Daily Briefing: WEDNESDAYS “NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW” (June 3 , 2020)

                       WEEKLY QUOTES

“Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled.  If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” – said President Donald Trump.  He was referring to the riots that erupted in cities throughout the US over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died in Minneapolis police custody after being pinned beneath a white officer’s knee for nearly nine minutes. (The Epoch Times, June 1, 2020)

“For one thing, any thinking person understands that simply because a group cloaks itself in the name of a principled cause doesn’t necessarily mean it represents a principled cause. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is not democratic, run by the people, or a republic. … Second, even legitimately anti-fascist organizations are not, by default, champions of virtuous causes. There are competing evils in the world, and there is no better example of this struggle than the one played out between fascists and Communists over the past century,” – writes political commentator David Harsanyi.  He pointed out that “Antifa, the group of radicals instigating violence, vandalizing and burning cities, and undermining the valid grievances of those peacefully protesting police brutality was named after a militant Stalinist German organization, Antifaschistische Aktion,” and that it “often accuses free and democratic institutions of engaging in “fascism” to further their own authoritarian cause.”  He further decried the American media, who “have been downplaying the violent nature of Antifa for years.” (National Review, June 1, 2020)

“Victory will not come on a golden platter. Victory is achieved through the blood of martyrs and over the skulls of the enemies. Victory is achieved by sacrificing money, life, and all that is precious. We will not accept the [Israeli] occupation’s existence on a single centimeter of [Palestine] under any circumstances,”  —  Dr. Abduljabbar Saeed — head of the Quran and Sunnah Department in Qatar University’s Shari’a Faculty — declared on Al Jazeera.  He then went on to quote a famous Hadith that calls for killing Jews.  (WIN, May 30, 2020)

“Israel is a peace-loving country by any yardstick. From the day of its establishment until today, we have never heard, read or seen Israel working to spread any ideology or belief in other countries, or to support militias [within them], as Iran and Turkey are doing. Ask anyone on the street in an Arab country who is behind all the destruction and extremism in the Middle East, and he will immediately tell you: Iran and Turkey,” – writes Saudi writer and author Khalid Turki Aal Turki in the liberal Arabic website Elaph.com. (MEMRI, May 27, 2020)

“Serious question for @Twitter: Do these tweets from Supreme Leader of Iran @khamenei_ir violate ‘Twitter Rules about glorifying violence?”—tweeted Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.  He asked Twitter why Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s tweets against Israel don’t violate Twitter’s guidelines. Pai highlighted an assortment of Khamenei’s tweets stating that “the Zionist regime is a deadly, cancerous growth”and calling for “firm, armed resistance [against Israel].” (Jewish Journal, May 29, 2020)

“The Iranian regime has continued its nuclear brinkmanship by expanding proliferation sensitive activities. These escalatory actions are unacceptable and I cannot justify renewing the waiver for these JCPOA-related activities as a result. The regime’s nuclear extortion will lead to increased pressure on Iran and further isolate the regime from the international community. Moreover, Iran’s nuclear personnel need to make a choice – work for Iranian proliferation organizations and risk being sanctioned or put their skills to work for the Iranian people in pursuits outside of the proliferation realm,” – said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.  He announced that he was announcing the end of the sanctions waiver covering all remaining JCPOA-originating nuclear projects in Iran – the Arak reactor conversion, the provision of enriched uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, and the export of Iran’s spent and scrap research reactor fuel. The sanctions waiver covering these activities will end following a final, 60-day wind-down period allowing companies and entities involved in these activities to cease their operations. (US Dept of State, May 27, 2020)

 “As a Jewish student at Stanford with a strong commitment to human rights, I often feel excluded from discourse intended to protect minorities. Even on this campus, I have been told by peers and professors that all Jews are privileged, all Jews are rich and cheap, all Jews are white and all Jews have big noses. The new wave of anti-Judaism includes a new trope: All Jews who support Israel hate Muslims and Arabs. Normalizing these anti-Semitic assumptions has allowed students to freely express aggression and hatred toward Israel and Israelis. If this slander or abhorrent language were directed toward any other nationality, it would never be tolerated. While Stanford students are quick to say they support all communities, commonplace anti-Israel rhetoric on our campus is clear, repeated hypocrisy.” – writes Stanford University student Zohar Levy. (The Stanford Daily, May 25,
2020)

 SHORT TAKES

AMERICAN JEWS ON EDGE AS RIOTERS ATTACK SYNAGOGUES, JEWISH STORES (Los Angeles) — At least four synagogues were desecrated and vandalized in Los Angeles over the past days, with rioters taking advantage of the turmoil to spray open anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli inscriptions against them. Orthodox neighborhoods in other cities have been on the alert, including those in New York. While many Jews are staying home, several Jewish business owners in LA decided to stay in place and protect their stores. (WIN, June 2, 2020)

DEATH TOLL MOUNTS, COPS TARGETED AS RIOTS ENGULF US (USA) — One man was the beloved owner of a Louisville barbecue restaurant who made sure to provide free meals to officers. Another was a man known as “Mr. Indianapolis,” a former star football player. Yet another was a federal officer working security during a protest. They are among the people who have been killed as protests roiled American cities in the week since 46-year-old George Floyd died when a white officer jammed his knee into the back of the black man’s neck. The deaths were at times overshadowed by the shocking images of chaos engulfing cities across America, from riot police tactics to violence, vandalism and arson committed by citizens. Many of the people killed were African Americans, compounding the tragedy for black families to lose more members of their community amid the unrest. Police also have been targeted. Police officers suffering head injuries and broken bones ended up in emergency rooms.(WIN, June 2, 2020)

IDF RADIO: US TELLS ISRAEL THAT ANNEXATION WILL ALSO DEFINE FINAL BORDERS (Jerusalem) – An Israel Army Radio report cited unnamed members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government who said the Trump administration wants the joint U.S.-Israeli team that is mapping the areas where Israel will apply sovereignty to define those boundaries as the new borders of the State of Israel. According to the sources, once the settlement blocs are annexed, the new lines will become Israel’s eastern border and Israel will agree to give up demands to apply sovereignty over any other areas in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. No exact lines have been revealed yet by the mapping team, but Israel is expected to annex about 30 percent of the land including the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea coastline it acquired in the 1967 Six Day War and all Israeli settlements located beyond the 1948 armistice line. (WIN, May 28, 2020)

NETANYAHU SAID TO TELL SETTLERS US ENTHUSIASM FOR ANNEXATION ‘MAY HAVE LESSENED’ (Jerusalem) — In a meeting with settler leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the Trump administration was toughening its stance on the new Israeli government’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank, and signaled that any such effort might be delayed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Times of Israel that the premier also told the West Bank mayors that the United States “may have lessened its enthusiasm about seeing sovereignty carried out.” (Times of Israel, June 2, 2020)

ISRAEL’S HEALTH MINISTRY UPS TESTING TO INCLUDE ASYMPTOMATIC AS INFECTION SURGE SPIKES FEARS (Jerusalem) — Following an alarming rise in infections, Israel launched a new policy to test anybody who was in contact with a person infected with the coronavirus, even if they are not showing symptoms. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein apparently overruled members of his own staff, and the ministry will now test all immediate family members of an infected person both at the time the infection was discovered and again after five days. (WIN, June 1, 2020)

MASKS MAY BECOME SELF-CLEANING, WITH ISRAELI SCIENTIST’S USB-POWERED HACK(Jerusalem) – An Israeli scientist has invented technology that aims to make face masks clean themselves using power from a phone charger.  Yair Ein-Eli has applied for a US patent for his innovation, which he says will boost hygiene and mitigate mask shortages. A poll just conducted by the Washington Post found that some 66 percent of American health workers surveyed said their workplaces face shortages of the masks that are most suitable for protection from the coronavirus. (Times of Israel, June 2, 2020)

ISRAELI HOSPITAL PILOTS VIRUS-KILLING STICKER FOR CORONAVIRUS MASKS (Galilee) — Israel’s Galilee Medical Center is piloting a virus-neutralizing sticker that attaches to surgical masks to better protect medical staff during the corona crisis. The 3D-printed “Maya” sticker was developed at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology by a mechanical engineering team led by Prof. Eyal Zussman. The sticker contains nanofibers that capture nanoparticles, and disinfectants believed capable of killing any viruses in those nanoparticles.  (Israel 21C, Apr. 22, 2020)

ISRAELI AI LIFEGUARD HELPS PREVENT DROWNING AS BEACH SEASON OPENS (Jerusalem) — Sightbit, the Israeli startup leveraging AI tech to alert lifeguards when swimmers are in danger, has launched its first pilot program of the season at Palmachim Beach, one of Israel’s most popular beaches. The program aims to turn the area into one of the first “smart” beaches in Israel powered by cutting-edge AI and computer vision tech that will make it easier to spot and prevent drowning victims. (NoCamels May 28, 2020)

HIDES THAT REVEAL: DNA HELPS SCHOLARS DIVINE DEAD SEA SCROLLS (Tel Aviv) –– Genetic sampling of the Dead Sea Scrolls has tested understandings that the 2,000-year-old artifacts were the work of a fringe Jewish sect, and shed light on the drafting of scripture around the time of Christianity’s birth. The research — which indicated some of the parchments’ provenances by identifying animal hides used — may also help safeguard against forgeries of the prized biblical relics. The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of hundreds of manuscripts and thousands of fragments of ancient Jewish religious texts, were discovered in 1947 by local Bedouin in the cave-riddled desert crags of Qumran, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Jerusalem. The Israeli researchers, assisted by a Swedish DNA lab, determined that two textually different copies of the Book of Jeremiah were brought to Qumran from the outside. Such findings indicate that the wording of Jewish texts was subject to variation and interpretation — contrary to later views of holy writ as fixed. The lesson, Mizrahi said, is that “Second Temple Jewish society was much more plural and multifaceted than many of us tend to think.” (Algemeiner, June 2, 2020)

IRAN CYBERATTACK SOUGHT TO RAISE CHLORINE LEVELS IN ISRAEL’S WATER SUPPLY, REPORT SAYS (Tehran) — Iran attempted to raise chlorine levels in Israeli water during a cyberattack on the Jewish state’s water supply system. In April, workers at a municipal water supply station in central Israel received a warning from their computer system that pumps were malfunctioning, turning off and on when they weren’t commanded to do so. Investigators discovered that Iranian-written code, after passing through servers around the world in an attempt to hide its origins, breached the water supply’s security and penetrated the system’s software. The code was attempting to raise the chlorine levels in water flowing to Israeli homes. If the attack had succeeded, elevated chlorine levels in the residential water supply could have led to thousands of Israelis being sickened. (WIN, June 1, 2020)

SYNAGOGUE VANDALISM SHOCKS MONTREAL, RELIGIOUS OBJECTS STUFFED INTO TOILETS (Montreal) — Ahead of the Shavuot holiday, a congregant visited the Sepharade Kol Yehouda synagogue in Côte St-Luc, a Montreal suburb, with his son to retrieve ritual items for use at home over the Shavuot holiday.  He discovered Torah scrolls dumped on the floor and other religious items shoved into toilets. Since the synagogue has been closed for months on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unclear precisely when the break-in and desecration occurred. (WIN, May 29, 2020)

ANTISEMITIC CRIMES IN AUSTRIA CLIMB BY NEARLY 10 PERCENT: NEW REPORT (Vienna) — Antisemitic incidents in Austria rose by nearly ten percent in 2019, a new report issued on Thursday by the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG) disclosed. A total of 550 outrages targeting Jews were reported. Six of these involved physical assaults, with 239 instances of abusive behavior, 18 instances of threats, 78 instances of damage and desecration of Jewish property and 209 instances of mass-produced antisemitic literature. (Algemeiner, May 28, 2020)

JEWISH WORLD MOURNS PASSING OF FORMER YESHIVA UNIVERSITY HEAD NORMAN LAMM (NYC) –-Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm — the former head of Yeshiva University in New York City and one of the leading Jewish scholars in the United States — passed away on Sunday at the age of 92. Born in Brooklyn into a family of Jewish immigrants from Poland, Lamm gained wide recognition for his writings and discourses on the interpretation of Jewish philosophy and law, especially in relation to problems involving science, law, technology and philosophy in the modern world, and for saving Yeshiva University from bankruptcy. (WIN, June 2, 2020)

WATCH: ‘The Palestinians Lost, We Want Relations with Israel,’ Saudi Analyst Tells BBC:  WIN, May 31, 2020 — “We care about national interests, not the Palestinians,” said Saudi Arabian writer and political commentator Abdulhameed Al-Ghobain recently during an interview with BBC Arabic.The Lancet’s Politicized Science on Antimalarial Drugs:  Allysia Finley, WSJ, June 1, 2020 — President Trump has often mentioned hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19. Last month he announced that he was taking the antimalaria drug, also known as HCL, as a prophylaxis after two White House staffers tested positive for the virus. Mr. Trump’s critics in the press seem to be on a mission to discredit the therapy. Now a prestigious medical journal may be joining in.

Jewish State’s Christian Allies Emphasize Support Ahead of Sovereignty Plan:  Eliana Rudee, JNS, May 27, 2020 — On the occasion of Jerusalem Day—celebrated from May 21-22, and just weeks ahead of Israel’s proposed application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria—Israel’s Christian allies took the opportunity to voice their support for a united capital of Jerusalem and for Israel’s sovereignty in the Jewish state.