![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
More than 300 influencers worldwide traveled to New York City earlier this week to fight antisemitism in a first-of-its-kind event.
“You are now on the precipice to decide which direction we go in. You only have to pick up your device to change the course of history,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This is your moment to use your platforms to change the course of what we’re experiencing across the globe. There’s no room for hate in our city or on our globe. We can turn this around.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), television personality Andy Cohen and others represented a diverse range of participants, including Holocaust and Nova festival massacre survivors, singers, storytellers and social-media standouts at the Voices for Truth: Influencers United Against Antisemitism summit.
A joint venture of the Combat Antisemitism Movement and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the summit comes amid a sharp rise in violent Jew-hatred since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre and Israel’s military response, and concern that Israel is losing the global narrative battle.
“This is our chance to make a difference—to stand up for Jewish people and our values and the protection of minorities,” Sacha Roytman, CEO of CAM, told attendees. “To stand by is not an option anymore. Bring back activism and community leadership as a way of life.”
Andy Cohen, host and executive producer of “The Real Housewives” franchise and co-host of CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve event, addressed the audience at New York’s Glasshouse venue.
“Many of you have large social-media platforms, and that simply by representing Jewish culture with pride to your followers, you will have more of a far-reaching impact than you may even realize,” he said.
Many Jewish influencers have dealt with increasing levels of hate and lost business in the aftermath of Oct. 7 and their continued support of Jews and Israel. The summit included panel discussions and other platforms to chart a path forward.
Cohen hosted an influencer town hall with Jewish content creator Melinda Strauss, yoga instructor and gray-hair influencer Lynn Shabinsky, business consultant Joseph Yomtoubian, social media personality Baby Ariel, pro-Israel activist Lizzy Savetsky, fashion designer Julia Haart and others.
Speaking of the thousands of followers she has lost for defending Jews online, Shabinksy said, “We don’t need them. We’re here as people. We need to survive. The money will come later.”
Montana Tucker received the CAM Impactful Activism Award from Natalie Sanandaji, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre.
“Jews today have a voice. We are strong. We are powerful, and we are resilient. We are fortunate to have social media to use our platforms to reach people all around the world,” Tucker said.
“We have experienced brand deals fall through, death threats, but we’ll continue to fight every single day, and we will not give up,” she added.
Sanandaji helped to bring attention to the plight of the hostages whom Hamas and other terrorists continue to hold in Gaza.
‘The absurdities of anti-Zionism and antisemitism in America’
Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman, who runs a popular TikTok account, told those in attendance about her final days at Auschwitz.
“I tell myself ‘Never again,’ and here we are, antisemitism again,” she said.
Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Matisyahu performed and participated in a fireside chat with author and influencer Jen Cohen. Author and speechwriter Aviva Klompas led a panel discussion on “Navigating the Science of Social to Maximize Impact.”
Comedians Yechiel Jacobs, LE Steiman and Josh Zilberberg took part in a conversation on how to fight antisemitism with comedy, media personality Donny Deutsch moderated a student activist panel on campus antisemitism and a collection of Zionist LGBTQ community members discussed the gay community’s support for Hamas and the Palestinian cause, despite the latter’s violent anti-gay stance.
“The absurdities of anti-Zionism and antisemitism in America have become too dangerous to ignore,” Torres said. “What is unprecedented in our present moment is the algorithmic amplification of antisemitism on TikTok and on Twitter.”
“Social media is enabling antisemitism to spread to an extent and on a scale and at a pace that we’ve never seen before,” the congressman said.
Cohen included a call to action in his message to attendees.
“Be proud of being Jewish, and don’t shy away from showing it publicly,” he said. “Sometimes, the simplest displays or gestures are the strongest and most effective.”
