WEEKLY QUOTES
“Working with Israel, the United States should publicly adopt a policy similar to Israel’s octopus doctrine to deter and thwart Iranian attacks and weapons proliferation by using consistent, preemptive military force. This should complement a larger shift toward a “Plan B” Iran policy—including closer coordination with Israel—in light of the clear failure of the Biden administration’s good-faith, but ultimately counterproductive, open-ended nuclear diplomacy with Iran that only further undermines U.S. deterrence in the eyes of Tehran.” — VADM Mark Fox, USN (ret.), former Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command and previously served as commander of U.S. Naval Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces and Andrew Ghalili and Ari Cicurel are Senior Policy Analysts at the JINSA. (The National Interest, Feb. 28, 2023)
“… the people of Israel will manage without you, and you can go to hell.” — Likud Communications Minister Shlomo Karai on reports of air force reservists refusing to attend training due to their opposition to judicial reform, which he posted on Twitter. (WIN, Mar. 7, 2023)
“The Jewish people deserve the right to self-determination, self-governance in some parts of their ancestral home. That’s it. That’s as simple as it gets.” — Noa Tishby, Israel’s inaugural special envoy for combating antisemitism, addressing students at Duke University. “I asked the audience if they had experienced or witnessed antisemitism online, on campus or off campus. Everyone in the audience raised their hand.” (JNS, Feb. 28, 2023)
“My team is constantly vigilant on this issue. We watch it closely. I stay in close contact with the Israeli permanent representative in New York so that we don’t let any opportunity that we can show our support for Israel pass, and I will continue to do that until my last day.” — US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield in testimony before The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. She also condemned a range of actions and statements by Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur human rights in the Palestinian territories, who has compared Israel to the Nazis and appeared at conferences alongside members of terrorist groups. “[The U.S. finds] her statements, her public stances completely unacceptable” and has raised its concerns “at the highest levels of the United Nations,” calling for action against Albanese and other U.N. officials whose public statements have suggested bias against Israel. But she said the U.S. has stopped short of explicitly calling for Albanese’s removal, as lawmakers have urged. (Jewish Insider, Mar. 2, 2023)
“… the West is subsidizing the Palestinian Authority to destabilize Israel (we are seeing this play out right now) by inculcating generations of Palestinian children to be venerated as “martyrs” for mass murders. How often do we see Palestinians handing out candy in their villages when a Jew is murdered? How often do we see PA leaders pay their respect to the “martyred” families? Or hear about streets being named after terrorists? This is the death-culture the west is supporting unabashedly.” —Avi Benlolo (National Post, Mar. 3, 2023)
“… the FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan. I will just make the observation that the Chinese government, it seems to me, has been doing its best to try to thwart and obfuscate the work here. The work that we’re doing, the work that our U.S. government and close foreign partners are doing. And that’s unfortunate for everybody.” – FBI Director Christopher Wray to Fox News’ Bret Baier. (Real Clear Politics, Feb. 28, 2023)
“Are the Americans wondering is there anything the FBI won’t do? Kevin Kleinsmith is now a felon he doctored documents, the offer Christopher Steele who had fake dossier he was offered a million dollars by the FBI to find one true thing and he couldn’t. And yet they use that fake dossier to spy on American citizens. They contracted Twitter out to give them $3 million to suppress information about a laptop that affected the election. They wipe clean subpoena phones during the Mueller investigation. We have no need to get into Peter Strozk or Lisa Page.
“in the last four look at the last four directors. He swore under oath he didn’t know what the Steele Dossier was and he didn’t know what Fusion GPS was, that was the pillars of an entire investigation. We had James Comey who played amnesia 245 times under oath. Andrew McCabe who admittedly lied to federal investigators four times, these were the top people. I do not need to get into Christopher Wray, he is very disingenuous. I think people want to believe in the FBI, but they have lost all confidence in the Washington leadership maybe they should disperse it and put the headquarters in Kansas or break up the FBI and farm it out to other agencies. But it can’t continue because people are afraid of it.” – classicist and political analyst Victor Davis Hanson. (Real Clear Politics, Mar. 2, 2023)
SHORT TAKES
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES SERIOUSLY DAMAGE SYRIAN AIRPORT – REPORT (Damascus) — Airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force in the early hours of Tuesday morning severely damaged Aleppo International Airport, Syrian state media reported. According to state media outlet SANA, no casualties were reported, although the damage to the airport is so serious that it has been closed indefinitely. Photos and videos circulating on Arabic-language news networks and social media depict a large fire at the airport. A senior Syrian military official told SANA that Israeli warplanes had infiltrated Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean coastal enclave of Lakatia. (WIN, Mar. 7, 2023)
IDF ENTERS JENIN, SHECHEM: 4 PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS REPORTED DEAD, INCLUDING MURDERER OF HALLEL AND YAGEL HYD (Jenin) — Fierce fighting broke out in the Jenin refugee camp as IDF special forces surrounded a house where terror suspects were barricaded. At the same time IDF forces were also acting in Shechem to arrest terrorist suspects. Unconfirmed reports say that 4 terrorists have been eliminated, apparently including Abd Al-Fatah Harousha, the terrorist from Hawara who murdered Hallel and Yagel Yaniv HyD. The terrorist’s two sons were arrested in Shechem. (VIN News, Mar.7, 2023)
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY TRYING TO STOP NEW ARMED GROUP IN WEST BANK (Ramallah) — Palestinian Authority security forces are working to prevent a new armed group from operating in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, a senior Palestinian official said on Monday. Members of the new group, Tulkarm Battalion-Rapid Response, made their first public appearance two weeks ago after the Israeli security operation against gunmen belonging to the Nablus-based Lions’ Den. (Jerusalem Post, Mar. 6, 2023)
ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: POLITICAL REFUSAL TO SERVE IN IDF ‘ENDANGERS ISRAEL, WEAKENS STRATEGIC DETERRENT (Jerusalem) — Israeli chief of staff Lt. Col. Hertzi Halevi has warned that the continued calls to refuse to serve in IDF reserves constitute a danger to Israel and weaken its strategic deterrent. In recent days Halevi has warned in private discussions that the current situation could be “the beginning of the end” for the IDF, as each sector decides which missions to perform based on political inclinations. (VIN News, Mar. 7, 2023)
HEZBOLLAH-BACKED TERRORISTS FORM ‘DOZENS OF CELLS’ ON SYRIAN BORDER (Beirut) — Hezbollah has established dozens of terrorist cells in southern Syria, just over the Israeli border, composed of local recruits. They could soon begin to use drones in operations against Israel, the Galilee- based Alma Research and Education Center said. (JNS, Feb. 27, 2023)
SECRET HEZBOLLAH GOLD TRADE IN SOUTH AMERICA FOILED BY ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE (Beirut) — An order signed recently by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant indicates that there is a gold smuggling operation between Iran and Venezuela that is funding Hezbollah terror activity. It was revealed that, in May, dozens of kilograms of gold were smuggled on an Iranian Mahan Air flight, which is subject to American sanctions, from Venezuela to Tehran. The funds from the smuggled gold were transferred to Hezbollah. This smuggling ring was uncovered during a joint effort between the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel (NBCTF) and the Defense Ministry, along with the Israel Police and the Tax Authority. (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 26, 2023)
HIKER DISCOVERS 2,500-YEAR-OLD ANCIENT RECEIPT FROM REIGN OF PURIM KING’S FATHER (Lachish) — A hiker in Israel’s Judean lowlands region recently discovered a 2,500-year-old pottery shard inscribed with the name of the Persian king Darius the Great, the father of king Ahasuerus. It is the first discovery of an inscription bearing the name of Darius I anywhere in Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced. King Ahaseurus is widely considered the biblical Achashverosh from the story of Purim. The site of the find, the ancient city of Lachish, was a prosperous city and a major administrative hub 2,500 years ago. The inscription is believed to be a receipt for goods received or shipped. (Times of Israel, Mar.1, 2023)
ISRAELI DRIP IRRIGATION MANUFACTURER NETAFIM OPENS PLANT IN MOROCCO (Rabat) — Israeli drip irrigation manufacturer Netafim announced today the opening of its first North African manufacturing plant in Morocco. According to a statement from the company, the plant will officially open on March 3 in Kenitra, Morocco, and hopes to generate 200 jobs. The company says that the plant would boost the local supply of precision irrigation systems in Morocco and “strengthen the country’s agricultural sector.” (Morocco World News, Feb. 27, 2023)
ORCHESTRA AIMING TO BUILD BRIDGES BETWEEN ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS PERFORMS FIRST CONCERT AT UN HEADQUARTERS (NYC) — A United Nations-supported classical musical ensemble that is comprised of young Palestinian and Israeli musicians recently played its first concert at UN headquarters in New York. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra performed at the UN on Feb. 23 as part of a special event called “Equal in Music,” organized by United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UNDGC). The eight-member orchestra is creating a “discourse of music, harmony, reconciliation, empathy, fraternity, and solidarity” in the hope of bridging alliances between Israelis and Palestinians, said UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos. (Algemeiner, Mar. 7, 2023)
UN REPORT: URANIUM PARTICLES ENRICHED TO 83.7% FOUND IN IRAN (Tehran) — Inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog found uranium particles enriched up to 83.7% in Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear site. A confidential quarterly report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency distributed to member states likely will raise tensions further between Iran and the West over its nuclear program. That’s even as Tehran already faces internal unrest after months of protests and Western anger over sending bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine. (Washington Post, Feb. 28, 2023)
RUSSIA AND IRAN SECRET NUCLEAR DEAL WOULD ALLOW URANIUM TRANSFERS TO TEHRAN’S ILLICIT WEAPONS PROGRAM: SOURCES (Moscow) — Amid the International Atomic Energy Agency’s disclosure this week that the Islamic Republic of Iran accumulated near weapons-grade enriched uranium for its alleged nuclear weapon program, Fox News Digital has learned that Iran has allegedly secured secret deals with Russia to guarantee deliveries of uranium. In what could be a major setback to a new Iran nuclear deal, foreign intelligence sources told Fox News Digital that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to return enriched uranium that it received from Iran if a prospective atomic deal collapses. The State Department would neither confirm nor deny the reports. (Fox News, Mar. 5, 2023)
IRAN’S CURRENCY DIPS TO ALL-TIME LOW, BASIC PRICES SKYROCKET (Tehran) — At the closure of Iran’s foreign exchange market on Thursday, the country’s national currency, the rial, nosedived to a new record low. A US dollar was traded for 52,650 rials, according to the currency monitor website Bonbast. The sharp decline occurred despite the latest government measure announced earlier this week to contain the depreciation that has been increasingly worsening since September. Under the country’s command economy, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) inaugurated on Tuesday what it called a currency and gold exchange center with the stated aim of managing the retail market for foreign currencies. The plan allows the state to no longer provide currency to “sarrafis,” or private exchangers, leaving currency buyers with the sole option of the government-controlled market. (Al-Monitor, Feb. 23, 2023)
NEWLY RELEASED SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE CHALLENGES OFFICIAL JAN. 6 NARRATIVE (NYC) — The unveiling of some of the 41,000 hours of video from Jan. 6, 2021, that was hidden from public view for more than two years has sparked a new national conversation about just how much still isn’t known about the Capitol incursion. Fox News host Tucker Carlson was given exclusive access by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to U.S. Capitol security videos and other footage, most of it hidden from public view. If Carlson’s first broadcast special on the footage that aired on March 6 is any indication, the prevailing Jan. 6 narrative is on life support, and the day’s legacy of troubling questions continues to deepen as a result. (Epoch Times, Mar. 7, 2023)
TWO-THIRDS OF CANADIANS WANT PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO FOREIGN ELECTION INTERFERENCE, STRICTER REGULATIONS: POLL (Ottawa) — Close to two-thirds of Canadians support a public inquiry into foreign interference in elections, and 58 percent of Canadians believe foreign governments have successfully influenced voting in the country, according to a new Research Co. survey. Reports in recent weeks have cited national security sources and information to suggest the Chinese regime has attempted to influence the last two federal elections by supporting some Liberal candidates or working against other, allegedly Conservative, candidates. (Epoch Times, Mar. 7, 2023)
RCMP INVESTIGATING MEDIA LEAKS ON BEIJING FOREIGN INTERFERENCE (Ottawa) — A criminal investigation has been launched into the leaking of classified information to the media pertaining to the Beijing regime’s interference in Canada. The investigation relates to violations of the Security of Information Act, as several national security sources have leaked information of a “secret” and “top secret” nature to Global News and the Globe and Mail in recent months. (Epoch Times, Mar. 6, 2023)
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE
