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Open Letter to the French President: A Palestinian Journalist in Ramallah, Gatestone Institute, Jan. 14, 2015— Dear Mr. President, First, I wish to express my deep condolences over the killing of innocent citizens in the recent terror attacks in Paris.
Hamas: “Zionist Lobby” to Blame for New Charlie Hebdo Cover: Lea Speyer, Breaking Israel News, Jan. 15, 2014— Governments and Islamic authorities across the Middle East have denounced the latest issue of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo after its decision to depict the Prophet Mohammed on its cover.
Containing the Jihadi State: Clifford D. May, National Post, Jan. 16, 2014— Let’s get a few things straight: The slaughter of eight satirical journalists (among others) in Paris last week was not a tragedy. It was an atrocity.
Are Jews Safe in Europe?: Benjamin Weinthal & Asaf Romirowsky, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 15, 2015 — Last week's terrorist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris underscored a fear that has been growing in recent years: Europe is no longer safe for Jews.
Why Canada’s Media Won’t Show the Charlie Hebdo Pictures: Chris Selley, National Post, Jan. 13, 2015
Rising Fears Among French Jews in Wake of Terror Attack: Reporter’s Notebook: Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, Jan. 15, 2015
‘France Without Jews Is Not France’: New York Times, Jan. 13, 2015
France? For Jews, ‘C’est Terminé’: Norman Lebrecht, National Post, Jan. 13, 2015
OPEN LETTER TO THE FRENCH PRESIDENT
A Palestinian Journalist in Ramallah
Gatestone Institute, Jan. 14, 2015
Dear Mr. President,
First, I wish to express my deep condolences over the killing of innocent citizens in the recent terror attacks in Paris. Second, I want to apologize to Your Excellency for not revealing my true identity. After you read my letter, you will realize why people like me are afraid to reveal their real identity. I decided to write to you this letter after hearing my president, Mahmoud Abbas, declare that you had invited him to attend the anti-terror rally in Paris earlier this week.
Like many Palestinians, I see President Abbas's participation in a rally against terrorism and assaults on freedom of speech as an act of hypocrisy — a condition that is not alien to Palestinian Authority leaders. In fact, many Palestinians nearly fell off their chairs upon seeing their president march in the front row of a rally in your capital, in protest against terrorism and assaults on freedom of the media. President Abbas's participation in the rally is an insult to the victims of the terror attacks. It is also an insult to Western values, including freedom of expression and democracy.
Your Excellency, myself and other journalists living under the rule of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank were the first to be offended by the invitation you extended to President Abbas to attend the anti-terror rally. Undoubtedly, you are unaware of the fact that Abbas is personally responsible for punishing Palestinian journalists who dare to criticize him or express their views in public. Of course, Your Excellency, we cannot blame you for being unaware of this assault on public freedoms because the mainstream media, including French newspapers and magazines, deliberately turn a blind eye to these practices. Every day we see that the Western media does not care about such violations unless they are committed by Israel. That is why, Your Excellency, you are probably unaware of the cases of several Palestinian journalists who have been arrested and intimidated by President Abbas's security forces over the past few years. Yes, this is the same Abbas who came to Paris to express his condolences over the brutal killing of the Charlie Hebdo journalists.
The most recent example of Abbas's crackdown on Palestinian journalists occurred shortly before Your Excellency phoned President Abbas to invite him to Paris. The case involves my female colleague, Majdolin Hassouneh, who was detained for "extending her tongue," or insulting, President Abbas. Your Excellency, please allow me to tell you that you are completely mistaken if you ever thought that President Abbas and his Palestinian Authority are tolerant toward satire or any form of criticism. And of course, you haven't heard of the Palestinian Authority's decision to cancel the only popular satirical show on Palestine TV, Watan ala Watar (Country on a String). The show was forced off the air in 2011 because President Abbas believed it had "crossed a line" by mocking his top officials in Ramallah. This is the same Abbas who came to Paris to protest the massacre at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
And, Your Excellency, if you want further evidence of President Abbas's clampdown on political satire, you can ask Palestinian comedians Abdel Rahman Daher and Mahmoud Rizek. The two men are currently in Jordan because they are afraid to return to the West Bank. No, Your Excellency, they are not afraid to return home because of Israel. They are afraid of being arrested by President Abbas's security forces, which accuse the two men of insulting their leader. President Abbas, Your Excellency, should be the last person to walk in a march honoring journalists who were massacred because of their satirical work. His participation in the Paris rally is not only in an insult to the memory of the slain journalists, but to all those who believe in freedom of expression and media.
I also want to bring to the attention of Your Excellency that while President Mahmoud Abbas was attending the rally in Paris, a human rights group published a report accusing the Palestinian Authority of "waging war" against university students in the West Bank. According to the report, 24 students have been arrested in recent weeks by Abbas's security forces for "political reasons." Again, I'm sure Your Excellency did not hear about the crackdown on university campuses because Western media outlets and foreign journalists based here do not report about such stories. You read and hear about such incidents only when the Israeli army or police are involved. I do not want to take much of your time, Your Excellency, by telling you about President Abbas's double standards and hypocrisy on the subject of terrorism. You can learn a lot about this by going on the Internet and seeing, with your own eyes, how our president often condones and glorifies terrorism and terrorists.
You will even discover that our president, who will soon celebrate his 80th birthday, is prepared to stay awake all night to welcome Palestinians released from Israeli prison for murdering Jews and committing terror attacks no less serious than the ones your country experienced last week. You will also discover, Your Excellency, that our president also rewards terrorists by granting them monthly salaries and other privileges. What would be your reaction, Your Excellency, if someone decided to reward financially the families of the terrorists who massacred the innocent civilians in Paris? Your Excellency, perhaps it is now too late to talk about the decision to invite President Abbas to the anti-terror rally. The damage has already been done, as far as I and many Palestinians are concerned. The way we see it is as follows: President Abbas has once again managed to deceive you and the rest of the international community by placing himself on the side of the good guys in their fight against terrorism and extremism. Even worse, President Abbas has managed to create the false impression that he cares about freedom of speech and independent journalism.
Undoubtedly, now Palestinians like me will now pay a heavier price because President Abbas has been emboldened by his participation in the Paris rally. President Abbas will now step up his assaults on public freedoms because he knows that the international community will only see photos of him marching together with Your Excellency and other world leaders in defense of freedom of expression. By extending the invitation to President Abbas, you have caused damage to Palestinians like me who have been hoping that someone — maybe even a leader like you — would finally expose the dictatorship of the Palestinian Authority for what it is. President Abbas's participation in the Paris rally is a severe blow to people like me who are genuinely opposed to terrorism and suppression of free speech.
Your Excellency, now that the damage has already been done, all that is left for people like me is to beg you to take all what I have said into account in your future dealings with President Abbas. Please do not hesitate to raise these issues with President Abbas the next time he requests your support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Otherwise, France will be helping to establish another corrupt and repressive Arab dictatorship — one that glorifies and rewards terrorists no different from those who carried out the Paris attacks. Finally, Your Excellency, I hope that by now you understand the reason why I am too scared to reveal my identity. Sincerely, A Palestinian Journalist with No Name or Voice
HAMAS: “ZIONIST LOBBY” TO BLAME FOR NEW CHARLIE HEBDO COVER
Lea Speyer
Breaking Israel News, Jan. 15, 2015
Governments and Islamic authorities across the Middle East have denounced the latest issue of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo after its decision to depict the Prophet Mohammed on its cover. Egyptian religious authority Dar al-Iftaa said on Tuesday that the new cartoon is “an unjustified provocation to the feelings of the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, who love and respect the prophet.” A spokesperson from the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on the French publication but was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg report, “We disapprove of provocative moves and this weekly’s undertaking is insulting and will provoke the feelings of Muslims.”
The Gaza-based Hamas terror group denounced the French magazine, asserting that its publication was part of a global conspiracy led by the anti-Muslim “Zionist lobby.” “We condemn the latest publication of Charlie Hebdo, which has caricatures offending the Prophet Mohammed,” spokesman Fawzi Barhoum stated, according to Channel 10 news. “The way the Israeli newspapers have dealt with the issue, with the blessing of the US secretary of state, is clear evidence that there is a plot, directed by the Zionist lobby, targeting Muslims, their culture, and the tolerance toward them by Western countries.” Barhoum added that the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo is “a dangerous act.” He said that “all these campaigns against Islam, the Muslims and the Prophet Mohammed must end.”
The new issue of Charlie Hebdo is the first publication of the magazine following a terror attack last week carried out by radical Islamist Cherif and Said Kouachi. In total, 12 people were killed in the attack. The brothers declared the attack as revenge for the various time the weekly magazine has published cartoon depicting Mohammed….
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
Clifford D. May
National Post, Jan. 16, 2015
Let’s get a few things straight: The slaughter of eight satirical journalists (among others) in Paris last week was not a tragedy. It was an atrocity. And while you may have been shocked by the attack on Charlie Hebdo, anyone who was surprised has not been paying close attention to the events unfolding over recent decades.
In 1989, 10 years after the start of Iran’s Islamic Revolution — always intended as a global revolution — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini began to set down the Islamic laws he expected both Muslims and non-Muslims to follow — not just in Iran but everywhere on Earth. He forbade criticism of the Koran and the Prophet and issued a fatwa calling for the execution of Salman Rushdie, a British subject, for having written a novel that, in his eyes, was “against Islam.” European leaders had a choice: They could have stated forcefully that no foreign leader — religious or political or, in this case, both — would be permitted to restrict European freedoms. They could have conveyed that message by suspending diplomatic relations, imposing economic sanctions or threatening military action. Instead, they advised Mr. Rushdie to lay low and employ bodyguards.
Such fecklessness soon became routine. To take but one example: A year ago, the 32-year-old Iranian poet, Hashem Shaabani, a member of Iran’s Arab minority, was hanged. He had not mocked Mohammad or made fun of the Koran. Indeed, it is not clear what he did to incur the ire of Iran’s rulers. All we know is that he was found guilty of Moharebeh: war against God, as well as “sowing corruption on Earth.” We also know that his death sentence was approved by Iran’s president, the “moderate” Hassan Rouhani. Though some human rights organizations issued strongly worded statements, Western apologists for the clerical regime were unmoved. Nor did Western diplomats revise their approach to Iran, their ardent quest to achieve détente with the Islamic Republic. Within months, President Obama was expressing confidence that “Iran can play a constructive role” in regard to the conflict in Iraq. And, as I write this, Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian is rotting in an Iranian prison. Incarcerated since July, “the specifics of the charges are still unknown,” according to the Post. He has been denied access to an attorney and to diplomats representing American interests. What impact do you think his imprisonment is having on other Western journalists in Iran, on their ability to report without fear or favour?
There’s much more. And all of it should be weighing heavily on the minds of the members of the new United States Congress. A bill to be introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (a Democrat) and Sen. Mark Kirk (a Republican) would re-impose tough sanctions on Iran, if — and only if — Iranian intransigence continues to prevent progress in the long, drawn-out talks aimed at verifiably dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons program. President Barack Obama does not want this legislation to appear on his desk and he is likely to issue a veto if it does — unless a supermajority in Congress is prepared to override him. Congress also might consider the U.S. government’s negotiating track record over recent years. Talks aimed at stopping North Korea from developing nuclear weapons failed. The “reset” with Russia gave away much in return for little. Most recently, President Obama granted the Castro brothers the recognition they have long sought in exchange for nothing of significance. Iran’s negotiators do not expect to walk away from the table having achieved less for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The ubiquitous “Je suis Charlie” declarations and last Sunday’s “World Leaders March Against Terrorism” in Paris were heartening. Truth be told, however, any number of the leaders who participated are hostile to free speech and friendly to terrorists. The massacre in Paris, like the continuing butchery in Nigeria, the “cleansing” of Christians from almost every corner of the Middle East, and the exterminationist war being waged against Israel, the only country in the region not ruled by Muslims — these are all dots that, when connected, form a bloodier picture of radical, revolutionary and supremacist Islam than any ever drawn by a Charlie Hebdo cartoonist. In a not dissimilar context, Churchill said: “This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of the bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year, unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.” Will world leaders, the UN and the media take such a stand? Or, having shown solidarity on the streets of Paris for a day, will they revert to appeasement, prevarication, self-delusion and submission?…
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
Benjamin Weinthal & Asaf Romirowsky
Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 15, 2015
Last week's terrorist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris underscored a fear that has been growing in recent years: Europe is no longer safe for Jews. The continent has seen 13 deaths related to lethal anti-Semitism since the summer of 2012. In addition to the four hostages killed last week in France at HyperCacher, four people were shot to death at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in May, and five Israeli tourists died when their bus was bombed in Bulgaria in July 2012. In addition, Jews were the target of 40 percent of all racist crimes in France in 2013, according to the European Jewish Congress and Tel Aviv University. One example: Late last year, assailants broke into a Jewish couple's apartment on the outskirts of Paris. They raped a woman, tied up the couple, and demanded, "Tell us where you hide the money. You Jews always have money." Last summer, eight synagogues, many packed with Jews, were attacked by mobs of demonstrators. Roger Cukierman, the president of France's Jewish umbrella association CRIF, said, "They are screaming, 'Death to the Jew.' "
In Britain, the number of anti-Semitic incidents increased by 36 percent between January and June. In Germany, tens of thousands of protesters attacked Israel and Jews in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and other major cities during the height of last summer's military operation in Gaza. A young Palestinian was arrested for firebombing a rebuilt synagogue in Wuppertal in July. The first synagogue had been burnt to the ground during Kristallnacht, the Nazis' wave of violence against Jews in 1938. "There is a startling indifference in the German public to the current display of anti-Semitism," said Samuel Salzborn, a scholar at the University of Göttingen. It can be no surprise then that Amedy Coulibaly, the Islamist gunman responsible for the attack at the kosher market, told French journalist Sarah-Lou Cohen that he choose this store "because he was targeting Jews." Danny Cohen, the director of BBC Television, captured the widespread fear among European Jews: "And you've seen the number of attacks rise. You've seen murders in France. You've seen murders in Belgium. It's been pretty grim actually. … I've never felt so uncomfortable being a Jew in the U.K. as I've felt in the last 12 months. And it's made me think about, you know, is it our long-term home?"
The violence has reached such a point that even Sammy Ghozlan, founder of France's National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, is fleeing to Israel. He said of his departure, "It's a message. … We do not know how things will play out tomorrow." He's not alone. According to a recent New York Times article, "France was the largest source of Jews moving to Israel last year." Natan Sharansky, director of the agency that coordinates migration to Israel, predicted that 15,000 French Jews would emigrate in 2015, with perhaps 50,000 – a tenth of the population of about a half-million – leaving in the coming years. In 2013, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights polled about 5,800 Jews from nine E.U. countries. The unsettling results: 29 percent of the respondents were contemplating emigrating, and 76 percent believed anti-Semitism had increased over the last five years. The same study concluded that 24 percent of European Jews – 37 percent in France, 27 percent in Germany, 20 percent in Italy – had experienced some kind of anti-Jewish attitude.
There are three lessons from the explosion of European anti-Semitism. First, hatred of Israel can no longer be separated from loathing of Jews. Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are one and the same. The hard-core anti-Israel protests that engulfed Europe showed that the demonstrators aimed to dismantle the Jewish state because of its Jewishness. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called contemporary anti-Semitism "pretend criticism of Israel," an "expression of Jew-hatred at pro-Palestinian demonstrations." The second lesson is that mere opprobrium from European leaders is insufficient. To their credit, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Italy last summer condemned "the anti-Semitic rhetoric and hostility toward Jews [and] attacks on people of the Jewish faith and synagogues." But rhetoric is not enough.
So the third lesson is the need for a zero-tolerance policy toward violent anti-Semitic rallies. And Europe should immediately adopt the U.S. State Department's definition of modern anti-Semitism, which includes anti-Zionism/Israelism. Finally, terrorist entities like Hezbollah and other jihadi networks should be banned. In sharp contrast to the United States, Europe allows Hezbollah's so-called political wing to operate and recruit within the 28-member European Union. Worse, with Europe striking Hamas from its terrorist list, there has been an active attempt to legitimize Islamist groups. Change must ultimately start at the grassroots, turning anti-Semites and their political and religious movements into pariahs. Absent this change, the safety of Jews, as well as European democracy, will continue to be jeopardized.
Asaf Romirowsky is a CIJR Academic Fellow
CIJR Wishes All Our Friends and Supporters: Shabbat Shalom!
Why Canada’s Media Won’t Show the Charlie Hebdo Pictures: Chris Selley, National Post, Jan. 13, 2015—Those who hate the mainstream media for sport have had a fun week. Two men murdered 12 people in Paris, including most of the staff of a magazine, to avenge satirical depictions of the prophet Mohammed.
Rising Fears Among French Jews in Wake of Terror Attack: Reporter’s Notebook: Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, Jan. 15, 2015—In the days after last week’s attacks in Paris, a nearly palpable sense of fear arose in my Paris neighborhood, where there are many Jewish shops, restaurants and synagogues.
‘France Without Jews Is Not France’: New York Times, Jan. 13, 2015—Long before Chérif Kouachi burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo last Wednesday with his brother Saïd to assassinate the journalists and cartoonists gathered at the satirical magazine’s weekly editorial meeting, he had a dream.
France? For Jews, ‘C’est Terminé’: Norman Lebrecht, National Post, Jan. 13, 2015—In January 1992, I took my Uncle René to the Bastille. It was our last opportunity to go to the opera. René was about to join his daughter in Israel, ending three centuries of our family’s existence as French Jews — Jews who were as proud of their republican heritage as they were meticulous in their religious devotions.
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