Friday, February 25, 2022

02/25 Links Pt2: Will reverberations of Russia’s Ukraine invasion reach the Vienna nuclear talks?; Malaysian Propaganda and Fundraising Network Enables Hamas Plots Targeting Jews

From Ian:

Will reverberations of Russia’s Ukraine invasion reach the Vienna nuclear talks?
The Israeli government has made clear through its tepid and seemingly contradictory responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that this is a war it desperately would rather avoid, as it pits two allies and the interests they represent against one other.

But a deeper reason behind the Israeli preference for a swift diplomatic solution to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict is that it would allow for global attention to return to Vienna where world powers are believed to be on the verge of signing another diplomatic agreement in a deal seen as far more consequential to Jerusalem’s interests — a joint US-Iran return to compliance with the nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said as much earlier this month in an interview with the Walla news site when asked about the then still-brewing tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.

“It disturbs us significantly as it draws the focus away from the nuclear talks in Vienna where we would like to have much more American attention to prevent dangerous things from happening there,” he said.

At the time, Lapid was optimistic that a military conflict could be avoided. But now that Russia has chosen the path of war, Jerusalem may be forced to recalculate whether an emboldened Moscow — one further at odds with the West than in recent memory — will approach in the same way a joint agreement with those same Western powers aimed at preventing a nuclear Iran.

Relatedly, a Russia that has no qualms putting Western threats to the test could well lead to an Iran that has less of a problem doing the same by hardening its own negotiating stance in Vienna.

Washington-based Middle East experts who spoke with The Times of Israel said that Russia’s interest in preventing another nuclear power on its southern periphery will remain, regardless of how its invasion of Ukraine unfolds.

However, that interest may be eclipsed by a reticence to give the US and its allies a win, just as they are banding against Moscow with an unprecedented sanctions campaign. Moreover, the analysts explained that while Tehran may now be enticed to embolden its position at risk of dooming the nuclear accord for good, the Islamic Republic would be wise to take note of the growing reality that they will be met with an opposition in the West that is more unified than ever before.
'World becomes less safe every time the US fails to show strength'
US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy visits Israel along with 30 freshman Republican congressmen, lauding ties between Jerusalem and Washington and cautioning against an Iranian nuclear deal.

No less than three United States congressional delegations have visited Israel within the last two weeks – two Democrat and one Republican – proving that bipartisan support for Israel is alive and kicking.

The Republican delegation, which was organized by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was headed by Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives.

"I do this trip every two years," he told Israel Hayom. "We have 30 freshman Republican members with us. It is a binding trip. We went to the Knesset. We met with the prime minister [Naftali Bennett], with Bibi [Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu] as well, and with the speaker of the Knesset [Mickey Levy].

"There's no greater relationship than America has with Israel. There are no greater common values, and with that also common enemies. A lot of the discussion was about Iran and the potential of some type of [nuclear] agreement. The 30-member group unanimously and firmly believes that Iran can never have such a deal. Hopefully, we will be able to make sure that never happens."

Q: Since the last time you visited Israel, the state has been through a significant political change, and you mentioned you met both the previous and current leadership. What does this change look like from your perspective?

"One thing that I firmly believe is that the great thing about democracy is that a republic gets to decide in which direction it wishes to go. To have a coalition of eight different parties is pretty difficult but I think he [Bennett] is working hard. The relationship between America and Israel is based on shared values and we want to focus on that."


Extensive Malaysian Propaganda and Fundraising Network Enables Hamas Plots Targeting Jews
Hamas officials work openly with Malaysian Islamist charities to route money and supplies to government ministries and charities in Gaza, new findings by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) show.

The charities also use their humanitarian veil to promote the violent rhetoric of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups.

The findings are concerning, given Malaysia’s increasingly significant role in Hamas operations, which was spotlighted once again after authorities uncovered a plot this month to target Israelis in the Philippines.

A Hamas “Filipino source” made several trips to Malaysia during 2016-2018 to receive bomb-making training and to discuss attacks against Israelis in the Philippines with a member of the terrorist group’s foreign operations, the Philippine National Police said in a statement.

The Hamas member, identified as “Bashir” by the source, is Fares Al Shikli, the alleged head of Hamas’ Foreign Liaison Section. The “source” and Shikli discussed enlisting Filipinos with connections to local militant groups “to kill Jews present in the country, conduct rallies at selected embassies and spread video propaganda in exchange of financial support.”

An Interpol red notice has been issued against Shikli, who has been charged with “terrorism logistic support.”

The rising power and influence of hard-line Islamist parties and organizations in Malaysia has created a conducive environment for Hamas to operate there with impunity.

A Hamas rocket expert was assassinated in Kuala Lumpur in 2018. A terrorist confessed in 2014 to receiving training in Malaysia to paraglide from Gaza into Israel to carry out terror attacks. Another operative with a doctorate in computer science served as a courier for encrypted messages for Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
French Prime Minister Denounces ‘Apartheid’ Labeling of Israel in Address to Jewish Community
France’s prime minister delivered a thundering denunciation of the allegation that Israel is an “apartheid” state during a speech on Thursday night to the umbrella body representing the country’s Jewish community.

“How dare anyone speak of apartheid in a state where Arab citizens are represented in the government, in the parliament, in leadership positions and in positions of responsibility, where all citizens, regardless of their religion, have understood that their only hope is peace together,” Prime Minister Jean Castex declared in a speech to the annual dinner of Crif, the French Jewish representative organization, in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been due to address the dinner, but was forced to cancel due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Three other candidates in April’s presidential election — Valérie Pécresse, Anne Hidalgo and Yannick Jadot — all attended, while invitations were withheld from the three far-left and far-right candidates, Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Castex’s condemnation of the labeling of Israel as an apartheid state, expressed most recently in a controversial report by Amnesty International, was part of a broader attack on rising antisemitism in France and around the world.

“We will only defeat this filthy monster through a general mobilization of society,” he said.

However, Castex sounded a discordant note when he claimed that antisemitic outrages in France had declined by 14 percent in 2021.


French Boat and Cruise Company Blocks Website From Customers in Israel: Legal Org
A French company that helps customers book cruise and boat trips in France has allegedly made its website inaccessible to people based in Israel, UK Lawyers for Israel alleged on Thursday.

The pro-Israel legal advocacy group explained that if Israeli customers try to access many of the pages on French-waterways.com, which is based in both France and Oxfordshire in the UK, they receive a message saying “Your access to this site has been limited by the site owner.” An Israeli customer who called the company to inquire about the blocked pages was told that they were purposefully made unavailable for Israel-based internet addresses.

French Waterways, founded in 2003, stated on its website that it helps clients “compare and choose the most suitable and sublime vacation options, calling upon our own extensive waterways experience and familiarity with France, and the kinds of cruises available on her inland waters.” It also said it is “the world’s most valued and most comprehensive source of inspiration and information about enjoying the rivers and canals of France.”

UKLFI wrote to French Waterways CEO James Newcombe in January and accused the company of discriminating against Israelis and Jews in breach of the UK’s Equality Act 2010, which protect races, nationalities, religions and beliefs from being discriminated against, including from “service-provider[s].” UKLFI asked Newcombe to unblock its webpages for Israelis, but he has yet to respond to the group’s request and many pages of the website remain inaccessible.


IDF, police seize 12 rifles from gun smugglers in Jordan Valley
Israeli security forces arrested three people suspected of smuggling guns into Israel from Jordan Friday morning, confiscating several rifles in the process, the military and police said.

According to the IDF, 10 AK-47 rifles, magazines and ammunition were found inside two vehicles near the main highway running along Israel’s long border with Jordan.

Soldiers operating surveillance cameras spotted the two suspicious vehicles near the border fence on the Route 90 highway, and after a chase on the roads near Beit She’an the smugglers were arrested, police said.

Law enforcement officials said the suspects were men in their 20s and 30s, from the southern Israel Bedouin village of Tirabin and a Palestinian town in the south Hebron Hills area of the West Bank.

Police indicated that the guns were likely to have been sold to Arab Israelis, and estimated the value of the guns at some NIS 800,000 ($245,000).

“This confiscation is another success for the Northern District Police in finding sources of illegal weapons for the Arab community, while eliminating smuggling routes and the trade through them,” police said in a statement.


Canadian Publication’s Editor Publishes Tweet Calling On Canada To “Send Weapons To Hamas”
Davide Mastracci is the Managing Editor of Passage, a Canadian publication that claims to provide “thoughtful political, economic, and cultural ideas from a left-wing perspective.”

Mastracci describes himself as an “aspiring Marxist,” who produces a newsletter called “Now You Know” which claims to “track the Israel lobby’s influence on Canadian media,” and who has 10,800+ followers on Twitter. The social media giant lists Mastracci’s account as “verified” which means that it considers Mastracci’s views as being “notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category.”

Mastracci’s website notes that he’s been published in the past by the Globe and Mail, Walrus Magazine, Vice News, Canadaland, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed News, etc.

On the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 23, Mastracci published the following tweet where he advocated that the Canadian government should “… send weapons to Hamas,” a banned terrorist organization committed to Israel’s destruction, known for suicide bombings and which fired 4,000+ rockets at Israeli civilians in the most recent round of hostilities.

Standing in solidarity with Hamas, a radical Islamist terror group, is in our view, appalling and alarming. There’s no place in mainstream or social media for this kind of toxic discourse that only fans the flames of hatred against Israelis and the Jewish people.

Twitter’s own policies stipulate that: “There is no place on Twitter for violent organizations, including terrorist organizations, violent extremist groups, or individuals who affiliate with and promote their illicit activities. The violence that these groups engage in and/or promote jeopardizes the physical safety and well-being of those targeted. Our assessments under this policy are informed by national and international terrorism designations, as well as our violent extremist group and violent organizations criteria.”
PMW: Would you give your last penny to a murderer?
Would you give your last penny to a murderer?

No, right!?

But PA Chairman Abbas would.

Again and again – despite international criticism and donors cutting off aid – Abbas has ensured Palestinians that his “last penny” will go to terrorists and murderers - be they imprisoned, released, or dead as “Martyrs.”

Abbas is adamant about this and recently vowed yet again:
“During a speech… at the evening meeting of the [PLO] Central Council…

On the topic of the prisoners, the president said: ‘We are dedicating all attention to the topic of the prisoners. Even if we are left with just one penny, we will pay it to those heroes who we must protect and whose families [we must] listen to.’”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 8, 2022]

Fatah Revolutionary Council member Abd Al-Ilah Atteereh reiterated Abbas’ insurance that terrorists will continue to be rewarded in full, specifically stressing the PA’s disregard for international donors’ demands to stop incentivizing and rewarding terror with salaries to the perpetrators, and instead turn the salaries into social aid:
“Yesterday [Feb. 7, 2022] the [PLO] Central Council led by [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas] determined that our last penny will be directed to the wounded and the Martyrs, despite all the pressures that are being exerted on us from the Europeans, the Americans, or the Israelis, who tell us: Turn these salaries (i.e., PA salaries to imprisoned, wounded, and dead terrorists) into welfare allowances.”

[Official PA TV, Feb. 8, 2022]
Taking Iran’s Revolutionary Guard off the terror list would be a historic mistake
Upon taking over as secretary of state, one of the first moves Antony Blinken made was to revoke the Houthi's terror designation. In the wake of their delisting, the Houthis embarrassed Blinken by ratcheting up their attacks on both Saudi and Emirati civilian infrastructure.

Blinken, it seems, has not learned the lesson. Reports from Vienna suggest a renewed Iran nuclear deal is close. Leaks suggest that the United States is prepared to reverse all Trump-era sanctions.

There would be one winner from any such deal, and it would not be the U.S., the Iranian people, or nuclear nonproliferation. On April 8, 2019, the State Department designated the entirety of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. To designate only its elite Quds Force unit would be to absolve the broader organization. If Greenpeace put bombs on buses, it shouldn’t matter what they did with the spotted owl — they’d still be a terrorist group.

Like former President Donald Trump or hate him, his administration's designation of the entire Guard was a brilliant move. It showed understanding, at least on Secretary of State (and former CIA Director) Mike Pompeo’s part, of Iran’s inner workings.

After the Iran-Iraq War, the Guard began investing in Iran’s civilian economy in order to acquire a financial base independent from the Iranian government’s budgetary process. Thirty-five years later, the Guard's economic wing, without moral equivalence, is akin to what would happen if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers merged with Bechtel, KBR, Halliburton, Walmart, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Ford, and then used the military might of the U.S. to force competitors out of business.

The Guard today controls up to 40% of the Iranian economy and a larger share over import-export, construction, and manufacturing. The revenue streams from these businesses, the no-bid contracts the Iranian government awards them, and the smuggling the Guard controls mean that the organization's real budget may be an order of magnitude higher than the official budget.
Time to stand up to the UN body aiding Iran's hostage diplomacy - opinion
Iran’s decades-long policy of hostage diplomacy, which began with the 1979 storming of the United States (US) Embassy in Tehran that resulted in 52 Americans being held hostage for 444 days, continues to this very day. Tehran currently holds nearly two-dozen foreign and dual-nationality hostages, none are Russian, Chinese or Venezuelan, but at least 10 are American, French or British. This presents a national security risk to the US and its European allies. Accordingly, we must expose and oppose outright lies and distortions that cast doubt on official warnings against travel to Iran.

Unfortunately, one of the more prominent sources of pro-Iran fabrications is the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), of which the Iran is a member. As such, Iran is supposed to adhere to the organization’s code of ethics, requiring the protection of tourists and visitors, and ensuring the prevention of attacks, assaults and kidnappings. As is well-documented, it is the Iranian authorities themselves who are doing the attacks, assaults and kidnappings of foreign tourists.

Tourists in Iran are at tremendous risk of being taken hostage by the regime. The State Department’s Iran Travel Advisory leads with an ominous warning: “Do not travel to Iran due to the risk of kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest and detention of US citizens.” Britain’s Foreign Office similarly warns in its travel advisory that Britons “face significantly greater risks of arrest, questioning by security services or arbitrary detention than nationals of many other countries.”

This message is undermined by the UNWTO and its Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, a Georgian diplomat who is dependent upon Iran’s support – the regime is a member of the UNWTO Executive Council – for his job. Unsurprisingly, before winning the Executive Council’s endorsement for a second-term in office last January, Mr. Pololikashvili three years earlier shamefully kowtowed to the Iranian regime as the UNWTO chose to hold its 40th anniversary conference in Tehran.

There, the secretary-general declared, “We are here to help Iran become more powerful, and as a result, to make the World Tourism Organization more powerful.” According to Pololikashvili, his UN agency is “willing to introduce Iran as a safe and peaceful destination,” adding how important it is, “to attract more and more tourists to Iran.”
Is the Houthi missile-drone combo a Middle East gamechanger? - opinion
For more than a decade now, the Houthis, an Iranian-sponsored militia, have used a combination of missile and drone technology to destabilize the Gulf region. However, the Houthi missile attack on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) raised a special alarm. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE has never been targeted before, a demonstration of Iranian confidence. By targeting Abu Dhabi during the visit of the Israeli president to celebrate the Abraham Accords, the Iranians made their intention of undermining the pact clear.

The Houthi offensive trajectory comes as no surprise. Badreddin al Houthi, a prominent theologian of the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam, and his son Hussein spent time in Qom as a guest of Ayatollah Khomeini’s foundation Majma Jahani Ahle-e Byt. The foundation recruited promising Shite figures from around the region to lead pro-Iranian militias in the image of Hezbollah. Helped by the Islamic Republic Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force (QF), the al Houthi family, hoping to emulate the Lebanese Hezbollah, launched the Ansar Allah movement.

Qasem Soleimani, the head of the QF, was personally involved in the Houthi project, and Hassan Nasrallah used Hezbollah’s resources to provide the communication infrastructure, including a dedicated TV station. Nasrallah became quite a celebrity among the Houthi movement, prompting Hussein al Houthi to refer to himself as the Yemeni “Nasrallah.”

In 2011, the Arab Spring supercharged the Houthis’ fortunes. The youthful protesters in the Yemen capital, Sana, forced the resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh, paving the way for the election of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi as the new president, in 2012. The Houthis joined forces with military elements that supported Saleh launching a powerful offensive. By 2015, they controlled a large swath of territory, including the capital, the strategic port of Hodeidah, the governorate of Taiz, and almost reached the southern port city of Aden.
MEMRI: Yemeni Student In Rally Aired On Houthi TV: Soon Our Drones Will Strike New York And Tel Aviv
In an address delivered at a student rally in Hajjah, Yemen, a Yemeni student said that the Houthis will strike New York and Tel Aviv with their drones. He also said that the Houthis' missiles will continue to strike deep in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The rally was broadcasted on Al-Masirah TV (Houthis-Yemen) on January 24, 2022.

Student: "Placing their trust in Allah, our missile forces are continuing to strike deep inside Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Allah willing, our UAVs will reach Tel Aviv and New York in the very near future."
AOC once again proves her idiocy and Jew-Hatred
Her hatred of Israel is legion. She even cried on the House floor when Congress voted 420-9 to replenish defensive Iron Dome missiles that detonate Hamas terror rockets aimed at murdering Israeli civilians. Yet, when given the opportunity, she cannot explain her anti-Israel animus. Responding to PBS interviewer Margaret Hoover asking her to explain substantively why she is anti-Israel, we see the wires short-circuit again: Uh. Uh. Hmmm. Y’know, the … uh … settlements?? And then, with a laugh: “Y’know, I’m not the expert on geopolitics on this issue.”

Ocasio is the template for the partly educated idiot we occasionally encounter. We all have met our share of educated idiots with degrees, including idiots with six degrees of separation from reality. There was the arrogant runt my freshman year at Columbia University who bragged that he reads the Washington Post because, living in New York, he feels it “important to be more cosmopolitan than parochial.” The Times was too local for this 18-year-old citizen of the world. He contemptuously asked me what I read to be less parochial. I remember telling him: “Why, I read Cosmopolitan!”

I refuse to call her by more than “Ocasio.” That’s four syllables, enough for an idiot to consume my keyboard. I think to America’s presidents: Only Eisenhower demanded more than three syllables, and he was copacetic with “Ike.” Besides, he did command us to victory in World War II, so OK. Most have been one or two syllables: Polk, Pierce, Grant, Hayes, Taft, Ford, Bush, Bush, Trump. A syllable is enough. Two or three? Fine. But if she thinks I am going to waste 11 syllables on her — six for her hyphenated surname alone — No Can Do.

She is an idiot. If her mind had been trained, she seemingly could have contributed meaningfully to the public conversation. But the lack of critical analysis or insight is maddeningly manifest. Beech-Nut and Gerber’s grate baby food. She just grates.
Meet the Newest Israel-Hater Running for Congress
There seems to be another individual who would like to join the ranks of ‘Israel haters in Congress.’ This is deeply disturbing for Jews and Israel supporters.


Donor pulls endowment at WashU over professor’s Israel criticism
The University of Washington has put its five-year-old Israel Studies Program on hold after a major donor, angry about a professor’s criticism of Israel, took her money back.

Becky Benaroya, a prominent Seattle philanthropist, gave $5 million in 2016 to create the program. But after a professor who held the Jack and Rebecca Benaroya Endowed Chair in Israel Studies was among hundreds of Jewish studies and Israel studies professors to sign a widely circulated statement criticizing Israel last year, Benaroya became concerned about what was happening in the program she had funded.

She requested months of meetings with the professor, Liora Halperin, and university officials to discuss her views on the program’s direction. Those meetings — which also included a representative of the pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, according to a person familiar with them — culminated in the university returning the entire endowment to Benaroya earlier this year.

“Based upon the direction the program had taken, my mom didn’t want her name connected with it,” Larry Benaroya, Becky Benaroya’s son and the current CEO of the family real-estate firm The Benaroya Company, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an email.

As a result, the university stripped Halperin of her chair position and halted programming related to Israel studies — moves that Halperin told JTA will have consequences both on campus and well beyond it.
Iowa bills would codify definition of antisemitism, prohibit state funds for companies that boycott Israel
Iowa lawmakers on Wednesday voted to define antisemitism in Iowa Code, bringing a previously controversial bill to a bipartisan vote in the House.

Lawmakers later clashed over a separate bill aimed at companies that boycott Israel.

Defining antisemitism
House File 2220 defines antisemitism in Iowa code and instructs the state to consider antisemitism in the investigation of a discriminatory act. State employees would also undergo training on antisemitism.

“Defining antisemitism is necessary to be able to combat it,” Rep. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, said.

The bill would define antisemitism by the language adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2016, including a list of contemporary examples of antisemitism.

Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, proposed an amendment to broaden the scope of the bill. Rather than focus on antisemitism, the amended bill would define a “hate group” and instruct the state to consider the involvement of hate groups in criminal acts.

“It also includes not only antisemitism, it includes other ethnic groups and other religious groups,” Adbul-Samad said. “It opens the door for us to be inclusive to everyone, not just creating a special chapter for one group.”

Abdul-Samad said the amendment would give the law “more teeth.”

“It gives us a point for us to work together, to work bipartisan – to be able to show and to tell everyone that hey, we care about you,” he said.

House Republicans voted down the amendment, arguing it was not germane to the bill.
Britain's most expensive day school accused of using Holocaust to promote ‘identity politics agenda’
Parents of pupils at Britain’s most expensive day school have complained about a Holocaust Memorial Day presentation which highlighted “offensive” and “problematic” content about Jews.

A letter seen by hundreds of parents at The American School London accuses the school of dedicating part of the display to showcase “outspoken Jews who, for the most part, other than being Jewish, had no obvious connection to the Holocaust.”

The JC understands the letter was signed by a number parents and sent to school leaders.

One of the “outspoken Jews” highlighted as part of the display was Eve Peyser, a politics and culture writer for Vice, who describes herself as an anti-Zionist.

Parents also complained about the inclusion of Ms Peyser as someone who has “written publicly about how they have actively disavowed their Jewish heritage”.

The letter stated: “Bearing in mind that the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s widely-accepted definition of antisemitism specifically cites denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination as an antisemitic act, it was particularly insensitive to showcase an individual who holds such views in a presentation about the remembrance of the genocide of the Jewish people.”

Other Jews celebrated as part of the Holocaust Memorial Day display included Rabbi Ruti Regan, who talks online about the intersection of disability and Jewish text, and Rabbi Sandra Lawson, who is an openly gay African American Jew.
Anger as school ‘plans Merchant of Venice about Islamophobia’
Amy Winehouse’s old performing arts school has discussed introducing the theme of Islamophobia to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, prompting concerns from a Jewish parent.

The parent was angered by the proposed production by The BRIT School, telling the JC it “negates the seriousness of antisemitism”.

While the parent had no objection to the play being staged, she was worried that changing its premise could send a signal that “antisemitism doesn’t matter and Islamophobia is much more important”.

She also said she was not against the idea of a non-Jewish actor playing the part of Shylock, but feared the production would brush antisemitism “under the carpet as if it’s not important”.

But Stuart Worden, headteacher at the school in Croydon, said Shylock was “written as a member of the Jewish community” and stressed that the school had no intention of changing the script.

He added that the production was “still in early discussion”, and that no rehearsals had taken place. No decision had been made on whether it should go ahead, he added.
‘Finally’: Duke Student Gov’t Recognizes Pro-Israel Club After Months of Controversy
Duke University’s student government voted on Wednesday to recognize Students Supporting Israel (SSI) as a registered campus club, months after it was controversially denied that status.

While the Student Government (DSG) Senate previously granted SSI recognition in November, this decision was vetoed by DSG’s president days later, after the pro-Israel club shared and criticized an Instagram post by a student who accused SSI of promoting “settler colonialism.” The Senate later sustained the veto with 37 votes in favor, 10 abstentions, and 8 absent senators.

The veto, which the president justified by claiming that SSI “singled out” the student, was decried by Jewish groups at Duke and nationwide as evidence of rising antisemitism and anti-Zionist sentiment on campus.

Responding to these concerns, Duke University President Vincent E. Price promised to provide alternative means of support for SSI, but many Jewish advocacy organizations, including the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law — who warned that the university could face “potential legal liability” over SSI’s unequal treatment — contended that nothing short of full recognition would rectify the situation.

SSI’s national office on Wednesday applauded DSG for doing “the right thing” by reinstating the pro-Israel club.

“While much can be said about the events of the past four months, in this message we want to highlight one of the most important things that this process showed us: the strength of the pro-Israel community when it stands united,” SSI national said.


IMPACT REPORT: HonestReporting Holding Media Outlets to Account
HonestReporting’s work — ensuring truth, integrity and fairness, and combatting ideological prejudice in journalism where it impacts Israel and the global Jewish community — is increasingly being recognized around the world, with reporters citing our expertise with greater frequency.

In this respect, since we published our last impact report on December 6, HonestReporting was cited some 125 times by widely-read outlets, including, among others, Newsweek, Fox News, Estadão (Brazil), The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, Israel Hayom, Israel’s Channel 13.

Furthermore, we produced 42 widely-shared news critiques, 12 educational articles and seven videos, prompting major news organizations to correct inaccurate statements about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

For example, on December 14, The New York Times issued an editor’s note effectively retracting a glowing profile about Refaat Alareer. The “newspaper of record” had portrayed Alareer as a “contentious Palestinian professor [who] calmly teaches Israeli poetry,” but failed to mention his antisemitic statements.

HonestReporting, in a piece titled, “New York Times Guest Essayist Refaat Alareer Compared Israel to Nazi Germany Over 100 Times,” had exposed hundreds of antisemitic Twitter posts by Alareer.
A Corona vaccines story the BBC did not consider newsworthy in English
The BBC News website has a dedicated ‘Coronavirus pandemic’ page, a ‘health’ page, a ‘vaccination’ tab and a ‘Coronavirus vaccines’ tab.

Nevertheless – and despite its vigorous promotion of the topic of ‘vaccine equity’ for more than a year – one recent story does not appear on any of those pages.

Not for the first time, the government of Poland recently donated hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccine against Covid 19 to Iran – the country with the highest national Coronavirus death toll in the Middle East.

However, as reported by AP, Iran rejected that donation.
Israeli blow test can detect Covid, diabetes & cancer









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