Isranet Daily Briefing (April 17, 2019): News of The Week In Review

“Let’s make things clear: Israel arrived on the moon. This is a phenomenal achievement. Until this day only seven nations had ever landed on the moon. Only three of them succeeded to perform a soft landing: The USSR, US and China. Usually, by the way, not at their first attempt. This is also the first time that a private spacecraft completed this journey. A journey which will forever change the way that we perceive space travel.” — The non-profit established to jointly run the mission with IAI, SpaceIL tweeted.  Beresheet, an Israeli lander had set off in February aboard a SpaceX rocket with the intention of landing on the moon, taking some photographs and conducting science experiments. However, despite a nation’s hopes being pinned to the small craft, it was revealed to have crashed on the moon’s surface 150 meters from the surface.  (Silicon Public, Apr. 13, 2019)

“Israel arrived on the moon and there’s an Israeli flag on the moon. Beresheet’s journey hasn’t ended here. I expect the next generation of Israelis to accomplish this journey for us.” — Morris Kahn, the mission’s largest backer and the person who conceived the project (Silicon Public, Apr. 13, 2019)

“While NASA regrets the end of the SpaceIL mission without a successful lunar landing of the Beresheet lander, we congratulate SpaceIL, the Israel Aerospace Industries and the State of Israel on the incredible accomplishment of sending the first privately funded mission into lunar orbit….I look forward to celebrating their future achievements.” — NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (NASA, Apr. 11, 2019)

“Israel’s obsession with the occupation of territories reaches the moon. There was no scientific contribution to sending the spacecraft to the Moon, just throwing more money to inflate the national ego. It’s not for nothing that most of the world’s countries have given up on this gimmick. We tried, we enjoyed ourselves, now let’s invest in science teachers, in education, and in academia.” — Former Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer, following the heartbreaking crash of the Beresheet spacecraft on the moon’s surface, tweeted.  (Jewish Press, Apr. 15, 2019)

“According to the Old Testament, God Himself described the Jews as “a stiff-necked people;” apparently, according to ancient scriptures, even the Almighty, in contemplation of His chosen people, was reduced to understatement.” – Columnist and author Conrad Black wrote in reference to Israel’s coalition democracy that reflects the voice of the people and necessitates compromise.  He called Israel’s election results (Natanyahu’s re-election, and a strong opposition) “a good day for Israel – with many more to come.” (National Post, Apr. 12, 2019)

“This hypocrisy is motivated by one thing: antisemitism. It shows not just bigotry but intellectual and moral decay. Antisemitism is both a disease and the source of comfort for many.” — U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell calls out the UN for its systemic bias against Israel, during an address he delivered at the Rally for Equal Rights at the United Nations in Geneva.  (UNWatch, Mar. 18, 2019)

“The situation on the ground does not support accusations of apartheid. The Arab population, some 20 percent, certainly suffers discrimination, but to liken their lot to apartheid South Africa is baseless, indeed ridiculous. Arabs have the vote, which in itself makes them fundamentally different from South Africa’s black population under apartheid.” — Benjamin Pogrund wrote in the Guardian in 2015.  Pogrund, South Africa’s most famous Jewish journalist, and a pro-Israel activist is slated to receive on Apr. 25, the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, given to those with outstanding records in the spheres of art, journalism, culture, and literature. (Algemeiner, Apr. 10, 2019)

“[My] fear has become a reality that the Labour Party has become a party of antisemites, racists and homophobes, it has indeed become the nasty party.” — Labour Councillor and Mayor of Hartlepool Allan Barclay said in explaining why he resigned from the UK Labour Party. In his resignation letter to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, he wrote that he feels that “Corbyn must resign and the Corbynites must be removed from the Labour Party. This is the only way that the party can become respectable again.” Resigning, as well, were Labour Councillors Marilyn Davies and Jason Fojtik.  (Jewish Press, Mar. 10, 2019)

“The promise of our community is the rekindling of a Judeo-Islamic tradition.” — said Ross Kriel, president of the new Jewish Council of the Emirates in Dubai. Arab leaders from Morocco to Iraq are repeating the message. In February Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said he would build new synagogues if the country’s Jews returned. (The Economist, Apr. 4, 2019)

“We are pleased Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) recognizes she is NOT a leader on Israel in Congress. We recommend she engage with Dem leaders Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey, & Ted Deutch before contemplating the future of US military aid to Israel.” – in a statement put forth by The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) strongly criticizing Ocasio-Cortez for her comments made in a media interview on Yahoo’s “Skullduggery”  podcast over the weekend that cutting military and economic aid to Israel should be “on the table.”  Ocasio-Cortez was responding to Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election and his pledge to annex territory in the West Bank.  (Algemeiner, Apr. 15, 2019)

“Yes, Islamophobia is real, and we must be vigilant against it.  No, we shouldn’t tolerate hate speech against any minority group. But I believed that twisted souls such as Mr. MccVeigh, Alexandre Bissonnette and Mr. Tarrant … will always be attracted to some overwhelming, all-encompassing belief that leads them to think they can change the world through some terrible act.” – Columnist Margaret Wente writing about what she sees as the politicization of Islamophobia following the New Zealand mosque massacre. (Globe and Mail, Mar. 23, 2019)

TRUMP PEACE PLAN LEAVES OUT PALESTINIAN STATE, REPORT SAYS (Washington) — The Trump peace plan drops the idea of a Palestinian State; instead it will offer “practical improvements” for Palestinians but “is likely to stop short of ensuring a separate, fully sovereign Palestinian state,” according to the Washington Post. If true, it would explain last Friday’s remarks by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s election pledge to annex Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria wouldn’t hurt the prospects for the ‘deal of the century.’  (WIN,Apr. 15, 2019)

NETANYAHU ONE OF TIME’S ‘100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE’ (New York) —TIME Magazine voted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one of its “100 most influential people of 2019.”Netanyahu was chosen for the list’s subsection on “leaders” that also included Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Brett Kavanaugh, Robert Mueller, and international figures such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Pope Francis. Explaining its decision to include Netanyahu on the prestigious annual list, TIME wrote that “Israel is Bibi’s nation.” (Arutz Sheva, Apr. 19, 2019)

LEAKED: CORBYN ADMITS PARTY ANTISEMITISM IGNORED IN COMMENTS CAUGHT ON TAPE (London) – U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn conceded that he ignored antisemitism in his party, the Sunday Times revealed. Corbyn had appointed Lord Falconer, a former government minister, to “look at the speed of dealing with cases, the administration of them, and the collation of the evidence before it is put before appropriate panels and things,” Corbyn said in comments leaked to the Times, adding that he “was concerned that evidence was either being mislaid, ignored or not used and that there had to be some better system.” (WIN, Apr. 15, 2019)

CORNELL STUDENTS VOTE DOWN DIVESTMENT RESOLUTION TARGETING ISRAEL AFTER ACRIMONIOUS CAMPUS DEBATE (Ithaca) — While a majority of Student Assembly members voted via secret ballot to adopt the measure — with 14 in favor, 13 against, and one abstention — two additional votes were allocated to community members, who came out against the resolution by a margin of 330-248, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. (Algemeiner, Apr. 12, 2019)

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CONDEMNS ‘DISTURBING, HATEFUL LANGUAGE’ AFTER PALESTINIAN RAPPER PERFORMS SELF-DESCRIBED ‘ANTISEMITIC SONG’ (Chapel Hill) — Filmmaker Ami Horowitz recorded Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar of the hip hop group DAM performing what the rapper called “an antisemitic song.”  It was part of a 3-day academic conference on the Gaza Strip sponsored by the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, and multiple departments. Several antisemitic flyers referring to “an evil Jewish plot” were found days after the conference at the Davis Library at UNC-Chapel Hill. (Algemeiner, Apr. 12, 2019)

CANADA: “ISLAMOPHOBIA” PROF CLAIMS SHE WAS ASSAULTED AT CONFERENCE, MEDIA RUNS WITH CLAIMS WITHOUT VERIFYING (Toronto) – Without checking, the Canadian Jewish News ran a story that a Muslim professor – Jasmin Zine. who is affiliated with the Saudi-funded “Islamophobia” propaganda mill at Georgetown University the Bridge Initiative, claims to have been victimized by “Islamophobes” at a conference on the rule of law. Prof. Zine lists “Islamophobia” as one of her areas of expertise. Her accusation was untrue.  (Jihad Watch, Apr. 12, 2019)

CANADIAN HIGH SCHOOL LAUNCHES PROBE; REMOVES POSTER ALLEGING ‘HUMAN TESTING’ ON PALESTINIANS FOLLOWING ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS (Mississauga, Ont.) — Concerns were raised over antisemitism after a poster was hung in a hallway at Stephen Lewis Secondary school as part of a grade 12 project, “Equity and Social Justice: From Theory to Practice,” according to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). The project promoted “the antisemitic lie that Israelis harvest Palestinian organs and conduct ‘human testing’ of pharmaceuticals on Palestinians.” (Algemeiner, Apr. 15, 2019)

LEAKED DOCS SHOW QATARI CHARITY FUNDS MB, TARIQ RAMADAN IN EUROPE (France) — Tariq Ramadan, grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-banana, received €35,000 – roughly $39,290 – per month from the Qatar Foundation as a “consultant,” documents obtained by French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot show, the Swiss newspaper Tribune deGenve reported. Ramadan received a further €19,000 from organizations such as the League of Muslims in Switzerland when he was arrested last year on rape charges. Chesnot and Malbrunot detail this information in their book “Qatar Papers” – how the emirate finances Islam in France and Europe. Their work discloses Qatar’s central role in funding Muslim Brotherhood operations across Europe.  (IPT blog, Apr. 5, 2019)

AOC, TLAIB MET WITH AMP MEMBERS DURING PALESTINE ADVOCACY DAY (Washington, DC) — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) posed for a photo with American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), but nothing was posted online saying what she said to the AMP supporters. We do know that Rashida Tlaib (D-Minn) told the group that she feels “more Palestinian” in Congress than she does anywhere else in the world.”  (IPT News, Apr. 12, 2019)

US TERROR LABEL FOR IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD TAKES EFFECT (Tehran) —   The Guard’s formal designation as a “foreign terrorist organization” – the first-ever for an entire division of another government – took effect on Monday. The move adds a layer of sanctions to the elite military unit and makes it a crime for anyone in or subject to U.S. jurisdiction to provide it with material support.  (Israel Hayon, Apr. 16, 2019)

HBO TO PRODUCE PHILIP ROTH’S ‘THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA’ DEPICTING A JEWISH BOY IN 1940 NEWARK (New Jersey) — Roth’s alternative history novel takes place in an America in which Franklin D. Roosevelt was defeated in the presidential election of 1940 by pilot and Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh. The novel follows the fortunes of the Roth family during the Lindbergh presidency, as antisemitism becomes more accepted in America and Jewish-American families like the Roths are persecuted. (Jewish Press, Apr. 12, 2019)

ON TRUMP’S ICC WIN, DEMS AND REPUBLICANS SEE EYE TO EYE (Washington) — The ICC  rejected a request from its chief prosecutor to launch a probe into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan by the United States and its allies in the early days after the 9/11 attacks, due to pressure from the Trump administration. A month ago, the administration revoked the visas of several ICC personnel, including the prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and threatened to do the same with those who seek to pursue war crime charges against Israel. Trump signaled that the current visa sanctions will remain in place and threatened to issue new ones if there are any “attempt to target Americans, Israeli, or allied personnel for prosecution.” (Realclearpolitics, Apr. 15, 2019)

U.S. BLOCKS BDS CO-FOUNDER BARGHOUTI FROM ENTERING THE COUNTRY (Washington, DC) – BDS co- founder Omar Barghouti, was supposed to arrive in Washington, DC to give two lectures and to meet with members of Congress but was retained at Ben Gurion Airport having been denied entrance into the US. This denial is believed to be based on national security matters and a tax evasion case against him. (IPT News, Apr. 11, 2019)

TEXAS BAN ON COMPANIES THAT BOYCOTT ISRAEL DRIVES STATE TO DIVEST $72M(Texas) – Texas state agencies divested from DNB ASA, a Norwegian financial services company.  This was the first financial move after a year-old law came into effect that bars Texas agencies from investing in companies that boycott Israel. The 2017 law was touted by Republicans to show solidarity with the country and prohibits state agencies from investing in such companies or giving them government contracts. With bipartisan support, it passed unanimously in the House and with little opposition in the Senate. (San Antonio Express News, Apr. 15, 2019)

GERMAN PAPER COMPARES NETANYAHU TO NAZI FILM ‘THE ETERNAL JEW’ (Berlin) – The lead article on the opinion page of the left-leaning Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the 1940 Nazi antisemitic movie The Eternal Jew. The article was titled “The Eternal Netanyahu” in a wordplay in connection with director Fritz Hippler’s antisemitic pseudo-documentary, based on the medieval legend of the wandering Jew, which served as a cinematographic justification for the Holocaust. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 11, 2019)

THE LAST DOOLITTLE RAIDER HAS DIED AT 103 (Texas) — Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dick Cole, who served as Army Lt. Col. James Doolittle’s co-pilot during the raid, passed away on Tuesday at 103 years old. His death was first reported by Air Force Magazine‘s John Tirpak.  (Task & Purpose, Apr. 9, 2019)

DISTURBING STUDY SHOWS A THIRD OF AMERICANS THINK HOLOCAUST MURDERS EXAGGERATED (New York) — A survey released by theThe Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, otherwise known as the Claims Conference, revealed that a third of all Americans believe the scope of the murder of Jews in the Holocaust was exaggerated – that, in fact, 2 million Jews were murdered, rather than 6 million. (Jewish Press, Apr. 15, 2019)

POLICE FIND GUNS, BULLETS IN PALESTINIAN CAR WITH SMALL CHILDREN (Jerusalem) — Two M-16’s and an airsoft gun along with 15 magazines and hundreds of bullets were found after a Palestinian family with young children in the car was stopped at the A’Zaim checkpoint near Jerusalem. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 9, 2019)

CORBYN: BRITISH ISIS TERRORIST SHOULD RECEIVE UK LEGAL AID (London) — British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn created controversy by suggesting that Shamima Begum be allowed to apply for legal aid in order to challenge moves to revoke her U.K. citizenship. Mr. Corbyn said that no matter what crimes Begum committed after leaving Britain to join ISIS in Syria, she is still entitled to proper legal representation, which is funded by taxpayers’ money. (WIN, Apr. 16, 2019)

NORMALIZING TIES WITH ‘ZIONISTS’ IS AGAINST QURAN, IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER SAYS (Tehran) – Normalizing relations with Israel breaks with the Koran and Islamic faith, Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said  at the closing ceremony of a Quran competition in Tehran, Khamenei blasted “certain Islamic nations” that are normalizing relations with Israel, and are not, according to him, adhering to Muslim principles. (Times of Israel, Apr. 15, 2019)

HUJ RESEARCHERS USE DECEPTION TO FIGHT CANCER (Jerusalem) — In the upcoming issue of Nature Communications, Professor Rotem Karni and his team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) present a new technology to fight cancer.  They designed decoy molecules that trick RNA-binding proteins into binding with them.  Once bound, these RNA-binding proteins are no longer able to bind with the natural RNA molecules in cancer cells and lose their cancer-promoting activity. (Medical Express, Apr. 15, 2019)

ISRAEL REVEALS “WORLD’S LARGEST SALT CAVE” IN MT. SEDOM (Dead Sea) — An international group led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)’s Cave Research Center (CRC), the Israel Cave Explorers Club, and Bulgaria’s Sofia Speleo Club, along with 80 cavers from nine countries, say they successfully mapped the Malham salt cave in Mount Sedom, an 11km long mountain that sits 170 meters below sea level at the southwestern tip of the Dead Sea.  The record was previously held by Iran for the Cave of the Three Nudes on Qeshm Island. (NoCamels, Mar. 28, 2019)

ISRAEL’S EARLYSENSE TEC CHOSEN TO HELP COMBAT INFANT MORTALITY IN KENYA(Nairobi) — EarlySense was selected by international nonprofit, Save The Children, to monitor newborns’ vital signs as part of a pilot project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The company’s contact-free, piezoelectric sensors will be used to measure infants’ respiratory rate, heart rate, and any type of motion, detecting dangers such as rib-cage movement and heart contractions without disturbing or coming into contact with the infant. Kenya has one of the highest newborn death rates, according to USAID.  (NoCamels, Apr. 1, 2019)

LEGENDARY ISRAELI SPY ELI COHEN’S REMAINS MIGHT BE COMING HOME (Syria) — The source of the rumors appears to be websites linked to opposition groups in Syria. According to these reports, a Russian delegation recently left Syria with a coffin containing Cohen’s remains. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the reports. The Israeli military censor is allowing for the rumors to be reported, but it is unclear what the significance of that is. “Cohen worked as a Mossad agent in Damascus, Syria under the alias of Kamal Amin Ta’abet from 1962 until his exposure and execution on May 18, 1965,” according to the “Help Bring Eli Home” website sponsored by his family. (WIN, Apr. 15, 2019)