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Wednesday, March 09, 2022

03/09 Links Pt2: State Department Hire Oversaw UN’s Terrorist Textbook Program; The PLO has renounced all agreements with Israel, and why it doesn’t matter

From Ian:

The case for a Palestinian state is based on flawed moral logic
Consequently, the moral argument for Palestinian self-determination and statehood compete with moral arguments for Israel’s existence. If the moralists are correct, Israel’s crime was not in winning the war against Arab aggression in 1967, but its survival and victory in 1949.

As long as Palestinians are unwilling to renounce their intent to destroy Israel and reject reciprocity, why should Israel continue to make concessions?

Opponents of settlements have led us into the trap of believing that creating another Arab Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza will satisfy Arab demands for Israel’s elimination. Moreover, using moral arguments masks an even more confused belief that Israel and Jews are guilty for alleged crimes against the Palestinian people when the State of Israel was established, ensuing war and dislocation, Arab refugees and the failures of Palestinianism.

The UN and the media transformed the image of the PLO from a terrorist organization into a national liberation movement and a moral imperative. “One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter” and “justice for Palestinians” became incantations of moral sophistry.

Arguments for a Palestinian state should be made on its merits, not on guilt-feelings, apologies for Israel’s existence and scorning Jews who live over the Green Line.

Fear-mongering by some Diaspora-minded Jews about what the goyim will say is shameful, not only because it denies the truth of Jewish claims, but it causes suffering to others.

Jewish and Israeli uber-moralists who oppose the Levy Report, which detailed Israel’s rights in the area by offering moral flicks instead of serious legal arguments ignore reality and undermine the purpose, ethos and sovereignty of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.

In fact, “the two state solution,” rather than promoting peace, ensures that the conflict will continue by promoting the Palestinian narrative, the Nakba, the attempt to destroy Israel in 1948. “Ending the occupation,” as supporters of Palestinians claim, means the entire area “from the river to the sea.”

That is the moral issue.
State Department Hire Oversaw UN’s Terrorist Textbook Program
The Biden administration has hired the former director of a United Nations agency accused of promoting anti-Semitism and terrorism in Palestinian schools to help oversee refugee issues and U.N. reform at the State Department.

Elizabeth Campbell was hired as deputy assistant secretary of state at the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration last month, according to reports. From 2017 to 2022, Campbell served as Washington, D.C., director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a U.N. agency that runs schools for Palestinian children and has used textbooks that teach anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist views.

Campbell's appointment puts her in the position of working for the same State Department bureau that provides funding and oversight for the U.N. agency she previously helped run.

Rich Goldberg, a senior adviser with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Biden administration's decision to hire Campbell shows it has no intention of demanding accountability from UNRWA.

"That is the height of outrage," said Goldberg, who worked on UNRWA reform issues as deputy chief of staff for former senator Mark Kirk. "It shows the Biden administration has zero agenda to achieve any semblance of reform at that agency."

Under Campbell's tenure, UNRWA was accused of disseminating anti-Semitic and anti-Israel literature. The Trump administration cut the agency's funding, and the European Parliament passed a resolution last April condemning UNRWA for textbooks that teach "hate speech and violence" in Palestinian schools run by the agency.
US pressure on UNRWA to stop incitement in education is US “forcing the Zionist narrative”

Israel Despised
Diatribes against Israel by Jews are hardly new. But French journalist Sylvain Cypel, who emigrated to Israel in time to become an IDF paratrooper before studying at the Hebrew University, has set a new low standard. His “The State of Israel vs. the Jews” recounts how twelve years of living in the Jewish State and confronting its “colonial attitudes” transformed him into a stanch anti-Zionist who takes evident delight in lacerating Israel.

For Cypel the Six-Day War was transformative. Not because it returned Jews to their Biblical homeland in Judea and Samaria (names nowhere mentioned by him) after two decades of Jordanian rule. Rather because it unleashed Israeli “colonization and occupation” that reflect the apartheid values of the Jewish state — which, as it happens, has a more diverse population (Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze) than all Arab states combined.

So Israel became “a racist, bullying little superpower.” In Cypel’s warped vision it is “occupying another people’s land,” imposing ”a policy of dispossession and repression” upon cruelly conquered Palestinians. Its “colonial mentality of domination” protects settlers who nurture “an exalted, messianic view of the Land of Israel.” Cypel labels it a ”system of madness.”

His indictment does not stop there. Cypel imagines that “the effects of colonization and occupation have become deeply ingrained within the psyche of the colonizing society:” Israel. To support his spurious claim, he lacerates Ateret Cohanim as a “messianic” Jewish organization that has focused on the “Judaization” of Jerusalem’s Old City by “expelling as many of its Palestinian residents as possible.” In fact, Ateret Cohanim seeks to reclaim Jewish-owned property seized by Arabs during Israel’s independence war, when Jews were expelled from their Old City homes and prevented from returning until Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War nineteen years later.

Heading south, Cypel absurdly identifies Hebron, burial site of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people and the first capital of ancient Israel, as “a place where [Israeli] racist oppression is at its worst.” (He ignores the horrific slaughter of dozens of Hebron Jews in 1929 by rioting Arabs.) He is oblivious to Hebron’s reality: seven hundred and fifty Jews are confined to a decrepit neighborhood in the old city, where they are outnumbered by thirty thousand Arabs. The prospering Arab sector of Hebron, inhabited by 200,000 Muslims (and no Jews), features shopping malls, a university, hotels and apartment complexes.


Erdogan honoring Herzog is not out of a love of Israel - analysis
Israel still viewed Erdogan with skepticism, thinking that the Turkish president was trying to harm Israel’s relations with his country’s historic adversaries Greece and Cyprus.

After all, Israel, Greece and Cyprus have a preliminary agreement to build the EastMed Pipeline from Israel to Europe. Though the pipeline does not yet have financial backing and there are questions about its feasibility, Erdogan has always eyed it with suspicion, and said that he would be willing to cooperate with Israel on gas projects.

The turning point, after which Jerusalem was more willing to take a leap of faith, came when Erdogan got personally involved in securing the release of the Oaknins, the Israeli couple arrested on November 11 for taking photographs of the presidential palace in Istanbul.

There is still a lot of skepticism in Israel about Erdogan’s intentions. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said last month that they would be taking the relations slowly.

And the people surrounding Erdogan do not seem to have gotten the memo about patching things up with Israel. As recently as this week, his top adviser called the war in Ukraine a conspiracy between Israel and George Soros, which does not inspire much confidence.

In January, Turkey’s Religious Affairs Ministry continued its destabilizing actions in Jerusalem, organizing a “symposium meant to raise awareness about conflict in Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Going all out for Herzog at the presidential palace, and Erdogan’s warm words for Herzog and for the value of ties with Israel are a good start, as is the move toward exchanging ambassadors between Jerusalem and Ankara. Recent reports in the Turkish media that the authorities informed Hamas they would have to clear out their military headquarters from the country are an even better sign.

But it is important to keep in mind that Erdogan’s v’nahafoch hu, his reversal, is not out of love for Israel.
Israel’s President Flies to Turkey to Thaw Frosty Ties as Gas Interest Grows
President Isaac Herzog embarked on Wednesday on the first visit by an Israeli leader to Turkey since 2008 as the regional rivals seek to overcome years of animosity.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan invited Herzog, whose post is largely ceremonial, in January, and has said they will review in their talks in Ankara all aspects of Turkey-Israel ties.

One particular area of interest for Turkey and Israel is natural gas. Erdogan has said the visit will herald a “new era” and that the two countries could work together to carry Israeli natural gas to Europe, reviving an idea first discussed more than 20 years ago.

Gas supplies from the Mediterranean could ease European dependence on Russian gas, a hot topic following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent calls from European leaders to reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian gas.

Plans for a subsea pipeline from the east Mediterranean to Europe, excluding Turkey, have stalled after the United States expressed misgivings in January.

Diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel hit a low in 2018 when they expelled ambassadors in a dispute over the killing by Israeli forces of 60 Palestinians during violent protests on the Gaza border.

The two countries have traded accusations over Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians and Ankara’s support for the militant Islamist group Hamas that governs Gaza.
Hatikva plays at Erdogan's palace as Israel resets ties with Turkey
The official state visit came at Erdogan’s invitation and was the first by an Israeli leader since 2008 and a president since 2007.

Herzog traveled to Istanbul immediately after the meeting with Erdogan, and is scheduled to meet with the Jewish community on Thursday.

Erdogan called Herzog to congratulate him on his election victory last year, which led to a resumed dialogue between their countries after years of disconnect at the higher levels. They have spoken several times since. The Turkish president called for improved ties with Israel several times last year, including in December to the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.

Despite his differences with Israel over finding a solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, Erdogan said relations between Turkey and Israel are essential for the security and stability of the region. Turkey’s change in policy might be related to its declining economy and growing diplomatic isolation, which it has sought to resolve, including through a rapprochement with the United Arab Emirates.

At the same time, Turkey harbors Hamas terrorists, Erdogan has accused Israel of intentionally killing Palestinian children, and state-controlled media outlets have broadcast antisemitic television series. This week, Yigit Bulutt, Erdogan’s chief adviser, accused Israel and Jewish financier George Soros of provoking the war in Ukraine by encouraging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is also Jewish. Herzog’s office declined to comment on the tweet.

Earlier this year, the Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized Israel for evicting Palestinians who had illegally built their homes and businesses on public land, and Turkey’s Religious Affairs Ministry organized a “symposium meant to raise awareness about conflict in Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque,” among other destabilizing activities in Israel’s capital.

Tensions between Israel and Turkey began in 2008, when then-prime minister Ehud Olmert met with Erdogan and launched Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip days later. They peaked in 2010 when the Erdogan-linked IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) sent the Mavi Marmara ship to bust the IDF’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, arming some of the people aboard. IDF naval commandos stopped the ship, were confronted by IHH members aboard and killed nine of them.

Israel and Turkey maintained diplomatic relations in the aftermath, even reinstalling ambassadors in 2016. But two years later, Ankara expelled Israel’s ambassador over the IDF’s response to rioting on the Gaza border.


Terror groups slam Herzog's visit to Turkey
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) on Wednesday expressed opposition to President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Turkey.

Hamas, some of whose leaders and activists have long been based in Turkey, said that it “followed with great concern the visits of officials and leaders of the Zionist entity to a number of Arab and Islamic countries, the latest of which was the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to a number of countries in the region.”

Hamas expressed regret over the visits by Israeli leaders “to our brothers in Arab and Islamic countries.”

It called on the Arabs and Muslims not to give “the Zionist entity the opportunity to infiltrate the region and tamper with the interests of its people.”

Hamas reiterated its strong opposition to any form of communication between Israel and the Arabs and Muslims. It accused Israel of “desecrating” Islamic and Christian holy sites and “Judaizing” Jerusalem.

PIJ, the second-largest terror group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, also condemned in a separate statement the hosting of Herzog in Turkey. It said that those who strive to restore relations with Israel are “betraying Jerusalem and Palestine.”

“This visit comes during the aggressive Zionist escalation against our people in Jerusalem,” PIJ said, accusing Israel of working to “Judaize the holy sites” in Jerusalem.
Israel, Bahrain sign cooperation agreement in health, medical sector
Israel and Bahrain signed on Wednesday a program for cooperation in the health sector during Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz's visit to Manama.

Horowitz, who embarked on a trip to Middle East neighbors Bahrain, signed the program with his Bahraini counterpart Faeqa bint Saeed Al Saleh.

The program deals in cooperation in the field of coping with pandemics and medical emergencies, research and development in health, information sharing, digital health, medical innovation and genetic research.

"I am proud to sign this medical cooperation program and strengthen our ties with our Gulf friends," Horowitz.

"We have so much to learn from one another and the cooperation we agreed to today is for the benefit of all citizens from both nations."

"This shows the significance and the sheer strength of international peace and cooperation," Horowitz added.

Israel is continuing to make strides in strengthening its ties and professional cooperation with its Abraham Accords partners.


Head of Cypriot Military Makes First Visit to Israel
The head of Cyprus’s military touched down in Israel on Monday, kicking off his first official visit to the country, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Demokritos Zervakis was received by an IDF honor guard, after which he participated in a “strategic-operational” meeting focusing on “shared security challenges in the Middle East,” according to the Israeli military.

IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi took part in the meeting, together with Maj. Gen. Tal Kelman, the head of the IDF’s Planning Directorate, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the head of the IDF’s International Cooperation Division, and other senior officials.

“During his visit to Israel the general will receive a briefing at the northern border and will visit an Iron Dome Aerial Defense System battery,” the IDF said in a statement.

Last month, Maj. Gen. Kalman met with his counterparts from Greece and Cyprus in an important trilateral meeting. Kalman traveled to Athens, Greece, for “a series of strategic and operational briefings as well as a professional panel to discuss opportunities for expanding military cooperation to other sectors,” the IDF said at the time.
Israel, UAE to sign free-trade agreement by end of March
The free-trade agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is set to be signed by the end of March, Emirati Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja said in a Wednesday morning tweet.

Talks for establishing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) began last November between Economy Minister Orna Barbivai and her Emirati counterpart Abdulla bin Touq Al Mari.

The deal will include "issues relating to trade in goods including regulation, customs, trade in services, government procurement, e-commerce and the preservation of intellectual property rights," Ohad Cohen, director of the Foreign Trade Administration who is leading Israel’s negotiators, said then.

CEPA will "serve as an accelerator for significant economic prosperity" between the two nations, the ambassador wrote.

There has been a massive increase in trade between Israel and its Middle East neighbors, especially since the signing of the Abraham Accords, according to data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics and Foreign Ministry.

Trade has increased dramatically between Israel and the UAE since the signing of the accords. Worth about $125 million in 2020, that figure reached nearly $500 m. in 2021. Some have estimated that trade will exceed $1 billion this year and reach $3 b. within three years.
Saudi Arabia, UAE leaders not returning Biden's calls, disappointed with US - report
The leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been declining calls from US President Joe Biden for several weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing officials in the Middle East and the United States.

The messages of dissatisfaction sent by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Emirati Shiekh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan come as the two leaders share concerns over the American response to recent missile and drone strikes from Yemen, claimed by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The two nations are also reportedly disappointed with the state of negotiations in the ever-nearing Iran nuclear deal, according to the WSJ.

The deal, which IAEA chief Rafael Grossi called "very complex," does not account for Saudi and Emirati security interests, they claimed.

The US has been pushing to repair its relations with the two nations as it looks to stifle an oil crisis. Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports on Tuesday as gas prices reach all-time highs globally.

"There was some expectation of a phone call [between Biden and MBS], but it didn’t happen," an American source told WSJ, adding that the call was intended to focus on "turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil]."

In addition, support from the Middle Eastern oil giants is increasingly important to the US in order to create a united front against Russia due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The PLO has renounced all agreements with Israel, and why it doesn’t matter
When the PLO makes an internal decision to “renounce … all agreements with Israel,” with impact on both the security coordination and economic relations (referred to by Faisal as the “economic Paris Agreement”) between Israel and the P.A., that decision should have a binding effect. A decision of that nature, taken by the highest Palestinian source of authority, should not only bind the PLO and P.A., but should also have ramifications vis-à-vis Israel.

However, despite the ostensible severity of the PNC decision, nothing on the ground has changed. Neither the PLO nor the P.A. has announced any severing of the security coordination with Israel, and they certainly did not decide to stop taking the hundreds of millions of dollars of taxes Israel collects every month and gives to the P.A.

In stark contrast, in May 2020, P.A. chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided alone and announced to renounce all agreements with Israel, including those regarding security coordination and tax revenues. That decision held for six months, after which the coordination was renewed and the P.A. agreed to accept the billions of shekels (over a billion dollars) in tax revenue that had accrued during that period.

PLO declarations aside, the reality is that everyone—including the Palestinians themselves – knows that the PLO is a defunct institution that lacks any real legitimacy. Both the PLO and the PA are run as a de facto dictatorship, in which decisions are made by one person. The PLO only continues to exist thanks to the hundreds of millions of dollars given annually from the PA budget to the “PLO institutions.” No one truly puts any stock in the decisions made by the PLO, and the organization itself is incapable of enforcing the decisions it and its institutions make.

In a recent report, Palestinian Media Watch concluded that the PLO decision to revoke its recognition of Israel’s right to exist was devoid of any real meaning or influence. That conclusion was based on the fact that the PLO recognition of Israel’s right to exist was always empty. The most dominant organization in the PLO is Fatah. To date, the head of Fatah – first Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas – has been the head of the PLO. The head of the PLO has always been the chairman of the PA. Similar to other PLO members, Fatah never recognized Israel’s right to exist.

For many years, the PLO enjoyed the title of the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” That historic role brought Israel to sign peace agreements with the PLO. However, with the passage of time, the reality is that the PLO has lost its unique status. Surveys conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research show even declining Palestinian support for the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” The March 2019 survey showed that only 54% of those surveyed still viewed the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative” of the Palestinians, down from 69% in 2006.

While the PLO may have renounced all agreements with Israel, the reality is that the PLO is simply irrelevant.
The PLO Charter Amendment that never was
This article is reprinted in honor of William K. Langfan, its writer's 100th birthday! Happy birthday,, "ad 120" as they say in Hebrew, and best wishes for continued health and happiness from Arutz Sheva!.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Arafat’s “subject to” letter to Rabin, the inconclusive clause one of the April 1996 PNC resolution, Arafat’s letter to President Clinton, and the three Dec. 1998 votes reaffirming Arafat’s letter to President Clinton are the total evidence that the specifically enumerated clauses of the Charter have been annulled or partially annulled.

The evidence that there has never been one word changed in the Charter is as follows:

There is not one document that has ever surfaced to support the claim any change in the Charter has ever occurred.

PNC Chairman’s Zanoun’s pre-vote speech specifically stated that no amendment was contemplated and that there was to be a redrafting of the new charter. There is no evidence that a redrafted charter is in existence.

There is no evidence that a legal committee was ever formed pursuant to clause 2 of the April 1996 PNC resolution and no evidence of a new charter (seelink to PNC website at end of article.).

Three Dec. 1998 reaffirmations of Arafat’s January 1998 letter to President Clinton which stated that the consequence of the April 1996 resolution, for which a vast majority of the PNC voted, was an annulment of the specifically enumerated clauses and partial annulments of the other enumerated clauses was an Arafat allegation that never happened. An affirmation of something that never happened does not convert an event that never occurred into an event that happened. Thus, all of those reaffirmations of Arafat’s letter to President Clinton were reaffirmations of nothing. (A reaffirmation of a legally defective charter amendment, does not legally convert the legally defective amendment into a legally effective charter amendment.) (A reaffirmation of a fictional false event, doesn’t make the fictional false event any more factual or true.)

If there were a real intention on the part of the Palestinian leadership to annul any part of the Charter, all they had to do was to have the Palestinian National Council vote specifically to annul each clause as Arafat alleged in his letter.

Facts speak louder than words. The years following the December 14, 1998 Palestinian leaders vote by raising their arms to vote “reaffirming peace,” resulted in the greatest amount of Israeli civilian casualities per year since the 1949 armistice. (see link at end of article) The average Israeli civilian deaths from terrorism from January 1999 through December 31, 2009 was 108 versus 28 annual Israeli civilian deaths from terrorism from 1949 through December 31, 1998. If the wall had not been built, the total Israeli deaths would have been much higher.

The result of the “Peace Process” as of this moment is: Palestinians now control land which they have never controlled in recorded history; Hamas control of Gaza; more Israeli civilian deaths from terrorism than ever before; the same PLO charter calling for Israel’s destruction which has never been modified; plus a Fatah constitution and a Hamas charter, both of which call for Israel’s destruction, and a Palestinian leadership mindset to destroy Israel which has not changed one iota.
The Arabs made the Palestinians flee in 1948



PMW: The clear effectiveness of Israel’s Anti ‘Pay-for-Slay’ law in creating pressure on the PA
If anyone had any doubts regarding the effectiveness of Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” law in putting economic pressure on the Palestinian Authority, none other than the PA's Prime Minister, Muhammad Shtayyeh, removed those doubts.

Referring to the alleged financial crisis that the PA is currently facing, the PA Prime Minister claimed that Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” law is the main reason for the PA's financial problems:
“The occupation is the primary cause of the financial crisis that we are facing, and the difficult situation that we are being subjected to is a result of Israel’s ongoing measures that steal our money and prevent us from being able to reach and take advantage of Area C (i.e., land under full Israeli administration according to the Oslo Accords), in addition to limitations that it is placing on the freedom of the movement of goods and people.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 1, 2022]

Shtayyeh's statement preceded an announcement by the PA Ministry of Finance, according to which, for the month of February, the PA will pay public service workers only 80% of their salary, provided that each employee receives at least 2,000 shekels:
“The [PA] Ministry of Finance announced that the February [2022] salaries of the [PA] public employees will be paid tomorrow, Monday [March 7, 2022] at a rate of 80% and at the very least 2,000 [Israeli] shekels instead of 1,650 shekels.”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, March 6, 2022]

Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law was enacted by Israel’s parliament in 2018 by a huge majority. The goal of the law is to penalize the PA for its payments to terrorists.

The 2 sponsors of the bill MPs Avi Dichter and Elazar Stern each thanked PMW from the Knesset before and after the vote for supplying the "authentic data." Avi Dichter: "Palestinian Media Watch provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data."
Honest Reporting: British Lawmaker Questions Possible Hamas Financial Dealings with UK Companies
After our organization launched a campaign to help expose business entities linked to Hamas, a British lawmaker has taken action. In a written question submitted to parliament, Labour peer Lord Foulkes of Cumnock requested that the Home Secretary comment specifically on new revelations about the UK-designated Palestinian terror group’s financial dealings.

Documents obtained by Western intelligence sources previously showed that Hamas — proscribed in its entirety as a terrorist group by the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Israel, and Japan — holds interests in dozens of international companies, reportedly worth some $500 million.

In February, we amplified and expanded greatly on an Arabic exposé that suggested that Hamas’ financial portfolio had suffered a “severe blow” after a London-based institution, Lloyd’s of London, warned some of its members against doing any business with the terror group. This seems to have come in response to the UK’s blacklisting of Hamas in its entirety, whereas it had previously bifurcated between the Palestinian group’s “political” and “military” wings.

Lloyd’s reportedly informed companies of the risks associated with maintaining financial dealings with the Gaza Strip’s rulers. Unconfirmed research has found that “some of the cover companies that have worked for Hamas are traded on national stock exchanges.”

Despite the far-reaching implications of Lloyd’s letter, it was not made public. We reached out to the organization to request a copy of the document, but Lloyd’s press office replied that it was “unable to share the report.”
IDF Adapts Its Capabilities to Deal With ‘Pandemic of Iranian UAVs’
The Israel Defense Forces is dealing with a growing “epidemic” of Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles, senior Israeli military officials cautioned on Monday.

The message came a day after the IDF revealed that in March 2021, Israeli Air Force F-35i fighter jets conducted their first interception of other aircraft, shooting down two Iranian-made UAVs as they approached Israeli airspace. Those UAVs were identified as Shahad 197-type Iranian systems, which have a flight range of some 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and a flight time of 20 hours.

One Iranian UAV was approaching Israeli airspace from the east and the other from the south. At least one of the UAVs had handguns on-board, representing an attempt to breach Israeli airspace and drop off firearms to Hamas in Gaza and likely to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, according to the officials.

“This incident joins the growing list of Iran’s UAV attacks against Israel,” the IDF said in a statement on Sunday. In February 2018, an Iranian UAV launched from Syria was downed by an IAF Apache helicopter in the Beit She’an Valley area, which carried explosive material for delivery to terrorist elements in the West Bank.

In May 2021, Iran launched a UAV from Iraq at Israel, which was also intercepted in the Beit She’an Valley area.

In the March 2021 incident in which F-35s were scrambled in order to react, the UAVs were tracked by ground-control units in cooperation with intelligence, planning officials and the operational control headquarters of the Israeli Air Force, according to the IDF. “The UAVs were intercepted at the optimal operational point,” it stated.
Is the PA trying to ‘bury’ the case of slain activist Nizar Banat?
A court in Ramallah has again postponed the trial of 14 Palestinian Authority security officers accused of involvement in the murder of anti-corruption activist Nizar Banat.

Banat, a resident of the Hebron area, was beaten to death by the officers, who stormed his house to arrest him on June 24, 2021. He was famous for his anti-PA videos that he posted on Facebook and in which he accused the Palestinian leadership of corruption and human-rights violations.

The trial of the officers, who were arrested by the PA following a public outcry, has been repeatedly delayed on various pretexts, including the failure of senior security officials and experts to appear for testimony.

The recurring postponements have raised fear among Banat’s family and human-rights activists that the PA is trying to bury the case and avoid a court ruling against the defendants.

A lawyer representing the Banat family on Tuesday said he did not believe the PA was serious about punishing the culprits.

“The defendants are security officers,” he said. “They acted on orders from senior Palestinian officials. That’s why the Palestinian leadership is trying to disrupt the court proceedings. It does not want the truth to come out.”
Murder of 10 was “one of the best heroic operations”

Siblings proud of murderer brother: “You are the hero of all of us”

“This land is ours… protecting it is the pinnacle of worshipping Almighty Allah,” preacher on PA TV

“O our Jerusalem, we are the soldiers, our blood is oil for the rifle” -PA TV song promotes violence



Zeldin bill seeks to protect US companies from international BDS efforts
A group of Republicans in Congress, led by the co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), introduced a bill on March 3 to protect American companies from being coerced to provide information to international organizations for the purpose of furthering boycotts against Israel.

The Anti-Boycott Act, which has 46 Republican co-sponsors, would amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 to prohibit boycotts or boycott requests imposed by international governmental organizations against Israel. The act would also hold accountable individuals who attempt to violate the act. It also affirms Congress's opposition to the BDS movement and considers the UN Human Rights Council's creation of a database of companies doing business in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights to be an act of BDS.

"In the past year alone, we have witnessed an alarming rise in antisemitic and anti-Israel hate and violence in the United States and around the world. Whether it's Hamas's terror attacks on Israel, well-known companies embracing the BDS movement, antisemitism in academia, discrimination against Israel at the UN or congregants of a Texas synagogue being held hostage, there is no denying that antisemitism is a persistent problem in our society that needs to be identified, called out and crushed in all forms," Zeldin said in a news release.

"Too many – even in the halls of Congress – have emboldened antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric by accepting the BDS movement whose founder, in referring to Zionism, said 'I, for one, support euthanasia,'" he continued. "This legislation not only reinforces congressional opposition to the BDS movement but protects American companies from being forced to provide information to international organizations that peddle this hate-filled movement and holds those who attempt to violate that protection accountable."

The bill is supported by the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Zionist Organization of America.
Amnesty’s “Apartheid” Class Making a Mockery of the Law and the Truth
When Amnesty released its 280-page report accusing Israel of “apartheid,” it simultaneously unleashed a wave of public relations material to promote its libel. Among such efforts is a 90-minute online course on Amnesty’s website. Entitled “Deconstructing Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians,” the course claims it will teach students how to:
“Define the characteristics of the human rights violation and crime of apartheid in international law
“Explain how the oppression and domination of Palestinians by Israel amounts to apartheid
“Describe how apartheid affects Palestinians
“Take action to campaign against apartheid”

Instead, Amnesty’s course ends up:
Distorting and inventing international law;
Applying double standards to the Jewish State, promoting half-truths and false or decontextualized allegations;
Using emotionally-charged language and obscene comparisons to compensate for the lack of substantive evidence of apartheid in Israel;
Serving as little more than a propaganda exercise.

The following is a summary of the major errors, omissions, and deceptions that characterize the course. Below, readers may find more detailed analyses of the various issues with the course by expanding the subsections.
Jewish students ‘living in fear’ at UK universities
A new poll has revealed profound concerns among British Jews over antisemitism at universities, with nine out of 10 saying it is a problem.

The survey, carried out by YouGov and King’s College London for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), also found that almost eight in 10 felt “intimidated as a Jew” by the anti-Israel protests and convoys during the 2021 Gaza conflict.

The findings come amid surging anti-Israel activity on campuses, from the mobs that confronted Jerusalem ambassador Tzipi Hotovely on her recent visits to Cambridge and LSE, to the decision by Sheffield Hallam University to hire a lecturer who has publicly backed Palestinian terrorists.

Alarmingly, only 59 per cent of British Jews felt they had a long-term future in the UK — down on last year’s 66 per cent — while 46 per cent said they avoided displaying outward signs of their Judaism in public because of antisemitism, the highest level ever recorded.

More than eight in 10 British Jews said they felt the Labour Party was too tolerant of antisemitism, with the figure only falling slightly from the record 88 per cent in 2020, to 86 per cent in 2021.

This suggests Sir Keir Starmer still has his work cut out in restoring trust with the Jewish community.
School board failed student troubled by antisemitic peer, tribunal finds
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board breached Ontario's human rights code by failing to properly address a student's ongoing concerns following threatening encounters with an antisemitic peer, the province's human rights tribunal has found.

In a decision released last month, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario adjudicator Leslie Reaume weighed in on a human rights complaint filed six years ago by the parents of David Armitage, who was a teenager at the time of the complaint.

According to the decision, Armitage was threatened and assaulted by his classmate, who was also a minor at the time. The other student was charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and therefore cannot be identified.

Armitage was also the unwelcome recipient of rants covering violent, racist, sexual and pornographic topics, as well as the Holocaust, Nazis and Hitler, despite telling his classmate he was not Jewish, Reaume wrote.

After a family car parked at their country home was defaced with a swastika and other hateful symbols, Armitage grew so terrified he slept in his parents' room, Reaume wrote.

Armitage completed his final semester of high school online and skipped his June 2016 graduation ceremony instead of risking a run-in with his former classmate, who was allowed to return to school following a suspension, she added.

By deciding to readmit the other student before adequately consulting Armitage — who had complained about feeling unsafe — the school board erred, Reaume found.

"There was no assessment of [Armitage's] experiences, his ongoing fears, the supports he would need and the likely impact on his ability to perform effectively at school during what was described as a critical semester," she wrote.
Statement on recent antisemitic incidents
UW-Madison values a diverse community where people of all religions, races, ethnicities, identities, and cultures feel safe, welcome and supported. The university’s diversity is its strength.

A report from the Anti-Defamation League finds antisemitism has been on the rise, including on college campuses. We are dismayed to share that several concerning incidents have also been reported recently by members of our campus community:
A swastika etched into a residence hall community bathroom stall.
Antisemitic slurs yelled at a student on Langdon Street.
An individual who said they had been harassed for “looking Jewish.”

Antisemitism is wrong and it will not be tolerated at UW–Madison.

We are working to support all community members and increasing our educational efforts to prevent bias incidents from happening in the future.

We are committed to creating a campus where everyone feels valued and knows they belong.


PreOccupiedTerritory: Dominant Group Representing 96% Of Region’s Population Depicted As Underdog (satire)
An ethnic cohort composing the overwhelming majority of the Middle East’s demographics has managed to convince Western media and politicians that in fact they constitute the weaker party in a struggle to undo Jewish sovereignty on a sliver of land, where a minuscule ethnicity accounting for less than three percent of the 250 million people in the general vicinity of the Levant have managed to reestablish their ancient sovereignty after centuries of majority conquest and occupation.

Muslims, who represent more than nine tenths of the region’s population and exerted control over most of it since the eighth century, insist the odds have always been stacked against them in their fight to defeat Zionism, just as they were hopelessly outnumbered, outgunned, and outfunded in 1948 when a few thousand Holocaust survivors held off seven invading Arab armies plus local bands of irregular troops: six hundred thousand Jews in nascent Israel vs. millions of Arabs posed an obstacle the Arabs could not hope to overcome, with the Jews facing an arms embargo and their inland communities blockaded. To make the situation worse, in the decades prior to the 1948 war, British Mandate authorities barred Jews from weapons and military training while showing no such concern for the welfare of Palestine’s Arab residents, cementing a further disadvantage in place.

The people of Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and others nearby, with assistance from more distant places such as Pakistan, face an uphill battle in their campaign to oust Jewish rule from Israel, which, if the reckoning includes what it has not formally annexed but still controls, occupies a whopping area about the size of New Jersey whereas its Arab and Muslim foes have been relegated to an area barely more than a hundred times that, and they feel the squeeze.
Guardian finds that three Israel haters hate Israel. Calls it news
Even by Guardian standards, Chris McGreal – as we’ve consistently demonsrated – is an extraordinary unprofessional and biased journalist. And, even by McGreal’s own standards, his latest piece of anti-Israel advocacy under the guise of journalism is particularly appalling.

So, who, according to McGreal’s March 7th article, has accused the US government of “hypocrisy” for imposing sanctions against Russia, but not Israel? Three people: Sarah Leah Whitson, formerly of Human Rights Watch, Lara Friedman, president of Foundation for Middle East Peace, and James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington. That’s it, three people, all of whom have thing in common: a malign fixation on Israel.

McGreal could of course easily find a few anti-Israel voices to echo nearly any morally obtuse accusation that he fancies. As our colleague tweeted, a more apt headline would be something along the lines of “Reflexive Anti-Israel Activists Accuse US of Hypocrisy”.

Turning to the ‘substance’ of the analogy highlighted by McGreal, the comments he provides from the activists don’t include well-developed arguments for how the Russian invasion or Ukraine is like Israeli military actions in the Palestinian territories, but here are some fundamental reasons why the analogy is unserious.

Terror groups in the Palestinians territories, including but not limited to Hamas in Gaza, launch terror attacks against Israeli civilians, with the ultimate goal being Israel’s annihilation. Ukraine doesn’t sponsor and launch terror attacks against Russia or seek the country’s destruction. Nor do they threaten its security in any way.
Israeli military operations in Gaza are launched in response to rocket attacks against civilians by internationally proscribed terror groups. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was completely unprovoked.
Israel warns Palestinian civilians in combat zones to evacuate before carrying out strikes. Russia intentionally targets civilians without warning, both in this war and in previous ones.
Israel took control of the disputed territories in 1967 as the result of a defensive war, subsequently withdrew from most of it (including all of the Sinai and Gaza) and offered, on several occasions, to cede most of the remaining land they control – offers rebuffed by Palestinians leaders. Russia’s war in Ukraine (as well as previous wars in Crimea and Georgia) have been wars of aggression based on Vladimir Putin’s belief that the internationally recognized Ukrainian state has no right to exist.

Another fundamental political asymmetry undermining an analogy which, in effect, casts Israel as Russia, and ‘Palestine’ as Ukraine is that Israel (like Ukraine) is a democracy, whilst Russia (like Hamas-run Gaza, or the PA ruled territories) is not.
Guardian corrects error over countries recognising Jerusalem
An article in (Guardian sister site) The Observer (“Nine Quarters of Jerusalem by Matthew Teller review – a new map of a contested city”, March 6), by their former Middle East editor Ian Black, claimed that the United States is the only country which recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital:
Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, though that is not recognised by most countries (except the US), which maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.

As we noted in an email to the Guardian Readers’ Editor, there are four countries which recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital: the US, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo.

Our complaint was upheld, the sentence corrected, and the following addendum added:
Antisemitic hate crimes in New York up 400% in February - NYPD
Antisemitic hate crimes were up 400% last month, according to new data released by the New York Police Department.

According to the NYPD, there were 56 hate crimes against Jews in February 2022, compared with 11 in February 2021.

Many of these incidents targeted Orthodox people dressed in distinctive clothing, like the Jewish man who was punched in Bed-Stuy on February 7 while walking on Shabbat. A 15-year-old was charged with assault and committing a hate crime in that attack.

In addition, there were swastikas drawn on a yeshiva school bus in Brooklyn and a dentist’s office in Queens; in Manhattan, expletives about Jews were spray-painted on the dining shed of an Israeli restaurant.

In another incident in February, Bronx resident Frank Abrokwa, 37, was accused of spitting on a Jewish man’s face, calling him an “f—ing Jew” and threatening to kill him. Abrokwa, who was placed on supervised release from jail after the spitting incident in Brooklyn, was charged with harassment last week for smearing feces on a woman’s head while she waited for the subway in the Bronx.
Morton Klein: ADL's 2021 extremism report ignores non-white threats
White supremacists are bigoted and dangerous. But anyone serious about protecting Jewish and American lives must also pay attention to and not ignore or downplay equally or more severe threats from other quarters. We were recently reminded of this when an Islamist took hostages at the Colleyville synagogue and a Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist attempted to assassinate a Jewish mayoral candidate.

Yet, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) recent report on Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2021 ignores or downplays deadly extremism from non-white extremists, and then touts misleading conclusions that “white supremacists killed more people in 2021 than any other type of extremist,” and that “most of the murders (26 of 29) were committed by right-wing extremists.”

Egregiously, the ADL’s report never mentioned the worst extremist mass murder in 2021, perpetrated by Black Nationalist, BLM-sympathizing, antisemite Darrell Brooks. Brooks drove an SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, zig-zagging to hit as many people as possible, killing six innocent victims (all white, including an eight-year-old child) and wounding another 62 innocent people.

Brooks’ social media posts (documented by the New York Post and LawOfficer.com) called for violence against whites (“knokkin white people TF [the f***] out”) and knocking out “old white ppl,” and retweeted that people will “learn Hitler was right,” that Hitler “did the world a favor by killing” Jews, that the Jews are America’s “slave masters.” Brooks also retweeted that “white Jews know that Negroes are the real children of Israel” – parroting the anti-white ideology of the Black Hebrew Israelites.

That’s the same belief of the Black Nationalist killers who murdered innocent Jews and another innocent worker at a kosher store in Jersey City in 2020. The Jersey City killers may have planned to also murder the Jewish children in the Jewish school above the store.

If the ADL’s report had appropriately included the Christmas parade massacre, the ADL would have had to conclude that Black Nationalists were responsible for the overwhelming majority of ideologically-motivated extremist murders in 2021.
Archbishop of Canterbury shocked to learn of extent of antisemitism in Brighton
THE Archbishop of Canterbury said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” to learn synagogues in the city need security due to fear of vandalism and attacks.

Archbishop Justin Welby made the comment during his first official visit to the Diocese of Chichester at the weekend.

The 66-year-old said: “Deeply shocking and saddening to hear that even in a welcoming, multicultural city like Brighton, synagogues still have to have security on their sabbath because of antisemitism.

The Argus: Synagogues in Brighton require security Synagogues in Brighton require security

“We must work towards a situation where Jewish people can worship without fear of abuse or violence.”

The Sussex Jewish Representation Council (SJRC), which provides a central contact point for all Jewish organisations in the county, said that it is a “sad reflection” of the level of antisemitism in the UK.

An SJRC spokesman said: “The threat of vandalism and attacks are part of the everyday life of Jewish communities across the country. Brighton and Hove is no different.

“All of our synagogues have security provided every Shabbat (Saturday) by trained volunteers from the CST (Community Security Trust).

“We have experienced antisemitic graffiti, abuse has been shouted at worshippers and even had the threat of political protest outside our places of worship.

“Having security offers members of our community, who just wish to pray in peace, a level of safety and reassurance while also providing a visible deterrent.
Michigan GOP candidate says ‘not antisemitic,’ won’t apologize for Facebook posts
After being condemned by his party, the Republican nominee for a Michigan state House seat said he is “not antisemitic” despite sharing several Facebook posts that promote antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Robert Regan, a Grand Rapids resident who recently won his party’s nomination for an upcoming special election in the heavily conservative 74th district, told the Grand Rapids Press that the idea that he is a hateful person is “ridiculous.”

“People that know me, they know I’m not antisemitic, they know I’m not a racist, they know I’m not a homophobe,” Regan said.

Regan has shared several antisemitic Facebook posts, including one stating that feminism is “a Jewish program to degrade and subjugate white men.” Another used the white-supremacist shorthand “triple parentheses” used to identify Jews online, and another called Jewish financier and political activist George Soros a “Jewish communist investor” and “pure evil.”


Stolen Anne Frank statue recovered in Buenos Aires, will get rededication ceremony
The Anne Frank statue stolen in Buenos Aires was recovered less than a day after the robbery, Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta announced on Friday night.

Police found the statue, a replica of one in Amsterdam, in a squatter shantytown near the center of the city.

Rodriguez Larreta said that he and Roel Nieuwenkamp, the Netherlands’ ambassador to Argentina, will soon rededicate the statue together in a ceremony.

“This piece symbolizes the memory of the Holocaust and the union between our countries, as well as the respect for human rights,” he said. “I have already communicated with the ambassador to give him the news of the recovery and I deeply regret that the event has occurred. As soon as a team of professionals has reviewed the state of the sculpture, we will together reinstate it.”

The city’s Anne Frank House museum spread the news.

“We are happy to communicate that the statue that had been stolen was found. The episode allows us to reflect on the value of some symbols, and gives us strength to continue working on the construction of memory and human rights,” the museum’s Twitter account wrote.
Keira Knightley to voice Holocaust-era artist in animated film
Keira Knightley is lending her voice to an animated film on the story of Charlotte Salomon, a German-Jewish painter who produced hundreds of works in hiding during World War II before being deported to Auschwitz.

“Charlotte,” set for release in theaters on April 22, follows Salomon from her early years growing up in Berlin, her aspirations to become a great artist and her escape to the south of France where she lived until her deportation and death.

While in hiding with her family, she painted approximately 800 works, which became an autobiographical series titled “Life? or Theater?: A Song-play.” Amsterdam’s Jewish Historical Museum showcased them all in a 2018 exhibition, which it has kept online in digital form.

The works were inspired by her own life, which was full of tragedy before the Holocaust. Several family members had committed suicide. In hiding, her grandfather turned predatorial, and she poisoned him, admitting the deed in a 35-page letter.

“Only by doing something mad can I hope to stay sane,” says an animated Salomon, voiced by the two-time Academy Award nominee Knightley, in a released clip from the film.

Her paintings were saved by family members who survived the war.
Israeli Scientists ‘Reverse’ Egg Cell Aging in Bid to Improve Fertility of Older Women
Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have found that anti-viral drug therapy may help “reverse” the aging of human egg cells, thereby increasing the fertility of older women.

In an era of an increased rate of delayed first childbearing, women in their late 30s and 40s are often faced with declining prospects of conception, even with IVF treatment, because their eggs have accumulated so much DNA damage over the years that they cannot mature and be fertilized.

Michael Klutstein, a molecular biologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, aims to reverse human egg deterioration. The research study from his lab, carried out by PhD student Peera Wasserzug-Pash together with clinicians from the Hadassah and Shaare Zedek hospitals, identified one of the aging processes that inhibits egg maturation by using human and mouse egg cells.

“About half of our genome is made of virus-like sequences or fragments of viruses, which can cause considerable damage to the DNA if they are allowed to be activated through expression,” the researchers explained. “It is the aging process that causes the failure of the system to keep these damaging elements repressed and inactive.”

The team then artificially reproduced the destructive aging process in egg cells, before seeking to undo the damage by using anti-viral drug therapy.

“In their paper, the researchers showed that anti-viral drugs did indeed reverse the process in mouse egg cells and returned to their former youthful selves,” Hebrew University announced.
American tourist stumbles upon intact Bronze Age pottery jug in Judean Desert
An American tourist hiking in the Qumran region in southern Israel recently stumbled upon a remarkable discovery: a fully intact pottery vessel from the Early Bronze Age.

According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), Robbie Brown was touring Israel with a friend last month when they decided to climb to a cave near the Dead Sea, about 100 meters (328 feet) above the surrounding terrain.

The cave, known as Cave 53, was not unfamiliar to Brown, who participated in an archaeological excavation there in 2017 that led to some rare finds — including ancient dates and olive seeds and a piece of a blank ancient scroll.

A previous excavation at the cave took place about 30 years ago, making the findings in 2017 even more unexpected.

But the Judean Desert cave apparently had some more surprises in store, as Brown and his friend found out.

Reaching the cave, the two uncovered an intact ancient pottery jug — potentially the first ever found in the region from its period. They photographed the finding and immediately contacted Dr. Yuval Baruch from the IAA.

When they arrived to investigate, Baruch and Amir Ganor, the IAA’S director of the robbery prevention unit, could not believe their eyes.

“It’s amazing,” said Ganor. “Only about two years ago, our archaeologists surveyed the cave as part of a survey of the Judean Desert caves, which has been conducted continuously for the past five years and was intended to document and locate all ancient finds in the desert caves.”

“In a few caves, pottery sherds were found, providing evidence of the Early Bronze Age. This is perhaps the first complete vessel we have found from this period in the caves in the Judean Desert,” he said.






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