Am Yisrael Chai!

Names of hostages released 11/25/23:

Shoshan Haran, 67
Shiri Weiss, 53
Sharon Avigdori, 52
Adi Shoham, 38
Maya Regev, 21
Noga Weiss, 18
Noam Or, 17
Alma Or, 13
Hila Rotem, 13
Noam Avigdori, 12
Emily Hand, 9
Naveh Shoham, 8
Yahel Shoham, 3

Tragically, Noam and Alma's mom Yonat Or was savagely murdered on Oct. 7th. Their dad, Dror Or is still being held hostage. Raaya Rotem, Hila Rotem's mom, is still in captivity and was separated from the daughter days before her release.

Emily Hand's stepmom Narkis Hand was also savagely murdered on 10/7. Emily endured her 9th birthday in captivity.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar posted an insanely gutless, incoherent, terrorist-appeasing message on the the release of Emily, who is also an Irish citizen: "This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered."

The names of the four Thai hostages released are unavailable.

Three Palestinian students shot near the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington, in an apparent case of hate crime.

Three Palestinians 🚨 Shot

📍 #Burlington / #Vermont

Students at Brown and other US universities, were shot last night on their way to a family dinner in Burlington, Vermonthttps://t.co/VDGSaUKO6t pic.twitter.com/qO1seUty3e

— Culture War (@CultureWar2020) November 26, 2023

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/burlington-vermont-shooting-live-updates-rcna126704

Quote:

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What we know

• Relatives have identified the three victims as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmed. Awartani is a student at Brown University, Abdalhamid is a student at Haverford College, and Ahmed is a student at Trinity College (VT).
• Two of the victims were wearing keffiyehs, police said, and they were speaking Arabic, according to the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
• Burlington police described the shooter as a white man with a handgun who didn't say a word before he fired at least four times.
• The war between Israel and Hamas has sparked heated protests and fiery rhetoric at college campuses. Jewish and Muslim students have been forced to confront violent threats.

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Absolutely terrible

Am Yisrael Chai!

The hostages released today 11/26/23:
Avigail Idan, 4 years old
Alma Avraham, 84 years old
Aviva Adrian Siegel, 62 years old
Ron Cariboy, 25 years old
Hagar Brodutch, 40 years old
Ofri Brodutch, 10 years old
Yuval Brodutch, 8 years old
Uriah Brodutch, 4 years old
Chen Goldstein Almog, 48 years old
Agam Goldstein Almog, 17 years old
Gal Goldstein Almog, 11 years old
Tal Goldstein Almog, 8 years old
Dafna Elikim, 15 years old
Ella Elikim, 8 years old

This group has some really tragic stories. Avigail Idan, an American citizen who was three years old on 10/7, witnessed the cold blooded murder of her parents by sadistic Hamas terrorists before miraculously escaping the killers to a neighbor's house where she was unfortunately captured. She has been reunited with her six year old sister Amalia and nine year old brother Michael, who both hid in a closet and survived. The three siblings have been reunited but are now orphans. Avigail turned four years old while in captivity.

The Brodutch family, mom Hagar and kids Ofri, Yuval, and Uriah have been released and reunited with their father Avihai. Avigail Idan ran to the Brodutch house after her parents were murdered in cold blood.

Dafna and Ella have been reunited with the mom Maayan Zin. Tragically, Dafna and Ella's father Noam Elyakim, his partner Dikla Arava, and Dikla's son Tomer Arava were murdered.

Chen Goldstein Almog and three of her kids Agam, Gal, and Tal were released. Tragically, father Nadav and oldest daughter Yam, 20, were killed in their safe room in Kfar Aza.

Aviva Siegel of Kfar Aza was released but her husband Keith Seigel, a 64 year old originally from North Carolina is still being held.

Sources say Red Cross has not yet been allowed to visit hostages in Gaza a violation of truce agreement
From CNN's MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt and Becky Anderson

Red Cross officials have not yet been allowed to visit hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza, multiple sources have told CNN a violation of an agreement struck between Israel and Hamas, which stipulated that the Red Cross would be able to visit the hostages by the end of the fourth day of the truce.

US President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said over the weekend that as a part of the Israel-Hamas truce agreement, Red Cross officials would be able to visit hostages still held captive in Gaza "by the end of the fourth day." Another source familiar with the terms of the agreement echoed that this was an aspect of the deal.

The US has been asking Qatari mediators to press Hamas on Red Cross access to the remaining hostages as well as providing proof of life as part of the US effort to extend the pause and hostage releases as long as possible, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

But the delay in Red Cross officials visiting hostages in Gaza did not appear likely to derail the truce agreement for now, one of the sources told CNN, as Hamas continues to release hostages each day of the pause in fighting.

In a statement to CNN, International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson Jason Straziuso stressed that the group was not involved in the Israel-Hamas negotiations and that it can "only implement measures that both sides tell us they have agreed to."

"We've been insisting since day one in direct conversations with Hamas that they release the hostages, barring that, that we be allowed to visit the hostages, and that the hostages be allowed to communicate with their families," Straziuso said.

"We are ready to visit the hostages held by Hamas to check on their welfare and deliver medication but can do so only if we have permission. We do not know where the hostages are held and could not and would not force ourselves in to visit, action that could endanger anyone being held," he added.

Unit2Sucks said:

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sycasey said:

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tequila4kapp said:

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CaliforniaEternal said:

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Oakland City Council meeting was the site of an antisemitic hate fest. How the council even allowed this meeting to proceed with people spewing such vile hatred is incomprehensible. Denying a massacre took place and praising an Islamic terrorist organization is a repulsive display of behavior and it makes you wonder how people can be so unhinged.

Last night the Oakland City Council voted on a resolution to call for a ceasefire.

A city council member tried to insert language condemning Hamas.

This was the reaction… pic.twitter.com/r7aTb2mkrQ

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 28, 2023

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There are reports popping up of people denying Hamas invaded Israel on 10/7 and killed Jews. I suppose it's possible to find someone who will say anything but this is still very disturbing. First Holocaust deniers now this.

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Also these town hall sessions at city councils tend to draw out the craziest people. I don't know why the Oakland city council needs to vote on anything involving Israel/Palestine, but such performative resolutions are sadly common.

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You don't think Netanyahu and Hamas are waiting for uninformed feedback from the Oakland city council on a ceasefire (which is already in effect)?

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This "debate" was specifically about whether or not to add a condemnation of Hamas along with the call for ceasefire (as if any of this will accomplish anything). After these nutjobs took to the mic the Hamas addendum was voted down.

Again, the vote doesn't actually do anything but it is something I'll remember when it comes time to vote for city council again.

Dead man walking?

https://www.memri.org/reports/saudi-journalist-all-other-terror-and-jihad-leaders-hamas-leaders-live-luxury-and-save-their

"In a November 13, 2023 article in the Saudi daily Okaz, titled "They Hide in Their Tunnels and Sell Out Their People For a Paltry Price," journalist Musa'ad Al-Thobaiti condemned the fighters of the Hamas miliary wing, who hide in tunnels in Gaza, as well as Hamas' leaders abroad, who stay in luxury hotels, saying that they all forsake their people instead of fighting Israel. The Hamas leaders, he added, and Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, resemble numerous other leaders of terrorist organizations, such as Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and the Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who hid in tunnels or in fortified houses with the members of their family while leaving their supporters alone in the fray. Al-Thobaiti lamented the fact that the Islamic nation is deceived by "a gang of cowards and traders in blood" who sell their people illusions and bring them nothing but death and destruction."

Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.

To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing, and war is to give Hamas what they seek.

We can’t do that.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 28, 2023

Apparent shift in policy in DC towards de-escalation, good on Biden, better late than never.

This is why you don't agree to "temporary" cease fires.

Re "giving Hamas what they want"...ISIS says hello from their caliphate.

tequila4kapp said:

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Reports are coming out about Hamas' treatment of the people they kidnapped. One family of victims claims children were forced to watch video of Hamas' 10/7 atrocities at gun point and threatened to be shot if they didn't stop crying.

Everyone needs to remember these types of things when the crazies come out claiming Hamas' isn't a terrorist organization, didn't do anything on 10/7 or otherwise engages in the moral relativism arguments about Israel.

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If the anti-semites knew the full extent of the atrocities committed, they would continue to adopt the delusional beliefs that they either didn't occur or were perpetrated by Jewish people.

Some of this is of course from misinformation (not unlike what we saw by people trying to cover up the Assad atrocities in Syria - which ironically re-surfaced recently as misinformation claiming that they were IDF atrocities in Gaza). Really though, anti-semites are all too willing to believe anything that confirms their bias, no matter how clearly it's been debunked.

As for the types of atrocities you are referring to in the 10/7 attacks and hostage treatment, some of the stories I've heard have been too horrific to even contemplate. Stories about women being shot while in the course of being raped, etc.

What's going on with Hamas is not the product of a decades-long conflict over territorial rights or freedom. It's ISIS type stuff and the world needs to rid the Palestinians and Israelis from Hamas and anything like it.

tequila4kapp said:

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This is why you don't agree to "temporary" cease fires.

Re "giving Hamas what they want"...ISIS says hello from their caliphate.

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….what about that pesky 15,000 dead Palestinians part?

Cal88 said:

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Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.

To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing, and war is to give Hamas what they seek.

We can’t do that.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 28, 2023

Apparent shift in policy in DC towards de-escalation, good on Biden, better late than never.

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I wouldn't count on that,. Nice that Biden's twitter cherry-picked some wording from his recent statement on hostage release. Biden took questions after the statement. Here is one of the questions and answers:

"Mr. President, how long do you expect this war is going to take? And have you encouraged Prime Minister Netanyahu to set a timeline say, by the end of this year?

THE PRESIDENT: I've encouraged the Prime Minister to to focus on trying to reduce the number of casualties while he is attempting to eliminate Hamas, which is a legitimate objective he has. That's a difficult task, and I don't know how long it will take."

if you meant by deescalation, stopping the Israeli invasion, that doesn't appear to be happening. .srael warned people to go one area of Gaza while it invaded another area, and now will go after that now is more densely populated area that is left. Does anyone really view this as deescalation or think there will be less casualty rates? This is a politicioan saying one thing to a domestic audience and another to an international audience.

Axios today inferred Arab Americans may put tRump in the White House.

bearister said:

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Axios today inferred Arab Americans may put tRump in the White House.

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Michigan.
Arab Americans met with Biden. Reportedly left unsatisfied. Threatened to stay home at the next election instead of voting.

tequila4kapp said:

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bearister said:

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Axios today inferred Arab Americans may put tRump in the White House.

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Michigan.
Arab Americans met with Biden. Reportedly left unsatisfied. Threatened to stay home at the next election instead of voting.

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I don't expect them to run to the polls to elect a guy who is still promising to ban Muslims from entering the country but I am not surprised that leaders are using this as an opportunity to obtain some sort of support from the sitting president.

There are no good outcomes from Biden when he is getting flack from both sides in a foreign war. If Muslim leaders are calling for him to support Palestine and Jewish leaders are calling him to support Israel, there is going to be an Axios article reporting that leaders were left unsatisfied and threatening to stay home next election.

That's just politics.

bearister said:

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Axios today inferred Arab Americans may put tRump in the White House.

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Just hard to see how they are better off with Trump. He's not going to be any kinder to Palestine than Biden.

sycasey said:

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bearister said:

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Axios today inferred Arab Americans may put tRump in the White House.

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Just hard to see how they are better off with Trump. He's not going to be any kinder to Palestine than Biden.

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Trump is anti-war when it comes to Ukraine, but more of a hawk on Israel, as he is closer to Netanyahu and to right wing zionist supporters in the US like Sheldon Adelson. I don't think you will see Biden voters switching camps here, they will probably vote for a third party, or not vote at all.

For Biden, it's not just about Arabs in MI, the Gaza bombing has resonated with a much larger Democrat demographic that includes young progressives and minorities. You have an increasing number of celebrities with whom this has become an important cause, as shown in the example below. I think that is what is driving that apparent moderation in the administration's support of Netanyahu.

💔🇵🇸 Award-winning 🇺🇲 actress Cynthia Nixon joins a hunger strike in front of the White House in Washington DC to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.#ceasefireInGazaNOW #CeasefireForGazaNOW pic.twitter.com/VZ6PL7Vq6M

— Ellen Jean Abare (@EllenJeanAbare) November 28, 2023

Historically, administrations have always acted to restrain Israel from pressing its military advantage in order to prevent escalation, as did Eisenhower in 1956 during the Suez Crisis, Nixon in 1973 and the Bush Sr administration with Shamir in Israel. We might start seeing this type of containment policy from the Biden administration, which up to now has given Netanyahu carte blanche to carpet bomb Gaza.

She belittles the hunger strike with this publicity stunt. The 10 IRA hunger strikers at The Maze (Long Kesh) in 1981 lasted from 46 to 70+ days before dying.

*I'm sure glad Britain didn't have a policy of killing Irish Catholic civilians in Northern Ireland every time the IRA engaged in a mass casualty bombing killing Protestants.

Wow, Jesse has brought sanity to Berkeley. That's very cool that he recognizes what the role of a city government is. Let's see how long this stance lasts because the mob won't go away quietly.

Yes, someone is going to have to explain to me what the long game is on the bus stop attack. Is this some kind of 3 dimensional chess move that I'm not tracking? If Hamas hadn't taken credit for it, I wouldn't have put it beyond the realm of possibility that Bibi set it up.

tequila4kapp said:

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Hamas broke the cease fire the day before with explosive attacks that injured IDF soldiers in Gaza. The end game is simple - Hamas lives for killing Jews. They want fighting, death and war. Peace is their kryptonite. This will never end until Hamas is eliminated or Israel ceases to exist. Biden's seeming humanitarian move is merely enabling Hamas.

Israel needs to do something dramatic and big like removing all Palestinian civilians from Gaza into Israel, caring for them, restarting the war in Gaza to kill every last member of Hamas, rebuilding Gaza, and returning Palestinians to Gaza. They probably need to maintain some sort of political control over Gaza to ensure no political party takes over which continues any anti-Semitic policies (school policies, paying terrorists, having a policy to eliminate Israel).

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If they bring Palestinian citizens into Israel, how do they avoid importing terrorists?

oski003 said:

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tequila4kapp said:

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Hamas broke the cease fire the day before with explosive attacks that injured IDF soldiers in Gaza. The end game is simple - Hamas lives for killing Jews. They want fighting, death and war. Peace is their kryptonite. This will never end until Hamas is eliminated or Israel ceases to exist. Biden's seeming humanitarian move is merely enabling Hamas.

Israel needs to do something dramatic and big like removing all Palestinian civilians from Gaza into Israel, caring for them, restarting the war in Gaza to kill every last member of Hamas, rebuilding Gaza, and returning Palestinians to Gaza. They probably need to maintain some sort of political control over Gaza to ensure no political party takes over which continues any anti-Semitic policies (school policies, paying terrorists, having a policy to eliminate Israel).

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If they bring Palestinian citizens into Gaza, how do they avoid importing terrorists?

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There are no simple or perfect solutions. Terrorists will sneak through, but their weapons won't. Kill the terrorists who stay behind. Remove all weapons from Gaza you can find. Return people. Maintain political and security control to promote your own safety.

I don't know...maybe there needs to be an interim period of federalism with Gaza as a semi-autonomous state of Israel for a while. Promote peaceful democracy that can morph into an independent free nation. Also, I'll probably need to loan them some of my pixy dust to make this pollyannish vision occur...

tequila4kapp said:

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This is why you don't agree to "temporary" cease fires.

Re "giving Hamas what they want"...ISIS says hello from their caliphate.

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What nonsense are you babling about? You do realize Hamas hates ISIS?