Clarity Begins by Knowing the Difference Between Good and Evil
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday addressed a joint session of the US Congress amid the war with Hamas in Gaza and rising tensions in the North. This is the tenth address of an Israeli Prime Minister to Congress and Netanyahu’s fourth, surpassing British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for the most by a single foreign leader.
“We meet today at a crossroads of history. Our world is in upheaval. In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts America, Israel and our Arab friends. This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization. It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life.
For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together. Because when we stand together, something very simple happens. We win. They lose.
And my friends, I came to assure you today of one thing: we will win.”
Netanyahu speech was a historic message to America and the world at such a time of severe upheaval and chaos. His delivery broke the record of standing ovations for a foreign leader in Congress, receiving 58 standing ovations during his speech, breaking the previous record of 28 in 2015.
Acknowledged overall and in the audience were October 7 survivors, families of hostages, and IDF heroes. Netanyahu also voiced a message for the anti-Israel protesters outside the building: “When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair praise, promote, and fund you, you become Iran’s useful idiots.”
We like Daniel Greenfield’s review of Netanyahu’s speech. He states that the Prime Minister’s words were “meant to remind Americans of what Israel, and we, are fighting for. The choice between good and evil is all too clear. All that remains is to make it.”
Sources:
PM Netanyahu’s Address to a Joint Meeting of the US Congress, Prime Minister’s Office, July 24, 2024
Netanyahu Defends America Before Congress, by Daniel Greenfield/Frontpage Magazine, July 25, 2024
What Ben Gvir Strives For
“These are things I have been saying for a year and a half, every time I talk about the Temple Mount, what made you remember it now?” National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit Chairman Itamar Ben Gvir tweeted on Wednesday, and added, “On my watch, there will be no racist discrimination against Jews, who are the only ones not allowed to pray, and what’s more, in the holiest place for the Jewish people.”
During Wednesday’s “Israel’s Return to the Temple Mount” conference in the Knesset, Ben Gvir stated, “It’s no secret that I had an argument with the Prime Minister about closing the Temple Mount to Jews in the last ten days of Ramadan. I thought it was forbidden to close the Temple Mount even for a minute. There will be no discrimination against Jews on the Temple Mount, that’s what I strive for.”
Supreme Court Must Come to Their Senses
The Supreme Court accepted a petition filed by Palestinian Authority Arabs who had illegally squatted at the archaeological site of Khirbet Zanuta, located in Area C, demanding that the IDF allow and secure their return to the site.
The Supreme Court also accepted the claim of the squatters that they were threatened by settlers in the area, although no evidence was presented to that effect. According to the judges, the State is obligated to assist the squatters to return.
Meir Deutsch, Regavim CEO, said that “adopting the false narrative of ‘settler violence’ without presenting a shred of evidence is serious and constitutes a dangerous precedent. Not only did the invaders of Khirbet Zanuta gain a full decade of non-enforcement of the building code – taking advantage of the ‘get out of jail free’ card that the Supreme Court had given them and the wink-and-nod of the state authorities, now, the state adds insult to injury and instead of restoring the site and preserving it, it allows the lawbreakers to return to the site and resume their invasion and destruction of the site.”
First Israel is obligated to fund legal assistance for terrorists and now the State is obligated to assist the return of squatters on land that legally belongs to Israel. The powers that be need to shape up and come to their senses. The Supreme Court must remember whose country this is. Do these decisions overturn government policy?
The Only Response to the Hague: Sovereignty Now!
To no one’s surprise, the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) ruled on Friday that Israel’s policies in our ancient homelands of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem are illegal and against international law. Furthermore, the ICJ said Israel is illegally exploiting the natural resources of the region. The ruling is non-binding – not legally, and not morally.
Immediate and swift calls to apply sovereignty poured in:
“The decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague proves for the umpteenth time – this is a definite anti-Semitic and political organization. We will not receive moral preaching from them, it is time for governance and sovereignty.” ~Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said [translated].
“We call on the prime minister to immediately begin applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.” ~Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council.
“Now, in the face of the world’s lies and moral depravity, the Israeli government must lead to a new level of upright national stature by applying Israel’s sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.” ~Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar of The Sovereignty Movement
International law expert Professor Eugene Kontorovich weighed in on the meaningless decision by the court. He pointed out, among many important points, that “the ICJ is just the judicial arm of the UN – an organization that runs several Hamas front organizations, and whose SG said of Oct 7th, that it didn’t happen without a context.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded point blank: “Israel is not an occupier in its own country, not in our eternal capital and not in the land of our forefathers.”
ICJ Rules Israel Acting Illegally in Judea and Samaria by Jewish Press News Desk, July 19, 2024
HAGUE-SHMAGUE- SOVEREIGNTY NOW! By The Sovereignty Movement Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar
Netanyahu En Route to a Chaotic D.C.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed on Monday morning for Washington, where he will meet with US President Joe Biden. Netanyahu will deliver a politically precarious speech before Congress at a time of great uncertainty following Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and amid domestic pressure on Israel’s leaders to reach a deal with Hamas for the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
Striking a bipartisan tone, Netanyahu said he intended to reaffirm to the US that “regardless of who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains its most indispensable and strongest ally in the Middle East.”
Standing on the airport tarmac on Monday, however, Netanyahu stressed that “in this time of war and uncertainty, it is important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together — today, tomorrow, and always.”
AFSI wishes Prime Minister Netanyahu success on his highly anticipated visit to Washington, D.C., and his address to the United States Congress. Between the war in Israel and the political chaos in the U.S., we know that the major points Netanyahu will discuss in his speech will be a welcome reminder to many and a much-needed wake-up call to the haters of Israel.
This is Part of Biden’s “Legacy”
Biden Administration officials are mulling the option of imposing sanctions against two Israeli government ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir
Axios reported on Saturday quoting three US officials, that the Biden administration is weighing sanctions against the two ministers, who are seen by the administration as responsible for the unrest and security situation in Judea and Samaria.
And what a danger Ben Gvir and Smotrich pose. While these two MKs fight every day for Israel’s safety and sovereignty in ways that are consistent with international law, the soon to be defunct Biden administration just can’t resist more schemes to gain voters by demonizing Israel.
Knesset Makes It Clear to the World: NO Two-State Solution!
The Knesset on Wednesday night approved a proposal which establishes the position of the Knesset against the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan.
68 MKs voted in favor of the proposal, 9 voted against, and there were no abstentions.
The proposal says, “The Israeli Knesset firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan. establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel will pose an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region.”
This historic vote makes it undeniably clear to the world that Israel is the sole arbiter that determines its destiny and development of the country. With this initiative now firmly in place, we pray that very soon we hear that the application of Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria is declared
The New Normal in the North
After unusually heavy overnight bombing on Tuesday sent sirens wailing in dozens of communities in Israel’s north, residents of the region are calling upon the Israeli army to step up its military operation against the terror group.
Hezbollah fired salvos which included at least 80 rockets targeting the Western Galilee, triggering air raid alerts in numerous localities, including the city of Nahariya.
There were no injuries in the attack, but the bombing sparked multiple fires in the north and caused damage to homes and property. As of Tuesday morning, firefighters were working to battle the blazes.
“Our children are going to sleep scared and wake up terrified by sirens,” says resident of the Galilee region. Some residents are even going as far as to say Israel is showing weakness to the enemy.
There’s a delicate balance between defending the country against terrorist hostilities and a declaration of war against Hezbollah. As the IDF tries to balance the scales, residents live with the new normal in the north suffering the consequences of terrorist attacks. When the AFSI Chizuk Mission was in Jerusalem in May, there were many refugees from Kiryat Shmona. It is heartbreaking to think that their lives have not yet and possibly never will return to normal.
Source:
‘Hezbollah bombing is the new normal,’ says angry evacuee by World Israel News Staff, July 17, 2024
Return Control: Why it Matters
Former Shin Bet director Avi Dichter is warning that the Philadelphi Corridor — the strip of land that was supposed to serve as a buffer between Gaza and Egypt — must remain in Israeli hands following the conclusion of the October 7th war.
“The Philadelphi axis must return to being under Israeli control, as it was since the 1967 war until the departure from Gaza in September 2005,” Dichter wrote in a post on the X social media platform.
Israel cannot finish the job by giving up operational control of the Philadelphi Corridor it recently gained. This corridor ultimately became an arms smuggling route for terrorist activity. It must remain under Israel’s control so that it best limits the flow of arms into Gaza and improves the security of the country.
8 Shots Heard ‘Round the World
Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI condemns the assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald J. Trump that took place at a campaign rally in Butler, PA on Saturday, July 13.
We wish President Trump a continued recovery and hear that he has returned to his daily routine at least as far as making his tee time yesterday. We pray that he will be fully able to return to all his activities. Our thoughts are with the family of Corey Comperatore who, by protecting his family, was killed in Saturday’s dark incident along with those injured and shattered from this senseless act.
Though it’s not our intention take the focus away from the victims of the weekend’s traumatic shooting, we sincerely pray that the left and right of Klal Yisrael will use this now historic moment to not only reflect on their true intentions, but cease the increasing intensity of harmful lies, vicious verbal attacks and false rhetoric intended to destroy political opponents. For many years, emotions in Israel, sometimes volatile, have reached a breaking point. Enough is enough. Power trips need to cease and the good of the country must be the primary focus. The temperature needs to be turned down before Israeli society deteriorates and people get hurt, including the leader of the only Democratic and peaceful nation in the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As Israel continues to fight a major war for the survival of the country, the unconscionable attack witnessed on Saturday in Butler, PA serves as a resounding wake-up call: Unity, a Whole Israel, and Sovereignty must be the shared goals. Anything less is unacceptable.
What will Israeli MK’s and lawmakers do? Read more:
After attempt on Trump, cabinet watches video of alleged incitement against Netanyahu by Times of Israel Staff and Sam Sokol
In 2-hour debate after the cabinet secretary shows clips, several ministers warn that incitement against the Prime Minister is even worse than in the US, blame attorney general, law enforcement for failing to act.