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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

 

Contents: | Weekly QuotesShort Takes   |  On Topic Links

 

On Topic Links

 

Video Captures Palestinians Hailing Jerusalem Bomber: IPT, Apr. 21, 2016

Austria’s Refugee Warning: Wall Street Journal, Apr. 25, 2016

French Toast: Another Pointless ‘Peace’ Initiative: Ruthie Blum, Algemeiner, Apr. 22, 2016

Report: Iran May Send Hamas to Fight ISIS: IPT, Apr. 25, 2016

 

WEEKLY QUOTES

 

“A strong and secure Israel remains a central pillar of our national strategy to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East. Israel remains America's strongest ally in this troubled region…Given the extraordinary levels of weapons pouring into the Middle East, Israel could quickly find itself on the wrong end of the regional military balance. This problem is compounded by the mounting cost of the new aircraft and other weapons systems that Israel must acquire to keep pace with its neighbors. Moreover, Israel must prepare for the likelihood that Iran will resume its quest for nuclear weapons.” — Letter signed by 83 Senators urging U.S. President Barack Obama to quickly reach an agreement on a new defense aid package for Israel worth more than the current $3 billion per year. 83 of the 100 senators signed the letter. The Senate's Democratic White House hopeful, Bernie Sanders, was not among the 32 Democrats. (Israel Hayom, Apr. 26, 2016)

 

"Recall how outraged the same President Obama was when the prime minister of a friendly country, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke his mind about the Iran Deal…So what is it, Mr. President? Should friends speak their minds about controversial issues when visiting another country, or should they keep their views to themselves? Or is your answer that friends should speak their minds only when they agree with other friends, but not when they disagree?" — Alan Dershowitz. Obama sparked uproar by criticizing Britain's possible exit from the EU during a visit to the UK. Obama defended his remarks by saying that democratic nations should be free to speak their minds openly – yet Obama himself attacked Netanyahu for rejecting the Iran deal during his U.S. visit, and snubbed Netanyahu during that visit. Dershowitz said that "the president owes the American people, and Benjamin Netanyahu, an explanation for his apparent hypocrisy and inconsistency." (Arutz Sheva, Apr. 26, 2016)

 

“This is yet another absurd UN decision…UNESCO ignores the unique historic connection of Judaism to the Temple Mount, where the two temples stood for a thousand years and to which every Jew in the world has prayed for thousands of years. The UN is rewriting a basic part of human history and has again proven that there is no low to which it will not stoop.” — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Association, recently announced a number of resolutions. One was entitled “Occupied Palestine” and addressed the Jerusalem Old City hotspot that Jews refer to as the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram Al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary. Except that the Jewish link to the site, considered the holiest place for Jews, went unmentioned. In the context of Jerusalem’s Old City, the document refers to Israel solely as “the occupying power” and refers to the site itself, the world famous esplanade flanked by the Western Wall – considered by many experts to be the last existing retaining wall of the mount that once held the ancient Jewish temples – only by its Islamic moniker. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 17, 2016)

 

“Reading the (UNESCO) resolution, one could conclude that there was no ancient Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, that the Mount isn't the holiest site in Judaism, that the Western Wall isn't the heart of Jewish prayer. One could conclude, therefore, that the Jews living in Israel today have no historic claim to the land, passed down through generations. Of all the attempts to destroy us throughout our history, the campaign against history itself is the most devious.” — Yossi Klein Halevi. (Los Angeles Times, Apr. 22, 2016

 

“The peace movements turned Israel's image into that of a weak and soft defeatist country, the exact opposite of the kind of country that achieves peace in the Middle East. In the violent and radical region where Israel is trying to survive, anyone considered weak gets kicked, you know exactly where, and is sent to hell in the best case, or butchered and beheaded as a matter of course. In the Middle East, peace means that your enemies leave you alone because you are too strong, threatening and dangerous to start up with. In the Middle East only the unvanquished obtain peace.” — Dr. Mordechai Kedar. (Arutz Sheva, Apr. 22, 2016)

 

“Putin wants to be seen as a key player throughout the Middle East, and Israel matters in the region. Putin’s regional policy, however, is primarily driven by zero-sum anti-Westernism to position Russia as a counterweight to the West in the region and, more broadly, to divide and weaken Western institutions…Israel, unlike Russia, is a pro-Western democracy. Moscow’s growing aggression in the former Soviet Union, especially in Ukraine, and increasing influence in the Middle East in the context of Western retreat from the region, complicates Russia-Israeli relations.” — Anna Borshchevskaya, of The Washington Institute. The relationship between Israel and Russia has been strengthened to unprecedented levels under Russia’s current president but recent actions by Moscow in the Middle East should have Israel on alert, according to Borshchevskaya. (Algemeiner, Apr. 22, 2016)

 

“We’ll rebuild Sur so that it’s like Toledo: everyone will want to come and appreciate its architectural texture.” — Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The Turkish government has seized the historic Armenian Surp Giragos Church, a number of other churches and large swaths of property in the heavily damaged Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, saying it wants to restore the area but alarming residents who fear the government is secretly aiming to drive them out. The city, in the heart of Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast, has been the scene of heavy fighting for nearly a year, since the Turkish military began a counterinsurgency campaign against militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which ended a two-year cease-fire in July. Many neighborhoods have been left in ruins, and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. (New York Times, Apr. 23, 2016)

 

“Open and honest debate is dead on many college campuses and in public venues. Those who claim to be the stalwart protectors of free speech – the political Left – have created a culture that tolerates only those who are intolerant of others. Speaking up against their efforts to stifle freedom or calling out their hate speech will often result in being labeled racist, Islamophobic or xenophobic. We no longer deem those we disagree with as simply wrong. The foundational dictum, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” no longer holds sway.  We now vilify as hateful those we disagree with, hurling epithets such as “racist” and “Islamophobic.” We’ve adopted the language of anti-Semites who hide behind their definition of Zionism to equate it with racism.” — Paul Miller, President & Executive Director, Haym Salomon Center. (Apr. 21, 2016)

 

“I have read most of works by Shakespeare and enjoyed them…Shakespeare plays, such as the Merchant of Venice or Othello are all in accordance with values, but western values.” — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. As the world marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Khamenei tweeted that he too, is a fan of The Bard, and highlighted “The Merchant of Venice” — famous for its derogatory depiction of Jewish moneylender Shylock. In “The Merchant of Venice,” Shylock is portrayed as scheming, vindictive and greedy. Shakespeare’s depiction of Shylock is widely regarded as antisemitic, although there are some who claim that Shylock’s speech in Act III — “If you prick us, do we not bleed?… And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” — reveals a humanizing plea for fair and equal treatment for Shylock himself and his wronged people. (Times of Israel, Apr. 25, 2016)

 

"Here’s a Jew from Brooklyn who never even saw a gentile till he was 28. Obviously, this man has a very, very big sickness. There’s something about being Jewish that makes him self-conscious and nervous. And he has to prove to himself and to the country that he doesn’t favor Israel in any way…A schmuck like Bernie Sanders pops out who doesn’t even know what’s going on and doesn’t care. Because to him Israel getting wiped out is no problem. Climate change is the only problem. To him, the most important thing in the world is climate change. If Israel gave up their country but they fought for climate change, he would love Israel." — Jewish comedian Jackie Mason. Mason took US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to task for recent comments the Vermont senator made that Israel had used "disproportionate" force during Operation Protective Edge in summer 2014, and with his inflation of the death toll in Gaza during the conflict. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 24, 2016)

 

“…My eyes filled with tears. And a sob welled up and I literally put my hands to my face and sobbed, silently, for I suppose a minute. Because my country is in trouble. Because I felt anguish at all the estrangements. Because some things that shouldn’t have changed have changed. Because too much is being lost. Because the great choice in a nation of 320 million may come down to Crazy Man versus Criminal.” — Peggy Noonan. After Donald J. Trump’s sweep of five primaries in Eastern states on Tuesday, and Hillary Clinton’s victories in four of five, there are few chances for Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders to catch up in the delegate count. (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 21, 2016)

 

Contents

 

SHORT TAKES

 

CANADIAN KILLED BY TERRORIST GROUP IN PHILIPPINES (Manila) — A Canadian man has been killed by the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines and a second Canadian remains a hostage. John Ridsdel, 68, was executed in recent days and Robert Hall, 50, remains a captive. Ridsdel and Hall were among those kidnapped last year from the resort island of Samal. Others include a Norwegian man and his Filipina girlfriend. Media in the Philippines are reporting that Ridsdel was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf jihadists after their ransom demands were not met. A government official said the Canadian government’s policy is that it does not pay ransoms. Abu Sayyaf has pledged its allegiance to I.S. (Globe & Mail, Apr. 25, 2016)

 

JERUSALEM BUS SUICIDE BOMBER WAS HAMAS OPERATIVE (Jerusalem) — The Hamas operative who detonated a bomb on a Jerusalem bus has died in an Israeli hospital, the Israeli police confirmed, partially lifting a gag order on the investigation. Abdel Hamid Abu Srour, a 19-year-old Hamas operative, detonated an explosive device on a bus in Jerusalem last Monday, injuring 20 people. The Shin Bet characterized the bombing as a “suicide attack.” Following Abu Srour’s death, Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and called him a “martyr.” Spontaneous celebrations erupted in Bethlehem and Gaza, with people passing out candy to celebrate the bombing. (Breaking Israel News, Apr. 24, 2016)

 

ISRAEL FREES PALESTINIAN GIRL, 12, WHO TRIED TO STAB GUARD (Jerusalem) — Israel on Sunday released the youngest known Palestinian inmate, a 12-year-old girl who had tried to stab a security guard at a Jewish settlement. The girl, Dima al-Wawi, was freed six weeks before her scheduled release, said an Israeli prison service spokesman. The spokesman said that the release was because of her age. Dima was given a hero’s welcome Sunday in Halhoul, her hometown. Dima said she intended to kill the security guard on Feb. 9 but was quickly apprehended. She said she had hoped that she would be killed. “I was dreaming that I was going to be martyred,” she said. There were 422 Palestinian minors in Israeli jails in December. About 100 of the minors were under 15, and most were boys. By comparison, 195 minors were incarcerated in December 2012. (New York Times, Apr. 24, 2016)

 

ISRAEL SAYS ISTANBUL BOMBER DID NOT TARGET ISRAELIS (Jerusalem) — Israel's Counterterrorism Bureau says the suicide bomber who killed three Israeli tourists in Istanbul last month did not specifically target Israelis but was taking aim at tourism in Turkey in general. The bureau recently issued a travel advisory for Turkey, warning Israeli citizens to leave as soon as possible and avoid traveling there. The travel advisory remains in place despite the new security assessment. The bureau said Sunday that Israeli security agencies carried out a month long investigation into the blast, which took place next to an Israeli culinary tour group, killing three Israelis and one Iranian tourist. Turkey identified the bomber as having links to I.S. (Israel Hayom, Apr. 25, 2016)

 

NETANYAHU, PUTIN MET AMID REPORTS OF AERIAL INCIDENTS OVER SYRIA (Moscow) — Prime Minister Netanyahu's meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday was held amid reporters that Russian fighter jets fired at Israel Air Force aircraft on at least two occasions, which were denied by Moscow. The issues was reportedly raised during Israeli President Rivlin's visit to Moscow, when Putin claimed this was the first he had heard of it. Then a few days ago, a Russian fighter jet was scrambled to intercept an Israeli aircraft for an unknown reason. There was no contact made between the planes.  (Ynet, Apr. 22, 2016)

 

U.S. TO SEND 250 ADDITIONAL MILITARY PERSONNEL TO SYRIA (Washington) — The U.S. plans to send up to 250 additional military personnel to Syria to help local forces fighting I.S., significantly expanding the small American footprint in the war-ravaged country. The move will increase the total number of U.S. military personnel operating inside Syria from 50 to about 300. A major focus of the additional personnel will be trying to get more Sunni Arabs to join the fight alongside Kurdish units in Syria. U.S. officials say they believe they will need a larger Sunni Arab force to help clear and hold Arab-dominated communities around Raqqa, the I.S. stronghold. (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 24, 2016)

 

ISRAEL, US CONDUCT AIR FORCE DRILLS IN GREECE (Jerusalem) — The air forces of the U.S., Greece, and Israel concluded a large-scale joint drill earlier this week over the Mediterranean. Following the collapse of the close defense relationship with Turkey, Israel and Greece have stepped up military cooperation, including joint maneuvers. The air force teams practiced complex operations while simulating various scenarios, among them the need for long-range attack raids. The drills are considered significant in maintaining aerial capabilities that are considered vital for exerting Western influence over the Mediterranean basin. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 22, 2016)

 

U.S. TO BUY NUCLEAR MATERIAL FROM IRAN (Washington) — The Obama administration agreed Friday to buy 32 tons of Iran’s heavy water, a key component in atomic-weapons development, a new gambit in a growing White House effort to encourage Tehran to stick to the nuclear agreement reached last year. The move, immediately criticized by opponents of the original deal, came hours before Secretary of State Kerry met his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, to try to facilitate Iran’s access to billions of dollars of oil revenues frozen by U.S. sanctions in recent years. Republican leaders criticized the Department of Energy’s purchase of the Iranian heavy water, charging the administration with essentially subsidizing Tehran’s nuclear program. (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 22, 2016)

 

IRAN THREATENS U.S. WITH LEGAL ACTION OVER TERROR VICTIMS’ PAYOUT (Tehran) — Iran threatened to take legal action in the International Court of Justice against the U.S. government for a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would allow the families of terror victims to collect compensation from frozen Iranian assets. The U.S. is currently responsible for the preservation of the Iranian funds, most of which were released following the implementation of the Nuclear Deal. Iran gained access to $100 billion as sanctions were lifted. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that would enable survivors of Iranian terror attacks and their families to collect compensation from a pool of $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets. The decision affects more than 1,000 Americans from a range of Iranian-sponsored terror attacks. (Breaking Israel News, Apr. 26, 2016)

 

AL-QAEDA CLAIMS KILLING OF LGBT MAGAZINE EDITOR IN BANGLADESH (Dhaka) — A branch of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility Tuesday for the fatal stabbing of a U.S. government employee in Bangladesh who was editor of the nation's first LGBT magazine. Ansar-al Islam, the Bangladeshi branch of al-Qaeda on the Indian subcontinent, said that it was responsible for the killings. A group of attackers stormed the home of Xulhaz Mannan, a staffer for the U.S. Agency for International Development, stabbing him and friend to death in the capital Dhaka. The attack came two days after a Bangladeshi professor was hacked to death in a murder claimed by the I.S. Last year, at least four secularists were similarly killed in the country. The government of Bangladesh condemned all the slayings, blaming them on incitement by the Islamist political opposition. (USA Today, Apr. 26, 2016)

 

HUNDREDS FEARED DEAD AFTER BOAT SINKS OFF LIBYA (Tripoli) — Hundreds of migrants were feared drowned after their overcrowded boat sank off Libya’s coast in what would be the deadliest disaster involving people trying to reach Europe this year. The wreck refocused attention on the perilous Libya-to-Italy route, where traffic has surged in recent weeks as the weather warms and as the flow from Turkey to Greece dwindles in the wake of EU pressure. The EU expanded its naval patrols in the Mediterranean last year in another bid at deterrence but critics say they remain inadequate. Forty-one survivors were rescued on Saturday. (Wall Street Journal, Apr. 20, 2016)

 

RIGHT-WING CANDIDATE WINS AUSTRIAN ELECTION’S FIRST ROUND (Vienna) — A right-wing candidate emerged as the clear front-runner in the first round of the presidential election in Austria on Sunday. Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigration Freedom Party emerged as the clear leader, taking 35 per cent of the votes. Although many migrants simply passed through Austria on their way to Germany or Sweden, about 90,000 decided to remain in the country and apply for asylum. Responding to fears that emerged last fall, when local elections in Vienna reflected a surge in popularity for the Freedom Party, the government passed legislation to limit the number of people who could enter the country to 37,500 refugees and took steps to tighten the borders. (Globe & Mail, Apr. 24, 2016)

 

FRANCE TO CONVENE MIDEAST SUMMIT, WITHOUT ISRAEL OR PALESTINIANS (Vienna) — France will convene a summit on May 30 of some 30 countries and international organizations to discuss the parameters for a peace conference to be held in the French capital in the second part of the year, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians will be invited to the summit, though they will be asked to join the peace conference. “There is no other solution to the conflict other than a two-state solution, Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem a shared capital,” Ayrault said. The list of those to be invited to the parley was not released, though it is expected to include representatives from the US, Russia, European Union, UN, Arab League and the members of the UN Security Council. (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 21, 2016)

 

BRITISH MP SUSPENDED FROM LABOUR (London) — Britain’s Labour has suspended MP Naz Shah over comments she made on Facebook about Israel, including one suggesting Israel should be moved to America. She offered a "profound apology" in a Commons statement for the posts which were made before she became an MP. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn warned her about the "offensive and unacceptable" posts. In 2014, Shah shared a graphic showing an image of Israel's outline superimposed on a map of the US under the headline "Solution for Israel-Palestine conflict – relocate Israel into United States", with the comment "problem solved". The post suggested the US has "plenty of land" to accommodate Israel as a 51st state, allowing Palestinians to "get their life and their land back". (BBC, Apr. 27, 2016)

 

OBAMA ADMITS HE REMOVED CHURCHILL BUST FROM THE OVAL OFFICE (Washington) — Barack Obama today admitted that he had removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and replaced it with one of Martin Luther King. Obama said that he took the sculpture out of his office because the room was 'a little cluttered'. However, he also pointed out that he keeps a bust of Churchill outside his private office, adding: 'I see it every day, including on weekends.' The White House originally denied that the bust had been removed, before admitting that it actually had – although a second identical bust remains in the White House. Mayor of London Boris Johnson mentioned the removal of the bust in an article criticising Obama for supporting Britain's membership of the EU. His intervention seems to have prompted Obama to set the record straight. (Daily Mail, Apr. 22, 2016)  

 

SEVEN HELD FOR ATTEMPTING PASSOVER GOAT SACRIFICE IN JERUSALEM (Jerusalem) — Police detained seven Jewish men suspected of planning to sacrifice goats in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday in honor of the Passover holiday. The charge against the seven suspects was “disturbing the peace,” a police spokesperson said. In ancient times, Jews used to sacrifice a lamb on Passover Eve and eat it as part of the traditional seder meal. Nearly all Jews forego this ritual today. However, members of the Samaritan religion still carry out this practice. The three goats confiscated by police on Friday were unharmed, the police said. (Times of Israel, Apr. 22, 2016)

 

POLLARD ENJOYS ‘UNFORGETTABLE’ SEDER ON PAROLE (New York) — It was Jonathan Pollard’s first Passover Seder since entering prison in 1985, and it was a dream come true for the Israeli agent. Pollard was released on “mandatory” parole on November 20, after serving 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit espionage without intent to harm the U.S. by delivering classified information to Israel. Due to his parole conditions, requiring him to wear a GPS monitoring device and obey a curfew at his New York home, Pollard was still limited during the holiday. “It was wonderful,” he reportedly said about the Seder. “I will remember it for the rest of my life.” (Jerusalem Post, Apr. 25, 2016)

 

Contents

 

On Topic Links

 

Video Captures Palestinians Hailing Jerusalem Bomber: IPT, Apr. 21, 2016 —In recent weeks, we at the Investigative Project on Terrorism have emphasized the difference between Israeli and Palestinian reactions to violent attacks. When an Israeli soldier shot and killed a wounded Palestinian – after the Palestinian tried to stab someone – Israeli political and military leaders quickly condemned the act. The soldier has been charged with manslaughter.

Austria’s Refugee Warning: Wall Street Journal, Apr. 25, 2016—The political costs of Europe’s refugee failures are growing, with Austrians delivering the latest shock on Sunday.

French Toast: Another Pointless ‘Peace’ Initiative: Ruthie Blum, Algemeiner, Apr. 22, 2016— It comes as no surprise that the honchos in Ramallah are welcoming the French initiative to hold a summit of world foreign ministers to discuss and plan an international Israeli-Palestinian peace conference.

Report: Iran May Send Hamas to Fight ISIS: IPT, Apr. 25, 2016—Iran is reportedly planning to deploy Hamas operatives to fight the Islamic State in Mosul, according to a-Sharq al-Awsat and reported by the Jerusalem Post. The report suggests that Iran still maintains significant influence over the Palestinian terrorist organization. In the battle for Mosul, Hamas terrorists would fight with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Lebanese Hizballah, and Shi'ite Houthi militias.

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