In a convoluted post on Israel, the WSJ moans about Democrats voting against Vietnam War funding.

Past Betrayals

Please consider The House Vote on Israel Echoes Past Betrayals

The vote by 103 House Democrats on Wednesday to block U.S. arms to Israel as it fights a multifront war is a shocking abandonment of an ally. It’s a sign of the rapid conquest of the Democratic Party by its anti-Israel wing, and it echoes another betrayal half a century ago—in Vietnam.

The measure to strip Israel of all aid—humanitarian and military, offensive and defensive—was offered by the isolationist Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

All of this echoes the sad denouement of the Vietnam War, when Democrats fought for years to cut off funds for South Vietnam, restricted U.S. aid, and denied its pleas for help in 1975. The North Vietnamese Communist offensive overran the South, sending more than a million “boat people” into the open ocean.

The political momentum is growing against Israel, even if Israelis depose Prime Minister Netanyahu in their October election. This movement thinks Israel is evil while Palestinian terrorists are victims.

Mercy!

Anyone now arguing we should have wasted more money on Vietnam has an empty hole where a brain should be.

It was bad enough to be begging for more Vietnam war funding at the time. It’s truly insane to be arguing that case today.

Israel Strawman

Some of us are against war and meddling, period. And History has proven us right about Vietnam, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and now Iran.

The Editorial board at the WSJ has not found a war it does not support, even Vietnam and Afghanistan after the fact.

As for Israel not violating US laws, what a joke.

Pressure Builds Over Israel’s Treatment of Palestinian Prisoners

Please note Pressure Builds Over Israel’s Treatment of Palestinian Prisoners

Auditors from Israel’s Ministry of Justice and United Nations agencies later found that detainees were subjected to beatings, particularly during transfers and searches, and starvation. Autopsies of some Palestinians who died in custody showed signs of physical assault, medical neglect and malnutrition. Doctors and rights groups described instances of sexual violence.

In addition to those reports, The Wall Street Journal interviewed a dozen Palestinians released from Israeli prisons since 2024, mostly as part of ceasefire agreements with Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. All said they experienced physical abuse, such as being bound in stress positions and beaten, and severe hunger. Two men said they were sexually assaulted in front of other prisoners.

“Every day, three times a day, someone was being beaten,” said Iyad Omar, 44, one of the men held in Lavi (formerly known as Ketziot), who had been imprisoned since 2002 and was convicted of attempted murder. “This kind of thing never happened before Oct. 7. Back then, we only faced this type of abuse if there was a hunger strike or a riot.”

Physicians for Human Rights Israel, an Israeli medical-advocacy nonprofit that monitors prisons, said it has visited 59 detainees since February, with all reporting insufficient food and medical treatment.

Israel already faces international criticism over its military activities in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as for rising attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank.

Recent Pew Research Center surveys have found deteriorating views of Israel in countries worldwide. This month, it said 62% of U.S. adults viewed the Israeli government unfavorably, up from 43% in 2022.

In May, the U.N. added Israel to a list of countries it says has committed sexual violence in warzones, citing violations, including rapes, of Palestinian detainees. Israel said it “has comprehensively, thoroughly, and unequivocally refuted these allegations” and would end relations with the U.N. secretary-general’s office.

Last month, Israel’s High Court ruled that the ban on Red Cross visits to detainees violates international and Israeli law. The visits haven’t resumed, despite the ruling. Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, had warned in 2024 that prison conditions could violate the U.N. convention against torture and called for greater Red Cross access.

Israel’s High Court also ruled last year that the state failed to meet detainees’ basic needs, after a petition from civil-society groups accused the government of starving them.

In the highest-profile case, five military reservists were indicted over the alleged assault of a Palestinian detainee held without charge in 2024 at the Sde Teiman military detention facility, a camp where some new detainees were taken before being transferred into Israel’s prison system. The indictment said the detainee was blindfolded, shackled and severely beaten, resulting in injuries including seven broken ribs and an inner rectal tear. The reservists denied the allegations.

One doctor who reviewed the patient’s medical records told the Journal in 2024 that the injuries were life-threatening, involved “obvious signs of assault,” and required a blood transfusion and rectal surgery.

The Journal also reviewed postmortem examination reports of a dozen Palestinians who died during detention since the start of the 2023 Gaza war. The Israeli government hasn’t released official autopsies or causes of death for the Palestinian detainees. In some cases, however, it has permitted a physician on behalf of the family to attend the autopsy and provide a postmortem report.

One, viewed by the Journal, involved a 45-year-old man who died in December 2024. The report said he showed signs of physical assault and excessive use of restraints on his wrists and ankles.

Apparently, the editorial board does not even read its own front page articles. Alternatively it does not give a damn.

Q: Israel aside, who is stupid enough to now be moaning we did not spend more money fighting Vietnam?
A: The WSJ editorial board.

I am proud to have been against involvement in Vietnam, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. And I was right every time.

I am prepared to add Greenland to the list.

Spotlight Iran

July 13, 2026: Congratulations to Trump for Spiking the Price of Oil and Bond Yields

Not everyone has powers like this.

July 13, 2026: Trump Says the US Is the Hormuz Strait Guardian, Will Charge 20 Percent Fee

Instead of paying Iran $1 million per ship, Trump wants 20 percent of cargo.

July 14, 2026: Trump Ends 20 Percent Protection Fee Racket, Replaced with Investment Racket

Trump’s investment demand is a fee by another name.

Article posted with permission from Mish Shedlock