We welcome your comments to this and any other CIJR publication. Please address your response to: Rob Coles, Publications Chairman, Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, PO Box 175, Station H, Montreal QC H3G 2K7 – Tel: (514) 486-5544 – Fax:(514) 486-8284; E-mail: rob@isranet.wpsitie.com
Abu Mazen and his Threat to “Return the Keys of the Palestinian Authority”: Amb. Alan Baker, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 24, 2014— Following recent statements of by Israeli leaders and politicians supporting Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as a “worthy leader of the Palestinians, who seeks peace with Israel and opposes terror,” it is perhaps time to ask ourselves if indeed he is such a reliable, credible and worthy peace partner.
Palestinian Prisoners Day: A Call to Churches Worldwide to Pray and Act For Justice: Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, World Council of Churches, Apr. 17, 2014 — As the international community observes Palestinian Prisoners Day on 17 April, the World Council of Churches resolutely confirms our solidarity with the nearly 5000 Palestinian men, women and children languishing in Israeli prisons.
Statement of Support for Israel in light of the WCC Standing in “Solidarity” with Palestinian Prisoners: Christine Williams, ICEJ, Apr., 2014 — The Palestinian Authority (PA) marked "Prisoners Day" on April 17th by holding rallies throughout the West Bank in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Palestinians: "Prisoners Day": Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, Apr. 21, 2014 — The Palestinian Authority's duplicity clearly has no limits.
Who Succeeds Mahmoud Abbas?: Neville Teller, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 13, 2014 — Lurking in the backwoods of Palestinian politics is a man whom 79-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas recognizes as his deadly rival.
Antisemitism Goes Mainstream in Canada: B’nai Brith Canada, Apr. 11, 2014
Anti-Israel BDS Resolutions Seize Campuses in Ontario, Canada: Christine Williams, Gatestone Institute, Apr. 22, 2014
In PLO-Hamas Deal, a Moment of Moral Clarity: Liel Leibovitz, Tablet, Apr. 24, 2014
The Evenhandedness Trap: Asaf Romirowsky, Ynet News, Apr. 25, 2014
What Is Abbas Trying to Achieve?: Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, Apr. 25, 2014
ABU MAZEN AND HIS THREAT TO “RETURN THE
KEYS OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY”
Amb. Alan Baker
Jerusalem Post, Apr. 24, 2014
Following recent statements of by Israeli leaders and politicians supporting Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as a “worthy leader of the Palestinians, who seeks peace with Israel and opposes terror,” it is perhaps time to ask ourselves if indeed he is such a reliable, credible and worthy peace partner. Does he have the authority and standing to commit the Palestinians to international obligations vis-a-vis Israel and the rest of the international community, and of instilling trust among the Israeli public, as well as among his own Palestinian public? Does he have the practical capability of fulfilling such obligations and of ensuring that the civil and military authorities under his jurisdiction would indeed accede to his authority? Does he have any authority or credibility vis-à-vis the population and the Hamas leadership of the Gaza Strip? In seeking to answer these questions it is perhaps pertinent to review his performance as leader and representative of at least part of the Palestinians, living in the West Bank areas, as well as spokesman for all Palestinians both in the United Nations and within the international community in general.
Take for instance his public statements to the international community in the UN General Assembly in November 2012 and 2013, where, in speeches replete with hatred, deceit, aggression, incitement and demagogy, he deliberately and unabashedly misled the international community, accusing Israel of: “Intending to extinguish [Palestinian] being and to expel them in order to uproot and erase their presence.”… Throwing the Palestinians “from their beautiful, embracing, prosperous country to refugee camps in one of the most dreadful campaigns of ethnic cleansing and dispossession in modern history.”… Accusing Israel of “barbaric and horrific” attacks in the Gaza Strip, while totally ignoring the Hamas rocket attacks that brought about Israel’s need to response… Representing Israel’s occupation as “synonymous with an apartheid system of colonial occupation, which institutionalizes the plague of racism and entrenches hatred and incitement.”
At the same time, Abu Mazen tried to deceive his listeners into believing that he alone is: “Trying to breathe new life into the negotiations” and “setting a solid foundation for it,” and…Reaffirming that “Palestine will always adhere to and respect the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations and international humanitarian law, uphold equality, guarantee civil liberties, uphold the rule of law, promote democracy and pluralism, and uphold and protect the rights of women.”
These past weeks the world witnessed just how committed Abu Mazen is to peace. On March 17, he refused to support the US draft framework for negotiations during a meeting with President Obama. A week later he declared to the Arab League in Kuwait that he would not even discuss recognizing Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People. Finally, on April 1, he signed requests to become party to 15 international conventions, contrary to commitments he had given that he would not do so, and in stark violation of PLO obligations pursuant to the Oslo Accords.
How can anyone really believe, or elude themselves that a Palestinian leader who accuses Israel of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, racism and hatred, who has no qualms about blatantly deceiving and lying to the international community, who willfully and deliberately ignores those obligations undertaken by the Palestinians in agreements with Israel to prevent terror and violence and to solve all outstanding issues through negotiations, could possibly be a worthy partner for negotiation? Abu Mazen’s new/old fad is to threaten repeatedly that he’ll invite Prime Minister Netanyahu to his Ramallah Palestinian Authority headquarters in order to “transfer to him the keys to the Palestinian Authority.”
Regrettably and surprisingly, several senior members Israel’s Knesset and political parties, as well as the Israeli media, view this threat seriously every time that Abu Mazen voices it. Some have even made well-publicized pilgrimages to Abu Mazen to plead with him not to give up the keys. The threat is nothing more than demagogy, similar to Abu Mazen’s oft-repeated threats to initiate charges against Israeli leaders and officers with the International Criminal Court.
Legally, if Abu Mazen as the “ra’is” of the Palestinian Authority, genuinely feels that he has failed to lead the Palestinian people to peaceful coexistence with Israel, as foreseen by the Oslo Accords, under which the Palestinian authority was established and functions, then logically, pursuant to the same accords, he should indeed hand over his keys, but to the PLO , the body that signed the agreements with Israel and that appointed him ra’is of the Palestinian Authority as well as chairman of the PLO itself. Thus, rather than playing demagogic games and issuing empty threats, he can resign his post and open up the stage for elections.
PALESTINIAN PRISONERS DAY: A CALL TO CHURCHES
WORLDWIDE TO PRAY AND ACT FOR JUSTICE
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit,
World Council of Churches, Apr. 17, 2014
“The Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners” Psalm 102
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ…As the international community observes Palestinian Prisoners Day on 17 April, the World Council of Churches resolutely confirms our solidarity with the nearly 5000 Palestinian men, women and children languishing in Israeli prisons. As people of faith, we are called to pray for, visit and tend to the needs of all prisoners, no matter the reason for their detention. For Israel and Palestine, prisoners have taken on even greater significance than in the past.
We were disappointed when the Government of Israel cancelled the scheduled release of prisoners who were in Israeli jails even before the Oslo Agreement of 1993. In addition to disrupting an already fragile negotiations process, this move deepened heartache for many families, relatives, friends and, indeed, the entire Palestinian people. Since 1967, close to 750,000 Palestinians have faced detention in Israeli jails. Many are held under arbitrary administrative detention for lengthy periods with no access to quick and fair trial. We observe that Israeli legal systems for Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank are separate and unequal. We are concerned by reports of torture and the use of arrest as a political weapon. We are especially concerned about the continuing practice of detaining children.
In solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, I invite our member churches to…1. Call on UN Member States to insist that Israel end its policy of arbitrary detention and to abide by the standard rules for the treatment of prisoners adopted in 1955… 2. Ensure that UN Member States are resolute about Israel’s obligation to its commitments to the 4th Geneva Convention, as well as its ratification of human rights conventions…3. ensure that UN Member States persist with pressure on Israel to fulfill its obligations to provide apt medical care to all Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli jails…4. Call on the UN Committee Against Torture to ensure that Israel adopts adequate criminal legislation to define and penalize torture, solitary confinement, administrative detention and the detention of children under domestic Israeli law.
In our commemoration of Palestinian Prisoners Day 2014, the World Council of Churches invites the wider ecumenical family to also join churches in the Holy Land in remembering Palestinian prisoners through prayers and acts of solidarity that restore to them their freedom with justice and dignity. The WCC will work and pray for a just and sustainable peace for Palestine and Israel, through the upcoming World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel in September and keep the focus whenever there are obstacles to that peace.
Christine Williams
ICEJ, Apr., 2014
The Palestinian Authority (PA) marked "Prisoners Day" on April 17th by holding rallies throughout the West Bank in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. It is not the only organization to do so. The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem Canada expresses its deep disappointment in a statement by the World Council of Churches which also expressed its solidarity with Palestinian prisoners “languishing in Jail”. Churches in the Holy Land were invited to “remember Palestinian prisoners through prayers and acts of solidarity that restore to them their freedom with justice and dignity”.
While the WCC statement references the Christian ethic of remembering all prisoners in a Christian spirit of kindness, the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem Canada recognizes the need and right of the state of Israel to protect its citizens from terrorism. We also stand in empathy for the victims of these terrorists and with their families who have suffered untold grief at the loss of their loved ones. In pointing out some facts: The PA actively encourages violence against Jews as heroic and necessary politically, while religiously, it is portrayed as Allah’s will. Releasing Palestinian prisoners will not benefit the peace process as it is in the PA Charter to destroy Israel. Just before the turn of the new year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned PA leader Mahmoud Abbas for referring to Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails as "heroes." Netanyahu stated that "murderers are not heroes" and added that, "peace can be achieved only when the education toward incitement and toward the destruction of Israel is stopped." Abbas has declared that there is no way he will ever recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Palestinian prisoners –imprisoned in Israel for security and terror-related offenses specifically–are being paid a monthly salary from the PA . The salary comes from the official Palestinian budget which in part comes from the donations of Western countries like Canada, the U.S. and Europe. The budget for prisoners is reported to be 5 million dollars per month . In addition, Palestinian prisoners who were convicted of killing Israelis and then released as a good will gesture by Israel were given at least $50,000 each by the PA; and a “comfortable” monthly salary. The PA even sponsors a summer camp for children named after terrorists. Meanwhile, reports of torture of Palestinian prisoners by its own Palestinian security services “keep rolling in” according to the deputy Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch. It is also perplexing what the WCC means by its call for "acts of solidarity".
Khaled Abu Toameh
Gatestone Institute, Apr. 21, 2014
The Palestinian Authority's duplicity clearly has no limits. On April 17, it marked "Prisoners Day" by holding rallies throughout the West Bank in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. On the same day, a report published by Palestinians revealed that the Palestinian Authority has arrested hundreds of Palestinians since the beginning of this year. The report pointed out that the Palestinian Authority continues to torture detainees.
"Prisoners Day" is an event that has been taking place for nearly two decades and is intended to express solidarity with the thousands of prisoners who are being held by Israel for security-related offences, including some of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But as Palestinians were marking "Prisoners Day," a report released in the Gaza Strip revealed that since the beginning of 2014, this year alone, the Palestinian Authority has arrested 357 Palestinians accused of security/political offenses. According to the report, prepared by the Hamas-run Ministry of Planning, all 357 detainees belonged to various Palestinian groups in the West Bank, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The report said that 42 of the detainees are university students. During the same period, Palestinian Authority security forces also raided and searched the homes of 60 Palestinians in the West Bank suspected of security/political offenses, the report added. In March alone, Palestinian Authority security forces raided and searched 42 private and public institutions, businesses, hospitals and charitable organizations in the West Bank, the report continued. It also pointed out that the Palestinian Authority security forces were continuing to torture detainees.
Not surprisingly, the findings of the report were completely ignored by Palestinian Authority officials in their speeches and statements marking "Prisoners Day." Of course, the arrests by the Palestinian Authority also continue to be ignored by the mainstream media in the West. This is a story that does not reflect negatively on Israel, so is therefore not considered worthy of being reported to Western audiences. Instead, Palestinian representatives chose this occasion to heap praise on the Palestinian "heroes" and "fighters" in Israeli prisons, who have made "gigantic sacrifices for their people and cause." The PLO's Hanan Ashrawi called for dispatching international commissions of inquiry to Israeli prisons to look into Israeli "violations" against the Palestinian inmates. She also went as far as accusing Israel of "war crimes" because of its "mistreatment" of the prisoners.
Most of the Palestinian officials told the crowds at the West Bank rallies that the prisoners are the true heroes of the Palestinians and that there would never be peace with Israel as long as one Palestinian remained in Israeli prison. As the Palestinian Minister for Prisoners Affairs, Issa Qaraqi, put it, "There will be no agreement or peace or an extension of the [peace] talks until the gates of the prisons are opened and our prisoners are set free."
So while the Palestinian Authority is calling on the international community to punish Israel for imprisoning Palestinians, its own security forces continue to hold hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians in prison, some tortured, some without trial. Yet, the Palestinian Authority does not see its actions as a violation of human rights and international law. It is all right for Palestinians to detain and torture a fellow Palestinian. But apparently it is not all right for Israel to arrest and imprison anyone who harms its security or murders its citizens.
Further evidence of the Palestinian Authority's double-talk on the issue of prisoners and terrorism was provided one day before Palestinians marked "Prisoners Day." At a meeting with Israeli MKs [Members of Knesset, Israel's parliament] in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, announced that the Palestinian Authority was "completely opposed to violence by any party." The Israeli MKs took Abu Rudaineh's remark as a straight and clear "condemnation" of a shooting attack that killed an Israeli police officer near Hebron in the West Bank two days earlier. Needless to say, the Palestinian spokesman had made no specific reference to the shooting attack. Still, for the Israeli MKs, this was sufficient evidence that the Palestinian Authority is opposed to terror attacks on Israelis and is therefore a reliable "peace partner."
The following day, however, the rallies and speeches marking "Prisoners Day" provided further evidence that the Palestinian Authority continues to glorify Palestinians who launch terrorist attacks against Israel. The Palestinian Authority even went as far as condemning those who label the prisoners as terrorists. In the words of Qaraqi, the Minister for Prisoners Affairs, "We condemn attempts to distort the image of our prisoners by describing them as terrorists." The Palestinian Authority told the visiting Israeli MKs that it is opposed to violence "by any party." Hours later, the Palestinian Authority told the Palestinian public that those who carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis are "heroes" and "revolutionary pioneers." The Palestinian Authority complains that there are more than 5,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. But the same Palestinian Authority is trying to hide the fact that it is holding and torturing many Palestinians in its prisons.
Neville Teller Jerusalem Post, Apr. 13, 2014
Lurking in the backwoods of Palestinian politics is a man whom 79-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas recognizes as his deadly rival. Thirty years younger than Abbas, he has been a thorn in the President’s flesh from the moment of his election, continually criticizing him for weak leadership and corruption, a charge he extends to Abbas’s two sons. In response, Abbas has had him and his followers expelled from the Fatah party and exiled from the West Bank, and has hurled a barrage of accusations against him, including that of colluding with Israeli agents to poison the revered ex-Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. This 52-year-old hate figure – hated and feared not only by Abbas, but by all within the Fatah movement with aspirations to succeed the ageing President – is Mohammed Yusuf Dahlan.
Born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza strip in 1961, Dahlan became politically active as a teenager, and in 1981 helped to establish the Gaza branch of the Fatah Youth Movement, “Fatah Hawks”. His CV contains the necessary passport to political acceptance in Palestinian circles – time spent in an Israeli jail for terrorist activities. Between 1981 and 1986, he was arrested no less than 11 times. In 2007, consistent with his pro-Fatah – and therefore anti-Hamas – stance, Dahlan assisted in an abortive US plan to overthrow the Hamas administration that had seized power in Gaza in a bloody confrontation with Fatah. To fund this operation, reports have it that he extracted from the US government a huge sum – estimated at $1 billion – but though he never delivered, he refused to refund the money. That is one US count against him. Another is that he has thrown in his lot with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the interim Egyptian government under Field Marshal (soon to be President) al-Sisi, and is supporting their offensive against the Middle East policies of US President Obama.
This Palestinian renegade acquired his formidable political status by way of UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who is one of al-Sisi’s most generous bankers, and who stands at the forefront of the Saudi-UAE life-and-death campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood. Now Dahlan has established himself in Cairo, within al-Sisi’s inner circle of advisers on the Palestinian question –which explains the extraordinary diatribe spouted by Abbas, a few weeks ago, to a closed meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council. During an hour-long harangue he accused Dahlan, along with Khaled Islam, a former economic adviser to Arafat, and ex-PA minister Hassan Asfour, of acting as spies for Israel. He had knowledge, he claimed, of ties between Dahlan and Israeli leaders. He followed this up by asserting that Dahlan and his followers were involved in the assassination of Salah Shahadeh, the leader of Hamas’s military wing, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2002. Then he topped the list of accusations by again hinting, as he had done some years ago, that Dahlan and his associates – “the three spies” Abbas dubbed them – were involved in the death of Yasser Arafat.
Dahlan, declared Abbas, would never be allowed back in Fatah, nor, he suggested, was there room in the party for those still loyal to him. In response, Dahlan asserted on his Facebook page that Abbas’s speech was “full of lies and deception” which he proposed one day to disclose. Meanwhile senior Hamas figures like Taher al-Nunu, and Salah el-Bardawil, demanded a full and transparent enquiry into the assassination of Salah Shahadeh. On his Facebook page, al-Nunu wrote: “if there is truth to the matter, why has [Abbas] kept his silence and appointed Dahlan to high-level positions? How do we know that Abbas did not know about it?” In short, it is clear that the relationship between Abbas and Dahlan has reached an all-time low, while Dahlan himself seems to be riding high. Fueled by millions in Gulf aid dollars, raised in part by himself from business people and charities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, he seems to be orchestrating a comeback that could position him as a possible successor to Abbas… That Abbas may retire following the virtual failure of the current peace process is certainly on the cards. Putting aside his age and other political considerations, his personal status as President is questionable. He was elected in 2005 for a four-year term, but 2009 came and went, his presidency was extended by diktat, the Hamas-Fatah feud has precluded any elections, and here we are in 2014 with Abbas still clinging to office.
Besides Dahlan who is in the running?… The Palestinian politician with the broadest appeal, according to the polls, is 54-year-old Marwan Barghouti, a charismatic Palestinian leader currently convicted of murdering four people during terrorist operations in 2001 and 2002, and serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli jail. The polls, by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, show that Barghouti would easily come out on top of a three-way race involving also Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas. An ardent supporter of the two-state solution and Palestinian resistance, he is considered top contender for the presidential post, and perhaps the only figure who can reunite the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The PA is demanding Barghouti’s freedom as part of a deal to save the peace talks from collapse. If he is released, as part of some last ditch rescue attempt, he becomes a formidable alternative to Dahlan. If Israel keeps him in prison, then Dahlan is well placed to sweep Mahmoud Abbas aside and become the next Palestinian president.
CIJR wishes all its friends and supporters: Shabbat Shalom!
Antisemitism Goes Mainstream in Canada: B’nai Brith Canada, Apr. 11, 2014 —On the eve of the Jewish festival of Passover during which Jews around the world will join together to recall their ongoing struggle for freedom and national Jewish liberation, the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada, is announcing the results of its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.
Anti-Israel BDS Resolutions Seize Campuses in Ontario, Canada: Christine Williams, Gatestone Institute, Apr. 22, 2014—Under the guise of promoting peace and human rights, resolutions to join Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] drives are being foisted on Canadian university campuses to push the agenda of the Muslim terrorist group, Hamas, to destroy Israel.
In PLO-Hamas Deal, a Moment of Moral Clarity: Liel Leibovitz, Tablet, Apr. 24, 2014—Last week, I wrote a column calling on the Palestinian Authority to grow up, get serious, and start acting like the responsible, capable, and free state it would have us believe it wishes to become.
The Evenhandedness Trap: Asaf Romirowsky, Ynet News, Apr. 25, 2014—US support for Palestinian statehood, despite Palestinians' endorsement of terrorism, creates contradiction between policy towards Palestinians and other policies towards radical Islam.
What Is Abbas Trying to Achieve?: Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, Apr. 25, 2014—Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas has once again surprised Israel and the U.S. Administration, this time by signing a "reconciliation" agreement with Hamas.
Anti-Semitism From Ukraine to the U.S.: Kenneth L. Marcus, Algemeiner, Apr. 23, 2014 —Few recent news articles captured more attention than reports that Jews in Ukraine were being ordered to register.
Death, Lies and Propaganda in Eastern Ukraine: Jamie Dettmer, Daily Beast, Apr. 24, 2014—Troops sent by Kiev kill five people at a checkpoint in East Ukraine and the saber rattling from Moscow grows louder by the minute.
US Reacts to Russia’s Growing Clout, Warming Ties to Egypt by Unfreezing Weapon Aid: Ariel Ben Solomon, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 24, 2014—The US move to unfreeze the delivery of 10 advanced Apache helicopters to Egypt comes on the heels of Russia’s increasing global activity and warming relations with the pivotal Arab country.
Russia Said Set to Sell its Top Fighter Jets to Egypt: Times of Israel, Apr. 22, 2014—In potential shift of orientation away from US, Cairo said hosting Moscow delegation to discuss purchase of 24 MiG-35s
Turkey Vulnerable to Rising Russian Power in the Black Sea: Micha’el Tanchum, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 19, 2014—With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder Russian naval power in the Black Sea.
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