How Palestinians Are Trying to Destroy Lebanon

by Bassam Tawil • May 2, 2023 at 5:00 am

According to these reports, Hamas could not have carried out the rocket attack without the blessing of Hezbollah, Iran's terror proxy in Lebanon.
"[T]here are those who seek to turn Lebanon into a military base. What [Hamas] did [by firing missiles at Israel] will be an incentive for other organizations to carry out similar military actions that could drag Lebanon into disaster." — Elie Mahfoud, a lawyer for Sovereign Front for Lebanon, Asharq Al-Awsat, April 24, 2023.
Hezbollah has proven that it is the only authority in Lebanon and that the Islamic Republic of Iran controls all aspects of the country." — Kheirallah Kheirallah, veteran Lebanese journalist, Al Arabiya, April 9, 2023.
Kheirallah also took the Lebanese foreign ministry to task for protesting against Israel when it fired back "instead of asking itself what Hamas and its rockets are doing in Lebanon."
The bad news... is that Lebanon will continue to be used by Iran's ruling mullahs and their proxies as a launching pad to attack Israel as long as the Lebanese people do not rise up against them.
More bad news: this is exactly what will happen if and when a Palestinian state is established next to Israel. This new state will be used by Iran and its terrorist militias as a base for attacking Israel and killing as many Jews as they can.

Last month, rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. Several reports suggest that Hamas was behind the attack, and that Hamas could not have carried it out without the blessing of Hezbollah, Iran's terror proxy in Lebanon. Pictured: Lebanese soldiers stand next to a truck carrying a multiple rocket launcher after confiscating it from Hezbollah terrorists, in Shouayya, Lebanon, on August 6, 2021. (Photo by Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images)

Many people in Lebanon are worried that the Iranian-backed Islamist group Hamas and other Palestinian terror factions might drag Lebanon into another war with Israel.

The concern was expressed after several rockets were fired in early April from south Lebanon into Israel. Several reports have suggested that Hamas was behind the rocket attack. According to these reports, Hamas could not have carried out the rocket attack without the blessing of Hezbollah, Iran's terror proxy in Lebanon.

The voices condemning Hamas for using Lebanon as a launching pad to attack Israel reflect the widespread fear in Lebanon of engaging in another war with Israel, especially as the country faces an unprecedented economic crisis. According to a March 2023 report in Axios:

Continue Reading Article

Harvard's 'Council on Academic Freedom'

by Alan M. Dershowitz • May 2, 2023 at 4:00 am

It is good that so many professors signed on to it [the Council on Academic Freedom] so quickly. It is bad that it is even needed at a place like Harvard whose motto, Veritas, means truth. But "truth" can be a double-edged sword, especially at a university.
The "truth" can sometimes be the enemy of freedom. When people believe they, and only they, have access to THE TRUTH, they see little need for debate, dialogue, dissent and disagreement. Indeed they regard such contrary views as heresy. That has been the way of many religions over the years as well as numerous ideologies such as communism and fascism.
[T]he real headline is that so many faculty members refused or declined to participate in an organization whose goal is to promote free speech.
The shared perspective [of the Council] is in favor of freedom of speech and academic freedom for all views, no matter how unpopular. The goal is to protect the expression of all views and to protect those who are threatened or sanctioned for expressing them.
Freedom of speech, due process, the right to counsel and other fundamental liberties are in peril.... Remaining silent is often the safest course, so self-censorship has become a widespread tactic among individuals who do not support the political correctness of the day.

More than 100 Harvard University professors have now joined together in a council on academic freedom, the purpose of which is to ensure that freedom of speech and academic freedom survive at Harvard. Pictured: Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The fact that more than 100 Harvard University professors have now joined together in a council on academic freedom is both good news and bad news. The purpose of the group, organized by my colleague and friend Steven Pinker, is to ensure that freedom of speech and academic freedom survive at Harvard. It is good that so many professors signed on to it so quickly. It is bad that it is even needed at a place like Harvard whose motto, Veritas, means truth. But "truth" can be a double-edged sword, especially at a university.

The "truth" can sometimes be the enemy of freedom. When people believe they, and only they, have access to THE TRUTH, they see little need for debate, dialogue, dissent and disagreement. Indeed they regard such contrary views as heresy. That has been the way of many religions over the years as well as numerous ideologies such as communism and fascism. Universities should not recognize any particular truth or promote any specific narrative.

Continue Reading Article