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Saturday, August 07, 2021

08/07 Links: Rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram wins Israel’s 3rd-ever Olympic gold; Beinart Tapped by Ben And Jerry’s to Defend Israel Boycott to Franchisees.

From Ian:

Rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram wins Israel’s 3rd-ever Olympic gold
Rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram won Israel’s third-ever Olympic gold medal on Saturday, beating out tough competition to take the top spot on the Tokyo 2020 podium and ending over two decades of Russian dominance in the sport.

Ashram is the first Israeli woman to win a gold at the Olympics.

“It’s what I dreamed of for all my life,” Ashram said after the win.

“It’s an amazing feeling to stand in this place, at this time, on the podium and in first place,” said the 22-year-old gymnast who has now been picked to carry the flag at the closing ceremony.

“It’s a crazy experience that I still haven’t fully digested and with peak levels of excitement,” Ashram said.

She was visibly moved as Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, rang out through the gymnastics center as the flag was raised.

The gymnast won Israel’s third Olympic gold medal just days after gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won Israel’s second. Israeli windsurfer Gal Friedman won the first gold for Israel in Athens in 2004.

As well as the two golds, Israel’s Olympic team had already picked up two bronze medals in Tokyo — for the judo mixed team, and Avishag Semberg for taekwondo in the women’s 49kg category.

The Tokyo games are thus Israel’s most successful, since it has never previously won more than two medals at any one Olympics.


Linoy Ashram brings joy to Israel with gold medal win - comment
When Saturday’s final results were announced, placing Ashram in first place in the hoop, ball and clubs exercises, and securing her the gold with an overall score of 107.800, the ‘twittersphere’ exploded.

It wasn’t the public explosion of cars honking and joyous fans running into the street, like when Maccabi Tel Aviv won its first European basketball championship in 1977 and, as star player Tal Brody, excitedly proclaimed, put “Israel on the map.”

But it was a source of happiness in a country that could sorely use some.

“Israeli pride!” someone posted. “So proud of Linoy” wrote another.

“It’s a shame that observant people aren’t going to find out about this for hours,” piped in another.

It indeed was a shame, especially when, for the second time in a week, “Hatikva” was heard from the podium in Tokyo as the ecstatic Ashram stood with the coveted medal. Last week, of course, the anthem was played after artistic gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won gold in the men’s floor exercise on Sunday.

That was certainly an emotional moment, and even the most hardened observers could be seen with moist eyes. Saturday’s repeat performance was icing on the cake, but no less resonant in its evocation of the elation felt at witnessing the blue and white flag dominating the screen and the national anthem resounding to the world.

We Israelis can be divided about and argue about anything and everything. Politics, vaccines, traffic, neighbors and the government, and the list goes on. There aren’t many issues or events that bring us together, as a country and as a people. There’s something transcendent about seeing young men and women stretch themselves to the limit of their abilities, and then some.

Linoy Ashram and Artem Dolgopyat, along with bronze medalists Avishag Semberg in women’s tae kwon do and Israel’s mixed team in judo, did just that. Their accomplishments in Tokyo made us all proud of them and of our country. It’s no small feat and should be savored for as long as the news cycle allows.

And it’s another reminder to those that might like to think otherwise that Israel is still on the map after all these years.


Olympics-Rhythmic Gymnastics-Israel’s Ashram Claims Individual Gold, Ending Russian Dominance
Israel’s Linoy Ashram won the individual all-around rhythmic gymnastics gold medal on Saturday, breaking a Russian stranglehold on the Olympic title that stretched back to 2000.

An Olympic medal event since 1984, rhythmic gymnastics sees athletes perform exquisite contortions and maneuvers to music while using hoops, balls, clubs or ribbons.

Ashram top-scored in the first three apparatus rounds, surprising the favorites, Russian twins Dina and Arina Averina.

The Israeli ended the competition with 107.800 points, narrowly beating three-time all-around world champion Dina Averina, who took the silver with 107.650.

Belarus’ Alina Harnasko bagged bronze with 102.700.

The Averinas contested their scores in two rotations but both of Dina’s inquiries were unsuccessful, including one she made after Ashram was announced the winner.

“I’m so happy that I did it – I came here and did my best,” said Ashram, who sobbed as she was announced the victor.

During qualification on Friday, she fumbled her hoop and was docked points.

On Saturday, however, she returned with a vengeance, tumbling and leaping with impeccable control, to win the first rotation with 27.550 points and kissing her hoop as she walked off the mat.


Russia seeks probe into rhythmic gymnastics judging after Olympic win for Israel
The president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) announced on Saturday that the organization will seek a probe into the judging process for the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in which Israel’s Linoy Ashram bested three-time world champion Dina Averina for the gold medal.

“We would like to have answers to a number of questions,” wrote ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov on his Instagram account, in a post cited by Russia’s Tass News Agency.

“We will seek a thorough probe into the judging situation at the Olympics by the relevant technical committee. We will make every effort to ensure the transparency of this process and make its results public,” he added.

Pozdnyakov said the country would lodge the complaint with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

The ROC had earlier expressed outrage over Averina’s loss, calling it an “injustice.” On Twitter, the organization also posted a statement by Averina that read, in part: “My conscience is clear, I still believe that I won.”

Prominent Russians accused the judges of bias. “Dina didn’t lose, she won. But unfortunately the judging was egregiously unjust,” Irina Viner, president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, said in comments to RT, a Kremlin-backed TV channel.

“It was simply a disgrace to rhythmic gymnastics,” said the coach.

Viner claimed that the judges supported Ashram. “Enough, they got tired of Russia. And the judges decided to support this Israeli woman.”

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova fumed, accusing the judges of committing “forgery in front of the whole world.”

“Those who started the Russophobic war against the sport could not allow this victory,” Zakharova said on messaging app Telegram.


Yisrael Medad: The Jews to Go into the Sea
Tracking down statements can be difficult at times. Everyone "heard"/"read" it but years later, no one can find its source.

One such issue is, did Arabs threaten to throw the Jews into the sea, and when?

EOZ had this published tracing the history whether in 1948 or during the 1950s or on the eve of the 1967 war.


Of course, the "Palestine from the River to the Sea" chant basically means destroying Israel but it is not the same as actually throwing Jews into the sea. I noted previously a caricature of Israel as a ship sinking. Still, not exactly the same.

Well, we now have a testimony in real time, from August 1948*.

In this academic article on the machinations of British Intelligence Services during the 1940s, I read, on page 14, that England's Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, "After being notified that the Arab leaders were blaming Britain for their defeat", instructed his diplomats in the Arab capitals, as well as in Washington and the UN, to respond that:
It is quite untrue to suggest that we have let the Arabs down or failed in any obligations towards them. We did not urge them to intervene by force in Palestine, nor did we promise them support if they did so. They went in of their own accord, in most cases without telling us beforehand. Very small measure of military successes which they achieved shows that their forces, while capable perhaps of occupying friendly territory, were not prepared for and incapable of undertaking major military operations, which would have been necessary to achieve the announced object of the Arab states, namely to drive the Jews into the sea.

I think that should settle matters.
__________________________
* The footnote reads:
TNA, FO141/1247, no. 1454, London, 25 August 1948, Bevin to Cairo, and no. 821, August 21, Bevin to Kirkbride; Louis, Ends of British Imperialism, 635-6, 694-8
The immoral goals of Palestinianism - Opinion
The failure to understand the nature and meaning of Palestinianism led to the Oslo Accords, which legitimized it, granted the PLO a quasi-state and divided Judea and Samaria into Palestinian-controlled areas under the PA/PLO and those under Israeli control. The issue of “settlements” remains controversial in Israel and other countries. There is no question, however, that Judea and Samaria – according to archeologists – contain thousands of Jewish historical sites, many as yet unexplored and unexcavated. There are no “Palestinian” historical sites in this area, or anywhere else, because “Palestinian identity” is a recent phenomenon, contrived to oppose Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Many consider the presence of Jews in Judea and Samaria to be “illegal under international law.” The “law,” however, has never been clarified, or determined. The claim is accepted as fact without proof. Nevertheless, support for a Palestinian state as part of a “peace process” is and has been the policy of every Israeli government for four decades. This explains why Israeli hasbara (advocacy) has failed, and why many, including those who consider themselves to be pro-Israel, are confused; it is why many have turned against Israel.

A major source of confusion is the International Committee of the Red Cross, which determined that Israel’s presence in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem violated the Fourth Geneva Convention, calling it “occupied Palestinian territory.” The ICRC also decided that the Golan Heights belonged to Syria. The ICRC’s arbitrary decision is considered to be “the law,” and was adopted by the UN and other international organizations. It has never been debated, and is not subject to review.

“End the occupation” and “free Palestine” are Palestinian mantras and the core of Palestinianism, part of a long-term agenda to create a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.” It begins with a PLO (or Hamas) state in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem; it ends with Israel’s demise. Sadly, it’s dangerous and destructive and it’s immoral, but it’s the reality. And one should never argue with reality.
Peter Beinart Called for the Elimination of the Jewish State. Ben And Jerry’s Tapped Him to Defend Israel Boycott to Franchisees.
Ben & Jerry’s brought in vocal Israel critic and anti-Zionist author Peter Beinart to talk to its store owners about Israel’s "illegal occupation" earlier this week, after franchisees raised concerns about the company’s boycott of the Jewish state, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

On the conference call with Ben & Jerry’s franchisees and store managers, Beinart argued that Israel is illegally occupying territory that it seized from Jordan in an offensive war in 1967 and claimed that the Jewish state sends soldiers into Palestinian villages to abduct minors, according to a source familiar with the content of the call.

The company’s decision to invite Beinart—an advocate for the Israel boycott movement who has called for the abolition of the Jewish state—to address insider objections indicates that it is doubling down on its criticism of Israel in the face of internal and external fallout. Thirty Ben & Jerry’s franchise store owners recently sent a letter to the company, which is owned by Unilever, asking it to "re-examine and withdraw" its boycott decision. Unilever has responded with reassurances that the company remains committed to doing business in the Jewish state even as its subsidiary continues its boycott.

Beinart told the Washington Free Beacon that he was not compensated by Ben & Jerry’s or Unilever and has no financial arrangement with either company. He said he was invited to speak on the call because he has publicly promoted boycotts of contested areas of Israel.

"I wrote a NYT op-ed calling for settlement boycott in 2012. I’ve espoused this view for a long time," said Beinart.

Beinart said he could not recall if the descriptions of his comments during the call were "entirely accurate," and said it was "very unlikely I said ‘offensive war' given how I generally speak about 1967." He declined to provide additional details about his remarks.

The ice cream company sent a memo to franchisees inviting them to "join us for a learning opportunity and respectful discussion with author and Middle East expert, Peter Beinart."


This report on online antisemitism looks bad. Could reality be worse?
Callum Hood, CCDH head of research, explained, “The report is primarily intended as a test of platforms' recent additional commitments on tackling antisemitism, particularly Facebook's new standards on antisemitism .... As such, CCDH selected examples that most clearly breach those standards but were not acted upon.”

Still, excluding terminology that doesn’t skew far-right paints an incomplete picture of contemporary antisemitism — especially when this research project commenced during the recent Israel-Hamas conflict. It also sidesteps an important test, given Silicon Valley’s known political bias. Social media moderators are presumably less likely to notice left-wing antisemitism or more likely to accept it as criticism of Israel, even when it’s incitement.

The Jew-hatred social media companies would most likely recognize and willingly police is invective from the widely reviled far-right. That these five platforms largely failed to do so is striking. However, it also seems certain that the reaction rate CCDH recorded would drop even lower if far-left posts were included.

As for Facebook, it adopted “specific rules against antisemitic content” last summer. Those rules disallow “comparing Jewish people and rats, claiming that Jewish people run the world or control major institutions ... or denying or distorting information about the Holocaust.”

Given the myriad forms antisemitism can take, it’s unclear why Facebook settled on those three rules. Asked about that, its response to CCDH’s criticism, and whether Facebook is taking steps to reduce antisemitic content, including adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, a Facebook company spokesperson emailed:

"While we have made progress in fighting antisemitism on Facebook, our work is never done. These reports do not account for the fact that the prevalence of hate speech is decreasing on our platform, we have taken action on 15 times the amount of hate speech since 2017, and of the hate speech we remove, 97% was found before someone reported it to us.”

There clearly needs to be more progress. Yet, the most direct route forward would be through one recommendation curiously missing from CCDH’s report: urging social media companies to adopt the IHRA definition. Nobody can effectively combat antisemitism online without first clearly defining it.

The spring surge in open antisemitism on the country's streets underscored why all of this matters. Lies about Jews encourage, and are used to justify, violent attacks. What happens online won’t stay online.


Bennett Names President’s Brother as US Envoy, Points to Iran Experience
Israel said on Friday it had appointed its president’s brother, former general Michael Herzog, as its next ambassador to the United States, highlighting his experience on Iran and its nuclear program.

Tehran is currently negotiating with Washington and other world powers on reviving a 2015 deal that curbed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned against a return to the pact, whose caps on projects with bomb-making potential Israel deems too lax.

Israel sees Iran‘s nuclear program as a direct threat, though Tehran has said it is only interested in energy generation and other peaceful projects.

Michael Herzog, 69, served in the Israeli military for 40 years, was chief of staff to four defense ministers and took part in many rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians, a statement from Bennett’s office said.

It pointed to Herzog’s “in-depth knowledge of the strategic issues facing Israel, especially the Iranian nuclear program.” His appointment will be approved by the government soon, it added.

The former general’s brother, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, was sworn in to the largely-ceremonial position in July.
Hezbollah is testing Israel and so far it's succeeding - analysis
Israel’s response until now has been mild. After Wednesday’s attack, the Air Force bombed open areas in southern Lebanon from where the rockets had been fired. After Friday’s barrage, Israel responded with artillery fire in the direction of the source of the fire. By Saturday night, that seemed to be it.

This is dangerous and complicated. IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Ran Kochav went so far as to explain that the fact Hezbollah fired its 20 rockets into open fields meant that the Lebanese terrorist group was deterred and scared of a larger conflict with Israel. If that wasn’t the case, he told reporters in a briefing on Friday, it would have attacked population centers.

Is this true? We don’t know. What we do know, is that it is a dangerous way to think since it sets up Israel to allow its northern border to turn into the way things are along the border with Gaza. There, for years, Israel restrained itself after rocket attacks. If it responded, it hit sand dunes or makeshift Hamas observation posts. Nothing too serious.

This normalized rocket fire into sovereign Israel. As long as no one was hurt or killed and as long as the rocket fire was sporadic, Israel could restrain itself. Did it make sense? Maybe. Did it also erode Israel’s deterrence? Definitely.

That is happening along the northern border as well. Kochav’s comment could be interpreted as normalizing rocket fire now from Lebanon. No one was killed and no one was hurt so that must mean that Hezbollah is deterred.

Not necessarily. What comments like Kochav’s potentially do when coupled with a mild military response, is create for Hezbollah a feeling that it – like Hamas - can normalize rocket attacks against Israel’s North.

This would be disastrous for Israel but difficult to stop. Too strong a response could lead to a larger escalation – something Israel does not want – while too weak a response could lead Hezbollah to learn a bad lesson, something Israel also does not want. That right balance of how to respond and is going to be hard to find. Based on Friday’s events, the government needs to do so fast.
Hezbollah rocket attack on Israel a ‘message’ to new PM, says Iranian commander
Hezbollah’s latest rocket fire on Israel from Lebanon was a “message” to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who was sworn in in June, “that the equation of response has not changed” and that Israel does not set the agenda in the region, said Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami on Saturday.

Salami made the comments to Hezbollah deputy secretary-general Naim Qassem during a meeting between the two in Tehran, according to Iranian media.

The meeting Saturday came a day after Hezbollah fired 19 rockets at Israel in the heaviest barrage since the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

A photo of Salami and Qassem was published on Saturday on the IRGC’s Telegram channel. Qassem was in Tehran for the inauguration of ultra-conservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. At his inauguration ceremony on Thursday, both Qassem and Hamas terror group chief Ismail Haniyeh could be seen in the audience.

On Saturday, Salami told Qassem during the meeting that “the capacities are ready for the collapse of the Zionist regime,” according to Iranian state-linked media Tehran Times.

Salami also stressed (Arabic) the continued support of Iran for “the resistance” in Lebanon.


Palestinian factions applaud Hezbollah rocket attack on Israel
Several Palestinian factions praised Hezbollah over the weekend for firing rockets into northern Israel and vowed to continue launching incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Friday, a heavy barrage of close to 20 rockets was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, activating the Iron Dome missile defense system and setting off sirens throughout the area. The Iron Dome intercepted 10 rockets, with six falling in open areas near Har Dov on the Lebanese border. The others fell inside Lebanon.

The Coalition of Palestinian Forces in Lebanon, a group representing various Palestinian factions, praised Hezbollah for “targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in response to the aggression that targeted Lebanese territories on Thursday.”

In a statement published in Lebanon, the factions expressed full support for Hezbollah’s response and stressed “the right of the resistance to confront the Israeli aggression aimed at imposing new equations or changing the rules of engagement.”

The factions said that the rocket attack aimed to send “a clear message emphasizing Hezbollah’s natural right to respond to aggression, defend the people and the land and prevent the enemy from achieving its suspicious goals.”
Gaza Terrorists Launch Incendiary Devices ‘in Solidarity With Lebanon,’ Sparking Four Fires in Southern Israel
Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip on Friday launched a number of incendiary balloons into Israel, sparking four brush fires.

The balloons are basic devices intended to set fire to farmland surrounding the Palestinian enclave.

The last time such an attack took place was on July 25, setting off brush fires in the same region.

The attack comes hours after escalation on Israel’s north, sparked by the Lebanon-based terrorists of Hezbollah firing a barrage of rockets on the Jewish state.

The fires were ignited in the Kissufim forest and in the Be’eri forest, two nature reserves located near Israel’s border with the Palestinian territory, officials said.

Gaza balloon unit Ahfad An-Nassar claimed the launches, saying it attacked Israel in solidarity with Lebanon.

Earlier in the day, Hamas, the terrorist group that rules over Gaza, expressed “full support” for Hezbollah’s attack on the “Zionist enemy,” saying the Shi’ite terrorist group was “challenging Israel’s attempts to impose its own rules of engagement.”


To Biden Administration: No Visa, No Negotiations with Iran Regime's Mass Murderer
If [Iran's President Ebrahim] Raisi is granted a visa to come to the US, the Iranian regime's legitimacy will be enhanced, and the regime will be empowered to try to kidnap more Americans on US soil.

The senators' letter sheds a light on several examples: "In 1988, the United States barred PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat from entering the United States to attend a meeting of the United Nations. In 2014, President Obama denied an entry visa to Iranian Ambassador Hamid Aboutalebi, who was involved in taking American diplomats hostage in 1979. In 2020, the United States declined to issue a visa for Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif."

The Biden administration needs to listen to the US senators, who have accurately explained: "Ebrahim Raisi's role in the Death Commissions, brutal crackdowns on Iranian protesters, and his association with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps should disqualify him from receiving a visa to the United States."

If the Biden administration has a shred of respect for human rights and those people who lost their lives to reach freedom and democracy, it should not negotiate with Iran's mass murderer president, or grant him a visa to come to New York.
US holding Iran responsible for Mercer Street attack 'not a small detail'
US Central Command has come out with a statement and multi-page investigatory report on the attack on the Mercer Street, the ship that was attacked off the coast of Yemen and has raised tensions between Israel and Iran, as well as the US, UK and Iran. The deadly drone attack was carried out by Iran and involved three drones. The report says “US experts concluded based on the evidence that this UAV was produced in Iran.” Iran has rejected these claims but the US and G-7 countries have said Iran was responsible.

This is not small detail. The report is significant and important and lays out in detail the attacks, and it has new information as well. The report is titled: "Iranian UAV Attack Against MOTOR TANKER MERCER STREET" and details from it are from US Navy Capt. Bill Urban, the CENTCOM spokesman.

Here is what the team has found. The deadly attack took place on July 30 and involved an explosive unmanned aerial vehicle attack on the tanker. The investigators came from the USS Ronald Reagan, which sent a team to embark on the M/T to examine the evidence and interview the surviving crew members.

The team learned that two drones actually attacked the ship on July 29. “The crew reported the attacks via distress calls on the evening of July 29. Based on crew interviews, the investigative team found credible the reports of the attacks, which impacted the sea near the M/T Mercer Street. Investigators found small remnants of at least one of the UAVs on Mercer Street that the crew had retrieved from the water, corroborating the reports," reads the report, meaning that the first attack appears to have been a failure.
Iran believes it has Israel on the run
IRAN HAS assessed that Israel made a mistake in believing Hezbollah was suffering from Lebanon’s economic crisis. “This made the Zionist enemy think of changing the fixed rules of conflict between the Israeli army and the Lebanese resistance since the July 2006 war, which, contrary to the Zionists’ expectations, did not change – and Hezbollah immediately responded with aggression with its missiles.”

Iran predicts that escalation might continue. “The general conclusion that can be reached is that the Zionist enemy can no longer assess the positions and orientations of the resistance in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and other areas dependent on the Axis of Resistance.

“Accordingly, Israel’s repeated intelligence failures may lead the regime to escalate its aggression under the pretext of trying to change the rules of the conflict in its favor, which will certainly be accompanied by more decisive responses from the resistance.” This is an important Iranian assessment through its messaging that has been put out through its media. The point Iran is making is that it works closely with Hamas and Hezbollah, and that it used them to distract from the growing condemnation of Iran after the July 30 drone attack on Oman.

It also wanted to test Israel’s responses. Hezbollah had a green light from Iran to fire missiles from Lebanon. Hezbollah caused some controversy by using a Druze village to move missiles via a truck. A Hezbollah member was detained and released. The terrorist group also made it clear it could fire the rockets with impunity but also targeted open spaces in the contested Mount Dov area.

Israel also appeared to communicate that it was willing to de-escalate. What is important from Iran’s view is that Hezbollah took responsibility. Previous incidents like this – such as after the Hezbollah drone team was killed in the fall of 2018 and the July 2020 incident near Mount Dov where the IDF said it foiled a Hezbollah attack – are other instances where Hezbollah sought to show it could confront Israel on equal footing.
G7 Says Iran Behind Tanker Attack, Threatening Peace and Stability
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy economies said Iran was threatening international peace and security and that all available evidence showed it was behind an attack on the Mercer Street tanker last week.

“All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack,” said the statement, issued by current G7 chair, Britain.

The vessel was a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the suspected drone attack in which two crew members – a Briton and a Romanian – were killed.

Nevertheless Britain, the United States and others have criticized Iran for the attack.

“Iran’s behavior, alongside its support to proxy forces and non-state armed actors, threatens international peace and security,” the G7 statement said.

“We call on Iran to stop all activities inconsistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and call on all parties to play a constructive role in fostering regional stability and peace.”

The issue was being discussed at a behind-closed-doors meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday but the 15-member body is not expected to take any action.
UK denounces 10-year prison sentence for dual national in Iran
The United Kingdom on Friday hit out at reports that a British-Iranian labor rights activist had been given a sentence of 10 years in Tehran for participating in an outlawed group.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement that London “strongly” condemns the sentence handed out to Mehran Raoof, a former teacher from north London.

“We continue to do all we can to support Mehran and his family, and continue to raise his case at the most senior levels,” they added.

The response follows a Wednesday announcement on Twitter by Iranian lawyer Mostafa Nili that both Raoof and German-Iranian woman Nahid Taghavi had been sentenced to 10 years for membership of an illegal group and eight months for anti-government propaganda.

The sentencing of both Iranian dual nationals comes against a backdrop of deteriorating relations between Britain, its Western allies and Iran.

On Friday, the G7 group of economically advanced nations accused Iran of orchestrating a drone strike on an Israel-linked tanker that claimed the lives of a former British soldier and a Romanian national.


EU Official Attends Swearing In Ceremony of New Iranian President
A senior diplomat for the European Union (EU) was spotted at the swearing-in ceremony of incoming Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on August 5.

The diplomat, European External Action Service (EEAS) Secretary-General Enrique Mora, can be seen sitting alongside leaders from Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Jewish groups condemned Mora for attending the inauguration.

“A picture for the PHOTO HALL OF SHAME,” American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris tweeted, adding that this is “the same EU that purports to protect human rights, combat terror & fight Jew-hatred!”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center also tweeted, “European Union – Your presence legitimizes a new president with blood on his hands.”
Iran’s Raisi Meets With Hamas, Hezbollah Delegations
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, fresh from his swearing-in, met on Friday with representatives from the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups.

This coincided with dangerous escalations on Israel’s norther and southern borders, which it shares with territories controlled by the two terrorist groups.

Ismail Haniyeh headed the delegation of senior Hamas officials, who were also present at Thursday’s ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, which saw Raisi officially crowned as the Islamic Republic’s head of state.

A delegation sent by the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, the main rival of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was also in attendance at Raisi’s swearing-in ceremony and was expected to meet with him later.

Shortly thereafter, Raisi met with Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s second-in-command, hours after the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy launched a volley of rockets on southern Israel.

Following the attack, and the Israeli retaliation, Qassem said that he did not believe that “the situation would escalate but Hezbollah is ready at any time to defend Lebanon against any Israeli aggression.”


Resurgent Taliban Take Provincial Capital, Kill Afghan Govt Spokesman
Taliban insurgents captured an Afghan provincial capital and killed the government’s senior media officer in Kabul on Friday amid a deteriorating security situation as US and other foreign troops withdraw.

A police spokesman in southern Nimroz province said the capital Zaranj had fallen to the hardline Islamists because of a lack of reinforcements from the Western-backed government.

A Taliban spokesman said on Twitter that the insurgents had “completely liberated” the province and had taken control of the governor’s house, police headquarters and other official buildings.

Later, a top Afghan general leading the counter-offensive in the south of the country said Afghan air force airstrikes had killed the Taliban’s top official for Nimroz along with 14 of his men. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the claim by General Sami Sadat, commander of the 215 Maiwand Afghan Army Corps, on Twitter.

Fighting to reimpose a strict Islamic regime 20 years after they were ousted from power by U.S.-led forces, the Taliban have intensified their campaign to defeat the government.

The insurgents have taken dozens of districts and border crossings in recent months and put pressure on several provincial capitals, including Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south, as foreign forces pull out.
University of Houston passes anti-Israel resolution backed by SJP
In mid-July, the University of Houston Student Government Association voted yes to a resolution backed by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which called for “protection & support for pro-Palestine students and activism.”

While the resolution appears agreeable at first glance, it is yet another blow against Jewish students on campus. The resolution states that “the University of Houston Student Government Association unequivocally rejects the debasement of Palestinian activism through the false conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism”.

Those that voted in favor of the resolution either did not fully understand its implications or are terribly ignorant to the repercussions toward their Jewish peers.

It is vital to clarify how and why anti-Zionism is unquestionably antisemitism. Before doing so however, a disclaimer must be made very clear: Free speech is a fundamental value in our society, and pro-Palestinian students must be given a voice to share their opinions. However, this activism should never come at the expense of others nor be manipulated to advance an antisemitic agenda that leaves Jews (or any other population) feeling marginalized. It is also important to note the insidiousness of the resolution, which purposefully masks its hate-filled agenda with a progressive, inclusive title.

Anti-Zionism is the denial of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and to establish a homeland in their ancestral homeland in the Land of Israel. By adhering to anti-Zionism, SJP and its supporters deny the Jewish people this right. Members of SJP are not shy about this. For example, in 2018, former UH SJP member Mohammad Abdel-Aziz tweeted “A legitimate Israeli state does not and will never exist. Any supporter of Palestinians would not deviate from this statement.”
CUNY Faculty Union Attempts to Stem Fallout From Israel Resolution as Resignations Mount
A campaign has cited over 100 resignations from the City University of New York faculty union (PSC-CUNY) over a controversial resolution on Israel, as the union attempted to assuage the “sharp divisions” over the issue in an email to its members.

On Thursday, a group of seven CUNY faculty members published the Resign PSC website, urging union members to quit the body over what it described as “an abhorrent and divisive resolution condemning Israel that displays astonishing factual inaccuracy and foments antisemitism.”

The June 10 resolution had labelled Israel an “apartheid … settler colonial state” responsible for the “massacre” of Palestinians during the May conflict with Hamas, and advanced chapter-level discussions on supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“[We] believe that the PSC-CUNY union has long violated its mandate by diverting union time and resources to pursue political advocacy far outside of their mission to support CUNY faculty,” the Resign PSC group said in a Thursday email to members. “If you want to join us, we intend on using coordinated resignations to send a signal to the union that we expect the leadership to concentrate on performing the job entrusted to them: supporting CUNY faculty rights, remuneration and working conditions.”

As of Friday, 105 names had signed the group’s “Mass Resignation Pact,” including former CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein and Larry Zicklin, who endowed the Baruch College Zicklin School of Business.

In an email seen by The Algemeiner, sent to PSC members on Thursday night, union leaders addressed the controversy surrounding the “Resolution in Support of the Palestinian People,” noting that it had become a “test of … solidarity.”
Rep. Zeldin Seeks Investigation Into Anti-Semitism in NYC Public Schools
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.) petitioned the Department of Education to launch an investigation into a group of New York City public school teachers who he says are indoctrinating kids with anti-Israel materials and anti-Semitic views.

Zeldin, in a previously unreported Aug. 3 letter to the education departments in Washington, D.C., and New York City, demands that officials "do everything in [their] power to combat antisemitic and anti-Israel bias and discrimination in public schools."

The lawmaker's request for an investigation comes just a month after a collective of public school teachers who call themselves New York City Educators for Palestine released an open letter blasting Israel for "ethnically cleansing Palestinians" and promoting anti-Semitic attitudes about Jewish people. The missive was widely criticized for fostering an unsafe environment for Jewish students as anti-Semitic hate crimes skyrocket across the country, particularly in New York City. Zeldin, in his letter, said the teachers' collective relies on "talking points all too commonly used to fuel violent attacks on and discrimination against Jews."

Anti-Israel sentiment has swelled among teachers and others in the academic community in the months since Hamas barraged the Jewish state with thousands of missiles, sparking one of the worst periods of violence between the sides in years. The May war fueled a historic rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes, with the Anti-Defamation League reporting that incidents climbed 75 percent in the United States around the time of the latest conflict.

"Using anti-Israel rhetoric in our children's schools will only escalate and embolden antisemitic attacks and vitriol throughout our country," Zeldin wrote.

Under a 2019 executive order signed by then-president Donald Trump, the Education Department and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) are "obligated to investigate and take decisive action if a case of antisemitism is substantiated," according to Zeldin.
Harsh-on-Israel Times Opinion Columnist Now Covers It in News Pages, as Roger Cohen Flees Paris Gloom
In October 2020, the New York Times announced that opinion columnist Roger Cohen would be “returning to his roots in the newsroom as our Paris bureau chief.”

“We expect him to take up his post in December,” said the memo, signed — in classic Times bureaucratic fashion — by no less than four newsroom middle managers.

Cohen did indeed land in Paris but apparently found it unbearably grim. “I have seen sunlight three or four times since arriving from New York about seven weeks ago,” he kvetched in a piece the Times published January 30. “My adaptation has been harsh, particularly to a Paris with its soul torn out…. Life is monotonous. There’s really nowhere to go.”

It turned out there was somewhere to go: Israel.

Beginning with a May 22 “news analysis” headlined “Conflict Strengthens Netanyahu, but the Price Is High,” and running through an August 1 article datelined from Acre, Israel and headlined “Riots Shatter Veneer of Coexistence in Israel’s Mixed Towns,” the Times Paris bureau chief has published 13 stories from or about Israel.

What is up with that?

Cohen didn’t reply to an inquiry from The Algemeiner sent via a contact form on the Times website.
CNN Arabic Corrects “Settlers Storming the Mosque” Becomes “Jews Entering the Sanctuary”
Following communication with CAMERA Arabic, CNN’s Arabic website corrected two reports that had charged Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount with “storming” the al-Aqsa Mosque. The reports, which covered the July 18 Tish’a B’Av events on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, were corrected on July 28, CNN confirmed in its reply to CAMERA.

The first report, originally entitled “Settlers Intrude the al-Aqsa Mosque – Clashes between the Israeli Police and Palestinians,” was completely rewritten, mainly in accordance with the corresponding CNN report in English. Thus, CNN replaced references to “settlers” with ones to “religious Jews” and the verb “to intrude1” with “to enter.” The phrases “al-Aqsa Mosque” and “al-Aqsa Mosque plaza” were replaced with “the Jerusalem Sanctuary Complex, known to Jews as Temple Mount.”

The corrected now headline reads: “Religious Jews enter the Jerusalem Sanctuary Complex in the Destruction of the Temple Anniversary.”

Additionally, a photo implying that the events took place indoors (hence suggesting that a “mosque intrusion” did occur), was replaced with one reflecting the fact that all Jews stayed outside buildings throughout their entire visit.

CNN’s initial photo, whose caption read: “Palestinian women look at Israeli security troops as they enter the Jerusalem al-Aqsa Mosque, during the annual Tisha B’Av fast, commemorating the destruction of ancient Jewish Temples 2000 years ago”

CNN’s current photo, with no caption.

CNN’s decision to use the existing English version as basis for a new Arabic one expanded the report considerably. Thus, while its previous version relied heavily on a single press release by PA news agency “Wafa,” it now also includes the official response by Israel’s PM Office, as well as other comments and background details, like the status quo arrangements of visits and prayers on site.
Tattoo that Auschwitz survivor cut out of her arm features in new UK exhibition
A glass container containing the preserved tattoos that an Auschwitz survivor had cut out of her arm and removed from her mother after her death, features in a photo in a new exhibition that opened in London on Friday.

Kitty Hart-Moxon, 97, told the Guardian newspaper that she was working as a nurse and radiographer in postwar Britain when she realized that the short sleeves of her uniform exposed her tattoo from the Nazi camp.

When a doctor remarked that he assumed that the tattoo was a boyfriend’s phone number she couldn’t remember, the then-25-year-old Hart-Moxon decided to remove the number which was marked onto her forearm by the Nazis at the concentration camp.

“I knew a plastic surgeon, and I asked him to take it out. I’d had enough of the silly questions and whispering, and of people not wanting to know the truth. I just wanted to get rid of it to stop all that: the numbers had become a burden,” she said in an interview.

After her mother died, Hart-Moxon asked for her tattoo to be removed too.

“My number was 39934 with a little triangle at the bottom, and my mother’s was 39933,” she told the Guardian. “I thought it is better to remove it, and put it in a specimen jar. It will be there forever, whereas I will be gone.”

“It was the story of my life, wasn’t it? And I don’t think anybody else has got theirs because most people died with them. But I thought it will now be there for ever. It’s part of history. It’s important,” she told the newspaper.
10 of the best underground attractions in Israel
When tourism resumes in Israel, whether it’s in the rainy winter or the sizzling summer, outdoor conditions are irrelevant if you do your sightseeing underground.

In this video, we recommend:
10. Templar’s Tunnels, Acre (Akko): The Templars were a military-monastic order who – in the name of the pope – helped pilgrims and the sick from Europe to visit the holy sites of the Land of Israel.1187, the Templars settled in Acre and built a fortress. The tunnel is 150 meters (492 feet) long and extends from the fortress in the west to the city’s port in the east.

9. Stalactite Caves, Beit Shemesh: This nature reserve encompasses an extensive natural woodland area and the largest and most beautiful stalactite-stalagmite cave in Israel.

8. Herodion Tunnels, Herodion National Park: When the Jews rebelled against Roman oppression in the first and second centuries, they established a complex system of underground tunnels and cisterns inside the Herodion (Herodium) hill near Jerusalem to safeguard the watersupply and stay hidden from the enemy.

7. Western Wall Tunnels, Jerusalem: The Western Wall stretches along almost half a kilometer, but only a small portion is visible at the Western Wall Plaza. Touring the Western Wall Tunnels provides access to the segments hidden from view. The ancient subterranean spaces include large stone arches, water pits, an ancient water aqueduct and more.


US-Israeli comedian Avi Liberman brings back Comedy for Koby
For American-Israeli comedian Avi Liberman, founder and host of the long-running, immensely popular “Comedy for Koby” tours, it was no laughing matter.

On May 23, Liberman was badly injured in a car accident in Florida. Initially in serious condition, Liberman spent nine days in the hospital and currently has partial paralysis on the left side of his face, trouble closing his left eye, numbness and tightness as a result of the skull fractures.

“The mental part has actually been the hardest. I get a bit tired at points during the day but energy is also returning,” he said in a phone conversation with The Jerusalem Post last week.

“What surprised me is how you fall back into it,” said Liberman about returning to the stage, after a two-month layoff during recuperation and rehab. “You’re a little bit rusty, but how easily we fall back into it was the nice thing.”

“The instinct takes over again. You’ve been doing this for 25 years. I was concerned thinking about it, but right before I was brought up on stage for a guest spot at the Houston Improv, the rational part of my head took over and was like ‘You’ve done this a ton. What’s the concern?’”

Rabbi Seth and Sherri Mandell established the Koby Mandell Foundation in 2001, the same year their 13-year-old son Koby and his friend Yosef Ishran were brutally murdered by terrorists near their Gush Etzion home of Tekoa. And since 2008, Liberman has been bringing over top US stand-up comedians to raise funds for the organization’s summer camp and other programs it runs.







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