Iran: Khamenei’s New Poem – Pure Wine and Deadly Poison: Amir Taheri, Gatestone Institute, July 25, 2018
Trump Isn’t the First President to Embarrass America by Cozying Up to Putin: Marc Thiessen, Fox News, July 18, 2018
New York Times Loses It Over Israel’s ‘Incendiary’ Nation-State Law: Ira Stoll, Algemeiner, July 22, 2018
Ireland’s Anti-Israel Bill and the Muslim Brotherhood: Lawrence A. Franklin, Gatestone Institute, July 23, 2018
WEEKLY QUOTES
“During the time of the [2015] nuclear deal, Iran’s increased oil revenues could have gone to improving the lives of the Iranian people…Instead they went to terrorists, dictators, and proxy militias. Today, thanks to regime subsidies, the average Hezbollah combatant makes two to three times what an Iranian firefighter makes on the streets of Iran…a third of Iranian youth are unemployed, and a third of Iranians now live below the poverty line…Our hope is that ultimately the regime will make meaningful changes in its behavior both inside of Iran and globally…As President Trump has said, we’re willing to talk with the regime in Iran, but relief from American pressure will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran’s policies.” — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Pompeo told an audience in Simi Valley, CA., that in the light of recent anti-regime protests, along with “forty years of regime tyranny, I have a message for the people of Iran.” Pompeo continued: “The United States hears you; the United States supports you; the United States is with you.” (Algemeiner, July 23, 2018)
“The Americans must fully understand that peace with Iran is the mother of all the peace, and war with Iran would be the mother of all wars…We don’t give in to threats but stand up to bullying…One who understands politics even a little bit wouldn’t say ‘we will stop Iran’s oil exports,’” — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani also scoffed at the notion that Israel is a model of democracy in the region. Pointing to Israel’s new Nationality Law, he asked, “Is there any doubt that Israel is a model of apartheid in the region?” Rouhani expressed his country’s wish to live in peace with its neighbors, stressing that “if a neighbor like Saudi Arabia does away with its stubbornness and expresses willingness toward [friendly] relations, we must resolve the differences and establish friendship…This is also the case with the [United Arab] Emirates and Bahrain, and under the new circumstances, we are seeking to reform our relations with these countries,” he added. (Jewish Press, July 22, 2018)
“NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE…WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!” — U.S. President Trump. Trump told Iran it risked dire consequences if the Islamic Republic made more threats against the United States. His words, spelled out in capital letters in a late night Twitter message, came hours after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told Trump that hostile policies toward Tehran could lead to “the mother of all wars.” (Globe & Mail, July 23, 2018)
“The United States provided the last shred of credibility that the council had, but that was precisely why we withdrew.” — U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Haley defended the U.S. decision to quit the United Nations Human Rights Council last month as a stand against “political corruption and moral bankruptcy” and the organization’s “anti-Israel bias.” In her most extensive public remarks on the U.S. decision to date, the American ambassador to the UN said that the council and some nongovernmental organizations displayed their political bias against Israel when they worked “publicly against our reforms, telling other countries to work against us.” The U.S. envoy argued that the organization had been corrupted by the inclusion of countries that are some of the “worst human rights violators,” repeatedly referring to China, Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia. (Bloomberg, July 18, 2018)
“Mark Zuckerberg is wrong. Holocaust deniers only come in two flavors — those who don’t want to believe there was an Auschwitz and those who want to finish the job, like Iran…Holocaust denial is the quintessential ‘fake news’…The Nazi Holocaust is the most documented atrocity in history, allowing the canard of Holocaust denial to be posted on Facebook, or any other social media platform cannot be justified in the name of ‘free exchange of ideas’ when the idea itself is based on a falsehood.” — Rabbi Abraham Cooper, of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg came under fire after saying that posts by Holocaust deniers should not be deleted from his social media platform. Zuckerberg said, “I’m Jewish, and there’s a set of people who deny that the Holocaust happened. I find that deeply offensive. But at the end of the day, I don’t believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong. I don’t think that they’re intentionally getting it wrong.” (Algemeiner, July 19, 2018)
“As (a) police source told the (National) Post, “Is he Muslim? Yes. Does he probably know Muslim extremists? Yeah. Is he mentally ill? Yeah, probably. Does he have access to guns from the guys in his neighbourhood? Yeah. But be real careful what road you go down. We may never know what was going on in his mind.” In other words, Faisal Hussain was complex, not just one thing, not a one-dimensional, cardboard cutout. He was just like most everyone else, in other words complicated.” — Christie Blatchford. Faisal Hussain (29) has been identified as the gunman in the Toronto shootings Sunday night. Two people, 18-year-old Reese Fallon and 10-year-old Julianna Kozis, were killed in the rampage. (National Post, July 25, 2018)
“Regarding the Gaza Strip, we must ask ourselves four basic questions: Is the State of Israel interested in a war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip? The answer is no. Are we deterred from [engaging in a military] campaign in the Gaza Strip? Here too, the answer is no…Are we prepared to accept a reality in which there is fire, incendiary kites and friction along the fence? The answer is no. Have we done everything we can to prevent a war in Gaza? The answer is yes…So everything that happens from here on in with regard to the Gaza Strip is solely the responsibility of the Hamas leadership.” — Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. On Saturday, as part of an Egypt-brokered understanding, Hamas agreed to halt its violent attacks against Israel, which has included rockets, mortars, flaming kites and balloons. There have also been repeated infiltration attempts and violent riots at the Gaza-Israel border. (Jerusalem Post, July 23, 2018)
“I want to thank you for defending Israel…You have stood up for Israel time and time again in international forums. It is deeply appreciated and it is an important goal of Israeli foreign policy to change not only our bilateral relations with so many countries and indeed our relations are flourishing as never before, but also to change the way Israel is treated in international forums and on this Hungary has led the charge many, many times and I thank you for it.” — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu welcomed the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, to Israel, commenting that Budapest was the birthplace of Theodor Herzl, the first founding father of the modern state of Israel. “We spoke also of the tragedies that afflicted the people, the Jewish people on the soil of Hungary and I heard you speak, as a true friend of Israel, about the need to combat antisemitism,” Netanyahu said of his own visit to Hungary. The Israeli prime minister noted that this month, Hungary sponsored a statement in the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) condemning antisemitism. (Jewish Press, July 20, 2018)
“All of the Jewish citizens in Hungary are under the protection of the government…“We are proud that in Hungary, self-identifying Jews, who celebrate and preserve Jewish tradition can feel safe.” — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Paying a reciprocal visit to Israel a year after hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest, Orban reaffirmed that Hungary would show “zero tolerance” for antisemitism. Last year, Orban raised concerns in Hungary’s Jewish community when he praised the country’s interwar leader Miklos Horthy, a Hitler ally, and used an image of Jewish U.S. financier George Soros in an anti-immigration billboard campaign. The World Jewish Congress estimates the Jewish population in Hungary at between 75,000 and 100,000. (Reuters, July 19, 2018)
SHORT TAKES
IDF SOLDIER KILLED BY GUNFIRE ON THE GAZA BORDER (Gaza) — An Israeli soldier was killed Friday when he was hit by Hamas gunfire along the Gaza border, according to the Israeli army. The soldier, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was on the border in active duty as weekly demonstrations dubbed “March of Return” were taking place. The soldier, killed by Palestinian sniper fire, was named by the IDF as Staff Sgt. Aviv Levi. Levi, a 21-year-old from Petah Tikva, was an infantry soldier in the Givati Brigade. Levi was the first IDF fatality on the Gaza front since Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Four Palestinians were also killed in the exchange. (Ha’aretz, July 24, 2018 & Times of Israel, July 21, 2018)
ISRAEL SHOOTS DOWN SYRIAN FIGHTER JET PENETRATING ISRAELI AIRSPACE (Damascus) — Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet that penetrated Israeli airspace on Tuesday, the Israeli army said. It said that the Russian-made Sukhoi was under surveillance when it entered some two kilometers into Israeli airspace. An IDF spokesman said the plane was either a Sukhoi 22 or 24 and that it crashed in Syrian territory in the southern portion of the Syrian Golan Heights, although the fate of the pilots was not known. Last week, Israel used its David’s Sling missile-defense system operationally for the first time, firing at two Syrian surface-to-surface missiles. (Ha’aretz, July 21, 2018)
ISRAEL EVACUATES 800 OF SYRIA’S WHITE HELMETS AND THEIR FAMILIES (Aleppo) — Israel transported several hundred Syrian civil defense workers and their families from southwest Syria to Jordan Saturday, saying it participated in “a humanitarian effort” at the request of the United States and European countries. The IDF said it engaged in the “out of the ordinary” gesture due to the “immediate risk” to the lives of the civilians, as Russian-backed regime forces closed in on the area. It stressed that it was not intervening in the ongoing fighting in Syria. According to Jordan’s media, the evacuees included 800 White Helmets personnel and their families. (Times of Israel, July 22, 2018)
CBC CALLED OUT FOR COVERAGE OF ISRAEL’S RESCUE OF SYRIA’S WHITE HELMETS (Toronto) — Though Israel won widespread praise for its leading role in the daring rescue of hundreds of individuals associated with Syria’s White Helmets, a CBCNews.ca report failed to even mention Israel’s efforts at all. The story lead by mentioning: “Canada is among three Western nations that will accept hundreds of volunteer emergency workers plucked from Syria under the cover of darkness in a dramatic international rescue…” Untold in the entire article was that it was Israel who evacuated 400 White Helmets rescuers and their families from Syria to Jordan overnight at the request of the United States, Canada and European countries. Subsequent to a complaint filed by Honest Reporting, the CBC updated its report to acknowledge Israel’s integral role. (Honest Reporting, July 24, 2018)
ISRAEL REJECTS RUSSIA’S PROPOSED 100 KM BUFFER ZONE (Aleppo) — Israel has rejected a Russian proposal to create a 100 kilometer (62 mile) buffer zone that would distance Iranian forces from Syria’s border with Israel in the Golan Heights. Israel is remaining firm on a demand that Iran not be allowed any foothold whatsoever along its northern border, regardless of where in Syria that might be. Furthermore, Israel is demanding that all long-range missiles be removed from Syria, and all factories that produce such missiles and/or precision-guided projectiles, be closed down. (Jewish Press, July 23, 2018)
‘PALESTINE’ TO HEAD BLOC OF 134 NATIONS AT UN (New York) — The “State of Palestine” will reportedly preside next year over the largest bloc of developing nations at the UN. Palestine — which is not a member state of the UN but has observer state status — was chosen to head the so-called Group of 77, a consortium now consisting of 134 nations that often speaks in one voice at the UN General Assembly, starting January 1, 2019. The UN General Assembly in 2012 voted overwhelmingly in favor of granting Palestine “non-state observer status.” Three years later, the GA also voted to allow the Palestinian flag to be raised outside the UN’s building in New York. (Times of Israel, July 25, 2018)
PAKISTAN: 31 DEAD AS BOMB ATTACK MARS VOTING (Islamabad) — A suicide bomber killed at least 29 people near a polling center as Pakistanis voted on Wednesday in a general election pitting cricket hero Imran Khan against the party of jailed ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack that hospital officials said killed 29 people and wounded 35 in the city of Quetta. Security sources said the bomber drove his motorcycle into a police vehicle. Earlier this month, a suicide bomber killed 149 people at an election rally in the town of Mastung in Baluchistan. That attack was also claimed by Islamic State. (Globe & Mail, July 25, 2018)
AFGHAN VICE-PRESIDENT ESCAPES ATTACK AT KABUL AIRPORT (Kabul) — Afghan Vice-President Abdul Rashid Dostum narrowly escaped a suicide attack at Kabul airport as he returned home from exile in Turkey over allegations of torturing and abusing a political rival. Dostum, who left Afghanistan last year after heavy pressure from Western donors including the U.S., drove away from the airport in a motorcade before the explosion, which police said killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 50. He was unharmed in the blast, which was claimed by I.S. (Globe & Mail, July 22, 2018)
KOREA APPEARS TO BE DISMANTLING KEY PARTS OF LAUNCH SITE (Pyongyang) — North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with Trump in June. A North Korean website said commercial satellite images indicate the North began dismantling key facilities at the Sohae launch site. The facilities being razed or disassembled include a rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles and a rail-mounted processing building where space launch vehicles were assembled. (Huffington Post, July 24, 2018
ISRAEL’S AMB. CONVINCES JEWISH MUSEUM TO CANCEL SPEAKER (Berlin) — Israel’s ambassador to Germany complained to the head of the Jewish Museum in Berlin about an anti-Israel speaker, prompting the museum to cancel the talk. The talk was to be delivered by the US-based Sa’ed Atshan, a Swarthmore College professor who said in 2014: “We all know Israel is an apartheid state and should be boycotted.” Atshan, born in Ramallah, was to give the talk “Being Queer and Palestinian in East-Jerusalem” as part of the exhibit “Welcome to Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem Post, July 23, 2018)
NORWEGIAN HOSPITALS REFUSE TO ASSIST IN CIRCUMCISIONS (Oslo) — At least two hospitals in Norway are breaking Norwegian law by refusing to help parents who wish to have their sons circumcised. Stavanger University Hospital in the country’s west and Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen are not cooperating on the non-medical circumcision of boys younger than three years. The ban is in violation of Norwegian law, which requires public hospitals to offer ritual circumcision services either through their own facilities and staff or through a contractor. In Judaism, circumcision is performed on 8-day-old boys provided they are healthy. (Times of Israel, July 11, 2018)
MOSSAD THWARTED IRANIAN ATTACK IN FRANCE (Paris) — A terror cell headed by an Iranian diplomat based in Vienna planned last month to attack a conference of opponents of the Tehran regime that was to be held in a town near Paris. Mossad agents, together with their Belgian, French and German counterparts, conducted a hunt of the terror cell across several countries. The operation, which included tracking, wiretapping and listening, led to the capture of members of the terror cell with their communications and explosive devices. In addition to two suspects arrested in Belgium, an Iranian diplomat stationed in Austria was arrested in Germany on suspicion of heading the terror cell that planned to set off an explosive device. Another Iranian was arrested in France. (Jewish Press, July 20, 2018)
3 JEWISH MEN ASSAULTED IN POSSIBLE ANTISEMITIC ATTACK (Vienna) — An Austrian man of Turkish descent allegedly assaulted three Jewish men in a neighborhood of Vienna where many Jews live. The incident occurred on Tabor Street in front of a kosher restaurant. Police are looking into the possibility that the attack was antisemitic. The perpetrator, a 24-year-old unemployed Austrian with Turkish roots, was identified only as “Burkay S.” All victims wore a kippah. None of the victims suffered serious injuries. The suspect was arrested at a subway station. (Times of Israel, July 21, 2018)
IRELAND’S SENATE ADVANCES BILL THAT BANS ISRAELI SETTLEMENT GOODS (Dublin) — Ireland’s Senate approved a bill making it illegal to purchase products and services from Israeli settlements. The measure would make it illegal “the import and sales of goods, services and natural resources originating in illegal settlements in occupied territories.” The term occupied territories includes eastern Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the West Bank. It must advance several more steps before it can be signed into law by President Michael Higgins. Israel has not yet said how it will respond to the legislation. (JTA, July 11, 2018)
JUDO COMPETITIONS CANCELLED OVER TREATMENT OF ISRAEL (Abu Dhabi) — The International Judo Federation suspended planned competitions in Tunisia and the UAE after the hosts failed to confirm that Israeli athletes would receive equal treatment. The IJF had asked judo officials in both nations to provide guarantees that the Israeli national anthem and flag could be included in the events. Last October, organizers of a tournament in Abu Dhabi refused to play Israel’s national anthem when Tal Flicker won a gold medal. Flicker was wearing an International Judo Federation uniform and received his medal under an IJF flag while the anthem of the federation was played. (Arutz Sheva, July 21, 2018)
TZIPI LIVNI TO REPLACE HERZOG AS HEAD OF OPPOSITION (Jerusalem) — Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay and Hatnua’s Tzipi Livni agreed that the latter will serve as leader of the opposition instead of Isaac Herzog, who stepped down after being appointed to head the Jewish Agency. Gabbay and Livni also decided that they would maintain their political alliance under the banner of the Zionist Union in their effort to unify their electoral base and threaten Netanyahu’s Likud in the 2019 elections. Livni has occupied some of Israel’s most prominent political posts, including heading the Foreign Ministry and serving as chief negotiator in the peace talks brokered by the US. (Times of Israel, July 23, 2018)
HUGE STONE DETACHES FROM WESTERN WALL (Jerusalem) — A large stone detached from the Western Wall early Monday, shattering in the egalitarian prayer area, only a few meters away from one of the women praying there. No one was hurt. In the wake of the unusual incident, the mixed-gender prayer area was closed, and Israel Antiquities Authority personnel were called to the scene to assess the situation. The massive rock fell just hours after the evening prayer that concluded the Tisha B’Av fast, when the Western Wall is particularly crowded with worshipers. (Ynet, July 23, 2018)
ISRAEL’S UNDER-20 BASKETBALL TEAM WINS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (Munich) — Israel’s under-20 national basketball team won the European championship on Sunday evening in Chemnitz, Germany, beating the Croatian team 80-66 for the gold medal. The Israeli team is coached by Ariel Beit-Halahmi. The game was Beit-Halahmi’s first crack ever at the European championship and the second year in a row in which the Israeli team trounced France in the semifinals, this year by a score of 83-57. (Ha’aretz, July 23, 2018)
Iran: Khamenei’s New Poem – Pure Wine and Deadly Poison: Amir Taheri, Gatestone Institute, July 25, 2018 —The annual poetry congress in Tehran, held at the beginning of July, included what state-owned or controlled media have described as an “historic literary event,” which, according to one establishment literary commentator, Muhammad-Ali Mujahedi, electrified those present.
Trump Isn’t the First President to Embarrass America by Cozying Up to Putin: Marc Thiessen, Fox News, July 18, 2018—The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting to get a different result…
New York Times Loses It Over Israel’s ‘Incendiary’ Nation-State Law: Ira Stoll, Algemeiner, July 22, 2018 —Of the many virtues of the Israeli parliament passing a law declaring Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, not least is the entertainment value of observing the New York Times in what I call full-fledged frothing freakout frenzy mode.
Ireland’s Anti-Israel Bill and the Muslim Brotherhood: Lawrence A. Franklin, Gatestone Institute, July 23, 2018—On July 11, the Irish Senate approved a bill criminalizing local companies that engage in commerce with Israeli firms based in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Introduced in the body’s Upper Chamber by independent member Senator Frances Black, the bill passed initial muster, in a 25-20 vote with 14 abstentions.
