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Tuesday, September 27, 2022

09/27 Links: Israel's 'Peace Partner' Is Slaughtering Israelis; Rashida Tlaib’s absurd acid test; Qaradawi, who endorsed suicide bombings against Israelis, dies

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Israel's 'Peace Partner' Is Slaughtering Israelis
These two bodies [Palestinian Authority (PA) and its ruling faction, Fatah] are headed by one man: Mahmoud Abbas, who has zero compunction about his loyalists murdering and wounding Israelis. On the contrary, he encourages it and pays generously for it -- with money from Europe and the United States.

Despite [an extremely long list of terrorist attacks against Israel], Fatah is also often mystifyingly referred to by some Israelis and Westerners as a "moderate" Palestinian faction as opposed to the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Fatah, however, has proved over the years that its actions and rhetoric are actually no different from those of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the terror groups that openly call for the elimination of Israel.

In 1993, Yasser Arafat, then leader of Fatah and the PLO, committed "to a peaceful resolution of the conflict" with Israel and claimed that the PLO "renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence." His loyalists, however, continued to murder and wound Israelis even after making these commitments, signing the Oslo Accords and supposedly beginning an Israeli-Palestinian "peace process."

The groups are so proud of their terrorism that they have started filming their gunmen preparing and carrying out the attacks. They are, in addition, calling on Palestinians to escalate the fight against Israel, while enthusiastically and warmly endorsing the terrorists.

The growing involvement of Fatah and PA members in terrorism is one of the direct results of the Palestinian leadership's extreme incitement against Israel. Abbas and his aides continue to level the worst charges and libels against Israel. It is this kind of rhetoric, as well as generous payments, that encourage Palestinians to carry out attacks against Israelis. The fact that Abbas and his entourage do not even bother to rein in or denounce the terrorists is apparently seen by many Palestinians as a green light to continue the attacks.

The international community, for its part, is so preoccupied with bashing Israel that no one is calling out these putative Palestinian "peace partners" over their role in terrorism. This silence is also encouraging these Palestinian "peace partners" to continue their attacks.

That is why the Fatah-affiliated Lions' Den group has felt confident enough to publish a new threat: "O Jews, The Countdown For Your Demise Has Begun; Stabbings, Car-Rammings, Clashes."

This is the "peace partner" that the Biden administration is hoping to assist in establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel. With a partner like this, it is easy to imagine what the situation in the Middle East will look like -- more violence, terrorism and bloodshed. Israel's "peace partners" are doing everything in their power to confirm the fears of Israelis about the presence of a Palestinian state just a handful of kilometers from their homes.
Rashida Tlaib’s absurd acid test
Having established a dubious anti-Zionist litmus test for Americans who disagree with her one-sided and unhelpful position on Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians, Tlaib has offended some of her Democratic colleagues in Congress.

“I fundamentally reject the notion that one cannot support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and be a progressive,” tweeted Jerry Nadler of New York.

“There is nothing progressive about advocating the end of Israel,” Ritchie Torres of New York wrote on Twitter.

“Proud progressives do support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state,” said Debbie Wasserman of Florida. “Suggestions otherwise are shameful and dangerous.”

They are stating the obvious.

Much to her discredit, Tlaib has erected an artificial barrier between Americans in the progressive movement who support Israel and those who work for its disappearance.

By Tlaib’s skewed standard, progressive-minded politicians and citizens cannot support the cause of Jewish statehood while endorsing Palestinian statehood.

Tlaib’s all-or-nothing philosophy is ethnically self-centered, nasty and destructive. It serves no constructive objective and falls perfectly into line with the policy of Iran — a theocratic and totalitarian state that suppresses free speech and assembly and squelches women’s inalienable rights — and the policies of movements like Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Qaeda and Islamic State, all of which decry progressive positions.

Contrary to Tlaib’s outlook, a progressive person can support human rights and fundamental freedoms without renouncing Israel’s right to exist. This is elementary.

Progressives can, and should, criticize Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its failure to fully integrate Muslim and Christian Arabs into Israeli society. But they are on shaky ground when they suggest that a person cannot be simultaneously pro-Israel and progressive, as Tlaib erroneously claims.

Tlaib’s view should be regarded as an opinion among a multitude of opinions in the Democratic Party. It is not carved in stone. Nor is it representative of mainstream thinking in the party or in the country.

Tlaib is entitled to her views, but she should not be under the false impression that they represent the Democratic Party or American public opinion.


Muslim Brotherhood’s Qaradawi, who endorsed suicide bombings against Israelis, dies
An Egyptian cleric who was seen as the spiritual leader of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood and long advocated for suicide bombings against Israelis, has died at the age of 96.

Youssef al-Qaradawi’s death on Monday was announced on his official website.

He died in the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar, where he had been living in exile following the military’s overthrow of a Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt in 2013.

Al-Qaradawi had been tried and sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt.

For many years while living in exile, he had a popular talk show on Qatar’s Al-Jazeera network and often weighed in on controversial political topics. He published over 100 books about Islam and Muslim law, with many considering him one of the religion’s leading theologists.

Al-Qaradawi was long close with the Hamas terror group, a Palestinian split-off the Muslim Brotherhood that rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas waged a relentless campaign of suicide bombings against Israel in the early 2000s that enjoyed a degree of mainstream Muslim legitimacy thanks to the cleric.

Al-Qaradawi was eulogized by Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas terror group’s political bureau, who hailed the cleric’s “great impact” in the fields of “jihad, advocacy, and science.”

In this file photo, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) holds the hand of Egyptian Cleric and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (R) upon the latter’s arrival at Rafah Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, May 8, 2013. (Said Khatib/AFP)

In Israel, Al-Qaradawi was mourned by Safwat Frij, chair of the Shura Council of the Islamic Movement’s Southern Branch, the religious council behind the Ra’am party that is currently a member of the outgoing Israeli government.


Muslim group mourns cleric who said Holocaust ‘put Jews in their place’
The antisemitic cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has been praised by a UK-based Muslim group following his death.

The prominent ideologue was known for repeated expressions of Jew-hate, including a call for the “annihilation” of Jews and his claim that the Holocaust “put Jews in their place”.

The Egyptian-born scholar died in Doha on Monday aged 96.

The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), which describes itself as a “leading Muslim grassroots contribution for a fair and prosperous British society since 1997”, shared the tribute on Monday afternoon.

It said in a statement that “Sheikh Yusuf was a renowned and greatly respected figure worldwide, referring to him as “a leading contemporary Islamic thinker.”

It claimed: “In the UK Sheikh Yusuf has had a profoundly positive impact on the Muslim community and MAB had the pleasure of hosting him in 2004 when he visited the country,” noting that while visiting the country, he “met many high-profile British personalities”.

In 2008 the Home Office refused Al-Qaradawi an entry visa to the UK for medical treatment due to concerns his preaching "could foster inter-community violence."

MAB’s statement went on to claim that Al-Qaradawi “was also known for his principled stances against oppression and dictatorial regimes around the world,” and that he “leaves behind an outstanding legacy of work that will continue to inspire Islamic scholars for generations to come.”

During the 2008-2009 Gaza-Israel war, Al-Qaradawi gave a sermon in which he prayed that Allah would enact revenge on Jews, who he described as “treacherous aggressors” responsible for spreading “much tyranny and corruption”.


Seth Frantzman: Will end of the Qaradawi era lead to more peace and coexistence?
In essence then, by the time of Qaradawi’s passing, the hateful ideas that seemed more mainstream in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, were rapidly fading. It’s not entirely clear if this is the case in Europe and the periphery, such as groups in Somalia, Nigeria and Mozambique.

Prosecution of innocent people for “blasphemy” in places like Pakistan or Indonesia seems to show that some ideas, linked to the Brotherhood’s brand of far-right religious views, continue. But there also appears less appeal for groups that seek to assert these views at the street level.

It's plausible that the passing of this era could lead to more peace and coexistence
The Abraham Accords and other symbolic shifts, such as welcoming rabbis and acknowledging Jewish holidays in the Gulf, mean that the intolerance of the 20th century may be passing.

Western countries have some responsibility for the fading of extremist views as well. They whitewashed groups like the Brotherhood and empowered extremists; often hoping to use them to “balance” either the Soviets, Iran, or others.

This didn’t work and it meant that western policymakers often ignored the open antisemitism and hate of groups like Hamas, excusing it or trying to make it seem moderate. The fact that the genocidal leader of ISIS was described as an “austere religious scholar” in Western media illustrates the trend.

The same western media that is rightfully horrified by slavery in western history, described a leader of ISIS, a group that genocided minorities and enslaved people, as a “scholar.” This shows that the West often enabled hatred in the Middle East by changing the terms, using terms like “armed struggle” for the mass murder of civilians, for instance. As such “suicide bombing” which was generally a form of targeted religious hatred, was also excused.

Rightfully horrified by KKK bombings, some in the West excused similar bombings in the Middle East. These excuses generally stopped when countries in the region stopped excusing antisemitism and suicide bombings, and western policymakers and media have followed along slowly.

This toxic embrace between the region and the West in excusing several generations of extremism could now be at an end. The romance of the “suicide bomber” and “armed struggle” may be ending.
Israel will not recognize referendum on Russian-occupied Ukraine - FM
Israel will not recognize the results of a referendum in areas of Ukraine held by Russian forces or Russia-backed separatists, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

“Israel recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and will not recognizes the results of referendums in the eastern districts of Ukraine,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid has been critical of Russia’s war on Ukraine since the invasion in late February, calling some of Moscow’s actions war crimes. Israel also voted against Russia in the UN. Israel has also sent planeloads of humanitarian aid and built a field hospital in Ukraine. However, Israel has faced criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and others for not sending military aid to Kyiv.

Two Ukrainian soldiers arrived in Israel for medical treatment on Sunday, and 18 more severely injured soldiers are expected to arrive in the next two weeks, the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel stated.

The embassy thanked Israel “for organizing the process of providing free care for the Ukrainian soldiers in leading hospitals in Israel.”

Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that "Israel has great experience in rehabilitating amputees. We have excellent medical teams and hospitals that opened their doors and their hearts to the injured Ukrainian soldiers.

"Israel will continue aiding Ukraine and its citizens. I wish a speedy recovery to the wounded," Lapid stated.

Zelensky has repeatedly warned that "pseudo-referendums" on annexation by Russia would destroy any chance of peace talks.
Russia aims Iranian made drones at hasidic Jews in Uman - report
While thousands of Israelis marked the Jewish New Year with celebrations in the city of Uman, media outlets in Ukraine reported on Tuesday that Russian forces deliberately launched at least 10 Iranian suicide drones of the Shahad-136 model over the city, with the aim of harming Israelis staying there.

According to the report, during the last few days, the military forces of Ukraine shot down more than ten drones, some of which were launched from the territory of the Crimean Peninsula and aimed at Uman. According to the assessment, Russia wanted to focus on hasidic religious sites with a large audience.

A Ukrainian security official told the Babel news website that "planned acts of terrorism against Israeli citizens are one of the conditions for the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia.

"As we know, this is not the first example of cooperation between the two countries. Not long ago, a Ukrainian civilian plane was shot down in Iran, probably by mistake. But you can see the interests of the Kremlin behind this case."

Yesterday it was reported that three Iranian suicide drones were shot down by the Ukrainian air defense near the city of Odesa. The drone deal between Iran and Russia led to a deterioration in relations between Tehran and Kyiv, and earlier this week, Ukraine announced that it would cut ties with Iran, claiming that "Tehran supplies the Russian army with drones", a move that President Volodymyr Zelensky called "collaboration with evil".]

At the same time, the Ukrainian Air Force also reported that, for the first time, it had shot down a large Iranian drone of the Mohajer-6 type. After the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry had already announced that the delivery of the drones would lead to severe damage to the bilateral relations between the countries, a political source said that "in response to the fact the unfriendly act, the Ukrainian side decided to revoke the authority of the Iranian ambassador, and also to significantly reduce the number of diplomatic staff of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv."
Italy’s Meloni portrays herself as strong supporter of Israel, rejects fascist past
She told the Hebrew daily in her interview 10 days ago she would head a “modern European and Western right-wing government” and reiterated her party’s affiliation with other mainstream conservative factions like Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Likud party, the British Tories and the American Republicans.”

Meloni spoke of previous visits to Israel, including to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, which she described as “a conscience-shaking experience.”

“Israel represents the only fully-fledged democracy in the broader Middle East, and we defend without any reservations its right to exist and live in security. I believe that the existence of the State of Israel is vital, and Fratelli d’Italia will make every effort to invest in greater cooperation between our countries,” she said.

In a 2020 video, Meloni also promised to defend Israel’s right to exist “without the shameful ambiguity of the Left.”

She told Israel Hayom she planned to return to Israel soon, hoping to focus on joint collaborations and strategies, starting with those for the supply of natural gas through the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

However, she appeared to break with other right-wing leaders, including her likely coalition partner Matteo Salvini, indicating she would not likely move Italy’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“This is a very sensitive issue, on which I think the next Italian government, like all those before it, will have to act in synergy with our partners in the European Union,” she said.

The EU has been adamantly opposed to such a move.

Meloni also spoke out against growing antisemitism in Europe and sought to portray it as largely emanating from the left and Islamic immigrants.

“I think that one of the most common manifestations of antisemitism today is anti-Israel propaganda, which Jews in Europe are most likely to encounter online. Jews in Europe are also subjected to the threat coming not only from far-left and far-right factions, but especially from radicalized Islamic immigrants who feed on resentment with regards to Israel,” she said.

“Israel is and ought to continue to be a crucial ally of the European Union in the endeavor to eradicate this evil worldwide. We support efforts to increase young students’ understanding of Jewish history, religion, and culture. This will support the elimination of societal prejudices and the full acceptance of Jewish customs in Europe,” she said.
Italy far-right leader once hailed Iran, Hezbollah as defenders of Syrian Christians
Brothers of Italy party chief Georgia Meloni, who is poised to become the first far-right Italian leader since World War II, previously praised Iran, the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and other allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad. She also decried decried “another massacre of children in Gaza” in 2014.

Speaking to reporters in December 2018, Meloni said that if not for Hezbollah and the rest of the pro-Assad front — which includes Iran and Russia — Christians in Syria would no longer be able to display the nativity scene depicting Jesus Christ’s birth during Christmas.

Assad has championed himself as a defender of Christians and other religious minorities against the predominantly Sunni rebels fighting to topple him since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. Among the rebel ranks were jihadist groups such as Islamic State and an al-Qaeda-linked faction.

Her comments came after then-Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini, who is now part of the Meloni-led right-wing coalition on pace to secure majorities in both Italian houses of parliament, denounced Hezbollah as a terrorist organization while visiting Israel, prompting criticism in Italy.

Meloni’s remarks did not address Israel, whose destruction Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah regularly call for.

In an unrelated tweet from 2014, Meloni decried “another massacre of children in Gaza” amid the war between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in the Hamas-run enclave. The Twitter post appeared to be in response to deadly strikes on a hospital and playground in a Gaza City refugee camp that Israel attributed to misfired rockets by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Those past comments appeared to contrast with Meloni’s recent vows of support for Israel and her efforts to distance the Brothers of Italy from its fascist roots.

Israel, which has previously boycotted far-right European parties that have come to power, has yet to officially respond to the Italian election results which were announced as the country marked the Jewish new year.
Temple Mount, east Jerusalem clashes continue as holiday tensions rise
As Jewish visitation to the Temple Mount increases during the High Holidays, clashes continue both in the Temple Mount and throughout east Jerusalem as police remain on high alert in anticipation of a tumultuous holiday period.

On Tuesday night, Jerusalem District officers were handling a number of public disturbances in Tzur Bahar and Silwan in east Jerusalem, rioters began throwing stones, shooting fireworks, setting fire to barrels and throwing bottles at police forces, which repelled the rioters using non-lethal means.

Detectives of the Oz station together with Jerusalem riot police teams and border police officers arrested 2 suspects (14, 18, residents of Tzur Bahar) involved in the disturbances. One of the suspects was caught red-handed holding a beehive of fireworks and a Palestinian flag and was found concealing a knife. The police also seized a number of ready-to-use Molotov cocktails.

on Tuesday morning, a number of masked individuals led calls for incitement inside al-Aqsa Mosque and tried to incite provocation. At one point, the men even desecrated the mosque, banging on its doors with various objects and interfering mainly with Muslim worshipers entering to pray. One of those masked suspects, an 18-year-old resident of east Jerusalem, was arrested on suspicion of incitement.

The Jerusalem district police continue to work with an increased presence in the Old City as part of a heightened alert during the High Holy Days.

The visits of tourists and Jews to the Temple Mount, which have been held there for many years during the holidays, are set to take place as normal. No unusual disturbances were recorded there so far, except for those at al-Aqsa Mosque itself.

Police Chief Inspector General Yaakov "Kobi" Shabtai arrived in the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday, met the commanders and police officers operating in the area, and received an overview of the increased preparation and deployment of forces in the capital.
IDF trials remote-controlled riot dispersal gun in Hebron
The Israel Defense Forces has placed a new system that can remotely fire riot-control ordinance during unrest in the West Bank city of Hebron.

The riot gun, which was installed at a checkpoint on Hebron’s Shuhada Street, is being tested as part of a pilot program and currently is only being used to fire sponge grenades, the military told the Haaretz daily.

The system is also capable of shooting stun grenades and projectiles containing tear gas.

“The possibility is being examined of using a remote-controlled system for approved means for dispersing riots,” the IDF said.

According to Smart Shooter, the company that developed the system, a soldier can lock onto a target and press the trigger, with the riot gun then moving into the proper position before firing.

A prominent local Palestinian activist expressed concern over any potential “failure” by the riot gun, which uses artificial intelligence to process images.

“I see that as part of the transition from human to technological control. We Palestinians have become an object for training the high tech-industry of the Israeli army, which is not held to account for what it does,” Issa Amro told the newspaper.

Other technologies the IDF has deployed in Hebron — a frequent flashpoint between Israelis and Palestinians — have also drawn scrutiny.
Arab Israeli man held after apparent attempt to derail a train in northern Israel
The police and Shin Bet Security Service are investigating an apparent attempt to derail a train in northern Israel by placing an obstacle on the railway tracks.

An Arab Israeli man was detained and taken for questioning after the object was found on the railway line between the cities of Acre and Karmiel, police said.

The man, a resident of the north, was handed over to the Shin Bet security service for questioning over the incident. Police said there was no damage or injury as a result of the incident, which occurred on the Rosh Hashanah holiday when the trains were not running.

Much of the information relating to the ongoing investigation was placed under a gag order.

An official from Israel Railways told Ynet, “There’s no doubt a severe incident was avoided here.”

“A train that’s traveling at a speed of between 120 to 140 kilometers per hour hits an object, it can come off the rails, and the cars can flip over,” he said. “It’s something the conductor can’t avoid because there’s no time or space to stop.”

The case comes as security forces remain on high alert amid a crackdown on terror groups in the West Bank, and concerns of terror attacks during the Jewish High Holidays.


MEMRI: Gaza Islamic Scholar Wael Al-Zard: Palestinians Who Work In Israel Are Being Paid With Their Own Money; Filthy Jews Have Been Sucking The Blood Of Palestinian Resources For More Than 70 Years
Gaza Islamic scholar Wael Al-Zard said in a September 14, 2022 show on Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas-Gaza) that when the Jews pay Palestinian laborers in Israel, they are actually giving back to them money that was "rightfully" theirs. He elaborated that the “filthy” Jews are not doing the Palestinian laborers any favors, and that they have been sucking the blood of Palestinians’ resources for over 70 years. Al-Zard explained that the Palestinians would have been “many times richer” than the Jews, had the latter left the country.

"They Are Paying You With Your Own Money"

Wael Al-Zard: "Some laborers who support a family wish they could work for the Jews, in our occupied land, because laborers earn $100 per day there. That's fine, but our people should know that those $100 are rightfully theirs, and not a gift by the Jews. They are paying you with your own money."

"The Jews, Who Have Been Occupying Our Land For 70 Years Or More, Have Been Sucking The Blood Out Of Our Resources For A Long Time, And To This Day"

"Our money is being returned to us by means of those filthy [Jews]. They are not doing us any favors. They are not being generous. Had they left our country, we would have been many times richer than them. The Jews, who have been occupying our land for 70 years or more, have been sucking the blood out of our resources for a long time, and to this day."


After Exile in France, Arafat’s Nephew Returns to Gaza
A year after fleeing the West Bank, a nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat returned to Gaza and is challenging his uncle’s successor, the 86-year-old President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas.

Nasser al-Kidwa, 69, a former Palestinian foreign minister, branded Abbas’s PA as “totalitarian,” and said it was acting with disregard for the people it is supposed to be serving.

“He does whatever he wants, without any consideration for anything,” Kidwa said of Abbas. “Neither the law, nor the institutions, nor traditions, even family traditions.”

Returning after a year of self-imposed exile in France, Kidwa told journalists that traveling to the West Bank at this time would not be safe. According to surveys, his support among Palestinians is negligible.

Gaza, the Arafat family’s ancestral home, has been controlled by the Islamist group Hamas since 2007, and is a bitter rival of Abbas’s secular Fatah movement that Yasser Arafat co-founded in 1959.

Kidwa was cast out of Fatah last year after trying to form a candidates list to challenge Abbas loyalists in the Palestinian legislative polls scheduled for May 2021.

Abbas’s decision to cancel that vote, which would have been the first Palestinian elections in 15 years, gave rise to further charges of authoritarianism.
New Palestinian militia, Lions’ Den, behind attacks on soldiers, settlers
Saed al-Kuni, the Palestinian gunman who was shot dead by IDF soldiers last week, was the fifth member of the newly established Areen al-Usood (Lions’ Den) armed group to be killed in the past few weeks.

Kuni, 23, was among a group of gunmen responsible for carrying out shooting attacks at soldiers and settlers in the Nablus area. He was killed in a pre-dawn IDF ambush on the outskirts of the city.

As was the case in the previous killings of members of the Lions’ Den, the group published a statement on social media platforms calling on its gunmen to continue the fight against Israel. The group has also become well known for posting videos of its shooting attacks on soldiers and settlers.

Who was Saed al-Kuni? Palestinians are unsure
Some Palestinians said Kuni was affiliated with Fatah’s armed wing, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, while others described him as a leading figure of Hamas’s “military wing,” Izzadin al-Qassam.

No one knows exactly how many young men have joined the Lions’ Den. It’s also not clear who funds the group.

A PA security source, however, estimated that the group has fewer than 100 gunmen from several Palestinian factions. “These young men have formed a militia that believes in the armed struggle,” said the source. “It’s possible that some factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad [IJ], give them money to buy weapons.”

The Lions' Den is a unique terror group - here's why:
The uncertainty over the slain gunman’s political affiliation is one of the unique features of the Lions’ Den, whose members are all in their 20s and belong to the post-Second Intifada generation of Palestinians. Some of the gunmen hail from middle-class families and are said to have purchased their weapons with their own money.

This is the first organized armed group that consists of gunmen belonging to a number of Palestinian factions – including Fatah, Hamas, IJ and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Last week, Palestinian sources revealed that senior Hamas operative Musab Shtayyeh, who was recently arrested by the Palestinian Authority security forces, was also a member of the Lions’ Den. His arrest triggered fierce clashes between Palestinian protesters and PA security forces in Nablus. One Palestinian was killed and several others were injured in the clashes. Some Fatah activists have accused Hamas of instigating the violence in Nablus.

In a direct challenge to the PA, the Lions’ Den called for “civil disobedience” until the release of Shtayyeh, who remains in a Palestinian prison in Jericho on charges of illegal possession of a weapon.


MEMRI: Lebanese TV Report About Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Underground Command Center, Its Operations During Recent Gaza-Israel Conflict: Israel Should Not Test Us Again
On September 16, 2022, Mayadeen TV (Lebanon) aired a report about the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) underground command center in Gaza and its operation during the recent confrontation between the group and Israel. A field commander known as "Abu Ahmad" from the group's Al-Quds Brigades described how the command center directed the fighting during the conflict, and he said: "[Israel] should not test us again."

To view the clip of the Lebanese TV report about the PIJ command center click here or below:

From The Underground Command Center, "The Fighting In The Battleground Was Managed And Missions Were Assigned... Through Secure Means Of Communication"

Reporter: "We are here, underground, in one of the operations command centers, from which the Al-Quds Brigades commanded the 'Unity of the Battlefields' confrontation.

"From such a place, orders were issued regarding the extent of the fire, which targeted the Israeli occupation, throughout this aggression. The zero hour for the beginning of the battle in response to the aggression was decided here. By means of these operations and command centers, the fighting in the battleground was managed, and missions were assigned to the Brigades' different military units.

"The fighters on the ground would immediately get the commanders' orders, through secure means of communication. They would follow these orders, according to plan."

Field Commander Abu Ahmad: "We, the commanders of Al-Quds Brigades, prepared a plan for several days, in keeping with the developments in the Gaza Strip. We managed the fighting in a good and proper way, by giving orders to the military units, and distributing the fire according to a predesigned plan."

"Our Message To This Tyrannical Enemy Is That It Should Not Test Us Again... We Are Ready To Confront This Enemy"

Reporter: "This is footage from the second day of the aggression, and it shows how the Brigades controlled the development of the battle. At 1:00 PM, the commanders of the Brigades issue an urgent order, and it is carried out within 30 minutes."

Field Commander Abu Ahmad: "Our message to this tyrannical enemy is that it should not test us again. At the Al-Quds Brigades, we have made the preparations and are ready to confront this enemy."


Dore Gold: How to understand the Iranian threat
IRAN WANTED to remake the Middle East. It had dispatched Shi’ite proxy armies to Syria, with their families, in order to reconfigure the demography of the region as it aspired to convert Syria into a Shi’ite State. It used similar techniques elsewhere, working to expand the Shi’ite population of eastern Turkey. Taking all this activity together in recent years, it is no wonder that Colonel T. has concluded that “there is a threat developing here on a scale that we’ve never known before.”

In Damascus, in 2008, Shi’ite militia entered the famous Umayyad Mosque, one of the symbols of Sunni supremacy in Syria, in order to pray. There were cases reported in 2015 of Iraqi and Lebanese Shi’ite militia entering the Umayyad Mosque and chanting what Sunnis regarded as blasphemous prayers. Shi’ite militia are being deployed around Shi’ite shrines in and around Damascus.

Finally, Iran is using Syria as a location for new missile production facilities, especially long-range, precision-guided missiles. In some cases, Iran sought to position some of these facilities underground. In short, Syria was emerging as part of Iran’s strategic system for the region. This did not occur in a vacuum.

The Iranians have a historical tradition connecting them to Syria and surrounding states. When Shi’ism was established as the state religion in Persia by the Safavid dynasty in 1501, the Safavid Empire included what is today Iran, Iraq and large parts of Syria. Recovering lost territories became a feature of Safavid policy and that of its great rival, to its west, the Ottoman Empire. In this context, it is easy to understand where Iran’s ambitions for regional expansionism came from.

Israel can deal with the new Iranian challenge despite its scale. The most dangerous aspect of the Iranian threat comes from those in the international community, and sometimes in Israel, who do not see the entire picture of what Iran has been up to.

Contesting the action of an aggressor is a military mission above all. But it is also a diplomatic operation that must be pursued in parallel. That certainly is what is what drove Churchill before the outbreak of the Second World War and perhaps is what has recently been influencing those speaking for Israel at present. Undoubtedly the next Israeli government will have no choice but to act more intensely and consistently in this regard.


Iran Indicts 14 in Top Nuclear Scientist’s Assassination
Iran charged 14 people in connection with the killing of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who died in an attack Tehran has attributed to Israel, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency on Monday.

According to Monday’s state news agency report, those indicted were charged with crimes that include “corruption on earth, contribution to intelligence and espionage for the Zionist regime, collusion aimed at disrupting Iran’s security and endangering the Islamic country’s security.”

Iran gave no details on the identities of those indicted, including their nationalities.

Ali Salahi, the Tehran Attorney-General, said that those indicted “created a conspiracy with the aim of disrupting security in the country” and that “the defendants participated in intelligence cooperation and espionage for the benefit of the Zionist regime.”

Fakhrizadeh was allegedly involved in efforts relating to developing nuclear weapons, dubbed the “mastermind of Iran’s nuclear program.” In 2018, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged that he had led Iran’s efforts to build an atomic bomb, a claim Tehran has vehemently denied.

In November 2020, Fakhrizadeh, 59, was killed while en route with his wife to their country house outside Tehran from their vacation home on the Caspian Sea. He was driving his private vehicle, an unarmored black Nissan Teana sedan, when he was fatally shot and killed during an attack that Tehran unequivocally attributes to Israel.
Rights group says at least 76 dead as Iran protests rage despite violent crackdown
More than 75 people have been killed in the Iranian authorities’ crackdown against unrest sparked by the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, a rights group said Monday.

The authorities last put the death toll at 41, including several members of the security forces.

Officials said Monday they arrested more than 1,200 people as the dragnet widens against the nationwide demonstrations over Amini’s death, following her arrest for allegedly breaching the country’s strict rules on hijab headscarves and modest clothing.

Tensions with Western powers grew as Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador and Canada announced sanctions, a day after the European Union deplored the crackdown and Tehran called in the British and Norwegian envoys.

Protests had flared for a tenth consecutive night on Sunday across Iran. A Tehran crowd shouted “death to the dictator,” calling for the end of more than three decades of rule by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83, in footage shared by Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR).

The group said at least 76 people have been killed in the crackdown in Iran, up from a previous count of 57.
Seth Frantzman: Can the West act in time to help Iran get online?
The struggle for Iran is now taking place online and requires helping Iranians have access to social media and the internet.

On Friday, the US said that it was taking action to advance internet freedom so that Iranians could access the free flow of information. According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Washington was issuing a general license to provide Iranians with greater access to digital communications and “counter the Iranian government’s censorship.”

Elon Musk also wrote in reply that he was “activating Starlink.” According to Reuters, “Musk said on Monday that the company wanted to provide Starlink satellite broadband service - already provided to Ukraine for its fight against Russia's invasion - to Iranians, and would ask for a sanctions exception.” It is not known how these two initiatives will help Iranians or if they will happen fast enough to help them share what is happening and save lives.

Iranians have been protesting for more than a week after the regime was accused of murdering a woman named Mahsa Amini for not covering her hair. Iran’s interior minister said on Saturday that Amini did not die as the result of police abuse, but her parents and the Kurdish community where she came from in western Iran are outraged by her death – as are millions of Iranians.

The protests began in the Kurdistan region of Iran last week and spread quickly to Tehran and other cities. Last night in the Kurdish city of Shino (Oshnavieh), reports said that part of the town was controlled by protesters. But activists also say that security forces have killed people, with video showing live fire being used against people. It is believed that by Friday, Iran had killed 16 protesters, but the death toll rose overnight.


Women of Israel stand with Irani women

Al-Jazeera Presenter Recirculates Virulent Article Against UAE: It Is A Jewish Settlement In The Region Aimed At Plotting Against Arab World
On August 12, 2022, Jamal Rayyan, a Palestinian journalist and an anchorman on Qatar's Al-Jazeera network, posted on his Twitter page a virulently article against the UAE. The article claims that the UAE was established by Jewish tycoons as a base for their financial activity and for plotting against the Arab world. It asks how it can be that such a tiny state, which lacks any political history or institutions of culture or thought, and whose citizens are a minority within it, has grown and prospered so quickly and has become one of the most developed countries in western Asia. The only explanation, it says, is that "the Jews are behind the UAE enterprise" and are the ones who actually run it, and it is therefore "a Jewish settlement in the Middle East."

It should be noted that Rayyan has already posted this article in June and September 2020 and June 2021.[1] In fact, it has been circulated on a number of Arab websites under several different bylines. [2]

The following are translated excerpts from the article[3]
"This article exposes the secret of the Emirates, which is known to nobody. No one can explain how a tiny country like the so-called UAE, with an area of no more than 75,000 km2, and whose indigenous population currently numbers no more than 800,000, has grown so quickly!! The UAE has no political history or liberation movement, and no institutions of culture or thought. Did Sheikh Zayed breathe life into it using the Ya-Sin Surah of the Qur'an,[4] turning it overnight into a prosperous country with [constant] development and construction and the most developed economy in western Asia?!!

"The truth is that the Jews are behind the establishment of the UAE enterprise. Rich Jews in the West decided to establish a Jewish settlement in the Middle East that would look after their financial interests and trade activities and spare [them] the need to deal with the mother-country [i.e., Israel, which they prefer to avoid] for political and other reasons. Since the establishment of the UAE in 1971, the West has been responsible for [maintaining] its division into six, and later seven, different emirates. Each of these emirates has an emir, an army, a police force, security [apparatuses] and the like, but Abu Dhabi occupies ¾ of the territory, so that the other emirates cannot develop into kernels of [independent] states.

"Even assuming that the number of [indigenous] Emiratis is 750,000, as the official records claim, how does this compare to the number of expats living there, which is 9 million, from 200 countries and belonging to 150 ethnicities?!! Even if each and every Emirati citizen joined the intelligence, security and military apparatuses, they would not be able to defend their country!!

"The amazing thing about the Emirates is that when you enter the country you feel you are in Europe, or in one of the developed Asian countries, in terms of the order, the professional treatment, the discipline, the cleanliness and the grandeur of the streets. Yet it is difficult to find even one indigenous resident. Everything, from the airport to housing, is managed by foreigners… Is it reasonable to assume that the Emiratis, whose thinking and expectations are simple, are running this complicated machine?!

"The UAE, and especially Abu Dhabi, is home to one of the largest concentrations of wealthy tycoons, an estimated 75,000 millionaires, most of whom are Jews. This means that [the UAE] provides a safe haven for this great concentration of wealth. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the one who took Sheikh Zayed by the hand and led him to [normalize relations with] Israel is the Jewish millionaire Haim Saban. The UAE is not just tall buildings, grand streets and trade activity… It is a settlement aimed at plotting against the [Arab] nation.


Award-winning author Dara Horn sheds light on prevalence of antisemitism
After penning five bestselling novels that won a range of prizes, award-winning American writer and lecturer Dara Horn turned to nonfiction in 2021. The title of her first nonfiction book, People Love Dead Jews, a collection of essays about antisemitism, turned out to be more true than she imagined – and it won the National Jewish Book Award for Con­tem­po­rary Jew­ish Life. The title comes from the first chapter, “People love dead Jews. Living Jews, not so much.”

People Love Dead Jews came out in September. The world was still deep in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, and antisemitic acts broke ground in a way they hadn’t before: in online spaces due to lockdowns.

It is a collection of anecdotes, her own and of others, reports and stories, all highlighting the seeming paradox of non-Jewish Western society accepting – even showing interest and fascination in – the stories of Jews but having trouble allocating space in the present world for ones who exist now.

Nearly a year after its initial release, and right around its US paperback release date, Horn, who lives with her husband and four children in Short Hills, New Jersey, discussed the year, the book and the impression its release has left on her and on the world at large.
Ken Burns Exploits the Holocaust
Ken Burns, whose name decorates assorted PBS documentaries like Ken Burns’ Civil War, Ken Burns’ Baseball, and Ken Burns’ Prohibition, now brings us Ken Burns’ The Holocaust.

Timed to extract maximum donations from liberal Jews around the High Holy Days, PBS is airing “The U.S. and the Holocaust” not to set the record straight, but to cover it up yet again by whitewashing the FDR administration and exploiting the Holocaust to call for open borders.

Jews and the Holocaust are nothing but useful talking points to Burns. His interest begins with the “slave trade” and concludes with the Capitol Riot. The message of the “The U.S. and the Holocaust” is that Republicans are the new Nazis, Burns is one of the heroes calling them out and Stephen Miller, Trump’s Jewish adviser, is the new Breckinridge Long, a Democrat Nazi sympathizer who used his position as an FDR crony to keep Jews out of America.

Not that Burns is willing to indict FDR. Instead, he fashionably blames Long and other staffers who were just doing FDR’s dirty work for him: turning his series into more revisionism. But telling the truth about FDR would also destroy the false binary on antisemitism that is the only reason that Burns decided to tackle the Holocaust. That and the pledge drive donations for PBS.

The only story about the Holocaust that Burns would make, PBS would air and liberals would buy is one in which conservatives are villains and liberals, including FDR, are heroes. And the Jews, unless they have the right politics, are the villains, while the two million illegals crossing the border are the new Jews. Burns combines revisionism and supersessionism in one.

All while exploiting the Holocaust to solicit donations for the High Holy Days pledge drive because at $1.1 million a year, PBS CEO Paula A Kerger just doesn’t make enough money.

The reason for his popularity is that Burns excels at telling his older liberal audience exactly what they already know at great length, flattering their sensibilities by pre chewing pop history. “The U.S. and the Holocaust” reduces the mass murder of six million Jews to racism and immigration, digesting the extended horror into contemporary woke talking points.
We must always remember the extraordinary gift of Israel
Something disturbing happened in Jerusalem earlier this week, and the story is not yet over.

Temple Mount activists Yehuda Glick, a former MK and president of the Shalom Jerusalem Foundation; Tom Nisani, executive director of Beyadenu; and Emanuel Brosh, a board member of Beyadenu, went outside the Eastern Wall of the Old City of Jerusalem on Monday, September 19, to pray and blow the shofar in observance of the month of Elul. The Eastern Wall, near the Golden Gate, is on the eastern side of the Temple Mount.

Two Arabs approached them with violent intentions. Members of the Border Guard who arrived at the scene prevented the attack, but then detained the Jews until late evening. They did not detain the Arabs, in spite of requests by the activists to do so. Accusing the activists of engaging in a “provocation,” the police brought them to court seeking an injunction that would prevent them from being in the vicinity of the Old City until Oct. 19, after the holidays are over.

The court denied this request, saying the three had to stay away only until after 6 am the next day.

After the time designated by the court, the three went to the area outside the Eastern Wall to blow the shofar. The police were apparently going to appeal the court ruling, but in the end, dropped it. And yet, a second time, in spite of the court ruling, the police made the three men leave.

Nisani has told me that they intend to petition the court to prevent the police from harassing them, and they will go again to blow the shofar outside the Eastern Wall.

This story is hardly unique. Israeli police have opted to restrict Jewish religious rights on the Temple Mount many times in order to avoid friction with Arabs threatening to riot. The Arabs are very good at using the threat of violence to get their way. It works because we allow it to work.




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