October 10, 2023

Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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The War in Israel.

Timeline of surprise rocket attack by Hamas on Israel.

"Israel is at war," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As Israelis were wrapping up the seven-day-long Jewish festival of Sukkot on Saturday, October 7, 2023, the horrifying sounds of sirens echoed across Israel. Thousands of missiles launched into the country by the Hamas militant group from Gaza streaked through the sky and began raining down on indiscriminate targets, sparking terror and leaving hundreds of bodies in the streets of cities and buildings decimated.

The surprise attack came just after sunrise on what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would describe as a "dark day" for his country and an Israeli military official deemed "our 9/11."

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon in southern Israel, on Oct. 8, 2023.

As of Monday, the death toll in Israel had climbed to more than 900 people, with another 2,500 injured. Among the dead are at least nine Americans, an official with the United States National Security Council said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday that at least 560 people have been killed and 2,900 others injured in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since Saturday. (ABC News).

One of the most devastating accounts of the Hamas attack was the account of the attack on the Music Festival where 250 people were murdered by Hamas weapons and gunmen.

What is Hamas? - The Atlantic

What is Hamas? - The Atlantic

Even those who understand the fundamentalist group best are struggling to understand what they are trying to achieve.

Even those who understand the fundamentalist group best are struggling to understand what they are trying to achieve.

Israel is at war, and has ordered a complete siege of Gaza after Hamas’s surprise attack on Saturday. Hamas is holding at least 150 hostages, and more than 900 Israelis and more than 600 Palestinians have been killed. As we continue to follow these developments, we’ll take a step back today to focus on Hamas, its aims, and its influence on the region.

What Is Hamas?

Hamas, an Islamist fundamentalist group formed in 1987 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, has controlled the Gaza Strip since it won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006—the last time elections were held in Gaza. These elections took place a year after Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza. In 2007, Hamas ousted its rival political party, Fatah, from the strip during a military conflict within Gaza. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, the European Union, Canada, Egypt, and Japan.

What are the group’s long-term goals? First, “what every political party would want in their own country … ascendancy and supremacy,” the historian Arash Azizi told me. “It wants to be the most popular Palestinian party.” Second, Hamas is a member of the Axis of Resistance, Azizi noted. As he explained in The Atlantic yesterday, this unofficial alliance of groups supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran includes Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and several Iraqi and Syrian militias. These groups share key goals, Azizi explained: “the destruction of Israel” and the driving out of all the Jewish people living in the country. Finally, despite the fact that Palestinians “are amongst the most secular societies in the Arab world,” Hamas—a Sunni Islamist party—also wants “an Islamic society.” How it prioritizes between these three goals is a different question, Azizi noted.

The group seeks the elimination of Israel as a country—a point of contrast between it and the Palestine Liberation Organization. (The PLO’s official position holds that a Palestinian state could be created in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, though the former PLO chairman Yasser Arafat walked away from American-led negotiations meant to create such a state.) Taken as a collective, Hamas is “a Palestinian nationalist, anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, and Islamist organization,” Azizi said. But “like all parties in the world, Hamas is not united … There are certainly parts of Hamas that do not have these more extreme goals.” Some factions, particularly those linked to the devout Palestinian middle class, are “not interested in fighting the Israelis this way, or in alliance with Iran,” he said. “Under the right circumstances, they might even accept, form, and run a state of Palestine without the destruction of Israel … But clearly the faction [of Hamas] that Iran has given a lot of power to is not the latter faction.”

The Hamas charter of 1988 laid out a brazenly anti-Semitic mission. The charter stated: “The Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah’s promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said: ‘The Day of Judgment will not come until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’” As The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, noted in 2014, “This is a frank and open call for genocide, embedded in one of the most thoroughly anti-Semitic documents you’ll read this side of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Hamas issued a new charter in 2017, which retains the group’s refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist but removes some of the boldest anti-Jewish statements from the 1988 version. However, many Hamas officials have espoused equally strong anti-Semitic statements in the years since this new charter was released.

Key to understanding Hamas is the fact that its goals and those of the Gazan people are not necessarily in alignment. The Gazan people live under an Israeli blockade, backed by Egypt, that severely restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of the region; under Hamas rule, Gazans have reported repression and arbitrary arrests, and Human Rights Watch has chronicled what it calls systemic abuse on the part of Hamas in Gaza. In recent years, Gazan citizens have shown growing discontent with Hamas’s policies. According to The Times of Israel, a 2022 poll found that 53 percent of Gazans agree at least somewhat that Hamas should stop calling for Israel’s destruction; a 2022 Palestinian public-opinion poll found that 71 percent of Palestinians believe there is corruption in Hamas institutions. “We have no idea” how much of the population of Gaza Hamas represents, Thanassis Cambanis, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, told me, because “there have not been elections there in decades. They’re not a unifying national movement.”

Azizi also reminded me that when Gaza held its last election, in 2006, only 44 percent of Palestinians voted for Hamas: “It won the election by a plurality, not a majority.” Right now, Azizi argued, Hamas is likely more popular in the West Bank than it is in Gaza; “it’s the force that has been fighting Israel, the country that has been putting Gaza under siege, but at the same time, people of Gaza look at Hamas and see a corrupt ruling authority.” Some Palestinians within Gaza have repeatedly protested Hamas, particularly over the past six months, Azizi noted. The Palestinian public-opinion poll from 2022 found that 54 percent of Gazans believe they cannot criticize Hamas’s authority without fear.

Hamas does not represent the whole of the Palestinian people—far from it. But observers of these attacks shouldn’t ignore the role of the broader Israeli-Palestinian relationship. “The decades-long delusion that Israel could ignore, manage, shrink, or simply forget its conflict with its Palestinian neighbors has been a costly blunder,” Azizi wrote in The Atlantic yesterday. “The Iranian regime is arming Palestinians and driving them toward its own murderous agenda vis-à-vis Israelis. But Israel’s continued subjugation of Palestinians is what allows such a festering wound to exist in the first place, giving Tehran an easy issue to exploit.”

What does Hamas want from this latest, unprecedented round of attacks? A spokesperson for the terror group has said that it wants to “liberate all Palestinian prisoners” from Israel and end Israel’s “provocations” in the West Bank and Jerusalem, specifically at Al-Aqsa Mosque. But the experts I spoke with struggled to understand how Saturday’s brutal attacks will help Hamas achieve its stated aims. “It’s hard for me to put my analytical hat on and figure out why Hamas would view this in their interest, because it’s so surely going to be terrible for them and for all the people in Gaza and probably the West Bank as well,” Cambanis told me. “It somewhat defies my 20 years of understanding how they operate.”

“This Hamas victory might prove Pyrrhic,” Natan Sachs wrote in The Atlanticon Saturday. “In fact, Hamas itself might have been surprised by the extent of its initial success. The trauma in Israel today should give pause to those thinking that Israel will simply acquiesce to a short tit for tat. As bad as things have been in Gaza in the past two decades—and they have been terrible—the coming weeks could prove even worse.” (The Atlantic).

One more thing. Or two.

About Hamas.

Thomas Friedman in yesterday’s New York Times. “Hamas has been a deadly curse for the Palestinian people since it took over Gaza in 2007. The billion-plus dollars in aid that it received from Qatar alone over the years could have gone into building Gaza into a productive society, with decent schools, universities and infrastructure, that might have been a model for a future Palestinian state with the West Bank. Instead, Hamas has devoted most of its energies and resources to digging tunnels into Israel and building rockets to try to destroy a vastly more powerful enemy — thus depriving Gazans of any chance to realize their full potential, via a government that is decent, democratic and productive.”

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The article below 👇 may teach you more about Hamas than you would ever want to know. It offers a detailed account from the Israeli progressive newspaper, Haaretz, about the attack on the outdoor music festival where 250 people died.👇

I decided not to post the words of the article. Click on the blue title below, if you want to read the article. 👇

Scene of Hamas attack on outdoor rave in Israel reveals grim evidence of how slaughter unfolded.


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Monday, the Israeli Military began retaliation on Gaza.

Jerusalem and Gaza (CNN) — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Israeli military would attack Hamas with a force “like never before,” as the militant group threatened to kill civilian hostages if airstrikes target Gaza without warning.

Following Hamas’ devastating surprise attack in Israeli territory over the weekend, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Monday also ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, and said he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the Palestinian enclave.

“I have given an order – Gaza will be under complete siege,” the minister said. “We are fighting barbarians and will respond accordingly.” Israel has been pounding what it describes as “strategic” Hamas locations in Gaza with airstrikes since the Hamas attack.

Hours later, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing said it would begin killing civilian hostages and broadcasting the act if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning. “We declare that we will respond to any targeting of our people who are safe in their homes without warning, with the execution of our civilian hostages, and we will broadcast it with audio and video,” Abu Obaida said in a statement on the Al-Qassam Brigades’ Telegram channel. [Despite the high pitched rhetoric of the Israeli leaders and military, Israel has made clear they will not target civilians in Gaza but rather will warn civilians to abandon buildings being used by Hamas when such warnings are issued.]

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European Union reverses earlier statement earlier announcement that it was suspending development aid to Palestinians.

The European Union clarified on Monday that aid payments for Palestinians will not be suspended, following comments by one of its officialsy, who said payments will be halted. 

Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, said in a series of posts on social media that the Commission is suspending all Palestinian funding until further review in light of the Hamas attack on Israel.

In a statement released after his remarks, the European Commission said it is "launching an urgent review of the EU's assistance for Palestine," but "this review does not concern humanitarian assistance provided under European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)."

"In addition to the existing safeguards, the objective of this review is to ensure that no EU funding indirectly enables any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel," the Commission said, adding it "unequivocally condemns the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel over the weekend." 

Following Varhelyi's comments, Janez Lenarč, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, said humanitarian aid for Palestinians will indeed continue. 

"While I most strongly condemn the terrorist attack by Hamas, it is imperative to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law," Lenarč said. "EU humanitarian aid to Palestinians in need will continue as long as needed."

EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also reiterated on Monday that the review of the EU assistance for Palestine announced by the European Commission "will not suspend the due payments." 

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From President Biden.

The President moved an American warship closer to Israel after Hamas attack.

The President’s action made clear that America stands with Israel. The warship makes clear to anyone who might be considering support for Hamas or further attacks on Israel- whether Hezbollah or Hamas ally, Iran - that they will face America too.

Support for Israel is manifesting itself.

Joint Statement on Israel | The White House

Today, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America released the following joint statement following their call:  Today, we — President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom, and President Biden of the United States —…

A 5 nation statement in support of Israel.

Today, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America released the following joint statement following their call: 

Today, we — President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom, and President Biden of the United States — express our steadfast and united support to the State of Israel, and our unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism.

We make clear that the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned. There is never any justification for terrorism.  In recent days, the world has watched in horror as Hamas terrorists massacred families in their homes, slaughtered over 200 young people enjoying a music festival, and kidnapped elderly women, children, and entire families, who are now being held as hostages.

Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further emphasize that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage.

All of us recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed.

Over the coming days, we will remain united and coordinated, together as allies, and as common friends of Israel, to ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region. 

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Two U.S. lawmakers leave Israel after sheltering in place during attacks.

(From Left) Senator Cory Booker (NJ-D).Representative Dan Goldman (NY-D).

Thanks to a non-functioning Republican majority in the House of Representatives, no bills including those which might give aid to Israel can reach the Representatives for a vote until there is a Speaker.

Biden to deliver remarks Tuesday on Israel, official says. CNN.

President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on the conflict in Israel on Tuesday, a White House official says. The address is expected to be around 1 p.m. ET.

This will mark the second time Biden will speak on camera about the attacks since Hamas launched its deadly assault Saturday.

Earlier Monday: Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The allies expressed “steadfast and united support” for Israel and “unequivocal condemnation” of Hamas and, “its appalling acts of terrorism," the countries said in a joint statement.

The US president also said at least 11 Americans were killed in the Hamas attacks and others are likely being held as hostages.

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3 big questions that we will learn more about over time:

1) How could Israel’s intelligence service have missed that Hamas was preparing this attack? Will Netanyahu be held responsible?

2) If and how involved was Iran in this attack? And why?

3) How did the possibility of an Israeli-Saudi Arabian alliance figure in the Hamas actions of Saturday?

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News Not Centered on the War.

Claudia Goldin Wins Nobel in Economics for Studying Women in the Work Force.

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded on Monday to Claudia Goldin, a Harvard professor, for advancing the world’s understanding of women’s progress in the work force.

She is the third woman to have won the economics Nobel, which was first awarded in 1969, and the first one to be honored with it solo rather than sharing in the prize.

Dr. Goldin, 77, has long been a trailblazer in the field — she was the first woman to be offered tenure in Harvard’s economics department, in 1989. Her wide-ranging work has delved into the causes of the gender wage gap, the evolution of women’s participation in the job market over the past 200 years, and the implications for the future of the labor force.

Why did the committee say she received the prize?

The Nobel committee announced the award in Stockholm, praising Dr. Goldin for her research on female employment, which showed that employment among married women decreased in the 1800s, as the economy moved away from agriculture and toward industry. Women’s participation then increased in the 1900s, as the service sector began to expand as a part of the economy.

Dr. Goldin has described the 1970s in particular as a “revolutionary” period in which women in the United States began to marry later, take strides in higher education, and make major progress in the labor market. Birth control pills became more easily available in those years, taking away what Dr. Goldin has called a “potent” reason for early marriage — and giving women more time to form identities outside of the home.

Dr. Goldin has also illustrated how the process of closing the gender wage gap has been uneven over the course of history. Recently, progress in closing it has been halting: Today, women in the United States make a little over 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.

In the past, gender wage gaps could be explained by education and occupation. But Dr. Goldin has shown that most of the earnings difference is now between men and women in the same jobs, the Nobel committee said. Notably, it kicks in after the birth of a woman’s first child.

In a 15-year study of business school students at the University of Chicago, for instance, Goldin and her colleagues found in one paper that the gap in pay started to widen a year or two after a woman had her first baby.

“Claudia Goldin’s discoveries have vast societal implications,” said Randi Hjalmarsson, a member of the committee and professor of economics at the University of Gothenburg.

What did she say about winning the prize?

Dr. Goldin said in an interview that she hoped people would take away from her work how important long-term changes are to understanding the labor market.

“We see a residue of history around us,” she said, explaining that societal and family structures that women and men grow up in shape their behavior and economic outcomes.

“We’re never going to have gender equality until we also have couple equity,” she said. While there has been “monumental progressive change, at the same time there are important differences” which often tie back to women doing more work in the home.

Dr. Goldin has a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago. She often co-authors papers with her husband, Lawrence Katz, a fellow Harvard University economist.

She was asleep when the call informing her of the prize came in — she had gotten up earlier to let the dog out but had gone back to bed. She said that she was “delighted.”

Asked about what it meant for a woman to win the economics award on her own, Dr. Goldin said it marked a sort of “culmination” after years of “important changes” toward more gender diversity in the field.

What do her colleagues say about her?

Claudia Olivetti of Dartmouth, a co-author of Dr. Goldin’s, said that Dr. Goldin’s work has “shaped much of the current research on women and labor markets.” She pointed out that it continues to today: Dr. Goldin has just released a new working paper on why women made such great advances in the 1970s, and why that progress has hit roadblocks in the years since.

Dr. Goldin has also been an important mentor to many women entering the field of economics, she said.

“Claudia has been a source of inspiration to many women in economics, generously sharing her experiences and demonstrating the possibilities of success in a mostly male-dominated world,” Dr. Olivetti wrote in an email.

Leah Boustan, a professor at Princeton and once a student of Dr. Goldin’s, said that her work has had a “profound” influence on labor economics.

“The first thing I thought about when Claudia won is how much her research is still inspiring current work,” she said, explaining that her students today are still digging into how marriage, contraception and labor market decisions have interacted over time.

“There are so many threads that we as labor economists and economic historians can follow from Claudia’s work,” she said. (New York Times).

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On West 83rd Street in Manhattan, the witch hunt is in full force and successful.

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As we face another day, taking in what has happened and what may happen in Israel and Gaza, these truisms remain painfully true. War is horrific. There is no excuse for terror. May all affected keep these truths in mind.

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