Jordan Cohen

Marginalize Ourselves—reflections on a semester at war. Ending the Gaza war and building a parallel peace ecosystem outside the confines of elite diplomacy and NGOs - jcohenposts.substack.com/p/marginalize-…

Check out my new profile interview on the #WeAreElliott website: Jordan Cohen esiagrad.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/wea… #Israel #Palestine #Peacebuilding #MiddleEast #Track0

What is Peace? Early morning reflections on the difference between the peace deal vs. actual peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: jcohenposts.substack.com/p/what-is-peace

@JohnLyndon_ Has Hamas agreed to return the hostages and “disappear themselves?” The presser sounded more like a license to press on. Not sure anything has changed today.

Trump begins by saying Bibi “said yes” to plan. Before listing Europeans, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and other “Arab and Muslim countries” as partners in feeding into plan. If Trump has truly crafted a multilateral process on issue that’s needed one for decades: chapeau 🎩

No clue what I just watched. Has Hamas agreed to a deal? Or is this about political cover to "finish the job" for Bibi? (With support from Arab world?) Neither leader would take questions from the press at the end. #Israel #Hamas #Bibi #Trump #Gaza

@EphraimGopin @martinlieberman I am with Martin on this. We won't let terrorists break us. We will not hide. And our community will persevere. We know full well -- and if we didn't before, we do now -- that the good times are not permanent. But neither are the bad ones.

@martinlieberman @jcohenposts I'm a student of Jewish history. Last summer someone told me: "In every place we've been exiled to, we had 120-150 good years of growth and thriving. Then came the ugliness and destruction. Our time in the U.S. has reached that 120-150 year marker. Time's up." Sad.

A beautiful, but heartbreaking, read by @jcohenposts ... "It broke something in me when [my father] said, for the first time, that New York doesn’t feel like a great place for Jews anymore. After 82 years." jcohenposts.substack.com/p/walking-in-c…

@martinlieberman Thanks for sharing, Martin.

"Walking in Circles with My Dad" - reflections on being Jewish in America after the Boulder and DC attacks: jcohenposts.substack.com/p/walking-in-c…

@martinlieberman Thanks Martin. This was part of the pain I was bracing for on that chilly night in Maine in 2023. It was one thing to know the horrors were coming, another for us to all have been living them out, every day, for 594 days now. Hang in there my brother.

"We must look for the cracks in the darkness. And we must say to ourselves and to each other: Do Not Be Afraid." Good read.

Do Not Be Afraid: jcohenposts.substack.com/p/do-not-be-af… - in honor of Yaron & Sarah

@Mr_Andrew_Fox The WSJ has had back-to-back stories: Yesterday, they reported that Gazan support for Hamas’s 10-7 attack was 70%+ initially—now just 30%. Then today they revealed it was timed to disrupt Saudi normalization after all. It was always about money💰. At least the ppl know it now.

Palestinian Telegram groups are heartbreaking, there is no question that innocents are suffering terribly. Their narrative for who is responsible is very different to the Western media’s, though.

If Trump forces a deal the Q remaining is what he offers Smotrich and Bibi for “face saving.” Double annual foreign assistance $? Formal defense treaty? There will have to be something for them to show their constituents. I think Trump wants this to end. Q is how he makes it happen.

Here we go. Operation Gideon’s Chariot. Full military takeover of Gaza if no deal with Hamas is made by the end of Trump’s visit to the Middle East on 16th May. Same war aims: defeat Hamas militarily, dismantle Hamas governance, and secure the release of all hostages. The IDF will expand its presence across Gaza, and remain in every captured area, instead of previous raiding tactics. A mass evacuation of civilians from northern and central Gaza to southern zones will be carried out to separate them from combatants. The same model as Rafah will create secure zones fully clear of threats and absorbed into Israel’s security perimeter. The blockade on humanitarian aid will continue during the operation. Aid will resume only after the evacuation, within a tightly monitored “sterile zone” in Rafah. There, aid will be distributed by civilian contractors and screened by the IDF to prevent diversion to Hamas. This plan creates a limited window for a deal under the Witkoff framework, offering one final chance to reach an agreement before the assault begins. Even if a deal is made, Israel will retain all cleared territory and will not withdraw from the newly established security buffer zone around Gaza. The plan also includes advancing voluntary emigration options for Gazans, especially those outside Hamas-controlled zones. Some hasty initial thoughts. Firstly, separating the whole civilian population from combatants will be an enormous challenge. Secondly, taking and holding ground runs the risk of an Iraq-style insurgency. Thirdly, the tunnels will continue to pose significant threat of ambush and will almost be a whole operation on their own. Fourthly, the Hamas/Qatar information war is going to go off the scale. Expect the shrieking to reach never-before seen levels of atrocity accusations. Fifthly, this is going to take a huge reserve mobilisation by the IDF. It is going to be economically extremely costly. Sixthly, the fact this has been leaked emphasises that the IDF may well prefer a hostage release deal (on their terms) or even a Hamas surrender, rather than go ahead with this plan.

@Mr_Andrew_Fox At this stage I want to believe #6 but cannot imagine it in practice. Israeli gov’t seems intent on holding the territory indefinitely at this point. Only person with leverage is Trump. If he can orchestrate the release of all hostages he will force Bibi’s hand (and Smotrich’s).

Interesting take all around, including this; “…the fact this has been leaked emphasises that the IDF may well prefer a hostage release deal (on their terms) or even a Hamas surrender, rather than go ahead with this plan.”

@fairelech @TArkesteijn I don’t know how anyone can see that “back story” + the string of CGI headshots + frequency of posts + time of posts (would correspond to someone not living on Israel time, but well timed for US East Coast) + content of posts and believe it’s the real person it claims to be.

@jcohenposts @TArkesteijn Are you going to investigate it? Keep me posted. The story of her being a mute made me very suspicious. And then the fake photo shopped picture of her.

So I watched the Piers Morgan show with @SpencerGuard and @ComicDaveSmith, and I totally get where Dave is coming from. I 100% understand his viewpoints and “logic”. And with now fully understanding it in its entirety, I can wholeheartedly say that @DouglasKMurray was 100% correct, and @SpencerGuard was 100% correct. So Dave, I’ll explain, and it’s an analogy I’ve written about myself and one I’ve in some way lived out: You are a father of young kids as you stated. Now on the Piers Morgan show, you stated that if it were your children under that rubble, you wouldn’t care about rules of war and a leaflet or any of that. Ok. Fair enough. Now let’s flip it to the other side, since you never ever seem to do that. Say terrorists came to your house, killed one of your children in the most brutal and savage way, then kidnapped your other kids, as well as all the kids of your neighbors along your entire road. For the sake of this analogy I’ll assume you have more than one child, possibly 3. Now they kidnap your other child/children and the others, and take them back to a building filled with other kids and women and children… their kids. You can save your children, but to do so you have to go through a bunch of heavily armed terrorists and many kids. To save your kids, you have to kill everyone between the front door of the building, and your kids who you suspect are being kept in the basement which can only be accessed at the back of the building or at the middle floor end apartment by going through all the terrorists and other kids. It’s a labyrinth of passages and rooms. Now Dave… what do you do? Do you save your kids, or do you pause and say “do I absolutely need to do this or should I just let my kids die?”. Now it’s pretty clear what you would do. I actually feel so sorry for your kids that their father would just let them die. Remember, you didn’t start this, the terrorists did. Also keep in mind that 20 years earlier, the parents of the very terrorists who killed your kid and kidnapped the others had committed suicide bombings and mass terrorist attacks on your very road, killing many people, and that the very terrorists who killed your kid and kidnapped the others were just young kids themselves when their parents were doing the same 20 years earlier. Also, 18 years earlier, the entire road you live on went to that very terrorist building and removed their own people by force who happened to live in that building, just so that the terrorists who murdered them could have the entire building to themselves without any occupation or blockade or anything. But, as soon as the last person left the building, the terrorists decided to fire rockets at your entire road within seconds, destroying all the water pipes and greenhouses just to make the rockets. They then willingly elect an even more sadistic and psychotic bunch of terrorists to manage the building and turn the building into a terror site. And these new terrorists elected were elected because they swore to destroy and murder every single person living in your road, including your family. So the residents of your road built blockades to prevent the terrorists from repeating the attacks of 20 years ago. And now they’ve actually done it, killed many people on your road, including one of your kids, and took your other kids plus others as hostages and swore that they would do it again and again and again. So Dave, what would you do? Do you now agree that you would let your kids die? Surely you must, because it means if you save your kids then you kill the terrorists’ kids. Now back to the real world Dave… Israel still has its kids being held 540+ days later by the terrorists who killed their other kids. We’re sorry we’re not gutless pathetic cowards like you who would willingly let his kids be murdered in captivity. We will go save our kids. We asked the other kids to leave. Hamas forced them to stay. Some have died. It’s tragic, but it’s on Hamas. End of debate.

@TArkesteijn @CherylWroteIt @SpencerGuard @ComicDaveSmith @DouglasKMurray I have seen several people say India. How has that been proven and who are they and who are they working for? Btw I think it isn’t necessarily who most would jump to believe it is. My sense is it’s more radical US far right. Or possibly Russia helping to feed raw meat to them.

@jcohenposts @CherylWroteIt @SpencerGuard @ComicDaveSmith @DouglasKMurray It's a rage bait account from India

People debate Israel like it’s just a concept. As if it’s something you read about in a book or watch on Netflix. You hear it in universities, in the media, on podcasts hosted by people who’ve never lived a day in this region or ever faced a single siren or buried a friend in uniform. You hear it all: “Proportional response.” “Occupation.” “Ceasefire now.” “Colonial state.” “Resistance.” “War hungry.” “Aggressor.” “Genocide.” They say it so easily. The words roll off their tongues as though it’s just a case study, something theoretical. But in reality, none of it is a story. None of it is a show. And none of it is theory. It’s human. It’s raw. It’s real. It’s painful. It’s horrific. This war isn’t being fought by politicians or polished debaters. It’s being fought by real people. By 19-year-olds. By fathers. By women who were supposed to be planning weddings, not funerals. By people who didn’t sign up to be warriors — but were thrown into it. In Israel, you don’t have the luxury of debating it. You can’t say, “It’s their war, not mine” — because it is yours. And that’s the thing about Israel — it’s small. So small that when a soldier falls, it’s never just a headline. It’s a friend. A neighbor. A cousin. A community is left to grieve. You go to a shiva, and half the town is there because everyone knew him. He was at your kid’s bar mitzvah. He sat behind you in synagogue. He coached soccer on Sundays. And while that pain is raw and fresh, people around the world go right back to their “debates.” Debating whether their grief is valid. Whether their defense is justified. Whether their survival is acceptable. Do you know what it’s like to live like this? To send a young son off in uniform and not know if you’ll ever see him again? To pack a husband’s gear and pretend you’re strong for the kids, even though your hands are shaking? To watch a daughter put on body armor and disappear into the battlefield? Do you know what it’s like to count the minutes during the day and pray through the night? To stare at your phone, dreading every unknown number — wondering if this is the call that will change your life? To open the door and see officers standing there with news you never wanted to hear, but secretly expected? Do you know what it’s like to bury someone who still had plans? Still had dreams? Still had their whole life ahead of them? While you debate, these people mourn. While you argue over maps and talking points, they’re holding funerals and wiping tears off their kids’ faces. You talk about justice. They talk about survival. You talk about occupation. They’re just trying to make it to tomorrow. They’re not out for revenge. They just want to live. To see their families again. To come home. And yet, they’re called monsters. Murderers. Oppressors. As if they chose this. As if they asked for it. No one in Israel wants war. They want to work. To raise their children. To build lives. But when rockets fly and murderers cross the border, they don’t get to debate. They have to fight. Because no one else will do it for them. So you can keep your conversations about “balance” and “dialogue.” But just know: while you’re talking, they’re bleeding. While you’re analyzing, they’re breaking the news to mothers. While you’re shouting “morality,” they’re holding funerals for kids who never got to be anything but soldiers. This isn’t politics. This isn’t theories. This is Israel. And this is what it means to survive there.

@trrs_adria34815 All of the posts sending similar antagonistic messages response blocked me as well. Really helping their case. Indicates multiple accounts “engaging” with Cheryl are likely coordinated. It’s impressive! 🤣🤦🏻‍♂️

@trrs_adria34815 The account blocked me now btw. (Only after providing a profanity-laced response designed to inflame “the base”).

@trrs_adria34815 Other just basic indicator is the account posts constantly, all day long, from 7am to 10 or 11pm US Eastern Time. Meaning the purported “mother of 3” would have to be typing on X constantly, til 3 or 4am Israel time. Israelis stay up later than Americans do. But they do sleep.