was “appalled that the Anti-Defamation League—which purports to be the leading organization fighting antisemitism—glossed over Musk’s Nazi gesture, admonishing those of us who were aghast at the Hitler salute to give Musk ‘the benefit of the doubt’—even as the ADL assumes the worst intentions of those in the movement for Palestinian human rights.”

The group added that the ADL’s statement “marks the completion of the ADL’s transition from a civil rights organization to a willing partner in the neo-fascist governing coalition.”

This is far from Musk’s first brush with accusations of antisemitism. Recently, he has promoted the German far-right AfD party, whose politicians have downplayed the Holocaust, along with anti-immigrant figures and causes in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory shared on X as “the actual truth,” prompting many advertisers to flee the platform. He later mounted a rehabilitation effort, visiting Auschwitz (where he opined that X could have saved Jews from the Holocaust) and advocating on behalf of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

In recent months he has also praised a Tucker Carlson X interview with a Holocaust denier (though later deleted his endorsement of the video) and invited avowed antisemites, including Nick Fuentes, back onto the platform after they were banned by the site’s previous owners.

Fuentes, for his part, expressed confusion about the ADL’s post, writing, “Is there something else going on?” He did not elaborate on what he was thinking.

But some pro-Israel and conservative influencers rushed to Musk’s defense, accusing Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives of hypocrisy for not loudly condemning Nazi sympathizers and salutes at pro-Palestinian protests.

“TODAY, because Musk’s gesture looked like a Nazi salute, TODAY was the day they finally decided that Nazi salutes are BAD,” pro-Israel activist Jordyn Tilchen wrote on Instagram, in one representative post. Yet Tilchen also noted that “Musk should make a statement” about his gesture, “because there are far right extremists on neo-Nazi Telegram channels RIGHT NOW who believe it was” a Nazi salute.

Also defending Musk was Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, who made a name for herself by condemning university presidents for their response to antisemitism. Stefanik took part of her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday to deny Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy’s charge that Musk had performed “two Heil Hitler salutes.”

“No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes,” Stefanik responded. “The American people are smart. They see through it. They support Elon Musk. We are proud to be the country of such successful entrepreneurs.”

Musk, for his part, pinned a video of his speech with the salute to the top of his X page. He also mocked his critics without explicitly clarifying the salute’s intent, writing on X, “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.” He called a Wikipedia page mentioning his salute “an extension of legacy media propaganda.”

Greenblatt himself has a long and tangled history with Musk, who threatened to sue the ADL when the group pledged to track hate speech on the site formerly known as Twitter after Musk first purchased it. The two appeared to make up after Oct. 7, when Musk began openly supporting Israel, visited Auschwitz and pledged to curtail anti-Zionist speech on X.

Greenblatt praised such measures even as many corporations were fleeing the platform over a spike in antisemitic content. In November 2023 he told JTA, “I will call out Elon Musk and X, like every other platform, when they get it wrong. And I will credit Elon Musk and X and every other platform when they get it right.”

The post X marks the spot where Elon Musk’s gesture is being debated, derided, defended and disputed appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

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Moroccan Tourist With US Green Card Carries Out Stabbing Attack in Tel Aviv, Wounding 4

Israeli police officers respond after a Moroccan national with a US green card carried out a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv on Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpaare/dpa via Reuters Connect

A Moroccan national with a US green card, who entered Israel three days ago, carried out a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, wounding at least four people before being shot and killed by an off duty border guard.

Abdelaziz Kaddi, 29, was found with a permanent US resident card after a female officer shot and killed him. According to Israeli reports, he entered Israel on Jan. 18 with a tourist visa with the intention to carry out a terrorist attack. It was later revealed that he had a history of inciting posts on social media.

The off duty border guard who killed Abdelaziz Kaddi after he carried out a stabbing attack in central Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 21, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of volunteer police officer Rani Shilat

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel disclosed that Israeli immigration officials had initially raised concerns about the suspect upon his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. The Population and Immigration Authority, Arbel said, identified Kaddi as a potential risk and recommended denying his entry.

Border officials at Ben Gurion Airport reported that Kaddi was unable to provide clear details about the purpose of his visit to Israel, including who he was meeting or whether he intended to work in the country. Following his initial questioning, authorities denied him entry and referred him to the Shin Bet security agency for further review. Despite the initial concerns, security officials ultimately decided to grant him entry after conducting their own assessment.

“I urge Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar to thoroughly investigate this incident and implement necessary measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future,” Arbel said in a statement.

In response to Arbel’s remarks, the Shin Bet stated that Kaddi underwent a thorough security assessment upon his arrival in Israel. This “process included an interrogation and additional checks, after which no security concerns were found that would justify denying him entry,” the security agency said, adding that the incident was under review to ensure proper procedures were followed.

The attack unfolded in two locations, Nahalat Binyamin Street and nearby Kalisher Street, a bustling area adjacent to the Carmel market frequented by locals and tourists.

Emergency responders from Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service, said that four people — three in their twenties and one in his fifties — were listed in moderate and light condition after sustaining stabbing wounds.

Witnesses described scenes of panic as the attack unfolded. “We heard a burst of gunfire, saw people running, and rushed into a bathroom,” an eyewitness who was near the scene of the attack told Israel’s Channel 12 News. “We stepped out briefly to check if it was just the sound of a motorcycle, but then we heard another loud bang — and ran to the nearest shelter. All the while, we could hear the sound of many vehicles arriving.”

Warning: Viewer discretion is advised, as the brief clip below shows Kaddi’s dead body.


Authorities urged residents to stay away from the area as police combed the streets, searching for possible accomplices or any additional threats. Volunteer police officer Rani Shilat said the attacker arrived on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice who fled the scene and is still at large.

According to Shilat, the area quickly returned to its usual bustling state shortly after the attack.

The attack comes amid heightened security concerns in Israel, with an ongoing wave of violence in major cities including Tel Aviv, which has been the target of several attacks in recent months. Hundreds of volunteer police officers have been deployed to support the city’s law enforcement.

Israeli police patrol the streets of Tel Aviv after a stabbing attack on Jan. 21, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of volunteer police officer Rani Shilat

Shilat expressed concerns that Tel Aviv could face more attacks in the near future, attributing the threat to a growing sense of confidence among terrorists following the recent Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas as well as the fact that “so many murderers are now roaming the streets free.” The deal, which stipulates the release of 33 hostages from Gaza in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners, has, according to Shilat, also emboldened other potential attackers.

“It reinforces their sense of victory,” Shilat said. “Their mindset now is that even in the worst-case scenario, they’ll eventually be freed in another deal somewhere down the line.”

Security forces are working to determine whether Kaddi acted alone or had connections to extremist groups.

He had a history of expressing pro-terror sentiments on social media, frequently sharing content in support of Gaza and against Israel. Kaddi accused Israel of starving northern Gaza and posted a video praising Islam with the caption “free Palestine,” along with an image of Ibrahim Nablusi, a Palestinian Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades commander killed in Nablus who is hailed by pro-Palestinian groups as the martyr and “Lion of Nablus.”

Following Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Kaddi wrote about martyrdom in Islam, posting that “what is happening now may be the reason for the doubling of the number of martyrs for Islam.” His Facebook account was deleted on Tuesday evening, shortly after his identity as the attacker was revealed.

The post Moroccan Tourist With US Green Card Carries Out Stabbing Attack in Tel Aviv, Wounding 4 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Elise Stefanik Calls Out ‘Antisemitic Rot’ At United Nations, Vows To Stress ‘The Importance of Standing With Israel’

US Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) speaks during a House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing titled ‘Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism’ on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, Dec. 5, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

During Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearings, Rep. Elise Stefanik (D-NY), President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as United Nations (UN) ambassador, lambasted the “antisemitic rot” in the UN, vowing to restore “moral clarity” at the intergovernmental organization. 

“If you look at the anti-Semitic rot within the United Nations, there are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis combined,” Stefanik said.

Stefanik continued by pointing out that members of the UN have refused to emphatically condemn the widely-corroborated and evidenced claims of systemic rape of Israeli women on Oct. 7 by the Hamas terrorist group. The congresswoman said she was “overjoyed” at the recent return of three Israeli female hostages—Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari—from the clutches of Hamas, which was made possible by the recent ceasefire deal between the Jewish state and the terrorist group. 

“We need to stay committed to ensuring every hostage is brought home. I’ve met with many hostage families. This position, we need to be a voice of moral clarity on the UN Security Council and at the United Nations at large, for the world to hear the importance of standing with Israel, and I intend to do that,” Stefanik said. 

Stefanik, one of the most stalwart allies of the Jewish state in Congress, reflected on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the controversial and “disgraceful” UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 which defined Zionism as “a form of racism and discrimination.” 

“At the time, our UN ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynahan spoke out strongly against that disgraceful resolution. That is the type of leadership that I hope to bring if confirmed to the United Nations,” Stefanik said. 

Beyond the UN, Stefanik also discussed her views on potential West Bank annexation. Stefanik fielded questions from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), one of the most vociferous critics of Israel in the Senate, regarding her view on the West Bank. Van Hollen asked Stefanik whether she agrees with right-wing Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that the Jewish state has a “biblical right to the entire West Bank.” 

“Yes,” Stefanik replied. 

Van Hollen responded that expanding Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank would prevent “peace and stability” in the Middle East. He encouraged her to rethink her position, urging her to consider the existing UN Security Council resolutions regarding the West Bank. 

Van Hollen and Stefanik also tusseled over whether Palestinians deserve “self determination” in the form of their own state. Van Hollen asserted that Stefanik privately expressed her support for a Palestinian state. However, Stefanik accused the Senator of misrepresenting her viewpoint, instead Palestinains “deserve so much better than the failures they’ve had from terrorist leadership.” 

In the year following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Isarel, Stefanik has established herself as one of the most vocal allies of the Jewish state. 

While serving on the Education and the Workforce Committee, Stefanik has lambasted administrators of elite universities for their mealy-mouthed condemnations of antisemitism and tolerance of anti-Jewish violence on campus. In December 2023, Stefanik engaged in a fiery back-and-forth with the presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology over  purported antisemitic campus atmospheres.

During the 2024 presidential election, Stefanik cut a video with Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), encouraging Jewish voters to throw their support behind Donald Trump. 

“This is the most important election cycle in our lifetime, and as we have seen on college campuses, the rot of antisemitism is real in the Democratic Party,” Stefanik said.

RJC—an organization which works to enhance ties between the Republican party and the Jewish community—praised Stefanik’s performance during the confirmation hearings. 

“By nominating Rep. [Elise Stefanik] to be the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, President Trump has sent a clear message: that we will stand by our cherished ally Israel and fight back against the vile antisemitism running rampant in Turtle Bay,” RJC wrote on X/Twitter. “RJC is proud to support Rep. Stefanik’s nomination, and strongly urges all US Senators to swiftly confirm her,” RJC continued. 

 

The post Elise Stefanik Calls Out ‘Antisemitic Rot’ At United Nations, Vows To Stress ‘The Importance of Standing With Israel’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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