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Contents: Weekly Quotes | Short Takes | On Topic Links
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Media-ocrity of the Week: “…Richard Bruce Cheney, you might remember, is the eminence grise who, as vice-president of the United States, inveigled president George W. Bush into embarking, with minimal provocation and against impassioned opposition, on what he thought would be the easy conquest of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the War of 2003. As it turned out, the United States lost thousands of men and women in Bush’s war, spent hundreds of billions of dollars, gained no territory, and obliterated Iraq’s sense of nationhood through more than eight years of forays, blunders, and waterboarding…Cheney, round and robust two years after a heart transplant, and describing himself as “an out-of-work politician,” was getting a standing ovation…In a few hours, Barack Obama was going to explain to the nation why he finally had decided to wage a sort-of-all-out war on the same rampaging Islamic State slaughterers whom the president had labelled “the junior varsity” a few months earlier…For Dick Cheney, being invited to judge Obama’s performance as commander-in-chief was like tossing a naked mole rat to a panther. Obama, he began, “has demonstrated his own distrust of American power as a force for good in the world.” The president, he continued, “treats American influence as a problem to be solved.”… Barack Obama, Dick Cheney noted, had said that the murderers of the Islamic State “were on the wrong side of history.”…The terrorists, he countered, “are on the wrong side of civilization. They will be on the wrong side of history only if we put them there.” “We are at war,” he told us, and “we must do what it takes, for as long as it takes, to win…” A few hours later, the president announced that he was going to take Dick Cheney’s advice and bomb the beheaders to hell. “America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden,” the president told the nation, beating the drums for another decade, maybe longer, of invisible foreign war,” Montreal Gazette columnist Allen Abel. (Gazette, Sept. 12, 2014)
Obama’s Anti-ISIS Coalition: Judah Rosenthal, Jewish Press, Sept. 17, 2014
Egyptian Academic Demands Jews Give Back Gold Stolen During the Exodus (Video): Jerusalem Post, Sept. 14, 2014
Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks: Eric Lipton, Brooke Williams & Nicholas Confessore, New York Times, Sept. 6, 2014
WEEKLY QUOTES
“Hate is hate, and murder is murder. Our purpose here tonight is to highlight a terrible injustice, a humanitarian crisis. Christians have no greater ally than Israel.” —U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, in his keynote address at the In Defense of Christians (IDC) Inaugural Summit 2014. Cruz (R-Texas) was booed and heckled by the crowd after he voiced support for Israel during his speech. The IDC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the persecution and genocide of Christian minorities, hosted American lawmakers and religious leaders to focus attention on the urgent terrorist threats ravaging Christians in the Middle East and Africa. Some members of the audience began to boo and shout at Cruz, calling for him to stop talking about Israel or leave the stage. Despite attempts by a conference organizer to calm the audience, the taunting grew louder while Cruz continued: “I will say this: I’m saddened to see that some here — not everyone, but some here — are so consumed by hate…If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Thank you and God bless you.” Cruz concluded emphatically and then walked off the stage. (Washington Jewish Week, Sept. 12, 2014)
“Hamas will be willing to talk directly with the Israelis over issues including Gaza border crossings and prisoner releases,” —Hamas deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, in an interview with Palestinian Al-Quds television. “Just as you negotiate with weapons you can also negotiate with talk,” Marzouk added. “I say this in all honesty, [negotiations] have become a quasi-popular demand at the moment among all people in the Gaza Strip. Hamas may find itself forced to adopt this policy,” he said. However, a statement refuting his comments was issued on Thursday afternoon by Hamas’s press office. “Direct negotiation with the Zionist enemy is not part of the movement’s policy, and it is not even under consideration,” the statement said. A move to work directly with Israel would be significant for Hamas as its constitution, written in 1988, states there is no solution to the Palestinian problem except through jihad. Hamas has consistently refused to acknowledge the Jewish state. (Telegraph, Sept. 11, 2014)
“When a lobbyist comes before an office, it is well known that they are representing a client or foreign government — and under the law they have to disclose it,” —U.S. Republican Representative Frank R. Wolf, in a letter responding to an article in The New York Times that examined the relationship between think tanks and foreign governments that have donated tens of millions of dollars in recent years to the nonprofit groups, often with an explicit goal of influencing American foreign policy. Wolf wrote in his letter to the Brookings president, Strobe Talbott: “However, think tanks are supposed to be different; they are considered to be independent sources of information, and their policy recommendations are expected to be in the national interest rather than their special interest.” Brookings collects about 12 percent of its annual budget from foreign governments, with the biggest donations in recent years coming from Qatar, which in 2013 made a four-year commitment to provide $14 million. Wolf said Brookings should reject that money in particular because Qatar has been identified as supporting Qaeda-affiliated groups in Syria and Libya, as well as Hamas. Read the original New York Times article regarding the relationship between think tanks and foreign governments in today’s On Topic Links—Ed. (New York Times, Sept. 12, 2014)
“My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward,” —Gen. Martin Dempsey, the top U.S. soldier, explaining the possible scenarios involved in fighting ISIS. “I believe that will prove true, but if it fails to be true and if there are threats to the United States then I, of course, would go back to the President and make a recommendation that we include the use of U.S. military ground forces,” Gen. Dempsey added. “If we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the President,” he said. Obama’s strategy for war against ISIS envisions U.S. warplanes coupled with Arab soldiers on the ground in both Iraq and Syria to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS. (Globe & Mail, Sept. 16, 2014)
“Turkey in many ways is a wild card in this coalition equation,” —Juan Zarate, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s a great disappointment: There is a real danger that the effort to degrade and destroy ISIS is at risk. You have a major NATO ally, and it is not clear they are willing and able to cut off flows of funds, fighters and support to ISIS,” he added. The U.S. is struggling to cut off the millions of dollars in oil revenue that has made ISIS one of the wealthiest terror groups in history, but so far has been unable to persuade Turkey, the NATO ally where much of the oil is traded on the black market, to crack down on an extensive sales network. (New York Times, Sept. 13, 2014)
“Oil is a huge part of the financing equation [that empowers ISIS], —James Phillips, the senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation. But targeting the smuggling network has proved a major challenge, and so far the Turkish authorities have been unwilling to cooperate. “They’ve been turning a blind eye to it, because they benefit from the lower price of smuggled black-market oil,” Phillips said, “and I’m sure there are substantial numbers of Turks that are also profiting from this, maybe even government officials.” (New York Times, Sept. 13, 2014)
“An F-16 is not a strategy. And air strikes alone will not accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish. The President’s made clear that he doesn’t want boots on the ground, well somebody’s boots have to be on the ground,” —House Speaker John Boehner. Boehner said Republican House members have doubts about whether Obama’s expanded campaign against ISIS, involving air strikes and arming Syrian rebels, can accomplish his mission of destroying a group whose fighters have killed thousands of people in recent months. (Globe & Mail, Sept. 11, 2014)
“(The U.S.) does not cooperate militarily or otherwise with Iran. Whatever they do is collateral and on their own.” —U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Iran has reportedly sent troops to fight alongside Iraqi forces against ISIS. However, Iran is not part of the U.S.-led coalition, and Kerry has released conflicting statements on the issue. Monday in Paris he appeared to open the door to cooperation when he admitted that the U.S. has had discussions with Iran. “We’re not coordinating with Iran, but as I said, we’re open to have a conversation at some point in time if there’s a way to find something constructive,” he said. (Postmedia, Sept. 16, 2014)
“Right from the start, the United States asked through its ambassador in Iraq whether we could cooperate against Daesh (Arabic acronym for ISIS),” —Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “I said no, because they have dirty hands,” said Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state in Iran. “Secretary of State (John Kerry) personally asked Mohammad Javad Zarif and he rejected the request,” said Khamenei, who was leaving hospital after what doctors said was successful prostate surgery. He accused Washington of seeking a “pretext to do in Iraq and Syria what it already does in Pakistan – bomb anywhere without authorization.” Washington had appealed for help from all regional states against ISIS. But last week Kerry ruled out cooperation with Tehran citing its “engagement in Syria and elsewhere” and neither the Iranian nor the Syrian governments were invited to an international conference on the ISIS threat that opened in Paris Monday. (Daily Star, Sept. 15, 2014)
‘Threats against the Pope are credible. Public statements and crimes against Christianity by ISIS are a fact. Just put two and two together,” —Habeeb Al Sadr, Iraq’s ambassador to the Vatican. Al Sadr issued the warning just days before the Pontiff visits the mainly Muslim nation of Albania. Vatican officials, however, insisted there was no threat to his safety – and said he will not ride in the bulletproof ‘Popemobile’ of his predecessor Benedict XVI. “Let me be clear, I am not aware of specific facts or operational projects. But what has been said by the self-declared “Islamic state” terrorists is clear. They want to kill the Pope…I think they could try to hit him during his travels or even in Rome, because there are members of ISIS who are not Arabs but also Canadians, Americans, French, British and Italian,” said Al Sadr. (Daily Mail, Sept. 16, 2014)
“There are days where I’m not getting enough sleep, because we’ve got a lot on our plate,” —U.S. President Barack Obama, in a weekend interview. Obama has become increasingly vocal about the need for other countries to pull their own weight in this turbulent geopolitical season, notably against Russia and ISIS. “You know, when you’re president of the United States, you’re not just dealing with the United States…. If there’s a problem in Ukraine, we’re the ones who are expected to mobilize the world community to isolate Russia, put pressure, support Ukrainians…If there’s a problem in the Middle East, the expectation is that we create the coalitions to deal with a problem like (ISIS),” he said. “If there’s an issue in Africa around Ebola we need to help mobilize that public health infrastructure. And so you know, it’s not just me. It’s my staff also. You know, our inbox gets pretty high.” Sunni countries need to step up in the fight against ISIL, said Obama, naming Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. “This is their neighbourhood. The dangers that are posed are more directed at them right now than they are us…we don’t have the resources. It puts enormous strains on our military. And at some point, we leave. And then things blow up again,” Obama said. (National Post, Sept. 8, 2014)
“I do not accept any kind of anti-Semitic message or attacks at all, not least the ones that were recently seen at the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, disguised as alleged criticism of the policy of the state of Israel,” —German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Something is badly amiss in Germany, Merkel noted, when she hears “that young Jewish parents are asking if it’s safe to raise their children here or the elderly ask if it was right to stay here.” German authorities recorded 184 anti-Semitic incidents in June and July this year, up from 159 for the entire second quarter. Responsibility for most of these assaults lies either with the country’s small band of neo-Nazis or pockets of Germany’s large Muslim community. But also culpable is the Israel hatred from elite quarters, which lends specious respectability to disreputable ideas with dangerous consequences. (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 15, 2014)
SHORT TAKES
U.N. PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE SYRIAN-CONTROLLED GOLAN HEIGHTS (Beirut) —U.N. forces withdrew Monday from the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights. A U.N. statement cited the “exceptionally challenging environment” posed by armed rebel groups advancing on peacekeeping positions its observer force has held for close to four decades. The withdrawal comes a little more than two weeks after Islamist fighters took some peacekeepers hostage and besieged others. Al-Nusra Front freed 45 U.N. peacekeepers from Fiji in good condition last week, while forces from the Philippines escaped after exchanging fire with militant fighters, according to media reports. The incidents occurred after Syrian rebel fighters took control of the only border crossing between Israel and Syria in the Syrian town of Quneitra in late August. (CNN, Sept. 15, 2014)
NATO TROOPS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN (Kabul) —A suicide bomber killed three coalition troops near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Tuesday morning, and a fourth died late Monday when an Afghan soldier opened fire on NATO forces. The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The violence targeting coalition troops this week comes as Afghans await the conclusion of an election to replace outgoing President Hamid Karzai. Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani and former foreign secretary Abdullah Abdullah have been locked in a heated dispute over the validity of the results of the June runoff. Ghani easily prevailed in that second round of voting, but Abdullah has alleged widespread fraud. Both candidates, however, have made progress in the formation of a national unity government. (Washington Post, Sept. 16, 2014)
ISIS DRAWS A STEADY STREAM OF RECRUITS FROM TURKEY (Ankara) —Hundreds of foreign fighters have joined the ranks of ISIS, but one of the biggest sources of recruits is Turkey, a NATO member with an undercurrent of Islamist discontent. As many as 1,000 Turks have joined ISIS, according to Turkish news media reports. The U.S. has put heavy pressure on Turkey’s president to better police Turkey’s 560-mile-long border with Syria. So far, Erdogan has resisted pleas to take aggressive steps against the group, citing the fate of 49 Turkish hostages ISIS has held since militants took over Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, in June. Turkey declined to sign a communiqué last Thursday that committed a number of regional states to take “appropriate” new measures to counter ISIS, frustrating American officials. (New York Times, Sept. 15, 2014)
TURKEY COULD TAKE IN EXILED MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LEADERS, ERDOGAN SAYS (Ankara) —Erdogan has told reporters that Turkey could provide refuge to Brotherhood leaders now being forced to leave Qatar. The leaders had sought refuge in Qatar following the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and the crackdown on his supporters. But their presence in Qatar had severely strained Doha’s relations with Egypt as well as with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, all of which view the Islamist movement as a threat. Turkey had forged a close alliance with Morsi and strongly criticized the military coup in Egypt which ousted his government. Erdogan said Turkey would “review case by case” any request for refuge in Turkey by the Brotherhood leaders, and “if there is no hindrance, then things could be made easier for them.” (Globe & Mail, Sept. 16, 2014)
PRO-ERDOGAN COLUMNIST PUBLISHES RANT AGAINST TURKISH JEWS (Ankara) — A conservative columnist known for his anti-Israel views has again struck out against the Jews in Turkey. Writing in the Yeni Akit, which supports the AKP party of President Erdogan, Faruk Kose called on the government to tax the country’s Jews to rebuild Gaza. According to Kose, Turkey should impose the “Gaza Fund Contribution Tax” and tax any Jews having anything whatsoever to do with Israel. U.S. President Obama discussed the growing antisemitism in Turkey when he met with Erdogan Sept. 5 in Wales on the sidelines of a NATO conference. But it’s highly doubtful that Erdogan would be influenced by Obama. Erdogan has a history for publicly exploding in rage against Israel when it has been forced to defend itself against terrorist attacks. (Jewish Press, Sept. 14, 2014)
IRAN NUCLEAR BOMB PROBE WILL NOT BE ‘ENDLESS’: IAEA (Vienna) —A U.N. nuclear agency investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Iran will not be an “endless process”, its chief said on Monday, pressuring Tehran to step up cooperation with the long-stalled probe. Three weeks after Iran failed to meet a deadline for providing requested information to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Director General Yukiya Amano said Tehran needed to do much more to address the IAEA’s concerns, and Iran had not carried out two of the five transparency steps it had agreed to implement by Aug. 25. Lack of progress in the IAEA investigation could further complicate efforts to negotiate a resolution to the wider, decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear work and persuade it to curb it in exchange for a gradual ending of sanctions. (Yahoo, Sept. 15, 2014)
HAMAS ADMITS ROCKETS WERE FIRED AT ISRAEL FROM GAZA NEIGHBOURHOODS (Gaza City) —Two weeks after the end of the Gaza war, there is growing evidence that Hamas used residential areas as cover for launching rockets at Israel. Even Hamas now admits “mistakes” were made. “The Israelis kept saying rockets were fired from schools or hospitals when in fact they were fired 200 or 300 metres away. Still, there were some mistakes made and they were quickly dealt with,” Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, told The Associated Press, offering the first acknowledgment by a Hamas official that, in some cases, Hamas fired rockets from or near residential areas or civilian facilities. (CBC, Sept. 12, 2014)
THE 8200 AFFAIR (Jerusalem) —Forty-three reservists of the IDF’s Military Intelligence’s Unit 8200 dispatched a letter to the prime minister, IDF chief of staff and the head of IDF intelligence informing them of their refusal to continue any service in the unit because of what they charged were serial breaches of the rights to privacy of individual Palestinians whose communications were intercepted. The signatories disparaged “the main function of 8200 in the territories, which is to control another nation.” The Commander of Unit 8200…sent a letter to members of the unit, after the reservists claimed that systematic ethical breaches were taking place and said they would refuse to serve. In the letter, the Commander said problems should be brought up with superior officers, not in the media. (Jerusalem Post, & Jerusalem Post, Sept. 14, 2014)
NEW YORK MAN RECRUITING FOR ISIS, PROSECUTORS SAY (New York)— A U.S. naturalized citizen was indicted Tuesday in New York federal court on charges of recruiting people to join the ISIS terror group. Mufid A. Elfgeeh, a 30-year-old business owner from Yemen, allegedly tried to recruit people to join ISIS and shoot people in the U.S. The FBI probe began a year ago when he allegedly started posting a series of tweets expressing support for Al Qaeda, ISIS and other international terror groups. In one message, Elfgeeh even suggested people donate a third of their salaries to jihadists. (Jewish Press, Sept. 17, 2014)
NEW CEO OF B’NAI BRITH CANADA (Toronto) —Following the 36-year tenure of CEO Frank Dimant, Michael Mostyn, 40, takes the reigns in time to celebrate the 140th year of B’nai Brith Canada. Fond of the Louis Pasteur motto that “chance only favours the mind, which is prepared,” Mostyn said, “my role is to prepare B’nai Brith to meet every challenge in a professional and responsible manner that every Jewish and non-Jewish Canadian can be proud of.” Mostyn reflects that it is his Jewish and Zionist upbringing that gives him his passion. “I’ve been to Israel many times; my faith guides me and gives me the strength to take on this position and to always ask ‘ is this the right thing to do?’” (Jewish Tribune, Sept. 9, 2014)
FORMER SS MEMBER AT AUSCHWITZ CHARGED WITH ACCESSORY TO MURDER (Berlin) —Prosecutors in Germany have charged a 93-year-old man with at least 300,000 counts of accessory to murder while a member of Hitler’s SS unit at Auschwitz. Prosecutors accuse Oskar Gröning of having collected money from Nazi victims’ luggage on their arrival at the concentration camp, which he turned over to the SS headquarters in Berlin. “Through his activities, he provided the Nazi regime with economic advantage and supported systematic killings,” the Public Attorney’s Office in Hannover said in a statement. Until recently, prosecutions of crimes at Nazi extermination camps required a defendant be convicted of a specific murder of a specific victim—a difficult charge to prove in cases of suspected involvement in mass murder at death-camps. But the 2011 conviction of John Demjanjuk for acting an accessory to the murder of nearly 30,000 people while serving as a death-camp guard opened the door to similar prosecutions. (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 16, 2014)
CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SET TO OPEN (Winnipeg) —Canada’s newest national museum is set to open September 20, marking the end of a 14-year journey sparked by one family’s desire to have Canadians learn about the struggle for freedom. The idea for the museum came to Israel (Izzy) Asper and his daughter Gail in 2000 as they pondered why there were no Canadian museums that highlight atrocities such as the Holocaust. The museum is to hold its opening ceremonies at The Forks — the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers that was a gathering spot for aboriginals long before it became the birthplace of Winnipeg. (CTV, Sept. 12, 2014)
Obama’s Anti-ISIS Coalition: Judah Rosenthal, Jewish Press, Sept. 17, 2014
Egyptian academic demands Jews give back gold stolen during the Exodus (Video): Jerusalem Post, Sept. 14, 2014
Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks: Eric Lipton, Brooke Williams & Nicholas Confessore, New York Times, Sept. 6, 2014 —The agreement signed last year by the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs was explicit: For $5 million, Norway’s partner in Washington would push top officials at the White House, at the Treasury Department and in Congress to double spending on a United States foreign aid program.
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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