Survival is ugly. Survival makes you do things that nobody else needs to understand, or even like. The things you do to survive are not the things you do to be loved. They are the things you do to live. They are what you need to do to keep existing. In survival you learn to understand that it’s not about what happened to you that matters; it’s about what you do with it. A lot of people decided they didn’t like what I did here or with my voice. That’s fine. They’re not in our, or my, position… but they may be some day. Right now, we need to survive. Love it, or hate it.
The streets are drowning in Palestinian flags in Hollywood. Not because people care about Palestinians. These are the flags carried by Hamas when they breached the border into Israel on October 7 and slaughtered Jewish people. These flags are swastikas signifying the rampant acceptable racism of society; driving out the Jews. I climbed poles on Selma Avenue at the weekend to remove half a dozen of them. When I left a parking lot, I said to the Mexican guy running the joint: “If you see any more of these terrorist flags, remove them.” He saluted me. Imagine tiny Palestinian flags lining the streets of Hollywood directly outside LA’s LGBTQ Center.
It is commonplace for me to get several calls a day from friends experiencing the most absurd antisemitism in their social circles these days. Antisemitism is now the norm. It is a mind contagion. And no wonder. The media is pumping it out 24/7. This weekend we received official reports that the BBC have breached their guidelines over 1,500 times since October 7, during the war. That’s more than proof of ample bias.
Almost comical news from the ICJ today: it was found that there's NO evidence for South Africa to charge Israel with genocide. South Africa has asked for more time to gather evidence. Is this a joke? Meanwhile, the case has gleaned international coverage and a lot of fanfare, resulting in amassed pressure on Israel against carrying out the war effectively. If it weren’t for South Africa, Israel would have operated in Rafah a lot sooner. And now over in Rafah, we have plenty of evidence of humanitarian crimes committed by Hamas. As of today, we now have horrific pictorial and video evidence of the awful conditions that the hostages who were executed last week were living in, including this image of where they were executed.
Imagine spending ELEVEN MONTHS in these conditions.
"Human rights lawyers" have been silent on these newly released images, and silent since the executions of the hostages. And this, ladies and gents, is institutionalized antisemitism. It’s amazing that Doughty Street and Thulamela Chambers would want to risk their reputations supporting South Africa and their terrorist pals in a case against the only state in the world currently fighting Islamic Jihadism on behalf of the West. Where is Amal Clooney today as this news lands? On a yacht, I imagine.
Come hell or high water, all of these shills will pay for platforming antisemitic blood libel on the world stage while our brothers and sisters were tortured by terrorist savages underground in Gaza. They don’t care about our human rights, because they don’t care about anyone’s human rights.
Below is a video released by the IDF today of what was found underneath Rafah, beneath a children’s bedroom (painted with Snow White) in the tunnels where the six hostages were executed. You see bottles of urine kept in UNRWA sacks. You see a place where the hostages were denied daylight and fresh air for 11 months; denied contact with the outside world; denied the privacy of being able to use a toilet; denied adequate food and water; denied sanitary products; held at gunpoint. The Red Cross never visited them. The aid never reached them. They survived in the worst unimaginable conditions only to be shot in the head. Evidence of pure satanic evil.
Politicians in the United States and around Europe tried to stop Israel from going into Rafah to rescue them. As did countless celebrities and human rights bodies. The only justice now is the justice we make. And we will make it. There is no shortage of selective outrage in this world but there is a famine of genuine compassion and empathy and capacity to listen. It’s a sign of loneliness. Desperation to belong. Of course the Jewish people are a popular scapegoat. We have a strong sense of self in an identity impoverished world.
So what to do out here in the diaspora? We hope. You must find hope, and if you have to search through our history to find it please do. Luckily we are rich in miracles and surviving despite all odds. Hope wins. And I believe love wins.
More practically, the only way to attack the visibility of terror apologists, is to be more visible. Be MORE of what they don’t want to see. Wear your Magen David. Wear it bigger. Wear it louder. Wear your IDF shirts. In public. I was hiking on Saturday night in an IDF shirt. Why? Because if it weren’t for the IDF, 9.5 million of us would be at risk of genocide. If it weren’t for the IDF, we’d be where we were in 1938. If it weren’t for the IDF, the Jewish people would have no sovereignty or statehood, or protection. That’s the truth. As I reached the peak of the trail, a man asked me if I was Israeli. I said, “No but I’m a Zionist.” To which he replied, “So am I. I’m not Jewish but I love Israel. Americans are operating from a place of fear.”
He was right. Many are afraid. Afraid and capitulating to terrorists. But we’re not afraid. Let’s show people we’re not afraid. We’re the only ones who won’t capitulate, because we simply cannot afford to. We’re surviving, and survival is ugly. We will do things other people won’t understand. That’s our family out there in Gaza. 101 of our brothers and sisters on Day 340 of captivity. And we need them back. And we need to ensure that October 7 never happens again. Evil is currently being normalized by those who insist that they’re the good people. Progressive. We’ve been here before. We have to show it up for what it is, no matter the cost and no matter how messy it gets. There is no choice.
During tonight’s debate between Trump and Harris, the subject of Hamas came up. The moderators quoted Hamas numbers (40,000 Palestinians dead), with no additional context. Neither Trump nor Harris corrected the moderators. A grave mistake for both. In response to the question of what next, Harris said that she believes Israel had a right to defend itself, called for a ceasefire and hoped for a two state solution. This should be of concern to anyone who lives in reality.
Talking about a two state solution at this current juncture is bonkers. You cannot reward Hamas for October 7, period. Palestinian statehood is down the line but it’s not on the table until the hostages are free’d and Hamas has no power left in Gaza. Palestinian statehood should not be as a result of anything to do with this war against Hamas. It’s a separate issue. Hamas didn’t attack Israel on October 7 because Hamas wants a state of Palestine. Hamas is a terror organization that wants to eradicate the Jewish nation.
A two state solution is a delusional fantasy. Not because Palestinians don’t deserve rights, but because of who the people of Gaza have shown themselves to be in relation to Israel. The people of Gaza vote for Hamas, they have proven themselves to be fanatics and extremists, many of whom participated in the atrocities of October 7 and since have hidden the hostages in their civilian homes. The IDF has uncovered the extent of Islamism in the homes of regular Gazans. Pogroms have been undertaken by the Arabs against Jews in the region since the 1920s. Even before the State of Israel was established we were attacked in this way. And since 1948, it has been nothing but war, and intifada, and terrorism. Outside of Israel, Islamic extremists are killing other Muslims in other Arab nations. Their leaders have stolen billions of dollars in international aid for themselves, while telling their populace that it’s all Israel’s fault, inspiring generations after generations of terrorists to take up arms. All they want to do is destroy Israel. And that is what they attempted to do on October 7. So no, there will be no reward in the shape of a two state solution. We will not be discussing a state of Palestine to sit on our border at this point in time. We all love the idea of peace, sure. Ideas are nice. Reality isn’t always so nice.
I don’t believe either Presidential candidate is safe for Israel. I believe we are on our own, and I believe we have to start behaving as though that’s the case. We should have learned millennia ago that we cannot rely on anyone else.
I want you to know that you’re being here gives me hope. I’m happy to share that I’m reaching a combined total of 15 million people per month via Twitter and Instagram, and on Substack I am reaching more readers per post than we sold copies of mainstream magazines every week when I worked in the traditional music press. Hope comes with reaching more people than I’ve reached at any point in my entire career. So I lost my livelihood? Maybe it was beshert.
Before I sign off I just want to wish a happy birthday to my old man. Dad, thank you for making me tough but reasonable. I love you.
“Where is Amal Clooney today as this news lands? On a yacht, I imagine.”
SAVAGE 🤣
Reason and logic seems to apply to everything and everyone in the world except the Jews. A story as old as time. My dad has told me we’re on our own for as long as I can remember. That being said, I wear it as a badge of honor. There’s no team I’d rather play for. Happy birthday to your dad. Grateful to him for bringing a person like you into the world. G-d bless him and the IDF.