Since ISIS is now much-mentioned in Israeli social media, we're reposting an old video of a debate at Oxford that's getting a lot of attention here. And also, scenes from last night and this afternoon
I am in awe of the positivity that you are sustaining here, Daniel. I write a very modest blog that, for the last two weeks, has ignored the trivia and personal anecdotes that I usually write about, and, instead, focused on the atmosphere here in Israel. When I reread what I had written this week before publishing, I was shocked by how despairing the tone was, but I could not, in all conscience, change anything.
So, no, Daniel, you are not painting too bleak a picture. You are, rather, with awesome authority and breadth of vision, both reporting from the front and maintaining a historical perspective. Thank you for Israel from the Inside, which was always a must read for me but is now a must read for everyone.
I profoundly appreciate the tone you have taken in Israel From The Inside, providing those of us who live in the diaspora the truth of how "Shabbat haShachor" has impacted Israel. I am nauseated at the thought that someone living in comfort and safety "b'chutz l'aaretz" would dare suggest that you lighten things up or be more sanguine. When Hamas has been destroyed, Netanyahu et al held to account, and a new reality begins to take shape between the Palestinians and Israelis, I'm sure you're missive will reflect these positive developments. Please keep up the accurate reports from the front
Please don't change the perspective and tone of the newsletter. Uplifting is fine, but it's also not the only reality. We all need to look at all the pieces.
Danny - keep doing what you are doing. Your reports are bringing us important insights that we might not get otherwise. I hope you know how tirelessly so many people are working on behalf of Israel. Take care, Gordon Hecker, Columbus OH
You are 100 percent right. We need to know the truth of what is really happening in Israel- no matter how dark, so that we can best support Israel, Israelis, and the Jewish people. Thank you for sharing this truth during this terrible time.
The material here is invaluable and I have been sharing with friends and family in US. Re today's post, I do fear the Prager argument may not have aged well with this new government. While I think Hamas is certainly a bigger/more long standing obstacle to peace--the settlements and their ever growing nature make peace nearly impossible. Like Hamas, they too must be rooted out (the ones outside the major blocs at least), including Jewish terrorists who murder Palestinians in the West Bank. The settlers have far too much sway at the moment.
I have been a fan of the blog for a very long time, but since October 7 I find that the site is my most anticipated, first-stop of the day after logging into my computer. Keep doing what you are doing. The tone is appropriate. There have been enough uplifting bits -- including the clip of the ad hoc farmers' market above - to balance out the gravity of the rest.
FYI, I am a Brandeis alum. So is my wife. One of our daughters will be heading there when she returns from the Bar Ilan XP program. With the depravity going on across college campuses here, we have been watching Brandeis closely. The student senate vote was disappointing, but there is more context to it than appears in the media. Regardless, the school administration has come out in strong support for Israel, unlike so many of the spineless university presidents and administrators we have been reading about. The president has written two great letters, and has signed on to Yeshiva University's letter in support of Israel. https://yucommentator.org/2023/10/university-presidents-sign-president-berman-led-letter-standing-with-israel/
I Agree 100% with your approach - we need to see the good, the bad and the ugly.
In the galut we are on the “outside” and are at one with Israel. We have a desperate need to know what is really happening on the ground on the inside by insiders like yourself, otherwise we are essentially dependent on outsiders in the galut who often report with a shallow, simplistic & dualistic western understanding of the Middle East.
I greatly appreciate the intelligent, thoughtful, and in-depth posts you have been publishing, and find your tone spot on. I value reading your on the ground perspectives, no matter have graphic and shocking it is. This is a time for unvarnished truths, and staying informed. I don't find your tone and coverage overly somber -- sadly, we are living in somber times however I have so much faith in Israelis and Jews around the world. I get a solid summary from Times of Israel Daily podcast who highlight some of the uplifting stories of Israelis proactively doing what needs to be done to help their fellow citizens in need, and support Israel. Please keep doing what you are doing, Danny! Stay well, and stay safe.
Many important points. There are many levels of existential threat here and we must be very careful how we proceed. We've entered into a classic WWIII scenario. Maybe not having communities next to Gaza is not the greatest threat? I believe we've already missed a massive opportunity by not capitalizing on near universal support in the immediate aftermath of 10/8 to engage with or allies, especially our new Arab allies, to create a different reality. We always could have reserved the right to undertake the standard bomb the hell out of them response, but we, tragically, went the typical route. Now there's no limit to how big this conflagration could grow.
What is the end game here? What does Israel do in Gaza the day after we have eradicated Hamas? How to prevent a future Hamas ver.2 from growing in the future? Some suggestions:
What: Take control of the education system. Gazan kids should only attend Israeli-run schools.
Why: Ensure future generations of Gazans are not brainwashed into hating Israel.
What: Stop UNRWA funding -- or at least route it through Israeli control - especially UNRWA funding for Gazan-run "schools". Carefully screen textbooks to remove inflammatory content that perpetuates victimhood and violence.
Why: Currently used teaching infrastructure and textbooks are a source of indoctrination and radicalization.
What: Put all military age males (all Gazan adults, even) into an intensive de-radicalization program. Deprogram them from the lies Hamas fed them all along.
Why: If you don't change their values and beliefs, you won't change their actions.
What: Remove access to the internet, for the next two-three years at least.
Why: The internet (youtube, social media) is a source for radicalization. You want to deradicalize them.
What: Create a vocational training system for all adults, teaching useful arts - agriculture, plumbing, electricity, personal and family hygeine, healthy cooking.
Why: This will directly impact Gazans' quality of life, and also take their minds off their real and imagined greivances.
What: Create a supervised work program for all adults, where they use the vocational skills they learn to create value for themselves and for Israeli society.
Why: This again will directly impact Gazans' quality of life, and also take their minds off their real and imagined greivances, and keep their hands off mischief.
What: Forbid all group prayer in collective prayer facilities, public grounds or inside buildings. People can pray as a family, in their homes; never as a group.
Why: Collective prayer subconsciously reinforces the notion of collective discipline and collective action, which is unfortunately weaponized against Israel and Jews. Collective prayer facilities are also used as indoctrination centers (and under some conditions, their infrastructure -- e.g. loudspeakers -- are used to rally mobs). When Gazans collect as a group, groupthink and mass hysteria against Jews and Israel result.
The above actions will result, over time, in improving the quality of life of Palestinians, and offer the greatest chance of peaceful coexistence. Helping Palestinians build a better life for themselves while promoting peace in Israel is completely consistent with Jewish values (much as we are all feeling raw anger at this point, anger and revenge is not a sustainable basis for creating long term policy). Moreover, the world will eventually appreciate that Israel cares for the Palestinians.
I am in awe of the positivity that you are sustaining here, Daniel. I write a very modest blog that, for the last two weeks, has ignored the trivia and personal anecdotes that I usually write about, and, instead, focused on the atmosphere here in Israel. When I reread what I had written this week before publishing, I was shocked by how despairing the tone was, but I could not, in all conscience, change anything.
So, no, Daniel, you are not painting too bleak a picture. You are, rather, with awesome authority and breadth of vision, both reporting from the front and maintaining a historical perspective. Thank you for Israel from the Inside, which was always a must read for me but is now a must read for everyone.
I profoundly appreciate the tone you have taken in Israel From The Inside, providing those of us who live in the diaspora the truth of how "Shabbat haShachor" has impacted Israel. I am nauseated at the thought that someone living in comfort and safety "b'chutz l'aaretz" would dare suggest that you lighten things up or be more sanguine. When Hamas has been destroyed, Netanyahu et al held to account, and a new reality begins to take shape between the Palestinians and Israelis, I'm sure you're missive will reflect these positive developments. Please keep up the accurate reports from the front
Please don't change the perspective and tone of the newsletter. Uplifting is fine, but it's also not the only reality. We all need to look at all the pieces.
Danny - keep doing what you are doing. Your reports are bringing us important insights that we might not get otherwise. I hope you know how tirelessly so many people are working on behalf of Israel. Take care, Gordon Hecker, Columbus OH
You are 100 percent right. We need to know the truth of what is really happening in Israel- no matter how dark, so that we can best support Israel, Israelis, and the Jewish people. Thank you for sharing this truth during this terrible time.
The material here is invaluable and I have been sharing with friends and family in US. Re today's post, I do fear the Prager argument may not have aged well with this new government. While I think Hamas is certainly a bigger/more long standing obstacle to peace--the settlements and their ever growing nature make peace nearly impossible. Like Hamas, they too must be rooted out (the ones outside the major blocs at least), including Jewish terrorists who murder Palestinians in the West Bank. The settlers have far too much sway at the moment.
I have been a fan of the blog for a very long time, but since October 7 I find that the site is my most anticipated, first-stop of the day after logging into my computer. Keep doing what you are doing. The tone is appropriate. There have been enough uplifting bits -- including the clip of the ad hoc farmers' market above - to balance out the gravity of the rest.
FYI, I am a Brandeis alum. So is my wife. One of our daughters will be heading there when she returns from the Bar Ilan XP program. With the depravity going on across college campuses here, we have been watching Brandeis closely. The student senate vote was disappointing, but there is more context to it than appears in the media. Regardless, the school administration has come out in strong support for Israel, unlike so many of the spineless university presidents and administrators we have been reading about. The president has written two great letters, and has signed on to Yeshiva University's letter in support of Israel. https://yucommentator.org/2023/10/university-presidents-sign-president-berman-led-letter-standing-with-israel/
Daniel
I Agree 100% with your approach - we need to see the good, the bad and the ugly.
In the galut we are on the “outside” and are at one with Israel. We have a desperate need to know what is really happening on the ground on the inside by insiders like yourself, otherwise we are essentially dependent on outsiders in the galut who often report with a shallow, simplistic & dualistic western understanding of the Middle East.
I greatly appreciate the intelligent, thoughtful, and in-depth posts you have been publishing, and find your tone spot on. I value reading your on the ground perspectives, no matter have graphic and shocking it is. This is a time for unvarnished truths, and staying informed. I don't find your tone and coverage overly somber -- sadly, we are living in somber times however I have so much faith in Israelis and Jews around the world. I get a solid summary from Times of Israel Daily podcast who highlight some of the uplifting stories of Israelis proactively doing what needs to be done to help their fellow citizens in need, and support Israel. Please keep doing what you are doing, Danny! Stay well, and stay safe.
Many important points. There are many levels of existential threat here and we must be very careful how we proceed. We've entered into a classic WWIII scenario. Maybe not having communities next to Gaza is not the greatest threat? I believe we've already missed a massive opportunity by not capitalizing on near universal support in the immediate aftermath of 10/8 to engage with or allies, especially our new Arab allies, to create a different reality. We always could have reserved the right to undertake the standard bomb the hell out of them response, but we, tragically, went the typical route. Now there's no limit to how big this conflagration could grow.
What is the end game here? What does Israel do in Gaza the day after we have eradicated Hamas? How to prevent a future Hamas ver.2 from growing in the future? Some suggestions:
What: Take control of the education system. Gazan kids should only attend Israeli-run schools.
Why: Ensure future generations of Gazans are not brainwashed into hating Israel.
What: Stop UNRWA funding -- or at least route it through Israeli control - especially UNRWA funding for Gazan-run "schools". Carefully screen textbooks to remove inflammatory content that perpetuates victimhood and violence.
Why: Currently used teaching infrastructure and textbooks are a source of indoctrination and radicalization.
What: Put all military age males (all Gazan adults, even) into an intensive de-radicalization program. Deprogram them from the lies Hamas fed them all along.
Why: If you don't change their values and beliefs, you won't change their actions.
What: Remove access to the internet, for the next two-three years at least.
Why: The internet (youtube, social media) is a source for radicalization. You want to deradicalize them.
What: Create a vocational training system for all adults, teaching useful arts - agriculture, plumbing, electricity, personal and family hygeine, healthy cooking.
Why: This will directly impact Gazans' quality of life, and also take their minds off their real and imagined greivances.
What: Create a supervised work program for all adults, where they use the vocational skills they learn to create value for themselves and for Israeli society.
Why: This again will directly impact Gazans' quality of life, and also take their minds off their real and imagined greivances, and keep their hands off mischief.
What: Forbid all group prayer in collective prayer facilities, public grounds or inside buildings. People can pray as a family, in their homes; never as a group.
Why: Collective prayer subconsciously reinforces the notion of collective discipline and collective action, which is unfortunately weaponized against Israel and Jews. Collective prayer facilities are also used as indoctrination centers (and under some conditions, their infrastructure -- e.g. loudspeakers -- are used to rally mobs). When Gazans collect as a group, groupthink and mass hysteria against Jews and Israel result.
Finally: consider offering a pathway into Judaism to all Gazans. In the long run, everyone is better off if all Palestinians (whose ancestors were probably Jews anyway) return to Judaism. See this article: https://www.haaretz.com/science-and-health/2015-10-20/ty-article/palestinians-and-jews-share-genetic-roots/0000017f-dc0e-df9c-a17f-fe1e57730000
The above actions will result, over time, in improving the quality of life of Palestinians, and offer the greatest chance of peaceful coexistence. Helping Palestinians build a better life for themselves while promoting peace in Israel is completely consistent with Jewish values (much as we are all feeling raw anger at this point, anger and revenge is not a sustainable basis for creating long term policy). Moreover, the world will eventually appreciate that Israel cares for the Palestinians.