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Friday, June 23, 2023

06/23 Links Pt1: Congressional Human Rights Chair Announces Boycott of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch Over Israel Treatment

From Ian:

‘Disgusted’: Congressional Human Rights Chair Announces Boycott of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch Over Israel Treatment
The chairman of the Congressional subcommittee responsible for human rights announced on Thursday that he would boycott representatives from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch from testifying before his committee because of their position that Israel is an “apartheid” state.

Speaking at a hearing on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in the UN, the Palestinian Authority and NGOs, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, said he was “disgusted” by the two human rights organizations.

“It used to be that Amnesty International was all about political prisoners, and they had a very sterling reputation,” Smith said. “They have reneged on all of that…Apartheid is an abomination… To sit there and take that type of language and smear Israel with it is appalling and Human Rights Watch is doing the exact same thing…I’ve had representatives of those groups come and testify on other issues. But you know, it just occurred to me, I’m gonna boycott them. Any hearing I have on human rights, Amnesty is not invited, nor is Human Rights Watch, because of their smear, their horrible smear.”

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch did not immediately respond to The Algemeiner’s request for comment.

In a 2021 report titled “A Threshold Crossed”, Human Rights Watch declared that Israel was now an apartheid state. Amnesty International released a similar report in 2022. Those findings have been widely condemned by Israel, US elected officials and Jewish groups, but have been increasingly normalized among international human rights organizations.

Thursday’s hearing also heard extensive testimony from expert witnesses that track antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in international fora.

“Antisemitism is the elephant in the room that the international community has ignored, looking for all sorts of other reasons to blame the conflict on.” said Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch. “It’s now embedded in Palestinian Authority worldview and is being echoed at CUNY University and around the world.”




Erdan: UNSC must condemn Hezbollah infiltration into northern Israel
The United Nations Security Council must condemn Hezbollah for crossing Israel’s border and building three temporary military structures, Israel’s Ambassador Gilad Erdan told the 15-member body.

“Several weeks ago, two temporary structures (a container and a tent) were erected south of the Blue Line, crossing it by more than 30 meters into Israeli territory,” Erdan said in a letter he sent to the council on Thursday.

“Another tent was erected next to the first one, 55 meters south of the Blue Line and into Israeli territory,” he charged. The construction of the structures on Israeli territory “constitutes a gross violation of Israeli sovereignty,” he added.

The structures are part of an “expansion of Hezbollah’s Radwan forces military compounds and outposts along the Blue Line,” Erdan explained.

Both incidents reveal the expansion of Hezbollah forces along Israel’s border, he said, adding that during the past year, Hezbollah has built at least 27 new military outposts along Israel’s northern border that are manned by its Radian elite force. It does so under the guise of the NGO “Green Without Borders,” he further alleged.

The presence of these structures underscored the failure of the Lebanese government and military to control the Iranian proxy terror group which sits on Israel’s border, Erdan said.

Israel has repeatedly told UNIFIL about Hezbollah outposts along border
Israel has repeatedly given information about these military outposts to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which is a peacekeeper force tasked with monitoring such activity and has raised the issue with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Erdan explained.

Israel “expected the UN to report the gross violations .. and bring these disturbing developments to the knowledge of the Security Council,” he said, adding that the Lebanese government must ensure the removal of the outposts.
West Bank risks 'spiralling out of control' - UN rights chief
The United Nations high commissioner for human rights said on Friday that the situation in the West Bank was deteriorating sharply, adding that Israeli forces had killed at least seven Palestinians including children in a refugee camp.

"This week's violence in the occupied West Bank risks spiraling out of control, fuelled by strident political rhetoric, and an escalation in the use of advanced military weaponry by Israel," Volker Turk said in a statement via a spokesperson at a UN press briefing, calling on Israel to bring its actions into line with international law.

The weaponry included helicopter gunships and drones, the spokesperson added.

The air strikes on the Jenin refugee camp represented a "major intensification of the use of weaponry more generally associated with the conduct of armed hostilities, rather than a law enforcement situation," he said.

"Israel must urgently reset its policies and actions in the West Bank in line with international human rights standards, including protecting and respecting the right to life," he said.


Israel on verge of apartheid, hopes for peace ‘fading away,’ says former UN chief
Israel is inching toward apartheid and drifting further away from the hopes of creating a Palestinian state alongside it, former United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon told The Associated Press Thursday on a visit to the region.

Ban said that throughout his three-day visit, which coincided with a spike in deadly violence in the West Bank, he encountered a bleaker reality than the one he faced while head of the world body from 2007 to 2016. He said he had seen signs, through expanding West Bank Jewish settlements and tighter restrictions against Palestinians, that an apartheid system was taking root.

“I think the situation has worsened,” Ban said. “I’m just thinking that, as many people are saying, that this may constitute apartheid.” He said he was concerned that a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict was “fading away.”

Ban was in the region on behalf of The Elders, a group of statespeople that engages in peacemaking and human rights initiatives around the world. Along with the group’s chair, former Irish president Mary Robinson, he met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and civil society. It was from local rights groups that he said he heard that Israel was committing the crime of apartheid.

Leading rights groups in Israel and abroad have accused Israel and its 56-year rule of the West Bank of morphing into an apartheid system that they say gives Palestinians second-class status and is designed to maintain Jewish hegemony from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.


UN Children and Armed Conflict report to blacklist Russia, not Israel
The United Nations annual report on Children and Armed Conflict due out next Tuesday is expected to blacklist Russia but not Israel, according to an advanced copy of the document seen by Reuters.

The report on children and armed conflict includes the list intended to shame parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to implement measures to protect children. It has long been controversial, with diplomats saying Saudi Arabia and Israel exerted pressure in recent years in a bid to stay off the list.

Israel has never been on the list, while a Saudi-led military coalition was removed from the list in 2020 several years after it was first named for killing and injuring children in Yemen.

The report found that Israeli forces killed 42 children and injured 933 children in 2022. Israel is not the offenders list.

"I note a meaningful decrease in the number of children killed by Israeli forces, including by air strikes," Guterres wrote. "Nevertheless, I remain deeply concerned by the number of children killed and maimed by Israeli forces."

To prevent Israel’s inclusion in the blacklist attached to the report, Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian met with Guterres last month in New York. They presented him with data to back up their position that Israel should not be blacklisted.

Human Rights Watch advocacy director Joe Becker charged that Guterres had done Palestinian children “a terrible disservice by leaving Israel off his list of shame.


DeSantis says Iran 'only understands strength'; backs Israel in 'whatever action' needed to defend itself
Governor Ron DeSantis, who has recently entered the Republican presidential primaries, gave Israel Hayom an exclusive interview on Thursday – the first to an Israeli outlet as an official candidate in the 2024 race. During the interview, he discussed a whole range of issues while attacking the Biden administration over its policies toward Israel and its government.

DeSantis, 44, announced his presidential bid in May, and according to the polls, he currently has the best shot at beating former President Donald Trump in the fight over his party's nomination among all other contenders. His vocal message against woke ideology championed by Democratic progressives had him coast to reelection this past November, and he has vowed that he would run on the same ticket as the Republican standard bearer should he become the nominee.

Gray skies and relentless rain blanketed Tallahassee, Florida's sleepy capital, as I walked into his office. His dual role as a presidential contender and governor means that his schedule is almost beyond what is humanly possible. When he campaigns, he hops between US states and travels thousands of miles in the air. If he is exhausted from the effort, it doesn't show. DeSantis, it seems, has a lot of stamina.

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Q: I would like to begin, of course, with the Israel-US ties. It's been six months since the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office, and he is yet to be invited by the Biden administration. How do you view this policy?

"I think it's disgraceful. The US-Israel relationship should be ironclad. We have no better ally in the Middle East. And we have such strong cultural and religious ties to the State of Israel, for them to be treating Israel really with the back of their hand. I think it's a mistake, but I think it's part and parcel of how this administration sees the world. I mean, they're more interested in kowtowing to Iran than standing by our allies. And so, you know, my view as president would be we're going to have a really strong US-Israel relationship, and that'll be something that Americans can be proud of."

Q: When it comes to Israel, our number one priority is Iran. If you become president, what will you do regarding Tehran and its nuclear facilities?

"Well, the whole Obama-Khamenei deal [2015 nuclear agreement] was a total disaster and Biden is trying to resuscitate that and basically, when you give concessions to the Iranians, they use that money to be able to foment terrorism. They will put that money into weapons development. And so I think squeezing Iran, making sure that they understand that their pursuit of this is going to be bad for them economically, diplomatically, and potentially even militarily, that is the way the only thing that the mullahs understand – strength. You can't try to cozy up to them. It just doesn't work. So we would be supportive of Israel's predicament. And obviously, we would have a much stronger posture against Iran."

Q: As I recall, you had a part in pushing the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem. Would you support Israel applying its sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria or some part of it?

"So just on the embassy, I don't think Biden's fully committed to keeping the embassy there. He doesn't believe Jerusalem is going to be the undivided capital of Israel, but I think that their [Biden's] view would be pre-1967 and we reject that. I mean, Jerusalem is the indivisible, undivided capital of the Jewish people. And so with me, it would be very clear that that's just the way it's going to ride.

"Now in terms of Judea and Samaria, I've always rejected this idea that it's occupied territory. I mean, these are some of the most historic Jewish lands going all the way back to biblical times. Yes, there was a partition plan with the UN in the 1940s. But the Arabs rejected the Partition Plan. It'd be one thing if they accepted it. Israel was willing to accept, they rejected it. And then they chose to wage war for many decades.

"And so it's not occupied territory. It is disputed territory, and I think Israel's claim is the most superior in terms of anybody else for it. I was the first major elected official as governor in 2019, to do public events in Judea and Samaria. at Ariel University, and we wanted to break the stigma that somehow this is not appropriate to be doing and when we have imposed our anti-BDS sanctions on companies that have targeted Israel, it's usually been they've been targeting Jews living in Judea and Samaria. And so we said that's unacceptable. So whether it was Ben&Jerry's or Airbnb, and then we most recently just did legislation. Morningstar tried to include BDS criteria for ESG. And we said 'Absolutely not, that's not going to fly in the state of Florida'."

Q: So if Israel decided to apply its law on some parts of the Jordan Valley or other parts of Judea and Samaria, would you support it?

"I think Israel has the strongest claim of right in Judea and Samaria. Of anybody. I do not believe it's occupied territory. I think it's been disputed territory, and I think they have the right to act appropriately."
The Tikvah Podcast: Michael Doran on the Ambiguities in Biden's Middle East Strategy
Earlier this week, the American foreign-policy expert and Mosaic writer Michael Doran published an important essay called “Biden’s Ties That Bind.” In it, he argues that the Biden administration’s true strategic aims in the Middle East are not a change from the Obama administration’s aims but are consistent with them.

These aims were to empower Iran in order to establish a balance of power in the region which would, in turn, allow America to focus more attention on China. And to empower Iran, the United States must constrain Israel, Iran's chief regional nemesis. Doran’s essay seeks therefore to explain how the Biden administration deploys symbols of an American-Israeli united front in order to advance toward a new deal with the Tehran. Here, he joins Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver to discuss that idea and the evidence he sees for it.
Morocco confirms US-Israel-Arab ministerial forum delayed, cites ‘political context’
A highly anticipated summit of top diplomats from Israel, the US and several Arab countries has been postponed until at least after the summer, host Morocco confirmed Friday, citing the need for an “appropriate political context” amid escalating West Bank settlement activity and anti-Palestinian violence.

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita stressed that Rabat still has every intention to host the second ministerial gathering of the Negev Forum to foster “dialogue and ease tensions,” days after Israeli and US officials told The Times of Israel that the meeting had been torpedoed by moves to ramp up West Bank settlement building.

“There are problems in terms of the agenda and the political context that did not allow this meeting to be held in the summer,” Bourita said during a press appearance in Rabat Friday.

The gathering of foreign ministers from Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt and the US was originally slated to take place in March but has been delayed several times amid escalating tensions between Israelis and Palestinians as well as discomfort among Arab participants over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new hardline government.

Bourita did not elaborate on the delay but expressed Morocco’s opposition to all unilateral actions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “especially the ones [done by] Israel.”

He also condemned the deadly counter-terror raid that the IDF carried out in Jenin on Monday, which led to the deaths of six Palestinians, including civilians.

The foreign minister made no mention of the Palestinian terror attack on Tuesday outside the Eli settlement, which left four Israelis dead and also sparked widespread violence by settler vigilantes.
Omar, Tlaib, Boycott Visiting Indian PM, Humiliating Biden
A group of six progressive House Democrats on Thursday boycotted India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Congress, protesting his human rights record, especially toward Muslims in India.

The boycott was initiated by the “Squad,” Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Cori Bush of Missouri, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Jamaal Bowman of New York, who called on their fellow lawmakers to “stand in solidarity with the communities that have been harmed by Modi and his policies.”

But the vast majority of Congress Members, including many who are on the record as condemning Modi’s human rights policies, would not imagine boycotting the speech, which was endorsed by the Biden White House. As Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat whose parents came to the US from India and who is a critic of Modi, told the NY Times: “We need to engage,” since India’s leaders are “not going to be open and receptive to something that comes off as the West lecturing. I think they’d be much more open to dialogue as equals about the project of multiracial democracy.”

Look at that, we’re not the only ones who say the Squad members are political colonialists…

Atif Rasheed, the former Vice Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, which was set up by the Indian government to care for Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians, and is a member of the Muslim advocacy group Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, declared on Thursday: “Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib spitting poison by not attending PM Modi’s US Congress address.”

Rep. Omar declared: “Prime Minister Modi’s government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity. I will NOT be attending Modi’s speech. I WILL be holding a briefing with human rights groups to discuss Modi’s record of repression and violence.”

Tlaib tweeted: “It’s shameful that Modi has been given a platform at our nation’s capital—his long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable. I will be boycotting Modi’s joint address to Congress.”


Bombshell: Judges Tell Prosecution – Proving Bribery in Case 4000 Against Bibi Will Be Difficult
In a stunning turn of events, the three judges presiding over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Case 4000 (Bezek-Walla) trial have reportedly conveyed to the prosecution their belief that proving any bribery charges will be extremely difficult. This revelation raises significant doubts about the prosecution’s ability to establish bribery in the case against Netanyahu.

Case 4000 involves the communication conglomerate Bezeq, and the investigation reviewed, among other issues, whether falsehoods were made in regards to paperwork leading to favorable business dealings for Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch in exchange for favorable reporting to Netanyahu by the news website Walla which Elovitch owned.

Two days ago, the judges summoned both the prosecution and the defense to their chambers, where a 15-minute meeting took place. While the specific details of the conversation remain undisclosed, the message conveyed was crystal clear – the judges unequivocally indicated that the prosecution faces formidable challenges in proving the existence of bribery in Case 4000.

Having been exposed to the majority of the evidence and arguments presented by the prosecution, the judges’ stance does not signify a final decision on the matter. However, it does strongly suggest that they view the prosecution’s case as weak or even nonexistent concerning the primary bribery charges.

That the report was broken by Channel 13, which is no friend of Netanyahu, hints that the story may have been leaked to them by the prosecution who are looking for a way to get out of this failing case.


Rabbi Leo Dee Speaks About The Murder Of His Wife And Daughters
A man whose wife and two daughters were murdered by terrorists might blame the Israeli government, or G-d, or disconnect from society in anguish. Rabbi Leo Dee, whose wife Lucy and daughters Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, were murdered by terrorists, said he is doing none of those things.

The April 7 attack in which a hail of bullets was fired into the car in which his wife Lucy and his daughters were riding has understandably caused him great emotional pain. Dee was in a different car with his three other children as the family was en route to Tiberias. Lucy, 48, died from her wounds three days after the attack.

Rather than lashing out in anger, Dee said the loved ones he has lost would want him to continue to work to make the world a better place.

“I don’t blame the Israeli government,” Dee told The Jewish Press in a phone interview from Israel. “At the shiva, there were security forces that came one by one to apologize for the fact that they weren’t able to protect my family. But what I said to them all was it could easily be that you’re driving along and a terrorist drives his car straight into yours – which happens. I spent an hour with a friend whose family was wiped out from that – his wife and two kids. If it hadn’t been with a Kalashnikov and 20 bullets, if it was going to happen, it could have happened another way.”

As for his belief in G-d, Dee quoted Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who was chief rabbi of England and effectively Dee’s boss for six years when the rabbi worked in England. He said Rabbi Sacks would recall the story of a Holocaust survivor answering a question about faith.

“He said the survivor was asked if he had doubts in his faith in G-d after the Holocaust, and the person said, ‘No, I have doubts about my faith in mankind.’

“The Wannsee Conference, where Nazis planned the Final Solution, in which they would massacre Jews in such large numbers, the men in the room mostly had PhDs. Listen, unfortunately, there are terrorists, and they should be eliminated. There is certainly concern in Arab leadership and what institutions are helping them to do harmful things. But we must make a distinction between terrorists and regular people. When I go shopping, I get my tomatoes next to Palestinian Arabs. We have Palestinians friends. When you speak of the general Arab population, they are good people.”

The story made more unwanted headlines when CNN’s Christian Amanpour referred to the murder of his family members as “a shootout” rather than calling it a terrorist attack or at worst, a “shooting.” Calling it a shootout, to somehow suggest that his wife and daughters had a shooting battle with gunmen, managed to pour salt on an already large wound. Amanpour apologized on air after threats of a lawsuit, but there is still one going forward, reportedly for $1.3 billion.
Hummus joint outside settlement reopens after deadly terror attack
The hummus restaurant at a gas station outside the West Bank settlement of Eli has reopened after four Israelis were killed there in a terror attack this week.

“The time has come for the State of Israel to invest in businesses in settlements and not only after serious terror attacks. We will continue to act and develop the economy,” Aviad Gazber, who owns the Hummus Eliyahu branch, tells the Ynet news site.

Among the diners throughout the day were Likud MK Yuli Edelstein and opposition National Unity MKs Benny Gantz and Hili Tropper.


The Israel Guys: EXPOSED: The Left NEVER CALLS it By Its Real Name
Again! When Jews are killed the mainstream media says the real problem is the Jewish Settlers! They call it Settler Violence. Why in the name of everything good and right can they not just call a Palestinian terrorist a Palestinian terrorist!

On today’s show Joshua exposed the LEFTSTREAM media for what it is!


The Israel Guys: Will THIS End Terror in Israel?
In light of the recent tragic attacks in Israel, the defense establishment just might be unleashing new tactics to obliterate terror in Israel. We’re going to break it all down here on the show today, hopefully some good news in Israel’s fight for survival.




Jewish woman attempts to stab Israeli soldiers in West Bank, shot - IDF
A Jewish woman was shot after attempting to stab IDF soldiers in the Tapuach Junction in the West Bank on Friday afternoon, the Israeli military confirmed.

The woman, who was carrying a knife when she began approaching a group of soldiers waiting at the junction, was an Israeli Jew who sought to end her own life by attempting to attack the security forces.

Israeli troops shot at her legs to stop her approach.

According to Israeli reports, the woman is an Ashkelon resident in her 40s.

She was initially treated by military personnel before being rushed to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva in moderate condition, the IDF said.

Later on Friday, an attempted shooting attack was carried out near the northern West Bank settlement of Avnei Hefetz. No injuries were inflicted upon Israeli forces and no infrastructural damage was caused, the IDF confirmed.
Police footage shows moment troops targeted by Jenin roadside bomb, rescue operation
Police on Friday published footage from an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin earlier this week, during which Israeli troops were targeted by a large roadside bomb.

The explosive device heavily damaged a Panther armored personnel carrier (APC) and caused seven soldiers and Border Police officers light-to-moderate injuries. Gunmen affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group opened fire at the disabled vehicle as the army worked to evacuate the wounded troops to hospitals. Seven Palestinians were killed and nearly 100 were wounded, as was another IDF soldier, in subsequent clashes.

The footage published by police showed the moment the bomb went off under the APC.

“Guys, calm down, we just drove over an explosive device… we need an immediate evacuation,” the commander of the forces, Chief Inspector “Mem” — who can only be identified by his rank and first initial in Hebrew — is heard saying over the radio.

The video then cuts to headcam footage of Chief Inspector “Resh” — a senior officer in the Border Police’s West Bank undercover unit — and Master Sgt. “Daled” — the unit’s paramedic — showing the pair opening fire as they rush into a vehicle, taking them to the APC that was targeted by the roadside bomb.

Once reaching the disabled APC, the Border Police officers exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen in the area, as they worked to extract the wounded troops, the video showed.


Congress Pushes to Subpoena the Biden Administration's Iran Deal Ringleaders
House Republicans are laying the groundwork to subpoena top Biden administration officials over clandestine efforts to secure a revamped nuclear deal with Iran that would free up billions of dollars for the hardline regime, according to internal congressional plans obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), Congress’s largest conservative caucus, is leaning on party leadership to immediately launch a multi-pronged investigation into the Biden administration’s secret negotiations with Iran, which are expected to result in a fresh agreement that evades congressional oversight. As part of these investigations, the group wants to subpoena U.S.-Iran Envoy Robert Malley and White House national security aide Brett McGurk, both of whom are key players in the administration’s backdoor diplomacy with Tehran.

"Biden's diplomats are trying to unlawfully implement a secret deal with the Iranian terrorist regime to give them tens of billions of dollars," the RSC wrote in an action memo obtained by the Free Beacon that will be blasted to all House Republicans later on Thursday. "They do not want Congress or the American people to know what's in the Biden Iran deal or how much money they will send the Ayatollah."

While the administration has denied engaging in discussions with Iran, multiple reports have surfaced in recent months indicating that U.S. diplomats are holding indirect talks with Tehran via mediators in Oman. The Biden administration is aiming to secure a series of "mutual understandings" with Tehran that will ease sanctions on the hardline regime in exchange for minimal restrictions on the country’s nuclear program. This deal, congressional sources told the Free Beacon, is specifically being constructed to skirt laws mandating that lawmakers have a vote on the agreement.

"This is unacceptable," the memo states. "Malley and McGurk should testify before a public hearing regarding this deal, and the committees of jurisdiction—including the House Foreign Affairs Committee, House Oversight Committee, and House Financial Services Committee—should be prepared to use the subpoena power if necessary."


Belgian official resigns over Tehran mayor's visit
Pascal Smet resigns after bringing in Tehran's mayor for a conference, despite the atrocities commited by the Iran regime.






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