Welcome back. The news cycle is still devastating, but here are some highlights from the past week nonetheless.

My most recent column criticized those who are now calling for a "ceasefire" or "humanitarian pause" in Gaza, as Israel continues to pummel Hamas in retribution for the horrific pogrom of Oct. 7, which slaughtered over 1,400 Israelis and wounded many thousands more. Those calling for a ceasefire or pause are simply providing cover for Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization indistinguishable from al-Qaeda or ISIS, and saying that Hamas should have more time to reload and rearm. The unfortunate reality is that Hamas and Gaza itself are inextricable from one another; they are, to a large extent, one and the same. There is no such thing as aid that the United States (or any other actor) can ensure goes to non-Hamas/non-combatant civilians in Gaza; on the contrary, Hamas has a long track record, going back to its taking over in Gaza in 2007, of co-opting all would-be "humanitarian aid" for its own malign, evil purposes. Ultimately, I concluded, "there is an extraordinarily simple way to expedite the end of all hostilities in Gaza: Hamas releases all hostages taken on Oct. 7 and unconditionally surrenders to Israel, just as Germany and Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Powers to end World War II."

For my most recent show episode, I opened with a segment on the decline of urban America and rising crime and homelessness in inner cities, continued with a segment on the immoral idiocy of America's pro-Hamas students and activists, gave a refresher on the fabricated/Soviet-era history of so-called "Palestinian nationalism," and then interviewed Oded Ailam, a 24-year Mossad veteran, on the current state of the war in Gaza and whether he expects that most of the hostages (numbering well over 200) will make it home safely. (You can listen to that episode on Apple, Spotify or here.) Also, as a reminder: We are now officially in radio! Beginning this past weekend, you can tune in on Saturdays at 6:00 PM PDT/9:00 PM EDT and Sundays at 8:00 AM PDT/11:00 AM EDT to AM 770 KTTH (Seattle) to hear new episodes of "The Josh Hammer Show." If you are a radio station manager interested in bringing my show to your station, please email Jesse Edwards: j.edwards@newsweek.com.

In terms of other media hits and appearances since our last newsletter, I co-wrote an essay for the Claremont Institute's American Mind journal with Phoenix-based radio host (and former guest on my show) Seth Leibsohn, in which we argued that the American free speech tradition does not protect the genocidal Jew-hatred we are now seeing on university campuses; joined "The Foreign Desk with Lisa Daftari" to discuss the war in the Middle East and skyrocketing Jew-hatred globally; joined Leibsohn on his eponymous show on 960 AM The Patriot (Phoenix) to talk about my own show's move into radio and the perverse morality we are seeing from so many when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war; joined a Mike-Slater hosted special for The First on the 2024 election, now that we are officially one year out; was quoted in an Epoch Times article about the demise of the Mike Pence presidential campaign; joined Jon Glasgow on Newsmax's "Sunday Report" to discuss the latest GOP presidential primary developments in Iowa; joined Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight" to discuss President Joe Biden's perilous polling, with the election looming one year away; joined "Rita Panahi Overtime" on Sky News Australia to discuss, among other topics, Biden's bad polling and former President Barack Obama's disgraceful recent comments on Israel; joined Jenna Ellis on American Family Radio's eponymous "Jenna Ellis in the Morning" to discuss last night's disappointing elections and to preview tonight's third GOP presidential debate; and recorded CenterClip audio op-eds on the Democratic presidential primary, Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war, and previewing tonight's GOP debate.

Regarding public speaking appearances, I am in Rhode Island for an event at Roger Williams University School of Law, having spoken at Yale Law School in Connecticut yesterday. Next week, I'm back on the road for two Federalist Society speaking events in St. Louis, followed by a big Young America's Foundation event at the University of Michigan on the Israel-Hamas war.

Our additional highlighted right-leaning Newsweek op-eds from the past week include selections from Chris Griswold, Bassem Eid, Yael Bar tur, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), and Dani Dayan.

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