Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, rejected claims that Islam is a religion of the sword or war, insisting that war is only acceptable for self-defence. Urging the international community to move away from pointless conflicts, he noted tragedies caused by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Syria, Libya and Yemen, ancient civilizations have been destroyed, and these lands have become battlegrounds forcing their people to flee. Highlighting efforts made by religious leaders to promote human fraternity, he said Al-Azhar Al-Sharif aims to identify shared responsibilities in addressing climate change and the escalating wars.
Thursday, June 15, 2023
- Thursday, June 15, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- 2013, 2018, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Al-Azhar mosque, blame Zionists, honor/shame, Hypocrisy, media silence, Muslim antisemitism, Sharia law, silence is complicity, z can't make this stuff up
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
United Nations is right to postpone conference on antisemitism if it does not intend to adopt International Definition of Antisemitism
A United Nations conference on antisemitism scheduled for next week has been postponed.Envoys to UN in Geneva visit Israel, get ‘different perspective’
The conference, due to take place on 20th and 21st June in Spain, was organised to unveil the United Nations Action Plan on Monitoring Antisemitism and Enhancing a System-wide Response.
However, in a letter dated 9th June and sent to conference participants, Miguel Moratinos, High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilisations, who is leading the UN’s work on antisemitism, said: “After very careful consideration and aiming to ensure the action plan is inclusive and benefits from the inputs of all stakeholders, I would like to allow more time for further work and finalisation of the plan during summer 2023.”
The meeting is postponed until September, with no date set.
The postponement came amid concerns on the part of the Israeli mission to the UN and Jewish organisations relating to the content of the draft plan.
In particular, the draft plan, three years in the making, reportedly gives equal space and weight to the International Definition of Antisemitism, Jerusalem Declaration and the Nexus Document. This is despite the fact that, whereas the Definition has the support of Jewish communities around the world and the state of Israel and has been adopted by numerous national governments, multinational organisations and provincial and local governments and public bodies around the world, the Jerusalem Declaration is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition, and the Nexus Document is a fringe alternative definition which also exists solely and explicitly to undermine the Definition and create space for certain far-left expressions of antisemitism.
For this reason, Campaign Against Antisemitism and swaths of Jewish organisations wrote to the UN urging the adoption of the Definition alone.
The draft plan references the Definition and the two fringe alternatives, and urges UN member states to formulate an acceptable definition, despite the fact that the Definition was drafted over many years and has already been adopted by numerous member states on various continents, and enjoys the support of Jewish communities across the world.
It is understood that Mr Moratinos did not consult with the Israeli mission to the UN or the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and did not even invite the Israeli ambassador to the UN to the conference.
The first-ever delegation of senior legal advisers and human-rights experts from permanent missions to the United Nations in Geneva visited Israel last week to get firsthand insights into the country’s institutions, legal framework, population and civil society sector.
The delegation included representatives of the permanent missions of the United States, Italy, Greece, Uruguay, Paraguay, Kenya and Israel.
They were hosted by the Center for Jewish Impact, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
“The United Nations is a bubble, too often detached from the reality on the ground. Having firsthand experience of Israel is the ideal way to understand the diversity, the complexity, and the beauty of our country,” said Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar, permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva.
“I am convinced that the diplomats who joined this tour will see Israel from a whole different perspective in the future,” she added.
The representatives were given a geopolitical overview of Israel’s security challenges; learned about its institutions and legal system; met with legal experts; and held a roundtable discussion with Israeli civil society leaders.
They visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum and attended a seminar on antisemitism to learn about historical and contemporary manifestations of the world’s oldest hate, particularly from a legal perspective.
“Despite the United Nations’ challenging environment, underscored by the latest Commission of Inquiry report, these diplomats witnessed a side of Israel that inspires hope and showcases the power of resilience,” said Robert Singer, chairman of the Center for Jewish Impact.
“We showed them Israel that they might otherwise never see, and I think it was an impactful experience for them, which we hope they will use in their professional work,” he said.
Congressman Urges DOJ Probe of Tehran-Endorsed 'Mapping Project'
Rep. Jack Bergman has raised national security alarm bells by calling on the Justice Department to investigate ongoing efforts of an anti-American website that is allegedly promoted by Iran's regime and incites assassination attacks against U.S. law enforcement personnel and American Jews.BDS movement co-founder to speak at Toronto ‘anti-racism’ conference
Bergman, R-Mich., sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this month. The letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, called for immediate action.
He wrote, "To protect Americans' national security interests and religious freedoms, the Justice Department should commission a full investigation into the origins and funding of the Mapping Project, including possible collaboration with the Islamic Republic."
Fox News Digital has reported extensively on the Mapping Project in 2022, when it was first revealed, and in March with respect to the role of the Iranian regime in supporting the terrorism aims of the Mapping Project.
Bergman stated in his letter to Garland, "I write to express my concern that the Islamic Republic of Iran is covertly supporting a purported social justice movement in the United States known as 'the Mapping Project' as part of a sophisticated campaign to sew social discord and undermine public faith in American institutions.
"Launched in 2022, the Mapping Project maintains a website with an interactive map that pinpoints the precise geographic locations of more than 500 civil society, government, national security, religious, and community organizations in the state of Massachusetts that it claims should be 'dismantled' for advancing perceived 'harms' in the United States and in Israel."
He noted, "Among the entities whose precise locations are shared on the Mapping Project website are some 271 police stations – law enforcement is a frequent target for the Mapping Project, which publicly called for the abolition of the Boston Police Department – nine U.S. military bases and installations, and several Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service offices. Nearly 300 of the approximately 500 organizations mapped by the Mapping Project contribute to the nation's national security."
A Canadian group called Independent Jewish Voices is hosting an “Anti-Racist Solidarity and the Fight for Justice in Palestine” conference in Toronto from June 16-17. One of the slated speakers is Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the anti-Israel BDS movement.
By “platforming speakers like Omar Barghouti,” the group “is making clear that it supports a one-state framework, which would mean the destruction of the Jewish state, which Barghouti unabashedly sets out as his objective,” said Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. “It demonstrates in the clearest of ways that the group has no interest in promoting peace and universal rights.”
Fogel added that IJV should be seen as only representative of “the fringe minority who actually affiliate with it” and not of Canadian Jewry. “Those who do accord this group any credibility must be understood as doing so to justify their own anti-Israel political agendas,” he said.
Bargouti has said: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian, rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, would ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
Another speaker at the event, Shatha Ayman, has supported the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which Canada lists as a terrorist entity.
German Public Broadcasting political chief journalist Georg Restle calls dead Palestinian Terrorists martyrs and claims that German Public Broadcasting doesn't report about the children of the Palestinian martyrs out of racist & capitalist reasons. https://t.co/YhefEi820T
— Michael Weingardt (@Michael_Wgd) June 14, 2023
- Wednesday, June 14, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- 2023 terror, Christiane Amanpour, Fatah, hamas, impossible peace, Jenin Battalion, opinion poll, Palestinian Security Forces, Palestinian values, PCPSR, supporting terror, The Lion's Den
- Wednesday, June 14, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- ABC, antisemitism, BDS, BDSFail, blame Jews, cartoons, CBS, denying Jewish history, editorial cartoons, hamas, IHRA, jew hatred, media bias, Nazi propaganda, NBC, racism, stereotyping
Abraham Accords special envoy bill passes US House
Reflecting the broad, bipartisan nature of political support for the Abraham Accords, the Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Act passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 413-13. It now heads to the Senate.
The bill calls for the creation of a position that would report to the secretary of state and require extensive experience in Middle East diplomacy and an in-depth understanding of both Jewish and Muslim cultures. Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, is reportedly under consideration.
“The addition of a special envoy will be critical for bringing Saudi Arabia into the accords and continuing to strengthen and expand them,” stated Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who sponsored the bill. “We are closer to a lasting, long-term peace in the Middle East than we have ever been.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a backer of the bill, stated: “We are working to strengthen and expand the Abraham Accords, support Israel’s existing partnerships and increase regional cooperation to counter shared threats.”
Excellent reminder of how outnumbered anti-Israel voices are in the House of Representatives - todays vote to establish an ambassador position to expand the Abraham Accords succeeded 413-13. A huge bipartisan success. https://t.co/qyFtwnWoVm
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) June 14, 2023
The Abraham Accords not only guarantee Israel’s recognition by its neighbors, but also present the hope of continued progress toward peace and prosperity across the region. pic.twitter.com/RUJS6SmHw0
— Congressman Mike Lawler (@RepMikeLawler) June 14, 2023
BREAKING: The House has passed my bipartisan bill with @RepMikeLawler, establishing a special envoy for the Abraham Accords.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) June 13, 2023
Today, we’re bending the long arc of the Middle East where it belongs: toward peace and prosperity for Jews, Christians, & Muslims as one. pic.twitter.com/WJ04cdGZgw
In a 413-13 vote, the House just passed a bipartisan bill to establish an ambassador-rank envoy for the Abraham Accords.
— AIPAC - text ACT to 24722 (@AIPAC) June 13, 2023
This initiative will help expand the Accords and advance peace between Israelis and Arabs.
Thank you @RepRitchie for leading this bill with @RepMikeLawler! pic.twitter.com/97TPcv8Ds6
Curious what happens next in the Senate or in the administration? I've got more on that here, from this morning: https://t.co/BF0r7przXa
— Marc Rod (@marcrod97) June 13, 2023
Six J Street-endorsed members of Congress voted against a bipartisan bill to help strengthen the Abraham Accords.
— AIPAC - text ACT to 24722 (@AIPAC) June 13, 2023
Opposing peace.
Opposing coexistence.
Opposing a Biden-backed policy.
Standing with the anti-Israel fringe, @jstreetdotorg is many things, but it's not pro-Israel. https://t.co/0GFTBXOmAt pic.twitter.com/URQcxu0rsH
- Wednesday, June 14, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- anti-Zionist not antisemitic, Arab antisemitism, Death to Israel, genocide, Houthi, jew hatred, Khazar libel, Life Of Jews In Arab Lands, Life of Jews in Christian Lands, Muslim antisemitism
Corruption is a Jewish trait worldwide. So much so that one can seldom find corruption that was not masterminded by Jews or that Jews are not responsible for. They are well known for their intense love of money and its accumulation. The way in which they get hold of that money does not interest them in the least. On the contrary - they would use the most basic despicable ways, to realize their aim, so long as those who might be affected were non-Jews. A Jew would cross any line if it were in his interest....Since such is their behavior, they have exerted all their efforts into developing evil schemes. They believed that the secret to their survival lay in controlling the economies of the countries that had let them in and sheltered them from being refugees. [They further believed] that the secret lay in conspiracy and abatement of feuds [between non-Jews], so that the non-Jews would be engaged in internal conflict – paving the way for [a Jewish attack]. They concoct scandals that would haunt leaders, letting the Jews take a firm grip and tilting leaders in favor of their interests.A survey conducted by [Jewish] scholars, on the legacy and customs of non-Jewish nations, taught them that the latter were afraid of money and sex. These are exactly the two instruments Zionists use. First, they have propagated Freemasonry and Rotary clubs all over the world, in order to hunt for influential people, or such whom they can take advantage of. Zionists trap these [influential people] due to their circumstances, shortsightedness or greed. [Shortcomings] have pushed them to the lap [of Jews], so they can [still] reach the aims they had envisioned.
While one may find similarly antisemitic articles in Algerian or Iraqi or Islamic fundamentalist media, since the translations started getting media attention the more mainstream sites in Egypt and the PA have been trying to avoid explicit antisemitism and call it all "anti-Zionism."
Little has changed, except in Abraham Accords countries. But the explicit antisemitism is a bit more embarrassing so it is not as publicized in the media of most Arab states.
Today we call the name “Jew” in general on every person who converted to the Jewish religion, while the reality is that many of these are not Semitic in terms of ethnic origin, as a large number of them are descendants of the Herodians or the Edomites of Turkish-Mongolian blood.The Jews of Khazaria were famous for their malice, extreme stinginess, decadent methods in financial matters, and their vile morals, so they spread economic and social corruption in Europe. .In 1306 AD, France expelled the Jews, followed by Saxony in 1348 AD, Hungary in 1360 AD, Belgium in 1370 AD, Slovakia in 1380 AD, Austria in 1430 AD, the Netherlands in 1444 AD, Spain in 1492 AD, Lithuania in 1495 AD, Portugal in 1498 AD, and Italy in 1540 AD, and Bavaria in general 1551 AD.Therefore, most historians say that Europe was not able to start the era of renaissance and prosperity until after it was able to expel the Jews from its lands and liberate itself from the clutches of Jewish economic control.Will we, the Arabs, succeed in expelling this malignant cancer from our region, so that we can enjoy the renaissance and prosperity as Europe did in the past?!Or is the axis of resistance the only one fighting this cancer in order to expel it from the region, while the rest of the Arabs do not care about the evil of this malignant disease?
- Wednesday, June 14, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- corruption, Palestinian refugees, UNHCR, unrwa, unrwa reports, z can't make this stuff up
UNRWA definition of “other eligible population” includes: (i) “Non-Refugee Wives” – women who are (or were) married to registered Palestine refugees, and as such are eligible to register to receive UNRWA services; (ii) “Non-Refugee Husbands” and “Non-Refugee Descendants” (including legally adopted children) – husbands and descendants of women who are Registered Refugees and are (or were) married to a non-refugee. They are also eligible to register to receive UNRWA services. Once they are registered with UNRWA, persons in this category are referred to as Married to Non-Refugee (MNR) Family Members.
UNRWA’s Commissioner-General (then Director) stated in his annual report to the General Assembly in 1961: "The Agency’s definition of a refugee eligible for assistance is narrowly drawn and stipulates the loss of both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 hostilities. Substantial numbers of Palestine Arabs do not qualify for Agency relief on the technical grounds that they did not lose both home and means of livelihood, i.e. they may have lost their source of income and may be wholly destitute, but did not lose their home. This category has become known as 'economic refugees' and includes frontier villagers in Jordan, some destitute inhabitants of Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and certain Bedouin expelled after 1948. The General Assembly has more than once confirmed that, despite the undoubted need of these unfortunate people, the Agency’s mandate does not extend to them.
- Wednesday, June 14, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- "Al-Aqsa is in danger!" lie, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Rock, Friends of Al Aqsa, Har haBayit, Jordan, Koran, Makor Rishon, Robert Schick, storming Al-Aqsa, Temple Mount, Temple Mount Sifting Project, Waqf
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
The Antisemitic Origins of Islamist Violence: A Study of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic State
Islamism is one of the least understood forms of anti-Semitism. Leave to one side those who foolishly romanticise Islamist groups as fighting a heroic anti-colonial struggle against Israel and the West. Even those who, quite rightly, condemn Jihadi violence all too often lack a broader understanding of the Islamist world view. Being appalled by terrorist atrocities is not the same as grappling with the ideas of the broader political movement that motivates them.White House consulting CAIR on antisemitism is like inviting ‘butchers to National Vegetarian Day’
Opponents of Islamism most often see it as essentially an extreme form of Islam as a religion. Such a conclusion is understandable as it is possible to selectively pull-out quotes from the Koran showing antipathy towards Jews. It is also important to note that Islamists present themselves as representing the true face of Islam. But the fact that Islamists identify themselves in these terms is a reason to question the claim rather than take it as a given.
Reducing Islamism to a form of extremist religion is hard to maintain once it is examined more closely. For a start, empirical studies of Jihadis and Islamist activists tend to suggest most have a skimpy knowledge of the religion. Their reading of Islamic texts tends to be highly tendentious. It is also insufficiently well recognised how much they are influenced by the most backward forms of European thought. For example, The Protocols of The Elders of Zion (1903), the notorious tsarist forgery outlining a supposed global Jewish conspiracy, is seminal in Islamist literature.
To be sure there is a relatively small number of formidable academics who do see Islamism as a form of political ideology rather than an extremist religion. For example, Olivier Roy, a leading French expert, argues that: ‘We must understand that terrorism does not arise from the radicalisation of Islam, but from the Islamisation of radicalism’. In other words, Islamism is an outlook that frames radical politics in Islamic language. The Islamist worldview extends well beyond Jihadi terrorists to include what are sometimes called ‘participationist’ Islamists. Such militants engage in Islamist politics but do not themselves engage in acts of violence. Other experts who see Islamism as essentially a form of political ideology, albeit one that uses an Islamic idiom, include Matthias Küntzel and Bassam Tibi. These authors are all well worth reading but sadly they have so far had relatively little influence on the public debate.
Evin Ismail, a senior lecturer in political science at the Swedish Defence University, has added to this important but insufficiently well-known literature with her Uppsala University doctorate. It examines the centrality of anti-Semitism to the outlook of the Muslim Brotherhood – which has spawned numerous organisations around the world – and Islamic State.
She draws on a variety of sources to help understand the Islamist world view and the centrality of Islamism in particular. These include a discussion of Islamic sources such as the Koran and the hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhamad), the writings of Sayyid Qutb (the most influential Islamist ideologue), Dabiq (an Islamic State newsletter) and case studies of various Islamist terrorists.
Ismail argues that anti-Semitism has played a central part in the Islamist outlook since its inception with the foundation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 1928. That is, it should be noted, 20 years before the founding of the state of Israel. So, seeing Islamist anti-Semitism as simply a reaction to Israel’s actions is not tenable.
Scholars who study antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred, and activists who focus on those areas, told JNS that CAIR should have been kept far away from a national strategy to counter antisemitism.Definitively measuring antisemitism
Gil Troy, a history professor at McGill University, told JNS that the decision reflected the “illogic” of “inclusivity and faux diversity.”
“Let’s make sure to recruit some male chauvinists for the next women’s rights initiative—and invite some butchers to National Vegetarian Day,” he said.
“Once they are helping in the strategy, perhaps representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations want to offer some tips on fighting dog-whistling and gas-lighting, on making every accusation against anyone else be about you and about how to disprove the ‘I’m only anti-Israel. I’m not antisemitic’ ruse,” Troy added. “After all, according to the ADL and others, they have mastered those tricks of the New Antisemitism.”
Jason Bedrick, an education policy research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who focuses on religious liberty, among other topics, told JNS that it is “absurd and outrageous” that the Biden administration consulted “one of the chief purveyors of antisemitism” on its national strategy to combat antisemitism.
“CAIR is still a bad actor that advocates on behalf of vicious Jew-haters and people convicted of supporting terrorism,” he said.
The inclusion of CAIR “at least partially explains why the Biden administration’s plan falls woefully short of anything meaningful, especially as it embraced two conflicting definitions of antisemitism,” he said.
The IHRA working definition of antisemitism deems it antisemitic to single out the Jewish state for condemnation in a unique way, while the Nexus definition “is primarily designed to let Jew-haters off the hook, so long as they thinly veil their antisemitism as mere ‘anti-Zionism,’” Bedrick said.
Sam Markstein, national political director at the Republican Jewish Coalition, told JNS that the inclusion of CAIR is “further evidence that President Biden blew it by failing to include a single clear definition of antisemitism in his plan.”
Insofar as CAIR “demonizes Israel” and promotes the anti-Israel BDS movement, it falls under the IHRA definition, according to Markstein.
“Jewish Americans deserve better than a White House that embraces an organization like CAIR, while undermining the IHRA definition by promoting alongside it an alternative definition that says applying double standards and singling out the Jewish state for criticism is not antisemitic,” he said.
‘Serious doubts about their suitability’
Kyle Shideler, director and senior analyst in homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, told JNS that CAIR’s roots in the 1990s were as a front to support Hamas.
“CAIR has been clear and unapologetic about its willingness to engage in Jew-hatred, even if it occasionally attempts to disguise this as opposition to the state of Israel,” he said. “CAIR’s inclusion would make more sense if the Biden administration was proposing a strategy for promoting antisemitism, instead of a supposed strategy to reduce antisemitism.”
The decision to include CAIR demonstrates that the Biden administration, “is fundamentally unserious about opposing genuine antisemitism and merely going through the motions while making sure not to alienate the radical anti-Israel wing of the left, which remains a vital portion of their political base,” added Shideler.
Roger Waters continues to deny antisemitism claims
Waters, the former member of the rock band Pink Floyd, has been a controversial celebrity on issues related to antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has publicly espoused antisemitic sentiments and, for years, has used his concerts to push antisemitic tropes through the guise of anti-Zionism. He is also a vocal proponent of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, in which leadership has openly stated that there is no future for Palestine next to Israel.
In a recent interview featured by Double Down News, Waters spent a good 20 minutes defending his recent actions, claiming that the antisemitic allegations against him are false. Waters stated that “the narrative that I’m an antisemite and that I am promoting fascism by wearing a leather coat with crossed hammers... but it remains a vicious lie.”
He even pretended to be upset over these allegations, saying, “I can’t believe they are trying to do this to me.”
Well, he better believe it because it’s true. The facts speak for themselves, and there can be no denying that Roger Waters is an antisemite. Let’s take a look at some of his actions:
The use of antisemitic imagery: Waters has used antisemitic imagery and symbolism during his performances, where he often uses a pig-shaped balloon with the Jewish Star of David and a swastika. Such imagery he chooses intentionally. Waters claimed he stopped using this in 2013, but that does not replace the years of damage done by demonizing and dehumanizing Jews in this manner. Waters’s “pig” reinforces harmful stereotypes and invokes historical tropes perpetuating antisemitism.
Comparing the Jewish state to Nazi Germany: Waters has drawn multiple false comparisons between Israel to apartheid-era South Africa and Nazi Germany. This is an intentional move to equate the Jewish state to some of history’s most heinous atrocities, especially knowing that the Holocaust invokes so much pain in the Jewish community. While Israel is not immune to criticism, comparing it to the Nazis trivializes and delegitimizes the Holocaust.
Selective focus on demonizing Israel: Waters has a selective focus on Israel’s actions while ignoring Palestinian terrorism. He disproportionately highlights Israel’s alleged wrongdoings without acknowledging the complexities of the conflict and the challenges that Israel faces with her neighbors.
This is just a shortlist of Roger Waters’s track record of antisemitism, and now the Biden administration has weighed in on the controversy.
- Tuesday, June 13, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- CNN, double standards, Egypt, house demolition, Hypocrisy, media silence, New York Times, NGO silence, No Jews No News, NYT, Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, Suez Canal Authority, The New Arab
Residents in the Egyptian town of Al-Arish have expressed anger over security forces demolishing their homes to make way for a new port in the Suez Canal.In videos shared by activists online, men, women and children can be seen visibly distressed while protesting against the destruction of their homes in the city's Al-Mina district.The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights NGO said that Egyptian security forces launched a campaign to demolish homes in Arish in March this year despite residents' protests, according to Al-Jazeera Mubasher.The group's director, Ahmed Salem, also stated that at least 20,000 people are impacted by the ongoing home demolitions.Many residents who gave up their homes had complained that they were not adequately compensated despite promises, while others were at risk of homelessness due to insufficient funds to rent other properties, the NGO added.Additionally, many handed over ownership of their homes due to pressure from security forces, while a number of homes were destroyed before compensation was even offered, leaving many homeless.
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! |
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- Tuesday, June 13, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- Alma, analysis, Hezbollah, Lebanon, terror tunnels
In our opinion, explosive-filled terror tunnels are one of the threats and “surprises” that might be expected in a future confrontation with Hezbollah. The threat of terror tunnels is another layer in the underground infrastructure of Hezbollah’s “Land of the Tunnels” in Lebanon, which comprises attack tunnels, infrastructure tunnels, and strategic tunnels. In October 2021, we released an article regarding Hezbollah’s “Land of the Tunnels” underground infrastructure in Lebanon.The usage of explosive-filled tunnels is less recognized. These tunnels are packed with explosives that run beneath a community, security facility, or geographical location where an explosion might harm the enemy. The tunnel is filled with tons of explosives and is sealed and activated at a determined moment.Using these tunnels causes significant destruction. Due to their immense force and underground location, explosive charges in tunnels of this type, unlike bombs or missiles from the air, have the effect of an earthquake rather than a bomb and can thus destroy a community or an entire facility.The utilization of this strategy during World War I is a distinct example of this. The Germans and the British excavated hundreds of such tunnels beneath no man’s land and extended defensive lines, wreaking havoc on the opposing side.The Battle of the Messines Ridge (now French territory), which began on June 7, 1917, with a sequence of explosions of nineteen tunnels out of twenty-six excavated, is particularly noteworthy. Each tunnel contained a total of twenty-one tons of explosives. More than 400 tons of explosives exploded in total. The impact of the explosion could be heard as far away as London.As a direct result of the explosion, it is estimated that 10,000 Germans were killed or buried alive beneath the mounds of dirt, and thousands of startled German soldiers were captured.
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! |
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Jpost Editorial: Yet another UN farce
The UN Commission of Inquiry is not only continuing its track record of anti-Israel bias – it is surpassing it and dragging the bias to new lows.UNRWA strike is an opportunity to shut it down for good
“The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel,” to give it its full title – or UN COI as it is known in brief – was approved and funded by the UN General Assembly in December 2021. Its establishment came following the 11-day war the previous May that started when Hamas in Gaza launched rockets at Jerusalem and much of the rest of Israel.
The COI is an unprecedented, open-ended war crimes probe against Israel. Since no such open-ended investigation has ever been instigated against any other UN member, nobody should have been under any illusion that the reports would be fair or unbiased.
The UN's biased panel members
The composition of the three-member panel should have indeed dispelled any remaining thoughts that the UN might approach Israel and the Palestinians with an open mind. All three members – former UN high commissioner for human rights and current COI Chair Navi Pillay, Chris Sidoti and Miloon Kothari – were all well-known for their anti-Israel stances. The results were a foregone conclusion.
The commission’s mandate allows it to investigate any alleged Israeli human rights violations in sovereign Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. According to the draft of its latest report, released on June 8, even that scope is not enough. As Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices, noted in an opinion article in this paper on Monday, the report contains an unprecedented attack on Israel and its defenders, “including private individuals and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) ‘worldwide.’"
“The move is a dramatic attempt to extend the global reach of a highly controversial venture initiated by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021, at the behest of Islamic states, without any Western support,” Bayefsky wrote.
While the 78-page report is too long to summarize here in detail, highlights include: “In March 2023, a Knesset lobby for the fight against antisemitism and delegitimization was announced by Likud members of the Knesset, with a focus on combating the ‘undermining’ of Israel by foreign countries that finance human rights and civil society organizations.”
In other words, the COI finds Israel guilty of – among its other “crimes” – daring to tackle delegitimization and antisemitism.
The international community should be allowed to continue aiding Palestinians through means other than UNRWA, whose gradual closure will clearly convey the message that the State of Israel is here to stay and that it is time to negotiate with Israel rather than delegitimize it.Palestinians Build A Mosque, Destroying An Ancient Jewish Fortress In Samaria
The process should begin with the education system of UNRWA in the West Bank. Instead of Palestinian children attending UNRWA schools and teachers receiving salaries from the agency, they will be redirected to schools under the Palestinian Authority.
The buildings will remain the same, the classrooms will be the same, and the teachers will be the same. The practical impact on the lives of Palestinians will be minimal. This situation will greatly facilitate the support of the defense establishment since the risk of social and security instability will be minimal.
Israel will demand that donor countries transfer the proportional portion of their donations allocated to the education system to the Palestinian Authority instead of UNRWA. Most donor countries have no problem doing so. The exception is the United States, which, due to the Taylor Force Act, does not transfer funds directly to the Palestinian Authority.
However, alternative solutions can be found through other aid agencies operating in the West Bank, such as USAID or UNICEF. In the future, suitable solutions can be found for each specific region in the Middle East where UNRWA operates, based on its specific needs and the given situation: Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
It can be assumed that the Palestinians will oppose such moves, and it will force them to explicitly state that they see a direct link between the existence of the agency and the fulfillment of their demand for return. Such a course of action will put them in a compromising position since they have managed to blame the continuation of the conflict solely on the Israeli side.
A gradual closure of UNRWA will focus attention on the fact that the struggle between us and the Palestinians revolves around the very existence of the State of Israel and not withdrawal from territories. Such understanding will hinder the political struggle in the international arena and lead to greater consensus within Israeli society, which is divided regarding its responsibility for the continuation of the conflict.
In the long run, the closure of the agency may trigger voices in Palestinian society that challenge the myth of return and start considering peaceful relations with the State of Israel instead of persisting in their current stance.
Over the weekend, the Palestinian Authority buried the ancient Hasmonean fortress "Tel Aroma" under thousands of tons of dirt and destroyed much evidence of the existence of the historic Jewish site.
Massive construction work was carried out by the Palestinian Authority last Saturday in the Hasmonean fortress of Tel Aroma, as part of which thousands of tons of dirt were poured on the slopes of the ancient Hasmonean fortress. Following the report of the destruction, the archeology department of Judea and Samaria worked to stop the construction, but during the afternoon tractors resumed and continued the destruction.
The dirt spillway almost completely blocks two ancient water reservoirs that were uncovered, which were used by the Hasmoneans. These piles of dirt are added to the previous destruction of the mound in the area which has been going on for several years and includes the shaving of the top of the mound, a massive theft of antiquities, and the construction of the "Mosque of the Martyrs" on the site.
Tel Aroma is an archaeological park identified with the biblical site of Aroma, which was the ruling city of Abimelech, topped by a Hasmonean fortress with an impressive water system that functioned as a ruling city during the Hasmonean kingdom and a fortress to protect its northern border. The site is located in Area B according to the Oslo Accords, at the top of a prominent hill, about 850 meters above sea level, on a ridge north of the Samaria’s main highway and the village of Akbara, and south of the Gideonim ridge near the settlement of Itamar.
Under the auspices of the Jewish Sabbath when Israeli antiquities protection & enforcement employees are off, trucks, and excavators dug near the "Mosque of the Martyrs" and removed thousands of tons of dirt that were spilled on top of the mound. The dirt covered the Herodian wall on the site and blocked at least two ancient water reservoirs, which are among the largest found in Israel from this period.
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Council, said that "This is shameful". According to him, "The Hasmonean fortress, one of the most important found, is being systematically vandalized. Part of the attempts of the pathetic 'Palestinian Authority.' I call on the government to make Tel Aroma a strategic destination for conservation before it's too late."
A mosque and road were built at the Hasmonean fortress in Tel Aroma and nobody saw this happening? ??https://t.co/1Nva8whx1R
— Gaia (@GAIA1010) August 4, 2022
- Tuesday, June 13, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- anti-Zionist not antisemitic, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, normalizing antisemitism, roger waters
ROGER WATERS FRANKFURT SHOW UPDATEFRANKFURT COUNCIL WERE LEGALLY REQUIREDTO RESPOND TO ROGER WATERS INTERIM INJUNCTIONBY MIDNIGHT APRIL 14DID THEY?NOBODY KNOWS?WE CAN ONLY GUESS ATWHAT’S GOING ON IN FRANKFURT?ARE THEY PLAYING FOR TIME?WHO KNOWS?NOT THAT IT MATTERS MUCH!WE’RE COMING ANYWAY!BECAUSE HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER!BECAUSE FREE SPEECH MATTERS!YES! FRANKFURT CITY COUNCILWE REMEMBER KRISTALLNACHT!LIKE SOPHIE SCHOLLOUR FATHERS STOODWITH THOSE THREE THOUSAND JEWISH MENAND TODAY WE STAND WITH THE PALESTINIANS!WE’RE COMING TO FRANKFURTON THE 28TH OF MAY!LOVER.
This week, for at least the third time, a fan with an Israeli flag was forcibly removed from a Roger Waters show and the flag desecrated.Former Pink Floyd star Roger Waters, who has lately featured repeatedly in the news for all the wrong reasons, has stated that wearing a mock Nazi uniform in his concerts was actually a "statement against fascism", but that does not explain why a fan who was waving an Israeli flag was manhandled by security and escorted off site."There was no intent on my part to provoke anyone," said Gilad Emilio Schenkar, who arrived at the concert with his partner. "And I certainly did not plan on being thrown out.""Both I and my partner are huge Pink Floyd fans, and this was dubbed a farewell tour, so we just had to buy tickets. Since we've been noticing the antisemitic displays in his concerts lately, we decided to take an Israeli flag with us.Shortly after displaying the Israeli flag, he was summarily ejected from the venue. "It was brutal. They grabbed and dragged me out. It was quite painful. They took me to a side room and interrogated me. Who I am, what I was doing there and all that. They firmly held my hands while they searched me. They then took the flag, threw it in the garbage and kicked me out. I told them that I thought this was a democracy, so why is a Palestinian flag allowed but an Israeli one isn't?"
- Tuesday, June 13, 2023
- Elder of Ziyon
- Amnesty, blame Israel, collateral damage, fact check, gaza, ICRC, international law, Islamic Jihad, jew hatred, LOAC, NGO lies, PIJ, The Laws of Armed Conflict
Amnesty International investigated nine Israeli airstrikes that resulted in the killing of civilians and in the damage and destruction of residential buildings in the Gaza Strip. Three separate attacks on the first night of bombing on 9 May, in which precision-guided bombs targeted three senior Al-Quds Brigades commanders, killed 10 Palestinian civilians, and injured at least 20 others. They were launched into densely populated urban areas at 2am when families were sleeping at home, which suggests that those who planned and authorized the attacks anticipated – and likely disregarded – the disproportionate harm to civilians. Intentionally launching disproportionate attacks, a pattern Amnesty International has documented in previous Israeli operations, is a war crime.The ICRC says
The principle of proportionality prohibits attacks against military objectives which are “expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated”.
Israel’s deliberate destruction of civilian homes also took a heavy toll on civilians in the Gaza Strip, including on people living with disabilities.On 13 May, Israeli forces targeted a four-storey building in the Jabalia refugee camp. The building was home to 42 people from the extended Nabhan family. Five members of the family live with disabilities, including three being wheelchair users.Hussam Nabhan, an eyewitness to the attack, told Amnesty International he had received a call he believed to be from an Israeli intelligence officer at around 6pm, saying residents of the building had 15 minutes to evacuate. Hussam told the caller that there were people with disabilities in the building and they needed more time, but the caller just repeated the warning.After the strike, 22-year-old Haneen Nabhan was so traumatized she found it hard to talk, saying that her wheelchair had been buried under the rubble of her home so she could no longer move around independently.Research by Amnesty International found no evidence that the Nabhan building – and other residential buildings destroyed or damaged during the last two days of the offensive – had been used to store weapons or any other military equipment or that rockets had been launched from their direct vicinity.“The root cause of this unspeakable violence is Israel’s system of apartheid. This system must be dismantled, the blockade of the Gaza Strip immediately lifted, and those responsible for the crime of apartheid, war crimes and other crimes under international law must be held to account,” said Morayef.
For commission of a war crime, a culpable state of mind is an essential element. Article 8 of the ICC’s Rome Statute requires a showing of either intent to harm civilians or recklessness: ordering an attack with the knowledge that the resulting harm to civilians would be “clearly excessive in relation to the … military advantage anticipated.” The high threshold for proof of a culpable state of mind is no accident. Rather, it is a recognition that a less demanding test would not adequately acknowledge the risk of harm that inevitably flows from the fog of war.