MEDIA-OCRITIES OF THE WEEK: “Mrs. Clinton’s instinct is to overprotect her privacy and over-manage her image. This makes her less relatable as a candidate, breeds suspicion, and caused her a world of grief over her email. Fair enough to criticize her on those counts. Yet give credit where credit is due. An experienced political negotiator and former chief diplomat, she understands that hypocrisy and two-facedness, when prudently harnessed to advance negotiations or avert conflicts, are a public good and a political necessity. Of course, she can’t say so. At least not in public. In our hearts, we know she’s right. But shush. It’s a secret.” — Jonathan Rauch. (New York Times, Oct. 22, 2016)
“The greatest power resides with the audience — which bears much of the culpability, too. Never before have news organizations been able to judge so quickly and accurately what our consumers respond to. If those consumers hadn’t demonstrated such intense interest in Trump, we probably wouldn’t have, either. And if they turn from Trump, they can be sure that most of us will, too, without much equivocation or delay. But we can’t place all of this on their doorstep. There are adjustments we should make, regardless of metrics. One is tonal. Trump’s mendacity, viciousness, vulgarity and lack of preparation encouraged a kind of political journalism that wasn’t just adversarial but outraged, urgent, mocking — and rightly so. An uncommon peril called for an uncommon approach. The pitch of the commentary had to match the peculiarity of the moment. But that style can’t become the new normal, not in a country that’s already this polarized. We should dial it down after Trump.” — Frank Bruni. (New York Times, Oct. 22, 2016)
Contents: | Weekly Quotes | Short Takes | On Topic Links
The Funeral of the Oslo Accords: Guy Millière, Gatestone Institute, Oct. 25, 2016
Anti-Semitism is Still Alive and Well in the British Labour Party: Manfred Gerstenfeld, Arutz Sheva, Oct. 25, 2016
Clinton, Kurds and Coherent Policy: Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, Oct. 11, 2016
Israeli Palestinian Policy – Whereto?: BESA, Oct. 11, 2016
WEEKLY QUOTES
"There are extremely radical elements in the Gaza Strip who have the destruction of Israel at the top of their priorities…But I want to be clear: if they make the decision to stop digging tunnels, smuggling arms and firing rockets at us, we will be the first investors in the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip. We will be the first to invest in a maritime trading port, an airport and an industrial zone. Gaza could one day be the new Hong Kong or Singapore. Hamas invests more than NIS 100 million in military infrastructure instead of in health and education." — Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in a rare interview with Al-Quds newspaper. Lieberman told the Palestinian newspaper Monday that while Israel has no desire to return to Gaza or conquer it, "if they force a new war on us—it will be Hamas' last because we will completely destroy them." (Ynet, Oct. 24, 2016)
“In 1975 it was Israel’s ambassador to the UN, the late Haim Herzog, who tore the paper of the resolution to shreds on stage and in front of the entire world. I have no intention of doing it in front of you today; not because of your dignity, nor because of the dignity of this organization, but simply because this resolution paper is not even worth the energy needed for tearing it to shreds. It will be much simpler and a lot more appropriate to place it in its rightful place, the garbage place of history” — Israel’s Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama-Hacohen. In a piece of diplomatic theatrics, Shama-Hacohen on Wednesday threw a copy of the Jerusalem resolution into a trash bin right after it was approved by the World Heritage Committee in Paris. In attacking WHC’s approval of a text that ignored Jewish ties to the Temple Mount, he equated the Jerusalem resolution with the famous 1975 United Nations resolution that Zionism equals racism, “The fate of this resolution shall be no different than that of UN resolution 3379 adopted in 1965, which equated Zionism with racism. That absurd resolution was cancelled 16 years later, but the moral stain still remains on all those who adopted it.” (Jerusalem Post, Oct. 26, 2016)
“We cannot continue with these motions aimed at attacking Israel. If there is to break out of European unity because of this, then so be it…To maintain that Jerusalem and Judaism do not have a relationship is to argue that the sun gets dark: something incomprehensible, indefensible and wrong. I specifically told the diplomats entrusted with these issues that this cannot continue: there is no denying reality.” — Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, on the UNESCO resolution that failed to acknowledge Judaism’s connections with the Temple Mount and holy sites in Jerusalem. Italy’s ambassador to the UN’s agency of culture and education abstained during the October 13 vote, along with the envoys of most western European countries. The resolution was formally confirmed by UNESCO. (Times of Israel, Oct. 21, 2016)
“It was unacceptable to us as a Roman Jews to think that our government abstained facing a motion so blatantly anti-Semitic and anti-historical…Now that the UNESCO vote is final Italy needs a political act that would correct its abstention…We would like to understand how we got to this and what will the Government (do) to remedy…this very shameful abstention.” — Ruth Dureghello, president of the Jewish community in Rome. Dureghello praised Italian Prime Minister Renzi’s comments regarding the UNESCO resolution denying Judaism’s connections with the Temple Mount: “the words of the President of the Council Matteo Renzi on the UNESCO vote on Jerusalem and on the abstention of Italy represent an important stance that needs to be heard amid the silence of these recent days.” (Times of Israel, Oct. 21, 2016)
“This ban is unconstitutional, as the constitution acknowledges the rights of non-Muslim minorities and ethnic groups who live alongside Muslims in Iraq…To those Muslim lawmakers I say: Take care of your religion and leave ours for us, we know how to deal with it.’ — Iraqi Christian lawmaker Joseph Slaiwa. Iraq has passed a law forbidding the import, production or selling of alcoholic beverages in a move that angered many in the country’s Christian community who rely on the business. The law imposes a fine of up to 25 million Iraqi dinars, or $21,000, for anyone violating the ban. Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol, but it has always been available in Iraq’s larger cities, mainly from shops run by Christians. Iraq’s parliament is dominated by Shiite Islamist parties. The bill comes as Iraq is waging a massive military operation to retake the city of Mosul from I.S. (Montreal Gazette, Oct. 23, 2016)
“This is about more than party…If there is any group of people in this country that should understand the threat to the fundamental character of the nation and the future of our children and grandchildren posed by the choice in this election, it should be members of the Jewish community. No one should sit it out.” — Former US President Bill Clinton, at the Century Pines Jewish Center in South Florida’s Broward County. Clinton was seeking to mobilize Florida Jews to vote for his wife and recognize the dangers posed by her Republican opponent Donald Trump. Clinton’s visit to Florida was no accident. The battleground state, which is roughly five percent Jewish, is critical to the general election, and could potentially hold the power to shift the balance of electoral college votes. An August poll showed Hillary Clinton with 66% of Jewish support in Florida, whereas her Republican counterpart had 23%.
“I love Israel and honor and respect the Jewish tradition and it’s important we have a president who feels the same way… My administration will stand side-by-side with the Jewish people and Israel’s leaders to continue strengthening the bridges that connect, not only Jewish Americans and Israelis, but also all Americans and Israelis… Together we will stand up to enemies, like Iran, bent on destroying Israel and her people, together we will make America and Israel safe again.” — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in a video message to Israeli supporters. Several hundred Israelis were gathered in Jerusalem for the event, which took place at the rooftop of a Jerusalem restaurant overlooking the Old City. The event, headlined “Jerusalem Forever,” was held by Republicans Overseas Israel and intended to affirm the Jewish people’s ties to Jerusalem in light of recent UNESCO resolutions that have ignored them, the group said. (Times of Israel, Oct. 26, 2016)
“Did you see the debate and the way of their speaking, accusing and mocking each other? …Do we want such a democracy in our country? Do we want such elections in our country?…You see the United States that claims it has had democracy for more than 200 years…look at the country, what the situation is where morality has no place.” — Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani mocked both major party presidential candidates in the US elections, criticizing their behavior during their recent debates. Iran’s own presidential election will take place in May 2017, and Rouhani is likely to run for a second term. Iranian state TV broadcast two debates between Trump and Clinton and has been closely following the campaign. (Jewish Press, Oct. 25, 2016)
“Soon after seizing power in 1979, Iran’s new Islamist regime set about transforming the country’s identity by staging a “cultural revolution.” Followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini temporarily closed the universities, purged thousands of ideologically suspect faculty and students and rewrote the curriculum wholesale. My mother, then an art student in Tehran, remembers how the revolutionaries raided the country’s great libraries, using markers to cross out offensive images in the art books. The nascent Islamic Republic was fighting a bloody war against Iraq at the time, but there was also a battle on the home front: against Hellenistic sculpture, the Renaissance nude and American cinema. Growing up in that climate alerted me to the power of great art. Khomeini’s regime was a seemingly omnipotent police state that claimed to derive legitimacy from Almighty God. Yet it was somehow fearful of the human form (and the human soul) as represented by, say, Titian. There was some connection between beauty and freedom.” — Sohrab Ahmari. (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 21, 2016)
"While Babi Yar was organized by the Nazis, there were willing helpers in the Ukrainian militia…This happened all across Europe. In almost every occupied country, local people helped the Germans round up their Jews. In some cases, the locals were even more enthusiastic in their killing than the Nazis. And that is what happened at Babi Yar." — World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder. Babi Yar, the slaughter of 33,771 Jews began 75 years ago in a valley near Nazi-occupied Kiev — one of the most grim atrocities of the 20th century. The mass executions of men, women and children took place over 48 hours between Sept. 29-30, 1941. The massacre was an early example of how Nazi Germany learned how to commit murder on an unprecedented scale. Ukrainians, Romani and other non-Jewish groups were also killed at Babi Yar at the hands of Nazis with the help of Ukrainians. Ukraine marked the massacre's anniversary with a week-long memorial. (USA Today, Sept. 29, 2016)
SHORT TAKES
BATTLE AGAINST I.S. INTENSIFIES IN IRAQ (Baghdad) — Kurdish forces claimed new advances against I.S. in the battle for Mosul, but the extremists hit back with a third straight day of attacks in Kirkuk and in Anbar province. Kurdish Peshmerga forces trying to capture the town of Bashiqa said they had advanced to within 5 miles of the city. But security forces in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, about 100 miles southeast of Mosul, struggled for the third straight day to tamp down the remnants of a complex attack by I.S. The counterattacks demonstrate that I.S. can still mount guerrilla-style strikes even as they continue to lose territory in a new U.S.-backed offensive to retake Mosul. (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 23, 2016)
YAZIDIS FLEEING I.S. TO ARRIVE IN CANADA WITHIN 120 DAYS (Ottawa) — Immigration Minister John McCallum says the Liberal government is prepared to start bringing Yazidi refugees into the country within four months. He says the Liberals will support a Conservative motion calling for more support for the Yazidis, who have been singled out for particularly brutal treatment by I.S. The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking religious minority who used to dwell mainly in northern Iraq. They have been targeted by I.S., who have used rape, torture and mass murder against them. The Conservative motion describes them as victims of genocide and sex slavery. (Huffington Post, Oct. 24, 2016)
CALAIS: DEMOLITION OF MIGRANT CAMP BEGINS (Paris) — A team of workers in France began demolishing the "Jungle" migrant camp in the port town of Calais on Tuesday. More than 3,100 migrants have been bussed out of the Jungle, sending them to regions around the country to begin a months-long process for resettlement. Among them are more than 130 children. France has for more than a year vowed to raze the 4 square-kilometer camp, but its requests to do so had been shot down several times in court. Authorities dismantled part of the camp early this year, but it failed to stop more migrants from arriving, with hopes of crossing the Eurotunnel from Calais to the UK. (CNN, Oct. 25, 2016)
POLICE ACADEMY ATTACK IN PAKISTAN LEAVES AT LEAST 61 DEAD (Quetta) — Terrorists stormed a police academy in Pakistan Monday, killing at least 61 and injuring more than 100. Three terrorists entered the police training college on the outskirts of the city of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province, at about 11 p.m. I.S. and a faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The storming of the police academy is the second major attack in Quetta in recent months. A deadly hospital bombing in August, claimed by both a faction of the Pakistani Taliban and I.S., left 72 dead. (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 25, 2016)
I.S. KILLS 23 CIVILIAN HOSTAGES IN WESTERN AFGHANISTAN (Kabul) — Gunmen who claim to be followers of the I.S. killed 23 civilian hostages in a remote province in western Afghanistan. The killings in Ghor Province were the most recent indication that the extremist organization has been gaining adherents in new parts of the country, even as the authorities have successfully moved against its strongholds in the province of Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan. Provincial police said the killings were carried out by a former Taliban unit with 150 members who had defected from that insurgent group and declared allegiance to the I.S. (New York Times, Oct. 26, 2016)
JORDAN REPORTEDLY FREES CHILD-KILLER AL-DAQAMSEH (Amman) — Jordan has reportedly freed child killer Ahmad al-Daqamseh, a former Jordanian soldier who murdered seven Israeli teenage girls on March 13, 1997 at the “Island of Peace” in Naharayim. Al-Daqamseh opened fire at the group of 80 Israeli school girls from the AMIT Fuerst School of Beit Shemesh with an M-16 assault rifle after completing his prayers, during which some of the girls were reportedly laughing and clapping. The group was visiting the site while on a class field trip to the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights. Seven of the girls died in the bloody attack; six more were wounded. (Jewish Press, Oct. 17, 2016)
SYRIA BLAMED FOR CHEMICAL WEAPONS ATTACK IN 2015 (Damascus) — Syrian government forces carried out a third chemical weapons attack last year, a confidential report to the UN Security Council has found. The leaked report says helicopters dropped barrel bombs holding chlorine gas, a prohibited weapon, on the north-west province of Idlib in March 2015. An earlier report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) blamed the Syrian government for two other gas attacks in 2015. Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under the terms of an agreement negotiated between Moscow and Washington. (BBC, Oct. 22, 2016)
PA RELEASES PALESTINIANS ARRESTED FOR VISITING SETTLER MAYOR’S SUKKAH (Jerusalem) — Four Palestinians arrested late last week for attending a sukkot holiday event in a West Bank settlement were freed on Sunday evening, Channel 2 News reported. The four Palestinians were arrested Thursday after attending a Sukkot celebration in Efrat, a settlement outside of Jerusalem. During the holiday, it is customary for Jewish hosts to invite guests for meals inside the sukka — a tent-like structure meant to symbolize the dwellings that ancient Israelites used during 40 years in the desert after being released from slavery in Egypt. A senior Palestinian security official said Sunday that “any Palestinian cooperation with settlers is viewed as violating the law, as he cooperates with the enemy.” (Times of Israel, Oct. 23, 2016)
PA ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN AGAINST ‘CRIME’ OF BALFOUR DECLARATION (Jerusalem) — The PA has announced a year-long campaign to commemorate 100 years since the “crime” of the Balfour Declaration. Events taking place worldwide will be launched on November 2 and end on November 2, 2017 — the 100-year mark since British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour announced his government’s intention to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” in the Land of Israel. Signed by Balfour in 1917, the declaration was seen as giving the Zionist movement official recognition and backing on the part of a major power, on the eve of the British conquest of the then-Ottoman territory of Palestine. In July the PA said it was preparing a lawsuit against the British government over the 1917 document that paved the way for the creation of the State of Israel. (Times of Israel, Oct. 24, 2016)
JERUSALEM’S NEW BUSINESS DISTRICT INAUGURATED WEDNESDAY (Jerusalem) — On Wednesday, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and other politicians will gather for the ground breaking ceremony for the new business district at the entrance to Jerusalem. Over the next few years, the Jerusalem Gateway project will become the most prominent business district in the country, with an investment of $360 million. The district will be spread out over an area of some 52 acres and is expected to add about 40,000 new jobs to Israel’s capital city. The new district will also become the largest, integrated transportation hub in Israel with a fast train, two light rail lines, public and private transit routes and private and public areas for pedestrians. (Jewish Press, Oct. 25, 2016)
OLDEST HEBREW MENTION OF JERUSALEM FOUND ON RARE PAPYRUS (Jerusalem) — A rare, ancient papyrus dating to the First Temple Period — 2,700 years ago — has been found to bear the oldest known mention of Jerusalem in Hebrew. The fragile text, believed plundered from a cave in the Judean Desert, was apparently acquired by a private individual several years ago. Radiocarbon dating has determined it is from the 7th century BCE, making it one of just three extant Hebrew papyri from that period, and predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by centuries. The slip of papyrus measures 11 centimeters by 2.5 centimeters (4.3 inches by 1 inch). Its two lines of jagged black paleo-Hebrew script appear to have been a dispatch note recording the delivery of two wineskins “to Jerusalem,” the Judean Kingdom’s capital city. (Times of Israel, Oct. 26, 2016)
EARLIEST TEN COMMANDMENTS TABLET ON AUCTION (Los Angeles) — The earliest-known stone inscription of the Ten Commandments will be offered Nov. 16, 2016 by Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills, CA. The tablet is the centerpiece of an offering of Bible-related historical artifacts from the Living Torah Museum in Brooklyn, NY. The opening bid on the Ten Commandments is $250,000. The two-foot-square marble slab, inscribed in early Hebrew script, probably came from a synagogue destroyed by the Romans between 400 and 600 CE, or by the Crusaders in the 11th century. Scholars who studied the carved letters believe the stone was carved in the late Roman or Byzantine era, circa 300-500 CE, to adorn the entrance to a Samaritan synagogue. (Jewish Press, Oct. 25, 2016)
NY, CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITIES ‘HOTSPOTS’ OF ANTI-ISRAEL, ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITY (Washington) — The City University of New York in Brooklyn, Northwestern University and many of the schools in the University of California system are among the most hostile campuses for Jewish students, with high rates of anti-Semitic harassment and anti-Israel activity, researchers have found. According to a major new study at Brandeis University into antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment on US campuses, these universities are “hotspots” for such activity. On other US university campuses, including Wisconsin, Rutgers and Illinois, hostility and anti-Semitic harassment were found to be high but were not strongly connected to criticism of Israel, the report found. (Times of Israel, Oct. 24, 2016)
CLINTON TOPS 2015-16 ISLAMIST MONEY LIST (Washington) — The Middle East Forum's "Islamist Money in Politics" (IMIP) project has revealed the top ten recipients of 2015-16 campaign contributions from individuals who subscribe to the same Islamic supremacism as Khomeini, Bin Laden, and I.S. Hillary Clinton tops the list, raking in $41,165 from prominent Islamists. This includes $19,249 from senior officials of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), declared a terrorist organization by the UAE in 2014. For example, Clinton has accepted $3,900 from former CAIR vice-chairman Ahmad Al-Akhras, who has defended numerous Islamists in Ohio indicted – and later convicted – on terrorism charges. Among other current presidential candidates, Jill Stein has accepted $250. Donald Trump and Gary Johnson have not received any Islamist money. (Middle East Forum, Oct. 20, 2016)
The Funeral of the Oslo Accords: Guy Millière, Gatestone Institute, Oct. 25, 2016 —The death of former Israeli President Shimon Peres led to a wave of almost unanimous tributes. Representatives from 75 countries came to Jerusalem to attend the funeral. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas even left Ramallah for a few hours to show up. Such a consensus could seem to be a sign of support for Israel, but it was something else entirely.
Anti-Semitism is Still Alive and Well in the British Labour Party: Manfred Gerstenfeld, Arutz Sheva, Oct. 25, 2016 —British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn might have thought that the Chakrabarti Report, published at the end of June, would lay to rest the debate about anti-Semitism in his party. His hopes were shared by the party’s associated whitewashers and minimizers of anti-Semitism.
Clinton, Kurds and Coherent Policy: Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, Oct. 11, 2016 —In a presidential debate that included claims one candidate would send the other to prison and assertions that the other candidate was unfit for office, it seemed unlikely that much could be gleaned regarding the future of American policy. However, around an hour into the debate, there was a series of revealing and important exchanges that have great importance for the Middle East.
Israeli Palestinian Policy – Whereto?: BESA, Oct. 11, 2016—With Barack Obama’s term as president of the US coming to an end, and Mahmoud Abbas’ tenure as Palestinian leader winding down too, the Israeli government will soon have an opportunity to recalibrate its diplomatic policies. Israeli policy on the Palestinian issue has been frozen for two decades.
