Selected articles concerning Israel, published weekly by Suburban Orthodox Toras Chaim’s (Baltimore) Israel Action Committee Edited by Jerry Appelbaum ( [email protected] ) | Founding editor: Sheldon J. Berman Z”L

Issue 8 8 9 Volume 2 1 , Number 21 Parshias Sh'lach | Shabbos Mevarchim June 5 , 2021

Netanyahu Rivals Agree to Form New Go vernment to Oust Israeli Leader By Felicia Schwartz wsj.com June 2, 2021 Coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid will support or opposition to the potential new government, seek to resurrect an economy amid a fragile peace according to TV footage. with Hamas. The parties will have to set aside their ideological Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rivals differences on key issues as the coalition tries to resurrect agreed to form a coalition government that would dislodge an economy hurting from Cov id - 19 lockdowns while also the country’s longest - serving leader, a major political keeping Israelis secure amid heightened tensions with shake - up as the nation seeks to protect a fragile truce with Hamas. Fighting between Israel and Hamas last month the Palestinian militant group Hamas. killed 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, and 12 If the governme nt is sworn people in Israel, including two in within the next two weeks, children. Mr. Netanyahu would cede Mr. Lapid received the power to the most diverse man date after Mr. Netanyahu coalition in Israel’s history, failed to form a government including an independent Arab following an inconclusive March party for the first time. Yair election, the country’s fourth since Lapid, who leads the centrist 2019. Yesh Atid party, and Naftali Mr. Bennett controls seven Bennett, who heads the right - seats in the Knesset, Israel’s wing Yamina party, will team up parliament, compared with Mr. with six other parties, including Lapid’s 17. But right - wing Jewish one of Israel’s Arab parties, Israel is who previously supported Raam, according to a statement Mr. Netanyahu’s governments from Mr. Lapid. might find him a more politically “The government will do palatable candidate as prime everything it can to unite every minister. part of Israeli society,” Mr. Lapid sai d late Wednesday. Mr. Bennett’s Yamina party released a video Mr. Lapid has informed Israel’s president of his celebrating the agreement. “We’re getting out of the government formation plan, the statement said. [election] loop [and] establis hing a government. Do you The parliament by law has about 12 days to swear in support unity? Then let’s hear it from you,” the video said. the government after Mr. Lapid notifies the president. President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Mr. Netanyahu can still try to undo the coalition deal Netanyahu have been working together for decades, but in this period by convincing enough right - wing lawmakers their friendship faces new trials amid the Israel - Hamas to vote against the new government. truce. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib takes a look at key moments The deal comes days after Mr. Bennett made public from the last 15 years of their relationship, and what might his plans to join Mr. Lapid in a coalition. come next. Photo illustration: Todd Johnson Both leaders would take turns at leading the Messrs. Bennett and Lapid faced a difficult task in gove rnment, with Mr. Bennett serving first as prime stitching together a coalition from a group of riv als, some minister for two years followed by Mr. Lapid, who would of whom are united only in their desire to replace Mr. first serve as the foreign minister. Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption. He denies any “With God’s help, we’ll do what’s good for Israel and wrongdoing. get it back on track,” Mr. Bennett told Israel’s president in Mr. Netanyahu’s case is ongoing, and analysts said he a phone call together with Mr. Lapid, according to a video is better positioned to face the charges while remaining of the scene published by Mr. Bennett’s party. prime minis ter. Out of the office, he will be unable to Blue and White’s Benny Gantz would be the defense advance any legislation or make any appointments that minister, New Hope’s Gideon Saar would be the justice could insulate him from the charges. minister, Yisrael Beiteinu’s Avigdor Lieberma n would be Before Wednesday’s deadline, Mr. Netanyahu’s the finance minister and Yamina’s Ayelet Shaked would be supporters, including lawmakers from his right - wing Likud the interior minister, officials involved in the talks said. party, went all o ut to convince some right - wing lawmakers Outside the hotel where negotiations between the to abandon the prospective coalition, according to people parties took place near Tel Aviv, hundreds of people familiar with the matter. gathered on opposite side s of the street to either express The defection of just one or two lawmakers can Foc us o n Is rael June 5, 2021 Page 2

prevent the new coalition from mustering a majority and government together for more than a few months — or force another election. return to yet another election. Mr. Netanyahu enjoys support among Israel’s right - Mr. Bennett, 49 years old, is a former Israeli military wing and religious voters, which has helped him maintain a commando who later co - founded an antifraud software continuous grip on power since 2009. firm and made millions of dollars when it was sold. He is He also served three years as prime minister in the also a former defense and education minister as well as a 1990s. He has described the new coalition as a dangerous former aide to Mr. Netanyahu. While serving as defense and l eft - wing government that wouldn’t be able to minister, he presided over Israel’s first coronavirus confront Iran or meet other security challenges. lockdown, an effort that was initially v iewed as a success. “Do not form a left - wing government. Such a Israel’s caseload later skyrocketed after Mr. Netanyahu government is a danger for the security of Israel and a moved to reopen the economy but Mr. Bennett by then danger for the future of our country,” Mr. Netanyahu said. was no longer part of the government. He is expected to become the leader of the opposition, The parties in the emerging coalition agree on little: but may face leadership challenges from other members of Some want to engage with the Palest inians, while others his Likud party who have been frustrated by his repeated want to pursue annexation of the West Bank. They also failures to form a government. He defeated such a disagree on Israel’s judicial system, with some opposing a challenge from a former protégé, Gideon Saar, in late more liberal role for the courts and others taking a broader 2019. view of what the court’s powers should be. But as more lawmakers soured on the idea of working A new government w ill have to take steps to boost with a prime minister under indictment, Mr. Netanyahu economic growth while keeping the pandemic in check. ran out of options. Meanwhile, a cease - fire between Israel and Gaza ruler “He’s really managed to create an atmosphere in the Hamas after 11 days of intense fighting remains fragile, as Likud of deterrence against criticism, and so until they n ot both sides try to consolidate their gains. Egypt is media ting only smell the blood but see it, nobody will break in indirect discussions between Israel and Hamas over longer Likud,” said Emmanuel Navon, a professor of political term cease - fire arrangements. science at Tel Aviv University and a former member of The conflict was the worst since the last of three wars Likud. in 2014 and appeared to save Mr. Netanyahu’s position for Liberal daily Haaretz on Tuesday featured an editorial a time. But after it ended in an unconditional tr uce, talks with the headline, “Stop the Insanity.” between his political rivals resumed. “There is a desperate need to replace a dangerous Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats in leader who is doing great damage to the country,” it said. the last election — 30 — but failed to unite Israel’s right - If they can swear in the government, Messrs. Bennett wing and religious parties around him or get some of them and Lapid face the challenge of keeping their fractious to work with an Islamist party so he could remain in control.

Israel Must Cut Off Hamas’s Access to Cash By Nitsana Darshan - Leitner israelhayom.com May 25, 2021 The only way to keep the terrorists from rearming. the Palestinian Authority, which has no power over the The dust over the ruins in G aza hasn't had the chance Strip whatsoever. to settle and Israeli media is already talking about the When will we understand that any cash that goes into "mechanism" - not the one by which Hamas, the terrorist Gaza finds its way to Hamas' m ilitary goals? group controlling the Gaza Strip, will be destroyed, but the Israel must now inform Qatar and European countries one that will allow the continued transfer of funds to that if they want to support the impoverished Palestinians c oastal enclave without it falling into Hamas' hands. in Gaza, they are more than welcome to send as many Funds appropriated by Gaza's rulers have gone toward containers of food, medicine, clothing, toys, textbooks, the manufacturing of the 4,360 rockets fired on Israel furniture, etc. as th ey want. Want to pay for fuel and during Operation Guardian of the Walls and the 100 electricity? Excellent. But keep the cash. Cash dollars only kilometers (62 miles) of underground tunnels destroyed by buy ammunition and Israel will no longer allow it inti the IDF during the fighting – and it seems we have learned Gaza. nothing. A terrorist organization has an Achilles heel: one leg is The truth is simple: money transferred to the Gaza rooted in the world of terrorist attacks, but the other leg is Strip cannot be monitored. No by international rooted in the legitimate world. A terrorist group cannot organizations whose functionaries answer to Hamas, not pay operatives without banks, communicate without by charities – as the ir infrastructure is an integral part of technological means or operate in general without lawyers Hamas and the public sympathy for it, and certainly not by and accountants. Page 3 June 5, 2021 Focus on Israel

When Israel destroys Hamas weapons depots and Guardian of the Walls has proven, it is borderline security demolis hes entire buildings that serve as headquarters, it is suicide. exposed to constant international criticism and pressure to The government must not continue to err in illusions stop the fighting. But it keeps missing the legitimate about arrangements over Hamas' head. Once the operation options for action, namely stifling the organization is over, we must initiate and move the war to economic financially. lines. Yes to donations – but not in cash. We must not The Israeli public e xpect the government to wage a dissolve the military achievements of the operation. If we financial campaign against terrorism and dry up its do not dry up the egg of terrorism now, we will lose the resources, but $360 million in Qatari cash each year proves next war. that the Israeli government is not in sync with itself. The government must not continue to delude itself Hamas is first and foremost a financial enterprise. The about its ability to bro ker deals that go over Hamas' head. t housands of rockets it has developed, the missiles it Now that fighting on the ground has concluded, we must purchased, the underground city it dug, the stipends paid move the war to the economic battlefield. Donations to to terrorists and their families – all cost more than a billion Gaza are welcome – but not in cash. We must not miss out dollars. The bribe paid to Hamas for mock calm goes on the opportunity to leverage the military achieveme nts in beyond a loss of national di gnity but, as Operation full. If we fail to dry up the terrorism swamp now, we will lose the next war.

Iran Is Making Gaza Part of Its Regional Network of Missile Factories By Behnam Ben Taleblu fdd.org May 24, 2021 Teach a terrorist to fish . . . upon Iranians and Muslim nations t o work together “This man filled the hands of the Palestinians . . . He towards Israel’s destruction. Khomeini’s successor, did something so that they can stand, so that they can Khamenei, has called Israel a “cancer” and in 2012, went resist,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said. That’s so far as to admit that Iran would “support and help any how he chose to honor Qassim Suleimani, the slain former nations, any groups fighting against the Zionist regime commander of the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard across the world.” Iran has long used its support of the Corps Quds - Force (IRGC - QF), mere days after his death. Palestinian cause as a way to champion its bid to lead the During the latest cycle of violence emanating from the Muslim world and compete with the likes of Turkey and Gaza strip, Tehran’s Palestinian proxies — Hamas and Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Republic’s ongoing support to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) — showed exactly how “full” Hamas and PIJ, as well as their offshoots, are t herefore their hands were by reportedly launching forty - three entirely consistent with Khamenei’s proclamation and hundred rockets at the Jewish state. These rockets traveled Khomeini’s founding message. longer distances and in larger volleys than ever before. Although Hamas and PIJ benefit from several foreign Indeed, the rate of fire from the latest iteration of fighting sources, Iran remains the most important given its anti - far outpaced the last war, which also featured an estimated status quo foreign policy, demonstrated proliferation four thousand rockets but took place over seven weeks in cap abilities, and overall ideological motivations and 2014. Although not every weapon fired was of Iranian strategic intentions. Iran - backed groups in the region, such origin, the Islamic Republic remains the most important as Lebanese Hezbollah, understand Tehran’s value - added foreign supporter of Gazan long - ra nge strike capabilities. in the latest fighting, as do other Palestinian terror groups, Lest we forget, the Islamic Republic is a revolutionary which have felicitated Ira n’s Supreme Leader. Recently, a regime aiming to export its political model and alter the commander in the pro - Iran Popular Mobilization Units regional strategic balance in its favor. Creating, cultivating, (PMUs) in Iraq opined on social media, “On every missile and co - opting proxies and terror groups is one only a spect [rocket] that leaves dear and honorable Gaza for the of this policy. The other is arming, training, and funding victory of Quds, there are the fingerprints and signatures them. Major impediments to Tehran’s grand project have of our martyred commanders,” implicitly praising Iran’s long been the U.S. force presence in the region, far - Soleimani and his Iraqi counterpart, Abu Mahdi al - reaching economic sanctions, and the existence of highly Muhandis. Months earlier, PIJ’s Secretary - General touted motivated, militarily capa ble, and Western - aligned actors that, “With the capabilities at hand today, Gaza can like Israel, with whom the Islamic Republic harbors deep confront Israel for a prolonged war. This expertise did not ideological and political enmity. come from nowhere. They are the result of a great effort But this is only putting it mildly. After all, Tehran has by Hajj Qassem [Soleimani] to enable [the Palestinian] flight - tested missiles with genocidal slogans against Israel fighters to reach that goal.” Here, the praise of Iran’s painted on the m and used Jewish symbols for missile proxy groups mirrors that of its patron. target practice. Iran’s material support to P alestinian groups has The founding father of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah traditionally consisted of rockets, anti - tank weapons, Ruhollah Khomeini, established his revolutionary regime mortars, rifles, mines, and other explosives — all of which on anti - Israel footing from the very beginning, calling have been intercepted in the past — and is well known. Foc us o n Is rael June 5, 2021 Page 4

Most of this support stems from Iran’s own arms industry. Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories. These changes Tehran has a robust rocket production capability dating reveal responsiveness to external stimuli, a desire for a back to the Iran - Iraq War, where the father of Iran’s sanctions - resistant and cost - effective security policy, and missile program reportedly learned to develop Katyusha an abili ty to transpose lessons from past conflicts across rocket launchers indigenously. In the 1990s, Iran benefited multiple theaters. Bluntly, the success of this strategy will from significant Chinese support for its burgeoning missile mean that detecting Iran’s hand in future conflicts may not and rocket program through the dual - use trade as well as be so easy as seeing whole systems from Iran’s arsenal — as assistance with solid - propellants, which rockets employ. in this case, the Fajr — ap pear in the hands of Hamas, PIJ, Evolution in propellant production and technology, as well or other terror groups. The Islamic Republic is keen to as guidance and control systems led Tehran to transform avoid another “made in Iran” moment as occurred with longer - r ange rockets into battlefield - relevant solid - earlier missile transfers to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. propellant ballistic missiles. Currently, Iran is engaged in a During past rounds of fighting, such as in 2014, project to turn Lebanese Hezbollah’s rockets into missiles, Iranian officials claimed that they did not proliferate as well as upgrade its decades old artillery rockets with rockets to Gaza, but rather supplied Gazans with relevant precision - strike capabilities. rocket know - how. In 2012 however, Iran reportedly Iran’s regional proxies have benefitted substantially admitted to proliferating the Fajr - 5 to Hamas, which has from these competencies. Hamas now employs suicide since been domestically produced under the moniker, M - drones which look similar to other Iran - provided loitering 75. Both systems are capable of traveling seventy - five munitions that can be found in the hands of Houthi rebels kilometers. In Iran, the Fajr family of rockets has been in Yemen. Hamas’s present rocket arsenal includes Fajr - 3 upgraded several times to include increases in range, and Fajr - 5 rockets from Iran and M - 302 rockets from warhead weight, and even an alleged guidance capability. It Syria. They also possess a slew of other domestically is unclear if these newer variants have made their way into manufactured but assumedly foreign - inspired rockets like the Palestinian arsenal. the Katyusha, the Qassam, the Grad, the Sejjil (not to be As Iran works to make its proxies more militarily self - confused wi th the Iranian two - stage solid - propellant sufficient, opportunities for weapons interception will be ballistic missile), the R - 160, the J - 80, the A - 120, and the reduced and claims of attribution against Tehran will latest and longest range rocket in its arsenal, the Ayyash, become harder. This is likely to blunt the impact of any which can travel a reported 250 kilometers and was future foreign pressure policy and instead foster “analysis recently fired towards Eilat. Iran has also provided Hamas paralysis” among experts. It also means that absent any with the Kornet anti - tank missile, but Hamas also boasts evidence of design similarities, or better yet, Iranian anti - tank and anti - aircraft weapons from Libya, as well components found in debris or wreckage, the next best mortars. PIJ is believed to have similar capabilities to thing analysts and policymakers may have to go off to include a 107 - millimeter rocket known as the Fajr - 1, the discern Iran’s hand abroad are regime capabilities and Fajr - 3/5, the Grad, and the more recently produced Badr - intentions. To that effect, in January, the commander of 3 rocket, which was unveiled in the Iranian press in 2019 the IRGC - AF, Amir - Ali Hajizadeh, bragged that “Gaza and recently fired at Ashkelon. A PIJ official recently used and Lebanon are on the frontlines of this war, and a social media account to thank Iran for the Badr - 3. whatever you see in terms of missile [rocket] capability in Given the blockade on Gaza, Tehran has spent the Gaza and Lebanon has taken place with the support of the past decade finding new routes to continue trafficking Islamic Republic of Iran.” Earlier in 2014, Hajizadeh’s arms. A recent Israeli report attests that starting in 2006, deputy likened Iran’s support for local production to Iran was supporting Hamas through a diverse set of supply teaching a man to fish. “The policies of the Islamic Repulic routes ranging from Sudan to Yeme n. Iran’s past use of in supporting the resistance forces and the resistance front Sudan as a jurisdiction to produce and store arms for are to empower them to manufacture and produce their eventual transfer to the Levant makes it sound like another own products,” he added. well - known Iranian staging ground: Syria. In 2014, the Shifts in posture, to include self - sufficiency, should deputy commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force (IRGC - not be surpr ising for scholars of the Iran threat network. AF) called the Syrian regime “a good bridge” between Iran When tough international sanctions were levied against and “the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine.” More Lebanese Hezbollah’s patron in the mid - 2000s, the group recently, a former deputy Iranian foreign minister claimed deepened its involvement in narcotrafficking operations to that American interest in Syria after the Arab Spring was offset the economic strain on Iran. Mor e recently, driven by Syria’s potential to be a “missil e transfer according to the Israeli Defense Forces, Iran has shifted to location” for the “resistance.” trafficking smaller components and other systems across a However, there have been more significant changes in land corridor in the Middle East when it failed to transfer Iran’s arms proliferation strategy than new routes. Tehran entire systems. Iran has also bragged about building missile has been moving to prioritize domestic rocket, missile, or fact ories in Syria, some of which have been exposed or drone production in jurisdictions where it has previously went up in smoke due to Israeli airstrikes. But Tehran has transferred whole systems. This is true for Syria, Yemen, not been deterred. Adaptability is one reason why forty - Page 5 June 5, 2021 Focus on Israel

one years on, the Islamic Republic continues to pose a quality of weapons in the hands of Iran’s proxies, the more potent regional threat. secure they feel in their ability to resist an attack, and the Specificall y, after each round of fighting, Iran has re - more likely they are to end up using these weapons or armed its clients with more lethal capabilities and aided escalating a crisis to achieve their goals. In the case of them in the move towards domestic production. Renewed Hamas, PIJ, and their patron, their ultimate goal is the fighting offers Tehran a chance to test these new eradication of Israel through a graduated military and capabilities, as well as to continually assess th e political strategy akin to a death by a thousand cuts performance of Israel’s layered air and missile defense approach. systems. Changes in the number of rockets fired and Iranian officials frame wars with Israel from 2006 salvos by Hamas and PIJ, as well as more multidirectional onwards — be it with Lebanese Hezbollah or Gaza - based rocket and drone attacks all, point to an assertive Iran groups — as a success due to their proxies’ ability to looking to overwhelm systems on a battlefield where survive, adapt, continue to land blows, and the creation of Arabs and Israelis will bear the brunt. a p olitically and militarily precarious situation for Israel But the loss of life or erosion of deterrence are not the between conflicts. Iran’s IRGC Commander has already only prices Tehran has sought to extract. During the latest laid the groundwork for this claim by saying, “Americans round of fighting, Iran’s hardline media framed the costs and Israelis are between two defeats, if they retreat, they Israel must go to i n order to defend itself from relatively will be defeated, and if the y stand, they will again be cheaper projectiles as a measure of victory. “Whether they defeated.” hit or don’t hit, they lose!” claimed Fars News Agency. In this respect, Iran’s latest “shadow war” against The IRGC long - ago understood that its ballistic missile Israel does not differ significantly from Israel’s past program required its adversaries to invest h eavily in experience with interstate conflict. During the 1973 War, expensive missile defense systems in order offset Iran’s former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat framed his unmanned aerial threats. As is now evident through bursts co untry’s military aims as seeking “to prove to the whole of rocket fire, Iran’s proxies also understand this dynamic. world that the Israeli theory of security would collapse.” The more they fire, the greater the budgetary vs security Fast forward four and half decades, the Islamic Republic tradeoff for Israel as makes interceptions. and its proxies are similarly looking to prove that Israeli Despite all these changes, the logic animating Iran’s security and deterrence will collapse, and are committed to arms proliferation and technical support remains the same. prodding their way forward regardless of the recent First, the more a proxy’s military aptitudes increase, the ceasefire. As Khamenei proclaimed, “One day Palestinian greater the deterrent dividend for their patron. Sta tes have youth would defend themselves by throwing stones, and less room for maneuver against Iran today because they today they respond to the enemy by launching precision have to factor in the capabilities of Iran’s diverse militia mis siles [rockets].” The Islamic Republic is the party most network. Second, by continuing to offer arms, responsible for this evolution and is the one most inclined components, expertise, money, or even political support, to do something with it in the future. Iran stands a greater chance of continuing to control Mr. Ben Taleblu is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of regional hotspots and using proxies as spoilers against Democracies (FDD) in Washington DC. peace efforts. And third, the greater the quantity and Visit suburba northodox.or g for the current issue .

Israel and Palestine: Two states or one? By The Economist economist.com May 27, 2021 The peace process has become an obstacle to has been tantalisingly close, only to recede again amid progress. mutual recrimination. Have more time and effort ever been devoted to peace Today, however, instead of being a pathway to peace, to so little effect? America began overseeing talks between the two - state “process” is barring the route. Everyone the Israelis and Palestinians three decades ago. But the pretends that peace is still on the agenda when, in reality, it Holy Land remains c ontested by two peoples who cannot is not. That is a formula for strife. Almost everything that bring themselves to live together. The fighting in May that matters can be deferred with the promise that, one day, it left 242 Palestinians and ten Israelis dead accomplished will be resolved in a deal that is perpetually over the nothing except to clear the field for the next round of horizon. It is also a for mula that, by default, leads to a fighting. single state. The peace process set up in the Oslo a ccords in 1993 The idea that the two - state framework is harmful will aims to create two states that agree to disagree — using land not come as news to the Palestinians. Under it, the vision swaps, security guarantees, a deal to share Jerusalem and a of a viable, contiguous, sovereign Palestine has receded. limited “right of return” for Palestinians. Israel’s prize was Palestinian territory in the West Ban k is an archipelago in to be a thriving democracy and a sanctuary for Jews; for an expanding sea of Israeli settlements that are illegal P alestinians it was the promise of self - rule. At times, peace under international law. Gaza is a solitary island, cut off by an Israeli and Egyptian blockade. The Palestinian Foc us o n Is rael June 5, 2021 Page 6

Authority was supposed to be a government in waiting. Russia, China and populist India, it will be a blow to Israel Young Pal estinians look on it as the agent of Israel’s as a Western, liberal and democratic ideal. occupation, even as they laud Hamas, the violent Islamist More important, Mr Netanyahu’s “anti - solutionism” group that rules Gaza, for standing up to Israel. leaves his country less able than ever to navigate a future In place of the stagnant two - state effort, the new with the Palestinians. His embrace of the Jewish far right Palestinian vision is to demand individual rights i n one makes eruptions more likely even as it fires up militant state. Those in Gaza and the West Bank resent needing Palestinians — witness the recent communal violence in Israel’s permission (often withheld) to travel to see their Israeli cities. The wall that seals off Israel from the West families. The recent fighting was fuelled by a dispute over Bank has led to deeper distrust between Arabs and Jews. property in East Jerusalem, where most Palestinians are The settlements, once thought negotiable, have become mere “residents”. Ev en Israeli Arabs complain of permanen t obstacles to peace. inequality and rose up during the fighting in Gaza. The status quo has served Israel well but is not That leaves Israel in a quandary. It has thrived under sustainable. Sooner or later there will be a reckoning that Oslo. gdp per head has grown by over half in the past 30 requires a new formula for living next to the Palestinians. years. Its Iron Dome missile - defence system largely shields Adhering to Oslo while undermining it in practice feeds it from Hamas’s attacks. A divided, weak Palestinian the reali ty of one state — because it makes two states harder leadership suits Binyamin Netan yahu, the prime minister, to realise. who shows little interest in the Palestinians. And it’s not Instead of imposing peace in one top - down stroke of just him: the conflict did not feature much in any of the diplomatic brilliance, a more realistic aim would be to four elections Israel has held since 2019. build it patiently from the bottom up. The guiding This cannot last. The Oslo figleaf lets Israel claim that principle should be to focus on th e human and civil rights the occupat ion will be undone in a final deal. As the of Palestinians. Israel will not grant Palestinians full rights interim power in charge, it has no duty to extend full rights tomorrow. But it can make its Arab citizens more equal by to the West Bank. But 54 years after the six - day war, the devoting resources to their communities. It could make the idea of a temporary occupation rings increasingly hollow. administration of Jerusalem more inclusive, so tha t tiffs Without hope of an agreement, Israe l’s critics have over fencing do not escalate into war. It must take more begun to talk of a “one - state reality”. This challenges responsibility for the suffering in the West Bank and Israel: as the Holy Land has as many Jews as Palestinians, Gaza — and work harder to alleviate it. it cannot remain both Jewish and democratic while A focus on rights also makes Palestinian leaders more permanently controlling all of that territory. Many critics of accountable. They cannot easily demand rights from Israel Israeli pol icy, including some liberal Jews, now compare that they deny their own people. Mahmoud Abbas is in the the Palestinians’ treatment to apartheid. 17th year of a four - year term as president. His Fatah party The Palestinian demand for rights is resonating is sclerotic. Hamas tramples the rights of its people, abroad, not least in the halls of America’s Congress. By including women and minorities. Better Palestinian leaders allying Israel to the Republican Party, Mr Netanyahu has are a prereq uisite for peace. helped make the Palestinians part of America’s culture Abandoning Oslo carries risks, obviously. Unbound, wars. Progressives in the Democratic Party have started to Israeli settlers might push farther into Palestinian territory. declare that Palestinian lives matter. Hamas, which wants a single state in which Palestinians America is Israel’s most important ally. True, would outweigh Jews, might redouble its resistance. But American aid matters less than it did and Israel now today’s pat h is even riskier. produces most of its own advanced weapons. It has Peace always starts by acknowledging reality. It takes relations with more countries, including its Arab root by improving lives and renewing politics. That can neighbours through the Abraham accords. Yet if it drifts flourish into something new. Then, one day, the parties away from Europe and America and towards countries like can start talking again about a deal, whether of one state or two.

Facebook employees demand changes around Palestinian content By Hannah Murphy ft.com June 1, 2021 Open letter to executives asks for audit of moderation downranked, as some staff and critics claimed happened policies that affected posts about Gaza confli ct . during the recent conflict in Gaza. Close to 200 Facebook employees have signed an It calls on management to order a third - party audit of open letter calling for the company’s leadership to address Fa cebook’s enforcement actions around Arab and Muslim concerns that pro - Palestine voices on the social network content, and to refer a post by Israel’s prime minister are being suppressed by content moderation systems. Benjamin Netanyahu — which the letter claimed The letter, seen by the Financial Time s, urges “mischaracterised Palestinian civilians as terrorists” — to Facebook to introduce new measures to ensure pro - Facebook’s independent oversight board Palestinian content is not unfairly taken down or It also calls for an internal task force to “investigate Page 7 June 5, 2021 Focus on Israel

and address potential biases” in both its human and and removed posts about al - Aqsa mosque after mistakenly automated content moderation systems. associating the third holiest site in Islam with a terrorist Posted on the company’s internal message board by organisation, according to US media reports. employee groups called ‘Palestinians@’ and ‘Muslims@’, it The Financial Times on Sunday reported that had garnered at least 174 anonymous signatures by Facebo ok - owned Instagram was changing its algorithm to Tuesday afternoon. show more viral and current affairs posts following “As highlighted by employees, the press and members concerns that users re - sharing posts about the recent of Congress, and as reflected in our declining app store conflict in Gaza were not reaching a wide audience. rating, our users and community at large feel that we are “We know there were several issues that impacted falling short on our pr omise to protect open expression people’s ability to share on our apps. While we fixed them, around the situation in Palestine,” the letter said. they should never have happened in the first place and “We believe Facebook can and should do more to we’re sorry to anyone who felt they couldn’t bring understand our users and work on rebuilding their trust.” attention to important events, or who believed this was a The letter also calls on Facebook to commit to hiring deliberate suppression of their voice,” Facebook said on more Palest inian talent, publish more data on government - Tuesday. sponsored requests for content takedowns, and clarify its “We design our policies to give everyone a voice while policies around anti - Semitism. keeping them safe on our apps and we apply them equally, During the Gaza conflict, Facebook’s algorithms had regardless of who is posting or what their personal beliefs labelled words commonly used by Palestinian users, such are.” as “martyr” a nd “resistance”, as incitements to violence Google diversity chief: Jews have “insatiabl e appetite for war” By Louis Keene forward.com June 2, 2021 Google’s diversity c hief suggested in a 2007 blog post company is not doing enough to support them, and that Jews have an “insatiable appetite for war,” provides more fodder for those who believe that deepening concerns about the environment for Jewish progressivism in the tech industry has allowed people at the company. antisemitism through t he back door. And it resurfaced In a 571 - word post to his personal blog titled “If I during a fraught moment for the company, where a Were A Jew,” Kamau Bobb, Google’s Global Lea d of controversy is raging internally among Jewish employees Diversity Strategy and Research, wrote that he thinks it following a public letter some of them wrote calling on would be difficult to reconcile the Jews’ experience as Google to divest from the IDF. victims of the Holocaust with “the behavior of Israel as a The contents of the post were fi rst reported Tuesday nation.” Throughout the post, he conflates Israel’s actions by the Washington Free Beacon. with a singular Jew ish point of view. While other minority groups have been the subject of “If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my company - wide solidarity emails over the past year — insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of Google also donated over $175 million to Black causes in myself,” Bobb concludes. “Self defense is undoubtedly an the wake of the George Floyd protests last summer — the instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing company has not sent any such letter supporting its Jewish insensitivity to the suffering others [sic]. My greatest employees in light of a recent spate of widely publicized torment would be that I’ve misinterpreted the identity incidents of antisemitic violence, multiple Jewish offered by my history and transposed spiritual and human employees said. They said they had unsuccessfully lobbied compassion with self righteous impunity.” for one. Bobb’s LinkedIn page indicates that he joined Google Google did not immediately respond to a request for in 2018, more than a d ecade after he wrote the post. But it comment. sparked outrage among Jewish employees who said the How a ‘Wokestorm’ Is Misleading a Generation About Israel By Avram Mlotek theatlantic.com June 1, 2021 Defense of Palestinian rights has too often become a Normally, unprovoked attacks against another group one - sided, distorted, often violent assault against of people would be widely condemned, and its Jews. perpetrators called out for what they are. Just a few weeks ago the streets of New York City But because these attacks were “tied” to the Israeli - were filled with thousands of people, shouting “intifada” Palestinian conflict, many on the left defended such while also claiming “Black Lives Matter.” attacks in the name of freedom of assembly and freedom In that same period, a violent pro - Palestinian mob of speech — or worse, by suggesting that the victims attacked Jews on the street of New York. Others violently somehow deserved it. assaulted Jews at a restaurant in Los Angeles, vandalized Today, in light of the recent violence in Israel and European synagogues and targeted Jews in Chicago an d Gaza, woke warriors are rehashing their charges of Montreal. “apartheid,” claiming Israel is a “white supremacist” Focus o n Israel June 5, 2021 Pag e 8

society seeking to subvert and cleanse its Palestinian people wherever they may live. (Note: Hamas doesn’t just population. But something far more insidious is happening want Israel Ju denrein, but the whole world.) too in Jewish communities all over the world. Jew haters Of course, Jewish fanaticism is abhorrent. Like any are using the conflict in the Middle East as an excuse to democracy, Israel has its religious and political extremes. unleash their unabashed hatred of Jews, wherever they As a rabbi I have spoken against the prime minister’s dwell. inclusion of militant parties in his coalition and denounce How can honest advocates for justice condone such bigotry and violence from wherever it may stem. The violent attacks against a people? current anti - Zionist moment is not about that. It is about The answer is a simple one though many refuse to rejecting one people’s claims to a land in favor of accept it: Because antisemitism is socially acceptable another’s, a mirror image of the “apartheid” label they amo ng the woke. Or to put in “boomers” terms: attach to Israel. apparently Jewish blood is still cheap. Nearly 80 years ago Of course, Palestinian lives matter. Even Alan Jewish children were burned in ovens under German state - Dershowitz said that much before Bernie Sanders realized sponsored terrorism while the world shrugged. The world he could co - opt a woke slogan. How profoundly is still shrugging as Israeli children g o to sleep in bomb unfortunate it is that the Palestinian leadership continues shelters, fearful for their lives and wellbeing. to undermine its own people’s wellbeing, repea tedly Israelis come in all colors and creeds. Look at Lod, rejecting peace accords with Israel, and most recently, Haifa and Akko, the multiethnic, multicultural cities of refusing its own people democratic elections. Let’s Arabs and Jews torn apart by rioting during last month’s remember that the Palestinian prime minister is still conflict. It is becau se Israel strives to be a country “of all serving a four year term that started in 2006. its inhabitants” — including 2 million Arab citizens — that The Israeli - Arab conflict is a decades - lo ng, complex the unrest is being treated as an internal crisis, and conflict, but woke culture sees no nuance, only politicians have condemned Jewish vigilantes and Arab supremacist and victim. Many of the leading lights of the rioters. Democratic party amplify this mess. If only Bernie could Israeli Jews are roughly divided bet ween Ashkenazi listen to Bernie from 2014 telling protestors that Hamas Jews with roots in Europe and Sephardi or Mizrahi Jews uses Gazan children as shields. Common sense isn’t what with roots around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, it used to be. who in turn were descendants of Jews from the Holy And of course, Judaism advocates for a certain kind of Land, going back hundreds and thousands of years. “wokeness.” Judaism instructs us to pursue justice Claiming that Jews are white , European “colonizers of constantly. But the prophets of the Hebrew Bible were not Israel” — as woke activists frequently do — is about as only the most adamant in calling for a right eous society historically honest as saying Native Americans don’t have a but in creating a generous one too. “Do justice, love right to live in the United States. kindness, walk humbly with your God,” the prophet Micah Unfortunately, segments of the Jewish population are charged. It seems that today’s generation has forgotten some of the most vocal su pporters of this fraudulent Micah’s last sentiment. Woke culture is in desperate need ideology, trading our people for acceptance, forgetting our of humility, admitt ing that truth does not dwell in Twitter own history for the expediency of being politically correct. nor the messiah in a meme. Jewish Currents magazine would have us believe that Israel It seems that portions of our people have forgotten still needs to perform “teshuva” (repentance) fo r providing why Israel was established in the first place: to serve as a safe haven to Jews in 1948 (forget that countless Arab safe haven for Jews in our own ancestral homeland. countries expelled their Jews then). IfNotNow questions If the “woke community” really sought to awaken, it whether Zionism — the movement for Jewish self - would realize that Jew hatred is the oldest of hatreds. Of determination, the movement that gave birth to a country all the countries in the world with egregious human rights where more than 7 million fel low Jews now live — should records, how is it that the State of Israel, which has Arab be “a core part of our [Jewish] identity.” Jewish Voice for members of Knesset and a LGBTQ parade in Jerusalem , is Peace considers Zionism “a false and failed answer” to so often singled out by the United Nations for reprimand? centuries of murderous antisemitism. Which other country on the planet would tolerate a daily It seems that portions of our people have forgotten barrage of missiles aimed at its civilian populations? How why Israel was establishe d in the first place: to serve as a can one justify the assault on non - Israelis in cities safe haven for Jews in our own ancestral homeland. Cleary, worldwide elsewhere in the name of ending the that need is as vital today as it was in the 1930s and before. “occupation”? Instead, the Jewish woke equate tikkun olam with intifada It is time for the world to “wake up” and recognize and in so doing pervert Jewish values to a sickening when extreme, aligning themselves not just with Palestinians defense of Palestinian rights becomes a one - sided, with legitimate grievances and a vision for a shared future, distorted, often violent assault against Jews, plain and but with people who seek the destruction of the Jewish Page 9 June 5, 2021 Focus on Israel

simple. People of conscience and especially Jews ought to Mr. Mlotek is a rabbi, cantor, actor and writer. He is the author of know better. Why Jews Do That or 30 Questions Your Rabbi Never Answered and Passover in a Pandemic.

The Recent Gaza War Is a Blunt Reminder of the Dangers of Ceding Territory to Your Enemies By Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen besacenter.org May 31, 2021 A lesson for those who would abandon the West constant preparedness for action. The short time needed Bank. by the enemy to initiate hostilities, from the moment the During the recent war in Gaza, Israel was exposed for leadership makes the decision to the operation itself, the first time to the strategy of Qassem Soleimani: means surprise salvos of fire are always a possibilit y. This encirclement in a ring of f ire on all fronts, including the change challenges the basic assumptions of Ben - Gurion’s domestic one. This time the Gaza arena, which erupts into security concept, a cornerstone of which was dependence war from time to time, turned the al - Aqsa Mosque and on a warning period. Jerusalem into a new focal point, thereby igniting The shortening of warning time requires Israel to nationwide riots by Israeli Arabs. revise its security concept. Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, in In his speech after the wa r, Hamas leader Ismail the new plan he formulated for the IDF’s operational Haniyeh said, “The campaign opened a door to new approach, has indeed made changes to the traditional horizons.” Fortunately, these new horizons — and the full approach to defense. Also, under previous Chief of Staff threat they represent — are yet to become a reality. Now Gadi Eisenkot, resources were invested in upgrading that there is a ceasefire, Israel has the opportunity to assess defense, including the underground concrete w all around them. the Gaza Strip. Wha t was surprising in this war? In terms of The IDF’s defensive achievements against Hamas in operational preparedness, the IDF was ready to fight. At the latest round were ground - breaking and should by no the same time, IDF intelligence admits there was a means be taken lightly. Also of note were the Israeli navy’s measure of surprise in the fact that Hamas initiated this achievements in thwarting every offensive move by round. The surprise lay in the new geopolitical framework, Hamas’s navy, the air force’s achievements in shooting with Hamas centering the campaign on the issue of down Hamas drones — including an explosive drone that Jerusalem. was directed at the Tamar gas rig, and defensive In the battles of the previous century, including the achievements at the Gaza border that blocked the Six - Day War and the Yom Kippur War, the launching of a infiltration of Hamas commando teams. Also laudable war required a prior deployment by the enemy with the were the eff orts to counteract rocket fire and the attendant warning sig ns of the enemy’s intent. When performance of the Iron Dome batteries, which can be Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser decided in May added to the achievements in the defensive domain. 1967 to move his forces into Sinai, the entry to Sinai and More broadly, the threat Hamas posed through the the process of deploying the Egyptian forces provided rocket firepower it directed at Israeli cities should set off Israel with a warning period. Likewise, in the lead - up to wa rning bells about a possible Israeli withdrawal from the t he Yom Kippur War, there were overt signs of West Bank. A Palestinian state on the 1967 borders will preparation for war — though in that case, unfortunately, not be demilitarized and will have the capacity to become a IDF intelligence chose to ignore them. Since that time, far greater threat than the Gaza Strip. The magnitude of intelligence assessment has relied on close and systematic the self - production of wea pons under Hamas and Islamic monitoring of telltale signs. It is here that Hamas’s Jihad reveals the hollowness of the demilitarization potential to achieve surprise — and, even more so, delusion. Most of that self - production was carried out Hezbollah’s — has brought about an essential change. with civilian machinery and raw materials. There is no way Unlike traditional military organizations, Hamas and to prevent a state from possessing computerized lathe Hezbollah employ a logic that limits preparation time for a machi nes, iron pipes, or phosphates. The fact that, at campaign. Most of their rocke ts and missiles are already present, there is no rocket production in the Palestinian routinely deployed at their launching pads. The same is cities and refugee camps of the West Bank stems entirely true for a considerable part of their forces, who are from the monitoring and prevention made possible by the primarily locals. The Shuja’iya and Jebaliya battalions, for IDF forces and the presence of Isra eli civilian example, are manned by residents of those neighborhoods, communities deep inside the territory. from fighters all the way up to battalion commanders. This Central Command’s success during this round in makes the transition from routine to emergency conditions containing popular terror activity and violence in the West very rapid and allows IDF intelligence only a brief Bank areas under its aegis demonstrates that the demand warning. for a continued Israeli presence in those areas is justified, Even under routine conditions, substantial parts of both tactically and generally. When one compares the enemy combat forces are de ployed at all times in a state of resources and efforts required to secure Israel’s coastal Focus o n Israel June 5, 2021 Pag e 10 plain, which are built around IDF activity in the West For that matter, President Biden’s support for Israel’s Bank and the support of the Israeli communities there, to right to defend itself could not be taken for granted, and it what the de fense establishment has to invest in the Gaza is likely that a price will have to be paid for the US backing Strip, it becomes clear that the existing situation in the PM Netanyahu received for 10 days of warfare. The US West Bank is more effective, economical, and suitable. administration, which is committed to promoting the two - Those calling for further withdrawals, entailing the state solution, was well aware that failing to support Israel uprooting of communities and a retreat to t he separation - while it was under a terror onslaught from Gaza would fence line, base themselves on two premises: make it difficult to demand Israel’s agreement to a future A withdrawal to the 1967 lines with minor adjustments West Bank withdrawal. Still, Israel was prevented by the will bring an end to the “occupation” and afford Israel administration from sustaining its offensive so as to bring international legitimacy and support for a military Hamas to its knees. operation if its security is underm ined by the Palestinian The events of the past weeks, which showed the state. limitations of the IDF’s power in the event of a multi - The IDF, with its perpetual superiority, can remove arena war (including the domestic one), a prospect for any security threat in a short time and at a reasonable price. which the potential is growing, indicate that additional The magnitude of the threat facing Israel from Gaza, withdrawals would pose an existential danger to Israel. alongside hostile public opinion in Western countries With all the IDF’s operational superiority, if it has to fight (re call that Israeli proponents of the 2005 unilateral in the northern arena as well, it will be unable to defend disengagement from Gaza promised that the international the n arrow coastal strip from the pre - 1967 border. community would back any Israeli military response to Maj. Gen. (res.) Hacohen is a senior research fellow at terror attacks from the Strip, a result that never the Begin - Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He served in materialized), casts great doubt on the val idity of those the IDF for 42 years. He commanded troops in battles premises. with Egypt and Syria. He was formerly a co rps commander and commander of the IDF Military Colleges.

Facing Widespread Scrutiny, the WHO Focuses on Maligning Israel By Elliott Abrams cfr.org May 26, 2021 A resolution shamefully supported by Western (38). That means that 82 countries were in favor and 92 democracies. were not. Here we are in the middle of a global pandemic, but The vote that those European democracies plus New the WHO’s annual meeting can still abandon its Zealand and Japan cast is a foul politicization of the responsibilities and divert into an assault on Israel. WHO — at a moment when its handling of the Covid This is what happened on Wednesday, May 26, at the pandemic and of China is very m uch in question. And it WHO’s annual meeting. It was not at all surprising that a guarantees politicization again next year, wasting ever more group of Arab countries and va rious dictatorships — the time. Palestinian resolution was cosponsored by countries such One may hope that parliamentarians in those countries as Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, will raise questions about the decision to completely Syria, Turkey, Venezuela and Yemen — introduced a misrepresent Israel’s Covid record and further damage the resolution rebuking Israel. Needless to say, this being the WHO. What the diplomats and politicians in those WHO the re was no such rebuke for countries that did not governments thought would be gained is never clear. They achieve Israel’s remarkable success in vaccinating its must know they are harming the WHO, and they should population (which, it seems necessary to add, is twenty know that such gestures will never satisfy those in their percent Arab). The resolution requires yet another time - countries whose real goal is eliminatin g Israel, not wasting debate at next year’s annual mee ting as well. rebuking it in a vote in Geneva. Not surprising. What is surprising is the vote. This The United Nations is supposedly going to lead the contemptible resolution was supported by France, Spain, effort to assist Gazans while preventing any of that aid Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, India, Ireland, New from assisting Hamas. One wonders if those who voted Zealand, Luxembourg, and 72 other countries, UN Watch for this resolution ever stop to wonder how such actions reports. There is s ome good news: it was opposed by affect Israelis’ confidence in the UN system’s ability to do United States, Britain, Australia, Austria, Brazil Cameroon, its work reliably, honestly, and courageously in the teeth of Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, Honduras, a terrorist group that will seek to intimidate it. Or perhaps Hungary, and the Netherlands. The vote was 82 in favor, one doesn’t need to wonder very much. Even during a 14 opposed, and a very large bloc abstaining (40) or absent global pandemic, it seems they do not wonder n or care. Current issue also available at suburbanorthodox.org . If you see something, se nd something” – editor