The Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) is an EU-affiliated group of local and regional representatives from the European Union and its Mediterranean partners to maintain political dialogue and promote interregional cooperation on a local level, between municipalities.
Both Israel and "Palestine" are represented.
Earlier this year the mayor of Ramallah, Hadid Musa, was promoted to be a member of ARLEM's Bureau. Members of Ramallah's city council promptly resigned - because one of the other members of ARLEM is the mayor of Modi'in, Haim Bibas, and the Palestinians Modi'in call a settlement.
Because of this, the city of Ramallah and the Al Haq NGO filed a complaint against ARLEM demanding that the EU exclude Modi'in (and presumably its mayor) from being a part of the organization.
According to Palestinian media, they succeeded. This is considered a major achievement.
As usual, when Palestinians join any international organization, the first and only thing they concern themselves with is how to use that position to attack Israel. And every other member of these organizations have to tolerate their intolerance.
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One way that international bodies and the media show their anti-Israel bias, and indeed at least latent antisemitism, is by adopting Muslim and Arab terminology for historically Jewish places.
UN Watch noted that there was a slew of UN General Assembly resolutions yesterday, one of which referred to the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, solely by its Muslim name.
This has been going on for a while. Previous resolutions this year also referred solely to "Haram al-Sharif" without saying the Temple Mount.
Not only that, but even discussions and debates at the UN do not find the term "Temple Mount" used any more.
A year ago, the Israeli representative complained: (A/C.4/74/SR.25)
Mr. Bourgel (Israel), speaking in explanation of vote before the voting, said that the confusing and redundant text of the draft resolutions was intended solely to entrench a Manichean outlook in which the Palestinians were always in the right and Israel was always in the wrong. There were two sides to the story; the aspirations and concerns of Israel also deserved to be heard. For instance, the draft resolutions referred to the Haram al-Sharif complex, but the very idea that the term “Temple Mount” might be included appeared virtually inconceivable.
On December 3, 2019 the representative from Brazil seemed to take note of Israel's concerns when he remarked immediately before the near-unanimous adoption of another bunch of anti-Israel resolutions (A/74/PV.38):
Brazil also wishes to reiterate the importance of the city of Jerusalem to the three main monotheistic religions. With regard to terminology, we especially want to recall the need to duly reflect that significance when referring to the Temple Mount or Haram Al-Sharif.
That was the last time the term "Temple Mount" was used at the UN, according to the UN Documents Database.
In 2020, it has been referred to exclusively as "Haram al Sharif" in both resolutions and in discussions. (Sometimes the discussions are not published for several months, so it is possible the Israeli delegation mentioned the Temple Mount when responding to this month's anti-Israel resolutions.)
This is the deliberate erasure of Jewish history and Jewish claims, which pre-date Arab and Muslim claims by millennia. Such decisions cannot be considered anything but antisemitism.
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Even though UNRWA claims to be a non-political organization, it always has been nothing but political, teaching generations of Palestinians that they will "return" to the long-gone homes of their ancestors in Israel. For example, in 2015 UNRWA launched a "#JustSolution" campaign centered around the "right to return" without even mentioning the possibility of Palestinians moving to a Palestinian state or becoming citizens of their host countries as potential "just solutions."
But in a lengthy interview with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini at Executive Magazine, he seemed to actively avoid mentioning "return" as the solution to the "refugees" - and he contradicted the PLO by saying that they should ultimately move to a Palestinian state, not Israel:
It is not a goal in itself of UNRWA to celebrate the 80th or 100th anniversary. The ultimate goal is to have a fair and lasting peace whereby Palestinian refugees can have a state that they can live in and do not rely on UNRWA anymore. That is the ultimate goal.
This seems like a change at UNRWA, at least at the top.
Notable also was that Lazzarini didn't blame Israel or even mention Israel at all in the interview. He did properly note how Palestinians in Lebanon cannot access many jobs, a problem made much worse during Lebanon's own crises and COVID-19.
Lazzarini discussed UNRWA's budget problems at length. Yet roughly a quarter of the people it provides services to live in "Palestine" already. There is no legal reason they would be considered refugees, and no real reason why they cannot be treated exactly as other Palestinians under PA and Hamas control. Any UNRWA funds earmarked to the dozens of camps and scores of schools in the territories could be redirected to the PA and the international community would be happy to help build permanent homes for the minority that still live in camps.
Actually doing this would cause an uproar among Palestinians who freely admit they use "return" as a means to destroy Israel. But UNRWA cannot survive forever with its ever-growing population of fake refugees. Continuing to provide services that should be the responsibility of the PA is diverting funds that are needed for the Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon.
Maybe, just maybe, Lazzarini - who succeeded the corrupt Pierre Krähenbühl - is trying to set the stage for changing the focus of UNRWA away from "return" towards something more realistic.
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It’s a rainy Wednesday morning in Rehovot, and the US election is undecided.
I have made my preference for Donald Trump clear. I understand the reasons that many Americans oppose him, but they are focusing on the media-amplified and distorted trees and ignoring the forest that is the worldwide struggle between competing hegemonies: the West (which mostly means the US today, when much of Europe is in decline), Islam, and China.
Yes, despite his sometimes ignorant pronouncements about scientific issues that he doesn’t understand, despite everything they don’t like about his personality, and even despite his undeniable dishonesty (not that his opponents are better in this respect), Trump is on the right side in the game that will determine how history will look for the next century or so.
What will be important in the very near future will be to stand against the Iranian attempt to establish a Shiite caliphate across the Middle East, against the further expansion of Chinese influence in East Asia and its extension into the rest of the world, against the Islamization of the US, and against the creation of a new Ottoman Empire. Trump has made his positions clear on the first three, although the jury is still out with respect to the last.
The pronouncements made by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as well as their choice of advisors, have indicated that they would return to the Mideast policy of the Obama Administration, including its tilt toward Iran, away from Israel and the Sunni Arab states. This would weaken the developing Israel-Sunni alliance, which represents the best hope for stability in the region.
Trump would be more likely to oppose immigration of unassimilable Muslims to the US, the phenomenon that has brought Western Europe to its knees. His determination to control America’s borders is laudable.
I devoutly hope the decision will be quick and unambiguous, but ultimately someone will win this election. So here is my advice to Americans about the aftermath:
Understand that there is a Constitution and there was an election. There will be a winner and a loser. Understand that your political opponents aren’t monsters. Mostly they are human beings who see things differently.
If Trump wins, deal with it. Don’t style yourselves “the resistance” and don’t try to remove him with extra-democratic measures. I would hope, but can’t imagine, that the mainstream media would stop the exaggerated attacks on him, the false accusations of racism, fascism, even antisemitism, and the repetition of outright lies like the “fine people” hoax. Unfortunately there is a real possibility of civil disturbances if Trump wins and widespread “Trump Derangement Syndrome” prevails.
If Biden wins – well, if Biden wins, I and others will continue our efforts to politely explain why the Obama-style foreign policy that he will doubtless adopt is dangerous to peace and liberty throughout the world. We will argue that America has real enemies that should be confronted and not appeased. Please listen.
There are those who think that red or blue states and regions should consider secession from the US if the wrong side wins. This is a terrible idea, which could only increase extremism on both sides, and weaken the nation in the face of its external enemies. In the worst case it could lead to civil war.
American Jews will be facing a difficult situation in the future, especially if Biden wins. Expressions of Jew-hatred have recently been increasing, from “traditional” antisemites like neo-Nazis, from Farrakhanists and Black Hebrews, from Muslim antisemites, and from the misozionists of the intersectional Left, whose hatred of Israel seamlessly flows into hatred of individual Jews. Biden and the Democrats seem to recognize only the traditional types, rendering invisible the black, Muslim, and extreme leftist Jew-haters (who vote Democratic). Moving closer to the Left is not a good survival strategy for Jews, who will find little sympathy there, no matter how loudly they curse Israel.
It’s interesting that while most British Jews dropped Labour like a hot potato thanks to Jeremy Corbyn, American Jews have stuck with the Democratic party despite the antisemitism of some of its members, and the decision by the leadership to pretend it doesn’t exist. The so-called squad of four BDS-supporting members of Congress have all been re-elected, and another BDS proponent, Cori Bush of Missouri, has joined them.
Trump – contrary to a determined misinformation campaign by his opponents – is not sympathetic to “right-wing” antisemitism, even if he doesn’t denounce it loudly and often enough to satisfy Democrats. And he has certainly demonstrated his pro-Israel credentials. A Trump win would be better for American Jews, despite what they think.
Just one more observation, this one for Israelis, including our General Staff:
With a Biden administration, Israel can expect that any military campaign – be it against Hezbollah, Hamas, or Iranian nuclear installations – will be much more difficult. The US, under the Obama administration, was quick to intervene diplomatically to pressure Israel to accept disadvantageous cease-fires, or even to prevent Israel from taking action at all. It is a reasonable assumption that Biden’s policy would be similar, especially in the case of Iran, with whom he wants to deal.
If Biden wins, the rational thing for Israel to do would be to take out the Iranian nuclear capability before it’s too late.
Capiche?
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In the Soviet Union of the 1970s, it wasn’t hard to meet Russians who knew the Communist system was incorrigibly corrupt, dysfunctional and oppressive. But it was one thing to whisper such truths to trusted friends, quite another to speak openly, to make oneself a target of the police state.
A member of the intelligentsia who kept his head down asked me this question: “What do you call a man of integrity in the Soviet Union?” When I shook my head, he dolefully provided the answer: “An inmate.”
Natan Sharansky was born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky in 1948 in Stalino, a grimy Ukrainian coal town renamed Donetsk following the death of the second Soviet dictator in 1953. He showed enormous aptitude for mathematics and chess—useful pursuits for those who did not want to risk being “cancelled” (to borrow a contemporary expression) by the KGB. But he was not such a person.
In his 20s, he became a vocal Zionist (i.e. a believer in the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in part of their ancient homeland), refusenik (a Soviet citizen denied the right to emigrate) and human rights activist (not just for Soviet Jews but also for dispossessed Tartars, oppressed Pentecostalists, Armenian nationalists and others).
Before long, he was arrested, tried by a kangaroo court and, in 1978, sentenced to the Gulag. Released nine years later, he went to Israel where he spent nine years in politics, followed by nine years as head of the Jewish Agency, an organization that links Israelis with the remaining (or surviving) Jewish communities abroad.
He tells the stories of his life—along with large sprinklings of history, philosophy and polemics—in “Never Alone: Prison, Politics and My People,” written in tandem with Gil Troy, the eminent historian.
I had the opportunity to speak with Sharansky last week. I mentioned that I had attempted to report on his trial but, because it was closed to the press and public, the best I could do was hang around outside the courthouse with his supporters.
One day, a van arrived and backed up to the building’s exit. The van’s rear doors opened and then closed. The van drove away. We knew he was in it and where he was being taken.
Plaintively, his supporters called out what was then his nickname: “Tolya! Tolya! Tolya!” For more than 40 years, I’ve wondered: Had he heard them?
A year before the coronavirus hit, the Times was blaming Jews for the spread of measles. But it goes back even further than that.
A 1921 Times editorial headlined “Typhus Still a Menace” declared, “the immigration danger has been obvious for decades,” complaining about “the problems of infectious disease brought here by immigrants.” What was that a reference to? A Times editorial from 1892, headlined “Typhus and Immigration,” holds an answer: “Two weeks ago the steamship Massilia brought to this city 248 Russian Hebrews, and within the last two days it has been discovered that about one-third of these immigrants are suffering from typhus fever, one of the most virulent and menacing of the diseases which test the powers of sanitary officers. …Typhus fever is a disease caused by filth, overcrowding, destitution, and neglect of the fundamental laws of sanitation… This outbreak of dreaded disease must bring forcibly to the attention of all intelligent citizens the evils of unrestricted immigration. The Times has made the sufferings of the persecuted Hebrews in Russia the subject of a notable investigation, the results of which our readers are familiar. No one will accuse this journal of having failed to appreciate the hardships of these unfortunate persons… But it is the duty of the people of this country to protect themselves against the importation of such persons as these whom the Massilia brought to this port. Especially it is the duty of the people of New-York to protest against the admission of those whose habits and condition invite deadly infectious diseases and who carry with them the seeds of a plague that can be stamped out only by the most energetic measures of a large body of sanitary officers. Such immigrants are not wanted either in this city or in any other part of the United States. They should excluded. The doors should be shut against them.”
The 1892 editorial is still available on the Times website with no correction, apology, or retraction appended, not even a trigger warning.
What’s remarkable here is the continuity. The New York Times has been blaming Jews for the spread of deadly diseases in New York City for 128 years. The newspaper did not want us here in America to begin with. It would have preferred that we perished in Europe. Shmuel Rosner writing on the Times op-ed page in 2020 with the absurd claim that “Ultra-Orthodox Jews tend to be poor by design” and the assertion that they “live in densely populated areas” sounds like an echo of the 1892 Times editorial about “destitution” and “overcrowding.”
If the New York Times had been publishing in Europe between 1348 and 1350, it would be blaming the Jews for the Black Death.
But enough looking backward. What about the future?
With any luck, the Jews will be around in another 100 years. As to whether the Times will be around then to blame us for the latest pandemic—well, that’s a different question. One hopes that the market for this sort of scapegoating is diminishing over time.
He’s exactly the sort of person conservatives and some of Israel’s most ardent supporters despised. Yet today he’s being lionized by supporters of the most pro-Israel president in history and attacked by left-wingers who once idolized him. Perhaps more than anyone else, Glenn Greenwald embodies the contradictions and the ironies that abound in politics and the press in 2020. As such, the sympathy or scorn that he is now generating for his refusal to play by the contemporary rules of a tribal media culture has broad implications not just for the future of journalism but for democracy.
Greenwald led the team at The Guardian that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for writing about the massive leak of US intelligence information by Edward Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contractor. Snowden had provided the material directly to Greenwald, who had already made a name for himself writing scathing critiques of the tactics used by the Bush administration’s war on Islamist terror, as well as for vitriolic attacks on Israel in its efforts to defend itself against Palestinian terrorists.
Born to Jewish parents in New York, Greenwald is the sort of polemicist that defended the use of antisemitic slurs like “Israel-firster” to denigrate Jews who support Israel as disloyal to the United States. That demonstrated his antipathy for the right of the one Jewish state on the planet to exist or to defend itself against Hamas terrorists whose actions he justified. But it was also rich since, as his aiding and abetting of Snowden indicated, he didn’t seem to have much loyalty to the United States in its struggles against foreign enemies like Al-Qaeda and Iran.
Nevertheless, Greenwald’s undeniably intrepid reporting on US security issues, including his documenting the way Americans were being spied on by the agencies that were tasked with defending their freedoms, earned him a lot of respect among journalists as well as political liberals who shared his distrust of the intelligence establishment.
It happens every election: celebrities—and just generally
spoiled people (cough cough)—swear that if their candidate doesn’t win, they’re
leaving. But author Lauren Ariel Hoffman decided to write about leaving America
from a Jewish perspective. Hoffman describes her own Orange Man trauma and exit
plan, comparing it all to an escape from the Nazis. She then quotes a few Jewish
friends on their own plans for fleeing the country. The odd thing is, not
one of them considers Israel as a viable option for relocation, and in fact, Israel is not mentioned in this article at all.
Hoffman’s article was featured in Alma,
which—no surprise—also includes articles on such subjects as, “Why Does My
Interfaith Relationship Disqualify Me From Rabbinical School?” and “Now’s the
Perfect Time to Teach Your Non-Jewish Partner All About Judaism." So perhaps it's not quite the right place to discover love and loyalty for the one Jewish State. You'd think, nonetheless, that in an article about fleeing the country, a Yid might consider Israel.
Never heard of Lauren Ariel Hoffman and her epigenetic intergenerational trauma? Neither had I, but her byline was linked to this handy dandy author’s blurb:
Lauren Ariel Hoffman (she/her) is a photojournalist from
Royersford, Pennsylvania. Her coverage includes stories relating to chronic
illness, medical injustice, and human interest.
Well there you have it. Perhaps Israel, as a subject for liberal Jews, is somewhat beyond human interest.
But back to the article: Hoffman, it is clear, wants to celebrate her distress in a
Jewish way. But the closest thing she can get to kosher-style anguish is by
referencing the Holocaust and her family roots in the Ukraine:
It is not 1939, and yet the police are still slaughtering unarmed Black men and
women in the name of “justice,” still separating refugee families at the border
and putting their children in cages, still performing medical experiments on
female-bodied prisoners.
Sound familiar?
My recurring nightmare of Nazis breaking into my house and
capturing me is becoming more tangible, but now it’s informed and comprehensive
and absolutely terrifying. And while I’m a fan of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, I don’t think
I’ll be knocking Nazi skulls anytime soon. I’m more prepared to find myself in
a police-state wherein me and my loved one’s basic liberties will be stripped
and some of our lives taken, along with members of every other oppressed group
in America.
I am not going to back down from this fight, mainly because
I have nowhere else to go — as a descendant of Ukrainian Jews, my ancestor’s
recent homeland does not exist anymore.
Which is odd, because last I looked, the Ukraine still exists.
Or so Google says:
Ukraine is a large country in Eastern Europe known for its
Orthodox churches, Black Sea coastline and forested mountains. Its capital,
Kiev, features the gold-domed St. Sophia's Cathedral, with 11th-century mosaics
and frescoes. Overlooking the Dnieper River is the Kiev Pechersk Lavra
monastery complex, a Christian pilgrimage site housing Scythian tomb relics and
catacombs containing mummified Orthodox monks.
But I don’t blame Lauren for not wanting to go back to the
Ukraine. I wouldn’t want to go back there, either. It was bad enough the first time.
Still, to say she has nowhere else to go—why not go back to the place her family came from in the first place—before they were expelled and forced to wander? Why not go back to Israel,
where today there is a flourishing Jewish State? But no, it’s not on Hoffman's radar.
Nor was it apparently on the radar of her Sephardic friend Rebecca Brier:
Rebecca Brier, 37, who asked to use an alias, feels
differently. She and her husband are in the process of getting Portuguese
citizenship for themselves and their two young children.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my family, it’s that
it’s okay to be the first one to go,” she said. “It’s harder with kids. We
speak Spanish, but Spanish is not Portuguese.”
Brier said she is mainly torn between leaving her family
behind in the Bronx or figuring out how to get them all to Portugal.
“We’ve set up our lives around our support system, our
family. If we left, would we be that anchor again? At some point, flight
becomes easier, because if I fly, at least I still have my family.”
On the other hand, if she would only make Aliyah to Israel, the Briers would have
new family everywhere they turned. As new immigrants they would be embraced and surrounded by fellow Jews, living proud and free in their indigenous
territory. But no, Brier instead prefers to return to the land of the Inquisition, where
Jews were tortured for their beliefs, forced to go underground with their
observance, and slaughtered if they refused to convert. Somehow this is, to Brier, infinitely preferable to moving to the Jewish State.
“But not everyone has the luxury of leaving,” continues Hoffman:
Aviva Davis, 21, is a biracial Jew whose ancestry
is more closely linked to slavery than the Holocaust. They feel it is a luxury
that white Jews are able to consider leaving at all.
“I would love to have an escape plan, but it’s not a viable
option for me,” they said. “Where would I go? My ancestors were carted over
here as slaves — white Jews can trace citizenship back to their ancestors. It’s
very frustrating for me to feel like I have nowhere to go.”
Leaving aside the odd use of the pronoun "they," um. Where would "they" go? To ISRAEL. Where Jews of every color of
the rainbow live full, satisfying, Jewish lives.
But no. These people are stuck in a time warp of pogroms, auto-da-fé,
and slavery:
As Brier said, “Do we become Jews lighting candles in
the closet in Spain? Or do we flee to the Ottoman Empire? I’m not sure who did
it right. But the trauma is still there.”
As I write this piece, no one knows who will win the 2020
presidential election. But one thing I know for sure: Israeli Jews did it right.
They left the trauma and the ghettos behind to build a beautiful, shining new
world, where anything is possible, and dreams can come true.
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Given the coronavirus pandemic, the traditional Student Day march marking the anniversary of the Tehran United States embassy seizure will not be held for the first time in four decades. But an official of the student section of the Basij militia has said students should instead set fire to the US flag at home and circulate video clips to commemorate the occasion.
Speaking on a television news program on Sunday [November 1], Mojtaba Bastan, Acting Head of the Student Basij Organization, announced a campaign called ‘Everyone Together [Says] Down with the USA.’ Bastan said that at nine o'clock on Tuesday students and their parents should “trample on and set fire” to the flags of the US, Israel and France on their rooftops or courtyards while shouting ‘Down with America.’
Bastan asked students to make one-minute video clips and post them to a specially-created website, while adding their names to a statement ‘US Must Exit [Middle East] Region.’ The website features the competitions ‘Why Down with the USA?’ and ‘Message to American Soldiers,’ for which students can enter drawings, essays, voice recordings and video clips.
I can only imagine the emotional trauma that these students had at not being able to gather together to burn American flags, and their joy at finding out that they could do it in their own homes (or maybe outside, for the smarter ones.)
Unfortunately, I could not find the website where students uploaded their ecstatic flag-burning videos yesterday. It didn't seem to be linked from the main Student Basij Organization site.
The statement of the student mobilization of Payame Noor University of Ilam province states: "We do not trade our independence and freedom with anything from the yoke of arrogance and we note the endurance and spirit of jihad and resistance and martyrdom in the revolutionary and provincial youth until the complete destruction of global arrogance. The freedom of the oppressed of the world from the yoke of arrogance continues."
It sounds very spontaneous and heartfelt.
(h/t Ben R)
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Nevertheless, a Biden administration would challenge Israel on two core issues: The first is a diplomatic process that would see the government shirk US President Donald Trump's "deal of the century" and return to the framework adopted by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, meaning a two-state solution based upon the 1967 borders and a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem.
The government would reopen the Palestinian Embassy in Washington, closed by Trump as well as the American Consulate in east Jerusalem, which prior to Trump served as the de-facto US Embassy to the Palestinians. The administration would further renew American aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, as well as other Palestinian institutions cut off by Trump. The administration would also revert to opposing Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria, as well as in unified Jerusalem, which it considers to be an "obstacle to peace."
From our perspective, however, it is Biden's stated intention of bringing the US back into the Iran nuclear deal and rolling back sanctions on the Tehran regime that is more problematic. Such a move would spare the Iranian regime from financial ruin and aid Tehran in once again conquering significant portions of the Middle East to be used as outposts against Israel. This would present a real strategic threat.
In contrast, should US President Donald Trump win a second term in office, he will certainly adhere to his current policy, which has been the most pro-Israeli of any American president since the founding of the Jewish State. These are not just gestures, like the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights, but significant steps, like standing with Israel at the UN and other international organizations.
For the first time in history, there has not been one American condemnation of any Israeli military of political activity in the four years of Trump's tenure. Nevertheless, Trump has made no secret of his intentions of entering negotiations with Iran. Should he win re-election, Israel should be prepared for such a scenario.
The pervasive view of these shared interests throughout the world, and even in the US and in Israel, stems from either deep ignorance or deliberate distortion. This view seeks to present US-Israel ties as the fruit of American affinity for Israel, US Jewish support, or the work of the pro-Israel lobby, all of which go against the "genuine" American interest in support for the "Arabs."
Yet almost all of the Arabs that matter to the US act on the advice of Israel and trust Israel. In addition, even those presidents who were less sympathetic to Israel, and even anti-Semitic like Richard Nixon, implemented policies that assisted Israel. Presidents, like Barack Obama, who saw themselves as supporters of Israel, sought to "save" the country from itself. And while the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a dedicated and savvy sales agent for the State of Israel, if the "goods" Israel was selling were flawed, not even the most talented agent could continue to sell the country as well as it has for the past three generations. It is also worth noting that Jews make up less than two percent of the American electorate. A majority of them do not see Israel as a top issue and cast their vote automatically for Democrats.
Israeli "goods" are sought after because of the afore-mentioned ethos but largely due to American interests. From the US standpoint, Israel, situated in the one of the most important regions in the world, encompasses important virtues that no other ally does: Israel is strong, stable, responsible, determined, and always pro-American. Israel is the only US ally that does not ask American soldiers to fight its wars. It is militarily, economically, and technologically strong. It is a democracy that has proven its stability even in times of crisis. Its responsibility is reflected in its restraint in the face of the ongoing threats it has faced for generations, the likes of which no democratic country has ever experienced, and in the extreme caution it has exerted in relation to the strategic capabilities attributed to it.
Among democratic countries, it is difficult to find a comparable determination to act in times of crisis. At no point in time has Israel ever not stood with the American camp. While Israel is still the junior partner of the US superpower, it is not a negligible one. The US has been forced to downsize its physical presence in the Middle East in order to focus its attention on Asia, and the South China Sea in particular. But it can only allow itself to pivot this way if it knows it is leaving a coalition of pro-American countries interested in maintaining relative stability in the region behind. Strong, stable, loyal Israel is a vital tier in this coalition.
Presidents come and go. Some act in consultation with Israel, while others are for less receptive to its needs. Beyond these important differences, we must remember there exists a strong ethical and strategic framework for deep partnership, one that has survived unfriendly governments in the past.
No matter who wins the American elections, I have a suggestion for the State of Israel – forget about the Jews of America.
Election surveys reveal that 72-75 percent of the Jews in America are voting for Biden, turning their backs on the Jewish State, which clearly favored the re-election of President Donald Trump. In effect, they voted against Israel, against Judaism, and against G-d.
Who needs them?
In contrast, the 25% who, it is predicted, voted for Trump, by and large support the State of Israel and cherish the values of Judaism. They are true friends of Israel.
True, when it comes to making Aliyah, they balk, for whatever reason. If they choose to join us, great, they are more than welcome. If not, they will perish with the Jews for Biden.
So why should Israel continue to waste a fortune of money on programs of Diaspora education and aliyah? With the expensive programs or without them, roughly the same number of idealistic Jews would make Aliyah each year.
US Election and Ramifications on Iran Nuclear Deal
This morning, the IDF killed an Arab terrorist who tried to carry out a shooting attack in the Huwarra checkpoint in Samaria.
The terrorist, Bilal Adnan Rawajba, pulled out a gun, aimed it at IDF fighters, possibly fired, and then they responded by firing and neutralizing him.
Video shows that cars would be routinely waved through the checkpoint until Rawajba's car where security forces quickly ran to deal with an issue; one cannot tell more from the video. A second video from a nearby car, appended above, captures gunshots after they had started.
The official Palestinian Wafa "news" agency, however, reported the facts a bit differently, saying the IDF "executed" him for no reason at the checkpoint.
Rawajba worked for the Palestinian security forces. His wife had a baby just three months ago.
UPDATES:
New video footage shows that there were two gunshots from Rawajba's car. You can see the dust kicked up from his bullets on the sidewalk and then on the concrete barrier:
Also, two more photos of Rawajba from his Facebook page.
(h/t David K, Tomer Ilan)
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
The wonderful Einat Wilf summarized Donald Trump's accomplishments in bringing peace to the region:
[Trump] understood that at the core of the conflict, the Arab and Islamic world view Israel as a foreign implant in the region. He understood that in order to bring peace, it must be understood by the Arab world that Israel is here to stay, that Israel is an indigenous, permanent presence in the region. He did everything to demonstrate that America has Israel's back, and America will not have any more of the indulgence towards the decades long Palestinian intransigence. This is why we are beginning now to reap the fruits of that policy.
This is the most succinct and accurate summary I have seen.
Biden is not anti-Israel. He is an old time pro-Israel Democrat, where there is faith in the UN, where the Western European opinions are respected, where the two state solution is almost a religion. None of these old-time Democrats want Israel to disappear as a Jewish state and there is a fervent belief that a Palestinian state will save Israel from becoming an apartheid state.
But Democrats, and Republicans before Trump, have shown no interest in how the Arab world has looked at Israel.
The honor/shame society of the Arab world is based on perceptions, not facts. Honor comes from how one is viewed, not how one actually is. This is almost hardwired into the Arab psyche and one cannot understand the Middle East without understanding this.
Every time the West would say that they support a Palestinian state, every time they said Jerusalem is negotiable, every time they said the Golan is occupied, every time they paid lip service to even symbolic "return" of "refugees," the Arab world interpreted this as world pressure on Israel that would likely result in the eventual end of Israel as a Jewish state. The idea that Israel would give back land it won in war, or that Israel would allow Palestinians to "return," or that Israel would willingly give up Jewish holy sites is perceived not as peacemaking but as weakness.
Weak countries don't last in a region where strength is respected.
Pro-Israel speeches by any American politician of any party are considered meaningless by Arabs. After all, Arab leaders themselves mouthed support for Palestinians that they didn't follow through with. In the Middle East, only actions are respected.
Trump did actions.
Jerusalem. The Golan. Closing the PLO mission. Leaving the UNHRC in support of Israel. All of these showed that the US support for Israel was not just rhetoric but was backed up with action to send a message: Israel is here to stay and a superpower is solidly on its side against its enemies.
That message has been heard loud and clear by the Arab nations. And once Israel is seen as permanent and powerful, they change their mindset from "how do we make Israel disappear?" to "how can we use Israel to our advantage?"
The old mentality leads to war. The new thinking leads to peace.
This is not entirely Trump, of course. Netanyahu's brilliant foreign policy in establishing relationships with nations worldwide, his emphasis on Israel's economic growth, the Internet giving Arabs another perspective besides their state-run propaganda media, Arabs getting Western educations where they learn win/win thinking, the looming Iranian threat - all of these contribute to a change in how Arabs look at Israel. But Trump's moves accelerated that change.
It is inconceivable that the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan would have made peace with Israel under any other administration.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
Saudi preacher Ali Al-Maliki sparked controversy on social networking sites after a video clip was circulated where he says that the the purpose of a wife is not to serve her husband, but as a "tool for enjoyment."
In the video he said, "I will stipulate that whoever marries my daughter should bring her a maid, and my daughter should not serve him at all."
Al-Maliki framed this in terms of women's rights, saying that in some marriages the wife is forced to jeopardize her health to serve her husband and this is not good.
At first, women thought he was saying something good, until they realized that Al Maliki was still saying that a woman is a servant of her husband, whether it is a servant of labor or a servant of what he euphemistically calls "pleasure."
The human rights of the maid are not discussed by anyone.
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British Jewry abandoned Labour in droves and devoted their communal efforts to calling out and fighting anti-Semitism in the Labour Party after Corbyn first won the leadership race in 2015. Some 90% of British Jews voted for Conservatives in last year's elections. In contrast, American Jews are among President Trump's most outspoken and peripatetic demonizers.
What explains the yawning gap between American Jews and other Western Jewish communities, not to mention between American Jews and Israeli Jews?
American Jews are giving the Democratic Party a pass for abandoning them because they don't want to acknowledge that they are being abandoned. Despite the progressives' hostility to the Jews, the Jews want to remain progressives.
Among the progressive Jews who have noticed the rise of anti-Semitic forces in their party, they are consoled and given permission to remain in the party from Jewish leaders and public figures who insist that while things are not perfect, or even good in their own camp, they can stay because Trump – while nice to Israel – is a crypto-Nazi.
Repeated, fact-free slanders from the likes of Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and from writer Bari Weiss alleging that Trump praised white supremacists at the Charlottesville riots in 2017 – even when he condemned them, both during and immediately after the riots three times; along with allegations that Trump dog-whistles to white supremacists and thus enables their attacks against Jews, enable progressive Jews who are concerned about what is happening in their party to stay put despite their concerns.
Skyrocketing assimilation rates among American Jews indicate that all things being equal, most Jews on the political Left will cease identifying as Jews within a generation and a half. So, too, the rise of anti-Zionist American Jews who support the annihilation of Israel as a Jewish state indicates that in the coming years, more likely than not, American Jews will take leading roles in the Democratic/progressive campaign against Israel. Notably, two months after he called for Israel to be destroyed in a column in the New York Times, last month the NYT gave leading American Jewish anti-Zionist Peter Beinart a regular column.
As their massive support for Biden indicates, regardless of what the future holds for them, American Jews today are isolated more than ever before. They are isolated within their political camp which doesn't care about them, and they are isolated within the Jewish world.
On the other hand, the battle goes well beyond the personalities of the incumbent and his rival, which is why many people championing the former are just as put off by his manner as those who would rather die than see him remain at the helm. Indeed, the outcome of this election will determine the very character – and reveal the self-image – of the United States.
At an Independence Day ceremony at Mt. Rushmore on July 3, Trump summed it up as follows: "Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children ... This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution."
Ironically, it is a description with which the "squad" – House Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilan Omar (D-MN.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) – would agree, albeit without the negative adjectives. They make no bones about their dim view of the country that they wish to reshape in their "progressive" image. They do not hide their intention to undo all of Trump's economic accomplishments at home and foreign-policy successes abroad.
Omar recently said that if and when Biden becomes president, all cabinet positions should and will go to members of her camp. She knew when she uttered those words that it didn't matter whether the Democratic candidate was listening.
She was right not to care, because it is the radical arm of the already extremely liberal party that is pulling the strings with or without Biden at the helm.
The Iranians invented the game of chess. Now they tensely wait for the next move, the most significant one immediately after the election. Trump has led a courageous policy of withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal and imposing significant sanctions. He recently hinted that he will be willing to enter direct negotiations with Iran. Biden has addressed the Iranian issue many times and also expressed his commitment to preventing a nuclear Iran.
His recent interviews have indicated that he is keen to reenter the JCPOA, improve the agreement and correct its shortcomings.
The US Department of Defense is busily preparing strategies and options in the face of the continuation of the Iranian nuclear race. However, before the president-elect enters the briefing on Iran, he must take into account a number of basic assumptions.
First, there is no probationary period. The Iranians do not work according to the US election schedule. While the US’s attention has largely shifted to the fight against COVID-19 and its own presidential election, Iran’s nuclear industry and concealment efforts have advanced at astonishing speed.
Second, any agreement with Iran is doomed to be breached. Prior to the signing of the nuclear agreement, Israel issued warning calls against the deal. Not long after, we witnessed live the full disclosure of Iran’s deception and the revelation of the Iranian nuclear archive, which unveiled the Iranian nuclear machine. We have heard unequivocal rulings by the International Atomic Energy Agency and have noted the numerous UN Security Council resolutions. With these facts at their disposal, it is clear to everyone that Iran has violated the previous agreement, and will unequivocally continue to violate any future agreement.
Third, the only language that leads to a real dialogue with Iran is the language of sanctions. It is this and the subsequent economic pressure that effectively motivates the Iranian leadership to recalculate its course. Yet, worryingly, there is not much time before the “sunset clause” kicks into force and the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program will expire.
Mr. President-elect, the elections are clearly for the position of president of the United States. However, they are also an appointment for the leader of the free world. Tackling the Iranian issue is the most crucial challenge we face in our free and democratic society.
Malawi is not one of the biggest countries on the planet. It is not one of the most famous or important nations.
But it just did something very big.
It confirmed that it plans to open up a full embassy in Jerusalem by next summer.
Up until now, only the US and Guatemala have opened embassies in Jerusalem, with Honduras planning a move by the end of the year.
Up until now, Israel haters could find ways to marginalize the nations that made that move.
But there is a huge difference between 2 and 3, or between 3 and 4. Each nation that makes that decision makes it enormously easier for the next nation to make the move.
Not only that, but Malawi watched what happened to Guatemala and Honduras.
The EU has expressed displeasure at countries considering moving their embassies. But nothing happened there either.
Malawi is seeing Sudan recognize Israel, and Israel's good relationships with other African countries. It sees that there is no disadvantage on moving. Perhaps the US or Israel offered something in trade for the move, but that is normal diplomacy.
This is a very big deal. Malawi would be the first African country to make the move. It did the calculus and decided that the gains it could get by getting chummier with Israel more than counters the threats from some Arab countries.
And, of course, Bahrain and the UAE normalizing relations with Israel weakens the Arab anti-Israel consensus immeasurably.
The momentum towards accepting Israel and ignoring the anti-Israel bias of the Arab nations, the EU and the UN is slowly growing. But it is unmistakable.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
The Israel Democracy Institute issued results of a survey a day before the US election day, asking whether Republican incumbent Trump or his Democratic challenger Biden is the preferred candidate, “from the standpoint of Israel’s interests.”
The results are a solid proof that liberal Zionist groups, such as J-Street, don't know what they are talking about.
J-Street likes to represent itself as caring about what is best for Israel - the JCPOA deal with Iran, ripping up Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, a two state solution. It endorsed Joe Biden in great part because of his policies towards Israel, Palestinians and Iran.
Israelis, by an overwhelming majority, strongly disagree with J-Street as to what is best for Israel.
Israeli Jews say that Trump is the preferred candidate from the perspective of Israel's interests by a stunning 70%-13% margin.
Not only that, but Israeli Arabs tend to agree, with a plurality (36-31) saying Trump is the preferred candidate.
This was reflected by Israeli Jews who are on the political Right and Center. The Israeli Right prefers Trump by a landslide 82-6, and the Center prefers Trump by an enormous 62-16 majority.
But even the vanishingly small number of Israelis who openly identify with the Left were split 50/50 between whether Trump or Biden were better for Israel!
J-Street, which pretends to be in the broad liberal center, is far to the left of the most leftist Israelis, who are as comfortable with Trump as they are with Biden.
Either Israelis know nothing about their own country and they need J-Street to teach them what is best for them, or J-Street is openly lying about wanting what is best for Israel.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
Austrian security forces were carrying out a massive manhunt Tuesday for at least one attacker still on the run, a day after several gunmen opened fire at multiple locations across central Vienna, killing at least four people and wounding 15 more.
“We experienced an attack last night by at least one Islamist terrorist,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told reporters.
“This is a radicalized person who felt close to IS,” said Nehammer, referring to the Islamic State terror group.
Two of the dead were men and two were women. No details were given on their identities.
On attacker was shot dead by police, and a manhunt was underway for at least one more assailant. Austrian authorities have not publicly identified the attackers.
Police said at least one of the attackers was wearing what appeared to be an explosives belt that turned out to be fake.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described the assault as a “repulsive terror attack” and said he could not rule out an anti-Semitic motive for the onslaught, given that the shooting began outside Vienna’s main synagogue. It was closed at the time.
Early Report: 7 Reported Killed in Ongoing Shooting Near Jewish Community Center in Vienna
Israel and Austria are sharing intelligence in the aftermath of a shooting at a Vienna synagogue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
Netanyahu said he spoke to Austrian Chancellor Sebastia Kurz and told him “the people of Israel stand with Austria…against the savagery of Islamist terrorism.
“We are cooperating in every way, with our intelligence and every other way we can,” Netanyahu added.
The prime minister made the remarks in a statement with Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who was in Jerusalem.
PM Netanyahu: "I spoke to our colleague @sebastiankurz in Austria. I told him the people of Israel stand with Austria, as I know the people of Romania do and so many others, against the savagery of Islamist terrorism. We are cooperating with our intelligence and every other way" pic.twitter.com/gupxJBpchh
Our prayers are with the people of Vienna after yet another vile act of terrorism in Europe. These evil attacks against innocent people must stop. The U.S. stands with Austria, France, and all of Europe in the fight against terrorists, including radical Islamic terrorists.
Vienna's Chief Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister has told LBC he saw multiple gunmen firing into bars and restaurants during tonight's attack@TomSwarbrick1pic.twitter.com/IRHXrDn4m2
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Thursday, November 05, 2020
Elder of Ziyon
