I went to see Ed Sheeran on Saturday with my mom at MetLife stadium, and sadly it wasn’t the experience we expected. I knew Macklemore was the opener, but I hadn’t known much about him other than his 2010s hit “Thrift Shop”. We weren’t too keen on sitting for 2:30 hours before Ed came on at 8, so we showed up around 7:20 and found our seats just as Macklemore was finishing up. We were even a bit sad that we missed him, because the energy seemed good and I knew the song he was singing.
Before he left he had everyone chant “peace” which I thought was a bit cringey but harmless. Then he continued on and said something like, “one last thing before I go, free Palestine till it’s backwards!” I hadn’t heard of that phrasing before, but “till it’s backwards” implies one thing really, if they believe Israel is committing genocide, they want Palestine to turn around and do the same thing.
My mom and I both took a moment to process and then looked at each other with shared confusion and disturbance. His music was loud so I had earplugs in, so I asked my mom what the crowds reaction was. She said it was mixed, and when I looked to those around us they seemed uninterested if not a bit confused.
We both decided to compartmentalize and just enjoy Ed’s set, hoping he wouldn’t do the same. It was a good concert, and thankfully he didn’t repeat Macklemores sentiments, but I was still put off by the whole thing.
After the concert I did some more poking around and saw that the night before, he had gone on a long tirade about Palestine and even performed his anti-Israel song “Hind’s Hall”. With even more poking around, I saw that he dressed as an antisemetic caricature a little over a decade ago while singing his song “Thrift shop” which just so happens to be about being cheap and saving your money. I’m not saying that song had Jewish stereotypes in mind, but certainly it’s not a good look to combine your antisemetic costume with a song that features sentiments weaponized against Jews.
As a shock to no one, the public’s reaction is mainly “love that guy” and “he’s on the right side of history”. Not to mention saying that the only reason the news is covering the backlash is because Israel is behind the scenes pulling the strings.
The whole thing really disturbed me, and I couldn’t help but be so thankful that we weren’t there the night before. I genuinely don’t know if I could have sat through the flashing images and chanting. Ed Sheeran was one of the first artists I ever really loved as a kid, so this really cut me deep that he would allow such a thing to happen. It sucks that I can’t really listen to his music now without thinking about all of this.

There’s a petition going around to get Macklemore off the tour, I’m not sure if it would matter at this point but here it is.

According to the investigation, the two leaders held a 45-minute phone conversation, at the end of which Netanyahu reassured the UAE president that Israel was prepared for any scenario.

Former prime minister and head of B'Yachad Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday that he knew a reported warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Hamas's plans ahead of the October 7 massacre was genuine, telling 103FM, "I'm telling you that I know this fact is true."

Bennett made the remarks following a Haaretz investigation published on Tuesday.

According to the investigation, bin Zayed warned Netanyahu several days before the massacre that Hamas was planning an attack. The report said the two leaders held a 45-minute phone conversation, at the end of which Netanyahu reassured the UAE president and said that, in his assessment, Hamas was primarily focused on the West Bank and that Israel was prepared for any scenario.

"An absolute lie! Prime Minister Netanyahu did not speak with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him," Netanyahu's office said in response

Referring to the Haaretz report, Bennett specified that bin Zayed specifically warned Netanyahu that Sinwar was planning an operation.

"Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian General Intelligence, also warned Netanyahu days before the massacre that a major operation was being planned," he added. "I don't want to talk about my relationship with anyone. I'm telling you that I know this fact is true."

"Netanyahu led us blindly straight into this terrible disaster. He was so deeply immersed in his conception that Hamas was an asset, and despite receiving explicit warnings, he did nothing," the former prime minister claimed.

"Netanyahu bears direct responsibility for this disaster, not only ministerial responsibility by virtue of being prime minister, but direct responsibility because he built up Hamas for 15 years and did nothing."

Asked how he would have acted had he been in Netanyahu's position in the fall of 2023, Bennett said, "In a similar situation, if I had received a quarter of a warning when I was prime minister, I would have raced to the South. That's what I always do: meet the commanders and the observation soldiers, convene the IDF chief of staff and the Shin Bet chief, increase alertness and defenses, and prepare for offensive action if necessary. I would have done everything to protect the lives of the residents."

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar! with Eisenkot party, also responded to the report, arguing that it only added to evidence that the prime minister had failed to act on warnings before the massacre.

"More and more signs indicate that Netanyahu led Israel blindly into the October 7 failure," Eisenkot said.

"According to the report this morning, he received an explicit warning, days before the massacre, from the president of the United Arab Emirates regarding Sinwar's intentions, but did not update the heads of the defense establishment. Who failed to wake whom up?"

"Those around him are echoing the pathetic conspiracy and betrayal theory, inventing the most ridiculous sentence a leader could cling to, 'They didn't wake me up,' because of two facts: He knows the truth; He is terrified of it and is trying to escape responsibility. Netanyahu received dozens of warnings ahead of October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit."

Eisenkot said his party would seek to establish a state commission of inquiry after the formation of the next government.

"Immediately upon the formation of the next government, we will establish a state commission of inquiry that will investigate the previous decade, clarify what Netanyahu knew and did not know, get to the truth, and prevent the next disaster."

Really just disgusting.

The Jewish Quarter of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are considered settlements to Britain, by the way. So don't think you're safe if you aren't in Efrat.

The Jewish people are resilient beyond imagination!

Hamas stole 498 days from Sagui Dekel-Chen. But in the darkness, he created light.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/nira-b-worcman/not-music-to-hamas-ears

I was at an event recently and told a guy I was from Israel. and we went straight into politics. Suddenly I was explaining my stance on everything happening.

I told him I’m proud to be Israeli, proud of having served, and believe we have a right to exist and defend ourselves. I also have plenty of grievances with Netanyahu.

He seemed confused, especially when I mentioned attending anti-Netanyahu protests while serving in the military.

My feelings about Netanyahu are mixed. I agree with him on some things and strongly disagree on others. Apparently that wasn’t one of the answers this guy expected.

I’ve noticed some Americans assume you either distance yourself from Israel entirely or support its government unconditionally.

Americans understand loving their own country while having issues with its leaders. (Just because you are anti-Trump doesn’t mean you hate being American. lol)

Israelis argue about everything. People who served together can have completely different politics and still feel equally attached to the country.

Being proud of where I’m from doesn’t tell you who I vote for.

Anyone else get tired of having to explain this or having to defend an entire country five seconds after introducing yourself?

Channel 11:
- Eisenkot bloc: 51 seats
- Bibi bloc: 52 seats
- Unaligned: 17 seats

Channel 12:
- Eisenkot bloc: 59 seats
- Bibi bloc: 50 seats
- Unaligned: 11 seats

Channel 13:
- Eisenkot bloc: 53 seats
- Bibi bloc: 53 seats
- Unaligned: 14 seats

This is the first Israeli election I have payed attention to so idk if this is a normal occurrence to be ahead in the polls by far and a month later the polls look very different.

Personally I am hoping for the Eisenkot bloc to win primarily because of the Haredi issue regarding military service and core curriculum.

> B’Yachad head Bennett vows to ‘fix Israel’ with list of former MKs, ministers and senior civil servants; Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu slate boasts ex-Likud members as he vies for leadership, swipes at Eisenkot

Behind the scenes
An unimaginable amount of what Israelis pay for gas is actually tax. An ₪8.25 liter broke down like this:
• ₪*3.33* — the actual fuel + distribution
• ₪*3.66* — government fuel tax
• ₪*1.26* — standard 18% VAT

That means ~₪*4.92*, or about *60%,* was tax.

Smotrich temporarily cut the fuel tax by 50 agorot per liter, directly bringing the price down to ₪7.75 through the end of October. The government will now collect ~₪300 million less in tax revenue over those two months.

The money came from the previous Smotrich plan to raise the VAT-free online shopping limit to $100, which didn’t end up passing, leaving room for this gas cut.

Not naming any subs (many of which have nothing to do with politics), but everyone sees the ones that quickly devolve into Israel pile-ons. Posts filled with antisemitic undertones, disgusting accusations, utter lies, and flourishing ignorance.

I used to jump in, but it's almost certainly not going to change minds and is this how I want to spend my day? Debating morons and bots? So do you engage? Or do you, like I do now, just close the app and re-open? Curious what others do.

I don't intend to make aliyah anytime soon. Well, this year I wanted to try to understand Israeli politics out of curiosity. Where can I find information about candidates besides Yahu and Eisenkot? Are there debates and interviews? Are there active political marches? Could someone please inform me? thanks