From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 05:10:32 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3BED6B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:10:32 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 3BED6B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="euCUey4C" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 2DE99BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:10:32 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f43.google.com (mail-dl1-f43.google.com [74.125.82.43]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 29A8BBD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:10:32 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f43.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-15ea896ddc8so1293277c88.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:10:32 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793189431; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=ilqr3PEgxYkuVbbBmZqq4dvavs9ktn2C+6mLdb6UJv28NnlsP5uC4ZtxSGxTVC4EE2 2mR5YAO05/Qnmg0l4kvKXM+NoV7EyQ4rD6hmJDqV4dxQoVRnDKBHNJx+eB+3k1q4DmHf mDaKY1ub0uIzD25l7BLfQM2DKzAfvj0/tBRPPP7fOM0RtO2rwcvf/WkTMGLZGguYMexP lH3SSqhOZtqLyCoIWCe8TVbGNkjdjO8EmEfaU/AXj10uT6337D5V9PzAzlugcUMI7jSP z15kFlITQ5+nqpkB8bUAnwbw03CNM8kl0V+s+u+opB1hkMAs5TMizK/Ml19JQV6uhL9t U5+g== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=4IOjkAQQGbD+rbwrQ/XjZI/wUURIh9MzJ/YIjMHlF4I=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=VnduNb6kSKT0kH5JSpVPhkwLw/cdxnNRX52ZxEeTNmnOukAW2FPha1ggqV5DkjEiRA WtbUGfUtLyFfzSYMurY+B9t4tB4ZIE469/2c5tQkEcbf0jlJTMYyuy+g8m6LwGLVvgNN a7V6fa1ePXFDd/CFHWsjJ1mm/LW68B0S/fYeul/ofK6JpjEBb5ZtJEAbMoUfEoomcT6u rQ1OqANQaUwxO3iL0r00BNWOFRiklEUf6lkjwiL5zerievSKZ7LQ4P+uagB3xqgKOiOR vQQC2DHZATQJt+dY61wWIIfKRUJkmGBU9nCjYmWYoIfFF31TCyC63j8XLDhfWFG0KYIx r3HQ==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793189431; x=1793794231; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=4IOjkAQQGbD+rbwrQ/XjZI/wUURIh9MzJ/YIjMHlF4I=; b=euCUey4CCjKJc2VhiHlk4ExiTr/4NbTOUd2YXfnTal03dqPoc7KOS3VyH/dEToHMxU nsOaw+GW/zmUhfAW8TEhItOBdr177oTKAvzH5nQdFzG1EE1rIJ1ZPtHawhm76F0AGijA YsDf/aE7lUHbwGCS+5z4nVx22hWi7oXm9Bd0fX8E3wG5p+DQbJO8B6Xrdt8RJp9agZDL yL9V/3xRTCkVZw6fWy9D+D+QIXtdvE9nsD08yQ9258RZHIZRrF87PZVmQj2f6wpwt7bN bSuv/lWZtmOp9fXpPMp0ybPRwo+gdIaYX5uydyDPD8nWGv8G8Wq6VsY52Zf4vtjXgCo/ c9xw== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793189431; x=1793794231; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=4IOjkAQQGbD+rbwrQ/XjZI/wUURIh9MzJ/YIjMHlF4I=; b=TejDqGXrKsiXS6X9jphTuSKoDaKZOaRWwCxCJKgJKzQTux0DqUinqmYYmzzLkHguIP KY5148FtrncfZFUjrMhl/YhFO0ebJwpFB8Wkyi+UVXeXLs5zqHEkp+dEcApShqRMTLlK ACSSzkxRAKBNBJSsGU2WgXUh5Sbbx4Mm/akbie9gMeayYfEx5vH6FbZNuRhNwgxrKqGA mXrvzz4LCurW6rB42o7TeL9AecUEy/0xMFr4JsecqVUIGwHZy1kSMRADRFu04DpjEZso Telk7wccPVriOnrA/xR+ytBsZTbgggLa+USzD9EP/ZQgWUc9hfWEwgZTPOzor1i37qHF jteg== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYJEIKzFKRJ89M04nTf7nDaD9dBkeBD+axlPFovnd2w8rtdClhQ+ PTH8SN3Q9aVLlCWjfP1Bf2+xXjhvj9X+bu1ygpHNMgHxFJiW/zTIkcdFlUTpSe0D47u66E/vKD5 xvC2M90uf/CPBKf4OBKQsaLBSYEZ7HBPbtZc56L4= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou045X3wxf9fcMj5rjT9lDTRqcC1LIs2TDUzKuO3pZ1UyO6TEaX+i5f69DtuBUh aQzlVuiNNmryCOgoMHq74V1RumNHt1T8rrb7WUGRXYtBIhaF4XcasPzDt14TO9Ex/h8xsTXcVN7 WuvVLLmYAXU9+kt89t38e83CAcFaGhGMasqCEzqg90aETt3LZZ6kfPVenvetJbRnoVQ7T0yjIsk HqNYnHSwcETI+yFGZG7o++P6hNhqhahezNrPK8qqGgQ9MNTI0PlqlJl3vdrKuYTdXTAKlOz72g2 PIdt3kwZAm8TsVac+olsFxkwx6dJhw+3blc9ax3rByWl5FkGQxgMQTKwv5z7E/SZNBW7CXigYFx iLZecJ0V707o19CHhT37q9edNMvaE9FojGLvImMFPnyahtncJ6DpePekvRb081vQgmqk4dyzkJ6 fQmyKoTM2SUcmXbH0raGi5hvXLOAv/1xVv/7e9wEmB2Z9Og/62LoL7YP0LLZSTqzL1XGOKtyA9l XDAfacTpRPL+O9lIuDjHhfpj9C7AbgHraezQUPCkjhZR5XyexWJDv3HThDJVFZ6vb0QqxDNiKKL sJMfL7aSyxNa3QOP/FrZW7sG3x8INoSE+8884kE+X/7i7TjitC/wfHwq8+QBWy0DItMCRKae/OP yDu+SyGruGmvAW9bhyJHD+umgtB2S6o50IS/a2YmMdlQjgXkx0E5tsiFWgcFJQiMsGTA= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:120f:b0:14a:8cff:fbb8 with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6cf729d08mr2830683c88.28.1793189431021; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:10:31 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 08:10:13 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK_YWOyrAWit9EfjCL80SxSDkgGVhFXNYrg5MoJLzxoywyUF9-Olps98j8o Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000000d1405065ee57386" Subject: [Salon] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_Juan_Cole=3A_=22The_Two_Faces_of_Gadi_E?= =?utf-8?q?isenkot=2C_who_could_be_Israel=E2=80=99s_PM=2E=22_=2810/?= =?utf-8?q?28/26=29?= X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:10:32 -0000 --0000000000000d1405065ee57386 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable *https://www.juancole.com/2026/10/faces-eisenkot-israels.html * *The Two Faces of Gadi Eisenkot, who could be Israel=E2=80=99s PM* *Dan Steinbock 10/28/2026* *Singapore (Special to Informed Comment: Feature) =E2=80=93 In internationa= l media, PM Netanyahu=E2=80=99s adversary Gadi Eisenkot has been portrayed as a cent= rist voice. That=E2=80=99s part of his track-record. But he is also the architec= t of the Obliteration Doctrine that decimated Gaza.* *As expected , the early Israeli exit polls indicate that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his prime adversary former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot face deadlock.* *In the past 10-15 years, the country=E2=80=99s political center of gravity= has shifted sharply toward security and military power, documented in my The Fall of Israel (2024) .* *Unsurprisingly, the election aftermath set the stage for coalition-building and wheeling-and-dealing because in the 120-member Israeli parliament the Knesset, neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has an absolute majority.* *What was also expected is the ongoing white-washing of Eisenkot=E2=80=99s = military record. In the mainstream media, Netanyahu=E2=80=99s rival is portrayed as = a centrist, security-oriented but moderate. Typically, both CNN and TIME , which now offer features on Eisenkot, tend to depict his role in Netanyahu=E2=80=99s war cabinet as a voice of reason. Yet, the fact that he remained in the cabinet through the worst obliteration of Gaza is effectively sidelined.* *Neither mentions the word genocide even once in the context of their features. The neutral language is the norm, not an exception.* *Complicity in war crimes * *Though born in Israel, Eisenkot is of Jewish Moroccan descent. He grew of age in Tiberias and Eilat, outside the country=E2=80=99s centers of politic= al power. His story contrasts sharply with Netanyahu=E2=80=99s deep U.S. roots= and elite Jerusalem upbringing in the circles of power. And unlike Netanyahu, Eisenkot doesn=E2=80=99t have an Eastern European Ashkenazi background. Wit= h his family history in Casablanca, he would be Israel=E2=80=99s first Mizrahi pr= ime minister if he can put together a ruling coalition.* *After high school, Eisenkot was drafted to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and served in the legendary Golani Brigade. As the chief of staff, he prepared Israel for forever wars with the formalization of the Campaigns Between the Wars (CBW) doctrine: covert operations designed to weaken enemies, degrade capabilities, and postpone future conflicts between major engagements.* *Eisenkot=E2=80=99s tenure saw numerous clashes with the Palestinians. At t= he same time, he contributed significantly to US-Israel strategic cooperation.* *Eisenkot made his name as Israeli general, politician, and leader of the Yashar party . He served from 2015 to 2019 as the chief of staff of the IDF. Five days after October 7, 2023, he was sworn in as a minister without portfolio after his party joined the government following the outbreak of the Gaza war.* *Eisenkot left the government in June 2024. While he served as an observer in Israel=E2=80=99s emergency war cabinet for the first eight months of Gaz= a=E2=80=99s genocidal atrocities, the official actions of the International Criminal Court (ICC) initially primarily focused on other senior figures.* *But in July 2024, an advocacy group called the March 30 Movement officially submitted a comprehensive complaint to the ICC prosecutor. The petition requested that the court expand its investigation and issue warrants for former war cabinet members, including Gadi Eisenkot. Various Palestinian human rights organizations have similarly sent letters to the ICC Prosecutor urging for the prosecution of all decision-makers within the war cabinet* *Even as a minister without portfolio, Eisenkot shares complicity for the genocidal atrocities that Netanyahu and his defense minister Gallant initiated in late fall 2023.* *Militarizing genocidal atrocities * *In a recent book on the Gaza genocide (and the West=E2=80=99s reluctance t= o prevent them), I concluded that Israeli military actions were fueled by the Obliteration Doctrine , which was first outlined in 2005 by Gadi Eisenkot.* *Interestingly, he is no extremist. Officially, he supported Israeli democracy and a two-state solution, which he downplayed during the election campaign.* *Eisenkot was appointed head of the Northern Command following Maj. Gen. Udi Adam=E2=80=99s resignation amid criticism over the latter=E2=80=99s con= duct in the 2006 Lebanon War. At the time, many Israelis were frustrated that the military had failed to secure a comprehensive victory over the Hezbollah militia or retrieve the two soldiers whose capture had triggered the conflict. It was this popular frustration that set the stage for =E2=80=9Ctougher measures.= =E2=80=9D* *Eisenkot=E2=80=99s strategy was based on the idea that to create effective deterrence against Hezbollah, the IDF would have to severely damage Dahiya, a densely populated Shia southern suburb of Beirut that served as a Hezbollah stronghold and was heavily bombed by Israel in 2006.* --0000000000000d1405065ee57386 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
https://www.juancole.com/2026/10/fac= es-eisenkot-israels.html

The Two Faces of Gadi Eisenkot, who could = be Israel=E2=80=99s PM

Dan Steinbock=C2=A0<= /span>10/28/2026

3D""

Singapore (Special to Informed Comment: Feature) =E2=80=93 In in= ternational media, PM Netanyahu=E2=80=99s adversary Gadi Eisenkot has been = portrayed as a centrist voice. That=E2=80=99s part of his track-record. But= he is also the architect of the Obliteration Doctrine that decimated Gaza.=

As expected, the early Israeli exit polls indi= cate that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his prime adversary former chief of = staff Gadi Eisenkot face deadlock.

In the past 10-15 years, the country= =E2=80=99s political center of gravity has shifted sharply toward security = and military power, documented in my=C2=A0The Fall of Israel=C2=A0(2024).

=

Unsu= rprisingly, the election aftermath set the stage for coalition-building and= wheeling-and-dealing because in the 120-member Israeli parliament the Knes= set, neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has an absolute majority.

What was a= lso expected is the ongoing white-washing of Eisenkot=E2=80=99s military re= cord. In the mainstream media, Netanyahu=E2=80=99s rival is portrayed as a = centrist, security-oriented but moderate. Typically, both=C2=A0CNN=C2=A0and=C2= =A0TIME, which now offer features on Eisenkot= , tend to depict his role in Netanyahu=E2=80=99s war cabinet as a voice of = reason. Yet, the fact that he remained in the cabinet through the worst obl= iteration of Gaza is effectively sidelined.

Neither mentions the word ge= nocide even once in the context of their features. The neutral language is = the norm, not an exception.

Complicity in= war crimes=C2=A0

Though born in Israel, Eisenkot is= of Jewish Moroccan descent. He grew of age in Tiberias and Eilat, outside = the country=E2=80=99s centers of political power. His story contrasts sharp= ly with Netanyahu=E2=80=99s deep U.S. roots and elite Jerusalem upbringing = in the circles of power. And unlike Netanyahu, Eisenkot doesn=E2=80=99t hav= e an Eastern European=C2=A0Ashken= azi=C2=A0background. With his family history in Casablanc= a, he would be Israel=E2=80=99s first=C2=A0Mizrahi=C2=A0prime minister if he can put toget= her a ruling coalition.

After high school, Eisenkot was drafted to the I= srael Defense Forces (IDF) and served in the legendary Golani Brigade. As t= he chief of staff, he prepared Israel for forever wars with the formalizati= on of the Campaigns Between the Wars (CBW) doctrine: covert operations desi= gned to weaken enemies, degrade capabilities, and postpone future conflicts= between major engagements.

Eisenkot=E2=80=99s tenure saw numerous clash= es with the Palestinians. At the same time, he contributed significantly to= US-Israel strategic cooperation.

Eisenkot made his name as Israeli gene= ral, politician, and leader of the=C2=A0Yashar p= arty. He served from 2015 to 2019 as the chief of staff of the IDF. Fiv= e days after October 7, 2023, he was sworn in as a minister without portfol= io after his party joined the government following the outbreak of the Gaza= war.

Eisenkot left the government in June 2024. While he served as an o= bserver in Israel=E2=80=99s emergency war cabinet for the first eight month= s of Gaza=E2=80=99s genocidal atrocities, the official actions of the Inter= national Criminal Court (ICC) initially primarily focused on other senior f= igures.

But in July 2024, an advocacy group called the March 30 Movement= officially submitted a comprehensive complaint to the ICC prosecutor. The = petition requested that the court expand its investigation and issue warran= ts for former war cabinet members, including Gadi Eisenkot. Various Palesti= nian human rights organizations have similarly sent letters to the ICC Pros= ecutor urging for the prosecution of all decision-makers within the war cab= inet

Even as a minister without portfolio, Eisenkot shares complicity fo= r the genocidal atrocities that Netanyahu and his defense minister Gallant = initiated in late fall 2023.

Militarizing= genocidal atrocities=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0= =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0

In a recent book on the Gaza geno= cide (and the West=E2=80=99s reluctance to prevent them), I concluded that = Israeli military actions were fueled by=C2=A0the Obliteration Doctrine, whic= h was first outlined in 2005 by Gadi Eisenkot.

Interestingly, he is no e= xtremist. Officially, he supported Israeli democracy and a two-state soluti= on, which he downplayed during the election campaign.

Eisenkot was appoi= nted head of the Northern Command following Maj. Gen. Udi Adam=E2=80=99s re= signation amid criticism over the latter=E2=80=99s conduct in the 2006 Leba= non War. At the time, many Israelis were frustrated that the military had f= ailed to secure a comprehensive victory over the Hezbollah militia or retri= eve the two soldiers whose capture had triggered the conflict. It was this = popular frustration that set the stage for =E2=80=9Ctougher measures.=E2=80= =9D

Eisenkot=E2=80=99s strategy was based on the idea that to create eff= ective deterrence against Hezbollah, the IDF would have to severely damage = Dahiya, a densely populated Shia southern suburb of Beirut that served as a= Hezbollah stronghold and was heavily bombed by Israel in 2006.


--0000000000000d1405065ee57386-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 05:22:21 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id E3CC5B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:22:20 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net E3CC5B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="JyHoRqyN" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id BD27ABD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:22:20 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f47.google.com (mail-dl1-f47.google.com [74.125.82.47]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id B98FABD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:22:20 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f47.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-185fd3a4ca3so877348c88.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:22:20 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793190140; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=WZ2eXf1sXTEmx0ZNihxPy7M2PxlqFJecxZ7JdBmVHOm3BCevNjfylveNMUduG5xY28 ygXo8ox/sR//K90LnpTRFa0xPgvCKop06Aog+JQQzOsg6hzIuMozXrRbmce1ASyB9I9T ZqLKXorDfDJdG/Yy/tQ1Bm/TVNrDoYvhjNmbpLjIOpL4XkssDtxhYKwflPt9k1mHmILR OdHS7xZSzfdIbVoWZ9bnsW/SkGjhO3IzxUWrldGy75iHj9Z6aZHKAyONFEYpv/Tn5l1V pnQelEQohQRt5qQtkt6K851G/J+1/YdSo33WJ/HHHU5phpL+4HPw4bF6KGw3qYD0vavk RLrw== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=Exzs2YB7kOiHj4SwnIXf3XbSO9+BGFTZ1R7MtP9CtaI=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=KrKvg1Vo6HvPQ2oXJieeCr3u1X5TKCDzkf0fqi8Vvkh0Jx1S76wCKynZoQTnFBY7mt h2yMdlIyoVOUd0oypuWuSsfA6Tq9IUAjJmtLFTrlVYSsfxt95b8s1ZOVzK86rMfb/g/h LPK4PCpuILWyRfValV8LG/fhToose8DOG5LLwupulDe/sGVnBshqsiBODKEfY9hYXKgM x+kdp7r60pqIk5vVKYjuhVnodyC4Cbm5zR57ZSHyhtDhSzkrULMtkcu6xfdmk5R9KJWP 9p1LrJ3oRH3Zz9KEKwPthVgyDNJoiCgs5V5c843TWsZZVWYt2ESAWU0a98+3hsjvbbiF edkg==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793190140; x=1793794940; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=Exzs2YB7kOiHj4SwnIXf3XbSO9+BGFTZ1R7MtP9CtaI=; b=JyHoRqyN2C2ZpzDDnqqY0ZYRHdYmembBd5o19vtnLK6BcVKOyLnnILhqPe7jDRGVRm AHsquJo1rvfNnJRB0MboaVRvz2XzPKVzKfJtc/CwASpI2VhPeCwNaIBD0w1zDE76rOfE LEgtdTvXGlL7ibBrjddA3mAMPJNsolTWeD8GrWf2WxJSUBzgjp2mavyAuTa47n6CV20p B4jEk4ihxmhMNOTPLASKmkax6ovGkidMghdk2bZ1AxBeRZSNomY1qjWawk2xEAbgmC21 jaf9BA8eSpr7XqxV6huuCo3Am/2dWVyEA9x2cmJB0TCUZsL+89uC0t7l6IxAVknOtFtI cr5w== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793190140; x=1793794940; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=Exzs2YB7kOiHj4SwnIXf3XbSO9+BGFTZ1R7MtP9CtaI=; b=ry5ojJMFJkIS/PxFaC3eOQ6GlMe7YSxzUhsEYgJYChP10OiUNgxjWiu33IqFxREkPV LMTAnAnuG4PKI96WQIOUIGOaEfiow6xwUzJdFgmIPOLhj16xoQylTQrJ71HybIEVuncV uANnY8bS99mN1NfKB4lgq8HwmuOP21EaIo6LCh0PY4BatQuH90GhpM2elkvQn2CscUyC v+Fyv2VZC0y/iAvBFG1sSOTEZwHSlEhAdHw6TwSlaIIZmYxMhQE2ywG3OvmEnWfsBwAW KbNG6nbYZRzJMU3ZdycBgXQr09yoLS2fm6FgZG6rrwW5T/IB8o1DNpPMJzBdQhzjeYTN +Irw== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYJ44UZQ78f7KER4HMYf76E3FkImfvrYq9hAv05wqg0ewgfaHycM F3HHa2kGLqjB/i1Yr2Vxg52GgMQZXFBWokW2EmbU4YFrKIjL+GtxhZzzNEHAHxirrlM9Qlgslrh 7yJAmk0jZj0u0Xv7Y5pehswW3AaBwmWW9hEE5PBk= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou1l1eqhxtw9b51BrTf0DiPN9pOrXkb1bKeV28/GT8tZKscHQnMTEe/RYZrzPKO 6+B5Ch60vrK3VplgchGX8zbszkQAzUVQXXJEpg81CFELK6T1eOfOMJ2OEmqj6llXdDeGPaQgGIF t+u5D05VMgq9ku3CL2u1pJPjQ8UtoPcPUY0LNFPciqVnkKpgdXAlLXuBca2jIwt1J3OJs0AqRnh yAddSPLkPCCPPUfJ/1vn/CwsPld4IyOE4YIghhKy3AFJefPtuVA6vAMJdCJdmLviSjkI2N84hZJ dQe+MjEteIQdKj10Yw5I0ZYyBjLwYIHttampPjLqu72BqcXz3uDHKzQtEizzKh/soNcvIZwCvVi X7e9NiwTCnd+pWK87pSR9vvO2ot3Vn9WIPFDYU5TBTbvNqGmiyAx02yncs2DhRPJ3v4N+iDb4ZU NpDm+c5Zl8RQ63ypzLGw1xuWesSK+zseBZtAgdAvmM8bk8qOu7Mi/BzBetZ8OzY7c/F3LZ4l4Ml XRLHRguMkP7omwWfP5/S1jPUbB4sJsm6MUu3oe2KbzKVW+ox0CTIbwWpHlZwSDYYo50DvCc8ouT 5SnFwsUgbxI9OGmZgPZUHoxgVtTCTVkGH8bZIXPzCF1FFrb6NLrsoUUfv59znMl9VffTIjP9+XZ yI8XJlt/1ex9qpyDpdmunXkKPSSLDlGC3UkUlsyMnJ9HW79r6OJx/Q85lLCiKjQougx8KsJxoxj Yh6ccVi7qbgP81 X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:618:b0:19f:527d:96da with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6cdd3e006mr4239455c88.33.1793190139696; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 05:22:19 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 08:22:03 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK887OnT_zjQfMwybiC_zpSvly7zDKOj6S_q9lmMqialEug_UIv5KdyikWk Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000004a9c16065ee59d76" Subject: [Salon] =?utf-8?q?The_Gulf_Holds_a_Security_Meeting_and_Washingt?= =?utf-8?q?on_Wasn=E2=80=99t_Invited?= X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:22:21 -0000 --0000000000004a9c16065ee59d76 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable *https://larrycjohnson.substack.com/p/the-gulf-holds-a-security-meeting?utm= _source=3Dpost-email-title&publication_id=3D1225061&post_id=3D222427265&utm= _campaign=3Demail-post-title&isFreemail=3Dfalse&r=3D210kv&triedRedirect=3Dt= rue&utm_medium=3Demail * 10/28/26 *The Gulf Holds a Security Meeting and Washington Wasn=E2=80=99t Invited* *On Monday, while Donald Trump was publicly pondering whether to =E2=80=9Cm= ake a deal=E2=80=9D with Iran or =E2=80=9Cfinish them off,=E2=80=9D something hap= pened in Tehran that should have set off alarms in every office of the State Department, assuming anyone is still left there to hear them.* *Saudi Arabia=E2=80=99s defense minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, the bro= ther of the Crown Prince, flew to Tehran. With him came Pakistan=E2=80=99s Field Ma= rshal Asim Munir and Turkey=E2=80=99s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin. They sat= down with Iran=E2=80=99s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Ara= ghchi and senior security official Rezaei, who hosted the talks, for about two hours. The agenda: the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz, the American blockade of Iran=E2=80=99s ports and a regional non-ag= gression framework.* *Read that list again. Those are the four biggest security problems in the Persian Gulf. The countries that actually live there just met to discuss them. The United States, which has two carrier strike groups, an amphibious ready group and a blockade in the neighborhood, was not in the room. Nobody seems to have missed it.* The pact that was supposed to protect Riyadh from Iran *Here is the delicious part. The three visitors are the signatories of the Makkah Agreement, the mutual-defense treaty that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed on August 7. Article 2 says an attack on one is an attack on all. It was sold, at least in Washington=E2=80=99s imagination, as a Sun= ni shield for the Kingdom against Iran and its friends in Yemen.* *Eleven weeks later, the entire shield showed up in Tehran to talk about cooperation. Iran=E2=80=99s ambassador to Pakistan says Tehran will =E2=80= =9Cstudy=E2=80=9D the agreement, =E2=80=9Cand if it is good, we will support it.=E2=80=9D The tre= aty conveniently includes an accession clause allowing new members to join by consensus. My sources tell me the three formally invited Iran to join once the U.S.-Israeli war ends, and that Tehran accepted on that basis. No official readout confirms that yet. But the official readouts did agree to keep talking =E2=80=9Camong the four,=E2=80=9D and Iran has a phrase for what it= wants: =E2=80=9Cendogenous security.=E2=80=9D Translation: security for the Gulf, = by the Gulf, without the 5th Fleet.* *Imagine NATO=E2=80=99s founding members inviting the Soviet Union to join = in 1952, and you have some idea how badly this has gone for American strategy.* Nobody wants to fight the Houthis *The pact=E2=80=99s first test was supposed to be Ansar Allah, which has sp= ent October pounding Saudi airports, the Riyadh area and the East-West Pipeline. Riyadh=E2=80=99s new allies have answered the call with remarkabl= e clarity. Pakistan=E2=80=99s Foreign Office said on October 9 that its force= s in the Kingdom will not cross into Yemen. Turkey=E2=80=99s foreign minister, Hakan= Fidan, said a day earlier that Turkey sends no troops to attack another country. They will defend Saudi soil. They will not go hunting in Saada. The American Embassy in Riyadh, meanwhile, is on ordered departure.* *So what is a crown prince to do when his allies won=E2=80=99t fight and hi= s airports keep getting hit? According to my sources, Field Marshal Munir told Prince Khalid that Riyadh needed to reach an accommodation with Ansar Allah, and reportedly Prince Khalid arrived in Tehran with a $1 billion down payment to help buy one. An anonymous report in the Israeli paper Israel Hayom says the same, including that the money flew in on the prince=E2=80=99s plane. Riyadh hasn=E2=80=99t confirmed it, and officially = insists on the return of seized territory first. I personally doubt this story because it is a piddling amount that the Houthis will view as a meaningless gesture. But consider the picture if it is true: the Saudis would be paying Iran to get the Houthis to stop shooting at them. Washington spent a decade and billions of dollars in arms sales so that Saudi Arabia would not need Tehran=E2=80=99s help. That worked out well.* *Araghchi had offered on October 11 to broker Saudi-Houthi talks. Two weeks later the Saudi defense minister was in his capital. Iran has gained more leverage in a month of diplomacy than in a year of American =E2=80=9Cmaximu= m pressure.=E2=80=9D* Pakistan, the indispensable middleman *The architect of Monday=E2=80=99s meeting was Pakistan, which requested it= during Munir=E2=80=99s October 20 visit to Tehran. Islamabad has pulled off someth= ing remarkable. It has a ratified defense treaty with Riyadh, a channel to Tehran that both capitals now publicly endorse, and a seat in the mediation that Washington depends on, all while politely declining to fight anyone. It even carried Iran=E2=80=99s terms to Trump: i.e., release a portion of I= ran=E2=80=99s frozen assets and lift the blockade. Trump reportedly said no. Tehran publicly denies ever offering Hormuz in exchange for an end to the blockade, while its ambassador says it did. That is how you know serious bargaining has started.* *Pakistan used to be described in Washington as a country forced to choose between Riyadh and Tehran. Instead it has built a structure in which it doesn=E2=80=99t have to choose at all. That is called statecraft. Trump and= Rubio should look into it.* Meanwhile, back at the war room *While the region is busy building a a new security architecture, Washington is building a target list. CNN reports that American forces can strike Iran =E2=80=9Cwithin 96 hours=E2=80=9D of an order, hitting energy, = military and nuclear targets, most likely after the November 3 midterms. A third carrier group is on the way. Embassies in Amman, Beirut, Doha and Abu Dhabi have been thinned out, which tells you what the planners expect Iran=E2=80=99s a= nswer to look like.* *In Israel, Netanyahu has ordered his security services to topple the regime in Tehran, and he is reportedly pressing for a major air campaign against Iran=E2=80=99s missile forces. Even his own generals aren=E2=80=99t= sure. Israeli Channel 12 reports that IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir resisted an instruction from the political leadership and demanded signed legal authorization before acting. Israelis went to the polls today with neither Netanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc nor his rivals=E2=80=99 projected to reach a major= ity. Trump endorsed him again with the words =E2=80=9Cfinish the job that we started.= =E2=80=9D Nobody has explained which job that is, or how it ends.* *And then there=E2=80=99s the blockade, now past its 100th day. CENTCOM boa= sts that it has kept $25 billion of Iranian exports off the market. It has also kept them off the market at a time when the world is short of oil and diesel and Brent sits above $100. Congratulations all around.* The architecture without the architect *For seventy years, the security of the Persian Gulf has been an American product. The United States set the rules, sold the weapons, parked the carriers and decided who the enemy was. The bargain was simple: the Gulf monarchies paid, and Washington protected them.* *This year the protection failed. Saudi airports, pipelines and refineries were hit. Qatar=E2=80=99s LNG trains burned. The UAE drained its fuel reser= ves at Fujairah. The Gulf states discovered that American protection meant a front-row seat to someone else=E2=80=99s war. So they are doing what any se= nsible customer does when the security company stops showing up: they are talking to the burglars, the neighbors and each other.* *None of this is finished. The Tehran meeting produced no treaty text, and Turkey=E2=80=99s parliament still has to ratify the pact. Riyadh and Tehran= have centuries of mistrust between them, and one bad Houthi missile could blow the whole thing up. But the direction is unmistakable. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran have started drawing up a regional security order in which the United States is not the architect, not the landlord and not even on the guest list.* *Washington, of course, has a response ready. It will wait until after the midterms, and then it will bomb Iran. That should bring everyone back to the American way of doing things. I=E2=80=99m sure of it.* ------------------------------ --0000000000004a9c16065ee59d76 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
https://larrycjohnson.substack.com/p/the-gulf-h= olds-a-security-meeting?utm_source=3Dpost-email-title&publication_id=3D= 1225061&post_id=3D222427265&utm_campaign=3Demail-post-title&isF= reemail=3Dfalse&r=3D210kv&triedRedirect=3Dtrue&utm_medium=3Dema= il

10/28/26

The Gulf Holds a Security Meeting and Washington Wasn=E2=80=99t I= nvited


On Monday, while Donald Trump was publicly pondering whe= ther to =E2=80=9Cmake a deal=E2=80=9D with Iran or =E2=80=9Cfinish them off= ,=E2=80=9D something happened in Tehran that should have set off alarms in = every office of the State Department, assuming anyone is still left there t= o hear them.

Saudi Arabia=E2=80=99s defense minister, Prince Khalid bin = Salman, the brother of the Crown Prince, flew to Tehran. With him came Paki= stan=E2=80=99s Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkey=E2=80=99s intelligence c= hief, Ibrahim Kalin. They sat down with Iran=E2=80=99s President Masoud Pez= eshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and senior security official Rezae= i, who hosted the talks, for about two hours. The agenda: the Houthi attack= s on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz, the American blockade of Iran=E2= =80=99s ports and a regional non-aggression framework.

Read that list ag= ain. Those are the four biggest security problems in the Persian Gulf. The = countries that actually live there just met to discuss them. The United Sta= tes, which has two carrier strike groups, an amphibious ready group and a b= lockade in the neighborhood, was not in the room. Nobody seems to have miss= ed it.

The pact that was supposed to protect Riyadh from = Iran

Here is the delicious part. The three visitors are the signator= ies of the Makkah Agreement, the mutual-defense treaty that Saudi Arabia, T= urkey and Pakistan signed on August 7. Article 2 says an attack on one is a= n attack on all. It was sold, at least in Washington=E2=80=99s imagination,= as a Sunni shield for the Kingdom against Iran and its friends in Yemen.

<= b>Eleven weeks later, the entire shield showed up in Tehran to talk about c= ooperation. Iran=E2=80=99s ambassador to Pakistan says Tehran will =E2=80= =9Cstudy=E2=80=9D the agreement, =E2=80=9Cand if it is good, we will suppor= t it.=E2=80=9D The treaty conveniently includes an accession clause allowin= g new members to join by consensus. My sources tell me the three formally i= nvited Iran to join once the U.S.-Israeli war ends, and that Tehran accepte= d on that basis. No official readout confirms that yet. But the official re= adouts did agree to keep talking =E2=80=9Camong the four,=E2=80=9D and Iran= has a phrase for what it wants: =E2=80=9Cendogenous security.=E2=80=9D Tra= nslation: security for the Gulf, by the Gulf, without the 5th Fleet.

Ima= gine NATO=E2=80=99s founding members inviting the Soviet Union to join in 1= 952, and you have some idea how badly this has gone for American strategy.<= /b>

Nobody wants to fight the Houthis

The pact=E2=80= =99s first test was supposed to be Ansar Allah, which has spent October pou= nding Saudi airports, the Riyadh area and the East-West Pipeline. Riyadh=E2= =80=99s new allies have answered the call with remarkable clarity. Pakistan= =E2=80=99s Foreign Office said on October 9 that its forces in the Kingdom = will not cross into Yemen. Turkey=E2=80=99s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, = said a day earlier that Turkey sends no troops to attack another country. T= hey will defend Saudi soil. They will not go hunting in Saada. The American= Embassy in Riyadh, meanwhile, is on ordered departure.

So what is a cro= wn prince to do when his allies won=E2=80=99t fight and his airports keep g= etting hit? According to my sources, Field Marshal Munir told Prince Khalid= that Riyadh needed to reach an accommodation with Ansar Allah, and reporte= dly Prince Khalid arrived in Tehran with a $1 billion down payment to help = buy one. An anonymous report in the Israeli paper Israel Hayom says the sam= e, including that the money flew in on the prince=E2=80=99s plane. Riyadh h= asn=E2=80=99t confirmed it, and officially insists on the return of seized = territory first. I personally doubt this story because it is a piddling amo= unt that the Houthis will view as a meaningless gesture. But consider the p= icture if it is true: the Saudis would be paying Iran to get the Houthis to= stop shooting at them. Washington spent a decade and billions of dollars i= n arms sales so that Saudi Arabia would not need Tehran=E2=80=99s help. Tha= t worked out well.

Araghchi had offered on October 11 to broker Saudi-Ho= uthi talks. Two weeks later the Saudi defense minister was in his capital. = Iran has gained more leverage in a month of diplomacy than in a year of Ame= rican =E2=80=9Cmaximum pressure.=E2=80=9D

Pakistan, the i= ndispensable middleman

The architect of Monday=E2=80=99s meeting was= Pakistan, which requested it during Munir=E2=80=99s October 20 visit to Te= hran. Islamabad has pulled off something remarkable. It has a ratified defe= nse treaty with Riyadh, a channel to Tehran that both capitals now publicly= endorse, and a seat in the mediation that Washington depends on, all while= politely declining to fight anyone. It even carried Iran=E2=80=99s terms t= o Trump: i.e., release a portion of Iran=E2=80=99s frozen assets and lift t= he blockade. Trump reportedly said no. Tehran publicly denies ever offering= Hormuz in exchange for an end to the blockade, while its ambassador says i= t did. That is how you know serious bargaining has started.

Pakistan use= d to be described in Washington as a country forced to choose between Riyad= h and Tehran. Instead it has built a structure in which it doesn=E2=80=99t = have to choose at all. That is called statecraft. Trump and Rubio should lo= ok into it.

Meanwhile, back at the war room

While = the region is busy building a a new security architecture, Washington is bu= ilding a target list. CNN reports that American forces can strike Iran =E2= =80=9Cwithin 96 hours=E2=80=9D of an order, hitting energy, military and nu= clear targets, most likely after the November 3 midterms. A third carrier g= roup is on the way. Embassies in Amman, Beirut, Doha and Abu Dhabi have bee= n thinned out, which tells you what the planners expect Iran=E2=80=99s answ= er to look like.

In Israel, Netanyahu has ordered his security services = to topple the regime in Tehran, and he is reportedly pressing for a major a= ir campaign against Iran=E2=80=99s missile forces. Even his own generals ar= en=E2=80=99t sure. Israeli Channel 12 reports that IDF chief of staff Eyal = Zamir resisted an instruction from the political leadership and demanded si= gned legal authorization before acting. Israelis went to the polls today wi= th neither Netanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc nor his rivals=E2=80=99 projected to re= ach a majority. Trump endorsed him again with the words =E2=80=9Cfinish the= job that we started.=E2=80=9D Nobody has explained which job that is, or h= ow it ends.

And then there=E2=80=99s the blockade, now past its 100th da= y. CENTCOM boasts that it has kept $25 billion of Iranian exports off the m= arket. It has also kept them off the market at a time when the world is sho= rt of oil and diesel and Brent sits above $100. Congratulations all around.=

The architecture without the architect

For sevent= y years, the security of the Persian Gulf has been an American product. The= United States set the rules, sold the weapons, parked the carriers and dec= ided who the enemy was. The bargain was simple: the Gulf monarchies paid, a= nd Washington protected them.

This year the protection failed. Saudi air= ports, pipelines and refineries were hit. Qatar=E2=80=99s LNG trains burned= . The UAE drained its fuel reserves at Fujairah. The Gulf states discovered= that American protection meant a front-row seat to someone else=E2=80=99s = war. So they are doing what any sensible customer does when the security co= mpany stops showing up: they are talking to the burglars, the neighbors and= each other.

None of this is finished. The Tehran meeting produced no tr= eaty text, and Turkey=E2=80=99s parliament still has to ratify the pact. Ri= yadh and Tehran have centuries of mistrust between them, and one bad Houthi= missile could blow the whole thing up. But the direction is unmistakable. = Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran have started drawing up a regional = security order in which the United States is not the architect, not the lan= dlord and not even on the guest list.

Washington, of course, has a respo= nse ready. It will wait until after the midterms, and then it will bomb Ira= n. That should bring everyone back to the American way of doing things. I= =E2=80=99m sure of it.


--0000000000004a9c16065ee59d76-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 06:11:09 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0977FB0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 06:11:09 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 0977FB0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="yV94C0Hd" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id F1187BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 06:11:08 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f46.google.com (mail-dl1-f46.google.com [74.125.82.46]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id ED3A3BD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 06:11:08 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f46.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-156cbe59524so1050953c88.1 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 06:11:08 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793193068; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=DPOq0YXsWALCl02VAfUgR7qNAL+7ZTxbdoCf2pBHvTn23Tc+Dx6IEokCFkSksZgTqR 0OHpEEzqkeQFB4RUTCsqFUiggBe5EKG7iNxyEC4ycYdp/L8To7cblI/CU5SC7K+TsajI 5zEOq/RxWWm9KSV9qiMWgshhZeHhk4u4t8STSInDAt8vznMUBguILJuBrZDmZly2hBFs 4AHXKnVMapFqtml897urb2ejaToegoUJM5qB0Lc/fyO3WzCbwKlZ4rWJ2Kd5Px5JILzz GhFEG6tk2Nfz1uYMRpPIqHaWu3V1Cy6xrAKL5NEGHgqJgwh/JHgx6dcIwhjIcgg6XaZu 3d6A== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=go0d8z3r9dtwXAEBEK6/jmkep9JsntPYZnJt5aIxGtM=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=DaHKoHo8yDVSITy8cedsqtJgQ+Owo1LPD2+o5AZL/nt/BD4OHFPSiSxM4cvZh1y+AD 6YDZoCYJLkSsL3gqnRf/rOz2J2xc299qSHuuog3cPdXUXvH+1AEQWfWdpdm8R/Q2Ey9+ fGekLuXAWBOE7XWjQCzZChnEgG3IxnWA8Wx4NVKbDFhahwRn6rIFkYzvg2Ybv5YWRzcW 3M5nDVa73nSVubh3GvmqRRVHu7xnANbPt/j9jWbhimWOE3sVUzaasIcukMAq+gqluhDB TdPPJoZofKKD2ySQUstqL4XiCqk+rp2rdhYll9kDDXo0gsRIey9l85kXUEXzpdzsvVVZ XL0A==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793193068; x=1793797868; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=go0d8z3r9dtwXAEBEK6/jmkep9JsntPYZnJt5aIxGtM=; b=yV94C0HdHQ8i4sTTMwzc7oVusw9tFSqc1cYCOzVCgrCWCPy39sIhlNnx6TrR83l0s4 GUWso7dguZnldWAqZK7ovB5szbqi66p7bUoQSZNEtSEiIRCHAi/1jVqnmhJ0uP0TesUq b5EERc+6Yth8BA113wPeI8DcO1shokATjMY3pmbBIABb0x3ErepgVny00ZmDFgiowvyk zAYsHNvyNU81tDk/EpUCpYBcb5zb8O9TAixm/JVMFV4Plphx0EFhPW2OgCrABqZHEVPn /PlRVgollFyhJ/vtJrrT07E74sbl56bP+lTUAV8ceDSlzbTImkNW4UIitSf77tO1axqe ZIrQ== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793193068; x=1793797868; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=go0d8z3r9dtwXAEBEK6/jmkep9JsntPYZnJt5aIxGtM=; b=jdfjs7Lr1fXmWhE4Q31QHqm4LTN/5tbyPrhzA/d/CWJ5RfDYK9WXNH41WouS8RlbZ4 RuAYkc4zsRtkNUUMlEJfQIwcOAkBB0bI7dQ3Zxhizf/LOu83WZvA1OjUs6S/n7RPSc/7 j8PQXD7NM1UAhjo4HRx1G8KYwW+g/2fY5RKgBjAaR9gvYB6KIcEUtCCst6gK3qvduqv4 g+PQdD14t969rHEK8uMwj3hKJgjSqYUk4+GJkKtUJtShIBJ+kTEmDZadY5uSmLfdj5Sn 3O7JG0R75FQS3+NJu4f6d/1b6V2wApglSGQ3SjUd3s8iJMAVTWdLtNY+hvhQVbOzE2xM 0gTQ== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYLdmS3gp8blm1KhFBVuqCg49zhz5Qv/i6BXIyV1RCLMZTVw++Ay FvXCUQ2925HXLOA88O9U0Uuj1IUbSZjwVW+iYY/5kyim1zO7lrPbjUhKgm2bMlvZvjuqZ6ucueC Anuk0xl/cl9KVa4437XdbE73luujuVRCjy0lA1kQ= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou0ChrnXvayfF9pf4vsxsKfX3ZFX8kszUcBWscjh9KvLI0/SbMSk6oNjxy0NV3q 8VW+KhLICBwYsKw6+V/WY+Tbqvue+KUfg0ouC3fucc4+AL9klje6j2ocVJTuN6UAMhp3V6D88E0 EptuYIi3DEfQ/OnVYJMx+DuB8YD3Aa2c4R8HhalTRaX+8VyYwijslSGoMiMBAXKSlJF/6a3+lVS FBJrTZW4vgTla/chBfHJJtyAGEtStBC52DPDHIFr4a0u3q9m32cWKykcb3CH/UXkTMIwHgZUCJ3 sNcuGV5dJBjxQl5Z0bBMttegBIM7FOAw0jXs3R2j8HGO8D8xiI4rXtgyuYGjIvFUuA+uKVLWu99 9klXQzam69dDvJskmRiuEhDcdYO+gPDLKuA+7Cc8G6m3OxKuE3yKWg53e0PNX75PFiRRN6z81xt wfPdwV6fYPzF4l5MqlaKIglyuj7s77pG+yeLruCvLbOjWkWeMLUu8wWuyHbLzqC0KSIpByUv2yO ihjKOTxqRmkJC7KgfGB3o9pmcfdgz+xx5Zp8hE6zrugsoTOaiZflKVHTkEM5fn4JoErlDFWlQN5 NszI4NleNQjf9dovpY5am2iPdo5YIvJ0qYxtPvgv6MF3M2t65V4rlWculuiOEg2PTOdw+buMOfI 7RqdQMHUreR66gsemOxUxxRRoqCEld1g0gYYuAcTEIhZom+Tx8uQdFEmUBmjZjb+wzuTQPSux4w eij1dlaItOAYEk X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:f502:b0:16a:8ffd:4977 with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6ce113cf7mr3245128c88.17.1793193067909; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 06:11:07 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <9EE63A87-608D-468C-B2B0-2D56A8A7E845@gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <9EE63A87-608D-468C-B2B0-2D56A8A7E845@gmail.com> From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:10:51 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK-nyLlyiO8qmZD4c_JQWIiw35Zu0vygzra6xl0HeNChdEyG5h-OiYVk3PQ Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000d3947f065ee64b0e" Subject: [Salon] Why the West is on fire - The Business Times X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:11:09 -0000 --000000000000d3947f065ee64b0e Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable https://search.app/jyDCME9W2AFwtaLF6 *The West Is on Fire* By Leon Hadar On October 17, the roof of the nineteenth-century town hall in Limoges collapsed after it was set alight during France's national day of protest against the cost of living. That same weekend, smoke drifted past Milan Cathedral, Brussels police turned water cannon on teenagers, and tent cities rose in the central squares of Lisbon and Madrid. Across the Atlantic, Americans rallied in all fifty states under the banner "No Kings.= " It is tempting to file each of these as a local story: a French schools dispute, a Belgian budget row, an Iberian housing shortage. That would be a mistake. Taken together, they describe a West whose political and economic settlement is coming apart at the seams. The West is on fire, and not only metaphorically. Start with the numbers, because they explain the anger better than any slogan. Food prices in the European Union have risen by about a third in five years, and wages in most places have not kept up. Portuguese house prices have more than doubled since 2017. Spain is short roughly 550,000 homes, by the Bank of Spain's estimate, while social housing makes up barely 2 percent of its stock. And a fresh energy shock, set off by escalation in the Middle East, has pushed up fuel bills just as governments have run out of room to soften the blow. That last point matters most. In 2022, Europe met an energy crisis with an open chequebook. In 2026 the chequebook is overdrawn. France is borrowing heavily and edging toward a fiscal reckoning that could unsettle the whole eurozone. Belgium is cutting =E2=82=AC500 million from French-language educ= ation and proposing to raise VAT. Governments are asking citizens to accept less, fewer teachers, later pensions, higher taxes, at precisely the moment those citizens feel they already get less for more. The result is a broken generational bargain. The postwar West promised that work and education would buy security: a home, a pension, a future better than one's parents'. For millions of people under thirty, that promise now reads like fiction. It is no accident that this autumn's protests were led by students and school pupils, nor that most of those detained in Milan were minors. A generation that cannot afford to rent, let alone buy, has little stake in the existing order, and it is saying so in the streets. Nothing captured the mood more starkly than the fate of Maricarmen Abascal. The 87-year-old had lived in the same Madrid flat since 1956. After an investment company bought the building and tried to raise her rent from =E2=82=AC500 to =E2=82=AC2,650 a month, she was forcibly evicted in Septemb= er. She died in hospital two weeks later. Her story turned a statistic into an outrage and sent protesters into more than fifty Spanish cities. When parliament rejected two emergency housing decrees, Pedro S=C3=A1nchez called snap elec= tions for November 29. That is the political dimension of the fire. Economic grievance no longer stays economic; it corrodes the institutions meant to manage it. France faces a fraught six months before its 2027 presidential election, with a political centre that has been hollowing out for a decade. Italy's prime minister convened an emergency security meeting after two days of rioting in Milan. Belgium's government is confronting nationwide strikes over its austerity budget. In the United States, the protests are explicitly about democracy itself, with midterm elections days away and each camp convinced the other threatens the republic. Nor is the fire confined to the Western core. In Albania, a candidate for EU membership, students have fought police for more than a week, demanding the prime minister's resignation over corruption, jobs and the cost of university. Even countries queuing to join the Western club are discovering that the club's promises no longer sell themselves. Fragmentation feeds on itself. When centrist governments cannot deliver affordable homes or decent public services, voters drift to the edges, left and right. Parliaments become harder to govern, which makes delivery harder still. The street fills the vacuum the ballot box leaves behind. None of this excuses the looting of shops in Paris and Marseille, the attacks on police, or the torching of a historic town hall. Violence discredits legitimate demands and hands governments an excuse to treat a social crisis as a public-order problem. Arrests, more than 2,400 in France after a single day of unrest, may clear the streets. They will not close the gap between incomes and rents. What would? There is no single answer, but there is a direction. Western governments must treat housing as infrastructure rather than as an asset class: build at a scale unseen in decades and curb the bulk-buying that turns homes into yield. They must be honest about trade-offs; if budgets have to tighten, the burden cannot fall first on schools and the young. And they must rebuild the belief that politics can still change things, that a ballot is worth more than a cobblestone. The fires of October will burn out, as protest waves do. The conditions that lit them will not, unless leaders find the nerve to confront them. History is unkind to elites who mistake a warning for a riot. The West has been warned. --000000000000d3947f065ee64b0e Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

The West Is on Fire
By Leon Hadar

On October 17, the roof of= the nineteenth-century town hall in Limoges collapsed after it was set ali= ght during France's national day of protest against the cost of living.= That same weekend, smoke drifted past Milan Cathedral, Brussels police tur= ned water cannon on teenagers, and tent cities rose in the central squares = of Lisbon and Madrid. Across the Atlantic, Americans rallied in all fifty s= tates under the banner "No Kings."

It is tempting to file each of t= hese as a local story: a French schools dispute, a Belgian budget row, an I= berian housing shortage. That would be a mistake. Taken together, they desc= ribe a West whose political and economic settlement is coming apart at the = seams. The West is on fire, and not only metaphorically.

Start with the numbe= rs, because they explain the anger better than any slogan. Food prices in t= he European Union have risen by about a third in five years, and wages in m= ost places have not kept up. Portuguese house prices have more than doubled= since 2017. Spain is short roughly 550,000 homes, by the Bank of Spain'= ;s estimate, while social housing makes up barely 2 percent of its stock. A= nd a fresh energy shock, set off by escalation in the Middle East, has push= ed up fuel bills just as governments have run out of room to soften the blo= w.

That last point matters most. In 2022, Europe met an energy crisis with an= open chequebook. In 2026 the chequebook is overdrawn. France is borrowing = heavily and edging toward a fiscal reckoning that could unsettle the whole = eurozone. Belgium is cutting =E2=82=AC500 million from French-language educ= ation and proposing to raise VAT. Governments are asking citizens to accept= less, fewer teachers, later pensions, higher taxes, at precisely the momen= t those citizens feel they already get less for more.

The result is a broken = generational bargain. The postwar West promised that work and education wou= ld buy security: a home, a pension, a future better than one's parents&= #39;. For millions of people under thirty, that promise now reads like fict= ion. It is no accident that this autumn's protests were led by students= and school pupils, nor that most of those detained in Milan were minors. A= generation that cannot afford to rent, let alone buy, has little stake in = the existing order, and it is saying so in the streets.

Nothing captured the = mood more starkly than the fate of Maricarmen Abascal. The 87-year-old had = lived in the same Madrid flat since 1956. After an investment company bough= t the building and tried to raise her rent from =E2=82=AC500 to =E2=82=AC2,= 650 a month, she was forcibly evicted in September. She died in hospital tw= o weeks later. Her story turned a statistic into an outrage and sent protes= ters into more than fifty Spanish cities. When parliament rejected two emer= gency housing decrees, Pedro S=C3=A1nchez called snap elections for Novembe= r 29.

That is the political dimension of the fire. Economic grievance no long= er stays economic; it corrodes the institutions meant to manage it. France = faces a fraught six months before its 2027 presidential election, with a po= litical centre that has been hollowing out for a decade. Italy's prime = minister convened an emergency security meeting after two days of rioting i= n Milan. Belgium's government is confronting nationwide strikes over it= s austerity budget. In the United States, the protests are explicitly about= democracy itself, with midterm elections days away and each camp convinced= the other threatens the republic.

Nor is the fire confined to the Western co= re. In Albania, a candidate for EU membership, students have fought police = for more than a week, demanding the prime minister's resignation over c= orruption, jobs and the cost of university. Even countries queuing to join = the Western club are discovering that the club's promises no longer sel= l themselves.

Fragmentation feeds on itself. When centrist governments cannot= deliver affordable homes or decent public services, voters drift to the ed= ges, left and right. Parliaments become harder to govern, which makes deliv= ery harder still. The street fills the vacuum the ballot box leaves behind.=

N= one of this excuses the looting of shops in Paris and Marseille, the attack= s on police, or the torching of a historic town hall. Violence discredits l= egitimate demands and hands governments an excuse to treat a social crisis = as a public-order problem. Arrests, more than 2,400 in France after a singl= e day of unrest, may clear the streets. They will not close the gap between= incomes and rents.

What would? There is no single answer, but there is a di= rection. Western governments must treat housing as infrastructure rather th= an as an asset class: build at a scale unseen in decades and curb the bulk-= buying that turns homes into yield. They must be honest about trade-offs; i= f budgets have to tighten, the burden cannot fall first on schools and the = young. And they must rebuild the belief that politics can still change thin= gs, that a ballot is worth more than a cobblestone.

The fires of October will= burn out, as protest waves do. The conditions that lit them will not, unle= ss leaders find the nerve to confront them. History is unkind to elites who= mistake a warning for a riot. The West has been warned.


--000000000000d3947f065ee64b0e-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 07:08:14 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id B7E34B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:08:14 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net B7E34B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="whoPHErv" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 97361BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:08:14 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f54.google.com (mail-dl1-f54.google.com [74.125.82.54]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 92140BD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:08:14 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f54.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1931ff67a29so925636c88.1 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:08:14 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793196494; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=WItncRVsyZmj4ZpK9aEXj2KetiFvLzF5EDWnE3LhISo71NnzZ/1w3KXgfX6PcqIkWU CPUQ0N679DXGNrM0ahEIlfy/zCSTR0DmNwkNLcv4HfhCamGbatrOAS6oNGoQbJFzpR+x 9v3waTZHvtK/GjMkBdsjhf1xCgHVbH9oixl1oO8YczbaCtD5RyuNDgz9Y3WBxbWV108X wZgOOoBaaBdttArVqmXm6ZC/445ZXOLi4AKr4M4yogdPTtV/xe65eu6gLvt8motb7RhM 2Wiu0kEcCZp6ZjMi4SlYndZOggNaI6rysAcRisXSCEnS07Zy8LPwJW+abq4C3v17mB7W 8ChQ== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:dkim-signature; bh=IuqCE0MDcBeRa5KSBCJtepfanQuK49D0q9KQLR49skU=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=mxzhiX2YQTmSIngbLb0fVLwdoYCyVvHBHNmyzZvqs6fGZ0zQ+/9fa2/N1aZAjouUjL Hu/97e+Pn3udoPzxwmiqDb8EDZVtyOJigHZB7ioo/1fCXP9ZPg+845G3vZ7UZcDPVorC Vuf3vp3q+VYAyyW48vTWFVkNAwGemECqnqd6++EYkXSlXU2t35Z3pNFIc+P0bxHhRaR8 xrAs/BIwsoGWE/R9ZnBepLP5s0fgnfHrm0JlV6ygA7PSq6cKvKOeySZsZ5FWE7cWJpFs wpmUeI/Q4TNSalrh5K1W/TEsS0eXEKASrBBcJfyiEVvVUb5f/RuvkvP1eHZXsk5nA0iA vrmw==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793196494; x=1793801294; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:from:to :cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=IuqCE0MDcBeRa5KSBCJtepfanQuK49D0q9KQLR49skU=; b=whoPHErvTxpZpGL+ZUzwPz9qx5eCEbuh9/1A+7GHYb8+aR+aV2BW/nsw5OFMS9EHOm 7rlj+DRnKEKC3psReR7xoVtmxlLKHD+M94FU0fEAFAfqaIFG5OV/r6RBZ3FbAaup8Nbk +aSs6lzVlsVHVjVI9/kL9yr6F2UxLoYt7+NdCivy+vn1LJWEi0FGGDDdOJGtp4ij3CTp DE0VrdzjY9ETEsfhVFrXQE6D4Sm/AxBE9BuJ3X5Sj/NXc/I4DpvKg+JpRGrzg+9FAYcW ixeJtn082le4BVkYeqTzpbnclJ7PlgooJOuUYGnLhzs86rpAwL9nFdmeUBQ3VjZ4DxPz KEBA== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793196494; x=1793801294; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:x-gm-gg :x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=IuqCE0MDcBeRa5KSBCJtepfanQuK49D0q9KQLR49skU=; b=vnDRT5aoaUUHoL1tySaIkt8Guzhr5QpbtHg0JNZSTtrub6F9dLERuEWR6JrGTUN0ht aXD7IltEcPQi/nz9rkqRt+rRawNwCgAkjcAiM1QTb9zkOwcK0iCPuVFVw2rQIhlvFUni ufxBvcuPrAnh6HF6iE+aDkEHib4V3Yz5DO+AZ+zLAdsPe1qZ9C8H6FR4IpO+oc/k6KTx C7Eg8eMUozZPPVmEoNmIIOcz93PqZTpeQcE0Xx0eCRup1svBrlD0Mj7e+yqObGxp8iFR Au6dapdc2bAfRDoIRgfprhsQDIz9ayLzks/t8go8odwrYHgONQ+u6rRVwHG4xXA67+Es ZZvA== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYKzB+IVVt940gQKWYtPc+24CXfxfSae0yFYjRep7MCcXSlYEr3f wS0SGPXCRPRTiRe8ZDgJyTIsSEUQzitOZ8Nancs4o5zC/yQzXCpqPcA1Cyqqn0AiCMgTD/IDuDd gKoXWA1b/rX6DkhK3L2KyMpUy0UjlZ9amyYavfzmFFQ== X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou3lRmo946XSVkzpfMBTWMQbVJyvQZOHzjq01xuWYYuMhhAjm/OkzBW9ij+zpXo 9wFgGM/aukyvtqdB70M1Gqx9DXc/WucLWmjg8LJEatUR3bX/4WKn6jF1Yql2UrAqm0hZ20Hg9Fo /d1c0hTnf8XZPc+C2B/+rk2LkouFKqdG7WumC+HrnBCuupp6abUyDvifR5DWcgnfe2a8Jei3ybO P6+e/79pLuG6cF6MqGrTM6J+yVEACIjiw0oPQL4yDV+AOqxdeuEeSEO64sRt5fnInxNfwm7gSHK 8Yuc/XzmB4cm7CDQ0hC/CSx03+1A094UE6jnWtC7WacXQslRJQVQouE9qFPQDkizbIGsodp3fJ9 6rg7CnYEqLtFcFo/fdoVcD6rm9VfYd+EFuIxZuVXEDqZX5OaG3x9FhtAa3p06GGkSMDSqDHXM8t KC8UoPrY+RP9eI2nlaG+7LBLayE+NRJY6UkGg07Zi+v3TSG5IgwgsAuSRWmetiEjQnCPEDBuQuc bsnDQgrNvP6kwaFJLMLsqSgKFas3RLbFEmbfGkL0NUI0s0PG3v46c3QVX+rdeUZqwpy9wGf8gO0 5VG/MvSCuch8D4oAzqPPDNFnrA27rvScJlHdhEOV1KHxp3bIv5SJhy4JT9GHfLfO/pgrrwCSbJS dj/pISJE7sKqFZycHss9YXO+2kZ101nGhJZT8FubSVXwUopOaR5r3GL1R9CNKSXR+idw= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:f512:b0:1a2:2da2:b278 with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6cbe7e413mr3551368c88.14.1793196493691; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:08:13 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:07:57 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK-FzDE3DzyOm7jg5ukPllGh34KWXL2tfZhIvcAaNrGZBZ8HWztJSqhlYkE Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="00000000000004e10e065ee7187d" Subject: [Salon] =?utf-8?q?Fl=C3=A1vio_Bolsonaro_lands_in_Miami_after_fle?= =?utf-8?q?eing_Brazil_following_election_loss?= X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:08:14 -0000 --00000000000004e10e065ee7187d Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Fl=C3=A1vio Bolsonaro lands in Miami after fleeing Brazil following electio= n loss The defeated Brazilian presidential candidate flew from Ecuador after defying a Brazilian judicial order to surrender his passports in connection with a corruption and money-laundering investigation. The Washington Post, October 28, 2026 October 28, 2026 at 9:46 a.m. EDT Fl=C3=A1vio Bolsonaro disembarks from a plane Wednesday after arriving at a= n airport near Miami. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Reuters) Americas Chevron right 1 min 110More article actions By Sammy Westfall and Marina Dias Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Fl=C3=A1vio Bolsonaro arrived Wednesday in Miami from Ecuador, after he defied a Brazilian judicial order to surrender his passports in connection with a corruption and money-laundering investigation. Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI. Bolsonaro lost Sunday=E2=80=99s election to President Luiz In=C3=A1cio Lula= da Silva. Within two days, speculation about his whereabouts had begun. The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro is under investigation over ties to a banker accused of financial misconduct and to a man suspected of money laundering. On Tuesday morning, he missed the Brazilian Supreme Court=E2=80=99s deadlin= e to surrender his passports. A senior State Department official said Bolsonaro and his family had been granted visas allow them into the United States. According to flight-tracking services, the Gulfstream jet carrying Bolsonaro departed Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Wednesday at 4:22 a.m. It arrived at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, a joint civil-military airport, and Bolsonaro emerged around 9:30 a.m. *This is a developing story and will be updated.* ------------------------------ What readers are saying The comments express strong disapproval of the U.S. granting a visa to a figure perceived as a criminal, with many suggesting that this reflects poorly on the Trump administration. Commenters criticize the perceived hypocrisy of welcoming certain immigrants while deporting... Show more --00000000000004e10e065ee7187d Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Fl=C3=A1vio Bolsonar= o lands in Miami after fleeing Brazil following election loss

The defeated Brazilian presidential candidate= flew from Ecuador after defying a Brazilian judicial order to surrender hi= s passports in connection with a corruption and money-laundering investigat= ion.


The Washington Post, October 28, 2026

October 28, 2026 at 9:46 a.m. = EDT

<= span class=3D"gmail-wpds-c-bASIGw gmail-wpds-c-bASIGw-inNKvU-css gmail-over= rideStyles" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;display:inline-bl= ock;margin-bottom:16px">
3D""
Fl=C3=A1vio Bol= sonaro disembarks from a plane Wednesday after arriving at an airport near = Miami. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Reuters)
AmericasChevron right
= 1 min
By Sammy Westfall
an= d=C2=A0
Marina Dias

Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Fl=C3=A1vio Bolsonaro arri= ved Wednesday in Miami from Ecuador, after he defied a Brazilian judicial o= rder to surrender his passports in connection with a corruption and money-l= aundering investigation.

3D""Get concise answers to your questions. Try As= k The Post AI.
=

Bolsonaro lost Sunday=E2=80=99s election to President Luiz= In=C3=A1cio Lula da Silva. Within two days, speculation about his whereabo= uts had begun. The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro is under investig= ation over ties to a banker accused of financial misconduct and to a man su= spected of money laundering.

On Tuesday morning, he missed the Brazi= lian Supreme Court=E2=80=99s deadline to surrender his passports.

=

A senior State Department official said Bolsonaro and his family had= been granted visas allow them into the United States.

Acco= rding to flight-tracking services, the Gulfstream jet carrying Bolsonaro de= parted Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Wednesday at 4:22 a.m. It arrived at Miami-Op= a Locka Executive Airport, a joint civil-military airport, and Bolsonaro em= erged around 9:30 a.m.

Thi= s is a developing story and will be updated.

What readers are saying

The comments express strong disapprov= al of the U.S. granting a visa to a figure perceived as a criminal, with ma= ny suggesting that this reflects poorly on the Trump administration. Commen= ters criticize the perceived hypocrisy of welcoming certain immigrants whil= e deporting... Show more
--00000000000004e10e065ee7187d-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 07:26:22 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0852FA32C0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:22 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 0852FA32C0 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="Sij4GUky" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id EF039BD003; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:21 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f46.google.com (mail-dl1-f46.google.com [74.125.82.46]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id E6F95BD066 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:21 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f46.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a3c08d6928so1406301c88.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:21 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793197581; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=ibFJ1b36+iGmfO3pjP3iskYL981rNT8uCy0EZ48OBym3qi1q4O4Chp3OqmodARIxDs ZAQk9Ic4sfTJO0+E4N7KwCr6KkrAsuzUp5wLjXQwl/MSoWn3ATkabq0sJl8beDoiXXlY cNEd6aDC2Y1yMLepMErlEiDN04zVufL/TJxjtNJOd8oV+TiQN+yepFYaHCgzWnKjMY/g 6Cur9QsZylv8tqvLIPS5hsajK+6afy0CyOHW0/S58kg0puCcgrwZCuoHkjJkhlZEhF3p ayaIVzRsKhxoPbFlyUKJYKCEek5iSXvRQBVCHHZvlEUHcnovHTpVmflb8PKnULfq6iXs 7PLQ== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:dkim-signature; bh=EdmDQIGjOFXMy3/qdr4F6KbFksOdHSdO1PP4xT23KiU=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=CdGrosCF5P7yyyyBMEE9raQ+KiMqvJLhTDYjnV9bqEMbDmmhERK/SqYyP5TSdbyFEf Hb4lx2pp+N1Te0gUdpOtxawcStbeLX1zdygr4pjFw5EMrJcR7SR6Vw/EqNCqvcz1jfKw 5u+3ekmh8KXKW+pEoO3K7FytxX4YWgBFkSRv+KlsaEKBN0apJxZHV1w55UzcEt2bK3yh Y71x7kbLXIIFzXi5L1Qfps85HW2s8+Uf/kLXHrS0CFW7D4+QJkQHJUUd0lwi5dEmQ7wC 2R3v7ccMyLua2I26L4mU0XWNbvMl0oP5WL/pnYGeHzodKkRpqcjbJZdTF4IVkMDjEB+7 87Xw==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793197581; x=1793802381; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:from:to :cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=EdmDQIGjOFXMy3/qdr4F6KbFksOdHSdO1PP4xT23KiU=; b=Sij4GUkyRetQcWqmqgb6sZRG8ymdG0c+Bnck7VhaOmQ4Uadtt9tR8ZFSdQn6BPZ4x+ K7bvb0ai9+bNy/ut1Y6q7BKMfWH22xPT4rZ5DZFJVVR4S/yIl542YCDGUTJEHvpjD9kF SsQ2z6IfhUrWXX3OA+Mwc8qhfiq0IpGAqDK0k6LWD4SS+ikzFgSQ6g9UWORZgPLDqmC+ hhW5RjM5vh8bcKdeB3Hc9N3mXODdzWuCf4yMSajnEeMf4o4lYJUYwwQZixd/c4Qfphb7 dE6J3m/+LWNBCKJi0ytYoZgkmhHGVduim7YHqAOz1u0gBgaImMhr5eIX4hAQVtv0g/Gm 8UjA== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793197581; x=1793802381; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:x-gm-gg :x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=EdmDQIGjOFXMy3/qdr4F6KbFksOdHSdO1PP4xT23KiU=; b=R34LEewhuOR3+F/AEep5/ZRcCIZtHPM2Sfg8CHMWeUoHiR/0gCH8Q/km9BzEmhCfpe kZfDiqpYmAbFPOjWUAeUNXK5buFqfkt8HnqGZhY+KX4B0GqXkfLuEbd5eqxDnvqFWWC7 QtIoz+hKjdi+zSZU8rjykWlazxWegJKnJ3dOm8zFT5P25TyDdwm4RZkIrLSpeZHLURXS g9urG3EAWxB6Gr5XFQimYtKvp2dwGSSNAJjuU7cQL864oqU0L6ByOwDj5cQtEF8S9a15 T9E5qrs1NIvv7xeLIIAIADbHUJlG8EdcNVZP9AKAjOdGWmzvMsfrpIPwQQ+sn4WIDxW5 3nTw== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYImBMr2MrRcaInU0EDG9sNYqF/eN1uGXsA7zVA8/XAigcqJSxD+ 4HD/imWhRCh3MV2FaVi9/Bp32ymP5rZMWQhhnBtXZIbQ2iYmy+dIPJh2AxUw4UhMQckI2ozgphp LOk+ZzkEPJR1Hb3AFkoSIA/p5s6nuseWBIdnIPyvZMA== X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou0i+KMfW6NL81xACeLnG8Kn93Mi1wXJxKwfkQCn5p8zwfyuab1BaPS7/ZzRLKe O6yORix9pI0nRSafynmG4mv91N/3ozA7I7iH1l6ox0bmXkmbzLsw2aLjw8GNI9AO8VJZqVV3jrm ZN1NpfEn9o3RxNGrPzbJsLnFxCHX8zo8MPyIB3xcwttHy/d3SHXu0OwvDLf4yHw28hE0GnqNqXb +qA9cWWTgpjR/6UwnXscTy/LjjInUDmHfTi2dAYlsQv1+dJjsz3EGva2cGlS3dVtUmLrSaW7Lw4 y20IGI3RX6HYMQ+ilaiRfAeoADh6F8TssbbySoIHxzZZ+yxUqrAZXR5173Yt3cmv+rBqk6z7tLE uXmfSJeu3DBi4di5bT/FxdWC/FoOhGVQHlinjwFKVMG+s5yxURunbF0Y6eTZQIPJngh3acS03IT dipRAmWt8X4Osfxbs2MZfoOOewgWCIDW1+OoTq54tEcu63VQbA+FryGvKLnvbnqms5LsH8bk0W7 gX+0lDtNoQ3xXy6Vxm2HWPPt31asEQrSjAV2zc2x96LLbJz638GdhOQxKzn8HecfErcOnqyAfr7 7mWw0OOxoJSwZNl8WWTBuNB2yy5R8dabxKzYftgWk2cnAySroVZrPLBbktVrP30mKr+LzTjejGM QOWcMLx9gQNkQ17ehdBbrRqvv8v3sR9MqNH9GJ0a/RJtYIMKRKzFQ2/NfvvLEWRIm34c= X-Received: by 2002:a05:701b:2511:b0:1a4:fac9:aeee with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6c87bc707mr2922876c88.4.1793197580927; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:20 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:26:03 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK8WaIbWH-6cVdmxWvLAqnn6HvMjfdJO6DbS0L4VCjstagZw3kgED3ISIwA Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000d2c7cb065ee75864" Subject: [Salon] =?utf-8?b?VVPigJlzIFJGSyBKciBjbGFpbXMgQXJhYnMg4oCYZG9u?= =?utf-8?b?4oCZdCBwcm9kdWNlIHNjaWVuY2XigJk6IFdoeSBoZeKAmXMgdmVyeSwg?= =?utf-8?q?very_wrong?= X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:26:22 -0000 --000000000000d2c7cb065ee75864 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/uss-rfk-jr-claims-arabs-dont-prod= uce-science-why-hes-very-very-wrong US=E2=80=99s RFK Jr claims Arabs =E2=80=98don=E2=80=99t produce science=E2= =80=99: Why he=E2=80=99s very, very wrong *US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed that Arabs have not made contributions to math, science or literature.* Listen (8 mins) Save Share US=E2=80=99s RFK Jr claims Arabs =E2=80=98don=E2=80=99t produce scien= ce=E2=80=99: Why he=E2=80=99s very, very wrong on social media Share Add Al Jazeera on Google [image: RFK] United States President Donald Trump listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks at a campaign rally at Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University, on Friday, October 23, 2026, in Fort Myers, Florida, the US [File: Mark Schiefelbein/AP] By Al Jazeera Staff Published On 27 Oct 202627 Oct 2026 United States Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has sparked uproar with comments he has made denying Arab contributions to mathematics, science and literature. In a high-voltage rant on Monday, the US health secretary said, =E2=80=9CTh= ere=E2=80=99s five hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don=E2=80=99t produce science. They don=E2=80=99t win the Nobel Prize. They don=E2=80=99t win the= Fields Prize. They don=E2=80=99t win the Wolf Prize. They don=E2=80=99t produce literatur= e.=E2=80=9D RFK Jr, who has been involved in anti-vaccine campaigns and has promoted a debunked theory linking vaccines to autism, made the comments during a US election campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan while supporting Republican nominee Mike Rogers, who is up against Arab-American Democrat nominee Abdul El-Sayed, in a tightly contested battle for Michigan=E2=80=99= s Senate seat in next week=E2=80=99s midterm elections. Critics said the comments were racist, Islamophobic and factually inaccurate, pointing to modern and historic Arab innovation in multiple fields. Here=E2=80=99s how Arabs have made vital contributions to the human underst= anding of maths, science and literature through the centuries. Arab contributions to maths, science and humanities The period known as the Islamic Golden Age, from around 750 AD to 1258 AD, produced many key Arab contributions to medicine at a time when Europe was said to be in its Dark Ages. During this time, Arabic was the language of science and scholarship. 1st-4th centuries: The numerals 0-9, which originated in ancient India, were adopted by Arab mathematicians who spread them across the world. They displaced Roman numerals as a more advanced number system in mathematics. 8th century: Arab and Persian mathematicians were studying the ancient Indian concept of zero in mathematics in Baghdad, long before the Europeans. The number zero was crucial to the development of mathematics = =E2=80=93 but was absent from widely used Roman numerals in Europe. 813-833: The Arab mathematician Mu=E1=B8=A5ammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi =E2= =80=93 one of those studying the number 0 =E2=80=93 is often referred to as the =E2=80=9C= father of algebra=E2=80=9D as he was the first to treat the method as a separate math= ematical discipline in his work, Al-Jabr. This method provided the first linear and quadratic equations, still used as a core part of mathematical study today. 965-1040: Ibn al-Haytham, known as the =E2=80=9Cfather of modern optics=E2= =80=9D, explained the role that light entering the eye plays in human vision. He was born in Basra in Iraq, but spent most of his working life in Cairo attending to noble families. 936-1013: Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, called =E2=80=9Cthe father of modern sur= gery=E2=80=9D, was considered the greatest surgeon in the Middle Ages. He wrote a 30-volume encyclopaedia detailing medical practices and designed and illustrated many surgical instruments. Born in Azahara, in Andalusia, he was known as Abulcasis in Europe. 9th century: Fatima al-Fihri founded the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco. It is often cited as the oldest continually operating university. 1213-1288: Ibn al-Nafis described pulmonary circulation =E2=80=93 the proce= ss by which blood passes through the lungs =E2=80=93 several centuries before Eur= opeans understood it. He wrote more than 110 volumes of work on surgery, ophthalmology and philosophy while working as a chief physician in Egypt. 915-965: Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi, regarded as the greatest poet in the Arabic language, was Yemeni and grew up immersed in Bedouin Arabic culture. He wrote in classical Arabic and many of his verses became sayings used in everyday Arabic. 1100-1165: Muhammad al-Idrisi was a geographer known for making the Tabula Rogeriana, one of the most accurate and detailed medieval world maps, and a high point of Islamic geography. He was born in Ceuta in Morocco. [image: A view of a sign reading "The Norwegian Nobel Committee" inside the Norwegian Nobel Institute, where the laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, in Oslo, Norway, October 6, 2023. REUTERS/ Tom Little]A view of a sign reading =E2=80=98The Norwegian Nobel Committee=E2=80=99 inside the N= orwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, October 6, 2023 [File: Tom Little/Reuters]Prize-winning Arabs In more modern times, RFK Jr=E2=80=99s assertion that Arabs do not win Nobe= l prizes for science and literature is very far from the truth. Here are some of the highlights: 1960: Nobel Prize for Medicine Peter Medawar won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for work on for work on acquired immune tolerance, which underpins organ transplantation. He was born in Brazil to a Lebanese father. 1966: The Fields Medal Michael Atiyah won the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award for mathematics, in 1966. He was born in London to a Lebanese father and Scottish mother. Educated in Egypt, he spent much of his childhood in Cairo and Khartoum. 1988: Nobel Prize for Literature Egyptian Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his body of work, including the Cairo Trilogy, which the Swedish Academy said formed =E2=80=9Can Arabic narrative art that applies to all mankind=E2=80=9D. He i= s still the only winner of the prize who wrote in Arabic. 1990: Nobel Prize for Chemistry Elias James Corey won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing retrosynthetic analysis. He is an American of Lebanese descent. 1993: Wolf Prize for Chemistry Egyptian Ahmed Zewail won the Wolf Prize for Chemistry. The Wolf Prize is an international award which has been presented to living scientists and artists every year in Israel by the Wolf Foundation since 1978. 1999: Nobel Prize for Chemistry Zewail also won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for pioneering femtochemistry, which is the study of chemical reactions on extremely short timescales. He also won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1993. 2005: Nobel Peace Prize Egyptian scientist Mohamed ElBaradei shared his Nobel Prize with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which he led. 2018: Wolf Prize for Chemistry Omar M Yaghi, born in Jordan to a Palestinian refugee family, won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for work on metal-organic frameworks. He shared the prize with Japan=E2=80=99s Makoto Fujita. The Palestinian Campaign for = the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) condemned his acceptance of the award because the prize is awarded by an Israeli foundation. 2023: Nobel Prize for Chemistry Moungi Bawendi won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. He was born in France to a Tunisian father, but based in the US. 2025: Nobel Prize for Chemistry Yaghi also won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing metal-organic frameworks. These are crystalline materials with large internal cavities that can capture and store gases, harvest water from air, and trap pollutants. He shared the prize with Susumu Kitagawa from Japan and Richard Robson from Australia. What has the response been to RFK Jr=E2=80=99s comments about Arabs? In a post on X, vaccine scientist Peter Hotez of the Texas Medical Center weighed in on historical Arab scholarship, saying, =E2=80=9CIt was the Arab scientists of the Middle Ages who kept Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen alive to hand it down in the Renaissance.=E2=80=9D Broadcaster Mehdi Hasan described RFK Jr=E2=80=99s comments as =E2=80=9Crac= ist=E2=80=9D and, in a post on X, wrote: =E2=80=9COne of the men who won the Nobel Prize for Chemi= stry last year was a Palestinian-American, Omar Yaghi.=E2=80=9D The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for the US health secretary to be removed. It said: =E2=80=9CTo stand on a public stage as a = sitting US cabinet official and dehumanise half a billion people =E2=80=93 and mill= ions of Muslim and Christian Arab Americans =E2=80=93 with fabricated, white suprem= acist talking points is utterly disqualifying for public office. His sweeping erasure of Arab contributions to humanity is not only maliciously false, but it also fans the flames of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate at a time when communities are already vulnerable to bigoted attacks from other public officials nationwide.=E2=80=9D --000000000000d2c7cb065ee75864 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
https://ww= w.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/uss-rfk-jr-claims-arabs-dont-produce-scienc= e-why-hes-very-very-wrong

US=E2=80= =99s RFK Jr claims Arabs =E2=80=98don=E2=80=99t produce science=E2=80=99: W= hy he=E2=80=99s very, very wrong

US Health Secretary Robert F Kenned= y Jr has claimed that Arabs have not made contributions to math, science or= literature.

Save

=
3D"RF=
United States President Donald Trump= listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks = at a campaign rally at Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast Univ= ersity, on Friday, October 23, 2026, in Fort Myers, Florida, the US [File: = Mark Schiefelbein/AP]
B= y Al Jazeera Staff
Published= On 27 Oct 202627 Oct 2026

United States Health Secretary= Robert F Kennedy Jr has sparked uproar with comments he has made denying A= rab contributions to mathematics, science and literature.

In a high-voltage = rant on Monday, the US health secretary said, =E2=80=9CThere=E2=80=99s five= hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don=E2=80=99t produce sci= ence. They don=E2=80=99t win the Nobel Prize. They don=E2=80=99t win the Fi= elds Prize. They don=E2=80=99t win the Wolf Prize. They don=E2=80=99t produ= ce literature.=E2=80=9D

RFK Jr, who has been involved in anti-vaccine campai= gns and has promoted a debunked theory linking vaccines to autism, made the= comments during a US election campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan whi= le supporting Republican nominee Mike Rogers, who is up against Arab-Americ= an Democrat nominee Abdul El-Sayed, in a tightly contested battle for Michi= gan=E2=80=99s Senate seat in next week=E2=80=99s midterm elections.

Critics = said the comments were racist, Islamophobic and factually inaccurate, point= ing to modern and historic Arab innovation in multiple fields.

Here=E2=80= =99s how Arabs have made vital contributions to the human understanding of = maths, science and literature through the centuries.

3D""

<= /p>

The period known as t= he Islamic Golden Age, from around 750 AD to 1258 AD, produced many key Ara= b contributions to medicine at a time when Europe was said to be in its Dar= k Ages. During this time, Arabic was the language of science and scholarshi= p.

1st-4th centurie= s: The numerals 0-9, which originated in ancient India, were adopted= by Arab mathematicians who spread them across the world. They displaced Ro= man numerals as a more advanced number system in mathematics.

8th century: Arab and = Persian mathematicians were studying the ancient Indian concept of zero in = mathematics in Baghdad, long before the Europeans. The number zero was cruc= ial to the development of mathematics =E2=80=93 but was absent from widely = used Roman numerals in Europe.

813-833: The Arab mathematician Mu=E1=B8=A5ammad ibn Mus= a al-Khwarizmi =E2=80=93 one of those studying the number 0 =E2=80=93 is of= ten referred to as the =E2=80=9Cfather of algebra=E2=80=9D as he was the fi= rst to treat the method as a separate mathematical discipline in his work, = Al-Jabr. This method provided the first linear and quadratic equations, sti= ll used as a core part of mathematical study today.

965-1040: Ibn al-Haytham, known as = the =E2=80=9Cfather of modern optics=E2=80=9D, explained the role that ligh= t entering the eye plays in human vision. He was born in Basra in Iraq, but= spent most of his working life in Cairo attending to noble families.

936-1013: Abu al-= Qasim al-Zahrawi, called =E2=80=9Cthe father of modern surgery=E2=80=9D, wa= s considered the greatest surgeon in the Middle Ages. He wrote a 30-volume = encyclopaedia detailing medical practices and designed and illustrated many= surgical instruments. Born in Azahara, in Andalusia, he was known as Abulc= asis in Europe.

9th= century: Fatima al-Fihri founded the University of al-Qarawiyyin in= Fez, Morocco. It is often cited as the oldest continually operating univer= sity.

1213-1288: Ibn al-Nafis described pulmonary circulation =E2=80=93 the process by = which blood passes through the lungs =E2=80=93 several centuries before Eur= opeans understood it. He wrote more than 110 volumes of work on surgery, op= hthalmology and philosophy while working as a chief physician in Egypt.

=

915-965: =C2=A0Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi, regarded as the greatest poet in th= e Arabic language, was Yemeni and grew up immersed in Bedouin Arabic cultur= e. He wrote in classical Arabic and many of his verses became sayings used = in everyday Arabic.

1100-1165: Muhammad al-Idrisi was a geographer known fo= r making the Tabula Rogeriana, one of the most accurate and detailed mediev= al world maps, and a high point of Islamic geography. He was born in Ceuta = in Morocco.

3D"AA = view of a sign reading =E2=80=98The Norwegian Nobel Committee=E2=80=99 insi= de the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, October 6, 2023 [File: To= m Little/Reuters]

Prize-winning A= rabs

In more modern times, RFK Jr=E2=80=99s assertion that Arabs do not win= Nobel prizes for science and literature is very far from the truth. Here a= re some of the highlights:

1960: Nobel Prize for Medicine<= /h3>

= Peter Medawar won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for work on for work on acqu= ired immune tolerance, which underpins organ transplantation. He was born i= n Brazil to a Lebanese father.

1966: The Fields Medal

=

Mich= ael Atiyah won the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award for mathematics= , in 1966. He was born in London to a Lebanese father and Scottish mother. = Educated in Egypt, he spent much of his childhood in Cairo and Khartoum.

1988: Nobel Prize for Literature

Egyptian Naguib Mahfouz won= the Nobel Prize in Literature for his body of work, including the Cairo Tr= ilogy, which the Swedish Academy said formed =E2=80=9Can Arabic narrative a= rt that applies to all mankind=E2=80=9D. He is still the only winner of the= prize who wrote in Arabic.

1990: Nobel Prize for Chemistr= y

= 1993: Wolf Prize for Chemistry

Egyptian Ahmed Zewail won the Wolf Prize for= Chemistry. The Wolf Prize is an international award which has been present= ed to living scientists and artists every year in Israel by the Wolf Founda= tion since 1978.

1999: Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Zewail al= so won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for pioneering femtochemistry, which i= s the study of chemical reactions on extremely short timescales. He also wo= n the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1993.

2005: Nobel Peace P= rize

Egyptian scientist Mohamed ElBaradei shared his Nobel Prize with the I= nternational Atomic Energy Agency, which he led.

2018: Wol= f Prize for Chemistry

Omar M Yaghi,=C2=A0 born in Jordan to a Palestinian r= efugee family, won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for work on metal-or= ganic frameworks. He shared the prize with Japan=E2=80=99s Makoto Fujita. T= he Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PA= CBI) condemned his acceptance of the award because the prize is awarded by = an Israeli foundation.

2023: Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Mou= ngi Bawendi won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery and synthes= is of quantum dots. He was born in France to a Tunisian father, but based i= n the US.

2025: Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Yaghi also won t= he Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing metal-organic frameworks. These= are crystalline materials with large internal cavities that can capture an= d store gases, harvest water from air, and trap pollutants. He shared the p= rize with Susumu Kitagawa from Japan and Richard Robson from Australia.

=

What has the response been to RFK Jr=E2=80=99s comments= about Arabs?

In a post on X, vaccine scientist Peter Hotez of = the Texas Medical Center weighed in on historical Arab scholarship, saying,= =E2=80=9CIt was the Arab scientists of the Middle Ages who kept Aristotle,= Hippocrates, Galen alive to hand it down in the Renaissance.=E2=80=9D

<= p dir=3D"ltr" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 30px;line-heigh= t:1.5">Broadcaster Mehdi Hasan described RFK Jr=E2=80=99s comments as =E2= =80=9Cracist=E2=80=9D and, in a post on X, wrote: =E2=80=9COne of the men w= ho won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry last year was a Palestinian-American, = Omar Yaghi.=E2=80=9D

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for th= e US health secretary to be removed. It said: =E2=80=9CTo stand on a public= stage as a sitting US cabinet official and dehumanise half a billion peopl= e =E2=80=93 and millions of Muslim and Christian Arab Americans =E2=80=93 w= ith fabricated, white supremacist talking points is utterly disqualifying f= or public office. His sweeping erasure of Arab contributions to humanity is= not only maliciously false, but it also fans the flames of anti-Arab and a= nti-Muslim hate at a time when communities are already vulnerable to bigote= d attacks from other public officials nationwide.=E2=80=9D

<= /div> --000000000000d2c7cb065ee75864-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 07:26:59 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7BEB6B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:59 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 7BEB6B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="E2beFNGQ" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 77635BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:59 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f51.google.com (mail-dl1-f51.google.com [74.125.82.51]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 720D6BD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:59 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f51.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-170135e43c7so1449301c88.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:59 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793197619; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=jOOZRqm9H1dSxSdi0nFyJiGQu/WqPuI1midOsZmQ/fQVP4WiB7eJaQUIGGzm9XP9oV qY0y2skuDRL6Lo5SDoGZ52lrEKKjSLrH31s1FRVAp6AWKz6zmcZZlsLbDq9qY71z1sVA Jsbb+M2PE8V9yTDrTwCg9cIVSIUkeI+2XbEkAFSOCt8nfR1l3QLOseVi2BRU/zbTAq4n UEh76LdFGLXiat5950s4oUnPyzTDTxMarrWNsglI/HlYNk+5pngks7UIFc/HRbjdZN0T ZJgl7/qMJWwaqJNe3Ql5LUyPoYCYojGhysb0K3X2lORSa9t/fv1txtq9ds2kAkRuL/E6 Eq+Q== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=5NgTRO4mc0IoAzEwNiZ3RrfxPoAVCFQ2nvtWZ9lGuKI=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=mwPgMpjC5892L92xS3g4faFUQKkVTHFmyd1MG/cXYTf/D3D4Bc3GizA7pIevh+RjuM AJ0C4ipr+YpOm5HybguT9QCUHc3EDryHieIQVpoiwvaXbVPa2dbtyZAgmiPlPh362QU+ BIHtjfe2SOvOdF3L9DuXpY+wvihA/uRPQdZsvLN5tLO4FfNdLLHh1B5xK52syr7YVvHJ USzDFqAOtuw5GlkqYI4/+6Bp/fTdYJ3aTsoZGIcEV4jgcgI29G0H270sPLjv6OuG+X8/ B+YFeK9Q0OmdIvyH44WYpfcwKvY2Hj+ucsCMaQ/Z1uvZhGyCHcNZ0gc0Mod71Vt35gHQ CsxQ==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793197619; x=1793802419; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=5NgTRO4mc0IoAzEwNiZ3RrfxPoAVCFQ2nvtWZ9lGuKI=; b=E2beFNGQ1W4vRcJ+OknxYEvizZSXX3hDIuygTpMeqX0lTB91cd/7JQu11v9PIVMQzT HiEu7wQ9ExRfMDv4zTwCPxoGd4mRKt+87dG9qRzvBURE+Zh/2NlWdg2ney6Bj8Qia+S3 9BnOTWbqyaG9ky68mI5PG52HNJamJh1JWbCFi8tTPwhrZSSehnhnjoVdo8iBfTeHqc6b T4Crxmk0TIEMuPjynS+IKq9S3A7KlVnowFzU87oU/pgyUSYVtpHjjp+UmcZ13TUQUnWY tv74KqlddX2Ia0x1ZIc0ljeWa7rRV91Eh85Uhf3eofnAlsrQJa+vqDDzLH4HGURMTNom cpPw== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793197619; x=1793802419; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=5NgTRO4mc0IoAzEwNiZ3RrfxPoAVCFQ2nvtWZ9lGuKI=; b=BXQk8Vjx9tMLmd8kGYZEqxVo/KhRF7w6rRjneka/6kr0r0y8C/UWr6CbpEKLWMdwJq JvNe53U9EhxhKAcnPSNrJT2nTtXbRi/4x3GYjfi9zaGog1xWhN+9x0NFNi3k9r4jNeyf t3CF+NVf4Nx6NiG/Taw3dGHVRqNjWo8//Wb8KuzpW04zrkEwuOFJ1aeH/v3Gs5p+F34G fUMONauejIJxwlZvQbV79JL0ZTlxvkMe9x5/0PrJCAfi7sOiTQEiHCZ128NjueI9qH80 EQtqPPwbG9LIpuzRsSUvH6/1jTEwUMB9UksK/LJjk8LB7jFP50OM+WHTrcS2h8KZeohH XeEA== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYIaCpCjvbWTvFljLxWReQnRcKMHAjbNJxidUmDBDph6OLEyMp3R 7nADVTqTMi3dVQaC6XOwr5ItKu2oTxPi8PmEapgD65aMcjBvnhtahzYu7QDrQOelHZ3aWqJVr8O 2VXtwAO2yDNVBoieWKcW5AFibg5xXJupwbRMVjDE= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou1/6MYQNcoyWdxqtQBsrXvrWs87O77Ep7ct3OjkTVfLtrybBmif7nsJoXdPiRf W93KOkCoGiiMn9VnXC9qvKdTIvSz8zUAIw+BmQEq2OnjCyU0MNyEQE+1+ibe4pR0AqeFkD9MT+y kYCMzTfc7/72EvrlW0BGE7N+/TSvgkSWrhrco4euQEKIkp8HOARnjoPlcFlWq2c3E1Wvak+RkQS M0sGJ3LTIJd73ru+Vm3WL8K1tPgpY9fAF3deEVYWxYpNBpgTeoF66y5tihkMp3SRWuILfAUlppR mpUjRYQYtayjlRAnFL1fSHzJiYlVkZ9hfgT/eN5I9uZOmdn3+glEU+o6vGNOS33D4kaPnAikeSj mAaJ6xHbUHAgOnq+EjKl4tJ/W639Cz3d4Sku09W5Ee60UGtUnrzhTCiwR3hXwb0YG/SlcD6Q1sW XoSNb2upoNhHLo2dS+WY4up80yOQ2DO8BZGYY1iMjO+XffOX03C+/0XbYTJEiGHMFqZzhVfrTGB hzzvyyh+sUr161ynrGU5tq27YKJxeutuJWGAQW9eQJH6aLw5Bn8o38JKpLcaXS12CMoejWhWsDl pKBmhHhjVROae3tnjD+EaYPA2KtcBMcaF6oqDzEazfwD0g/flWWBeMVsIgesT0QPBs1YiGvE0QO AdFwmINkp8fejU6KxTLkhDkFxpd86obLw1e2g1QaZNT1uacftP0egi+WtSsddy23QF1I= X-Received: by 2002:a05:701b:4354:b0:1a3:116:848a with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6ce9ba674mr3205834c88.35.1793197617988; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:26:57 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:26:41 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK9SLx76A_XCP4-zBwusX4AeiA9JO3Wt1coJLCN7D2D8Lz58oia3A-vKnnc Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000084d3d065ee75b3c" Subject: [Salon] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_Asia_Times=2C_Leon_Hadar=3A_=22Israel?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99s_inconclusive_election_reveals_a_sharply_divid?= =?utf-8?q?ed_nation=2E=22_=2810/28/26=29?= X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:26:59 -0000 --000000000000084d3d065ee75b3c Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable *https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/israels-inconclusive-election-reveals-a-shar= ply-divided-nation/ * *Israel=E2=80=99s inconclusive election reveals a sharply divided nation*Ei= senkot and Netanyahu both claim victory but next government will go to whoever is more willing to compromise and with whom *by Leon Hadar October 28, 2026* *Neither Gadi Eisenkot (L) nor Benjamin Netanyahu (R) won a majority at the election. Image: YouTube Screengrab* *Israelis turned out in numbers not seen in a generation, and handed both of their would-be prime ministers the same verdict: not enough. On the partial count this morning, neither Benjamin Netanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc nor G= adi Eisenkot=E2=80=99s reaches the 61 seats needed to govern.* *Both men have nonetheless claimed the night. Eisenkot told supporters the old era was over and a new one beginning. Netanyahu answered that Likud is the largest party by a wide margin and that the right holds a decisive majority among Jewish and Zionist voters.* *Each is describing something real. The result is less a winner and loser than a map of a divided country, and the bargaining that follows will matter more than the ballots themselves.* *With roughly 55% of votes counted, the outgoing coalition holds 56 seats, the opposition =E2=80=9Cchange=E2=80=9D bloc 49, and the Arab-led parties 1= 5. Likud leads all lists with 27 seats; Eisenkot=E2=80=99s new Yashar party is second with= 21.* *Behind them sit Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid=E2=80=99s joint list Togeth= er and the Arab-led Joint List at 11 each, Yair Golan=E2=80=99s Democrats and Unit= ed Torah Judaism at nine and Avigdor Liberman=E2=80=99s Yisrael Beytenu at eight. Sh= as and Itamar Ben-Gvir=E2=80=99s Otzma Yehudit have seven each, Bezalel Smotrich= =E2=80=99s Religious Zionist list six and Ra=E2=80=99am four.* *The count has drifted toward Netanyahu overnight. Exit polls on the main channels had the blocs roughly level, with Channel 12 and Kan putting Eisenkot=E2=80=99s side narrowly ahead. The overnight tallies have since mo= ved the coalition up by several seats.* *Two things are true at once. Likud remains comfortably Israel=E2=80=99s la= rgest party, as it has been for most of a decade. But 27 seats would be a sharp fall from the 32 it won in 2022, and the coalition as a whole is down from the 64 that made Netanyahu=E2=80=99s last government possible.* Arab vote at the center *Turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999 and seven points higher than in 2022. Whatever else this election was, it was not an apathetic one.* *The sharpest rise came among Arab citizens, roughly a fifth of the population, where turnout was put at about 80%. Exit polls gave Ra=E2=80=99= am and the Joint List a combined 17 to 19 seats, which would be their strongest showing ever; the partial count has them at 15.* *That surge is the hinge of the whole result. It is the main reason Netanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc sits short of a majority. Yet it doesn=E2=80=99t h= and one to Eisenkot either, because two of his own partners have ruled out relying on Arab parties.* *The campaign=E2=80=99s final day showed how charged this is. Netanyahu war= ned supporters about heavy Arab turnout; Arab party leaders called that incitement meant to frighten right-wing voters to the polls. Ra=E2=80=99am= =E2=80=99s Mansour Abbas, in turn, credited the record vote to resentment of the outgoing government.* Four doors, all of them heavy *On today=E2=80=99s numbers, every route to a government requires someone t= o break a campaign promise.* *A Netanyahu government. The coalition needs five more seats. The obvious candidates are hard to reach: Liberman has refused to serve under Netanyahu or alongside the ultra-Orthodox parties, and Bennett told supporters last night that Netanyahu had lost. A late shift in the count is Netanyahu=E2=80= =99s simplest path.* *An Eisenkot government. The opposition parties together are well short of 61. A majority exists only if Arab parties are counted in, and Bennett and Liberman reject that. Eisenkot himself has said partners must accept Israel as a Jewish state and the dismantling of Hamas, terms most Arab lawmakers are unlikely to accept. A minority government with outside Arab support has been floated inside his camp, but his allies oppose it.* *A unity government. Likud and Yashar together would clear 61 comfortably. TIME reported before the vote that Netanyahu would prefer such a deal, and Liberman has accused Eisenkot of seeking one. For Eisenkot, it would mean propping up the leader he campaigned to replace.* *Another election. If no one can form a government, Israel returns to the polls, with Netanyahu staying on as caretaker prime minister. After five elections between 2019 and 2022, few Israelis would welcome a sixth round so soon, but it is a live possibility.* *This was the first national vote since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, and it was widely framed as a referendum on Netanyahu=E2=80=99s leade= rship through it and the wars that followed in Gaza, Lebanon and against Iran.* *The two camps read that record very differently. Netanyahu=E2=80=99s suppo= rters see a wartime leader who struck Israel=E2=80=99s enemies hard and kept clos= e ties with Washington. His opponents blame him for the failures that preceded October 7 and for the divisions of the years since, from judicial reform to the ultra-Orthodox draft dispute that helped bring this government down.* *Notably, the main challengers did not run as a left. Eisenkot, Bennett and Liberman are security hawks; the contest was as much about trust and governance as about policy toward the Palestinians.* *Washington was also on the ballot, in a way. Donald Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu nine days before the vote, reportedly the first explicit endorsement by a US president in an Israeli election. Analysts doubted it would move many votes, citing Israeli frustration over how the Iran war ended. Eisenkot=E2=80=99s response was that only Israelis choose their lead= er.* What to watch *The final tally is expected by Friday (October 30), and official results are scheduled to be published on November 4. In a race this close, a seat or two can change which doors are open, especially for lists near the threshold.* *President Isaac Herzog will then consult party leaders and task whoever has the best chance of forming a government, who gets up to 42 days. Watch the recommendations of Bennett, Liberman and the two Arab parties: they, more than either frontrunner, now set the terms.* *The big picture is this. Israelis voted in huge numbers, and they voted to deny anyone a clean mandate. Netanyahu=E2=80=99s era has not ended, and Eis= enkot=E2=80=99s has not begun. What comes next will be decided less by who won than by who is willing to compromise, and with whom.* *Leon Hadar is a journalist, blogger, analyst, author and consultant. Read his Global Zeitgeist Substack here and become a subscriber here .* --000000000000084d3d065ee75b3c Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
https://a= siatimes.com/2026/10/israels-inconclusive-election-reveals-a-sharply-divide= d-nation/

Israel=E2=80=99s inconclusive election reveals a sharply divided nation

Eisenkot and Netanyahu = both claim victory but next government will go to whoever is more willing t= o compromise and with whom

by=C2=A0Leon Hadar=C2=A0October 28, 2026
= Neither Gadi Eisenkot (L) nor Benjamin Netanyahu (R) won a majority at t= he election. Image: YouTube Screengrab

Israelis turned out in numbers= not seen in a generation, and handed both of their would-be prime minister= s the same verdict: not enough. On the partial count this morning, neither = Benjamin Netanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc nor Gadi Eisenkot=E2=80=99s reaches the 6= 1 seats needed to govern.

Both men have nonetheless claimed the night. E= isenkot told supporters the old era was over and a new one beginning. Netan= yahu answered that Likud is the largest party by a wide margin and that the= right holds a decisive majority among Jewish and Zionist voters.

Each i= s describing something real. The result is less a winner and loser than a m= ap of a divided country, and the bargaining that follows will matter more t= han the ballots themselves.

With roughly 55% of votes counted, the outgo= ing coalition holds 56 seats, the opposition =E2=80=9Cchange=E2=80=9D bloc = 49, and the Arab-led parties 15. Likud leads all lists with 27 seats; Eisen= kot=E2=80=99s new Yashar party is second with 21.

Behind them sit Naftal= i Bennett and Yair Lapid=E2=80=99s joint list Together and the Arab-led Joi= nt List at 11 each, Yair Golan=E2=80=99s Democrats and United Torah Judaism= at nine and Avigdor Liberman=E2=80=99s Yisrael Beytenu at eight. Shas and = Itamar Ben-Gvir=E2=80=99s Otzma Yehudit have seven each, Bezalel Smotrich= =E2=80=99s Religious Zionist list six and Ra=E2=80=99am four.

The count = has drifted toward Netanyahu overnight. Exit polls on the main channels had= the blocs roughly level, with Channel 12 and Kan putting Eisenkot=E2=80=99= s side narrowly ahead. The overnight tallies have since moved the coalition= up by several seats.

Two things are true at once. Likud remains comfort= ably Israel=E2=80=99s largest party, as it has been for most of a decade. B= ut 27 seats would be a sharp fall from the 32 it won in 2022, and the coali= tion as a whole is down from the 64 that made Netanyahu=E2=80=99s last gove= rnment possible.

Arab vote at the center

Turnout reached 77= .7%, the highest since 1999 and seven points higher than in 2022. Whatever = else this election was, it was not an apathetic one.

The sharpest rise c= ame among Arab citizens, roughly a fifth of the population, where turnout w= as put at about 80%. Exit polls gave Ra=E2=80=99am and the Joint List a com= bined 17 to 19 seats, which would be their strongest showing ever; the part= ial count has them at 15.

That surge is the hinge of the whole result. I= t is the main reason Netanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc sits short of a majority. Yet= it doesn=E2=80=99t hand one to Eisenkot either, because two of his own par= tners have ruled out relying on Arab parties.

The campaign=E2=80=99s fin= al day showed how charged this is. Netanyahu warned supporters about heavy = Arab turnout; Arab party leaders called that incitement meant to frighten r= ight-wing voters to the polls. Ra=E2=80=99am=E2=80=99s Mansour Abbas, in tu= rn, credited the record vote to resentment of the outgoing government.<= /p>

Four doors, all of them heavy

On today=E2=80=99s numbers, every route to a government requires someo= ne to break a campaign promise.

A Netanya= hu government.=C2=A0The coalition needs five more seats= . The obvious candidates are hard to reach: Liberman has refused to serve u= nder Netanyahu or alongside the ultra-Orthodox parties, and Bennett told su= pporters last night that Netanyahu had lost. A late shift in the count is N= etanyahu=E2=80=99s simplest path.

An Eise= nkot government.=C2=A0The opposition parties together a= re well short of 61. A majority exists only if Arab parties are counted in,= and Bennett and Liberman reject that. Eisenkot himself has said partners m= ust accept Israel as a Jewish state and the dismantling of Hamas, terms mos= t Arab lawmakers are unlikely to accept. A minority government with outside= Arab support has been floated inside his camp, but his allies oppose it.

<= b>A unity government.=C2=A0Likud and Yashar together would clear 61 comfortably. TIME reported befo= re the vote that Netanyahu would prefer such a deal, and Liberman has accus= ed Eisenkot of seeking one. For Eisenkot, it would mean propping up the lea= der he campaigned to replace.

Another ele= ction.=C2=A0If no one can form a government, Israel ret= urns to the polls, with Netanyahu staying on as caretaker prime minister. A= fter five elections between 2019 and 2022, few Israelis would welcome a six= th round so soon, but it is a live possibility.

This was the first natio= nal vote since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, and it was widely f= ramed as a referendum on Netanyahu=E2=80=99s leadership through it and the = wars that followed in Gaza, Lebanon and against Iran.

The two camps read= that record very differently. Netanyahu=E2=80=99s supporters see a wartime= leader who struck Israel=E2=80=99s enemies hard and kept close ties with W= ashington. His opponents blame him for the failures that preceded October 7= and for the divisions of the years since, from judicial reform to the ultr= a-Orthodox draft dispute that helped bring this government down.

Notably= , the main challengers did not run as a left. Eisenkot, Bennett and Liberma= n are security hawks; the contest was as much about trust and governance as= about policy toward the Palestinians.

Washington was also on the ballot= , in a way. Donald Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu nine days before the v= ote, reportedly the first explicit endorsement by a US president in an Isra= eli election. Analysts doubted it would move many votes, citing Israeli fru= stration over how the Iran war ended. Eisenkot=E2=80=99s response was that = only Israelis choose their leader.

What to watch

The final = tally is expected by Friday (October 30), and official results are schedule= d to be published on November 4. In a race this close, a seat or two can ch= ange which doors are open, especially for lists near the threshold.

=

Pres= ident Isaac Herzog will then consult party leaders and task whoever has the= best chance of forming a government, who gets up to 42 days. Watch the rec= ommendations of Bennett, Liberman and the two Arab parties: they, more than= either frontrunner, now set the terms.

The big picture is this. Israeli= s voted in huge numbers, and they voted to deny anyone a clean mandate. Net= anyahu=E2=80=99s era has not ended, and Eisenkot=E2=80=99s has not begun. W= hat comes next will be decided less by who won than by who is willing to co= mpromise, and with whom.

Leon Hadar is a jo= urnalist, blogger, analyst, author and consultant. Read his Global Zeitgeis= t Substack=C2=A0here=C2=A0and become a subscri= ber=C2=A0here.

--000000000000084d3d065ee75b3c-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 07:28:51 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 34E48B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:28:50 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 34E48B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="PCgUv6r6" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id EC4E7BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:28:49 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f41.google.com (mail-dl1-f41.google.com [74.125.82.41]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id EB10BBD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:28:49 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f41.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-14fc585291cso877218c88.1 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:28:49 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793197729; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=UvLcwnNVMcyglN4+wtA4maA1OAwXNt+DXbo6mqYfymBwyXsMohnl3LygxwI+xoPdbr mPfj2hiifwtHmaPhfG3dSMmCJ1xmCHtkLxUqg+d8LhntrQ0gme85wIPJ5mINtL4dIxpd i4qXGZ99itd6EWB1112NHP4zckJOa5mrlSei+USBV7pRM2w2OSVKhsRjjH/Do/WEu8YA pNSy7zkmurXxjH7kOXVA70w45zDKvxqTawhQdq1txmrffqI5bWA2KVYhgvLPPzqWY2x0 XTekiZ9TXg85wFCdSLrXl/oerlK/aiwnBewwQP9JspeQYqCBapEJsx2v8u2weMELA31t 0C6Q== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=52JE5OmRquUnZ7n/agrFfi1aApM208mq6MRf+MaJsa8=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=WFthEPsjbHpV6fASClxFGbBm5CJ6gg8Q2mW6ixAca4itHV/ZvJPuV/u8WfM9joeV/N hr6FcEtIeIVDcLe7cKAXLxiyhHxncXiSXlhf/lwuaqNrQO/JSS5DE2/GZiVzFnTM0ZF8 JXDQSIpNZOBqJURffkUm2UVxuAe+nAid9/uZeqdkGVamww4EudmbMoj5jOSvMK7BxPLL XafG3E/uYXqdiMcF8C0lm0NKMbEKZnOiQ2i2bL4nKpX4N8yQHv3/pQrBq8CC0+s8mvRB 5XeQ8jjqNTLQx+6ferLW0TCLECo2/CFEikRObZbwXHzYdGo6kfDLB1XG9RPbpNnR+h3w SWyA==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793197729; x=1793802529; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=52JE5OmRquUnZ7n/agrFfi1aApM208mq6MRf+MaJsa8=; b=PCgUv6r6njn5ovod/Ps4Ilz+n8lP55l+zt9NXVOlngWi145sFIjy3UcusuqEAQSNjl hyC64cCGxro4y74J9qxiwhGhQGhjuvsej1+/KymcqxdZWUlE0MrF7yXBFkZy2A7Oqo7p pybb/gwpow+klHP53A+8CA+0MgZ0W7fmIRajn/K9nYazO338nu4gqxIP2B5BDwtiSqP3 b91PWT7eBXcCm43forBA2n/i3s8FdyhJghU9bMo0W1vPKk4Vtjg2kuTWL+tdKtqJZlDl LlwQM7IIjE4psRrCjkn8o3yV5uTThmE+34/X+KCDG10OaMDkhCB/OzF5fGBZCIgsbWIO CMqw== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793197729; x=1793802529; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=52JE5OmRquUnZ7n/agrFfi1aApM208mq6MRf+MaJsa8=; b=qL55k9ShccQAKsmvbm1XZ8iGMokaUt9/8eq2AOeOl5un1p6y/jkYuh6pD+RbbGoAKw IeyDsfx3pHX/Hteg76aL1se6o1JL/hFkx7DNlLPPS4uwdJqteH4cL0zjxiSEqT9bc+wl RMGYtNG/jElJbCROaew7gD4vzaMG1fvEt3pDeVeqj5LWY4AGSaPeqX32aUczq5IdtmVB RJhG89UhAd51QpST5R8jzX3HoeCKdLw6hUhD4DOMJ9HGv1dXXKx1hzW7BHjpKx42elrB X33YnZZT8KHgxMqfTEBIU+OPwo8cvSwyhzzWkvwqaefhK+5+CT094lgVcZKfMZbLCs6x QSWA== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYIYzdMQPtb1IgGJpzd4ccg1b9K1ExEQaXMZ+XwsmsbRJjNAro3O JJp3kPtvCWIq8VzYVU5lUa/uSYUW1yBumJQzwRBiLriBAkD4jfxbtDqNW4idtOGnNuenOxuAkbR KxyjHlWk5FqelyjEDGWDJNTpWh6Eeg7ElQAsOU7c= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou3awxGhHhbfWxiZm+baLdpqeoQx2UfLyz6SriXRmJUReGZoJCtEQ1xYvKYGNa3 POd2qugsgd9hmBktjZll+MvHU2yzREoNvxI8UiLUCUBuMXJkpcBM630pfY77G4VRVLa1XC2eluP HxCDG3rLMS1+1agQ+I1hhagE7g7JWPpv5qBP/mwfTDdICyoAHTZ1Fd7pNPqGEtbdHc2JA42YDDZ 2+zJ6a3smZwV+jOo+V4Cum7YIljnQ3m2gzzutu7OWRKo0tf+MF9hIyfPKXrml75eDDmFK9czf/G U3NWgYfNbCCjj2bWPDGwlpBPnT4fGsSgMila1RuMkKDSK7BsEpyWigonkc3WyKQSUd/R5kYTac9 I2iHfiPX/n80Xq043KWivQlL6dslMmbra4VnOZlD0Qm5vhxEo8Z4ieEzIsc0DNGyBCB2eX8oNq5 182PqujHHk/9cx/4tNrqxQ3u4VQmJqiF/eV3Iu+X9HwP0XIB27ShvdIyad9PBqZLD2iu5uDhhv4 gQFsAl/bdvEH01vCG77y8KJETeWoLV7n6DmFv/7/gyc/GDJvTXVo3TOgHocmpTmS+/hnDHX6pP/ WEq/rGlSP+4xL1H3mxqBRgpE2AiK8ZJBVKmQKVJjKaEeG62/N35oH89HWsO7BFKX4uKzyjmIcri 1zPmXumndkF+Gxg1oiCSYpkUjUCI7PFqtEItispzmmdWiyk1YGymoXyRROiJer3mzAN8= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:4390:b0:14d:ef19:246f with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6d00d1754mr4654909c88.45.1793197729151; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:28:49 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:28:31 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK-kqG8wS6EkIbKWQDxUWb8Ncz2U_z2_Pov7yPxGGmdw-5g3Legi_2JxcgE Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000a87f56065ee7616d" Subject: [Salon] AIPAC spies X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:28:51 -0000 --000000000000a87f56065ee7616d Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" https://www.instagram.com/reel/DfAIVAOyTOP/?dlrf=dThudnQzYXR0Zms= --000000000000a87f56065ee7616d Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable --000000000000a87f56065ee7616d-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 07:44:51 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3D8CEB0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:44:51 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 3D8CEB0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="ru9q0zx6" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 34E60BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:44:51 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f53.google.com (mail-dl1-f53.google.com [74.125.82.53]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 3068EBD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:44:51 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f53.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-156cbe59622so1165493c88.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:44:51 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793198690; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=R2stijs9s8PYggIkx7UDPC2foJ0zRx0YwfMXI01CauAtzd6WcdkhYHe4TMzrVfHEaQ RHc9J3FV/C+4FL5jcOIm4eS3dttm9XQMmnpGk7BmNr+Oy0sBZqevyMzVBwIl56801fC0 mmhuGYLRHevZS43F8H+Z9idel5xRWT6NAIq6M9dLqwmSDk84SQpnWFjS2L8TZGqlG319 nLkXd9/yNTLOr45a7f9aFuLu7IabAUatt6bDLZ7QrxQHiPmvs5msxzeW46zy+R0WJiX0 emqSgZ0oPQRA0pOAc2N/wJsaNdOAWfjU0a7qlraGY7/sjYaTwGnVnINRhbic8GgYWtzU jzMQ== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=vmQuZEjrZnVTDD1R1r0PDPgdeMRbIHkhlJWz/bl7dNU=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=XEMjMSXksCijVcSK5wHkQ+X/FLQpzzDqEpY/ZiVx0ST1Igzfh+Xigk2F5lKUYjwesM Ehixm0rYyPMiGt4GclrBPcFtgOuPMCw54my3EVF910JkDjnOzocSjADgmmiZqd4L+CAg RUX77/U/CobqO90kkCBzhXxwmzHohsPwe0M4bs1BpJMJtsZzm/xpu4E9XcEBOeM4KmGB P9biPKCfegh6j1cY5VtATNyGxrlV49D7zgUmr2pg/CWKjvX0eRkKiH+Z1i05U6QWtDaO TPxM7V4ZjSiXiADVekSEMKaUEcAxtly4LJbq4ejjZFB4pNgw1VKdIKjIH58i8zH/oeJ0 kYIg==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793198690; x=1793803490; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=vmQuZEjrZnVTDD1R1r0PDPgdeMRbIHkhlJWz/bl7dNU=; b=ru9q0zx6LacnfA7NGRDeIlPMzfWDWacTcYVulCvBtAeQL6sB9Y1gnHDzFX+2A8ly27 goNKjPgfk1wlvBBIO9j8FKnbq0Bb82VjpDYv9GStLxztNyZ6ecynIlcDXnQwapxlQVxC DHZnWdXo+7GdOwaNQMr0sLu9wqy+jFdN65ahALIsfe1saXXEfiFxXoljMVDEbDncGYeG +XBGLMcmTRhGXG1gGaNWVZbfVBIoGBsYMBOHoTp+N7+4xznf0nf4m6+1EA7M+hBdvqCc u830WEIgIqS0mGpXFMGYaEwksa7eHyYz4hgTvh9u1XixpapmRGs5sCngylE5v7USFPrg 57sg== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793198690; x=1793803490; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=vmQuZEjrZnVTDD1R1r0PDPgdeMRbIHkhlJWz/bl7dNU=; b=j7AlcCo1i4R+fkZZonmUBs+7PGEE2fSlbZequXfkAUUysxltq6QPsg5hLPrIi5wM4+ q45SI51qPXLOgxUaJuRHM2mSb/1V/22d5r6aaN+vZmUMJOJuSz8ZJl/HQC82Ip5MtLmp DJ4jPlARO3FJEi6JI+ns+xgLBGTZ5QNZaQAXMIOan3244umJovJbpe4tHeWsKwvz/B8L ag81mo3LIYjbf78jaTmPenjfstPXFIhh7iFLGgWXlo0OwBNZOT42CMt9ZFuHASGARdWE X72T2cd9bRIlRN+hjlsWUMeMwQYy3iARetI+ukAL1kKXDmYlpJLj60lg9gbDm9i1OQyd LGXA== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYJW9i5sgG7yWeTeQ3Iq1pZzK+p1zxV+cgx8EXkP0B3nt6Ned1P/ V5y9+/Jzjsq5tfvh9dTP9XXdB2bLlRS+xQNzPnxhczuTzUokgNoBNEwHSxosi9NLK9vqDLzbYC5 JRFYoYzgwnO1v6MpQylqq47cW0M1k/9WuR/kF6hk= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou019wYDqrj/R4wB1nJ7UsTkF1OdSpVfI/rK0P7ACO/fWYlrIyRqVWYm22r1FYA SpdVBVKdfKTqMiN/LkSWgJIck0IlFRSua6ED99iq5eTwBkt/SpL4xAt3eSHJmfZ63RMeUJ8qkA+ luAtBQL6bwPqraHEpw9YMeif8Ksiz8dKm/xDvsLrIew22YBZfnI88sHbMSscm13OK106jjT81Bh EhMOMOHv/4qI44rHUWhpVwjwoBtDxt98Xi/eZ7VUz69vBebkce1I2zXvQO9LNvZAAPHWMhhrbOO 9fjV/Zcr6H6aQJFn+JlI0z8rK+B3W6VjdewNOjEZRrfux2CIl7tua/evvLgd50u8xz8h6nJsO7K olFM9Ugiw60zInKsfT8gu/Q0sfuXi7cpd32DQiMZsuZz8Dwi8UdtzSlWdK5zke2suJpaK/r2qhI XDlDkQOt3F8M04J2VTqMg8YqGPk0OyzqN8GxuDbbIKBagIFwfaN+R+7sRQmeP4SLy1u+LJHVIxc Wf8nbOZpy1E6d94bNAUz92Zy7ldg1aWWasWUWa1PYK6zV/dp3s+VXilzyhPiEtacrInfNXUpmYe nolcjkQ2jy/GhP8MgVLFrCnqAjZaDCCDtJp6AL98gNJgh92Z/8QbdLIKg0W1ZtsHfuTKONAedhJ trZDM0+2w/WL6y8b/Gnf5ae3k8WML1LkUMKwYqqRV8uKhCSKX6d3D6q6KG5fQ/q4KYCw= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:6727:b0:155:7721:3a4c with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6d15f8182mr4805347c88.35.1793198689954; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:44:49 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:44:33 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK94tG0ZnPOMAUiF8nC2S_zrn7VMJmBLZ6rtAsN373JsNQbA2dbedtm4hvo Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000ed3155065ee79a96" Subject: [Salon] Stop Calling It an 'Operation.' Israeli Soldiers Aren't Exercising X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:44:51 -0000 --000000000000ed3155065ee79a96 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable *https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-10-28/ty-article-opinion/.premium/sto= p-calling-it-an-operation-israeli-soldiers-arent-exercising/000001a1-8256-d= 6da-a7eb-e7df4fae0000 * *Stop Calling It an 'Operation.' Israeli Soldiers Aren't Exercising* *Amira Hass =E2=80=A2 October 28 2026 * [image: An Israeli soldier in Hebron, last Friday. They know very well why they hide behind 'Hague masks.' They want to be able to enjoy themselves abroad without fear of prosecution, or get a well-paying job with an international security company.] *An Israeli soldier in Hebron, last Friday. They know very well why they hide behind 'Hague masks.' They want to be able to enjoy themselves abroad without fear of prosecution, or get a well-paying job with an international security company. Credit: Ammar Awad/Reuters* *From Hebron to Gaza, soldiers are carrying out expulsions of Palestinians under the guise of military operations. The euphemism obscures reality, allowing Smotrich's vision for a Palestinian-free land to advance* *This isn't an "operation." Stop this collaborationist use of military jargon that throws sand in people's eyes. Forcing people out of their homes, even if it's "until further notice," is not an operation. What the most moral army in the universe is perpetrating in Hebron since last Friday is another stage, another circle of hell in Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's "Decisive Plan."* *Nineteen-year-old soldiers and 24-year-old officers (your children and nephews and fianc=C3=A9s) may just be following orders, but they aren't participating in a nighttime field exercise. They are E.X.P.E.L.L.I.N.G people.* *They're expelling women, elderly people, youth and children. Under the bayonets of their rifles and the movement restrictions they have imposed, around 5,000 people, according to Hebron's municipality, have been forced to leave their homes. Some left in pajamas with a little bit of cash and the gold jewelry from their weddings =E2=80=93 if it hasn't been sold long = ago to mitigate the effects of the financial attacks Smotrich has perpetrated against the Palestinian subjects and the Palestinian Authority.* *Bulldozer drivers, who have been destroying residential, agricultural and commercial buildings and structures in the Hebron area during the past week =E2=80=93 aren't "enforcing the law." That phrase, too, is a smokescreen be= hind which generations of gray bureaucrats and zealous officers hide. All are engaged in mass expulsion. They enforce military orders that were designed from the outset to make life worse for a particular group of people =E2=80= =93 in other words, dispossession orders disguised as "planning and good governance."* *Israel's Civil Administration in the West Bank, which signs off on these demolition orders, isn't the executive branch of a system that respects the separation of powers. The "laws" weren't passed by an elected parliament but are part of the orders imposed by a military regime in which people in uniform and those who send them fulfill every role at once: rulers, lawmakers, judges and executioners.* *It's not the demolished buildings that are "illegal," but Israel's reign of terror over a native population deprived of its rights. It's not the occupants of those demolished homes who broke the law, but the officers who ordered their demolition and the soldiers, your children and our neighbors, who happily obeyed.* *They know very well why they hide behind "Hague masks." They want to be able to enjoy themselves abroad without fear of prosecution, or get a well-paying job with an international security companies.* *The word "evacuation" is also a tool for diluting awareness. In Jenin and Tulkarm, tens of thousands of residents of the refugee camps were "evacuated," and almost two years later, they still haven't been allowed to return to their destroyed neighborhoods. Let them emigrate to Jordan.* *In the Gaza Strip, evacuation made destruction possible and left some two million people homeless after they survived wall-to-wall bombing. Let them emigrate to Egypt.* *In the Democratic State for Jews (a temporary name), evacuation means expelling Palestinians from their homes for the sake of Jewish settlement. Period.* *With their enthusiastic obedience, the soldiers in Hebron draw a continuous line from the expulsions of the past, carried out by their parents, grandparents and uncles from 1948 onward, to the expulsions of the present, which they themselves, or their older brothers, have carried out and continue to carry out in Gaza.* *The expulsion they were ordered to carry out last weekend is another link in a chain of "operations": the expulsion of shepherding communities in the West Bank, ordered and orchestrated by the Civil Administration and carried out through settler harassment; the destruction of Bedouin communities in the Negev (following a series of past expulsions); and the expulsion of residents of Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem =E2=80=93 whether = through construction bans or home demolitions =E2=80=93 ordered and orchestrated by= the municipality and the Interior Ministry.* *I don't know whether we're currently in circle 13 or circle 54 of the Decisive Plan. It would be more accurate to say that we're in several circles simultaneously, all of which have been normalized and underreported.* *There's the ban on olive harvesting (where are the Jewish farmers from the Galilee and the Negev, kibbutzim and moshavim, who will be shocked and protest?). Settlers beat olive pickers until they bleed. It's routine. In the best case, soldiers stand on the sidelines. One may understand them. They are from the same settlement outposts, or guests there.* *Then there are the prison guards who starve and torture their prisoners, both on orders and by choice. The video game players keep bombing Gaza, factoring in advance the babies and the elderly as collateral damage. Settlers take over a home or set it on fire. It's all business as usual. On orders from settlement security coordinators, soldier lock the entrances and exits of the Palestinian ghettoes.* *Our language is crawling with words that normalize the reign of the military-settler junta and its atrocities. Israelis' family ties to the perpetrators numb them to any historical associations. And the shortage of space dilutes reality. Everything that is published is only a fraction of what is happening and fails to convey the collective sadism in which Israel is mired.* *The normalization, the underreporting and Israelis' refusal to see are enabling this chain of erasure, God willing, to keep extending, straight into the nightmare future that Smotrich has dreamed up. He is the mastermind who stands firmly on the shoulders of his predecessors.* *Thanks to this nightmare future, those respectable settlers from Judea and Samaria-land =E2=80=93 be they salt-of-the-earth sabra or newcomers with re= fined South African accents or charming French ones =E2=80=93 flocked to the poll= s on Tuesday to vote for Smotrich. After all, while expulsion is the goal, it's also effective election propaganda.* *It's no accident that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raced to Hebron to exploit the gun battle in which two Israeli soldiers and two armed Palestinians were killed last Friday. He was trying to compete with Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over who could make the most frightening threats.* *But don't worry; you're all frightening, because you're all determined to empty this land of Palestinians. And your rivals from the "anyone but Bibi" camp either aren't interested or don't object.* --000000000000ed3155065ee79a96 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Stop Calling It an 'Operation.' Israeli= Soldiers Aren't Exercising

Amira Hass= =C2=A0=E2=80=A2 October 28 2026=C2=A0
3D"An
An Israeli soldier in Hebron, last Frid= ay. They know very well why they hide behind 'Hague masks.' They wa= nt to be able to enjoy themselves abroad without fear of prosecution, or ge= t a well-paying job with an international security company.=C2= =A0Credit: Ammar Awad/Reuters

F= rom Hebron to Gaza, soldiers are carrying out expulsions of Palestinians un= der the guise of military operations. The euphemism obscures reality, allow= ing Smotrich's vision for a Palestinian-free land to advance

This isn't an "operation." Stop t= his collaborationist use of military jargon that throws sand in people'= s eyes. Forcing people out of their homes, even if it's "until fur= ther notice," is not an operation. What the most moral army in the uni= verse is perpetrating in Hebron since last Friday is another stage, another= circle of hell in Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's "Decisive Plan."

<= p style=3D"max-width:100%">Nineteen-year-old soldiers and 24-year-old of= ficers (your children and nephews and fianc=C3=A9s) may just be following o= rders, but they aren't participating in a nighttime field exercise. The= y are E.X.P.E.L.L.I.N.G people.

They&= #39;re expelling women, elderly people, youth and children. Under the bayon= ets of their rifles and the movement restrictions they have imposed, around= 5,000 people, according to Hebron's municipality, have been forced to = leave their homes. Some left in pajamas with a little bit of cash and the g= old jewelry from their weddings =E2=80=93 if it hasn't been sold long a= go to mitigate the effects of the financial attacks Smotrich has perpetrate= d against the Palestinian subjects and the Palestinian Authority.

Bulldozer drivers, who have been destroying re= sidential, agricultural and commercial buildings and structures in the Hebr= on area during the past week =E2=80=93 aren't "enforcing the law.&= quot; That phrase, too, is a smokescreen behind which generations of gray b= ureaucrats and zealous officers hide. All are engaged in mass expulsion. Th= ey enforce military orders that were designed from the outset to make life = worse for a particular group of people =E2=80=93 in other words, dispossess= ion orders disguised as "planning and good governance."

Israel's Civil Administration in the West = Bank, which signs off on these demolition orders, isn't the executive b= ranch of a system that respects the separation of powers. The "laws&qu= ot; weren't passed by an elected parliament but are part of the orders = imposed by a military regime in which people in uniform and those who send = them fulfill every role at once: rulers, lawmakers, judges and executioners= .

It's not the demolished buildin= gs that are "illegal," but Israel's reign of terror over a na= tive population deprived of its rights. It's not the occupants of those= demolished homes who broke the law, but the officers who ordered their dem= olition and the soldiers, your children and our neighbors, who happily obey= ed.

They know very well why they hide= behind "Hague masks= ." They want to be able to enjoy themselves abroad without fear of= prosecution, or get a well-paying job with an international security compa= nies.

The word "evacuation"= is also a tool for diluting awareness. In Jenin and Tulkarm, tens of thous= ands of residents of the refugee camps were "evacuated," and almo= st two years later, they still haven't been allowed to return to their = destroyed neighborhoods. Let them emigrate to Jordan.

In the Gaza Strip, evacuation made destruction possible an= d left some two million people homeless after they survived wall-to-wall bo= mbing. Let them emigrate to Egypt.

In= the Democratic State for Jews (a temporary name), evacuation means expelli= ng Palestinians from their homes for the sake of Jewish settlement. Period.=

With their enthusiastic obedience, t= he soldiers in Hebron draw a continuous line from the expulsions of the pas= t, carried out by their parents, grandparents and uncles from 1948 onward, = to the expulsions of the present, which they themselves, or their older bro= thers, have carried out and continue to carry out in Gaza.

The expulsion they were ordered to carry out last we= ekend is another link in a chain of "operations": the=C2=A0= expulsion of sheph= erding communities in the West Bank, ordered and orchestrated by the Ci= vil Administration and carried out through settler harassment; the destruct= ion of=C2=A0= Bedouin communities in the Negev=C2=A0(following a series = of past expulsions); and the=C2=A0expulsion of residents of Palestinian neighborhoods i= n East Jerusalem=C2=A0=E2=80=93 whether through constructi= on bans or home demolitions =E2=80=93 ordered and orchestrated by the munic= ipality and the Interior Ministry.

I = don't know whether we're currently in circle 13 or circle 54 of the= Decisive Plan. It would be more accurate to say that we're in several = circles simultaneously, all of which have been normalized and underreported= .

There's the ban on olive harves= ting (where are the Jewish farmers from the Galilee and the Negev, kibbutzi= m and moshavim, who will be shocked and protest?). Settlers beat olive pick= ers until they bleed. It's routine. In the best case, soldiers stand on= the sidelines. One may understand them. They are from the same settlement = outposts, or guests there.

Then there= are the prison guards who starve and torture their prisoners, both on orde= rs and by choice. The video game players keep bombing Gaza, factoring in ad= vance the babies and the elderly as collateral damage. Settlers take over a= home or set it on fire. It's all business as usual. On orders from set= tlement security coordinators, soldier lock the entrances and exits of the = Palestinian ghettoes.

Our language is= crawling with words that normalize the reign of the military-settler junta= and its atrocities. Israelis' family ties to the perpetrators numb the= m to any historical associations. And the shortage of space dilutes reality= . Everything that is published is only a fraction of what is happening and = fails to convey the collective sadism in which Israel is mired.

The normalization, the underreporting and Israel= is' refusal to see are enabling this chain of erasure, God willing, to = keep extending, straight into the nightmare future that Smotrich has dreame= d up. He is the mastermind who stands firmly on the shoulders of his predec= essors.

Thanks to this nightmare futu= re, those respectable settlers from Judea and Samaria-land =E2=80=93 be the= y salt-of-the-earth sabra or newcomers with refined South African accents o= r charming French ones =E2=80=93 flocked to the polls on Tuesday to vote fo= r Smotrich. After all, while expulsion is the goal, it's also effective= election propaganda.

It's no acc= ident that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raced to Hebron to exploit the= gun battle in which=C2=A0two Israeli soldiers and two armed Palestinians were killed l= ast Friday. He was trying to compete with Defense Minister Israel Katz = and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over who could make the most= frightening threats.

But don't w= orry; you're all frightening, because you're all determined to empt= y this land of Palestinians. And your rivals from the "anyone but Bibi= " camp either aren't interested or don't object.

=
--000000000000ed3155065ee79a96-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 09:40:09 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2E0F5B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:40:09 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 2E0F5B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="FCnVmmas" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 22716BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:40:09 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f44.google.com (mail-dl1-f44.google.com [74.125.82.44]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 211E3BD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:40:09 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f44.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-15943c9c005so44964c88.1 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:40:09 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793205608; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=pQJhmKUoQmn1X8zI3JgJJp4bt/ao9+3Zghcw09NRJ5W7dFfmXdtNXdpK3POWKAy8AJ Q3Igo541AD2iMXknEtge3euQPUE6Wf1Jj0sGfuXstfqEd9oxsjF5MCS79nDLXWECksJs vNivBjkdIwgMMIPEu2zvgy93fOebGte5PmfhP7y2Nzt5wUaXkNy5kc8kgYKYJW8Gq96j ov0Im/BWHHSZ5gBjXx2PbduYXqKXNmmvyWINxZcWtUNJ4wlIyT2T38/JOrCMptubzpg6 eMrgnDVxDEiEL7w2v7fe95DeTfSiC+wPxki+gCD+W4Bf05ubDSzkvLw2xq4qowUx2FCv Q9jQ== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:dkim-signature; bh=CopRu5iDmrNdj97/UucmJrnnCK+FVoWYL346qy7ICSs=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=YLG7hcatBT9Fh81ZFPFJexe/nx3o0OdACLyC5eGmHl8u6viB6XDWal9rAJKVavATJr YMxBQyDxA1wcbdBFt5xEs7t3q2fJvkJheAHpKD2VpmRH6x7BbPMvOiE79pkinZyDcMAu xuDciRvgpi2dIyRuEtJAngoPwKhKUhLI+YpvkVOxmg+Q4vKJgeYyy3SPh9UdaTqd+yF5 sge6kjRMfP1mJfJ8HnnI9Prm39+5mSEFaToGGCtUVz24jR0vOiVcFx4e+S97wANVUYWf kgjBBUe+SdMmSU3xUj3dp52+NmqdC17aEUzpoEva1pcxGBHLcHDdChVcO5xSUzOyp0Mx KRMw==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793205608; x=1793810408; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:from:to :cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=CopRu5iDmrNdj97/UucmJrnnCK+FVoWYL346qy7ICSs=; b=FCnVmmasMm4sgLrv2WW8h17CKOakh9d9G7s1MMt0+gN7Gr2Iiqc+NnHQRwrb3F+maF 3XN3YJCPpdQfHt3HPmJrWbIDKOYOgNLApN9V/pnBATVGlgcYLYYjtwZmfKiJGh0YF2sx kxwIY/Q1aJJ/e+LM0ibDHCDKpLuEwtr7IwCZlWOg3SVZ4i1yuEUUd1dfaiByW/IG2Mqh RwNgfZAwJBXkEPt1wbxlhGG3Ae96xgOlrFRf+4dZtdU0dcud+VUgdDUl0ZlxXeyo6Jkl 4eOxLVU6Gier367AK2CZ55/Ah8SIuJpiGrNPLO8P6q/XF5J16zmbX1C/bgsELpdX9Pdv TTNA== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793205608; x=1793810408; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:x-gm-gg :x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=CopRu5iDmrNdj97/UucmJrnnCK+FVoWYL346qy7ICSs=; b=nN00cLKpk7I33KyqI6BEiGkdkoJFZXtwAK2xDUtqu1svZNStpPjHkKNf7LzbEnczsn /MSLpLG72+tu2+Wf/BynwsPR+ktjDE6wEttHUUitJd9t9dhsaCPkddWrkgS9juLqmKo7 SIIcHHB89Fp10aHqLAgKIwdLwHXiT+6mIyEDAHrn7WXcmILrECKBV9xbdMW6BQzb29Mc aMJTPtXYGLKCaOpSrDxexh/VVh6hiiurLvpNiVGjC2xIP5G8C7gaCJkKLOIso0ELzXht zhP2Nx3f2r9k++XdqK7cjWOCy/POriEYeQa1Xs36A8ikvKmydwPATmNLAJFZVY1bzp1a 2Tcw== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYLqf7sGAoHyWwyvWEULucUigQV1BJgBL0RA+2strn4FxYLEAaJI j3Fx+3qME8l/pmuHQ7oEwtFwxDDuIKgFJotVggEJ2dGEbMgcBcwE1Ey3ym+nK5NjR2l82Fz/YJU j8qdEeV1SNskiON6w4E0vt4JoMTqLMYg3+PueYmlEeg== X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou22uMiVv0TOvMo9r90GxdvniekqINX095hiskw6D9Bsk7/cKhn8R6QaNRRpLXm RRPpxtmiGJhmHj3pW8THooUMwUp7/fpfM3AeM9cXSh2vhncN2Q/RbwK4Cl7hVtYMSFLHyTtQbpJ xNOtOY40PCDk5fG88ea3x6VNeViSP34xfG5lPdhfbgWNoQ2V47Urw6WQmOTxJgEP8uz68lGTxxY ppndd7NYPWRWYKz/X/s8LbLBygQGmmSsRXzyYLUfHFFa01GbrRDIQtg3HCJixg4w5x/WQ/Hdlfk 6Ys4p8WtbMAd2mKgGGuF08ERef1yZzbVNti21JYCALZheFWIx31lGHWdN6yTYRyCbMkYBpFmKub mgy5VMK30DN7x6Q46WB1vpSQL35oh5hQG3d1egdqNy/PfdAguhEXJAQZmBVPZzrdITLjB0s0out Wo+VV7kSd5w3V8KAoUec0vJqALuGtxl101ug6D/Kal4N1lNtUX/5PaYbtJDEiXzyHTtX6/ocVhp pOYIW30sTGU9KYLWPRi9/6CvUpi+nGUDsEbQFD8yl5zVduu5mQc/753WPubrgp1WXgum/2yd6hA ZzvwbwbQJeBzaWq6dVMAEVIkzhUvnOcKnQukzhReO47FSz89zlInIucXNP+JZl2VyKE+OFRE9Xk DiT2HpDLHUzTLAtjv0VqfpUqiauIgMNMHoeM6TCzAzePtFnT2lsGkCzY1TTGYyycYQHo= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:5f09:b0:19b:39f4:88c9 with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6cc4427fdmr3761757c88.10.1793205608262; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:40:08 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:39:51 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK9h4aC7gCUheK50RLD-ijOHZL_pCOComc6IaCJ6XxehRARneIVYp6Sn_Y8 Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000004a31c4065ee9377b" Subject: [Salon] Houthis Target Saudi's Biggest Refinery /Chas Freeman X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:40:09 -0000 --0000000000004a31c4065ee9377b Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPQphfKaKXs --0000000000004a31c4065ee9377b Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" --0000000000004a31c4065ee9377b-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 13:43:11 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0F780B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:43:11 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 0F780B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="DMI2dnWc" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 068E5BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:43:11 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dy1-f176.google.com (mail-dy1-f176.google.com [74.125.82.176]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 024F2BD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:43:11 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dy1-f176.google.com with SMTP id 5a478bee46e88-3645f0f3fcdso2526166eec.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:43:10 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793220190; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=Gd0qvMQI3oJ3yY+5moIq3HJYVQ3MF2Hx2cx0WjK5q/2rj5DfMITVC8UmNP4MNSTU8J 2r5LEHRri3yS//Ya/08PG90X6wmYeyMzhetw+KdzeQZPvTFva1LADtctS2EnZyQ7ZHr4 oL4o1eq/rzH2Tit3mTlAYsY6BPeAGfkEUIF/iTk6shHGc77XiL+5/AlCtjY+JUQ2WJm+ tSot7czmnIHE9UiixVwWz6hRn+ZCx3W8fxMCc01bD6l5aN3mtge9fVpS3G+WE6SkrqLO xHrpz22kZCv+edBzlswim0yfvWE4jwW1yjI9+f55NiAgwjYPXthxUsn1/AAIrVmUJCvb bsOw== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=X9Bs/RcEXWQ6b83vJAoB0t/QA2rr65DSs1nBC7ujaJM=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=Ljw+hymUzj+rAXBsZGQhazcA7Nw3Y7+VKXlpSepoPV6THDGxX3m2k18Hp+ls1Y3IGC z54J8af71T/vuB/kim0Rfrnd0Dr33PIOPHROtIitpzUQbuojVX5Uw4vx07fGlmLhiF9d 44I0fh7uiP4HXxZAHXAaOIyDzxNPnpJ94roRfng4hdgv8MHWKwu1LpOq/w9DEjn0XhlH 0RrYOKKpwXMwX95NRbVwDpxMj7Fs78DoxNLh7CrrJpEs50a+JSV/TJMbRPgLhxyIb7QH x/3ZbKT88Gya6XOaXepz5HXJVZwZsix4rrGpgrxpXwOj85n+ne8P4y1HGiDkB4wY/kjO wK+g==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793220190; x=1793824990; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=X9Bs/RcEXWQ6b83vJAoB0t/QA2rr65DSs1nBC7ujaJM=; b=DMI2dnWcr0+AMyY8rgzoLAp1A9r/TKpIxXNaPfISNR1/q1vE0mzff6o7M9OvmfGZXZ bcjxbxpG+FG1LCyvaxricUAUKTOHgE2AlaYwCwGvxefYPGtCzIkO8P3wIor2JWluglg9 Dvp8MQmXRC8iHn6FXgYwoRKKLOrohnTIXYQcwLcYxN03a2OBqyH9hgSu2SOePtZpK83Q lWFhUE18MNCOLjBxNkQ6MszjuT5kXeeWl3bjtSEkFsi1v1q2PBeXDsF+EJvtD/foJYQ+ RcWl4b5ILJSALsxu4Y8YwIATgj4i/DK+cfWrs6lfaae3zP0FNoYDTlpuOA6CyjWOF1yV NpoA== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793220190; x=1793824990; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=X9Bs/RcEXWQ6b83vJAoB0t/QA2rr65DSs1nBC7ujaJM=; b=rNhMEkSXhGCVnj3yhtyjOlXBdY5yOPm9Yd5ZcuW7OezYEUeehQp5FtqNWmgI0KQXKs /pYZSv2I69hv/+oCwhmZIoo909bwovCWOiiipu8UYBEpG3o1dkpnQWF1aC39JjbN6PAA h5rCybpBZam2AsTwxLSRjOGeXtYsC2BR7kUGxTbZ6EEaPFJZFk0kUlZ6gk67ed6lvzOB 7g82uPZEZtRJPvydRFA2fvXhHMnBHL4RwS5hTnimv2TzH+5ELH1qgm03los5d1CUjpLM YdA3kA2WGsFdDLK3R0KYU1N6r20GdKZEdjxOnNqitu2C19HIvGwWwFC/s34mec1I++A0 cUJw== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYLNoEAU5CGTFD9K2gsePUwbXw1bVpjwK6uf3BLN5WpHRpSzFCSv dBi2dWhMZkzUOIxJ+86tpuA2Mtr7JSnmAG1c7bSyTxFSPEKl+lAyr4UbIku53PO9ZAgp/P9RN9E pfJRZvaAF2EtUyNYjv7h0b5q1fizA/bc7EAA2cZg= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou0L+etQLC4ddMx+YNiU6+FghRY3mQpFPMZhTxAR0Qj4xToCuAByXJDxrZaP9pV NJq83+TpWDqJRe5yYy095xxsxc03Mk24l8HOSvSpDno/8tGZvmvWxTM29PlKK38CecI2IIpjwwH TXNKYRFGW4cES8/ZUGSOtjHmlrKUFJ+qMflKJ+2fJkP+3yE7DNkn22aPDzcHr4RU2S8mr/3G7e+ 0350UOv7CaYGcUbX8N/yp+s2XBqJO5l4c390WLPMHJfMbM1hGFvwrdutaxeyQWc4l93p7e/XpVz no/qzYBHY6T8QR9SrVpccOP75WHsLcRKSK5X55PmxeT83aRKWzvH7thRg7QFyxsyG6TW2CphDpE 9FEtgDG7E26jgyz20f35mqnLQxYGcoMRy3tvuVmKlPXOqmfdj4PS6jXM2RcZYnh3XdR4Yx3UNMY WRt1z+MG/xFpZOvwMO3vCyZBwSlIpZTSyRHa4bZNNCBmrs3sPCEIwLG6LU26eIj8M78MjYz/5Jk T1HU0d4/fiEeC7Jt4mxL3FK0hXF0rKVSVMCQT/+7dTXEgYTir/42tPWbj1ds9uPPjdthkY6kBiO pcAT/9DxePR9fUHZl1IVJMw3qBNoKaMck6P0CWVrLnci4zB8JY5cq6FuDKzscrRAizT3AsovvVa 3lC5gHAECNHV1TU5Qq24xywjmDC57aNOOD0GUx2MvFKnuWtNj87lReGtMB/mkrKc9m/U= X-Received: by 2002:a05:701b:458c:b0:17f:7280:134e with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6cef7a368mr3812471c88.32.1793220189990; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:43:09 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:42:54 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK9gzGoYgC6RwuLdeb2K1v6GzCVrNxrFJPZOQGUxnNYQ_zcxRXco1F24D-8 Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000006db5de065eec9c2e" Subject: [Salon] There is cautious optimism about ending the Ukraine war X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:43:11 -0000 --0000000000006db5de065eec9c2e Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable *https://www.indianpunchline.com/there-is-cautious-optimism-about-ending-th= e-ukraine-war/ * *There is cautious optimism about ending the Ukraine war* *October 28, 2026 by M. K. BHADRAKUMAR * *Russian President Vladimir Putin received the US Special Representative Stephen Witkoff, Constantine Palace, St. Petersburg, October 21, 2026* *The needle may not have moved on ending the Ukraine war but the joint phone call on October 27 by Finland=E2=80=99s President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St=C3=B8re to Russian President Vladimi= r Putin can be regarded as a defining moment. The two Nordic leaders insisted that their initiative was taken solely in their capacity as neighbours of Russia rather than on behalf of Europe, but the fact remains that their initiative was borne out of their exclusive meeting in Oslo on October 20 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US special envoy Stephen Witkoff.* *Russian expert opinion is that it is unlikely that Oslo and Helsinki acted without the consent of Brussels [EU] and Kyiv. But no one is making an issue of the white lie. Clearly, European countries are attempting to re-establish direct communication channels with Russia. Entry of Finland and Norway in the negotiation process indicates that even Ukraine=E2=80=99s= most vocal supporters are shifting their position in favor of dialogue with Russia. According to official data, Norway has provided Kyiv with nearly =E2=82=AC17 billion in aid, while Finland has provided =E2=82=AC5 billion.* *On October 21, Witkoff flew into St. Petersburg from Oslo to transmit some fresh proposals on Ukraine in light of his discussions, which is leading to the first trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia talks since the start of the year, tentatively planned for early November in Abu Dhabi. Zelensky said Stubb and St=C3=B8re debriefed him after the call to Putin and that he was gratef= ul for their =E2=80=9Cactive support.=E2=80=9D Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andr= ii Sybiha remarked that the call had been =E2=80=9Cthe right approach=E2=80=9D.* *The two Nordic leaders stated that their 90-minute call from Helsinki to Putin was part of =E2=80=9Cthe diplomatic efforts to end the war and promot= e peace and stability in Europe=E2=80=9D; the conversation had been =E2=80=9Cfrank = and substantive.=E2=80=9D St=C3=B8re added that there were =E2=80=9Cbig differe= nces in views=E2=80=9D with Putin.* *European Union is a divided house on how to go about engaging with Russia after riding the high horse all through the tumultuous years since Moscow= =E2=80=99s =E2=80=98special military operation=E2=80=99 began in February 2022. But th= ey are sensing that the last train is leaving the station and they should be on board.* *However, President Donald Trump is estimating from the feedback received from Witkoff on Putin=E2=80=99s reaction to the peace proposals =E2=80=93 w= hich followed his own call to Putin on October 9 =E2=80=93 that an opportune moment is at= hand to advance the peace process. By the way, Trump must be having a =E2=80=98feel= good=E2=80=99 over the mutually respectful working relationship between the Kremlin and his spouse Melania that resulted in a localized humanitarian ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the southern region of Kherson brokered by the US First Lady. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has suggested that the ceasefire in Oleshky could be a model for other areas of the contact line as well =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9Cespecially when it comes to the= positive, coordinating participation of American negotiators, including First Lady Melania Trump.=E2=80=9D* *In the downstream of the recent US-Russia Diesel Deal, a payment system needs to be put in place and Trump is reportedly considering the lifting of sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (an at least $10 billion sovereign wealth fund created by the Russian government to co=E2=80=91inves= t in the Russian economy). Suffice it to say, a door is opening for large projects involving American companies in other areas in the Russian economy as well.= * *Trump has virtually mothballed the Lindsey Graham Act empowering him to sanction Russia=E2=80=99s oil and gas exports. He is reportedly also planni= ng to have an agreement to import large volumes of Russian fertilizer to meet the demands of the American farmers. In political terms, Trump would probably explain all this as a strategy to =E2=80=98incentivize=E2=80=99 the Russian= side to be flexible at the negotiations but it will no doubt give stability and predictability to the overall Russian-American relationship.* *The Kremlin readout of Putin=E2=80=99s phone conversation with the two Nordic leaders made three k= ey points: first, it was emphasised that the thrust of the forthcoming trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US at Abu Dhabi in early November is =E2=80=9Cintended in particular to discuss ways to ensure the s= ecurity of both Russia and Ukraine once a complete cessation of hostilities is reached.=E2=80=9D* *Second, Putin underscored that =E2=80=9Ca just and lasting peace would be = possible only if the interests of the Russian Federation are considered in full and without any conditions attached.=E2=80=9D Third, Putin took exception t= o =E2=80=9Cthe EU and NATO=E2=80=99s confrontational policies which result in= prolonging the hostilities.=E2=80=9D The reference is to the escalatory moves by Europ= ean powers.* *Of course, the trilateral talks in November are not going to bring the conflict to an end. The EU countries are more focused on their status in a conflict resolution than apply themselves to making constructive proposals in the negotiating process, so their inclusion in the current format is irrelevant not possible for the time being. On the other hand, Moscow would realize that creating a new European security architecture without European participation is impossible.* *The Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov previously noted that dialogue with Europe is necessary, as it is the European Union that supports Kyiv. Peskov also previously spoke of openness to negotiations with Europe. There is no question that further developments depend largely on relations between Europe and the US. Most European countries continue to look up to Washington.* *In the entire history of the ex-colonial European powers, this week would have been a most humiliating experience, having to go to the Kremlin to engage with Putin whom they used to demonize like nobody=E2=80=99s business= till the other day. The two Nordic politicians, according to Ushakov, sheepishly asked Putin whether it is possible for Zelensky to have a meeting with him. These are the first signs that they are disowning and dispossessing Zelensky now that he is becoming a liability. Brussels is having a problem to find money for him to tide over the period till an agreement is reached. No one is willing to contribute =E2=80=93 not even Ge= rmany =E2=80=93 since everyone knows this money is never going to be returned.* *The unkindest cut of all is the suggestion from Witkoff and Jared Kushner that EU countries should resume sourcing Russian oil and gas. The two American negotiators gently advised that Nord Stream gas pipeline could be repaired and used. Per European media reports, American companies are talking to the Russians about reviving Nord Stream and selling Russian gas to the European market.* --0000000000006db5de065eec9c2e Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
https://= www.indianpunchline.com/there-is-cautious-optimism-about-ending-the-ukraine= -war/

The= re is cautious optimism about ending the Ukraine war

3D""Russian President Vladimir Putin received the = US Special Representative Stephen Witkoff, Constantine Palace, St. Petersbu= rg, October 21, 2026

The needle may not have moved on ending th= e Ukraine war but the joint phone call on October 27 by Finland=E2=80=99s P= resident Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St=C3=B8re= to Russian President Vladimir Putin can be regarded as a defining moment. = The two Nordic leaders insisted that their initiative was taken solely in t= heir capacity as neighbours of Russia rather than on behalf of Europe, but = the fact remains that their initiative was borne out of their exclusive mee= ting in Oslo on October 20 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and = US special envoy Stephen Witkoff.

Russian expert opinion is that it is u= nlikely that Oslo and Helsinki acted without the consent of Brussels [EU] a= nd Kyiv. But no one is making an issue of the white lie. Clearly, European = countries are attempting to re-establish direct communication channels with= Russia. Entry of Finland and Norway in the negotiation process indicates t= hat even Ukraine=E2=80=99s most vocal supporters are shifting their positio= n in favor of dialogue with Russia. According to official data, Norway has = provided Kyiv with nearly =E2=82=AC17 billion in aid, while Finland has pro= vided =E2=82=AC5 billion.

On October 21, Witkoff flew into St. Petersbur= g from Oslo to transmit some fresh proposals on Ukraine in light of his dis= cussions, which is leading to the first trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia talks = since the start of the year, tentatively planned for early November in Abu = Dhabi. Zelensky said Stubb and St=C3=B8re debriefed him after the call to P= utin and that he was grateful for their =E2=80=9Cactive support.=E2=80=9D U= krainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha remarked that the call had been =E2= =80=9Cthe right approach=E2=80=9D.

The two Nordic leaders stated that th= eir 90-minute call from Helsinki to Putin was part of =E2=80=9Cthe diplomat= ic efforts to end the war and promote peace and stability in Europe=E2=80= =9D; the conversation had been =E2=80=9Cfrank and substantive.=E2=80=9D St= =C3=B8re added that there were =E2=80=9Cbig differences in views=E2=80=9D w= ith Putin.

European Union is a divided house on how to go about engaging= with Russia after riding the high horse all through the tumultuous years s= ince Moscow=E2=80=99s =E2=80=98special military operation=E2=80=99 began in= February 2022. But they are sensing that the last train is leaving the sta= tion and they should be on board.

However, President Donald Trump is est= imating from the feedback received from Witkoff on Putin=E2=80=99s reaction= to the peace proposals =E2=80=93 which followed his own call to Putin on O= ctober 9 =E2=80=93 that an opportune moment is at hand to advance the peace= process. By the way, Trump must be having a =E2=80=98feel good=E2=80=99 ov= er the mutually respectful working relationship between the Kremlin and his= spouse Melania that resulted in a localized humanitarian ceasefire in the = Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the southern region of Kherson brokered= by the US First Lady. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has suggested that t= he ceasefire in Oleshky could be a model for other areas of the contact lin= e as well =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9Cespecially when it comes to the positive, coor= dinating participation of American negotiators, including First Lady Melani= a Trump.=E2=80=9D

In the downstream of the recent US-Russia Diesel Deal,= a payment system needs to be put in place and Trump is reportedly consider= ing the lifting of sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund (an at l= east $10 billion sovereign wealth fund created by the Russian government to= co=E2=80=91invest in the Russian economy). Suffice it to say, a door is op= ening for large projects involving American companies in other areas in the= Russian economy as well.

Trump has virtually mothballed the Lindsey Gra= ham Act empowering him to sanction Russia=E2=80=99s oil and gas exports. He= is reportedly also planning to have an agreement to import large volumes o= f Russian fertilizer to meet the demands of the American farmers. In politi= cal terms, Trump would probably explain all this as a strategy to =E2=80=98= incentivize=E2=80=99 the Russian side to be flexible at the negotiations bu= t it will no doubt give stability and predictability to the overall Russian= -American relationship.

The=C2=A0Kremlin readout=C2= =A0of Putin=E2=80=99s phone conversation with the two Nordic leaders= made three key points: first, it was emphasised that the thrust of the for= thcoming trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US at Abu Dhabi i= n early November is =E2=80=9Cintended in=C2=A0particular to=C2=A0discuss wa= ys to=C2=A0ensure the=C2=A0security of=C2=A0both Russia and=C2=A0Ukraine on= ce a=C2=A0complete cessation of=C2=A0hostilities is reached.=E2=80=9D

Se= cond, Putin underscored that =E2=80=9Ca=C2=A0just and=C2=A0lasting peace wo= uld be possible only if the=C2=A0interests of=C2=A0the=C2=A0Russian Federat= ion are considered in=C2=A0full and=C2=A0without any conditions attached.= =E2=80=9D Third, Putin took exception to =E2=80=9Cthe=C2=A0EU and=C2=A0NATO= =E2=80=99s confrontational policies which result in=C2=A0prolonging the=C2= =A0hostilities.=E2=80=9D The reference is to the escalatory moves by Europe= an powers.

Of course, the trilateral talks in November are not going to = bring the conflict to an end. The EU countries are more focused on their st= atus in a conflict resolution than apply themselves to making constructive = proposals in the negotiating process, so their inclusion in the current for= mat is irrelevant not possible for the time being. On the other hand, Mosco= w would realize that creating a new European security architecture without = European participation is impossible.

The Russian presidential aide Yuri= Ushakov previously noted that dialogue with Europe is necessary, as it is = the European Union that supports Kyiv. Peskov also previously spoke of open= ness to negotiations with Europe. There is no question that further develop= ments depend largely on relations between Europe and the US. Most European = countries continue to look up to Washington.

In the entire history of th= e ex-colonial European powers, this week would have been a most humiliating= experience, having to go to the Kremlin to engage with Putin whom they use= d to demonize like nobody=E2=80=99s business till the other day. The two No= rdic politicians, according to=C2=A0 Ushakov, sheepishly asked Putin whethe= r it is possible for Zelensky to have a meeting with him. These are the fir= st signs that they are disowning and dispossessing Zelensky now that he is = becoming a liability. Brussels is having a problem to find money for him to= tide over the period till an agreement is reached. No one is willing to co= ntribute =E2=80=93 not even Germany =E2=80=93 since everyone knows this mon= ey is never going to be returned.

The unkindest cut of all is the sugges= tion from Witkoff and Jared Kushner that EU countries should resume sourcin= g Russian oil and gas. The two American negotiators gently advised that Nor= d Stream gas pipeline could be repaired and used. Per European media report= s, American companies are talking to the Russians about reviving Nord Strea= m and selling Russian gas to the European market.

--0000000000006db5de065eec9c2e-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 13:57:29 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7EE74B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:57:29 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 7EE74B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="uomS4xEm" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 72ADCBD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:57:29 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f47.google.com (mail-dl1-f47.google.com [74.125.82.47]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 71349BD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:57:29 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f47.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-156cbe59622so1710712c88.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:57:29 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793221049; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=sYwPiufs701JkhHRKxE4H1j+txSFfQryDLelV4kWndPqw1jRxyS6w9n00oNlpUz51d LCEGZTWqfjs7Xv5awAvCs4mw0ng044XbFu9ydugE+JAzUveWnDz/o1kIGr7Mfn25iSd8 wTQN6/YcLvsEIl4S0lCCnEUZZMdnPkeYtDe/E7jtFLLQktfCusUwhfoVs/RYIW7wL+Rh OgZ4e5fGKfygvaLV994PeZsLNOQySrc0JQtRaFV/Rb4/ZPhqCClgd3LUxF8RB4e1h2fc 9X7vJqSkx7Gq2eSesU68NWTVCrxVocOuYXMuEgsUq59z+TMLd0MUb7OZdRbDoVcqXyd8 PPoQ== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:dkim-signature; bh=exYAV8kqDFNqR1sxRWgdGpwRFGYl0/6gQn+cfEQc2SA=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=IZ/BePSEEYayZ3i0IT8n6XaCxpvAdnb6nO2CkThfpGzofZmOEHxnqc/oJIn59BiLjn CPraVwl2Lhgdi53ZhfW7uHZzPSrweh2XCG2KuLqXLYHlVl73uqHus0yU6W7IbGwMSqiy 6HW3XBrgAxGaIwZkDg48lfIH+gnNXxOdpx6jzNdQgIh3ZGjM71FwZySVreuuyBAzphXh dtmjleHgtCMnI5f3yMEPHIhCf0k6JN9EQj5psAtHDSuVdnP9QM18u8Pmul0U2bLX7+fa lGgqEdnPE09sXeJN670Rx1k/8ddMSZj+NPDT0vY2wkhgW4r9ZsKDTkTQZL9rgn9kSGDT jEOQ==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793221049; x=1793825849; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:from:to :cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=exYAV8kqDFNqR1sxRWgdGpwRFGYl0/6gQn+cfEQc2SA=; b=uomS4xEmN8nxYCdgGWus3B7fosRvc35bNBF+mXGXRS4QLjER2htUSJVa35b387FiDU 7CBSMROEoTg1NP952dZ6Tf21yhaIFKiRFHIxg/qUYbe/Te1gnBaJbs5yYR6PaBWFfmAJ NnB9a1DF73pQnOVPBFKqN3XFK7fOiIyiAuqiQuNGRinDj+ySWyCswT/+6IMKXO0J5IaE xN6fUsR2C4nHf2aKAd/XCMbfkFZK90Wiayx6CIHY0bDd+aWEWuRc5ybIUhjmsR6wdOZs 3G1L9W7vQcxeXbseK0q/Xg+jwrPfHrlp+AvCl7Nck4TCVeWS6PX0xIZXI3Rc8/luMbzL wX+A== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793221049; x=1793825849; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:x-gm-gg :x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=exYAV8kqDFNqR1sxRWgdGpwRFGYl0/6gQn+cfEQc2SA=; b=e95AwitWP8Uo0ni0xkzm7aoiXLalO/FVfK/iQhEG2kf0OEhhnlekgE3QeDRaDiocIe Mj33OAE8AGTKIp1W4BaYls/tpvcUIfjYp3F3qaHjH/t1tNKSdmdTKw/Ggzrr01TBqy2u RdpNhuXf1NVkekQNNXr9TRu+SRrD6ilH9pA7FdQYDVOlHFB+5zu4G1HwBUuBCbuwIe0p BEiHzAFoHeschzLr6UknVfXx+AULqkixdgUpyBeXytESDa2zwhz4xU8raAuE7dtCx8K+ SszngvxMnqAEKj5a9AcwlibTS8ujIJOmsXb/fBG2mHplSurgo8c8OdwMa8bWO4q1Wss6 44yg== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYL6vMgBaV2dM9T6Hptjq6v49/UO2M7ReE/M3mEb+14TN5UOIRz3 IlmIWdLCU00qZQaFfvNjUTjHSKWih4jzvLX8zLU0IQ03CEbJLXc2CfjNgOMMXJ7CXt4TPpKMezl NeRXddQxYiI3rHJqgcyTxyMLYUGRgDuxtq/qhsqw= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou2e6ieF886mOlX/aZ64NhCfPbl14Rw8YLxZkCZTFYZf9wYDjLUDjIAqHsxPXNF X2JkJMBzEtaOmwmgRsycR9qhgkOX9Ry60Mi2klKXIaqmSYoLbgDV4P3oegkk96bZ568xh0OCzZy ipINX5AtabAEne8ma9Hju1x17+xKwqK1MFhNagirlVqmUNz0ZexqYCFMdbejz24NXzDecrQUFJr 6ddzuhEf9bogcS9aIQWP0JeDxbvx+3RFcufZmbiQippw3Z1ockhFEYV1lzSMvdek2clqZhXtg78 VFl3YR84f7aPpMfF41i6Uqt8k+H3O3rxlhOmiv2dImKnS2LbYuQScPrWbzz9Rz22Au5PBAjIKVw o5CmDufVbEgZ4CD6rWD93oFjYtj5lCpzoIwApStv0Z9n8LHLhsKFoxwxrRN5Qwu/EtYxrAc23wu O/qO8GteLVMjVujgXLPHNXst/sYen07RDBZtNnskb5Dk9ZUdv/YdqtnI2lLxRuQEJWoQj4EO3z5 cgattyQvTLIOr5HmVUSJUO+g6wL5EGue93Dscw7POXYVgK4l9a2uyJy1Qrof1P8JrNeV5pkqNXY UgCqhprW5iwYhpN86l/yf+b9u5ILvcJD1atop18ifSQlcsb9B3thqxGbKe2HUZV/jCo5hXEzsis iObTiAxD6WDIZSBNDai4aEH0jOSWRAqhuuwZWCL4v9oiGFk39bknnlOO+mhjK8uOjmzM= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7023:903:b0:14c:d84c:7182 with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6d00d2b52mr4837382c88.22.1793221048607; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:57:28 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:57:12 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK9wFIytolhFPK48Ko_pzSIsBiKiTH-VOV-0BWIWjdXGn6tEazNwqFU_Jvw Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000009b28c7065eeccf5a" Subject: [Salon] A Reflection on the Israeli Election X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:57:29 -0000 --0000000000009b28c7065eeccf5a Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" FM: John Whitbeck With more than 85% of votes having been counted, the distribution of the 120 Knesset seats is shaping up as follows: 53 seats for the five parties of the current government, 48 seats for the four anti-Bibi "Zionist" parties and 19 seats for the two anti-Bibi "Arab" parties. While there may be slight changes when the final apportionment of seats is announced on Friday, the fundamental electoral landscape has been set for the coalition building negotiations that follows all Israeli elections. The basics: 1. A majority of *Jewish* Israeli voters support the current government. 2. A majority of *all* Israeli voters oppose the current government. 3. A stable "Change" government could be formed by the four anti-Bibi "Zionist" parties and the two anti-Bibi "Arab" parties. 4. If the anti-Bibi "Zionist" parties spurn the opportunity to form a democratic, non-racist coalition with the anti-Bibi "Arab" parties, which have made clear their desire to join forces to oust Bibi from power, it will constitute incontrovertible proof that, for "Zionists", racism is a value that trumps all other values and even the common political lust for power. Unfortunately, two other scenarios are far more likely that the formation of a democratic, non-racist coalition of the six anti-Bibi parties: 1. The "Zionist" parties live up to their pledges to treat the "Arab" parties as untouchables, no "Zionist" coalition can be formed and the current government stays in power as a "caretaker" government until a new election roughly six months from now. 2. The three extreme-right anti-Bibi "Zionist" parties (Yashar, B'Yachad and Yisrael Beytenu), which have no significant ideological or policy differences (only personal differences) with Bibi, form a four-party coalition with Bibi's Likud Party (with or, more likely, without Bibi, who, at 77 and in less than robust health, might agree to retire from active politics on a relative high in return for a presidential pardon in his corruption trials). While such a coalition, excluding the two lunatic-right parties of Ben Gvir and Smotrich and the two ultra-Orthodox parties, could produce significant changes in some purely domestic matters, it would change nothing in Israel's behavior outside its internationally recognized borders. New or intensified wars would probably enhance the chances for the realization of this scenario. --0000000000009b28c7065eeccf5a Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
FM: John = Whitbeck

= With more than 85% of votes having been cou= nted, the distribution of the 120 Knesset seats is shaping up as follows: 5= 3 seats for the five parties of the current government, 48 seats for the fo= ur anti-Bibi "Zionist" parties and 19 seats for the two anti-Bibi= "Arab" parties.

While there may be slight= changes when the final apportionment of seats is announced on Friday, the = fundamental electoral landscape has been set for the coalition building neg= otiations that follows all Israeli elections.

The ba= sics:

1. A majority of Jewish Israeli voters support th= e current government.

2. A majority of all Israeli vote= rs oppose the current government.

3. A stable "= Change" government could be formed by the four anti-Bibi "Zionist= " parties and the two anti-Bibi "Arab" parties.

4. If the anti-Bibi "Zionist" parties spurn the opport= unity to form a democratic, non-racist coalition with the anti-Bibi "A= rab" parties, which have made clear their desire to join forces to ous= t Bibi from power, it will constitute incontrovertible proof that, for &quo= t;Zionists", racism is a value that trumps all other values and even t= he common political lust for power.
Unfortunately, t= wo other scenarios are far more likely that the formation of a democratic, = non-racist coalition of the six anti-Bibi parties:

1= . The "Zionist" parties live up to their pledges to treat the &qu= ot;Arab" parties as untouchables, no "Zionist" coalition can= be formed and the current government stays in power as a "caretaker&q= uot; government until a new election roughly six months from now.
2. The three extreme-right anti-Bibi "Zionist" part= ies (Yashar, B'Yachad and Yisrael Beytenu), which have no significant i= deological or policy differences (only personal differences) with Bibi, for= m a four-party coalition with Bibi's Likud Party (with or, more likely,= without Bibi, who, at 77 and in less than robust health, might agree to re= tire from active politics on a relative high in return for a presidential p= ardon in his corruption trials). While such a coalition, excluding the two = lunatic-right parties of Ben Gvir and Smotrich and the two ultra-Orthodox p= arties, could produce significant changes in some purely domestic matters, = it would change nothing in Israel's behavior outside its internationall= y recognized borders. New or intensified wars would probably enhance the ch= ances for the realization of this scenario.
--0000000000009b28c7065eeccf5a-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 14:30:26 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5CFAEB0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:30:26 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net 5CFAEB0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="qW+7rHfk" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 51669BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:30:26 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dy1-f179.google.com (mail-dy1-f179.google.com [74.125.82.179]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 4C96FBD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:30:26 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dy1-f179.google.com with SMTP id 5a478bee46e88-369f33df08eso2718178eec.0 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:30:26 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793223026; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=DkIOWHqwcBjuKoCfJlRsg9qgGDu32hVxH7U2Yh4Mp/U1XlD1qgNIkrP+ZZAO5soPHV WXRztUILwoEHgbpZuPlfIYWifoiRLOZhqxwy7HG2Sb18eJ01vZm28TfQb1LDtGLNZrr7 F438CxXS6a5BvMDv66E6aTQZS50MFHnGBGnpkbsAFb3xuoS+L53owiPvPhKadSrER/g6 9aAp+WA4K+YkUBPRA7/OtTfHVkIpFae4qZGqRLzHYPzyFZGobr4m2rQUjoDm8R5Lo/1q x1IM4qv1P8KedflITsfXz4sWQ9WH77gmF8WoAMJ9ujowNy5UQJSWJwilOtNqiOUXY000 aeMw== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:dkim-signature; bh=PtsaQHBDDntc3OTFMhlELg42OHQsyufQQxjgWbW7iE8=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=IpMiniDWDsYJap6efTWQIsOZX7T63/lbg8CYTQRKE8LEmxsW/sbgjI1+rnGDdPu5ry 2l/ZtSy0i/QA3TqdepQvmRSCrygzdZmH49eAAREM5SXZmhvR0WgCl46TQRLO4Vzyt3xU GC2+bNTVywY1FDzoV8LM66dZ8zqhzPs1MNrGmjKJLGp+gx4cvKD1wmI5CwQ+tY77xgpx vTHBLj/caIJxOGain2dqnSstJIKCa26LlEMzT73eLT8eKt7FuXifoISz7IybNqRiGm+6 G0PFxDd09sXL56vyJC5P5Bp5+BXX40pGy5qZJe9JSbwoHP8PP5g8iKYQDMR5ujAFlJPP 3N1w==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793223026; x=1793827826; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:from:to :cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=PtsaQHBDDntc3OTFMhlELg42OHQsyufQQxjgWbW7iE8=; b=qW+7rHfk5lnrfMzo/s+nvxOFlz0nVqtSFGfoR19hlQBbfq5slrHhEZYKdRRWfZM8Qz ZEjhtCIb1ItA12jfnPpiT+Iez1Je+2lkLgkUJQGQ2eYTYuCl+DKK1SrFYWAfFzfkGn6Y s3t32cLxjLPlHV/2o7rKoJPr58I+0ew55KtBQSybmMSLYDC7S9ryQXnDWa+diEa8Euky czDxO+wntqnHA6MBParpVYFod/zYZl4VvfmR+44SSOPQRHaB/WjJaM79379DwdfY78to IGOYgqn7lLQZoy8VXku7jhdRWLRD7yzwre8BEKW0stQauV6WWA11UtDLg6LlwHW0AZ2X kTSQ== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793223026; x=1793827826; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:mime-version:x-gm-gg :x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=PtsaQHBDDntc3OTFMhlELg42OHQsyufQQxjgWbW7iE8=; b=j96fZ1Un1ac2sTPC5ZNdO14C2PUWNOO387ElE8632JWXth8xkWRfrRHeLI88xKNkc6 j+Uzxkd2fopy1LmvuyIdmrNK5Pl+oTAPIj0QqxvPdPJIz/CUqGDlYh1AzxG2ChKaXwCH 1kzg2OhJRSBWwZVpN/VPFgtcbJBYTzLhJrKycGkhimt0dmolAgKQ5knvBa4+lynH5S50 lNtUWTrzv8SmAPqPhqDjOluQbeVIFv/dOYAlPc5RE8nMYlo2WdyMmEbgTQo0k8EZV4wz gnaGXCudZcK0ZywzFZWETNwnCJuGS0VOCDtlm+yu1pq704UzB7K3ikR+4Yg9GOhvqmxu ++Fg== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYJAw0gjIGqsesdxAt6ni4n6Buu0brYEVAQ8JNxrsy099dC3/mBI Cfjb1TcCIBzpucwA5xR5qUiIVJKBaGiwifr835+UroXKkdLJa4Wwg0xyrLEUo4pdsDZvZmLKvQz gjex42xZHT1sAr7qCFGDZ/xsjNhde+Zue4CD8GvQ8uQ== X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou2TC2PREs69ILumC1vslCIvIZQKtdEVeNBScS9+rWBxUyv+fQK4tOpOrPwWoMj AS1+IP1Qkd+Ia5BV2cUZV0amlzQsN3L6FwaTwW2rXTSoinIDc820zUgqpuE7781suJlYVtv5y3b mfa88G1dsU3rx46d96mTVn9CHxwsjSdQ+AljSxrAQ7iCb//9r+xMYqeYuXIvsDoepeygPw2HIMy 5C7Xd59YEWRQx6eMuAm/28l+oI8eZdSj68DZOON/O8Di4/gydtG8hYgQ3rbnO8aFGYkCzAcufPA Y9X3w7UqxftT+BqjtNzbSJjFpvrPRpDhdIgJMa1rN2vAmo1Tv+wvsz4384nc0UY3XN2T8bUHq5c UYUy77tLTSBh3jfrxWEb5DuZ3tfYE0DoWbxfIfEvpmdoSy4jvxLdTeikuS+x4VlTKaWTpj6NC4g qJhCF7wRKNcQP33fk/hyxODnzPOhT1mdQYnqkg2IuYg4ICClqiKQnZuYBhAmLoHmYiJJH997V2e UO3tv/f4NPvtj1N0iQV0n3y5gjwEDEC/gZF06vOB51FYHiCid3XkOcTp889u5ePQAnKjk1kKKsQ zV4V0iCSa8eHaSkQXWCoBIPz4p/KXztPmbUZhTl9Pre80mbzEjXW1T6uhXgrHulzuRUoZ/I+AZi cCY6w+SPK/VAvJ2zL52OVBOsMf2/hNeXXfR2ZnY5CjhKWdZpwofGxqRNd1qk/ZmNTSC0= X-Received: by 2002:a05:701b:2402:b0:168:6ad8:e88c with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6d1bbc137mr4354000c88.39.1793223025417; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:30:25 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:30:08 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK-dPxu8lK_fVx-b0o4PMwQidmRnXxRxHveAMgkde48GwlZNotoDMmSCwQo Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000006ee1f7065eed4552" Subject: [Salon] Bolsonaro Accidentally Arrested by ICE Minutes After Arriving from Brazil X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 21:30:26 -0000 --0000000000006ee1f7065eed4552 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Bolsonaro Accidentally Arrested by ICE Minutes After Arriving from Brazil Andy Borowitz Oct 28 READ IN APP Ricardo Arduengo / AFP via Getty Images MIAMI (The Borowitz Report )=E2=80=94 In an embarrassing misstep for the Department of Homeland Security, on Wednesday the failed Brazilian presidential candidate Fl=C3=A1vio Bolsonaro= was arrested by ICE agents just moments after he landed in Miami. Bolsonaro, who had been expecting a warm welcome from his political ally, Donald J. Trump, appeared startled when seven immigration officers wrestled him to the ground and zip-tied him. At a hastily-called press conference in Washington, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that the agents mistook Bolsonaro for a Latino man they had chased earlier this week in a Home Depot parking lot. =E2=80=9CInitially, our brave ICE agents thought Mr. Bolsonaro with that su= spect, who entered our country illegally to find work to feed his family,=E2=80=9D= Mullin said. =E2=80=9CBut once he offered proof that he was a fugitive money laund= erer, they let him go.=E2=80=9D --0000000000006ee1f7065eed4552 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<= /table>
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more

Bolsonaro = Accidentally Arrested by ICE Minutes After Arriving from Brazil

Oct = 28
=C2=A0<= /td>
= =
3D""
3D""
3D""
3D""
=
READ IN APP3D""
=C2=A0
3D""
Ricardo Arduengo / AFP via Getty Images

MIAMI (The Borowitz= Report)=E2=80=94 In an embarrassing misstep for the Department of Home= land Security, on Wednesday the failed Brazilian presidential candidate Fl= =C3=A1vio Bolsonaro was arrested by ICE agents just moments after he landed= in Miami.

Bolsonaro, who had been expecting a warm we= lcome from his political ally, Donald J. Trump, appeared startled when seve= n immigration officers wrestled him to the ground and zip-tied him.

At a hastily-called press conference in Washington, DHS Secre= tary Markwayne Mullin said that the agents mistook Bolsonaro for a Latino m= an they had chased earlier this week in a Home Depot parking lot.

=E2=80=9CInitially, our brave ICE agents thought Mr. Bolsonaro = with that suspect, who entered our country illegally to find work to feed h= is family,=E2=80=9D Mullin said. =E2=80=9CBut once he offered proof that he= was a fugitive money launderer, they let him go.=E2=80=9D

<= /div> --0000000000006ee1f7065eed4552-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 14:32:07 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id EE569B0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:32:06 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net EE569B0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="D09YGN0O" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id E5CF5BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:32:06 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dy1-f176.google.com (mail-dy1-f176.google.com [74.125.82.176]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id DFC37BD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:32:06 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dy1-f176.google.com with SMTP id 5a478bee46e88-36a17a332ecso2024501eec.1 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:32:06 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793223126; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=sMWp61XKNwYcg+cb13pNU/Vflt3zqyEnsXKImDgnHFke+g6wYXxsS+dVnevpBjMvc1 hAX0jExBaJOx9ZHccdBLxW+oNorO65o5VJhhfmDhRTxElTuHkM4RX7mczUbJO/IC055p ohMOhXXMI00mgnX3PAJQ6CQ+7NkgzVLtJmevvE715qpt7hGn+D08G/DX0pAjpXw1jg7G yoEsMVvjbreVSWOEVP3mgpl8vOLmd9OVEbopJBMWw+Zrtz8k3rddLL2LrjlhquqsY0sE WQ9keBVP3MqG6yAOdNLeogV8C3wIVnn+clAKLzmfFSUz20aucUvbZKqS4SQxw+1JmN0F o1iQ== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=Q3wocS0Eufm7z/Bkv8llGH9/zhzVVelgKJk8wOuRpW4=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=YL2ok/Ctcs98xjjfdBvtqMF0MaVPrakiShwj3eBySC+DCkP9At1HOm9hjG/q1Ya2H6 eDd6XwqpoutM4cGkLNzCK2omfdVWdLG3tS1bgN2wVAyk6RF+PJUEzKOyshHb3CdmbFDh wetKEq+TovC85/6kUBwyy1bFrSGC7u3L69w+ElHYtMv8Mzr7XmZqzVMmOSjVpm/nXpxg INC4QupVl/uFTwFkdMmck+3mPE56uEFLoPdg7xGcqiX1kNGdo7RFA8pwG6PgKj088ij3 kKT7KaJ2YQj1X/+6eVf7Q8ocnVInVZNIz+/anDVYf1OFJQENEJCPVYWUn+ic29gGK5iq gPjw==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793223126; x=1793827926; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=Q3wocS0Eufm7z/Bkv8llGH9/zhzVVelgKJk8wOuRpW4=; b=D09YGN0OpcxBeebfCdbsACpQaUwaD6cCVfegwh4xjVu9b5e4nwX4/5KnPXANVAZbPo au3HejDaj5bsCyjhdRf/IBkrnIXDcOKTNeV+XWDS8wIGt3975EYyWvE3k8oCzhGGkpkH EgQsbvdHlXwUa5vdRMvS4Kb/oUbIUeyVLbxDZXaW3dCSUAcELO4y/E9656wYFAwGtJE9 uhcMDZTC6FXdGvwPjxRSrUA7PIzaw1SHmA3qaagMU8Tlu//FLUWauJPGELmwMpOkrJFE bOLg2lBFAhLl4IMy27YYJep+0AeteCpVj3ZI8V3B+PoPjqn1gzxW3FQd5dUHFy/wI9SH nhkw== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793223126; x=1793827926; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=Q3wocS0Eufm7z/Bkv8llGH9/zhzVVelgKJk8wOuRpW4=; b=BQ7TdEAK27PKD10SX/Nw4aSam3y0PaspH6CVzGfXAilKXU5H1MXWxlZPeCFEKYE1Xy J+vZcSYjeYdnLjLhN47ZDj2YWZLZ8R0MfV/jrAyqJzYi4Fe8ZsLuEYhwy7MCMQca+uLf hHZXtUP2xBK1KCjW7+ihKjIc6RDU8zenwWg/TdR8L6AKAO6IyVW6CACp4qc2p7WKRM37 sjEUVIAf5yXIYpIfsBLGLcONvX+tLtgnqk3NrzRjFy8yDC55e5rTltLghFbdtLNBzNVB CXBO4vfZXSwA5uxSABihnVdD5qsqaHqoxAE7M5idt8uXiSH1uZKsCSzZLywtCfZufleH Xckw== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYJhO75ZdclrBNp1eGoBnaK6iKHPjQsvIckQJUtPvhdjLQQdytqV zaCMSIAIJq2pp/IAOr6J9vQICbISrEjSkMYT7Ab4t4WeyZzHuCWUvnmosg0JxvtNQ/B34atvqKU fnuoBGyo9CWVn8mby8BMHfuPCzOHnZvTfneigZxU= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou2iGGgWlPH45TlR0rDkjTLgxcrEnRtxvJcm8gwt4HMrqC2T1S7jhg0cR4tLvF3 kfGKaAyYR9ph35Wd7fOoR/NTqGH2gqoZo54PGO2zUKy93Sdqoep2YXii+L1RDnDKpICZeqFjH4M erC6ZeIeoFeYRQbQDeaQzBdBDIPR/veF8M5Q5JdS76lam4jpsSs++KJi/KpCGdVg+xyGooZMu5z 6d1PLZo+f04pSLGrtpOPQO5haaR/MVLBNSAzUJ/jCOHmJvPZBtqElSKqT03HNwvMmYk3+EWGagp cLR0b7INkr6ccpfkIYgtIcEAghfUQCLdSzUzyrJvTOB4y51nqftbWKBE0YQ6EkLAtxnIhq0Skpf kG7ZkZ9gtA5Wr/zsTJB5vHBCJ9TA8q4O+Uvob/+zObI/1pTW4GH8413aKHvvaCdhS4iMYUksOY6 zeBoq3MCPHsi/gWqRrtKtW9wxfDXBPaW14kDmi8xh8KqP7wFDJFhUpTVV0Qu29jgCABgjkjYrva TptVjYBlRKuRUL4mnFjRysZwICMLA43CT+CofLIZ2DYAjoto2EKUHgqoRkEH4t5DNHhqbQa1dvT 0OnV/wfVZSOIzd6BxsNFJf8iWCz1zhhJpXmBMFufGbLD8dTHNrTil74L3/JWJkLQhJsO6PxmZVk mjcCQWr6mHzp1BJCCA28Rmccko/OPzLdKV2xetLlZHcblj9pTWaCO2tNGA1o6VyJw5NY= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:1217:b0:1a5:8f40:6cb4 with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6cef7abb8mr4555362c88.34.1793223125911; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:32:05 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:31:48 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK_Lvv-Km90_82lz-fIxyziJdpobxm2VSogERHWS694FBfa-vHmpBjBnQZE Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000006c4cd9065eed4b94" Subject: [Salon] Former US officials who resigned over Gaza urge 2028 presidential candidates to reject architects of Biden-era policy X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 21:32:07 -0000 --0000000000006c4cd9065eed4b94 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable *https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20261028-former-us-officials-who-resigne= d-over-gaza-urge-2028-presidential-candidates-to-reject-architects-of-biden= -era-policy/ * 10/28/26 *Former US officials who resigned over Gaza urge 2028 presidential candidates to reject architects of Biden-era policy* [image: A United States flag waves in front of the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C., United States, on September 24, 2025. [Yasin =C3=96zt=C3=BCrk - Anadolu Agency]] *A group of former US government officials who resigned because of Washington=E2=80=99s policy in the Gaza Strip has urged candidates seeking = the 2028 presidential nomination to pledge not to appoint officials they said enabled Israel=E2=80=99s genocide in the enclave, Anadolu reports.* *=E2=80=9CSenior Biden Administration officials who were architects of the = Gaza policy are now actively white-washing their own roles in enabling genocide,=E2=80=9D Gaza Resignees said in a statement signed by 12 former officials.* *=E2=80=9CThey violated U.S. and international law by providing U.S. weapon= s while Israel indiscriminately and disproportionately attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure, and as Israel arbitrarily blocked humanitarian assistance to Gaza,=E2=80=9D it said.* *The signatories include former State Department officials Josh Paul, Annelle Sheline and Stacy Gilbert, former diplomats Hala Rharrit and Mike Casey, former White House official Anna Del Castillo and former USAID senior adviser Alexander Smith. Also among them are former Army officer and Defense Intelligence Agency official Harrison Mann, former Air Force Maj. Riley Livermore, former Navy Lt. Cmdr. Hani Z. Nofal and former political appointees Tariq Habash of the Education Department and Lily Greenberg Call of the Interior Department.* *=E2=80=9CNot even two years since the end of their disastrous time in offi= ce, many of these same officials appear to be pursuing a path back into the halls of power,=E2=80=9D they said.* *=E2=80=9CThe most basic level of accountability, the most minimal level of consequences, is to ensure that those who have wreaked so much harm from within the highest levels of our Government cannot return to it,=E2=80=9D a= ccording to the statement.* *The group said that =E2=80=9CGaza has become a litmus test for the credibi= lity of American politicians and the viability, in particular, of Democratic candidates.=E2=80=9D* *READ: US senator calls for accountability over Israel=E2=80=99s killing of= 9 Americans in occupied West Bank * *The pledge asks candidates to acknowledge US =E2=80=9Ccomplicity=E2=80=9D = in Israel=E2=80=99s genocide in Gaza. It also asks them to exclude any past or present political appointee who was =E2=80=9Can architect, leader, defender, or key enabler=E2=80=9D of the policy.* *In a video released with the statement, the former officials took turns reading the call over images of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who now sits on the board of directors of the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank.* *=E2=80=9CWe have watched as elite institutions have welcomed these officia= ls,=E2=80=9D said Mann, as the video showed former White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, who is now with venture capital firm Lux Capital and a CNN commentator. It also showed former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and former USAID Administrator Samantha Power, who both joined Harvard Kennedy School after leaving office.* *=E2=80=9CWe have watched as these officials have tried to launder their bl= oody reputations,=E2=80=9D Paul said, with Rharrit adding, =E2=80=9Cand prepare = to re-enter the halls of power.=E2=80=9D* *=E2=80=9CAnd we say, enough,=E2=80=9D the former officials said in the vid= eo. =E2=80=9CEnough with the culture of impunity in Washington. Enough with policies that break our laws and defy our values.=E2=80=9D* *=E2=80=9CThey have blood on their hands,=E2=80=9D they added.* *Top Biden administration officials at that time acknowledged civilian suffering in Gaza but defended Israel=E2=80=99s right to defend itself foll= owing the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.* *US-made weapons were photographed several times in Israeli strikes in Gaza, although US authorities have declined to confirm this.* *Since October 2023, Israel=E2=80=99s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more= than 74,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded over 175,000, according to Gaza=E2=80=99s Health Ministry. It has also caused widespread destruction affecting around 90% of the territory=E2=80=99s civilian infrastructure.* *More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since an October 2025 ceasefire went into effect.* --0000000000006c4cd9065eed4b94 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
https://ww= w.middleeastmonitor.com/20261028-former-us-officials-who-resigned-over-gaza= -urge-2028-presidential-candidates-to-reject-architects-of-biden-era-policy= /

10/28/26
<= div style=3D"font-family:georgia,serif">

Former US officials who resigned over Gaza urge 2028 pres= idential candidates to reject architects of Biden-era policy
3D"A

A group of former US= government officials who resigned because of Washington=E2=80=99s policy i= n the Gaza Strip has urged candidates seeking the 2028 presidential nominat= ion to pledge not to appoint officials they said enabled Israel=E2=80=99s g= enocide in the enclave,=C2=A0Anad= olu reports.

=E2=80=9CSenior Biden Administration officials who wer= e architects of the Gaza policy are now actively white-washing their own ro= les in enabling genocide,=E2=80=9D Gaza Resignees said in a statement signe= d by 12 former officials.

=E2=80=9CThey violated U.S. and international = law by providing U.S. weapons while Israel indiscriminately and disproporti= onately attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure, and as Israel arbit= rarily blocked humanitarian assistance to Gaza,=E2=80=9D it said.

The si= gnatories include former State Department officials Josh Paul, Annelle Shel= ine and Stacy Gilbert, former diplomats Hala Rharrit and Mike Casey, former= White House official Anna Del Castillo and former USAID senior adviser Ale= xander Smith. Also among them are former Army officer and Defense Intellige= nce Agency official Harrison Mann, former Air Force Maj. Riley Livermore, f= ormer Navy Lt. Cmdr. Hani Z. Nofal and former political appointees Tariq Ha= bash of the Education Department and Lily Greenberg Call of the Interior De= partment.

=E2=80=9CNot even two years since the end of their disastrous = time in office, many of these same officials appear to be pursuing a path b= ack into the halls of power,=E2=80=9D they said.

=E2=80=9CThe most basic= level of accountability, the most minimal level of consequences, is to ens= ure that those who have wreaked so much harm from within the highest levels= of our Government cannot return to it,=E2=80=9D according to the statement= .

The group said that =E2=80=9CGaza has become a litmus test for the cre= dibility of American politicians and the viability, in particular, of Democ= ratic candidates.=E2=80=9D

READ:=C2=A0US senator calls for accountability over Israel=E2=80=99s killing of= 9 Americans in occupied West Bank

The pledge asks candidates t= o acknowledge US =E2=80=9Ccomplicity=E2=80=9D in Israel=E2=80=99s genocide = in Gaza. It also asks them to exclude any past or present political appoint= ee who was =E2=80=9Can architect, leader, defender, or key enabler=E2=80=9D= of the policy.

In a video released with the statement, the former offic= ials took turns reading the call over images of former Secretary of State A= ntony Blinken, who now sits on the board of directors of the Center for Ame= rican Progress, a Washington think tank.

=E2=80=9CWe have watched as eli= te institutions have welcomed these officials,=E2=80=9D said Mann, as the v= ideo showed former White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, who is= now with venture capital firm Lux Capital and a CNN commentator. It also s= howed former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and former USAID Admin= istrator Samantha Power, who both joined Harvard Kennedy School after leavi= ng office.

=E2=80=9CWe have watched as these officials have tried to lau= nder their bloody reputations,=E2=80=9D Paul said, with Rharrit adding, =E2= =80=9Cand prepare to re-enter the halls of power.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CAnd= we say, enough,=E2=80=9D the former officials said in the video. =E2=80=9C= Enough with the culture of impunity in Washington. Enough with policies tha= t break our laws and defy our values.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CThey have blood = on their hands,=E2=80=9D they added.

Top Biden administration officials = at that time acknowledged civilian suffering in Gaza but defended Israel=E2= =80=99s right to defend itself following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.=

= US-made weapons were photographed several times in Israeli strikes in Gaza,= although US authorities have declined to confirm this.

Since October 20= 23, Israel=E2=80=99s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 74,000 Pale= stinians, mostly women and children, and wounded over 175,000, according to= Gaza=E2=80=99s Health Ministry. It has also caused widespread destruction = affecting around 90% of the territory=E2=80=99s civilian infrastructure.

More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since an O= ctober 2025 ceasefire went into effect.


--0000000000006c4cd9065eed4b94-- From cwfresidence@gmail.com Wed Oct 28 14:37:16 2026 Return-Path: X-Original-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Delivered-To: salon@mlm2.listserve.net Received: from mlm0.listserve.net (mlm0.listserve.net [161.35.233.68]) by mlm2.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id A646EB0851 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:37:16 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Filter: OpenDKIM Filter v2.11.0 mlm2.listserve.net A646EB0851 Authentication-Results: mlm2.listserve.net; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="frlaxspl" Received: by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) id 8FB61BD065; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:37:16 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: salon@listserve.com Received: from mail-dl1-f41.google.com (mail-dl1-f41.google.com [74.125.82.41]) by mlm0.listserve.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 8CB2ABD003 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:37:16 -0700 (PDT) Received: by mail-dl1-f41.google.com with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-18cdcfc05ffso2086011c88.1 for ; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:37:16 -0700 (PDT) ARC-Seal: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; t=1793223436; cv=none; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; b=maGdkuWFIZVnkcgR9L9iYyU51FAxFWjDpo8GmyulPg2pPdr9du6vFSkdmcY0dKQu6o UEn8cCBTIDaLEW4Snjol4stu9oPRJsXkOiDqD90mkWP5LkMKqtp8/p/BIFXxkBqSSQcE lqKEnntEs+K27NpcNTwaoI2CuzBpPdEhhlPCVqcfo9t4reodiUf9ByG+1LGQxHKkaSTw Vyzpbh44NGT8A1aAyuLFpZoQKm+J8xYeLAxh15fip1dbVXytf0IqmMhhZt4u3D1ntABL ypAvtX8oburZahDaSPEetuuDWcwOcnG4xuARsMXibZY4oPAVzvuC3/t8xaD563jE2RpI FKhA== ARC-Message-Signature: i=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=google.com; s=arc-20260327; h=to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references:mime-version :dkim-signature; bh=EyHiFMmhk5uPtGhKJAKC8gJrPZJDC7mPKa+ovgLx5ws=; fh=wPGf20UGQxVPQrvS2v8tjKowEPMRawCAkzSjcxz5/HM=; b=G6iIsGULpLEbVsr1vV6SKm6xeXokpYRh6AZWTpMwGwMtnH/+s0NSnyJ2y/ZLAhJr5h xWOfZb3y2poZCRwBbcS9XvkzGBP/b/ubB4qNMMSl5aznqNoI+uBcRBcIObUaMN7T9KdO zYrd8FOLCAv34uMUocB9L0iRCv97UhZpqn4vYF8TjbdIrM1jn3wm82IHGroj6e9clPa/ mK5TCNnLWanIZC1cffnwEZpro8VfYFkHzCX83Pss+EvlMxUPr9VVLvtx4vXnWI8EH6fI z3vyML2Zusqb/nYpS5vY6sqem6cxOShYs6imyDDEKaCd3LWNgEOSAgo0BhxalDxPcvX5 CY2g==; darn=listserve.com ARC-Authentication-Results: i=1; mx.google.com; arc=none DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20260707; t=1793223436; x=1793828236; darn=listserve.com; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date:message-id:reply-to :content-type; bh=EyHiFMmhk5uPtGhKJAKC8gJrPZJDC7mPKa+ovgLx5ws=; b=frlaxsplcHgoiPTyh0b1xO3NX9+RkL6y9grO09ER+/brU/URcYs5ew2G0RDHnWpH3X VzpJYZNIcu7vcqMNJP04kQlH2zsoA8oYQLuo0PJ88V0BvGVmW+embu7g/ov+dWip0mh/ +jDb/vNSZkKZ6Pkyxygd6goHhHpEwsMIVHVWLvgmOJqO4AdlHBD6YnLfZ3JGVWop3X96 L4gYJyiodjeAwDpo9HRXw5F0ZRaiCRxhbp6h+QuA3WmS7e7cXsWY1DPn0C2pIttWyz33 FuEd3cdKimV+814bYAYJgRkXjF/dHyoruwieabJ4BJtkr+K8kkNmmLYbFqvO3GYyeIdM fCfw== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20260707; t=1793223436; x=1793828236; h=content-type:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-gg:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date :message-id:reply-to:content-type; bh=EyHiFMmhk5uPtGhKJAKC8gJrPZJDC7mPKa+ovgLx5ws=; b=gsB9WSmmQLB2CAtAuWzYEJnOZjTUsIv12hY3LB5nquS7Fnr3bcuZ+P2JN4sLus3QnJ lnPBUdYrpOmeBRfiHUnXtlG3dCAnzPg0gJ5lgiS8KykrNl7ZtdJLgzl4jKQbNsQXDU7N rJ86/YmhBP5vlyCazTbvWa0OrWoqUosBNjAf2/fSMiaqkt2uJCgEGaLKv9L7wqXU3l3m UIb0+7nLIHh5PXY7gXcsUlTg6FqKMpu17HVyy39Hse3syLlhDsvkZp6QiQYWzA9BB/K9 feGyGiOfFemnl+ALuC5IjFSX+9/uQjvaBwvLfwp0k3dgUlGK8/oCxuUW5RAEuoZOaPxj AYfA== X-Gm-Message-State: AFq9FYLFFMBGvAslCWctPwvQ6QbCDlDsFr1xyhmBn+msfOMtz/zmD8A/ Ll/z6H/KReHKWBSucA/e5Pb5UsUp2JhNNrAScXmj2r6X6Sl0gHJwx9kgjABHJh5CTzNg/86HY/V 7Vw+8cugiyRbele8L3oRRCzyB4LtiAj9yYR923oo= X-Gm-Gg: AYBFou0zUg2OuhQw31v9HKFc1RSpXddHO54Qw0rnVtopT/p1TE0r+4fQqzZ7DOAYfPN /N590ej0lDh9GA9p+Emj/e616x5C44BNSGMlPHjmjv8siDX1JNUv9j1oEsluLLew3I6FJCDtUCo F65+HWr+J4RP3O/056efhC+KrcbB7SPIXfbTT9Sp/DI4MA1WmhzyRcr4B6YvxVtcLXsrG8KfJvb ml+ur3NJ3TR4qcVZZ4q1ZvBMNFlkSoyzZWwvMcgXfJL7B1UzmpF+N7GYyLZhQ3m9XcQwzQf/YUb REtEfZR+y3sjAZeBxc/j01XC9+Cgt++1N/6fV5ELesUraYaSTrIkjtB8cEDrM1Jk+QwcIl6xb6h mGEwGjcRhuvUN6JSWFyh2u/FYhsDnyTK3ng65Ay9vQT/j8aTYJLvZ92hedug8Zd+rsYg93EuFi+ YRe6l3whZ90WnFi7bD+e8Nfz3mvs96eUO7hoqn3L6tzFM6eVdpVUR6CvXhQtQfyaOM+9zrVa9FY lSX/1jK5kXfFoDqqi+5GRfCmzjsKJ09hqDXLdldxrVDGV0Kl5F18EMn8p8NBWuKpdkNniWzc0Cv zGKHKhWK7RYT77lSyIBxHpqwbJJqNfXiDf8ptmNeuzIc1juqGQo7KTrRKlIDwBiy1nx6Dc8/Tne p/5B8pcFq9ZymKDg1lKuXZcuNEG1O7otBMNh+1Q+fODEAIzjktmA10cu1nW6vnenbzn4= X-Received: by 2002:a05:7022:b886:b0:16c:3408:760b with SMTP id a92af1059eb24-1a6cdc47bcemr4358723c88.32.1793223435631; Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:37:15 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Chas Freeman Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:36:54 -0400 X-Gm-Features: AclHuK8QUKF54O8zK3iVw-J5FxPSYZF3KNeDTw-iuikxPfDr-LVc_9q_ZYz_Pts Message-ID: To: "salon@listserve.com" Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000e24006065eed5d0a" Subject: [Salon] =?utf-8?q?Arab_Joint_List_extends_hand_to_Eisenkot?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99s_bloc_to_oust_Netanyahu_gov=E2=80=99t?= X-BeenThere: salon@listserve.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.33 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion List for the Committee For The Republic List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 21:37:16 -0000 --000000000000e24006065eed5d0a Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable *https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20261028-arab-joint-list-extends-hand-to= -eisenkots-bloc-to-oust-netanyahu-govt/ * 10/28/26 *Arab Joint List extends hand to Eisenkot=E2=80=99s bloc to oust Netanyahu = gov=E2=80=99t* [image: Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar Party and former IDF Chief of General Staff, delivers a speech at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 28, 2026. [Nir Keidar - Anadolu Agency]] *Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of Israel=E2=80=99s Knesset and head of the predominantly Arab Joint List parliamentary bloc, said the bloc was extending its hand to the =E2=80=9Cchange bloc=E2=80=9D to oust the governm= ent of Benjamin Netanyahu, Anadolu reports.* *The =E2=80=9Cchange bloc=E2=80=9D is an opposition alliance seeking to rep= lace Prime Minister Netanyahu=E2=80=99s government. It includes former military chief = Gadi Eisenkot=E2=80=99s Yashar party, Yair Lapid=E2=80=99s Yesh Atid, Yair Golan= =E2=80=99s Democrats, Naftali Bennett=E2=80=99s Beyachad, and Avigdor Lieberman=E2=80=99s Yisrael= Beiteinu.* *The =E2=80=9Cmassive turnout among Arab citizens is a historic achievement= for the Joint List, which answered the public=E2=80=99s call for unity and proved t= hat it is a decisive force without which change is impossible,=E2=80=9D Tibi said = in a written statement received by Anadolu.* *=E2=80=9CWe extend our hands toward the =E2=80=98change bloc=E2=80=99 to o= ust the Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir government =E2=80=94 which will begin with the removal o= f Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana,=E2=80=9D he added.* *According to a video released by his office, Tibi told Joint List supporters at a rally in the town of Tayibe in central Israel early Wednesday that their voices were =E2=80=9Cthe loudest=E2=80=9D despite atte= mpts to =E2=80=9Ccut the electricity at polling stations and tried to obstruct voting.=E2=80=9D* *=E2=80=9CBen Gvir, the criminal, will not be police minister. His day has = come,=E2=80=9D he added.* *Netanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc was projected to win 54 seats in the 120-member K= nesset, seven short of a governing majority, with 84.5% of votes counted in Israel=E2=80=99s parliamentary elections, according to Israeli media.* *The opposition bloc led by Eisenkot was projected to secure 49 seats, while predominantly Arab parties were projected to win 17 seats, according to The Times of Israel newspaper, citing the Central Elections Committee.* *The predominantly Arab Joint List was projected to win 11 seats, while the United Arab List (Ra=E2=80=99am) was expected to secure six.* --000000000000e24006065eed5d0a Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20261028-arab-joint-list= -extends-hand-to-eisenkots-bloc-to-oust-netanyahu-govt/

10/28/26

Ara= b Joint List extends hand to Eisenkot=E2=80=99s bloc to oust Netanyahu gov= =E2=80=99t

<= img src=3D"https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2= 026/10/AA-20261028-42885131-42885122-GADI_EISENKOT_SPEAKS_AFTER_ISRAELI_EXI= T_POLLS_SHOW_OPPOSITION_LEADING_NETANYAHU.jpg?fit=3D920%2C613&ssl=3D1" = alt=3D"Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar Party and former IDF Chief of Ge= neral Staff, delivers a speech at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israe= l, on October 28, 2026. [Nir Keidar - Anadolu Agency]" style=3D"margin:auto= 0px auto auto;display:block;clear:both" width=3D"414" height=3D"276">

Ahm= ad Tibi, an Arab member of Israel=E2=80=99s Knesset and head of the predomi= nantly Arab Joint List parliamentary bloc, said the bloc was extending its = hand to the =E2=80=9Cchange bloc=E2=80=9D to oust the government of Benjami= n Netanyahu,=C2=A0Anadolu reports= .

The =E2=80=9Cchange bloc=E2=80=9D is an opposition alliance seeki= ng to replace Prime Minister Netanyahu=E2=80=99s government. It includes fo= rmer military chief Gadi Eisenkot=E2=80=99s Yashar party, Yair Lapid=E2=80= =99s Yesh Atid, Yair Golan=E2=80=99s Democrats, Naftali Bennett=E2=80=99s B= eyachad, and Avigdor Lieberman=E2=80=99s Yisrael Beiteinu.

The =E2=80= =9Cmassive turnout among Arab citizens is a historic achievement for the Jo= int List, which answered the public=E2=80=99s call for unity and proved tha= t it is a decisive force without which change is impossible,=E2=80=9D Tibi = said in a written statement received by Anadolu.

=E2=80=9CWe extend our = hands toward the =E2=80=98change bloc=E2=80=99 to oust the Netanyahu-Ben-Gv= ir government =E2=80=94 which will begin with the removal of Knesset Speake= r Amir Ohana,=E2=80=9D he added.

According to a video released by his of= fice, Tibi told Joint List supporters at a rally in the town of Tayibe in c= entral Israel early Wednesday that their voices were =E2=80=9Cthe loudest= =E2=80=9D despite attempts to =E2=80=9Ccut the electricity at polling stati= ons and tried to obstruct voting.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CBen Gvir, the crimin= al, will not be police minister. His day has come,=E2=80=9D he added.

Ne= tanyahu=E2=80=99s bloc was projected to win 54 seats in the 120-member Knes= set, seven short of a governing majority, with 84.5% of votes counted in Is= rael=E2=80=99s parliamentary elections, according to Israeli media.

=

The = opposition bloc led by Eisenkot was projected to secure 49 seats, while pre= dominantly Arab parties were projected to win 17 seats, according to The Ti= mes of Israel newspaper, citing the Central Elections Committee.

The pre= dominantly Arab Joint List was projected to win 11 seats, while the United = Arab List (Ra=E2=80=99am) was expected to secure six.


--000000000000e24006065eed5d0a--