Of all the world leaders who have come to Israel to demonstrate solidarity with the Jewish state after the worst catastrophe to hit the Jewish people since the Holocaust, perhaps only two – US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron – have a real understanding of the magnitude of the crime perpetrated against humanity.
Expressions of sympathy, empathy, and solidarity, while greatly appreciated, are not enough. There has to be greater awareness of the consequences of inaction.
Despite the massive pro-Hamas demonstrations around the world, most leaders do not believe an attack as brutal as the genocidal assault on Israel on October 7 could happen in their own countries – even though many have compared Hamas to ISIS and al-Qaeda and the Nazis.
With regard to the latter, now is an appropriate time to take note of the words of Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, who for approximately a decade sympathized with Nazi ideas and supported radical right-wing movements. But when Hitler began to interfere with the Protestant church, Niemöller became his most vocal critic. Arrested in 1937, he spent eight years in Nazi prisons and concentration camps.
Following his release after the war, he said in one of his many speeches: “First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
As praiseworthy as it may be for countries to provide a haven for refugees from Arab lands, there should be strict screening of each and every refugee to ensure that they have no ties with terrorist organizations. This is a preventive measure against being overtaken by terrorists. Anyone who has seen videos of the multitudes participating in pro-Hamas demonstrations throughout the West should realize that these demonstrators and their cohorts may one day rise against their host countries, and Europe as such could disappear from the map.
It is significant in this regard that the majority of Israel’s Arab population is involved in numerous humane activities on behalf of its own communities and with Jewish Israelis in the wider, mainstream society. In fact, since the war started, there seems to be a ceasefire among feuding Arab families. If there have been killings, they have not been as widely reported as in the pre-October 7 period.
Jerusalem hotel owner bars refugees from the South from his hotels
■ REAL ESTATE developer and hotelier Alfred Akirov, who takes on only luxury projects, may have shot himself in the foot. Generally recognized as a top-class businessman, Akirov’s popularity among fellow hotel owners has plunged to rock bottom. The reason: His two Jerusalem hotels, David Citadel and Mamilla, are closed to evacuees from the South or from any other dangerous area. This is somewhat inexplicable, given that Akirov is also a well- known philanthropist and social activist. His excuse is that he does not have sufficient manpower to operate the hotels, as many employees are now in uniform.
But there are plenty of restaurant and coffee-shop employees who are temporarily out of work and who could easily be absorbed into the hotel staff.
In addition, the general managers could meet with all the evacuees who would be sent there to explain the rules, such as asking them to make their own beds and keep their rooms clean, and to request volunteers for kitchen duty. A few people might gripe, but the majority would simply cooperate.
Bennett holds nothing back on CNN, visits Hatzalah
■ UNFETTERED BY the political correctness that would govern his remarks if he were still prime minister, ex-prime minister Naftali Bennett, who considers himself to be on reserve duty, has lashed out at the BBC, charging the broadcast network with “lacking moral clarity.” And in an interview with CNN, he lambasted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for blaming Israel for the Hamas massacre. Furthermore, in a dig at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his reluctance to accept responsibility for the IDF’s lack of preparedness that led to the October 7 massacre, Bennett said that he himself, like all those who have taken responsibility for the failures that led to the barbaric slaughter and the war, also must bear responsibility.
On a more positive note, Bennett visited the United Hatzalah Field Command Center in the Gaza periphery last week and met with UH president and founder Eli Beer and CEO Eli Pollak. The field command center, which was quickly established on the first day of the war, is the nucleus from which all life-saving efforts in the area are coordinated. Bennett spoke with first responders, EMTs, paramedics, and doctors, who continue to work under heavy fire from Hamas. He also toured the dispatch and equipment center and reviewed the medical and humanitarian supplies that are being given out to civilians in need as well as to IDF units and other security personnel.
“I am proud to witness your immense dedication and uncompromising action for the noble cause of saving human lives,” said Bennett, who was awed by the magnitude of the life-saving activities of UH volunteers.
“On that bloody Shabbat, you, United Hatzalah volunteers, proved yourselves to be an essential and critical component of the national security of the State of Israel,” Bennett stated.
Haredim joining the IDF?
■ THERE APPEARS to be little point in ultra-Orthodox politicians Yitzhak Goldknopf, Moshe Gafni, Meir Porush, and Israel Eichner pushing the bill that would exempt haredim from army service. Since the Simchat Torah massacre, increasing numbers of young haredi men have voluntarily asked to serve in the IDF. Last week, the first group of 150 was taken in for basic training; more than 2,000 are on the waiting list. However, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Young yeshiva students are always present at IDF swearing-in ceremonies at the Western Wall. They want to caress the soldiers’ weapons and try on their berets. It was really just a matter of time before they would want to exchange their black suits for khaki uniforms – and that time has come. Religious Zionist conscripts have already proved that one can simultaneously defend Israel both spiritually and physically. Being a soldier does not mean abandoning Torah study.
Why did Yair Netanyahu stay abroad?
■ THE INTERNATIONAL press has quoted Israeli reservists who are angry that Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’ older son, did not come home from Miami, where he has been for the past six months. Regardless of what one may think of Netanyahu junior, who has managed to insult countless people, the criticism is unfair. Netanyahu was not a combat soldier during his mandatory service. He worked in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, and therefore, it is unlikely that he received an emergency call-up notice, known in Hebrew as Tsav Shmoneh. With his inherited talent as an orator, he is probably doing more good for Israel in Miami than he would at home. Aside from that, he is helping to pack donations of supplies that are being sent to Israel.
Alon Ben-Gurion raises funds
■ THOUGH LIVING abroad for more than half his lifetime, Alon Ben-Gurion, one of the grandsons of Israel’s founding prime minister, still has his heart in the land of his birth. An internationally acclaimed expert on hotel management and operations, Alon, who was severely wounded in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, often speaks about his grandfather’s legacy, including his dream to make the Negev bloom. Last Thursday, the grandson did so again on behalf of the Jewish National Fund of Los Angeles, which held a fundraiser at the home of Dr. Marcia Selz and Dr. Eduardo Subelman. Guests paid a minimum of $2,500 each to attend.
Reichman University launches project to stress that Hamas is ISIS
■ WITH THE outbreak of war, Reichman University opened its Public Diplomacy Situation Room in cooperation with the Act-IL Initiative that fights antisemitism on social media platforms. Reichman students from all over the world are engaged in the project, whose purpose is to disseminate reliable information in 30 different languages, driving home the message that “Hamas=ISIS.”
Students have designed graphic content for distribution. They are enhancing the pro-Israel presence in talkbacks, countering hostile activity from external parties, gathering pertinent information for various stakeholders, translating relevant information in order to reach a large number of audiences around the globe, and managing the distribution of information to key individuals and officials worldwide.
All of these efforts are voluntary and based on the understanding that the power to make an impact is in our hands and that indifference is not an option. Students receive daily guidance from Reichman University’s top experts, including Col. Miri Eisin, Prof. Yishai Beer, Prof. Boaz Ganor, and others.
The Situation Room was previously activated during Operation Protective Edge and Operation Pillar of Defense, and it succeeded in reaching millions of people in 62 countries and 31 languages.
At the same time that it is engaged in public diplomacy, Reichman university mourns those of its students and alumni who were murdered by Hamas or fell in battle in the Swords of Iron war. The names given before press time include: First Sergeant Omer Balva, an Economics and Business Administration student at the Raphael Recanati International School; Major Benji (Benjamin) Trakeniski, alumnus of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy; Omri Ram, Economics and Business Administration student; Liam Shrem, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration student; and Itay Nachman, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration student. Missing is Idan Shtivi of the School of Government and Sustainability, whose fate and whereabouts are unknown.
Journalist numbers in Israel skyrocket
■ OVER THE past decade, many newspapers have either closed down or downsized, making drastic cuts in editorial staff. But since October 7, the Israel Government Press Office has processed a record 2,050 journalists, double the number that came during Operation Protective Edge. According to GPO director Nitzan Chen, some 30-plus countries have correspondents covering the war, Those with the largest number of correspondents are the US, Great Britain, France, and Germany.
Even Ukraine, which is itself in the midst of war, sent two journalists to cover the action in Israel.
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