Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Head of anti-Hamas Gaza militia says it’s backed by vast tribal network, not by Israel

2025-07-21

[IsraelTimes] Yasser Abu Shabab tells British media he’s just an ordinary Palestinian trying to help his people, dreams of Strip being open to world, including Israel, after the war

The leader of a Gazook militia operating in an area under Israeli military control said on Sunday in an interview with British media that his group is not funded or armed by Israel, describing himself as "just an ordinary Paleostinian person who cares about his own people."

Hamas
Hamas

..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
has accused Yasser Abu Shabaab of being a criminal, a looter, and a traitor, and earlier this month demanded that he turn himself in to the terror group for prosecution.

"Hamas either accuses their [opponents] of being traitors working with Israel or being criminals. I am neither of these," Shabaab told the Sunday Times. "I was an ordinary construction worker before the war. I have no military training. I am just an ordinary Paleostinian person who cares about his own people."

He added that if a ceasefire is reached between Israel and Hamas, he and his group will need "international protection" from the terror group that rules Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
, which he said would likely use the pause to crack down on internal dissent.

According to Abu Shabaab, Hamas has killed 52 members of his family, including his brother.

He denied accusations by the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
that his group was looting aid entering Gaza, or that he had direct involvement with Israel. He said his group was funded and armed by supporters within his tribal network.

The comments contradicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confirmation last month that Israel had given weapons to the group. The decision to start arming the group was made without the approval of the security cabinet, forgoing normal procedure. It was instead led by security bodies, with Netanyahu’s approval, defense sources said at the time.

"I’m from the Tarabin family. We are a big tribe that extends not only to Gaza, but also to Egypt, to Jordan, and even into some Gulf countries. Notable members of our family contributed money, and we used this money to buy products from the markets in Gaza and give it to needy people from our community," Abu Shabaab told the Times.

"When I saw our people were suffering from the fact Hamas was stealing aid and was bringing this war with Israel upon the Gazooks, leaving our people struggling and displaced, the idea sparked to create a safe zone for our people where we don’t fight," he added. "So my tribe and my family started to distribute aid to people who were in need."

According to the report, the "most prominent wealthy member" of the Tarabins is Ibrahim al-Arjani, a Sinai-based Egyptian businessman who made millions from charging Paleostinians fees for using the Rafah crossing to flee the war in Gaza.

When asked if his militia could manage the Rafah Crossing after the war, Abu Shabaab said: "Of course."

But "first we need to defeat terrorism," he said, adding that his "ideal" vision for postwar Gaza is "one open to the world, to Egypt, Arab countries and Israel."

"Many of my family members live in Israel in a good situation without any discrimination," he said.

Abu Shabaab has been seen operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah and Khan Younis, and represents the first significant internal armed opposition movement to Hamas’s rule over the Strip’s residents.

According to Hamas sources who spoke with the Lebanese al-Akhbar outlet last month, the militia comprises some 300 people, of whom Abu Shabaab personally recruited around 50. They alleged that the remaining 250 members were recruited through the Paleostinian Authority’s intelligence service.

The group emerged in Rafah in May 2024, following the IDF incursion into the Strip’s southernmost city, the Hamas sources said. They told al-Akhbar that the al-Qassam Brigades have "already started carrying out direct liquidations" of members of Abu Shabaab’s gang, and that its continued existence has fast become a "central issue" for the terror group.

The Hamas sources did not offer proof of Abu Shabaab’s alleged ties to the Ramallah-based Paleostinian Authority, and al-Akhbar did not verify any of the terror group’s claims.

According to the sources, some members of the group belong to an bad boy Salafi faction that had run-ins with Hamas prior to the war as well.

This is not the first time that Netanyahu has been involved in or accused of propping up militias and terror groups to undermine a common enemy.

Various reports over the years have indicated that Israel’s policy under Netanyahu was to treat Hamas as an asset that could be used to weaken the Paleostinian Authority.

Israeli forces have operated inside the Gaza Strip for some 21 months, since the Hamas-led terror onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, 50 of whom are still held captive.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 454.

During this time, more than 58,000 people have been killed in the Strip, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Abu Obeida vows continued resistance in Gaza, warns against failed negotiations …from somewhere in Gaza’s tunnels

2025-07-20

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for al-Qassam Brigades, affirmed on Friday that the Paleostinian resistance continues its heroic fight in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
despite four months having passed since the Israeli occupation resumed its brutal assault on the region.

''In recent months, the enemy announced an operation it called ''Gideon's Chariots,'' attempting to project biblical myths in order to confer false sanctity on its racist, Nazi war—a war resembling nothing but the deeds of devils and the practices of filthy, cowardly gangs,'' Abu Obeida said in his speech on Friday evening

''We confronted the ''Gideon's Chariots'' operation—and continue to do so, by the power of God—through a series of ''Stones of David'' operations, inspired by God's victory for His believing servant David (peace be upon him) in his confrontation with the oppressive, tyrannical Goliath. God granted our fighters success and guided their aim by His permission. God was with His soldiers, as they repeated with every strike: ''And you did not throw when you threw, but God threw.''

He continued: ''During these months, the resistance fighters have caused hundreds of casualties among the enemy's soldiers—killed and maimed—and thousands have suffered from psychological disorders and trauma. The number of enemy soldiers committing suicide continues to rise, due to the horror of the filthy and bloody acts they commit, and the magnitude of the resistance they face, surrounded by God's presence and His soldiers.''

He added that the resistance fighters attempted multiple new capture operations in recent weeks, some of which nearly succeeded. However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
Israeli forces responded by killing their own soldiers to prevent capture.

Abu Obeida warned that Hamas
Hamas

..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
will not return to the formula of partial prisoner exchanges or the ''10 prisoners'' proposal if Israel fails again in the current round of negotiations.

''If the enemy remains stubborn in this round of negotiations, we will not guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal concerning ten prisoners,'' he said.

Abu Obeida criticized ''Israel'' for showing disregard toward its own captured soldiers. He said Hamas offered more than once in recent months to strike a comprehensive deal to release all Israeli prisoners at once, but Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government refused.

''They are not interested in their prisoners. They have already prepared their public to accept their death,'' Abu Obeida said. ''But we, up to now, have committed to preserving their lives as much as possible.''

He added that the resistance is closely monitoring the ongoing negotiations and still hopes they may result in an agreement that ends the genocide, ensures Israeli withdrawal, and brings aid to Gaza. ''But if the enemy backtracks again, we will reconsider everything,'' he said firmly.

Abu Obeida also condemned the ''global silence'' in the face of Israel's continued offensive and siege. ''The enemy receives endless supplies of weapons from the world's most powerful forces, while our people are bombed, starved, and denied water and medicine,'' he said.

He condemned the Arab and Islamic governments' betrayal. ''To the leaders, elites, and scholars of this nation: you are the adversaries of every orphan, widow, and displaced child before God.''

The spokesperson described the Israeli genocide as ''a Nazi war of extermination'' and accused Tel Aviv of planning mass ethnic cleansing under the guise of humanitarian relocation. ''This is not defense. It is sadistic vengeance and racial hatred, masked by fake biblical myths,'' he said.

Abu Obedia extended special thanks to the Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
i people and the loyal members of Ansarallah for their unwavering support.

''We extend our salutations to our dear and blessed people in Yemen—the land of wisdom and faith—to their armed forces, and to the sincere brothers of Ansarallah, who astonished the world with their steadfastness and the truthfulness of their stance with Paleostine, Gaza, its people, and its fighters. They imposed an effective front on the enemy and presented a decisive argument against those who remained idle and submissive—among the major Arab and Islamic regimes, powers, and parties—some of whom, sadly, have become fronts for injustice and sedatives for the people and their free youth. Their credibility and grand slogans have been put to the test in the face of their betrayal and failure to support the purest and holiest cause of Arabs and Moslems.''

In closing, Abu Obeida praised the people of Gaza for their resilience, and saluted global solidarity efforts.

Delayed response to updated ceasefire proposal partly because Hamas leaders are in Gaza tunnels, source says

[IsraelTimes] Part of the reason that it has taken Hamas several days to respond to the updated Israeli maps of the IDF’s partial withdrawal from Gaza during the 60-day truce under discussion is due to the time it takes to transmit and receive messages from the terror group’s military leaders who are hiding in tunnels underneath the Strip, a source involved in the mediation effort tells The Times of Israel.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Demonstrators in the West Bank voice support for Gaza; some pro-Hamas chants are heard

2025-07-20

[aisraelTimes] This evening, several hundred demonstrators took to the streets in two West Bank cities in support of Gaza residents amid the ongoing war.

At a protest in Ramallah attended by a few dozen people,

…a few dozen? Golly….

chants were heard including “We are your people, Hamas” and “Salute to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.” A protest was also held in Nablus, where chants were heard in support of Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing.

Media outlets affiliated with Hamas claimed that Palestinian Authority security forces attempted to disperse the demonstrations, though there is currently no evidence to support this.

Demonstrations by West Bank residents in support of Gaza have taken place only a handful of times over the past two years.

[X]

"تحية لكــتائب عز الدين" ..#شاهد| هتافات داعمة للمـقــاومة خلال مسيرة غاضبة جابت شوارع رام الله نصرةً لغزة وتنديداً باستمرار الإبادة والتجويع#غزه_تموت_جوعاً pic.twitter.com/h2kyryfdi0
— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) July 19, 2025

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Al-Qassam Brigades announce operation in Beit Hanoun

2025-07-09

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The complex operation in Beit Hanoun, which targeted an area the occupation forces believed to be empty after completely leveling it, dealt a significant blow to the prestige of the Israeli military, said Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas
Hamas

..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
In a statement published on Telegram on Tuesday, Abu Obeida added that the war of attrition being waged by Resistance® fighters across the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip, from north to south, continues to inflict daily losses on the Israeli occupation.

''Our fighters launched their attack from the very ruins the occupation believed were devoid of life,'' Abu Obeida stated, adding, ''The war of attrition our fighters are fighting across the entire Gaza Strip, from the North to the South, will continue to cost the enemy more losses by the day.''

He also warned that even if the occupation previously managed to extract its soldiers from what he described as ''the inferno'', it would not succeed again, alluding to the potential for more Israeli soldiers to be captured in future confrontations.

The IDF takes a larger view of the situation:

IDF Surrounding Northern Gaza Town As Dozens Said Killed In Strikes

[IsraelTimes] The military is surrounding Beit Hanoun "from all directions," IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said in a presser on Tuesday after five troops were killed in an ambush in the northern Gaza town Monday night.

"Beit Hanoun is a fortified area, where dozens of turbans still remain. There are still many underground tunnels that we must demolish," said Defrin.

"We will continue to attack and clear the area to remove the threat to the residents of the western Negev," he said, noting that Beit Hanoun overlooks several border towns, including Sderot, as well as a train line.

IDF probe: 3 bombs were remotely detonated in deadly northern Gaza ambush last night
[IsraelTimes] Three explosive devices were remotely detonated in succession against troops in the deadly ambush last night in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, according to a military probe.

Five soldiers were killed and 14 were wounded in the attack, which took place around 1.5 kilometers from the Israeli border.

According to the IDF’s investigation, most troops were hurt by the first and second bombs, which were detonated within a few moments of each other. The first bomb hit several soldiers, and the troops that rushed to help them were hit by the second bomb.

As the third bomb was detonated, a cell of Hamas operatives opened fire with light arms on the Israeli troops.

The military believes the bombs, rigged up to remote detonators, were planted by the Hamas cell during the previous 24 hours.

Following the attack, the IDF dispatched Israeli Air Force drones, helicopters, and fighter jets to the area to prevent any potential attempts by Hamas to abduct the soldiers. Within an hour and a half, the incident was considered over, according to the military.

The military believes that dozens of Hamas operatives remain holed up in Beit Hanoun, mostly deep underground in the terror group’s tunnels.

The offensive in the northern Gaza town is intended to clear it of these remaining Hamas operatives, the IDF says.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas leader Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa killed in airstrike, IDF says

2025-06-29

[NYPOST] Israel's military ''eliminated'' a founding Hamas
Hamas

..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
military leader and criminal mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack, Tel Aviv officials said Saturday.

Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa was killed during a targeted ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
on the Sabra neighborhood of Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
City, Israel Defense Forces said.

Al-Issa was one of the final remaining founding members of the terrorist organization's military wing and played a crucial role in the Oct. 7 attack that launched the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

''Issa led Hamas' force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre. As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis,'' said an IDF post on X.

''The IDF & [Israel Security Agency] will continue to locate and eliminate all snuffies involved in the October 7 massacre.''

Al-Issa was a ''key source of knowledge'' for Hamas and held a litany of high-ranking positions within the group prior to Oct. 7, including as the Head of the Training Headquarters.

He was pivotal to rebuilding Hamas' organizational systems that were damaged over the last several months.

Issa was also a co-founder of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades' military academy, where he trained thousands of snuffies and influenced the structure of the military wing, the Jerusalem Post reported.

He arrived in Gaza in 2005 from Syria, and was reportedly with his wife and grandson during the strike.

Issa’s death comes just days after the IDF claimed to have killed the leader of a brutal Palestinian jihadist group responsible for the kidnappings and cold-blooded murders of Hamas hostages captured on Oct. 7.

Asaad Abu Sharia, head of the Mujahideen Brigades, was taken out in a joint operation in Gaza City on Saturday by the Israeli Defense Forces and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.

Also, last month, the IDF killed Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar during an airstrike on a Gaza hospital.

Sinwar was hiding in tunnels beneath the building — and dramatic footage captured the moment IDF soldiers ripped his body from the rubble.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

IDF: Records prove spokesman for Gaza Civil Defense is ‘active terrorist’ in Hamas; “Nu-uh,” lies he

2025-06-09

[IsraelTimes] Documents show a request to transfer individuals working in civilian agencies to military duties, among them Mahmoud Basal, who is widely quoted in international media

The Israel Defense Forces published intelligence documents on Sunday, captured during operations in Gaza, that it said prove that the spokesperson for the Civil Defense Agency in the Strip is an “active terrorist” in Hamas and a member of the terror group’s military wing.

Mahmoud Basal “has served as a spokesperson for the Civil Defense for a long time and exploits his position to spread false and unverified information to international media outlets, falsely attributing war crimes to Israel and presenting distorted data,” the military said in a statement.

“This information has received media exposure worldwide and has severely distorted the reality on the ground,” the statement said.

The documents recovered by the IDF in Gaza show that Basal “is a terrorist in the Hamas terror group, and as part of his role, he serves the purposes of psychological warfare and propaganda,” according to the military.

The documents appeared to show Basal listed on a roster of operatives for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing.

The documents requested that the listed individuals, who it said were working in civilian agencies and as civilian staff at the time, be transferred to military duties, noting that their expertise is needed and that they will be assigned according to their specialties.

In a clip published by the IDF, Basal can be seen being interviewed on television and quoted by prominent media outlets like CNN, The Guardian and The Washington Post.

A Google search of Basal’s name shows that many major English-language media outlets have cited his statements when reporting on casualties in Gaza.

Gaza’s civil defense spokesman denies being a member of Hamas
[IsraelTimes] After the army accused the spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense of being a Hamas terrorist, Mahmoud Bassal denies the allegation.

Citing documents found during its forces’ Gaza offensive, the IDF said Bassal was “an active terrorist” in the group whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. It issued copies of what it said were Hamas membership lists to the media. The military accused Bassal of serving Hamas’s objectives by spreading false and unverified information about its operations in Gaza.

“This is a false accusation,” Bassal tells AFP. “I do not work for any military organization,” he says, adding that the agency’s mission is guided by international law.

Beyond the IDF’s latest specific accusation against Bassal, all organizations operating in Gaza do so at the pleasure of Hamas since its 2007 violent takeover of the enclave.

📄EXPOSED: Mahmoud Bassal poses as a “Gaza Civil Spokesperson”. However, intelligence documents expose him as an active Hamas operative.

Watch to see how: pic.twitter.com/hBjKyvKDC2

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 8, 2025

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas warns that IDF attack threatens life of Israeli captive Matan Zangauker

2025-06-08

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Abu Obeida, the military front man for Hamas
Hamas

..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
' al-Qassam Brigades, has stated that ''Israel'' will be held fully responsible if captive Matan Zangauker dies during any rescue attempt, while Paleostinian Resistance® fighters continue to confront advancing Israeli occupation forces in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Abu Obeida revealed that Israeli occupation forces are surrounding a location where Israeli captive Matan Zangauker is being held, however, he warned in a statement on his Telegram channel today that Israeli troops would not be able to retrieve him alive, holding the Israeli military fully responsible if he is killed during any rescue attempt.

In the meantime, Paleostinian Resistance® factions continue to face Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, launching various operations against Israeli troops across the Strip. The al-Quds Brigades announced they shelled a gathering of Israeli soldiers and vehicles advancing near the eastern Satar area, northeast of Khan Younis, with a barrage of 60mm mortar shells.

Additionally, the al-Quds Brigades announced that its fighters had successfully ambushed yesterday an Israeli unit that was sheltering inside a house in Tal al-Zaatar, east of the Jabalia refugee camp.

The al-Mujahideen Brigades, on its part, revealed that its fighters, upon returning from the frontlines, confirmed they had targeted a gathering of ''Zionist enemy forces'' east of al-Shujaiya in northern Gaza with mortar shells, inflicting direct casualties. The brigades stated that Israeli forces had confirmed at least one soldier was maimed in the attack.

The Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades announced that its fighters, upon returning from combat, confirmed they had successfully targeted gatherings of Zionist enemy forces stationed north of Beit Lahia with two 107mm rockets. They framed the operation as part of their ongoing response to the occupation's crimes against their people.

Hamas issues new photo of hostage Matan Zangauker

[IsraelTimes] Hamas on Saturday published a new photo of hostage Matan Zangauker, claiming Israeli troops were “besieging” the area where he was being held in Gaza and threatening to execute him should troops come near.

The military stressed in a statement that no attempt had been made to extract Zangauker.

In the image, Zangauker is propped up on his side as a blanket covers his lower body, while an IV drip bag can be seen in the background.

“We affirm that the enemy will not be able to recover him alive. We have preserved his life for 20 months; if this prisoner is killed during an attempt to free him, the occupation army will be the one responsible for his death,” said Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.

”He’s a human shield, O Yahoods. To get to us you will go through him, dead or alive.”

“This is a final warning,” he added.

The photo was published amid intensified military operations throughout Gaza, as negotiations for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal continue.

Channel 12 reported in May that Zangauker was struggling to stand on his own and was suffering from ongoing intestinal problems and stomach pains. The report was based on an account by released American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, who was held alongside him.

It was reported at the time that Zangauker has gone through long periods of closing himself off in a corner of the tunnel where he is held, refusing to speak or eat, and suffers from shakes and weakness due to muscular atrophy.

Zangauker was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, alongside his girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky. Gritzewsky was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a temporary ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

Hamas has previously said it would execute hostages if Israeli troops were seen approaching areas where they are being held. In August 2024, Hamas murdered six hostages in Rafah as Israeli forces operated nearby, though the troops were unaware of the hostages’ presence. Their bodies were found a few days after their executions.

Military officials have repeatedly said that every strike and ground operation in Gaza is carefully planned out in order not to endanger Israeli hostages, based on Israeli intelligence.

Link

Olde Tyme Religion

Toni Airaksinen: How Columbia Hamas Supporters Led Me To Convert to Judaism

2025-06-08

Heartwarming journey to a double Happily Ever After. Read the second half at the link.

[Substack] A petition against Israel I refused to sign lit the fuse of anger in my peers at Columbia.

When I began studying at Barnard College of Columbia University in 2015, I was on a full-ride scholarship. Coming from a foster-care type upbringing, I had no family. No friends in NYC. And no support system. But I was full of hope, excitement and dreams to study.

But when a student knocked on my door my after I moved in with a Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) petition against Israel, I paused. Was this a friend or foe? What was this about?

I had only vaguely heard of Israel and Paleostine, and I didn’t feel comfortable signing the petition. Geopolitics wasn’t my strong suit. And I barely heard about Israel or Paleostine before. So, I told the girl that I couldn’t sign it till I did more research, and she left, seemingly ok with that response.

Days later, she again asked me to sign the BDS petition.

I still hadn’t researched the conflict, so I declined again. Then next day, I recall that the girl had tagged me in the Barnard and Columbia Class of 2018 Facebook pages, which had each hundreds of members, that "Toni Airaksinen is an apartheid supporting Zionist who doesn’t care about Paleostinians and people of color." I was aghast.

I never said any of that. What’s a Zionist?

Suddenly, new acquaintances turned into vicious enemies. In searching for help, I learned that to Barnard students, Israel and Zionism was antithetical to the social justice orthodoxy they fought for.

Paleostine and Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...

..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
supporters and their allies targeted me, banged on my door at night, sent me thinly veiled death threats through Tumblr and Facebook, and stalked me through the campus grocery store, often hurling slurs under their lips.

I was forced to stop eating at the Barnard dining hall because students would "accidentally" bump into me, making me drop my tray. Instead, I found refuge at Columbia University’s dining halls and began taking all my classes at Columbia instead, where the students didn’t know me and it was easier to blend in, at least for a few months.

By not agreeing with students on Paleostine, I was branded a hater of people of color, a supporter of "apartheid" and "segregation" — basically, evil.

It was the late 2010s, and the activist zeitgeist revolved around "trigger warnings", decrying the "wage gap" and "microaggressions", the #MeToo movement, and fighting "apartheid" in Israel — mostly through petitions to ban Sabra Hummus and calls to divest the endowment from Israeli-related stocks such as Raytheon.

The campus zeitgeist had no place for me.

At some point during my freshman year, I made a Facebook post about the harassment I was getting. An SOS. A desperate plea for help. I was terrified.

I didn’t know what help I needed.

But after that post, I woke up to dozens of messages and friend requests. Who were these people? I wondered. Since I had grown up atheist in a small town, I had only a vague idea of who Jewish people were. But in droves, they came to my rescue.

One Jewish Upper West Side mom literally came to my dorm the same day with a care package. She gave me her phone number for emergencies. She was a Barnard alumna, and was shocked at what I told her.

Other Jewish strangers soon invited me to Shabbat dinners on the Upper West Side and in Brooklyn. They gave me advice — mostly, "Stay quiet" and "The college is not on your side."

Many texted me occasionally, to check in. Many of them, and my peers, assumed I was Jewish. But I wasn’t.

Not yet.

My new Jewish acquaintances brought me into their circles. Soon after, I started schlepping to Brooklyn every weekend, hanging out with Jewish college students, lighting shabbat candles, studying for exams and trying not to worry about school.

But things took a turn for the worse in my sophomore year.

Residential Life admins assigned me to live in the "Social Justice House" at Barnard. Why? I don’t exactly remember.

The Social Justice House was built on kindness and respect, but I didn’t realize it was a political hotbed until I began meeting my housemates. My folly.

My roommate, Fatimah, was Paleostinian and a member of SJP. My other suitemate was a leader of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a Barnard anti-Israel club that works in lockstep with SJP. A Lebanese-Paleostinian girl was down the hall. I shuddered as every other weekend, they and other pro-Paleostine students from Barnard and Columbia held activist style meetings in my dorm’s kitchen while smoking reefer and hookah, giggling about me in hushed tones.

I had no clue how I got placed with them. Perhaps Barnard officials thought I would change my mind on Israel?

But when I asked my resident assistant if I could change dorms, I recall her asking something along the lines of: "Have you considered learning more about Israel’s apartheid?"

I later learned she too was an SJP supporter.

Slowly, I learned more about Israel and Paleostine. As a student journalist covering campus politics nationwide for websites like USA TODAY and PJ Media, I covered stories about Jewish college students and antisemitism across the country. I thought I was doing something helpful. But the harassment continued.

Again, I appealed on Facebook. What should I do? Help?

Over the next week, more Jewish students, New Yorkers and Columbia alumni reached out. This time not by the dozens, but by the hundreds. They were appalled at what I was facing, but nobody had the power to do anything.

Nevertheless, they became almost like a family to me. During the weekends, summer, and winter breaks, Jewish rabbis and moms in Brooklyn graciously opened their homes to me when I had nowhere else I felt safe to stay.

They drove me to doctor appointments, connected me to journalism opportunities at Jewish-allied media companies, taught me about Halacha, how to cook meals for large parties and so much more. For all that, they asked me to sign nothing.

Once, while staying with a rabbi during my sophomore year in the summer, after a year of living with Paleostinian activists, I asked whether I should convert to Judaism.

I was already learning the basics of keeping kosher, some of the Shabbat prayers, and bits and pieces of Halacha (Jewish law). So why not convert? Plus, wouldn’t this make my "landlords" happy?

Nay, the rabbi’s wife said. "We adore you.. You don’t have to convert to stay here. There’s no pressure." Phew.

But that was less of a deterrent as it was an inspiration. I continued studying Judaism anyway, hanging out in shuls in Crown Heights and Midwood with my friends to study Torah and Yiddish words, and observing the Jewish holidays in a rudimentary way.

Over at Barnard — during the school week — I joined the school newspaper.

But one night, after I published a column in The Columbia Spectator, the Columbia University newspaper, a young man named Benjamin reached out to applaud one of my articles. I was excited. He was cute. Over on Twitter, I had built up over 18,000 followers, and my articles were going viral. That’s how he found me: Twitter. Of all places. I had pledged not to meet my fans, but something was different about him. But eventually, we fell in love.

I soon arranged my Columbia classes so that I could leave campus on Thursday night to see Benjamin in New Jersey, and come back Monday or Tuesday morning. The less time I spent on campus, the less I was harassed. The less I was seen, the less harassment I heard. The less I said about the harassment, the less bullies felt empowered to intimidate me.

Sometimes, the most gracious thing you can do in the face of hate: is to stay silent.

At one point during junior year: I had read enough. I didn’t support the chants of "to the river to the sea", the catchphrases about "globalizing the intifada" and knew I didn’t support Paleostinian’s vision of "Israel" without Jewish people.

I continued publishing stories about Jewish students and antisemitism. Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, there was another explosion...

...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact...
I mostly kept quiet about my own harassment, not wanting to invite extra attention, scared that I would anger more hate to descend on me.

My senior year, I skipped the keffiyah-fest known as graduation, scared to be seen on campus. When I got my 2018 graduation yearbook in the mail: my name was suspiciously absent. But I’m cautious to point the finger: it could have been a mistake. But I doubt it.

Later, when Benjamin and I moved to Boca Raton in 2023 after the October 7th attack on Israel, I felt ready: I felt called to Judaism. To me, converting wasn’t a choice. It was my destiny. There’s absolutely no other way I felt I could live my life without Judaism. By then, Jews were more of my family than the "family" I had grown up with.

Link

Good Morning

2025-06-04

Trump opens bombshell investigation into ageing Biden's final days in office that could put former president's family behind bars

Wednesday 06/04/2025

Rockets fired from Syria for first time in a year, Israel blames Sharaa; another Houthi missile downed without effect

merleoberon

Africa Horn Kenya's Elite Troops Kill Al-Shabaab Militants in Operation Near Somalia Border		Africa Horn Puntland Forces Kill Over 35 ISIS Fighters in Major Offensive
Terror Networks Sanctuary States, Sleeper Cells, and a Nation on the Brink		Fifth Column Columbia protestor had direct link to Hamas' deadly al-Qassam Brigades militant group: DOJ
Israel-Palestine-Jordan Police say 2 foreign activists to be deported after entering closed military zone in West Bank		International-UN-NGOs Report: Syria's Sharaa will address UN General Assembly in New York in September

'Thousands' of South African Refugees
to [MAY] Arrive in U.S. by End of Summer

Link

Fifth Column

Columbia protestor had direct link to Hamas' deadly al-Qassam Brigades militant group: DOJ

2025-06-04

[NY Post] A "Jew hater" who protested against Israel on Columbia University’s campus and contemplated setting a student on fire allegedly had a direct link to Hamas’ deadly al-Qassam Brigades militant group, The Post can reveal.

Tarek Bazrouk — currently awaiting trial charged indicted on three federal hate crimes against Jewish people — was "a member of a chat group that received regular updates from Abu Obeida," the official spokesperson for the brigades, according to allegations in federal documents.

The accusation is the first evidence of an agitator receiving information directly from Hamas and taking action during protests on the University campus.

Bazrouk, 20, who was not a Columbia student, also frequently wore the green headband used by Hamas terrorists and boasted to friends about having relatives overseas who were part of the terror group, prosecutors claim in a court filed letter.

While on Columbia’s campus during protests in April 2024, Bazrouk allegedly texted a pal saying he lit a flare and considered lighting someone on fire, but that there were "too many" people around for him to take on, otherwise he "would’ve hurted (sic) them."

Bazrouk, a US citizen born and raised in New York, was also arrested next to the campus in December 2024 for one of the three attacks against Jewish people he stands accused of.

It is not clear how Bazrouk got on campus, which is private university property, but Columbia was beset with anti-Israel protesters shielded by masks throughout 2024, resulting in the NYPD being called to flush them out in April that year.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Child Spies: Israeli Secret Service Confused by Triple Agents

2025-05-21

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] The "intelligence war" between Iran and Israel continues. This time, a 16-year-old teenager, who was under investigation by both the Iranians and the Israelis, has come under counterintelligence's scrutiny. The incident has sparked heated debate.

The defense and prosecution versions of the double agent differ dramatically, and it is not entirely clear from them whether the young man acted entirely independently or became a “collateral damage” in an ill-conceived operation by Israeli security forces.

However, while the investigation into the youngest spy was underway, a blow to Israel’s security was dealt by those whom the country’s intelligence services had considered their shadow allies for several years.

THE SPY FROM SHEPHELAH
In mid-May, the Israel Security Service (Shabaq) reported the arrest of a 16-year-old teenager from Shefela, accused of working for Iranian intelligence. According to the investigation, the Iranian handlers assigned the youth simple operations to equip hiding places, photograph city objects and prepare propaganda materials.

Moreover, the Iranians even tried to organize a face-to-face meeting with the new agent on the territory of a third country in order to deepen contact, but these plans were thwarted by counterintelligence.

The plot of the case, at first glance, is not much different from other similar cases. The teenager became the eighteenth person involved in a large-scale campaign to combat Iranian agents in Israel and even carried out the same tasks as other Iranian "pawns". However, there are some specific features.

For example, at some point the teenager himself informed the authorities about contacts with representatives of a hostile state and even allegedly received instructions from operatives on how to safely interrupt communication with the recruiter.

However, as noted by the Shabak, the young man did not heed the advice and continued to interact with his Iranian curator, for which he was soon detained.

The prosecution insists that the arrested man acted “solely out of selfish motives,” flaunting his status as an agent of several countries and counting on rewards from both Iran and Israel.

This is hardly entirely true. The Iranians clearly did not place a serious bet on the teenager (due to his inexperience and difficulty in control), but they could well have tried to use him to briefly divert counterintelligence attention from larger and more important figures in the spy network.

And this bet partly justified itself - the case of the "spy from Shefela" really did push aside other scandals for a short time.

FALSE TRAIl
The Shefela "double agent" is far from the only one to stir up the Israeli public. Much greater damage to the reputation of the Jewish state's intelligence services was caused by a large-scale intelligence failure in the Gaza Strip, which developed according to a similar scenario.

Shortly before the start of Operation Gideon's Chariots in Gaza (May 2025), the Israeli press, close to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made a sensational statement: it turns out that the wide network of Palestinian agents created in Gaza before the conflict, considered the "eyes and ears" of the Israeli intelligence services in the enclave, had in fact been working for Hamas all these years and misinforming official Tel Aviv.

The agents not only concealed Hamas' plans to break out of Gaza on October 7, 2023 (which effectively caught the intelligence services and the army off guard), but also disrupted Israeli operations to eliminate the movement's functionaries several times. Thus, these agents only pretended to work for the enemy, i.e. they were no longer double, but triple agents.

For example, thanks to them, Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, who is now tipped to become the head of Hamas, escaped the IDF's attack in mid-2024. The Israelis still cannot figure out his new location.

In addition, Hamas actively used the services of “Israeli” agents to provide official Tel Aviv with false information about the mood in the enclave and among the movement’s command staff, about the number and combat readiness of the underground and the condition of the hostages.

The “game” became especially active on the eve of new rounds of negotiations, which partly explains the extraordinary flexibility of the Israeli delegation on a number of issues – for example, their readiness to support the ceasefire regime introduced in the enclave in January 2025.

However, in the case of false agents in the ranks of Hamas, Israeli security officials eventually managed to rectify the situation by involving less senior, but more reliable sources in the case, including representatives of competing Palestinian factions.

As a result, by the start of Operation Gideon's Chariots, the security services and the army had managed to inflict a number of painful defeats on the Palestinians, including the elimination of Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar and a number of his associates.

DARK PLACES
Although the aforementioned spy scandals fit well into the logic of the current “intelligence war” in the Middle East, they contain many controversial points.

Thus, in the case of the teenager from Shefela, the picture of the situation presented by the Shin Bet is strikingly different from the arguments of the lawyers.

The defense insists that the teenager agreed to cooperate with foreign intelligence under pressure from circumstances—anonymous recruiters knew his home address and information about family members.

The law enforcement officers to whom he complained about the persecution were unable to guarantee him protection and preferred to “pass the buck” to their colleagues from counterintelligence.

At the same time, the Shin Bet also decided not to disrupt the recruitment, preferring to use the potential Iranian agent “in the dark” to reach out to other potential agents of the network, which is at odds with the statements of counterintelligence agents about the “extensive briefing” of the arrested man.

And by doing so, they de facto pushed the teenager to cooperate with the enemy. As a result, the young man found himself drawn into a dangerous game in which he was left on the receiving end.

The situation partly echoes the “Hoffman affair,” which thundered across the country in 2024. At that time, military intelligence colonel Roman Hoffman (now a general and military secretary to the prime minister) and several of his subordinates recruited a 16-year-old Israeli to carry out controlled leaks of classified information through his Telegram channel.

However, after counterintelligence intervened, the military distanced itself from the newly minted agent, and he spent almost a year in prison on charges of disclosing classified information - more than 44 days of which were spent in interrogations by the Shin Bet. It is highly likely that the current spy story was also the result of excessive self-confidence on the part of some operatives.

The hype surrounding the case of the “Hamas triple agents” appears to be man-made and serves a more obvious purpose.

In particular, the repeated refrain that it was the re-recruited Hamas agents who “blinded” counterintelligence damages the reputation of the outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, with whom the Israeli authorities have had a protracted conflict.

It was Baru who is credited with the initiative to massively convert former Hamas supporters in order to have eyes and ears in the most remote parts of the enclave.

It is quite possible that when developing the operation, the Shin Bet chief was guided by the successful experience of recruiting Musab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of the founders of Hamas, especially since he subsequently supplied Tel Aviv with valuable intelligence for more than ten years.

However, due to the lack of sufficient leverage over the newly-minted agents, the attempt failed.

If the matter goes beyond newspaper attacks and escalates into a court case (as Israeli hawks are gradually calling for), it will finally knock not only Bar out of the saddle, but also his closest associates.

And in the future, it will allow the Prime Minister’s office to lobby for a convenient candidate for the high post and thereby finally purge counterintelligence of old opponents.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Al-Qassam Brigades release video of Israeli captive wounded in Israeli airstrike on Gaza

2025-05-05

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas
Hamas

..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
, released a new video on Saturday showing an Israeli captive who appeared to have been severely maimed in an Israeli ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip.

''I am detainee number 24. We were bombed after the ceasefire ended, and we escaped death. That's why we went down into the tunnels. We were bombed again while being underground,'' the captive said in the video.

The captive criticized the strategy of the Israeli government, which he blamed for his current ordeal.

''My health is critical. There is no access to medication, and seeking medical help is impossible. I do not know what happened to my mate who was with me,'' he added.

The captive urged Israelis to continue protesting against Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and pressuring him to agree to a prisoner swap deal in order for him and the other Israelis in Gaza to return home.

The Hebrew media identified the captive in the video as Maxim Herkin, an Israeli-Russian citizen.

Link

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