Daily Briefing:Wednesday’s News of the Week in Review (July 17, 2019)

WEEKLY QUOTES

“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)

IRAN READY TO TALK IF U.S. LIFTS SANCTIONS, POMPEO SKEPTICAL (Tehran) — Iran is ready to hold talks with the United States if Washington lifts sanctions and returns to the 2015 nuclear deal it quit last year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said it is open to negotiations with Iran on a more far-reaching agreement on nuclear and security issues. (Reuters, July 14, 2019)

UN FINDS EVIDENCE OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL IN IRANIAN WAREHOUSE, ISRAELI OFFICIALS SAY (Jerusalem) — UN inspectors have found evidence of illicit nuclear activity in an Iranian warehouse which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in an address to the UN last September was used to store nuclear equipment and material, four Israeli officials told Axios.  The Iranians had claimed that the Tehran warehouse was a carpet factory, and denied Netanyahu’s accusations that it was tied to Iran’s covert military nuclear program. Storing nuclear materials secretly without reporting it to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is a violation of the nuclear proliferation treaty to which Iran is a party. (Axios, July 11, 2019)

EUROPE BOWS TO NAZIS AGAIN WITH IRAN DEAL, SAYS NETANYAHU (Jerusalem) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared European attempts to resuscitate the Iran nuclear deal to European appeasement of the genocidal Nazi regime during World War II. Netanyahu’s criticism arrived as European leaders call on Iran to stick to the 2015 nuclear deal despite the pullout by the United States and its re-imposition of crippling economic sanctions. Netanyahu charges that some leaders “won’t wake up until Iranian nuclear missiles fall on Europe.” (WIN, July 15, 2019)

JUDGE REJECTS APPEAL TO DISMISS CASE AGAINST LEFTIST WHO SENT ARAB LAND BROKERS TO THEIR DEATHS (Jerusalem) — Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge David Gabbay ruled that the trial of Ta’ayush and B’Tselem activist Ezra Nawi will continue, rejecting the petition submitted by attorney Leah Tsemel and Nawi’s defense team requesting the court to dismiss the indictment against their client. Nawi, who in 1995 was convicted of statutory rape of a 15-year-old Arab boy and sentenced to six months in jail, is accused of providing information on several occasions to the Palestinian Authority Preventive Security forces against PA Arabs who participated in land transactions in the South Hebron Hills. (Jewish Press, July 16, 2019)

BARAK ATTEMPTS TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM JEFFREY EPSTEIN (Jerusalem) — Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who has recently reentered politics, is under attack for his ties with Jeffrey Epstein, the American businessman who is suspected of assaulting minors. Seeking to distance himself from Epstein, Barak stated that he has ordered his lawyers to reexamine the business contacts he shares with him. Barak clarified that “for nearly five years, a company connected to Epstein has been a passive financial investor in a limited partnership that is legally registered in Israel and under my control. Each investor in the partnership is subject to the same commercial contract.” (Jewish Press, July 14, 2019)

IFNOTNOW PUSHING ANTI-SETTLEMENTS PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON LEADING DEMOCRAT (Washington, DC) —  IfNotNow, which uses its tiny numbers (a few hundreds – although they might be growing) to drag Presidential candidate Vice President Joe Biden, along with the rest of the party, to a precipice by cornering him regarding settlements and Israel.  Responding to their pressure, Biden tweeted, “@JoeBiden just said ‘The Occupation is a real problem’ and we’re happy to hear it: this is a baseline position every 2020 candidate needs to take.” But when asked @JoeBiden if he’d pressure Israel to end the Occupation, he deflected to his record. (Jewish Press, July 14, 2019)

POLICE KILL ANTIFA EXTREMIST ATTACKING IMMIGRANT DETENTION FACILITY (Tacoma, Wash.) — Police killed an armed Antifa extremist early on July 13 after the man threw firebombs at an immigrant detention building and cars in the parking lot and attempted to blow up a large propane tank. The man succeeded in setting one car on fire before officers responded at 4 a.m. and gunned him down, according to the Tacoma Police Department. The man was armed with a rifle and wore a satchel with flares, the police said. No officers were hurt in the encounter. (The Epoch Times, July 14, 2019)

INTERNATIONAL PHYSICS OLYMPIAD, HOSTED BY JEWISH STATE FOR FIRST TIME, ENDS WITH FIVE MEDALS FOR ISRAELI TEAM (Jerusalem) — The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), held in Israel for the first time, concluded with the Israeli national team winning five medals — two gold, two silver, and one bronze. According to Israeli news website Mako, the team ultimately reached eighth place in the international competition. (Algemeiner, July 14, 2019)

JORDANIAN MP WHO CALLED ISRAEL A ‘JEWISH TUMOR’ FETED AT BRITISH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT BY LABOUR SHADOW MINISTER (London) — A Jordanian member of parliament who has referred to Israel as a “Jewish tumor” and expressed approval of the religiously motivated murder of Jews was feted last week by a UK Labour shadow minister at the British Houses of Parliament. According to The Daily Mail, Yahya al-Saud, a strong supporter of Palestinian terrorism, was welcomed to Portcullis House in the Palace of Westminster by Fabian Hamilton, currently Labour’s shadow minister for peace and disarmament. Hamilton is Jewish. (Algemeiner, July 14, 2019)

WITH MAP OF ISRAEL IN HAND, HEZBOLLAH LEADER DETAILS ‘HUGE DESTRUCTION’ OF JEWISH STATE (Lebanon) — Secretary general of the Hezbollah terror group, Hassan Nasrallah, rattled off a litany of threats during a recent interview with Lebanese media outlet Al-Manar, which was aired on the thirteenth anniversary of 2006’s Second Lebanon War. As he conducted the interview, Nasrallah presented a map of Israel to the camera with dozens of identified “targets,” claiming that “the entire Israeli north is under [Hezbollah’s] fire, [including] the most strategic area, the Israeli coast.” Nasrallah also claimed that a war with Lebanon would “put the Israelis on the verge of vanishing.” (WIN, July 14, 2019)

NEO-NAZI PUBLISHER TO PAY $14 MILLION TO JEWISH WOMAN HE HARASSED (Montana) –Federal judge Jeremiah C. Lynch recommended that neo-Nazi Daily Stormer publisher Andrew Anglin be ordered to pay Jewish Montana real estate agent Tanya Gersh more than $14 million in damages, because Anglin had “acted with actual malice” against his victim, Gersh—posting her contact information online and encouraging his readers to harass her. The lawsuit describes how Andrew Anglin used his Daily Stormer – the leading white power website in the US – to publish 30 articles urging his followers to launch a “troll storm” against Gersh. As a result, Gersh, her husband and their 12-year-old son received more than 700 harassing messages since December. (Jewish Press, July 17, 2019)

ISRAELI INNOVATION: PERSONALIZED ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENTS JUST FOR YOU! (Haifa) — Innovative technology developed by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Kahn-Sagol-Maccabi Research and Innovation Institute at Maccabi Healthcare Services could improve antibiotic treatments and hinder the development of resistant bacteria. The technology, presented in a study published in Nature Medicine, was a unique collaboration between the KSM Institute of Maccabi, headed by Varda Shalev, and Technion researchers Roy Kishony and Idan Yelin. (United With Israel, July 14, 2019)

JEWISH WOMAN’S KILLER NOT CRIMINALLY LIABLE BECAUSE HE WAS HIGH ON MARIJUANA, FRENCH JUDGE RULES (Paris) — A Muslim man who killed his Jewish neighbor in Paris while shouting about Allah is probably not criminally responsible for his actions because he had smoked marijuana beforehand, a French judge ruled. The preliminary ruling in the trial of Kobili Traore for the 2017 murder of Sarah Halimi came Friday from a judge of inquiry — a magistrate that in the French justice system is tasked with deciding whether indicted defendants should in fact stand trial. Francis Khalifat, the president of the CRIF umbrella group of French Jewish communities, called the ruling “unsurprising but hardly justifiable.” He said his group and others will appeal in hopes of bringing Traore to trial. (JTA, July 15, 2019)

On Topic Link

Barr: Under The Banner Of Identity Politics, Political Factions Are Seeking Power By Dividing Americans:RealClearPolitics, July 15, 2019, Video and Transcript — Attorney General Bill Barr condemned the politics of fighting “under the banner of identity politics” in an address Monday to at the Department of Justice’s Summit on Combatting Anti-Semitism.