CSM5🇨🇦🇺🇲🇮🇱

Israeli President Isaac Herzog tries to justify mass killing in Lebanon by holding up Hitler’s Mein Kampf, claiming it was found inside many homes there.

My family built this house in Israel 126 years ago, and still live in the same spot. Post whatever you want on social media, your posts will not move them one inch from the land they have been cultivating for 5 generations. Am Yisrael Chai.

At 1:30 AM, Israeli aircrafts bombed three residential apartments in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital

The claim collapses on contact with history You: “Judea and Samaria are not part of Israel. They are Palestinian land. The settlements are illegal.” Every clause is false. 1. “Judea and Samaria” is the original name Those are not Israeli rebrands. They are 2,500-year-old geographic names used continuously from biblical, Persian, Greek, and Roman periods onward. “Palestinian land” as a sovereign concept did not exist then, or later. 2. There has never been a Palestinian state there Not under the Ottomans. Not under the British. Not before 1948. Not after. You cannot call something “Palestinian land” when no Palestinian sovereignty ever existed. 3. Jordan’s control (1948–1967) was illegal In 1948, Jordan invaded and occupied Judea and Samaria. Its annexation was illegal and recognized by almost no one. Jordan did not create a Palestinian state. No one protested. If this land was “Palestinian,” Jordan stole it and no one cared. 4. Israel did not take the land from Palestinians In 1967, Israel captured the territory in a defensive war after Jordan attacked. International law treats land taken from an illegal occupier as disputed, not “Palestinian.” That is why no binding UN resolution ever declared it Palestinian sovereign territory. 5. “West Bank” is a Jordanian propaganda term The name was invented by Jordan to erase Jewish history. It means “west of the Jordan River,” not a nation, not a people, not a state. Politics renamed it. History did not. 6. “Settlements are illegal” is a slogan, not law UN Resolution 242 does not call the territory Palestinian. The Oslo Accords explicitly label it disputed and leave borders to negotiation. If settlements were inherently illegal, Oslo would have banned them. It didn’t. 7. Jews didn’t colonize their own birthplace Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria existed 1,000+ years before Islam. Jews were expelled in 1948. Returning is not colonialism, it’s return. Colonialism requires a foreign homeland. Jews have none. Bottom line •Not Palestinian sovereign land. Never was. •Jordan’s occupation was illegal. •Israel’s status is disputed, pending negotiation. •“Illegal settlements” is politics masquerading as law. This isn’t controversial history. It’s inconvenient history.

In mid-February, I joined police Chiefs from Canada and the United States, on a visit to Israel where we met police and community leaders in several cities. I spent time with police officers from Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze faiths representing a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I also met with Muslim community leaders who shared openly about their concerns and their reasons for working with police. These officers and community leaders operate in an environment that demands extraordinary vigilance - managing crime, counter terrorism, supporting community and crisis response all amid extreme complexity. Police to police we were able to talk about the toll this work takes on the people who do it. We talked about building trust in communities where there is little trust. We were able to get a glimpse of the undertaking required to police in complex environments. I am grateful for what I was able to learn and share with those we visited and among my North American peers. These missions offer a great deal of insight and valuable perspective. I am grateful for the continued leadership and support of the Edmonton Police Commission who have supported me in this. As police we focus on behavior, not beliefs. Where I have felt challenged this week is in the implication that any community group should have the right to direct where we can learn. I stand by my decision to take the trip to Israel and continue to view it as valuable, among multiple learning experiences I will have in this role. I remain focused on my longstanding and ongoing commitment to dialogue, learning and connection across communities and across boundaries.

Doug Ford on Iran: "I think the US and Israel are doing the right thing ... we have to bring peace to the Middle East. I encourage them to keep going."