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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

From Ian:

Where Is the Movement to Boycott Turkey?
Advocates of academic boycotts of the Jewish state are fond of claiming that they are motivated by a desire to punish Israel for its restrictions on Palestinian universities—in part, writes Jonathan Marks, as a counterargument to those who would point out that their movement seeks specifically to restrict the free exchange of ideas. But the boycotters have nothing to say about Turkey, where the government has severely restrained the ability of professors to write or teach on sensitive topics:

Turkish President Recep ErdoÄŸan’s government, the Times explains, has engaged in a large scale purge of academics. Thousands have been fired. Some have been jailed. Freedom House reports that “academics and students [in Turkey] continued to be prosecuted for expressing critical views of the government or for peaceful political action in 2018.” Moreover, “government and university administrations now routinely intervene to prevent academics from researching sensitive topics.” In short, academic freedom doesn’t exist in Turkey, and its universities are, insofar as the purge has been successful, vehicles for political indoctrination.

Another thing about Turkey, though: it’s a great place to hold an International Conference on Palestine. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this April’s conference, but the speakers listed on the roster included well-known BDS advocates like Ali Abunimah, editor of the Electronic Intifada, Rabab Abdulhadi of San Francisco State University, Joseph Massad of Columbia University, and Ilan Pappé of the University of Exeter. The roster also included BDS advocates who are not as well known here, such as Farid Esack, Chairperson of BDS-South Africa, and Frank Barat, former coordinator of a self-appointed anti-Israel “tribunal.”

About the only thing the BDS National Committee seems to dislike in Erdogan’s repressive government is its incomplete rejection of Israel. But BDS advocates don’t mind taking advantage of his hospitality, perhaps because he whispers sweet nothings like, “whoever is on the side of Israel, let everyone know that we are against them.”

The indifference of BDS advocates to the academic freedom they pretend to cherish when it suits them is nothing new. But their championship-level hypocrisy continues to impress.
NY Times Stumbles on BDS Antisemitism
The New York Times has long history of whitewashing the extremism of the BDS movement.

BDS stands for “boycotts, divestment, and sanctions,” and the BDS campaign seeks to leverage those tools to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Arab-majority state.

Although BDS leaders openly admit they seek to disenfranchise Jews by eliminating the country’s Jewish majority — BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti has admitted his goal is “a unitary state where, by definition, Jews will be a minority” — the Times has consistently downplayed the movement’s goals by reporting, for example, that BDS merely “seeks to pressure Israel into ending the occupation of the West Bank,” or that the its activists are simply “critical of Israel’s policies toward the West Bank.”

Language of this type had prompted Tablet’s Yair Rosenberg to charge the paper with having “dramatically misrepresented [BDS’s] stated aims and implicit goals, whitewashing the movement’s radicalism.”
Another Whitewash?

Days after the U.S. House of Representatives delivered an overwhelming, bipartisan rebuke to BDS with a 398-17 vote explicitly opposing “the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement,” the New York Times jumped in with a piece titled “Is B.D.S. Anti-Semitic? A Closer Look at the Boycott Israel Campaign.”

The piece purports to provide “answers to some of the most difficult questions” about BDS. And this time, the paper did manage to acknowledge that the campaign opposes the existence of the Jewish state, an improvement over earlier coverage that falsely cast the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement as merely anti-occupation. In that respect, at least, it is a needed improvement. Still, the article relies on distortions and omissions to make BDS extremism more palatable to readers.

How the Publisher of the “Guardian” Helped Bring About the Balfour Declaration
While the competition may be stiff, few mainstream periodicals in the English language distinguish themselves in their contempt for Israel to the extent of the Guardian. But it was not ever thus, explains Robert Philpot. C.P. Scott, who served as the British newspaper’s publisher from 1872 until 1929, was in fact a crucial supporter of Zionism:
That role began in November 1914 when Scott met Chaim Weizmann, a leading player in Zionist politics, by chance at a charity tea party to which the latter’s wife had been invited. Thus began the remarkable friendship and partnership between the publisher and Israel’s first president. . . . Weizmann instantly impressed the editor. For Scott, he was “extraordinarily interesting, a rare combination of idealism and the severely practical which are the two essentials of statesmanship.”

After their second meeting, Scott made Weizmann an offer: “I would like to do something for you. I would like to put you in touch with the chancellor of the exchequer, [David] Lloyd George.” He also reminded Weizmann that “you have a Jew in the cabinet, Herbert Samuel.”


Unbeknownst to Weizmann, Samuel was a committed Zionist himself, and, thanks to the favorable impression made by Weizmann, Lloyd George soon became one as well. Scott continued to provide the Zionist leader with advice and assistance, once at a highly fortuitous moment:
[I]n April 1917, Scott stumbled across a crucial bit of news. At a meeting with a French journalist he discovered that the French planned to assume control of northern Palestine—areas that the Zionists hoped would become part of a Jewish homeland under British protection—while the rest of the land would fall under international control. . . . Scott immediately tipped off . . . Weizmann and began making inquiries back in London. Weizmann, too, began frantic efforts to uncover more details, pushing at the Whitehall doors Scott had previously unlocked for him.

Critically, Scott’s discovery led the Zionists, in [the words of then-Guardian columnist Harry] Sacher, to realize the urgency of getting from the British government “a written definite promise satisfactory to ourselves with regard to Palestine.” In November 1917, in the form of that famous letter from Balfour to Lord Rothschild, they finally obtained it. Days later, Scott penned a Guardian editorial welcoming the Balfour Declaration.





Dem lawmaker who disrupted Trump speech has history of anti-Israel remarks
Samirah’s protest was apparently in response to Trump’s comments about the “Squad” earlier this month, when he suggested that Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” and then return to show how it's done.

But Samirah, a Palestinian-American, has his own history of controversial comments—specifically related to Israel.

The Washington Post, in February, reported on a series of Samirah’s social media posts from 2014 that have since been deleted.

In one Facebook post in 2014, Samirah shared an angry letter by musician Brian Eno who claimed that funding Israel was like supporting the Ku Klux Klan.

“I’d say worse,” Samirah wrote, sharing the letter. “But I’ll go along with Eno on this one.”

In another post from 2014, after former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died, Samirah wrote: “Ariel Sharon, burn. Burn a million times for every innocent soul you killed. Hell is excited to have you.”

Samirah also reportedly posted comments about Israeli teenagers, sharing an article about how Israel uses social media and dating apps to “legitimize murder,” writing: “Most Israeli teenagers not only want to cover up the murders in their name, but they have young urges that need to be released somehow! Tinder’s perfect for that.”

Samirah, who was a former volunteer for Tlaib, also is reportedly connected to multiple anti-Semitic organizations.
New Report Highlights Ties Between IfNotNow and Antisemitic Pro-Palestinian Group
The progressive Jewish activist group IfNotNow has generated several headlines in the past year by challenging mainstream American Jewish organizations on its support for Israel, and more recently, for its campaign to bait 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to condemn the so-called “occupation” of the disputed territories by Israel.

While these moves may seem outside of the mainstream consensus on Israel, more troubling evidence has emerged on the group’s ties with the virulently antisemitic organization American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).

The investigative organization Canary Mission recently launched a campaign and report revealing a strategic partnership between IfNotNow and AMP, a group that has incited and celebrated violence against Israelis, denied Jewish peoplehood and mocked the Holocaust on social media.

“The Jewish community should find the AMP and IfNotNow partnership particularly worrying,” according to Canary Mission. “IfNotNow is not a youthful Jewish organization, but in fact, it’s a well-trained, radical fringe group that has no qualms about partnering with antisemites.”

Canary Mission’s report shows that 58 IfNotNow members have actively partnered or trained with 25 of AMP’s most antisemitic professional activists.

At an event co-hosted by the two groups, University of California, Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian, the antisemitic organizing force behind Students for Justice in Palestine and AMP founder, stated that “ … AMP and IfNotNow are coming together,” in May 2018. Bazian has previously spread classic antisemitism, denied Jewish peoplehood and compared Israel to Nazi Germany, stating his personal approval of the partnership with IfNotNow.
Ocasio-Cortez Suggests Palestinians ‘Have No Choice But to Riot’ Against Israel
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) agreed with a radio host's description of Israel's treatment of Palestinians as "criminal" during an interview Tuesday and suggested Palestinians had no recourse but violence.

On his hip-hop program "Ebro in the Morning," interviewer Ebro Darden said there was a collection of "corrupt" governments in Israel, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, "all working in concert," and referred to White House policy adviser Stephen Miller as a white supremacist.

"How do you have white supremacist Jews?" he asked. "How do you have people like Stephen Miller? How do you have these individuals who are legit aligning with racism and white supremacy, but they're Jewish? And it's something that most people can't wrap their brains around. But it's a real thing."

Ocasio-Cortez, a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement that has been called anti-Semitic by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), murmured her assent.

"And what's going on with Israel and Palestine, while it's very, very, deep, it is very, very, criminal, and it is very, very unjust," Ebro said.

"Absolutely," she replied. "And I think, too, where we're at as a country when it comes to Israel-Palestine is very much a generational issue."



Ocasio-Cortez Signs Onto Omar’s Pro-BDS Resolution
US Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has signed onto Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) resolution that supports the anti-Israel BDS movement.

Although the pro-boycott resolution introduced by Omar does not explicitly mention Israel, she told Al-Monitor shortly before filing it, “We are introducing a resolution … to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our First Amendment rights in regard to boycotting. And it is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The resolution also compares BDS to boycotts of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

It states, “Whereas Americans of conscience have a proud history of participating in boycotts to advocate for human rights abroad, including … boycotting Nazi Germany from March 1933 to October 1941 in response to the dehumanization of the Jewish people in the lead-up to the Holocaust … the United States Olympic Committee boycotting the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the preceding year; and leading the campaign in the 1980s to boycott South African goods in opposition to apartheid in that country.”

Other co-sponsors include Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), whose brother, former US Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Elizabeth Warren Must Stop Associating With Islamist Radicals
For example, in December 2016, Sen. Warren was a featured speaker at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) — the infamous “Roxbury Mosque” — at the urging of one of her staffers who attended the mosque. This mosque has deep connections to terrorism: The Islamic Society of Boston was founded by convicted terror financier Abdurahman Alamoudi, the Roxbury Mosque itself had Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi as a trustee, and several attendees later joined al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Furthermore, at the time ISBCC was under the direct control of the Boston chapter of the Muslim-American Society (MAS), the American arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In her drive to oppose Trump and support an embattled minority, Sen. Warren is actually lending her credibility to radical groups that do not reflect the American Muslim mainstream. This could simply reflect a commitment by Warren to civil rights and equal treatment for all Americans, coupled with a lack of care over with whom she ought to associate.

But it could also be part of a disturbing new trend, in which a former supporter of Israel is ostentatiously embracing political Islamism to slyly court the increasingly anti-Semitic radical wing of the progressive movement. By supporting Islamists, Sen. Warren might be signaling that she’s now on board with the hard-left argument of “intersectionality” — that all so-called “marginalized” groups need to be uncritically supported against their supposed oppressors, including the United States itself.

The warning signs have been piling up. Starting with President Trump’s election in 2016, Warren also began associating with Islamist groups in order to criticize Trump’s “Muslim ban.” In January 2017, Warren was one of the featured speakers at a protest against the misnamed “Muslim ban” held by the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization presenting itself as a civil rights champion of Muslims that actually was founded by the covert Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood. The FBI severed ties with CAIR in 2009, after evidence of its close ties to the terror organization Hamas was presented during the infamous Holy Land Foundation terror-financing trial.
Media Completely Ignore Ilhan Omar Endorsing Violence Against a Senator
Did I just imagine things yesterday, or did Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) not endorse a tweet mocking violence against a Republican senator and saying it was "no wonder" it happened? I ask because I distinctly remember writing about it, and seeing it appear on other conservative websites. I can't seem to find anything about it on the dozens of mainstream outlets that you'd think would be on top of something like that.

The whole thing got started when Rand Paul publicly offered to pay to send the "ungrateful" Omar back to her native Somalia so she could learn to appreciate the United States. Paul's comment were unquestionably stupid and offensive, but in patented Squad fashion, Omar responded by upping the stupid factor and retweeting a tweet from Resistance Twitterererer and former actor Tom Arnold.

For those who don't recall, Paul was hospitalized in 2017 after being attacked from behind by a disgruntled neighbor. The senator suffered six broken ribs and suffered lung damage which later led to a bout of pneumonia that effectively sidelined him from his congressional duties. His attacker was sentenced to 30 days in prison, and was ordered by a jury to pay Paul $500,000 for the substantial physical and emotional trauma. Hilarious!

A key part of Omar's political narrative revolves around the threats of physical violence she's faced, and in particular how her critics are responsible for those threats. When Republican Texas Rep. David Crenshaw accused Omar of minimizing the 9/11 attacks with her much-parsed "some people did something" comments, that was "dangerous incitement" according to her. When Trump cut a video attacking the same remarks and splicing in 9/11 footage, other Democrats picked up the slack; presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) said he was "inciting violence." Her primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., VT) called it "dangerous." Not to be outdone, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., NY) compared Omar to Holocaust victims and said "[Ilhan's] life is in danger."
J Street Hosts Town Hall With Axne (D)
Liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami co-hosted a town hall with Rep. Cindy Axne (D., Iowa) on Monday night, discussing the 2020 election and the future of American foreign policy.

In the past, Axne has positioned herself against President Donald Trump's pro-Israel stance, in particular criticizing his 2017 decision to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"I think his reckless tweets and the split decisions that he makes and he puts across the media has really put our country at risk," Axne told the Des Moines Register in 2018. "And I don't believe in his idea of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel."

Since Axne's comments, J Street has backed her campaign, giving $3,700 in the first quarter of 2019 and $6,326 in the second. The group frequently supports Democratic candidates who speak out against Israel and pro-Israel policies. President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas praised J Street in 2018, citing his "appreciation for their efforts to support the peace process within American society."
Inslee Opposes Anti-BDS House Resolution
Democratic presidential candidate and Washington governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday morning signaled that he would have opposed the House anti-BDS resolution.

Inslee met with Muslim leaders during an event at the Islamic Center of Detroit ahead of Tuesday night's debate, including Michigan's failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul el-Sayed. The event with Inslee was moderated by Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Walid, who previously said that Jews "incur the wrath of Allah" and headlined a BDS rally, asked Inslee whether he supports Americans having the right to participate in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. While Inslee said he doesn't agree with everything the BDS movement stands for, he supports freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Washington Post reporter David Weigel tweeted out Inslee's response.

While Inslee is now opposed to the anti-BDS resolution, he used to oppose BDS. Back in 2017, he was one of the 50 governors who signed on to the American Jewish Committee's Governors United Against BDS initiative.
The Corbyn Anti-Semitism Problem Marches On
You could fill many little red books with the words written about the U.K. Labor party’s anti-Semitism problem since the socialist Jeremy Corbyn became the party’s leader four years ago. As Tanya Gold writes, it is “obvious that anti-Semitism has been slowly overwhelming Labor.” And yet Corbyn and his allies continue to deny that fact, hurling slurs at anyone who dares point it out.

The most recent chapter in this depressing story involves a BBC documentary about the scandal, which added party insider testimony and texture, and which the party is attempting to suppress:

Panorama investigators had new material: testimony from non-Jewish Labor staffers who worked in Labor’s complaints department, which is supposedly entirely independent of the leadership. Eight former members of staff were interviewed, four of whom broke nondisclosure agreements to do so. Although Labor, which is, after all, supposed to be the party of laborers, generally supports whistle-blowers, it is currently threatening its former employees with legal action.

The response to the testimony given on Panorama was as interesting a lesson in pathological denial as the program itself. . . . The Labor press team tweeted this denial: “These disaffected former officials include those who have always opposed Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, worked actively to undermine it, and have both personal and political axes to grind. This throws into doubt their credibility as sources.”


The story continues to unfold, writes Gold, because

Corbyn cannot conceive of himself as a racist. He has no aptitude for self-reflection and, in the impact of his own incompetence, he sees only the sabotage of his enemies. His mantra is: “I oppose anti-Semitism and all forms of racism.” The second part reads like a rebuke to a Jewish minority that supports a “racist state” and will not share the Shoah.

Corbyn did issue a seemingly strong statement about anti-Semitism in the party last week. But at this point who can believe him?


Labour's Ali Milani Condoned 'Armed Struggle' Against Israel on Press TV
The dubious history of Labour’s candidate to take on Boris in Uxbridge has been further exposed, with new footage uncovered showing Ali Milani refusing to rule out “armed struggle” against Israel while also pushing the classic trope of a well-funded Israel lobby. No wonder he fits right in with Corbyn’s Labour…


When asked on Corbyn’s favourite Iranian state propaganda outlet, Press TV – natch – whether the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions against Israel) is “an alternative to armed struggle or something alongside it?” Milani responded with an answer condoning both:

“There is no reason why we need to frame the argument as binary, it doesn’t have to be either a non-violent economic resistance or an armed resistance…”

In the same interview, alongside another notorious spreader of 9/11 and other conspiracy theories, he claimed that his distasteful views were not easy to argue against “the lobbyists [who] come out very quickly; the other side is much better funded than we are”. Unfortunately for Milani he couldn’t delete this footage in the same way he did his highly questionable tweets…
Labour's Anti-Boris Candidate Ali Milani Was 9_11 'Truther'
Labour’s Uxbridge candidate Ali Milani doesn’t just have a history of anti-Semitic remarks on his social media accounts. Despite having deleted tweets calling for the destruction of Israel, using Zionist as an insult, and using the hashtag “#jew” to mock someone being tight with money, Milani has left a host of other extraordinary tweets up on his account. As a student he wrote numerous tweets alleging 9/11 was an inside job involving the US Government…

In three separate posts, the Labour candidate alleged that the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania were “false flag” operations, suggesting that Al Qaeda were not responsible for the event, and that culpability lay with U.S. Government instead. Placing him in the company of 9/11 conspiracy promoters David Icke, the Iranian regime, and Hezbollah…
PreOccupiedTerritory: Anti-Zionist Hates Assumption He Antisemitic Just Because Anti-Zionism Antisemitic (satire)
An activist opposed to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state resents that people automatically conclude he hates Jews based solely on the fact that opposition to Jewish sovereignty perforce indicates hatred for Jews.

Wata Dumfuq, 22, of Brooklyn Heights, voiced his exasperation today (Monday) at the phenomenon in which his hate for Israel translates in the popular consciousness into hate for the people for whom Israel represents a refuge and a reestablishment of political independence in their ancestral homeland after thousands of years of exile.

“I’m tired of that assumption,” he stated in an interview. “I don’t see how voicing my opposition to Jewish sovereignty wen I never voice opposition to the sovereignty of any other group somehow makes me an antisemite. I have no problem with Jews. My problem is with Jews who try to make trouble by claiming Jews have the same rights as other nations.”

“Besides, Jews aren’t even a ‘nation’ but a religious group,” he continued. “And saying that doesn’t make me anti-Jewish, even though denying any group’s right to self-define would normally indicate prejudice against that group. I mean, you should see how angry I get when Zionists point to evidence that the Palestinian people is an invention of the last fifty or so years, defined only by the desire to destroy Israel. How dare they deny peoplehood to anyone? But Jews are different. That doesn’t make me an antisemite.”
New Israel Fund Grantees Continue to Act Against Israel and the IDF
Adalah is an Israeli-Arab organization founded in 1996 that works on behalf of Palestinians and accuses Israel of committing war crimes and worse. According to NGO Monitor, from 2014-2017, a radical American non-profit organization, The New Israel Fund, awarded Adalah grants totaling $462,391.

Adalah is active in defending terrorists, supporting the BDS movement, and harming the IDF’s ability to defend itself by filing false lawsuits on behalf of Palestinians. These activities include joint actions with the Palestinian organizations Al-Haq, the Al Mezan Center from Human Rights, DCI-P, and PCHR.

These organizations were exposed in a special report, “Terrorists in Suits,” published by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs in February 2019. The report details the activities of these Palestinian organizations with respect to the boycott against Israel, as well as the connection between these organizations and terror group.

Adalah is active, together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), in working to protect terrorists.

On October 11, 2015, Alaa Ziad, an Israeli citizen from Umm al-Fahm, perpetrated a ramming and stabbing attack at the Gan Shmuel intersection. During the attack, the terrorist ran over Israeli soldier Orel Azuri, who was seriously wounded. The terrorist then exited the car and stabbed Azuri and two other people. A total of four Israelis were injured in this attack. The District Court sentenced the terrorist to 25 years in prison. In August 2017, the Haifa District Court approved a request by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri to revoke Ziad’s citizenship.




'Anti-Semitism in Germany has developed a life of its own'
The two men spit on Rabbi Teichtal and hurled anti-Semitic epithets.

Rabbi Teichtal was with one of his children at the time of the incident.

Police were called to the scene and detained one of the two suspects, and later opened an investigation into the incident.

On Wednesday, the Jewish community of Berlin revealed that Rabbi Teichtal had been the victim of the incident in question.

Rabbi Teichtal said that anti-Semitism had “developed a life” of its own in Germany, but emphasized that most Germans remain committed to uprooting anti-Semitism.

"Unfortunately we have to state that the aggressions against Jews have developed a life of their own both in the schoolyards and on the streets of Berlin,” said Rabbi Teichtal.

“But I remain convinced that most people in Berlin do not want to accept this aggression against Jews as a sad part of everyday Jewish life. Most people in Berlin want Jewish people to be able to live their Judaism openly without being afraid of being insulted, spat at or even beaten. Of course we will not hide now, but continue to build on love, tolerance, dialogue and education.”


Amazon sells 'Mein Kampf,' other items encouraging hate - ADL report
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has slammed Amazon for continuing to allow “items and merchandise” promoting white supremacy, right-wing extremism and the anti-government militia movement and to be sold on the site by third-person sellers.

“Hateful books [including paradigmatic white supremacist novel, The Turner Diaries] are easily accessible, usually available without warnings and often proactively ‘recommended’ by Amazon’s algorithm,” the ADL wrote in its report about the matter. “Hateful merchandise, including flags and t-shirts, can be a bit harder to find, but it’s available, as long as you know which – slightly obscure – search terms to use. None of these [non-book] items should be available, according to Amazon’s own policy covering the sale of ‘offensive and controversial materials.’”

Their policy, updated in November 2018, states that “Amazon’s Offensive Products policies apply to all products except books, music, video and DVD… Amazon does not allow products that promote, incite or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views.”

Selling such items clearly goes against this policy.
North Miami Beach Jews: We no longer feel comfortable in our own shul
When Rabbi Mark Rosenberg’s family played back the footage on their home’s security cameras in North Miami Beach, they could hear the rat-tat-tat of bullets being fired at the synagogue a few blocks away. On Sunday, a man had been shot repeatedly in front of the Young Israel of Greater Miami as he waited for daily services.

On Saturday, Rosenberg attended services, and sat on that very bench, outside the synagogue’s front door. A pro-bono police chaplain, he got a call the following evening from the police, and was up into the early morning dealing with the shooting’s aftermath.

The victim, Yosef Lipschutz, has had multiple surgeries and is in stable condition. The perpetrator is at large, and police have yet to determine if the shooting was an antisemitic hate crime.

But in the days since, the shooting has shaken the close-knit, Orthodox community of North Miami Beach, and left some wondering whether the sense of safety they previously felt has disappeared. While Rosenberg said the shooting isn’t comparable to the fatal attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, California this year, he can’t help but see a pattern.

“Because it was a shul, and because of all the antisemitism going on in the world today, we almost got used to it that we no longer feel comfortable in our own shul,” said Rosenberg, who is not Young Israel’s pulpit rabbi. “People are having these thoughts: Look how easy it is for it to happen. Look how simple it is for someone to come with a gun and start shooting up people.”
Florida Synagogue Receives Package With Antisemitic and Threatening Content
A package containing antisemitic and threatening content was received at the Young Israel of Bal Harbour in Southeast Florida on Monday.

Inside the package was a DVD, a photo of someone pointing a gun and antisemitic writing, sources told COLLIVE.

Police are investigating the incident.

“It must be known that the Jewish community will NOT cower in fear. We stand strong, united and proud,” Bal Harbour Mayor Gabriel Groisman tweeted.

Just a day earlier, an 68-year-old Jewish man was shot multiple times in front of the Young Israel of Greater Miami.
Israeli startup develops blood pump to help treat heart failure
Magenta Medical, an Israeli developer of a miniaturized blood pump to help treat heart failure, has raised funds from investors led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a US-based VC firm.

Existing investors, including Pitango Venture Capital, JVC Investment Partners and a group of private investors led by Prof. Jacques Seguin, also took part in the round.

The financing will be used to advance the development of the company’s two products and support the startup toward its first FDA approval, the company said in a statement. The firm did not disclose the amount of funds raised and declined to provide photos of the products.

“Magenta Medical is developing a very unique and potentially disruptive technology that should greatly advance the field of mechanical circulatory support,” said Dr. Tak Cheung, a principal at NEA. This is the first medical technology investment in Israel by NEA.
Israel’s photo-editing apps maker Lightricks raises $135m at $1b valuation
Jerusalem-based software startup, Lightricks, a maker of photo and video editing apps, said Wednesday it has raised $135 million in Series C funding. The deal values the company at $1 billion, the firm said.

The funding round was led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing, the investment arm of the financial services firm, with additional investors including Insight Partners and ClalTech. The startup has raised a total of $205 million from investors to date, the firm said in a statement.

Lightricks aims to “democratize creativity” by enabling amateurs to create digital content — photos and videos — through its apps, without expensive software.

The award-winning photo and video editing apps the startup has created, including its flagship product Facetune, are used by millions of consumers and businesses worldwide, and revenues at the firm have tripled each year over the past three years, the statement said.
Netflix sinks low with ‘The Red Sea Diving Resort’
Though we see hundred of Ethiopians, they are usually portrayed as clumps of frightened, whimpering creatures, huddled or running in wordless desperation, herded by our white Mossad agents. Only one Ethiopian has a name: Kabede, their leader, who is played by Michael Kenneth Williams, wasting his talents in this stock noble character with halting English.

Others who see their acting skills squandered include Greg Kinnear and Ben Kingsley, who is often shown pacing nervously around a situation room or screaming “Well done, chaps!” And Alessandro Nivola, who plays one of the Mossad agents, delivers an achingly nuanced character, easily out-acting Captain America and making viewers wonder why he wasn’t cast as Levinson.

Raff has a tendency to wrap things up — even obvious things — in a bow. “Our fake hotel just became a real one,” Levinson says after real tourists unknowingly check in. (Yes, we got that.) When the first big group of Ethiopians are smuggled to safety, the agents rejoice by quoting the Talmud: “‘Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.’ We just saved 174.” (Yes, we just saw that, good for you.)

One thing we don’t need to see more of is that traditional baddie who too frequently shows up in cheesy films like this — the venal, cigar-smoking, crazy eyed, sexually rapacious, gun-toting African army general. With the exception of Kabede, no African is portrayed as decent or honest or normal. On the other hand, the five Mossad agents have a tendency of dramatically standing in a line on the beach, surveying their good works with wind-swept satisfaction.

Raff ignores history when he constructs his elaborate, very Hollywood ending that incredulously features Americans as last-minute rescuers. The Sudanese army’s trucks are hurtling toward our heroes. The plane takes off without a second to spare.

So, of course, the evil general shoots his gun in the air out of frustration, Levinson triumphantly opens a sickly sweet drawing from his estranged daughter, and everyone exhales, safe at last thanks to this bearded white savior.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” someone tells him.

No, this filmmaking is crazy.

“The Red Sea Diving Resort,” a Netflix release, is rated TV-MA for language, brief nudity and graphic bloodshed. Running time: 129 minutes. Half star out of four. (Ian: It's a solid B TV movie of the week, with good actors enjoying themselves in a story where you already know the ending 3.5 out of 5. 9/10 on the pro-Israel representation, Ethiopian Jews yearning for Jerusalem, IDF reluctant to use any force, only spoiled by Americans saving the day at then end)
JLo and A-Rod explore Tel Aviv
Music and sports superstars JLo and A-Rod – Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez – toured Israel today, ahead of her performance Thursday night at Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv as part of her “It’s My Party” tour, and seemed to be falling in love with everything they saw.

In a clip posted to Instagram, A-Rod showed JLo and himself looking around at the Mediterranean from the balcony of their Tel Aviv hotel room. The clip is embellished with a heart at the top and the words, “The mother land Israel” next to an Israeli flag and exclamation points, then the words, “First time I’m here. I’m in love!! #energy off the charts!!”

There is barely audible audio with the clip, but JLo seems to be saying, “The sea is insane.”

The former Yankees third baseman also took to Twitter to say, “So excited to be in Israel for the first time for @JLo’s show!

“How many of you living here are big baseball fans? What would you like to see @mlb do more of? Let me know!!”

Some responded by touting the merits of Israel’s fledgling baseball league, while others just sent welcoming messages. Still others used the opportunity to try to school A-Rod in Middle East politics, even chiding him for making this visit.
Church of the Apostles discovered near Sea of Galilee, archaeologists say
The Church of the Apostles, which is said to have been built over the house of Jesus’ disciples Peter and Andrew, has been discovered near Israel’s Sea of Galilee, according to a team of American and Israeli archaeologists.

Experts from the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at Kinneret College, Israel and Nyack College in New York, have been excavating the site of el-Araj on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The archaeologists believe that el-Araj is the site of the ancient Jewish fishing village of Bethsaida, which later became the Roman city of Julias.

Prof. Steven Notley of Nyack College told Fox News that the group’s previous annual excavations at the site had uncovered evidence of the church’s existence, such as pieces of marble from its chancel screen and small gilded glass blocks called tesserae that were used in ornate church wall mosaics. “These discoveries already informed us that the church was waiting to be found somewhere nearby,” he explained, via email.

Following the clues, the archaeologists discovered the church’s mosaic floors. “It is always remarkable to bring these beautifully decorated floors to light after being buried for almost 1500 years,” Notley explained. (h/t jzaik)
Israeli Experts Upgrade Neo-Natal Units in Ghana, Saving 700 Babies
Israeli experts have upgraded neo-natal facilities in Ghana, saving around 700 babies.

According to Ghana’s news site Yen, the neo-natal units were located in the Kumasi South and Suntreso hospitals in the Ashanti region of the country.

Medical staff at the facilities were also trained by Israeli medical personnel from the Soroka Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva.

Ghana’s health minister, Kweku Agyemang-Manu, and Shani Cooper, the Israeli ambassador to Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, both pledged that the project will continue.

Agyemang-Manu enthused over the project’s success and said it would be expanded throughout the country.



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Today, Israel approved the building of 700 Arab homes in Area C of Judea and Samaria, something that anti-Israel activists have demanded for a long time.

Of course, no one is praising Israel for the move.

The criticism of Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh is more interesting than perhaps he realizes.

He said, "the terms A, B and C no longer exist because Israel has violated the Interim Oslo Agreement , And we do not need permission from the occupying power to build our homes on our territory."

If Israel is the occupier, then legally the residents of the territory do indeed have to get permission to build homes from the military government. By definition, in a belligerent occupation, the military government is the government entrusted with upholding and maintaining the existing laws in the territory, although it can add additional rules for security purposes under the Geneva Conventions.

When Shtayyeh says that Palestinians have the right to build anywhere in the territories, he is saying that the land is not legally occupied - but disputed.

Which has been Israel's legal position since 1967!





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From Ian:

PMW: On 17th anniversary of Hebrew University bombing: PA has already paid the murderers over 4.3 million shekels, 6 terrorists, responsible for the death of 9 people, are serving multiple life sentences and have been rewarded by the PA.
17 years ago today a bomb was detonated in the Hebrew University cafeteria in Jerusalem murdering 9 people, including five American citizens, and injuring over 80 others. This attack was one of many terror attacks carried out by the same terrorist cell.

Six Palestinians were convicted of the crime and sentenced to multiple life sentences. Since their arrests, the Palestinian Authority has rewarded the imprisoned terrorists paying them no less than 4,371,100 shekels ($1,257,259).

Among the convicted terrorists for this and other attacks were Adballah Barghouti - serving 67 life sentences, one for each of the victims he murdered - and Ibrahim Hamed - serving 54 life sentences, one for each of the victims he murdered. Through June 2019, the PA cumulatively paid them 1,271,000 shekels ($339,862) and continues to pay them thousands of shekels per month.

The other four terrorists - Wael Qassem, Wassim Abbasi, Alla Aldin Abbasi and Muhammed Odeh - were residents of Jerusalem, entitling them to a salary supplement of 300 shekels/month. Each of them has been paid over 770,000 shekels ($220,733) since their arrest in August 2002. Each of them is currently receiving 7,300 shekels ($1,951) per month.

Despite its (self-inflicted) financial crisis, since the beginning of 2019 alone, the PA has cumulatively paid the terrorists almost 300,000 shekels ($86,000).

The PA obligated itself to pay monthly salaries to imprisoned terrorists when it passed the Law of Prisoners and Released Prisoners in 2004. The exact amount paid is set in regulations passed by the PA government (see chart below). Mahmoud Abbas has twice raised the salaries the PA pays to the imprisoned terrorists.


David Singer: PLO Suicide Note Leaves Jordan to Decide Fate of West Bank
President Trump has been given the clearest notice that his deal of the century will be stillborn if he designates any role for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in its implementation.

In a remarkable outburst that can best be described as his “suicide note”– PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared on 25 July:
“I reiterate that we will not surrender, we will not coexist with the occupation and we will not deal with the deal of deal of the century, or the slap of the century or the deal of shame - all names for one title. Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale and bargain. They are not a real estate deal in a real estate company.”

Yet for the last 25 years the PLO – aided and abetted by Jordan – has refused to yield its claim to sovereignty over every square meter of West Bank real estate – when compromise could possibly have resolved the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict.

Two days prior to Abbas’ suicide note , the US Congress in a rare show of bipartisanship had offered the PLO a lifeline to enable it to negotiate with Israel on Trump’s yet-to-be-released proposals – overwhelmingly passing House Resolution 246 by a vote of 398-17 with 5 voting ‘present’.
Resolution 246:
Urged: Israelis and Palestinians to return to direct negotiations as the only way to achieve an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
...Reaffirmed: its strong support for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states – a democratic Jewish State of Israel, and a viable, democratic Palestinian state – living side-by-side in peace, security, and mutual recognition.


48 hours later Abbas’s suicide note had trashed Congress’s Resolution.
So where to from here?



Ruthie Blum: Schadenfreude and the UNRWA scandal
True to two-faced form, UNRWA says that it can’t respond to any questions about its conduct as long as the probe is underway. Luckily for Krähenbühl and his cronies, the United Nations—itself a money-guzzling, anti-Israel hornet’s nest—has been taking its sweet time to complete the task. Undoubtedly, the end result will be a few rolling heads and a return to business as usual. Well, almost. Thanks to Trump, UNRWA is strapped for cash, after all.

Which is one of the reasons that Krähenbühl got caught at his game.

Arranging a private fundraising campaign outside of U.N. purview, the UNRWA chief apparently went around crying poor and collecting money for business-class trips with his mistress, whom he fast-tracked into a role he invented for her in 2015—that of his “senior adviser”—so that she could accompany him around the world in style. And all behind his wife’s back.

This makes his “Open Letter to Palestine Refugees and UNRWA,” published in September 2018—a mere three months before Guterres received the report on UNRWA’s ethical violations—especially jaw-dropping.

In the letter, Krähenbühl wrote, in part: “ … The responsibility for the protracted nature of the Palestine refugee-hood, the growing number of refugees and the growth in needs, lies squarely with the parties and in the international community’s lack of will or utter inability to bring about a negotiated and peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The attempt to make UNRWA somehow responsible for perpetuating the crisis is disingenuous at best. … Our commitment to accountability, strict and sound financial discipline, to setting priorities and acting decisively when the Agency’s neutrality is challenged, are matters of public record. In 2018, UNRWA introduced stringent management measures as its own necessary contribution to overcoming the financial crisis.”

Nothing short of shutting down UNRWA will be satisfactory since its very existence is a criminal scam. But the likelihood of its closure in the near future is slim to zero.

In the meantime, let us take some comfort in the agency’s well-earned public humiliation.
UN Watch Demands UNRWA Chief Resign
International human rights group UN Watch is demanding that UNRWA chief Pierre Krähenbühl resign from his post, in wake of an internal UN ethics report documenting credible and corroborated allegations of sexual misconduct, nepotism and corruption by the former Red Cross official and his inner circle.

Top officials are now resigning from UNRWA, the UN relief agency for Palestinians, or being forced out. Facing questioning from UN investigators, Deputy Commissioner-General Sandra Mitchell and Chief of Staff Hakam Shahwan quit earlier this month. Deputy Head of Human Resources Nadine Khaddoura, implicated in nepotistic appointments, “had to be escorted from her office under vociferous protest” when confronted with the results of the UN investigations, reports Ian Williams.

But Krähenbühl is refusing to step down, despite evidence of serious abuse of power gathered from some 25 current and past UNRWA directors and staff.

In 2014 Krähenbühl allegedly “took a particular interest” in UNRWA employee Maria Mohammedi, who starred with her husband Rashid Abdelhamid in the Palestinian film Condom Lead. Krähenbühl conducted a relationship with Mohammedi that “went beyond the professional,” fast-tracked her appointment as his “senior advisor,” and flew her around the world with him “using his authority to obtain waivers enabling her to travel business class with him,” despite UN rules restricting such privileges.

Mohammedi’s position was funded by the Swiss government, a major supporter of Krähenbühl, the only Swiss citizen currently heading a UN agency. The Swiss today announced they were freezing all funds to UNRWA, as did the Netherlands.


Netherlands suspends $14 million grant to UNRWA amid ethics probe
The Netherlands suspended its contribution Wednesday to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees pending the outcome of a probe into alleged mismanagement and abuses of authority by the agency’s top management.

UN investigators have opened an inquiry after an internal report alleged “serious ethical abuses” at the highest level at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

As one of the agency’s main European donors, the Netherlands “expressed… its great concern and asked for clarification,” the Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sigrid Kaag, foreign trade and development cooperation minister, “would like to hear what steps the UN plans to take based on the outcome of the investigation,” it added. Therefore “Minister Kaag has decided to put this year’s contribution on hold until we have received a satisfactory response from the UN in New York.”




The BBC — Like Other Media Outlets — Ignores the UNRWA Ethics Story
In 2017, the BBC expanded its links with the news agency AFP as part of its news-gathering process. Unlike many other media outlets — including the corporation’s preferred paper The Guardian — the BBC does not appear to consider one recent AFP story newsworthy:

An internal ethics report has alleged mismanagement and abuses of authority at the highest levels of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees even as the organisation faced an unprecedented crisis after US funding cuts.

The allegations included in the confidential report by the agency’s ethics department are now being scrutinized by UN investigators.

AFP has obtained a copy of the report which describes “credible and corroborated” allegations of serious ethical abuses, including involving UNRWA’s top official, Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl.

It says the allegations include senior management engaging in “sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority, for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent, and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives.”


Despite the BBC having put a considerable amount of effort into amplifying UNRWA talking points throughout last year, members of its funding public have to date not seen any coverage of this latest story concerning the controversial UN agency on the BBC News website or, to the best of our knowledge, anywhere else.


Incendiary Balloons: A National Security Lawyer Witnesses Hamas War Crimes
News reports on incendiary balloon attacks on Israel that have destroyed more than 4,300 acres of land often fail to identify the balloons for what they are - a war crime. Traveling in Israel recently with a group of national security lawyers, I witnessed and documented some of these attacks firsthand.

The constant breeze off the Mediterranean Sea, which blows from Gaza to Israel, carries these incendiary devices into civilian communities in Israel, some just a few hundred meters from the border with Gaza. The attacks I saw amount to war crimes under international humanitarian law (IHL).

As Hamas has been using them, these incendiary balloon attacks violate numerous rules and customs of warfare - principally concerning the targeting of civilians and the use of indiscriminate weapons. The attacks also likely violate the prohibition on the use of incendiary weapons.
Hamas' employment of incendiary balloons violates both the principle of distinction and the prohibition against targeting civilians to spread terror. The principle of distinction in the laws of war requires that parties to a conflict must, at all times, distinguish between civilians and combatants, and that attacks may be directed only against combatants. In this case, the Israeli communities in the Gaza envelope are purely civilian communities.

Moreover, the 1949 Geneva Conventions provide that "acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited." The international community should unequivocally condemn the targeting and threatening of civilians.
Future engagement by the UN or third country intermediates who are working toward peace in the region should seek the surrender of those individuals responsible for committing war crimes to stand trial. Until impunity for war crimes ends, Hamas will likely continue to commit them.
U.S. Ambassador Supports "Extended Autonomy" for Palestinians
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an interview on Tuesday: "We believe in Palestinian autonomy. We believe in Palestinian civilian self-governance. We believe that that autonomy should be extended up until the point where it interferes with Israeli security."

"We've made the point over and over again that the economic solution goes hand-in-hand with a political solution, but...in order to have a political solution you need political institutions. You need a transparent economy. You need the rule of law. You need certain freedoms - freedom of the press. You need a justice system. You need to stop concentrating all the Palestinian wealth in the political elites. That's part of what [the] Bahrain [conference] was about - trying to help the Palestinians create the institutions necessary for statehood."

"Let's be clear. The last thing the world needs is a failed Palestinian state in between Jordan and Israel. And right now, the Palestinian government is so weak. They have no answer to Hamas. They leave that to Israel to take care of....The one thing that can't happen is the Palestinians obtain independence and in short order this becomes a failed state controlled by Hamas, Hizbullah, ISIS, or al-Qaeda. That is an existential threat to Israel. It is an existential threat to Jordan. It simply can't be."

"The point is, we need to help the Palestinians create the institutions for autonomy and self-governance. What I'm saying is nothing new. If you listen to what Yitzhak Rabin said to the Knesset in 1995...to sell the Oslo Accords, he also was unwilling to use the term 'Palestinian state.' He preferred words like 'autonomy' and 'self-governance' because that word just creates expectations that cause everybody to retreat to their corners and it's not helpful."

"The security issues are somewhat daunting. The world has changed a lot in the last 10-15 years. The last time people took a hard look at peacemaking, Gaza was not threatening to Israel, Lebanon was far less threatening to Israel, Syria obviously wasn't the catastrophe that it became, Iraq was less threatening and Iran was much less threatening to Israel. So the capacity of Israel to take risks has changed, the facts on the ground have changed, and we need to develop a plan for 2019.
"
US peace envoy: Israeli-Palestinian peace is Iran’s worst nightmare
US peace envoy Jason Greenblatt and Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, have penned an opinion piece in which they criticize Iran for supporting Palestinian terror groups, saying the regime has exploited the conflict with Israel to advance its own regional schemes.

In the jointly written article published by Fox news on Tuesday, the two advisers said peace between Israel and the Palestinians would be “Iran’s worst nightmare.”

Greenblatt and and Hook wrote that Iran, with its support for the Hamas terror group as a method to counter Washington’s peace efforts, is producing a “warped vision for the Palestinian people — one that offers nothing but increased violence, devastation and despair.”

Their remarks came amid increased US diplomacy ahead of the expected roll-out of the Trump administration peace plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The economic part of the plan was unveiled last month and then discussed at a Bahrain workshop attended by Arab states from across the Middle East — but not the Israelis or the Palestinians.

“The Iranian regime has exploited the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades — profiting from the chaos, violence, and ineffective stopgaps to advance its malign activities and influence in the region,” the two wrote.
Senior White House official denies report of Trump summit with Arab leaders
A senior White House official reacted Wednesday to a news report regarding a possible summit with President Donald Trump and Arab leaders, and said that there is no such plan at this time.

“No summit has currently been planned," said the official. "The Middle East team will report back to the president, the vice president, the secretary of state and the National Security Council upon returning to discuss the many potential next steps to expand upon the success of the Bahrain workshop.”

A report on Wednesday in the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot had said that the Trump administration will host an Israeli-Palestinian peace summit at Camp David before Israel’s September elections.

Jared Kushner is planning to personally invite the Arab leaders during his trip to the Middle East which starts on Thursday with a stop in Jerusalem. The summit will be held at Camp David, at which President Donald Trump will lay out his vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in general terms, the Wednesday report said. Kushner will visit six countries, including Israel, in the next week.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer were reportedly involved in planning the summit. Dermer reportedly flew to Israel to discuss it with Netanyahu. However, a source in Washington told Yediot that Netanyahu will not attend the summit because it will make it harder for Arab leaders to participate.
PM: I won't evict a single settler from Judea and Samaria
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his pledge on Wednesday not to forcefully evict Israelis from settlements in Judea and Samaria.

“Not a single community be uprooted, nor will I force out a single settler,” Netanyahu said during a visit to Gush Etzion, a settlement bloc just south of Jerusalem.

Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump’s Senior Strategic Adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday. Kushner was sent to the region to promote the economic component of the administration’s peace plan, which was revealed in late June.

Speaking in Efrat, a major Jewish community in Gush Etzion, Netanyahu said: “This is a place where one can see the past, observe the present and look into the future. We will not let a single community be uprooted, and Efrat will continue to thrive and build for eternity. Efrat and Gush Etzion are the gateway to Jerusalem. We withstood enormous pressure from the international community, and we did so because we were smart and acted together."
Gantz promises not to uproot any Jordan Valley settlements
Blue and White Party head Benny Gantz promised not to uproot any settlements in the Jordan Valley, explaining that it was vital to Israel’s security to hold onto the area.

“This is a crucial strategic area, which Israel needs, always needed and will always need in the future,” Gantz said.

“If there were times that [only] an [IDF] division was able to maneuver in this area, now there are times that other Jihadists or other elements or enemies might infiltrate this area,” he said.

“Therefore, under any future circumstances, we are going to keep this area. We will try to strengthen it as much as possible with a national plan to support the settlements in this area,” he said.

He promised to increase the population and to ensure “a safe and secure road that goes all along the African-Syrian break.”

He also promised to provide a development plan for Palestinians in the area, based on Israel’s security need.
Palestinians: We don’t need permission from Israel to build on our land
Palestinian Authority officials said on Wednesday that Palestinians don’t need permission from Israel to build on their land.

Responding to the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to grant 700 building permits to Palestinians in Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank, alongside 6,000 such licenses to homes in settlements, the officials said the Palestinians reject any attempt to put their rights on equal footing with settlements.

They also called on the international community to immediately intervene to stop Israel from “violating international law by pursuing settlement construction in the West Bank.”

A senior PA official told The Jerusalem Post that he believes the decision was taken in the context of the Israeli government’s plan to “annex” large parts of the settlements in Area C. “This plan is fully supported by the [Trump] administration,” the official said, adding that it was part of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming Middle East peace plan, also known as the “Deal of the Century.”

“Building on land classified as Area C is a right for Palestinians that can’t be traded or equated with settlements,” PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said in a statement.
‘Israel’s Enemies Are Guatemala’s Enemies,’ Leading Presidential Candidate Says Ahead of Final Vote
As Guatemala heads to the second and deciding round of voting of a tempestuous presidential election campaign in less than two weeks, one of the two remaining candidates emphasized his friendship for Israel in an interview published on Wednesday, declaring, “He who is Israel’s enemy is Guatemala’s enemy.”

Speaking to the Spanish-language bulletin of the Israel Allies Foundation, a Washington, DC-based advocacy group, conservative candidate Alejandro Giammattei pledged that close bilateral relations with Israel would be a top foreign policy priority should he emerge victorious.

As well as keeping Guatemala’s embassy in Israel in Jerusalem, Giammattei said that he would act against Hezbollah — the Iranian regime’s Lebanon-based Shi’a terror proxy which operates an extensive support network throughout Latin America.

The candidate of the center-right VAMOS Party, Giammattei will face off against former First Lady Sandra Torres — who represents the center-left UNE Party — in the final round of voting on Aug. 11.

In June’s first round, with 19 candidates in the running, Torres came first with 25.3 percent of the ballots, followed by Giammattei with 14 percent. Recent polling, however, has shown Giammattei developing a growing lead over Torres.
Spanish politician of Palestinian descent denied entry to Israel
A member of Spain’s ruling political party who is descended from Palestinian refugees was barred from entering Israel earlier this week because he was deemed a threat to national security.

Lebanese-born Fouad Ahmad Assadi arrived in Israel to participate in the annual conference of Socialist International, being held in Tel Aviv and Ramallah, but was stopped at Ben Gurion Airport and sent back to Spain, Haaretz reported Tuesday.

The Shin Bet security service said Assadi’s entry was blocked for “security reasons,” but did not specify its concerns.

Assadi, a member of Spain’s Socialist Party, arrived on Sunday evening and was immediately questioned by security officials who told him that he could not proceed any further.

In a statement to Haaretz, the Shin Bet said that Assadi, whose parents are Palestinian refugees, has been denied entry to Israel in the past.

“Mr. Fouad’s entry to Israel was prevented in the past and now as well for security reasons,” the agency said. “Upon his arrival in Israel, Mr. Fouad was questioned by security authorities and, as was explained to him, his entry was prevented due to concerns that his stay in Israel could be a danger to national security.”
Germany disciplines diplomats over anti-Israel social media activity
Germany’s Foreign Ministry said it has instituted new social media guidelines and disciplined personnel after anti-Israel tweets were “liked” by the official Twitter account of the German mission to the Palestinian territories.

The ministry said Tuesday that 10 people had access to the @GerRepRamallah account and it wasn’t clear who clicked the “likes.” It said the account wasn’t secured against unauthorized users.

According to a report in the German tabloid Bild, one of the liked tweets included a video of an attack on IDF servicemen while another compared the work of Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem to the revisionist historical narratives promoted in “totalitarian states.”

The ministry said that the head of Germany’s office in Ramallah, Christian Clages, and others were disciplined. The social media guidance sent to all diplomatic posts clarified “that even ‘likes’ are understood as expressions of opinion of the German government” and now require the approval of two people.

The ministry added that it “publicly made it clear the contents of the tweets concerned are unacceptable, contradict the attitude of the German government, and are not tolerated.”
IDF: Next Gaza war will be short but deal 'massive blow' to Hamas
The next war with terror groups in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip will be shorter than Protective Edge and will see the Israeli army deal a massive blow to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

The IDF has faced increasing criticism following allegations by former military ombudsman Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Brick who warned that the military, especially the ground forces, are not prepared for a large-scale war.

But the military says it has learned the lessons from the over 50-day Operation Protective Edge in 2014 as well as the numerous rounds of violence over the past year, adding that it has the capabilities and intelligence to inflict severe damage to terrorist groups in a short amount of time should a war break out.

IDF solders of the Southern Command take part in a drill. (IDF)IDF solders of the Southern Command take part in a drill. (IDF)

The military has also increased the number of PIJ and Hamas targets which will be struck in the next campaign.

In one of his first visits as chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi went to the Southern Command, met with senior officers and approved operational plans for war, including setting up a centralized administrative unit to prepare a list of potential targets in Gaza in case a war should break out.


Living on the Front Line Against Hezbollah's Terror
These Israeli civilians live right on the IDF frontier of combating covert Hezbollah actions along the border. How do they cope knowing war could break out any time? Our Emily Rose has the story.


JCPA: Iran Admits a Revolutionary Guard Commander Killed in an “Israeli Attack” in Iraq on July 19
A senior Iranian commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Al Qods Brigade, Abu Alfazl Sarabian, was killed in Iraq in an attack by “Israel and the United States” on July 19, 2019, according to the Iranian Broadcasting’s Young Journalists Club online publication. A funeral service was held in Tehran before Sarabian’s body was returned for burial in his hometown Kermanshah.1

The attack was carried out on the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Force (Hashd al-Shaab) in Armeli in the Salah a-Din governorate of Iraq north of Baghdad. The Iraqi sources said Sarabian was killed as a result of an explosion in a storage area for solid fuel for missiles.

In the photograph, Abu Alfazl Sarabian is holding an Austrian sniper rifle, the Steyr HS 50 that was supplied to Iran by Austria. Subsequently, Iran copied the model, renamed it the Sayyad AM-50 and provided it to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad organizations in Gaza. Syria produces its own version, the Golan S-01.2 Hamas and Islamic Jihad snipers Iranian sniper guns, the AM-50 Sayyad, in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters in Gaza.

The Iranian announcement of the death of its IRGC officer in the “Israeli-American” attack at an Iraqi base may raise regional tensions. The attack would be another stage in the campaign Israel is conducting against Iranian presence in Syria, in general, and along the Israel-Syria border, in particular. Israel is accused of assassinating Mashur Zidan, a senior Hizbullah official near Damascus on July 27, 2019. Zidan, like a former associate (now dead), Samir Kuntar, was tasked with recruiting and planning for attacks along Israel’s border on the Golan Heights. Israel’s campaign is also aimed at Iran’s logistical bases in Iraq away from the front, including a missile storage facility north of Baghdad, and against the Ashraf base, formerly used by the opposition organization Mujahedin al Haq.
‘Iran trying to take over Gaza,’ IDF official warns Palestinians
The IDF's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon on Tuesday told the residents of Gaza in a video recorded message that the Hamas terrorist organizations, which rules the coastal enclave, was strengthening relations with Iran at their expense.

According to Rokon, last week senior Hamas terrorist Saleh al-Arouri said that "Hamas is on Iran's front line of defense," and on Tuesday, Iranian diplomat Amir Mousavi declared the "establishment of a united military front" stretching from Tehran to Gaza.

"This is just the beginning – and only you will decide the ending," Rokon told Gazans in his video message.

In May, the IDF confirmed it had killed Hamad Hudri, a high-ranking official in Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades who was responsible for transferring money from Iran to the various terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported that Hudri, 34, a resident of Gaza, would bring large disbursements of Iranian cash into Gaza and distribute it among the various groups that enjoy Iranian backing: Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other smaller groups. He used money-changing businesses he owned and money changers and tradesmen abroad to help launder the Iranian funds.
Lebanon Festival Cancels Mashrou’ Leila Show After Religious Pressure
Lebanon’s Byblos festival has canceled a concert by Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila which was set for next week after calls from church leaders who accused the group of blasphemy.

The band, which has an openly gay vocalist and has played in major cities around the world, has said it is the target of a smear campaign in Lebanon to crush freedom of expression. The musicians have received threats on social media in recent weeks.

“In an unprecedented move…the committee was forced to stop the Mashrou Leila show…to prevent bloodshed and preserve security,” the major summer music festival, in the ancient city of Byblos, said in a statement.


The UN's Deadly Silence on Iran's Maritime Violations
Tehran is clearly violating international law, specifically the internationally-agreed UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).... The theocratic establishment of Iran is a signatory to this UN convention but has long refrained from ratifying it.

Wherever silence prevails, rogue states thrive. In the instance of Iran, the silence of the international community has been earsplitting. Moreover, any destructive behavior left unchecked is being passively reinforced; if the international community continues its silence while their unruly pet violates UN resolutions and maritime laws, they can only expect such violations to become the norm.

The UN needs to hold the Iranian leaders accountable and take appropriate measures against Iran's aggression in the Gulf. If the UN fails to do this, other nations would be stupid not to take the cue deliberately to disobey existing international laws -- possibly leading to a major war.
Iran says Europe ‘obliged’ to let it sell and ship oil
Iran said Wednesday that European nations still party to the 2015 nuclear deal are “obliged” to allow it to sell and ship oil, amid a standoff with Britain over the seizure of tankers.

The deal over Iran’s nuclear program has begun to unravel since US President Donald Trump announced the United States was withdrawing from the agreement last year and reimposing sanctions.

Iran has been pushing the European parties to the deal — Britain, France and Germany — to adhere to their commitments under the agreement despite US pressure.

British authorities seized a tanker carrying Iranian oil off its territory Gibraltar on July 4, a move Spain’s foreign minister said was carried out at the request of the United States.

“They [the European parties] have set out their commitments and announced them, they [include] the sale of Iran’s oil, the transportation of Iran’s oil, and the return of Iran’s oil income,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

“It is clear that today’s tensions and problems are due to America’s economic terrorism and Europe’s inability to fulfill its commitments which means going along with America’s economic terrorism,” he said, quoted by state media.
Zarif: Iran to reduce nuclear deal commitments unless Europe protects it
Iran is set to further cut its commitments to its international nuclear deal unless its European partners move to protect it from U.S. sanctions by ensuring it can sell oil and receive income, its foreign minister told state television on Wednesday.

"Under current circumstances and if no action is taken (by the Europeans) we will take the next step (in cutting commitments)," Mohammad Javad Zarif said, adding that its European partners should guarantee Iran could sell its oil and collect the revenue.Iran has said it will reduce its commitment to the nuclear accord in stages and may even withdrew from the pact unless the Europeans find ways to shield its economy from the U.S. sanctions.

On Sunday, Iran admitted that it has enriched 24 tons of uranium since signing the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, Radio Farda reported.

Tehran claimed that it had limited its stock of enriched uranium to 300 kg. as required by the JCPOA.

The statement was made during a Sunday session of the “independent conservative” faction of the Iranian parliament discussing the latest developments concerning the nuclear deal. The faction is made up of close allies of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, did not explained exactly what he meant by his statement or what happened to the 24 tons of enriched uranium.


Iran's Oil Exports Slide in July
The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers. Aiming to cut Iran’s sales to zero, Washington in May ended sanction waivers given to importers of Iranian oil.

Iran has nonetheless sent abroad about 100,000 bpd of crude in July, said the industry source, who tracks such flows. Data from Refinitiv Eikon put crude shipments at a similar rate and at 120,000 bpd if condensate, a light oil, is included.

Sara Vakhshouri, an analyst at SVB Energy International, a consulting firm based in Washington and Dubai, also said Iranian oil exports had probably fallen this month.

Vakhshouri estimated the most Iran could currently export at between 225,000 and 350,000 bpd, less than the 400,000 bpd she estimated Iran shipped in June.

“We can’t be sure that all of this capacity has been sold in July,” she said. “Also, it’s important to note that some of the deliveries mostly to China are based on IOU contracts and are not new sales.”
China's Oil Imports from Iran Down 59 Percent in Year
Iranian crude oil imported by China in June was injected into storage tanks used for maintaining strategic petroleum reserves, according to several sources with knowledge of the matter.

The barrels of predominantly Iranian Heavy and Iranian Light grades were sent to bonded storage at the coastal sites of Tianjin, Huizhou and Jinzhou, highlighting how discounted and refinery-compatible Iranian grades continue to find favor in China.

China imported 855,638 mt or 209,060 b/d of crude from Iran in June, latest data from the General Administration of Customs showed. This amounts to roughly three VLCCs, all of which were sent to SPR sites through state-run companies or storage operators, the sources said.

The June imports from Iran were 59.1% lower year on year and have fallen from a five-year high of 792,380 b/d in April, hit by the withdrawal of sanction waivers by the US on May 2, and Washington’s efforts to bring Iranian oil exports down to zero.

The sources said Iranian barrels have been moving into SPR since at least November 2018, when the US re-imposed sanctions but gave waivers to Iran’s biggest crude and condensate buyers, including China.

The storage sites at Tianjin, Huizhou and Jinzhou are some of the newest built under China’s second phase of expansion for its SPR. These include 20.1-million-barrel above ground storage in Tianjin commissioned in 2014, 18.9-million-barrel underground storage at Jinzhou in northern Liaoning province commissioned in 2017 and a 31.4-million-barrel facility at Huizhou in southern Guangdong province that started in 2018.






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