Hello from Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. This is Mark Silinsky, welcoming you to an audio cast that supplements a video cast. Today, we will update on some issues we discussed in my upcoming book, “Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel and the World.” Let’s begin with a musical theme, the 2026 Eurovision contest. In Cauldron, we looked at the challenges of Israel’s participation in that contest. Anti-Israel sentiment was in full force in Europe, and there were many protests and efforts to derail Israel’s participation. Well, it didn’t work. In fact, Israel’s song came in second place out of 26 countries. Yuval Raphael’s “A New Day Will Rise” swept the hearts and gained the votes of the judges. Well, this surprised many participants and observers, many of whom asked if Israel is so hated among the masses, why did its national song place so high? Sure, the song’s power and beauty may have propelled it up the scale. Voters may have completely distanced themselves from political considerations. Didn’t the American Van Cliburn win the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 in Russia during the height of the Cold War? Yes. He certainly did, and, by all accounts, it was exclusively on his merits. So, it may have been the same with Miss Raphael. It may also have been that some of the voters knowingly or unknowingly cast a sympathetic vote for her country and her cause. What do you think? In any case, she certainly outperformed expectations. Now, let’s turn to this year’s Eurovision contest. First, it is much calmer than last year’s. There was no OFFICIAL Palestine flag, though many placards bore its image. There is no national flag because there is no Palestinian state. Many contestants and former contestants have protested Israel’s participation. Five countries have withdrawn from this year’s contest, which is taking place in Vienna. Past winners have returned their trophies. Certainly, it is their right to do so. But last year’s throngs of keffiyeh-wearing protesters who spat invectives and threats just aren’t there today, marking the 70th contest. This year, 35 countries are participating, including, as usual, Israel. Israel has participated in the Eurovision contest since 1973 and has won four times, most recently in 2018. In 2024, in Malmö, Sweden, and 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, many protesters loudly demanded that Israel be sent home. Many non-Israeli contestants kept away from the Israeli performer, and some were rude and hostile. Artists caught on film as being polite and friendly to Israelis requested that the footage be purged lest their image be tainted. There is some of that this year, but not as much heckling, badgering, or threatening. Some individuals were seen giving a “thumbs down” gesture toward the Israeli team, but that is their right, and they did not disrupt the performers. Some reporters noted that few Israeli contestants frequented Vienna’s celebrated coffeehouses. I really don’t know. But one coffeehouse, the MQ Kantine, a modern, artsy café, now features falafel, bagels with lox, and kosher wine, with small Israeli flags hanging from the ceiling – and a police officer outside its door. At the café, volunteers take turns monitoring for potential trouble. This is what the owner said, “My feeling is that Austria, to a certain degree, has learned from its history. Which is why the support for Israel is a lot more normal than it is in other countries.” Well, the champion was announced on May 16, and Bulgaria took the crown! Dara sang “Bangaranga,” a catchy tune, which was voted number one. And Israel? It was voted number two. Things went much better for the shunned Israelis than people predicted. We would certainly like your thoughts on this. Well, let’s turn from song to savagery. In May 2026, Israel released a comprehensive study of the systemic sexual violence inflicted on Israeli men and women on October 7, 2023. The report, titled “Silenced No More,” details a two-year investigation that drew on more than 400 testimonies and nearly 2,000 hours of visual analysis, documenting 13 patterns of violence, including gang rape, sexual torture, and forced nudity. We will not go into details, which are sickening and as morbid as you can imagine. We included some of the atrocities in “Cauldron of Terror.” Instead, we turn to columnist Nicholas Kristof’s claims published in the New York Times, which preempted the publication of “Silenced No More” by several days. The exegesis of his claims is that Israelis systematically tortured captive Arabs in Israeli prisons. Victims were rapes and sexually tortured. Quite a claim, would you agree? Of course, he had proof to substantiate these claims. Well, the source he used was the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and several individuals with dubious backgrounds. Kristof acknowledged, “There is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes. But in recent years they have built a security apparatus where sexual violence has become, as a United Nations report put it last year, one of Israel’s ‘standard operating procedures’ and ‘a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians’ added the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor that concluded that Israel employs “systematic sexual violence” that is “widely practiced as part of an organized state policy.” So, according to Kristoff, the United Nations is an unbiased, neutral arbitrator in the Gaza conflict, as is the Med Human Rights Monitor. Really? Well, we invite you to read our take in “Cauldron of Terror” on the neutrality of the United Nations and other self-described human rights organizations. Because we are very skeptical of many of these claims, I would like to single out one in particular. As you may have anticipated, this is the charge that Israeli prison officials have trained dogs to hmmm, we have to be careful here, to …. Well…to penetrate Arab prisons, but not with their teeth. I know the imagery here is difficult. Sick, you might say. But this is the claim made by Kristoff. As of this writing, Kristoff stands by what he wrote. This is what Kristoff wrote, "With encouragement from a handler in Hebrew (an Israeli prison), the Gaza-based journalist said, the dog mounted him. They (IDF soldiers) were using cameras to take photos, and he heard their laughs and giggles. He tried to dislodge the dog, but it penetrated him.” If he wanted attention, he sure got it. In fact, he was deluged with uninvited commentary and queries. Is it possible for a dog to do that? We know that Israel has trained dogs for anti-terrorist activity. This includes attacking, barking, and signaling, but not, well… you know. Are there manuals for this, or are there training tapes? Kristoff doesn’t say. Did he verify if this was even possible, or if there were verified accounts of this happening anywhere in the world? He didn’t say. Let’s look at what some experts say. Here, I quote, “Dogs cannot anatomically rape humans. As a physician, I thought I would just point that out. Why are antisemites such idiots?" a US-based physician, Dr. Sheila Nazarian, wrote on X. David Frum, a writer for The Atlantic and host of The David Frum Show, noted that the American Kennel Club attests it's an impossibility for dogs. Journalist Eli Lake claims that Kristoff’s story “doesn't pass muster.” He quotes Brandon McMillan, a three-time Emmy-winning host of CBS's Lucky Dog. Lake wrote, "The story of trained rape dogs does not hold up. Let's start with what is known about the biology of male dogs. Their penises are small and thin. They become erect only when they smell the pheromones of a female dog in heat." To this, Kristoff responded, "To those who say that canine rape is impossible, despite the many Palestinians who have described it, I'd note that at least three different medical journal articles discuss rectal injuries in humans from anal penetration by dogs.” Well, I have no knowledge of this issue, so I tried to determine whether a dog could have committed the alleged crime. I used the search engines on several dog magazines, including Modern Dog Magazine, Whole Dog Journal, K9 Magazine, and Dogger. I entered the terms needed to determine whether a dog can do that, but found nothing. Also, it was very awkward for me to type the necessary words, so I abandoned the effort. If anybody has views on this, particularly if you are a dog trainer Let’s turn from dogs to other animals, equally aggressive and deadly. The Palestinian Authority claims that Israel developed giant rats in high-tech labs and unleashed them in Gaza to prey on the infirm and attack children and women. These muscular rats, the size of cats, targeted diabetics in particular. This was hardly the first accusation that Israel used rats. According to the Palestinian Authority, in 2008 the Zionists released “genetically modified” or “chemically resistant” super-rats into the Old City of Jerusalem to drive out Arab residents. They were not afraid of cats or poison and possessed an incredible ability to distinguish Arab homes from those of Jews, of whom there are also many in the Old City. Then there are wild boars. In 2012, wild boars in the West Bank, which the Zionists released, trashed Palestinian Arab crops and terrorized villagers. They were trained to distinguish Jews from Arabs and targeted only Arabs. Very intelligent animals. For animals of lesser intelligence, such as donkeys, sheep, and cows, Israeli intelligence attached eavesdropping and recording devices and cameras to monitor farm life in Arab villages. The Palestinian Authority did explain why Israelis have a continuing interest in Arab farm life. But there you have it. Then there are hyenas that attack Palestinians in the Jordan Valley. They were released by the Israelis to cause terror and death. In 2016, residents of Hebron cornered o
