Welcome to TOS Weekly!
On the third anniversary of the horrendous Hamas attack against innocent Israelis on October 7th, 2023, many in the West remain ignorant of the true nature of the evil that perpetrated that attack. Mere days before the anniversary, another would-be murderer attempted to hijack and crash a plane full of Israelis into the terminal building at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport in the name of Islam. The fact he failed is thanks to the heroic actions of captain Smit Machchhar and the passengers who helped him subdue the fanatical jihadist. Their actions, which I describe in my latest article, are a welcome reminder that those who value human life can triumph over those who would destroy it.
I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,
Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor
New This Week
The Heroes of Flight 1073
Flight 1073 is a vital reminder to take seriously the threat Islamic terrorism poses to free, life-loving people everywhere. But it is also a welcome reminder that the world is full of people such as Smit Machchhar—people who care about human life and embody that in their heroic actions.
Bear in Obsession: Villain or Victim of Circumstance?
One of the most basic virtues we can exercise is choosing to think rationally and to evaluate the world around us. Therefore, wilfully inducing inner fog to escape the responsibility of judgment is a source of evil. Bear spends much of "Obsession" ignoring that which he knows is true in a way that puts her life and the lives of others in danger.
From the Archive
Israel: To Be, or Not to Be
Israel has a moral right to exist and to defend Israelis against those who attack or threaten to attack them. The source of this right is not faith, or “God,” or ancestral roots. Nor is it the UN or “international law.” Rather, the source of this right is the fact that the Israeli people have established and maintained an essentially rights-respecting society in an area where no such society previously existed.
Smearing Israel from the Ivory Tower
The ideological war against Israel—seeking to replace the most rights-respecting, freest country in the Middle East with another rights-denying Islamic regime—is unjust, anti-civilization, antilife.
This Week’s Anniversaries
Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand’s Morality of Egoism
Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged was published on October 10, 1957. The book changed the course of history for the better—and continues to do so—because it changes individuals' thinking and thus individuals' lives for the better.
Happy Nonindigenous Peoples' Day!
This October, let us celebrate nonindigenous people and their maverick spirit. Let us rejoice in an Explorers’ Day, a holiday to celebrate not only the Armstrongs and Borchgrevinks, but also the countless unknowns who make harrowing journeys to new lands in search of a better life.
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