![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")
Oct. 26, Biden reportedly apologized to five Muslim leaders for questioning Hamas’ casualty figures, even lowering himself to admit he was “disappointed in myself.”
His Oct. 26 comments could be translated thusly: “Please turn out to vote for my re-election in a year from now, especially in tenuous swing states like Michigan.”
On Oct. 6, it would have been reasonable to predict that Biden or any Democratic nominee might sweep the six swing states, especially Michigan. After Oct. 7, Biden’s campaign could be imperiled in the aftermath of Hamas’ slaughter of 1,200 people in southern Israel.
Biden’s sorrowful meeting, in more ways than one, tops a pattern of conflicts consuming Washington stemming from the war. Most are silly and disruptive sideshows, but some policy votes and revealing hearings are worthy of our attention.
Dearborn, Mich., population 109,000, and its neighboring towns (including Detroit) comprise the largest Arab-American community in the country, and Arabs and Muslims are outraged by Biden’s support for Israel’s military campaign against Hamas. Gaza’s health ministry, controlled by Hamas, claims that 13,000 Palestinians have been killed, primarily in bombings.
In recent years, Michigan was moving close to claiming blue-state status, thanks in part to Arabs and Muslims from Dearborn. They are already expected to ignore the ballot-line for president or vote for a third party that will peel away votes from Biden if he is the Democratic nominee. If the Arab bloc is sizeable enough, combined with other voters opposed to Israeli bombing, former President Trump could win the plurality.
These other voters are misguided or far-left lunatics, plus minority racial groups who wrongly identify with the so-called Palestinian cause. The leftists are either upset with the high casualty rate or supported Hamas’ goal from the outset– to destroy Israel.
Minority groups, particularly some in the Black community, compare the Palestinian struggle with the civil rights movement in America. Palestinians do face oppression, but moreso from their leaders and fellow Palestinians whose goal is to eliminate Israel. Yasser Arafat was much closer to Attila the Hun than the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Turnout could again be low among Black voters in Philadelphia, Detroit and Milwaukee, which factored into Trump’s 2016 victories in those cities’ respective states, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
And there is the Jewish vote. On average, 75 percent of American Jews vote for Democrats because of their domestic policies, but they have grown impatient with Biden’s seeming acquiescence to the Arabs and tolerance of anti-Israel members of Congress. Some could be more likely to vote Republican.
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been urging Israel to avoid civilian deaths in Gaza. Harris even proclaimed that “too many” Palestinians were killed because of Israel’s retaliatory moves. Her phrasing suggests that there is an acceptable level for civilian deaths.
Israel originally called on Gazans to move to the south end of Gaza while its troops battled Hamas in the north, and in recent days the Israeli leadership warned Gazans that they will be taking the fight to the south since Hamas bosses have moved there with their people.
“They are moving us from one place to the other,” an unidentified Gaza man said, according to NBC News.
The perception of Israel’s actions among Black voters can be hampered through guilt by association. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina was among Republicans who expressed strong backing for Israel during a hearing in which family members of Israeli hostages testified.
Wilson, who is white, made a name for himself toward the end of former President Obama’s first year in office, 2009, by interrupting an address to Congress. He told our first biracial president that “you lie.” Wilson apologized, but who believes he was sincere?
Tension over the war is also coursing through Congress. Rep. Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach, Fla., a Jewish Democrat, exited the party’s progressive caucus because of its abrasive treatment of Israel, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports.
Who can blame her? Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Seattle, who chairs the progressive caucus, on Sunday deflected questions about sexual violence against Israeli women on Oct. 7, telling CNN’s Dana Bash, “It’s horrific and I think that rape is horrific. Sexual assault is horrific. I think that it happens in war situations, terrorist organizations like Hamas, obviously are using these as tools. However, I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians.”
By Jayapal’s standards, doesn’t bombing of apartment buildings “happen in war situations”? San Francisco attorney Christine Pelosi tweeted, “RAPE IS RAPE. Do not minimize, excuse, ‘balance’ or ‘both sides’ sexual assault.” Her husband is of Jewish descent and mom Nancy was pro-Israel long before she was elected to Congress.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Jewish Democrat who lost relatives in the Holocaust, urged Americans in a New York Times column and on the Senate floor “to stand with Jewish Americans and to denounce antisemitism in all of its forms. Too often in Jewish history, legitimate criticism of Israeli policies or even older disputes…have crossed over into something darker, into attacking Jewish people simply for being Jewish.”
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, praised the lengthy speech recited by Schumer, who represents New York state, home to 1.5 million Jews.
Republicans rate our appreciation for taking strong stands on Middle East issues that are usually ignored. At the same time, they exploit the situation by taking cheap shots at Democrats. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee on Monday demanded that we withhold funds from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency after she learned of a news report that an UNRWA teacher held an Israeli abductee hostage in his house.
“The United States will not be complicit in propping up Hamas’ terrorism, and this report proves why deep change is necessary within UNRWA before we even consider providing another dollar to the agency,” Blackburn wrote in a letter on Monday, according to The New York Post.
Yet on Wednesday morning, Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Colman of Trenton, N.J., blasted a GOP resolution which could be interpreted to formally equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism. She said she does not understand how the measure will “get us closer to a resolution.” Under the bill, Congress “strongly condemns and denounces all instances of antisemitism occurring in the United States and globally.”
Nobody can predict for certain how the politics will play out. I lean toward expecting Biden or any credible Democratic nominee to win the presidency. I do think the party will easily regain the House majority because Democratic turnout in blue states increases during presidential elections. However, the Senate majority will again be narrow. Either party can add enough senators to control the majority by a thread.
I hope Democrats take full control in 2024, especially enough to eliminate the filibuster which precludes votes on domestic policies. I am grateful to Republicans for their consistent support of Israel, but I will only consider voting for them if they re-evaluate their stance on social programs.
Republished from San Diego Jewsh World