cheryl bart

Co. Director| Lawyer| Adventurer|Motivational Speaker - love exploring learning dancing ... and NO.. when I climb mtns, NOT a death wish, it's a LIFE WISH!!!

[Palantir @PalantirTech]

Because we get asked a lot.

The Technological Republic, in brief.

1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation.

2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible.

3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public.

4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

5. The question is not whether A.I. weapons will be built; it is who will build them and for what purpose. Our adversaries will not pause to indulge in theatrical debates about the merits of developing technologies with critical military and national security applications. They will proceed.

6. National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost.

7. If a U.S. Marine asks for a better rifle, we should build it; and the same goes for software. We should as a country be capable of continuing a debate about the appropriateness of military action abroad while remaining unflinching in our commitment to those we have asked to step into harm’s way.

8. Public servants need not be our priests. Any business that compensated its employees in the way that the federal government compensates public servants would struggle to survive.

9. We should show far more grace towards those who have subjected themselves to public life. The eradication of any space for forgiveness—a jettisoning of any tolerance for the complexities and contradictions of the human psyche—may leave us with a cast of characters at the helm we will grow to regret.

10. The psychologization of modern politics is leading us astray. Those who look to the political arena to nourish their soul and sense of self, who rely too heavily on their internal life finding expression in people they may never meet, will be left disappointed.

11. Our society has grown too eager to hasten, and is often gleeful at, the demise of its enemies. The vanquishing of an opponent is a moment to pause, not rejoice.

12. The atomic age is ending. One age of deterrence, the atomic age, is ending, and a new era of deterrence built on A.I. is set to begin.

13. No other country in the history of the world has advanced progressive values more than this one. The United States is far from perfect. But it is easy to forget how much more opportunity exists in this country for those who are not hereditary elites than in any other nation on the planet.

14. American power has made possible an extraordinarily long peace. Too many have forgotten or perhaps take for granted that nearly a century of some version of peace has prevailed in the world without a great power military conflict. At least three generations — billions of people and their children and now grandchildren — have never known a world war.

15. The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone. The defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a heavy price. A similar and highly theatrical commitment to Japanese pacifism will, if maintained, also threaten to shift the balance of power in Asia.

16. We should applaud those who attempt to build where the market has failed to act. The culture almost snickers at Musk’s interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves . . . . Any curiosity or genuine interest in the value of what he has created is essentially dismissed, or perhaps lurks from beneath a thinly veiled scorn.

17. Silicon Valley must play a role in addressing violent crime. Many politicians across the United States have essentially shrugged when it comes to violent crime, abandoning any serious efforts to address the problem or take on any risk with their constituencies or donors in coming up with solutions and experiments in what should be a desperate bid to save lives.

18. The ruthless exposure of the private lives of public figures drives far too much talent away from government service. The public arena—and the shallow and petty assaults against those who dare to do something other than enrich themselves—has become so unforgiving that the republic is left with a significant roster of ineffectual, empty vessels whose ambition one would forgive if there were any genuine belief structure lurking within.

19. The caution in public life that we unwittingly encourage is corrosive. Those who say nothing wrong often say nothing much at all.

20. The pervasive intolerance of religious belief in certain circles must be resisted. The elite’s intolerance of religious belief is perhaps one of the most telling signs that its political project constitutes a less open intellectual movement than many within it would claim.

21. Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures . . . have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful.

22. We must resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism. We, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity. But inclusion into what?

Excerpts from the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West, by Alexander C. Karp & Nicholas W. Zamiska

https://t.co/8igjazz1On

[Brian Roemmele @BrianRoemmele]

It is sometimes difficult to put into words what genius is.

But you do feel it when you experience it.

This is Jacob Collier as he improvises with an orchestra performing with the world's first Audience Symphony Orchestra in San Francisco, a gathering of fans from all over North America, conducted by Suzie Collier. In the middle of the show, this happened - no rehearsal, no sheet music, no prior discussion.

[Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 @JewsFightBack]

“I used to talk to a crack in the ceiling. And then we got into the tunnel and I switched to a small LED light. And then we got to a different tunnel, and then there was only darkness. And this is when I first said the word God. And from that point on, I spoke to God.”
—Or Levy

[Elica Le Bon الیکا‌ ل بن @elicalebon]

Wishing a blessed Yom Kippur to all my Jewish friends and followers. Though I’m not Jewish, I’ve walked alongside the community for the past two years. Here’s what I’ve observed, and how it ties into atonement—meaning to make right—in the spirit of Yom Kippur.

It’s with a heavy heart over this morning’s news that I share this, but in truth, it sadly reinforces what I’ve come to learn. Over the past years, I’ve been forced to pry my eyes open to something I spent much of my life not seeing. Antisemitism. It is not hidden in some corner of the human heart, it is acted upon daily. If you ever enter Jewish spaces, the evidence of unsafety strikes you like a lightning bolt. The schools are wrapped in barbed wire, synagogues are iron clad, and Jewish events are fortified like compounds. There is no corner of the earth in which Jews get to experience the simple privilege that most in the west unconditionally enjoy: safety. Not in Europe, not in America, not even in Israel.

But it’s not for nothing that I didn’t see it. What makes this hatred so deadly is its cloak of invisibility. Two thousand years has given it time to perfect its disguise, each year becoming more professional, more concealed. Yet, in truth, its cloak is still as poorly made as it’s ever been. Today, just like two thousand years ago, they continue to kill Jews and once again lay the blame at their own feet. It isn’t because of Jews, and it never was. It is because they are the scapegoat upon which the world projects its own hatred.

Sometimes when I’m sitting alone on my balcony, I think of the hostages that remain underground. I feel so much pain and sorrow thinking of what it must be like to be without light, water, or touch, and starved of life itself, while the world keeps turning above them. While we laugh, go to work, debate, rest, play, and love, they suffer alone. They aren’t just forgotten, their experience is shrugged off as deserved, simply because of their identity.

Yet, this hatred is not meaningless. What I’ve come to see is that the Jewish people exist as a mirror. They reflect back to societies the sickness they cannot face within themselves. A healthy society treats everyone as equals, a sick one casts Jews as scapegoats for their projected ills. Every age reveals itself in how it treats them. It is only when a society learns that their concealed hatred is a reflection of the sickness that lives in their shadow that that society can begin to “make right.”

To atone is to admit what is broken. And Jews, by their very existence, force the world to see its brokenness. They are history’s mirror, held up to every empire, every nation, every generation. Until the world stops projecting its hatred and confronts its own reflection, nothing can be made right.

So on this day, I’d like to offer this to my Jewish friends and followers. You are not the hatred that the world projects onto you. You are the catalyst that awakens the world by reflecting back to it what it refuses to see it. In other words, you are healers. For every person that understands themselves or the world better because of what was done to you, another heart becomes healed. That isn’t a light role, but it is the role of the light.

[The Persian Jewess @persianjewess]

Few people realize Hannah Einbinder attended public school in Beverly Hills—alongside the largest community of Persian Jewish refugees in America.

Nearly 40% of Hannah’s classmates were either Persian Jewish refugees or the children of refugees who fled the Islamic Regime.

Unlike Hannah, who grew up in the nepo baby bubble of her mother’s SNL career, her Persian classmates didn’t come from privilege. Their parents, like mine, lost everything — homes, businesses, careers, even family members — all for the chance to live free as Jews.

These families had to rebuild their lives from nothing after fleeing religious persecution in Iran.

But instead of recognizing the lived experience of the refugee kids she grew up with — kids who welcomed her into their homes, shared birthdays, sat beside her in English class and laughed at her jokes at the lunch table — Hannah erased their history from the narrative altogether.

And that is what makes Hannah Einbinder such a performative fraud. To posture at the Emmys as a self-proclaimed “savior of the oppressed,” while dismissing the trauma and oppression experienced by her Persian Jewish friends — this isn’t ignorance. It’s opportunism from a morally bankrupt sellout desperate for accolades.

Because the truth is this: without Israel, most Jewish refugees, like my family, have nowhere to go. This was true in 1948, it was true when my parents fled Iran, and it remains true today. For Persian Jews, Israel is not an abstract idea — it’s the insurance policy of our continued survival.

My parents settled in America, yes. But it took years for most of my family to obtain a visa and find their way here. In fact, the vast majority of Jewish refugees fleeing Iran had nowhere to go but Israel — the same Jewish state Hannah wants to sever from Judaism itself.

And if America had closed its doors, as it did during the Holocaust? If Israel had not existed? Over 100,000 Persian Jews would still be trapped in Iran — prisoners of the Islamic Regime — with no rights, no future, and none of the freedoms Hannah so easily takes for granted.

Hannah knows this truth.

When she condemned Israel at the Emmys, she wasn’t just another misguided celebrity with a platform. She was someone who grew up in a community full of marginalized Persian Jewish refugees and chose to render them invisible. Someone who knew—firsthand—that the exile and displacement of Jewish people didn’t end with the Holocaust, yet still pushed the lie that Israel’s existence and Jewish survival are mutually exclusive.

And with that, Hannah Einbinder revealed herself as just another Hack: erasing Jewish suffering, spitting on it, cashing it in, and selling her betrayal as activism.

[cheryl bart @ozcherylbart]

The best is yet to come !
Can’t wait to see the next chapter!!
You are a force of nature @Erin_Molan

[Erin Molan @Erin_Molan]

👋🙏 … so I’m not going anywhere… unfortunately 😉😘

[Mor Edge Insight @MorEdge_Insight]

Damn girl… you are on 🔥🔥🔥

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!!!

Watch the most incredible piece of moral clarity and brilliance by the ever sensational @Erin_Molan.

I absolutely LOVE this lady. A powerhouse of integrity and brutal honesty.

“The silent majority MUST stop being silent”

[Liza Rosen @LizaRosen0000]

Top British attorney Natasha Hausdorff tells human right activities to shove it: “No international law favour terrorists over law abiding citizens”.

[Liza Rosen @LizaRosen0000]

Palestinian UN staffers went into panic mode over this speech by a British colonel who refused to embrace UN’s false narrative which always portrays Israel as the "aggressor" and the Muslim terrorists as "victims" of Islamophobic oppression.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

The videos/scenes out of Amsterdam are disgusting. Middle Eastern mobs hunting down and attacking jews on the streets. Where are the authorities? Enough people have been warning of unchecked antisemitism in streets around the world. Governments must do more.

[Raylan Givens @JewishWarrior13]

🚨MUST WATCH AND SHARE: IDF Spokesman General Hagari inside a Lebanese village with a message in ENGLISH to the entire world about the horrors that Hezbollah was preparing for the residents of Israel.

[cheryl bart @ozcherylbart]

Well reasoned. Well done 👏

[Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin]

Having listened to the arguments of both sides over the last year, I'm no longer on the fence about Israel's war. Here is why:

[Yael Bar tur @yaelbt]

And now, the most Israeli story ever: the man who neutralized the terrorist in Jaffa is the chair of Israel’s “Burning Man”, Midburn, who happened to be in the area (he’s also a Nova survivor).

He did it in flip flops.

[Jared Kushner @jaredkushner]

The philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy wrote on X, “I keep reading everywhere that Lebanon is 'on the brink of collapse.' No. It is on the brink of relief and deliverance.”
Moments like this come once in a generation, if they even come at all.

The Middle East is too often a solid where little changes. Today, it is a liquid and the ability to reshape is unlimited. Do not squander this moment.

Let’s all pray for success, for peace and for the good judgement of our leaders.

[cheryl bart @ozcherylbart]

Exactly!

[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.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

“people have lost their minds on who are terrorists, who are actually defending their civilians, who are trying to get their civilians killed, people trying to rewrite borders, call people resistance fighters.”

“I think the whole narrative of now we have a ‘two front war,’ ‘Israel is now doing this.’ The headline should be Israel is defending itself in a 7 front war, that there has been 8,000 Hezbollah rockets attacking Israel for a year…80 to 100,000 Israelis homeless…it won’t be another Gaza, the objective are completely different…any other country in this situation these wouldn’t be the questions we would be asking.”

[Shaun Maguire @shaunmmaguire]

On 10/7 Hamas brutally massacred 1100+ and kidnapped 251

On 10/8 Hezbollah started firing rockets indiscriminately

Then the Houthis joined

Then the Syrians

Then the Iranians directly

Now the Iraqis

6 armies supported by Russia and China

And yet the world condemns Israel

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

4) Timing. Why now? There will forever remain a lot of unanswered questions about the pager operation. War is fought within many interconnected domains of influence. Hezbollah is an Islamic Regime in Iran proxy force in Lebanon that has been been directly and continuously attacking Israel since October 8th. But Israel is fighting many enemies on many fronts. What it does and when it does it must factor many stakeholders to include their enemies, allies, domestic & international populations/context, other plans, other ongoing operations.

[Ayaan Hirsi Ali @Ayaan]

“Justin Stebbing, a renowned oncologist, resonated with me because it sums up my own feelings – and, I suspect, a great many of our readers.
I am writing to express my unwavering support for Douglas Murray, whose insightful and articulate commentary has been a beacon of clarity and reason in today’s complex political landscape. His contributions to The Spectator have consistently demonstrated a profound understanding of global issues, particularly the intricacies of Middle Eastern politics and the defence of Israel.
His steadfast support for Israel is not only commendable but also essential in an era where misinformation and bias often cloud public discourse. His writings provide a balanced perspective that champions truth and moral clarity, qualities that are increasingly rare yet desperately needed. His ability to dissect and articulate the nuances of geopolitical conflicts with precision and empathy is a testament to his intellectual rigor and commitment to justice.
In his recent works, including his speeches and articles, he has eloquently defended Israel’s right to exist and protect its citizens against terrorism. His stance is rooted in a deep understanding of historical and contemporary contexts, which he conveys with both passion and reason. As he aptly stated, ‘It’s moral hygiene to try and clean some of this up. When 99 lies are being told and one truth, the truth will eventually win.’ This commitment to truth is what sets him apart as a commentator and public intellectual.
His broader contributions to political commentary, such as his critiques of western self-laceration and his defence of western values, highlight his role as a crucial voice in contemporary debates. His ability to engage with a wide range of topics, from the rise of extremism to the cultural and political challenges facing the West, underscores his versatility and depth as a thinker.
The attempts by political figures like Campbell to silence him not only undermine the principles of free speech and open debate but also seek to deprive the public of a valuable perspective that challenges prevailing narratives. 
It is imperative that we stand by commentators like Murray, who courageously speak the truth, even when it is unpopular. His brilliance, clarity of thought, and unwavering commitment to truth make him an indispensable asset to your publications and to the broader conversation on critical global issues.”

https://t.co/9CbvzMTrkh

[Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib @afalkhatib]

About the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran: There is no doubt that the assassination of Haniyeh, Hamas’s head of the Politburo and chief political figure, will impact the war in Gaza and the entire region in numerous ways. Here are some thoughts on this significant event:

1. The assassination was 100% approved and given a green light by the United States, given the repercussions and high stakes of regional escalation, but also the risk of the operation being compromised. The plan may have been envisioned months ago, or it may have been devised following the attack on the Golan Heights and may have been discussed in Washington as part of Netanyahu’s visit to the US Capital.

2. The assassination operation likely entailed the use of a long-range missile fired from a stealth fighter aircraft (F-35), an unmanned drone, or possibly an Israeli submarine. A lesser likelihood is that a surface-to-surface missile (SSM) was used and launched from Iraqi territory. Iraqi airspace remains the most likely staging area for launching the projectile that killed Haniyeh, given the poor state of Iraqi air defense and the proven capabilities of Israeli F-35s to operate at extended ranges without detection.

3. The assassination will pose numerous challenges and dilemmas to newly sworn Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. Haniyeh was in Tehran attending Pezeshkian’s inauguration, having left the safety of Qatari territory. The new president will have to begin his tenure with a major embarrassment and security incident that forces him to take a hardline position towards Israel and the United States. He’ll quickly lose whatever “moderate” margins he was hoping to operate within, especially as he vowed to remove Western sanctions that are crippling the nation’s economy. Pezeshkian will have to toe the line of hardliners seeking revenge and retaliation, greatly frustrating his efforts to usher in new geopolitical opportunities for his nation.

4. Israel could have killed Haniyeh months ago but didn’t want to compromise the relationship with Qatar, which remains the chief mediator with the Islamist group. Plus, the presence of the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the region, in Qatar prevents Israel from carrying out political assassinations in the Gulf Emirate. That’s why when Haniyeh entered Iran, which is known to be compromised by Israeli intelligence assets, and following the attack on the Golan Heights, an opportunity presented itself to take him out. After this assassination, Hamas is unlikely to move its headquarters out of Qatar, which affords the group unparalleled safety.

5. The assassination was likely ordered to coincide with the strike against Hezbollah’s senior commander in Beirut’s suburbs hours earlier to send a strong signal that Israel could fight on two fronts simultaneously. However, Netanyahu’s government may have intended for the assassination to pressure Hamas’s senior leadership into accepting a hostage deal and ending the war in Gaza, given the limits to how much more can be done on the ground in the coastal enclave. This is especially so following the assassination of senior military commanders in the Strip, including Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, and others - not to mention the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri in January in Lebanon. Yahya Sinwar remains the only major figure still out of Israel’s reach.

6. This event will likely generate pressure on Hamas, even if the group doesn’t capitulate or change its stance immediately, to end the war and seek to preserve what remains of its political structures. The group is weakened militarily despite not being outright defeated; however, it is interested in self-preservation, and the political wing of the group may view this event as a monumental shift that necessitates ending the war quickly to ensure the continuity of Hamas’s political relevance, which requires the survival of its senior political figures.

7. The October 7th attack against Israel was, in a way, a military coup by Sinwar and Deif against the political echelons of Hamas. They were all outside of Gaza when the attack happened and were just as surprised as everyone else to learn about it from TV. Ismail Haniyeh and other political leaders had incoherent and floundering messaging the first week after the attack – for the simple reason that they were unprepared for it. In the months following, and during negotiations, Haniyeh was a mere messenger and courier of communication that was sent to Sinwar in Gaza; meaning that his actual influence and sway over the military wing was quite limited. The assassination will likely grow the gap between the political and military wings of Hamas, both of whom have divergent interests that are increasingly disconnected.

8. Haniyeh’s assassination may expedite political reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, integrating the group into the PLO and offering it a political off-ramp that could save it from its trouble. While the agreement last week in China is part of a long series of attempts to reconcile Hamas and Fatah, the assassination may finally force Hamas to feel unprecedented pressure that finally bridges the seemingly irreconcilable differences between it and its chief political rival.

9. Iran will 100% respond to the assassination in a manner similar to what happened a few months ago with missile and drone strikes against Israel. Haniyeh’s death mere hours after the inauguration of the new Iranian president on Iranian soil is a huge, humiliating blow to the Islamic Republic’s prowess and prestige. There’s no way that the IRCG will not respond directly or in a dramatic fashion. Iran won’t launch an all-out confrontation with Israel over Haniyeh’s assassination. However, Tehran has no choice but to attempt to restore its deterrence capability, fearing that its people and regional proxies will start doubting the country’s power.

10. Hezbollah is facing a difficult choice to either return to the pre-Majdal Shams established rules of engagement with Israel or escalate to retaliate for the strike on Beirut’s suburb and avenge the assassination of Haniyeh. The group does not want an escalation that triggers an all-out war but will nevertheless face immense pressure to respond to a significant slap in the face of its partner Hamas and chief sponsor Iran.