Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Saturday, December 02, 2017

12/02 Links: Next Week in Jerusalem?; Germany Slammed for Denying Israel’s Ownership of Dead Sea Scrolls

From Ian:

White House Notifies US Embassies Around the World of Plan to Recognize Jerusalem as Capital of Israel

The Trump administration has notified U.S. embassies around the world that it plans to formally recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, according to a report published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal. The plan includes the future relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

According to the report, the plan has not been finalized, but envoys were being notified so that they can inform their host governments and prepare for possible protests.
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Officials said a formal announcement may come as early as next week.

President Donald Trump faces a December 4 deadline to decide whether to sign another six-month waiver of the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 1995, passed by Congress which requires the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The waiver, included in the legislation, allows the president to delay the transfer for a six-month period on the condition there is a risk to “national security.”

“The president has always said it is a matter of when, not if, [the embassy will relocate to Jerusalem],” a White House spokesperson said. “The president is still considering options and we have nothing to announce.”

Next Week in Jerusalem?

Reports that Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but delay moving the Embassy from Tel Aviv.

During the campaign and transition, Donald Trump was clear in his promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Israel’s capital.

As with prior administrations, there was walk-back in reality, and the Embassy still is in Tel Aviv.

In the past week there has been much speculation that an announcement about moving the Embassy was near, but that speculation was denied by the administration.

Today, there is widespread reporting that next Wednesday Trump will announce — well, it’s not really clear what. It could be a move of the Embassy, or it could be a recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital without moving the Embassy.

Reuters reports:
U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to deliver a speech on Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a senior U.S. official said on Friday, a move that could upend decades of American policy and further inflame tensions in the Middle East.

Two administration officials said on Thursday that even as Trump was considering the controversial declaration, he was expected to again delay his campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv….

A U.S. stance deviating from that of previous presidents, who have insisted that the matter must be decided in peace negotiations, would anger Palestinians, who want the city’s eastern sector as the capital of their future state, and the broader Arab world.

If that report is true, it represents half a loaf. Particularly if the boundaries of “Jerusalem” are left uncertain and Jerusalem is not recognized as the undivided capital of Israel. It would be mostly an empty word statement, but one which doubtlessly will be met with fury from the Palestinians.

Edgar Davidson: If Theresa May was really interested in fighting Islamist terrorism ......

Today Theresa May is in Jordan discussing strategies to combat terrorism. Instead of trying to stop people (including Donald Trump) from highlighting Islamic threats online, she could ask the King of Jordan to comply with their extradition treaty with the USA.......

Ahlam Tamimi is the female Hamas terrorist who planned and engineered the 2001 massacre of 16 people, including 8 children, in Jerusalem’s Sbarro restaurant. One of her victims was 15-year-old Malki Roth (an American citizen) and her parents maintain an incredible blog about the case here.

As a mass murderer of Jewish kids she was the most 'honoured' of all the terrorists released in the ludicrous exchange for Gilad Shalit. She became a major celebrity in the Arab world, presenting a weekly TV programme where she encouraged millions of viewers to emulate her crimes. By inciting terrorism Tamimi was subject to re-arrest under the terms of the release, but by living in Jordan the Israelis were unable to re-arrest her. However, because two of her victims were American citizens the FBI has recently put Tamimi on their most wanted terrorist list and requested her extradition from Jordan. The Jordanians, who also recently honoured child murderer Ahmad Dakamseh, have refused.

Here is Tamimi smiling when she is told in prison for the first time how many children she killed:

Today was the annual Palestinian Christmas tree lighting ceremony, with plenty of prominent Palestinians attending.

This is always a cynical exercise. As happens every year, it is a ceremony meant to bash Israel, and to pretend that Christians are equal to Muslims under Palestinian Arab rule.

The facts are that Bethlehem was a majority Christian city until it was under Palestinian rule, and Christians have been fleeing Bethlehem for years as Muslims harass and intimidate and force them out.

But PA prime minister Rami al Hamdallah said at the ceremony, "Despite the settlement activities carried out by Israel, the Palestinian people still believe in the culture of coexistence, brotherhood and peace that our Lord Jesus Christ has brought to them, and we call on the entire world to take a united stand to end the longest occupation and oppression of history. And the realization of the rights of our people and the recognition of its state, especially as the two-state solution is in real and serious danger due to Israel's persistence in its violations and its disregard for international law, human rights principles and signed agreements. "

The tree lighting isn't to remind people of peace on earth and goodwill towards men. it is meant to bash Israel, the only nation in the region that Christians aren't fleeing.

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12/01 Links Pt2: Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; Germany: Dead Sea Scrolls do not belong to Israel

From Ian:

Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in Wednesday speech — report

Defying longstanding American policy, US President Donald Trump will give a speech Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, according to an Axios report on Friday.

A White House spokesman, contacted by The Times of Israel on Friday afternoon, would not confirm the story. “The president has always said it is a matter of when, not if,” the official said. “The president is still considering options and we have nothing to announce.”

The Axios report cited two sources with direct knowledge of Trump’s intentions.

Multiple reports surfaced this week that the president would for the second time waive a congressional mandate requiring the US embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but that he would take the dramatic step of formally recognizing the holy city as Israel’s capital.

An Israeli television report on Wednesday, for instance, said that the Israeli government considered it extremely likely that Trump would declare in the next few days that he recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that he is instructing his officials to prepare to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The White House rejected that report as “premature.”

On Tuesday, US Vice President Mike Pence said Trump “is actively considering when and how to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.” Pence spoke at a gathering of UN ambassadors, diplomats and Jewish leaders at an event in New York commemorating the 70th anniversary of the UN vote for partition of Palestine, which led to the creation of the State of Israel.

Dead Sea Scrolls do not belong to Israel, Germany says

Uwe Becker, the deputy mayor of Frankfurt, expressed outrage on Thursday over the German government's decision not to recognize the Dead Sea Scrolls as Israeli property, prompting the cancellation of a slated 2019 exhibit at the Bible Museum in Frankfurt.

"If Germany is unwilling to clearly express the legal status of the fragments of Qumran as Israeli world cultural heritage goods, it would dramatically change the coordinates in our German-Israeli relations. And it would mean the construction of a wall toward the places of the birth of Christianity in the holy country, because it would be the same for Bethlehem, Jericho, east Jerusalem and many other places of Jesus' work," Becker told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Becker said,"I am criticizing both ministries for damaging German-Israeli relations. I have written letters to both ministers, expressing my deep irritation and ask both to change their new position and to support the work of the exhibition."

Becker sent his letter to Monika Grütters, minister of culture and media, and German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is currently in Washington promoting the preservation of the controversial Iran nuclear deal.

Becker added, "Because of the unwillingness of both ministries to give the necessary declaration, as Qumran lies in today's West Bank, the Israel Antiques Authority is not letting the material out of the country and the Bible Museum had to cancel its plans."

The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in twelve caves around the site known as Wadi Qumran near the Dead Sea in the disputed West Bank territory between 1946 and 1956.

Michael Lumish: Political Cowards

One cannot stand for democracy or liberalism or social justice or, even, general human fairness if one falters on freedom of speech.

Without freedom of speech, there are none of those things.

This should be Basic Civics.

This should be taught in the seventh grade.

Yet many of the highly educated, well-meaning, sophisticated idiots out there in the universe have yet to figure that out.

Furthermore, of course, the entire university-based movement in opposition to freedom of speech - as we have seen all over the country throughout 2017 - goes against everything that the university system, free inquiry, the empirical method, and liberalism stand for.

Fascists oppose freedom of speech which is why the German National Socialists did so.

Communists oppose freedom of speech which is why the Soviet Union threw those with alternative political viewpoints into "mental institutions."

Antifa and progressive-left college students oppose freedom of speech which is why they keep shutting down the campuses when they bring in conservative speakers like Milo Yiannapolous or Ben Shapiro or any number of alternative thinkers who were hounded off campus this year.

When I was growing up it was always the political right that endeavored to stifle free-expression of ideas, but times have changed.

Now, sadly, it is the political left that thinks it can intimidate people into ideological conformity.

I think that they are mistaken.

Ami Horowitz on the Power of Film to Shape Debate

Ami Horowitz: So, for those of you that don't know, I do a series of videos, some shorter form, some little bit longer form, about whatever touches my fancy. Mostly things around international relations, domestic politics, Israel, Islam, a whole bunch of different things. So, we're going to begin today if you don't mind, we'll watch a couple of clips of two videos that I have done. One that you will be pretty much one of the first ones to see and one I did last year. Talk a little bit about them, and then talk a little more about the media in general and how I'm able to use them to promote our ideals. So, with that we'll start with the first video clip, please.

Ami Horowitz: Thank you very much. What I'm going to talk to you about today briefly instead of talking about the obvious from these clips, which is sort of the intellectual rape happening on our college campuses today; I think that's obvious to everybody in this room. So, I don't think it's important to belabor that point. I'll just make one quick, two quick observations. One is about the U.S. flag, ISIS flag video that I did. Nobody here should be under the illusion that -- for example, I did it because obviously, regarding kneeling during the National Anthem, these people are disrespecting not just our flag, but our nation by taking a knee. Let's make things very, very clear, and this clip shows it very clearly, people taking a knee when our National Anthem is being sung is not making some kind of larger political point. They're point is that they do hate America. They hate what America stands for, and I want to make that very clear, and that clip shows it very clearly.

The only other point I'll make about the video with Hamas, it's hard to hear, but essentially I was raising money for Hamas on campus to blow up schools and to blow up cafes and to kill as many Jews as possible. And, of course, I was able to raise quite a bit of money over the course of the hour that I was raising it. The only point I'll make about that is the reason why I chose Portland State University to do the video was because Portland State University right before I did the video was about to vote to divest from Israel. BDS, as you all know, is a trend happening all over our campuses across the country. So, I got a call from Hillel saying, "We've been working for months to get rid of this vote. We can't do it. Could you help us?" The video which, was pretty popular, particularly in the State of Oregon and got so much press nationally and locally, that Portland State University did cancel the BDS vote as a direct result of the embarrassment of that video. Thank you.

12/01 Links Pt1: UN condemns Israel 6 times, uses Islamic-only term for Temple Mount, denying Jewish & Christian heritage; The Beirut Echo Chamber

From Ian:

Man stabbed to death in apparent terror attack named as IDF soldier

The 19-year-old Israeli stabbed to death at a bus station in an apparent terror attack in the southern city of Arad on Thursday night was an IDF soldier, the Israeli army said late Thursday.

The soldier, whose name was not initially cleared for publication, was later identified as Ron Yitzhak Kokia, of Tel Aviv. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

Kokia served in the Nahal Brigade, an infantry unit whose home base is located just outside Arad.

On Thursday night, police said officers were searching the area for two assailants who fled the scene and set up roadblocks and “heightened security measures” in the area. Helicopters were also taking part in the searches.

The fact that the victim of the soldier and eyewitness testimony, along with other evidence, led police to suspect that the stabbing was a terror attack.

“Following an initial investigation by police forces at the scene it appears that the motivation for the stabbing … was nationalistic,” police said in a statement.

According to the Ynet news website, the soldier was waiting for a ride when he was attacked.

Police were investigating the possibility the soldier’s weapon was stolen by the assailants.

Leaders vow to catch attacker who killed soldier amid large manhunt

Israel’s leaders vowed that the attacker who killed an IDF soldier at a bus station in the southern city of Arad on Thursday night would be caught, as police continued a large-scale manhunt for the assailant Friday morning.

Nahal Brigade Sergeant Ron Yitzhak Kokia, 19, was stabbed to death Thursday night in an apparent terror attack while waiting for a bus near a shopping mall.

Police said forces in large numbers were carrying out searches overnight and into Friday morning in the Arad area to locate the assailant or assailants, publishing pictures of searches in agricultural fields and animal sheds.

They also said extra police had been deployed in Arad following the attack.

“This morning police were deployed at key locations and classrooms through the city to ensure that normal life continues,” a statement from the police read.

Police earlier said officers were searching the area for two assailants who fled the scene and set up roadblocks and “heightened security measures” in the area. Helicopters were also taking part in the search.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said security forces were working to capture the attackers.

“They will be brought to justice and we will continue to fight terror with all our strength,” he wrote on Facebook, offering condolences to Kokia’s family.

Kuwaiti converts to Judaism, Arab social media upset

I couldn't find the original tweet in English that started this, but this photo has been boomeranging around Arabic social media:

Bir Zeit University put it on Facebook:

The Jewish rabbi announced on his Twitter page that Kuwaiti student Saeed bin Abdul Aziz, in the middle of the picture, a student at Temple University in Pennsylvania, converted to Judaism.

Media described his wearing tefillin as a "Talmudic ritual."

Responses included assertions that Judaism doesn't accept converts so this is a sham, that this is only Jewish propaganda, that Jews hate anyone who isn't white, that Jews smell...lots of fun.

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US Jewish "leaders" like Jeremy Ben Ami tell Israel how immoral it is on illegal immigrants

The primary goal of every true refugee organization is to repatriate the refugees to their homes. If that is not possible, the refugees should go where they are most likely to thrive, preferably a place with a similar culture that welcomes them.

But when Israel announced a plan to pay illegal African migrants to voluntarily go to Rwanda, to alleviate the very serious problems that plague certain sections of Tel Aviv that are overrun with them, self-righteous American Jews object.

As always, the fake concern for anyone that can be considered victims of Israeli policy came from Haaretz:

Israel will pay the Rwandan government $5,000 for every African asylum seeker it accepts from Israel, Channel 10 reported Sunday. A senior government official confirmed the report to Haaretz.

The Israeli government will additionally continue to pay asylum seekers who voluntarily leave the country a grant of $3,500, as well as the cost of their airlines tickets out of the country. The agreement with Rwanda had not been made public, and it had not been known what Israel was providing in exchange for Rwanda's agreement to accept the asylum seekers.

Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said [last] Thursday that Rwanda is ready to accept around 10,000 asylum seekers, or "a bit more," who are currently living in Israel.

"We have had discussions with Israel on receiving some of the immigrants and asylum seekers from this part of Africa who would be willing to come to Rwanda," the minister said in an interview with Rwandan English newspaper the New Times. "If they are comfortable to come here, we would be willing to accommodate them. How it’s done and their livelihoods once they are here are details that have not been concluded yet,” the minister said.

The negotiations include how to secure the welfare of around 10,000 refugees, including livelihood, accommodations, and general wellbeing, she said.

Part of the negotiation is to ensure that these illegal immigrants are treated well, and will have housing.

The plan does not include people whose applications for asylum have not yet been processed. It does not include women, children and victims of human trafficking.

In other words, Israel is aiming to do the most humane thing it can with thousands of people who entered illegally, most of whom did not come as true asylum seekers fleeing from oppression but for economic reasons.

But that's not good enough for Jeremy Ben Ami and a host of other liberal Jewish "leaders."

In an open letter and petition to Binyamin Netanyahu, they write "We are concerned that if you move forward with these plans, the lives of thousands of individuals will be put in jeopardy, and the name of the Jewish State and the Jewish People will be irreparably stained."

Oh, how altruistic of them to worry about Israel's reputation so they won't be branded as racists!

Even from the Haaretz article it is clear that Israel is trying to ensure that the Africans are treated well when they return, which admittedly didn't always happen in the past. But that's not good enough for these do-gooders:

Please do not deport these individuals who have sought refuge among the Jewish People, but rather let us work together in addressing the burdens and challenges of our moral obligations.

What does that mean? It implies that the thousands of hours that Israel has put into solving this problem are simply a cover for treating human beings like garbage, and these moral paragons can work with Israel on the issue and come up with some undefined solution that would make them happy.

The problem isn't exactly new. Tell me, Jeremy and the others, what have you done to work with these immigrants? What ideas have you floated that would make everyone happy? Let's hear your specific plans, not your lecturing.

The Twitter responses to Ben-Ami's tweet say more than I ever could:

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This rumor appears every few years.

Arab media were reporting that Jews going through European or Israeli Arab intermediaries, were buying land in an area being developed in Jordan called "New Amman."

The government announced "New Amman" on November 5. It is simply a new suburb of Amman, which is overcrowded.

A Jordanian official refuted the rumor, saying that there are no outside investors at all in "New Amman," let alone Jews. And Jordanian law does not allow selling land to Israelis.

Last year, in response to more unfounded rumors, the Jordanian Parliament passed a law banning sale of land in Petra to "Israelis," although the debate made it clear that they meant "Jews."

In 2009, an Israeli organization did float the idea of repurchasing buildings that belonged to Jews in Jordan before 1948, but I don't think anything ever happened. It certainly was enough to frighten Jordanians, thoug.

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Newsweek gives credence to blood libel of a "Jewish ritual murder"

This is a real headline at Newsweek:

You have to read the article to find out who these "investigators" are:

The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church is launching an investigation into whether the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his family were victims of a ritual murder carried out by angry Jews in 1918, Church leaders revealed in a statement Tuesday.

"A large share of the church commission members have no doubts that the murder was ritual,” Father Tikhon Shevkunov, the Orthodox bishop heading the panel, told The Associated Press.

So a bunch of antisemites decided that a well-known murder was a "ritual Jewish murder" - whatever that means. And Newsweek calls these Jew-haters "investigators" as if they had the slightest interest in the truth.

Even the Moscow Times had a more reasonable headline:

Newsweek should be ashamed.

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11/30 Links Pt2: ICC prosecutor reaffirms she won’t open Gaza flotilla probe; Linda Sarsour Attacks The “Jewish Media” At Event On Anti-Semitism

From Ian:

International Court prosecutor reaffirms she won’t open Gaza flotilla probe

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Thursday she is standing by her previous decision not to open a full-scale investigation into the storming by Israeli forces of a blockade-busting flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip in 2010.

Fatou Bensouda in November 2014 declined a request by the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros to investigate the May 31, 2010, storming of a vessel in the flotilla, which was sailing under a Comoros flag.

She said war crimes may have been committed on the Mavi Marmara ship, where eight Turks and one Turkish-American were killed and several other pro-Palestinian activists were wounded in a melee after they attacked Israeli commandos who boarded the ship, but the case wasn’t serious enough to merit an ICC probe. A ninth Turkish man who was seriously injured died four years later.

The ICC was set up as a court of last resort intended to prosecute senior leaders allegedly responsible for grave crimes including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when national courts prove unable or unwilling to take on such cases.

ICC judges told her to reconsider, but Bensouda said Thursday that after carefully reviewing more than 5,000 pages of documents and statements from more than 300 passengers on the Mavi Marmara she has reaffirmed her decision to close her preliminary investigation.

Bensouda said in a statement that her decision was a purely legal one, applying standards laid down in the court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute.

Intersectional Zionism - Why "Progressive Zionist" is not a contradiction

Zionism is not a monolith. It doesn’t mean you have to support a particular political party. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything the Israeli government does. It doesn’t mean you have to hate Muslims or convert to Judaism. It doesn’t mean you cannot support a two-state solution, or the Palestinian right to self-determination. It just means that you support an indigenous people’s right to self-determination in their historical homeland. And that is an inherently progressive belief.

Progressivism has a rich history of Zionism. Many civil rights and gay rights activists of the past have been Zionists. A few you may recognize are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and black, gay advocate Bayard Rustin. None of them were Jewish, but they recognized the importance of standing with other people in support of their liberation. The NAACP and the Zionist Organization of America used to have representatives sit on each other’s boards. And contrary to recent claims, feminism and Zionism are not mutually exclusive; feminist giants like Betty Friedan, author of “The Feminine Mystique,” and Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who won Roe v. Wade, were ardent Zionists.

At the heart of progressivism is the concept of intersectionality, that our many identities intersect and affect our treatment by society. Increasingly, the progressive movement can exclude Jews from that conversation in the name of anti-Zionism. For example, my friend Laurie was kicked out of the Chicago Dyke March this summer for carrying a rainbow flag bearing the Star of David. According to what she was told, the flag was considered “a symbol of oppression.” Zionist feminists were deliberately obstructed when they tried to march in SlutWalk this year. It seems that Jews are only welcome in progressive circles if they disavow their homeland. In the words of Friedan, “All human rights are indivisible,” and therefore, applying a double standard “solely to the self-determination of the Jewish people” is wrong.

Zionism is not a dirty word. Supporting the liberation of one group does not mean supporting the oppression of others. Progressivism is not a zero-sum game. It is about raising up all peoples and creating a world that respects diversity and human rights. Zionism is and always has been essential to that goal.

Iranian media illustrates "Greater Israel" with....greater Iran!

Iran's Al Alam has another of the the regime's daily conspiracy-theory antisemitic articles, entitled "The axis of resistance is a major blow to 'Greater Israel.'"

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, there was a question: What is the Zionist role in this invasion?

In that period, it began on the banks of the Euphrates River a program called "beast of the lake", where Jewish merchants were buying land between the areas of Tal Afar and Mosul, and thus the Zionist entity imposed itself on an important passage in northern Iraq, representing a historic road running from Mosul to the Syrian border Via Tal Afar, which lies 80 kilometers from the border with Turkey, and 100 kilometers from the border with Syria.

With the US invasion of Iraq, the US military was exerting enormous pressure on the poor Iraqi families to sell their land, under the pretext of building large factories and establishing agricultural projects, to find that the ownership of these lands was ultimately vested in the Jews from the Zionist entity. The Iraqis soon noticed the arrival of Israeli Jewish families, initially numbered 150 families, including Jews of Iraqi origin, to find out later that there was a plan to reach the number of 150 thousand Jews settled in that vast area, and also revealed by the CIA a scheme to transfer the Kurds from Palestine to the Jews of Mosul and Nineveh province in northern Iraq, under the pretext of religious visits to the ancient Jewish shrines, especially the tombs of the prophets Nahum and Yunus, Daniel and Ezekiel and others.

After ten years of these facts, officially approved the opening of the "Ofakwe" crossing between Iraq and Turkey, which means that the shortest trade routes between Turkey and Baghdad are going for with a distance of 50 kilometers is on land controlled by the Jews, that is, one of the Iraqi commercial arteries at the mercy of the "The Israeli" enemy, although undeclared, and it was later found that these lands purchased by Jews are the boundaries of the map demanded by the Kurds to establish a "state of Kurdistan," .....

According to the Zionist slogan known as "Israel's borders from the Euphrates to the Nile," the impact on the commercial route will not be based on the Kurdish border.

The idiocy goes on and on, proving how antisemitic and conspiracy-minded Iran is.

But to illustrate an article about how Iran is stopping the mythical Greater Israel project, they use a map showing Iran's sphere of influence reaching the Mediterranean - Iran's own colonialist ambitions.

This one picture shows who the real danger is in the Middle East - and it sure isn't Israel.

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Defending Israel against Reform evangelism (Vic Rosenthal)

This week the conflict between liberal and progressive elements in American Jewry and the government of Israel was escalated.

On November 16, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the American Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), and others tried to push their way (see video here) into the Western Wall area carrying Torah scrolls in defiance of rules established by the Orthodox authorities that manage the site, intending to pass them to members of the Women of the Wall group, also in violation of the rules. They ultimately succeeded after a shoving match with security guards and ultra-Orthodox protesters.

It should be noted that none of them were arrested, nor did the reaction of the guards rise above the level of shoving (Jacobs was threatened with pepper spray, but not sprayed). It seems clear that the guards made the decision not to use greater force in order not to injure anyone. The behavior of the Haredi protesters was abominable, of course. I don’t know if any of them were arrested, but those guilty of assault should have been.

The New Israel Fund (NIF), an organization that has been criticized for funding groups active in the delegitimization of the Jewish state as well as BDS and lawfare against it, almost immediately organized a joint letter from non-Orthodox rabbis to PM Netanyahu, expressing “outrage.” Would that the NIF might express outrage over the lies, libels and distortions told around the world by their grantee, Breaking the Silence!

The hand of the NIF is seen throughout this conflict. Jacobs himself has a long-time connection to the NIF. Before he was elected to the presidency of the URJ in 2011, he served on its Board of Directors as chair of its committee on religious pluralism. The NIF is a big donor to the Israel Religious Action Center, the NGO arm of the American Reform movement in Israel, which is the main sponsor of the demonstrations at the Western Wall, and which has recently inaugurated a campaign to bring American political correctness and hysteria over race to Israel.

On November 24, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely was criticized by the PM and forced to apologize for remarks that she had made earlier, in which she tried to express the (very true) fact that American Jews are disconnected from the realities of life in Israel, and their criticisms of Israeli policy are often misconceived. Unfortunately she appeared to suggest that American Jews do not participate proportionally in the US military, something which is almost certainly not true. The response was vicious and instantaneous. Despite her clarification, Rick Jacobs of URJ was not satisfied, and called for her to be fired. So far, Netanyahu has resisted the pressure.

On November 27, the Masorti Movement in Israel – associated with the American United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism – released a video attack aimed directly at the PM, accusing him of presenting an “alternative truth” about the Western Wall controversy, and concluding “shame on you, Mr. Prime Minister.” They could have attacked the Haredi parties, which had initially agreed to a compromise, but reneged when their constituents complained. But they chose to blame Netanyahu.

The leaders of non-Orthodox Judaism are spoiling for a fight. The main objective seems to be to create anger among American Jews by telling them over and over how Israel disrespects them. The Western Wall argument is presented as a rejection of Reform and Conservative (i.e., American) customs of mixed-gender prayer, although aside from the provocative actions of Jacobs and his crew, few if any Reform or Conservative Jews have wanted to pray in a mixed group at the Wall (if they had, one would think that at least a few of them would have done so at the location that is set aside for this, despite their objections to the arrangements for access to the site). But the point is not the facts but the “insult” inherent in it.

The same is true for the various crises over attempts to permit or forbid conversions to Judaism in Israel outside the official rabbinate. Israel is accused of treating non-Orthodox Jews as “second-class citizens,” or “delegitimizing” the non-Orthodox Diaspora. Again, the emphasis is not on what the practical effects of legislation might be in Israel or outside of it, but on how it can be construed as insulting to non-Orthodox Jews.

The tactic is simple, and always works. Provoke a confrontation by making demands that anger the Haredim, who then threaten the PM that they will leave the coalition. The PM will look for a compromise – after all, he has a country to run – which can be construed as “submission to the ultra-Orthodox” and insulting to the Diaspora. The Haredim can always be counted on to play their role, including calling the non-Orthodox Jews names and thus increasing the degree of insult.

Orchestrating a physical confrontation, as with the Western Wall security guards, who clearly don’t want trouble, or the helpful Haredi protesters, who clearly do, is another wonderful tactic. Expect more of it.

And then don’t be surprised when, in the next election, Israelis will be told by the opposition not to vote for Netanyahu, because he “damaged our essential relationship with the US.”

The proper response to all of this is that as a sovereign state, we get to determine the rules within our borders. Jacobs thinks that the Western Wall – indeed all of the state of Israel – belongs to world Jewry, and therefore the big machers like him should be able to give us orders. I am willing to agree that in some sense the Western Wall “belongs” to all Jews, but decisions about how it operates must be made by the state in which it is located. And it certainly isn’t appropriate for Jews from America to come here and violate our laws in an attempt to change the rules. This isn’t Birmingham in 1963. It’s about religious customs, not civil rights.

We also get to make our own rules about things like marriage, conversion, divorce and burial for Jews in our country. I and many other Israelis don’t like the ones we have very much, but it isn’t up to Jacobs to try to change them for us. That’s why we have a sovereign state, a democratic state in which we elect our leaders, a state that protects us in return for our fulfilling our (sometimes heavy) obligations to it.

The Reform Movement has an ideology that is a result of the replacement of mitzvah-observance with “tikun olam,” which seems to mean a universalist social-justice ethic that is more at home in Berkeley than Jerusalem. Unfortunately, like the Jews for Jesus, the Reform movement is evangelical in nature, and it won’t be satisfied until it converts the rest of the Jewish world – particularly the uppity Jews of Israel – to its vision of a borderless, multicultural, gender-fluid socialistic worldview. Apparently it has gotten the Conservative Movement (which still maintains a commitment to halacha) on board by exploiting the Western Wall and conversion issues.

The New Israel Fund is in effect the military wing of the Reform Movement, using dollars instead of rockets as weapons. It gives millions of dollars each year to groups working to remake the state of Israel in accordance with its vision, and even to some groups whose goal is to destroy it.

Israel seems to have learned how to deal with evangelical Christians. We will accept their support, but they must understand from the start that trying to change us is out of bounds. Those who nevertheless try to proselytize among us are asked to leave.

Perhaps the same should go for politically evangelical Reform Jews like Rick Jacobs?

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

11/30 Links Pt1: Saudis Fed Up: "Palestinians Milking Us for Decades"; Gaza’s Latest Lesson in Self-Inflicted Misery

From Ian:

Saudis Fed Up: "Palestinians Milking Us for Decades"

Echoing the Palestinian public's sentiment, Palestinian political analyst Majed Abu Diak also voiced concern over the apparent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. He accused the Saudis of bowing to pressure from the Trump administration.

"Saudi Arabia and Israel appear to be in a hurry to normalize their relations," Abu Diak claimed.

"The Saudi regime is preparing for Mohammed bin Salman to succeed his father. That's why the regime is prepared to pay the price [to the Americans], which includes normalizing relations with Israel as a way to improve Saudi relations with the US. For Israel, this is an old-new dream of ridding itself of the status of an alien body in the Middle East."

Most Arabs, in fact, do not seem to care about the Palestinian "cause" any more, as pointed out in a previous article, which showed how the Arab League ministers were focusing on Iran and Hezbollah while ignoring the Palestinians.

Many people in the West are not aware that the Palestinians are trying to torpedo any peace initiative in order to blame others.

The Palestinians are crying Wolf, Wolf! -- but only a few in the Arab world are listening to them. This, in a way, is encouraging and offers hope for them finally to be released from decades of repressive and corrupt governance.

These are just some of the challenges Saudi Crown Prince is facing. It is important to support him in the face of attacks by some Palestinians and other spoilers.

The question now is whether the Saudis and the rest of the Arabs have had enough of the great Palestinian shakedown.

MEMRI: Editor Of Saudi Daily 'Okaz': Hamas Is Ungrateful, Is Exploiting Palestinian Cause To Benefit Iran

The concluding announcement issued by the Arab League foreign ministers following their November 19, 2017 emergency meeting in Cairo declared Hizbullah a terrorist organization and accused it of "supporting terrorism and terrorist organizations in the Arab states by [supplying them with] advanced weapons and ballistic missiles." Hamas, in response, issued an official statement in which it condemned the designation of Hizbullah and other "resistance organizations" as terror organizations, and stressed its "surprise" at the announcement's failure to include "reference to the Zionist terrorism that is implemented daily towards the Palestinian people, their land, and their holy places."

Additionally, Hamas political bureau member Moussa Abu Marzouq tweeted, from his personal account: "Hizbullah is not a terror organization, and if this designation is accepted, we can all expect a similar fate. We must all agree to direct the Arab political focus [at] Palestine and Jerusalem." He also tweeted: "The Arab foreign ministers' decision to characterize Hizbullah as terrorist does not stem from [Hizbullah's] involvement in dear Syria, but is aimed at confronting Iran and the elements connected to it. He added: "This trend is problematic for two reasons. One, diverting the [Arab] focus from Israel and allying with it; [Israel] is certainly not Sunni. Two, next time, the resistance forces – Hamas, [Palestinian Islamic] Jihad, and others – will be the ones [they] set [their] sights on, for the same reason."

Abu Marzouq's tweets prompted a response from Jamil Al-Dhiabi, the editor-in-chief of the Saudi government daily 'Okaz, who wrote a scathing article condemning Abu Marzouq and Hamas and accusing them of ingratitude. Another expression of the tension between Saudi Arabia and Hamas was a headline in 'Okaz, which declared: "Hamas Follows in Hizbullah's Footsteps, [Saying]: 'Our Weapons Are a Red Line.'" The article reported on statements by Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya expressing the movement's refusal to disarm.

PMW: Song on PA TV promises to attack Jews

Official Palestinian Authority TV broadcast a music video promising to "break the Jews."

The song, which sings the praise of Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Movement, promises to "come at you from the sea like a wave." While these words are sung, photos are shown of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the murder of 37 Israelis, 12 of them children, in an attack launched by infiltrating Israel from the sea in 1978.

In addition, the song states that the Fatah flag will be "raised with the rifle," and quotes former PA and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat glorifying death for "Palestine": "For you O homeland, by Allah, death is sweet for me." Footage is included of armed Fatah fighters. The song ends by stating Fatah's goal is to "break the Jews":

"We will raise the Fatah flag with the rifle...
At Al-Karameh [battle] and Eilaboun (i.e., terror attack), for the homeland we will encircle the world
We will come at you from the sea like the wave...
Visual: Photos of terrorist murderer Dalal Mughrabi who attacked from the sea
Yasser [Arafat] said this statement in a loud voice:
For you O homeland, by Allah, death is sweet for me
Jerusalem is ours, and we are marching, and we will bring millions of Martyrs...
The love of Fatah unites us, and may Allah add to it
Whoever speaks about [Fatah's] division - by Allah, we will eliminate him
Our hearts are for [Fatah], and we are soldiers, until we break the Jews"
[Official PA TV, Nov. 10, 2017]

Palestinian Media Watch has documented similar songs on PA TV glorifying terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, and exposed a music video on Fatah's Awdah TV station earlier this year that paid tribute to Mughrabi.