Source: Wikimedia Commons
Wall St. Journal Editorial Board
WSJ, June 17, 2019Iran said Monday that by the end of June it will exceed the limits it had agreed to on its stockpile of enriched uranium, and the question now is whether Europe will take this lying down. Exceeding the cap would violate the 2015 nuclear deal and force European leaders to decide if they want to acquiesce to Iran or join the U.S. in an effort to pressure Tehran to renegotiate the failed nuclear deal.Europe has been clinging to the remnants of the nuclear deal since the U.S. withdrew in 2018. Its leaders have refused to join the U.S. effort to drive Iran back to the negotiating table to plug the holes in the 2015 deal. Those holes include no ban on ballistic missiles, which Iran keeps testing; no inspections of certain sites inside Iran; and a 2025 expiration date on many of the deal’s terms.Much to Europe’s chagrin, President Trump has since imposed even tougher American sanctions on Iran. These include the first sanctions on the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a nearly complete ban on Iran’s oil exports. It turns out the U.S. has enough economic power through the dollar’s role in world trade that European companies are abiding by the sanctions rather than risk losing access to the U.S. market.
Iran is feeling the financial squeeze and is now acting up. That’s the point of the tantrum over uranium stockpiles and the recent attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Iran hopes to scare the world, and especially Europe, into working around U.S. sanctions to help Iran. The problem is how? Europe has tried to set up an alternative currency scheme outside U.S. sanctions but can’t find enough companies that want to risk it. … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.]
On Topic Links:
International Atomic Energy Agency Recognizes Palestine as a State: Yossi Melman/Maariv,Jerusalem Post, June 19, 2019 — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed an agreement to recognize Palestine, as a state as it joined the international body as an observer on Tuesday.
WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn Dishonors Memory Of Anne Frank And Welcomes Antisemite Into Parliament: Leah Rosenberg, Israel Unwired, June 13, 2019 — Jeremy Corbyn has turned the Labour Party into something despicable. But now he even dishonored the memory of Anne Frank who perished in Nazi hell.
WATCH: Israeli Cabinet Officially Establishes ‘Ramat Trump’ in Golan Heights: Hana Levi Julian, Jewish Press, June 16, 2019 — Israel’s government formally established a new town on Sunday in honor of President Donald Trump.
“Judaism has never been at war with Islam. Judaism and Islam are sister religions, and we should relate to each other in this way. The Jewish people suffered for many years from racism and hatred. Moderation — religious, nationalist and cultural — are the true way to reach the hearts of people. That is the right way to live.” – Israeli President Reuven Rivlin meeting with a delegation from the Conference of Imams in France, as well as social activists from the French and Belgian Muslim communities. (Algemeiner, June 16, 2019)
“We will force a government with the Likud and with Blue and White, which will be an emergency government, a national-liberal government. And we will do everything to block the haredim [ultra-Orthodox], who will not be allowed into the government.” — Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman told Channel 13 television, leaving out both right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties. (JNS, June 16, 2019)
“I’m not the prime minister’s man, I’m a man of the people of Israel. I’m a man of the public that I represent. I serve God and do what I believe and think is good for the State and the people of Israel.” — said incoming Transportation Minister Betzalel Smotrich of the Union of Right Wing Parties in a wide-ranging interview on Kan 11 News. This includes trying to build a united and strong right-wing for the upcoming elections that does not include Yisrael Beitenu, whose leader began his campaign by attacking haredi parties and, in particular, insisting on the drafting of ultra-Orthodox young men into the IDF. (WIN, June 19, 2019)
“We look forward to robust international participation and hope that Palestinian leadership will realize that their refusal to attend the workshop is short-sighted. The PA is only harming themselves and shutting their people out of crucial discussions on a framework for a prosperous future for Israel, the Palestinians and the region.” — Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for International Negotiations, reacted to a report by The Jerusalem Post, which quoted Palestinian Authority officials saying that they are disappointed with Jordan’s and Egypt’s decision to attend the Bahrain economic workshop in two weeks. (Jerusalem Post, June 14, 2019)
“Starting today, the countdown has started, and it means that by [June 27] the production of enriched uranium will exceed the 300 kilograms. … After we pass the limit of 300 kilograms, the pace and the speed of enriched uranium production at the lower rate will also increase.” — Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI)’s spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi declared. (Jewish Press, June 17, 2019)
“Suspicious acts in the Sea of Oman against oil tankers… seem to be supplementary to the [US] economic sanctions as the Americans went nowhere with the sanctions, [also,] especially, given America’s historical record in the area [of false flag ops].” — Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani remarked. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also said attacks on oil tankers that were targeted in the Sea of Oman, is the “Plan B” of the U.S. and its regional allies against Iran. The US assessment of the incident blames Iran for the bombing of the tankers. To prove their point, US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, released a grainy black-and-white video and two pictures. The video purports to show an Iranian patrol boat removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the damaged tankers, the Panama-flagged Kokuka Courageous, and the photos detail the section of the ship where the explosion occurred and the location of the malfunctioning mine. (Tehran Times, June 16, 2019) (Vox, June 14, 2019)
“Israel, it must be remembered, is not only a nation among the nations but also a Jewish community among Jewish communities. Unique though it is in being a community not scattered but together, not a minority but a majority, not a factor in the State but its author and raison d’être, it is still one Jewish community among others. Because of its special position, it has special problems in its relationships with the other communities…Against the extreme Zionist (or anti-Zionist) logician who holds that the Jew has a clear-cut choice – complete assimilation or return to Israel – stands the stubborn experience of history, which suggests that here again reality thrives on apparent inconsistency. Every available indication is that the Diaspora will continue to exist and will continue to face many problems in relation to Israel. One of these problems grows out of the old bogey of dual allegiance. … All men have not single but multiple allegiances. If a Jew has an emotional sympathy for another State because in that State live other Jews, his attitude is no different from that of an American of Irish descent who has an affection for Ireland and interest in its welfare.” — James McDonald, wrote in 1951, the year he was appointed the first US ambassador to Israel. (United With Israel, June 16, 2019)
“A blatant murder will not change the features of everyone’s confusion in front of the shock of news and there being no hurry to issue news about the circumstances of his death. …We call on the free people in Egypt to rally at a popular funeral – worthy of President Martyr Mohamed Morsi. And then popular funerals in the world is [sic] not easy and will not be #they killed him, God kill them.” — Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Abbas Kabari wrote on the Brotherhood’s website, IkhwanOnline, following Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi death of an apparent heart attack. (IPT News, June 19, 2019)
“The U.S. is running concentration camps on our southern border and that is exactly what they are. … ‘Never Again’ means something … we need to do something about it.” — Democratic Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio Cortez said on Instagram, in referencing the US southern border crisis. (Real Clear Politics, June 18, 2019)
UK LABOUR LEADER CORBYN BLASTED FOR TAKING ‘ANTI-US’ POSITION ON IRANIAN ATTACKS ON TANKERS (London) — Controversial UK Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn was blasted from all sides on Sunday after he claimed there was no “credible evidence” of Iranian involvement in a recent attack on two oil tankers. The tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman on June 13 with limpet mines and possibly projectiles, leaving both ships disabled. US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both explicitly blamed Iran for the incident. “Iran did do it,” Trump simply said. (Algemeiner, June 16, 2019)
NAZI-LOVING CALIFORNIA MAN ARRESTED FOR PLANNING TO COMMIT ANTISEMITIC MASS SHOOTING (California) — Ross Anthony Farca, 23, of the town of Concord was caught by local police in collaboration with the FBI. The arrest was reportedly the result of a tip from someone who saw threatening messages posted by Farca on a gaming website. (Algemeiner, June 16, 2019)
TOP OFFICIALS GATHER IN BUCHAREST TO COORDINATE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST ANTISEMITISM (Romania) — The two-day event was organized by the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the Romanian government. The purpose of the gathering was to bring together “global Jewish leaders and global counter-antisemitism coordinators to discuss the key issues facing Jewish communities today and deliberate best practices going forward.” (Algemeiner, June 17, 2019)
OUSTED EX-EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT MORSI DIES AFTER COURT HEARING (Cairo) — Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically-elected head of state in Egypt‘s modern history, died on Monday aged 67 after collapsing in a Cairo court while on trial on espionage charges. Morsi, a top figure in the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, had been in jail since being toppled by the military in 2013 after barely a year in power following mass protests against his rule. (Algemeiner, June 17, 2019)
STOLEN TORAH SCROLLS FOUND IN ARAB ANIMAL PEN (Akraba, Israel) — Torah scrolls that were stolen from a synagogue in Bnei Brak were found hidden in an Arab-owned animal pen in a village near Jerusalem. The synagogue was vandalized and looted last Tuesday, and a police investigation into the incident led to the recovery of the four Torah scrolls, found hidden in an animal pen in the Arab village of Akraba. Police arrested five Arab suspects connected to the stolen Torah scrolls. The suspects, in their 20s, are from Akraba, Shechem (Nablus) and Jerusalem. (Jewish Press, June 17, 2019)
ISRAELI SCHOOL BUILDING SUFFERS DIRECT ROCKET HIT FROM GAZA TERRORIST ATTACK (Sderot) — A Sderot school building suffered a direct rocket hit from Gaza terrorists. Miraculously, nobody was injured in the attack. This is the second rocket attack within 24 hours from the Arab Muslim terrorists in Gaza. (Israel Unwired, June 13, 2019)
WHITE HOUSE: ISRAELIS NOT INVITED TO MIDEAST PEACE WORKSHOP IN BAHRAIN (Washington) — A White House official says that Israeli representatives have not been invited to the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Bahrain next week, as the meeting is to focus on the administration’s “economic vision” for the Palestinians and will not focus on “political issues.” (WIN, June 17, 2019)
INDIA VOTES IN FAVOUR OF ISRAEL AGAINST PALESTINIAN NGO IN UN (New York) — In a rare move, India voted in favour of a decision introduced by Israel in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that objected to granting consultative status to a Palestinian non-governmental organisation, after the Jewish state said the organisation did not disclose its ties with Hamas. The decision was adopted by a recorded vote of 28 in favour to 15 against, with five abstentions. Countries voting in favour of the decision were Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States. (India Today, June 11, 2019)
IN FIRST, ISRAEL’S F-35S JOIN MASSIVE DRILL SIMULATING WAR WITH HEZBOLLAH, GAZA (Israel) — The drill, which began Sunday and ends Wednesday, involves fighter jets, helicopters, cargo planes, drones, air defense units and ground support forces. It simulates simultaneous fighting in the Gaza Strip, Syria and Lebanon. (Times of Israel, June 18, 2019)
ISRAELI LIBRARY UNVEILS RARE COLLECTION OF JEWISH ARTIFACTS FROM EUROPE (Jerusalem) — Israel’s National Library recently made available scores of documents, known as pinkasim, that were used by European Jewish communities hundreds of years ago to keep track of financial transactions, political happenings, relations with non-Jewish government bodies, and even funny moments. (United With Israel, June 18, 2019)
SAUDI TWITTER POLL FINDS 33% IN FAVOR OF RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL, VERSUS 47% AGAINST (Dubai) — The poll set up by Saudi journalist Sukina Al-Meshekhis, who resides in the Emirati city of Dubai and writes a column in the Saudi daily Al-Yawm, asked: “Do you support Gulf countries maintaining good relations with Israel and treating it as [just another] country in the Middle East?” Despite being active for only 24 hours, it elicited 5,342 responses, with 33% voting in favor of relations with Israel, 47% voting against, and 20% choosing to “wait for the results [of the poll].” (MEMRI, June 18, 2019)
UN INVESTIGATOR: ‘CREDIBLE EVIDENCE’ SAUDI CROWN PRINCE PLAYED ROLE IN KHASHOGGI KILLING (New York) — An independent U.N. human rights expert investigating the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi recommended an investigation into the possible role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, citing “credible evidence.” The 101-page report released by Agnes Callamard into the October killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul calls on U.N. bodies or Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “demand” a follow-up criminal investigation. (WIN, June 19, 2019)
ERDOĞAN SAYS TURKEY ALREADY BOUGHT RUSSIAN S-400 SYSTEMS (Ankara) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan noted that Ankara and Moscow had signed the deal with a pledge for a reasonable price and future joint production. “This [S-400] system will be delivered to our country next month,” Erdoğan added. Touching on Turkey’s procurement of F-35 fighter jets from the U.S., Erdoğan said his country is not only a customer but also co-producer of the jets. Ankara had paid $1 billion 250 million for the F-35 jets until today, the president underlined. (Hurriyet Daily News, June 13, 2019)
PENGUIN BOOKS CLEANS UP ANTI-SEMITIC BOOK – AND DECLARES IT KOSHER (UK) — Pedro Baños’ How They Rule the World: The 22 Secret Strategies of Global Power has been attacked as antisemitic. in the original Spanish, the book claims: “It is clear that [the Rothschilds’] economic power is gigantic. As is their ability to influence in all senses, an aspect that, when considering their traditional distance from the media spotlight, has led to multiple speculations about their capacity to intervene in key global decisions.” This statement echoes other antisemitic smears by Baños in Spanish media over the years. Polls have consistently shown Spain at or near the top of antisemitic countries in Europe. Penguin has responded by claiming that its own “thorough” review of the author and book (no details are given) shows that what has been said about the Rothschilds is “robust” but not “antisemitic.” (United With Israel, June 18, 2019)
