07/09 Links: Putin perverts historical truth about Nazism; Owner of Toronto Kosher Store Reports Death Threats from BDS Activists; Wanting the Iran Nuclear Deal for the Wrong Reasons ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Putin perverts historical truth about Nazism - analysis

Similarly, you would think by listening to Putin’s ubiquitous war propaganda that the Russian people alone were the targets of Hitler’s hatred and that only the Russians – and not every ethnic group of the old Soviet Union certainly, including the Jews – did any fighting in the war and ultimately defeated Germany.

And so Nazi crimes against everyone else except ethnic Russians go unmentioned. And, since Nazism was an ideology specifically directed against the Russian ethnicity, it makes sense that Ukrainians, whom Putin accuses of harboring aggressive plans against Russia, are Nazis.

In this picture, the antisemitic nature of Hitler’s ideology disappears and it becomes possible for Zelensky, a Jew, to become a Nazi. At the same time, since Nazism in this conception was an ideology of aggression against Russians, then invading “Nazi” Ukraine makes perfect sense and is merely a continuation of the Great Patriotic War. Reportedly Putin was planning to announce that Nazism in Ukraine was defeated at the May 9 Victory Day parade.

While hollowing out the judeophobic substance of Nazism and wantonly throwing around the term itself, Putin is adopting Nazi modus operandi. Hitler, an Austrian born in Austria-Hungary, could not accept the dissolution of the empire; for him Czechoslovakia and Poland, which became independent as a result, were pseudo-states. Putin, a KGB colonel born in the Soviet Union, similarly considers Ukraine a pseudo-state. His propaganda maintains the genocidal lie that there is no Ukrainian nation.

The Kremlin legerdemain of writing Nazi crimes against the Jews out of Nazism is only too familiar to Jews born in the former Soviet Union. At the same time, having escaped the iron clutches of the Soviet empire we can’t help but sympathize with the Ukrainians who are valiantly defending their own right to live free of the bear hug of the big Russian brother.

Lawmakers Want To Know Why Biden Made It Easier for Terrorists To Enter the US

Congressional Republicans on Friday launched a formal probe into the Biden administration over its decision to alter federal law so that individuals tied to terrorist organizations can more easily enter the United States.

The investigation, led by House Armed Services Committee member Jim Banks (R., Ind.), comes on the heels of a Washington Free Beacon report last month that detailed how the administration amended federal immigration law to permit foreigners who provided "insufficient material support" to designated terrorist organizations to receive "immigration benefits or other status" inside America.

The State Department said the law was altered to make it easier for vulnerable Afghans who might have worked with terror groups to find refuge in America, but current and former U.S. officials who spoke to the Free Beacon said the rule is so broadly written that it could also apply to those who worked with al Qaeda or Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the country's paramilitary fighting force that has killed hundreds of Americans.

"These loose and overly broad definitions will open the floodgates for supporters of terrorism to enter the United States," Banks and three Republican colleagues wrote in a letter to the White House that was obtained exclusively by the Free Beacon. "Such a general waiver, if implemented, would create additional difficulty in immigration vetting process, have catastrophic consequences on border security and put American families at increased risk from terrorism."

The lawmakers—Banks and Reps. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.), Greg Steube (R., Fla.), and Rob Wittman (R., Va.)—want the administration to provide Congress with information about whether this rule change was implemented as a concession to Iran meant to entice the country into inking a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear accord.

"This order was also released just weeks before negotiations with Iran over restoring the nuclear deal recommenced," they write. "Your administration may be trying to entice Iran back to the nuclear deal by using broad executive authorities to weaken the penalties connected to the [foreign terrorist organization] designation without requiring the IRGC and other Iran-supported terrorist organizations to verifiably cease their terrorist activities."

These Dem Activists Want To Save Biden’s USAID Nominee Who Criticized Israel Peace Accords

A group of Democratic consultants, think-tankers, and activists is soliciting signatures for a letter to the U.S. Senate defending President Joe Biden's embattled USAID nominee Tamara Cofman Wittes and arguing that she is a strong supporter of the Abraham Accords — a peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that she previously belittled.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), an activist group that bills itself as pro-Israel, is circulating the letter, which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon and is expected to be submitted next week to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Jewish group has a spotty track record on calling out anti-Israel members of its own party and once endorsed a candidate who claimed the Jewish state was not a democracy.

"We write today to convey our strong support for Dr. Tamara Cofman Wittes's nomination to serve as assistant administrator for the Middle East at the United States Agency for International Development," said the group.

The letter is a signal Democrats are concerned that Wittes's stance on the Abraham Accords—Israel's diplomatic agreement with the United Arab Emirates—could hurt her chances of confirmation. Some of the Democrats who signed on to the letter are the same ones who stepped up to save Biden Pentagon nominee Colin Kahl after Republicans expressed concerns about Kahl's involvement in crafting the Iran Nuclear Deal and his incendiary partisan Twitter posts.

Wittes in 2020 promoted articles denouncing the Abraham Accords on social media and cautioned other Arab countries against signing similar agreements, the Washington Free Beacon first reported last month.

But she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she supports the accords, a position that prompted skepticism from Republicans.

"I get that that's the right political answer to say now. But it's not what you said then," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) during a hearing.

Before 1948, Jews lived throughout the Old City of Jerusalem

There is a common misconception that Jews only lived in the Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, In fact they lived all quarters. Elder of Ziyon has this fascinating post:

The Moslem Quarter is described in detail by one of the great rabbis of Jerusalem, who died ten years ago, Ben-Zion Yadler. Rabbi Yadler would go to the Kotel on Tisha B’av at midnight, when he would begin teaching Midrash. Up till twelve o’clock he wouldn’t appear – there were too many ‘Zionists’ who used to come. But at twelve we would all gather together and he would tell us about Jerusalem. I remember once that Arabs began throwing stones at us. He said to us in Yiddish, “Don’t be upset. You wanted them to give you back Palestine; they’re giving it to you stone by stone.”

He writes a full description of what is today called the Moslem Quarter, and says as follows: Not only did the majority of Jews of Jerusalem live in the so-called ‘Moslem’ Quarter, but, also the more important Jews lived there, rather than in other sections of the city. And he goes on to describe twenty-two synagogues (I’ve been able to locate practically all of them), many mikvaot and yeshivot, among them, the biggest yeshiva in that part of the city – which is fortunately still standing – Torat Chaim. As you come from Damascus Gate, it’s on the left side of El Wad Road. Very strange: it is right on the Via Dolorosa part of the street. (The Via Dolorosa curves at one point, and part of it is on El Wad Road.)

Then you have another big yeshiva, Chaye Olam, with a Talmud Torah of twenty-two classrooms — each classroom today is an Arab home. (A Talmud Torah consists of eight grades, and here there were three parallel classes.) Part of the building is now unused. That part was never finished because the Arabs brought a case against it in 1927 when the yeshiva wanted to start a new wing. They weren’t able to finish it, so they just have the walls up. The yeshiva is close to what is the holiest part of Jerusalem for Jews.

There is another building, very close to the golden-domed mosque, which a Hungarian Jew, who arrived here about a hundred years ago, put up. In that building were two yeshivot called Mishmarot (Watches) because twenty-four hours a day Torah was studied there. Rabbi Yadler described how at midnight one group would come from the farthest corners of Jerusalem and another group would go home at that late hour to a place called Bab-el-Hota, close to the Lions Gate. I was still able to find one or two Jews who lived there in their youth. A synagogue was there, but it’s been abandoned for over forty years. You can still see the building near two Turkish baths. One is on the corner of the Bab-el-Katunin, and is called Hamam-el-en; and closer to the Temple Mount, very close, is the second bathhouse. Both of these bath-houses had good mikvaot under the supervision of rabbis. The Arab owners didn’t want to lose Jewish trade, and they made special arrangements for mikvaot.

Sadiq Khan welcomes “All about the Benjamins” Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London as heroine of “equality and inclusion” as she meets with fawning MPs and peers

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has welcomed Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London as a heroine of “equality and inclusion” as she began a trip that saw her meet with fawning parliamentarians.

In a statement on Twitter, Mr Khan wrote: “From the lakes of Minnesota to the bright lights of London, we must stand firm in upholding progressive values of equality and inclusion in the face of those who seek to divide us”, adding that they had discussed “how we can keep building bridges, not walls.”

Rep. Omar has been described as a “virulent antisemite” for saying that “Israel has hypnotised the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

On another occasion, Rep. Omar suggested that Jewish people buy political support. She tweeted: “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”, referencing a song about a $100 bill and AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group.

Rep. Omar also met with Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Labour MPs Naz Shah, Zarah Sultana and Sarah Owen, who tweeted selfies, photographs of warm embraces, and words of praise for the controversial Congresswoman.

Ms Shah welcomed Rep. Omar to the Houses of Parliament, tweeting: “It has been an absolute honour to host my fellow Muslim sister @IlhanMN…at Parliament today” before adding: “The sisterhood is international!”

Ms Shah, Baroness Warsi and Ms Sultana have all faced criticism for their inflammatory comments about Jews. According to analysis conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Naz Shah has acted or spoken in ways that breach the International Definition of Antisemitism and therefore qualify as antisemitic discourse on at least four occasions.

There is nothing progressive about the antisemitic views of Ilhan Omar. It is profoundly disappointing to see her welcomed by Sadiq Khan and a number of @UKLabour MPs.#LabourAntisemitism @SadiqKhan @Keir_Starmer @IlhanMN https://t.co/seUQHrERTq
— LAAS (@LabourAgainstAS) July 8, 2022

It is estimated the Palestinians have received more than four times the aid per capita than all of Europe received under the Marshall Plan. Once you ask yourself where that money has gone, and who’s spending it, you begin to understand the conflict.
— Blake Flayton (@blakeflayton) July 8, 2022

State Department claim that Israeli bullet killed Abu Akleh is biased - opinion

The US State Department’s July 4 statement wrongly asserting that an Israeli bullet was “likely responsible” for killing Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was biased against Israel, ignores evidence and contradicts the State Department’s finding, in its very same statement, that the bullet’s origin could not be determined, because “ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion.”

Moreover, the department’s assertion appears to be based on a fraudulent “investigation” by the terrorist dictatorship of the Palestinian Authority. The State Department statement says it was based on PA and IDF investigations. But the IDF investigation showed no “likely” involvement of an IDF bullet. Rather, the detailed “IDF investigation concluded that the source of the fire that led to the death of Ms. Abu Akleh could not be determined based on the available information.”

That leaves only the PA “investigation” as the basis for the State Department’s assertion. Anti-Israel propagandists, who, among other things have been the source for phony “investigations” about Abu Akleh that blamed Israel.

The State Department assertion also ignored that footage released hours after the incident, which showed Arab terrorists wearing bullet-proof vests shooting indiscriminately and then exclaiming: “they’ve hit one, they’ve hit a soldier, he’s laying on the ground.” The IDF confirmed that no Israeli soldiers were hit by gunfire in Jenin that day. The person that the Arab terrorists exclaimed about hitting and lying on the ground could very well have been Abu Akleh.

The State Department statement also failed to mention the PA’s lack of cooperation; the PA’s refusal and then long delay in turning over an alleged bullet; questions about the chain of custody; the failure to turn over a second alleged bullet fired at the Al Jazeera reporter; and the unlikelihood that a bullet recovered from a body would be that badly damaged.

Israel must take note of Algeria's embrace of Hamas

The extraordinary images emanating from Algeria earlier this week of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas shaking hands with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh sparked considerable interest in Israel. Beyond the handshake, which won't likely lead to inter-Palestinian reconciliation, the fact that it took place in Algeria – which was marking its 60-year anniversary of independence from France – could emerge to be significant.

Algeria, which has never had diplomatic relations with Israel, is adopting an increasingly extreme stance toward the Jewish state and could even become an alternate base of operations for Hamas, which is being pushed out of Turkey due to Ankara's rapprochement with Jerusalem. The backdrop to this development is Israel's burgeoning ties with Morocco, which is locked in a territorial dispute with Algeria over control of Western Sahara.

Last month, during a visit to Morocco, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked declared Israel's support for Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara. Additionally, numerous reports have recently cited significant arms deals between Israel and Morocco and improving security and diplomatic cooperation.

"Algeria's commitment to the Palestinian issue is longstanding, extending back to the days of [Yasser] Arafat, who viewed the Algerians' resistance to the French occupation as a role model," said Brig. Gen. (ret.) Yossi Kuperwasser, the former head of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate's Research Division and currently the director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center.

"With that, there's no doubt the Israeli rapprochement with Morocco and the reports of strengthening military and security ties between the countries are giving the Algerians extra motivation to embrace Hamas.

"This doesn't necessarily mean the government there will agree to host Hamas and allow it to establish a logistic home front on its soil, because the Algerians still want to maintain legitimacy with the West, but this is certainly a scenario that could unfold if the current trend is amplified. From Hamas' perspective, establishing a presence in Algeria would be a step back compared to Turkey, because it is a more distant country that isn't a central transit hub for the various players, but it's possible it won't have a better alternative," said Kuperwasser.

Brig. Gen. (ret.) Amir Avivi, a former Director-General of the Office of the Chief of Staff and currently the CEO of Israel's Defense & Security Forum, said, "We need to understand that Iran is involved in this process. The Iranians are very active in North Africa and in Algeria, and advise and arm it. Hezbollah is present in the country and trains the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front fighting the Moroccans in Western Sahara, who use Algeria as their base of operations.

"The fact that Turkey is moving closer to Israel and is under heavy American pressure to remove Hamas from its territory, is turning Algeria into an alternate option for the terrorist organization. Hamas leaders abroad are always looking for places to put their headquarters, and we saw this in the Gulf states as well. Such a base for logistics allows it to train and recruit activists, focus on drug smuggling that provides additional revenue, and more – especially because Hamas' ability to create revenue streams in Gaza is limited."

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser, explained that "there are no free meals on the international level and this is just another example. Algeria didn't like Israel even before the [peace] deal with Morocco, but it's certainly plausible that the agreement exacerbated this attitude. Just as Arafat was pushed out of Lebanon into Tunisia, senior Hamas leaders could be pushed to Algeria, which is in a less central location but from a diplomatic perspective is still part of the Middle East."

BBC News inaccurate on Abbas-Haniyeh meeting

A headline that appeared on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page on July 6th informed BBC audiences that “Abbas and Haniya meet for the first time in 15 years”.

The report – written by Youssef Taha – also appeared on the BBC News website’s ‘Africa Live’ page and in its photo caption and text, readers were once again told that Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh met in Algeria “for the first time in 15 years”.

In fact, at least one meeting between Abbas and Haniyeh has taken place more recently than fifteen years ago – i.e. since 2007.

As reported by the Times of Israel and others, in October 2016 Mahmoud Abbas met with Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal in Qatar.

“The 81-year-old Abbas met with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal and Hamas’s Gaza leader, Ismail Haniyeh, for a “business lunch” in Doha, the PA’s official news agency Wafa said.”

Eid al-Adha festival in Ramallah attacked for ‘displaying LGBT banners'

Palestinian thugs attacked a group of people in Ramallah on Friday who were celebrating Eid al-Adha, on the pretext that participants were carrying banners belonging to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.

The event, attended by many Palestinians and foreigners, was organized by the Palestinian Ashtar Theater as part of a youth festival.

Several people were injured in the attack, eyewitnesses said. One was identified as Edward Muallem, who works as a director of the theater.

Palestinian Authority policemen fired live ammunition into the air to stop the assault.

“Today at 5:30 p.m., a group of thugs attacked a group of Ashtar International Theater guests and students while standing in front of the Ottoman Court [in Ramallah],” the theater said in a statement.

“They were planning to march with a Palestinian flag, a map of Palestine and a large doll to celebrate Eid al-Adha. Suddenly, a group of thugs attacked the participants and started beating and cursing them. The police came and dispersed the young men, but they followed the artists to the Ramallah municipality square and attacked them again. The police did not intervene this time. This brutal attack resulted in injuries to youths and children and the theft of their mobile phones.”

The theater “strongly condemned this lawlessness and all those who contribute to these inflammatory phenomena, which only serve the growing rift in our society and the occupation.”

Some eyewitnesses said the assailants identified themselves as members of Fatah, the ruling faction headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

https://t.co/kdyRTIAWcS
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) July 8, 2022

The times of #Gaza apparently doesn’t know what #AlAqsa mosque looks like because it isn’t pictured here… ?? @Timesofgaza thats the dome of the rock. pic.twitter.com/x83EjyWTPM
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? (@emilykschrader) July 9, 2022

Palestinian militant groups published messages today congragulating the Palestinian people and the Islamic world on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. pic.twitter.com/Ex50tmAKay
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 8, 2022

Wanting the Iran Nuclear Deal for the Wrong Reasons

The EU partly wants the deal so it can buy oil and gas from the Iranian regime.

The EU also appears to want the nuclear deal in order not to lose its other economic relationships and trade with the ruling mullahs of Iran. Despite US sanctions, European countries are still trading with Iran; the Biden administration has yet to hold them accountable.

According to the Financial Tribune, Germany is Iran's top trading partner, and Italy comes in second.

By reaching a nuclear deal, the Biden administration may think that it can claim a foreign policy accomplishment and a political victory, as the Obama administration did, by arguing -- falsely -- that it had finally curbed Iran's nuclear program and prevented the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, that was about as accurate as Obama's claim – which he repeated 37 times -- that "If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it."

After the 2015 nuclear deal, however, the ruling mullahs of Iran were not only gifted a newfound global legitimacy. The removal of sanctions also generated billions of dollars in revenue for Iran's military institution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as for Iran's militia and terror groups. The regime used those revenues to expand its influence throughout the region, especially in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq....The Iranian-armed Houthis ratcheted up their efforts to cause death and destruction in Yemen, and Hezbollah escalated its involvement and control of large swathes of Syrian territory. The region also saw a greater propensity for Houthi rocket launches at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, the deployment of thousands of Hezbollah foot soldiers in Syria, and the constant bombardment of southern Israel with Hamas rockets funded by Iran.

Iran says US, Israeli plan for defense pact with Arabs will raise tensions

Iran's foreign ministry said on Saturday that plans by the United States and Israel for a joint defense pact with Arab states to counter the threat of Iranian drones and missiles would only increase regional tensions.

"The entry of foreigners in the region ...will not create security and stability but is itself the main cause of tension and regional rift," ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, according to state media.

The United States and Israel are seeking to lay the groundwork for a security alliance with Arab states that would connect air defense systems to combat Iranian drone and missile attacks in the Middle East, sources familiar with the plan said. Iranian threat

Speaking ahead of US President Joe Biden's trip next week to the Middle East which is to start in Israel, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that US officials are discussing ways of integrating air defense capabilities with regional leaders in the face of a threat from Iran.

But Kanaani said: "America raises such issues... solely with the aim of sowing Iranophobia and division among the countries in the region."

Iran starts advanced centrifuges at Fordo plant, UN watchdog report says

Iran has begun to use advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium at the underground Fordo facility, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by international media on Saturday.

The new machines mentioned in the confidential document obtained by Reuters have been the object of concern among Western states, as they make it easier for the Iranians to shift between enrichment levels.

Iran has told the IAEA it only plans to reach 20 percent enrichment with the upgraded centrifuges, below the necessary 90% needed for a nuclear weapon.

The report came amid stalled efforts by Western powers to forge an agreement with Iran that would place restrictions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and prevent it from being able to weaponize the material.

Iran has held direct talks with the remaining parties to the deal, and indirect talks with the US, since last April in a bid to restore the previous deal signed in 2015, but those negotiations have been at an impasse since March.

The US accused Iran over the last week of making demands at the negotiating table which were “wholly unrelated” to its nuclear program, a claim which was denied by Tehran.

Differences between Tehran and Washington have notably included Iran’s demand that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from a US terror list.

“We have no requirement which goes beyond the nuclear agreement — contrary to certain claims by the American party in the media,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters in Tehran.

Hito Steyerl withdraws from Documenta 15 amid antisemitism scandal

The renowned conceptual and new media artist Hito Steyerl, one of the best-known contemporary German artists and most high-profile participants in Documenta 15, has withdrawn from the influential quinquennial amid a spiralling antisemitism scandal. In a letter to Documenta’s organisers obtained by Die Zeit, Steyerl cites their handling of charges of antisemitism as one of the reasons for her withdrawal, as well as their inability to create a space where divisive issues could be discussed and the “unsafe and underpaid working conditions” some staff have endured.

“I have no faith in the organisation’s ability to mediate and translate complexity,” the artist wrote, in reference to “the repeated refusal to facilitate a sustained and structurally anchored inclusive debate around the exhibition, as well as the virtual refusal to accept mediation”.

Steyerl’s withdrawal follows on the heels of Meron Mendel, the director of the Anne Frank Educational Institution in Frankfurt, stepping down from his consulting role on Documenta 15. “There is a lot of good at Documenta, but when dealing with the current antisemitism scandal, I miss the serious will to work through the events and enter into an honest dialogue,” he told Der Spiegel.

Mendel’s departure and Steyerl’s withdrawal come amid a scandal that has overwhelmed the 15th edition of the closely watched, Kassel-based quinquennial, which has been curated this year by the Indonesian collective ruangrupa. Even before the exhibition’s opening in June, vandals targeted a space that was to house works by a group of Palestinian artists.

Owner of Toronto Kosher Store Reports Death Threats from BDS Activists

The lives of a Canadian Jewish kosher store owner and his family were threatened following an anti-Israel protest outside Jewish-owned businesses in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill.

“Shabbat Shalom b*tches,” the protestors shouted while waving Palestinian flags last Friday, which was also Canada Day.

During the demonstration, the owner of Taste of Israel — who has not been named — was told by one of the protestors that the group knew his address and would show up at his house. The same protestor also maintained that her gripe was against Zionists, not Jews.

On Sunday, he received a phone call from someone who said, “We are coming to kill you.”

Canadian Jewish leaders have since expressed concern about what transpired.

“This is not anti-Zionism — it’s a blatant act of antisemitic hate which must be condemned by everyone,” tweeted Canadian MP Melissa Lantsman on Friday. “You don’t come to a Jewish neighborhood and yell anti-Semitic tropes if it isn’t about hating Jews.”

Also commenting on Twitter, StopAntisemitism, an online antisemitism watchdog said the protest was “sickening” and represented “pure and unadulterated Jew hatred.”

Why are 4th-8th grade teachers in Pennsylvania (@PADeptofEd) being tested on Zionism in order to bring this into their classrooms @ETSInsights?!

Many adults can’t grasp the complexity of the I/P conflict, you’re asking 9-13 year olds to?

This is abhorrent @erichagarty! pic.twitter.com/KkwR2QCixs
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 9, 2022

Just incredible how blatantly so much of the media coverage totally ignores the antisemitism angle. He praised Hitler, he tried to get into a synagogue, he chose a town with a very high concentration of Jews for the shooting. But sure, no ideological bent. https://t.co/ta4lkclgXB
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) July 8, 2022

Extremist antisemite in UK had bomb-making instructions, a banned dagger

An antisemitic, racist and homophobic extremist was jailed in the UK on Thursday after having been found to possess instructions on how to make an explosive device, British media reported. This, after being investigated by the Counterterrorism Policing North West team in the country.

Scott Mason of Rainhill in Merseyside, 36, confessed to having documents that would be useful to a terrorist. Part of a copy of the Anarchist's Cookbook as well as extreme pornographic images were found in his possession by police. He also had a banned push-dagger.

Mason was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to four offenses: possession of information useful to a terrorist; possession of extreme pornography; witness intimidation; and possession of an offensive weapon.

One of the charges was possessing a copy of the banned Anarchist's Cookbook. He had previously been jailed for three months at the beginning of the year after admitting to owning the dagger.

Police were first alerted to his alarming and extremist right-wing behavior and views in 2021, according to the BBC, "after an incident surrounding reports of a domestic assault."

Phone records, according to local media reports, showed that he had attempted to intimidate witnesses of the domestic assault investigation.

Britain’s biggest bookseller found selling Holocaust denial material on its website

Following an exclusive report by Scout News, it has been revealed that the biggest chain of bookshops in the UK has been selling titles by far-right Holocaust deniers through its website.

According to the report, Waterstones and its partner, Blackwell’s, have been selling books published by publishing houses like Black House, a London-based outfit who are named after the headquarters of Oswald Mosley’s notorious British Union of Fascists, and the Budapest-based Arktos.

This kind of distribution allows tiny far-right imprints to gain a degree of legitimacy that they would not otherwise enjoy.

Some of the items on sale have been penned by Kerry Bolton, a neo-Nazi from New Zealand who has written books such as Babel Inc: Multiculturalism, Globalisation, and the New World Order, which contain passages like “The place of Jews in gentile societies is secure through the destruction of national and cultural cohesion through ‘cultural pluralism’ or multiculturalism.”

Mr Bolton promotes the conspiracy theory known as the Kalergi Plan, which claims that Jews want to encourage mixed-race relationships in order to diminish the influence of, and eventually enslave, non-Jews.

The Kalergi Plan is also pushed by the author Clare Ellis, whose book The Blackening of Europe claims that the plot aims to “predestine Jews to be leaders of urban humanity.”

Another author whose works are to be found on the Waterstones and Blackwell’s websites is Tomislav Sunic, whose Homo Americanus: Child of the Postmodern Age, published by Arktos, states that a “constant commemoration of the Jewish Holocaust” has become “a civic ritual all over the Americanised world, and which prohibits any critical inquiry.”

San Antonio Jewish community urged to stay ‘vigilant, aware’ after FBI lifts alert

The FBI issued an alert on Saturday against a potential threat to a Jewish facility in San Antonio, Texas, causing the Jewish Federation of San Antonio to cancel all public events, before lifting the warning after several hours.

The federation said Jewish services and events in the city and its environs would be suspended Saturday afternoon, later issuing an update on Facebook saying the FBI said there was no longer a “known imminent threat” to the San Antonio area Jewish community.

The federation urged people to stay “vigilant and aware” of their surroundings.

The FBI told the Jewish federation earlier in the day that there was a “potential threat to an unconfirmed Jewish facility in the San Antonio area,” possibly a synagogue, and that the agency was investigating the credibility of the threat.

“We are working to determine the credibility of the threat and sharing information with our law enforcement partners and our partners in the Jewish community,” the FBI said in a statement according to CNN.

In a statement following the FBI alert, the Federation said: “In an abundance of caution, we are taking all appropriate steps to ensure the safety of the community. After communicating with all local synagogues and organizations, it was recommended that all formal Jewish gatherings be suspended until further notice.”

The city’s Temple Beth-El, the oldest synagogue in San Antonio, said on Facebook that Shabbat services would be canceled for the day following the alert.

Last weekend residents near the Northside of San Antonio reported receiving these antisemitic, homophobic fliers from Jon Minadeo II’s group - Goyim Defense League. pic.twitter.com/qRoYcXtL47
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 9, 2022

The teen will have a preliminary hearing sometime within the next 10 to 14 days.

The teen told police he was distraught over the recent death of his mother and he did not like his father.

More here: https://t.co/Yuobw7cxDY
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 8, 2022

Libya sees rebirth of traditional jewelry craft once taught by Jewish artisans

In Tripoli’s Old City, young Libyans weave delicate patterns with threads of silver and gold to create traditional filigree jewelry — reviving an art almost lost through decades of dictatorship and war.

Abdelmajid Zeglam is just 12 years old, but his minutely detailed creations are already selling fast in the streets around a Roman-era archway dedicated to emperor Marcus Aurelius.

“I hesitated at first for fear of failing because I’m young, but my mum encouraged me,” Zeglam said.

He is the youngest of 20 or so students, around half of them female, studying at the Libyan Academy for Traditional Gold and Silver Crafts, in a building that once served as a French consulate to the Ottoman Empire.

Trainees learn about precious metal alloys before studying the art of filigree, in which beads and threads of the precious materials are woven into intricate designs and then soldered together to create jewellery.

“I love it,” Zeglam said. “I want to become a petroleum engineer in the mornings and a jeweler in the afternoons.”

Israeli judoka Muki loses to Iranian defector and friend Mollaei in 1st-ever matchup

Three years after being forced to refuse to fight Israeli Sagi Muki, judoka Saeid Mollaei, ex-Iranian turned Azerbaijani, finally faced his opponent on Saturday at the Budapest Grand Slam. Mollaei won by immobilization in the third round of the tournament, and the two men, who have become friends, hugged after the fight.

On his Instagram account, Muki welcomed a “victory of sport over politics” and praised “the ability of sport and friendship to bridge all the gaps.”

“Thank you brother,” Mollaei replied.

Mollaei fled his country to Europe in 2019 after being ordered to lose bouts in order to avoid competing against the Israeli. Mollaei and Muki became friends following the highly publicized incident at the 2019 World Championships, and have cheered each other on over the past few years. Saturday was the first time the two officially competed against each other.

“First ever contest between Saeid Mollaei and Sagi Muki! What a beautiful friendship between these judoka!” the International Judo Federation said on Twitter.

A caption to a 2020 Instagram photo of the two published by Muki read: “Friend for life!!!”

The story of the unlikely friendship between Mollaei and Muki is being developed for television by Israel’s Tadmor Entertainment and MGM.

Last year, Mollaei, while representing Mongolia, took home the silver medal in the men’s 81-kilogram division at the Tokyo Olympics.

What really annoys some people about a Liverpool footballer naming his baby 'Israel' is the in-your-face reminder that 'Israel' is in the bible - 'Israel' is a part of our global history - and Palestine isn't.

Anti-Jewish racists don't like to be shown the truth. It upsets them.
— David Collier (@mishtal) July 9, 2022

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