Friday Wrap: Embed in Gaza with IDF
Canada gets more cuckoo; the October 7 "Event"; and, of course, Ian.
It’s a magnificent “winter” day in southern Israel, a little hazy and windy but plenty of sunshine and warm.
Who knew February could be something other than slush and greyness?
As always, it has been quite a week.
IDF Embed in the Gaza Strip, Thursday February 12.
Yesterday, I joined a small group of journalists to embed with the IDF and travel in a Humvee convoy from the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip to an IDF base a few hundred meters from the yellow line – the demarcation between the parts of the Strip controlled by Hamas and Israel. We spent about an hour up there with the soldiers, observing, talking, photographing and being briefed. When you look at these young men and women, undertaking such important, serious work, and think about how youth in most western countries grow up, well, it is just heart-stopping.
And, of course, I cannot help but think that these extraordinary young people are vilified by so many, from a place of such ignorance.
It was an extraordinary day which I will get into more in a dispatch coming in the next few days for premium subscribers only. But for now I will share a few photos to give you a sense of the experience.
A soldier looking out for threats. In the distance is Dir al Balah, a city in the Gaza Strip.
Snipers standing guard.
The lead Humvee in our convoy.
Photo taken atop a berm surrounding the IDF base near the yellow line. The yellow flags in the photo below mark the seam. These yellow signs are staked in the ground every hundred feet or so, making it virtually impossible to cross the line unintentionally.
That’s me on the right with the green helmet. I had the random good fortune of riding with a group of Italian journalists.
In the morning, before heading out to Gaza, I recorded a long discussion with State of Tel Aviv and Beyond regular podcast guest, Jonathan Conricus. He’s like a rock star, on a two-week tour in the U.S., speaking, consulting and working as he does, so effectively, to spread knowledge and optimism. I caught up with him late at night in San Francisco, meaning that it was morning for me. If you haven’t had a chance to listen, you can do so here. Premium subscribers may listen to the full episode once signed in on your Substack account.
It’s all about Iran and President Trump with a dash of Gaza and the Board of Peace. This link will show the first 15 minutes or so of this episode.
What’s in a Name?
A lot, especially when referring to October 7. The Netanyahu government has been bizarrely focused for more than a year now on passing a law naming that date. Officially.
October 7 seems to have become the universal moniker - much like September 11 did before. Done. In Israel, October 7 was also often referred to as a massacre. This seemed to really irk the Prime Minister, whose office proposed that the day be referred to as an “event.” As in - the “October 7 Event”……so stiff, legalistic. Leaves you cold. The most coherent theory as to why Netanyahu’s office is so obsessed with what to call October 7? That the Prime Minister is trying to evade accountability and responsibility for what transpired on that day, and that the name proposed sanitizes the government’s role.
I must say - I don’t quite follow that logic. Then again, I don’t understand why the PMO is even touching this hot potato. Pointless.
Netanyahu’s Jet Flies Through Canadian Airspace - February 10
A story that was not covered much in media outside of Canada dealt with the fact that the jet of Prime Minister Netanyahu flew through Canadian airspace en route to Washington D.C. to meet with President Trump. This caused assorted Canadian loons to lose their cool. How could Prime Minister Carney allow this war criminal to just fly through our airspace, uninterrupted? Carney famously pledged to arrest Bibi should he ever be stupid enough to set foot on Canadian soil.
The hysteria was mildly amusing. Firstly, there is the question as to whether Canada even has a single serviceable aircraft that could scramble anything in midair. Trained pilots? And, even if the Canadian military had the capability to do whatever it is that these people want – what exactly do they propose should have been done? Force Bibi to land and be arrested? That would go down really well with American leadership. Too many people in Canada seem to overlook the fact that any military defense capability we have has long been outsourced to the U.S.
The posts below are the views of what I consider to be the hateful fringe, but the reality is that extremists are becoming the norm in Canada. These views spilled over and were echoed among what might be considered “mainstream” voices. The discussion is anchored in a parallel universe. Where facts - like the state of the Canadian military - are not factored in. Normalized crazy.
Tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. - February 10
On a much more serious note – a mass murder in a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, made headlines globally. Ten people - most between the ages of 12 and 18 - were murdered. 25 injured. In a remote northern BC town of 2,700. Yet the Canadian media is seized with its obsession with sexuality and gender. It is a country that has lost its mind and soul.
The person who pulled the trigger was an 18-year-old man who had been transitioning to be a female for six years. Multiple reports tell of significant mental health and other challenges. We also know that the police seemed to have been preoccupied with all the wrong things in the immediate aftermath. One father – whose 12-year-old daughter was murdered – learned about her fate nine hours later. From a paramedic who treated her. The police still had not found the time to notify him.
Heartbreaking.
But when they held a press conference earlier in the day, the RCMP man at the microphone saw fit to upbraid a reporter who “misgendered” the killer, referring to him as a male.
This is what Canada has become. A dysfunctional mess, with ideologically warped and not very bright people in positions of leadership and responsibility.
Waiting…..Attack on Iran – To Be or Not To Be?
In Israel, the Bibi-Trump meeting dominated life this week. Will he or will he not?
Apparently, the “event” registered in the American and foreign media.
I agree with Benjamin Netanyahu on few things but am firmly in his camp regarding the futility of negotiating with Iran. It is an Islamist, fascist state that will never relinquish control over its nuclear or ballistic missile programs. More than a month ago, President Trump encouraged the people of Iran to take to the streets, take over their institutions (not quite sure what he meant by that) and he told them that “help is on the way.”
They believed him.
In the meantime, tens of thousands of Iranians have been tortured and murdered by the Islamic regime. The Iranian people feel that the President abandoned them, just as Obama did in 2009. But. The massive military buildup in the middle east continues, leaving some with hope that Trump is giving the Iranian leadership every opportunity to dodge war.
But if they do not negotiate reasonably and quickly, perhaps he will order an attack. On what and where and to what end remains something of a mystery. If the goal is to end the nuclear and ballistic missile programs, that will only come to pass with regime overthrow. And that would require significant and sustained pressure, presence and military action. None of which President Trump seems keen on.
Only Donald J. Trump knows what he is thinking, and he may not have formulated his thoughts either.
Speaking on the Friday evening news regarding Trump’s insistence on attempting to negotiate a diplomatic solution with Iran, longtime Likudnik and former National Security Adviser to PM Netanyahu, Tzachi Hanegbi, said that “even a good deal with Iran is a bad deal.”
Well said.
Looking forward to a quiet Saturday before the next onslaught begins.
Thanks for being here. Shabbat shalom. Have a lovely weekend wherever you are.