RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://pdavidhornik.substack.com/subscribe?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=email-subscribe&r=

In the war ignited by the October 7 massacre, Israel set two goals that were incompatible: retrieving all the hostages and destroying Hamas. I’ve only recently, with the help of a couple of analysts who have pointed this out, come to grasp the incompatibility. I was among those who kept believing Israel could achieve both those goals in tandem with each other.

In the 15+ months of this war so far (it’s still being waged as, at the time of writing, I hear explosions from Gaza 25 miles away), Israel has managed to militarily rescue seven hostages. An eighth was found by troops after his captors had abandoned him.

All of the seven who were military rescued were being held in apartments. Reportedly, after the rescue of four hostages from two apartments in June, all the hostages still being held in apartments were moved to tunnels. There, all of them are closely guarded by terrorists, possibly suicide terrorists. These captors can hear Israeli troops approaching and, if they do, will kill the hostages (and possibly themselves as well). That was what happened to the six Israeli hostages murdered in a tunnel in August.

Some say that, instead of prodding Israel into the current hostage deal at this stage, President Trump should have waited a few more days to take office and then have supported Israel in “starving out” Hamas. But “starving out” Hamas would mean the hostages—already on near-starvation diets and in very weakened condition—would get “starved out” too, and would be in further acute danger from a desperate and vindictive Hamas.

In other words, for those who want to see the hostages freed, something like the current deal is the only option.

https://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR

800 French teenagers volunteer. A delegation of some 800 French teenagers traveled to Israel, thanks to the Jewish Agency’s Israel Experience program and Mosaic United’s Shalom Corps. They have been packing food packages for the poor, helping MDA and Yad Sarah, volunteering at IDF bases and working in agriculture.

https://www.jns.org/800-french-teens-in-israel-to-volunteer-bolster-ties-with-europe/

NFL Legends love Israel. (TY UWI) NFL legends Nick Lowery (ex-Chiefs & Jets) and Tony Richardson (Cowboys, Chiefs, Vikings & Jets) touched down in Israel last week on a solidarity visit. After meeting hostage families, Lowery told President Herzog, “We’re here to say we love and support you – no matter what.”

https://www.jns.org/we-love-and-support-you-nfl-legends-pay-solidarity-visit-to-israel/

600 international students at BGU. Despite the war, 600 students from 64 countries have come to Israel to study at Ben-Gurion University. BGU’s International Academic Affairs Office offers personalized support for students worldwide, from visa assistance to organizing social activities.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-836625

Surge in Haredi recruits. (TY UWI) The IDF reported that 338 Haredim enlisted in the past week – 211 as combat soldiers, and 127 as combat supporters. The IDF also successfully inducted the inaugural cohort of the “Hashmonayim” (Hasmonean) Brigade, plus a second Haredi cohort for the Border Guard.

https://tps.co.il/articles/israeli-army-reports-surge-in-haredi-soldiers-338-recruited-in-past-week/

$100 million recovery. Itamar Ben Hemo, co-founder of Israel’s Rivery (see here previously) was serving in the reserves in Gaza when he was shot in the chest by Hamas terrorists. He was rushed to hospital in 45 minutes where despite almost dying, he recovered and eventually sold his company to Boomi (US) for $100 million.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/an-israeli-tech-founders-journey-from-a-near-fatal-injury-in-gaza-to-a-100m-exit/

THAAD intercepts Houthi missile. U.S.-supplied THAAD air defense system successfully intercepted its first ballistic missile, launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. “18 years waiting for this” says one of the American soldiers operating the system.  https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/401411

Semiconductor giant bets on Israel. Great article detailing how computer giant Applied Materials has been investing in its Israeli R&D center, despite the war. Having 15% (300) of its workforce in the IDF, it brought back retirees, rented a hotel for displaced families and gave financial and psychological help to employees.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/y4hfl2v34 

$150 million for PR. In the new budget, Israel’s Foreign Ministry will receive an extra $150 million for public diplomacy – more than 20 times that typically allotted in past years. One focus will be US college campuses, in cooperation with US Jewish groups and the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/foreign-ministry-to-receive-massive-budget-for-public-diplomacy-abroad/

Gaza desalination plant restarts. (TY Yanky) I don’t know why this has not been widely reported (oh yes I do!). The Deir el-Balah desalination plant in central Gaza has resumed operations. Since being reconnected to Israel’s electricity grid last month, the plant has produced thousands of cubic meters of drinkable water per day.

https://www.voanews.com/a/desalination-plant-quietly-resumes-operations-in-gaza/7914345.html

https://www.timesofisrael.com/rights-group-claims-gaza-water-scarcity-is-act-of-genocide-israel-blood-libel/

Galilee forests will regenerate. 20,000+ dunams of Galilee forest have been consumed by fires ignited by Hezbollah rocket strikes and interceptor fragments. But KKL-JNF’s chief forester Gilad Ostrovsky is sure that once burnt trees have been removed, the forest will regenerate naturally. Just as Israelis will return to the North.

https://www.jns.org/restoring-the-galilee-forest-a-five-year-journey-of-renewal-and-hope/

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Treating cerebral aneurysms. Israel’s EndoStream Medical, which has just been acquired by Japan’s Kaneka, specializes in developing an innovative implant for the treatment of cerebral aneurysms. EndoStream’s “Nautilus” has been used in hundreds of patients globally to block blood flow to the aneurysm.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bkdyeeaikg  https://endostream.com/

https://vimeo.com/727320916  https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16800-brain-aneurysm

Microsensors for the heart. (TY TPS & WIN) Israel’s Microtech (part of Medinol – see here previously) has begun human clinical trials of their microsensor platform, to measure atrial pressures, vital for the treatment of heart failure. The tiny device is implanted and uses ultrasound to communicate, reducing hospitalizations.

https://medinol.com/news/microtech-announces-first-human-case-of-implantable-microsensor-for-heart-failure-2/    https://medinol.com/microtech-2/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_QxgazSF_U

HBOT for PTSD. At the Shamir Medical Center, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) – breathing pure oxygen in pressurized chambers – is proving to be a game-changer for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) sufferers, with 70% reporting lasting relief. See here previously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZYhLJfeCWU

How bacteria resistance can be neutralized. A study by Tel Aviv University reveals how plasmids – small circular DNA fragments – neutralize bacterial defense mechanisms. It opens a door to combating antibiotic resistance. Plasmids could also break down pollutants, fix carbon dioxide, and improve gut bacteria.

https://en-lifesci.tau.ac.il/news/foreign_dna/news/sbcr  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07994-w

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07994-w

Milk fat is good for you. Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israel’s Agriculture Research Organization have discovered that the fat globules in milk deliver beneficial pro-biotic bacteria and prevent the formation of harmful bacteria. The finding can lead to better infant milk and healthy milk products.

https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-research-reveals-new-possibilities-for-custom-dairy-products-to-boost-gut-health/  https://en.huji.ac.il/news/small-milk-fat-globules-promote-good-bacteria-study-reveals

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996924007506

Miracles at Schneider. In 2024, Israel’s Schneider Children’s Medical Center treated 55,000 children in its Emergency Rooms; 1,500 in intensive care; 874 babies in neonatal intensive care; six children received a new heart; 39 had organ transplants; 60 had cochlear implants; plus 3,000+ dialysis and 270,000+ outpatient visits.

https://www.fos.org.il/en/donate (Israelis)  https://chaischneider.org/donate/ (USA)

https://system.smartgiving.org.uk/charities/8530/make-donation (UK) 

Distinguished investigator. Ben Gurion University Prof Assaf Zaritsky has been honored with a 2024 Allen Distinguished Investigator Award. It includes $1.5 million for a project exploring how cellular structures called organelles form dynamic networks during the process of stem cell differentiation into neurons.

https://www.bgu.ac.il/en/news-and-articles/zaritsky-allen-distinguished-investigators-award/

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21310/palestinian-statehood-denied

Israel agreed to Palestinian statehood in 1937-1938, 1947-1948, 1967, 2000-2001, and 2007. In each case, it was the Palestinian leadership that refused to agree to the two-state solution….

The Jews accepted the [1937] Peel partition plan, while the Arabs categorically rejected it, demanding that all of Palestine be placed under Arab control and that most of the Jewish population of Palestine be “transferred” — ethnically cleansed — out of the country…

The Jewish leadership [in 1948] declared statehood in the area allocated to it by the UN. The Arab leadership responded by declaring a genocidal war against the new state of the Jewish people. They did not want a Palestinian state. And they wanted there to be no Jewish state.

No one, therefore, should believe that it was Israel that has made the Palestinian people stateless. It was the Palestinians themselves… The current anti-Israel protesters in the West are not calling for a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel. They, like the failed Palestinian leadership, just wants to end Israel’s existence. It is not going to happen. Until the Palestinians recognize this reality, they will be denying themselves any possibility of statehood.

One of the most pervasive myths of the Palestinian protest movement is that Israel has denied statehood to the Palestinian people. To the contrary, Israel agreed to Palestinian statehood in 1937-1938, 1947-1948, 1967, 2000-2001, and 2007. In each case, it was the Palestinian leadership that refused to agree to the two-state solution that would have created a Palestinian state, alongside a state for Jewish inhabitants.

In 1937 – in the midst of the terrorist revolt inspired by Adolf Hitler’s ally, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem – the British published the Palestine Royal Commission Report (also known as the Peel Commission Report).

https://www.frontpagemag.com/idf-closes-down-kamal-adwan-hospital/

The reports about the IDF’s operation to capture the several hundred Hamas combatants hiding out in Kamal Adwan Hospital — “the last hospital in northern Gaza,” is how it is now formulaically described — make the IDF out to be villainous, indifferent to the wellbeing of innocent patients and medical personnel. The truth is quite different.

The media will report this: “The IDF has attacked Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last working hospital in northern Gaza. The patients and medical personnel have been forced to evacuate. The Israelis have set fire to the hospital. The IDF claims that Hamas fighters were inside the hospital, hiding both themselves and their weapons. Hamas flatly denies using the Kamal Adwan Hospital.” The real story can be found here: “IDF completes raid on north Gaza hospital, says some 240 terror suspects arrested,” by Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel, December 28, 2024:

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had completed an operation against Hamas at northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital and the surrounding area.

Some 240 suspected terror operatives were detained, including the medical center’s director and 15 terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces, which last operated against Hamas at Kamal Adwan in October, said the operation was launched because the hospital had “once again become a key stronghold for terrorist organizations and continues to be used as a hideout for terrorist operatives.”

The army said the hospital was still used by Hamas “despite repeated calls to refrain from allowing [terror operatives] to exploit hospitals for military activities.”

The operation was led by the IDF’s 162nd Division. At the start of the raid, the IDF said troops of the 401st Armored Brigade surrounded the hospital, detained several terror operatives, and killed additional gunmen.

Members of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit then carried out “precise activities” inside the hospital, during which they located and captured weapons, including grenades, handguns, ammunition, and other military equipment, according to the IDF.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21296/trump-hostages-hell-to-pay

President-elect Donald J. Trump has warned that unless the hostages being held by Hamas are released by January 20, the day of his inauguration, “all hell will break out.”

Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is already in Doha, Qatar, negotiating. Not very astonishingly, the negotiations keep breaking down….

The question arises: why is Witkoff in Qatar negotiating? Negotiating for what? How many dead hostages for how many live Palestinian terrorists now in Israeli prisons?

Why is Trump’s statement, “there will be all hell to pay,” not, by itself, the negotiation? It seems that all Witkoff would need to do is detail every name, alive or dead; the date, time and drop-off point for all the hostages, and then go home. No Palestinian prisoners released to resume a career in terrorism; no pallets of cash going to government leaders who commit war crimes — just, “You took them, you have them; if even one hostage is missing or has so much as a scratch, ‘it will not be good for Hamas.'”

Why is the US degrading its prestige by even trying to negotiate with terrorists? Instead of negotiating, Hamas and its patron, Qatar, should be feeding the hostages, attending to their medical needs and preparing them to come home. Now, how would that be for “The Art of the Deal”?

Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.

https://www.jns.org/yoav-gallants-exit-stage-left/

Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant’s resignation from the Knesset, which he tendered on Jan. 1, became official at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. Despite pressure from retired defense officials-turned-talking heads that he reverse his decision, Gallant—whom Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu finally fired from his Cabinet post in early November—remained steadfast.

In a press conference Wednesday evening to announce the move, however, he indicated that he’d be returning to the political arena in the future. Given his simultaneous declaration of loyalty to Likud principles and harsh critique of its chairman, he seemed to be hinting at a plan to beat Bibi in the party’s next primary race.

If that’s what he’s thinking, he needs to have his head examined. Given his behavior since the government was sworn in at the end of 2022, he’d be lucky at this point to garner enough support among Likud voters to obtain a realistic spot on the party’s list for the 26th Knesset, let alone rise to the top of the heap.

So a comeback on his part is probably going to involve forming or joining a different faction that describes itself as part of the “center” or “center-right,” yet resides on the left side of the electoral-poll pie chart with the rest of the “anybody but Bibi” crowd.

Another possibility is that the warm embrace he received by oppositionists and the protest movement will grow chilly once he’s no longer of use to them as a tool to weaken or oust Netanyahu through the crumbling of the coalition.

In such an event, Gallant may find himself in the same boat as many of his colleagues with illustrious careers in the Israel Defense Forces: settling for a highly paid gig at a politically correct think tank.

It’s just as well. For the past two years, Gallant has exhibited a greater allegiance to the elitist “old boys’ network” of the IDF top brass than to the government he was appointed to represent.