Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, July 18, 2025

07/18 Links Pt1: Syria’s new dawn is already a nightmare; Biden admin used $900m to fund terror, anti-Netanyahu protests; How Congress Can Finish Off Iran

From Ian:

Andrew Fox: Syria’s new dawn is already a nightmare

Israel’s actions also reflect a broader strategic purpose. Its strikes near Damascus were initially seen as a ‘performative escalation’ – warning shots rather than conclusive strikes. The aim is deterrence: to signal to President Sharaa that any attempt to unify Syria by force, especially by moving armed units into the south, will be met with Israeli firepower.

Some observers argue that Israel simply prefers a weak and divided Syria. By attacking Sharaa’s forces, Israel limits the new regime’s ability to establish control. However, regardless of Israel’s motivation – a mix of realpolitik and solidarity with the Druze – the fact remains that Israeli airstrikes probably saved many Druze lives this week by stopping the advance of sectarian killers.

Israel at least seems to understand what kind of regime it is dealing with in Syria. The contrast with the UK here could hardly be more stark. Barely two weeks before the Sweida massacre, UK foreign secretary David Lammy was in Damascus, shaking hands with President Sharaa and pledging £94.5million in aid to support Syria’s ‘long-term recovery’. With great fanfare, the UK re-established diplomatic ties with Syria after 14 years. Lammy spoke of ‘renewed hope’ and an ‘inclusive and representative’ transition.

Washington has been equally eager to embrace Syria’s post-Assad regime. US president Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Syria in June, and even praised Sharaa as an ‘attractive, tough guy’. He also floated the idea of Syria joining an expanded Abraham Accords peace framework, therefore recognising Israel. The logic was simple: bring Syria in from the cold, peel it away from Iran’s orbit, and declare the 14-year civil war resolved.

That aspiration is now in tatters. The massacres of Druze and Alawites cast grave doubt on the new Syrian government’s credibility and intentions. For all the talk of a fresh start, Syria’s interim rulers have shown a grim continuity with the past: intolerance of dissent, reliance on sectarian militias and a propensity for violence. The West’s willingness to overlook HTS’s jihadist pedigree in exchange for a quick diplomatic win now looks not just cynical, but also dangerously naïve.

Sharaa’s cabinet is literally teeming with individuals and factions under terrorism and human-rights sanctions. Did London and Washington really believe such actors would morph overnight into guarantors of pluralism and human rights? With scattered revenge killings of regime loyalists, crackdowns on minority communities, early signs of trouble were already there, but many Western policymakers and media outlets downplayed them. The result is that Western nations are now awkwardly complicit. British aid and American rapprochement have effectively helped legitimise a government whose associates have now butchered over a thousand men, women and children based on their sect. How will these same leaders credibly condemn atrocities elsewhere when they stayed mum on Syria’s? It is a staggering moral failure.

These events have sobering implications. Regionally, Syria’s ‘new dawn’ is revealing itself as just another nightmare. And far from unifying the country, Sharaa’s reliance on hard-line Islamist forces is deepening its fractures. The Druze, long wary of both Assad and Sunni extremism, may now conclude that they have no place in the new Syria, potentially sparking an exodus or armed self-defence. The Alawites, who already feel betrayed and endangered, could turn to desperate measures, perhaps even inviting foreign protection or forming insurgencies. Sectarian bloodshed on this scale risks reigniting a cycle of vengeance that could unravel the fragile peace achieved. In Lebanon next door, where Druze and Alawite communities also exist, the spillover of sectarian tensions is an ominous possibility. Israel’s direct strikes on Damascus also mark a dangerous escalation, and serve as a reminder that Syria’s war can at any moment ignite regional conflagration.

As the Druze and Alawite tragedies have shown, there is nothing ‘inclusive’ or ‘reformed’ about Sharaa’s new regime.

Arsen Ostrovsky: The massacre of the Druze is a moral test: Israel acted, the world failed

The Druze are a small but proud religious and ethnic minority in the Middle East, numbering around one million, primarily in Syria, Lebanon, and northern Israel. In Israel, they are an integral and cherished part of our society. They serve in the military, hold senior positions in government, and have long stood shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish people in defending the state, including fighting in Gaza, after the October 7 massacre by Hamas. They are our brothers-in-arms.

But in Syria, the Druze are now at a perilous crossroad. After more than a decade of civil war, economic collapse, betrayal and hardship, the Druze in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, home to the country's largest Druze community, sought to peacefully protest for their basic rights, dignity, and freedom.

And for that, they are now in the regime’s crosshairs. What started with attacks by Bedouin forces against the Druze escalated when government forces entered Sweida, supposedly to oversee a ceasefire. But according to media reports and eye witnesses, the Syrian soldiers, recognisable by their uniforms and military insignia, joined the Bedouins and murdered Druze on the streets and in their homes.

Sickening videos have also emerged of thugs forcibly shaving the beards of Druze men, a calculated act of religious humiliation. Such outrages against personal dignity, particularly acts of humiliating and degrading treatment, constitute clear violations of international law and the Geneva Conventions.

For the Jewish people, this evokes a chilling reminder of one of the darkest chapters in our history, when Nazis similarly sought to strip Jewish men of their dignity and faith by publicly shaving their beards and humiliating them in public. This is not just repression, it is dehumanisation.

And as the world largely stood by – silent, or offering little more than empty words and meek statements of concern – while Druze were massacred in Sweida, I am proud that Israel did not turn its back. The Jewish state showed courage, conviction and leadership, to step in with military force against the Syrian regime, to help defend our Druze brothers.

For Israel, the bond with the Druze is not abstract. It is deeply personal. Their loyalty has never wavered. Nor can ours now.

The Druze have also stood for moderation, coexistence, and resistance to extremism. In a region overrun by Iranian proxies, jihadist militias, and failed regimes, the Druze offer a rare glimmer of hope.

This is not only about doing the right thing and protecting a vulnerable minority. Supporting the Druze is a moral imperative. Meantime, the international community cannot continue treating President al-Sharra as a legitimate partner on the world stage or welcome Syria into the Abraham Accords, while turning a blind eye to the atrocities that are being committing in Sweida.

It is not enough for al-Sharra to issue vague condemnations or deflect blame onto so-called “outlaw groups.” Even if he did not give the orders, these atrocities are unfolding on his watch, under his authority, carried out by forces loyal to his regime – and reportedly by his own troops.

There must be accountability.

If al-Sharra wishes to be seen as a credible leader or statesman, he must demonstrate it – not with empty rhetoric, but through decisive action. That begins with reining in these jihadist thugs, whether they are merely aligned with his regime or, worse, operating within it.

The Druze of Sweida are not pleading for your sympathy, they are demanding their inalienable right to live in peace and dignity, with full civil rights. What happens next will reveal whether the international community truly seeks a new Syria, or will continue rewarding tyranny with silence. For Israel however, silence was simply not an option.

How Congress Can Finish Off Iran

With the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program damaged, and its regional influence diminished, the U.S. must now prevent it from recovering, and, if possible, weaken it further. Benjamin Baird argues that it can do both through economic means—if Congress does its part:

Legislation that codifies President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policies into law, places sanctions on Iran’s energy sales, and designates the regime’s proxy armies as foreign terrorist organizations will go a long way toward containing Iran’s regime and encouraging its downfall. . . . Congress has already introduced much of the legislation needed to bring the ayatollah to his knees, and committee chairmen need only hold markup hearings to advance these bills and send them to the House and Senate floors.

They should start with the HR 2614—the Maximum Support Act. What the Iranian people truly need to overcome the regime is protection from the state security apparatus.

Next, Congress must get to work dismantling Iran’s proxy army in Iraq. By sanctioning and designating a list of 29 Iran-backed Iraqi militias through the Florida representative Greg Steube’s Iranian Terror Prevention Act, the U.S. can shut down . . . groups like the Badr Organization and Kataib Hizballah, which are part of the Iranian-sponsored armed groups responsible for killing hundreds of American service members.

Those same militias are almost certainly responsible for a series of drone attacks on oilfields in Iraq over the past few days

"Terrorists in Uniform:" The PA police moonlight as terrorists

During the Oslo process in the 1990s, the US trained the Palestinian Authority police to help them build a state.

An acquaintance says that they used to bring retired American officers to Israel and they would meet with the PA police. One general said to my friend after the meeting, "These are NOT police. These are soldiers pretending to be police. Watch out."

As we saw during the second intifada, he was right. The PA police would use their American equipment for terror.

Palestinian Media Watch issued a report this week, "Terrorists in Uniform," that is a must-read on how PA security forces are moonlighting as terrorists, just as Hamas police are also terrorists. Last week, the two terrorists attacked and murdered 22-year-old Shalev Zevuloni were found to be PA police.

The PMW report gives example after example of how the PA Security Forces themselves brag about these terrorists employed by them:

The PASF spokesman praising the PASF forces specifically because they are fighting Israel, filling the Israeli prisons, and achieving Martyrdom.

A PASF terrorist was released after 18 years in prison and was immediately welcomed back to his unit as a hero.

The head of PASF, Maj. Gen. Majed Faraj, gave special cash grants to the families of PASF officers in prison for terrorism

A terrorist given a PASF military funeral adorned with a headband of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades

Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah explained that a terror attack in which an Israeli was killed was "high-quality" specifically because it was "carried out by… one of the Palestinian Security Forces officers."

Israel killed a PASF officer who was "one of the central terror leaders in Judea and Samaria."

Fatah praised the PASF terrorists: "By day security Forces, and by night self-sacrificing fighters."

The PA is no less supportive of terror than Hamas, and their police - which are the linchpin for any potential takeover of Gaza - are part of the problem, not the solution.

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

If you ignore Hamas war crimes that they BRAG about, you don't really care about international law

Hamas released a video with a message aimed aimed at Israeli soldiers, urging them to put down their weapons and allow themselves to be taken hostage.

It says, "Soldier, lay down your weapons and raise your hands when confronted, and follow the instructions of the resistance in Gaza. A prisoner is better than a dead person. We will protect your life until the next deal."

Hamas is not saying that the soldiers would have POW status, with all the protections that international law provides to prisoners of war. Hamas is saying that it wants the soldiers as bargaining chips for the "next deal." Indeed, last week they mounted a major operation to kidnap bulldozer driver Avraham Azoulay, who resisted and was killed.

That is hostage taking, and it is a war crime.

War crimes are Hamas' entire military strategy, whether it is attacking civilians, using civilians as human shields, stealing aid meant for civilians, hiding weapons and terrorists in hospitals, using ambulances as military vehicles, taking hostages, fighting while dressed in civilian clothing, or booby trapping civilian buildings. Other violations of international law include recruiting children as militants, forcing hostages to make propaganda videos and threatening journalists.

The reason it is difficult to decisively win the war is because Hamas doesn't just violate international law, but it does so as its strategy.

How often is this simple and incontrovertible fact mentioned by analysts, NGOs and the UN? How many non-Israeli reports give a comprehensive accounting of Hamas' actions from an international law perspective? Where is the media?

Hamas doesn't just admit that this is their strategy - they brag about it. Hamas media shows how happy they are at making Israelis run to bomb shelters, highlight grieving Jews at funerals, and use existing hostages as pawns.

But the media spends orders of magnitude more time on alleged Israeli violations of international law than Hamas' own joy at doing that very thing.

It's almost like no one really cares about international law at all.

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

Al Azhar Mosque in Egypt held a forum on Wednesday night titled "The Prophetic Approach to Dealing with Sedition: The Conquest of Khaybar as a Model." The speakers included professors at Al Azhar University.

Dr. Habib Allah Hassan said that combating corruption is the ultimate goal of divine messages, and the mission of all prophets is call people to worship God and fight corruption.

He cited the noble verse: "And fight them until there is no fitnah [persecution/sedition]" [Quran 2:193] as evidence of the necessity to extinguish sedition. This was exemplified during the Prophet’s time—may God bless him and grant him peace—when Muslims faced sedition from the Jews. Thus, the battle had a noble objective: to eliminate sedition. The Jews of Khaybar posed a significant threat to Muslims due to their unified opposition, making the Conquest of Khaybar a battle for survival and a means to quell sedition.

But just in case you didn't get the massage, he added:

Zionists today continue to employ the same deceptive tactics as their predecessors against Muslims. They attempt to present myths as facts, such as claiming a fictitious historical presence in the land of Palestine, with support from international conspirators, despite having no religious claim to Palestine, neither historically nor presently. ... The Zionist ideology is a dubious concept aimed at usurping the rights of rightful owners, in violation of all religious teachings, including Judaism itself. He described them as a destructive force that the West has imposed on Muslim lands to eliminate their threat in Western countries.

The next speaker added more:

Dr. Khaled Abdel Nabi stated that anyone who examines the Jews’ methods of inciting sedition will discover their extreme cunning and diverse tactics. .... The conflicts that arose between Muslims and Jews resulted from the Jews’ violation of these treaties and their efforts to incite sedition within Muslim society. He noted that a review of Jewish history reveals that their societies were often built on stirring strife among people.

The moderator agreed: "Historical analysis of Jewish actions shows their mastery of this form of corruption with great cunning, aiming to destabilize and dismantle societies."

Al Azhar is mainstream Islam in Egypt. These are not fringe opinions on webs with tiny audiences - this is the way Egyptian Muslims are taught to think.

At the same time, former Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Ali Gomaa, says the entire Torah is corrupt. The Torah doesn't list kosher or non-kosher animals - that was added by rabbis much later. He said that rabbis say that no non-Jew can be a prophet, which would come as a surprise to Balaam. He insists that the Holy Quran establishes a sound, scientific approach to dealing with religions and divine scriptures, based on investigation, scrutiny, and a return to the original sources, not whims and distorted traditions.

Yes, the 7th century Quran knew more about the Torah than the Jews of the previous 1,500 years.

When a rabbi in Israel says something that sounds bad, it is usually a misinterpretation or a real fringe voice - yet it generates headlines and it used as evidence of Jewish bigotry for years afterward.

This stuff happens every day in Egypt. Publicly. Reported widely in Arabic.

And ignored in Western media.

Buy EoZ's books on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

07/17 Links Pt2: ‘The New York Times’ gas-lighting crusade against Israel; The Silencing of Jewish Students; The Global Intifada Comes to American Museums

From Ian:

In Islamic Culture There Is No Such Concept as Defeat. It's Better to Die than Lose Face

Mosab Hassan Yousef, 47, the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, defected to Israel in 1997 and moved to the U.S. in 2007, with his story revealed in his 2010 memoir, Son of Hamas. During a visit to Israel in June, he said:
"Hamas has spent 37 years building momentum, and people seem to forget they [the Palestinians] voted for them. They forget they funded Hamas from their own pockets - not just Iran....It's part of their religious obligation. Businessmen too - all under the table. How do I know? Because I was in Hamas leadership. I saw where the finances came from. Average people would walk into the mosque with tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars or dinars and slip it into my father's pocket or the back seat of his car."

"Of course, there are people who suffered under Hamas's iron grip in Gaza. I'm not saying there aren't. But are they any better? They all still see Israel as the common enemy. They may not agree with what Hamas did on October 7...[but] they're saying, 'It wasn't worth it.'"

"In Islamic culture...there is no such concept as defeat...It's victory or death. When they lose a war, they don't see it the way the West does. We were conditioned from an early age...all of it built on a refusal to accept what really happened - that our forefathers initiated the war against Israel's independence, and they lost. But in this culture, defeat is too shameful to admit. Everything is based on honor and shame, not on right and wrong, as in Western culture....Better to die than lose face."

"Palestine is a colonial construct. It's not even part of our traditional vocabulary - it's not in the Arab dictionary. 'Palestine' was a name for a region at best, not a country. As for so-called Palestinians, we don't actually have anything concrete to support our existence as a nation or an ethnicity - nothing except for this ugly flag and the keffiyeh, a scarf actually coming from Iraq....Am I really supposed to die for this falsehood? For the madness of people who thrive on corruption and violence and expect everyone else to join them?"

‘The New York Times’ gas-lighting crusade against Israel

The New York Times should consider adopting the Jerusalem cross as its new logo to represent its crusade against Israel and the Jewish people. With a steady stream of slanted reporting and a roster of columnists united by their hostility to Israel (with the lone exception of columnist Bret Stephens), the Times has transformed itself from a paper of record into a platform for moral inversion.

Here’s the journalistic trick for looking credible while advancing a political agenda: Choose sources that support your point of view. It is particularly effective when those sources are anonymous, making it impossible to know their agenda. Times reporters do this routinely, typically quoting U.S. State Department Arabists who they know share their anti-Israel views. Sometimes, they quote sympathetic “experts” to give their bias a veneer of authority.

The op-ed page is worse. It runs on the adage that “man bites dog” is news, which in this case translates into prioritizing Jewish critics of Israel. These “As a Jew” pieces—by academics or activists who use their identity to launder moral attacks—are a staple. A recent example: Brown University professor Omer Bartov, who accused Israel of “genocide” while virtually ignoring the massacre that triggered the war.

Bartov is supposed to be taken seriously because he teaches Holocaust and genocide studies. Because it has not been the site of encampments and public confrontations like Columbia, Brown’s tolerance of anti-Israel and antisemitic students and faculty has gone largely unnoticed. Bartov has been railing against the Israeli government for years and signed the antisemitic Elephant in the Room screed, making him an obvious choice for the op-ed page.

As with most media coverage of the Gaza war, logic is missing from his article. He did not mention the word terrorism even once. His only references to Oct. 7—the day Hamas butchered more than 1,200 Israelis, took 251 hostages, and hid behind civilians in mosques, schools and hospitals—were cursory. Remarkably, he declared within a month of the terrorist attacks that Israel had committed war crimes, as though Hamas’s atrocities demanded no meaningful accounting.

His core claim of genocide hinges on intent. But the quotes he offers from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do not call for the destruction of a people; they call for the destruction of a terrorist army. Netanyahu said that Hamas would pay a “huge price,” that the Israel Defense Forces would turn Hamas-infested areas “into rubble” and urged “residents of Gaza” to evacuate. If anything, those are statements of intent to protect civilians, not to eliminate them.

Bartov fails to mention that it is the Hamas charter that calls for the genocide of the Jews. Had Hamas not committed a massacre on Oct. 7, not a single Palestinian civilian would have lost their life in Gaza.

Like other detractors, Bartov has inverted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was a reaction to the Nazi crimes against the Jews, to blame the victims. The convention defines genocide as an “intention to destroy, wholly or partially, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, per se.”

Rightwing Anti-Semites Seek to Undermine America’s Moral Authority on the World Stage

Last week, at a major gathering of young American conservatives, the Internet talk-show host Tucker Carlson complained of undue Israeli influence over U.S. foreign policy, made insinuations about Jewish disloyalty, and averred that the deceased investor-cum-procurer Jeffrey Epstein was a Mossad agent. Such rhetoric is typical of Carlson, who is also a sharp critic of American support for its Middle Eastern allies against Iran, for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and for Great Britain in its war with the Axis. And he represents a growing segment of opinion on the American right that is no longer confined to the fever swamps.

Rebeccah Heinrichs examines the worldview behind Carlson’s anti-Americanism, which she dubs the “1939 Project” in an analogy to the series of New York Times articles arguing that America’s original sin occurred in 1619:
Carlson’s views might seem outlandish, but he isn’t dumb. He is among the savviest operators out there. And he is well aware that anti-Israel invective and conspiracy thinking attracts attention in a culture that has lost trust in expertise and institutions—and is hunting for a scapegoat for America’s very real challenges.

But if the 1939 Project people are right, and Winston Churchill was in fact the warmonger, and if Hitler really wanted peace and perhaps had a point about the outsize and nefarious impact of Jewish people, and if the United States was wrong to drop the atomic bombs, then NATO was a mistake, the ties to the nation of Israel is a mistake, and none of the post-World War II international order is worth maintaining today, let alone restoring or defending.

[The goal is] to loosen the affection and support Americans feel for and have for our allies in Europe and Israel. This is necessary to weaken the American people’s support for U.S. statecraft in the world, whether in the form of sanctions, military deployments, or military action in defense of its allies and stated and official interests. Their increasingly casual anti-Semitism is not simply evil—it is strategic. It has become the glue that binds the various strains of the insurgent ideology.

07/17 Links Pt1: Hypocrisy and double standards over the massacre of the Druze; US news outlets served as 'megaphones' for Hamas in Gaza war

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Hypocrisy and double standards over the massacre of the Druze

Yet this slaughter elicited no condemnation from those who, day in and day out, signal their own supposed virtue by falsely accusing Israel of war crimes. Faced with the evidence of a horrific attempt to exterminate the Druze, demonstrators who have been screaming about Israel’s “genocide” for the past 21 months were conspicuously absent from the streets and campuses.

The likes of Amnesty and Human Rights Watch were silent. Al-Julani’s troops reportedly slaughtered the entire staff at Suweida’s hospital along with their patients. Yet from those who falsely accuse Israel of targeting hospitals in Gaza in order to kill patients and staff—and who wickedly ignore the fact that Hamas has turned them into terrorist hubs and thus made them into legitimate military targets—there was only silence.

Astoundingly, these people instead blamed Israel—the only country that went to the aid of the Druze—for attacking Syria. António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, posted on X that he condemned the killing of any civilians, omitted to place responsibility on al-Julani’s forces and instead blamed Israel for defending the Druze.

Various media outlets reported these atrocities as “tit for tat” skirmishes between the Druze and Bedouin tribes. Even the Trump administration bafflingly described what happened as a “misunderstanding” between Israel and Syria that had somehow gotten out of hand.

The perversity of all this reaction was hardly surprising. Much of it was wrapped up in a deep animus against Israel and the Jewish people, which is its own dark and terrifying story.

Something else, however, was at work here—and that was the rush that took place to embrace al-Julani, a former member of Al-Qaeda and ISIS who had been imprisoned by the Americans from 2006 to 2011, as a force for good.

Israel Rescues Syria’s Druze

To understand what set off the latest round of sectarian conflict in southern Syria, I suggest reading this very brief and useful summary by Carmit Valensi and Amal Hayek. The two note that, as in previous rounds of fighting, “internal pressure from the Druze community in Israel spurred Israeli military involvement.” But Amit Segal argues that this incident was different from its predecessors:

[T]he Druze area acts as a buffer for Israel. It’s like a shield against Syria, which is essentially [part of] a Turkish empire, something that deeply disturbs Israel. But there’s one more thing that’s changed in recent months. Israel is acting as a regional power for the first time, and only history will judge if this was wise or a mistake.

When Israel sees situations such as what’s happening in Syria, it intervenes. This has never happened before. Israel says it’s not just about immediate interests, but also about allies.

There is also here a moral element, that goes beyond what some see as Jerusalem caving to domestic pressure from its Druze citizens. After all, no other country has lifted a finger to protect Middle Eastern minorities from slaughter. Seth Mandel writes:

It has not gone unnoticed that Israel is striking the government forces of a country with which it is also negotiating mutual recognition. But there is no contradiction there: peace is the goal, and recognition is worthless without it. Israel wants recognition because it wants coexistence, not the other way around. And the Jewish state is unwilling to sell out its values to get it: “Israel is committed to preventing harm being inflicted on the Druze in Syria, owing to the deep covenant of blood with our Druze citizens in Israel and their historical and familial link to the Druze in Syria,” Prime Minister Netanyahu explained.

MEMRI: Articles In Palestinian Authority Press Following Israel-Iran Ceasefire: When Will Hamas Realize That Eliminating Israel Is A Ludicrous Idea And Move To End The War In Gaza?

Following the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on June 24, 2025, papers affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank published articles that called on Hamas to draw lessons from the Iran-Israel war. The articles urged Hamas to understand that Iran – which it regarded as an ally and as the leader of the "resistance axis" – proved to be a "paper tiger" in the confrontation with Israel, a country that cares only for its own interests and cannot be relied upon to assist the Palestinians. According to the articles, the fact that the war ended with a ceasefire under the patronage of the U.S. – without realizing Iran's vision of eliminating Israel, without the participation of the other members of the resistance axis, such as Hizbullah, the Houthis and the Iraqi militias, and without any Iranian demand for a ceasefire in Gaza – shows that Hamas can no longer count on Iran to help it in the Gaza war. One of the articles concluded that "the Iranian axis has ended and its slogans have evaporated under the Israeli and American blows."

The following are translated excerpts from these articles:
PA Daily: Hamas Must Acknowledge That Iran Cared Only For Itself And That The Resistance Axis Is Done For

The June 25, 2025 editorial of the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida urged Hamas to learn from the outcomes of the Iran-Israel war by realizing that the discourse about the "unity of the fronts" and the "resistance axis" is hollow and that it can no longer rely on Iran's assistance in the Gaza war.

The editorial said: "…It took Tehran only 12 days to realize that missiles do not win wars and that the U.S. does not and will not allow Israel to be defeated. Those 12 days clarified the character and boundaries of the conflict… Tehran, the capital of the resistance axis, concluded an agreement for a full and comprehensive ceasefire… We do not believe that Tehran will continue to be [the leader of] an axis… Clearly, it also forgot all the discourse about the 'assistance fronts' and the 'unity of the fronts' when it concluded the ceasefire agreement with Israel. It made no mention of Israel's war on Gaza, neither explicitly nor implicitly – [even though it was] Israel who started that war on the pretext of [retaliating for the Al-Aqsa] Flood [operation] that Hamas launched based on an Iranian decision.

"Here's the truth: there is no 'resistance axis' and no 'assistance front,' because states [are guided by] pragmatic policies, interests, [diplomatic] relations and the power balance, not by populist discourse, revolutionary boasting, hollow declarations and Muslim Brotherhood-style shows [of strength]. Hamas must acknowledge this reality and deal with it without denying the truth…"[1]

Former PA Minister: The Iranian Axis Has Proved To Be A Paper Tiger; Israel Can Be Defeated In The Diplomatic Arena, Not In The Military One

In his June 25 column in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, Ashraf Al-Ajrami, a former PA minister for prisoners' affairs, urged Hamas to draw lessons from the Iran-Israel war and understand that eliminating Israel with the help of Iran and the resistance axis is a ludicrous plan. He wrote:

"…Iran is the big loser in this war, for the scope of the destruction and losses in Israel cannot be compared to [what happened] in Iran… This country and its allies in the region were delusional and chanted big slogans [about] destroying, eliminating or burning Israel, when they were not just incapable of realizing them but incapable of exacting a heavy price from Israel.

"The 'resistance axis' has proved to be a paper tiger… We fell under the influence of the failed Iranian axis, which used our [Palestinian] organizations – such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad – as tools in a plan that had nothing to do with our interests… The Palestinian arena split into two camps: the national one, which maintained ties with the major Arab countries, and the other [camp], affiliated with Iran, which is at odds with the Arab regimes. We paid an unbearable price for realizing the Iranian enterprise and chasing failed, empty slogans in the name of the 'resistance' and its ideology…

"Now the Iranian axis has ended and its slogans have evaporated under the Israeli and American blows… The war in Gaza continues and we have been left on our own… What is needed [now] is a rational approach, in order to deal with this reality and change it through an in-depth study of the power balance. [We must] understand how it can be wisely amended without falling for mistaken and destructive considerations, as we did in the past decades, most recently in the October 7 attack.[2]

"The idea of defeating Israel militarily or destroying it is a kind of fantasy that bears no connection to reality. However, Israel can be defeated on the diplomatic level… Non-violent popular resistance is internationally accepted and supported, whereas violent struggle is not accepted and causes damage far greater than any conceivable benefit. Will the Palestinian movements draw a lesson from what happened in the region and rethink their considerations?"[3]

No One Ever Hacks MY Social Media Account To Post Antisemitism by Eeyore (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook and Substack pages.

Hundred Acre Wood, July 20 - Oh, bother.

It’s me, Eeyore, trudging through my dreary little patch of the Hundred Acre Wood, tail barely hanging on as always. I heard about poor Elmo’s X account getting hijacked the other day—some awful folks used it to spout a stream of hateful, antisemitic nonsense. Just terrible, that. Made me sit here, under my usual gray cloud, thinking. Nobody’d ever bother taking over my X account for something like that.

Nope. Not Eeyore’s. Why would they? My account’s as dull as a thistle patch in winter. If I even bothered posting, it’d just be me mumbling about a lost tail or staring at a muddy puddle. “Sky’s gray again. Figures,” I’d write, and maybe get a pity-like from Piglet, if he’s feeling extra kind. Nobody notices Eeyore’s posts. They’re all too busy with Pooh’s honey obsession or Tigger’s bouncing antics. My X account’s a forgotten corner of the internet, just like my Gloomy Place. No one’s clamoring to steal it. Too much effort for too little gain.

I suppose it’s just my lot. Elmo’s all bright and cheerful, loved by everyone, so of course someone’d want to mess with his account. Me? I’m just… Eeyore. Not worth the trouble. If someone did hack my account, they’d probably give it back out of boredom. “Here’s your sad little page, donkey,” they’d say. “Couldn’t even get a rise out of anyone.” Can’t say I’d blame them. My posts wouldn’t exactly stir up a storm. Maybe a drizzle, at best.

It’s not that I want someone to hijack my account, mind you. I’d rather they didn’t. Just saying it’s unlikely. Who’d care enough to bother with old Eeyore? I’m not the sort anyone notices, let alone targets for something so spiteful. Maybe that’s a blessing, in its own way. Still, it stings a bit, knowing I’m not even worth a villain’s time. Oh, well. Suppose I’ll just keep plodding along, tail or no tail, posting about the rain and hoping someone, someday, might care enough to comment. Probably won’t, though. That’s just how it goes for me.

Must be the Jews' fault.

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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

Palestinian Contractors Union denies any dealing with settlements (wink, wink)

Sada News reports:

The Palestinian Contractors Union said it is following with astonishment and rejection the allegations recently circulated in some media outlets and social media platforms alleging the involvement of some Palestinian contracting companies in implementing projects within settlements, whether roads, buildings, or other works.

In a statement, the union categorically denied these allegations, clearly and decisively affirming that no Palestinian company registered with the Palestinian Contractors Union and duly accredited by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing is involved in any way in implementing projects within Israeli settlements, which, according to international law and the position of the Palestinian National Authority, are illegal entities established on occupied Palestinian land.

Last I checked, about 20,000 Palestinians were working in settlements, mostly in construction, although I don't know how many still do after October 7.

The 2024 Palestinian Labor Force Survey for 2024 doesn't distinguish between workers in Green Line Israel and in the settlements, but all of them now make exactly double the wages of Palestinians who don't work in Israel and the settlements. (Google translated chart)

The employers in Israel don't deal directly with the workers, they go through some sort of broker, almost certainly a Palestinian (maybe indirectly.) Which makes him a ...contractor.

Now it is probable that these brokers are not registered with the union for the Israeli jobs and that they have a different company structure if they also do work in the Palestinian territories.

But let's not kid ourselves. None of the middlemen are turning down jobs in Israel or the settlements if the jobs are there. And they are happily getting a cut.

Including, almost certainly, the union leaders who drafted this statement.

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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

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Remember "The Elders?"

That was the group that was founded in 2007 by Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson and others to be a supposedly moral voice for the world.

They are apparently still around, and still bashing Israel. Four of the six "Elders Statements" from 2025 have vilified Israel. Priorities!

When the US struck Iran's nuclear facilities, the Elders were right there with a statement. Not against Iran's nuclear program but against the US and Israel.

The US and Israeli military strikes on Iran over the past two weeks are illegal, and have sent a dangerous message about the normalisation of military might overriding the rule of law. They cannot be justified as legitimate self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, and no credible evidence of an imminent attack by Iran has been put forward.

These acts have undermined nuclear diplomacy and risk fuelling a new wave of proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and globally. The ceasefire announced overnight must be respected in full to restore stability and space for diplomacy.

We are extremely concerned about the loss of oversight over Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium in light of the US strikes. We reaffirm the critical role of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and that nuclear facilities should never be targeted under any circumstances.

This week I have been building an AI based system to detect propaganda in what are supposed to be objective articles and statements. Now renamed TAMAR (Tool for Analyzing Manipulative Argument Rhetoric) but not yet publicly accessible, it is supposed to find propaganda techniques independent of any political agenda - it would flag Zionist propaganda as well as anti-Zionist propaganda.

Here's what it said for this Elders statement:

1. Framing Distortions

Selective Framing: The Elders highlight the strikes as “illegal” and presenting “no credible evidence of an imminent attack,” permanently framing US/Israeli actions as aggression rather than potential defense There’s a risk here of simplification—ignoring imposed nuclear threats perceived by Israel and the US.

Hijacked Causality: They assert a direct causal link—strikes will “intensify global nuclear proliferation risks”—without acknowledging how Iran’s enrichment to 60% uranium and non‑compliance findings may have driven pressure toward military action

2. Epistemic Subversions

Premise Smuggling: The statement implies the community accepts that no imminent Iranian threat existed, yet doesn't mention IAEA reports showing Iran amassed 409 kg of 60% uranium—subtle premise slippage

Undisclosed Substitution: The term “intensified global nuclear proliferation risks” replaces specific metrics. It’s vague: do they refer to derailed diplomacy, a cascade response from other non‑nuclear states, or Iran’s potential break‑out capability?

3. Rhetorical Weaponry

Terminology Abuse: Describing the strikes as illegal and law‑defying uses strong normative language to shape reader judgment, rather than fostering analytical nuance

Normative Hijack: They invoke “rule of law” and the UN Charter (Article 51) to underscore legitimacy, sidestepping complex debates about the bounds of self‑defence and intelligence uncertainty.

4. Moral Frame Inversions

Unquestionable Authority Claims: As a respected civic group, The Elders are positioned as moral arbitrators. There’s no engagement with alternate legal interpretations or Israel/US rationale—this projects moral authority without challenge.

5. Contextual & Enforcement Heuristics

Medium-Based Scrutiny: Published in a normative NGO context, the statement leans advocacy. It lacks broader diplomatic analysis; there’s no reference to IAEA findings or regional security dynamics—this is methodological filtering.

6. Layered Case Mode

Selective Moral Judgments: The statement insists the strikes violated law, yet omits recognition of Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear enrichment, which sparked IAEA non‑compliance alerts and concerns that “Iran could produce weapons‑grade material in roughly one week”

This is a sophisticated analysis, based on AskHillel's "ethoskeletal" principles as well as on training from my articles that examine anti-Israel propaganda. And I am still adding more features as I think of them.

There are some sites that tag news sites as to their ideological leanings, but I cannot find a tool that does what TAMAR does. This is the sort of thing that news organizations, corporations and sites like Wikipedia should use routinely in their workflow to make their arguments logic based and avoid bias. The fact that it is non-ideological should make any organization want to use this sort of analysis.

That is, if they care about fairness and fighting bias.

I'm dreaming of using TAMAR to create an unbiased scorecard of news sites that everyone can access. . Journalistic ethics fall very short compared to the methods reporters use to inject bias, and TAMAR helps uncover many of them. A tool like TAMAR could help decrease bias in media and make the world a much better place.

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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

Last week a 292-page Hebrew report was released by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA Center) that thoroughly debunks claims that Israel is waging genocide on Palestinians in Gaza.

The executive summary is available here in English.

It is excellent. It is not a whitewash - it criticizes the IDF at times and notes apparent war crimes by individual soldiers. But it comprehensively debunks the idea that the IDF and Israel are intentionally targeting civilians, let alone waging genocide.

So, of course, it is being ignored in the media.

The report has eight chapters, each of which destroys the anti-Israel libels.

Chapter 1 examines accusations of the deliberate starvation of Gaza’s civilian population. it shows that the statistics given by the UN of truckloads of food to Gaza before the war are faulty and in fact sufficient aid has been entering Gaza. I am not sure if it addresses distribution issues where parts of Gaza may not be getting the food required, but it is obvious that there is no deliberate policy of starvation, as has been repeated over and over.

Chapter 2 gives context for understanding Israel’s military actions during the war, particularly the challenges of urban warfare. It notes that any analysis of IDF actions without describing Hamas' own strategy is as crazy as analyzing a boxer's moves while digitally erasing his opponent. This chapter gives hard evidence of Hamas' human shields strategy, including numerous quotes from Hamas leaders and captured documents that not only embrace the strategy for defensive purposes but also that welcome civilian deaths and damage because they believe that this unifies Gazans against Israel.

Chapter 3 provides an analysis of claims regarding deliberate killings of civilians. Out of the 50,000 deaths listed by the Gaza health ministry in March 2025, only 61 has any evidence of deliberate targeting - and even some of those were from unreliable witnesses. even many of those were of civilians who re-entered zones that the IDF had cleared of civilians. The report doesn't deny any war crimes: it assumes that every war will have some and those must be investigated, but there is no evidence that they are widespread in Gaza.

Moreover, the report says "no credible forensic evidence has been provided to substantiate claims of close-range mass killings of civilians or executions of helpless noncombatants." It shows that volunteer doctors are lying when they claim Israel was targeting children with sniper guns on drones, a technology Israel does not have. They also do not seem credible when they claim to have never seen Hamas fighters in hospitals when others, including Israeli captives, confirm their presence.

Chapter 4 investigates allegations that Israel systematically violated the principles of distinction and proportionality in its strikes on the Gaza Strip. It analyzes Israel's use of "dumb bombs" and AI as well as safer (not safe) zones for Gazans that Hamas continued to operate from. I found no violations of international laws on distinction and proportionality.

Chapter 5 critically reviews Gaza Health Ministry (GMOH) data and manipulations.

Chapters 6 through 8 describe how UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and major media outlets cannot accurately assess the humanitarian situation in closed societies under oppressive regimes such as Hamas, and how they cannot credibly distinguish between civilian and military casualties in those situations. The report shows how these supposedly objective sources consistently fail in their methodologies and do nothing to correct their methods even when they admit they were wrong (like parroting Hamas' false "70% of casualties are women and children.")

The report also situates the conflict within a broader geopolitical context, noting Iran’s role in arming and directing Hamas as part of a strategy to destabilize Israel. Hamas’s actions align with this agenda, making Israel’s response a defensive necessity rather than a genocidal campaign. The authors argue that Israel’s measures, such as warnings and evacuation routes, demonstrate efforts to mitigate civilian harm, despite their military disadvantage and Hamas’s exploitation of these efforts.

There is also a detailed analysis of a startlingly similar situation in Iraq in the 1990s. the Iraqi Health Ministry, under Saddam Hussein, gave out false casualty figures to researchers who publicized that child mortality had skyrocketed during the war. It took years before the truth came out that the ministry had manipulated the data, but the retractions by the researchers were barely covered in the media which has sensationalized the original accusations.

And we see the same thing today. This report is a detailed dismantling of the narratives that the media and NGOs are pushing. It was published July 9. Yet there has been no news coverage of this report in English so far!

The media chooses which stories are likely to get them eyeballs, and a report that shows that they were wrong for the past two years is not something they want to publicize - to protect themselves. So no reporters are digging through it to see if they need to correct previous stories, no NGOs are reflecting on the findings and seeing how they can fix their own procedures to forestall any future mistakes.

Israel bashing is a business model, and reports like this can hurt business.

(h/t Irene)

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A writer in Egypt's Gomhuria Online wins today's contest for the most unhinged antisemitic conspiracy theory:

Israel... and the Game of the Imams!!

Indeed, the Zionist entity has mastered the game of the imams with precision, professionalism, and cynicism. It plays in the field without competitor or deterrent—at least at this level of deception, falsification, manipulation of minds, tampering with religious culture, and the development of theories to stir sedition and cause distress to all of God's creation—believers and non-believers, Muslims and others.

The Zionists have excelled not only in recruiting and embracing pro-Zionist preachers and imams, but in manufacturing a special kind of imam—created from scratch by Mossad and its supporting agencies, chosen from among pure Jews with diverse knowledge backgrounds. They are educated and indoctrinated in a specific form of Islam tailored to Zionist ideology that satisfies the ambitions of the global Zionist movement.

This is not limited to special training courses, but includes dedicated academic institutions openly named “Tel Aviv Islamic University” where subjects such as Quranic interpretation, biography of the Prophet, Hadith sciences, Arabic language, and various dialects (Egyptian, Levantine, Maghrebi) are taught—with special attention to Persian. These curricula are not merely distorted or biased; they are designed to invert facts and historical realities, producing incitement preachers who can fulfill the Zionist narrative and elevate the Jewish story—leaving even the wise bewildered, destabilizing thought and sowing confusion without being exposed for years.

In occupied territory, the task is easier. We saw examples of them leading ISIS and its counterparts in Syria, Iraq, and even Libya. The best example is Sheikh Abu Hafs, who preached, led prayers, and was later exposed as an Israeli spy—Benjamin Ephraim, who was caught in the early days of the revolution.

The most dangerous example was recently uncovered in Iran, following the Iranian-Zio-American war. Amidst a wave of Mossad spies flooding Iran, they succeeded in crafting an Iranian-born Jewish agent, disguised as a Shiite cleric in central Tehran. He gained mass popularity through his weekly TV program “Light of the Quran” with a calm voice and humble demeanor. He spoke on interpretation, Hadith, jihad, loyalty and disavowal.

No one imagined that this “famous imam” Sheikh Mojtaba Shirazi was actually a Mossad agent named Yaqub bin Shimon, a Jew born in Isfahan!

He operated for years until intelligence officials noted his use of unusual phrases—thought poetic by some—but later decoded as encrypted messages. A special unit called “Karbala Unit” arrested him mid-sermon, tried him secretly, and found a booklet with detailed codes used to direct sleeper cells for assassinations and bombings.

"Tel Aviv Islamic University" is a fiction that surfaces every year or so. But this article names not one but two supposed Israeli spies who were supposedly caught.

Last year, the "preacher" that they outed was none other than IDF Arabic spokesperson Avicha Adraee!

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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

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07/16 Links Pt2: Shai Davidai: Why I’m Leaving Columbia; UNRWA admits Palestinian ‘refugees’ can’t be removed from UN lists; How Israel Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Knowledge

From Ian:

Shai Davidai: Why I’m Leaving Columbia

My colleagues’ silence shows more than a lack of moral integrity. It reveals how costly it is to challenge dominant ideologies on American campuses. Question them, and you’ll quickly be isolated, even by close peers. Tasked with teaching truth, courage, and principled leadership, my colleagues failed to live by those very ideals. One senior colleague, a former vice dean of DEI at Columbia Business School, admitted they might have defended me—but the optics of a white-passing Jewish professor confronting a woman of color president “weren’t right.” By choosing comfort over conviction, my colleagues’ silence shows how wide the gap is between preaching values and living them. That’s the bitter truth about higher education today: Those who can’t, teach.

My colleagues stayed silent even as Columbia retaliated against me. In December 2023, the university launched an investigation after a video of me condemning support for Hamas went viral, accusing me of harassment based on “national origin and/or shared ancestry.” That charge was not only false but absurd. I never spoke against Palestinians, Arabs, or any ethnic, religious, or national group. I repeatedly and clearly distinguished between the Palestinian people and the terrorists ruling them, focusing only on student groups that glorify terror. By caving to a coordinated smear campaign from Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia didn’t just stand by—it seized the chance to intimidate me into silence. The baseless investigation dragged on for 20 months before closing with no findings of wrongdoing—HR-speak for “innocent.” Meanwhile, my name and reputation were dragged through the mud for all to see. This is what ideological persecution looks like in academia.

The investigation was only the beginning. In April 2024, when I tried to enter the illegal campus encampment—plastered with signs like “With a rifle we will free Palestine,” tributes to terrorists, and a ban on Jewish students who support Israel’s right to exist—Columbia deactivated my ID, barring me from campus while letting the encampment stand. Months later, on the Oct. 7 anniversary, I confronted Columbia’s COO for letting the same group terrorize Jewish students with an unauthorized march celebrating Hamas and its allies. In response, Columbia suspended me again—this time from every building, including my office and the only Jewish space on campus. Terrified of its most outspoken Jew, Columbia made silencing me its priority.

Don’t let the current calm on campus fool you. Even under congressional investigations, lawsuits, and threat of losing accreditation, Columbia’s leaders cling to the fantasy that these problems will fix themselves. By appeasing radical students and faculty who support terrorism, they believe they can wait out the storm. That is their gravest mistake. Beneath the fragile calm lies an extremist ideology that’s waiting to erupt again. I call it “American Intellectual Antisemitism”—the belief that Jews are white settler-colonialists conspiring to ethnically cleanse Palestinians to create a Jewish supremacist ethnostate. Such hatred never disappears on its own. It adapts, evolves, and returns stronger. Look at Mahmoud Khalil, whose first public act after three months in prison—and missing his son’s birth—was to lead another protest. That someone like him is now embraced by Zohran Mamdani, the anti-Israel frontrunner in the NYC mayoral race, signals what’s ahead. The tune may change, but the lyrics stay the same.

Columbia’s failed leadership, morally bankrupt faculty, and indifferent majority have shattered my respect for an institution I once called home. I no longer trust its leaders to do what’s right, or my colleagues to show them the way. With that respect lost, I have no choice but to leave. Staying would betray everything I stand for.

I am leaving Columbia, but not this fight. Freed from the shackles of a tenure-track job, I plan to intensify my efforts against American Intellectual Antisemitism and support for terrorism on campuses. Through live talks, a podcast on Jewish activism, and a book on the roots of this ideology, I hope to mobilize people to demand change. At its best, Columbia is a beacon of truth and discovery. At its worst, it’s a battleground for extremists who can’t stand dissent and intellectual diversity. Together, we can fight to restore its true purpose.

In the end, Columbia made my life so unbearable I chose to leave. But there’s one thing they’ll never do—silence me. My voice is not for sale.

Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing charge laid against 20yo man

A man has been charged for his alleged role in the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne’s east.

The 20-year-old was arrested on Wednesday in Williamstown and charged with stealing a blue VW Golf that was used in the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue.

The operation was undertaken by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT), which includes officers from Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police, and ASIO.

The taskforce previously said the attack was likely politically motivated.

That is still the position of the JCTT and the investigation is still into alleged terrorism.

The man was not charged for the actual arson attack, and no one has been charged for that offence yet.

The investigation is ongoing into the Adass Israel Synagogue fire, which police said was a significant priority for them with “significant resources across all agencies” being used.

Following the arrest of the 20-year-old man, police seized items at a Melton South home that will be further investigated.

The man was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, October 3, 2025.

Police allege the man stole the car in Melton on November 29, 2024, after which it was used in a series of arson attacks, including at the Lux Nightclub in South Yarra and an arson and shooting attack in Bundoora.

Police previously alleged that it was a “communal crime car”.

Victoria Police do not consider the Lux and Bundoora fires to be politically motivated.

Palestinian ‘refugees’ can’t be removed from UN lists, UNRWA admits

Mo Ghaoui, a Palestinian-American digital creator who immigrated to the United States six years ago and is based in Kent, Wash., entered a nondescript, U.N. Relief and Works Agency office building on a recent visit to Beirut, where he used to live.

He saw about 10 employees and a few working computers in the office, and decided to put the U.N. agency to the test, he told JNS. He wanted to know if he could give up his refugee status; however, concerned about pushback, he decided to pose the question about delisting a cousin rather than himself.

He asked the UNRWA staffer if his “cousin” could delist from the agency’s refugee database. “Why?” the staffer asked him, he told JNS. “There’s nothing to lose. No one does it. No one. We don’t have this procedure.”

Ghaoui told JNS that he didn’t take “why” for an answer.

“He wants to do it because he thinks this is better,” he told the UNRWA staffer. “The guy is British.”

The UNRWA staffer told Ghaoui that his cousin could be both British and listed officially as a refugee, Ghaoui told JNS. When Ghaoui said that his “cousin” isn’t a refugee any longer, the UNRWA staffer told him that the cousin could have his name struck from the Palestinian Authority registry but would remain on the UNRWA list.

Ghaoui told JNS that he challenged the staffer’s logic and asked why UNRWA should keep someone on its registry if the person is no longer on the Palestinian Authority refugee list.

Jonathan Fowler, senior communications manager at UNRWA, told JNS that “registered Palestine refugees can only be removed from UNRWA’s register upon their death or in case of false/duplicate registration.”

“Not upon request,” he told JNS.

The U.N. General Assembly requires UNRWA “to provide assistance and protection to Palestine refugees until a just solution to their plight is reached,” Fowler told JNS. He added that the agency “maintains registration records and issues identification documents for Palestine refugees crucial for their access to services and the legal recognition to which they are entitled.”

Fowler admitted to JNS that other U.N. agencies, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which handles all non-Palestinian refugees globally, also don’t allow refugees to relinquish their status upon request and be deleted from the official U.N. list. (JNS sought comment from the High Commissioner for Refugees.)

Non-Palestinian refugees, who are covered under the High Commissioner for Refugees, aren’t considered to be refugees after they acquire another nationality. UNRWA still considers someone a “refugee” even if the person has multiple passports.