Sunday, September 15, 2019

09/15 Links: PMW: PA Minister of Culture denies Jewish history; Mohammad Tawhidi: I Was an Extremist and an Antisemite, Do You Know My Story?; Why is BDS dangerous?

From Ian:
PMW: PA Minister of Culture denies Jewish history
One of the central elements of the Palestinian narrative is the negation of the entire Jewish history in the Land of Israel in general and in Jerusalem in particular. Despite numerous sources and archeological finds proving the opposite, the Palestinian Authority regularly repeats this claim because it is the basis for the PA's denial of Israel's right to exist. Recently, the PA Minister of Culture emphasized this Palestinian lie, claiming Israel has "no connection" to Jerusalem, history, geography or even to the future. He then asserted the second fundamental Palestinian historical revision intended to create a Palestinian right to exist. He claimed that Palestinians were Canaanites with a 6,000-year history in the land:

PA Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif: "Our struggle is with this State [of Israel] that came out of nowhere, without a history and without geography, stole our land, and wants to put an end to our existence... There is a lying author who wrote a story about his false presence on this land, and then comes and wants to realize his tale. There is nothing in history that proves this presence. They have not found one stone... [Israel knows] that they have no connection to this city [Jerusalem], that they have no connection to this history, and that they have no connection to the geography, just as they have no connection to the future... If Israel celebrated the lie of '3,000 years [of Jewish history] in Jerusalem,' we have 7,000 years in Jerusalem - so what? We Canaanites are the first ones who built Jebus more than 6,000 years ago. And perhaps we need no celebrations because it is natural that we are here. Those who celebrate are foreigners."
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Aug. 26, 2019]

Palestinian Media Watch documented that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas himself recently voiced the PA claim that today's Palestinians are descendants of the biblical Canaanites in order to establish an ancient historical connection of "5,000 years" to the land:

Abbas: "[Israelis] will remember that this land belongs to its people; this land belongs to its inhabitants; this land belongs to the Canaanites who were here 5,000 years ago - and we are the Canaanites!"
[Facebook page of the PA Presidential Office, Aug. 10, 2019]


Jonathan Tobin: Critics Deny Jerusalem’s Past and Its Future
Its critics have accused Israel of a lot of terrible things over the course of its 71 years of existence, but The New York Times has now added one more to the list that will particularly resonate with intellectuals. While Israeli policies in Jerusalem since its reunification in 1967 have often been blasted, a recently approved proposal to deal with the city’s seemingly insoluble traffic problems is being put down as “Disneyfication.”

The object of scorn is a cable car that will start its journey at the First Station cultural complex in western Jerusalem and then travel over the Hinnom Valley to a stop at Mount Zion before landing in the City of David archeological park in eastern Jerusalem. There, visitors and worshippers will be able to tour the historic excavations at the site and walk to the Western Wall via recently excavated underground passageways that were taken by pilgrims on their way to the Second Temple 2,000 years ago. If planners have their way, this line will be the first of many that will crisscross the city in the future, delivering people to destinations that would otherwise require them to navigate jammed streets.

The accusation that Jews are trashing the holy city and turning it into a theme park due to this plan was the focus of a feature published this week by the Times. The cable-car scheme is fair game for criticism from architects and others who worry about the potential aesthetic damage to the ancient capital. But the subtext of the campaign against the initiative goes far deeper than whether or not it will make Jerusalem look like a Swiss ski resort or even Disneyworld. For Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman and many of the Israel-bashers he quotes in his piece, the real story is about how Israel is seeking to emphasize Jerusalem’s Jewish history.

New York Times’ Jerusalem Cable Car: The Architecture of Bias
Kimmelman is perfectly entitled to critique the Israeli cable car plan on the grounds of architecture and design. Indeed, one of the critics he interviews is Moshe Safdie, the architect responsible for many Israeli building projects including within Jerusalem. But Kimmelman goes further:
The cable-car project is an example, illustrating how Israel wields architecture and urban planning to extend its authority in the occupied territories. Whatever its transit merits, which critics say are negligible, the cable car curates a specifically Jewish narrative of Jerusalem, furthering Israeli claims over Arab parts of the city.

What is this architecture and urban planning that Israel wields? An illustrative photo below the paragraph shows a walled section of Israel’s security barrier as an example. The barrier is not about extending Israeli authority but preventing acts of Palestinian terrorism against Israeli civilians.

And what exactly is a “specifically Jewish narrative of Jerusalem,” a city that has been central to Judaism and the Jewish people for thousands of years?

Later, Kimmelman also states:
Cable car passengers will be funneled through a Jewish version of the city’s history.

As if Israel is somehow imposing on or ‘Judaizing’ the city.

Indeed, according to Kimmelman:
the cable cars will swoop down from a Jewish neighborhood in the western part of Jerusalem to Mount Zion.

This is an interesting use of language given that cable cars usually descend fairly slowly. Instead, we have them “swooping down” almost like a predatory bird, which might well be a subliminal image for Kimmelman who sees Israel preying on the holy city.

Related reading: Deal With It: Jerusalem is Israel’s Capital

It’s also worth pointing out that while Kimmelman sees Israel promoting a “Jewish version of the city’s history,” Israel is the one authority that has consistently and effectively protected all holy sites in Jerusalem for all religions. Indeed there is nothing preventing tourists from visiting the many Christian or Muslim historical sites. The only party that denies a Jewish historical connection to the city is the Palestinians.




Mohammad Tawhidi: I Was an Extremist and an Antisemite, Do You Know My Story?
Everyone has a story.

My story is a long one, which is why I put the main parts of it in a book. To make sure that all my friends and followers can read my book, I recently instructed my office to make the E-book version affordable to everyone for almost nothing.

Here, I explain how I was indoctrinated by the educational system of Islamic Regime in Iran, and how I managed to break free. This is important because I do not speak of a matter that took place twenty or fifty years ago, but a matter that took place less than ten years ago.

How did Imam Tawhidi, go from this:


To this?:


In 2006, my friends and I were taken on a journey from Western Australia to Iran, in order to visit the holy Islamic sites as well as participate in a short Islamic studies course. Around a month later, we returned to Australia. Out of the group of 20 people, I was the only one that decided to return to Iran and complete my studies. With encouragement from friends and family, I returned to Iran the following year.

I landed in Tehran at 2:22 am on February 3, 2007. Amar, a taxi driver my family friends had arranged to meet me at the airport, took me to the Holy City of Qum. I told him to take me to the Imam Khomeini Islamic Seminary, located at Jihad Roundabout, because I was familiar with that institute and its people from the previous trip. I was transferred to another location, a student dormitory, where students from all countries waited for their interview with the university committee.

I spent over five months in a dormitory with prospective students from Russia, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Africa, the UK, and the USA. The room I was placed in included six other students waiting their turn, with the entire building holding over 50 other students. It was not a pleasant time. Many had applied to study in this university simply because there was no other option for them in life. They had either come from war-torn countries, or fled their families. Some were converts to Islam. Fights would break out between them, and some students were extremely violent.


Netanyahu approves new Jordan Valley settlement, says US peace plan imminent
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his final pre-election cabinet meeting on Sunday in the Jordan Valley on Sunday, reiterating his pledge to annex the area.

During the special cabinet meeting, the cabinet also voted to approve a new settlement in the area. The settlement, Mevo'ot Yericho, has previously been an illegal outpost, but now it is set to get official recognition.

Netanyahu further said that it was clear that the US peace plan was going to be released just days after the election, even before a new coalition is formed and a new government is sworn in. He said Israeli Ambassador to the United States had a similar assessment, and therefore it was imperative to green light the new settlement.

The meeting, along with the new pledges, came despite an international outcry over Netanyahu's promise to annex the West Bank's Jordan Valley. Annexing the area, considered to be the heartland of any future Palestinian state, would all but extinguish any remaining Palestinian hopes for independence.

Netanyahu has staged a flurry of media appearances to beseech supporters to vote in large numbers to stave off the prospect of a left-wing government he says will endanger the country's security.
Defense Ministry: Jews should be allowed to privately purchase West Bank land
Legal officials in the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces have reportedly concluded that Israel could allow Jews for the first time to purchase property in the West Bank as private individuals, which would mark a significant achievement for settlers and make it easier for them to acquire land.

The legal opinions have been submitted to the office of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who is expected to approve them, the Haaretz daily reported on Sunday.

While the IDF legal adviser has warned of potential diplomatic repercussions over such a move, the Defense Ministry adviser called for implementing the recommendation, saying it wouldn’t mark a radical change from the current legal situation, the report said.

The current military laws in the West Bank — based on old Jordanian law from the time the Hashemite Kingdom controlled the region from 1949 to 1967, when Israel captured it in the Six Day War — only allow Jordanians, Palestinians or “foreigners of Arab origin” to purchase land.

Israeli Jews are only able to carry out real estate deals via a company and require approval from the head of the Civil Administration, an Israeli body belonging to the Defense Ministry which is in charge of civilian matters in the West Bank.
Turkey Says Israel Becoming ‘Racist, Apartheid Regime’ With Annexation Plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of his intention to annex areas of the West Bank following next week’s elections shows Israel is becoming a “racist, apartheid regime,” Turkey’s foreign minister was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would annex the Jordan Valley, a swathe of the disputed West Bank that Israel captured in 1967 and which Palestinians want as part of a future state. The move alarmed Middle Eastern nations, European powers, and Arab foreign ministers.

On Saturday, Turkey’s foreign ministry said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would convene in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss Netanyahu’s statement.

Speaking in Jeddah, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Netanyahu’s “embarrassing” plan was a “despicable” attempt to earn votes ahead of Tuesday’s election, and criticized what he called a lack of reaction from other Muslim countries.

“Israel, encouraged by the support of certain countries, is continuing its aggressive policies that are turning it into a racist, apartheid regime,” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency.

“If the whole Muslim community had reacted together, the reckless plans, policies, and behavior of the United States and Israel would never have reached this point,” Cavusoglu said.
Settlement ‘islands’: Bennett posts map of Trump’s alleged plan for West Bank
Yamina candidate Naftali Bennett unveiled Sunday what he claimed was the long-delayed Trump peace plan’s scheme for dividing the West Bank between Israel and the Palestinians. His party later acknowledged it had “compiled” the map itself based on various reports.

The alleged plan, shared by Bennett on Facebook together with a map, shows what he calls “islands” of Israeli control surrounded by a majority of the West Bank set aside for a Palestinian state.

The map shows Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley as Israeli.

The politician, whose party is battling the ruling Likud for right-wing voters ahead of the elections on Tuesday, slammed the alleged plan as “hell” for Israelis living in the West Bank, and claimed it would be the de facto end of the settlement enterprise.

“Folks, it’s time to reveal: This is the ‘Islands Plan’ of the deal of the century, which will be imposed on us right after the elections,” Bennett wrote.

“In black — Palestine. In white, isolated Israeli ‘islands’ in an ocean of Palestine, surrounded 360 degrees by Hamas, Tanzim, PLO,” he wrote.
A map of the West Bank that purports to show the final arrangement proposed by the Trump peace plan, with Israeli-controlled areas in blue and white, and a Palestinian state in black. (Facebook screen capture)

He called the map “hell for every resident of Ariel, Ofra and Kiryat Arba. An end to the settlement [enterprise].”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “spoke of sovereignty in the ‘settlements,’ but intentionally avoided saying, ‘sovereignty over Area C,'” the roughly 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli control,” Bennett said.

'Palestinian state map is inaccurate, not part of US peace plan'
The map shows Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria annexed to Israel, along with the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea area, while most of Judea and Samaria is ceded by Israel for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

A senior US official pushed back, Sunday, telling The Jerusalem Post that the map presented by Bennett was “inaccurate”, and does not reflect the actual peace plan.

"The map posted by Naftali Bennett today on twitter and his claim that this represents the vision for peace of the Trump administration is highly inaccurate," the official said.

Earlier on Sunday, Likud officials blasted Yamina over the map, saying it “hurt the sensitive relationship with the Trump administration.”

"The map that Bennett, Smotrich and Shaked are advertising - is incorrect and not part of Trump's Deal of the Century. Absolute Fake News.”

"Trump's ‘Deal of the Century’' will come immediately after elections on Tuesday, and Israeli citizens have to decide who they want to send to negotiate with President Trump - his close friend Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who protected the land of Israel for the 8 years of Obama and brought about great achievements from the Trump administration, or Yair Lapid, who wants to evacuate 90 thousand settlers, and with whom nobody serious in the US is even familiar.”
Spy Stories, This Time in Politico
It is an unfortunate Washington reality that stories about US intelligence breaches are often exploited to charge Israel with spying on the United States, or otherwise compromising US security. A story in Politico is the latest example, charging – without any obvious evidence – that Israel was responsible for planting cell site simulators that would allow cellphone calls in Washington, DC to be tracked and intercepted. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, issued categorical denials that Israel had planted such devices, or spied on the US in other ways either.

The Politico article, Israel accused of planting mysterious spy devices near the White House, by Daniel Lippman, charges that:
The U.S. government concluded within the past two years that Israel was most likely behind the placement of cellphone surveillance devices that were found near the White House and other sensitive locations around Washington, according to three former senior U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.

Lippman further claims that:
Based on a detailed forensic analysis, the FBI and other agencies working on the case felt confident that Israeli agents had placed the devices, according to the former officials, several of whom served in top intelligence and national security posts.

But Lippman seems confused about whether the devices in question were ever recovered – he implies they were by referring to devices “found near the White House,” but elsewhere in the article he refers to “evidence of the devices,” meaning signals picked up from the alleged devices, rather than the devices themselves.
Ex-envoy to U.S.: Israel needs formal denial from U.S. of spy allegations
In order to clear the air, Israel should work to get an official and formal denial of last week’s Politico story alleging Israeli spying on the White House, former ambassador to the US Zalman Shoval said on Sunday,

Shoval noted that US President Donald Trump denied the story in a response on Thursday to a reporter’s question, but that it “would be in order” for Jerusalem to get an official denial from the White House or the State Department.

“I don’t believe that, no, I don’t believe the Israelis were spying on us. I really would find that hard to believe,” Trump said.

“My relationship with Israel has been great,” Trump continued. “You look at the Golan Heights, you look at Jerusalem, with moving the embassy to Jerusalem. You look at even the Iran deal, what’s happened with Iran. Iran is a much different country right now than it was two and a half years ago. No, I don’t believe that, I wouldn’t believe that story. Anything is possible. But I don’t believe it.”
Blocked by Israel, PA's Request to Join World Postal Union Denied
The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) request to join the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was denied, following an Israeli campaign.

The PA in March made an official request to join the UPU, and on Friday their application was rejected after failing to obtain the majority required for its approval.

Established in 1874, the UPU is the second oldest international organization. The UPU is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players.

Joining the UPU for United Nations member states is automatic, and therefore all 192 countries are members. According to the organization’s rules, adding a “non-member state” requires the support of two-thirds of countries. The PA’s request to join was sent to the Member States in early April and they were given four months to respond. Countries that did not respond to the request were counted as abstentions.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has been campaigning with the Member States and has prevented the PA from obtaining the required majority to join.


Why, for the time being, bear Hamas?
By contrast, Hezbollah has a dominating presence in Lebanon thanks to Iranian support. Israel wants the US and others to focus on biting economic sanctions, to reduce among other issues, Iran’s ability to finance Hezbollah and Hamas. One needs a quiet southern front to ensure that focus.

To prevent the Iranian build up might require massive retaliation in Lebanon – an outcome that will bring about a campaign of massive delegitimization against the Jewish State. Why waste Israel’s precious few reserves of legitimacy at the present moment on a far less lethal southern front?

Hamas’s strategic objective is different from both Iran and Israel. If the former wants hot war on the southern front, then Hamas wants intermittent and limited violence to extort Qatari aid and Israeli concessions, which also includes indirect subsidies toward its enemy – like the creation of a new electricity line from Israel, which Hamas knows Israel will subsidize for a considerable period of time as in the past (another shame-provoking act!).

Despite election rhetoric, no serious politician or political party disagrees either with Netanyahu’s reading of Israel’s geostrategic predicament, the steadfast way he pursues it, or the need to bear the pain and the shame of a quiet southern front.

His detractors, Gantz, Lapid (much less so Ya’alon) only take him to task for failing to leverage the three-and-a-half years to explore international and regional schemes that seemingly would put Gaza on a trajectory of peace.

Here, indeed, is the difference between Netanyahu’s acumen and courage and these detractors’ empty rhetoric. They should read Prof. Benny Miller, an astute geostrategic Israeli scholar on regional war and peace in the Middle East, who states that outside powers are helpful in ending wars and preserving cold wars, but it is local powers that decide on war and peace.

Israel’s enemies know what they want – certainly not peace. So much for the importance of international and regional schemes.

Only another round of war and victory will do in Hamas, but not right now. Iran and the northern front in the immediate future are far more important.
Palestinian A-G charges relatives suspected of 'honor killing' with murder
Palestinian Attorney-General Akram al-Khatib has charged three of Israa Ghrayeb's relatives with murder in her untimely death. He made the statements during a press conference over the weekend.

However, despite claims made on social media and by the Palestinian public, he ruled out that that she was the victim of an honor killing.

Khatib said that the three relatives are being charged with "beating [Ghrayeb] to death," proclaiming that she suffered from "severe respiratory failure" from "torture and abuse" at the hands of those charged, adding that anyone else believed to have been involved in her death will be prosecuted.

He added that grievous psychological and physical torture contributed to the deterioration of Ghrayeb's health.

Activists worldwide have been calling for retribution for Ghrayeb, who was a 21-year-old Palestinian woman from Beit Sahour, Bethlehem. She was allegedly murdered in late August by her brother, after she posted a video on social media of herself with the man she was planning to marry.

Ghrayeb’s brother, Ihab, a Canadian resident, was apparently exasperated by the video, claiming that the post “dishonored” the family by presenting her with her soon-to-be husband before the actual wedding.

The victim's father allegedly ordered her brother to beat her after relatives witnessed the footage online.
Turkey Says Delivery of Second S-400 Battery Complete
Turkey’s defense ministry said on Sunday that the delivery of a second battery of Russian S-400 missile defense systems has been completed as of Sunday, and added that the systems would become active in April 2020.

Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads over Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 systems, which the United States says are not compatible with NATO defenses and pose a threat to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 “stealth” fighter jets.

The initial parts of the system were delivered to Ankara in July despite warnings about possible US sanctions over the purchase. The United States has also expelled Turkey from the F-35 program, but Ankara has so far dismissed the warnings.

In a statement, the defense ministry said the delivery of the second S-400 battery to Ankara was completed. Efforts to mount the systems and train personnel who will use them were continuing, it said, adding that it planned to activate the S-400s in April 2020.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusglu told an interview with CNN Turk on Saturday that the S-400s would be activated despite repeated US warnings.
US warship docks in Beirut for first time in 30 years
A US warship docked in the port of Lebanon's capital of Beirut on Saturday, for the first time in 30 years.

According to the US Embassy in Lebanon, the arrival of USS Ramage, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, comes as a goodwill gesture and a sign of US commitment to regional security and freedom of navigation.

Daily Star also quotes the US ambassador to Lebanon as saying the visit was a political message signifying the depth of the relations between the US and Lebanon.

A reception hosted by Fifth Fleet commander Vice Admiral James Malloy saw representatives of all Lebanon's factions, except for Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The visit comes at a time of heightened regional tensions stirred by what many see as an increasingly assertive Iran operating via its many proxies.

On Saturday, Iranian-linked Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for a drone strike on key Saudi oil facilities. The US was quick to point at Tehran as the actual perpetrator, with Iran dismissing the allegations as nothing but a pretext for future US actions against Tehran.
Hezbollah's new missile 'capable of destroying all military battleships'
A twitter account affiliated with Hezbollah posted a photo of the terror organization's new missile on Sunday afternoon, which he says is capable of destroying all military battleships.

"Our new missile is capable of destroying all military battleships, killing all who are on board," wrote the Hezbollah activist, who often posts photos of South Lebanon Army (SLA) members and their families who have moved to Israel, announcing that they are being called to trial.

In August, Hezbollah released footage and pictures of the anti-ship missile that struck the INS Hanit during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, an incident that killed four Israeli soldiers in one of the most significant attacks against the IDF in the war.

In a documentary called #Army_To_Be_Drowned aired on Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV channel marking the war the group aired reconnaissance footage of the ship from the Lebanese coastline, preparations for the launch of the missile, the operations room which directed the strike as well as nighttime footage which showed the impact of the Chinese-made C-802 anti-ship cruise missile.
JCPA: Assad Tries to Stir Up Trouble among the Druze on the Golan Heights
During the first week of September 2019, a large group of Druze sheikhs from the Golan Heights sought to visit Syria. However, Israel did not allow them to cross into Jordan on their way to Damascus.

The incident begs the question: what is going on between the Druze on the Golan Heights and their brethren in Syria and Lebanon?

Since the Assad regime returned to the Syrian side of the Golan Heights in July 2018, pro-Syrian activities have increased among the Druze in the area. These activities ceased during the time that Assad lost control over the border area in the Syrian civil war (2012-2018). The pendulum even swung in the opposite direction, with activities showing solidarity with the rebels and a distancing from Assad.

Today, the offices of the Mukhabarat – Syria’s Military Intelligence Directorate – have reopened in Quneitra and are already intervening in villages on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights. The city of Quneitra is also being rebuilt. While Assad is maintaining quiet on the border, he is also interfering on the Israeli side to stir up riots and unrest.

Before the delegation of sheikhs, there was a demonstration against the Trump plan. What do the Druze have to do with the Trump plan? The anti-American Mukhabarat in Quneitra provided the answers.
Iranian general says country ready for ‘full-fledged war’ with US
A top Iranian commander warned on Sunday that Tehran was prepared for an all-out war with the United States and said his country could launch advanced missiles at US bases and aircraft carriers within a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles).

The statement appeared to be a response to Washington casting blame on Iran Saturday after Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said the kingdom was temporarily halting production at two Aramco oil facilities that were attacked by the Yemeni rebels, interrupting about half of the company’s total output.

The Iranian-backed Houthis, who hold Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and other territory in the Arab world’s poorest country, took responsibility for the attacks in the war against a Saudi-led coalition that has fought since 2015 to reinstate the internationally recognized Yemeni government. But the US blamed Iran, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting, “There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”

“Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo added.
Iran Says US Bases and Aircraft Carriers Within Range of Its Missiles: Tasnim
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Sunday that US bases and aircraft carriers in the region were within range of Iranian missiles after the US accused Iran of leading attacks on Saudi oil plants, raising tensions in the Middle East.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said it attacked two Saudi Aramco oil plants on Saturday at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, knocking out more than half the Kingdom’s output.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being behind the attacks, ruling out Yemeni involvement and denouncing Tehran for engaging in false diplomacy.

Pompeo said on Twitter on Saturday that there was no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.

“Everybody should know that all American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometres around Iran are within the range of our missiles,” the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force Amirali Hajizadeh said on Sunday.


Why is BDS dangerous?
In 2016, 46% of Democrats in the United States said their sympathies aligned with Israel, compared with 29% who sympathized with the Palestinians. In 2018, only 27% of Democrats supported Israel, compared with 25% for the Palestinians. That’s a drop of 20 percentage points in support for Israel in just two years.

Today’s European anti-Semitism comes mainly from liberals. A study conducted in 2012 by the German-based Friedrich Ebert Foundation shows that 63% of Poles and 48% of Germans think that “Israel is waging a war of extermination against the Palestinians,” along with 42% in Britain, 41% in Hungary and 38% in Italy.

According to a survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 48% of the European Jews interviewed have heard or read charges that “Israelis behave like Nazis toward the Palestinians.”

Younger liberals, perhaps especially young people of color, are the engines of rising discontent with reflexively pro-Israel policy. They often struggle to understand, much less to embrace, the way older liberals see Israel.

Here are three reasons for the success of BDS:

First, BDS successfully allied itself with Western leftist causes by portraying Israel as a white, apartheid, racist, colonialist state engaged in the ethnic cleansing of its brown indigenous Arab population.

Second, Israel failed to recognize the large demographic, cultural and ideological shift that has taken place in the West and adjust its actions, narrative, and policies to fit the new reality.

Third, Israel is not fighting the cultural and media war of delegitimization being waged by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Meanwhile, Israel is spending its time and resources in promoting unnecessary legislation to prevent economic boycotts and sanctions that have not yet materialized.
Oakland Block the Boat Fail. 5th Anniversary edition. And Zim keeps on Truckin.
San Francisco's Arab Resource Organizing Center is celebrating the 5th anniversary of their failure to permanently prevent Zim cargo from off-loading in Oakland.

The 2014 action, dubbed "Block the boat" was a triumph of bullying, ultimately achieving nothing. Zim trailers still abound in the Bay area.

Even in the tumultuous world of international shipping, with the on again, off again tariffs, Zim's doing just fine financially, with total revenue of $834.3 million in Q2 2019, a 3.9 % increase from last year. Thats in spite of the best efforts of the BDS holes.

In the 2nd quarter of 2019, ZIM carried 731 thousand TEUs, its' second highest carried volume ever.

Rather than an action reflective of "activists working in close partnership with members of ILWU Local 10, " as claimed by AROC, the gates to the docks were physically blocked, with activists using their bodies, their bikes, and their children to prevent workers from uploading the ships.


Antisemitism Envoy Reveals New US ‘Interagency Process’ to Tackle Growing Jew-Hatred
Amid growing concerns over global antisemitism, a panel of experts convened at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on New York’s Upper East Side to discuss the “weaponization of antisemitism” and ways to combat it.

At the event, which was hosted by the Bnai Zion Foundation, panelists began by discussed the sources of antisemitism: the Israel-hating radical left, the far-right as exhibited by white supremacist and Islamic extremists.

“As bad as this is, it isn’t the 1930s because we have friends and allies in powerful places around the world who are incredibly good partners,” said Elan Carr, US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism.

Carr, who served as the international president of Alpha Epsilon Pi—the Jewish fraternity that he led in fighting antisemitism on college campuses in North America and Europe—also called the “24/7 indoctrination” against Jewish people and Israel taking place on North American college campuses “absolutely disgraceful.” He said the Trump administration is working on an “interagency process on antisemitism” that will unite the State Department, the Department of Education, the Treasury Department and the Justice Department to deal with an issue that has become graver and more prevalent.

Holocaust historian, author and professor Deborah Lipstadt kicked off the event by talking about the current increase of antisemitic attacks around the world, saying, “I’m not sure if there are more antisemites today or the antisemites feel more embolden and freer to say and do what they want. It’s a little bit of both.”
Jewish institutions in Indiana targeted with anti-Semitic flyers
Flyers described as “anti-Semitic in nature” were posted on several Jewish institutions in Indianapolis.

The flyers were discovered on Friday morning, according to local reports.

The Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council said in a statement that the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was notified of the incident and that it had opened an investigation. The police are classifying it as a “bias crime,” according to the statement.

The Jewish institutions opened as usual and police provided additional patrols, according to the statement.

“The Jewish community in Indianapolis has well-established and open lines of communication with the Office of Homeland Security, IMPD, and the Marion County Sheriff. Organizations remain vigilant and responsible to all incidents regardless of severity,” the statement also said.
50 years since Poland expelled its Jews in state purge - What changed?
Polish prime minister Wladyslaw Gomulka was once ironically referred to by Jews as a “great Zionist” since he initiated not one, but two waves of immigration to Israel. The description was slightly ironic because while the first wave in the 1950’s enabled those who survived the Holocaust to rebuild their lives in Israel, which was seen as a positive thing, the second, in the late 1960’s, was pushed on the remaining Jews in Poland against their will and best-interests.

Following the Israeli victory in the Six Day War the entire Socialist Block, the Eastern European nations dominated by the USSR, had to confront the uncomfortable truth that technology provided to the Jewish State by the so-called decedent West was able to defeat Soviet weaponry offered to the Arab countries.

In Poland, where people were encouraged to ignore the historical truth of the Soviet invasion to their country alongside the Germans and only speak of the Red Army as liberators – the Jewish victory was seen as, odd as it may seem, “our victory” as many Israelis at that time were born in Poland or to Polish-born parents.

The authorities, fearing a massive revolt like the one that eventually took place in the Prague Spring of 1968, decided to find a scapegoat.

The choice was the Jews of Poland, those who chose to stay in Poland and believe that under Socialism a better life might be built for them and their children.


Cardiac Surgery Company CyroLife Signs Option to Acquire Israel-Based EndoSpan for up to $450 Million
NYSE-listed cardiac and vascular surgery company CyroLife has signed a distribution agreement, credit facilities, and option agreement to acquire Israel-based stent graft company EndoSpan, the two announced Wednesday.

Founded in 2008 and based in Israeli central town Herzliya, EndoSpan develops stent graft systems for treating aneurysms and dissections throughout the aorta. Its Horizon system for endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms is currently in preparations for starting an approval process in Europe. Its Nexus system for treating aortic arch disease has already received a CE Mark (European approval).

Under the deal, CyroLife will pay EndoSpan $10 million for the European distribution rights for Nexus, and provide up to $15 million in debt financing subject to Endospan’s progress in its US clinical trial as its works towards US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The option agreement gives CyroLife 90 days from the FDA approval to acquire EndoSpan for $350 million plus up to an additional $100 million depending on the commercial success of the system.
World Judo Champion, Israel's Sagi Muki
An Iranian judoka coerced by Tehran to lose at the Judo World Championship last week congratulated his Israeli counterpart in a social media post on Monday. Saeid Mollaei, who confirmed that he was forced to throw a match in Tokyo on Wednesday, took to Instagram to praise the eventual gold-medal winner, Israeli star Sagi Muki. "Congratulations champion," Mollaei commented on a message Muki posted after the winning the prestigious competition.


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