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Sunday, November 20, 2022

11/20 Links: Adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism is a critical step for all; Pompeo: ‘Anti-Zionist bias runs very deep inside of the Biden administration’; How and why the PA kills its own children

From Ian:

Adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism is a critical step for all
THAT THE IHRA Working Definition prevents criticism of Israel is an easy claim to make, but it’s simply false. “Criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic,” are the words written in plain and simple language in the IHRA Working Definition.

Criticism is normal and encouraged; however, there is legitimate criticism and then there is antisemitism. Some of the contemporary examples of antisemitism hiding as anti-Zionism include denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination or using classic antisemitic imagery when talking about Israel. Denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination is one of the examples of clear antisemitism given in the IHRA Working Definition and the point where the line is crossed from legitimate criticism to antisemitism.

Nor does the IHRA Working Definition provide special treatment to Jews. The goal is simply to help identify antisemitism, plain and simple. Identifying hatred against one group does not harm or negate another one’s rights.

Then there are some that propose alternatives to the IHRA Working Definition. One of the main similarities in all of these alternative definitions is that they seek to remove Israel from the discussion. One cannot discuss modern antisemitism without including the State of Israel, the Jewish homeland. Thus, rhetoric and actions that reject Israel’s right to exist are also clear antisemitism.

These alternative definitions all seem to try and point to one statement: that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. In many cases, the word “Jew” is replaced with “Zionist” or “Israel” in order to hide blatant antisemitism. The IHRA Working Definition merely calls this out. Israel is the home of the Jewish people. We have historic, cultural and religious ties to this land that go back millennia. The definition of the word Zionist means that you support the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, and denying them this right, is antisemitic.

Today, Jews worldwide are being attacked and find themselves the targets of exclusion, marginalization, harassment, and even real or perceived violence based on their identification with Israel and Zionism.

The IHRA Working Definition serves as an invaluable resource to identify antisemitism in all its forms, creating a tool that will become all the more necessary, as global antisemitism continues to surge. As we must all stand against antisemitism and hatred, so too must we encourage education and adoption of the IHRA Working Definition and defend it against its detractors.
Phyllis Chesler: Like Freud, are we in denial about the danger of antisemitism?
Why didn’t Sigmund Freud leave Vienna until it was almost too late? He knew what was happening to his Jewish colleagues in Germany after the Nazis took power. Nevertheless, the great man refused to depart his beloved city of dreams—and of his pioneering dream interpretations—even after Nazi Germany absorbed Austria in 1938.

The signs were there for Freud to see. He knew that his books had been burned in Germany, that German Jews were beginning to commit suicide and that Jewish psychoanalysts were being fired and replaced by non-Jews.

He was not completely in denial. In a 1933 letter to his former patient, Princess Marie Bonaparte, he wrote, “The world is turning into an enormous prison. Germany is the worst cell. What will happen in the Austrian cell is quite uncertain.”

However, according to Freud’s physician Max Schur, “It would seem that Freud, who had uncovered the force of the aggressive drive in the individual, could not believe that this force could be unleashed in an entire nation.”

For years, Freud refused to make plans to leave. Yet the persecution continued. Swastikas were hung on his building. Nazi goons invaded his home and extorted money from his wife. His books and publishing house were seized. A man who resembled Freud was beaten up near his residence. Yet he did nothing.
Ruthie Blum: The FBI contributes to antisemitism while claiming to combat it
Wray prefaced his reply to the Jewish lawmaker—a member of the Democratic Party that has its own antisemitism problem—by saying that the FBI was “pleased” to have been able to thwart the above threat, and that he’d been in touch with the Anti-Defamation League about it.

“Certainly, antisemitism, and violence that comes out of it, is a persistent and present fact,” he acknowledged. “[A]bout 63% of religious hate crimes overall are motivated by antisemitism. And that’s targeting a group that makes up about 2.4% of the American population. So, it’s a community that deserves and desperately needs our support, because they’re getting hit from all sides.”

The FBI is “trying to address” this situation, he continued, “through a combination of things: one, on the domestic terrorism side, through our joint terrorism task forces; two, on the hate-crime side, through our civil-rights program, [which] we’ve elevated … to a national threat priority; [three], a domestic terrorism hate-crime fusion cell, which brings together those two programs … to try to be more proactive.”

Furthermore, he added, “we’re engaged in a very aggressive outreach campaign that’s designed to kind of raise awareness, help people know how to report, what to be on the lookout for, because we need to tap into the eyes and ears in the community. And that has included … not far from you in New York, translating some of the materials into Yiddish, for example, and Hebrew, to make [them] more accessible to certain parts of the Jewish community.”

Wray’s last reference was amusing, since the only Jews in the United States whose native tongue is Hebrew are Israelis. And neither they nor the Yiddish-speakers in certain Big Apple neighborhoods, who also know English, need the FBI to tell them how to recognize antisemitism when they witness or experience it.

Being called a “dirty Jew” by thugs throwing punches doesn’t get lost in translation, after all. Ditto for anti-Israel epithets hurled by individuals or groups of protesters waving placards about so-called “war crimes” committed against Palestinians by the “apartheid” Jewish state.

Speaking of which, Wray has some nerve touting his agency’s efforts at combating antisemitism, and not only due to a clear lack of success on its part, as statistics keep showing. No, a massive, inefficient bureaucracy like the FBI is ill-equipped to tackle a multi-pronged phenomenon that’s exploding in various forms on city streets, college campuses, social media and Capitol Hill. It’s not even good at focusing on its actual job of apprehending perpetrators and monitoring potential ones.

But it’s the height of chutzpah for him to be patting himself on the back for attempting to minimize antisemitism, while in the midst of a mission that fans its flames. Indeed, the FBI suddenly decided to launch a new probe into the May 11 death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.


Netanyahu: Israel supporters ‘must appeal to the justice of our cause’
Addressing the annual conference of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas via video link on Saturday, Netanyahu said that while Israel’s birth is “a miracle of history and of faith,” its security is nevertheless not guaranteed.

His purpose, he added, “is to assure the future of the Jewish state.”

“History doesn’t make a difference between the just and the unjust, the moral and the immoral. The strong survive and the weak don’t. And if you’re moral and weak, you’ll be devoured, which is the history of the Jewish people,” he said.

Responding to a question about the importance of public opinion, Netanyahu said that Israel must continue to make its case to the world. He recalled that his father, historian Benzion Netanyahu, came up with a “simple set of equations: In the modern world, you cannot defend a military victory without a political victory. You cannot defend a political victory without a victory in public opinion.”

Israel kept winning battles militarily but losing them politically because it was losing the battle for public opinion, he said, adding, “Which is one of the things that you see on American campuses, for example, or sometimes in the mainstream press.

“You have to fight the battle for public opinion. You have to appeal to the justice of our cause, to the American people and to other peoples,” he said.
Mike Pompeo: ‘Anti-Zionist bias runs very deep inside of the Biden administration’
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo oversaw the foreign policy of the most pro-Israel administration in American history. His policy, which came to be known as the Pompeo Doctrine, reversed long-standing American wisdom that Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria were illegal.

Pompeo, an Iran hawk, was also a champion of President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign” of sanctions on Tehran.

This weekend, Pompeo took to the stage of the Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Meetings in Las Vegas, among a number of high-profile Republicans thought to be potential challengers to Trump in 2024. Before addressing the crowd on Saturday evening, he sat down with JNS CEO and Jerusalem Bureau Chief Alex Traiman for an extended conversation.

JNS: Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being with us. Obviously, here in America, a lot of Republicans were hoping that there would be a red wave or a red tsunami. We didn’t get one in the United States. But in Israel, we did get a red tsunami and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is returning to power, and it looks like he’s going to form a stable, right-wing coalition. Tell me what that means, not just for Israel, but also for the United States and the entire world.

A: Well, the Israeli people made this choice. And I think it will be great for them. To your point, we worked closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu during the Trump administration’s time. Israel was an amazing partner and friend to the United States. I think we were great partners and friends to Israel as well. But you’re right, it was unstable. We had multiple elections [in Israel] during those years. And now, he has a coalition that is stable and conservative, and I think that will be great for the people of Israel. It’s also good for Arab nations and good for America. This will present a pillar inside of Israel that can push back against the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism in Iran. And that’s good for all of us, not just the people of Israel. And I always think, too, about the next generation of Iranians who want to live outside of being under the jack thug boot of the ayatollah [Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei] and [Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi], and having Prime Minister Netanyahu clearly articulating his vision for the nation of Israel and for peace and stability in the Middle East is a good thing for those people in Tehran as well.


Florida’s DeSantis to GOP Jews: ‘Judea and Samaria is not occupied, but disputed’
Addressing Jewish Republicans on Saturday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the West Bank was “not occupied territory” but rather a disputed area that is a historical homeland to Jews, as he talked up his Israel bona fides amid mounting challenges to Donald Trump’s control of the party.

DeSantis was a star attraction at this weekend’s Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, where he delivered a 25-minute speech on Saturday night while Trump was relegated to a less desirable timeslot and only appeared via video.

The popular Florida governor told the crowd about a trade mission he’d led to Israel, “the biggest trade mission Florida’s ever done.”

“We were the first statewide elected officials to do public events in Judea and Samaria,” DeSantis said, using the biblical names for the West Bank as favored by right-wing Israelis. “We understand history. We know those are thousands of years of connection to the Jewish people.”

“I don’t care what the State Department says. They are not occupied territory, it is disputed territory. You gotta know the history,” DeSantis said to applause.

DeSantis is seen as one of the leading challengers to Trump, aiming to take the reins of the party and make a run for the White House in 2024. Other top candidates also made appearances at the convention, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and several other state governors. RJC conferences are often the first stop for likely GOP contenders ahead of presidential election years.
Rep. McCarthy tells Jewish Republicans he will pull Ilhan Omar from committee
Kevin McCarthy, the likely next speaker of the US House of Representatives, said he would remove Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in part because of her criticism of Israel.

He also hinted that her personal criticism of him last year was a factor.

McCarthy, a California Republican whose party just won a narrow majority in the House, was speaking Saturday to the annual Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas.

“I remember what she said about me,” he said. “I remember what she said about Israel. I remember what she said about the [US-Israel] relationship,” he said. “I remembered it so much, I promised you last year she would no longer be on foreign affairs. I’m keeping that promise.” There was applause.

Ilhan Omar antisemitism controversies
Omar has called for greater congressional oversight of the US-Israel relationship. She has attacked parts of the pro-Israel lobby, at times appearing to invoke themes of Jewish control, which has drawn accusations of antisemitism from some Jewish groups, from Republicans and from some Democrats. (Omar has apologized for some but not all of the remarks that caused offense.) She also supports the movement to boycott Israel.

One of Omar’s most notorious tweets was when she said that McCarthy’s support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins,” slang for $100 bills. She later apologized. McCarthy’s reference to what Omar said about him may also refer to her calling him “a liar and a coward” last year after he refused to discipline a Republican congresswoman, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, for calling her a member of a “jihad squad” and joking that she feared Omar, a Somali American Muslim, carried a bomb.


Steny Hoyer, longtime pro-Israel Democrat, steps down from House leadership role
Steny Hoyer, the longtime No. 2 leader of Democrats in the US House of Representatives who was known for decades for his closeness to AIPAC, is stepping down from his leadership position.

Hoyer, 83, the current majority leader, has been close for decades to Maryland’s Jewish community. He announced his departure Thursday, the same day that Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, also said she would leave the leadership. Both were reelected to Congress this month and will serve out their terms. (Both also served together as interns in 1963 in the office of late Maryland Sen. Daniel Brewster.)

Hoyer and Pelosi are stepping down after Democrats narrowly lost the House to Republicans in November 8 midterm elections.

Hoyer for years led a show of solidarity at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, appearing with a counterpart in the Republican leadership, in which both would say they disagreed on plenty, but they both agreed on support for Israel. They would often use the occasion to announce bipartisan pro-Israel legislation or initiatives.

He also led for years a tour of Democratic freshmen to Israel. In recent years, his staunch pro-Israel views lost favor among some progressive Democrats who are more critical of Israel, and in 2019, Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib said she would lead a competing trip to the Palestinian areas. She was stymied when then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heeded a demand from then-President Donald Trump not to allow her into the country.

Hoyer did not always hew to AIPAC’s line. In 2015 he opposed the group’s signature agenda item that year, which was to kill the Iran nuclear deal advanced by Democratic President Barack Obama.
US Muslim delegation to visit Abraham Accord countries Israel and Bahrain
A delegation of American Muslim community leaders plans to visit two of the Abraham Accords countries, Bahrain and Israel.

Sharaka—a Middle-East-based NGO that promotes people-to-people peace and engagement—and the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC) said in a statement they are partnering to bring the delegation to promote women’s leadership and the role of faith leaders in peacebuilding.

The delegation members will learn about Israel and the Jewish people from various perspectives to better appreciate Israel’s challenges in the region, the statement said.

Imam Talib Shareef, a prominent imam from Washington, DC, will speak about the role of religious leaders in promoting peace. He will participate in a panel discussion at Shalem College in Jerusalem along with Rabbi Yaakov Nagen and Fr. Piotr Zelazko.

Shareef said, “This is an important trip because it affords the opportunity to bridge relationships as well as gaps in our understanding and perspectives of how we view the situation in the Middle East and the ‘other,’ so we can be proponents of positive change, peace, and global stability.”
Former Austrian chancellor joins Abraham Accords Peace Institute advisory council
Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been named to the Honorary Advisory Council of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute (AAPI), the organization announced in a statement on Friday.

“The Abraham Accords were a historic milestone and achieved what previously had been regarded as impossible. I am therefore honored to have the opportunity to become a member of the Honorary Advisory Council and to help sustain and expand the accords,” Kurz said of his appointment. “I hope more countries will follow in their footsteps and look forward to the many ways Europe can make important contributions in the future,” he added.

Kurz came to power after his party won the 2017 Austrian legislative election. He remained Chancellor of Austria until May of 2019 and again served from January 2020 through October 2021.

Kurz was credited with being the youngest head of state in Europe during his tenures, and now spends a significant amount of time in Israel and the Middle East.


Palestinians, Jordan join forces to thwart any change of status quo on Temple Mount
The Palestinian Authority and Jordan will increase their joint efforts in the coming weeks to foil any attempt by the upcoming right-wing government in Israel to change the status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound/Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a Palestinian official said on Sunday.

The official told The Jerusalem Post that the PA is strongly opposed to any attempt to undermine or end the Jordanian royal family’s historic role in tending Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. Since 1967, the holy site has been under the administration of the Jordanian-controlled Islamic Waqf Department.

Palestinian and Jordanian officials sent a number of messages to the US administration and other international parties, including the European Union, warning against the policies of the upcoming Israeli coalition, especially regarding the possibility of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount, the official said.

Palestinian and Jordanian officials are also expected to meet with Western leaders in the coming weeks to urge them to put pressure on Israel to refrain from any measures that could aggravate tensions and lead to more violence, the official revealed.

The Palestinians and Jordan are especially worried about alleged Israeli plans to divide the Temple Mount in time and space between Jewish and Muslim worshippers.

The Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, also issued a warning during a meeting of senior Islamic figures in Jerusalem last weekend.

Hussein said the “whole world rejects any attempt by the occupation to change the religious and historic status” at the site. “The Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line. It belongs to the Muslims alone,” he stressed.

PA warns, the upcoming Israeli government will be responsible for any deterioration
The PA, meanwhile, warned that the upcoming right-wing government in Israel will be responsible for any deterioration of the situation.

The warning came in response to the violence that erupted in Hebron on Saturday between Palestinians and Jewish worshippers who spent the weekend in the city for traditional events marking the early Torah reading of the biblical Abraham’s purchase of the Tomb of the Patriarchs to bury his wife, the matriarch Sarah.


Fanfare for first flight from Israel to Qatar for World Cup
Balloons festooned the departure gate for the first commercial flight between Israel and Qatar on Sunday, permitted by Doha for World Cup fans despite a lack of formal bilateral relations.

While the excitement was mainly at being able to attend the soccer tournament, for which Israel did not qualify, with such surprising ease several passengers voiced hope that the non-stop flights would clear the way to fuller detente with Qatar.

They were issued contact cards for a discreet Israeli consular delegation sent ahead to provide emergency support, a reminder of their current semi-recognized status in Qatar, which is close to Iran and has hosted leaders of Palestinian Hamas.

"There were a few concerns, I cannot deny that," said Sagi Ashkevitz, flying with three friends to his second World Cup.

"But in the end, the idea of watching (Lionel) Messi for the last time, together with the idea that we are actually making history, overcame all of the concerns," Ashkevitz added.

At least 10,000 Israelis are expected at the month-long matches, most of them coming through third countries. Those boarding the TUS Airways plane at Ben Gurion Airport were originally told they would have a brief stopover in Cyprus.

But they got a non-stop connection of two hours and twenty minutes instead, thanks to a deal announced by FIFA last week which it described as allowing Palestinians as well as Israelis to fly direct.
Qatar won't allow any cooked Kosher food and public Jewish prayer
Jewish organizations claim that even though promised otherwise, Qatar won't allow any cooked Kosher food to be sold or offered to visitors of the FIFA World Cup that will begin on Sunday in Doha. Sources in Jewish organizations that spoke to The Jerusalem Post said that Qatar has also broken a promise to allow Jewish prayer services in Doha during the games but then claimed it couldn't secure this type of activity and banned it completely.

"We were promised to be allowed to create prayer spaces in order for religious Jews who came to see the games to have a place of worship," a representative of a Jewish organization told the Post. "We were recently told that they banned places of worship for Jews because they cannot secure them."

According to different sources, there is an estimate of over 10,000 religious Jews from Israel and around the world that are expected to arrive in Doha in order to watch the games. "They were promised to be able to cook Kosher food including Kosher meat, but at the moment have only been allowed to sell cold bagel sandwiches."

According to a different source, groups of wealthy American Jews planned to come as a large group to Doha but canceled their arrangements since they said they wouldn't feel secure and not have enough food to eat. "There is no kosher food, there are no Shabbat meals and no public prayer services," a source said. He added that the Qataris said, "they would separate religion from sports, so how come the great Qatar doesn't know how to secure Jewish worshippers?"
Official claims deadly Gaza house fire caused by gasoline party stunt gone awry
Investigators said Sunday that last week’s massive apartment fire in the Gaza Strip was ignited accidentally by a man using gasoline in a party trick, but did not explain how they reached that conclusion.

The blaze killed 22 members of the same family and there were no survivors who could have described the events.

The fire had erupted Thursday in the third-floor apartment of the Abu Raya family home in the crowded Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Officials initially said 21 people were killed. Gaza attorney general Mohammed al-Nahal said Sunday the death toll had reached 22, without elaborating.

He told reporters that Nader Abu Raya invited his parents, siblings, and their children to celebrate the return of his older brother from a trip abroad. With all the guests together at the family home, Nader began preparing in the living room what was suggested to be a party trick involving gasoline, al-Nahal said.

“The cause of the blaze was Nader using gasoline in a celebratory show with fire during the party,” the Hamas-appointed attorney general said in a statement. “He lost control and the flame reached the gasoline container nearby and the fire erupted.”
PMW: Special Report for UN World Children’s Day: How and why the PA kills its own children
1. The PA child “Martyrdom” strategy:
1a. The PA encourages children to see Martyrdom-death fighting Israelis as something glorious that will bring them honor and popularity. They are told that the streets will be filled with people honoring their Martyrdom and their pictures will be everywhere. Children are taught these messages in PA/Fatah summer camps, children’s TV programs, and PA and Fatah children’s education.

1b. Palestinian teenagers are now regularly attacking Israeli soldiers and civilians with knives, Molotov cocktails, and even rifles, often seeking not only to kill Israelis but to be killed themselves and achieve the desired Martyrdom. Some leave farewell messages, last wills and requests, and tell relatives and friends to take their pictures in advance because they will soon be “Martyrs.”

1c. Once teen terrorists are killed and become “Martyrs”, the PA glorifies them as national heroes and religious icons, who were specifically chosen by Allah to reach this high level of “Martyrdom.” Palestinian mothers are encouraged to celebrate their children’s death as something idyllic, which includes a wedding to the 72 dark-eyed Virgins of Paradise.

1d. Mothers, fathers, siblings, and relatives who celebrate the “Martyr’s” death are praised and glorified for their “resolve” and willingness to “sacrifice” and given extensive media exposure to tell other Palestinians how happy they are at the child’s Martyrdom-death.

1e. This PA brainwashing has been so successful that a common chant is heard among crowds at funerals for terrorist “Martyrs” and then published by official PA TV: “Mother of the Martyr, what joy you have merited, if only my mother was in your place.”

2. The PA’s political use of dead Palestinian children
Successfully having brainwashed many Palestinian children into getting themselves killed, the PA runs to the international community and publishes the high numbers of dead Palestinian children and blames Israel for their deaths.

3. The UN and many countries turn the PA murder industry into political success
Instead of blaming the PA for murdering its own children, the UN and many individual parliaments criticize Israel because of the high numbers of dead Palestinian children. The international criticism of Israel shows the PA that its strategy is working and motivates the PA to continue its Martyrdom promotion among its children and youth.
The Child-Martyrdom cult of the Palestinian Authority

PA and Hamas - The same death/blood worship

“The fire ignited and the rifle sang?… dawn of freedom is painted with blood” –on PA TV

Old Iranian Slogan Conquers the World
The word "life" is also getting fresh attention as a concept, reminding us that the true task of politics is to strive for a more humane and fulfilled life for everyone.

Traditional macho-male issues like the quest for national glory, the flexing of military muscles, and emphasis on law-and-order have been nudged aside to open a space for "female" issues such as health, education and socio-economic solidarity.

The mullahs tried but failed to cancel many of the rights, including the right to vote and get elected, granted to women by the Shah. But they implemented a policy of marginalizing the women in public life. The Islamic Republic has seen a single woman cabinet minister, half a dozen "assistants to the president", two woman ambassadors in remote and, to Iran, insignificant capitals, and, as far as I know, four mayors of small towns. Women are no longer allowed to sit as judges.

The current uprising, however, has forced the morality police to adopt a low profile as more and more women discard the official hijab with at least the tacit support of many, if not most, men.

The triple theme of "women, life and freedom" expresses the aspirations of contemporary humanity beyond Iran's official frontiers.
Biden Administration's Inaction Legitimizes Iran's Brutality
Reports from the Oslo-based non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights state that in recent anti-regime protests, 326 people have died and 15,000 have been arrested. Executions have already begun.

The least the Biden administration can do to show support for the Iranian people is immediately to convene a session at the United Nations to address the ruling mullahs' gruesome crackdown.

Is the Biden administration not taking action because they are concerned that it may scuttle the prospects of the reviving the nuclear deal with the ruling mullahs later?

Continuing to back the nuclear deal by refusing to declare it dead — permanently — sends the message to the Iranian people: that the West does not care about, or stand with, their struggles against a savage dictatorship.

The Biden administration needs to stop all negotiations that could lead to economic, financial or political benefits for the Iranian regime.

Another path that the Biden administration could take is immediately to initiate the process of restoring UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Russia, Iran, secure agreement to produce Iranian-designed drones on Russian soil
Russia has secured an agreement with Iran to begin building hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles on Russian soil, The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing American and other Western intelligence sources.

According to the report, Russian and Iranian officials sealed the agreement during a meeting in Iran in early November.

The report cited three sources as stating that Russia and Iran are moving quickly to transmit designs and critical components for the production of Iranian-designed UAVs on Russian soil, which could begin within months.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment, according to the Washington Post.

On Nov. 15, the United States imposed penalties on firms and individuals involved in the development or transfer of Iranian drones used by Russia in strikes on civilian facilities in Ukraine, according to Reuters.


ADL chief denounces reinstatement of Trump on Twitter
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on Sunday denounced Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s decision to reactivate the account of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“For @elonmusk to allow Donald Trump back on Twitter, ostensibly after a brief poll, shows he is not remotely serious about safeguarding the platform from hate, harassment and misinformation,” tweeted Greeblatt.

Trump was banned from the social media platform in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, held as Congress was readying to certify Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

Musk made the announcement after conducting a poll asking Twitter users whether Trump’s account should be restored.

The “yes” vote won with 51.8%.


BBC’s Knell amplifies PA talking points on an as yet non-story
Knell’s report includes several examples of permanent features in any BBC report relating to the topic of ‘settlements’. Readers are provided with a version of a much-used partisan map sourced from the foreign funded political NGO B’tselem which is frequently seen in BBC coverage and which, inter alia, portrays the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem as a ‘settlement’.

As ever, the long-standing partial BBC mantra concerning ‘international law’ is promoted:
“Jewish settlements are widely seen by the international community as illegal, but Israel disagrees.”

Equally predictably, Knell employs the usual BBC tactic of erasing the illegal Jordanian occupation of Judea & Samaria and parts of Jerusalem from the story:
“…the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East War.”

So why did Yolande Knell bother to write an entire report about currently unauthorised proposals reportedly agreed between parties which as yet have not formed a government? The answer to that comes in her platforming of Palestinian reactions to the story:
“The Palestinian foreign ministry called on the international community and Washington in particular, to take the needed steps to ensure the agreement was not implemented.

It stated that it would lead to the “entrenchment and expansion of settlements”.

The ministry added the deal was another blow for the hopes of any future return to peace talks with Israel, and the two-state solution – the internationally approved formula for peace to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict.”

Once again it is obvious that the purpose of a ‘news’ report produced by the BBC’s Jerusalem bureau is to provide worldwide amplification for Palestinian talking points issued on the same day as this report was published.


New York police arrest 2 men, seize weapons over ‘threat to Jewish community’
Law enforcement in New York City on Saturday arrested two men and seized weapons over what the police called a “developing threat to the Jewish community.”

The authorities seized a large hunting knife, an illegal Glock 17 handgun and a 30-round magazine, police said.

A Nazi armband was reportedly found with the weapons.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority said two of its officers had apprehended the suspects late Friday night after having been notified of the threat.

The authority said in a statement the officers had found the knife on the suspects, and that an investigation into one of the individuals following the arrest turned up the other weapons and “several other items.”

The suspects were apprehended at Penn Station, a central transportation hub in Manhattan. They were caught close to midnight and formally arrested on Saturday.

Following the arrest, police said they were “deploying assets at sensitive locations” in the city.


Christian Dutch Woman Whose Parents Saved Jews Ascends the Temple Mount
We received this item from our friends at Temple Mount News.

Last Thursday, Hannah, 80, arrived at the Temple Mount with two English-speaking companions from Americans for a Safe Israel and was given the tour by Rabbi Tzvi Tal from Beyadenu. She was very excited and emotional.

Hannah is a Christian woman, born in Holland, who moved to Canada to live there with her husband. She has four children and many grandchildren, her Dutch name is Hannikah, and she used to work as a social worker in a facility where many Holocaust survivors were treated.

At the age of 18, Hannah wanted to volunteer at a kibbutz but the plan never materialized. She remembers how during WW2 her parents hid 22 Jews (as well as a few non-Jews).

At the end of the visit to the holy compound, she shared a very personal experience from her childhood, when she refused to participate in a Christian ceremony, and fought over it with their parents. It was important to her that her Israeli hosts understand that she was not here as a missionary.

She said she was very sick with Covid but decided she had to come to Israel. On her final day here, she asked to visit Jerusalem, but only to places that are sacred to Jews.

Michael Miller of Beyadenu told the Jewish Press: “We were delighted that Hannah joined us from Holland on the Temple Mount. We are extremely grateful for what her family did for the Jewish people during the Holocaust and extended our gratitude to her on the holiest site for Judaism. We will continue fighting for equal rights for everyone on the Temple Mount.”

In the picture, Hannah is holding a medal given to her parents for saving Jews during the Holocaust.
Israel greenlights project to document Holocaust survivors’ testimonies
Israel on Sunday approved a proposal to allocate 3.5 million shekels ($1 million) toward documenting the testimony of Holocaust survivors worldwide.

Addressing the final weekly Cabinet meeting of his government, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said, “Ten years ago, when I was finance minister, I was the driving force behind the decision to increase allowances for Holocaust survivors by millions of shekels. Now, I’m bringing this full circle in this final Cabinet meeting.”

Under the proposal, photographic documentation of survivors from Israel and around the world will be collected, digitized and be processed into social media formats, according to an official statement. The aim of the initiative is to make the content accessible to the younger generation, and to further this end, the content will also be integrated into the education systems of partner countries.

“I’m moved and proud that today, we passed this important decision to document the stories of Holocaust survivors from Israel and around the world—a decision which will make a mark for generations to come,” said Lapid, according to the statement.




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