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Thursday, December 10, 2020

12/10 Links Pt1: Israel, Morocco Agree to Normalize Relations; Trump Admin to Release List of BDS Groups; Norwegian Parliament Cutting Aid to PA Over Antisemitism and Incitement in Educational Materials

From Ian:

Israel, Morocco Agree to Normalize Relations in Latest US-Brokered Deal
Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.

As part of the agreement, US President Donald Trump agreed to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old territorial dispute with Morocco pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory.

Trump sealed the agreement in a phone call on Thursday with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, a senior US official said.

Morocco is the fourth country since August to strike a deal aimed at normalizing relations with Israel. The others were the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

Under the agreement, Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel, grant overflights and also direct flights to and from Israel for all Israelis.

“They are going reopen their liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately with the intention to open embassies. And they are going to promote economic cooperation between Israeli and Moroccan companies,” White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told Reuters.

“Today the administration has achieved another historic milestone. President Trump has brokered a peace agreement between Morocco and Israel — the fourth such agreement between Israel and an Arab/Muslim nation in four months.


Trump Administration Plans to Release List of BDS Groups
The Trump administration plans to release a list of organizations that support the anti-Israel BDS movement, a senior Trump administration official told JNS.

The groups are still in the works and being decided this month, according to the official.

The move follows US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement last month in Israel that America would withdraw funding from groups that support the BDS movement, which he called “anti-Semitic.”

In a statement released by the State Department afterwards, Pompeo said he has instructed the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, led by Elan Carr, “to identify organizations that engage in, or otherwise support, the Global BDS Campaign” in which Carr’s office “will consider whether an organization is engaged in actions that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, or otherwise limit, commercial relations specifically with Israel or persons doing business in Israel or in any territory controlled by Israel.”

He continued: “To ensure that department funds are not spent in a manner that is inconsistent with our government’s commitment to combat anti-Semitism, the State Department will review the use of its funds to confirm that they are not supporting the Global BDS Campaign. Furthermore, the State Department will conduct a review of options consistent with applicable law to ensure that its foreign assistance funding is not provided to foreign organizations engaged in anti-Semitic BDS activities.”
Norwegian Parliament Endorses Cutting Aid to Palestinians Over Antisemitism and Incitement in Educational Materials
The Norwegian parliament has endorsed cuts in aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in response to racism, antisemitism and incitement to violence in Palestinian educational materials.

The cuts would amount to 30 million Norwegian krone, equivalent to $3.4 million.

The Progress Party led the push to cut the aid funds, with MP Himanshu Gulati saying, “Not a single krone should go to Palestinian education until this is clarified and they have stopped” using educational materials containing hate speech.

He added that he “regrets that it has taken us so many years to take a strict line against these things. It is very good that it is now happening.”

MP Sylvia Listhaug, deputy leader of the Progress Party, said, “The Palestinian school curriculum abounds with calls for violence and hatred against Israel and for martyrdom to be glorified. It is quite clear that Norway cannot support this, therefore we want to cut this item.”

Foreign Affairs Committee member MP Geir Toskedal of the Christian Democrats remarked, “We have long been uneasy about both textbooks and teaching programs in the Palestinian territories. It is very important that the school focuses on peace and cooperation.”


Netanyahu said set to meet Sissi in first official visit to Egypt in a decade
Preparations are underway for an official visit to Egypt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coming days, in what would be the first such trip by an Israeli leader in a decade, according to several Hebrew-language media reports.

The reported visit would include a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as part of an attempt to improve ties between the countries in light of the upcoming US presidency of Joe Biden and the Iranian threat, as well as following Israel’s recent landmark normalization deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with the Jewish state in 1979, but it has remained a cold peace, with anti-Israeli sentiment prevalent among Egyptians and ties between the countries mostly conducted in non-public channels.

The last official visit by Netanyahu to Egypt was in January 2011, when he met then-president Hosni Mubarak, though he reportedly paid a secret, unofficial visit in 2018. An official visit had reportedly been set to go ahead in 2016 but was canceled after Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Egypt had taken action — at Israel’s request — to seal a cross-border tunnel from Gaza built by the Hamas terror group.

Last week, the Maariv newspaper cited unnamed diplomatic sources as saying Israeli and Egyptian officials were holding talks over a potential visit by Netanyahu in Cairo, with the report saying the visit would focus on improving the economic and trade ties between the countries.
Egyptian celebs rap ‘Zionist’ Scarlett Johansson over bid to free rights workers
Since Egypt’s rare release last week of three prominent human rights workers, many in the country have been focusing on Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson over her role in an international pressure campaign that has been credited with pushing Cairo to make the move.

Last week, Egypt freed three members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), including its executive director Gasser Abdel-Razek, its criminal justice director Karim Ennarah and administrative director Mohammed Basheer, although on Sunday a court froze all their assets. A fourth member of the group, Patrick Zaki, had his detention extended.

They were arrested after the organization hosted foreign diplomats from 13 Western countries to discuss the human rights situation in Egypt. They were accused of belonging to a terrorist group and spreading false information.

Egypt under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has overseen the heaviest crackdown on dissent in the country’s modern history. Officials have targeted not only Islamist political opponents but also pro-democracy activists, journalists and online critics.

The latest crackdown against EIPR raised an alarm in many parts of the world. The United Nations, some foreign governments, international rights groups, politicians and celebrities — including Johansson and fellow actress Emma Thompson — called for the three to be freed.

In a December 1 video, Johansson described the detainees as “the best of us,” calling for their immediate release and for the “bogus” charges against them to be dropped.

“Speaking out in Egypt today is dangerous,” she said in the video, published on EIPR’s YouTube page. “I want to highlight the plight of four people wrongfully arrested for their work fighting for the dignity of others — Gasser, Karim, Mohammed and Zaki — from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.”
Ammon News: UNESCO Unanimously Adopts Resolution Condemning Israel over Jerusalem
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the UNESCO's Executive Council unanimously adopted a resolution regarding the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Daifallah Fayez said adopting this important resolution, which was made during the council's session No. (210) on Monday, came as a result of Jordanian diplomatic efforts in coordination with the State of Palestine and Arab and Islamic groups in the UN organization.

Fayez noted that the resolution and its annexes confirm all elements of the Jordanian position regarding the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, including the Islamic and Christian holy sites, and that the resolution and its annexes reaffirmed the rejection of the Israeli violations and unilateral measures in these historical places.

The resolution also calls on Israel to stop its illegal unilateral violations and actions against the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and in the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, Fayez added.

The resolution and its annexes also reject all Israeli measures aimed at changing the character and identity of the Holy City, and also reaffirms the 18 UNESCO resolutions relating to Jerusalem, all of which expressed regret over the failure of Israel, as the occupying power, to stop excavations, tunnels and all illegal and condemned works in East Jerusalem in accordance with rules of the international law, the spokesperson indicated.


Meet Darrell Blocker, the Black Jew who could lead Biden's CIA
In his 28 years at the CIA, Darrell Blocker figured out a reliable strategy for recruiting covert agents.

“A person like myself is always looking for that anomaly, that person who doesn’t feel like they’re being listened to, that person who doesn’t feel like they fit,” Blocker said in a talk early this year at the International Spy Museum. “That’s who I’m looking for as a potential spy.” In some ways, he could have been talking about himself. Blocker, known in the intelligence community as “the spy whisperer,” is reportedly on a shortlist of candidates President-elect Joe Biden is considering to lead the CIA, the country’s international intelligence service. If selected, he would be the agency’s first Black director — and the third Jewish one.

Raised in a churchgoing Air Force family, Blocker began exploring Judaism in college and formally converted in 2017, just before retiring from the CIA as the most senior Black officer in the Directorate of Operations, a division once known as the clandestine service.

Blocker declined to comment on the reports that he is being considered for the CIA’s top position, starting with one last week in Fox News. But in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, he described a passion for questioning authority that led him to success in the field and to embrace Judaism.
Senate rejected resolutions aimed to block the sale of F-35s to the UAE
The US Senate on Wednesday rejected two resolutions aimed to block the Trump administration's F-35 sale to the United Arab Emirates.

The votes were 50-46 and 49-47 on a procedural motion that stopped the effort to pass a resolution disapproving of the sale.

Three US senators introduced different resolutions aimed at halting the sale of advanced arms to the United Arab Emirates, saying that the administration did not follow procedures in the sales process.

The administration of President Donald Trump formally notified Congress last month of its intention to sell the F-35 stealth jet in a deal worth over $23 billion, as well as other state-of-the-art systems.

US senators Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) announced that they are introducing four separate Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, “rejecting the Trump administration’s effort to provide the United Arab Emirates with a precedent-setting aircraft and myriad other weapons systems.”
How to Maintain Israel's Qualitative Military Edge in a Changing Middle East
The U.S. has a long-standing, bipartisan commitment to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge (QME). With both Israel and the Gulf states facing a similar threat from Iran and its proxies, it remains unclear how wise a policy it is to object to Gulf countries procuring modern weapons systems from the U.S. Blocking such procurements could push the UAE to purchase Russia's Su-57 stealth fighter jet instead of the U.S. F-35, and it is not clear how such a scenario would better serve the mutual interests of the U.S. and Israel.

No policy is free from risks, and it is necessary for Israel to identify these and manage them appropriately. Two of the most disturbing risks are long-term regime instability and the potential of other countries achieving advanced defense technology.

Governments that are pragmatic today could become hostile tomorrow. Examples include the Muslim Brotherhood's takeover of Egypt, the conversion of Turkey from an ally of Israel to a bitter opponent, and Iran's change from a close partner of the U.S. and Israel to a sworn adversary.

In order to navigate these risks with minimum negative impacts, strategies can include technological differentiation, based on the idea that not all platforms are the same and that the U.S. can keep some of its naval and airborne platform software packages to itself.

Opening new technological routes for upgrading Israeli-American mutual cooperation, and increasing the volume and diversity of American pre-positioning of military equipment in Israel, would also further such strategies, as would deepening cooperation in missile defense; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and cooperation in space.
Israeli blood test startup Sight Diagnostics inks deal for distribution in UAE
Israel’s Sight Diagnostics, a startup that analyzes blood samples with a small device in minutes, has inked a deal to install its products in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries.

The company said on Wednesday it had agreed to a distribution partnership with the Dubai-based business development firm Phoenix Capital.

Sight will provide its OLO blood analyzer machines to nine medical centers owned by Phoenix in the UAE, and in the next year, the two companies will work to expand Sight’s presence in other parts of the Gulf region. A statement from Sight said Saudi Arabia would be included, without providing details.

Most outpatient medical facilities in the UAE use outdated laboratory equipment that is not practical for on-site, or point-of-care, testing and diagnostics, Sight said in a statement.

Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah, the chairman of Phoenix Capital, said, “We chose Sight OLO because it simply meets the needs of the clinics we distribute to. With the influx of patients due to COVID-19, having access to fast, accurate fingerprick diagnostics is essential to quickly and correctly triage and treat our clinics’ patients.”

Sight said the estimated market for point-of-care diagnostics in the Middle East and Africa is expected to reach $2.85 billion by 2024. Sight said its technology is awaiting approval for point-of-care use.

Israel and the UAE signed a normalization agreement in September, allowing for commercial ties between the two countries and leading to flurry of activity between them. There was some public cooperation between the two governments in the medical field even before the normalization agreement.
Israel joins Abu Dhabi-based group fighting organized crime
Emirati deputy prime minister welcomed Israel as the group's 10th member, said would strengthen the alliance

Israel has officially joined an Abu-Dhabi-based group fighting organized and transnational crime, becoming its 10th member.

The International Security Alliance's (ISA) members, which includes Morocco, agreed to Israel joining the body, according to The Times of Israel (TOI).

Although Israel's Foreign Affairs Ministry did not officially comment, diplomatic sources did tell TOI that ISA is an "important organization" and that Israel's joining it is a "very significant event."

Public Security Minister Amir Ohana represented Israel at the organization's virtual meeting Wednesday, in which UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed him.

Al Nahyan said that Israel's addition would help strengthen the alliance while noting that international cooperation had aided in tackling major global challenges, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

He stressed the importance of “ramping up joint efforts to face all future changes, developments and challenges for the good of the world and humanity at large,” according to the report in the UAE’s state-owned WAM news agency.

The ISA was founded in 2018 by the UAE and France and its role is to "confront organized and transnational crime of different types, develop means of prevention, and ensure sustainability of security and stability for these countries in their endeavors to promoting security and growth to their people,” according to the organization’s website and cited in TOI.
Unprecedented Israeli turnout for Dubai’s GITEX hi-tech confab
The sea of Israelis in Dubai this week was hard to miss. At Dubai International Airport, the men assigned to help guide people to the check-in area they should use were already saying “six” in Hebrew to send people to the right walkway.

In Dubai mall, after passing the skating rink and massive toy store, Hebrew was common as people stood in awe at the immense shopping center. A 15-minute drive from the mall takes you to the World Trade Center of Dubai where the GITEX Technology Week is taking place. In some ways, GITEX is like any other giant conference devoted to technology or business, except that this year’s pandemic has toned down expectations for these kinds of gatherings. After a year of missed opportunities, the organizers say, “it’s time to do business again.” In person. Live.

Five major tech shows gathered for the first time this year, focusing on cybersecurity, blockchain and other technology innovations. There were 1,200 exhibitors from 60 countries from December 6-10 gathered in the heart of Dubai. From artificial intelligence to cloud computing, everything was on display.

Israelis, for the first time publicly, were exhibiting in masses. There were around 130 companies listed as part of a massive delegation that was supported by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the Israel Export Institute and the Economy and Industry Ministry, in cooperation with Bank Hapoalim.
In another U-turn, government drops plans to impose Hanukkah restrictions
In its second apparent policy reversal in under a week, the government has dropped its plan to impose additional pandemic restrictions over the Hanukkah holiday, and will instead tighten health rules when the number of daily cases hits 2,500, according to Hebrew media reports on Thursday.

The decision came after ministers in the so-called coronavirus cabinet protested the plan to ban Israelis from visiting other people’s homes during the evening hours of the eight-day holiday, which begins on Thursday night. It was unclear how police would have enforced such an order at any rate, as they cannot legally enter homes without a warrant.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to scrap the Hanukkah rules following consultations with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, according to Channel 12. Another proposal to impose a nightly nationwide curfew was similarly abandoned earlier this week after facing legal obstacles.

Reports said the senior ministers had agreed that when the daily caseload hits 2,500 or the basic reproduction rate of the virus (measuring how many people on average every infected person infects) hits 1.32, all businesses that accept walk-in customers will be closed; schools in high infection areas will be shuttered; and public transportation will be reduced to 50 percent capacity. The basic reproduction rate is currently at 1.26.

Such restrictions would remain in force for three weeks, but if the transmission rate of the virus remains high Israel may need to enter another full nationwide lockdown, Edelstein was quoted saying.
Amid virus, 2020 on track for fewest security-related deaths in Israel’s history
The year 2020 has seen the lowest number of Israelis killed in terrorism or combat in the country’s history — quite likely as a result of the chaos created by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Israel Defense Forces figures, two Israelis — one civilian and one soldier — have been killed this year: Rabbi Shai Ohayon, who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian man in a terror attack outside Tel Aviv in August; and Sgt. First Class Amit Ben-Ygal, who was killed when a Palestinian man threw a rock at his head during an arrest raid in the West Bank in May.

In 2019 — a that which had previously seen the lowest number of security-related deaths — Israel had nine deaths: two soldiers and seven civilians. Sixteen people were killed the year before that.

“We are ending a year in which we successfully fulfilled the primary mission of the IDF: providing defense and security. We thwarted every attempt to infiltrate into Israel and we saw a drop in the number of casualties and in the number of rockets fired at Israel,” IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi told reporters in a year-end briefing this week.

According to IDF figures, 174 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel by December 2020, the majority of them in February during a two-day round of fighting between the IDF and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in Gaza. This amounts to a roughly seven-fold decrease from the previous two years, when 1,296 and 1,164 projectiles were fired, respectively.
Turkey appoints ambassador to Israel after 2-year break
Turkey has appointed an envoy to Israel after two years of increasingly rocky relations. Ufuk Ulutas, chair of the Center for Strategic Research at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, will take over the role.

Ulutas is said to hold highly pro-Palestinian views. He is also described as a staunch supporter of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been posturing as the champion of the Palestinian cause.

The designation was designed as a way to appease the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden, who signaled a willingness to confront Erdogan.

Hakan Fidan, head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, has recently held under-the-radar talks with Israel, with rapprochement being one of the subjects discussed.

Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize the Jewish state in 1949, ushering in decades of cooperation and friendship. However, the ties between the two countries turned increasingly sour in the past decade as Erdogan repeatedly came out in support of the Hamas terrorist group.
Abbas: Palestinians ready to resume peace talks with Israel
The Palestinians are ready to return to the negotiating table with Israel under the auspices of the Quartet, which consists of the US, United Nations, Russia and European Union, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday.

Abbas told visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González during a meeting in his office in Ramallah that the negotiations should be based on “international legitimacy resolutions,” a reference to UN resolutions pertaining to the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Abbas’s statement came amid reports that Egypt has been exerting pressure on the Palestinian leadership to renew the peace talks with Israel. The Egyptian envoy to Ramallah, Tarek Tayel, met in the past week with a number of senior Palestinian officials in the context of Cairo’s efforts to resume the peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel.

The Egyptian envoy told the Palestinian officials that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was determined to see the Palestinians and Israel return to the negotiating table in the coming weeks, Palestinian sources said.
Senior PLO official Ashrawi resigns, calls for political reforms
Veteran Palestinian negotiator and women's rights advocate Hanan Ashrawi resigned on Wednesday from her senior post in the Palestine Liberation Organization, and called for political reforms.

Ashrawi, 74, did not give a reason for her resignation in a statement announcing the move. But she said that the PLO's Executive Committee, on which she served, had been marginalized "and from decision-making."

The 15-member committee, the most senior body of the PLO, is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and is not often convened by the 85-year-old leader.

"The Palestinian political system needs renewal and reinvigoration with the inclusion of youth, women and additional qualified professionals," Ashrawi said in her statement, adding that she had tendered her resignation to Abbas.

"I believe it is time to carry out the required reform and to activate the PLO in a manner that restores its standing and role." In a brief statement, Abbas said he had accepted Ashrawi's resignation.
PreOccupiedTerritory: COVID Lockdowns An Israeli Plot To Prevent Activists From Serving As Human Shields For Violent Palestinians (satire)
Representatives of international human rights NGOs and of local Palestinian groups observed this week the suspicious convenience of the worldwide pandemic that has hampered international travel and the movement of people and the propaganda benefit that the IDF gains from a lack of volunteers coming from abroad to stand between Palestinian rioters and IDF troops to prevent the latter from firing on the former.

Among contested Israeli-Palestinian locales, this ancient city presents what both sides to the conflict and third-party observers call a unique hotbed of radicalism: hardcore Jewish residents reestablishing a permanent presence in King David’s legendary capital of Judea, the site of a burial shrine to Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, and of an Arab massacre of the ancient Jewish community in 1929 that effectively kept Hebron Jew-free until 1967 – opposed by some of the most extremist, violent Palestinian clans in the entire Levant.

Confrontations between rock- and firebomb-throwing Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron became commonplace starting in the 1980’s with the first Intifada, a grass-roots Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule. Through Israeli-Palestinian agreements in the 1990’s that many hoped presaged peace between the longtime enemies would break out, Hebron’s clans continued to oppose conciliatory moves of any sort toward Israel, on numerous occasions defying even the radical Hamas leadership to perpetrate suicide bombings and other terrorism to sabotage any moves that might lead to coexistence. The city has therefore served as a magnet for activists from around the world hoping to burnish their human rights credentials, an essential requirement of which has long been antisemitism masquerading as concern for Palestinians. The dedicated activists shield the violent Palestinians from Israeli fire aimed at quelling the unrest and at protecting themselves, twin goals that human rights and Palestinian organizations alike have long considered anathema.


MEMRI: Article In Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Magazine Blames Jews For Coronavirus, Says It Was 'Hidden So That It Could Be Used Like An Atom Bomb, Especially Against Muslims'
An article in the latest issue of the Urdu-language jihadi magazine Mujalla Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ("Journal Of The Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan"), published by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Movement of the Pakistan Taliban, TTP) – blames "the Jews and their puppets" for the coronavirus epidemic and for harassing Muslims during the pandemic.[1] The author of the article writes that COVID-19 has been kept hidden since the 1960s in order to be used against Muslims.

Articles in Issue Eight of Mujalla Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan are titled: "To The Mujahideen Practically Engaged In The Jihad Of Pakistan"; "The Only Means Of Change In The Country Is Jihad"; "Jihad Etiquette"; "The Media Of The Current Era And Islamic Scholars"; "The Coronavirus And The Background Realities"; "Islam And Nationalism"; "The Blasphemy Against The Prophet, Alas!" [2]

In the article titled "The Coronavirus And The Background Realities," Mufti Abu Misbah, the author, writes that the Jews are behind the coronavirus in order to take over the world. In Islam, a mufti is a scholar qualified to issue fatwas ("religious decrees"). Mufti Misbah writes: "The agents of the Jews advanced so far in the enmity of Islam that, in addition to bombing madrassas and mosques, not only did they order the closure of all religious centres [in Pakistan and elsewhere] but also jailed Tablighi [Jamaat] preachers and Islamic scholars who opened the mosques." Tablighi Jamaat is a revivalist Islamic movement with mass followers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many other countries.

"Whereas on such occasions [like the period of the Coronavirus pandemic], Allah has ordered, 'We sent calamities and difficulties on previous nations [such as the Jews] so that they will be obedient before Allah.' But the present-era puppets of the Jews are harassing at gunpoint worshippers and those running religious centers [i.e., Islamic clerics] so that they can turn those kneeling before Allah toward Satan," Mufti Misbah says, adding that one must understand the drivers working behind the coronavirus globally.

The writer says that while U.S. President Donald Trump blamed the coronavirus on China, the Chinese government has demanded an international inquiry to disprove this allegation by Trump. "On the other hand, experts researching this have declared pangolins[3] to be the culprit behind the birth of the Coronavirus, while others blamed this on bats; and there is also one narrative that it is the work of some magicians sitting in David's cave in Israel, who are patronized by a woman called Ashaveli [unclear]," he says.


Iran: Why Now Is Not the Time to Abandon Maximum Pressure
American Enterprise Institute expert Kori Schake wrote that the U.S. "maximum pressure" campaign with Iran "has not succeeded. None of the twelve demands that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined as preconditions for new negotiations with Iran have been met."

However, to write off "maximum pressure" as ineffective or a mistake is wrong, even if it is true that the Islamic Republic has increased its uranium enrichment and its support for proxy militias. It is a mistake to assume that effective strategies must conform to the U.S. political calendar.

Put aside the fact that Pompeo's twelve demands are common-sense policy: an end to terrorism, nuclear weapons work, missile proliferation, sponsorship of militias fighting governments across the region, and threats to eradicate Israel.

To suggest any of these are not realistic or attainable goals is to normalize the Islamic Republic's rogue behavior. There is historical precedent to Tehran reversing course in the face of overwhelming economic duress and isolation.

The economic wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) controls up to 40% of the Iranian economy. To lift sanctions would be to enrich them further. While critics suggest that the policy undercuts so-called reformers, this too projects a misunderstanding of Iranian politics, as reformers have no influence over security and military issues, nor are their ideological disputes with hardliners significant.

Sanctions have failed to prevent North Korea's nuclear program, so would greater aid be in order? It is a logical fallacy to say just because strategy A is slow-working or seemingly ineffective, that strategy B is a panacea. Sometimes the opposite of an imperfect strategy can actually be much worse.

It was the inability of the Soviet Union to economically weather the Cold War that led to its demise, and precedent suggests even Iran's Supreme Leader will sacrifice declared principles in order to survive.
Elliott Abrams: ‘There is no reason to make all sorts of concessions to Iran’
Elliott Abrams is no stranger to Washington, specifically U.S. foreign policy, having served in the Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations. He also served under longtime Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), a stalwart supporter of Israel.

Abrams has also worked in the private sector, including at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he is currently on leave.

Abrams, 72, was named U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela in 2019, and a few months ago, took on the position of U.S. Special Representative for Iran, succeeding Brian Hook. The roles merged into the title of U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela. The portfolios are related, as Tehran and Caracas are allies, and have sought to engage in commercial oil and other trade—namely, through ship engagements coming to and from the Persian Gulf.

Since withdrawing in May 2018 from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—a significant part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran has focused on cracking down on this relationship between the two rogue regimes. Over the years, a series of severe new sanctions have been enacted that have had a profound effect on Tehran’s economy, as seen in nationwide protests before the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year. Iran has been the hard-hit country in the Middle East with 1 million recorded cases of COVID-19 and 50,000 deaths as a result.
Biden's National Security Advisor Conducted Secret Negotiations with Iran on Nuclear Deal
When it comes to Iran, however, there are signs of potential strategic disagreements that are already visible, noted Gilboa. Future Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have strong motivation to prove that U.S. President Donald Trump was wrong to leave the Iranian nuclear deal, and this motivation could translate into an acceptance of some Iranian conditions, he argued.

Iran’s conditions include the removal of some of the U.S. sanctions in order to return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and “the question is whether this administration will be tough enough to achieve a better deal,” said Gilboa.

Israel opposes the removal of sanctions on Iran, but it must not find itself removed from the negotiations process with Iran as it was under Obama, he cautioned. Gilboa noted that in 2013, “Sullivan conducted secret negotiations and took Israel completely out of the picture. This time, I think Israel must make sure it participates, and that it doesn’t just attack any intentions by the Biden administration to do anything with Iran. Rather, Israel should insist on being a participant in the process itself.”

Addressing the Abrahams Accords, under which Israel has normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and which marked the emergence of a Sunni Arab-Israeli bloc, Gilboa said the United States has been actively encouraging this process as part of its broader desire to disengage from the Middle East.

“I believe that Biden would also like to disengage from the Middle East and maybe from other areas. This disengagement started under Obama and continued under Trump,” he said.

The further expansion of these agreements could, however, clash with the goal of renewing a U.S. agreement with Iran.

“If the United States is going to further disengage, then perhaps there will be more motivation to expand Arab-Israeli bloc,” he said. On the other hand, “it seems that any expansion of the alliance could contradict the wish to negotiate with Iran” since the Arab-Israeli bloc is intended to contain Iran, and the Iranians can demand that America stops sponsoring its expansion.

Meanwhile, the chances of significant disagreement over the Palestinian issue appear low, he assessed, since Biden is unlikely to preset his own peace plan. The president-elect has stated that he will not move the U.S. embassy back to Tel Aviv, but that he would reopen the U.S. consulate in eastern Jerusalem and restore aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Top House Democrats urge Biden to rejoin Iran deal, no preconditions
Influential US House of Representatives Democrats, including one who has for years been close to the center-right pro-Israel community, are backing president-elect Joe Biden’s plan to reenter the Iran nuclear deal — without any new conditions on the country.

In a letter obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that began circulating Wednesday afternoon, the lawmakers support Biden’s vision in direct contradiction to the urgings of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, others in the center-right pro-Israel community and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Those groups want Biden to at least renegotiate components of the deal, if not forge a new deal, before rejoining the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which relieved sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions, monitored by outside observers, on the country’s nuclear program.

“We strongly endorse your call for Iran to return to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States to rejoin the agreement, and subsequent follow-on negotiations,” says the letter. It is being circulated by three Democrats who galvanized their colleagues to support the deal in 2015: Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, David Price of North Carolina and Barbara Lee of California.

The intended effect of the letter, which the lawmakers hope will draw the support of most of the Democratic caucus, is to reassure Biden that he can leap back into the deal without fear of pushback, at least in the House.
U.S. Shouldn't Reenter Iran Nuclear Deal - Iran Sponsors Terrorism and Seeks Nuclear Weapons
Iran is a terror-sponsoring state that aspires to become a nuclear power. The prospects of Washington pivoting to happy days with the Iranian regime were already quite slim. It is easy to campaign on promises to time-travel back to the Iran nuclear deal. It is a lot harder in practice.

It was claimed that the Iranian regime would act more responsibly after the nuclear deal. It didn't. Iran fueled insurgencies, wars and terrorism in Syria, Yemen, Israel and Iraq. How can Washington rejoin the Iran nuclear deal with a straight face and not demand an accounting of the regime's cheating? Is the U.S. really going to remove sanctions on arms transfers? What about Iran's appalling human rights record? What about its ballistic missile program?

Washington also has to consider what the rest of the region would think about the U.S. allowing money and resources to pour into the Tehran regime. Wouldn't they see an about-face by Washington as a sellout? Let's be honest. If Israel is poking Iran and that makes it harder for Washington to abandon sensible policies that are constraining the Tehran regime, we should all be thankful for that.



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