Hamas attacks Israel

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
So you've never seen either video?

Maher an atheist who says the Bible is bullshit says "the Bible says...."

What's the point posting random shit?
I watched both this morning, but neither was talking about their personal religious beliefs or views. I didn’t realize that was relevant to having an opinion on the Middle East, etc…
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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So you've never seen either video?

Maher an atheist who says the Bible is bullshit says "the Bible says....". The Bible says otherwise but hey, atheists know more about the Bible than anyone so it must be true.

What's the point posting random shit?
The bible's a great resource. You can justify literally anything by quoting one passage or another.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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The bible's a great resource. You can justify literally anything by quoting one passage or another.
Indeed. Any chance the story that is used to justify the "chosen" progresses after the Old Testament?

BTW can you define testament aka covenant as used biblically?

cov·e·nant
/ˈkəvənənt/
noun
noun: covenant; plural noun: covenants
an agreement.
"there was a covenant between them that her name was never to be mentioned"
Similar:
contract
compact
treaty
pact
accord
deal
bargain
settlement
concordat
protocol
entente
agreement
arrangement
understanding
pledge
promise
bond
indenture
guarantee
warrant
undertaking
commitment
Law
a contract drawn up by deed.
Similar:
contract
compact
treaty
pact
accord
deal
bargain
settlement
concordat
protocol
entente
agreement
arrangement
understanding
pledge
promise
bond
indenture
guarantee
warrant
undertaking
commitment
Law
a clause in a contract.
Theology
an agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people. The Jewish faith is based on the biblical covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David.
verb
verb: covenant; 3rd person present: covenants; past tense: covenanted; past participle: covenanted; gerund or present participle: covenanting
agree by lease, deed, or other legal contract.
"the landlord covenants to repair the property"
Similar:
undertake
give an undertaking
pledge


After unchoosing Israel, who did God make a contract with as the new "chosen ones"?

The individual.
 
Last edited:

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
119,117
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Low Earth Orbit
The U.S. submitted a new resolution for the International Stabilization Force deployment in Gaza to the UN Security Council, including revisions requested by Arab, Muslim and European states, a diplomatic source told Haaretz. Israel has reportedly destroyed over 1,500 buildings in areas of Gaza under its control since the cease-fire took effect last month. Israel must withdraw from the territories it invaded in Syria before any agreement can be signed between the two countries, President al-Sharaa told the Washington Post, adding that "Trump supports our point of view." President Trump formally asked Israel's president to "fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu" in his criminal cases. Netanyahu's close confidante Ron Dermer resigned from his government position.



Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.

Get full access to Haaretz now – just $1 for the first month. Save 28% off a yearly subscription

■ GAZA CEASE-FIRE: The U.S. sent a revised resolution to the UN Security Council on Monday, outlining additional provisions for the deployment of the International Stabilization Force in Gaza. The main additions are a reference to the Saudi-French initiative for establishing a Palestinian state, a demand that Israel withdraw to a security perimeter in the Strip, and that the UN Security Council receive reports on the stabilization force's operations.
The revised draft seen by Haaretz envisions the transfer of Gaza's governance to the Palestinian Authority once it has "satisfactorily" completed its reform program as outlined in various proposals and until it can "securely and effectively" regain control over the Gaza Strip.

The draft also states that Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza "based on standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors and the United States, save for a security perimeter presence." This demand was included in Trump's initial 20-point plan, but was not in the previous draft of the resolution.

A diplomatic source familiar with the details told Haaretz that the draft includes revisions requested by several Arab, Muslim and European states, adding that Russia and China have said that they had reservations about the revised resolution, but that the U.S. nonetheless aims to submit the proposal to the UN Security Council by the end of November.
■ GAZA: Israel has destroyed over 1,500 buildings in areas of Gaza under its control since the cease-fire with Hamas took effect last month, according to a report by the BBC based on satellite images dating up to November. The number of destroyed buildings could be significantly higher than 1,500, the BBC said, which said that some areas under IDF control could not be readily surveyed.
The IDF said that the Zikim checkpoint, located on the border between northern Gaza and Israel, opened Wednesday morning for humanitarian aid trucks to enter the Strip.
"European officials are saying that the process of expanding Israel's withdrawal from Gaza is effectively 'stalled' given the lack of progress in disarming Hamas and advancing to the next phases of the plan. It has been reported that reconstruction is set to begin - but only on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line, which they fear will be far more than temporary. No fewer than 18 of these international sources told Reuters that the Yellow Line 'looks set to become the de facto border indefinitely dividing Gaza'" – Allison Kaplan Sommer

■ ISRAEL: In a letter to President Herzog, U.S. President Trump formally asked to "fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu" in his criminal case, adding that "while I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this 'case' against" Netanyahu "is a political, unjustified prosecution." PM Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate criminal cases.
Herzog's office said that "anyone seeking a presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid commented with a "reminder" that "Israeli law stipulates that the first condition for receiving a pardon is an admission of guilt and an expression of remorse." Speaking at the Knesset later on Wednesday, Lapid said that "We are a sovereign country; there's a limit to interference."

Most Israelis believe that the U.S. has greater influence on Israel's security decisions than the country's own government, a survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Tuesday found. A majority of respondents said they think Israel's security is one of Trump's central considerations, and the poll also found that most Israelis do not believe that Israel should annex the West Bank.

Ron Dermer, a close confidante of Netanyahu and his point man for relations with the U.S., announced his resignation from the government, writing that he was stepping down after promising his family he would serve only two years but extending his term twice.

The Supreme Court said it will decide who should run the investigation into the affair involving the leak of a video allegedly showing Israeli guards abusing a Palestinian detainee if Israel's justice minister and attorney general can't reach an agreement on the issue by Thursday. The head of the High Court of Justice panel hearing petitions on the matter, Justice Yael Willner, urged the sides not to make that necessary, adding that "the public interest in reaching agreements on this issue is so great."

Dozens of far-right activists gathered outside a private home in central Israel on Tuesday evening to violently disrupt a house meeting attended by Arab Israeli MK Ayman Odeh. Police estimated that about 70 far-right activists were present, and Odeh's departure was secured by officers together with members of his security detail.

Following the incident, Odeh wrote on X that he and his supporters "will continue to stand firm, Jews and Arabs together, against the raging fascism in the country under government protection."
■ WEST BANK: Settlers attacked Palestinians and set fire to tents in the village of Deir Sharaf and a nearby Bedouin encampment near Nablus on Tuesday. Several Palestinians were injured in the Deir Sharaf attack and taken to hospital. One person was arrested on suspicion of arson and assault.
After videos showed settlers attacking an industrial zone in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, wounding four Palestinians and attacked IDF soldiers, President Isaac Herzog said on X that "the violent and dangerous handful responsible for tonight's events… have crossed a red line," adding that "such violence against civilians and against IDF soldiers is intolerable, and I strongly condemn it."
"It's not just the Netanyahu government, but the rest of us as well who are struggling to say goodbye to the war, which gave us hope that in the end, things would be better. That there would be a state commission of inquiry. That someone would be punished. That we would be able to treat our national trauma from a new vantage point. That the public conversation would turn over a new leaf. We were deceiving ourselves when we agreed that as long as the war lasted, we would go on break. We hung up our values, our morality, our clean language and our criticism" – Zvi Bar'el

■ PALESTINIAN STATE: French President Emmanuel Macron met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris on Tuesday and announced the creation of a Joint Committee for the Consolidation of the State of Palestine, saying it will "work on all legal, constitutional, institutional and organizational aspects" needed to establish a Palestinian state.

■ SYRIA: Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa told the Washington Post that Israel must withdraw from the territories it invaded southern Syria after the fall of the Assad regime last year before any agreement can be signed between the two countries, saying that "at the end of the day, this is Syrian territory, and Syria should have the freedom of dealing with their own territory." Al-Sharaa added that "Trump supports our point of view, and he will push as quickly as possible to reach a solution on the issue."
 

spaminator

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Oct 26, 2009
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Answers sought after anti-Israel marchers intimidate Jewish neigbourhood
"Zionist, you don't own this," keffiyeh-wearing protestor yells at resident during intimidation march, while police maintain the protestors were in ther rights

Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Published Nov 10, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

Anti-Israel marcher, wearing a red keffiyeh, tells off a resident of a Jewish neighbourhood on Sunday, telling her "Zionist, you don't own this"
Anti-Israel marcher, wearing a red keffiyeh, tells off a resident of a Jewish neighbourhood on Sunday, telling her "Zionist, you don't own this"
OTTAWA — Toronto’s Jewish community is demanding answers after Toronto Police permitted anti-Israel demonstrators to lead yet another intimidation march through Jewish neighbourhoods, threatening one resident they’d be back to harass her later.


And in a statement to the Toronto Sun, Toronto Police responded to those concerns by maintaining the marchers have a “Charter right” to demonstrate wherever they like.


According to witnesses, a group of masked pro-Palestinian marchers broke off from an organized anti-Israel rally on Sunday, near Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. — a regular occurrence since Toronto’s explosion of anti-Jewish demonstrations since the Oct. 7 2023 Hamas terror attacks — and took their grievances to the homes of area residents.

Masked marchers surround, taunt resident
While police supervised the Bathurst rally, witness said they chose not to follow the group as they marched north up Hove St. — just west of the intersection — and across Cocksfield Ave.

In video shot by protest watcher Caryma Sa’d, protestors can be seen harassing a woman standing on the sidewalk, who was told to “go f–k herself” by marchers.



When the woman told the protestor to “get lost,” a man carrying a Palestinian flag wearing a red keffiyeh asked the woman if she “teaches her kids to kill babies,” while repeatedly referring to her a “zionist.”

“Zionist, you don’t own this, this is not occupied Palestine,” the man pointing his finger in her face.

“Teach your kids how to be decent humans.”

Protesters then surrounded the woman and her family.

Protestor threatens to harass woman’s home
One man, his face covered with a black keffiyeh, threatened to continue harassing the woman and her family.

“That kind of attitude is only going to ensure I stay here all night long,” the masked thug told her.

Another man, wearing a beard and carrying a sign sporting the face of Ontario’s Jewish Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, accused the woman of herself intimidating the marchers.


“What do you call a zionist Karen? A Zaren!” taunted the man in the red keyiffah, to laughter from the rest of the group.

When contacted for comment, Toronto Police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan maintained the protesters had a Charter-protected right to march — including sidewalks within the community — and insisted police were monitoring the group, despite witnesses telling the Toronto Sun that no police were in sight.

“We will continue to uphold the constitutional right to free speech and assembly, and our stance is very clear that those freedoms end when criminal behaviour begins,” she wrote.


Intimidation common at Toronto’s pro-Palestinian rallies
Anti-Israel activists regularly hold intimidation marches through Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhoods, leaving members of the community wondering why police and lawmakers continue to tolerate it.

“Marching through a residential neighbourhood while masked, and accosting residents with antisemitic accusations while they are on their private property, is not what the drafters of our Charter envisioned when they enshrined freedom of assembly as a protected right,” B’nai Brith Canada’s Richard Robertson told the Sun.

“Resorting to intimidation and hate to express one’s views makes a mockery of, and jeopardizes, the ability of all Canadians to engage in bona fide forms of protest.”


Police need to stop permitting hatred, advocates urge
Former Canadian Ambassador to Israel Vivian Bercovici told the Sun that Jewish communities, religious centres and businesses are regularly harassed, and urged police to take action.

“This conduct is neither peaceful, as Chief Myron Demkiw maintains, nor is it an acceptable exercise of constitutional rights,” she said.

“It is unvarnished, uncontrolled Jew hatred, licensed and emboldened by law enforcement and political leadership at all levels.”

Robertson urged the city and police to stop standing at the sidelines and take action, and once and for all prevent anti-Israel activists from intimidating Toronto’s Jews at their own homes.

“They serve no purpose other than to incite and intimidate,” he said.

“There are many areas in Toronto where it is acceptable to assemble to exercise our collective rights, but the continued corruption of the sanctity of our residential neighbourhoods must end.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume
 

spaminator

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Anti-Jewish hate in Toronto reaching breaking point, advocate says
'I think it's going to escalate into deadly violence,' Aviva Klompas says

Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Published Nov 10, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read

Images from Toronto Police after charges were laid after a private off-campus event held by the TMU chapter of Students Supporting Israel was disrupted on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.
Images from Toronto Police after charges were laid following a private off-campus event held by the TMU chapter of Students Supporting Israel being disrupted on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.
Toronto’s institutional tolerance of anti-Israel activism is putting the city’s Jewish population at risk, according to a prominent international advocate.


And it’s just a matter of time before somebody loses their life in this wave of hatred, said Aviva Klompas, founder and CEO of pro-Israel think tank Boundless.


Klompas told the Toronto Sun the latest antisemitic attack against Kehillat Shaarei Torah on Bayview Avenue — the tenth time the orthodox synagogue was targeted by anti-Israel activists in two years — represents a worrying turning point in Toronto’s antisemitism crisis.

The message these attacks send is clear, Klompas said.

“The message being sent is that Jews can be targeted, and there are no consequences in Toronto,” she said.

“If any other house of worship was vandalized 10 times, it would be a national emergency — it would be front-page news, and the question that every Canadian, every person of conscience should be asking is why isn’t anyone doing anything to stop it?”

Cops have yet to make arrest
Toronto Police have yet to make an arrest in the city’s latest example of anti-Jewish hate, a wave of discrimination and intimidation that both Mayor Olivia Chow and Chief Myron Demkiw have done little to quench.

“That’s the synagogue that I grew up in,” said the U.S.-based Klompas, who was born in Toronto.

“It’s the synagogue where I had my bat mitzvah, where I served as youth director.”



Klompas said the repeated attacks highlight the level of danger Toronto’s Jews face.

“One attack on a synagogue is unacceptable, two is shocking, and then there’s three and four, five and six,” she said.

“By the time you get to 10, I’m left speechless, because that’s not an accident, and it’s not random, it’s not petty vandalism — that is targeted harassment, and it’s escalating.”

Intimidation, attacks in wake of Oct. 7
Toronto, and Canada, have seen an explosion in anti-Jewish intimidation since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks that saw Palestinian terrorists subject Israeli civilians to a campaign of kidnappings, murder and sexual assault.

Far-left and anti-Israel activists used the attacks as a means to hold regular anti-Israel rallies and protests, including frequent intimidation marches through Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhoods.


Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, an all-girl Jewish school in Downsview, has been the target of repeated shootings.

Five people were charged in connection with last week’s attack on an event hosted by a Toronto Metropolitan University student organization that saw far-left activists break a glass door in an attempt to stop it.

Those charged include Nicole Baiton, 25, of Oakville, Kiana Alexis, 22, of Toronto, Fatimah Mugni, 23, of Toronto, Chelsea Wu, 29, of Toronto and Manal Kamran, 21, of Toronto. They face a variety of offences including forcible entry, obstruction, and assaulting police officers.

Someone in power must take responsibility
Klompas blamed the inaction on nobody in power wanting to take responsibility.


“Everybody’s pointing at somebody else,” she said.

“It’s elected officials pointing at law enforcement, and law enforcement pointing at prosecution, and prosecution pointing at political figures saying we don’t have the backing,” she said.

“At the end of the day, the Jewish community is not interested in thoughts and prayers and empty statements — we have enough of those to float Noah’s Ark. What we would actually like is enforcement, and that means arrests, it means, charges, it means prosecutions and it means deterrence.”

She said it’s just a matter of time before lives are lost.

“I think it’s going to escalate into deadly violence,” Klompas said.

“That is the trajectory we’ve seen in England, that’s the trajectory we’ve seen not just in Washington, but also in Boulder, Co. where a holocaust survivor was lit on fire.

“Police, lawmakers, civil leaders need to make it absolutely clear that antisemitic hate crimes are going to be treated with the full weight of the law, and not a slap on the wrist.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Low Earth Orbit
Anti-Jewish hate in Toronto reaching breaking point, advocate says
'I think it's going to escalate into deadly violence,' Aviva Klompas says

Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Published Nov 10, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read

Images from Toronto Police after charges were laid after a private off-campus event held by the TMU chapter of Students Supporting Israel was disrupted on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.
Images from Toronto Police after charges were laid following a private off-campus event held by the TMU chapter of Students Supporting Israel being disrupted on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.
Toronto’s institutional tolerance of anti-Israel activism is putting the city’s Jewish population at risk, according to a prominent international advocate.


And it’s just a matter of time before somebody loses their life in this wave of hatred, said Aviva Klompas, founder and CEO of pro-Israel think tank Boundless.


Klompas told the Toronto Sun the latest antisemitic attack against Kehillat Shaarei Torah on Bayview Avenue — the tenth time the orthodox synagogue was targeted by anti-Israel activists in two years — represents a worrying turning point in Toronto’s antisemitism crisis.

The message these attacks send is clear, Klompas said.

“The message being sent is that Jews can be targeted, and there are no consequences in Toronto,” she said.

“If any other house of worship was vandalized 10 times, it would be a national emergency — it would be front-page news, and the question that every Canadian, every person of conscience should be asking is why isn’t anyone doing anything to stop it?”

Cops have yet to make arrest
Toronto Police have yet to make an arrest in the city’s latest example of anti-Jewish hate, a wave of discrimination and intimidation that both Mayor Olivia Chow and Chief Myron Demkiw have done little to quench.

“That’s the synagogue that I grew up in,” said the U.S.-based Klompas, who was born in Toronto.

“It’s the synagogue where I had my bat mitzvah, where I served as youth director.”



Klompas said the repeated attacks highlight the level of danger Toronto’s Jews face.

“One attack on a synagogue is unacceptable, two is shocking, and then there’s three and four, five and six,” she said.

“By the time you get to 10, I’m left speechless, because that’s not an accident, and it’s not random, it’s not petty vandalism — that is targeted harassment, and it’s escalating.”

Intimidation, attacks in wake of Oct. 7
Toronto, and Canada, have seen an explosion in anti-Jewish intimidation since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks that saw Palestinian terrorists subject Israeli civilians to a campaign of kidnappings, murder and sexual assault.

Far-left and anti-Israel activists used the attacks as a means to hold regular anti-Israel rallies and protests, including frequent intimidation marches through Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhoods.


Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, an all-girl Jewish school in Downsview, has been the target of repeated shootings.

Five people were charged in connection with last week’s attack on an event hosted by a Toronto Metropolitan University student organization that saw far-left activists break a glass door in an attempt to stop it.

Those charged include Nicole Baiton, 25, of Oakville, Kiana Alexis, 22, of Toronto, Fatimah Mugni, 23, of Toronto, Chelsea Wu, 29, of Toronto and Manal Kamran, 21, of Toronto. They face a variety of offences including forcible entry, obstruction, and assaulting police officers.

Someone in power must take responsibility
Klompas blamed the inaction on nobody in power wanting to take responsibility.


“Everybody’s pointing at somebody else,” she said.

“It’s elected officials pointing at law enforcement, and law enforcement pointing at prosecution, and prosecution pointing at political figures saying we don’t have the backing,” she said.

“At the end of the day, the Jewish community is not interested in thoughts and prayers and empty statements — we have enough of those to float Noah’s Ark. What we would actually like is enforcement, and that means arrests, it means, charges, it means prosecutions and it means deterrence.”

She said it’s just a matter of time before lives are lost.

“I think it’s going to escalate into deadly violence,” Klompas said.

“That is the trajectory we’ve seen in England, that’s the trajectory we’ve seen not just in Washington, but also in Boulder, Co. where a holocaust survivor was lit on fire.

“Police, lawmakers, civil leaders need to make it absolutely clear that antisemitic hate crimes are going to be treated with the full weight of the law, and not a slap on the wrist.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume
What a drag.
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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Who was that idiot screaming about "My family fought Hitler, not like you Zionist cowherds?"

Most drovers (cowboys, whatever) were not, in point of fact, Zionists. And they certainly were not overrepresented in the armed forces in WWII.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Gaslighting Israelis Over October 7 Investigation

The prime minister is trying to convince the Israeli public that they don't want an independent state commission of inquiry to investigate the events of October 7, when all polls show that they do. Can it work?

Dahlia ScheindlinFollow
07:53 PM • November 12 2025 IST

Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are desperate to avoid an independent state commission of inquiry into Israel's failures on October 7, 2023.

An Israeli law from 1968 authorizes the government to establish such commissions – but does not require it to do so. As a result, Netanyahu is in a bind: While neither he nor his government feel the sense of accountability that has motivated numerous governments to appoint commissions in the past, the public has come to expect, and now demands, this reckoning.

The right has already tried blaming the democracy demonstrators, the Supreme Court and the media for the war. Now they want to convince the public that it doesn't want exactly what people truly, desperately want.

The sky was yellow, and the sun was blue
On Monday, Netanyahu made the jarring statement that a "vast portion of the people" will not trust the members of an independent state commission of inquiry, who are appointed by a Supreme Court justice, as stipulated by the law. In an angry, often sneering speech in the Knesset, he consistently portrayed the standard state commission of inquiry as exclusively the opposition's demand. He later argued that the effort was therefore clearly a political cudgel to be used against him.

He railed against the type of commission that "you" want (presumably to remind listeners that the opposition represents a minority of parliamentary seats). He promised that "we" – the coalition, with its electoral majority – will appoint a commission with "the broadest possible base of support. Not a committee that is unacceptable to half of society or more; not a committee whose conclusions half the people believe were written in advance."


Citing quantitative trends is a strong sign that Netanyahu has polls in mind. Then he said so himself. "The essential question is whether we can establish a committee that the whole country believes in," he said. At this point, an angry voice in the Knesset (possibly from among the citizens in the chamber who turned their back on his speech in protest) cried out "Do a poll!" to which Netanyahu retorted: "I have done polls – believe me – trust me, they show exactly what I've said. You have no idea how many I did," he smirked before reverting to his angry face.

"Can we establish a commission that won't be liked, or which will be rejected, to be precise, by half the country once they find out who's supposed to be on [it]? The negative ratings shoot up to the sky!" he said, eyes blazing. To be fair, he then noted that a body appointed exclusively by the government elicits similar "massive opposition" in polls.

There is a great solution, he said, citing the example of the commission of inquiry established in the U.S. after 9/11, which he referred to as November 11 until corrected. Netanyahu proposed a grand-coalition style commission whose members would be appointed by coalition and opposition alike; again, rejecting a commission that "half the nation and more" believes has reached its conclusions in advance. "Bring the other side!" he thundered, "in a full, balanced, responsible way."

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One might easily conclude that the support or opposition to the traditional independent state commission of inquiry is almost evenly matched ("half the nation and more"). If it's your bloc against mine, and mine has a coalition majority – then we represent the people.

But the entire logic is wrong. Most polls show a powerful majority for precisely what Netanyahu claims "vast" portions reject: a state commission of inquiry appointed by a Supreme Court judge.

Perhaps he has his own polls, but "trust me" does not count as data. What does the empirical evidence on the issue show?

Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies found in a mid-October poll that 74 percent of all Israelis want an independent commission established now. In fact, even an absolute majority – 52 percent of those who voted for the coalition's parties in 2022 – support the immediate establishment of the commission of inquiry.

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The INSS findings are similar to those from a poll I conducted about a year ago, commissioned by the liberal think tank Zulat, which found that 69 percent preferred such a commission – explaining that it would be headed by a Supreme Court justice – rather than a government-appointed commission. A poll by Dr. Menachem Lazar commissioned by Maariv this October found that 64 percent supported a justice-appointed state commission.

A justice-appointed Israeli committee holding its initial session of the probe into a deadly naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid fleet in 2010.

A justice-appointed Israeli committee holding its initial session of the probe into a deadly naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid fleet in 2010. Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP
Even one poll showing surprisingly lower support, commissioned by Channel 13 earlier in October, found that 54 percent preferred a state commission headed by a Supreme Court judge; yet again, an absolute majority and more than twice as many as those who preferred a government-appointed committee.

Spiral of silence
With so much data on this issue showing such clear majorities (and even the outlier showing an absolute majority), what in the world made Netanyahu think people would believe that "huge portions" of society don't trust an independent commission of inquiry?

Most likely, Netanyahu is either instinctively or consciously trying to create a "climate of opinion," a concept popularized by the social scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1970s.

Noelle-Neumann posited that people sense the opinions of the people around them, and if you sense that you're in the minority, you might keep your opinions to yourself, to avoid social isolation. Others in your minority group keep quiet for the same reason, and the presence of that opinion in society dwindles. She calls this the "spiral of silence."

This theory has been rightly critiqued over the years, but the fact remains that people assess how others around them think. And the opposite of her theory might be called a spiral of noise: Israelis talk about a commission of inquiry all the time. With 54 to 74 percent for it – they're amplifying this support to each other. So how does Netanyahu hope to convince them that what they sense, see and hear around them isn't real?

From his own words, Netanyahu clearly seems to be polling on the details and messaging around a different kind of commission that he can describe as a middle ground. If I had to guess, his next step will be to argue that the commission must include representatives of the coalition and opposition based on their current Knesset breakdown (a majority for the coalition), in the name of the will of the people.

Can it work?
Will the public be convinced that this is what their compatriots want and converge on Netanyahu's option?

Maybe some will be drawn to the soothing notions of "broadest possible base of support," or "balanced and responsible."

But consider a few other failed efforts to sell unpopular programs. Despite years of euphemistic rebranding of West Bank annexation as "extending sovereignty" or "applying Israeli law" or full-throttle government campaigns, the latest Israel Democracy Institute poll found that the majority (still) rejects formal annexation.

Only 35 percent chose this option, while 51 percent chose either a diplomatic agreement with the Palestinians (33 percent) or the way things are now (18 percent – which is admittedly de facto annexation and increasingly ethnic cleansing, but most Israeli Jews turn a blind eye).

Most stunningly, after over a decade of a bitter assault on the Israeli judiciary via politicians, media and far-right nationalist civil society groups, and countless millions of dollars poured into those efforts, just 34 percent of Israelis in the IDI poll think it is "correct to bring back [Justice Minister] Yariv Levin's judicial reform/overhaul" (the survey used both terms). Nearly 51 percent said it was not correct.

Netanyahu might evade accountability anyway, but he will be violating public will, and the public knows it.


Absolutely nothing is amok. Bibi and his Jew Klux Klan partners 100% trustworthy.

Why would there anything missing from reality?
 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Low Earth Orbit
Indeed. Any chance the story that is used to justify the "chosen" progresses after the Old Testament?

BTW can you define testament aka covenant as used biblically?

cov·e·nant
/ˈkəvənənt/
noun
noun: covenant; plural noun: covenants
an agreement.
"there was a covenant between them that her name was never to be mentioned"
Similar:
contract
compact
treaty
pact
accord
deal
bargain
settlement
concordat
protocol
entente
agreement
arrangement
understanding
pledge
promise
bond
indenture
guarantee
warrant
undertaking
commitment
Law
a contract drawn up by deed.
Similar:
contract
compact
treaty
pact
accord
deal
bargain
settlement
concordat
protocol
entente
agreement
arrangement
understanding
pledge
promise
bond
indenture
guarantee
warrant
undertaking
commitment
Law
a clause in a contract.
Theology
an agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people. The Jewish faith is based on the biblical covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David.
verb
verb: covenant; 3rd person present: covenants; past tense: covenanted; past participle: covenanted; gerund or present participle: covenanting
agree by lease, deed, or other legal contract.
"the landlord covenants to repair the property"
Similar:
undertake
give an undertaking
pledge


After unchoosing Israel, who did God make a contract with as the new "chosen ones"?

The individual.