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Thursday, October 14, 2021

10/14 Links Pt1: A New Jerusalem Consulate Will Again Proclaim: Jerusalem Is Not in Israel; Saudi Cartoon Depicts Quranic Story In Which Allah Transforms Jews Into Apes

From Ian:

A New Jerusalem Consulate Will Again Proclaim: Jerusalem Is Not in Israel
Many consider the Biden administration's oft-expressed intent to open a U.S. consulate-general in Jerusalem a minor administrative change. In fact, it is a dangerous resurrection of a fiction that dominated American attitudes and policy toward Israel for decades.

It is nothing less than a devious scheme to reverse U.S. recognition that Jerusalem is in Israel by pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to abandon Israel's claim to sovereignty over its own capital city. If Bennett acquiesces to U.S. pressure, he will go down in history as the Israeli leader who gave away Jerusalem.

In May 1948, President Harry Truman was the first world leader to recognize the modern State of Israel, only 11 minutes after its creation. But for the following 70 years, successive U.S. presidential administrations steadfastly refused to formally recognize the City of Jerusalem as being in the State of Israel. It took us 18 years of pro bono litigation, with two appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court and working with the prior administration, to overturn the State Department's long-running position. That position had effectively treated as stateless thousands of American citizens born in Jerusalem.

We began representing Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky soon after he was born in Jerusalem. His American-born parents sought for him what most people take for granted—the right to list his country of birth on his American identity papers. That right was denied to him for almost two decades. His government-issued American birth certificate left blank the space for his country of birth. Although U.S. passports routinely designate the country of a foreign-born passport-holder's birth, Menachem's listed "Jerusalem" instead of "Israel"—as if the City of Jerusalem was not actually in any country.

Congress had overwhelmingly endorsed Israel's assertion of sovereign jurisdiction over Jerusalem in the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. Nonetheless, Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama—yielding to the State Department's Arabist contingent—overrode Congress' decision with various baseless "findings." They continued to deny that any portion of the city (neither "West" nor "East" Jerusalem) was actually in Israel. This led to confusion and embarrassment.


US Will Move Forward With Reopening its Palestinian Mission in Jerusalem: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the Biden administration intends to press ahead with its plan to reopen the Jerusalem consulate that traditionally engaged with Palestinians, despite Israeli opposition to such a move.

Blinken reiterated a pledge he originally made months ago on re-establishing the consulate, which had long been a base for diplomatic outreach to the Palestinians before it was closed by President Joe Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, in 2018.

But Blinken, speaking at a Washington news conference with visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, stopped short of setting a date for reopening the consulate, which would strain relations with Israel’s new ideologically diverse government.

“We’ll be moving forward with the process of opening a consulate as part of deepening of those ties with the Palestinians,” Blinken said at the State Department.

The Biden administration has sought to repair relations with the Palestinians that were badly damaged under Trump.

The consulate was subsumed into the US Embassy that was moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in 2018 by Trump — a reversal of longtime US policy hailed by Israel and condemned by Palestinians.

The Biden administration says it will reopen the consulate while leaving the embassy in place.


The right wing from the Israeli government will block US East Jerusalem consulate, says Michael Oren

UN Watch: Is the UN living up to its founding principles?
UN Watch's database monitors the actions and makeup of key UN bodies, highlighting the pernicious rise of dictatorships to high positions, and the global body's particular obsession with making Israel a scapegoat. This database lists all the resolutions enacted by the UN bodies over the last twenty years and what UN Watch has discovered is illuminating!




Fareed Zakaria's Bad Middle East Advice, 20 Years Later
Zakaria foresaw a future in which some countries that "have clearly supported terrorism in the past, like Iran, seem interested in re-entering the world community and reforming their ways." As he wrote those words, Iran was harboring dozens of al-Qaeda operatives, including bin Laden's son Sa'ad.

More pearls of wisdom from Zakaria.

In another gem, Zakaria advised Americans "to give up some cold-war reflexes, such as an allergy to multilateralism, and stop insisting that China is about to rival us militarily or that Russia is likely to re-emerge as a new military threat." I'd say his crystal ball was cracked.

Zakaria's support for the "Arab Spring" included an argument for "Contra-like funding" to the Islamists trying to depose Moammar Qaddafi. He has consistently underestimated the threats of Islamist terrorists and advocated negotiating with terrorists — especially the Taliban.

Evidence of Zakaria's thinking persists. Praise for the Taliban as "very pragmatic and very businesslike" from the Department of Defense and as "professional and businesslike" from the National Security Council are examples. Opposition to designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization is another. And whenever there is a terrorist attack by Islamists, the propensity to ask "why do they hate us?" is ever-present.

Perhaps Zakaria's most damaging influence is his one-sided reporting on Israel. On September 19 of this year, he blamed Israel's "assault" on Hamas for the continued conflict. In June, he accused Israel of "killing [the] two-state solution for 15 years."

Zakaria recently apologized to Dore Gold for misattributing words and ideas to the former ambassador that he neither spoke nor advocates. Getting him to apologize for 20 years of bad policy advice will be much more difficult. Until then, every American can take three measures to inoculate themselves against the bad advice we have endured since 9/11: Stop blaming the U.S. for Islamist terrorism, stop asking the dumb question "Why do they hate us?" and, most of all, stop listening to Fareed Zakaria.
Don’t Let Palestinian Recalcitrance Hold Israeli-African Relations Hostage
Palestinian advocacy groups and certain countries are pressuring the African Union (AU) to rescind Israel’s observer status, when the AU executive council meets this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. But Israel’s expertise in health, agriculture, defense, and other fields should convince the AU to prioritize its partnership with the Jewish state over Palestinian grievances.

In July, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid welcomed Israel’s readmission as an observer at the AU, calling it “a day of celebration for Israel-Africa relations.” It “corrects the anomaly” that has existed since Israel lost its observer status when the Organization of African Unity (OAU) reorganized as the African Union in 2002.

Opponents of Israel’s upgraded status have lobbed tenuous arguments against the partnership. To tarnish Israel’s image in Africa, activists have portrayed the Jewish state as a racist colonizer. However, Israel’s restrictions on Palestinians are related to security issues, not race. And Israel is the product of a post-colonial national liberation movement, a trait it shares with many African countries.

Some have argued that African countries should not improve relations with Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved. But it is unclear why Palestinian recalcitrance should hold Israeli-African relations hostage, especially in light of Israel’s numerous attempts to solve the conflict.

Shortly after its founding, Israel began its outreach to Africa. Their shared post-colonial legacy — and Israel’s desire to overcome isolation caused by the Arab League boycott — spurred this partnership. In the process, Israel shared agricultural and technological advancements crucial for countries breaking away from the yoke of colonialism. However, in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Arab and Muslim countries coaxed African nations to cut ties with Israel. Most nations complied with a 1973 OAU resolution calling on members to do just that.
Stand With Us: No Place For Hate

Exposé: Palestinian Authority Controlling MoD’s Judea & Samaria Civil Administration
The Ad Kan group, dedicated to exposing NGOs and countries that labor to alter Israel’s identity and values, as well as the activities of the Palestinian Authority and the European Union in Area C, on Thursday revealed the deep intrusion of the PA intelligence service into Israel’s Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria.

This week, the PA’s preventive security forces once again arrested Nidal al-Atari, a Palestinian Authority citizen who serves as the lands inspector in the Israeli Civil Administration. Al-Atari was interrogated and remains in custody. During his previous detention, he was kept in jail for more than half a year.

Al-Atari stored confidential files in his home

Ad Kan revealed that al-Atari stored in his home, in violation of protocol, a large number of confidential files with transaction details of Jewish real estate purchases from Arabs in Judea and Samaria.

During his interrogation, al-Atari needed medical treatment and was hospitalized for a while in a hospital in Shechem while remaining under arrest. It should be noted that al-Atari is one of the most senior Palestinian employees of the Israeli Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria.

The Israeli Government knew of al-Atari’s arrest by the PA

The issue of his arrest was discussed at length in Israel’s State Comptroller’s report from the summer of 2020, in which an entire segment was dedicated to al-Atari’s arrest, which referenced the Shin Bet’s warning that employing a Palestinian without security clearance in such a sensitive position could result in leaked confidential and sensitive information from the Defense Ministry to the Palestinian security services.

To remind you: the law in the Palestinian Authority prohibits the sale of land to Jews, on penalty of death. With that in mind, the State Comptroller was understandably critical of the Civil Administration’s poor handling of the al-Atari incident.
Israeli Border Police Officer Wounded in Suspected Terror Attack Near Qalandiya
A Israeli Border Police officer was seriously wounded on Wednesday night in what police are calling a terrorist attack at the Qalandiya checkpoint near Jerusalem.

“During a Border Police night operation at Qalandiya, a suspicious individual approached the officers in a vehicle, accelerated toward them and hit one of the officers,” police said in a statement.

Other members of the unit opened fire at the vehicle as the suspect attempted to escape, causing it to crash against a barrier. The driver, a 22-year-old resident of Qalqilya, was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in fair condition to be treated for a head injury, according to Ynet. He was then handed over to the Israel Security Agency for questioning, police said.

“This attack is another reminder of the threats that exist in every operational activity and in every space in which we operate,” Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman said, according to Ynet.

“The quick response and operational deployment of the officers in the field prevented additional injury to additional officers and led to a speedy end to the incident and the neutralization of the terrorist,” he added.
Iran Wants Israel to Be Bogged Down in Gaza
Outgoing Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat has served in the Israel Security Agency and other security positions for 37 years, spending most of his professional life dealing with Gaza.

He said in an interview: "Israel's long-term goal should be a demilitarized Gaza under leadership that recognizes Israel and does not take violent action against it. This goal can be achieved in one of two ways - either through a broad-scale military operation...that would come at a heavy cost, or by gradually wearing Hamas down at every level and leading the population to realize that it's a failed, corrupt regime whose time has come to an end."

"Sometimes there are chronic conditions that medicine can't heal completely, but allow you to live with them....Our security situation has to be evaluated with a long lens, by a long list of parameters - strict parameters of lives lost and disruptions to the public's daily routine."

"True, there are tense periods in the western Negev [opposite Gaza]. But even there, people live their ordinary lives most days of the year, and the communities there are thriving."

"Another consideration in dealing with Gaza is our priorities. Iran, of course, would be happy if we got involved in a conflict with Hamas and directed our attention to Gaza rather than at it."

Asked if Israel is depending on the Americans to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, he replied: "We aren't. Israel and the Jewish people can't accept an existential threat, and will not accept Iranian military nuclear capabilities. As for what we do about it, I'll just say that when the political echelon decides that we won't allow it, the military and intelligence echelons realize what that means."
Cyprus police investigating attempt to kill Israelis as terrorism
Terrorism is the Cyprus Police’s leading theory for the motive behind the attempt to murder Israeli businessmen on the European Union island, consistent with Israel’s allegation that it was an Iranian plot.

Police in Cyprus arrested a 38-year-old Azeri-Russian man on September 27 for targeting Israeli businessmen. The case drew attention earlier this month, when billionaire Teddy Sagi said that he was tipped off by the Israeli authorities – likely the Mossad – that assassins were after him, and he escaped Cyprus, where he lives, to Israel.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s spokesman Matan Sidi said the following day that the attempted murder was an Iranian terrorist attack.

Cyprus Police has not confirmed that Iran was behind the attack, but found evidence that the Azeri planned his attack on Israelis to take place on a Muslim holiday, which led them to believe he was trying to send a message, Phile News reported on Thursday. However, they are still following other leads, as well.
Hamas Releases Gunman Who Killed Israel Border Police Officer
Hamas has released from custody the Palestinian gunman who shot Israel Border Police officer Barel Hadaria Shmueli in August during clashes at the Gaza border, Yediot Aharonot reports.

Shmueli succumbed to his wounds nine days after being shot in the head when clashes erupted between Palestinian rioters and Israeli security forces during protests along the fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip.

The terrorist who shot Shmueli is not a Hamas member, but is active in the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to the report.

He was transferred to a Hamas detention center in Gaza and held there for several weeks before being released.

The man’s identity was kept secret for fears of Israel eliminating the terrorist, but with the gunman’s release his picture has now been publicized.

According to the reporting, Hamas believes that Israel will attempt to take out Shmueli’s killer not during a period of calm but in the event of another military escalation.

However, Hamas has been operating under the assumption that the terrorist’s identity is already known to Israeli intelligence and that he has been blacklisted as an assassination target.
Gazans line up for Qatari aid money flowing in under UN mechanism
Tens of thousands of impoverished families in the Gaza Strip began receiving Qatari humanitarian funds on Thursday after Israel agreed to a new distribution mechanism involving the United Nations.

Recipients of the money lined up from early morning outside 300 distribution centers spread across the Palestinian enclave controlled by the Hamas terror group.

Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi said the $100 handouts would be provided to “95,000 needy families” in Gaza via the UN.

Qatari support is considered a crucial lifeline for impoverished Palestinians living in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since 2007, seen by Israel as a necessary measure to limit the ability of Gaza’s terror groups to arm themselves.

Israel had been allowing millions in Qatari cash to flow through Israeli crossings into Gaza on a monthly basis since 2018, in order to maintain a fragile ceasefire with Hamas. As of early 2021, some $30 million in cash was being delivered in suitcases to Gaza each month through an Israeli-controlled crossing.

But Israel had objected to a resumption of the funding under the terms that existed before May’s hostilities with Gaza, claiming money was being used by terror groups rather than strictly for humanitarian needs.
Syrian Soldier Killed, Three Injured in Israeli Air Attack near Palmyra
A soldier of the Syrian Arab Army was killed and three others were wounded in an Israeli air attack on the Palmyra area in the eastern countryside of Homs in central Syria, SANA reported Tuesday night.

A Syrian military source told SANA that at around 11:34 PM Tuesday, “the Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction of the Al-Tanf area towards the Palmyra area in the countryside of Homs, targeting a communications tower and some of its surrounding points, which led to the death of a soldier and the wounding of three others and the infliction of some material losses.”

Palmyra (Tadmor) is located in an oasis in the middle of the Syrian Desert 134 miles northeast of Damascus and 110 miles southwest of the Euphrates River. The ruins of ancient Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are situated about one-third of a mile southwest of the modern city center.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activists reported hearing several explosions in the region of the T-4 military airbase, the largest airbase in Syria, in the eastern countryside of Homs, caused by airstrikes executed by Israeli fighter jets while flying over the Iraqi- Syria-Jordan border triangle.
Beirut blast: 6 killed, 32 injured as Hezbollah protests investigation
At least six people were killed and 32 wounded as shots were fired during a protest by Hezbollah supporters against Tarek Bitar, the judge investigating the Beirut Port blast, in the Lebanese capital on Thursday, as tensions surrounding the case continue to rise. A cautious calm had been reached as of Thursday afternoon, according to Lebanese reports.

The shooting reportedly began in the Tayouneh area where it meets Ain El Remmaneh and Chiyah, a site famous for sectarian clashes during the 1975 civil war in Lebanon, since it marked the border between East and West Beirut.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army reported on Thursday that the shooting targeted the protesters. However, shortly after the shooting began, Hezbollah and Amal supporters could be seen firing towards buildings in the areas with automatic weapons and RPGs, raising questions as to whether the supporters who had claimed to be peaceful had come to the protest armed.

Video from the clashes showed gunmen hiding behind cars and garbage cans while firing at buildings and unseen targets. Many unarmed civilians could be seen in the area of the clashes.


Beirut clash: Hezbollah a victim of its own ‘resistance’ success - analysis
Gunfire targeted Hezbollah members in Beirut on Thursday, during their protest designed to prevent an investigation into last year’s Beirut Port disaster.

Hezbollah’s goal was to cement its control of Lebanon, where it already has secured allies in the presidency, and to create a parallel communications network and infiltrate other state structures. Hezbollah’s goal – 16 years after it murdered former prime minister Rafik Hariri in its first bid for control of the country – was to flex its muscles and get judge Tarek Bitar removed.

It appears that the gunman had other plans for today. Hezbollah is now a victim of its own success. What was once a “resistance” movement that was popular among a segment of the historically marginalized Shi’ite population has come to dominate Lebanon.

This is not because Hezbollah is so large – it has only a few seats in parliament. Instead, Hezbollah has an incredible mafia-like success because it maintains its own paramilitary state, its own phone network, its own financial system, it imports fuel, and has sent fighters abroad to wage war and conduct Lebanon’s foreign policy.

Hezbollah is so powerful and global that it is stronger than the state. As such, it occupies Lebanon, using classic Iranian tactics for building up parallel institutions, bankrupting the state and turning it into a branch of the Hezbollah militia terrorist movement.

But Hezbollah is also a victim of this “success,” because if you are too powerful, then you become the target of “resistance.”


Overwhelming wave of disgust forces Australian Muslim group to cancel planned webinar with the Taliban
A prominent Muslim organisation in Australia has cancelled a live webinar in which they invited two top members of the Taliban to speak after public outrage.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils had organised a line-up of keynote guests to speak at Saturday's online event, which aims to discuss 'the future of Afghanistan and our role, regardless of whether we are in favour or against ­recent ­developments'.

The speakers had included long-time Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen and senior figure Sayed Abdul Basir Sabiri.

On Thursday afternoon AFIC released a letter saying Dr Rateb Jneid, the organisation's president, had made the 'executive decision' to cancel the event.

The group said it had invited the members of the Taliban to speak 'in the hope of obtaining assurances for the human rights of minorities, the rights of women to employment and education and to dissuade Australians from travelling to the region with any wrongful intent'.

'The event was not convened to legitimise any group or to offend any group,' Dr Jneid added.

'The event... generated both support and criticism, publicly and privately... In view of these developments I have taken the executive decision to cancel the event,' he said.
WSJ$: Azerbaijan Defies Iran
In recent weeks, Tehran has engaged in a crude campaign of intimidation of Azerbaijan that included military exercises near the border. Iranian officials are demanding that Azerbaijan end its alliance with Israel, which aided Azerbaijan during its 2020 war with Armenia.

Ethnic Azerbaijanis, a Shiite Turkic people, comprise 20-30% of Iran's population. When members of the Azerbaijani minority in Iran learned that Iran was helping Russia to resupply the Armenian army during the war, they sabotaged transport vehicles and launched public protests.

In 2012, when the Obama administration was courting Iran, senior American officials briefed the press on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel with the clear intention of scuttling it. Although Washington is currently doing nothing to impede cooperation between Baku and Jerusalem, its posture in the face of Iranian aggression has created an environment that invites acts of intimidation. The Biden administration would be better served by following Israel's example.

The U.S. must find a way to deter nasty international actors while simultaneously respecting an electorate that is wary of military interventions. The best way is to forge productive understandings with countries that wield capable militaries - and who aren't afraid to use them.
Growing Azerbaijan-Iran Tensions
Azerbaijan decided last month to levy customs tariffs on Iranian trucks crossing through its territory into Armenia. Tehran has embarked on consultations with Armenia over completing its Tatev road project, which would connect it with Armenia and Europe without the need to pass through Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has accused Iran of sending help to Armenians living in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Baku regained from Armenia following last year's war. Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan also recently held joint military drills in the Caspian Sea.

Meanwhile, on Sep. 19, Iran mobilized its forces on the border with Azerbaijan, where they carried out drills involving heavy weapons and helicopters for the first time. There have been radical calls by some Iranian lawmakers to annex Azerbaijan under the pretext that it was historically part of the Persian Empire and was "taken away" by the Russian Empire in the 19th century. In Baku, angry protesters attacked the Iranian Embassy in protest against Tehran's threats. Azerbaijani authorities also shut down the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative.

It could be said that Iran is getting a taste of its own medicine after spending decades undermining the security and stability of its neighbors. Tehran has created a new enemy on its northern border.
WSJ$: Western Media Aren't Telling You the Truth about Iran
There have been five nationwide uprisings against the regime in our country in the past four years. Our government has slaughtered protesters and tortured political prisoners to suppress them. Yet most people in the West don't know our reality. Your Iran is defined by a pesky nuclear negotiation. Ours is much worse. It is a religious police state where we live in fear, with countless red lines that most dare not cross. I would know - I have spent six years in its jails.

Dissidents are jailed for holding up photos of their murdered children. Many relatives of those killed by the regime aren't allowed to hold funerals. They often are charged a fee to have their loved one's body released or are required to pay for the bullet or rope used to kill him.

You have been told that your solidarity would hurt us, that talking about our struggle would put us at risk. That is a lie. It is your silence and indifference that threaten us. Writing this could land me back in prison. But if that's the price for giving a voice to the voiceless, it will be worth it.
U.S. Iran Envoy: Biden Admin Preparing for ‘World Where Iran Doesn’t Have Constraints on Its Nuclear Program’
U.S. Iran envoy Robert Malley says the Biden administration is preparing for a "world where Iran doesn't have constraints on its nuclear program," comments that show how little progress has been made in negotiations with Tehran aimed at securing a return to the 2015 nuclear accord.

Malley, during a televised talk on Wednesday with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the United States has been talking to its allies about options for dealing with a fully operational and unrestricted Iranian nuclear program.

"We have to prepare for a world—which we're doing now in consultation with our partners from the region—about a world where Iran doesn't have constraints on its nuclear program and we have to consider options for dealing with that, which is what we're doing even as we hope that we can get back to the deal. Iran is giving us its answer by what it's doing and not doing every day," Malley said.

Iran flagrantly violates restrictions on its nuclear program that were applied under the 2015 accord. This includes uranium enrichment to levels needed to fuel a bomb and the resumption of nuclear work that international inspectors say can only be part of an atomic weapons program. Tehran has also blocked nuclear inspectors from entering its most contested nuclear sites.

Iran's election of a hardline new president and foreign policy team has complicated efforts to reach a deal, Malley said, even as the Biden administration has made clear to Tehran: "We are prepared to remove all of the sanctions that were imposed by the Trump administration."

After 10 months and 6 rounds of indirect talks, Malley said that "every day that goes by, we're getting a piece of Iran's answer. This is a team that may not in fact be prepared" to rejoin the deal and return to compliance.

Malley said the United States is pressing Iran to return to talks, but that it is unclear if diplomats can salvage the past year of talks and any progress made with the previous Iranian negotiating team.


Haaretz Excises Blinken’s ‘Every Option’ Statements on Iran
CNN (“Blinken says US is prepared to turn to ‘other options’ if nuclear diplomacy with Iran fails“), The Washington Post (“As Iran nuclear talks fail to make headway, Biden administration suggests increasing openness to a Plan B“) Agence France Presse (“Echoing Israel, US hints at force if Iran diplomacy fails“) and Voice of America (minute 1:1o) are among the additional media outlets to recognize the news importance of Blinken’s remarks on other options.

Haaretz, on the other hand, was a complete anomaly, entirely ignoring Blinken’s indications that options besides resuming talks are on the table. Haaretz‘s Ben Samuels studiously dropped any mention of options (“Blinken: ‘Time Running Short’ On Iran Nuclear Deal“). He reported:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday “time is running short” on an Iranian return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, but stressed in a joint press conference with Israel’s foreign minister that the U.S. believes “the diplomatic path is the most effective way to ensure” Tehran doesn’t acquire nuclear weapons.

“What we’re seeing from Tehran suggests that they’re not” ready to return to the nuclear deal, Blinken said. According to him, “we’re getting closer to a point where returning to full compliance with the JCPOA will not recapture” the benefits of the nuclear deal, which the U.S. withdrew from in 2018.

A note appended to the bottom of Haaretz‘s article indicates: “Reuters contributed to this report.”

But Reuters, for its part, had reported (“U.S., EU, Israel adopt tough tone on Iran, mull options“):
U.S., Israeli and EU officials took a tough line toward Iran on Wednesday, with U.S. officials saying they would consider all options if Tehran failed to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and Israel saying it reserved the right to act. …

“We will look at every option to deal with the challenge posed by Iran,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed.

Reuters’ compliance with Samuels’ preferred narrative mirrors Iran adherence to the 2015 nuclear deal. Samuels, it seems, himself opted for Plan B: editing out the most important of the story instead of reporting the facts as they are.


MEMRI: Saudi Children's Cartoon Depicts Quranic Story In Which Allah Transforms Jews Into Apes
On October 9, 2021, an animated video for children depicting a Quranic story about Jews being transformed into apes was uploaded to the Ibtikar Media channel on YouTube. The narrator told the story about a group of Jews in a seaside village who violated Allah's commandment to keep the Sabbath by casting fishing nets on Friday and gathering fish on Sunday. The narrator said that the group of Jews who did this were punished by being transformed into apes. Ibtikar Media is a Saudi YouTube channel.

"One Group Of Jewish Villagers Defied Allah's Commandment... By Employing Trickery And Deception"

Narrator: "There used to be a Jewish village on the seashore.

"One of Allah's laws that He laid down for them was that He forbade them from fishing on the Sabbath, in order to devote themselves to worship. Allah tested them by sending a lot of fish only on the Sabbath.

"So they employed a trick. They would cast their nets on Friday, the fish would get trapped in the nets on Saturday, and they would collect them on Sunday.

"The [Jewish villagers] were divided into three groups. One group defied Allah's commandment. They would fish [on the Sabbath] by employing trickery and deception. Another group abided by Allah's commandment, and never defied Him. They would warn the people about Allah's wrath and His punishment, and would forbid them from doing what they were doing. The third group would oppose the people who forbade these acts.

"The Punishment Of The Sinners Was That They Were Transformed Into Apes... [And Died] Leaving No Descendants"







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