1) At the ITIC, Dr Eli Galia maps ‘The Pro-Iranian Militias in Syria’.
“Of all the militia forces and armed groups operating in Syria under Iranian aegis, Hezbollah-Lebanon poses the greatest conventional military threat to Israel. The organization’s operatives are constructing a system for collecting intelligence along the Golan Heights border, which is meant to serve as a base for planning attacks orchestrated by Iran, which aspires to preserve the “resistance axis,” threatening Israel through proxy organizations.”
2) At the INSS, Udi Dekel explains how ‘The Palestinian Resistance Axis Converges with the Iran-Hezbollah Axis’.
“There are several facts that contradict the narrative that Hezbollah was not a partner to the Hamas decision to launch rockets from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel. It is impossible that Hezbollah would not be aware of rocket launchers positioned and hidden in southern Lebanon; in the same context, it is unlikely that Hamas acted independently in this region without the approval of Hezbollah and the knowledge of Iran. In fact, media outlets that focus on Iran reported that Iran and Hezbollah knew ahead of time about the rocket launches from southern Lebanon and gave advanced guarantees that Hezbollah would support rocket launches form this region in the event of Israel’s “desecration” of al-Aqsa.”
3) At the Fathom journal, Karolina Placzynta presents a case study of ‘Patterns of Antisemitism in Mainstream Media Comment Threads’.
“With the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine just passed, we are seeing many analyses of how the war has affected the lives of people in Ukraine, Russia and – albeit less directly – the UK over the past twelve months. Examples of its impact are many and complex, but one that probably does not immediately come to mind is a shift in antisemitic hate speech in British online media. And yet, there is compelling evidence that mainstream media coverage of the invasion has boosted the levels of antisemitism – especially Israel-related – in online comments sections, and that they may be particularly high in the UK.”
4) On the Gesher Galicia podcast Oren Kessler discusses the 1939 White Paper.
“On Yom Hashoah we remember our sacred martyrs killed by the Nazis and their collaborators. One of the reasons they were able to kill so many is because Jews trying to flee the impending catastrophe had no place that would accept them. Just as war was breaking out and the Jewish plight became more desperate, Great Britain closed the gates of Palestine with its infamous White Paper of 1939. Why did that happen and how did it come about?
Oren Kessler in his new book, Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict tells the story.”
Wishing happy holidays to all our readers celebrating Eid al Fitr and to our Druze friends who will be celebrating Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu’ayb next week.
