Wednesday’s “News in Review” Round-Up

Media-ocrities of the Week

 

“[Last week], the [US] State Department announced that Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton was leaving on a trip to ‘France, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Egypt and Israel.…’ In a State Department press conference, a reporter posed a ‘logistical’ question to Director Patrick Ventrell:

‘QUESTION: For every single country [Clinton is] going to, [the State Department’s press release] lists the cities that she’s visiting, except for Israel. So this is a semi-trick question: Is she going to be visiting the capital of Israel?

MR. VENTRELL: The Secretary will be in Israel and she will meet with Israeli officials.

QUESTION: Where?

MR. VENTRELL: At this point, I don’t know where those meetings are going to be, but obviously as we get closer, the team will have more information.

QUESTION: You don’t know if they’ll be in Jerusalem or if they will be in Tel Aviv?

MR. VENTRELL: We can presume that she will visit multiple sites in Israel on this trip.’

They just can’t bring themselves to say that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, can they?”—Rick Richman, describing the US State Department’s ongoing refusal to refer to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. (Contentions, July 6.)

 

“In passionately advocating my position supporting the rights of people I felt were being harmed, I used language that I now regret. The gist of the conversation had to do with my concern for innocent people being oppressed, but such support for the oppressed does not diminish my support for the good people of Israel.”—Democratic National Committee member Evelyn Garcia, who resigned last week from her post in Florida after evidence surfaced that she likened Israel’s policies in the West Bank to apartheid and slavery and claimed the Palestinians were made to suffer a “guilt trip” for the Holocaust. (JTA, July 5.)

 

Weekly Quotes

 

“Today, the time has come for the disappearance of the West and the Zionist regime—which are two dark spots in the present era—from the face of the universe.”—Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, calling for the eradication of the US and Israel. (Press TV, July 5.)

“Iranian-Canadians have rejected the oppressive Iranian regime and have chosen to come to Canada to build better lives. The Iranian Embassy should not interfere in their choices. Canadian security organizations will act to prevent threats and intimidation of Canadians.”—Canada’s Foreign Affairs department, issuing a warning to Iranian diplomats who are allegedly using their Ottawa embassy to recruit Iranian-Canadians to serve the Islamic Republic’s interests. News of the purported mobilization effort emerged this month in a Farsi-language interview given by Hamid Mohammadi, a cultural affairs counsellor attached to the Iranian embassy in Ottawa. In his interview with Iranians Residing Abroad, Mohammadi urged Iranian-Canadians to “occupy high-level key positions” and “resist being melted into the dominant Canadian culture.” (National Post, July 11.) [For the full article see ‘On Topics’ below—Ed.]

 

“Multiculturalism is killing Canada. I’m sick and tired of political correctness in this country. We don’t want [pro-regime Iranians] to have a safe haven in Canada. And yes, the people recruited can easily get to the United States.”—Shabnam Assadollahi, an Iranian-Canadian anti-Tehran activist who helped translate the Hamid Mohammadi interview. The prospect of Iran using its embassy in Canada to recruit loyalists to attack the U.S. is raising alarm among American terrorism experts. According to Steven Emerson, executive director of the authoritative Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, “they [Iranian officials] want Iranians with Canadian passports” to facilitate their involvement in “anything from intelligence gathering, to being an intermediary in the recruitment of others, or to actually carrying out an attack.” (Fox News, July 9.)

 

“After this opinion, this court will have issued over $8.8bn in judgments against Iran as a result of the 1983 Beirut bombing. Iran is racking up quite a bill from its sponsorship of terrorism.”—US federal judge Royce Lambeth, after ordering Iran to pay an additional $813m in damages to the families of 241 US soldiers killed in the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Lebanon. (Al Jazeera, July 7.)

 

“This was a miserable quote that was said absentmindedly.… Let’s set the record straight. I think the Iranian nuclear capacity is a threat with strategic implications for Israel. I know the air force well enough to know that it will perform successfully any task entrusted to it.”—Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, backtracking on comments he made earlier this year describing as “stupid” a potential Israeli military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. (Jerusalem Post, July 5.)

 

“Right after a UN Security Council report found Iran guilty of illegally transferring guns and bombs to Syria, which is now murdering thousands of its own people, it defies logic, morality and common sense for the UN to now elect this same regime to a global post regulating the transfer of guns and bombs.… This is like choosing Bernie Madoff to police fraud on the stock market.”—Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, denouncing the election of Iran to the board of the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty Conference, which “promises to deliver a new agreement to regulate the [global] transfer of arms.” (Weekly Standard, July 8.)

 

“Iran supports Assad…and the talk about forcing him to go into exile is a joke.”—Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, reiterating Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, and warning that any “non-political solution [to the crisis in Syria] would bring catastrophe to the entire region.” Opposition activists estimate that more than 17,000 Syrians, including 11,815 civilians, have been killed since the outbreak of the revolt against Assad’s regime in March 2011. (AFP, July 8.)

 

“I will tell you very frankly, I don’t think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all—nothing at all—for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime. The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price because they are holding up progress—blockading it—and that is no longer tolerable.”—US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging countries to apply diplomatic pressure on Russia and China to stop protecting the Syrian regime. Clinton also repeated the US call for a Security Council resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which authorizes actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention. (Reuters, July 6 & 8.)

 

“On the Syria problem, China’s fair and constructive stance and its contributions toward diplomatic efforts have attained the wide understanding and support of relevant parties in the international community. Any words and deeds that slander China and sow discord between China and other countries will be in vain.”—Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin, rebuffing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s accusation that Beijing and Moscow have hindered the resolution of the crisis in Syria, and calling Clinton’s comments “totally unacceptable.” Liu Weimin went on to convey Chinese support for UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan’s latest plan to include Iran in internationally-brokered talks on Syria. (Reuters, July 7 & 11.)

 

“I don’t think anybody with a straight face could argue that Iran has had a positive impact on developments in Syria.”—White House spokesman Jay Carney, after UN mediator Kofi Annan held meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday to discuss the Syrian crisis. (Reuters, July 11.)

 

“Muhammad Badi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide, confirmed the necessity for every Muslim to strive to save al-Quds [Jerusalem] from the hands of the rapists [Israelis] and to cleanse Palestine from the clutches of the occupation, deeming this an individual duty for all Muslims. [Badie] called on all Muslims to wage jihad with their money and their selves to free al-Quds.”—Excerpt of an article appearing in last Thursday’s edition of Al Wafd, quoting the Supreme Leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood calling for war against Israel. (Jihad Watch, July 7.)

 

“We want your head Mofaz. The people want the fall of Oslo.”—Hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators, outside the compound of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, protesting against the alleged resumption of diplomatic contact with Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz. In response to Palestinian public opinion, Abbas cancelled a meeting with Mofaz originally scheduled to take place last week in Ramallah. (Ynet News, July 3.)

 

“We are working according to a specific plan to cover the deficit by relying on the availability of Arab and international aid.”—Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Nabil Kassis, announcing the PA was incapable of paying June salaries to its 160,000 employees. Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi, in a joint statement with the Arab League’s head of Palestinian affairs Mohammad Sbaih, described the Palestinian Authority’s financial situation as “stifling and disturbing,” and pleaded with Arab countries “to uphold their financial obligations toward the PA.” (Jerusalem Post, July 4 & Independent Media Review and Analysis, July 10.)

 

“Joining the organization is not one of the Palestinian Authority’s priorities.”—Palestinian diplomatic advisor Majdi al-Khalidi, after The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe denied by a vote of 28-21 granting observer status to “Palestine”. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told Army Radio that Israel played a role in thwarting the PA’s application. (Jerusalem Post, July 8 & JTA, July 10.)

 

“Narrow hallways, interrogation rooms painted black, isolation cells and handcuffed mannequins—this is all part of the setting of a new summer camp operated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.… This year, the organizers came up with the theme—“the suffering of the Palestinian prisoners”—allowing children to experience first hand the daily lives of prisoners held in Israel.”—Elior Levy, in “Gaza Presents: Prisoners’ Summer Camp.” Camp participant Abed al-Aziz recounted his experience: “We were taught about the Palestinian prisoners who suffer greatly for the Palestinian people and that the occupation forces deprive them of the basic human rights they deserve.” (Ynet News, July 11.)

 

“It’s baffling that—aside from a passing request that all parties reject violence—the Church’s [proposal] does not mention a single expectation of the Palestinians in its recommendations. To put it bluntly, the Church cannot maintain credibility in criticizing Israeli policies while relieving the Palestinian leadership of its own duty to advance peace.”—Excerpt of a bipartisan letter sent by nine Canadian senators to United Church leader Mardi Tindal, condemning a proposed United Church of Canada boycott of goods produced in Israeli settlements as one-sided and for implying that “Israel is guilty and the Palestinians [are] the only injured party.” The Church’s general council will vote next month on whether to adopt the proposal. Meanwhile, the US Presbyterian Church rejected last week by a vote of 333 to 331 a measure to divest from companies that supply equipment to Israel in the West Bank. (National Post, July 4 & NY Times, July 5.)

 

“Tourism to Israel continues to break new records.… 1.7 million visitors arrived during the first half of 2012, a 6% increase as compared with last year.… Despite the economic recession [and] the complicated and ongoing geopolitical situation…we are registering impressive achievements in incoming tourism.…”—Israeli Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, July 9.)

 

“I recommended against clemency for Jonathan Pollard early in the first Clinton administration when I was director of Central Intelligence, but now, nearly two decades later, I support his release. What would I say has changed? The passage of time. When I recommended against clemency, Pollard had been in prison less than a decade. Today he has been incarcerated for over a quarter of a century under his life sentence. Of the more than 50 recently convicted Soviet bloc and Chinese spies, only two—Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen—also received life sentences, and two-thirds of these some-50 enemy spies served or have been sentenced to less time than Pollard has already served. The recently convicted spies for such countries as Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Ecuador, Egypt, the Philippines and South Korea are serving less than a decade. One especially damaging Greek-American spy, Steven Lalas, received a 14-year sentence, just over half of what Pollard has already served. Pollard has cooperated fully with the U.S. government, pledged not to profit from his crime, and has many times expressed remorse for what he did. There is absolutely no reason for Pollard to be imprisoned.… For those hung up for some reason on the fact that he’s an American Jew, pretend he’s a Greek- or Korean- or Filipino-American and free him.”—Former CIA director James Woolsey, in a letter to the Wall Street Journal’s editor, calling for the immediate release of  former Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, and implying that his being Jewish is the reason he is still imprisoned. (Wall Street Journal, July 4.)

 

Short Takes

 

ISRAELI PANEL: WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS, OUTPOSTS LEGAL UNDER INT’L LAW—(Jerusalem) An Israeli government-sponsored committee set up to review the status of the West Bank has determined that Israeli settlements are legal under international law. The Levy Committee, which was headed by former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, said in its 89-page report released over the weekend that “Israel does not meet the criteria of ‘military occupation’ as defined under international law”, and therefore settlements and West Bank outposts are legal. The report concluded that “no other legal entity has ever had sovereignty over the [West bank] cemented under international law,” thus there is no place in international law stating that it is illegal for Jews to settle and live in the West Bank. (JTA, July 9.)

 

EGYPT’S HIGH COURT BLOCKS PARLIAMENT—(Cairo) Egypt’s high court has blocked the reconvening of the country’s Islamist-dominated Parliament, intensifying a political row between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military. The Supreme Constitutional Court’s ruling effectively suspended a decree issued last Sunday by Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s newly inaugurated president, that had reversed the military leadership’s earlier order to dissolve Parliament. Morsi and his Brotherhood now may either accept a defeat at the hands of the courts or risk a conflict with the judiciary and its military backers. (Wall Street Journal, July 10.)

 

EGYPT’S NEW PRESIDENT, ABBAS TO VISIT IRAN—(New York) Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has confirmed he will visit Iran next month to attend the conference of the Non-Aligned Movement. Morsi became chairman of the group automatically upon becoming Egyptian president, but will hand over the chairmanship to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the meeting. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he hopes Morsi’s visit will strengthen relations between Iran and Egypt. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly also accepted an invitation from Ahmadinejad to visit Iran at the end of August. (JTA, July 3 & 8.)

 

WIKILEAKS BEGINS RELEASE OF 2.5M. SYRIAN EMAILS—(Jerusalem) WikiLeaks has started publishing more than 2 million emails from Syrian political figures, government ministries and companies, dating from August 2006 to March 2012. A Wikileaks spokeswoman said “The Syria Files” would shine a light on the inner workings of the Syrian government and economy, and “also reveal how the West and Western companies say one thing and do another.” In the coming two months, the approximately 2.5 million emails from 650,000 email addresses will appear on the Wikileaks website and other global news outlets. (Jerusalem Post, July 5.)

 

FRENCH TEEN BEATEN IN ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACK—(New York) A French Jewish teenager has been attacked on a train traveling between Toulouse and Lyon. The teen, who was wearing what France’s Interior Ministry called “a distinctive religious symbol,” was accosted verbally and then beaten by two assailants. The victim, 17, is a student at Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse, where an Islamist gunman shot and killed three students and a teacher in March. The French Jewish umbrella group CRIF called the attack “another development in the worrying trend of anti-Semitism in our country.” (JTA, July 5.)

 

ABBAS REFUSES ISRAELI OFFER TO RELEASE PALESTINIAN PRISONERS—(Jerusalem) Palestinian Authority Prisoners Minister Issa Qaraqe has confirmed PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal of an Israeli offer for the staged release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for returning to peace talks. According to Haaretz, Israel offered to immediately release some 25 Palestinian prisoners convicted of the murder of Israelis, followed by another 98 prisoners by the end of the year; however, Abbas insisted that all 123 prisoners held since before the 1994 Oslo agreement be freed in a single release. A spokesman for Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu denied Haaretz’s report. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, July 9.)

 

PALESTINIAN SENTENCED FOR SELLING LAND TO ISRAELIS—(Ramallah) A 62-year-old Palestinian identified as A.Kh has been found guilty by the Ramallah Court of First Instance of selling several plots of lands to Israelis. The court sentenced the suspect to eight years imprisonment, which was reduced to five years of hard labour after the man provided the court with documents confirming the existence of a daughter with cancer that he supports at home. Palestinian sources referred to the man as a “collaborator” and enemy of the Palestinian people. Accordingly, they said, Palestinian Preventive Security had been following the man to ensure no further land was sold to Israelis to expand the “colonies”. (Gulf News, July 6.)

 

BERLIN TO INTRODUCE LAW TO ALLOW CIRCUMCISION—(Jerusalem) German Ambassador to Israel Andreas Michaelis has told a Knesset committee that Berlin will introduce legislation allowing circumcision to be practiced in the country. Speaking before the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, Michaelis said a law will be introduced overturning a recent court ruling that banned circumcision in Cologne because it violates children’s rights. During the gathering, several Israeli lawmakers voiced their disapproval of the judge’s decision last week; MK Nissim Ze’ev (Shas) said his father, a mohel [ritual circumciser] in French-occupied Algeria, risked his life during World War II to circumcise newborns “because for generations [Jews] have laid down our lives to uphold our traditions.” (Jerusalem Post, July 10.)

 

ALTALENA SOON TO BE LIFTED FROM MEDITERRANEAN—(Jerusalem) According to Herzl Makov, CEO of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, the Altalena has been located and will be lifted from the floor of the Mediterranean in a matter of months. The Altalena was a ship carrying Irgun weapons and fighters—many of whom were Holocaust survivors—to Israel in June 1948. Menachem Begin, at the time the Irgun’s commander and a future prime minister, boarded the ship as it approached Israel. The vessel was later fired upon off the Tel Aviv shore by the Palmah unit of another future prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and sunk on the orders of then-prime minister David Ben-Gurion. The ship is seen by many as a symbol of the dangers of violence between Jews. (Jerusalem Post, July 9.)

 

PERES, CITING SHABBAT, CANCELS TRIP TO LONDON OLYMPICS—(Jerusalem) Israeli President Shimon Peres has cancelled his trip to London for the Olympic Games, as the opening ceremony, which he was to attend, will take place on a Friday evening and there are no hotels within walking distance of the stadium. Accordingly, rather than publicly desecrate the Sabbath, Peres has chosen to rescind his participation altogether. Peres, while not personally observant, has in his ministerial and presidential roles always taken care to publicly observe the Sabbath and Jewish dietary laws. (Jerusalem Post, July 10.)

 

The following Short Takes were compiled by Adam Kramer,
CIJR’s “American Research Intern” (part of our general
Baruch Cohen Internships Program). He is a high school student in Boston.

SYRIA IN POSITION TO WIN SEAT ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL—(Jerusalem) Despite being steeped in crisis, Syria is poised to win a 2014 seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. Elections to the body are based on the UN’s regional groupings of countries and, according to Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, Syria is expected to run uncontested as a member of the 53-nation Asian group. Amid fears that Syria will in fact win a seat, the US and the EU already have intervened, asking the Council to pre-emptively disqualify Syria’s candidacy. However, countries including Cuba, China, and Egypt have refused, virtually guaranteeing Syria’s position on the council. (Jerusalem Post, July 6.)

 

EL AL FLIGHT GROUNDED AFTER ENGINE FAILURE—(London) El Al Flight 318 from London en route to Tel Aviv was grounded July 4, after one of the plane’s 3 engines failed and began emitting smoke at an altitude of 26,000 feet. The plane returned to London’s Heathrow Airport a mere 20 minutes after takeoff; all 390 passengers and 21 crew members landed safely, although unconfirmed reports claim one woman may have suffered a heart attack. The plane will be grounded until investigators determine the cause of the malfunction. Foul play is not suspected though it was not ruled out. (Israel National News, July 5.)

 

COLLEGE IN WEST BANK DENIED UNIVERSITY STATUS—(Jerusalem) Ariel College, located in the Ariel settlement in central Samaria, has been denied university status by Israel’s Committee for Higher Education (CHE). After years of futile attempts, the College seemed on the verge of achieving the upgraded status; however, as in previous efforts to reclassify the college, left-wing academics who oppose any Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria blocked the move, claiming that it would deal a blow to the waning peace process with the Palestinians. Although a special commission set up by the CHE to review the matter recommended that Ariel College be granted full university status, the CHE’s Committee for Planning and Budgeting decided to refrain from approving the motion. Instead, the CHE will hold “an in depth analysis” of the issue and reach a final decision in the course of 2013. (Israel National News, July 4.)