Yaara Aharon-Rotman

Postdoctoral biologist with interest in bird migration, physiology and conservation

[Jared Kushner @jaredkushner]

September 27th is the most important day in the Middle East since the Abraham Accords breakthrough.

I have spent countless hours studying Hezbollah and there is not an expert on earth who thought that what Israel has done to decapitate and degrade them was possible.

This is significant because Iran is now fully exposed. The reason why their nuclear facilities have not been destroyed, despite weak air defense systems, is because Hezbollah has been a loaded gun pointed at Israel. Iran spent the last forty years building this capability as its deterrent.

President Trump would often say, “Iran has never won a war but never lost a negotiation.” The Islamic Republic’s regime is much tougher when risking Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrian and Houthi lives than when risking their own. Their foolish efforts to assassinate President Trump and hack his campaign reek of desperation and are hardening a large coalition against them.

Iranian leadership is stuck in the old Middle East, while their neighbors in the GCC are sprinting toward the future by investing in their populations and infrastructure. They are becoming dynamic magnets for talent and investment while Iran falls further behind. As the Iranian proxies and threats dissipate, regional security and prosperity will rise for Christians, Muslims and Jews alike.

Israel now finds itself with the threat from Gaza mostly neutralized and the opportunity to neutralize Hezbollah in the north. It’s unfortunate how we got here but maybe there can be a silver lining in the end.

Anyone who has been calling for a ceasefire in the North is wrong. There is no going back for Israel. They cannot afford now to not finish the job and completely dismantle the arsenal that has been aimed at them. They will never get another chance.

After the brilliant, rapid-fire tactical successes of the pagers, radios, and targeting of leadership, Hezbollah’s massive weapon cache is unguarded and unmanned. Most of Hezbollah fighters are hiding in their tunnels. Anyone still around was not important enough to carry a pager or be invited to a leadership meeting. Iran is reeling, as well, insecure and unsure how deeply its own intelligence has been penetrated. Failing to take full advantage of this opportunity to neutralize the threat is irresponsible.

I have been hearing some amazing stories about how Israel has been collecting intelligence over the past 10 months with some brilliant technology and crowdsourcing initiatives.

But today, with the confirmed killing of Nasrallah and at least 16 top commanders eliminated in just nine days, was the first day I started thinking about a Middle East without Iran’s fully loaded arsenal aimed at Israel. So many more positive outcomes are possible.

This is a moment to stand behind the peace-seeking nation of Israel and the large portion of the Lebanese who have been plagued by Hezbollah and who want to return to the times when their country was thriving, and Beirut a cosmopolitan city. The main issue between Lebanon and Israel is Iran; otherwise there is a lot of benefit for the people of both countries from working together.

The right move now for America would be to tell Israel to finish the job. It’s long overdue. And it’s not only Israel’s fight.

More than 40 years ago, Hezbollah killed 241 US military personnel, including 220 Marines. That remains the single deadliest day for the U.S. Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima. Later that same day, Hezbollah killed 58 French paratroopers.

And now, over the past six weeks or so, Israel has eliminated as many terrorists on the US list of wanted terrorists as the US has done in the last 20 years. Including Ibrahim Aqil, the leader of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization who masterminded the 1983 killing of those Marines.

[Mike @Doranimated]

A few thoughts on Operation Grim Beeper.

1) This is one of the most astonishing intelligence operations in history. It is a reworking of the story of the Trojan Horse for the digital age, and it deserves to become nearly as legendary as its iconic predecessor. If we are not utterly astounded, it is because we have seen too many James Bond and Black Mirror movies for our own good.

In real life, operations like this just don’t happen. It is at least four operations in one.

First, the Israelis thoroughly mapped Hezbollah’s supply chain.

Second, they invented a special explosive charge small enough to be inserted inside a handheld device, sophisticated enough to be remotely activated, big enough to do real harm, and yet not so prominent physically or electronically to call attention to itself.

Third, the Israelis turned themselves into a big enough link in Hezbollah’s procurement network to take physical control of the devices and rig them.

Fourth, they activated the charges simultaneously and across a very wide geographic area.

If any one of these sub-operations had been botched, the operation as a whole would have fizzled. Who else in the world could pull off such an imaginative, technically sophisticated and audacious plot?

[Gadi Taub שומר סף @GadiTaub1]

https://t.co/hFAyBhZTwj

[Heidi Kolkert 🦇 @birdandbatlife]

Come and do a #PhD with us in NSW 🇦🇺 on #birds, #bats or #pollinators and floral strips on #blueberry #farms. Stipend available. International applicants welcome @ERS_UNE @AusBats @Birdlife_Aus #PhDposition PLEASE RT

[Anne Peters @AP_BirdBehavEco]

#phdpositions #PhDScholarships 2023. Are you interested #behaviour #ecology #climate #adaptation #telomeres #conservation #conservationgenetics #tropical purple-crowned #fairywrens? Contact me via email or DM! Details on our research, and what we offer: https://t.co/OjNjGWXSts

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

The incredibly talented Nellie @marsupialtapir made the best notes to my talk at the #AMSPerth22 on torpor in gliders... I think I know what I'm asking as a birthday present...🙃
@ERS_UNE @UniNewEngland

[Nellie Pease @marsupialtapir]

More notes from #amsperth22! These ones are from @YaaraRotman's very cool talk on finding evidence for torpor in squirrel gliders. Always blows my mind how much we still have to learn about marsupial biology! A great talk and some really awesome research from UNE🌡📉

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

@marsupialtapir Wow, Nellie, you are such a talent! Brilliant work, I just LOVE it!

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

@marsupialtapir @Chris_M_Urbanek @BandicootBridge Absolutely!! Have a fun, exciting move to Perth🤠!

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

Had a great time at the #AMSPerth22 conference, especially thanks to the awesome people i met. So nice to be back to face-to-face meetings!
@Chris_M_Urbanek @marsupialtapir @BandicootBridge

[Christopher Urbanek @Chris_M_Urbanek]

Well #AMSPerth22 is officially over, so what better way to end it than with a birdwatching and wildflower excursion!

Thanks for the great time! @YaaraRotman @BandicootBridge @marsupialtapir & everyone else

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

@marsupialtapir @Chris_M_Urbanek @BandicootBridge Wow cool!! Please send me them, I really want to see!!

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

@Chris_M_Urbanek @BandicootBridge @marsupialtapir That was an awesome trip, except the tick i found on my shoulder the next day!🫣

[Alex McQueen @alx_mcqueen]

Our paper on #biogeography of #shorebirds is out @NatureComms 🥳 https://t.co/2Or72wTig5
We show that birds from hot, tropical north Australia are smaller & have longer bills than conspecifics from temperate, south Oz. This is in line with #BergamnnsRule & #AllensRule 🧵 [1/9]

[Kerry Fanson @FansonKerry]

Exciting opportunity to work with a fabulous team!!!

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

@ManuSaunders Yes, a very tricky business! but i think that learning to set boundaries already now will help you later. For me its still learning how to find the balance, even with one kid in school and the other in pre-school...

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

@ManuSaunders Manu, could you do part time/80%? I think its challenging and can be exhausting to try and work nights/early mornings/during nap times, but probably more doable if you don't do full time...?

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

Time to Move On... to read our new publication! Thanks to everyone who contributed, and hopefully this paper encourage more research on what influence the migration of species from Africa.
@YosefKiat @FrontEcolEvol @ERS_UNE @UNEResearch @JerusalemBird
https://t.co/RQNvCHNef7

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

Had a lovely chat last week on @abcnewsNewcstle with @kiahandley on #hibernation, why animals do it, and can we?? just on time before winter.
@ERS_UNE @UniNewEngland

If you're curious to hear about it listen in from 1:40:00.
https://t.co/ogJ6Nl5Abx

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

Small birds use torpor to save energy in winter! check out our new paper to learn about it. Huge thanks to my awesome collaborators
@ERS_UNE @UniNewEngland @DeakinCIE @BeckmannChrista @FrontiersIn
#UNEResearch #UNEZoology #passerineresearch #Torpor
https://t.co/fs4uAuGhh5

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

@DeakinCIE #CIEresearch

[Yaara Aharon-Rotman @YaaraRotman]

Did you know that also small birds use torpor to save energy in winter? if not (also if you did!) check out our new paper. Again feeling extremely lucky to have awesome collaborators!
@BeckmannChrista @FrontiersIn #Torpor #YellowRobins #PasserineResearch
https://t.co/FPMIMmvzvl