Ashdotman: Daily Reflections

The world once knew the difference between propaganda and journalism. Today that line is so blurred that even Joseph Goebbels would be mourned as a reporter. If Joseph Goebbels were alive today and the Second World War was happening now, how would the world react if he were killed? Goebbels was Hitler’s propaganda minister, but he also held the title of journalist. He edited Der Angriff, he wrote articles, and he was seen by many inside Germany at the time as the intellectual face of National Socialism. Yet outside Germany no one confused him for a journalist in the professional sense. He was understood as a propagandist, a manipulator, a man whose entire career was built on incitement and control. Had he been killed by Allied bombing, it would have been seen as the removal of a dangerous figure in the Nazi war machine, not as a violation of press freedom. No one in London or New York would have lit candles to mourn him. No one would have said that the Allies had declared war on journa...

They say anti-Zionism is separate from antisemitism , but the evidence shows otherwise. Every time Israel acts, ordinary Jews across the world are attacked, proving the two cannot be separated. Since October 7th, 2023 , the world has witnessed not only the horror of Hamas ’ terror attack and the subsequent war in Gaza , but also a disturbing global surge in antisemitism. Despite the popular claim that “anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitism,” the evidence tells a very different story. Whenever Israel takes military action, Jews across the world suddenly become targets. That is not criticism of government policy. That is antisemitism. In the United Kingdom , the Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 4,103 antisemitic incidents in 2023 , the highest number ever. Shockingly, 2,699 of these occurred after October 7 alone. The following year, CST reported 3,528 incidents in 2024 , with more than half of them explicitly linked to Israel, Gaza, or Hamas. The CST notes that “trigger events” in ...

By excusing October 7 and rallying behind Hamas  and Palestine instead of the hostages, protesters and governments gave terrorists the cover they needed; prolonging the war, deepening Palestinian suffering , and ensuring more innocent lives were lost. Imagine if after October 7, the international community had stood firm from the first moment. Imagine if the United Nations, Western governments , and global civil society had united to say with absolute clarity: “Hamas is responsible. Release the hostages now. Stop using civilians as shields . This is non-negotiable.” Imagine if the streets of London, Sydney, Toronto, and Paris had filled with chants demanding Hamas free the captives, waving Israeli flags and showing solidarity to victims rather than calls to glorify their attackers. Imagine if Arab governments had chosen to isolate Hamas rather than embrace them. Had that been the response, Hamas would have been cornered. Their political cover would have collapsed, their exter...

Oh, the irony — a futuristic film made in the past ends up telling us exactly what we are now living through in the future. And here we are, ignoring its lesson.  In Demolition Man , we see a world that has become so safe and comfortable that it no longer knows how to deal with real evil. When the violent criminal Simon Phoenix is revived, the authorities confess their weakness in one striking line: “We have become a society of peace loving and understanding and we are quite frankly not equipped to deal with this situation.” That line could just as easily describe the way many in today’s world view Hamas . Phoenix is not simply a criminal, he is chaos personified, ruthless, unpredictable, and thriving precisely because his opponents have lost the stomach to confront brutality. Hamas mirrors this. It launches massacres, takes hostages, hides among civilians, and then counts on the world’s peaceful instincts to hesitate and condemn those who try to fight back. To stop Phoenix, t...

The Three Pillar Test to Peace I want to challenge anyone, and if you want, you can even use AI to help you. I call it The Three Pillar Test to Peace. Show me how a left-wing or social-liberal model can do all three of these things while Hamas remains in power: Pillar 1: Achieve lasting peace with Palestine Pillar 2: Return every single Israeli hostage Pillar 3: Disarm Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the other Palestinian terror groups obsessed with attacking Israel, and stop them from regrouping or rebuilding Because that’s the reality Israel faces. So if you’ve got a problem with Netanyahu’s approach, then spell it out for me: how exactly does a “softer” strategy work against enemies who hide behind civilians, thrive on death, and openly declare their goal to wipe Israel off the map? I’m open to hear it, but I won’t accept vague slogans. Show me a real plan. Until someone can explain how their approach passes The Three Pillar Test to Peace, simply blaming Netanyahu,...