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Contents: | Weekly Quotes | Short Takes | On Topic Links
The United Nations Sanctifies Evil: Isi Leibler, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 5, 2016
Why Belgium is Ground Zero for European Jihadis: Soeren Kern, Breaking Israel News, Mar. 27, 2016
More Dollars for the Ayatollahs: Wall Street Journal, Apr. 1, 2016
Russia's Trap: Luring Sunnis into War: Burak Bekdil, Gatestone Institute, Feb. 16, 2016
WEEKLY QUOTES
“There are 192 member states in the United Nations. In the worst of them, girls and women are raped and trafficked as a matter of course. In many others, women have fewer legal, educational and employment rights than men. Nevertheless the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) concluded its annual meeting in New York with a condemnation of one country, and one country only. That would be Israel, a tiny democratic island in the Middle East, surrounded by an ocean of unconstitutional monarchies, outright tyrannies and other non-democratic, failing regimes mired in civil war, divided by religious rivalries and tribal animosities, and united only by one enduring pathology: hatred of Jews. The CSW accused Israel of violating the rights of Palestinian women, ignoring the fact Israel is the sole country in the region in which women enjoy full equal rights with men, including full control over their sexuality and reproductive interests. It is also the only state in which it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender.” — CIJR Academic Fellow Barbara Kay. (National Post, Apr. 4, 2016)
“Someone who accuses Israel of ‘apartheid’ and openly seeks to dismantle the Jewish state is neither impartial nor objective. We call on Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and all other council members to uphold the council’s own basic principles and oppose Lynk’s nomination.” — Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch. The appointment of Stanley Lynk, a Canadian professor, to an advisory position at the UN Human Rights Council has set off a storm of controversy. Lynk was named as “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.” Neuer described Lynk as “an ardent anti-Israeli activist for at least three decades [who] plays a leadership role in groups that advocate against Israel, and participates in political campaigns that use demonizing language against Israelis.” Neuer alleged that he “cited Nazi war crimes in his call for ‘legal strategies’ to prosecute Israelis,” and that he “blamed the West for provoking the attacks” on 9/11. “Mr. Lynk,” he said, “fails the minimal impartiality requirements” of a UNHRC rapporteur. (CJN, Mar. 24 & Globe & Mail, Mar. 30, 2016)
“Those who back the soldier don’t back our laws and values…It’s important for us to both win and remain humane…if we lose our morality we will lose our way…No one is calling him a murderer. This is a soldier who did not act as he was suppose(d) to.” — Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. An IDF soldier who shot a neutralized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron last month acted against the laws and values that bind and strengthen Israeli society, Ya’alon said on Tuesday. The IDF prosecution intends to charge him with manslaughter. The soldier’s actions were filmed by a B’tselem volunteer and widely circulated in the media. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 6, 2016)
“Anybody help me out here, because I don’t remember the figures, but my recollection is over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza. Does that sound right?… My understanding is that a whole lot of apartment houses were leveled…Hospitals, I think, were bombed. So yeah, I do believe and I don’t think I’m alone in believing that Israel’s force was more indiscriminate than it should have been.” — Democratic Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. Sanders’s estimation of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza during the 2014 war far exceeds that of official Palestinian sources. According to Palestinian figures cited by the UN Human Rights Council, 1,462 civilians were killed out of a total of the 2,251 Gaza fatalities during the 51-day conflict. Israel, for its part, has said that up to half of those killed on the Palestinian side were combatants, and has blamed the civilian death toll on Hamas for deliberating placing rocket launches, tunnels and other military installations among civilians. Seventy-three people were killed on the Israeli side of the conflict. (Times of Israel, Apr. 5, 2016)
“It seems the criminal Assad regime is no longer paying attention to the truce, or to the international community…Where is the U.S. side, the sponsor of the truce agreement, in all of this? And is recording truce violations all that is possible right now?…Pen and paper are not stopping the bloodshed.” — A Syrian activist. Syrian government warplanes Friday struck rebels in the Damascus suburbs, the Aleppo countryside, as well as towns in Homs, Hama, and Idlib provinces and rebel pockets in Latakia. The attacks came after government airstrikes Thursday in the eastern Damascus countryside killed at least 31 people, including some at a school and a mosque. The strikes represent a quick spike in violence that had been dramatically reduced after the government and many rebel groups agreed to a truce brokered on Feb. 27. (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 1, 2016)
“E.U. leaders have willfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day.” — Amnesty International’s John Dalhuisen. Violent clashes erupted in Greek refugee camps among panicked migrants as Greece and the EU pressed ahead with their intention to expel them from Europe and deport thousands back to Turkey, despite strong objections from rights groups who say the plan is illegal and inhumane. In a new report, Amnesty accused the Turkish government of forcing hundreds of Syrian asylum seekers back to their war-torn country in recent months, contravening human rights procedures. (New York Times, Apr. 1, 2016)
"There is no doubt that if these madmen ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb or nuclear material they most certainly would use it to kill as many innocent people as possible…Just the smallest amount of plutonium — about the size of an apple — could kill and injure hundreds of thousands of innocent people. It would be a humanitarian, political, economic, and environmental catastrophe with global ramifications for decades. It would change our world. So we cannot be complacent." — U.S. President Barack Obama. World leaders watched a video of a hypothetical nuclear terrorist plot as they closed out a summit dedicated to ensuring such a calamity never comes to pass. More than 50 countries made commitments to the nuclear-safety cause — including Canada, which promised $42 million for global efforts to protect fissile materials. (Canadian Press, Apr. 1, 2016)
"If all countries agree to freeze production, we’re ready…If there is anyone that decides to raise their production, then we will not reject any opportunity that knocks on our door…If all countries including Iran, Russia, Venezuela, OPEC countries and all main producers decide to freeze production, we will be among them." — Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi deputy crown prince. Saudi Arabia will only freeze its oil output if Iran and other producers do so, Salman said, challenging Iran to take an active role in stabilizing the over-supplied global crude market. The warning leaves the outcome of a meeting between OPEC and other big oil producers this month in question and sent prices sharply down. Iran has already said it plans to boost its production after the lifting of sanctions following a deal to curb the country’s nuclear program. (Bloomberg, Apr. 1, 2016)
“You know, we hear a lot about how the Arabs are a fragile community that suffers, but we, ‘les blackies,’ are discriminated against, too, and we hurt nobody.” — Nico Atoba, an African living in Brussels. The narrative is heard constantly in Molenbeek and other Arab districts of Brussels: Arabs have been discriminated against in Belgium. It is offered as the principal reason the Belgian capital has spawned thousands of jihadists who are now in Syria and Iraq and dozens of other homegrown radicals who were at the centre of terrorist attacks last year in Paris and twin suicide bombings in Brussels last month. Atoba thought too much was made of the religious differences between Arab Muslims and black Christians. For him the issue was simple: “If you don’t like it here, go home…If you stay here, integrate. Try to get along. Join society. Respect this society’s laws.” (National Post, Apr. 3, 2016)
"Europe must unite and dedicate all of its recourses to putting an end to the barbaric phenomenons of murder and beheading…Today, the division between the European countries causes a lot of damage. We must take an uncompromising stand against terrorism and that necessitates close cooperation. At the moment, there is no agreement on a resolution in Syria and no formulated plan on the issue of refugees. In my meeting with the French president, I stressed that Israel would support Europe and offer its experience and technological capabilities in the fight against terrorism, whenever called to." — Former Israeli President Shimon Peres. Last month in Paris, Peres received international recognition from UNESCO for his work in advancing peace, dialogue and science across the world. (Ynet, Apr. 2, 2016)
“…These days, everybody’s terrified of the political-correctness police. People forget that ‘political correctness’ was associated with Stalin’s purges of artists. You could end up with a bullet in the back of your head.” — Alan Dershowitz. (Wall Street Journal, Mar. 21, 2016)
SHORT TAKES
U.S. MOVES TO GIVE IRAN LIMITED ACCESS TO DOLLARS (Washington) — The Obama administration is preparing to give Iran limited access to U.S. dollars as part of looser sanctions on Tehran. The proposed move comes amid rising Iranian criticism that the nuclear agreement reached last year between global powers and Tehran hasn’t provided the country with sufficient economic benefits. The Treasury is considering how to issue licenses to offshore dollar clearing houses for specific Iranian financial institutions, an approach that wouldn’t require the involvement of U.S. banks. Treasury action on Iran’s access to the dollar wouldn’t require congressional approval. U.S. law still prohibits banks from dealing in dollars with Iran, despite the nuclear agreement. (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 1, 2016)
GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS ISTANBUL ATTACK TARGETED ISRAELIS (Istanbul) — Israel has officially recognized the I.S. suicide bombing in Istanbul last month as a "hostile enemy act", enabling Israeli victims to claim compensation as victims of terror under Israeli law. Immediately following the attack – in which three Israeli citizens and an Iranian tourist were killed, and scores more injured – the Israeli Defense Ministry opened an investigation to define the precise nature of the attack. The investigation concluded, based on available evidence and interviews with officials, that the attack did appear to have targeted Israelis directly. As a result, the Deputy Legal Adviser to the security services officially recognized the Istanbul attack as a hostile enemy act. The decision means that victims and their families can now claim terror victims' compensation. (Arutz Sheva, Apr. 5, 2016)
SYRIAN TROOPS BATTLE I.S. AROUND TOWN OF QARYATAIN (Damascus) — Syrian troops and allied militiamen pressed on with an offensive against I.S. in central Syria on Monday, clashing with the extremists around the town of Qaryatain a day after it was captured by government forces. The push into Qaryatain took place under the cover of Russian airstrikes and dealt another setback to IS a week after the army retook Palmyra from the group. Qaryatain used to be home to a sizable Christian population and lies midway between Palmyra and Damascus. Dozens of Qaryatain’s Christians and other residents have been abducted by IS. While the town was under I.S. control, some were made to sign pledges to pay a tax imposed on non-Muslims. (Globe & Mail, Apr. 4, 2016)
'PANAMA PAPERS' SHOW SYRIA REGIME CIRCUMVENTED SANCTIONS (Damascus) — Syria's regime has been able to circumvent international sanctions and fund its war effort through shadow companies, according to leaked "Panama Papers" seen by French daily Le Monde. The newspaper reported that three Syrian companies used the services of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca to create shadow companies in the Seychelles. Le Monde said the shadow companies were "a way for the Syrian regime to circumvent international sanctions imposed since the start of the war." The three firms are under US sanctions for allegedly providing petroleum supplies to President Bashar al-Assad's regime likely to be used by his military, including aviation fuel. (I24, Apr. 4, 2016)
ASSAD REJECTS 'TRANSITIONAL BODY' DEMANDED BY OPPOSITION (Damascus) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview that Syria needs a national unity government that would secure the transition to a new constitution. His comments run counter to demands by the Syrian opposition for a "transitional body with full executive powers," which major powers agreed on at a Geneva conference in 2012. That agreement remains the basis of UN-mediated talks which are slated to resume in April. Assad said a national unity government would be formed by various Syrian political forces — "opposition, independent, the current government and others." (CBC, Mar. 30, 2016)
OBAMA REJECTED FIFTY PLOTS TO OUST SYRIAN LEADER (Washington) — President Obama vetoed 50 plans put to him by the CIA to engineer the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria, according to a former operative. According to a memoir, Douglas Laux was part of a team given the task of finding ways to put into effect Obama’s assertion in 2011 that “the time had come for President Assad to step aside”. The CIA, under then-leader David Petraeus, ended up running a scheme to arm rebels from the “non-jihadist” Free Syrian Army — but it never reached a scale that outweighed regime support from Iran and the Lebanese militia Hizbollah. Laux now says that was because more elaborate schemes drawn up and backed not only by Petraeus, but by Hillary Clinton when secretary of state, and defence secretary Leon Panetta were all rejected by Obama. (Telegraph, Apr. 5, 2016)
POLICE CLAIM FIFTY I.S. SYMPATHIZERS WORKED AT BRUSSELS AIRPORT (Brussels) — As many as 50 I.S. supporters have infiltrated the same Brussels airport where terror attacks occurred last month, working as cleaners, caterers and baggage handlers and positioning themselves for new attacks, the Belgian police union warned. The Belgian police union had raised concerns about security issues at the airport as early as March 18, four days before the attack in which three Islamists set off bombs in attacks coordinated with a metro bombing just over an hour later. Some 35 people were killed. Now, police insist they will not return to work unless their numbers are beefed up and a checkpoint keeping vehicles at least 100 yards away from the check-in area is built. (Fox News, Apr. 1, 2016)
INVESTIGATORS PURSUE LEADS ON FRENCHMAN ACCUSED OF TERROR PLOT (Paris) — Reda Kriket, a native of France, was charged with terrorist conspiracy, possession of weapons and explosives, and falsification of documents, among other offenses. He had amassed an arsenal of weapons and bombs that could have produced a deadly assault like the ones that I.S. terrorists carried out against Paris and Brussels. Officials said Kriket had raised money for a network of terrorists in 2012 and 2013 visited Syria between late 2014 and early 2015. On July 29, a Belgian court convicted Kriket in absentia of financing a jihadist recruitment. (New York Times, Mar. 31, 2016)
AL-SHABAB LEADER KILLED IN US AIRSTRIKE (Mogadishu) — One of the top leaders of an al Qaeda-affiliated terror organization in Somalia was killed Thursday when the U.S. military launched an airstrike from a drone, the Pentagon says. The al-Shabab official, Hassan Ali Dhoore, was specifically targeted by U.S. forces for his alleged role in two separate attacks in the capital city of Mogadishu. The news of Dhoore's demise comes about three weeks after another airstrike against al-Shabab, when up to 150 members were killed at a training camp in Somalia. (IBT, Apr. 1, 2016)
U.S. COMMANDOS TRAINED TO STOP TERRORISTS WITH `DIRTY BOMBS' (Washington) — U.S. commando units have been trained to seize and disable nuclear or radioactive bombs, providing a crucial last line of defense if terrorists get their hands on such weapons, according to the general in charge of the forces. The Pentagon rarely discusses publicly its plans to use commandos if terrorists obtain a nuclear weapon or build a “dirty bomb” from radioactive material. While U.S. officials say there’s no sign yet that I.S. has such a capability, the prospect was on the agenda for the Nuclear Security Summit of world leaders hosted by President Obama in Washington. (Bloomberg, Apr. 1, 2016)
SAUDI ARABIA BUYS DRONES FROM ISRAEL THROUGH SOUTH AFRICA (Riyadh) — A Saudi political analyst who is well known for leaking exclusive information about the royal family of Saudi Arabia on Twitter has recently reported that the kingdom buys drones from Israel, in cooperation with South Africa. The analyst, who calls himself "Mujtahid", said "notwithstanding the political controversies between Israel and South Africa, the military cooperation between both states strongly continues, enabling South Africa to purchase drones from Israel…Saudi Arabia buys Israeli drones through South Africa. These drones later arrive from South Africa, dismantled, to Saudi Arabia, where they are assembled.” Mujtahid added. (Jerusalem Post, Mar. 30, 2016)
UN PARTIALLY REVERSES DECISION TO CENSOR ISRAEL EXHIBITION (Geneva) — The UN reversed its decision to censor one of the three displays that it had originally disqualified from a special exhibition initiated by Israel’s permanent mission to the UN with StandWithUs. The display on Zionism, which defined the concept as “the liberation movement of the Jewish people”, was the one that was ultimately approved. The two other posters, on Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish People and on Israeli Arabs, remained censored by the UN. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon had called on Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Sunday to reverse the decision. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 4, 2016)
IDF RECORDS DROP IN PALESTINIAN TERRORISM IN MARCH (Jerusalem) — March has experienced a drastic drop in Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank and in Israel, according to IDF data. March saw an overall number of six terrorism incidents (including shootings, stabbings, and vehicle rammings), compared to 56 in February, 45 in January, and 40 in December. The number of firebombing and rock throwing incidents remained largely constant. There were 220 cases of rock throwing in March, compared to 227 in February, and 270 in January. The IDF noted 23 cases of firebombing attacks in March, as opposed to 22 in February, and 18 in January. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 4, 2016)
ETHIOPIAN BRIGADE COMMANDER MAKES IDF HISTORY (Jerusalem) — Lt. Col. Avi Yitzhak has become the first Ethiopian Israeli to graduate the Israel Defense Forces' prestigious course for brigade commanders. Yitzhak is a doctor who heads the Combat Medical Branch in the Medical Corps. Yitzhak will soon vie for a promotion to full colonel, making him the first Ethiopian in IDF history to earn such a rank. "I always felt the responsibility of representing the Ethiopian community," Yitzhak told Israel Hayom. "I was the first student from the community to study medicine in Israel and I believe, ultimately, that everything is dependent on the individual and the sky is the limit. In my community, people need to understand this." (Israel Hayom, Apr. 3, 2016)
GREEK PRESIDENT IN JERUSALEM TO MARK 25 YEARS OF ISRAEL-GREECE RELATIONS (Jerusalem) — The Hebrew University of Jerusalem awarded an honorary doctorate to the President of Greece, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, during his state visit to Israel last week. The University said it chose to award Pavlopoulos with the honorary degree in recognition of the President’s democratic leadership, dedication to higher education, solidarity and friendship with the State of Israel, and steadfast support for the Greek Jewish community. Pavlopoulos arrived in Israel to commemorate the 25th anniversary of bilateral Israeli-Greek relations and is the third Greek head of state to visit Israel since relations between the countries were established in 1991. (Jewish Press, Mar. 30, 2016)
STAR OF DAVID FOUND ENGRAVED INTO TEMPLE AROUSES BUSTLE IN EGYPT (Cairo) — Egypt has recently been witnessing a commotion following the archeological discovery of two Star of David engravings in an ancient Temple in the southern city of Aswan. The Roman Temple, which dates back to the 3rd century B.C, is located in Aswan. Dr. Mahmoud Afifi, the head of the Egyptian Antiquities branch in the Antiquities Ministry, said that he noticed a stone with two Star of David engravings in the Roman temple. Afifi accused the delegation of German archaeologists that has been working on the site's reconstruction of engraving the Stars of David into the Shrine's stone. Afifi ordered the archaeologists to immediately remove the stone with the Star of David engraving. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 3, 2016)
2,200-YEAR-OLD BRONZE ARTIFACTS FOUND AT BIBLICAL SITE (Magdala) — An ornate Second Temple era bronze incense shovel and jug were recently unearthed at the biblical site of Magdala, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced. The 2,200-year-old artifacts were found during excavations being carried out at the archaeological site on the western shore of the Kinneret. The town is known traditionally by Christians as the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’s followers mentioned in the New Testament. The IAA began extensive excavations at Magdala after construction of a new hotel brought to light ancient remains in 2009. The digs have uncovered the remains of a synagogue, ritual baths, streets, factories and a marketplace. (Times of Israel, Apr. 5, 2016)
The United Nations Sanctifies Evil: Isi Leibler, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 5, 2016— The United Nations has progressively become dominated by Islamic nations and tyrannies and increasingly sanctifies evil. Just last week, on March 24 in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) concluded its session by passing five resolutions condemning Israel.
Why Belgium is Ground Zero for European Jihadis: Soeren Kern, Breaking Israel News, Mar. 27, 2016—The terrorist attacks on the airport and metro in Brussels are casting a spotlight, once again, on Belgium’s ignominious role as a European haven for jihadists. Several distinct but interconnected factors help explain why Brussels, the political capital of Europe, has emerged as the jihadist capital of Europe.
More Dollars for the Ayatollahs: Wall Street Journal, Apr. 1, 2016—In life you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate—or so we’ve read in airline magazines. But if you’re an Iranian mullah and you’re dealing with the Obama Administration, you can get more than you negotiated, and what you never deserved.
Russia's Trap: Luring Sunnis into War: Burak Bekdil, Gatestone Institute, Feb. 16, 2016—After Russia's increasingly bold military engagement in war-torn Syria in favor of President Bashar al-Assad and the Shiite bloc, the regional Sunni powers — Turkey and its ally, Saudi Arabia — have felt nervous and incapable of influencing the civil war in favor of the many Islamist groups fighting Assad's forces.
