WEDNESDAY’S “NEWS IN REVIEW” ROUND-UP

WEEKLY QUOTES

“We have long refused to be neutral in supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against the violent jihadists who have threatened her for every single day of her 67-year existence…Israel is the front line among the free and democratic nations and any who turn their back on Israel, or turn a blind eye to the nature of Israel’s enemies, do so, in the long run, at their own peril,” —Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper spoke at the King David Award Gala, an event organized by the Jewish Community Council of Montreal. The group said on Facebook the Gala was designed to honour Harper, “a true, devoted and sincere friend of Israel.” (Globe & Mail, May 21, 2015)

“Hamas forces have displayed a disregard for the most fundamental rules of international humanitarian law…Torture and cruel treatment of detainees in an armed conflict is a war crime. Extrajudicial executions are also war crimes,” —Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director. Amnesty International accused Hamas terrorists of abducting, torturing, and carrying out summary executions of Palestinians during last year’s conflict in the Gaza Strip. The report said that at least 23 Palestinians were shot and killed by Hamas, while dozens more were arrested and tortured. Amnesty said those targeted were either political rivals of Hamas, or people Hamas had accused of cooperating with Israel. “In one of the most shocking incidents, six men were publicly executed by Hamas forces outside al-Omari mosque … in front of hundreds of spectators, including children…The hooded men were dragged along the floor to kneel by a wall facing the crowd, then each man was shot in the head individually before being sprayed with bullets fired from an AK-47,” the report said. (Fox News, May 27, 2015)

“What apparently happened was that the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight…They were not outnumbered. In fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force, and yet they failed to fight, they withdrew from the site, and that says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves,” — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in his first comments since the key town of Ramadi fell to Islamic State. In the wake of I.S. advances, some — including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain –have called for more American forces on the ground in Iraq. Currently, there are about 3,000 U.S. military personnel training Iraqi forces, but they are not near combat areas. (CNN, May 24, 2015)

“Today, there is nobody in confrontation with [I.S.] except the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as nations who are next to Iran or supported by Iran,” —Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of an elite unit in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Iraqi and Iranian officials reacted angrily to remarks from Ash Carter that Baghdad’s troops had been beaten by a far smaller force because they lacked motivation. Tehran responded by saying that the U.S. had not done “a damn thing” to prevent the alliance’s worst defeat. (Telegraph, May 26, 2015)

“Ramadi falls. The Iraqi army flees. The great 60-nation anti-Islamic State coalition so grandly proclaimed by the Obama administration is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it’s the defense minister of Iran who flies into Baghdad, an unsubtle demonstration of who’s in charge — while the U.S. air campaign proves futile and America’s alleged strategy for combating the Islamic State is in freefall…Iraq is now a battlefield between the Sunni jihadists of the Islamic State and the Shiite jihadists of Iran’s Islamic Republic. There is no viable center. We abandoned it. The Obama administration’s unilateral pullout created a vacuum for the entry of the worst of the worst,” —Charles Krauthammer (Washington Post, May 21, 2015)

“The longer (I.S.) is allowed to survive in Iraq and Syria, the more likely they are to attack us here at home…I think 10,000 troops would allow us to train the Iraqi army at a faster pace, give them capability that they don’t have…It will take us thousands of American soldiers over there to protect millions of us back here at home,” —U.S. Republican, and likely presidential candidate, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham criticized President Obama for not keeping a residual security presence in Iraq after troops left the country in 2011. If he was elected president, Graham said he would increase the number of U.S. troops from 3,000 to about 10,000 in order to stymie the growing threat posed by the Islamic State. (CNN, May 18, 2015)

“Only a generation removed from the Holocaust, it seems that antisemitic rhetoric and anti-Israeli rhetoric is on the rise…You have a Middle East that is turbulent and chaotic…You have Europe, where … there is an emergence of a more overt and dangerous antisemitism…And that will make people fearful…Precisely because I care so much about the Jewish people, I feel obliged to speak honestly and truthfully about what I think will be most likely to lead to long-term security, and will best position us to continue to combat antisemitism.” —U.S. President Obama, in an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg. Obama continued to insist that the Iranian regime’s antisemitism had not completely tainted its policy. “The fact that you are antisemitic, or racist, doesn’t preclude you from being interested in survival…So the fact that the supreme leader [of Iran] is antisemitic does not mean that this overrides all of his other considerations,” Obama said. He said that precisely because the stakes are so high for Iran as it nears the deadline to complete an agreement with Western powers over its nuclear ambitions, antisemitism could not be the guiding principle behind the country’s political strategy. “What we’ve been very clear [about] to the Iranian regime over the past six years is that we will continue to ratchet up the costs, not simply for their anti-Semitism, but also for whatever expansionist ambitions they may have. That’s what the sanctions represent. That’s what the military option I’ve made clear I preserve represents,” he said. (Algemeiner, May 21, 2015)

“I also raised another concern—one that the president didn’t seem to fully share. It’s been my belief that it is difficult to negotiate with parties that are captive to a conspiratorial anti-Semitic worldview not because they hold offensive views, but because they hold ridiculous views…Anti-Semites have difficulty understanding the world as it actually works, and don’t comprehend cause-and-effect in politics and economics. Though I would like to see a solid nuclear deal (it is preferable to the alternatives) I don’t believe that the regime with which Obama is negotiating can be counted on to be entirely rational,” —Jeffrey Goldberg, responding to his interview with Obama in The Atlantic (American Interest, May 25, 2015)

“Iran, with the help of Hezbollah and its friends, is capable of destroying Tel Aviv and Haifa in case of military aggression on the part of the Zionists…I don’t think the Zionists would be so unintelligent as to create a military problem with Iran…They know the strength of Iran and Hezbollah,” —General Yahya Rahim Safavi, military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Safavi said Hezbollah has more than 80,000 rockets ready to fire at Tel Aviv and Haifa. (Times of Israel, May 22, 2015)

“I do not understand this obsession against the settlements…If you are serious and you want this area to last forever as part of Israel, one way or another, you have to build, you have to add thousands of families, you have to assure it,” —Israel Harel, founder of the Jewish settlement of Ofra. The first settlement north of Jerusalem, created in 1975, Ofra is now a community of 740 families. But at 76, Harel still dreams of more. “I wanted to see a city of 30,000 here,” said Harel. There are 380,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank today, but Harel wants a million. As a journalist, academic and activist, Harel has devoted his life to the settlement movement. “We felt like the first Zionist pioneers…We were elevated…Jews walking again in the land of Israel, the land of the Bible,” he said. Harel just won the 2015 Lion of Zion Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the U.S.-based Moskowitz Foundation. (Washington Post, May 24, 2015)  

“We have given the best years of our lives to remember—to remember the tragedy of what happened. … Now we are starting to see some light from all of our efforts,” —Ilana Romano, widow of Israeli weightlifter Yossef Romano, who was murdered by Palestine Liberation Organization terrorists along with 10 other members of the Israeli Olympic team during the summer of 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany. That fateful event became known as the “Munich Massacre.” In time for the Rio Olympics in the summer of 2016, a first-ever IOC-supported official memorial telling the story of the Munich Massacre will be erected in Munich, on the grounds of the Olympic stadium. Romano adds, “Now I can rest a little because I know that I am leaving the record straight for the next generation, from a historical perspective, so hopefully history will not repeat itself.” (Algemeiner, May 26, 2015)

SHORT TAKES

ISRAELI WARPLANES STRIKE GAZA TARGETS AFTER ROCKET ATTACK (Tel Aviv) — The Israeli Air Force attacked four targets in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning, following an earlier rocket attack on Israeli territory. The IDF identified the targets, in the southern part of the coastal enclave, as terror infrastructure. The army added that it holds Hamas responsible. A rocket from Gaza exploded in the Gan Yavne region east of Ashdod, on Tuesday evening. Apart from a 15-year-old girl who suffered from a panic attack, the rocket failed to cause injuries. Tuesday’s rocket was the first mid-range rocket attack since the ceasefire went into effect on August 26 following the month-and-a-half long war with Gaza known as Operation Protective Edge. (Jerusalem Post, May 27, 2015)

ISRAELI EX-PREMIER OLMERT IS SENTENCED TO 8 MONTHS IN JAIL (Jerusalem) — Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister who was forced out of office amid allegations of corruption, was sentenced on Monday to eight months in jail for fraud and breach of trust in a case involving an American businessman. The Jerusalem District Court agreed to postpone the start of the prison sentence to allow time for an appeal on behalf of Olmert, who is already contesting a sentence for taking bribes in a different case involving the construction of a housing complex. Olmert also received on Monday an eight-month suspended sentence and was fined 100,000 shekels, or about $26,000, in the case, which was pivotal in ending his political career. (New York Times, May 25, 2015)

DORE GOLD PICKED AS NEW FOREIGN MINISTRY DIRECTOR-GENERAL (Jerusalem) — Prime Minister Netanyahu named long-time foreign policy confidant Dore Gold as Foreign Ministry director-general. Gold, a former ambassador to the United Nations and currently head of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, will be working under Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely. In recent years, Gold has accompanied Netanyahu on many of his trips to Washington and the UN, and over the years has been one of Israel’s foremost unofficial spokesmen, speaking in the media and at conferences around the world on Israeli policy. (Jerusalem Post, May 25, 2015)

NETANYAHU SAID TO OFFER ERDAN MINISTRIES, ENDING STANDOFF (Jerusalem) —Likud No. 2 Gilad Erdan will become a government minister as early as this week after ending a public battle with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the question of what cabinet position he will fill. Erdan will take over the Public Security Ministry and resume his old position as communications minister. In addition, he will head the Strategic Affairs Ministry — likely giving him a seat in the more exclusive security cabinet. A high-profile tiff between Netanyahu and the Likud no. 2 ultimately saw Erdan end up outside the cabinet and his requested ministerial positions scattered among other Likud faction members. (Times of Israel, May 25, 2015)

JEWS ARRESTED FOR PRAYING ON TEMPLE MOUNT (Jerusalem) — The Old City of Jerusalem erupted in various spates of violence over the last two days as Muslims clashed with Jews and Christians. On Monday, Israeli police arrested six Muslims and six Jews after a confrontation on the Temple Mount. Four Jews were arrested after being caught praying and two others for “causing disturbances.” The site of frequent tension, Jews are forbidden from praying of carrying out any religious act by the Muslim Waqf, who controls the site. In a separate incident on Sunday, one man was lightly injured during a massive street fight between Muslims and Christian Arabs in the Old City. The fight, which took place in the Christian Quarter, involved at least 30 people. (Breaking Israel News, May 26, 2015)

CANADA HELPS BLOCK PLAN TO RID WORLD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, CITING ISRAEL (New York) — Israel has expressed its gratitude to Canada for helping to block a major international plan towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Canada and Britain both supported the U.S. in opposing the document at the UN review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The document called on the UN to hold a disarmament conference on the Middle East by 2016. Such a conference could have forced Israel to publicly acknowledge that it is a nuclear power, something it has never done. Adopting the document would have required a consensus, but since none was reached, that means nuclear disarmament efforts have been blocked until 2020. In a weekend phone call, Netanyahu thanked Stephen Harper for what he called Canada’s principled stand. (CTV, May 25, 2015) 

NO IRAN DEAL WITHOUT FULL ACCESS TO MILITARY SITES: FRANCE (Paris) — France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday his country would not back any nuclear deal with Iran unless it provided full access to all installations, including military sites. “France will not accept (a deal) if it is not clear that inspections can be done at all Iranian installations, including military sites,” Laurent Fabius told lawmakers. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week ruled out international inspection of Iran’s military sites or access to nuclear scientists under any nuclear agreement. Iran’s military leaders echoed his remarks. (Yahoo, May 27, 2015)

WASHINGTON POST REPORTER GOES ON TRIAL IN IRAN FOR ESPIONAGE (Teheran) —The espionage trial of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian opened behind closed doors in Tehran on Tuesday, 10 months after he was arrested at his home in the Iranian capital. Rezaian has also been charged with spreading propaganda against Iran. His wife, Yeganeh Salehi, faces similar charges. Rezaian, the Post’s Tehran bureau chief, was born and raised in California, and holds dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship. Rezaian has been held mostly at Tehran’s Evin Prison, known for its particularly harsh treatment of alleged political prisoners and dissidents. (Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2015)

NEARLY 100 PEOPLE KILLED IN SAUDI-LED AERIAL ASSAULT ON YEMEN (Sana’a) —Airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital, a Red Sea naval port and a border province Wednesday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than 270 others. It was believed to be the largest single-day death toll of the 2-month-old Saudi-led aerial offensive. The Saudi-led campaign has yet to drive the insurgents from the capital or from strongholds in the strategic city of Aden in the south. Other main targets included the port of Hodeida, home to the country’s biggest naval base, which had been in the hands of the rebels and elements of Yemen’s armed forces that took up the insurgent cause. Fighting has killed some 2,000 people and imperiled thousands of others, by international estimates. (Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2015)

SAUDIS SAY I.S. ORDERED SUICIDE BOMBING OF MOSQUE (Riyadh) —The Saudi Interior Ministry said that a Saudi man taking direction from the Islamic State had carried out a deadly suicide bombing a day earlier, bolstering the group’s claim of responsibility. The ministry’s conclusion added to the sense of alarm that the group might be extending its reach inside the kingdom, which has so far largely escaped the violence engulfing Iraq and Syria. The suicide bombing on Friday killed at least 21 worshipers at a Shiite mosque in a town near Qatif, in the Eastern Province. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in an official statement. (New York Times, May 23, 2015)

AFGHAN FORCES KILL FOUR TALIBAN FIGHTERS WHO TRIED TO ATTACK HOTEL (Kabul) — Four Taliban fighters who launched a gun and grenade attack in an upscale district of central Kabul have been killed. No civilians or members of the security forces were killed in the battle. The Taliban said the target of the attack was a hotel owned by the son of Afghanistan’s former President. The terrorists singled out the Heetal Plaza Hotel because “foreign invaders” were staying there, the Taliban said in a statement. It’s the latest in a long series of Taliban attacks targeting foreigners in Afghanistan. (CNN, May 26, 2015)

MOROCCAN AUTHORITIES TAKE DOWN ISRAELI JUDO TEAM (Rabat) — The Israeli judo team that traveled to the World Masters Judo Tournament, held in Rabat, Morocco, were nearly banned from entering the country, and competed before a hostile crowd. The Israeli team’s difficulties began even before they reached Rabat. When Shin Bet officials refused to provide security for the trip, the team went to Rabat with privately funded security guards — only to have their passports confiscated once they reached the airport in Morocco. The Israeli flag was absent from the venue where the event took place, and the Israeli team was also not mentioned on the tournament’s website. The spectators waved Palestinian flags, shouted “We’re going to kill you,” and booed each time a member of the Israeli team appeared. The Israeli team won no medals in the competition. (Times of Israel, May 25, 2015)

EGYPTIAN DONS ORTHODOX JEWISH GARB IN SEARCH OF CAIRO SYNAGOGUE  (Cairo) — A journalist at Egyptian news site Dotmsr dressed up as an ultra-Orthodox Jew and walked the streets of Cairo asking locals for directions to a synagogue, and filmed it for a video uploaded to YouTube. Donning a black suit, hat, a fake beard and payot, the Egyptian man asked locals in Egyptian Arabic for directions to the “Jewish synagogue,” often eliciting shock from bystanders. “Are you Israeli?” an Egyptian man asks him, before walking away. At one point, the journalist tells a man on the street wrapped in a kaffiyeh that he is a Jew from Yemen, to which the Egyptian replies: “Great people.” Some estimates put the Egyptian Jewish community at about a dozen elderly people, mostly in Cairo and Alexandria. Watch the video here. (Algemeiner, May 22, 2015)  

NEW POLISH PRESIDENT DENOUNCED HOLOCAUST APOLOGY (Warsaw) — Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski conceded defeat after having lost to his right-wing opponent Andrzej Duda of the Law and Justice party. Notably, Duda recently criticized Komorowski for apologizing over Poland’s complicit role in the murder of Jews during the Holocaust, saying the apology was an “attempt to destroy Poland’s good name.” While Polish Jews have generally enjoyed good conditions of late, with the outgoing government being seen as largely favorable towards Israel, the Jewish issue played a role in the presidential elections and it remains to be seen how Israeli-Polish relations may possibly be impacted. (Arutz Sheva, May 25, 2015)

VENICE POLICE SHUT DOWN MOSQUE EXHIBIT (Venice) —Authorities in Venice closed a working mosque in an ex-church that was Iceland’s contribution to the 56th Venice Biennale art fair on the grounds that it was being improperly used as a place of worship. Swiss-Icelandic artist Christoph Buechel’s exhibit inside a former Roman Catholic Church, creating the first mosque ever in the historic center of Venice, sparked controversy from the outset. Iceland chose the de-consecrated Church of Santa Maria della Misericordia for the exhibit titled “The Mosque” in Venice. The project envisioned a working mosque for the seven months of the Biennale, which opened May 8. Venice city officials withdrew authorization for the installation citing violation of the terms, including a ban on using the pavilion as a place of worship as well as security concerns. (Times of Israel, May 24, 2015)

AT RISK PALMYRA TREASURES INCLUDE VESTIGES OF JEWISH LIFE (Damascus) — Evidence of Palmyra’s Jewish past during the Roman Empire, and possibly before, is among the archaeological gems at risk since the Islamic State’s takeover last week. Western archaeologists who visited the desert city in the 19th and 20th century discovered Hebrew verses etched into the door frame of a house. The Hebrew verses found in central Palmyra, northeast of its main colonnaded street, were the four opening lines of the Shema, one of Judaism’s basic prayers, and verses from the book of Deuteronomy. On the sides of the doorway were two other inscriptions in Hebrew script believed taken from Deuteronomy as well. Syria’s antiquities chief said on Tuesday that the historic city had been unharmed since insurgents seized it last week. (I24, May 26, 2015 & Arutz Sheva, May 27, 2015)