09/05 Links: David Collier: Teaching to hate – UK Islamist extremism grows in confidence; Will Qatar use an ‘Afghan’ model for Hamas in the West Bank?

From Ian:

David Collier: Teaching to hate – UK Islamist extremism grows in confidence

The legitmised attacks on Jews

Whilst attacks on Christians still occur in the dark – those against the Jews happen in broad daylight. A man has recently been arrested following a spate of attacks on Jews in Stamford Hill. The man’s MO was simple. He would simply walk by someone who looked visibly Jewish and then punch them.

It is only a few months since a convoy of cars drove through a Jewish area calling for the ‘rape’ of our daughters. This got mainstream attention because it happened on our own doorstep. It also fits the narrative – the ability to blame a couple of extremists and pretend there is not a far wider problem.

But at the same time as those cars drove through North London – hundreds of other Islamists gathered in cities throughout the UK and chanted Islamist songs about massacring Jews. Those actions received absolutely no coverage outside of the Jewish bubble. Hundreds of Islamists actually marched through the streets of the UK, promising the Jews that the army of Mohammed is returning to slaughtered them – and not a single mainstream outlet gave a damn. It is too ‘real’ to be addressed – and anyway they think, ‘it is only the Jews’ – it is all because of ‘Israel’.

Rather than see Israel as being under attack from the Islamists – this twisted logic actually blames Israel for the hate it receives from radical Islam. A classic case of reverse causality. It is part of the societal pyramid of lies that has been built up to stop people in the UK understanding what is taking place in places such as Dewsbury, Bradford and a dozen other towns. They have legitimised attacks on Jews and given up the Jews to the Islamists, in the hope that the Islamists won’t turn their attention on to them.

So they turn a blind eye to anti-Jewish activity as long as it carries the Palestinian flag and doesn’t explicitly call for rape. ‘Palestinianism’ is an excuse that allows radical Islamists onto the streets with their murderous chants. They can even openly threaten Jews as they walk alongside the British police and the police don’t do a thing.

What we have witnessed this year – in the covoys – the attacks – the threats – is not an increase in extremism (the extremism is already there) – it is an increase in confidence. And for that our Government, security forces and police are all firmly to blame.

David Singer: Bennett schmoozes, Biden snoozes, mainstream media disabuses

Their claims that a video of the meeting was “misleadingly clipped” or “misleadingly cropped” are fanciful - as the following transcript of what actually happened indicates.

Bennett had already been addressing Biden for almost six minutes at this starting point – when Biden suddenly nodded off during Bennett’s remarks : “And one last word, Mr. President — I’ll take this off [Bennett’s face mask – ed.] for this part, if I may: You’re a man of faith, as am I. In the synagogues across the world, we read a biblical portion, beyond the Parsha; it’s called the Haftarah.
"And tomorrow, we’re going to be reading words of the prophet Isaiah — Yeshaʿyahu. In Hebrew, the words are: (Recites verse of Isaiah in Hebrew.)
"What this means — I can saying anything now. Right? (Laughter.) What this means is: The sons and daughters of the Jewish people are going to come back to our land, are going to nurse our ancient land and rebuild it.
"And this ancient Jewish prophecy is today’s Israel reality. And it’s a miracle that you’ve been so central and so part of it for so many years.
"So, Mr. President, today, you and I — and you’ve been so generous with your time in these difficult days — you and I are going to write yet another chapter in the beautiful story of the friendship between our two nations: The United States of America and the Jewish and democratic State of Israel — both of us who seek to do good and need to be strong, both of us who are a lighthouse in a very, very stormy world.
"Thank you, Mr. President. I look forward to working with you now and for many years forward. Thank you."

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, thank you. And you give me credit, much of which should go to Barack Obama, for making sure that we committed to a qualitative edge you would have relative to your friends [should Biden have said “enemies” ?– ed] in the region. So, he’s the one that deserves the credit.

PRIME MINISTER BENNETT: Thank him as well.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you very much, folks.

Important as Bennett thought it necessary to convey this amazing history of the Jewish people to Biden – using Jewish liturgical terms like “Parsha” and “Haftarah” and quoting a Biblical passage in Hebrew (text below) were understandably lost on Biden - who then dozed off for 30 seconds.

The mainstream media’s continuing honeymoon with Biden had clearly clouded its judgement.

In so doing - the mainstream media was exposed once again for its biased reporting on Biden – undermining its integrity and trumpeted independence.

Beware the mainstream media when reporting Biden news.

Media Bias Provides Cover for Rashida Tlaib’s Efforts to Hide Palestinian Terror

On August 28, United States Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) ignited a firestorm after posting a claim on Twitter that Israel was dehumanizing Palestinians by not returning the body of an assailant who in June had attempted to ram a car into IDF soldiers before exiting the vehicle while wielding a knife. She was subsequently shot dead.

First, there is the obvious fact that Tlaib failed to even note that Afana had committed an act of terrorism.

Second, Afana was not killed by “the Israeli government,” but rather by security forces who were intentionally targeted.

Third, Tlaib alludes to an Israeli policy whose underpinnings she is clearly unfamiliar with.

While Rashida Tlaib in particular, and more broadly the international media, have seemingly turned a blind eye to the ramifications of Israel returning the bodies of dead Palestinian terrorists, the country’s High Court of Justice has addressed the matter.

In 2019, the court ruled that the military has the legal right to keep the bodies of slain terrorists. The justices determined that doing so is a matter of national security, and that the practice was not illegal under international law governing armed conflict.

The ruling was effectively a judicial seal of approval for a 2018 parliamentary law that allowed district police commanders to determine whether to release terrorists’ bodies for burial. The law made clear that praise has repeatedly been lavished on dead terrorists at their funerals, which, in turn, has served to incite additional attacks.

Indeed, what Tlaib overlooks — and the media continually downplays — is the culture of “martyrdom” that pervades Palestinian society.

Young Labour’s BAME representative leads chant about Israel as a 'terrorist state'

The newly elected BAME representative for Young Labour officer has been filmed leading a chant about Israel as a “terrorist state” at a pro-Palestine rally that he organised.

Clips of the rally emerged as Young Labour faced calls to be shut down over its extremist views.

Abdullah Okud, one of three Momentum-backed candidates elected to official posts within Young Labour last month, could be seen telling the crowd in Sheffield to chant after him, “five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state”.

In another film of the May demonstration, protesters also could be heard chanting the Hamas rallying cry, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

Many view the slogan as a call for the dismantling of the Jewish state. It has also long been a Hamas rallying cry.

Mr Okud also designed the poster for the event which includes the same inflammatory phrase.

He also urged the crowd to “look up” Cage — a Muslim advocacy group whose research director hailed Isis terrorist Jihadi John as a “beautiful young man” in 2015 — in order to “know the great work that they do”.

Placards at the protest declared, “Zionism is racism” and called for the end of “Israeli apartheid”.

On This Day: Anne Frank and her family deported to Auschwitz

On this day 77 years ago, Anne Frank and her family were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Anne was born in Frankfurt, Germany to her parents, Otto and Edith, in 1929. She had one older sister, Margot, who was three years her senior. In the years following Anne's birth, antisemitism was worsening in Germany, and unemployment and poverty in the Jewish communities were rising. In order to give his family relief and respite, Otto decided to move his family to Amsterdam where he founded a company that traded in pectin. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, sparking the Second World War. Nine months later, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, and the Dutch army surrendered five days later.

Just as they had done in Germany, the Nazis began making the Jews' lives more difficult by segregating them and harming their businesses. Eventually, Otto lost his company.

Soon, Jews were required to start wearing the yellow "Jude" star and began to disappear from the Netherlands. So, when Margot got a call-up to report for a labor camp, her parents knew this could not be good news. They decided to go into hiding to keep Margot safe.

‘Champion of Auschwitz’: New book tells the story of a boxer who brought hope

Polish boxer Tadeusz Pietrzykowski was known for his ability to dodge blows. Still, the odds were against him when he fought his first bout at the Nazi German death camp Auschwitz.

Severely emaciated, Prisoner Number 77 was up against a much heavier German inmate — a “kapo” who oversaw other prisoners.

“From around me I got warnings and gestures that I was crazy: ‘He’ll kill you, destroy you,'” he said in his official account for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum after the war.

“But there was no time to think… There was bread to be won. I was hungry, my friends were hungry,” said Pietrzykowski, the pre-war Champion of Warsaw in the bantamweight class.

His courage paid off.

With a successful left jab to the face, the 23-year-old Pietrzykowski drew blood from the kapo, Walter Duening.

The loser chose not to seek revenge for his loss and instead rewarded the boxer nicknamed Teddy with a loaf and some meat.

Why the Nazis allowed a Jewish cancer scientist to remain in Berlin during WWII

In June 1941, just hours before Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, renowned biochemist Otto Warburg was summoned to Nazi headquarters in Berlin.

As other great Jewish scientists such as Albert Einstein, Fritz Haber and Lise Meitner fled the country in the 1930s due to persecution, Nobel laureate Warburg defiantly stayed put as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Cell Physiology in Berlin.

Overly assured and notoriously arrogant, the half-Jewish and apparently gay Warburg withstood all intimidation from Nazi officials. The way he saw it, he and his genius predated the Nazis, so he would not be bullied or succumb to threats.

However, Warburg feared the compulsory June 1941 invitation to Nazi headquarters signaled that his luck had run out. Fortunately for Warburg, Hitler and the Nazi leadership were more concerned about the exponential increase in cancer cases among the Aryan master race than about Warburg’s mischling (part-Jewish) status.

Regardless of whether Hitler himself was personally aware of Warburg’s research, there were enough people in Hitler’s inner circle who believed that Warburg’s expert knowledge of the metabolism of cancer cells could offer hope for a cure to the disease. Warburg would have to move his lab to a different location, but he could stay.

Of the many Jewish scientists and scientists of Jewish descent who worked at the world-famous Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (now the Max Plank Institutes), Warburg was the only one to remain. The rest either became refugees or victims of the Holocaust.

Why Can’t Moroccan Jews Be Deemed Shoah Survivors?

Three judges agreed that Moroccan Jews suffered antisemitic abuse from the authorities, but the harm they suffered “consisted mainly of a reduced ability to acquire housing, education and employment.”

“These restrictions, which weren’t imposed in the territory of the German Reich but on Moroccan soil,” said the court, “don’t meet the demands of the law.”

Secondly, the plaintiffs had not managed to persuade the court that the Jews had suffered “extreme tension and fear.” Yet, in spite of the Allied “liberation” of Morocco and Algeria after Operation Torch in November 1942, the United States allowed the Vichy regime to remain in place until the end of 1944. With the apparent support of the king, the regime’s French SOL troops had apparently instigated vicious anti-Jewish riots in January and February 1943. These would have created a climate of fear.

Most bizarre of all, the court observed that history is open to revisionism and interpretation, whereas the “law works according to precise rules, with all the pros and cons that that entails.”

The Moroccan failure in the Israeli courts recalls a similar ruling against Farhud survivors, who had argued unsuccessfully, after five legal rounds, that the 1941 pogrom in Iraq was a Nazi-inspired event.

Professor Yitzchak Kerem, an expert on the Holocaust as it affected Sephardi communities, discerns a deliberate effort on the part of the Ashkenazi establishment in Israel to downplay or marginalize the sufferings of Jews in Morocco and Iraq.

Yadid accused the Israeli Teasury of “discriminating between victims of the Nazi regime out of budgetary considerations,” pointing out that the Jews of Libya and Tunisia had been recognized as victims of Nazi persecution. He will consider asking for a re-hearing with an expanded panel of judges.

In any event, we have not heard the last of this story.

‘First Friends’ Tells Story of Truman’s Jewish Best Pal on Eve of Israel’s Independence

With the recent “First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents,” author Gary Ginsberg reminds readers of an easily forgotten truism: presidents are people too.

Released in July, the book chronicles nine presidential pals, from the nation-building work of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, to Bill Clinton’s close bond with the civil rights activist Vernon Jordan.

Alongside the succession of cabinet members and aides well known to history, these friends have played key roles in providing a given POTUS with policy advice, political feedback or simply someone to hang out with.

But Ginsberg, a former media executive, told The Algemeiner that the book’s concept was partly driven by a single White House meeting, staged at the precipice of Israel’s founding.

“It was one moment where a friend was able to walk uninvited into the Oval Office, and speak truth to power to accomplish an objective that had genuine global consequence,” said Ginsberg in an interview.

That moment came in the spring of 1948, just months after the United Nations vote to adopt the partition plan for Palestine, and with President Harry Truman facing the choice of whether to back a Jewish state once it was declared.

At one ear stood opponents of American support, including Secretary of State George Marshall, who feared it would push Arab states toward the Soviets and risk US access to oil. At the other, Truman was met with intense pressure from both Jewish voters and Zionist leaders including Stephen Wise and Chaim Weizmann.

JCPA: The Taliban’s Palestinian Partners: Implications for the Middle East Peace Process

The Taliban’s reconquering of Afghanistan has reenergized the global jihad’s war against the West, inspiring other regional Islamist and extremist movements, including those of the Palestinians.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad see the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan as vindicating their longstanding ideological claims that patience pays off and that “resistance” can defeat the American-led Western alliance and dismantle the State of Israel.

Congratulating the Taliban on August 17, 2021, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said, “The demise of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan is a prelude to the demise of the Israeli occupation of the land of Palestine.”

Palestinian statements of support for the Taliban should be understood in the context of the fundamentalist groups’ ideological rejection of America and Israel as infidels seeking to control the lands of Islam.

Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian scholar and cleric, is widely considered the “father of the global jihad” and served as a mentor to Osama bin Laden. Azzam laid the groundwork for the establishment of al-Qaeda and the Pakistani jihadist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the deadly Mumbai, India, attack in 2008, killing 175 people.

Palestinian “human rights” organizations sought to undermine the American mission in Afghanistan, submitting complaints to the International Criminal Court (ICC) charging U.S. military forces in Afghanistan and the CIA with “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.”

The Taliban victory in Afghanistan makes it impossible for Palestinian Islamists to agree to any U.S. peace proposal that would require any Palestinian concessions. The Taliban’s takeover and the U.S. withdrawal have legitimized and empowered Hamas as the new standard for “resistance” against Israel.

Dr Kedar: What the Biden Afghanistan Evacuation Disaster Means for Israel

How Muslims Understand Recent Comments by US Officials

As such, from a Muslim standpoint, if America pressures Israel on the Palestinian issue, it is abandoning its brothers and sisters and supporting the Muslim cause. The reason that this applies to the reopening of the consulate is that the Palestinian Authority teaches its children that Israel must be destroyed — that it is Muslim and must be ruled by Muslims.

The Palestinian Authority honors and pays stipends to those Palestinians who kill Jews. As the Muslims see it, this is no less a jihad than that in which the Taliban, ISIS and Al-Qaeda are engaged. So, when the US announces the reopening of the consulate in Jerusalem, it is, from a Muslim perspective, helping those who want to liquidate Israel. For Muslims, supporting those who want to destroy Israel is the same as helping the Taliban, which has defeated the United States and is killing those who worked with America in Afghanistan.

This seems like convoluted logic to Westerners, who see the issues of Afghanistan and the Palestinians as separate and distinct. From an Islamic perspective, however, they are one and the same. Indeed, for the past two weeks, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has been echoing the Taliban to a tee, acknowledging that they are two peas in a pod.

All not need be lost, though. There is a solution — a serious one that was portrayed humorously in the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” In one scene, the protagonist, Indiana Jones, is confronted by an Arab about to kill him with a huge sword, with a crowd cheering on the attacker.

Watching the man wield his weapon fiercely, Indiana Jones smirks, shrugs, pulls out a revolver and shoots his assailant. At this point, the onlookers cheer for Indiana Jones.

Welcome to the Middle East, where people go with the winner. Unfortunately, America chose defeat in Afghanistan. And from the Biden administration’s stated policy regarding the reopening of the consulate in Jerusalem, it looks to the Muslim world as though it wants Israel to be defeated as well.

Quite gross from @BBCNews: our "impartiality" doctrine was used to basically shut down @CChristineFair when she explained #Pakistan's jihad policy in #Afghanistan that has brought us all to this catastrophe — an issue on which there is no "balance" or "other side", factually. pic.twitter.com/FSzXKLMExN

— Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) September 4, 2021

"Do not recognise the Taliban or legitimise them"

A 2nd day of protests held by brave women in Kabul. The West & countries in the region have already abandoned Afghan women. But their recognition of the Taliban could make things even worse for them

Don't abandon Afghan women pic.twitter.com/VzvWIyxSjN

— Masih Alinejad ??? (@AlinejadMasih) September 4, 2021

1. The Taliban is beating women who speak out for equality.

2. Whoever told you the Taliban changed is lying.

3. Still waiting for champions of women’s rights like @aoc @ilhanmn & @lsarsour to condemn the Islamist misogynist regime that is subjugating the women of Afghanistan. https://t.co/F3mXx39fKt

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 5, 2021

Lapid to visit Russia this week amid Syria tensions

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for the first time in Moscow this week, the Foreign Ministry stated on Sunday.

Lapid is set to depart from Israel on Wednesday evening, after Rosh Hashana ends, and return to Israel the following day.

The announcement comes the day after components of a Russian-made missile launched from Syria landed in the Gush Dan region.

In addition, two weeks ago, the Russian military in Syria said the air defense system it supplied to Syria shot down 22 of 24 missiles launched by Israel.

Israel often strikes in Syria to stop Iran from building bases or stockpiling weapons near the border with Israel.

Why Did the PA’s Mahmoud Abbas Meet with Defense Minister Benny Gantz?

The flagship of the Palestinian diplomatic struggle in Israel is the prosecution in The Hague of senior Israeli officials for war crimes, and in this regard, there is bad news for the PA.

According to my sources in Ramallah, the International Criminal Court has not dismissed the case against Israel, but it is downgrading it on the agenda because there are more urgent matters to deal with. Moreover, Defense Minister Gantz is on the list of “war criminals,” and it would be difficult to convince the tribunal of such charges against Israel after such bilateral meetings take place in Ramallah.

The testing point for Mahmoud Abbas’ seriousness is his ability to dismiss Shatiyah and lead a new policy direction. Once discussed was the naming of a new Palestinian government headed by Ziyad Abu Amr, who was acceptable to Israel, but the Fatah “elders” blocked him and demanded retaining the stubborn Shatiyeh.

In conclusion: Majed Faraj, who represents security cooperation with Israel, and Hussein al Sheikh, who represents civil cooperation, came to the meeting, while Shatiyeh, who represents the struggle against Israel, did not. This issue will test Mahmoud Abbas’ ability to make a difference – even a small one.

It will also give us a clue as to where the West Bank leadership is headed in the future – in favor of cooperation with Israel or in favor of fighting it.

Report: PA officials urge ICC to expedite probe into Israel

Palestinian Authority officials on Saturday called on the International Criminal Court in The Hague to expedite its investigation into alleged Israeli violations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

According to Israel National News, Ramallah's Foreign Ministry wants the ICC to make significant progress on its controversial probe of alleged human rights violations and "crimes" by the "occupation and the settlers" and demands they be "brought to justice."

"The escalation of the aggression of the occupation against our people continues in various forms, especially with regard to the continued demolition of houses and the distribution of demolition orders," a statement by the PA's Foreign Ministry said.

The demand came a week after Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last week – a move that vexed right-wing Israeli politicians and Hamas alike.

Should the PA get its way at the ICC, Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff and a two-term defense minister, will be one of the Israel officials to potentially face the tribunal.

It is unclear how this demand reconciles with the fact that on Thursday, Abbas said he was "ready" to take confidence-building measures vis-à-vis Israel and restore calm in the Palestinian territories in an effort to advanced a two-state solution.

Abbas spoke following a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordan's King Abdullah in Cairo.

Seth Frantzman: Will Qatar use an ‘Afghan’ model for Hamas in the West Bank? - analysis

Qatar and others might be laying the groundwork in the West Bank for the day after Abbas, a collapse of governing authority, protests and then the emergence of pro-Hamas or openly Hamas members to suddenly take control. It could happen quickly if the security forces in the West Bank might be convinced to accept this rather than a battle.

It’s not entirely clear how this could transpire, but the methodology has been seen in Afghanistan, where what appeared to be governing authorities melted overnight and fled and were easily replaced without chaos. Local governors and others accepted the new normal.

Countries that didn’t back the Taliban found themselves suddenly shut out from Kabul. This has implications for those countries that prefer the PA and Fatah. They may include Jordan and also Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states and Egypt.

However, there are different angles here because there are Palestinians close to Muhammad Dahlan who are critical of the recent Abbas meeting with Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Dahlan has been based in the United Arab Emirates, which is a peace partner of Israel since the Abraham Accords last year. Until recently, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as Bahrain, were involved in the Gulf crisis with Qatar, and they tend to be on opposing ends of the spectrum when it comes to various groups in the region.

Whereas Qatar has preferred groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, the UAE and its friends have preferred more moderate groups.

The Palestinians fit into this puzzle because any contest for power in Ramallah inevitably will revolve around not just Fatah and Abbas, but also other players, including those Hamas will want and those Dahlan and others will prefer.

At the moment, the goings-on in Ramallah are not center stage; rather, the Qatari transfers of cash to Gaza are being worked out. But some might wonder about the needs of the West Bank. Has Hamas shown through its conflict in May with Israel that it is the “resistance,” and if so, who might try to benefit from that to increase its standing in the West Bank?

After Afghanistan, the lesson is that anything is possible, and still waters run deep, which means more maneuvering might be going on behind the scenes than is apparent.

Hamas, Israel reportedly close to reaching prisoner swap

Egypt is exerting immense pressure on Hamas and Israel to reach a prisoner exchange agreement, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said on Sunday.

The Egyptians are hoping that such a deal would pave the way for a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas, the sources said.

Unconfirmed reports in a number of Palestinian and Egyptian media outlets claimed over the past few days that some progress has been achieved toward reaching a prisoner swap.

Hamas is holding the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed in the 2014 war with Israel, as well as two Israeli citizens, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who crossed into the Gaza Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2105, respectively.

According to the reports, Israel’s recent easing of restrictions imposed on the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave are aimed at facilitating the Egyptian mission of securing a prisoner exchange deal and achieving a long-term truce.

The Palestinian daily Al-Quds reported that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was personally involved in the contacts to achieve a Hamas-Israel deal.

PMW: Maps of “Palestine” in PA summer camps teach children about a world without Israel

The Palestinian Authority unremittingly teaches Palestinians - and in particular youth - that all of Israel is “Palestine” and that Israel has no right to exist in any borders. One way the PA instills the message is through activities in summer camps arranged by the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports.

This year too, Palestinian children were taught that there is no Israel but only “occupied Palestine” as they spent time drawing maps in which all of Israel and the PA areas are painted as one country and in the colors of the Palestinian flag.

The following are maps of “Palestine” made by or shown to children in the PA summer camps which are run by the PLO:

A video showed drawings of the PA’s map that shows all of Israel and the PA areas as one “Palestine” made by children in PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports summer camps.

[Facebook page of the PLO Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Aug. 19, 2021]

Camp participants hold a drawing of the PA map of “Palestine” in the colors of the Palestinian flag. To the west of the map is written “The Mediterranean Sea,” to the north is written “Lebanon,” to the east is written “Jordan,” and to the south is written “The Gulf of Aqaba.”

PMW: “Haifa is mine, Jaffa is mine… My land is mine – from my river to my sea,” PA TV - all of Israel is “Palestine” to be liberated

The Palestinian Authority relentlessly indoctrinates the Palestinian population with the message that all of the State of Israel is “Palestine,” - delegitimizing Israel’s existence in any borders. The host on official PA TV recited a poem reiterating this ideology - that all of Israel is “Palestine” from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea:
Official PA TV host: “Haifa is mine, Jaffa is mine (i.e., Israeli cities), Al-Aqsa is mine, Jerusalem is mine, and my land is mine – from my [Jordan] River to my [Mediterranean] Sea.”

[Official PA TV, Good Morning Jerusalem, Aug. 20, 2021]

As Palestinian Media Watch has exposed, the phrase “from the river to the sea” is used regularly by PA officials to describe the area of “Palestine” – entirely erasing the existence of the State of Israel.

Among the PA institutions promoting this ideology is also the PA Presidential Guard. It posted this image of a girl holding a stone in the shape of the PA map of “Palestine”:

Iran says US has no choice but to 'abandon addiction to sanctions'

Iran urged the United States Saturday to stop its "addiction to sanctions" against the Islamic Republic and accused President Joe Biden of following the same "dead end" policies as his predecessor Donald Trump.

Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh made his remarks a day after the US Treasury announced financial sanctions against four Iranians accused of planning the kidnapping in the US of an American journalist of Iranian descent.

"Washington must understand that it has no other choice but to abandon its addiction to sanctions and show respect, both in its statements and in its behavior, towards Iran," Khatibzadeh said in a press release.

On Friday, the Treasury announced sanctions against "four Iranian intelligence operatives" involved in a campaign against Iranian dissidents abroad.

According to a US federal indictment in mid-July, the intelligence officers tried in 2018 to force Masih Alinejad's Iran-based relatives to lure her to a third country to be arrested and taken to Iran to be jailed.

Malley: US ‘Can’t Wait Forever’ for Iran to Rejoin Nuclear Talks

The United States is prepared to be patient with Iran regarding the negotiations over a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the 2015 Iran nuclear deal), but “can’t wait forever,” according to US Special Representative to Iran Robert Malley.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV that aired on Sept. 3, Malley said that while the new Iranian government’s request for more time was understandable, its rapidly advancing nuclear program could render additional negotiations pointless.

“As [US] Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken has said, we can’t wait forever as Iran continues its nuclear advances, because at some point their advances will be such as to make a return to the JCPOA much less valuable to the US than it would otherwise be. So, we’re prepared to be patient; we have been patient; we understand it’s a transition. We went through a transition as well. But let’s not drag this on for too long, because at some point, we’ll have to reach a different conclusion,” said Malley.

The sixth round of negotiations in Vienna over a possible return to the JCPOA wrapped up in June, and no date has yet been set for a seventh round of talks. Iran held presidential elections on June 18, and has argued that it needs more time to settle in the new government before returning to the nuclear talks.

Aussie court reverses dismissal of pro-Iran academic who used swastika

An Australian federal court has overturned the dismissal of the pro-Iranian regime and anti-Israel academic Tim Anderson, who was fired for inserting a swastika in the middle of an Israeli flag, because it said his activity was an expression of free speech.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported in late August that Anderson’s, who was employed by the University of Sydney, was, according to the judges, “an expression of a legitimate view, open to debate, about the relative morality of the actions of Israel and Palestinian people.”

In 2019, Australia became the 33rd member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance to adopt the organization's contemporary definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition defines comparisons between Nazi Germany and Israel as antisemitic but the IHRA definition is not legally binding.

The Herald reported that the ruling reversed a previous decision “that had suggested academic freedom was merely an aspirational goal with no legal force and bolsters academics’ free speech rights nationally amid a focus on censorship on campuses.”

But the paper added that “it does not mean the lecturer, Tim Anderson, will ultimately win his legal campaign to get his job back because another judge now has to examine whether his conduct was within the bounds of academic freedom, or went too far.”

According to the Herald, justices Jagot and Rangiah said the swastika flag image was “deeply offensive and insensitive to Jewish people” and might express a “false moral equivalence comparing Israel to Nazi Germany."

BBC NEWS COVERAGE OF TERRORISM IN ISRAEL – AUGUST 2021

The Israel Security Agency’s report on terror attacks (Hebrew) during August 2021 shows that throughout the month a total of 142 incidents took place: 92 in Judea & Samaria, 25 in Jerusalem and inside the ‘green line’ and 25 in the Gaza Strip sector.

In Judea & Samaria, Jerusalem and inside the ‘green line’ the agency recorded 85 attacks with petrol bombs, eleven attacks using pipe bombs, one stabbing attack, nine shooting attacks (including rocket fire from Lebanon), one rock-throwing attack and ten arson attacks. In the Gaza Strip sector one pipe bomb attack, three petrol bomb attacks, two shooting attacks and 19 incidents of rocket/mortar fire took place.

One member of the security forces died after having been critically injured in a shooting attack in the Gaza Strip sector. The BBC News website published a one-sentence reference to that shooting attack nine days after it had taken place in an article on another topic, failing to name the member of the security forces who passed away.

One civilian was moderately injured in a rock-throwing attack on Route 60 on August 31st which did not receive any BBC coverage.

The incidents of rocket fire from Lebanon on August 4th and 6th did not receive any coverage on the BBC News website and neither did the August 16th rocket fire from the Gaza Strip – the first since Operation Guardian of the Walls in May. A shooting incident in Jenin was reported in a confusing manner with significant omissions. The BBC News website did not produce any reporting whatsoever in August about the renewal of violent rioting at the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

AFP Whitewashes ‘Distinct’ Beita Riots, Ignores Burning Swastika

Agence France Presse recently published an in-depth feature sanitizing the noisy Palestinian riots taking place at Beita as a unique grassroots effort, stripping them of their violent elements and ignoring their likeness to riots by the Gaza border. The article’s flaws are manifold, including the glaring failure to report the burning of a swastika inside a Star of David, a disturbing incident which drew the attention of the Israeli and Jewish press, but was universally ignored by the international mainstream media.

Full of obfuscations, AFP’s Aug. 25 report, “Palestinians forge ‘grassroots’ campaign wildcat settlement,” begins:
Using laser pointers and noisy horns to torment Jewish settlers across the valley, Palestinians in Beita have set themselves apart from others demonstrating against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

But beyond attention-grabbing tactics, protesters in the Palestinian town near Nablus insist their weeks-long campaign against the wildcat settlement of Eviatar is distinct for another reason.

They describe it as a grassroots movement, not inspired or directed by Fatah secularists who control the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, or their rivals from the Islamist Hamas that runs the Gaza Strip.

Among the article’s multiple blatant omissions is the fact that the Beita demonstrations are also characterized by the use of explosives and the burning of tires in addition to lasers and loud horns.

In addition, the article omits the striking case of the burning of a swastika combined with a Star of David, widely reported last month by multiple Israeli and Jewish media outlets, even as mainstream international media outlets completely ignored it. Palestinian Media Watch reported that organizers of the protest responded to criticism of the swastika with ugly vitriol, stating: “You [Israelis] are worse than Hitler and the Nazis … Yes, we want to burn you alive.”

Also ignored is the fact that far from “distinct,” the Beita riots’ tactics closely mirror the methods of the “night confusion” units which have been operating along Israel’s borders in the Hamas’-controlled Gaza Strip on and off for three years. In both Beita and along the Gaza border, rioters lob explosives, burn tires, shine blinding lasers, and blare high volume noise. In addition, the article’s depiction of the violent demonstrations as “grassroots,” with no connection to either Fatah or Hamas, is dubious considering that Fatah‘s fingerprints are all over them.

Israel Beats Austria in World Cup Qualifying Match, Cinches Victory 5-2

In an astounding match, Israel’s soccer team defeated their Austrian counterparts in the 2022 Qatar World Cup European Qualifiers.

The two teams met at Haifa’s Sammy Ofer Stadium for a fierce match, with the final score announced as 5-2 in Israel’s favor. The win marks a continued victory streak for Israel’s team, who also beat the Faroe Islands last week.

Despite this recent success, the blue-and-white are saying they will not succumb to overconfidence. “It’s hard to come down from this high but we have a crucial match coming up. I don’t even want to look at our World Cup chances, we have to just focus on Tuesday and go game to game and that is how we will continue,” player Eran Zahavi told the Jerusalem Post.

After sweeping up this victory, Israel’s soccer team is preparing for another match, progressing strongly through the ranks. They will take on Denmark’s team next, a strong contender who currently leads Group F in points. Israel sits at second place within, followed by Scotland and Austria.

Israel celebrates trove of 9 Paralympic medals as Tokyo Games wrap up

As the Tokyo Paralympics draw to a close, Israel is bringing home an impressive nine medals, six of them gold, triple its medal haul from the Rio Paralympics in 2016 and the most gold medals it’s won since the 1988 Games.

After 12 days of competitions, the Paralympics came to an end on Sunday with a colorful, circus-like closing ceremony. But none of the Israeli delegation stuck around to take part in the ceremony, opting instead to return home before the start of Rosh Hashanah, which begins Monday evening.

Israel, which sent 33 athletes to compete across 11 sports, won nine medals at the Games, its highest total since 2004 in Athens, when it took home 13 medals. Six of Israel’s medals this year were gold, which is the highest figure since the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul.

All but one of Israel’s Tokyo Paralympic medals came in swimming, where three Israeli swimmers — Mark Malyar, Ami Dadaon and Iyad Shalabi — dominated the waters and the podium, each shattering world records along the way. The trio landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday afternoon, where they were greeted by cheers, balloons, posters and plenty of singing and dancing.

Shalabi, 34, a native of Shfaram who was born deaf and became paralyzed after falling off a roof as a child, brought home two gold medals — in the 100m backstroke and 50m backstroke in S1, the most severe disability category. The Tokyo Games were Shalabi’s fourth time appearing at the Paralympics, but his first time winning a medal. His achievement also marked the first time that an Arab Israeli took home a medal at either the Olympics or the Paralympics.

Quarry that may have been source of Second Temple stones uncovered in Jerusalem

Archaeologists working in Jerusalem have discovered a 2,000-year-old stone quarry, along with a range of massive building blocks in various stages of the pre-construction process, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Sunday.

The large quarry discovered in the modern-day industrial park of Har Hotzvim, which means “quarrymen’s hill,” likely dates to the first century BCE and would have been active around the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, archaeologists say.

“The large-scale building projects in ancient Jerusalem, such as the Temple Mount, required a vast amount of building materials and the ability to organize and coordinate the quarrying and transportation of thousands of building blocks to the ancient city,” said Moran Hagbi, the excavation’s director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The partially excavated quarry covers approximately 600 square meters but archaeologists say it could be at least two or three times as large.

The massive building blocks extracted from it measure 1.5 x 2 meters and provide “a clear demonstration of all the phases of quarrying and stone preparation,” the IAA said in a statement.

“We uncovered large, square blocks of stone about to be detached from the bedrock, prior to loading and transporting them to the ancient city,” Hagbi said, adding that the quarry “presents a golden opportunity; because some of the stones were left in situ in this way, we can copy ancient technologies and experiment with them in order to recreate the processes by which the building stones were quarried.”

Israel’s population rises to over 9.3 million on Rosh Hashanah eve

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported Sunday that Israel’s population topped 9.3 million this year, growing by 146,000 people from the year before in a rise of 1.6 percent.

There are now 9,391,000 people living in the Jewish state, according to the CBS figures published ahead of Rosh Hashanah, which begins Monday evening. The number is expected to pass 10 million by the end of 2024.

The population comprises more than 6.94 million Jews, or 74%; over 1.98 million Arabs, who account for 21%; and another 466,000 people of other ethnic groups, 5% of the population.

The figures show 172,000 babies were born and there were 48,000 deaths — including around 5,800 from the coronavirus — in the 11.5 (Gregorian calendar) months since Rosh Hashanah last year.

Life expectancy is 80.7 years for Israeli men and 84.8 years for women, the CBS said.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the vast curbs on international travel have had a significant impact on immigration. There were 19,676 immigrants who arrived in Israel during 2020, a dramatic 40.8% drop from 2019 when there were more than 33,000 new arrivals.

Number of Jews worldwide hits 15.2 million; 6.93 million of them are in Israel

There are now 15.2 million Jews worldwide, a 100,000 increase from the year before, according to the Jewish Agency.

In statistics published ahead of Rosh Hashanah, which begins Monday evening, the Jewish Agency said 8.2 million Jews live outside Israel, with the largest population in the United States, which has around 6 million Jews. In Israel, there are 6.93 million Jews, accounting for 45.3 percent of world Jewry, according to the research, which was compiled by Prof. Sergio Della Pergola of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.

Following Israel and the US, the countries with the largest number of Jews are France (446,000), Canada (393,500), Britain (292,000), Argentina (175,000), Russia (150,000), Germany (118,000) and Australia (118,000).

The Jewish Agency said there 27,000 Jews living in Arab and Muslim states, with 14,500 in Turkey, 9,500 in Iran, 2,000 in Morocco and 1,000 in Tunisia.

Reminder that the Jewish population in 1939 was 16.6 million. https://t.co/IeVKn9aTzB

— The Mossad: The Social Media Account (@TheMossadIL) September 5, 2021

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog Issues Holiday Greetings

Addressing not just the people of Israel, but the world’s Diaspora Jews, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog released a holiday greetings video.

“I would like to extend my warmest wishes on behalf of the State of Israel and its people for a Shana Tova, Happy New Year, to you and your loved ones,” Herzog announced, commemorating the upcoming holiday of Rosh Hashana. The celebration, which opens the new year of 5782 in the Jewish calendar, begins on the evening of September 6 in Israel.

In his speech, Herzog emphasized the dependence shared by Jewish individuals on their communities, as well as the connection between Jews within Israel and abroad, calling them his “brothers and sisters.”

“I will be praying for the well-being of my immediate family, as well as my extended family, the people of Israel, and the Jewish People at large,” he stated, wishing those “from around the world a year of health and coming together.”

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett: "Shalom from Jerusalem! I'd like to wish the Jewish people around the world Shana Tova and a happy New Year!" pic.twitter.com/SQhpvrmc4h

— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 5, 2021

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