Wednesday’s “News in Review” Round-Up

Netanyahu’s Remarks to the Bereaved Families of Israel: Breaking Israel News, Apr. 22, 2015

As Israel Silently Fights Terror, PA Quietly Condones It: Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn, Algemeiner, Apr. 21, 2015

Israeli Envoy Prosor Recites ‘Hatikva’ at UN in Memory of Israel’s Fallen: Jerusalem Post, Apr. 21, 2015

Taking Jihad to School – French Programs Emphasize Secularism: Abigail R. Esman, IPT News, Apr. 22, 2015

WEEKLY QUOTES

“As the threats from our enemies to destroy our homeland grow, our determination to defend our homeland grows…We saw this last summer during Operation Protective Edge, such courage, unity and sacrifice…We saw also lone soldiers who came from the Diaspora to serve in the IDF and were killed in the war. They left family and a comfortable life abroad and chose to join fighting units. They said this is our home and we came to defend it,” —Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mourning the loss of Israel’s fallen soldiers in Jerusalem Wednesday. “When it hurts and your grief is painful, take solace in the fact that your sons and daughters fell to ensure the existence of the nation. There is no future for the Jewish people without the state of Israel…We salute the heroism of the fallen,” Netanyahu said, before laying a wreathe in memory of the soldiers. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 21, 2015)

“How sanctions are lessened, how we snap back sanctions if there’s a violation, there are a lot of different mechanisms and ways to do that,” —U.S. President Barack Obama. The negotiators, Obama said, need to “find formulas that get to our main concerns while allowing the other side to make a presentation to their body politic that is more acceptable…Our main concern here is making sure that if Iran doesn’t abide by its agreement, that we don’t have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops in order to reinstate sanctions…That’s our main concern.” Iranian leaders have insisted in recent days that sanctions be lifted as soon as a written accord is signed. Obama did not repeat past U.S. assertions that sanctions would be removed only in phases as Tehran follows through on obligations to scale back its nuclear facilities.  Instead, he suggested that negotiators seek a solution that would seem “more acceptable” to Iran’s political constituencies, while preserving leverage to force the government to abide by the deal. The timing of sanctions relief is the main sticking point in nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 that resumed this week in Vienna. (New York Times, Apr. 17, 2015)

“I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell this framework will get approved by Congress after review…It is so weak in a time we need to be strong,” — Republican Senator, and presidential hopeful, Lindsey Graham. “I don’t think any Republican or Democrat is going to allow that to become final,” he added.  Graham said the agreement lacked “anytime, anywhere” atomic inspections and more restrictions on Iran’s nuclear reactors. “At the end of the day, you can’t lift sanctions until the behavior of Iran changes,” he added. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 19, 2015)

“Our lesson from Holocaust Day is a persistent battle against Iran…The free world failed confronting Germany. We won’t let it fail against Iran. Betar will keep standing upright against any murderous enemy and remind the world  of its role. The battle for Jerusalem is also the battle for Paris free of terror.” — Neria Meir, the leader of Betar World Movement. Members of Betar in Paris marked Holocaust Memorial Day protesting in front of the Iranian embassy in France, blocking the entrance to the building holding the Israeli flag and signs against the nuclear deal crystallizing between the world powers and Iran, calling: “Never Again.” (Jerusalem Online, Apr. 17, 2015)

“The jihadist terrorists who proclaimed a so-called caliphate in the Middle East have declared war on Canada and Canadians by name…In response, we have taken up the fight both overseas and here at home,” — Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver, while presenting the budget to the House of Commons on Tuesday. The Conservative government expects to spend more than $360 million on Canada’s fight against the Islamic State over the next 12 months. That is on top of the $122 million already spent on the war, bringing the total to nearly half a billion dollars. The revelation is contained in the federal budget, making the war against I.S. Canada’s most expensive military mission since Afghanistan. (Ottawa Citizen, Apr. 21, 2015)

“We don’t have months and months…The double risk of an advance of the Islamic State group in Libya and the waves of migrants means we are in a race against the clock,” —Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian foreign minister. At least nine Christian refugees drowned in the Mediterranean when they were thrown overboard by Muslim migrants on a boat sailing from Libya to Italy. Fifteen Muslim migrants, believed to be from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali and Guinea Bissau, were arrested by police, accused of having thrown the Christians from Ghana and Nigeria into the sea after the fight broke out. Gentiloni said it might be necessary to take military action against I.S., which was worsening the security situation in parts of Libya. Gentiloni raised the prospect of “targeted anti-terrorist strikes” against I.S., as well as action against people smuggling gangs. (National Post, Apr. 17, 2015)

“The anti-Semitic trend as well as certain acts of hatred and violence in Europe are alarming…Every Christian must be firm in condemning all forms of anti-Semitism,” —Pope Francis, at a meeting with a delegation of ten rabbis from the Conference of European Rabbis (CER). Referring to the Nostra Aetate, a Vatican document that was published 50 years ago and which expresses respect for other religions including Judaism, the pontiff stressed that interfaith dialogue has progressed “systematically for nearly half a century…Both Jews and Christians have a responsibility to help keep mankind and society’s religious sense – which demonstrates the sanctity of human life – alive,” he said. The pope also paid tribute to the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Elio Toaff, who passed away Sunday at the age of 99 in Rome. (I24, Apr. 20, 2015)

“I have not always gone out with an Israeli flag but this last Saturday we did. We met many people from Israel and spoke with them and also informed many others of the facts regarding the land of Israel…So many people believe the lies and propaganda they are being fed about Israel. This is why I go out with my Israeli flag, to encourage Jewish and Israeli people, and to speak with others [who] will listen about the truth in regards to Israel,” —Stan Kamps, a Canadian-born pastor of an English-language Baptist church in the Dutch city of Almere. Last Saturday, Kamps took to the busy Amsterdam streets with members of his church and a large Israeli flag. On April 8, the European Jewish Association launched a solidarity campaign to fight antisemitism in Europe. The campaign, headed by Rabbi Menachem Margolin in Brussels, calls on non-Jewish Europeans to wear Jewish symbols to show their opposition to rising antisemitism. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 21, 2015)

“War has never been the choice of the state of Israel. Our choice is, as it always was, the path of peace. But when war and terror are forced upon us, we will not surrender and we will not back down. For nearly 2,000 years, we were stateless and powerless in the face of hatred and indifference. Those days are no more, the Israeli envoy vowed…On Thursday Israel will celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day), our 67th anniversary as a free and independent Jewish state. With great joy, with heads held up high, we will celebrate the realization of the words of our national anthem “Hatikva,” —Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor. Prosor recited the opening words of Israel’s national anthem “Hatikva” during a meeting on the Middle East at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, as a way of honoring the memory of Israel’s fallen soldiers on the occasion of Remembrance Day. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 21, 2015)

SHORT TAKES

IN MEMORIAM – REMEMBERING THE FALLEN HEROES OF THE IDF (Jerusalem) — Every year on Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, the country commemorates its fallen victims of terrorism and war. Counting from the year 1860, when Jews were first allowed to live outside of the Old City walls of Jerusalem, Israel commemorates 23,320 casualties of war and terror. Since the last Yom Hazikaron, 116 people have died, 67 of them in Operation Protective Edge. According to statistics released by the IDF ahead of Yom Hazikaron, 131 parents, 11 widows, and 187 siblings lost a loved one this past year. 16,760 “bereaved families” are mourning the loss of a loved one this year, with 9,753 parents mourning their children, 4,958 widows mourning their husbands, and 2,049 orphans mourning their parents, all of whom fell in action protecting Israel. (Breaking Israel News, Apr. 22, 2015)
 

TERRORIST CONFESSES TO DELIBERATELY TARGETING JEWS WITH CAR (Jerusalem) — “I wanted to murder Jews,” 37-year-old Arab man Khaled Koutineh, who drove his car into a bus stop in Jerusalem’s French Hill junction last week, reportedly told the Shin Bet security agency. The Shin Bet had suspected that the April 16 incident, which killed Shalom Yohai Sherki, 26, and seriously injured Shira Klein, 20, was a terrorist attack, but also pursued leads suggesting an accident. Koutineh, who holds an Israeli ID card, told investigators that he was driving around Jerusalem in his car “looking to murder Jews” over what he called his “miserable life,” saying he and several of his relatives had been detained at a security checkpoint in eastern Jerusalem. (JNS, Apr. 21, 2015)

PA MINISTERS LEAVE GAZA AFTER HAMAS PLACED THEM ON HOUSE ARREST (Gaza City) —PA ministers who arrived in the Gaza Strip earlier this week returned to the West Bank after Hamas imposed severe restrictions on their movements and contacts. Palestinian sources said Hamas had placed the ministers under house arrest in their hotel, preventing them from receiving or talking to anyone. The ten ministers were dispatched to the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian Authority government’s effort to solve the problem of thousands of public employees who have not received their salaries for several months. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 20, 2015)

ISRAEL AND THE PA REACH TAX DEAL (Jerusalem) —  Israel and the Palestinian Authority have reached an agreement to resolve a months-long dispute over the transfer of tax revenue Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians. Israel said it would transfer about $470 million collected over the last four months, after deductions to help cover Palestinian debts to Israeli utility companies. The money had accrued since Israel suspended the payments in January in response to the Palestinian move to join the International Criminal Court. Israel announced in March that it would release three months of tax revenue amid fears that the impoundment of the money was undermining stability and endangering Israel’s well-being. (New York Times, Apr. 18, 2015)

SAUDIS WILL SCALE BACK ITS MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN YEMEN (Riyadh) —Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it is scaling back its military intervention in Yemen, after more than three weeks of punishing airstrikes failed to drive back the Shiite rebels that have plunged the Arabian Peninsula nation into chaos. Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri announced that the coalition led by Saudi Arabia would begin a new operation in Yemen that focuses on addressing a worsening humanitarian crisis, combating terrorism and finding a political solution to the fighting. The change in direction comes amid rising doubts among Riyadh’s allies over the objectives and fallout of the conflict, which has further destabilized Yemen, helping radical groups such as al-Qaeda expand their influence there. (Washington Post, Apr. 21, 2015)

I.S. OFFSHOOT POSES NEW SECURITY THREAT IN AFGHANISTAN (Kabul) — Even by the grim standards of Afghanistan, the attack was shocking: A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vest in a crowd of people at a bank. The bombing on Saturday in Jalalabad killed 35 people in what appeared to be the first major operation claimed by militants in Afghanistan loyal to I.S. Until recently, these terrorists largely limited their efforts to recruitment and propaganda. Saturday’s attack marked a shift to carrying out terrorist attacks in the region. The pro-Islamic State group that claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack called itself the Province of Khorasan, following a pattern of other offshoot groups that have recently cropped up calling themselves the Province of Tripoli in Libya or the Province of Sinai in the Egyptian desert peninsula. (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 19, 2015)

I.S. MURDERS 30 ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIANS IN LIBYA (Tripoli) —Islamic State has released a video apparently showing the murder of Ethiopian Christians in Libya. The footage bears chilling echoes of an earlier mass murder by the group, in which at least 20 Egyptian Christians were beheaded on Libya’s northern shore. The video said the victims were Christians belonging to “the hostile Ethiopian Church”. I.S. gained a foothold in Libya last year. It has declared the establishment of three branches in the North African country, uniting disparate groups of Islamists under its banner. The group’s latest video ends with a warning that Christians will not be safe unless they embrace Islam or pay protection money. (Telegraph, Apr. 20, 2015)

EX-PRESIDENT MORSI SENTENCED BY EGYPT COURT TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON (Cairo) — An Egyptian court sentenced ousted President Mohamed Morsi to 20 years in prison without parole on Tuesday for the killing of protesters in December 2012. The fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 paved the way for what was unthinkable for decades – the Brotherhood ruling the most populous Arab country. However, Morsi’s handpicked army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, toppled him in 2013, bringing Egypt’s secular-nationalist state security apparatus and intelligence service back to power. Prosecutors argue that Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders had encouraged the violence and so are responsible for the bloodshed. Morsi and his co-defendants deny the charges. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 21, 2015)

‘KING OF CLUBS’ IZZAT AL-DOURI REPORTEDLY KILLED IN IRAQ (Baghdad) — One of Saddam Hussein’s last surviving henchmen has been killed near the northern city of Tikrit after helping to mastermind Iraq’s insurgency, officials said. The body of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who spent 24 years as Saddam’s deputy on the Revolutionary Command Council, was discovered on a battlefield after he was killed by Iraqi soldiers and allied Shia militiamen, according to Raed al-Jubouri, the governor of Salahuddin province. Douri, 72, was one of “12 terrorists” who died, added Mr Jubouri. Douri evaded capture for 12 years after Saddam’s downfall, reinventing himself as the leader of the Naqshbandi Order, one of Iraq’s main Sunni insurgent groups dedicating to fighting the Shia-led government. More recently, Douri allied with the terrorists of the Islamic State. (Telegraph, Apr. 17, 2015)

MAJOR IRANIAN NEWS OUTLETS PUBLISH UPDATED ANTISEMITIC BLOOD LIBEL (Teheran) — Over the past two weeks, many Iranian websites have reproduced a long article accusing Jews of murdering gentile children in their synagogues, draining their blood and mixing it in their matzoh for Passover. Perhaps the most prominent site was news site Alef, under the title “What group has been the biggest criminals in the history of mankind?” It goes through many countries and lists every Jewish blood libel. It claims that the reason Jews were expelled from Spain was because of their habits of murdering Christian babies. The article even reproduces a cover of Der Sturmer from 1939 showing the Nazi paper accusing Jews of ritual murder as evidence that it must be true. (Algemeiner, Apr. 19, 2015)

OSKAR GROENING, FORMER AUSCHWITZ GUARD, TELLS TRIAL HE SHARES MORAL GUILT  (Munich) — A former Auschwitz guard acknowledged Tuesday that he bears a share of the moral guilt for atrocities at the camp, but told judges at the opening of his trial that it is up to them to decide whether he deserves to be convicted as an accessory to murder. Oskar Groening, 93, acknowledged having helped collect and tally money as part of his job dealing with the belongings stolen from people arriving at Auschwitz. That earned him the moniker “Accountant of Auschwitz.” Groening faces 300,000 counts of accessory to murder at the trial. Attorney Thomas Walther, who represents Auschwitz survivors and their families, spoke about the Oskar Groening trial at CIJR on Jan. 27, 2015. (CBC, Apr. 21, 2015)

NAZI CHANTS AT DUTCH SOCCER GAME (Utrecht) — It was a beautiful day for soccer in the Dutch town of Utrecht as the local team, FC Utrecht, kicked off against Ajax Amsterdam. As the game slowly played out on the field, however, things in the stands quickly got ugly. “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas,” sang a section of the home supporters towards the fans visiting from Amsterdam, a city historic in part for its Jewish community. “My father was in the commandos, my mother was in the SS, together they burned Jews, because Jews burn the best!” FC Utrecht issued an apology as Jewish organizations demanded action by soccer authorities. A study by Kick It Out, a British organization devoted to combating racism, revealed that there were 59 reported instances of antisemitism during the first half of this season. That was more than during the entire previous season. (Washington Post, Apr. 10, 2015)

SECRET MEETING OF HOLOCAUST DENIERS CONVENES IN HEART OF LONDON (London) — A large international conference of Holocaust deniers recently took place in the heart of London, Britain’s Daily Mail reported. The event was held under a veil of secrecy at London’s Grosvenor Hotel.  Nazi Pedro Varela, 57, was described by the paper as the star speaker of the event. According to the report, Varela was arrested in Austria in 1992 for praising Hitler, and on the dictator’s centenary he declared to a supportive crowd in Madrid that, “There were never any gas chambers in Auschwitz.” On Saturday the Mail said there were calls from Jewish community leaders for police to investigate the group for race hate crimes. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 19, 2015)  

ELIO TOAFF, SPIRITUAL LEADER OF ITALIAN JEWS, DIES AT 99 (Rome) —Elio Toaff, the chief rabbi of Rome for half a century, who as a leader of Italian Jewry during its revival after World War II helped forge more amicable relations between Jews and the Vatican, died on Sunday in Rome. He was 99. Born on April 30, 1915, in Livorno, Toaff was the son of Livorno’s chief rabbi. A fighter in the Italian resistance during World War II, he helped hide Jews after the Germans occupied northern and central Italy in 1943 and began mass deportations to concentration camps. Rabbi Toaff was at one point captured by the Nazis and sentenced to die by firing squad but he managed to escape. After the war he served as chief rabbi of Venice, and he was chosen as spiritual leader of the Jews of Rome in 1951. Toaff is perhaps best known for the invitation to Pope John Paul II to pray with him in Rome’s central synagogue, an act that cemented his international legacy. (New York Times, Apr. 20, 2015)

TEVA PROPOSES $40 BILLION ACQUISITION OF COMPETITOR MYLAN  (Tel Aviv) — Israeli generic pharmaceuticals giant Teva on Tuesday offered to buy its competitor Mylan for roughly $40 billion, but the deal is by no means guaranteed to move forward. Teva offered to buy all outstanding Mylan shares for $82, some 48 percent above its March 10 price, in a half-cash, half-stock deal that it said would lead to $2b. in cost savings. Scooping up the 489.4 million shares of the NASDAQ-traded company that were outstanding as of Tuesday would put the deal at $40.13b. It would be the company’s largest acquisition by far and, according to The Wall Street Journal, the largest US acquisition of 2015. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 22, 2015)

BIDEN TO ATTEND ISRAELI INDEPENDENCE DAY EVENT AT EMBASSY (Washington) — US Vice President Joe Biden will attend the main event in celebration of Israel’s 67th Independence Day at the Israeli Embassy in Washington on April 23rd, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer announced on Thursday. The visit will be the first time in the past seven years that the Vice President of the United States will be participating in the annual event at the Embassy. In light of the recent tensions between Israel and the U.S. Biden’s attendance carries extra significance, particularly in light of allegations that Amb. Dermer played a role in heightening tensions. When Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited to address Congress last month, officials in Washington attacked Dermer, blaming him for the invitation and for failing to give the White House ample notice. (Algemeiner, Apr. 16, 2015)

AT 67, ISRAEL HOME TO 8.3 MILLION PEOPLE (Tel Aviv) — On the eve of its 67th Independence Day, Israel’s population stands at 8.34 million people. The 6.25 million Jewish residents of Israel represent 74.9 percent of the population, while the 1.73 million Arabs make up 20.7% of the population. Residents without any official religious affiliation and members of other religions make up 4.4% of the population. In 2014, 75% of the Jewish residents were born in Israel, as compared with 35% in 1948. When the State of Israel was established in 1948, the population numbered 806,000, and Tel Aviv-Jaffa was the only city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. There are now 14 such cities, six of which are home to more than 200,000 people: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Ashdod and Petah Tikva. (Times of Israel, Apr. 21, 2015)