The Way to Peace: Israeli Victory, Palestinian Defeat: Daniel Pipes, Commentary, Jan., 2017
Denying Campus Antisemitism Puts Jewish Students at Risk: Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, Algemeiner, Dec. 16, 2016
Why Russia May Have Interfered In the Election: Lee Smith, Weekly Standard, Dec. 16, 2016
Aleppo: Reflection of World Politics: Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom, Dec. 18, 2016
WEEKLY QUOTES
“I know that it would be particularly difficult for all of us to bear if it is confirmed that this deed was carried out by a person who sought protection and asylum in Germany.” — German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A terrorist attack using a tractor-trailer to mow down a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin left 12 killed and dozens wounded on Monday. Early in the day the authorities announced that they had the arrested a 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker who arrived in Germany last December as a suspect. By the evening the federal prosecutor said the suspect was released because there was no proof linking him to the crime. Merkel’s political opposition issued a surprisingly speedy reproach. The Berlin victims were labeled “Merkel’s dead” by Marcus Pretzell, leader of the Alternative for Germany party in North Rhine-Westphalia. Frauke Petry, the party leader, said bluntly, “Germany is no longer safe.” I.S.-affiliated Amaq released a statement saying the attack was carried out by “a soldier of the Islamic State” (New York Times, Dec. 20, 2016)
“Today there were terror attacks in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany – and it is only getting worse. The civilized world must change thinking!”… U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, on Twitter. Trump blamed Monday’s multiple terrorist attacks on radical Islamic terrorism, calling the deadly day a wake-up call for the world and vowing to destroy I.S. He also put a more-detailed statement blaming the Berlin attacks on Islamism and noting the symbolism of an attack on a Christian-holiday celebration. “Innocent civilians were murdered in the streets as they prepared to celebrate the Christmas holiday. ISIS and other Islamic terrorists continuously slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad…these terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated from the face of the earth, a mission we will carry out with all freedom-loving partners.” (Washington Times, Dec. 19, 2016)
“[There is] a clear distinction between the right-wing, neo-Nazi, fascist movements – and they are – if you look at the [Greek party] Golden Dawn, or the [Hungarian] Jobbik … they are fascist, racist, and anti-Semitic…But then you have all these movements that are combatting the mainstream media and the mainstream parties that are…tending to the right but do not consider themselves right-wing or extremist…that are rising in Europe… and they are, for many reasons, sympathetic to Israel. Because they see … Israel as a kind of example – if I may quote a religious word – a kind of ‘light unto the nations’…What Israel is doing – up on its feet, fighting radical Islam, controlling its border, and being strong on its values and history and so on… is a kind of example, Israel.” — Mischaël Modrikamen, founder of the Belgian People’s Party. While the left has decried the rising tide of populism across the U.S. and Europe, claiming it is tied to racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism, Modrikamen, the leader of one of the new wave of populist parties says the political revolutions reshaping the West are not connected to racism – and are a boon for Israel. (Arutz Sheva, Dec. 21, 2016)
“Over the last decade I have argued that we cannot have a bias against Israel at the UN…Decades of political maneuvering have created a disproportionate number of resolutions, reports and committees against Israel. In many cases, instead of helping the Palestinian issue, this reality has foiled the ability of the UN to fulfill its role effectively.”— UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. While addressing the UN Security Council, the outgoing Secretary General admitted that the political agenda of certain states have created a disproportionate number of anti-Israel resolutions. (Ynet, Dec. 17, 2016)
“In Israel last week, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told legislators that anti-Semitism in America is now comparable to that of 1930s Germany. Yes, his fearmongering went that far: “Anti-Semitism has wound its way into mainstream conversations in a manner that many Jews who lived through Nazi Germany find terrifying.” He then laid blame for this resurgence almost exclusively at the hands of the political right and supporters of President-elect Donald Trump…Greenblatt came to the job directly from serving as a special assistant to President Obama. Before that, he directed an initiative at the Aspen Institute, a George Soros-financed, left-leaning nonprofit…Notably, the ADL has downplayed the anti-Semitic nature of the (BDS) Movement — the ultimate goal of which, its founder has openly admitted, is the destruction of Israel. The ADL has also promoted the Black Lives Matter movement…despite BLM’s support for BDS and open hostility toward Israel. Just recently, Greenblatt accused American Jews of living with “white privilege.”… This is turning the ADL into a shell of its former self; if it goes on much longer, the group’s credibility may never recover.” — Alex VanNess. (New York Post, Dec. 9, 2016)
“(Anti-Zionism is) simply antisemitism minding its manners so it can sit in a seminar room… Antisemitism has moved from hatred of Jews on religious or racial grounds to hostility towards the proudest expression of Jewish identity we now have — the Jewish state…No other democracy is on the receiving end of a campaign calling for its people to be shunned and their labour to be blacklisted…This is antisemitism, impure and simple. It is the latest recrudescence of the age-old demand that the Jew can only live on terms set by others. Once Jews had to live in the ghetto, now they cannot live in their historic home…the fate of the Jewish people, and the survival of the Jewish state, are critical tests for all of us. The darkest forces of our time — Islamic State, the Iranian leaders masterminding mass murder in Aleppo — are united by one thing above all: their hatred of the Jewish people and their home.” — Michael Gove, a UK MP and a former secretary of state for justice, in an op-ed published in the Times of London. (Algemeiner, Dec. 16, 2016)
“The fact is that Aleppo has been occupied by the IRGC and its mercenaries…Mass executions, preventing the transfer of the civilians, including women and children, [and] attacking the civilians has all been done by the forces of the mullahs’ regime.” — People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or MEK, the largest opposition group to the Islamic mullahs who rule Iran. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force has played an extensive role in the battle in Aleppo, building a network of bases around the Syrian city and directing militiamen from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan to do the killing, MEK reported. The MEK said that the Corps has amassed an army of 25,000 Iranian and militia troops in and around Aleppo. (Washington Times, Dec. 20, 2016)
“Without Iran’s expanding military intervention, the Assad regime would have fallen months ago…While Russia’s military intervention has dominated media coverage on Syria, Iran has been responsible for almost all of the ground offensives in recent months that clawed back territory from the rebels and encircled Aleppo. It has deployed thousands of Revolutionary Guards.” — Jim Phillips, a Middle East expert at The Heritage Foundation. The U.N. puts the overall death toll in Syria’s civil war at 400,000. More than 30,000 have died in the Battle of Aleppo, a last urban rebel holdout against President Bashar Assad’s regime. “The blood for these atrocities are on their hands,” President Obama said last week of Iran, Russia and the Syrian regime. (Washington Times, Dec. 20, 2016)
“Historians will record — they will not have to dig deeply or interpret wildly to conclude — that all through the excruciations of Aleppo, and more generally of Syria, the United States watched…It is a shameful and incontrovertible fact of our history that during the past eight years the values of rescue, assistance, protection, humanitarianism and democracy have been demoted in our foreign policy…The ruins of the finest traditions of American internationalism, of American leadership in a darkening world, may be found in the ruins of Aleppo. Our ostentatious passivity is a primary cause of that darkening…As a direct or indirect consequence of our refusal to respond forcefully to the Syrian crisis, we have beheld secular tyranny, religious tyranny, genocide, chemical warfare, barrel bombs and cluster bombs, the torture and murder of children, the displacement of 11 million people, the destabilization of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, the ascendancy of Iran in the region, the emergence of Russia as a global power, the diminishment of the American position in the world, the refugee crisis in Europe…and a significant new threat to the security of the United States. It is amazing how much doing nothing can do, especially when it is we who do nothing.” — Leon Wieseltier. (Washington Post, Dec. 15, 2016)
SHORT TAKES
RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY KILLED IN GUN ATTACK (Ankara) — A gunman crying “Aleppo” and “revenge” shot and killed Russia’s ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov during the opening of an art exhibition in Ankara Monday. Turkish police shot and killed the gunman, who appeared to be a police officer or member of Karlov’s security detail, Turkish media reported. Karlov, was several minutes into a speech at the embassy-sponsored exhibition in Ankara when a man wearing a suit and tie shouted “Allahu Akbar” and fired at least eight shots. The attack came after days of protests in Turkey over Russia’s role in Syria. (Times of Israel, Dec. 19, 2016)
I.S. CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR JORDAN ATTACK (Amman) — I.S. claimed responsibility for the attack that killed at least 10 people at a popular tourist destination near Amman, including a Canadian woman, the first major assault on civilians in Jordan in years. On Sunday four of the terror groups gunmen, equipped with automatic weapons and grenades, raided the gathering in Kerak. It hosts Kerak Castle, one of the largest Crusader castles in the world. Four Jordanian security officers, three policemen, two Jordanian civilians and a Canadian were killed in the attack, according to the Jordanian government. At least 27 people were wounded during the attack. The Canadian victim is Linda Vatcher of Burgeo, Nfld. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 20, 2016)
I.S. SUICIDE ATTACK KILLS 48 IN SOUTHERN YEMEN (Aden) — A suicide bomber disguised as a disabled man blew himself up at a gathering of Yemeni security officers in the southern port of Aden on Sunday, killing 48 people and wounding dozens of others, Yemeni officials said. I.S. claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was the second this month to kill scores of security forces near a military base in Aden, highlighting the failure of the Yemeni government and its allies to ensure basic security in the areas they control. Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when rebels aligned with Iran, known as the Houthis, seized the capital, Sana. They later forced the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. (New York Times, Dec. 18, 2016)
GIRL, 7, WITH EXPLOSIVES CAUSED DAMASCUS BLAST (Damascus) — A blast that rocked a police station in southeast Damascus on Friday was caused by a seven-year-old girl carrying a belt of explosives, Syrian media reported. The explosion in the bustling Midan neighbourhood of the Syrian capital wounded three police officers. Although rebel groups have fired rockets and mortar rounds into the capital, explosions inside the city itself are rare. In early 2012, a suicide bomber killed 26 people when he blew himself up in Midan. (Times of Israel, Dec. 16, 2016)
TRUMP TAPS ONE OF HIS LAWYERS AS AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL (New York) — President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate his long-time friend and lawyer David Friedman to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Friedman said he was honored by the appointment and he looked “forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.” The existing U.S. embassy in Israel is in Tel Aviv. Trump has said he wants to move it to Jerusalem, a pledge that former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also made during their campaigns but eventually backed away from. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 15, 2016)
MOSSAD CHIEF AND SECURITY DELEGATION MEET WITH TRUMP TEAM (New York) — Director of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, clandestinely visited the U.S. to meet with Donald Trump’s staff and brief them on pressing security matters including the Iranian nuclear deal, the Syrian civil war, terror threats and the Palestinian issue. The two sides also discussed a regional conference to be hosted by Egypt and other initiatives on the agenda including a UN initiative put forth by the Palestinians and New Zealand. Additionally, Israeli officials have also reached out to the President-elect to ask him to come out against President Obama and veto a Palestinian bid submitted to the Security Council. (Ynet, Dec. 12, 2016)
LAST-MINUTE AMONA DEAL REACHED, RESIDENTS AGREE TO EVACUATION (Jerusalem) — Residents of the small hilltop community of Amona have agreed to a government offer allowing 24 families to relocate to a nearby part of the mountain, averting a disastrous forced evacuation which would have evoked memories of the traumatic Gaza withdrawal. The agreement came a week after the Amona families rejected a similar offer which would have seen only 12 families staying in the area. Under the terms of the new deal, 24 families will immediately receive caravans on a plot of land a few meters from Amona’s current location. The remaining families will be relocated to the nearby community of Ofra. (Breaking Israel News, Dec. 18, 2016)
IDF RAIDS ‘ONE OF BIGGEST GUN FACTORIES EVER FOUND’ IN WEST BANK (Jerusalem) — IDF soldiers raided a gun-making workshop in the West Bank, which the army described as one of the largest weapons factories ever found there. The workshop was located in the underground basement of a residential building in the city of Hebron. IDF forces confiscated 15 lathes for producing guns, dozens of Carl Gustav-style guns, parts of M-16 rifles and large quantities of ammunition, according to an IDF colonel. The owner of the factory and his son were arrested by the IDF. In the past year, Israeli security forces have shut down 40 gun-making workshops, which manufactured guns such as those used in the Sarona Market shooting attack in Tel Aviv in June. (Times of Israel, Dec. 19, 2016)
JEWISH PILGRIMS ATTACKED AT TOMB OF REVERED HASIDIC RABBI (Kiev) — Jewish worshipers in Uman, Ukraine were tear-gassed and the grave of Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav was defiled with fake blood and a pig’s head in an attack at the popular pilgrimage site visited by thousands of Jews every year. Two Israeli nationals were taken to a local hospital for treatment after the attack, according to Rabbi Yisrael Elhadad. Elhadad described the attackers as neo-Nazis. Pictures of the scene showed blood-like paint spread on floors and walls and a pig’s head left nearby. Police opened an investigation, but no arrests have been announced. Since the fall of Communism, Uman has seen the arrival of thousands of pilgrims on Rosh Hashanah, who come to visit the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman, the founder of the Bratslav Hasidic sect who died in 1810. (Times of Israel, Dec. 21, 2016)
DHS HIRES CAIR TO TRAIN FRENCH OFFICIALS (Washington) — The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) facilitated a training session for a French police delegation, in conjunction with the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Community Engagement Office in Tampa. This session stands in contrast with the FBI’s 2009 policy not to engage with CAIR outside of criminal investigations due to questions about the Hamas ties of its top executives. Several French counter-terror officials received this training, including a representative of France’s Ministry of the Interior and many police chiefs. (IPT, Dec. 14, 2016)
AZERBAIJAN REVEALS IT BOUGHT $5 BILLION OF WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL (Baku) — Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said that his country has signed $5 billion worth of long-term contracts over the years to buy weapons and security equipment from Israel. Aliyev was speaking during a state visit to Baku by Prime Minister Netanyahu, the purpose of which, in part, is to help Israel sell arms, reportedly missile-defense systems. Netanyahu and Aliyev signed four economic cooperation agreements in the fields of agriculture, prevention of double taxation and mutual quality standards during a two-hour meeting. His comments come against the backdrop of hostile relations between Azerbaijan and neighbor Iran, whose leaders have repeatedly condemned Azerbaijani-Israeli ties. (Jerusalem Post, Dec. 13, 2016)
ISRAEL OPENS ARMS TO SYRIAN WOUNDED (Jerusalem) — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel is exploring ways to provide assistance to Syrian civilian casualties from the fighting in Aleppo. While Israel has treated over 2,000 Syrians in its hospitals since the war began, most of those injured Syrians were from areas close to the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights. According to one Israeli government official, Israel is attempting to determine how to transfer civilians from Aleppo, which is a much more complicated logistical issue. Netanyahu added that he does not believe there is a clear solution to the situation in Syria right now and that the country is likely to be fractured for the foreseeable future. “Will it come together and be a unified Syria? I doubt it,” Netanyahu said. (JNS, Dec. 21, 2016)
AMERICAN JEWISH POPULATION RAPIDLY BECOMING MORE ORTHODOX (Washington) — Although the overall percentage of Jews in the US has held steady for the last two decades at about 2.2 percent, the percentage who consider themselves Orthodox is skyrocketing. Overall, the findings point to a dramatic shift in American Jewry. According to a Pew Research Center study, approximately 10% of the 5.5 million American Jews consider themselves Orthodox in comparison to the 18% who consider themselves Conservative, 35% Reform, and 30% no denomination. However, the Orthodox population is much younger. In the “grandparent” generation, those aged 56-73, only 5% are Orthodox. In the “parent” generation, aged 28-45, 15% are Orthodox. In the “child” generation, aged 0-17, 27% are being raised in Orthodox homes. (Arutz Sheva, Dec. 20, 2016)
The Way to Peace: Israeli Victory, Palestinian Defeat: Daniel Pipes, Commentary, Jan., 2017—Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy sadly fits the classic description of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The identical assumptions – land-for-peace and the two-state solution, with the burden primarily on Israel – stay permanently in place, no matter how often they fail.
Denying Campus Antisemitism Puts Jewish Students at Risk: Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, Algemeiner, Dec. 16, 2016—Mitchell Bard, who frequently writes articles challenging the veracity of claims that campus antisemitism is on the rise, often cites his own favorite statistic to make his point. Bard says that antisemitic activity has been reported on less than three percent of all American campuses, meaning that campus antisemitism is hardly the epidemic it’s made out to be.
Why Russia May Have Interfered In the Election: Lee Smith, Weekly Standard, Dec. 16, 2016—Is the CIA, or some part of it, angry with Donald Trump? Even before the president-elect perhaps unwisely insulted the agency by citing its failures to assess correctly the status of Saddam Hussein’s WMD program, someone high up at the CIA seemed to have it in for the incoming commander-in-chief.
Aleppo: Reflection of World Politics: Prof. Eyal Zisser, Israel Hayom, Dec. 18, 2016 —Syrian President Bashar Assad’s victory in the battle for Aleppo is first and foremost a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard doing Tehran’s bidding in Syria and Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.