ISRAEL (IINO)
SCREAMS BEFORE SILENCE Full Video [57:00] A documentary film on the sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7th, Screams Before Silence is a documentary film led by American businesswoman Sheryl Sandberg, that explores the sexual violence by Hamas during the Hamas-led attack on Israel, on 7 October 2023, including events at the massacre at the Nova Festival and abductions to the Gaza Strip.
Chanukah Guide for the Perplexed, 2025 Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger
December 8, 2025 “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
1.Chanukah (evening of December 14 – December 22, 2025) is the only Jewish holiday that commemorates an ancient national liberation struggle in the Land of Israel, unlike Passover, Sukkot/Tabernacles and Shavu’ot/Pentecost, which commemorate the liberation from slavery in Egypt to independence in the land of Israel, and unlike Purim, which commemorates liberation from a Persian attempt to annihilate the Jewish people of Persia.
2. NBC news, December 13, 2022: “An ancient treasure trove of silver coins dating back 2,200 years, found in a desert cave in Israel, could add crucial new evidence to support a story of Jewish rebellion…. The 15 silver coins were hidden [during] the Maccabean revolt from 167-160 B.C., when Jewish warriors rebelled against the Seleucid [Syrian] Empire….”
3. In 1777, Chanukah candles were lit, by a Jewish soldier, during the Valley Forge encampment, the turning point of the Revolutionary War, which solidified the victory of George Washington’s Continental Army over the British monarchy. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a player in the ratification of the US Constitution, paving the road to the Boston Tea Party, 1773: “What shining examples of patriotism do we behold in Joshua, Samuel, the Maccabees and t
he illustrious princes and prophets among the Jews…” On December 6, 2013, Ambassador Hank Cooper, a former Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, wrote: “We need modern day Maccabees to preserve the heritage of liberty for our posterity….”
4. According to Israel’s Founding Father, David Ben Gurion: Chanukah commemorates “the struggle of the Maccabees, which was one of the most dramatic clashes of civilizations in human history, not merely a political-military struggle against foreign oppression…. Unlike many peoples, the meager Jewish people did not assimilate. The Jewish people prevailed, won, sustained and enhanced their independence and unique civilization…. It was the spirit of the people, rather than the establishment, which enabled the Hasmoneans to overcome one of the most magnificent spiritual, political and military challenges in Jewish history….” (Uniqueness and Destiny, pp 20-22, David Ben Gurion, IDF Publishing, 1953).
5. Chanukah and the Land of Israel. When ordered by Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid region to end the Jewish “occupation” of Jerusalem, Jaffa, Gaza, Gezer and Akron, Shimon the Maccabee responded: “We have not occupied a foreign land…. We have liberated the land of our forefathers from foreign occupation (Book of Maccabees A: 15:33).”
Chanukah highlights the centrality of the Land of Israel in the formation of Judaism and the Jewish people. The mountain ridges of Judea and Southern Samaria (the West Bank) – the cradle of Jewish history, religion, culture and language – were the platform for the Maccabean military battles: Mitzpah (the burial site of the Prophet Samuel, overlooking Jerusalem), Beit El (the site of the Ark of the Covenant and Judah the Maccabee’s initial headquarters), Beit Horon (Judah’s victory over Seron), Hadashah (Judah’s victory over Nicanor), Beit Zur (Judah’s victory over Lysias), Ma’aleh Levona (Judah’s victory over Apolonius), Adora’yim (a Maccabean fortress), Eleazar (named after Mattityahu’s youngest Maccabee son), Beit Zachariya (Judah’s first defeat), Ba’al Hatzor (where Judah was defeated and killed), Te’qoah, Mikhmash and Gophnah (bases of Shimon and Yonatan), the Judean Desert, etc.
6. Chanukah’s historical context is narrated in the 4 Books of the Maccabees, The Scroll of Antiochus and The Wars of the Jews.
In 323 BCE, following the death of Alexander the Great (Alexander III) who held Judaism in high esteem, the Greek Empire was split into three independent and rival mini-empires: Greece, Seleucid/Syria and Ptolemaic/Egypt.
In 175 BCE, the Seleucid/Syrian Emperor Antiochus (IV) Epiphanes claimed the Land of Israel. He suspected that the Jews were allies of his Ptolemaic/Egyptian enemy. The Seleucid emperor was known for eccentric behavior, hence his name, Epiphanes, which means “divine manifestation.” He aimed to exterminate Judaism and convert Jews to Hellenism. In 169 BCE, he devastated Jerusalem, attempting to decimate the Jewish population, and outlaw the practice of Judaism.
In 166/7 BCE, a Jewish rebellion was led by the non-establishment Hasmonean (Maccabee) family from the rural town of Modi’in, half-way between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean. The rebellion was headed by Mattityahu, the priest, and his five sons, Yochanan, Judah, Shimon, Yonatan and Eleazar, who fought the Seleucid occupier and restored Jewish independence. The Hasmonean dynasty was replete with external and internal wars and lasted until 37 BCE, when Herod the Great (a proxy of Rome) defeated Antigonus II Mattathias.
The reputation of Jews as superb warriors was reaffirmed by the success of the Maccabees on the battlefield. In fact, they were frequently hired as mercenaries by Egypt, Syria, Carthage, Rome and other global and regional powers.
7.Chanukah celebrates the Maccabean-led national liberation by conducting in-house family education and lighting candles – in a 9-branch-candelabrum – for 8 days in commemoration of the re-inauguration of Jerusalem’s Jewish Temple and its Menorah (candelabrum).
The Hebrew words Chanukah (חנוכה), inauguration (חנוכ) and education ((חנוך possess an identical root.
8. As was prophesized by the Prophet Hagai in 520 BCE, the re-inauguration of the Temple took place on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which is the month of miracles, such as the post-flood appearance of Noah’s rainbow, the completion of the construction of the Holy Ark by Moses, the laying of the foundations of the Second Temple by Nehemiah, etc.
The 25th Hebrew word in Genesis is “light,” and the 25th stop during the Exodus was Hashmona (the same Hebrew spelling as Hasmonean-Maccabees).
9. Chanukah highlights the defeat of darkness, forgetfulness, disbeliefand pessimism, and the victory of light, commemoration, faith, defiance of odds, can-do mentality and optimism (darkness and forgetfulness are spelled with identical Hebrew letters: חשכה, שכחה). The first day of Chanukah is celebrated when daylight hours are equal to darkness hours – and when moonlight is hardly noticed – ushering in brighter days.
Failure at the Fence: How Hamas breached Israel’s “Iron Wall” [28:02]
Under US pressure, Israel to take over rubble clearing in devastated Gaza Strip – report
Removing Gaza debris estimated to take up to 7 years, billions of dollars
December 12, 2025 All Israel News
Israel has agreed to a request from the United States to take over responsibility for clearing the vast amount of rubble covering the Gaza Strip after two years of fighting, Ynet News reported, citing a senior Israeli official.
Israel has agreed in principle to take physical and financial responsibility for removing the debris, which is estimated to take years and could cost hundreds of millions of shekels.
According to the report, the U.S. sees clearing the rubble as the first step toward reconstructing the enclave according to Phase Two of the ceasefire agreement and aims to start rebuilding in the southern town of Rafah to showcase U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision for reconstruction.
American officials said that Rafah is intended to serve as a pilot area designed to attract Gaza residents for employment and to build broader support for the reconstruction effort.
Israel is expected to hire specialized companies to clear the debris, the report said.
A recent Wall Street Journal report estimated the volume of rubble in Gaza to be roughly 68 million tons. “That is equivalent to the weight of around 186 Empire State Buildings. Distributing that amount of rubble evenly across Manhattan would leave around 215 pounds of debris on every square foot,” according to the WSJ.
In November, the UN Development Program (UNDP) estimated that most of it could be cleared within seven years. “One hopes that it will happen as quickly as possible, but it will take years,” said Jaco Cilliers, head of UNDP’s operations in the Palestinian Territories. “The best-case scenario is that it will take at least five, [but] more like seven years.”
The UN said that a review of the satellite images suggests there were more than 123,000 destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip, and an additional 75,000 damaged to varying degrees, accounting for 81% of all the structures.
In addition to the remains of destroyed structures, the rubble contains unexploded ordnance. Israeli officials estimate that 1-2% of Israeli projectiles could have failed to explode, some of which Hamas has used to extract explosives during the war.
The Israel Defense Forces have highlighted that over 10% of Hamas’ rockets failed to cross into Israel and either exploded or fell within Gaza.
Hamas’ health authorities also claim that the bodies of some 10,000 people are trapped under rubble.
The work to move and clear the debris has not begun in earnest, as Israel still limits the entry of the required heavy machinery, which is categorized as “dual-use,” as Hamas terrorists could use it to repair or construct new tunnels.
UNDP has used the limited equipment available to collect or repurpose some 209,000 tons of debris so far.
The UN estimates that overall reconstruction will cost around $70 billion, which the Trump administration hopes will be paid in large part by the Gulf states. However, Qatar recently said it wouldn’t “write the check to rebuild what others destroyed,” according to Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani.
“Our payments will only go to help the Palestinian people if we see that the help coming to them is insufficient,” Al Thani added. A spokesperson later clarified that Qatar doesn’t want to be the only state paying for the rebuilding effort.
Israeli officials told Ynet News that Israel is concerned about Washington’s apparent focus on reconstruction over demilitarization.
Jerusalem also continues to refuse to begin the next stage of the ceasefire before Hamas returns the body of hostage Ran Gvili, insisting on a commitment to disarm the terror group and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.
Is This Enough Evidence That October 7 Wasn’t a Mistake? CHANANYA WEISSMAN
Plus an inspiring Chanukah video from Hamas, found by the IDF…
DEC 11, 2025
David Sidman put together the following timeline of events the morning of Oct 7, based on establishment media reports linked at the end:
The following is the Air Force’s timeline of events the morning of Oct 7:
7:10 am: IDF jets were ordered to attack Gaza
10:00 am: (The jets still haven’t taken off despite the order 3 hours ago), a new order was given to specifically strike the border area where the invasion was taking place
10:30 am: Jets finally scramble after 3 hours!) and head to Gaza, but instead of attacking the border area as ordered to, for some mysterious reason, the air fleets instead continued on, flying right over the border to strike targets “deep” inside Gaza!
12:00 pm: The pilots are finally rerouted to attack the Gaza border – (A 2-hour delay for an order that should have taken 45 seconds)
Once they were finally arrived at the border area (following a mysterious 4.5 hour delay, then a 2 hour delay) they were essentially denied any request to strike the Hamas terrorists who were actually invading the border and if they did strike Hamas terrorists during the invasion without explicit authorization from a command center that wasn’t authorizing any, they were “reprimanded.”
Questions:
Why were the planes parked for over 3 hours after receiving an order to take off?
Why did the pilots violate orders to attack the border area choosing to fly over and hit targets deep inside Gaza?
Why did the air force take over 5 hours to follow an order that should have taken 6-7 minutes?
Who refused to authorize the pilots to engage with the invaders and punished any who did?
Army
On the morning of Oct 7, after learning of the invasion, then IDF chief Halevi downgraded the IDF’s readiness level as the attack developed.
Why would the IDF chief relax the army’s readiness level AFTER getting a clearer picture of the nature of the invasion?
Intelligence
The Intelligence Directorate, withheld some of the information from the commanders throughout the night of Oct 7, and therefore they acted with only partial information.”
Why would the IDF intelligence withhold information from the ground forces during an invasion?
What intel was being denied to the front lines, and who gave the order to withhold vital intel during the invasion?
We may never know the answer to these questions because…
The IDF chief of staff has frozen the release of a sensitive report into the army’s failures during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack
It’s not only the IDF that appears to be hiding something. Former high-ranking officials of the Shin Bet (Israel’s intelligence outfit) are refusing to comply with a subpoena from the State Comptroller’s Office to appear for investigation meetings and provide relevant documents regarding the events leading up to the October 7th attack.
Knesset Member Tali Gotliv reports that the Shin Bet officials met with a top Hamas official the night of Oct 7.
Sources
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/418751
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-876745
- https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bj11vruvsll
- https://news.walla.co.il/item/3799863
- https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/be11d799e08b8910/Article-ed95e8f8c74fa91027.htm
Someone really needs to tell Bibi about all this!
Look, you can bend yourself into a pretzel playing devil’s advocate and acting as if that makes you an intellectual, or you can finally stop advocating for the devil.
Someone just shared this with me, from something called Jewish Breaking News.
Newly released chilling footage shows American Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin and several other captives attempting to observe Chanukah while held underground in the Hamas terror tunnels.
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzYZMfJ73Uw&t=1s
In the video, the hostages try to improvise a candle. They then sing ‘Ma Otzur’ a Chanukah song together in the cramped and suffocating space where they were being held.
The people seen in the footage include Hersh Goldberg Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lubanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino. They were among the civilians kidnapped on October 7 when Hamas terrorists entered southern Israel and abducted men, women, and children.
The footage is believed to have been filmed shortly before they were killed.
According to the IDF, the hostages were murdered inside the tunnels, and their bodies were recovered during military operations after intelligence revealed their location. Their deaths generated widespread grief.
Israeli officials say the video raises disturbing questions about why Hamas chose to record the moment and adds to growing evidence of the psychological and physical abuse inflicted on the hostages and their families with propaganda films being shot.
An inspirational hostage video, just in time for Chanukah, supposedly from loot collected by the IDF.
Interesting looking tunnel.
So Hamas let them play with fire? And took this inspiring video just for the heck of it?
My money is on the Shabak/CIA production team.
Same here in this video, courtesy of t.me/kipaadu, which asks very reasonable questions the media never seems to think of:
Finally, the state proclaims another unvaccinated child died of measles, or complications related to measles (which could really mean anything, including medical malpractice related to measles). Very few Israelis seem to believe them — including one woman who blasted the “human animals, liars” and “group of trash cans” behind this report, adding that the child was her nephew, and there was no connection to measles.
Who do you believe?
(Personally, I think her comments are inappropriate, because animals would never do something like this, and trash cans are an asset to society.)
A regime with a documented history of kidnapping and trafficking Yemenite children, and performing horrific medical experiments on children, and so much more, would never, ever make up a story about a child’s death to push a vaccine narrative. That crosses the line, and anyone who believes such a thing should be ridiculed by all rational people.
See here for the Facebook post and full comments.
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In this week’s Torah class we explored the mysterious lives of Dinah and Osnat, according to numerous Midrashim. What happened to Dinah in the end? What were Osnat’s true origins? How can we reconcile conflicting Midrashic accounts which can’t all be literally true? Why didn’t the Torah make it clear?
Also, what is one of the primary spiritual reasons converts tend to suffer? The answer is surprising and very sobering for all of us.
The class is embedded above and on Rumble here.
The link to register for the live weekly classes is here.
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