Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, January 13, 2022

The lone anti-Zionist synagogue isn't even a synagogue

In yesterday's article on CAIR I wrote that the organization "recently defended one of its officials who labeled virtually every organized synagogue in America 'enemies.'"

The reason I said "virtually" was because of the one anti-Zionist synagogue I'm aware of Tzedek Chicago, whose rabbi is Brant Rosen.

Tzedek Chicago used to call itself "non-Zionist" but just this week it decided to make anti-Zionism one of its "core values." Only the Left can make hate a "core value" while pretending to be righteous.

Their anti-Israel "Jewish" position is absurd:

At Tzedek Chicago we seek to develop and celebrate a diasporic consciousness that joyfully views the entire world as our homeland.

Moving away from a Judaism that looks to Israel as its fully realized home releases us into rich imaginings of what the World to Come might look like, where it might be, and how we might go about inhabiting it now. This creative windfall can infuse our communal practices, rituals, and liturgy.

Oh, and look at their liturgy: they erase Jerusalem and Israel from הַפּורֵש סֻכַּת שלום עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמּו יִשרָאֵל וְעַל יְרוּשלָיִם, they erase Israel from the paragraph of שלום רָב עַל יִשרָאֵל עַמְּךָ . (They forgot to erase Israel in " וְשמְרוּ בְנֵי יִשרָאֵל אֶת הַשּבָּת" but they didn't translate that part into English!) In Friday night Kiddush, they erase reference to G-d choosing the Jews.

When they take Israel out of Judaism, all these people have left is...Left.

But...is Tzedek Chicago even a synagogue to begin with?

By any reasonable definition, it isn't.

The "services" it has are all virtual. The only ones it has are a biweekly Zoom Friday Night service that alternates with a biweekly 30 minute candle lighting ceremony.

On Saturday, instead of services they have what they call a "Torah Study" on Zoom. And on Wednesdays they have a virtual Zoom get together.

The "synagogue" has no address, just a post office box. A couple of times a year they meet in a church basement for things like a seder.

In other words, it is exactly like Jewish Voice for Peace - an anti-Israel organization that puts on some trappings of Judaism when they get together to make their hate for Israel sound more legitimate. And, just like JVP, they realize that hating Israel is not enough to attract members, so they throw in some other woke "values".

It is fitting that just as its members are Jews in name only, Tzedek Chicago is a synagogue in name only.

01/12 Links Pt2: The U.N.’s final solution to the Israel question; Emma Watson is right about Palestinians being enslaved; Prince Charles commissions Holocaust survivor portraits

From Ian:

Clifford D. May: The U.N.’s final solution to the Israel question

The endless drumbeat of anti-Israeli vilification by the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) is sure to energize the economic campaign against Israel (echoing the 1933 Nazi “Don’t buy from the Jews” campaign) and perhaps lead to prosecutions of Israelis by the International Criminal Court, a politicized entity whose authority is recognized by neither Israel nor the U.S.

More concerning: The “findings” of the COI “inquiry” will be used to justify the genocidal threats frequently made by the Islamic Republic of Iran, its Lebanese-based proxy, Hezbollah, and of course Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

I could fill this column with examples of such threats, but two should suffice. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has called on Muslims “to remove the Zionist black stain from human society,” adding that there is a religious “justification to kill all the Jews and annihilate Israel, and Iran must take the helm.”

When Nikki Haley was ambassador to the U.N., the Trump administration withdrew from the UNHRC, having concluded that significant reforms were unachievable. The Biden administration returned to that body this month, asserting that it can make a difference through diplomatic engagement. We shall see.

The U.N. campaign will make settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict impossible for the foreseeable future. Why would any Palestinian leader compromise so long as there is a possibility that what happened to the Jews of Europe — defamation followed by extermination, a “final solution” — could happen to the Jews of Israel with the assent of the “international community”?

The U.N. was established following World War II to prevent and resolve conflicts. Today, it promotes antisemitism and enables both terrorists and genocidaires. Acknowledgment of this reality must precede any attempt to change it.

Saying 'never again' is empty in the face of ongoing antisemitism - opinion

We have talked so much about bearing witness, about the importance of never forgetting but what good does that do? For the first time, I begin to understand the words we had heard so many survivors repeat over the years, “every home no matter how welcoming it seems is temporary except for Eretz Israel.”

We had discussed this sentiment at the beginning of our trip and our teacher had told us that we would understand it more deeply at the end of our Poland journey, but I doubt this is what he had in mind.

During that Shabbat as we fill the empty synagogue in Krakow with our prayers and songs, I find myself thinking about another synagogue, now most likely silent. Just another place where Jewish blood has been spilled. I feel as though nothing has changed, my people are still targeted for something I still cannot comprehend.

I think back to all the times I had defended Israel on my high school debate team and in Model UN, and how until this second it had simply been an academic or intellectual challenge to me.

Similar to the words “never again,” at the end of the day nothing more than words – impactful but at the same time suddenly empty. I understand that while merely bearing witness and not letting others forget is important, it isn’t enough. I don’t want to have to say the word “again” ever again. I make a promise to myself to find a way to do more to end this cycle.

Today as I sit here writing this, I am in a very different type of barracks. Our barracks aren’t empty, instead, they are filled with the sounds of good and life and of the Jewish future. I am on my base as I serve in the Israel Defense Forces. It’s 2021. I’m a combat soldier here to defend the Jewish people. I take in my surroundings. This place isn’t barren. It’s alive with hope. We truly are here. We are happy. We are strong. Now when I say the words “never again” I really mean it.

Wanna know how bad @tiktok_us’s algorithm is? I made this video about Holocaust denial and TikTok removed it for “hate speech.”

Yet antisemitic content runs rampant across the platform. #antisemitism pic.twitter.com/2AeSWFbIUB
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? (@emilykschrader) January 12, 2022

Sandra Orman: Saving Lives with Chicken Soup

Sandra Orman was already my friend, someone in the neighborhood who volunteered for things, and did my makeup in local summer stock productions, when I noticed that she had begun advertising chicken soup in our local Efrat email list. The Maryland native wasn’t selling the soup—she was offering it to anyone who needed it for any reason. Sick, lonely, whatever. You didn’t have to explain. If you wanted it, the soup was there.

As this unique free loan initiative took off, Sandra went a bit further and suggested that people contribute to her stores of chicken soup, as the need was greater than even she had suspected. And of course, as in any other nice Jewish community in Israel, the women responded, and sent over containers of chicken soup for Sandra’s freezer. When anyone—including this author—had surgery or illness, there Sandra was, offering help, and of course, some soup.

She didn’t push it on you but offered it with kindness. Accept it or not, that was up to you. But the offer of soup was there.

Being shy about accepting help, I always thanked Sandra and declined, and she was always graceful, and let me know that if I needed anything (even NOT soup), to please let her know. Until one day it happened: I actually needed the soup. Within 15 minutes, Sandra was at my doorstep with a container of chicken soup in hand. (Truth be told, she lives only a block away, but still, not only providing chicken soup, but bringing it door-to-door! It blew me away that she did that. Sandra is just nice.)

It occurred to me that Sandra is doing something worthy of emulation, something revolutionary, even. Why didn’t anyone think of this before?? Why doesn’t every community have a chicken soup gemach [free loan society, V.E.]?

For all I know, there are other such loan funds, offering chicken soup in other Jewish towns and communities. But the idea was, for me, a unique concept, and I itched to write about it. Maybe more women would be persuaded to copy Sandra Orman’s brand of chicken soup kindness? And how best to make that happen? With an interview of course! (After all, that’s why I have this handy-dandy weekly writing space, nu?)

As it turned out, Sandra was happy to share about her life and her mission to provide chicken soup to all in need of a little Jewish penicillin. So get ready to read about a very special lady who is saving lives in a very humble way, armed only with chicken soup and love:

Varda Epstein: Tell us a bit about your family.

Sandra Orman: I made aliyah in 2009 with 3 teenagers and my husband. We came directly from Baltimore to our apartment in Efrat, where we still live, today.

Sandra and Baruch Orman

Varda Epstein: How long have you been in Israel? What made you want to make aliyah?

Sandra Orman: My husband is a toshav chozer [return resident, V.E.]. He made aliyah with his first wife to a garin [core settlement group, V.E.] at Moshav Katif in Gush Katif with about 15-20 other couples. He has always been a Zionist (he says he’s just a Jew) and I followed his dream, which became my dream, as well.

Sandra and Baruch, happy to be home in Israel.

Varda Epstein: How did your family feel about the move?

Sandra Orman: My boys came to Israel the year before we arrived with our daughter. One son, Moshe, went to a mechina (pre-military leadership academy) called LYA in the Golan Heights at Avnei Eitan and Noam moved in with our good friends/family, the Eastmans, and entered the first year of high school at YTA; he was in the first graduating class. Shayna was 13 and she entered an Israeli school in Efrat. She was open to the adventure, but, there were many challenges for her.

We also have two kids (and 8 grandchildren) in the States. They were already married with kids when we made aliyah. One was born here and the other was a baby when Baruch and his ex-wife made aliyah, so they all understand why we are here.

Varda Epstein: How did you come up with the idea to create a chicken soup gemach?

Sandra Orman: I wanted to open a soup kitchen and feed hungry people, but, I saw that Efrat already had its act together. I made a couple pots of soup for a couple of my friends who were sick. One of my friends said I saved her life and I thought, wow, that was an easy act to save someone’s life. I realized then that I would start a chicken soup gemach and save more lives. 😂😂

Varda Epstein: How many women take part in contributing soup?

Sandra Orman: I have about 5-8 participants, with 4 of them steady participants. Sometimes the soup needs a ride somewhere, sometimes I need a full pot because of the situation. I only service Efrat.

Varda Epstein: Do you ever have storage issues? Any plans to invest in a larger freezer?

Sandra Orman: I have a couple of containers in a friend’s freezer, one person makes it fresh and I squeeze a container or two in my freezer. Sometimes I ask other participants to put soup in their freezers.

Varda Epstein: What is it about chicken soup, anyway?

Sandra Orman: Everyone knows chicken soup is Jewish penicillin. It soothes the soul and it has medicinal qualities to it, as well.

Varda Epstein: Do you have any men contributing soup to the gemach? Can you see that happening in the future?

Sandra Orman: I work with only women, but there is one husband who makes soup for his family and the leftovers make their way to the gemach. Men are welcome to contribute.

Varda Epstein: Can you tell us about some of the feedback you’ve received from grateful recipients of chicken soup?

Sandra Orman: I have had the privilege to serve many people over the years in many different situations. One person called me up and told me they weren’t sick, but their family was in a bad situation. When I went there I saw with my own eyes what they were talking about.

A couple of people were having a health situation where they had to eat just broth day after day so we helped them out with their daily supply for a short time before her surgery. One person needed food in general because of a mix-up in cash flow so that was a true tzedaka [charity, V.E.] situation which involved more than just soup for a few meals. There have been several single or widowed men or women. Most people are sick and just need a quick fix until they can get their own pot of soup made.

I usually give out a 2-liter container per customer, sometimes more, depending on their situation. Everyone is grateful and I am grateful to be able to participate in their healing. Everyone deserves a hot bowl of soup when they need it. I even had to use it once when I was sick and out of my personal stash of soup. I also encourage people to give us their names so we can daven [pray, Yiddish, V.E.] for their recovery; some do and some don’t.

Varda Epstein: What’s next for Sandra Orman? Do you plan to expand the chicken soup gemach, or move on to something else?

Sandra Orman: I will continue to maintain my small soup gemach and I encourage others in other yishuvim [settlements, V.E.] to open their own soup gemachim. It takes some effort and coordinating, but it is really worth it. After all, you can save a life. 😘

The Bedouin Occupation (Vic Rosenthal)

Weekly column by Vic Rosenthal

Bedouin citizens of Israel formerly embraced a nomadic lifestyle, drifting between Arabia and the Sinai; but since 1948 many have permanently settled in the southern part of Israel. They established their settlements on any convenient unoccupied land, where they grazed their flocks and planted crops. Israeli authorities have established several towns and even a large city, Rahat, for Bedouin occupation, and in recent years have legalized numerous unrecognized settlements; but many Bedouin still live in the “dispersion,” a collection of hundreds of illegal favelas built on state land that resemble garbage dumps with scattered satellite dishes.

Throughout the years there have been various programs in which the state offered plots of land or homes in or near the recognized towns, along with agricultural land to replace state land on which Bedouins were squatting. Success of these programs was mixed. About 3/4 of the roughly 200,000 Negev Bedouin live in recognized towns.

The Negev Bedouin are virtually all Muslims. The population is significantly younger and is growing faster than either the Jewish or non-Bedouin Arab sectors, with (as of 2009) a fertility rate of 5.7, compared to Jewish and other Arab rates that are close to 3. Some 30% (as of 2002) of married Bedouin men have more than one wife.

Their political loyalties are primarily to their tribe or clan, though they are citizens of the state of Israel. A small number choose (it’s optional for Arabs) to join the IDF. Probably an equally small number of them identify with anti-state groups like Hamas. Those that vote lean towards the Ra’am party of Mansour Abbas (not to be confused with Mohammad Abbas of the PLO), a party whose official ideology is Islamist and associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. But Abbas has adopted a pragmatic approach – i.e., obtaining money and benefits for his constituents – in preference to an ideological one. This, and the deadlock resulting from the fourth successive election in two years, has led to Ra’am becoming the first Arab party to join a governing coalition in Israel.

Apparently the price paid to Ra’am for joining the coalition was astronomical, close to 30 billion shekels (US$9.6 billion) for programs to benefit the Arab sector. One of the promises made to them was that structures in unrecognized Bedouin settlements could be hooked up to the national electrical grid. This past week, the coalition, in one of the most raucous Knesset sessions ever, kept its promise to Mansour Abbas, passing an amendment to the Construction Law (referred to as the “Electricity Law”) permitting connection of illegal structures to electrical and other utility systems.

Normally, a structure built without a permit on land that the builder does not own cannot be connected to the national electrical and water systems. This has been described as “one of the state’s most effective tools against the national epidemic of illegal construction.” There have been exceptions when the state planned to legalize or otherwise regulate the structure, but these have been few. It will now be possible for tens of thousands of homes and other structures built illegally on state land to become permanent. To add insult to injury, an attempt to include “young Jewish communities” in Judea and Samaria to the law was voted down.

The law was passed by the Coalition with a vote of 61-0 after much of the Opposition walked out. Supporters say that it will save lives by eliminating unsafe electrical connections and will result in the Bedouins paying for electricity instead of stealing it. Opponents say that it will formalize the illegal occupation of state land, and permanently eliminate the possibility of relocating squatters. Israel Harel writes,

What’s the big deal? All they did was whitewash the (intolerable) status quo, in which thousands of illegal buildings are connected illegally to utilities, mainly electricity, putting lives in danger. Very humane. But – and it is a big but – in so doing we determine, in both theory and practice, that the piratical construction that extends over hundreds of thousands of acres will become permanent. Let’s recall that the so-called Kaminitz Law [increasing enforcement of building codes - vr] was suspended as a preface to the Electricity Law. Thus, the government put an end to existing plans to help the residents of the “Bedouin dispersion” to move, at almost no cost to them, to planned communities built by the state connected to modern infrastructure.

In 2005, the state of Israel tore Gush Katif from itself. Now, after the Electricity Law, it is ripping away large parts of the Negev too. In the area that extends eastward from Be’er Sheva nearly to Dimona, and southward from Be’er Sheva to the mountains of the central Negev, an independent regime will be established that will operate – and already does operate – according to Bedouin law. The neighboring state, Israel, will pay for this regime, according to the provisions of the most recent national budget.

Recently, there has been a sharp increase in crimes committed by Bedouins in southern Israel: car theft, drug offenses, agricultural theft, theft of weapons and ammunition from IDF bases, the use of firearms, and protection rackets. Women are harassed on the streets. Criminal activity is in the open, policing is ineffective, and judges give light sentences to those arrested, because they fear retaliation. Residents of the area complain of a “wild west” atmosphere; not long ago there was a shootout between gangs in the parking lot of a hospital emergency room.

One of the promises that the government has made, both to Jews and Arabs, was that it would crack down on crime among Arabs. So in November, the police took a stab at cleaning up the Negev, sending 1,200 policemen, with IDF assistance, into the area. They made a total of 12 arrests and confiscated a few makeshift weapons (in fact, the Bedouin are armed to the teeth with stolen military weapons) and some marijuana.

The Bedouin do not accept the idea that there is land which belongs to the state; as far as they are concerned, land belongs to whoever cultivates it. So this week the Jewish National Fund tried to plant trees on state land that Bedouins had decided was theirs. A riot ensued (encouraged by Hamas), in which cars were burned and rocks placed on railroad tracks. The planting continued this morning (Wednesday), but after Ra’am threatened to topple the government, a “compromise” was reached in which the tree-planting was delayed. Israel Harel’s words about “an independent regime” operating according to “Bedouin law” are apparently no exaggeration.

It seems that the Right’s worries about the consequences of including an Islamist party in the coalition were well-founded. Of course, the present coalition, which includes both Ra’am and the left-wing Meretz party, only exists because the Right has split itself over the question of Binyamin Netanyahu. Could we work any harder to defeat ourselves?

Hamas mouthpiece Felesteen has a series of articles on the Palestinian Authority misuse of its funds. The source is biased, but some of the numbers seem to be legitimate.

According to the articles, the public debt owed by the Palestinian Auhority in Ramallah is now at $3.702 billion, a jump of $905 million in just one year, and 53% of its GDP.

They quoted some economists about how the PA steals money from Gaza.

Dr. Osama Nofal blames Gaza's economic woes on the PA, not Israel. He says that the PA will raise cash from international donors to fund Gaza reconstruction but never gives any of the money to Gaza. He said the PA's continued imposition of economic sanctions on Gaza caused a decline in the gross domestic product from 40 to 18%, and an increase in unemployment from 22 to 50%. Accordintg to Nofal, Gaza's share of international aid annually has been slashed from $400 million to $20 million.

Economist Dr. Samir Al-Daqran that the Ministry of Finance in Ramallah seizes the taxes of major companies operating in the Gaza Strip, saying ti gets $60 million a month from taxes imposed on goods that go through Kerem Shalom but none of it makes it back to Gaza.

The economists didn't mention the money coming from Iran to Gaza.

There was one good piece of information: the articles confirmed that the PA has curtailed "pay for slay" a little bit. They reduced or stopped paying Hamas "martyr" families in Gaza, which apparently has a large effect on the Gaza economy.

01/12 Links Pt1: Crushing Palestinian hopes of destroying Israel should be our only strategy; Shin Bet thwarted Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis as spies

From Ian:

Crushing Palestinian hopes of destroying Israel should be our only strategy

This might make some sense for the short term, but clearly it’s not going to dissuade or deter violent Palestinian rejectionist and terrorist groups. Each time that Israel climbs down from its tree, they believe that they’re facing a paper tiger and have renewed hope for ultimate victory.

This sadly brings to mind what Winston Churchill famously and presciently said to Neville Chamberlain after the latter thought that he had made a deal to stave off war with Hitler and the Nazis in 1938: “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.”

Israel has many choices and options in its relations with the Palestinians. The history of these relations over the last three decades has amply demonstrated that seeking agreements, offering compromises or trying to stave off conflict merely feeds the beast of violent Palestinian rejectionism.

It is time for a different strategy—one that involves pushing back against Palestinian demands and threats. Every opportunity should be utilized to express to the Palestinians that their rejectionism will be defeated, and that Israel will ultimately emerge victorious.

As things stand at the moment, however, the Palestinians harbor hopes of victory. These must be crushed.

Doing this doesn’t necessarily require a single major maneuver or activity, but it does mean looking at each and every interaction to ascertain whether it further fuels Palestinian hopes of victory and an end to Jewish sovereignty, or Israeli victory and an end to the conflict.

David Singer: Israel must negotiate with Jordan, not with anti-peace Mahmoud Abbas

The map Abbas brandished (pictured below) was a phony map of “Historic Palestine” – dating from 1947 - not 1920. "Palestine" historically, referred to a region peopled by Jews and others and is the name the Romans called the area known up to then as Judea.

- Article 2 of the PLO Charter recognizes that Palestine between 1920 and 1946 included what is today called Jordan - 78% of the territory of Palestine under the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine:

- “Palestine, with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate, is an indivisible territorial unit.”

- Jordan was granted independence by Great Britain in 1946 - terminating its Mandate in the remaining 22% of Palestine in 1948.

- The PLO never claimed sovereignty in Judea/Samaria '(West Bank') or Gaza on its establishment in 1964 – article 24 of its founding Charter declaring:
"This Organization does not exercise any regional sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or the Himmah Area. Its activities will be on the national popular level in the liberational, organizational, political and financial fields."

Jordan occupied Judea/Samaria between 1948 and 1967.

Jordan’s history certainly qualifies it to replace the PLO as Israel’s negotiating partner to implement Trump’s Plan.

Abdullah stressed to Gantz the: “importance of maintaining calm in the Palestinian Territories and taking all measures to create the horizon needed to achieve just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution”

Jordan - stepping into the negotiating void created by Abbas’s continuing rejection of Trump’s Plan – would become a major driver in maintaining that calm.

Israel-Jordan negotiations to redraw their currently-agreed existing international border - using Trump’s Plan - could result in the following two-state solution first contemplated by the 1922 Mandate for Palestine:

Israel acquiring sovereignty in about 30% of Judea/Samaria ('West Bank').

Jordan acquiring sovereignty in about 70% of Judea/Samaria ('West Bank'), all of Gaza and parts of Israel’s existing sovereign territory.

No Arab or Jewish residents being forced to move from their current homes or business locations.

Trump’s Plan has now become the definitive blueprint for resolving the 100-years old Arab-Jewish conflict in former Palestine.

Jordan's deputy prime minister is doing the Washington rounds this week. The darker parts of the Jordan/US story mysteriously get no coverage in the US media. Via this thread, we try to shine some light: https://t.co/ibBUGgirdp
— This Ongoing War (@ThisOngoingWar) January 11, 2022

This article in Jordan's Ammon News by Dr. Monther al-Hiwarat betrays an interesting fatalism about how Israel won over the Western world, bea the Arab world militarily and now is infiltrating the Arab world psychologically.

Arab media rarely betrays insecurity in English, and even in Arabic articles like this are rare because it is a source of shame.

It is not surprising that the United States and Western countries support Israel, as convictions there were established over centuries by the common root of religious texts.The biblical narrative that completely erased the history of Palestine to put the Jewish history in its place is present in the primary school and secondary school through the Jewish teachers, and we do not forget the huge number of academics, writers, historians and philosophers who filled the American and European world length and breadth, and they created the public mentality there in accordance with the Israeli vision. This led to the formation of this sympathetic and supportive position without borders with the occupying state.

This is with regard to the West and the United States. What could the matter be with the Arabs? The occupying state succeeded, during its first years of inception, in perpetuating their conviction that it is a war state and an indomitable power. Arab defeats rolled in front of it, so it implanted in the depths of Arab minds a sense of helplessness, and this logic became the norm for them. Therefore, the desire grew among many Arab countries that they did not want their relations to remain hostage to the Palestinian cause, and this is what Israel nurtured and began to push these countries towards and invested in it in support American administrations, especially the administration of Donald Trump, which pushed many of those countries to establish relations with the occupying power, and this was what happened.

Israel did not want to keep its relations captive to the official Arab system, but rather worked through its soft tools to lure Arab citizens to it, and the means it has are many. Through high technology, it entered into joint projects with companies, citizens and countries, and in the field of smart agriculture, informal education, water management and development. Of course, the goal here is to establish an interactive relationship between ordinary people and the occupying state. It undertakes a systematic process of dazzling their emotions and minds with its development and superior technologies, and with repeated visits. The idea that Israel is an enemy occupying the land of the Arabs was replaced with the the idea of a developed Israel and implanted in Arab minds that it is a normal state. With the repetition of experiences and their transmission among people, the number of believers in the Palestinian cause and their supporters decreases, and here it moves from the idea of hegemony by military force to hegemony by knowledge.and technical means.

Thus, the Palestinian will have to pay the price again and again because of the superior ability of his enemy to engineer history and the future in a way that serves his interests in a careful and calculated manner, which depends in large part on investing the weakness of the other side, its weakness, its lack of confidence in itself, and its unjustified surrender to global projects and conspiracies.The Palestinian losses continue, even from the closest people to him. Thus, Israel defeated us civilly twice, once by war and once by other means, and each time it defeated us with our weakness.

The Abraham Accords has created a huge despair among people who pretended to be allies of Palestinians.

And yet, I have still to see an article that recommends that Palestinians accept that they will not achieve their maximalist goals and try to compromise for once. The reason is simple: the goal was never to help Palestinians gain a state but to use them as a means to destroy the Jewish state. And since no one cares about the Palestinians, they prefer to keep them stateless rather than find a real solution.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which recently defended one of its officials who labeled virtually every organized synagogue in America "enemies," just issued a report on "Islamophobia in the mainstream."

The main point of the report is identifying "26 Islamophobia Network groups (that) spread misinformation and conspiracy theories about Muslims and Islam."

The members of this supposed "Islamophobia network" include Americans for Peace and Tolerance, CAMERA, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Gatestone Institute, Investigative Project on Terrorism, Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) and The Lawfare Project.

The idea that this is an "Islamophobia Network" is insane.

But then they go into actual antisemitism. They identify some of the funders of these supposedly Islamophobic groups, and - surprise, surprise - they find Jews!

The Adelson Family Foundation, Arie and Ida Crown Memorial, Combined Jewish Philanthropies

of Greater Boston, Hochberg Family Foundation, Irving I Moskowitz Foundation, Jewish Communal

Fund, Jewish Community Federation of SF, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Fed. Council of Greater L.A., Kovner Foundation, Mirowski Family Foundation, Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation, and the The Jewish Community Foundation, plus others. All major Jewish charities or charities that give heavily to Jewish causes are..."Funders of Anti-Muslim Bigotry!"

Those irresponsible, bigoted Jews!

CAIR defines Islamophobia as "closed-minded prejudice against or hatred of Islam and Muslims." So it should be simple for them to identify how, exactly, these organizations are Islamophobic, right?

Not one of the organizations I am familiar with fits their own definition of Islamophobic.

Here's how they describe CAMERA, the watchdog organization that points out anti-Israel bias in the news media: "This organization serves as a lobbying and media-monitoring group that spreads misinformation pertaining to Muslim Americans. Its overall mission is to undermine the credibility of Muslim American individuals and organizations. "

Good to know that CAIR knows CAMERA's mission better than CAMERA does!

They say the Foundation for Defense of Democracies is a "neoconservative lobbying group [that] encourages the Islamophobic “war on terror” narrative and policies." They say the phrase "war on terror" is Islamophobic. George W. Bush, who coined the term, must be an Islamophobe too.

Gatestone Institute is "an anti-Muslim hate group."

Investigative Project on Terrorism is a "hate group."

The Middle East Forum is "an anti-Muslim policy center that produces and perpetuates hate speech, propaganda, and misinformation."

The Lawfare Project is an "anti-Muslim hate group."

In none of these cases can they find evidence that supports their definition of Islamophobia. In a couple of cases they dig up old contextless quotes from members of these organizations that they claim are Islamophobic, but even those do not fit their own definition.

Their description of MEMRI is particularly absurd: "MEMRI is a pseudo-research organization that carefully selects and purposefully inaccurately translates news from Muslim-majority organizations to

provide justification for anti-Muslim propaganda. The organization’s translations have been widely criticized for inaccuracy and inflammatory representation. "

MEMRI's translations are accurate, full stop. I couldn't find a single criticism of the thousands of MEMRI translations that is less than ten years old. This academic paper criticizing MEMRI from a native Arabic speaker at a UAE university admits MEMRI's "accurate translations on a linguistic level."

The only thing these organizations have in common is that they do not support CAIR's antisemitism and its historic support for terror groups. That is CAIR's real definition of "Islamophobia."

The ADL - which somehow is not on CAIR's list - describes the organization and its founders:

Some of CAIR’s current leadership had early connections with organizations that are or were affiliated with Hamas. Hamas is designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the United States and is also viewed by the EU as a global terrorist organization.

In addition, some of CAIR’s leadership have used inflammatory anti-Zionist rhetoric that on a number of occasions has veered into antisemitic tropes related to Jewish influence over the media or political affairs.

Key CAIR leaders have frequently expressed vociferous opposition to Israel and Zionism, claiming at times that Zionism and Zionists are fundamentally racist. (See below: Key CAIR Staff on Israel and Zionism).

Antipathy towards Israel has been a CAIR staple since the group was founded in 1994 by several leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a now defunct organization that was once described by the U.S. government as part of “Hamas’ propaganda apparatus.” Nihad Awad, who was IAP’s Public Relations Director, became CAIR’s first Executive Director, a position he retains today. IAP was active in the U.S. from 1981 until about 2004, and categorically rejected a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, writing in a December 1989 communique: “The only way to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine, is the path of Jihad…Hamas is the conscience of the Palestinian Mujahid people.” In 1987, immediately following the establishment of Hamas, IAP began to print and distribute Hamas literature, including Hamas communiqués and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

In response to CAIR’s involvement with the Holy Land Foundation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation distanced itself from the organization. In the past, the FBI had interacted with CAIR representatives regarding community outreach activities, civil rights complaints and criminal investigations. However, in 2008, the FBI issued an instruction to its field offices that they should sharply curtail “non-investigative interactions” with CAIR.This instruction was elucidated in an April 2009 letter to the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, in which the FBI explained that it would cease to liaise with CAIR “until [they] resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and Hamas.” To our knowledge as of this writing, the FBI has not retracted this protocol.

CAIR has supported and advocated for Rasmea Odeh, who was convicted by an Israeli court in 1970 for her role in a 1969 bombing of a supermarket that killed two Israeli students, and who was later released as part of a prisoner exchange.

Israel-haters love to say that Zionists falsely accuse critics of Israel of antisemitism. As usual, this is projection. This report proves conclusively that CAIR falsely accuses critics of Islamic terrorist organizations of being "Islamophobic."

Two years after he left the White House, Teddy Roosevelt spoke at a New York dinner for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The New York Times, January 19, 1911, covered his speech.

Col. Roosevelt. said with particular emphasis that he believed that a few hundred years from now the Americans would look back with amusement at the "reluctance which one set of their ancestors had manifested at mingling with another set of their ancestors."

" I became acquainted with the east side, the greater part of the population of which is Jews, when I was Police Commissioner," Mr. Roosevelt said. " I earnestly wish that every American, for his can sake, could have the same experience. It taught me that the differences that seem to keep asunder the different peoples of this city are due to ignorance and misapprehension more than to any other cause. If we can only grow to sympathize with one another, we will quickly see that the things that divide us are superficial and the things that unite us are fundamental." The Colonel's remarks were cheered with enthusiasm....

All the diners sprang up from their tables and cheered when Mr. Roosevelt rose to speak. Mr. Roosevelt said: "I come here to-night to speak to you a few words of greeting, and to speak to you as fellow Americans.

"I don't feel that in acting as I always have to my fellow Americans of Jewish faith I deserved any praise. I would have deserved blame if I hadn't always treated them the way I have. I've met good Jews and bad Jews. good Christians and bad Christians. Whenever I have met a good man I have always tried to stand by him. Whenever I have met a bad man I've always cinched him. In both cases it would have been waste of time to have asked me to alter my course.

"I have been thrown much with my fellow citizens of the Jewish faith. When I worked with them I didn't know and didn't ask their faith. As I once said to a former member of my Cabinet--Straus, here - 'One of my favorite books is the Book of Maccabees.' White I wish most earnestly to do all I can to bring about the reign of peace, and wish the United States to do this, too, I wish to one peace with justice, and not weakness or timidity. I don't want to see the spirit of the Maccabees to die out.

"In my regiment at Santiago, after one of the fights, I promoted some men for gallantry. I knew nothing about them. Two I found out after were Catholics, two were Protestants. and one was a Jew."

One of the diners let out a shrill whoop, and Col. Roosevelt raised a laugh by exclaiming, "That's a real Rough Rider cry!"

"I didn't know or care what their religious faith was, all I wanted to know was whether, in a crisis, they'd 'stay put,' " Mr. Roosevelt went on when the laugh subsided, "Mr. Schiff probably remembers my visiting the Montefiore Home two years ago and meeting a member of my old regiment. That man was a Jew. He had been wounded in the first day's fighting at Santiago. I had sent him to the hospital. A few days later a rumor went out that we were going to assault the enemy's line, next morning. That Jewish soldier of mine left the hospital and came back to fight under me. I think he acted in an unconstitutional manner. You can imagine how that shocked me.

"When I was Police Commissioner I wanted the right kind of men on the force, but I never asked their religious faith. An English clergyman came over here to start an anti-semitic crusade. Some Jews asked me to stop his meetings. I refused because I am against stopping anyone from pitching into anyone else. Soon after, the clergy-man himself came to me and asked me to protect his anti-semitic meetings from interruptions by Jews. I sent thirty Jew policemen to protect him.

"In making the future American to be the highest possible type, it is our duty to accentuate the good qualities of each race and to reward each individual according to the high quality of citizenship he shows, no matter what his race is..

"There are countries where patriotism is shown by persecution. It takes the form of terrible outrages by Christians on Jews or by non-Christians on Christians. But this is an infamous form of patriotism and it is a source of degradation to the nation that does the wrong. No nation nowadays can rise by trampling down another. The motto on which we act here is 'All men up.' It is a much safer motto than 'Some men down.'

" Mr. Schiff alluded to my having Straus in my Cabinet. You'd have had to bring strong pressure to bear on me to keep him out. Perhaps I shouldn't compromise him by saying so. but he has always been a strong friend of mine. I must ask Mr. Schiff not to make this public in Wall Street, however. I'd have put Straus in my Cabinet anyway.

"But it was an additional pleasure to have him there because he was a Jew. The one prime lesson which should be taught to every man in this country is that if he acts like a good citizen the highest rewards are open to him.

"It has always seemed to me that the Jewish race possesses two qualities inherent in the old native American. The Jew is eminently practical, and .at the same time he is an idealist. But although both the Jews and the native Americans,have both these qualities in common, this mustn't keep them in separate compartments. The one quality I don't want to see developed in this Nation is the quality which applauds the loftiest sentiments provided they don't have to be lived up to.

" There is just one matter in which 1 want to see each race which composes this Nation show a separate identity. When I deal with a crook, I don't care whether he is a Republican crook or a Democratic crook. But I will always tend to hit the Republican crook a little harder because I feel a little responsible for him. It is the duty for all Americans to protest against dishonest public servants. But when a public servant of one nationality is dishonest his fellow-members in that race should especially punish him."

...Mr. Roosevelt concluded by saying that he was "only radical in trying to apply old moralities to new conditions."

" I believe in using any expedient the new condition warrants," he said. "I preach the old fundamental verities. My critics say I preach platitudes. The Decalogue is platitudinous—in theory. but not in practice. While we in this country need intellectual development, we need character more."

The episode that he mentioned with the antisemite was described in Tablet magazine in 2009, reproduced in The Atlantic, with another quote about the incident from Roosevelt:

"While I was Police Commissioner an anti-Semitic preacher from Berlin, Rector Ahlwardt, came over to New York to preach a crusade against the Jews. Many of the New York Jews were much excited and asked me to prevent him from speaking and not to give him police protection. This, I told them, was impossible; and if possible would have been undesirable because it would have made him a martyr. The proper thing to do was to make him ridiculous. Accordingly I detailed for his protection a Jew sergeant and a score or two of Jew policemen. He made his harangue against the Jews under the active protection of some forty policemen, everyone of them a Jew! It was the most effective possible answer; and incidentally it was an object-lesson to our people, whose greatest need it is to learn that there must be no division by class hatred, whether this hatred be that of creed against creed, nationality against nationality, section against section, or men of one social or industrial condition against men of another social and industrial condition. . . . "

01/11 Links Pt2: It's time for the UN to battle Holocaust denial; Palestine Deep Dive exemplifies the fantasy world of many on the left; Politics and combating anti-Semitism don’t mix

From Ian:

Emily Schrader: It's time for the UN to battle Holocaust denial - opinion

That’s where this resolution steps in. Ambassador Erdan’s resolution, supported by Israel and Germany, focuses on establishing an international consensus of Holocaust denial antisemitism based on the IHRA definition and calls on UNGA member states to take action against online Holocaust denial in their countries.

The IHRA definition is critical to Holocaust denial because it addresses the classical forms of antisemitism as they relate to the Holocaust, it acknowledges modern antisemitism, and how Holocaust distortion and denial has morphed into a new form of malicious hate under the guise of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist activities.

If you don’t see the connection, look at recent events. The Jewish community around the world is sounding the alarm, but the public isn’t learning the lessons of the past. In the aftermath of the Gaza war in May 2021, Jews in the diaspora were harassed, beaten in the streets, cursed at, spat on and threatened – with 60% of American Jews reporting they experienced some form of antisemitism during the operations in Israel.

Where does such vitriolic hatred against Jews come from? In part, the hatred comes from ignorance. In the United States, 63% of millennials and Gen Z don’t know that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, one in ten have never heard of it and 3% deny it occurred altogether. Sadly, it’s not just the US. One in twenty Europeans have never heard of the Holocaust, a third of them believe Jews use the Holocaust to advance their own goals and many believe that commemorating the Holocaust distracts from other atrocities today. In the Arab world, Holocaust denial and distortion is the norm, though trends are changing with the Abraham Accords.

While it’s true that Holocaust denial is already illegal in some countries, it’s time for an international consensus and a cohesive, multi-layered approach to dealing with one of the biggest challenges in Holocaust education today: Online antisemitism.

The UN must take a stand on this issue for the sake of the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and for the sake of humanity. Only by remembering the past can we ensure history doesn’t repeat itself, for anyone.

Palestine Deep Dive exemplifies the fantasy world of many on the left

Investigating the online media platform Palestine Deep Dive, of which Labour MP Grahame Morris is a director, I was confronted with a fantasy world. A world where the Jewish state was responsible for another Holocaust, for spreading coronavirus and even for “weaponising time”. A world where accusations of antisemitism could be a "smear campaign", or originate from the Israeli government.

To reduce Palestinian issues to the imagined crimes of Israel alone nullifies their relationship with the real world. A recent study showed that the vast majority of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza hold their own leaders responsible for their situation. But despite having so many “voices” and so much content, this “deep dive” of Palestinian issues shows interest in little other than Israel's perceived role.

How could this self-styled "bold new platform" be so out of touch?

Perceiving the world around you through a singular, warped lens is an ideology and this particular one is called “antizionism”. Just as myths demonising Jews are not rooted in reality, antizionism fights against a mythical, distorted version of the Jewish state.

Since the Holocaust and founding of Israel, the Jewish Question - what to do about the status of Jews - is being reintroduced as the more socially acceptable package of antizionism, by denying the links to its ideological predecessor.

The rolling back of Jewish liberation is not up for discussion at individual or state level, and it shames the left that some are framing this as legitimate debate.

In 1975, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn told this story about Angela Davis, who, during a tour of the Soviet Union, said that Soviet dissidents "deserve what they get" and should "remain in prison." Solzhenitsyn called this cold-blooded cruelty "the heart of communism." pic.twitter.com/u1tSXUjPzi
— Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) January 10, 2022

New arts minister says Sydney Festival boycott is ‘censorship’

The state’s (New South Wales) new arts minister Ben Franklin has criticised the Sydney Festival boycott now affecting dozens of events, saying it risks silencing diverse voices and important perspectives at “great detriment” to society and artists struggling through the pandemic.

After joining the standing ovation for Decadance, the work controversially sponsored by the Israeli embassy, the minister posted on social media that he had significant concerns “about trying to shut down specific creative voices simply on account of their nationality”.

“Imposing censorship of this kind risks silencing important messages from a broad range of perspectives.”

A total of 27 events have now been withdrawn from the festival since the boycott was announced in November, according to boycott organisers. Ten artists have pulled out of events that are still proceeding and more withdrawals are expected.

The Houthis suffer major setbacks in Yemen

The Yemen war has been going on for so long, and it has been a long time since we heard anything besides Iranian-backed Houthi victories. So this is welcome:

Forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government have reclaimed the entire southern province of Shabwa from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, officials said Tuesday. The development is a blow to the rebels after government forces earlier this month made significant advances in the country's south.

The government, aided by allies from a pro-government militia, the Giants Brigades, and airstrikes from the Saudi-led coalition, pushed through Shabwa this month, retaking the entire province in a 10-day battle, officials said.

Military spokesman, Mohammed al-Naqib, said they have achieved "all targets" and pushed the Houthis out of the districts of Ain, Usailan and Bayhan.

Gov. Awad al-Awlaki also announced the "liberation of Shabwa," thanking Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which fund the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis, but two rebel leaders acknowledged to The Associated Press that they lost control of Shabwa. The rebels fled to nearby central provinces of Bayda and Marib, said the two, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Taking Shabwa would enable government forces to cut major supply lines for the Houthis, who have been attacking the key city of Marib, the last government stronghold in northern Yemen, since early last year. The rebels have repeatedly pushed back against U.N. and U.S. diplomatic efforts to halt the Marib offensive, as well as rebel missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Iran and their terrorist clients keep saying Israel will not survive. Here's why that's good news.

From Iran's ABNA news agency:

Head of Hamas’s political bureau Ismail Haneyya has affirmed that “the Zionist enemy has no future on the Palestinian land” and that “Palestine will remain alive in the conscience of the [Palestinian] people and the Arab and Muslim nations.”

Haneyya said in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV on Sunday evening that "there is no way other than the return of the Palestinians to their homeland and the villages from which they were expelled."

Iranian and Arab media have stories like this all the time. The most popular version is Iran's countdown clock for Israel's destruction, which is supposed to happen around 2040.

Who is their audience?

It isn't like Israelis are biting their nails and hiding in bomb shelters every time some terrorist says Israel is going to be destroyed.

The audience is clearly the Arab and Muslim world. And the underlying message is one that is quite positive for Israel!

As with everything else in the Middle East, one needs to look at this through the lens of the honor/shame culture. In this case, there is also the "strong horse" element.

Israel is strong. It is a regional superpower. It is officially at peace with a number of Muslim-majority and Arab countries, and has a tacit peace with many others.

Iran and Hamas and the others want the Muslim and Arab world to stop being friendly with Israel, so they are trying to convince them that relations with Israel is a losing proposition - and when Israel fails, they won't have any friends in the Muslim world. They want the Muslim world to think of Israel as weak, so they do not want to ally with the region's "strong horse."

The stream of articles forecasting Israel's imminent demise are a desperate attempt to convince Muslims not to believe their own eyes. They want to put doubt in nations that might be considering opening relations with Israel.

Every time Iran or terror supporters predict Israel's destruction, it shows that they are losing.

01/11 Links Pt1: The US is on the sidelines of a historic transformation in the Middle East; The general who coined the Abraham Accords; Israeli to play in Moroccan basketball league

From Ian:

The US is on the sidelines of a historic transformation in the Middle East

The Biden administration initially, while paying lip service to the Abraham Accords, made it clear that it had no interest in furthering the political integration of the Middle East — instead, focusing on seeking a renewed Iran nuclear deal. The administration’s rhetoric on the accords has improved lately, but the palpable momentum from a year ago has been lost.

Yet the Middle East is moving on with or without us. As Bennet’s visit to the UAE highlighted, the Abraham Accords are alive and well, and could not have come together at a better time. The Abraham Accords opened a flood of investment, with bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE increasing ten-fold to $874.5 million in just the first ten months of 2021. Dozens of memoranda of understanding have been signed, negotiations over a free trade agreement have begun, and the Emirati Minister of Economy has predicted a staggering $1 trillion in trade between the two countries within the next decade. Commercial flights now crisscross the skies between Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Manama and Marrakesh.

This economic integration has now extended to Jordan, an earlier beneficiary of a peace treaty with Israel, with the signing in November of a trilateral water and energy deal. The UAE will build a solar power plant in Jordan to export energy to Israel for $180 million a year, and in return, Israel will send 200 million cubic meters of water to Jordan. Israel is thereby able to further its clean energy goals while applying its expertise in desalination to help address Jordan’s looming water crisis. The unsettled resolution of a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians continues to complicate relations between Israel and Jordan, but warming regional ties have allowed the two neighbors to seize a win-win opportunity to address existential water and economic challenges.

Nor are the benefits of the accords merely economic. In November the United States, Israel, Bahrain and the UAE conducted a joint naval exercise for the first time, in the Red Sea. That same month Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz flew to Morocco to sign an agreement laying the foundation for security cooperation, intelligence sharing and arms sales. This agreement builds on a cultural affinity between Israel and Morocco that long predated the Abraham Accords: Morocco has long boasted a tolerant attitude toward its historical Jewish population, and today some half a million Israelis claim Moroccan descent.

Even outside of the Abraham Accords there are remarkable political developments taking place. In another diplomatic breakthrough of the Trump administration that went almost entirely unnoticed, the rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors was resolved on January 4, 2021. This years-long rupture had debilitated the Gulf states in addressing multiple regional challenges, from Libya to Iran, and its healing has allowed Qatar to play the mediator in yet another diplomatic spat: that between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The general who coined the Abraham Accords

How a two-star U.S. general from Puerto Rico earned the trust of the Emiratis to later help broker the Abraham Accords — and name it too

Despite criticism from some lawmakers and policy experts on the left that the normalization agreements are inherently flawed because they do not include the Palestinians, Correa asserts that the Palestinians are actually at the heart of the peace deals, even if they are not signatories to them. The Accords, according to Correa, were created as a way to pressure the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table with Israel.

“I didn’t fall, like, madly in love with the Abraham Accords. It’s not perfect,” Correa acknowledged. “But we’re better off today, because now at least the Arabs — some of the Arabs — understand the Israelis better, and Israelis understand the Arabs better. And the plan was that if we get everybody around [the Palestinians] to recognize the nation of Israel, then where does that leave the Palestinians? They’ll have to come, because they’re on an island.”

Following his retirement from the army last October, Correa is once again working for Kushner, this time in the private sector. He is a senior partner at Affinity Partners, a new investment firm helmed by Kushner that has brought in $3 billion in international investments following fundraising pitches to Middle East sovereign wealth funds. Kushner hopes to establish “an investment corridor between Israel and Saudi Arabia, by working with Israeli and Gulf companies and investors,” according to Reuters.

Correa remains a frequent visitor to the UAE, where he is greeted with a proverbial red carpet. Coates, who traveled with Correa in August of 2020 during his first visit back to the country after his 2019 dismissal, said, “the only problem he had is that he only had 24 hours in the day, and he had about 40 hours of people wanting to see him.”

Last month Correa spent two weeks in the country, where he attended a number of high-profile events, including a VIP celebration in the desert of the 50th anniversary of the UAE’s statehood, the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and the World Expo in Dubai.

“He spends more time in the desert camping, falconing, taking camels out than I do, than most Emiratis do. He appreciates the culture. And our people appreciate that about him,” Otaiba gushed.

Correa knows his story is one that could only happen in America. A Puerto Rican kid who grows up in Kuwait, travels the globe as a two-star general in the U.S. Army, helps ink a major peace deal, then starts working on a new private sector startup? “It’s the American dream,” said Correa. “How many people from Puerto Rico ever get a chance to negotiate three peace deals?”

His only regret is that his father — the man who taught him the values that he would bring to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. — did not live long enough to see him become a U.S. Army general.

Normalization is the new normal for the UAE and Israel

The UAE and Israel share many of the same concerns about Iran and many of the same commitments and strategies — but not all. They are separate countries with differing interests and differing priorities. They don’t need to have identical interests and policies on Iran for a deepening of ties, just as they did not need normalization to cooperate on the Iranian threat.

In effect, the UAE faces the same dilemma that South Korea does regarding the nuclear weapons of its northern neighbor. Seoul, a densely populated city with an extremely advanced and developed economy, is within the range of North Korean missiles and fears that, in case of war over the North’s nukes, the South’s capital might suffer if missiles start flying.

Iran’s situation is slightly different. Tehran is unlikely to hit the UAE, or any of its neighbors, unprovoked. Unless the fighter jets that strike Iran take off from the UAE, Tehran will not drag its southern Gulf neighbor into a war.

Just like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, the UAE would most likely be rooting for Israel in private and offering intelligence and other discreet logistical support if war was to break out between the Jewish state and Iran. Yet Gulf states remain cognizant of their Achilles heels — geographic proximity to Iran.

While security must have been one of the top priorities in the budding partnership between the UAE and Israel, it certainly has not been the only one. If and when the Iranian threat has been dealt with, peace between the two countries will prove to be durable, while economic cooperation will continue to fuel their strong relationship.

This expanding partnership, and even apparent disagreements on security, should be seen as reassuring. The UAE and Israel are two countries in the region with mostly overlapping security interests, but some notable differences. They are both wealthy, developed economies but radically different in their comparative advantages. They can cooperate in some fields to mutual benefit, compete in others, agree discreetly on some issues, and disagree politely on others.

A year on from the initial agreement, and despite all the sour grapes from critics and cynics, normalization seems to be, well, the new normal.