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  

 

On Iran, Let’s Get Serious: David Harris, Huffington Post, Aug. 16, 2015

Syria’s New Diplomacy: Jonathan Spyer, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 15, 2015

Why Kurdish Independence Is the Only Solution for the World: Ayub Nuri, Time, Aug. 14, 2015

Foreign Ministry: Spanish Festival’s Boycott of US Jew Matisyahu Proves BDS is Anti-Semitic: Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 16, 2015

 

“Let anyone who tries to harm IDF soldiers, border police or citizens of Israel know, that his blood would be on his own head. The struggle against Palestinian terrorism, both organized and by individuals, is complex and requires an iron fist, patience and good judgment—and this is how we operate.” — Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Over the Sabbath, two Israeli security officers were stabbed in separate attacks. The first attack came when an IDF soldier was stabbed by an Arab north of Jerusalem. The second occurred during a routine security check near the Huwara checkpoint. An Arab pulled out a knife and stabbed a police officer in the back. Security personnel shot the attacker. The injured terrorist later died of his wounds. (Jewish Press, Aug. 15 & Jewish Press, Aug. 16, 2015)

 

“The leader of Iran, Khamenei, said yesterday, and I quote ‘we will use all means to support all those who fight Israel’…Iranian foreign Minister Zarif said a few days ago in Beirut after meeting the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, that the nuclear deal has provided a historic opportunity against the Zionist entity.” — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. These comments, he said, bear out as “accurate and true” what Israel has been saying all along: “The money that will flow to Iran as a result of the [nuclear] accord will go to strengthen the terrorist organizations that work against us.” (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 18, 2015)

 

“Syria is the golden ring of resistance against the Zionists.” —Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to official Iranian media, Velayati also said that the “resistance axis” of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories is “not only to fight against the dominance of foreigners in their countries” but also to roll back US hegemony. Velayati said that the Western powers are conspiring to divide Syria after “failing in its military aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq.” (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 16, 2015)   

 

“This week came one more revelation of how single-minded this administration has ‎been on turning Iran into its new partner. We now know that then-Senator John ‎Kerry was sent off to woo the Iranians in 2011, when Holocaust denier Mahmoud ‎Ahmadinejad was still president, rather than the ostensibly more moderate ‎Hassan Rouhani, who followed. So negotiations had nothing to do with Iran ‎showing a new face and opening to the West. Kerry came with an opening offer ‎that Iran could continue its nuclear enrichment even if a deal were struck. In other ‎words, if you like your nuclear program, you keep your nuclear program. There is ‎nothing like giving up everything in the store before the thugs enter to hold you up.” ‎— Richard Baehr (Israel Hayom, Aug. 16, 2015)

 

“In a speech at American University defending the deal Obama stooped to new lows far beneath the dignity of the office of the presidency, savaging deal opponents as warmongers and saying that “those hardliners chanting ‘Death to America’” in Iran were “making common cause with the Republican caucus. Shockingly, his diatribe also was replete with coded innuendos employing standard anti-Semitic themes involving implied disloyalty and nefarious influences related to money and power.  One can only imagine the sting of his words on members of his own Democratic party, especially those Jewish Members of Congress who have publicly stated their opposition to this deal based on its merits or lack thereof.” — Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 13, 2015)

 

“In [NYT columnist Thomas] Friedman’s liberal view, the way to win over our adversaries is to forsake our friends. Needless to say, that’s not how he put it. Friedman’s argument was that if we support those Iraqis who prefer democracy and secularism, especially if they’re expatriates returning from the West, it will only engender resentment against us. We’ll be seen as occupiers or colonizers trying to export our values and influence. The Iraqis we support will seem like our stooges. On the other hand, if we throw our weight behind those who represent Muslim and/or Arab nationalism, any theocratic or nationalistic state they establish is less likely to bear us ill will. In time, who knows, such a home-grown Iraqi state may even begin to see the values of democracy and secularism, and develop them indigenously. This was the liberal New York Times position then, as it seemed to me, and still is today.” —George Jonas (National Post, Aug. 14, 2015)

 

“The Israelis have taken to heart lots of lessons over the last 70 years. They have concluded that often the world quietly wants Israel to deal with existential threats emanating from the Middle East while loudly damning it when it does. They have learned from the experience of the Holocaust that, for good or evil, Jews are on their own and can never again trust in the world’s professed humanity to prevent another Holocaust. And they are convinced that they can also never again err on the side of the probability that national leaders, with deadly weapons in their grasp, do not really mean all the unhinged things they shout and scream about killing Jews. Given all that, we should conclude that any deal that leads, now or in the near future, to an Iranian bomb is unacceptable to Israel — a nation that will likely soon have no choice but to consider the unthinkable in order to prevent the unimaginable.” — Victor Davis Hanson (National Review, Aug. 4, 2015)

 

“Turkish people: Fight against the friends of the devil. There is no doubt that [the] devil’s order is weak… Let us all embrace God’s way… Altogether and under the orders of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi … let’s conquer Istanbul, which the traitor Erdogan works day and night to hand over to crusaders.” — “A Message to Turkey” video produced by ISIS in Raqqa. The messenger in the video is a Turk who proclaims allegiance to I.S., urging Turks to rebel against “infidel” President Erdogan. He accuses the Muslim president of “selling the country to Crusaders” and giving the U.S. access to Turkish air bases “just to keep his post.” (Jewish Press, Aug. 18, 2015)

 

“Growing up in Egypt, my entire country had opinions about Israel, and none of them were positive…I arrived to Israel knowing only what I had learned in the movies and in the media. So, at the airport, when the security official asked why I decided to come here, I half-joked, “I always heard the Jews are bad people, and I came to see this for myself.”… I expected to find that people here were unfriendly, and especially unhappy to meet Egyptians. I was pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite… And the diversity I found here was as surprising as the warmth of the people…How fascinating is it to be in a country where you can to go a beach and see a Muslim woman, a gay couple kissing, and a Hassid sharing the same small space? Where else can you find a Christian Arab whose apartment is decorated in posters of Mao and Lenin? Where else can you see a Beduin IDF soldier reading the Koran on the train during Ramadan?…To be sure, my experience here has been defined by the unexpected.” — Haisam Hassanein, an Egyptian-born student, in his recent commencement speech at Tel Aviv University. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 16, 2015)

Contents

 

DANNY DANON APPOINTED ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UN (Jerusalem) — Prime Minister Netanyahu has appointed Minister of Science, Technology and Space Danny Danon (Likud), to be the new Israeli Ambassador to the UN. He’ll be replacing Ambassador Ron Prosor. Danon and Netanyahu haven’t always had the smoothest of relationships. Danon began in the Knesset in 2009 and was a deputy defense minister in the previous government, until Netanyahu fired him following their open dispute during Operation Protective Edge. Over the years, Danon challenged Netanyahu a number of times for key positions in the Likud party, including the premiership. (Jewish Press, Aug. 14, 2015)  

 

ISRAELI COURT TO RULE ON RELEASE OF PALESTINIAN STAGING HUNGER STRIKE (Jerusalem) — The Israeli Supreme Court was to rule on the release of a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for two months in protest of his incarceration, after last-minute negotiations on Wednesday appeared to falter. Lawyers for the prisoner, Mohammad Allan, could not obtain his consent on a tentative offer that would have granted him freedom by early November because his mental state had deteriorated and he was no longer capable of making decisions, said Issa Qaraqe, the Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs. Allan, a 31-year-old lawyer who has not eaten since June 16 to protest his indefinite incarceration without known charges, had presented a particularly challenging case because his fast entered a critical phase just as Israel passed a law last month that allowed the force-feeding of hunger strikers. (New York Times, Aug. 19, 2015)

 

ARAB BANK REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH US VICTIMS OF HAMAS ATTACKS (New York) —Jordan’s Arab Bank settled a case with hundreds of plaintiffs that could be worth billions of dollars. It comes nearly a year after the New York jury found the $46 billion bank liable; four months after the bank lost a shot at a retrial; days before a damages trial was set to start; and 14 years after some of the terrorist attacks in question took place. The highly public trial lasted five weeks and revisited some of Hamas’s worst attacks, including the 2001 Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem that killed or wounded 130, and a range of 24 other terrorist attacks during the second intifada. (Jerusalem Post, Aug. 15, 2015)

 

TURKEY’S LEADERS MEET WITH HAMAS IN ANKARA (Ankara) — Turkey’s President Erdogan welcomed international Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal to Ankara last week. Senior Turkish officials joined the meeting, which reportedly focused on Turkey’s role in providing support to the Palestinian Authority. Meshaal also met with Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. A statement released in Gaza by a Hamas official said that a delegation led by Meshaal briefed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Qatar at a recent meeting between the two men during which Lavrov reportedly invited Meshaal to Moscow. (Jewish Press, Aug. 13, 2015)

 

ELECTIONS SEEM LIKELY IN TURKEY AS I.S. THREAT RISES (Ankara) —  Prospects for a period of instability in Turkey increased after attempts by the dominant party to form a new coalition government officially ended in failure. The development helped create the basis for President Erdogan to call for a new election, which would mean the installation of a temporary government just as Turkey is facing new threats from Islamic State (I.S.) in neighboring Syria and a re-energized Kurdish insurgency at home. An I.S. video released on Monday called for Turkish Muslims to revolt against the president. On Wednesday, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported that Kurdish rebels detonated a bomb on a road in southeast Turkey, killing at least eight soldiers. (New York Times, Aug. 18, 2015)  

 

RUSSIA TO SHIP AIR DEFENSE MISSILE BATTERIES TO IRAN WITHIN WEEKS (Moscow) — Moscow is close to inking an agreement that would expedite the transfer of several of its S-300 missile units to Iran. The air-defense batteries will help extensively to secure Iran’s military and nuclear sites against airstrikes. Russia has had the S-300s ready for Iran since 2010, but had agreed to not sell the regime the sophisticated technology following international pressure. But Russia has reneged on its promise, and the new missile shipment will be delivered shortly after the two sides finalize the deal. President Vladimir Putin unilaterally lifted the ban on the S-300 sale in April following the interim agreement negotiated between world powers and Iran. (Breitbart, Aug. 18, 2015)

 

SYRIA AIR STRIKES KILL NEARLY 100 (Damascus) — The death toll in Syrian government air strikes on a rebel-held town outside Damascus neared 100 on Monday. Sunday’s raids on Douma, in the rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta, were among the bloodiest regime attacks in Syria’s four-year war. They came almost exactly two years after devastating chemical weapons attacks on the same region that much of the international community blamed on the Syrian government. Eastern Ghouta, a rebel bastion regularly targeted by government air strikes, has been under a suffocating siege for nearly two years. (Yahoo, Aug. 17, 2015)

 

I.S. BEHEADS ANTIQUITIES SCHOLAR IN ANCIENT TOWN OF PALMYRA (Damascus) — I.S. beheaded one of Syria’s most prominent antiquities scholars, 81-year-old Khaled al-Asaad, in the ancient town of Palmyra, then hung his body from one of the town’s Roman columns. Since I.S. overran Palmyra in May, there have been fears the extremists, who have destroyed famed archaeological sites in Iraq, would demolish the 2,000-year-old Roman-era city at the edge of the town — a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the Mideast’s most spectacular archaeological sites. The Sunni extremist group, which has imposed a violent interpretation of Islamic law, believes ancient relics promote idolatry. (Globe & Mail, Aug. 19, 2015)

 

I.S. SUSPECTED OF USING CHEMICAL WEAPON  (Damascus) — I.S. likely used mustard agent against Kurdish forces in Iraq this week in the first indication the militant group has obtained banned chemicals. The officials said I.S. could have obtained the mustard agent in Syria, whose government admitted to having large quantities in 2013 when it agreed to give up its chemical-weapons arsenal. The use of mustard agent would mark an upgrade in I.S.’s battlefield capabilities, and a worrisome one given U.S. intelligence fears about hidden caches of chemical weapons in Syria, where I.S. controls wide swaths of territory. The attack in question took place about 40 miles southwest of Erbil in northern Iraq. (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 13, 2015)

 

I.S. ‘MEIN KAMPF’ BLAMES ISRAEL FOR GLOBAL TERRORISM (Damascus) — Intelligence officials are comparing a newly discovered secret I.S. document to Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” as it blames Israel for the rise of I.S. and crowns President Obama as the “Mule of the Jews.” Found in Pakistan’s remote tribal region, the 32-page Urdu language document promotes an “end of the world” battle as a final solution. It argues that the Islamic leader should be recognized as the sole ruler of the world’s Muslims, under a religious empire called a “caliphate.” The document discloses the history of I.S. dating back to the early 1990s. (Arutz Sheva, Aug. 16, 2015)

 

BANGLADESH POLICE ARREST THREE MILITANTS TIED TO BLOGGER DEATHS (Dhaka) — Bangladeshi police arrested three alleged Islamists, including one they said is a British citizen, in connection with fatal assaults on atheist bloggers that have stirred fears of mounting extremism in this mostly Muslim country. Authorities in Dhaka said the men belonged to the banned terror group Ansarullah Bangla Team, which police say has links to international jihadist organizations and had admitted involvement in planning and carrying out machete attacks that killed two writers critical of Islam earlier this year. In February, prominent Bangladeshi-born American writer Avijit Roy was hacked to death after he left a book fair in Dhaka. Ananta Bijoy Das, a supporter of Mr. Roy, was killed in a similar manner in May. (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 18, 2015)

 

OSAMA BIN LADEN’S SON ‘CALLS FOR ATTACKS ON THE WEST’ (Jerusalem) —Al-Qaeda has released a message, purportedly from Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza, calling for attacks on London and other western cities. The audio recording is the first such message from Hamza bin Laden, who is believed to be either 23 or 24 years old. He had not previously been put forth as an al-Qaeda spokesman, but he has been touted as a future leader of the terror network. In the message, a man al-Qaeda claim is Hamza calls for Jihad against America and its allies. He specifically suggests London, Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv as targets for attacks. (Telegraph, Aug. 14, 2015)

 

CTV ISSUES CLARIFICATION: ISRAELI OFFICER DIDN’T STAB PALESTINIAN (Toronto) — On August 16, CTV News Anchor Brad Giffen erroneously claimed that an Israeli officer had stabbed a Palestinian to death. Giffen stated the following: “A funeral was held today for a Palestinian man who was killed after a stabbing by an Israeli security officer…The man stabbed by an officer in the back while he was doing a routine security check, another near-by officer opened fire and killed the attacker. It was the second stabbing attack on an Israeli security official on Saturday.”  Contrary to what CTV reported, the Palestinian man was the one who stabbed the Israeli officer, and not the other way around. CTVnews.ca confirms the veracity of this information via an AP article on August 15 which says: “Israeli military and police shot two Palestinians, one fatally, after separate stabbing attacks on security forces in the West Bank on Saturday, authorities said…” (Honest Reporting, Aug. 18, 2015) 

 

UCC PASSES ISRAEL DIVESTMENT RESOLUTION (Barcelona) — The United Church of Canada (UCC) passed a resolution during its 42nd General Council encouraging divestment from Israel in order “to address the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories by the State of Israel.” The new resolution called for “initiating and developing a program of education and advocacy in cooperation with our partners, related to divestment from and economic sanctions against all corporations and institutions complicit in and benefiting from the illegal occupation,” according to the UCC 42nd General Council website. The UCC is Canada’s largest Protestant denomination, with more than two million members. In 2012, the organization passed a resolution boycotting settlement-produced goods. The statement also urged members to discourage “tourism which bolsters the oppression of Palestinians.” (Times of Israel, Aug. 12, 2015)

 

SPANISH FESTIVAL RE-INVITES MATISYAHU (Barcelona) —A Spanish music festival that disinvited Jewish American reggae singer Matisyahu over his refusal to endorse a Palestinian state apologized and extended a new invitation to the singer to perform. The Rototom Sunsplash reggae festival said it rejects any form of discrimination and anti-Semitism. The new invitation asks Matisyahu – the stage name of the ex-ultra-Orthodox artist whose real name is Matthew Miller – to perform in his originally planned slot at the festival. “We respect the Jewish community and sincerely apologize for what happened,” the festival organizers said in a statement. The statement blamed the local anti-Israel group BDS País Valencià, which campaigned to cancel Matisyahu’s invitation, for “pressures, threats and coercion” efforts that threatened to “seriously disrupt the normal functioning of the festival” and “prevented the management of the situation with clarity.” (Times of Israel, Aug. 19, 2015)  

 

91-YEAR-OLD ISRAELI WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN RUNNING FOR SENIORS (Lyon) —Three months after being named European champion, 91-year-old Israeli long-distance runner Semion Simkin won the world championship for senior runners in Lyon, France. Simkin finished the 6.2-mile race with a time of 1:20:01. A day earlier, Simkin won the silver medal in the 3.1-mile race. “…I hope that in the future I will still have the strength to continue and to bring honor to Israel,” Simkin said after his victory. Simkin, who was born in Belarus and survived the Holocaust, is a father of two, grandfather of four, and great-grandfather of six. Despite being legally blind, he prefers competing without any concessions on his behalf. (Algemeiner, Aug. 11, 2015)

 

IDF, CIVILIAN VICTIMS MEMORIALIZED IN 75 TORAH SCROLLS (Jerusalem) — The victims of last year’s war in Gaza were memorialized in a special event at the Western Wall in which 75 Torah scrolls were dedicated in their memory. Each Torah will be sent to memorial sites across the country to commemorate Israel’s fallen. At the event, one of Israel’s most iconic photos was reenacted when a historic Torah scroll was brought once again to the Western Wall. The photo shows the army’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, holding a Torah scroll while blowing a ram’s horn (shofar) following the liberation of the Temple Mount from Jordanian control during the Six Day War. The same scroll carried by Goren was once again able to visit the Temple Mount some 48 years later in the hands of Israel’s current defense minister. (Breaking Israel News, Aug. 13, 2015)

 

On Topic Links 

 

On Iran, Let’s Get Serious: David Harris, Huffington Post, Aug. 16, 2015 —The Iran deal is perhaps the most consequential foreign policy issue in a generation. Yet the debate over it has too often fallen short of what’s needed.

Syria’s New Diplomacy: Jonathan Spyer, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 15, 2015 —As the civil war over the ruins of Syria grinds on into its sixth year, the fighting seems nowhere near an end.

Why Kurdish Independence Is the Only Solution for the World: Ayub Nuri, Time, Aug. 14, 2015 —Even we Kurds are tired of the West rushing in to save us from Iraq. How long will the rest of the world tolerate this?

Foreign Ministry: Spanish Festival’s Boycott of US Jew Matisyahu Proves BDS is Anti-Semitic: Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 16, 2015 —If you plan on going to the Sunsplash Rototom Reggae Festival in Spain this week, you better not speak the language of the Hebrewman. If you do, they might kick you out.