WEDNESDAY’S “NEWS IN REVIEW” ROUND-UP

 We welcome your comments to this and any other CIJR publication. Please address your response to:  Rob Coles, Publications Chairman, Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, PO Box 175, Station  H, Montreal QC H3G 2K7 – Tel: (514) 486-5544 – Fax:(514) 486-8284; E-mail: rob@isranet.wpsitie.com

 

 

 

On Topic Links  

 

After Deal, Europeans Are Eager to Do Business in Iran: Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, Aug. 1, 2015

The Vienna Accord Only Postpones Confrontation with Iran: Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, BESA, Aug. 5, 2015

Israel Faces a Rise in Jewish Terrorism: Ben Caspit, Al-Monitor, Aug. 3, 2015

Jewish Athletes Under Siege in Germany: Prof. Phyllis Chesler, Arutz Sheva, Aug. 5, 2015

 

“When I met with Secretary of State John Kerry in his office this past Friday, it was apparent that he was in an exceedingly feisty mood, and it’s not easy to display feistiness when you’re trapped, as he was, in a recliner. Kerry, who broke his leg two months ago, will be rid of his crutches soon, which for him is not soon enough, because he’d prefer to do battle in Congress for the Iran nuclear agreement—quite obviously the crowning achievement, in his mind, of his long and distinguished career in public life—with two good legs. Congress is the target of Kerry’s feistiness, as is his close friend and staunch adversary, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is leading the charge against congressional ratification of the deal. In the course of a lengthy and freewheeling interview…Kerry warned that if Congress rejects the Iran deal, it will confirm the anti-U.S. suspicions harbored by the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and eliminate any chance of a peaceful solution to the nuclear conundrum.” — Jeffrey Goldberg. Read the interview here. (Atlantic, Aug. 5, 2015)

 

“We recently witnessed two abhorrent crimes…I have instructed security and law-enforcement officials to use all legal means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and deal with the stabber and the arsonists to the fullest extent of the law.” — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sixteen-year-old Shira Banki, one of six people wounded when a knife-wielding ultra-Orthodox man attacked a gay pride parade in Jerusalem, succumbed to her wounds Sunday. Meanwhile, the parents and brother of Ali Dawabsheh, a Palestinian toddler killed Friday when extremists set fire to the family’s home, remain in critical condition in Israeli hospitals. (Globe & Mail, Aug. 2, 2015)

 

“These flames, which are consuming all of us, cannot be extinguished with weak condemnations [by politicians]. These flames cannot be extinguished with solidarity rallies. Not even with this rally.” — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Rivlin has taken the lead in expressing public remorse for these attacks and has come under death threats as a result, his staff said Sunday. Speaking at an anti-violence rally in Jerusalem Saturday night, Rivlin warned that the flames of hatred, violence and “false, distorted and twisted beliefs are spreading through the land,” and that Israel could no longer afford to continue dismissing these attacks. (Globe & Mail, Aug. 2, 2015)

 

“In all the years (and this week it’s exactly 14 years) since our daughter was murdered, we have not found a single Arabic-language post, article, tweet or speech condemning that attack in the center of Jerusalem or the killings. We don’t say there have been none, and don’t claim perfect knowledge. But we look for them all the time … and have not found them – and we very much do want to be wrong on this. On the other hand, there is an endless supply … of the opposite in the opinion columns, on Twitter and Facebook…” — Frimet & Arnold Roth, whose fifteen year-old daughter Malki was murdered in the Jerusalem Sbarro massacre, 2001. (Jewish Press, July 31, 2015)

 

“We live this commitment every day, it’s something we do for Israel on a daily basis…We have a ally relationship with Israel and the word ally means something to us. It means that if you are attacked, we will defend you.” —US defense official Ernest Moniz. Moniz told a visiting delegation of Israeli diplomatic reporters that Israel’s status as a US ally means that the US will offer it the same defense it would any NATO ally. He said that the US is “appalled” by Iranian leadership’s call to destroy Israel mere days after the signing of the deal. “This is not the way a country should behave in today’s world. But that does not mean that we shouldn’t sign an agreement that reduces the risk of Iran becoming a nuclear state…We do not expect Iran to radically change its behavior following the agreement. We are trying to deal with the nuclear issue and bring it to a level of transparency and visibility.” (Breaking Israel News, Aug. 4, 2015)

 

“Russia and Iran are the two biggest supporters of the regime [in Syria]… There may be an opportunity with Iran as the deal is implemented to pursue a similar conversation.” — A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because public comment had not been authorized. Administration officials say U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is hopeful that once the nuclear accord is solidified, he will be able to begin talking with the Iranians about ending their support for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Obama has already spoken to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, about removing Assad, the official said. (New York Times, July 31, 2015) 

 

“Regardless of how the P5+1 countries interpret the nuclear agreement, their entry into our military sites is absolutely forbidden. The entry of any foreigner, including IAEA inspectors or any other inspector, to the sensitive military sites of the Islamic Republic is forbidden, no matter what… Israel does not dare to attack Iran. The moment it initiates such a thing, important Israeli cities will be razed to the ground.” — Ali Akbar Velayati, Security Adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader. (Jewish Press, Aug. 3, 2015)

 

“The Obama administration has just legitimized and bolstered Israel’s arch-enemy while claiming to care for Israel. There are columnists (many of them Jewish) who write about Israel mostly when they have negative things to say, yet they still proudly wear the mantle of being pro-Israel. There are American organizations (such as J Street) that support goals that barely any Israeli agrees with, that nevertheless flaunt the pro-Israel label. Mr. Oren’s book is controversial because he had the chutzpah to hint that a vague definition of the alliance — so vague that it allows one ally to make deals that infringe on the other ally’s ability to defend itself — is not truly an alliance. He had the audacity to propose that when something as grave as the agreement with Iran is on the line, the facade that all pro-Israel positions are the same becomes dangerous. It gives individuals and institutions the luxury of holding on to the pro-Israel label while promoting policies that are highly damaging to it.” — Shmuel Rosner (New York Times, July 23, 2015) 

 

“We believe that a world in which there is a deal with Iran is much more likely to produce an evolution in Iranian behavior than a world in which there is no deal.” — Benjamin J. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, just before the nuclear deal with Iran was announced. (New York Times, July 31, 2015) 

 

“This secretary of state, Kerry, negotiated with them for a year-and-a-half and accomplished nothing. He ought to give us back for all the trips he made. He cost us millions of dollars in airplane fares and he came back with nothing except a bad foot.” — Legendary Jewish comic Jackie Mason. Mason joined the list of critics of the nuclear deal signed between world powers and Iran, jesting that New York restaurants face a harsher inspections regime than Iran’s nuclear facilities will under the terms of the agreement. “Do you know that in the restaurants of New York, they have an inspection system. You can surprise any restaurant without notice that you can walk in and inspect them… So we are protected in this city from a bad tuna fish.  We’re not protected from a bomb but we’re protected from a bad quality of a tuna fish,” Mason joked. (Jerusalem Post, July 26, 2015)

 

“Mild sarcasm is about the worst [liberal comedian and host of “The Daily Show” Jon] Stewart can hurl at Obama, but he called conservative columnist Robert Novak a “vampire demon” and George W. Bush an “a–hole,” and mocked the heart transplant that saved Dick Cheney’s life as “more of a heart plant when you don’t have an original.”… One of Stewart’s first viral moments was his 2004 appearance on CNN’s “Crossfire,” when he accused the hosts of “hurting America. You’re partisan — what do you call it — hacks.” He might have used his talents to evade this charge himself, but instead, he allowed himself to be seduced by power. He sold out. He dined with those he should have been dining upon.” — Kyle Smith. Stewart has been secretly taking trips to the White House to receive intense one-on-one lobbying from President Obama. Moreover, Politico reported Tuesday, “Daily Show” staffers routinely call up the White House to get the administration’s input. Jon Stewart’s last episode of “The Daily Show” will air on August 6, 2015. (New York Post, July 29, 2015)  

Contents

 

ISRAEL DETAINS MEIR KAHANE’S GRANDSON (Jerusalem) — Meir Ettinger, the grandson of assassinated Israeli-American far-right activist Meir Kahane, will be kept in detention following his arrest Monday in connection to extremist activity. The Shin Bet security service said it arrested Ettinger for “his involvement in a Jewish extremist organization.” The agency has accused Ettinger of heading an extremist movement seeking to bring about religious “redemption” through attacks on Christian sites and Palestinian targets. Security authorities did not accuse Ettinger of direct involvement in last week’s firebombing attack on a Palestinian home in Duma village the West Bank, in which a toddler was burned to death, but the Shin Bet had linked him to the arson attack on the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes last month. (Times of Israel, Aug. 4, 2015)

 

HAMAS DEMANDS SUICIDE ATTACKS AGAINST JEWS (Jerusalem) — Hamas called for attacks against IDF soldiers and “settlers” last Friday shortly after an Arab infant was killed in an arson attack at the village of Duma in Samaria, but now the group is stepping up its incitement and demanding that suicide bombings be deployed. A senior Hamas leader in Gaza said that residents of “the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem” need to attack not only Israel, but also the PA Security Forces who are “traitors and collaborators.” Hamas has long demanded that the PA drop its security collaboration with the IDF. (Arutz Sheva, Aug. 3, 2015)

 

JEWISH WOMAN SEVERELY BURNED, 2 MORE INJURED IN YET ANOTHER ARAB FIREBOMBING ATTACK (Jerusalem) — Three people were injured Monday night from a Molotov cocktail that was thrown at their vehicles on Route 20 in the direction of Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem. A 27-year-old woman was seriously wounded and two others were only slightly wounded. The young woman was evacuated by MDA paramedics to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center with 25% 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over her body. She was fully conscious and in stable condition. The young woman’s husband managed to escape from the vehicle unharmed. (Jewish Press, Aug. 4, 2015)

 

KURDISH MILITANTS TARGET MILITARY OUTPOST WITH DEADLY BOMBING (Ankara) — Militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) killed two soldiers and wounded 31 in a suicide attack in eastern Turkey, as violence escalated following Ankara’s air bombardment targeting Kurdish militants. PKK militants drove a tractor filled with explosives into a military outpost in the Dogubeyazit district of the eastern Agri province bordering Iran, the army said in a statement. The PKK also attacked a unit on patrol in the southeastern province of Mardin, killing one soldier and wounding seven. The PKK announced it was stepping up attacks in mid-July over what it said were ceasefire violations, but has responded with yet more violence since Turkey began a campaign of air strikes on PKK camps in northern Iraq on July 24. (Globe & Mail, Aug. 2, 2015)

 

FLORIDA MAN PLOTTED ISIS-INSPIRED BACKPACK BOMBING AT BEACH (Miami) — A 23-year-old Florida man faces terrorism charges after federal agents thwarted his alleged plot to detonate a backpack bomb at a public beach in Key West. Harlem Suarez, also known as Almlak Benitez, was arrested following a three-month investigation by the FBI. He first came to the attention of authorities after promoting ISIS on Facebook, according to the Department of Justice. Posting as Amlak Benitez, Suarez requested help making bombs. Suarez considered himself a member of ISIS, and said that the terrorist organization was coming to the U.S. to fight its enemies. (Huffington Post, July 29, 2015)

 

NEO-NAZI GROUP LOSES APPEAL TO INHERIT ESTATE OF CANADIAN WHITE SUPREMACIST  (Saint John, NB) — The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has barred a neo-Nazi group from inheriting the estate of a white supremacist Canadian man. The court confirmed the decision to prevent the National Alliance, a violent West Virginia-based neo-Nazi group, from receiving a collection of coins and artifacts worth about $250,000. Harry Robert McCorkill, a retired professor from Saint John, N.B., left his valuable possessions to the hate group in his will before he died in 2004. They included Greek and Roman coins, Nazi memorabilia and a human skull. McCorkill joined the National Alliance in 1998. (National Post, July 30, 2015)

 

ARGENTINA TO SHECHEM: NEW IMMIGRANT JOINS SOLDIERS ON FRONT LINE (Jerusalem) —The important and challenging task of protecting the city of Shechem (Nablus) and its surrounding area no longer is just a man’s job. The Home Front Command made history by welcoming the first female soldiers to guard the line in Nablus. Female combat soldiers make up 30% of the force in the newly co-ed David Company and are serving in the volatile area of Shechem, where last month the IDF seized several Palestinian Authority weapons caches. One of the women is Sgt. Jatemliansquy, who was born in Argentina and enlisted in the IDF a year and a half ago, after making Aliyah. She is part of the Search and Rescue unit. Watch her video here. (Jewish Press, Aug. 4, 2015)

 

ISRAEL RAILWAYS LAYS NEW TRACKS FOR HIGH-SPEED TRAIN TO JERUSALEM (Jerusalem) — The long-planned and long-delayed high-speed train between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is getting closer Israel Railways has begun to lay tracks for the western section of the line in the Ayalon Valley, west of Jerusalem. The target date for launching passenger train on the new line is January 2018, 17 years after construction began. The project is costing approximately $2 billion and includes five tunnels and 20 bridges. Israel Railways also announced that the new passenger line between Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon will begin operations in September. (Jewish Press, Aug. 4, 2015)  

 

PROSECUTORS CHARGING ANJEM CHOUDARY WITH SUPPORTING TERRORISM (London) — British prosecutors are charging one of the country’s most controversial Islamic preachers with supporting terrorism for comments published online allegedly praising Islamic State. A lawyer who has been a frequent British talk show guest, Choudary holds some religious views similar to those of radical Islamic terror groups. Britain’s chief prosecutor in charge of terrorism crimes said that a lengthy investigation has resulted in enough evidence to secure a conviction under the Terrorism Act of 2000 for Choudary and one of his supporters. Choudary supports the fundamentalist strain of Islamic teaching known as Salafism and believes that Muslims can only attain a state of purity by living in a nation that is based on religious law, known as Shariah. (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 5, 2015) 

 

UK SCHOOLS TEACHING ‘PRO-PALESTINIAN EXTREMIST AGENDA’ (London) — An “extremist agenda” is being taught to children as young as three, it has been claimed, with the UK’s National Union of Teachers accused of “spreading political propaganda” in classrooms by promoting Palestinian “resistance”.  The NUT has designed and promoted a teaching resources pack which asks teachers to explore themes of Palestinian “occupation, freedom and resistance”.  The resource pack, titled “My Name is Saleh”, and a video were launched at the NUT annual conference in April. However, concerns have been raised that the resource pack gives a “one sided” and “divisive” view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Telegraph, Aug. 3, 2015)

 

CALLS FOR GERMANY TO CONDEMN ‘JEW BAITING’ AT MACCABI GAMES (Berlin) — The Simon Wiesenthal Center called on German Justice Minister Heiko Maas on Monday to condemn outbreaks of antisemitism at the Maccabi Games. In a letter to the minister, Dr. Shimon Samuels, the center’s director for international relations, protested what he called “the Jew-baiting of Maccabi athletes at the Berlin Games.” Writing on Twitter, Burmester asked, “What are these Jewish sports festivals?” and added, “Have the Jews had their own Olympic games since ’36?” Maccabi’s return to Berlin, to the very stadium built for Adolf Hitler, was to have been a vindication of the united democratic Federal German Republic. Instead, the Jewish contestants had to be warned not to wear Stars of David or kippot for fear of violence,” Samuels wrote. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 4, 2015) 

 

STRONG POPULAR SUPPORT FOR ‘JEW-FREE’ ROMANIA, SURVEY SUGGESTS (Bucharest) — Nearly a quarter of Romanian respondents on a survey on Jews said their country should have no Jewish residents. The results of the survey among 1,000 Romanian adults were published last week by the Elie Wiesel National Institute for Holocaust Studies in Romania. Eleven percent described Jews as “a problem for Romania” whereas 22 percent said they would like them only as tourists. Romania used to have a Jewish population of over 750,000 before its pro-Nazi regime, led by Ion Antonescu, collaborated in the murder of about half of Romanian Jewry in the Holocaust. His troops also massacred 120,000 Jews in present-day Ukraine. Those Romanians who survived the Holocaust mostly left for Israel and now Romania has only a few thousand Jews, mostly living in Bucharest. (Ha’aretz, Aug. 5, 2015)

 

SURVIVORS APPEAL TO POPE TO INTERCEDE WITH GERMANY OVER HOLOCAUST REPARATIONS (Rome) — An organization representing American Holocaust survivors wrote to Pope Francis last month to request that the Vatican intercede with Germany in order to secure greater funding for the tens of thousands of survivors living in poverty around the world, but hasn’t yet heard from the Vatican. “We are asking you, Your Holiness, to intervene directly to persuade today’s Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to provide the promised, owed and much needed compensation which was first promised by Chancellor Adenauer in the 1950s ‘to care for survivors until their last breath’” the letter explained. Around 45,000 survivors in Israel live below the poverty line, according to the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel’s 2014 annual assessment. (Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2015)

 

RUINS OF GREAT SYNAGOGUE OF VILNIUS DISCOVERED (Vilnius) — A ground-penetrating radar survey carried out in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, discovered the remains of the Great Synagogue, which was destroyed by the Nazis seventy years ago. The elaborate structure was built in the 17th century; at its center was a large space used to study Torah and celebrate community events. The complex housed another twelve synagogues, religious schools, ritual baths, the Jewish community council building, kosher meat vendors, and the famed Strashun Library. In June 1941, the city of Vilnius was overrun by the German military, which ransacked the complex. Over three years of Nazi occupation, the vast majority of the city’s Jewish population was murdered. Upon the Red Army’s return in 1944, a modern school was built on top of the synagogue’s ruins. (Ynet, July 29, 2015)

 

On Topic Links 

 

After Deal, Europeans Are Eager to Do Business in Iran: Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, Aug. 1, 2015 —Before the ink was even dry on the Iran nuclear deal, European leaders and executives were heading to the airport to restart trade with an Iranian market described in almost feverish terms as “an El Dorado” and potential “bonanza.”

The Vienna Accord Only Postpones Confrontation with Iran: Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, BESA, Aug. 5, 2015 —The Vienna agreement has made the situation more complex and dangerous, not less so. Even if Iran completely abides by the terms of the agreement, when restrictions and sanctions come to an end fifteen years hence, it will emerge much stronger, militarily and economically.

Israel Faces a Rise in Jewish Terrorism: Ben Caspit, Al-Monitor, Aug. 3, 2015 —Israel is in shock. On July 30, Yishai Shlissel, an ultra-Orthodox extremist, burst into a gay pride parade in Jerusalem.

Jewish Athletes Under Siege in Germany: Prof. Phyllis Chesler, Arutz Sheva, Aug. 5, 2015—Jewish athletes, from all over the world, who have assembled in Germany for the Maccabi Games, are being taunted and attacked by Muslims, neo-Nazis, and leftists.