Wednesday, November 30, 2022

11/30 Links Pt1: Murdering Jews Should Be as Unacceptable as Murdering Druze; Biden Rewards Palestinians for Terrorism, Incitement; UNRWA Finds ‘Man-Made Cavity’ Under Gaza School

From Ian:

Israel’s UN ambassador: Mideast Jews were victims of the ‘real Nakba’
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan inaugurated an exhibit on Tuesday highlighting the expulsion of Jews from Middle East countries, calling the story of these Jewish refugees the “real Nakba.”

The Palestinians have long used the Arabic term “Nakba,” or catastrophe, to describe Israel’s creation and the resulting displacement of some 700,000 of Palestinian Arabs during the 1948 war initiated by Arab nations to destroy the nascent Jewish state.

Marking the 75th anniversary of the U.N.’s adoption of a resolution to create Israel, Erdan said that “those who really suffered from ‘Nakba’ following the decision were Jews—almost a million were expelled from Arab countries and Iran. Since the vote [on Nov. 29, 1947,] which the Arabs rejected, the United Nations has been telling a completely false story about the ‘disaster’ the Palestinians brought upon themselves,” he added.

While the vast majority of Jewish refugees from Arab countries were absorbed into Israel, the United Nations, by contrast, created the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to tend uniquely to Palestinian refugees. Today, the organization recognizes some 5 million Palestinians as “refugees,” having effectively transformed the status into a hereditary trait applicable only to Palestinians.

“A day after the [partition] decision, Jews were violently and cruelly expelled from Arab countries and Iran. This year, after a long struggle, we managed to place an exhibition with photos that document the story of the real Nakba. I will continue to fight for the truth and against the false narrative that the Palestinians and their supporters spread,” said Erdan.




Gil Troy: Murdering Jews Should Be as Unacceptable as Murdering Druze
The Druze threats and kidnappings were undemocratic, uncivilized, unacceptable and effective. Those Druze patriots showed they understand the Middle East’s tribal rules: you target me and I’ll target you more.

The Palestinian killers and their enablers, therefore, did not learn “oh, we should never sully the sanctum of a hospital, disconnect a teenager from life-support whom our doctors are treating after a car crash nearby, then kidnap the body.”

No, they believe they erred by harming a Druze kid, not a Jewish kid. In short, open season on the Jews continues.

Note how little outrage murdering Jews stirs – too many American Jewish extremists are yelling so loudly about Israel supposedly going MAGA and comparing Israeli leaders to Ku Klux Klansmen that they can’t hear the bombs detonated in Jerusalem or the cries as Israelis are shot, stabbed or rammed to death. And note Israel’s dilemma: In this law-abiding democracy cherishing the Jewish and Western ideals holding individuals accountable, these Druze fighters understand that collective punishment works in the clannish Middle East.

IN ESTABLISHING a Jewish democracy in an irrationally hostile neighborhood, Zionism has always oscillated between the Western norms that keep us civilized and the Middle Eastern moves that keep us alive. We want to look at ourselves in the mirror with pride but need our enemies to look at us with fear. Such principled, disciplined toughness required crushing our enemies without crushing our souls.

Forty years ago, during the anguish over Israel’s Lebanon war – following persistent PLO attacks from the north – the liberal American Zionist Leonard Fein identified “two kinds of Zionists... We want to be normal, we want to be special: we want to be a light unto the nations, we want to be a nation like all the others.” And, Fein realized most of us are both.

Right now, Israel is again enmeshed in an intense debate about how to kill the killers around us, without killing democracy and decency, too. I am proud that the IDF command swiftly punished the five soldiers who bullied leftist protesters in Hebron.

These outlaws not only betrayed their commanders, training, oaths and country, but they double-crossed my soldier kids and their friends, too. They fight hard to defend our country while respecting civilized norms and avoiding politics when in uniform.

It’s hard not to feel sick watching the videos of the beatings, preceded by one Givati soldier foolishly vowing that “Ben-Gvir holech la’asot po seder” – Ben-Gvir will impose order here. The video shows how Itamar Ben-Gvir’s inflammatory words risk intensifying problems, without solving them.

As usual, the far-right’s idiocy parallels the far-left’s. Both overestimate the impact any one individual can have in government, let alone on an entire country. I challenge the fanatics to name one cabinet member who ever solved Israel’s security problem or destroyed Israel’s soul.
Biden Rewards Palestinians for Terrorism, Incitement
The Biden administration's recent decision to upgrade its relations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) is yet another sign of how the US is rewarding the Palestinians, as they are the Iranian regime, for their ongoing toxic incitement and terrorism against Israel.

It is the first time the US has created a position at the State Department that is solely responsible for Palestinian affairs.

The decision coincided with two bomb attacks in Jerusalem, in which a 16-year-old Jewish boy was killed and 14 other people wounded.

The Palestinian Authority, in fact, offers stipends to the terrorists and their families as part of its "Pay-for-Slay" program -- which serves as an incentive, especially in an area that is not wealthy, for its citizens to continue their violence.

Several Palestinian groups issued separate statements lauding the Jerusalem bombings as "heroic operations" and calling for the murder of more Jews.

Abbas has never called on the terror groups to halt their attacks.

One would have expected the Biden administration to demand that the Palestinian leadership dismantle the terror groups operating under its auspices in the West Bank.

One would have expected the Biden administration to demand that the Palestinian Authority halt the monthly payments for terrorism to the terrorists and their families.

One would have expected the Biden administration to pressure the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with Israel and abandon their long-time policy of rejecting all offers without even proposing a counteroffer.
What will Biden’s policy be towards Israel for the rest of his term?
Questions abound about how U.S.-Israel relations will unfold now that the midterm elections are history. Will the White House move closer to Israel’s tough policy on isolating the Islamic Republic of Iran? Will Biden seek to strong-arm Jerusalem into a bad territorial deal with the Palestinians? Will the State Department build on the Abraham Accords to normalize relations between Israel and additional Muslim-majority countries?

Daniel Pipes, the president of the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum, told JNS, “Perhaps the most important thing [former U.S. Secretary of State] John Kerry ever said in his long and undistinguished career was in 2016: ‘No. No, no and no….There will be no advance and separate [Israeli] peace with the Arab world without the Palestinian process and Palestinian peace. Everybody needs to understand that. That is a hard reality.’ ”

The prominent Mideast historian Pipes added, “His [Kerry’s] supreme confidence meant that, when the Abraham Accords came along, his and the Democrats’ entire interpretation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict shattered. This seems to have had the happy consequence that the Democrats have stayed away from this topic. I hope and think that will continue to be the case.”

The Trump administration secured the most significant normalization agreement since Israel’s peace deal with Jordan in 1994, the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords solidified diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the Gulf region and Morocco and (a work in progress) Sudan in Africa.

When asked whether he views the Biden administration moving closer to Israel’s hawkish posture towards the Iranian regime, Pipes said, “Yes. Weirdly, it took Russian use of Iranian drones in Ukraine—an unrelated issue—to prompt the Europeans and Biden to realize that the mullahs are not cuddly. So, now there is a new wariness about Tehran, though no thanks to all those years of Israeli efforts.”
US committed to reopening consulate, two-state solution - Hady Amr
“The US remains committed to reopening our consulate general in Jerusalem,” said Hady Amr, the newly appointed special representative for Palestinian affairs at the State Department.

“I continue to believe that reopening the consulate [puts] the US in the best position to engage with and provide support to the Palestinian people,” he said Wednesday in a press briefing. “We're going to continue to discuss the timeline for reopening our consulate general with our Israeli and Palestinian partners. At the same time, we right now have a dedicated team of colleagues on the ground working in Jerusalem and our Office of Palestinian Affairs, every single day on engagement with and outreach to Palestinians.”

Asked about the situation in the West Bank, he said: “We are closely tracking every reported incident every day, and we are deeply aware of the tragic loss of life that we are seeing in the territories.”

Amr also avoided giving a definitive answer about the incoming Israeli government. “In terms of the new Israeli government, I'm not going to speculate on its composition and how it's going to engage. It's up to the parties on the ground to take the steps needed to de-escalate the situation.”

“What we are focused on in the immediate term is lifting up and improving Palestinian lives, while we also look for ways to restore political horizon and return to a two-state solution,” he added.
Biden should stop providing weapons to new Israeli gov't -ex-US ambassador
The United States should no longer provide offensive weapons or military assistance to Israel's incoming government for actions in Jerusalem and the West Bank, a former US ambassador to Israel and a former US State Department negotiator said in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Ex-diplomat Daniel Kurtzer and negotiator Aaron David Miller, both American Jews who have worked on the Arab-Israeli peace process, wrote in The Post that the US should continue to support Israel's "legitimate security needs," but should warn against efforts to change the status of the West Bank, Temple Mount and settlement outposts. US boycott of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich
With Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir as national security minister and Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich as Finance Minister, Kurtzer and Miller expressed in The Post their fear that the incoming government will also foster increased settlement activity, settler violence, and loosened rules on the use of force by Israeli security forces. Such actions would ostensibly lead to the end of the two-state solution.

Consequently, the former US officials wrote that President Joe Biden's administration should set terms to Israel that it will not have any dealings with Ben-Gvir, Smotrich or their ministries, and that US support for international forums such as the UN and international courts have limits.

Current US leadership has been apprehensive about the role of Otzma Yehudit and RZP in the incoming Israeli government.

The Biden administration, at the beginning of coalition negotiations following the Israeli general election, called on Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu to appoint ministers that the US could work with, Ynet reported.


Ruthie Blum: Why make everything about the Israeli-Arab conflict?
Outgoing Israeli Transportation and Road Safety Minister and Labor Party Chairwoman Merav Michaeli opened her latest faction meeting with a false parallel.

"There's a direct line between the violence in Hebron and the stabbing in Holon," she said on Monday, echoing a tweet by former Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avi Benayahu, currently a regular political commentator. She was also repeating a report by Channel 13 News military correspondent Or Heller, who cited an anonymous IDF officer to make the same claim.

Michaeli and the others were referring to a pair of recent incidents that have been dominating Hebrew-media headlines. The first was the senseless slaying on Wednesday evening of 52-year-old Bat Yam resident Yuri Volkov – as he crossed a street in Holon with his wife – by Adi Mizrahi, a 22-year-old criminal who committed, then tried to cover up, the murder.

The second was the physical confrontation in Hebron on Friday between soldiers from the Givati Brigade and left-wing activists on a "solidarity visit" to Palestinians in the area. One of the infantrymen was caught on video punching a man he was trying to detain. Another declared on camera that slated-to-be National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir "will restore order here."

The two events had nothing in common, other than their being linked for political purposes by detractors of the coalition-in-formation of Prime Minister-elect Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. The irony here is glaring, as both events took place during the current government, led by caretaker premier Yair Lapid.

It's especially jaw-dropping as Michaeli is still the politician in charge of road safety, and Benny Gantz – who told Kan 11 News during a Rosh Hashanah interview in September that "if Netanyahu manages to forge a narrow, extremist coalition … invite me for an end-of-the-country interview" – remains defense minister until the next government is finalized.

The "anybody but Bibi" crowd never lets such an inconvenient truth – or any veracity, for that matter – disrupt its narrative. And Michaeli is a queen bee of chutzpah on this score.
Caught on Record: West Bank Activists Planning ‘Media Campaign’ To Provoke Israeli Soldiers (VIDEO)
Palestinians and foreign activists in Hebron are reportedly planning a wave of violent incidents meant to provoke Israel Defense Forces soldiers stationed in the West Bank city.

Five members of an elite IDF unit were suspended this week pending an investigation into alleged misconduct. Video footage shared on social media showed soldiers physically and verbally abusing a group of demonstrators.

However, in exclusive comments to Israel’s Tazpit Press Service, prominent Palestinian activist Issa Amro admitted that the November 25 incident was staged as “part of a media protest campaign.”

While IDF soldiers are rightly held to a high standard of conduct, even under challenging circumstances and in the midst of relentless intimidation, journalists reporting on the conflict have a duty to provide readers with all the facts. As violence continues to soar, we encourage you to get the truth out by sharing this video.


UN Palestinian Refugee Agency Finds ‘Man-Made Cavity’ Under Gaza School
The United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Tuesday announced that it had discovered a “man-made cavity” under one of its schools in Gaza, the latest discovery by the agency that one of its schools may have been used to cover the activities of militant terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Describing the discovery as a “neutrality breach against the agency” UNRWA said that it had sealed the cavity and “protested strongly to the relevant authorities in Gaza,” presumably meaning Hamas, which governs the Gaza strip.

UNRWA’s press release did not mention either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) by name. Both groups have been repeatedly accused by Israel and other human rights groups of routinely and systematically using educational installations in the Gaza Strip, many operated by UNRWA, for terrorist purposes, including storing munitions, sheltering militants, and launching rockets.

UNRWA announced similar tunnel discoveries in 2021 and 2017. In 2017 it “robustly intervened and protested to Hamas” but has since declined to explicitly condemn the terrorist group. In 2014 UNRWA discovered several caches of rockets hidden in its schools.

UNRWA schools themselves have been accused of indoctrinating Palestinian children with radical, antisemitic, and anti-Israel curricula.

In 2021 UNWRA announced it would investigate ten of its staffers after a watchdog group exposed more than 100 teachers, school principals and other employees that praise Hitler, propagate hatred against Jews and support terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians on social media. Earlier this year, UN Watch shared 20 additional examples of UNRWA teachers and staffers in the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan expressing support for terrorist groups, violence against Jews and Israelis and antisemitism.

The Biden administration has restored hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid to UNRWA after the Trump administration had cut off aid to the agency in 2018.


Israel to the FBI: No Thanks
The more one considers the events and the larger environment, the more these concerns seem viable. After all, there have been attacks on American Israelis for years, particularly in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria. Where was the FBI then?

Did the FBI investigate the infamous bombing of the Café Hillel on Emek Refaiim Street in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada?

Is the overture to investigate the bombing that injured Naomi Pilichowski somehow intended to dilute and deflect the concerns over the interest in investigating the shooting of Abu Akleh?

Ultimately, Naomi’s father has it right: we are a sovereign country.

Our new government (representing, ironically, the return of the Netanyahu bogeyman) needs to make clear to the Americans that while we value our friendship and our alliance, and while we welcome American concerns as to our own policies and what happens here, we alone will will determine what has happened here and why.

This is what sovereign countries do. They remind other countries that they are not vassals of anyone.

Bennett and Lapid were right about one thing: our relationship with the United States needed repair. But the repair is the exact opposite of what they thought was needed.

Israel needs to look America in the eye and say: sure, we are smaller than you, but you need us as much as we need you. And on that basis, let’s work together as mutually respectful equals.


Top Israeli cop says closing in on Jerusalem bus stop bombing perpetrators
The perpetrators of last week’s twin terrorist bombings in Jerusalem will be apprehended in the near future, a top Israel Border Police official said on Wednesday.

“In the coming days we will get to each and every one of those involved…and bring them to justice,” Ch. Supt. Oded Aflalo, the Border Police’s head of operations, said in an interview with Kan Radio.

“The investigation is continuing on numerous levels—intelligence, which I cannot detail but which is progressing, and operational—whereby the Border Police is working with the Israel Security Agency [Shin Bet], the Yamam [counter-terrorism police] and other units.”

Two Israelis were killed and more than 20 injured in two explosions last Wednesday at bus stops located near entrances to Jerusalem. Authorities believe that the sources of the blasts were two remotely detonated bombs packed with nails to cause maximum damage.

Police described the explosives as “high quality” and said that an organized terror cell likely planned and carried out the attack.
Ministers condemn ‘terrible’ Jordanian film about 1948 war slated to hit Netflix
Outgoing Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman on Wednesday condemned Netflix over its decision to stream a Jordanian film depicting alleged atrocities against Palestinians during the 1948 conflict that surrounded Israel’s creation.

Liberman, the head of the Yisrael Beytenu party, also suggested withdrawing state funding from a theater in Jaffa that plans to show the film.

“Farha,” directed by Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam, tells the story of a 14-year-old Palestinian girl whose village comes under attack by Israeli forces, who are depicted executing civilians.

It will be available for streaming on Netflix as of Thursday after featuring in the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.

“It’s crazy that Netflix decided to stream a movie whose whole purpose is to create a false pretense and incite against Israeli soldiers,” Liberman said in a statement.

He also slammed as “unacceptable” the decision by the Al Saraya theater in Jaffa, which receives state subsidies, to screen the film.
Israeli gov’t to cut funding to Jaffa theater planning to screen anti-Israel film
Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman instructed the treasury on Wednesday to cut funding to the Al Saraya Theater in Jaffa over its planned screening of a Jordanian movie that portrays IDF soldiers as murderers.

Separately, Otzma Yehudit Party head MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, blasted Netflix’s decision to air the film.

“The Jordanian incitement film that will be broadcast on Netflix proves how much hypocrisy there is in the world towards Israel, which was attacked with murderous terrorism even before its establishment,” said Ben-Gvir, reported Arutz 7.

“The Foreign Ministry should deal with this brainwashing with determination, by informing and presenting the real picture of who the actual bloodthirsty murderers are. We cannot be silent in the face of this blood libel that would reverberate around the world,” he said.

The Jordanian film, titled “Farha,” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, received critical acclaim and was even picked to represent Jordan in the Best Foreign Film category of the upcoming Oscars.
PMW: PA and Fatah lie, turn murderer of 3 into victim of “arbitrary attack” and “execution in cold blood”
When an 18-year-old Palestinian terrorist and Fatah member stabbed and murdered 3 Israelis last week, one of the lethal stabbings was caught by a security camera.

This fact did not stop the PA and Fatah from lying about it.

Official PA TV misrepresented the terrorist murderer as an innocent victim of “a crime” who was “shot by the occupation,” and Fatah Secretary in the town of Hares, Hashem Daoud, portrayed the murderer as a victim of an “arbitrary attack” and “execution in cold blood”:
Official PA TV newsreader: “Young Muhammad Murad Souf, 18 (i.e., terrorist, murdered 3), died as a Martyr … shot by the occupation forces in the Ariel settlement industrial park…”

Fatah Secretary in town of Hares, Hashem Daoud: “We as Fatah Tanzim (i.e., Fatah terror faction) strongly condemn the arbitrary attack against our children, especially the execution of Martyr [Muhammad Souf] in cold blood today…

Official PA TV reporter: “Today a new crime has been added to the list of the occupation’s crimes, and a new Martyr joins the procession of Martyrs, who with their blood are drawing the most exalted scenes of glory and the supreme degree of loyalty to the soil of this homeland.”

[Official PA TV News, Nov. 15, 2022]

Contradicting the PA’s own “execution in cold blood” claim, the official PA daily followed another PA policy and glorified the terrorist’s act of murder, openly admitting that he murdered three Israelis. In a headline the paper announced: “The attack in Salfit: Young Muhammad Souf died as a Martyr and three settlers were killed.” Sticking to the victimhood claim, the paper also stated that the 18-year-old “was shot by the Israeli occupation forces and died as a Martyr” and that the Palestinian masses condemned “the execution.” But in order to glorify the terrorist’s attack the paper at the same time undermined its own claim of the attacker’s victimhood by quoting Israeli sources describing the terrorist’s several attacks in detail:


PMW: PA official: Israel will cease to exist: “Many occupations have passed and left”
PA Jerusalem District Governor Adnan Ghaith: “This occupation will end, because history has proven that oppression does not last long in this land. Many occupations have passed over this land and left, and this occupation will also leave.” [Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Nov. 22, 2022]




MEMRI: Egyptian Writers' Union Expels Three Members For 'Normalization With Israel'
The Egyptian Writers' Union recently took disciplinary proceedings against three Egyptian authors for what it called activities involving normalization with Israel, in advance of the expulsion of the authors from the union. The writers are Alaa Al-Aswany, who was interviewed by the IDF's radio station about his new book; Youssef Ziedan, who announced his intention to deliver a lecture at Tel Aviv University, and Mona Prince, who posted a picture of her 2018 meeting with former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt David Govrin, which was covered by Israel's Makan television channel in December 2021.[1] The union's president, Dr. 'Alaa 'Abd Al-Hadi, explained that the disciplinary measure was mandated by a decision of the union's general assembly that forbids normalization with "the Israeli enemy" and views it as a crime. Following the disciplinary proceedings, Ziedan announced his resignation from the union, and Prince published a post in which she expressed support for normalization with Israel, as she has done more than once in the past.[2] Al-Aswany, for his part, stated that he had not granted an interview to an Israeli radio station but had been interviewed by his literary agent in London as part of promoting his new book, The Republic of False Truths.[3]

It should be noted that Al-Aswany and Ziedan often criticize the Egyptian regime, which may be one of the reasons for their expulsion from the union. Furthermore, in September 2022, an Egyptian court upheld the decision of the Suez Canal University to expel Mona Prince from her post as a professor in the university's English Department. Prince was dismissed from her position for posting videos of herself belly-dancing on her personal Facebook page in 2017. The videos, which sparked controversy, may have been another factor in the writer's union's decision to expel her.[4]

It should also be noted that this is not the first time Egyptian writers have been ostracized by the union on grounds of normalization with Israel. The most well-known case involved the novelist and playwright Ali Salem, who was expelled from the union after he visited Israel.

Former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt David Govrin with Mona Prince in 2018 (Source: Al-Yawm Al-Sabi', Egypt, December 4, 2018)

This report reviews the responses to the recent decision by the Egyptian Writers' Union to expel the three authors.

President Of The Egyptian Writers' Union: The Union Forbids "Normalization With The Israeli Enemy"
Dr. 'Alaa 'Abd Al-Hadi, president of the Egyptian Writers' Union, explained that the three authors had been summoned to the disciplinary committee in advance of heir expulsion from the union on grounds of involvement in normalization activities with Israel. The measure, he explained, was mandated by a 1995 decision of the union's general assembly which forbids "normalization with the Israeli enemy" and views it as a crime. He asserted that boycotting "the Zionist entity is a effective weapon that should not be underestimated."[5] Khalil Al-Gizawy, a member of the union's board of directors the and the head of its publishing committee, added that in February 2022 the union's general assembly had renewed its commitment to the rejection of normalization with Israel, and that any writer found to be promoting or supporting normalization would be expelled from the union. He stressed that the union has a recording of Al-Aswany's interview with the Israeli radio station.
Iran affirms commitment to not attack Israeli targets in Thailand—report
Thai government officials recently notified their Israeli counterparts that Iran remains committed to its decision not to conduct attacks against Israeli targets in Thailand, Axios reported on Tuesday.

The report, citing an Israeli diplomatic cable, said that the political director of the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Aliza Bin-Noun, met on Nov. 15 in Bangkok with a senior Thai official, who briefed her on a trip he took to Tehran in August.

According to the official, during the visit he asked his Iranian counterparts to reiterate a commitment made the previous year not to target Israeli interests in the Southeast Asian country.

In June, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Thai security forces had thwarted a series of Iranian plots to attack Western and Israeli targets in the country.

In Feb. 2012, a series of explosions in Bangkok injured several people in what authorities believe were botched attempts by Iranian nationals to assassinate Israeli diplomats.

The blasts came a day after two bomb attacks targeted Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia.


Iran sentences 4 to death for 'cooperating' with Israeli intelligence
Four people were sentenced to death on Wednesday by Iran's judiciary for allegedly cooperating with the Israeli intelligence service and committing kidnappings, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The Islamic Republic has long accused arch-enemy Israel of carrying out covert operations on its soil. Tehran has lately accused Israeli and Western intelligence services of plotting a civil war in the country, now gripped by some of the biggest anti-government protests since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Mehr named the four accused and, referring to Israel, said they were "sentenced to death for the crime of cooperating with the intelligence services of the Zionist regime and for kidnapping".

It added: "With guidance from the Zionist intelligence service, this network of thugs was stealing and destroying private and public property, kidnapping people, and obtaining fake confessions."

Mehr said the accused had been arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence.

Three other people were handed prison sentences of between five and 10 years for allegedly committing crimes such as acting against national security, aiding in kidnapping, and possessing illegal weapons, it said.
MEMRI: U.S.-Based Saudi Journalist Tweets Iranian Intelligence Ministry Document Revealing That In 2004 IAEA Leaked Secret Information To Iran
On November 27, 2022, U.S.-based Saudi journalist Hussain Al-Gawi tweeted an Iranian Intelligence Ministry document showing that in 2004 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had leaked secret information from its investigation of Iran's nuclear and uranium enrichment programs. According to Al-Gawi's tweet, the information had been sent to Iran by employees of then-IAEA secretary-general Mohamed ElBaradei.

It should be noted that a handwritten note on the left side of the page indicates that the document is for handling by "Fakhrizadeh" – i.e. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the founder and head of Iran's nuclear program who was assassinated in 2021.[1]

The following is a translation of the tweet and of the attached IAEA document.

Al-Gawi tweeted on November 27, 2022: "Scandal... In 2004, the IAEA leaked secret files to Iran via employees of [then-IAEA secretary-general] Mohamed ElBaradei that concerned uranium enrichment and how to evade international sanctions."[2]


Seth Frantzman: Qatar’s crackdown on critics of Iran regime in the spotlight
It is difficult to know if the videos of people being detained or harassed in Qatar due to their opposition to Iran’s regime reflect a wider crackdown. Tehran and Doha have already enjoyed warm relations, and this is important because it contrasts with Iran’s colder relations with Saudi Arabia.

As such, Qatar not only needs Iranian support, but both the countries share other interests. The authoritarian regimes in Doha and Tehran work with Hamas and Turkey, which backs Hamas and has also backed Qatar. Together, these countries work with China and Russia.

HOWEVER, Doha is also a keen partner of the West and hosts a US military base. As such, Qatar seeks to play both sides. It has hosted not only Hamas and other extremists over the years, but also the Taliban. By hosting the extremists, Doha then becomes a conduit for “talks” that help empower groups such as the Taliban.

Clearly, these far-right religious theocratic groups tend to be homophobic and against things such as the pride flag. Pro-Qatar media have said that Doha is merely demanding respect for its “culture” in terms of issues relating to gay rights.

“LGBTQ+ rights activists and campaigners have condemned FIFA’s threats to impose sanctions on players who wear OneLove armbands at the World Cup in Qatar,” The Guardian reported last week. “England, Wales and five other European nations have confirmed their players will not wear the armband, saying the football governing body had made it clear their captains could be booked or forced to leave the pitch if they did so. The move was criticized by LGBTQ+ groups, with mixed reaction as to who was to blame.”

It appears that what began as Doha demanding respect for its “culture,” and claims that critique abroad was discrimination against Qatar, is now shifting to a more reactive policy by the World Cup host, in which dissidents are being harassed. This includes targeting protests against the Iranian regime, and it also may be linked to increased incidents of hostility against Israeli media.

In the last several days, there have been several negative interactions between Israeli media representatives and sports fans in Qatar. It’s not clear if this is authentic behavior or if Doha is quietly letting it be known that protesting Israel should be supported as a way to distract from other problems in the hosting country.

Harassment of those who wear shirts that say “Women, Life, Freedom” appears to be increasing. The video making the rounds on Tuesday showed a man being accosted by officials wearing the same police “security cell” as those who harassed the woman in the previous video, who also wore the shirt about.

Qatar’s attempts to crush dissent are going far beyond going after protesters or dissidents; it is targeting things such as arm bands and shirts. Even the colors of the rainbow can get people in trouble, according to posts on social media.


Ben-Dror Yemini: Erratic Arab rage at Qatar World Cup is not a death sentence for Israelis
Despite the letdown felt by the Israelis from the hostility in Qatar, it should be emphasized that this problem is one that belongs to the Arab world. The Arabs create their own wars, among themselves, within state borders and outside of them.

However, there are other faces of the Arab world. Every Israeli who has been to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, or Morocco, can testify that the vibes there are completely different.

Also, needless to say, within every country there is an array of opinions. Most areas in Morocco are welcoming, although there are extreme Islamist sectors there as well.

Furthermore, it's important to remember that majority is not a necessary condition for riots to break out, like in Belgium and Holland.

To look deeper into what the majorities of these countries believe is beneficial. Surveys conducted by the Arab American Institute (AAI) in Washington DC reveal a dramatic change in Arab public opinion. The findings from 2019 showed that 84% of the population in the UAE supports normalization with Israel even without peace with the Palestinians, 79% in Saudi Arabia, 73% in Egypt, 72% in Jordan, 49% in Lebanon, and even 39% in the Palestinian Authority.

An additional survey, also by the AAI, was conducted following the signing of the Abraham Accords, reflecting a little less optimism. Still, 41-42% of the populations in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan supported normalization without peace with the Palestinians, 56% in the UAE, and 31% in the Palestinian Authority.

These results shine a light on the fact that most of these countries have a substantial amount of people in them, who recognize and support the prospect of peace with the Jewish state. Overall, this is a sign of hope and a reason to be optimistic.

There certainly is a hostile environment in Doha, due to the overwhelming Palestinian presence and the regime's opposition to Israel's existence.

However, the popular claim that the hostility due to "the occupation" does not hold water. If they don't believe in Israel's existence, the alleged occupation is not of concern to them, they don't want us here at all, period.

To sum up, the rage of those who were brainwashed to hate does not need much effort to spark up. This is exactly the case in Doha - where Arabs take out their anger on Israelis, and likewise in Brussels - where immigrants take out their anger on the country they live in. There is no occupation in Belgium, no national conflict. And nevertheless, just as Israelis encounter verbal violence, Belgians encounter physical violence.

So let's do ourselves a favor, and look at the glass half full. We can even see the glass as more than half full - the Arab world is not a monolith represented by Doha. There is also Casablanca, Marrakesh, and Dubai.

The conflict with the Palestinians must be solved. This is what's right for Israel, not because Hamas or Al-Jazeera claims it to be true.
Israel Is Star of World Cup 2022 as Palestinian Activists Whip Up Hatred, Encourage Fans to Harass Jewish Journos
The litany of anti-Israel incidents in Qatar is the result of social media movements that are determined to stoke division in Doha, as activists capitalize on the proportionally larger number of Arab fans in attendance than at previous World Cup tournaments.

One Twitter campaign — dubbed the “Palestinian Dream” — calls on supporters to “make the Palestinian issue known to the world,” while fans are also told to don keffiyehs, the headscarves that have been associated with Palestinian militancy.

There have even been plans to set up “information camps” to distribute misinformation about Israel too, while youth groups acting as “Palestinian ambassadors” will attempt to engage fans on the street, despite the vast majority of people going to the World Cup simply to enjoy a game of soccer.

More worrying than the Arab and Palestinian-spearheaded crusade against Israel, however, is the way these disturbing incidents have been covered by the international media — either in the form of stone-cold silence or tacit acceptance that validates these unpleasant campaigns.

On Thursday, the Associated Press finally got around to covering the abuse that Israeli reporters have been subjected in a piece, “Israeli-Palestinian conflict catches up with Qatar World Cup.”

While the piece references several incidents of Israelis being abused, as well as the particularly upsetting Shorrer incident (although it is framed merely as an allegation from the sports journalist), the story downplays the antisemitism and anti-Israel bigotry that has been so publicly displayed in Qatar.

For example, reference is made to how “Israelis have made themselves at home among Doha’s glittering skyscrapers,” while “Qatar’s first kosher kitchen set up near the airport, supplying hotels and fan zones with the classic eggy Jewish challah bread and olive and hummus sandwiches.” But the AP fails to mention the initial ban on kosher food and Jewish prayer.

The fact is, the abuse suffered by Israeli journalists in Qatar is not just shameful, but is the antithesis of what the World Cup should be about — an event that unites fans from all over the world in their love of the beautiful game.

Indeed, when FIFA was asked about the decision to name Qatar as the host of the event, leaders of the organization announced that “no one people or culture or nation is ‘better’ than any other,” describing this principle as the “very foundation stone of mutual respect and non-discrimination” and core value of soccer in general.

“At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world. One of the great strengths of the world is indeed its very diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means having respect for that diversity,” they added.

How hollow these words ring in light of the antisemitism and discrimination against Israelis that have characterized World Cup 2022.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 19 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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