War did in 10 days what hasbara failed to do in 100 years: Arabs chant "Am Israel chai!"

I knew that Rafael Castro was onto something when he wrote:

More Americans and Europeans need to be aware of the service and heroism of Jewish soldiers. This awareness-raising would raise the status and prestige of Jewish communities more than any additional Jewish Nobel Prize winners.

Little did I suspect that events would prove him right so quickly. OK, so it was Arabs in the Middle East, rather than Americans and Europeans, but why nitpick over such piccoli equivoci senza importanza? The Arab street burst into wild praise for Israel and exuberant admiration for Bibi, all because the Prime Minister did what Israel should have done long ago: go to war and win. It seems the spirit of the Six-Day War is resurrected.

Western television studios were under a pall of gloom. It was the saddest day in the lives of Western journalists. Were they morose and crest-fallen because it was impossible to spin the IDF's spectacular military victory over the biggest terrorist army in the world, all with fewer civilian casualties than at a Sunday flower show, or because it was impossible to spin Hassan Nasrallah's demise as somehow a loss to the world. They tried. Let us at least give them credit for that; they tried. The UK's Times Radio attempted this magic trick in an interview with Olivia Poidevin of L'Orient Today in Beirut and with Juliet Samuel, a columnist on The Times:

Olivia Poidevin: Is it a victory, or have they [Israel] just created a whole new host of problems? For example we saw that with the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, ...he's been swiftly replaced by Yahya Sinwar, who is a lot more radical and extreme and entrenched in terms of his views and far less easy to negotiate with when it comes to hostage releases and a ceasefire.

Of course there's been a long history of assassinations. That's exactly how Nasrallah came to power in 1992 after Abbas al-Musawi ...was assassinated by Israel. And instead what happened, rather than removing the problem, Hassan Nasrallah came into power. He became an incredibly popular leader, seen as charismatic, fluent in Farsi and Arabic, a great orator, someone who really was able to bring different groups and factions together, and also not only did he build significant military capability here, but also held significant political sway as well in Lebanon.

We shall skip over the glaring failure to recognise the dots, let alone join them. Poidevin's gushing admiration for a terrorist mastermind was far from the worst. Try Juliet Samuel in the same Times Radio interview:

Juliet Samuel: The death of Nasrallah is hard to overestimate how important, symbolically, that is within Lebanon. I've been to Southern Lebanon a few years ago and I visited what's called The Museum of the Resistance. When it opened in 2018, it was jokingly called Terrorist Disneyland by Western media, but essentially, it's a site of former battles between Israel and Lebanon. In particular, there's a lot of kit there and old trenches. In fact, from the 2006 war, when Israel was forced to flee in complete disarray, left huge amounts of their equipment behind and basically Hezbollah turned this into a museum. It's had more than a million visitors and the centrepiece of this museum is a sort of big pit with an Israeli tank in it, whose barrel has been tied in a knot and there's a big sort of gold bar in front of it, as if a shield from God, showing how the invader was overcome. The gold bar has Nasrallah's signature on it.

Times Radio: Wow!

JS: So he really is, in some circles in Lebanon, seen as the protector of the nation from the southern aggressor and this is not going to be taken lightly. There will be response of some kind and that's a really good point. He is more than just the current leader of Hezbollah. He is a hugely important symbolic figure in the Middle East.

The flip-side of this fawning adulation of a man who destroyed a nation is the inability to acknowledge, even indirectly, Israel's stunning achievement here. We return to Olivia Poidevin, responding to the following question:

Times Radio: Are we almost saying that this is a huge geopolitical victory for Israel here and is this an equivalent scale of defeat for Iran?

OP: So the question is, is this a strategic victory? Maybe a quick win, yes, actually long-term consequences could be even more dangerous for Israel and does not solve the fundamental problem about resolving the conflict on the Lebanese border with Israel or the situation in Gaza.

What we're seeing on the streets is two things: one, people who have had to flee their homes overnight from the areas that were being bombarded and are essentially sleeping outside mosques, in the streets, in central Beirut, hoping that area is safe for them to shelter in; and secondly, what we are going to be seeing is a diversity of opinion about this news. Lebanon is a complex country. Hezbollah was mainly supported by members of the Shi’a community, but it did also have cross sectarian support from Christians and Sunnis.

But it [Hezbollah] was also deeply unpopular. Certainly, Christian political groups have been heavily critical of Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s decision to open this conflict with Israel, and had repeatedly warned that this was going to end in all-out war. It'll be interesting to watch what their reactions are going to be.

This country is already on its knees politically, doesn't have a proper government. ...Economically, it's completely on its knees after the 2019 crisis. People are traumatised still after the Beirut blast from the fourth of August back in 2020 [when Hezbollah's dangerous and illegal stockpile of explosives in a harbour warehouse spontaneously set off, AP]. This is a population who really cannot withstand any more stress or crisis, but yet we have today been plunged into a situation which is beyond the brink. This is the worst case scenario that everyone feared and the next hours are really going to count in terms of what happens next.

In the meantime, "the worst case scenario" turned out to be an Arab street wild with jubilation. In scenes hitherto associated with successful mass-murder of Jews, car-horns blared, people danced, sang and doled out sweets to passers-by, while praises were shouted for Bibi, the IDF, Israel and "our cousins, the Jews". Some even chanted "Am Israel chai"! At the same time, the death of "the murderer", "the terrorist" Hassan Nasrallah was broadcast from the minarets of mosques. In Tel-Aviv, that just a few weeks ago saw protests demanding surrender to Hamas, clubs and bars heaved to the thumping beat of:

Come on, oh Nasrallah
We will f*ck you, inshallah
We'll return you to Allah
With the rest of Hezbollah

This promise was made during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. It seems the Israelis kept their promise, to the letter.

So who will be writing Hassan Nasrallah's obituary? The top list of candidates must surely include: Jeremy Corbyn, assuming he can compose himself enough; George Galloway, if his head has not exploded; Keir Starmer, er—no, he's somewhat preoccupied at the moment; Ali Khamenei—no, the man just needs a break; how about Barack Hussain Obama? Yes, he can! Bashar al-Assad owes Hezbollah one. Perhaps the BBC could run a contest. Whoever is to rise to this august task will, no doubt, be carefully screened for electronic communication devices.

That just leaves arrangements for the funeral. Prominent at the head of the cortège will have to be: a motorised screen displaying a distraught Ali Khamenei in a secure, undisclosed location in Kivu; Josep Borrell in a crisp IRGC uniform; António Guterres in a designer Che Guevara t-shirt; Antony Blinken twitching and muttering something about continuing to believe diplomacy to be the best way forward; Emmanuel Macron sensing relevance finally within his grasp; Jeremy Corbyn, at last able to put his signature morbid expression to good use; George Galloway, muzzled and on a leash; Karim Ahmad Khan equipped with handcuffs, just in case; Cyril Ramaphosa scanning the crowd in hope of spotting Vladimir Putin; Yahya Sinwar?—oh come on Yahya, you don't want to miss this one; and last and most definitely least, a battery of Western journalists spinning in tongues.

It is to be hoped that, with both the Arab world and his nation behind him like never before, Prime Minister Netanyahu can capitalise on this energy, this momentum. There has never been, and probably never will be, a better time to apply full Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, over Gaza and most importantly, over Temple Mount, to unite religious and secular. The Palestinians detect the distinct chill of oblivion creeping up on them, leaving even Yahya Sinwar panicking (even if he's already dead). Just after Israel demonstrated her strength by humiliating Hezbollah and Iran, the Saudi Foreign Minister announced "a global alliance to push for a Palestinian state". This is a ruse to prepare the ground for a major announcement.

Muhammad Bin Salman, who is reported to have said to Antony Blinken months ago, "Do I care personally about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do, so I need to make sure this is meaningful," is about to make his move. His people, too, saw what Israel can do, and how Arabs danced in the streets in response. So to make sure they know where their leader stands on the matter, Saudi television broadcaster Al-Arabiya today published a 3D simulation of how Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah. The Biden administration, whose bluff has been called, is suddenly making truthful statement about Hassan Nasrallah.

Back in the Jewish state, you had better believe that tectonic plates are shifting. Some MKs, such as, Ayalet Shaked, are rewriting their pasts. Arab MKs are unlikely to be their usual brazen selves. They, too, have been humbled. It is now the perfect opportunity to rid the country of the criminal-political complex in Israel's Arab towns, if for no other reason than to prevent another 2021. There are two people already in the government perfectly placed to accomplish all of this and who are more than ready to do so: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. The establishment needs to get out of their way so they can finally properly do the jobs the Israeli people have elected them to do. Now is the time to solve the problem that caused the country to almost tear itself apart, and made it an irresistible temptation to those who harbour dreams of genocide.

Picture credits:

Screenshot from "Israel kills Hassan Khalil Yassin, who replaced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah hours ago", Social विषय, YouTube, 28 September 2024 https://youtu.be/x5XBlpIUm_E

Screenshot from "العربية تحاكي السيناريو الافتراضي حول كيفية تنفيذ إسرائيل لعملية اغتيال نصرالله", AlArabiya العربية, YouTube, 29 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCRy5KERGuk

“The Provisional Council of State Proclamation of the Flag of the State of Israel” of 25 Tishrei 5709 (28 October 1948) provides the official specification for the design of the Israeli flag.The color of the Magen David and the stripes of the Israeli flag is not precisely specified by the above legislation. The color depicted in the current version of the image is typical of flags used in Israel today, although individual flags can and do vary.The flag legislation officially specifies dimensions of 220 cm × 160 cm. However, the sizes of actual flags vary (although the aspect ratio is usually retained). - http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/IsraelAt50/Pages/The Flag and the Emblem.aspx, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=343614

Screenshot from Nasrallah Dead!? Atheist Republic, YouTube, 28 Sept 2024. https://youtu.be/KATPqmV9LbY

Comments:

On 30 September 2024 at 00:57, Jalal Tagreeb wrote:

Congratulations on this excellent achievement! Israel has made him pay the price of all what he did. They cemented him in his bunker using his own concrete. Like Saddam, he was pulled from an underground hole. This is a strong defeat to the concept of "jihad" and a lesson for those who still adopt it or want to adopt it in future. This will be your end.

Ironically, the Qur'an says (59:14): "Even united, they would not ˹dare˺ fight against you except ˹from˺ within fortified strongholds or from behind walls ...". That is, the Jews will never fight you, Muslims, in a body except from within fortified cities and from behind walls. Is this a wrong/reversed understanding of the verse? Maybe we should have asked Saddam, Nasrallah, or Sinwar!

This is an excellent chance for Israel to continue and bring Hezbollah to unconditional surrender. It is also a chance for Hezbollah to lay down their arms and give all their weapons to the UN to prevent further humiliation.

There has never been a better time to apply full Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, over Gaza and over Temple Mount, to unite religious and secular.

Indeed, I think time has arrived to accept the superiority of Israel in the region in all aspects and the fact that Israel should lead the civilisation process in the region and be supported. It is better for all to stand with Israel.

On 30 September 2024 at 08:26, Anjuli Pandavar wrote:

This is a marvellous comment. Thank you, Jalal.

I have to admit that 59:14 did not even cross my mind when I was writing this. It is a powerful connection. The verse, for the benefit of readers, says:

They will not fight against you in a body save in fortified villages or from behind walls. Their adversity among themselves is very great. Ye think of them as a whole whereas their hearts are diverse. That is because they are a folk who have no sense.

I agree with you that Netanyahu has managed to turn the Qur'an on its head. The tactical significance of the verse lies in the first sentence, as you referenced. The strategic significance, in my opinion, lies in the third and final sentences: "Ye think of them as a whole whereas their hearts are diverse." This is where the Qur'an gets it catastrophically wrong. In any totalitarian system, "hearts [that] are diverse", different opinions, make "no sense" and cannot lead to victory. The Qur'an is saying to Muslims that they will fail unless they think as one, become robots who can do nothing without the leader's orders. Netanyahu proved exactly the opposite to be the case. By pure coincidence, I read on Y-net this morning:

While the Air Force landed the first air strikes according to the plan it had been training for for years, the Prime Minister urgently convened ...a security hearing. The IDF presented to Netanyahu and the limited security forum three courses of action for the northern front: the first, to continue the campaign unchanged; the second, to carry out targeted and destructive air strikes on dual-use [military/civilian, AP] Lebanese infrastructure; third, which the IDF offered as a version of total war, was air strikes combined with a ground invasion.

Then the Prime Minister said: "I would like to put a fourth option on the table: go for the military infrastructure, the senior leadership and the strategic means, that is, the heavy and long-range missiles and Hezbollah's cruise missiles."

After a long discussion in the security forum and after Gallant and the chief of staff raised the possible risks, the highest being a regional war without updating the Americans, the decision was made to follow Netanyahu's outline. (Y-net, https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hk51pxvar Electronically translated)

So, hearts that were diverse along three spokes became even more diverse with a fourth added. A Muslim spy listening in on this meeting would be convinced that 59:14 is right and promise his superiors, "Very soon! Very soon we will be victorious. Wallahi!" failing to understand the significance and power of debate. Netanyahu did not defeat his colleagues; they all, together, starting with hearts that are diverse, arrived at the best way forward, which happened to be the Prime Minister's. This is just one of the ways in which the Qur'an leads Muslims to defeat, time and time again.

Netanyahu has solved a problem that Muhammad bin Salman has been struggling with ever since he became the effective leader of the state: how to cancel the Qur'an. The best hope for peace and development for the long-suffering people of the Middle East is these two leaders becoming the closest of partners, something they both want. The only question is, what will the Americans who make money from permanent Middle East war do to stop this.