Israeli Knesset outlawing UNRWA

I'm very troubled by the two laws that the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has just passed, to prevent UNRWA, the UN refugee agency for Palestinian refugees, from operating in Israel and putting it under severe restrictions in Gaza and the West Bank.

While it does seem that some employees of UNRWA are or were members of Hamas, and some took part in the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, does that mean that the entire organization is irrevocably tainted?

The professional leadership of UNRWA employed by the UN certainly does not belong to Hamas, and they are pointing out how disastrous the outlawing of the organization in Gaza will be, if it is indeed outlawed.

Who will take care of the people of Gaza if UNRWA is kicked out? Gaza is a heap of rubble now, and thousands of people have been killed. Where will food, medicine, and shelter come from, for the people of Gaza, if UNRWA is not there? There are some other relief agencies in Gaza, such as the World Central Kitchen, but UNRWA has been established in Gaza since the late 1940s and 1950s, and knows the needs of its people intimately. Unless Israel is prepared to take over all of its relief activities, I think it would be much better for Israel to work with UNRWA (as hard as that may be) than to destroy it.

My readers may not agree with me about the value of UNRWA (and I'm no expert on it), but I think that those of us who support Israel need to think seriously also about how to ensure that there is adequate food, clothing, and shelter for the people of Gaza.

This is a good Times of Israel article on the laws, including denunciations of the laws by the UN, the UK, and the United States, among other bodies.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-approves-laws-barring-unrwa-from-israel-limiting-it-in-gaza-and-west-bank/ 

Despite widespread international opposition, lawmakers voted overwhelming on Monday evening to approve two bills essentially barring the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants from operating in Israel, and severely curtailing its activities in Gaza and the West Bank.

During the opening plenum session of the Knesset’s winter legislative session, MKs voted 92 to 10 to approve a law barring UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory, and 87-9 in favor of another measure curtailing UNRWA’s activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by banning state authorities from having any contact with the agency.

Without coordination with Israel, it will be almost impossible for UNRWA to work in Gaza or the West Bank, since Jerusalem would no longer be issuing entrance permits to those territories or allowing coordination with the IDF. Israel also currently controls access to Gaza from Egypt, with Israeli forces deployed along the border between them.

UNRWA — short for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East — provides education, health care and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Responding to the “unprecedented” vote, UNRWA warned that the legislation “sets a dangerous precedent,” breaches the UN charter “and violates the State of Israel’s obligations under international law.”

“These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell… and are nothing less than collective punishment.” the agency said in a statement.

“It’s outrageous that a member state of the United Nations is working to dismantle a UN agency which also happens to be the largest responder in the humanitarian operation in Gaza,” Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for UNRWA, told AFP.

According to the Ynet news site, the Foreign Ministry had warned of the dangers of passing the UNRWA legislation, stating that Israel could be found in violation of the UN charter and be expelled.

Ahead of the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that passing the bills would be a “catastrophe,” while European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell stated that they “would have disastrous consequences.”

Immediately prior to the vote, the US made clear to Israel that it was deeply concerned by the legislation, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller telling reporters that humanitarian assistance was not getting to the people in Jabalia in northern Gaza, where the Israeli military has stepped up its campaign, and that Washington would not accept that.

A State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel that the US was “deeply troubled” by the legislation, saying that it could force the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees to discontinue all of its operations in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also previously expressed concern over the bills, stating that the “enactment of such restrictions would devastate the Gaza humanitarian response” as well as the provision of “vital” services in East Jerusalem.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy expressed London’s “profound regret” over the legislation, stating that “the allegations against UNRWA staff earlier this year were fully investigated, and offer no justification for cutting off ties with UNRWA.”

Lammy added that banning the organization would not be in Israel’s “interests.”

In a seeming response to the international criticism, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was prepared to work with international partners, both in the 90 days before the legislation takes effect and afterward, to ensure that humanitarian aid would still reach Gazan civilians.

“UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement issued in English.

“In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect – and after – we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security,” Netanyahu’s office said.

While Israel has worked to gradually limit UNRWA’s role in the delivery of humanitarian aid, in favor of the World Food Program, UNICEF and other agencies, UNRWA is still heavily involved in the Strip’s humanitarian operation, running shelters, clinics and warehouses.

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the security establishment and professional staff cautioned political leaders against passing the legislation in the middle of the war against Hamas in Gaza without a viable replacement in place.

While some Israeli political leaders recognized the humanitarian risk and the international backlash that would result, “the political cost of opposing the legislation became too significant to endure,” the official said, explaining that the IDF itself spent months building a campaign that ties UNRWA to Hamas.

The Knesset’s approval of the two bills in their second and third (final) readings came only days after UNRWA confirmed that a Hamas Nukbha commander killed in an Israeli strike, who led the killing and kidnapping of Israelis from a roadside bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7 last year, had been employed by the agency since July 2022.

Israel alleges that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.

In February, the IDF revealed the existence of a subterranean Hamas data center directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza Strip headquarters. The IDF has also repeatedly targeted Hamas command centers and gunmen hiding out in UNRWA schools.

Israeli lawmakers celebrated the legislation’s passage on Monday evening. Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, the sponsor of the bill prohibiting UNRWA from operating within Israel, tweeted: “UNRWA terrorists, your story ends here; enemies have no right to exist in the State of Israel.”

“UNRWA will not operate in the territory of the State of Israel, their perks will be canceled, their entry into Israel will be prohibited, complete severance of ties,” exulted opposition Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky, the sponsor of the second bill.

“That’s it, it’s over. UNRWA is out,” cheered Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, calling the bills’ passage an “historic and significant move for the security of the country” against terrorists operating “under the auspices of the United Nations.”

“UNRWA employed terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre and is educating young Palestinians about terrorism and hatred of Israel,” said Energy Minister Eli Cohen.

“Terrorists and supporters of terrorism have no place in the State of Israel,” argued Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf.

“I congratulate and thank the members of the Knesset from across the political spectrum for passing the laws that tonight put an end to the ongoing disgrace of cooperation with UNRWA,” said far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“Whoever harms the security of the State of Israel, the State of Israel will harm him,” he added.

MK Benny Gantz’s centrist National Unity party also supported the legislation, and criticized Netanyahu for missing the votes against what it described as “an organization that was part of the Hamas apparatus and whose employees took part in the October 7 massacre.”

During a debate in the Knesset plenum ahead of the votes, Arab lawmakers railed against the laws, with Hadash-Ta’al MK Aida Touma-Sliman claiming Israel was carrying out “genocide” in Gaza.

“No Palestinian wants to be a refugee,” she yelled, adding that “the majority of Gazans are now refugees.”

Likud MK Tally Gotliv had to be physically restrained by Knesset ushers after approaching the podium during a speech by Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi, in which he railed against what he termed “fascist” legislation.

“The Palestinian people will be freed from the occupation,” Tibi screamed, as right-wing MKs called for him to leave the Knesset.

Israel had been extremely critical of UNRWA long before the Hamas invasion and slaughter in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, saying that its near uniqueness in the world — granting refugee status not just to the first generation of refugees but to their descendants — perpetuated the conflict and a culture of dependence among Palestinians.

At the same time, some Israeli politicians and officials saw the relief that the agency provided as a means of keeping the Gaza Strip, and parts of the West Bank, from deeper poverty and thus greater violence and terrorism.

Kamala Harris ad - "You will be protected"

 

Momodou Taal - praise for the "armed resistance in Palestine"

Momodou Taal, a foreign graduate student at Cornell (from the UK), has been banned from the Cornell campus because he has violated conduct rules for students. He is one of the leaders of an umbrella group called the Cornell Coalition for Mutual Liberation, which organized the pro-Palestinian encampment at Cornell in the spring. Cornell initially decided to suspend him, which could have resulted in his losing the visa that permitted him to stay in the US, but Cornell then backed down.

I was just reading an article from the Cornell Sun from February 3, 2024, reporting on a rally that occurred the day before. Taal made some disturbing and inflammatory remarks praising the "armed resistance in Palestine."

About 70 demonstrators gathered outside of Day Hall on Friday afternoon to protest the Student Assembly’s 16-4 rejection of Resolution 51, which called on Cornell to end partnerships with and suspected investments in arms companies — such as Boeing and Raytheon — that provide weapons to Israel.

“We don’t take our cue from some bullsh*t Student Assembly at Cornell,” said Momodou Taal, grad, who led chants throughout the event. “We take our cue from the armed resistance in Palestine. We are in solidarity with the armed resistance in Palestine from the river to the sea,” he continued, garnering some cheers from the crowd.

At time of publication, Taal did not respond to repeated requests to elaborate on his remarks. Taal has previously described himself as the liaison representative for Cornell’s Coalition for Mutual Liberation, an activist collective that organized Friday’s protest.

Taal’s statement was not the only apparent praise of militant groups at the event. At one point, the crowd chanted, “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud. Turn another ship around.” Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a group the Biden administration recently labeled a terrorist organization, have fired at Red Sea ships, including commercial vessels and a U.S. warship.

In an online discussion on November 10, 2023, Too Black of the Black Myths Podcast sat down with Taal (also host of the Malcolm Effect podcast) "to discuss the current repression on college campuses against Pro-Palestinian students."

In his introduction, Taal said that he was the representative for intercampus organization for the Coalition for Mutual Liberation, which was formed in the fall. He said that, "We kind of realized that if we're going to be effective against the Zionist machine on campus that we have to be organized in our numbers, so we're trying to bring as many organizations together as possible. The Zionist lobby on campus is extremely well-funded and extremely well-organized and they have institutional backing, and so we thought let's bring an umbrella organization together which is Cornell's Coalition for Mutual Liberation and we're trying to - yes - in our thousands and our millions we are all Palestinians."

President Joe Biden's statement on the death of Yahya Sinwar

October 17, 2024 Statement from President Joe Biden on the Death of Yahya Sinwar Early this morning, Israeli authorities informed my national security team that a mission they conducted in Gaza likely killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.  DNA tests have now confirmed that Sinwar is dead.  This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.  As the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens from over 30 countries.  He was the mastermind of the October 7th massacres, rapes, and kidnappings.  It was on his orders that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel to intentionally – and with unspeakable savagery – kill and massacre civilians, a Holocaust survivor, children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children.  Over 1,200 people were killed on that day, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, including 46 Americans.  More than 250 were taken hostage, with 101 still missing. That number includes seven Americans, four of whom are believed to still be alive and held by Hamas terrorists.  Sinwar is the man most responsible for this, and for so much of what followed.   Shortly after the October 7 massacres, I directed Special Operations personnel and our intelligence professionals to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.  With our intelligence help, the IDF relentlessly pursued Hamas’s leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run.  There has rarely been a military campaign like this, with Hamas leaders living and moving through hundreds of miles of tunnels, organized in multiple stories underground, determined to protect themselves with no care for the civilians suffering above ground.  Today, however, proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes. To my Israeli friends, this is no doubt a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011. Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas. Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7. I will be speaking soon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.   There is now the opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.  Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us.   ###

"Drop Hillel" - a new antisemitic campaign on American college campuses

The anti-Israel, antisemitic movement has a new goal - driving Hillel off university campuses. There is a new organization, called "Drop Hillel," which as usual claims to be led by Jews, but I have my doubts. Notice the other Instagram accounts signing onto this message - including National SJP (which praised the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel), Cuny4Palestine (one of the most radical pro-Palestinian student groups), and teachingpalestine.

"Drop Hillel" blames Hillel for all the supposed harm done by Israel - including "material support to the Zionist project and its crimes." I can't help but feel that this is intended to parallel the wording of laws in the US that prohibit "material support" of terrorist groups, so that Drop Hillel is call Hillel a terrorist group.

In actuality, Hillels support a wide variety of types of Jewish life on campuses - religious activities, socializing, sharing meals, interfaith efforts, etc. If Drop Hillel managed to get college administrations to kick Hillel off campuses, this would immediately result in a deep drop in support for Jewish religious and social activities and for Jewish students. 

Drop Hille is an antisemitic organization (even if it is organized by Jews), and seeks to destroy the basis for healthy Jewish life on college campuses across the United States.

Ithaca College Students for Justice in Palestine glorifies Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 one year later

The latest Instagram Story from Ithaca College Students for Justice in Palestine includes a page with the slogans “Glory to the Martyrs. Victory to the Resistance.”

This page is from a series originally posted by @wawog_now, “Writers Against the War on Gaza.” The bottom illustration is from a photograph of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terrorists broke through the fence separating Israel from Gaza.

ICSJP chose to post this picture on October 7, 2024, the anniversary to the day of the Hamas attack. I cannot see this as anything but a glorification of the violence wrought that day by Hamas upon Israelis and citizens of other countries living in the kibbutzim and small towns on the southwest border of Israel with Gaza – violence which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 others into Gaza.

I am outraged and my heart hurts that students at Ithaca College, by posting this image, are celebrating the murders and hostage-taking of Hamas.

And the slogan, “Victory to the Resistance,” in my opinion, is simply calling for more attacks by Hamas upon Israeli civilians.

The other Ithaca College pro-Palestinian student group, IC Students for Palestine, is planning a vigil for this coming Saturday night, October 12, which happens to be the end of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. This is their Instagram announcement.

This group also just posted another message on their Instagram account today (10/08/24): "Glory to the Martyrs. Glory to the Resistance. Free Palestine." What do they mean by the "resistance"? Do they actually understand what resistance means - murder, rape, torture, burning people alive in their houses, constant rocket fire from Gaza and Lebanon into Israel? Attempts to kill people in Israel, including my friends? Have they ever seen someone who died by violence? Why would they wish that on anyone? 

I want an end to this war - an end to the Israeli army's attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, an end to the deaths of Palestinian civilians, an end to the destruction of Gaza, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that frees the hostages, an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and a halt to the Hezbollah rockets and missiles on Israel. It doesn't seem me to that this is what the members of these two student groups want - they glorify the resistance, they want the resistance to be victorious. And what does victory mean?

Local pro-Hamas organizations to demonstrate on October 5, 2024

I just saw an announcement that our local pro-Hamas groups are having a demonstration on Saturday, October 5. Sponsors include Ithaca Committee for Justice in Palestine, and a newly-founded affiliate, Jews for Mutual Liberation, Ithaca DSA, and Party for Socialism and Liberation - Finger Lakes. 

Several Cornell organizations are also co-sponsors - JVP Cornell, Cornell SJP, Cornell Coalition for Mutual Liberation. CML at Cornell was the main organizer of the protests and encampments last year and continuing this year. 

Does the "One Year of Resistance" include the orgy of murder, rape, torture, and hostage-taking on October 7?

The "Jews for Mutual Liberation" will be sharing a tashlich ritual - I wonder if it will be like the one that the Detroit JVP group is doing?

Iran shot 180 ballistic missiles at Israel today - “Northern Arrows in northern Tel Aviv"

The Israeli artist Shoshke (Zeeve) Engelmayer posted this response to today’s attack from Iran.

The Israeli attack upon Lebanon has been named “Northern Arrows” by the Israeli army.

The caption for this picture reads:

“Northern Arrows.  Also in northern Tel Aviv."

Jewish Voice for Peace at University of Michigan posts pro-Hezbollah, pro-terrorist propaganda

The misnamed Jewish Voice for Peace chapter at the University of Michigan posts pro-Hezbollah and pro-terrorist messages on its Instagram page.

“Zionism is terrorism, not Judaism”

“‘Death to Israel’” is not just a threat. It is a moral imperative and the only acceptable solution. May the entire colony burn to the ground for good.” From the @disorientalizing Instagram page

“Palestinians install the picture of Martyr Nasrallah next to Martyr Ismail Haniyeh in Jenin Camp.” Source:from @unityoffields and @nycresistswithgaza on Instagram; original video at https://www.instagram.com/p/DAd5CaBuTT1

Once again, the mock "apartheid wall," now at U Michigan
 

From "Here4theKids and Amanda Gelender" - Jewish "Anti-Zionists" - Stop Throwing the Palestinian Armed Resistance under the Bus. "We don't side with colonizers just because they are Jewish"

Dr. Maura Finkelstein has just lost her job at Muhlenberg College because she threatened Zionists. It's hard to imagine that Jewish students would feel safe (or for that matter be safe) in her classes, unless they were avowed anti-Zionists.

And now the most absurd of all -
Tashlich on Sunday, October 6 

(It should be done on the afternoon of Thursday, the first day of Rosh Hashanah)
What should the well-dressed anti-Zionist wear to this event?
A kaffiyeh (of course), a tallit (also of course), and other "ritual attire"?
Possibly tefillin, like the arm holding the shofar in the photo?
And the slogan of this Tashlich? The decidedly non-Jewish
"Mourn the dead, fight for the living" (quote from the union activist Mother Jones)
instead of the theme of Tashlich.

From MyJewishLearning on Tashlich:

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Jews traditionally proceed to a body of running water, preferably one containing fish, and symbolically cast off their sins. The Tashlich ceremony includes reading the source passage for the practice, the last verses from the prophet Micah(7:19), “He will take us back in love; He will cover up our iniquities. You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

Six of the Israeli hostages found dead yesterday in a tunnel in Rafah identified by the IDF

Terrible news tonight. 

The bodies of six of the hostages were just found by the IDF in a tunnel near Rafah.

Times of Israel:

Overnight, the IDF recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from a Hamas tunnel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, who according to the military were murdered by their captors not long before they were found.

The hostages are Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lubnov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 25.

According to the IDF, the six were murdered by Hamas a short while, possibly around a day or two, before troops found them.

The IDF did not have the exact location of the hostages but had indications of a general area where the six could be held. The military says it operated carefully in the area, due to the possibility that hostages were being held there.

Troops began to search a tunnel complex yesterday until they found the hostages dead in the afternoon. Overnight their bodies were extracted from Gaza and brought to Israel for identification.

The IDF says there were no clashes with Hamas terrorists inside the tunnel, and the guards who likely murdered the six fled the area.

The tunnel in which the slain hostages were found, in Rafah, is about a kilometer away from where soldiers found hostage Farhan al-Qadi earlier this week.

Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi, Danino, Lubnov, and Sarusi were abducted from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im by Hamas terrorists on October 7, while Gat was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri.

Times of Israel: Hostage families say hostages would still be alive ‘if it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin’

Today, 7:46 am

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says the bodies of six murdered hostages recovered in Gaza would still be alive if the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached a deal with Hamas for their release.

“If it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin, the hostages whose deaths we learned of this morning would probably be alive,” the forum says in a post on X.

“Netanyahu: enough of the excuses. Enough of the spin. Enough of the abandonment. The time has come to bring our hostages home — those living for rehabilitation and the fallen and murdered for burial in their land,” the forum writes.

More updates on Hezbollah attack

From the Times of Israel
8:07 am (Israel time)

Universities cancel exams after IDF strikes, Hezbollah attack

Universities announce the cancelation of activities after the IDF preemptively struck Hezbollah and the terror group fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.

Tel Aviv University announces it is canceling exams today, but other routine services will continue.

The Technion and University of Haifa say all activities are currently canceled.

The Haifa campus of Ono Academic College will hold classes on Zoom, while exams today and tomorrow are canceled.

5min ago

IDF says Hezbollah aimed to fire on central Israel, attack thwarted with airstrikes
By EMANUEL FABIAN

The Hezbollah terror group intended to launch projectiles at central Israel this morning, according to the IDF.

The military says it foiled the attack during this morning’s preemptive airstrikes in southern Lebanon.

But the majority of the Hezbollah rocket launchers struck by the Israeli Air Force this morning were aimed at northern Israel, according to the IDF.

In all, thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers were struck simultaneously by some 100 IAF fighter jets in the preemptive attacks.


From the New York Times:

Here’s the latest on the conflict.

The Israeli military said early Sunday that it had launched predawn airstrikes at targets in southern Lebanon, and warned that Hezbollah was planning to launch an “extensive” attack on Israeli territory. The fighting threatened to plunge the region into a wider conflict.

“‏From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the south of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman. “‏We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety.”

Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire for months, raising fears that Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip would engulf the region. On Sunday, the Israeli military said that Hezbollah would soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and drones, into Israeli territory. Minutes later, sirens warning of incoming rocket fire were sounding in many Israeli communities near the border with Lebanon.

The extent of damage on either side was not immediately clear early Sunday morning. But Israel declared a state of emergency and closed the Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv until 10 a.m. local time.

In the wake of the Israeli attack, Hezbollah said that it had begun an “initial response” to the Israeli assassination of Fuad Shukr, the Hezbollah senior commander, in late July. The Lebanese militant group said it had fired a large number of drones at targets in Israel. “These military operations will take some time to complete, and after that a detailed statement will be issued,” the group said in a statement.

The wider diplomatic implications of Israel’s pre-dawn strikes were not immediately clear. Negotiators had been expected to gather in Cairo this week for a new round of talks for a potential cease-fire in Gaza, even as fighting has raged in the enclave and on Israel’s northern border.

Concerns of a wider conflict in the region have been elevated in recent weeks, following the assassinations in quick succession last month of two prominent adversaries of Israel — including one on Iranian soil.

The first was of Mr. Shukr, and the second was of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated on July 31 during a visit to Tehran. Israel claimed responsibility for the airstrike on Mr. Shukr in the Beirut suburbs, but has remained silent about the other killing.

The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, declared that his group’s conflict with Israel had entered a new phase after Israel assassinated a Hezbollah commander last month. Israel has also been expecting a response from Iran, but did not mention Iran in its statement on Sunday.

Still, it warned other rivals not to join the conflict.

“Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel — and the whole region — into a wider escalation,” Admiral Hagari said. “‏We are operating in self-defense from Hezbollah, and any other enemy that joins in their attacks against us — and we are ready to do everything we need to defend the people of Israel.”

Isabel Kershner, Aaron Boxerman and Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting.

Aug. 25, 2024, 12:48 a.m. ET28 minutes ago
Isabel Kershner
In a second statement, Hezbollah said it had successfully completed the first stage of its attack on Israel. Hezbollah said it had fired more than 320 rockets at nearly a dozen Israeli military bases and positions, a figure that would make the barrage one of the largest of the war if confirmed. It was not immediately clear any of the rockets had hit their targets.

Aug. 25, 2024, 12:38 a.m. ET38 minutes ago
Euan Ward

Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported that Israel’s strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday were “the most violent” since the war in Gaza began in October. At least two people were injured, one of them critically, and the strikes caused “severe damage” to local infrastructure, including electricity and water networks, the agency said.

Image

Credit...Karamallah Daher/Reuters

Trying to Head Off War, U.S. Moves Naval Forces Closer to Israel

A U.S. fighter jet taking off from the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier when it was in the East Sea a few months ago. It is now in or near the Gulf of Oman, the Pentagon said.Credit...Aaron Haro Gonzalez/U.S. Navy, via Associated Press

With fears rising that a wider war could break out in the Middle East, the United States has steadily been moving Navy forces closer to the area, including two aircraft carrier groups and an attack submarine. And it has not been shy about announcing the details, in a clear effort to deter Iran and its allies from more intense attacks on Israel.

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered additional combat aircraft and missile-shooting warships to the region.

Two aircraft carriers — the Theodore Roosevelt and the Abraham Lincoln — and their accompanying warships and attack planes are now in or near the Gulf of Oman. Mr. Austin also made public his order to send the attack submarine Georgia to the region, an unusual move as the Pentagon seldom talks about the movements of its submarine fleet. The Georgia can fire cruise missiles and carry teams of Navy SEAL commandos.

The orders came in response to threats from Iran and its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen to attack Israel to avenge the assassination of a top Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on July 31.

While the United States has said these moves are to help defend Israel and avert a wider regional war, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday night that the American military was better positioned to address a threat from Iran, and that the Israeli Defense Forces would shoulder the bulk of any defense from attacks carried out by Hezbollah across the border in Lebanon.

Hezbollah retaliation against Israel seems to have started tonight

This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows a Hezbollah drone intercepted by Israeli air forces over north Israel on August 25, 2024 (Jalaa Marty, AFP) 

Has the Hezbollah retaliation started? Some headlines tonight from Haaretz:

IDF Launches Wave of Lebanon Strikes as Israel Braces for Major Hezbollah Escalation

Haaretz
1 minute ago
Hezbollah: The launches are part of the response to the assassination of Fuad Shukr

Hezbollah announced that the launches to Israel's north are part of the response to Israel's attack on Beirut that led to the death of Fuad Shukar.
According to the announcement, Hezbollah began an air attack "deep in Zionist territory and towards a specific Israeli military target that will be announced later."
Hezbollah also announced that "the Islamic resistance in Lebanon now and at these moments is at the highest level of readiness and will stand firm and expect any offense or Zionist aggression, especially if civilians are harmed, the punishment will be severe and very harsh."

Haaretz
2 minutes ago
IDF: 150 rockets have been launched from Lebanon so far

Haaretz
6 minutes ago
Haifa municipality opens public bomb shelters across the city

Haaretz
7 minutes ago
Rocket sirens sound over Safed and surrounding towns

Haaretz
10 minutes ago
Israel Emergency Services: No information received of casualties in the north

Haaretz
13 minutes ago
Rocket sirens sound in Israel Golan Region

Rocket sirens sound in the northern Israeli city of Katzrin.

Haaretz
30 minutes ago
Rocket sirens sound over northern Israeli town of Acre and surrounding areas

Jonathan Lis
30 minutes ago
Israel's security cabinet expected to meet at in the coming hours

Haaretz
32 minutes ago
Rocket and hostile aircraft sirens sound non-stop across Israel's north

Haaretz
42 minutes ago
Hostile aircraft intrusion and rocket sirens sound across northern Israel

Adi Hashmonai
45 minutes ago
Tiberias Municipality calls on residents to stay near protected areas

Haaretz
46 minutes ago
Israel's Airport Authority: Air activity at Ben Gurion Airport will be suspended due to security situation

Fadi Amun
53 minutes ago
Wave of attacks reported in southern Lebanon
Lebanese media report a wave of attacks in various centers in Lebanon's south. According to reports, the IDF attacked Tayr Harfa, Deir Seryan, Beit Yahoun among others.

Yaniv Kubovich
1 hour ago
IDF: Hezbollah will launch rockets at Israel soon; striking proactively to remove the threat
The IDF reported that it detected preparations by Hezbollah to fire missiles into Israel and that Israeli fighter jets are proactively attacking to remove threats. According to the IDF's announcement, Hezbollah will launch rockets in the coming hours, and possibly missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, at Israel.

It was also reported that later, instructions will be distributed in some regions of the country, and the public is asked to follow the instructions on the of the IDF Spokesperson's platforms as well as the Home Front Command.

Haaretz
2 hours ago
Rocket sirens sound in Israel's Upper Galilee
Rocket siren's sounded in the northern Israeli towns of Dovev, Baram and Ein Yaakov.

August 24, 2024 - Demonstrators in Tel Aviv, calling for the release of hostages Saturday

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv, calling for the release of hostages Saturday. Credit: Florion Goga/ REUTERS. Published in Haaretz online

Another photo of demonstrators in Tel Aviv tonight (8/24/24). The person on the left is wearing a t-shirt that reads in Hebrew "Shivah be-October," which is a pun in Hebrew. Shivah be-October = October 7 (2023), the day of the Hamas attack. Shivah also refers to the seven-day period of mourning after a person has died.

These photos are from a Ha'aretz article by Amos Harel, "Israel Braces for Hezbollah Attack in Coming Days as U.S. Seeks to Prevent Escalation."

A week after what was described as the "last-opportunity" summit in Doha, the U.S. administration is making yet another effort to advance the stalled deal for releasing the hostages and preventing the flare-up of an extensive regional war.

Talks resumed in Cairo on Saturday, this time with the participation of Hamas, but the chances of making progress still seem low. Meanwhile, there is an escalation in the fighting, with more casualties in the Gaza Strip and along the border with Lebanon.

Seal Symbol

This is one of the last of the New York Times' Vertex puzzles. They've decided to stop offering Vertex, unfortunately - I've always really enjoyed doing them. The last day is August 29.

Remembering and Mourning October 7

I'm feeling really nervous about what will happen on October 7 this fall. I don't think I'm worried that there will be another Hamas attack on that day (I hope I'm right about that!), but about what the reactions will be outside of Israel, in the US and other countries.

Will there be horrible rallies by groups like Within Our Lifetime celebrating the attack? Will the pro-Palestine groups at my college decide to hold rallies on that day to hijack the mourning that Jews and Israelis will feel on that day?

October 7 is on a Monday this year, and I have to teach that day, which I'm apprehensive about.

My mother died on October 21, 1981 (which also happened to be Simchat Torah, 23 Tishrei). I observe her yahrzeit on the Hebrew date, and in 1982, starting in August, I began to feel really depressed again because I was remembering how she had become more and more sick. She went to the hospital and then came back home for hospice.

I don't have the same anticipatory mourning for her that starts in August any longer, but I can already start to feel apprehensive of how I'll feel on October 7.

Continuing impact of the Israel-Hamas war on American college campuses

The new semester is due to start in just a week, and in addition to the usual anxieties about beginning classes (getting my syllabi finished, figuring out what the assignments should be, thinking about the effects of AI on my students' learning and writing....), I'm also worried about the continuing impact of the Israel-Hamas war on the campus atmosphere and experience. One of the two (at least) pro-Palestinian groups at my college has just announced on their Instagram page that they're back, "stand[ing] alongside over 300 chapters at colleges and universities across the country fighting for Palestinian liberation." Based on what they wrote on social media and said at various protests in the last academic year, their vision for Palestinian liberation leaves no room for the continued existence of the state of Israel, which makes me wonder what they think will happen to the seven million Jewish citizens of Israel if their vision is fulfilled.

While the pro-Palestinian groups at my college tried to disrupt accepted students' day activities in the spring semester, held a few meetings and a public rally, their activities paled in comparison to what happened at many other universities across the US. 

Three Jewish students at UCLA sued the university because, they contend, it did not protect their right to freely move on campus and engage in activities like going to the library to study. In the spring semester, pro-Palestinian students set up encampments that they refused to let Jewish students pass through on their way to the library and other places. The Jewish students claim that they would have had to renounce their support for Israel in order to be able to pass. 

The New York Times article on the suit gives these details on how the Jewish students were treated:

The complaint against U.C.L.A., filed by Yitzchok Frankel, Joshua Ghayoum and Eden Shemuelian, detailed what the students experienced during the spring protests. Calling the encampment and the surrounding area “the Jew Exclusion Zone,” the complaint said students were often asked if they were Zionist and were denied passage for wearing a Star of David necklace. The complaint also described Mr. Ghayoum being denied entrance to a building because he was not wearing a red wristband, which demonstrators handed out to identify students they allowed in.

David Lat, who writes the Substack newsletter "Original Jurisdiction" reports today that Judge Mark Scarsi's preliminary injunction (issued on August 13), "prohibits the university 'from knowingly allowing or facilitating the exclusion of Jewish students from ordinarily available portions of UCLA’s programs, activities, and campus areas.'" 

This is the first paragraph of the decision:

In the year 2024, in the United States of America, in the State of California, in the City of Los Angeles, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. This fact is so unimaginable and so abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom that it bears repeating, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. UCLA does not dispute this. Instead, UCLA claims that it has no responsibility to protect the religious freedom of its Jewish students because the exclusion was engineered by third-party protesters. But under constitutional principles, UCLA may not allow services to some students when UCLA knows that other students are excluded on religious grounds, regardless of who engineered the exclusion. 

The whole decision is available here: Judge Scarsi's decision

Lat continues:

Considering the circumstances described by Judge Scarsi, you’d think that UCLA wouldn’t have fought this. But apparently it did, with a university spokesperson telling the New York Times that the injunction “is improper and would hamstring our ability to respond to events on the ground”—because UCLA needs the freedom to knowingly allow or facilitate the exclusion of Jewish students from parts of campus.