Should a Jew Punch Back?

Good afternoon, Stroock's Books constituents. Temperatures remain in the mid-50s today, which is not unusual. 

The Times of Israel tells us that 57% of the public isn't happy with Netanyahu and: 'Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi leads the rankings with 48% rating his performance as good and 28% as poor — followed by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (40% and 33%) and war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (34% and 35%).' The government does not have the public's confidence. Perhaps it is time to hold new elections. Benny Gantz' party would win 35-40 seats and ironically go into a coalition government with Likud (15-20 seats) and someone else. 

An interesting article asking, Why have American Jews remained non-violent? Well, it's complicated. We've been walking around in Israel T-shirts and/or an Israel hat since the war began. The only reactions we've received are positive. Of course at 5/11 245(ish) pounds, we're a pretty big man. Still, we wonder what we do if someone confronts us. Throwing a punch is a bad, bad idea. Stand up and get loud? Laugh? Ah, a Talmudic dilemma. 

Hamas had even bigger plans for 10/7, The Jerusalem Post tells us. They wanted to get to Ashdod prison, the nuclear facility at Dimona, and even Tel Aviv. Their desire to murder Jews is unsatiable. Hamas dalenda est, no matter the cost. Reminder, if Israel wanted everyone in Gaza dead they would be dead. 

Failed RNC chief Ronna McDaniel is losing her NBC gig. Good. McDaniel is indicative of a Republican party and leadership indifferent to winning. She was bad at her job and tried to cash in with the enemy. She deserves no better. 

What Will's Watching: House of the Dragon S1E3: an excellent episode filled with dynastic maneuvering and familial drama as King Viserys tries desperately to keep and please his daughter. In turn Rhaenyra feels nothing but alienation. Tragically, no one is to blame. As we said, great episode, that is till the last ten minutes. This saw a retarded battle scene in which Prince Damon defeats the crab-feeders. Pro tip for the writers: dragons can hover, outside of a cave entrance, for instance, and just napalm whoever is hiding within. But overall, a great, illuminating episode. 

Our efforts on Substack Notes continue to gain 'traction' as the kids say. We even see a small book sales increase, though that may only be correlation. We shall continue posting and see what happens. 

We had a decent day with our Pancho Villa short story and gleaned some excellent insights from a contemporary memoir. We've written everything through the cavalry troop's entry into the town. We really don't know how the fireworks start, or what the actual fireworks are. They'll be easy enough to light once we figure them out.