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Contents: Weekly Quotes | Short Takes | On Topic Links
Download a pdf version of today’s Isranet Daily Briefing.pdf
Beheaded Journalist Hid His Judaism from ISIS Captors: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu, Jewish Press, Sept. 3, 2014
War in Europe is Not a Hysterical Idea: Anne Applebaum, Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2014
Russians Change Game in Ukraine: Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg, Sept. 1, 2014
Frustration Grows in Israel Over Outcome of Gaza Conflict: Joshua Mitnick, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 30, 2014
WEEKLY QUOTES
“Our reach is long, and justice will be served,” —U.S. President Barack Obama, claiming the U.S. won’t be intimidated by ISIS terrorists after the beheading of a second American journalist and will build a coalition to “degrade and destroy” the group. Obama still did not give a timeline for deciding on a strategy to go after the extremist group’s operations in Syria. “It’ll take time to roll them back,” he said at a news conference during a visit to Europe. Obama’s comments came Wednesday after the U.S. had verified the authenticity of a video, released Tuesday, showing the beheading of freelance reporter Steven Sotloff, two weeks after journalist James Foley was similarly killed. Obama vowed the U.S. would not forget the “terrible crime against these two fine young men.” Obama said that he will continue to fight the terrorist threat and the “barbaric and ultimately empty vision” it represents. “Our objective is to make sure that [ISIS] is not an ongoing threat to the region,” he said. “And we can accomplish that. It’s going to take some time and it’s going to take some effort.” (National Post, Sept. 3, 2014)
“I’m back, Obama, and I’m back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State,” —Sotloff’s executioner, in the second video released by ISIS reportedly depicting the beheading of U.S. journalists. “Just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people,” he added. (CNN, Sept. 4, 2014)
(There is) “a straightforward purpose from an analytical standpoint: intimidation,” —Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group, commenting on the video reportedly showing Sotloff’s beheading. The stark video is another planned performance directed and produced to seize the attention of a broad Western audience. “Beyond the surface level, however, there is an equally alarming element to this video: recruitment to jihad…While anyone with a sliver of morality and a functioning stomach couldn’t possibly register any such appeal, a dangerous community with a dark view of the world have interpreted the video in a celebratory and empowering vein,” Katz added. (National Post, Sept. 2, 2014)
“These Al-Qaeda members (who have crossed into Syria from Afghanistan and Pakistan)…train other extremists for possible operations in Western countries,” —Public Safety Canada report on terrorist threats to Canada. Calling the development a “major concern,” the report said Syria had become a safe haven and training ground for terrorists. “This may enhance their ability to attack neighbouring countries or Western interests.” In particular, it said Al-Qaeda members had been helping Jabhat al-Nusrah, Ahrar al-Sham and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. “They may return to Canada or other countries imbued with knowledge, skills and experience gained in terrorist operations and training camps,” said the report, adding “it is possible some returnees could plan and carry out terrorist attacks in Canada.” (National Post, Aug. 29, 2014)
“It was possible for us to avoid all of that, 2,000 martyrs, 10,000 injured, 50,000 houses (destroyed),” —Palestinian Authority President Mahmood Abbas, in remarks broadcast Friday. Abbas blamed Hamas for extending fighting with Israel in the Gaza Strip. He said Hamas had insisted on discussing demands first before ending the war, which only served to prolong the violence needlessly. “They (Hamas) have a shadow government, if this continues it means no unity. The test is coming soon. The government needs to do its job and handle everything,” Abbas said. “I’m not saying everything needs to come to an end in one moment, this is a seven-year split that needs months or years,” Abbas said. (Yahoo News, Aug. 29, 2014)
“The Egyptian formula was on the table on July 15th, it was backed by the Arab League, it was accepted by Israel but rejected by Hamas then and now more than a month later has belatedly been accepted by Hamas,” —Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. “As the dust clears from the conflict I’m sure many people in Gaza will be asking why did Hamas reject a month ago what it accepted today, and if it had accepted then what it accepted now, how much bloodshed could have been avoided,” he added. Egyptian mediators tried early on to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire. Several temporary truces were broken by Hamas. (Yahoo News, Aug. 29, 2014)
“It is no surprise to anyone that there are both Russian and Russian sponsored units actively operating within Ukraine’s sovereign borders. What we’ve seen in the last couple of days is a marked escalation of that,” —Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird on Thursday, assailing Putin’s government for its “invasion of eastern Ukraine.” Putin and the Russian Federation have lost all credibility for their “shameless dishonesty,” Baird said, calling on Russia to halt its “blatant act of aggression.” The increasingly bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine appeared to be closer to resolution today, as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that he had discussed a general framework for a cease-fire with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian leader appeared to be preparing to make difficult concessions after a week in which Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine made rapid strides to retake territory, after apparently receiving an infusion of support from Russia. The Kremlin denies aiding them. (Postmedia, Aug. 29, 2014 & Washington Post, Sept. 3, 2014)
(Europe, could not) “listen to the lies that we are receiving from Putin” and should offer military support to Ukraine, —Dalia Grybauskaite, the president of Lithuania, demanding that existing and future military contracts with Russia be prohibited. Russia, she added, was “in a state of war against Ukraine and that means that it is in a state of war against countries that want to be closer to the European Union and that means practically that Russia is in a state of war against Europe. That means we have to help Ukraine battle back, to defend its territory and its people, to help militarily.” Fighting in eastern Ukraine has been going on for months, mostly around rebel-held Donetsk and Luhansk. But the conflict expanded last week after the rebels — backed by Russian forces, according to NATO — opened a front along a coastal road leading to the industrial port city of Mariupol. (New York Times, Aug. 30, 2014)
“Russia’s partners … should understand it’s best not to mess with us,” —Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin compared Kiev’s assault on the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk to the 900-day Nazi siege of Leningrad in which 1 million civilians died, perhaps the most powerful historical analogy it is possible to invoke in Russia. “Small villages and large cities surrounded by the Ukrainian army which is directly hitting residential areas with the aim of destroying the infrastructure,” he said. “It sadly reminds me the events of the Second World War, when German fascist … occupiers surrounded our cities.” Putin said the only solution to the conflict was for Kiev to negotiate directly with the rebels. Kiev has long refused to do so, arguing that the rebels are not a legitimate force on their own but proxies for Moscow, which must agree to rein them in. (Globe & Mail, Aug. 29, 2014)
“After going through such tough time, including exile, jail, a long march, can anyone expect me to, God forbid, make a U-turn? There is no question,” —Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, insisting that he wouldn’t allow democratic rule to falter, after the country’s powerful military establishment abruptly beat back his longstanding efforts to assert civilian supremacy. Sharif defended his commitment to democracy: “I can sacrifice not one, but ten governments, but will not sacrifice my ideology.” The pressure brought on by the thousands of protesters who have laid siege to Islamabad for the last two weeks has already forced Sharif to relinquish key powers to the armed forces. But the government, which believes the demonstrations have been secretly backed by the military and its spy agencies, said a further retreat wasn’t in the offing. Even if Mr. Sharif’s government survives, he agreed in recent days to hand over control of foreign policy and security issues to the military behind the scenes, in what analyst Ayesha Siddiqa called a “soft coup”. (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 29, 2014)
“We need to acknowledge there was a large number of Pakistani men said to be involved. As a Pakistani Muslim I don’t find anything within our religion to condone this,” —Muhbeen Hussain, founder of the British Muslim Youth group. Shock was evident last Wednesday as the people of Rotherham, U.K., learned that for 16 years, 1,400 girls in their community, some as young as 11, had been subjected to sexual exploitation on a vast scale. Despite repeated warnings over the years, only a handful of men have ever been convicted and an independent report found that local leaders had dismissed reports of child rape, exploitation and violence for years. Part of the reason, they said, was that they feared they would be branded as racist for pursuing the perpetrators — the majority of whom were men of Pakistani origin. “We need to reopen every case since the 1990s and investigate them. If it were any other type of crime the police would have acted,” Hussain believes. He argues the reason the problem has gone on for so long isn’t about race, despite the authorities tiptoeing around the issue. What it is about, he argues, is a lack of accountability. “Saying it’s about race is just an excuse for the failure of the local council. Are they not going to arrest a drug dealer because the Muslims may be upset? It’s ludicrous.” (National Post, Aug. 27, 2014)
“As commander-in-chief, your actions, or lack thereof, Mr. President, cost lives,” —Billy and Karen Vaughn, whose son was killed in action when a Chinook helicopter was shot down over Afghanistan with 30 American soldiers on board. In an open letter, the Vaughns, whose son Aaron died in 2011, wrote that they were stunned by Obama’s decision to go golfing directly after giving a somber speech about the beheading of American journalist James Foley by the jihadists, also known as ISIS. “As you bumble about in your golf cart, slapping on a happy face and fist-pounding your buddies, your cowardly lack of leadership has left a gaping hole — not only in America’s security but the security of the entire globe. Your message has come across loud and clear, sir: You are not up to this job. You know it. We know it. The world knows it. Please vacate the people’s house and allow a man or woman of courage and substance to seize the reins of this out-of-control thug-fest and regain the balance we, America, have provided throughout our great history.” The Vaughns, whose son was Special Operations Chief of the SEALs unit that killed al-Qaida terror leader Osama Bin Laden during a Pakistan raid in March 2011, went on to say that Obama’s administration has “lurched from one disaster to another..” (Newsmax, Sept. 2, 2014)
“Old-school thugs – Mubarak and even Saddam – felt obliged to lie to the world: no, no torture going on here; we’re civilized men, just like you. But…the ISIS lads are “brazen” about it – they’re in your face about offing your head. And it’s worked for them: The more they post decapitated victims on Twitter and Facebook, the more followers they get in the “civilized” world. In an ill advised choice of words, the Prime Minister David Cameron said, “We need to tackle the ideology of Islamist extremism head on” – because trying to do it with your head off doesn’t seem to be working out for those poor fellows in Mosul,” —Mark Steyn (SteynOnline, Aug. 29, 2014)
SHORT TAKES
SPECIAL GAZA WAR POLL (Gaza City) — These are a portion of the results of the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 26-30 August 2014. To read the full document, click the following link. It is worth noting that the size of the change in favor of Hamas is unprecedented since 2006. Indeed, if presidential elections were to take place today, Ismail Haniyeh would easily win over Abbas and Hamas would win the largest percentage of the popular vote in parliamentary elections. 79% believe that Hamas has won the Gaza War; 3% believe Israel came out the winner; and 17% believe the two sides were losers. 79% believe Israel was responsible for the eruption of the Gaza war; 5% believe Hamas was responsible; and 12% believe the responsibility lies with the two sides. An overwhelming majority of 86% support the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel if the siege and blockade are not ended. 94% are satisfied with Hamas’ military performance in confronting Israeli forces; 78% are satisfied with its defense of civilians in Gaza; and 89% are satisfied with its media and communication performance. (Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Sept. 2, 2014)
ISRAELI NUCLEAR SUB ON THE WAY FOR IDF NAVY (Jerusalem) —Israel’s first German-made Dolphin II nuclear-capable submarine is on its way to Israel, Israeli Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ram Rothberg said at a naval ceremony in Haifa Tuesday night. The German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the submarines have a nuclear capability and will help Israel defend against an Iranian nuclear threat. Dubbed INS Tanin, the Hebrew word for “crocodile,” the sub “can dive deeper and further and for longer and work more powerfully than anything we have previously known,” the naval commander said. In five years, the scheduled arrival of two more nuclear submarines from Germany will bring to six the number of subs in the fleet. (Jewish Press, Sept. 3, 2014)
SYRIAN REBELS ISSUE DEMANDS FOR U.N. HOSTAGES (Damascus) —An Islamist rebel group fighting to overthrow the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will release 45 captured U.N. peacekeepers if it is dropped from the list of al Qaeda-linked groups under U.N. sanctions, a military official said Tuesday. The peacekeepers, all from the Pacific island nation of Fiji, were captured Thursday in the Golan Heights. They were deployed there as part of a 1,200-member U.N. force monitoring a buffer zone between Syria and Israel. The rebels of the Nusra Front also were demanding monetary compensation for the deaths of the insurgents who were killed in recent fighting along the Syrian-Israeli border, as well as humanitarian aid for a rebel-controlled area near the Syrian capital Damascus that is surrounded by government troops. Nusra Front fighters and other Syrian rebels seized the border crossing at the city of Quneitra, on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, on Aug. 27 and besieged the peacekeepers’ encampments. (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 2, 2014)
LIBYAN MILITIAS SEIZE CONTROL OF CAPITAL AS CHAOS RISES (Tripoli) —The government of Libya said Monday that it had lost control of its ministries to a coalition of militias that had taken over the capital, Tripoli, in another milestone in the disintegration of the state. “The government reiterates that these buildings and the public headquarters are not safe and inaccessible, because they are under the control of armed men,” the government said in a statement. The statement indicated the emergence of two rival centers of government — one in Tripoli and the other in Tobruk — each all but powerless. Over the last two months, the fractious militias that have dominated the country since the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi have lined up into two warring factions. One side, operating under the name Libya Dawn, aligned with militias from the coastal city of Misurata and the Islamist factions in what fighters portrayed as a battle to prevent a counterrevolution. The other side was aligned with the renegade general, Khalifa Hifter, in the east and partisans from the mountain city of Zintan in the west, to fight what they called a battle against Islamist extremists. (New York Times, Sept. 1, 2014)
BEHEADED JOURNALIST STEVE SOTLOFF WAS AMERICAN OLEH TO ISRAEL (Tel Aviv) —Journalist Steven Sotloff, who was beheaded by the Islamic State, was a dual American-Israeli citizen and studied in Israel. Sotloff’s connections to Israel and the Jewish community reportedly were sanitized from the internet and social media in order to keep the information from his radical Islamic captors. The Foreign Ministry cleared for publication Wednesday that Sotloff held Israeli citizenship. Sotloff, who grew up in Miami, made aliyah in 2005 and studied foreign relations in Herzliya. Sotloff was abducted on Aug. 4, 2013, after crossing the Syrian border from Turkey. A hostage who was held with Sotloff and later released, told the Hebrew daily Yediot Acharonot that Sotloff was able to fast last year on Yom Kippur without his captors knowing. (Jewish Press, Sept. 3, 2014)
LATEST ISLAMIC STATE MAGAZINE TOUTS FOLEY KILLING, TAUNTS OBAMA (Washington) —Al-Hayat Media, an important part of the Islamic State’s propaganda machine, released the third issue of its English-language jihadist publication Dabiq Friday. It released its first two editions of the magazine written in the style of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula’s Inspire magazine earlier in August. It sets up the United States as the boogeyman all Muslims must fight because Americans killed thousands of Muslims during their occupation of Iraq, calling their deaths “collateral damage.” Dabiq gloats over James Foley’s beheading, calling it “a cooling balm for the believers’ hearts” that served “as a retribution for the recent American aggression against the Muslims of Iraq.” (Algemeiner, Sept. 1, 2014)
MISSIONARY GROUP: BOKO HARAM BEHEADED SIX-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN BOY (Attagara, Nigeria) —The Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram beheaded a six-year-old boy during a June attack on the predominantly Christian village of Attagara, according to an eyewitness account provided by the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) missionary organization. “Over 100 militants dressed in military uniforms swarmed the predominantly Christian village just as Sunday church services were beginning on June 1,” VOM reports. “The rebels opened fire on the village and went after people with their machetes.” Boko Haram became internationally known after it staged a mass kidnapping of over 250 Nigerian school girls in April. The majority of the girls are still missing. Last month, the group publicly aligned itself with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). (CNS News, Sept. 2, 2014)
WITH IRAN TALKS AT CROSSROADS, U.S. LEVELS NEW SANCTIONS (Washington) —The U.S. imposed a range of sanctions designed to exert new pressure against Iran and deter international business leaders from circumventing Washington’s existing punitive measures as talks continue over the country’s nuclear program. The U.S. Treasury and State departments said the sanctions will punish a bank that provides U.S. dollar bills to the Iranian government; a group that helped Iran evade sanctions on oil and petrochemicals; several transportation firms that helped deliver weapons and personnel to the Assad regime in Syria; and some individuals and organizations that support Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has missed a deadline to provide information about its nuclear research and, barred visits to a military site suspected of being part of such work. (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 29, 2014 & New York Times, Aug. 30, 2014)
DUTCH PENSION FUND REJECTS BDS (Amsterdam) — The Netherlands’ third largest pension fund, ABP, rejected demands from the Boycott Israel movement to disinvest from three Israeli banks that allegedly finance an Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria. The anti-Israel Avaas organization, along with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, had pleased with ABP to sell off shares worth more than $75 million in Bank HaPoalim, Bank Leumi and Bank Mizrachi. The board of ABP, which is the pension fund for Dutch public workers, said that its investment policy bars holding shares in companies that violate the U.N. Global Compact. The fund’s spokeswoman pointed out that the U.N., despite its opposition to Israel’s including Judea and Samaria as part of the country, has not declared that the banks are breaking international laws. (Jewish Press, Aug. 29, 2014)
MAN CHARGED IN ASSAULT ON BRITISH MP GEORGE GALLOWAY (London) —A man has been charged with a religiously motivated assault after beating British lawmaker George Galloway at a public event. Neil Masterson, 39, reportedly shouted about the Holocaust and then physically assaulted Galloway, of the Respect party, as the lawmaker posed for photos with constituents on Friday night in Notting Hill in west London, according to reports. Earlier this month, Galloway called for his constituency to be “declared an Israel-free zone,” in reaction to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Galloway also said that Israeli goods, services and academics were likewise unwelcome. Galloway has said Israel should be abolished and replaced with a bi-national state. (Times of Israel, Aug. 31, 2014)
B’NAI BRITH CEO TO NOMINATE HARPER FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE (Ottawa) —The head of a prominent Canadian Jewish organization says he plans to nominate Stephen Harper for a Nobel Peace Prize. In a news release issued by B’nai Brith Canada, Frank Dimant praised the Prime Minister’s approach in dealing with major international conflicts. He said Harper has demonstrated international leadership and a clear understanding of the differences between those who “seek to do evil” and their victims. “More than any other individual, he has consistently spoken out with resolve regarding the safety of people under threat – such as opposing Russian aggression and annexation of Ukrainian territory – and has worked to ensure that other world leaders truly understand [the] threat of Islamic terrorism facing us today,” Dimant said. (Globe & Mail, Aug. 29, 2014)
ISRAEL SIGNS $15 BILLION GAS DEAL WITH JORDAN (Jerusalem) —Israel signed a memorandum of understanding with Jordan Wednesday, under which it will supply the Hashemite Kingdom with $15 billion worth of natural gas from its Leviathan energy field over 15 years. The new deal is the largest collaboration with Jordan to date, and will make Israel its chief supplier. The deal with Jordan comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a “new diplomatic horizon,” and improved regional ties, in the aftermath of the recent military campaign in the Gaza Strip. (Times of Israel, Sept. 3, 2014)
THE TRAGEDY OF LODZ, 70 YEARS LATER (Lodz) —Seventy years ago this month, the Lodz ghetto, the final one left in German-occupied Poland, was liquidated by the Nazis, dooming its last remaining Jewish inhabitants, who were summarily transported to death camps. This doleful anniversary will be commemorated in a series of cultural, historical, religious and musical programs by Lodz marking the anniversary of the dates during which the ghetto was emptied. In the summer of 1944, after an internal debate, the Nazis made the fateful decision to liquidate the ghetto. German officials who had argued that the ghetto was a source of cheap labor and should be preserved were outvoted by Nazi ideologues intent on exterminating Polish Jewry. Seven thousand ghetto inhabitants were deported to Chelmno in June and July. In August, the remainder of the Jews were deported. The last transport pulled out of Lodz on Aug. 29. Of the estimated 200,000 Jews who passed through the ghetto, 10,000, or about 5%, were still alive when the war ended. (National Post, Aug. 30, 2014)
Beheaded Journalist Hid His Judaism from ISIS Captors: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu, Jewish Press, Sept. 3, 2014—Journalist Steven Sotloff, beheaded by the ISIS, secretly practiced his Judaism but hid it from his captors, according to a fellow kidnap victim who was among those freed.
War in Europe is Not a Hysterical Idea: Anne Applebaum, Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2014 —Over and over again — throughout the entirety of my adult life, or so it feels — I have been shown Polish photographs from the beautiful summer of 1939: The children playing in the sunshine, the fashionable women on Krakow streets.
Russians Change Game in Ukraine: Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg, Sept. 1, 2014—Regular Russian troops are fighting in Ukraine, and it’s a whole new game.
Frustration Grows in Israel Over Outcome of Gaza Conflict: Joshua Mitnick, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 30, 2014—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces frustration over how the conflict with Hamas is winding down, both from the Israeli public and from parties that wanted harsher action against Gaza’s Islamist rulers.
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
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