DAY 181 OF THE GAZA WAR: Fear of an Iranian Attack, Biden Gives Israel an Ultimatum; Israeli Government Responds

Tel Aviv Diary, April 4, 2024

Israel experienced a challenging day on multiple fronts. Civilians were gripped by the fear of potential war erupting in the North or directly from Iran in retaliation for the assassination of Mohammad Reza Zahedi and other Al Quds members. Reports surfaced of governmental preparations for a possible war, including advisories for banks to be ready for increased cash withdrawals and unconfirmed reports that the Ministry of Education instructed boarding schools to send students home for the weekend. Additionally, there was a public mobilization of reservists in the Air Defense Division yesterday and reports of canceled leave for all combat soldiers.

The Army also instigated a very public redirect of GPS service, causing locations in Tel Aviv to appear as if they were in Beirut suddenly. This tactic had been tested before, but this very public execution aimed to signal a GPS-enabled rocket or drone to miss its target. This action triggered widespread concern, reminiscent of the early days of the war, leading people to once again stockpile food and water and consider purchasing generators in anticipation of a prolonged power outage. By late afternoon, the Army Spokesperson conducted a briefing, affirming that there had been no alterations to the Homefront Command's directives.

While urging people to remain vigilant, the spokesperson reassured that there is no immediate expectation of an escalation into a wider war. I share this viewpoint. According to Iranian officials quoted by Reuters, Iran intends to retaliate but does not seek to provoke a broader conflict. Should Iran have wanted a more extensive confrontation, they would have already initiated one. They will not be drawn into a war unless they determine it serves their strategic interests.

ROCKETS FROM GAZA

Today's second major challenge arose from a sudden barrage of rockets launched from Gaza towards Israel. Attacks targeted Kfar Azza and the outskirts of Netivot (after a two month hiatus), followed by subsequent strikes on Sderot and Ashkelon. While majority of the rockets were intercepted or fell in uninhabited areas, one rocket hit a street in Sderot. This incident occurred on the 181st day of the war, during which Israel purportedly has control over most of Gaza, yet rockets continue to rain down on Israeli soil.

BIDEN

Furthermore, it was a trying day for Israel-US relations, underscored by a notably difficult telephone exchange between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden. Below is the White House's summary of the call:

President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps. He underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home. The two leaders also discussed public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people. President Biden made clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in the face of those threats.  

What President Biden means is very clear. Biden has indicated that  the U.S. might withdraw its unwavering support for Israel unless the country intensifies its efforts to improve the humanitarian situation and better protect civilians. Additionally, it was also evident that Biden does not believe Israel is going far enough in its negotiations with Hamas to secure the  hostage’s release. The only positive aspect of Biden’s remarks pertained to the US backing of Israel in the event of a confrontation with Iran.

It should be kept in mind that this conversation took place after the tragic killings of the aid workers. A report detailing the incident has been presented to the IDF Chief of Staff explaining what happened, but has not yet been released to the public. As I have emphasized over the past weeks, we must adopt more proactive measures in the humanitarian arena/sector.

SECURITY CABINET MEETS

Tonight, a security cabinet meeting was held. At the conclusion of the meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu issued the following statement:

1. The IDF is prepared for any development with Iran, both regarding home front defense, as well as in offense.

2. The cabinet authorized the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, and Minister Gantz to take immediate steps to enhance humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is essential for continuing the fight and achieving the war's objectives. In light of this, Israel will allow the temporary supply of humanitarian aid through Ashdod and the Erez crossing and increase Jordanian aid through Kerem Shalom.

We could have taken these steps to enhance humanitarian aid weeks ago.

Conversely, Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir would clearly prefer a confrontation with the US and for Israel to act alone. Ben-Gvir office issued this statement:

A vote did not take place this evening in the cabinet on authorizing Ministers Gallant and Gantz to increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and the announcement published on the matter by the Prime Minister's Office is not correct*. Minister Ben-Gvir and others opposed the proposal, and it is regrettable that the Prime Minister refrained from bringing this to a vote.

The correct way to bring back our abducted is to stop the entry of aid to Gaza and to condition any humanitarian condition — only in exchange for humanitarian. It's a shame that instead of entering Rafah, some prefer to deal with bringing equipment into Gaza that goes straight to Hamas. We must enter Rafah now!

Ben-Gvir’s declarations are addressed to his base, who believe that Israel operates independently without US support. If only that were true.

For anyone who believes Donald Trump would be more favorable to Israel, please take note. Here is what Trump said today when he phoned into conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s show Thursday morning and addressed recent comments he made interpreted as critical of Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

“And so, are you still 100 percent with Israel? And what’s your advice to Netanyahu, beyond ‘Get it over with in a hurry?’” Hewitt asked.

“Well, that’s all the advice you can give. I mean, that’s the advice,” Trump said. “You’ve got to get it over with, and you have to get back to normalcy.”

“And I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it, because you’ve got to have victory,” he continued. “You have to have a victory, and it’s taking a long time. And the other thing is I hate, they put out tapes all the time. Every night, they’re releasing tapes of a building falling down. They shouldn’t be releasing tapes like that. They’re doing — that’s why they’re losing the PR war. They — Israel is absolutely losing the PR war.”

The former President added that Israel must “finish what they started, and they’ve got to finish it fast, and we have to get on with life.”

Trump is undoubtedly right about our failure in public relations!!

JEWS AND BLACKS

Relations between the Jewish and Black communities experienced ups and downs in the 1980’s. While they continued to collaborate in Congress to advance Civil Rights and other objectives, the relationship was negatively affected by antisemitic comments from some African-American leaders. In the 1980s, Rev. Jesse Jackson emerged as the preeminent Black spokesperson. However, Jackson’s presidential campaign faced setbacks when a Black journalist from the Washington Post disclosed that Jackson had used the term “Hymies” to refer to Jews and called New York City “Hymietown” in a recorded interview.

Following Jackson, Al Sharpton became a prominent figure, stirring controversy. In 1991, amidst protests triggered by City College Professor Leonard Jeffries' antisemitic remarks, Sharpton made a provocative statement:

If the Jews want to confront us, they should pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house." Shortly after, a tragic accident involving a seven-year-old black boy and a Hasidic driver led to anti-Jewish riots in Crown Heights, where a young Hasid was fatally stabbed. During this tumultuous time, Sharpton incited the rioters further by saying, "If you harm one of these little ones, you must face the consequences. There will be no compromise, no meetings, no casual discussions, no pretending everything is alright.

The statements made by Sharpton, who later partially retracted his own remarks, paled in comparison to the stances adopted by Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan’s statements labeling Jews as "termites" and calling Judaism a "gutter religion", along with his assertion that Hitler was a "great man" (a statement he later adjusted to "wickedly great"), received extensive coverage. Moreover, Farrakhan’s organization, the Nation of Islam, has circulated the infamous hoax known as “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.

Farrakan has turned out to be a more influential leader than some of the others and continued to have sway. In 1984, following Jesse Jackson's third-place finish in the Democratic presidential nomination race, polls indicated that 65% of Jackson’s delegates viewed Farrakhan positively.

Ten years later, Farrakhan's call for a “Million Man March” in Washington attracted an estimated 400,000 attendees, according to D.C. officials (though some estimates were higher) — even without a definitive agenda, objectives, or the backing of major organizations. Numerous public figures, including a then-emerging Barack Obama attended the event. For a short period, the Congressional Black Caucus aligned with Farrakhan.

In 2018, Tamika Mallory, serving as co-president of the Women’s March, attended the Nation of Islam's annual event where Farrakhan declared, “Satanic Jew...your time is up.” Mallory praised Farrakhan as the “greatest of all time” or “the GOAT” and subsequently asserted that “white Jews, as white people, uphold white supremacy”. This leads us to the present day and the article by Franklin Foer, in which Foer specifically marks the election of Donald Trump as the catalyst that fueled more extreme positions among the left, who now identified themselves as the opposition.

Foer writes:

In an early planning meeting, at a New York restaurant, an activist named Vanessa Wruble explained that her Judaism was the motivating force in her political engagement. But Wruble’s autobiographical statement of intent earned her a rebuke. According to Wruble, two members of the inner circle planning the march told her that Jews needed to confront their own history of exploiting Black and brown people. Tablet magazine later reported that Wruble was told that Jews needed to repent for their leading role in the slave trade—a fallacious charge long circulated by the Nation of Islam. (The two organizers denied making the reported statements.) That moment of tension never really subsided, either for Wruble or for the left.

When the march’s organizers published their “unity principles,” they emphasized the importance of intersectionality, a theory first introduced by the law professor Kimberlé W. Crenshaw. It would be insufficient, she argued, for courts to focus their efforts on one narrow target of discrimination when it takes so many forms—racism, sexism, homophobia—that tend to reinforce one another. Her analysis, incisive in the context of the law, was never intended to guide social movements. Transposed by activists to the gritty work of coalition-building, it became the basis for a new orthodoxy—one that was largely indifferent to Jews and, at times, outwardly hostile.

When the Women’s March outlined the array of injustices it hoped to conquer in pursuit of a better world, antisemitism was conspicuously absent from the list. This striking exclusion was a curious omission — given the prominent role that Jews played in the conspiracies promoted by the MAGA right — and a telling one. Soon after the Women’s March, organizers pushed Wruble out of leadership. Wruble later said that antisemitism was the reason for her ouster.

Tomorrow: A look at antisemitism on the Right

BUSINESS

Investors in the Israeli unicorn Redis recently sold shares as part of a secondary transaction. This deal valued Redis at over $2 billion, slightly above the company's valuation during its previous funding round in 2021. Among the funds that sold shares in the company are the Israeli Viola and the American Tiger Global, with buyers of the sold shares including existing Redis investors who increased their holdings and at least one new investor. The total shares sold are estimated to be worth a few hundred million dollars.

Redis, which develops database technology under the management of Ofer Bengal, is estimated to have an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $200-300 million and is targeting an IPO on Wall Street in 2025-2026, subject to market conditions. Although Redis had already begun the process of going public in 2021, market conditions changed, and the plans were postponed.

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A PIECE OF HISTORY

History Armistice Talks

On January 13, 1949, armistice talks between Israel and Egypt commenced on the Greek island of Rhodes, mediated by Ralph Bunche, who succeeded Count Bernadotte. Representing Israel were: Walter Eytan, the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; IDF Chief of Operations Yigael Yadin; and his aides, including Yitzhak Rabin, the Southern Front’s operations officer. The Egyptian delegation was led by Colonel Muhammad Seif el Dine and Abd al-Mungim Mustapha, a Foreign Ministry official.

As the talks began, Israel appeared to hold all the cards. Israeli troops had recently defeated the Egyptians and controlled strategic positions, posing a threat to the Egyptian forces. In their initial proposals, the Israelis demanded that Egypt withdraw all its troops from what was then Palestine, including the Gaza Strip and Gaza City. The Egyptians, on the other hand, demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Beersheva and other locations in the Negev.

After six weeks of tough negotiations, each side made concessions, and it was ultimately agreed that the border between Israel and Egypt would follow the 1906 border between Egypt and the Ottomans, with the exception of Gaza, which Egypt would retain. The agreement also allowed the Egyptians in the Faluja gap to keep all their equipment. The agreement was signed on February 24, 1949.

Following the agreement with Egypt, talks commenced near Rosh Hanikra between Israel and Lebanon. These talks lasted three weeks and resulted in Israel withdrawing from a small strip of land to the international border.

The talks with Jordan were lengthy and complex. Jordan was keen to sign an agreement, knowing that by the end of the war their troops were no match for IDF forces, and if they did not concede to most of Israel’s demands, Israel would take the territories by force. On April 3rd, the two sides signed an agreement in Rhodes. The sides agreed to maintain limited troops on both sides of the border. The Jordanians ceded territory that was 2-3 miles wide from just southwest of Qalqilya northward to Wadi Ara and then toward Jenin. Issues around Jerusalem, such as access to the Wailing Wall and Mt. Scopus, were deferred to a later committee, one that never reached any agreement

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The final talks were held with Syria and concluded on July 20, 1949. Under the terms of the agreement: "The Syrians withdrew back to the international frontier, and the areas evacuated became demilitarized zones (DMZs). Local Jewish police administered the Jewish-inhabited areas (Mishmar Hayarden, Ein-Gev), and local Arab policemen administered the Arab-inhabited areas (Kirad al-Baqqara).”

Regrettably, none of these accords were peace agreements but merely documents to cease the fighting and recognize the current borders.

My radio appearance earlier in the week!