Melanie Phillips: The unhinged reaction to the new Israeli government
Progressive American rabbis and a number of Jewish philanthropists and organisations are now threatening to withdraw funding and support from Israel.JPost Editorial: Israel's judiciary keeps the Jewish state democratic
Their arrogance is astounding. From their safe distance thousands of miles away, they have no understanding of the realities of life in Israel. What has brought this government to power is the deep desire by Israelis for a more robust defence of Jewish identity and security.
Moreover, given the rapid disappearance of progressive diaspora Jewish communities through massive intermarriage and assimilation, it ill behoves liberal Jews to blame the Netanyahu government for breaking the link between Israel and the diaspora. It is these liberal Jews who are breaking the link with Judaism.
Both in Israel and the diaspora, liberal Jews want Israel to be like any other country. They have a horror of Judaism’s core principles because they have a horror of being different.
But difference defines Judaism. And the western values for which they are screaming are currently destroying the west through the intolerant, illiberal and nihilistic agenda of identity politics.
As Maghen wrote: “We know that unless we keep present in our minds our polity’s Jewish nationalist raison d’être, and keep at bay those universalist, Western-based notions that are geared by definition to undermine nationalism in all its forms, this country is done for.”
It is not the Netanyahu government that is causing a crisis for the Jewish world, but those Jews who are undermining both Israel and Judaism itself.
Thankfully, all indications point to Netanyahu deciding to remove Deri from the government, because he has no choice.David Friedman: Israel, it's time for a grand bargain on judicial reforms
Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara made that clear in a letter to the prime minister after the ruling in which she wrote: “According to the ruling that was given today... MK Deri cannot continue serving as a minister in the Israeli government. Consequently, and according to your authority... you must act according to the ruling and remove him from his roles in the government.”
The ruling demonstrates that Israel’s system of checks and balances has worked to exemplary effect, and it should be a source of pride for all Israelis. It’s a system in which the High Court constantly reviews the actions of the government and protects civil rights and minority rights. This is what keeps the Jewish state democratic.
With such an overwhelming consensus from a panel of judges whose political views range widely, there can be no doubt that politics didn’t play a role in their decision.
However, by doing what’s right, trouble lies ahead for the High Court. The coalition is going to push its proposed judicial reforms harder than ever urged on by those who support Deri and who see the High Court’s ruling as an attempt to bring down the coalition. The ruling will be exploited as a prime reason for judicial overhaul.
But, we can take solace for now, and even revel in the court’s decision, which shows that the legal system in Israel is alive, well and doing its job.
The Israeli Supreme Court has arrogated to itself all of the powers of the US Supreme Court with none of the corresponding limitations, restrictions or burdens. The Israeli Supreme Court also has far exceeded the powers that most parliamentary democracies afford their courts. It’s a serious issue and those who seek change in good faith should not be assaulted by other leaders who should know better.
THERE IS no inherently right or wrong way for Israel to tackle this issue, although I would agree with those who say that overturning an act of the Knesset – that is, negating the will of the majority – ought to be an extremely rigorous process that is rarely implemented. Reasonable people can differ but still come to a fair conclusion on the necessary legislative thresholds to protect certain laws and the judicial thresholds to overturn them, along with a process for judicial appointments that is more responsive to the public will.
This should be done on the basis of good faith efforts to achieve a national consensus. Unfortunately, the pursuit of those efforts is completely undermined by the hyperbole exhibited today in Israel’s public square.
As one who knows Israel as well as any outsider, I see the current path as dangerous and untenable. The intellectual dishonesty permeating many of the arguments is quite harmful and the shrill rhetoric is breeding internal disunity and external embarrassment. There needs to be more adults in the room and fewer (or maybe none) on the street.
There is a wise paradigm, “be careful what you wish for.” Judicial reforms achieved without a meaningful consensus could easily be reversed by the next government, or, worse still, maintained by the next government and deployed to take Israel in the wrong direction. I have learned the hard way how quickly the political winds change course.
A sensible, practical and predictable legal system is essential to good government, justice and prosperity. Israel deeply deserves such a system and needs to carefully balance the “anarchy vs tyranny” issues just as Hamilton and Jefferson did three centuries ago. This American is rooting for Israel in that effort and hoping for a grand bargain that stands the tests of time and politics.
Netanyahu: US a ‘trusted partner’ in promoting security, advancing peace
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Thursday in Jerusalem with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the highest-level Biden administration official to visit Israel since the Nov. 1 Knesset election.Abbas urges US to halt Israeli ‘escalation,’ fulfill promises
The two men discussed Iran’s nuclear program and ways to broaden the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between the Jewish state and four Arab countries.
An emphasis was placed on expanding relations with Saudi Arabia.
“I’ve known President [Joe] Biden for 40 years as a great friend of Israel, and I know how much he trusts you in the matters of national security,” Netanyahu told Sullivan, adding, “And you should know that we see you as a trusted partner in matters of our shared security and of course, advancing peace.
“Today, you come at a special time because we have acute challenges to our security and vast opportunities for peace. I am convinced that by working together we can both meet the challenges and realize the opportunities. That’s something that bolsters our extraordinary alliance but also can change the region and change history,” said Netanyahu.
The prime minister also expressed gratitude for Biden’s commitment to stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He added that the latest Palestinian moves in the international arena constituted an attack on Israel that demanded a response.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said the US administration must exert pressure on Israel to halt its policies and measures.Saudi FM rules out normalization with Israel without a two-state solution
He made the demand during a meeting in Ramallah with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
“We cannot accept the continuation of the Israeli crimes,” Abbas was quoted as telling Sullivan. “We will confront these measures and defend the rights of our people and our lands and holy sites.”
Abbas: Israel threatens security and stability
Abbas told Sullivan that the Israeli “escalation” in the West Bank threatens security and stability, according to PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh, who attended the meeting together with Majed Faraj, head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service.
Abbas also warned that the Israeli “escalation” and other measures would destroy the two-state solution,” Sheikh said. Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein Al-Sheikh speaks to The Media Line in his office in Ramallah. (credit: THE MEDIA LINE)Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein Al-Sheikh speaks to The Media Line in his office in Ramallah. (credit: THE MEDIA LINE)
“The President called on the US administration to intervene immediately and to place pressure on the occupation government to halt its policies, measures and escalation,” he wrote on Twitter.Abbas and Sullivan discussed bilateral relations, as well as “the dangerous situation due to the Israeli escalation,” Sheikh said.
Abbas had warned during the meeting about the repercussions of Israel’s “dangerous measures, including settlement construction, daily killings, incursions into Palestinian cities and towns, as well as violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites,” according to a statement released by Abbas’s office.
Abbas also complained about the Israeli government’s recent decision to seize tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinians in response to payments made by the PA to families of security prisoners and those killed while carrying out attacks against Israelis.
He urged the US administration to fulfill its commitment to preserve the two-state solution, halt settlement construction, maintain the status quo in Jerusalem and halt Israeli unilateral moves.
Saudi Arabia will not normalize ties with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, the kingdom’s top diplomat has said, according to a tweet by the foreign ministry on Friday.i24NEWS Exclusive: Influence of Israel's nuclear deterrence on the region
The comments by Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed normalization with Saudi Arabia in talks with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem on Thursday.
“True normalization and true stability will only come through… giving the Palestinians a state,” Prince Faisal told Bloomberg at the summit.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is a close partner of the United States but it has repeatedly refused to normalize ties with US-ally Israel due to its military rule of the West Bank.
The US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020 saw the kingdom’s neighbors — the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.
Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed his desire to see Saudi Arabia join the list.
How has Israel's nuclear capabilities changed the Middle East?
In an i24NEWS Exclusive Report, Middle East Correspondent Ariel Oseran investigates how Israel's nuclear deterrence has influenced multiple nations in the region
Mosaic Podcast: Elliott Abrams on American Jews and the New Israeli Government
As 2023 began, Israeli opponents of the new government have been organizing protests and demonstrations. Manifest there, and in the newspapers and magazines and television programs of the center and left, is the fevered and frustrated political rhetoric that one expects to hear from politicians who’ve just lost an election and want back into the game. Rhetoric on the subject outside of Israel—expressed by a great many American Jews—is just as heated, and has led some withdraw their support for Israel altogether.Where did all the far-left organizers at the anti-Netanyahu rally go?
What’s behind the sense of apocalypse? Joining the podcast this week to discuss the matter is Elliott Abrams, a veteran observer of Israel and of American foreign policy who is also the chairman of Tikvah. For the February edition of Commentary, Abrams has written an essay called “Jewish Hysterics and Israel’s New Government.” Guided by his essay, Abrams and Mosaic’s editor Jonathan Silver look at why this government has provoked such passionate emotions in the hearts of American Jews.
The first mass rally against the current Netanyahu government, on Jan. 7, was very left-wing—even radically so, observers from both sides of the political aisle agreed. The demonstration, ostensibly against the coalition’s proposed legal reforms, featured “anti-occupation” slogans and PLO flags, and was headlined “March of Rage,” terminology that could have been on loan from Gaza.
Some protesters openly wondered what one issue had to do with the other. A left-wing journalist voiced fears that center-left protesters, whose concern was defending the Supreme Court, would feel they had been deceived and would stay home the next time.
But something strange happened on the way to the second demonstration: The far-left groups that had played so prominent a role in the first disappeared, to be replaced by one organizer, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG).
“On the promo poster for the second rally [on Jan. 14], their logo alone appeared. All the other organizations that had been listed on the poster from the first demonstration were gone. It looked like the Movement for Quality Government was solely responsible for the second demonstration,” said Alon Schvartzer, head of the research and policy division for Im Tirtzu, a Zionist NGO.
There is evidence, albeit circumstantial, to back Schvartzer’s claim. Neither Lapid, Gantz nor any major opposition leader attended the first rally. The most prominent politician present was Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli, along with a few Knesset members, including fellow Labor member Gilad Kariv. Ayman Odeh, leader of the Arab Hadash-Ta’al Party, also attended, as did former politician Tzipi Livni.
The sitting of an embassy in Jerusalem in no way forecloses the possibility of a two state solution, which remains the best path forward for both Israelis and Palestinians.
— Rep. Ritchie Torres (@RepRitchie) January 20, 2023
Bernie, Rashida and Corbyn - the fanatical, extreme far-left, antisemitic, troika! https://t.co/v9RWlOMNge
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) January 19, 2023
Israel’s Environment Minister Learns of PA Abuse During Judea and Samaria Visit
Idit Silman of the Likud Party toured Gush Etzion on Thursday, in her first visit to Judea and Samaria in her new role as minister of environmental protection.Ben-Gvir: Maher Younis Should be Shipped Off to Syria
The minister met with Gush Etzion Regional Council and Yesha Council Chairman Shlomo Ne’eman and local activists from whom she learned about their struggles to protect the region’s environment from Palestinian Authority depredations, according to a Gush Etzion Council statement.
They informed Silman about the P.A.’s negligence in Areas B and C of Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank, including water pollution from sewage, and garbage and waste issues.
“The fight for quality of life and the quality of the environment is a fight for the land itself. There are large-scale illegal activities taking place here non-stop, from unsupervised burning to water pollution, illegal quarries, and the illegal takeover of open areas,” Ne’eman said.
Silman said, “The Ministry of Environmental Protection will fight for sovereignty and governance in Judea and Samaria. We will do so by advancing legislation which strengthens environmental supervision and enforcement of the laws, while creating deterrence against environmental crimes.”
Kfar Etzion Field School Assistant Director Amichai Noam said, “Minister Silman’s visit, less than a month after assuming her new role, sends an important statement for which we are grateful. We stand by the minister, along with the Gush Etzion Regional Council and all councils throughout Judea and Samaria, in tackling important environmental issues and preserving the environment for future generations.”
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday expressed satisfaction with police efforts to prevent any major celebrations for Maher Younis, who was released earlier in the day after serving a 40-year prison term.“Police did not allow terrorism supporters to erect tents, wave PLO and Fatah flags in the streets, or hold meetings. I hope the situation will remain under control and that the terrorist will only receive hugs inside his home until we pass a law to ship him off to Syria,” said Ben-Gvir.
Maher and his cousin Karim Younis, both of whom are Israeli citizens, murdered Israel Defense Forces Cpl. Avraham Bromberg on the Golan Heights in 1980. Both Karim and Maher Younis were sentenced to life in prison in 1983, but had their sentence commuted to 40 years in 2012 by then-Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Ben-Gvir had instructed police to “act resolutely and decisively” against any acts that support terrorism upon Maher Younis’s return to the northern village of ‘Ara.
A large police presence was deployed to the town, and the Younis family was told to not set up a visitor’s tent.
“The Israeli rules won’t prevent our joy, and we will not surrender to the occupation’s policies,” Younis said on Thursday, adding, “I call on all our people to unite to bring us to an independent and free homeland.”
i24NEWS speaks to nephew of killed soldier as terrorists freed
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades: In front of this Zionist raucousness/desecration of our land, we issued our instructions to the servants of God... to operate in the field to strike the zionist rear, its soldiers and settlers.. The words now are what will be spoken by the guns.
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 19, 2023
Palestinian Islamic Jihad acknowledged Adham Jabarin was a commander belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. pic.twitter.com/luRi9kI9sL
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 19, 2023
This is a so-called "Palestinian refugee camp." It's not a camp, has no refugees, and it's not Palestinian.... so just an Arab town. Please stop calling them "refugee camps." It's a total scam. pic.twitter.com/IWVXKkrtOx
— Uri Kurlianchik (@VerminusM) January 20, 2023
And here's Al-Wehdat "refugee camp" in Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/8y4WvI244g
— Uri Kurlianchik (@VerminusM) January 20, 2023
Rafah "refugee camp" in Gaza. Again, just a city, just like all of them... The name "refugee camp" is a total misnomer and a total scam. pic.twitter.com/qqSAej6zM5
— Uri Kurlianchik (@VerminusM) January 20, 2023
UN peacekeepers halt IDF engineering work after claim excavator crossed into Lebanon
United Nation peacekeepers on the Lebanese border briefly halted Israeli military engineering work on both Wednesday and Thursday, amid a tense standoff after an excavator possibly crossed the demarcation line between the two countries.
Footage from both days showed the excavator’s bucket over the border fence — which is built entirely in Israeli territory — between Israel and Lebanon.
The bucket possibly crossed the so-called Blue Line by several centimeters, causing troops from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon to step in and stop the work after complaints by the Lebanese Army.
The Blue Line is marked with blue barrels along the border and is several meters from the Israeli fence in some areas.
Armed Lebanese soldiers, some with RPGs, were seen in the area of the incident.
The Israel Defense Forces said the incident occurred during “routine engineering activity” near the northern town of Metula.
“The engineering activity [on Wednesday] was paused for a short period, and later on continued in coordination with UNIFIL personnel in the area,” the military said.
The standoff had been ongoing for more than a day until it was apparently fully resolved.
Armed Lebanese soldiers camped out overnight to prevent Israel from resuming the work and ostensibly breaching the border.
“Today, the IDF continued with its engineering activities in the area of Metula in coordination with UNIFIL,” the military said Thursday, after the works had been briefly stopped again following renewed complaints.
Military engineering work continued in other areas along the border.
Nothing like pro-Hezbollah media to make a spectacle out of engineering work at the Lebanon-Israel border. Here are some of the clips collected over the last days. How many LAF & Hezbollah does it take to stand guard in front of an Israeli engineering vehicle? A lot, apparently. pic.twitter.com/yN3uG7PH28
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 19, 2023
MEMRI: Anger In Lebanon At UN Special Coordinator Who Met With Hizbullah Official And Thanked Him
On January 16, 2023 Joanna Wronecka, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, posted a tweet in English and Arabic on her personal account in which she thanked 'Ammar Al-Moussawi, the head of Hizbullah's Foreign Relations Unit, for meeting with her to discuss various issues. The tweet said: " I thank Mr. Ammar Moussawi of Hizbullah for a tour d’horizon on issues of priority for #Lebanon, including the election of a new President, the functioning of state institutions and the impact of regional and international developments on the country."[1]EU to expand sanctions on Iran over protest crackdown but no decision yet on IRGC
The tweet evoked angry responses from many Lebanese, officials, journalists and citizens, who lambasted Wronecka for meeting with the Hizbullah official and thanking him. Many of those who responded wondered why a UN representative was meeting with the representative of a terrorist organization and even thanking him instead of demanding clarifications from him, about Hizbullah's refusal to comply with the UN resolutions that call for its disarmament or about the killing of a UNIFIL soldier by Hizbullah supporters on December 14, 2022. Some stated that she should be ashamed of herself and wondered if she meant to meet with other terror organizations, such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Others wondered if she had written the tweet as a tasteless joke or if her Twitter account had been hacked.
This report presents some of the angry responses to Wronecka's tweet by Lebanese politicians, journalists and citizens.
Lebanese Journalist: The UN Is Thanking A Terror Militia; "Replace This Moron"
Shi'ite Lebanese journalist Nadim Koteich, known for his opposition to Hizbullah, shared Wronecka's tweet and commented: "This is a tweet by the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon about a Hizbullah official, [posted] only days after a member of the international [UNIFIL] forces was killed by a member of this militia. The UN is sponsoring and expressing gratitude to a terror militia." Tagging the UN, its Secretary-General António Guterres and Wronecka herself, Koteich added in English, "Replace this moron."[2]
Later the same day he tagged Wronecka on another tweet, in English: "Wronecka is a moron wrapped in an idiot. Ammar [Moussawi] took her for a ride and now she is carrying water for his militia. [That's] exactly what Ammar’s job is… [to] charm idiots like her." [3]
The EU will impose new sanctions on 37 Iranian officials and organizations over the crackdown on protests, but is still debating listing the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, diplomats said Friday.Key Erdogan Advisor Nurtured in Tehran's Quds Force Network
Foreign ministers from the bloc are to agree to adopt the fourth package of sanctions on Tehran over its repression of demonstrators at an already-scheduled meeting in Brussels on Monday.
Demonstrations have swept Iran since the September 16 death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly failing to adhere to the Islamic republic’s strict dress rules.
Iran has arrested at least 14,000 people in the wave of protests, according to the United Nations.
Authorities have executed four people for their role in the unrest and imposed the death penalty on a total of 18, triggering widespread international outrage.
The EU has already imposed asset freezes and visa bans on more than 60 Iranian officials and entities over the crackdown on protestors, including targeting Tehran’s “morality police,” Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and state media.
But the 27-nation EU has so far stopped short of blacklisting the Revolutionary Guard itself as a terror group despite calls from Germany and other member states to take the step.
İbrahim Kalın*, presidential spokesman and a chief aide to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was nurtured in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force network, a Nordic Monitor investigation has found.FDD: Calls to Designate IRGC as Terrorist Organization Grow in the UK
Kalın's track record with the mullah regime's long arm abroad raises concerns considering that he is privy to highly classified information including that passed by Turkey's NATO allies as well as Israel.
Although he does not hold the official title of national security advisor, Kalın had top-level talks with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and headed a Turkish delegation to negotiate with Swedish and Finnish delegations over Turkish demands before Ankara's approval of the Nordic countries' bid to join NATO.
According to the Nordic Monitor investigation, Kalın appears to have been linked to a Quds Force's network in Ankara whose members were centered around a hard-line, radical magazine called Yeryüzü, which was funded by the Iranian mullah regime and promoted an Iranian-style religious revolution in Turkey.
The magazine was named a focal point for the Quds Force in the Turkish capital in an indictment prepared by the chief prosecutor's office at the State Security Courthouse in 2000. The cell was run by Ferhan Özmen, who was trained in arms and explosives in Iran and was convicted of a series of murders including that of journalist Uğur Mumcu in the 1990s.
In every issue, the magazine ran viciously anti-Semitic and anti-Western content, endorsed violent and armed jihad and often featured prominent Iranian mullah figures as revered personalities.
Kalın appeared in Yeryüzü's December 15, 1990 edition, which featured an article under the title of "Muslims can fight only for Allah." The article was written to promote a view against Turkey's involvement in the First Gulf War to help a US-led, multi-nation coalition to respond to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Then-Turkish President Turgut Özal was advocating Turkey's participation in the coalition, while the military was reluctant to do so.
British Intelligence Warns of IRGC Threats on British SoilRevealed: 'London office' of Iran terror Guards in heart of Jewish neighbourhood
In response to Akbari’s execution, the UK imposed a travel ban on and froze the assets of Iranian prosecutor general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, whom the British Foreign Office described as “one of the most powerful figures in Iran’s judicial system.” The UK summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires, and Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador to Iran, Stephen Shercliff, to complain about what the Islamic Republic sees as interference in their affairs.
In his annual update in November, Ken McCallum, head of UK’s domestic security agency MI5, said that there have been at least 10 potential threats by Iran to kidnap or kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as being enemies of the regime. Earlier that month, police warned two journalists in London that there were credible and imminent death threats against them by IRGC agents. In 2015, police discovered an Iranian-backed bomb factory in London.
Concerns Over Diplomatic Relations
The UK had been considering designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization prior to Akbari’s execution but was concerned that the designation would close the door on the stalled nuclear talks with Iran and lead to retaliation. Yet Tom Tugendhat, UK’s security minister, has long supported proscribing the IRGC.
“The state’s murder of another citizen shows the cruelty of the Iranian regime,” he tweeted on Saturday. “The Iranian regime threatens other British citizens even in the UK, as [the] MI5 head reported recently. We will defend our security.”
Broad Support in UK, Europe for Proscribing IRGC
On January 12, the UK House of Commons unanimously voted in favor of a motion urging the government to proscribe the IRGC. Six days later, the European Parliament voted in favor of recommending the IRGC be designated a terrorist organization by the European Union. The United States designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 2019.
The chair of the foreign affairs select committee has called on the government to shut down the “London office” of Iran’s brutal Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which lies in the heart of Jewish north London.
Senior Conservative MP Alicia Kearns told the JC that the Islamic Centre of England (ICE) in Maida Vale, which has publicly supported IRGC terrorists, was an “outreach centre” for the Iranian regime.
Her intervention added to mounting pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other European governments to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, in line with the US.
The IRGC oversees Iran’s funding and direction of terror groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and controls its nuclear weapons and missile programme. Ms Kearns said ICE was was “solely there to spread the word of the Islamic repressive regime”.
ICE held a huge vigil for its terrorist mastermind Qasem Soleimani following his death in a US drone strike in 2020 with pictures showing children encouraged to honour him as a “martyr”.
The Times have done excellent work on this showing how slow the establishment has been in coming to terms with this pro Tehran organisation. pic.twitter.com/3E80Z4krRg
— Harry's Place (@hurryupharry) January 20, 2023
It goes on and on. pic.twitter.com/hweitEpELT
— Harry's Place (@hurryupharry) January 20, 2023
French And Italian Neo-Nazis And White Supremacists Promote Pro-Iran, Pro-Hizbullah Posts, Present Slain IRGC Qods Force Commander Soleimani As Role Model
Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020, had since 1998 been commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). On January 3, 2023, on Telegram, supporters in Europe of Iran and Hizbullah commemorated the anniversary of Soleimani's death, holding him up as a role model. Several French and Italian neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups also posted pro-Soleimani posts.
On the Telegram channel of a French-language ultranationalist website, a post referencing an article published on the website notes that Soleimani received "tributes from Iran to Gaza and from Iraq to Lebanon." It quotes Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of Hizbullah, as declaring that "confrontation will not stop. Soleimani is a martyr," and Daoud Shehab, Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman, as praising Soleimani for providing Gaza with rockets: "The martyr Hajj Qasem [Soleimani] played an important role in Palestine through his direct support for the Palestinians. He went to Gaza through underground tunnels and performed a miracle there by building factories that produced rockets and missiles that protected Gaza."
Another ultranationalist Telegram channel, run by a conspiracy theorist and antisemite, forwarded a post from a pro-Iran and Hizbullah Telegram channel. The post advertised a lecture presenting the assassination of Soleimani as a challenge to international law, to take place the following day in Geneva.
The Telegram channel of an Italian neo-fascist youth movement posted an image glorifying Soleimani on the anniversary of his death. The image contains a photo of Soleimani, his name, and several Iranian flags. The channel wrote: "[...] If you want to evaluate the strength or weakness of an individual, evaluate what they are related to. On January 3, 2020, General Qassem Soleimani, pasdaran [guardians] of the Iranian revolution, was assassinated in Baghdad by a US drone."
An Italian ultranationalist revolutionary Telegram channel posted a graphic promoting the launch of a book that presents Soleimani as a fighter of "international terrorism." The graphic features an image of the book's cover. The launch was scheduled to take place in mid-January.
American Holocaust Denier Ron Unz on Iran TV: Holocaust-Worship Has Replaced Christianity; Once Americans Start Doubting the Holocaust, They Will Also Doubt 9/11 and the JFK Assassination; Only 200,000 Jews Died in the Camps #Iran #antisemitism #Holocaust pic.twitter.com/8xgLanZyMe
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) January 20, 2023
Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon! Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. Read all about it here! |
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