Monday, April 17, 2023

04/17 Links Pt1: What articles on Israel's 'one-state reality' get wrong; Islamic dictatorships are trying to buy the UN agencies; Reza Pahlavi, son of Iranian Shah, to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel

From Ian:

Seth Frantzman: What articles on Israel's 'one-state reality' get wrong
A recent article at Foreign Affairs argued that Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are living under a ‘one-state reality’ and that ‘it is time to give up on the two-state solution.’

This argument has been gaining traction among some human rights groups and commentators over the past few years, though the overall theory advocating for one state does go back many decades, to the last century.

What is the premise behind Israel's 'one-state reality'?
The premise behind it is that Israeli rule has gone on for so long that the two-state solution seems too far-fetched; “one state” is what exists now. But the argument is predicated on a basic flaw thematic of all the proposals: Those advocating “one state” claim that Israel continues to occupy the Gaza Strip to portray Israel as controlling millions of Palestinians who are denied rights in Israel – this completely ignores the fact that Gaza is run by Hamas and that there is little to no evidence that Palestinians, under Palestinian Authority or Hamas, want to be integrated into Israel.

The bait and switch of the “one state” story are to force Israel to re-invade Gaza, control it and extend Israeli rule back into Palestinian cities, despite decades in which Palestinians governed cities in Gaza and the West Bank themselves. It’s unclear why anyone thinks this would work, considering that Israel can’t even fully control parts of Jerusalem when it comes to violence. Is there anything to the theory?

In January 2021, B’Tselem published a report claiming that a “regime of Jewish supremacy” exists “from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean sea,” calling it “apartheid.” The report said that “more than 14 million people, roughly half of them Jews and the other half Palestinians, live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea under a single rule.”

It added that “the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is organized under a single principle: advancing and cementing the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another – Palestinians.” It said that even though Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel continues to control “nearly every aspect of life in Gaza from outside.” It also noted that “Palestinians from Gaza must go through Egyptian-controlled Rafah Crossing – provided it is open, the Egyptian authorities let them through, and they can undertake the long journey through Egyptian territory.”
The War on Terror: Offense or Defense?
Islamic and Palestinian terrorists consider Israel to be a critical beachhead—and proxy—of the United States in the Middle East, and a significant collaborator with the pro-US Arab regimes. They perceive the war on “the infidel Jewish state” as a preview of their more significant war on “the infidel West” and attempts to topple all pro-US Sunni Arab regimes.

Therefore, Islamic and Palestinian terrorists have been engaged in intra-Arab subversion, while systematically collaborating with enemies and rivals of the United States and the West (e.g., Nazi Germany, the Soviet Bloc, Ayatollah Khomeini, Latin American, European, African and Asian terror organizations, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba). The more robust Israel’s war on terrorism, the more deterred the terrorists in their attempts to bring the “infidel” West to submission.

Islamic and Palestinian terrorism has targeted Jewish communities in the Land of Israel since the late 19th century, adhering to an annihilationist vision as detailed by the Fatah and PLO charters of 1959 and 1964 (eight and three years before 1967), as well as by the hate-education system installed by Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas in 1993 following the signing of the Oslo Accord.

Neither Palestinian (Hamas and the PA) nor Islamic terrorism (Iran and Hezbollah), are preoccupied with Israel’s size, but rather object to its very existence; they seek to erase the “infidel” Jewish state from “the abode of Islam.”

Both Palestinian and Islamic terrorism are inspired by 1,400-year-old Islamic values, still being spread today via K-12 hate education, mosque incitement and official and public idolization of terrorists.
Islamic dictatorships are trying to buy the UN agencies
Testimonies collected by the New York Times within the International Labor Organization (the UN labor agency) speak of a payment of 25 million dollars by the Doha government into the agency's coffers, which would have led to a softer attitude on workers' rights in the emirate, in view of the football World Cup. The agency denied that.

In 2021, Saudi Arabia - another flagship country of workers' rights - was elected to the executive committee of the International Labor Organization.

Wonderful news can be read on the websites of UN agencies. Like this one: “The director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Ghada Waly, and the chairman of the Saudi Arabian Anti-Corruption and Control Authority, Mazin bin Ibrahim Al-Kahmous, signed an agreement of 10 millions of dollars to fight against corruption”.

In fact, the Saudis know how to fight drug trafficking: they behead it.

In 2018, Qatar promised 500 million dollars to UN agencies.

The truth is that Islamic dictatorships are buying up the UN agencies. What interest do some of the world's least populated and most repressive countries, from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, have in becoming the world's largest donors to humanitarian causes? This was explained to Le Figaro by the distinguished philosopher Pierre Manent, director of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. He quotes Brexit and a great scholar of Machiavelli: "We have allowed the establishment of a discipline of words and feelings which forbids us to defend and, so to speak, to love what we are, the form of life which is our own, but which , on the other hand, imperiously commands us to welcome with avidity everything that accuses us, everything that disturbs us, everything that offends us. We were a people who claimed to govern themselves and to be part of history. We have given up on this ambition and declared it unjust. Our nation separates us from humanity, it is urgent to dissolve it in humanity, such is our new political religion”.

In the same hours that the New York Times accused the labor agency of corruption by Qatar, the head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, was in Qatar to sign an agreement with the emirate worth 18 million dollars. The UN secretary, Antonio Guterres, was also in Qatar to inaugurate the "House of the United Nations". The Emir of Qatar is funding numerous UN agencies, from Unicef to WHO to FAO. One of the smallest states in the world is among the top ten international donors to UN agencies. Saudi Arabia is the third largest donor in the world. What was the UNWTO, the UN agency for tourism, doing in Saudi Arabia?

A report by the Adenauer Foundation tells how Gulf countries use humanitarian donations to promote political Islam.


UN envoy accused of antisemitism hits back after Chikli calls for her dismissal
UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese responded on Sunday to Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli's call for her dismissal in light of comments and actions he deemed antisemitic.

Chikli sent a harsh letter to Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Dr. Volker Türk on Friday, calling for Albanese's dismissal due to her "relentless, systematic and irrational bias against Israel and display of antisemitism."

Albanese responded, saying: "I wonder how the 3,000-year-old "moral responsibility not to kill" can be reconciled with the thousands of Palestinians killed since 2007 in oPt (4k out of conflict; 4,4k in-conflict, i.e. in Gaza: 2008/9, 2012, 2014, 2018/9, 2021, 2022)."

The reason for the demand is recent comments made by Albanese on Twitter, in which she claimed that Israel can't claim its right to defend itself against "the people it oppresses/whose lands it colonizes."


Judicial reform talks resume in Jerusalem
Negotiations over the Israeli government’s judicial reform initiative resumed on Monday as coalition representatives met with counterparts from the Yesh Atid and National Unity parties at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is mediating between the sides, said the talks would be “focused and rigorous” and cover all core issues.

“The Office of the President continues to do everything in its power to encourage the sides to adhere to dialogue with the aim of bringing about a broad consensus,” said a statement from the president’s office.

Herzog jump-started talks late last month after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a national address that he was putting a hold on the reform effort in order to “provide a real opportunity for real dialogue.”

The coalition’s negotiating team includes Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer; Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs; professor Talia Einhorn of Ariel University; and Aviad Bakshi, head of the legal department at the Kohelet Policy Forum.

Yesh Atid is being represented by lawmakers Orna Barbivai and Karine Elharrar, Na’ama Schultz, an aide to opposition and party leader Yair Lapid, and attorney Oded Gazit. National Unity’s team includes parliamentarians Gideon Sa’ar, Yehiel Tropper, Orit Farkash-Hacohen and attorney Ronan Aviani.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that the talks have produced a proposal regarding a major piece of the government’s program. Under the proposal, Supreme Court justices and politicians would not sit on the Judicial Selection Committee but would instead select members according to certain criteria. The coalition, opposition and judges would have the opportunity to choose committee members in different areas of expertise, such as academics, researchers, retired judges and senior attorneys. However, agreement has not been reached on the number of committee members that the ruling coalition and the political opposition would choose.
The Libertarian PodCast with Richard Epstein: Backing Bibi: Israel’s Judicial Overreaction
Richard Epstein defends Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms. Are critics right that they’re anti-democratic in nature? Or are they necessary following new expansive powers claimed by the Israeli Supreme Court?
Lindsey Graham discusses Abraham Accords expansion
NS) U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Monday in Jerusalem, where the two men discussed expanding the Abraham Accords and addressing the Iranian threat.

The South Carolina Republican is visiting the Jewish state after a trip to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“I spoke with Senator Graham, a great friend of Israel, about regional challenges, opportunities to improve relations with neighboring countries, and his visit to Saudi Arabia, from which he arrived in Israel, and initiatives to strengthen Israel-US relations. I also expressed my deep appreciation for America’s move to deepen and expand the Abraham Accords, which contribute to regional prosperity and stability,” Cohen said.

“Cooperation between Israel and the US is essential to stopping the Iranian nuclear program, which is a global threat,” Cohen added.

On Sunday, Graham met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, saying in a statement that he left Saudi Arabia with an optimistic view about changes occurring there and the opportunities to forge new relationships.

“I look forward to working with the Biden administration and our allies in Israel to upgrade the relationship with Saudi Arabia in a win-win fashion,” Graham said.
Omar no longer a speaker at US Commission on Religious Freedom event
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has compared boycotts of Israel and of Nazi Germany, was slated to deliver opening remarks at a U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom event on Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims, according to a listing shared on Twitter. But the event is now slated for May 1, without the congresswoman on the docket.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (whom JNS was unable to reach via multiple channels) remains listed as moderator.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was previously listed as a speaker. Spokeswoman Laura Ortiz told JNS that Rubio would not attend in person but would pre-record remarks. She deferred questions to the commission. “They organize the event, not the senator,” she said. “That’s up to their prerogative.”

“Marco has been on the record on his disagreements with the congresswoman on multiple occasions,” she added.

Omar has a long history of antisemitic statements, including accusing Israel of having “hypnotized the world” and Jews of buying control of Congress (“It’s all about the Benjamins”). She has called Israel an “apartheid state” and likened it to the Taliban and Hamas terrorist groups.

She was to be among those who were to deliver opening remarks at an April 25 event, during which the religious freedom commission, part of the federal government, will release its 2023 annual report.


Netanyahus lay wreath at Tel Aviv site where terrorist killed Italian tourist
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, laid a wreath on Sunday night at the site in Tel Aviv where Italian tourist Alessandro Parini was murdered in a car-ramming attack during Passover.

The Netanyahus were joined by Italian Ambassador to Israel Sergio Barbanti.

Parini, a 35-year-old lawyer from Rome, was killed on April 7 when Arab Israeli terrorist Yousef Abu Jaber, 45, from Kafr Qasim, 12 miles east of Tel Aviv, drove his vehicle into a crowd on a busy seaside promenade in the heart of the coastal city.

Seven other foreigners were injured in the car ramming.

“Deep sorrow and condolences following the death of Alessandro Parini in a terror attack this evening in Tel Aviv,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the incident. “Condolences to his family, to the other wounded, and solidarity with the State of Israel for the cowardly attack.”

Parini’s body was flown to Italy last Tuesday.
Rabbi Leo Dee: 'I hold no hatred, most Palestinians are good people'
Leo Dee, the British-Israeli rabbi whose two daughters and wife were killed by a West Bank terrorist, has said he holds “no hatred” for the murderers, saying his wife Lucy would have been “proud” that one of her organs saved the life of a Palestinian.

Rabbi Leo Dee, 52, also pointed out that “most Palestinians are good people”, with violence promoted by a “small minority”. And in an exclusive interview with the JC, he revealed that his family has received messages of condolence from local Palestinians.

In his first full interview with a British newspaper, the grieving rabbi also lashed out at the Foreign Office, saying its first lukewarm statement about the killings was “typical of their previous policy to blame the victims and placate a general public in the UK that has been educated to be anti-Israel”.

It followed the JC’s recent reports disclosing that Foreign Office staff in Jerusalem had taken part in a fun run “in defiance of the Israeli foreign occupation” and had met a cleric who had compared Jews to “apes and pigs”.

Rabbi Dee reserved praise for Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, however, who condemned terrorism unequivocally. “The Cleverly Declaration, as I would like it to be referred to, is a landmark document in the morality of nations,” Rabbi Dee said.

The Oxford-educated rabbi, who served at the United Synagogue in Radlett before making Aliyah in 2014 told the JC that support from the Jewish community in Israel has been overwhelming.
Rabbi Dee has shown us how to respond to pain
I must have attended around 500 shivas in my rabbinic career. But the one I visited on Sunday was different. Over Pesach, the news of the brutal murders of Rebbetzen Lucy Dee and her two children, Maia and Rina Dee, left world Jewry in profound shock. Rabbi Leo and his three remaining children, Keren, Tali and Yehudah, survive.

My wife, Chana, and I had the privilege of stepping into Rabbi Leo and Rebbetzen Lucy’s rabbinic shoes twice: once as Associate Rabbinic couple at Hendon United Synagogue and again as spiritual leaders at Radlett United Synagogue.

Following the attack, the Radlett community sent me to Israel to represent it and relay its messages of condolence and solidarity with the Dee family. As I sat aboard the outbound flight, I still felt overwhelmed. This has been too difficult to come to terms with; the horrific details of the massacre transcend the imaginable. Our congregations expect rabbis to have answers and explanations: I have neither, I am numb. Three innocent souls, including that of a child, have been cruelly taken in the most senseless and violent fashion.

I have never been more convinced that God’s ways are not ours and that despite all the philosophical theories, no human mind can fathom why He allows bad things to happen to good people.

While many of us powerless onlookers were dumbfounded by the atrocity, Rabbi Leo has become rabbi to the world. With courage and fortitude, he has inspired the globe with his eloquent and impassioned speeches that have been widely shared. I don’t know how he has been able to find the strength, but astonishingly, he has given us faith and hope amidst the despair. He has restored the belief that good will ultimately triumph over evil.
500 participate in ‘EstheRun’ in honor of woman murdered in Samaria
Five hundred people participated in the “EstheRun,” in the Reihan Forest in Samaria on Friday to commemorate Esther Horgan, who was murdered in the forest by a Palestinian terrorist on Dec 20, 2020, while out jogging.

This was the second EstheRun; the first took place in April 2021, four months after her death.

The race started from the spot where Horgan left for her last run—Talley Orot Elementary School in Hinanit, a community in northern Samaria—and continued to the forest where she was killed by Mohammad Kabha, who lay in wait and struck her in the head several times with a large rock.

Kabha was sentenced to life in prison.

“To run where Esther was murdered—a victory of life,” said Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council.
8 terrorist attacks thwarted by security forces in Jerusalem
Eight terrorist attacks were thwarted by police and security forces in Jerusalem recently, the Jerusalem Municipality and Israel Police announced on Monday morning.

Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman noted that some of the attacks were thwarted thanks to intelligence information, while others were thwarted by vigilant police officers who spotted the attackers.

"We are nearing the end of a significant and complex month. All the commanders who sit around the table and the cooperating elements lead the strenuous and continuous work in a value-oriented manner and with great dedication," said Turgeman.

"We are here in the morning and at night out of great faith and a great mission, in order to allow everyone in the city of Jerusalem to enjoy the freedom of worship and the illumination of the holiday."

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion expressed his gratitude to the police officers during a visit to the police headquarters next to the Western Wall on Sunday night, saying "You work around the clock and take care of the security of the residents of Jerusalem, even when the month of Ramadan happens together with Passover and Easter and tens of thousands of tourists from all over the State of Israel and the world come here."

"I know that most of you were not at home on Seder night and that should not be taken for granted, you are the ones who allowed us to continue with a normal routine," added Lion. "I walked around the city a lot during the holiday and everyone is happy. I don't think there is such a place in the State of Israel where everyone works together as one hand so that we can get through the event safely."
Media Jump the Gun: Who Killed Palestinian Sameh Aqtash?
Did gullible journalists once again echo Palestinian charges against the Israel Defense Forces before checking the facts?

Sheik Sameh Aqtash was allegedly shot on February 26 under disputed circumstances, as the IDF and police worked to contain vigilante violence in the wake of a terror attack in Huwara that saw two Israeli brothers murdered. However, an ambiguous video clip lasting a mere 70 seconds is the sole evidence tying Israeli security forces to the Islamist activist’s death during confrontations outside the West Bank village of Za’tara near Nablus.

According to a widely-cited statement by Aqtash’s brother Abdel Moneim, he was shot in the abdomen by Israeli troops, “not the [civilian] settlers” who were rioting in the area (see, for instance, Agence France-Presse, The Guardian, and the BBC’s coverage). The British public broadcaster furthermore quoted Palestinian officials as saying that “Sameh Aqtash was shot dead by the Israeli army, when soldiers entered their village with settlers.”

But even minimal scrutiny of the available evidence reveals cracks in the prevailing media narrative.
Jordanian Police Demanded a Haredi Man Cut Off his Earlocks
Kobi Trabelsi, a Haredi man who tried to enter Jordan with his wife and kids, on Sunday told Reshet Bet radio about his treatment by the Jordanian border police who refused to let him into the country because of his earlocks: “When my wife went over to try to talk to the policeman, he told her in English, cut them off,” Trabelsi reported. So far there hasn’t been any reaction from Israel’s foreign ministry to the behavior of its neighbor who depends on the Jewish State for the very water they drink.

According to Trabelsi, he waited with his family for two hours at the Israel-Jordanian border, and during this time many Israelis continued to cross the border into Jordan. “One of the Jordanians told us, we want to let you in, but during the visit, you must hide your earlocks,” Trabelsi said. “He talked about the situation in Israel and said they are concerned about our security.”

This was not the first time he has visited Jordan, and in his previous visits, he had been allowed to enter despite his earlocks, even during the month of Ramadan.

After two hours of waiting, the border police officers stamped their passports, and Trabelsi, his wife, and their children started to go through, but then another policeman appeared and delayed them for another hour and a half.
What the Palestinian Terrorist's Mother Told Him...
When [16-year-old Muntasir Al-Shawa] recently informed his mother that he intended to carry out a terrorist attack against Israeli Jews.... she gave him tips on how to properly prepare himself to carry out the attack.

"... I'll come back to you as a martyr." The term "martyr" in the Palestinian Arab lexicon means somebody who dies in the course of murdering or attempting to murder Jews.

"Go bathe, pray, bow down to Allah and then there might be a chance that Allah will agree to accept you [as a martyr]. The following night he came back to me as a martyr. Praise Allah." — Muntasir Al-Shawa's mother, to her son.

And so, Muntasir proceeded to the Tomb of Joseph, where he and other terrorists opened fire on Jewish worshippers and their Israeli guards. The Israelis shot back and killed him. Mrs. Al-Shawa got her wish.

Advocates of the Palestinian Arab cause often tell us that ordinary Palestinians are just like ordinary folks everywhere. They say Palestinian mothers and fathers have the same concerns as those in America, Israel and everywhere else.

For the past 28 years, the P.A. has refused to fulfill its Oslo Accords obligation to encourage Palestinian Arabs to reject terrorism and embrace peaceful coexistence with Israel... It has raised an entire generation of parents and children who continue to see anti-Jewish terrorism as a worthy life goal.

And that, in a nutshell, is why the possibility of achieving real peace with the Palestinian Arabs is so remote. It has nothing to do with settlements or borders. It has everything to do with the widespread and deeply held attitudes that permeate the Palestinian Arab community.
Song on official PA TV encourages Martyrdom “My blood belongs to my land'

Hamas visit to Saudi Arabia postponed; PA chief Abbas in the kingdom
Saudi Arabia has postponed a planned visit to the kingdom this week by a senior Hamas delegation, Arab and Iranian media reported.

The delegation of terror leaders had been scheduled to make a pilgrimage to Mecca on Monday, but according to Iranian media outlet Jade Iran, Riyadh refused to issue them entry visas, despite a verbal agreement to do so made by the Saudi ambassador in Doha, Qatar.

The delegation was reportedly to be led by the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, accompanied by the bureau’s deputy chairman, Musa Abu Marzouk; the head of Hamas’s Office of Martyrs, Wounded and Prisoners, Zaher Jabarin; and the head of the group’s Diaspora Office.

The Saudis did agree to release a number of Palestinian prisoners associated with Hamas that had been held in detention for several years, according to the report.


America Must Confront the Threat of a Nuclear Iran
While Tehran moves ever closer to building atomic weapons, its proxy forces are gaining in strength throughout the Middle East and its arsenal of sophisticated missiles and drones is growing larger and deadlier—all with the support of both Russia and China. Seth Cropsey examines this development in light of Iranian and American grand strategy, while cautioning that Israel’s chances of knocking out the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program—as it did Iraq’s in 1981 and Syria’s in 2007—are growing slimmer by the day:

Israel no longer has a great enough margin of military superiority to be able to [take aggressive action against Iran’s nuclear facilities] without serious risks. Unlike in 2013 or 2018, Iran now has offensive military capabilities. Israel has prevented Iran from fully rebuilding Hizballah, conducting a large-scale interdiction campaign against Iranian supply lines in Syria and likely working with the [Kurdish] peshmerga in Iraq. But as Russia’s war in Ukraine demonstrates, Iran’s unmanned aerial systems and loitering munitions are cheap, mobile, and effective.

Taken alongside [Iran’s] 2019 attacks on the Saudi oil installations of Abqaiq and Khurais, it is obvious that Iran can respond to any strike with large-scale strategic bombardment. Moreover, Iranian cruise and ballistic missiles can now target sites throughout the Middle East and, if deployed to Iraq or Syria, hit Western bases in Cyprus and ships throughout the Levantine basin. Iranian air defenses, while currently still porous, are improving with the development of S-300-style air defenses and, quite likely, Chinese technological support.

Iranian breakout, meanwhile, would be immensely destabilizing to the region. It would provide Iran a nuclear umbrella under which it could intensify its proxy activities. . . . The most critical impact, however, would be on Iranian prestige. As a nuclear power with links to Beijing and Moscow, Tehran would become a bona-fide international force. It would be capable of dealing as a near-peer with the other authoritarian powers on the Eurasian landmass, thereby contributing to its goal of regional Islamic revolution. The United States would thus face three major-power threats in Eurasia, not two.

But, Cropsey goes on to argue, the U.S., acting in concert with Israel, has the ability to prevent such a grim scenario.
US-Israel coordination needed to halt nuclear Iran, Cohen tells Graham
Strong United States-Israel coordination is needed to prevent a nuclear Iran, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told the senior American Republican Senator Lindsey Graham who arrived in Israel from a visit to Saudi Arabia.

"Cooperation between Israel and the United States is necessary to stop the Iranian nuclear program, which is a global threat,” Cohen said on Monday when the two men met in Jerusalem.

Israel will continue to work to remove the Iranian nuclear threat from Israel, the Middle East and the entire world, Cohen assured the South Carolina Senator. In an interview with Channel 14 the night before he explained how Israel was the only power in the Middle East that was striking Iranian targets, particularly in Syria.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said that Iran is already waging a multi-front war against Israel, including through proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

“The way to change Iranian behavior is through massive economic and political pressure, in every sector of Iranian interest,” said Cohen, adding that this has to be coupled with a credible “military threat against it.”

What is next for the Abraham Accords?
The two men also discuss expanding the 2020 Abraham Accords under whose auspices four Arab countries agreed to normalize ties with Israel.

Both Graham and Cohen still have their eyes on a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, even though Riyadh has restored diplomatic ties with Tehran and has strengthened its relationship with Beijing.

In an interview with ABC from Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Graham said that “things in Saudi Arabia are changing very quickly for the better. I see a chance to normalize the relationship between the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel [in a way] that would be transformative for the region.”

“If we could normalize relationships with Saudi Arabia, and then with Israel [and] build upon the Abraham Accords, it would be the biggest change in my lifetime regarding Mideast security and America's security.”
Iranian efforts to enlist Judea and Samaria residents exposed
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) revealed on Monday that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force and its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah tried to recruit residents of Judea and Samaria to commit terrorist attacks.

Yusuf Mansour and Marsil Mansour were arrested in recent months. The investigation found that efforts to recruit them as part of a terror operation were made by Hezbollah and the pair agreed to smuggle weapons inside the Green Line and sell them while assisting criminal elements in Israel.

Mansour agreed to gather information about Israel Defense Forces activities in Judea and Samaria and inside the Green Line and to recruit additional operatives, the investigation also revealed.

According to the Israel Security Agency, the appeals came from Hezbollah operatives Huda Mahana and Haj Muhammad Radwan, who is also known as Mohammed Bashir. Mansour is accused of communicating with them through encryption software and a dedicated email address.

Intelligence information indicates that Mahana and Radwan are part of a Quds Force unit headed by Saeed Izadi that assists Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Palestinian Authority.
Exiled son of the Shah becomes most senior Iranian figure to visit Israel
Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi on Monday became the most senior Iranian figure to ever make a public visit to Israel.

Pahlavi is the oldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, who was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

“I am traveling to Israel to deliver a message of friendship from the Iranian people, engage Israeli water experts on ways to address the regime’s abuse of Iran’s natural resources and pay respects to the victims of the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah,” said Pahlavi ahead of the trip.

“I want the people of Israel to know that the Islamic Republic does not represent the Iranian people. The ancient bond between our people can be rekindled for the benefit of both nations. I’m going to Israel to play my role in building toward that brighter future,” he added.

“Millions of my compatriots still remember living alongside their Jewish-Iranian friends and neighbors, before the Islamic Revolution tore the fabric of our society apart. They reject the regime’s murderous anti-Israel and antisemitic policies and long for cultural, scientific and economic exchanges with Israel. A democratic Iran will seek to renew its ties with Israel and our Arab neighbors. In my opinion, that day is closer than ever,” said Pahlavi.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel will formally host Pahlavi, with the aim of creating a bridge between Israel and the Iranian people, and expressing joint opposition to the ayatollahs’ regime, according to an official Israeli government statement.

“I am honored to host Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and appreciate his brave decision to visit Israel for the first time. The Crown Prince symbolizes a leadership different from that of the [ayatollahs’] regime, and champions values of peace and tolerance, in contrast to the extremists who rule Iran,” said Gamliel.


Reza Pahlavi, son of former Iranian Shah, to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel

A highly symbolic visit: Shah’s son to participate in Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial ceremony

Tom Gross & Christian Malard on historic visit of Shah’s son to Israel’s Western wall and Yad Vashem



MEMRI: 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' As Part Of Iranian Antisemitism
This report is the third in a series about the 19th-century antisemitic libel The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and its dissemination, circulation, and use, in Urdu, Turkish, Farsi, and Arabic.

Introduction
Officially, the Islamic revolutionary regime in Iran differentiates between Judaism as a religion, which, as a monotheistic religion entitled to conduct its religious rituals under Muslim rule, is completely legitimate, and Zionism, which it rejects out of hand. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the regime, stated that Israel, the "little Satan," is a "cancerous growth" that must be uprooted from the Middle East.

However, in fact, regime authorities blur the distinction between Judaism and Zionism, and Jews and Zionists. Sometimes they treat Jews in accordance with their religious affiliation, but other times in accordance with their national and ideological affiliation – that is, as Zionists.

The Iranian regime has established the idea that the Jews are the enemy of humanity who, through money and cunning, have taken over politics, economy, and culture worldwide, and that the Zionists are the ones implementing this idea. These messages are characterized by expressions of disgust with the Jews, attributing unique negative traits to them, and depicting them as an eternal evil force and the root of evil in the world from ancient times to the present – and basing these messages on the theological roots of ancient Islamic tradition.[1]

The Libel Of 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'
Iranian regime officials use antisemitic stereotypes that were common across Europe in the 19th and early 20th century in connection with Jews today. These stereotypes focus primarily on two themes: one, the Protocols, according to which the Jews are seeking to control the world by various means, and two, the blood libel, according to which the Jews use the blood of non-Jews for ritual purposes.

The following are statements by Iranian regime officials presenting the Protocols both as a document of decisions made at the First Zionist Congress in 1987 in Basel, Switzerland and as an idea dictating Jewish and Zionist activity.
Five US schools accused of collaborating with sanctioned Iranian entities: Watchdog
An anti-nuclear Iran watchdog group has accused five U.S. universities of collaborating with entities sanctioned by the United States and the European Union.

United Against a Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit organization dedicated to monitoring threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, sent a series of letters to Virginia Tech University, the University of Washington, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Clarkson University, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in December that alleged people associated with the institutions had collaborated on technical research with people associated with three Iranian entities sanctioned by Western governments.

The organization reviewed a series of research papers published in academic journals that were co-authored by students, researchers, or faculty at each of the five universities, along with people from the Iranian Aerospace Research Institute, Iran University of Science and Technology, and the Sharif University of Technology.

The Aerospace Research Institute is the only entity that is directly sanctioned by the U.S. government, according to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. The letters sent to the universities allege that Clarkson and Virginia Tech both collaborated with ARI on two separate research papers.

But the nonprofit says that the Iran University of Science and Technology is a "consortium" of several Iranian academic institutions that includes Malek Ashtar University of Technology, which was sanctioned by the U.S. government for its role in assisting in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Similarly, Sharif University, while not sanctioned by the U.S., according to OFAC's database, has been sanctioned by the EU and the United Kingdom.

Virginia Tech, Worcester Polytechnic, and UL Lafayette all told the Washington Examiner that their actions were entirely legal and had not sidestepped any federal sanctions. Clarkson University and the University of Washington said they were looking into the matter.
David Collier: Al Quds 2023 – London’s annual march of hate
Make no mistake, the only reason I am here to write this report is because yesterday the police managed to stop those who were trying to get at us to cause us harm. Of all the antisemitic, hate-filled gatherings that take place in the UK, the annual Al Quds march sits at the very top of the pile. The Ayatollah’s UK fanbase may have had the genocidal Hezbollah flag forcibly removed from its grasp, but this poisonous Iranian backed orgy remains as toxic as it ever was. The background to London’s march of hate

Al Quds day is an Iranian invention, that was introduced into the calendar in 1979 by the regime in ‘opposition to the existence of Israel’. The UK’s celebration of the Islamic hate festival is organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC). The IHRC is an antisemitic extremist group that glorifies terrorism.

I have been reporting from the annual Al Quds events for about a decade. Before the Hezbollah flag was proscribed, I’d see people proudly wearing Hezbollah T-shirts or Nasrallah T-shirts, walking through some of London’s most famous streets. This image from 2018:

Antisemitism is always present. In 2017, even before the march had started, I filmed Nazim Ali (then Director of the IHRC), whipping up the crowd by blaming ‘Zionists’ for the Grenfell Tower disaster, saying the Board of Deputies had blood on its hands, and suggesting that Zionists were ‘imposters’ – not real Jews. This recording led to the General Pharmaceutical Council opening a ‘fitness to practice’ hearing against him (the original sham trial was thrown out by the High Court and the case is still ongoing). It came as no surprise to see Nazim Ali still leading the Al Quds event this year:

So yes, this hatefest and I – we have history.

The Ayatollah’s Al Quds March 2023
Time was when they would gather outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House, and the march would close down parts of Oxford Street as in their 1000s they slowly made their way through the heart of London’s shopping district. These days they are restricted to the small trek between the Home Office and Downing Street. They also can no longer wave the Hezbollah flag.

What we are left with really is a mix of the worst-of-the-worst from the Shia side, with the list of supporters including a run of Khomeini support groups (The Islamic Human Rights Commission, InMinds, 5 Pillars, Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission, the Union of Islamic Students of Europe, Ahlulbayt Sisters and Idara-e-Jaajeriya).

Some of these are familiar faces to readers of this blog. InMinds is an active band of antisemites, that operate on the street promoting boycotts of Israel. For a long time the group was fronted by Sandra Watfa – an antisemitic conspiracy theorist and Holocaust denier. 5 Pillars is just the UK media platform for Roshan Salih, who writes for Iranian Press TV.
Defrocked vicar joins Chris Williamson and Lowkey at Quds Day march
An anti-Israeli protest in the heart of London has hosted controversial speakers including Chris Williamson, Lowkey and disgraced reverend Stephen Sizer.

At this weekend’s annual Al-Quds Day demonstration, portraits of former IRGC general Qassem Soleimani were paraded outside 10 Downing Street, alongside placards that equated Zionism with Nazism, and an Israeli flag was burned and stamped on.

Despite Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) being repeatedly sanctioned by the UK government, and Soleimani himself labelled a terrorist by the US government, at least two images of him and a few clothing items featuring his likeness were touted outside the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday.

Between 3000 and 5000 people attended the anti-Israel parade, which began at 3pm outside the Home Office and marched to Parliament just over half a mile away.

Speaking on stage outside Downing Street, disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson, whose security pass to Parliament was taken away by a committee earlier this year over his links with the Iranian regime-backed Press TV, claimed Palestinians have the “absolute right to resist and the absolute right to armed resistance,”

“We should support the resistance of the Palestinian people in all its forms,” he said.

Two home-made signs present at London's 2023 Quds Day protest; one accusing Israel of having the same mindset as the Nazis, and another accusing Nazis of going to Israel following the Second World War (Credit: Twitter)

Williamson said that Israel is a “terrorist state” that uses “exploding bullets to shoot children” which will knowingly lead to limbs needing to be amputated. He also claimed “Palestine won the [football] world cup even though they weren’t playing” due to some countries displaying solidarity with the cause.

He also asserted that Zionism is a “racist settler colonial ideology” and that the “apartheid in Palestine by the Israeli regime is even worse than [that of] South Africa.”
Disgraced figures speak at London’s “Al Quds Day” rally which featured Nazi comparisons and calls for Israel’s destruction
Yesterday’s “Al Quds Day” rally in central London saw numerous signs and chants that called for Israel’s destruction, as well as several comparisons to Nazis.

The “Al Quds Day” rallies are an Iranian-backed global event, but they have faced controversy over expressions of antisemitism and calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. In previous years, for example, Berlin banned the parade from taking place, while footage of the protests this year in numerous German cities appeared to show participants shouting phrases like “Scheiße Jude!” (“S***ty Jew!”), “Drecksjude” (“dirty Jew”), and “Strike, oh Qassam, don’t let the Zionists sleep.”

Volunteers from Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit were present at the protest to gather evidence.

One sign read: “Where did all the Nazis go after WW2? Israel!!!”

Another placard displayed a swastika alongside the Israeli flag alongside the words “Same mindset! Different era!”

A person was also spotted wearing a top bearing the words: “The world stopped Nazism. The world stopped apartheid. The world must stop Zionism.”

Our Monitoring Unit also captured evidence of a sign which implied that Pakistan should deploy nuclear weapons on “Nazi Israel”.




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

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