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In-Depth Issues:
U.S. Has Decided to Increase Activity Against Houthis - Amichai Stein ( Jerusalem Post)
The U.S. decided in recent days to increase its activity against the Houthis in Yemen after it deemed its policy and actions against them over the last year was "insufficient," sources told the Jerusalem Post.
"After the U.S. saw that international companies continued to fear entering the Red Sea and that the Houthis continued to fire against Israel and international ships," it realized that "decisions had to be made," sources said.
They added that the U.S. was cooperating with Israel on this issue.
See also below Commentary: The Houthi Threat
Video: Former Agents from Israel's Mossad Describe the Pager Plot Against Hizbullah - Lesley Stahl ( 60 Minutes-CBS News)
Two recently retired senior Mossad agents with leading roles in the pager operation against Hizbullah describe one of the most daring and sophisticated deceptions in the history of counterintelligence.
Mossad agent: "When we activated the beeper operation, just next to Nasrallah in his bunker, several people had a beeper receiving the message. And with his own eyes, he saw them collapsing."
Stahl: How do you know that?
Mossad agent: "It's a strong rumor."
Mossad agent: "We can't use the pagers again because we already did that. We've already moved on to the next thing. And they'll have to keep on trying to guess what the next thing is."
How Hizbullah's Losses Have Weakened Iran's Power and Influence - Will Croxton ( 60 Minutes-CBS News)
Sima Shine, a former Mossad analyst now at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told "60 Minutes" that the assassination of Hizbullah head Nasrallah, and other leadership figures, was a devastating blow.
"They are a completely different organization. They don't have the leadership, and the leadership is not only Nasrallah. It's the whole people around him, going with him, 30 years together....[They're] not capable of organizing themselves the way that they've been before."
"Their strength today is completely different in the political sphere. Everybody that is opposing Hizbullah believes that Hizbullah is actually fulfilling orders of Iran and not the interest of Lebanon."
"The broader [Iranian] strategic picture is a huge failure of the whole strategy that was built in the last two, three decades. Everything they have planned...to keep the world far away from Iran's territory actually failed."
Pro-Iranian Militias in Iraq Reportedly Agree to Stop Firing on Israel - Erez Linn ( Israel Hayom)
A senior figure in Iraq's pro-Iranian militia Al-Nujaba Movement has confirmed that Iran's proxies in the country have reached an agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani to cease military operations targeting Israel in support of Gaza, the pro-Hizbullah Al-Akhbar reported on Monday.
Organized Looting Throws Gaza Deeper into Chaos - Adam Rasgon ( New York Times)
Hazem Isleem, a Palestinian truck driver, was passing through southern Gaza last month with a truckload of thousands of pounds of flour when armed looters ambushed his convoy.
Hundreds of truckloads of relief are piling up at the Kerem Shalom border crossing because aid groups fear they will be looted.
The UN does not allow Israeli soldiers to protect aid convoys, fearing that would compromise its neutrality.
Irish Politicians Are Positioning Themselves as Enemies of the West - Sir Michael Ellis ( Telegraph-UK)
Ireland is on the wrong side of history. The Irish government has provoked Israel to close its Embassy in Dublin.
In 1945, Ireland's Eamonn de Valera actually traveled to the German Legation in Dublin to express his condolences on the death of Hitler. Ireland also criticized the British for prosecuting war criminals at Nuremberg.
This conduct by Ireland was predicated on an irrational and adolescent anti-British stance (wherein whatever Britain supports must be opposed and whatever Britain opposes must be supported) and an apparently crude anti-Jewish stance, predicated on a simple medieval learned hatred for those of the Jewish faith.
Now, not only are Ireland's actions openly called "antisemitic" by the Israeli government, but its actions are praised by Hamas.
Yes, a savage terrorist entity which murders babies and rapes women actually welcomed Ireland's support last week.
It is like Hannibal Lecter saying you're really quite a good guy, or like getting a character reference from Jack the Ripper.
When the Iranian regime eventually falls, as it inevitably will do, its imprisoned citizens will doubtless remember how Ireland helped prop up that hideous regime by opening an embassy in Tehran, which Dublin has recently done.
The writer is a former Attorney General for England and Wales.
How Is New York Times Coverage Fair and Balanced? - Phyllis Chesler ( JNS)
Here's what "fair and balanced" coverage means at the New York Times.
The Dec. 22, 2024, edition includes 32 pro-Palestinian photos and one sympathetic but puzzling photo of an Israeli family in mourning.
The writer is emerita professor of psychology and women's studies at the City University of New York.
Israel's Elbit to Protect Germany's Official Government Aircraft ( Jerusalem Post)
Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems will equip the German government's Airbus A350 with the advanced J-MUSIC (DIRCM) self-protection systems, Elbit announced on Monday.
DIRCM systems are designed to protect aircraft from advanced surface-to-air missiles and are used on military and commercial platforms worldwide.
In 2024, Israel Became a Global Leader in Applied AI Innovation - Gil Press ( Forbes)
Israel's AI startup activity is two to four times greater than that observed in the U.S. or Europe.
AI startups constitute 30% of Israel's tech landscape, accounting for up to 40% of funding rounds and securing 47% of total investments.
The 2024 Stanford AI Index ranked Israel first globally in terms of AI talent concentration.
"A key metric that sets Israel apart is its focus on applied AI solutions in areas like cybersecurity, health tech, and agriculture, which positions it as a leader in practical AI applications...with over 2,000 startups developing the next era of AI applications," writes Arik Kol at Nvidia Israel.
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Assad's Mass Grave Sites - Tanya Lukyanova
Every week for years, two or three refrigerated trucks came to a barren field along a private military road near the town of al-Qutayfah, a 40-minute drive from Damascus. "We'd see them driving on this road, dripping with blood," one resident told an interviewer from The Center for Peace Communications on Wednesday. The trucks had been dropping off frozen bodies, up to 600 corpses per week.
Issam Ali Saad, an al-Qutayfah resident who was forced to dig trenches at the site for five years, said, "You could tell they were the bodies of prisoners. It was clear from the marks on the bodies. Sometimes they came in blindfolded with a bullet hole in their forehead. Some bodies showed signs of bruising, and others had burnt limbs." (Free Press)
- Fault Lines in Iran's Revolutionary Guards - Kasra Aarabi
Fault lines are emerging in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over the handling of Syria, which resulted in the collapse of Bashar al-Assad. The younger radicals are enraged at what they see as the "abandonment" of Syria.
I spent the final 72 hours of the Assad regime talking with the younger radical ranks of the IRGC. From these conversations and recent trends, it's clear an internal crisis is looming in the IRGC. "They found out too late and made late decisions," an IRGC member told me, who blames senior commanders.
The targeted killing of Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah resulted in the younger radicals openly attacking the IRGC's senior oligarchy, accusing them of corruption and even colluding with Mossad. They tell me they see the fall of Syria as the "abandonment" of holy Shia shrines and the "trampling of the blood of the martyrs."
The writer is director for IRGC Research at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). (Jewish Chronicle-UK)
- Palestinians Fight Palestinians in Jenin - Miriam Berger
For the past two weeks, the militants of Jenin refugee camp have been locked in a rare, open battle with the Palestinian Authority, which has launched its largest and most heavily armed operation in its three decades to thwart a growing West Bank insurgency against the Palestinian leadership.
It's trying to prove it can manage security in the areas of the West Bank it controls as it seeks to also govern a postwar Gaza. But two weeks into the crackdown, militants still roam freely in the Jenin camp. Gunfire rings out day and night.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out the PA's return to Gaza, but in the latest round of ceasefire negotiations, Israel has agreed to let the authority take over administration of the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt for a short period, according to a former Egyptian official.
The U.S. and EU have invested heavily in reforming and training the Palestinian security forces. Former militants were offered positions in the security forces if they turned in their guns. (Washington Post)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- IDF Intercepts Yemen Missile Fired toward Central Israel - Keshet Neev
The IDF intercepted a missile fired from Yemen toward central Israel early Tuesday morning, triggering a wave of sirens throughout central and southern Israel.
(Jerusalem Post)
- 23 UN Food Aid Trucks Looted in Gaza - Einav Halabi
The UN World Food Program (WFP) reported that 23 of 66 trucks carrying food and humanitarian aid to southern Gaza were looted on Sunday.
(Ynet News)
- Increased IDF Operations Reduced West Bank Terror Attacks in 2024 - Elisha Ben Kimon
Israeli security officials reported 254 terror attacks in 2024, compared to 847 in 2023 and 342 in 2022. Other violent incidents including hurling rocks were reduced to 1,188 in 2024, compared to 3,256 in 2023 and 3,779 in 2022. 497 Palestinians were killed in clashes with the IDF in 2024, 97% of whom were terrorists.
(Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
The Gaza War
- America Demands Hamas Return Its Hostages - Robert C. O'Brien and Tom Nides
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas brutally attacked Israel, massacring more than 1,200 innocent people including 46 Americans. Excluding 9/11, this was the largest single-day attack on American citizens by a foreign terror organization since the 1980s.
12 Americans were taken hostage and dragged back to Gaza for use as bargaining chips and human shields for Hamas leaders. Four of them have been released as part of negotiations, and one, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was murdered in cold blood hours before Israeli forces could reach him. That leaves seven, of whom three are confirmed to have been murdered.
We are united in our belief that the seven U.S. hostages still in Gaza, along with the other 93 hostages, must come home now. Any agreement must include the immediate release of the American Seven. They aren't a bargaining chip. They are our fellow citizens. Remember their names at your holiday celebrations this week: Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai, Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel.
Robert C. O'Brien served as White House national security adviser, 2019-21. Tom Nides served as U.S. ambassador to Israel, 2021-23. (Wall Street Journal)
The Houthi Threat
- Time to Confront the Houthi Threat - Amb. Freddy Eytan
The missile attacks by the Houthis toward Israel must stop. In no country in the world are hundreds of thousands of people awakened in the middle of the night by alarm sirens to take refuge in shelters. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Houthis have fired at Israel more than 200 missiles and 170 drones supplied by Iran, most of which were destroyed in flight before reaching our territory. Imagine the human losses and the immense damage without effective air defense.
An international coalition is urgently needed to eradicate Iran's last satellite in the Arabian Peninsula. Israel is in a strong position to dictate the course of action in close coordination with the new American administration.
The writer, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, is a former Foreign Ministry senior adviser who was Israel's first ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. (Israel Hayom)
- Israel Must Confront the Houthi Threat - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen
The Houthis are driven by genuine jihadist conviction and purpose. Their year-long success in disrupting a strategic maritime route, despite U.S. and British military coalition efforts, fuels their determination to sustain their campaign against the entire West, not just Israel. They interpret the international community's weakness and American military hesitation as divine endorsement of their continued struggle.
The writer served in the IDF for 42 years, commanding troops in battles with Egypt and Syria. (Israel Hayom)
- End the Houthis' Threat to Global Trade - Eugene Kontorovich
The Houthis pose a major threat to international shipping - a problem the U.S. has allowed to fester.
The Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks in and around the straits off Yemen. They have greatly disrupted shipping in the Red Sea, a maritime highway through which 15% of the world's shipping passes. They have sunk at least two vessels and killed four crewmen while wounding others.
The Houthis claim their attacks are part of the Oct. 7 war against Israel, yet most of the ships they've attacked have no direct link to Israel. It's more likely that their goal is to assert Iranian control over world trade. Red Sea shipping has declined by more than 50% over the past year. Major shipping companies have opted to sail around Africa rather than risk Houthi fire. War risk insurance costs have more than doubled. All this translates into higher costs for American consumers.
The world confronted a similar problem during the surge in Somali pirates' attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Aden beginning in 2007. The international community rallied with a unified response. Many countries sent naval vessels on antipiracy patrols. The U.S., France and other nations launched commando raids on land-based pirate lairs.
The Houthi threat to global trade is greater but has been met with a weaker response.
The U.S. has stood up to bullies on the sea before: President Thomas Jefferson in 1801 sent the U.S. Navy to fight the Barbary Pirates, a group of North African naval raiders.
The U.S. should seek a significant expansion of attacks against Houthi targets.
It can rely on its ally Israel, which this month executed extensive airstrikes on Houthi ports. Israel could do more with sufficient munitions. But only the U.S. can provide the naval assets, and the pressure on Iran, needed to remove the Houthi threat.
The writer is a professor at George Mason University Law School. (Wall Street Journal)
- Israel's Enemy in Yemen Proves Hard for U.S. to Deter - Carrie Keller-Lynn
Despite hundreds of American and allied strikes and the deployment of a U.S. Navy flotilla to the Red Sea, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have kept up a steady drumbeat of attacks on commercial shipping passing through the vital waterway and have continued to lob missiles at Israel. The Houthis continue to disrupt global trade, causing billions of dollars in losses and forcing shippers to reroute cargo or run a gantlet of missiles and drones.
A U.S.-led coalition has destroyed 450 Houthi drones, a U.S. defense official said.
Still, Red Sea trade routes remain paralyzed. U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said the Houthis are "sinking ships and killing civilian mariners that are in no way related to Israel or Gaza, and even attacking vessels delivering crucial food and humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen."
Osamah Al Rawhani, a director for the Yemen-based Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, said the Houthis "want to win as a militia and take on global powers." Iran and Hizbullah helped turn the group into a technologically sophisticated force able to target oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Mohammed Albasha, a U.S.-based Middle East security analyst, said, "Now, they're chasing U.S. carriers with drones and missiles and striking 2,000 km. away in central Israel." (Wall Street Journal)
Syria
- We All Knew Syria Was Hell - Jonathan Spyer
The liberation of Syria's notorious Sednaya jail close to Damascus a week ago has resulted in a wave of belated outrage toward Assad and his methods. Yet the fact that this regime was engaged in the mass slaughter of Syrian civilians was known to both policymakers and publics in the West.
What should be concluded from this? That the notion proclaimed by Western governments that the world is ruled by something called "international law" is a myth, usually a self-serving one when evoked. That the idea of an "international community" is also a fiction, as seen by how badly that "community" let down the people killed in Sednaya.
The Assad regime's practices were not particularly aberrant, in the context of the recent history of Syria (and Iraq...and Lebanon). Bashar's father and his father's predecessors used similar methods. His fellow Ba'athist Saddam Hussein (and his successors) used and use them in Iraq.
In April 2022, in cooperation with Syrian colleagues, I wrote an article called "Erdogan's Secret Prisons in Syria," based on a 140-page report produced by Syrian activists and based on eyewitness testimony. The report details the random detention and widespread torture (including sexual abuse) of civilians in northern Syria by Turkey-supported militias, the same militias now allied with the new ruling authorities in Damascus.
The writer is director of research at the Middle East Forum. (Spectator-UK)
Turkey
- How Turkey Benefited from Assad's Collapse in Syria - Col. Richard Kemp
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei blames the U.S. and Israel for overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, but that's far from the truth. In reality, Biden tried to obstruct Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decisive campaign against Iran and its proxies - especially Hizbullah - which was directly responsible for the fall of Assad. Instead of the U.S., it was Turkish President Erdogan that unleashed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to spearhead the drive on Damascus.
Until Netanyahu ordered the shattering of Syria's military hardware, the country had for decades represented the greatest direct conventional threat to Israel. Syria was also the principal supply route from Iran to Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Unlike Netanyahu, Erdogan has broader designs on the Middle East, including the resurrection of the Ottoman caliphate. He has close ties with Qatar and Sunni jihadist groups in the region, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The rise of Erdogan, with his own Islamist agenda, could develop into the next major challenge for the region.
The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA. (Telegraph-UK)
- Erdogan's Threats Should Not Be Taken Lightly - Nadav Shragai
Those who for years tolerated Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey providing sanctuary to Hamas, who dismissed the hosting of Hamas's command centers and offices in Istanbul, or who remained silent about the patronage he extended to Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, are now witnessing Turkish sponsorship of a jihadist coalition in the new Syria.
Erdogan sees himself as the global leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and views Hamas as a liberation movement. He speaks of a regional Islamic caliphate and revival of the Ottoman Empire. He calls on Turkish immigrants across Europe to have more children, claiming "they are Europe's future." Turkish organizations operate in Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, and Ramla, channeling money to charity, culture and community activities to gain ever-increasing influence.
We need to listen to Erdogan's words and believe he means what he says. Last July, Erdogan made a military threat against Israel. Turkey has at least partially fulfilled this threat through the new Syrian jihadist army, which is now closer to Israel's northern border than ever before.
After Oct. 7, there is no longer any fundamental difference between Erdogan and Qatar and Iran. Recently, Erdogan spoke to an audience who shouted, "Mr. President, take us to Jerusalem." He responded with the words: "patience brings victory." (Israel Hayom)
U.S.-Israel Relations
- The U.S. and Israel: Critical Military Aid, but Misguided Diplomacy on Iran - Walter Russell Mead
Barack Obama's misguided diplomacy made Iran the de facto master of Syria and Lebanon.
Israelis detested what they saw as appeasement of a genocidal regime in Tehran. Sunni Arabs abhorred the "Shia Crescent" from Iran to Lebanon that Obama's vision was ready to accept. The Gulf Arabs feared Obama's Middle East so much that they brushed Palestinian objections aside to form strategic partnerships with Israel.
After trying and failing to restore Obama's nuclear deal, Team Biden searched for ways to accommodate Iran, relaxing sanctions and trying to engage diplomatically with the mullahs in Tehran. But in the end, Iran's support of Hamas's and Hizbullah's aggression against Israel was too much.
After the Iran-backed Hamas terror attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Team Biden, sometimes reluctantly and with much grumbling, provided Israel with enough weapons to beat Hamas and Hizbullah in ways that shocked Iran and dramatically reduced its power. To use those weapons effectively, Israel had to frustrate U.S. efforts to tie its hands, change its government, and dictate what would have been disastrous changes in war-fighting strategy.
The writer, a fellow at the Hudson Institute, is Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College. (Wall Street Journal)
Antisemitism
- A Hanukkah for "Oct. 8 Jews" - Daniella Greenbaum Davis
The desire of many Jews to disappear into America's melting pot did not work. Beginning on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the worst attack against Jews since the Holocaust - and long before the Israel Defense Forces began their response in Gaza - some protesters in U.S. cities began rallying in the streets for the terrorists who had slaughtered and abducted Jewish civilians.
For many American Jews, Oct. 8 was a wake-up call. Jews looked around expecting support and, instead, found themselves more alone than they could have imagined. Many alliances, nurtured through decades of civil rights activism, philanthropy to non-Jewish causes (not least universities) and coalition-building turned out to be a mirage. Statements from many supposed friends were equivocal at best. For Jews who had placed their faith in assimilation or allyship as a shield against antisemitism, the disillusionment was profound.
Oct. 8 Jews see now that assimilation is no guarantee of safety or acceptance. Countless nonobservant American Jews have been jolted awake. Synagogues have seen rising attendance, Jewish schools are growing, and even those who once distanced themselves from their heritage are reconnecting with it.
Writing to a Jewish congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790, George Washington blessed the community: "May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid." (Washington Post)
- When People Claim Jesus was Palestinian, They're Erasing Jewish History - Hen Mazzig
Every December, I find myself explaining that Jesus was a Jewish man born in the Land of Israel, not a Palestinian. Just open the Bible. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, circumcised according to Jewish law (Luke 2:21), attended synagogue on Shabbat (Luke 4:16), and celebrated Passover in Jerusalem (John 2:13). The cross's inscription, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John 19:19), leaves no ambiguity.
The term "Palestine" did not exist during Jesus' lifetime. It's a Roman invention. When Emperor Hadrian crushed the Jewish revolt in 135 CE - a century after Jesus' crucifixion - he renamed Judea as "Syria-Palaestina" to punish Jews and erase Jewish sovereignty. Before that, the region was Judea, the homeland of the Jewish people.
When people claim Jesus wasn't Jewish, they're not simply mistaken - they're erasing Jewish history. The point is that Jews lived in Jerusalem long before Christmas - a fact that shouldn't require constant defense. I'm a Jew - born into a story that some would rather erase. My history is not up for grabs. It's not a chess piece in someone else's game. Peace demands truth - not narratives built on lies.
(Jewish Chronicle-UK)
Observations:
- The Christian population living under Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas rule has steeply declined. In 1922, Christians constituted 11% of the population of geographical Palestine. In 1946, they constituted 8%, reflecting the greater relative growth of Jews and Muslims due to immigration.
- In 1967, Christians in Judea and Samaria were 6% of the population. In 1997 they constituted 1.5% of the total Palestinian population, in 2007 - 1.2%, and in 2017 - 1%.
- In Bethlehem, Christians frequently face violence and intimidation, and are left defenseless. A member of the Protestant clergy explained: "Christians feel unprotected due to the failure of the PA police to intervene on their behalf in confrontations with Muslims."
- In 1950, Bethlehem and the surrounding villages were 86% Christian. By 2017, Bethlehem's Christian population had dwindled to 10%. The mass exodus of the Christians risks undermining the survival of Christianity in its birthplace.
- Palestinian Christians report systematic employment discrimination, forcing many to leave their communities to seek opportunities elsewhere.
- A 2022 study indicated a strong desire among Gaza's Christian population to emigrate, twice as strong as that of Muslims. This explains how the Christian population of Gaza dwindled from 5,000 people before Hamas took control to just 1,000 in October 2023.
Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center, where Tirza Shorr is a senior researcher and program coordinator.
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