Contents: | Weekly Quotes | Short Takes | On Topic Links
ROMANIAN HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR
WAS A FIGURE OF INSPIRATION FOR MANY
Janice Arnold
Canadian Jewish News, September 27, 2018
Baruch Cohen, a Romanian Holocaust survivor who, driven by a commitment to remembrance and the continuity of the Jewish people, spent the last three decades of his life working voluntarily for the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research (CIJR), died at age 98 on Sept. 26. Besides CIJR, Cohen was devoted to making better known the enormity of the Holocaust in his native country and neighbouring Transnistria. For 23 years, he co-ordinated an annual commemoration of the hundreds of thousands of murdered Jews and wrote prolifically on the subject.
Cohen joined CIJR at its founding 30 years ago, and came to its office daily in his capacity as research chair, only reducing his workload when his health declined. He would spend hours poring over the latest news and opinion on the Middle East and Jewish world for the organization’s publications and data bank. His greatest delight was working beside young people and, despite what became a seven-decade age difference, they were captivated by his gentle, wise counsel. His grandson Mark Bergman said Cohen’s greatest pride was the hundreds of letters he kept from students thanking him for opening their eyes to Jewish history.
Last year, Cohen received the National Assembly’s Citizenship Medal for “outstanding achievement in community involvement.” In nominating his mentor for the citation, Romanian-born Alex Enescu, a CIJR student intern who is not Jewish, said that Cohen has “taught me that even in the darkest places one can still find compassion and generosity.” It was one of the rare honours that the modest Cohen, a gentleman of the old school, ever agreed to accept.
Despite his discomfort with tributes, Cohen, after a life of relative obscurity became in his latter years a figure of inspiration for his learning, dedication and qualities of kindness, courage and good humour. After retiring as a company financial officer in 1988, Cohen returned to school to obtain a master’s degree in Jewish studies at Concordia University.
That was during the First Intifada. Concordia professor Frederick Krantz noticed incisive letters to the editor in local newspapers by one Baruch Cohen, who shared Krantz’s outrage over how Israel was being portrayed in the media and concern about the apparent success of the pro-Palestinian camp. He tracked down Cohen and invited him to join a small group, mostly academics, that would go on to form CIJR, an independent think-tank devoted to defending Israel and public education, operating initially out of Krantz’s basement.
Krantz, who remains director as a volunteer, says CIJR, which relies entirely on private fundraising and largely on volunteers, would not have grown as it has nor gained an international reputation without Cohen. He calls Cohen a tzadik, or righteous one, and “Hebraic hero,” a role model for his moral courage and intellectual rigour.
Last April, Cohen’s memoir No One Bears Witness for the Witness was launched which recounts how he experienced prewar anti-Semitism in Romania and survived its wartime fascist tyranny, including a pogrom in Bucharest. Cohen endured labour camps, returning only to find so many relatives and friends gone. After the Second World War, he fled the communist regime for Israel. He and Sonia, his wife of 76 years, and their daughter Malka (Monica) settled in Montreal in 1959. Cohen carried on with his mission despite the devastating loss of his only child 20 years ago. “My nightmares have never ceased…But I channel these feelings of despair, convinced that there is a purpose for me to go on giving testimony,” Cohen explained in his memoir.
CIJR president Jack Kincler said, “He had a long and difficult, but also courageous, fulfilling and useful life, a life of service to family, friends, the survivor community, Israel, and the Jewish people…Baruch knew that all of us, not only greatly valued him, but loved him very much. He will be deeply missed, but will always be present in our hearts and minds and work.” Added CIJR fellow Machla Abramovitz: “Baruch was a scholar and a poet who articulated the pain of memory, whether it was the collective pain of the Jewish people seeking to rebuild lives and hopes after the Holocaust or the personal pain of a father who buried his beloved daughter Malca. “Despite these tragic setbacks, he retained his profound sense of humanity and love for his family and for the Jewish people.”
Abbas Says No to Peace: Benny Avni, New York Post, Sept. 27, 2018
Merkel and Iran: Jerusalem Post, Oct. 2, 2018
A Canadian Newspaper Praises Palestinian Mothers Who Sent Their Sons on Jihad Missions: Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, JCPA, August 15, 2018
The Logic of the West’s New Anti-Semitism Crisis: Dr. Alex Joffe, BESA, Sept. 23, 2018
WEEKLY QUOTES
“I speak as Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, and I have the stage there every year, so every year I say what I have to say about the UN…But I said yesterday that the hall is still full of the stench of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic decisions – which are the same thing. I want to thank you for cleansing the bad air from this hall…The moves you have made with President Trump regarding UNESCO, UNRWA, anti-Israel resolutions and resolutions condemning Hamas are simply amazing… I would like to thank you and say how many people in Israel and many friends of Israel around the world appreciate this. We appreciate this and I want to thank you for that.”— Prime Minister Netanyahu. Meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on the sidelines of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly on Friday, Netanyahu praised Haley for “clearing the stench” of antisemitism that he was “so used to encountering” at the UN. (Jewish Press, Sept. 29, 2018)
“I like a two-state solution. That’s what I think works best…That’s my feeling.” — President Donald Trump. Trump said last week he wanted a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the clearest expression yet of his administration’s support for such an outcome. Trump has in the past said it would support a two-state solution if both sides agreed to it. Trump, in a meeting with Netanyahu at the UN, also said he wanted to unveil a peace plan in the coming months. “I really believe something will happen. They say it’s the toughest of all deals…It is a dream of mine to get that done prior to the end of my first term,” Trump said. “I don’t want to do it in my second term. We’ll do other things in my second term,” he said. “I think a lot of progress has been made. I think that Israel wants to do something and I think that the Palestinians actually want to do something.” (Algemeiner, Sept. 26, 2018)
“Instead of providing social aid, UNRWA exacerbates the conflict by inflating the number of fake refugees, instilling a narrative of hatred and undermining Israel’s right to exist and having ties with Hamas…There are in practice very few Palestinians who meet the legal definition to receive refugee status. Only a few tens of thousands of the 5.4 million registered beneficiaries are refugees…By inflating the number of registered ‘refugees,’ UNRWA sustains the demand for ‘[the right of] return’ – a euphemism for Israel’s destruction. Actual Palestinian refugees deserve to receive the same international assistance that other refugees around the world receive from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, in order to bring an end to and not perpetuate their status.” — Foreign Ministry policy paper. Diplomatic officials are calling a new Foreign Ministry report “revolutionary” for its stance on UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. The position paper maintains that Trump’s decision to end funding to UNRWA “made it clear that the organization is not part of the solution but part of the problem.” (Israel Hayom, Sept. 26, 2018)
“If America does anything wrong, their bases around Iran would not remain secure.” — Ayatollah Mohammadali Movahedi Kermani, a senior Iranian cleric. He did not elaborate, but Tehran has warned Washington in the past against any military confrontation. (Algemeiner, Sept. 28, 2018)
“It is utterly appalling that at a time when antisemitism is so raw, a man who is proud to be an antisemite is being courted. It is equally unforgivable that he was invited to tour our most prominent educational institutions and share his opinions with students.” — The Chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, Gideon Falter. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir bin Mohamad, is being feted during a two part visit to Britain despite a long history of antisemitic statements and a virulent anti-Israel speech delivered at the General Assembly of the United Nations last week. Mohamad first visited Imperial College, where he was warmly welcomed by the vice-president and provost. He followed this with a visit to Oxford University, where he gave a speech at the Centre for Islamic Studies. He will shortly deliver a speech at Chatham House, a major British think tank. Mohamad is perhaps one of the world’s most powerful antisemites. He has said that he is “glad to be labelled anti-Semitic” and equated the Jews with the Nazis. (Algemeiner, Sept. 30, 2018)
SHORT TAKES
NETANYAHU EXPOSES SECRET IRANIAN ATOMIC WAREHOUSE IN TEHRAN (New York) — Prime Minister Netanyahu opened his address to the UN General Assembly with the announcement that he would reveal information never before exposed to the public. “Iran has another secret atomic warehouse for storing nuclear material for its weapons program,” he announced. Netanyahu provided the coordinates for the warehouse and showed photos of the building. He added that after Israel raided the first archive warehouse, Iranian officials scrambled to make sure radioactive material at the second site would be safe. The second Iranian facility, he said, contains nuclear-related equipment and material for Iran’s nuclear program. Watch Netanyahu’s speech here. (Jewish Press, Sept. 27, 2018)
IRAN FIRES MISSILES INTO SYRIA OVER ATTACK ON PARADE (Damascus) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched ballistic missiles into eastern Syria targeting militants it blamed for a recent attack on a military parade, Iran’s second such missile attack on Syria in over a year. A state TV-aired graphic suggested the missiles flew over central Iraq near the city of Tikrit before landing near the city of Abu Kamal, in the southeast of Syria. Abu Kamal is held by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Assad. However, the city has been targeted even now by Islamic State. (Ha’aretz, Oct. 1, 2018)
S-300 DELIVERED TO SYRIA (Damascus) — Moscow’s S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system has been delivered to Syria, the Russian Foreign Minister announced. The deliveries of the equipment followed a friendly fire incident in which Syrian anti-aircraft batteries shot down a Russian spy plane while aiming at Israeli F-16s during an IAF attack on an Iranian target at Latakia. Syria blamed Israel for the incident, which cost the lives of 15 Russians. Israel blamed Iran — whose military infrastructure was being targeted — as well as Syria, whose military personnel erroneously fired the missiles that shot down the Russian reconnaissance aircraft. (Jewish Press, Sept. 30, 2018)
U.S. EVACUATES CONSULATE IN SOUTHERN IRAQ (Baghdad) — The State Department announced it had ordered the evacuation of the U.S. consulate in Basra, Iraq, because of attacks in recent weeks by militias supported by Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed the security threat specifically on Iran, its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Quds Force and militias under the control of Qassem Suleimani, the powerful commander of the Quds Force. (New York Times, Sept. 28, 2018)
SEVEN PALESTINIANS KILLED IN BORDER CLASH (Jerusalem) — Israeli soldiers fatally shot seven Palestinians, including two boys, who were among thousands of people who thronged to the fortified Gaza border on Friday as part of weekly protests begun six months ago. The IDF said its troops resorted to live fire and an airstrike in response to explosive devices and rocks launched at them and to prevent breaches of the border fence from Gaza. Gaza health officials said 505 people were wounded. They identified the dead as males, two of them ages 12 and 14. (New York Times, Sept. 28, 2018)
SHIN BET THWARTS PLANNED HAMAS TERROR ATTACKS (Jerusalem) — Israel’s Shin Bet announced it had foiled efforts by Hamas to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis under the direction of operatives from the Gaza Strip. According to the agency, 21-year-old Issa Shalaldeh and 20-year-old Omar Mas’ud were arrested on suspicion of being recruited by Hamas in the Gaza Strip to carry out attacks, and also for aiding in the transfer of terrorist funds. Since the beginning of the latest wave of violence to hit Israel and the West Bank in 2015, numerous Hamas attacks have been thwarted by security forces. In June, Shin Bet arrested 20 Hamas members from the West Bank city of Nablus who planned lethal attacks across the country, including a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. (Jerusalem Post, Oct. 3, 2018)
FRANCE FREEZES IRANIAN ASSETS OVER PLANNED PARIS ATTACK (Paris) — French authorities froze the assets of the internal security section of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry as well as those of two Iranians, and all but pointed a finger at Tehran as the force behind an alleged plot to bomb an Iranian exile group’s rally near Paris in June. Israel’s Mossad, tipped off French authorities before the planned Iranian terrorist attack on French soil. Police also raided the headquarters of a Muslim religious association in France, detaining three people. The building houses a Shiite federation, an anti-Zionist party and other groups. The assets of the groups were frozen as well. (Israel Hayom, Oct. 3, 2018)
MERKEL HEADS TO ISRAEL AMID DISAGREEMENTS OVER PALESTINIANS, IRAN (Jerusalem) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to land in Israel Wednesday for a visit centered around a meeting with Netanyahu and a joint session of the Israeli and German cabinets. Merkel will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and receive her third honorary doctorate from an Israeli university. Her visit has prompted calls to urge Israel to stop its planned demolition of a Bedouin village in the West Bank. Merkel and Netanyahu are expected to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, specifically, the planned demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and the US’s increasingly tough policies vis-a-vis Ramallah; as well as the Iran nuclear deal and European efforts to salvage the pact and continue trading with Iran. Merkel and Netanyahu have deep disagreements on all of these issues. (Times of Israel, Oct. 3, 2018)
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE TO WITHHOLD €15 MILLION TO PA (Brussels) — The European Parliament Budgetary Committee approved a bill to withhold some payments to the PA until it commits to reforming its school curriculum, which has been accused of inciting hatred toward Israel and Jews. The amendment seeks to suspend five percent — more than 15 million Euros — from the body’s planned annual commitment to the PA, which surpasses 308 million Euros. The bill notes textbooks published by the PA in 2017 were financed by a fund through which the EU channels its aid to the PA and “contain, across all subjects, numerous examples of violent depictions, hate speech — in particular against Israel –, and glorifications of jihad and martyrdom.” (Algemeiner, Sept. 28, 2018)
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS MEMBERS PLEA TO RESTORE UNWRA AID (Washington) — Almost two-thirds of Democratic Congress members, 112 members of the House of Representatives and 34 senators, sent a letter in appeal to President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to reverse the decision to “end vital United States contributions to the United National Relief [and] Works Agency (UNRWA).” The letter expressed concern regarding the administration’s decisions to pressure Palestinian leadership back to the negotiating table at the expense of furthering the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On Monday, UNRWA withdrew some of its foreign staff from Gaza for safety reasons. UNRWA said that workers had been “harassed and prevented from carrying out their duties” by people angered by the organization’s cost-cutting measures. (Jerusalem Post, Oct. 3, 2018)
ISLAMIC JIHAD ELECTS A NEW LEADER (Damascus) — The Islamic Jihad movement announced that Ziad al-Nakhala has been chosen to lead the Palestinian group, replacing Ramadhan Shalah. Nakhala, was born in the Gaza Strip in 1953 and has long been linked to Iran and the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah. Nakhala, who has been deputy head of the organization since the 1990s, now resides in Syria. Islamic Jihad is heavily trained, armed and financed by Iran. It has fought alongside its ally, Hamas, in three wars against Israel in Gaza, since 2008. Two years ago, Iran pledged to supply Islamic Jihad with $70 million annually for its war against Israel. (Jerusalem Online, Sept. 30, 2018)
ELECTION RALLY BOMBING IN AFGHANISTAN HEIGHTENS SECURITY FEARS (Kabul) — A suicide bomber attacked an election rally on Tuesday in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, killing at least 14 people and once again highlighting security concerns as candidates prepare for an Oct. 20 parliamentary vote amid a raging war. The attack struck at a gathering of about 300 supporters of the candidate Nasir Mohmand in Nangarhar’s Kama district. At least 43 others were wounded. Officials feared the toll could rise. Mohmand survived, but with more than two weeks until Election Day, at least other seven candidates have already been killed across Afghanistan. (New York Times, Oct. 2, 2018)
IRAN REJECTS MACRI’S DEMAND FOR COOPERATION OVER AMIA ATROCITY (Buenos Aires) — Iran has bluntly rejected the president of Argentina’s appeal for its cooperation in investigations into two terrorist attacks on Argentine soil. Mauricio Macri told delegates at the UN General Assembly in New York that Argentina had not forgotten the two attacks in Buenos Aires planned and executed by Iranian agents in the 1990s. On March 17, 1992, the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in the Argentine capital claimed the lives of 29 people, injuring nearly 250. Just over two years later, on July 18, 1994, a truck packed with explosives drove into the headquarters of the AMIA Jewish Center in the city, killing 85 people and wounding over 300. (Algemeiner, Sept. 26, 2018)
GERMAN COURT: KUWAIT AIRWAYS BANNING OF ISRAELIS IS OK (Frankfurt) — A German court dismissed a lawsuit against Kuwait Airways for banning Israeli passengers, despite labeling the policy “unacceptable and irrelevant.” This move comes amid the airline refusing to service an Israeli who purchased a ticket in 2016 from Germany to Thailand, affirming a lower court ruling citing that Kuwaiti law would have prohibited the traveler from changing planes in Kuwait. According to a 1964 Kuwaiti law all relations with Israeli citizens are prohibited. Three regional parliaments in Germany passed resolutions condemning Kuwait Airways for its policy. (United With Israel, Sept. 27, 2018)
COURT UPHOLDS FORMER NAZI OBERLANDER’S LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP (Ottawa) — Helmut Oberlander, a Ukrainian immigrant who served as an interpreter for the Nazis in a mobile killing unit during the Second World War, lost his appeal to retain his Canadian citizenship. The federal government stripped the 94-year-old Waterloo, Ont., resident of his citizenship for the fourth time in July. The Federal Court decision upholds the validity of that revocation. When he landed in Canada, Oberlander made no mention of his membership in Einsatzkommando 10a, a Nazi mobile killing squad. Oberlander is not accused of taking part in any of the killings. (CJN, Sept. 28, 2018)
WINDSOR TO MARK CONNECTION TO DAVID BEN-GURION AND THE JEWISH LEGION (Halifax) — Before he became Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion earned 50 cents a day as a soldier and slept on the ground in bell tents in the small town of Windsor, N.S. His remarkable and little-known connection to Nova Scotia was commemorated on the 100th anniversary of the training of the Jewish Legion. Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the second president of the State of Israel, both joined a Jewish battalion of the British Army in 1918 for the fight for Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire. The prominent Zionists both trained at Windsor’s Fort Edward, which served as a point of departure for all North American recruits of the Jewish Legion. (Star Halifax, Sept. 21, 2018)
IVANKA TRUMP BENCHED LULAV AT THE WHITE HOUSE (Washington) — Presidential daughter Ivanka Trump participated in Lulav Benching (shaking the four species) at the White House, along with some 30 White House officials. According to Col Live, Trump “demonstrated a keen knowledge of the Jewish practice and recited the appropriate blessing before shaking the lulav,” inspiring her colleagues to follow suit. Trump was raised as a Christian, and converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2009. She described her conversion as an “amazing and beautiful journey,” supported by her father “from day one.” Since then she has been keeping kosher and observing Shabbat. (Jewish Press, Sept. 30, 2018)
Abbas Says No to Peace: Benny Avni, New York Post, Sept. 27, 2018—Mahmoud Abbas, the aging president of the not-quite-state of Palestine, aims to lead a worldwide anti-Trump resistance movement — at least that’s the takeaway from his defiant address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
Merkel and Iran: Jerusalem Post, Oct. 2, 2018—German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to begin a two-day visit to Israel on Wednesday, and her country’s perturbing policy on Iran is likely to top the agenda in her meetings with Israeli leaders.
A Canadian Newspaper Praises Palestinian Mothers Who Sent Their Sons on Jihad Missions: Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, JCPA, August 15, 2018—Muhammad Sayf al-Dawla, the author, is the founder of the Movement of Egyptian Citizens against Zionism and served as an adviser on Arab affairs to President Mohamed Morsi, who headed the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt.
The Logic of the West’s New Anti-Semitism Crisis: Dr. Alex Joffe, BESA, Sept. 23, 2018—Western political parties are undergoing astonishing anti-Semitism crises.