Can Israel Thread The Diplomatic Needle On Syria?: Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 10, 2018
What Would Trotsky Have to Say About the U.K.’s Jeremy Corbyn?: Terry Glavin, National Post, Apr. 11, 2018
In Gaza, a March Into the Unknown: Shimrit Meir, Globe & Mail, Apr. 13, 2018
Your Taxes are Funding Terrorists — Demand That This Stops: Patrick Dunleavy, Fox News, Apr. 16, 2018
WEEKLY QUOTES
“To Iran and to Russia, I ask: What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children?…The nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep.” — President Donald Trump. The United States and its allies launched an attack on forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a military action that Trump said would continue “until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents.” The assault began less than a week after Assad’s forces were accused of killing dozens in a chemical weapons attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus. Trump said the action was necessitated by a “significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime.” (Globe & Mail, Apr. 13, 2018)
“Let’s be clear: Assad’s most recent use of poison gas against the people of Douma was not his first, second, third, or even 49th use of chemical weapons The United States estimates that Assad has used chemical weapons in the Syrian war at least 50 times. Public estimates are as high as 200.” — U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. Haley also blasted Moscow for continuing to prevent UN action against its ally, Syria. Russia earlier this week vetoed a U.S.-drafted Security Council resolution that would have set up an investigation into chemical weapons use in Syria following an alleged toxic gas attack in rebel-held Douma. It was the 12th time that Russia has used its veto power at the council to block action targeting its Syrian ally. (Arutz Sheva, Apr. 13, 2018)
“Iran’s backing of Hezbollah and other fighter groups in Syria [causes] further problems for the Syrian people. You see Iran involved every single day in Yemen, where people are suffering there — women, children — so badly, and it’s an issue that we don’t talk about enough in the world community…So we see Iran as a destabilizing factor, and that’s one of the things this administration has chosen to do…Other administrations failed to do this in the past — look at Iran through the totality of its bad actions around the world. And we see that clear every single day in Syria, what they’re doing and the misery they’re causing.” — Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Heather Nauert. The top national security concern is the threat posed by “rogue actors continuing to create destabilization throughout the world,” Nauert said. (Algemeiner, Apr. 15, 2018)
“No matter what the price, we will not allow Iran to have a permanent [military] foothold in Syria. We have no other choice.” — Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. Such a situation would be akin to a “noose around our neck,” Liberman said. Iran and Israel traded threats following last week’s attack on the T4 Air Base in Syria that Tehran said killed seven Iranian military personnel. Liberman said he knew nothing about the air strike. “I don’t know what happened there or who attacked…Unfortunately, we see more and more attempts by Iran to establish itself in Syria, and not for humanitarian or cultural reasons. They have no intention of placing museums or cultural and educational centers there. We will do everything that is in our power to do” to block Iran from gaining control in Syria, he reiterated. Liberman recalled how in the past some Israeli politicians operated under the illusion that Israel should return the Golan Heights. “Imagine what would happen if today, God forbid, the Golan Heights were in the hands of the Assad regime. Or what would have happened if we had not destroyed the [Syrian nuclear] reactor in Deir al-Zor [in 2007]. We have clear understanding and strategy and we will do everything we have to do,” he said. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 10, 2018)
“Israel has entered a direct war with Iran…Israel is not familiar with Iran…The Israelis need to know that they are in a direct conflict with Iran. Tehran is not weak.” — Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah said that Israel made a “historic mistake” when it attacked Syria’s T-4 airbase last week. (Jerusalem Online, Apr. 14, 2018)
“It doesn’t seem like this crisis is going to develop into a direct conflict between the US and Russia…We’re not heading for an all-out war, unless Trump and Netanyahu lose it completely.” — Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem. (Jerusalem Online, Apr. 13, 2018)
“Palestinians and Jordanians are one people in two states – Jordan and Palestine. We won’t accept the idea of the transformation of Jordan into a Palestinian homeland.” — PA Chairman Abbas. Abbas said that his people have been the victims of a conspiracy “since the infamous Balfour Declaration,” and suggested the latest episode in this conspiracy is Trump’s “sinful declaration in which he alleged that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, defying with this the feelings and beliefs of hundreds of millions of Muslims and Christians and violating international law and resolutions on this matter.” Self-identified “Palestinians” make up 85% of Jordan’s population. (Jewish Press, Apr. 12, 2018)
“There is only one way to counter worryingly strengthening anti-Semitic phenomena…Europe must return to its values stemming from Judaeo-Christian traditions…The religious intolerance that threatens Europe – which is a direct consequence of the irresponsible migration policy of Brussels – has translated into unprecedented violence in the western half of the continent.” — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban’s office issued a statement a week after Orban was re-elected by a landslide to a third straight term. The right-wing nationalist premier has presented himself as the savior of Hungary’s sovereignty and Christian values against what he calls an “invasion” of Muslim migrants. His office used the occasion of Hungary’s Holocaust Remembrance Day to reiterate its strong criticism of EU migration policies. Orban has drawn strong western EU and US criticism for drafting so-called “Stop Soros” legislation that would slap a 25 percent tax on foreign donations to NGOs that the government says back migration in Hungary. Orban told state radio last month activists were being paid by Soros to “transform Hungary into an immigrant country”. (Ynet, Apr. 16, 2018)
SHORT TAKES
ISRAEL PAUSES AS MEMORIAL DAY SIREN SOUNDS (Jerusalem) — Israel ushered in Memorial Day Tuesday with a minute-long siren in tribute to 23,645 soldiers and civilians who have fallen in the country’s wars and terror attacks. Speaking at the official state ceremony at the Western Wall, Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot told bereaved families that while each individual death leaves a searing mark of pain and longing, Memorial Day is a time for joint mourning for a nation that has sacrificed its sons and daughters in the struggle for freedom. (Jewish Press, Apr. 17, 2018)
HONDURAS VOTES TO MOVE EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM (Tegucigalpa) — Honduran lawmakers passed a measure calling on the government to move the nation’s embassy in Israel from its present location in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. While the resolution is legally non-binding, it is the latest sign the Central American nation may be on the verge of joining the U.S. and Guatemala in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocating its embassy. Honduras was one of just nine countries in the 193-member United Nations General Assembly – including the US and Israel – that voted against a resolution condemning the Trump administration’s declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announcing the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem. (Arutz Sheva, Apr. 13, 2018)
MILITARY SOURCE: ISRAEL CONDUCTED STRIKE ON SYRIAN AIRBASE (Damascus) — Israel maintained its official silence over its possible involvement in an April 9 air strike on a Syrian airbase after the New York Times quoted an unnamed Israeli military source as saying Israel had carried out the raid. Syria and its main ally Russia blamed Israel for the attack, near the city of Homs, which followed reports of a poison gas attack by Assad’s forces on the town of Douma. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied mounting the raid. But officials said the Tiyas base was being used by troops from Iran and that Israel would not accept such a presence in Syria of its foe. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 16, 2018)
IRANIAN DRONE WAS CARRYING EXPLOSIVES FOR DIRECT ATTACK (Damascus) — Israel said that an Iranian drone shot down in February by its air force had explosives intended to carry out a direct attack on Israeli territory by Tehran. By intercepting the drone, the military said, “combat helicopters prevented the attack Iran had hoped to carry out in Israel.” The drone was downed on Feb. 10. It had been sighted taking off from a base in Syria and was intercepted after it crossed into Israeli airspace, the IDF said. Israeli planes then struck an Iranian installation in Syria from which, the IDF explained, the unmanned aircraft had been operated. An F-16, one of at least eight Israeli planes that had been dispatched, was hit by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile and crashed in northern Israel. (Algemeiner, Apr. 13, 2018)
IDF PREPARES FOR IRANIAN MISSILE ATTACKS, DRONE STRIKES (Jerusalem) — Israel is preparing for the possibility of a direct attack by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ air force in response to a strike on Iran’s air base in Syria earlier this month. Iranian officials have made increasingly bellicose remarks following the April 9 strike on the T-4 air base, near Palmyra, which killed at least seven members of the IRGC, including the head of its drone program, Col. Mehdi Dehghan. Israel believes an Iranian revenge attack would likely be carried out by the IRGC’s air force, with surface-to-surface missiles or armed drones. There was no indication of when such an attack might take place, though Independence Day festivities Thursday may serve as a tempting target for Iran. (Times of Israel, Apr. 17, 2018)
IDF DESTROYS ‘LONGEST AND DEEPEST’ HAMAS CROSS-BORDER ATTACK TUNNEL (Gaza) — The IDF announced it destroyed a sophisticated Hamas attack tunnel, leading from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, over the weekend. The tunnel was the “longest and deepest” underground passage discovered in Israel thus far, according to Defense Minister Liberman. It passed under the border in an area where Palestinian protesters have recently clashed with security forces. The tunnel reached “tens of meters” into Israeli territory in the area of the northern Gaza Strip, close to the Israeli community of Nahal Oz, the army said. (Times of Israel, Apr. 15, 2018)
ISRAEL FACES NEW PALESTINIAN TACTIC — ‘KITE TERROR’ (Gaza) — For the fourth time in recent days, a kite rigged with a Molotov cocktail was flown by Palestinian terrorists from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into southern Israel. Firefighters were called to a field near Kibbutz Be’eri to extinguish a blaze ignited by the “kite bomb.” The “kite terror” phenomenon began last Friday as part of the ongoing Hamas-orchestrated “Great March of Return” riots on the border. One goal of the rioters in recent weeks has been to set Israeli agricultural fields adjacent to the border on fire. (Algemeiner, Apr. 17, 2018)
REPORT: 80% OF PALESTINIANS KILLED IN GAZA CRISIS WERE ‘TERRORISTS’ (Gaza) — Around 80% of the 32 Palestinians killed by the IDF during the ongoing Gaza border crisis were terrorist operatives or identified with terrorist organizations, an intelligence report asserts. The report said that 26 of the 32 Palestinians fit into those categories. Nine of the dead Palestinians were part of military terrorist cells and four were part of Gazan security services. The other 17 were identified as connected with terrorist groups based on statements made by various terrorist groups taking credit for the loyalties or activities of those individuals, the report said. The remaining six slain Palestinians were not mentioned by any terrorist groups and are presumed to have been civilians. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 11, 2018)
LABOUR MPS PRAISE MAY OVER SYRIA STRIKES (London) — Labour MPs were cheered as they praised Theresa May for doing “the right thing” by bombing Syria, while Jeremy Corbyn was disowned from his backbenches for turning a “blind eye” to who is responsible for gassing children. The Labour leader was left isolated as his own MPs mocked him for criticising May for ordering airstrikes on Assad regime targets following a chemical weapons attack near Damascus. (Telegraph, Apr. 17, 2018)
ABBOTT USES FAKED PHOTO OF ISRAELI JET BOMBING TEHRAN (London) — Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary and one of Jeremy Corbyn’s most senior allies, has illustrated a tweet about Syria with a computer generated fake image of an Israeli jet bombing the capital of Iran. The photo, which was taken from an aviation blog, shows an Israeli F-15 fighter over Tehran, with large explosions in the background. It was created by Al Clark in 2012, accompanied by a clear explanation of what the image shows. He also included a note underneath the mocked-up photo marking it as a computer generated image which is “not a photo.” Abbott posted the image on Twitter. (Telegraph, Apr. 17, 2018)
ISRAELI LABOR LEADER CUTS TIES WITH JEREMY CORBYN (London) — The leader of the Israeli Labor party has said he will cut ties with Jeremy Corbyn over the handling of antisemitism, but would preserve the link with the party as a whole. Avi Gabbay, the chair of the centre-left Labor party, which is the main opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, said he would sever all relations with Corbyn on the eve of Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day. Relations between Labour and its Israeli sister party have deteriorated since Corbyn became leader in 2015. Gabbay is likely to be the centre-left alliance’s candidate for prime minister at the next election. (Guardian, Apr. 10, 2018)
‘I HAVE NEVER BEEN AN ANTISEMITE,’ DUBLIN MAYOR INSISTS (Dublin) — The Mayor of Dublin has denied that he is antisemitic, despite being pictured this week at a conference in Ramallah that featured the image of the Arab world’s leading collaborator with the Nazi regime, Hajj Amin al-Husseini. Mícheál Mac Donncha — who represents the Sinn Féin party, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army— said that he was essentially unaware of al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem who spearheaded anti-Jewish violence in British Mandatory Palestine during the 1920s and 1930s. Despite his presence on a blacklist for entry to Israel, a clerical error led to Mac Donncha being admitting into the country at Tel Aviv, from where he traveled to the West Bank. (Algemeiner, Apr. 13, 2018)
BRITISH WOMAN DIES FIGHTING ALONGSIDE KURDS IN SYRIA (Raqqa) — Anna Campbell is the eighth Briton and the first British woman to be killed fighting alongside Kurdish forces. She traveled to Syria last year, received military and Kurdish-language training, and joined the Women’s Protection Units, or YPJ, the all-female military forces that fight alongside the YPG. “I wanted to participate in the revolution of women that is being built up here and fight, and join the…fight against the forces of fascism and the enemies of the revolution,” she said. (New York Times, Mar. 20, 2018)
ERDOGAN CALLS SURPRISE EARLY ELECTIONS FOR JUNE (Ankara) — Turkish President Erdogan called early elections for June, meaning a new political system that will increase the powers of the president will take effect a year earlier than scheduled. Erdogan announced that elections originally scheduled for 2019 will now be held June 24. He said the new system needs to be implemented quickly in order to deal with a slew of challenges ahead, including Turkey’s fight against Kurdish insurgents in Syria and Iraq. Turkey is switching from a parliamentary system to a presidential system that abolishes the office of the prime minister and decreases the powers of the parliament, following a referendum last year. The changes take effect with the next election. (National Post, Apr. 18, 2018)
ARMED GROUPS CONTROL LIBYAN PRISONS: U.N. REPORT (Tripoli) — Armed groups in Libya are killing and torturing detainees in prisons, some nominally under government control, where thousands of civilians are being unlawfully held, the UN said. Successive governments in Tripoli have allowed the armed groups to arrest opponents, activists, journalists and politicians, while paying the fighters salaries, it said. The report said many detainees have been held without charge since the 2011 revolution that overthrew Gaddafi. Disputed elections in 2014 resulted in Libya being split between competing factions in the west and east. Political turmoil and sporadic armed conflict have led to economic collapse, giving space to militant groups, including Islamists. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 10, 2018)
DURHAM CITY COUNCIL BARS ‘MILITARY-STYLE TRAINING’ FOR LOCAL POLICE (Washington) — The city council in Durham, North Carolina, has voted to bar the city’s police department from international exchanges where officers receive “military-style training.” The vote was the outcome of a campaign by anti-Zionist groups to prevent any partnerships between the city’s police department and the Israel Police. The campaign began with a petition launched by “Jewish Voice for Peace,” which called on the City Council to “immediately halt any partnerships that the Durham Police Department has or might enter into with the Israeli Defense Forces and/or the Israel Police.” (Algemeiner, Apr. 17, 2018)
TWO-THIRDS OF MILLENNIALS DON’T KNOW WHAT AUSCHWITZ IS (Washington) — Two-thirds of American millennials surveyed in a recent poll cannot identify what Auschwitz is, according to a study released on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Twenty-two percent of millennials in the poll said they haven’t heard of the Holocaust or are not sure whether they’ve heard of it — twice the percentage of U.S. adults as a whole who said the same. Asked to identify what Auschwitz is, 41 percent of respondents and 66 percent of millennials could not come up with a correct response identifying it as a concentration camp or extermination camp. (Washington Post, Apr. 12, 2018)
COURT: JEWS ALLOWED TO CRY ‘AM YISRAEL CHAI’ ON TEMPLE MOUNT (Jerusalem) — The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court issued a precedent-setting ruling that crying “Am Yisrael Chai” (the nation of Israel is alive) on the Temple Mount is not considered prayer and thus may be performed publicly in the holy compound. Judge Mordechai Burstein ruled that the plaintiff, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was detained illegally after calling out the popular slogan on the Temple Mount and that he is entitled to compensation from the police to the tune of 6,000 shekel ($1,700). (Jewish Press, Apr. 17, 2018)
POLICE TO CLOSE 340,000 FILES IN 70TH ANNIVERSARY AMNESTY (Tel Aviv) — Israel Police will close 340,000 criminal files in honor of Israel’s 70th Independence Day. The mass amnesty will include 339,000 files involving some 300,000 individuals, including Israeli citizens, foreigners and tourists. Thirty-four thousand files involve to minors. Police stressed that the amnesty would not apply to files surrounding violent crimes, sex crimes or security offenses and would be limited to no more than two investigations per person. No amnesty will be offered to individuals facing outstanding investigations. Misdemeanor investigations will be closed for cases at least five years old. (Jewish Press, Apr. 17, 2018)
SINCE 1948 ISRAEL’S POPULATION HAS MULTIPLIED BY 11 (Tel Aviv) — Israel is currently home to 8.842 million people. Out of the 8.842 million Israelis, about 6.589 million (or 74.5 percent) of them are Jewish. With about 1.849 million members (or 20.9 percent of the total population), the Israeli-Arab population is the second-largest group. About 404,000 Israelis do not identify as Arab or Jewish. Since last year’s Independence Day, Israel’s population has grown by 163,000 people, an increase of about 1.9 percent. In the past year, about 177,000 babies were born in Israel and about 41,000 people died. In addition, 28,000 Jewish people immigrated to Israel. When Israel was established, there were only 806,000 citizens. Israel’s population is expected to reach 15.2 million by 2048. (Jerusalem Online, Apr. 16, 2018)
Can Israel Thread The Diplomatic Needle On Syria?: Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, Apr. 10, 2018—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to President Donald Trump last Wednesday in the wake of the US leader’s comments about withdrawing from Syria. Israel was concerned about changes to US policy, according to reports.
What Would Trotsky Have to Say About the U.K.’s Jeremy Corbyn?: Terry Glavin, National Post, Apr. 11, 2018—When the young war correspondent Lev Davidovich Bronstein wrote those words in 1912, the individual he had in mind was the historian and prominent Russian intellectual Pavel Nikolayevich Miliukov, leader of Russia’s liberal-left Constitutional Democratic Party.
In Gaza, a March Into the Unknown: Shimrit Meir, Globe & Mail, Apr. 13, 2018 —As the editor of an Arabic-language news site in Tel Aviv and an Arab affairs reporter for my entire adult life, I’ve been watching the recent events in Gaza – the mass protests, the attempts to breach the border – with the growing realization that as we approach the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding next week, what we’re seeing in Gaza marks an important shift in this conflict.
Your Taxes are Funding Terrorists — Demand That This Stops: Patrick Dunleavy, Fox News, Apr. 16, 2018—Tuesday is the due date for 2017 federal income tax returns – your deadline for tallying up how much of the money that you worked hard to earn all year goes to Uncle Sam to fund all sorts of important and worthwhile projects … like supporting the families of terrorist murderers. Yes, you read that right.
