Friday, March 25, 2022

03/25 Links Pt1: Melanie Phillips: Why liberals fail to equate Israel and Ukraine; Ukraine is not Palestine, no matter what celebrities say; 5,000th Ukrainian immigrant lands in Israel since Russia-Ukraine war began

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Why liberals fail to equate Israel and Ukraine
This is the same kind of mind-bending reversal that we hear from Putin, the former KGB officer, when he dismisses Ukraine as a fake country involved in aggressive action against Russia.

The similarity is hardly surprising since the entire Palestinian fiction was concocted in the 1960s between the terrorist leader Yasser Arafat and the Soviet Union.

This has been nourished in the West by the liberal belief that the nation-state is the fount of all evil, and that nationalism (in this case, Zionism) leads inevitably to prejudice, aggression and war.

Yet although Putin is an advertisement for monstrous nationalist excess, the astonishing defense against him being mounted by the Ukrainians demonstrates how an aggressor can only be repelled if people have the strongest possible attachment to their nation and understand that their freedom depends upon its survival.

The idea that Western liberals will therefore now rethink their hostility to the nation is, however, surely misplaced. This is because they aren’t in favor of national self-determination so much as they are opposed to economic and military power, which they believe makes inevitable victims out of those who can’t match it.

By this standard, the West can never be victimized by the developing world, whose violence is to be excused as “resistance.”

This is why to such people the Israelis, who have economic and military power, can never be victims. More noxiously still, the endemically anti-Semitic West believes that the Jews are cosmically all-powerful, and run the world in their own interests and to the disadvantage of everyone else. So Israel is multiply damned.

The recent upsurge of attacks against Israelis has reinforced concerns that the imminent arrival of Ramadan will produce a lethal spike in incitement and terrorism.

There are particular worries that the upcoming surrender to Iran by the Biden administration over the nuclear deal will galvanize Gaza and the disputed territories into murderous attacks, in the giddy belief that the Islamic world is now on the verge of finally annihilating Israel.

Will anyone care if Israelis find themselves once again under sustained onslaught? Only if Israel retaliates with military force. Then what the West will care about—deeply—is that the Jews have the gall to fight back.

The Ukrainians are allowed to do so. The Jews are not.
The Lesson of Ukraine
But in contrast to those who believed in standing firm against totalitarian regimes, there was always a strong pacifist and left-wing voice that came to dominate the US State Department and academia, as happened in the UK. This was reinforced by a perception that the US over-reacted to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and their jihadist supporters. When Barack Obama became president with no experience in foreign affairs, he surrounded himself with people who were committed to such an ideology, one that saw America as racist and imperialist. They believed that being apologetic and nice to one’s enemies would win them over. This doctrine produced the pathetically weak deal with Iran, which they assessed as a regime one could reason with (echoing Chamberlain’s comments about Hitler). In fact, Tehran was simply playing on American naiveté to pursue its violent repressive and atomic agenda. As we know, weakness only encourages more violence.

Obama’s passiveness over Crimea in 2014 and his refusal to stand up to Syria’s Bashar al-Assad when he used chemical weapons all contributed to a perception that the US had lost its mojo. The chaos of the Afghanistan withdrawal suggested it had lost its competence. The Biden administration’s policies have only shown America’s hitherto allies that they cannot rely on the US for protection. Is the US now just too weak to take serious, rather than token, action? To impose a no-fly zone? To provide jets and missiles? Is it just fed up with wars and weakened by internal divisions? Perhaps it is too narcissistic, cowardly, or simply in the wrong hands.

As for the United Nations, it has once again proven what a useless and morally compromised waste of time it is. Any organization that still gives Russia and China a veto has lost any moral authority whatsoever (not that it had any before). The US, despite its words of protest and token sanctions, has shown itself to be a paper tiger. Meanwhile, far poorer and weaker states are helping the Ukrainians.

Diplomacy has failed. Murder continues each day. We still do not know how this will play out. All around the world, from the Americas, to Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, there are failed and corrupt regimes with millions of ordinary people at daily risk of murder, rape, and theft. And I do not hold out much hope of this changing soon. Yet constant acts of humanity, charity, and support show that the human spirit has not been completely crushed. And if most Russians and Chinese are happy with their totalitarian regimes, good luck to them. But as for the rest, every state must now realize how foolhardy it is to rely on the US, and do what it takes to defend themselves against violence and tyranny.

Fine words and good intentions have their place in our world. But the reality is that bullies are cowards, and the only to deal with them is to stand up to them. “ Do not trust princes,” says the Psalmist — as true today as it was then. We are as far from a peaceful Messianic world now as we have ever been.
Ukraine is not Palestine, no matter what celebrities say - opinion
In 2011, [Noa] Tishby founded Act for Israel. She’s brought professionals to the region to see what’s really going on “beyond the conflict,” has spoken in front of the United Nations several times, and continues to act in TV and movies, although she admits that advocacy is now her true calling.

In her most recent Facebook video, Tishby doesn’t pull any punches. Here’s a lightly edited version of her rebuttal to Hadid’s screed.

“I can’t believe I actually have to say this, but let’s be clear. Ukraine is not Palestine and Israel is not Russia. Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign democracy, in order to place it under Russian influence.

“And yet supermodels like Gigi Hadid blatantly make this false and dangerous equivalency, reporting it as fact. By trying to co-opt the war in Ukraine, one which has nothing to do with Israel, people like Gigi Hadid not only harm the real victims, the people of Ukraine, they help flame anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments all over the world.

“If you want to help the people of Ukraine, stop hijacking their horrific war. Stop bringing the only Jewish state into your false activism. This war is caused by one man and one man only. Stop lying about it. Stop bringing Israel into it.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thank you, Noa Tishby. Now go out and buy her book. Or better yet, order an extra copy and have it express-mailed directly to Gigi Hadid.


David Singer: Guterres' pathetic dawdling impacts other UN members
Guterres’ pathetic response involves:
- Establishing a Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance in the UN Secretariat – more bureaucracy – and
- Allocating $40 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to ramp up vital assistance to reach the most vulnerable as the UN waits for these nations to come begging.

The UNGA has the power to end the conflict under UNGA Resolution 377 (V) A (1) dated 3 November 1950 – the “Uniting for Peace Resolution” - which provides:

“That if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in any case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures, including in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed force when necessary, to maintain or restore international peace and security...”

Use of armed force would be a last resort.

Calling for a ceasefire or diplomatic negotiations is totally inadequate.

Resolution 377 (V) also established a Peace Observation Commission of 14 member States - that Guterres could have replicated - to personally observe and report on the situation in Ukraine and pressure Russia to withdraw. Why hasn’t Guterres already activated such a Commission?

Alleviating distress and hardship in the aftermath of conflict – rather than acting to prevent or end conflict occurring – is an abdication of the UNGA’s primary responsibility under the UN Charter.

Guterres’ continuing inaction to try and end the Russia-Ukraine conflict is surely sowing the seeds of the UN’s and his own demise.


Israel votes for UNGA resolution demanding Russia ends Ukraine war
Israel was among 140 countries supporting a UN General Assembly resolution on Thursday demanding an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine and calling for civilian protection.

It was also among over 70 countries to endorse the text, the second such resolution approved by the GA since the start of the war on February 24. Israel also supported and helped sponsor that first text, which was approved with 141 votes.

Five countries voted against – Russia, Syria, North Korea, Eritrea and Belarus – and 38 countries abstained.

Israel, which spoke in support of its vote at the UNGA was represented by deputy ambassador Noa Furman rather than by ambassador Gilad Erdan. the absence of the top envoy is sometimes a diplomatic attempt to downgrade the significance of the message.

After the vote, Furman told the UNGA that Israel reiterates its call for de-escalation and dialogue, in view of our positive relations with both parties.


300 feared dead in Russian strike on Mariupol theater, city hall says
About 300 people died in a Russian airstrike last week on a theater being used as a bomb shelter in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city’s government said Friday, citing eyewitnesses.

When the theater was struck March 16, an enormous inscription reading “CHILDREN” was posted outside in Russian, intended to be visible from the skies above.

It was not immediately clear whether emergency workers had finished excavating the site or how the eyewitnesses arrived at the horrific death toll. Soon after the airstrike, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament’s human rights commissioner, said more than 1,300 people had been sheltering in the building.

Mariupol has been the scene of some of the worst devastation of the war, which has seen Russia relentlessly besiege and pummel Ukraine’s cities. The misery inside them is such that nearly anyone who can is trying to leave and those left behind face desperate food shortages in a country once known as the breadbasket for the world.

In the shelled city of Kharkiv, mostly elderly women came to collect food and other urgent supplies. In the capital of Kyiv, ashes of the dead are piling up at the main crematorium because so many relatives have left, leaving urns unclaimed.

For civilians unable to join the flood of refugees from Ukraine, the days of plenty in the country are becoming just a fading memory, as the war grinds into a second month.
Russian missiles in Ukraine have failure rate of up to 60% - US officials
Russian precision-guided missiles are failing up to 60% of the time in Ukraine, three US officials with knowledge of intelligence on the issue told Reuters, a possible explanation for the poor progress of Russia's invasion.

Since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russia has failed to achieve basic objectives such as neutralizing Ukraine's air force despite a vastly larger armed forces.

The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, did not provide evidence to support the assessment and did not disclose what precisely was driving high Russian missile failure rates.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the figures.

Though Reuters could not determine what a standard failure rate would be for air-launched cruise missiles, two experts interviewed by Reuters said any failure rate of 20% and above would be considered high.

The Kremlin says that what it calls a "special military operation" is going to plan and that Russia will achieve all of its aims. It casts the United States as an "empire of lies" which has unleashed an information war on Russia.
Russian ambassador to Syria: Israel is provoking us to react
Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Efimov warned Thursday that Israeli strikes in Syria are “provoking” Russia to react, in one of the strongest Russian condemnations of Israeli operations in Syria.

Efimov additionally complained that Israeli strikes aim to “escalate tensions and allow the West to carry out military activities in Syria.”

The statement comes amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Israeli officials have condemned. Israel has also provided hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and opened a field hospital in the country.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid stressed during a conference at Reichmann University on Thursday that Israel has had to balance its security interests in Syria, which are coordinated with Russia, with its moral obligation to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

"We condemned the invasion, sent a field hospital to Ukraine, but we must prevent the possibility that one Israeli pilot will be shot down in Syria and taken prisoner," said Lapid. "Think what this will do to Israeli society. What will this do to our national security?"

Earlier this month, the Russian embassy in Israel said that it saw military coordination with Israel in Syria continuing, saying: “Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work.”


Ukraine Wants Israel Among Guarantors of Future Deal With Russia, Zelensky Advisor Says
One of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top advisors told Israeli media on Thursday that Ukraine wants Israel to be “one of the countries to give a guarantee for any future agreement between Ukraine and Russia.”

Such an international agreement lends itself to “a large list” of potential guarantors, said Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, in a statement shared by his office.

Yermak also addressed the question of whether Israel will hold a summit between the two sides in Jerusalem, as Zelensky has suggested.

Speaking of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has been involved in diplomatic efforts to broker an end to the fighting, Yermak said, “I’m sure that Bennett will do everything so that a meeting like this will succeed — we’ll see if he’s successful.”

“I think that it’s very important that a meeting like this be held in Jerusalem,” he said, adding that Israel “can play a significant role in the talks.”

Yermak, however, did not express optimism about the current state of Ukraine-Russia negotiations, saying, “We can say that there is a dialogue, but it continues to be very complicated. The two leaders need to meet.”

Regarding Ukraine’s position in any talks, he identified three main issues: “An end to the war, the withdrawal of Russian forces, and creating security for Ukraine. We must build this from zero with all the players.”

Moreover, Zelensky has red lines he will not cross, Yermak said.

“The man or nation hasn’t been born who will succeed in pressuring Zelensky into giving up the important things in life,” he said.


Kinzinger Rounds on Israel Over Its Policy on Ukraine
Mr. Kinzinger, who serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, might have missed a crucial request Mr. Zelensky made as he memorably addressed Congress last week. As in his Knesset speech, the Ukrainian leader challenged America to increase arms deliveries — a call so far rebuffed by President Biden and Congress.

Further, Mr. Zelensky asked America to lead an imposition of a no-fly zone over Ukraine’s skies. That request was also quickly rebuffed by the White House and most members of Congress.

Critics of the Biden administration’s policies say that announcing in advance that “we don’t want to attack Russia,” as well as taking off the table military actions like no-fly zones, allows President Putin to seize the initiative and erodes America’s deterrence.

“In a world of diminished deterrence, the desire for peace could make conflict more certain,” the Hoover Institution’s Nadia Schadlow writes in the Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Kinzinger has become a darling of Washington Democrats and a frequent guest on television shows after becoming, following the January 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill, one of the few Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump. He was one of two Republicans to join the House investigation into the event, and later wrote that he regretted voting against Mr. Trump’s first House impeachment.

By tying Jerusalem’s stance on Ukraine to America’s support for Israel, Mr. Kinzinger joins the left flank of the Democratic Party, which frequently uses any global event to snipe at the Jewish state.

As a favorite progressive columnist, Matthew Yglesias, wrote on Twitter, “The fact that none of America’s middle eastern client states will do anything we want in the middle of a major crisis seems relevant to considering the amount of assistance we should give them with their Iran problems.”

Last fall Mr. Kinzinger announced he would not seek re-election after his Chicago suburban voting district was redrawn by the Democratic-dominated Illinois legislature. By now he seems ready to join the Squad, a group of six progressive House members that finds ways to attach all world evils to Israel.


Israel's 'Plan B' to rescue Ukraine's Jews - interview with WZO Chairman
When World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel was asked to temporarily fill in for then-outgoing Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog, he probably assumed he would need to participate in a few official events and ceremonies. Never in the world did Hagoel think he’d need to manage the largest aliyah operation Israel has seen in the past 30 years.

For the past nine months, Hagoel has been working as acting chairman of the Jewish Agency.

“I’ve been living and breathing data and numbers in the past months,” Hagoel told The Jerusalem Post this week. He has constantly asked for latest updates on the number of olim, the number of Ukrainian refugees who are staying in agency hotels in Europe, and the number of buses that are helping Ukrainian Jews escape.

On Thursday, the Department of Aliyah and Integration at Ben-Gurion Airport announced that 8,238 new immigrants have arrived in Israel since the outbreak of hostilities, more than 75% of whom emigrated from Ukraine. About 400 new immigrants were expected to enter Israel on Thursday. In addition, 2,342 immigrants chose to spend the first weeks in Israel in the hotels rented for them by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry.

It seems that every official and nonofficial entity dealing with aliyah from Ukraine has create its own name for the operation. At the agency it’s called Aliyah Express – and Hagoel explains that the idea is to shorten the amount of time that candidates for aliyah need to wait for their approval.

“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has instructed us to have the airplanes wait for the olim, and not have the olim wait for flights,” he explained.

“We have about 7,000 candidates for aliyah staying at the moment in hotels and other facilities in Moldova, Hungary, Romania and Poland. In the past few days, we have prepared an outline, with the approval of the prime minister, that enables us to significantly shorten the process of those Ukrainian refugees who want to make aliyah,” Hagoel said.

He explained that the agency has databases of tens of thousands of people who have gone through programs affiliated with the organization such as Masa, high school programs in Israel and even Birthright Israel.

“We know through these databases who is entitled to become an Israeli citizen according to the Law of Return – at a very high accuracy rate. It’s not a 100% guarantee, but enough for us to let them board an aliyah flight and continue the process from Israel.”
5,000th Ukrainian immigrant lands in Israel since Russia-Ukraine war began
The 5,000th immigrant to Israel from Ukraine landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday night on a rescue flight of the Jewish Agency for Israel with her infant son. "I feel like I am returning home," she said.

Katya Kryplok, 29, doctor, fled Kyiv on Wednesday with her toddler son Stas. They were received by the Aliyah center of the Jewish Agency in Budapest, Hungary. Kryplok left behind her husband, mother, and brother.

Acting Chairman of the Jewish Agency the CEO of the World Zionist Organization Yaakov Hagoel, accompanying her on her flight, said: "This is one of the biggest Aliyah operations in the history of Israel. The blessing in this operation is double — we saved thousands of Jews, and are now bringing them to Israel.

"The Jewish Agency continues to fulfill its mission to save Jews from all across the globe," Hagoel added, as he returned in the same flight with Kryplok, was after a visit near the Hungarian-Ukrainian border with a delegation of the Knesset.

Kryplok's dream is to join the Israeli health system and learn the language and culture. "I am afraid for my family's sake and safety, but I know I'm going back home so I feel secure and happy," she said.

The Jewish Agency Aliyah center in Budapest is one of 18 centers that the Agency and International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) are operating in neighboring countries. Refugees remain in those centers until their flight and arrival in Israel with assistance of the Aliyah and Integration Ministry.
Israeli doctor saves life of Ukrainian girl, 4, suffering from rare genetic disorder
A 4-year-old Ukrainian girl suffering from a rare genetic disorder who was displaced from her home following the Russian invasion of Ukraine was saved at an Israeli medical clinic operated by staff from Hadassah Hospital and located in the Polish city Przemyśl, near the border with Ukraine.

Originally from Dnipro, Ukraine, Yasinya, her 8-year-old brother and their mother were forced out of their home as Russian forces intensified bombardment on the central-eastern city.

Yasinya has suffered from cystic fibrosis her entire life. The disease affects multiple organ systems, including the lungs, pancreas, liver, kidneys and intestine, and requires a daily regimen of medication and treatment.

Her daily routine requires at least three sessions of assisted ventilation and respiratory physiotherapy in order to remove mucus from her lungs, which makes the act of breathing a repeated challenge for her.

But in the midst of their chaotic escape, many of the family’s belongings were left behind, including the medication Yasinya relies on.

“When they first arrived at the clinic at the refugee camp, the mother described how she and her two children had spent five days on the roads without being able to treat the girl, which made her condition deteriorate and brought her to a real life-threatening situation,” Dr. Alex Gileles from Hadassah Hospital, a pediatric pulmonologist expert who specializes in treating children with acute and chronic lung diseases, told Channel 12 news.

“Luckily, they came here,” he said.

“When we first met, the mother was extremely exhausted and worried about her daughter’s condition,” he added.
Valentyna Veretska, Ukrainian refugee, wins women’s race at Jerusalem Marathon
A refugee from Ukraine who fled the country along with her daughter won the women’s race in Friday’s Jerusalem Marathon.

Valentyna Veretska, 32, finished the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) race with a time of 2:45:54. Israeli Olympic athlete Ageze Guadie won the men’s race at 2:37:17.

Veretska’s husband is still in Ukraine, fighting against the Russian invasion in the country’s military.

Celebrating her victory, Veretska held up the flags of both Israel and Ukraine.

Thousands braved the cold, wet weather to participate in the marathon in the capital, which began at 6:45 a.m.

Veretska, a well-known athlete in Ukraine, fled her country to Poland due to the war, along with her 11-year-old daughter.

According to Yisrael Hayom, she had been planning to take part in the Jerusalem event before the war broke out. Ahead of the marathon she contacted Israeli organizers and asked them to help her get a permit to come to Israel. She said she hoped her participation would give further focus to the plight of Ukrainians.


Beersheba terror attack: Applications to carry firearm tripled
The application for the issuance of a license for a private firearm shot up three times its usual average in the 24 hours after the terror attack in Beersheba.

Public Security Ministry officials told N12 reporters that 244 applications were filed in the 24 hours after the terrorist attack. Ministry officials said they see this kind of rise after every security incident. According to the officials, the last time there was such a dramatic peak was after operation Guardian of the Walls in May.

On average, there are around 60 applications to carry of private firearm license per day. The process of applying to a private firearm license contains series of examinations, including occupation, the reasons to carry a firearm, and the individual's history of army service.

The victims of the terror attack are Doris Yahbas, 49, Menachem Yehezkel, 67, Laura Yitzhak, 43 and Moshe Kravitsky, 48.

The terrorist, Muhammad Alab Ahmed abu al-Kian, ran over Kravitsky riding on a bicycle before driving to a gas station, exiting the vehicle and stabbing Laura Yitzhak.
"Police Arrest Arab Who Destroyed Mezuzah on TikTok"
Security forces arrested an Arab man in his 20s, from the village of Bidiya in the Shomron on Thursday night. The man had previously filmed himself ripping down a Mezuzah from a building’s doorpost, destroying the case with a hammer, and then prepares to burn the parchment that was inside.

He posted the video of his hate crime on TikTok.

The incident reportedly happened in one of the cities in central Israel.

Army and police arrested the man and he will be brought to court.
Israel Seizes $1 Million in Weapons, Drugs Smuggled From Lebanon
A large cache of weapons and drugs smuggled into Israel from Lebanon was interdicted and seized by the Israel Defense Forces and police on Thursday.

The cache, which included 61 weapons and half a kilogram of drugs, was discovered while being transported in a vehicle by three Israeli citizens from the town of Tuba-Zangariyye in northern Israel, local media reported.

The three smugglers were arrested at the scene and are currently being questioned by security forces.

The monetary value of the smuggled goods was estimated at NIS 3.5 million (approximately $1.1 million).

Four smuggling attempts have been thwarted since the beginning of the year, leading to the seizure of 120 weapons of various kinds, according to law enforcement.






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