RonHalber

The goal of the negotiation in Iran should not be an end to fighting for its own sake. It should be a better peace. History shows that wars that end without resolving the underlying drivers do not really end. They just produce the conditions for the next round of fighting. A better peace here is not hard to define. It means an Islamic Regime in Iran that is not on the threshold of a nuclear weapon. It means a regime that cannot use control of international waterways as a tool of coercion. It means a regime that is not building missiles capable of reaching Europe or the United States, missiles to attack its neighbors or to shield its nuclear weapons pursuit. And it means a regime that is no longer funding, building, and sustaining proxy terror armies in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq. If those conditions are not met, then whatever agreement comes out of negotiations is temporary. Many people only focus on stopping the fighting. That is not the same as achieving the purpose of the war. The real measure is whether Iran’s behavior changes when the war is over. If the capabilities remain, the intent will follow. And if both remain, the conflict will start again later. Ending the war is not the objective. Ending it on terms that will hold is.

Strange. We were reliably informed by thousands of X commentators, pundits, and journalists that CENTCOM had somehow never considered a plan for clearing Hormuz. Turns out military planners may have thought about it before X did 🤔

I just called the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to express my great sorrow over this morning's unfortunate incident in the Old City of Jerusalem, in which Cardinal Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers amid the ongoing security situation. I clarified that the incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles fell in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days. I reaffirmed the State of Israel's unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths and to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem.

@Sam_Rasoul Do you ever tire of posting your unhinged, baseless antisemitic rants ? Perhaps as a state official you should spend your time focusing on representing and delivering results for your constituents, instead of opining on foreign policy which you apparently know little about.

Of course they are. This is unconscionable. Why are our leaders funneling American taxpayer dollars to the Israeli military instead of holding it accountable?

Many on the left — and even on the right — would rather see US & Israeli forces fail against the IRGC if it meant hurting Trump or Netanyahu. That’s how toxic our politics have become. I opposed Obama’s foreign policy. But I never rooted against my own commander-in-chief.

טראמפ: ישראל לא כופפה לי את היד כדי שאתקוף באיראן. אולי אני זה שכופף להם את היד

Poll panic is overblown. In the next few years, Israel — with Trump’s backing — will: 1. Cripple Iran’s capabilities, accelerating the regime’s demise. 2. Lock in a next-gen U.S.–Israel strategic pact — AI, missile defense, cyber, space — making the alliance indispensable. 3. Set the gold standard for model partner burden sharing — fighting, innovating, and deterring on the front lines. 4. Build a more self-reliant defense industrial base, reducing exposure to U.S. political swings. 5. Expand ties with India, the UAE, Greece, Cyprus, Japan, Singapore, Argentina, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somaliland and beyond — while opening doors to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and other Muslim states. 6. Elect a more centrist government capable of rebuilding bipartisan support in Washington. 7. Deepen integration with CENTCOM partners, turning air defense and intelligence-sharing into a regional security architecture. 8. Dominate emerging military tech — AI-targeting, autonomous systems, quantum, layered missile defense — widening the qualitative edge. 9. Leverage energy, water, cyber, AI, healthtech innovation diplomacy, strengthening European, Middle Eastern, Asian, African and Latin American need for Israeli resources. 10. Reassert bipartisan congressional support as results on deterrence and normalization speak louder than campus slogans. The pessimists are front-running a story that hasn’t been written yet.

BREAKING: The remains of the last Israeli hostage that was held in Gaza were recovered by the IDF and brought back to Israel, the IDF says

Iran’s regime may survive for now but not over time. It has no answers for its failures in basic governance: provision of water, electricity, a currency that has value even as it continues to squander its resources on a failed proxy network. In time, the elite will fracture.

🚨ברייקינג: הנשיא טראמפ אמר לי בראיון טלפוני היום כי המשא ומתן על תוכניתו לסיום המלחמה בעזה נמצא ״בשלביו הסופיים״ וכי עסקה תפתח את הדלת לשלום רחב יותר במזרח התיכון

Very interesting

I welcome the major steps announced by the Israeli leadership and military to strengthen and upgrade the humanitarian response in Gaza — particularly the decision to implement humanitarian pauses to protect civilian lives and allow the safe delivery of aid. In coordination with international partners, Israel is doing its utmost to improve the flow of vital supplies through designated corridors, airdrops, and expanded humanitarian zones. I call on UN agencies and international organizations working with @COGATonline to do their part and ensure that aid reaches those in need without delay — as Israel has demanded for some time. It is unacceptable that aid delivered to Gaza remains undistributed or is hijacked by Hamas, even as they falsely accuse Israel of blocking it. The world must stand firm against terror — and work relentlessly to bring all our hostages home immediately.

New steps to improve the humanitarian response in Gaza: ✈️Aerial airdrops of aid will resume. The airdrop includes 7 pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food. 🚚Designated humanitarian to enable safe movement of UN convoys delivering food and medicine. ✋Humanitarian pauses may be implemented in populated areas to facilitate aid. 💧A power line from Israel to a Gaza desalination plant has been reconnected, boosting daily water output to 20,000 cubic meters. The IDF emphasizes that there is no starvation in Gaza; this is a false campaign promoted by Hamas. Responsibility for food distribution lies with the UN & international aid organizations. Therefore, the UN and international organizations are expected to improve the effectiveness of aid distribution and to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas. Combat operations have not ceased. We will continue to operate in Gaza to return all hostages and to defeat Hamas, both above and below ground.

@ProfDBernstein @amyspitalnick That was utter nonsense, David. Amy was very strong about the threat posed by the left and the right and you should apologize for your comment.

@amyspitalnick You spoke at an event last night at a synagogue in DC. What percentage of your remarks were devoted to the threat to American Jews from antisemitic Hamasnik activists? If I guessed zero, would I be far off?

I want to underscore the vulnerability the Jewish community is feeling today, following years in which we were already pretty scared (& in some spaces gaslit about the reality of the threat). This was a Jewish event, at a Jewish museum. It feels like it could have been any of us

There are large demonstrations in Gaza against Hamas today. Gazans understand with Hamas there is no hope and no future. Hamas has treated Palestinians as if they were all willing to be martyrs—never asking them or giving them a choice. Today they showed they want an alternative.

@daliaziada @EinatWilf @realbassemeid I don’t understand why a group of scholars who are discussing coexistence work draw the ire of a group with the word “justice” in their title. I think, for SJP, perhaps justice means Israel should be destroyed ?

Tomorrow, at the University of Maryland, I (an Egyptian scholar) will speak with the great Israeli author @EinatWilf and the great Palestinian human rights activist @realbassemeid about our very own region, the Middle East. Yet, the notorious Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) are very offended to see three genuine Middle East thinkers coming together to conversate rather than fight. The mere optics of the three of us together on the same flyer was a threat to the SJP, who have been justifying anti-semitism and Hamas's jihadism over the past fifteen months by hiding behind the deceiving banner of supporting Gazans. Thus, the SJP led a letter-signing campaign to pressure the university administration to cancel the event. About 950 letters have been sent so far. They claim that our symposium is biased and controversial! Just imagine a symposium that has Palestinian, Israeli, and Egyptian speakers together is biased! What is neutral or balanced, then? The protests waving Hamas and Hezbollah flags at American universities and streets? When the university administration refused to cave in to the SJP's unjustified pressures and insisted the event would take place, the SJP took it to the media. Not surprisingly, they attacked Einat and me in particular. Could it be because we are women? The funniest part was accusing me (a devout Muslim myself) of being "dehumanizing to Palestinian and Muslim students." Well, let me tell you something. Since May 2023, I have spoken at more than 30 American campuses about the geopolitics of the Middle East. Many of my lectures were attended by students from Arab and Muslim backgrounds who did not mind sitting in the same room with Israeli and Jewish students. We had great discussions that were respectful and civilized. Meanwhile, the SJP members and their likes only showed up at some of my lectures to harass me and the students and prevent us from having a real discussion. I understand why SJP and similar organizations see me and similar credible and genuine Middle Eastern speakers as a threat. They want to monopolize the narrative about the Israel-Palestinian conflict and about Muslim and Arab issues in general so they can promote their twisted narratives as much as they want without anyone challenging their purposeful misinformation. As expected, the SJP may show up tomorrow with banners, yell, and shout. Meanwhile, we will hold our symposium and keep spreading our message about peace and hope in the Middle East, and we will continue to work hard to make peace happen despite the evilness of Hamas, Iran, and their supporters worldwide.

Israel Radio, Monday morning 12/23: Reports that pro-Iranian militias in Iraqi have promised the Iraqi leadership that it would suspend for now attacks against Israel that it has conducted periodically since October 7, 2023. If true, reasons? Presure of Baghdad government on militias? Fear of Trump? Weakening of Iran? Collapse of Syria? Weakening of Hizbullah? Combination?

A response by JCRC CEO ⁦@rhalber⁩ to ⁦@ChrisVanHollen⁩ Hollen’s Op-Ed concerning Israel washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/…

🚨🇸🇾🇷🇺בכיר ישראלי אמר לי: אסד עזב את דמשק אתמול בסביבות חצות וטס לבסיס הרוסי חמימים שבסוריה מתוך כוונה להמשיך משם למוסקבה. אין אינדיקציה ברורה בשלב זה שהוא עזב את סוריה 🇺🇸בכיר אמריקני אמר לי: ראינו את אסד עוזב אתמול בלילה את דמשק וסברנו שהוא מתכנן לטוס לרוסיה