Wednesday, September 29, 2021

09/29 Links: VP Harris to student who accused Israel of 'genocide': Your truth must be heard; Abbas’ UN speech explains why he is no partner for peace; Labour is still overrun with anti-Israel cranks

From Ian:

VP Harris to student who accused Israel of 'genocide': Your truth must be heard
During a discussion with students about National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, US Vice President Kamala Harris did not challenge a comment by a student at George Mason University in Virginia who accused Israel of “ethnic genocide” and defended her right to say it.

The student, who identified herself as part-Yemeni, part-Iranian and “not an American,” also expressed outrage at US funding of the Iron Dome. She said America affects her life “every day” due to military funding it gives to Saudi Arabia and Israel.

“You brought up how the power of the people and demonstrations and organizing is very valuable in America,” she said. “But I see that over the summer there have been protests and demonstrations in astronomical numbers standing with Palestine. But then just a few days ago, there were funds allocated to continue backing Israel, which hurts my heart because it’s ethnic genocide and displacement of people, the same that happened in America, and I’m sure you’re aware of this.”

The student questioned why money was going to Israel and Saudi Arabia instead of to social issues in America.

“The people have spoken very often of what they do need, and I feel like there’s a lack of listening, and I just feel like I need to bring this up because it affects my life and people I really care about’s [sic] life,” she said.

In response, Harris said she was “glad” the student spoke up.

“Your voice, your perspective, your experience, your truth cannot be suppressed, and it must be heard,” she said.

Harris said democracy is strongest when everyone participates and is weakest when anyone is left out.

“That’s not only about being physically present but that your voice is present,” she said. “Our goal should be unity, but not uniformity. Unity should never be at the expense of telling any one person, ‘For the sake of unity, oh you be quiet about that thing.’ That’s not unity. Then we see where that ends up in a healthy debate about the issue.”

Regarding the student’s reference to Middle East policy, Harris said: “We still have healthy debates in our country about what is the right path, and nobody’s voice should be suppressed on that.”

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman expressed outrage at Harris’s statements, tweeting: “Shameful. There is truth and there are lies. No one is entitled to their personal truth. This attack on Israel is simply a lie and VPOTUS should have called that out.”


VP Harris silent after anti-Israel comment from student
Author Douglas Murray argued Harris is 'terrible in exchanges,' 'horrible in a corner,' and is 'not a great asset' to the Democrat party. #FoxNews


HonestReporting: Truth Be Told: US Vice President Knows Israel Not Committing 'Ethnic Genocide'
US Vice President Kamala Harris failed to correct a college student who falsely accused Israel of "ethnic genocide." Harris "was glad" that the George Mason University student expressed that it "hurt her heart" when Congress approved additional funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

The student also claimed that "all this money ends up going to inflaming Israel" instead of providing struggling Americans with affordable healthcare and housing.

The genocide charge against Israel has been thoroughly debunked. And Harris knows this given that she has visited the country. Accordingly, when asked in June 2019 by The New York Times whether Israel meets international standards of human rights, Harris replied: "Overall, yes." She also previously stated, "I believe that when any organization delegitimizes Israel, we must stand up and speak out against it."

Why not, then, when individuals do?

Furthermore, military aid to the Jewish state makes up only a fraction of a fraction of the US federal budget -- and Israel must spend the vast majority of it in America.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion... but not to their own facts. In Harris' own words, Americans should understand "the importance of fighting to make sure that we protect and respect [Israel], one of the best friends we could possibly have."


Alan M. Dershowitz: New York Times Pits "Principle" against Powerful "Rabbis" in Iron Dome Vote
[Catie Edmondson] cited no support for her "reporting" on the pressure placed by "powerful ...rabbis," nor did she name them, because her "reporting" simply was not true. She just made it up, because it supported the anti-Semitic narrative that AOC and her Squad deploy to deflect justified criticism of their anti-Israel and anti-American votes.

No powerful rabbis or lobbyists were needed to pressure the nearly 500 Democrats and Republicans who voted to fund the Iron Dome defense system....

No mention was made by the Times of powerful pro-Palestinian lobbyists or Imams, or of the pressure placed on AOC and others by radical leftists who hate Israel. No: it was supposedly"principles" that motivated the anti-Israel votes, and "powerful" rabbinical pressures that determined the "yes" and "present" votes. And this purports to be objective "reporting" from the newspaper of record.

After much criticism, the Times quietly removed the reference to "rabbis" without apologizing for its reporter's mendacious anti-Semitism or disciplining her for her journalistic malpractice. Just imagine how quickly a journalist would be cancelled if she engaged in comparable bigotry toward another group. But the Times has long suffered from a double standard toward Jews and the Jewish nation.

You are not getting "all the news that's fit to print" about Israel. You are getting only the "news" that its reporters and editors fit into their preconceived and biased narrative.

The Times must publicly, clearly and substantively apologize for its reporter lying about "powerful ...rabbis" and explain how its editors could permit such an obviously anti-Semitic canard to be published on its pages. Quietly eliminating the offending words from its online version is cowardly and insufficient. It must acknowledge the harm that its false reporting has caused.
Israel's MAFAT head on US Iron Dome fears: We trust our American friends
The head of the Defense Ministry’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (MAFAT) was not at all concerned that Washington might not replenish the IDF’s Iron Dome missile-defense system.

“We got the funding in two days – one day after what happened,” said Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Danny Gold. “For me, the result is important, and we trust our American friends who authorized the $1 billion.”

The full story will appear in Friday’s Magazine.

Gold said he was not concerned about the possibility that the funding wouldn’t be approved to replenish the interceptors for the Iron Dome. “I didn’t even think about it,” he said. “We trust our American friends, and we trust Israel, which also put money into the project. It’s good to have partners like the US who have both restoration and production capabilities. We also have the capabilities in Israel, but it’s an issue of funding.”

Earlier in the week, the US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation to provide Israel with $1b. for the missile-defense system. Progressive Democrats had removed it from a government spending bill because of their position that military aid given to Israel should be conditions-based.

The Iron Dome system is built by US defense contractor Raytheon Technologies and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and was developed with US financial help. According to a Congressional Research Service report released last year, the US has already provided more than $1.6b. for Israel to develop and build the system.

Since it went into service in 2011, the system has successfully intercepted more than 2,500 rockets and other projectiles fired into Israel.
Emily Schrader: It’s not about Iron Dome, it’s about the future - opinion
Make no mistake, these claims didn’t just come out of nowhere. They were insinuated or in some cases explicitly stated by members of Congress like Rashida Tlaib, who tweeted about how she would vote against funding the Iron Dome because she opposes “war crimes against Palestinians.” This of course leaves the average person with the impression that the Iron Dome somehow harms Palestinians when the reality is it is completely a defensive system that protects civilians.

Ironically, after Tlaib and others received push back and accusations of antisemitism for opposing the Iron Dome bill, they changed their tune and disingenuously pretended they opposed the bill because it was, as they called it, frivolous military spending that should be spent at home. In AOC’s case, after switching her vote at the last minute from “no” to “present,” she claimed it was because the vote was “rushed” and she wanted to do more research about the “controversial” bill (despite the 420-9 final vote). She also added that she wept over the bill on the House floor because of the lack of concern for vulnerable groups the bill impacts, referring to the Palestinians – who again, have nothing to do with the Iron Dome.

These types of theatrics from The Squad have absolutely no factual basis, and as such lend credence to emotionally-based pleas that fuel antisemitism.

Perhaps most problematic about the rhetoric and tactics of Tlaib, Omar, Bush and AOC is that their deeply rooted bigotry against both Israel and Jews is intentionally couched in “progressive” language despite being regressive, bigoted, dangerous and antisemitic.

When the facts of issues like the Iron Dome are obscured in emotional claims that aren’t related to the actual issue, antisemitism is bound to eventually crop up, and crop up it did.

In the days following the vote on the Iron Dome funding, the New York Times ran an article claiming powerful lobbies and “rabbis” pressured AOC into switching her vote. Similarly, the Democratic Socialists of America – the faction of the Democratic party that Tlaib and AOC are a part of – released a lengthy statement riddled with antisemitic canards about how Israeli civilians don’t deserve to have missile defense.

While it’s a relief that the US Congress unequivocally stood up for human rights by supporting the Iron Dome bill, the longer the intentional efforts to obscure the truth and emotionalize issues by representatives from The Squad, the more we will see a rise in antisemitism.
David Singer: Israel's relationship with the Democrats is only going to worsen
Pelosi had the opportunity to call out these 10 errant House Democrats during her Floor Speech after the funding was passed - but chose instead to gloss over this growing scandal within the Democratic Party:

“Passage of this bill reflects the great unity in Congress on a bipartisan and bicameral basis for Israel's security.”

Strong admonition of these 10 Democrat House Members by Pelosi for voting as they did was certainly warranted.

And Biden’s silence is breathtaking.

These 10 House Democrats had joined 15 more House Democrats in signing a letter in May calling on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to condemn the possible evictions of Arabs who refused to pay rent from four homes in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood – whose ownership by Jews was legally recognized.

The other 15 Democrat signatories to that letter - Reps. Pocan, Jayapal, McCollum, Chu, Rush, Connolly, Huffman, Johnson, Welch, Lowenthal, Escobar, Speier, Eshoo, Pingree and Dingell – nevertheless voted to fund Israel’s Iron Dome system despite their concerns expressed to Blinken.

These 15 Democrats could distinguish between criticising Israel whilst voting to financially support Israel in defending its civilian population from being deliberately targeted by Hamas and Hezbollah.

Ocasio-Cortez declared:
“I hope we can take this moment and opportunity to more deeply engage in and grow a true, substantive movement of community support for human rights around the world - which includes cherishing and respecting the human rights of Palestinian people.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s first imperative in building this international movement should have seen her voting with her 15 colleagues to help protect Israel’s civilian population, including Israeli Arabs of whose existence she may not even be aware, being threatened by rockets indiscriminately fired from Gaza and Lebanon.

Jew-hatred within the Democratic Party exposed by those 10 House Democrats’ votes needs to be rooted out before it becomes endemic.
Rep. Massie Paints Pro-Israel Group as a Foreign Agent
Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) accused a leading American pro-Israel lobbying group of acting as a foreign agent.

After Massie voted against funding Israel's Iron Dome missile-defense system last week, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee published an ad attacking him for his stance. "When Israel faced rocket attacks, Thomas Massie voted against Iron Dome," the ad read.

Massie struck back at AIPAC over the ad; "How is THIS not foreign interference in our elections?" the congressman tweeted on Monday.

AIPAC is a bipartisan American lobbying group headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is not an Israeli government agent. The organization has more than 100,000 members in the United States.

Critics accused Massie of evoking the anti-Semitic "dual loyalty" trope, in which American Jews are cast as holding loyalty to Israel over the United States. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) drew controversy in 2019 for advancing the trope after she bemoaned "the political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country [Israel]."

Massie was the only House Republican to vote against funding the Iron Dome. The congressman said concern over the country's debt guided his vote.


Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinian Leaders: No to Solving Economic Crisis
The Hamas charter does not talk about improving the living conditions of the Palestinians. It does not talk about boosting the economy or creating job opportunities for unemployed Palestinians.

Instead, the charter talks about jihad (holy war) and urges all Arabs and Muslims not to abandon the fight against Israel....

"The people of the Gaza Strip want their freedom," he said. "They want the return of their land. Israel does not know the reality of the Palestinian people and believes that economic solutions would prompt the Palestinians to abandon their goals of liberation and achieving the right of return. This is not an economic or material issue." Hazem Qassem, Hamas official, i24news.tv, September 13, 2021.

The PA and Hamas leaders are apparently worried that the Palestinians would forget about the jihad against Israel once they have jobs and a strong economy.

That is why the PA and Hamas rejected former US President Donald Trump's plan for peace in the Middle East, "Peace to Prosperity."

By rejecting all the offers, the leaders of the Palestinians are actually telling... the world: For the Palestinians, the conflict with Israel is not about financial aid or boosting the Palestinian economy. Do not expect the Palestinians to make any concessions to Israel because of the billions of dollars that you are offering or have already given us.

This is an important message that needs to be grasped by the Biden administration in the aftermath of its decision to resume financial aid to the Palestinians. The Biden administration and other Western donors are wrong to assume that their funds could change the hearts and minds of the Palestinians. The only way to bring about such a change is by ending the anti-Israel rhetoric of Palestinian leaders and media outlets -- something that is not likely to happen, at least not in the foreseeable future.
What’s Missing in POLITICO’s Look at the “Two-State Solution Act”
On Sept. 23, 2021, Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the “Two-State Solution Act” to “to preserve conditions for, and improve the likelihood of, a two-state solution that secures Israel’s future as a democratic state and a national home for the Jewish people, and a viable, democratic Palestinian state.” Yet, news coverage of Levin’s proposed legislation omitted crucial details and relevant history.

POLITICO, hours before the bill dropped, offered an “exclusive look.” Writing for the magazine’s National Security Daily brief, reporters Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey detailed the proposed law, which currently has 18 co-sponsors.

The act asserts that “only the outcome of a two-state solution can both ensure the state of Israel’s survival as a democratic state and a national home for the Jewish people and fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own.” This language isn’t unusual, or surprising. But what’s interesting about Levin’s proposed legislation are the numerous false and misleading claims contained in the bill—many of which are uncritically echoed by Ward and Forgey.

The act, for example, refers to the “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria), “East Jerusalem” and Gaza as “occupied territories”—and calls for them to be referred to as such in official U.S. policies, communications and documents. These areas, Levin’s legislation asserts, are “occupied Palestinian territories” and, accordingly, the establishment of “Israeli settlements” there are “inconsistent with international law.”

Yet, as the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) has frequently noted, a sovereign Palestinian Arab state has never existed. Rather, the status of the territory is, at best, disputed. Its status is to be resolved by negotiations anticipated by UN Security Council Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian interim accords, the 2003 international “road map,” and related diplomatic efforts.

Indeed, the co-authors of Resolution 242, US Under Secretary of State Eugene Rostow, US Ambassador to the United Nations Arthur Goldberg, and British ambassador Lord Caradon made clear, both then and later, that Jews and Arabs both had claims in the territories, and that no national sovereignty over them had been recognized since the end of Ottoman rule.
In meeting with Guterres, Bennett raps UN institutions for ‘anti-Israel bias’
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett used a Monday meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York to tear into the international institution over its “discrimination” against Israel.

The premier said that if the UN wants Israelis to take its institutions seriously, its members must start treating the Jewish state as an equal partner, as opposed to attacking it disproportionately, a diplomatic official said after the meeting.

The official readouts from the two leaders’ offices were light on details, with Bennett’s only stating that the meeting took place, while Guterres’s said that “Bennett updated the secretary-general on the situation in Israel. They exchanged views on regional developments, including the Middle East Peace Process.”

In his subsequent meeting with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Bennett told the envoy, “I think that the reengagement of the United States with international institutions is a good opportunity to bring balance to these institutions vis a vis Israel.”

“Many times we feel these institutions are slanted and sometimes unfair and I think the new spirit between America and Israel can be brought to bear and we can do great things together,” Bennett said, according to a statement from his office released on Tuesday.

The Biden administration has moved to rejoin the UN’s Human Rights Council and World Health Organization, which former US president Donald Trump’s administration abandoned due to disputes over Israel and China.
EU to condition UNRWA funds on removing incitement from PA textbooks
The European Union parliament said it will condition the funds received by the UN Palestinian refugees' agency on removal of incitement against Israel from Palestinian text books.

The European Parliament’s Budget panel approved on Tuesday an amendment to withhold 20 million Euros in aid to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) if immediate changes are not made to the curriculum taught in its schools, which allegedly includes anti-Israel rhetoric and incitement of violence.

“The reserve of EUR 20 million will be released by the next academic school year if substantive positive changes are made in the Palestinian Authority curriculum that promote coexistence and tolerance with the Jewish-Israeli ‘other and peace education with Israel in alignment with the goals of the two-state solution,” the approved amendment 4083 said.

“Should there be no change, appropriations in reserve shall be used for funding Palestinian NGOs that have a proven track record of promoting educational initiatives in school settings for children designed to foster tolerance, coexistence and respect towards the Jewish-Israeli ‘other,'” the amendment added.

“Hate speech, anti-Semitism and incitement to violence in Palestinian Authority and UNRWA textbooks have still not been removed. The EP decisions insisted that EU-funded salaries of education civil servants who draft Palestinian textbooks must be made conditional on material reflecting values of peaces, tolerance, coexistence,” the justification for the amendment noted.

Brussels is the PA’s largest single donor - paying the salaries of its civil servants, including those who design PA curricula - and sent over $157 million in aid to UNRWA in 2021.


PMW: Abbas’ UN speech explains why he is no partner for peace
One needs look no further than the recent speech by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in order to understand why he is not a partner for peace. Referring to the creation of the State of Israel as a “catastrophe,” rewriting history, rejecting criticism of the PA terror reward payments, and telling outright lies, were just some of the highlights.

Here’s a quick overview:
Creation of Israel was a “catastrophe”

Abbas started his speech noting that “This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba.” The word “Nakba”, which in English means a “catastrophe,” is the Palestinian terminology used to refer to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. For Abbas and the PA, the problem is not the Israeli settlements built in Judea and Samaria after 1967 and the Six-Day War, but rather the very existence of Israel.

This opening did not prevent Abbas later in his speech from arguing that there are many potential solutions to the situation “including returning to a solution based on the partition plan of resolution 181 (II) adopted in 1947.” Abbas, it would appear, seems to have forgotten that the Arab countries completely rejected UN resolution 181 – also known as the “UN Partition Plan” –and instead attacked and tried to destroy the new State of Israel and in doing so, forfeited that option.

Abbas rejected the most generous offer of peace
Abbas continued with a bold challenge saying: “To those who claim there is no Palestinian partner for peace and that we do not “miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity”, I challenge them to demonstrate that we have rejected even once a genuine and serious initiative to achieve peace, and I accept the judgement of the world in this regard.”

Clearly Abbas has forgotten Israel’s multiple previous offers of peace, most recently, the offer made by the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
PA PM Shtayyeh explains reopening of US Consulate signals future division of Jerusalem

PA mufti emphasizes Abbas’ promise to pay terror salaries at all costs

Biden said to reject meeting with Abbas during UN General Assembly
US President Joe Biden reportedly rejected a request from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to meet last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Citing US and Palestinian sources, the Axios news site reported Wednesday that Abbas and his aides inquired about the prospect of a meeting with Biden when considering whether to attend the annual gathering.

The Palestinians were told by the White House that Biden wouldn’t hold any bilateral meetings while in New York and was also unavailable to meet in Washington, according to the report, which said this message contributed to Abbas’s decision not to address the General Assembly in person and instead speak remotely by video.

The White House would not comment on the report, which noted Biden held several bilateral meetings during his brief stay in New York.

Biden has not made the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a top foreign policy priority since taking office. In his speech to the UN last week, Biden reiterated his support for the two-state solution but did not call for an immediate resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

His administration has instead been encouraging efforts to “advance peace” and Hady Amr, deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, is due to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah next week, the Axios report said.

In his own UN speech, Abbas demanded Israel withdraw to the so-called 1967 lines within a year or face repercussions, while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett omitted the Palestinians altogether in his address to the General Assembly.
Deconstructing Media’s Propagation of Palestinian Authority President Abbas’ UN Lies
Most media outlets that reported on Abbas’ speech fell into the trap of parroting his falsehoods.

In an article titled, Frustrated Abbas gives Israel ultimatum in harsh UN address, The Associated Press states:
Abbas spoke against a backdrop showing the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a flashpoint holy site sacred to Muslims and Jews, and a series of maps of the region showing Israel’s territorial expansion over several decades of war and conflict.”

On closer inspection of the maps that the AP claims depict “Israel’s territorial expansion” it is clear they are in fact a series of widely shared and highly misleading illustrations, as HonestReporting has previously demonstrated.

These debunked maps are a part of a wider propaganda campaign that seeks to delegitimize Israel and bolster fantastical claims about a historical Palestinian state, which is precisely why Abbas chose to show them in the backdrop of a speech that he knew would be disseminated by the international media.

However, the maps hanging on the wall were not the only one of Abbas’ lies that have been uncritically published.

Before launching into a tirade in which he accused the Jewish state of committing “massacres” and of being a “colonial” enterprise, Abbas suggested he was speaking on the 54-year anniversary of Israel’s “military occupation” of Palestinian territory, including the Gaza Strip.

Of course, a quick Google search would tell any journalist that there is no such military presence in Gaza after Israel “disengaged” from the coastal enclave in 2005. At present, the Palestinian territory is ruled by the US-designated terrorist group Hamas.

This salient fact did not stop SABC News, a channel owned by the partially taxpayer-funded South African Broadcasting Corporation, from regurgitating this disinformation in a story published on September 27:
His [Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s] speech followed that of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in which he accused Israel of destroying the two-state solution and threatened to withdraw Palestinian’s recognition of Israel if it does not withdraw from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in one year.”

It is a shame that some news organizations did not care to dissect the many lies of Abbas’ address because neglecting to do so simply adds credence to them.
Abbas said to invite left-wing Meretz ministers for talks
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly extended invitations to a pair of left-wing Israeli government ministers for political talks.

According to Channel 12 news, Abbas sent the invitations last week to Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej, both of the dovish Meretz party.

The network, which did not cite a source, asserted the purpose of the meetings was to discuss politics, not Horowitz and Frej’s ministerial duties, thus putting Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in an uncomfortable spot as to whether to approve them.

Bennett’s office said in response that it had received no requests from the ministers to meet with Abbas.

Frej has been pushing to expand ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority since taking office in June and has organized a number of high-level contacts between Israeli and PA officials.
Seth Frantzman: From Saddam to Iran’s militias: Iraqis cannot suggest ties with Israel
Iraqis who took part in a meeting that reportedly suggested ties between Israel and Iraq have faced threats of imprisonment and condemnation at the highest levels in Iraq.

The uproar is not surprising. It is part of posturing in Baghdad against Israel. Underpinning the reaction is not Iraq’s bureaucracy or even average Iraqis, but rather the hand of Iran and its militias in Iraq who want to use the country as a platform for attacks on the Jewish state, the US and others.

It is important to understand the background here. Iraq has attempted in the past to posture as being at the forefront of anti-Israel struggles in the region. Under Saddam Hussein’s regime, the country led regional rhetoric against Israel, even firing Scud missiles at it during the Gulf War. The missiles were the last gasps of a failing regime that had already exhausted itself invading Kuwait and threatening Saudi Arabia, provoking a large US-led coalition that ejected Saddam from Kuwait and led Iraq to ruin.

But Saddam’s threat was more serious than the Scuds. The regime was a regional powerhouse in the 1980s. It had attempted a push for nuclear weapons, which led to the Israeli strike on the Osirak reactor in 1982. More than that, Iraq had participated in three wars against Israel: in 1948, 1967 and 1973. Its participation in the 1948 war included sending small forces as far as the Jenin area.

In 1973, a more serious Iraqi threat emerged when the country sent elements of its 3rd Armored Division to Syria to aid the war against Israel. The Iraqi forces were decimated between October 11 and 14. Iraq also acted against its Jewish minority, seeking to punish their remnants over the existence of Israel. In 1969, fourteen Jews were hanged in Iraq, accused of being “spies.”
Ben-Dror Yemini: New Arab voices are the hope for a peaceful future
The tides seem to be turning as Israeli Arabs are increasingly speaking out in support of the State of Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter

A prime example of this growing phenomenon would be Yoseph Haddad — a staunch Israel defender on social media and abroad in both English and Arabic.

Other Israel advocates include Mohammad Kabiya — a Bedouin from northern Israel who served in an IDF combat unit; and Jonathan Elkhoury — the son of a former officer in the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army who was resettled in Israel after its 2000 withdrawal and dedicates his life to coexistence between Arabs and Jews.

And lest we forget Shadi Khaloull — a Maronite Christian who served as an officer in the Paratroopers Brigade; Dima Tayeh — a Muslim woman from northern Israel and a stalwart Israel supporter who ran in the Likud primaries for a spot on the party's list for Knesset; and Liana Khatib — a member of the Druze community who works part-time for the Foreign Ministry and every day she isn't serving as the ambassador to the some Arab nation's capital is a waisted one despite her lack of training in diplomacy.

They, alongside many others, are standing out in their communities, especially against the backdrop of the racially motivated riots in mixed Israeli cities in May and the endless violence and murders plaguing the Arab sector.

More and more young Israeli Arabs choose to present an alternative to the animosity. Israel is not perfect, many of them have told me, but it provides more equal rights and opportunities not only compared to its Middle Eastern neighbors but also other advanced Western nations.

Their views differ from one another's substantially and they also have their fair share of criticism which can be scathing at times.
Dr. Majid Al Sarrah Interview with Ben Shapiro
Our Board Member and Sharaka UAE CEO sat down with Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire to talk the Abraham Accords.


Israeli Foreign Minister to Visit Bahrain on Thursday
Israel’s foreign minister will fly to Bahrain on Thursday, the highest-level official Israeli visit to the Gulf state since the countries established ties last year, the Foreign Ministry said.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will inaugurate Israel’s embassy in Manama and sign bilateral deals during the visit, a ministry statement on Wednesday said.

Bahrain and Gulf neighbor United Arab Emirates normalized relations with Israel in a US-brokered deal known as the Abraham Accords that built on shared business interests and worries about Iran.


Israelis Without Third Booster Vaccine Will Lose Green Pass
Israel’s Green Pass system, which permits the vaccinated access to a variety of spaces and activities, will no longer apply to those who have not received a third booster dose by Sunday.

Recent research emerging from the country’s Health Ministry shows that only around 3,243,641 Israelis have received a booster dose and will retain their Green Pass eligibility.

The announcement will see over a million Israelis who did not yet receive a third shot denied entrance from many public areas until they are inoculated.

At a speech addressing the United Nations on Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised the country for rolling out a third booster vaccine campaign.

Other countries, like El Salvador and the United States, have been encouraged to follow Israel’s example.

“Running a country during a pandemic is not only about health. It’s about carefully balancing all aspects of life that are affected by Covid, especially jobs and education,” the leader announced, quoted by The Times of Israel.

Following booster vaccination, an updated Green Pass will be issued one week after the shot.

The verification will then be valid for a period of six months.
Islamist Ra’am Party Warns Israeli Flags on Temple Mount a 'Red Line'
The Islamist Ra’am Party is warning that Israeli flags on the Temple Mount are a “red line” for its constituents, the Hebrew-language Ynet site reported Tuesday night.

Ra’am is a member of the Israeli government coalition.

Nevertheless, the party issued a statement warning, “The movement warns the government and the police against the continued attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque by the extremist settlers. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line,” the party said in its statement.

The statement comes after Jews held a series of events in the mosque plaza, the last of which consisted of raising the Israeli flag.

Notably, the Islamist party issued its statement while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is still in the United States, following his address Monday to the United Nations General Assembly.


Police arrest 3 suspects in attack on Palestinians in South Hebron Hills
Israel Police announced the arrest of three Jewish Israelis on Wednesday who allegedly participated in a stone-throwing assault on a Palestinian village in the South Hebron Hills that left more than a dozen Palestinians wounded, including a three-year-old boy, in an incident Foreign Minister Yair Lapid labeled a terror attack.

Police said the three Israeli suspects included a minor who lives in the South Hebron Hills and two adults who live in Jerusalem. They are being investigated “on suspicion of assault, causing damage to property and sabotage,” the police said in a statement.

On Tuesday afternoon, dozens of masked Israelis threw stones at Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills. The rocks smashed cars and injured at least 12 Palestinians, including the three-year-old, Palestinian and Israeli witnesses said.

Some Palestinians threw stones back at the settlers as well, causing clashes to break out between the two sides, witnesses said. Three Israelis were injured as well, according to Hebrew media reports.

Lapid condemned the incident as terrorism and called for justice to be carried out.

“This violent incident is horrific and it is terror,” Lapid tweeted Wednesday evening. “This isn’t the Israeli way and it isn’t the Jewish way. This is a violent and dangerous fringe and we have a responsibility to bring them to justice.”
Large explosives cache belonging to Hamas cell said found in West Bank town
Israeli security forces early Monday carried out further operations in the West Bank to disrupt alleged plans for major terror attacks, using new intel gained following the arrest of some 20 suspected members of a Hamas cell.

It was the second straight night Israeli troops operated in the town of Bidu, near Jerusalem. Three Hamas gunmen were killed in a shootout with soldiers the night before.

In the latest raids, forces found a significant cache of explosive devices intended to be used in a terror attack in the capital in the coming days, according to television reports Monday.

The “kilograms of explosives” were hidden in a well whose exact whereabouts were determined after the Shin Bet internal security service interrogated the cell’s mastermind and other members, the reports said.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces declined The Times of Israel’s request for further information, citing the ongoing investigation.

Clashes were reported between Palestinians and Israeli troops during the operation in Bidu. There were no reports of injuries.

The reported mastermind of the Hamas cell was wounded during a separate gun battle early Sunday in the town of Burqin, near Jenin.
Nation Correspondent Praises ‘Martyrs’ of Palestinian Violence
A correspondent for the Nation magazine praised the "martyrs" and the "glory" of the second intifada on Tuesday in a social media post celebrating the 21st anniversary of the Palestinian surge of violence and terror attacks against Israel that left thousands dead.

"Today marks 21 years since the start of the Second Intifada. Glory to those who resisted and sacrificed," wrote Mohammed El-Kurd, the "Palestine Correspondent" for the Nation, in a Twitter post on Tuesday. "Glory to the martyrs, the women and men whose makeshift weapons confronted artilleries, the children whose stones intimidated tanks. The struggle continues, until liberation."

The second intifada was a campaign of violence launched against Israeli citizens and directed by Palestinian leaders after the collapse of the Oslo peace negotiations in 2000. During the five-year onslaught, militants launched rocket attacks at civilians, and suicide bombers targeted restaurants and public areas in Israel, killing around 1,000 Israelis.

"The resistance of the Second Intifada forced Zionists to live fearfully, giving them a dose of their own poison," wrote El-Kurd. "Allegedly, an estimate of 300K settlers left back to where TF they came from during that period."

El-Kurd added that "no matter what the Zionists do, we will continue resisting."

While the Nation is a partisan magazine, reporters have typically tried to refrain from public expressions of naked bigotry toward those they cover. El-Kurd has a history of anti-Israel comments on social media. He has referred to Israelis as "rabid dogs" and "sadistic barbaric neonazi pigs that claim to be indigenous to our land" and argued that "Zionism is genocide."
Mohammed El-Kurd Pushes The Nation Off Anti-Israel Cliff Into Terrorist Supporting Territory
HonestReporting earlier this month published a critique in response to The Nation’s hiring of Mohammed El-Kurd as the outlet’s first-ever “Palestine Correspondent.”

From Terror Supporter to ‘Palestine Correspondent’: Meet Mohammed El-Kurd, The Nation’s Latest Hire detailed the long history of his anti-Israel “activism.”

Just two days before The Nation’s announcement, El-Kurd rejoiced as six Palestinian terrorists broke out of Israel’s maximum security Gilboa Prison.

“I am going to bed with a smile on my face and dreaming of the day all [Israeli] prisons are abolished,” he tweeted, calling the incident “excellent.”

El-Kurd has incited violence and glorified terrorism, stating that he mourns “all of our [Palestinian] martyrs.” He previously lauded Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine member and two-time airplane hijacker Leila Khaled:

And since being included in TIME Magazine’s annual list of 100 most-influential people, El-Kurd has seemingly lifted any reins there may have been on his antisemitic, terrorist-backing vitriol:

“Today marks 21 years since the start of the Second Intifada. Glory to those who resisted and sacrificed. Glory to the martyrs, the women and men whose makeshift weapons confronted artilleries, the children whose stones intimidated tanks. The struggle continues, until liberation.”

The Nation’s newly-minted “Palestine Correspondent” is evidently pleased that Palestinian terrorists between 2000 and 2005 launched a gruesome wave of suicide bombings and other horrific attacks that murdered more than 1,000 Israelis and injured over 8,000 others.

For El-Kurd, praise is due to the 466 members of Hamas, 408 from Fatah’s Tanzim and al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and 205 from Islamic Jihad that Israeli forces in response to the terrorism were forced to kill in battle.


New video game lets players 'free Palestine' and fight Israel
A new video game headed for Steam will see players take part in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – from the Palestinian perspective.

Titled Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the game is developed by Nidal Nijm, a Brazilian resident of Palestinian origin. The game promises to let players take the role of Palestinian freedom fighters and break what it calls "the cliché of portraying Arabs as Terrorists."

"You will play in missions across Palestine with many objectives to accomplish, epic battles, powerful guns, vehicles to drive, and more," the game's page on Steam notes.

The game is currently slated for a December 2021 release, and user reviews are currently not available on the platform. However, a free playable demo is available for download.

The game's story follows protagonist Ahmad al-Falastini, who was "unjustly tortured and jailed" by the IDF for five years and who lost his family in an IDF airstrike, as noted on the Fursan Al-Aqsa website. Now free from prison, Falastini is out for revenge and to retake his homeland by joining the titular Fursan Al-Aqsa, a new Palestinian resistance movement.


US, Qatar announce joint sanctions against Hezbollah financing
The United States announced on Wednesday that it was imposing sanctions on Hezbollah financiers in coordination with Qatar, a US ally that has kept cordial relations with Iran.

The Treasury Department announced that it was taking action against seven people including Qatari nationals Ali al-Banai and Ali Lari, who it said have secretly sent tens of millions of dollars to the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Hezbollah uses “global networks of financiers and front companies to support its malign activity” and praised the cooperation of Qatar.

“This represents one of the most significant joint actions we have taken with a Gulf Cooperation Council partner to date and underscores our extensive bilateral cooperation on countering terrorism finance,” Blinken said in a statement.

Nearby Bahrain also took action by freezing the bank accounts of al-Banai’s nephew on the island and will prosecute three people, the Treasury Department said.

Bahrain has tense relations with Iran but Qatar has comparatively friendly ties with Tehran as it seeks to maintain dialogue around the region.
Biden Admin Withholds Report on Hezbollah’s Financial Empire
The Biden administration is withholding from Congress a legally mandated report on Hezbollah's financial empire, information that lawmakers could use to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group.

Congress ordered the State and Treasury Departments in early 2019 to produce a publicly available report on Hezbollah senior leadership's funding channels as part of legislation known as the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018. The bill mandated a report be produced 180 days after it was passed, by April 2019. The Trump administration never produced a report and the Biden administration is withholding it too.

Republican lawmakers and congressional sources familiar with the matter say the report has become increasingly critical as the Biden administration considers lifting economic sanctions on Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon as the country grapples with a massive cash crunch. Both the State and Treasury Departments declined to provide the Washington Free Beacon with information about the report or answer questions about why they have failed to comply with the law.

Rep. Pat Fallon (R., Texas), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Free Beacon the report could be used to target Hezbollah's senior leadership and crack down on their efforts to steal cash and international aid meant for the Lebanese people. This information would also make it harder for the Biden administration to justify rolling back sanctions on Lebanon and providing the country with an economic bailout that could further enrich the terror group.

"I'm not surprised that after botching the retrograde in Afghanistan, the Biden administration is now not complying with reporting requirements stated in the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018," Fallon said. "Additionally, the possibility that this administration will bailout and lift sanctions on Lebanon is a play straight out of the Neville Chamberlain foreign policy playbook. Hezbollah alone is responsible for Lebanon's economic ruin."

As part of that 2018 legislation, Congress mandated a public report on the estimated net worth of Hezbollah's senior leaders, including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his closest associates. The report was also to include information of Hezbollah associates, including those working in Lebanon's government, which continues to serve the Iranian-backed terror group.


Democrats Block Bill To Sanction Trillion-Dollar Trade Between China and the Taliban
Democratic leadership in the House blocked a GOP-led measure to sanction trade between the Taliban and China, with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee citing opposition to any move that could anger the Afghan terror group, according to congressional sources briefed on the matter.

House Republicans tried to attach an amendment to the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act, the sprawling annual defense-funding bill, that would sanction any person or business that attempts to work with the Taliban to purchase rare earth minerals, a lucrative natural resource coveted by China and used to power most modern electronics. The Communist regime has used the American exit from Afghanistan to boost its presence in the war-torn country, in part to gain access to its natural resources, which are valued at anywhere from $1 to $3 trillion.

The GOP measure was rejected last week by Democrats on the House Rules Committee and by House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.). According to congressional sources briefed on the matter, Meeks's staff cited concerns about any legislation that could provoke the Taliban. Meeks's office said it is concerned that any additional sanctions that target the Taliban could complicate ongoing efforts to rescue Americans still stranded in war-torn Afghanistan. Meeks aides also said that sanctioning the Taliban will push them to sell illegal drugs, which GOP sources say the terror group will do and is doing anyway.

Republicans will reintroduce the measure on Tuesday as a standalone bill in a bid to force Democrats into voting on a measure that will increase pressure on the Taliban, according to congressional sources familiar with the matter. GOP leaders say China's increased focus on Afghanistan poses a national security risk, particularly as it seeks to work with Taliban leaders to export precious materials that U.S. companies will end up buying.


Iran Must Return to Nuclear Talks to Avoid Escalation, French Official Say
Iran must return to talks with world powers over its 2015 nuclear deal to avoid a diplomatic escalation that could jeopardize the negotiations, a French presidency official said on Tuesday

The official also said Iran could not set new conditions before returning to the talks in Vienna as the terms on the table were clear.

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the accord aimed at keeping Iran from being able to develop a nuclear weapon stopped in June before Ebrahim Raisi took office as Iranian president last month.

Western powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations and said time is running out as its nuclear program is advancing well beyond the limits set by the deal, which Washington abandoned in 2018.

“Nobody wants an escalation, but to avoid an escalation Iran must return to the negotiating table,” the French presidency official told reporters.

Tehran has signaled in recent weeks that negotiations would resume in a few weeks without giving a specific date, increasing frustration among the Western parties – Britain, France, Germany and the United States – to the 2015 accord.

“The more that time passes, the harder it becomes to return to the negotiating table… and the key question of restoring a manageable and acceptable breakout time for us becomes complicated to resolve,” the official said, referring to the time it takes to amass enough fissile material for a single nuclear weapon.


Rashida Tlaib Finance Director Shills for Palestinian Islamic Jihad Prison Escapees Rasha Mubarak: “These 6 Palestinian freedom fighters offer us hope."
On September 6th, six Palestinian prisoners being held in an Israeli jail escaped, forcing Israeli authorities to launch a manhunt for them. All have been caught, since. Of the six, five are members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and one is a commander in the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, two groups internationally-recognized as terrorist organizations. Democratic operative and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib staffer Rasha Mubarak thinks otherwise; she has lionized the terrorists as heroes. It is not the first time Mubarak has championed Palestinian terror, and the Democratic Party continues to embrace her and even groom her for future political office.

In August 2014, at the end of the 2014 Gaza War, along with photos of a jubilant Hamas, who had bizarrely just declared victory over Israel, Mubarak tweeted, “Thousands of people celebrating in the streets of Gaza for the victory. Alhamdulillah. #VictoryForGaza.” The war had left nearly 2200 Palestinians and 70 Israelis dead.

Mubarak has promoted material from Hamas-supporting media, including the Palestine Info Center and Shehab News, both of which are directly affiliated with Hamas and publicize the group along with shocking anti-Semitic cartoons of evil looking Orthodox Jews. In July 2014, Mubarak copied onto Facebook a post from Falastin News Palestine, a site that glorifies Hamas and PIJ fighters as heroes; outright states, “God bless Hamas”; features numerous photos of armed masked terrorists interacting with little children; and showcases photos of dead US and British Jews murdered in a Jerusalem synagogue, grossly referring to the dead as “occupiers.”

In June and July 2020, Mubarak posted memorials onto her Twitter and Facebook pages for car-ramming terrorist Ahmed Erekat, who was shot and killed after attempting to run over a female Israeli border officer, at a checkpoint east of Jerusalem.
American Muslims for Palestine director says 'Israel is a parasite'
The executive director of American Muslims for Palestine has recently claimed in an interview that Israel is a parasite that sucks America's blood, and that accusations of anti-Semitism "are no longer influential."

Speaking with Jordan's Yarmouk TV on Sept. 22 about the recent removal of funding for Israel's Iron Dome air defense system from US budget legislation, Osama Abuirshaid said, "We are witnessing the closing of the ranks, and an emphasis on the force that supports Palestine within the Democratic Party."

The majority of the Democratic base was "more supportive of Palestine than the Republicans are," said Abuirshaid, adding that many American Jews were also more supportive of Palestine.

"Their concept of support obviously differs from the Arab, or Eastern, notions here [in Jordan]. It is not that they want to go back to the source of the problem and view Palestine from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea as occupied land, but they believe that the Palestinians deserve to live," he said.

Modern Israel, he continued, "represents the ugly face of racial segregation, of apartheid."

"Israel has become a partisan issue. There is no longer a political consensus about Israel. Criticizing Israel is no longer tantamount to political suicide," said Abuirshaid.
AOC Proposes Funding Recycled “Bamboo Dome” for Israel (satire)
Calling the Iron Dome missile defense system an environmental nightmare, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now recommending the US instead fund the carbon-neutral “recycled Bamboo Dome.”

Her suggestion came in a long Instagram post defending her “present” vote on funding the Iron Dome.

“A lot of people are like, ‘well you voted against building a dome over Israel to stop the rockets from Ham mass (sic), so it must mean you want the Jews to get blown up’,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “This is hurtful and wrong. I just want the Jews to build their dome out of a more sustainable material.”

Ocasio-Cortez added that iron is not recyclable and that the process of extracting iron releases greenhouse gases.

“Israel is, like, really big. Like even bigger than Yankee Stadium,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Building a dome over such a big area is going to require, like, so much iron. Like probably almost 100 pounds of iron. Think about how many carbon monoxides that releases!”
Labour is still overrun with anti-Israel cranks
The motion, which passed by a show of hands, is no less embarrassing for Sir Keir, who did not want Labour to be foaming at the mouth about the Jewish state on the same day that former MP Louise Ellman, who quit the party in 2019 over anti-Semitism, announced that she was rejoining the party. Ellman says the motion is ‘disgraceful’, singles out ‘the world's only Jewish state for pernicious and morally perverse boycotts’ and ‘shows there are still too many in the party who are more obsessed with demonising Israel than reaching a solution to this tragic conflict’. She adds that ‘Labour will not win back the trust of the Jewish community whilst the Jewish state is continually demonised and smeared’.

At first glance, it seems like another bad day for the Labour leadership but they are not the real victims here. The Palestine motion was proposed by Young Labour, that section of the party which struggles to overcome years of private education so that it can talk to working-class voters without asking them where the self-service checkouts are. Young Labour celebrated its triumph by tweeting:

Still, spare a thought for the Palestinians learning about their new brothers and cis-ters in the Labour party. The right of return sounds dandy until one day you're tending your olive trees in Hebron, minding your own business, and up rocks Bertie, who's reading art history at Durham but could have gone to Oxford if he’d wanted. Within a month, the neighbourhood watch has added micro-aggressions to its remit, the community council discusses nothing but planning permission objections, and you’re seriously weighing up an anonymous tip-off to the Shin Bet about the guy next door with the strange accent and stockpile of fertiliser.

The Palestinians have suffered enough. Do they really deserve the ‘solidarity’ of the Labour party on top of it?
UK Labour Leaders Condemn Anti-Israel Motion Passed at Annual Party Conference
A resolution condemning Israel for the “ongoing Nakba in Palestine” and calling for a ban on British trade with Israeli settlements was approved at the UK Labour Party’s annual conference on Monday, drawing a rebuke from party leaders.

Brought to vote by the Young Labour section of the party, the resolution condemned “the ongoing Nakba in Palestine, Israel’s militarized violence attacking the Al Aqsa mosque, the forced displacements from Sheikh Jarrah and the deadly assault on Gaza.

It also pledged to support sanctions against Israel, and called for Labour to “adhere to an ethical policy on all UK trade with Israel, including stopping any arms trade used to violate Palestinian human rights and trade with illegal Israeli settlements.”

After the vote, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told the Jewish News that the leadership “cannot support” the motion, a sentiment backed by party leader Keir Starmer.

“We owe it to the people of Palestine and Israel to take a fair and balanced approach that recognizes there can only be peace through a safe and secure Israel existing alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian state,” Nandy said. “It does not address the issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a comprehensive or balanced way.”

MP Steve McCabe, chair of Labour Friends of Israel, called the motion “grossly inaccurate and morally repugnant,” and said it did not represent the party’s longstanding support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Separately, in a conference vote on Sunday, over 73% of delegates voted to establish an independent complaint procedure for claims of racism, spurred by a report into antisemitism in the party.


Some 3,000 Californians call to veto 'antisemitic' ethnic studies bill
Following the backlash received by Californian Jews, a revised version of the bill which included two lessons on Jews in California was approved by the state's Board of Education in March.

AB 101 was drafted by The Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Institute (LESMC) who claims Israel partakes in "settler colonialism" and "apartheid." The site also encourages teachers and students to "fight against Zionist backlash."

"The Liberated curriculum includes overtly anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist lessons and explicitly promotes student engagement in actions to harm Israel, especially BDS," the petitioners wrote.

"The Jewish community is simply not capable of challenging such an antisemitic curriculum in every one of the hundreds of school districts where it will likely be considered."

"It is a moral outrage to expect Jewish parents to fight against antisemitism being taught to their children in a state-mandated course," they added.
UNC’s Sham Criticism of Antisemitism
On September 24, the chancellor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC), Kevin M. Guskiewicz, issued a statement titled “Confronting antisemitism in our world.” It claimed that the university will work with North Carolina Hillel “to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for our Jewish students” and will be “convening a diverse advisory committee to implement this initiative.”

This statement was surely issued in response to widespread frustration and outrage stemming from the university’s decision to choose Kylie Broderick — an instructor who promotes the view that Israel should not exist — to teach a course on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Broderick, the graduate student instructor, uses the term “Zionist dirtbags”; demands “everyone at UNC … boycott Israeli products”; and declares that Palestinians are the only legitimate side in the conflict.

Some Jewish students at UNC are not registering for classes related to Israel because of the hostility they face from instructors. And non-Jewish students who do sign up are being fed propaganda and activism instead of facts and alternative viewpoints.

A UNC faculty member echoed the concerns of many, stating: “While this statement is a step in the right direction, it is completely shallow if the administration cannot or will not speak out against [instructor] Kylie Boderick’s vehement anti-Zionist, antisemitic statements that clearly target and discriminate against Jewish and Zionist students.”

Chancellor Guskiewicz posted the statement on Twitter, with one commenter responding, “Couldn’t we also just stop teaching antisemitic classes? That might help.”
UNC-Chapel Hill Addresses ‘Concerns’ of Jewish Community Amid Controversy Over Anti-Zionist Instructor
Amid weeks of controversy surrounding a course on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict taught by an anti-Zionist instructor, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill acknowledged “concerns” that have been raised by members of the Jewish community over its efforts to combat antisemitism, and announced a new partnership with Hillel International.

The Fall semester course — “The Conflict Over Israel and Palestine,” in the university’s Department of History — is taught by graduate student Kylie Broderick, whose previous social media posts have called Zionists “dirtbags” and endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

News of the planned course drew concern from local Jewish groups, with the Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary calling on the school in August to investigate Broderick’s “fitness to ensure a fair classroom environment” on the topic.

On Friday, Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz described a new program with Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative, pledging to “learn best practices for cultivating a positive campus climate where all students are comfortable expressing their identity and values.”

“At Carolina, we unequivocally reject and deplore antisemitism,” he said. “It has no place on our campus.”
Report lists 670 European firms with alleged links to Israeli settlements
More than 670 European financial institutions have ties with companies that are involved in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a report by a group of 25 Palestinian, regional and European organizations said Wednesday.

The report called on the companies “to end all investments and financial flows” into the settlements, arguing that they are illegal under international law.

The findings detail financial dealings worth $255 billion (218 billion euros) between 2018 and May 2021 directly or indirectly linked to the settlements — including loans or share and bond purchases — involving major European firms like BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel from Jordan in the Six Day War of 1967. Many large Israeli companies are active in those communities.

The report is not an account of financial dealings directly occurring in Israeli settlements. For example, many of the European companies named have been implicated because they hold shares in non-Israeli firms, like machinery giant Caterpillar, whose products have been used in settlements.

The “Don’t Buy Into Occupation” coalition that authored the report claimed these European companies “have a responsibility to ensure that they are not involved in violations of international law and are not complicit in international crimes.”
New York Times Publishes Yom Kippur Correction on Jewish Sovereignty in Land of Israel
The New York Times issued a Yom Kippur correction for an article that had falsely stated that previous periods of Jewish sovereignty in Israel had lasted for no more than “about 70 or 80 years.”

The Times historical error was the subject of an Algemeiner column, “New York Times ‘Mangles’ Jewish History as Gordis Sees ‘Incurable’ Pathology at the Newspaper.” That article reported that the Times had initially refused a correction request from the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis.

“By falsely reporting that the longest Jewish rule in Israel fell in less than 100 years, The Times minimizes the historic Jewish connection to ancient Israel, eroding the legitimacy of the present Jewish state,” the director of CAMERA’s Israel office, Tamar Sternthal, wrote at the time. The article “mangles the historical record,” she had said.

The Times correction — published in print on Thursday, September 16, the Day of Atonement — reads, “An article on Sunday about the film ‘Legend of Destruction’ referred imprecisely to the time periods when Jews enjoyed sovereignty in the land in ancient times. While the first period of unified sovereignty some 3,000 years ago is believed to have lasted for less than a century, separate kingdoms remained sovereign for hundreds of years.”

The original, erroneous article had stated, “Israeli leaders have increasingly drawn on the lessons from Jewish history, noting that the Jews enjoyed two previous periods of sovereignty in the land in ancient times, but both lasted only about 70 or 80 years — a poignant reminder for the modern state that, founded in 1948, has passed the 70-year mark.”
Anti-Semitic Attacks in 2020 Outnumbered Attacks Against Muslims, Asians, Transgender People Combined
More American Jews suffered hate crime attacks in 2020 than Asians, Muslims, and transgender people combined, according to FBI crime tracking data.

The agency recorded 676 instances of criminal offenses motivated by prejudice or hatred of Jews, making anti-Semitic hate crimes the third most common type of hate crimes, trailing anti-black and anti-white attacks.

While the media and politicians have focused on an increase of domestic hate crime attacks against Asians—a trend that has also been the centerpiece of Chinese Communist Party propaganda operations—the FBI recorded just 274 total incidents in 2020. Americans who identify as Asian make up roughly 7 percent of the U.S. population. Jews, who make up just 1.75 percent of the population, are more than twice as likely to experience hate crimes as Asian Americans.

Biden in March signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which seeks to make the reporting of hate crimes easier for the public and was written in the wake of the #StopAsianHate social media campaign. The bill also directs the Department of Justice to give grants to state and local governments to study ways to reduce hate crimes.

"My message to all of those of you who are hurting is: We see you. And the Congress has said: We see you. And we are committed to stop the hatred and the bias," Biden said at the bill signing ceremony.

Biden, who during his early days in the White House made hate-crime enforcement a top priority for his Department of Justice, has largely overlooked the disproportionate attacks on Jews. His late-May statement that denounced "despicable" anti-Semitic attacks came after a coalition of Jewish organizations sent a letter that called on the White House to do more to stem the violence.

The FBI recorded 196 hate crime incidents that singularly targeted transgender individuals, On the campaign trail Biden pledged that his administration would help eradicate the "epidemic of violence against the transgender community, particularly transgender women of color." Although the FBI has not released demographic information on victims of anti-transgender hate crimes, blacks make up a plurality of alleged offenders at 38 percent.
ADL and Beauty Company L’Oréal Team Up on Holocaust Education Initiative
The beauty and makeup giant L’Oréal USA and the Anti-Defamation League have partnered on a new initiative aimed at bringing Holocaust education to more than 10,000 middle and high school students across the US, it was announced on Monday.

The new project will create digital educational classroom activities about the Holocaust for approximately 1,750 schools across the country by the end of 2024. The new curriculum will offer students “self-paced independent learning opportunities and digital interactions, including testimonials, personal narratives and access to primary sources to create an engaging way to learn about the lessons of history that are relevant today,” according to a press release by the ADL.

“We hope to be able to help turn back the rising tide of discrimination by promoting understanding and empathy among a new generation of students,” said Stéphane Rinderknech, president & CEO of L’Oréal USA, which is the largest subsidiary of the L’Oréal Group, the world’s leading beauty company.

ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan A. Greenblatt said, “With antisemitism rising around the world, it is essential to provide students with a strong foundation of knowledge about the history of the Holocaust, so that they can understand the consequences of hatred and prejudice.”

The ADL will also honor L’Oreal Group Chairman Jean-Paul Agon with its Courage Against Hate Award in recognition of L’Oreal’s “long-standing commitment” to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in the company, and to “respecting human rights and confronting antisemitism in society.” The award will be presented during ADL’s Never Is Now Summit on Antisemitism and Hate on Nov. 7, where Agon will be the keynote speaker.
Massive Anonymous hack of right-wing sites exposes antisemites
A massive hacking operation on web-hosting company Epik, carried out by hacktivist group Anonymous, released the data of 110,000 people including Nazis and far-right extremists, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

Epik, the Washington-based domain registrar, is significantly popular with right-wing extremists and hosts sites such as the Texas GOP website and several anti-abortion sites such as Texas Right to Life and a site where Texas residents can anonymously "snitch" on abortions, according to independent journalist Steven Monacelli who broke the news of the hack earlier in September.

Some 110,00 Epik users' full names, addresses, credit card numbers, and unencrypted passwords were leaked through Anonymous' massive hack. One of the users whose data was leaked was Joshua Alayon, a former real estate agent in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Anonymous' hack exposed Alayon as an antisemitic holocaust denier who once paid for domains such as christiansagainstisrael.com and theholocaustisfake.com. Following the hack, his employers fired him, as reported by real estate news site Inman.

"We don't want to be involved with anyone with thoughts or motives like that," Rick Rapp, the owner of the brokerage who employed Alayon, told TWP.
US firm to acquire Israeli cybersecurity company Guardicore for $600m
Akamai Technologies, a public US cybersecurity firm traded on the Nasdaq, is set to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Guardicore for roughly $600 million, according to a joint announcement Wednesday.

Akamai said the move will position the company, which reported revenue of $3.2 billion in 2020, to provide comprehensive solutions against malware and ransomware to enterprise customers.

Guardicore was founded in 2013 by entrepreneurs Pavel Gurvich, Dror Sal’ee, and Ariel Zeitlin. The company has raised over $100 million to date with investors such as Battery Ventures, 83North, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, Cisco Investments and Qumra Capital.

The Tel Aviv-based company develops cybersecurity solutions for cloud and hybrid cloud data center environments to stop advanced threats such as malware and ransomware in real-time through detection and response. It offers “micro-segmentation” strategies to limit user access to only those applications that are authorized to communicate with each other, so as to minimize potential breaches.

Guardicore says its solutions enable “deep visibility into application flows, across data center and cloud applications, allowing businesses to more granularly understand and protect their infrastructure, from the core of the enterprise to the cloud.” Breaches are detected early so “corrective actions can be taken as quickly as possible,” the company adds.

“Given the recent surge in ransomware attacks and increasingly stringent compliance regulations, investing in technologies to reduce the spread of malware has become mission-critical,” said Tom Leighton, Akamai Technologies co-founder and CEO, in a company statement.
10 reasons your next trip should be to the Negev
TIME magazine recently named Israel’s Negev Desert as one of the World’s Greatest Places for 2021. And for good reason, too, since despite its seemingly arid appearance the southern desert is one of the most fascinating places in the country.

Covid permitting, we urge you to check out the Negev’s ancient archeology, magnificent views and fabulous wines when you next visit Israel. Or at least to keep it at the very top of your travel wish list. Here’s why.

1. The views are breathtaking
The most remarkable thing about the Negev Desert, at least in our opinion, is the stunning views that emanate from absolutely everywhere. There’s the uniquely magnificent Makhtesh Ramon, of course, but other gorgeous views include the deep gorges of Zin Valley, the colorful Red Canyon in the Eilat Mountains and the lunar landscape of Hamukei Nitzana.

2. The hikes are fun
To explore the magnificent views that make up the desert, we recommend that you get to know it by foot. There’s a wide variety of hikes available in the area, ranging from easy-to-do and kid-friendly short walks to grueling treks that are perfect for the pros.

Our favorites include Timna Park with its gorgeous lake, family activities and interesting rock formations; and Mount Zefachot, which offers a beautiful view of the Red Sea and four of the countries that border it – Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.


Worldwide 30% of trees are in danger of extinction. Not in Israel…
In bad news, a report assessing the state of trees worldwide has found that 30 percent of tree species are threatened with extinction. But in good news, it would seem that only two out of Israel’s 60 or so tree species are threatened – a meager 3%.

The State of the World’s Trees report, published as part of the Global Tree Assessment by Botanic Gardens Conservation International this month, looked into the extinction risk information on the world’s 58,497 tree species.

“We now know that 30% of tree species are threatened with extinction, and at least 142 tree species are recorded as extinct,” the report noted.

“The main threats to tree species are forest clearance and other forms of habitat loss, direct exploitation for timber and other products and the spread of invasive pests and diseases. Climate change is also having a clearly measurable impact.”

The report didn’t mention which Israeli tree species are threatened, only noting their number as well as the fact that two tree species are endemic, meaning that they grow in a limited area.
One million people visited the Western Wall during the holidays
About a million people visited the Western Wall during the High Holy Day season this year, according to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.

Last year, COVID-19 restrictions allowed for only a limited number of worshipers to gather at the Western Wall Plaza, when previous years saw tens of thousands of worshipers.

Thousands joined for the traditional Selihot penitential services in the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, as well as during the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The pilgrimage holiday of Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret also saw large numbers of worshipers. The traditional Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) was also split over two days to avoid large crowds.

The rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz stated, “The masses that came to the Western Wall are impressive and strong proof of the Jewish nation’s connection with the Western Wall, which unites us all through preserving tradition and its holiness."

On the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah, the Western Wall was divided into 15 capsules, with 8,000 worshipers allowed at a time.









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