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Friday, December 30, 2022

12/30 Links Pt1: Can US Jews love the real Israel—or only the fantasy version?; Major Spike in Judea and Samaria Shooting Attacks, IDF Stats Reveal; Iran chess star fleeing to Spain after playing without hijab

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Where the Netanyahu government differs from its predecessor
Over the course of the campaign, and in a steadily escalating fashion as he prepared to return to office, Netanyahu has spoken enthusiastically about the prospect of reaching a peace agreement that will formalize Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia. Those still sub rosa relations were the foundation of the Abraham Accords.

The rationale for a Saudi deal is overwhelming for both countries. Leaving aside the economic potential of such an agreement—which is massive—the strategic implications are a game changer. An Israeli-Saudi normalization agreement, like the agreements Israel concluded with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in 2020, is a means to withstand the Biden administration’s realignment away from America’s allies and towards Iran. By strengthening its bilateral ties with the Arab states bordering Iran and other key states in the region, Israel expands its strategic footprint and is capable of developing defensive and offensive capabilities by working in cooperation with likeminded governments. By working with Israel openly, Saudi Arabia sends a clear message to Iran and its people that Saudi Arabia will not be cowed into submission by the regime that is currently brutalizing its youth.

Netanyahu has already made a statement in support of the revolutionaries in Iran. At this point, with most experts assessing that Iran has crossed the nuclear threshold and has enough enriched uranium to produce up to four bombs per month, it is obvious that Biden’s nuclear diplomacy has nothing to do with nuclear non-proliferation.

There are only two ways to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state—direct action targeting Iran’s nuclear installations and regime change. Netanyahu’s willingness to stand up to the Biden administration and stand with the Iranian people and Israel’s regional partners makes regime change more likely, and direct action against Iran’s nuclear installations more likely to succeed.

Over the two months since the Israeli elections, the opposition and its supporters on the Israeli and American Jewish left have stirred up hysteria by claiming that the most significant distinction between the Lapid-Gantz government and the Netanyahu government centers on social policies related to non-religious Jews. This claim is false, and maliciously so. The Netanyahu government has no intention—and never had any intention—of curtailing the civil rights of non-religious Jews. Their goal is to expand civil and individual rights, by among other things, placing checks and balances on Israel’s hyper-activist Supreme Court and state prosecution.

There are many differences between the previous government and the Netanyahu government. None of them have to do with civil rights. The main distinction is that the Netanyahu government has made securing Israel’s national interests its central goal in foreign and domestic policy. Its predecessors were primarily interested in getting along with the hostile Biden administration, under all conditions. Netanyahu and his ministers will work with the Biden administration enthusiastically, when possible.
Jonathan Tobin: Can US Jews love the real Israel—or only the fantasy version?
For the first decades of Israel’s existence, the above differences with Americans were papered over by the dominance of Labor Zionism, whose universalist rhetoric meshed nicely with liberal sensibilities, even if the security policies it pursued did not. But even in its most idealized form, a particularistic project such as Zionism has been a difficult sell for American Jews, the overwhelming bulk of whom see sectarian concerns not only as antithetical to their well-being, but possibly racist, as well.

Having found a home in which they were granted free access to every sector of American society, and in which the non-Jewish majority proved willing to marry them, they unsurprisingly have had difficulty coming to terms with an avowedly ethno-religious state with such a different raison d’être.

Moreover, an American-Jewish population in which the acceptance of assimilation has created a large and fast-growing group the demographers call “Jews of no religion” is bound to take a dim view of a country that specifically defines itself as a Jewish state, no matter how generous its policies toward the Palestinians or the non-Orthodox denominations might be. If many American Jews are no longer certain that their community’s survival matters, how can one possibly expect them to regard the interest of Israeli Jews in preserving their state against dangerous foes with anything but indifference?

Many Jews talk about their willingness to support a nicer, less nationalist and religious Israel than the one that elected Netanyahu and his allies. They support efforts by Democrats to pressure it to make suicidal concessions to Palestinians who, whether Americans are willing to admit it or not, purpose Israel’s elimination. They also want it to be more welcoming to liberal variants of Judaism that Americans practice, and for the Orthodox have less influence.

But even if you think those changes would make Israel better or safer, a majority of Israelis disagree. So, while much of the criticism is framed as a defense of democracy to sync with Democratic Party talking points that smear Republicans, there’s nothing democratic about thwarting the will of a nation’s voters or seeking to impose a mindset they regard as alien to their needs.

The challenge for liberals is not just how to cope with an Israel led by Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, or to put aside the partisan hyperbole branding it as a fascist or fundamentalist tyranny. It’s accepting the fact that Israel is not a Middle Eastern variant of the blue state enclaves where most American Jews live.

They need to grasp that simple, but still difficult-to-accept concept and forget about the Israel of liberal fantasies. If they can, it should be easy for them to understand that no matter who is running Israel—or how its people think, worship or vote—the sole Jewish state’s continued survival is still a just and worthy cause.
Ruthie Blum: Israel’s new government and ‘Pauline Kael syndrome’
Following the late and former US president Richard Nixon’s landslide re-election in 1972, New Yorker magazine film critic Pauline Kael voiced a mixture of dismay and surprise.

“I live in a rather special world,” she commented. “I only know one person who voted for [him]. Where they are I don’t know. They’re outside my ken. But sometimes when I’m in a theater, I can feel them.”

Her famous acknowledgment of existence in an elitist bubble, insulated from a faceless mass of aliens lurking menacingly in the shadows, may have been irritating, but at least it was honest. It also perfectly described the chasm between the chattering classes and the majority of the voting public.

Though this type of divide in the West tends to be viewed and treated as political – since it’s inevitably expressed at the ballot box – it’s actually more cultural in nature. The response in Israel and abroad to the outcome of the November 1 Knesset election is a case in point. What were the reactions to Netanyahu's coalition?

The initial shock and subsequent hysteria surrounding the emergence of Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s “full, full right-wing” coalition has been emanating from circles of the Pauline Kael variety. To them, it’s worse than irrelevant that the new government in Jerusalem is the result of the people’s clear choice; they call the rejection of the Left’s increasingly woke post-Zionism “undemocratic” and a sign of societal downfall.

Such baseless charges on the part of the “anybody but Bibi” camp would be funny if they weren’t welcomed so heartily by those in the international community who delegitimize the Jewish state, regardless of its leadership, and by fellow travelers putting Israel on perpetual probation. Take the hundreds of American rabbis (none Orthodox, of course) who signed “A Call to Action for Clergy in Protest of Israeli Government Extremists,” for instance.


Israel’s historic right-wing government is the democratic will of the voters
Netanyahu also pledged to build upon the historic Abraham Accords he signed with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. In an interview with JNS ahead of the election, Netanyahu said he “intends to “make peace with Saudi Arabia” and “end the Arab-Israeli conflict once and for all.”

Most important, the government will focus on strengthening Jewish values. It is the Jewish character of the state that makes it strong and unique. Progressives on the other hand seek for Israel to be a secular extension of Western Europe on the Eastern Mediterranean.

In his address at the Knesset, Smotrich noted that “it is both our obligation and our privilege to continue to strengthen our rich and glorious identity….We must never lose pride in who we are and what we are, or where we come from, or where we are headed.”

He added that “our Jewish identity is what gives us the right to live here and my prayer is that we should know how to deepen this identity, how to rejoice in it, ourselves and our children.”

The new government has the potential to score major accomplishments for a Jewish state that has come under progressive attack in recent years. The attacks continue even with the firm election of a right-wing government. Progressive politicians and left-wing media have been working tirelessly to sour liberal American Jews on the new government. These efforts serve no purpose other than to delegitimize Israel, in an era of increasing anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

Hopefully, American Jewry will recognize the folly of this strategy and return to its strong support of the State of Israel as the past, present and future of the Jewish people.

That said, angry progressives are likely to stay bitter and stay vocal, giving the incoming government a mouthful at every opportunity.

Addressing the opposition, the media and the overly loud and disappointed minority, Netanyahu stated, “A democratic regime is tested first of all by the willingness of the losing side to accept the majority’s decision.”
JPost Editorial: New gov't must take Jordan's warning on changing status quo in Jerusalem seriously
King Abdullah II of Jordan warned Israel on Wednesday against making any changes to the status quo in Jerusalem. This was timed to coincide with the swearing in of Israel’s new government, which took place a day later.

Amman sees itself as a guarantor of the status quo and a custodian of the Holy Sites of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa. This unique status has meant that the Hashemite Kingdom often issues these kinds of warnings to Israel.

But that’s not the only reason. Jordan is home to a large number of Palestinians and it is concerned that any conflict in the West Bank has the potential to spill over into its own borders. This means the warning is not just about Israel, it is also about Jordan.

“If people want to get into a conflict with us, we’re quite prepared,” Abdullah told CNN. “I always like to believe that, let’s look at the glass half full, but we have certain redlines... And if people want to push those redlines, then we will deal with that.”

Abdullah added that “there are a lot of people in Israel concerned as much as we are,” implying this his statements are no different than those uttered by supporters of the outgoing government of Yair Lapid.

Jordan has witnessed protests in recent weeks over high fuel prices. Criticizing Israel is an easy way for the king to divert attention away from the challenges his people face at home.

It’s vital that Israel’s incoming government – led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – appreciate Jordan’s role and listen to the king’s concerns, and its layers of meanings.


Putin, Zelensky congratulate Netanyahu, express eagerness to boost cooperation
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately after the swearing-in of his new government, as the returning premier must once again decide whether to maintain Jerusalem’s delicate balancing act between the two warring countries.

“I hope that the new government under your leadership will continue the line of strengthening Russian-Israeli cooperation in all areas for the benefit of our peoples, in the interest of ensuring peace and security in the Middle East,” Putin said in his message to Netanyahu, published by the Kremlin. “In Russia, we greatly appreciate your personal and long-standing contribution to strengthening friendly relations between our countries.”

A similar message was offered by Zelensky who tweeted, “I wish success on the way to the welfare and security of Israel. I confirm Ukraine’s readiness for close cooperation to strengthen our ties and confront common challenges, achieve prosperity and victory over evil.”

During his previous terms in office, Netanyahu touted his close relationship with Putin and insisted that it was critical to maintaining the IDF’s ability to operate freely from the Russian-controlled skies over Syria in order to prevent the entrenchment of Iranian forces on Israel’s northern border. He initially criticized the previous government for neglecting ties to Russia as Jerusalem took several limited steps in support of Ukraine following the invasion by Putin’s forces last February.

However, Netanyahu has changed his tune more recently. In an interview ahead of last month’s election, he characterized the Bennett-Lapid government’s Ukraine policy — which has seen Israel supply humanitarian aid, operate a field hospital in Ukraine and take in a limited number of largely Jewish refugees while stopping short of Kyiv-requested military aid — as “pragmatic.”

Netanyahu even said he would consider arming Ukraine if he returns to the premiership.

“I think [Putin is] guided by his vision of reconstituting a great Russian realm, and I hope he’s having second thoughts about it,” Netanyahu told USA Today at the time.


The United Nations is a factory producing antisemitism
Discussions of antisemitism in both the United States and Europe need to be based on current realities, not assumptions based on the events of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, argues JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin on this week’s episode of “Top Story.”

The leaders of conservative governments in Italy and Hungary are often accused of being antisemites or fascists. However, says Tobin, their opposition to efforts to erase national sovereignty via unlimited immigration from North Africa and the Middle East, as well as their support for Israel, have helped to make their countries safer for their Jewish populations.

The European right of the twenty-first century is not the same as that of earlier years, says Tobin, and its opposition to woke ideology actually makes them allies of the Jews.

Tobin is joined by author and JNS columnist Fiamma Nirenstein, who discusses new Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and the reasons for the right’s electoral success in Italy. Meloni, whom Nirenstein knows from her time serving with her in Italy’s parliament, is, she says, not a fascist and is actually sympathetic to Israel and an opponent of antisemitism. Moreover, her appeal to ordinary voters and desire for her country not to be “overwhelmed by Europe” is something Jews shouldn’t fear.


What should Israel expect at The Hague?
It is true that by resorting for a second time to the ICJ, the opinion request drafters hope also for something more and that is to declare Israel's West Bank policies as apartheid. In the ears of these drafters echoes the Advisory Opinion the ICJ gave in 1974 on Namibia, denouncing the apartheid regime of South Africa and paving the way for sanctions against South Africa and for Namibia to ultimately become independent. In that sense, the drafters of such a request try to recap on the momentum that has been lately created, with major human rights NGOs such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International, branding Israeli policies as apartheid. Some have proceeded to tag as apartheid even Israel's policies inside its sovereign territory.

It is in this debate that the court is being called to intervene and let's be clear on this; if asked, it will ultimately render an opinion, although it shouldn't. If the request's agenda is indeed pure, then the ICJ should simply state it has already answered these questions with its previous opinion and if the request is for Israeli policies to be declared as apartheid, the court should stick to its rule of non ultra petita and not pronounce its stance on issues not included in the advisory opinion request.

At the same time, once the advisory opinion process unveils, the court can discuss any legal matter it wants, including that of apartheid. It is actually plausible to think that some of the 15 judges will. They will find legal arguments to argue that Israel does commit apartheid in the West Bank. Yet, more importantly, the judges should be aware that they can equally find arguments it does not, given that apartheid refers to policies inside a sovereign state and not in occupied territories. When it comes to the State of Israel, the existence of Arab Supreme Court justices and Members of the Knesset is difficult to support such apartheid claims.

No matter what one believes though, from an international law point of view, the question is whether a second advisory opinion will help the rule of law. Sometimes what is needed is not the pronouncement of legal norms and axioms, but the political ability to enforce them on the ground. This quest calls for talents like craftiness, diplomacy, compromise and the ability to engage also with other parameters like macroeconomic welfare and security. All these fields lie beyond the walls of the court. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what is lacking is the will or the leaders to engage in the building of a viable solution. Sadly for all, this will or leaders must come from the people themselves and cannot be produced by any court ofjustice.
UN expected to hold vote asking international court to weigh in on Mideast conflict
The United Nations General Assembly was expected to approve on Friday a resolution demanding the International Court of Justice weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israeli “annexation.”

The UNGA in New York was scheduled to vote on the anti-Israel resolution after it passed a UN committee in November by a wide margin.

The resolution is titled “Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories” and calls on the Hague-based ICJ to “render urgently an advisory opinion” on Israel’s “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory.”

It also calls for an investigation into Israeli measures “aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem” and says Israel has adopted “discriminatory legislation and measures.”

The resolution demands the court weigh in on the conflict in accordance with international law and the UN charter. The court, a UN organ, is separate from the International Criminal Court, which is also in The Hague.

The ICJ last issued an advisory opinion on the conflict in 2004.

Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan denounced the UN for the resolution, calling it a “moral stain” on the world body. He has argued that the vote delegitimizes and demonizes Israel, including by referring to the Temple Mount only by its Arabic name, Haram al-Sharif.

The Temple Mount is the holiest place for Jews as the site of the ancient temples, and the third holiest site in Islam as the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.


Azerbaijan appoints its first ambassador to Israel
Azerbaijan appointed its first ambassador to Israel this week. According to Azerbaijan’s state news outlet Haqqin.az, Deputy Minister of Science and Education Mukhtar Mammadov has been appointed as the country’s first ambassador to the Jewish State.

“Congratulations and good luck to the first Azerbaijani ambassador to Israel!” tweeted George Deek, Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan, upon news of the announcement.

Born in 1983 in Baku, Mammadov worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2013. This included his work at the Azerbaijani embassy in Belgium from 2009 to 2013. Since 2013, under the Ministry of Education, he has been head of the international cooperation department. In April 2021, he became the Deputy Minister of Science and Education. In this capacity, Mammadov supervised projects of innovative cooperation with Israel in the field of science and education.

Mammadov is fluent in Russian, English and Turkish.
Sub-Saharan African Jewish Alliance formed in the aftermath of Kulanu conference
The Sub-Saharan African Jewish Alliance was founded this month, with the goal of facilitating ties among the continent’s Jewish groups. The organization will include representatives from Tanzania, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroon.

The SAJA was established after representatives of Jewish communities across sub-Saharan Africa gathered for the first time in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, this month to discuss various aspects of Judaism and Jewish life in the region.

SAJA has a temporary board with Mordreck Maersara from Zimbabwe currently serving as acting president. The group aims to draft a constitution and hold elections for a permanent board in the next six months. It also has a vice president and treasurer, and intends to add more positions to the roster after the constitution is finalized.

Maersara told JNS, “Our goal is to help each other by discussing both shared successes and challenges to aid each other to grow in our Judaism across Africa.”

The week-long gathering that began on Dec. 13 was organized by Kulanu, a New York-based nonprofit that supports emerging Jewish groups around the world.
Major Spike in Judea and Samaria Shooting Attacks, IDF Stats Reveal
As 2022 draws to a close, the Israel Defense Forces has summarized its operational activities for the past year, which included dozens of reported strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and dozens of special operations.

Dozens of enemy cyberattacks were thwarted, the IDF’s figures revealed.

The Lebanese arena remained quiet this year, despite Hezbollah’s attempt to send unarmed drones towards Israeli offshore gas rigs in July, which were shot down by the Israel Navy and Air Force.

Judea and Samaria saw one of its most violent years in the last 15, with 285 terrorist shooting attacks in 2022, compared to 61 in 2021. There was, however, a decrease in stabbing incidents, with 14 compared to 18 last year, according to the IDF report.

The defense establishment is deeply disturbed by the Palestinian Authority’s lack of sovereignty in northern areas such as Jenin and Nablus, which became centers of terrorism this year, the document continued.

Thirty-one Israelis—24 of them civilians—were murdered by terrorists this year, compared to four in 2021.


Israeli Forces Arrest Operative From Lions’ Den Terrorist Group in Nablus
Israeli forces on Friday morning arrested an operative from the Lions’ Den terrorist group in Nablus in the West Bank, the army said in a statement.

Troops from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Shin Bet internal security service and the Yamam counterterrorism unit of the Israel Border Police surrounded a building where the suspect was staying. While armed, he fled to another building to hide before the Israeli forces entered the building and apprehended him.

A weapon and cartridge were found in the suspect’s possession, which the Israeli army said was using in carrying out attacks.

The suspect was identified as Ahmed Mazri, 19. He is suspected of being involved in recent terrorist activity and was transferred to the Shin Bet for further investigation.

No casualties to Israeli forces were reported.

The West Bank has throughout the year seen nightly raids by Israeli forces as part of Operation “Break the Wave,” which was initiated after a series of deadly terrorist attacks perpetrated against Israelis earlier this year.


Israel Set to Tax Foreign Government Support for Civil NGOs
The new Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to pass a law that would tax foreign government support for civil nonprofit organizations, Haaretz reported Thursday.

The move, written into the coalition agreement between Likud and Otzma Yehudit, is expected to take place 180 days from Thursday, the day Netanyahu’s new government was sworn into office.

A similar bill was introduced in the previous Knesset by then-Yamina MK Amichai Chikli, Religious Zionism MK Orit Strook and Shas MK Moshe Arbel.

Chikli has since moved to the Likud and was appointed as Diaspora Affairs Minister in the new government.

Palestinian Authority Paved Illegal Highway in Gush Etzion with Foreign Funding.

The most recent Palestinian Authority attempt to seize Israeli territory in Area C, funded by foreign governments, was discovered recently in Gush Etzion.

Local residents and the Gush Etzion Regional Council discovered a new highway starting at the Palestinian Authority village of Za’atara, a few miles southeast of Bethlehem in an agreed-upon natural reserve area where construction is not allowed under the Oslo Accords.

The highway reaches into the Judean Desert and provides access to new illegal Arab settlements in Gush Etzion.

Arabic-language signage at the start of the new road indicates it was paved with foreign funds and assistance from the Ramallah government.
How The Palestinian Authority Is Constructing Illegal Settlements In Judea & Samaria: A Fireside Chat With Naomi Kahn, Director Of International Division, Regavim.
For years, news media outlets have covered the topic of small Jewish outposts built in Judea & Samaria (West Bank), which Israeli law considers illegal. But these outposts, despite the media attention paid to them, pale in number compared to Palestinian outposts, built in part due to funds from the Palestinian Authority.

According to Regavim, an Israeli organization which monitors such activity, there have been 80,000 such Palestinian structures built on this land since 2009, but it garners virtually no media attention.

Our guest this week is Naomi Kahn, the Director of Regavim’s International Division, who shares with us her organization’s work in monitoring this construction, why the Israeli government has permitted such construction to take place for so many years, and how the incoming Knesset may potentially change this pattern.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast. Please subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share our show.
Oh this moment when left-wing provocateurs come to Mitzpe Abigail in Mt. Hebron to create riots and then the Arab comes and sends them to all the winds.
No one tolerates them.
Anyone!


Palestinians urge world to ‘reject any dealings’ with new Netanyahu government
The Palestinian Authority called for an international boycott of Israel’s new government over its hardline, right-wing agenda, saying it poses “an existential threat to the Palestinian people.”

“The State of Palestine rejects the annexationist, violent, racist, and incitement to ethnic cleansing policy guidelines of Israel’s new government. The State of Palestine considers this agenda an existential threat to the Palestinian people and their inalienable and inviolable rights,” said a statement released by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry late Thursday.

The PA urged the international community to “carry out its responsibilities and reject any dealings with a government committed to carrying out international crimes, including annexation, political persecution and racial discrimination.”

The statement called for the international community, including the United Nations Security Council, to “ensure the protection of the Palestinian people from Israel’s ongoing campaign of dispossession and displacement, colonization and annexation, ethnic cleansing and persecution.”

The statement came the day that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swore in his new government which includes three far-right factions that want to extend Israel’s control over the West Bank, which the Palestinians claim for a future state.

It also comes only a day after then-defense minister Benny Gantz phoned PA President Mahmoud Abbas as one of his final acts in the role, to emphasize the importance of the relationship between Israel and the PA. Israel maintains important security cooperation with the PA.


Ukrainian Air Force Shoots Down 16 Iranian-Manufactured Drones During Overnight Russian Attacks
Ukraine’s armed forces announced on Friday that 16 Iranian-manufactured Shahed drones launched by invading Russian forces had been shot down overnight.

A statement released on the Telegram channel of Ukrainian Air Force noted that the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones had been fired at targets around the country. One drone was reported to have hit a government administrative building in the capital Kyiv, with no word yet on the number of casualties.

The announcement came amid renewed speculation concerning the military alliance between Russia and Iran.

On Thursday, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the defense ministry’s intelligence department (GUR) stated in a television interview that while the Iranian regime had agreed earlier this month to supply Russia with extra drones and ballistic missiles to bolster its dwindling stock of weaponry, Tehran was reluctant to follow through on the deal.

Yusov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to secure missiles from the Iranians meant that “serious work is underway on this.”

“There are preliminary agreements, we know that they exist, but now we have to wait and see,” Yusov said. “As far as we know, not everyone in Iran is so keen to help Putin, understanding how it can threaten the Iranian regime.”
Revealed: IRGC-linked airline's scheme to get spare parts from Turkey
Spare parts from aircraft belonging to a Turkish airline that undergo maintenance in western Europe have been sold through Turkish companies to the Revolutionary Guards-linked Mahan Air, Israel Hayom has learned.

Mahan Air has obtained a large number of spare parts for its A310s and A340s through Turkish companies. A flight mechanic who once maintained A340s of the airline said, parts of two of Turkish Airlines A340s "were knowingly sold to us, and they were broken into pieces in Istanbul. These parts arrived in Iran first through Russia in 2021 and now they are coming directly by land from Turkey. They are purchased through intermediary companies."

If these claims are true, one has to wonder whether Turkish Airlines is aware of this alleged scheme and who the final beneficiary is, yet continues to sell parts and devices of its fleet to Turkish and non-Turkish companies such as Tarmac Aerosave in Spain and France, one of the largest suppliers of spare parts for passenger aircraft. According to the claims, it is there that the sold parts are being repaired, and then sent to Turkey. Turkish intermediaries, in turn, deliver them by land to Iran.

"In some cases, even aircraft parts supplied from Tarmac Aerpsave in France and Spain by these intermediary companies citing the excuse of land shipment via Iran to UAE for installation on A340-642s of Al-Etihad Airways end up in Mahan Air," the mechanic said.

Israel Hayom has viewed the evidence, purportedly related to the transfers, but isn't able to publish it because of the sensitivity of the matter and the risks to those involved.
Iranians mourn murdered protesters, chant 'death to Khamenei!'
Crowds of Iranian demonstrators gathered at the graves of protesters murdered by Iranian security forces during the anti-government protests that continue to sweep Iran to mark 40 days since their murder on Thursday.

A large crowd of protesters gathered at the grave of Hamidreza Rouhi at the Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery in Tehran to mark the 40-day anniversary since his death. The protesters chanted "Death to the IRGC, death to the entire system!"

Rouhi was shot to death by Iranian security forces during anti-government protests in November.

Video reportedly from the scene showed Iranian security forces firing tear gas at the protesters who blocked a nearby road. The protesters reportedly managed to chase away the security forces, with video showing demonstrators running towards security forces as tear gas was fired. A person allegedly attempted to attack the protesters with a knife as well.

A large crowd of protesters also gathered at the grave of Ali Abbasi in Semirom, chanting "Death to Khamenei!" and other anti-government slogans.

Demonstrations were also held at the grave of Atefeh Naami, an Ahwazi Arab activist who was found dead in her apartment in November. Her family members have accused Iranian security forces for killing her and then staging the murder as a suicide.


Iranian author said sentenced to death after urging peace in Israel TV interview
Iran has sentenced a dissident author to death on “espionage” charges after he gave an interview earlier in the year to an Israeli television channel, opposition-affiliated media reported Thursday.

Iran International said that Mehdi Bahman was arrested in October after speaking with Channel 13.

The report said a Revolutionary Court had passed the sentence. In recent days at least 11 people have been sentenced to death for their role in protests and more than 100 face the death penalty, according to opposition groups.

While Bahman was arrested after the outbreak of protests, his interview with Channel 13 was given in April 2022 after he approached an Israeli woman to have one of his books translated into Hebrew.

In the interview, Bahman criticized the regime in Tehran and the imposition of Islamic law and called for normalization between Israel and Iran.

He told Channel 13 that he was not afraid of being arrested for talking to an Israeli channel.

Iran International said Bahman was an author and an illustrator who worked towards religious coexistence. In recent years he had worked with dissident Shia cleric Masoumi Tehrani to create artworks containing symbols from various religions and had given them as gifts to leaders of the minority Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, Sunni Islam, Mandaean Sabian, and Baha’i faiths in Iran.


Iran chess star fleeing to Spain after playing without hijab
An Iranian chess player is moving to Spain while fearing for her life after playing in a tournament without a hijab, the Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday.

During the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Kazakhstan earlier this week, Sara Khadem appeared without a hijab, in an apparent show of support for women and anti-regime protesters in her home country.

However, sources close to the player said the 25-year-old has decided to move to Spain with her husband and young child following the events as a result of safety fears.

A source said: “She is aware that her life would be in danger if she returned to Iran because she has been shown playing without a head covering in several photographs.”

Khadem has previously espoused anti-regime views, including defending a fellow Iranian chess player who was forced to forfeit against Israeli opponents.

Iran has long sought to punish outspoken athletes and celebrities, with the home of professional climber Elnaz Rekabi being destroyed by authorities after the sportswoman appeared in a tournament without a hijab.




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