After a dozen or so trips to the “safe room” in our apartment, the whole thing takes on a touch of unreality.  Thank God, I have a desktop in the room that allows me to stay in touch with the world and provides some reassurance that it has not gone mad.

“French President Emmanuel Macron said that he spoke with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on Sunday and impressed upon him the need to stop the indiscriminate strikes throughout the Gulf region and the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for shipping traffic.

“‘Finally, I reiterated our grave concern regarding the development of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programs and the entirety of its destabilizing activities in the region, which lie at the root of the current crisis,’ Macron said.

“‘A diplomatic solution is more necessary than ever to address these crucial challenges, put an end to the escalation, and preserve peace. We agreed to remain in contact.’”

Problem solved.  Phew!  We dodged a bullet.

Seeking further grounding in reality, I searched  for Tucker Carlson, the commentator whom I learned to love and trust during his tenure at Fox News, following his tenures at MSNBC (2005-2008), CNN (2000-2005), and the Weekly Standard (1995-1999), which he joined instead of the American Spectator, because he feared that he would be “written off as a wing nut.”  [Note: That fear has apparently been overcome.]

As always, Tucker delivered the goods. It turns out that Chabad (an acronym formed from the Hebrew letters that introduce the words “wisdom, understanding, and knowledge”) is directing the confrontation with Iran from its headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. Its motive is to precipitate a religious war by destroying the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and building a Jewish temple on the site.  This is demonstrably true because some Israeli soldiers wear an unauthorized patch on their uniforms, depicting a proposed third temple to be built in messianic times.

Many people have attacked Carlson for his disclosures, but that is the knee-jerk response of the unenlightened to revelatory, previously suppressed truths.  Anyone who has seen the army of Chabad youths trying to convince wayfarers to don t’fillin, or distributing Shabbat candles on Fridays, or providing kosher food to travelers in distant lands, knows that they wield global, if not universal, malign power.  I also have suspicions about the international plots of Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh Day Adventists.   And I can’t wait for Tucker to out the ubiquitous Salvation Army, with its cadres of red-clad (!!) clandestine agents disseminating Commie propaganda on every street corner, for its role in starting every conflict since the Civil War.

Thank God for Tucker.

Two men attempted mass murder when they tried to detonate improvised bombs on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Inspired by ISIS videos, they shouted Allahu Akbar, as they attacked a rally to “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City; Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer.”  There were many counter-protesters also present, one of whom threw a football-sized bomb that the police later described as an “improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”  The two men were arrested and the FBI is investigating the event as an act of terrorism (the alleged perpetrators said they attacked because of the perceived insult to Islam, according to the New York Post).

Mayor Mamdani’s response [Note: which is too long and too stupid to reproduce here] first condemned the legal demonstration that precipitated the attack.  Because it was “rooted in bigotry and racism,” it has no place in New York City.  He condemns violence, but since he doesn’t mention who perpetrated it, one could justifiably assume that it was the original protestors.  There is no mention of Islam or terror.  

Brad Lander, the former city official who renounced his son’s Right of Return to Israel at the poor kid’s bris, duplicitously suggested that the violence was directed at the Mayor:  “Happy to know that our Mayor and First Lady are safe.”  He then condemned “vile displays of Islamophobia” as if it were the demonstrators against Muslim prayer and not their opponents who had thrown the bomb.  The New York Times made no mention of “Allahu Akbar.” Apparently that wasn’t fit to print.

I knew that I would miss Rudy Giuliani, but whoever thought we would miss Bill deBlasio?  And I hope that Brad Lander’s kid, at his Bar Mitzvah, renounces his father’s right to social security.  

Australia has granted asylum to five members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team who were visiting for a tournament when the war began.  They had attracted the world’s attention by declining, either as a protest or a sign of mourning, to salute or sing the Iranian national anthem before their match with South Korea.  President Trump said that their safety was in question upon their return home and offered asylum in the United States if the Australians declined to do so.  The women were transported from their hotel to a “safe location,” where the processing of their humanitarian visa was finalized.  Australian officials said that the same opportunity was available to the other members of the team. “Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts.”

An official of the Revolutionary Islamic Government dismissed the team members as a bunch of treasonous malcontents and offered proof that their actions were not representative of the patriotic sentiments in the country.  “We have already received 32,000,000 applications from Iranian women to replace the traitors on the team for their next international tournament overseas.”

The brilliant Dovie Neuberger has offered a spirited (for him) defense of Tucker Carlson against charges of anti-semitism. “He’s an anti-Zionist homophobe who hates Chabad.  He’s a Rosh Yeshiva at Lakewood.”  Neuberger continued to suggest that if Carlson became any more frum, he would be invited to speak at the next siyyum hashas.

I have nothing to add beyond the ultimate compliment: how I wish I had thought of that.

The reptilian and repulsive Governor Gavin Newsom, finger to the Democratic winds, has labeled Israel an “apartheid state” and voiced other pusillanimous observations on the war against the enemy of the United States and Israel.  Vice-President J.D. Vance, in a lily-livered capitulation to his Carlson/Groyper wing, said that “Israel doesn’t control this President,” as if anyone other than the Kelly/Carlson/Fuentes/Greene cadre claimed that it did.  

These two are the front-runners in the 2028 Presidential race.

The phrase “caught between a rock and a hard place” came to mind and was immediately dismissed.  “Between a marshmallow and memory foam”?  “Between a ripe banana and Joe Biden’s frontal cortex”? “Between polyurethane foam and bubble wrap”?  “Between spineless and gutless”?  

God bless the United States of America.  It will need all the blessings it can get.  Long life to President Trump.  And good luck to Marco Rubio.

Baruch Marzel, among the most reviled of “right-wing extremists,” and now a prominent member of the Jewish community in Hebron, has pointed out, with some justifiable glee, that an increasing number of panjandrums of the political left have begun to attribute the amazing successes of the IDF to divine intervention.  He explains that the only alternative, which is far, far, far, far worse, would be to give some credit to Bibi Netanyahu.

It is nice to be reassured, sitting here in the “safe room” for the twelfth time in 24 hours, that God still has the knack for getting the message through: Isaiah 46:9-12. 

זכרו ראשונות מעולם, כי אנכי אל ואין עוד אלהים ואפס כמוני. . . אמר עצתי תקום וכל-חפצי אעשה.  אף-דברתי אף-אביאנה . . . שמעו אלי אבירי לב, הרחוקים מצדקה.  קרבתי צדקתי לא תרחק ותשועתי לא תאחר, ונתתי בציון תשועה לישראל תפארתי.

Remember the age-old truth, that I am God and there is no other like me . . . I say “My counsel shall stand and I will accomplish my objectives. . . I have spoken and I will bring it about . . . Heed me, you stout-hearted who are far from righteousness.  I have brought my righteousness near; it will not be distant, and my salvation shall not delay, and I will provide salvation to Zion and my glory to Israel.”

My compliments to Isaiah.  As with Dovie Neuberger, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)