Tonight, the 27th of Nissan, begins Yom Hashoah in Israel – officially Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day.
(When the Knesset set this date in 1951, it was associated with the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which took place at this time on the calendar, but also with intent to recognize the death of every Jew murdered by the Nazis as a sanctification of God’s name, Kiddush Hashem, through martyrdom.)
It is always a day of enormous sadness. Because we are wrestling with the abominations of October 7 – with its barbarities by Hamas that are compared to those of the Holocaust – the day is layered with pain.
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Every year, when we mark the Holocaust, we hear the stories of survivors. During the official ceremonies on the eve of Yom Hashoah at Yad Vashem, six survivors – for the six million who perished – are chosen to light torches and tell their stories.
Every year I am overwhelmed by their recounting of the horrors they had to endure. But then, then they speak about their victories over the horrors: they came to Israel and became teachers or fought in the War of Independence or… And to a one, they married and had children and now have grandchildren.
They chose life. I believe the call to do this is etched into our Jewish genes. But it requires strength and perseverance.
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There are two issues intrinsically connected to the Shoah that I want to focus upon here.
The first is the matter of Hamas – which seeks Israel’s destruction – and the necessity of eliminating it.
There was an echo of this theme over Pesach, with regard to the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea as they pursued the fleeing Israelites. It was not enough for the people to be brought out of Egypt – they had to know that their enemies, who were determined to enslave them once again, had been eliminated. Only then could they truly recognize that they were free. This was an essential part of their redemption. And it is why the Israelites sang when reached the far shore of the Reed Sea; they sang about the Egyptians drowning in the sea.
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So is it now, as we face Hamas. Only when we have taken them down, so that they have no longer have the ability to harm us, can we have peace. As long as they remain standing and are able to strengthen themselves and come after us again, our people are at risk.
Their capacity for indescribable cruelty was clearly demonstrated on October 7. No need for me to recount in detail the burnings and rapes and dismemberment of bodies, the murder of children. There must be no possibility for them to do this again.
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There are many in our government, starting with our prime minister, who understand this. Among them is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Chair, Religious Zionists), who has spoken out on this repeatedly.
There are, as we are well aware, those who want the war stopped and the IDF pulled out of Gaza – which means Hamas would remain standing – so that the hostages who are still being held might be brought home. This possibility had recently been suggested by Khalil al-Hayya of Hamas.
What distresses me greatly is that these people vilify Smotrich, accusing him having “nationalistic” values instead of human values, because he says taking out Hamas is the first priority. They claim that he is more interested in protecting the State of Israel than saving individuals, that he is willing to “sacrifice” hostages for the state.
I raise this here because the charges against Smotrich are part of national dialogue that has become distorted and hysterical. What we see is a grave misrepresentation of his viewpoint that does him a severe injustice. Smotrich has explained that while taking out Hamas is the first priority, he considers saving hostages to be very, very important. He said (emphasis added):
“…the victory over Hamas is meant to save human lives, and nothing endangers lives more—or encourages further kidnappings, terrorism, and bloodshed—than surrendering to a murderous terrorist organization and allowing it to remain a governing power holding weapons in Gaza, tormenting the lives of southern residents, and preparing for the next October 7 massacre.”
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-850880
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Our government has no intention of stopping the war, but the Security Cabinet is meeting to discuss how much it should intensify at this point. One issue is the matter of again permitting humanitarian aid, which is stolen by Hamas and thus contributes to its strength, to be sent into Gaza. Katz argues that its distribution will be controlled, but questions are being raised about the feasibility of doing this.
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From a report yesterday by Jonathan Spyer, analyst and director of research at the Middle East Forum:
“Along the newly established Morag Corridor, in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF is continuing the daily, Sisyphean work of rooting out Hamas fighters and destroying the organization’s infrastructure.
“The corridor…is intended to drive a wedge between the Rafah and Khan Yunis brigades of Hamas, and then to destroy these formations.
“Visiting the eastern part of the corridor, the impression was that the Israeli forces have succeeded in carving out a secure area, from which they are now operating southwards in the direction of Rafah city, where, according to IDF sources, dozens of fighters of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade remain…
“The Hamas fighters, according to IDF sources, made their way to Muwasi to the west, a designated humanitarian area, during the period of the ceasefire, but returned when it collapsed. Now, the hope is to trap them between two lines of IDF presence to the north and south of the city.
“The IDF says the Rafah brigade no longer has any discernible missile capacity. Even a hierarchical structure beyond the lowest levels may no longer be fully functioning. Still, Hamas is trying to build itself up again as quickly as possible.
“Younger people, some only 15 years old, are being brought in. These youths are rapidly deployed and display the ‘professional capacities that would be expected of them,’ as one IDF source put it.
Spyer cited a senior IDF source who spoke of seeing signs of what he described as “growing popular discontent against Hamas.” These are “encouraging signs.”
Another IDF source said this fight must not be just another round, like so many that he has seen…”there are demonstrations and indications of a breaking point on the other side. It won’t happen tomorrow morning, but it’s coming.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-850955
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Under pressure from the US, which has concerns about hostages with American connections, an Israeli delegation is in Cairo to discuss a “new” proposal put forth by the mediators Egypt and Qatar, based on those earlier comments by Khalil al-Hayya: It would entail “a long-term ceasefire lasting between five and seven years, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, a formal end to the war, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.”
https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/04/22/report-israeli-delegation-in-cairo-to-discuss-hamas-proposal/
It’s important to realize what this offer truly represents in Islamic thinking. This is a hudna, not an offer of peace. Note that there would be an end to the current war and a complete IDF pullout from Gaza. But this would be part of a “long-term ceasefire” – which would provide Hamas with a generous amount of time for rearming, regrouping, retraining – and nothing more. And at the end of the ceasefire? Attack, which would have been planned from the beginning. This was modelled by Mohammed.
As Honest Reporting pointed out some time ago, Western media routinely translate hudna as “truce.” “…to a Western audience, ‘truce’ suggests a Hamas commitment to peaceful resolution. This is, as we’ve seen, simply not the meaning of hudna.”
https://honestreporting.com/hudna-with-hamas/
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I recommend an article on why Israel’s war in Gaza is both a legal and moral necessity. Read it, share it. It is written by John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, and Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum.
https://www.jns.org/why-israels-war-against-hamas-is-necessary/
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Here I turn to that other issue intrinsically linked to the Holocaust: The efforts by Iran, which also seeks to destroy Israel, to become a nuclear power. This is the most important existential issue of all. Hamas functions “merely” as a proxy for Iran.
In recent posts I have been tracking the unfolding of this fragile situation. Trump was tough on Iran during his first term as president: he pulled out of the horrendous nuclear agreement forged by Obama and reinstated sanctions. The expectation was that he would be tough on Iran again – perhaps tougher still, as Iran was a great deal closer to developing that nuclear capacity.
On April 7, Trump met privately in the White House with Netanyahu (who had flown to Washington straight from Budapest at the president’s suggestion).
But at the joint press conference held following that meeting, Trump dropped a bombshell, announcing that he was going to try negotiations with Iran before instituting any military action. There was speculation as to whether our prime minister had even been informed before the press conference.
A time of considerable unease followed, especially when it became clear that Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy for the Middle East, was going to head the negotiations for the US. For Witkoff is simply not equipped to deal with the machinations of Iran, nor does he understand the culture.
An associate of mine shared a thought with me the other day that rather summed it up: Witkoff is playing checkers and Iran is playing chess.
Anxiety increased when Witkoff let it be known that he would consider allowing Iran to enrich uranium at low levels (3.67%) for civilian energy purposes, as compared to the higher levels (60% and more) at which it had doing enrichment. This was a backtracking on earlier US demands and set up a situation that was potentially very dangerous. Witkoff was prepared to allow Iran to continue to have nuclear capability rather than insisting that all equipment had to be either taken out or destroyed under American supervision. This is what Netanyahu calls the Libya deal, the only arrangement short of military attack that could work. Nor was Witkoff addressing the issue of weaponization or assistance to terror-promoting proxies. He emphasized that the agreement would focus primarily on supervision rather than dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. But Iran has a record of cheating.
With Witkoff’s announcement, came the perception in many quarters – certainly here in Israel – that he was altogether too willing to make concessions in order to achieve a deal – a deal that would fail to do what was necessary.
And then came the questions: Was it the US goal to actually prevent Iran from having the capacity to manufacture nuclear weapons even if military action was required? Or was it simply being able to take credit for making “a deal” that would allegedly circumvent the need for military intervention?
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And here I recommend a JNS video with editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin in discussion with Middle East analyst Michael Pregant:
“How does Qatar get away with it? That’s the question that…Tobin is asking. Qatar is not only a close ally of Iran and a funder of Hamas, but also does the most to spread Islamist ideology and hatred for Israel in America. It’s also gotten away with posing as an honest broker in the Middle East and an American ally.
“As Pregent points out, there are a lot of lobbyists and other figures in Washington, D.C., who ‘couldn’t pay their mortgages’ without the money they get either directly or indirectly from Qatar.
“The most prominent example is Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. While many have been puzzled by Witkoff’s public comments, including those made on Tucker Carlson’s podcast in which he declared, contrary to the facts, that the Qataris are loyal U.S. allies, honest brokers, and not allied with Iran and Hamas. As Pregent points out, this clueless endorsement of the emirate must be seen in the context of Qatar’s decision to bail him out on a real estate deal gone bad to the tune of $623 million.
“That calls into question Trump’s decision to allow Witkoff to be the lead negotiator in a new diplomatic initiative aimed at persuading Iran to give up its nuclear program…Witkoff is a diplomatic novice who is being played by people who helped him financially.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.jns.org/did-iran-ally-qatar-purchase-trump-envoy-steve-witkoff/
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What had been most reassuring had been the early comments by Trump about the fact that time was very short and if negotiations were not advancing satisfactorily he would have no compunctions about resorting to a military attack, with Israel leading the way. Perhaps, it was felt, in the end he would over-rule Witkoff.
But then there was another bombshell:
Information on Israeli plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities in May, with backup or support (at a minimum, intelligence, planes, etc.) from the US, had been leaked to the NYTimes. On April 17, the Times ran a story about the plans – including the possible use of commandos on the ground – and Trump’s action to block them.
This put Israel in a difficult position and exposed Israeli capabilities that had not previously been made public. Senior Israeli officials, however, maintain that the report was inaccurate. “The officials emphasized that ‘the prime minister, government officials, and those close to them had no connection to this publication.’” They are convinced that the leak came from America – and not from the Israeli administration as some in the opposition here claim – and was done with the intention of stopping any Israeli military action.
What has become apparent is that the Trump administration is seriously divided on the issue of attacking Iran. Vice President Vance, for example, is opposed, while Secretary of State Rubio (pictured) is in favor of military action. Those opposed appeared to be holding sway.
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Netanyahu had repeatedly sworn that he will not allow Iran to go nuclear. There is reason to suspect that he may actually go it alone in attacking Iran if the US does not join the effort.
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Two indirect meetings between Iranian and US officials have taken place, with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi leading the Iranian delegation and Witkoff heading the American delegation. The first meeting was held in Muscat, Oman, and the second in Rome. In both instances Omani officials shuttled between the two delegations. This coming Saturday, a third meeting is scheduled, along with the first efforts to set forth the specifics of an agreement.
What unsettles me the most, I think, are the positive statements coming from both sides: preliminary reports that are “encouraging.” I am not encouraged. It’s too smooth, and I have no confidence that Witkoff will hold the Iranians’ feet to the fire.
https://www.jns.org/us-iran-make-headway-in-rome-nuclear-negotiations/
The Iranians are almost arrogant in their public stance: “We are ready for an agreement within a defined framework and while ensuring our national interests,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated at a meeting in the Iranian capital….
“He cautioned, however, that Iran would not accept one-sided terms: ‘If they (US representatives) refrain from negotiating with us on equal terms, we will continue on our own path.’”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/407184
What makes this all critical is the fact that the Iranians are so close to going nuclear.
https://worldisraelnews.com/iran-not-far-from-nuclear-bomb-atomic-watchdog-chief-warns/
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But then, we have this: Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump spoke by phone yesterday – the first time they had spoken since Netanyahu was in Washington. One of the topics of the discussion was Iran. Subsequently, the president wrote on his social media network:
“The call went very well. We are on the same side of every issue.”
Really? Then can we not conclude that there is hope the US may support Israel in stopping Iran militarily before it is too late? I would not expect any further clarification.
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I ask for prayers for Israel’s wellbeing.
Pray for the wisdom and courage of our leaders.
Pray for the safety of our brave troops.
Pray that the hostages will be brought home.
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©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
