# 438 – Rumours and Reports

When does a rumour become a report – and of course, vice versa?

What’s a balanced view? What’s fair? What’s right?

I think my words encompass all 3, but not everyone agrees.

3 rocket attacks toward our area so far today. What a nice way to meet the neighbours – in the stairwell. We’re on the top/8th floor. Too far for us to walk the 9 floors to the basement shelter. And anyway, I’m told, it gets quite full down there. It’s Friday early pm. A time to be home. Eliana and Shira are in London with their daughters. Of course we are worried; who wouldn’t be in these times. But the need for the long-planned break was so great; worth the risk.

The negatives are piling up. Among the positives is the response to my Letters. The messages from so many of you, including those who receive the letter 2nd hand, have been a great morale-booster. I know we’re not alone. I thank you.

I continue to watch what I watch. I was never into bloggers, podcasters, tics and tocs, X’s and twitches. If I do watch one, it’s been copy/pasted to me by one of you. But the picture is clear. If democracy means 1 man 1 vote, then decency has lost. It has often been said that Israel’s propaganda machine was not sufficient, or sufficiently strong, but I don’t agree.

For once, we have just not been clever enough. The Pro-Palestinian ‘lobby’ is winning hands down.  Their propagandists have discovered that brains are not always as necessary as we normal ones still like to think. If you watch some the propagandists, including such characters as Hasan Ciker or Kayne West, who have many millions of followers, you will come to realise that it’s a losing battle.  West, who once asked of the Jews to ‘forgive Hitler’, will be running – again – for the 2024 Presidency.

He’s now called Ye. Now isn’t that exciting….Well, yes, it does seem to be exciting for his millions of fans, many of whom will undoubtedly vote for him next year (‘Ye’ is far easier to read on that ballot sheet than ‘Kayne West’). OK, it is already clear that the masses (many of whom vote) can be easily blinded.

And that is why I am busy compiling my written response to Cenk Uyger, also a 2024 Presidential wannabee.

In the meantime, we wait for the next steps.

– Israel had started ‘lightning military incursions’ into Gaza. But the ground invasion is still ‘on hold’.

– Everyone is speculating our next steps.

– In the meantime, the air attacks on Gaza continue, and the Gazan Min. of Health (Hamas) reports the casualty figures. We all know many women and children are killed and wounded (and don’t dare think we do not care), but we do not hear of terrorist casualties.

   We know there are many, because they are the targets, and we’re pretty accurate.

– Hamas now declares that the number of our hostages killed has gone up from 19 to ’50’. Still no terrorists (men) killed. And how were the hostages killed? Israeli bombs. If true, and we can believe little of what they say, then it is clear where they have been hiding the hostages. I must stop; these are disgusting thoughts/words, as difficult to fathom as the horrors of Oct 7.

– I foresee more dual nationality hostages being released – oh yes, for humanitarian reasons. (I remember the way the terrorists divided the hostages in Entebbe). I do not have hope for the Israeli hostages. May Stephen be wrong.

– Egypt continues to keep its mouth shut. I am horrified. ‘Decent cousin/brother/ neighbour’ is not in their vocabulary. ‘OPEN THOSE GATES!! ORGANISE REFUGE FOR THE INNOCENTS/THE OPPRESSED/THE BRAINWASHED!!’

One decent gesture from this country would attract support from so many on the sidelines to give the masses of Gazan innocents a temporary refuge to reduce the horrible statistics. Their silence makes them complicit in this awful dilemma.

– And I repeat my appeal to MBS to take the incredibly brave Sadat-like step to intervene. This is his chance to become the hero of the new Middle East, an alliance between what’s left of decent society, against Iran. (And yes, I am aware Hamas and Islamic Jihad had a meeting Wednesday with Hezbollah in Lebanon).

And part of this is the resurgence of US influence, not only in the region, but also World-wide. The planned economic links between West and East via the Middle East could put this planet back on a decent track for generations. (And PLEASE: I do not want any responses from US Left or Right. I insist on believing in a middle ground that overrides partisan ‘differences’).

– What on earth are these potential gamesavers waiting for? They’ll be next.

And Netanyahu? He joins the list of so many leaders who meant well, initially did well, and then went wrong (to say the least). Democracy is supposed to handle such situations. Don’t like him? Vote him out. (And I assure you: Bibi will be out at the next ‘democratic opportunity’, which will start in the Knesset with a no-confidence vote – needing 61/100 – and then elections. Of course, the danger is – as I wrote above – that the voters in ‘once-decent societies’ have gone blind.

So I am only 99% sure that this time, he will be OUT). In the meantime, we are stuck with him to lead us out of this war. That’s the situation. Forcing him out today would not help our cause.

Who should follow? A ‘great leader’ has not yet emerged. I shall leave it at that.

And the rest of the guilty? Oh, there will be repercussions. Many heads will roll, from the bottom up.

This really was our 9/11 – another catastrophe that could/should have been foreseen and prevented.

Perhaps we, on the decent side of humanity, do not hate enough to see the light – in both cases, a light so dark, that it could not be seen.

Stephen