Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, June 18, 2018

An acid test for "pro-peace" organizations: Support or denounce Indonesian Muslim visit to Israel?

Yesterday, a delegation from the largest Muslim organization in the world ended its tour of Israel.

Yahya Cholil Staquf, General Secretary of the world's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Supreme Council, led a team of people to Israel to discuss common issues and peace.

This included meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the President Reuven Rivlin, and visits to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

During the visit, the Indonesian delegation also participated in meetings in Jerusalem with Jewish and Muslim religious leaders and activists in order to "bring the views of the three heavenly religions closer together."

Who could be against such a thing?

Well, Hamas and Fatah and the PA denounced the visit in unmistakable terms.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the participation of the delegation contradicts the positions of the Indonesian government and the Indonesian people, who has always expressed its position rejecting the occupation and its policies."

Hamas said, "We appreciate Indonesia, its people, its religious leaders and its historical stands in support of our people's rights and struggles for freedom and independence. We condemn this disgraceful act. "

Fatah spokesman Osama al-Qawasmi said in a statement that the delegation's actions were "a crime against Jerusalem, the Palestinian people and Muslims in the world...The participation of Yahya Taqouf in this conference in occupied Jerusalem is a betrayal of religion, the Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations." He called on the Indonesian government and people to "hold accountable those who sold themselves to the devil and wanted to be a tool in the hands of the Zionists and Israel."

The question is: what do supposedly "pro-peace" organizations have to say? Will they support a leader of 50 million Muslims meeting Jewish and Israeli leaders as a way to bring peace and understanding, or will they accept that the PLO and Fatah and Hamas have veto power over anything any Muslim does, even when those Muslims represent tens of millions of people?

The answer is that J-Street will remain silent, because their positions are exactly those of the Palestinian Authority and they will never admit that a meeting with the supposedly evil Netanyahu government can ever be good thing. SJP and other BDS organizations will be against the visit because it violates their prime directive of no dealing with the Zionist entity.

Ironically, Arab nations' silence means their tacit support for the meeting, given their knee-jerk support for anything Palestinians demanded in the past.

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Israeli police detain head of Al Aqsa security over archaeological crimes

Earlier I reported on how over a thousand Muslims took advantage of the last day of Ramadan, a date that traditionally has only allowed Muslims on the Temple Mount, to take piles of important archaeological debris from previous illegal digs and use them to build terraces and benches, and to clean up the areas the debris was in, further destroying priceless objects.

Today, Israeli security forces belatedly tried to do something about these archaeological crimes.

According to Ma'an, Israeli police arrested the head of the security department at the al-Aqsa Mosque, Abdullah Abu Talib, and took him to the Bab al-Silsila police station.

At the same time security forces dismantled the terraces and removed the olive tree saplings planted in the area of the debris, that Muslims call the "Bab al Rahma" area.

Ma'an confirms that "at the end of Ramadan, hundreds of worshipers launched a campaign under the slogan "Bab al-Rahma ... a carpet of cleaning and reconstruction" to rebuild, improve, beautify and attract the Bab al-Rahma area. Within a few days, the worshipers managed to organize the Bab al-Rahma area, laying stone fences, high terraces, benches and stone tables as well as planting olive seedlings."

There is a tradition (and evidence) of a major gate to the Temple being in the area of Bab al Rahma, known in ancient times as Shushan Gate. (This is not the same as the visible and closed off Golden Gate off the eastern wall.) The debris is left over from the illegal Muslim digs of the late 1990s, I believe, in that area.

Ma'an has pictures of Muslims building short walls with the stones from the debris, and apparently of the dismantled benches that were built.

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1000+ Musllims take advantage of last day of Ramadan to destroy archaeological treasures on Temple Mount (video)

From the Temple Mount Sifting Project:

A very serious incident occurred in the last few days on the Temple Mount. In the eastern part of the Temple Mount there are mounds of earth from various illegal excavations carried out by the Waqf on the Temple Mount in the early 2000s. An attempt to remove the mounds from the Temple Mount was made in 2004, in coordination with the police and IAA, was forestalled by a petition to the High Court of Justice filed by Committee for the Prevention of Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount. The court ruled that the earth can only be removed under archaeological supervision and with coordination with the Committee.

It should also be noted that according to an internal report written by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2016, the excavation permit, given to us to which we sift the earth that was removed from the Temple Mount at the end of 1999 and at the beginning of 2004, also applies to these mounds.

For years, the Israel Police has had some success in preventing work in these piles of dirt. In 2013 there was an attempt to evacuate them by truck and tractor on the false grounds that only park waste was removed, but thanks to the media, we were able to stop the works.

Now, under the auspices of the last days of the month of Ramadan, when the Temple Mount is closed to none-Muslim visitors and the police presence is limited, over than a thousand people carried out excavation work, stone clearance and the creation of terraces in these piles of earth!

This is a clear violation of the High Court’s order and shows – this constitutes decade’s worth of regression in the level of enforcement of the antiquities law on the Temple Mount.

The changes in the earth mounds will greatly disrupt the ability to separate the sources of the debris during their eventual evacuation. During the course of such a manual excavation, many archeological artifacts are routinely discovered, but it is highly doubtful that any such items will reach the hands of archaeologists.

This is a huge archaeological crime. But don't expect, say, UNESCO to say a word. Because their job isn't to protect ancient relics but to protect Arabs destroying ancient relics.

(h/t Yoel)

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I guess I'm in the mood for good news today...

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06/17 Links: Israel busted large Hamas cell planning bombings; Islamic Jihad gives CNN a tour of Gaza tunnel, shows off rocket launcher; On a bike, ex-child refugee retraces escape from Nazi Germany

From Ian:

Shin Bet: Israel busted large Hamas cell planning Jerusalem, Tel Aviv bombings

Israeli forces uncovered a large and highly active Hamas terror cell operating out of the Palestinian city of Nablus earlier this year that was allegedly planning to conduct a number of bombings and shooting attacks in Israel and the northern West Bank, the Shin Bet security service revealed Sunday.

“In recent months, the Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police uncovered a Hamas terror cell, extraordinary in its size and level of activity, which operated in the Nablus area,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.

“During the suspects’ interrogations by the Shin Bet, it was determined that the cell planned to carry out terrorist bombings in central cities in Israel and the northern West Bank, including a bombing in Tel Aviv, a suicide bombing and an explosive attack in Jerusalem, a bombing in the Itamar settlement and shooting attacks in the Samaria region,” the security service said, referring to the biblical name of the northern West Bank.

The Shin Bet said it arrested more than 20 suspected members of the Hamas cell in late April, including its two leaders: Mutassem Muhammad Salem, 35, and Fares Kamil Zebidi, 33.

According to the security service, this cell began operating in October 2017.

'Hamas terror plot proves Israel must control Judea, Samaria'

Today’s revelation of a Hamas terror cell plotting a series of major attacks on Israeli cities and other targets is further proof Israel must maintain full security control over the entire area of Judea and Samaria, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday afternoon.

The comments came following a report by Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, which revealed that a massive Hamas-led terror cell operating out of the Palestinian Authority- controlled city of Shechem (Nablus) had been arrested at the end of April while it was in the midst of planning a series of bombing attacks.

According to the report Sunday, the cell included more than 20 terrorists, and was planning for a string of bombing attacks – including suicide bombings – and shooting attacks in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the town of Itamar in central Samaria, and other locations across Israel.

In response, the Prime Minister said the revelation is further evidence of the importance of maintaining Israeli control over all areas “west of the Jordan”.

"The ISA, the IDF and the Israel Police have thwarted a Hamas terrorist cell that sought to carry out horrific attacks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, from Nablus in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Hamas is trying to attack us from both Gaza, and Judea and Samaria. This is why we will continue to maintain security control of all areas west of the Jordan River."

NGO Monitor: European Union Funding for “Accountability” Against IDF Soldiers

In November 2017, the EU approved a €269,975, four-year grant to an Israeli legal NGO, Yesh Din, for a project designed to increase “Israeli security forces personnel (ISFP) accountability for forcible home entries in line with democratic standards and international humanitarian and human rights law.” Yesh Din is carrying out these efforts in partnership with Breaking the Silence and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I).

As reported in Israel HaYom (June 17, 2018), the activities undertaken as part of this project reveal the highly politicized premises under which these NGOs raise money from European governments.

In a funding appeal submitted to the UN, Yesh Din alleges, “…the military justice system grants nearly complete impunity for Israeli security forces personnel and their conduct” regarding “Forcible Home Entries (FHEs)” (emphasis added). The three Israeli groups intend to address these supposed deficiencies by “Appealing decisions to close investigations on a case-by-case basis” and “Filing petitions to High Court of Justice on specific cases and principled matters” (emphases added).

This project and the rhetoric surrounding it are part of a wider “lawfare” strategy of pressing “war crimes” cases against Israeli officials in foreign courts and in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The threat of ICC intervention and other examples of lawfare is a central concern for Israeli decision-makers.

Retired General Gets Smacked Hard For Using Holocaust To Score Political Points

Thousands of people blasted former CIA and NSA chief Michael Hayden on Saturday after he compared the Trump administration's immigration policies to Nazi concentration camps that were used to murder millions of Jews during World War II.

Hayden's comparison came less than 24 hours after two MSNBC analysts declared that the Trump administration was throwing children into concentration camps.

"Other governments have separated mothers and children," Hayden tweeted.

The reaction to Hayden's tweet was overwhelmingly negative: (h/t jzaik)

This is a former director of the CIA. He's comparing a long-standing, bi-partisan U.S. law enforcement policy to a Nazi concentration camp. How could someone with such rash judgement ever have been in charge of American intelligence? https://t.co/Jf93mnHFuB
— Ezra Levant 🇨🇦 (@ezralevant) June 16, 2018

Good News Sunday: Israel is the world leader in combating desertification

A good news post.

I'll probably get back to doom and gloom tomorrow....

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From TOI:

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Friday claimed Israel’s win at the 2018 Eurovision contest was a scam, saying “Israel knows only how to kill, not how to sing.”

During an interview with Turkish television station, Yildirim said Netta Barzilai’s winning song “Toy” was “not good,” and claimed the voting system had been rigged by “imperialists” in order to ensure next year’s competition would take place in Jerusalem in order to “sow strife between religions” in the region.

“They let Israel win, even though they did not have enough points, so they could host the competition next year,” he said.

According to the annual competition’s rules, the winning country hosts the following year’s contest.

Yildirim went on to personally attack Barzilai, asserting that the “Israeli singer was not good. She can’t sing.”

Turkey hasn't participated in the singing competition since 2013. It decided to boycott the Eurovision, claiming there was discrimination in favor of the large countries in the European Union.

Ah, yes. "Imperialists." A secret cabal of powerful people united to work behind the scenes to ensure that the Jewish State would win Eurovision. Who could those people be?

The news is not that the Turkish Prime Minister is a bigoted idiot. The news is that the European and world media are not reporting that the Turkish Prime Minister is a bigoted idiot.

Apparently, it is not news for a Turkish politician to show that he is an antisemite.

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Last week, Israel's PM Netanyahu gave a 35 minute speech a the International Homeland Security Forum.

It is worth watching to see what Israel has been prioritizing in its methodology and strategy to secure its citizens.

The comments are also entertaining, with antisemitism from Germany mixed in with pro-Israel comments in Arabic and from elsewhere.

The German comment is railing about AIPAC and how Jews control the politicians and media in the US and Europe.

The first Arabic comment says, I believe, "enlightening" while the second one (which was attacks by other Arabs) says "Hero Netanyahu, God protect you and protect the State of Israel and its capital Jerusalem from the Islamic Satanic aggression."

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06/16 Links: When Does Pro-Palestinian End … and When Does Anti-Israel Begin?; The UN's Automatic Majority Against Israel is Fraying; 20 Fires Sparked by Incendiary Kites From Gaza

From Ian:

When Does Pro-Palestinian End … and When Does Anti-Israel Begin?

In a 2013 news item on Iran’s annual Quds Day march, the Associated Press reported that newly elected President Hassan Rouhani said at the event that Israel was an “old wound” that needed to be removed.

The AP later provided some context for those remarks, “Rouhani spoke at an annual pro-Palestinian rally marking ‘Al-Quds Day’ — the Arabic word for Jerusalem — and although his remarks appear contrary to his outreach efforts to the West, they should also be seen in the context of internal Iranian politics where softening the establishment’s anti-Israeli stand is not an option.”

Despite the AP’s efforts to downplay the extremism of Rouhani’s comments – that he had no choice but to express his opposition to the Jewish state – it also reported, “In the capital, Tehran, tens of thousands took to the streets, chanting ‘Down with America’ and ‘Death to Israel.'”

In a report about last week’s cancelled soccer match between Israel and Argentina, The Washington Post reported, “The BDS movement aims to pressure Israel into complying with international law vis-a-vis its policies toward the Palestinians by discouraging the purchase of Israeli goods, pressuring international companies not to conduct business in Israel and urging celebrities not to visit or perform in the country.”

Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment (BDS) campaign, has been clear about the goal of his movement. He has said, “A Jewish state in Palestine in any shape or form cannot but contravene the basic rights of the indigenous Palestinian population and perpetuate a system of racial discrimination that ought to be opposed categorically….Definitely, most definitely we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian, rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

Nor is Barghouti alone among proponents of BDS in calling for an end to the modern state of Israel.

Elliott Abrams: The UN's Automatic Majority Against Israel is Fraying

On June 13, the United Nations General Assembly voted once again to condemn Israel, this time for its actions against Hamas in Gaza when tens of thousands of Hamas supporters and terrorists stormed the Israeli border. The condemnation is not news, but the voting patterns are worth a look.

The final resolution passed 120 (yes) to 8 (no) with 45 abstentions. Who were the eight countries voting no? The United States and Israel, several Pacific island states (Marshall Islands, Nauru, Micronesia, Solomon Islands), Togo—and Australia.

Last year Australia’s government announced that it was through with unfair and unbalanced UN treatment of Israel and would henceforth vote against such resolutions in all parts of the UN system. And so it has. For example, on May 18 of this year, the UN Human Rights Council adopted yet another worthless resolution condemning Israel. The vote was 29 to 2, and the two countries voting no were the United States and Australia. So the first thing to note about the recent General Assembly voting was the Australian vote: a rare show of principle and determination on the international diplomatic scene, and a model for other democracies who all ought to be following Australia’s path.

In Israel, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Calls to Turn the Tide Against Terrorists

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told the International Homeland Security Forum in Israel on Tuesday:

Our alliance has been fortified through crises and strengthened by collaboration. Following the 9/11 attacks - the deadliest terror assault in modern world history - you were right there by our side. We knew we could not win the coming fight alone. And we turned to you for guidance because the State of Israel has withstood decades of violence at the hands of fanatics - and has proudly defended freedom against relentless terrorist enemies.

From Ottawa to Berlin, our communities are now on the frontlines. All countries represented here have experienced this evil in one form or another, whether your nationals have been victims or your homelands have been hit directly. We are at war. And we must respond accordingly.

Victory in this struggle begins with moral clarity. We are engaged in a generational struggle against Islamist militants, the preeminent terror threat to our lives, our livelihoods, and our way of life.

Whether it is global jihadist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda and their legions of digital followers, or the proxies of rogue nation states such as Iran, our enemies have perverted a major religion to justify horrific violence and lust for power. Their goal is to establish a totalitarian empire governed under a backwards and repressive worldview. And the danger they pose is at its highest point in decades.

There have been more than 100 terrorist attacks in Western countries since the rise of ISIS in 2013, resulting in thousands of casualties. The U.S. has been the victim of around 25 of those incidents. Most were carried out by homegrown violent extremists inspired by the group's heinous propaganda.

The good news is that we have put clear-eyed, focused pressure on terrorist groups around the world. We have obliterated the core safe havens of groups such as ISIS and taken tens of thousands of them off the battlefield. The U.S. is standing up to rogue regimes that bankroll terror and use proxies to advance their malign goals.

06/15 Links Pt2: What an Israeli Wishes Palestinians Could Understand; BDS efforts harm the Palestinians; JFK and the US Defense of Israel; Diplomat calls on Israelis to root for Aussies at World Cup for support at UN

From Ian:

What an Israeli Wishes Palestinians Could Understand

In Letters to a Palestinian Neighbor, Yossi Klein Halevi, an American-born Israeli who now spends much of his time fostering Jewish-Muslim dialogue, makes the case for Israel to the Palestinian people. He has even made an Arabic translation of his book available for free online. In an interview with Adam Rubenstein, he explains why peace has so far proved impossible:

The conflict [with Israel] is at the heart of Palestinian identity in a way that’s not true for [Israel’s] other neighbors. The Palestinian national movement, in all its factions, tends to see compromise [with the Jewish state] as a betrayal of justice. What we’ve just seen on the Gaza border in these last weeks is an expression of what’s wrong with Palestinian national identity. Why are Palestinians who live in Palestine demanding the “right of return” to a country that is no longer Palestine? Return to where from where? Leave Gaza—Palestine—and go to Israel? Why, for that matter, are there refugee camps in Gaza—in Palestine? Aren’t they already home? Or does the Palestinian right of return only play out literally, to the actual ancestral homes that were lost in war 70 years ago? Those homes are never going to be retrieved; in most cases they no longer even exist. No Israeli government will agree to national suicide by allowing the descendants of refugees to move to the Jewish state.

The Palestinian demand for right of return to the state of Israel is an expression of the rejection of Israel’s right to exist. . . . I believe that that rejection is the source of the conflict. If there was an indication that even part of the Palestinian people was publicly challenging the official narrative about Israel and the Jewish people—namely, that we are thieves and colonialists and liars who have invented our own history—if there was only some indication on the other side that this is now being debated in Palestinian society, that would be a moment when many of us in Israel would say, “well, maybe we really do have a partner.” In the absence of any debate within Palestinian society over Israel’s legitimacy, it’s hard to argue with the Israeli consensus that there is no partner for peace among the Palestinian leadership.

'BDS efforts harm the Palestinians'

Like the authors of the study, Diker is all too familiar with the ‎main obstacle to coexistence – violence. Dajani Daoudi's car was ‎rigged with explosives in 2014 after he took his students to visit ‎the Auschwitz concentration camp. Aloush refuses to have her ‎photo featured here for fear of retaliation, and Basherat was ‎questioned by Palestinian intelligence after participating in a ‎conference promoting coexistence that was sponsored by the ‎Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. ‎

The study, which has already been published in English, will ‎soon be published in Hebrew, but releasing it in Arabic is a ‎highly sensitive matter and Diker, as the editor, is careful when ‎he addresses the issue. ‎ ‎"The Arab world for 'normalization' can also be used to mean ‎‎'collaboration,' and that has a very negative connotation of ‎helping Israel," he explained. "This is why we opted for 'shared ‎perspectives on a new path to peace.'" Sensitivities aside, the ‎paper will soon be issued in Arabic, as well. ‎

JCPA President Dore Gold explained that the study is directed at ‎the international community but also at the Arab and Jewish ‎sectors. ‎ ‎"We must bring about a change in awareness, not only among ‎the Palestinian public but also in the international community, ‎which must understand that any progress towards a solution ‎between us and the Palestinians has to be based on cooperation ‎and not on the approach promoted by the BDS movement.‎

‎"That's something that has to be said and it's one of the goals of ‎our publications. Moreover, there are those in the Jewish ‎community abroad who think that BDS is what we need now. We ‎have to say – loud and clear – that this is the wrong approach ‎and that the right path is cooperation. If we don't say that, we ‎will lose the battle and that is why it is so important," he ‎concluded. ‎

In the Israel in Arabic Facebook page, from Israel's Foreign Ministry, the State of Israel wishes luck to the Saudi, Egyptian and Moroccan soccer teams in the World Cup.

A few Arabs appreciate the well-wishes, but most do not.

One said, "Know, entity, that we in Iraq will not rest until we uproot the last Zionist from the land of Palestine."

Another wrote that the well-wishes were a "blatant lie" hiding Israel's real hidden intentions of marketing its presence in the region to legitimize it. He said that "to establish a relationship with you is unacceptable and we know for sure that you do not recognize our children and do not love Islam and you have racism towards the Arabs."

But another wrote, "Thank you 'Israel speaks Arabic' for your support of Arab participation in World Cup ... God wants security and peace in the Arab region and all over the world."

And another attacked the haters: "As I read the comments on this page I notice the extent of violence and massive hatred that constitutes the psychology of Muslim man (especially Arab). If you don't like the page, why do you follow it?

"The root of this schizophrenia, which most Muslims suffer, belongs to the muhammadiyah education prevailing in the Muslim world which includes violence and hatred. Everything is incompatible with [the Muslim man's] opinions and moral values. As long as this massive amount of aggression is a cornerstone of the educational system, then violence, ignorance, and hatred will continue to prevail in Muslim societies."

So far every Arab team that Israel wished the best for has lost their first matches, so I imagine Israel is at fault for that somehow.

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06/15 Links Pt1: Haley: UN Makes ‘Morally Bankrupt Judgement’ by Passing Resolution Against Israel; PLO Rejects Trump Lifeline on Negotiations with Israel; Muslims celebrate Ramadan with the State of Israel

From Ian:

Haley: UN Makes ‘Morally Bankrupt Judgement’ by Passing Resolution Against Israel

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to condemn Israel for using “excessive force” against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.

The resolution, “Protection of the Palestinian civilian population,” which was proposed by Algeria and Turkey, was passed with 120 “yes” votes, eight “no” votes, and 45 abstentions. A similar resolution was rejected by the UN Security Council earlier this month after a US veto.

According to the language of the resolution, it condemned the “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians,” while calling on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to submit a report within 60 days on his proposals for “ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinians.”

Prior to the resolution’s adoption, the United States attempted to add an amendment condemning Hamas. However, that amendment, which was supported by a slim majority of countries, 62-58, was ultimately rejected on procedural grounds after failing to achieve a two-thirds majority.

“The nature of this resolution clearly demonstrates that politics is driving the day. It is totally one-sided. It makes not one mention of the Hamas terrorists who routinely initiate the violence in Gaza,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the UN body.

In his address prior to the vote, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon harshly criticized the countries supporting the resolution.

“The resolution before you today does not protect innocent Palestinians. It does not protect innocent Israelis. It does not condemn, does not even mention, Hamas, the internationally recognized terrorist organization directly responsible the violence in our region,” he said. “By supporting this resolution, you are colluding with a terrorist organization. By supporting this resolution, you are empowering Hamas.”

UN rights body reopens amid US threat to withdraw over anti-Israel bias

The UN Human Rights Council will kick off a new session Monday under a cloud of growing US criticism and the threat of Washington withdrawing from the body altogether, primarily over its anti-Israel bias.

Longstanding US criticism of the council for its bias against Israel has escalated since UN-skeptic Donald Trump came to power.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley gave a fiery speech before the Geneva-based council a year ago, demanding deep reforms to fix its “chronic anti-Israel bias.”

She also demanded the body throw out abusive regimes, like Venezuela and Burundi, which hold seats on the rotating 47-seat council.

Despite the tough US rhetoric — which essentially said reform or we are leaving — little has changed.

Tired of waiting for reform, Washington a few weeks ago circulated a proposed resolution unilaterally laying out the full makeover it was looking for.

But the US received little support and has not yet formally tabled the resolution, sparking fevered speculation it was about to quit, and fears of the impact that would have.

David Singer: PLO Rejects Trump Lifeline on Negotiations with Israel

President Trump – still mulling over the release of his ultimate peace deal to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict – has seen the swift rejection of the call by Jason D. Greenblatt – Trump’s Special Representative for International Negotiations – to have Dr Saeb Erekat replaced as chief negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in future negotiations with Israel.

Greenblatt raised America’s objection to Erekat in stark and uncompromising terms – alleging Erekat
- failed to contribute to an atmosphere conducive to peace
- used rhetoric and made claims that were in many respects simply inaccurate
- had baselessly claimed that Trump’s decision to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem was part of a U.S. attempt to force an Israeli-written agreement on the Palestinians.
- had failed to acknowledge a significant escalation of rockets fired by Hamas and other militant groups into Israel, which clearly represented the danger that Hamas and these groups present.

Greenblatt asserted that the Palestinian leadership need not shackle themselves to Hamas’s failure – in fact, this should be the Palestinian Authority’s opportunity to do the right thing for the people they lead.

Greenblatt called on Erekat and the Palestinian Authority to reject Hamas’s violence and lies and work with America to bring relief to Gaza where America believed real progress could be made that would lay the foundation for a more hopeful future.

Greenblatt’s reference to the “Palestinian Authority” was strange indeed – since it had been disbanded by written decree issued by PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on 3 January 2013.

Greenblatt stressed it was time to stop indulging in overwrought rhetoric and give the Palestinian people something beyond words. Palestinian leadership must create better lives, not sacrifice those lives for Hamas’ grim agenda of terror.

Greenblatt claimed he had heard many Palestinian voices over the past 16 months and many did not agree with Erekat or his approach. Yet, the sad thing is that most would only meet and speak honestly and openly in private because they are afraid to speak publicly.

White House to present Trump peace plan 'not before August'

The White House is unlikely to present its Middle ‎East peace plan before August, a source familiar ‎with the issue told Israel Hayom Thursday. Jerusalem ‎officials confirmed they had no information ‎regarding an earlier rollout of a peace plan. ‎

A U.S. National ‎Security Council spokesperson said ‎senior presidential adviser Jared Kushner and ‎Special Representative for ‎International ‎Negotiations Jason Greenblatt are expected to travel ‎to ‎Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia "to discuss the ‎situation ‎in Gaza and to discuss the next stages of ‎the peace effort, as well ‎as get some ideas from ‎players in the region about some remaining ‎questions ‎the White House peace team has. The trip may include ‎‎other stops as well."‎

While in Israel, Kushner and Greenblatt are scheduled ‎to team with U.S. Ambassador to Israel David ‎Friedman ‎for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin ‎Netanyahu. ‎

Since U.S. President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as ‎Israel's capital, the Palestinians have refused to ‎meet with American officials, citing their "gross ‎biased" toward Israel. As such, Kushner and ‎Greenblatt are ‎not scheduled to meet with anyone ‎from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' ‎government.‎ ‎

Yesterday we learned that the terrorist who smashed Ronen Lubarsky’s head with a slab of marble was arrested. It was Ronen’s friends, from his unit, who made the arrest.

The terrorist is named Islam and he comes from a family of Hamas terrorists serving prison sentences for murdering Jews. He served a prison sentence between 2004-2009 for previous participation in Hamas acts of terror.

Ronen’s family said that they were thankful to be notified that the arrest had been made, that they had had full faith in the IDF and Israeli Secret Service that they would succeed in finding the terrorist and felt a measure of relief.

So did Ronen’s friends.

This was one item on the news, among others. A quiet declaration: “A circle has been closed.”

There was no bombastic language, no discussion of what the prison sentence could be or any theoretical talk about how we’d all have been better off and (it would be more likely for justice to be served) if the terrorist had been killed during the arrest. We don’t do things that way.

Like a warm hand on your shoulder, not attempting to give comfort because no real comfort can be given (how can you ever reconcile with the fact that your son has been murdered?), a simple gesture of solidarity.

It reminded me of the front page of this newspaper which I photographed because I was struck by the power of an image to encapsulate the spirit of Israel. This is who we are. This is why we do what we do.

The caption under the photo of the two women says:
“Partners to the same destiny. Yael Shevach comforting Miriam Ben Gal: “We were chosen for this role.”

Yael’s husband Rabbi Raziel Shevack was murdered by a terrorist on Jan 9^th, 2018. Three weeks later Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal was murdered as well. In her grief, Yael felt driven to comfort Miriam.

The headline says:
“Into the night: large mission underway to find the terrorist that murdered Rabbi Ben Gal”
Beneath that it says: “Manhunt in Shechem * a large number of forces are in the area * hundreds said their final goodbye to Rabbi Ben Gal: “We will continue to raise the children, for you” * A different bill is already closed: the head of the terrorist unit that murdered Rabbi Shevach has been eliminated.

A few short words and one hug tell the story of Israel. This is why we do what we do.

The IDF didn’t go on a manhunt because they were ordered to. They certainly didn’t do it because it’s fun. They did it for Miriam. Just like they had previously done for Yael. Just like they did now, for Ronen’s family.

This is what it means to be a family.

This is Israel.

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In a surreal statement, Iranian leader Ali Khamenei said:

Concerning this usurper entity (Israel), Gamal Abdel Nasser forty or fifty years ago created slogans and said, "we would throw the Jews into the sea".....

The Islamic Republic has not said this ever, but we have submitted a proposal from the beginning and we said that democracy and consideration of public opinion and the voices of the people today represent a modern and advanced method agreed by the whole world.

A referendum can be established. This is what was said years ago to the United Nations as the opinion of the Islamic Republic. This is our opinion: Palestinians had been Palestinians for no less than a hundred years were Muslims, Jews and Christians. The voices of these Palestinians wherever they are, whether they were in the occupied territories, the land of Palestine, or outside of Palestine, and any system these will determine the fate of the land of Palestine, what will be the ruling regime, whatever they want.

Is this opinion a bad opinion? Is this view not progressive? The Europeans are not willing to understand this talk, and then you see that deadly side of the evil, pimply children who go there pretending to be oppressed and say that Iran wants to eliminate us and eliminate several million people ...

See? he says Jews can vote - as long as they lived in Palestine a hundred years ago. The millions who returned to their ancestral homeland cannot vote, of course; the millions Palestinian Arabs who fled in 1948 can vote, of course.

This is the kind of progressive democracy that Iran embraces, where only the people they allow can vote for only the people they allow to run.

I'm not quite sure how his "progressive" voice fits in with forcing a million of his citizens to go out last Friday to chant "Death to Israel!" but, on second thought, a lot of Western self-proclaimed "progressives" do the exact same thing....

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Gazans send a booby-trapped balloon that says "I ❤ You"

Hamas has pledged to send 5000 fire-balloons and kites to Israel today, in another round of protests that the UN and Human Rights Watch say are non-violent and pose no danger.

This morning, Israeli police found and deactivated a booby-trapped balloon that says "I Love You." From what I can tell, it appears that there was a small explosive attached that could have blown off a child's finger.

Meanwhile, children from an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza border, Nir Am, plan to send green balloons with candy to the children of Gaza tomorrow as the Eid al Fitr holiday ends.

Because obviously the Israelis are the aggressors.

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