Friday, February 10, 2023

02/10 Links Pt1: Two killed in Jerusalem terror ramming, including 6-year-old boy; driver shot dead; Israeli Teams Rescue 17 People From Rubble of Turkey Quakes

From Ian:

Two killed in Jerusalem terror ramming, including 6-year-old boy; driver shot dead
A six-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were killed and at least five others were wounded in a car-ramming terror attack near East Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood, police and medics said Friday. One of those wounded was a child in critical condition, the brother of the slain six-year-old.

Graphic footage from the scene showed several people strewn on the ground after a blue Mazda vehicle crashed into a bus stop near the Nebi Samuel site, between Jerusalem and the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Several bystanders were seen aiming firearms at the car. Police said the driver was shot dead by an officer who was at the scene.

The attacker was identified as Hussein Qaraqa, an Israeli citizen and resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya. A senior Israeli official said the attacker appears to have been mentally ill, and was released from a psychiatric hospital in northern Israel only days ago.

Police designated the incident as a terror attack, and officers were seen operating in Issawiya shortly after.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said the boy, 6, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was named as Yaakov Yisrael Fali. Fali was quickly buried Friday afternoon before the start of Shabbat, in accordance with Jewish law.

The second victim was identified as Alter Shlomo Lederman, a 20-year-old yeshiva student who had gotten married two months ago. He and his wife had been on their way to his parents’ home for Shabbat. Lederman was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in critical condition, where he succumbed to his wounds.






Must the murder of Jews be politicized?
In recent weeks the media reported on two atrocities, one in Memphis and the other in Jerusalem.

The murder of Tyre Nichols by five policemen shocked the nation. The video released by the Memphis police department showed the policemen brutally beating a defenseless victim, whom they had stopped for an alleged traffic violation. We all shared the anguish of the Nichols family, who, despite their grief, called upon their neighbors to demonstrate peacefully.

There was no attempt on the media’s part to explain away the brutality of the police as a reaction to the high crime rate in Memphis, or to say that a disproportionate share of the crime is perpetuated by Blacks. They highlighted this act of deadly violence by the so-called protectors of the peace, as well as the plight of the victim and his grieving family. Memphis appropriately fired the policemen, who now face criminal charges.

Six thousand miles away in Jerusalem, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, a lone gunman picked off 10 people emerging from Shabbat services at a synagogue. Seven of them died. Rather than focusing on the heinousness of this crime on that particular day, the New York Times headline blasted: “As Violence Rages, New Israeli Alliance Risks Fueling Even More of It.”

The ensuing paragraphs describe how this new far-right government has heightened the atmosphere, likely leading to more violence. There’s little more about the devastating impact of these murders on their families. It’s almost like blaming the victims.

It’s true that the preceding day the IDF had killed nine Palestinians in that hotbed of terrorism, Jenin. It was to foil an attempted terrorist attack by Islamic jihad, funded by the Iranian government. But too much of the media gave moral equivalence to this justified attempt to forestall terror leading to the death of innocents. And the never-ending mantra of breaking the “cycle of violence” spewed by the media and politicians doesn’t differentiate between the firefighters and the arsonists.
Caroline Glick: It’s not about democracy
For the Biden administration, like the Obama administration before it, Netanyahu is a threat primarily because he opposes the administration’s anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian and pro-Iran policies. And even worse for the White House, by advancing policies that increase Israel’s strategic and economic independence, Netanyahu’s government reduces Israel’s dependence on the U.S. and the administration’s power to force Israel to toe its line.

Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, “We’ve reached a point where foreign policy is domestic policy, and domestic policy is foreign policy.” This is true for the Israeli left as well.

The Israeli left cultivates relations with foreign powers not on the basis of how those relations advance Israel’s national interests, but on how they serve the left’s interests against the right. In the Lapid-Bennett government’s willingness to give the U.S. veto power over Israel’s Iran policy and in its agreement to cede Israel’s natural gas deposit near Lebanon to the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese government, it showed how the left is willing to concede Israel’s economic and strategic interests and independence in exchange for U.S. political support.

The similarity between the Democrats’ castigation of Republicans as a threat to democracy and the Israeli left’s current assault on the legitimacy of the government underlines their cooperation.

On Thursday night, leftist protesters burned tires and blocked major traffic arteries in Jerusalem. Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said that violence is inevitable. Parents used their children to block a major traffic artery Thursday morning in Tel Aviv. And leftist reservists and retired generals from the IDF Armored Corps held a march to Jerusalem. The main effort of the protests is to bring the economy to a stop on Monday and hold a pitched riot outside Knesset as the votes begin on the judicial reform package. The leftist Movement for Quality Government has petitioned the Supreme Court asking that the justices force Netanyahu from office by ruling that he is unfit to lead. And with each hour, more and more calls for violence are heard from leftists.

How this will end is still unknowable. But if the reforms do not go through, the biggest loser will be Israel’s democracy.
The Anti-Bibi hysteria isn’t working
American media coverage is the main source of misinformation about Israel and the Middle East conflict, says JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin. Persistent bias and acceptance of the foreign policy establishment’s faith in failed policies has fueled reporting about recent events that treats Palestinian terrorism and Israeli efforts to foil terrorists as morally equivalent, he argues.

The same liberal outlets, he says, also are treating efforts to topple Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government the same credulous coverage they gave the Russia collusion hoax, whose purpose was to undermine the Trump administration. Those smearing Netanyahu as anti-democratic are giving ammunition to pro-Palestinian and antisemitic sources that lie about Israel being an “apartheid state,” he says.

Tobin is joined by veteran British-Israeli journalist Tom Gross, who notes that much of the coverage of the conflict in publications like The New York Times is biased and filled with distortions and mistakes, especially with respect to the scrupulously moral actions of the Israel Defense Forces. But he also believes that there is reason for optimism, due to the fact that Israel and the Middle East are no longer the top foreign policy obsession of the international media, as well as because of Israel’s successful efforts to establish normal relations with countries in the Arab and Islamic world.

While Gross predicts that the debate about judicial reform in Israel will end in compromise, he thinks the “hysteria of the Israeli left” about the supposed threat the proposals pose to democracy is “crazy.” Israel remains among the most democratic countries in the world, he says. The trouble, he argues, is that Israel is “too democratic,” since its proportional election system lends itself to instability and frequent changes of government.

Part of this is rooted in anger against the Orthodox, he says, but adds that it is unproductive. The liberal elites “should have a positive, proactive approach, not an approach of rage and hysteria that convinces no one and makes it hard to listen.”

Gross also thinks that the willingness of the opposition to demonize Netanyahu and his coalition and to hyperbolically accuse him of authoritarianism—much like the resistance to Donald Trump’s presidency in the United States—can do real damage to the effort to defend the Jewish state abroad.

“I think a lot of Israelis don’t quite understand that if they scream the word fascist, fascist, apartheid, apartheid, apartheid, it will be very difficult for American Jews to criticize those who smear the Jewish state like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Jeremy Corbyn,” says Gross. “I think there is a lack of awareness that they’re making themselves less secure.”


Israeli Teams Rescue 17 People From Rubble of Turkey Quakes
Israeli personnel rescued 17 people from the devastation wrought by two powerful earthquakes in Turkey as of Thursday, the military said, with disaster relief crews continuing to race against time, poor weather, and a climbing death toll.

According to local authorities, more than 21,000 people in Turkey and Syria were killed and over 78,000 injured after two major tremors — registering magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale — struck on Monday in southern provinces near the Syrian border. Rescue efforts are ongoing, with Turkish and international search-and-rescue teams racing in poor weather conditions to locate and extract those trapped for days under debris.

Israel joined relief efforts on Monday, with some 400 personnel on the ground and more than 150 tons of humanitarian aid send to southern Turkey so far, and “much more” on the way, according to Nadav Markman, deputy chief of mission of Israel in Turkey. The IDF has also established a field hospital in Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the second quake.

Footage released by the IDF on Thursday showed Israeli personnel rescuing a 65-year-old man from the rubble. Maj. (res.) Matan Shen, commander of the IDF Search and Rescue Team, recounted one operation on Wednesday that culminated in the rescue of a 23-year-old woman.

“At 9pm, my team and I were heading to a site of destruction,” said Shen. “On the way we were called by locals who heard noises from within the ruins. We began a complex 4.5 hour long rescue mission that included a great deal of engineering work, and the work of a doctor and paramedics.”

“At the end, a 23-year-old woman was rescued, healthy and safe, only with a fractured pelvis,” the commander said of the rescue, which was partially caught on video. “She was evacuated and returned to her fiancé.”


Israeli military rescue specialists, equipment in Turkey to search for survivors



'Nothing short of a miracle': Israeli teams race to find survivors of Turkey earthquale
Israeli rescue teams say they have high hopes of finding more survivors under the rubble 4 days after the earthquake in Turkey, as they work around the clock to locate and extract victims.

We speak to members of the Magen David Adom and the United Hatzalah delegations about their rescue missions, including going into the rubble to provide medical care, and giving psychiatric relief to the thousands of people left homeless.




Mosaic Podcast: Richard Goldberg on Recent Joint Military Exercises Between America and Israel
When the United States entered the Second World War, it needed to fight against both the Nazis in Europe and the Middle East and the Japanese in the Pacific. To manage that gargantuan task, American military planners divided the regions of the earth into different areas of responsibility, within which a single authority would unify and command forces from every military branch and service. That structure has lasted through today, so that the United States now has eleven combatant commands.

Due to longstanding tension between Israel and its Arab neighbors, it had been included in the U.S. military’s European Command, even though much of the rest of the Middle East was organized as a part of its Central Command, known as CENTCOM. That Israel was included in European Command for all those decades had some benefits, like greater interaction with NATO. But in recent years its presence there limited America and Israel’s ability to work together; as the cold war drew down, and the war on terror ramped up, European Command was no longer at the cutting edge of military strategy, attention, or resources.

The Abraham Accords surfaced a new public friendliness between Israel and many of the Arab neighbors. In recognition of this fact, Israel was officially transferred to CENTCOM in January 2021, making possible enhanced coordination among the U.S. military, the IDF, and regional Arab forces.

This week, Richard Goldberg, a veteran Middle East observer and foreign-policy analyst, joins Mosaic’s editor Jonathan Silver to look at the consequences and import of Israel’s move to CENTCOM. They focus their attention on the recent joint exercises undertaken by the U.S. military and the Israel Defense Forces, known as Juniper Oak 23. Operating together on sea, land, and air, the joint exercises were widely thought to have been designed to convey a signal to Iran.
IDF chief spotted on unannounced visit to Bahrain
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi paid a secret visit to Bahrain this week to attend a regional security conference.

The trip flew under the media’s radar until the Walla news site spotted Halevi in a picture from the conference in the Tuesday edition of the Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper.

The conference was held under the auspices of the US Central Command, with the head of the US Army’s Central Command Erik Kurilla also in attendance.

The IDF on Thursday confirmed the trip, noting that Halevi had since returned.

This was Halevi’s first trip abroad since becoming IDF chief of staff last month.

His predecessor Aviv Kohavi visited Bahrain a year ago and met with senior security officials in the Gulf country.

The trip focused on building bilateral security ties and boosting cooperation against Iran.

Kohavi also reportedly met his Qatari counterpart during the visit, despite limited relations between the countries. The Saudi-owned Elaph news site said the two discussed the possibility of Qatar joining a regional alliance against Iran’s aggression, specifically regarding the threat of UAVs.
Protesting ‘Stench of Antisemitism,’ Spanish Capital Madrid Draws Closer to Israel After Barcelona Severs Ties
As Jewish and pro-Israel organizations in Spain denounced the decision on Thursday by the mayor of the city of Barcelona to sever ties with Israel after she cited its alleged “apartheid” policies, the mayor of the nation’s capital, Madrid, quickly announced that he was stepping into the breach.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday morning, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Madrid’s mayor, condemned his counterpart in Barcelona, Ada Colau, for telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a letter that her city was “temporarily suspending” its twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, along with all other connections with Israel, in protest at what she called the “systematic violation of the people of Palestine’s human rights.”

Colau informed Netanyahu that the suspension would remain in place “until the Israeli authorities put an end to the system of violations of the Palestinian people and fully comply with the obligations imposed on them by international law and the various United Nations resolutions.”

“We cannot be silent,” she underlined, explaining that the Barcelona council’s decision had been made after 100 pro-Palestinian groups and more than 4,000 residents of the city had signed a petition urging break in relations with Israel.

However, the decision has split the coalition of left-wing parties governing Barcelona, with Laia Bonet, the leader of the Catalan Socialist party, calling for the ties with Tel Aviv to be restored. “We should reinforce, not weaken, the role of Barcelona in the world,” she said.
Madrid offers to take up twinning deal with Tel Aviv after Barcelona suspends ties
A day after the mayor of Barcelona suspended institutional relations with Israel and a twinning with the city of Tel Aviv over what she claimed were systematic violations of Palestinian human rights, the mayor of Madrid offered to take up the twinning partnership.

In a letter addressed to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, Barcelona’s left-wing mayor Ada Colau explained the largely symbolic move to suspend twinning between the two Mediterranean cities, as demanded in a petition by pro-Palestinian groups from Barcelona.

“I have decided to temporarily suspend relations with the State of Israel and with the official institutions of this State and, in particular, the twinning agreements with the municipality of Tel Aviv, until the Israeli authorities end the systematic violation of human rights of the Palestinian population,” wrote Colau, who has been mayor of the Catalan capital since 2015.

On Thursday, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Madrid’s conservative mayor, accused Colau of antisemitism and tweeted that he has written to Tel Aviv’s Mayor Ron Huldai to share “Madrid’s commitment to democracy and freedom.”

Martinez-Almeida said in the letter cited by the public broadcaster, Kan, that such a move “sends a message to all citizens of Israel that Madrid knows very well with whom to strengthen and develop ties, and that is with a democratic, law-abiding and rights-abiding country like the State of Israel.”

Martinez-Almeida also blasted Colau’s decision, saying it had a “significant stench of antisemitism,” Spanish daily El Pais reported on Thursday. “I do not share those decisions… The culprit for the left is always Israel,” he was quoted as saying.


Lawyer Calls For Investigation Into South African Rugby Union After It Disinvites Israeli Team From Competition
A lawyer in New Zealand has filed a legal submission with the World Rugby Council this week claiming that the South African Rugby Union (SARU) breached the World Rugby Constitution by disinviting an Israeli from participating in an upcoming competition, The Algemeiner has learned.

SARU made the announcement last week after it faced intense pressure from the anti-Israel group South African BDS Coalition to rescind its invitation to the Tel Aviv Heat, a professional Israeli rugby team, to compete in the Mzansi Challenge. SARU explained its decision in a statement last week as an attempt to “avoid the likelihood of the competition becoming a source of division.” South Africa’s Department of Sport, Arts and Culture offered support for the disinvitation, referring to “safety” concerns.

The complaint, submitted by Ian Dunwoodie, a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, cites the World Rugby Constitution, which forbids “discrimination of any kind against a country, or against a private person or groups of people,” and may lead to disciplinary action. Due to “apparent breaches of its own constitution,” the World Rugby Council has an “obligation” to investigate SARU’s conduct against Tel Aviv Heat, the complain added.

SARU did not consult with the Israel Rugby Union, a member of the World Rugby Union, before making its decision, nor did it provide sufficient reasoning for its actions, the complaint stated. It added that SARU did not withdraw invitations to any other teams asked to participate in the competition.

“Due to the flawed steps taken by the SARU, [it] has hurt and prejudiced the game of Rugby,” the complaint said.

The international competition is set to begin in South Africa on March 24 with teams also from Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe, and six South African provinces.


Report: Israel warns Iran against sending arms to Syria under guise of quake aid
The Saudi-owned Elaph news site on Thursday cited an Israeli military official as saying if Iran ships weapons to its regional proxies under the guise of humanitarian aid to Syria following the major earthquake there, the IDF would not hesitate to strike.

The unnamed official said “there is information indicating that Iran will take advantage of the tragic situation in Syria” and ship weapons to the Hezbollah terror organization and other Iran-backed groups in Syria.

He said Israel would not accept this and it would result in a “firm military response from us without hesitation.”

Several Iranian cargo planes carrying aid have landed in Syria since Monday’s major earthquake in southeast Turkey.

Esmail Ghaani, who heads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ expeditionary Quds Force, was in Aleppo on Wednesday to supervise Iranian rescue operations.

The earthquake death toll was at 20,000 people in both Turkey and Syria as of Thursday evening.
Warming Israel-Azerbaijan ties and the Iranian ire they stoke
On January 11, Azerbaijan appointed its first-ever ambassador to Israel after 30 years of bilateral relations. Baku’s historic decision comes against the background of the growing tension between Azerbaijan and Iran. The opening of an embassy in the Jewish state by the Shiite majority nation may be new, but the bilateral relations are not. Israel and Azerbaijan started their diplomatic ties in April 1992, six months after the latter declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Baku and Jerusalem are natural allies partly because Israel and Azerbaijan share the same goals. They both seek to diversify their foreign relations in a hostile neighborhood. They both consider Iran their archenemy and favor an assertive strategy against Tehran. They both view political Islam and Islamic fundamentalism – practiced by Iran – as a threat. And they both view Russia with suspicion. So, Azerbaijan’s move to open an embassy in Israel should come as no surprise to Iran and other neighboring states in the region. Iran’s violent reaction

Tehran has stepped up its espionage and other malicious activities against Baku since Azerbaijan started taking steps to open its embassy in Israel. Azerbaijan arrested a group of 19 of its citizens it accused of spying on November 2, five of its nationals on November 14, and recently on February 1, 39 Azerbaijani nationals in connection to an Iranian espionage network.

In addition to its spying activities inside Azerbaijani territory, Iran has threatened its northern neighbor with serious consequences and military retaliation. Some Iranian diplomats, and Revolutionary Guard commanders, openly threatened Azerbaijan against cozying up to Israel.

Iran’s actions to disrupt the Baku-Jerusalem partnership have been bloody, too. It is likely not a coincidence that the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel coincides with the evacuation of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran as a result of an attack that Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev called a terrorist act. On January 7, a gunman entered Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Iranian capital and killed the head of the embassy’s security and wounded two others, an attack that prompted Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry to close its embassy and evacuate its staff from Tehran.
The Israel Guys: IRAN Writes “DEATH TO ISRAEL” On New Ballistic Missile
Iran is edging closer every day to obtaining nuclear warheads and Israel is the only nation taking the threat seriously. The struggle between the two is intensifying as Israel strikes key Iranian weapons factories and Iran responds by labeling a ballistic missile “Death to Israel”.






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