LLX News

The bottom line is that the reason the cabinet has not carried out any of options is that all of them have huge downsides and unpredictable upsides.

By: Yonah Jeremy Bob – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

Though at press time, most of the nation was focused on individual battles and hostages in the 22 Gaza border communities which the IDF was still retaking, the fateful question is what the security cabinet will decide to do against Hamas.

That cabinet decision could frame Israeli-Palestinian relations and many other issues in the region for years to come.

A wide variety of options have existed since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority, including everything from: 1) a permanent reconquest of Gaza; 2) toppling Hamas completely, but then handing Gaza back to the Palestinian Authority and/or a multinational force. 3) Occupy Gaza for weeks or months with the goal of killing most of the current Hamas leadership and its military commanders, but then allowing it to retake control afterwards in the hope that such a deep wound will restore deterrence; or 4) a more limited ground invasion similar to the 2008/09 or 2014 Gaza wars.

cont’d…

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-763174?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share

Although alarming, the depth of Iran’s infiltration into the foreign-policy and media establishments exposed in this week’s reports isn’t surprising.

By: Caroline Glick – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

There is something terribly disturbing about the current state of Washington’s foreign-policy establishment.

Tuesday [09/26/2023] we were hit with the blockbuster reports by Semafor and Iran International exposing the depth of Iran’s infiltration of the U.S. foreign-policy establishment and the Biden administration. The two simultaneously published reports revealed how beginning in 2014, Iran’s Foreign Ministry established a circle of agents in Washington and Europe, which it referred to as the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI). Members of IEI were comprised of Iranian emigres sympathetic to the regime and its nuclear-weapons program.

The experts routinely submitted their drafts to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment before publication and generally sought guidance from Iran’s Foreign Ministry in relation to various pro-Iran activities, including providing sympathetic testimony before Congress.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/what-irans-penetration-of-washington-means/

Excavations in Jordan offer compelling evidence for the authenticity of the biblical tale of the destruction of Sodom, but by an asteroid impact, says theologian Dr. John Bergsma.

By: WALLA! – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

An ancient city that met a fiery end in what could be described as an asteroid impact more powerful than an “atomic explosion” has been identified as the biblical city of Sodom, according to a biblical studies expert. Dr. John Bergsma, a prominent theologian, contends that excavations in Jordan provide substantial proof that one of the Bible’s most dramatic and improbable narratives may indeed be factual.

Bergsma asserts that archaeological findings in Jordan corroborate the existence of the biblical city of Sodom. Prior research had already indicated that the ancient city of Tell el-Hammam, located in the southern Jordan Valley, suffered a catastrophic fate—a revelation that Dr. John Bergsma, a theology professor at Ohio’s Franciscan University, believes aligns with the biblical account.

As per the Book of Genesis, God unleashed brimstone and fire upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in response to the sins of their inhabitants, resulting in their complete obliteration. Similar destruction patterns were uncovered at Tell el-Hammam, leading Bergsma to reevaluate the credibility of the biblical narrative. He pointed to signs of extreme heat detected on skeletons and pottery fragments unearthed by archaeologists, suggesting a possible impact from an asteroid. 

cont’d…

https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-760462

Revising biblical history to fit today’s political agendas should be as abhorrent to Christians as it is to Israelis and Jews.

By: Israel Today Staff – israeltoday.co.il

You don’t necessarily have to believe the message of the Bible to accept it as a viable historical document. So much of the details contained in Scripture has been validated by third party historical documents and archaeological finds.

But leave it to the United Nations to completely ignore the Bible, even as a historical document, as it rewrites history to fit modern political agendas.

On Sunday, [September 17], the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to recognize Jericho, one of the oldest known cities on earth, as a World Heritage Site…in Palestine.

Yes, Palestine. And when they say “Palestine,” they don’t mean a geographical region as the Romans and later the British did. They mean the “State of Palestine,” a political entity that does not and never has existed.

But in our era of relativism, identity is a fluid thing that can be changed and altered on a whim.

And so ancient Jericho is now considered by the international community to be “Palestinian,” just as the Great Wall is Chinese and Machu Picchu is Incan.

cont’d…

Haim Katz is expected to take part in various events and forums during his two-day visit. He will also hold meetings with his various counterparts, with a focus on those from the region.

By: Ariel Kahana and ILH Staff – israelhayom.com

Amid talk of an emerging deal between the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, Minister of Tourism Haim Katz arrived for a historic visit to Riyadh on Tuesday as part of a delegation representing Israel in the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) conference. Katz is the first Israeli minister to visit the kingdom publicly.

Amid talk of an emerging deal between the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, Minister of Tourism Haim Katz arrived for a historic visit to Riyadh on Tuesday as part of a delegation representing Israel in the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) conference. Katz is the first Israeli minister to visit the kingdom publicly.

The conference, attended by key tourism figures worldwide, is part of the events marking International Tourism Day.

cont’d…

https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/09/26/908939/

By: Ryan Foley – The Christian Post; christianpost.com

The international Evangelical humanitarian organization World Vision maintains that it does not do business with terrorists as it again faces questions from U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, about its finances over a year after a former manager was convicted in an Israeli court of diverting funds to Hamas. 

Grassley sent letters to World Vision and the U.S. Agency for International Development on Aug. 11, seeking information related to the Christian organization’s finances and its use of taxpayer funding from the government agency.

World Vision is “an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice, and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God.” The charity is active in more than 100 countries but has found its finances subject to scrutiny in recent years.

Grassley’s investigations into World Vision continue after a 2020 U.S. Senate Finance Committee report found that the charity failed to properly vet an organization it awarded money to, which has ties to terrorism.

The charity has also received international attention due to the criminal charges against its former Gaza zonal manager, Mohammad El Halabi. Last year, El Halabi was convicted by an Israeli court of funneling $50 million from the organization to the terrorist organization Hamas. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. World Vision has consistently proclaimed El Halabi’s innocence, alleging “irregularities in the trial process and a lack of substantive, publicly available evidence.”

cont’d…

https://www.christianpost.com/news/world-vision-grassley-seeks-answers-usaid-funding.html

Once again, the network’s audience has been left not just uninformed but misinformed.

By: David M. Litman – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

With hosts like Ayman Mohyeldin and Mehdi Hasan, opinions at MSNBC about Israel are strong, but facts are dispensable or, at best, malleable. Such is the level of fairness and accuracy that one could be forgiven for mistaking an MSNBC host monologue about Israel with another unhinged rant by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations.

The latest example comes from Ali Velshi, who spent much of his Sunday morning weaving a narrative about an evil Jewish state, threading together outright lies and material omissions to spin his false tale of a brutal, undemocratic apartheid state. As is typical at MSNBC, the host’s guests on the subject included only those who largely align with him ideologically and on whom he could count to refrain from substantively challenging his blatant lies.

Consequently, the network’s audience was once again left not just uninformed, but misinformed.

Some of Velshi’s false claims were transparently malicious, like his description of the 2023 fatalities in Israel: “According to the U.N., nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed in Israel and the West Bank since the start of this year. That is the highest number since 2005. Apparently, some 30 Israelis have also been killed in these clashes.”

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/us-news/anti-israel/23/9/10/317422/

By: Ryan Jones – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

“Our young Christians will improve their Hebrew and get to know the Jews, and vice versa. We are building the next Israeli generation.”

Significant army service is a big deal in Israel. So much so that many young Israeli Jews will postpone their mandatory conscription for one year after high school in order to attend a pre-military preparatory training camp, to make sure they are as prepared as possible.

Already years ago, Maj. (res.) Shadi Khalloul, a regular contributor to Israel Today, recognized that the key to greater Christian integration into Israeli society was encouraging young Christians to volunteer for military service. Israel’s minorities are not required to join the Jews in physically defending the State of Israel, but many, like the Druze, Bedouins and a growing number of Christians, are choosing to do so.

But these Christians are starting even further behind, if you will, than teenage Israeli Jews. So a pre-military preparatory course was seen as essential.

This year marks the seventh in which the “Kinneret” pre-military preparatory training camp put on by the Israeli Christian Aramaic Association (ICAA) has brought together young Christians and not a few young Jews to prepare for significant IDF service, together.

cont’d…

“One year from now – Israel will be the first country to have partial laser protection. In two years there may be complete protection,” said Yuval Steinitz.

By: Yonah Jeremy Bob – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

Israel will have partial laser defenses by this time next year, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems chairman Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio on Sunday.

“One year from now – Israel will be the first country to have partial laser protection. In two years there may be complete protection – against missiles, shells, rockets, or anything else. This will protect us both in the South and in the North,” said Steinitz.

Israel’s push for laser air defenses

This past February, senior Defense Ministry official Brig.-Gen. (res.) Danny Gold said Israel’s air-defense lasers, when fully deployed, will be able to shoot down the drones Iran has been sending Russia to use against Ukraine.Speaking at the Artificial Intelligence conference at Tel Aviv University at the time, the MAFAT [Directorate of Defense Research & Development] director said his ministry was working on developing “the next generation of using lasers.”

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-756455

Despite having a population a little larger than New York City, Israel’s cyber prowess is that of a global superpower, says professor Chuck Freilich.

By: Yaakov Lappin – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Israel’s position as a cyber superpower places it in an exclusive club of world powers, despite having a population a little larger than New York City, according to former Israeli defense official Chuck Freilich.

Freilich, a senior research fellow at the MirYam Institute and the Institute for National Security Studies and a former deputy national security adviser in Israel, recently published a book on the subject, titled, “Israel and Cyber Threat: How the Startup Nation Became a Global Cyber Power.”

A former senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School who teaches at Columbia and at Tel Aviv University, Freilich said Israel’s cyber capabilities are prominent at both the civilian and military levels. The number of cyber start-ups in Israel equals the total number of cyber start-ups in the world, excluding the United States, he noted.

https://www.jns.org/israel-news/idf/23/8/17/311451/