Reassessing American Interests in the Middle East: Prof. Eytan Gilboa, BESA, Dec. 1, 2016
Islamic State Shifts Focus to Softer Targets for Attacks in Europe, Europol Says: Julian E. Barnes, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2, 2016
Trump’s Charm of Not Being Obama: Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, Dec. 3, 2016
No Apologies: Abe Visits Pearl Harbor to Show Strength of U.S.-Japan Ties, Not Regret: Konrad Yakabuski, Globe & Mail, Dec. 6, 2016
WEEKLY QUOTES
“I cannot accept the notion that [settlements] don’t affect the peace process, that they aren’t a barrier to the ability to create peace…The left in Israel is telling everyone that it is a barrier to peace and the right, which supports it, is openly telling people that they support it because they don’t want peace. They believe in Greater Israel.” — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a speech before the Brookings Institution’s Saban Forum. Kerry notably refrained from committing to veto any UN resolution intended to establish a Palestinian state, only promising a veto “if it is a biased, unfair resolution calculated to delegitimize Israel.” Kerry, who will end his tenure as secretary of state in January, warned the audience that “you can fight about where we are in this process, but I’ll tell you this: There is no status quo. It is getting worse. It is moving in the wrong direction.” (Times of Israel, Dec. 4, 2016)
“Retired Marine General James Mattis is Mr. Trump’s nominee to run the Pentagon, which is good news for global order, as well as for the health of a military… He’s known as a steely warrior with a seemingly infinite library of books and memorable remarks, including the motto: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” He shows similar candor on threats to freedom abroad, and he has called the Iranian regime “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East,” which is true. Gen. Mattis is more skeptical about Vladimir Putin than Mr. Trump is, and on Russia the general will be a useful counterweight to National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. U.S. adversaries looking to test the new President may think twice with Gen. Mattis aboard.” — Editorial (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2, 2016)
“Relax. Breathe. Donald Trump’s phone call with the president of Taiwan wasn’t a blunder by an inexperienced president-elect unschooled in the niceties of cross-straits diplomacy. It was a deliberate move — and a brilliant one at that…Trump now has an opportunity to do with Taiwan what Obama did with Cuba — normalize relations.” — Marc A. Thiesen. Chinese officials played down Trump’s precedent-breaking phone call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. The call went beyond pleasantries and included a discussion about China and stability in the Asia-Pacific, according to a person familiar with the call. The Communist Party’s leading newspaper said in a front-page commentary that “Trump and his transition team ought to recognize that creating trouble for China-U.S. relations is just creating trouble for the U.S. itself.” (Washington Post, Dec. 5, 2016 & Fox News, Dec. 6, 2016)
“…Here they go again. This time, their narrative is that the protests on college campuses and in America’s city streets are caused, not by liberal intolerance of any ideas other than their own, but by President-elect Trump’s dangerous views…Middle America is not buying it. We understand that what we’re seeing on our college campuses is essentially a tantrum by leftists who have been convinced of their moral superiority and, hence, their entitlement to rule over the rest of us…But in the ideological bubble in which these students live, the possibility that 60 million mainstream Americans might have legitimate concerns about open borders, crony capitalism, different rules for the rich and powerful, and multiculturalism-at-all-costs does not even merit consideration…They are victims of an educational system that is more concerned with ideological indoctrination than with teaching America’s youth to think critically. They are victims of a system that has institutionalized the toxic mix of narrow-mindedness and arrogance.” — Timothy Daughtry. (Town Hall, Nov. 24 2016)
“As we write, protests, some of them violent, many funded by left-wing activists like George Soros, have been a nightly occurrence several days running in a handful of cities across the country. Store windows have been smashed, automobiles and other property vandalized, and there has been at least one shooting in the midst of the marauding…What they fear and loathe is not Donald Trump, who—whatever his primary rhetoric—has proposed a reasonable platform of pro-growth and pro-American reforms. What they fear is a bogeyman of their own manufacture. At least since the Sixties, the left-liberal consensus in America has worked to undermine traditional notions of decency, order, merit, and achievement. So monolithic was that consensus that a sudden reversion to normality came as a terrifying disillusionment. Hence the surreal, paranoid, and tantrum-filled response of the coddled beneficiaries of our society. We think of a motto often attributed to Teddy Roosevelt: “To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.” — Roger Kimball (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2, 2016)
“If consumers were already cynical and distrustful of the media before the election results, it's hard to see where the floor is on how far their respect falls. Trump's victory may bring realignment not only to the political parties—toward a more working-class GOP and provincial Democratic party—but also the media landscape. This would mean a flattened media power structure, where the New York Times and mainline TV networks lose their long-held ability to influence coverage down through a hierarchy of outlets that look up to them. The power of the media sits atop a long list of political sacred cows that Trump trampled on his way to the White House. These include: polling, punditry, ground games, technology, endorsements, political parties, money, ads, debates, the Clinton dynasty, the Bush dynasty, the Blue Wall, "The economy, stupid," "All politics is local," and the 2012 RNC "autopsy." — Rich Danker. (Weekly Standard, Nov. 28, 2016)
“First, Trump is not forgiving the national liberal media for its savage bias. Several times he referred to the press corps in the arena as “dishonest,” and each time the crowd followed his cue with loud, sustained booing. In response, Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post, who was tweeting snarky lines all night, said on Twitter: “Boo the press if you want. Then imagine what society would be like without a free press.” The self-righteousness is hilarious, and Cillizza’s contempt for Trump and his supporters is unprofessional. He and others like him abandoned basic journalism standards to engage in partisan warfare, and haven’t stopped. They hide behind the First Amendment as if, without them, America would be lost. In fact, democracy prevailed despite them. They violated the public trust and have forfeited any claim to represent anyone except themselves. The national media is just another special-interest group and should be treated as such.” — Michael Goodwin (New York Post, Dec. 4, 2016)
“Of the 98 U.S.- or U.N.-designated terrorist organizations around the globe, 20 of them are in the Af-Pak region…This is the highest concentration of the numbers of different groups in any area in the world.” — Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan. As intense Taliban offensives have taken large portions of territory out of the Afghan government’s hands, those spaces have become the stage for a resurgence of regional and international terrorist groups. Over all, officials estimate that 40,000 to 45,000 militants are active across Afghanistan. The Taliban are estimated at 30,000 fighters. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2, 2016)
“The full veil must be banned, wherever legally possible. Showing your face is part of our way of life…Our laws take precedence over honour codes, tribal customs and sharia…In this situation, when the world is out of joint, we must make every effort to ensure that Europe does not emerge from the crisis even weaker than it entered…When rallies against trade agreements attract more protestors than the humanitarian situation in Aleppo, there’s something wrong with political standards.” — German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel called for a burka ban in Germany and pledged never to repeat her “open-door” refugee policy of 2015 as she launched her bid to win a fourth term as chancellor. “A situation like the one in the late summer of 2015 cannot, should not and must not be repeated,” she said. “That was and is our, and my, declared political aim.” She vowed to defend the EU and warned that Britain would not be allowed to “cherrypick” in Brexit negotiations. She goes into next year’s elections as the “last man standing” of a generation of Western liberal leaders, after 2016 saw the downfall of David Cameron, Francois Hollande and Matteo Renzi. (Telegraph, Dec. 6, 2016)
SHORT TAKES
SYRIAN TROOPS ENTER ALEPPO'S OLD CITY (Aleppo) — Syria's army pushed into rebel-held parts of Aleppo's Old City, looking closer than ever to achieving their most important victory of the five-year-old civil war by driving rebels out of their last urban stronghold. A rebel official said they would never abandon Aleppo, after reports that U.S. and Russian diplomats were preparing to discuss the surrender and evacuation of insurgents. The rebels, who controlled large parts of eastern Aleppo for nearly five years, have lost around two thirds of their territory in the city over the past two weeks. The government now appears closer to victory in the city than at any point since 2012, the year after rebels took up arms to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. (Reuters, Dec. 6, 2016)
ISRAELI JETS SAID TO STRIKE SYRIAN ARMY, HEZBOLLAH SITES (Damascus) — Israeli airstrikes reportedly hit an important Syrian regime military airport in Damascus Wednesday. Some reports say the fire was caused because a weapons depot exploded. Al Mayadeen reported there had been no official confirmation from the Syrian regime that Israel was responsible, but added “it was almost certain” the explosion was due to IAF airstrikes carried out from Lebanese air space. Meanwhile, Syrian sources reported that Hezbollah sites near the Syrian capital were also targeted by airstrikes that killed and injured a number of fighters in the Shiite militia. Israeli officials wouldn’t comment on the reports. In April, Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had carried out dozens of strikes against Hezbollah to prevent the group from obtaining advanced weapons. (Times of Israel, Dec. 7, 2016)
UN SUPPORTS 'ANTI-ISRAEL' RESOLUTIONS (Geneva) — The UN General Assembly last week voted to adopt six resolutions condemning Israel. In one of the most prominent decisions, the UN voted to support a resolution that used solely Muslim language to describe the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and ignored the site’s biblical role in Judaism and Christianity, with 147 member states voting in favor, seven against and eight abstaining. Countries considered to have good relations with Israel such as France, Italy, Germany and the UK all voted in favor of the resolution, while the U.S., Canada, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Naura and Palu all voted against it. President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson wore a Palestinian flag scarf to a meeting of the UN's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. (I24, Dec. 1, 206)
OBAMA AGAIN WAIVES MOVING US EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM (Jerusalem) — President Obama renewed a presidential waiver, again delaying plans to relocate the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for another six months. In keeping with every other presidential administration over the last 20 years, a White House statement cited “national security interests” in waiving Congress’s 1995 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and transfer its embassy there. During a March address to AIPAC, Trump said he intended to move the American embassy to Jerusalem. However, shortly after Trump’s November 8 victory, Walid Phares, one of his foreign policy advisers, appeared to walk back the pledge to relocate the embassy. (Times of Israel, Dec. 1, 2016)
OBAMA TO GIVE UP ON UN-LED ISRAEL SOLUTION (Washington) — President Obama has “nearly ruled out” any lame-duck efforts to push a negotiation framework on Israel through the UN, and officials say this is largely due to Donald Trump’s victory. Obama was known to be considering a last-ditch bid for Middle East peace through the UN. Before the election, Obama had ordered up an “options menu” for proceeding with an effort to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. However, pursuing the type of peace plan Obama favored was only possible under the assumption that Clinton would succeed him, AP reported. Following his win, Trump’s transition team quickly warned Obama against pushing agendas “contrary to the president-elect’s position.” (Breaking Israel News, Dec. 1, 2016)
ONTARIO MPPS REJECT BDS (Toronto) — Ontario’s legislature rejected the BDS movement in a vote, with some MPPs saying it promotes hatred against Israel. Both the governing Liberals and opposition Conservatives voted to endorse a private member’s bill introduced by Tory MPP Gila Martow. Only the NDP MPPs in attendance voted against the measure. The resolution called on the legislature to stand against any movement that promotes hate, prejudice and racism, recognize the province’s ties to Israel, and reject the “differential treatment” of Israel by BDS. (Toronto Sun, Dec. 1, 2016)
RYERSON STUDENTS WALK OUT ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION MOTION (Toronto) — A motion to commemorate Holocaust Education Week failed at the semi-annual General Meeting of the Ryerson Student Union (RSU), after students opposed to the motion staged a walk-out that caused the meeting to lose quorum. The motion in question would have committed the RSU to offering annual Holocaust education programs to emphasize “the value of pluralism and the acceptance of diversity.” Jewish students promoting the motion were mocked by their non-Jewish peers, and the walk-out was reportedly a premeditated tactic organized by local members of Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Students Association. (B’nai Brith, Nov. 30, 2016)
ATTACKS INTENSIFY IN MALI (Timbuktu) — An al-Qaida faction has claimed responsibility for missile strikes aimed at U.N. forces in Mali as the Canadian government is poised to announce details of its peacekeeping deployment to Africa. Photos posted on social media by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb show two Grad missiles being fired at Timbuktu airport. At Gao airport, the UN peacekeeping office was destroyed by an explosive-laden truck. Nobody was killed in the attacks but the intensification of the Islamist insurgency comes as the government is expected to announce it will contribute 600 soldiers and 150 police officers to a peacekeeping mission in Mali. There have reportedly been 228 al-Qaida-linked attacks in the region so far in 2016, many of them in northern Mali. (National Post, Dec. 1, 2016)
JEWS ‘BREATHE SIGH OF RELIEF’ AFTER DEFEAT OF CANDIDATE IN AUSTRIA (Vienna) — European Jewish groups are welcoming the defeat of far-right candidate Norbert Hofer in Sunday’s presidential election rerun. According to projections, Hofer — of Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO) — lost by a 53%-47% margin to Alexander Van der Bellen — a Green Party politician who ran as an independent. Dr. Moshe Kantor — president of the European Jewish Congress — said, “We join democrats and all right-minded people in Austria and across Europe in breathing a sigh of relief that the first openly racist and xenophobic head of state was not elected on our continent.” Approximately 15,000 Jews currently live in Austria — mostly in Vienna, the country’s capital. (Algemeiner, Dec. 5, 2016)
RENZI RESIGNS AFTER ITALIAN REFERENDUM ROUT (Rome) — Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned after suffering a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. His fall ushers in a period of political uncertainty for Italy, not a new thing for a nation that has had 65 prime ministers in almost as many years, as it searches for a new government, possibly holds early elections or both. The unexpectedly resounding rejection of the proposed electoral reforms is in one sense a vote for the status quo. Renzi’s opponents won almost 60 percent of votes and 17 out of Italy’s 20 regions, while his Yes campaign managed just 40 percent and three regions. High voter turnout of more than 66 percent made it an even more conclusive defeat for the former mayor of Florence. (Politico, Dec. 5, 2016)
CAZENEUVE IS NEW FRENCH PM AS VALLS STEPS DOWN (Paris) — The man who served as France’s top cop during a series of bloody terror attacks became the nation’s new prime minister on Tuesday after Manuel Valls stepped down to focus on running for president. Socialist President Francois Hollande, who announced last week he would not seek a second term, named Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, a close ally, to replace Valls. Valls hopes to unite France’s Socialist party and to give the left a chance to remain in power after France’s two-round presidential election in April and May. Current opinion polls suggest that the second round could pit Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, against conservative Francois Fillon. (Globe & Mail, Dec. 6, 2016)
BDS ACTIVIST REFUSED ENTRY AT BEN GURION INTERNATIONAL (Tel Aviv) — An alleged anti-Israel activist was denied entry into the country, in the first such case since a bill was introduce to the Knesset barring supporters of BDS from entering Israel. According to Israel's Channel 10, the person involved is Isabel Piri, a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), who tried to enter the country on a tourist visa. Piri is a citizen of the East African country of Malawi. Questioning by officials with the Ministry of Strategic Affairs revealed that the WCC is a supporter of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The EAPPI said that it has brought more than 1,500 international volunteers to the West Bank since 2012. (I24, Dec. 6, 2016)
NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART PATROL BOAT JOINS ISRAELI NAVAL FLEET (Haifa) — A new state-of-the-art patrol boat was inaugurated this week by the Israeli Navy to bolster maritime operations and defense of the northern border. According to the report, the introduction of the made-in-Israel Dvora 824 is part of a process of renewal that the navy is undergoing, which includes the integration of two of the vessels — equipped with advanced weapons systems — into the fleets operating in the north and south of the country. The vessel was authorized for full operational activity following intensive training cruises at the naval bases in Ashdod and Haifa. (Algemeiner, Nov. 30, 2016)
IMI SYSTEMS DEMONSTRATE MAGIC SPEAR ROCKET (Tel Aviv) — IMI Systems (Israel Military Industries) last week presented a live fire demonstration of its Magic Spear – a precise 155-mm rocket with a 40-km range. IMI is a defense systems house specializing in the development, integration, manufacturing and life cycle support of modern land, air and naval combat systems. The live fire show was held at a test site in southern Israel and was attended by senior officials and industrialists from 17 countries. It also included demonstration of a 120-kg exploding warhead installed on an extra long-range missile designed for attacking high-quality targets at a range of 80 miles, as well as an advanced warhead. (Jewish Press, Dec. 5, 2016)
NAZI DEATH CAMP GATE FOUND IN NORWAY TWO YEARS AFTER BEING STOLEN (Oslo) — An anonymous tip this week led police in Norway to recover part of a historic gate that was stolen from a former Nazi death camp more than two years ago. The iron black gate, which bears the grim inscription “Arbeit macht frei” (”Work will set you free”), once stood at the prisoner entranceway of Dachau concentration camp near Munich, Germany. Dachau, the first concentration camp in Nazi Germany, opened in 1933, just after Adolf Hitler assumed power. Over the 12 years it operated, it housed over 188,000 prisoners and was the site of forced labor, inhumane medical experiments, at least 31,000 deaths and mass corpse cremations. (Huffington Post, Dec. 3, 2016)
ARABS DONATE WOOD TO REBUILD HAIFA SYNAGOGUE (Haifa) — Israeli-Arab businessmen who were asked to give an estimate to help repair damage caused to a synagogue in Haifa due to the massive fires there have said they will carry out the project pro-bono, and refuse any compensation for the restoration work. "I decided to help and not receive any payment," said Walid abu-Ahmed, a wood panel supplier based in Haifa. "Jews and Arabs live together in Haifa, and there is no discrimination. We must continue with this co-existence and promote peace." The third floor of the Moriah synagogue was burned in the fires which raged there on Thursday. (Algemeier, Dec. 1, 2016)
BIBLICAL SHEEP IN ISRAEL FOR FIRST TIME IN MILLENNIA (Haifa) — After three years of high-level negotiations between the Israeli and Canadian governments, 119 heritage sheep, which trace their lineage back 5,000 years to the Middle East, began arriving in Israel on November 30. It is the first time that the breed, called Jacob’s sheep, has been represented in Israel since biblical times. Three of the 11 flights carrying the sheep have already arrived in Israel, according to Gil and Jenna Lewinsky, the shepherds who began raising these bovines on a whim in western Canada. The breed received the name “Jacob sheep” based on Genesis Chapter 30, where Jacob talks about leaving his father-in-law Laban’s home and taking part of the flock as his payment for years of service. (Times of Israel, Dec. 6, 2016)
Reassessing American Interests in the Middle East: Prof. Eytan Gilboa, BESA, Dec. 1, 2016 —Because foreign policy issues received so little attention during the recent presidential election, it is difficult to know what vision and policies president-elect Donald Trump will adopt for US policy in the Middle East. Trump made a few statements about challenges in the Middle East region and about American-Israeli relations, but they were very broad and lacked focus. It will take some time before he completes the appointment of key officials in defense and foreign affairs and formulates his strategies and specific policies.
Islamic State Shifts Focus to Softer Targets for Attacks in Europe, Europol Says: Julian E. Barnes, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2, 2016—The European Union’s police agency said Islamic State attackers have shifted focus to softer, more-random European targets in an effort to intimidate the public, instead of aiming at the police or military.
Trump’s Charm of Not Being Obama: Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, Dec. 3, 2016—Barack Obama will retire a president personally popular with the American people yet who served them (and himself, and his party) badly.
No Apologies: Abe Visits Pearl Harbor to Show Strength of U.S.-Japan Ties, Not Regret: Konrad Yakabuski, Globe & Mail, Dec. 6, 2016 —It would be tempting to view Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s upcoming visit to Pearl Harbor, 75 years after his country’s fateful attack on the Hawaiian naval base drew the United States into the Second World War, as a mere reciprocation for President Barack Obama’s pilgrimage earlier this year to Hiroshima.
