.. The ability to shine a light on issues and causes that matter is a perk of fame. For John Ondrasik, right now, that’s Israel. The Grammy-nominated American singer and musician, who goes by the nom de chanson Five for Fighting, has been steadfast and outspoken about the Jewish state’s security needs since the Oct. 7 attacks. This has made him a unicorn among his music-industry peers. Most prefer simply to keep their heads down…Mr. Ondrasik, 59, isn’t keeping his head down. He appears on Fox News and on Mark Levin’s radio show. He’s aggressive on Twitter in support of Israel. He is, as his stage name suggests, something of a brawler. On April 13, the night before Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel, he performed at an outdoor concert in Tel Aviv and condemned “the evil that is Hamas.” He sang his Oct. 7-themed song, “OK”—the refrain is “We are not OK”—for the families of hostages still in Gaza. READ MORE
Protests are spreading across the United States at college campuses, where university students are gathering in the name of Palestinian rights and occupying campus spaces with tents. Sadly, not everyone who purports to support Palestinians is truly interested in safeguarding our rights. It pains me to say this as a Palestinian from Gaza. As my home is destroyed and too many killed, I never thought I would find myself criticizing those speaking up. And yet, I cannot be silent about what I am seeing. The truth is that the manner in which many gather to voice their support for Palestinians does more to hurt our cause than help it…But it’s not just the antisemitism that has me despairing. It’s the hypocrisy. Where were these caring young people when Hamas took over Gaza and slaughtered hundreds of Gazans, or when Hamas held 2 million Gazans captive for more than 17 years? READ MORE
GATESTONE Bassam Tawil: U.S. Campuses: Grooming Terrorists“Dear White Americans and Gen Zs who support or tolerate Hamas supporters on US campuses, a gentle reminder from a credible Arab Muslim voice from the Middle East: You are supporting a terror group with the same Islamist/ Muslim brotherhood pathological creed that brought down the twin towers in Manhattan in 2001. You would not survive a day in Gaza under Hamas, which demands that ‘infidels’ live with dignity only if they are subordinate to Islamists. You would not endure a day under the rule of these radicals. You do not understand Arabic, nor do you know Islam well enough to comprehend what awaits you if Hamas prevails (God forbid).”
The video clip of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, which dominated social media channels on Wednesday night, achieved the nearly impossible task of simultaneously evoking joy and heartbreak. A blinding joy because it seems to verify that the 24-year-old Jerusalem resident, who was taken captive by Hamas on October 7 after having part of his arm blown off by a grenade thrown at him at the Nova festival, is alive. His statements, which he was likely forced to read on camera at gunpoint, mention 200 days of captivity and Passover, implying that the video was made in the recent past. READ MORE
Dan Senor: Proof of Life with Rachel Goldberg and Jon PolinWhen I was in Israel, I visited with Rachel and Jon and we recorded a conversation for this podcast about the video, as well as what else they had learned from it, especially about Hersh’s severe wound — he continues to be medically fragile. Jon and Rachel discussed why they decided to approve media release and coverage of the video. Rachel and Jon also reacted to the shocking protests on US campuses — they are both from the US, as is Hersh, and they reflected on what they regarded as some encouraging news about a statement on the hostages, which was signed by 18 countries.
“I feel that since October 7, humanity has been in a very delicate and dangerous transitional state. Everything I’ve been shouting and warning about for years has suddenly come out all at once for the whole world to see through the GoPro cameras of the Hamas terrorists,” says Yasmine Mohammed, one of the world’s leading activists for the rights of Muslim women and support for ex-Muslims. “If the West sobers up and realizes who it is up against and how the worst versions of Islam entered the most important Western institutions, and if it then proceeds to tackle it at the core, then there could remain a chance to correct course,” she says, “but if Western liberals continue to play the role of useful idiots for Muslims who use them to promote their ideology, then things will get much worse. The massacre that took place in Israel may be just a prelude to what awaits the whole world.”READ MORE
JNS Accepting that Israel’s enemies are waging a religious war can reframe the narrative The renowned 15th-century Islamic scholar Ibn Khaldun stated that jihad is “a religious duty because of the universalism of the [Muslim] mission and the [obligation to convert] everybody to Islam by persuasion or by force. … Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.” This definition of jihad is universally accepted by all Islamic schools of thought. It is the reason why, in the seventh century, Islam conquered the Land of Israel, which had a majority Jewish population descended directly from the ancient Israelites. Under Muslim rule, the indigenous inhabitants immediately became subject to the rules of dhimmitude, a set of onerous apartheid religious and legal restrictions that oppress and abuse non-Muslims or dhimmis. The modern State of Israel, as historian Bat Ye’or explained, “represents the successful national liberation of a dhimmi civilization.” To many religious Muslims, this liberation is intolerable. READ MORE
A documentary about Hamas’s sexual crimes on and after October 7 has been published on YouTube, featuring testimonies from survivors, released hostages and first responders. The aim of the film, titled ‘Screams Before Silence’ and fronted by former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, is to highlight sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas during and after the terror group’s devastating massacre on southern Israel…In March, the United Nations published a report indicating that rape and gang rape likely occurred during the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught, and said that there is “clear and convincing” evidence showing that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse. READ MORE
The parents of the American-Israeli hostage featured in Hamas’ latest propaganda video said it was “amazing” to see their son alive, but “very painful” knowing he’s still being held after more than six months. <strong>Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, looked gaunt and with his arm blown off in the video released Wednesday, the first sighting since he was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7</strong>. “Initially, we were just crying,” Hersh’s mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, told NBC News of the family’s initial reaction to the footage. “This was a tremendous validation,” the 54-year-old mom said. “On the other hand, we see him — he is in captivity, he’s obviously suffering with this missing dominant arm,” she said of the left limb blown off below the elbow by a grenade. READ MORE
TIME MAGAZINE Rachel Goldberg-Polin named one the 100 Most Influential People of 2024In hopes of seeing him [Hersh] again, Goldberg-Polin has become one of the most visible advocates for the hostages and their families. She has met with dozens of world leaders, including President Biden. (Her son, like Goldberg-Polin and her husband, is a dual American-Israeli citizen.) She has addressed the U.N. in New York City and Geneva. She has even had an audience with the Pope. READ MORE
A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders. The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of talks for a cease-fire in Gaza.The suggestion that Hamas would disarm appeared to be a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to Israel’s destruction. But it’s unlikely Israel would consider such a scenario. It has vowed to crush Hamas following the deadly Oct. 7 attacks that triggered the war , and its current leadership is adamantly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. READ MORE
In an unprecedented vote, the European Parliament passed a resolution against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday. The resolution condemned Iran for its attack on Israel and reinforced the European commitment to the security of the State of Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised the European Parliament for its vote in favor of a resolution. It follows last Monday’s decision by the European Union to sanction Iran in order to curtail missile and drone production…The EU calls to put in place the following measures: to include the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in the list of terrorist organizations; to expand sanctions on Iran, including on the regime’s oil and banking; to acknowledge Iran’s non-compliance with the nuclear agreement…READ MORE
REUTERS US, 17 other countries urge Hamas to release hostages, end Gaza crisisThe United States and 17 other countries on Thursday issued an appeal for Hamas to release all of its hostages as a pathway to end the crisis in Gaza, but Hamas vowed not to relent to international pressure. “We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now for over 200 days,” a statement by the countries said, in what a senior U.S. official called an extraordinary display of unanimity. The 18 countries all have citizens held by Hamas six months after the Palestinian militant group launched its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel and killed 1,200 people.
I’m sure you’ve heard commentators describe the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel as “rivals” engaged in a “tit-for-tat” conflict. That misinterprets reality. Ali Khamenei, Iran’s “supreme leader” since 1989, seeks to establish a new Middle Eastern empire. Israelis, by contrast, only want to survive as an independent nation within a slice of their ancient Jewish homeland. They would like nothing better than to enjoy amicable relations with Iranians, as they did prior to Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979. I should add: Substantial evidence suggests that most Iranians do not hate Israelis. Nor would most Iranians suffer under the jackboot of an antisemitic, misogynist, coercively religious ruling class if they had a choice. As for the fate Mr. Khamenei envisions for Israelis, we saw a preview on Oct. 7. Genocide is what he indisputably intends. READ MORE
…“From the river to the sea, Palestine is Arab” establishes as its baseline a Nazi-like racial hierarchy. What that means is that regardless of political or governmental structures and constitutions, that racial hierarchy is baked into society: Jews would be treated this way even if they no longer had a state, just as they were treated this way in the 20th century before Israeli sovereignty was established. Put simply, ethnic cleansing of the Jews would be the goal in a one-state solution as well. Because this racial hierarchy is fundamental to its proponents’ worldview, opposition to coexistence with Jews is global. READ MORE
WALL STREET JOURNAL Who’s Behind the Anti-Israel ProtestsHamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and others are grooming activists in the U.S. and across the West.
ArchitectGuy on Israel 