Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Gil Troy: Why anti-Zionists lie and exaggerate about Israel
Radicals used the horrific George Floyd murder in 2020 to popularize the Deadly Exchange libel blaming IDF training for police brutality – as if American racists need Israeli coaching to hate. Now, Bash Israel Firsters tweeting “War in Ukraine = Continued violent takeover of the West Bank,” link two random events, trying to hijack the world’s justifiable disgust with Vladimir Putin – to dump on Israel.Ruthie Blum: A free lunch for Amnesty's antisemitism
Writers who make their careers demonizing Israel embrace this libelous idiocy. In The Guardian, Peter Beinart argued that if “remaking borders by force violates a core principle of international law,” America must undo “Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 war.” Straining to compare Israel with Russia, Beinart prefers twistory to history, ignoring the inconvenient facts that Syria repeatedly bombarded Israel from the Golan and never respected Israel’s right to exist – I somehow missed Ukraine’s bombing and anti-Russian delegitimization campaign.
In a harsher screed, “Justifications for Destroying a People,” Beinart equated the “arguments Russia’s government deploys to dehumanize Ukrainians” with “the ones Israel’s government uses to dehumanize Palestinians.” Targeting that evil, right-wing maniac Yair Lapid, who dared to suggest, as Gazans tried swarming Israel in 2018, that “the Hamas charter repeatedly calls for the genocide of the Jews, and these riots were another element in Hamas’s attempts to destroy the State of Israel,” Beinart declared: “Baselessly accusing a people of committing genocide creates the pretext for horrendous violence.” Such twistory, in the rush to demonize Israel, overlooks decades of Palestinian terrorism stirred by Palestinians’ “Death to the Jews” (not just Israel) rhetoric.
These obsessive attacks weave antisemitism into anti-Zionism, as the Jewish state becomes the despised, scapegoated collective Jew, the all-purpose lightning rod attracting so many different bolts of hatred. These smears prove that Jews can be guilty of Jew-hatred when they collaborate in the Jew-haters’ dirty work. They prove how plastic Jew-hating Zionophobia is, as the haters keep adapting it to changing headlines. And they prove Natan Sharansky’s analysis that demonizing and delegitimizing Israel, holding it to double standards, sinks from criticizing Israel into traditional cesspools of Jew-hatred.
In this topsy-turvy context, I admire Paul O’Brien’s honesty. This Amnesty International official said Israel “shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state.” He dismissed scientific polls showing that 80% of American Jews support Israel – because those aren’t the elitist progressives he hobnobs with. “I actually don’t believe that to be true,” O’Brien proclaimed. Why? “I believe my gut tells me” that instead of a Jewish state, American Jews want “a safe Jewish space.”
Sure, as long as the antisemitism and accompanying physical attacks on Jews don't emanate from left-wing and pro-Palestinian sources (which, of course, they do). Indeed, during Operation Guardian of the Walls last May, while Israel defended itself from barrages of Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets from Gaza, as well as from bloody riots in eastern Jerusalem and Arab-populated cities elsewhere in the country, Jews around the United States and Europe were being pummeled in broad daylight.Open Letter to My Fellow Progressive Jews: Amnesty Wants to Tokenize You
The disingenuousness on display during O'Brien's talk was in tough competition with his organization's lies. His assertion that one of the goals of the Amnesty report was to "collectively change the conversation" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which "needs to start, first and foremost, with the Jewish community," is a perfect example.
As Jewish Insider revealed, he cast aspersions on a 2020 Ruderman Family Foundation survey showing that "eight in 10 Jewish Americans identify as 'pro-Israel,' and two-thirds feel emotionally 'attached' or 'very attached' to the Jewish state."
He had the nerve to say, "I actually don't believe that to be true. I believe my gut tell[ing] me that what Jewish people in this country want is to know that there's a sanctuary that is a safe and sustainable place that the Jews, the Jewish people, can call home."
Where this so-called "safe Jewish space" is concerned, he said, "I think they can be convinced over time that the key to sustainability is to adhere to what I see as core Jewish values, which are to be principled and fair and just in creating that space."
Finally, the anti-Zionist educating Jews about "core Jewish values" insisted that "the right of the people to self-determination and to be protected is without a doubt something that we believe in, and I personally believe that. [But] we are opposed to the idea – and this, I think, is an existential part of the debate – that Israel should be preserved as a state for the Jewish people."
It's not surprising that O'Brien exhibited the very antisemitism that he was denying. Amnesty International does that on a regular basis.
But his audience, made up of "enlightened" Democrats, welcomed him as a speaker. The point is that nothing Israel can do – other than totally succumb to its own progressives and Palestinian lobbyists – will remove the "wedge" that the left inserted with gusto.
And finally: Do you think it is appropriate to attempt to weaponize my Jewish identity against my Jewish community, or convince me to participate in the delegitimization of the world’s only Jewish state, especially if you don’t have expansive answers to each of the above questions?
I also want to remind my fellow progressive Jews that standing up for yourself and your people does not mean you must be silent on the plight of the Palestinians. We can—we must—fight for their sovereignty and self-determination with the same fervor that we fight for our own. This is not a binary—except to the extent that organizations like Amnesty work so hard to try to make it one.
For 2000 years pre-1948, Jews were violently denied self-determination everywhere we lived. Jews, and the international community, supported Israel as a Jewish democracy knowing that, in the context of a world order defined by nation-states, it was the only way to ensure Jewish self-determination. Without Israel, without sovereignty, Jews would be plunged back into a state of total systemic powerlessness, our self-determination and our communal security ripped away. Mr. O’Brien and Amnesty need to know that despite their self-declared conviction in “Jewish self-determination,” that without supporting the sovereign existence of the Jewish state, this phrase is nothing more than an empty platitude.
So to my fellow progressive Jews who have felt this squeeze before, and to those who will feel it in the future, please know: Your Jewish community stands with you. Truth, righteousness and liberation for all are not and cannot be exclusive to any people, but they are core values of your people. You can believe in, and fight for, the Jewish future without abandoning your dreams of the same free, sovereign, self-determined future for the Palestinian people. In fact, recognizing the humanity and the inalienable rights of both peoples is the only way for progress to ever occur. And anyone who tells you otherwise is perpetuating anti-Jewish blind spots, biases and bigotries that will harm us all.
US should fear a nuclear Iran, not West Bank settlements, Elhayani says
Efrat Council head Oded Reviv said chalked Nides comments up to internal US politics.Settlements, pay-for-slay: Things that infuriate Ambassador Nides - comment
"It is disappointing that the Biden Administration is viewing US-Israel relations through their domestic political lens," Revivi said.
"Whether it is their desperate efforts to achieve a tragically weak Iran nuclear deal or their need to appease radicals who oppose Israeli construction in our capital, this Administration is on a trajectory that will lead to continued destabilization and less peace," Revivi explained.
'In my first meeting with Ambassador Nides, I encouraged him to visit Efrat where he could view for himself the immense potential that Israeli-Palestinian collaboration can offer as a pathway to resolve the conflict – much more effective than the failed policy of telling Jews where they are not allowed to live. It is clear that Ambassador Nides would genuinely want to pursue policies that advance peace and not segregation."
Revivi suggested that Nides focus on constructive initiatives like investing in joint industrial areas that benefit Israelis and Palestinians "as opposed to applying the weight of the US government to decide who can or cannot live in a particular area."
For the Obama administration, it was all about the settlements, almost an obsession. Just remove the settlements, or stop settlement growth, and the path to peace and a two-state solution would be magically paved.US envoy looks to bolster West Bank economy with 4G service, tech offerings
What made Obama administration officials who adhered to this orthodoxy seem like true believers was that they held onto this belief even after it was proven, via the withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, to be a bogus assumption. Israel uprooted all its settlements before withdrawing totally from the Gaza Strip, but the result was anything but peace.
Do settlements complicate matters? Yes. But are they preventing a two-state solution? Hardly. What is preventing a two-state solution is terrorism, because as long as terrorism rages – and the “martyr payments” that Nides discussed ensures that terrorism will continue to rage – Israelis will never be willing to make any of the concession that Nides would like to see them make for a two-state solution.
While settlement construction has – as Nides put it referring to pay-for-slay – caused “an enormous amount of problems,” it is terrorism, and the incitement to and incentivizing of terrorism, that he should be infuriated about. Because that is what has consistently derailed any Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides on Tuesday revealed several of his initiatives aimed at improving the West Bank economy, while also insisting that Palestinians are ultimately most interested in self-determination and cannot be “bought off” with plans requiring them to forgo political sovereignty.
Speaking to a virtual event hosted by the left-wing Americans for Peace Now, Nides spoke candidly, and sometimes even undiplomatically, about his work and goals as ambassador since arriving in Jerusalem late last year.
He said his plans include ensuring access to 4G mobile networks for all Palestinians, granting the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction at the Allenby Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan and convincing major tech firms to open offices in the West Bank.
Nides was particularly critical of Israeli construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, while also sounding off on the PA’s welfare policy, which includes payments to security prisoners convicted of killing Israelis as well as to the families of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks.
He doubled down on his pledge not to visit any settlements and indicated that the policy extended to the Western Wall tunnels, which are located underneath the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.
Nides insisted that the Biden administration still plans to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem, which served as the de facto mission to the Palestinians before it was shuttered by former president Donald Trump in 2019. The envoy argued that both Israelis and Palestinians have inflated the importance of the issue, however, and that he did not want to invest all of his political capital in fulfilling the Biden campaign promise if it meant not being able to see through more tangible improvements for Palestinians.
Pleased to see lots for Palestinians in the budget just signed by @POTUS Biden: $144 million increase (now $219 million) for Economic Support Funds, $40 million for security forces training in the WBank, and $50 million for 2nd year of the Nita Lowey MEPPA Fund.
— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) March 16, 2022
State Department Hire Who Ran UN Terrorist Textbook Program Also Spoke at Anti-Israel Conference
A recent State Department hire who helped run a United Nations program that distributed pro-terrorist textbooks also spoke at an anti-Israel conference alongside apologists for Hamas and an activist who called for the "de-Zionization" of Israel.A Final Warning from Arabs to Biden
Elizabeth Campbell, who was hired as deputy assistant secretary of state for refugee issues last month, was a speaker at the 2019 annual conference for the Jerusalem Fund, a Palestinian advocacy group that has promoted Hamas militants and opposes the Jewish state.
She spoke on a panel with prominent Israel-bashers, including author Max Blumenthal—who has defended Hamas attacks on Israel and wrote a book comparing the Jewish state to Nazi Germany—and boycott, divestment, and sanctions supporter Randa Farah.
The event could add to concerns about Campbell's hiring, which drew criticism after the Washington Free Beacon reported on her prior role as Washington, D.C., director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees last week. During her time as director, UNRWA-run schools in the Palestinian territories used pro-terrorist and anti-Israel textbooks, leading the Trump administration to cut its funding and the European Parliament to officially condemn the group for teaching "hate speech and violence."
Campbell spoke on a panel at the Jerusalem Fund conference called "Liquidating Right of Return, UNRWA, U.S., and Israeli Policies," where she defended UNRWA and argued for the United States to restore its funding.
Blumenthal boasted during the discussion that the U.S. ambassador to Israel referred to him as "one of the worst anti-Semites in the world," which Blumenthal called "a badge of honor." He also slammed "liberal Zionism" and accused Israel of "apartheid."
In a message directed at the Biden administration and the other Western powers involved in the Vienna negotiations, the Arab countries said that Iran and its terrorist militias are continuing to create chaos and instability, especially in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.Israel's UN ambassador demands Security Council condemn Hezbollah
The Arabs, including the Arab League, are telling the Biden administration that, in their view, it is not only Iran that threatens their security, but also its terrorist proxies, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
The Arabs are clearly worried about the financial and military aid that Iran is providing to the terrorist groups.
Any deal with Iran will further strengthen these groups and encourage them to step up their terrorist attacks.
The Arabs are also worried that when Iran obtains nuclear weapons, they will sooner or later find their way into the hands of its terrorist proxies and other terrorist groups, including Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda.
"This president [Biden] is deaf. He cannot be trusted." – Ali Al-Sarraf, Iraqi political analyst, Al-Arab, March 12, 2022.
If the Biden administration and its friends reach a new deal with Iran's mullahs, we are likely to see more Arabs come out against the US.
"We have made it very clear that if Iran acquires a nuclear capability we will do everything we can to do the same." — Adel al-Jubeir, then Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, to CNN, May 9, 2018.
The Arabs consider Iran a lethal threat to their national security and the stability of the entire Middle East and other parts of the world. If the Biden administration is going to align itself with the mullahs, it will lose the support of its Arab and Muslim allies, who feel bitterly betrayed and fear that nuclear weapons will end up in the hands of these very mullahs and their terrorist groups.
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan on Tuesday asked the members of the UN Security Council to condemn Hezbollah's recent attempts to launch drones into Israeli territory and turn Lebanon into a terrorist base.Rep. Andrew Garbarino says trip to Israel was 'eye-opening' in relation to security, defense
In an urgent letter addressed to the Security Council ahead of a special discussion Wednesday on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, Erdan wrote: "Recently, drones were launched from UNIFIL's area of activity in southern Lebanon, which managed to penetrate Israeli airspace. Israel harshly condemns Hezbollah's provocative attempts to violate its sovereignty through the blatant disregard of UN Security Council resolutions. Israel will not tolerate any infringement of its sovereignty and will take every step necessary to defend its citizens.
"We demand that the Lebanese government, which is responsible for activities emanating from Lebanese territory, fulfill its duties and prevent all hostile acts from its territory. Lebanon must not allow Hezbollah to negatively influence regional security and stability," Erdan said.
Erdan on Tuesday also met with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka. After presenting her with information regarding Hezbollah's growing strength as a proxy of Iran, with an emphasis on the terrorist organization's precision missile project, Erdan said that "Hezbollah continues to undermine regional stability and to prioritize the Iranian interest over the Lebanese interest."
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), visiting Israel for the first time last month, said the experience was not only "eye-opening," but helped solidify his support for the Jewish state and understand the danger faced by the Israeli people from the threats of terrorist organizations and states on their borders.NGO Monitor: France dissolves anti-Zionist and PFLP-linked Collectif Palestine Vaincra - Main points of the dissolution decree
The freshman congressman, who is seeking re-election to New York's 2nd Congressional District, was one of dozens of members of Congress from both parties to travel to Israel in late February with the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation.
"You read about what a small country it is, and how close to the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Golan Heights – how close everything is. You don't really get it until you're driving on the road, and they say, 'To your left is Tel Aviv, and to the right is the West Bank – the Palestinian-controlled area of the West Bank," Garbarino, 37, told Jewish News Syndicate in an interview.
One of the stops on the tour, said Garbarino, was at a kibbutz near the border with the Gaza Strip where residents live under constant threat of missiles launched by the terrorist organization Hamas. "I feel like it should be required for a member of Congress to go so they can see it, especially the ones on the other side of the issue," he said.
On March 9, 2022, France’s Minister of Interior Gérald Darmanin announced the dissolution of Collectif Palestine Vaincra (CPV), an anti-Zionist group linked to the EU-designated Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group. According to Darmanin, the group “calls for hatred, violence and discrimination.” The following day, CPV’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts were deleted.Italy’s Problem with Palestinian Terrorist Financing
The governmental decree, signed by President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Jean Castex, and Darmanin, formally declares the dissolution of CPV. It referenced clauses 6 and 7 of Article L. 212-1 of the Internal Security Code, which permits dissolving groups that:
Provoke discrimination, hatred or violence towards people because of their ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion, and/or are found to propagate ideas or theories which justify or encourage such discrimination, hatred or violence (clause 6).
Engage in acts that provoke terrorism (clause7).
Additionally, the decree lists the many reasons why the French government decided to disband the group.
The primary reasons include CPV’s support of terrorism (support to terror groups and individuals involved or convicted for terror related offenses), which according to the French authorities, “goes hand in hand with a legitimization of the terrorist methods which it endeavors to justify or minimize on the grounds that it is a necessary form of resistance.” In addition, CPV uses virulent anti-Zionist rhetoric, emphasized in its charter’s support for “the Palestinian people’s struggle against Zionism, imperialism and Arab reactionary regimes for the liberation of all of Palestine, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.”
Additionally, one of the main allegations against CPV is that, through its publications, the French group “cultivates hatred and legitimizes the use of violence against Israel and Israelis” and “incites hatred against Jews.” Notably, CPV’s “acts and positions, whether they emanate from the leader of the CPV, from the main members of the group, as well as the comments generated by its publications, have never been the subject of any moderation or condemnation from the CPV.”
Notably, the decree features numerous CPV statements and/or comments from the public encouraged by such statements that blatantly exemplify the examples in the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, endorsed by the French government in 2019. These include defining the State of Israel as “a colonial and racist entity” and a “monstrosity created by the imperialist powers”; accusing Israel of “practicing apartheid”; commenting that “the Jewish settlers take themselves for the Gestapo”; referring to Jewish Israelis as “Zionist terrorists, Nazis unpunished”; and declaring, “What a shame… They are doing the same as the Nazis…”
Italy faces an increasing risk of illicit financing activities for Palestinian terrorist groups. Italian prosecutors recently launched an investigation into the bank transfers of the country’s largest Palestinian organization — yet some Italian politicians appear to be blind to the threat, even funding Italian non-governmental organizations that engage with Palestinian terrorist organizations.Inside Qatar’s ‘Multimillion-Dollar Plan’ To Mainstream Anti-Israel Journalists
As a group of Italian and European parliamentarians recently highlighted, several Palestinian terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), are increasingly using Italy as a hub for their European operations.
Last October, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz designated Palestinian NGOs Addameer and Al Haq as terrorist groups acting on behalf of the PFLP. At the time, Italy’s Vice Foreign Minister Marina Sereni issued a press release expressing concern about this designation.
“Italy believes that the role of civil society organizations in promoting human rights and democratic values is essential and indispensable,” Sereni stated, reiterating the Italian government’s ambiguity on Palestinian networks.
The Qatari government and Northwestern University are "training a new generation of journalists who will legitimize anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American positions," according to a report by a watchdog group.
"Qatar's Multimillion-Dollar Plan to Influence American Media," a report authored by Canary Mission, a watchdog group that documents anti-Semitism on U.S. college campuses, focuses on administrators, professors, lecturers, graduates, and students at Northwestern's satellite campus (NU-Q) in Doha, Qatar's capital, who were found to have made at least 750 "anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American" social media postings. This number includes posts endorsing terrorism, touting boycotts of Israel, referring to pro-Israel Jews as "Zionist pigs," and praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Of the 37 individuals highlighted in the report, 73 percent expressed support for terrorism, 81 percent demonized Israel and Jews, 27 percent posted anti-Semitic content, and 54 percent backed the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), which wages economic warfare on the Jewish state.
"The NU-Q learning experience consists of a fully immersive environment that includes a heavily biased curriculum and a host of lecturers who hold antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American views," according to the report.
NU-Q is completely funded up to $50 million annually by Qatar through two state-controlled organizations: the Qatar Foundation and the Al Jazeera Media Network, both of which have come under fire for attempting to wage influence operations in the United States and mainstream anti-Israel and anti-Semitic views. The program lecturers include in-house professors as well as Al Jazeera reporters, producers, and management. Qatar has long been accused of funding U.S. academic institutions to build an influence network across the United States. Programs funded by the Qatari government have come under scrutiny for their anti-Israel bent and focus on demonizing the pro-Israel community.
While he is silent on Uighurs in China and even defends the Chinese regime; and visits Russia while it is literally dropping bombs on Idlib in Syria - performance politics of the worst kind pic.twitter.com/Ag1aBrn5lz
— Rashad Ali (@rashadzali1) March 15, 2022
High Court decides to resume aliyah of Ethiopian Jews
Israel's High Court of Justice decided on Tuesday to remove an interim order which had halted the immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel since February.High Court to rule on expelling over 1,000 Palestinians from West Bank firing zone
Last November, the cabinet unanimously approved paving the way for renewing immigration from Ethiopia from among the community of descendants of Jews, against the background of a severe civil war in the country.
The resolution passed in November would allow 3,000 Ethiopians to immigrate, with the possibility to expand the number with further resolutions.
In February, the High Court issued an interim order freezing the aliyah of Ethiopian Jews after a petition was filed by the Israeli Immigration Policy Center against the government decision. The Israeli Immigration Policy Center expressed opposition to the decision in December when it filed the petition to the High Court, saying it would bring non-Jewish Ethiopians to Israel.
Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata thanked the High Court for dropping the freeze order the for petition, saying the petition "cost human lives."
The High Court of Justice held a potentially decisive hearing on Tuesday on whether eight Palestinian villages would be evicted from an area that the Israeli military has declared a firing zone in the South Hebron Hills.PMW: PA is “actively supporting” an ICC investigation against Israel
Around 1,300 Palestinians living in the firing zone would be expelled from their homes if the court rules in the government’s favor, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, one of the groups representing the Palestinian petitioners.
For over two decades, the Israeli military and rights groups have swapped court petitions and counter-petitions over the legality of expelling the Palestinians living within the firing zone. The High Court is expected to issue a final ruling soon, although the timeline remains unclear.
The area stretches over 33,000 dunams — around 8,150 acres — amid the hillsides near the Palestinian city of Yatta, near Hebron. Several Israeli settlements and illegal outposts dot the hilltops nearby.
Eight hamlets, mostly collections of low-slung homes with makeshift roofs, lie in the area the government aims to clear for military training. Local Palestinians work as herders and farmers, raising goats and sheep alongside the hillsides.
The Israeli army argues the firing zone is essential for military training due to its “distinctive geographic features.” In February 2021, Israeli tanks rolled through several of the villages as part of a military exercise.
“The vital importance of this firing zone to the Israel Defense Forces stems from the unique topographical character of the area, which allows for training methods specific to both small and large frameworks, from a squad to a battalion,” the Israeli military said in court filings.
But archival documents from the early years of Israeli rule in the West Bank suggest that the motivation for declaring local firing zones may have been political rather than technical.
While the subject of the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation against Israel has not been a focus of recent attention, no mistake should be made - the Palestinian Authority, which initiated the proceedings, is still doing its utmost to actively support, promote and forward the investigation. The PA’s continued efforts in the ICC activate provisions in US legislation which prohibits the administration from providing the bulk of its aid to the PA and prevent reopening the PLO offices in the US.Hamas, Islamic Jihad call to step up attacks in West Bank, Jerusalem
Discussing the relations with the ICC prosecutor, PA Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Malki explained how the PA meetings with the prosecutor are ongoing. Al-Malki continued saying that the prosecutor even made several requests of the PA and that the PA decided to cooperate with the prosecutor “so that the investigation will begin.” Al-Malki added that having been told that the prosecutor was assessing his priorities, the PA hopes to meet with him to understand the result of all the preparations:
“Yes, we are in contact, but unfortunately it has not actually begun for several reasons. As you know, the previous prosecutor [Fatou Bensouda] left and a new chief prosecutor arrived. After we met with him a number of times he said that he first of all needs to take his place and determine the priorities, to look at the cases before him and determine the priorities of the cases, and to see what his capabilities are in terms of economic capabilities and manpower, in order to determine which resources to allocate to each case so he will begin its investigation. Until now he is busy with this. He sent us a letter directly and said that he expects us to help him so that his representatives will be able to come to Palestine and begin the work. He made several requests of us that we need to help him with, and we agreed and said that we are prepared to cooperate with all these requests so that the investigation will begin. We hope that soon we will meet with him at the ICC headquarters so that we will sit with him and understand what the result is of all these preparations, and whether the Israel-Palestine case is one of the priorities that he determined at this stage and which resources he has dedicated to this case, so that we will be able to see what can be expected and when and how and at what point.”
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, March 5, 2022]
Leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad called for escalating the fight against Israel, especially in the West Bank and Jerusalem, until “the liberation of Palestine.”Iran has 3,000 ballistic missiles, many that can reach Israel - US general
The appeal came during a meeting on Wednesday in Beirut between PIJ Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhaleh and Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas Politburo.
Hamas officials Osama Hamdan, Ali Barakeh and Ahmed Abdel Hadi attended the meeting with the PIJ leader.
The call for stepping up “resistance operations” against Israel came amid mounting tensions between the Palestinians and Israel in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, two Palestinians – one from the Balata refugee camp near Nablus and the other from the Kalandiya refugee camp in the Ramallah area – were killed during clashes with the IDF.
The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and PIJ have warned that Jews are planning to “storm” al-Aqsa Mosque compound (Temple Mount) during the upcoming Jewish holidays.
Iran has more than 3,000 ballistic missiles, many of which can reach the State of Israel, commander of the United States Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said on Tuesday.
McKenzie, who is retiring from the military soon, was in Israel last week and held talks with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi.
“At a military level my concern is first of all that they do not have a nuclear weapon but I am also very concerned about the remarkable growth and efficiency of their ballistic missile program,” McKenzie told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"They have over 3,000 missiles of various types, some of which can reach Tel Aviv," McKenzie said in response to a query by the senate committee. "None of them can reach Europe yet."
In Mckenzie's written statement, he called Iran’s missile force the greatest threat to the region’s security, and that Iran has developed an arsenal of nuclear-warhead capable ballistic missiles and has tested these weapon platforms multiple times. He told the committee that over the last 5-7 years Iran has invested heavily in its ballistic missile program.
Yikes.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) March 16, 2022
Who is the US official assuring Russia?! @SecBlinken is too weak to represent America. https://t.co/scvMa1rcqb
Biden Admin Undeterred in Nuclear Talks After Iran Attacks US Outpost in Iraq
The Biden administration is pressing forward with its efforts to secure a new nuclear deal with Iran, even after Tehran over the weekend launched a dozen ballistic missiles at American sites in Iraq. The administration's decision to "shrug off the attack" is generating outrage on Capitol Hill among Republican lawmakers who say negotiations with Iran should be halted.
Reps. Jim Banks (R., Ind.) and Joe Wilson (R., S.C.), members of the House Armed Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee, respectively, pressed the White House in a letter sent Tuesday, demanding to know why Iran's latest attacks are being met with silence. Both lawmakers serve as leaders at the Republican Study Committee, Congress's largest conservative caucus and a primary vehicle for Republican efforts to oppose the new nuclear deal.
"Shockingly, your administration's senior national security and foreign policy officials shrugged off the attack," the lawmakers write, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. "They claimed it did not target the U.S consulate and suggested that the negotiations in Vienna would continue unscathed."
"The recent erosion of U.S. military deterrence against Iran is alarming," they say. "Inaction in response to Iran's provocation would invite Tehran to continue escalating its malicious behavior towards the United States and its regional allies."
In one of its more lethal attacks in recent memory, Iran during the weekend launched a dozen ballistic missile at multiple sites in northern Iraq, including at the new U.S. consulate facility in the region. The attack was condemned by the Biden administration, but the White House did not issue any new sanctions on Tehran or respond militarily.
48 hours ago, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard fired dozens of missiles near the US consulate in Iraq. And yet, the Biden admin is quietly rushing ahead with a bad agreement to give Iran’s regime nuclear weapons. It's even worse than Obama's Iran Deal. https://t.co/oEugjJ5nZk
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) March 15, 2022
Credit to @AbeGreenwald for making this point - nuclear energy is bad everywhere except in Iran, where it's so good that we need to crawl naked over broken glass so they can have it. https://t.co/l8ZW9APUa5
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) March 15, 2022
British-Iranian Aid Worker Handed Over to British Team in Tehran
British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been handed over to a British team at Iran‘s Imam Khomeini Airport and is leaving Iran after London paid its $530 million debt to Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.MEMRI: Saudi Journalist Decries Feeble U.S. Policy Towards Iran, Saying 'Shame On You, America!
Earlier on Wednesday, her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told Reuters that aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe and another British-Iranian dual national Anousheh Ashouri were heading to Tehran airport to leave Iran.
“She (Zaghari-Ratcliffe) was handed over to the British team after being transferred to the International Imam Khomeini Airport this morning,” the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Iranian media did not say whether Ashouri had also been handed over to the British team.
Fars news agency said “The British government paid its $530 million debt to Tehran before her release.”
In a February 7, 2022 article titled "Shame on You, America!" in the Saudi daily Al-Madina, journalist Talal Al-Qashqari directs harsh criticism at the Biden administration for its decision to lift sanctions imposed on Iran by the previous U.S. administration. He states that even the Trump administration did not take sufficiently forceful measures to put an end to the Iranian evil in the region, except in the case of its elimination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the deputy commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis. The fact is that neither of these administrations was or is truly interested in finding a thorough solution to the problem of Iran's military nuclear program, he says. This feebleness, he adds, enables Iran to continue promoting this program and also manufacturing long-range missiles aimed at anyone who opposes its regional expansion.
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Qashari's article.[1]
"After the present U.S. administration has announced that it [intends to] lift sanctions that were imposed on Iran by the previous administration, on the grounds that this will keep Iran from [attaining] a nuclear weapon, I have nothing left to say except 'ar 'alayki, ya Amrika, or in English: shame on you, America!
"In practice, the present and previous [U.S.] administrations are identical in terms of their desire to find a thorough solution to the problem of Iran's production of a nuclear bomb. The previous administration sufficed with imposing painful economic sanctions, which were not enough to deter [Iran] from [continuing] this production, and in fact only increased its determination. It seems that the previous administration wanted only to maintain a foothold in the region, and to remain present in it, so it would be able to impose sanctions on countries that threaten the regional stability. But [despite being] the only superpower with the ability [to do so, the U.S.] did not free the region of the Iranian evil.
"In my opinion, the best thing the previous American administration did, which was more effective than the sanctions, was to eliminate Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Qods Force in [Iran's] Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Units, who were the main figures [responsible] for planning and carrying out terrorism and sectarian [violence] that threatened the security of the countries in the region…
"The current [U.S.] administration also wants to maintain a presence in the region, but does not do anything with [this presence]… In order to create the impression that it opposes the policy of the previous administration, the current administration plays a seemingly more moderate role, characterized by softness and lenience towards its 'supposed' Iranian enemy. Notice that the word 'supposed' is in parentheses, because [Iran] is not [really America's] enemy. The two sides are not enemies. They are anything but.
"So what is the result? Sadly, the result is that Iran continues its nuclear program, whose purpose is military rather than peaceful, and [also continues] to produce thousands of long-range missiles which it provides to its proxies so they can attack anyone who opposes [Iran's] expansion and the spread of its Persian influence. But, with Allah's help, the Saudi resistance is lying in wait [for Iran], and nobody will blame me for saying once again, shame on you, America!"
Iranians are placing signs that read “Death to Zionism” on their weapons. Fortunately, Jews this week will be celebrating what happened the last time a Persian tyrant tried to kill us all. pic.twitter.com/vfSYN1nl6s
— Blake Flayton ???? (@blakeflayton) March 15, 2022
Sierra Club reinstates Israel trips after outcry over decision to nix visits
The US environmental nonprofit Sierra Club said Tuesday it will reinstate trips to Israel, reversing course after canceling scheduled visits in response to pressure from anti-Zionist and progressive groups, including far-left Jewish activists.If Not Now Accidentally Recite Kiddush For Terrorist Instead Of Kaddish
The about-face came after a campaign from mainstream Jewish groups, and comes as the California-based nonprofit seeks to accommodate contemporary racial justice concerns with its 130-year-old environmental mission.
“Recently, the Sierra Club hastily made a decision, without consulting a robust set of stakeholders, to postpone two planned outings to Israel,” the organization said in a statement attributed to Acting Executive Director Dan Chu. “The process that led to this was done in ways that created confusion, anger, and frustration.”
“We do not take positions on foreign policy matters that are beyond that scope. We do not have a deep understanding or knowledge necessary to do so, nor is it our place to do so,” the statement said. The group also committed to combating antisemitism.
The statement said the Sierra Club has offered trips to Israel for nearly a decade, and “we intend to update our schedule soon to offer new outings to Israel later this year.”
In future trips to Israel, the Sierra Club committed to get “input from a wide range of partners” to deepen participants’ understanding of the region.
“By failing to engage all stakeholders, from our members and supporters, to a wide range of allies, traditional and otherwise, we caused deep pain on a personal and spiritual level,” the statement said.
The limited knowledge of the heritage they assert to represent tripped up a group of activists today when they confused a prayer recited by mourners for a series of passages and a benediction recited before Sabbath and festival meals, as they attempted to showcase their grief over the demise of a violent antisemitic thug at the hands of Israeli security forces last week, owing to the similarity in the names of the rituals to the uninitiated.HRC In The Suburban 'How Should Canada React To The Propagation Of Hate Speech'
If Not Now, an organization that attempts to invoke Jewish tradition and sources in pushing a far-left progressive agenda at odds with the vast majority of the American Jewish community, sought to demonstrate its grasp of Jewish tradition in its political activities Tuesday by reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish, a mostly-Aramaic selection of liturgy that for hundreds of years has functioned as a grieving person’s declaration of God’s greatness and glory despite the human experience of loss. Anti-Israel activists have employed the technique before, but this time the participants failed to notice that the person leading the recitation had opened not to the Kaddish, but to the Kiddush, one of several liturgical institutions that help set apart the Jewish Sabbath and festival meals from their mundane counterparts. The group’s membership possesses only a rudimentary grasp of Hebrew, and those who can sound out that language’s phonetics boast even less proficiency in understanding it. Thus only after its conclusion did one of those present realize that the benediction following the recitation of a Biblical passage constituted a blessing recited just before drinking wine – the opening of such ceremonial meals – and not, as in Kaddish, a plea for Godly peace to descend on humanity. The group had tried to express its grief over Israel’s killing of Salah Nimr; IDF troops shot Nimr last week when he attempted to run them down at a checkpoint south of Jerusalem.
The ongoing court case in Montreal against Gabriel Sohier-Chaput, who contributed antisemitic articles to The Daily Stormer, a large neo-Nazi website, raises the question about how Canada should react to the propagation of hate speech and highlights the dangers of online antisemitic hate.865 entities have adopted or endorsed IHRA definition of antisemitism
Sohier-Chaput portrays himself as a defender of free expression, but history has shown the dangers of unchecked hatred, and it’s the responsibility of the justice system to show that peddlers of hatred will be prosecuted.
The intersection of free expression and hate speech are under review in a Montreal courthouse, as a writer for a Neo-Nazi website is facing one count of willful promotion of hate propaganda against Jews.
Gabriel Sohier-Chaput, 35, who wrote under the pseudonym Zeiger, contributed articles to The Daily Stormer, a prominent American Neo-Nazi website, where he posted such statements as “Non-stop Nazism, everywhere, until the very streets are flooded with the tears of our enemies.”
Though Sohier-Chaput acknowledged that he wrote for The Daily Stormer, he defended his words by claiming they were meant ironically, and to “make sure no SJW [social justice warrior] or Jew can remain safely untriggered,” as he wrote in one of his articles.
In the ongoing court proceedings, Sohier-Chaput has argued that all he meant to do was “create a boogeyman for the left,” adding “If we want to take down political correctness, we have to poke at Jews and the Holocaust, the sacred cow. As long as it remains a sensitive topic, speaking about it freely will be impossible.”
While Sohier-Chaput has portrayed himself as an advocate for free expression, the reality is not quite as straightforward.
There are 37 nations so far that have endorsed the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, with 200 entities adopting it in 2021.
A newly released study by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University shows that 865 entities around the world have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism since 2016.
An array of international organizations, national governments, municipalities, NGOs, universities, athletic clubs, corporations and other groups have adopted that definition as the guiding framework for their policies against antisemitism. The definition’s impact and influence are rooted in the mainstream consensus that has formed around it.
The non-legally binding definition, along with its 11 explanatory examples, was adopted unanimously by IHRA’s 31 member states in May 2016.
“It is clear that with the marked increase in antisemitism, especially in recent years, there is a need for a universally accepted definition of antisemitism,” said Sacha Roytman Dratwa, CEO of CAM. “We need to clearly delineate the borders of hate and incitement against Jews, because for too long it is the antisemites themselves who have defined them, and no other community would accept such a disturbing situation.
“I urge those who oppose this definition to study this list and learn how governments, business, civil society and faith communities of all backgrounds around the world have united in using the IHRA’s definition as a barometer for measuring and ultimately combating contemporary forms of antisemitism. At the same time, I urge allies of the Jewish community, institutional and at the grassroots level, to join this esteemed list by adopting the definition too.
The soccer club @LFC wished their Jewish followers a happy Purim on Instagram.
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) March 16, 2022
These are just a tiny sampling of the horrific, antisemitic comments that followed. https://t.co/1ZqvTq5K0s pic.twitter.com/QTdhk6UfLC
Researchers Re-engineer Red Blood Cells to Trigger Immune System Against COVID-19
Physicists, chemists and immunologists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada have teamed up in an experimental study to modify red blood cells to transport viral agents which can safely trigger the immune system to protect the body against SARS-CoV-2, creating a promising new transporting system for vaccine delivery.
Making our own blood cells "smart"
This new method, used in the peer-reviewed study, is a unique approach to vaccination. Red blood cell membranes are embedded with SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, which then form virus-like particles, which have been shown to activate the immune system and produce antibodies in mice.
The vaccine delivery methods currently in use might cause severe immune system reactions and have short-lived responses, says Maikel Rheinstadter a professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at McMaster.
The experimental study has found that cells can be loaded with a large dose of viral proteins, yet likely produce few side effects, making the new method more tolerable and effective than other vaccine options.
The method in essence triggers an immune response without the use of genetic material. This technology can be adapted to vaccines for variants or new viruses that might emerge in the future.
The technique was first reported when Rheinstadter and students modified red blood cells to deliver drugs throughout the body, which could then target infections or treat catastrophic diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer’s.
I'm excited to unveil the cover of my new book, 'In the Lion's Den'. I reveal behind-the-scenes encounters from my five years as Israel's ambassador to the U.N. and talk about the struggles, secrets and challenging moments.
— Ambassador Danny Danon | ??? ???? (@dannydanon) March 15, 2022
Available for preorder now>>https://t.co/1EKgu5pK11 pic.twitter.com/9Jkdkd6jMp
Jewish A Cappella Group Maccabeats Debuts ‘Encanto’-Themed Purim Song
The Jewish a cappella group The Maccabeats released on Sunday a music video for their “Encanto Purim” song, inspired by the hit Disney animated movie.
The track opens with “We Don’t Talk About Haman,” a parody of the “Encanto” tune “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” The video, directed by Leah Gottfried, opens with a game of chess between Haman and Esther, played by actress Naomi Weissberg. The Maccabeats then go to Esther to warn her about the evil ways of Haman and his plotting against the Jews – a villain “grinning ear to pointy ear.”
“Haman is very clever, malevolent and cunning. Paid a lot of silver just to get his mission running ” the Maccabeats sing. “We associate him with sound of casting lots … The king is the pawn and Haman calls the shots.” The group continues, “Standing at the gate, idol around his neck. If you don’t bow down, you might just be next.”
The parody then pivots to “Esther,” an adaptation of another “Encanto” original, “Surface Pressure.” Singing about the Jewish heroine, the Maccabeats say, “She’s the new queen, at your service, and they can’t know that she’s not Persian … Gotta face her fears and this heavy burden, if she doesn’t want to see her people’s final curtain.”
Purim is one of my favorites holidays and making Hamantash with my girls is definitely one of my favorite things about it ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9PqB0phkqs
— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) March 14, 2022
