Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, July 05, 2023

07/05 Links Pt2: When Freedom Began to Ring; UK Parliament Passes Anti-BDS Legislation; A two-state solution for terminally ill France?; ‘Exodus’ immigrant’s diary shows hardships of post-Shoah refugees

In his famous 1790 letter to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, George Washington wrote that “the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” These words were not the kind of quid pro quo sometimes offered by European Enlightenment leaders of the time to Jews; it was not an implicit warning that they ought to behave themselves if they wanted to be tolerated.

President Washington, under whose leadership many Jews had fought during the Revolutionary War, was simply recognizing that America only required of its Jews what it required of all its citizens. At the founding, America was already not a Christian nation, and this was in large part because of its Jews.

Everywhere else in the world, prior to the American Revolution, Jews were disfranchised, politically isolated, and vulnerable. Even where they were relatively secure, such as in England, they were not full citizens. In 1775, on the eve of the Revolutionary War, English Jews could not vote, serve on juries, serve in Parliament, be military officers, attend a university, engage in some businesses, become barristers, or practice some other professions. Jewish immigrants had to pay special “alien” taxes forever, because they could not naturalize. And as aliens, immigrant Jews were prohibited from owning real estate or seagoing vessels, and from engaging in colonial or foreign trade.

Things had been somewhat better in England’s North American colonies, where momentum toward full equality built as the Revolution grew nearer, in part because of Jewish support for the patriot cause. In 1765, ten Jewish merchants in New York City, along with nearly two hundred Christian businessmen, signed a non-importation agreement to boycott British goods. Jewish merchants in Philadelphia and Newport, signed similar agreements. Others, most famously Haym Salomon, joined the Sons of Liberty. Gershom Mendes Seixas, the spiritual leader of New York’s Shearith Israel—the first synagogue in what became the United States —actively supported Independence. In 1774, Francis Salvador had won a seat in South Carolina’s Provincial Congress. He was reelected in 1776, thus becoming the first Jewish elected public official in the new United States. He served until he was killed in battle that August.

Most Jews in New York, Philadelphia, Newport, Charleston, and Savannah—where the Revolution was brewing—joined the cause early. In doing so, they staked their claim to political equality as a right, not a set of privileges to be granted.

As they did nowhere in Europe, Jews served as officers in the patriot armies. Mordecai Sheftall, a Savannah businessman, was a full colonel, then the third highest rank in the American army. David Salisbury Franks rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, served as a diplomat to France and Morocco during the war, and later became the assistant cashier of the Bank of the United States. Solomon Bush, whose father had signed a non-importation agreement, ended the war as a Lieutenant Colonel and the deputy adjutant-general of the Pennsylvania militia. His younger brother, Captain Lewis Bush, died in combat. There were no Jewish officers in the British army or among the Hessian mercenaries during the Revolutionary War. (However, Alexander Zuntz, a Hessian civilian commissary, served as the Hazzan of Shearith Israel congregation while the British occupied New York City. Impressed with American religious liberty, he stayed in New York after the war, and eventually became president of the synagogue.)

UK Parliament Passes Anti-BDS Legislation Following Debate Amid Israeli Counter-Terror Op in West Bank

British parliamentarians from all parties have voiced unease over new legislation that would impose fines on public bodies, such as local councils, for initiating boycotts of Israel in support of the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) campaign targeting the Jewish state for economic, political and cultural isolation.

As Israeli forces were in the midst of a counter-terror operation in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday, members of parliament rounded on the legislation during a debate in the House of Commons. The operation, which wound down on Tuesday night, resulted in the deaths of at least 13 Palestinians, according to Palestinian sources, as well as an IDF officer, Sgt. First Class David Yehuda Yitzhak.

The legislation — formally titled the “Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill” — seeks to ban public bodies including local councils from supporting boycotts targeting foreign governments based on moral or political grounds. Speaking in support of the bill, the Conservative government’s Communities Secretary, Michael Gove, argued that the bill would guarantee that foreign policy remained a UK government matter.

The bill was eventually passed after a Labour Party amendment was defeated, with 268 MPs voting in favor and 70 voting against. A significant number of MPs abstained from the vote, including 80 representatives from the ruling Conservative Party.

Addressing the chamber, Gove said there had been an “increase in antisemitic events following on from the activities of the BDS movement.” He said that although there were “legitimate reasons to criticize the Israeli government”, the BDS movement was asking councils to “treat Israel differently from any other nation on the globe”.

“Nothing in this bill prevents or impedes the loudest of criticisms of Israel’s government and leaders,” Gove added.

"Calls to Boycott Ben & Jerry’s Over Claims US Exists on Stolen Land"

It was just in time for the Fourth of July: Ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s called on the United States to return what it called “stolen land” to its original owners, the Native Americans.

The call by the company, tweeted on America’s Independence Day, stated bluntly, “The United States was founded on stolen indigenous land. This Fourth of July, let’s commit to returning it.”

The company suggested the move begin with Mount Rushmore.

“What is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence on to reservations, those who were pushed from their holy places and denied their freedom.

“The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy Indigenous cultures and ways of life, to deny Indigenous people their basic rights,” the company declared.

Users on the social media site responded by calling for Ben & Jerry’s to give all of its property and land back to the Native Americans “right now,” with several writers urging the company to return its corporate office to the Abenaki people “who have lived in Vermont for 10,000 years.”

“Lead by example,” wrote another. “What locations are you going to give back to the rightful owners of our land?”

Another urged users on the social media site to “Boycott them till they give back the stolen land.”

“Lucky we Jews are indigenous to Israel,” Israeli historian, media analyst and author Yisrael Medad commented. “I wonder to where you guys will have to move.”

The Ben & Jerry’s factory is located in Waterbury, Vermont. I look forward to the board of directors’ voting to turn their property over to the indigenous people who rightfully own this land. https://t.co/6S2UB3ZwBq https://t.co/ideKNZbjbc pic.twitter.com/518vAVsOaw
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) July 5, 2023

How ESG ratings break the economy

Blackrock CEO backs off 'politicized' ESG.
i24NEWS Correspondent Ariel Levin Waldman has the latest and breaks down the information.

Note: Not written by Elder of Ziyon

What makes Progressive American Jews so dogmatic about “Palestinian” rights to statehood on Jewish land? Is it that they don’t know that Israel is indigenous Jewish territory—that the Arabs are latecomers? Or is there something else in play? Perhaps they feel just a wee bit guilty, as latecomers themselves, to be living on stolen Native American territory? In supporting the Arab cause, progressive American Jews may be making a subconscious statement that he who is last, has dibs, thereby giving themselves moral permission to steal.

They may reason, if they reason at all, that no one expects Americans to vacate America. Least of all the Native American people. Everyone accepts that it’s a fait accompli. Today the land belongs to America, whatever the motives or the rightness or wrongness of the land grab at the time that it happened. That’s just a fact. To the victorious Americans go the spoils.

No one does anything about this. There is simply no impetus for anyone to do anything about returning the stolen object that is America, to its rightful owners, the Native American people. If you were to speak about this to someone at a party, you’d see their disdain, the unspoken words they would be privately thinking: “That’s a bit silly, isn’t it? Unrealistic, immature, a nonstarter. No one expects us to just leave. No one. Even THEY, the Native American people, don’t expect us to go.”

I will be bold: Americans are thieves. They are living on land that doesn’t belong to them. Yet the Progressive Jews who are supposedly all about “tikkun olam” don’t do anything about this. They don’t think about it in the morning when they’re catching up on email; drinking soy lattes; and eating their almond croissants. And if you think about it, for Progressive American Jews to disagree with this unspoken yet accepted policy would be, well, un-American. And the thought that they may not be real Americans, or not American enough, just may be more upsetting to your average Progressive Jew than the thought of some faraway cousins being forced to abandon their home to violent squatters.

Because what is tikkun olam to them anyway? According to Nave Dromi, director of the Middle East Forum in Israel, "[Tikkun Olam] seems to have overtaken all other precepts formulated in millennia of Jewish life and tradition, in certain quarters. Its modern use was popularized in the early to middle of the last century, primarily among liberal Jewish movements in the United States. It was adopted as a way of finding a way to ensure that Jews felt common cause with the many social action and justice causes that were springing up.

“It is an extreme universalist interpretation of Judaism,” says Dromi, “and, while worthy in itself, holds nothing uniquely Jewish. Many have argued that it is a way to mold a frame of Judaism into their already held belief system to provide religious legitimacy.”

Hence, stealing Jewish land and giving it to “Palestinians” is tikkun olam, repairing the world, even though it is the exact opposite of that. Giving asylum to all illegal immigrants is tikkun olam. And yet some pigs are more equal than others: American rights over Native American rights. Illegal immigrant rights over the rights of American citizens in border towns who are already in the country and are adversely affected by this flood of illegals. And of course, Arab rights over Jewish Israeli rights.

But that’s not exactly the point of this piece. The point is the betrayal of Progressive American Jews in putting pressure on Israel to cede Jewish land to a non-native people with origins in Saudi Arabia. Progressive American Jews claim to be Jews and Israel is Jewish land. They should be defending Jewish rights as “tikkun olam.” How sick is it that they demand an indigenous people—their own—vacate its bustling, modern state? Particularly considering they themselves identify as belonging to that people.

Perhaps, subconsciously, shilling for the Arabs makes non-native Progressive “American” Jews feel better about living on stolen Native American land, rather than on their own.

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!

Raja Abdulrahim continues in her tradition of using her platform as a New York Times reporter to shade the facts away from the reality.

She has a tragic story about how teenagers in the West Bank are writing out "wills" in the expectations of being killed by Israeli troops.

The farewell testaments reflect a prevailing sense among many young men that death is heroic, meaningful and inevitable during what is now the deadliest period for Palestinians in nearly two decades in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

With the intensifying violence, many young Palestinians feel added pressure that they themselves must become involved in the struggle against Israel and act.

Palestinian society has long lionized “martyrs” — anyone killed by Israeli forces — with many of their images displayed on walls and banners in Palestinian cities and, more recently, on social media platforms like Instagram.

Farewell messages are often published by the Palestinian news media and shared widely on social media, inspiring more young Palestinians to write their own.

Dr. Samah Jabr, the head of the mental health unit for the Palestinian Authority, said the writing of such wills was wrapped up with generational traumas for Palestinians living in the occupied territories, dealing with checkpoints and near daily raids by Israeli troops. Many young people feel a duty to take on adult roles, including confronting Israeli troops.

“It’s not that they want to die, but it’s that they feel like there’s nothing else to give to Palestine except martyrdom,” [writer Jalal] Abukhater said.

Abdulrahim buried the lede.

Palestinian society is suffused with turning all those killed by Israel into heroes. Just calling them "martyrs" is a powerful incentive. TV programs celebrate "martyrs," schools and camps and sports tournaments are named after "martyrs," the Palestinian Authority and Hamas pay families of "martyrs" - it is a death cult where being killed is the surest way of being honored. And this is a society that craves honor.

Yet outside the half sentence on how Palestinian society lionizes "martyrs," Abdulrahim doesn't describe this fundamental part of Palestinian society. She tries to make this sick mindset relatable to the West, pretending that the kids have no choice in a place where they have no future.

Think about it. There are about two million Palestinians under 20. The number who are killed is a tiny percentage of that number, while many more go on to live dignified and successful lives. But there are few if any TV shows and music videos about them.

When a child gets killed by Israel, he (or she) is instantly hailed as a hero by their media, social media and role models. That is the reason so many choose to go that route - not desperation, not because of "no choice." They are not being given any mainstream messages that getting killed while attacking Jews is stupid or counterproductive or evil. They do it because they want to, not because they are forced to, and their entire culture supports this goal, implicitly or explicitly.

That's the story the article is purposefully ignoring. Instead of blaming the Palestinian leaders - teachers, actors, musicians, poets, and other role models - for creating a death-centered culture, it pretends that somehow the Israelis have given them no choice but to want to get killed.

“We can counsel the students, but we can’t prevent the army from raiding the camp,” [a school counselor] said. “The occupation is the biggest driver among the youth who ask why they should stop when they are subjected to war and death.”

Is anyone - anyone at all - telling the kids to stay off the streets when there is an IDF raid? They aren't shooting at innocent people's houses. Only the ones who want to act macho and throw firebombs or shoot guns are the ones getting killed. It isn't a difficult concept to stay away from the fighting, but one that is apparently too difficult for adults and other role models to tell the kids.

The solution is obvious: to shame the people who commit suicide by IDF instead of honoring them. If the message in the Palestinian media is to teach kids to grow up and to try to build a decent society, instead of turning terrorists into heroes, things would change in weeks.

But no one wants to talk about solutions (unless it is the State of Israel committing collective suicide.)

This is a systemic failure of Palestinian society - and that is something the New York Times will never, ever discuss.

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!

07/05 Links Pt1: BBC apologises after presenter said 'Israeli forces are happy to kill children'; Palestinian child sacrifices; Israeli woman held hostage in Iraq by Hezbollah

From Ian:

'Israeli forces are happy to kill children,' BBC anchor tells ex-PM Bennett

A BBC anchor told former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett that "Israeli forces are happy to kill children" in an interview where Bennett responded to criticism of the Israeli operation in Jenin. The BBC interview was conducted by host Anjana Gadgil and was posted to Bennett's YouTube channel on Wednesday.

"The Israeli military are calling this a 'military operation,' but we now know that young people are being killed, four of them under eighteen. Is that really what the military set out to do? To kill people between the ages of 16 and 18?”

“Quite to the contrary," Bennet replied. "Actually, all 11 people dead there are militants. The fact that there are young terrorists who decide to hold arms is their responsibility." The former Israeli prime minister went on to explain that, of many of the terror attacks over the past year, events that have collectively ended several dozens of Israeli civilian lives, the perpetrators have come from, and we trained in, Jenin. "Jenin has become an epicenter of terror," he says. "All the Palestinians that were killed were terrorists in this case."

"Terrorists" or "children?" Bennett, BBC anchor vie over IDF actions in Jenin
“Terrorists, but children. The Israeli forces are happy to kill children,” Gadgil responded. After asking the BBC anchor how she would define an armed 17-year-old shooting at her family, she doubled down, citing the UN which has "defined [the militants] as children."

After reiterating his question for the anchor, Gadgil insisted, "We're not talking about that." Bennett affirmed that that dynamic was precisely what the conversation was about.

“No Israeli mom wants to send their boy into Jenin. We do it because we’ve got no choice,” Bennett said. “This is asymmetric. We are not targeting civilians. They are only targeting civilians.”

Penultimately, Gadgil, who remarked that actions such as the ones Israel has taken in Jenin would only serve to escalate the conflict, asked how the conflict would come to an end.

“When they decide that they accept the Jewish State in the land of Israel, it’ll end,” Bennett stated.

I saw a clip circulating of a @BBCNews interview with the former Israeli PM @naftalibennett.

I thought to myself, maybe I'm missing some context. So I watched the video - https://t.co/fxAo9ndVQU

I share a transcript of part of it below. It's jaw-droppingly bad from the BBC. pic.twitter.com/BlUS8Nh32Q
— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) July 5, 2023

BBC Anchor Utters Blood Libel During Live Interview With Ex-Israel PM Naftali Bennett

“The Israeli forces are happy to kill children,” is just one of the profoundly disturbing statements made by BBC News presenter Anjana Gadgil during an interview with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett about the IDF’s recent counterterrorism raid in Jenin.

Gadgil’s anti-Israel bias was exposed in her first question to Bennett:
First of all, the Israeli military is calling this a military operation, but we know that young people are being killed — four of them under 18 — is that really what the military set out to do? To kill people between the ages of 16 and 18?

Of course, the malicious suggestion that the Israeli army “set out” to kill children is patently false, and Gadgil’s failure to tell viewers that every single one of the Palestinians who died in the raid was claimed by a terrorist organization is tantamount to journalistic malpractice.

While Bennett deftly handled the question, including explaining that at least 50 Israelis have been murdered in attacks perpetrated by terrorists from the West Bank city that has emerged as the epicenter of Palestinian terrorism, the fact remains that such an appalling question should never have been asked in the first place.

BBC apologises after presenter said 'Israeli forces are happy to kill children'

A BBC spokesperson told the JC: “BBC News has received comments and complaints concerning an interview with Naftali Bennett broadcast on the BBC News channel about recent events in the West Bank and Israel.

“The complaints raised relate to specific interview questions about the deaths of young people in the Jenin refugee camp.

“The United Nations raised the issue of the impact of the operation in Jenin on children and young people.

“While this was a legitimate subject to examine in the interview, we apologise that the language used in this line of questioning was not phrased well and was inappropriate.”

However, the corporation stressed the BBC covered the wider events in Jenin in an “impartial and robust way.”

These are the three “children” @UNICEF is referring to: https://t.co/Fe6yggUZGO pic.twitter.com/rXSLU5B4Qb
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) July 5, 2023

I see Anjana Gadgil from @BBCNews @BBCWorld has disabled her account. Guess she didn’t like being called out for her outrageous interview with PM Bennett. https://t.co/X5n7WOlgtM pic.twitter.com/4dQmTSlGx9
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 5, 2023

The BBC's "children" were actually fully armed terrorists. The teen terrorists' deaths are tragic, but the Palestinian terror organizations are solely responsible for pushing teens into terror. Make sure @UN & @BBC see this and demand an apology for this disgraceful libel! pic.twitter.com/zrjrrvQdjx
— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) July 5, 2023

Rabbi Leo Dee: Ordinary Palestinians silently thank Allah for the Jenin operation

When Lucy, Maia and Rina were suddenly and brutally taken from this world during Pesach, I cried in pain. Not against every Arab, not against every Muslim, but against every terrorist.

I have Palestinian friends and acquaintances. That is the norm when you live in Efrat. Indeed it is the norm when you live in any location in Judea and Samaria (unaffectionately known as the “West Bank”).

Our local supermarket is located in Area C and I select my tomatoes and cucumbers standing next to Palestinian men and women who live in Bethlehem and Hebron. Unsurprisingly, most of these people are just like you and me. Many of them work in construction in Jerusalem or Beit Shemesh and earn more than twice what a Palestinian Authority employee (even a doctor) would earn in their own territory. This is the majority.

And then there are terrorists. They are not like you and me. They were mostly brought up in UNRWA run “refugee” towns and trained in terrorist skills during summer camps and fed hatred through Palestinian Authority textbooks that glorify past murderers of innocent civilians. That UNRWA even considers them refugees after 75 years is a direct result of United Nations antisemitism. Nobody, today, considers the millions of descendants of those 700,000 Jews expelled from Arab countries in the 1940’s and 1950’s as refugees.

What most people are unaware of is how the “good” Palestinians hate the terrorists. They despise them. However, they live in fear, in a terror state, the Palestinian Authority (PA). And the PA is funded by world governments to rule over the ten cities in the region and much of the land in between. The citizens of those 10 cities would prefer to run themselves under the protection of the IDF, but the presence of the PLO (the heavily armed PA army) is ubiquitous and feared. They unanimously describe the murderers of my family as “inhuman” and “not believing in Allah” when they see me. But only in private. A public statement would likely lead to them, and their families, being shot at in the street. And such shootings occur every day. These “good” Palestinians are the silent victims of PA terror.

Better yet, Lara, ask the rabbi's wife and daughters. And by the way, he's not American. https://t.co/JgZia9YIGB pic.twitter.com/LxcBloUVWv
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) July 5, 2023

BBC Radio 4 to Palestinian Head of Mission in UK, @hzomlot: "Do you accept that there are terrorists in #Jenin?"

Zomlot: "No, I don't accept that. Nor do I acknowledge that. Nor should you, or anyone in the international community. You are absolutely mad!" pic.twitter.com/p7UgFHOK35
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 4, 2023

'Supposedly respectable media outlets are playing it down or misrepresenting it completely' @michaeldickson of @StandWithUs explains how most of the international media have failed to accurately report on operations in Jenin or terror attacks in Tel Aviv#ZoomIn | @davidmatlin pic.twitter.com/4T7XYkNQIC
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 5, 2023

"Disturbing photos show the militarization of British children" (British hypocrisy watch)

In 2014, Electronic Intifada wrote one of its most popular posts, showing photos of Israeli children at an Independence Day celebration learning about weapons.

The title was, "Disturbing photos show militarization of Israeli children, " and it showed a series of photos from AFP taken in Efrat.

Israel haters like to trot these photos out for the strangest reasons. So, for example, when I tweeted a photo of one of the Jenin "children" holding quite real weapons, without any adult supervision, one apologist for British Labour antisemitism tweeted back:

When I pointed out the obvious differences between the two situations, (you know, one of them was actually using the weapons,) he responded "So the glorification of weaponry with extremely young children of is fine with you"?

Ah, yes. That's what is upsetting him. Not children actually being combatants!

OK, let's go with that "glorification of weaponry" angle.

Every year Britain holds an "Armed Forces Day." Teaching children about the British army is one of its main goals.

So we see photos like this, every year, in British media:

What is the difference between the smiling Israeli kids with weapons and the smiling British kids with weapons?

Because the Israeli boys are wearing kippot.

What is considered horrible militarization for Jews is not a problem when the children who are fascinated by military hardware live in any other country. Kids visit military museums all around the world, they scramble on tanks and fighter jet cockpits in every country, they climb on cannons in the squares of parks worldwide. No one blinks an eye.

In fact, arguably it is far "worse" in Britain since they have an entire day for the armed forces - there is no IDF Day in Israel.

It's just another double standard for Jews. And it shows, in brilliant fashion, how hypocritical the British anti-Israel Left is, feigning outrage at Israelis doing what their fellow countrymen do on a much larger scale.

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!

Despite BBC blood libel, combatants under 18 are legitimate targets in international law

Here is a blood libel from the BBC.

In response to Naftali Bennett saying that every single person killed in Jenin was a terrorist, the presenter said, as a fact, "Terrorists but children. The Israeli forces are happy to kill children."

Bennett's answer was good, but here is another case where news interviewers are either ignorant or willfully twisting international law.

Child combatants are still combatants under international law. No matter whether they were forcibly recruited, whether they are under 14, whether they are girls - once someone is shooting at a soldier they are legitimate targets, according to every article I can find on the subject.

In 2000, a group of child soldiers in Sierra Leone known (in the West) as the "West Side Boys" captured a patrol of British soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment along with their Sierra Leone Army liaison officer. Several of the British soldiers were held for two weeks before the British Army decided to free them in an operation that killed between 25 and 150 of the West Side Boys.

Was the deliberate, planned killing of those children a war crime? Of course not.

Absolutely no international law scholar disputes that the British Army had the right to free their fellow soldiers because they were held by combatants under 18. And no BBC reporter responded to the event by saying on the air, "The British Army is happy to kill children."

No, only Jews are routinely accused of relishing the murder of children. The accusation is centuries old and it is as popular today in England as it was in 1144 when Jews were accused of happily murdering William of Norwich.

Unlike the West Side Boys, who were obviously children, the two "children" killed by the IDF in Jenin were heavily armed, fully grown near-adults. One was a member of Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades.

Of course soldiers in the middle of an operation are not expected to question the ages of those who are shooting at them to determine whether they've celebrated their 18th birthday yet. The idea is absurd to the extreme. International conventions do not distinguish between child combatants and adult combatants - anyone engaging in hostilities is a legitimate military target.

The BBC presenter is knowingly twisting the facts in ways that cannot be interpreted as anything but malicious. She says, " The UN has defined them as children and we know that four people between the ages of 16 and 18 have been killed in this targeted attack let's not forget it's a targeted attack."

Yes, the UN defines anyone under 18 as children. But the UN doesn't say that armed 16 year olds are not combatants.

And suddenly she switches from the UN definition of children to including 18 year old adults as "children," too, contradicting her own definition of children in the very same breath! Her desire to paint Israel as evil causes her to expand the definition of children to make it look like Israel "targeted" four children.

If you think that blood libels went out of fashion in recent decades, here is an example of how they are just as malicious today as they were in the Middle Ages.

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!

From Iran's PressTV (no surprise here):

Following the desecration of the Holy Qur'an in Sweden, the leader of the Yemeni popular resistance movement Ansarullah says the West allows the perpetration of the heinous crime under the Zionist lobby's influence.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi made the remarks on Tuesday, less than a week after two men stood outside the Swedish capital of Stockholm's central mosque and burned a copy of the holy book following a go-ahead given to them by a Swedish court.

Al-Houthi vehemently condemned Western countries' double standards vis-à-vis Muslims, saying acts of sacrilege against the Holy Qur'an amounted to insult against all prophets and holy books.

The Westerners refuse to expose Zionists' crimes, he said, adding, "This points to the Zionist lobby's influence [across the Western countries]."

"The lobby manipulates the West and infiltrates nations as it pleases. The Western world has, therefore, turned into a hotbed of the lobby's plots."

I admit I don't quite follow the logic. It seems that since the Jews control the world, then they are obviously responsible for an ex-Iraqi in Sweden choosing to burn the Quran.

It is interesting that even though the Houthi's slogan includes "Curse the Jews," there is very little coverage of their explicit antisemitism in Western media. Moreover, the Houthi's main Shiite allies, who claim to be only anti-Zionist and not antisemitic in the least, have absolutely nothing negative to say about the Houthi's explicit (and in this case barely implicit) Jew-hatred.

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!

07/04 Links Pt2: American vs. Israeli Patriotism; Israel and its PA dilemma; Left-wing activists accused of ‘desecrating’ Palestinian mosque

From Ian:

American vs. Israeli Patriotism

This June, I was privileged to hear an American lieutenant-general studying at the Israel Defense College speak about American patriotism and the lack thereof. He said he was saddened that he recently read that less than a third of young Americans are proud to be citizens of the United States.

Indeed, a March poll taken by The Wall Street Journal revealed that only 23% of Americans aged 18-29 say patriotism is important to them. Of all adults, only 38% said, “Patriotism was very important, down from 70% in 1998.” Americans place “low importance on these values, many of which were central to their parents’ lives.”

In contrast, 86.2% of Israeli Jews feel a sense of belonging to the Jewish state, according to a 2022 Israel Democracy Institute poll.

As an American who advocates for American national security interests in Congress and educates young Americans at universities, I empathized with the General’s concern for our country. I worry about the long-term implications of a situation in which most of our nation’s young people have allowed policy differences to cast doubt on our nation’s founding principles.

However, this situation is unsurprising. American students from primary school through college are taught that America was born in sin—as the 1619 Project and its advocates proclaim—rather than founded on principles of liberty and justice.

America’s triumphs have greatly outweighed our failures, and the progress we have made is remarkable. Nonetheless, America is constantly disparaged by the far-left, which holds sway in academia. It is also a growing and destructive presence in our body politic.

When the lieutenant-general spoke about his time living in Israel, he expressed confidence that Israelis, despite their domestic turmoil, are more patriotic than America’s millennials or Gen Z.

Perhaps the best way to understand the striking difference between young Americans and Israelis is in the symbols they use for political protest.

American protests almost never feature an American flag, but at the Israeli protests against judicial reform, thousands of Israeli flags were proudly waved. These were patriotic protests, passionately advocating for a change in government policy. Protesters wave their flags as part of a competition over who is more patriotic and more Zionist—the current government or opposition supporters.

The Israeli right, center and left all proudly declare themselves Zionist. Young pro-Israel American progressives would never say such a thing out loud for fear of censorship or expulsion from their far-left circles.

Netanyahu hails ‘irreplaceable and indispensable’ US ally at July 4 celebration

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu feted the United States on Monday night in Jerusalem at an event marking America’s 247th Independence Day.

“I wish to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for America’s enduring support for Israel. For 75 years, the United States has been our irreplaceable and indispensable ally. Irreplaceable. Indispensable,” said Netanyahu.

“Eleven minutes after our birth, and at vital junctures throughout our history, America has provided Israel with moral and political backing against those committed to wiping us out, to wiping out the one and only Jewish state. No less important, for nearly half a century, America has given generous military assistance to Israel, helping provide us with the tools, the tools we need to defend ourselves by ourselves.

“Decade after decade, our two countries have moved closer together. I’m proud to say that today, security cooperation has never been better, intelligence sharing has never been deeper and our alliance has never been stronger. I have long said that Israel has no better ally than America, and I say to you, America has no better ally than Israel,” continued the premier.

“On July 4, all democratic countries should remember that the decisive event that ensured the rise of freedom in modern times, has been the rise of the United States of America. Time and again, America defeated the forces of totalitarianism and terror. Yet we should also remember a basic truth: Freedom is precious, and it’s never free. It often requires firm and decisive action against those seeking to spread terror and imperil free societies,” said Netanyahu.

President Isaac Herzog also addressed the event, emphasizing that Israel has “no greater friend than the United States of America.

“Our nations share a profound historical legacy and a deep, enduring faith in the values of democracy, life, liberty, and justice. There is no question that the power of our alliance is unmatched: In the goodness it has brought to the world, and the promise it holds for our future,” said Herzog.

“Our collaboration, which crosses every possible sector and sphere, has been a critical anchor of security, stability and peace for both of our nations, and has brought the promise of hope and prosperity to this region,” he added.

When Israel Showed The World The Spirit of ’76 Still Exists: The Raid on Entebbe

It wasn’t supposed to be the big story of the day, after all, July 4, 1976, was the two hundredth anniversary of the United States, the nation which became a beacon of freedom for the entire world. More than anything else that happened at any gala celebration of America’s 200th anniversary, Israel’s raid on Entebbe reminded the world of the real “Spirit of 1776”—freedom is worth fighting for.

America needed a big celebration as we were recovering from the scandal which forced a president to resign for the first and (hopefully) only time in its history.

Three years earlier, Israel came the closest it had ever come to being destroyed when their Prime Minister obeyed Henry Kissinger’s orders and did not strike first despite that they had a few hours notice that they were about to be attacked on Yom Kippur. One year before the raid, United Nations passed a resolution saying that Zionism, the movement declaring that Jews have the right to a homeland was the same as racism. On this July 4th, both Israel and America needed some good news.

America got its good news but from an unexpected place. On America’s two-hundredth birthday, the tiny nation Israel, boosted the morale of America and much of the Western world, with a daring raid.

On June 27, 1976, Air France Flight 139, carrying 248 passengers and a crew of twelve, took off from Athens, heading for Paris. Soon after the 12:30 p.m. takeoff, the flight was hijacked by two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and members of the German “Revolutionary Cells (RZ)” (Wilfried Böse and Brigitte Kuhlmann) The terrorists commandeered the flight, diverting it to Benghazi, Libya. The plane left Benghazi, and at 3:15 it arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

At Entebbe, the four hijackers were joined by three “friends” supported by the pro-Palestinian forces of Uganda’s despotic president, Idi Amin. The hijackers were led by the German, Böse. They demanded the release of 40 Palestinian terrorists held in Israel and 13 other detainees imprisoned in Kenya, France, Switzerland, and Germany–and if these demands were not met, they threatened to begin killing hostages on July 1, 1976. Eventually, that deadline was extended to July 4th.

The hijackers held the passengers hostage in the transit hall of Entebbe Airport and released all the hostages except for Israelis and Jews whom they threatened to kill if Israel did not comply with their demands.

Upon the announcement by the hijackers that the airline crew and non-Israeli/non-Jewish passengers would be released and put on another Air France plane that had been brought to Entebbe for that purpose, Flight 139’s Captain Michel Bacos told the hijackers that all passengers, including the remaining ones, were his responsibility, and that he would not leave them behind. Bacos’ entire crew followed suit.

A French nun also refused to leave, insisting that one of the remaining hostages take her place, but she was forced into the awaiting Air France plane by Ugandan soldiers. A total of 83 Israeli and/or Jewish hostages remained, as well as 20 others, most of whom included the crew of the Air France plane.

Early in the morning of July 4th came one of the most daring, spectacular rescues of modern times.

Jordanian media remains implacably antisemitic

Jordanian media has consistently been among the most antisemitic in the Arab world.

Here are two examples from Ammon (Amman) News in the past couple of days.

The first is a pseudo-intellectual article titled "The power and arrogance of the Jews... A recommendation for direction and confrontation" by Dr. Dirar Mufdi Barakat. It starts off with:

What is Jewish hegemony and arrogance? According to the methodology "I shall be and others cannot be," strangeness of course, sterility of values, transcendence over the truth, and over all international norms, and blasphemy of the rights of the Palestinians, people, land and identity, without paying attention to international covenants and agreements and internationalism and organizations, both legal and humanitarian.

The second is a reaction to the Jenin anti-terror operation:

God Almighty says in the decisive revelation: "Neither the Jews nor the Christians will be satisfied with you until you follow their religion)." As usual, the descendants of monkeys and pigs carry out brutal attacks on the Palestinian people with all brutality, extremism and hatred. They do not know the difference between a civilian and a combatant. They kill children, the elderly and women without mercy. They do not have existential legitimacy in the outskirts of Jerusalem, and their criminal actions are not subject to any logic or any religion. How can someone who does not own the land kill the owners of this land?!

The ugliness of these acts is not strange, as they are planning for the Greater State of Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates....

Interestingly, the second article is the complete opposite of the first. The first portrays Jews as a super-intelligent super-villain that runs circles around the weak Arab world; the second says that the brave Palestinians are causing the Jews no end of panic as they cannot figure out how to counter their surprises.

The common denominator, as always, is hatred of Jews. No pretense of "Zionists" here - they are talking about Jews.

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!

Usually when I see outlandish claims in an Arab newspaper, I can trace back the story to a tiny kernel of truth that the newspaper decided to twist beyond recognition. Complete fabrication is far less common.

But this week, a Nasserist Egyptian news site called Al Majd wrote about a supposed anti-Egypt speech in Knesset by United Torah Judaism's Yaakov Asher - and I cannot find anything close to these quotes anywhere.

Of course, if he really would have said these things, it would be front page news.

Here is what Al Majd "reports:"

Yaakov Asher, a member of the United Torah Judaism party, a right-wing, religious, extremist Israeli political party, spoke a few days ago in the Knesset and revealed many of the deep plans of the Jewish state and what it thinks about neighboring countries and even the media among them,

Asher said in his speech after the martyrdom of Muhammad Salah (the Egyptian soldier [who killed IDF soldiers]), he declared that the killing of Muslims at the hands of Israeli soldiers is an act of worship. He added, with humiliating statements to the people and the Egyptian government, that this act (killing our soldiers) will lead to happiness in this world and the hereafter, and he added, “Who came to kill you! Kill him first. Wait for the opportunity so that an incident like the Egyptian border incident does not happen again. May God curse the terrorist Mohamed Salah, may God curse the Egyptians who live in this country and this land.”

In the continuation of his speech, this hardliner touched on the Torah and added: “According to the Torah, Egypt belongs to the Greater Land of Israel as described in biblical or historical sources. The enemies of the Jews are approaching us from the north and south. We must use every opportunity to destroy the Muslims, and expel them from the land of the Jews. This guarantees the existence of Israel. The Muslims of Egypt were and still are the staunchest enemies of Israel.”

Asher adds that from 1948 until today, Israel had to expand its maritime borders to Alexandria and Benghazi. "The Israeli authorities promised us fifteen years ago that the Nile would be destroyed and dried up. But this promise has not yet been fulfilled. The process of dividing Egypt into several states should begin as soon as possible. The Egyptian border incident is a major warning that must be taken seriously."

He also confirms in his speech that the land of Egypt is the land of the children of Israel. According to this Knesset member, “the division of Egypt,” “the drying up of the Nile,” and “the expansion of Israel’s maritime borders” to Benghazi in Libya refer to the evil strategies of the Jews in the region.

The blessing and blood of the Egyptian fighter, Mohamed Salah, forced this representative of the Knesset to reveal Israel's plot against the great Egypt.

As is so often the case, there is a lot of psychological projection going on here on the part of the Nasserites.

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!

07/04 Links Pt1: Tunnel linked Jenin terror mosque to kindergarten; At least nine wounded in Tel Aviv ramming attack; The White House Is Trying to Buy Pre-Election Quiet by Paying Off Iran

From Ian:

The IDF is dismantling Jenin’s terror infrastructure

The Israel Defense Forces’ intensified security operation in Jenin entered its second day on Tuesday, and looked to be on track to achieving its goal of shattering the concept of Jenin as a terrorist haven out of reach of the Israeli military.

The operation exposed some of the systems set up by terrorists—consisting of local operatives as well as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas members—that had made Jenin so challenging for ordinary Israeli security missions recently: War rooms where operatives received video feeds and radio communications from across the city, and coordinated the activities of gunmen; hundreds of weapons, large quantities of explosive devices hidden in underground bunkers; and the beginnings of a rocket production industry.

These threats, collectively dubbed by the defense industry as “terror infrastructure,” are being systematically eliminated by a brigade-sized IDF force comprising mostly special units, backed by unmanned aerial vehicle firepower, that moved into the city overnight Sunday.

Some 10 Palestinian combatants had been killed by Monday noon, with the majority of the remaining hundreds of terrorist gunmen choosing to go underground and avoiding clashing with the IDF, which surprised them with its entrance into the city from multiple directions. Dozens of terror suspects have been arrested.

Dozens of IEDs and other bombs were found and neutralized by special forces, as were bomb-making labs.

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated on Sunday evening that precise intelligence enabled the launch of the operation, which is focused on “dismantling terrorist infrastructure, seizing weapons, apprehending terror suspects and preventing future attacks.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were no reports of noncombatant casualties, and the IDF has enabled civilians to evacuate Jenin Camp during the operation. Hagari stressed that air power was used in a minimal manner, precisely, to protect IDF units on the ground.

According to IDF figures, some 50 terror attacks targeting Israelis over the past 18 months can be traced back to Jenin. Twenty-five Israelis have been killed in Palestinian terror attacks since the start of 2023.

As US supports Jenin op, Arabs and int’l organizations condemn it

A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, which advises President Joe Biden, released a statement on Monday in support of the Israel Defense Forces’ ongoing counterterrorism operation in Jenin.

“We support Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups,” it states.

The council added that it is monitoring the situation closely.

Sources said on Tuesday afternoon that the operation was getting close to winding down. But Israeli officials said it would probably continue at least until Wednesday as security forces continue to arrest members of terrorist groups and destroy their infrastructure.

As of Tuesday morning, more than a hundred wanted suspects have been arrested, and eight confirmed terrorists have been killed.

“We have no intention of occupying the [Jenin] refugee camp, and this is not an operation against the Palestinian Authority,” said R. Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the IDF. “We will create a sequence of operations in the northern part of the West Bank.”

Tor Wennesland, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, announced on Twitter he had been “in direct contacts [sic] with all relevant parties” with an eye towards de-escalation.

“The current escalation in the occupied West Bank is very dangerous [and] follows months of mounting tensions,” Wennesland wrote, noting that the operation “reminds us of the extremely volatile [and] unpredictable situation across the occupied West Bank.”

Lynn Hastings, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Palestinian-controlled areas, said she was “alarmed” by the scale of the operation in Jenin and slammed Israel’s use of precision airstrikes against terrorists in the “densely populated refugee camp.”

In Brussels, the European Union’s Middle East peace envoy said he was “very concerned” and following the situation in Jenin closely. E.U. Special Representative Sven Koopmans warned in a tweet of a “real threat of a major eruption” caused by “months of elscalating [sic] violence and increasing hopelessness” and called on “all parties” to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.

The U.K. government, in a statement published by the British consul-general in Jerusalem, likewise expressed “deep concern” and urged the IDF to “adhere to the principles of necessity and proportionality when defending its legitimate security interest.”

“Protection of civilians must be prioritised. Essential to ensure access for medical personnel,” the short missive reads.

UN agencies 'alarmed' at scale of Jenin raid, concerned about access

UN aid agencies on Tuesday voiced alarm at the scale of the ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Jenin, where 10 Palestinians have been killed, saying there were restrictions on medical access.

The operation, which involved drone strikes and hundreds of troops and was one of the largest of its kind in years, entered a second day on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people from a refugee camp.

"We are alarmed at the scale of air and ground operations that are taking place in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, and air strikes hitting a densely populated refugee camp," Vanessa Huguenin, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, told a briefing, saying three minors were among those killed. She did not immediately respond to a request for the victims' ages.

Damage to infrastructure caused by air strikes have cut off most of the water and electricity at the camp, she added. The Palestinian Red Crescent previously said it has evacuated around 3,000 people.

The Red Cross said it was "extremely concerned by the alarming intensification of armed violence" in Jenin.

The World Health Organization and medical charity MSF both raised concerns about access.

Jenin operation: IDF arrests 120 terrorists as fighting continues

IDF Chief Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari on Tuesday said that the military's massive operation in Jenin could end faster than initially expected, even within a matter of days.

In an update early Tuesday, Hagari described how the operation had already achieved most of its goals and with less resistance or side complications than intelligence had estimated.

According to the IDF spokesperson, the military had preselected some dozens of targets to eliminate in terms of terror command centers and weapons and explosives storage areas. IDF has '10 more targets' in Jenin

All but around 10 of those locations were already destroyed or neutralized on the first day of the operation, many within the first two hours in attacks by the air force.

All told, a mix of IDF drones have already destroyed 20 targets, while the IDF commandos, Maglan, paratroopers, regular Menashe infantry, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) forces have neutralized a variety of other targets, including a concealed hiding spot of a large cache of weapons under a mosque.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that there are a total of 10 Palestinians dead since the operation in Jenin started.

Pre-operation estimates were there were 150 specific wanted suspects in Jenin and an estimated total 300 potential combat fighters out of the population of 49,000.

Of those, around 120 have been arrested, though not all 120 were suspects and some have been released.

But one of the surprises for the IDF was that there have been under 10 gunbattles in Jenin as the operation enters its second day.

Whether because the IDF achieved complete surprise, because of fear of being targeted by drones or other considerations, most of the fighters in Jenin have chosen to hide, rather than confront the IDF.

In that sense and if the fighters whose identities are unknown continue to hide, once the IDF has neutralized the remaining 10 targets and sought to find some more of the identified wanted suspects, there could be little for the IDF to do, other than leave its forces exposed and be hit with global criticism for dragging out the operation.

Interview With Alex Ryvchin, Author of "The Seven Deadly Myths" (Daled Amos)

By Daled Amos

I recently had the opportunity to interview the author Alex Ryvchin on his new book which presents a different approach to addressing antisemitism.

The answers have been slightly edited for clarity,

Over the years, many books have been written about antisemitism from different perspectives. How is your book different?

Many books have addressed the ‘why’ of antisemitism. Why are the Jews so hated? Why have such things been inflicted on them? Why do they continue to be targeted? This book will go some way to explaining the 'why' but my central interest is the ‘how’? How does antisemitism function in practice? How is it transmitted around the world and generation to generation.

This question of ‘how’ led me to the seven deadly myths. It is through this complex and well-honed mythology that antisemitism thrives. As Isaac Herzog said in reference to my book:

By shifting emphasis from the ‘why’ of this puzzling and dangerous phenomenon to the ‘how’ of the mechanics of its transmission, Ryvchin points to the possibility of actually confronting and diffusing it.

You mention in your book that it could be used in the classroom. There is discussion about Holocaust education -- and how it has failed, both in making people knowledgeable and in changing attitudes. What do you think are some of the causes for this and how would your book and a curriculum based on it overcome these problems?

Holocaust education is vital and I support it entirely. Within the study of the Holocaust we learn not only about the process by which the European Jews were destroyed, we observe everything of which man is capable of – sadism, cruelty, heroism, strength, apathy and cowardice. But in terms of understanding the hatred of the Jews, the Holocaust answers few questions. In fact, it raises these questions to fever pitch and leaves them unresolved. This is why despite so many admirable endeavors in Holocaust commemoration and education, antisemitism has continued to rise.

Trying to understand antisemitism through the Holocaust is also highly problematic as it positions antisemitism as a historical event and not something in the here and now. It would be like trying to teach anti-Black racism and ending the story with the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. It also falsely positions it as solely a product of race science, fascism and totalitarianism which completely ignores its political and religious sources and manifestations.

This has all contributed to the extremely limited and poor understanding of antisemitism in society, despite it being the most lethal and persistent hatred. This is why it is essential to teach antisemitism itself, what it looks like, how it is expressed, what it continues to do to our communities and wider society.

Why do you think antisemitism persists even after the Holocaust -- why wasn't the world "scared straight" by the murder of 6 million Jews?

Because antisemitism was too ingrained. Antisemitism was soaked into the world’s consciousness through centuries of lies, mythology and propaganda. It emanated from religious sources, nationalist heroes and popular culture. Even the horror of the Holocaust and the most devastating war in history could not dislodge it.

As is often forgotten, Jews continued to be massacred in Europe even after liberation from Nazi occupation. To give one example, the Polish Peasants Party passed a resolution in 1946 thanking Hitler for destroying the Jews and calling for the expulsion of any survivors. Forty-two Jewish survivors were clubbed to death in Kielce, Poland. One of the heroes of the Sobibor Camp Uprising was murdered by nationalists after escaping a camp which had virtually no survivors. So of course, today, when the Holocaust is considered ancient history to many, the same myths and conspiracy theories that made it possible, are resurgent.

If, as you write, antisemitism is not just a result of bad information but is a result of "a defect in reasoning" what is the best we can hope to accomplish in the fight against antisemitism?

Our aim in fighting antisemitism is not elimination – it is a disease without a cure. Our aim is to inoculate as many people as possible from catching it.

There are only two ways to do this. The first is education. But it must be the right education. If we can systematically debunk antisemitic mythology, as my book does, far fewer people will be susceptible to it. Once this education occurs, there has to be engagement. The mythical Jew – bloodthirsty, all-powerful, vengeful, obsessed with money cannot coexist with the real, flesh and blood Jew. The more that people see the real Jew, the weaker these myths become.

Considering the longevity and intensity of antisemitism, to what do you ascribe the survival of Jews and the Jewish identity?

Antisemitism has certainly been a contributing factor to our tenacity. It has hardened our minds and matured our souls. Being hated and excluded also makes us seek familiar company.

But the secret to our survival, in my view, stems from our perspective on life which stems from our teachings, our traditions and national holidays. We live life as though on a mission. This gives us our restless energy, our refusal to be bystanders and our refusal to submit and die. We have important work to do.

You write that your book is not only for the classroom but also for policymakers -- how could you see your book being used?

During my recent US book tour, I had the honor of presenting to law enforcement about my book. They were fascinated by this approach of reducing antisemitism into these 7 deadly myths. This provided them with a clear means of monitoring antisemitism, seeing the sorts of mental processes that lead to horrific acts and enabling them to prevent hate crimes in future.

This education is really critical to understanding antisemitism, how it works and how it can be stopped. Antisemitism is so poorly understood and any plan to combat it must begin by overcoming this. This is where my book can be really helpful.

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!

From the EUISS webpage:

The European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) is the Union’s Agency analysing foreign, security and defence policy issues. Its core mission is to assist the EU and its member states in the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as well as other external action of the Union.

One would think that the EUISS' analyses would be in line with mainstream EU thinking.

Last year, Algeria hosted a forgettable Arab League summit. The EUISS used this as a springboard to evaluate how well and how poorly the League of Arab States (LAS) does what it was meant to do - avoid intra-Arab wars, for example.

But one of its threads of analysis was quite concerning:

The LAS has lost credibility in recent decades due to the weakness of its institutional mechanisms,and its failure to translate the lofty statements of its leaders into action. The inability to take a united stance on the Palestinian issue, when several Arab leaders decided to normalise relations with Israel, is probably its most profound failure, especially given that an overwhelming majority of 88% of Arab citizens disapprove of their governments’ recognition of Israel, and only 6% accept a formal diplomatic recognition.

It sure sounds like the EUISS is saying that a unified Arab consensus against even recognizing Israel is far preferable to a situation where some Arab nations establish relations.

An official EU organization that apparently considers several Arab states making peace with Israel to be a "profound failure" seems to be a pretty big deal. Does this mean the EU considers earlier peace between Israel and Jordan and Egypt to have been a net negative as well?

In fact, the EUISS site does not have any analysis of the Abraham Accords at all. Even though these agreements have been perhaps the most far-reaching change in the Middle East since the Iranian revolution, they do not merit a single article.

The longstanding EU position is that the Palestinian issue is the center of any Middle East peace (the "linkage" claim) and the Abraham Accords showed that this assumption has never been true, and indeed the Arab League was the impediment to peace by pretending that its members were obligated to act as a single anti-Israel bloc instead of in their own self-interests.

In 2020, the EASS - the diplomatic service of the EU - officially welcomed the normalization agreements without using the name "Abraham Accords," but then spent more time discussing how a two state solution should be the main goal and blamed only Israel for the lack of progress on that front. Whether it is stated formally or not, the EU position seems to be that Israel has no rights or legitimate claims to the Old City, Area C or any historic Jewish sites outside the Green Line. It appears that the EU regards the Abraham Accords as a net negative because they reduced diplomatic pressure on Israel on ceding its claims and they took the focus away from the "Palestinians are virtuous, Israel is intransigent" mantra that has been its foreign policy towards the conflict since the Palestinian refusal for peace and the second intifada.

(h/t Irene)

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!