Crosstalk: November 15, 2018

David Rubin is the former mayor of Shiloh, Israel, in the region of Samaria, known to much of the world as the West Bank.  He's founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, established to heal the trauma of terror victim children after he and his three year old son were seriously wounded in a terror attack.  He is known as a 'trusted voice' in Israel.  He's author of multiple books including 'The Islamic Tsunami', 'Peace for Peace: Israel in the New Middle East' and his latest title, 'Trump and the Jews'. 

David began by informing listeners that over the last 24-48 hours there were over 500 rocket attacks launched against Israel from the Gaza Strip that resulted in loss of life and property. This is the area where the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations are based and in total control.

There were various responses, and as a result there were emergency consultations involving top brass within the military, Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The result is that Israel's defense forces were given the 'green light' to counter with a full-scale operation in Gaza.

Israel's Security Cabinet had an intense, 7 hour meeting yesterday that involved differences of opinion, but David simplified things down to this: It was the opinion of Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel should not launch a full-scale operation in Gaza. The two right-wing parties, including the defense minister, took a very strong stand that Israel has to go forward with the full-scale option.

In the end, the majority of the cabinet went along with Prime Minister Netanyahu while Defense Minister Lieberman has resigned.

David explains more on the attack including how's Israel's election process factors in to this, why Jewish liberals don't support Israel's right to exist, if there's a connection between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, the reaction of the Trump administration, and much more including the thoughts of Crosstalk listeners.