Year End Reflections, Part V (More Politics)

First, some interesting information.  Where did people move from 2022 to 2023?  Texas ranked first with 473,000 more people.  And, no surprise, Florida was second with 365,000 more people.  The California minimum wage goes up to $16 per hour as of January 1.  Unfortunately, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) reported an increase in antisemitic incidents from 465 in 2022 to 2031 in 2023.

Fox reported that a 10th grade Seattle High School had a class on "Ethnic Studies World History."  The class was given an exam of True-False and multiple choice questions.  Here was one question:  All men have penises.  True or False?  Here was another:  Only women can get pregnant.  True or False?  A student who answered True to these questions was told those answers were incorrect.  Does anyone really need any further proof of the sickness of leftwing ideology?  MEN CANNOT GET PREGNANT!  MEN, AND ONLY MEN, HAVE PENISES!  But the truth is not a value for the left.  All lies in support of their agenda are deemed worthy.

Los Angeles County District Attorney, far left George Gascon, recently appointed one of the assistant DAs to be his chief of staff.  Nothing unusual there.  Until we find out that this woman, following the death of George Floyd, called the LAPD "barbarians."  And she referred to them as "an occupying army."  No surprise that she called for defunding the police.  And it was reported that she has a T-shirt that reads "the police are trained to kill us."  Exactly how is the DA's office supposed to work with the police to prosecute criminals, given those attitudes?  Oh, that's right.  Gascon is one of those DAs who does not believe in prosecuting criminals.

Boston Mayor, Michelle Wu, decided to have a holiday party for the members of the City Council.  But not all the members were supposed to be invited.  However, her assistant inadvertently sent the invitation out to the entire Council.  The invitation read:  "Electeds of Color Holiday Party."  Said Wu, in defending this nonsense:  "It is not at all divisive, it is creating spaces for people and communities and identities with shared experiences to come together."  This is yet another example of the evil of "identity politics."  But if that is deemed to be acceptable, then I would not object to an "Electeds White People Holiday Party."  

Of course, I object to all of it.  I believe, as MLK said, that people are to be judged based on the content of their character.  Why is skin color important?  Another way to look at it is what Dennis Prager often says.  The world is divided into only two groups - the decent and the indecent.  

On the good news front...California enacted a law banning concealed carry in 26 different public places, making it all but impossible to actually carry a gun outside of the home.  No, that's not the good news.  The good news, as reported by the AP, is that a Federal Judge blocked enforcement of that law.  As the AP reported it, the Judge felt "that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones."

As readers know, I always like to read the "Letters to the Editor" in the newspapers.  One letter in the 12/20/23 New York Times was by a Jewish man described by the paper as a "distinguished emeritus professor of anthropology at the State University of New York."  The writer says he is "a Jew by culture and ancestry, albeit a secular one."  He tells us he "abhors contemporary violence by both Hamas and Israel."  Typical leftwing view that all violence is the same and is bad.  Violence in the defeat of evil is not bad.  It may be unfortunately necessary, but it is definitely not bad.  

The letter writer continued and said his father bought Israel bonds for him and his siblings when they were younger.  But, "in the late 1960's and early '70's, when I had my own children and when Israel had become an expansionist power, I asked him to stop."  More leftwing lies; this time lies of omission.  Israel was able to gain more territory by defending themselves in war and winning.  That does not make them an expansionist power.  Good to know that a "distinguished emeritus professor" lacks all common sense and reason.  Which is what happens when leftwing ideology defines your world view.  Or, as I like to say, letting your beliefs dictate your reality.   

Year End Reflections, Part IV (Back To Politics)

(Note.  I'm sure my readers are well aware that since the attack on Israel on October7, virtually all my posts have been about that and the increasing antisemitism.  The atrocities of October 7, followed by the increasing Jew hatred, have really gotten to me in a way that few stories have.  Obviously 9/11 is another example.  Let's pray for no more 9/11's or 10/7's.)

The Colorado Supreme Court decided that Donald Trump should not be on their state's primary ballot  because he is guilty of insurrection, as defined in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.  This post will not go into a detailed legal analysis of that Amendment.  But the case was brought by a group of never Trumpers against the Colorado Secretary of State, alleging that the Secretary must not allow Trump to be on the ballot because of insurrection.

The trial court found that Trump was guilty of insurrection, but that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment did not apply to the office of President.  Therefore, he could be on the ballot.  The Colorado Supreme Court disagreed, by a 4 to 3 vote.  The Majority:  "President Trump incited and encouraged the use of violence and lawless action to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power."  And this:  "President Trump's speech on January 6 was not protected by the First Amendment."  

I admit to not having read this lengthy decision.  However, I am very curious to know exactly what words in the speech were deemed by the Court to not be protected speech; what words were deemed to create an imminent threat of violence or lawless action.  I also thought it was interesting that the Court found Trump guilty of insurrection without him being a party to the case.  I guess I should not be surprised, as the second House impeachment vote on Trump was conducted with no Judiciary Committee hearings first.  No evidence was presented prior to that vote.  

So I decided to ask another attorney, very leftwing, exactly how the decision would play out.  After all, other states have similar cases pending.  Do we now have a situation where each of the 50 states gets to decide who can be on the ballot?  Obviously, there would not be uniformity among all 50 states.  What if Trump were to win a sufficient number of electoral votes where he was on the ballot.  Would he only be the president over those states?  Would those states where Trump was disqualified from the ballot have a different president?

Back to that leftwing attorney.  Having no answer for the possible chaos created by the Colorado decision, he simply said the US Supreme Court will decide.  Then, as often happens, he reverted to Trump is bad, and therefore should not be on the ballot.  Explaining how that would work with 50 states was of no apparent concern to him.    

Is this how the Court is protecting our democracy?  Trump has never been convicted of "insurrection."  Trump was not involved in the Colorado case.  Four unelected judges decided to remove from the ballot the main opponent to the sitting President, and not let the voting public decide.  And, again, thinking forward, might we end up with a country having one president for some of the states, and another president for the rest of the states?  Is this what the Democrats call protecting our democracy?  Because none of it looks the least bit democratic to me.

The Court Majority:  "We do not reach these conclusions lightly.  We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions before us."  I don't think so.  The office of the President of the United States is the one and only office that the entire country votes on.  (The VP is essentially a tag along.)  So I would ask the Court just how mindful they were of creating different qualifications for being on the ballot, qualifications that surely will not be required in many of the other states.

Let's think back to the 2016 election.  There were dire predictions about what would happen if Trump won.  The most serious was that Trump would start a nuclear war.  None of the awful predictions came about.  And Trump won.  So we had the Russian collusion hoax.  That didn't succeed in getting Trump out of office.  We had the first impeachment over a telephone call with Ukraine.  That didn't work.  We had the second impeachment.  None of these actions taken by the Democrats succeeded in removing Trump from office.  In 4 years in office Trump started no wars.  No one lost any rights.  

Biden won in 2020, but looks to be easily beatable in 2024.  So now we have 4 different politically motivated prosecutions.  But they don't seem to be working either, as Trump's poll numbers keep going up.  So here is the next idea - keep Trump off the ballot.  I honestly do not know how it could be any clearer - the Democrats do not believe in our democracy.  Or in any democracy.  

 (Afterword.  I have my own issues with Trump.  The silly name calling.  The unnecessary commenting on everything.  Costing the Republicans the 2 Georgia Senate seats.  Having a meal with antisemites like Nick Fuentes and Kanye West.  And personally calling state and local officials about the 2020 election results.  But don't tell me the Colorado Court cared about democracy.)

Year End Reflections - Part III (Is This The True Face Of Islam In America?)

We already know that the group "Students for Justice in Palestine" celebrated the atrocities of October 7, by calling it "a historic win for Palestinian resistance."  But the "Council on American-Islamic Relations" (CAIR)  bills itself as a moderate group, reflecting the interests of Muslims in America.  Therefore, it may surprise some to learn (although it shouldn't) what the executive director of CAIR, Nihad Awad, was found to have said.  As reported in an editorial in the 12/9-12/10/23 weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Awad claimed that his comments were selectively chosen to, essentially, make him look bad.

But The Journal said they were able to get a copy of Awad's speech before it was taken off line.  Here are some of his comments as reported by The Journal.  "The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp, on October 7.  And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land, and walk free into their land, that they were not allowed to walk in.  And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves.  And yes, Israel as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense."    

Clearly, there was no concern for the men, women, children and even babies who were brutally murdered by Hamas.  Awad said that Israel does not have the right to self-defense because he clearly does not believe that Israel has the right to exist at all.  He made that clear when he referred to the people of Gaza "walk(ing) free into their land."  What they did was break into land that is considered part of the territory of Israel.  By referring to that land as "their (the people of Gaza's) land," Awad is telling us that Israel should not exist.  This is no different from the chant "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free."  It would appear that the only rights that Jews have are to either be killed or leave Israel.    

Then, Awad attacks AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) and "corrupt members of Congress."  Awad:  "We have to free so many people from the shackles of AIPAC and its affiliates who have sold the soul of America."  In an apparent attack on Biden's support for Israel, Awad goes on:  "For how much?  It is for how much AIPAC and its affiliates have been controlling the U.S. Congress...Unless we free Congress, we will not be able to free Palestine."

This is not much different from one of Ilhan Omar's many antisemitic comments, when she said "it's all about the Benjamins."  It couldn't be that Congress and the American people support Israel because of shared values, with Israel being the only democracy, and Western style country, in the Middle East.  

Awad:  "When we say 'if there is no cease-fire, there will be no votes for you in 2024 elections, we started to see the tone changing - and the position changing."  Also speaking with Awad was the director of American Muslims for Palestine, Osama Abuirshaid.  The Journal reports that at a rally on December 1, Abuirshaid said this:  "What they alleged that happened on October 7 turned out to be a lie.  Most of the (Israeli) civilians were killed by their own army."  Talk about a lie - disgusting!

And, proving that these people remain quite adept at propaganda, Awad said this:  "I ask young people:  be wise.  You are not in Palestine.  You are not in Gaza.  The language there doesn't work here."  It is the kind of language that we hear from the Muslim members of Congress.  They speak of the "human rights" of Palestinians, not of the atrocities committed against the Jews.  And, of course, they never say that it is Hamas that violates the human rights of the people of Gaza.  (Although, recent polling suggests that as much as 75% of the people of Gaza supported the atrocities committed by Hamas.)

Year End Reflections - Part II (The Evil of DEI)

The New York Times is not a fan of either Christmas or Chanukah.  Nevertheless, a front page article in the December 7 edition, is quite instructive.  The headline of the article is "A Divide Over Israel Frays American Families."  The discussion, not surprisingly, centers around Jewish American families.  And, while they have interviewed a number of young people, the focus is mostly on one family.  

The parents (boomers) moved from Madison, Wisconsin to Israel.  The divide over Israel between the parents and their daughter seemed to begin when the daughter became a grad student at UC Berkeley.  Big surprise.  At Berkeley, the daughter found her attitudes about Israel being challenged by "classmates and friends."  One friend pulled away from her over her ties to Israel.  Another criticized her for not being "vocally pro-Palestine," saying that she was on "the wrong side of history."  

As this Berkeley grad student  started reading materials by black feminist authors, it motivated her to think about "questions around power, privilege and whiteness."  Ultimately, she became pro-Palestinian.  And she reached this conclusion:  "I don't think the state of Israel should ever have been established.  It's based on this idea of Jewish supremacy.  And I'm not on board with that."  Clearly, she is on board with Arab Muslim supremacy.  I can't imagine a better example of the evil that has been taught and perpetrated by schools, universities, administrators, professors and college presidents (witness the 3 presidents of the most "elite" universities telling Congress that speech calling for the genocide of Jews might be within school policy - depending on the context).  That evil being taught is DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).  

When her father asked this Berkeley grad student why she did not condemn Hamas' brutal attacks on her social media, the reply was quite telling.  She wanted to know why her father did not "emphasize the historical context - the occupation and Palestinian displacement - that shaped the current war."  There's that word again - context.  As noted in Part I of Year End Reflections, the context is the fact that Israel exists.  That, in turn, apparently justifies the atrocities committed by Hamas.  

The article cites a poll by what is described as the "Democratic pollster GBAO Strategies."  The poll was just taken this November, of American Jews.  It found that 82% of those age 36 or older were in favor of Biden's support for Israel.  But only 53% of those age 18 to 35 supported Biden on his approach to Israel.

The authors of the article made this interesting admission:  "Most of the people interviewed for this article did not identify as Orthodox, a small segment of the American Jewish population who tend to have a stronger attachment to Israel than others do."  A shame that they did not interview any people from Chabad, an orthodox segment which also happens to be the fastest growing segment within Judaism.  They would gotten a much different take, as Chabad is very strongly pro-Israel.

Heather MacDonald had a very important Op-Ed in the December 7 edition of the Wall Street Journal.  It is titled "DEI Drives Campus Antisemitism."  MacDonald:  "The real issue on campuses isn't antisemitism but the anti-Western ethos that has colonized large swaths of the curriculum."  And, given the belief that "the West is built on white supremacism and oppression...Israel is cast as the Western settler-colonialist oppressor par excellence."  I would categorize these ideas as just another form of Marxism.  The oppressed working class proletariat (dark skinned) vs the bourgeoisie (whites).  

But here is the interesting thing.  With the ideas of DEI and intersectionality, MacDonald mentioned a discussion given at Cornell by a professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies.  The title of the lecture was "The Intersectionality of Antisemitism, Islamophobia and Racism."  MacDonald then tells us that the usual suspects at that intersection are "white supremacists, former Trump administration officials, evangelical Christians and white opponents of mass immigration from Muslim countries."  In other words, right wing "deplorables."  

MacDonald:  "None of these supposed oppressors play a significant role in pro-Hamas campus protests.  The actual protesters - Muslims, Black Lives Matter activists, Queers for Palestine, socialist groups and proponents of the anti-Israel boycott, divest and sanctions movement - went unmentioned in the lecture" at Cornell.  

Starting in 2010 and going through 2016, I wrote a six part post called "Are We At War With Islam."  If one looks around the Muslim world it is immediately obvious that Islamic rule of a country is contrary to Western notions of freedom and liberty.  And in this country, it is the Left that holds the same anti-Western views.  Views that lead them to be anti-American and anti-Israel.  Which is why you will see these leftwing groups marching with Palestinians in support of Hamas.  But none of these groups, Queers for Palestine for example, would actually want to live in a Palestinian controlled state.  There is one gay pride parade every year in the Middle East, and it is in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Good luck being openly gay in the Arab countries or Gaza.      

Year End Reflections - Part I

Hard to believe, but it's that time of year again.  One of the biggest stories of the year was, of course, the war started by Hamas against the Jewish people.  As more stories come out from some of the hostages, the atrocities that were committed makes it clear that Hamas is ISIS, and Hamas is the new Nazi Party.  The concomitant rise in antisemitism, on college campuses and in our city streets, has been quite disheartening.  

But tonight, this first night of Chanukah, my wife and I attended a community Menorah lighting put on by Chabad.  There was a large turnout - seniors, young people and all ages in between.  All to show that the Jewish people will not be cowed by the supporters of evil.  And how good to read about so many non-Jews saying they will be lighting a Menorah in a show of solidarity with the Jewish people.

In other news this year, former President Trump was indicted four times; indictments that were politically motivated.  Meanwhile the Democrat-Mainstream Media Complex (which I'll now refer to as D-MSMC) avoids, or excuses, the actual corruption allegations that involve the Biden family.  And the televised January 6 hearings, put on during prime time, had the sole purpose of destroying the Republican Party.

While Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis remain strong contenders.  But they have a lot of catching up to do if they hope to beat Trump.  The early primaries may give us a clue as to who may be favored.  Will Biden run?  He says he is running because Trump is.  But who knows.  Kamala Harris is weak.  California Governor Gavin Newsom says he's not running, but seems to be doing everything to demonstrate he is.  And why not?  He wrecked San Francisco as Mayor, and got promoted to Governor of the State.  He wrecked the State, so maybe he gets promoted to President.

I had occasion to speak with two California Highway Patrol officers in Court today.  The State Police used to be responsible for security at state offices, but they merged with the Highway Patrol a long time ago.  We were discussing how the CHP is down by maybe 1000 officers, not good for the most populous state in the country.  I asked what the problem was - Sacramento?  No.  

I was told that far fewer people want to be law enforcement officers.  Who can blame them.  In many places there is little or no support from local or state political leaders.  Everything they do is second guessed, and may result in being sued or even incarcerated.  Besides, think what young kids are taught about cops.  The same problem exists for our Army.  Who wants to fight for a country that is racist, sexist, etc. etc. etc.  That's what many young kids and college students are taught.  

It is no accident that college students are often pro-Palestinian.  Arab money has funded Middle East Study Centers at schools across the country.  The Saudis have a long history of funding and publishing public school books.  But the Left in this country has the same perception of America and Israel and Western societies as do the Islamic countries and the Communist Chinese.  It is up to conservatives and classical liberals to gain back control of our education system.

There is clearly a long way to go, when the presidents of 3 of the most "elite" universities in the country, Harvard, MIT and UPenn, were unable to categorically state that calling for the genocide of the Jewish people would be a violation of school policy.  Each one said it would depend on the "context."  Really?  So, if someone called for the genocide of black people, they would say that might be acceptable, depending on the "context."  How about calling for the genocide of the LGBTQ community?  Would that depend on the "context?" 

Obviously neither would be acceptable to these university presidents.  So what's the "context" for Jews?  That the State of Israel exists, and calling for the destruction of that state and the killing of all the Jews there, a la Hamas, might make the "context" acceptable?  These 3 university presidents are despicable.  But there can be no clearer demonstration of the immoral and evil beliefs of the Left.  (I am not speaking of Classical Liberals.)    

In other news this year, the war against Ukraine by Putin continues.  As support for Ukraine diminishes in this country, I do hope that the Europeans step up.  Putin must not be allowed to win.  We have a new Speaker of the House.  I was not happy with the Republican infighting, and the display put on by Matt Gaetz.  Let's hope that new Speaker Mike Johnson, currently the top Republican in Congress, can unite the party, and lead us to success next November.  

Some Things Every American Should Know

It has been quite distressing to see all the pro-Palestinian and even pro-Hamas demonstrations on college campuses.  But it is not always an accident.  Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have contributed billions to our universities.  As has the Chinese Communist Party.  Anybody think they have an interest in instilling American or Western values.  Anybody think they are sending all this money our way just to be nice?  The CCP has established Confucius Institutes.  At Georgetown University they have the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian understanding.  Funded by the Saudis.  

The Department of Education reported that Arab sources donated about $8.5 billion to US colleges and universities between 1986 and 2021.  At least, that is what was reported by US schools.  And one site reports that "donors from Arab states have quietly made contributions to American universities to create centers and chairs to propagate their views.  The Arab lobby succeeded in hijacking the field of Middle East Studies and now has faculty across the country who use their positions to advance political agendas that are typically pro-Arab (often specifically related to the Palestinians), anti-Israel, and uncritical of radical Islam."  So guess what America's youth are being taught?  Nothing positive about Israel, the only Western style democracy in the Middle East.

Cornell, Stanford, UC Berkeley and University of Texas (Austin) all have relationships with the King Abdullah (former leader of Saudi Arabia) University of Science and Technology, with each getting $25 million or more over a five year period.  MIT, Harvard and Carnegie Mellon are also recipients of Arab largesse.  Qatar, a country that openly supports Hamas, has contributed billions to our academies.  

Let us not forget the professor at Cornell who referred to the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 as "exhilarating" and "energizing."  The brutal murder of unarmed civilians, even children and babies, was exhilarating and energizing for this professor.  Just how sick can it get.  

And we know that Leftist thinking which has infected the media and Hollywood and the Democrat Party, tends to support the anti-Israel narrative.  Here is former President Obama:  "What Hamas did was horrific, and there's no justification for it.  And what is also true is that the occupation and what's happening to Palestinians is unbearable."  After saying there was no justification for the atrocities committed by Hamas, Obama gave them a justification.  

Meanwhile, these young people, who likely know nothing about the history of the Middle East, who seem to not know what the Holocaust was, are getting increasingly brazen and threatening in their attacks on Jews.  The President of AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) has a home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.  AIPAC is the largest pro-Israel lobbying group in the country.  Pro-Palestinian demonstrators vandalized his driveway, threw smoke bombs at his home, and carried a banner reading "Fuck UR holiday!  Baby Killer!"  

Meanwhile, a teacher at the Hillcrest High School in Jamaica Hills, Queens, NYC, had to hide inside a locked office for two hours.  Why?  After posting that she stands with Israel, "hundreds of teens stormed the hallways, where they chanted, waved Palestinian flags and screamed that the teacher needs to go."  (As reported by Fox News.)  The teacher has worked in the NYC schools for 23 years, and said she "was shaken to my core."  

But these threats and disruptions are not isolated incidents.  Pro-Palestinian protesters have taken over bridges in order to disrupt traffic.  They attempted to disrupt the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  They defaced the White House gate.  They interfered with the operations at Grand Central Station in NYC.  The list goes on and on.  How soon before we see serious injuries and deaths.  (Of course, there was already the death of a Jewish man in Thousand Oaks, California, at the hands of a pro-Palestinian protester - a professor at a local college no less.)

Meanwhile, in a poll out this month, 37% of Jewish college students said they feel a need to hide their identity.  54% said they felt scared.  This is America in 2023.  But it made me think of the meme sent to me by my younger daughter the first weekend of this month, with the end of daylight saving time:  "Don't forget to turn your clocks back to 1938 Germany time this weekend."  November, 1938, was when the Nazis organized a series of what have been described as pogroms, resulting in the vandalism and destruction of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues.  It came to be known as "Kristallnacht," the night of broken glass.  

I have often said that, outside of Israel, the United States has been the best country in the world for the Jewish people.  I don't want to think that we have set our clocks back to 1938 Germany time.  But it behooves all of us as Americans, Jews and non-Jews alike, to pay attention and to speak up and against the rise in antisemitism and outright Jew hatred. 

Progressive Thinking is a Threat to Israel, America and the World

Nicholas Kristof is a self-described progressive, and a regular Op-Ed writer for the New York Times.  He has even won two Pulitzer Prizes.  Unfortunately, he lacks moral clarity.  In the Sunday, November 12th edition of the paper's Opinion section, he had this article:  "President Biden, Please Do More to Build Peace."  So far, so good.  Everyone wants peace.  But at what cost?

Kristof:  "I'm fine with Israel taking out Hamas's military leaders or destroying tunnels in a surgical way, but not with it leveling large sections of Gaza..."  First of all, Israel does not give a damn about what you are "fine" with, Mr. Kristof.  Secondly, Hamas needs to be completely eradicated.  It is not enough to only take out their military leaders.  Their political structure cannot be allowed to continue to exist.  Otherwise, they will rebuild their military and Israel will be facing the same problems over and over and over again.  Nothing short of complete victory or an unconditional surrender by Hamas will solve the problem.

Kristof:  "Israel has a responsibility to value Palestinian lives even if Hamas doesn't."  Israel does more than any other country to protect civilians.  They make phone calls into Gaza to warn people.  They drop dud bombs on the roofs of building to warn people.  They drop leaflets out of airplanes to warn people.  Your premise is utter nonsense, Mr. Kristof.

Kristof:  "The Biden administration has already encouraged Israel to rachet its assault on Gaza several notches toward the surgical end by using smaller bombs and allowing humanitarian pauses."  This reminds me of a skit on Saturday Night Live years ago when a "reporter" was asking the "defense secretary" (may have been a Dick Cheney player) why smart bombs sometimes kill innocent people.  To which the Cheney player merely slapped the top of his head in disbelief.  But that "reporter" is Kristof.  

And just what does Kristof think happens with these "humanitarian" pauses?  Here is what I think happens.  Hamas regroups and rearms.  Hamas takes the humanitarian aid for themselves and their fighters.  They have already announced publicly that they are not responsible for the people of Gaza.  They believe the UN has that responsibility.  We know they use the people of Gaza as human shields, and then someone like Kristof falls for it and blames Israel when civilians die.  And just how "humanitarian" does Kristof think Hamas is?  They murdered civilians of all ages.  They raped women.  They took as hostages people of all ages.  

 Kristof:  "I'm skeptical that the Israeli Army can actually eradicate extremist forces from Gaza, so it seems to me that what's unfolding there now - with American complicity as we supply Israel with bombs and artillery shells - is neither militarily nor morally sustainable."  You're skeptical, Mr. Kristof?  I bet the leaders of the newly formed state of Israel, in 1948, were skeptical that they could defeat the five Arab armies that attacked them.  Israel was outgunned and outmanned.  But Israel won.  I bet Eisenhower had a healthy dose of skepticism about the chances of success on D-Day.  Maybe Kristof thinks the US should supply Hamas with an equal number of bombs and artillery shells in order to satisfy his mistaken sense of fairness.    

Kristof:  "Looking ahead, the next initiative must be a major push by Biden for an Israeli-Palestinian peace"... but "both sides lack credible leaders to get there."  What nonsense.  The Arabs of Palestine have been offered their own state numerous times,  Starting in 1947 when the UN voted to partition the British Mandate in Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.  They refused.  They have been offered a state numerous times since.  They refused.  They don't want a state as long as Israel exists.  They want all the land "from the river to the sea."  And you, a two time Pulitzer Prize winner, fall for all their propaganda.  

Here's Kristof's hope in the meantime.  The State Department should again declare the "settlements" to be in violation of international law.  And this gem:  "The United States could also abstain at the United Nations Security Council on a resolution calling for humanitarian pauses, instead of vetoing it as happened last time."  After all, "How many dead Gazan children are too many," Kristof asks.

So what are the common themes in all of Kristof's comments?  First, Israel is at fault, or at least equally at fault with Hamas.  Second, as is typical of leftwing "progressive" thinking, no demands are to made of the bad guys.  No, appeasement is the answer.  Appease them with more and more of these "humanitarian" pauses - because this Pulitzer Prize winner does not understand that such pauses are for the benefit of a terrorist organization.  

Third, these progressive leftists do not believe in winning wars.  Just imagine if Kristof had the ear of Roosevelt or Truman or Eisenhower?  Just take out the Nazis' military leaders, but allow their political structure to remain.  Allow the Nazis to remain in power?  What could go wrong there?  Well, Hamas has revealed themselves to be the new Nazis, slaughtering men, women and children and even babies for the sole reason that they are Jewish.  Hamas can no longer be allowed to exist.  Unfortunately, there will be civilian deaths in the meantime.  

And wouldn't it be nice if Kristof had any concern for the devasting impact October 7 had on the people of Israel.  1200 murdered.  240 taken hostage.  200,000 having to leave their homes in the south and the north as well, because Hezbollah joined in the fight.  The economic and psychological consequences of October 7 are of no apparent concern to Kristof, because "how many dead Gazan children are too many."  Here is the answer, Mr. Kristof - one is too many.  But that cannot deter Israel from doing what it must to defeat Hamas.  Were it otherwise, Israel would have to sit back and just accept attack after attack after attack.