Kamala's Kehilla
US Involvement, The Squad's Loss, and Barghouti Again: The Weekly Conquest Week of 8.4.24 – 8.10.24
Welcome to the ZioKnight
Week of August 4th, 2024
The Harris Walz ticket is official, so what does it mean for Israel?
Governor Josh Shapiro was the former front-runner for the VEEP pick. He was attacked for his Jewishness by the far left, and Israel’s American opponents celebrated when he wasn’t chosen.
Walz has a solid history in support of Israel and the American Jewish Community in his home state of Minnesota. He has spent six years as Governor, twelve in Congress, and twenty four on the National Guard.
He mandated Holocaust education in Minnesota schools, maintained Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, voted in favor of aid to Israel at every opportunity in Congress, voting to expand the US-Israel strategic partnership, condemned acts of antisemitism, maintained a close relationship with the Minnesotan Jewish Community, and opposed BDS resolutions within the Minnesota pension system.
Vice President Harris has been widely seen as more sympathetic to the Democratic Party’s left flank through her tone. Still, her official stance doesn’t endorse any changes from President Biden’s Middle East doctrine.
Her Mideast expert, Phil Gordon, provides her with guidance on Israel policy. He was a major proponent of the Iran Nuclear Deal and served under Obama as his top Middle East advisor.
Harris said in a brief interaction with the press that she is slated to release a policy platform this coming week. This will be her opportunity to set the record straight about her stance on Israel.
Sunday 8.4
US Navy Presence in the Middle East
Iran should be careful about their next move, as the largest concentration of US Aircraft Carriers in history has them surrounded. The USS Gerald Ford, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Theodore Roosevelt, and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower constitute over 2/3 of the fleet and aren’t there to play games. [1]
Monday 8.5
Site of Stricken American Base
Iran’s goons in Iraq launched a strike on an American base injuring four soldiers and a contractor. Biden swore retaliation without escalation. Although this didn’t cause a major escalation in military activity, it will likely shift the situation closer to the edge. [2]
Tuesday 8.6
Guess the mystery person who can be attributed to the following:
Voting against Iron Dome Funding
Voting against a House Bill condemning Hamas
Refusing to call Hamas a terrorist group
Saying “all they did was radicalize me… AIPAC I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”
Answer: the newest former Congresswoman Cori Bush!
She lost her seat due to voter displeasure over key issues such as voting against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, supporting defunding the police, failure to ever pass her own bill, frequent absence from Congress, and lack of public presence in her district.
Pro-Israel groups contributed about $9 million to her challenger, newly elected Congressman Wesley Bell. Cori Bush was one of the most anti-Israel members of Congress and outspoken members of The Squad. [3][4]
Wednesday 8.7
The Uncommitted Movement is a group of 101,000 voters in Michigan and over 700,000 country-wide that refuse to support either of the presidential candidates without an arms embargo against Israel and an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Harris and Waltz had a photo-op before a campaign event in Michigan that the two leaders of the movement were invited to. They asked Harris for a meeting to discuss an arms embargo against Israel, to which Harris responded by expressing openness.
The Vice President’s team assured that she doesn’t support an arms embargo and at the same time “will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.” [5][6][7]
Thursday 8.8
Two F-22 Raptors Flying into the Middle East
In an attempt to ease the regional tension, the US military sent a dozen F-22 Raptors into the Middle East. You read that right. These are the most advanced US fighter jets. Aerial refueling tankers were also sent to support the increased fleet.
By sending these dominant planes, the US is attempting to signal to Iran not to escalate with the attack on Israel that is expected by this Tuesday. This is peace through strength in action. [8]
Friday 8.9
Marwan Barghouti
Remember Marwan Barghouti? We did a deep dive on him two weeks back, and he’s back in the news. Hamas is requesting that the jailed Intifada leader be released first in a prospective hostage deal.
Pundits and anonymous sources suggest that Hamas realizes that they won’t be able to control Gaza after the war and would like Barghouti to rule in their place as an ally. [9]
Saturday 8.10
Aerial Photos of Strike
The IDF launched a targeted strike on the men’s only floor of a mosque used as a Hamas Command and Control Center inside a school compound. At least 19 terrorists were killed. Hamas claims that over a hundred civilians were killed, but the IDF counters by asserting that the three precise munitions utilized didn’t contain such destructive capacity. The before-and-after aerial photos also don’t suggest structural damage. [10][11]
Question: How often are Israeli elections?
Answer: They occur every four years in normal circumstances. The lengths can fluctuate in the following ways:
A Knesset ordinary majority vote calling for early elections
A Knesset special majority prolonging the term
The Prime Minister dissolving Knesset
A vote of a motion of no confidence in the prime minister dissolving Knesset
A failure to pass a budget law within the first three months of Knesset resulting in its dissolution [12]
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