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Friday, July 26, 2024

07/26 Links Pt2: Harris’s Naivete on the Mideast; Identity Politics and the Israel-Hamas War; US envoy says Albanese ‘not fit’ for position

From Ian:

Sen. Mitch McConnell in conversation with Jewish Insider
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sat down with Jewish Insider on Thursday for an interview about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, the surging rates of antisemitism in the United States, and the foreign policy divisions within both parties.

The conversation came one day after Netanyahu’s joint session and the subsequent protests that turned violent and saw the defacing of Union Station, and hours after McConnell called on the Department of Justice to pursue the same maximum sentences for those involved in the Wednesday’s violence that prosecutors sought “for the Capitol rioters of Jan. 6.”

Below is a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity:

Jewish Insider: I want to start with what you said on the floor this morning about what we’ve seen occur at the Watergate and at Union Station over the past few days. I’m going to quote you, you said it “only underscores the challenge facing the world’s only Jewish state.” Taking a more domestic view, what do you think these last 36 hours say about the current state of antisemitism in the United States and what do you think needs to be done to address it?

Mitch McConnell: I think from the very beginning, this effort to try to convince people that there’s some sort of moral equivalence between how Israel is conducting the war and how it started has been outrageous. [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi yesterday attacking the prime minister of Israel for what I thought was one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard shows you that on the political left in this country, they’re confused, in my view, about the moral equivalency between being attacked and defending yourself and going after the attackers. So, I think it tells you something about the critics that they can’t tell the difference between Hamas, which started the whole thing and murdered 1,200 people, and the response to that, which has been about as selective as the Israeli military could be.

JI: About Democrats, do you have any thoughts on the dichotomy between [Senate Foreign Relations] Chairman [Ben] Cardin, who presided in Vice President Harris’ place and praised the address, with [Senate Minority] Leader [Chuck] Schumer still not offering his thoughts on the speech? What do you make of that? Is it that Chairman Cardin is retiring and doesn’t have to worry about political considerations?

MM: He was the only one willing to do it. The vice president, who should have been there, was not there. The president pro tem [Patty Murray] took a pass. I think the Democrats in the United States are confused about which side we ought to be on, unequivocally on. They’re divided by a fanatically sort of anti-Israel crowd. Frankly, I’ve been surprised by the level of antisemitism in this country. I had no idea, I thought this was something we had gotten past years ago. I’m pleased that in my party there seems to be no confusion about which side we ought to be on. I’m proud of our folks for sticking with Israel, our Democratic ally. Even the Biden administration trying to tell the Israelis how to run the war or the majority leader saying they ought to have an election, it’s not our job to tell a Democratic ally defending itself how to conduct a war, and by the way, you ought to have an election to get a new prime minister. We don’t do that normally, and I’m certain the Israelis are not confused about seeing the difference in this country.
Seth Mandel: Harris’s Naivete on the Mideast
The question that first came to mind watching Kamala Harris’s brief monologue (it was billed as a press conference, but there were no question taken) after her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was: Who is she talking to? Who is the audience for this?

By the end of her comments, I realized she wasn’t actually trying to convince or reassure anyone of anything. It would have been quite useful to hear her answer questions in the moment, but alas we’re not yet at that stage of the Kamala rollout.

One point of continuity between Harris and Biden, however, was made clear when the vice president seemed to address a Democratic base that no longer exists. She went to great efforts to project empathy for the Palestinians when the progressive activist base doesn’t want to hear anything about Palestinians. Their focus is Israel, exclusively.

Hence, “Israel has a right to defend itself, and how it does so matters,” is crafted to appeal to both sides. And that might have succeeded… in 1994. The activists who have been interrupting President Biden’s speeches and press conferences and church visits don’t believe Israel has a right to defend itself and therefore “how it does so” doesn’t matter at all to them. The rioters attacking police officers yesterday while painting “Hamas is coming” graffiti, the “tentifada” students on college campuses, and the captured academic institutions all share a strong belief that Israel’s self-defense is itself illegitimate.

Indeed, the UN’s special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Francesca Albanese, rejected outright Israel’s right to self-defense after Hamas’s October massacre.

“The right to self-defense can be invoked when the state is threatened by another state, which is not the case,” Albanese said in November. “It cannot claim the right of self-defense against a threat that emanates from a territory it occupies, from a territory kept under belligerent occupation.”

Israel’s putative occupation of Gaza ended 20 years ago, but Albanese is speaking the language of the global left, which does not acknowledge this indisputable reality. A very popular slogan among the demonstrators is “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.”
Seth Mandel: Identity Politics and the Israel-Hamas War
In May, the New York Times looked into why antiwar sentiment at black colleges didn’t turn into pro-Hamas encampments. “The reasons stem from political, cultural and socioeconomic differences with other institutions of higher learning,” the reporters wrote. “While H.B.C.U.s host a range of political views, domestic concerns tend to outweigh foreign policy in the minds of most students. Many started lower on the economic ladder and are more intently focused on their education and their job prospects after graduation.”

There is also a sense of self-awareness at these colleges that is sorely lacking at a ridiculous elite circus like Columbia. “Whether people support the decision or not,” Morehouse President David Thomas said of the school hosting a speech by Biden, “they are committed to having it happen on our campus in a way that doesn’t undermine the integrity or dignity of the school.”

One gets the sense that, just as dignity is not a word readily associated with the behavior of students and faculty at Columbia or the University of Pennsylvania, dignity is also unlikely to be a factor in the considerations of a hundred thousand white women for Harris—the latter are heavily invested in self-actualization, not self-awareness.

So are these white wonder women going to turn their self-love army into anti-Kamala riots in Chicago? Unlikely. Will they interrupt Harris’s speeches to accuse her of not caring about “brown people”? I don’t think they will. Legions of white women who think saving the world requires a vote for Kamala Harris aren’t going to protest Kamala Harris as an avatar of white supremacy and colonialism.

The Washington Post’s Karen Attiah, one of the more prominent voices to amplify celebrations of Hamas’s slaughter on October 7, wants Harris to believe the threat is there. “If Harris does not get Gaza and protests right, especially as colleges start the fall semester — the campaign will be in *SERIOUS* trouble with young + PoC voters,” she posted. Attiah added: “Do people not understand that these groups could just as easily organize massive ‘Young People for Uncommitted’ Zooms just as quickly as people mobilized for Harris?”

No, they can’t. And they won’t. Harris’s speech yesterday suggests she, unfortunately, won’t seek to take much advantage of the neutralizing of this factional revolt when it comes to the war in Gaza. Harris seems dedicated to presenting the conflict as a false equivalence between Israel and Hamas. But her strong statement against the pro-Hamas protesters and rioters on Wednesday was a sign that she understands that the insulation from protests that Biden had pales in comparison to what Harris has in her pocket.


US envoy says Albanese ‘not fit’ for position as UN expert after post comparing Netanyahu to Hitler
US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield says Francesca Albanese is “not fit for this or any other position at the UN,” in the closest Washington has come to calling for the ouster of the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories.

Yesterday, Albanese endorsed a post on X that featured a picture of Adolf Hitler being celebrated by a crowd with Nazi salutes and cheers above a shot of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being greeted by US congressmen this week.

“There is no place for antisemitism from UN-affiliated officials tasked with promoting human rights. While the United States has never supported Francesca Albanese’s mandate, it is clear she is not fit for this or any position at the UN,” Thomas-Greenfield writes in a post on X.

Albanese is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 but does not speak on behalf of the UN.

Last night, Israel slammed the UN rights expert for “antisemitism,” calling her “beyond redemption.”

“It is inconceivable that Albanese is still allowed to use the UN as a shield to spread anti-Semitism,” it said.


Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’
The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the largest daily newspaper in Missouri, has endorsed the opponent of US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), pointing to the incumbent congresswoman’s lack of legislative accomplishments and stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

The Post-Dispatch argued that Bush’s position on Israel and the Gaza war should be “disqualifying” for any elected representative. The outlet took umbrage with Bush for equating a close democratic ally of the US with a genocidal terrorist organization.

“Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the US — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election,” the editorial board wrote.

Bush has established herself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress. Only nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Bush called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. As the war dragged on, Bush’s rhetoric toward Israel sharpened, with the congresswoman accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid” in the West Bank. Bush has also accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza without providing evidence.

Bush seems more interested in pandering to the far-left fringes of the progressive movement than serving her constituents, the Post-Dispatch argued. Bush’s membership in “The Squad” — a clique of far-left progressive, anti-establishment lawmakers in the House of Representatives — has rendered her completely incapable of “accomplishing anything” in the halls of Congress, according to the newspaper.

The editorial board urged its readers to vote for Wesley Bell, pointing to his moderated approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example of his pragmatism and moral clarity.

“On Israel, Bell offers an appropriately measured stance, acknowledging the need to protect Gazan civilians and work toward a two-state solution, while supporting America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” the outlet wrote.

In contrast to Bush, Bell has expressed more sympathy to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, emphatically rejecting the notion that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing.”
Two Charged over Burns’ office vandalism
Police have charged two people in connection with the attack on the office of Macnamara Labor MP Josh Burns.

Police said at the time that at least five individuals were involved in the incident.

An 18-year-old woman from Melbourne and a 17-year-old boy face charges of burglary and two counts of criminal damage following incidents in June and July.

The charges relate to two separate attacks, one on Burns’ office and another one later where a building on St Kilda Rd was vandalised with red paint.

The first incident occurred on June 19 at approximately 3:20 am when Burns’ office on Barkly Street, St Kilda, was attacked.

Vandals smashed windows, defaced walls with slogans such as “Zionism is Fascism”, and lit fires outside causing significant damage to the property.

In a second incident on July 17, a building on St Kilda Road in Melbourne was vandalised with red paint at around 4:40 am.

The 18-year-old woman has been granted bail and is scheduled to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on October 11.

The minor will face a children’s court at a later date.

Burns said in response to the arrests, “I am aware of the age of those who are charged by police, and I wish to make this broad comment. The decisions people make as young people don’t have to define the rest of their lives.”
Police use pepper spray, arrest six people at pro-Palestine protest outside Thomastown, Melbourne metal facility
Six people have been arrested after pro-Palestine protesters who converged on a metal processing business in Thomastown on Wednesday morning, urging the business to “stop arming Israel”, clashed with Victoria Police officers.

Police were called to Electromold on Holt Parade in Thomastown about 4.30am on Wednesday after about 60 pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the business.

Police officers, some astride horses, issued multiple orders for the crowd to leave, as they were blocking the front gate of the business premises.

The protesters bellowed "get those animals off those horses" as officers rode past.

Chaos ensued as police deployed pepper spray on the group when they refused to move.

Police arrested six people – three men and three women, aged in their mid-20s to late 30s.

Police are also investigating criminal damage to the front gate of the business.

The protest on Wednesday is the fourth in a series of actions over the past four weeks aimed at the local manufacturer.

Some 250 protesters targeted the same business on July 12 with the aim to “disrupt work for as long as possible.”

The protesters displayed posters demanding the business be shut down, while announcing their demands through a megaphone.

The group claim Electromold are “arming Israel” by providing finishings for Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.


"I am an #Iranian #Jew" | EP 02 Michelle Ahdoot
Welcome to the second episode of "Here I Am with Shai Davidai," a podcast that delves into the rising tide of antisemitism through insightful discussions with top Jewish advocates.

In this episode, host Shai Davidai, a Professor at Columbia University known for his viral speech against antisemitism, engages in an important conversation with Michelle, a director of a Jewish civil rights movement called End Jew Hatred.

They discuss how they met and Michelle's impactful speech at the JCC. Michelle shares her background as an Iranian Jew and her strong Zionist and traditional Jewish identity. They delve into the founding and mission of the Jewish civil rights movement, emphasizing unity and fighting against Jew hatred. Michelle highlights the importance of social pressure and digital activism in creating systemic change. They also touch on the challenges faced by Jews on college campuses and the need for policy and legal actions to uphold civil rights. The conversation concludes with reflections on the future of Jewish civil rights and the role of women and Iranian Jews in the movement.


Rosen, Lankford host Senate roundtable on campus antisemitism
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), the chairs of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, hosted a roundtable with six Jewish students from around the country on Thursday morning to discuss campus antisemitism.

The event came following pressure — thus far unsuccessful — from the two lawmakers, and others, for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), to hold a public hearing on campus antisemitism. The Senate has held no formal hearings on the issue since Oct. 7.

Lankford told Jewish Insider in May that Sanders had told him that the committee would hold a hearing on antisemitism and Islamophobia, but that has yet to materialize. Sanders did not respond to a request for comment.

Rosen said in a statement that the roundtable aimed to discuss students’ experiences and hear feedback on what the government can do to address campus antisemitism and “hold universities accountable.”

“As we approach the fall semester when students will return to campus, I’ll continue working in a bipartisan way with Senator Lankford and our Senate Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism to keep students safe from hate,” Rosen continued.

“I applaud the courage of the students who shared their personal experiences with antisemitism with me and Senator Rosen today,” Lankford said in a statement. “I am encouraged by their resolve to shine a bright light into the deep darkness of antisemitism on some American university campuses.”

Lankford later shared some of the students’ stories in remarks on the Senate floor, including harassment and physical attacks. He called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act before students return to campus.

Nathan Diament, the executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, who attended the event, said that the students in attendance “each recounted very, very distressing stories about each of their campuses.”

“Unfortunately, [the roundtable] also highlights the fact that the relevant committees, namely the Senate Education Committee, chaired by [Sen.] Bernie Sanders and the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. [Dick] Durbin, have refused to have hearings, let alone consider any legislation to respond to the situation,” Diament said. “And that’s just shameful.”

Durbin did not respond to a request for comment.
Senate bill would beef up Title VI probes of alleged school biases
Four Republican senators introduced the Restoring Civility on Campus Act, which calls on the U.S. Department of Education to immediately investigate alleged school violations of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act barring discrimination based on shared ancestry, including religion.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) introduced the bill.

It would require the department to update complainants and the public every 30 days about open cases, raise fines temporarily from $69,733 to $1 million per violation for schools that do not disclose antisemitic crimes on annual security reports and investigate schools in person.

“Six million Jews were tragically murdered during the Holocaust. It’s unfathomable to think, even after the horrific events during World War II, antisemitism is still happening in the United States,” Grassley said. “Frankly, our academic leaders shouldn’t need direction from Congress to protect students and take swift action against civil-rights violations—but, evidently, they do. Our universities and education officials must do more to combat antisemitism.”
California school district violated Title VI by failing to address antisemitism
A California school system failed to follow the 1964 Civil Rights Act by not protecting Jewish students from antisemitism, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

That office announced on Friday that the Carmel Unified School District in central California signed an agreement to resolve Title VI violations dating back to 15 incidents starting in 2021 but extending through 2024.

They include swastikas and antisemitic vandalism that resulted in a hostile environment for Jewish students the district failed to address, leaving the problem to fester in the tony community.

The resolution agreement between the nine Carmel schools and the OCR features a number of steps, including reviewing incidents over the last three years to determine additional action; analyzing policies for responding to harassment reports; implementing new forms of tracking bigotry; assessing hostile environments district-wide; training staff; and educating students and parents for how to identify abusive behavior.

The district will also need to report to the OCR about its responses to hate reports during the next two school years.
Top Christian universities condemn campus antisemitism and pledge safe haven for Jewish students
Two of the United States’ largest Christian universities released a joint letter on Wednesday morning condemning campus antisemitism and promising a safe haven for Jewish students on their campuses.

The letter was signed by the presidents of Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) and Colorado Christian University (CCU). IWU, located in Marion, Indiana, is the largest member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, with over 14K students enrolled.

CCU, located in Lakewood, Colorado, is the flagship Christian university in the Rocky Mountain region with over 10K students. Both are listed among the most prominent Christian Universities in the country and are nationally ranked.

“To our Beloved Jewish Brothers and Sisters,” the letter begins. “We write to express our profound shock and indignation in response to the surge of hate and violence directed against Jewish and Israeli individuals on university campuses across the United States earlier this year.”

Since October 7, an alarming surge of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment has pervaded North American campuses. According to a survey conducted by Hillel International, last updated July 23, after the October 7 attack on Israel, there was a 700% increase in antisemitic incidents on college campuses compared to the same period last year. This is further compounded by a recent ADL survey, which found that 26% of Gen Z support Hamas.

“We want to make it clear to our nation and the world that our Christian institutions will not tolerate this behavior,” the letter continued, adding that the universities are concerned that “the terrible events we all witnessed at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year are already being forgotten. What we have all seen reveals a profound problem in the culture of many institutions, a problem which must be addressed.”


‘The NHS has lost its mind!’ Patients horrified as ‘jihad GP’ allowed back to surgery
Patients have reacted with horror as a doctor exposed as the former leader of a jihadi organisation was allowed back to work as a GP in north London by the NHS.

A patient who has been with the practice for ten years, who asked not to be named, said that Dr Shaida’s links with the Islamist terror group Hizb ut-Tahrir “changed my opinion of the surgery. It is terrible.”

The patient added, "I would not want him to treat me now. You would wonder what he was really thinking.”

Rajeev Tanna, who has an appointment with the doctor on Monday, told the JC: “I’m not so sure about going now, I might ring up and ask to see someone else.” Another patient described the doctor as “unsettling”. A female patient said she was alarmed by the decision to reinstate the doctor and said: “People are just going to ring up and ask for another GP.”

In October, Dr Wahid Asif Shaida led anti-Israel protests where there were shouts of “jihad” and he described the October 7 massacre as “a welcome punch on the nose”.

Jewish organisations have sounded alarm over the decision by NHS England to lift Dr Wahid Asif Shaida’s suspension. The Board Deputies said the move was “of deep concern”, while the Campaign Against Antisemitism said the NHS had “lost its mind”.

Dr Wahid Asif Shaida – who has been described as the ‘jihad GP’ – led the UK outfit of the now-banned radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. He was suspended by NHS England when the group was proscribed on January 19.

At the time, the NHS cited the doctor’s association with an organisation that “supports antisemitic beliefs and encouraged acts of terrorism” and raised "potential fitness to practise concerns”.


Court approves state’s request to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel
The Tel Aviv District Court has accepted the state’s request to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel, calling it “a real violation of state security.”

The ruling states that there was enough evidence to show that content broadcast on the Qatari news network had incited terror attacks including a fatal stabbing in the south of Israel in March and “attacks in East Jerusalem.”

“This is, therefore, a real danger to the state’s security, although it doesn’t necessarily imply an intent to cause harm on the part of the channel,” the ruling reads.

The judge’s ruling also notes an Al Jazeera live feed broadcast from Gaza this month that showed Israeli missiles landing in the Strip, “providing the exact location of impact, for the convenience of any terrorist who happens to be in the area,” and an instructional video that was aired on how to damage a tank with a proximity charge.

Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in Israel were first taken off the air, its website taken offline, its equipment seized and its offices sealed on May 5 in accordance with an emergency law passed in April allowing for foreign outlets deemed violating national security to be temporarily blocked.

It is the only outlet against which the law has been enacted.

The Knesset is in the process of turning the so-called Al Jazeera Law into permanent legislation, passing a preliminary reading earlier this week.
Antisemitic LA Times Captions Reveal Troubling Bias That Endangers the Safety Of Jewish Angelenos
Despite a decline in readership and extensive layoffs, reports of the demise of the LA Times are greatly exaggerated. It remains the most important news outlet in California.

This makes its anti-Israel bias in a number of recent articles especially troubling. The newspaper’s bias not only breeds distrust among its dwindling Jewish readership but advances blatant lies that endanger the safety of Jewish Angelenos.

Its bias was laid bare for all to seen on July 2nd. Nine days prior, violent extremists descended on the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Pico Robertson, blocking access to a synagogue and attacking Jewish residents. As posts and videos of Jews being attacked went viral online, strong condemnations followed from President Biden, Governor Newsom, and Mayor Bass, with promises to take “swift action” to protect the Jewish community from further attacks. The LAPD conceded that it was ill-prepared, undermanned, and late to the scene of what some Jewish residents are calling the “Pico Pogrom.” Fortunately, several Jewish non-profit organizations were on the scene on June 23rd to prevent fatal injuries from the antisemitic violence.

Recognizing that the LAPD (which has shrunk from 10,000 officers down to only 8,800) lacks the manpower to protect vulnerable Jewish institutions, the LA City Council swiftly proposed a motion to provide $1 million in security funding to three Jewish non-profit organizations. The innocuous motion was modeled on the long-standing California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program. The three non-profit organizations are the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, and Magen Am. Each is a well-respected and vital mainstay of the Los Angeles Jewish community, especially the Jewish Federation, which dates back to 1911.

Fast forward to July 2nd, when extremists (including some of the same hate groups that participated in and promoted the Pico Pogrom) descended on the LA City Council to block the motion. Bullied by these hate groups, the City Council quickly tabled the motion, reportedly to make the funding available to non-profits of all religious backgrounds.

However, when Angelenos read the LA Times story about the motion and the City Council proceedings, a far more sinister story was told. Five photo captions described the motion as providing $1 million to “Pro-Israel vigilante/security companies for Zionist Defense training.” Yes, you read that right. Not only is the caption factually false and easily debunked (none of the three above organizations are “vigilante” or “Zionist defense” organizations), but the caption breeds the same hate that the motion seeks to address. Anyone reading that caption would be outraged that her tax dollars would be handed over to “vigilante security companies for Zionist defense training,” this reader included. Outrage like that breeds hate and violence.

The article itself was just as biased. Not a single Jewish victim of the Pico Pogrom was quoted. But, “multiple” unnamed “pro-Palestinian protesters” were, anonymously telling the LA Times that it was actually LAPD officers and “pro-Israel supporters” who were the violent ones. Pro-Palestinian protester Ron Gochez (who was not even at the Pico Pogrom) was quoted about being “attacked” by “pro-Israel counter protesters” at the UCLA “encampment.” Pro-Palestinian protester John Parker (who was also not present at the Pico Pogrom) was quoted as calling Jews “fascists” and the LAPD “racist.”
BBC ‘value judgements’ on terrorism again on display
For years we have documented the BBC’s employment of double standards on language when reporting terrorism.

Since October 7th, augmented levels of criticism have prompted the BBC to try to defend its editorial policies, including by means of an article written by John Simpson, a Q&A with the BBC World Service Middle East editor Sebastian Usher and most recently, a Q&A with BBC News’ Director of News Content.

The first question in that Q&A with Richard Burgess included this:
“What specific criteria does the BBC use to determine whether or not to label an organisation as a terrorist organisation?”

Burgess’ reply included the following:
Burgess: “…we don’t label any organisation a terrorist organisation. This is part of our editorial guidelines that have been enacted over a number of years. […] You will though have heard Hamas referred to as terrorists on the BBC on many occasions but we attribute it. We attribute it to the people who are describing it as such. We kind of regularly use the terminology that Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK and other Western governments. The reason why we don’t is because once we label one organisation or violent acts as a terrorist organisation or a terrorist act, it then means that we would have to be making that value judgement about every organisation, about every violent act that goes on in the world. And because terrorist is a particularly political terminology, we don’t think that is the BBC’s position to do that. […] We think it’s an important principle in terms of impartial journalism that the BBC should not itself be ascribing or describing acts or organisations as terrorists or terror acts.”

Less than a week after Burgess gave that answer, visitors to the BBC News website saw a headline referring to a “terrorist organisation”.

That report by Dominic Casciani, Daniel Sandford and Steve Swann about the trial of Anjem Choudary opens with an unattributed reference to “a terrorist organisation”:
ABC Invents_ Netanyahu Has ‘So Far Rejected’ Biden’s Ceasefire Proposal
Indeed, a White House press release today on the upcoming agenda for the meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu refers to “progress towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal.”

ABC’s false reporting that Prime Minister Netanyahu has thus far rejected the proposal is the flip side of widespread fallacious reporting in May that Hamas had accepted the ceasefire proposal on the table.

CAMERA yesterday reached out to ABC about the blatant factual error. Stay tuned for updates about a possible correction.
AP Cites ‘Military Action’ In Deadly School Strike, Ignores Errant Hamas Rockets
In a separate AP article last updated this morning, the news agency engaged in contortions to deflect Hamas responsibility for the killing of Israeli babies which has been long verified. Thus, in their article entitled “In fiery speech to Congress, Netanyahu vows ‘total victory’ in Gaza and denounces US protesters,” Ellen Knickmeyer, Farnoush Amiri and Ashraf Khalil prevaricate that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu “accused American protesters of the war of standing with the militants who he said killed babies.” (Emphasis added.)

Completely irrespective of Netanyahu’s statement, at least two babies were most definitely killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre: Mila Cohen (10 months, shot in the arms of her mother) and Na’amma Abu Rashad. Terrorists shot her pregnant mother in the stomach and she was born during an emergency surgery, surviving just one day. In addition, toddler Omer Siman Tov was murdered alongside his entire family in their safe room. He was 2.

The same news story AP which inappropriately attributed Hamas’ killing of babies to Netanyahu, signalling that the information is questionable at best, inappropriately excluded attribution when it came to Hamas’ highly questionable and unverified fatality figures.

“Tlaib is one of Netanyahu’s most strident critics in Congress and was censured for her comments last year against the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed more than 39,000 in Gaza,” the AP reporters stated as fact without attribution to Hamas’ Ministry of Health, as if their own agency’s reporting hadn’t just weeks ago published an investigation casting further doubts on the credibility of Hamas-supplied fatality figures.


MEMRI: Antisemitic Article in Qatari Daily: The Jews Have Been Manipulators And Traitors Since The Days Of The Prophet Muhammad; That Is Why No Hostage Deal Has Been Concluded Between Israel And Hamas
On July 3, 2024, the Qatari daily Al-Sharq published an antisemitic article by journalist Fatimah Bint Yousuf Al-Ghazal titled "The People Most Hostile to the Believers are the Jews" (Quran 5:82). In the article Al-Ghazal states that the Jews have been manipulators, cheaters and traitors since the days of the Prophet Muhammad, and that their "rotten beliefs" cause them to cheat and oppress all non-Jews. She adds that the reason no hostage deal has been concluded yet between Hamas and Israel is that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has these typical Jewish traits of treachery and deceitfulness. As an example of the Jews' lack of compassion, she claims that, during World War II, Jewish prisoners followed the orders of Nazi troops to kill Russian prisoners, after those same Russian prisoners had refused the order of the Nazi troops to kill the Jews.

Below are translated excerpts from Al-Ghazal's article: "The Prophet [Muhammad] carried out four attacks against the Jews: The attack against the [Jewish] Banu Qaynuqa tribe, which was the result of the Jews' betrayal; the attack against the [Jewish] Banu Nadir tribe, which was the result of the Jews' treason; the attack against the [Jewish] Banu Qurayza tribe, which was the result of the Jews' treason, and the attack on [the Jews of] Khaybar, which was also the result of the Jews' treason. [The Prophet] emerged victorious in all these attacks and promised that the hour of judgement will [only] come after the world is purged of [the Jews'] impurity. Those who betrayed the best of mankind [i.e. the Prophet Muhammad], what do you think they will do to the rest of mankind? You will never be safe from the manipulations of the Jews. Their cunning, their hatred, their cowardice and their deceitfulness have not changed and will never completely change, for their hearts naturally tend towards treachery, deceitfulness and exploitation, and they love only themselves. Allah was right when He said: 'You will find that the people most hostile to the believers are the Jews' [Quran 5:82]. When they are weak, they use cunning.

"The Jews of Khaybar poisoned the tea of Allah's Messenger [the Prophet Muhammad]. He said to them: 'Did you poison this tea?' They answered: 'Yes.' He said: 'What caused you to do this?' They answered: 'We wanted to see. If you were lying [about being a Prophet, you would have drunk the tea] and we would have been rid of you. And if you really are a prophet, then it would not harm you.' Al-Bukhari published this [in his compilation of reliable hadiths]. He [the Prophet Muhammad] did not punish any of them. They [also] killed the Prophet's companion Abdullah Bin Sahl in Khaybar after they made the reconciliation agreement, when they were weak. They swore by Allah that they were not the killers, so [the Prophet Muhammad] paid the compensation for his death and did not punish them. This is recorded in both of the reliable hadith compilations [of Al-Bukhari and Muslim]…

"Allah said: 'Nay, those who honor their promises and shun evil, verily, Allah loves those who shun evil [Quran 3:76].' This verse teaches us that the Jews are treacherous and disloyal because of their rotten and false beliefs and thinking, which cause them to think that the Arabs' money is theirs to take. They say: 'We can take the Arabs' money because they are not members of our faith and our book [of scriptures] does not grant them immunity.' They traditionally allow injustices against the members of other faiths… [The Jews] do not honor their promises and do not fear God, and this is why they deserve [Allah's] fury…


Is UNIFIL Doomed? Not If It Is Significantly Reconfigured
Hezbollah has now been firing rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones on northern Israeli communities and military posts for nine months, and the presence of UNIFIL has had no visible effect on its offensive operations.

Additionally, threats from Hezbollah’s leadership have further jeopardized UNIFIL’s ability to operate freely and safely along the Blue Line. For example, Shiekh Mohammed Yazbek, a senior member of Hezbollah, said in 2022 that UNIFIL forces are turning “into occupation forces whose role would be to protect the Israeli enemy through pursuing the people and the resistance,” essentially calling for open season on UNIFIL.

Hezbollah’s social media accounts supported these messages throughout the years, painting UNFIL as ‘Zionist agents’ in reoccurring media campaigns.

UNFIL is unable to perform its goal under these conditions. We believe that UNIFIL should remain as a presence in southern Lebanon for the long run, but one that pursues more modest and tactical goals.

Any discussion of international supervision of the dismantling of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon must be held separately from UNIFIL, which has clearly demonstrated its unwillingness to do this, since this would obviously lead to a military clash with Hezbollah.

Yet, UNIFIL can play an effective role in reporting and liaison missions. The current saturation model, which relies heavily on a large physical UNIFIL presence, should pivot towards a more rapid reporting-driven approach.

This new approach would see the development of capabilities of Access, Reporting and Communication (ARC) by UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, an ability to engage and monitor trends and publish in near real time emerging flash points.

The aim would be to proactively create future alert mechanisms.

This approach entails UNIFIL focusing on key areas of influence and enhancing mobility and responsiveness rather than maintaining static positions that are vulnerable to Hezbollah’s encroachments.

Moreover, a reduction in UNIFIL’s size can help minimize friction with local actors in the long run, and reduce dangers of being hit in Hezbollah – IDF exchanges of fire, in light of Hezbollah’s usage of areas near UNIFIL’s positions as cover for attacks on Israel.

This isn’t just a local security issue, but rather one with global implications.

UNIFIL’s mandate and operations are heavily influenced by the geopolitical interests of Security Council members. The fractured state of the Security Council, exemplified by Russian and Chinese abstentions in last year’s mandate renewals, underscores the need for a more robust diplomatic strategy. Engaging with key international stakeholders to secure sustained political and financial support is crucial.

UNIFIL’s presence in southern Lebanon remains important to countering the Iranian axis’s goal, backed by Russia, to rid the Middle East of Western influence in the Levant.

What is needed is a paradigm shift regarding UNIFIL’s future. The UN discussion over UNIFIL’s future is currently falling prey to global and local revanchist interests.

The current issue has morphed into containing the ambitious promotion of a strategic Iranian-backed bid, with possible Russian support, to roll back the remaining vestige of Western influence in the region.

A reconfigured UNIFIL could serve as a shining light, potentially a future model for UN peacekeeping missions worldwide, focused on the relevant advantages of the UN Blue forces, less on boots and more on brains – not saturation with a large physical footprint.

The UNIFIL mission must go slim and smarter, leveraging existing reporting and data, and adjusting trimestral reports.

The upcoming renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate presents an opportunity to implement adjustments that would make UNIFIL’s mission both relevant and sustainable.
Hamas’s sham deal with Fatah stinks of duplicity
The so-called unity deal signed in Beijing this week by 14 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah, should be viewed as nothing but a sham and an effort by China to elbow its way into the Middle East, experts told JNS.

The “Beijing declaration” sets the stage for an “interim national reconciliation government” to govern a post-war Gaza, as announced by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted the event.

Former Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat told JNS he advises against placing significant importance on this move.

“Both Fatah and Hamas made an effort to present China in a positive light,” he said, adding that according to the information released to the media, “the agreement is full of holes” and “will end like its predecessors.”

Other rounds of talks—all of which failed—were held in Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Algeria.

In any case, said Ben-Shabbat, Israel’s stance on such ideas and agreements “should be firm and clear: Hamas is a monstrous terrorist organization and Israel will continue to pursue Hamas terrorists in every setting and in every guise in which its forces appear.”

According to award-winning Arab and Palestinian affairs journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, “contrary to what has been reported by some media outlets, there is no signed agreement between Fatah and Hamas.”

The Beijing meeting was simply “another meeting of several Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, to talk about ‘national unity,’” he said.

“We have seen similar statements by the same 14 factions in the past,” he noted. “This, in addition to the previous six reconciliation agreements signed between Fatah and Hamas over the past 18 years, none of which materialized.”


Rushdie assailant charged with supporting Hezbollah
Hadi Matar, the man accused of stabbing novelist Salman Rushdie in western New York in 2022, is now facing a federal charge for allegedly supporting the terrorist group Hezbollah.

According to an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo on Wednesday, the 26-year-old from New Jersey “knowingly did attempt to provide material support and resources … to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, Hizballah,” around September 2020.

The indictment was filed on July 17.

Matar, a Shi’ite Muslim with Lebanese roots, is also charged with attempted murder and assault at the state level for the Aug. 12, 2022, attack on Rushdie.

Matar rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution while the Indian-born British-American writer was giving a speech, stabbing Rushdie in the face, neck, arm and abdomen—14 stab wounds in total. Doctors initially didn’t believe that he would survive. The attack left him blind in one eye.

The event moderator, Henry Reese, was also wounded.

Matar recently rejected a plea deal from prosecutors that would have reduced his time in prison.


New Jersey man sentenced to 40 years in prison for 2022 antisemitic crime spree
A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 40 years in US federal prison and five years of supervised release for a spate of attacks on Orthodox Jewish men in Lakewood in April 2022.

Dion Marsh, 29, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in February to five counts of hate crimes and one count of carjacking. He admitted to “willfully causing bodily injury to five victims, and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four of them, all because they were Jewish,” said a statement from the US Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey.

In January, Marsh also pleaded guilty to one state charge of terrorism.

Lakewood is a fast-growing city in central New Jersey with a large ultra-Orthodox population, and is home to Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest yeshiva outside of Israel.

“These victims were targeted by Marsh because of the way they were dressed, which is in accordance with their religious beliefs,” James E Dennehy, an FBI special agent in charge in Newark, said in a statement Tuesday. “They have that right in this country.”

Marsh’s rampage started at 1:18 p.m. on Friday, April 8, 2022, when Marsh forced an identifiably Jewish man out of his car, assaulting and injuring him, and driving off in the vehicle. A Hasidic man walks by a police car in a Jewish Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn, April 24, 2017. (Photo Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images via JTA)

At 6:06 p.m. on the same day, Marsh rammed another Orthodox Jewish man while driving a different vehicle. He was attempting to kill the victim and broke several of his bones, prosecutors said.

At 6:55 p.m., driving the stolen vehicle, Marsh rammed another Orthodox Jewish man, then got out of the vehicle and stabbed the victim in the chest with a knife, prosecutors said.

At 8:23 p.m., during Shabbat, Marsh rammed another Orthodox Jewish man in the nearby Jackson Township, attempting to kill him and causing several broken bones and internal injuries.

Law enforcement arrested Marsh at his home that night.
Nazi-stolen art returned to heirs in New York City ceremony
The family of Fritz Grünbaum—a cabaret performer whose art collection was stolen by the Nazis during World War II and the Holocaust—received “Seated Nude Woman, front view,” a work by Austrian artist Egon Schiele.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced the return of the artwork on July 26 to the descendants of its owner in a ceremony attended in New York by District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Members of the Fritz Grünbaum family and—fully cooperating with returning the piece they said they did not know had been stolen—descendants of Gustav Papanek (who bought the art unaware of its origins) also participated.

“The history behind Nazi-looted art is horrific and tragic, and the consequences are still impacting victims and their families to this day,” Bragg said. “It is inspiring to see both the Grünbaum and Papanek families join together to reflect on their shared history and preserve the legacy of Fritz Grünbaum.”

Timothy Reif, a descendant of the owners, said “the recovery of this important artwork—stolen from a prominent Jewish critic of Adolf Hitler—sends a message to the world that crime does not pay and that the law enforcement community in New York has not forgotten the dark lessons of World War II.”
JPost Editorial: Israel aims for Olympic glory in Paris amid high security and historic challenges
Three years after Israel’s most successful Olympics, the time has come again for this country’s finest athletes to aim for sporting glory as the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad begin in earnest in Paris tonight.

The successes of Tokyo 2020 that were played out a year later, in 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic will be hard to emulate following two gold medals and two bronzes. Out of the 206 countries competing at those games, 86 won medals; certainly, that is a great achievement for a nation that does not have a natural propensity for sporting excellence and where every shekel devoted to gaining sporting success has to be fought for tooth-and-nail.

There will be 88 Israeli competitors at the Paris Games, its second-largest Olympic delegation, two fewer than in Tokyo three years ago. Not all the events will take place in the City of Love; the sailing regatta, which involves Israel, will be held in Marseille, several hundred kilometers away on the Mediterranean coast.

In addition to hosting soccer matches across France, the French, rekindling their colonial history, have dispatched board surfers to Tahiti, a distance of 15,000 kilometers. Anat Lelior will fly Israel’s flag there.

However, Israel will focus on events mainly in Paris, where never-ending security threats will make them the most protected among the 10,500 competing athletes over the next 16 days of competition.

The security forces’ vigilance was already apparent earlier this week. Fears of a suspicious individual lurking on a nearby rooftop briefly disrupted President Isaac Herzog’s arrival in Paris on Wednesday, forcing him to remain on his plane for 40 minutes.

Israeli officials to attend games
Herzog and Sports Minister Miki Zohar will attend tonight’s opening ceremony along the banks of the Seine, and there is no need to elaborate on the task that awaits the huge security detail for the event. As befits the biggest and most complex of global events, security staff, both overt and covert, will be deployed for during these Games and for the Paralympics that begin on August 28.

Hamas released a video earlier this week, threatening “rivers of blood” against the West for arming Israel in the Gaza war, and this is the type of threat that those security forces have been trained to confront. Let’s wish them success in their critical task over the next few weeks.

Israeli competitors are accustomed to receiving tight protection, as they are always under threat, wherever they compete, but obviously, the Olympic Games, the world’s largest and most high-profile event, makes them an even more “lucrative” target for bad actors. Terrorists would indeed love to see blood flowing through the Seine River but the entire sane world will be behind the security forces, who will do everything possible to ensure that the tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics is not repeated.

It is not only the bad actors – terrorists and evildoers – who will ignore the tradition of the original Olympic spirit of ancient Greece, where wars were suspended and enmities cast aside to allow competitors to display their sporting skills. Demonstrators against Israel – described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his US Congress speech on Wednesday as “Tehran’s useful idiots” – will be out in full force to keep their narrative in the headlines.




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