All Noisy On The Western Front: Why Anti-Zionism Today Is Different

Posted on May 13, 2025 by First.One.Through

Anti-Zionism—the rejection of the legitimacy of a Jewish state in the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people—has existed since the dawn of modern Zionism. However, in 2025 it feels radically different from the 1975 United Nations incarnation. The rhetoric may sound similar, but the ideology, tactics, and alliances behind anti-Zionism have undergone a seismic shift. What once masqueraded as anti-colonial nationalism on the global stage has mutated into global terrorism fused with religious fanaticism. What was once a geopolitical power play of 6.4 billion people from the Global South has transformed into mob lynchings in the streets of Western capitals.

The 1975 Moment: Terrorism Wrapped in Nationalist Language

In 1975, while the United Nations was led by a former Nazi, Kurt Waldheim, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, equating Zionism with racism—a resolution so grotesque and politically motivated that it was ultimately revoked in 1991 through the efforts of the United States. But that year also saw another dangerous precedent set: UNGA Resolution 3376 which declared that the Palestinian people have an “inalienable right” to statehood AND “to return to their homes and property.” This declaration, unprecedented in international law, granted Palestinian Arabs a right that is not afforded to any other specific ethnic group—no such resolution exists affirming an “inalienable” right to statehood for the Kurds, Tibetans, Basques, or countless others seeking independence, and no refugees anywhere have a right to “return to homes.”

This special treatment of the Palestinian cause, even while terrorism was a central strategy of their campaign, reveals a deep double standard in international institutions. Groups like the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), whose operatives hijacked planes and massacred Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, were welcomed at the UN with open arms. Their leaders were treated as statesmen rather than terrorists. The PLO’s largest faction, Fatah, founded by Yasser Arafat, waged a war not just on Israeli soldiers but on civilians worldwide—from airline terminals in Rome and Vienna to school buses and synagogues.

Yet, the PLO and other Palestinian factions successfully cloaked their violence in the language of anti-colonialism. They painted the Jewish State of Israel—a country with deep historical, religious, and legal claims to the land—as a European settler colony, despite the fact that Jews are indigenous to that specific land. In the bipolar Cold War world, the Palestinian cause was adopted by the Soviet bloc (which pretended it never had colonies despite the entire bloc being colonies) as a weapon against the West, and Israel became a convenient scapegoat for third-world grievances.

Today’s Anti-Zionism: From Nationalism to Jihad

The anti-Zionist movement in 2025 is no longer pretending to be about secular nationalism. Gone are the olive-drab uniforms and revolutionary manifestos of Arafat’s PLO. In their place are the colorful flags of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad—groups whose founding documents do not mention two states, borders, or peace but rather the annihilation of Israel, vile Jewish conspiracy plots, subjugation of Jews and the imposition of Islamic rule.

Palestinian Arabs wave Palestinian and Islamic terrorist group flags in front of the Dome of the Rock atop the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem, following the last Friday prayers of Ramadan, on April 29, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

This is not political “resistance”—it is Islamic terrorism, pure and simple. Hamas, recognized as a terrorist organization by the US, EU, and much of the democratic world, deliberately targets civilians with rockets, suicide bombings, and, most recently, the atrocities of October 7, 2023. That day saw the cold-blooded murder of over 1,200 Israelis—men, women, children, and the elderly—in a coordinated attack that included rape, torture, and hostage-taking. It was not a liberation struggle but a heinous pogrom.

The shift from secular nationalism to radical Islamism has had profound consequences. Today’s anti-Zionist actors no longer make appeals to human rights, self-determination, or even statehood. Their aim is not a Palestinian state alongside Israel but a caliphate instead of it. Hamas’ charter explicitly rejects any peaceful resolution and defines the conflict in religious, not political, terms.

This ideological transformation aligns Palestinian terrorism with broader jihadist movements including al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban. Their ideological DNA is strikingly similar: the use of violence as a religious duty, hatred of Jews as a theological imperative, and contempt for the liberal values of democracy, pluralism, and gender equality.

The Reverse Flow: From Global South to Global North

In 1975, anti-Zionism was projected from the Global South outward, as newly independent states sought to reshape the international order. Israel was falsely cast as a proxy of colonialism. But today, the direction has reversed. Anti-Zionism now festers not only in Middle Eastern regimes and terror groups, but in the heart of the West including Paris, Berlin, London, and New York City.

*Anti-Israel protests in front of Columbia University in New York City*

This shift is in part the result of demographic and ideological changes in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Starting in 2010, the wave of uprisings which once promised liberal reform, instead ushered in chaos, civil war, and Islamist resurgence. Millions fled failed states and collapsing economies, many ending up in Europe and North America. While many migrants seek peace and prosperity in their new homes, a shrill cohort brought the radical ideologies of their home countries—including deep-seated antisemitism and hostility toward Israel.

The result is that anti-Zionist marches in Western cities increasingly showcase imported hatred. Protests ostensibly about Gaza often devolve into anti-Jewish rhetoric, violence, and the open glorification of terrorism. In some cases, demonstrators chant slogans borrowed directly from Hamas propaganda. Far too many on the political left—who once stood for secularism, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ protections—have aligned themselves with Islamist movements that stand for the exact opposite.

Anti-Israel protestors in front of New York City exhibit about those murdered at the Nova Music Festival in Israel on October 7, 2023

In 1975, college Marxists may have read the United Nations’ “Zionism is racism” resolution as simply a tool used by a group seeking national independence. In 2025, the kaffiyeh-clad protestors are shouting for an “intifada revolution” with the religious zeal of Hamas affinity groups. They have been baptized by the current conflict and converted to winner-take-all jihadists.

All Noisy on the Western Front

Palestinian terrorist groups cannot defeat the Israeli army on their own. To defeat Israel, local Arab leadership relies on two principal supporting actors: Islamist countries and groups on the military front, and stripping Israel’s defensive support from the west.

The Islamists countries of Iran and Turkey (both not Arab) and the jihadi groups of Hezbollah and the Houthis provide weaponry, training and funds to fight Israel militarily. Palestinian Arabs hoped for greater success in killing Jews, but appreciated those waging war on Israel.

Hamas continues to count on jihadists – old and new converts – in western cities to wage its bloody antisemitic war. Members of the Global South now residing in the Global North and their allies are an essential front to end support for the Jewish State. Actively removing defenses may appear to pass legal scrutiny by western laws compared to calling for violence, but the desired antisemitic goal is identical: the demise of half of global Jewry who live in their ancestral homeland.

Conclusion

Anti-Zionism in 2025 feels different than it did in 1975 because it IS different. Then, it was driven by secular radicals speaking the language of national liberation—even as they committed acts of terror. Today, it is led by Islamist extremists who openly seek genocide and global jihad. Then, it was framed as the Global South fighting colonialism. Today, it is the Global South bringing its biases into the heart of the Global North.

The “radical left” always carried the notion of anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism but over the last fifty years, it has adopted new comrades and approaches. As the far-left is loathe to call out the antisemitic, anti-gay, anti-feminist zealot allies – lest they appear insensitive to different cultures – they have absorbed new philosophies. Such is the war of “by any means necessary,” a Jew-hunt which is becoming localized by the socialist-jihadi alliance.

*Anti-Israel protestors march in the streets in front of Columbia University*

The movie “All Quiet On The Western Front” was about the brutality of trench warfare in World War I, and the impact on soldiers’ mental and physical well-being. People use the phrase as an expression of things outwardly appearing normal and unchanging while huge terrifying tectonic shifts occur beneath the surface.

Whether a secular nationalist bursts into a synagogue shooting worshippers or a jihadi fanatic does so, makes little difference to the Jewish dead. However, progressives’ abandonment of their own fundamental tenets when it comes to Jews – and doing so proudly and publicly – is a five-bell alarm about crumbling democratic norms.

The Diaspora Intifada (September 2024)

NO Country Has A Right To Exist. Israel SHOULD Exist (January 2024)

The DSA Is Systematically Coming For Zionist Jews (August 2023)

Hamas’s Willing Executioners (July 2021)

Criticizing Muslim Antisemitism is Not Islamophobia (March 2019)

I’m Offended, You’re Dead (February 2015)

Palestinian Arabs Are Slightly Less Genocidal After Being Pummeled In War They Started

Posted on May 7, 2025 by First.One.Through

After a few months of not being able to conduct a poll of Arabs in Gaza and the “West Bank,” the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research released its latest findings on May 6, 2025. As summarized by PCPSR, “favorability of the October 7 attack, the belief that Hamas will win the war, and support for Hamas continue to decline, but the overwhelming majority is opposed to Hamas disarmament and does not believe that release of the hostages will bring an end to the war. Nonetheless, about half of Gazans support the anti-Hamas demonstrations and almost half want to leave the Gaza Strip if they could.”

Unpacking the May 2025 findings when the Hamas military is almost wiped out and the surviving members spend their time boobytrapping buildings and stealing food and aid from Gazans, Palestinians:

support the October 7 massacre;
do not want Hamas to disarm;
prefer the Hamas over Fatah

Figure 1 in the poll shows that support for the barbaric attack of October 7 has declined more in Gaza, from 71% in March 2024 to 37%, while support in the West Bank only declined from 71% to 59% over the same time. As of May 2025, half of all Palestinian Arabs still believe that the attack was “correct”, down from three-quarters right after the massacre.

The pollsters speculate that “most of the public continue to believe the attack and
the following war have placed the Palestinian issue at the center of global attention. Unlike previous polls, today’s findings show that the majority of the public does not believe Hamas will win the current war. Still, a plurality of the public believes that Hamas will continue to control the Gaza Strip after the war.”

Despite virtually the entire command structure of Hamas being killed, 57% of Palestinian Arabs are satisfied with Hamas’s performance, with 67% believing as much in the West Bank, a much higher figure than the 39% in Gaza. For those who believe that Gazans are reluctant to express negative opinions about Hamas because of threats from the ruling party in Gaza, the high figure from the West Bank where Hamas holds no power tells a different story. Palestinians like Hamas.

Further, “when asked whether it supports or opposes the disarmament of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in order to stop the war on the Gaza Strip, an overwhelming majority (85% in the West Bank and 64% in the Gaza Strip) said it is opposed to that; only 18% support it.” Palestinian Arabs would rather fight until the last bullet, rather than end the war with a surrender.

Overall, the opinion of Gazans about Hamas has barely changed from before the war until today. In September 2023, Gazans supported Hamas over Fatah by 38% to 25%, compared to 37% to 25% in May 2025. West Bank Arabs have generally become more supportive of Hamas since 20 months ago, but the favorability has been declining, as shown in Figure 13 of the May poll. Third parties are becoming a bigger factor in Gaza.

Overall, “40% (compared to 43% seven months ago) believe that Hamas is the most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people today while 19% (compared to 19% seven months ago) believe that Fatah led by president Abbas is the most deserving,” a two-to-one ratio, despite Hamas leading to the destruction of Gaza and becoming a shell organization.

While Gazan support for two states has remained relatively constant since before the war, West Bank support has increased from 30% in September 2023 to 45% today. Overall, 57% oppose a “two state solution.”

But the Stateless Arabs from Palestine (SAPs) still think the best way to GET Israel to end the “occupation” is via war, albeit now less than half of the population (41%).

Some other notable findings in the poll:

“While the majority says it does not want to leave the Gaza Strip after the war ends, a large minority wants to do that. Similarly, about half of Gazans are willing to apply to Israel to help them emigrate to other countries via Israeli ports and airports”
Among “satisfaction with Arab/regional actors, the highest satisfaction rate went to Houthis in Yemen, as we found in our previous polls, today at 74% (84% in the West Bank and 61% in the Gaza Strip), followed by Qatar (45%), Hezbollah (43%), and Iran (31%).”
“Al Jazeera is the most watched TV station in Palestine”
Vast “majority (87%) said it [Hamas] did not commit such atrocities [on October 7], and only 9% said it did.”

What can account for these statistics? Nazi Germany ultimately surrendered after it was pummeled in the war, so why do the local Arabs still support the war and want Hamas to continue to fight on, much like the Houthis in Yemen where over 250,000 have died over the last decade of war?

An interesting question was added to this poll which may provide a clue. “A majority of 57% (70% in the West Bank and only 38% in the Gaza Strip) believes that the steadfastness of the residents of the Gaza Strip despite heavy human losses and massive destruction is due to their deep belief in God, fate and destiny while 25% (40% in the Gaza Strip and 15% in the West Bank) believe they have no other option, and 15% (22% in the Gaza Strip and 11% in the West Bank) believe it is due to their belief in their Palestinian national identity.” A majority of SAPs are holding on to the war because of religious conviction, not because of nationalist aspirations. It is a belief held more widely OUTSIDE of the Gaza Strip (70% to 15% in the West Bank) where people are not facing the consequences, then inside (38% to 40% in Gaza). It may also be that Gazans know better than West Bank Arabs that they committed vile sexual assaults and brutal torture of children and the elderly.

Such observation may add clarity as to why 9 out of 10 local Arabs do not believe Hamas committed the atrocities of October 7 despite the video and forensic evidence: because they believe that members of Hamas are deeply religious warriors. Perhaps the antidote would therefore be for the U.S. to pressure Qatar’s Al Jazeera to showcase the evidence.

The other takeaway from the poll is that Palestinian Arabs know that they cannot beat Israel militarily on their own. They need other actors joining the fighting (like the Houthis) and “global attention” to apply pressure on the small Jewish State.

While the world bemoans the destruction of Gaza, the local Arabs remain supportive of launching the war and for Hamas. Western empathy for radical jihadism may stop when the victims are no longer Jews, but at that point, it will be too late to stop the scourge.

ACTION ITEMS

Contact the White House to 1) get Qatar’s Al Jazeera to make clear that Hamas committed heinous crimes against humanity on October 7, including raping women and burning children alive; 2) insist that whichever entity assumes control of Gaza (if not Israel) must disarm Hamas; 3) facilitate Gazans leaving the strip to other countries; and 4) condemn the socialist-jihadi alliance attacking Israel and democratic values.

West Bank Arabs Support For Sinwar And War (October 2024)

Socialist-Jihadi Alliance Attempts To Make Israel A Wedge Issue For Jews (August 2024)

Palestinians Believe The World Will Validate The Ends Justify The Means (March 2024)

Palestinian Poll About October 7 Massacre (November 2023)

Gazans Have Always Wanted To Kill Jews Inside Of Israel (October 2023)

The Start Of The Overdue Cancelation Of UN Immunity

Posted on April 15, 2025 by First.One.Through

At its founding after World War II, the United Nations was declared a bold and righteous institution designed to bring about world peace. To accomplish its mission, it granted itself certain powers under the presumption that the agency’s role and workers were impartial and noble.

Alas, people are people, and the UN’s corruption and partiality grew over the years. It has made the UN not only a deformed shadow of its mission but a deeply dangerous and immoral tool cloaked in nobility.

When United Nations “peacekeepers” were deployed in Africa and Haiti, their role was to stop fighting between warring groups. However, during the deployment, many soldiers raped local women and some young boys. Investigations of the incidents confirmed multiple accounts of sexual assault, and noted that the UN’s shield of immunity protected the rapists, putting the local population at further risk.

*Many UN “peacekeepers” have been accused of rape and shielded from prosecution by the UN’s cloak of immunity.*

Over the past decades in Gaza, thousands of local Arabs join UNRWA, the UN’s “temporary” agency to house and educate the descendants of internally displaced Arabs who left homes a few miles away. It pays well and provides protection to carry out rapes and massacres like the one they perpetrated on October 7, 2023 in Israel.

Or so the UN terrorists hoped.

After many UNRWA workers were proved to have taken part in the barbaric massacre and provided material support to the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group Hamas, victims of the atrocities and their families sued the UN. The UN claimed “immunity” from prosecution and the U.S.’s Biden administration agreed, stating “Because the U.N. has not waived immunity in this case, its subsidiary, UNRWA, retains full immunity, and the lawsuit against UNRWA should be dismissed due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”

In a pathetic attempt to mask its complicity, the UN fired some of the UNRWA workers, several of whom were already dead. It would not prosecute the fired living workers and left such matter of justice to local Gazans and Hamas to manage. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said he fired the workers “in the interest of the Agency,” not as a matter of justice for thousands of butchered, raped and injured civilians in Israel.

It was a despicable display of inhumanity cloaked in virtue.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) had enough. On April 14, 2025, he introduced legislation called the LIABLE Act to strip immunity from toxic bodies like UNRWA. Upon introducing the legislation, Cruz said “The United Nations Relief and Works Agency officials have for decades knowingly provided support to Hamas terrorists, including salaries and materials. That support facilitated Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7th, which was the worst one-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and included the murder and kidnapping of dozens of Americans. Those victims and their families deserve the ability to hold UNRWA accountable, and the LIABLE Act would give them that opportunity.“

The United Nations has morphed into something deeply corrupt and unjust long shielded from prosecution, even for heinous actions. Perhaps the LIABLE ACT is the first domino to end the invincibility of barbarism under cover of white hats.

Impunity Of Immunity Will Always Come For The Jews (November 2024)

The United Nations’ Adoption of Palestinians, Enables It to Only Find Fault With Israel (March 2016)

The Other October 7 Timeline

Posted on April 7, 2025 by First.One.Through

Israel is conducting a thorough review of what internal failures led to the massacre on October 7, 2023. The inquiries and analyses are designed to both assure accountability for mistakes, as well as to prevent future tragedies. The primary focus is on Israel’s military deployment and readiness, which will likely conclude with several changes inside the military.

Another analysis is needed externally – focused on Hamas and Gaza. The timeline below is meant as a framework to better consider how to address the conflict going forward.

Timeline of Key Moments in Gaza That Set October 7 Massacre

1948-9: There are two principle differences between the area east of the 1949 Armistice Lines (E49AL/ West Bank) and Gaza:

The majority of E49AL/WB Arabs are locals, whereas the majority of Gazans used to live in Israeli towns and villages;
E49AL/West Bank was annexed by Transjordan and all Arabs were given Jordanian citizenship; Gaza was only administered by Egypt

The Arabs in the much larger E49AL had citizenship and sovereignty. While most of the world considered Jordan’s annexation illegal, the local Arabs had pride in their Muslim Arab country. They also had control of Jerusalem/al Quds, the third holiest site for Muslims.

Not so for Gazans, who were in a much more confined space without citizenship, sovereignty or holy sites. Instead, they were wards of the United Nations which promised them that they would move into the Israeli towns in which they once lived.

1967: The 1967 war was a much bigger loss for West Bank Arabs than Gazans, as the Gazans already had less. Still, being under the rule of the Jewish State made the lack of sovereignty much more bitter.

2000: The Second Intifada started at the collapse of the Oslo Accords. While pundits point to a Temple Mount visit by Israeli Ariel Sharon as the trigger for the multi-year Arab riots, it was the failure of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to secure all of Arab demands in the negotiations, including moving millions of descendants of refugees and internally displaced people into Israel. This was especially true for Gazans.

2004: As Israel put down the Second Intifada, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon secured a letter from U.S. President George W Bush on April 14 that in exchange for pulling all Israelis out of Gaza, the United States would back Israel in assuring that all Stateless Arabs from Palestine (SAPs) would move to a new Palestinian State and not into Israel, and that new borders of Israel would account for new major Jewish population centers to be incorporated into Israel.

*President George W Bush 2004 letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon*

2005-7: Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 and the Palestinians elected Hamas to 58% of its parliament in 2006. In 2007, Hamas took over full control of Gaza, outsing its rival political group Fatah. In response to the antisemitic genocidal group sworn to its destruction taking over Gaza, Israel imposed a blockade of strip to halt the flow of arms. Gaza, now with self-determination, opted for radical Islam.

2008-14: Under the banner of jihad, independent Gaza did not focus on building up its economy and society but instead focused on destroying Israel. It launched wars against the Jewish State in 2008-9, 2012 and 2014, each put down by Israel. Meanwhile Hamas began to heavily invest in its underground infrastructure inside of Gaza, which in the past was principally used outside of Gaza for raids into Israel (like kidnapping Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006) and smuggling goods from Egypt.

2018-2022: Under the banner of the “Great March of Return,” Hamas led Gazan society to prepare to invade Israel. With United Nations support, thousands of students from UNRWA schools would march to the fence with Israel, familiarizing themselves with the terrain and normalizing their presence for Israelis watching their movement.

Teasing a Gazan crowd about the October 7 massacre to come, *Hamas Political Bureau member Fathi Hammad, former Hamas minister of the interior,* leader speaks in July 2018 that within four years – by 2022 – Hamas will be prepared to rid Palestine of Jews

2021: When Israeli courts approved the eviction of Arab squatters from Jewish owned homes in the Sheik Jarrah section of Jerusalem, Hamas launched missiles into Israel. The action caused Israel to put the evictions on hold, educating Hamas that terror pays.

2023: By this time, Hamas’ underground infrastructure was in place and it had stockpiled thousands of missiles. It had gotten Israel accustomed to “peaceful” protests along the Gaza border fence. Better, it watched Israeli society fight amongst itself about judicial reform, and for the first time ever, a majority of Democrats favored SAPs over Israelis. With Iran on the verge of nuclear weaponry breakout and Hezbollah in Lebanon well armed with roughly 150,000 missiles, Hamas was poised for an all-out war, well beyond the limited skirmishes of prior years.

Gazans are more religious than West Bank Arabs and many more consider themselves entitled to move into Israel as UNRWA wards (81% vs. 49%). Those supporting Hamas were much more likely to understand the “Great Marches of Return” were about external political matters than those from Fatah (59% to 24%, according to a September 2023 PCPSR poll).

While the devastation to Israel on October 7 happened over a single day, it took years of planning. Just as importantly, there was societal buy in for the attack.

Key Takeaways

Israel – and the world – should consider the events that led to Hamas’ genocidal invasion of Israel and formulate strategies beyond eliminating Hamas and its military infrastructure.

The UN and Saudi Arabia must adopt the contours of the 2004 Bush letter. Over 80% of Gazans believe that the world supports their moving into Israel, validating their storming the fence. There will not be peace until the UN and Saudi Arabia make clear that a two state solution means SAPs move into a new Palestinian State, not Israel.
Dismantle UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank. The United Nations has encouraged generations of students that Israel is not really a sovereign entity and that the UN will dictate that Israel will be forced to accept millions of Arabs. With clarity that Arabs will be settled in Gaza and the West Bank, there is no reason for UNRWA to exist in those territories.
Decimation and Vilification of Hamas. As Gazans suffered more over the course of the war, a greater percentage became interested in forging peace with Israel. Additionally, people who supported Hamas were more likely to have not seen any of the footage of the October 7 massacre and did not believe that Hamas conducted rapes. Therefore, Hamas should not only be defeated militarily, but vilified clearly so it will be abandoned by Gazans and West Bank Arabs.
Reroute funding. Gaza’s principal backers have been from Qatar, Iran and Turkey. All of these countries have hostile or tense relationships with Israel and foment anti-Israel hatred. Future funding for Gaza should principally come from countries with good relationships with the Jewish State.
No immediate plans for a Palestinian State. Gazans had internalized that terror pays, as the Second Intifada made Israel abandon Gaza, and the 2021 war stopped the evictions in Sheik Jarrah. The devastation of Gaza must terminate that notion. The only immediate plans for Gaza should be how to rebuild. Engaging in a discussion now about statehood would once again make local Arabs believe that there is nothing beyond the pale in pursuit of self-determination.

The timeline of how Gazans got to October 7 should inform the world about future actions, just as Israel’s inquiries into its military failures will change its practices.

Which Gazans Deserve Assistance? (January 2025)

The Hamas – Gazans Partnership (May 2024)

Destroying Hamas Convinces Gazans To Support Two State Solution. Why Doesn’t The UN Get It? (March 2024)

After UNRWA (February 2024)

When Founding Fathers Are Psychopaths And Cowards (January 2024)

Quantifying the Values of Gazans (May 2019)

The United Nations Can Hear the Songs of Gazans, but Cannot See Their Rockets (December 2017)

On “Accountability and Justice:” Fifteen Democratic Senators And The UN Human Rights Council

Posted on April 6, 2025 by First.One.Through

Nothing sounds so lofty as the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), a global organization that should theoretically be at the vanguard of protecting civilians around the world. Alas, it made itself into a highly biased joke by having ten standing items during each session to cover broad matters, with an exception for a single region – Item 7 – being dedicated to the “Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.”

On April 5, 2024, amid the Gazan-initiated war on Israel, the UNHRC went to town on Israel, passing the outrageously biased Resolution 55/28 with a vote of 28 in favor, 6 opposed, and 13 abstentions. The Global South was joined in voting for the resolution by Belgium, Finland and Luxembourg from Europe. The chickens which abstained were: Albania, Benin, Cameron, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, India, Japan, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, and Romania.

The eight pages of vitriol went well beyond actions during the war. It went beyond settlements. It went beyond withholding taxes.

It implicitly backed Gazans’ genocidal war against Israel stating that the council “reaffirm[s] the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation in accordance with international law.” This statement labeled the State of Israel as a “colonial” power, stripping it of rights of defense and designating it a rightful target for attacks.

The antisemitic text even decried Jews living in their holiest and capital city of Jerusalem. It criticized Israel for archeological excavations near the Temple Mount.

Only in three spots (marked in light blue) in the long list condemning Israel was there any expression that Gazans were doing anything wrong. Each related to the immediate situation of war and none condemned the thousands of Gazans who initiated the war killing 1,200 people, raping women and abducting 251 people, nor the Gazan leaders who threatened to commit the barbaric attacks again and again.

In multiple locations (highlighted in orange), the UNHRC demanded that countries withhold supplying arms to Israel and not take any actions against groups around the world which support the Hamas-led war against Israel. It urged countries to not supply Israel with “dual use” items like jet fuel or facial recognition software which could have both civilian and military purposes.

The text is a sickening farce, especially considering the heading of the resolution which highlighted “the obligation to ensure accountability and justice.” The text of the resolution clearly showed the HRC’s belief that only Israel should be held accountable, while Gazans should be absolved of their actions under the UN’s ode for the Stateless Arabs of Palestine (SAPs)‘ “legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence.”

In April 2025, one year after this shameful resolution passed, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tried to pass two resolutions in the U.S. Senate to block America’s sale of arms to Israel. His introduction to the vote lambasted AIPAC as a nefarious organization, and then called the Israeli government “racist and extremist” engaged in a “barbaric war against the Palestinian people,” even though the Israeli military constantly warns civilians to move out of battlefields and has the lowest civilian-to-combatant death toll of any modern urban war.

Fourteen senators joined Sanders in voting to block the arms sale to Israel in the middle of the multi-front war, including Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

The fact that all fifteen senators voting against supplying Israel weapons during the war were Democrats should not be a surprise. According to a March 2025 Gallup poll, Republicans favor Israel over SAPs by 75% to 10%, while Democrats favor SAPs over Israelis by 59% to 21%. This is a continuation of a trend that started BEFORE Gazans’ October 7 atrocities, as highlighted in Gallups’ February 2023 poll.

It begs us to answer the framework of “the obligation to ensure accountability and justice” in general, even before applied to war. What is the baseline that the UNHRC and Democrats (HRC & D) see the Arab-Israeli conflict?

The HRC&D seemingly believe that Israel is a colonial power and SAPs have a legitimate fight for “liberation.” In such framework, even leaders of Hamas’ “political bureau” are regular “civilians entitled to protection,” (as stated by HRC). HRC&D prioritize imposing sanctions on Israeli Jewish “settlers” in the immediate aftermath of October 7 (as urged by Sen. Van Hollen in November 2023).

The HRC&D baseline for considering “accountability and justice” is that Arabs are justified in fighting Israel, while Israeli Jews are wrong for just living.

Anyone and everyone should be upset with the loss of so much civilian life in the war which started eighteen months ago. But the number of dead on each side obscures the fundamental issue in the conflict is the competing views that Israel is a legitimate sovereign state or a colonial outpost which should be combated by “any means necessary.”

*Masked anti-Israel agitators at Columbia University call for the destruction of Israel*

While the UN Human Rights Council and fifteen Democratic senators have not gone so far to endorse a genocide of Jews in Israel, they are actively seeking to shield Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups and their supporters which seek the destruction of Israel from proper measures of justice.

The Deep Flaws In The UN’s “Peace” Coordinator (August 2024)

The Only Way The Conflict Can End (November 2023)

Hamas Should Face ‘Maximum Justice’ (October 2023)

The Collective Punishment Of Terrorism (June 2023)

Terrifying Trifecta Of Anti-Zionism (April 2023)

The Noxious Anti-Semitism Of “European Settler Colonialism” (September 2022)

Gaza, The Terrorist Enclave (February 2021)

The United Nations’ Adoption of Palestinians, Enables It to Only Find Fault With Israel (March 2016)

Between Hamas And A “Genocide.” Between Radical Faith And Coexistence

Posted on April 4, 2025 by First.One.Through

The expression of being “stuck between a rock and a hard place” relates to being in a very difficult spot between two equally terrible bad choices.

It has been used to describe the situation of the Arab civilians in Gaza, caught between Israel and Hamas. On one side, is an enormous military which Gazans view as interlopers on their land, bombing them to pieces. On the other is their leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Hamas, who rules the Strip with an iron hand.

The Israeli military is accused of “starving” the population and advancing a “genocide” to “ethnically cleanse” the region of Arabs. On the other, Gazans have an organization which may torture and shoot those who protest against them.

On one side, there is an Israeli military that offers financial rewards for information about hostages, bounty for Hamas leaders, millions of dollars to disrupt the “financial mechanisms” that prop Hamas, and billions of dollars to Hamas to disband. On the other is martyrdom.

*Leaflets dropped by Israel offering rewards for Gazans who provide information on hostages*

From the Israeli side, Gazans hear a party that will end the war immediately if the hostages are returned and Hamas surrenders. From Hamas, they hear that the Arab fight is a holy one sanctioned by Allah, as they ask Gazans to sacrifice their children for the holy mission of cleansing the land of Jews.

Are Gazans truly between two EQUALLY terrible choices?

For the devout, they are asked to decide between a peaceful and prosperous life in this world, and one of holy jihad to rid “Palestine of filth of the Jews.” The Global North (3% Muslim) would immediately chose the former while the Global South (26% Muslim and 42% Muslim excluding Latin America and China) would urge Gazans to chose the latter.

*Global North in blue and Global South in red*

The Gazans are similarly divided according to devotion. In a PCPSR poll conducted in November 2023, soon after the October 7 massacre of 1,200 people in Israel and abduction of 251 people, support for the massacre was correlated to religious beliefs, with “religious and the somewhat religious (76% and 71%, respectively) compared to the non-religious (42%)” supporting Hamas’s attack.

The calculus is changing now that Hamas’s power is collapsing.

Gazans are not numb after 18 months of war, having experienced ceasefires. They see that Israel is not intent on a “genocide” the way portrayed by their leaders but are intent on achieving the aims of releasing the hostages and ending Hamas’s rule. Gazans also see a severely weakened Hamas which cannot round up opponents en masse and drag their bodies through the streets or toss them off buildings.

So Gazans have started to protest Hamas’s rule.

But Hamas will not go quietly. It has begun to execute protestors, including 22-year old Odai al-Rubai.

So Israel reentered Gaza with ground forces and tanks, intent on applying maximal pressure on Hamas to give up the hostages and surrender, and hopefully inspiring Gazans to pressure Hamas to end the war.

Gazans see that they are no longer between a rock and a hard place, at least as it relates to the PHYSICAL threats from Hamas. They will still have to square whether their Islamic beliefs will permit coexistence alongside a Jewish State, or will accept a short-term “hudna” truce and patiently wait for the Islamic world to rally for “the cleansing of Palestine of the filth of the Jews” in the years to come.

From a Global North’s perspective, there should not be a divide between religious faith and coexistence. Gazans should not feel torn between practicing Islam and living in peace alongside a Jewish State.

But the tension is very real as preached by “Muslim Scholars” based in Qatar and elsewhere. Radical Islam is poisoning the Middle East, placing Muslims in a quandary of life, land and belief, which can only be resolved by killing every Jew in Israel.

The end of the current physical war is approaching. The ideological war remains.

First Time In History, People Under ‘Genocide’ Reject Ceasefire. Repeatedly. (December 2024)

Stop Genocide. Destroy Hamas (May 2024)

Destroying Hamas Convinces Gazans To Support Two State Solution. Why Doesn’t The UN Get It? (March 2024)

Humble Faith (October 2021)

Gazans Support Killing Jewish Civilians (February 2021)

Regime Reactions to Israel’s “Apartheid” and “Genocide” (March 2017)

Names and Narrative: Genocide / Intifada (March 2016)

“The Day After” The Hamas War, For Israel

Posted on April 3, 2025 by First.One.Through

Many countries have pressured Israel to develop a plan for “the day after” the war for Gazans. It is a curious question, as many of those same countries have condemned Israel for operating in Gaza and demand that it leave immediately. Furthermore, they all know that any plan developed by Israel will likely be viewed with hostility and rejected outright by Gazans.

A more relevant question for Israel is what the day after will look like for Israel.

There are many aspects to that question.

What is the plan for rebuilding Israeli towns near Gaza? Will there be new codes for security, safe rooms, layouts of the streets and homes, etc.?
How will Israel manage security with Gaza? Will it construct a different type of fence and monitoring system to better protect Israelis? Arm the military bases there differently?
Will it allow work permits for Gazans, and if so, how will it manage it?
How will it monitor materials flowing into Gaza as part of a rebuilding operation?

*Gazans smash through security fence into Israel on October 7, 2023*

As it relates to what the world most wants to hear, a restart of a political process with the Stateless Arabs from Palestine (SAPs) in Gaza and East of the 1949 Armistice Lines (E49AL), much depends on reforms made by the counterparty.

It will also depend on the United Nations.

First, the UN must clearly state that the future of their so-named “Palestinian Refugees” who never lived in Israel will not move into Israel. Their future is in a future state of Palestine, which the UN claims already exists and is “occupied.” As part of crystalizing that, it must announce plans to close all UNRWA operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

Second, to bring Israel to the table and engage with the UN as part of the process, the UN Security Council should revoke UNSC 2334, a blatantly antisemitic resolution. That resolution demands an ethnic cleansing of all Jews from E49AL, including Judaism’s holiest location, the Old City of Jerusalem.

*Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN (left) and US Secretary of State, John Kerry (right) enabled the antisemitic UNSC 2334 to pass in the waning days of the Obama administration*

There is precedent for such action. In 1991, the UN rescinded UNGA 3379, which declared that Zionism was a form of racism, to get Israel to participate in the Madrid Conference, which ultimately yielded the Oslo Accords. Such action ended the First Intifada and could help end the Iranian Proxies Intifada of today.

The UN has long been the biggest instigator of the regional conflict by making promises to local Arabs on behalf of Israel, and then pressuring Israel to meet those demands. It is time for the UN to either shift course and be constructive with each party, or desist from the matter.

Israel is engaged in a war in Gaza it didn’t start or want, and will end immediately if Hamas surrenders and returns all of the hostages. Israel doesn’t need a plan for “the day after” in Gaza but should be consulted to ensure that a new regime will bring stability in the region and be a counterpart with whom to coordinate the transfer of goods and people.

Israel should be focused on its own “day after” plans. To the extent that the world wants to encourage a path to an eventual “peace process,” the UN needs to make significant reforms, including rescinding UNSC 2334.

The Three “Two-State Solution”s (December 2023)

UN “Peace Coordinator” Before And During Hamas Massacre (October 2023)

The UN Has No Interest in Mid-East Peace, Just a Palestinian State (October 2021)

The Only Precondition for MidEast Peace Talks (June 2016)

The Israeli Peace Process versus the Palestinian Divorce Proceedings (June 2015)

A Warm Israeli Heart In Brooklyn

Posted on March 31, 2025 by First.One.Through

The religious Israeli singer Hanan Ben Ari came to Brooklyn on the night of March 30, 2025. His songs calling for peace and unity drawn from holy texts drew a crowd of Israeli expats, yeshivish men and women, Russian and American Jews. They sang and stood on their feet for the entire show.

Hanan Ben Ari’s presence also brought out a handful of anti-Israel protestors who waved Palestinian flags, placards about President Trump and shouts of “Zionism has got to go!” to let everyone coming to the concert know that the pro-Palestinian group hated THEM and their beliefs as much as the singer.

*Anti-Israel protestors yell at Jews going to concert at Brooklyn, March 30, 2025 (photo: First One Through)*

As the State of Israel continued to decimate the terrorists of Gaza, the mood was both happy and somber. Happy that many hostages were home, as well as pleased that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other Gazan terrorist were being brought to justice. Yet also sad that dozens of hostages remain in Gaza after 571 days, that so many people have been killed, and that there’s no clear sight to peace. Hanan made those points directly and repeatedly throughout the night, that he doesn’t want to beat the Gazans; he just wants a peaceful world.

*Hanan Ben Ari singing “Shemesh” in Brooklyn, NY on March 30, 2025 (photo: First One Through)*

Hanan discussed one member of his crew who had lived alongside Gaza, who was killed in the first days of the war. He told the audience about two members of the crew who remained captives of Gazan terrorists, and the audience shouted to “Bring them home!”

*Screen showing two members of Hanan’s crew still held by Gazan terrorists.*

But Hanan also celebrated three former hostages held by the Gazan terrorists who were freed and at the show that night. The crowd cheered as the singer introduced them and shared everyone’s sentiments how happy they were. Hanan shared a story that one of the hostages told him, that he couldn’t believe how many people around the world were praying for his well being. Hanan added that one day soon, that will be the norm, that everyone will pray for each other’s well being, even in times of peace.

The show was definitely charged with Israeli energy. In the lobby of the concert hall, people from the Israeli American Council were getting people to sign onto the World Zionist Congress election to vote for the IAC slate. People in the crowd carried Israeli flags. Almost the entirety of the concert was in Hebrew.

*Audience at Hanan Ben Ari concert holding Israeli flag, March 30, 2025 (photo: First One Through)*

And the artist himself did the same. He brought out a flag and sang “Am Yisrael Chai!” “The nation of Israel lives!” to an adoring audience.

*Hanan Ben Ari holding Israeli flag at Brooklyn concert on March 30, 2025 (photo: First One Through)*

The concert ended with the singing Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem by the band. Almost all of the audience stood and sang along, with some Ultra Orthodox Jews sitting out because while they are believers in the LAND of Israel, the Jewish people and Judaism, they oppose the secular Jewish state.

*Audience waves Israeli flags at Hanan Ben Ari concert in Brooklyn on March 30, 2025 (photo: First One Through)*

As rain fell on a cold early spring night, the small crowd of anti-Israel protestors left. The Jewish crowd poured into the light showers outside. And the heart of Israel who has sung hundreds of times at Israeli army bases and at the beds of wounded Israeli soldiers, packed his gear to fly to Miami for a last U.S. show before heading to Israel for Passover.

People call Israelis “sabras” because they resemble the cactus fruit which is prickly on the outside and sweet on the inside. Lost in that analogy is the warmth of the heart, which would rather be sweet and accessible to everyone without thorns, even in a defensive war.

October 7 And A Year (October 2024)

A Visit To A Nation Held Hostage (July 2024)

Now Is The Time For Sabra, An Israeli Superhero, To Join Captain America (October 2022)

UNSC Makes Slow Progress In Calling Out Hamas

Posted on March 26, 2025 by First.One.Through

The United Nations Security Council met once more about Gaza on March 18, 2025, and the parade of charges against Israel’s conduct in its defensive war was to similar tunes.

Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, criticized Israel for halting aid into the terrorist enclave and for preventing UNRWA for operating freely. He would go on to also comment on Israel’s operations to root out terrorists in the West Bank.

Countries from the Global South, the majority of which recognize a Palestinian state, followed his remarks, starting with Algeria, Somalia, Sierra Leone from Africa, and Guyana in South America. Only Sierra Leone would condemn Hamas (29:45) even though it would equate the Israeli hostages with “detainees” held by Israel.

Then the representative of the United States, Dorothy Shea, took the floor.

At every moment, Shea would call out Hamas. She referred to it as a “brutal terrorist organization” which has a “disregard for human life.” It demanded Hamas “release the hostages it abducted” and called out the group’s refusal to do so and extend the ceasefire.

Shea mentioned “Hamas” thirteen times, and only stopped discussing “Hamas’s savagery” which “threatens peace and stability” when she pivoted to the opportunity to reshape the region for a better and more prosperous future.

France, a member of the Global North, spoke next and it condemned Hamas’s attack of October 7 but did not call for Hamas to be eliminated. Further, it said that “a global political resolution” to the conflict was needed, not only trying to sideline Israel’s military operation but the country’s effort to work a bilateral agreement with the Stateless Arabs from Palestine (SAPs).

The representative of Panama spoke next and at 51:15 specifically called out Hamas’s attack of October 7, its refusal to abide by commitments to release Israeli hostages and condemned the group.

The Global North continued with Russia and Slovenia speaking next and both gave Hamas a complete pass. The United Kingdom and Greece said that Hamas can have no role in a future Gaza but did not condemn the political-terrorist group.

Pakistan and China ignored Hamas. South Korea would only condemn Hamas’s abduction of hostages. Denmark condemned both Hamas’s October 7 massacre and taking of hostages and said there can be no role for Hamas in the future of Gaza.

The sorry state of the UNSC barely mentioning and condemning Hamas and calling for it to face maximum justice is not new. When the council first met in October 2023 at the start of Hamas’s war, only the United States would call out Hamas. At that time I wrote “If and when the United Nations can call out the evil of Hamas, thousands of lives in the region will be saved, and the terrorist group will be on a path for elimination. I am not optimistic.”

We are tens of thousands of dead later, and only a few countries in the Global North have started to call out Hamas, led by Denmark and Panama. The relative silence from France, the United Kingdom, Greece and South Korea is disappointing. The behavior of Slovenia and Russia is appalling.

The countries of the Global North at the UN Security Council must lead in clearly condemning Hamas and insisting that it be dismantled completely. Thousands of additional lives are at stake.

ACTION ITEMS

Thank the United States government and its mission to the UN at (212) 415-4000 for being a leader for placing the blame for the war and ongoing suffering squarely on Hamas.

Thank the governments of Panama (emb@panama-un.org, 212.421.5420) and Denmark (nycmis@um.dk, 212.308.7009) for clearly condemning Hamas.

Contact the UN missions from France (212.702.4900), the UK (212.745.9200), Greece (212.888.6900, grdel.un@mfa.gr), and South Korea (212.439.4000, korea.un@mofa.go.kr) and ask them to do more.

Vilify Russia (212.861.4900) and Slovenia (212.370.3007) for allowing barbarism to go unmentioned and putting thousands of additional lives at risk.

More Muslims Visit The Jewish Temple Mount / Al Aqsa Mosque On Single Day Than All Jews Over The Past Year

Posted on March 22, 2025 by First.One.Through

As the Muslim world prepared for Ramadan, a time for charity and prayer, the leader of Hamas’s “Jerusalem office” attempted to incite a jihad against Jews in Jerusalem.

Turkey-based Harun Nasser al-Din, a U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), urged an escalation of “resistance in all its forms in Jerusalem”, a clear incitement to terrorist attacks during the Islamic holiday.

Despite the ongoing war from Gaza and active incitement, Israel allowed hundreds of thousands of Muslims to enter the holy city for prayers. On the first Friday of Ramadan, there were an estimated 90,000 Muslim worshippers which declined to roughly 80,000 Muslims over the second and third Friday of the Islamic holy month. The Palestinian leadership was angry that the figure was way down from 250,000 who visited on Ramadan Fridays before the war, and Israel’s limitations on only older Muslims ascending for prayers.

Those 2025 single day figures dwarf the 55,000 total number of Jews who visited the site during the entire Jewish calendar year 5754 (September 2023-4).

Despite the hundreds of thousands of Muslims praying openly at Judaism’s holiest site while a fraction of that number of Jews get to only visit and not pray at the site, the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinian Arabs, Francesca Albanese said on March 13, 2025 that Israel’s actions show a deep “racist bias.”

The United Nations, the Islamic world and Israel itself are indeed racist – against Jews. The denial of basic Jewish human rights is appalling.

One cannot expect the world to change course until Israel declares the obvious, that the “status quo” of banning basic Jewish prayer at Judaism’s holiest site is a disgraceful, antisemitic humiliation and insult to Jews around the world.

If Palestinian Arabs are incensed that it is an outrageous limitation to permit only Muslim men over 55 and women over 50 onto the Temple Mount to pray during Ramadan unless they had special permits, Israel should announce that starting immediately after Ramadan, only Jewish men over 55 and women over 50 will be allowed to pray at the site. It is seemingly an unimportant constituent for Muslims, so likely a good starting place to right the historic wrong.