Thursday, March 28, 2024
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Wednesday’s “News in Review” Round-Up

Media-ocrities of the Week

 

Surtout de la part des Juifs, qui sont racistes, contrairement aux autres Français connus pour leur droiture [Especially by Jews, who are racists, unlike other French citizens who are known for their righteousness].”—Mohamed Merah Benalel, father of the French terrorist who last month killed 4 Jews at a school in Toulouse, claiming “racist” Jews are planning to avenge the attack and warning Muslims to be vigilant. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe condemned the statement, saying “If I were the father of such a monster, I [would have] held my tongue in shame.” (Atlas Shrugs, March 27 & Courier International, March 28.)

 

Question: Yesterday there was a bit of a kerfuffle over an announcement that was made…about the travel of your boss. Is it the State Department’s position that Jerusalem is not part of Israel?

MS. NULAND: Well, you know that our position on Jerusalem has not changed. The first media note was issued in error.… We reissued the note to make clear that acting undersecretary Kathy Stevens will be travelling to Algiers, Doha, Amman, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. With regard to our Jerusalem policy, it’s a permanent-status issue. It’s got to be resolved through the negotiations between the parties.…

Q: Does that mean that you do not regard Jerusalem as the capital of Israel?

MS. NULAND: Jerusalem is a permanent-status issue. It’s got to be resolved through negotiations.…

Q: But [you] haven’t answered the question.… What is the capital of Israel?

MS. NULAND: …Our embassy, as you know, is located in Tel Aviv.

Q: So does that mean you regard Tel Aviv as the capital of Israel?

MS. NULAND: The issue on Jerusalem has to be settled through negotiations.… I don’t have anything further to what I’ve said 17 times on that subject. OK?”—Exchange between US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland and a reporter, after a press release was issued by State indicating that undersecretary Kathy Stevens would travel to “Algeria, Qatar, Jordan, Jerusalem and Israel.” (Weekly Standard, March 28.)

 

Weekly Quotes

 

The US Administration recently shifted into high gear in its efforts to avert an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities by the end of the year. The flood of reports in the American media in recent weeks attests not only to the genuine US fear that Israel intends to realize its threats; moreover, it indicates that the Obama Administration has decided to take its gloves off. Indeed, in recent weeks the Administration shifted from persuasion efforts…to a practical, targeted assassination of potential Israeli operations in Iran. This ‘surgical strike’ is undertaken via reports in the American and British media, but the campaign’s aims are fully operational: To make it more difficult for Israeli decision-makers to order the IDF to carry out a strike, and what’s even graver, to erode the IDF’s capacity to launch such strike with minimal casualties.”—Veteran Israeli military reporter, Ron Ben-Yishai, in “US Thwarting Israeli Strike On Iran,” accusing US President Barack Obama’s administration of deliberately sabotaging Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities by leaking sensitive information and undermining Israel’s military capacities. For example, Foreign Policy last week published a piece, citing “high-level sources…inside the U.S. government,” claiming Israel had secured the use of air bases in Azerbaijan, which borders Iran, to more effectively carry out an attack if needed. [see “On Topics” below for Yishai’s full article—Ed.] (Ynet News, March 29.)

 

I cannot underscore how deep and visceral the [Israeli] comments of the leaking that came out of Washington were.”—Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, following talks in Israel with “virtually everybody in the Iran debate,” confirming the Israeli leadership believes the Obama administration is staging a concerted campaign to “undercut…Israel’s right to independent sovereign action.” According to Satloff, Washington is also attributing rising domestic gas prices to “Israel’s posturing” on Iran. (World Tribune, April 1.)

 

It soon will be clear whether Iran’s leaders are prepared to have a serious, credible discussion about their nuclear program.…”—US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at a news conference in Riyadh, confirming that world powers are set to meet with Iranian negotiators on April 13-14 in Istanbul to discuss Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. (Wall Street Journal, March 31.)

 

Israel, this cancerous tumor in the Middle East…is using all satanic means [to] cause divisions [among Muslims]. Every Muslim has the obligation to equip himself against Israel.… Since the very foundation of Islam is facing a potential danger, it is necessary for all the Muslims in general and the Islamic governments in particular to act to remove this corrupting material by any means possible. All our troubles are due to Israel!”—Ali Reza Forqani, an ally of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, in an article entitled, “The Fiqh [Islamic Jurisprudence]-Based Reasons for the Need for Israel’s Annihilation.” Citing the Koran, Forqani called for the eradication of Israel through “defensive jihad,” a “religiously mandated obligation [in which] all Muslims must participate.” (Contentions, April 2.)

 

“They’ve gone for the children—for whatever purposes—in large numbers. Hundreds detained and tortured…it’s just horrendous. Children shot in the knees; held together with adults in really inhumane conditions; denied medical treatment for their injuries; either held as hostages or as sources of information.”—UN human rights chief Navi Pillay, accusing Syrian President Bashar Assad of committing crimes against humanity by directly ordering his security forces to target children. (National Post, March 29.)

 

It appears the so-called Arab Spring is being painted green—and I am talking about Islamists and not environmentalists.”—Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, commenting on the rise of Islamic fundamentalism resulting from the so-called Arab Spring. (Jerusalem Post, April 2.)

 

We’re embarking on a fourth year, which isn’t common. [Israeli] governments don’t usually make it this far so it’s no small achievement.”—Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, marking the beginning of his fourth year in office, which puts him on pace to become the first Israeli PM to serve out a full four-year term since Menachem Begin between 1977-1981. (Ynet News, April 3.)

 

I am not prosecutor of the world; I am prosecutor of the countries [that] accept my jurisdiction.”—International Criminal Court General Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, announcing that the court will not investigate Palestinian Authority allegations of Israeli war crimes during the 2008-2009 Gaza war as the body has jurisdiction only over recognized states. (Jerusalem Post, April 3.)

 

We have no alternative but to act. The only way we can stop Israel is to act against it, against its interests, against its apartheid and policies.”—University of Exeter lecturer Ghada Karmi, to hundreds of protesters who descended on the Israeli Embassy in London last week as part of the Global March to Jerusalem, claiming Jerusalem “does not belong to Jewish Israelis or to Jews” and that Israel is “finished.” (Jerusalem Post, April 1.)

 

One hungry or lonely Holocaust survivor on Passover eve is a failure for the State of Israel. Awareness to Holocaust survivors’ needs has grown significantly in recent years, but we must make sure that this awareness is translated into measures that…give assistance to survivors.…”—Ronnie Kalinsky, CEO of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel, calling on Israel’s finance minister to provide the country’s Holocaust survivors with “all necessary means” after a survey found that nearly all Israeli survivors feel lonely, some 50,000 need assistance in order to purchase basic Passover goods, and that at least 12,000 will go without heating this holiday. Approximately 200,000 Holocaust survivors currently live in Israel, compared to 233,000 in 2009. (Ynet News, April 1.)

 

Short Takes

 

BARAK REVEALS ISRAEL’S CONDITIONS FOR IRAN-WEST TALKS—(Jerusalem) Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has confirmed for the first time that he has held high-level discussions in recent weeks with American and European officials to persuade them to set clear goals for the upcoming nuclear talks with Iran. Citing 2012 as the “year to stop Iran,” Barak revealed Israel’s conditions are for the talks: 1) the transfer of all uranium enriched to 20 percent out of Iran to a third party country; 2) the transfer of the majority of the 5 tons of uranium enriched to 3.5 percent out of Iran, leaving just enough needed for energy purposes; 3) the closure of the Fordow enrichment facility, buried under a mountain near the city of Qom; 4) the transfer of fuel rods from a third party country to Iran for the purpose of activating the Tehran Research Reactor. Barak said there was still time before a strike on Iran is required, but reiterated that “it is not something that can wait a number of years.” (Jerusalem Post, April 4.)

 

REPORT: CABINET TOLD UNDER 300 WOULD DIE IN IRAN STRIKE—(Jerusalem) Israel’s security cabinet has been briefed by defense experts on worst-case scenarios regarding a potential war with Iran. Israel’s Channel 10 reported that according to estimates a maximum of 300 people would be killed in a confrontation involving Iran during three weeks of non-stop fighting on multiple fronts. The projections echoed comments Defense Minister Ehud Barak made last year to Israel Radio about a possible war with Iran: “There’s no chance in such a situation for 500,000 killed, not 5,000 or even 500 killed.” The analysts nonetheless project that thousands of missiles would be launched toward Israel from Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, as well as Iran, as part of any conflict; Israel believes upwards of 100,000 rockets and missiles are currently pointed at the country. (Jerusalem Post, April 3.)

 

GERMAN TV BROADCASTS AHMADINEJAD’S HOLOCAUST DENIAL—(Berlin) German public broadcaster ZDF (Second German Television) has aired without objection an interview in which Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied the Holocaust. The Holocaust is “a lie of Israel” that allows the Jewish state to hurt the Palestinians, Ahmadinejad affirmed to German journalist Claus Cleber. Dieter Graumann, head of Germany’s 105,000 member Jewish community criticized ZDF for providing Ahmadinejad a platform to spread his “poison.” He also condemned Cleber for “allow[ing] the most brazen remarks from notorious Holocaust denier Ahmadinejad to remain unchallenged.” Holocaust denial is illegal in Germany. (Jerusalem Post, March 26.)

 

SYRIA AGREES TO A DATE FOR PULLBACK—(Beirut) Syrian President Bashar Assad has reportedly accepted a deadline to halt his government’s yearlong crackdown on protests. According to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, Syria’s government will “immediately” begin withdrawing its forces from cities and has agreed to complete the pullback by April 10. Bashar Ja’affri, Syria’s UN ambassador, said the deal was reached through a “common accord” with the team of UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, and that Syria is “committed to implementing the six-point [peace] plan” devised by Annan and allegedly accepted by Assad two weeks ago. Western diplomats nonetheless expressed skepticism that Syria would follow through, a sentiment they say is based on past broken promises by the Assad regime. The U.N. believes that more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict. (Wall Street Journal, April 2.)

 

GANTZ HOLDS SURPRISE DRILLS NEAR SYRIAN BORDER—(Jerusalem) IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz has conducted surprise drill inspections of two key military bases near Israel’s northern border with Syria. A senior IDF officer said the exercises were aimed at ensuring the military’s readiness for a wide range of scenarios including possible war with Syria as well as large scale border demonstrations. Surprise drills have become Gantz’s trademark since assuming his post in February 2011; last October, on the eve of Yom Kippur, he scrambled various units in the North to ensure that they could be quickly mobilized. The objective of the drills is to create a new mindset within the IDF according to which Israel needs to be prepared for the possibility that war could erupt without warning, particularly in light of the ongoing upheavals sweeping the Middle East. (Jerusalem Post, April 1.)

 

EGYPT’S BROTHERHOOD NAMES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE—(Cairo) The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has named Khairat al-Shater, a former deputy head of the organization and accomplished businessman in Egypt, as its presidential candidate for May’s election. According to current Brotherhood deputy leader Mahmoud Hussein, “threats to the revolution” compelled the party to nominate one of its own, despite numerous previous assurances to the contrary. The move has drawn intense criticism from Egyptian liberals and secularists, as well as the ruling military council, due to the increasing likelihood the Brotherhood will exert unparalleled influence over all elements of Egypt’s emerging political structure, including the parliament, the presidency and the body charged with writing the new constitution. In an interview with Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram in January, Shater asserted that aspects of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty should be altered. (Jerusalem Post & Wall Street Journal, March 31.)

 

FRENCH POLICE ARREST SUSPECTED ISLAMISTS—(Paris) Elite forces have detained at least 29 suspected Islamists in raids across France over the past two weeks. The clampdown, ordered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, comes after al-Qaeda-linked Mohamed Merah killed seven people in the country in March, including four Jews outside a school in Toulouse. Sarkozy has vowed to root out any form of militancy following Merah’s killing spree, going so far as to declare that “All those who make remarks contrary to the values of [France] will be instantly [deported]. There will be no exception. There will be no leniency.” Earlier this week, French law enforcement also uncovered a plot by previously detained Islamists to kidnap a Jewish judge from Lyon. According to France’s Central Directorate for Domestic Intelligence, the terrorists were engaging in “war-like training, linked to violent religious indoctrination.” (Jerusalem Post, April 3, Reuters & National Post, April 4.)

 

PAKISTAN JAILS BIN LADEN’S FAMILY FOR ILLEGAL STAY—(Islamabad) A Pakistani court has charged former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters with illegally staying in the country and sentenced them to 45 days in jail. The women, in detention since March 3, will serve an additional 14 days in prison before being deported. Analysts had forecasted that Pakistan would impose lengthier prison sentences on bin Laden’s relatives over fear that embarrassing details about their years spent hiding in the country would surface upon their release. It is widely believed that elements of Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency knew of the bin Laden family’s whereabouts. (Reuters, April 2.)

 

PLO BESTOWS JOURNALISM AWARD ON HELEN THOMAS—(New York) Longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas has received a prize in journalism from the PLO. Thomas, 91, who was forced into retirement two years ago after making controversial remarks about Jews and Israel, was honored by Hanan Ashrawi, a representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, for “all of her actions supporting Palestine in the West.” Thomas became embroiled in controversy in 2010 when she said in an interview that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and “Go home to Poland, Germany and America and everywhere else.” (JTA, April 3.)

 

BROOKLYN FOOD CO-OP REJECTS ISRAEL BOYCOTT—(New York) A well-known cooperative grocery store in Brooklyn, NY has voted to reject a boycott of Israeli goods. At a special meeting last week, members of the Park Slope Food Coop declined by a vote of 1,005 to 653 a proposal to hold a mail ballot referendum for all members on whether to stop selling Israeli goods. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg strongly criticized the proposed boycott, saying “I think it has nothing to do with the food. The issue is there are people who want Israel to be torn apart and everybody to be massacred, and America is not going to let that happen.” (JTA, March 27.)

The Canadian Institute for Jewish Research protests the recent circulation by Hillel Montreal of an advertisement announcing its hosting of a communal Seder the first night of Passover. Appearing on the flyer is a distasteful lone graphic of a toilet bowl, covered by a “seat” of matzah with the inscription, “Let My People Go.” To view the distressing image, please click HERE.

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