Trumpocalypse: David French, National Review, Dec. 19, 2016
Trump Needs to Make Heads Roll at the CIA and FBI: Michael Walsh, New York Post, Nov. 12, 2016
Syrian Kurds Deserve a Seat at the Negotiating Table: Stuart Rollo, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 8, 2017
We’ve Run Out of Time to Stop a Nuclear North Korea: Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, Jan. 6, 2017
WEEKLY QUOTES
“(Antisemitism) is the highest in 40 years, and includes the rejection of Israel’s right to exist at all, and the portrayal of Israel as a monster and enemy of mankind.” — Prof. Irwin Cotler, former Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada. Cotler added that under the UN’s patronage, Israel is condemned more than any other country. “And the amazing thing is that the countries which lead the condemnations under the claim of ‘damage to human rights’ are Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia.” A survey by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs showed that in 2015 some 9,000 verbal antisemitic attacks were reported on Facebook; 11,354 on Twitter; and 4,468 on Instagram. In addition, 4,465 antisemitic video clips were posted on YouTube. It was also found that 40% of Europe’s citizens are antisemitic and 75% of Jewish students in the US were attacked for antisemitic reasons. (Jewish Press, Jan. 9, 2017)
“In the aftermath of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which was a significant step backward in achieving direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and Secretary [of State John] Kerry’s speech on Middle East peace earlier this week, the international community should not plunge forward with the ill-conceived and poorly timed Paris conference…Now is a time for serious reflection on how peace can best be achieved, not for another sham forum in which the usual one-sided outcomes against Israel are the likeliest result. Given the significant issues that were raised in the past week which have long-term implications for the prospects for peace, proper preparation after serious consultation is essential.” — Chairman Stephen M. Greenberg and Vice Chairman and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. In an interview, Hoenlein cautioned it was possible the Obama administration could take a “further damaging step” against Israel before Trump takes office. (Algemeiner, Jan. 4, 2017)
“We have one army that is the basis for our existence. IDF soldiers are our sons and daughters, and they must remain above all disputes…I support granting a pardon to Elor Azaria.”— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The rare manslaughter conviction of an Israeli soldier who fatally shot a wounded Palestinian attacker exposed a deepening rift between proponents of the rule of law and a burgeoning nationalist movement. The military court verdict against Sgt. Elor Azaria marked a victory for commanders seeking to preserve a code of ethics, but it also brought calls for a pardon from prominent politicians, led by Netanyahu, who expressed sympathy for the soldier. (Globe & Mail, Jan. 4, 2017)
“The MLA has firmly repudiated those who try to exploit American colleges and universities to delegitimize the State of Israel…The MLA today has sent a message to the entire academic community that American and Israeli campuses benefit greatly from academic cooperation and that boycotting Israel, the only democratic nation in the region, and a country which has been seeking peace with its neighbors since its rebirth in 1948, will not be tolerated because it does not in any way advance peace.” — American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris. The Modern Language Association, a top U.S. academic group, voted down a proposal to boycott Israeli academia. The measure, which was brought to a vote during a convention in Philadelphia, was defeated by 113 to 79. The boycott initiative was pushed primarily by the group MLA Members for Justice in Palestine. (Times of Israel, Jan. 8, 2016)
"You’d have an explosion – an absolute explosion in the region, not just in the West Bank and perhaps even in Israel itself, but throughout the region. The Arab world has enormous interest in the Haram al-Sharif, as it is called, the Temple Mount, the Dome [of the Rock], and it is a holy site for the Arab world." — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry, who will leave office in two weeks' time, warned on Friday of "an absolute explosion" in the Middle East should President-elect Donald Trump decide to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. "And if all of a sudden Jerusalem is declared to be the location of our embassy, that has issues of sovereignty, issues of law that it would deem to be affected by that move and by the United States acquiescing in that move, and that would have profound impact on the readiness of Jordan and Egypt to be able to be as supportive and engaged with Israel as they are today," he said. (Ha’aretz, Jan. 7, 2017)
“As a longstanding Democrat who has supported and defended President Obama on his treatment of Israel throughout his presidency, I am deeply disturbed by the Administration’s decision not to veto UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and Secretary Kerry’s subsequent one sided speech. These actions undermine our country’s long-standing support for Israel and harm any long-term prospects for peace, which is in our national interest…Fostering the conditions for peace, security, and prosperity for both Israelis and Palestinians is a core American interest. In the months and years ahead, it is essential that the US — in its role as the only superpower today — take the necessary steps to maintain its credibility as an intermediary between the parties and work to advance a sustainable two-state solution, in which a Jewish, democratic State of Israel lives in peace and security alongside its neighbors or, until the conditions are ripe for peace, promote a separation between the two peoples.” — U.S.-Israeli Jewish billionaire Haim Saban. (Jewish Press, Jan. 4, 2017)
“The reality is that the two main Soviet intelligence and security agencies waged a vigorous campaign for decades to meddle in U.S. politics and discredit the United States.” — Mark Kramer, an expert on the Cold War at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard. A declassified report released on Friday outlines what America’s top intelligence agencies view as an elaborate “influence campaign” ordered by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia aimed at skewing the outcome of the 2016 presidential race. Kramer said the declassified report had erred by stating that the Russian “influence campaign” directed at the election marked a “significant escalation” of previous Russian operations. This assessment, he said, “is simply untrue” and reflects a lack of understanding of just how extensive Moscow’s meddling has been in the past. (New York Times, Jan. 7, 2017)
“I don’t think the Russians posed as big a problem to the Clintons as the Clintons posed to themselves.” — Paul Emenes, 49, Covington, LA. The subject was the report released by U.S. intelligence chiefs informing Trump of their unanimous conclusion that Putin ordered an extensive, but covert, cyber-operation to help Trump win the election. But interviews with Trump supporters in Louisiana, a state the president-elect won by 20 points, found opinions about the report that ranged from general indifference to outright derision. Emenes added that as long as Trump was not involved himself, “it doesn’t change the way I view him.” (New York Times, Jan. 7, 2017)
“The resistance is growing. Left-wingers are taking heart from the various examples of groups or individuals refusing to take part in Donald Trump’s inauguration next week…It’s all part of the plan to “resist” Trump by treating his election as illegitimate and to deny him the usual respect accorded to any president…All of this…is a form of mass-scale group therapy for liberals…They are locked into a pre-election mindset in which the choice was Clinton or the Apocalypse. They cannot accept that, as much as they may find the winner distasteful and offensive, what has happened is just another—if certainly an unusual—chapter in the long history of the American republic. Which is why their “resistance” shtick is not only silly, it is also counterproductive…The more resistance we see on our TV screens next Friday, the easier it will be on Trump once the real political warfare starts.” — Jonathan S. Tobin. (Commentary, Jan. 6, 2017)
"They are aware of their own antipathy and are not ashamed of it because they see it as connected to love of country…They don't want to celebrate a man they find deplorable and a victory they believe destructive…Don't make your coverage another scandal, another wedge dividing the people from their national media. If you can work up a decent passion for the traditions of the world's greatest democracy, and show respect for the fact that America is always an astounding, confounding place, good. History isn't boring, only bores are boring." — Peggy Noonan. Noonan said the national media will likely be depressed covering President-elect Trump's inauguration in two weeks, but that reporters should mask their feelings as much as possible. (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 6, 2017)
SHORT TAKES
OBSCURE PALESTINIAN GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ATTACK (Jerusalem) — An obscure Palestinian group claimed responsibility for a truck ramming in Jerusalem that killed four Israeli soldiers, an attack that Netanyahu said was likely inspired by I.S. A female army officer and three officer cadets who were killed in Sunday's incident were buried on Monday. Seventeen other people were injured when the truck barrelled into a group of Israeli soldiers. The Palestinian driver was shot dead in the attack. The attack was claimed by the "Groups of Martyr Baha Eleyan" in a post on social media. It said it had acted previously, giving no details, and threatened more attacks. (Telegraph, Jan. 9, 2017)
BOMB KILLS AT LEAST TEN IN GOVERNMENT-HELD TOWN (Damascus) — A large explosion hit a Syrian government-held coastal town, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens. The attack was a blow to the nearly week-old and already shaky cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Jableh, which lies in the coastal Latakia province, the heartland of Syria’s Alawites, a Shiite offshoot to which President Bashar al-Assad’s family also belongs. I.S. and the al-Qaida-linked Fatah al-Sham Front aren't part of the broad truce that the Syrian government and the opposition agreed on last week. (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 5, 2016)
FORMER IRANIAN PRESIDENT RAFSANJANI DEAD AT 82 (Tehran) — Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a wily political survivor and multimillionaire mogul, died Sunday. Rafsanjani, who served as president from 1989 to 1997, was a leading politician who often played kingmaker in the country's turbulent politics. Rafsanjani's mix of sly wit and reputation for cunning moves — both in politics and business — earned him a host of nicknames such as Akbar Shah, or Great King, during a life that touched every major event in Iranian affairs since before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (CBC, Jan. 8, 2017)
ISRAEL HALTS $6M TO UN TO PROTEST UNSC SETTLEMENTS VOTE (Jerusalem) — Israel says it is cutting a substantial amount in its annual dues to the UN this year in protest of last month's Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity. The announcement made by Israel's UN Mission stipulated that $6 million out of more than a regular $40 million allocated to "anti-Israel bodies" will be halted. Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said: "It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the UN. The UN must end the absurd reality in which it supports bodies whose sole intent is to spread incitement and anti-Israel propaganda." (National Post, Jan. 6, 2017)
ISRAEL CAMPAIGNING TO DEFLATE PARIS SUMMIT (Paris) — Israel’s ambassadors are engaged in combating the upcoming Paris Mideast conference, on one hand trying to convince countries not to attend, and on the other hoping to persuade countries that will participate not to pass a resolution that might then be taken to the UN Security Council. Netanyahu said there are signals there will be attempts to take decisions made at the conference on January 15 and turn them into a resolution that may be brought to the UN. 70 countries are expected to attend the conference, which will take place five days before Trump takes office. Neither Israel nor the PA will attend the talks. (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 5, 2017)
UN-SPONSORED SCHOOLS USING ANTI-ISRAEL TEXTBOOKS FROM PA (Jerusalem) — Students attending UN-run schools in the West Bank and Gaza use textbooks that ignore the existence of Israel, according to a new report. The schools, which teach mainly Palestinian children, are funded by the UN’s Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and use texts from the Palestinian Ministry of Education. The books convey the ministry's refusal to recognize Israel, as well as the message that holy sites like the Western Wall and the Cave of the Patriarchs are exclusively Muslim sites, according to the report. Researchers discovered that not a single mention is made of the historical connection of Jews to Israel and that the schools also make no mention of Jewish holy sites in their materials. (Fox News, Jan. 4, 2017)
ACROSS THE US, 16 JCCS GET BOMB THREATS IN A SINGLE DAY (Miami) — Bomb threats were called in to at least 16 Jewish community centers and other institutions in seven states on Monday.
The calls were prerecorded in some cases and live in others, with the caller using voice disguising technology, and likely came from a single source, said Paul Goldenberg, the director of Secure Community Network. All the alerts were false, Goldenberg said, and designed to produce maximum disruption. Hundreds of people reportedly were evacuated from the buildings, several of which house preschools and senior adult programs during the day. (JTA, Jan. 9, 2017)
THREATENING ANTISEMITIC MESSAGE LEFT ON WINNIPEG PORCH (Winnipeg) — A Winnipeg family had a shocking end to the year after a rock covered in antisemitic slurs was left on their front steps. On New Year's Eve, the family arrived at their home in the Wolseley neighbourhood and found a red gift bag. Inside was a large rock wrapped in a ribbon. On the ribbon were the words, "Jude bitch get out of the nighberhood (sic)." The bright red paint also said, "Einsatzgruppen," referencing paramilitary death squads in Nazi Germany. Winnipeg police, including the service's hate crimes coordinator, are investigating the incident. (CBC, Jan. 4, 2017)
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO STRIKES DOWN BDS REFERENDUM (Ottawa) — On January 9, in a unanimous 5 to 0 decision, the appeals board for affiliate colleges at Western University in London, Ontario, ruled against a referendum on a BDS motion put forward by the King’s University College student council. Had the referendum passed, it would have given a green light to BDS activists to advocate for divestment from Israeli companies. The appeals board said in their decision that any future referenda must not reference BDS and must specify companies the student council wants to divest from. Both McGill and University of Toronto have rejected three attempts by BDS activists to turn their campuses into anti-Israel battlegrounds. (CIJ News, Jan. 9, 2017)
HARPER JOINS FRIENDS OF ISRAEL INITIATIVE (Ottawa) — On November 15, 2016, Friends of Israel Initiative welcomed former Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a new member. The organization, composed mainly of non-Jewish world leaders, was founded in 2010 by former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar. The Initiative, whose mandate is to defend Israel’s right to exist, arose out of a sense of deep concern about the unprecedented campaign of delegitimization of Israel waged by the enemies of the Jewish State. Throughout his tenure as Canada’s PM, Harper has been a vocal and unapologetic supporter of Israel who has consistently backed the Jewish State. (CIJ News, Dec. 25, 2016)
GOP SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO MOVE US EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM (Washington) — Three Republican Senators introduced legislation that would fulfill America’s commitment to Israel by relocating the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, along with Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas introduced the “Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act” to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and to relocate the U.S. embassy in an effort to “remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected as they have been by Israel since 1967.” Trump promised that his administration would move the Embassy to Jerusalem – a position he shares with his nominee for Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. (Fox News, Jan. 3, 2017)
REPORT: NETANYAHU TO ATTEND TRUMP’S INAUGURATION (Washington) — Prime Minister Netanyahu is likely to be invited to attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration ceremonies, if the Trump Transition team leaders, such as son-in-law Jared Kushner, have their way. A source inside the Transition team has said that Kushner has been “aggressively courting” Netanyahu, to get him to come to the Jan. 20 celebrations. According to the same source, Trump’s team wants to arrange a meeting of the two leaders even before the swearing-in ceremony. (Jewish Press, Jan. 1, 2017)
ISRAELI FLAG DISPLAYED ON BRANDENBURG GATE FOLLOWING JERUSALEM ATTACK (Berlin) — Germany identified with Israel following the deadly terror attack in Israel’s capital city. The Brandenburg Gate, one of the best-known German landmarks, was lit up with blue and white lights in order to show solidarity with Israel following the terror attack. (Jerusalem Online, Jan. 9, 2017)
SALES SKYROCKET FOR SPECIAL EDITION OF MEIN KAMPF IN GERMANY (Berlin) — Sales of a new, special edition of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf are skyrocketing since a German publisher brought it to market last year. Mein Kampf, which translates in English to “my struggle,” is an autobiographical depiction of Hitler’s ideology that served as the bedrock for Nazism. It laid out his hatred for the Jewish faith and was the ideological catalyst for the Holocaust. The new edition is the first reprint since World War II, and includes some 3,500 annotations. Thus far, some 85,000 copies of the new edition have been sold in Germany, BBC reports. (Daily Caller, Jan. 3. 2017)
AUSTRIAN MINISTER CALLS FOR ISLAMIC HEADSCARF BAN (Vienna) — Austria's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Integration Sebastian Kurz is calling for public servants, including school teachers, to be banned from wearing the Islamic headscarf. Kurz, of the Christian Conservative People's Party (OVP), is reportedly working on a draft law with Muna Duzdar, a junior minister from the OVP's senior Social Democrat coalition partner who has an Arab family background and is Muslim. If the law is passed by the Austrian parliament, the nationwide ban would be stricter than laws in France, where only the full body veil is illegal, or Germany, where the highest court in 2015 restricted lawmakers' scope to ban teachers from wearing the headscarf. (Arutz Sheva, Jan. 9, 2017)
NAMIBIANS SUING GERMANY FOR GENOCIDE (New York) — In 1904, the Herero and Nama nations rebelled against German colonial rule. Germany defeated the rebels and drove them into the desert, where most of them died of dehydration. Between 24,000 and 100,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama died. In 1985, the UN classified those events as an attempt to exterminate the Herero and Nama peoples of South-West Africa, and therefore one of the earliest cases of genocide in the 20th century. In 2004, the German government recognized and apologized for the events, but ruled out financial compensation for the victims’ descendants. Last Thursday, the Ovaherero and Nama people filed a lawsuit for unspecified sums against Germany, to seek reparations and compensation for the atrocities. (Jewish Press, Jan. 9, 2017)
MOROCCAN KING RESTORES JEWISH NAMES OF MARRAKECH GHETTO (Marrakech) — The original names of the historic Jewish quarter of Marrakech, the famed Mellah (Arabic and Hebrew for salt), are being restored under the instructions of Moroccan King Mohammed V. Morocco’s Interior Ministry announced that, following the King’s recent visit to the neighborhood which is currently known as the Essalam district, it will be renamed El Mellah. The original Jewish names of the area’s streets and squares will also be restored. There are an estimated few hundred Jews still living in El Mellah, situated in the city’s kasbah, east of Place des Ferblantiers. The Mellah was segregated for Jewish dwelling in 1558 by the Saadi dynasty which ruled Morocco from 1549 to 1659. (Jewish Press, Jan. 5, 2017)
FIRST SYNAGOGUE IN 500 YEARS TO OPEN IN PALERMO, SICILY (Rome) — More than 500 years after the Jews were expelled from Sicily, the nascent Jewish community of Palermo will celebrate its rebirth this week with the formal transfer of ownership of a facility owned by the church and monastery of St. Nicolo Tolentino, which sits atop the ruins of the Great Synagogue of Palermo. The handover will be carried out in an official ceremony this Thursday, marking the anniversary of the Jan. 12, 1493 expulsion of the island’s Jews. It will usher in the opening of the first local synagogue in Palermo, Sicily’s capital, since the 15th century. The move comes as a growing number of people throughout Sicily are rediscovering their Jewish roots. (Jewish Press, Jan. 11, 2017)
Trumpocalypse: David French, National Review, Dec. 19, 2016—There is a whiff of apocalypse in the air. The election of Donald Trump has sent millions of progressives into a spiral of rage and pain that goes beyond any other post-election tantrum in modern American history.
Trump Needs to Make Heads Roll at the CIA and FBI: Michael Walsh, New York Post, Nov. 12, 2016—One of the thorniest questions facing the incoming Trump administration is what to do about America’s increasingly dysfunctional intelligence community, known collectively by its acronym, the IC.
Syrian Kurds Deserve a Seat at the Negotiating Table: Stuart Rollo, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 8, 2017—The beginning of 2017 is shaping up to be a critical period in the Syrian Kurds’ campaign to defeat Islamic State and secure a measure of political autonomy in their homeland. How President-elect Trump manages the competing interests and alliances in Syria will directly affect the Kurds’ destiny.
We’ve Run Out of Time to Stop a Nuclear North Korea: Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, Jan. 6, 2017—You can kick the can down the road, but when Kim Jong Un announces, as he did last Sunday, that “we have reached the final stage in preparations to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic rocket,” you are reaching the end of that road.
