WEEKLY QUOTES
“The people who bet against Britain are going to lose their shirts … After three years of unfounded self-doubt it is time to change the record; to recover our natural and historic role as an enterprising outward-looking and truly global Britain, generous in temper and engaged with the world. No one in the last few centuries has succeeded in betting against the pluck and nerve and ambition of this country. They will not succeed today.” – Newly elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his first speech to parliament, pledging to deliver Brexit by Oct. 31st. (National Post, July 25, 2019)
“It amazes me how the U.N. condones votes like these. It is a total mockery of human rights to allow Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and Yemen to name Israel as the world’s only violator of women’s rights.” – Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley tweeted blasting a UN council for singling out Israel for alleged violations of women’s rights. (Algemeiner, July 25, 2019)
“You need to increase power, not maintain it. My outlook is built on bolstering our strengths. Without strength, we won’t survive. The weak don’t survive. A strong people forges alliances. So, from the first moment, the main question about Israel’s existence was whether we would be able to develop the strengths to not only confront our enemies but also be accepted by the rest of the world. The simple fact is that what makes the world accept you is, first and foremost, your strength.” – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with Israel Hayom upon the occasion of his becoming Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister. (Israel Hayom, July 19, 2019)
“We believe in Palestinian autonomy. We believe in Palestinian civilian self-governance. We believe that that autonomy should be extended up until the point where it interferes with Israeli security. We’ve made the point over and over again that the economic solution goes hand-in-hand with a political solution, but…in order to have a political solution you need political institutions. You need a transparent economy. You need the rule of law. You need certain freedoms – freedom of the press. You need a justice system. You need to stop concentrating all the Palestinian wealth in the political elites. That’s part of what [the] Bahrain [conference] was about – trying to help the Palestinians create the institutions necessary for statehood.” – US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told CNN‘s Christiane Amanpour in an interview. (CNN, July 30, 2019)
“That’s been the story all along. Mr. Comey hid his actions from Congress; the Justice Department and FBI worked overtime to obstruct Republican-led congressional probes; and Mr. Mueller and his team are clearly playing their own important role in hiding the truth. The Mueller testimony only highlights how important it is that Attorney General William Barr is finally pursuing accountability.” –WSJ columnist Kimberley Strassel writes as regards why the Mueller report ignored Mr. Steele’s paymaster, Fusion GPS, and its own ties to Russians. It also ignored the Clinton campaign, and the ugly politics behind the dossier hit job. This was reinforced by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s refusal to answer questions relating to these issues in his testimony before two House committees. (WSJ, July 25, 2019)
SHORT TAKES
IRAN ADMITS TO ENRICHING 24 TONS OF URANIUM SINCE SIGNING NUCLEAR DEAL (Tehran) — Iran has enriched 24 tons of uranium since signing the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, said the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, according to Radio Farda. Salehi has not explained exactly what he meant by his statement or what happened to the 24 tons of enriched uranium. (Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2019)
ISRAEL EXPANDS ITS TARGETS AGAINST IRAN IN IRAQ, SYRIA(Jerusalem) — The Ashraf base in Iraq, a former base used by the Iranian opposition People’s Mujahedin of Iran, was targeted by an air raid, said sources. The sources revealed that the strikes targeted Iranian “advisors” and a ballistic missile shipment that had recently arrived from Iran to Iraq. Last week, Syria’s Tal al-Hara was struck by Israeli jets. The diplomatic sources said the attack targeted Iran’s attempt to seize control of the strategic hill, located in Daraa countryside in southern Syria. (Aawsat.com, July 30, 2019)
OTTAWA SAYS IT OPPOSES DEATH PENALTY AS OTHER FOREIGN FIGHTERS FACE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN IRAQ(Ottawa) — Ottawa says it opposes the death penalty but is not committing to stop the potential transfer of Canadian citizens from Syria to Iraq, where other foreign nationals are facing capital punishment for supporting the Islamic State. The transfer of foreign nationals to Iraq from Syria has raised questions about how the federal government should handle the prosecution of Canadians who travelled to the Middle East to join the caliphate. (Globe and Mail, July 24, 2019)
CHINA HINTS IT COULD USE FORCE IN HONG KONG PROTESTS(Beijing) — Warning that protests convulsing Hong Kong were crossing a line, China hinted broadly that it is prepared to use military force in the territory if necessary, to retain Beijing’s control. “The behaviour of some radical protesters challenges the central government’s authority, touching on the bottom-line principle of ‘one country, two systems. That absolutely cannot be tolerated,’” said the chief spokesman for the Ministry of National Defence, Senior Colonel Wu Qian. (Globe and Mail, July 25, 2019)
SOUTH KOREA JETS ‘FIRE WARNING SHOTS’ IN CLAIM DISPUTED BY RUSSIA (Seoul) — South Korean jets fired 360 rounds of warning shots after a Russian warplane violated South Korea’s airspace, Seoul officials said in an announcement that was quickly disputed by Russia. Seoul said three Russian military planes – two Tu-95 bombers and one A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft – entered South Korea’s air defence identification zone off its east coast before the A-50 intruded in South Korean airspace. Russia said later that two of its Tu-95MS bombers were on a routine flight over neutral waters and had not entered South Korean territory. (The Guardian, July 23, 2019)
RELATIONS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND ARAB STATES ARE WARMING (Jerusalem) –The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that a delegation of six journalists from Arab countries, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia, will visit Israel this week to present journalists with Israeli positions on diplomatic and geopolitical issues. The Arab Journalists will visit the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, the Israel Knesset, and holy places, according to a ministry statement. Another sign of relaxation in the relations between Arab countries and Israel is when Israeli journalists attended the Bahrain conference at the end of June, where the economic aspect of an American plan supposed to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was presented. The Palestinians refused to attend, accusing Washington of Israeli bias. (Jerusalemonline, July 24, 2019)
JEWISH CEMETERY VANDALIZED “JEWS EAT CHILDREN, JADOWNIKI EATS JEWS” (Poland) — Graffiti was sprayed on the cemetery wall in Jadownik, a village located near Tarnow in southern Poland. The inscription says, “The Jews eat children, Jadowniki eats the Jews”. Tarnow’s Committee for the Protection of Jewish Heritage invited residents to come together to erase the anti-Semitic graffiti. For hundreds of years, Tarnow was home to thousands of Jews with the first mention of Jews living in the city in the 15th century. (Jerusalemonline, July 24, 2019)
MAN THREATENS TO MASSACRE CANADIAN JEWS, ENCOURAGES SUICIDE ATTACKS (British Columbia) — B’nai Brith Canada sounded an alarm about a man from British Columbia with self-proclaimed military experience who repeatedly threatened online to kill Jews. Marty Mullen, who also uses the aliases “Marty Tollington” and “Iron Horseman” on Facebook and Twitter said that he is “learning to kill Jewish Zionazis the Kosher Way.” “Zionazi” is a derogatory term for supporters of Israel that combines the words “Zionist” and “Nazi.” (WIN, July 24, 2019)
RADICAL ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP TO HOST CAPITOL HILL BRIEFING (Washington) — American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a virulently anti-Israel advocacy group, was able to secure a room in the Longworth House Office Building, which serves US House of Representatives members and their staffs. AMP plans to allege that US citizens visiting Israel and the West Bank “have reported being physically abused, detained for hours of humiliating questions, strip-searched, denied entry, and forced to buy plane tickets back to the US. Worse (sic) of all, Israeli forces have killed or gravely injured US citizens.” (Algemeiner, July 23, 2019)
BON JOVI IGNORES BDS CAMPAIGN, ARRIVES IN ISRAEL TO PERFORM (Tel Aviv) — World renowned rock star Bon Jovi has arrived in Israel to perform in Tel Aviv despite a massive campaign by the international anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement to persuade him to cancel the trip. They will perform at Park HaYarkon on his ‘This House is Not For Sale’ tour. (Jewish Press, July 24, 2019)
ISRAELI FORCES SHUT DOWN WEAPONS MANUFACTURING PLANT IN SHECHEM (Shechem) — The forces confiscated two machines used for the illegal production of weapons. There is a prolific illegal weapons production and trade in the Palestinian Authority (PA) areas. The IDF and other Israeli forces have been waging a constant war on this phenomenon, as these weapons are also used in acts of terrorism against Israelis. (Jewish Press, July 25, 2019)
ORANGE COUNTY TOWN SUED FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHASSIDIC DEVELOPMENT (Montebello) — Chester Greens LLC, based in Montebello, NY sued the town of Chester, Orange County, as well as individual county officials, in federal court in White Plaints, for their opposition to a Chassidic development and discriminatory efforts to derail the already approved development, the Times Herald Record reported. When the town discovered that the new homes being built were for Chassidim, the plaintiff demanded that the court reverse the town’s denials of a building-permit, as well as order $80 million in compensatory damages for each of eight claims, $20 million in punitive damages for four of the claims, and compensation for property the town allegedly took away. (Jewish Press, July 25, 2019)
ISRAEL-INVENTED HAND-HELD ALLERGEN DETECTOR WILL HELP SAVE LIVES(Jerusalem) — A new portable device invented by SensoGenic, an Israeli-based startup company, can detect food allergens and potentially save lives. Food labels often have misleading allergy warnings, rendering them untrustworthy in the eyes of allergic shoppers. The new device allows conscious consumers to check for themselves, and make sure the food is safe for them to consume. (Jewish Press, July 25, 2019)
POMPEO SAYS U.S. WILL KEEP STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN(Washington) – In a talk at the Economic Club of Washington D.C, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated that his country will keep the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf open to maritime traffic, amid high tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran began threatening oil shipping in the Persian Gulf region after the U.S. strengthened its sanctions on Iranian oil exports in May. Multiple tankers were attacked in mysterious circumstances in May and June. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia blamed Tehran for the incidents. (Radio Farda, July 30, 2019)
FOX NEWS POLL: SIX IN TEN SAY IRAN, NORTH KOREA POSE A THREAT TO U.S. SAFETY (Washington) — As tensions heat up with Iran and North Korea over nuclear weapons, most registered voters thinks the rogue nations pose a risk to the country’s safety. Sixty percent say North Korea poses a real national security threat to the U.S. – and an equal number think the same of Iran. (Fox News, July 30, 2019
SWISS FUNDING FREEZE IN WAKE OF UNRWA CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS PILES ON PALESTINIAN REFUGEE AGENCY’S WOES(Switzerland) — Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported that the country’s Foreign Ministry decided to suspend funds following a phone consultation between leading officials and Pierre Krähenbühl — a Swiss national who serves as UNRWA’s director-general, and whose own actions were at the center of an internal report that accused the agency’s top management of systematic corruption and abuse. (Algemeiner, July 30, 2019)
JEWS MOST TARGETED MINORITY GROUP IN CANADA FOR 3RD CONSECUTIVE YEAR (Ottawa) — Canadian Jews for a third straight year were the most targeted minority group for hate crimes in the country, though there was a 4 percent decrease. The data for crimes reported to police in 2018 was released by Statistics Canada. The number of incidents dropped to 345 from 360 in 2017. Other minorities saw more significant declines. Hate crimes against Muslims fell 50 percent, to 173, and blacks saw a 15 percent drop to 283. In 2018, Canadian police responded to 1,798 hate crimes, compared to 2,073 in 2017. (JTA, July 24, 2019)
CANADA: COURT RULES ISRAELI WINES CAN’T BE LABELED ‘MADE IN ISRAEL’ (Ottawa) — Canada’s Court rules that Israeli wines produced in Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria can no longer be labeled as “Made in Israel” saying its “false, misleading and deceptive”. Responding to a lawsuit by Dr. David Kattenburg, the court ruled that allowing wines produced in Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria as “Products of Israel” does not fall within the range of possible, acceptable outcomes which are defensible in respect of the facts and law. It is, rather, unreasonable. (Behind the News, July 29, 2019)
ON TOPIC LINK
Woke Racism: Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness, July 28th, 2019 –– Well before Sigmund Freud formalized the idea of “projectionism”—the defense of one’s own shortcomings and sins by attributing them to others—it was a common theme in classical literature and the New Testament: the ridiculing of the mole on someone else’s nose to hide one’s own boil.