The reason for the State of Israel

by Rabbi Dov Berel Wein

The prophet of Israel, describing what can unfortunately be characterized as the usual situation in Jewish life, states that it is comparable to one who flees from the lion and finds one's self in the embrace of a bear. Our father Yaakov, who barely escapes from the treachery of Lavan, soon finds himself confronted by the deadly mob of his brother Eisav.

Yaakov, in his confrontation with Lavan, chooses the option of flight as he removes himself from the territory controlled by Lavan and his sons. But this option of flight is no longer possible in his contest with Eisav. Jacob is in his own land, the land of his ancestors, the land promised to him personally by God Himself, to be his rightful residence. As such, Yaakov has nowhere to run.

As taught to us by Midrash and quoted by Rashi, his only options were to stand and fight, to buy Eisav off with monetary tribute, and/or to pray. The option of fleeing does not enter the equation in any fashion. This is perhaps the basis for the well-known Talmudic dictum severely limiting the right of a Jew to leave the Land of Israel cavalierly.

Polish Jewish history, from biblical times to the present, shows us that exile from the Land of Israel on a collective basis never occurred voluntarily. The most mobile, wandering people in the history of civilization never left their homeland of their own volition. In this they were following the example of their father Jacob, who never considered fleeing from the Land of Israel in order to avoid the long expected and dreaded confrontation with his aggressive and volatile brother.

In our long and winding road of exile, over the past two millennia, when one country closed down for us because of economic, social or religious reasons, the Jewish people moved on elsewhere. But as we have discovered, we have run out of places to go in the world. There are no new undiscovered continents on the face of the globe, no seemingly safe havens left for escape.

This is part of the reason for the establishment of the State of Israel and its phenomenal growth and inexplicable stability. Even though it has been provoked by errors of policy and with concessions to its neighbors, it is as though the Jewish people, like their ancestor Yaakov, declared that this is where they will make their stand.

Prayer is a constant in current Israeli life, even for those who do not deem themselves to be observant of Jewish law and tradition. But in spite of all of the troubles, problems, and the myriad challenges that living in our country poses, flight in a collective sense is a nonexistent possibility.

Unable to defeat us militarily or economically, even though diplomatically they have wounded us severely, our enemies openly declare their intent to make us leave our homeland. But that is a very unrealistic policy. The children of Yaakov, in the state that bears his name, certainly will follow his example until it finally brings quieter times and better relations.

How to partner with God and Hashgochah Pratis to turn a situation in our favor

by Rabbi Pinchas Winston

Friday Night
The steps Ya’akov Avinu took to prepare for his final confrontation with Eisav, Chazal tell us, teach us about how to prepare for any confrontation we might have as nation. They also teach us about how to partner with God and Hashgochah Pratis to turn a situation in our favor.

I learned this last Motzei Shabbos. I had five minutes before Ma’ariv and picked up Rav Zilberstein’s sefer on the parsha, Aleynu L’Shabayach. He made the point using a story about Rav Schach, zt”l, who had been hospitalized.

Rav Shach at that time was very old and weak, but he insisted upon paying a visit to a man on the floor below. Those close to him were surprised by the request and concerned about fulfilling it. They suggested strongly that the man be brought up to the Rav, but Rav Shach explained:

“This man is having shalom bayis problems, and I have been trying to get him to improve his ways. So far, I have been unsuccessful, and I am concerned that if I ask him to come to me he still won’t change. But if I go down to him, perhaps Hashem will take note of my mesiras Nefesh (self-sacrifice) and, have mercy and provide me with the right words to save his marriage.”

Rav Zilberstein said that this also applied to Ya’akov’s preparations too. After all, he asked, was Eisav such a chacham to understand Ya’akov’s subtle hint that he had kept all of the 613 mitzvos will living with Lavan (“Im Lavan garti”), and would be protected as a result? Not likely.

Rather, Ya’akov’s hishtadalus—effort—fell into the category of self-sacrifice, especially living by the mitzvos while in Chutz L’Aretz which the Avos, according to the Ramban, were not strict about. It wasn’t to impress Eisav, even if he could decode Ya’akov’s message, but God, in order to invoke Divine mercy and extra Heavenly help to survive his confrontation with Eisav.

It’s probably the most powerful weapon known to mankind, humility is. If a person doesn’t believe in God or understand that He controls everything, then humility just seems wimpy. If a person believes that they are the maker of their own destiny, then arrogance seems like the way to go. But history shows that arrogant people either have limited success, or a limited time to enjoy whatever success they may have attained. God makes sure of that.

In any case, it’s a nice pshat with a few applications, one of which helped me to answer a question I have had for a couple of years. It’s doesn’t come up until Parashas Mikeitz, but it is answerable now.

Shabbos Day
I ONCE SAW in a sefer how Yosef’s accusation that his brothers were spies (Bereishis 42:9) was actually a hint to them that he was not only the viceroy of Egypt, but their long-lost brother. How? Through the word meraglim—spies. The Hebrew letters, Mem-Raish-Gimmel-Lamed-Yud-Mem, are actually the first letters of the words, “m’Rachel Immi genavtem, l’Midianim Yishmael mechartem—From Rachel my mother you stole [me]; to Midianites, Arabs you sold [me[.” How could they not have figured that one out?

The real question is, how could Yosef have expected them to figure it out? Even had his brothers suspected that the mean Egyptian standing before them was none other than Yosef, why would they have thought that the word meraglim was any kind of clue? The word made sense in the context of their discussion, so it was easy to take it at face value, which they did.

My answer until this week was that people, when they find themselves in unusual circumstances, start paying more attention to details. They’ll even rethink ideas and discussions looking for clues to better help them understand what is happening to them. That, plus a little Heavenly help, might cause them to stumble over his clue and crack it. Maybe.

Or maybe the answer has more to do with Rav Shach’s answer. Perhaps Yosef wasn’t completely sure how to handle the situation with his brothers, knowing how much was at stake. He wanted them to do teshuvah, but of their own volition. He wanted to direct them, not repel them. It’s hard enough doing that with only one brother. Doing that with 10 brothers must have been daunting.

All Yosef could do was invoke Divine mercy and assistance. He had to do something to put himself out there to catch God’s attention and warrant His help in righting Jewish history for all time. If he didn’t get that help, then the brothers would not be the wiser and, he would have to play it by ear from that point onward. But if he did get the help he sought, then the brothers would get direction from God that could lead them to understand the impossible.

It doesn’t seem as if the brothers ever did figure out the code in the end because, after returning home and recounting the story to their father, they only refer to the Egyptian leader. They didn’t even hear what they told their father, things that hinted to Yosef’s involvement in what was happening. For example, like how the viceroy knew the wood their cribs had been made from.

In fact, maybe Yosef knew how to code his message in the word meraglim from his father’s encoding of taryag—613—in garti—I lived. And maybe just maybe, the coded word was not for his brothers in the end, but for his father, Ya’akov, knowing that they would eventually tell their father all that happened to them. Perhaps it was Yosef’s way of saying, “Hi Abba, I’m still alive and doing just fine down in Egypt. After I finish with my brothers, I’ll be in touch again. Until then, your loving son and viceroy of Egypt, Yosef.”

Shalosh Seudot
THE SAYING GOES, “You open a pinhole, and I will drive a wagon through it.” Either it has to be a very large pinhole, or a very small wagon, or…a great miracle. It is, of course, the latter, God’s way of saying that a little effort on our part “inspires” Him to do a lot on His part. The Gemora says that Heaven helps someone who comes to “purify” themself (Yoma 38b). The first statement says that “they” help them a lot.

It’s not a matter of “ripping off” Heaven. You can’t shortchange God. It’s a matter of showing how much you care about what He cares about, which is more a function of the heart than arm strength. The actual physical effort can be minimal to receive great siyata D’Shemaya—Heavenly help—if the spiritual effort is also great.

In other words, mesiras Nefesh often translates into great physical effort to do something meaningful to get God’s attention, and certainly the intention of others. Being so physically oriented, we tend to put “quantity” above “quality,” physical prowess over spiritual prowess.

But sometimes we can be more impressed by something small than something big, because of what it means. The fact that someone paid attention to certain details that most people don’t even consider, tells us the extent to which they care about what they do, or about how others feel.

I once went to a beautifully set up Sheva Brochos, but the part that really caught my attention was how someone folded the napkins. Everything else was what I was used to and expected from such talented and caring people, so I enjoyed what I saw and was very happy to be part of the simchah.

But the folded napkins were so over the top. Had they not folded them so creatively (I didn’t know you could fold them like that), no one would have thought twice about it. They were decorative right out of the package, but the fact that the napkin folders went the extra distance sent a message that made me feel good, saying, “We think this is a very special event, and thank you for being part of it.”

So what Ya’akov and Yosef did respectively to invoke Divine help may seem small because each didn’t involve much physical effort, it was the care behind what they did that God took note of. It was their attention to detail, details that may not have come to matter until generations later, that impressed God and aroused His mercy. As Dovid HaMelech wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken heart” (Tehillim 25:14). That is, a caring heart.

Ain Od Milvado, Part 75
CONTINUING ON FROM last week, life is about being the Vav that connects the two Yuds to make an Aleph (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2mM9TgO3LQ). Any time a person increases awareness of the God of the Torah in the world, they are being the Vav. And FYI, anyone who supports someone who does it has a share in that process.

There is another important Aleph that I did not mention yet. Kabbalah explains that when Adam was first created, he “wore” something called Kasnas Ohr, clothing made of light. After he sinned with the Aitz HaDa’as, his clothing was transformed from Kasnas Ohr (ALEPH-Vav-Raish) to Kasnas Ohr (AYIN-Vav-Raish), clothing made of skin. the basis of the induction of the yetzer hara into his being.

This is one of the main reasons for Techiyas HaMeisim, the resurrection of the dead. We cannot go to the World to Come with Kasnas Ohr with an Ayin because the World to Come is not physical but spiritual. We have to return to our original, spiritual state of Kasnas Ohr with the Aleph, which is what resurrection will do for each of person.

Our changed state interferes with our ability to properly relate to ain od Milvado. Our increased physicality makes it harder to relate to increased spirituality. It takes a spiritual being to relate to a spiritual being, something that is lost on so many people who have a difficult time “seeing” God.

Until, that is, they become a ba’al teshuvah. By becoming more spiritual, they find that they can relate more to spirituality and, of course, God. Then they can’t understand how they could have ever doubted God’s existence.

So, by becoming the Vav and completing the Aleph, we don’t just rectify the world. We also start the process of restoring our Kasnos Ohr with an Aleph. We may not notice the difference that much right now but only because God hides it from us, for the sake of free will. But the moment that is no longer an issue, we will instantly become and enjoy what we achieved at this stage of history when playing the role of the Vav.

Yeshivat Machon Meir: Sichot Parashat Vayishlach - HaRav Dov Begon and Rav Menachem Listman (video)

Genocidal Hatred of Jews and the West

by Guy Millière

• Many Muslims living in the West remain under the influence of Islamist movements and the hatred of Israel and Jews that permeates their countries of origin. Hatred of Jews and Israel is therefore markedly present in Muslim communities in the West.
• In the 1960s, when the Soviet Union wanted to gain more influence in the Arab Muslim world, its leaders decided to support what was at the time a sacred cause for Arab leaders: the attempt to destroy Israel. They... chose to invent a "national liberation struggle".... The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964 with the task of "liberating Palestine," and the borders of "Palestine" on the maps used by the PLO showed that the goal was to erase Israel from the face of the earth.
• Western leftists started vocally to express hatred of "imperialist Israel" and, ironically, the hard-won democratic freedoms they were at that moment enjoying to the fullest: freedom of speech, assembly, education, sexuality, and supposedly equal justice under the law.
• The Oslo Accords only made everything worse. By signing them, Israel's then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin recognized... that a terrorist organization was somehow the legitimate representative of a people invented fewer than three decades earlier, and that this invented "people" had "rights" and deserved to have territory and self-government.
• In reality, it was Israel that decolonized the land from the grip of the British, who governed it from 1917 until Israel's war of independence in 1948.
• The recent pro-Hamas demonstrations in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia show that hatred of Jews and Israel among Muslims living in the West has reached a degree where many of them openly support genocidal atrocities not only against Jews in Israel but against Jews anywhere.... These demonstrations also show that support for the "Palestinian cause" sometimes also leads Westerners to support genocidal atrocities so long as they are committed against Jews.
• [I]f nothing is done to respond to the forces seeking to overturn Western civilization, all in the name of "democracy" of course – and Western values such as equal justice under law, equality of opportunity rather than of result, education from facts rather than from propaganda, a media that actually challenges authority rather than allowing itself to be suborned by it, freedom of speech with which one disagrees, the sovereignty of the individual rather than of groups -- the worst is bound to come.

The recent pro-Hamas demonstrations in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia show that hatred of Jews and Israel among Muslims living in the West has reached a degree where many of them openly support genocidal atrocities not only against Jews in Israel but against Jews anywhere. Pictured: Demonstrators protest against Israel on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on November 7, 2023. (Photo by Kena Betankur/AFP via Getty Images)

The atrocities committed by the terrorist group Hamas in Israel on October 7 aroused fear and horror throughout the West. As soon as the Israeli government decided to retaliate and announced that it seeks to destroy Hamas, "the new ISIS", fear and horror began to fade and rapidly gave way to a return of "the world's oldest hatred".

The mainstream media described the demonstrations that swept through Western Europe and the United States as "pro-Palestinian". They were, in reality, anti-Jew and brimming with hatred towards Israel. The slogan "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" -- meaning that Israel must be wiped off the map -- was shouted out and emblazoned on banners.

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We Have Returned

BS”D
Parashat Vayishlach 5784
by HaRav Nachman Kahana

Jews often wonder, “Even now, after returning to our God-given homeland following 2000 years of repression and degradation, why must we still fight for our survival? Ribono Shel Olam – isn’t enough enough?”

The answer is an emphatic NO!

I will explain:

In parashat Vayishlach, Shimon and Levi annihilate the residents of Shechem for failing to bring Shechem ben Chamor to justice for what he did to their sister Dina. What was behind this seemingly excessive and disproportionate reaction by two nice Jewish boys?

Answer:

Avraham Aveinu, having arrived in Eretz Yisrael more than 100 years prior to the Shechem incident, was met by the pagan and tribal descendants of Cham, son of Noach – the Canaani, Chieti, Emori, etc.

Despite the religious and cultural opposition of these pagans, Avraham made impressive advances in the teachings of monotheism. He even established a yeshiva-hotel where many gathered to hear the word of God.

This was anathema to the religious and political establishment. Avraham was undermining the core beliefs of society by introducing God and morality into matters such as family, law, treatment of slaves and ethics in business.

By the time of parashat Vayishlach, the charismatic Avraham and his wife Sarah were long gone. Yitzchak was old and disabled. Ya’akov, the ben Torah, had not been seen in Eretz Yisrael for over twenty years. The only relevant descendant of Avraham was Aisav, with whom the idolators got along fabulously. They considered him as one of their own.

For all intents and purposes, Judaism was no longer a threat to the religious and social fabric of the land. The idolatrous natives could happily return to their old ways, uninterrupted by pangs of conscience caused by those “holier-than-thou” Jews.

Suddenly, Ya’akov the Jew and his family reappear in Eretz Yisrael. His arrival could have been restrained and muted like that of our Zionist chalutzim (pioneers) at the beginning of the last century, when they bought “a dunam (a quarter of an acre) here and a dunam there,” built a house here and a house there, planted orange trees and drained swamp land, with no impressive message signaling their presence.

However, HaShem “speaks” to people in the language that they understand. To Am Yisrael, HaShem speaks in the language of a father teaching Torah. To the gentiles, HaShem speaks in the language of strength, aggression, and violence.

Ya’akov returned. The evil inhabitants of Shechem were felled by the swords of Shimon and Levi in the name of common decency and justice. It took less than a day for the electrifying news of Shechem’s destruction at the hands of Ya’akov to reach all the land and beyond. From then on, the Canaanite occupiers of Eretz Yisrael would have to learn that life in the Holy Land would no longer be the same.

HaShem, the ultimate playwright, brings about Ya’akov’s return to the stage of history in an explosive manner. The reappearance of the Jewish people and their zealous conduct in the name of good over evil creates the desired impression upon the descendants of Cham. It is the language the gentile understands – the language of strength.

When Ya’akov and his 69 relatives left the Holy Land to join Yosef in Egypt, the land was once again devoid of Jews and Judaism. It was not until 250 years later, under the leadership of Moshe and Yehoshua, that the two superpowers of Og King of Bashan and Sichon King of Emori were annihilated, and 31 idolatrous city states destroyed.

The news reverberated throughout the Middle East and beyond. The world was in shock! The Jews have returned! “Moral conscience has returned to haunt us. Where have we gone wrong?” was the pitiful wailing of the sons and daughters of Cham.

Once again, the chosen of HaShem reentered the land, not by “dunam here and dunam there,” but in the language of strength that the gentiles understood.

For the last 2000 years, the main body of the Jewish nation was in exile, with only a small remnant remaining in the land.

With the Holocaust, our enemies were certain that it was only a matter of time before the world would be “free” of the “conscience-arousing” teachings of Judaism. The “Wandering Jew” would soon become the “Vanished Jew”.

Then in 1948, the Jewish nation in Eretz Yisrael again leaped onto the platform of history with an explosion that caught the attention of the world. On the day following our declaration of statehood, the nascent Jewish State was invaded by seven Arab armies in the “War of Independence”.

The world was certain that 600,000 people with only a ragtag army, no air force and no mechanized machines would not be able to withstand the ferocious Arab onslaught. Notwithstanding an arms boycott on Israel enforced by the United States and European countries, Israel trounced the Arab forces, doubling the land area of the State. The world stood in awe – Ya’akov had returned home!

In 1967, we were again in existential danger. The combined forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and others had sworn to erase Israel from the map. It took two hours on the morning of June 6, 1967 to demonstrate to the world what Kind David wrote (Tehillim 20,8-9):

Those come with chariots and those with horses. And we come in the name of the LORD, our God.

They have bowed down and fallen, and we have risen and stood upright.

News of the Medina’s miraculous military victories and its development at the cutting edge of almost every scientific and intellectual field has reached the far corners of the world.

The War of Independence, the Six Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the blowing up of the Atomic Reactor in Iraq, the present destruction of the Islamic, psychotic Chamas (Hamas), and more. This is the language that the nations of the world understand. We long to establish here a society of Torah, of justice, uprightness, and peace. Yet our enemies understand only the language of force. In order to prepare for the next phases of our people’s history – the Temple, the Davidic Dynasty, the Messiah and more – the nations of the world must undergo several more learning experiences.

A short relevant story:

An Arab entered a bank in Yerushalayim, just as the automatic mechanism closed the safe until the following morning. In reply to his demand to receive cash, the teller told him that the safe was locked and could not be opened until eight o’clock the following morning. The Arab became very nasty and vocal, threatening the life of the teller. At this point, the bank manager approached the Arab, picked him up and threw him out.

While the Arab was nursing his wounds, the bank teller approached him saying: “Didn’t I tell you that the safe is closed until tomorrow morning?” The Arab turned to the teller and said: “Yes. You told me, but he explained it”.

There is no rhyme and reason to tell our anti-Jewish enemies of the folly of their ways. They will understand only when it is explained to them, in the spirit of “Fear of the Jews was upon them.”

We will exterminate the evil, sadistic Chamas Nazis. Will the “enlightened” nations of the world join us in eradicating international Chamas that draws its inspiration from the Koran? Probably not! So, each country that hosts Moslems will have to undergo the experience of Chamas and repent for not learning the lessons of Gaza.

For two thousand years the land of Israel was in suspension, as a wife impatiently awaits the return of her beloved husband who was called away.

Nations and religions came and went after failing to plant roots in the holy land. But from the time we returned, the land re-awoke to life and turned its deserts into paradises.

We are now at a juncture in history. Close to half the number of world Jewry have already returned home and with the unrequested help of the anti-Semites the other half will come home or will have to pay for their folly.

Today, the God of Yisrael is again shocking the world as Medinat Yisrael destroys all those who seek to uproot the Jewish people from our God-given homeland.

In time, Medinat Yisrael will become HaShem’s medium to bring His message of Torah to us, and the Noahide laws and hope to a fractured, dissonant gentile world.

At the present our contemporary Maccabees -Tzahal are fighting in the tribal area of Shimon. However, we might shortly find ourselves fighting on five fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Shomron-Yehuda and Yemen. And in the wings ready to come out swinging are Iran, Jordan, Iraq, possibly Russia and China all preparing to swat the “nuisance mosquito” aka the “State of Israel”.

It is a scenario that will encourage many “fair weather” citizens to leave the country for greener and more serene pastures, leaving here us; the authentic Jews who bear a passionate love for HaShem’s holy land.

Welcome home, Ya’akov. Baruchim Haba’im, the holy people of Am Yisrael.
Shabbat Shalom
Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 5784/2023 Nachman Kahana

How Hamas Became an Environmentalist and Gun Control Cause

by Daniel Greenfield

From Queers for Palestine to marchers carrying signs reading, “Palestine is a Reproductive Justice Issue”, the Hamas cause has been vertically integrated throughout the Left. Greta Thunberg was booed after injecting anti-Israel chants into environmental rallies. The BLM movement was a longtime foe of Israel, but Asian Studies departments recently joined in.

The leaders of March for Our Lives and the Sunrise Movement, a gun control group and an environmental protest group, signed a letter to Biden warning that young people wouldn’t vote for him unless he forced Israel to stop attacking Hamas.

How better to promote gun control than by defending mass murderers who used machine guns to kill innocent people and how better to champion the environment than by supporting terrorists who deliberately start fires in Israel. What does Hamas have in common with gun control advocates, environmentalists and abortion activists?

“I think something very bad is happening on the left,” Israel’s Labor leader Merav Michaeli complained. “People who consider themselves to be democratic, progressive, are supporting a totalitarian terror regime that oppresses women, the LGBTQ+ community… The more you go to the left, the more there’s a big mix-up. Something went very wrong on the way.”



The ‘something’ that went wrong is called ‘intersectionality’. That’s why abortion protesters, gay activists, environmentalists, gun control activists and the entire Left have to support Hamas. But intersectionality is also bait and switch. While gay activists have to support Hamas, the Islamic terrorist group doesn’t have to stop throwing them off buildings. Making sure Hamas has enough fuel to fire rockets at Israeli kindergartens may be a reproductive justice issue, but no one expects masked men armed with RPGs to shout, “Allahu Akbar” at a Planned Parenthood rally.

Rather than a daisy chain connecting all the leftist causes together, intersectionality is actually a hierarchy that prioritizes the worst causes. It’s how the entire gay rights movement, to the dismay of some gay men and many lesbians, was drafted into the transgender cause. It’s why the extreme wing of each individual movement, from BLM in civil rights to art vandals in the environmental movement, have come to dominate while the moderates have been shut down.

Intersectionality has sidelined both principles and tactical considerations while making protestations of victimhood into the only consideration that matters. The more violent the rhetoric and the more extreme the cause, the more it takes over the entire Left.

This would make little sense if leftists actually cared about feminism, gay rights or global warming. But then again if they actually cared about those things, wouldn’t the USSR, China and Communist China be utopias where benevolent gay people cleaned up the environment?

The first and foremost thing that Merav Michaeli and most leftists don’t understand about the Left is that causes, whether it’s gun control or men pretending to be women, are just leverage to recruit activists, tear up society and then seize power. And once that happens, the new regime will have as much use for transgenderism or environmentalism as the Soviet Union did.

When you understand that, it becomes quite obvious why the Left supports Hamas, how it can juggle support for Islamic terrorism with the LGBTQ movement, and why it demands that gay rights take a back seat to Jihad. Intersectionality is just a new suit of clothes on the very old leftist idea that all causes are ultimately subordinate to the overriding cause of the revolution.

Under Stalinism, American Jewish leftists were told to support a regime that was massacring Jews and had allied with Nazi Germany. American feminists advocating for reproductive rights were ordered to back Communist China which was forcibly breeding women and aborting their babies. The American Indian movement was expected to support the Sandinista regime which was burning its own Indian population alive. To be a leftist is to be a traitor to your own cause.

These crimes which scarred generations of leftists were whitewashed out of history by leftists and the movement was rebranded as identity politics narcissism. Much as the military tried to appeal to a self-identified generation with the slogan ‘Army of One’, the Left rebranded as a movement centered around the personal identity of each of its members. But just as the army is still a massive hierarchy, not a personal development seminar, the Left is a collectivist movement whose central idea is that it is the group, not the individual, that actually matters.

Intersectionality promised a more individualistic leftist movement, one that was highly attuned to the ‘lived experience’ of its members and the more complex, and less black and white nature of identity politics in a world of many ethnic groups and sexualities, but that was bait and switch. Instead of customizing the movement to its members, intersectionality customized its members to the movement and its overriding objectives of burning down everything and seizing power.

And thus Hamas.

The American Left originally embraced third world liberation movements. When what it thought were secular Arab Socialist movements, including the PLO, turned out to be Islamist, it went along without missing a beat. After 9/11, liberals and Democrats in a fit of schismogenesis countered Bush’s War on Terror with a war for terrorists. Islamists became an oppressed group and a vital part of the leftist coalition not in spite of their destructiveness, but because of it.

If the Left actually cared about the things it claims to care about, it would be natural for it to side with Israel. But if the Left actually cared about those things, it would wave the American flag and condemn the Third World. Instead the Left acts like America is the worst place in the world and that every backward dictatorship is morally superior to us.

The hostility of the Left to the countries it’s in is the best evidence that it doesn’t believe in its causes. The diversity of the causes are a pretext for the true cause of mass destruction.

The inner purpose of any leftist cause is to create division and sow mistrust. The specificity of the cause is only a means of recruiting activists from a particular part of the spectrum. The more causes, the more races, ethnicities, sexualities, classes and belief systems, it can recruit from. Intersectionality is ultimately an academic term for demanding that the outer purpose, the official cause, must be subservient to the inner purpose.

How are abortion rights, gay rights or gun control served by supporting Hamas? The outer purpose of those movements is not served, but the inner purpose is advanced. And the inner purpose is the same as that of Hamas. The gun control advocates, environmentalists and other leftist activists are not here to improve our society, like Hamas they want to destroy it.

Rav Kook's Ein Ayah: The Power of Prayer and The Proper Way to Rebuke

The Power of Prayer

(from Ein Ayah, Berachot 68)

Gemara: Rav Elazar said in the name of Rebbi Chanina: the blessing of a simple person should never be light in your eyes, for two great leaders, Dovid and Doniel, were blessed by simple people and their blessings were fulfilled.

Ein Ayah: The Divine manner of leading the world places all existing matters, both in the physical and spiritual realms, within a system of wonderful wisdom, in a way that their goals will be met. The main goal is that spiritual potential, which is the desired fruit of all existence, should be strengthened. Indeed, Hashem established within the existence of the world a rule that tefilla(prayer) should be effective in obtaining results. Hashem arranged matters in this way in order to attain the ethical gains that can emanate from tefilla, to elevate the soul and to stay away from that which is evil. [See Ein Ayah, Berachot 1:56, which we discussed in Hemdat Yamim of Toldot. There Rav Kook writes that when tefilla is effective, people recognize Hashem’s impact on the world, fear Him, and follow His commandments.] Hashem also established a situation in the world whereby a blessing is an effective device to bring good to another. The purpose of this matter is that it encourages people to live in peace and love one with another, so that they will be worthy of their counterpart’s blessing.

That is why the blessing of a simple person should never be light in one’s eyes. After all, the blessing’s effectiveness does not depend only on the individual value of the one who offers the blessing. Rather, it is a general rule of nature from the perspective of the completeness of the world as a whole, in regard to its moral standing. However, it is understandable that once necessity brought this rule of nature into existence, there still is an advantage to the blessing of one person in relation to another, and thus one cannot compare the blessing of a simple person to that of a great and righteous person. [Rav Kook apparently means that one will feel more connected to Hashem if the blessing of a holy person is more effective than the blessing of a simple one.]

The Proper Way to Rebuke

(from Ein Ayah, Berachot 70)

Gemara: Rebbi Yochanan said in the name of Rebbi Yossi: one “lashing in the heart” of a person is more effective than several physical lashings, as the pasuk says: “She will run after her lovers… and she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now’” (Hoshea 2:9).

Ein Ayah: Here the Rabbis taught us the pleasantness of the approach of education, for not through beatings is a person educated but rather in the manner of pleasantness. The true fear that one is supposed to have [for Hashem] is the awe of His greatness that comes along with reliable love.

Until the most recent times, the scholars of the field of education did not arrive at this realization, and their education employed the “stick of those who damage” (see Zecharia 11:7). Only in these times, did great amounts of experience prove to them that they should understand that which our Rabbis taught us in their holy spirit.

Not Through Strength, but Through My Spirit

by HaRav Mordechai Greenberg
Nasi HaYeshiva, Kerem B'Yavneh

In the struggle between Yaakov and the stranger, identified by Chazal as the guardian angel of Esav, Yaakov's hip joint became dislocated. The Torah concludes the episode with the prohibition, "Therefore, Bnei Yisrael are not to eat the 'gid hanashe' (sciatic nerve)." (Bereisheet 32:33) What is the symbolism of this prohibition, and what is its connection to this episode?

The nightlong struggle between Yaakov and the angel of Esav is a microcosm of the struggle between Israel and the nations of the world. The nations' attempt to bring about our downfall did not -- and will not -- succeed, as G-d promised Avraham after the trial of the akeidah, "Your offspring shall inherit the gate of its enemies." (Bereisheet 22:17) However, their efforts did take their toll; they succeeded in weakening the material and physical aspects of national strength.

The "gid hanashe" sinew connects the body to the leg, and an injury to it weakens a person's ability to stand. Although Yaakov emerged victorious from his struggle with Esav's angel, he walked away limping, symbolizing his weakened foothold in the physical realm. However, Israel's spiritual vitality is what upholds and sustains it, despite its physical weakness. R. Yehuda Halevi stresses this idea in his work, The Kuzari (2:32):

The circumstances of the nations change based on their being many or few, strong or weak ... We, however -- when our heart, the Temple, was harmed -- became sick. And when it will be healed, we will be healed as well, whether we are many or few, regardless of our condition at that time. The prohibition, "Therefore, Bnei Yisrael are not to eat the 'gid hanashe,'" is to emphasize their lack of dependence on physical strength. Israel does not fall because of its physical weakness, nor does its physical strength sustain it! The approaching holiday of Chanukah clearly illustrates the principle that the basis of our endurance is through our spirit, not our might. This is why the few were able to defeat the many, and the weak overcome the strong.

This idea is also clearly expressed in the haftorah of Shabbat Chanukah, which contains the vision of the menorah in the book of Zechariah (4:2-6):

I see and behold -- there is a menorah [made entirely] of gold, with its bowl on its top ... There are two olive trees over it ... The angel who was speaking to me answered, and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord." He spoke up and said to me ... "Not through army and not through strength, but through My spirit, said Hashem, Master of Legions." The miracle of the jug of pure oil on Chanukah was not at all essential, since the prohibition against performing the Temple service in a state of "tum'ah" (defilement) is waived when the majority of the community is "tameh" (defiled). It would have been acceptable to use oil that was "tameh," but the miracle was still performed in order to show G-d's love of Israel. One might ask, however, why was a similar miracle not performed regarding the menorah? (The menorah had also been defiled, and the Chashmonaim were forced to use a menorah constructed out of plain steel bars, rather than a golden one.)

Rav Kook, zt"l, answers in the following manner. The essence of the miracle of Chanukah was to demonstrate the distinctive nature of the "Ruach Hakodesh" (Divine Spirit) present in Israel, that it is what sustains spirituality, and not that spirituality sustains it. Therefore, the miracle was performed with the oil, which represents the pure and holy inner self, and has to be done with great "hidur" (splendor). The menorah, on the other hand, is the merely the material vessel which carries the spirit, and therefore we can suffice, in times of need, with less elegance.

"Some with chariots, and some with horses; but we, in the name of Hashem, our G-d, call out." (Tehillim 20:8) Although we also require horses and chariots, we know to call the name of G-d upon them, and this is the source of our strength!

Rav Kook on Parashat VaYishlach: The Conflict Between Yaakov and Eisav

The central theme of VaYishlach is Yaakov’s struggle for his unique path, especially vis-a-vis his brother Eisav. This was not just a family feud. The Sages saw in Eisav a metaphor for Rome, and in general, a non-Jewish worldview, one alien to the Torah’s outlook. The high point of the narrative unfolds as Yaakov battles in the dark with a mysterious stranger, identified by the Sages as Eisav’s guardian angel.

“ Yaakov remained alone. A stranger wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he could not defeat him, he touched the upper joint of [Yaakov’s] thigh. Yaakov's hip joint became dislocated as he wrestled with the stranger.” (Ber. 32:25-26)

What is the significance of this unusual wrestling match? Why did Esau’s angel decide to injure Yaakov’s thigh, and not some other part of his body?

Eisav’s World of Hedonism
Many years earlier, Eisav chose to reject his birthright, selling it for bowl of lentil stew. “I am going to die!” he exclaimed. “What good is a birthright to me?” (Ber. 25:32) Why did Eisav sell his birthright?

We must understand the significance of this birthright. It was a legacy from their father Yitzchak, a charge to live a life dedicated to serving God. For Eisav, holiness was completely divorced from living a normal life. He saw the birthright as a death sentence, threatening the very foundations of his hedonistic way of life. It was because of his birthright that Eisav felt that he was going to die.

Eisav’s viewpoint is expressed a second time during his reunion with Yaakov. When Eisav saw Yaakov’s family, he was amazed. “Who are these to you?” (Ber. 33:5) You, Yaakov, who chose our father’s birthright and its otherworldly holiness — what connection can you have to a normal life? How can you have wives and children?

Eisav was unable to reconcile his image of a holy life of Divine service with establishing a family and raising children.

Eisav’s guardian angel, in his nocturnal struggle with Yaakov, embodied this outlook. Where did the angel attack Yaakov? He went for Yaakov’s thigh, dislocating it. His message was clear: if you wish to dedicate yourself to holiness and God, you must divorce yourself from family and all other aspects of a normal life. Your thigh, from where your children issue, must be detached from you.


Illustration image: ‘Jacob Wrestling with the Angel’ by Rembrandt (1659)

Yaakov’s Elevated Torah
Yaakov did not accept Eisav’s views on living a holy life. Yaakov exemplified, in both outlook and life, the harmony of nature with holiness. And Yaakov’s Torah was revealed in the natural world.

The Midrash states that “The Holy One looked inside the Torah and created the universe” (Bereisheet Rabbah 1:1). In other words, the universe is a direct result of God’s contemplation of Torah. If we examine the world carefully, we should be able to uncover the foundations of the Torah. Had Adam not sinned, there would have been no need for a written Torah. Life itself would be ordered according to the Torah’s principles.

The Avot sought to repair Adam’s sin. Their Torah and mitzvot belonged to the era before the Torah needed to be written down. For them, the Torah was naturally revealed in the universe. This is also the Torah of the angels, whose sole function is to fulfill the mission of their Creator in the world. “Bless God, His angels, mighty in strength, who fulfill His word” (Tehilim 103:20; see Shabbat 88a).

Who were the messengers that Yaakov sent to inform Eisav of his arrival? The Midrash teaches that Yaakov sent angels (Bereisheet Rabbah 72:4). A messenger takes the place of the sender; it is as if the sender himself accomplished the mission. Thus, the sender and the messenger must be connected on some basic level (see Kiddushin 41b).

By utilizing these unusual emissaries, Yaakov was sending a powerful message to Eisav. You, Eisav, claim that holiness and physical life are fundamentally contradictory. But my Torah is the Torah of the angels. For me, there is no division between holiness and the natural world. God Himself is revealed within His creation.

(Adapted from Shemuot HaRe’iyah 9, VaYishlach 5630 (1929) by Rav Chanan Morrison)

Ya'akov's Messengers

by HaRav Zalman Baruch Melamed
Rosh HaYeshiva, Beit El

The Torah study is dedicated in the memory of R. Avraham Ben-Tziyon ben Shabtai

DISPATCHING ANGELS
"And Ya'akov sent malachim to his brother Esav to the land of Se'ir in the field of Edom." Our sages deliberated on the question of who these "malachim" exactly were: One view is that they were indeed human agents - namely, messengers, of Ya'akov Avinu. Another view is that they were actual angels. "Rav Hama Bar Chanina said: Hagar was our matriarch Sara's maidservant, and angels appeared to her; is it not all the more logical that angels would appear to Ya'akov, who was the beloved of [God's] house?"

We should, however, take note of a key distinction between the revelation of angels to Hagar, to Eliezer (Avraham's servant), to Yosef, in comparison to their contact with Ya'akov. In the latter case, if we are to read the term malachim literally, from the verse we learn that Ya'akov actually sends the angels on a mission! They adhere to his orders! This type of relationship defies all that we know to be true about what is within man's capabilities, since it is clear that humans are on a lower spiritual level than the celestial angels; if so, how could he order them to carry out his wishes? We have no choice but to conclude that the Torah is telling us that Ya'akov Avinu was on a higher level than the angels! He is able not only to meet them, as did other Biblical personalities, but he was also able to commission them to fulfill his wishes.

SOMETHING IN COMMON
Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook (of blessed memory) notes that, in Jewish law, an agent must share his sender's level of obligation to perform Torah mitzvot (commandments) Thus, in Jewish law, a non-Jew is an invalid agent. (This means, for example, that a Jew cannot appoint a non-Jew to light his - the Jew's - Chanukah candles, since a non-Jew is not obligated to observe the holiday.) This criterion is rooted in the principle that an agent stands in the place of the one who sends him: "A person's agent is like himself."

Question: How is it therefore possible that angels could function as the agents of a human being? Angels are not "Children of the covenant!" in any sense of the word! Rav Kook's answer: Angels fulfill the Divine will naturally, without having to be commanded. In a similar fashion, our forefathers fulfilled the Torah not because they were commanded to do so, but because the fulfillment of mitzvot emanated from the depth of their very being.

The Avot thus share something in common with angels - in the sense that both beings are fulfillers of the Divine will; though Ya'akov is human and the angels are not, his nature, too, prompts him, in an angel-like fashion, to perform God's will. This perspective helps us understand how Ya'akov could appoint angels as agents to act on his behalf.

Looking at things this way, we can come to appreciate the spiritual loftiness of the fathers of our nation - people who existed somewhere between the physical and spiritual worlds, out of a complete and natural connection with the word of God, a connection that led them to experience ongoing encounters with the word of God and with his ministering angels.

IMITATIO DEI
In this world - as illustrated on numerous occasions in the Torah and Talmud - we find that God gives power to righteous people to resemble their Creator: to stop rains, to revive the dead, etc. Yet, there is a reality that is loftier than that of the world as we know it, a reality that the world will enter in future days, when the world reaches its ultimate state of perfection, when it becomes "filled with the splendor of God." At that time, it will become apparent that the entirety of the physical world is insignificant compared to the reality of God's existence. This is what our tradition means when it says that, on that day, "God will remain alone."

Our sages add that at that time, it will also become apparent that Ya'akov Avinu had a lion's share of this Divine quality. Ya'akov succeeded in raising himself to a level at which the entirety of existence was, so to speak, as naught, relative to him. In other words, Ya'akov strove for and reached the pinnacle of what a person must try to become. The entire world exists by his merit, he therefore possesses the quality of "Ein Od Milvado" -"There is none except for him" - a phrase normally reserved for God Himself.

In the book "Nefesh haRav," Rav Joseph Soleveitchik is quoted as saying that just as it is incumbent on a person to cleave to the ways of the Creator and His attributes ("Just as He is compassionate, so should you be compassionate, just as He is merciful, so should you be, etc) similarly, just as God is the One and only unique existence, so should man try to cleave to this quality, and to strive to reach his own personal potential. Every person has unique qualities, a special synthesis of his physical and spiritual self - not present in any other person. Man is obliged to develop the unique side of who he is as an individual, and not to simply defer to others.

An illustration of this concept can be found in a statement of the Vilna Gaon, who taught that after the sealing of the Talmud Bavli, every Talmid Chacham has permission to study the Talmud to his heart's content, and should not, in the course of his Torah study, defer to other scholars that preceded him, who lived after the canonization of the Talmud. Thus, according to the Gaon, if a Talmid Chacham whose learning has led him to a halachic conclusion against that arrived at by the Shulchan Aruch, - and he (the Talmid Chacham) nevertheless rules in accordance with the Shulchan Aruch on that very issue - he has transgressed a Torah prohibition!

INDIVIDUALITY AND INCLUSIVENESS
Ya'akov Avinu possesses the quality of "Levado," of being alone - he has a unique personality unlike that of anyone else in the world. We find that the each of our forefathers possessed unique qualities. Avraham specialized in Chesed, in the performance of kind acts towards others; Yitzchak was the master of "Din" - of self-restraint; Ya'akov Avinu was known for his adherence to, and love of truth.

On the other hand, we find a certain inclusivist quality in the Avot, of a willingness to negate their own personal egos in their efforts toward building of the Jewish nation, and of perfecting the world as a whole. In fact, our sages point out that of the three Avot, Ya'akov is the most inclusivist, most all encompassing of all. If so, then, there is no contradiction between developing one's unique personality and maintaining one's connection and commitment to the nation as a whole. The opposite is in fact, true: the ideal Jew finds his own fulfillment in his ongoing concern for his fellow Jews. One's own unique personality is cultivated and enriched by his concern for others...

How To Get Our Honor Back

by Victor Rosenthal

Look for a moment at the Israel-Gaza war in a different way, a Middle Eastern way. Look at it in terms of honor and shame. Despite the fact that these ideas are almost gone from the West – replaced in some places by “woke” concepts that are almost unintelligible here – they are tremendously important. The tribes of the Middle East still operate in a zero-sum world, where the weak are prey, deterrence is paramount, and honor is deterrence. And Israel’s future, if she has one, will be dependent on her relations with her Middle Eastern neighbors and not with post-Christian Europe and North America.

Everything about the terrible attack on southern Israel on 7 October was designed and choreographed as an attack on her honor. The rapes and torture, and (especially) the video documentation thereof, the emphasis on the degradation of women, the inclusion of Israeli Arabs and foreign workers in the massacre (to show that we couldn’t protect them), the killing of men and the capture of women and children (to become slaves) were more important than the transient military advantage resulting from the invasion.

The crowning glory of the attack was the hostage-taking, because, as the Hamas leaders understood, it enabled the subjugation of the Jews to the will of Hamas. Suddenly all our tanks and F-35s are rendered useless, and we are required to jump to the commands of Hamas, to beg for the lives of the women and children in their cruel hands, as they strut around and preen themselves, to worldwide applause.

This, as they see it, is enabled by the essential weakness of Israeli society, the society that Hamas leaders learned about as they served prison sentences (in the case of Yahya Sinwar, a sentence that was cut short as part of the obscenely excessive ransom for one Israeli soldier).

From 7 October to today, everything has gone according to the Hamas plan. The deal that was made will enable its military capability and political control to survive. They have precisely calibrated it according to their understanding of our society, the political situation in the US, and the expected behavior of the international community. The message to the most important audience, the tribes of the Middle East, has been received. Israel has no honor; anyone can hurt us, even a group like Hamas that is little more than an ISIS-like militia. The Iranian axis is the “strong horse.”

It needn’t be this way. Even now, it isn’t too late to recover our honor and our deterrence. The war should be resumed, with a strong offensive to finish off Hamas’ military capability in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. We should demand that all hostages be released within a specified time period (a few days). If this does not occur to our satisfaction, not only will the Hamas leadership all be targeted and killed, but their families as well. In effect, they will be ourhostages. In either case, the war will continue until the military capability and political control of Hamas over Gaza is ended.

I can only imagine the objections. It will endanger the captives. It is barbaric. It is collective punishment. Let me answer the last two first: call it what you will, it is the way a tribe must behave in the Middle East to survive. This is especially important for a small country without strategic depth like Israel, which can’t afford mistakes. Israel’s attempts to act according to the moral precepts of large Western nations (which, of course, the hypocritical Westerners violate with impunity whenever it is to their advantage) places her at a great disadvantage in asymmetric warfare with typical Middle-Eastern tribal societies like Hamas, possibly an existential one.

The first objection is more serious. It is true that anything other than complete surrender to all of Hamas’ demands will endanger the captives to some extent. But allowing Hamas to survive, giving it military advantages, and releasing terrorist prisoners will also have its price. We can’t put up posters of future victims of Hamas, but they are certain to exist. As Caroline Glick has said, the only difference is that we know the names of today’s captives. The others areas yet unknown, but they are no less real. And if we do not regain our deterrence, we can expect that there will be many more of them.

Why the Arabs 'Betrayed' the Palestinians

by Khaled Abu Toameh

• The stance of the Arabs and Muslims is yet another indication of their disillusionment with the Palestinians in general and Iran's proxies -- Hamas, Hizballah and the Houthis -- in particular.
• Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan are as opposed to Hamas as they are to Israel. Hamas is another branch of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, which has long posed a threat to their national security.
• In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar after accusing it of providing support for Islamist terrorists, including Hamas and the Taliban, as well as Iran.
• Now that their eyes have been once again forced open, the Palestinians should distance themselves from Hamas and other terrorist groups and join forces with those Arabs and Muslims who recognize that to create a better future for their people, it would benefit them immeasurably to recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel.

Now that their eyes have been once again forced open, the Palestinians should distance themselves from Hamas and other terrorist groups and join forces with those Arabs and Muslims who recognize that to create a better future for their people, it would benefit them immeasurably to recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel. Pictured: A Hamas terrorist holds two of the many Israeli children that Hamas abducted and brought as captives to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. (Image source: Hamas/X)

The Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group and its supporters are once again disappointed that the Arab countries did not come to the rescue of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the current war which erupted after the October 7 Hamas massacre of Israelis. At least 1,200 Israelis were murdered and more than 4,500 wounded in the massacre. Another 240 Israelis, including toddlers, children, women and the elderly were kidnapped to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

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The Dead Al Qaeda Hippie Who Went Viral on TikTok

by Daniel Greenfield

Eight years after he was taken out by a drone strike in Waziristan, Adam Gadahn went viral on TikTok. Had the former Al Qaeda terrorist been alive to see TikTok lefties praising his, “Letter to America”, written in Osama bin Laden’s name, he would have been absolutely thrilled.

Raised by California hippies, Adam Gadahn’s message clicked with TikTok teens because he used to be one of them. After experimenting with heavy metal to rebel against his dad’s terrible folk music (“So tell us what the sign will be/Of the end of the age we know/War and famine everywhere/There’s no place left to go” he went for the ultimate in death metal.

We love nothing more than “slitting the throats of the infidels” he bragged in his videos in a fake Arabic accent right out of ‘Team America World Police’. “You and your people will, Allah willing, experience things, which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11.”

Al Qaeda embraced the previously useless hipster because he promised to teach them how to reach Americans. But the ‘Azzam the American’ experiment never took off. Even after he stopped wearing a burka-like disguise over his square wire rimmed glasses, and wound a tablecloth around his head instead, he never stopped looking like a dork in a costume.

Adam never belonged in Pakistan, he belonged in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ or ‘Napoleon Dynamite’: his blank thousand yard stare had been perfected by getting high, not in Koran study.

Americans did not rush to enlist in Al Qaeda because of his words. Adam had aimed his rhetoric at the Michael Moore demographic that had birthed him, but one it was one thing to jeer Bush in between Starbucks lattes and another to move to a cave on the Pakistani border.



The videos mostly tapered off and he was reduced to translating the speeches of Al Qaeda leaders. After Osama bin Laden’s death, Americans stopped paying attention to Al Qaeda, and Adam’s death in a drone strike took second billing to the deaths of two American hostages.

But Adam or Azzam had been ahead of his time. He had peaked before the age of social media, and he never reached the audience he needed. But that’s changing now.

8 years after he was spattered over parts of Pakistan, Adam is an Al Qaeda influencer now.

The living can catch up to the times, but the dead can only wait for the times to catch up to them. When Adam Gadahn converted to Islam in 1996 and then assaulted his local Imam for not being antisemitic enough, there weren’t a lot of American teenagers like him. But we now live in a world where there are plenty of American teens converting to Islam and going Jihad.

Take Trevor Bickford, a 19-year-old from Wells, Maine, a town of less than 10,000 people, who converted to Islam, and headed down to Times Square to kill non-Muslims. Or Xavier Pelkey, 19, of Waterville, Maine, a city of 15,000, who joined ISIS and planned his own terror attack. Or Jonathan Xie, a 20-year-old from a New Jersey suburb who joined Hamas and threatened to bomb Trump Tower.

When Shannon Maureen Conley, a 19-year-old teenage girl from suburban Colorado converted to Islam and tried to join ISIS in 2014, there were articles and profiles on her. By the 2020s, it’s become common enough that American teens becoming Islamic terrorists has become routine. Hardly anyone bothers with the extended profiles of what is now a social phenomenon.



The handful that actually go all the way, like Adam, Trevor, Xavier, Jonathan or Shannon are the tip of the iceberg. When Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America”, actually written by Adam, went viral on TikTok, it exposed a much larger contingent of American teens friendly to the Jihad. Most Muslims are not actually terrorists, they’re just sympathetic to their positions. The same is true of parts of the non-Muslim world, including Europe, and it’s true of some American teens.

A poll showing that 51% of Americans 18-24 supported the murders, rapes and kidnappings atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct 7 is not just a statement about Israel. How many of them also think Al Qaeda had a point? There’s no meaningful polling on that: only anecdotal.

Adam’s “Letter to America”, stripped of his terrorist cosplay, the costumes and the droning voice, proved to be effective with teens who are like him, bored, dissatisfied and lacking in meaning. The Al Qaeda influencer rebelled against the Christian and Jewish religions of his parents, adopted Islam and then called for the destruction of America. In a counterculture that prizes teenage rebellion as the ultimate form of cultural change, Adam was the ‘it’ Jihadist.

Converting to Islam is a bit of a side road from the one that his Boomer parents took to get to their place in the counterculture. Adam went from his dad’s ‘Beat of the Earth’ and ‘Love Will Find a Way’ to a scorched earth triumph over the infidels, but isn’t this where the Left always ends up? Converting to Islam and joining Al Qaeda is the Zoomer answer to the Boomer side roads of joining Charlie Manson’s race war or drinking Kool-Aid with Jim Jones.

The Age of Aquarius always ends in Altamont and gulags. Why not also Jihad?

Adam Gadahn adapted Osama bin Laden’s message to a generation of teens who grew up believing that America was racist, “freedom and democracy that you call to is for yourselves and for white race only”, destroying the environment, ranting that “you have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gasses… despite this, you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement” (Adam had started out as an environmentalist), and oppressing the rest of the world. Starting with the leftist premise that America was evil, Al Qaeda made perfect sense. And to leftists it still does.

The first Al Qaeda influencer is postmortem piggybacking on a culture of radical activism that has made Islamic terrorism into the ultimate counterculture.

The Guardian profiles Americans who reacted to Islamic terrorism by reading the Koran and converting to Islam. The dead-eyed Manson followers and Jim Jones cult members are reading Korans and shouting “ceasefire”, they’re blocking traffic and having hysterics at the Capitol.

The Left has always drawn on fractured souls for its causes. Even more than dynamiting buildings, it set bombs to blow up the culture and its values. The more people it broke, the more recruits it gained. Islamists in America have gone beyond recruiting in prison and are recruiting from this same broken base. Mom and Dad may have protested the war, but Junior is a Jihadist.



Islam, like the Left, promises to destroy a failed world built on oppression and lies, in order to save it. Behind the apocalyptic idealism is the same perversity that led Adam Gadahn to threaten that, “the streets of America shall run red with blood.” Was this rhetoric really all that different from the anarchists, the Black Panthers or the Symbionese Liberation Army?

The radicals have become one great big apocalyptic gestalt, castrating teenagers, burning down pro-life centers, marching through the streets, tearing down statues and looting stores. The spectacle of it matters more than the details of the ideology. Like Mao’s Cultural Revolution, some teens robotically repeat verbose dogma they don’t understand, whether it’s Critical Race Theory or Hadiths, because it lets them run around destroying things and terrorizing people.

The destructive impulses that leftist radicals and Islamic terrorists channel are fairly similar. And not so different from the Hitler Youth. Put on a uniform, shock your parents and wreck things. The more you rage and hate, the stronger you feel and the more you bypass the hard work of adulthood. Radical politics is just another way for teenagers to never grow up.

‘Azzam the American’ was a Jihadist Peter Pan who never had to grow up. He’s dead now. And some of those radicals protesting for Hamas will eventually convert and follow in his footsteps.



Adam Gadahn understood instinctively how to take a foreign ideology and make it palatable to those like him, but we’re now in a world and a country full of Adams. Social decay has been supplemented by educational and pop culture indoctrination. TikTok is happy to spread Osama’s message as long as it weakens America. There is a world of strange bedfellows out there all happy to see us fall. And if we are not careful, some of them will be our children.

The return of ‘Azzam the American’ is a reminder that we’re not just in a war, but a culture war. A broken and divided nation is in no shape to defeat a vast enemy that is already inside our borders. The War on Terror is an extension of the old culture war we’ve been losing until now. Islamic terrorism could not succeed unless it could rely on a fifth column inside our countries.

After 9/11, it was clear that we would have to win an internal war to win an external one. Now as the wars come together and the enemy roams our streets, the need is more urgent than ever.

Either we defeat the enemy within or the war is lost.

Biden About To Betray Israel?

by Con Coughlin 

• Seven weeks into Israel's military offensive to destroy Hamas as a military and political entity, the Biden administration now seems to be adopting a very different stance, one where it appears ready to scale down its commitment to supporting Israel's right to self-defence, and destroying Hamas, in favour of a ceasefire deal that would essentially gift victory to Hamas.
• Netanyahu has made no secret of his personal reservations about the hostage deal, arguing that any pause in Israel's military offensive would simply allow Hamas to regroup. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in particular, had been opposed to the deal because they wanted to maintain the pressure against Hamas on the ground in Gaza.
• Indeed, Washington's willingness to impose ceasefires on Israel when its forces have clearly established a military advantage on the battlefield against their enemies has been a constant feature throughout Israel's 75-year existence.
• The Israelis will certainly be concerned at the role played by Qatar, which is one of Hamas's main military backers, in the negotiations. While the Qataris like to claim that they are simply using their contacts with Hamas to defuse tensions, the fact that Ismail Haniyeh, who masterminded the massacres, directed the attacks from his five-star hotel in Qatar, where he has been granted a safe haven, means the Israelis have every reason to be wary of Qatar's motives.

Pictured: Convicted Palestinian terrorists, who were released from Israeli prisons, wave Hamas flags and are carried on the shoulders of people in a crowd celebrating their release, in Ramallah on November 26, 2023. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images)

While the release of the first groups of hostages held by Hamas has inevitably raised hopes about the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages, it also exposes the Biden administration's worrying lack of commitment to supporting Israel's declared aim of destroying the Islamist terror group.

In the immediate aftermath of Hamas terrorists committing the worst terrorist atrocity in Israel's history on October 7, US President Joe Biden was quick to reassure Jerusalem that Washington fully supported Israel's right to defend itself.

After speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House issued a statement declaring:

"The United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, and I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel.

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Revivim: The Price of Prisoner Exchanges by HaRav Eliezer Melamed

It is a great mitzvah to redeem captives, and it takes precedence over all other forms of charity * It is forbidden to pay an excessive price for redeeming captives * There is a disagreement amongst halachic authorities when the kidnappers threaten to kill the victim * When it comes to war with the enemies of Israel, it is forbidden to capitulate to any extortion on their part * One should not pay more for the release of a captive than the agreed upon rate, which is one person in exchange for another * Great efforts must be made to release all captives, but it is forbidden to do so at the cost of endangering the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians

A difficult question faces the State of Israel – how to release the approximately 240 captives held by Hamas. Should an agreement be reached to release them in exchange for many terrorists and a ceasefire? Let us clarify this issue from the Jewish sources.

Redeeming Captives
Our Sages have taught that the redemption of captives is a great mitzvah for which a person should donate charity, placing it at the top of the list of worthwhile causes because the captive suffers greatly from hunger, medical problems, psychological trauma, and often subhuman conditions whereby his life is often in danger (Baba Batra 8B) Therefore, it is not proper to spare means in rescuing captives (Rambam, and Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 252:1).

Nonetheless, Chazal postulated the halakha that it is forbidden to pay an over exorbitant amount for pidyon shivuim (redeeming hostages), as is stated in the Mishna: “They must not ransom captives for more than their value, for the sake of the public wellbeing” (Gittin 45A). The main reason given for this enactment, in both the Gemara and the Rambam, is to not create an incentive for highwaymen and kidnappers to seize more and more Jewish prisoners, since they know that we are willing to pay any price to set them free. The Talmud mentions another explanation for this enactment – not to pressure the public to donate funds beyond their capability. However, most of the Rishonim, including the Rif, Rosh, Rambam, and the Tur, say the principle reason is not to encourage our enemies to kidnap more Jews, and this is the ruling in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 252:4).

The Act of Rav Meir from Rothenburg
An example is told about Rav Meir (the Maharam M’Rothenburg ) (1215-1293), one of the eminent Torah scholars of his time, who was taken hostage by the evil emperor, Rudolph and placed in Ensisheim Prison in Alsace. Rudolph requested a staggering amount of money for his release. The Rav’s many students wanted to raise the funds in order to secure his release, since according to the halakha, in a case where a Gadol HaDor (leader of the generation) is taken captive, there is no limit to the amount that must be paid to set him free. Nevertheless, the Maharam instructed them not to agree to the emperor’s demand, believing that if they handed over an enormous amount for his release, the enemies of the Jews would kidnap more rabbis and demand extravagant sums for their freedom. Thus, the Maharam M’Rothenburg sat in prison for seven years until the day of his death. Because of his greatness of soul and self-sacrifice for the welfare of Clal Yisrael, he prevented the capture of other leading rabbis, and the economic collapse which could have shattered many congregations.

When the Kidnappers Threaten to Kill the Victim
Until now, we have dealt with a captive who is not in danger of being killed. What is the law in a case where kidnappers threaten to kill the hostage?

There are poskim who say that the prohibition against paying exorbitant sums applies in normal situations when the life of the hostage is not immediately at stake. However, in a case of pikuach nefesh when life is threatened, since all of the commandments in the Torah are broken to save a life, the enactment of the Rabbis not to pay overly excessive sums of money in order to free a hostage is certainly not heeded, and everything must be done to redeem him.

In opposition, many poskim, including the Ramban, state that even in a case where the kidnappers threaten to kill the hostage, it is forbidden to pay an exorbitant amount. The reason is that conceding to the kidnappers will only increase their incentive to kidnap other Jews and threaten their lives. Thus, out of concern for the overall welfare of the public, and because of the life-threatening danger to future captives, it is forbidden to surrender to the kidnapper’s threats and demands.

In practice, this question was not definitely decided, and the leading halachic authorities amongst the Achronim were also divided on the issue (Pitchei T’shuva, Yoreh Deah 252:4).

When Dealing With Bitter Enemies of Israel
Until now we have dealt with kidnappers whose motive was monetary gain; but what is the law when the kidnappers are bitter enemies of Israel, and they are only willing to release the captives in exchange for freeing numerous terrorists?

A: We previously saw that in a case where a hostage’s life is in immediate danger, the authorities were divided on whether or not to give in to their demands. Some say it is proper to redeem him, even at a price greater than his worth because his life is threatened, while others say it is forbidden, out of general concern for the wellbeing of the public.

These opinions are applicable when the kidnappers are normal criminals seeking monetary gain. But in a case of ongoing war between Israel and terrorist enemies, it is forbidden to give in to any coercion on their part, for it is clear that if we were to concede, our enemies would view this as a sign of weakness, raising their morale and increasing their incentive to strike at us further. And we have learned that every time terrorists have succeeded in getting their way, this has motivated others to join them in their war against Israel. Additionally, if we give in, terrorists will not worry about getting caught, trusting that if they are apprehended and put in Israeli prisons, they will be soon freed in the next prisoner exchange. Also, it is a proven fact that a percentage of the freed terrorists will return to carrying out attacks against Jews. Therefore, despite the pain of the matter, we are not to give in to coercion and pay an excessive price for the hostage, above and beyond the customary payment demanded in kidnappings, meaning a one-man-for-one-man exchange.

The general rule is that during a war we do not give in to any demand from the enemy, and if they take even one Jew hostage, we go to war to free him. It is written in the Torah: “And when the Kenaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the Negev, heard that Israel came by the way of Atarim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners” (Bamidbar, 21:1). Rashi cites Chazal who explain that only one handmaid was captured from Israel. The Jews didn’t enter into negotiations to rescue her – rather they went to war. This is also what King David did when Amalek invaded Zeklag and took the women captive – he went to war to rescue the captives without bothering to negotiate first (Shmuel 1, 30.) Even if the enemy came to only steal straw and hay, we wage war against them, because if we give in to them on a small thing, they will continue to fight against us with even greater resolve (Eruvin 45A).

All of this concerns terrorists and enemies who are perpetually at war against us. However, if the war has ended, it is permissible to exchange all the enemy prisoners in our hands for the Jews whom they have taken captive, even if the prisoners we set free substantially outnumber the Jews who are released. This is because exchanges of this sort are customary when cease fires are formulated and all prisoners are set free. This is not considered paying more than the captives are worth on a prisoner-for-prisoner basis.
Halachic Authorities Who Hold There Is No Prohibition

However, there have been rabbis who have raised arguments permitting releasing many terrorists in exchange for a single soldier. Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli wrote that it is permissible to exchange many enemy prisoners for our captives, according to the rule that a man can pay an excessive sum of his own money to redeem himself. He reasons that any soldier who enlisted in Tzahal did so under the assumption that if he were captured, the army would redeem him at any price. Thus, it is the army who acts on his behalf in deciding the terms of his release. However, he also permitted endangering soldiers in order to avoid releasing numerous terrorists, in order to prevent Israeli capitulation, and humiliation of her honor. Rabbi Ortner permitted this because there is no certainty that the released terrorists will continue their terror (Techumin vol. 13).

Rabbi Goren, in “Torat HaMedinah,” pgs.424-436, agrees that it is forbidden to surrender to the coercion of terrorists. However, regarding soldiers who were taken captive while carrying out their military duties, he wrote that it stood to reason that the State of Israel had an absolute obligation to redeem the captives at any price, without considering the damage it might cause to the security and welfare of the country. However, since this posed a danger to the State of Israel, he further stated that the State was obligated to impose the death penalty against terrorists, for without this deterrence, terrorists will continue murdering, since they would be confident that if they are captured, they will be freed in a future prisoner exchange.
Reality Has Disproven Their Reasoning

Over 20 years ago I wrote about this topic, and returned to write about it several times before the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal. And each time there were readers who asked how I could have written so decisively that it is forbidden to redeem a soldier for more than one prisoner, when there are rabbis who agreed to permit it – including former Israeli Chief Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, who instructed Shas ministers to support releasing over a thousand terrorists for Gilad Shalit. I replied that reality has proven that the words of our Sages who ruled not to redeem captives for more than their value, remain valid and binding, while the words of rabbis who found leniencies permitting violation of this, are rejected. Had they foreseen the results of such deals, they would surely have retracted, because they relied on “security experts”, while reality proved that capitulation led to disasters.
The Disasters

The first was the Jibril deal in 1985, when 1,150 terrorists were released in exchange for 3 IDF soldiers. The releasees spearheaded the First Intifada, which broke out less than 3 years later. In 2004, the deal with Hezbollah released Elhanan Tenenbaum and 3 IDF bodies in exchange for 450 terrorists, including Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani.

Over the years there were various other deals, but the deterioration continued, peaking with the Gilad Shalit deal in October 2011. The commander of the Hamas military wing, Ahmed Jabari, said that the released prisoners were responsible for the murder of 569 Israeli civilians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 26 other ministers supported the deal, three opposed: Avigdor Lieberman, Moshe Ya’alon, and Uzi Landau.

Within a few years, many of the terrorists who were released to Judea and Samaria returned to engage in terrorism, and apparently hundreds of Jews were killed by them. And the terrorists who were released to Gaza, led by Yahya Sinwar, initiated the murderous attack on Simchat Torah on the communities near Gaza, in which more than 1,200 were killed. The war that Israel is now waging to destroy the terror monster they created, still has not ended.

Please My Brothers, Do Not Make Things Worse
Great efforts must be made to release all captives, but not at the cost of endangering thousands of soldiers and civilians. It is difficult to blame the families of the captives – their grief is unbearable. Those helping them raise the issue abroad are doing holy work. However, those demonstrating inside Israel and claiming in the media that the government must do “anything” for the captives’ release – they strengthen the enemy, and endanger our soldiers at the front. Who knows, without them, perhaps the enemy would have already compromised? But when they hear of protests, the enemy understands they have much more power, they raise the price, demand we stop fighting, while our soldiers take more risks, and chances diminish for redeeming all the captives.

Thirty Years Ago Israel Deported Hamas. Clinton Made Israel Take It Back

by Daniel Greenfield

“Deporting The Hope For Peace?” Newsweek asked. The hope for peace was Hamas.

The year was 1992. The Clinton administration was trying to get Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and the PLO’s Yasser Arafat to sign on the dotted line of the Oslo Accords to create a terror state inside Israel. In the name of peace. Unfortunately Hamas kept killing Israelis.

15-year-old Helena Rapp had been stabbed to death at a bus stop on the way to school. A few days later, Rabbi Shimon Biran, a father of four, was similarly murdered by an Islamic terrorist.

Fed up with the latest killings, Prime Minister Rabin put 417 Islamists terrorists on buses and dumped them in Lebanon. The monsters he deported included top Hamas terror leaders.

On the six buses were current Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh, Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, who would vow, “by Allah, we will not leave one Jew in Palestine”, Abu Osama, who helped draft the Hamas charter calling for the extermination of the Jews, Hamas co-founders Mohammed Taha, Hammad Al-Hasanat, and Mahmoud Zahar, who threatened “They have legitimized the killing of their people all over the world by killing our people”, Hamad Al-Bitawi, who proclaimed that “Jihad is a collective duty” along with Abdullah al-Shami, the head of Islamic Jihad, and many other present and future Islamic terror leaders deported to Lebanon.

The New York Times headlined its coverage, “Ousted Arabs Shiver and Wait in Lebanese Limbo”. Newsweek also sympathetically described how the Hamas terrorists were “shivering in the cold.” The Washington Post lingered on their handcuff “welts”. The Associated Press provided detailed coverage of their cases of diarrhea turning the bowel movements of Islamist terrorists into an item worthy of international coverage.

In reality the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists had been equipped by Israel with raincoats, blankets, food and $50 each: more than enough to buy whatever they needed in Lebanon.

“We are thirsty, cold and hungry,” said Dr. Abdul-Aziz Rantisi,” is how the Times began its story. It mentioned that Rantisi was planning a hunger strike, not that he was a terrorist leader.

The Los Angeles Times suggested that the “free speech” of the terrorists had been violated. It asked them to “define Hamas’ membership conditions” and ”many answered, ‘To pray and be good Muslims.’” That is how the media explained the Islamic terror group to Americans.

The Red Cross, which after over a month had failed to pay a visit to the Israeli hostages, including children and old women being held by Hamas, was quickly on the scene with “three truckloads of tents, food, blankets and bedding”. The aid organization set up tents for the Hamas terrorists who were apparently too lazy or incompetent to set up their own tents.

The head of UNRWA trekked out from Vienna to visit the expelled Hamas terrorists.

Bernard Pfefferle, the local chief delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, wept, “They won’t survive the winter out there like this.” In fact, they survived just fine.

UN Under Secretary General James O. C. Jonah, Bernard Kouchner, France’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, and many other foreign dignitaries tried to visit the Hamas terrorists.

French Ambassador Daniel Husson asked to meet with the Hamas terrorists to “express France’s sympathy with their cause.”



Amnesty International organized a letter writing campaign whining that the Hamas deportees were “living in tents in freezing conditions” and demanding the “safe return of the deportees to Israel.” B’Tselem, a pro-terror ‘human rights’ group operating inside Israel, denounced the deportations as a “a flagrant violation of human rights”. During the Oct 7 attacks, Vivian Silver, a B’Tselem board member, was killed by the terrorists she had spent her life advocating for.

B’Tselem had been one of the pro-terrorist groups that had originally challenged the deportations in Israel’s leftist Supreme Court in a bid to keep Hamas inside Israel.

The media relentlessly covered the Hamas deportees the way it had failed to cover their victims. By the end, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi had held a record of 1,500 press conferences. Every time the Islamic terrorists sneezed there was a correspondent there to write about it, a photographer there to take a picture of it and a human rights activist there to condemn Israel for it.

Even if it was all a lie.

“EXPELLED PALESTINIANS RUN OUT OF WATER,” a Washington Post headline blared. In that same story the paper mentioned that they were getting their water from a stream. Other stories complained that they were running out of water while surrounded by snow.


One Associated Press story described a deportee eating a breakfast of jam, cheese and bread or beans and chickpeas with lemon sauce, and then a lunch of tuna fish or sardines, and then complaining, “I’m so sick of this food. I eat only to stay alive.”

In reality the Hamas and Islamic terrorists had plenty of food and water. At one point even a New York Times article admitted that “on Thursday, the Palestinians said that they had fasted during the day to preserve food stocks that had dwindled to some vermicelli and potatoes, with drinking water completely gone. Yet today, an Associated Press reporter said that the deported men were cooking rice, chickpeas and canned meat, and that some had eggs.”

A week after they were deported the New York Times claimed that the Hamas terrorists would start “dying from pneumonia” in a few days. None of them died even after seven months.

In reality, they were holding lavish religious feasts with Hezbollah and Iran’s IRGC terrorists. The tent city would become an enclave of television sets, fax machines, copy machines, cell phones, a fridge filled with soda and a satellite dish beaming Iranian television shows to them.

Israel had dumped the Hamas terrorists in Lebanon, but the Hezbollah allied government refused to take them and blocked the road with tanks to keep them from leaving. The Lebanese government wouldn’t allow aid to pass through to the Hamas terrorists, but did allow reporters and camera crews through to document the “shivering” of the Hamas leaders.

In a foreshadowing of Egypt’s policy of blockading Gaza, Lebanon kept the Hamas terrorists from entering Lebanon. And the international community and the media placed the blame on Israel, rather than Lebanon, which was preventing them from entering its territory.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 799 condemning the deportations of Hamas terrorists and demanding that Israel “ensure the safe and immediate return to the occupied territories of all those deported”.

The first Bush administration voted for the resolution even though it had shrugged when a year earlier, the Kuwaitis had expelled 200,000 ‘Palestinians’ using tanks and troops.

“I think we’re expecting a little much if we’re asking the people in Kuwait to take kindly to those that had spied on their countrymen that were left there, that had brutalized families there, and things of that nature,” President George H. W. Bush had observed.

Israelis however were supposed to take kindly to the Hamas terrorists massacring them. The Bush administration “strongly condemned” the deportations. Bill Clinton was no better.

“I share the anger and the frustration and the outrage of the Israeli people. And I understand how they feel. They have to deal very firmly with this group Hamas, which is apparently bent on terrorist activities of all kinds,” Clinton, who would soon be taking office, said. “On the other hand, I am concerned that this deportation may go too far and imperil the peace talks.”

“We are not sure that President-elect Clinton and his team fully comprehend the danger from Islamic fundamentalism,” Rabin had observed before his meeting with Bill Clinton.

The Clinton administration mostly certainly did not. But neither did Rabin.

Prime Minister Rabin had only temporarily deported the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists for two years to improve his domestic image and buy some quiet time for peace negotiations. His coalition of leftist and far leftist parties was soon divided between him and future Prime Minister Shimon Peres’s far leftist cabinet coalition. “No one is enjoying the suffering of these people,” Peres said. “Israel deported them, but it did not mean to hurt them.”

The leftist coalition Meretz party called deporting Hamas “a gross violation of human rights.”

Under pressure from the Clinton administration, which warned that it would not protect Israel from UN sanctions, and members of his own leftist coalition Rabin offered to allow the Hamas terrorists back if they promised to “desist from terror and violence for the duration of the peace negotiations”. The terrorists refused to promise that. And so he agreed to take in over a hundred of them now and the rest in a year. Hamas began returning to Israel in 1993.


The Hamas terrorists only agreed to return due to insufficient TV coverage of their antics.


"High among the reasons given by the Palestinian deportees for accepting Israel's effort to let about half of them back into the West Bank and Gaza next month was the deportees lack not of food or shelter, but of coverage by the news media -- meaning television," the New York Times reported.


30 years ago Israel had expelled the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and then took them back in.

Two weeks after Rabin agreed to take back the Hamas terrorists, the World Trade Center was bombed by the Islamic Group which, like Hamas, had come out of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Our struggle against murderous Islamic terror is also meant to awaken the world which is lying in slumber. We call on all nations and all people to devote their attention to the real and serious danger which threatens the peace of the world in the forthcoming years. The danger of death is at our doorstep,” Rabin had warned. But the world went on slumbering .And so did Israel.

In 2023, Israel and the world have the opportunity to undo or repeat the mistakes of 1993.