The Media Is Implementing Sinwar's Genocidal Strategy

Alan M. Dershowitz and Andrew Stein   

• Sadly, the media's dangerous cooperation with terrorists tells us more about them than about the war about which they purport to be "reporting."

The founder of the Palestinian movement in the run-up to the Second
World  War was a proud Nazi and friend of Adolf Hitler.

"Following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, documentary evidence has emerged confirming what many observers already knew: namely, that Sinwar weaponized the death of Gazan civilians, especially women and children.

He understood that the media would emphasize these civilian deaths, attribute them all to Israel, and increase the pressure on the Israeli government to satisfy Hamas's unreasonable demands. This is how the Wall Street Journal put it, following a lengthy investigation:

"Arab mediators hastened to speed up talks about a cease-fire... Sinwar in a message urged his comrades in Hamas's political leadership outside Gaza not to make concessions and instead to push for a permanent end to the war. High civilian casualties would create worldwide pressure on Israel, Sinwar said."

This "dead baby strategy" has been used by Hamas for decades. Their leaders regard increasing the reported number of civilian casualties among Palestinians as necessary to victory, both in the court of public opinion and in the courts of law. Hence, they declare these dead civilians to be martyrs and encourage civilians to remain in dangerous places and among Hamas combatants.

This may be the first time in military history that leaders have admitted putting their own people in harm's way to increase the casualty figures (here, here, here, here and here).

Without the support of the media, this strategy would not succeed. It requires that the media report Hamas-generated civilian casualty figures uncritically and without investigating the underlying components of the reported figures.

So the media report approximately 43,000 dead Palestinians. Although they could easily distinguish between combatant and non-combatant deaths, Hamas refuses to do so. Instead, they distinguish between male adults, women and those who they describe as "children." They fail to acknowledge that many of these so-called children were also combatants. Hamas lists anyone under 19 as a child, regardless of whether they are 15, 16, 17 or 18-year-old terrorists who have been recruited and trained by Hamas to murder Israelis. They do the same with women, conveying the impression that only men are terrorists." . . .

Also from Mr. Dershowitz: Palestinianism Began with Nazism And Today Is Based on Antisemitism, Sexism, Homophobia and Denial of Human Rights. So Why Is the Left So in Love with It?,

Today's Democrats would have power to destroy America as we know it

 Remember Obama's "Fundamentally transform" America? Never forget that totalitarianism is the ideology that fundamentally transforms. The youthful cheers at Obama's words remind me of the keffiyeh-clad students cheers today, "Free, free Palestine". TD

Image courtesy of NoBarack08.

ALREADY BEGUN: The post-election court fights to block Trump from taking office    "Hypocritical Democrats are quietly girding and strategizing for a post-election court fight to block Donald Trump from taking office and refusing to fully commit to certifying the election in the event of a Republican win.

"Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz recently set off a firestorm by saying the Electoral College "needs to go" and that the national popular vote should determine the next president.

" 'Democrats have now made it a tradition to object to electors, certain slates of electors, and they have every single time a Republican president has won in the last quarter century," House Speaker Mike Johnson told the New York Post on Monday. "They have objected for often ridiculous reasons, and I expect that many of them would object when Trump wins, for no other reason than they just don't like him."

"Yet Democratic lawmakers and the media are already laying the groundwork to make it seem like the former Republican president is the only candidate who might fight the election results.

"A long and slanted article in Politico recently laid out all the various scenarios Trump might take to overturn the election if he loses.

"But Democrats' plans were reduced to a single parenthetical sentence: "(If Trump wins, no one expects a comparable effort by Democrats to subvert the election)."

"This despite the fact that some Democrats tried in 2017 to block Trump's election over Hillary Clinton and have already publicly speculated about what would happen if Trump wins in 2024.

" 'We would have to, in any election… make sure that all the rules have been followed," U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said.

"And U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, chair of the Jan. 6 committee, said he expected Democrats would challenge a Trump win in court.

"U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Axios that if Trump "won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it" – pointedly refusing to say what would happen if he believed the results were not fair and honest.

"Raskin added that he "definitely" didn't assume Trump would use fair and honest tactics to win." . . .

"This is the most damning political ad I’ve ever seen. It’s also hard to believe Kamala openly said these things. Just wow"

The words are taken out of context, but the facts are true as she said them. TD

"This is the most damning political ad I’ve ever seen. It’s also hard to believe Kamala openly said these things. Just wow"

                                            October 26, 2024

Report: Brace for ‘Unrest’ if Donald Trump Wins, Democrats Warn

 Wendell Husebo; Breitbart

"Americans should prepare for “unrest’ if former President Donald Trump completes the greatest political comeback in modern American politics, Democrats told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

The potential for Democrats to perpetrate political violence undermines their narrative that Republicans, and especially the America First movement, are a threat to democracy.

“I think there’ll be some violence. I think there’ll be workplace fights. There’ll be fights at kids’ birthday parties. I think they’ll be protests and will turn violent,” Mark Halperin recently told Tucker Carlson.

Resistance groups, according to the Journal’s Joshua Chaffin and Valerie Bauerlein, believe citizens should be “bracing for unrest” if Trump wins:

Across America, more than a dozen progressives in various positions of influence told The Wall Street Journal that they are dreading the prospect of Trump’s return to power, and dismayed that half the country might see a completely different reality than they see. Some are bracing for unrest. On a recent evening, more than 200 people joined a Zoom meeting titled Mass Training For Women’s Safety Teams—hosted by a Women’s March veteran who noted its timing amid “escalating political violence.”

Others are channeling their nervousness into action: They are planning to attend Women’s Marches scheduled in Washington and beyond on the Saturday before the election. In Boston, they are joining pill-packing parties, where volunteers fill boxes with abortion kits to mail to women in red states with strict limits. “We feel like we’re doing something,” said Erin Gately, a 47-year-old physician assistant who last time took to the streets to protest after Trump’s election, but says this time she would focus on tangible actions like protecting reproductive rights." . . .

Why do they call it "reproductive rights" when they do this to the child inside the woman?

There Is a Reason Michelle Obama Wasn’t the Nominee. This Is It. This strategy definitely won’t work.

Scott McKay: The American Spectator;  

"If the Democrats had junked Joe Biden for Michelle Obama and America had heard three months of speeches like the one you just listened to, how successful do you think it would have ultimately been? Two words come to mind: Black Hillary."

"Dov Fischer rightly clobbered Tony Hinchcliffe, the not-so-funny comedian and podcaster who laid an egg or two in his segment at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, yesterday here at The American Spectator.

"I have no argument with anything Rabbi Dov said. Hinchcliffe’s address disparaging Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage” — which doesn’t necessarily play as badly with Puerto Ricans who got out of there as one might think but why take the risk? — was an unforced error in what was otherwise an unquestionable victory for the Trump campaign at Madison Square Garden. Balanced against Tucker Carlson’s magnificent nine minutes and Vivek Ramaswamy’s tour de force, it’s but a blip on the screen, but on the other hand why have a blip?

"But Dov, I’ll see your Tony Hinchcliffe at Madison Square Garden and raise you Michelle Obama in Kalamazoo.

"Because while it’s a stupid idea to take a chance at offending Puerto Ricans, it’s an even dumber idea to outright offend the male population of this country. And that’s exactly what Michelle did in Michigan on Saturday.

"Here’s a clip, in case you haven’t seen it. This might be the least charismatic political speech, with the possible exception of the ones Hillary Clinton has given over the past 20 years, of all time. It’s actively repellent to half the population.

"So Kamala Harris is losing this election because of racism and sexism. America “isn’t ready” to elect a candidate who slept her way to the middle and DEI’ed her way to the top, because America has identity-politics hangups.

"Obama said that “Kamala Harris is an extraordinary human being, she is an extraordinary candidate, and she will be an extraordinary president of the United States of America.” No one believes this.

"Kamala Harris put parents in jail because their kids were truant from school. A couple of those parents were put in jail because of paperwork errors by the school districts that failed to take account of their kids being hospitalized. Harris boasted that she drafted prosecutors who normally worked homicide cases to jail the parents of kids who played hooky. And she said it needed to be done because the school districts were losing money.

"But if any of those parents decided they wanted a sex change, Harris would have made sure to give them one at taxpayer expense." . . .

Kamala would force America’s healers to be angels of death 

 "These healers and comforters deserve and need to remain authentic “Conscientious Objectors” for the sake of the sick and dying. Don’t force them to become “Angels of Death.' ”

The Harris campaign has apparently given up one men and gone "girl" all the way. Let's take a look at this story from Andrew Stiles: . . .

Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Barbie: Harris campaign embraces ‘girl culture’

. . ."In every presidential election since 1980, more eligible female voters have cast their ballots than men. So far, early voting in three of the battleground states that provide a breakdown based on gender — Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina — show more women then men have voted." . . .

Backlash after comedian at Trump rally calls Puerto Rico 'island of garbage'

They didn't know what this guy was like?

BBC  

"This is not the first time some of his comments have made headlines for their offensive nature. In 2021, he used a racial slur when referring to American-Chinese comedian Peng Deng during a comedy set and refused to apologise."

"A comedian at a Donald Trump rally called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage", sparking fury from Republicans and Democrats and accusations of racism.

"The comic, Tony Hinchcliffe, was among the speakers at the Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday. He also made a series of jokes that leant on racist stereotypes.

"A Trump adviser distanced the former president from the Puerto Rico joke, which was also denounced by Trump's Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. Harris herself was the target of another Trump warm-up speaker who also sparked controversy.

"The furore came as one of the world's top Latin celebrities, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, endorsed Harris for president.

"In his joke, Hinchcliffe, known for his comedy podcast Kill Tony, said: "There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico."

"The line appeared to meet a mixed reception. Two Republicans in the state of Florida, which has a prominent Puerto Rican population, were among those who called out the joke.

"US congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar said she was "disgusted" by the "racist comment". She said on X that it did not "reflect the GOP values", referring to the Republican Party, and noted thousands of Puerto Ricans served in the military.

"US Senator Rick Scott said: "The joke bombed for a reason. It's not funny and it's not true." He added that "Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans".

"Puerto Rico is a US island territory in the Caribbean. Its residents are unable to vote in US presidential elections, but there is a large diaspora across the US who can.

"Hinchcliffe also suggested Latinos "loved making babies".

"He drew on racist tropes about black people and watermelons, which prompted groans from the audience - and he called Palestinians rock-throwers while in the same sentence suggested Jews would not spend money - invoking an antisemitic trope." . . .

Israel at War: What You Need To Know

American Jewish Committee

Gantz calls for passage of two bills that would shut down UNRWA - Israel News - The Jerusalem Post   . . ."“UNRWA chose to make itself an inseparable component of Hamas’s mechanism – and now is the time to detach ourselves entirely from it,” Gantz said Tuesday.

“Instead of fulfilling its purpose and improving the lives of refugees, UNRWA does the opposite and perpetuates their victimization,” he said.

“Worse than that – some of its workers have become integral parts of the Hamas mechanism and even played an active role in the October 7 massacre,” he said.

"Other international agencies could be brought in to provide humanitarian services, he said, as he attacked the main organization that provides relief to displaced Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, east Jerusalem, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan." . . . 

"Eden Yerushalmi should have turned 25-years-old today. But she was brutally murdered by Hamas after being held hostage for nearly eleven months.

"Her sister said: “Thank you, Eden, for the time we had together and the incredible bond we formed... You are the most important person in my life.”

"Our thoughts are with Eden’s family on this day that should have been one of celebration. Her light will never be forgotten.

"We must bring the remaining hostages home now!"

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might've given order to kill hostages - The Jerusalem Post  

“A moment of doom because there are rumors that Sinwar instructed people holding hostages that, should he be killed, they should kill their hostages,” Baskin told The Telegraph. He added that although the rumors are not confirmed, they should be taken “seriously” in light of recent incidents where hostages were killed. In August, Hamas killed six Israeli hostages in Rafah after the IDF approached the tunnel in Gaza where they were being held.

More here

Democrats In North Carolina’s Helene Disaster Area Block Emergency Early Voting Locations

 The Federalist   

"Democrats blocking the early voting sites gives credence to concerns that the left is trying to suppress the vote in the deep-red area."

"The havoc wrought by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina brought disaster to homes and families, but that has not stopped Democrats from blocking the approval of emergency early voting sites in the heavily Republican area. The refusal to act forced the GOP-led state legislature to intervene.

"Democrat-run local elections boards in McDowell and Henderson counties have failed to approve additional early voting sites in the disaster-stricken area, despite increasing calls for more access to voting. Both counties voted for Donald Trump in 2020.

“ 'Ensuring the right to vote is upheld for western NC citizens devastated by Hurricane Helene should be a non-partisan issue,” western North Carolina native Clay McCreary said, according to The Carolina Journal. McReary is North Carolina political director of Restoration of America, an organization that has been advocating for additional voting opportunities in the disaster area. “We simply cannot allow the people of western North Carolina who have lost so much to lose their voice in the political process.”

"Meanwhile, Democrats in nearby deep-blue Buncombe County, home to Asheville, have already given the go-ahead for new voting locations to replace the ones damaged by Helene, bringing the county’s total to 10.

"Despite being mostly out of the news cycle, destruction in western North Carolina is still extreme, and the area has not yet recovered.

"Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled General Assembly are now being forced to compel the two counties to open up more voting locations so that the people affected by Helene are not being disenfranchised by the Democrats in power.

"The new law will require counties to open one early voting site per 30,000 registered voters in the Helene-affected region, and must be operational from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3. Henderson represents western North Carolina’s second-largest population next to Buncombe." . . .

Stop Everything and Watch the Most Powerful Trump Ad You've Ever Seen

 

https://www.terrellaftermath.com/

Stop Everything and Watch the Most Powerful Trump Ad You've Ever Seen   "It was after church, and we were at our local Mexican restaurant sipping Victorias, indulging in some carne asada, and waiting for the NFL game to come back on the big screen when our attention became riveted by a commercial of a kind we'd never seen before. 

"I love a good commercial. That's why I usually watch the "big game" in February. It is far more difficult to fit a clever and compelling message into a compacted moment than to make a documentary. Any writer can tell you that writing shorter pieces is more difficult than longer ones. Every time. 

"But the message of this two-minute-long commercial, "Never Quit," was that Donald Trump will never quit trying to make America great again. This commercial demands the viewer give it attention, realize what he's watching, and understand the message. 

"The well-compacted message comprised unforgettable images, large movie blockbuster-like font, and a calm-sounding Donald Trump telling the story of his political life starting at the White House in 2017. It was breathtaking and stirring, even if you don't like the guy." . . .

. . ."So, let's go over Trump's closing argument to America:

• A three-hour-long free-wheeling, unscripted interview with Joe Rogan.
• Dropping this commercial on NFL fans shows the former president is as tough as any of these players on the gridiron. 
• Filling Madison Square Garden in Blue New York City. 
• "I never quit"

Does not MSNBC and the "ladies" of "The View" seem to be the poorest of a bad lot now?

Contrast this with what MSNBC came out with! ‘Shameful’ MSNBC blasted for splicing Nazi rally clips into coverage of Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally: ‘Incitement’

"Critics even went so far as to accuse the network of “incitement.' ”

The hate distorted faces I will always remember from this election will be those of Joe Biden's three disgusting speeches attacking Donald Trump, Joy Reid, Morning Joe and all the cast of MSNBC, and Hillary. TD

Fetterman's Clarity

Power Line Blog 

"Unfortunately, tragically, because Daddy was a member of Hezbollah. He brought that danger and evil into their home. And that’s what tragically resulted in that poor child’s death. And that’s what’s so terrible. She paid the price because her father was a terrorist for Hezbollah." . . . 

John Fetterman’s Move to the Right on Israel | The New Yorker

"John Fetterman is the Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania who suffered a serious stroke in the course of his campaign. If he is not at the limit of his recovery he is still recovering. Yet a brain-damaged John Fetterman has distinguished himself from the Democrat pack with his undiluted support of Israel and a clearer understanding of Israel’s current ordeal than some of the speakers at President Trump’s rally last night, to take just one example close at hand. (John wrote about them in the adjacent post.)

"Fetterman not only cuts through the fog, he expresses himself with admirable concision, as in his interview with the left-wing writer Lulu Garcia-Navarro published here by the New York Times last week. The entire interview is worth reading. Below I have excerpted several of her questions and his answers on Israel’s defense of itself in the war. Ms. Garcia-Navarro began this part of the interview with a question about the rationale of Fetterman’s support of Israel. His answer is immediately below, with her questions following in bold.

"Quotable quote: “There isn’t any nuance.' ”. . .

. . ."You think that the price that’s been paid is fair?

"Fetterman: The price is terrible. It’s awful. That’s history. And that’s war. And Israel was forced to fight an enemy that are cowardly. They hide in tunnels. They hide in schools and in refugee camps. And they’re in those kinds of places and that forces them to reach them. They have to go through these civilians. That’s why they’re so evil. And that’s why that’s designed. The death and destruction and the misery was designed by Hamas. They understood that that’s going to happen. They don’t care. So we can both agree that the misery and the deaths in Gaza is terrible. And, you know, some people blame Israel. Well, I blame Hamas.

"As you mentioned, you visited Israel for the first time in June. You met with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who thanked you for your courage and your support of Israel. How do you see his leadership during this conflict?

"Fetterman: I thought it was really curious that Democrats felt like they needed politically to criticize Israel, but that would be difficult, so they found that, well, we’re going to just focus on Netanyahu. And you can think he’s a bad leader or a bad person or anything, but that happens to be the democratically [elected] leader of Israel. And he’s on our side. That’s our ally. And if you had to pick who you want to criticize, you should be criticizing Hamas. You should be calling out Iran, or you should be calling out Hezbollah. Certainly not, you know, our ally. I think it was incredibly unhelpful." . . .

Pittsburgh Steel: Senator John Fetterman Stands Tall as Israel’s Ironclad Defender - Mishpacha Magazine

"In the moral morass of post-October 7 politics, as American lawmakers were silenced by the mob baying for Israel’s blood, one politician stood tall. At 6’8”, John Fetterman, the once progressive junior senator from Pennsylvania, has emerged as a man of steely conviction in a party whose left flank has moved to embrace the Hamas narrative, a surprising yet steadfast defender of the Jewish state in its darkest hour" . . .

Much to Democrats' Chagrin, No Nazis Were Found at Trump's MAGA Square Garden Rally

In 2001, (two months before 9-11) my wife and I attended Michael Flatley and his Irish dancers at MSG. Had I only known we were supporting Nazis we would have kept away, but we had no clue what Hillary would have thought about it. TD

Jennifer Oliver O'Connell

For a supposedly fascist, racist, Nazi rally, something has gone horribly wrong. The comparison between Trump's MSG rally and a 1939 Nazi Party rally started with, you guessed it, the Hildebeast: former Secretary of State and loser presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. My colleague Mike Miller reported her egregious words:  . . . 

Proof! Yes! Michael Flatley, the entire cast of Riverdance, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, et. al.
 are all Nazis.

 "But when former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton declares that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden Rally on Sunday will be "reenacting" the infamous 1939 Nazi rally at MSG, the TDS-riddled left is a clear and present danger to America and its freedom-loving people."

MAGA: So much for Hillary Clinton's dream of Trump's Madison Square Garden rally turning into some sort of fascist nightmare - just look at @ArynneWexler's picture of a young man wearing a Kippah sitting in front of a woman wearing a burqa. I love America.

h/t @RubinReport pic.twitter.com/wH4txA74OM

— @amuse (@amuse) October 27, 2024

"This isn't a First Amendment issue; it's dangerous hate speech that continues to rip this country apart.

"On Sunday, former President and GOP nominee Donald Trump transformed Madison Square Garden into MAGA Square Garden, as the crowd reached capacity of reportedly over 19,000 people. In attendance was the melting pot of New York: Whites, Italians, Muslims, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, all the colors on the spectrum and then some.  

A Holocaust survivor attending the ‘Nazi rally’ at Madison Square Garden?
Yes, the Democrats are obviously lying. https://t.co/WFbdEM0ElF pic.twitter.com/XGZmy4XKKf

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) October 27, 2024

Why the Rabid Hatred?

 Mr. Biden, locked in my memory are images of your hate-filled face in speeches at the dark red-lit Freedom Hall in Philadelphia, your State Of The Union "Address", and your DNC speech, all easily taken to be a call for someone to kill Mr. Trump. If indeed that does happen, I hope the images of your hate-filled face will be coupled with that of President Trump's family standing around his grave. The Tunnel Dweller.  From Oct 23.

Rajan Laad  

Perhaps it is overconsumption of the propaganda peddled by MSNBC, CNN, NYT, and WaPo [and "The View"]. One would assume she is old enough to not be brainwashed by propaganda. But age is no guarantee of wisdom. 

. . ."However, there is also another category of individuals whose rage against Trump has a reason.

"These are establishment figures or swamp dwellers who see Trump as a threat to their monopoly. These are the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, etc. They fear Trump could dismantle the self-serving, self-preserving D.C. Democrat establishment that has enabled them to acquire power and wealth. Trump's defiance also enrages them.

"Most people aspiring for power are desperate for approval from the establishment. They also fear reprisals or attacks from the establishment and their proxies and with good reason. We remember how Biden was ruthlessly dethroned by the establishment. 

"Trump, on the other hand, was elected in 2016, despite challenging the establishment. 

"Despite being persecuted on many fronts, Trump continues have public support. He is personally unaffected and even mocks them unsparingly and relentlessly. He is likely to be re-elected in November.

"This causes further hatred.

"A common enemy, i.e. President Trump, has caused the baseless haters and the establishment haters to join hands.

"Quite often, experts and even Trump supporters such as Laura Ingraham claim that someone with Trump’s policies, but without Trump personality and 'baggage' will be preferable. They assert that this mythical individual wouldn't receive such hate from the media, the establishment and loons such as the ranting woman.

"Ingraham and others must understand it's not Trump's 'baggage' or personality but his principled defiance and policies that causes hatred from the establishment. 

"In fact, the relentless hate from the establishment is proof that Trump is the perfect candidate for the Presidency."

There’s almost nothing that Donald Trump likes better than throwing his adversaries off their game; he likes to be unpredictable, confusing and in charge. It gives him an edge in achieving his goals.   "He's kept his adversaries guessing to the extent that he will pay them back for their lawfare and deep-state machinations, and not surprisingly, they expect the worst. Yet he has said repeatedly that victory in the election will be his revenge. They don't know what to make of it."

Letter from Michigan: “No one I know is voting for Kamala Harris”  (Hat tip to Andrea Widberg) . . . "Here’s a new entry in the American Thinker occasional podcast series.

"This video/podcast discusses a leftist European writer’s accurate—and depressing—take on the state of America under Harris and Biden, the fraud against Israel that’s taking place on Wikipedia, and the wonderful NY Times article that’s meant to dissuade people from supporting Trump but that reads like the perfect Trump campaign promotional material."

Despite Israel's Feckless Allies: The Ordeal and Triumph of Mr. Netanyahu

Victor Davis Hanson   Netanyahu's actions have neutralized more Western adversaries responsible for decades of bloodshed than NATO, the CIA, FBI, or Interpol, combined, yet he’s often met with rebuke rather than gratitude.

Ordeal: "After the October 7 massacres, the obituaries of the long political career of Benjamin Netanyahu, published both in Israel and in the West, became orthodox. He was considered as politically inert as Donald Trump once was after January 6, 2021.

"The conventional wisdom speculated not if, but only when he would be forced out of office.

"Western leaders and the Israeli left, and indeed even the Israeli non-left, as well as American and European pundits, claimed that the laxity of the Netanyahu government was entirely to blame for the grotesque massacre of October 7.

"Indeed, last fall, there arose almost a competition of critics to assert all the ways in which Netanyahu was played by Hamas.

"Accordingly, Netanyahu’s sweeping Supreme Court reforms had supposedly needlessly split the country, demoralizing the military and eroding Israeli deterrence in the eyes of Palestinian terrorists. Or his purported strategy of playing off the more lethal and toxic Hamas against the Palestinian Authority was supposedly proof of his reckless naivete.

"Still, other opponents argued that his 16 years as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and his age of 75 made him a Joe Biden-like relic of the past, simply too old and too familiar to be any longer effective. He was told it was well past time to step down and let a new generation break out of the old toxic Middle East mindsets.

"And indeed, after October 7, Netanyahu faced a bleak regional and global landscape—analogous to what a 65-year-old Churchill faced in June 1940 when all of Western Europe was in the hands of the Nazis and a lonely Britain was without a single wartime ally—with a sympathetic America still hesitant to commit to ensuring its existence." . . .

Triumph: . . ."And what of Iran itself, the hub to the spokes of such terrorism?

"We were told that it would soon become nuclear and might strike against the proverbial “one-bomb” state. In the mullahs’ eyes, poor Israel was a divine gift to the theocracy of assembling half the world’s Jewry into one easy target.

"Did not Iran export deadly drones and missiles to new staunch allies like Russia and China and develop missiles nearly comparable to any in the West?

"And yet somehow an embattled Netanyahu, shunned by the Biden administration, demonized by the European Union, and smeared and slandered by the UN, saw opportunity where all others saw only doom.

"He understood that the sheer depravity of October 7 gave Israel, at least for a brief window, the moral authority to wage all-out war on its enemies, terrorists whose reputations he sensed were exaggerated, and their leaders’ bloodcurdling threats thus mostly empty." . . .