The jackal is likely mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, although in each case the translation is disputed. But there is no doubt that these genetic relatives of wolves and dogs have roamed the Levant for millennia, and are still found in the wild in Israel. Recently, zoologists have noticed some significant changes in their behavior. Pesach Benson writes:

Golden jackals, an overabundant species in urban habitats, have long been observed thriving near human populations. However, a Tel Aviv University study conducted on the Golan Heights suggests that the existing closeness between humans and jackals might be initiating the first stages of domestication, akin to the domestication of dogs from wolves.

During a camera survey on the Golan Heights, the researchers discovered five unusual jackals with long fur, white patches, and upright tails. One of these jackals, nicknamed “Jackie,” became the focal point of the study. One indicator of domestication is a change in fur color. . . . Genetic and skull examinations confirmed that Jackie was 100-percent jackal, ruling out any dog hybridization or known coat-color mutations.

The discovery of Jackie raises the possibility that this might be an incipient stage of self-domestication, a phenomenon that has not been witnessed in the thousands of years since the domestication of the last wild mammal. Israel, particularly the Golan region, holds historical significance as the birthplace of plant and mammal domestication.

Addressing a recent meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Committee, Mahmoud Abbas criticized Hamas more sharply than he has previously (at least in public), calling them “sons of dogs.” The eighty-nine-year-old Palestinian Authority president urged the terrorist group to “stop the war of extermination in Gaza” and “hand over the American hostages.” The editors of the New York Sun comment:

Mr. Abbas has long been at odds with Hamas, which violently ousted his Fatah party from Gaza in 2007. The tone of today’s outburst, though, is new. Comparing rivals to canines, which Arabs consider dirty, is startling. Its motivation, though, was unrelated to the plight of the 59 remaining hostages, including 23 living ones. Instead, it was an attempt to use an opportune moment for reviving Abbas’s receding clout.

[W]hile Hamas’s popularity among Palestinians soared after its orgy of killing on October 7, 2023, it is now sinking. The terrorists are hoarding Gaza aid caches that Israel declines to replenish. As the war drags on, anti-Hamas protests rage across the Strip. Polls show that Hamas’s previously elevated support among West Bank Arabs is also down. Striking the iron while it’s hot, Abbas apparently longs to retake center stage. Can he?

Diminishing support for Hamas is yet to match the contempt Arabs feel toward Abbas himself. Hamas considers him irrelevant for what it calls “the resistance.”

[Meanwhile], Abbas is yet to condemn Hamas’s October 7 massacre. His recent announcement of ending alms for terror is a ruse.

Abbas, it’s worth noting, hasn’t saved all his epithets for Hamas. He also twice said of the Americans, “may their fathers be cursed.” Of course, after a long career of anti-Semitic incitement, Abbas can’t be expected to have a moral awakening. Nor is there much incentive for him to fake one. But, like the protests in Gaza, Abbas’s recent diatribe is a sign that Hamas is perceived as weak and that its stock is sinking.