May’s Conservatives Have Frittered Away a Commanding Lead, But Remain Far Better Than the Dubious Corbyn: Terry Glavin, National Post, May 31, 2017
Five Reasons Why Israel Should Care About the Qatar Crisis: Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, June 5, 2017
Alberto Nisman and Sarah Halimi: Shared Fate of 2 Very Different Jews: Ben Cohen, JNS, June 2, 2017
Jewish Students Must Learn How to Protest — and Fight Back: Mitchell Bard, Algemeiner, June 5, 2017
WEEKLY QUOTES
"The wonderful, defensive war that we endured, the most just and moral war, afforded us a wealth of achievements. It proved to our enemies that we are not a nation of drifting sands…You proved that our roots are planted here forever…. The war returned us to our land at whose heart is unified Jerusalem but above all, the Six Day War taught us a permanent lesson that is the headstone: Israel will defend itself by own in the face of every enemy, and against a cluster of enemies." — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Prime Minister praised the Israeli Defense Forces for "landing a crushing blow" against Arab aggressors during a state memorial service honoring the dead of Israel's 1967 Six Day War. Nearly 1,000 Israelis were killed and roughly 4,500 were injured in the 1967 war that saw Israel's army seize 5,900 square kilometres of the West Bank, the walled Old City of Jerusalem and more than two dozen Arab villages on the city's eastern flank. On other fronts it conquered the Golan Heights from Syria, and Sinai and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. (Jerusalem Post, June 6, 2017)
“Denial of Israel’s right to exist is anti-Semitism.” — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a meeting with senior officials of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Guterres, the former Prime Minister of Portugal and a close friend of the late President of Israel, Shimon Peres, also rejected the campaigns to erase Jewish history in the Holy Land. “History must be respected. Jerusalem is a holy city for three religions,” Secretary General Guterres added. (Simon Wiesenthal Center, May 2017)
"The council must end its practice of wrongly singling out Israel for criticism…When the council passes more than 70 resolutions against Israel, a country with a strong human rights record, and just seven resolutions against Iran, a country with an abysmal human rights record, you know something is seriously wrong." — US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, in an opinion article she penned for the Washington Post bashing the UN's Human Rights Council for what she deemed as its biased approach and harsh and unfair judgement of the Jewish state. (Jerusalem Post, June 3, 2017)
“Let’s be clear: I do not believe that (UK Labour leader Jeremy) Corbyn’s rise in the polls is because he hates Jews and their nation state, but rather despite his bigotry. His opponent, Theresa May, called for elections and then refused to debate her opponents. She is running a lackluster campaign somewhat reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s last year. Corbyn for his part, like President Trump, is a populist. Though they represent polar opposites on the political spectrum, they have much in common including their penchant to shoot from the hip, and their unpredictability. Many British voters are unaware of his antisemitic associations. Others know but don’t care. The hard left in Britain, especially among union activists and academics, include many knee jerk opponents of the nation state of the Jewish people and many supporters of academic and cultural boycotts of Israel. Many such supporters favor trade and engagement with such massive human rights offenders as Iran, Cuba, China, Russia, Belarus and Venezuela. Indeed, it is antisemitic to single out only the nation state of the Jewish people – the Middle East’s only democracy and a nation with one of the world’s best records of human rights, the rule of law and concern for enemy civilians — for boycotts.” — Alan Dershowitz. On June 8, British voters will head to the polls. Recent numbers show the gap closing between Prime Minister May and Corbyn. (Gatestone Institute, June 4, 2017)
“Jeremy Corbyn, whom the Labour MPs wished to dump, and whose shadow cabinet quit en masse, is an antique democratic Marxist who makes Bernie Sanders seem like Herbert Hoover. Tony Blair’s New Labour of 20 years ago has come full circle to the most communistic Labour leader in that party’s history.” — Conrad Black. (National Post, June 2, 2017)
“There’s an awful lot of people who don’t agree with the BDS movement, including us. I don’t agree with the cultural ban at all, along with J.K. Rowling, Noam Chomsky and a long list of others…It’s really upsetting that artists I respect think we are not capable of making a moral decision ourselves after all these years. They talk down to us and I just find it mind-boggling that they think they have the right to do that. It’s extraordinary.” — Radiohead leading man Thom Yorke. Yorke heavily criticized the “extremely upsetting” efforts by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and various artists to dissuade the band from performing in Israel next month. The artists, including former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters, had called on Radiohead in an April letter to cancel the July 19 concert and a planned university lecture by Yorke, saying the band, known for its left-wing politics, should join Palestinian activists’ boycott calls. (Times of Israel, June 2, 2017)
"They…are being murdered [by Israel] in silence, through an official and planned method…They are melting, bleeding, and dissipating. If one prisoner will fall, the entire world will fall. The world will die if a Palestinian prisoner will die… Break the pens, look for a gun and bullets. Do not look at your watches, the time is up…" — Issa Karake, the PLO's Commission of Prisoners' Affairs director, in an article published in Palestinian outlets. Karake accused Israel of trying to kill Palestinian prisoners who ended a 40-day hunger strike the day after his article was written. This blatant example of violent incitement contradicts PA President Abbas' assertion during a White House meeting with President Trump earlier this month that Palestinians raise youth in a "culture of peace." Trump reportedly scolded Abbas for lying to him when the two leaders met again last week in Bethlehem. Just before the president's trip, the PA named two public squares after terrorists Karim and Maher Younes, two Israeli Arab cousins convicted in the 1980 kidnapping and murder of an Israeli soldier. (IPT News, May 30, 2017)
“To put it plainly: Canadian diplomacy and development sometimes require the backing of hard power…Principled use of force, together with our allies and governed by international law, is part of our history and must be part of our future.” — Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, in a major foreign policy speech in the House of Commons. The speech is meant to foreshadow the release of a defence policy review, which is expected to make the case for billions in new military spending. She said that notwithstanding the “incredibly good relationship” with the U.S., Canada cannot just rely on U.S. military protection. “To rely solely on the U.S. security umbrella would make us a client state…Such a dependence would not be in Canada’s interest,” she said. (National Post, June 6, 2017)
“Trump devoted much of his Brussels speech, the highlight of his first presidential trip to NATO, to berating the allies for not paying their fair share. Nothing particularly wrong with that, or new…But if you’re going to berate, at least reassure as well. Especially given rising Russian threats and aggression. Especially given that Trump’s speech was teed up precisely for such reassurance. An administration official had spread the word that he would use the speech to endorse Article 5. And it was delivered at a ceremony honoring the first and only invocation of Article 5 — ironically enough, by the allies in support of America after 9/11. And yet Trump deliberately, defiantly refused to simply say it: America will always honor its commitment under Article 5. It’s not that, had Trump said the magic words, everyone would have 100 percent confidence we would strike back if Russia were to infiltrate little green men into Estonia, as it did in Crimea. But Trump’s refusal to utter those words does lower whatever probability Vladimir Putin might attach to America responding with any seriousness to Russian aggression against a NATO ally.” — Charles Krauthammer. (Washington Post, June 1, 2017)
“Afghanistan has sort of fallen off the radar screen, but in reality Afghanistan also encapsulates to some extent the crises we’re seeing in the rest of the world…Regional players are more engaged in rivalry over Afghanistan than at any time over the last 15 years…It’s a reflection of what’s happening between great powers, and between regional players, in a very sensitive part of the world.”— Omar Samad, a former Afghan ambassador to Canada and France. The sewage tanker that exploded in the centre of Kabul last week – leaving at least 80 people dead and damaging several foreign embassies, including Canada’s – was a bloody reminder that the long war for Afghanistan is far from over. While India, along with the West, backs the national unity government in Kabul, Russia and Iran have been accused of reaching out to the Taliban. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, are accused of aiding other jihadi groups, such as the Haqqani network, a Taliban splinter group. (Globe & Mail, May 31, 2017)
SHORT TAKES
B.C. WOMAN CHRISTINE ARCHIBALD KILLED IN LONDON TERROR ATTACK (London) — Christine Archibald, a British Columbia native who went to university in Calgary before moving to Europe was identified as the lone Canadian victim in a terrorist attack in London. Archibald, 30, was with her fiancé when she was caught up in a deadly attack in a popular tourist district Saturday, a terrorist strike that saw three men kill seven and wound dozens of others. According to eyewitnesses, the carnage started just after 10 p.m. on the London Bridge and carried on into the adjacent Borough Market. Witnesses described seeing a white van travelling about 80 km/h barrel across the bridge, mount a sidewalk and thump into a crowd of pedestrians. Three men emerged from the van, carrying knives. In total, at least 48 people were reported injured and seven killed, not including the attackers. (National Post, June 5, 2017)
3RD ATTACKER NAMED IN LONDON RAMPAGE THAT KILLED 7 (London) — The third terrorist involved in Saturday's attacks in London that left seven people dead and dozens wounded is believed to be Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba. British police earlier identified the other two attackers as Khuram Shazad Butt, and Rachid Redouane. All three suspects were shot and killed by police after they moved in to stop the attack. One of the attackers, Butt, had appeared in a documentary The Jihadis Next Door and was known to investigators, but police said he was not believed to be plotting an attack. Saturday's attack was the third in as many months involving suspects who had been on the radar of British authorities. All three have been claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. (CBC, June 6, 2017)
IRAN ATTACKS: GUNMEN, SUICIDE BOMBERS RAID PARLIAMENT AND SHRINE (Tehran) — Gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Iran’s parliament and the shrine of its revolutionary leader on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, wounding dozens and igniting an hours-long siege at the legislature that ended with four attackers dead. Islamic State claimed the attacks, marking the first time the Sunni extremists have taken responsibility for an assault in Shiite-majority Iran. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the siege had ended with four of the attackers killed. Mizan Online, an Iranian state-run website, said 12 people were killed and 42 wounded in the attacks. Soon after the parliament attack, a suicide bomber and other assailants targeted the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini located just outside Tehran, according to Iran’s state broadcaster. (Globe & Mail, June 7, 2017)
FOUR ARAB STATES SEVER TIES WITH QATAR OVER ‘TERRORISM’ (Cairo) — The Arab world’s strongest powers cut ties with Qatar over alleged support for Islamists and Iran. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut relations with Qatar in a coordinated move. Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and the Maldives joined in later. Qatar denounced the move as based on lies about it supporting militants. It has often been accused of being a funding source for Islamists, as has Saudi Arabia. The diplomatic broadside threatens the international prestige of Qatar, home to a large U.S. military base and set to host the 2022 World Cup. (Globe & Mail, June 5, 2017)
SAUDI ARABIA DEMANDS QATAR SEVER TIES WITH HAMAS (Riyadh) — Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday, "Qatar must stop supporting Hamas." This was against the background of the deepening crisis in the Gulf, in which six countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, isolated the Qatari emirates. "Enough is enough," said the Saudi ambassador to Paris and made it clear that ending support for terrorist organizations is a critical step on the part of Qatar to restore relations between the two countries. Jubeir added that Qatar was actually undermining the Palestinian Authority and Egypt by supporting these organizations and the "hostile media"—apparently referring to the Al-Jazeera network. (Ynet, June 6, 2017)
POLICE SHOOT ATTACKER OUTSIDE NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL (Paris) — A police officer shot and wounded an assailant armed with a hammer and knives on the square outside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Tuesday. The cathedral was sealed off, and about 900 visitors were told not to leave until the situation was declared safe. The attack occurred around 4:20 p.m. when the man approached police officers from behind and started hitting one of them with a hammer. “This is for Syria,” the assailant yelled. At least one officer opened fire, injuring the attacker. The attacker was carrying an identity card describing him as an Algerian. He appeared to be acting alone. (New York Times, June 6, 2017)
1 KILLED, POLICE CARS SET ON FIRE IN RIOTS IN ARAB-ISRAELI CITY (Kafr Kasim) — A 27-year-old man, Mohammed Taha, was killed during an incident in the Arab-Israeli city of Kafr Kasim. Hundreds of demonstrators threw stones at the police station at the entrance to the city. Amid the riot, security forces fired shots into the air. Three police cars were also set on fire. According to police, the riot began when police attempted to detain a driver from the city when it was discovered that he was wanted for interrogation by security forces. As police attempted to take the driver in for questioning, about fifty residents arrived on the scene and began pelting the police car with rocks and then proceeded to attack the station, setting fire to three police vehicles. (Jerusalem Post, June 6, 2017)
DOZENS OF LIBYA-BOUND MIGRANTS DIE OF THIRST IN SAHARA DESERT (Cairo) — At least 44 Libya-bound migrants — including babies — died of thirst in the scorching Sahara Desert after their truck broke down in northern Niger. The migrants were from Ghana and Nigeria. Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, is a major route for West African migrants making their way toward Europe. The deaths occurred just days after President Mahamadou Issoufou pleaded with the leaders of the G-7 nations to address the migration crisis. Last year, about 335,000 migrants passed through the vast West African nation. Many die while trying to cross the desert in crammed pickup trucks that carry little water because jerry-cans carrying fuel take priority. (New York Post, June 1, 2017)
LEBANON BANS ‘WONDER WOMAN’ BECAUSE ITS STAR IS FROM ISRAEL (Beirut) — “Wonder Woman” may be the summer’s most anticipated film nationally, if not globally, but one country it won’t be seen in is Lebanon, where it was banned because its lead actress, Gal Gadot, is from Israel. Among the most vocal supporters for a ban was the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel-Lebanon. On its Facebook page, the group singled out Gadot’s mandated service in the Israeli army and a 2014 Facebook post in which the actress said she was praying for Israeli citizens caught up in the Gaza conflict. Lebanon officially boycotts Israeli products and bars its citizens from traveling there. Warner Bros. declined to comment. (New York Times, May 31, 2017)
UNRWA FAKES GAZA GIRL CAMPAIGN WITH IMAGE OF BOMBED-OUT DAMASCUS (Jerusalem) — UN Watch demanded that UNRWA apologize for using images of a girl in a bombed-out Syria building in a major global campaign to raise money for the organization by pretending the girl is a Gaza victim of Israeli actions. UNRWA is now running the photo on Facebook and Twitter ads. It is also now UNRWA’s cover image. Yet neither the girl nor the bombed-out building are in Gaza; it’s an old photo from Syria, dating apparently to 2014. The photo also appeared on other UNRWA Syria pages. (UN Watch, June 2, 2017)
DANON APPOINTED VICE-PRESIDENT OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY (Jerusalem) —Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon was elected to be a vice-president of the next UN General Assembly. He will begin his term in September and serve for one year. Danon was elected as a representative of the Western European and Others (WEOG) regional group. Danon wrote that, “this appointment proves that Israel can participate in any position in the UN, and the obsessive attempts to prevent this won’t succeed. I’m proud to represent Israel in this important position.” (Jewish Press, May 31, 2017)
HUNDREDS OF NEW WEST BANK HOMES SLATED FOR APPROVAL (Jerusalem) — The Civil Administration’s High Planning Committee is set to meet next week to review and advance multiple construction projects in the West Bank which were put on hold for various reasons, including US President Donald Trump’s visit to Israel. The various projects on its docket include advancing through different stages of planning as many as 2,600 homes. Of these, over 400 are expected to receive final approval for construction, including some outside the major settlement blocs. (Times of Israel, June 2, 2017)
SEARS TO PULL ‘FREE PALESTINE’ CLOTHING FROM SITE (New York) — Sears says it will remove a line of clothing featuring the slogan “Free Palestine” from its website. The clothing included tank tops, t-shirts and hoodies featuring a variety of pro-Palestinian messages. The clothing was listed on Sears Marketplace, which offers a platform for third-party sellers to offer their wares through websites managed by Sears. The designs included a clenched fist in the colors of the Palestinian flag and statements opposing the Israeli occupation. According to a statement from a Sears spokesman, the apparel was pulled from the site based on feedback the company received. (JTA, June 6, 2017)
PORSCHE INVESTS EIGHT FIGURES IN ISRAEL (Tel Aviv) — Porsche is establishing an "innovation office" in Israel, and investing eight figures in the effort, the German sports car manufacturer said in a statement released Thursday. By setting up the office in Tel Aviv," the statement reads, "[Porsche] intends to guarantee access to technology trends and talent." Such investments by an automotive manufacturer in venture firms dedicated to AI are unsurprising, considering Intel's recent $15 billion purchase of Mobileye, a Jerusalem-based autonomous driving company. It seems that the world is looking to Israel to bring it into the future of transportation. (Jerusalem Post, June 3, 2017)
NISMAN WAS MURDERED, NEW OFFICIAL ARGENTINE REPORT CONCLUDES (Buenos Aires) — A forthcoming report from one of Argentina’s top security agencies will confirm that Alberto Nisman — the special prosecutor who investigated the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires, in which 85 people were killed — was murdered in his apartment on January 18, 2015. Nisman was found dead one day before he was due to present a complaint to the Argentine Congress accusing leading politicians, including former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, of colluding with Tehran to cover up Iranian culpability for the atrocity. The report’s publication is expected within the next thirty days. (Algemeiner, May 30, 2017)
REINHOLD HANNING, A CONVICTED FORMER SS GUARD AT AUSCHWITZ, DIES AT 95 (Berlin) — Reinhold Hanning, one of the last surviving SS guards from the Auschwitz death camp, has died, a year after he was sentenced to five years in jail as an accessory to 170,000 murders during the time he worked at the camp. He was 95. Hanning never spent time behind bars. Hanning was assigned to guard duty in a tower at Auschwitz in early 1942. He remained there until June 1944. His death leaves only one surviving former Auschwitz guard whose conviction remains legal. That man, Oskar Gröning, 96, was sentenced in July 2015 to four years in prison for complicity in the murder of 300,000 prisoners. (New York Times, June 1, 2017)
May’s Conservatives Have Frittered Away a Commanding Lead, But Remain Far Better Than the Dubious Corbyn: Terry Glavin, National Post, May 31, 2017—It started last July. In an unguarded, hot-microphone remark following an interview on Sky News, the former Conservative cabinet minister Ken Clarke was overheard chortling about the “fiasco” of the Conservative leadership race – an event triggered by the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, which was itself triggered by the surprise win of the “Leave” side in last June’s British referendum on membership in the European Union. “A bloody difficult woman,” Clarke said, describing the grey-faced and notoriously uncharismatic Maidenhead MP Theresa May, who would go on to win the race.
Five Reasons Why Israel Should Care About the Qatar Crisis: Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, June 5, 2017 —1. It hurts Hamas. Qatar has supported Hamas over the last decade and hosted former Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Doha for the last five years. In 2012, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani visited Gaza and pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for the strip. Qatar therefore provided Hamas with not only a home in Doha but financial support and diplomatic succor.
Alberto Nisman and Sarah Halimi: Shared Fate of 2 Very Different Jews: Ben Cohen, JNS, June 2, 2017—This is a story about the shared fate of two quite different Jews. They were separated from each other by continents and oceans. His native tongue was Spanish and hers was French. He lived in downtown Buenos Aires in a swanky bachelor’s apartment. She lived in a rundown suburb of Paris in a modest flat.
Jewish Students Must Learn How to Protest — and Fight Back: Mitchell Bard, Algemeiner, June 5, 2017 —When it comes to Israel and the Jewish community, one reason that problems exist on college campuses is that university administrators continue to tolerate anti-Israel and outright antisemitic activity. Many of these administrators continue to hide behind the First Amendment or “academic freedom” in order to allow attacks on Jewish students that they would never tolerate against women, gays or other minorities.
