Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Not Russia. Not Iran. Ilhan Omar only supports sanctions against - Israel.

Representative Ilhan Omar issued a statement earlier this month where she said she was against sanctioning Russia over its aggressive moves towards Ukraine in a proposed Ukraine defense bill:

The proposed legislative solution to this crisis, escalates the conflict without deterring it effectively. With a very soft trigger, it vaults Ukraine overnight into the third highest recipient of U.S. security assistance and weapons sales in the world. The consequences of flooding Ukraine with half a billion dollars in American weapons, likely not limited to just military-specific equipment but also including small arms and ammo, are unpredictable and likely disastrous. It also threatens unbelievably broad and draconian sanctions that will utterly devastate the Russian economy, likely doing very little to deter Putin’s aggression while causing immense suffering among ordinary Russian civilians who did not choose this.

When Turkey invaded Syria, she was against sanctions then as well, and included sanctions against Iran and Venezuela in her denunciation:

In the White House announcement on Oct. 14 of sanctions on Turkey, Trump said, “I am fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey’s economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path.”
This is an unmistakable echo of the failed U.S. strategy of “maximum pressure” on Iran and Venezuela. And just as with those two countries, it would be a humanitarian and geopolitical disaster.

Her Foreign Policy page shows that she is against sanctions as a general rule:

I am pushing to end the use of sanctions and embargoes as a means of punishment and control, and instead focus instead on diplomatic solutions with a long-term strategic vision.

Sounds like a principled, consistent position, right?

Except that Omar supports the BDS movement and even planned to introduce a pro-BDS bill in Congress.

And the "S" of BDS stands for "Sanctions."

It seems that she is against sanctions for the worst human rights violators in the world, the states that invade other countries, the ones who treat their own citizens with contempt. But the only state she supports sanctions for is the only one that has a majority Jewish population.

Hmmm.

(h/t iTi)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

02/27 Links: International law was supposed to protect Ukraine — it failed; What Israel Must Learn From Ukraine’s War; Israel helped Lebanese, Syrian citizens reach Ukraine border

From Ian:

Seth Frantzman: International law was supposed to protect Ukraine — it failed

The lessons of appeasement led to democracies being more forthright in their demands that countries adhere to these norms. The Cold War, however, brought with a litany of new abuses and because the world was divided it was hard for countries to agree on international norms and enforcement. The concepts laid down by US President George H.W Bush during the Gulf war were designed to resurrect the rules-based international order.

Although this international order has not been ideal, there have been attempts to make it work. That means the US intervened in the Balkans in the 1990s to stop ethnic cleansing. The US stumbled during the global war on terror, but the pretense of international law remained. In fact it is Russia that has often voices support for these norms in places like Syria, demanding the US leave Syria and claiming that it is Russia that stands by international norms, like soviergnn states and such concepts.

Now Russia has torn up that rule book in an unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Russia didn’t set any kind of ultimatum or red line before the attack. The excuse that Russia was concerned about NATO expansion holds no water, because Russia didn’t even try diplomacy with Ukraine. Russia simply started bombing without any warning or pretense of why it was launch an attack.

This shows that Russia didn’t feel a need to justify this attack. It didn’t distribute talking points before the war to its media and embassies. It didn’t even bother to try to explain the conflict. It doesn’t have regular press updates. This is because Russia knows it was violated international norms.

The problem for Ukraine was that these norms were supposed to protect Ukrainians. The western countries that talk tough on sanctions and US vows about “unprecedented” sanctions still continue to ring hollow. This is because the unprecedented actions are not yet being fully taken. The US especially seems keen to continue to work with Russia on energy issues and the Iran deal. That means this war casts shadows over enforcement of any issues relating to Iran. The story of “snap back” sanctions on Iran was largely a myth. Iran can keep on enriching uranium and nothing will be done.

Unfortunately for Ukraine the same letdown of relying on western democracies had led to war today, much as it did in the 1930s. Whether or not the west can step up and give Russia some real repercussions will be a key to seeing if this attack on Ukraine has a result that sends a message to others not to try the same thing.

Gerald Steinberg: What Israel Must Learn From Ukraine’s War

The first lesson to be learned (or relearned) from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is that the absence of deterrence can be fatal for any nation. The bravery and determination displayed by the leaders and citizens of Ukraine are impressive, but have not prevented Putin’s onslaught. In the West — mainly the United States and NATO — good intentions and strong words of support notwithstanding, the lack of a credible deterrent to dissuade Putin was clearly evident, including to the Kremlin.

Deterrence of a powerful and determined opponent is inherently complex and uncertain. During the Cold War, strategists agonized over the best means of preventing Moscow from challenging and weakening American power and the NATO alliance, including MAD — mutual assured destruction. But when the Soviet state collapsed, and the end of history was declared, deterrence was largely forgotten, allowing Putin to build up his forces without interference. By the time the United States and NATO woke up to the threat, Russia had full control.

For Israel, the events in Ukraine are an important reality check. Israelis recognize that no outside power, not even the United States, can be relied on to guarantee survival in the face of a powerful threat. In 1948, after defeating the combined Arab attack at great cost, David Ben-Gurion understood the need for the tiny Jewish state to be capable of defending itself against future threats, as was demonstrated in 1967. Later, having America as an ally added to Israel’s security, but did not replace the centrality of self-reliance.

As a result, for 74 years, Ben-Gurion, his successors and Israel’s security establishment have continued to prioritize strategic deterrence. The best means of preventing an attack is by convincing enemies that the response will be swift and intolerable, and that in threatening Israel’s survival, their own existence would be at stake.

However, in recent years, lapses in deterrence have been cause for concern and require strengthening and reinforcement. Specifically, in the face of ongoing threats from the Iranian regime and its proxies, and against Hamas in Gaza, Israeli responses fall short. Against threats to wipe “the Zionist entity” off the map, a series of pinpoint and anonymous attacks attributed to the Mossad have not stopped Tehran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. And in Lebanon, under the eyes of the United Nations and the so-called international community, Hezbollah acquired and deployed tens of thousands of rockets and missiles stored in civilian areas, and aimed at the Israeli population. This force is the forward arm of the Iranian threat.

Michael Oren: Israel navigating perilous diplomatic terrain in Ukraine

Finally, perhaps it's also fitting to ask: Why is Israel so afraid of the Russian military presence in Syria? After all, this force consists of some 4,000 troops and a few dozen planes. Does our seemingly constant projection of trepidation damage our image and deterrence capabilities in the region?

It's important to note here that despite our repeated requests, Moscow has chosen to continue selling some of the most advanced weapons systems in the world to our enemies. Hezbollah in Lebanon and even Hamas in Gaza are equipped with Russian weapons, and Russia built the nuclear plant in Bushehr, Iran, and has promised to build another eight in the Islamic republic.

As stated, navigating this environment is exceedingly perilous and requires Israel to tread very lightly. On one hand, it must keep as many channels with Russian President Vladimir Putin open and must continue caring for the welfare of Ukrainian and Russian Jewry, including the possibility of a mass absorption of immigrants.

On the other hand, Israel mustn't remain silent – not in the face of the Ukrainian people's courageous fight, which could be reminiscent of the dogged resistance to Soviet occupation after World War Two; and not in the face of public opinion in the US, our most important ally. Israel should continue offering its services as a mediator and continue providing humanitarian and medical support to the Ukrainian people. We should also uphold our purpose as a strong and ethical Jewish state.

Arab media: Israel "exploiting" Ukraine to save Jews. But they won't report that Israel is helping Arabs from enemy countries escape, too.

Arab media is now permeated with stories like this healine from Al Jazeera:

Adopting the employment of wars to promote settlement... An Israeli emergency plan aims to bring in 8,000 Jews from Ukraine.

Since the emergence of the Zionist movement, the Israelis have exploited wars and conflicts in Europe, Africa and various parts of the world to recruit hundreds of thousands of Jews to replace the Palestinians.

Because saving Jewish refugees is a war crime, or something.

But they won't report on this:

Israeli diplomats have been assisting Lebanese, Syrian and Egyptian citizens to evacuate from Ukraine, transporting them from the war-torn nation alongside Israeli refugees, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday.

A spokesman for the ministry stated that citizens of several regional states, including those currently in a state of war with Israel had boarded a bus organized by Israeli diplomats on the Polish side of the border and that the embassy is also ready to “help Israeli residents from East Jerusalem.”

Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky said that there were no conditions on Israeli aid to residents of Arab states, telling Haaretz by phone from Poland on Sunday afternoon that any assistance rendered was “purely humanitarian.”

Another Haaretz reporter, Fadi Amun, tweeted:

A Lebanese citizen in #Ukraine with a group of Arab Israelis told me he's not getting help to escape. So an Israeli official now said in response: "We have no problem helping Lebanese or any other Arab citizens as well. He can join the Israeli bus"
A spokesman of @IsraelHebrew also confirms to me "there are Lebanese, Syrian and Egyptian citizens on the Israeli bus, some of them crossed the border of #Ukraine as refugees. The embassy also help Israeli residents from East Jerusalem"

Amun spoke to a Lebanese student who complained that the Lebanese embassy was not doing enough to get its citizens out of Ukraine, and Israel is doing more for Lebanese than Lebanon is.

It is especially notable that Lebanon and Syria are not exactly on the fence about signing peace treaties with Israel. These aren't goodwill gestures to promote a diplomatic solution. This is purely altruistic.

It will be interesting to see how this gets reported in the media of friendly Arab countries, and the responses.

(h/t Yoel)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Kuwaiti columnist suspended for friendly tweets to an Israeli

Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas announced yesterday that it had fired one of its opinion columnists for his support of treating Israelis as normal people.

The newspaper tweeted, "Al-Qabas affirms its firm and steadfast stance towards the crimes of the miserable Zionist enemy, and its full support for the valiant Palestinian resistance. And it announces the suspension of one of the opinion writers who called for normalization with the Zionist enemy, on his social media accounts."

The person suspended was Jassim al-Juraid.

On February 20, Israeli journalist and Arab expert Edy Cohen tweeted that the self-declared "chief rabbi" of Saudi Arabia, Yaakov Herzog, invited Jews worldwide to spend Passover in the Kingdom, and that matzoh would be available. Cohen said that he hoped Jews worldwide would come and get to know Saudi Arabia, "the kingdom of peace and coexistence," and said,"God willing, my family and I will try to join."

In response, Kuwaiti writer Jassim al-Juraid tweeted, "Happy with this progress in Saudi Arabia, and the invitation to our Jewish friends there. Congratulations my friend, hope to see you soon in Kuwait🤝🏼🌹"

When some Kuwaitis complained, al-Juraid doubled down, saying to Cohen, "My friend @EdyCohen: They think the pressure of these people will stop our brotherly journalistic relationship. You and the honorable family have served with love and affection."

His friendly tweets to Cohen are what led to his suspension.

Reaction to the suspension are mixed. Many are supporting the suspension, including Palestinians, and even including the Palestinian Media Forum, which may be the only journalist group in the world to openly oppose freedom of speech. Many Kuwaitis agree with the suspension, saying that "Palestine is a red line." On the other hand, other Kuwaitis oppose the move, with one academic quote-tweeting, "if Palestine is a red line, then freedoms for us as Kuwaitis are a thousand red lines."

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

It had to happen: Arabs blaming Jews for Ukraine war

It was only a matter of time before a conspiracy theory blaming Jews for the situation in Ukraine would pop up.

This one was published in Al Wafd, an Egyptian newspaper, anbd written by Gamal Roshdy.

It is a little hard to follow the logic, but here's how it begins:

All the wars, conflicts and epidemics in the world, since before the First World War until now, are arranged and manufactured by global Zionism: the fall of the British Empire on which the sun did not set, and the emergence of America as a superpower, all of this is in a great Zionist arrangement.

The goal is the alleged dream of the “Greater Kingdom of Israel from the Euphrates to the Gulf,” and that kingdom, according to its plan, is a unified government that rules the world under the umbrella of a new religion called “Abrahamic” within an economic globalization with one currency and one military with one army.

Now the dream is approaching, for that Zionist goal does not require a culture of freedom and democracy in which the West lives, because that culture contradicts the approach of the goal of the unified government that requires the dictatorship of decision-making, and since it aims at a unified religion, army and economy within a unified political administration, here several steps must be taken.

First, elimination of the Christian West by igniting a major war between them, to destroy everything, so that the theory of freedoms and democracy with all their military, economic and political derivatives disappear, so that the leaders of the Zionist scheme can form a unified government according to what is planned.

In short, Jews have been scheming to take over the world for a long time.

Things get convoluted after that. Israel is apparently preparing to dump the US and ally with China, the next superpower, which it will control as well. And India, which supports the "Abrahamic religion," is on board as well.

What about Ukraine? Well, since the government of Ukraine is dominated by Jews, clearly they were doing the Zionist plan. Russia has resisted the Zionist infiltration, so in this narrative, Russians are the good guys.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

02/26 Links: As Russians assail Kyiv, Zelensky says Ukraine has ‘derailed their plan’; Delegitimization links UN Anti-Israel Commission, Vladimir Putin, Ken Roth

From Ian:

As Russians assail Kyiv, Zelensky says Ukraine has ‘derailed their plan’

Russian troops closed in on Ukraine’s capital Saturday after a night of explosions and street fighting sent Kyiv residents seeking shelter or fleeing the city. The country’s leader claimed Ukraine’s forces had repulsed the assault and vowed to keep up the struggle.

“The real fighting for Kyiv is ongoing,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message, accusing Russia of hitting infrastructure and civilian targets.

“We will win,” he said.

Zelensky urged Russians to pressure Russian leader Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion. He accused Moscow of seeking to overthrow him and establish a puppet state in Ukraine.

“We’ve derailed their plan,” the 44-year-old leader said, stressing that the Ukrainian army was in control of the capital Kyiv and main cities around it.

A US defense official told Reuters there was growing frustration among the Russians “that they have not made the progress that they have wanted to make, particularly in the north.”

The unnamed official added: “They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance. It has slowed them down.”

Zelensky said Russians have deployed “missiles, fighters, drones, artillery, armored vehicles, saboteurs, and airborne forces” against Ukraine and have hit “residential areas.”

Zelensky said Ukrainians had been fighting against Russians troops in a number of cities including the southern city of Odessa, the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the capital Kyiv. The western city of Lviv and other cities in western and central Ukraine have been targeted with air strikes, he said.

CAMERA Op-Ed Delegitimization links UN Anti-Israel Commission, Vladimir Putin, Ken Roth

Since its inception, Israel has been subject to a constant barrage of delegitimization campaigns. From Arab dictators to antisemites masquerading as “human rights activists,” the right of the Jewish state to exist has been constantly called into question.

A favorite tool of the delegitimizers has been the co-opted and corrupted United Nations, used as an ostensible authoritative source to constantly put to question Israel’s right to exist. Consider, for example, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ infamous New York Times opinion piece, in which he argued for “Palestine’s” admission to the U.N. as a way to “pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only a political one.” (Don’t worry, though – the Palestinian Authority still believes in and incentivizes violence.)

The new U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) is the latest and arguably most dangerous iteration of this strategy, which is why Israel has decided to refuse to cooperate with it. With an expansive and unparalleled mandate – obviously intended to engage in historical revisionism, label Israel a unique evil and absurdly accuse it of all manner of atrocities – the COI is, in the words of Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Meirav Eilon Shahar, “an effort to delegitimize and even criminalize [Israel’s] very existence.”

The purpose of delegitimization is perfectly clear. Even as Arab regimes and the Soviets manipulated and corrupted the U.N. into efforts such as declaring that Zionism was a form of racism, they were also waging military campaigns to wipe Israel off the map.

One can see the same strategy at play in another horrifying spectacle. On Monday, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin gave an hour-long sermon with singular theme: delegitimizing the right of Ukraine to exist through wild accusations of atrocities and historical revisionism.

Sound familiar?

Ricochet Podcast: #UkraineUnderAttack

Hosted by James Lileks, Peter Robinson & Rob Long With guest Eli Lake

Is anybody else wondering why we’re seeing more coverage about politicians chattering or journalists ducking from skirmishes than, you know, military movements, logistics and strategy? Our hosts sure do, and that’s why they’re eager to hear from Eli Lake, Bloomberg’s foreign policy columnist. Eli gives his take on the Russian pipe dream, Europe’s need for a wakeup call, and how Biden can get serious about his promise to stand up to Putin (hint: some crow eating would be in order).

On Thursday night, French Prime Minister Jean Castex reaffirmed that Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people.

At the annual dinner of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), Castex said to a long ovation:

This fight is international. Like you, I am concerned about the United Nations resolution on Jerusalem which continues to deliberately and against all evidence discard the Jewish terminology of “Temple Mount”. You know my attachment to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people. I never stopped saying it. This in no way precludes recognizing and respecting the attachment of other religions to this city, and it is in this spirit that I myself walked through the old city in 2020 and visited each of the holy places Jew, Christian and Muslim. But erasing Jewishness from Jerusalem is not acceptable.

He then added a slam at Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and other demonizers of Israel:

As it is not acceptable that in the name of a just fight for freedom, associations misuse terms historically laden with shame as to qualify the State of Israel. How dare we talk about apartheid in a state where Arab citizens are represented in government, in parliament, hold leadership positions and positions of responsibility, where all citizens, regardless of their religion, have understood that their only hope is peace together? It is not by affirming such untruths that associations which claim to pursue an objective of peace fulfill their vocation.

And he segued from there into other issues of antisemitism:

The fight against anti-Semitism is European. As I said on January 27, on the occasion of the international day dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, France has chosen to make the fight against racism and anti-Semitism one of the priorities of its Presidency. .

The fight is and remains of course national. France, which hosts the largest Jewish community in Europe, must show the way.
...
Fight to better fight against anti-religious acts. As I made a commitment to the representatives of religions and in particular to you, Chief Rabbi, I have entrusted two deputies (Isabelle Florennes and Ludovic Mendes present this evening) with a mission on the subject. They will submit their report in a few weeks. I expect strong proposals. Because it is the honor of our Republic to protect those who believe and in particular the Jews of France.

Fight of course to fight against Islamist separatism. Let's not hide: anti-Semitism is more and more often the work of radical Islamists who make life difficult for the Jews of France, who sometimes kill. In accordance with the laws passed by Parliament, we are going to step up our strategy to fight against Islamist separatism. Dina demalchuta dina. “The law of the kingdom is the law”: this principle must once again become a rule for all citizens of France.

This is why we will hold firm on the end of the detached imams. This is also why we will be firm on the control of foreign funding for places of worship. And I will be in Toulouse on March 20, with the Israeli President, to bring to life the memory of the victims of the March 2012 killings and in particular the children of the Ozar Atorah school: Gabriel, Aryeh, Jonathan Sandlers and Myriam Mossonego, as well as soldiers Imad Ibn Zlaten, Abel Chennouf and Mohamed Legouad.

As can be expected, Palestinian antisemites are furious. Hamas condemned his statement on Jerusalem, as did Islamic Jihad, a number of French Palestinian groups, and the PLO, which said:

The statement by French Prime Minister Jean Castxx regarding Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Jews during his participation in the usual annual dinner of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions In France (CRIF), it contradicts the declared French policy within the framework of the European Union policy, which considers occupied Jerusalem part of the occupied territories in 1967, which raises many doubts and questions, and requires an official clarification from France about the truth of this statement and the reprehensible position of the President its ministers.

Notice that Castex didn't say that Jerusalem was Israel's capital, but the eternal capital of the Jewish people, which is undeniable. Any group that condemns a statement like that is clearly antisemitic.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

02/25 Links Pt2: Will reverberations of Russia’s Ukraine invasion reach the Vienna nuclear talks?; Malaysian Propaganda and Fundraising Network Enables Hamas Plots Targeting Jews

From Ian:

Will reverberations of Russia’s Ukraine invasion reach the Vienna nuclear talks?

The Israeli government has made clear through its tepid and seemingly contradictory responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that this is a war it desperately would rather avoid, as it pits two allies and the interests they represent against one other.

But a deeper reason behind the Israeli preference for a swift diplomatic solution to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict is that it would allow for global attention to return to Vienna where world powers are believed to be on the verge of signing another diplomatic agreement in a deal seen as far more consequential to Jerusalem’s interests — a joint US-Iran return to compliance with the nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said as much earlier this month in an interview with the Walla news site when asked about the then still-brewing tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.

“It disturbs us significantly as it draws the focus away from the nuclear talks in Vienna where we would like to have much more American attention to prevent dangerous things from happening there,” he said.

At the time, Lapid was optimistic that a military conflict could be avoided. But now that Russia has chosen the path of war, Jerusalem may be forced to recalculate whether an emboldened Moscow — one further at odds with the West than in recent memory — will approach in the same way a joint agreement with those same Western powers aimed at preventing a nuclear Iran.

Relatedly, a Russia that has no qualms putting Western threats to the test could well lead to an Iran that has less of a problem doing the same by hardening its own negotiating stance in Vienna.

Washington-based Middle East experts who spoke with The Times of Israel said that Russia’s interest in preventing another nuclear power on its southern periphery will remain, regardless of how its invasion of Ukraine unfolds.

However, that interest may be eclipsed by a reticence to give the US and its allies a win, just as they are banding against Moscow with an unprecedented sanctions campaign. Moreover, the analysts explained that while Tehran may now be enticed to embolden its position at risk of dooming the nuclear accord for good, the Islamic Republic would be wise to take note of the growing reality that they will be met with an opposition in the West that is more unified than ever before.

'World becomes less safe every time the US fails to show strength'

US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy visits Israel along with 30 freshman Republican congressmen, lauding ties between Jerusalem and Washington and cautioning against an Iranian nuclear deal.

No less than three United States congressional delegations have visited Israel within the last two weeks – two Democrat and one Republican – proving that bipartisan support for Israel is alive and kicking.

The Republican delegation, which was organized by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was headed by Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives.

"I do this trip every two years," he told Israel Hayom. "We have 30 freshman Republican members with us. It is a binding trip. We went to the Knesset. We met with the prime minister [Naftali Bennett], with Bibi [Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu] as well, and with the speaker of the Knesset [Mickey Levy].

"There's no greater relationship than America has with Israel. There are no greater common values, and with that also common enemies. A lot of the discussion was about Iran and the potential of some type of [nuclear] agreement. The 30-member group unanimously and firmly believes that Iran can never have such a deal. Hopefully, we will be able to make sure that never happens."

Q: Since the last time you visited Israel, the state has been through a significant political change, and you mentioned you met both the previous and current leadership. What does this change look like from your perspective?

"One thing that I firmly believe is that the great thing about democracy is that a republic gets to decide in which direction it wishes to go. To have a coalition of eight different parties is pretty difficult but I think he [Bennett] is working hard. The relationship between America and Israel is based on shared values and we want to focus on that."

Thousands of people who have no ability to distinguish between completely dissimilar situations are retweeting this AP Fact Check where people passed off a photo of Gaza last May as Ukraine today.

Social media users are sharing a photo of a fiery explosion with false claims it shows Russia’s 2022 attack on Ukraine. It actually shows Israeli air strikes in Gaza in 2021. Here are the facts. https://t.co/yp8JjFNJzI
— AP Fact Check (@APFactCheck) February 24, 2022

Many people are saying that this is proof that Israel is as contemptuous of international law as Russia. Others are trying to create their own bizarre analogies.

I tweeted a response for these idiots, not that it matters. A slightly updated version:

For the idiots comparing Russian invasion of Ukraine to Israel's occasional forays into Gaza:

1) Israel has no territorial designs on Gaza.

2) Hamas starts every war.

3) Hamas attacks Israeli civilians.

4) ...And brags about it.

5) Israel never targets civilians. And it spends millions of dollars to minimize their deaths or injuries. Because it has nothing to gain by attacking civilians.

6) Although not often reported, Israel adheres to international law of armed conflict.

7) Israel warns civilians to get out before bombing a military target embedded with the innocents.

8) Israel has lots of legal checkpoints before choosing a legal target.

9) Israel is defending itself.

10) Israel doesn't want war.

11) Israel wants to see Gaza prosper and when there aren't rockets, it helps Gaza's economy.

12) Hamas explicitly wants to see Israel destroyed.

I know people who read mainstream media don't believe half of this, but it is all true.

Oh, and as of this writing, the political sites of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have not commented on the Ukraine invasion at all. Which is a tacit approval of the action. (Israel denounced the invasion.)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

02/25 Links Pt1: Melanie Phillips: How America has empowered evil in Russia and Iran; Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the death of international law

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: How America has empowered evil in Russia and Iran

Western countries believed that buying Russian gas would cement the ties that created peace. Instead, they merely handed Putin the means to blackmail them.

The doctrine of interdependence similarly created the fantasy that empowering Iran would turn it from the west’s most lethal terrorist foe into a civilised partner in mutually profitable endeavour.

Above all, the west has told itself that war is unconscionable — even in self-defence — and can always be avoided by diplomacy. This doctrine has reached its nadir in the Iran negotiations, where American diplomacy has become a euphemism for abject surrender.

The Iranian regime’s perception that Biden would never take military action, despite repeated attacks by its proxies against the US and its allies, emboldened it to dig in its heels in the nuclear talks. Ramping up its aggression resulted in more American concessions and the conviction in Tehran that America would give it whatever it demanded.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that he would not allow Putin’s pretence of diplomacy to obscure his aggressive acts. Yet that’s precisely what he’s been doing with Iran — as Putin will have noted.

For the Russian leader, sanctions are but a minor irritant. Serious intent against him by the west would entail putting its military boots on the ground.

Tyrants respect only power. The absence of serious intent is viewed as weakness and spurs more aggression. The only reason the 1962 Cuban missile crisis was defused was that Cuba’s prime minster, Fidel Castro, understood that the US was prepared to fight and sacrifice American lives — which it then was.

The paradox of peace is that its maintenance depends on making the credible threat of war. Western liberals reject this as “war-mongering”. For them, diplomacy has become a religion.

When it comes to resisting abuses of power, however, diplomacy is the god that fails over and over again. When used as a strategy against implacable aggression, it turns its adherents into accessories to killing.

That’s why the Israel “peace process” resulted in thousands of murdered Israelis. It’s why Iran is poised to get its genocide bomb. And it’s why Ukraine will now pay a terrible price — at the hands of a tyrant empowered by a west consumed by its own ludicrous and lethal illusions.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the death of international law

In many ways, this week saw the death of international law.

To be sure, Russia's invasion of Ukraine did not end international law's existence or its place in public debates among Western countries.

But if there was a narrative created since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002, it was that democracy and international law were on the rise. Now, that narrative seems to have been squashed.

The reasons are simple.

Two of the most important principles in international law are upholding the sovereignty of nations from an armed attack and protecting civilians from the scourge of war.

Allowing Russia to invade and trample Ukraine is essentially allowing the violation of these rules on Europe’s doorstep. The consequence is that international law appears to look today like a farce.

It is no coincidence that Chinese officials have upped their threats to conquer Taiwan and other areas in the South China Sea and many Iranian officials have also begun to express greater confidence about their hegemonic ambitions across the Middle East.

Europe can be counted on to be the loudest in condemning Israel when Jerusalem defends itself in conflict with the Palestinians, Hezbollah and other neighbors which attack it.

To many of these critics, since the Palestinians and other adversaries appear weaker than Israel, the Jewish state gets very little credit for showing restraint, trying to avoid civilian casualties, or for avoiding holding on to parts of Gaza or Lebanon once the conflict is over.

These same critics are also righteous when it comes to criticizing the United States for "war crimes" the American military makes in operational errors caused overseas while fighting terrorists.

The Caroline Glick Show Ep40 – What is Russia Doing in Syria (and what should Israel, the US and Turkey do about it)?

In Episode 40 of the Caroline Glick Mideast News Hour, Caroline was joined by Joel Rayburn who served as President Donald Trump’s Envoy to Syria and in other senior positions related to Syria in the National Security Council, the U.S. Army and the State Department. Caroline and Col. Rayburn discussed what Russia is doing in Syria against the backdrop of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and its transfer of strategic weapons to Latakia, Syria last week. They then analyzed the U.S.’s position in Syria, how the U.S. use Russia’s operations in Syria as a means to weaken Putin and his regime, and how Israel and Turkey can work together to restore their freedom of action in the region in the face of Russia’s close ties with Iran and Bashar Assad.

From the Safa news agency:

The Ateret Cohanim settlement association seized a new house in the Ras al-Amud neighborhood of Silwan, occupied Jerusalem, after it was leaked through Arab mediators.

Sources told "Safa" agency that they were surprised this morning by settlers entering the building belonging to Ibrahim Awad through the main door, and seizing it after its leakage.

She indicated that it is the second building that leaked to settlers from the Awad family through intermediaries, one was leaked about two and a half months ago, another building next to it that belonged to the same family.

The building consists of two floors and includes 5 apartments. It is located in an elevated position and overlooks all the neighborhoods of Silwan, opposite the southern side of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Awad family is now quite wealthy - and probably running for their lives.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Forensic Architecture and Al Haq team up to lie that Israel targets cultural heritage in Gaza

Al-Haq has teamed up with Forensic Architecture, a notoriously biased anti-Israel organization that uses cutting edge research techniques to "prove" whatever it wants to prove. From the Al Haq press release:

On 23 February 2022, Al-Haq launched its report titled “Cultural Apartheid, Israel’s Erasure of Palestinian Heritage in Gaza”. The report builds from an investigation by the London-based research agency Forensic Architecture using advanced technologies and ‘open-source’ techniques to reconstruct one of the most significant archaeological sites in the occupied Gaza Strip. The report draws on Israel’s strategic bombing of the Gaza coastline to exemplify the erasure of Palestinian cultural heritage and the denial of the relevant human rights. Israel’s bombardments not only breach the principle of military necessity in violation of the laws of armed conflict, but also aim at gradually erasing Palestinian cultural heritage to deny the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination over their cultural resources, and by extension threatens their existence as a people. Such bombings are a gross violation of the Rome Statute, constituting war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

In the report, Al-Haq outlines that the bombing of the site may amount to a war crime and contributes to the crime against humanity of apartheid.[1] The targeting of Palestinian cultural heritage, fundamentally affects the core of their identity and existence as a people. For example, the International Criminal Court underlines the nexus between destruction of cultural heritage and crimes against humanity, especially when the former occurs within the context of an attack against the civilian population, forms part of a state policy and is carried out in a widespread or systematic manner.[2] Additionally, under the Rome Statute, the crime of apartheid when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population, with knowledge of the attack, amounts to a crime against humanity.[3]

This is utter garbage.

Israel never targets "cultural heritage" sites when Hamas starts its wars. Israel targets terrorists.

And terrorists tend to be in some "cultural heritage" areas. After all, they are open spaces that are ideal for shooting rockets.

The Forensics Architecture team spent lots of time and money to document Israel's bombing of the Roman-era ruins near the Shati camp. But not once did they - or Al Haq - mention that terrorists both shoot rockets from that area, and that they have even been known to shoot rockets accidentally to that area.

The areas marked by Forensics Architecture are north of the Shati camp.

Here's that same spot from a Google Maps satellite image:

Look at that open space, just begging to be used for rocket launches. And which just happen to be on top of these old Roman and Byzantine ruins. (Screenshot from Forensic Architecture.)

Palestinians shoot rockets from whatever open areas they can find that have unimpeded paths to Israel. Favorite launching sites include cemeteries for that very reason. The open areas shown here are ideal for rocket launches.

In 2014, the Al Mezan center admitted that there was a "military" site north of Shati, documented in Amnesty's Gaza Platform:

This Gaza Platform, which I've shown is consistently filled with false and provably biased data against Israel, was designed by this same Forensic Architecture. When it grudgingly admits a site was military - believe it.

More about Shati:

Senior Hamas members live in or near Shati. One was once bombed by a rival Hamas group. The Gaza Platform notes that Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar lived in Shati.

In 2014, a misfired terror rocket fell on the Shati camp, killing many children. Hamas cleaned up the site so no one could tell that it wasn't an Israeli rocket. Was that near an archaeological site? Maybe. It almost certainly left a crater. Forensics Architecture sure won't report it, even as they tacitly admit that parts of the Shati camp, like a sports stadium, are themselves built on top of some of this priceless cultural heritage they pretend to care so much about.

At 5:20 of their video, they show that buildings have been built between 2014 and 2018 directly on top of what was once a Roman-era city wall.

2014 showing outline of visible Roman wall:

New buildings on that exact spot, 2018:

But for some strange reason, these NGOs who claim to care so damn much about Palestinian cultural heritage don't say a word about how Hamas is directly erasing that heritage! (All of the "Palestinian" heritage sites mentioned in this report are actually Greek and Roman. But Hamas has destroyed Canaanite sites as well, whom Palestinians claim as their ancestors.)

In 2021, the IDF published a map showing where Hamas rockets were shot from and where they landed. While the resolution of the image isn't very good, it is obvious that some of the rockets came from, and landed in, the very areas that Al Haq is now pretending were purposefully bombed by Israel. (I added an arrow to point to where Shati is.)

The IDF published a similar map during the initial stages of the 2014 warm showing again that Hamas fires (and explodes) rockets in the very area that Al Haq and Forensics Architecture are claiming Israel targets archaeology:

Throughout the Forensics Architecture video, and the Al Haq report, not once is it mentioned that terrorist groups were ever in those areas. Not once do they even consider that the IDF was aiming at military targets. The words "rocket" or "Qassam" or "militant" or "resistance" are not mentioned once, and neither was "Hamas" mentioned in the report's body (one footnote referred to a story with Hamas in the title.) And not once do they mention that Hamas is knowingly destroying priceless archaeological treasures - which has happened many times, not just here.

This is not just bias. This is purposeful whitewashing of the truth.

Because for all the high tech, 3D models that Forensics Architecture generates, truth is the last thing it is interested in. The report and video are intended from the outset to be pure anti-Israel propaganda.

If they would even briefly mention that, sure, there are "resistance sites" in those areas - legitimate military targets - then their entire thesis of Israel violating international law disappears. It is obvious that Israel would prefer to target weapons caches, command and control centers and rocket launch sites over wasting expensive missiles on old Roman ruins at or near a beach.

There is literally no evidence that Israel targets these areas to erase Palestinian culture and plenty of evidence that there were valid military targets there. And even more evidence that Hamas doesn't care at all about Palestinian "cultural heritage." By not mentioning that, this proves that these two NGOs also don't care about cultural heritage, except as a weapon to attack Israel.

This is the state of anti-Israel bigotry. Package up half-truths, give only one possible explanation no matter how farfetched it is, and know that the audience will lap it up.

They know they are lying. They know that they are misleading their readers. And they do it on purpose.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

France moves to outlaw pro-terror Palestinian groups. They respond that calling for murdering Jews is a "human right."

The French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin is calling for the dissolution of two hate organizations in France, the "Palestine Vaincra" collective and of the "Palestine Action Committee."

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the Palestine Action Committee is supposed to defend the rights of the Palestinians, but in fact relays press releases from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, and reports on their actions, according to the authorities. The Ministry calls for its dissolution for incitement to hatred, violence, or discrimination and provocation to terrorist acts.

Similarly, Palestine Vaincra explicitly supports terror attacks on Israeli Jews. Here's an autotranslated screenshot of one of their articles that actually celebrates Palestinian support for shooting rockets at Jewish civilians:

How much more explicit can they be in advocating murdering Jews?

Palestine Vaincra is part of the Samidoun network, which issued a truly Orwellian press release complaining about how their support and incitement for murdering Jews is a human right.

This blatant assault on freedom of expression and association once again reveals the complete disregard of the French state for the principles of “human rights” and “democracy” it claims to support.

When a group is “dissolved” by the state, it may not hold meetings or organize events. Material bearing the group’s name and logo is banned, and members and activists who continue to organize in the name of the group can be fined and even imprisoned. This is shameless political repression carried out by an imperialist power that claims to defend human rights while trampling atop them.

This action blatantly flies in the face of France’s obligations under international law, the European Charter of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is a shameless attack on freedom of expression and association and must be confronted as such.

We've seen this sort of argument before, that advocating for killing Jews is a human right. It only makes sense if the "human rights activists" do not regard Jews as being human and deserving of rights to begin with.

Incitement is not free speech. These Palestinian groups are not defending Palestinian human rights but call for Palestinians to have the "right" to target and murder Jews.

In a normal universe, major human rights organizations would denounce how their cause is being hijacked by people who clearly oppose human rights and celebrate terrorists and murderers. But we live in a universe where "human rights" organizations like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch show their full support and partnership with groups like Samidoun, Palestine Vaincra and the Palestine Action Committee.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

02/24 Links Pt2: For Israel, victory gives us a future; Keyboard Warrior; UN nominates ‘Israel apartheid’ activist to be Palestine rapporteur

From Ian:

For Israel, victory gives us a future

We are so loathe to hit the enemy hard enough to break its will to continue fighting and cause it to surrender that we run with indecent haste to the negotiating table pushing for a ceasefire, and take minimal and insufficient military steps towards the defeat of our genocidal enemies.

The result is they continue to believe that although we are by far technologically and militarily superior, we do not have the stomach for a fight. They believe that we have internalized the Western paradigm that war is always the last option with as few casualties as possible, leaving the enemy proudly standing to fight another day.

If Israel goes into a war against its enemies with the mentality that we lose even when we win, then we will never truly be victorious. Every tactic will just be seen through the prism of how much or little we can lose.

Instead, Israel needs to return to a victory mentality. The mentality that led us to victories in the War of Independence and the Six Day War. There were unbearable casualties in these wars, but they were stunning victories, and our soldiers fought gallantly, overturning strong odds.

Our leaders knew that there would be losses, but they could not be overly distracted by them if they were going to win. Victory ensured there were not even greater losses, far more bloodshed.

Victory and loss can not be compared. Our historic victories are what kept the Jewish nation intact and strong. If we would have been defeated one time, our presence here would be tenuous, and our enemies would be constantly circling, waiting for the moment to deliver the final blow.

Victory is what has held them at bay.

The victorious gains a vanquished enemy, deterrence, and safety and security for its people.

For Israel, victory gives us a future.

From Brooklyn Housewife to Zionist Lobbyist

“Irish, sympathetic, hates British, will definitely help.” So read an entry in the diary of Brooklyn housewife Esther Kaplan, after meeting with Rep. John J. Rooney, an Irish-American congressman from New York City, seventy-five years ago this week.

Mrs. Kaplan had no background in lobbying or political activism, but when her son David was arrested by the British for trying to smuggle Holocaust survivors into Palestine in 1947, she reinvented herself as a Zionist lobbyist and took her case straight to Capitol Hill.

The arrest of David Kaplan and other crew members of the S.S. Ben Hecht, and the protests that ensued in the United States, comprise a fascinating but little-known chapter in the history of the campaign by Americans to help create the State of Israel.

On a chilly morning in late February 1947, six hundred Holocaust survivors trudged up the gangplank of the S.S. Ben Hecht in the French harbor of Port de Bouc. The ship was sponsored by the activist Bergson Group, and named in honor of the journalist and Hollywood screenwriter who authored the group’s most controversial newspaper ads denouncing British rule in Palestine.

The ship’s captain was Robert Levitan, a burly six-foot-four former Merchant Marine who said he “jumped at the chance” to participate in the mission because he had “felt impotent in the 1930s and early 1940s, hearing about Hitler’s persecution of the Jews and not being able to do anything about it.”

The scene at the Bergson Group’s New York headquarters as would-be crew members of the S.S. Ben Hecht signed up to be interviewed.

“We had twenty men, with twenty different reasons for joining up,” Levitan remembered. “We had some very young boys who were reared in Zionistic homes and were gung-ho Zionists. We had an Irishman who hated the British, and he volunteered just because it was against the British. Our cook was a black man, one of the gentlest men you could ever meet, and he just liked helping out the underdog.”

Keyboard Warrior

It was a remote place to pick for a high-level strategy meeting. In late 2016, a group of activists made their way to a building on an industrial estate in west London, climbed a staircase to the second floor, and seated themselves around a few tables.

The group was a Who’s Who of the anti-Israel movement in the BDS capital of the world. Just a few months before the centenary of the Balfour Declaration — and mere miles from where British foreign secretary Arthur Balfour had written his historic letter of support for Zionism — the activists were planning to mark the occasion with a new offensive against Israel.

All except one of the assembled. Despite his kaffiyeh, BDS badges, and regular appearances on London’s pro-Palestinian scenes, “John” Collier was not all he seemed.

That’s because his real name was David, he was actually a pro-Israel investigative blogger, and he was wired up with recording devices to share details of the meeting with the world.

“I sat next to one of the key figures in the movement talking about strategy,” recalls David Collier from the comfort of his North London home, “and suddenly it occurred to me that here I was in the belly of the beast, and that if they found out, I would be in real trouble.”

Six years later, with Amnesty International — a UK heavyweight in the anti-Israel world — releasing a report accusing Israel of apartheid, Collier connects the dots between that meeting and London’s status as BDS capital of the world.

The gathering at the industrial estate was just one of a steady stream of stories about the anti-Israel scene that Collier reported. His painstakingly researched investigations lit the fuse on the scandal of Corbynite anti-Semitism that blew up in 2018, contributing to the Labour Party leader’s downfall the following year.

But as the Amnesty report shows, Britain’s anti-Israel scene is as viciously effervescent as ever. Coming just three years after Jeremy Corbyn’s close brush with power, it raises the question of why one of the most historically tolerant of countries has become a central hub of bigotry.

Nasrallah hits back at Arab demands for Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah

Last month, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah visited Beirut and told the Lebanese government the “Kuwaiti, Gulf, Arab and international message for Lebanon to not be a platform for any aggression, and for all borders to be controlled by the state.”

The Arab coalition he represented also insisted on setting a time frame for implementing UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1559 from 2004 which calls for the disarmament of non-state militias in Lebanon, meaning Hezbollah.

The Arab countries pretty much told Lebanon that they won't help it through its financial crisis as long as a separate Muslim extremist movement was allowed to operate with impunity within its borders.

The weak Lebanese government mostly ignored the demands. Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Al Jazeera, "I am not going to hand over Hezbollah's weapons. I am not going to end Hezbollah's existence, it is out of the question in Lebanon. "

A response letter from Beirut pointedly changed the language of the Arab demand for Lebanon not to be a platform for any aggression to saying that Lebanon will not be "a launchpad for activities that violate Arab countries," meaning that it might be a launchpad to attack Israel.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah yesterday dismissed the demands for his group to disarm, and - as is typical in the Arab world - he couched his refusal in terms of honor.

Nasrallah stressed that "if you remain silent and surrender your weapons, you tell your opponent that you are crushed, humiliated and weak."

"The enemy will not pity you, it will humiliate you even more," Nasrallah added.

"Let them give us one example of peoples who resisted, surrendered their weapons, and kept their dignity," Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah isn't even pretending that Hezbollah cares about the future of Lebanon. Hezbollah's "dignity" of maintaining over 100,000 missiles is more important than the country of Lebanon and the dignity of the Lebanese people themselves.

And when Lebanon implodes, Hezbollah will militarily take over the entire country as millions of Lebanese could become refugees to not live under an Iranian regime.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!