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Saturday, March 18, 2023

03/18 Links: Blame Biden for Iran’s diplomatic triumph; Dem Senators Mull Legislation Conditioning US Aid to Israel; 71% of Palestinians Support Deadly Huwara Terrorist Attack

From Ian:

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Biden for Iran’s diplomatic triumph
Following up on the Trump administration’s success with the Abraham Accords would have been even smarter. Helping the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel—with whom it already had a tacit alliance against Iran—would have constrained Tehran’s efforts to foment unrest throughout the region via its terrorist auxiliaries and made it easier for Washington to turn to Riyadh for more oil during an energy crunch.

Instead, Biden’s open contempt for the Saudi de facto ruler, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, prevailed. The willingness of Democrats to treat his autocratic regime as a unique threat to human rights, while seeking to enrich and empower a far more barbarous Islamist tyranny in Tehran, sent a clear message to MBS that doing the Americans’ bidding when the war in Ukraine led to just such an energy shortage was not in his country’s interests.

MBS has come to the not-unreasonable conclusion that rather than depend on an administration that is uninterested in the survival of the House of Saud, he’d be better off hedging his bets by trying to cool down the conflict with the Iranians.

Still, it would be a mistake to conclude that the Saudis have irrevocably linked their fate with Iran and China, or that there is no way for Washington to retrieve the situation. MBS understands how worthless Tehran’s promises are. The prince isn’t so foolish as to think that the Iranians aren’t still bent on toppling his family sooner or later.

That’s why the day before the deal with China and Iran was announced, The Wall Street Journal broke the news about the Saudis making clear to the United States the terms under which they would normalize relations with Israel.

Some believe the pact with Iran renders those discussions moot. But while the obstacles to changing the ties between the Saudis and Israel from an under-the-table relationship to one of formal recognition are still formidable, they are by no means insuperable. Or at least they don’t have to be, provided that Washington was interested in making it happen.

The price for normalization with Israel that the Saudis made public was steep. They want the United States to formally commit to guarantee their security. In addition to more arms sales, they want help in building a civilian nuclear program. That is really the beginning of a Saudi quest for a bomb with which they can deter Iran, which, thanks to Obama’s appeasement, is already a threshold nuclear power for all intents and purposes.

The United States has no interest in fomenting a Mideast nuclear race. The Saudi request, however, has more to do with their impatience with America’s unwillingness to keep Iran in line.

What was most conspicuous by its absence from the list of Saudi demands was any assurances from the United States or Israel about creating an independent Palestinian state, which is, at least according to foreign-policy establishment, the real obstacle to normalization.

Like other Gulf State governments, the Saudis have no interest in continuing to sacrifice their interests on the altar of Palestinian intransigence. They also rightly fear that any such state would be merely one more failed government vulnerable to overthrow by Islamists and provide Iran with more opportunities to create instability.

The real problem is not the Palestinians or even the Saudi nuclear wish list. It’s that the Biden administration has no desire to do something that would annoy Iran or help Netanyahu, who the Obama alumni hate as much as MBS.

But if Biden is serious about wanting to contain Iran, fend off China or even promote peace in the Middle East, then he needs to strengthen ties with Riyadh.

Guaranteeing the Saudis’ security will stick in the craw of Democrats, who inexplicably consider the murder of Jamal Khashoggi—an exiled Saudi ally of Iran who wrote for The Washington Post—to be a crime that is worse than any of those committed by Tehran. Yet the deal with Iran is a sign not so much of Saudi betrayal as it is that the United States has abandoned its friends.

By stepping up to formally assure the Saudis of American support, Biden can advance stability in the Middle East with a sequel to the Abraham Accords. It would also send a message to Iran and the Russians that the United States can still be a “strong horse” that can’t be slighted or ignored.

That would seem to be the most sensible course of action for the president. Should he fail to do so, it will be one more sign that he and his advisors prefer to focus on quarrels with MBS and Netanyahu, and ignore the threat from China rather than advance American interests or Middle East peace.
ZOA: Stop Biden/Blinken/Amr Unconscionable Plan to Establish Army of 5,000 Palestinian-Arab Terrorists plus U.S./Foreign Forces.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) denounces, in the strongest possible terms, the Biden Administration’s unconscionable, illegal plan to provide commando training in Jordan to 5,000 Palestinian-Arab army of terrorists or future terrorists; and to then equip and deploy this Palestinian-Arab commando army in Judea/Samaria, along with foreign and U.S. forces.

The administration’s horrific, frightening, dangerous plan also requires Israel “to sharply curtail IDF counterterror operations.” U.S. security coordinator Lieutenant General (LTG) Michael Fenzel, who is currently responsible for training Palestinian Authority (PA) police in Judea and Samaria, proposed training the new 5,000-strong commando army, and deploying foreign forces, including U.S. military forces, on the ground.

Thus, under the Biden administration’s plan, Israel would be restricted from defending innocent Israelis from terrorists; and much of Judea/Samaria would become a “safe haven” for terrorists to retreat to and be celebrated after perpetrating murderous terror attacks in Israel, with no consequences.

Moreover, American and other foreign forces on the ground would become sitting ducks, subject to Palestinian-Arab terror attacks. American and foreign soldiers would also become human shields, who block Israel from going after the terrorists, lest foreign forces be caught in the crossfire. Further, the PA will want foreign forces to include Iranians, thereby introducing even more terror into the region.

The Biden administration is promoting its abominable plan using the transparently absurd pretext that the 5,000 U.S.-trained Palestinian-Arab terror-commando army will act against their fellow terrorists in Judea-Samaria. It’s obvious that, as occurred every time the U.S. trained Palestinian-Arab forces, these new commandos will join with their fellow Palestinian-Arab terrorists, and use their U.S. training, guns, and other weapons to attack innocent Israelis (and to attack Palestinian-Arab dissidents such as Nizar Banat – who was beaten to death by PA police forces).
Democratic Senators Mull Legislation Conditioning US Aid to Israel
US Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on Thursday said that he believes the US should condition aid to Israel based on the country’s support for a two-state solution.

“I worry that we are at a moment in which we are watching a future Palestinian state be obliterated by the pace of settlements, by the legalization of outposts,” Murphy said in an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson. “And I think the United States needs to draw a harder line with this government. If we’re going to continue to be in the business of supporting the Israeli government, they have to be in the continued business of a future Palestinian state. And that does not seem to be the policy of this government right now. So whether it’s conditionality of aid to Israel, whether it’s conditionality of visits to the United States, we have got to send a message that this assault on the two–state solution, in particular, is very bad for the US-Israel relationship in the long run.”

In December, the US provided some $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel and an additional $500 million for cooperative missile defense programs like Iron Dome. Israel is the largest regular recipient of annual US aid, and under the 2016 memorandum of understanding between the two countries, Israel will continue to receive $3.8 billion from the US each year until 2028.

While that money is spent by Israel largely on buying US-made arms, including the F-35, and on defensive systems like Iron Dome, making that aid conditional on Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians has become a rallying cry of the progressive wing of the Democratic party.


71% of Palestinians Support Deadly Huwara Terrorist Attack
A large majority of Palestinians support the terrorist attack that took place near Huwara in which two Israeli brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv were killed last month, according to an opinion poll published by the Palestinian Center for Research on Policy and Investigations (PCPSR).

The survey also shows that support for the two-state solution among Palestinians has declined, while demand for the resignation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has increased. Furthermore, many Palestinians support a return to armed confrontation with Israel and a third Intifada.

Of the 1,200 Palestinians polled, 71% said they supported the killing of the Yaniv brothers in Huwara, while 21 percent expressed opposition to this and other attacks.

The poll also reveals that 68 percent of Palestinians favor the formation of armed groups such as the Lions’ Den, whose members have carried out a series of attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers in the Nablus area over recent months.

A majority of 58 percent expect armed groups to grow and spread to other parts of the West Bank, while 61 percent expect security conditions to worsen and lead to the eruption of a third armed intifada.

Palestinian opposition to the two-state solution stands at 71 percent, while only 27 percent support the concept, according to the PCPSR poll. In the last poll, conducted at the end of 2022, support for the two-state solution was 32 percent.
Partisanship, inconsistency govern when antisemitism requires ‘and other forms of bigotry’ as chaperone
When the House broadened the 2019 bill, which was proposed to be against antisemitism, “it felt a bit for many Jews like ‘all hatreds matter,’ in the way that ‘all lives matter’ lands, for understandable reasons, very poorly with many African-Americans,” said Katz.

He thinks that the dispute between Schiff and Buck is different, and both congressmen agree that language condemning other forms of hatred is OK.

“It seems that Congressman Buck is very focused on anti-Christian attacks and sees them as singularly significant to include. Representative Schiff is uncomfortable privileging that form of bigotry over other cases of religious bigotry,” said Katz.

“In reality, antisemitism is often not about religion at all, so classifying it as one among many forms of religious bigotry is itself problematic,” he added. “But neither member addresses that issue in this exchange.”

‘Jews are guilty somehow’
Alvin Rosenfeld, an English and Jewish studies professor at Indiana University-Bloomington, agreed that antisemitism is more than just hostility to the Jewish faith or people of that faith. (He also chairs the university’s Jewish studies program and directs its Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism.)

Schiff and Buck discussed “prejudice against particular faiths,” Rosenfeld told JNS. “That gets at a piece of what might be behind the hatred these days.”

Hateful people target many others based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other identities, noted Rosenfeld, who recommends looking at hatred more broadly.

“Judaism is the faith of the Jewish people, but people who are hostile to Jews often could care less about whether the Jews are religious or not. The general notion is that Jews are guilty somehow,” he said. “If you ask me what are they guilty of, to people who don’t like Jews, it could be anything under the sun and not just their religion.”

Jewish history is complex, which makes antisemitism complex, according to Rosenfeld.

“If you were to do a review of anti-Jewish hatred over the centuries, you would see sometimes it’s triggered by religious motives, sometimes by racial motives, sometimes by economic and political motives,” he said. “In that respect, antisemitism is different from other kinds of prejudices. It’s not just a prejudice or a bias, but something more encompassing than that.”
Tony Blair: Palestinians should draw lessons from Northern Ireland peace deal
Under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, pro-Irish militants agreed to lay down their arms and pro-UK unionists agreed to share power, after three decades of sectarian strife had left some 3,500 people dead.

Blair, then-Irish premier Bertie Ahern and an envoy of US president Bill Clinton spent three days and nights negotiating the final stretch before the agreement was signed on April 10, 1998.

The territory is mired in renewed political gridlock today.

But a recent deal between Britain and the European Union to regulate post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland has cleared the way for US President Joe Biden to visit for the agreement’s 25th anniversary.

Reflecting on the shift in strategy by the pro-Irish militants, from the bullet to the ballot box, Blair said “it’s something I often say to the Palestinians: you should learn from what they did.”

“They shifted strategy and look at the result,” he added, denying he was biased towards Israel but merely recognizing the reality of how to negotiate peace.

“There are lots of things contested and uncontested,” he added, dwelling on his tumultuous time in 10 Downing Street from 1997 to 2007.

“I suppose the one uncontested thing is probably the Good Friday Agreement.

“The thing had more or less collapsed when I came to Belfast and we had to rewrite it and agree on it… it’s probably been the only really successful peace process of the last period of time, in the last 25 years.”
Britain's top diplomat in Jerusalem met cleric who had compared Jews to 'apes and pigs'
Britain's top diplomat in Jerusalem, the UK Consul-General Diane Corner, held a formal meeting last week with a senior Palestinian cleric who has claimed on television that Jews are “cursed by Allah” and comparable to “apes and pigs”.

Mahmoud al-Habbash, the Palestinian Authority’s foremost Shariah judge and the spiritual adviser to PA president Mahmoud Abbas, gave a sermon last September in which he also said Muslims should not allow the al-Aqsa mosque to be “abandoned as prey to the grazing herd of humanoids, of people or creatures that Allah created in the form of humans.”

The cleric has also previously said that there was a “supreme duty” to ensure that the Temple Mount in Jerusalem was “returned, liberated, defended and purified from the defilement of the occupation and theft”.

It follows the recent JC revelation that Corner’s deputy, Anne McEwen, led a UK team of Foreign Office colleagues in the Palestine Marathon, an event held in protest against Israel’s “apartheid wall”. The diplomats were pictured at the event in T-shirts showing a map which campaigners claimed “erases Israel”, prompting fury among MPs.

Parliamentary chair of Conservative Friends of Israel Stephen Crabb attacked the diplomats’ involvement as “incredibly ill-judged”, and Labour Friends of Israel chair Steve McCabe MP has requested an explanation from Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

A tweet issued by the official UK mission to the Palestinians states that Corner had met al-Habbash “to discuss what more could be done to protect and progress Palestinian women’s rights in law”.

The post included a photograph of the pair standing in front of a furled Palestinian flag, and ended with the hashtag “#8MarchWomensDay”.


Foreign Ministry said worried by worsening Russian tone over Israel actions in Syria
At Russia’s request, the UN Security Council discussed strikes in Syria attributed to Israel, a sign of a hardening in rhetoric from Moscow toward Jerusalem, Channel 13 news reported Friday.

The Security Council discussion came after a report Israel has authorized the sale of defensive military equipment to Kyiv for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s representative reportedly told the Council that “the violent attacks by Israel affect the entire region and must stop. Israel’s unilateral actions affect the entire region. The Security Council should work to convey a clear message to Israel on the issue.”

According to Channel 13, the change of tone from Russia was noted in a diplomatic cable sent to the Foreign Ministry.

An Israeli official told the outlet that Jerusalem had not anticipated that Russia would call for a discussion on the matter, and there were concerns Moscow could try to promote a resolution against Israel at the Security Council.

“This is a measured worsening of Russia’s tone towards Israel. We are following the progress of Russian steps closely,” the unnamed official said.

Russia is set to hold the presidency of the UN Security Council in April as part of the planned rotation of the seat.

While Israel and Russia have long coordinated their activities in Syrian airspace in order to avoid any clashes, ties have been strained since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
IDF: Rocket launched from Gaza at south, causes no injuries
A rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at a southern Israeli town on Saturday evening, the military said.

Sirens sounded in the town of Nahal Oz, close to the border with the Palestinian enclave, shortly before 7 p.m.

The Israel Defense Forces said the rocket landed in an open field, causing no damage or injuries.

The IDF added that the Iron Dome air defense system was not used as the projectile was predicted to land in an unpopulated area.

There were no special instructions for residents following the rocket fire.

The attack came after four Palestinians, at least two of whom were members of terror groups, were shot dead Thursday by undercover Israeli forces during a daytime raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Yusuf Shreim, 29, a member of the military wing of the Hamas terror group, and Nidal Khazem, 28, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, were targeted in the operation.
Colombian police foil apparent kidnapping of Israeli tourist lured by Tinder date
An Israeli tourist in Colombia was rescued by police from an alleged kidnapping attempt after meeting a woman he met on the Tinder dating app.

Colombian police said that the 36-year-old met Friday with the woman at a restaurant in the city of Medellin. After that, the Israeli man went with her outside, where he believed they would wait for a taxi.

Instead, the woman’s alleged male accomplices pulled up in a car. The tourist followed the woman into the vehicle, where he was then beaten and taken by force, according to police.

Police said they became aware of the incident after receiving a report of dangerous driving. They managed to stop the vehicle at a roadblock, where the Israeli emerged from the rear seat and told them he had been beaten and robbed.

Police arrested the three other men in the vehicle, aged 21, 24, and 26. The whereabouts of the woman was unclear.

The Israeli was taken to a hospital to be treated for his injuries. There was no word on his condition.

Police said that the vehicle’s license plates matched those in the suspected murder of Alexander Mackenzie, a Swedish tourist who was found dead earlier this year.
Chilling Palestinian videos show how to kill Jews
Sickening Palestinian online videos are providing detailed instructions on how to murder Israeli civilians, the JC can reveal.

The clips — widely shared on Telegram, YouTube, Facebook and other platforms — have been posted amid a wave of terror attacks against Israelis.

One video seen by the JC shows a man demonstrating how to most effectively use a knife to kill an unarmed bystander.

At first, the terrorist instructor, whose face is blurred, holds a small blade in the air. Text on the screen, translated by CAMERA Arabic, tells viewers: “Do not use a kitchen knife or a knife for fruit and cake.”

As he replaces the smaller weapon with a much larger blade, text alongside a green tick says: “One must use a sharp knife.”

The man then demonstrates a series of attacks, showing viewers which methods are likely to kill and which would fail.

Chilling captions on the screen provide more detail on the best way to stab a civilian, including guidance on how to hold the knife, as well as advice that the sharp blade must face outwards rather than inwards.

The would-be killer mimics knifing his target to death while text appears on screen that reads “stabbing in the neck from above,” “stabbing in the abdomen,” “stabbing in the waist from the side,” and “slaying in the neck.”
Two German tourists attacked by Palestinians after entering Nablus with Israeli car
Two German tourists who entered the northern West Bank city of Nablus in an Israeli ride-sharing vehicle on Saturday were violently attacked by Palestinians, footage published by Palestinian media outlets showed.

In video clips from Nablus, a group of Palestinians could be seen surrounding the rented car, which has Israeli license plates, a sticker of an Israeli flag and the logo of the Tel Aviv municipality — which has a deal with the ride-sharing company, Shlomo Sixt.

The footage showed Palestinians hurling stones at the car, attempting to open the doors and attacking the motorists.

The two tourists eventually managed to escape on foot. According to Channel 12 news, they were aided by an Arab Israeli on their way out.

“We just wanted to drink coffee,” the tourists were quoted as saying.

A military source said army medics were treating the pair outside of Nablus after they suffered minor “superficial injuries.”

The damaged ride-sharing car remained in the West Bank city.


Iran's Mullahs Mission: Wipe Out America
A radical regime, whose mission is to "Export the Revolution" and bring Islamist rule to the rest of the world, will not alter its aims through policies of appeasement.

Currently, thanks to the Biden Administration's appeasement where it would not matter and inaction where it would, the Iran's ruling mullahs are closer than ever to acquiring nuclear weapons. The Biden administration would do well to realize that a nuclear Iran is not just an existential threat to Israel; a nuclear Iran is major threat to the region, Europe, America, the world.

The regime has made its intentions clear. Especially now that it is aligned with Putin's Russia and the Chinese Communist Party, it would like to conquer the US.

As recently as November, Khamenei vowed, "Death to America will happen. In the new order I am talking about America will no longer have any important role."

The headline of a report by Iran's state-controlled Afkar News reads (in Farsi): "American Soil Is Now Within the Range of Iranian Bombs". The report boasts about the damage that Iran could inflict, and clams that the Islamic Republic can use "a high-altitude electromagnetic bomb to attack the United States.

"The same type of ballistic missile technology used to launch the satellite could carry nuclear, chemical or even biological weapons to wipe Israel off the map, hit US bases and allies in the region and US facilities, and target NATO even in the far west of Europe...." — Afkar News, August 15, 2020.

American politicians shortsightedly fail to harden America's electric grid, probably because it will not show up as an accomplishment that donors will respond to, electorally or financially, during their election campaigns.

Tragically, through its appeasement policies and failure to take on the Free World's adversaries in a serious and credible way, the Biden Administration has been empowering at least one predatory regime that is determined to accomplish its mission of Jihad to rule the world at any cost; even if that requires wiping out other states. And now, thanks to the catastrophic policies of the Biden Administration -- suppressing US fossil fuel production, thereby enriching Russia so it could launch a war against Ukraine; and by snubbing America's historical ally, Saudi Arabia -- it has brought US national security to the brink.
Mahsa Amini’s Father's Nowrouz Wishes For All Iranians
Mahsa's family and many other Iranians will have to begin the new year with sadness at the loss of loved ones who have been killed by the Islamic Republic.

"We can never forget her memory. Wherever we look in this house, Mahsa's memory comes to life, especially for my wife who was her close friend. Mahsa's loss is a deep wound that will never heal. I feel very sad, truly sad. It feels empty here, so empty,” Amjad said.

He said that the empathy shown by the public provides comfort and solace to the family.

"Every day, when I visit Jeina's (Mahsa) grave, the presence of people is comforting. In the past six months, there hasn’t been a day when people didn’t come to pay their respects to Mahsa. They bring bunches of flowers. People’s kindness and love not only bring us happiness, but also peace and encouragement," he said.

When asked what the family was planning for New Year’s Eve, Amjad answered, "We will definitely go to Mahsa's grave.”
University Administrators Demonize Jews in the Name of Social Justice
At Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), “social justice and equity” mean denying Jewish indigeneity and self-determination and whitewashing violence against Jews. At least that’s the takeaway from a “visual timeline of occupied Palestinian land” BMCC’s “Social Justice and Equity Centers” (SJEC) are displaying on campus.

Much could and will be said about the bigotry exuding from the display. It denies Jewish indigeneity and nationhood, exposing the shallowness of the SJEC’s virtue-signaling references to “social justice.” Perhaps the clearest example: while the SJEC includes a land acknowledgement on its website, it labels Jews as “settler colonialists” in their own homeland and whitewashes the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), whose founding charter includes an entire article explicitly denying Jewish nationhood and indigeneity (Article 20: “Claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood. Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own…”).

But beyond excluding Jews from its conception of “social justice,” the SJEC’s display illustrates another basic truth about much of the antisemitic activism in academia. It is devoid of any real academic quality, relying on emotionally charged language, historical revisionism, and outright lies in service of a narrative. The narrative in this case just also happens to be obscenely bigoted.

In some ways, the display’s combination of bigotry and poor academic quality is unintentionally humorous. While attempting to equate Zionism – the Jews’ national movement for self-determination in their indigenous homeland – with racism, the authors end up admitting that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, writing: “To be anti-Xenophobe is to be anti-Zionist & anti-semetic (sic).”


Sainsbury’s under fire after Passover sign spotted in pork section
Sainsbury's has been slammed on social media after a photo surfaced showing a "Happy Passover" sign placed in the pork section of one of their stores.

Tracey Langford, who lives in South London, noticed on Friday that a branch of Sainsbury's in Wandsworth featured Jewish greetings in the pork section of the fresh meat aisle.

Stephanie Sirr, a friend of Tracey's, posted the photo on Twitter saying: “Sainsbury's, you’ve got a range of pork goods, shellfish, meat next to milk and all under the banner of Happy Passover. Despite detailed explanation from my close friend yesterday, it’s still there. Please sort this.”

Another Twitter user commented: “Happy Passover signs above a display of pork sausages, bacon, and prawns in a London branch of Sainsbury's. Enough cultural sensitivity to have the signs, not enough to hide the shop’s bone-headed ignorance of Jewish and Passover dietary laws which makes the gesture meaningless.”


ISIS lover busted for plotting to kill cops on street of Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day parade
An ISIS-loving radical Islamic extremist from Yonkers was busted by the feds Friday for plotting to kill the city’s police officers and mayor beginning on the street where the local St. Patrick’s Day parade was set to go down, authorities said Friday.

Ridon Kola, 32, directly messaged the Yonkers police, saying “I will crucify Yonkers cops and their bosses all along McLean ave. It will be a horror scene . . . Allahu Ekberr,” according to federal authorities.

Though Kola didn’t directly threaten the parade, McLean Avenue is the street where the city’s St. Patrick’s Day event is scheduled for Saturday — and it prompted officials to quickly bust him Friday so he couldn’t do any damage at the event.

“Yonkers is proud to host one of New York’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades and threats like this will not intimidate us from celebrating the many contributions of our Irish American community,” Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano tweeted after the bust.

Kola was arrested and charged with making threatening interstate communications, according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams.

On multiple occasions, Kola had posted disturbing posts online, including support for a “jihad,” or “to war against non-Muslims,” the feds allege. He also voiced support for extremists from the Islamic State.
Black man arrested over neo-Nazi and lynching graffiti at black Atlanta church
A 60-year-old black man was arrested in Atlanta last month after he allegedly vandalized a historic Baptist church with spray-painted imagery of swastikas as a hanging.

Atlanta Police arrested James McIntyre on February 19 in connection to the vandalism after surveillance cameras caught him tagging Providence Missionary Baptist Church on Benjamin E. Mays Drive, according to Fox 5. Officials said that during the investigation, they found McIntyre sitting across the street from the scene of the crime.

McIntyre was charged with vandalism to a place of worship, and according to booking records, was released the following day.

According to 11 Alive, the front of the church was tagged with several messages including "devil worship 666," "apostate," "Satan," "sin," and at least one homophobic message. The main doors had a backward swastika and imagery of a hanging painted on them.

Atlanta Police said that McIntyre had been removed from the property the previous Sunday for trespassing.


Italy’s far-right government approves new Holocaust museum in Rome
Italy’s far-right government has given the green light to a Holocaust museum in Rome, where nearly 2,000 Jews were rounded up during World War II and sent to concentration camps.

A national museum in the capital would “contribute to keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust,” the government led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said after her ministers agreed to the project late Thursday.

The announcement came on the heels of an official visit to Rome last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rome is home to one of Europe’s oldest Jewish communities.

On October 16, 1943, German troops supported by fascist officials raided Rome’s ancient Ghetto, rounding up and then deporting about 1,000 Jews.

Subsequent roundups captured another 800 Jews, and nearly all were killed in the concentration camp of Auschwitz.

Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said 10 million euros ($10.6 million) had been allocated to begin construction of the museum, a long-delayed project first proposed in the 1990s.


How will Australia-Israel ties grow? New envoy talks with 'Post' - opinion
As we look toward celebrating 75 years of the reborn modern State of Israel, we note that next year will mark 75 years of the strong diplomatic relationship between Israel and Australia.

The basis of the relationship goes back considerably farther than 1949. It is remembered every year in Beersheba, where the Australian ambassador hosts a gathering to recall the Battle of Beersheba, which took place on October 31, 1917. The brave young men of the 4th Australian Light Horse Cavalry Brigade, using their bayonets as swords, managed to overcome the well-armed Turks against all odds. The winning of the battle paved the way for the liberation of Palestine and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. It is no coincidence that on November 2, two days later, Britain’s foreign minister, Arthur James Balfour, wrote his famous letter to Lord Rothschild, head of Britain’s Jewish community, committing the British government to creating a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine.

The Magazine met with recently appointed Australian Ambassador Dr. Ralph King. A warm, soft-spoken individual, King is a senior career officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is married to Jenny Cartmill – Australia’s high commissioner to Malta – who is looking forward to joining her husband on completion of her posting. Fortunately, with a flight time of less than three hours between Israel and Malta, the couple is able to meet up with little difficulty.

King graciously agreed to be interviewed as below.

What was the catalyst for your accepting the post of Australia’s ambassador to Israel?
I had for some time hoped to have the chance to serve as ambassador to Israel but had never expected to be able to do so; I was usually in the middle of another posting when this job became vacant.

But when my immediate predecessor left Israel late last year, I was accompanying my wife on her own posting and therefore in a position to apply. As good fortune would have it, my application was successful. It’s all very serendipitous, and I feel lucky.
Photographer who digitized Dead Sea Scrolls completes new Kirk Douglas archive
Israeli photographer Ardon Bar-Hama has worked with the Dead Sea Scrolls, and now he can add Spartacus to his repertoire. Bar-Hama has made a career out of digitizing rare historical documents — from ancient Israel to the Golden Age of Hollywood — and has recently digitized 10,000 items relating to the late Jewish-American cinematic icon Kirk Douglas.

He conducted the work for the Douglas Foundation, a philanthropic foundation established by the star and his late wife Anne Douglas, who had archived her husband’s personal material across the decades.

Now, it’s all online for anyone to access free of charge. It was released early last month, around the third anniversary of Kirk Douglas’s death at age 103 in 2020. Anne Douglas died 15 months later, at age 102, in 2021. The photos have received over 1 million views since they were made available to the public.

“It’s a beautiful archive,” Bar-Hama told The Times of Israel. “It’s 60 years of his legacy. What could be more beautiful in the history of movies than Kirk Douglas?”

The photos are arranged in multiple categories that reflect the multidimensionality of Douglas’s long life. There are stills from his more than 80 films, including what is arguably his best-known one, “Spartacus,” directed by Stanley Kubrick and released in 1960, with a cast that included Tony Curtis, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons and Peter Ustinov. Some of Douglas’s films pertain to Jewish and Israeli history, including “The Juggler,” the first full-length US feature to be shot in the fledgling country of Israel, in 1953; and “Cast a Giant Shadow,” which brought fellow cinematic legends to Israel, such as Yul Brynner, Frank Sinatra and John Wayne.

“We all watched that movie,” Bar-Hama said of “Cast a Giant Shadow.” “It tried to show the birth of Israel.”
Jerusalem's Tower of David named one of 'World's Greatest Places' by TIME
Ahead of the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum's grand re-opening in June 2023, TIME revealed that the institution has earned a spot on its third annual list of World's Greatest Places. This historic Jerusalem icon boasts a 360-degree view of the city and has been listed as one of the 50 important places to explore around the world.

This prestigious title comes at an exciting time for the museum, given that the museum will re-open to the public on June 1, 2023, after a three-year, $50 million renewal and conservation project that has greatly transformed each visitor's experience. What renovations have been made to Jerusalem's Tower of David Museum?

The renovations included the conservation and preservation of the historic archaeological park, which has been both extensive and complex. The renovations have come with no shortage of challenges - all those associated with preserving the integrity of historic sites dating back thousands of years.

The renovations are expected to include two elevators as well as accessible ramps and a chair lift. Ancient guardrooms now are occupied with advanced technology to control climate, along with other features. Renovations of Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem. (credit: RICKY RAHMAN) Renovations of Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem. (credit: RICKY RAHMAN)

Plus, 10 new exhibition galleries with a combination of state-of-the-art technology and ancient artifacts to share ancient tales of Jerusalem have been added. Plus, a new multi-level entrance pavilion will be set up to welcome visitors at the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City, complete with a coffee shop.

TIME solicited nominations for the list of places - including countries, regions, cities and towns - from its international network of correspondents and contributors. TIME wanted to focus on those offering new and exciting experiences, so the Tower of David Museum stepped up to the challenge. "The locations must be enthralling, exciting, and often new or advanced to meet the criteria for TIME."




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