ISRAEL

YASHA LEVINE—The “evidence” behind this supposed danger to Jews are a few scuffles that broke out between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters over the last several weeks. What’s most notable about them is how rarely these scuffles happened. Palestinian solidarity rallies have taken place all over America, and they have been bigger than ever, with all sorts of people taking place. One or two fights happening on the margins of big emotional national events like these is pretty much statistically insignificant. What it shows is how totally peaceful they’ve been.

TRT WORLD—In 2012, Israel would announce its war against Gaza on Twitter. During ‘Operation Pillar of Defense’, as Israeli-funneled talking points saturated the US and European media landscape, hasbara made heavy use of the more distilled communication channels of social media. It further exploited browser functions, search engine algorithms, and other automated mechanisms that controlled what content were presented to viewers.

In the process, Israel designed a narrative of itself as the innocent victim of Palestinian terrorism, one that was accorded with the sovereign right of defense against existential assault. This, despite the fact of having initiated the escalation, possessing advanced aerial power against an adversary without one, and unloading more than one thousand times as many tons of munitions on Gazans.

I would like to add certain (inside) information. Yesterday evening, I received certain (inside) information from influential leaders in the Axis of Resistance that the decision of a direct confrontation has been taken. Open confrontation is around the corner, and unless Washington succeeds in deterring Israel from further escalation, the Israeli interior will be ‘openly’ targeted. (In other words,) the party behind the targeting will be known. Official statements will be issued saying: ‘we are the ones who bombarded you’. We are on the brink of a war. This is nothing short of that.

Even the Resistance (Axis) (as a whole) now considers itself fully concerned. I mean Iran is now in confrontation and is defending itself. This is true. However, there are accumulating scores (that haven’t been settled) and (this current period offers) the resistance forces a golden opportunity as Israel is preoccupied by the confrontation with Iran.

BILL VAN AUKEN—While officials in Israel and the US refused to comment on the assassination, the response in both countries left little to the imagination as to the authorship of this extraordinary act of international lawlessness. Trump triumphantly retweeted a comment by an Israeli journalist that the murder represented “a major psychological and professional blow for Iran.”

Israel’s Jerusalem Post, reflecting the views of the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commented that the assassination was “a major signal that Israel and the United States will not give up on preventing the country from obtaining such weaponry. The message is clear: Remember, no nuclear scientist is safe.”

JEFF J. BROWN—Like the Rafic Hariri bombing, Eurangloland will scream that Iran-supported Hezbollah and Syria, the forces that are keeping Lebanon from being overrun and stolen by Israel, are the guilty parties for the Beirut Port explosion. After 13 years of investigation and $1 billion blown, half paid by the USA and France, to reach a UN Tribunal verdict, only one lowly Hezbollah member was charged with being involved in Hariri’s assassination