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Friday, May 31, 2019

05/31 Links Pt2: California Dems suggest Israel tied to 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack; UK Labour suspends top official over conspiracy claims against Israeli embassy

From Ian:
California Dems suggest Israel tied to 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack
As the California Democratic Party State Convention opens on Friday, Fox News reports that proposed resolutions include some that link Israel with "virulent Islamophobia," mandating Democratic officials to "nullify" US President Donald Trump’s Israeli policies, among them moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

Fox said the document the station obtained is secret.

One such resolution, "Commending the House for resolving to fight all racism and bigotry and for resisting the false conflation of support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism," was written by American-Israeli David Mandel. He is an elected State Assembly delegate who lived in Israel for a decade.

The resolution claims that the Israeli government is welcoming support from Christian fundamentalist groups, and in so doing, is aligning with Islamophobia while ignoring how such groups display “deeply rooted antisemsitm.”

According to Fox, the resolution also claims the 2018 shooting at a Pittsburgh Synagogue was "the culmination of an alarming re-emergence of virulent antisemitism,” of the sort in which these groups allegedly rooted.

The news outlet cites an additional resolution that calls on Congress to demand Israel and Egypt end their blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Hamas terror group, and “restore a semblance of normal life” for the two million Palestinians who reside in it.

Executive director of Jewish Democratic Council of America Halie Soifer urged the California Democratic Party “not to fall into the trap of letting Republicans to divide us on Israel and the fight against antisemtism,” a Friday press release stated.
The Impossible Future of Christians in the Middle East
The precarious state of Christianity in Iraq is tragic on its own terms. The world may soon witness the permanent displacement of an ancient religion and an ancient people. Those indigenous to this area share more than faith: They call themselves Suraye and claim a connection to the ancient peoples who inhabited this land long before the birth of Christ.

But the fate of Christianity in places like the Nineveh Plain of Iraq has a geopolitical significance as well. Religious minorities test a country's tolerance for pluralism; a healthy liberal democracy protects vulnerable groups and allows them to participate freely in society. Whether Christians can survive and thrive in Muslim-majority countries is a crucial indicator of whether democracy, too, is viable in those places. In Iraq, the outlook is grim, as it is in other nations in the region that are home to historic Christian populations, including Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. Christians who live in these places are subject to discrimination, government-sanctioned intimidation, and routine violence.

Alqosh sits nestled below the mountains that divide Iraq from Turkey. For Christians in the Nineveh Plain, Alqosh is a place of national and religious pride, a way station for important figures in the ancient Christian world that some here compare in significance to Jerusalem or Rome.

There's another history to Alqosh. Back through the winding roads of town sits a tomb said to belong to Nahum, a biblical prophet believed to have lived in the region during the seventh century BCE. Jews prayed in this place. The building was a synagogue and the walls are covered in Hebrew. One engraved stone promises, "This will be your dwelling place forever."
Persecution of Palestinian Christians Worsens; the Palestinian Authority Turns a Blind Eye
Just this month, two churches in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank were vandalized, one of them for the sixth time in the past few years. On April 25, armed men attacked the Christian village of Jifan, which is also governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Edy Cohen writes:

The violence [in Jifan] erupted after a woman from the village submitted a complaint to the police that the son of a prominent leader affiliated with the PA’s ruling Fatah party had attacked her family. In response, dozens of Fatah gunmen came to the village, fired hundreds of bullets in the air, threw petrol bombs while shouting curses, and caused severe damage to public property. It was a miracle that there were no dead or wounded.

Despite the residents’ cries for help, the PA police did not intervene during the hours of mayhem. They have not arrested any suspects. Interestingly, the rioters called on the residents to pay jizya—a head tax that was levied throughout history on non-Muslim minorities under Islamic rule. The most recent [instances of the reintroduction of the] jizya involved Christian communities of Iraq and Syria under Islamic State rule. . . .

It is unlikely that the latest wave of attacks will lead to the arrest, let alone prosecution, of any suspects. The only thing that interests the PA is that events of this kind not be leaked to the media. Fatah regularly exerts heavy pressure on Christians not to report the acts of violence and vandalism from which they frequently suffer, as such publicity could damage the PA’s image as an actor capable of protecting the lives and property of the Christian minority under its rule. Even less does the PA want to be depicted as a radical entity that persecutes religious minorities. That image could have negative repercussions for the massive international, and particularly European, aid the PA receives.



Melanie Phillips: Europe starts to fray at the seams
Among other E.U. countries, which are similarly witnessing a revolt by the people against the erosion of their democratic independence and social cohesion, these elections produced a parallel collapse of mainstream parties and a rise of “populist” nationalists.

Many Jews have greeted these developments with unbridled horror. In Europe, they see the “populist” tide as threatening the resurgence of fascism and antisemitism. In Britain, Jewish community leaders try to paint Nigel Farage as an ally of the far-right and as an antisemite.

These reactions range from the grossly oversimplified, blinkered and ignorant to the grotesque.

Farage is no antisemite. He has repeatedly attacked the anti-Jewish policies of countries that ban Israeli Jews from entering. Remarks he has made about “globalists” and the “new world order” have been wrenched out of context to suggest falsely that he was talking about Jews rather than the E.U. Other remarks about the Israel lobby in America have been similarly cherry-picked and distorted.

Farage, a friend of U.S. President Donald Trump, is himself a somewhat Trumpian figure — a loudmouth who is careless about both his language and the company he keeps, a bit of a wide boy, rough-hewn round the edges.

Of course, his association with President Trump is enough by itself to finish him off in the minds of many Trump-hating Jews, for whom the most pro-Jewish, pro-Israel individual ever to have inhabited the White House looms nightmarishly instead as a supposed eminence grise to the Ku Klux Klan.

In mainland Europe, however, the situation is more complicated. The mainstream media, along with many Jews, tends to view all who want to uphold their country’s culture and democratic independence as “far-right” nationalists.
The Sephardi Role in the Flowering of Zionism
The advent of modern political Zionism in the 1890s inspired many Sephardi and Mizra?i Jews to leave their homes for the land of Israel, and many more to establish Zionist groups in the countries where they lived. But even before that, non-Ashkenazi Jews had done much to encourage Jewish settlement in Palestine. Most importantly, Rabbi Judah Solomon, born in Sarajevo in 1798, was, along with such Ashkenazi contemporaries as Moses Hess and Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer, a major proto-Zionist thinker, as Ashley Perry writes.

Alkalai had the idea, echoed later by Theodor Herzl, to get various nations to give the Jews a homeland just as they had, around the same time, assisted the Greeks and others. . . . [He] wrote, “the salvation of Israel lies in addressing to the kings of the earth a general request for the welfare of our nation and our holy cities, and for our return in repentance to the house of our mother.” . . . He also called for the establishment of a bank to finance the emigration of the Jews and for settlement societies and other practical steps.

In 1843, he wrote the treatise Min?at Yehudah, which called for the adoption of Hebrew as a national language, the purchase of land in Palestine, development of agriculture to form the basis for absorption of new immigrants, and encouragement of a sovereign-based national unity. At the age of seventy-three, Alkalai traveled to Israel to determine the possibilities for settlement there—an arduous journey at his age. More remarkably, he came to live in the Land of Israel with his wife in 1874, at the age of seventy-six. . . .

Around the same time, another Sephardi Jew was laying the practical foundations for Jewish settlement in Israel, and in Jerusalem in particular. Born in 1784 in the Italian city of Livorno but raised in England, Sir Moses Montefiore was so struck by his visit to Jerusalem in 1827 that he became devoted to the city and its inhabitants for the rest of his life. He later used his position as president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews to carry on a notable correspondence with Charles Henry Churchill, the British consul in Damascus, concerning the resettlement of Jews in Israel. His acts of philanthropy in building the Jewish settlement in the Holy Land are numerous.
Anti-Semitism in LabourUK Labour is subject of Jew-hate probe by anti-racism watchdog it helped create
In the summer of 2014, at the height of the Gaza war, Gideon Falter saw an image of an anti-Israel protester in central London which both startled and appalled him. The picture showed a man marching along the British capital’s main shopping street carrying a sign above his head which read: “Save Gaza. Hitler you were right.”

“I studied law originally and I knew that that was a crime, and yet he was there in broad daylight in front of police officers who were doing nothing to stop him,” recalls Falter. “I felt someone needed to do something about that.”

Falter joined the nascent Campaign Against Antisemitism and was one of the principal organizers of the huge demonstration it held several weeks later outside the Royal Courts of Justice. Its demand was a simple one: zero-tolerance law enforcement against anti-Semitism.

Five years on, it isn’t anti-Semitic marchers which the CAA is targeting, but Jew-hate in Britain’s main opposition party. This week, the country’s anti-racism watchdog announced it was launching a full-scale investigation into the Labour Party, following a formal complaint from the CAA.

The probe by the Equality and Human Rights Commission will examine whether Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour discriminated against, harassed or victimized Jews in violation of the UK’s 2006 Equality Act.

The establishment of the EHRC was one of Labour’s proudest achievements when it was last in government, and the party vested it with sweeping powers. Those powers will now be used to investigate Labour’s handling of the anti-Semitism crisis which has roiled it since Corbyn’s election as leader in September 2015.
UK Labour suspends top official over claims against Israeli embassy
Britain’s Labour Party suspended one of its top officials after he was recorded accusing the Israeli embassy of “whipping up” anti-Semitism claims against the movement’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Peter Willsman, a member of the party’s National Executive Committee, was suspended Friday morning, the Jewish News of London reported.

The reason was a recording of comments he had made in January at a meeting in Oxford with the American-Israeli author Tuvia Tenenbom.

“The people that are in the Labour Party doing it are people who are linked. One of them works indirectly for the Israeli embassy,” Willsman said about campaigners within Labour working to address the party’s anti-Semitism problem. “So obviously, I wouldn’t want to be bothered to find out, but my guess is that they’re the ones that are whipping.”

Willsman also extended his claims of Israeli interference to the letter written by 68 rabbis last year, saying Labour has chosen to ignore the Jewish community.

“In the Guardian not long ago, we had 68 rabbis obviously organized by the Israeli embassy, 68 rabbis saying ‘anti-Semitism in the Labour Party is widespread and severe,’” he said.

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom’s foremost government watchdog on racism, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, officially launched an investigation into Labour’s anti-Semitism problem.


British Jews in fear after pro-Palestine group supported by Corbyn forces Jewish shops to close with 'campaign of intimidation'
British Jews have spoken of their fear after a pro-Palestine group supported by Jeremy Corbyn forced Jewish-owned shops to close by staging aggressive rallies outside them.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), of which Mr Corbyn is patron, targeted shops selling Israeli products in Brighton, London and Manchester, forcing two businesses to fold.

Earlier this month, it organised a rally in London which saw ‘open anti-Semitism from attendees’, according to the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism. A statement from the Labour leader was read out to the crowd.

It comes as Labour became the only party after the BNP to be formally investigated for racism by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

A new film, Hounded, has been released today by anti-racism campaigners to draw attention to the harassment of Jews who sell goods from Israel, highlighting a 'campaign of intimidation' that has been going on for years.

It focuses on the case of a British Jewish businessman who fled the country with his family after he was hounded for five years by the Scottish PSC and the Republican Network for Unity, neither of which are officially endorsed by Mr Corbyn.

Nissan Ayalon, 33, relocated three times to escape the activists but each time they found him, attacking his shop with paint bombs because he sold Israeli cosmetics.

The revelations about the PSC will increase the pressure on the Labour leader – who was officially saluted by Hamas last week – as he struggles to contain his party’s anti-Semitism crisis. (h/t Dave4321)
Yasmine Dar, member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, claims Equality and Human Rights Commission investigation into Labour is merely “political point scoring”
Yasmine Dar, a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), has denied that antisemitism is an institutional problem in a blog post for Labour List.

The comments were in response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) announcement on Tuesday that they launched a full statutory investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

She wrote that: “I’m in favour of radical reforms to Labour’s disciplinary procedures so that we can more swiftly kick out the small number of antisemites in our ranks. But as a member of the national executive committee, I haven’t seen any evidence that this prejudice among a minority of members is an institutional problem.”

Ms Dar, who is also a Manchester City councillor, minimised the problem of antisemitism in Labour, writing: “Before you rush to judgement, let’s revisit the facts. Recently published data showed that complaints received by the party about antisemitism related to just 0.1% of party members. There is a larger group of members who have dismissed or downplayed the existence of antisemitism.”

She defended Labour’s response to antisemitism, writing: “We launched an inquiry and we have introduced a wide range of measures to improve our procedures” and praising Jeremy Corbyn whom she claimed “has written e-mails to all members, appealed to supporters in video messages, written opinion pieces and spoken in interviews about the ways in which antisemitism has manifested on the left. He has clearly stated that anyone who spreads antisemitic poison does not do so in his or the party’s name.”
Tariq Ramadan's Qatari Links Exposed
...Tariq Ramadan, the Swiss-born Muslim thinker and Oxford academic ... was widely held up as an influential religious moderate before his 2017 arrest for rape.

Perhaps it is this image of sage disinterestedness that makes it all the more shocking when a prominent religious voice is found to be on someone's payroll. But with Ramadan, it should come as less of a surprise. The grandson of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ramadan has long been accused of a pro-Brotherhood agenda by researchers and anti-Brotherhood activists. Now, new research has revealed that Ramadan was being lavishly funded by Qatar, the Brotherhood's chief patron. Qatar's powerful state-development organization, the Qatar Foundation, was paying Ramadan for "consulting" to the tune of 35,000 euros a month.

The latest scandal implicating the Islamist ideologue was revealed by a new book, Qatar Papers, by French investigative journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot. Based on extensive bank records the authors received on a USB stick from a whistleblower, the book revealed that Ramadan was on the payroll of the Qatari regime for years. Qatari money would fund his purchase of two swanky apartments in Paris, among other things.

Ramadan's ties to Qatar are extensive; he was visiting professor at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha, and director of the Qatar Foundation-backed Research Centre for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) in Doha, Qatar. He was also president of the pro-Qatari think tank European Muslim Network (EMN) in Brussels. Furthermore, Ramadan was a member of the Qatari-funded and Muslim-Brotherhood-run International Union of Muslim Scholars, which until recently was headed by the Muslim Brotherhood's "spiritual leader" Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
SWU pressure leads UCLA to probe anti-Zionist incident
Stand With Us (SWU) was able to declare an initial victory on Thursday after its letter threatening legal liability against UCLA got the university to take some action regarding an incident in which a guest speaker called Israel-supporters white supremacists.

The Jerusalem Post was provided with a copy of the UCLA response.

While SWU will maintain a watchful eye on whether UCLA follows through on promises in its response to probe the incident for evidence of discrimination and harassment, the quick response from the administration appeared to signal that it has the university’s attention.

On May 14, Professor of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities at San Francisco State University Rabab Abdulhadi was invited by UCLA Prof. Kyeyoung Park to speak to her anthropology class.

Abdulhadi reportedly used the opportunity to rant against Israel and its supporters, calling Zionists – wherever they might live – white supremacists.

Reportedly, a Jewish student in the class, Shayna Lavi, challenged Abdulhadi’s comments, leading Abdulhadi to ridicule her.

There are alternate similar reports about what happened between Lavi and Park following the incident, but each report alleges that Park was dismissive.

Stand With Us’ letter, sent last Friday, added that Park negatively singled out a student later, who had filed a claim against her and Abdulhadi with the university’s anti-discrimination office.
Imam tied to Holy Land case to be at American Jewish Committee forum
An imam of an organization affiliated with an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror case is scheduled to be part of a roundtable discussion at the American Jewish Committee’s annual global forum in Washington, D.C., which will take place from June 2 to June 4.

Mohamed Magid, born in Sudan in 1965 and who arrived in the United States in 1987 after studying in Saudi Arabia, is the current iman of the Virginia-based All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center (ADAMS), which is affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror case that proved HLF’s connections to the terrorist group Hamas and other radical Islamic entities.

ADAMS is a network of mosques and Islamic community centers in Washington area.

The United States designated HLF as a terrorist group in 2001 and became defunct. The case resulted in 108 guilty verdicts and several years later, five of its leaders were convicted and sentenced to decades in federal prison.

Magid was ISNA’s East Zone representative, then as vice president, and finally as president. The U.S. government listed ISNA in the HLF case as among “individuals/entities who are and/or were members of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.”

He was “the Obama administration’s go-to guy for Muslim outreach and advised on international affairs and counterterrorism.” He was “a regular visitor to the White House (even when the administration wants to conceal it)” and involved in other aspects of the administration, such as playing a crucial role in the Department of Homeland Security, according to PJ Media.
Palestinian Uber driver in LA boots Jews from car for attending Israel party
An Uber driver in Los Angeles who said he was Palestinian kicked two Jewish women out of his car after learning they were coming from an Israel Independence Day celebration.

The incident occurred on May 19, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal reported.

The driver, named Mustafa, asked the women where they were coming from after they sat in the back seat. The women were reluctant to say, but then told the driver after he did not start the car.

Mustafa then ordered the passengers out of his vehicle.

“He started laughing and he looked us dead in the eye and he said, ‘You need to get out of my car. I’m Palestinian,’” one of the women, identified as Dayna, told the Jewish Journal. She said the driver “clearly wanted to make a statement.”

Dayna said she uses Uber daily and it was the first time she has ever been asked to leave a car.

The second woman, using the pseudonym Rachel, told the newspaper that “I could see his eyes in the wing mirror and he just spun around … his eyes were wild … raged … and that’s what frightened me.”
Muslim leader threatened over charity support
THE NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBOD) has thrown its support behind prominent Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi after he became the target of threats due to his support of the charity Project Rozana.

Rifi is on the board of the organisation, founded by Jewish Australian businessman Ron Finkel, that transports ill Palestinian children to Israel for treatment in addition to facilitating the training of Palestinian doctors at Israeli hospitals.

Rifi, who spoke at the organisation’s Hand in Hand dinner last week, called police after being threatened, attacked online and being called a Zionist collaborator.

The Australian reported on Friday, “In the past two weeks, media outlets backed by the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah have smeared him as an agent of Israel and energised harassment of him in Sydney­’s southwest.”

And according to The Daily Telegraph, Muslims who were seen talking to Jewish leaders at NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s Iftar dinner last week have also been threatened.

Rifi told The Australian, “To say that I’m working for the Zionists is like saying I am an enemy to my people … That by itself puts me at a greater risk.”
CAMERA Op-Ed Politico Rewrites History
U.S.-based journalism has “shifted away from objective news” and become more subjective, according to a May 2019 study by the RAND Corporation. And a May 21, 2019 Politico report proves it. The article, “Why some Palestinians are backing Trump’s peace push,” by reporter Nahal Toosi, offers a master class in omission, distortion and selective reporting.

Indeed, the misrepresentations begin with the report’s premise, which asserts “Some prominent Palestinian activists and politicians are quietly rooting for [Presidential adviser and son-in-law] Jared Kushner as he prepares to unveil the first part of his Middle East peace plan next month.” The reason, Politico claims, is “not because they think the plan will resolve their decades-long conflict with Israel,” but rather because “they hope it will hasten the onset of a ‘one-state’ solution they are coming to support.”

Yet, in nearly 1600 words, Politico doesn’t cite a single Palestinian who supports the still unreleased peace plan, the details of which haven’t been made public and which the outlet doesn’t discuss or seemingly have. But that is far from the only thing that is left out.

Palestinians are not “coming to support” a one-state solution, as Politico asserts. In fact, Palestinian leaders have never truly supported a two-state solution.
MEMRI: Online Non-Jihadi Terrorism: Identifying Potential Threats
Conclusions

Hateful and aggressive content is easily found online, and only a very few of those posting it, commenting on it, or sharing it actually plan to carry out attacks. However, the price society pays for such terrorist attacks is high – dictating a need for special efforts to thwart them. It has been shown above that in some cases this is possible if, among the recognized members of the "online pack," we can identify those with a concrete intention to attack.

In order to accomplish this, there is a need to intensively study the language that these individuals and groups use, to learn to identify the symbols and codes with which they communicate, and to gain familiarity with their sources of inspiration. In this way, it is possible to close in on imminent danger.

It should be noted that there are not very many platforms on which these threats are posted, allowing for effective searching and identification. On some, such as 8Chan and GAB, extremely disturbing content is posted daily.[17] Both Earnest and Tarrant were active on 8chan, publishing their manifestos on it prior to their attacks. Bowers was active on GAB; seven months before his attack, he wrote alarmingly, "Jews are such heathenish creatures. Their extermination cannot come soon enough… The synagogue of satan and his slimy offspring will soon cease to exist."[18] As noted, just before the attack, he posted: "I'm going in."

Authorities have used this methodology for years in the fight against jihadi terrorism. Implementing a similar methodology in fighting non-jihadi terrorism can significantly contribute to society by thwarting terror attacks.
CAMERA Prompts New York Post Corrections on ‘Palestine’
CAMERA’s Israel office has prompted corrections at The New York Post following erroneous use of the term “Palestine.” A May 22 New York Post online headline had originally stated: “Palestine opens solar plant to further energy independence.”

References to modern “Palestine” in the West Bank and Gaza are inaccurate, and those areas should be referred to as the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or, where, appropriate (in the West Bank), “Palestinian Authority territories.”

The headline accompanied an Associated Press article, but the original AP headline accurately states: “Seeking energy independence, Palestinians open solar plant.”

The New York Post also used the term “Palestine” as a topic heading, referring readers to more stories on the subject.
In response to CAMERA’s communication with editors, The New York Post amended both the article headline and the topic heading, removing the term “Palestine.”
BBC Radio 4 misleads on conscription in Israel
Of course “Jewish Israelis” are not the only ones in Israeli society who are conscripted to “mandatory military service”. Military service has also been compulsory for males from the Druze sector since 1956 and for Circassian males since 1958. In addition, members of other religious and ethnic groups can serve on a voluntary basis.

Listeners would be unlikely to be able to fill in that missing information for themselves. The last time BBC audiences heard anything about the fact that the IDF is made up of people from many different backgrounds and faiths was in 2016 in a programme which gave extensive promotion to an opponent of enlistment by members of Israel’s minority ethnic communities.
Note reading ‘Hitler is coming’ posted on Brooklyn Jewish Children’s Museum
A note reading “Hitler is coming” was found on a billboard designed for comments by visitors to the Brooklyn Jewish Children’s Museum.

Police are investigating the note, left Thursday, as a hate crime, a spokesperson told the New York Post.

Visitors alerted police to the anti-Semitic note at the Crown Heights museum. The city’s hate-crime task force took over the investigation, authorities said.

Mordechai Lightstone, a Chabad rabbi, wrote on Twitter: “This is just awful. An interactive sign in front of the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights asking people how they would transform the world was defaced with Antisemitic graffiti!”

Governor Andrew Cuomo said ibn a statement about the incident: “We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, discrimination or hate of any kind in New York, and no person should ever feel threatened because of their religious beliefs.”


Russian social media network takes down page of ‘Miss Hitler’ beauty pageant
A Russian social media network has taken down the event page for a “Miss Hitler” beauty pageant slated to take place later this summer after an appeal from an Israeli group, Channel 12 reported Thursday.

The Miss Hitler 2019 page on the VKontakte (also known as VK) site included dozens of posts praising the Nazi leader and cause. The virtual competition has drawn contestants from Germany, Italy, Russia, and the US, according to Channel 12.

This is the second year in a row that appeals from Israel have led to VK removing pages associated with the event.

The competition page on VK, a Russian equivalent of Facebook and Europe’s largest social media network with half a billion users, encouraged women to enter by posting sexy Nazi-themed selfies together with an entry explaining why they “love and revere the Third Reich of Adolf Hitler.”

Last year, women sent in photographs of themselves performing Nazi salutes, at neo-Nazi rallies, or posing with Nazi memorabilia.

For this year’s event, page visitors were to be given from August 8 to September 1 to judge the various pictures submitted.
ReWalk Receives CE Marking for Its Stroke Rehabilitation Suit
Nasdaq-listed ReWalk Robotics, which develops wearable exoskeletons that help people walk again after injuries and strokes, has received European regulatory approval for its new exo-suit for stroke rehabilitation called “ReStore,” the company announced Thursday. The CE mark clears it for sale to rehabilitation clinics in the European Union.

Founded by Israeli mechanical engineer Amit Goffer, ReWalk has two product lines. The first, a rigid-frame exoskeleton for people who cannot walk on their own due to spinal cord injuries, has been on the market for several years.

ReStore, the company’s new product line, is a soft-frame suit meant for stroke victims learning to regain motor skills in their lower limbs. The suit uses software and mechanical mechanisms to prop up the lower body at key joints.

Rewalk is based in Marlborough, Massachusetts and in Yokneam Illit, Israel, and has approximately 60 employees, according to Pitchbook.
Why Agritech Is Israel's Next Big Import
The train ride from Jaffa to Jerusalem passes through fields of grapes, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and bananas. In many ways, these fields are a miracle. As the Dead Sea evaporates and the Jordan River dwindles, Israel has been forced to get creative around water efficiency. More than half of Israel's usable water is man-made from desalinated seawater, and 86% of its wastewater is treated and reused.

Israel has survived as a modern nation because the country created a revolutionary irrigation system in the 1960s that would become the world standard for efficient and high-tech agriculture. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the concept of "drip" irrigation exemplifies that maxim.

Israel's agritech sector now comprises 500 companies, many of them new, which have raised over $170 million in funding since 2017 -- more than competitors in far larger farming nations like Brazil and Australia. Agriculture and food tech startups received over $10 billion in investments last year globally, up 29% from 2016, and a significant proportion is going to Israel.

This month, Taranis - a four-year-old Tel Aviv startup whose drones monitor fields and diagnose nutrient problems, plant disease, and insect infestations in farms in the U.S., Brazil, Russia, and Australia - closed a $20 million investment round.

In January, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. signed an agreement to supply drones to Brazil's Santos Lab as a way to improve large scale precision agriculture. The first foray into the agriculture market for the Israeli company is estimated to be a more than $100 million deal. Last October, China's vice president Wang Qishan toured Israeli agri-parks, which have been popping up across China, as well as Ethiopia, India, Greece, and Panama after similar state visits. In late 2017, China signed a $300 million "'clean tech" deal to import and white-label Israeli agricultural tech.
New UK Mideast minister on first visit to Israel with British veterans


Israel's 'Uber For First Responders' Goes Global
United Hatzalah (Hatzalah means Rescue in Hebrew), with its all-volunteer network of trained emergency first responders, has become a regular feature in Israel. It's now going global.

United Hatzalah's model is predicated on two facts. First, when it comes to emergency response, every second counts. An ambulance crew that's too far away, gets stuck in traffic, misses a turn, or waits on a slow elevator can often mean the difference between life and death. Second, when someone has an emergency, there are almost always people nearer to the scene than the dispatched ambulance.

Average ambulance response times in Israel and the U.S. often exceed 10 minutes, depending on population density. Hatzalah's volunteer medics average less than 3 minutes. In large cities, their average response time is 90 seconds. So, how do they do it?

United Hatzalah has trained volunteer medics throughout Israel who complete 180 hours of classroom instruction and 100 hours of field training before being certified.

There are now over 5,000 volunteers-secular and religious Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians, men and women, old and young, from every socioeconomic background-who all work together to save the lives of their neighbors in need. Over 3 million people have been treated to date.

The centralized dispatch center tracks the location of volunteers, including what equipment and training they have, via an app on volunteers' phones. When a call comes in, the closest medics are immediately located and dispatched via the app. To deal with congested urban areas, Eli Beer invented the ambucycle-a medically equipped motorcycle that can race through traffic. There are now over 800 ambucycles deployed in Israeli cities.

In the U.S., a four-year-old program in Jersey City has 200 volunteers, and another branch is launching in Englewood, New Jersey. New York City could be on the horizon. Brandon Fuller, deputy director at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management, observes: "If United Rescue can do for New York what it has done on a smaller scale for Jersey City, it will save lives and promote the volunteerism that can strengthen communities across the city."
Jewish Actress Has Bat Mitzvah at Western Wall, Celebrates 40th Birthday in Israel
Actress and best-selling author Jenny Mollen had her bat mitzvah at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Thursday while in Israel celebrating her 40th birthday with her husband, “American Pie” star Jason Biggs.

Mollen shared photos and videos from her celebrations on Instagram, including one picture of her holding a Torah scroll and sporting a shawl embroidered with the name of her 14-year-old poodle, Teets. The image was captioned, “Guys? I’m officially a woman. #jennysbatmitzvah #jerusalem.”

Mollen is in the Jewish state with her sister and brother-in-law as well. This is the American actress’ first trip to Israel and she shared photos on Instagram of her various excursions throughout the country, which included visiting a 24-hour bakery in Jaffa, going to the beach in Tel Aviv and slipping a prayer note into the cracks of the Western Wall.
Nikki Haley to release new book in November
Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley will release her new book in November, according to a web release by publisher St. Martin’s Press.

The work, With all Due Respect: Defending America With Grit and Grace, will hit the shelves on November 12 and be available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble in hard copy, as well as digitally on Audible and Apple Books, among other places.

The publisher is describing the book as “a revealing, dramatic, deeply personal book about the most significant events of our time” and says it will encapsulate Haley’s “sensitive approach” to tragic events, as well as her “confident representation” of America’s interests during her time as ambassador.

Haley served the US as ambassador from 2017 to 2018. Before that, she served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. She is also a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives.

The book promises to likewise offer a first-hand perspective on major national and international matters, as well as a behind-the-scenes account of her tenure in the Trump administration.

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Quds Day a bust in Iran?

Iran's official Jewish Dhimmi calls on Jews to participate in Quds Day rallies



From TOI:
Iran’s sole Jewish parliamentarian said Thursday that he looks forward to the liberation of Jerusalem from Israel ahead of the annual anti-Israel al-Quds Day events.

Siamak Moreh Sedgh in a statement called for Jews around the world to participate in rallies to protest Zionism, and said Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories would soon be liberated.
It's easy to wonder why Sedgh says this ridiculous stuff. Probably he is truly a believer in the Iranian cause or has allowed himself to be brainwashed. But maybe, just maybe, he gave a hint to why he acts this way here:
“Jewish Iranians consider participation in Quds Day rallies as a national and religious responsibility… all walks of the honorable Iranian nation obey the orders of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) and will shout slogans against the US and Israeli occupiers in a united and integrated manner,” Sedgh said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.
Jews in Iran are not exactly acting with free will. They have to obey orders.


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05/31 Links Pt1: Thank You, Florida Governor DeSantis; Freedom from PLO and Hamas Rule awaits Gaza and West Bank Arabs; Terrorist attacks two in Jerusalem's Old City, gets shot by police

From Ian:
JPost Editorial: Thank You, Florida Governor DeSantis
Even before his trip to Israel, in the weeks after DeSantis was elected governor last year, he immediately took action on behalf of the Jewish state. Florida's cabinet recognized Jerusalem as "Israel's eternal capital," invested $10 million in Israel Bonds, and blacklisted Airbnb because of its plan to boycott listings in West Bank settlements, which the global company has since reversed.

This week, DeSantis repeatedly spoke out against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, leading the first official trade mission to the West Bank led by a U.S. governor - with two dozen business leaders.

"Anti-Semitism is driving the BDS movement, and you cannot separate the two," he said at the Gush Etzion Industrial Zone on Wednesday, meeting with Jewish and Arab businesspeople who oppose boycotts. "We are not going to discriminate against certain Israelis - and if people do... we will take action accordingly."

"You have people that are willing to trade with Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world - some of the worst regimes in the world - and yet they only want to boycott the one Jewish and democratic state in the world," he said. "If you support BDS in Florida, you are dead, politically," he added.

The Florida delegation signed over 20 memoranda of understanding in multiple fields including business, trade, academia, innovation and tourism.
David Singer: Freedom from PLO and Hamas Rule awaits Gaza and West Bank Arabs
The announced participation of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in the “Prosperity for Peace Conference” in Manama on 25-26 June — jointly convened by President Trump and Bahrain (“Manama Conference”) — promises to offer unique opportunities for Gaza and West Bank Arabs to emigrate to other Arab countries to seek better lives for their families.

Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces in recent years seeking entry illegally into other countries. There is no reason to believe that Gaza and West Bank Arabs would not similarly want to emigrate if offered the opportunity to do so legally.

Gaza and West Bank Arabs have personally suffered under the oppressive rule of Hamas in Gaza since 2006 and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the West Bank since 1993. They have not been given the opportunity at any time to determine their own future in free and fair elections— except in 2006 when the PLO refused to accept the result. A bitter internecine struggle since then has ensued between Hamas and the PLO for political control of the Gaza and West Bank Arab populations that still remains unresolved. Elections are not even being contemplated to resolve this impasse.

The policies espoused by both Hamas and the PLO in relation to Israel have wrought disaster on Gaza and West Bank Arabs both in regard to their personal lives and economic prospects for themselves and their children.

Rod Liddle: Tunnelling my way into Gaza
I’m meant to be peering into a tunnel hacked out by Hamas a few hundred metres from Gaza City into Israeli territory but my attention has wandered. The air around us, above this parched, scrubby wasteland, is fecund with life. A pair of black kites are circling and below them a steppe buzzard is lumbering amidst the thermals. And is that a lappet-faced vulture? Do you know, even without my specs, I think it is. The IDF guy in charge of this facility wanders up. ‘You are interested in the birds, my frent? They too are political. The Palestinians put all their filth, their garbage, right up against the fence, as close to us as possible. As a result, many vermin and many hawks, some endangered elsewhere. There is always an upside to misery. Now, let us go below, please.’

Down, down, then, into a passage fashioned by the perpetually infuriated and frantically scrabbling Morlocks from a Neolithic culture. The idea is this. They spend a million quid and take a year to tunnel into the middle of a sunflower field, suddenly pop up, murder everyone within sight, and then run away. But it’s still only a tunnel — seen one, seen ’em all. I exit sharpish, bored. You’d think if they were that good at digging they might create for themselves a decent sewage system or maybe a road. Instead of a Day of Rage, a Day of Clearing Things Up A Bit. All that’s missing from the tunnel is a blue plaque with yellow stars: the European Union funded this. Or the United Nations. Through their myriad succour for perpetual victims funds.

Later I meet the mayor of a town nearby which is bombed each week, the Iranian-built Qassam rockets raining down from Gaza, killing indiscriminately. The town provides Gaza’s sewage system. ‘Yes,’ the mayor says to me, with the pungent ghost of a smile, ‘we even wash their shit’



Dr. Martin Sherman: The Bahrain Conference: Failure foretold
Inverting causality

Moreover, the endeavor to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by means of economic development and financial aid shows not only a grave lacuna in the comprehension of its underlying causes, but in fact inverts the causal relationship that generates and perpetuates it.

After all, the reason for Arab hostility in general, and of the Palestinian-Arabs in particular, is not rooted in economic deprivation. (Indeed, the Palestinian-Arabs have been the recipients of the most generous per capita aid on the planet.) Quite the opposite! The economic deprivation of the Palestinian-Arabs is, in great measure, the result of their anti-Israel hostility, which creates hugely wasteful allocation of resources, grave distortion in their use and facilitates the continued rule of a despotic regime, whose continued hold on the reins of power depends on sustaining the animosity towards the Jewish state.

Accordingly, focusing on the economic aspects alone will not contribute one iota to resolving the conflict or to reducing the Palestinian-Arabs’ enmity against Israel.

At the very most it will transform them from being hostile and poor to being… hostile and affluent. What could possibly go wrong?
Peace proponent Susie Gelman warns Israel against Trump plan
Susie Gelman says her love affair with Israel began in the summer of 1970, when as a teenager she visited the country with her confirmation class.

Some 40 years and dozens of international flights later, as the chair of the Israel Policy Forum (IPF), Gelman is working to shape the discourse around Israel and mobilize support among American policymakers for the realization of a viable two-state solution.

When Gelman, a former three-term president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, took on the role of IPF chair in 2016, it is unlikely she could have envisioned the Trump administration’s soon to be fully revealed “deal of the century,” which according to one of its masterminds, Jared Kushner, will pull back from long-standing mentions of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Speaking at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in early May, Kushner explained, “If you say ‘two-state,’ it means one thing to the Israelis, it means one thing to the Palestinians. We said, ‘you know, let’s just not say it. Let’s just say, let’s work on the details of what this means.’”

Gelman, a graduate of Harvard University and the Georgetown University Law Center, believes that Kushner is wrong.
Swiss Minister: UNRWA Is Part of the Problem in the Middle East
United Nations aid work for Palestinian refugees is a stumbling block to peace in the Middle East, hindering the integration of Palestinians who have lived in Jordan and Lebanon for years, according to Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis.

So long as Palestinians live in refugee camps, they can dream of returning home, he said in an interviewexternal link published in several Swiss newspapers on Thursday.

Five million Palestinian refugees currently live in such camps, with aid and protection provided by the UNRWAexternal link, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“It is unrealistic that all of them can fulfil this dream. Yet the UNRWA keeps this dream alive,” Cassis said. “For a long time the UNRWA was the solution to this problem, but today it has become part of the problem. It supplies the ammunition to continue the conflict. By supporting the UNRWA, we keep the conflict alive. It’s a perverse logic.”

He called for the integration of long-term refugees in their countries of residence. Instead of UNRWA schools and hospitals, he said Switzerland could support Jordanian facilities to promote the integration of Palestinian refugees.
Netanyahu shows off Trump’s map of Israel with Golan Heights
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner had gifted him an official State Department map, updated to incorporate the long-disputed Golan Heights as part of Israel.

Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem on Thursday, Netanyahu addressed a nation rattled by the prospect of an unprecedented second election campaign, after the newly reelected Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition.

In a bid to play down the political chaos and focus public attention on his foreign policy prowess – in particular his close friendship with Trump – Netanyahu whipped out Kushner’s map, on which President Trump had scribbled, “Nice.”

American officials will attend a ceremony next month with Netanyahu to lay the cornerstone for a new town in the Golan Heights named for Trump, local officials said earlier this week.

The ceremony on June 12 will dedicate the new community to be built on the site of the existing village of Kela Alon in the northwestern Golan.

Last month Netanyahu said his new government would name a town in the Golan Heights after Trump in honor of the US president’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the northern territory.

Alan Dershowitz: Netanyahu Should Talk to European Nationalists
Ironically (or perhaps hypocritically) many of these same critics urged Israeli prime ministers to speak to Yasser Arafat and other terrorist leaders who have advocated and practiced the murder of Jews. What is the difference? In both cases elected leaders have to hold their collective noses to speak to other leaders of whose ideologies and actions they strongly disapprove. But when you are the leader of a country, pragmatic realpolitik must often prevail over pure ideology.

Recall the grimace on the face of Yitzhak Rabin when President Clinton urged him to shake the hand of Yasser Arafat, a man who was personally responsible for ordering the murder of Israeli children, women and men. When I subsequently discussed this with Rabin, he said that his hand was shielded by the velvet glove of diplomacy. The left praised Rabin, as well they should have. But many of the same people now condemn Netanyahu for extending the same velvet glove of diplomacy to extreme European nationalists.

There are lines, of course, that no one should ever cross even with the protection of a velvet glove. But if that line was not crossed with Arafat, it certainly is not being crossed with Viktor Orbán and other nationalist leaders. The line cannot be based on the whether the alleged villain is right-wing, left-wing, Muslim or Christian. It must be a line based on objective factors.

The United States dealt, though quietly, with the leaders of Iran, and even dealt with Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin back in the 1930s and 1940s. President Roosevelt, when asked why he was dealing with the tyrannical leader of a central American dictatorship, famously responded: "He is a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch."

The nationalist leaders of central and eastern Europe are a mixed picture when it comes to Israel. They strongly support Jewish nationalism, Zionism, and the nation state of the Jewish people. But their attitude toward Jews and the Holocaust is often highly questionable. The prime minister of Israel must put the interests of his country before ideological purity or attitude toward Jews in general. In a world in which so few nations support Israel and in which so many vote routinely to condemn it at the United Nations, Israel must not easily give up support from right-wing nationalists.
MEMRI: Arab Writers Urge Palestinians Not To Reject 'Deal Of Century' Out Of Hand, Make Most Of Economic Workshop In Bahrain
The Trump administration's Middle East peace initiative, known as the "Deal of the Century", which has yet to be officially announced, as well as the "Peace to Prosperity" economic workshop, scheduled to be held in Bahrain on June 25-26, 2019 and aimed at garnering "support for potential economic investment and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement," continue to be widely discussed in the Arab press. Amid much criticism of the U.S. initiative, and while the Palestinians have announced they would not attend the Bahrain workshop,[1] some leading columnists in the Arab press expressed a different opinion. They called not to reject the initiative out of hand, and strongly condemned the Palestinian and Arab rejection of many peace initiatives in the past.

The articles in the Gulf and Egyptian press harshly criticized the Palestinians and Arabs for repeatedly losing opportunities to resolve their problems and advised them to view the Deal of the Century with an open mind, enter negotiations and strive to make the most of them, while agreeing to make concessions where necessary. In Jordan, amid widespread opposition to the Trump administration's initiative, a few articles argued that the country should participate in the Bahrain workshop in order to defend its positions on the Palestinian issue and also as an opportunity to improve Jordan's economic situation. Support of the initiative was also expressed by Jordanian MP Fuaz Al-Zo'bi.

The following are excerpts from these articles and statements:
Editor Of Saudi Arab News Daily: The 'Kushner Peace Plan' May Be 'The Palestinians' Last, Best Chance' For A State – And Saudi Arabia Can Help

In a May 14, 2019 article in the Saudi English-language Arab News, titled "A Gleam Of Hope As We Recall The Nakba," the newspaper's editor-in-chief Faisal J. Abbas wrote that "Jared Kushner's peace plan" could be the Palestinians' last, best chance to achieve a state. Saudi Arabia can help, he added, by persuading Arab and Muslim countries to back the plan, and by working with donor countries "to ensure a sustainable and prosperous life for Palestinians."

He wrote: "Palestinians today mark the 71st anniversary of the Nakba, the 'Day of Catastrophe,' when displacement, occupation and injustice befell the people of Palestine as a result of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Since that day in 1948, all attempts to restore Palestinian lands, whether by peaceful or military means, have failed...

"When Arab News marked last year's 70th anniversary of the Nakba with a special issue, I wrote that peace was 'remote but still possible'... However, an interesting development has been brewing for the past few months that may, just may, reverse the situation and make peace more possible and less remote – the Jared Kushner peace plan… It is all very well for veteran politicians and diplomats to carp about Kushner's lack of experience in such matters, but what exactly have they achieved in more than 70 years of trying to resolve this conflict? Too much 'process' and not enough 'peace,' I would suggest...
Pompeo urges Germany to follow Britain's lead in outlawing Hezbollah
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Germany to follow Britain in proscribing Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group and boost military spending.

The United States is at odds with its German allies on a host of issues, from trade to military spending and nuclear non-proliferation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, ignored an urgent plea from the country’s tiny Jewish community to outlaw the terrorist organization Hezbollah amid a shocking climate of antisemitism.

When asked on Wednesday by The Jerusalem Post numerous times if the German government – in response to a demand by the nearly 100,000-member Central Council of Jews – plans to ban the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization, Merkel and Seehofer refused to answer.

The president of the Council, Dr. Josef Schuster, said on Monday that “a full ban of Hezbollah’s organization has already happened in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom,” adding that “Hezbollah is heavily financed by Iran, and poses, in its entirety, a threat to the entire world.”

The US Embassy in Germany wrote on its Twitter feed on Monday: “Germany’s federal courts decided years ago that Hezbollah is a unified organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Symbols of Hezbollah are banned, why not the entire organization?”
In Germany, Pompeo voices concern over kippa warning to Jews
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday voiced concern over a warning to Jews by a German official about the dangers of wearing the kippa skullcap in Germany in the face of rising anti-Semitic attacks.

The German government’s commissioner on anti-Semitism Felix Klein sparked alarm when he said in a recent interview that he “cannot advise Jews to wear the kippa everywhere all the time in Germany.”

Pompeo expressed his disquiet over the warning during a visit to Berlin on Friday.

“We were concerned to see Jews discouraged from wearing the yarmulke in public out of safety concerns. None of us should shrink in the face of prejudice,” he said at a press conference.

Germany, like other Western countries, has watched with alarm as anti-Semitic and other racist hate speech and violence rose in recent years while the political climate has coarsened and grown more polarized.

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has voiced shock at Klein’s warning, calling it a “capitulation to anti-Semitism.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman subsequently stepped in to stress that it was the job of the state to ensure that “anyone can go anywhere in our country in full security wearing a kippa.”
Terrorist attacks two in Jerusalem's Old City, gets shot by police
A harrowing video of Friday's terrorist attack in the Old City of Jerusalem has been released by the Israel Police, showing the terrorist jumping a 16-year-old boy, and stabbing him in the back.

The incident takes place over mere seconds.

On Friday morning, a 19-year-old terrorist from the West Bank, who had allegedly come to the Temple Mount for Ramadan to pray, stabbed and critically wounded a 47-year-old man at Damascus Gate - which wasn't captured in the video. Minutes later, while running through the Arab market, the terrorist stabbed the 16-year-old.

The teenager and his brother were walking through the Muslim Quarter's Arab market while on their way back from praying at the Western Wall just before 6:30 a.m.

The video shows the terrorist running and then jumping at the 16-year-old who was slowly riding his bicycle as his brother walked next to him. As the injured teenager runs in one direction throwing of his jacket, the terrorist is then seen chasing after the other brother who begins running in the opposite direction.

As he continued to run up the stairs, the terrorist just behind him, border police arrived at the scene and shot the terrorist, neutralizing him.
Stabbing victim's brother: He was full of blood
"We were walking back from praying at the Western Wall when he [the terrorist] came from my right side, jumped at my brother and stabbed him in the back. The knife was full of blood."

These were the words of the young man who witnesses his brother being stabbed by a terrorist on Friday morning.

A 47-year-old man remains in critical condition, while a 16-year-old boy remains moderately-to-seriously wounded, following the stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday morning.

"He didn't say a word," the young man recalled, while speaking to the press at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. "I saw him [the terrorist] running with the knife, he just jumped at my brother... I ran up towards the police, my brother ran towards Hurva Synagogue for help. He saw a young man and asked 'Is there anything on my back?' and that's when he was told that he was full of blood."

Paramedics were called to the scene within minutes and he was taken to hospital.

Following the attack, President Reuven Rivlin said, that "We are praying for the recovery of those injured in this morning's stabbing attack in #Jerusalem. I am with the families who are at their dear ones' sides in hospital in these difficult hours."

"We will not be deterred by this despicable terror that seeks to cut short life, and its perpetrators and their accomplices will face the full force of the law," he said.
260,000 Muslims pray peacefully at Al-Aqsa Mosque after terror attack
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims took part in the final Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, as Israel heightened security following a Palestinian stabbing attack.

The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf organization which administers the site, the third holiest site in Islam, said in total 260,000 worshipers gathered for the lunchtime prayers.

The prayers came only hours after a Palestinian teenager stabbed two Israelis inside the Old City before being shot dead by Israeli police.

In a separate incident, another Palestinian teenager was shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank as he sought to breach the security barrier and sneak into Jerusalem, reportedly to pray at Al-Aqsa.

In Jerusalem, a 19-year-old Palestinian stabbed one Israeli near Damascus Gate and another near Jaffa Gate on the other side of the walled Old City, police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.
Over 4,000 Palestinian take part in Friday’s March of Return
Roughly 4,000 Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip are taking part in the Friday protests known as ‘March of Return’ in five different locations across the Gaza Security fence.

Roughly 36 explosive devices, including hand-grenades were thrown the IDF stationed along the Gaza security fence to prevent breaches into Israel. The IDF used riot dispersal means.

Friday marks the fourth Friday prayers held during the month of Ramadan and the beginning of the holiday of Laylat al-Qadr set to begin tonight.

Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers arrived at Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Police Spokesperson reported on Friday, police units were mobilized in the area of the Old City to prevent any attacks. The prayers ended without any incidents.
Islamic Jihad leader: There will be surprises in the West Bank
In recent months, Islamic Jihad has been considered the main factor in continuously disturbing the peace in the south.

In the previous round of violence, a sniper from the group shot an IDF soldier, moderately wounding him, which started the round of fighting in which four Israelis were killed.

Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhala spoke with Hezbollah TV channel Al-Manar on Thursday night and threatened Israel.

"The Palestinian people are ready for a prolonged confrontation with the Israeli occupation. Not everything that they hope for in the framework of the ‘Deal of the Century’ will be carried out. The ‘Deal of the Century’ was born dead and has no value as long as the Palestinians oppose it," he said

During the interview, al-Nakhala referred to the recent round of fighting, claiming that in the last Gaza battle "we operated with little military capability. I do not exaggerate when I say that we can launch more than 1,000 rockets a day into Israel for months. The resistance has the ability to harm any target within the Israeli entity."

The terrorist leader said that the group had no red lines in fighting Israel and that "any aggression in Gaza will result in missiles to Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv," adding that "we are not afraid of the results."

"The West Bank is an integral part of the Palestinian resistance plan, and in the future there will be surprises in its territory - the attacks against Israel will take a new turn," al-Nakhala promised.
Israeli TV report helps Palestinian baby, mother reunite after 6 months
The hospital’s director of human resources, Issa Elian, said that normally a baby can stay at the hospital for treatment for up to two months. This child was treated for six months.

Off and on throughout those six months, Sha’ad’s condition improved and then deteriorated. The hospital turned repeatedly to the Palestinian Authority to file a request to the Coordinator of Military Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which could allow the mother or father to enter Israel and reunite with their daughter.

"We tried again and again, and they refused," Elian told Channel 13.

The worried family would monitor their daughter via video chat on the small screen of a private cellular phone.

Then, Channel 13 broke the story on Tuesday. By Thursday, the family was reunited.

Mom and baby just met for the first time in six months at the hospital. From there, they returned home to Gaza.
During Ramadan, late-night gyms boom in the Gaza Strip
It’s past midnight, but a dozen Palestinians are still running and sweating at a gym in the Gaza Strip.

During Islam’s holiest month of Ramadan, Techno-Gym transforms into a late-night hot spot for young men struggling to stay in shape. In addition to self-discipline and prayer intended to bring adherents closer to God, the month is famed for its lavish meals and heavy desserts that follow a daylong fast.

“I come here during Ramadan to maintain the vitality of my body,” said Anas al-Najjar, a music teacher, on a break from a set of back-muscle exercises. “As I have been training for a while, it’s not good for the body to stop in Ramadan.”

On a recent night, pop music mingled with the clanging of dumbbells and metal weight plates as fitness enthusiasts grunted and panted. The gym’s black-and-yellow color scheme and bright blue lighting had a disorienting effect as the clock ticked into the early hours.

The Ramadan routine, with high-calorie fast-breaking “iftar” buffets, sugary staples and hours of sedentary screen time, is a headache for fitness trainers. A growing group of middle-class men in Gaza are preoccupied with the prospect of gaining weight.
MEMRI: Egyptian Clerics, Articles: Ramadan Is The Month Of Jihad And Victories
As in past years during Ramadan, and especially ahead of the tenth day of this month, which is the anniversary of the outbreak of Egypt's and Syria's 1973 war with Israel, senior clerics in Egypt, chief of them Mufti Shawki 'Allam, stressed that Ramadan is the month of jihad, in which Islam's greatest victories took place.[1] The Egyptian press also celebrated Ramadan as the month of Islamic victories and conquests, mentioning the 7th century Battle of Badr and conquest of Mecca, the 8th century conquest of Andalusia and parts of southern France, the 12th century Battle of Hittin, the 13th century Battle of Ain Jalut and the 1973 war, among others.

The following are excerpts from these statements and articles:

Egyptian Mufti: The Greatest Victories In Islamic History Took Place In The Month Of Ramadan
On the 10th day of Ramadan, which occurred this year on May 15 and, as stated, is the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1973 war, Egypt's Mufti Shawki 'Allam devoted his daily Ramadan radio program to Islamic victories that took place during this month. He said: "Ramadan is a great month, the month of jihad. History demonstrates that no other month saw so many Islamic battles and victories as the month of Ramadan. These [victories] constitute another badge of honor for this month, in addition to the honor of [being the month] in which the Quran descended and [the Prophet] Muhammad had his first divine revelation. Ramadan has seen many victories, conquests and battles of decisive importance for the [Islamic] religion and nation. Chief among them are the Battle of Badr, on Ramadan 17, 2 AH [March 13, 624 CE]. On Ramadan 20, 8 AH, the conquest of Mecca took place, following which many people embraced Islam. During the time of the Mamluk kingdom, on Ramadan 25, 658 AH, Saif Al-Din Qutuz[2] and Zahir Baybars[3] managed to withstand the Mongol attacks in many parts of the Muslim world. In the modern era, our heroic forces won the Ramadan 10 war in 1973... Our mighty Egyptian army shattered the myth of the invincible Israeli army, as it was considered at the time, bringing this nation great honor with this victory."

The Mufti called to "compare this glorious [past] reality to the situation of many Muslims today. It is very sad," he said, "that this perception [of Ramadan] has now changed among many Muslims. Ramadan was once the month of action, struggle, jihad and sacrifice, but now it has become the month of leisure, sloth and love of food and sleep. This is a dangerous moral decline..."[4]

Speaking about Ramadan on a television show, Shawki said: "The month of Ramadan is strongly associated with victory and with great deeds in human history and especially in Muslim history... During Ramadan, the individual is rebuilt... Fasting rebuilds him and gives him hope and strength. This is one of the factors [that contribute to] victory in any struggle we wage, in every area: at work, on the battlefield, and in any other domain. The individual needs to be rebuilt. Therefore it is not strange that all the great and influential victories in Muslim history took place during Ramadan..."[5]
MEMRI: Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri: Jews Are Money-Hungry Even In Their Mother's Womb
The Lebanese Al-Jumhouriyya daily quoted Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as making the antisemitic remark that Jews are money-hungry even while still in their mother's womb. [1] The article, titled "How to Recognize a Jew," quoted Berri as saying: "If you see a pregnant woman, get close to her and toss a piece of gold near her or at her feet. If the fetus jumps out from his mother's womb and grabs the gold, you know he is a Jew." It should be stated that the article, including this statement, was also posted on Berri's personal website.[2]

Al-Jumhouriyya quoted the statement in a report on Berri's meeting several days ago with U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in Lebanon. The meeting was held as part of the U.S. efforts to mediate in the negotiations between Israel and Lebanon on demarcating the maritime border between the two countries, an issue having to do with oil and gas drilling rights in the Mediterranean. The report said:

"Asked what motivated the U.S. to agree to act as a fair mediator [between the sides], Berri replied: 'When U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo visited me a while ago, he emphasized that the U.S. would make efforts to resolve the issue of demarcating the border.' Asked what motivated Israel to soften its position and agree to demarcate the land and maritime borders simultaneously, Berri answered: 'Someone was once asked, how can you recognize a Jew? The answer was: It's simple. If you see a pregnant woman, get close to her and toss a piece of gold next to her or at her feet. If the fetus jumps out of his mother's womb and grabs the gold, you know that he is a Jew.' He added: 'The Israelis want the oil [in the Mediterranean] and want to produce the oil and gas found in the Palestinian waters. If they had companies capable of drilling and producing [the gas and oil themselves], they would have acted immediately, without delay. But they need [the help of] international companies, and the latter are apprehensive. They want to operate and invest [their money] in a calm and stable climate. They do not dare to take risks and start operating in oil [fields] in the Palestinian waters, or in parts of the sea close to the 860 square kilometers that are disputed between Israel and Lebanon, as long as they feel insecure and believe that the situation can explode at any moment. That is why Israel withdrew [from its previous position].'"


Fmr. Yazidi Iraqi MP: Iraq Registers Children of Yazidi Women Raped by ISIS Members as Muslims
Former Yazidi Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil was interviewed on Al-Arabiya Network (Dubai/Saudi Arabia) on April 30, 2019. She criticized the Iraqi government for registering the children of Yazidi women who were raped by ISIS members as Muslims even though it is often said that ISIS does not represent Islam and that ISIS members aren't real Muslims. She said that children that are registered as Muslims cannot be accepted into the Yazidi faith and society, and that there are many cases in which Yazidi women have given their children to orphanages or did not return to the Yazidi community because of the children. She said that while these Yazidi women could move to another country and register the children under their name, the Iraqi government should change the Personal Status Law and other laws so that the state can recognize the children as Yazidis if they are brought up in Yazidi society. She also said that the international community must intervene to protect these women and children.


Pompeo Says Iran Attacked Tankers To Help Raise Oil Prices
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Iran attacked oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) earlier this month in an effort to push global crude prices higher.

“These were efforts by the Iranians to raise the price of crude oil throughout the world," Pompeo told reporters on May 30 before setting off on a trip to Europe.

Earlier in the day, the White House national-security adviser, John Bolton, said evidence that Iran was behind the attacks would be presented to the United Nations Security Council next week.

Asked if he had seen the evidence, Pompeo said: "Oh, yes. Ambassador Bolton got it right."

Tehran has denied any involvement in the attacks, calling the accusations “ridiculous” and calling out what it called Washington’s “malign intentions” in the region.

Also on May 30, the U.S. special representative for Iran repeated a U.S. warning that Washington will respond with military force if Tehran attacks its interests or those of its allies.
JCPA: Iran Marks “Quds Day” by Saying No to Trump’s “Deal of the Century”
Ayatollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Khamenei and the Dome of the Rock in the center. (This structure does not hold the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque, but its iconic gold dome is the symbol often used.)
Detailed painting of U.S. and Israeli ships ablaze in Persian Gulf waters

A picture from the website of Supreme Leader Khamenei. Captions: “Palestine will undoubtedly be liberated and returned to its residents.” #No to the Deal of the Century. In the background, shining like the sun, is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and detailed painting of U.S. and Israeli ships ablaze in Persian Gulf waters; the waters are in the form of keffiyehs that symbolize Palestine.1

On the eve of International al Quds [Jerusalem] Day in Iran, the country’s leaders and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are declaring that the “deal of the century” to be announced by the Trump Administration will never be implemented. They stand with the Palestinians, and they are committed to the “removal of the Zionists from Palestine.”

As they do every year on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan (which falls this year on May 31, 2019), the Shiite population centers both in and outside of Iran (including in several European capitals) will be marking International Jerusalem (al-Quds) Day. This day has been celebrated each year since 1979. According to a ruling by the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, and the Iranian government, it is a day to express the yearning of all Muslims for the “liberation of Jerusalem.”

Khomeini’s anti-Israeli outlook continues to dictate and shape the objectives and strategy of exporting the Islamic Revolution. Those objectives include perpetuating the fundamental hostility and hatred toward Israel and the calls for its destruction.

Today, Khamenei is committed to the legacy of Khomeini’s Jerusalem Day. A source in Basij News:
Jerusalem Day is marked with mass processions (usually after recruitment and organized transportation by the regime and its mechanisms) and condemnatory speeches that include the slogan “Death to Israel,” calls for its destruction, and denunciations of the United States (“Death to America”) and Saudi Arabia, which, according to the Iranians, is an accomplice of the U.S. and Israeli “intrigues” in the region and of the harsh sanctions being imposed on Iran.
'Quds Day' rallies across Mideast highlight unbridled hatred for Israel, US
Thousands of Iranians marched on Friday to mark Quds Day, which will see demonstrations across the Mideast as the Trump administration tries to offer an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, and Iran says the day is an occasion to express support for the Palestinians.

The annual protests, also being held in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere, come on the last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Iran has marked Quds Day since the start of its 1979 Islamic Revolution by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Iran does not recognize Israel and supports the terrorist groups Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.

In Tehran, rallies began across the Iranian capital. They’ll all head to Tehran University, where the ceremony will end at Friday noontime prayers. Similar rallies took place in 950 cities and towns across the country.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the U.S. and its allies will fail to impose the Trump administration’s so-called “deal of the century” on Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has described the peace plan as “shameful.”
Iran's Actions over Abu Musa and Tunb Islands Tell Us Everything about its Regional Designs
The islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb, which lie off the UAE coastline and are regarded as strategically important waypoints in the Strait of Hormuz, provide the closest reminder of Iran's sustained program of regional disruption and aggression, as well as its long-standing willingness to ignore international law.

All three were seized by Iran in 1971 as the UAE was formed. The Tunbs had historically belonged to Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Musa to Sharjah, when both emirates were still part of the Trucial States.

In the years since the islands were taken on November 30, 1971, the UAE had sought to settle the issue of Iran's illegal occupation through peaceful methods and arbitration. This country has repeatedly pressed the case directly with international organizations and with Iran itself. The UAE enjoys widespread international support for its case. For its part, Iran has met this diplomatic outreach with inflammatory rhetoric and has consistently rejected referring the matter to the International Court of Justice. Seven years ago, Iranian officials declared Tehran's occupation was "permanent and non-negotiable."

Iran's actions over Abu Musa tell you everything you need to know about its regional designs. Strident and unwilling to compromise, it has no apparent strategic vision save for aggression and expansion by proxy.
PreOccupiedTerritory: Iran Calls On People To Reject ‘Zionist’ Agricultural Advances, Calling Survival ‘Un-Islamic’ (satire)
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran demanded today that nations and organizations cease bringing in Israeli innovators to improve irrigation, water conservation, and other practices, stating that dying of starvation, thirst, pollution, or other maladies remains preferable to granting any legitimacy or positive association to anything or anyone tinged with sympathy for Jewish sovereignty.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a public address Thursday in which he called on the governments of Islamic nations, states, municipalities, as well as private enterprises, to abstain from normalizing any business or consulting contacts with Israel, foremost among them any work to relieve drought and reduce water waste in agriculture. Engaging with Zionists on such matters, asserted Khamenei, violates the sacred trust with Allah, who would rather see large numbers of people die of thirst, disease, or hunger than avail themselves of any Israeli help.

“We cannot call ourselves true Muslims while not sacrificing our lives, welfare, and health in service of Allah,” admonished the cleric. “All the more so when we must sacrifice the lives, welfare, and health of those we love. If we truly loved our families and friends, we would spare them the everlasting shame and hellfire that awaits those who use drip irrigation, that invention of the Shaytan,” an allusion to the devil.

The ayatollah also warned his flock against the cherry tomato, advances in hydroponic agriculture, and other Israeli innovations, deeming them satanic phenomena that every Muslim must avoid, and must prevent other Muslims from succumbing to the evil temptation of living a healthy, prosperous life.

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What former diplomats like @AaronDMiller2 get wrong about the Kushner plan

It is very easy to be negative about the Trump/Kushner plan for the Middle East. Former diplomats, however, seem to feel almost threatened by it.

Because it might show that their very assumptions have been wrong for decades.

Any article that says why the plan is doomed before the plan is known looks like more of an attempt to sabotage it, rather than an honest attempt to help bring peace to the region. Why would people who dedicated their lives to peace in the region want to kill a completely different approach, even if they disagree with it? It isn't like their efforts have exactly been successful.

Aaron David Miller, who has been part of the negotiations since Oslo, writes an article in Time entitled "I've Spent Decades Failing to Negotiate Peace in the Middle East. Trump's 'Ultimate Deal' Is Doomed, Too."

Sure, these negotiations are part real-estate deal over land. But they are also shaped by a bitter struggle between two peoples, driven by historical trauma, identity, dignity, security and contested sacred religious space.
The Administration’s current plan misunderstands the Palestinian stake in the conflict and, even if it was not its intention, reveals that Trump and Kushner think the Palestinians can be bought off. It signals an assumption that Palestine can be induced to settle or compromise on what they regard as their basic rights in exchange for economic and financial incentives.

But if this was a matter of money and improving lives, we might well have bought a solution decades ago. I can’t tell you how many well-intentioned economic initiatives and Middle East Marshall Plans have gone the way of the dodo over the years. Kushner is right: creating better lives for Palestinians through accountable institutions and the development of both infrastructure and industry is a key factor in securing peace. But it’s not the key to achieving a conflict-ending solution.
I don't think this is the thinking. I believe that the Trump administration is looking realistically at the history of Palestinian leadership. Kushner and Trump see the consistent Palestinian rejectionism of peace combined with their ideas of entitlement to claim the spoils of intifadas they have lost and wars where they have consistently backed the wrong horse.

The old Oslo-era diplomacy gives respect to the Palestinian side - the side that should be compromising to get a state - and that respect has made them less likely to want to compromise.

Trump does not want to reward this behavior any more . It didn't work under Clinton and it was disastrous under Obama, where the more respect he gave Mahmoud Abbas, the less Abbas was willing to even negotiate, let alone compromise. This is not a sustainable model for peace.

However, it is all that traditional diplomats know how to do. The idea of actively disrespecting one party to the negotiations is anathema to normal diplomats. But diplomats usually don't have to deal with people who have as much bad faith as Palestinian leaders.

The upshot is that peace is literally impossible using the old, bilateral negotiations formula which fell apart long ago.

Ordinary Palestinian Arabs just want to live their lives in dignity. The majority don't care about Palestinian nationalism. Their ancestors, by and large, came from other areas of the Arab world and freely moved from place to place for economic reasons, not political reasons.

Admittedly, this has been changing. Decades of incitement and indoctrination in Palestinian and UNRWA schools have created a generation or two of people who are more likely to be stirred by the empty slogans of the PA or Hamas. But most Arabs are normal people who want to raise their families and to have decent jobs.

If there was a referendum on a decent economic plan, the Palestinians would overwhelmingly choose it.

Gulf leaders know this. They are the ones that have been throwing good money after bad, and have gotten tired of supporting a cause where even the Palestinian leaders cannot work together.

Top down strategies simply will not work with this dysfunctional, greedy Palestinian leadership for whom "dignity" means to beg for Arab money while rejecting tax revenues that don't include money for them to pay terrorists. Regular Arabs know that this is not real dignity. Regular Arabs are the ones paying the price.

It may be politically inconvenient for the Trump Administration to admit, but on this one, economics can’t trump politics. A vibrant economy that moves people and goods requires security, predictability, transparency, freedom of movement and capital, and, above all, buy-in from the political establishment. It can’t be done in a free-fire zone (see Gaza) or in a West Bank where 60% is still controlled by the Israelis and where the Palestinian Authority that controls the remaining 40% face serious political and economic constraints. Why would serious investors want to put their money into Gaza or the West Bank without assurance that the region will be stable and secure and that people and goods can move without impediments and restrictions? Or without a clearer understanding of who will have authority over land, water and development? Neither of those fundamental questions can currently be answered.
It is funny that someone who worked for a President whose strategy to win elections was the slogan "Its the economy, stupid" is now disparaging a plan to work on exactly that above all else.

The Trump plan is indeed to bypass the Palestinian leadership. Give them chance after chance to come to the table and let the people see that they won't even try.

The Palestinian leaders do hold the political cards - but only to stand in the way of economic help. Again, we don't know what will come out of Bahrain, but if there is a specific plan that would provide Palestinians with  jobs and a way to build their own economy outside the aid and NGO-based economy they have - and if their leaders block it - those leaders become more and more irrelevant.

Let's pretend that Israel allows the UAE to build a joint Palestinian-UAE industrial park in the West Bank, that would provide 50,000 jobs. Guaranteed market for their goods in the Arab world. Israel would support it, the UAE would support it, the Palestinian people would support it. Only their leadership would oppose it.

They would try to frame that opposition in terms of "dignity" but that wouldn't work, since Israel doesn't gain anything directly - no tax revenues - from such a plan.

Either the Palestinian Authority is shamed into doing what is best for its people, or it will be toppled, because the 25% or so unemployed in the West Bank will not pretend that false claims of dignity are more important than their families.

The chances of success are very low. Even Jared Kushner admits that. But the chances of Miller's and later John Kerry's style of diplomacy working are absolute zero. Since 2001, that style has made things worse.

Different and out of the box approaches to peace are difficult and unlikely to work - but people who really care about peace instead of their egos should be in the forefront of cheering a new approach on, rather than trying to derail it before it even starts.




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