RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.commentary.org/seth-mandel/stop-listening-to-fake-experts-and-pretend-historians-on-the-middle-east/

The propaganda campaigns against Israel rely on an industry of manufactured “expertise.” Without the ability to appeal to the authority of such “experts,” the campaigns collapse. For anyone who’s been paying attention in the past few days, the collapse is everywhere you look.

First there was the Sky News anchor hectoring Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon over Israel’s strike on a tunnel system beneath a Gaza hospital to eliminate senior Hamas officials, notably its de facto leader Muhammad Sinwar, brother of Oct. 7 architect Yahya Sinwar. The anchor insisted Israel was wrong to say there were tunnels underneath the hospital and surrounding area because “our experts”—a phrase she repeated in the vain hopes it would sound convincing—said so.

You’ll never guess what happened next. That’s right—Hamas confirmed that the targeted area was indeed the site of a tunnel system, and added more context. It was, Hamas said, destroyed by the IDF in the 2014 Gaza war and since rebuilt. It was there that Israel attempted to take out Sinwar.

Then yesterday, along with reports of another Sinwar’s elimination (Mohammad’s brother Zakaria) came reports that Muhammad Sinwar’s body was indeed found in the tunnel system targeted by the IDF.

Who are Sky News’s “experts”? One of them is Corey Scher, who was a key “expert” behind a 2023 Associated Press story that claimed “The Israeli military campaign in Gaza, experts say, now sits among the deadliest and most destructive in history.”

Experts say! As I noted at the time, that claim is obviously false. But Scher’s research depended on radar readings that were mostly mysterious to Scher as well. As a separate article on that study noted, “the researchers said they were able to detect the number of buildings damaged, but were not able to determine how badly the buildings had been affected.”

The research also based its findings on the assumption that any change in the echoes of radar waves was from Israeli bombing.

And so by reading the actual article, one learned that this study was childish nonsense. Now its leading researcher is back to say that the IDF lied about tunnels, only to be immediately contradicted by Hamas itself.

Sky News, the Associated Press, ABC News—where else will these “experts” show up? The answer is: wherever they’re needed to lend an academic gloss to rank speculation and conspiracy theories.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/greta-thunberg-if-you-can-stand-her/

Greta Thunberg has received all sorts of acclaim for her work as an environmental warrior that began when she was scarcely out of grade school. But now that she’s 22, and has saved the planet, she’s gone on to other things. Would you be surprised to find out that she’s now going to make the world safe for Hamas? British journalist Brendan O’Neill takes her to task for her latest cause, and the malignancy of her attack on the tiny, embattled Jewish state that is now fighting a seven-front war for its survival. More on O’Neill’s dismemberment of Thunberg can be found here: “Greta Thunberg’s moral siege of Israel,” by Brendan O’Neill, Spiked, May 7, 2025:

Why isn’t Greta Thunberg sailing an aid ship to Sudan? Things are dire there. Two years of war have given rise to ‘catastrophic hunger levels’. The horrors dwarf ‘those in Ukraine, Gaza and Somalia combined’, reports Deutsche Welle. And yet the benighted Sudanese have failed to win the favour of the world’s best known eco-brat. Her boat is destined not for Africa but for the only strip of land that matters to the virtuous of the West: Gaza.

Sweden’s prophetess of doom is back in the news. She’s making waves with her plan to sail to Gaza. She and others from the turbo-smug keffiyeh classes had planned to sail on a boat called – wait for it – Conscience. Rumour has it they called it that because ‘Aren’t We F**king Wonderful?’ was too long for the hull. But their moral expedition has been put on hold after a drone fired on their boat in waters off Malta, causing damage but no casualties.

Actually, Greta missed the boat, literally. She wasn’t on the good ship “Conscience,” part of the Freedom Flotilla that was going to “break the Israeli siege” of Gaza by bringing humanitarian aid. Something else kept her from going, but if physically she was not present, in spirit she was definitely there. She’s been a hater of Israel much of her short life.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm-plus/the-uns-pride-goes-before-delivering-humanitarian-relief-in-gaza/

United Nations senior officials from Secretary General Antonio Guterres on down have blamed only Israel for the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They claim that Israel, as the supposed “occupying power” in Gaza, is responsible for ensuring that the basic needs of the Palestinian civilians are met and has failed to do so. They continue to ignore Hamas’s refusal to end the war by immediately releasing all the remaining hostages and laying down its arms, as even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has asked Hamas to do. And they ignore Hamas’s theft of food and other critical supplies, which the terrorist organization has diverted for its own use or sold in the black market at outrageous prices.

The UN and its non-government organization (NGO) partners have shown that they cannot deliver food and other necessities directly to needy Palestinian civilians in Gaza in a safe and secure manner. Yet, the UN bureaucracy has rejected a new humanitarian plan that Israel and the United States have proposed which would do just that.

Under this plan, distribution sites would be set up within Gaza where Palestinian civilians can receive vital supplies from aid workers under the auspices of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Israeli soldiers would be stationed beyond the sites’ perimeters to help prevent diversion by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and criminal organizations while also ensuring that Israel can remain secure. But the Israeli Defense Forces would not play any direct role in the distribution of aid.

GHF’s Board of Directors includes Nate Mook, the former CEO of World Central Kitchen and Special Advisor on Ukraine to the Howard G Buffett Foundation. Its Executive Director is Jake Wood, the founder and former CEO of Team Rubicon and a veteran of over 1500 disaster and humanitarian operations. The appointment of David Beasely, the former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program, to GHF’s Advisory Board is still being finalized.

According to GHF’s description of its operating model, it would “initially stand up four Secure Distribution Sites, each built to continuously serve 300,000 people—1.2 million Gazans in the initial phase, with capacity to expand past 2 million. Pre-packaged rations, hygiene kits, and medical supplies move through tightly controlled corridors, monitored in real time to prevent diversion.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21632/trump-deals-with-islamists

In the eyes of Iran and the Houthis, Trump’s separate peace deal that excluded Israel is a captivating green light to continue their attacks on “The Little Satan”, while obligingly halting their assaults on vessels in the Red Sea.

Trump’s deal with the Houthis sent everyone in the Middle East the message that the Trump administration has finally thrown Israel under the bus.

Worse, Trump’s agreement does not require the Houthis to abandon their jihad (holy war) against either the US or Israel.

“[The Palestinians are] ecstatic that their employer, Qatar, just “purchased” the US presidency with a $400 million 747 jet and a Golf Course….” — Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Palestinian political analyst, X, May 11, 2025.

Qatar wanted the American-Israeli hostage released as a gesture to Trump on the eve of his visit to the Gulf state. Hamas leaders were not able to say no to Qatar, and immediately complied.

This event shows that Qatar has enough influence over Hamas to instruct it to release all the hostages. Qatar could have used its influence from the beginning to force Hamas to release all of them; but it did not.

Qatar wants to make sure that its long-standing allies, Iran and Hamas, remain strong and in power after the current war.

Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are being played and appear not even to know it. If they do know it, personal friendships and financial rescues have apparently taken priority over hard-nosed negotiating. Their only priority seems to have been raking in trillions of dollars from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, a Trump golf resort in Saudi Arabia, a $400 million “flying palace” from Qatar, a Trump hotel in Dubai and the promise of a Trump Tower in Damascus.

“Donald Trump may go down in history as the American President who empowered Islamism around the globe [by funding Syria’s al-Sharaa], more than any other president in the history of the USA.” — Nervana Mahmoud, Egyptian political analyst, X, May 13, 2025.

Trump and his advisors undoubtedly have good intentions, but… trying to strike deals with Iran and its Hamas and Houthi terror proxies, instead emboldens these terrorists and enemies of the US.

After Trump returns to Washington, he will quickly discover that the Islamists and their sponsors in the Middle East have not changed. Iran, Hamas and the Houthis will continue to call for death to Israel and America. Qatar will continue to provide political and financial support to anti-American Islamists and other Jihadis. As for Syria’s jihadist president, the belief that he will transform himself into a moderate pro-Western Arab leader and a democrat is, unfortunately, nothing but a joke.

Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also appears to be moving in that direction, though at a much slower pace. MBS will not join the Abraham Accords. Trump’s wish that he would sign onto them “in your own time” is a sweet, naïve dream.

If Trump were to use military force against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, it would not only be a blow to Tehran and its terror proxies, it would enormously empower the moderate Arabs and Muslims who correctly view the mullahs as a threat to their national security and stability.

If Trump wants real peace and prosperity, he must, unfortunately, act against Iran and its terror proxies, and distance himself from jihadists and their sponsors, especially Qatar. Such a move would be the best way to expand the Abraham Accords and encourage other Arabs to seize hold of Trump’s great promise.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/05/18/eurovision-fans-glorious-f-you-to-the-israel-haters/

So Austria edged out Israel to win last night’s Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland. Amid a resurgence of anti-Semitism among the cultural set, one might be tempted to reach for some crude historical references – given Basel was the birthplace of the modern Zionist movement, the venue for the First Zionist Congress in 1897, and Austria was the birthplace of, well, Hitler. But where the Jews and the Jewish State are concerned, last night’s grand final was a moment of triumph, even if contestant Yuval Raphael didn’t quite make it over the line.

In the run-up to this year’s Eurovision, there was all the usual frothing agitation, demanding the Jewish State be banned from the competition because of the ‘genocide’ activists insist Israel is committing in Gaza. Seemingly, they have no idea what genocide actually means and have forgotten that Hamas started this war when it butchered 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023, targeting civilians for murder, rape and torture. That 24-year-old Raphael is a survivor of 7 October – indeed, the last major music event she attended before last night was the Nova festival – hasn’t dimmed their zealotry.

All the usual suspects dusted off their old open letters. They claim this is about the war, even though they’ve been calling for a boycott for decades. That Eurovision is organised by broadcasters, not by governments, never seems to phase them. It seems that all Israelis must be held accountable for the alleged misdeeds of their government – particularly for having the gall to defend itself and its people from genocidal Islamists.

https://www.jns.org/trump-israel-not-sidelined-no-frustration-with-netanyahu/

Donald Trump is not frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the U.S. president said, addressing a question from Fox News anchor Bret Baier during a May 16 interview following his tour of three Arab Gulf states.

Trump told Baier that it was important to keep the Arab states “in our fold. … They’re back loving the United States again. That was a full embrace.”

The trip, which skipped the Jewish state, had been characterized in the media as “shrugging off” or “sidelining” Israel, particularly as Trump appeared to ignore Israeli concerns about Qatar, a funder of Islamist groups, and met with Syria’s new leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom Netanyahu’s government said is a “jihadist.”

However, Trump expressed empathy for Netanyahu in the wide-ranging interview with Baier, saying Israel’s prime minister is dealing with a difficult situation.

“[Netanyahu] is an angry man, and he should be because of October 7. And he’s been hurt badly by that. But in another way, he’s been sort of helped because I think he’s fought hard and bravely,” Trump said.

Trump had already attempted to allay fears that his Mideast trip meant a change in the U.S.-Israel relationship.

On Air Force One from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, Trump told reporters he wasn’t shunting Israel aside. “No not at all,” he said. “This is good for Israel, having a relationship like I have with these countries, Middle Eastern countries, essentially all of them.

“You have to remember, there was an October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world, not the Middle East, the world. When you look at the tapes, and the tapes are there for everyone to see,” Trump told Baier, referring to video of the massacre filmed and distributed on social media by the Hamas terrorists.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

On May 14th, 1948 international Zionists celebrated the declaration of independence of the State of Israel three years after the end of the Holocaust and victory in Europe. To his eternal credit President Harry Truman recognized the new Jewish state of Israel. This made the United States the first country to officially recognize the newly formed Jewish state.

Jubilation was short lived when on May 15th a coalition of Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq declared war on the new Jewish state, cheered and abetted by all the Moslem nations.

The rest is history, and in his weekly report Michael Ordman details the enormous and outsize contributions that Israel continues to make to the health and hopes for a better life for billions of citizens on every continent, even during wartime. rsk

POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
 
Father and son serve together. Reserve Major Professor Nahum Nesher (63) and his son, Koren, have clocked 250 cumulative days of reserve duty in the Hermon outposts. Nahum returns to Syria having been brutally treated as a PoW in 1984. Koren survived a car accident after mandatory IDF service, but he still re-enlisted.
https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/sj5s7zkxlx
 
Paralyzed soldier walks again. (TY OurCrowd) An IDF soldier who was paralyzed after being wounded in Gaza is walking again with the help of ReWalk, the exoskeleton developed by Israel’s Lifeward (formerly ReWalk – see here previously).  
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/04/24/3067430/0/en/Paralyzed-Israeli-Soldier-Walks-Again-with-Use-of-the-ReWalk-Personal-Exoskeleton.html
 
Edan returns. In a moment of profound relief and national significance, Edan Alexander an Israeli-American IDF soldier was freed after 584 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza. His return marks the first release of a male IDF soldier kidnapped on Oct 7 2023, and the last known living American hostage held by the terror group.
https://www.israpundit.org/first-male-idf-soldier-taken-on-oct-7-to-return-home-hailed-as-emotional-victory-for-israel-and-u-s/
 
Olympic committee honors fallen hero. (TY Yanky) On Memorial Day, Israel’s Olympic Committee changed its official logo to incorporate the handwriting of IDF Captain Eden Nimri, a professional swimmer. She fell while battling Hamas fighters at the Nahal Oz IDF base on 7 Oct 2023, allowing 11 female soldiers to escape.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-851893
 
NIS 3 billion in benefits for IDF reservists. Israel has approved a benefits package totaling 3 billion shekels (some $800 million) for active IDF reservists. It includes tax credits, employer grants, subsidized housing, welfare expenses, support for small businesses, plus priority access to civil service jobs and other services.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-govt-approves-800m-in-benefits-for-idf-reservists/
 
Technion awarded Shield of Appreciation. On 28 May, Israel’s Technion Institute will receive the Defense Minister’s Shield for 2025 in recognition of its outstanding support for military reservists. The Shield is granted to organizations and institutions that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to reservists.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/blog/article/defense-ministers-shield-to-be-awarded-to-the-technion/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp6BRPPaVyo
 
More than a bakery. Another tale of resilience as the Tosha Bakery between Acre and Rosh Hanikra in Israel’s far north had to close due to Hezbollah rockets. The owners opened a pastry stand in Nahariya until they could return to Tosha, clean up and repair their equipment and recover. With help from JNF-USA.
https://www.jnf.org/jnf-blog/post/blog/tosha-bakery—the-bread–the-heart–and-the-war
 
Sheba’s mental health spin-off. Israeli startup Mentaily, founded in response to the aftermath of Oct 7 2023, has taken on the LIV AI mental health platform developed by Sheba Medical Center (see here previously). LIV simulates clinical psychiatric assessment, addressing the acute lack of mental health professionals and services.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rk40xhk11xg 
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
 Defective heart gene. (TY Rhoda) Researchers at Israel’s Clalit Research Institute & Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson) have discovered that the gene TRIM63 is a major genetic driver and risk factor for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the world’s most common hereditary heart disease. Screening could save many lives.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-852473
 
Partner for Parkinson’s blood test. (TY Atid-EDI) The previous article (see here) about a new rapid simple blood test for Parkinson’s Disease didn’t mention that the Hebrew University of Jerusalem had jointly developed the test with Israel’s ATED Therapeutics – a finalist in Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250326481006/en/ATED-Therapeutics-Ltd.-New-Rapid-Simple-Blood-Test-for-Parkinsons-Disease-Developed   https://www.atedtherapeutics.org/
 
Tomographic 3D imaging. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Nanox (see here previously) has received US-FDA general use approval for the Nanox.ARC X, its new multi-source digital tomosynthesis system. Its sliced 3D views include the musculoskeletal system, and pulmonary, intra-abdominal and paranasal sinus indications.
https://investors.nanox.vision/news-releases/news-release-details/nanox-receives-fda-clearance-general-use-new-imaging-system
 
European approval for glaucoma treatment. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Sanoculis has received the CE Mark for its MINT (Minimally Invasive Nasal Trabeculostomy) product for the treatment of adult patients undergoing glaucoma angle surgery.  (See MINT and MIMS on Sanoculis website)
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/sanoculis-receives-ce-mark-for-mint-product-for-the-treatment-of-glaucoma-302431454.html   https://sanoculis.com/
 
It’s all in the mind. Neuroscientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have discovered that neural networks in the brain transition from a “beginner” to an “expert” structure when learning a new skill (e.g. playing sport). The process depends on the local release of dopamine in the motor cortex.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/blog/article/technion-neuroscientists-uncover-the-key-role-of-dopamine-in-learning-new-motor-skills/  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55317-4
 
Israel’s first medical drone. (TY UWI) A drone stationed on the roof of the Bezio Medical Center is the pilot phase of Israel’s medical drones project. Dubbed “Ziv Eye” it will transport equipment, samples and blood donations between the separate campuses of the Ziv Medical Center, close to the border of Syria and Lebanon.
https://tps.co.il/articles/drones-set-to-enhance-efficiency-of-israels-medical-industry/
 
Something for expectant mothers to chew on. Israel’s TopGum (see here previously) has launched OMG3! -its new prenatal product which delivers all the crucial nutrients for expectant mothers in a natural fruity chewable. The “all-in-one” gummy houses essential omega-3 fatty acids as the principal ingredient.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/topgums-fresh-take-on-omega-3-new-gummy-line-delivers-flavor-and-high-dosage-302447035.html

https://quillette.com/2025/05/14/israel-up-close/

Amid the many victim vs. oppressor narratives popular among the Left, there’s no shortage of finger-pointing. Each dimension of oppression has its own designated villain: white people, males, the one percent, straight people, and cisgender individuals. And yet, the biggest culprit in this demonology isn’t a person at all—it’s Western civilisation itself. Western industrialisation is accused of wrecking the planet, Western capitalism of exploiting poorer countries, and Western colonialism of centuries of plundering and conquering. In this blame game, the West is cast as the ultimate bad guy. 

Now, Western civilisation isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and indeed, many of its harshest critics are enjoying its fruits, living in Western cities and teaching at Western universities. But there is one easy way for progressives to atone for their guilt at the heinous misdeeds of their civilisation, without sacrificing any personal comforts: to demonise Israel. Unlike most of the world’s liberal democracies, Israel faces existential threats from multiple quarters and must often resort to lethal violence in self-defence.

For the more radical wing of the Left, groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are noble freedom fighters waging a righteous battle against settler-colonialism. While the disappearance of the ultimate settler-colonialist empire, the United States, seems like a far-fetched fantasy, the disappearance of the world’s only Jewish state appears to be just about within reach. The moderate Left isn’t prepared to go that far, of course. They simply argue that the atrocities committed by Hamas, while worthy of condemnation, are nevertheless understandable responses to decades of Israeli occupation. For both groups, Israel is the last vestige of the European colonialist project and should shoulder most of the blame for the ongoing conflict. It is an apartheid state steeped in notions of white and Jewish supremacy.