| Erev Shabbat - Parashat Beshalach 5784 | 16 Shvat 5784 - January 26, 2024 | | | This Coming Monday Evening... | | 
"Mizrachi Chicago – you are amazing!"
That is what we heard from the representatives of the IDF families to whom we sent meals for Shabbat as part of this year's Raffle – Support IDF Families campaign.
So far, we have arranged for 355 meals to be sent, showing our care and concern for the IDF Families and creating personal connections with them.
We are continuing this effort, now in partnership with the Efrat Development Foundation. As before, each $60 donated will result In a Shabbat meal for an IDF family whose parent/spouse is on active IDF duty. Tax-deductible donations are to be sent directly to the Efrat Development Foundation by clicking here. | | |
Mizrachi to play a major role in rebuilding the South
This week, World Mizrachi's representative Gael Grunewald was appointed as the new Chairman of the World Zionist Organization's Chativa LeHityashvut – a significant body with a crucial role in the government's efforts to support and rebuild the communities of the south of Israel.
Roi Abecassis will now take the helm at the WZO's Education Department, having done great work at the Department for Religious Services in the Diaspora ("The Ma'arach").
As a result, Rabbi Doron Perez has accepted the request to hold the position of Head of The Ma'arach, for the benefit of the movement. This is in addition to his role as Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi.
Mizrachi now holds three positions corresponding to our three core values –
Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Torat Yisrael.
| | 
| HaMizrachi Parasha Weekly - YOUTH EDITION
 Solo Learning
Shabbat Table
In School
| |  | Featuring Thought-Provoking Questions, Fun Activities, and Fascinating Insights! | | | | | HaMizrachi Parasha Weekly - CHAVRUTA
At Home
In School
Parent-Child Learning
Youth Groups
| |  | Featuring Diverse Sources, Guiding Questions, and Relevant Halachic Topics | | | 
The Test of Time
Rabbi Danny Mirvis  "And Hashem said to Moshe, 'Behold I shall cause bread to rain for you from the heaven, and the people shall go out and collect each day's portion on its day, so that I can test them, if they follow my teaching or not'" (Shemot 16:4).
Following the crossing of the sea and the subsequent rejoicing, the Israelites enter the desert and we read of how they were to be miraculously sustained. Whereas mankind usually receives food from the ground and water from the sky, the Israelites received their water from the ground (Miriam's well) and their food rained down from the sky (manna).
When informing Moshe about the manna and its rules, Hashem describes it as a test, "…so that I can test them, if they follow my teaching or not." At first glance, this seems to be the easiest test of all time. The Israelites did not have to make the slightest effort in producing or preparing their food. They did not even have to make a living, for Hashem Himself ensured there was bread on their tables and roofs over their heads. All they had to do was walk out each morning and collect their Divine meals. In what way was the manna a test of observance? Where is the challenge in living a life of luxury and relaxation?
Or HaChaim answers:
"Because food from heaven needs no fixing, they (the Israelites) will be free of everything and then I will see if they follow… (my teaching or not)" (Or HaChaim, Shemot 16:4).
According to the Or HaChaim, it was the carefree and relaxing lifestyle created by the manna that provided the real test. Without any of the concerns of food production, preparation or livelihood, the Israelites had an abundance of free time. Therein lay the test. Free of distractions and potential excuses, would the Israelites immerse themselves in futile pursuits or would they utilize their time for learning, observing Hashem's teachings and bettering the world?
The miraculous existence in the wilderness was never meant to be a long-term solution and we no longer rely on manna to fall from heaven. Nor do we rely on being otherwise miraculously sustained. The realities of this world dictate that there will not be food on our tables or roofs over our heads if we do not invest a significant amount of time in making a living. Nevertheless, whilst we do not have the abundance of time the Israelites had in the wilderness, the test of the manna remains true.
Once we have worked enough hours to ensure a fair standard of living, how do we use the rest of our time? Do we spend our spare time in selfish endeavors or do we give time to others? Do we fill our remaining hours with meaning? Do we set aside time for learning Torah?
By setting our priorities straight and wisely utilizing our spare time, may we successfully pass the test.
Rabbi Danny Mirvis is Acting CEO of World Mizrachi, and Rabbi of Ohel Moshe Synagogue in Herzliya Pituach. | |  Keep Calm and Carry On | Beshalach 5784
Rav Doron Perez
Executive Chairman of Mizrachi World Movement What do when we face impossible challenges, challenges that seem insurmountable?
Moshe and the Jewish people had left Egypt but reached the Red Sea – the sea was in front of us, to the left and right was desert and behind us was the entire Egyptian army. What was Moshe supposed to do? He wasn't told about the sea splitting at this point, so what did he do? He davened, prayed to G-d. Hashem responds: "Why are you calling Me? Go ahead!"
G-d says this is not a time for prayer, you have to go forward – keep calm and carry on. The impossible became possible. We often face challenges that seem insurmountable – we have to daven and keep going with faith in G-d. | |
Beshalach 5784
Rabbi Jesse Horn,
Senior Ra"m at Yeshivat Hakotel and Program Director of Mizrachi Mechanchim | | |  | Chicago Mizrachi Pina Chama in Itamar
dedicated in honor of our
Chayalim Bodedim
Maintenance costs for the month of
Shvat 5784
have been sponsored
in memory of
Dr. Oscar A. Novick
Asher Anshel ben Zalman, z"l
To be a Mizrachi Chicago Pina Chama maintenance sponsor,
visit: pc.rzc.us or contact us at office@rzc.us or 847-674-9733 x2.
Monthly maintenance sponsorships are featured on the Pina Chama page of our website: pc.rzc.us
| | New details from disaster | Terrorists came out of an orchard and fired an RPG According to an initial investigation, in each one of the two buildings, there were at least ten charges that were meant to destroy buildings near the border. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi conducted an initial investigation at the site of the building collapse in the Gaza Strip which killed 21 IDF soldiers.
According to the investigation, the forces were preparing and spreading out explosive charges to demolish buildings 600 meters west of the border with Israel.
19 of the soldiers who were killed were spread out in the two buildings, while they were in an advanced stage of the operation.
The charges were prepared in a rural area, near orchards, and as the soldiers prepared to exit the buildings to set off the charges, a group of Hamas terrorists came out of the orchards and fired RPGs at the two buildings which immediately collapsed as a result of the charges, approximately ten in each building, which were wired to each other.
At this point, according to the findings of the initial investigation, a terror cell came out of the orchard and fired at the buildings, which collapsed as a result of the charges that had been placed inside.
The force in the tank that was securing the troops identified the impact on the building, and the soldiers rotated the turret toward the cell, but the terrorists managed to fire an additional RPG at the tank, which killed the two soldiers who were in the turret. The terrorists were not eliminated and managed to flee.
The IDF Spokesperson on Tuesday released the names of the 21 soldiers who were killed in the incident:
- Sergeant Major (res.) Itamar Tal, 32, from Mesilot.
- Sergeant Major (res.) Adam Bismut, 35, from Karnei Shomron.
- Sergeant Major (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, 40, from Zichron Yaakov.
- Sergeant Major (res.) Zegeye Daniel Kasau, 38, from Yokneam Ilit.
- Sergeant Major (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, from Haifa.
- Sergeant first class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, from Mevo Beitar.
- Sergeant Major (res.) Sergey Gontmaherr, 37, from Ramat Gan.
- Sergeant first class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, from Kiryat Arba.
- Sergeant first class (res.) Yuval Lopez, 27, from Alon Shvut.
- Master sergeant (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, from Yehud-Monosson.
- Sergeant first class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, from Jerusalem.
- Sergeant first class (res.) Cydrick Garin, 23, from Tel Aviv-Yafo.
- Sergeant Major (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur.
- Sergeant Major (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, from Rishon Lezion.
- Sergeant First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26, from Rahat.
- Captain (res.) Nir Binyamin, 29, from Givatayim.
- Master Sergeant (res.) Elkana Vizel, 35, from Bnei Dekalim.
- Sergeant First Class (res.) Israel Socol, 24, from Karnei Shomron.
- Captain (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, from Elazar.
- Sergeant First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, 24, from Rosh Ha'ayin.
- Sergeant major Mark Kononovich, 35, from Herzliya. israelnationalnews.com | | Hadas Loewenstern's Ultimate Revenge The young Israeli widow is on a mission to share her husband's legacy with the world. Yehudis Litvak  On December 13th, the Israeli army sent a tank to rescue several soldiers who were wounded in southern Gaza. Hamas hit the tank with an anti-tank guided missile. Master Sgt. (res.) Rabbi Elisha Loewenstern, a 38-year-old American-Israeli reservist, was killed. He left behind his wife Hadas and their six children, as well as his parents and siblings.
Though devastated by her husband's death, Hadas Loewenstern is determined to give her children the best life possible. In a video tribute to her late husband, Hadas said, "We plan on living such a wonderful life that the bad guys will never merit to live… This is true victory in my eyes." Hadas's strength and determination touched people around the world. Those who came to comfort her felt strengthened in her presence.
Exploring Her Jewish Identity
 Hadas grew up in Netanya, Israel, in a warm, non-religious family. She is the ninth generation of her family to live in Israel. As a young adult, she got involved in politics and human rights activism. At age 24, while serving in the IDF, Hadas encountered a religious Jew for the first time.
"We got into a big fight," Hadas says. "I thought that he belonged to the past. I thought he was the kind of Jew that we don't need anymore."
The encounter led Hadas to ask herself some serious questions she had never considered. "What does it mean to be Jewish? What are my values as a Jew? Why do we have so many enemies? Why do they hate us so much?"
In search of answers, Hadas began exploring her Jewish heritage. She eventually left the army and spent three years studying in a post-high school institution of Torah learning for women. Impressed with the profound wisdom she discovered in Judaism and surrounded by inspiring role models, she decided, "I don't want to just learn Torah; I want to live Torah."
When Hadas first met her future husband, she experienced "a huge culture shock." Not only did he grow up in a religious family, but he was American who spoke English at home and liked American snacks. Elisha had come to Israel from New Jersey at age 8, together with his parents, Tzvi and Sharon Loewenstern, and his siblings. He grew up among other English speakers in Beit Shemesh. Hadas was skeptical that they would have anything in common, but she was immediately impressed with Elisha's interpersonal qualities.
 On the first date, Elisha barely spoke. It took Hadas some time to realize that it wasn't because he had nothing to say. Elisha was simply more interested in listening to others than speaking about himself. As Hadas learned over their 13-year-long marriage, he was an amazing listener.
As she got to know him better, their cultural differences felt insignificant. Within a few months, they were married. And with time, Hadas gained a special appreciation of Americans who move to Israel. "Now I understand how hard it is to make aliyah," she says.
Hadas and Elisha had six children. Their oldest son is 12 and getting ready for his Bar Mitzvah. Their youngest is not even a year old.
A Good Man
 Elisha was a wonderful husband and father, kind, caring, and very honest. "Such a good man," says Hadas. "It showed in the little things. He would always let me sleep on Shabbat afternoons. After a Shabbat meal, he would always compliment the cook, but he didn't just say, 'the food was good.' He would say, 'The chicken was very good.' Very specific. 'Your apple crumble is the best apple crumble I've ever eaten.' He wasn't just saying it to be polite. He truly noticed and paid attention to other people and to what was going on in their lives. When he would meet someone on the street, he wouldn't just politely ask, 'How are you?' He would ask about specific things, like, 'How was your test last week?' or 'How is your sister who just had surgery?' He would really pay attention, and you could feel that he really cares." Elisha cultivated a positive atmosphere in the home. He studied Torah with his children, conveying his own love for Judaism to them. Whenever a child reached a milestone, such as finishing a tractate of Talmud, Elisha would make him or her a special certificate of award, showering the child with compliments and words of appreciation. They would hang the certificate on the wall, for the whole family to see, and make a special party for the child. "This was his thing, to compliment and to motivate them to learn," says Hadas in an exclusive interview with Aish.com. "This is something I will really miss."
Living Life to the Fullest
For Hadas, the loss of her husband is enormous, yet she manages not only to stay positive but to inspire others. "Nobody stays in this world for more than 120 years. The question is: how did you live in the time that was allotted to you? I look at Elisha and I say to myself, he passed the test with flying colors. He lived an exemplary life. And this also gives me comfort, because I know that G-d was very happy with the way Elisha lived." Hadas has her difficult moments, but she doesn't let them detract from her sense of purpose. "If I only focused on my grief, and focus on the fact that my husband and the father of my six children – my youngest is not even a year old – is gone – this is insane! That's not something normal, for a 40-year-old woman to be left a widow with six kids. If I only think about how I have to go through all the Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs by myself, and how I have to marry off six kids, and how I will manage – if I would think just about that, I would probably become a very sad woman. But when I focus on what I can give, on what my mission is, on what G-d wants me to do right now, it gives me strength. This is how I cope. If I can see the purpose, then it will give me a reason to wake up tomorrow morning and make sandwiches for my six kids."
On a Mission
 How is Hadas able to see beyond her grief and her immediate difficulties? She says that when she first began learning about Judaism in depth, she understood that "Torah is all about not thinking about yourself, not putting yourself in the center, but putting G-d in the center, listening to Him, doing what He wants you to do." This is the perspective that Hadas has lived with for many years.
Hadas compares life to a video game, where you go from one challenge to another, collecting prizes along the way, throughout your childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. "You meet the person you are going to marry, and you think you know why you are marrying him, and you think you know what kind of family you will have, and you think you know many things. But G-d has this big plan." One day, your role in this plan is revealed to you, and "the minute it comes, you have a choice."
Hadas quotes the words of Mordecai to Queen Esther, "If you keep silent at such a time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from a different place." She adds, "If it won't be you, it will be someone else. G-d wants to give this message to the world, and it's really not about me. I mean, it is about me in the sense that I really worked hard my entire life to be a good person, to be someone who looks at the bright side of life – not as a cliché, but as something very hard, something to work on and to practice: looking at the bright side and seeing G-d's kindness and how everything He gives you is a gift. Both Elisha and I worked very hard to become the people we became."
 Hadas explains that her husband was involved in introspection every single day. "I have so many of his notes that he wrote to himself: 'I want to be a better person,' 'I want to be a friendlier neighbor,' 'I want to speak in a calm voice.' Over 20 years of working on himself. It's hard work! It's not something that just happened. It's something we've been working on our entire lives." Now Hadas is on a mission to share her husband's legacy with the world. "G-d decided that Elisha should live in this world for 38 years. He could have died in any other way, like in a car accident, and nobody would have heard about him. I really feel that because of his special qualities and beautiful personality, G-d wanted the world to know about him. This is my mission. Nothing can bring Elisha back, but if I talk about him all day long then he is here. And if millions of people know who he was, then I have a little more of Elisha here in the world."
Thank You, G-d Hadas makes a conscious effort to focus on what she is grateful for rather than what she is missing. "Elisha had a heart of gold. He was the best man I knew. And I am so privileged to have been his wife for almost 13 years. I have so much to be grateful for! I know that the story 'ended' not the way I would have imagined, but that won't stop me from saying thank you for what we had. Every time I want to break down and feel bitter, I say to myself, 'Listen, you have six kids – say thank you!' Next to my husband in the military cemetery are buried so many young men, 19 or 20 years old, who weren't married and didn't have children. So many people would give anything to have just one child, and I have six – say thank you! Elisha left me with so much – say thank you! And when I start saying thank you, it makes it easier, because I'm not only focusing on what I don't have anymore; I'm focusing on what I do have, and I have a lot!" Hadas's mission isn't easy, but she chooses to undertake it with her head held high. While Hadas is willing to work hard, she is also willing to accept help from family, friends, and caring community members.
Accepting Help  "I am getting so much help," she says. "People are coming all the time and helping with laundry, dishes, grocery shopping. You need a lot of humility to get help. My husband and I helped a lot of people in our lives, and now it's my turn to be helped. G-d willing, there will come a time when I'll be the one who helps. Being humble, understanding that you really need help, and allowing people to help you and not feeling embarrassed is also something that helps me. There is no way I could do everything on my own. This is part of life – you get some, you give some. Acts of kindness take two sides – the one who gives and the one who receives. If no one was ever in need, there would be no kindness. So I tell myself that I'm still participating in acts of kindness – just on the receiving side, not on the giving side.
"And that is something women need to know – they don't need to cope on their own. Ask for help! Even if you feel that this war is too much for you and you need mental health help, you need someone to listen to you because you're going out of your mind – get all the help you need! Don't be proud." In addition to being a mother, Hadas is a teacher and a public speaker. Even though she didn't choose her circumstances, she chooses to use them to make a difference in the world. "I understand that I don't understand. I understand that G-d has His own plan. And this is my deal with Him: You give me the strength, and I will try to make the entire Jewish world love You more, believe in You more. And this is what keeps me alive." blogs.timesofisrael.com | | | Here is a direct link to join the group - | | 
Here is a direct link to join the group - | | |  | Bereaved father visits site where son was killed | 'A sense of pain and uplifting' Rabbi Kalmanson recounts the feelings of pain and pride when hearing of the rescue operation led by his two sons and grandson to save over 100 Kibbutz Be'eri residents on the day of the massacre. Yoni Kempinski Rabbi Benny Kalmanson, one of the heads of the Otniel Yeshiva, joined a group of bereaved families and families of hostages to Be'eri, where his son, Elhanan, fell while fighting bravely with his brother and nephew to save the residents of the kibbutz who were under fire on October 7th.
Arutz Sheva-Israel National News spoke to Rabbi Kalmanson about his feelings during the visit, which was held as part of the initiative to sign the "Bereshit Treaty."
"The feeling," says Rabbi Kalmanson, "was both painful and uplifting because of what they did here. It was also happy knowing what we are doing here now, which I hope will amend the Israeli reality a bit, or at least give an opening for some kind of improvement."
On the emotions expressed by kibbutz residents, as well as residents of other kibbutzim, that residents of Judea and Samaria came on their own initiative to save them, and some even paid for it with their lives, Rabbi Kalmanson says that he believes that this is not relevant at all and he did not think about it until several days later when it was brought up before the family as if it was a surprising incident. "The truth is that we didn't think about this and I don't think we need to think about it either. The Jewish people have already proven that in difficult times they are beyond such things. Let's just leave this aside. It's completely unnecessary," adds Rabbi Kalmanson. As for his feeling of pain in view of the rescue operation led by his two sons, an operation that resulted in the rescue of over a hundred residents of the kibbutz, Rabbi Kalmanson says that he is "in pain, but proud. We saw a baby born after he saved a woman in the forty-first week of her pregnancy. It makes us very happy, and she has become like our granddaughter." However, Rabbi Kalmanson believes that their family story is nothing more than another routine Israeli story, that only gained publicity because it is about two brothers and a nephew. "There are countless stories like this. Leave our private story aside. We should be excited about our young generation," he says, and referring to the ability to preserve unity even in the days after the war, Rabbi Kalmanson expresses hope that this will indeed continue, although we cannot be sure. "We will try. I am optimistic. We do this first of all by changing the discourse and the manner in which the discourse is conducted, creating ways to solve problems and disputes that have always existed and always will be, and knowing how to value and respect each person and their beliefs. We will continue to argue about many issues, but we will never argue about human beings. israelnationalnews.com | | IDF takes bodies of suspected hostages from Gaza IDF spokesman for foreign media confirms to NBC News that the IDF conducted search and rescue operations, including for the bodies of dead hostages, in a cemetery in Gaza.  The IDF spokesman for foreign media told NBC News on Thursday that the IDF conducted search and rescue operations, including for the bodies of dead hostages, in a cemetery in Gaza.
Asked to respond to claims made by residents in Gaza that IDF soldiers had desecrated a cemetery in the southern neighborhood of Khan Yunis, the IDF said in a statement that it is "committed to fulfilling its urgent mission to rescue the hostages, and find and return the bodies of hostages that are held in Gaza." "When critical intelligence or operational information is received, the IDF conducts precise hostage rescue operations in the specific locations where information indicates that the bodies of hostages may be located," the IDF said. "The hostage identification process, conducted at a secure and alternative location, ensures optimal professional conditions and respect for the deceased. Bodies determined not be those of hostages are returned with dignity and respect." In the past, during the operation at Shifa Hospital in Gaza, the IDF also took dozens of bodies for examination and returned them when it was determined that the bodies were not of Israeli hostages. The IDF added in its statement, "If not for Hamas' reprehensible decision to take Israeli men, women, children and babies hostages, the need for such searches for our hostages would not exist." israelnationalnews.com | | Taxi driver refuses to pick up fmr. MK, found to be related to his attempted assassin A taxi driver refused to pick up Yehuda Glick. He later found out that the driver was a family member of the terrorist who tried to assassinate him. Hezki Baruch  Former Knesset Member Yehuda Glick recently ordered a taxi through the Gett taxi service app in Jerusalem.
The driver who came to pick him up, stopped next to him and asked him: "Are you Yehuda Glick?"
When he replied in the affirmative, the driver replied: "I'm not taking you" and drove away.
Ten minutes later, the driver passed by the same location, stopped next to Glick, and said to him: "Not only am I not taking you, no one else wants to take you" and drove away.
Glick followed up on the incident and found that the driver's name was Majdi Hijazi and he was a family member of the terrorist Mutaz Hijazi, who attempted to assassinate Glick nine years ago, and seriously injured him.
Btsalmo appealed to the Ministry of Transport to revoke the driver's driving license. Organization CEO Shay Glick wrote: "This is a very serious case and the taxi driver should immediately lose his driving license forever. It is forbidden for a person to withhold service from another person only based on his political views, his hatred of Jews, or anything else. This man should sit in prison, but should at least have his license revoked."
Gett responded: "Our company condemns the behavior of the aforementioned driver. Immediately after the customer contacted the service center and clarified the issue, the driver was blocked from using the application. israelnationalnews.com | | Rabbi Elkana Vizel among 21 fallen soldiers in Gaza Tragically, Vizel's life has now ended, but his light will continue to shine on all those who knew and loved him.  Married father of four, Rabbi Elkana Vizel was among 21 reservists whose deaths were announced by the IDF on Tuesday.
Vizel fell in one of the fiercest battles since the war started. The incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. in al-Muasi in central Gaza when Hamas forces fired a rocket-propelled grenade on multiple adjacent structures, along with landmines that the IDF forces had collected and brought into the buildings, which caused a total collapse that killed 19 soldiers and injured several others on Monday.
Itamar Vizel, Elkana's twin brother (and the other half of their circus double act) wrote this heartfelt tribute to his twin on his Facebook page: "My heart refuses to believe the words I am writing. [My] twin brother - is no more. He fell heroically… in a battle in the Gaza Strip."
He finishes with words of the song, "Shemesh" by Hanan Ben Ari: "Then you will be like the sun forever, you will be like a bird wandering in space, you, you will be my king forever, I thank you for the path you promised me."
Heartbroken friends also paid tribute to Vizel, one writing,
"I can't breathe; it is impossible to understand; the heart kicks out this hard news. Itamar - we won't forget Elkana until our last day, What a sweet man, What a heart, What a light! Unbelievable. Simply inconceivable"
Vizel, who was previously called up to fight in Gaza as a reservist in Operation Protective Edge in 2014, where he was injured in battle, spoke of his experience in a YouTube video recorded two years ago. In it, he says he made sure he had his tefillin with him before he was evacuated to safety. He also says how thankful he was to G-d for saving him and giving him a new lease of life.
Tragically, Vizel's life has now ended, but his light will continue to shine on all those who knew and loved him. jpost.com | | Vizel's letter to his family The words that he wrote in a letter to his family in case the worst should happen will also continue to give them strength: If you are reading these words, something must have happened to me. If I was kidnapped, I demand that no deal be made for the release of any terrorist to release me. Our overwhelming victory is more important than anything, so please continue to work with all your might so that the victory is as overwhelming as possible.
Maybe I fell in battle. When a soldier falls in battle, it is sad, but I ask you to be happy. Don't be sad when you part with me. Touch hearts, hold each other's hands, and strengthen each other. We have so much to be proud and happy about.
We are writing the most significant moments in the history of our nation and the entire world. So please, be happy, be optimistic, keep choosing life all the time. Spread love, light, and optimism. Look at your loved ones in the whites of their eyes and remind them that everything we go through in this life is worth it and we have something to live for.
Don't stop the power of life for a moment. I was already wounded in Operation Tzuk Eitan, but I do not regret that I returned to fight. This is the best decision I ever made. | | | Coverage of Ceasefire Rejection Paints Israel as Aggressor, Whitewashes Hamas Rinat Harash More than 100 days into the war between Israel and Hamas, media outlets have apparently forgotten who started it.
The headlines this week on Israel's rejection of a Hamas proposal for a ceasefire made the terror group look like an anti-war movement, while the Jewish state has been painted as the aggressor that wishes to prolong everyone's suffering.
This impression was created by news outlets that have taken at face value Hamas' suggestion of a ceasefire or its justification for the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war, while completely ignoring the group's genocidal ideology and its leaders' statements.
Wire Services Ignore Hamas' Ideology
Reuters, AP, and AFP led with the Israeli refusal to end the war. Their reports appeared to be merely informative:
 
Reuters quoted senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
AP produced a video package showing a statement by Netanyahu, along with some background and details.
AFP published a short report, and also referred to a Hamas document distributed over the weekend "justifying its October 7 attack on Israel."
But none of these agencies — that are responsible for distributing information to thousands of media outlets worldwide — mentioned that Hamas is ideologically committed to a permanent war against Israel, not a ceasefire.
These wire services should have included, at the very least, some background explaining that Hamas is sworn to the destruction of Israel and that its founding charter calls for holy war against the Jewish state.
Without this context, Hamas is presented as a legitimate political actor making legitimate claims.
Echoing Hamas Propaganda
The coverage of the Hamas document mentioned above is another example of how media sanitized the terror group while making Israel look like a warmonger.
The professionally produced document is an 18-page English pamphlet titled "Our Narrative … Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," produced by the Hamas media office with an eye to a Western audience.
It includes virulent anti-Israeli propaganda and denials of the atrocities of October 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 people inside Israel, brutalized innocent civilians, and took around 240 hostages into Gaza.
The document justifies the monstrosity of this attack with claims like:
The battle of the Palestinian people against occupation and colonialism did not start on Oct. 7, but started 105 years ago, including 30 years of British colonialism and 75 years of Zionist occupation.
Most mainstream media outlets rightly ignored the document.
But, sadly, the AFP was not alone in wrapping it into their report on Israel's rejection of a ceasefire.
Voice of America, in a piece titled "Netanyahu Rejects Hamas' Call to End Gaza War," echoed exactly what Hamas wanted the media to disseminate:
Hamas on Sunday defended its October 7 terror attack on Israel but admitted to "faults" and called for an end to "Israeli aggression" in Gaza.
In its first public report on the attack that began the war, the militant group said it was a "necessary step" against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, and a way to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Giving any kind of platform to Hamas' "first public report" on its October 7 attack is not only bad journalism, but also an appalling normalization of evil.
Ignoring Hamas' Arabic Rhetoric
Meanwhile, no media outlet reported that almost in parallel to the distribution of the deceiving talking points in English, Hamas has conveyed completely different messages in Arabic.
In early January, Hamas leader abroad Khaled Meshaal publicly said on a Kuwaiti podcast that "October 7 proved that liberating Palestine from the river to the sea is realistic and has already begun."
In the same interview, Meshaal also categorically rejected a two-state solution and stated that any Palestinian state is going to be a replacement for Israel.
Yet media that criticized Israel for rejecting a ceasefire also bashed Israeli politicians for coming out against a two-state solution, without mentioning that Hamas publicly opposes it.
Aren't Meshaal's statements worth highlighting? Were they deliberately ignored?
Why were global headlines focused on Israel's rejection of a ceasefire but not on Hamas' reiteration of its unwavering commitment to war?
Why do journalists seem to lose their sense of hearing when terrorists speak Arabic? These questions deserve answers because news outlets employ Arabic-speaking producers responsible for monitoring Middle East channels and social media. But whether media omitted necessary background on Hamas' genocidal ideology, echoed its propaganda, or ignored what its leaders have said, the result is the same: The continuation of the war has been blamed on the Israelis, not on the bloodthirsty murderers who are devoted to it. algemeiner.com | | Israel Refuses to Give Red Cross Details of Gazan Detainees Without Info on Hostages Hana Levi Julian  The State of Israel will not transfer information to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about Hamas terrorists captured after October 7, 2023 who were imprisoned in Israel, according to a document submitted to the High Court of Justice late Tuesday by the State Attorney's Office changing a previous decision to share information, according to a report by Israel's N12 News.
The state document was submitted in response to a petition filed against the prison service and other security agencies on behalf of 60 suspects arrested in Gaza and transferred for investigation and incarceration in Israel.
The petition, submitted by the Center for the Protection of the Individual, seeks the release information to the Red Cross about where the suspected terrorists are incarcerated and requesting permission for them to meet with an attorney.
The change followed strong opposition by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
"My clear policy from the first moment is 'humanitarian for humanitarian', Ben Gvir said in a statement Wednesday morning.
"They want details about their damned terrorists? Then they must pass on details about our heroic abductees. This is a logical, normal, moral and legal demand; any normal country would demand this," he said.
"It is good that the State Attorney's Office understood and accepted the position I took."
Last Thursday Israel's Channel 12 News reported that Israel planned to agree to a request by the Red Cross to hand over information on 60 Gazan detainees who were arrested and incarcerated in Israeli prisons after October 7, 2023.
This, despite the fact that the Red Cross has not visited any of the Israeli abductees and has not provided any details about them. The Red Cross has also refused to receive any medication for the hostages — not from the captives' families who met with the agency's director in Geneva, and not from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Tel Aviv.
In its draft position, the state originally supported the delivery of the information, in accordance with the position of Israeli security agencies.
However, that position was changed by Tuesday night. "In the circumstances of the difficult war in which we find ourselves, it was decided that such information will not be given to private applicants or public petitioners," the state wrote in the document submitted late Tuesday.
"During the war, the security forces arrested residents of the Gaza Strip on suspicion of involvement in hostilities against Israel, who invaded Israel or were involved during the fighting. These detainees are under Israeli law, and are held in military prison facilities and later, as required, are to be transferred to the Shin Bet," the state's response noted, according to Ynet.
The State Attorney's Office urged the Court to reject the petition on the grounds that the State of Israel is in an official state of war with Hamas, unlike past military operations carried out with the terrorist organization, such as the 2009 Operation Cast Lead and 2014 Operation Protective Edge. jewishpress.com | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment