Wednesday’s “News in Review” Round-Up

WEEKLY QUOTES

“We take a strong position supporting the only liberal and democratic state in the region,” — Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. “We take the view that a peace process, progress is best made at the negotiating table and not through unilateral actions on the other side. We’re proud of that position, we believe it’s the best one and don’t apologize for it,” Baird said. Dozens of Palestinian protesters hurled eggs and shoes at the convoy of the visiting Foreign Affairs Minister Sunday in a show of defiance toward Canada’s perceived pro-Israel stance. Baird was visiting Ramallah to meet Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. Alluding to the International Criminal Court, Baird said he asked Malki to “strongly reconsider the consequences of moving forward with any action that may be counterproductive to a negotiated solution” with Israel. “A desire for a future of peace, prosperity, stability and security for both Palestinians and Israelis must drive both parties toward direct negotiations,” he said. “Today, we reaffirmed our will to work together on these matters at this crucial time…Canada strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself by itself and its right to live in peace with its neighbours. Canada will fight any efforts internationally to delegitimize the State of Israel, including the disturbing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement,” he added. (Globe & Mail, Jan. 18, 2015)

“This person backs up the Zionist movement…This person diminishes the rights of our people, takes part and backs up building of settlements. We tell him that he’s not welcome,” — Palestinian protester Abdullah Abu-Rahmeh. Activists from PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party earlier had called for a boycott of Baird because of Canada’s Middle East policies. Baird was in the region for five days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials. (Globe & Mail, Jan. 18, 2015)

“The terrorist attack in Tel Aviv is the direct result of the poisonous incitement being disseminated by the Palestinian Authority against the Jews and their state. This same terrorism is trying to attack us in Paris, Brussels and everywhere. It is Hamas – Abu Mazen’s partners in a unity government – that hastened to commend this attack. This is the same Hamas that announced it will sue Israel at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Abu Mazen is responsible for both the incitement and the dangerous move at the ICC in the Hague…We will continue to take strong action against the terrorism that has been trying to attack us since the founding of the state, and we will see to it that it does not achieve its goal,” — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A Palestinian man stabbed commuters on a Tel Aviv bus during rush hour Wednesday morning, injuring some 17 people, several seriously, police said. The attacker was identified as Hamza Matrouk, a Palestinian from the West Bank city of Tulkarem. He was shot after a short chase, during which he continued to stab people on the street, and taken into police custody. Matrouk said he was motivated to carry out the terror attack by the Israel-Hamas war this summer, and recent tensions surrounding the Temple Mount. He also said he had seen and been influenced by material promising paradise to “martyrs” who kill Jews, investigators who questioned him said. Hamas praised the attack as heroic. (Jewish Press, Jan. 21, 2015 & Times of Israel, Jan. 21, 2015) 

“Just like the Paris massacre implemented by terrorists is a crime against humanity, Netanyahu, as the Prime Minister of a government which has killed innocent children playing on Gaza’s beaches, destroyed thousands of houses and instructed its soldiers to massacre our citizens in the Gaza flotilla raid, has committed crimes against humanity,” — Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The Turkish Prime Minister also expressed his opinion on the Prophet Muhammad’s caricature in the Charlie Hebdo magazine. “Freedom of press does not mean the freedom to insult others. We do not wish to witness insults against the Prophet Mohammed in Turkey.”   (Jerusalem Online, Jan. 15, 2015) 

“The European countries which choose not to denounce Erdogan’s repeated remarks against Israel contribute to the deadly hatred of Jews in Europe,”  — Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Ever since the Gaza flotilla raid in 2010, Israeli-Turkish relations have been unstable.  Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and PA leader Abbas held a mutual press conference. (Jerusalem Online, Jan. 15, 2015) 

“We are preparing and lurking for the enemies of Allah. We incite the believers to do that,” — Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, a leader of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In a video distributed online Tuesday, Ansi turned his sights on Canada in an attempt to provoke “lone wolf” terrorist attacks in the country. Ansi recommended lone wolf attacks as those were “more harmful.” But, if this was not practical, then supporters should leave Western countries rather than live under the rule of “disbelievers,” he said. He named Canada as one of the “Western countries that fight Islam” and participate in a “Crusader campaign.” Ansi is the same senior Al Qaeda official who last week claimed responsibility for the shooting attack at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. (National Post, Jan. 20, 2015 & Arutz Sheva, Jan. 21, 2015)

“If you fire on Canadian forces, they will fire back. It’s an act of self-defence, and I think Canadians expect that of our armed forces,” —Canadian Defence Minister Rob Nicholson. Canadian special forces exchanged gunfire with Islamic State fighters in Iraq in recent days, in the first confirmed ground battle between Western troops and IS. The Canadians came under mortar and machine gun fire while training Iraqi troops near front lines and shot back in what Canadian special forces commander Brigadier General Michael Rouleau described as self-defense, killing the IS fighters. (Globe & Mail, Jan. 20, 2015 & Yahoo News, Jan. Jan. 19, 2015)

“[During Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014], many journalists were murdered, sometimes in well-marked press cars, along with thousands of others, while the Israeli-run outdoor prison was again reduced to rubble on pretexts that collapse instantly on examination,” —linguist, author and Israel critic Noam Chomsky. Writing in a CNN op-ed, Chomsky said that “terrorist” attacks perpetrated by the West did not spark outrage as the Hebdo attack did, nor did they bring calls for “inquiries into the roots of the attack in Christian culture and history,” as the Hebdo attacks did for Muslim culture. Chomsky said that such outrage was not directed toward “the most extreme terrorist campaign of modern times — Barack Obama’s global assassination campaign targeting people suspected of perhaps intending to harm us some day, and any unfortunates who happen to be nearby.” (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 19, 2015)

“I am asking Congress to hold off because our negotiators, our partners, those are most intimately involved in this assess that it will jeopardize the possibility of providing a diplomatic solution…I will veto a bill that comes to my desk,” — U.S. President Barack Obama. Obama vowed to veto any legislation approving new economic sanctions against Iran, placing him on a collision course with the Republican-controlled Congress as U.S. diplomats seek to secure a deal curtailing Tehran’s nuclear program by July. Iranian diplomats have said they would pull out of the talks if the U.S. imposes any new sanctions on their country. (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 16, 2015)

“Yes, I have contacted a couple of senators this morning and I may speak to one or two more this afternoon,” — British Prime Minister David Cameron. Obama and Cameron, appearing at a joint news conference Friday, both said the enactment of new financial penalties on Iran could unravel more than a year of high-level diplomacy and rekindle fears of a Western military confrontation with Tehran’s Islamist government. Cameron said he had personally lobbied top U.S. senators on Friday against imposing new sanctions, a rare public admission by a foreign leader that raised eyebrows in Washington. Cameron added that the contacts weren’t intended to have the British prime minister tell the U.S. Senate what to do. “That wouldn’t be right,” Cameron said. Instead, it was to express the view of a key American ally that “we should not impose further sanctions now…That would be counterproductive, and it could put at risk the valuable international unity that has been so crucial to our approach.” (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 16, 2015)

“Prime Minister Netanyahu is a great friend of our country, and this invitation carries with it our unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of his people,” —U.S. House Speaker John Boehner. Boehner announced Wednesday he is inviting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to address Congress next month about the threat from Iran, in a sharp rebuke to Obama. The House speaker’s office said Netanyahu will be invited to speak Feb. 11 before a joint session of Congress. The invitation comes as lawmakers weigh legislation, supported by Republicans and some Democrats, to tee up more sanctions against Iran in case negotiations fail to curtail the country’s nuclear enrichment program. Obama vowed Tuesday during his State of the Union address to veto any such legislation. But Boehner signaled he wants Netanyahu to explain the stakes of the debate, as he pledged to press ahead with the legislation.  “In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life,” Boehner added. (Fox News, Jan. 21, 2015) 

“No, we haven’t banned books on pigs — but sensitivity is key in global publishing,” — Jane Harley, publishing director at Oxford University Press. Following media reports citing that the international publisher had banned the placement of pigs or mention of pork in its children’s books, Oxford UP issued a statement denying the allegations. “In order to make an impact around the world, there are other sensitivities that, although not necessarily obvious to some of us, are nonetheless extremely important to others,” the statement explained. At the end of the statement, Harley quipped: “Will there be a moment when publishing for all audiences will be an easy process? Yes, I imagine so … when pigs fly.” Oxford’s publishing practices came into light after BBC Radio 4 Today host Jim Naughtie read a letter on air that advised an author to avoid mentioning “pigs plus sausages, or anything else which could be perceived as pork” due to possible cultural sensitivities in its overseas markets. (Global News, Jan. 15, 2015)

“The Wiesenthal Center is deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic death of Argentine Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was found dead in his apartment this morning, with a gunshot wound to his head. Prosecutor Nisman, who was in charge of the investigation of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center, was scheduled to testify in Congress today, in order to offer details about the accusations he made last week against Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, members of the Congress and radical activists who are close to the government of having organized a cover-up operation that would disengage the Iranian suspects from the AMIA terror attack. Nisman’s tragic death put us further away than ever before from truth and justice, both in the AMIA attack itself as well as in his last denunciation. Today’s deadly outcome must not hide a core question: his denunciation regarding an alleged cover up by the Argentine government must be investigated till the end…Argentina holds a debt with the democratic world which is under terrorist fire, with the victims of terror all over the world, with the Argentine society and, particularly, with the families of the 85 victims of the AMIA massacre: 20 years after the bombing no person is in prison,” — Statement by the Simon Wiesenthal Center (Simon Wiesenthal Center, Jan. 19, 2015)

SHORT TAKES

MYSTERY DEEPENS IN ARGENTINE PROSECUTOR’S DEATH (Buenos Aires) — The furor in Argentina over the death of a prosecutor investigating a high-profile terror attack looked unlikely to recede as the first forensic results in the case were released Tuesday. Nisman was found dead in his apartment just one day before he was supposed to testify before lawmakers about allegations that the country’s most powerful officials conspired to cover up Iran’s involvement in the 1994 bombing. Government officials called it a suicide, but theories of something more sinister arose immediately. Argentina’s government pushed the suicide theory, pointing to the evidence: Nisman was found dead from a gunshot wound to his temple in his apartment bathroom, a .22-caliber gun and a shell casing near his body. But a test for gunpowder residue on his hands came back negative. Prosecutors in Argentina have alleged for years that Iran was behind the attack, but a criminal investigation has stalled, in part because Iran denies the charges and has not made the accused available to prosecutors. (CNN, Jan. 20, 2015)

IRANIAN GENERAL KILLED IN SYRIA (Beirut) — Iran said a general in the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards force was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike in Syria on Sunday that Iran said also claimed six Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon and backed by Iran, held funerals Monday for its fighters killed in the strike near the Golan Heights border, including Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of former military chief Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in 2008. Israel officials wouldn’t confirm or deny responsibility for the strike. If Israel was responsible, it would mark the first targeted assassination across the Golan border with Syria and a break with Israel’s policy of limiting strikes at the border. (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 2015)

COUP FEARS RISE IN YEMEN AS REBELS STORM PALACE (Sana’a) — Houthi rebels seized control of the palace of Yemen’s president on Tuesday in an escalation of the violent crisis that has gripped the capital for days. The president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, viewed by the U.S. as a crucial counterterrorism ally, was believed to be in the capital, but his exact whereabouts was unknown. The mayhem in Yemen has left citizens facing a leadership vacuum as the country is seized by crises. The turmoil has been increasingly worrisome to U.S. officials because Yemen is the base of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has asserted responsibility for a number of attacks, most notably the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris. (New York Times, Jan. 20, 2015)

EIGHT ISRAELI ARAB MEN ARE CHARGED WITH AIDING ISLAMIC STATE (Jerusalem) — The would-be jihadists trained for battle by slaughtering sheep and riding horses at a farm in the Galilee region of northern Israel with hopes of joining I.S. in Syria, according to the Israeli Shin Bet internal security agency. The men, seven Arab citizens of Israel, have been charged with membership and activity in an illegal organization, support for a terrorist organization and efforts to contact a foreign agent — namely I.S., the extremist group that has captured large parts of Syria and Iraq. Israeli security officials say they know of at least thirty Israeli Arabs who have gone to fight with rebel groups in Syria, including I.S., a phenomenon that Shin Bet has described as marginal. In addition, the Israeli security services said that in November they had cracked a three-member Palestinian cell identified with the I.S. in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron. (New York Times, Jan. 18, 2015)

JIHADISTS IN GAZA RALLY AGAINST FRANCE, HAIL ISLAMIC STATE (Gaza City) — Hamas security forces allowed a rare rally on Monday by rival jihadist Salafi activists in the Gaza Strip in support of I.S. and the deadly attacks by three Islamist gunmen in France. The demonstration was held five days after French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo again published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad, sparking violent clashes in some Muslim countries. Many of the activists in Gaza wore uniforms similar to those of I.S. fighters and identified themselves as supporters of various jihadist Salafi factions. (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 19, 2015)

ISIS PUBLICLY THROWS GAY MEN OFF BUILDINGS, CRUCIFIES THIEVES (Raqqa) — Islamic State has published several disturbing photographs showing what it claims to be the execution of two homosexual men in Iraq. The men are shown being thrown off the roof of a high-rise building. The pictures show the men atop the building, being pushed to the edge as a crowd watches below. Another shows the men falling through the air, and a final image shows their broken bodies on the ground. Other “criminals” were also photographed during execution, including two blindfolded men accused of theft who were tied up crucifix-style while their charges were read. (Breaking Israel News, Jan. 20, 2015)

PALESTINIANS SEEKING ICC INVESTIGATION OF ARAFAT’S DEATH (Ramallah) — The Palestinians want the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into the death of Yasser Arafat. Jamal Muheissen, a member of Fatah, claimed that Israel was responsible for the death of Arafat in 2004. The Fatah official said that Israel was continuing to issue threats against the PA, and its leader Abbas, following the ICC’s decision to launch a preliminary examination into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories. Arafat, who signed the 1993 Oslo accords with Israel, but then led an uprising after subsequent talks broke down in 2000, died aged 75. The official cause of death was a massive stroke, but French doctors said at the time they were unable to determine the origin of his illness. International forensic examiners have disputed whether tests provide conclusive evidence of the former Palestinian leader’s cause of death.  (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 18, 2015) 

JEWISH SCHOOLS IN BELGIUM CLOSED DUE TO TERROR THREAT (Antwerp) — Jewish schools in Brussels and Antwerp were closed Friday due to the heightened terror threat against sensitive targets, one day after the Belgian police conducted a wide anti-terror operation targeting jihadists who have returned from Syria. In nearby Amsterdam, an Orthodox synagogue and Jewish school were shuttered Friday as well. Belgian police killed two men who opened fire during one of about a dozen raids on Thursday against an Islamist group that, according to federal prosecutors, was about to launch “terrorist attacks on a grand scale.” (Times of Israel, Jan. 16, 2015)

GERMAN PAPER APOLOGIZES FOR ANTISEMITIC CARTOON (Berlin) — The Berliner Zeitung has apologized for publishing an antisemitic cartoon on its front page last week. The Berlin-based paper published an admission on its website that “there was a manufactured picture…from the title pages of magazine Charlie Hebdo. We regrettably showed… an antisemitic cartoon from Joe Lecorbeau. We offer this as an apology.” Lecorbeau’s illustration shows an ultra-Orthodox Jew with an enlarged nose. The headline read “Shoah Hebdo” and the speech balloon next to the haredi image reads “1 million rebate out of six, for Palestine.”  (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 16, 2015)

DUKE RECONSIDERS: NO MINARET ON CATHEDRAL, NO CALL TO PRAYER (Durham) — Duke University, located in North Carolina, announced recently that it planned to transform the bell tower on the school’s iconic cathedral into a minaret where the Muslim call to prayer would be publicly broadcast. But a huge backlash against this Methodist-founded school’s decision led the university to abandon its plans. The original plan to have the Islamic chant – which includes the words “Allahu Akbar” – made from the bell tower would have been “moderately amplified” in both English and Arabic. Instead, the call to prayer will be moved to outside the chapel. (Jewish Press, Jan. 16, 2015)

MUSLIM WHO SAVED JEWS’ LIVES AWARDED FRENCH NATIONALITY (Paris) — Malian-born Lassana Bathily, who helped hide trapped customers during the attack at the kosher grocery store in Paris, has been awarded French nationality. The 24-year-old has lived in France since 2006 and is an employee of Hyper Cacher, the kosher grocery store attacked by Amedy Coulibaly. While the attack was taking place, Bathily ushered the terrified customers, mostly Jewish, into a cold-storage room. He also offered to help the hostages escape through the store’s delivery elevator, but when none of them wanted to risk themselves he fled alone and provided the police with vital information about the layout of the store. A practicing Muslim, Bathily received wide praise for his actions. In an online petition, more than 200,000 people called for his naturalization. (Jerusalem Online, Jan. 15, 2015)

LASZLO VARGA, CELLIST FOR THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, IS DEAD AT 89 (Sarasota) — Varga, a Hungarian-born musician and teacher who escaped a Nazi work camp to become principal cellist for the New York Philharmonic died on Dec. 11 at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 89. As a young man Varga lost his position as first-chair cellist of the Budapest Symphony in a purge of Jews. He came to the U.S. after World War II as a member of the Lener Quartet, and in 1948 he joined the New York City Opera orchestra. He left New York in 1962 to play with the Canadian String Quartet and to teach at the University of Toronto Conservatory of Music. For many years he taught cello and chamber music. One of his students was Kent Nagano, now the conductor of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. In a statement after Varga’s death, Nagano said: “Mr. Varga was one of the exceptional influences who, through his impatience, joy, intolerance of mediocrity, discipline and love of art, taught me those things which last a lifetime — that music is a metaphor for life and as such must be cherished, respected, shared and actively lived to its fullest every day.” (New York Times, Dec. 21, 2014)