06/30 Links Pt1: Willful Blindness and the Mistake of Underestimation: The Oslo Gamble; Nikki Haley: IMF is angling to undermine US sanctions against Iran ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Willful Blindness and the Mistake of Underestimation: The Oslo Gamble

During the last half-century, several reputable scholars and defense professionals have devoted careful attention to the world view and aspirations of the Palestinian Arabs. Working independently, these researchers described the strategic goals of the Palestine Liberation Organization and exposed the widespread denial of their importance.

The PLO program has never been a secret. The destruction of the State of Israel and the pursuit of the "armed struggle" has been its main goal since its founding in 1964. Despite having adopted a facade which has lent them a veneer of respectability, terror and violence have constantly remained a part of their program. Proof of this may be found in the well-publicized program of the PA to subsidize terrorists who have committed violent crimes against civilians. No Jewish (and Israeli) civilians can be innocent and they are considered legitimate targets.

Beyond the failure of the Oslo process to bring peace, there is a broader cultural dimension: how the Israelis view themselves and their place in the world and how official Israel understands its relationship with the Palestinian Arabs.

A settler’s unexpected reason to extend sovereignty

One of the most surprising aspects of the sovereignty debate (or as some prefer, annexing parts of the West Bank) is the opposition shown by many settlers and Israel’s closest friends. While opposition was expected from the left and Israel’s opponents (no, they’re not the same), opposition wasn’t expected from right-wing settlers, centrist scholars, and Israel’s friends in Congress. Settlers fear a Palestinian state that the Trump plan promises, scholars fear the impact of annexation on the war for Israel’s legitimacy, and Israel’s friends in Congress fear, “Unilateral annexation would likely jeopardize Israel’s significant progress on normalization with Arab states at a time when closer cooperation can contribute to countering shared threats, insecurity in Jordan, and that unilateral annexation could create serious problems for Israel with its European friends and other partners around the world.”

When asked why they believe Israel should extend sovereignty, most proponents explain that to build in Judea and Samaria Israelis need permission of the land authority, an extra step of bureaucracy Israelis on the west side of the Green Line don’t suffer. Other proponents say that after 50 years without an Eastern border, it’s time to declare one, and that after years of the two-state solution going nowhere, Israeli and Palestinian leaders unable to even negotiate, it’s time to move in a different direction to end the conflict.

I’m not a representative of the “settler movement,” I’m just one man living in Mitzpe Yericho, with a slightly above-average familiarity with the issues of the conflict and an affinity for truth and justice. I maintain that Israel should extend sovereignty according to the terms of the Trump Plan. Israel should extend its laws to Judea and Samaria because doing so aligns with truth and justice. We’re often too scared to say it, but an honest look at history demonstrates that Judea and Samaria is the heartland of the historic homeland of the Jewish people. This isn’t “just” a religious belief. It is historic fact that Jews lived in these lands, only left because they were forcefully exiled, and yearned to return for 2,000 years.
There is a confusing duality to the Jewish people. We are ancient people who embrace modernity. Our embracing of modernity often confuses people into thinking we aren’t connected to our past. Israeli Zionists are the descendants of the ancient Jews who lived in these lands. We might wear suits and lab coats today, but we used to look just like the Bedouins who are my neighbors today. Progressives dedicated to everyone’s truth but that of the Jews, tend to restart the clock a few hundred years ago and declare that the “West Bank” is Palestinian land. Only moral gymnastics and historical revisionism can stand by that claim. Liberals who stand for human rights should be standing with the Jewish people’s just claim to these lands. Ease of building, setting forth a realistic future by determining final borders and instituting civil law for both Israelis and Palestinians are good reasons to extend sovereignty. But truth and justice of returning the land to its ancestral people is the ultimate reason that Israeli sovereignty should be extended to Judea and Samaria.

Netanyahu indicates delay in annexation date after meeting with US envoys

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday with US Ambassador David Friedman and special Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, a day ahead of his self-imposed date for beginning to annex West Bank lands under an American peace proposal, and indicated after the meeting that he would miss the July 1 target date.

“I spoke about the question of sovereignty, which we are working on these days and we will continue to work on in the coming days,” Netanyahu said shortly after wrapping up the talks, meaning the groundwork ahead of the move will continue after July 1.

The Times of Israel reported on June 3 that US approval for annexation on July 1 was “highly unlikely.”

Also in attendance were Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat and the bureau chief of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ronen Peretz, the PMO said in a statement.

The meeting comes as Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz continue to publicly spar over the timing of the annexation plans, with the premier dismissing Gantz’s assertion that it is too early to begin implementing them.

Gantz said Tuesday that Israel needs to move ahead on the Trump plan with “partners” from the region and international backing.

Earlier Tuesday, in a meeting with US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, Netanyahu appeared to mock comments Gantz made during a meeting with the US team on Sunday, in which he said annexation should wait until after the coronavirus pandemic has passed.

Annexation will undermine Israel-EU ties – EU foreign chief to ‘Post’

For many of us in Europe, the relationship with Israel and Palestine is quite personal. For me, for instance, it is a longstanding one. After I finished university in 1969, I worked in a Kibbutz when the State of Israel was still building itself. I travelled all over Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, from Galilee to Eilat and met my first wife in Gal On. This was my first contact with the still lasting Israel-Palestinian conflict. As a European, it reminded me of the often tragic nature of human history and to look for peaceful solutions to conflicts. My family and I came back many times, and in 2005 I spoke before the Knesset as President of the European Parliament, recalling the EU’s commitment to Israel’s security following the second Intifada. At that time, there was still a widely shared sense of hope that, despite the setbacks, a two-state solution was still within reach.

The EU and its Member States have been consistently very active in supporting the two parties towards this goal. We helped build the Palestinian institutions in preparation for statehood, with financial support now reaching more than 600 million Euros a year.

We also understand Israeli concerns and are committed to Israel’s security, which is non-negotiable for us. The EU invests in cooperation that benefits both sides, on issues from counter terrorism to research, from tourism to the environment. We should be looking at ways to nurture this and develop our relations still further.

Once the political process stopped, conflict and entrenching occupation became daily life. In the last years, there has been little progress. But the current status quo does not provide satisfying answers and is no sustainable situation. The hard truth is that only a return to real negotiations can give Israelis and Palestinians what they rightly crave: sustainable peace and security.

The capital of Palestine – just 50 meters from a Jewish neighborhood

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King reads the “Jerusalem” clauses in the Trump plan, and discovers a tragedy that is being played down.
Included in the “Deal of the Century” plan of the president of the United States, is a plan for the future of Jerusalem. Public attention is less focused on this issue, but when Arieh King, deputy mayor of Jerusalem studies US President Donald Trump’s outline of his plan for the capital of Israel, he is shocked.

According to the plan, the neighborhoods of Shuafat, Kafr Akab, Anata and environs will be designated as the capital of the Palestinian state, which is being planned. King views the concept of delivering these areas as the first stage of a moral – and conceptual – collapse. He totally rejects the argument, often put forward, “We are not there anyway,” adding “We are also not in Umm el-Fahm – but when we want to be there, we are there! Whoever talks about moving any borders of Jerusalem is on a slippery downward slope which will subsequently lead to discussions involving the surrender of more and more territory.”

In his remarks, King emphasizes that this involves handing over sovereign areas of the State of Israel and the political significance is to permit, and consent, to the opening of negotiations relating to anywhere in the country, including the Galilee or the Negev.

“Remember that Likud, and Netanyahu, were initially elected under the slogan ‘Peres will divide Jerusalem.’ It is now becoming clear that the Likud delivered Sinai, Likud supported and participated in the expulsion from Gush Katif and parts of Samaria – today, Likud is already dividing Jerusalem.”

2/3 against the American peace plan, and to publish declarations before any decision has been made.
For a while now, Israel has lost any faith in the High Commissioner's abilities to promote human rights in our region in a fair manner.
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) June 29, 2020

Honest Reporting: Understanding the Annexation

There are times when annexation definitely violates international law. Other times, like when the United States annexed Hawaii and Texas, annexation was widely accepted. The topic of annexation has always been complicated. Today's complex territorial dispute between Israel and the Palestinians is no different.

Watch to learn more about annexation and its possible consequences for Israel and the Palestinians...

1. This is a bluff. Palestinians want to resume from 2014 (not the Trump Plan), as if nothing happened in between, bringing no new concessions or ideas to the table. This is blatant attempt to buy time ahead of U.S. elections and force Israel not to move ahead with sovereignty.
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 30, 2020

Dutch MPs urge list of possible sanctions in response to Israeli annexation

The Dutch parliament on Thursday passed a resolution urging the government to explore possible sanctions against Israel if it goes ahead with its plans to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank.

The resolution calls on the country’s foreign minister to “to identify options of measures possibly to be taken should Israel proceed with annexation of Palestinian territory.”

It passed 87-63 with no abstentions. The People’s Party for Freedom — the slate of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Foreign Minister Stef Blok — opposed the resolution not on substance but because of “timing,” officials said, noting that it was too early for a such a resolution given that Israel had not yet decided if and how it would proceed with annexation.

The non-binding motion called annexation a “gross violation of international law” and noted that the Netherlands has in the past “taken measures against countries that violate international law.”

The German Bundestag is expected to discuss a resolution condemning Jerusalem’s annexation plan as well, though no draft has been presented yet and it is unclear whether the motion would garner a majority. Most German lawmakers, though not all, are opposed to annexation, but are unlikely to call for sanctions against the Jewish state.

Earlier on Tuesday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, hinted at possible punitive sanctions against Israel as a response to annexation.

Egypt Staying Quiet on Israeli Moves in West Bank

While Egypt has expressed concern over possible moves to extend Israeli law in parts of the West Bank, the Palestinian cause may no longer be the regime's main priority. Balancing numerous crises, the Egyptian government can ill-afford to alienate close allies, especially Israel and the U.S., analysts say.

"There are far more substantial crises facing Egypt today: the coronavirus crisis and its attendant economic consequences, Turkish military intervention on Egypt's longest border [in Libya], the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. All of these crises take priority," said Ofer Winter, who studies Egyptian-Israeli relations at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

"There is widespread sympathy for the Palestinians, and that's not going away....But the importance of the Palestinian cause is no longer the same. It's no longer the Nasser era or the Sadat era," an Egyptian foreign affairs analyst said. If Israel takes steps in the West Bank, Egypt "will keep rehashing all the old diplomatic statements to express their disagreement....But I don't think Netanyahu's relationship with Sissi will be affected."

Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib among 4 Dems calling to cut aid if annexation goes ahead

Four progressive House Democrats have written to the secretary of state calling on the United States to cut assistance to Israel should it proceed to annex parts of the West Bank.

In response, the AIPAC lobby has launched a campaign against the letter initiated by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Betty McCollum of Minnesota.

The letter, AIPAC said Monday on Twitter, “explicitly threatens the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that would damage American interests, risk the security of Israel & make a two-state solution less likely.”

An action alert urged activists from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to contact their representatives to oppose the letter.

The letter to Mike Pompeo is circulating among Democrats in a bid to add signatures.

“Should the Israeli government move forward with the planned annexation with this administration’s acquiescence, we will work to ensure non-recognition as well as pursue conditions on the $3.8 billion in U.S. military funding to Israel, including human rights conditions and withholding funds for the off-shore procurement of Israeli weapons equal to or exceeding the amount the Israeli government spends annually to fund settlements, as well as the policies and practices that sustain and enable them,” it says, according to a copy obtained by Jewish Insider.

Anti-Israel Congresswomen @AOC @RashidaTlaib @BettyMcCollum04 @RepJayapal pen letter w/ support from "As-a-Jew" useful idiots at IfNotNow 2 condition aid to #Israel

The best part? They cite Rome Statute, which neither Israel nor the US are signatories ofhttps://t.co/FjrDE5AAPe
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) June 30, 2020

PreOccupiedTerritory: Ex-Obama Syria Policymakers Unsure Why Calling Israeli Annexation A ‘Red Line’ Ineffective (satire)

Former officials of the previous presidential administration voiced puzzlement today at the limited impact of their alarm-sounding on potential application of Israeli law to areas beyond the 1949 armistice line, noting that no one could have predicted their cautionary statements would lose their compelling rhetorical force after that administration moved its Syrian intervention goalposts multiple times over the course of its eight years and refused to lift a finger to prevent Iran from securing regional hegemony and Basher Assad from using chemical weapons against his own people.

John Kerry, Ben Rhodes, Samantha Power, and other international relations fixtures of Barack Obama’s presidency conceded Tuesday they cannot explain the deaf ears on which their warnings fall when they speak of the dire consequences of Israel annexing territory taken in the 1967 Six-Day War, even though those same officials repeatedly allowed Assad, Iran’s proxy forces, and Russian military moves free rein in Syria to violate Obama red line after Obama red line: to commit genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, among other offenses, in the service of inducing Iran to agree to a nuclear weapons deal.

“I don’t understand,” wondered former Secretary of State Kerry. “We were quite clear on our red lines when it came to unacceptable behavior on the part of Syrian forces and their allies. We shifted those red lines as necessary to keep from putting any pressure on Iran, so Tehran would sign the JCPOA. Now, after we redrew the red lines several times to avoid having to confront Iran and possibly undermine the deal, no one of consequence heeds our warnings about the disaster for Israel, Palestinians, the Middle East in general, and American international standing if Israel does go through with annexation as planned. It’s almost as if no one believes us, and that’s not fair.”

Imagine your civilians- women, children, elderly- have rockets raining down on them, so many rockets that you are running out of defensive (non-offensive) missiles to protect them.

Now look at the 8 Nos on emergency Iron Dome funding in 2014. How many more would vote No today? pic.twitter.com/NDoG1wC9dY
— AZ עם ישראל חי (@americanzionism) June 29, 2020

Tanzim commander to 'Post': No terror attacks in response to annexation

Members of the Tanzim, the militant wing of the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah faction, have replaced PA security forces in enforcing law and order in some parts of the West Bank, one of its commanders said Monday.

In addition, the Tanzim has not received instructions to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel in response to its intention to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, said Khaled al-Daher, a senior Tanzim commander in Eizariya, which is located near Ma’aleh Adumim in both Area B and Area C of the West Bank.

The deployment of the Tanzim members came in the aftermath of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s May 18 decision to halt security coordination between the Palestinian security forces and the IDF in protest against Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, he said in an exclusive interview.

His men were now in charge of all affairs in the area, Daher said.

“The Palestinian leadership informed us that we are now responsible for civil peace and enforcing law and order,” he said. “Our role is also to prevent anarchy by stopping people from using live ammunition during weddings. The Tanzim has assumed the security responsibilities of the Palestinian security services. We have been assigned full power to deal with all issues concerning our people.”

Palestinians Decry Unilateral Annexation as Denying Palestinian’s Historical Right to Say “No” (satire)

The Palestinian Authority continues to protest Netanyahu’s plans for unilateral annexation of parts of the West Bank as destructive to the peace process and denies Palestinians their historic right to say “No” to literally any other solution that might actually work.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a public statement that the Palestinian people would not be denied their historical right to say “No” to any peace proposal. Abbas did say that he would be willing to talk with Israel provided that there were guarantees that they would not be blamed for the inevitable collapse of the peace talks and that Israel could be condemned internationally.

Netanyahu has met plenty of pushback against annexation, with the European Union saying that it was unhelpful to peace and harmed the chances of Palestinians saying “No” to future offers for a Palestinian state. The Arab world has also said they would really appreciate it if Netanyahu didn’t do it, but also said if they did annex it would be “meh” because “Iran isn’t going to bomb itself”.

Left-leaning groups in the United States have also insisted that annexation would harm the peace process. J Street has said that annexation goes against the spirit of the peace process to try the same thing over and over again until it works. J Street President Jeremy Ben Ami said in a statement that at this point to try anything new would be insane and that “the lives of Palestinians as well as my speaking engagement fees rely on the peace process continuing”.

Reading stabbings suspect 'shouted Allahu Akbar' moments before killing three, court hears

The 25-year-old Libyan man accused of killing three people in a Reading park shouted “Allahu Akbar” moments before the attack, a court has heard.

Khairi Saadallah, who was living in the Berkshire town, is charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via video link from Coventry Magistrates Court. Dressed in a grey, prison-issue tracksuit and wearing a surgical face mask, he spoke only to confirm his name and address and did not enter a plea.

Saadallah, who moved to the UK as a refugee in 2012, is alleged to have attacked his victims in Forbury Gardens on June 20 "without warning or provocation".

Jan Newbold, prosecuting, said: "At the time of the incident, the defendant was heard to shout words to the effect of "Allahu Akbar" (God is great)."

Israeli journalist in Lebanon accused of recruiting for Hezbollah

The Shin Bet security service on Tuesday accused an Arab Israeli woman living in Lebanon of working to recruit Israeli citizens as operatives for the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

According to the Shin Bet, Beirut Hamoud sought to enlist two female residents of her hometown of Majd al-Krum, an Arab town in the Galilee. The women, whose names weren’t published, were arrested on May 2 and were granted conditional release after they were interrogated.

Hamoud was questioned by Israeli security forces in 2013 over suspicions she had contacted Hezbollah operatives and met with them at one conference in Morocco in 2008 and another in Tunisia in 2012, after which the Shin Bet said she left Israel for Lebanon. There, she married Bilal Bizri and now works as a journalist at the Hezbollah-linked Al-Akhbar neswspaper.

“Alongside her work as a journalist in Lebanon, Beirut Hamoud and her husband Bilal are run by the terror organization Hezbollah to locate and recruit Israeli citizens for operations for Hezbollah,” a statement from the Shin Bet said.

The security agency said Hamoud contacted the two Majd al-Krum residents and met them in Turkey in December, after which the Shin Bet questioned them on suspicion that Hamoud and Bizri had tried to recruit them to Hezbollah.

“During the investigation the contact between the two and Beirut was confirmed, as well as information about the meeting in Turkey and the way in which Hezbollah worked through Beirut and her husband to enlist additional Israelis for Hezbollah operations,” the Shin Bet said.

Yediot Ahronot ordered to pay libel damages to Im Tirtzu

Journalist Sima Kadmon and the newspaper Yediot Ahronot were ordered by Tel Aviv's Magistrates Court on Tuesday to pay NIS 105,000 in libel damages and NIS 20,000 in legal fees to Im Tirztu.

The Zionist NGO filed the suit in 2017 after the paper published two articles falsely accusing it of falsifying a letter sent to the sport and culture minister at the time. One of the articles named Im Tirtzu's spokesperson, accusing him personally of fabricating the letter.

The letter in question was written by 28 bereaved families from the Choosing Life Forum of Bereaved Families, lodging their objection to the three-part documentary Megiddo, which aired on YES Documentary in April 2017. The documentary followed the lives of Palestinian terrorist prisoners being held at the Megiddo Prison, and their Israeli guards.

Director Itzik Lerner was given unprecedented access to the prison, living alongside prisoners and guards for a year. However, expressing their disappointment that the government had helped fund the documentary and allowed the director access, the families wrote: "there was no mention of our suffering, of the bereaved families who lost their most precious due to terrorist attacks.”

PMW: PA promises terror, claims it's allowed under international law

Neither the PA nor Fatah are hiding their future plans should Israel apply Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and Jewish towns in the West Bank.

Using the different Palestinian euphemisms, the PA and Fatah openly say they will use violence and terror against Israel. Advocating a “popular uprising” and vowing to “use all means” and “resistance in all its forms,” they are determined to fight Israel – “the enemy.” The following are five examples, including PA and Fatah representatives, promising terror:

PA top official: We’ll use “resistance in all its forms” against Israel - “the enemy”

Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “If this occupation causes escalation, I believe that we will decide to start a confrontation… I also say that international legitimacy permits us resistance in all its forms, and nothing is forbidden… Our resistance in the occupied lands is against all the occupation’s symbols. Whether it is the settlers, their farms, their army, or all their brats and the like.”

PA TV host: “The coming battle will be against the settlers?”

Jibril Rajoub: “No, no, no! All of the occupation’s symbols in everything… National rebellion means that we’ll all go out into the streets and we’ll consider it [Israel] our enemy, and we’ll treat it as an enemy.”
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, June 20, 2020]

Fatah official: We’ll use “all means” – including “armed struggle” - to fight Israel

Fatah Revolutionary Council member Muhammad Al-Laham: “Our message to the occupation and the world: We’ll fight to defend every grain of soil with all possible means… We’re not fleeing from any form of struggle! We’ve had situations even of armed struggle... All possible forms. We must discuss [it], and let’s not limit our creativity. Our people are always creative when it comes to finding effective tools to hurt the occupation… The Fatah Movement is the backbone of the Palestinian revolution... Fatah still exists in the sphere of struggle in all its forms.”
[Official PA TV Live, June 22, 2020]

We’ll use “resistance in all its forms” against Israel, “the enemy” – says PA top official

Terror is permitted to fight Israel,international law allows it, says Abbas appointee

Fatah: We’ll use “armed struggle” to fight Israel

U.S. Justice Department Appeals Early Release of Hizbullah Financier

The U.S. Justice Department is appealing a federal judge's decision to grant an early release to Hizbullah financier Kassim Tajideen, 65, who had pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges and was sentenced in 2019 to five years in prison. Tajideen's lawyers argued their client was "extremely vulnerable" to contracting Covid-19 due to his age and health.

In its appeal, the Justice Department said Tajideen's health had not seriously deteriorated and that he was not in any imminent danger from Covid-19 at the medium-security prison in Cumberland, Maryland, where he was being held. Out of 1,214 inmates at the prison, six tested positive for Covid-19, as have two staffers, but all have since recovered and no new cases have emerged at the facility.

Tony Badran of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said it would be "a miscarriage of justice in letting a prominent financier of the premier global terror group, which has American blood on its hands, out of jail before serving out his sentence."

JCPA: Conflict Breaks Out Between the Iraqi Government and Pro-Iranian Militias

New Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the first confrontation with one of the pro-Iranian Iraqi militia responsible for rocket attacks against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. troops stationed at Iraqi military bases.

Kadhimi promised to deal with the problem when he met with U.S. representatives in the first round of strategic dialogue between the two countries a month ago.

Kadhimi, who is the commander of Iraq’s armed forces, ordered an Iraqi counterterrorism unit on June 25, 2020, to raid a “Hizbullah Brigades” compound in southern Baghdad and arrested 14 militia operatives.

The compound contained a workshop for manufacturing Katyusha rockets. They also arrested an Iranian expert who instructed the militia members on how to make the rockets. In the workshop, there were rockets ready for operation.

The Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (The New Arab) newspaper reported on June 27, 2020, that among the detainees was also a man known as “Khaider Samatyah” who is wanted on suspicion of assaults and the murder of dozens of Iraqi protesters during former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s term.

The operation took place based on precise intelligence; a few days earlier, Iraqi intelligence arrested three militia activists who admitted during interrogation that they had fired rockets at U.S. targets in Iraq.

The “Hizbullah Brigades” militia is part of the umbrella organization of militias known as “Al-Hashd Al-Sha’bi” (Popular Mobilization Forces), an organization close to Iran that follows Iranian orders.

Nikki Haley: IMF is angling to undermine US sanctions against Iran

When I served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, I made it clear that the American people expect the institution to uphold its founding ideals, and to hold irresponsible regimes accountable for their actions. That was badly needed in the cases of Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, among others.

The same is true with the rest of the multilateral system. Our country helped establish that system after the Second World War, and we remain by far the world’s largest funder of it today. We need to examine closely whether we are getting a decent return on our investment.

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare that many international bodies are still willing to do the bidding of some of the world’s most dangerous nations — including Iran. This is unacceptable, and it demands a swift and strong response from the United States.

The International Monetary Fund, a U.N. subsidiary and the world’s premier global financial body, has been quietly looking for ways to undermine U.S. sanctions against Iran. It is even mulling a multibillion-dollar loan to the regime. Such a move would prop up the world’s largest sponsor of terror and provide it with billions of dollars that it would use to oppress its people and threaten the U.S. and our allies across the Middle East.

The Trump administration must stop an IMF loan — period. While Iran and its enablers will claim that it needs the money to recover from the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus, the fact is the regime is already capable of providing for its citizens.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could easily tap into the funds under his control worth more than $200 billion, as well as Iran’s sovereign-wealth fund. Similarly, if the regime ended its support for Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the barbaric Assad regime in Syria, billions more would be freed up.

It says everything we need to know that the regime refuses to take these steps. In fact, Tehran has a long and terrible history of prioritizing funding for its terrorist proxies over providing for the Iranian people.

German intel says Iran 'massively promotes antisemitism, Israel hatred'

The domestic intelligence agency for the city-state of Berlin disclosed Thursday in a new report on antisemitism that Iran’s clerical regime is a leading sponsor of Jew-hatred.

“Antisemitism and hatred of Israel were also massively promoted by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The leader of the Iranian Revolution Ayatollah [Ruhollah] Khomeini already described Israel as the ‘little Satan’ and openly called for the destruction of Israel. Antisemitism has been part of Iran's state ideology ever since [the founding of the Islamic Republic] and is regularly fueled by statements by state representatives,” wrote the intelligence officials.

The Jerusalem Post reviewed the 49-page document that chronicles the various forms of antisemitism in Germany.

The US government has gone further in its classification of Iranian regime state-sponsored antisemitism. In January, US special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism Elan Carr said at an US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) Global Efforts to Combat Antisemitism hearing that “Iran is not only the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, it is the world’s chief trafficker in antisemitism. The Islamic Republic of Iran has pushed antisemitic dogma throughout the Middle East and throughout the Muslim world beyond the Middle East.”

US administrations under both Obama and Trump have classified Iran's regime as the world's worst state-sponsor of terrorism.

Unilever Continues Work in Iran While Targeting Facebook for ‘Divisiveness’

Unilever continues to work in Iran, including with companies affiliated with the country's terrorist military arm, though it has stopped advertising on U.S. social media platforms that it says have spread "divisiveness" and "hate speech" ahead of the presidential election.

The global soap and food manufacturer, which is based in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, announced last week that it would cease advertising to U.S. audiences on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram until after the 2020 election. The company pointed to the "polarized atmosphere" of the social media platforms, which conflicts with Unilever's "responsibility framework."

Unilever operates in Iran through a foreign subsidiary and has advertised its products on Iranian government television, according to its annual reports. Unilever even conducted business with companies affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the United States designated as a terrorist organization in 2019. Unilever did not respond to questions about whether it would continue its business dealings in Iran.

Unilever's ad announcement that it would pump the breaks on social media advertising comes on the heels of a massive Democrat-led campaign to pressure Facebook into enacting stricter speech restrictions ahead of the presidential election. Joe Biden has blasted Facebook for its alleged failure to police "misinformation" from Donald Trump supporters on the platform, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) recently called on advertisers to boycott Facebook.

In a statement on Friday, Unilever said its decision to pull its ads was related to "divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the U.S."

"Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society. We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary," said the company.

No such announcement was made regarding Unilever's business with authoritarian states, including countries that do not have free and fair elections. Unilever's most recent corporate disclosure statement from 2019 said it had no plans to halt its business operations in Iran.

Iranian Media Producer: A Satanic Zionist Agenda Is behind Everything Happening Today in America

Media producer Muzaffer Hyder said in a video that was uploaded to the Islamic Pulse YouTube channel on June 4, 2020 that American authorities may have instigated violence during the protests surrounding the killing of George Floyd in a fashion similar to how he said they backed violence in Iran during the November 2019 protests. He said that some American policemen collect KKK memorabilia, and he claimed that “Zio-America” is behind the concept of racial superiority since Zionists consider Jews to be superior to non-Jews. In addition, Hyder said that America fights Islam because Islam rejects racism and he claimed that the current events can be traced back to “the Satanic Zionist agenda.” Warning viewers in America to get out of America or resist against the system like the Palestinians do, Hyder said that the slogan of all “free-minded” and “free-spirited” people in the world is: “Death to America!” Hyder, who was born in Britain, currently lives in the Iranian city of Qom, where he studies Shiite Islam and is a producer for Islamic Pulse.

Pompeo Demands China End 'Horrific' And 'Dehumanizing' Forced Abortions, Sterilizations

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on China Monday to end the “horrific” and “dehumanizing” abuses against Uighur Muslims, including forced sterilizations, abortions, and coerced family planning practices.

“We call on the Chinese Communist Party to immediately end these horrific practices and ask all nations to join the United States in demanding an end to these dehumanizing abuses,” Pompeo said in a Monday afternoon statement.

His words came after an investigation by the Associated Press found that the Chinese government is committing “demographic genocide” against Uighur Muslims through forced abortions, birth control, mass detentions, and imprisonment. (RELATED: China Committing ‘Demographic Genocide’ Against Uighurs Through Forced Abortion, Sterilization, Mass Detention, AP Investigation Finds)

The AP investigation, based on interviews with 30 former detainees, family members, a former detention camp instructor, government statistics and state documents, found that the Chinese government seeks to dramatically lower the birthrates of Uighurs and other minorities while encouraging other populations to produce more children.

Chinese parents who have more than a few children are often sent to detention camps or subjected to huge fines, the publication found, and police instill terror into families by raiding homes searching for hidden children.

“The world received disturbing reports today that the Chinese Communist Party is using forced sterilization, forced abortion, and coercive family planning against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, as part of a continuing campaign of repression,” Pompeo said. “German researcher Adrian Zenz’s shocking revelations are sadly consistent with decades of CCP practices that demonstrate an utter disregard for the sanctity of human life and basic human dignity.”

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