Wednesday’s “News in Review” Round-Up

Download a pdf version of today’s Isranet Daily Briefing.pdf

 

 

On Topic Links

 

Respond Firmly to Palestinian Blackmail: Efraim Inbar, Middle East Forum, Apr. 6, 2014

Revaluate Basic Assumptions About the Peace Process: David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom, Apr. 8, 2014

Defining a Bad greement with Iran: Ephraim Asculai, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 8, 2014

No Holds Barred: Tom Friedman Equates Sheldon Adelson With Iran: Shmuley Boteach, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 7, 2014

 

 

“A day went by. Day two went by. Day three went by. And then in the afternoon, when they were about to maybe get there, 700 settlement units were announced in Jerusalem and, poof, that was sort of the moment,” — US Secretary of State John Kerry, appearing to blame Israel on Tuesday for dissolving a deal that would have extended negotiations with the Palestinians for nine months. At issue was an announcement of tenders for 700 homes in the south Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, over the green line, Kerry explained to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Responding to Kerry’s focus on the settlement issue, Israel countered on Wednesday that it was the Palestinians who had “violated their fundamental commitments” by applying last week to join 15 international conventions and treaties. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 9, 2014)  

 

“Secretary Kerry…knows that it was the Palestinians who said ‘no’ to continued direct talks with Israel in November; who said ‘no’ to his proposed framework for final status talks; who said ‘no’ to even discussing recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people; who said ‘no’ to a meeting with Kerry himself; and who said ‘no’ to an extension of the talks.” — an official in the office of the Israeli prime minister, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. He added, “At the same time, in the understandings reached prior to the talks, Israel did not commit to any limitation on construction. Therefore, the Palestinian claim that building in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, was a violation of the understandings is contrary to the facts. Both the American negotiating team and the Palestinians know full well that Israel made no such commitment.” (New York Times, Apr. 9, 2014)

 

“They will achieve a state only through direct negotiations and not through empty proclamations or unilateral moves, which will only push a peace accord farther away,” — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at his weekly cabinet meeting. Netanyahu promised retaliatory measures on Sunday after PA President Mahmoud Abbas made unilateral moves toward statehood. Netanyahu did not immediately specify the action he would take and said Israel remained willing to press on with U.S.-brokered peace talks, but not “at any price.” (Globe & Mail, Apr. 6, 2014)

 

“I’m not a prophet of doom, I’m a realist,” — Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, discussing the faltering “peace process” during a visit to northern Israel. “Unfortunately, on this issue, I find myself saying repeatedly, ‘I told you so.’ I wish the situation was different…every time, the Palestinians run away and try to blame us,” Ya’alon said. “On Passover, we need to free ourselves from mental enslavement to irrelevant concepts on the Israeli-Palestinian matter.” (Israel Hayom, Apr. 9, 2014)

 

“The Palestinians have turned extortion into an art form and they know no bounds,” — Israeli Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis, at a special recess Knesset session called by the opposition. Akunis leveled harsh criticism at the PA, saying, “Every time the talks seem to make progress the Palestinian leaders bolt, essentially spitting in the Americans’ faces. Israel has taken far-reaching steps to facilitate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. If the Palestinians seek unilateral moves, Israel will be free to do so as well.” (Israel Hayom, Apr. 8, 2014)

 

“Instead of trying to stave off the U.N. bid with the release of Palestinian terrorists and an American spy, perhaps the administration could simply stop fighting Congress, which developed a far more effective method. Under law, any U.N. agency that recognizes “Palestine” has its U.S. funds cut off. The Obama administration keeps trying to restore funding for UNESCO, which in 2011 defied the U.S. by recognizing Palestine. What kind of signal is this to the rest of the world? Financial sanctions are precisely the kind of pressure that can support diplomacy. Yet this administration seems intent on removing sanctions that might thwart Palestinian moves toward unilateral statehood, the latest Palestinian strategy for getting land without offering peace. After all, that would be diplomacy with teeth. So 19th century.” —  Charles Krauthammer (Washington Post, Apr. 3, 2014)

 

“Liberation of the prisoners should be considered a core national priority of the march of resistance to the occupation…. as part of the doctrine of national resistance to the occupation.” —Terrorist Marwan Barghouti, one of the architects of the deadly second intifada, in a paper he wrote that was read by his wife in a conference. Barghouti blamed the current PA leadership for their failure to get prisoners, like himself, to be released. The idea that releasing terrorists is conducive to peace is certainly one of the more Orwellian ideas to come out of the failed Oslo process. (Elder of Ziyon, Apr. 6, 2014)

 

“Women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory face multiple layers of violence and discrimination. The analysis made by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women in 2005 remains valid. She found that the combination of decades of Israeli occupation, the use of force against Palestinians by Israel, the different forms of resistance used by Palestinians against such use of force and the patriarchy prevailing in Palestinian society expose women to a continuum of violence in all spheres of life.” — U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, in her recent report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, reviving the bizarre charge, made by one of her colleagues in 2005, that when Palestinian men beat their wives, it’s Israel’s fault. (UN Watch, Apr. 8, 2014)

 

“I left everything behind, my fears and my work, and came to use my vote,” — Hajji Mahbob, 60, speaking about Saturday’s election in Afghanistan. He added: “I want change and a good government and I am asking the man I am going to elect as the next president to bring an end to the suffering of this war.” Defying a campaign of Taliban violence that unleashed 39 suicide bombers in the two months before Election Day, Afghan voters turned out in such high numbers to choose a new president and provincial councils that polling hours were extended nationwide. Militants failed to mount a single major attack anywhere in Afghanistan by the time polls closed, and voters lined up despite heavy rain and cold in the capital and elsewhere. (New York Times, Apr. 5, 2014)

 

“If Afghanistan slides back into chaos, it could lead to years of civil war, drawing in foreign powers…it would be a running sore just like Syria,” — Ronald E. Neumann, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007, warning that without more sustained leadership from the White House, and continued financial aid to Afghanistan from Congress, the country could quickly undermine Mr. Obama’s other foreign policy priorities. (New York Times, Apr. 4, 2014)

 

“The international community failed the people of Rwanda 20 years ago. And we are at risk of not doing enough for the people of the CAR today,” — Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General. Ban also said that foreign troops in Central African Republic were “overwhelmed” by a “state of anarchy” and warned the country could see a repeat of the Rwandan genocide. “Atrocity crimes are being committed in this country,” Ban said, adding that “Ethno-religious cleansing is a reality.” (Telegraph, Apr. 6, 2014)

 

“I don’t think we ever knew a minister who said things the way he says them,” — Roger Cukierman, president of the CRIF umbrella group of French Jewish communities, speaking about Manuel Valls, France’s new Prime Minister. Cukierman was referring specifically to a speech last month by Valls at a rally marking the two-year anniversary of the slaying of four Jews in Toulouse in which Valls said that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. But Cukierman could have had in mind any of several explicit displays of Jewish solidarity that Valls has undertaken over the years. As interior minister, Valls led an uncompromising assault on the comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, who created a quasi-Nazi salute known as the quenelle that Valls has described as “an antisemitic gesture of hate.” “We are fortunate,” Cukierman said, “to have a leadership that is perfectly attentive to the community’s needs.” (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 8, 2014)

 

“Basically, the room was weighted toward the motion passing. It was clear for anyone who could see it,” — Shannon Riley, president of Hillel, a Jewish student group at Ryerson University. In a tense annual general meeting this week, several hundred Ryerson students voted “overwhelmingly in favour” of supporting the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS). “The environment, it was hostile. It was confrontational. I didn’t feel comfortable as a Jewish student on campus,” added Riley. The resolution’s organizers claim to be the 11th such student union in Ontario to sign on to the BDS drive. The vote will give student politicians the mandate to encourage the university administration to cut ties with all companies and investments that support what resolution supporters consider to be Israeli “apartheid.” However, Ryerson’s administration said it does not support the resolution, so the student union vote will remain merely symbolic. (National Post, Apr. 5, 2014)

 

“With Pesach quickly approaching, I wanted to wish Pesach Sameach – a Happy Passover – on behalf of Calgary United with Israel (CUWI) and myself, to everyone. The Passover holiday has four names in Hebrew: the holiday of 1) Passover 2) Unleavened Bread (Matzot) 3) Spring and 4) Freedom. I wish everyone, and indeed the world, the opportunity for true freedom: one of the basic premises of our humanity. All humans deserve to live in peace, freedom from imminent harm, health, good will, community and to have the opportunity for progress…Israel, and Jews globally, are under a very real existential threat. Iran is slowly and quietly gaining speed. Rockets are regularly being launched into Israel. There was a bombing at a Hebrew University pub this week in Jerusalem. America has blamed us for failed peace talks. The “Boycott, Sanction, Divest (BDS)” movement is gaining traction. Students on university campuses need to think twice before proudly displaying Jewish symbols. There have been Jewish hate crimes on campus. Anti-Israel and Jewish sentiments are penetrating into academia via textbooks and public talks…Therefore, let us leverage the energy of this Passover holiday to remind ourselves that freedom is not to be taken for granted, but it must be preserved, guarded and ever-nurtured. Every religion, ever gender, ever human has the right to freedom and well-being…Together, with the right intention, action and through global synergy we can affect positive change in the world – as it pertains to Israel and the Jews, the Middle East broadly, our local community, Canada and the USA, and the entire world.” — Sarah Bernamoff, pro-Israel University of Calgary graduate student and President of Calgary United with Israel (CUWI).     

 

Contents

 

U.S. WARNS ON IRAN “BREAKOUT” CAPABILITY AS NUCLEAR TALKS START (Washington) — The US said on Tuesday Iran has the ability to produce fissile material for a nuclear bomb in two months, if it so decided, as Tehran and the P5+1 powers swung into a new round of talks in Vienna on resolving their atomic dispute. The overarching goal of the P5+1 powers is to persuade Iran to scale back its programme to the point that it would take it much longer, perhaps as much as a year, to produce fuel for a bomb if it chose to do so. “I think it’s public knowledge today that we’re operating with a time period for a so-called ‘break-out’ of about two months. That’s been in the public domain,” Kerry testified at a Senate hearing. Iran’s “break-out” time is defined as how long it would take it to produce fissile material for one nuclear weapon. (Reuters, Apr. 9, 2014)

 

PRO-RUSSIA PROTESTERS SEIZE UKRAINE BUILDINGS (Kiev) — Pro-Russian protesters seized state buildings in three east Ukrainian cities on Sunday, triggering accusations from the pro-European government in Kiev that President Vladimir Putin was orchestrating “separatist disorder”. The protesters stormed regional government buildings in the industrial hub of Donetsk and security service offices in nearby Luhansk, waving Russian flags and demanding a Crimea-style referendum on joining Russia. Protesters also later seized the regional administrative building in Kharkiv. All three cities lie close to Ukraine’s border with Russia. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov vowed to restore order in eastern Ukraine without using violence and also accused Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovich, whose political base was in Donetsk, of conspiring with Putin to fuel tensions. (Reuters, Apr. 6, 2014)

 

IRON BEAM INTERCEPTS MORTAR SHELLS ‘LIKE FLIES’ (Haifa) — Israel’s new Iron Beam anti-mortar shell system achieved a high interception rate in tests that showed it “shoots down flying objects like flies,” according to Yedidia Yaari, CEO of Rafael Advanced Systems, which developed the technology. “This is a system for a shorter range than Iron Dome,” which has been deployed around urban centers and has a high success rate of interception short and medium-range missiles. The Iron Beam uses a laser that “is designed to intercept simpler munitions, such as mortars,” Yaari explained. The system will give a bit of peace of mind to residents of the Gaza Belt communities, pounded by thousands of mortar shells for well over a decade. (Jewish Press, Apr. 3, 2014)

 

EXPLOSION NEAR PAKISTANI CAPITAL KILLS AT LEAST 26 (Islamabad) — A blast at a fruit market in Islamabad killed at least 26 people Wednesday and injured dozens more. The blast was close to a bus stop at the entrance of the morning bazaar. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, though Pakistanis on social media pointed fingers toward the Pakistani Taliban, which issued a statement denouncing the attack. The Pakistani Taliban announced a month-long cease-fire in March, which was extended to April 10. Pakistani officials have conducted several rounds of peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban’s nominated committee. (L.A. Times, Apr. 9, 2014)

 

CANADIAN REPORTER, WOUNDED AND PHOTOGRAPHER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN (Kabul) — An AP photographer was killed and a Canadian reporter was wounded in eastern Afghanistan after a police officer opened fire on the women while they were sitting in a car a day before the start of the national election. Anja Niedringhaus, 48, internationally acclaimed for her photography, died instantly. Kathy Gannon, 60, was shot three times in the arm and shoulder and is receiving medical attention. Gannon and Niedringhaus had been working together in Afghanistan and Pakistan for nearly five years. Both journalists had spent 20-plus years covering the region. (CBC, Apr. 4, 2014)  

 

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD HITS BACK AT BRITISH GOVERNMENT OVER TERROR PROBE (London) —  The Muslim Brotherhood has warned it will take the British Government to court if it seeks to restrict the movement’s activities. On Tuesday, it was revealed that the Brotherhood’s London headquarters are under scrutiny from the British intelligence services, who are cooperating with a probe into the group’s alleged links to terrorism in Egypt. “Whilst the Muslim Brotherhood is prepared to engage with the British Government’s review… [it] will challenge, through the British courts, any improper attempt to restrict its activity,” the group said in an emailed statement to reporters on Wednesday night. Fleeing an aggressive crackdown at home, senior Brotherhood figures have established a firm presence in London, Doha, and Istanbul since July, when former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in a military coup. (Telegraph, Apr. 3, 2014)

 

PALESTINIAN ENVOY IN PRAGUE LIKELY KILLED BY BOOBY-TRAPPED BOOK (Prague) — The Palestinian ambassador to Prague who died in a blast in January was most likely killed by a decades-old charge of Semtex plastic explosive concealed in a book, a newspaper reported on Tuesday citing a police investigator. Police had decided Jamal al-Jamal was not assassinated, but had simply unwittingly opening a book booby-trapped years earlier. “It was an unfortunate accident. The ambassador was a thorough man who wanted to put some old things in order, and among them there were two books with explosives,” the paper quoted the source as saying. It did not explain why such a book might have been left at the embassy in Prague. Officers investigating the explosion found other explosives and firearms at the mission dating back to the Cold War. (Reuters, Apr. 8, 2014)  

 

PRO-ISRAEL EVENT ON NEW ORLEANS CAMPUS (New Orleans) — On Sunday, March 30, the African American Christian Zionist college student Chloé Simone Valdary pulled off another huge student-led pro-Israel event. Declare Your Freedom 2.0 was held at Tulane University, with over 400 in attendance. Last year, Valdary organized the first DYF, and held it at her school, the University of New Orleans. The purpose of DYF, Valdary told The Jewish Press, was “to continue to say without compunction or regret that we are Zionists, and also to celebrate Zionism – the civil rights movement of the Jewish people.”

 

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION LACKING IN QUEBEC SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS, STUDY SHOWS  (Montréal) — Many high school students in Quebec are using history textbooks that never name or define the Holocaust — and many may graduate without ever learning about the Holocaust because it’s not actually a required part of the curriculum. A new study by researchers at the Université de Montréal says that Quebec’s treatment of the Holocaust in its high school history curriculum is superficial and incomplete, with no real reflection on the event’s complexity. The curriculum mentions the Holocaust at the end of a chapter, in a section titled “Elsewhere,” where it says “there was a movement to deprive European Jews of their freedom and civil rights,” according to Sivane Hirsch, one of the researchers. “It is more than just depriving Jews of their human rights, that’s the first problem with the official curriculum,” Hirsch said in an interview. (Montreal Gazette, Apr. 2, 2014)

 

GRENADA GETS A RABBI (St. George’s) — The island nation of Grenada, off the coast of Venezuela, now has its first permanent rabbi. Chabad, which focuses on outreach and the promotion of Jewish religious practice among secular Jews, has had a presence in Grenada for over half a century, with so-called “roving rabbis” regularly visiting the country. However, with Rabbi Boruch Rozmarin having moved there in December, the 500 Jewish students studying at St. George’s University now have a full-time cleric. “Every year, the young rabbis would return from Grenada with glowing reports of Seders, holiday services and festivals held in conjunction with the Jewish students on the island,” Chabad’s Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky told the chabad.org website. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 8, 2014)

 

CHINA’S ‘LOST JEWS’ TO HOLD FIRST SEDER IN KAIFENG (Kaifeng) — The community of Kaifeng is to be holding the first Seder meal to be held by indigenous Chinese Jews in generations next week. There are around 1,000 residents of Jewish descent in the city, one of China’s former imperial capitals. The Seder, which is being organized by Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel, is to be run by 28-year-old Tzuri (Heng) Shi, a former Kaifeng resident who immigrated to Israel and officially converted several years ago. The Seder is part of a larger undertaking being run by the Shavei Israel organization aimed at helping people of Jewish descent to “rediscover or renew their link with the people of Israel.” (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 8, 2014)

 

MKS HOLD MODEL SEDER WITH SEAT SET ASIDE FOR JONATHAN POLLARD (Jerusalem) — The Knesset’s pro-Pollard caucus held the model Seder to encourage the US to free Pollard in time for Passover and Israelis to set an empty seat at their Seders for Pollard if he is not released. Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) said at the event: “It is inhumane, unfit, and unacceptable that [the Americans] are holding him as a bargaining chip.” Coming hours before US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to blame Ariel for the failure of the American-brokered diplomatic negotiations, the MKs made a point of singing “Vehi she’amda,” the song from the Seder about how God saves the Jewish people from annihilation in every generation. They also sang “This year in Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 9, 2014)

 

On Topic Links

 

Respond Firmly to Palestinian Blackmail: Efraim Inbar, Middle East Forum, Apr. 6, 2014 — Last week, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas blew off the US-brokered peace talks with Israel and slapped Washington in the face by re-launching a diplomatic war against Israel through international institutions.

Revaluate Basic Assumptions About the Peace Process: David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom, Apr. 8, 2014—Time to dial-down Palestinian expectations and roll-back Palestinian maximalism.

Defining a Bad Agreement with Iran: Ephraim Asculai, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 8, 2014—Some characteristics need to be avoided if the final nuclear agreement is to serve its purpose.

No Holds Barred: Tom Friedman Equates Sheldon Adelson With Iran: Shmuley Boteach, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 7, 2014 —Friedman wants others to share his loathing for Adelson because the philanthropist opposes the great sage’s desire for a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank.

 

Rob Coles, Publications Editor, Canadian Institute for Jewish Research/L’institut Canadien de recherches sur le Judaïsme,   www.isranet.org Tel: (514) 486-5544 – Fax:(514) 486-8284. mailto:ber@isranet.wpsitie.com