Monday, April 11, 2022

04/11 Links Pt1: Vatican mulling historic Jerusalem meeting between pope, Russian patriarch; Joint Arab List chief in hot water for calling on Arab Israeli police officers to resign

From Ian:

Vatican mulling historic Jerusalem meeting between pope, Russian patriarch
The Vatican is studying the possibility of extending Pope Francis' trip to Lebanon in June so he can fly to Jerusalem to meet there the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has backed Russia's war in Ukraine, two sources told Reuters on Monday.

It would be only their second meeting. Their first, in Cuba in 2016, was the first between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism that split Christianity into Eastern and Western branches in 1054.

Kirill, 75, has given his full-throated blessing for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a position that has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion that theologians and academics say is unprecedented.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plan was for the 85-year-old pope, who is due in Lebanon on June 12-13, to fly to Amman, Jordan on the morning of June 14.

From there, he would board a helicopter to Jerusalem on the same day for the meeting with Kirill and then return to Rome from there, the sources said.

One source said the trip appeared to be almost certain, while the other said it was one possibility.

Returning from his trip to Malta last week, Francis said he hoped to meet Kirill somewhere in the Middle East this year but did not say where.

Kirill called on Russians on Sunday to rally around the authorities as Moscow pursues what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The patriarch has previously made statements defending Moscow's actions in Ukraine and views the war as a bulwark against a liberal Western culture that he considers decadent.
Ukraine War Has Caused a Surge in Aliyah to Israel - from Russia
The number of immigrants and potential immigrants to Israel from Russia in the past two months far exceeds the number of immigrants and potential immigrants from Ukraine, Israel's National Security Council reported. From the start of the war on Feb. 24 to the first week in April, 8,371 immigrants and potential immigrants from Ukraine have landed in Israel. At the same time, 12,593 immigrants and potential immigrants from Russia have landed in Israel. In all of 2021, only 7,700 Russians made aliyah.

Israeli officials based in Russia have also reported a huge increase in aliyah files being opened there. The officials are reluctant to speak publicly for fear that Russian authorities might try to stop the large number of Jews fleeing the country. The exodus has been attributed to fears of economic hardship arising from the sanctions imposed on Russia.

At the same time, there has been a dramatic slowdown in the pace of aliyah from Ukraine, attributed to the fact that those Jews who wanted to leave Ukraine had already gotten out. Moreover, many of the refugees from Ukraine hope to return there as soon as possible, which makes Europe a better place to wait out the war. The number of Ukrainians who identify as Jewish is estimated at 43,000, with 200,000 eligible for aliyah under the Law of Return. The core Jewish population of Russia is estimated at 200,000, with 600,000 eligible.


If Marine Le Pen wins in France, French Jews mull aliyah to Israel
“If Marine Le Pen wins the presidential election we’ll need to change the text in our Passover haggadah from ‘Next year in Jerusalem’ to ‘next month in Jerusalem’,” a French Jew told his rabbi in a Parisien synagogue on Monday morning.

Le Pen, of the extreme-right National Rally (previously the National Front) Party, has qualified for the second round in the election to take place in two weeks - against the incumbent President Emmanuel Macron - with just about 4% between the two of them in the first round.

According to the French media, Le Pen supports banning ritual slaughter and restricting religious circumcision - something that will not only harm Muslims but also Jews. Both groups won’t be able to live religiously if they aren’t allowed to display their personal beliefs outwardly - something that Le Pen is interested in promoting.

“I think most of the Jewish community voted for Macron,” a rabbi of a large synagogue told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. He estimates that approximately 10% of the Jewish community has voted for the Jewish extreme-right candidate Eric Zemmour.

The rabbi explained that “they voted for Zemmour since they live in difficult suburbs of Paris with many Muslim neighbors and a high rate of antisemitism, therefore they are confused by the whole situation.”

“If Le Pen is the same old leader we’ve known for many years or even close to the ideology of her father who headed the party before her - this is a big problem. Le Pen and her party members have antisemitic views that can be very dangerous for Jews.”

From conversations I've been having with French Jews, it doesn't sound like the community is under pressure from this potential threat.

“There is this inner feeling that many human beings have to continue living their lives the way they have done till now. This is also what happened to Jews in the 1940’s. The Jews didn’t think they would be taken from their homes to concentration camps. I don’t think that necessarily that's what will happen if she is elected but there definitely are bad things that may occur if this happens. Chances are Macron will win but that's not certain. There must be no complacency. In our community, anyone who will speak to the president of the synagogue will hear his clear opinion: vote for Macron. I don’t tell people who to vote for, only that the extremist camps have never been good in any country.”


John Fetterman says he’ll ‘lean in’ on U.S.-Israel relationship as senator
John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and the Democratic frontrunner in next month’s high-profile Senate primary, said he was “eager to affirm” his “unwavering” commitment to bolstering ties between the United States and Israel in an interview with Jewish Insider on Thursday, emphasizing that he will “lean in” on such efforts if he is elected to the upper chamber this November.

“Whenever I’m in a situation to be called on to take up the cause of strengthening and enhancing the security of Israel or deepening our relationship between the United States and Israel, I’m going to lean in,” Fetterman declared in his first conversation with a Jewish publication since he launched his campaign more than a year ago. “The relationship is a special one that needs to be safeguarded, protected, supported and nurtured through legislation and all available diplomatic efforts in the region.”

Fetterman, 52, has established himself as an outspoken progressive voice on such domestic issues as universal healthcare, income inequality, criminal justice reform and the legalization of recreational marijuana.

But until now, the first-term lieutenant governor had not publicly clarified his views on a range of Middle East foreign policy matters, including Israel, which has become a source of intense intra-party conflict in recent election cycles as well as a litmus test of sorts for far-left activists who have grown increasingly critical of American support for the Jewish state.

With just over a month remaining until the May 17 primary, Fetterman’s long silence on such matters has fueled curiosity among Jewish leaders in the commonwealth who have wondered where, if at all, he might place himself in that debate.

“He’s never come out and said that he’s not a supporter of Israel, but the perception is that he aligns with the Squad more than anything else,” said Democratic activist Brett Goldman, referring to the group of progressive lawmakers who are among the most outspoken Israel critics in the House. “That may not be true, but that’s what the perception is.”

Speaking with JI, however, Fetterman said he has “not encountered” such concerns during his campaign, noting that he has been “very clear about” his views on Israel in conversations with a number of advocacy groups in recent months.

“I would also respectfully say that I’m not really a progressive in that sense,” he added. “Our campaign is based on core Democratic values and principles, and always has been, and there is no daylight between myself and these kinds of unwavering commitments to Israel’s security.”


Islamic State fanatic found guilty of killing UK lawmaker David Amess last year
A jury in London on Monday found an Islamic State fanatic guilty of stabbing lawmaker David Amess to death and plotting to attack other lawmakers.

The jury deliberated for just 18 minutes to find Ali Harbi Ali guilty of murder and preparing terrorist acts. The 26-year-old carried out the attack at the veteran lawmaker’s office on October 15 last year.

He had defended his actions by saying Amess deserved to die as a result of voting for airstrikes on Syria in 2014 and 2015.

“It cannot have been easy to listen to the evidence you have listened to,” judge Nigel Sweeney told jurors, saying he would sentence Ali, 26, on Wednesday.

The Islamic State follower had told the trial that he had no regrets about murdering Amess after he voted in parliament for airstrikes in Syria.

The court at London’s Old Bailey heard that Ali stabbed Amess more than 20 times with a foot-long carving knife in Leigh-on-Sea, southeast England.

Last week, Ali said in court that he was motivated by a grievance against lawmakers who voted to bomb Syria.

The university drop-out told London’s Old Bailey court that he “decided to do it because I felt that if I could kill someone who made decisions to kill Muslims, it could prevent further harm to those Muslims.”

Frustrated that he could not get out to Syria and fight himself, Ali told jurors: “I decided if I couldn’t… help the Muslims [in Syria], I would do something here.”

He targeted Amess because he had voted in favor of airstrikes against Islamic State jihadists in Syria in 2015.
Palestinian terror is not 'senseless'
In spreading the propaganda of Jews as foreigners and land thieves, Palestinian leaders know that nothing fires up the masses like Jerusalem, Israel's biblical heartbeat.

"We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem. This is pure blood, clean blood, blood on its way to Allah. With the help of Allah, every martyr will be in heaven, and every wounded will get his reward."

Those fighting words were uttered on Sept. 26, 2015 by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whom many consider Israel's "peace partner."

Two weeks later, on Oct. 1, Palestinian terrorists murdered an Israeli couple, Eitam and Naama Henkin, in cold blood in front of their four children, who ranged in age from nine years old to four months.

Did these terrorists believe the murders were senseless? I doubt it.

The fundamental problem with characterizing terror as senseless is that it lets you off the hook. By depersonalizing the violence, by ignoring its root, you turn it into a terrible but generic crime where everyone is treated the same.

But Palestinian terror against Israelis is no generic crime. It is intentional violence rooted in a deep, singular hatred. This truth may make sophisticated diplomats like Secretary Blinken uncomfortable, but that won't make it go away. Until Western leaders have the courage to connect Palestinian terror to the anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist propaganda that emanates from every nook and cranny of Palestinian society, peace and reconciliation will remain delusional pipe dreams.

If the United States is serious, in other words, about "standing resolutely" against Palestinian terror, it will have to connect the dots of terror and Jew-hatred.

Until then, we'll be left with empty reactions like, "This has to stop!" That tweet came from US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who added after the Tel Aviv attacks that he was "horrified to see another cowardly terror attack on innocent civilians."

I can assure you, Mr. Nides, that the large crowds in Gaza and the West Bank who celebrated the Tel Aviv attacks did not consider the terrorist a coward, and they certainly didn't see the murders as "senseless."

It is the treating of intentional terror as senseless that is really senseless.
Tactical Success of Individual Shooting Attacks: A Strategic Achievement for Terrorism must be Averted
In recent months, Hamas has run an intensive incitement campaign, especially in advance of Ramadan – a time when religious and national sentiments are heightened – targeting Palestinian youth and adults alike, those unaffiliated or regardless of their organizational affiliation. The campaign encourages self-sacrifice in the name of a sublime religious-national goal, and it is supposed to be the first in a three-stage escalation: the first one, shooting attacks by individuals in Israeli cities, has so far been noticeably successful. The second involves ignitng Jerusalem and the West Bank following the success of the attacks and due to Israel's harsh response measures. In every statement, and especially in response to a successful attack, Hamas calls for an escalation of the struggle against Israel throughout the West Bank, but so far the plan has failed to expand "resistance" from individual attacks to a violent popular uprising in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The third is conditional on the success of the second phase and on Israel's response – widespread escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem will give Hamas legitimacy to provoke a confrontation with Israel, through rocket and missile launches from the Gaza Strip.

Jerusalem is the most sensitive front. Preventing terrorism and riots across the city will calm the other fronts and frustrate the escalation framework formulated by Hamas. If Hamas initiates escalation in the Gaza Strip before the events expand to Jerusalem and the Palestinian Authority, it will find it difficult to explain to the Gaza public why it inviting major damage, disrupting reconstruction efforts to improve the fabric of life in the region, and halting the expansion of Israeli work permits. Thus, the Gaza Strip will not burn without burning in Jerusalem.

We tend to count only the attacks that have breached the Israeli wall of defense, and not the many that were foiled. Indeed, there has been a recent series of terrorist attacks, accompanied by an increased Hamas incitement effort. Hence the loss of a sense of security that has arisen in recent weeks among the Israeli public. Israel, for its part, is pursuing policies and actions designed to disrupt the Hamas plan. The government is acting wisely as it seeks to separate the Palestinian population in the West Bank from the terrorists in its midst and allow the Palestinian public as much of a routine as possible, including adhering to the intention of providing relief during Ramadan. In addition, the government seeks to differentiate between the various terrorist fronts, and in particular refrains from emphasizing an affinity between Hamas and the West Bank and terrorist elements among the Arab citizens of Israel. Israel should focus on thwarting Hamas' plan to expand the conflict from individual shootings to a multi-front, multi-organizational campaign.
Joint Arab List chief in hot water for calling on Arab Israeli police officers to resign
Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh sparked controversy Sunday with a social media video in which he essentially called on all Arab Israelis who serve in the security forces to resign and leave the service.

"It is heinous for young people or their families to agree to join [Israeli] security forces. Our historical position is that we will be with our people in order to end the murderous occupation, so that the state of Palestine will be established and Palestinian flags will be raised over the walls of Jerusalem," Odeh said in a video posted in Arabic on his Facebook page and translated by the right-wing Im Tirtzu organization.

"Young people must not join the occupation forces. I call on those who have already joined – throw the weapon in their face, in the faces of the forces who humiliate our people, our families and everyone who comes to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Tell them you won't be part of evil, of the crimes you commit."

Oden went on to say, "Our place is with justice and truth – against the occupation. Our place is the natural place, a noble part of the Palestinian Arab people, and in a just war to bring an end to the criminal occupation. So that peace will begin on the land of peace."

The video was widely panned.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted, "I'm proud of the Arab soldiers who serve in the IDF, the Arab officers in the Israel Police, and in all security forces members of all religions, who keep us safe."


For 2nd day in row, Palestinians said to break into Joseph’s Tomb, vandalize shrine
For the second day in a row, Palestinians reportedly broke into Joseph’s Tomb near the West Bank city of Nablus and vandalized the shrine.

Video circulating on social media showed a man throwing rocks inside the site. The already-vandalized tomb can be seen in the footage.

The date and time of the video could not be immediately verified, but it appeared to have been filmed during the daytime.

In the video, a man is heard saying in Arabic: “There is no Joseph’s Tomb anymore, you traitors.”

The comment was apparently a reference to the Palestinian Authority, after the Nablus regional governor pledged to restore the site following its vandalization on Sunday, and reaffirmed that the shrine was under the PA’s protection. Ibrahim Ramadan also said that Nablus was a “city of three religions.”

According to Palestinian media reports, PA security forces were working Monday morning to restore order in the area surrounding the shrine.

Joseph’s Tomb is located inside Area A of the West Bank, which is officially under complete Palestinian Authority control, though the Israeli military conducts activities there. The IDF bars Israeli citizens from entering Area A without prior authorization.
Two Israelis shot in Nablus, Joseph's Tomb vandalized again
Joseph's Tomb drew more tense clashes to it on Monday as two members of Rabbi Eliezer Berland's Breslover hasidic sect were shot at the entrance of the city, trying to get to the Tomb, and Palestinians vandalized the site. Videos shared on social media show a number of young men throwing stones inside the site.

The two Israelis, from Bnei Brak and Jerusalem, broke through an unmanned checkpoint at one of the entrances to Nablus before being shot and then driving to a manned checkpoint at a different exit from the city. IDF soldiers provided initial medical treatment to the wounded before transferring them for further care at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva.

On Saturday night, Palestinian rioters vandalized Joseph's Tomb during clashes with Israeli soldiers, setting fire to the religious landmark and damaging items at the site.

The heads of the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus announced on Monday morning that they intend to visit the tomb on Monday night, even if the army does not provide permission and protection, after the commander of the IDF's Central Command told the caucus earlier that they were forbidden from entering the tomb.

"The commander's announcement is contrary to the provisions of the attorney-general, restricts the freedom of activity of Knesset members with immunity and impairs the performance of our role as elected officials," said MKs Orit Struck (Religious Zionist Party) and Yoav Kish (Likud). "The fact that Jews are restricted from entering a place that should be under full Israeli military and civilian control is a disgrace."

"If we do not receive an alternative date for the next few days, we intend to enter Joseph's Tomb tonight with or without permission," they said.


Israel takes offensive in West Bank amid wave of terrorism



Mentally ill man killed while trying to steal female soldier's gun
A young man dressed as an IDF soldier attempted to steal a female soldier's gun at a bus stop near Ashkelon on Sunday night.

Security forces were dispatched to the scene, while an IDF officer, Binyamin Regional Brigade commander Col. Eliav Elbaz, who happened to be there, opened fire and neutralized the suspect.

The IDF confirmed the incident, saying in a statement: "An IDF officer foiled an attempt to steal an IDF weapon near the city of Ashkelon. The suspect was neutralized."

Following a preliminary investigation, police said the incident was not terror-related and that the suspect was an Israeli Jewish man suffering from mental illness who had recently escaped from a mental health treatment center.


Why would a Jew support payments to Arab terrorists?
Fringe politicians in every country occasionally say crazy things, so perhaps we shouldn’t get too alarmed over the fact that Gaby Lasky, a Jewish member of the Knesset, last week expressed support for the Palestinian Authority’s payments to families of terrorists.

But when the U.S. arm of Lasky’s party is treated as a legitimate and accepted part of the mainstream American Zionist community—well, then it’s time to start asking some serious questions. Especially given that Lasky's shameful comments came while Israel is reeling under what, on April 1, even the New York Times had labeled a "rash of terrorist attacks".

In an interview with the Israeli news outlet Kan News on April 7, Knesset Member Lasky was asked about the Palestinian Authority’s policy of rewarding dead and imprisoned terrorists by making special payments to their families. Lasky replied: “We need to look at the rights in a comprehensive fashion. We need to make sure that those same children also have a livelihood. I know it's hard for people to hear this, but this is the truth.”

After a wave of criticism, Lasky said, “My comment was uncalled for and did not for a moment justify the nefarious terror [attack] and I apologize for it.” But she pointedly did not retract her support for paying the families of terrorists; she just didn’t want to appear as if she was endorsing the recent attacks.

One may legitimately wonder what could motivate an Israeli Jew, even a far-left extremist such as Lasky, to say such a thing.

Is she genuinely more concerned about the livelihood of terrorists’ children than the livelihood of their victims’ orphaned children?

Has she become so wrapped up in her fervent support for the Palestinian Arab narrative, that she feels she must support every single policy of the Palestinian Authority, no matter how immoral?

Does she honestly believe that providing financial incentives to terrorists, such as payments to the children, does not encourage more deadly terrorism?
Jenin: Despite economic prosperity, PA failed to disarm militiamen
Many Palestinians have long been proudly referring to Jenin as “the factory of men and the lion’s den” because of its role in the “armed resistance” against Israel, especially since the beginning of the First Intifada in 1987.

Then, the city and its surrounding villages and towns saw the emergence of various armed groups, most of which were affiliated with the ruling Fatah faction.

The most notorious group was the Black Panther, whose members were mostly based in the town of Kabatiya and the villages of Arrabe, Kafr Rai and Silat al-Harithiya, as well as the Jenin refugee camp.

The Black Panther gunmen were responsible for a series of attacks against soldiers and settlers. Additionally, they took it upon themselves to murder Palestinians suspected of collaboration with Israel.

Hundreds of “collaborators” and their family members fled to Israel, while others were placed by the IDF in a small village called Fahma at the southern entrance to Jenin.

It took the Israeli security forces four years to wipe out the Black Panthers. Many of the group’s members were killed or arrested, including its founder, Awad Kmeil, a prominent Fatah activist from Kabatiya.

After the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Israel released scores of Black Panther members who did not have Jewish blood on their hands. Some were recruited to the PA security forces, while others were given senior jobs in various institutions.

During the Second Intifada, which erupted in 2000, a new Fatah-affiliated group called al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades began operating in the Jenin area and other parts of the West Bank.

Dozens of Fatah activists from the Jenin refugee camp and nearby villages and towns joined the group and were involved in numerous terrorist attacks against Israel.

Unlike other places in the West Bank, the Fatah activists in the Jenin area worked closely with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which continues to have a strong presence there, especially in the refugee camp. Hamas, on the other hand, was never known to have a strong following in the camp.


Palestinian Evangelical Pastor Johnny Shahwan released from jail
ALL ARAB NEWS reported on Monday that a Palestinian judge decided midday to release Evangelical Pastor Johnny Shahwan from jail.

The move comes after the Palestinian Christian spent 40 days and nights incarcerated in very difficult conditions. Monday morning began Day 41.

The pastor was arrested on March 2 by the Palestinian Authority and his ministry - Beit Al-Liqa in Beit Jala - was shut down, for allegedly meeting with former Knesset Member Yehudah Glick. The Palestinians "accused Shahwan of promoting normalization with the 'Zionist entity' and welcoming an 'extremist Zionist settler' into the center," according to a report by Jerusalem Post Palestinian Affairs reporter Khaled Abu Toameh.

Beit Al-Liqa released a statement on the day of Shahwan's arrest saying that the pastor was not aware of Glick’s identity when he opened the center’s doors to him.

“Beit Al-Liqa hosted a group of German tourists… At the end of the meeting with Pastor Johnny Shahwan, an unidentified person [Glick] suddenly walked in and asked to take a ‘selfie’ with Shahwan and the tourists. We were not aware of the presence of this extremist Zionist person, and he was not part of the group’s itinerary," the statement said, according to Toameh.

Last Tuesday night, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was briefed on Shahwan’s plight and asked his attorney general and security services to carefully review the case. Abbas indicated that he wanted to see the pastor released in the coming days.


WSJ: Israel's Expanding "War between Wars" with Iran
The Israeli military says it has carried out more than 400 airstrikes in Syria and other parts of the Middle East since 2017 as part of a wide-ranging campaign targeting Iran and its allies. Israeli leaders refer to the campaign as the "war between wars," aimed at deterring Iran and weakening Tehran's ability to hit Israel in the event of an open war. "It's not 100% success," said Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin, who retired last week as head of Israel's air force, where he served as architect of the campaign. "But without our activity, the situation here might be much more negative."

Among the targets hit are Russian-supplied air-defense systems, drone bases operated by Iranian military advisers, and precision-guided missiles bound for Hizbullah in Lebanon. The strikes have also killed more than 300 people, including Iranian military commanders, Syrian soldiers, and militants backed by Tehran, according to Stephane Cohen of NorthStar Security Analysis, an Israel-based consulting firm.

The campaign has resulted in Iran's forces largely retreating from positions near the Israeli border to safer spots in eastern Syria, said Carmit Valensi, a research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. Israel has also used small quadcopter drones to carry out strikes inside Iran, according to people familiar with the covert campaign.
Iran says US not showing necessary will to revive nuclear agreement
Tehran on Monday questioned Washington’s will in reaching an agreement to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement, with key sticking points unresolved after talks halted last month.

Iran has been engaged for a year in negotiations with France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Negotiations in the Austrian capital Vienna aim to return the United States to the nuclear deal, including through the lifting of sanctions on Iran, and to ensure Tehran’s full compliance with its commitments.

“We really don’t know if we’ll get a deal or not, because the United States hasn’t shown the necessary will to reach an agreement,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.

“What remains are the decisions of Washington,” he added.

Earlier this month, Khatibzadeh’s counterpart in the State Department Ned Price said it was Tehran that was not giving way to make a deal possible, but that Washington still believed there was “opportunity to overcome our remaining differences.”


Did Jerusalem win the fight to keep IRGC designated, or is Washington playing games? - analysis
A flurry of statements from the Biden administration opposing Iran’s demand to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list, as part of nuclear talks, looks like a win for Israel – but it may be much less than it seems.

Israel’s leaders were operating under a different strategy than former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu did when it comes to an Iran deal. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid viewed Netanyahu’s tactic of launching a major public campaign against a deal as ultimately ineffective, since then-president Barack Obama entered a deal with Iran in 2015 that was widely viewed in Israel as dangerous. Instead, they tried to work with the Biden administration to reach a more favorable deal for Israel from the Iran talks, even if it did not mean stopping the deal entirely.

In late February, when it seemed like the US and Iran would return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal within days, Bennett let the public know about several new demands Iran had made in the nuclear talks, including removing the IRGC’s FTO designation.

Bennett, Lapid and others mentioned the IRGC delisting just about any time Iran came up. They chose to be louder and more public in the ensuing weeks – except for a Ukraine war-induced lull – about the IRGC than they had about other elements of the Iran deal.

Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog spoke out against it in meetings with US officials and legislators over the past six weeks. Bennett’s diplomatic adviser Shimrit Meir spent much of last week in Washington, meeting with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and others to discuss Iran.
US reportedly refuses to remove Iran's IRGC from terror list
The Biden administration reportedly intends to reject Tehran’s request to remove Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) from the US terror blacklist.

Citing a senior administration official, The Washington Post reported that Biden is willing to refuse the request, which was made in part to renew the JCPOA nuclear deal.

"The onus is on Iran as to whether we have a nuclear deal. The president will stick to core principles. The Iranians know our views,” the official said.






 

 

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