Blinken in Tel Aviv Warns Israel on Long War: “I Don’t Think You Have the Credit for That”

And barely a hint of the nation’s existential need for victory. Blinken: “I made clear that before Israel resumed major military operations, it must put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians,” said Blinken (New York Post). Ilya Shapiro: Can we exchange Blinken for some hostages? (X) Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Biden admin is setting the stage to abandon Israel (X).

“Blinken and Biden Should be Ashamed”

Senator Tom Cotton’s response to the latest effort of diplomacy from Biden and Blinken: The idea that after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Israel needs “credit” to defend itself is outrageous. Blinken and Biden should be ashamed (X). Ed Morrissey: Biden and Blinken seem perfectly ready to extend an unlimited amount of credit to Hamas these days, and this is a perfect example…. Blinken essentially blames Israel for all civilian deaths in Gaza rather than the terrorist quasi-government that is actually violating all of the norms of armed conflict and hiding behind those civilians (Hot Air).

Moral Clarity From Marco Rubio: “Destroy Every Element Of Hamas”

The comment came when the Florida Senator was approached by a Code Pink activist, asking if he’d call for a ceasefire:  “No, I will not,” Rubio replied. “Are you guys filming this? I want you guys to get this. I want Israel to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on. These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes, and I hope you guys post that” (Daily Wire).

Governors’ Debate: Newsom and DeSantis Square Off in Georgia

With Covid-19 pandemic—and the two states polar opposite approach—on center stage. DeSantis: “Gavin Newsom did huge damage to people in California. He ruined livelihoods” (Fox News). City Journal: With the possible exception of the Great Depression, no domestic crisis of the past century and a half has been more catastrophic for the nation’s social fabric and economy than the Covid pandemic (City Journal). Governor Newsom claims California more free than Florida despite authoritarian lockdown measures instigated during the Pandemic. DeSantis will seek to use last night’s debate performance to bound into 2024, and rally primary voters to give him a second chance after dropping in the polls this year (National Review).

Twitter Files Reveal More Than Censorship: "All of This Is Profoundly un-America”

Argued Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi on Thursday at the hearing on Weaponization of the Federal Government: “Two days ago, my colleagues and I published the first batch of internal files from ‘The Cyber Threat Intelligence League,’ which show U.S. and U.K. military contractors working in 2019 and 2020 to both censor and turn sophisticated psychological operations and disinformation tactics, developed abroad, against the American people…. All of this is profoundly un-America. One’s commitment to free speech means nothing if it does not extend to your political enemies.” (Washington Examiner). Leah Barkoukis: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) called out a witness during Thursday’s Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing who accused the select subcommittee of spreading conspiracy theories about government censorship (Townhall). Massie: “I bring this up to show, number one, that your testimony is false. But Number two if they can do this to a member of Congress’ official account, they can do this to anybody” (X).

Texas Suing Pfizer Over “False, Deceptive” Claims on Covid Vaccine

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: The lawsuit notes: “How did Pfizer respond when it became apparent that its vaccine was failing and the viability of its cash cow was threatened? By intimidating those spreading the truth, and by conspiring to censor its critics. Pfizer labeled as ‘criminals’ those who spread facts about the vaccine. It accused them of spreading ‘misinformation.’ And it coerced social media platforms to silence prominent truth-tellers” (TexasAG). Federalist: Pfizer debuted the jab in late 2020 with the promise that it was 95 percent effective against Covid-19 infection. The company used this statistic, based on a final efficacy analysis, to bully Americans into getting the shots in the name of protecting their family and friends from the virus (Federalist).

Key Question for Liberal American Jews and Israel: “Can the Leaders of Liberal American Judaism Say, Fundamentally, We Were Wrong!"

Daniel Gordis on the future: “It’s going to depend on a very difficult question: can the leaders of liberal American Judaism say, fundamentally, we were wrong! … about Jews in America …  if we made Judaism about social action that wasn’t all that different from the Methodists or Presbyterians or the whoevers that, fundamentally, we’d be accepted… For a hundred years we built a community on a premise that was wrong (X).

International Criminal Court Sends Prosecutor to Israel

Jerusalem Post:  This is not just a diplomatic issue, as legally Jerusalem has said for years that it does recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, such that even informal interactions are under a microscope in terms of their significance and meaning.… Should the ICC decide to prosecute and issue arrest warrants for Israelis, this could obligate around 125 countries, including essentially the entire EU, to arrest Israeli soldiers or officials, something which could alter the Jewish state’s global standing in a very negative way (JPost).     

Gag Order Reinstated on Trump

AP: A New York appeals court Thursday reinstated a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting about court personnel after the former president repeatedly disparaged a law clerk in his New York civil fraud trial. The one-sentence decision came two weeks after an individual appellate judge put the gag order on hold while the appeals process played out. Trial judge Arthur Engoron, who imposed the restriction, said he now planned to enforce it “rigorously and vigorously” (AP).

This Weekend: Kirk Cameron Hosts Book Fair With Books That Really Are Safe for Kids

Kirk Cameron: “We’ve decided to go after the head of the snake and find out who is filling libraries and schools with sexually explicit and gender-confusing material,” he said to WMAL on Wednesday. “The head of the snake, the dealer of all of this, is Scholastic Books, the largest producer of children’s books in America,” he continued (Washington Examiner). Kirk Cameron: Ever wondered how all the sexually explicit, morally disgusting, and dangerous books get into our children’s schools, classrooms, and libraries? @SkyTreeFairs  and I did a deep dive and discovered who the real wolf in Grandma’s clothing is. We see you @scholastic! (X).