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Saturday, December 31, 2022

12/31 Links: Where is the Middle East heading now?; Israel calls UN 'morally bankrupt' as assembly refers 'occupation' to Hague court; Happy 50th anniversary of the Dry Bones cartoons

From Ian:

Dore Gold: Where is the Middle East heading now?
Dr. Ebtisam Al-Ketbi, who heads the leading research center in Abu Dhabi, the Emirates Policy Center, pointed out that the overlapping crises afflicting the Middle East have made strictly bilateral solutions completely ineffective, which drew the major players in the region to try the Baghdad II mechanism. Perhaps they were thinking about a Middle Eastern version of the Helsinki Process that drew in members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact in 1975 at the height of the Cold War.

But Iran was glued to a policy of exploiting its Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) units as its chosen instrument for spreading its regional influence – not multilateral mechanisms that the strongest party in the room was prepared to ignore. Over the last few years, Iran effectively employed its Houthi allies in Yemen to successfully strike the heart of Riyadh, shutting down for a period of time a significant percentage of Saudi Arabia’s oil production.

Indeed, a Houthi drone attack knocked out half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production in 2019. Iran did not pay a price for this bold action. Clearly, it had little incentive to restrict its behavior, given the tepid regional reaction. In fact, Jordan’s King Abdullah disclosed on CNN in July 2021 that Iranian drones had attacked Jordanian territory in increasing numbers.

For years, Tehran had built up a military presence in Lebanon and Syria. Now, Iran had been showing its interest in spreading its influence into Jordan as well. Jordan was known to be the locale of a number of Islamic holy sites that were significant to both Sunni and Shi’ite Islam. Iran sought to expand its tourism in Jordan to these areas. Some had been battlefields for early Islamic armies when they had their first military engagements with the Byzantine Empire. They were located near what is today the Saudi-Jordanian border.

Some Middle Eastern leaders hoped that today the Iranians could be placated. That might have been another reason to invite the Iranian president to the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan. Israel will have to monitor very carefully what is happening with its eastern neighbors – both Iraq and Jordan. Israel has intercepted convoys of weaponry crossing from the Iranian border, by land, to Syria and Lebanon.

It is logical that Tehran redirects its efforts to create an alternative route via Jordan. If Middle Eastern states can block this axis as well, they can assure the security of the region. But it is not clear at this stage that they will be able to achieve this goal.
To combat antisemitism, collaboration is needed - opinion
With growing displays of hatred for Jews evident among extremists across the ideological spectrum, the space and passive support for antisemitism seem to be growing. Jews are feeling this on the streets of their communities around the world, with record-high levels of antisemitic incidents recorded in 2022.

What has the US done as a result?
In the US, this has prompted Jewish institutions to adopt a European model of stricter security, including armed guards, higher walls and increased surveillance.

These measures, while necessary from a safety perspective, serve as a demoralizing daily reminder to Jews about the concrete threats they face. To identify publicly as a Jew means putting themselves on the frontlines of a battle they did not seek.

Nevertheless, amid this darkening reality, there is also light. While hate against Jews increases, many allies are stepping up to the plate and being counted.

As CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a global coalition engaging more than 650 organizations and nearly two million people from different religious, political and cultural backgrounds in the common mission of fighting the world’s oldest hatred, I have witnessed the power of partnership over the past year.

Recently, in Athens, we had more than 60 mayors and other top municipal officials from all over the world convene with the singular purpose of sharing and learning best practices about how to fight antisemitism. One key speaker, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, lamented the fact that antisemitism had become “normalized” and “popular,” and he called out its perpetrators.

Also last month, at the height of the Kanye and Kyrie furor, CAM helped organize the second annual awards ceremony of the Omni-American Future Project, a collaborative partnership strengthening ties between the black and Jewish communities in the US. These are just two recent examples of how prejudice can be countered with the fostering of cross-communal understanding and harmony.

However, this may have been best exemplified by CAM’s final event of 2022, when on the first night of Hanukkah, in the heart of Manhattan, a non-Jewish street artist painted a massive mural of Tibor Baranski, a courageous Hungarian-American who brought light to the world at the darkest moment in human history by rescuing more than 3,000 Jews during the Holocaust.

Of course, the Jews are not facing a Holocaust today, but we are under attack from an expanding number of hostile sources. To beat this network of hate, we must build, joined by our friends and all good people of conscience, an unbreakable web of togetherness, fraternity and comradeship.

Our enemies are gaining in strength, but so are our allies, and we must remember this. To turn the tide of rising hatred, we must reach more people who will stand by our side and say, “Enough!”

This is how we combat antisemitism.
Happy 50th anniversary of the Dry Bones cartoons
Yaakov Kirschen drew his first Dry Bones cartoon for The Jerusalem Post’s January 1, 1973, edition, and he never stopped. For 50 years, Dry Bones cartoons have been a beloved part of the Anglo Jewish world. Many children of English-speaking olim (immigrants to Israel) grew up in homes with faded Dry Bones cartoons that their parents had taped to the wall. Dry Bones cartoons have been mailed, shared, quoted, and forwarded between English-speaking Israelis, Christian Zionists, and our far-flung and embattled Jewish communities in the Diaspora.

Kirschen has made the lives of Anglo olim easier and more meaningful, and to his fans all over the world he has spread a deeper and stronger feeling for Israel and Zionism.

The Dry Bones cartoonist, who has been called a “national treasure of the Jewish people,” has received many awards, such as the Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Award and The Golden Pencil Award.


Israel calls UN 'morally bankrupt' as assembly refers 'occupation' to Hague court
The UN General Assembly has asked the UN's highest judicial body to give its opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in Judea and Samaria east Jerusalem.

The Assembly voted by a wide margin, but with over 50 countries abstaining, on Friday evening to send one of the world's longest-running and thorniest disputes to the International Court of Justice, a request promoted by the Palestinians and opposed vehemently by Israel.

While the court's rulings are not binding, they influence international opinion. It last addressed the conflict in 2004, when the Assembly asked it to consider the legality of an Israeli-built separation barrier.

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour thanked countries that backed the measure. "We trust that regardless of your vote today, if you believe in international law and peace, you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice, when delivered," Mansour said, going on to urge countries to "stand up" to Israel's new, hard-line government.

Israel didn't speak at the Assembly, which voted during the Jewish Sabbath. In a written statement beforehand, Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the measure "outrageous," the UN "morally bankrupt and politicized" and any potential decision from the court "completely illegitimate."

Friday's resolution asked the International Court of Justice, commonly known as the world court, to issue an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israeli measures it said are "aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem."

And it asks for an opinion on how all Israeli policies affect the legal status of its presence, "and what are the legal consequences that arise for all states and the United Nations from this status."

The vote was 87-26, with 53 abstentions. It followed approvals of the draft resolution in the assembly's budget committee earlier Friday and in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee on Nov. 11.

Israel carried out widespread behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts against the measure and decried the Assembly for voting after the Sabbath began Friday evening.
Palestinians Welcome UN Vote on Israel’s ‘Occupation’ as ‘a Victory’
The Palestinians on Saturday welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly requesting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provide an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel‘s “occupation” of the Palestinian territories.

The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top UN court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, though the ICJ has no power to enforce them.

The vote on Friday nonetheless presents a challenge for Israel‘s incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took office on Thursday at the head of a hard-right government that includes parties who advocate for West Bank lands to be annexed.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and eastern Jerusalem – areas the Palestinians want for a state – in a 1967 war. Peace talks broke down in 2014.

“The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.

Israeli officials have not yet issued a comment on the vote. It was condemned by Israel‘s UN envoy Gilad Erdan before it was held as the Jewish Sabbath began.

Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh said on Twitter that the vote “reflects the victory of Palestinian diplomacy.” There were 87 members who voted in favor of adopting the request; Israel, the United States and 24 other members voted against; and 53 abstained.
UN Schedules Controversial Vote on ‘Occupied’ Territories on Shabbat; Israeli Ambassador Condemns the Move
Israeli ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gilad Erdan slammed the UN General Assembly for scheduling a controversial vote on a resolution that would ask the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the “occupied” Palestinian territories.

Israel will not attend Friday’s vote because it will take place during a session starting at 6pm, after observance of Shabbat begins in New York City, Israeli officials told The Algemeiner on Friday. The US Mission to the UN will vote against it by proxy on Israel’s behalf.

The resolution, first passed in November by the UN General Assembly Fourth Committee, asks the ICJ to rule on the “prolonged occupation, settlement, and annexation of the Palestinian territory.” The United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic voted against it, while others, including Russia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates — Israel’s Abraham Accords partner — voted for it.

“No international body can decide that the Jewish people are ‘occupiers’ in their own homeland,” Edran said. “Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized UN is completely illegitimate.”

Israeli officials had worked to ensure that Israel would be present for the General Assembly’s vote, but it was continuously delayed, being scheduled and rescheduled several times.

“The decision to hold a vote that deals with Israel on Shabbat is another example of the moral decay of the UN,” Erdan added, arguing that it “prevents Israel’s positions from being heard in a vote whose results are predetermined.”


Netanyahu, Zelensky spoke before Ukraine skipped UN vote on anti-Israel resolution
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky prior to the country’s decision Friday to skip the UN General Assembly vote to have the International Court of Justice weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Netanyahu’s office said Saturday.

According to a tweet by Zelensky, the two “discussed bilateral cooperation between our states, including in the security sphere and interaction on international platforms.”

Axios and Walla reporter Barak Ravid said he was told by Israeli and Ukrainian officials that Netanyahu had asked Zelensky to vote against the measure.

Ravid said Zelensky had wanted to know how Netanyahu intended to change Israel’s policy on providing his country with defensive aid to intercept Russian strikes using drones and missiles, but that Netanyahu would not commit to any steps.

This irked Zelensky, who decided not to vote against the resolution, but to miss the vote “in order to give a chance to the relationship with Netanyahu,” Ravid cited a Kyiv official as saying,

The measure ended up passing by a vote of 87 in favor, 26 against, with 53 abstentions. Israel knew in advance that it would pass in the Assembly, which is regularly able to muster votes for resolutions critical of the Jewish state, but Kan news said Foreign Ministry officials viewed the vote as something of an achievement for Israel, as the number of votes in favor had fallen since an initial committee ballot on the matter in November.

Kyiv’s support for the resolution in the committee last month sparked a diplomatic spat between Ukraine and Israel.


Ehud Barak: Gov’t shows ‘signs of fascism’; mass ‘non-violent revolt’ may be needed
Former prime minister Ehud Barak on Friday accused the new government led by Benjamin Netanyahu of working to bring down Israeli democracy and said it bore “the signs of fascism.”

Speaking at a memorial ceremony for his successor as IDF chief of staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who died in 2012, Barak said that if the High Court of Justice proves unable to defend Israel and its democracy from the hard-right coalition, Israel’s citizens will have to stage “a non-violent revolt” to bring it down.

“As someone who knew Amnon [Lipkin-Shahak] well, I can surmise what he would say about this government — that it was sworn in legally but is clearly acting illegitimately,” said Barak, who defeated Netanyahu to become prime minister in 1999 and later served under Netanyahu as defense minister.

“This government is carrying out a coup in Israel before our eyes, with its racism, corruption, neutering of the justice system, politicization of the police and undermining of the chain of command in the IDF,” said Barak.

“Those seeking to extract themselves from criminal trials have joined forces with racist messianics who distort Judaism, Zionism and humanity,” he charged in an apparent reference to Netanyahu, who is on trial for graft offenses that he denies. “Together they are bringing down democracy.”

Barak spoke after President Isaac Herzog, at the same event, urged Israelis not to conclude that the country was doomed and to show more faith in the resilience of Israeli democracy.

Barak was far more critical of the coalition, a grouping of Netanyahu’s Likud, two ultra-Orthodox parties and three far-right parties, all of which have declared plans to drastically curb the capacity of the High Court to serve as a brake on government decisions and Knesset legislation.


The Israel Guys: Why 2022 Was the DEADLIEST YEAR for Palestinian in 20 Years?
The mainstream media has a horrific story to tell about violence in Israel. 146 Palestinians were killed in the Occupied West Bank in 2022, which is more violence than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen in two decades. While it is tragic anytime someone is killed, we have to ask the media: are they telling the truth? The answer is yes, and no. You’ll definitely want to watch today’s program.

As we enter 2023, we have two New Year’s resolutions for you. First, don’t believe the mainstream media when it comes to Israel. Second, subscribe to The Israel Guys and share our channel with your friends and family! Our goal is to cut through the fog of the anti-Israel propaganda being spewed in the mainstream media to bring you the true and authentic stories of Israel.


Huge crowds of Palestinians mark Fatah’s 58th anniversary in Hamas-run Gaza
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians thronged a Gaza City park Saturday to mark the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah party, a rare show of popularity in the heartland of the Hamas terror group, Fatah’s main rival.

The crowds turned Katiba Park into a sea of yellow flags and pictures of Fatah founders and leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his predecessor Yasser Arafat.

Hamas, which took over Gaza in a violent coup after routing pro-Abbas forces in 2007, permitted Fatah to hold the rally.

On several past occasions following the 2007 takeover, Hamas had blocked or restricted activities for Fatah.

While polls indicate Fatah is not that popular, the huge turnout could be seen as a rare opportunity to protest Hamas’ heavy-handed rule in Gaza.

The Islamic terror group has exhausted Gazans with heavy taxes amid record levels of unemployment and poverty.

The 2.3 million residents live under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade that Israel says is necessary to stop Hamas from stocking up on weapons. Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment.

Founded by Arafat and other leaders in 1959, Fatah announced its birth when it launched the first armed attack against Israel from Lebanon on January 1, 1965.


Seth Frantzman: Is the once-prominent ISIS on the brink of total failure? - analysis
Egyptian security forces say they foiled a terror attack on a security checkpoint in North Ismailia governorate on Friday. The reports from Egypt said that the incident resulted in an exchange of fire between the security forces and the terrorists. Three Egyptian police were killed in the attack and others were wounded.

Two cars approached the checkpoint and a gun battle resulted, according to a report by the AFP. This is apparently a terror attack and it is also rare that such attacks penetrate areas outside of the Sinai peninsula. There has been no claim of responsibility, yet. Most reports note that ISIS has been waging attacks on Egypt for years and that ISIS could be behind it.

Al-Ain media in the UAE provided a deeper look into the attack. It says that the incident happened in a residential neighborhood called Al-Salam. Daily News Egypt said the incident happened near the El Saliheen Mosque. While one attacker was killed and another reportedly wounded, the others fled.

“The security services in Ismailia continue to pursue the perpetrators of the attack, and combed the area to search for the rest of the perpetrators who fled to the adjacent desert areas, while the entrances and exits of the governorate were closed,” Al-Ain media said.

Sources told Al-Ain that the operation and the thwarting of the attack appear to show that security forces are doing a good job preventing terrorism and that extremist groups like ISIS are suffering from failure and frustration. This analysis believes that terrorism in Egypt is “breathing its last breath.”

The theory is that ISIS now has only remnants of the terror cells it once had and that it is trying to prove it can still carry out attacks in areas of Egypt. If ISIS were successful it could “awaken” others. However, it has not been successful.


No, Iran Nuclear Deal Is Not Yet Dead and Russia Is Helping Iran Go Nuclear
Evidently the lethal nuclear deal that will enable Iran to have all the nuclear weapons it wants and missiles with which to deliver them -- and for which the Obama and Biden administrations have been pining for nearly a decade so that, most likely, Iran will not try them out on their watch but wait for somebody else's -- is not yet dead, according to reports from Israeli officials.

For the length of a coffee-break, there were rumors that, because the Iranian regime was sending drones to Russia to help crush Ukraine, the deal was – finally – off the table, supposedly for good. In what must be one of the shortest-lived policy decisions ever, that arrangement now seems off the table for good.

Meanwhile, the Iranian regime is not only sending drones to Russia to crush Ukraine, but other materiel as well.

By providing weapons to a major power such as Russia, the Iranian regime is asserting itself as a key player enjoying significant military power on the global stage.

Finally, we should not dismiss the idea that Russia will also help the Iranian regime to advance its nuclear program.

"I have a question for you – how does Russia pay Iran for this, in your opinion? Is Iran just interested in money? Probably not money at all, but Russian assistance to the Iranian nuclear program. Probably, this is exactly the meaning of their alliance." — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Jerusalem Post, November 4, 2022.

The question of course is: What does the Biden administration intend to do about it?


Rachel Riley dedicates MBE to those fighting against anti-Jewish racism after being named in New Year Honours list
Rachel Riley said she shares her MBE with those ‘fighting anti-Jewish racism’ as she is honoured for her efforts to raise awareness of the Holocaust and combat antisemitism.

The Countdown star and mathematician, whose mother is Jewish, has been honoured for her services to Holocaust education as an avid campaigner in the New Year Honours list.

The 36-year-old Oxford University graduate was a vocal critic of Labour’s handling of alleged antisemitism within the party and Jeremy Corbyn’s conduct while leader.

She wrote on Twitter on Friday: ‘Incredibly proud to have just been awarded an MBE for services to Holocaust education.

‘Grateful to everyone who has sent well wishes and support over the years.

‘This is very much shared with so many people who also dedicate their time and energy to fighting anti-Jewish racism.’


Washington Post Ignores Roald Dahl’s Own Admission of Antisemitism
The bizarre choice by the reporter to cite a character in a Dahl book “sail[ing] close to Jewish stereotypes” as the example of his hatred of Jews dramatically understates the extent and intensity of the author’s bigotry.

But the description of Dahl’s antisemitism controversies suffers from another problem. It suggests that beyond questionable characters in his books, Dahl’s relevant comments were just about his “anti-Israeli political views,” and that some felt it was just a cover for antisemitism.

Dahl didn’t criticize Israel to cover for antisemitism. Dahl used overt antisemitism while attacking the Jewish state. The opening quote, once again, demonstrates this, that he connected his “anti-Israel” views with his hatred of Jews. It’s also made apparent in some of Dahl’s other notorious antisemitic comments. For example, he claimed Israeli military activities in Lebanon were “very much hushed up in the newspapers because they are primarily Jewish-owned.”

Dahl continued: “There aren’t any non-Jewish publishers anywhere, they control the media – jolly clever thing to do – that’s why the president of the United States has to sell all this stuff to Israel.”

Ignoring all this, the Washington Post’s portrayal of Dahl suggests that there could be some dispute as to whether he was antisemitic or not, that it could just be people seeing a stereotyped character where there was no intent, or that he may have just been engaging in legitimate criticism of Israel. The actual record, however, shows that Dahl’s antisemitism was about as subtle as a sledgehammer, and his hatred of Israel was steeped in his hatred of the Jewish people.

So, why does the Post so aggressively avert its journalistic gaze and conceal the facts from readers? The truth has been widely reported elsewhere in the media and the family of Dahl themselves have apologized “for the lasting and understandable hurt” caused.

The Post seemingly can’t get much of anything right on Jew-hatred – and this instance underscores the glaring depth of the problem.


Majority of victims of antisemitic crime in NYC are ultra-Orthodox, Hasidic - report
Most antisemitic hate crimes against Jewish people in New York City were targeted at Orthodox or Hasidic Jews and were perpetuated by people from other minority groups, a new report has found.

The report was published by Americans Against Antisemitism and documents antisemitic crimes in New York City between April 2018 and August 2022.

Overall, 194 cases were recorded in those four years, with 154 being physical assaults and the other 40 verbal. 22% of crimes were committed by teenagers and 23% were committed by a group of two or more people.

An estimated 97% of the 194 hate crimes documented were carried out by people belonging to other minority groups. Furthermore, 94% of victims in antisemitic incidences in those four years were Orthodox or Hasidic Jews, the report stated.

Of those targeted, 52% identified as Hasidic Jews and a further 42% as Orthodox Jews. 4% identified as secular and another 2% as Modern-Orthodox. A further 0.5% identified as Reform and finally, 0.5% were Israelis who did not list a denomination.

Where did these incidences occur?
151 of all assaults occurred in just four Brooklyn neighborhoods - in Flatbush-Midwood, Crown Heights, Boro Park-Kensington and Williamsburg.

All the aforementioned neighborhoods are home to large and identifiable Jewish communities

The identities of perpetrators were documented in 99 different attacks. According to the report, 65% of perpetrators were Black, 16% Asian, 10% Hispanic and 3% were White.
CAA looks back on a year of achievements in the fight against antisemitism
While antisemitism remains at stubbornly and unacceptably high levels, as 2022 comes to a close, it is an opportunity to take stock of all that has been achieved in the fight against the world’s oldest hatred.

At Campaign Against Antisemitism, we are proud of the accomplishments that we have secured over the past year, thanks to your support. These include the following:
The Court of Appeal sent the anonymous antisemitic online troll Nicholas Nelson to eighteen months in prison after he was convicted following a pioneering legal strategy devised by Campaign Against Antisemitism and counsel to unmask and prosecute him. After he received an unduly lenient sentence, we successfully called on the Attorney General to refer him to the Court of Appeal, which agreed with us and sent him directly to prison.
Grenfell volunteer coordinator Tahra Ahmed, was jailed for eleven months after Campaign Against Antisemitism and CST sought her prosecution over her antisemitic claims that the fire was a Jewish ritual sacrifice on social media. We worked closely with police to secure her prosecution, which was years in the making.
The Hon. Piers Portman was refused leave to appeal and was jailed for four months and fined in connection with an antisemitic altercation with Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive Officer, Gideon Falter. He was ordered to pay a fine of £10,000 and to pay compensation of £10,000, which Mr Falter has donated to Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The antisemite Alison Chabloz was sent to over five months in prison after being convicted once again under the Communications Act following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Abdullah Qureshi was found guilty of an antisemitic hate crime after Campaign Against Antisemitism revealed that his plea deal with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had let him off aggravated hate charges. The CPS was forced to reinstate the charges following pressure from us, Shomrim and CST.
Neo-Nazi Ben John was sent to prison for two years after Campaign Against Antisemitism and others successfully called for a review of his unduly lenient sentence.
The co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Tony Greenstein, humiliatingly capitulated in his failed defamation case against Campaign Against Antisemitism for calling him a “notorious antisemite” as the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal. Over the course of the proceedings, we bankrupted him and accordingly he could also no longer serve as a trustee of the Brighton Trust. Defamation cases are vital in establishing the legal basis for identifying antisemitism and calling it what it is.
Shining a light on the growing problem of antisemitism in Wisconsin
At Temple Beth El on the west side of Madison, students as young as 4 years old walk past armed guards on their way to school.

Following the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, the congregation's policy required Madison Police Department officers to be present at all on-site gatherings. In 2022, the same community participated in active shooter training led by staff from the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.

Antisemitism, a long-standing and furtive form of bigotry and hatred, has become increasingly commonplace across the United States, including in Wisconsin. While Jewish residents account for less than 1% of Wisconsin's population, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation reported a 459% increase in incidents of antisemitism around the state between 2015-2021.

Milwaukee Jewish Federation Executive Director Miryam Rosenzweig said the increasing severity of recent antisemitic incidents is even more concerning.

"Holocaust survivors came to this country because this was a place where you had freedom of religion," Rosenzweig said, "so the idea that we're talking about securing the physical spaces of Jews is really shocking."

Alan Klugman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Madison, said antisemitism is exacerbated in Wisconsin due to an extremely divided political landscape.

"Politicians on the left and right are legitimizing hate rhetoric," Klugman said, "It feels more dangerous from the right because they promote violence, though the commentary from the left is just as painful."

Though antisemitic activity in America cannot be attributed to one cause, levels of antisemitism in the nation have historically correlated with political conflict. For example, in May 2021 the Anti-Defamation League reported a substantial surge in antisemitic incidents during then recent fighting between Israel and Hamas.

The global pandemic in 2020 fueled conspiracy theories that falsely linked Jews to the spread of COVID-19.
Thessaloniki Jewish monument vandalized by antisemitic graffiti
A Jewish historical monument on the campus of Aristotle University (AUT) in Thessaloniki, Greece was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on Thursday. The monument, which commemorates a Jewish cemetery on the grounds that had been destroyed by the Nazi regime in 1942, was defaced with a red swastika.

“This act is an insult to the Monument that commemorates the 50,000 Jews of Thessaloniki who were exterminated in the Nazi camps and connects the modern image of the area with its history by reminding everyone the existence, for centuries, of the old Jewish Cemetery which was destroyed by the Nazis and their collaborators in 1942,” the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki said in a recently released statement.

The statement continued, “The immoral act of imprinting swastikas and other symbols associated with the Nazi ideology on the marbles of the monument is also the greatest disrespect and insult to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a place of Education, character and conscience formation.”

Symbols of hatred
The vandalism was not limited to a spray-painted swastika. The monument, which has been defiled with antisemitic attacks at least four times since it was put in place in 2014, was also marked with a red Celtic Cross, a known white supremacist symbol.

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece described the incident as "hideous" and noted the uptick in antisemitism both in Greece and across the globe.

“With the stain of the horrific Nazi swastika and a fascist-inspired graffiti we bid farewell to 2022, a year during which no incidents of vandalism of Jewish sites were registered in Greece. We condemn the unholy act of the vandals, followers of intolerance and antisemitism that express their hatred and fanaticism through the profanation of the memory of the Salonican Jews. No tolerance to antisemitism!”


Netanyahu offers condolences for death of former pope, recounts Israel visit
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences Saturday evening over the death of former pope Benedict XVI, who died earlier in the day at the age of 95, and once visited Israel.

“On behalf of all the citizens of Israel, I send my deep condolences to the Christian world on the passing of Pope Benedict XVI,” Netanyahu said in a statement published by his office.

“He was a great spiritual leader who was fully committed to the historic reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, a tradition he continued in his historic visit to Israel in 2009,” the premier said.

“In my meeting with him, he spoke warmly about the common heritage of Christianity and Judaism and the values ​​that this heritage gave to all of humanity. We will remember him as a true friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish people,” Netanyahu added.

The German pope emeritus had been living a quiet life in a former convent inside the Vatican grounds since his shock decision to step down in February 2013.

His health had been declining for a long time, but the Vatican revealed on Wednesday that his situation had worsened, while his successor Pope Francis called for Catholics worldwide to pray for him.

On Saturday, the Vatican announced his death.

In the May 2009 visit to Israel and the West Bank, Benedict XVI was first greeted at Ben Gurion Airport by Netanyahu and then-president Shimon Peres, before traveling to Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem, a celebratory reception ceremony was held at the President’s Residence, and the pope later attended a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

On the second day of his five-day visit, he visited the Temple Mount and the Western Wall in the capital’s Old City.

He also met with Israel’s two chief rabbis, visited several Christian sites in Jerusalem, and toured Nazareth in northern Israel.
UK Chief Rabbi to receive knighthood from King Charles III
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis is set to be granted a knighthood by King Charles III, as seen in the 2023 New Year's Honours List published on Friday evening.

The Honours List is a list of British nationals or Commonwealth citizens who have been selected to receive an honor for exceptional achievements or service. Honors will be granted either in the form of a knighthood or as an appointment to the Order of the British Empire or other gallantry awards.

The Honour List is published biannually, and it will be presented by King Charles III for the first time after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year.

The highest honor that can be granted is that of Knighthood and it is typically granted for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity.

Rabbi Mirvis, whose official title is Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, will receive a Knighthood for his "significant services to the Jewish community, to interfaith relations and to education."

According to the official Honours List published by the British government, the Chief Rabbi has been a pioneer of interfaith activity since his days as a congregational rabbi.
From Albright to Yehoshua: 18 notable Jews who died in 2022
Every year brings the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of well-known Jewish icons in every field and to mourn those we have lost.

Here are 18 Jews who died in 2022 and who leave outsized legacies in politics, the arts, sports, and everything in between.

Madeleine Albright
The “first woman secretary of state in the United States” label will always follow Madeleine Albright, especially because of her success in such a male-dominated field of policy.

But regardless of her gender, Albright’s moves as a part of Bill Clinton’s administration left a lasting mark on US peacekeeping efforts around the world. Crucial to her worldview was her refugee story, which she did not fully grasp until after her time in the limelight.

Her parents were Czech immigrants who had converted from Judaism to Catholicism and then Episcopalianism to avoid persecution before fleeing Europe. Albright did not like to talk about her parents’ choice to keep her in the dark, but when she did, it was in the voice of a blunt-edged diplomat who understood how the 20th century robbed some people of agency, and how they did what they had to do to reclaim it.

“I can’t question their motivation. I can’t,” she told The Washington Post in 1997.

Albright died on March 23 in Washington, DC, at 84.

James Caan
One of the leading movie stars of the 1970s, James Caan once said he was twice honored as New York City’s “Italian of the Year.”

It made sense, in a way: his fans were used to seeing him in tough guy roles, including one in arguably the most famous Italian gangster flick of all time, “The Godfather.”

But Caan was born to German-Jewish immigrants in Queens, where his father was a kosher butcher, before starring in movies such as “Brian’s Song,” “The Gambler,” and, later in his career, Will Ferrell’s hit comedy “Elf.”

His onscreen (and offscreen) persona did much to break stereotypes about weak, wimpy Jewish men.

“He’s in his own lane, Jew-wise,” Seth Rogen wrote in a 2021 memoir, calling Caan an unusually “scary Jew.”

Caan died on July 6 in Los Angeles at 82.

Bob Saget
A wholesome dad on network TV, and one of the raunchiest standup comedians in the business — few could boast a resume like Bob Saget’s.

Before he got to Hollywood, Saget honed his comedy as a misbehaving Hebrew school student at Temple Israel in Norfolk, Virginia.

“I go back and forth with my belief system, by the way. I’m not the best, most observant Jewish person you’ve ever met or talked to, and yet I’m Jewish and proud to be,” he once said.

After a short stint contributing to CBS’ “The Morning Program,” Saget was cast to play a morning show host on TV.

As Danny Tanner on “Full House,” Saget played a widowed dad and TV host raising three daughters in San Francisco with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend.

Saget was also known for hosting “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

The respected standup died in January at 65 from complications after blunt head trauma.




Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. 

Read all about it here!
 

 

Friday, December 30, 2022

12/30 Links Pt1: Can US Jews love the real Israel—or only the fantasy version?; Major Spike in Judea and Samaria Shooting Attacks, IDF Stats Reveal; Iran chess star fleeing to Spain after playing without hijab

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Where the Netanyahu government differs from its predecessor
Over the course of the campaign, and in a steadily escalating fashion as he prepared to return to office, Netanyahu has spoken enthusiastically about the prospect of reaching a peace agreement that will formalize Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia. Those still sub rosa relations were the foundation of the Abraham Accords.

The rationale for a Saudi deal is overwhelming for both countries. Leaving aside the economic potential of such an agreement—which is massive—the strategic implications are a game changer. An Israeli-Saudi normalization agreement, like the agreements Israel concluded with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in 2020, is a means to withstand the Biden administration’s realignment away from America’s allies and towards Iran. By strengthening its bilateral ties with the Arab states bordering Iran and other key states in the region, Israel expands its strategic footprint and is capable of developing defensive and offensive capabilities by working in cooperation with likeminded governments. By working with Israel openly, Saudi Arabia sends a clear message to Iran and its people that Saudi Arabia will not be cowed into submission by the regime that is currently brutalizing its youth.

Netanyahu has already made a statement in support of the revolutionaries in Iran. At this point, with most experts assessing that Iran has crossed the nuclear threshold and has enough enriched uranium to produce up to four bombs per month, it is obvious that Biden’s nuclear diplomacy has nothing to do with nuclear non-proliferation.

There are only two ways to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state—direct action targeting Iran’s nuclear installations and regime change. Netanyahu’s willingness to stand up to the Biden administration and stand with the Iranian people and Israel’s regional partners makes regime change more likely, and direct action against Iran’s nuclear installations more likely to succeed.

Over the two months since the Israeli elections, the opposition and its supporters on the Israeli and American Jewish left have stirred up hysteria by claiming that the most significant distinction between the Lapid-Gantz government and the Netanyahu government centers on social policies related to non-religious Jews. This claim is false, and maliciously so. The Netanyahu government has no intention—and never had any intention—of curtailing the civil rights of non-religious Jews. Their goal is to expand civil and individual rights, by among other things, placing checks and balances on Israel’s hyper-activist Supreme Court and state prosecution.

There are many differences between the previous government and the Netanyahu government. None of them have to do with civil rights. The main distinction is that the Netanyahu government has made securing Israel’s national interests its central goal in foreign and domestic policy. Its predecessors were primarily interested in getting along with the hostile Biden administration, under all conditions. Netanyahu and his ministers will work with the Biden administration enthusiastically, when possible.
Jonathan Tobin: Can US Jews love the real Israel—or only the fantasy version?
For the first decades of Israel’s existence, the above differences with Americans were papered over by the dominance of Labor Zionism, whose universalist rhetoric meshed nicely with liberal sensibilities, even if the security policies it pursued did not. But even in its most idealized form, a particularistic project such as Zionism has been a difficult sell for American Jews, the overwhelming bulk of whom see sectarian concerns not only as antithetical to their well-being, but possibly racist, as well.

Having found a home in which they were granted free access to every sector of American society, and in which the non-Jewish majority proved willing to marry them, they unsurprisingly have had difficulty coming to terms with an avowedly ethno-religious state with such a different raison d’être.

Moreover, an American-Jewish population in which the acceptance of assimilation has created a large and fast-growing group the demographers call “Jews of no religion” is bound to take a dim view of a country that specifically defines itself as a Jewish state, no matter how generous its policies toward the Palestinians or the non-Orthodox denominations might be. If many American Jews are no longer certain that their community’s survival matters, how can one possibly expect them to regard the interest of Israeli Jews in preserving their state against dangerous foes with anything but indifference?

Many Jews talk about their willingness to support a nicer, less nationalist and religious Israel than the one that elected Netanyahu and his allies. They support efforts by Democrats to pressure it to make suicidal concessions to Palestinians who, whether Americans are willing to admit it or not, purpose Israel’s elimination. They also want it to be more welcoming to liberal variants of Judaism that Americans practice, and for the Orthodox have less influence.

But even if you think those changes would make Israel better or safer, a majority of Israelis disagree. So, while much of the criticism is framed as a defense of democracy to sync with Democratic Party talking points that smear Republicans, there’s nothing democratic about thwarting the will of a nation’s voters or seeking to impose a mindset they regard as alien to their needs.

The challenge for liberals is not just how to cope with an Israel led by Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, or to put aside the partisan hyperbole branding it as a fascist or fundamentalist tyranny. It’s accepting the fact that Israel is not a Middle Eastern variant of the blue state enclaves where most American Jews live.

They need to grasp that simple, but still difficult-to-accept concept and forget about the Israel of liberal fantasies. If they can, it should be easy for them to understand that no matter who is running Israel—or how its people think, worship or vote—the sole Jewish state’s continued survival is still a just and worthy cause.
Ruthie Blum: Israel’s new government and ‘Pauline Kael syndrome’
Following the late and former US president Richard Nixon’s landslide re-election in 1972, New Yorker magazine film critic Pauline Kael voiced a mixture of dismay and surprise.

“I live in a rather special world,” she commented. “I only know one person who voted for [him]. Where they are I don’t know. They’re outside my ken. But sometimes when I’m in a theater, I can feel them.”

Her famous acknowledgment of existence in an elitist bubble, insulated from a faceless mass of aliens lurking menacingly in the shadows, may have been irritating, but at least it was honest. It also perfectly described the chasm between the chattering classes and the majority of the voting public.

Though this type of divide in the West tends to be viewed and treated as political – since it’s inevitably expressed at the ballot box – it’s actually more cultural in nature. The response in Israel and abroad to the outcome of the November 1 Knesset election is a case in point. What were the reactions to Netanyahu's coalition?

The initial shock and subsequent hysteria surrounding the emergence of Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s “full, full right-wing” coalition has been emanating from circles of the Pauline Kael variety. To them, it’s worse than irrelevant that the new government in Jerusalem is the result of the people’s clear choice; they call the rejection of the Left’s increasingly woke post-Zionism “undemocratic” and a sign of societal downfall.

Such baseless charges on the part of the “anybody but Bibi” camp would be funny if they weren’t welcomed so heartily by those in the international community who delegitimize the Jewish state, regardless of its leadership, and by fellow travelers putting Israel on perpetual probation. Take the hundreds of American rabbis (none Orthodox, of course) who signed “A Call to Action for Clergy in Protest of Israeli Government Extremists,” for instance.


Israel’s historic right-wing government is the democratic will of the voters
Netanyahu also pledged to build upon the historic Abraham Accords he signed with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. In an interview with JNS ahead of the election, Netanyahu said he “intends to “make peace with Saudi Arabia” and “end the Arab-Israeli conflict once and for all.”

Most important, the government will focus on strengthening Jewish values. It is the Jewish character of the state that makes it strong and unique. Progressives on the other hand seek for Israel to be a secular extension of Western Europe on the Eastern Mediterranean.

In his address at the Knesset, Smotrich noted that “it is both our obligation and our privilege to continue to strengthen our rich and glorious identity….We must never lose pride in who we are and what we are, or where we come from, or where we are headed.”

He added that “our Jewish identity is what gives us the right to live here and my prayer is that we should know how to deepen this identity, how to rejoice in it, ourselves and our children.”

The new government has the potential to score major accomplishments for a Jewish state that has come under progressive attack in recent years. The attacks continue even with the firm election of a right-wing government. Progressive politicians and left-wing media have been working tirelessly to sour liberal American Jews on the new government. These efforts serve no purpose other than to delegitimize Israel, in an era of increasing anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

Hopefully, American Jewry will recognize the folly of this strategy and return to its strong support of the State of Israel as the past, present and future of the Jewish people.

That said, angry progressives are likely to stay bitter and stay vocal, giving the incoming government a mouthful at every opportunity.

Addressing the opposition, the media and the overly loud and disappointed minority, Netanyahu stated, “A democratic regime is tested first of all by the willingness of the losing side to accept the majority’s decision.”
JPost Editorial: New gov't must take Jordan's warning on changing status quo in Jerusalem seriously
King Abdullah II of Jordan warned Israel on Wednesday against making any changes to the status quo in Jerusalem. This was timed to coincide with the swearing in of Israel’s new government, which took place a day later.

Amman sees itself as a guarantor of the status quo and a custodian of the Holy Sites of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa. This unique status has meant that the Hashemite Kingdom often issues these kinds of warnings to Israel.

But that’s not the only reason. Jordan is home to a large number of Palestinians and it is concerned that any conflict in the West Bank has the potential to spill over into its own borders. This means the warning is not just about Israel, it is also about Jordan.

“If people want to get into a conflict with us, we’re quite prepared,” Abdullah told CNN. “I always like to believe that, let’s look at the glass half full, but we have certain redlines... And if people want to push those redlines, then we will deal with that.”

Abdullah added that “there are a lot of people in Israel concerned as much as we are,” implying this his statements are no different than those uttered by supporters of the outgoing government of Yair Lapid.

Jordan has witnessed protests in recent weeks over high fuel prices. Criticizing Israel is an easy way for the king to divert attention away from the challenges his people face at home.

It’s vital that Israel’s incoming government – led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – appreciate Jordan’s role and listen to the king’s concerns, and its layers of meanings.


Putin, Zelensky congratulate Netanyahu, express eagerness to boost cooperation
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately after the swearing-in of his new government, as the returning premier must once again decide whether to maintain Jerusalem’s delicate balancing act between the two warring countries.

“I hope that the new government under your leadership will continue the line of strengthening Russian-Israeli cooperation in all areas for the benefit of our peoples, in the interest of ensuring peace and security in the Middle East,” Putin said in his message to Netanyahu, published by the Kremlin. “In Russia, we greatly appreciate your personal and long-standing contribution to strengthening friendly relations between our countries.”

A similar message was offered by Zelensky who tweeted, “I wish success on the way to the welfare and security of Israel. I confirm Ukraine’s readiness for close cooperation to strengthen our ties and confront common challenges, achieve prosperity and victory over evil.”

During his previous terms in office, Netanyahu touted his close relationship with Putin and insisted that it was critical to maintaining the IDF’s ability to operate freely from the Russian-controlled skies over Syria in order to prevent the entrenchment of Iranian forces on Israel’s northern border. He initially criticized the previous government for neglecting ties to Russia as Jerusalem took several limited steps in support of Ukraine following the invasion by Putin’s forces last February.

However, Netanyahu has changed his tune more recently. In an interview ahead of last month’s election, he characterized the Bennett-Lapid government’s Ukraine policy — which has seen Israel supply humanitarian aid, operate a field hospital in Ukraine and take in a limited number of largely Jewish refugees while stopping short of Kyiv-requested military aid — as “pragmatic.”

Netanyahu even said he would consider arming Ukraine if he returns to the premiership.

“I think [Putin is] guided by his vision of reconstituting a great Russian realm, and I hope he’s having second thoughts about it,” Netanyahu told USA Today at the time.


The United Nations is a factory producing antisemitism
Discussions of antisemitism in both the United States and Europe need to be based on current realities, not assumptions based on the events of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, argues JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin on this week’s episode of “Top Story.”

The leaders of conservative governments in Italy and Hungary are often accused of being antisemites or fascists. However, says Tobin, their opposition to efforts to erase national sovereignty via unlimited immigration from North Africa and the Middle East, as well as their support for Israel, have helped to make their countries safer for their Jewish populations.

The European right of the twenty-first century is not the same as that of earlier years, says Tobin, and its opposition to woke ideology actually makes them allies of the Jews.

Tobin is joined by author and JNS columnist Fiamma Nirenstein, who discusses new Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and the reasons for the right’s electoral success in Italy. Meloni, whom Nirenstein knows from her time serving with her in Italy’s parliament, is, she says, not a fascist and is actually sympathetic to Israel and an opponent of antisemitism. Moreover, her appeal to ordinary voters and desire for her country not to be “overwhelmed by Europe” is something Jews shouldn’t fear.


What should Israel expect at The Hague?
It is true that by resorting for a second time to the ICJ, the opinion request drafters hope also for something more and that is to declare Israel's West Bank policies as apartheid. In the ears of these drafters echoes the Advisory Opinion the ICJ gave in 1974 on Namibia, denouncing the apartheid regime of South Africa and paving the way for sanctions against South Africa and for Namibia to ultimately become independent. In that sense, the drafters of such a request try to recap on the momentum that has been lately created, with major human rights NGOs such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International, branding Israeli policies as apartheid. Some have proceeded to tag as apartheid even Israel's policies inside its sovereign territory.

It is in this debate that the court is being called to intervene and let's be clear on this; if asked, it will ultimately render an opinion, although it shouldn't. If the request's agenda is indeed pure, then the ICJ should simply state it has already answered these questions with its previous opinion and if the request is for Israeli policies to be declared as apartheid, the court should stick to its rule of non ultra petita and not pronounce its stance on issues not included in the advisory opinion request.

At the same time, once the advisory opinion process unveils, the court can discuss any legal matter it wants, including that of apartheid. It is actually plausible to think that some of the 15 judges will. They will find legal arguments to argue that Israel does commit apartheid in the West Bank. Yet, more importantly, the judges should be aware that they can equally find arguments it does not, given that apartheid refers to policies inside a sovereign state and not in occupied territories. When it comes to the State of Israel, the existence of Arab Supreme Court justices and Members of the Knesset is difficult to support such apartheid claims.

No matter what one believes though, from an international law point of view, the question is whether a second advisory opinion will help the rule of law. Sometimes what is needed is not the pronouncement of legal norms and axioms, but the political ability to enforce them on the ground. This quest calls for talents like craftiness, diplomacy, compromise and the ability to engage also with other parameters like macroeconomic welfare and security. All these fields lie beyond the walls of the court. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what is lacking is the will or the leaders to engage in the building of a viable solution. Sadly for all, this will or leaders must come from the people themselves and cannot be produced by any court ofjustice.


Azerbaijan appoints its first ambassador to Israel
Azerbaijan appointed its first ambassador to Israel this week. According to Azerbaijan’s state news outlet Haqqin.az, Deputy Minister of Science and Education Mukhtar Mammadov has been appointed as the country’s first ambassador to the Jewish State.

“Congratulations and good luck to the first Azerbaijani ambassador to Israel!” tweeted George Deek, Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan, upon news of the announcement.

Born in 1983 in Baku, Mammadov worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2013. This included his work at the Azerbaijani embassy in Belgium from 2009 to 2013. Since 2013, under the Ministry of Education, he has been head of the international cooperation department. In April 2021, he became the Deputy Minister of Science and Education. In this capacity, Mammadov supervised projects of innovative cooperation with Israel in the field of science and education.

Mammadov is fluent in Russian, English and Turkish.
Sub-Saharan African Jewish Alliance formed in the aftermath of Kulanu conference
The Sub-Saharan African Jewish Alliance was founded this month, with the goal of facilitating ties among the continent’s Jewish groups. The organization will include representatives from Tanzania, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroon.

The SAJA was established after representatives of Jewish communities across sub-Saharan Africa gathered for the first time in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, this month to discuss various aspects of Judaism and Jewish life in the region.

SAJA has a temporary board with Mordreck Maersara from Zimbabwe currently serving as acting president. The group aims to draft a constitution and hold elections for a permanent board in the next six months. It also has a vice president and treasurer, and intends to add more positions to the roster after the constitution is finalized.

Maersara told JNS, “Our goal is to help each other by discussing both shared successes and challenges to aid each other to grow in our Judaism across Africa.”

The week-long gathering that began on Dec. 13 was organized by Kulanu, a New York-based nonprofit that supports emerging Jewish groups around the world.
Major Spike in Judea and Samaria Shooting Attacks, IDF Stats Reveal
As 2022 draws to a close, the Israel Defense Forces has summarized its operational activities for the past year, which included dozens of reported strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and dozens of special operations.

Dozens of enemy cyberattacks were thwarted, the IDF’s figures revealed.

The Lebanese arena remained quiet this year, despite Hezbollah’s attempt to send unarmed drones towards Israeli offshore gas rigs in July, which were shot down by the Israel Navy and Air Force.

Judea and Samaria saw one of its most violent years in the last 15, with 285 terrorist shooting attacks in 2022, compared to 61 in 2021. There was, however, a decrease in stabbing incidents, with 14 compared to 18 last year, according to the IDF report.

The defense establishment is deeply disturbed by the Palestinian Authority’s lack of sovereignty in northern areas such as Jenin and Nablus, which became centers of terrorism this year, the document continued.

Thirty-one Israelis—24 of them civilians—were murdered by terrorists this year, compared to four in 2021.


Israeli Forces Arrest Operative From Lions’ Den Terrorist Group in Nablus
Israeli forces on Friday morning arrested an operative from the Lions’ Den terrorist group in Nablus in the West Bank, the army said in a statement.

Troops from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Shin Bet internal security service and the Yamam counterterrorism unit of the Israel Border Police surrounded a building where the suspect was staying. While armed, he fled to another building to hide before the Israeli forces entered the building and apprehended him.

A weapon and cartridge were found in the suspect’s possession, which the Israeli army said was using in carrying out attacks.

The suspect was identified as Ahmed Mazri, 19. He is suspected of being involved in recent terrorist activity and was transferred to the Shin Bet for further investigation.

No casualties to Israeli forces were reported.

The West Bank has throughout the year seen nightly raids by Israeli forces as part of Operation “Break the Wave,” which was initiated after a series of deadly terrorist attacks perpetrated against Israelis earlier this year.


Israel Set to Tax Foreign Government Support for Civil NGOs
The new Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to pass a law that would tax foreign government support for civil nonprofit organizations, Haaretz reported Thursday.

The move, written into the coalition agreement between Likud and Otzma Yehudit, is expected to take place 180 days from Thursday, the day Netanyahu’s new government was sworn into office.

A similar bill was introduced in the previous Knesset by then-Yamina MK Amichai Chikli, Religious Zionism MK Orit Strook and Shas MK Moshe Arbel.

Chikli has since moved to the Likud and was appointed as Diaspora Affairs Minister in the new government.

Palestinian Authority Paved Illegal Highway in Gush Etzion with Foreign Funding.

The most recent Palestinian Authority attempt to seize Israeli territory in Area C, funded by foreign governments, was discovered recently in Gush Etzion.

Local residents and the Gush Etzion Regional Council discovered a new highway starting at the Palestinian Authority village of Za’atara, a few miles southeast of Bethlehem in an agreed-upon natural reserve area where construction is not allowed under the Oslo Accords.

The highway reaches into the Judean Desert and provides access to new illegal Arab settlements in Gush Etzion.

Arabic-language signage at the start of the new road indicates it was paved with foreign funds and assistance from the Ramallah government.
How The Palestinian Authority Is Constructing Illegal Settlements In Judea & Samaria: A Fireside Chat With Naomi Kahn, Director Of International Division, Regavim.
For years, news media outlets have covered the topic of small Jewish outposts built in Judea & Samaria (West Bank), which Israeli law considers illegal. But these outposts, despite the media attention paid to them, pale in number compared to Palestinian outposts, built in part due to funds from the Palestinian Authority.

According to Regavim, an Israeli organization which monitors such activity, there have been 80,000 such Palestinian structures built on this land since 2009, but it garners virtually no media attention.

Our guest this week is Naomi Kahn, the Director of Regavim’s International Division, who shares with us her organization’s work in monitoring this construction, why the Israeli government has permitted such construction to take place for so many years, and how the incoming Knesset may potentially change this pattern.

Welcome to The Honest Report podcast. Please subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share our show.
Oh this moment when left-wing provocateurs come to Mitzpe Abigail in Mt. Hebron to create riots and then the Arab comes and sends them to all the winds.
No one tolerates them.
Anyone!


Palestinians urge world to ‘reject any dealings’ with new Netanyahu government
The Palestinian Authority called for an international boycott of Israel’s new government over its hardline, right-wing agenda, saying it poses “an existential threat to the Palestinian people.”

“The State of Palestine rejects the annexationist, violent, racist, and incitement to ethnic cleansing policy guidelines of Israel’s new government. The State of Palestine considers this agenda an existential threat to the Palestinian people and their inalienable and inviolable rights,” said a statement released by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry late Thursday.

The PA urged the international community to “carry out its responsibilities and reject any dealings with a government committed to carrying out international crimes, including annexation, political persecution and racial discrimination.”

The statement called for the international community, including the United Nations Security Council, to “ensure the protection of the Palestinian people from Israel’s ongoing campaign of dispossession and displacement, colonization and annexation, ethnic cleansing and persecution.”

The statement came the day that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swore in his new government which includes three far-right factions that want to extend Israel’s control over the West Bank, which the Palestinians claim for a future state.

It also comes only a day after then-defense minister Benny Gantz phoned PA President Mahmoud Abbas as one of his final acts in the role, to emphasize the importance of the relationship between Israel and the PA. Israel maintains important security cooperation with the PA.


Ukrainian Air Force Shoots Down 16 Iranian-Manufactured Drones During Overnight Russian Attacks
Ukraine’s armed forces announced on Friday that 16 Iranian-manufactured Shahed drones launched by invading Russian forces had been shot down overnight.

A statement released on the Telegram channel of Ukrainian Air Force noted that the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones had been fired at targets around the country. One drone was reported to have hit a government administrative building in the capital Kyiv, with no word yet on the number of casualties.

The announcement came amid renewed speculation concerning the military alliance between Russia and Iran.

On Thursday, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the defense ministry’s intelligence department (GUR) stated in a television interview that while the Iranian regime had agreed earlier this month to supply Russia with extra drones and ballistic missiles to bolster its dwindling stock of weaponry, Tehran was reluctant to follow through on the deal.

Yusov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to secure missiles from the Iranians meant that “serious work is underway on this.”

“There are preliminary agreements, we know that they exist, but now we have to wait and see,” Yusov said. “As far as we know, not everyone in Iran is so keen to help Putin, understanding how it can threaten the Iranian regime.”
Revealed: IRGC-linked airline's scheme to get spare parts from Turkey
Spare parts from aircraft belonging to a Turkish airline that undergo maintenance in western Europe have been sold through Turkish companies to the Revolutionary Guards-linked Mahan Air, Israel Hayom has learned.

Mahan Air has obtained a large number of spare parts for its A310s and A340s through Turkish companies. A flight mechanic who once maintained A340s of the airline said, parts of two of Turkish Airlines A340s "were knowingly sold to us, and they were broken into pieces in Istanbul. These parts arrived in Iran first through Russia in 2021 and now they are coming directly by land from Turkey. They are purchased through intermediary companies."

If these claims are true, one has to wonder whether Turkish Airlines is aware of this alleged scheme and who the final beneficiary is, yet continues to sell parts and devices of its fleet to Turkish and non-Turkish companies such as Tarmac Aerosave in Spain and France, one of the largest suppliers of spare parts for passenger aircraft. According to the claims, it is there that the sold parts are being repaired, and then sent to Turkey. Turkish intermediaries, in turn, deliver them by land to Iran.

"In some cases, even aircraft parts supplied from Tarmac Aerpsave in France and Spain by these intermediary companies citing the excuse of land shipment via Iran to UAE for installation on A340-642s of Al-Etihad Airways end up in Mahan Air," the mechanic said.

Israel Hayom has viewed the evidence, purportedly related to the transfers, but isn't able to publish it because of the sensitivity of the matter and the risks to those involved.
Iranians mourn murdered protesters, chant 'death to Khamenei!'
Crowds of Iranian demonstrators gathered at the graves of protesters murdered by Iranian security forces during the anti-government protests that continue to sweep Iran to mark 40 days since their murder on Thursday.

A large crowd of protesters gathered at the grave of Hamidreza Rouhi at the Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery in Tehran to mark the 40-day anniversary since his death. The protesters chanted "Death to the IRGC, death to the entire system!"

Rouhi was shot to death by Iranian security forces during anti-government protests in November.

Video reportedly from the scene showed Iranian security forces firing tear gas at the protesters who blocked a nearby road. The protesters reportedly managed to chase away the security forces, with video showing demonstrators running towards security forces as tear gas was fired. A person allegedly attempted to attack the protesters with a knife as well.

A large crowd of protesters also gathered at the grave of Ali Abbasi in Semirom, chanting "Death to Khamenei!" and other anti-government slogans.

Demonstrations were also held at the grave of Atefeh Naami, an Ahwazi Arab activist who was found dead in her apartment in November. Her family members have accused Iranian security forces for killing her and then staging the murder as a suicide.


Iranian author said sentenced to death after urging peace in Israel TV interview
Iran has sentenced a dissident author to death on “espionage” charges after he gave an interview earlier in the year to an Israeli television channel, opposition-affiliated media reported Thursday.

Iran International said that Mehdi Bahman was arrested in October after speaking with Channel 13.

The report said a Revolutionary Court had passed the sentence. In recent days at least 11 people have been sentenced to death for their role in protests and more than 100 face the death penalty, according to opposition groups.

While Bahman was arrested after the outbreak of protests, his interview with Channel 13 was given in April 2022 after he approached an Israeli woman to have one of his books translated into Hebrew.

In the interview, Bahman criticized the regime in Tehran and the imposition of Islamic law and called for normalization between Israel and Iran.

He told Channel 13 that he was not afraid of being arrested for talking to an Israeli channel.

Iran International said Bahman was an author and an illustrator who worked towards religious coexistence. In recent years he had worked with dissident Shia cleric Masoumi Tehrani to create artworks containing symbols from various religions and had given them as gifts to leaders of the minority Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, Sunni Islam, Mandaean Sabian, and Baha’i faiths in Iran.


Iran chess star fleeing to Spain after playing without hijab
An Iranian chess player is moving to Spain while fearing for her life after playing in a tournament without a hijab, the Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday.

During the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Kazakhstan earlier this week, Sara Khadem appeared without a hijab, in an apparent show of support for women and anti-regime protesters in her home country.

However, sources close to the player said the 25-year-old has decided to move to Spain with her husband and young child following the events as a result of safety fears.

A source said: “She is aware that her life would be in danger if she returned to Iran because she has been shown playing without a head covering in several photographs.”

Khadem has previously espoused anti-regime views, including defending a fellow Iranian chess player who was forced to forfeit against Israeli opponents.

Iran has long sought to punish outspoken athletes and celebrities, with the home of professional climber Elnaz Rekabi being destroyed by authorities after the sportswoman appeared in a tournament without a hijab.




Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. 

Read all about it here!
 

 

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Judeopundit: "[A] venerable blog-pioneer and beloved patriarchal figure...his blog is indispensable."
Oleh Musings: "The most comprehensive Zionist blog I have seen."
Carl in Jerusalem: "...probably the most under-recognized blog in the JBlogsphere as far as I am concerned."
Aussie Dave: "King of the auto-translation."
The Israel Situation:The Elder manages to write so many great, investigative posts that I am often looking to him for important news on the PalArab (his term for Palestinian Arab) side of things."
Tikun Olam: "Either you are carelessly ignorant or a willful liar and distorter of the truth. Either way, it makes you one mean SOB."
Mondoweiss commenter: "For virulent pro-Zionism (and plain straightforward lies of course) there is nothing much to beat it."
Didi Remez: "Leading wingnut"
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