Brand Campaign

Many of Israel’s military “goals are plausibly achievable. But Israel’s larger stated aim—of utterly eradicating Hamas—is impossible. Hamas is a brand name, not a list of individuals and objects. Israel could destroy its leaders and all of its equipment, declare victory, and leave Gaza to its fate. Hamas, in some form, would still crawl out of the rubble and declare a ‘divine victory’ of its own.” Israel has the right to defend itself and any nation in the world would react with force after Oct 7. But can an Israeli military victory also be a political one? Hussein Ibish in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Israel’s Impossible Dilemma.

+ The protesters shouted: “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.’ The dilemma for many American Jews includes the rampant rise of antisemitism. White House blasts protest of Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia as ‘unjustifiable.’ And Islamophobia is also on the rise. The Palestinian American student who was shot in Vermont is paralyzed from the chest down. In ways big and small, the battle over a sliver of land plays out across the world.

+ Here’s the latest from CNN, BBC, and Times of Israel.