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Thursday, August 10, 2023

08/10 Links Pt1: Kontorovich: Israeli Settlements Are Not Illegal; Deadly Costs of Biden’s Israel Policy; Glick: What deal are the Americans and Saudis negotiating?

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: Israel will unite in time of crisis We have been here before
The warning also comes against the backdrop of how the 2006 war with Hezbollah began. A month after Hamas launched an attack from Gaza in which Gilad Schalit was captured, Hezbollah launched an anti-missile attack on two armored Humvees patrolling the Israeli side of the border fence. The ambush killed three soldiers and two others – Sgt. Eldad Regev and Sgt. Ehud Goldwasser – were abducted by Hezbollah, which sparked the war.

Hezbollah strongman Hassan Nasrallah, emboldened by Israel’s departure from Lebanon in 2000 and by his organization’s belief that it could operate as it wished along the border, underestimated Israel’s response to the attack .

Gallant wants to make it clear that another ‘incident’ like that will be met with the same massive response from the IDF.

Gallant’s warning to Hezbollah also had another subtext. Amid the judicial reform protests that have been raging for seven months, thousands of IDF reservists have announced they will no longer volunteer for service, to express their opposition to the government’s plans.

Israel’s enemies are undoubtedly following the internal Israeli debate closely and might have the mistaken perception that the IDF is now vulnerable.

Gallant on Tuesday said that thinking that Israel can be tested during this time would be a grave mistake. At the same time, a senior IDF commander indicated in an interview this week that the division in the country is starting to have an impact on Israel’s military. “The IDF is ready for war, but there is limited harm in some areas,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Channel 12, mentioning the Israel Air Force as one branch that has been impacted by the reservists’ decision.

At the end of the day, however, if Israel were truly threatened – whether by Hezbollah or any of its other arch-enemies – there is little doubt that the country would mobilize, regardless of where reservists stand on the judicial overhaul.

In a crisis, there will be unity, and that is something Hezbollah would do well to bear in mind.
Eugene Kontorovich: Israeli Settlements Are Not Illegal- A response to Nathaniel Berman
Appeals to scientific or expert consensus have in recent years played a significant part of the debate on contentious issues. For laymen, even the nature of the alleged consensus may be difficult to evaluate. Is it a consensus arrived at by experts of varied prior beliefs critically and independently approaching an issue without regard for the public policy implications of their conclusions, or is it one that reflects the self-replicating and conformity-inducing tendencies of academia?

Appeals to authority and academic consensus feature prominently in professor Nathaniel Berman’s piece in these pages, “Israeli Settlements and International Law,” itself a response to Malkah Fleisher’s more personal reflections (“I Have a Right to Live in Judea and Samaria”) on the legitimacy of Jews living in the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria, to use two competing names for those areas of Mandatory Palestine ethnically cleansed of Jews by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1948.

Everyone knows that “Israeli settlements” are controversial, and here is where international law comes in. Many take the position that even though Jewish resettlement of these lands was made possible by Israel’s taking control of them in 1967, the Jewish state must nonetheless enforce a ban—a cordon sanitaire, a Pale of Non-Settlement—on Jewish residence perfectly congruent with the zone of Jordanian ethnic cleansing, and lasting until such places might come again under the control of an Arab government committed to “not a single Israeli.” Put in such terms, the anti-settlement argument may not have a broad moral appeal, which is why authors like Berman seek to cast it as an incidental application of neutral rules, applicable around the world. Yet he fails to mention where else these rules are applied, because the answer is nowhere.

Berman appeals primarily to authority and consensus, claiming a wide variety of impressive-sounding international bodies, from the International Court of Justice to the International Criminal Court, that consider Jewish communities in the West Bank illegal. Don’t bother arguing the law, Berman suggests—the matter has been decided, with only a few kooks holding out. “The few international legal writers who depart from this consensus are primarily current or former officials of the Israeli government and a small number of right-wing Jewish writers in the diaspora. Their arguments have been soundly rejected by the rest of the international legal community,” Berman writes.

Consistent with a broader pattern of neglecting contrary evidence and attacking straw-man arguments, Berman fails to mention that the United States has formally adopted the legal view that Israeli settlements are not illegal—perhaps because this squarely contradicts his claim of a global consensus. The State Department announced its position in 2019, under President Donald Trump, but the Biden administration has not retracted it. This should not be surprising, because no U.S. government has taken the position that settlements are illegal.
Deadly Costs of Biden’s Israel Policy
Since coming to office, the Biden administration has directed more than a billion dollars to the Palestinian Authority, both directly and via UN organizations. Palestinian terrorism, meanwhile, has only intensified—as evidenced by the murder of an Israeli police officer in Tel Aviv last weekend. Victoria Coates and Congressman Chip Roy comment:
Contrary to the Washington establishment’s preconceived notions of what works in Israel, Trump-era policy proved that defunding the Palestinians for their venomous anti-America rhetoric and abuse of American funds to reward terrorists and their families does not in fact result in a significant spike in violence. This despite theoretically incendiary corollary policies such as moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognizing the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory. Rather than stoking Palestinian violence, Trump’s policies led to the first peace deals between Israel and Arab states in 25 years.

Nonetheless, a top foreign-policy priority for the Biden administration was to reverse this progress and restore Palestinian funding, starting with $15 million in emergency coronavirus relief in March 2021.

In reality, Biden’s misguided policy has achieved almost the opposite of its aims. The last year has been the deadliest for both Israelis and Palestinians in decades. In Jenin, for example, which was the direct beneficiary of much of the UNRWA funding, the Palestinian Authority has lost security control and ceded space to Iranian-backed militants who packed the camp with fighters and weapons until the Israel Defense Forces moved in to clean them out.


Caroline Glick: What deal are the Americans and Saudis negotiating?
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded on Wednesday afternoon to The Wall Street Journal report saying, “There is no agreed-to framework to codify normalization or any of the security considerations that we and our friends have in the region.”

In other words, as of Aug. 9, the White House remains unwilling to shift its strategic posture in the region.

The postscript of this state of affairs is the headline of the Journal article: Saudi-Israel ties. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear the direction that those ties are moving.

“There is an economic corridor of energy transport and communications that naturally goes through our geography … from Asia to the Arabian Peninsula to Europe. We’re going to realize that,” said Netanyahu.

Crucially, he added: “By the way, my sense is that we’re going to realize that … whether we have formal peace or not.”

In previous statements, Netanyahu detailed that he foresees the construction of direct rail links between the UAE and Saudi Arabia through Jordan to the Mediterranean. Goods shipped this way will augment maritime travel through the Suez Canal, which is already operating at full capacity. It will also economically and technologically integrate Israel into the region. So from a practical perspective then, the only thing required to actually “normalize” Israeli-Saudi ties is the railroad—or even expanded highways for truck-based transport.

Such an infrastructure link between Israel and Saudi Arabia move won’t diminish Chinese influence in the region. It won’t diminish Russian influence or expand U.S. influence. And that is why the deal on the table isn’t so much about Israel-Saudi peace, but rather about the future role the United States wishes to play.

If Biden seeks to secure U.S. power in the region, he will abandon Obama’s failed policy of aligning with the U.S.’s most powerful regional enemy against its most powerful regional allies and embrace them, and the formal normalization of their relations.

If Biden fails to take this deal, the current regional dynamics will continue to play out. China will continue to rise. Russia will remain powerful. The United States will continue to bleed power and influence. America’s spurned allies will continue to make the required concessions to the changing superpower dynamics. They will also continue to integrate their economies to strengthen their national positions in the face of the rising threat from Iran and the shifting superpower balance in the region.
Daniel Greenfield: Israel needs to secure its territory more than it needs a Saudi deal
This enemy population remains by far the biggest threat to Israel’s survival. This threat is often disregarded by its elites, who focus on geopolitical strategies while ignoring the threat at home. Until Israel resolves this threat, its position will remain dangerously precarious.

As the author and researcher Opher Segal notes, “The Jews were expelled from the Arab world after being dispossessed of their lands about eight times the size of today’s Israel. Israel absorbed approximately 900,000 refugees from the Arab world alone. Unlike the Arab refugees, Jews did not have a U.N. commission to support them in their new country Israel. The U.N. supports the Arab refugees to this very day.”

He continues: “As a result of Israel’s victory during its War of Independence, the Arab world refused to receive and still refuse to absorb their 600,000 Arab brethren. That is the root issue until this very day. Despite Israel’s additional victories in 1956, 1967, 1973, and numerous other clashes through the years of Israel’s 75 years of independence, Arab countries did not relent.”

“Solving the Arab refugee issue must be addressed. The demand that Israel will resolve the Arab refugee issue unilaterally is simply unrealistic. The Arab refugees’ remedial methodology should be the collective responsibility of all the nations of the region and not only Israel.

“If there is to be a just resolution for Arab refugees, the playing field must be egalitarian. Each country will be required to carry some of the burden: Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman must all share in the responsibilities of resolving the Arab refugee dilemma.

“However, the new constructs must take into consideration that there are two sides to the coin of justice. Jews who became refugees as a result of forced exile from the Arab countries number more than 900,000.

“Both refugee groups should be treated on an equal footing. A comprehensive agreement of territorial and financial compensations should be required by all parties. Quid- pro-quo!”

It is unlikely that the Saudis or Emiratis will accept any of the Arab Muslim colonists occupying parts of Israel who falsely describe themselves as “Palestinians”, but without some sort of population transfer, the ticking population time bomb remains. As a starting point, Israel will have to neutralize Fatah, Hamas and other terrorist groups occupying parts of Israel as part of a failed plan to end the conflict through autonomous zones. It will also have to tackle the population question, without which no peace is possible.
WSJ: Saudis Agree with U.S. on Path to Normalize Kingdom's Ties with Israel
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad contours of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear help, according to U.S. officials. U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism that, in the next nine to 12 months, they can hammer out the details of a Middle East peace deal but warned that they face long odds.

President Biden's focus on the deal is a reflection of his view that America has to remain a central player in the Middle East to contain Iran, isolate Russia, and thwart efforts by China to supplant Washington in the region.

On Wednesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that negotiators still had a long way to go. "There is no agreed-to set of negotiations, there's no agreed-to framework to codify the normalization or any of the other security considerations that we and our friends have in the region."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has told aides that he isn't ready to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said negotiators have yet to float specific ideas with Israeli leaders. "At the moment, we don't even know where to begin. They are still dealing with basic issues between them. So apparently it's premature even for them to discuss it."
MEMRI: Saudi Columnist In Message To Israel and U.S.: With Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman In Power There Is Tremendous Opportunity To Make Real Peace
Amid the reports about contacts towards a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Saudi daily 'Okaz published a column by Syrian political analyst Rami Khalifa Al-'Ali titled "Isn't It Time for Real Peace?". In this column Al-'Ali criticizes the Israeli policy which, he argues, strives to attain normalization with the Arabs without recognizing the rights of the Palestinian people. He calls on Israel to change this policy and achieve real coexistence with the Palestinians, so as to attain "the hoped-for peace of the brave." Israel and the U.S., he adds, must realize that there is currently a tremendous and one-time opportunity to achieve genuine peace in the Middle East, thanks to the charismatic personality of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and his new approach to the development of the region.

The following are translated excerpts from Al-'Ali's column:[1]
"The Arab-Israeli conflict is considered to be one of the longest-standing conflicts in the world, and it has caused much pain, killing and destruction in the region. Since the Nakba, many different political currents have come to power in Tel Aviv, but none of them recognized that there is another people in the land of Palestine entitled to its own existence, identity and homeland. Israel's logic is simple: [it strives] to make changes on the ground, so that the [new] reality will be translated into agreements and contracts with it which, [in turn], legitimize the reality of injustice. But the question that Israel's leaders should ask themselves is the following: Has this succeeded in bringing peace and stability to the Hebrew state? The answer is clearly no.

"A peace that is not grounded in solid foundations is doomed to failure, and is in fact likely to become a cold peace that will keep Tel Aviv a foreign element in the region. Military superiority facilitates ceasefires, but does not bring true peace. The question that has been raised by Israeli governments for decades is 'How can we attain as many achievements as possible by imposing a certain reality [on the ground], given that Israel surpasses the Palestinians in every way, whereas the Palestinians have only the support of their [Arab] brethren and their willpower and steadfastness? Perhaps the time has come to ask a different question: How can we [Israelis] live together in this land with the Palestinian people? And how can we become an authentic part of this region and its peoples?

"Since the Madrid Peace Conference, opportunities have been missed one after the other and have come to nothing. But today we have a real opportunity to make peace, despite the bleak security and political situation, which is due mainly to the nature of Israel's political regime. [This regime] angers not only the Palestinians but also many Israelis, who have begun to see it as a serious threat to their state.

"There are leaders in the region who take a different approach to the reality here, and who have both the will and the ability to weave the threads of peace, leaders who talk less and do more, chief of them Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. The Prince has a plan that is not confined to the [Saudi] kingdom but includes the entire region: a plan for economic, political, social and tourism development. He is also determined to bring security and stability to the entire region, and has indeed managed to change the face of the Middle East in a very short time. This started with the Al-'Ula Summit and the reorganization of the Gulf framework, [2] and with the last Arab [League] Summit, which helped to reorganize the Arab framework. [3] It continued with opening the gates to Tehran, which had been closed, and building bridges of cooperation from East to West. The last [manifestation] of this was the search for an international path to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

"True peace requires two sides. If the Palestinians have a leadership that wants peace, and there is an Arab leadership that is able to make [peace], and a charismatic figure like Muhammad Bin Salman, then this is a great opportunity that may not come again. This message is directed not only at Tel Aviv but also at Washington, which has the means and the ability to take an active role in shaping the hoped-for 'peace of the brave.'"
Arsen Ostrovsky: Why Doesn't the EU Call Hezbollah a Terror Group?
In its 2019 decision to add Hezbollah's "political wing" to its list of proscribed terrorist organizations, Britain's Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the UK came to a realization that "we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party."

As far back as 2004, when Netherlands became the first country in Europe to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group in its entirety, Dutch intelligence determined that "Hezbollah's political and terrorist wings are controlled by one coordinating council," and "this means that there is indeed a link between these parts of the organization."

In case Brussels has any doubts, they need only listen to Hezbollah leadership itself, with Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's deputy leader, reaffirming "Hezbollah has a single leadership," reinforcing that "the same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel."

The EU's intransigent refusal to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization in full essentially boils down to the preposterous argument that doing so would somehow destabilize the domestic situation within Lebanon. France is leading this position because of its historical connection to the country.

But here is a newsflash: Lebanon is already an economic basket case, where the majority of people live in abject poverty, in large part due to the rampant corruption and the omnipresence of Hezbollah, which is effectively running a parallel state within a state.

According to a June 2023 report by the International Monetary Fund, in the four years since the beginning of the economic meltdown, the Lebanese economy has contracted by about 40 percent, the lira has lost 98 percent of its value and inflation has been in triple digits. Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues to profit from Lebanon's financial crisis making it, according to Forbes, the richest terror organization in the world, amassing a fortune of more than $1 billion.

In short, the EU's ongoing refusal has only further emboldened Hezbollah, providing the whole group legitimacy, while giving Iran a stronger foothold in Europe. Hezbollah is a genocidal terrorist group, not a rational actor that has Lebanon's best interests at heart. It is not only naïve, but foolish and reckless to believe they can be reasoned with.

It is long past time the EU designates the entire group as a terrorist organization. Doing so will make Europe, Lebanon, and the Middle East safer, plus deliver a major blow against Iran's malign influence in the region and Europe.
U.S. emboldens Hezbollah at Israel’s expense
This past spring, Hezbollah again tethered itself to the Palestinian cause and dispatched an operative across the border to execute a bombing that killed one citizen deep in Israel, just north of the West Bank. Despite the severity of this attack, Israel declined to respond in Lebanon. Instead, Israel’s defense minister vowed to respond in “the right place and time.”

Subsequently, amid security operations to quell unrest in Jerusalem and a skirmish between Israel and Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah orchestrated more rocket fire, in the largest numbers since 2006. The Israelis once again fired at open fields.

More recently, Hezbollah launched a campaign at the border in a small patch of territory known in Israel as Mount Dov and in Lebanon as the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills.

Though the United Nations rejects the claim that this is Lebanese territory, that is of no concern to Hezbollah. The group boldly erected a tent several meters inside Israeli territory and manned it with operatives.

Remarkably, the Israelis did not remove the outpost.

By not responding to such provocations, one could argue that Israel is the responsible party. But there is no prize for being sensible.

In fact, Hezbollah took this behavior for weakness and doubled down.

Israel is still trying to resolve the matter diplomatically. However, such efforts are handled through American mediation. And unfortunately for Israel, the U.S. posture in Lebanon is not favorable to Israel’s interests — or America’s, for that matter.

The elephant in the room is that the Biden administration still wants a deal with Iran, Hezbollah’s patron. As part of this policy, which began with the Obama administration, Washington compensates Iran by propping up its regional assets, like with the maritime deal, or underwriting the Lebanese armed forces, which collaborate regularly with Hezbollah, including in the group’s latest border provocation.

In a speech last month, Hezbollah’s leader explicitly stated that America’s posture was a direct factor in his calculation to erect the outpost inside Israeli territory. In other words, American policy is damaging Israel’s security, and Hezbollah is gloating about it.

It is now Israel’s move. The region is watching.
Biden Should Publicly Show Solidarity with Israel
Israel is not only one of America's closest allies - with deep cultural, social and religious ties to the U.S. - but also one of our most important national security partners, as the only true democracy in the Middle East. It is unfortunate to see the White House repeatedly inserting itself into Israel's internal conflicts and taking veiled shots at the current government.

Increasing hostility toward Israel's current government is not going unnoticed by terrorists and their state sponsors like Hizbullah and Iran, which would happily take advantage of the growing distance between the U.S. and Israel. Moreover, any hostility in the U.S.-Israeli relationship will only dissuade Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab country, from making peace with Israel.

America must not lose sight of the big picture: There is a long history of Israel using American military aid to further our shared geopolitical interests and protect both nations' national security - by taking actions that the U.S. could not without igniting a large-scale international conflict. Israeli strikes prevented both Saddam Hussein (1981) and Bashar al-Assad (2007) from developing nuclear weapons, and Israel continues to be at the vanguard of preventing nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of Islamic terrorists. Recently, Israel has carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as well as factories making weapons for Russia's use in Ukraine.

Israel has stood by the U.S. as our democracy has been tested time and time again, never losing sight of our shared goals and values, and it is incumbent on President Biden to pay the Jewish State the same respect.
In Israel, House Democrats reaffirm ‘solidarity with the Jewish state’
Two dozen Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives—led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)—are in Israel for a six-day trip that started earlier this week, sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable organization affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The Democratic Congress members “reaffirm our commitment to the special relationship between the United States and Israel, one anchored in our shared democratic values and mutual geopolitical interests,” Jeffries stated ahead of the trip, which is his 20th to the Jewish state.

“The delegation will explore a variety of pressing issues, including the effort to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear capable, prospects for a two-state solution, the ongoing judicial reform debate, combating terror and the development of the Abraham Accords,” according to the release.

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) was also part of the delegation but could not join as a result of his mother’s death this past weekend, Robin Peguero, the congressman’s chief of staff, told JNS.

The other participants, all Democrats, are Reps. Pete Aguilar and Robert Garcia (Calif.); Don Davis and Wiley Nickel (N.C.); Greg Landsman and Emilia Sykes (Ohio); Dan Goldman and Pat Ryan (N.Y.); Brad Schneider and Eric Sorensen (Ill.); Yadira Caraveo and Brittany Pettersen (Colo.); Becca Balint (Vt.); Jasmine Crockett (Texas); Chris Deluzio (Pa.); Andrea Salinas (Ore.); Jill Tokuda (Hawaii); Rob Menendez (N.J.); Jared Moskowitz (Fla.); and three Michigan representatives, Hillary Scholten, Haley Stevens and Shri Thanedar.
Some Democrats ‘dumbfounded’ by Biden’s willingness to hand major gifts to Netanyahu
Two Democratic lawmakers who spoke to The Times of Israel this week on condition of anonymity expressed a degree of “dumbfounded-ness” over the administration’s insistence on moving forward with both undertakings at a time when the Netanyahu government is seen to so egregiously undermine US interests in the region.

‘Right moves, wrong time’
Both lawmakers were quick to point out that they principally support Israel’s entry into the VWP as well as Jerusalem normalizing ties with Riyadh.

“This is the most far-right government we’ve ever seen, and we’re talking about giving them something that will help solidify Netanyahu’s hold on power,” said the first Congress member. “I get that there are other factors at play here, but these seem like the right moves at the wrong time.”

The two also sought to differentiate themselves from the Squad of eight or so progressives in the House of Representatives who would likely oppose both Biden initiatives regardless of which government was in power in Israel.

“I’m deeply committed to the safety and security of Israel. As we’ve seen in the months since this far-right government came into power, Israel has been less safe and less secure. So why should the administration be bending over backward for Netanyahu and his allies, who have no intention of granting the Palestinians a state?” asked the second Congress member.

Others in the party, however, appear to have less of an issue making such significant gestures to Israel now.

House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries led an AIPAC-funded delegation of 25 Democrats to Israel this week, rubbing shoulders with Netanyahu and telling Israeli reporters that he “takes [the premier] at his word.”

The same can’t even necessarily be said of Biden.

Asked the day after the reasonableness law passed whether the US president trusts Netanyahu, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to answer. “What I can tell you again, as you just stated: They have a longstanding relationship. They speak candidly with each other.”

The first Democratic lawmaker speaking on condition of anonymity agreed that there was a range of views in the party regarding the Netanyahu government, but insisted, “I’m far from the only one on my side of the aisle who’s uncomfortable with the kinds of things [the administration] is considering giving to this Israeli government.”

“I tend to think I’m a lot closer to where a lot of my Jewish constituents are at on this, in terms of their opposition to this government, particularly over what it’s been doing on judicial reform,” said the second Democratic lawmaker.
AOC Accuses Pro-Israel Lobbying Group of 'Funneling Dark Money' to ‘Undermine Democracy’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC of "funneling dark money" to target "progressive, working-class candidates of color," drawing accusations from Jewish activists that she is using "antisemitic tropes."

The New York Democrat sent out a fundraising email last week for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.), warning that AIPAC was trying to "undermine democracy" and "abuse campaign finance laws to spend millions of dollars on misleading attack ads."

"We just got word: AIPAC is at it again. They’re trying to recruit an establishment executive to run against my brother in The Bronx, Jamaal Bowman," wrote Ocasio-Cortez. "We know what comes next. AIPAC won’t wait much longer to start funneling dark money against Jamaal and ramping up attacks against our movement."

Ocasio-Cortez’s broadside against AIPAC comes as the Democratic Party has been grappling with growing anti-Israel sentiment among far-left lawmakers. Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow "squad" members have ramped up their attacks on Israel in recent weeks, calling it a "racist state" and boycotting Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s address to Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to a request for comment. Marshall Wittmann, a spokesman for AIPAC, pushed back against Ocasio-Cortez's comments and said the group would "not be deterred" by such attacks.

"We proudly support candidates who will advance the US-Israel relationship—including the majority of the Congressional Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus and almost half of the Progressive Caucus," Wittmann told the Washington Free Beacon. "We will not be deterred in fully engaging in the democratic process by either fringe organizations or anti-Israel individuals."

Jewish activists slammed the congresswoman’s comments on social media.


Abbas fires 13 PA governors
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree removing 13 of his 16 regional governors from their posts, the P.A.’s Wafa news agency reported on Thursday.

In Judea and Samaria, Abbas ordered the forced retirement of the heads of the P.A.’s governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Bethlehem, Hebron, Tubas and Jericho (the latter includes a large section of the Jordan Valley).

In the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by the Hamas terrorist organization since 2007, Abbas fired the P.A. representatives for North Gaza, Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah.

Only the governors of Jerusalem, Salfit and Ramallah/al-Bireh remain in their posts. The governor of Deir el-Balah in Gaza, Abdullah Abu Samhadana, died in 2020, and Abbas has yet to appoint a successor.

Wafa cited no reason given for the overhaul. The report claimed Abbas ordered the creation of a committee, consisting of “leading figures,” that would advise and present him with candidates to fill the vacant positions.

Abbas’s own status within his Fatah faction is shaky due to his age and poor health, and the lack of change in relations between the P.A. and Israel, creating a very real risk of a loss of further control in other Palestinian-governed cities across Judea and Samaria, counterterrorism expert Professor Boaz Ganor told JNS last month.


Australia Takes Step Backwards on Middle East Peace
On Aug. 8, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that the Australian government would henceforth classify the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem as "Occupied Palestinian Territories" and would further declare all settlements as "illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace."

In doing so, Australia sets the clock back on peace, misstates international law, fans the flames of terrorism, and aligns Australia with the rejectionist bloc's anti-Israel mob mentality.

In 2000, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat walked away from a deal his own negotiators had hashed out, without any counter offer. In 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas more than 100% of the land area Palestinians declare occupied. Abbas rejected the deal.

The Palestinian leadership cannot accept any peace that recognizes Israel as a Jewish state.

The basis of the peace process - and the Oslo Accords - is peaceful negotiation of the land dispute. To make an end run around negotiations encourages recalcitrance, not peace.
AJA Slams Penny Wong & Labor over latest Hostile Anti-Israel Move- Sharri Markson Show, Sky News
The Australian Jewish Association was quoted by Sharri Markson slamming the Albanese Government's latest anti-Israel move.

AJA Statement below:
“The Australian Jewish Association condemns the latest hostile move from Labor. It seems they never miss an opportunity to rebuke Israel. Sometimes it seems that Australia's Middle East foreign policy has been outsourced to far-left radicals or inexperienced university activists. The opposition should announce that they will reverse this nasty and petty move when they are elected.” Robert Gregory, Public Affairs Director, Australian Jewish Association (AJA)


ABC comes under fire AGAIN for its coverage of world events as national broadcaster is accused of bias
A Jewish organisation has filed a complaint against the ABC accusing the national broadcaster of bias over its coverage of the Israel and Palestine conflict.

The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) made the complaint on Monday over a story about a 27-year-old Palestinian gunman who shot dead a Tel Aviv city patrol inspector before he was killed on Saturday.

'Palestinian man killed in Tel Aviv shooting that leaves another critically wounded,' the ABC headline read.

The AJA accused the ABC of misleading the public by omitting the context of the incident being a terrorist attack.

It marks the latest example of the ABC coming under fire for its reporting on world events after the national broadcaster sparked outrage over its coverage of King Charles III's Coronation earlier this year.

News agency Reuters had reported on the same story in Tel Aviv with the headline: 'Palestinian attack leaves one Israeli dead in Tel Aviv, shooter killed'.

The ABC now shows the story with the headline: 'Tel Aviv shooting leaves one man critically injured and one dead'.

The AJA have previously filed complaints with the ABC over their coverage of the conflict, which have been upheld by the ABC ombudsman's office.

AJA director of public affairs Robert Gregory told Daily Mail Australia the agency is 'frustrated at how often the ABC makes errors when reporting significant international news stories, particularly on the Middle East'.

'In this case, ABC twisted coverage of a Palestinian Islamic terrorist attack against Israelis to make it seem like the terrorist was the victim,' he said.

AJA president Dr David Adler said the ABC has an 'extraordinarily long and disgraceful record of anti-Israel bias'.

'The ABC will go out of their way to omit the terrorism aspect of the story,' he said.

The AJA previously made a complaint against the ABC for a story published on May 27, titled: 'Three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, ministry says'.

The story included the term 'freedom fighter', which was amended alongside the headline after the complaint was filed by the AJA.


PreOccupiedTerritory: IDF Reservists, Pilots, Refusing To Serve, Credit J-Street For Inspiration In Framing Anti-Israel Acts As Pro-Israel (satire)
A group of Israelis dissatisfied with a legislative effort to curtail powers that the Supreme Court arrogated for itself, and worried that the moves will spiral the country into dictatorship, insists that their vow not to show up for annual stints of military training, or not to fly their military aircraft as assigned, thus weakening the Jewish’ State’s defense readiness in a perpetually unstable and threatening region, in fact represents love for that state – an argument they acknowledge they never could have developed on their own, but had to rely on the precedent of an American political organization that claims to be “Pro-Israel” but endorses every anti-Israel candidate, official, policy, and proposal across the US.

The IDF reservists, pilots, officers, and other personnel, along with the political figures and activists encouraging them from the sidelines, gave credit Thursday to the American lobbying organization J Street for the inspiration to frame acts and attitudes manifestly harmful to Israel as in Israel’s interest, actually.

“We wouldn’t have thought of it on our own,” admitted Selfinda Foot, who has called on reservists of all ranks not to show up when called, in protest over the Netanyahu government “trampling on democracy.” “We didn’t know how to go about promoting this movement, but J Street shoed the way,” she stated. “Since early in the Obama administration, J Street has played an outsize role in tokenizing ‘American Jewish’ attitudes on Israel, as if their support for every anti-Israel politician, and some outright antisemitic ones – Ilhan Omar comes to mind – is somehow congruent with the organization billing itself as ‘pro-Israel.'”
Israeli Minister Dismisses U.S. Terrorism Label in Death of Palestinian
Former Israel Security Agency director Avi Dichter, a member of Israel's security cabinet, on Tuesday brushed off the U.S. use of the term "terror attack" to condemn the death of a Palestinian near Burqa village in the West Bank. Lawyers for the Israelis arrested say the shooting was in self-defense after they were attacked by a much larger group of rock-throwers. The Jerusalem District Court ruled that one of the two Israelis should be released to house arrest. The other remains hospitalized with a head wound.

"I wouldn't advise treating the U.S. definition as a precise professional definition. At the end of the day, they are not drawing on intelligence, but on media reports," Dichter told Israel's Army Radio. "Everything gets poured into media reports - things that are correct, things that are wrong, tendentious and other things. In the end of the day, what is important as far as we are concerned is what happened there."
Judge assails police in hearing on release of suspects in Palestinian’s death
A court hearing over an appeal by police against the release of two Israeli suspects in the killing of a Palestinian man became heated on Wednesday evening, with defense lawyers at one point storming out of the room and new evidence supposedly coming to light.

Ultimately, the Jerusalem District Court accepted a police appeal against the release of Yehiel Indore — who is hospitalized under police guard — but approved the release of Elisha Yered to house arrest. The Supreme Court had earlier frozen a lower court’s orders to release both suspects, sending the decision to the district court, which weighed the police appeal. Yered was released late Wednesday evening, while Indore’s remand was extended until at least Friday.

But prosecutors filed yet another appeal against Yered’s release on Thursday, claiming that the settler “endangers public order,” and that his release to house arrest “could cause real damage to the completion of the investigation.”

The motion was dismissed later Thursday by the Supreme Court.

In a clash Friday night in the Palestinian village of Burqa, 19-year-old Qusai Jamal Matan was allegedly shot dead by Indore, who was arrested a day later. Yered was arrested on suspicion of being involved and obstructing the police investigation.

Five Palestinians — all members of one family — were also arrested over their involvement in the clash, in which Indore was wounded. One was later released.
Chen Amir’s killer entered Israel through hole in security fence
The Palestinian terrorist who shot and killed Chen Amir in the heart of Tel Aviv last weekend entered Israel through a hole in the Judea and Samaria security fence, Kan News reported on Thursday.

Saturday’s incident began when two municipal patrol officers attempted to question a suspicious individual at the corner of Montefiore and Allenby streets. He ignored their overtures, drew a handgun and opened fire at them, hitting Amir.

The second guard then chased after the terrorist, shooting and killing him.

The assailant was identified as Kamel Abu Bakr, 22, from Rummanah, near Jenin in northern Samaria. He was a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and had been hiding in the Jenin refugee camp for the past six months.

A preliminary investigation found that Abu Bakr infiltrated Israeli territory hours before the attack through a breach in the seam line fence near Rummanah, according to the report.

Authorities are still probing how the terrorist got to Tel Aviv, and are exploring the possibility that he hitchhiked.

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has arrested several Palestinians in connection with the deadly attack, who remain in custody.

On Sunday, Amir’s widow eulogized him as “the most amazing person in the world, an amazing husband and a wonderful father” to three daughters.
On this day, 17 years ago, Yoseph Haddad was injured badly during the Second Lebanon War
On this day, 17 years ago, Yoseph Haddad was injured badly during the second Lebanon war while he was in the village of Bint Jbeil fighting the terrorist organization Hezbollah!This is his unbelievable story.




Israel foils smuggling of small reconnaissance drones to Gaza Strip
Israeli security guards at the Erez border crossing into the northern Gaza Strip foiled an attempt to smuggle small drones into the Palestinian enclave, the Defense Ministry announced Wednesday.

According to the ministry, during an inspection of a minibus that was being imported to the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, a canine detected a suspicious package on the vehicle.

The ministry said that concealed within a black bag, the guards found 10 quadcopters, suspected to have been intended for reconnaissance use by terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

The Shin Bet security agency was also involved in the investigation.

Israel has maintained a blockade of the Hamas-ruled coastal strip since the terror group violently took over the territory from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. Israel says the measure is necessary to prevent Hamas from acquiring weapons.


Two Killed in Clash Between Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Christian Villagers: Sources
Two people were killed in Lebanon on Wednesday in an exchange of fire between Hezbollah members and residents of a Christian village after a truck belonging to the heavily armed Shi’ite group overturned in the area, security sources said.

A member of the Iran-backed Hezbollah and a resident of the mountain village of Kahaleh were killed in the clash, some 12 km (7 miles) southeast of Beirut, the sources said. The sides accused each other of starting the deadly clash.

It marked the most serious confrontation between Hezbollah and its Lebanese opponents since deadly clashes in Beirut nearly two years ago, threatening to worsen sectarian tensions as Lebanon is paralysed by deep political and economic crises.

Local lawmakers from the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party opposed to Hezbollah, accused the group of transporting weapons in the truck.

Hezbollah said the vehicle was its property and accused “militias” in the area of attacking its crew, saying a man “protecting the truck” was wounded and later died. In a statement, it said an exchange of fire had taken place with “the attacking gunmen”. It did not say what was on the truck.

The local office of the Lebanese Forces party accused “an armed group” accompanying the vehicle of firing at civilians, leading to the death of a man identified by the sources as a Christian resident of Kahaleh.

Fadi Bejjani, 64, was identified as the victim by his son Youssef, who told Reuters the pair had tried to get close to the truck after it flipped over.


How bad are Iran’s supersonic cruise missile claims for Israel?
Iran on Wednesday announced that it has the technology to build supersonic cruise missiles, leading to some wondering if Israel, and even some US Middle East interests, might now be in greater danger.

Before dissecting what exactly the Islamic Republic really presented and how game-changing or not it is, the first thing we need to notice is that the key phrase here is “cruise missile” as opposed to “supersonic.”

Supersonic is about reaching mach one, something a large number of missiles have been able to do for many decades.

In terms of speech, supersonic is not all that special, and the new goal in threatening adversaries with speed is “hypersonic,” or reaching above mach five.

The cruise missile part, combined with supersonic speed is what is more threatening.

Since the 1990s, Iran has had ballistic missiles which could strike Israel, its Sunni Middle Eastern rivals, and parts of Eastern Europe.

Because of that, Israel has worked hard to develop anti-ballistic missile air defense systems, most prominently the series of Arrow defense systems, the latest of which is the Arrow 3.

Similarly, the US has worked hard to defend against ballistic missile attacks from the USSR in the past, and potentially Russia, China, or North Korea in the present. A new surface-to-surface ballistic missile called Khaibar with a range of 2,000 km, unveiled by Iran, is seen in Tehran, Iran, May 25, 2023 (credit: WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)
Iran's Worsening Brain Drain
The director of Iran's Migration Observatory recently warned against the worsening "brain drain" of Iranian experts in the high-tech and science fields.

According to the center's data, 67% of employees in the Iranian high-tech industry are in various stages of immigration.

The data also reveals that over 60% of Iranians who have emigrated abroad in recent years have no intention of returning.

In the wake of these reports, Iranian authorities have come up with an original solution to the problem. They have decided to close down the Migration Observatory to prevent the publication of further data on the issue.


Nikki Haley Calls to End Taxpayer Aid to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan
The Biden administration’s $2.35 billion investment in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is emerging as a flashpoint in the 2024 presidential race, with Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley vowing to cut all U.S. aid to the country.

"When I’m president, we won’t send one penny to terrorists and countries that hate America," former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley told the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday. "Nearly two years after Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, he continues to add insult to injury by throwing taxpayer dollars at the Taliban-controlled country. This is a terrorist regime that killed our troops and tortures its own people."

Afghanistan—and the Biden administration’s deadly 2021 evacuation from the country that left 13 Americans dead—has become a major talking point among the GOP’s 2024 field of candidates as they seek to brandish their foreign policy credentials. Former vice president Mike Pence has repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for removing all U.S. forces from the country, and his former boss, Donald Trump, also blamed the current president for the Taliban’s rise to power. Florida governor Ron DeSantis had made similar comments about the bungled U.S. withdrawal, though he hasn’t focused heavily on foreign policy up to this point.

Haley’s comments are some of the clearest to date from a Republican candidate about what U.S. policy towards Afghanistan would look like moving forward. The Biden administration has pumped taxpayer cash into the country since the Taliban retook power, and the United States remains the war-torn country’s top patron, the Free Beacon reported on Tuesday. This cash is believed to be propping up the Taliban’s government.

Haley has also come out in favor of cutting foreign aid to a range of countries she says "hate America." These include Iraq, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Belarus, and Cuba.




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