Barcelona is Not Charlottesville: Ruthie Blum, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 20, 2017
Police Try to Unravel Terrorist Network Behind Attacks in Barcelona, Cambrils: Paul Waldie, Globe & Mail, Aug. 20, 2017
Vladimir Putin’s Russia Goes Global: Eugene Rumer, Andrew S. Weiss, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 4, 2017
Goodbye and Good Riddance to Rasmieh Odeh: IPT, August 17, 2017
WEEKLY QUOTES
"Jews are not here permanently…I tell my congregants: Don’t think we’re here for good. And I encourage them to buy property in Israel. This place is lost. Don’t repeat the mistake of Algerian Jews, of Venezuelan Jews. Better [get out] early than late." — Rabbi Meir Bar-Hen, chief rabbi of Catalonia. Bar-Hen has told Jews that they should leave the Spanish region and move to Israel because of fears of further radical Islamist attacks. He called Spain a "hub of Islamist terror for all of Europe." His comments came after two vehicle-ramming attacks that left a total of 15 people dead on a famous Barcelona boulevard and in a seaside town south of the northern Spanish city. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the van attack in central Barcelona late Thursday that also injured more than 100 people. Bar-Hen said that "radical fringes" of Muslim communities in northern Spain were the biggest threat to its Jewish communities. "Europe is lost," he said, adding that when radical Islamists are "living among you…it's very difficult to get rid of them. They only get stronger." (New York Times, Aug. 8, 2017)
“At this difficult time I want to express my support and solidarity, and that of all the Israeli people, with you and your communities…The very idea that in our time we would see a Nazi flag — perhaps the most vicious symbol of anti-Semitism — paraded in the streets of the world’s greatest democracy, and Israel’s most cherished and greatest ally is almost beyond belief. In the face of such evil, we stand now as we did then. With faith. With faith in humanity, with faith in democracy, and with faith in justice…As we say, ‘Chazak, chazak ve’nitchazek.’ Be strong, be strong and we will be strong.” — President Reuven Rivlin. Rivlin sent a message to the American Jewish community emphasizing his support in the wake of a neo-Nazi march and protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville saw a nighttime torch-light procession and a violent protest in which demonstrators waved Nazi flags and chanted "Jews will not replace us!" (I24, Aug. 16, 2017)
“This shameful step is an expression of modern anti-Semitism and reminds us of dark periods in history…Instead of focusing on the terrible humanitarian problems plaguing the globe, the Human Rights Commissioner is seeking to harm Israel, and in doing so has become the world’s most senior BDS activist.” — Israeli Amb. to the UN Danny Danon. The U.S. is reportedly urging the UN’s Human Rights Council not to publish its blacklist of international companies operating in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, saying the move was “counterproductive” and would not advance the peace process. Last year, the UN body unanimously voted to compile a database of all business enterprises that have enabled or profited from Israeli settlements in areas Palestinians see as part of their future state. The proposal, put forward by the PA and Arab states in 2016, included a condemnation of settlements and called on companies not to do business with Israeli settlements. (Times of Israel, Aug. 22, 2017)
“Most of you — all of you — know who established ISIS, Al Qaeda and all these terrorist organizations…You know very well. You know who paid for them, who financed them, who helped them, who purchased weapons for them, who even trained them, who protected them. You know that… ISIS is the production of the Israeli intelligence. Most of their officers were trained in Israel, including Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi (the founder of ISIS who is now believed to be in hiding in Syria).” — Dr. Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini, a prominent Shia Muslim imam in California. In a June sermon, al-Qazwini insisted that Israel was the driving force behind I.S., after first explaining to his congregation that the terrorist group was “anti-Islamic…This is not the production of Islam. Islam is not responsible for ISIS. There are certain agencies and governments, they put hand in hand to establish ISIS, to demolish Islam from within. This was the plan,” he continued. (Algemeiner, Aug. 22, 2017)
“I share the American people’s frustration…I also share their frustration over a foreign policy that has spent too much time, energy, money — and, most importantly, lives — trying to rebuild countries in our own image instead of pursuing our security interests above all other considerations.” — President Trump. Trump outlined a revised vision for the U.S. war in Afghanistan on Monday, pledging to end a strategy of “nation-building” and instead institute a policy aimed more squarely at addressing the terrorist threat that emanates from the region. Trump’s decision to further commit to the nation’s longest war, rather than withdraw, reflects a significant shift in his approach to Afghanistan since taking office and marks a new willingness to take greater ownership of a protracted conflict that he had long dismissed as a waste of time and resources. (Washington Post, Aug. 21, 2017)
“Instead of responding to my accusations or proving that I am wrong, people are saying throw acid on me?…I can’t believe they have fallen to this level, but it is just part of a larger culture encouraged by the society and political parties here.” — Ayesha Gulalai Wazir, a lawmaker from Pakistan’s tribal South Waziristan region. When Wazir said that she had received “inappropriate text messages” from a male colleague, she was met with a wave of vitriol on social media. The man she accused is Imran Khan, the former cricket star who is now one of Pakistan’s leading politicians and has a large social media following. The case illustrates the rise of online abuse against women in a country considered one of the most dangerous in the world for them. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, about 500 Pakistani women are killed each year by family members who believe their honor has been damaged if a female relative refuses an arranged marriage, socializes with men or even claps and sings at a wedding. (New York Times, Aug. 5, 2017)
"If we make a determination, at most in five days we can start 20 percent enrichment in Fordo (nuclear plant)…Of course we would not like such a thing to happen as we made a lot of effort to achieve the JCPOA (nuclear deal)… Our biggest priority is to maintain the JCPOA, but of course not at any price." — Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation. The 2015 nuclear deal with world powers saw sanctions eased in exchange for curbs to Iran's nuclear programme. That included a ban on high-level enrichment of uranium — 20 percent or more — a process which would take Iran close to the level needed for a nuclear weapon. Under the deal, Iran is allowed to enrich uranium to low levels of 3.5 percent. (I24, Aug. 22, 2017)
“A good deal (in 2015) would have ensured the complete cessation of all enrichment and nuclear research activities indefinitely.” — David Ibsen, the president of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). Salehi’s statement that Iran would need only five days to resume high-level uranium enrichment in the event of the JCPOA’s collapse was “a clear and unfortunate reminder of a major shortcoming in the JCPOA, namely that Iran retained significant nuclear-related capabilities while receiving sanctions relief upfront,” Ibsen said. Ibsen acknowledged that Salehi’s remarks might primarily be meant for domestic consumption. “Even if that’s the case, it is nonetheless troubling that Iran is even in a position to realistically and rapidly ramp up its nuclear program just a little over two years after the JCPOA was agreed,” he noted. (Algemeiner, Aug. 22, 2017)
“Iran is making an accelerated effort to entrench itself militarily in Syria. This poses a danger to Israel, the Middle East and in my opinion the world itself…We don’t for a second forget that Iran continues to threaten Israel’s destruction on a daily basis…It arms terrorist organizations and initiates terror itself. It is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles with the intention to equip them with nuclear warheads…For all of these reasons, Israel opposes Iran’s continued entrenchment in Syria. We will make sure we defend ourselves using every means against this threat.” — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu traveled to Russia on Wednesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and give him top-secret intelligence on Iran’s military expansion in the region. Israel has been pushing the US, and now Russia, not to support a peace deal in Syria that allows Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group to keep boots on the ground. Addressing Iran military expansion in the region, Netanyahu said “Iran is already in the advances stages of taking over Iraq and Yemen, and, in effect, already controls Lebanon.” (Times of Israel, Aug. 23, 2017)
“The president’s Jewish supporters are left to wonder why the Iran deal remains in force, the United States Embassy is still in Tel Aviv, Bashar al-Assad is stronger than ever, the Israeli government is outraged by the deals the administration has cut with Russia at Israel’s strategic expense, and Jared Kushner has not proved a worthy strategic heir to Henry Kissinger. What’s the mystery? A man whose word is worthless when it comes to his legal contracts will have no compunction breaking his political promises, no matter whom his daughter married.” — Bret Stephens. (New York Times, Aug. 18, 2017)
“You have confidence in the British and even Chamberlain? 'Oh holy innocence'…Hoping that Hitler might let off steam by attacking Russia, he sacrifices Eastern Europe…But we will come to see once more that shrewdness does not win in the long term…In France, he pushed the left into a corner and, in France as well, helped give power to those people whose motto is 'better Hitler than the Reds'…The extermination policy against Spain already showed this clearly…Now he saved Hitler in the nick of time by crowning himself with the wreath of love of peace and inducing France to betray the Czechs…He did all this in such a clever way that he deceived most people, even you (unfortunately)…I do not have any hope left for the future of Europe.” — Albert Einstein, in a letter penned October 10, 1938, just 10 days after the English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement which effectively ceded Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. The letter written by Einstein to a close friend which slams Chamberlain for appeasing Hitler has emerged for sale. The German-born physicist displays impressive prescience as he accurately predicts that Chamberlain's stance would embolden Hitler to carry on his European expansion. (Express, Aug. 22, 2017)
SHORT TAKES
FINNISH COURT IDENTIFIES TURKU STABBING SUSPECT (Turku) — Police in Finland requested that five Moroccan men be held in pre-trial detention following their arrest after a knife attack in the city of Turku killed two and injured eight. The suspect, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker named as Abderrahman Mechkah, was shot in the leg and arrested on Friday as people were stabbed in the city on Finland’s Baltic coast, 100 miles west of Helsinki. Police suspect it is the country’s first terrorism-related attack. Four other Moroccans, who deny involvement, are suspected of participation in the attacks. The knifeman appeared to have targeted women in the attack on Friday, police said. Both of those killed were women, along with six of the injured. (New York Post, Aug. 21, 2017)
US TO DEPORT ODEH TO JORDAN (Detroit) — A Palestinian woman who perpetrated a 1969 supermarket bombing and later immigrated to the U.S. had her citizenship revoked and was sentenced to deportation to Jordan by a US federal court. Rasmea Odeh was convicted of immigration fraud as part of a plea deal by the same court in April with the deportation sentence being mostly a last formal step before she is sent on her way. The terrorist attack killed two people – Hebrew U. students Leon “Arie” Kanner, 21, from Netanya, and Edward Joffe, 22, formerly of Cape Town and living near Tel Aviv – at the Shufersal supermarket in Jerusalem. Odeh was sentenced to a life term. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 18, 2017)
HAMAS GUARD KILLED IN SUICIDE BOMBING (Gaza) — A suicide bomber killed a Hamas guard in southern Gaza when forces tried to stop him from infiltrating into Egypt, in what sources described as a rare attack against the Islamist group. Sources named the man as Nidal al-Jaafari, 28. The bombing Thursday is the first time that a Palestinian has set off a suicide bomb against Hamas forces. Officials said he is believed to be an I.S. member. Eyewitnesses said hundreds of Hamas men were deployed along the border after the explosion, which occurred near Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. The terror group, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, has run Gaza for a decade but have been regularly criticized by more radical jihadist groups in the Strip. (Times of Israel, Aug. 17, 2017)
ISRAEL BANS PA CURRICULUM FOR GIRLS’ SCHOOL IN AL-AQSA MOSQUE (Jerusalem) — Israel on Tuesday banned the introduction of curriculum textbooks to the Al Aqsa Islamic School for girls inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, because they have been issued through the Palestinian Authority. The Al-Aqsa school for girls is scheduled to open for students on Wednesday, when the books were expected to be distributed to about 100 students Grade 7 through 12. The head of the school, Ahad Sabri, said that police stopped the entry of the textbooks because “the banner of the Palestinian Authority is on the covers.” According to Sabri, the school was inspected and items were confiscated during the riots on and outside the Temple Mount in mid-July. (Jewish Press, Aug. 22, 2017)
2 JEWISH CONVERTS TO ISLAM JOIN I.S. (Jerusalem) — The Shin Bet intelligence agency has gathered information about 20 Israelis who joined the ranks of the I.S. terrorist organization in Syria. The vast majority of the Israeli citizens who joined ISIS were Israeli Arabs. However, two of the terrorist group's Israeli recruits were born Jewish. The two had immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union and later changed their religion. They are currently listed as Muslims in the national registry. The ministry will begin the process of revoking the citizenship of the 20 Israelis who joined I.S. When the process is completed, those who join I.S. will become stateless and will not be allowed to return to Israel or to travel freely throughout the world. (Arutz Sheva, Aug. 22, 2017)
BANNON OUT AS WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST (Washington) — Steve Bannon is out as a strategist for Donald Trump, and back in at Breitbart News. It’s not clear whether the resignation was entirely voluntarily. A source said, “they gave him an opportunity to step down knowing that he was going to be forced to.” Before becoming chairman to the Trump campaign, Bannon served as the executive chair of Breitbart News. The media entrepreneur is also largely credited with helping Trump win the 2016 election. He played a large role in many of Trump’s initiatives, including the travel ban on people from multiple Muslim-majority countries. (Global, Aug. 18, 2017)
TRUMP WON’T BE REMOVING CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS (Detroit) — The Interior Department won’t be removing monuments to Confederate soldiers at national battlefields that are “an important part of our country’s history,” according to a spokesman. The statement comes after a woman was killed counter-protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. The city voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A man drove into a crowd of counter protesters, killing one and injuring 19 others. 20-year-old James Alex Fields has been charged with second-degree murder. The incident has only spurred the movement to remove Confederate monuments and rename schools and highways that had been named after Confederate politicians and generals. (Daily Caller, Aug. 16, 2017)
QUEENS MUSEUM REVERSED DECISION TO CANCEL ISRAELI EVENT (New York) — The Queens Museum has reversed its decision to cancel an event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the United Nation's 1947 vote for the establishment of the State of Israel. The museum's cancellation of the event was widely condemned. Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon welcomed the move, after putting pressure on the museum to maintain the original agreement for the event. The event, initiated by Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon, was intended to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the historic vote in its original place: the main gallery of the museum, which hosted the UN General Assembly at the time of the vote. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 17, 2017)
BILLY JOEL WEARS YELLOW STAR OF DAVID DURING CONCERT (New York) — Pop great Billy Joel donned a yellow Star of David at a concert in New York in a powerful but silent statement against white supremacy following the violence in Charlottesville. The Piano Man, who is rarely overtly political, returned on Monday night to play his encore at Madison Square Garden sporting the Star of David on the front and back of his suit, photos posted online by fans showed. Nazi Germany forced Jews to wear the religious symbol to identify them as it pursued its genocide. Joel was born to Jewish parents in New York, with his father, also a pianist, fleeing Germany where remaining relatives were killed in the Holocaust. (Telegraph, Aug. 22, 2017)
ASHTON REJECTS ALLEGED HOLOCAUST DENIER'S ENDORSEMENT (Ottawa) — Federal NDP leadership contender Niki Ashton is rejecting an endorsement from a supporter who's been accused of holding antisemitic views, including denying the Holocaust. Ashton says she "in no way" supports such views and does "not accept support from people who hold such views." Ashton posed for a photo with Nazih Khatatba at a fundraiser earlier this month hosted by the Palestine Aid Society. Khatatba used the photo in an endorsement of Ashton on Facebook; she also got a front page endorsement in an Arabic language newspaper edited by Khatatba. B'nai Brith Canada drew Ashton's attention to what it says is Khatatba's antisemitism. Khatatba has called Jewish suffering "a fairy tale" and has denied the extermination of millions of Jews by Nazis during the Holocaust. (Huffington Post, Aug. 22, 2017)
1 IN 3 UK JEWS CONSIDERED EMIGRATING (London) — In interviews with thousands of British Jews, almost a third of them said they have considered leaving the UK over the past two years due to antisemitism. The findings are part of a report published by the Campaign Against Antisemitism group. In interviews with a sample population of 7,156 respondents, 37 percent of them said they have been concealing in public signs that would indicate that they are Jewish. Only 59% of the respondents since 2015 said they feel welcome in the UK and 17% said they feel unwelcome. The Jewish community of the UK recorded 767 antisemitic attacks in the first half of 2017 — the highest figure recorded within six months since monitoring began in 1984. In February, the Community Security Trust reported a record 1,309 incidents in 2016, constituting a 36% increase over the 2015 tally. (Times of Israel, Aug. 20, 2017)
NEW TEL AVIV-JERUSALEM RAIL LINE UNDERGOES FIRST TEST RUN (Tel Aviv) — The highly anticipated Tel Aviv-Jerusalem railway embarked on its maiden voyage Sunday, in the first successful test run of the new rail link connecting the major Israeli cities. The test runs and infrastructure work on the new rail link are expected to last about a week and have shuttered three of Tel Aviv’s main stations. Sunday’s trial run was conducted with a 1,200-ton freight train used to test the strength of the recently constructed bridges and rails along the new 37-mile high-speed route. Using the new rail line, passengers can travel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 28 minutes. (JNS, Aug. 21, 2017)
TORONTO CONFERENCE: “M-103: ISLAMOPHOBIA CURE OR SHARIA TRAP?” (Toronto) — A public live event featuring speakers and panel sessions engaged in assessing the politics of implementing federal government Motion M-103, which calls on the government to condemn Islamophobia in Canada and "all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination," will take place Sunday, September 10. This is to be a simulcast event, with the Toronto program at a downtown venue, and proposed satellite programs in communities around the country. Several speakers are Muslim LGBTQ members, members of religious minorities, and women. For more information click the following link.
Barcelona is Not Charlottesville: Ruthie Blum, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 20, 2017 —Last weekend’s car-ramming in Charlottesville, Virginia was upstaged on Thursday, when scores of people were mown down by a speeding van on a bustling street in Barcelona.
Police Try to Unravel Terrorist Network Behind Attacks in Barcelona, Cambrils: Paul Waldie, Globe & Mail, Aug. 20, 2017—After years of relative calm, Spain is suddenly confronting a series of security challenges that have raised questions about the country’s preparedness.
Vladimir Putin’s Russia Goes Global: Eugene Rumer, Andrew S. Weiss, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 4, 2017 —Former President Barack Obama once dismissed post-Soviet Russia as a mere “regional power,” but that isn’t how things look today. Vladimir Putin has gone global in recent years, launching a Russian-style charm offensive in far-flung locales where the Kremlin’s influence had been all but written off.
Goodbye and Good Riddance to Rasmieh Odeh: IPT, August 17, 2017—Palestinian terrorist Rasmieh Odeh is about to be deported to Jordan. U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain formalized terms of a plea agreement during a sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon in Detroit.
