Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Sorry, I'm Still Working On My Op-Ed Arguing Selling Chametz To Non-Jews Is Exploitative By Peter Beinart (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Sorry, I'm Still Working On My Op-Ed Arguing Selling Chametz To Non-Jews Is Exploitative
By Peter Beinart

Credit: New America Foundation via Wikipedia

To: Dean Baquet, Executive Editor, NY times

I must offer my apologies, Dean. I know that a week or two ago we agreed that I would supply an opinion article for the Times exploring the myriad ways in which the Jewish practice of arranging for someone outside the faith to purchase leavened-grain products before Passover - to avoid adherents from violating a Biblical injunction against possessing such products during the festival - places the purchaser - and by extent anyone outside Judaism - in a vulnerable economic or social position, and likely constitutes hate speech or violence or even settler-colonialism. But development of the article has defied my predictions, and I fear it will remain unfinished even after Passover ends this weekend and the valence of the issue fades.

My original pitch, I readily acknowledge, offered what I considered at the time a robust conceptual basis for the assertion. The ensuing days, however, have demonstrated my premature assumption that I could offer an analysis for Times readers that makes a sufficiently-compelling case devoid of blatant use of so-called "tropes" that feature in too many antisemitic instances to allow for intellectual honesty when I put them to what I could defend as good-faith use.

For example, I had to get more creative and more dishonest than my usual rhetorical practice - I know that says quite a bit - in order to tie the sale of chametz practice to the worst possible interpretations of Zionism without overt reference to Jews in general as rapacious, predatory capitalists. Under normal circumstances one can often restrict the use of such epithets to Zionists qua Zionists and still claim no animus toward Jews, but the parameters of the pre-Passover chametz sale to a non-Jew, with its history bearing no discernible connection to Zionism, made that too high a bar to reach.

Second, the reversible nature of the "sale" as specified in the contract - if not completed with full payment, the transaction is undone after Passover - undermines most of the "capitalist" side of things. Try as I might, I have not found a case in which the sale took place under duress, making a coherent link with exploitative landlord practices that much less available.

Also, I have yet to arrive at what I consider a discreet, or at least not-blatant, method to shoehorn the blood-in-the-matza, or its contemporary analog, Israel-kills-Palestinian-children, into the argument. I welcome suggestions from you or other members of the Editorial Board, but as it stands, I suspect I will be unable to provide the article I had pitched. I apologize.

I hope this error does not dissuade you from soliciting or accepting my contributions going forward. I know how enthusiastic you were upon hearing this pitch. But you do have my permission to use this instance as an example of what happens when you trust a Jew.

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04/21 Links Pt1: The Temple Mount travesty and poor US policy; Is Israel Facing a New Intifada?; ‘Simply a lie’: Bennett spars with CNN's Amanpour

From Ian:

Ruthie Blum: The Temple Mount travesty and poor US policy

FOREIGN MINISTER Yair Lapid adopted an equally powerless stance. After speaking on the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he recounted having “emphasized Israel’s responsible and measured efforts in the face of riots by hundreds of Islamic extremists on the Temple Mount,” and insisted that Israel “would not tolerate calls for violence.”

Oh dear. Al-Khasawneh and Abdullah must have been shaking in their boots – double-time when they heard that Lapid had impressed upon Blinken the “need for international support to restore calm to Jerusalem.”

International support? Where from, exactly? The Israel-bashing Security Council?

Perhaps he was angling for a helping hand from Blinken himself, who last month “discussed [with Bennett] ways to foster a peaceful Passover, Ramadan and Easter across Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, particularly in Jerusalem... [such as] working to prevent actions on all sides that could raise tensions, including settlement expansion, settler violence, incitement to violence, demolitions, payments to individuals convicted of terrorism [and] evictions of families from homes they’ve lived in for decades.”

All one needs to grasp just how wrong the thinking and behavior of Bennett, Lapid and their American counterparts has been is a review of the period leading up to and responsible for the Abraham Accords. On April 30, 2018, then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed the nation a trove of tens of thousands of documents obtained by the Mossad from a warehouse in Tehran.

It was on the basis of this massive archive, which provided proof of Iran’s clandestine nuclear-weapons program, that Trump announced on May 8, a mere eight days later, that he was withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 nuclear deal between the P5+1 countries and the Islamic Republic.

Is Israel Facing a New Intifada?

Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Shaul Mofaz was Chief of Staff when the IDF entered the West Bank in Operation Defensive Shield on March 29, 2002, to quell the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign that had murdered 135 people in Israel that month during the Second Intifada. Mofaz said the reality now is not at all similar. "Then the terror was directed by Arafat, and most of the Palestinians - 70% to 80% - joined in the confrontation and supported it." Today, the terrorism is not being directed by the PA leadership, nor does it have the same level of popular participation and support.

"Imagine 45,000 soldiers, half of them reservists, going into all the refugee camps, 15 in all, all eight of the cities, all of the tunnels, going into the casbahs and going house to house to take out weapons." That operation fundamentally changed the country's security reality. "That the IDF today operates freely in the area is thanks to Defensive Shield." The Second Intifada, Mofaz said, also changed public opinion in Israel, with a large part of Israelis no longer believing that it was possible to trust Arafat or the PA.

Mofaz said he did not see the support of 70-80% of the Palestinian population for an armed confrontation with Israel today. "Something happened to Palestinian society as well. Palestinian society, and a good part of our enemies, understand that they won't get achievements through violence and terror. Many of the Palestinian leaders during that period will tell you today that it was a mistake to strike out against Israel with suicide bombers and guns to kill Israelis to achieve diplomatic aims...because while Israelis were obviously hurt, those who paid a higher price were the Palestinians."

A Timeline of Terror and Tensions, Spring 2022

In the spring of 2022, Israel was struck by a series of Arab terror attacks. The attacks, in the cities of Beersheva, Hadera, Bnei Brak, and Tel Aviv, took 14 innocent Jewish, Arab, and Christian lives. During counter-terror operations and arrest raids in the weeks that followed, over two dozen Palestinians were killed, nearly all of them in the act of attacking Israelis.

Stone throwing attacks by Palestinian rioters on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount led to violent clashes between the rioters and Israeli police officers. Ramadan prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque, though, were attended by many thousands of peaceful Muslim worshipers and passed without incident.

In recent days, Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip escalated tensions, and threatened to incite broader fighting between Israel and the Hamas terror organization that rules the Gaza Strip.

The following timeline covers major incidents during the terror wave and subsequent tensions. As some coverage of and commentary on the tensions blur and equivocate, concealing the distinctions between civilians and assailants, lumping them together as a “cycle of violence,” or suggesting the violence is the inevitable result of the confluence of Passover, Ramadan, and Easter, the timeline helps clarify what happened, and why.

When the video doesn't support the anti-Israel narrative, it is time for gaslighting

Turkish news service TRTWorld tweeted a video where the announcer completely contradicts what the video is showing:

You can clearly see the fireworks being shot from inside the mosque, and not a hint of Israeli police. Yet the announcer says that the Palestinians are taking shelter to avoid "Israeli fire."

The police did fire flash bombs and people did run into the mosque - after this scene.

I've seen deceptive captions on photos before to tell people they are looking at something other than what they are seeing, but this is exceptionally egregious.

In a similar vein, here's a video of Jews visiting the Temple Mount this morning, the last day they will be allowed to do so this month. Palestinians are trying to intimidate the Jews by chanting slogans at them, and the Jews good-naturedly clap along, wave and even dance to the attempts at intimidation.

The caption at Al Qastal:

"Colonial Israeli settlers perform Talmudic prayers to provoke Palestinians during the storming of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque"

See? Jews smiling and laughing at attempts to intimidate them is a provocation against the sensitive feelings of Palestinians!

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

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

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Estephan Salameh, who is the advisor to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for aid coordination, says that no foreign countries have paid a red cent so far this year of their pledges to help the Palestinian budget.

He said, “We expect to receive 200 to 300 million dollars in international financial support for the Palestinian government treasury this year, but so far none of those financial pledges have arrived."

Speaking to Voice of Palestine Radio, Salameh said that in 2021, the PAlestinian Authority only received 10% of the amount it had gotten in 2013 and 2014. That was when the EU and Arab governments didn't care about accountability or transparency.

Humanitarian and development support towards NGOs have not been affected much at all, he said.

A donors' conference, scheduled to be held on May 5 in Brussels, will attempt to garner international support for the Palestinian treasury, and the Palestinians hope to convince attendees to pressure Israel to stop reducing tax revenues in the amount that the Abbas regime uses to pay terrorists and their families, which is a significant portion of the PA budget. In 2021, the PA paid some $270 million as rewards to terrorists.

Obliquely alluding to the well known corruption in the PA that has prompted the huge drop in aid, Salameh added, ""We are implementing a comprehensive reform plan, especially in the financial and economic sectors."

Which they have said for many years.

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Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

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Filastin newspaper masthead, 1912

From an academic paper, "The Origins of the term “Palestinian” (“Filasṭīnī”) in late Ottoman Palestine, 1898–1914:"

The word “Palestinian” gained acceptance as a description of Palestine’s Arabic speakers during the first decade and a half of the 20th century. Khalīl Baydas first used the term in 1898, followed by Salīm Qub‘ayn and Najīb Naṣṣār in 1902. Then, after the 1908 Ottoman Constitutional Revolution eased press censorship laws, dozens of periodicals appeared in Palestine, and the term “Palestinian” exploded in usage as result.

I knew that the term was barely used before the 1910s, but here we see (assuming the paper is correct) that the term "Palestinians" wasn't used by Arab residents of Palestine at all before 1898.

Most scholars understand that Palestinian nationalism was not organic, but a response to Jewish nationalism. Here is another piece of evidence that proves it to be true. After all, if there were a Palestinian people that lived in the land for centuries or millennia - what did they call themselves?

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

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

04/20 Links Pt2: David Friedman: America’s biblical roots; Ken Roth’s Legacy: Distorting and Exploiting Human Rights to Demonize Israel

From Ian:

David Friedman: America’s biblical roots

The following is an abridged version of the Distinguished Rennert Lecture, delivered on April 19 by Ambassador David Friedman upon receipt of the Guardian of Zion Award from Bar-Ilan University’s Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies.

One of the most common forms of anti-Semitism in America is the accusation that Jews have dual loyalty, that they support Israel more than America. In the four years that I was ambassador to Israel, I was on the receiving end of that terrible canard more than a few times—oddly enough, often by groups of Jewish Americans.

It’s shameful and it’s nonsense. Not only does support for Israel by American Jews not compromise or undermine support for our host country, but support for Israel is actually a quintessential American value. Indeed, the Bible, so much of which is predicated upon God’s covenant to our forefathers to install, and then later to restore, the Jewish people in the land of Israel, is foundational to the principles upon which America was founded.

While America, unlike many other countries, has no national religion or house of worship, make no mistake that the values of the Bible are deeply infused within our foundational roots. And, it is the God-given nature of those values that makes them unique and that makes America so great.

The Bible is God’s gift to humankind—the formula for how to lead a just, fulfilling and meaningful life. By many accounts—certainly mine—it is the most important written work of all time.

What’s in second place?

Well, we can debate that, but here’s my suggestion—The United States Declaration of Independence. That brilliant document fundamentally changed the way in which we think about the relationship between a government and its citizens.

The Declaration of Independence provided that every human being was created equal and endowed by their creator—remember those words—with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The notion that essential human rights came from God and not man was a revolutionary concept. It made those rights permanent, undeniable, non-negotiable and immune from the vagaries of politics.

How did our founding fathers know which rights God considered unalienable? Our founders knew, because they all read the Bible. There can be no question that the American Republic was sculpted from the lessons of the Bible.

Pre-Pesach Rescue of Three Holocaust Survivors From Ukraine Is a Sign of Hope

Earlier this month, amid air raid sirens and bombings, we were fortunate enough to rescue three Holocaust survivors from Kyiv and bring them to safety in Poland.

As part of a major rescue operation that spanned two days, I, together with other members of United Hatzalah’s Operation Orange Wings rescue mission, took three ambulances into Kyiv in order to rescue the survivors and bring them to safety across the Polish border.

This wasn’t my first covert rescue mission inside Ukraine, I’ve been rescuing people with difficult medical conditions continuously for the past month.

My first mission involved rescuing a surrogate baby from a bombed hospital in Kyiv, and reuniting it with its surrogate parents in Romania. Others involved rescuing entire families and bringing them safely across the border and then to Israel.

In the latest operation, we managed to rescue three Holocaust survivors, two of whom were bed-ridden; the other one was able to walk with great difficulty. They were living in different senior residences and nursing homes, and they were in danger as the violence encroached upon their homes.

Utilizing the three ambulances that our organization recently bought for the purpose of these types of rescue missions, we drove from the Moldovan and Polish borders to Kyiv, with medical teams on board. Along the way, we delivered much-needed food and medical supplies to hospitals and care centers that had asked for our help in providing these items. The deliveries included supplies, bandages, and medications that are in short supply in Ukraine such as insulin, and others. It took us three days to make the round trip.

NGO Monitor: Ken Roth’s Legacy: Distorting and Exploiting Human Rights to Demonize Israel

In his 29-year reign as head of HRW (from 1993), Ken Roth has obsessively distorted and exploited human rights to demonize Israel. His language reflects a deeply personal hostility to Judaism and Jewish self-determination, regardless of policies, and he has hired many staffers who share this antipathy, amplifying the structural bias against Israel in the UN and other institutions. By abusing HRW’s power and $129 million annual budget (as of 2021) to systematically single-out Israel, and in applying double standards, Roth has caused major damage to the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For the past 20 years, I have documented and written extensively on Ken Roth’s powerful role as head of HRW, demonstrating his obsessive and deeply personal hostility towards Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and the damage this has inflicted to the moral standing of universal human rights principles worldwide.

As head of HRW since 1993, Roth is among the world’s most influential unaccountable political actors, with massive funds, favorable media coverage, and direct access to the UN and world leaders. He also hired many other obsessive anti-Israel activists. Roth adopted and amplified the Soviet-led effort to equate Zionism with South African apartheid, as well as many of the methods, and in late 2001 and early 2002, he oversaw HRW’s central role in the blatantly antisemitic NGO Forum of the Durban conference. Building on this foundation, he led HRW’s political campaigns based on false allegations, including “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity,” to delegitimize Israel’s response to mass terror attacks. He has disproportionately channeled HRW’s resources into lobbying the UN Human Rights Council to create and conduct one-sided “investigations,” such as the discredited 2009 Goldstone report on the Gaza conflict. In parallel, he has pressed the International Criminal Court prosecutors to adopt false versions of international law in order to justify investigating Israelis, including using an invented version of apartheid. He has used the term “primitive” in the context of Jewish religion and tradition (2006), and among hundreds of tweets denouncing Israel, has blamed Jews for antisemitism. HRW’s April 2021 “report” claiming that Israel had “crossed the line into apartheid” is a reiteration of this 20 year history.

My work as an academic focusing on soft power, particularly in the Middle East, has included researching and publishing analyses of the unchecked power of the NGO industry, as exemplified by Roth’s behavior and impact. Beginning in 2004, I corresponded with and met Robert Bernstein, the founder of HRW, who expressed his intense disagreement with the political direction that Roth had taken the organization, specifically regarding singling out Israel. The frequency and intensity of our discussions increased and expanded to include other board members. Roth’s and HRW’s obsessive campaigns grew. In 2009, following the 2009 Goldstone report episode, Bernstein took the unprecedented step of denouncing HRW in a NY Times column and in a series of speeches, which repeated key points from our conversations. Also, many of HRW’s donors ended their support.

The Passover offering (Korban Pesach) was the central feature of the Passover holiday until the destruction of the Temple. Today, only a remnant of this important ritual remains, in the form of a roasted shank bone on the seder plate. The Passover seder, in fact, has replaced the Korban Pesach so that most of us are now unaware that the Passover sacrifice was ever more than an anecdote we reference at the Passover table. And yet, as sure as death and taxes, each year in the run-up to the Passover holiday, Arabs claim that Jews have stormed the Temple Mount to perform the Korban Pesach using the lie as an excuse to commit violent acts of terror against Israeli Jews. The media then trumpets the lies even as it sweeps the acts of terror under the rug.

It is not only the lies, the corruption of the media in repeating the lies, and the heartbreak of the resultant seasonal terror that rankle and disturb those of us who track these events. It’s the fact that the main reason we no longer perform the Korban Pesach is the desire to avoid offense to and prevent subsequent violence by Muslims—both local and abroad. For this reason, it is against Israeli law to make a Korban Pesach on the Temple Mount. This fact, in and of itself, is completely sickening to contemplate: that an important Jewish practice is outlawed in the Jewish State for fear of upsetting non-Jews in and outside of Israel. We are accused and attacked for an observance we do not observe.

Some Israeli Jews, however, are not content with waiting a further 2,000 years to perform the Korban Pesach. Raphael Morris, chairman of the Chozrim L’Har (Return to the Mount) movement, for example, has been attempting to perform the Korban Pesach for years on end. Every year he is arrested. “He goes to prison every year. It's a regular thing,” said his uncle by marriage, Edward Horowitz, a cardiologist.

Morris’ crime this year? A lamb was found in his home, deemed evidence of intent to perform the Korban Pesach. According to a report from Honenu, a legal aid organization that defends “Soldiers and civilians who find themselves in legal entanglements due to defending themselves against Arab aggression, or due to their love for Israel,” Morris and three other activists were strip-searched and detained on Thursday and released late Friday afternoon, on the eve of Passover. “They were generous this year,” said Horowitz. “They let him out of prison for the seder.”

At the hearing, police submitted material from the Telegram channel of Raad Salah,
“who has consistently made threats in light of the activists' intentions to perform the Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount. In reply to a question from Rom regarding the threats, the police representative answered that the police do not intend to investigate Salah about the matter.”

Honenu Attorney Nati Rom, representative for Morris and the other Chozrim L’Har activists, criticized the police over their handling of the incident:

"The Israel Police makes declarations that freedom of worship will be maintained for all religions. Unfortunately, that does not happen. Tens of thousands of inciters call for the destruction of the State of Israel and for violence on the Temple Mount, but when two people walk around with a young goat, they are illegally detained and humiliated.

"The Israel Police refused to answer our questions regarding threats to violence, and which sector poses them. In court, the police presented a post from the Telegram channel of Raad Salah, a terrorist, who threatened violence if the Passover sacrifice were performed. To my question of whether or not the police intended to investigate or detain Salah over his incitement to violence, the reply was 'no.’"

In a statement to the court, Raphael Morris said that, "every year, the State of Israel prevents Jews from performing the Passover sacrifice in its designated place on the Temple Mount. This is in addition to preventing Jewish worship on the Mount during the entire year. The police find various excuses for detaining Jews whose only fault is that they would like to fulfill the commandment of performing the Passover sacrifice according to Jewish law. Time after time, [the charges] are unceremoniously thrown out of court.”

Responding to a Jewish Press report stating that “The arrests came as the terror factions in the Gaza Strip threatened Wednesday to attack Israel if Jews arrive on the Temple Mount and ‘practice their provocative rituals in the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,’” one reader remarked that “It's pretty likely people would have died as a result of their planned action, not to mention violation of Israeli law to start with. The Jewish Press' suggestion that Hamas and the Israeli Police are in cahoots may well violate Israeli laws against incitement and slander.”

These are perhaps valid points. The vast majority of Israelis, even those on the religious right, would not make the preparations necessary to perform the Korban Pesach even once, let alone year after year. At the same time, it is tragic that in the Jewish State, such is the state of things that preparing to perform an age-old Jewish ritual stands as an act of incitement. Especially since we’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t. The ritual is illegal and hasn’t happened in thousands of year, yet Muslims yearly claim that we have “defiled” the Mount with our sacrifices and dirty feet.

Why then, should Israel continue to maintain the status quo in regard to the Korban Pesach? The enemy slanders, smears, and kills us, even as we refrain from performing the very ritual they protest. Will terror victims somehow be deader if someone should slaughter a goat or a lamb on the Mount? "If there is concern that Arabs will riot following an attempt to perform the Passover sacrifice, says Honenu Attorney Itzhak Bam, the rioters should be dealt with. Those wishing to realize their right to freedom of religion should not be harassed."

And still, the law is the law, and not every Temple Mount activist agrees with violating that law to make a point. “Redemption Expediter” Josh Wander, Founder and Managing Director of Bring Them Home said, “I don’t believe getting arrested on Erev Pesach is a Mitzvah. On the other hand, there are many Jews, us included, who prepare sheep and goats before every Pesach and have everything ready hoping that the prime minister will finally allow us access to the Temple Mount to fulfill our religious obligation. The reenactment is for educational purposes and is done every year a week before Pesach.”

Asked about the relevance of the Korban Pesach now that the Temple no longer exists, Wander explained that it is a common misconception that the Korban Pesach cannot be performed in the absence of the Temple. “The Mishne in Ediyot clearly states that sacrifices can be brought without a mikdash and indeed that was what was done when Ezra returned from Bavel* until the second mikdash was built. The two concepts are interrelated, not interdependent,” said Wander.

Many believe that performing the Korban Pesach on the Temple Mount would usher in the Messiah. Wander calls this “another interrelated concept.” “I’m in the process of writing a book on the subject…all positive acts move the process forward,” said Wander. “Things that specifically deal with Geula (Redemption, V.E.) more so. But there actually is a tradition from the Vilna Gaon that the proper bringing of a sacrifice would immediately usher in the Geula.”

Through the ages, Jews have spoken of the resumption of the observance of the Korban Pesach. Some have even made elaborate plans to carry out the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank who was instrumental in the establishment the office of Chief Rabbinate of Israel and served as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for several decades, was rumored to have created a plan to perform the Korban Pesach on the Temple Mount, only to be stymied by his own death before the plan could be realized. According to an anecdote heard by this author, Rabbi Frank planned to convey everything needed for the Korban to the Temple Mount by helicopter, thus ushering in the Messiah and the Final Redemption.

Will Israel someday have a government willing to allow the Jewish people to once again perform the Passover offering? This seems a faraway dream. But then again the Jewish State of Israel was also once only a dream, a seemingly unattainable idea, and yet the desert blooms today, in our time.

*Babylon

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

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

By Forest Rain

A masterpiece of storytelling, writing, and cinematography, the “Vikings” series enthralled me.

I cannot imagine being able to write a sweeping saga so well. The characters are well-rounded and complex – as human beings are. The society portrayed is very different than what we are familiar with and yet, it is presented in a way that makes sense, through the lens of values and norms of that time rather than the judgment of our present-day perspective. This is an extraordinary accomplishment. On top of that the cinematography, lighting, and soundtrack are artfully done.

And still – I found myself baffled. Why was I so caught up by this series? I have no emotional connection to Vikings or England. I don’t particularly enjoy scenes of violence and blood. The characters, while interesting, are not necessarily likable. So… why did I find this saga so gripping?

Jordan Peterson explains that people don’t have ideas but rather ideas take hold of people. Ideas are bigger than individuals and they form, push and guide people. Stories teach ideas. People connect to certain stories because they hold something of value for the individual enthralled by them. This concept made me pay attention to the unexplained fascination I had with the Vikings saga.

(See? “Made me,” the idea caused me to act)

It took me a while but eventually, I figured it out.

The Vikings series portrays the rise of Christianity and the clash between societies – one that adheres to ancient gods while the other is willing to do anything to promote their new god. The societies struggle to live together but this is impossible. The conflict between ideas and the divide between societies is too large. The new Christian god kills the old gods.

As a Jew, one would think I would identify with the Christians as the rise of their society meant the dissemination of the biblical values that were adopted from my faith. Instead, I found myself identifying with the people whose ancient society and old ways were under threat.

And then I understood – we too are living in a time when “gods” are at war.

My God, the God of the Jews is an ancient God. The God of the bible is a god of rules, definitions, order, and judgment. The rights and obligations of humanity come from God’s Commandments. This means that no human has the right to take away what was granted by God. It also means that if we do not fulfill our obligations, we will have to answer to God.

The new god is called “Progress”. To triumph, Progress must vanquish the God of the bible. That is why Progress proclaims that the God of the bible does not exist. This means that rights are given by humans and can be taken away - if the human does not fulfill his or her obligations to the god Progress.

The god of Progress gives no Commandments, aside from demanding obedience to the guidelines of the day. These change from time to time, but all are designed to rip apart the rules and order defined by the God of the bible.

The God of the bible created the universe through the power of words. Through words, order was created and from order, hierarchy: the separation between chaos and order, night and day, the heaven and the earth, animals and humans, man and woman, good and that which is not good.

After every act of creation, God judged and deemed it good.

The god Progress claims that words morph according to the agenda of the day. Words have no solid meaning; they shift according to the way people feel. One day the word “whiteness” is a description of skin color, the next it is an indication of origin, and then it becomes an accusation of privilege. Progress claims that it is wrong to judge, wrong to define, and separate.

The God of the bible created man and woman because both are necessary. Progress declares that gender isn’t biology, it’s a feeling. Men and women are exactly the same, and all differences are a sign of the evils of society.

The God of the bible placed people as custodians over animals and nature. Progress says that humans are not separate or in charge of animals, humans and animals have the same value and perhaps animals are to be valued more. Progress presents thinly-veiled genocidal tendencies, suggesting that the planet would be better off with no humans on it.

Progress looks at the humans created by the God of the bible and deems us bad.

The God of the Jews is rational, can have a conversation with humans, and can even be convinced to change His mind. The God of the Jews defined morality and gave humans the ability to choose. If there was no choice there would be no distinction between good and bad, or anything at all. It would all just be whatever we were told.

To vanquish the God of the Jews Progress must destroy everything created by our God.

Undoing the meaning of words isn’t a matter of being flexible in order to prevent hurt feelings, it is a way to undo the fabric of Creation.

Pretending that there is no difference between man and woman isn’t a path to equality, on the contrary, it’s a tactic to divide and conquer, for man to hate woman and woman to be afraid of man. It’s a denial of the spark of the divine in each individual and the rejection of the incredible bond and strength that results when man and woman strive together, in harmony.

The God of the Jews told us that mother and father are sacred and must be honored so that we can live long on the earth. This means that the family is sacred, that this institution provides us with the stability we need to survive. Progress rips apart the hierarchy of family, telling children that they must obey Progress and not parents who might tell them otherwise.

The God of the Jews determined that stealing and even coveting is wrong. We are not allowed to take what is not ours and even jealous yearning for something we did not earn is forbidden. Progress declares that redistribution of wealth and anti-racism is the way to fight disparity.

Progress fights hate with new hate. The God of the Jews fights hate by teaching compassion and justice. (Justice is also a word under attack by Progress…)

Understanding what is happening in our world today as a modern-day war between gods makes it easier to see a pattern. Seemingly disparate issues are pieces to the same puzzle, individual battles in the same war between the God of the Jews and the new god, Progress.

Progress has long been undermining the Judeo-Christian ethos that made America unique among nations. I no longer recognize the country I was born in. It is no wonder that Progress is infesting Israel, attempting to poison our roots, to make them wither and die.

The God of the Jews gave the Children of Israel a choice and we agreed to the special job He gave us – to be a Light unto the Nations. If it wasn’t a choice, the title would be meaningless. If it was easy, there would be no need to choose.

The God of the bible created light by separating it from the darkness. Creating order from chaos. We Jews were given the Commandments and rules for life that were designed to create order and justice for all societies that chose to adopt those principles. We are supposed to uphold and model these ideas. That is OUR story.

It is no wonder Progress hates Jewish stubborn adherence to our God, our Torah, our Land, and our People. These hold the ideas that provided the foundation of what we still call the “free world” and Jewish ability to maintain them over time. To reign supreme, Progress must kill them all, make them devoid of meaning and erase our understanding of these ideas. In many places, in many ways, Progress has already succeeded.

And yet, the war of the gods is not over.

Like the Vikings discovered, the two societies cannot co-exist. It is ours to choose which we want.

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04/20 Links Pt1: Passover, Ramadan: Holidays that coincide need not collide; Iran’s IRGC wanted to learn Hebrew, ex-hostage says

From Ian:

Passover, Ramadan: Holidays that coincide need not collide

So much good is already happening, all we must do is amplify it. This will be the second Ramadan and Passover since the signing of the Abraham Accords. In these two years not one there has been not one reported incident of antisemitism in the entire United Arab Emirates – not antisemitic and not anti-Israel. In fact, it is safer to walk the streets of Abu Dhabi and Dubai as outwardly identifiable Jews than it is in New York, London or Paris.

As Jews around the world say at their Seder, Dayenu, that would be enough of a reason to give praise to God, but we as God’s creations cannot be satisfied with the absence of hate. We cannot possibly discuss meaningful coexistence without raising the Abraham Accords, which have allowed Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Middle East to relearn one another after decades of only coexisting by proximity and separated by ignorance.

Those of us who have interacted closely with Muslims, Jews, and Christians of the signatory countries can attest in no uncertain terms that the holidays celebrated by these three great religions do not cause hatred, tension or angst. Israeli Jews have been welcomed at iftars from DC to Dubai, and Muslims from the UAE have been welcomed in synagogues from Boca Raton to Jerusalem.

In fact, a great example that truly epitomizes the spirit of what we’re describing here is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The mosque, which welcomes visitors of all faiths all year long, runs various initiatives during the holy month of Ramadan that should serve as an antidote to the fallacy that we collide during the periods considered holy by our respective religions.

One such initiative is Iftar Sa’em, which literally translates to “feeding a fasting person,” a program that brings together more than 30,000 people daily, from all walks of life and various faiths, at the mosque to dine at one table.

Another initiative sponsored by the mosque during this holy month is inviting citizens and residents from various religions and backgrounds to spend a day of volunteering together that culminates in distributing iftar meals.

The beautiful experiences happening at the mosque are only a few of the many great examples taking place around the world every day between Muslims and Jews, because when left to our own devices, without the interference of those who want us to collide, we instinctively want to come together in peace.

So, the next time you see a headline that insinuates that Ramadan and Passover are at odds, rest assured that those who wrote it do not understand our religions, at best, and, at worst, they are rooting for those who have hijacked peaceful religions for extremist wins.

Wishing everyone celebrating a peaceful and joyous Ramadan and Passover.

Dr. Yousef Al Obaidly is director general, Sh. Zayed Grand Mosque.

Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone is former special envoy for economic normalization for the Abraham Accords.

JPost Editorial: Jordan's response to al-Aqsa clashes is unacceptable - editorial

What “provocative acts’’ against Muslims was Abdullah referring to exactly? Trying to keep Palestinian youth incited by Hamas from hurling rocks down on Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall 62 feet below?

As for al-Khasawneh, he sounded downright Iranian using the term “pro-Zionists” to refer to those Jews who were the target of rocks thrown by the Palestinians and Jordanian Islamic Wakf workers he so praised.

This type of rhetoric is to be expected from Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority. But from Jordan, a country with whom Israel has had a peace treaty dating to 1994? A country with whom Israel has a strategic relationship that greatly benefits both sides? A country that gets badly needed gas and water from Israel? A country involved in a long fight with its own Islamic fanatics (ISIS and Muslim Brotherhood) who twist religion and religious symbols to commit acts of violence?

Israel, as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said without mentioning the Hashemite Kingdom by name, expects more from Jordan. As it should.

It should expect that its peace partner to the immediate east work to douse flames, not pour fuel on them.

“Here is the truth: Israel does everything so that everyone can always celebrate the holidays in security – Jews, Muslims and Christians,” Bennett said. “We expect from everyone that they do not join the lies, and certainly not encourage violence against Jews.”

Ever the diplomat, Bennett did not specifically call Jordan out because he did not want to create any more tension with such an important partner. We can afford to be less diplomatic. If Jordan wants to be treated like a friend, it should act and – yes – speak like a friend. The comments coming from its officials over the last few days have been anything but friendly. Israel needs to make it clear that this is utterly unacceptable.

Israel Won’t Tolerate Calls Supporting Violence in Jerusalem, Lapid Tells Blinken

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Tuesday that Israel will not accept statements encouraging the uptick in violence in Jerusalem in recent days, calling instead for international support to return calm to the city.

During a phone conversation with US Secretary Antony Blinken, Lapid spoke about Israel’s efforts to allow freedom of worship to all followers of Judaism, Islam and Christianity in Jerusalem.

Lapid emphasized “Israel’s responsible and measured efforts in the face of riots by hundreds of Islamic extremists on the Temple Mount, as well as falsehoods and disinformation spread by extremists which are fanning the flames of violence instead of bringing about calm,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

The conversation between the two top diplomats comes amid heightened tensions with Palestinians and violent riots around Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound and in the West Bank during the holy month of Ramadan, and as Israel has stepped up its counterterror operations following a recent wave of deadly attacks.

Jordan’s King Abdullah this week warned that Israel’s Al Aqsa policy “seriously undermines” prospects for peace with the Palestinians, while its Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh uttered support for stone-throwing by Palestinians around the Temple Mount.

Blinken spoke with his Israeli counterpart following a “productive call” with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Hsafadi on Monday discussing increased tensions and recent violence in Israel and the West Bank, including around the Temple Mount.

JNS reported:

A senior rabbi in the United Arab Emirates has revealed plans to develop the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) first fully-functioning Jewish neighborhood as the population there continues to grow.

“We will be seeing more houses of worship, schools—from nurseries to higher education—a dedicated place for the mikvah, more kosher food establishments, a community center,” described Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie as reported in The Jerusalem Post. “What we need is a Jewish neighborhood, and I have been speaking with a few real estate developers about this.”

He added that “we would like a neighborhood with a synagogue, private homes, condominiums, hotels, shopping centers.”

Let the conspiracy theories begin!

Al Akhbar is very upset at this plan:

The Emirates will add, to its many features, a Jewish neighborhood, which it apparently claims to be a symbol of tolerance, but in reality it is an attempt to integrate security with Israel, which is required to protect the Abu Dhabi regime, with the decline of the American guarantee for it and other Gulf regimes. As for the goal for Israel, it is the settlement of the Arabian Peninsula, where this neighborhood will represent the first Israeli settlement outside the “land of milk and honey”, to be spread in one way or another later on to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman

I'm not certain how seven million Jews will occupy the lands of 100,000,000 people, but those Jews are smart, so they'll find a way.

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Jordan has fully backed not only the desecration of Al Aqsa by Palestinians, but also the antisemitic incitement and lies that accompany it.

From Jordan's Al Anbat News as well as Ammon News, credited to the official Jordanian Petra news agency, here are excerpts of a long article filled with antisemitic lies and incitement by interviewing "experts."

Professor of Political Science at Hebron University, Dr. Imad Al-Bishtawi, in an interview with Petra via Messenger, confirms that the Israeli attacks are getting fiercer in the month of Ramadan, against the background of Israeli allegations and myths that have no basis in order to reproduce the history of the Palestinian place according to the biblical vision that hates Arabs and Muslims.

The Israelis claim that there is a structure under the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which calls for a unified Arab and Islamic stance regarding this ugly Talmudic nonsense, according to Al-Bishtawi.

He added, “Israel cannot make peace in its true objective sense, as it wants Arab and Islamic surrender with its narrative that says the existence of the temple, which therefore means the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the destruction of history from its roots, especially since Al-Aqsa is the cornerstone of the concept of Palestine’s existence and the escalation of its resistance to sweeping the occupation and defeating its project.” .

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Jordanian Academic Campaign to Support the Rights of the Palestinian People, Dr. Muhammad Al-Masalha, said that what is happening in Al-Aqsa is a Zionist conspiracy linked to the Jewish thought that wants to seize the sanctities. Al-Masalha, head of the Parliamentary Studies Center (Damia), said that they call the Al-Aqsa area the Temple Mount, which is evidence that they want to own this mosque and the mountain on which it resides, which means that they link the political dimension with the religious dimension. They always talk about the Temple Mount and the Kingdom of Solomon and other superstitions, which is evidence of linking their illusions to this place, in an effort to strip the historical Arab identity of the place.

Political analyst and specialist in the Palestinian issue, Dr. Ahmed Said Nofal, said that the Israeli incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially during the month of Ramadan, carry in their meanings a disregard for the feelings of Arabs, Muslims and the Palestinian people who are suffering horrors under the Zionist occupation. Nofal, a professor of political science, pointed out that what is happening at Al-Aqsa is part of a series of official Israeli attacks on Islamic and Christian sanctities, and in order to understand the whole picture, not fragmented, the Zionist presence in Palestine is not directed against Al-Aqsa or the Church of the Resurrection only, but is against the Palestinian presence as a whole and against the Arab existence and even against the Islamic existence, by just talking about the attacks on the sanctity of prayer and worshippers, pointing out that the truth is that Palestine is occupied and Israel is an actual ugly embodiment of the most hateful forms of occupation that will only be removed by continuous confrontation.

The Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs, Abdullah Kanaan, indicates that the Israeli occupation continues its colonial approach in the city of Jerusalem with the aim of Judaizing it and expelling its Arab people, and based on the false mythological Talmudic narrative, which falsely says that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif is the alleged Temple Mount.

Extremist groups (Temple organizations), and with the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, repeatedly stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and constantly endeavored to establish Talmudic rituals in the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in addition to the rituals they conduct at Al-Buraq Wall (the western wall) of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He said that their false pretext for storming Al-Aqsa Mosque is the celebration of the Jewish religious holidays, which have become a dangerous date to justify the attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem, especially what accompanies these Jewish holidays in terms of restrictions on Jerusalemites and the brutal attack on worshipers and those who stationed in Al-Aqsa.

The Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs confirms that the true, non-false history, facts and archaeological evidence, including research conducted by Western and Jewish scholars In addition to the international legal resolutions, explicitly demonstrate the Arabism of the city of Jerusalem, the Islamicness of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the absence of any relationship for the Jews with it.

Keep in mind that Jordan's own Waqf guards were the only people supposed to be maintaining order on Al Aqsa before during the riots - and they didn't do a thing to stop Palestinians from preparing and stockpiling rocks and fireworks. In all probability, they facilitated the violent rioting.

When Jordanian officials appeal for "calm," they mean they want to physically bar Jews and Israelis from Judaism's holiest site.

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EoZTV: A rant about Palestinian and world hypoocrisy

Last week I noted that Palestinians were breaking rocks on the Temple Mount in preparation for throwing them at Israeli police and Jews. I noted that there are some artifacts on the Temple Mount, sitting out in the sun, that look like they were part of ancient structures, and wondering whether Palestinians use those.

Now we know - they do.

Palestinians took large rocks from the east side of the Temple Mount to build obstacles where Jews circumnavigate the site, and Eli Kohn published a video showing what it looked like Tuesday morning.

I saw this in the video:

This is from a column of an old, perhaps ancient, building.

Where is UNESCO? Where are the people who claim Israel targets "Palestinian archaeology"? Here we see direct evidence of Palestinians destroying cultural objects - and no one gives a damn.

So I ranted on video about that as well as a MEMRI video where a top aide of Mahmoud Abbas contradicts himself, lies about Jews, lies about history, and - again - no one cares.

Here's my rant on EoZTV:

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04/19 Links Pt2: Left-wing Jewish American orgs. blast Biden admin. for serving wine from Israeli settlement; Islamist Academics and Activists Shill for Jailed Jihadists

From Ian:

Seth Frantzman: Abraham Accords 2.0: Israel-Arab summit is a view into future Middle East

The U.S. has provided support to the UAE to defend itself against the Houthis, and downed two Iranian drones that were targeting Israel, as the drones flew over Iraq. However, this support may not be enough to deter Iran, leaving Israel and its partners with concerns about the emerging drone and missile threat. Iran openly threatens the Arab countries, which it accuses of collaboration with “Zionists,” and these threats could impact world oil supplies or trade and tourism in the Gulf. A meeting in mid-March between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his counterparts from the UAE and Egypt included a focus on regional security and countering missile and drone threats.

A second process unfolding in the region is the perception that the U.S. may be drawing down its focus on the Middle East as it shifts to confront Russia or other adversaries such as China. As a result, Israel and its new partners realize they must work together. This could mean cooperation on air defense systems — a big win for Israel since its air defense systems are perceived as some of the best in the world. Not only the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco may want the systems, but Germany is reportedly interested in Israel’s Arrow system, which defends against ballistic missiles. Israel and U.S. defense companies often partner on air defense systems; for example, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Israel partners with Raytheon, and Israel’s IAI partners with Boeing on Arrow.

The third ramification of the Negev Summit and this era of “Abraham Accords 2.0” is less tangible than air defense deals or working together against the Iran threat. There are tectonic global shifts afoot, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be the start of new global chaos, in which countries such as Israel need closer regional partnerships. That is why Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid departed for a diplomatic visit to Athens on April 5, where Israel said he met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, and then held a trilateral meeting with the Greek foreign minister and Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides.

In short, Israel is not just building an alliance of the willing with Arab states but also mapping out a new system of states that links Greece with Egypt and onward to the Gulf and India. This will be knit together with Israeli technical know-how and the shared concerns these states have about bellicose neighbors or a world in which countries such as Russia can upset the apple cart of international relations.

Left-wing Jewish American orgs. blast Biden admin. for serving wine from Israeli settlement

A number of Left-wing Jewish-American organizations criticize Vice President Kamala Harris for serving wine from an Israeli settlement at her official Passover Seder on Monday.

Americans for Peace Now sent an email to its members asking them to sign a petition against serving wine that coes from Israeli settlements.

"Like many of us, this past weekend Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff held a Passover seder at their home. Unfortunately, at their Seder they unknowingly served wine produced in a West Bank settlement. A spokesperson for Harris quickly clarified that this was 'in no way intended to be an expression of policy,'" Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of Americans for Peace Now wrote in the email.

Susskind explained: "I absolutely believe that the VP did not intend to serve wine produced in a settlement. But this mistake came about because of policy. Specifically, the Trump administration policy which erased the Green Line and allowed products made in West Bank settlements to be labeled as 'Made in Israel.'"

Susskind urged his membership to "sign this petition to urge Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reverse Trump’s embracement of West Bank settlements."

Susskind claimed that "Psagot and other Jewish settlements in the West Bank are not a part of Israel. They are constructed in occupied territory, under Israeli military occupation, and with the stated objective of preventing a two-state Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. Consecutive US administrations, Democratic and Republican, have defined settlements an obstacle to peace."

AFP reports:

Israeli-organized twin dance festivals in the Sinai have sparked outrage in Egypt as they come just days before the anniversary of the end of the Jewish state’s occupation of the peninsula.

The Nabia and Grounded festivals, which coincide with the Jewish Passover holiday, also come as Muslims observe a daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Nabia festival is due to run from April 17 to 20; the Grounded festival from April 20 to 23. Both offer all-night dancing with an international lineup of artists.

There's a hashtag going around, " #أوقفوا_المهرجانات_الصهيونية" - "Stop Zionist Festivals." Lots of upset Egyptians are writing about how terrible this is.

Samar Farag Fouda, daughter of a famous Egyptian writer who defended secularism and was against Islamism before he was assassinated by Islamists in 1992, went on an antisemitic tirade against Jews visiting Egypt. (She said that Israel expelled 4 million Christians . Who knew?)

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By Daled Amos

I remember the Iran hostage crisis during the Carter administration, when the US was humiliated by its inability to rescue the Americans being held by Iran.

One of the points made at the time was that Iran would never have tried something like that with the USSR -- for fear of the ruthless reaction that would result. Yet just a few years later, the USSR found itself mired in a 10-year war in Afghanistan, a war that it lost.

At the time, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, while aid -- both economic and military -- was provided to the Afghan rebels, and sanctions were imposed.

In the end, not only did the Soviet Union find itself forced to leave Afghanistan, the failed war is counted as one of the reasons for the fall of the Soviet Union.

So much for the ruthless image of the USSR -- and Russia.

Yet Russia bounced back, especially in the Middle East, where Putin has been able to establish a solid foothold in the area, especially as a factor in Syria and as a partner with Iran. Israel's ability to strike at Iranian targets in Syria and prevent Iranian supplies going to Hezbollah is dependent on maintaining good relations with Russia. Clearly, Russia is again a force to be reckoned with and respected.

And now comes the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Are Russia's unexpected difficulties in Ukraine a new sign of weakness?

That is what Ehud Yaari, an Israel journalist, is claiming. Yaari writes that Russia's apparent weakness is not going unnoticed in the Middle East. According to Yaari, this goes beyond the performance of the Russian troops themselves and extends to the performance of the Russian weapon systems --

Although many of the Arab states were reluctant to openly denounce the invasion of Ukraine, everyone in the region I spoke with has second thoughts about Russia. Russian prestige suffered an enormous blow in the region and I don’t think it will be very easy for them to regain their previous prestige. I doubt it’s going to happen.

Putin may have thought that Russia's success in Syria was good preparation for invading Ukraine.

Putin was wrong.

And as much as he may have considered Ukraine to be an opportunity to showcase Russia's military might and technology to both the West and to Russia's clients, it has been anything but.

So far, it's like Afghanistan all over again.

Not only in terms of military failure, but also in terms of the West's reaction in helping Ukraine and imposing sanctions.

And while the Arabs are not coming out openly in support of the West, neither are they in any hurry to come out publicly in support of Putin.

And what about Iran?

Yaari writes:

The internal debate in Tehran is also very interesting. Because you see a very clear divide between the radicals, the hardliners, supporting Russia and what is called sometimes the "reformists" expressing criticism of Russia. I believe doubts in Iran and in the Arab world are going to grow as to what extent they should rely on Russia.

It can't be good for Russia to appear weak in the eyes of Iran.

Going a step further, Yaari believes that Russia's troubles actually make the US look good -- despite Biden's own disastrous retreat from Afghanistan just last year. At the time, the impression was that the US withdrawal showed that the US did not have the stomach for what was required to defend its interests abroad and to defend allies that it had promised to defend.

But now the US may be redeeming itself, as it helps Ukraine and plays a major role in uniting Europe against Russia and imposing various sanctions.

Bottom line, Yaari sees the potential for a new balance of power in the Middle East, one that will include Turkey and will mobilize against Iran:

I believe that the more we will see understandings between Turkey and the US, between Turkey and the local players – the Arabs and Israel- we will see closer cooperation between the Arab Sunni states, Turkey, Israel to try to block Iranian advances.’’

Seth Franzman also sees a realignment in the Middle East resulting from Russia in Ukraine, but not necessarily with the US playing a major role. The realignment is an outgrowth of last month's Negev Summit, where Israel hosted ministers from UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Morocco, but with Israel looking for allies beyond its Arab and Muslim neighbors:

There are tectonic global shifts afoot, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be the start of new global chaos, in which countries such as Israel need closer regional partnerships. That is why Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid departed for a diplomatic visit to Athens on April 5...

In short, Israel is not just building an alliance of the willing with Arab states but also mapping out a new system of states that links Greece with Egypt and onward to the Gulf and India. This will be knit together with Israeli technical know-how and the shared concerns these states have about bellicose neighbors or a world in which countries such as Russia can upset the apple cart of international relations.

Foreign Ministers at the Negev Summit

When the USSR lost its foothold in Egypt, there was an opening for the Begin-Sadat peace initiative. A weakening of Russia's position in the Middle East today again creates possibilities.

Where does all this leave Putin's Russia?

Back in 2011, Lt. Colonel James G. Zumalt warned that by working closely with Iran, Putin was putting Russia in danger:

What Putin fails yet to grasp is the major Islamist threat looming ahead for Russia. Based on low birth rates for native Russians and much higher ones for Muslims, it is estimated by 2050 the country will boast more Muslims than native Russians. This evolution, combined with Putin’s policies towards Iran, will leave Russians facing a very serious threat.

As Zumwalt sees it, Russia's support of Iran's quest for nuclear weapons will come back to haunt it.

Putin naively believes in a non-existent Russian/Iranian bond that places Moscow outside Iran’s crosshairs. But Iran eventually has in mind for Russia the same fate it has for other non-Islamic states—a fate shared by the Caucasus Emirate: i.e., to make the country subservient to shariah law.

Zumwalt supports his contention by quoting from a letter Ayatollah Khomeini sent to Gorbachev back in 1989, as the Soviet Union was beginning to dissolve. In the letter, the Ayatollah suggested replacing Marxism in Russia with Islamism:

I strongly urge that in breaking down the walls of Marxist fantasies you do not fall into the prison of the West and the Great Satan. I openly announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the greatest and most powerful base of the Islamic world, can easily help fill up the ideological vacuum of your system.

Today, Russia is still a major force in the Middle East.
But it may soon find that the Middle East is as inhospitable as Ukraine.

And that might not be such a bad thing.

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