WEDNESDAY’S “NEWS IN REVIEW” ROUND-UP

Contents: | Weekly Quotes |  Short Takes   |  On Topic Links

On Topic Links

Iran’s New Crackdown: Editorial, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 17, 2017

Don’t Underestimate North Korea’s Nuclear Program: Jeremy Bernstein, Globe & Mail, Mar. 11, 2017

How to Prevent Universities from Becoming Nurseries: Reuven Brenner, Asia Times, Mar. 15, 2017

The Brutalization of the Yazidi is the Crime of Our Age, and Shows ISIL for What it Truly is: Robert Fulford, National Post, Mar. 17, 2017

“When someone issues a false and defamatory report in the name of the U.N., it is appropriate that the person resign. UN agencies must do a better job of eliminating false and biased work, and I applaud the Secretary General’s decision to distance his good office from it.” — US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. Rima Khalaf, head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), was forced by UN Secretary-General Antonió Guterres to withdraw a report accusing Israel of “apartheid.” Also, Khalaf, a Jordanian diplomat, quit her post on Friday. The report, titled “Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,” was written by Richard Falk, a disgraced UN official who was condemned for his blatant antisemitism. (Jewish Press, Mar. 18, 2017)

“While it may be the only such organization devoted to human rights, the Human Rights Council requires considerable reform in order for us to continue to participate.” — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson effectively issued an ultimatum to the UN’s Human Rights Council—calling on it to reform or lose U.S. membership and funding—by making the case in a letter to human-rights groups that was leaked to the press. Reports Foreign Policy: Tillerson, in his letter to the U.N. advocates and human rights groups, said that while the United States “continues to evaluate the effectiveness” of the Council, it remains skeptical about the virtues of membership in a human rights organization that includes states with troubled human rights records such as China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. (Tablet, Mar. 14, 2017)

“The decision to declare the fund a terrorist organization stems from its continuing and ongoing activity in providing massive support for elements responsible for committing severe acts of terrorism against Israel…As of today, all necessary actions will be taken in Israel and overseas in order to seize and confiscate property and assets designated for, or belonging to, the fund.” — Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Israel declared the PLO’s main financial body a terrorist organization. The fund makes monthly payments to about 35,000 families of Palestinians killed and wounded in its long-running conflict with Israel, including suicide bombers. The “martyrs’ fund” was set up in 1967 by the PLO. (Washington Post, Mar. 16, 2017)

“Go live in better neighborhoods. Drive the best cars. Live in the best houses…Make not three, but five children. Because you are the future of Europe. That will be the best response to the injustices against you.” — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While campaigning for a referendum that would solidify his power, Erdogan implored his compatriots living on the Continent to have multiple children as an act of revenge against the West’s “injustices.” Erdogan is not the first leader of a Muslim country to suggest that birthrates could alter the demographics of the West. Already, Muslims in Europe are younger than other Europeans and the number of Muslims on the Continent has been increasing steadily, according to the Pew Research Center. “The Muslim share of the population throughout Europe grew about 1 percentage point a decade, from 4 percent in 1990 to 6 percent in 2010,” according to Pew. “This pattern is expected to continue through 2030, when Muslims are projected to make up 8 percent of Europe’s population.” (New York Times, Mar. 17, 2017)

“Let me be very clear: the policy of strategic patience has ended…We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures. All options are on the table…It’s important that the leadership of North Korea realize that their current pathway of nuclear weapons and escalating threats will not lead to their objective of security and economic development. That pathway can only be achieved by denuclearizing, giving up their weapons of mass destruction, and only then will we be prepared to engage with them in talks.” — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson’s comments come amid a greater sense of urgency about North Korea’s rapid progress toward developing the means to strike the U.S. with a nuclear-tipped missile. More broadly, Tillerson poured cold water on the idea of resuming negotiations with Pyongyang, saying, “20 years of talks with North Korea have brought us to where we are today.” (Globe & Mail, Mar. 17, 2017)

“We’ve seen too many cases of vile online hate crimes, harassment or threats where social media companies have failed to act. It cannot be beyond the wit and means of multi-billion dollar social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google to develop ways to better protect users from hatred and abuse.” — Campaign Against Antisemitism report. An antisemitic YouTube video titled “Jews admit organizing White Genocide” does not constitute hate speech, a top Google executive told British lawmakers. While the video — narrated by ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke — is “deeply offensive and shocking,” it does not violate YouTube rules against hate speech and will remain on the site, Vice President for Communications Peter Barron said. (Algemeiner, Mar. 15, 2017)

“For the last few weeks, the scribblers and prattlers of the press have been plumping themselves as civilization's last best hope…The New York Times no longer merely asks people to subscribe, it pleads with them to "SUPPORT OUR MISSION." We don't dismiss Trump's attacks on the media lightly. Indeed, The Scrapbook wishes he would spare us all the "media is the enemy" hoo-ha—mainly because it just inflates reporters' already intolerable sanctimony. If there is an imminent threat to journalism, we suspect it is less in the bluster of one Donald J. and more in the self-regard of the Fourth Estate.” — Editorial (Weekly Standard, Mar. 6, 2017)

“How has America changed over Mr. Sowell’s lifetime? “Oh my God,” he responds, “that is truly a depressing subject.” He laments the “huge degeneration” and what he sees as the spread of “the grievance culture to low-income whites—and even to places like Great Britain.” An idea has taken root “that you’re entitled to certain things, that you don’t necessarily have to earn them,” he says. “There’s a belief that something’s wrong if you don’t have what other people have—that it’s because you’re ‘disadvantaged.’ A teenage dropout mother is told she has a disadvantage. But if you’re going to call the negative consequences of chosen behavior ‘disadvantage,’ the word is corrupt beyond repair and useful only for propaganda purposes.” — Interview with Thomas Sowell, economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author. (Wall Street Journal, Mar. 19, 2017)

“We believe serving in the Israeli army is a commandment from God, just like learning Torah in yeshiva is. It is a great privilege to learn Torah, and it is a great privilege to serve in the IDF.” — Karnei Shomron Hesder Yeshiva dean Eli Cohen. Most students who attend Hesder Yeshiva programs — yeshiva army programs in which students integrate Torah studies with army service — ultimately join combat units, according to the IDF. Among this week’s recruits, 85 percent of the new soldiers are destined to join various combat units throughout the Israeli army. (Jewish Press, Mar. 15, 2017)

Contents

ISRAEL SAID TO STRIKE SYRIA FOR SECOND TIME IN 24 HOURS (Jerusalem) — Israel is said to have struck Syria Monday, the third in three days as tensions escalated between the two countries. Syrian media reported that Israeli jets took out a number of targets near the Lebanon-Syria border including a Hezbollah weapons convoy and Syrian military sites. Earlier Sunday, an Israeli drone strike reportedly killed a member of a Syrian pro-regime militia, an attack that came two days after Israeli jets hit an arms transfer meant for Hezbollah. One missile was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow missile defense battery in the first reported use of the advanced system. It was the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian civil war began. (Times of Israel, Mar. 20, 2017)

SYRIAN REBELS SURPRISE DAMASCUS WITH NEW ASSAULTS (Damascus) — Syrian insurgents seized government positions on the outskirts of Damascus in the third day of their most ambitious offensive in the capital in years. Fierce fighting broke out on the northeastern edge of Damascus, as a mix of Islamist rebel groups and Qaeda-linked jihadists seized an industrial area near the heart of the Syrian capital. Government forces have been scrambling to repel the attack since it began on Sunday, bringing troops and allied militias from other front lines to hold their territory in Damascus, as government warplanes pummel rebel-held suburbs with scores of strikes. (New York Times, Mar. 21, 2017)

DUTCH VOTERS REBUFF ANTI-IMMIGRATION CANDIDATE (Amsterdam) — The Dutch political establishment held on to power, despite losing votes to anti-immigrant nationalists and other upstart parties. Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy won the most seats, putting Rutte in a strong position to form a new ruling coalition. Rutte achieved his goal of finishing ahead of anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom wants to halt Muslim immigration and leave the EU. The Dutch contest is seen as a bellwether for Europe’s major elections this year, including in France, Germany and potentially Italy. (Wall Street Journal, Mar. 15, 2017)

FRANCE LAUNCHES TERROR INVESTIGATION INTO ATTACK (Paris) — A man who shouted “I’m here to die for Allah” was shot dead after wrestling away a soldier’s assault rifle at Paris’s Orly airport on Saturday, unnerving a country that has been targeted repeatedly by terrorist attacks. The alleged assailant, Ziyed Ben Belgacem, a 39-year-old, Paris-born man, had served time in prison for crimes including drug trafficking and aggravated assault. Belgacem was shot by the two other soldiers in the patrol and killed. The attacker was later found to have been carrying a copy of the Quran. The incident echoed an attack near Paris’s Louvre museum last month, when a machete-wielding man attacked soldiers while shouting “Allahu akbar,” before being shot and detained. (Wall Street Journal, Mar. 18, 2017)

BDS FOUNDER BARGHOUTI ARRESTED FOR TAX EVASION (Cairo) — The co-founder of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel was arrested by tax authorities for failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income. Omar Barghouti, who lives in the northern Israeli town of Acre, was interrogated and released on bail later that day under restrictive conditions that include the surrendering of his passport. Bargouti is suspected of failing to report some $700,000 in income over the past decade, during which he served as the director of National Computing Resources in Ramallah. He also deposited honorarium fees received for lectures he gave around the world in a US bank account, thereby hiding the revenue from Israeli tax authorities, police said. (Times of Israel, Mar. 21, 2017)

EGYPTIAN ARMY DESTROYED 6 GAZA TUNNELS (Cairo) — The Egyptian army has destroyed six underground tunnels connecting the Sinai to the Gaza Strip, from Feb. 21 to March 13. Following the 2013 military coup against President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian authorities have cracked down on the Sinai-Gaza tunnel network, as part of their effort to increase security in the terror-infested Sinai. In 2014, Egypt established a buffer zone along its border with the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, to prevent it from collaborating with I.S.-affiliated Islamists. In 2015, the Egyptian army began flooding the tunnel network with seawater in an attempt to destroy it. (Jewish Press, Mar. 16, 2017)

MATTIS WITHDRAWS PRO-BROTHERHOOD PICK (Washington) — Secretary of Defense General Mattis has withdrawn his choice for the top civilian position in the Defense Department, Anne Patterson, after she was criticized because of her coziness with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Mattis is an enemy of Islamism and the Muslim Brotherhood. That’s what made his choice of Patterson, Obama’s ambassador to Egypt — best known for her staunch support of the Muslim Brotherhood — so surprising and disappointing. Patterson is famous for defending the Brotherhood and its government under President Morsi—before, during and after the popular uprising that toppled them. (Clarion Watch, Mar. 16, 2017)

9/11 FAMILIES SUE SAUDI ARABIA (New York) — A group of 1,500 first responders and the families of 800 victims filed a lawsuit against the Saudi government in federal court for allegedly funding the attack on the WTC. Fifteen out of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals and three of them had previously worked for the kingdom. According to the suit, several “charity” groups controlled by the Saudi government were being used by senior Saudi officials, including diplomats, and al-Qaida operatives to maneuver millions of dollars through a web of channels to the al-Qaida terrorists from the moment they arrived in the US until they carried out the 9/11 attacks. (Jewish Press, Mar. 21, 2017)

JEWISH CHILDREN’S MUSEUM EVACUATED AFTER BOMB THREAT (New York) — The Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn was evacuated Thursday after someone emailed a bomb threat to the institution. The email is the latest in a series of threats and antisemitic incidents aimed at Jewish institutions around the country. Deputy Commissioner John J. Miller said one offender appears to be behind the majority of the threats — followed by several copycats, including Juan Thompson, who was arrested last week and accused of making at least eight threatening calls to Jewish community centers in Manhattan, Dallas, Michigan and San Diego. (New York Post, Mar. 9, 2017)

BARBADOS SYNAGOGUE HIT WITH ANTISEMITIC MESSAGES (Bridgetown) — On March 16th exterior walls that surround a historic Jewish synagogue in Barbados were spray-painted with antisemitic messages. The graffiti appeared on walls that surround a historic Jewish cemetery, mikveh, synagogue and the Nidhe Israel Museum in Bridgetown, Barbados. (Jerusalem Post, Mar. 20, 2017) 

DUELLING MOBS CLASH OVER M-103 (Ottawa) — Police had to separate mobs on Parliament Hill after two groups hurled loud epithets at each other in support of or in opposition to an anti-Islamophobia motion, M-103, debated in the House of Commons Tuesday. A handful of the anti-M-103 protestors were wearing “Soldiers of Odin Canada” sweatshirts. Soldiers of Odin, on its Facebook page, says it is dedicated to defending the charter of rights and freedoms but its critics allege it is an anti-immigrant group. In response, the counter-protest group, holding a banner from the Revolutionary Communist Party, chanted in support of Muslims and refugees. (National Post, Mar. 21, Globe & Mail, Mar. 21, 2017)

SETBACK FOR ANTI-ISRAEL FORCES AT WESTERN UNIVERSITY AFFILIATE (Toronto) — A referendum has failed at an affiliate of the University of Western Ontario. The King’s University College Students’ Council (KUCSC) held a referendum this week asking students to boycott and divest from “the Israeli occupation.” The referendum took place after the Affiliate Appeals Board had barred the KUCSC from conducting a vote on the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Nevertheless, the KUCSC chose to ignore the spirit of this ruling and held a referendum targeting Israel anyways. A majority of students who voted opted to support the referendum in question, but turnout fell well below the 30 per cent quorum required by KUCSC regulations. (B’nai Brith Canada, Mar. 16, 2017)

TWO TORAH SCROLLS ADDED TO PRAGUE’S OLD-NEW SYNAGOGUE (Prague) — Two new Torah scrolls were added to the historic Old-New Synagogue in Prague. The Torah scrolls were written in Israel, funded by donations from members of the Jewish community of Prague. Frantisek Banai, the deputy head of the Jewish community of Prague, noted in a statement that “for the first time in many long years when Torah scrolls were destroyed and burned, the Jewish community and its rabbi are celebrating new Torah scrolls.” An estimated 15-20 thousand Jews live in Prague today. The Old New Synagogue or Altneuschul, located in Josefov, Prague, is Europe’s oldest active synagogue and the oldest surviving medieval synagogue of twin-nave design. (Jewish Press, Mar. 20, 2017)

ISRAEL SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH CHINA ON FOREIGN WORKERS (Beijing) — Israel signed an agreement on foreign workers with China as part of a bouquet of economic deals that were signed against the backdrop of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s state visit to the country. Netanyahu proposed the establishment of a fast track for Israeli and Chinese investors. He also raised the issue of dedicating a direct air link between Shanghai and Tel Aviv. Among the agreements signed were: an agreement on foreign workers from China; a multi-year task force plan; an aviation cooperation agreement; the establishment of joint laboratories. (Jewish Press, Mar. 20, 2017)

STUDY IN JERUSALEM THIS SUMMER AND EARN CONCORDIA CREDIT (Montreal) — The Azrieli Institute and Concordia International are offering a new Azrieli Institute Summer in Jerusalem program at Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School field for 2017. This program provides students with the opportunity to earn six Concordia credits while spending approximately four weeks in Jerusalem.  Dr. Csaba Nikolenyi, Director of the Azrieli Institute and Professor of Political Science, will accompany the group and teach the Political Science course. For more information and to apply, please attend an information session: March 30, 2017 from 10:30-11:30 AM at Concordia International (2080 Mackay / Annex X, Montreal), or click the following link—Ed.

STUDY ABROAD WEBINAR FROM HEBREW UNIVERSITY’S NYC OFFICE (New York) — Hebrew University’s New York City office is having a live webinar on Sunday, April 2, at 3:00 p.m. EDT for undergraduate students who might be interested in studying abroad in Jerusalem. College advisors, students, and parents are all welcome to attend. Get answers from international students and staff at Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School. Click here to join the meeting (no registration required). (Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mar. 22, 2017)

ISRAEL RANKS 11TH HAPPIEST COUNTRY (Tel Aviv) — Israelis are a happy people according to the UN’s 2017 World Happiness Report. In fact, Israel ranks as the world’s 11th happiest country for the fourth year in a row. The global happiness survey ranks 155 countries on happiness and well-being. Norway clinched first place this year, followed by Denmark (2nd), Iceland (3rd), and Switzerland (4th). Canada earned the No. 7 spot. Israel placed ahead of the US (14th), Germany (16th) and the UK (19th). The UN celebrates an International Day of Happiness – March 20 — to recognize the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. (National Post, Mar. 20, 2017)

Contents

On Topic Links

Iran’s New Crackdown: Editorial, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 17, 2017—Iran will hold another Potemkin election in May, and we can already predict the media narrative if one of the so-called hard-liners wins the Iranian Presidency. The blame will lie with the Trump Administration for failing to show sufficient respect for “moderate” incumbent Hasan Rouhani. Except Mr. Rouhani’s rule hasn’t been moderate.

Don’t Underestimate North Korea’s Nuclear Program: Jeremy Bernstein, Globe & Mail, Mar. 11, 2017—In the fall of 1944, a mission was dispatched by the advancing allied armies in Germany to learn about the status of the German nuclear program. It was called Alsos – the Greek word for “grove” – and it had been created by General Leslie Groves, who was in charge of the Manhattan Project that led to the development of the U.S. atomic bomb. Its scientific attaché was the Dutch-American physicist Samuel Goudsmit, who spoke German and had known many of the scientists involved in Germany’s nuclear program, including principal scientist Werner Heisenberg.

How to Prevent Universities from Becoming Nurseries: Reuven Brenner, Asia Times, Mar. 15, 2017—he undergrad dean at McGill University in Montreal found it appropriate to circulate the text below to faculty – including the business school: “Mental Health Workshop will be offered on March 17: The following issues will be addressed during the workshop”…

The Brutalization of the Yazidi is the Crime of Our Age, and Shows ISIL for What it Truly is: Robert Fulford, National Post, Mar. 17, 2017—Of all the oppressed and terrorized minorities fated to live through this grim era, the Yazidis of northern Iraq are clearly among the most wretched. Through no fault of their own they are enemies of the most venomous faction on the planet, the Islamic State, or ISIL. A newsletter from ISIL described Yazidis as a pagan minority and claimed that their continued existence “is a matter that Muslims should question as they will be asked about it on Judgment Day.”