Wednesday, February 23, 2022

02/23 Links Pt1: The Killing Fields of Ukraine; Israel supports Ukraine’s sovereignty - without mentioning Russia; Why Arabs Do Not Trust the Biden Administration

From Ian:

The Killing Fields of Ukraine
As Russian troops threaten Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin denies the very existence of the Ukrainian people, it is worth remembering the tragedy that took place between November 1918 and March 1921, when Russian and Bolshevik armies invaded the independent Ukrainian state that had been established in the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution. All civilians, whether they identified as Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, Germans, Jews, or none of the above, became victims of that conflict, commonly referred to as a “civil war.” But the 3 million Jews who lived in the region—about 12% of the overall population—suffered a distinct fate.

Between 1918 and 1921, over 1,000 anti-Jewish riots and military actions—both of which were commonly referred to as pogroms—were documented in about 500 different locales throughout what is now Ukraine. This was not the first wave of pogroms in the area, but its scope eclipsed previous bouts of violence in terms of the range of participants, the number of victims, and the depths of barbarity. Ukrainian peasants, Polish townsfolk, and Russian soldiers robbed their Jewish neighbors with impunity, stealing property they believed rightfully belonged to them. Armed militants, with the acquiescence and support of large segments of the population, tore out Jewish men’s beards, ripped apart Torah scrolls, raped Jewish girls and women, and, in many cases, tortured Jewish townsfolk before gathering them in market squares, marching them to the outskirts of town, and shooting them. On at least one occasion, insurgent fighters barricaded Jews in a synagogue and burned down the building.

The largest of the anti-Jewish massacres left over a thousand people dead, but the vast majority were much smaller affairs: More than half the incidents resulted only in property damage, injury, and at most a few fatalities. The numbers are contested, but a conservative estimate is that 40,000 Jews were killed and another 70,000 subsequently perished from their wounds, or from disease, starvation, and exposure as a direct result of the attacks. Some observers counted closer to 300,000 victims. Most historians today would agree that the total number of pogrom-related deaths within the Jewish community between 1918 and 1921 was well over 100,000. The lives of many more were shattered. Approximately 600,000 Jewish refugees were forced to flee across international borders, and millions more were displaced internally. About two-thirds of all Jewish houses and over half of all Jewish businesses in the region were looted or destroyed. The pogroms traumatized the affected communities for at least a generation.
Vic Rosenthal: Will there be a Magic Carpet for Ukrainian Jews?
This morning’s paper discusses the plans being made for the possible aliya of the roughly 250,000 Ukrainians who are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. Several government ministries and the army are making preparations to bring them to Israel, provide identity documents, places of temporary residence, and financial aid for them, if it should happen that war breaks out in Ukraine and many of them want to come.

This recalled previous mass immigrations to Israel since the founding of the state: the “displaced persons” of Europe, many of them survivors of Nazi concentration camps; the refugees expelled from Arab countries after 1948; the Eastern and Central European Jews who no longer had homes in Europe; the Yemenite Jews brought home in 1949 by Operation Magic Carpet; the Jews from the institutionally anti-Jewish Soviet Union; and the continuing operations to rescue the Jews of Ethiopia.

In addition to those waves of aliya there is a continuous stream of immigrants arriving from various other places such as South America, Western Europe (especially France), and the US and Canada. The flow waxes and wanes along with economic and political changes, and of course antisemitism. In recent years, Ukraine has accounted for the second largest number of olim (after Russia).

Israel’s Law of Return says that any Jew or the child or grandchild of a Jew or their spouses, can come to Israel and be granted Israeli citizenship. Exceptions are made for someone who “is engaged in an activity against the Jewish people,” criminals, those who are a danger to “public health or security of the state,” and “a person who has been a Jew and has voluntarily changed his religion.”

And who is a Jew? The law says one who is “a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion.” As everyone knows, the question of conversion is a hot potato, with the religious establishment insisting that only an Orthodox conversion – and indeed, only some Orthodox conversions – are acceptable, while the Interior Ministry, which controls granting citizenship, accepts non-Orthodox conversions outside of Israel.
Biden Ignoring Budapest Memorandum Commitments to Ukraine
To induce Ukraine to give up the nuclear weapons inherited on the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the U.S., Great Britain and Russia agreed to provide assurances. If Washington were to allow Russia to gobble up the rest of Ukraine, it would tell non-nuclear states they must have nuclear arsenals because they cannot rely on the nuclear weapons powers for security.

Biden's threats have been unpersuasive and so far Putin has not been persuaded.

Biden immediately sanctioned the two regions but did not impose costs on the bad actor, Russia. He has promised further measures, but only after an invasion. Moreover, his sanctions are unlikely to be so severe as to force Putin to leave Ukraine. In fact, on the 15th of this month, Biden made it clear that sanctions would be less than regime-threatening.

It is now time for the United States to remember the promises made—those in writing and those made informally.

Putin, after all, will not stop at Ukraine.


Israel weighing condemnation as Russia escalates against Ukraine
Israel considered condemning Russia’s moves toward invading Ukraine on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz weighed what kind of statement to release that would not undermine military coordination with Russia in Syria.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett would ultimately have to approve any statement before it is released.

Earlier this week, Lapid shed light on Israel’s considerations when it comes to speaking out against or joining Western sanctions on Moscow.

Israel has “liberal democratic values,” but is “in a bit of a Baltic situation,” he said.

“We have a kind of border with Russia... the important force inside Syria,” Lapid told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations mission to Israel.

Israel notifies the Russian Army, the major military force in Syria, before it strikes Iranian targets over the northern border.

In addition, Russia and Ukraine have large Jewish communities, Lapid said, adding that he has to be “more careful than any other foreign minister in the world.”

A Ukrainian source said Kyiv, which views Israel as its ally in the Middle East, is disappointed in the silence from Jerusalem, but it understands the matter is sensitive and may take more time.
Israel supports Ukraine’s sovereignty - without mentioning Russia
Israel expressed concern about Russia’s incursion into eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, without mentioning Russia.

The statement, which came about a day and a half after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of two regions of Ukraine and said the country has no right to exist, supported “the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine.”

”Israel shares the concern of the international community regarding the steps taken in eastern Ukraine and the serious escalation in the situation,” the Foreign Ministry stated. “Israel hopes for a diplomatic solution which will lead to calm, and is willing to help if asked… Israel is continuing to engage in dialogue with its partners on ways to get the diplomatic efforts back on track.”

Israel’s willingness to be part of a diplomatic solution is significant, as Kyiv continues to ask Israel to serve as mediator with Moscow. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to do so twice and was rebuffed by Putin, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tried in October, to no avail.

Ukraine’s efforts to have Israel be the middleman continued in recent days. Kyiv views Jerusalem as one of the only really neutral parties with good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, though it has also asked Turkey to try, a diplomatic source said.


Seth Frantzman: Syria strike: Russia's role, why Israel must be cautious on Ukraine
THE OVERALL trend in Syria is unclear. Iran continues to threaten Israel. Airstrikes reported in foreign media appear to show that Iran and Hezbollah are continuing to build up dangerous sites in Syria that threaten the region. They also threaten US forces at Tanf Garrison near the Jordan border.

Israel has to weigh all this in deciding how it responds to the Ukraine crisis. This is because regarding big, global issues, Jerusalem would normally side with the US and Western partners. But Israel must weigh Russia’s responses and what it means for Syria policy.

Iran is already angling for a new nuclear deal and also for deals with Qatar. Turkey has condemned Russia’s new statements on Ukraine, but Moscow has said it understands Ankara's position. It is unclear if Russia would be less enthusiastic about a similar statement from Israel.

Overall, the Ukraine issue is just one of many question marks about Israel-Russia ties. Jerusalem also had to walk a thin line regarding US concerns about Israel-China ties in the past. This is because Israel’s overall position in the world is a country between East and West, which matters as fortunes change in global affairs and global economies.

The immediate issue for Israel, however, is Iran’s role in Syria and also the Hezbollah threat. Making sure relations with Russia continue as they have is important. The recent strike in Syria, reportedly by a missile against a Hezbollah site, illustrates the importance and sensitivity involved. Also, using surface-to-surface missiles is preferable to using piloted aircraft, because of the issues involved in Syria today.
Russian Academic: We Can Withstand Any Western Sanctions; Syria Is Free to Liberate Golan Heights
Russian academic Vitaly Naumkin, the i\rector of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that in a February 22, 2022 interview on Russia Today that Russia is prepared to withstand any Western sanctions. He said that Russia has not “transgressed against Ukraine” and that it only recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, but has not annexed them. He added that these sanctions were planned by the West in advance and would have been imposed on Russia regardless of its actions towards Ukraine. In addition, Naumkin said that Russia supports Syria by all means, including military means, and that its relations with other players in the Middle East do not come at the expense of the Syrians. He also said that Syria is free to liberate the Golan Heights.


Syria’s Assad ‘Ready to Recognize’ Russian Separatist States in Ukraine
The regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, which remains in power almost exclusively thanks to Russian intervention during a decade-long civil war, expressed “support” for Vladimir Putin’s decision on Monday to recognize Russian proxy groups in Ukraine as sovereign “states.”

Putin announced that he would recognize the independence of two Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region — the “Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR)” and ordered Russian troops into those areas of Ukraine.

“In comments carried by the state-run Syrian News Agency, Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was quoted as saying that the government of President Bashar al-Assad ‘will cooperate’ with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR),” Al Jazeera relayed on February 22.

Mekdad’s comment followed hours after Dmitry Sablin — a Russian government official in charge of Moscow’s relations with Damascus — told RIA Novosti “he had spoken to al-Assad about the situation in eastern Ukraine,” Al Jazeera reported.

“He [al-Assad] said Syria was ready to recognize them [the DPR and LNR] just as it recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” Sablin told the Russian state-owned news outlet.

Sablin referred to breakaway Georgian regions recognized by Russia as separatist republics during the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. Much like this week’s events, Putin at the time declared Russian puppet entities in those regions their own states and intervened to strip then-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of power in the region.

Syrian Foreign Minister Mekdad made remarks in support of Moscow on Tuesday during an appearance at the Valdai Discussion Club, which is a Russian-led think tank and dialogue forum held annually. The Valdai Club’s 11th Middle East Conference — titled “Russia and the Middle East: Strategic Rapprochement and Interweaving of Interests” — launched on February 21 in Moscow and will last through February 22.


Khaled Abu Toameh: Why Arabs Do Not Trust the Biden Administration
Prominent Arab political analysts, commentators and journalists are continuing to express fear about Iran's "expansionist" schemes in the Arab countries, especially Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. They say that they are worried that a return to the JCPOA would further embolden the mullahs in Tehran and the Iranian-backed terrorist groups.

To many, the hesitation of the Biden administration is incomprehensible. The White House and the National Security Council are apparently open to redesignating the Houthis as a "foreign terrorist organization" while the State Department supports targeting specific Houthi leaders with sanctions. The question is why? One could do both.

Another question is: Has the Yemen crisis become a political issue rather than a humanitarian one?

Moreover, why are aid organizations insisting on aid coming through Hodeidah port when there are six ports... plus aerial deliveries via Marib?

Isn't this a "humanitarian" political position in favor of the terrorists, the Houthis?

Judging from the Houthis' recent heightened aggression, many in the Arab world are asking: why are the Houthis not immediately being designated as a "foreign terrorist organization" again?

The Arabs are also warning that Biden's decision last year to delist the Houthis as a "foreign terrorist organization" has only encouraged the militia to pursue its aggression against the Yemeni people -- the very people about whom the Biden administration is claiming to have "humanitarian" concerns – as well as the neighboring countries.

[T]he failure of the Biden administration to designate the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization poses "a threat to regional peace and security and harms international peace and security." — Dr. Amal Al-Haddabi, Emirati political analyst, Al-Ain, February 8, 2022.

"The Biden administration has forgotten that militias are an arm of external forces that use them to achieve their own agendas, and they are not concerned with the interests of the Yemeni people...." — Dr. Amal Al-Haddabi, Al-Ain, February 8, 2022.

"This move [reclassifying the Houthis as a terrorist organization] will not harm efforts for reaching a peaceful settlement in Yemen. On the contrary, it will be a decisive and firm message from the international community that it will not accept this terrorist behavior from the Houthis." — Dr. Amal Al-Haddabi, Al-Ain, February 8, 2022.
Israel-Morocco tourism: 200,000 Israelis expected to visit this year
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli tourists are expected to travel to Morocco this year now that the kingdom has officially reopened to visitors.

Morocco reopened its borders to tourists on February 7 following a two-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the tourism sector in the country is quickly putting together an array of packages geared towards Israeli travelers.

Henri Abikzer, owner of Fast Voyages, a tour agency based in Rabat, told The Media Line that he expects at least 200,000 Israelis to come by the end of the year.

“There are 1 million Moroccan Jews [or Jews of Moroccan extraction] in Israel,” said Abikzer, who is also the vice president of the Jewish community in Rabat. “They left some 30 to 40 years ago.”

At its peak, the Moroccan Jewish community reached roughly 300,000 people in the mid-20th century; however, the vast majority left the North African country once the state of Israel was established in 1948. Today, only a few thousand Jews remain there.

“There are people who are nostalgic and wish to revisit the country,” he said. “There’s going to be a huge wave of visitors over the Passover holidays and this will be followed by a period of pilgrimages. There are many Jewish saints in southern, northern and eastern Morocco.”


Tunisia withdraws ‘Death on the Nile’ from theaters over Gal Gadot
Tunisia has withdrawn from theaters a new Agatha Christie adaptation starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, following protests over “normalization” with the Jewish state, officials said Wednesday.

British director Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile,” already banned in Kuwait and Lebanon for the same reason, will no longer be shown in theaters across the North African country, the ministry’s press office said.

Movie theaters had been showing the film since February 9, but, following protests, the ministry and the visual arts authority had agreed to ban it, activists and Tunisian media said.

“The main actress in the film is Israeli, was trained in the [Israeli] army and supports the colonization of Palestinian territory,” said Kaouther Saida Chebbi, head of an anti-Zionist women’s movement.

Theaters in Tunis confirmed to AFP that they would no longer show the film.

Tunisia, which hosted the Palestinian Liberation Organization from 1982-1994, has a long history of backing the Palestinian cause.

In 2017, it banned Patty Jenkins’ film “Wonder Woman,” also starring Gadot.
Israel’s First Female Arab Consul General to Serve in Shanghai
Knesset member Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi was named on Tuesday as Israel’s new consul general in Shanghai, marking the first time an Arab woman assumed such a high-ranking Israeli diplomatic position.

A member of the left-wing Meretz party, Zoabi reacted to her appointment by saying, “It is a great honor to be the first Arab woman in such a high diplomatic role,” Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.

“I am happy that it has been made possible for me to contribute to the important mission of strengthening economic, commercial, and cultural cooperation with one of Israel’s most important economic partners in the world,” she added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that Zoabi is taking on the role “with rich managerial experience and a diverse and exemplary economic and public background.”
New consul general to Shanghai under fire for comments on anthem, Jewish state
Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, Israel’s newly appointed consul general in Shanghai, China, said Wednesday that she does not know the words to Israel’s national anthem, and that its lyrics exclude her.

Asked during an interview on Kan Bet radio what she will do when the Hatikvah anthem is played at official ceremonies, Zoabi said, “I don’t know the anthem by heart, the phrase ‘the Jewish soul’ excludes me.”

The second line of Hatikvah talks about the “the Jewish soul” yearning for Zion.

The first Arab woman to head an Israeli diplomatic mission, Zoabi told Kan radio that her appointment was “a source of pride of all Arab women in the country,” adding, “I am the first to break this glass ceiling and I’m proud about that.”

On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid announced Zoabi’s appointment as Israel’s new consul general in Shanghai, noting her “rich managerial experience” and “diverse and impressive economic and public service background.”

Legislators from both the governing coalition and the opposition criticized Lapid’s selection.

Former prime minister and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu called Zoabi’s appointment a “scandal.”
Alleged Israeli strike targets sites near border in Syria
Syrian state media reported early Wednesday morning that Israel had fired a number of surface-to-surface missiles from the Golan Heights towards sites in Quneitra near the border, causing some material damage.

Independent reports indicated that the targets of the strikes were near Madinat al-Baath and Rwihinah, both located near the border with Israel.

The strikes are the second alleged Israeli attacks in Syria in a week. On Thursday, a number of sites were targeted by surface-to-surface missiles near Zakyah, south of Damascus. According to the Syrian Capital Voice site, Iranian militias control sites and warehouses at the sites that were targeted.

Two weeks ago, an anti-aircraft missile fired from Syria set off rocket sirens in and near Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel, as Syrian state media reported an alleged Israeli airstrike near Damascus. According to Syrian state news agency SANA, a Syrian soldier and five civilians were killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike.

One of the sites targeted was the Scientific Studies and Research Center in Jamraya, according to the Capital Voice. A large explosion was reported at the site after it was hit, according to the report.

The IDF confirmed afterward that it hit Syrian air defense sites in response to the anti-aircraft missile which flew into Israeli airspace. The targets included a Syrian radar and air defense batteries.
UN upset by IDF killing of Palestinian teenage Molotov cocktail thrower
A top United Nations official called for Israeli restraint after the IDF said it fatally shot a 14-year-old Palestinian while he was in the midst of throwing Molotov cocktails at civilian vehicles in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank.

"Gravely concerned by yesterday’s killing of 14-yr old boy by ISF [Israeli Security Forces] in Bethlehem," UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Conflict Tor Wennesland.

"Children must not [be] the target of violence or put in harm's way. ISF must exercise [maximum] restraint [and] may use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect life," he stated.

The IDF said that its forces on Wednesday night were near the village of al-Khader and identified three suspects in an area "where Molotov cocktails had been thrown recently at Israeli vehicles, endangering passengers on the road."

Soldiers "fired at one of the suspects while he threw a Molotov cocktail" and hit the suspects, the IDF said.


Court freezes eviction of Palestinian family from Sheikh Jarrah home
A Jerusalem court indefinitely postponed the eviction of a Palestinian family from a home in the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on Tuesday, potentially defusing an issue that had been a major contributor to tensions in the area.

The Salem family — around 11 Palestinians — were set to be evicted beginning on March 1. Israeli police had been given an order allowing them to remove the Palestinians at any point in March so that the new owner, right-wing city councilmember Yonatan Yosef, could move in.

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled that the eviction would be suspended to allow time to consider an appeal against the removal of the family.

In exchange, the Salems will deposit NIS 25,000 ($7,750) with the court as collateral, the justice ruled. The court ordered the property’s Jewish owners to respond to the Salems’ arguments as to why they should not be evicted.

The scheduled Salem eviction has been a major cause of tension in Sheikh Jarrah in recent weeks. Palestinians have protested on a near-nightly basis, leading to clashes with police and right-wing Jewish Israelis.


Demand for Hebrew lessons jumps in Gaza as Israel eases work restrictions
In a brightly lit classroom in Gaza, a teacher spells out Hebrew words on a whiteboard, followed attentively by Maher Al-Farra and dozens of other Palestinians hoping to take advantage of an opening up of employment opportunities in Israel.

Increased demand for the classes at the Nafha languages center follows a new offer of work permits by Israel as it has moved to calm border tensions following an 11-day conflict in May with Hamas, the Islamist group which rules the Gaza Strip.

It now offers 10,000 permits allowing Gaza residents to cross the border to work in Israel - a new source of income to a region where 64% of the population is estimated to live in poverty and unemployment runs at 50%.

Ahmed Al-Faleet, the center's owner, said the number of people enlisted to learn Hebrew has increased four-fold to reach 160 students per course since Israel began giving work permits in the last quarter of 2021.

"These courses allow anyone who gets a permit to read signs, documents written in Hebrew, and communicate with (soldiers) on Israeli checkpoints. If an employer speaks only Hebrew it enables the worker to deal with him," he told Reuters.
PMW: PA issues stamp in honor of suicide bombers and other terrorist murderers
The Palestinian Authority has issued a new stamp in honor of “the Martyrs of the numbered cemeteries” because “their names remain as torches illuminating the path.”

But who are these “Martyrs” and what are “the numbered cemeteries”?

The “Martyrs” are in fact suicide bombers and other terrorist murderers who were killed during their attacks.

The Cemeteries for Enemy Casualties (“the numbered cemeteries”) are two burial sites maintained by the Israeli army for burying the bodies of enemy soldiers during wartime as well as terrorists. Graves have markers instead of gravestones. The bodies are buried in numbered caskets after their identities are documented, and no burial ceremony is held. Burial is temporary, as the bodies are eventually returned to their countries of origin.

The PA’s new stamp exemplifies PA policy, glorifying Palestinian terrorists who attacked, wounded, and murdered Israelis. Reporting on the new PA stamp, the official PA daily described these terrorists as “pure souls” whose “struggle” is “appreciated” – qualities that prompted the PA Ministry of Communications and IT and the Palestinian Postal Administration to issue the stamp.
PLO, Fatah, and Abbas want “popular resistance,” like the first Intifada

Jewish “Nazi crime gangs” of 1948 are “responsible” for all “corruption on the face of the earth”

PA TV song: “The stone in the children’s hands… the history is written in blood”

PA TV song: “We’ll wake the sleeping rifle… The blood of the Martyrs is in the anemones”



MEMRI: Former Jordanian Minister: In The Holocaust Millions Of Jews Were Exterminated By The Nazis; Today Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Is Treating The Palestinians Like The Nazis Treated The Jews
On February 17, 2022, Jordan's former information and culture minister, Saleh Al-Qallab, published in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Shar Al-Awsat an article titled "What Bennett Has Failed to Learn from Jewish History." The article is unusual in acknowledging every aspect of the Holocaust, but subsequently it claims that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is subjecting the Palestinians to "the same horrific methods that Hitler's Germans employed against the Jews."[1] Al-Qallab writes at length about the Holocaust and the millions of Jews exterminated by the Nazis "just for being Jewish," and states that the Nazi era was one of the darkest periods in history and that no people suffered more than "the good Jewish people" who "were led to the slaughter and executed not by the thousands but by the millions." He also noted that the trial of Adolf Eichmann was not an ordinary trial but one that presented the criminal Nazi history.

The article goes on to state that Israeli Prime Minister Bennett has started "pouring his wrath on the Palestinians just like the Nazis poured their wrath on his Jewish forefathers," and calls on him to "remember he is a Jew" and refrain from treating the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews. He urges the Israelis, especially the Jews among them, to come out against Bennett's actions against the Palestinians, who are "the rightful owners of everything in this historic homeland."

The following are translated excerpts from his article:[2]
"No people suffered from massacres and physical extermination like the Jews did under Hitler during the Nazi era. For the German [Third] Reich, as everyone knows, invested every effort in exterminating what it regarded as the 'Jewish enemy,' and the number of people exterminated reached not hundreds of thousands but rather millions. Adolf Eichmann himself admitted to some of this in his famous trial in Jerusalem. He claimed that his memory was weak, in an attempt to evade [responsibility] for the atrocities he had committed, which are evidenced by historical documents. He admitted to his crime of exterminating and butchering millions of Jews in a murderous and barbaric manner, just for being Jews, who continued to be persecuted in many European countries.

"The reason I have presented this concise review [of the Holocaust] – the facts of which fill many large tomes that can be found on library shelves, not only in Jerusalem but also in many European countries, especially in Germany… – is that, sadly, there are Germans and Europeans who have started to ignore this issue and look away from it in an attempt to avoid acknowledging these facts and historical data…

"Some believe that, with time, these crimes will be completely forgotten. But the [real] problem is that some people have begun to manipulate these facts and historical data and to reverse them. One of these people is Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a Jew who is supposed to know that the criminal Nazi murderers exterminated his people and killed millions of them just for being Jewish. The minute he became Israel's prime minister, he began ignoring all this and behaving as though he is not a Jew and has no connection to this terrible and blood-soaked past and no connection to his people who were exterminated by Hitler in the Nazi era, which was one of the most horrific eras in history.

"The problem is that Naftali Bennet… has apparently forgotten and is no longer acknowledging these terrible massacres that were committed against the Jews in the Nazi era, in the period of Adolf Hitler and his followers and in the era of the criminal Adolf Eichmann, whom the Israelis [later] kidnapped – and for good reason, as far as they are concerned – when he was [living in] Argentina under a different identity. He was hanged in Jerusalem on the night of May 31, 1962; his body was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Mediterranean outside what is considered Israel's territorial waters! It's a known fact that the trail of this Nazi criminal was not an ordinary trial, but was a showcase for the blood-soaked and criminal history [of the Nazi period]. One of the actual witnesses to the terrible Nazi crimes and massacres said that the Nazis' victims, vast numbers of them, were forced to stand in straight lines, shoulder to shoulder, and stay that way, holding hands, until they dropped dead.
Lebanon says it thwarted Islamic State suicide bomb plot on Hezbollah stronghold
Lebanon has thwarted a plan by the Islamic State group to carry out three suicide bombings targeting Shiite religious compounds in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

Beirut’s southern suburbs are a stronghold of the Shiite terror group Hezbollah.

“A terrorist group had recruited young Palestinian men in Lebanon to carry out major bombing attacks using explosive belts” and other munitions, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told a press conference.

Mawlawi said that rocket-propelled grenades and guns were to be deployed during the attack, the Reuters news agency reported.

“Three separate targets were to be hit at the same time,” the ministry said, in an operation Mawlawi said would have caused a large loss of life.

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) said the instructions for the bomb plot came from an IS operative based in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, who is in touch with fellow Sunni terrorists in Syria.
JCPA: The Resurgence of the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria, and Africa
The deadly events unfolding in west and east Africa, as well as in Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, and as far away as Afghanistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, illustrate the macabre recovery of the Islamic State (IS), that had been defeated by an international coalition in July 2017.

Like the Hydra, the serpentine monster in Greek and Roman mythology, which was so lethal that even its odor was deadly and with a regeneration ability that for every head chopped off, the Hydra would regrow two heads, the Islamic State has succeeded in regenerating itself in various parts of the world. Hundreds of IS fighters stormed the Al-Sina’ah (Arabic الصناعة) prison in the Ghuwayran quarter in Hasakah, the major city in northeastern Syria, on January 20, 2022. The prison, run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), held more than 3,500 IS prisoners (including hundreds of IS’ teen abductees, called “Cubs of the Caliphate”). The IS assault liberated scores, maybe hundreds, of prisoners and held the terrain and adjacent neighborhoods for almost two weeks before a counterattack, backed by U.S. air and ground forces, forced the surrender of the remaining combatants.1 According to some accounts, more than 340 IS fighters were killed, and some 115 SDF prison guards and soldiers died.2

Five years after the fall of Mosul, Iraq, the capital of the Islamic State, and the 2019 elimination of its founding leader, the self-proclaimed Caliph Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi, the Islamic State has successfully healed its wounds, re-grouped, and swore allegiance to a new elusive 46-year-old leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. The Al-Qurayshi leadership did not last long, however. On February 3, 2022, Al-Qurayshi set off a blast killing himself and his family rather than surrender to U.S. special forces who captured his hideout in an enclave held by the Islamists in northwest Syria (reported to be under Turkish protection).

After stuttering and hesitant beginnings, IS has retaken the offensive, initiating and launching sophisticated assaults against specific targets worldwide. Islamic State uses well-trained and armed combat units that re-established themselves under the radar of major intelligence organizations, including those in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.

Islamic State’s obituary written after the blow it received in July 2017 was premature.


To Stop Iran’s Proxy Terrorists, Stop Iran
The United States sent F-22 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates on Feb. 12, following last month’s Houthi missile attack on an Emirati base hosting American troops. While the added firepower is a welcome development, such deployments will not deter the Houthis or other Iranian proxies unless the hardware is reinforced by coordinated action by the United States, Israel, and Arab partners.

Recognizing that Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis have the same benefactor and share many of the same goals, methods, and weapons is an essential prerequisite for developing a more cooperative and effective regional response. That response should include the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and UAE sharing technical information on Iranian weapons, especially the rockets, missiles, and drones that all three proxies operate. This could include sharing intelligence about the smuggling routes Tehran uses to deliver weapons to proxies and the financial vehicles Iran uses to fund its proxies. Israel and Gulf Arab states, along with U.S. Central Command, should also build on recent progress related to combined military exercises. There are specific opportunities associated with the recurring Noble Dina, Blue Flag, and Iron Union exercises.

Tehran has long used terrorist groups to attack, undermine, and control other regional governments, such as with Hamas, in Gaza, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, and the Houthis, in Yemen. Iran would rather its adversaries remain divided and distracted, attempting to respond unilaterally and without holding Tehran accountable for the actions of its proxies. To be sure, the origins and attributes of the three terrorist groups vary. They also come from various religious backgrounds, be it Sunni like Hamas, Twelver Shiite like Hezbollah, or Zaydi Shiite like the Houthis. But they share many similarities thanks to their links to the ultra-radical regime in Tehran, to which the three terrorist groups owe much of their resilience and lethality.

Consider, for example, the fact that Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are united in their desire to kill Americans, Israelis, and often other Arabs.

The Houthis have attacked U.S. forces on at least two occasions. In 2016, the Houthis fired anti-ship cruise missiles at the USS Mason, a Navy destroyer operating in international waters near Yemen. The Houthis attacked American forces again last month by launching ballistic missiles at the Al Dhafra Air Base, which houses U.S. forces. Notably, Hezbollah and Hamas praised that Houthi attack, while Israel condemned it and expressed support for Abu Dhabi.
Former IAEA official: West must not automatically roll back sanctions on Iran
As Iran and world powers discuss a potential return to a nuclear accord in Vienna, Israel Hayom spoke with senior Stimson Center research fellow and former deputy director at the International Atomic Energy Agency Dr. Ollie Heinonen to learn what he believes such a deal must include.

"We do not know yet the details on the possible nuclear deal," Heinonen noted. "However, many aspects of the Iranian nuclear program have changed since 2015 when the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official term for the Iran nuclear deal] was negotiated."

He said that to ensure all long-term routes to nuclear weapon capability are "effectively and verifiably blocked some additional provisions need to be incorporated into the new deal by amending it or by adding a separate legally binding protocol to it."

"Nuclear weapons system consists of three elements: fissile material, nuclear warhead, and delivery vehicle," Heinonen explained.

Referring to Israel's operation to secure an Iranian archive of material on its nuclear program, Heinonen said: "Nuclear archives obtained in 2018 revealed that Iran had worked simultaneously in the AMAD [military] plan with all these three elements. Iran was designing, building, operating, and afterward dismantling some facilities, which were also for nuclear material, under this plan. It is not known whether all these experiments and single-use equipment have been dismantled and what happened with nuclear material used or reserved for those experiments."
The New Worst Deal in History with Richard Goldberg Talks in Vienna appear to be nearing agreement on a new JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran. Three falsehoods drive this staggeringly ill-conceived negotiation: that the JCPOA was working, that “maximum pressure” failed, and that this is just a return to the old deal, not a new one. What dangers do these falsehoods pose, what flaws does the expected deal include, and what is the better course of action?



Hardline Iranian Publication Baselessly Accuses Visiting Israeli Rabbi of Being Mossad Agent
A hardline Iranian publication has baselessly accused an Israeli rabbi who visited Iran of being a Mossad agent, demanding that the Islamic Republic’s authorities be held accountable for allowing him into the country.

Rabbi Jacob Yisrael Herzog, a dual citizen of Israel and the United States who resides in Israel, toured Jewish sites around Iran, including the tomb traditionally believed to be the gravesite of Mordechai and Esther, and met with members of the Iranian Jewish community.

Herzog has also traveled to Saudi Arabia in the past and raised the possibility of establishing a Jewish community in the Gulf kingdom.

The article published by the ultra-conservative outlet Kayhan, is titled: “Torah teacher or Mossad officer travels to Tehran?!”

It refers to Israel throughout as the “Zionist regime” and Herzog as a “Zionist,” and accuses the rabbi of being on a “security-political mission” to further Israel’s campaign to normalize relations with Muslim-majority countries, which the publication calls “one of the major projects of the Zionist regime.”

It also emphasized that Herzog has visited Saudi Arabia “at least five times” and plans to do so again after he leaves Iran.
Expose: Iran's anti-US operations in Africa
Africa as a springboard to export Iran's Islamic Revolution

Iran's Ayatollahs have been active in Africa since the early 1980s, leveraging Africa's inherent instability, failed-states, tribal, ethnic and religious military conflicts:
*Recruiting and training anti-US terrorists;
*Fueling local and regional conflicts (e.g., assisting the anti-US Polisario Front's war to end the pro-US and pro-Saudi Morocco's sovereignty in Western Sahara; and cooperating with the Algerian opposition, Islamic Salvation Front, during the 2002-1991 civil war);
*Challenging all Sunni regimes through subversion and terrorism;
*Establishing Shiite seminaries and converting Sunni Muslims to Shiism; *Forging a West Africa – Latin America drug trafficking and money laundering coordination;
*Supporting anti-US African governments (e.g., assisting Ethiopia in its war against Tigray rebels);
*Expanding access to uranium resources.

According to King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies: "Iran sought Africa’s support for its nuclear program, promoting the concept of Third World's “nuclear unity”. The initiative was designed to assist Iran's access to Africa’s uranium markets [in Algeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of Congo], and derail international sanctions…. Iran invested in the uranium mines of Namibia and Malawi [and possibly in Gabon and Zimbabwe].

Iran's Ayatollahs have realized that adding fuel to tribal and regional wars, unstable and failed-states – which have plagued Africa – feeds violence and global terrorism, serving the Islamic Revolution. Thus, North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Egypt), has produced a substantial percentage of the foreigners who have joined ISIS' terrorism in Iraq and Syria in defiance of their own home-countries.

Iran's African network consists of religious, cultural, drug-trafficking, money laundering and terror operations, in collaboration with its Hezbollah proxy, and in coordination with their joint initiatives with Latin American drug cartels, terrorist groups and anti-US governments.


PreOccupiedTerritory: COVID: NGOs Horrified As Iranian Guards Unmasked When Torturing Inmates (satire)
Progressive activists in Europe and the US voiced their shock and revulsion today upon learning that staff at the Islamic Republic’s various incarceration facilities have left their faces exposed while subjecting prisoners to physical and psychological torment.

Personnel from Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, and other rights groups expressed horror Wednesday at reports of the torture taking place at Evin Prison and similar locations in Iran, specifically that prison staff failed to don regular surgical or cloth masks, let alone proper KN95 masks or similar, as they raped, beat, burned, and deprived inmates of sleep and food for prolonged periods – despite the known risks of spreading the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen.

“I’m just stunned,” admitted MSF mission coordinator Sy DeFecht. “If these reports are true – and they come from credible sources, so they probably are – then this represent the height of irresponsibility on the part of Iranian authorities. Iran suffered greatly from COVID; this would mean they refuse to take proper mitigation measures while shoving broken bottles up the anuses of political detainees, which has terrible implications for public health.”








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