White House Dossier's

Jewish anti-Zionist group that overran U.S. House building linked to BDS movement, liberal funders . . . Jewish Voice for Peace, the self-proclaimed progressive anti-Zionist organization that organized a protest that overran parts of the Cannon House Office Building on Wednesday, has deep connections to left-leaning foundations and organizers and a history of claiming Israel is an apartheid state engaged in genocide. The organization portrays itself as a community for Jews “with justice at the center” and tells prospective members that “you are part of building a Jewishness and Jewish life beyond Zionism.” The protest Wednesday, which resulted in scores of arrests by Capitol Police, demanded a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Just the News

Dostoevsky Knew: It Can Happen Here . . . Some people who cheer Hamas’s atrocities would surely be capable of committing similar acts if given an opportunity. As I read about Harvard students demonstrating in favor of Hamas and educated people proclaiming that “decolonization” should be pursued “by any means necessary,” I thought of Dostoevsky’s reaction, a century and a half ago, to atrocities committed by the Ottomans as they suppressed uprisings among their Slavic subjects. This was a case, apparently unknown to today’s “decolonizers,” in which a Muslim empire persecuted colonized Christians. 

The European press was then filled with reports that now seem familiar. Whole families were wiped out; women raped and tortured; living people humiliated and corpses abused; children slowly murdered before their parents’ eyes; and, in one case that particularly shocked Dostoevsky, a young child forced to watch her father being flayed alive “completely.” The child, Dostoevsky reported, was being cared for in Russia, where she repeatedly fainted as she recalled what she witnessed. If it seems that only uncivilized people could be such sadists, Dostoevsky cautions, know that the same thing could happen among civilized Europeans as well. “For the moment it is still against the law,” he writes, “but were it to depend on us, perhaps, nothing would stop us despite all our civilization.” Wall Street Journal

Trump: "Hostile Judge," Attorney General Focused On Me While People Are Murdered On The Sidewalks Of New York . . . Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday spoke to reporters outside a New York City courtroom about his civil fraud trial. "What they've done here, the Attorney General sitting inside spending her whole day here day after day after day when people are being murdered all over the streets, the sidewalks of New York. Violent crime. And no business is going to move into New York... Any company coming into New York would be crazy because it's a setup. This is a rigged trial. We have a hostile group of people. We have a very hostile judge. I hate to say it. We have a very, very hostile judge and I think that everybody knows that and we see that. But the good thing is we have all the evidence on our side. They have nothing," Trump said. Real Clear Politics

Biden's Fraught Mideast Diplomacy . . . Joe Biden, a famously risk-averse politician, has never taken a bigger risk than his mission to Israel. If everything breaks just right, Biden could head off an Israeli invasion and occupation of Gaza, averting thousands more civilian casualties and a costly and inconclusive Israeli “victory.” He could begin the process of getting Israeli hostages returned; head off the risks of a regional war; get the process of Saudi normalization with Israel back on track; and expedite the urgently needed departure of Benjamin Netanyahu. Just to list these goals, all of which are interconnected, is to remind ourselves of all the ways the mission could go wrong. In the Mideast, events have a way of spinning out of control. Biden has already had to forgo his planned meeting in Jordan with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. It was the Arab side that canceled. Prospect

GOP race sharpens: DeSantis, Haley fighting over opening U.S. to Palestinians fleeing Gaza . . . Looking for a way to slow Nikki Haley’s rise in the GOP presidential race, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is warning voters that she is soft on Palestinian resettlement in the U.S. and more interested in political correctness than sound policy plans. Ms. Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., countered that Mr. DeSantis is spreading lies about her because he is slipping in the polls and growing desperate. Mr. DeSantis started the fight by telling voters Ms. Haley wants to roll out the welcome mat for Palestinians fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict. He hammered home the message day after day this week, labeling Ms. Haley a “corporate Republican” and lumping her in with “more of the open borders type.” Washington Times

Jim Jordan weighs alternative to withdrawing from House speaker race . . . Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is weighing an exit strategy in the House speaker race after two failed bids for the gavel and the prospect of a third round of voting appearing to be a guaranteed loss. The Ohio Republican met with a small group on Wednesday night that included Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC), former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and a few aides to discuss his next moves, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Washington Examiner

Drone strikes target US military bases in Syria, Iraq as regional tensions from Israel-Hamas War escalate . . . A drone strike targeted a U.S. base in Syria on Wednesday, the same day as the attempted drone attacks in Iraq. A U.S. defense official told Fox News that an undisclosed number of drones targeted the U.S. Al-Tanf base, located near Syria’s shared border with Iraq and Jordan. Lebanon's Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen TV reported on Thursday that two U.S. military bases in Syria came under attack, Reuters reported. In addition to the drone attack on the Al-Tanf base, Al Mayadeen TV reported a missile targeted the Conoco base in the countryside of the northern Deir al-Zor region. Also on Wednesday, there was an attempted drone attack on a U.S. base in Iraq. Fox News

The Hell of Urban Warfare Is Not Unique to Gaza . . . During the campaign against ISIS in Mosul, the U.S. flattened a large city with far less provocation—while observing all the rules of modern war. In the coming days, Israel may launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in response to the shocking pogrom carried out against Israelis on Oct. 7. The looming operation has led many to search for precedents in military history. There is one recent urban conflagration with great relevance to the impending assault on Gaza that, though unlikely to provide comfort to anyone, may offer some historical grounding. That is the U.S.-backed Iraqi campaign to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State in 2016-17.

I was a minor participant in this titanic affair, serving as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian medical group then embedded with the Iraqi Army. From January to June 2017, I accompanied Iraq’s 9th Armored Division as it slowly encircled Mosul from the west before finally throwing all of its American- and Soviet-made tanks into the dense concrete jungle along the Tigris river at the battle’s climax that spring. It was a formative experience as a younger man, and one that taught me the brutal nature of urban combat first hand. Tablet

'Pay for slay': Palestinian Authority may have to compensate families of Hamas terrorists, report says . . . There are growing fears among Israelis and some Palestinians that, according to a controversial law aimed at rewarding Palestinians who murder Israelis in "nationalistic attacks," the Palestinian Authority may be compelled to shell out nearly $3 million a month in compensation to the families of hundreds of Hamas terrorists who carried out the deadly massacre against Israel on October 7th. According to Israeli military estimates, nearly 3,000 Hamas terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip during the attack, murdering, raping and even beheading more than 1,300 civilians and Israeli soldiers.  Fox News

U.N., World Leaders Push to Get Gaza Aid Flowing After Biden Pledge . . . The United Nations and world leaders were pushing Thursday to get immediate aid flowing into the Gaza Strip as the humanitarian crisis worsened for two million Palestinians who are trying to flee deadly Israeli airstrikes and struggling to find food, water and fuel during a near-total siege. President Biden said early Thursday that the U.S. had secured a deal with Egypt and Israel to send 20 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza as soon as Friday as the U.N. warned that the situation is growing increasingly desperate. The Israeli military has directed residents in the northern Gaza Strip to flee south as it prepares for what is expected to be a difficult ground assault designed to end Hamas rule. Israel has given no indication yet when it might launch the next stage of its military campaign. Wall Street Journal

Russia detains Radio Free Europe journalist with dual U.S. and Russian citizenship . . . Russia has detained an editor at U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for failing to register as a foreign agent while visiting Russia for a family emergency, the broadcaster said. Russia has tightened its control over the media since the start of the Ukraine war, forcing the closure of leading independent news outlets and designating many journalists and publications as "foreign agents". The State Department has repeatedly urged U.S. citizens to leave Russia. Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir Service who holds both U.S. and Russian passports, travelled to Russia on May 20 for a family emergency. Reuters

Why would anyone hold a Russian and US citizenship? If you hold both a Russian and a US passport, ask yourself why. The Russian government doesn't recognize dual citizenship. For them, you are Russian with all the underlying consequences. Citizenship means loyalty to the country you call your home. If you've got two passports which country is your loyalty to? What if these two countries go to war against each other? Which side will you go fight for? 

I know some folks hold two or even more passports, for convenience. But there's something not right about it. There cannot be any confusion about citizenship, in my view. Feel free to send me your push backs. But no hate mail, please.

Money

Housing remains America’s biggest supply chain problem . . . The US economy has done far better over the past few years than many would have expected, particularly given the multiple headwinds from the pandemic, US-China decoupling, the war in Ukraine and general political chaos in Washington. The country has enjoyed an almost immaculate economic cooling, along with a still-robust jobs market and good overall gross domestic product growth. Particularly when compared with other countries, the US economy looks as good as it could be right now. However, there is one conspicuous fly in the ointment — housing. Financial Times
 

A top Israeli economist says a recession is almost certain as leaders warn of a long war . . . Israeli ground troops are massed near the border with Gaza, following Hamas’ brutal terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people. But after more than a week of deadly air strikes in Gaza, an expected ground invasion hasn’t begun, surprising many military analysts, while officials warn of a long fight with Hamas. The war has also left much of Israel’s economy in limbo. More than 360,000 reservists, the backbone of Israel’s Defense Forces, are now in uniform and away from their jobs. CNBC

Culture

Fox News Guest Suggests Using ‘Hillary’s Deprogramming Camps’ For Pro-Hamas Protesters . . . A guest on Fox News said Wednesday that college students at anti-Israel protests should be sent to “Hillary’s deprogramming camps,” referencing a comment the former Secretary of State made regarding supporters of former President Donald Trump. Multiple demonstrations took place across U.S. college campuses supporting Palestinians after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack terrorist attack on locations in southern Israel that killed over 1,400 people. Steve Hilton discussed the protests with “America Reports” co-host Sandra Smith and referenced remarks made by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Oct. 5, in which she said that supporters of Trump needed “formal deprogramming” to “break” what she called a “cult.” Daily Caller

IG to investigate federal offices left vacant by telework policies . . . A federal inspector general has opened an investigation into telework policies that have turned some government offices into ghost towns, risking the spread of disease and raising questions about how agencies deliver services. The inspector general for the General Services Administration, which acts as the chief landlord for civilian executive branch agencies, confirmed the work. The office has conducted groundbreaking work on water supplies at understaffed federal buildings and found at least six with the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease, a type of serious lung infection. One case of the disease has been linked to one of those buildings. Investigators said stagnating water in buildings left vacant by the COVID-19 pandemic turned into breeding grounds for bacteria. Washington Times

Gaza hospital blast: Here's what we know . . . The al-Ahali Hospital in Gaza City was struck Tuesday night, and hundreds were reportedly killed in the blast. Hamas initially claimed the hospital was attacked in an Israeli strike; Israel countered after an investigation that it was hit by an errant missile launched by terrorists in Gaza itself. Online video making the rounds on social media suggests the al-Ahali Hospital in Gaza City was not directly hit by a rocket on Tuesday, but instead the missile appears to have struck a nearby parking lot, leading to many conflicting claims of who was responsible, where the missile struck and how many people died. Fox News

American church tour group evacuated from Israel with assist from Benghazi hero . . . A tour group of dozens of U.S. Christians was successfully evacuated from Israel after finding themselves stuck in Bethlehem as a war broke out around them, according to leaders.

A church group of about 84 people out of the Diocese of West Fargo, North Dakota, was forced into a change of plans during a trip to Israel last week after a Hamas surprise attack on the country, forcing them to find a way from their hotel in Bethlehem to the border of Jordan to escape the sudden conflict zone. Fox News

Zoom Call From Hamas To See What They Should Print Today . . . The staff of the New York Times spent the morning patiently waiting by the computer, waiting for the call from Hamas to see what the terrorists would like to have printed on the front page today. "No fingers on the keyboard until Hamas calls!" declared Chief Editor Joe Khan. "We don't post a single word unless we've sourced it directly from the terrorists on the ground - understood?" Babylon Bee