Pages

▼

Friday, July 30, 2021

07/30 Links Pt1: The invisible victims of jihadi violence; Two killed in alleged Iranian drone attack on Israeli-managed ship; What Do Palestinians Want?

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The invisible victims of jihadi violence
The death of Ruth Pearl at the age of 85 reminds us once again of the unspeakable horror that was visited upon Ruth and her family, and which served as a particularly dreadful wake-up call for the Western world.

In January 2002 her son, the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda and beheaded nine days later.

Ruth, an electrical engineer, and her husband Judea, a professor of computer science and statistics, formed the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which brings together people from different cultures through musical events, lectures, journalism fellowships and other activities.

Ruth’s immediate family members, who survived the 1941 “Farhud” pogrom in Baghdad in which 180 Jews were killed and hundreds more injured, were part of the subsequent mass exodus of Jews to Israel in 1951.

Shortly afterwards, Ruth’s brother died fighting in the Israel Defense Forces.

Such a family background in the Jewish experience of persecution and self-defense meant that when Daniel Pearl said into Al-Qaeda’s video camera just before he was slaughtered, “My father is Jewish. My mother is Jewish. I am Jewish,” this had a resonance which would have escaped his murderer.

That vile individual, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, told the FBI he believed that killing a Jew would make for powerful propaganda and incite his fellow jihadis.

For Al-Qaeda wasn’t just a terror organization springing from the arcane geopolitics of the Middle East. Its agenda was driven by hatred of Jews.

Jew-hatred is indeed central to the jihadis’ aim of conquering the west for Islam.


If someone says they are going to kill you, believe them
It’s time for Jews to reconnect to our illustrious history of defending our selves. From the haggiborim, heroes of King David, to the glorious Maccabees, to the teachings of Jabotinsky to the IDF.

Do our young people even know about Jabotinsky? During his youth, Ze’ev Jabotinsky took a leadership role in organizing self­-defense units and fought for Jewish minority rights in Russia. He then traveled the length and breadth of Russia urging self-defense on the Jewish communities. He was behind the Betar Movement. In 1937, the Irgun Tzvai Leumi (I.Z.L) became the military arm of the Jabotinsky movement and he became its commander.

The three bodies were headed by Jabotinsky, The New Zionist Organization (N.Z.O), the Betar youth movement and the Irgun Tzvai Leumi (I.Z.L) were three extensions of the same movement. The New Zionist Organization was the political arm that maintained contacts with governments and other political factors, Betar educated the youth of the Diaspora for the liberation and building of Eretz Israel and the Irgun Tzvai Leumi (I.Z.L) was the military arm that fought against the enemies of the Zionist enterprise.

Let us not forget Meir Kahane, the ideological father of Jewish Power, the man behind the JDL; the Jewish Defence League. Yes, some say he was an extremist but his legacy should be that Jews can and must be able to defend themselves. And, today, we have the JDL in the diaspora. And we need them.

Antifa and BLM wreak havoc – well, that’s OK. We scream that Black Lives Matter and turn a blind eye to the destruction they cause. A member of the JDL stands up to defend Jews and he is accused of being part of a terrorist organization. Well, people, Jewish Lives Matter.

Too many Jews are not prepared to defend our rights to wear our kippot, our stars of David, display our mezzuzot on our door posts and stand proudly with Israel. Because of fear. When we are no longer afraid of being physically hurt we can stand up to anything. Seems we have not learned that weakness attract bullies. Ducking and hiding is never the answer.

It is time for every Jew to learn self defense. Teach it in day schools, in Hebrew schools, at Jewish camps. After school programmes. We can learn Krav Maga from the IDF or we can learn jiu jitsu like our Israeli brothers and sisters. After their smashing success, perhaps we should rename it Jew jitsu.

When the world comes to see that Jews in the Diaspora are as fearless as the IDF in Israel, they will leave us alone. When they see Jews fighting back in the streets when a Jew hater comes up and attacks, they will leave us alone.

When we honour our past, our great fighters, we will be respected and left alone to live as Jews, in Israel and the Diaspora.


American Jews Can No Longer Afford to Be Apathetic About Our History
By now, most people have read about the poll suggesting that far too many American Jews have bought into objectively false claims of “apartheid” and “genocide” in Israel. Whether the poll is accurate or not, it hints at a deep problem facing the American Jewish community that many have suspected for some time now.

There have been many brilliant recent analyses of the particular brand of rot afflicting the US Jewish community. Seth Mandel rightly pointed to the complicity of the ADL in the mainstreaming of antisemitism and anti-Israel libels. Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy eloquently traced the phenomenon of the “Un-Jews” from Tiberius to today’s “anti-Zionists.” Caroline Glick observantly pointed to the difference with the British Jewish community, which has responded to its own challenges far more successfully than their American counterparts. Another extremely eloquent Jewish advocate, Bari Weiss, has with great passion and clarity raised the alarm of the dangers bigger than those facing just the Jewish community — but which have particularly acute effects among us.

Beyond the concerning state of public education in many parts of the United States, discourse at all levels has embraced — to some degree — the trends of post-modernism and post-truth.

A society which dispenses with the need for facts, historical context, and nuance is one not likely to be favorable to the Jewish State. It’s not hard to understand why even young Jews, indoctrinated in such worldviews, would be so quick to turn their backs on their fellow Jews like a 21st century Yevsektsiya.

I do not pretend to have any keener insight than those amazing Jewish voices I previously mentioned. I also will not pretend to have a magic bullet solution. Though many antisemites seem to think otherwise, we can’t control the country, let alone the world. Nor do I think we’re in any position to do so, anyway. Like a passenger plane losing cabin pressure, we need to secure our own oxygen mask first or we risk suffocating and proving useless for those around us.
JNS: Ep. 12: Seth Mandel: 'The ADL has 'one job.' It isn't doing it.'
Washington Examiner magazine editor Seth Mandel joins JNS editor in chief Jonathan Tobin to talk about why the ADL is failing to confront anti-Semitism, polarization and home schooling.

The two discuss how the ADL is abandoning its role as an anti-Semitism watchdog in favor of partisan advocacy, the need to emphasize that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, whether the Democratic Party is being ‘Corbynized,’ the dangerous impact of polarization in American politics and why more people are turning to home schooling their children.


Two killed in alleged Iranian drone attack on Israeli-managed ship
Two mariners were killed in an alleged Iranian drone attack on a ship managed by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer's shipping company in the Northern Indian Ocean on Thursday night, Channel 13 reported.

The allegation that Iran used a drone to attack the vessel was made by an unnamed Israeli official on Channel 13. “There is an Iranian terrorist attack here, two innocent people were killed,” said the anonymous source, “The Iranians attacked the ship with an unmanned aircraft. An innocent ship with innocent dead. "

An American source also informed Walla news that the attack was conducted with a drone, specifying that it was a suicide drone strike. Zodiac Maritime listed the nationality of the crew members killed in the attack as Romanian and United Kingdom. According to Channel 13, the senior official claimed “the Romanian killed was the captain of the ship and the British was a security guard.” The company is not aware of any other injuries.
The Caroline Glick Show: Episode 15: Russia turns on Israel in Syria
In Episode 15 of the Caroline Glick Mideast News Hour with Gadi Taub, Caroline and Gadi began their conversation by describing the present-day media environment and its impact on Western societies and on democratic systems.

They moved then to Israel and the most alarming strategic development in Israel in recent weeks – Russia’s announcement that it will no longer honor its agreement to coordinate IDF operations in Syria to avoid armed conflict between Israel and the Russian military forces in Syria. From there the moved to a discussion of Foreign Minister Yair’ Lapid’s stunning choice of Israel’s ambassador to the UAE and what it tell us about the future of the Abraham Accords. Finally, they ended with a brief conversation about J Street’s move this week to criminalize pro-Israel Jewish and Christian organizations in America.


The Ayaan Hirsi Ali Podcast #027: Yasmine Mohammed on Divorcing a Terrorist
Ayaan speaks with Yasmine Mohammed about her marriage and escape from a man in Al-Qaeda.

Yasmine Mohammed is a Canadian human rights activist who fights for the rights of women living within Muslim-majority countries, as well as those who struggle under religious fundamentalism, in general.

She founded the nonprofit, Free Hearts Free Minds, which provides mental health support for members of the LGBT community and freethinkers living within Muslim-majority countries.

Her memoir, Unveiled, tells of her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household and her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda.
What Do Palestinians Want?
In the wake of the recent ten-day conflict between Israel-and Hamas, which began after the Israeli Supreme Court suspended its anticipated ruling on the eviction of Palestinians from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and clashes flared at the Al-Aqsa mosque, a June report from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) found that a “paradigm shift” had taken place in Palestinian public opinion: There is now growing support for Hamas and armed struggle. This change, along with the Biden Administration’s intention to reverse Trump Administration policy and become involved in the issue, has returned the conflict to the U.S. foreign policy agenda.

Does the current state of Palestinian opinion reflect just the recent escalation? To see whether this is the case, we must take a closer look at public opinion over recent years. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Palestinian public opinion polls from 2014 to 2020, conducted with the Beit Sahour-based Palestine Center for Public Opinion and several other Palestinian polling organizations, enable us to do so. The results are unexpected, bearing good and bad news.

First, while the current U.S. administration has recently emphasized its continued commitment to the two-state solution, this is no longer a popular position among Palestinians. Less than 40 percent of the Palestinian public—in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem—supports it over one-state alternatives. Support for a two-state solution has declined steadily since 2018.

Further, most Palestinians believe that a two-state solution is unlikely to emerge from the conflict. Instead, a majority of them say they prefer to reclaim all of historic Palestine, including the pre-1967 Israel. A one-state solution with Arabs and Jews holding equal rights comes in second. Similarly, recent polling from PCPSR finds support among Palestinians and Israeli Jews for a two-state solution has dropped to 43 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

This changed political reality poses threats to U.S. policy objectives: peace, stability, democracy, and human rights. But do the trends also reveal areas of opportunity, in which U.S. efforts and Palestinian and Israeli policies could influence Palestinian public opinion to make peace more likely?
US envoy says Biden admin will press for release of Israelis held in Gaza
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration will “continue to fiercely advocate” for the return of the two captured civilians and the bodies of two fallen Israel Defense Forces soldiers currently being held in Gaza.

Speaking on Wednesday at the UN Security Council’s monthly session to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Thomas-Greenfield recalled a meeting she held last month with Leah Goldin, the mother of Hadar, one of the two soldiers whose bodies are being held by Hamas.

“For the last seven years, the Goldins have advocated endlessly for his return. When I met with her, I promised her I would do everything possible to support her efforts to have her son returned. No parent — no one — should have to endure such a wretched experience,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

Goldin traveled to DC last month with outgoing president Reuven Rivlin, and met with US officials to push for the return of her son’s body.

Israelis Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed are believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza, along with the bodies of Goldin and Oron Shaul. Indirect prisoner-swap talks in Cairo between Israel and Hamas are currently stalled amid the two sides’ ongoing failure to reach a compromise.

“The United States will continue to fiercely advocate for the return of Israeli soldiers killed in action in Gaza, as well as the return of Israeli civilians held captive there,” Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council. “And we will continue to push for decency, for humanity, for equality, and for peace for all.”


Rising star or dark force? Jagmeet Singh plans to leave his mark on Canada-Israel relations
At first glance, Jagmeet Singh seems like a stylish hipster, cycling to work on his designer bicycle. It is not a complete mistake: Singh is, if not a hipster himself, at least sartorially influenced by the trend, and is very popular among the hipster community. But he does not work at a vintage record store, and he rides one of his six designer bicycles to the Parliament of Canada as leader of the New Democratic Party. There, on a daily basis, he makes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a leader who himself knows a thing or two about fashion and visibility, seem grey, archaic and disconnected from the values of the new era.

It has been five years since Singh, 42, became a superstar in Canadian politics. It is clear that his mere presence among politicians from the Right and the photogenic prime minister who carries the values of the Center is a game-changer for many.

As can be expected from a typical liberal politician, Singh has very clear views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a Sikh and as the first non-white leader of a Canadian political party, Singh has adopted a clear pro-Palestinian agenda. When he was his party's deputy house leader in Ontario, he was one of the only politicians who didn't agree to support the decision by the region's legislators to oppose the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

He explained that, from his perspective, legislating against the BDS movement is a clear infringement on freedom of expression. "Everyone has the right to criticize and to oppose [something]," he proclaimed.

He does not hide his lack of affection for Israeli policies. "In 2016 I traveled to the Middle East," he wrote on Twitter. "I witnessed the technology and development in Israel. I was shocked by the contrast I saw in Palestine." In another Tweet, he wrote, "I witnessed the presence of the Israeli military occupation in Hebron and the frustrating conditions created by settlements deep in the West Bank," and called on the UN to bring an end to the settlement enterprise.

Around two months ago, Singh called on the Canadian federal government to block arms sales to Israel, in light of Operation Guardian of the Walls, for the purpose of what he calls "creating pressure" on Israel to work in humane ways to end the conflict."


Saudi Judoka Ignores Pressure to Forfeit Match Against Israeli, Praised as ‘Brave’ by Opponent
Saudi Olympian Tahani al-Qahtani faced Israel’s Raz Hershko in the women’s judo 78kg category at the Olympic Games on Friday, despite facing some pressure to follow the lead of several other athletes who have refused to compete against Israeli competitors.

After Hershko won the bout, the athletes shook hands and then raised them in the air as a show of solidarity before leaving the floor.

The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee supported al-Qahtani’s decision to compete in the bout and wished her luck on Twitter before the match took place.

Hershko applauded her Saudi opponent for putting the sport before any political differences. “I’m happy this match took place,” she said, as reported by Israel Hayom. “After the match, we talked a little in the hall, but she [Al-Qahtani] didn’t want the media to document it. We shook hands and hugged, we talked about the match, about the situation in her country. I told her I understood, and that she was brave. I’m happy she eventually stood up, despite everything, and fought like she should. I’m happy that the sport won out.”


Israel’s ‘Green Passport’ Takes Effect Again Amid Latest Coronavirus Outbreak
The Israeli Health Ministry’s “Green Passport” project, which was approved last week, went into effect Thursday morning.

The measure provides that any citizen over 12 years old must present a vaccination certificate in order to take part in events welcoming 100 or more people in a closed space.

This primarily concerns sporting events, hotels, tourist attractions, conference and prayer rooms, sports halls, concerts, plays, and restaurants and bars accommodating more than 100 people.

Unvaccinated adults who have not been infected will be required to test negative to participate in these gatherings. The green passport was in effect for several months, before being abolished at the end of May.

More than 5.3 million Israelis are vaccinated against the virus, according to the Health Ministry. Almost 10,000 of them received their second injection in the past 24 hours.

Israel is currently experiencing a surge in numbers, with more than 2,000 new cases recorded for two consecutive days, the largest increase since March.
Israel’s President Gets Third COVID-19 Shot, Urges Boosters for Over-60s
Israeli President Isaac Herzog received a third shot of coronavirus vaccine on Friday, kicking off a campaign to give booster doses to people aged over 60 as part of efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

Herzog, 60, received a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.

He said he was proud to launch the booster vaccination initiative “which is so vital to enable normal circumstances of life as much as possible in this very challenging pandemic.” Herzog’s wife Michal also received a shot.

The couple were accompanied by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who urged the importance of booster shots in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and pledged that Israel would share all the information it gleans from the public inoculation rollout.

“Israel is a pioneer in going ahead with the third dose for older people of the age of 60 and above. The fight against the COVID pandemic is a global fight. The only way we can defeat COVID is together,” Bennett said.
5 Arab Lod residents indicted for participating in riots during Gaza conflict
Prosecutors filed an indictment on Thursday against five Arab Israeli residents of Lod, charging them with a series of criminal offenses over their alleged participation in violent riots throughout the mixed city during the May Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Moussa Hassouna (20), Muhammad Masri (30), Muhammad Hassouna (24), Ayub Hassouna (30) and Muhammad Elawer (25) were hit with several counts of illegally manufacturing, purchasing and firing a weapon, arson, and interference with a police officer under aggravated circumstances.

The suspects are either relatives or close friends of Moussa Hassouna, who was killed allegedly by a Jewish mob during the early days of the ethnic violence that tore through the country in May.

Police arrested four Jewish suspects after the shooting that killed Hassouna, but they argued they acted in self-defense and that Hassouna had been part of a mob that attacked them. The four Jewish suspects were subsequently released on bail and have yet to be charged.

According to the indictment filed in the Central District Court on Thursday, the Arab Israeli suspects’ criminal acts began at Hassouna’s funeral when they burned tires and trash cans, blocked roads and hurled stones at police who arrived at the scene.

Two of the suspects prepared Molotov cocktails in order to target Jewish residents of Lod, and one of them managed to throw a firebomb in the empty home of a Jewish family in the city, according to the indictment.


Reports of clashes in Southern Syria near Israel’s Golan
Clashes in southern Syria have spread in recent days amid protests against the Assad regime, culminating in reports of gun battles and deployment of Syrian army tanks in Deraa province.

On Thursday reports claimed that some Syrian insurgents or rebels had clashed with the regime in Tasil, only five kms. from the Golan Heights and the ceasefire lines with Israel.

If the situation deteriorates it could have major ramifications for Israel and Jordan as well as for the Syrian regime and pro-Iran elements, such as Hezbollah, that have cells and bases near the Golan.

The Syrian regime retook areas in Deraa and near the Golan in 2018 after seven years of civil war. The southern front was a largely stable frontline for years but the Syrian rebels collapsed quickly and Syrian civil defense volunteers, called White Helmets, were evacuated through Israel to Jordan in July 2018.

A year later pro-Iran elements linked to Hezbollah set up shop near the Golan and even prepared “killer drones” that they intended to use against Israel which carried out airstrikes in late August 2019 against the drone squad.
PMW: PA University students visit family of “heroic” murderer of Israeli teen
A student faction at a PA university arranged a visit to honor the family of imprisoned terrorist Muntasir Shalabi who shot and murdered 19-year-old Israeli student Yehuda Gueta and wounded two other young students – Benaya Peretz and Amichai Hala – in a drive-by shooting attack near Ariel on May 2, 2021.

On the registration form provided via a link to a Google Docs document, the Islamic Faction at Birzeit University urged students to fulfill their “national duty” and participate in the visit to the family of “the heroic prisoner who carried out the heroic operation” – i.e., the murder of one Israeli and wounding of two:
“A visit to the family of prisoner Muntasir Shalabi

Gathering at 3:30 p.m. next to the eastern gate (the computer college gate)

The Islamic Faction at Birzeit University invites you to participate in a visit to the family of the heroic prisoner who carried out the heroic operation (i.e., terror attack) of Zatara – Muntasir Shalabi

On Wednesday, July 14 [2021]

Your presence is a national duty”

[Twitter account of the Pulse of the Students of Palestine in the Occupied West Bank, July 13, 2021]
That Palestinian students arrange a visit to the family of a murderer – a “heroic prisoner” in their terminology - is not surprising because as Palestinian Media Watch has exposed, the PA has taught Palestinians – including children - for decades that murderers of Israelis are admirable “heroes” and role models. The students of the Islamic Faction at Birzeit University are merely doing as they have been taught since childhood by the PA.

PMW has documented that military processions take place at Birzeit University - “the university of the Martyrs” - where masked students wearing military uniforms march, holding posters of terrorists.


FBI probe: chemicals in Beirut blast fraction of original shipment
The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up at Beirut port last year was one fifth of the shipment unloaded there in 2013, the FBI concluded after the blast, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing.

As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate - which can be used to make fertilizer or bombs - was left unsafely stored in a capital city for years.

The blast was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, killing more than 200 people, wounding thousands, and devastating swathes of Beirut.

The FBI's Oct. 7, 2020 report, which was seen by Reuters this week, estimates around 552 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded that day, much less than the 2,754 tonnes that arrived on a Russian-leased cargo ship in 2013.

The FBI report does not give any explanation as to how the discrepancy arose, or where the rest of the shipment may have gone.


Tehran's crimes, acts of war, and other provocations
The plot was audacious: Agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran would kidnap an American citizen on American soil. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-born journalist and human rights activist, was to be grabbed, spirited out of Brooklyn to Venezuela, and then on to Tehran where she would have been imprisoned, tortured and, almost certainly, executed.

Last week, the FBI, to its enormous credit, foiled the plot. "Not on our watch," FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney told reporters.

Spokesmen for the Islamic Republic dismissed the charges as "ridiculous and baseless." If you believe that, Alinejad can get you a good price on a bridge not far from her home.

How dare Iran's leaders commit such a crime? Let's connect a few dots. Ten years ago, Iran's rulers planned to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to America on American soil. A bomb was to explode in Café Milano, an elegant Georgetown eatery, while Adel al-Jubeir was enjoying his antipasto.

Other diners, as well as restaurant employees and passersby on the street, would have been collateral damage. This act of terrorism was foiled only because the plotters made the mistake of involving an undercover informant working with the DEA.

The question I suspect is not being asked in the White House: Did Washington's failure to impose serious penalties on Iran's rulers in response to the 2011 plot lead them to believe they risked little with the 2021 plot? And if no serious penalties are imposed on Iran's rulers now, what might they try next?
Germany Accuses Iran of ‘Delaying’ Nuclear Talks
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Friday that Iran was “delaying” talks to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, warning that the option to revive the moribund deal would not remain open forever.

“I see with growing unease that Iran is on the one hand delaying the resumption of nuclear negotiations in Vienna, and on the other moving ever further away from the core elements of the deal,” Maas said in an interview with Der Spiegel, echoing statements made on Thursday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Iran resumed talks in April with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that gave the country some relief from international sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.

The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was torpedoed in 2018 when then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it and reimposed sanctions.

Negotiations in Vienna, in which the US is indirectly involved, have stalled as Iran awaits the inauguration of new ultra-conservative president Ebrahim Raissi at the beginning of August.

“We want a return to the JCPOA, and we are firmly convinced that it is in everyone’s interest,” said Maas.

“What is clear, however, is that this option will not be open to us forever,” he added.







at