Israel retaliates

Eve Barlow, Blacklisted Substack    April 19, 2024

It’s the Supreme leader of Iran Khameini’s 85th birthday, and boy is he having a blast…

Yep, Israel has struck back against the Islamic Republic after last weekend’s declaration of war. Many happy returns, Ayatollah!

So far several reports are circulating that Israel has hit military targets in Syria, Iran and Iraq, including at least one military air base near Isfahan where several of Iran’s nuclear facilities and military bases are located.

And damn straight. We were always taught that the difference between 1939 and now is that the Jewish people have strength and we have a defense system: the Israel Defense Forces. Strength is the only language that the Islamic fundamentalists speak and respond to. They will not be negotiated with. On Saturday, the Islamic Republic of Iran set out to annihilate half of the world’s Jewish population. Half of the world’s 15 million Jewish people live in Israel, and 350 ballistic missiles is way more than a “statement” piece. It was an attempt to ctrl-alt-delete Israel from the map. An act of evil intent.

So fuck it. Let them call us whatever they want for this act of retaliation. We’ve already paid the price. We’re already guilty of the crime. We’ve been bloodthirsty loons according to the antisemitic world since Jesus. Of course, the IDF isn’t striking today with the intention of causing civilian casualties, or escalating a greater war, but hopefully with the precision of a military that has the intelligence and know-how to make a dent in the threat of Jihadist terrorism; not just to Israel, but to the entire Western world – from the fundamentalist regime of Iran, and all of its many proxies. We don’t have much information yet about this retaliation, nor what will follow it. Yet, given the hopelessness of the past few weeks, there’s an encouraging feeling knowing that Israel won’t just roll over after the Islamic Republic’s first direct attack.

Here’s Van Jones on CNN tonight:

When you are viciously attacked by a psychotic regime, do you fight back or let go? Against bullies, the first line of defence is to fight back. And the Islamic Republic of Iran is a super bully. Its threats and provocations towards Israel have existed for decades. Israel stands between the West and Islamist fundamentalism. Anyone who hasn’t grasped this simple fact of geopolitics needs to get their head checked. Thank the Jewish people later.

And for those of you who are poetically inclined: today isn’t just Khameini’s birthday, it’s the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943, where the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto smuggled weapons and explosives in and engaged in the largest revolt by Jews during the second world war. The Jews in the ghetto understood that victory was impossible and that they would likely not survive. But as the saying goes: We are not Jews with trembling knees.

What happens from here is yet to unfold. But the act itself – Israel’s first direct strike on Iran, after years of terror via its proxies – is of the greatest significance. The Ayatollah may have outrun Hitler by inheriting this longer game, but the Jewish people too grew fangs. We’re ready to bite back.