Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

01/12 Links Pt1: Sheldon Adelson, Iconic Jewish Philanthropist and Political Donor, Dies at 87; Guardian op-ed Israel is a 'Jewish supremacist' state with no right to exist; Abbas rival oversees UAE medical aid to Gaza

From Ian:

Miriam Adelson: With Great Sorrow: Sheldon Adelson, 1933-2021

It is with unbearable pain that I announce the death of my husband, Sheldon, of complications from a long illness.

Sheldon was the love of my life. He was my partner in romance, philanthropy, political activism, and enterprise. He was my soulmate.

To me — as to his children, grandchildren and his legions of friends and admirers, employees and colleagues — he is utterly irreplaceable.

Much has been written and said about how Sheldon, the son of poor immigrants, rose to the pinnacle of business success on the strength of grit and genius, inspiration and integrity. His was an all-American story of entrepreneurship. When Sheldon launched a new venture, the whole world looked on with anticipation.

In our amazing 32-year adventure together, I was fortunate to witness the beauty of Sheldon’s private side.

He was an American patriot: a US Army veteran who gave generously to wounded warriors and, wherever he could, looked to the advancement of these great United States. He was the proudest of Jews, who saw in the State of Israel not only the realization of a historical promise to a unique and deserving people, but also a gift from the Almighty to all of humanity.

And Sheldon was kind. He gave readily of his fortune to charitable causes that may literally be countless, as he expected no credit and often preferred anonymity. Although bluff in build and speech — and, in the last two decades, beset by painful sickness — Sheldon was always sensitive to the needs of others.

Visit any of our hotels and you will immediately notice the extraordinarily high ceilings, exquisitely designed by Sheldon at a sacrifice of lucrative story-space. He wanted all of our guests — no matter their means — to feel like kings, to breathe free in gorgeous tranquility. When the COVID-19 crisis hit and those hotels went dark, he insisted that our tens of thousands of team members continue getting their wages and medical insurance.

Each of those people, and millions of other beneficiaries of Sheldon’s largesse, are his testimonials.

Sheldon Adelson, Iconic Jewish Philanthropist and Political Donor, Dies at 87

Sheldon Adelson, a casino-resort billionaire who funded Jewish charities and political causes in both Israel and the United States, died on Monday night of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, at the age of 87.

The son of a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant, Adelson became one of the world’s richest men as the founder of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, with an estimated net worth of $35.9 billion. He donated huge sums to causes like Birthright Israel, which finances trips to Israel for young Jews, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jersualem, and medical research into cancer and other diseases.

He also spent heavily on politics, becoming one of the largest backers to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the US, and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2007, he created the Israeli daily Israel Hayom, and also owned the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

American and Israeli officials and Jewish leaders began commemorating Adelson’s life Tuesday.

Netanyahu mourns Adelson as ‘champion of the Jewish people,’ as tributes pour in

The death of Jewish-American billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson at the age of 87 drew a flood of eulogies Tuesday, as politicians and other public figures in Israel, the US and elsewhere remembered the powerful political donor and philanthropist as a prominent champion of the bond and alliance between Jerusalem and Washington.

Adelson, who used his vast fortune to push conservative policies in both countries, was also remembered for his support for West Bank settlements and right-wing Jewish organizations.

A major patron of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, Adelson was confirmed by his company, Las Vegas Sands, to have died from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Netanyahu said in a statement that he received the news of Adelson’s death with “deep sorrow and heartbreak.”

“Sheldon’s tremendous efforts to strengthen Israel’s position in the United States and to strengthen the connection between Israel and the Diaspora will be remembered for generations,” said Netanyahu, calling Adelson “an incredible champion of the Jewish people, the Jewish state and the alliance between Israel and America.”

“Along with his wife Miri, Sheldon was one of the greatest contributors in history to the Jewish people, Zionism, settlements and the State of Israel,” he said, listing among those causes his support for Taglit-Birthright, which funds trips to Israel for young Jews from around the world, and Ariel University in the West Bank.

President Reuven Rivlin also expressed sorrow and condolences to the family, saying that Adelson was “a great American patriot who saw it as his mission and goal to strengthen the alliance between Israel and the US” and made “groundbreaking” contributions.

Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer tweeted that Adelson was a “true giant” who “devoted himself to strengthening his people, his homeland and the bonds between his beloved America and Israel.”

Saddened by the passing of Sheldon Adelson, who loved the Jewish people and Israel, was a great American patriot, and who strengthened the bonds between Israel and America with boundless generosity.
Condolences to Miriam and to the whole family.
May his memory be a blessing. pic.twitter.com/8BR3QfCot7
— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) January 12, 2021

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"Sara and I are heartbroken by the passing of Sheldon Adelson.

He was a wonderful friend to us personally and an incredible champion of the Jewish people, the Jewish state and the alliance between Israel and America.
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 12, 2021

Before @RVilkomerson regains a shed of decency and deletes this abominable tweet, here is screenshot of what a sick, disgusting, truly vile person she is, rejoicing in the death of #SheldonAdelson, who passed away from cancer, as 'birthday present' she calls! pic.twitter.com/PSKhg7er9T
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) January 12, 2021

One of the things Adelson dealt with was the nauseating hypocrisy of the political class. When anybody said anything remotely like this about Soros, they were accused of rank antisemitism by anyone who could find a mic. But Buttigieg could say the same and get crickets. pic.twitter.com/ltBElMVpiV
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) January 12, 2021

Palestine Today reports that Palestinian social media has shown practically no interest in the announcement that Hamas and Fatah have agreed on elections later this year.

Why? because they've been lied to for so long, they don't believe a word that their leaders tell them. They don't believe that there will be elections, they don't believe that Hamas and Fatah have any interest in respecting the results, they don't believe that there will ever be unity between the West Bank and Gaza.

The article listed all the previous failed attempts to get Hamas and Fatah on the same page:

Cairo Declaration Agreement, 2005
The Prisoners Document, 2006
The Mecca Agreement, February 2007
Sana'a Declaration, March 2008
Talks after Gaza war, 2009
2010 talks
Cairo Agreement, May 2011
Doha Agreement, February 2012
Cairo Agreement, May 2012
Talks after Palestine's being called a "state" at the United Nations, January 2013
Beach Agreement 2014
Talks in Doha, 2016
Cairo Agreement, 2017
Al-Arouri and Rajoub agreement, May 2020
Istanbul meeting, September 2020
Cairo meeting, November 2020
January 2021 Hamas agrees to Abbas' terms

The Arab world is sick of Hamas and Fatah. Palestinians themselves are sick of Hamas and Fatah. No one regards either group as being capable of any leadership.

And yet the EU, the UN and the US Democrats keep pretending that they can be peace partners.

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The Palestinian Authority has given emergency authorization to Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, Health Minister Mai al-Kaila announced on Monday. They are the first Middle Eastern government to approve the vaccine

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which financed Sputnik V, said that the first batch of vaccines are expected to be sent to the Palestinians in February.

And major "human rights" organizations who have embarked on a huge publicity campaign to smear Israel have publicly opposed Palestinians receiving the Russian vaccine.

Let me repeat that: organizations like B'Tselem and Amnesty International, who pretend to care about human rights, are dead-set against Palestinians using the Sputnik vaccine.

Last month, ten supposed human rights organizations signed a letter opposing Palestinians using the Russian vaccine. They are Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Amnesty International Israel, B’Tselem, Gisha, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, Medical Human Rights Network IFHHRO, MEDACT, Physicians for Human Rights Israel and

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

In their letter, they wrote:

We express grave concerns about media reports that the Russian-developed vaccine will be delivered to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PA has not fully indicated which vaccines it aims to purchase and distribute, although it has made clear that it does not have sufficient funds and capabilities to purchase the necessary vaccinations. Israel cannot transfer a vaccine which is not approved for its own citizens. Such a step would violate the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations and the long-standing policy of the Israeli Ministry of Health to only allow the distribution of medicines in the OPT which have undergone the necessary scientific and regulatory procedures. Although the Paris Protocol has come under criticism in the past for, inter alia, obliging the PA to import medications that are beyond its financial reach, as long as it is binding, Israel cannot import a vaccine that it has not approved for its own population and send it to the occupied population. Israel must ensure that the vaccines delivered to Palestinians in the OPT, also meet the approvals of the Israeli health system, and that these vaccines be purchased and delivered as soon as possible.

As I mentioned previously, the Paris Protocol would not be violated at all by Israel allowing the Russian vaccine to enter Palestinian territories.

But the problem here is much more basic. We have supposed human rights organizations who actually want to impede Palestinians from taking life-saving vaccines. And the only reason is because they loathe Israel enough to be willing to sacrifice Palestinian lives.

This is behavior one would expect from Hamas or Al Qaeda, not respected NGOs.. Their position is the exact opposite of human rights.

Beyond that, they are saying that the Palestinian Authority is too stupid and ignorant to do the research and decide which vaccines are appropriate for their people.

While Amnesty and B'Tselem have managed to convince world media that Israel is somehow violating he Geneva Conventions (it isn't,) there is a much bigger problem here where respected human rights groups are taking positions that not only endanger Palestinian lives, but that treat Palestinians as children who have no agency over their own lives and cannot be trusted to make their own decisions.

Amnesty, B'Tselem, PCHR et. al. are engaged in bigotry against the very Palestinians they pretend to defend.

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Kristen Clarke was nominated last week to serve as Joe Biden's assistant attorney general for civil rights.

If confirmed by the Senate, she will lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

A 1994 incident makes one wonder how committed she is to civil rights for all.

As the Harvard Crimson reported then, Clarke, as president of the Black Students Association, invited rabidly antisemitic Wellesley Professor Tony Martin to speak at Harvard:

Martin, the author of an anti-Semitic tract entitled The Jewish Onslaught, used his Harvard forum to denounce the Jewish tradition and the Jewish people for holding a "monopoly" on centuries-worth of the notion of divinely ordained African inferiority. Repeating his belief that the "so-called Sages" of the Babylonian Talmud were the earliest racists of recorded history, Martin urged Harvard students to consider The Bell Curve, a controversial new book linking race and intelligence, as only the latest manifestation of a racist tradition spawned by Jews.

Martin also taught in his own class a course that included the Nation of Islam antisemitic tract claiming that Jews controlled the slave trade, "The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews."

Kristen Clarke defended the hater, telling the Crimson that "Professor Martin is an intelligent, well-versed Black intellectual who bases his information of indisputable fact."

If she considers the Nation of Islam's antisemitic screeds to be indisputable facts, it is hard to imagine that she can be an effective advocate for civil rights for all.

It gets worse, though.

1994 was the year that The Bell Curve was released. It was a controversial book that claimed that intelligence was in large part (between 40% and 80%) a genetic trait and further claimed that Black people were, on average, less intelligent than white people.

The Black community was justifiably outraged, and many others showed serious errors in the book. At the time, however, it was taken seriously and some students at Harvard defended it.

Kristen Clarke weighed in on the controversy in a letter to the Crimson, where she put forth an alternative theory that Black people were superior to whites because they have more melanin:

In response to those who defend The Bell Curve ("Defending The Bell Curve," Opinion, Oct. 24, 1994), please use the following theories and observations to assist you in your search for truth regarding the genetic differences between Blacks and whites.

One: Dr. Richard King reveals that at the core of the human brain is the "locus coeruleus" which is a structure that is Black because it contains large amounts of (neuro) melanin which is essential for its operation.

Two: Black infants sit, stand, crawl and walk sooner than whites.

Three: Carol Barnes notes that human mental processes are controlled by melanin--that same chemical which gives Blacks their superior physical and mental abilities.

Four: Some scientists have revealed that most whites are unable to produce melanin because their pineal glands are often calcification or non-functioning. Pineal calcification rates with Africans are five to 15 percent, Asians 15 to 25 percent and Europeans 60 to 80 percent. This is the chemical basis for the cultural differences between Blacks and whites.

Five: Melanin endows Blacks with greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities--something which cannot be measured based on Eurocentric standards.

If the Bell Curve is racist - and it is - this melanin theory is far, far worse.

And it is still believed by prominent Black celebrities and their followers today who also happen to be antisemitic, as we saw last summer.

Yes, this was 26 years ago. And yes, Clarke has since forged ties with liberal Jewish groups. But has she ever disavowed her praise of an antisemitic professor? Has she changed her mind about melanin making Blacks superior in all ways to whites?

She says now, “We will turn the page on hate.” At college, she promoted hate. If Kristen Clarke is going to be effective in her job, she needs to address these concerns now.

(h/t Shoshana Dreyfus)

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You've heard of "Pay for Slay" - how about "Masters Degree for Butchery"?

The Hebrew version of Palestinian Media Watch (not yet translated as of this writing) has an expose on how the worst terrorists in Israeli prisons are getting free education - a prospect so attractive that some want to avoid early release to get their degrees.

Here are excerpts:

Imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, including murderers, receive free university education in Israeli prisons - which are generously funded by the Palestinian Authority, and in cooperation with Palestinian universities and even UNESCO organization! All this in addition to many other benefits the PA gives terrorist prisoners.

Palestinian law provides a series of benefits, including an exemption from tuition fees at schools and universities.

In 2011, Israel decided to cancel access to higher education. Several appeals were filed by some of the imprisoned terrorists, but their petitions were rejected after the courts ruled that imprisoned terrorists do not have a specific right to participate in higher education.

Obtaining university degrees, which only a minority of Palestinians can obtain outside of prison, may be, in the eyes of some Palestinians, an incentive for terrorism.

Since this court decision was made, Israel has never lifted the ban on university studies for imprisoned terrorists. At the same time, the reality looks quite different.

In a recent interview, the Vice President of Open Al-Quds University, Muhammad Shahin, described in detail the thriving university programs for terrorists in prison. He explained who is involved, how the system works, and how the funding is done. The program includes a number of degrees, "teaching" and "academic supervision" within the prison, as well as examination committees to ensure everything is done according to "academic standards."

Describing the University Program for Prisoner Terrorists - which are "a crown of honor on our heads" - as "part of the university's social responsibility," Shahin provided the following facts about the university's program, which has existed in one form or another since 2000:

The current program was established in 2014, in an agreement between the Open Al-Quds University, the PA Prison Ministry at the time (now called the PLO Prisoner Authority), and the Ministry of Education.
Tuition is free of charge. 30% of the costs are covered by Al-Quds University "as a scholarship for all prisoners," and the rest is paid by the Prisoner Authority in the PLO.
Senior terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who was convicted of planning 5 murders and sentenced to 5 life sentences, is leading a master's degree program in "Israeli Studies" for his fellow prisoners, as part of the Al-Quds Open University program.
The Curriculum for Prisoners of the Open Al-Quds University is held in 5 prisons: Rimon, Ketziot, Gilboa, Nafha and Shikma.
Every prison has an "academic committee" made up of inmates with a master's degree and a doctorate. The committee oversees examinations, grades, transfer of grades - "All procedures, and especially academic ones, so that questions are within the rules and criteria found at the university."
A lawyer on behalf of the Prisoner's Authority in the PLO passes the tests from the prisons and "submits them to the dean of admission and registration of the university."
[PA official TV, "Patience Giants", 8/10/2020]

The illegal university programs in Israeli prisons continue unabated , despite the prison service's denial that such studies take place. In fact, Kadri Abu Bakr, head of the PLO Prisoners' Authority, admitted this year that the PA owes more than $3 million to Palestinian universities for tuition expenses for terrorist students.

Prison degree programs are independent or "stand-alone," in the sense that "academic staff" members come from among the inmates themselves. A prisoner-killer terrorist with an academic degree can be appointed a lecturer in a university course. In this way, Marwan Barghouti, who has been convicted of planning 5 murders and is serving 5 life sentences, and allegedly holds the title of "Doctor of Political Science", can head the "Israeli Studies" program for fellow prisoners:

Marwan Barghouti's program, including the possibility for Palestinian terrorists to study for free in prison, is so popular that the father of one of the imprisoned terrorists told his son to stay in prison and complete his academic degree, and not ask for early release:

It is not just the open Al-Quds University that offers degrees to terrorists. Al-Najah University in Nablus does as well. This university even has three convicted murderers in the "faculty" who teach in the track of international law and human rights!

When family members presented certificates and credentials of their terrorist-prisoner relatives, one of them was a graduation certificate from a course on international law and human rights, given by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the National Al-Najah University.

A UNESCO certificate mentions the names of the course facilitators, which include three killers responsible for the deaths of 25 Israelis: Yasser Abu Bakr - responsible for 3 attacks in which people were killed; Nasser Avis - responsible for attacks in which 14 people were killed, and Izz A Din Hamamara - Involved in terrorist attacks in which 8 people were killed:

(h/t EBoZ)

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01/11 Links Pt2: Democrats were for riots before they were against them; UAE reunites two more Jewish Yemeni families split for decades

From Ian:

Democrats were for riots before they were against them

In 2018, the media was writing up glowing stories about the hundreds of Women’s March members who were engaging in "direct action” to disrupt the Senate’s Kavanaugh hearings.

Hundreds of members from the radical leftist group had invaded the hearings and were arrested. Their travel expenses and bail for the disruptions were covered by the Women’s March.

Radicals from the March and other leftist groups blocked hallways, shouted down Senate members, and draped protest banners from balconies. Democrats cheered them on.

When a leftist mob assailed the Supreme Court, pounding on the doors, MSNBC called it an “extraordinary moment” and praised the crowd, “besieging the Supreme Court” and “confronting senators”.

"If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them," Rep. Maxine Waters had urged earlier that year.

Later, the Democrat House member told MSNBC, "They’re going to absolutely harass them".

In 2020, Black Lives Matter rioters vandalized the Lincoln Memorial and the WW2 Memorial, along with statues of Gandhi, General Kosciuszko, and Andrew Jackson. The racist thugs marched through the city starting fires, including at a historic church, and tried to besiege the White House. Attempts by federal law enforcement to fight BLM terrorism were falsely denounced as a brutal attack on “peaceful protesters”, and as “militarism” and “fascism”.

Democrat House members took to proposing bills to protect the racist mobs from law enforcement. Meanwhile the BLM mob besieged the White House and battled Secret Service personnel, allegedly forcing the evacuation of President Trump and his family to a bunker.

This was the new normal enthusiastically supported by Democrats and the media.

A bail fund backed by Senator Kamala Harris and Biden campaign staffers focused on helping the rioters and looters get out of prison. Along with any other criminals along for the ride.

Shalom Ya'll Restaurant, a Jewish eatery In Portland Oregon, was horrifically vandalized with ‘Free Palestine’ and other disgusting graffiti.

Any condemnation regarding this @RashidaTlaib @AOC or are you only concerned when the antisemitism comes from white Nazis? pic.twitter.com/wUIgBgxOp6
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) January 11, 2021

‘Trivializing the Holocaust as Dangerous as Denying It:’ Fox News Host Pirro Slammed for ‘Kristallnacht’ Comparison

Fox News host Jeanine Pirro’s comparison on Monday of a political row over the hosting of a social media app with the Nazi regime’s Nov. 9, 1938 nationwide pogrom against Germany’s Jewish community drew a sharp rebuke from a senior US Jewish leader and Holocaust survivor, who warned that “trivializing the Holocaust is as dangerous as denying it.”

Speaking on her Monday morning show, Pirro accused tech giants Google, Apple and Amazon of having suppressed news stories that could have potentially harmed President-elect Joe Biden’s election campaign.

“And now that they’ve won, what we’re seeing is a kind of censorship that is akin to a Kristallnacht, where they decide what we can communicate about,” Pirro declared, referring to the decision of all three platforms to stop hosting Parler, an app that has become increasingly popular with militant supporters of Donald Trump in the wake of Twitter’s permanent ban on the US President.

Pirro’s analogy was condemned by Abraham Foxman — a Holocaust survivor and the national director emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) who now heads the Center for the Study of Antisemitism at New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

“Stay away from the Holocaust, especially if you’re ignorant about it,” Foxman told The Algemeiner on Monday afternoon.

“Kristallnacht was about Jewish lives, not freedom of speech,” Foxman explained. “Trivializing the Holocaust is as dangerous as denying it, and that’s what she was engaged in.”

“Kristallnacht” (Night of the Broken Glass) — the more common term for what historians of the Nazi period call Reichspogromnacht — erupted across Germany, Austria and occupied Czechoslovakia on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, as members of the SA paramilitary and other Nazi thugs rampaged against Jewish-owned business and community institutions.

The Nazi-orchestrated violence took the lives of hundreds of Jews, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia. More than 250 synagogues were ransacked and destroyed during the pogrom, while up to 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and deported to concentrations camps.

If you make this comparison, you are an idiot.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 11, 2021

IRGC Qods Force Commander General Esmail Ghaani: Trump, Pompeo Should Learn from Salman Rushdie How Their Lives Will Be from Now On pic.twitter.com/dpmdyBz0xI
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) January 11, 2021

Twitter CEO Glad Trump is Only Leader that Incites Violence (satire)

After permanently banning President Donald Trump from his platform, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says he is greatly relieved that the problem of world leaders inciting violence on his platform has been permanently solved.

“Removing a world leader for using his account to promote violent acts is a dramatic step,” Dorsey acknowledged. “Banning Trump could have all sorts of implications if there were other world leaders, let’s say, promising to bomb America and wipe another country off the map, or if a nation were using our platform to celebrate an ongoing genocide.”

“Luckily there was only one bad man, and he’s gone now,” Dorsey added.

As of press time, the world has finally been freed from violence after Apple removed Parler, an alternative social media platform, from its app store.

Cartoon of the Day: Israel-haters' secret weapon

Continuing with my series of recaptioning cartoons...

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HRW's Ken Roth accuses US and Israel of "war crimes" more often than anyone else, by far

This morning Ken Roth, head of Human Rights Watch, tweeted this:

Israel's latest challenge, Netanyahu to Biden: Here are 800 new war-crime settler homes. What are you going to do about them. https://t.co/gEIcrTDrMK pic.twitter.com/lFQ6DkWFgg
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) January 11, 2021

I have noticed that he really likes to accuse Israel of "war crimes," often for the heinous crime of building houses.

So I looked at how often he used that term in 2020 and which countries he was referring to.

Judging from his result, the US and Israel are by far the worst violators of war crime on the planet.

This is just another data point on how Human Rights Watch and its leader are obsessed with Western nations and downplay the horrific, actual war crimes done by other countries.

In the case of Israel, three of the references were to "settlements" and the rest were to nothing in particular, just saying that Israel does "war crimes" in Palestinian areas without specifying them, because it is so obvious to him that Israel is one of the biggest violators on the planet that it doesn't even need specifying. . For Russia and Syria, they were very specific tweets about bombing civilians in Syria.

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01/11 Links Pt1: Kissinger: Return to Iran deal could spark Middle East nuclear arms race; Hamas Forcibly Expels Residents from their Homes near Gaza-Egypt Border

From Ian:

Kissinger: Return to Iran deal could spark Middle East nuclear arms race

The new US administration should not return to the spirit of the Iran deal, which could spark an arms race in the Middle East, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said Monday at a Jewish People Policy Institute online conference.

He criticized the 2015 Iran deal, which President Donald Trump left in 2018. President-elect Joe Biden seeks to return to it if Iran agrees to comply again with the agreement’s limitations on its nuclear program.

“We should not fool ourselves,” the 97-year-old diplomat, consultant and author said. “I don’t believe that the spirit [of the Iran deal], with a time limit and so many escape clauses, will do anything other than bring nuclear weapons all over the Middle East and therefore create a situation of latent tension that sooner or later will break out.”

The current leaders in Iran “don’t seem to find it possible to give up this combination of Islamist imperialism and threat,” Kissinger said. “The test case is the evolution of nuclear capacities in Iran, if these can be avoided.”

“I do not say we shouldn’t talk to them,” he added.

Dennis Ross, a former adviser to presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, interviewed Kissinger at the JPPI farewell event for its founding director, Avinoam Bar-Yosef.

Ross asked Kissinger what he would advise Biden and his administration to do to take advantage of the Abraham Accords, in which four Arab states normalized ties with Israel.

“We should not give up on what has recently been achieved in these agreements between the Arab world and the Israeli world,” he said. “I would tell the incoming administration that we are on a good course.”

The accords “have opened a window of opportunity for a new Middle East,” Kissinger said. “Arab countries understood that they could not survive in constant tension with parts of the West and with Israel, so they decided they had to take care of themselves.”

New CIA nominee Burns widely respected in US, pro-Iran nuke deal

His initial choice, former CIA acting director Michael Morrell, had been vetoed by some US Senate Democrats for defending the CIA against allegations of post 9/11 torture of terrorist detainees.

Instead, Biden appears to have picked Burns due to his expertise on Russia and an impression that he will rally respect and legitimacy both to the CIA and in the intelligence community’s relationship with other parts of the government.

He served as ambassador to Jordan during the Clinton administration and as ambassador to Russia during the George W. Bush administration. Burns was significantly involved in the Obama-era negotiations toward the Iran nuclear deal.

He has criticized President Donald Trump for pulling out of the deal and for the “maximum pressure campaign.” He has expressed doubts about the assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.

In a January 2020 op-ed for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he has been serving as president, Burns and incoming National Security Advisor-designate Jake Sullivan wrote: “As we’ve argued before, we’re at this dangerous juncture because of Trump’s foolish decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal, his through-the-looking-glass conception of coercive diplomacy, and his willing hard-line enablers in Tehran.”

#BillBurns was the lead U.S. negotiator and architect of the secret American talks that paved way to the disastrous JCPOA #Iran deal. This does not exactly create confidence in his capacity to lead #CIA in this time. https://t.co/U9CNmAcp9v
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) January 11, 2021

David Halbfinger’s Weird David Friedman Interview Ends Up Appearing More on Twitter than in the New York Times

The outgoing New York Times bureau chief in Jerusalem, David Halbfinger, interviewed the outgoing American ambassador to Israel, David Friedman — and the result, which appeared in Sunday’s print newspaper, was just weird.

Halbfinger’s 1,500-word dispatch included two paragraphs from the hard left Foundation for Middle East Peace, the Alexander Soros Foundation-funded vehicle that supports the anti-Zionist New York Times opinion page contributing writer Peter Beinart. It includes another two paragraphs from “Husam Zomlot, who headed the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington.”

The third-party comments took so much space that there wasn’t room for much of Halbfinger’s actual interview with Friedman. Rather than publish a fuller version to the Times’ website, Halbfinger took to newly Trump-free Twitter — which is outside the paper’s paywall — and published two threads, totaling 44-tweets, of remarks from the outgoing-David-on-outgoing-David interview. Strung together, the tweets ran longer in accumulated word-count than the New York Times article, and were more informative, sticking more closely to Friedman’s comments.

As for the Times article reporting on the interview, it was inaccurate and tendentious. Halbfinger writes, “The Trump administration said it wanted to achieve peace. It will leave office this month as far away from that goal as ever.” Actually, it’s closer than ever to that goal: it succeeded, with the Abraham Accords, in advancing normal relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.

Halbfinger also writes, “It was Mr. Friedman, 62, who drove the radical overhaul of White House policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, dreaming up the seemingly endless list of political giveaways that President Trump bestowed upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters on the Israeli right.”

There was nothing “radical” about the Trump administration’s Israel policy. US-Israel relations have a strong bipartisan foundation based on mutual interests and shared values that transcends any particular presidential administration. Rather than characterizing American actions as “political giveaways,” the Times news article might have more accurately described the policies — such as moving the American embassy to Israel’s capital — as righting historical injustices, fulfilling long-made promises, and adhering to laws like the long-ignored Jerusalem Embassy Act. When the Obama administration provided $150 billion in cash and sanctions relief to the terror-supporting, genocide-pursuing Iranian government, the Times described it not as a “political giveaway” but rather as an exchange “in return for nuclear concessions.”

Palestinian Authority says films/videos made by or about Jewish residents of Judea/Samaria are racist and criminal

The Palestinian ministry of culture issued a report complaining about Jewish "settlers" who are involved in making videos and films about their lives, saying that they are "racist."

As the official Wafa news agency reports in a hate-filled report, "Behind the image of hilltop hooligans who block roads, throw stones at Palestinian vehicles, shoot at citizens and attack farmers in their fields, government agencies are spending millions to whitewash the image of settlements, create a religious and historical link between settlers and the West Bank and Jerusalem, and provide them with a cultural face."

The article particularly attacks the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, which describes itself this way:

For more than two decades, Gesher has turned to film as a powerful media to reach the masses to promote a shared Jewish future. In partnership with the AVI CHAI Foundation, The Gesher Multicultural Film Fund (GMFF) has funded and produced of over 500 broadcast hours of cinema and television, including award winning feature films, drama series’ and documentaries. The GMFF supports the production of films and television programs that reflect the diversity of Israeli culture and correct the stereotypical images of minority segments of society. The fund provides grants and editorial guidance to veteran film-makers, and scholarships and training for promising young scriptwriters, producers, and directors emerging from minority segments of the population.

The Gesher Multicultural Film Fund’s Jerusalem Brew, Ushpizin and Shtissel are just a few of the top-rated television shows and movies that have demonstrated a large-scale impact on Israeli Society.

But to the Palestinian Authority, this is Gesher: "The Gesher Foundation launched a new colonial racist tender for those who believe that the Jewish race is superior to the Arab race."

It also describes an award-winning Israeli film, Red Cow, this way:

The movie “Red Cow” 2019, directed by: Tsivia Barkai Yacov, talks about a lonely girl (Benni) who lives with her father in a settlement in Silwan, East Jerusalem. Reconstructing the Third Temple: (Benni) takes care of and raises the red cow until it grows and the Jews build the temple in Jerusalem.

There are crude references to religious references, texts and myths that deny the Palestinians of their place. Benni falls in love with Yael, who works in the army, and with the intensification of tension between the Palestinians and the settlement residents, and a sense of danger between them, she decides to search for her for a common future with her family.

The film focuses on the settlers' relationship with the Torah land and promotes all their lies about it. It also fabricates many lies about what they calls “Palestinian terrorism” against the rights of the Jews.

The PA goes on to say, "the goal of producing these films is far from showing aesthetic, artistic and human values, rather their point is incitement and propaganda. ...In general, the production of these films is a crime, as it promotes the idea of stealing the land of others, and showing them in international festivals is considered a crime (because it normalizes the idea of Jews living in settlements.)

Which is more racist - Jews making films about their lives, or saying that Jews who make films about their lives are inherently racist?

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The vaccine libel keeps going: Haaretz adds more lies

Every day there are more articles about how Israel is not fulfilling its obligations under international law in providing vaccines for Palestinians. Israel haters keep adding to the libel in each new article.

The latest comes from Haaretz, written by Australian "human rights" lawyer Shannon Maree Torrens.

She says that Israel is not only not providing vaccines for Palestinians, but that it is actively blocking them from going to Palestinians:

As many around the world with the privilege of decision, autonomy and movement are debating whether or not to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, for others the issue is not when they will receive it but if and how the vaccine will be made available to them.

Such is the case for the people of Gaza.

Why would anyone think that the people of Gaza won't ever get vaccines? The PA has been making deals and procuring vaccines just like every other country, and like most countries they have not yet arrived. But Torrens is saying that Israel won't even allow those vaccines to come:

It is one thing to blockade a people for supposedly security purposes, as Israel has done with respect to Gaza since 2007, which is already an inhumane act with little justification, but it is another level of deplorable behavior to then deny those who are occupied and blockaded a life-saving vaccine during a once-in-a-century pandemic that has killed over 1.9 million people worldwide.

Israel has never blocked medicines from the PA and Gaza. Never. But you know who has denied medicines to Gaza residents? The PA! And Hamas!

As far as I know, Ms. Torrens never said a word about that.

She then contrasts Israel with Australia and New Zealand:

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has secured enough vaccines to ensure that everyone living in the Pacific Island nations will be covered. Australia has also made plans to ensure access to the vaccine in the Pacific Islands – and neither New Zealand nor Australia are engaging in a military occupation of these Pacific Island countries.

Israel has vaccinated more Arabs, including Palestinians, than the total number of people vaccinated in Australia or New Zealand - which is at this moment, zero. It is a little strange to compare the two cases when the Pacific Islanders have no advantage, vaccine-wise, than Palestinians do.

But when you look deeper at New Zealand's and Australia's plans for their neighbors, you see that things are not so different from how Israel is acting.

New Zealand:

Every New Zealand citizen will receive the vaccine for free. The excess doses will be distributed in the states within the New Zealand Realm—Tokelau, Niue, and the Cook Islands. New Zealand will also offer the vaccine to neighboring states Tonga, Samoa, and Tuvalu. These nations may choose to accept the vaccine.

New Zealand has some level of responsibility for the nations within the New Zealand Realm. For the others, it depends on whether they want the vaccine or not - like Palestinians, they make their own choice. Up until recently, every report says the Palestinians absolutely do not want vaccines from Israel. (That only seems to have changed when they realized the propaganda value of any Israeli delay.)

As far as Ms. Torrens' Australia goes, according to its own COVID-19 strategy:

The Australian Government has also entered into Advanced Purchase Agreements with Astra Zeneca-Oxford and CSL-University of Queensland for over 84 million units of vaccines, which Australia is able to donate to partners in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, should these vaccines prove safe and effective, and units are available above domestic needs.

Just like Israel, Australia is prioritizing its own citizens before considering giving the vaccine to its neighbors.

By the definition of Israel-haters, this is "medical apartheid."

This hypocrisy is of course not the only ridiculous thing about this article. As with every other similar article, it doesn't mention that if Israel would provide the current Pfizer vaccines to Palestinians, they would all go to waste because there is not adequate refrigeration equipment. Israel is still waiting for the Moderna vaccines to arrive. Logistics drives decisions, not the pie-in-the-sky demands of clueless international human rights lawyers.

Torrens says

Torrens of course doesn't mention that her basic thesis is wrong: under the international law, the primary responsibility for providing health care in territories under occupation goes to local authorities, not the occupier. They should cooperate. Until now, there have been no reports that the Palestinians wanted to cooperate with Israel.

Plus, the idea that Palestinians are having their human rights violated by not getting vaccinations now - ahead of even modern nations like New Zealand and Australia - is completely unfounded. Palestinians will get vaccinated in 2021, ahead of many nations and behind others.

Torrens' libel is in saying that this is in doubt because of Israel. It isn't. And that is the most libelous accusation of all.

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Convoy of UAE COVID-19 aid arrives in Gaza. (I don't see anything for the PA.)

On Sunday, a convoy filled with medical aid from the UAE arrived in Gaza:

It appears to have arrived through Egypt.

Equipment includes some sort of oxygen concentrator, ten respirators, 20 ventilators, 456,000 masks, 2000 PCR kits for COVID, and thousands of various types of PPE.

Over the summer, the UAE tried to send aid to the Palestinian Authority and it was angrily rejected. This might be why they went to Gaza through Egypt, so as not to anger the PA even more.

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