Secretary of State Antony Blinken is celebrating the fact that Hamas said it welcomed a UN Security Council resolution Monday endorsing the Biden plan (falsely described as the Israeli plan) for a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza.
Hamas accepted nothing. It simply pocketed the concessions in the proposal, which by the Biden administration's own admission was "virtually identical" to Hamas's own proposals, and demanded the thing it still really wants: victory.
The resolution calls for Israel to leave Gaza; for Gaza to return to the territorial status quo ante; for outside money to rebuild Gaza; etc. Notably, it does not call for Hamas to be ousted or disarmed. That's the new starting point for a deal.
What Hamas wants is for the deal also to include an explicit Israeli commitment not to return to war to destroy the terrorist organization. There's no way Israel will agree to that. That's why, for months, I've been saying a deal is impossible.
Meanwhile, Blinken is giving away the store. The correct U.S. posture should be: give up the hostages, and maybe we'll let the leaders of Hamas live, in exile. Not this garbage about how nice everyone is going to be, and pretty please.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
