WEDNESDAY’S “NEWS IN REVIEW” ROUND-UP

 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

Contents: | Weekly Quotes |  Short Takes   |  On Topic Links

On Topic Links

Accusing Bernie Sanders of ‘Blood Libel’ – the Future of US-Israel Relations: Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 11, 2016

Boko Haram Turns Female Captives Into Terrorists: Dionne Searcey, New York Times, Apr. 7, 2016

Letter from an Arab to a Jew who Supports BDS: Fred Maroun, Jewish Press, Apr. 11, 2016

An Israeli Moonshot [Q&A]: Lee Billings, Scientific American, Mar. 17, 2016

“Hamas provokes Israel. They often pretend to have people in civilian garb acting as though they are civilians who are Hamas fighters…When your soldiers are under attack, you have to respond…It’s a very different undertaking for Israel to target those who are targeting them. And I think Israel has had to defend itself, has a right to defend itself.” — Democratic Presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, on CNN’s “State of the Union” talk show. Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told the same talk show that Israel reacted with “disproportionate” force during its military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2014. (Times of Israel, Apr. 10, 2016)

"First of all, (Sanders) should get his facts right. Secondly, he owes Israel an apology…He accused us of a blood libel. He accused us of bombing hospitals. He accused us of killing 10,000 Palestinian civilians. Don't you think that merits an apology?" — Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. "He doesn't mention the many thousands of Hamas rockets fired at us. He doesn't mention the fact that Hamas hides behind civilians. He doesn't mention the fact that we pulled out of Gaza in order to give the Palestinians a chance to experiment with statehood, and they turned it into an experiment with terror. He doesn't mention any of that. That, to me, is libelous," Oren added. (Washington Examiner, Apr. 7, 2016)
 

Oh, I hate (Sanders)!…If you lived under socialists, you’d hate them too…They make everyone poor…Everyone will be hungry, everyone will be poor…If it will be Sanders, we will have the same here. Everybody who comes from a communist country, Russians, Eastern Europeans, even Latinos from Cuba, feel this way. When you know what will happen, when you see it — you’re Republican.” — Farida Lazareva, 57. Lazareva, who hails from Moscow, recalled waiting in line for three hours each morning to get a jug of milk as a little girl living under communism. Her apartment in Brooklyn, New York, is two floors above where Sanders grew up. When he lived there, the area was predominantly Jewish. Today, the building’s buzzer panel for its 85 units could be mistaken for the intercom of an apartment building in Russia. (New York Times, Apr. 8, 2016)

“It is a dirty war which is unpleasant for France, for Belgium, or for the other nations in Western Europe, because no one is immune…Once the intention is there, the place of execution is rather secondary…If we secure one place, another target opens up.” — Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens. The extremists who struck Brussels last month and killed 32 people initially planned to launch a second assault on France in the wake of the November attacks in Paris, Belgian authorities said. The statement provides confirmation of what many had suspected: the series of raids and arrests in the week leading up to the Brussels attacks – including the capture of key fugitive Salah Abdeslam – pushed the killers to action. “We can hope that the cell around Abdeslam and Abbaoud is just about caught but we should not believe it. In any case we need to remain very alert and new cells can pop up at any moment. The facts have already taught us that,” Geens said. (Telegraph, Apr. 10, 2016)

“Other Islamic State cells are highly likely to be in existence across Western Europe, preparing and organizing further operations, and awaiting direction from the group’s central leadership to execute…A key area of focus is gaining a better understanding of how these cells are structured and their organizational and operational methods.” — Matthew Henman, the head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center in London. Officials believed that I.S. had developed an overarching network of facilitators in Europe over the last few years to buy weapons, rent cars and reserve hotel rooms for teams of operatives who had previously traveled to, or were returning from, Iraq or Syria. But after Brussels, Henman said, the thinking now reflects the belief that the operation may instead be made up of self-contained cells, with individuals who can perform multiple jobs as needed. The British authorities are on alert, and the threat level in Britain remains at “severe,” meaning that an attack is “highly likely.” (New York Times, Apr. 10, 2016)

“Europe, of which Brussels is a symbol, presents an alarming picture today. The Dutch, susceptible to propaganda from Russia, have just voted in a referendum against a trade agreement with Ukraine for which more than 100 Ukrainians died in an uprising in 2014. The British are set to vote in June on whether to leave the Union. The euro has sapped economies insufficiently integrated for a common currency. A huge refugee flow has raised questions about a borderless Europe. President Putin plots daily to do his worst for the European Union.” — Roger Cohen (New York Times, Apr. 11, 2016)

“Liberal opinion in Britain has, for more than two decades, maintained that most Muslims are just like everyone else… Britain desperately wants to think of its Muslims as versions of the Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, or the cheeky-chappie athlete Mo Farah. But thanks to the most detailed and comprehensive survey of British Muslim opinion yet conducted, we now know that just isn’t how it is.” — The former head of Britain’s Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Trevor Phillips. Phillips, has admitted he “got almost everything wrong” on Muslim immigration in a damning new report on integration, segregation, and how the followers of Islam are creating “nations within nations” in the West. (Breitbart, Apr. 10, 2016)

“The opportunity that the comprehensive nuclear deal brought about for us is not permanent and everlasting…Just as the clouds over our heads will not remain forever and will pass, all the opportunities are the same.” — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. After facing criticism over the lack of tangible economic results from Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers, Rouhani is undeterred. Referring to the nuclear deal by its Persian acronym, Barjam, Rouhani added, “The Barjam is a great opportunity for the nation in acquiring technology, for economic issues and in cooperating with the world and attracting investment.” Addressing domestic opponents of the administration, he said, “If, God forbid, a limited number of people were successful and did not allow us to make use of these opportunities, these opportunities will not come back.” (Al-Monitor, Apr. 7, 2016)

“We need to make certain that the government of national unity is doing everything possible to be unified and to deliver to the people of Afghanistan…Let me make this very, very clear, because I brokered the agreement, President Ghani signed it and Chief Executive Abdullah signed it…There is no end to this agreement at the end of two years or six months from now. This is an agreement for unity government the duration of which is five years.” — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry arrived in Kabul on Saturday with a message of support for Afghanistan’s struggling coalition government as it confronts a Taliban insurgency. It was Kerry’s first visit to Kabul since he helped broker the coalition government in 2014, after a bitterly contested election threatened to unravel the country. President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, the government’s chief executive, have failed to put aside their hard feelings, even as the Taliban have seized more territory and a bleak economic outlook has prompted an exodus of young people to Europe. (New York Times, Apr. 9, 2016)

“Now they want to throw us back to our country, but not the Syrians…Why should they get special treatment? Afghanistan is not safe. We have the Taliban, who want to kill us.” — Shahkar Khan, an Afghan who was detained on the Greek island of Chios when he arrived on a dinghy from Turkey in March. Under the deal that took effect last month, all migrants who arrived in Greece starting March 20 are to be deported to Turkey. Syrians who are granted asylum will have to wait to be resettled in Europe, a potentially lengthy process. Afghans and others who are denied asylum will not be allowed to proceed legally to Europe, though it is not clear if Turkey will seek to deport them all to their home countries. There are an estimated 13,000 Afghans stuck in Greece. (New York Times, Apr. 8, 2016)

“Everyone is shocked because of the reality we are living in and people don’t stop talking about the pain and tragedy…We have waited 10 years to see the Virtuous City that some promised us…But unfortunately, conditions have worsened and the poor have become even more poor. We have terrified students, who were dreaming of getting a job, offering them a bleak future. We drove these students to ride boats of death in the hope of living.” — Ahmed Yousef, a top Hamas official. Yousef said that Hamas rulers have failed to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Yousef lashed out at Hamas mosque preachers, saying they were using the podiums to sound meaningless words. He called upon the preachers to “live the bitter reality and stop deluding people that we are living in a reality of a utopia.” (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 9, 2016)

“Putting the picture on social media means that someone was proud enough of the game to want to show it off…Meaning that they must be trapped in the delusional mindset that making a drinking game based off of the Holocaust is cool. Or funny. Or anything besides insane. Because that’s what this is: insanity…I’m not even Jewish and I’m still offended.” — Jamaica Ponder, 17. Ponder was “confused” by an image on her phone screen that depicted some of her classmates at Princeton High School in New Jersey playing “Jews vs. Nazis,” a variation of the drinking game known as beer pong. The photo she saw on the social media app Snapchat showed students pouring beer into plastic cups arranged in the shapes of a swastika and the Star of David at the ends of a Ping-Pong table. Beer cans formed a wall in the middle. (New York Times, Apr. 10, 2016)

“One can be critical of Israel without being an enemy to Israel, that goes without saying…But anti-Zionist Jews who actively support the BDS movement are, ipso facto, enemies of the Jewish people. Aimed at Israeli universities, BDS is itself a form of scholarly apartheid. Since attachment to the Jewish homeland is the linchpin of Jewish identity, the only logical explanation for the tenacity of the BDS movement’s attempts to wrest the land in which Jews are the indigenous people from their own people’s grasp, is that they believe that Jews are inherently evil and, unlike every other ethnically indigenous people, undeserving of a homeland.” — Barbara Kay (National Post, Apr. 13, 2016)

Contents

BELGIUM ARRESTS SIXTH SUSPECT FOR BOMB ATTACKS (Brussels) — Belgian prosecutors said a sixth man believed to have been part of a cell under investigation for links to the Brussels and the Paris bomb attacks has been arrested. The man was identified as Bilal El Makhoukh, a member of the salafi group Sharia4Belgium. On Friday, Belgian prosecutors said they arrested five men in raids linked to the Brussels and Paris bomb attacks. One of the men was identified as Mohamed Abrini, who was already the subject of an international manhunt linked to the Paris attacks on November 13 last year. Several of the Paris plotters have been linked back to Brussels. (Politico, Apr. 9, 2016)

ISRAEL SIGNED OFF ON EGYPT-SAUDI DEAL OVER ISLANDS (Cairo) — Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon admitted Tuesday that Israel has signed off on Egypt's move to concede control over strategic islands in the Tiran Straits to Saudi Arabia. The islands of Tiran and Sanafir, located at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, will be formally demarcated as being in Saudi waters under a treaty announced on Saturday by Cairo, which has had de facto control over them since 1950. In return for sovereignty over the Red Sea islands, Saudi will provide Egypt with $16 billion in aid. Ya'alon said the military appendix in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty had to be reopened as a result of the agreement over the islands, which are located some 200 kilometers south of Eilat. (Ynet, Apr. 12, 2016)

US SEIZES MORE IRANIAN WEAPONS AT SEA (Aden) — A US naval vessel intercepted a large Iranian weapons shipment, seizing massive quantities of arms and weaponry destined for Yemen. The seizure occurred in the Arabian Sea on March 28, marking the third interception of an Iranian weapons shipment in recent weeks. The ship was carrying 1,500 AK-47 rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and 21 .50-caliber machine guns. They were en route to Houthi insurgents who are battling in Yemen’s civil war at Iran’s behest. (Algemeiner, Apr. 5, 2016)

US VOWS TO BLOCK NEW RUSSIAN ARMS SALE TO IRAN (Washington) — The Obama administration is vowing to stop Russia from selling to Iran advanced fighter jets, saying that such sales would violate UN resolutions governing the nuclear agreement. The issue of Russian arms sales to Iran has become a diplomatic hot button, as Moscow seeks to increase its military relationship with Tehran following the implementation of the nuclear agreement. “In terms of the specific reports about the proposed sale of the Sukhoi Su-30SM multi-role fighter jets…we would almost certainly veto such a sale, as provision of such equipment to Iran would further exacerbate existing tensions in the region,” State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said. (Washington Free Beacon, Apr. 6, 2016)

MONTREAL TEEN SENTENCED FOR TERROR-RELATED CHARGES (Montreal) — A Montreal teenager has been sentenced to three years on two terrorism-related charges. The 16-year-old was found guilty in December of committing a robbery in association with a terrorist organization and of planning to leave Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group. The teenager is the first Canadian to be convicted of attempting to leave the country to participate in terrorism-related activities – one of the anti-terror laws passed in 2013. He will serve 16 months in youth detention, followed by eight months of community service and one year of probation. (CBC, Apr. 6, 2016)

CHANCES OF I.S. ATTACK LESS LIKELY IN CANADA, SENATE COMMITTEE TOLD (Ottawa) — There is less likelihood of a Paris- or Brussels-style I.S. attack here because of geography and security screening of immigrants before they arrive, the head of the federal Integrated Threat Assessment Centre told parliamentarians. Christian Rousseau, a former chief of defence intelligence, told the Senate national security committee there is no evidence I.S. has support networks here, needed to organize and stage strikes with multiple attackers armed with assault weapons and high explosives, as in Paris and Brussels. The chief factors reducing the likelihood, he said, are far fewer Canadians travelling to Syria, Iraq and other overseas battle zones to fight with extremists. As well, there is a relative ease for extremists to travel undetected to W. Europe from Syria. (National Post, Apr. 11, 2016)

ELDER LE PEN SENTENCED AGAIN FOR NAZI GAS CHAMBER COMMENTS (Paris) — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder and former head of France's far-right National Front party, has been convicted of denying crimes against humanity for repeating that the Nazi gas chambers are a "detail" of World War II history. A Paris court convicted and sentenced Le Pen to a 30,000-euro ($34,000) fine. He also will have to pay a total 10,000 euros in damages to three associations that were plaintiffs in the case. Le Pen didn't attend the verdict in a crowded courtroom full of elderly members of victim and relative associations, with Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld present. (Algemeiner, Apr. 6, 2016)

GERMAN TOWN STRIPS HITLER’S HONORARY CITIZENSHIP (Munich) — The southern German town of Tegernsee has revoked the honorary citizenship granted 83 years ago to Adolf Hitler. The Tegernsee City Council voted unanimously to strip Hitler of the honor bestowed upon him in 1933. Mayor Johannes Hagn said he did not know why the town was just now withdrawing the honor from the Nazi dictator, but he was happy to be making up for lost time. Some 4,000 German municipalities honored Hitler with honorary citizenship when he was Germany’s leader. After World War II, the Allied Control Council in Germany ordered the automatic loss of honorary citizenship for convicted war criminals, but Hitler died before the end of the war. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 7, 2016)

AUSTRIA PLANS TO SEIZE HOUSE WHERE HITLER WAS BORN (Vienna) — After years trying to buy the property from its private owner, the Austrian government wants to seize the house where Adolf Hitler was born to prevent it falling into neo-Nazi hands. The owner will be compensated for losing ownership. Hitler was born in the house in Brunau am Inn on April 20, 1889. It was made the subject of an historic preservation order by Germany's National Socialist regime in 1938 after being purchased by the Nazi government. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 11, 2016)

CROATIA'S JEWS TO BOYCOTT HOLOCAUST COMMEMORATION (Zagreb) — Croatia's Jewish community has confirmed that it will boycott an official Holocaust commemoration to protest government's alleged inaction to curb the surge of neo-Nazi sentiments in the country. The Coordinating Committee of the Jewish Communities of Croatia said Monday it would hold its own commemoration at a World War II Nazi-run death camp on April 15, a week before the ceremony that is to be attended by government officials. Jewish committee officials have accused Croatia's new right-wing government of ignoring open public resurgence of antisemitism, including pro-Nazi slogans chanted by Croatian fans during a soccer match between Croatia and Israel last month. (Haaretz, Apr. 11, 2016)

ANCIENT KILNS PROVE ISRAEL WAS LEADER IN ROMAN-ERA GLASS-MAKING (Jerusalem) —  An archaeological excavation in northern Israel has unearthed glass-making kilns that date back 1,600 years, proving that ancient Israel was one of the most important centers of glass making in the world during the late Roman period. Yael Gorin-Rosen, head curator of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Glass Department, said that chemical analyses conducted on glass vessels from this period discovered at sites in Europe and at shipwrecks in the Mediterranean basin have shown that glass came from the region of Israel. “Now, for the first time, the kilns have been found where the raw material was manufactured that was used to produce this glassware,” said Gorin-Rosen. (JNS, Apr. 12, 2016)

9000 ETHIOPIAN IMMIGRANTS TO BE BROUGHT TO ISRAEL OVER FIVE YEARS (Jerusalem) —  Emigration from Ethiopia will resume in June, with 1,300 Falash Mura arriving by the end of the year, and – pending budget approval – 9,000 more by of 2020. Falash Mura is the name given to those of the Beta Israel community in Ethiopia and Eritrea who – under compulsion and pressure from missionaries – converted to Christianity during the 19th and 20th centuries. Under the agreement, funds were budgeted to bring the immigrants to Israel, and to pay for their Judaism conversion program, at the end of which they are eligible to become citizens. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 7, 2016)

RONA RAMON AMONG BEACON LIGHTERS ON INDEPENDENCE DAY (Jerusalem) —  Rona Ramon, the widow of astronaut Ilan Ramon, will be among the beacon lighters on Mount Herzl to usher in Israel’s 68th anniversary of independence. 14 people, under the theme of “civilian heroism,” have been chosen to kick off the celebrations on May 11. Among others are Herzl Biton, the bus driver who fought off a terrorist in Tel Aviv in 2015; and Father Gabriel Nadaf, the Greek Orthodox priest who has been encouraging Arabs to enlist in the IDF. Ramon, who also lost her son Assaf, an IAF pilot who was killed when his plane crashed in 2009, was commended for having turned personal tragedy into a force for good by contributing to the nation in memory of her loved ones. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 6, 2016)

CEREMONY AT WAR MUSEUM MARKS 99TH ANNIVERSARY OF VIMY RIDGE (Ottawa) — Canada’s most celebrated military victory began on a windswept ridge in France on the morning of April 9, 1917. And on Saturday, some 99 years later, the Battle of Vimy Ridge was commemorated in Ottawa. About 150 people gathered outside The Canadian War Museum, including veterans and young cadets, for a simple military ceremony. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was at once a horrific fight and a defining moment in Canadian history. Nearly 3,600 Canadians lost their lives and more than 7,000 more were wounded. (Ottawa Citizen, Apr. 10, 2016)

Contents

On Topic Links

Accusing Bernie Sanders of ‘Blood Libel’ – the Future of US-Israel Relations: Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 11, 2016—‘He accused us of a blood libel. He accused us of bombing hospitals. He accused us of killing 10,000 Palestinian civilians. Don’t you think that merits an apology?” asked former ambassador to the US and current MK Michael Oren.

Boko Haram Turns Female Captives Into Terrorists: Dionne Searcey, New York Times, Apr. 7, 2016—Hold the bomb under your armpit to keep it steady, the women and girls were taught. Sever your enemy’s head from behind, to minimize struggling. “If you cut from the back of the neck, they die faster,” said Rahila Amos, a Nigerian grandmother describing the meticulous instruction she received from Boko Haram to become a suicide bomber.

Letter from an Arab to a Jew who Supports BDS: Fred Maroun, Jewish Press, Apr. 11, 2016—I have a question to ask you, but first I would like to establish my understanding of who you are.
You are Jewish, probably young and probably American, but you may be European or even Israeli, and you may not be so young any more.

An Israeli Moonshot [Q&A]: Lee Billings, Scientific American, Mar. 17, 2016—For a time it looked like the Google Lunar XPRIZE was a failure—another pie-in-the-sky space age dream never to materialize. When it was announced in 2007, the $30-million competition to land and operate a privately funded spacecraft on the moon was slated to conclude by 2012.