06/25 Links: The European Parliament Rewards Hate; Senator questions PA payments to convicted murderers

From Ian:

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The European Parliament Rewards Hate

Hats off to the British. Aside from all the other reasons to applaud Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (i.e. democracy, national sovereignty), it has voted to secede from an enabler of Palestinian terror and hate education. And if that accusation sounds harsh, consider what transpired in the EU Parliament on the very day of the Brexit referendum.
While the British were voting, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was addressing the EU Parliament in Brussels. By any objective standard, the visit didn’t start off well: Upon arriving, Abbas immediately rejected a personal plea by the parliament’s president, Martin Schulz, to meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who happened to be in Brussels at the same time. But things quickly got worse when Abbas started speaking.
Abbas’s speeches are always full of anti-Israel slander, and this one was no exception. He accused Israel of “massacring” Palestinians’ “history, heritage, identity and geopolitical entity.” He termed the Israeli “occupation” the longest in history and deemed it uniquely evil, “unlike anything that has happened to any other people anywhere in the world,” to quote one reporter’s live tweeting of the speech (I haven’t managed to find a transcript); in reality, of course, not only have there been many longer occupations, but few conflicts have ever entailed so little bloodshed. He accused Israel of being “fascist” and “racist,” of committing extrajudicial killings, and of turning “our country into an open-air prison.” All this is pretty standard, as was the conclusion, in which he paid lip service to his willingness to make peace with the monstrously evil country he just described.
But even by Abbas’s standards, this speech was exceptionally vile in two respects. First, he accused Israel of responsibility for all terrorism worldwide, ludicrously asserting that “Once the occupation ends, terrorism will disappear, there will be no more terrorism in the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world.” After all, Israel is clearly the reason why Muslims are killing fellow Muslims by bombing mosques, schools, and hospitals in Muslim countries like Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan, right?
Then, he resurrected a medieval blood libel, accusing Israel of poisoning Palestinian wells. Granted, he was speaking in Arabic, and this accusation wasn’t in his prepared English translation; but the simultaneous translator rendered it into English, and Israeli reporters had no trouble hearing it; thus one has to assume it was audible to EU parliamentarians, as well.

Abbas walks back claim rabbis sought to ‘poison’ Palestinian wells

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday backed away from his claim that rabbis had called to poison Palestinian water, saying he hadn’t intended to offend Jews, after Israel and Jewish groups said his statements were promoting blood libels and anti-Semitic tropes.
“After it has become evident that the alleged statements by a rabbi on poisoning Palestinian wells, which were reported by various media outlets, are baseless, President Mahmoud Abbas has affirmed that he didn’t intend to do harm to Judaism or to offend Jewish people around the world,” his office said in a statement.
In his speech to the Parliament of the European Union in Brussels on Thursday, Abbas claimed accusations of incitement by the Palestinians were unfair as “The Israelis are doing this as well… Certain rabbis in Israel have said very clearly to their government that our water should be poisoned in order to have Palestinians killed.”
A story reported in the Turkish press earlier in June claimed a rabbi had made such a call, though the story was quickly debunked.
His office said he “rejected all claims that accuse him and the Palestinian people of offending the Jewish religion. [He] also condemned all accusations of anti-Semitism.”
Abbas did not walk back his assertion, also contained in his EU speech, that terrorism worldwide would be eradicated if only Israel withdrew from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel excoriated Abbas on Thursday as a peddler of lies, with the Prime Minister’s Office saying he “showed his true colors” and “is lying when he claims his hand is outstretched in peace.
“Israel waits for the day Abbas stops peddling lies and inciting [against Israel]. Until then, Israel will continue to defend itself against Palestinian incitement, which fuels terror,” the statement said. (h/t Yenta Press)

Some Cover, Others Cover Up, Abbas Anti-Semitism

Some news organizations did cover Abbas’s libel with appropriate focus. Reuters, for example, pointedly addressed the issue in the lede of its article, “Abbas says some Israeli rabbis called for poisoning Palestinian water”:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israeli rabbis on Thursday of calling for the poisoning of Palestinian water, in what appeared to be an invocation of a widely debunked media report that recalled a medieval anti-Semitic libel.
Even Diaa Hadid, a New York Times correspondent whose coverage of Israel at times has been dreadful, emphasized the importance of the story with a powerful opening paragraph:
Echoing anti-Semitic claims that led to the mass killings of European Jews in medieval times, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority accused rabbis in Israel of calling on their government to poison the water used by Palestinians.
But other news organizations, including the Associated Press, ignored Abbas’s antisemitic comments even while covering Abbas’s speech.
The Wall Street Journal took it a step further. Not only did the newspaper ignore the Palestinian leader’s hateful remarks in coverage of the speech, but it even framed Abbas’s remarks as being moderate relative to a speech by Israeli president Reuven Rivlin:
The refusal of Mr. Abbas comes as an ironic finale to the two leaders’ visits to the Belgian and European capital.
In a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday, it was the Israeli president who brought the unpopular message that there were no prospects of a final peace deal in the near future and that a recent French initiative to revive negotiations amounted to little more than “negotiations for negotiations’ sake.”

Syrian Refugees vs. Palestinian "Refugees" at UN "Human Rights" Council, June 22, 2016




Senator questions Palestinian aid directed to stipends for convicted murderers

US Senator Dan Coats, Republican of Indiana, called for an end to US aid to the Palestinian Authority this week until the body ceases its program of providing stipends to convicted murderers.
Delivering remarks from the Senate floor, the senator said he is increasingly concerned that US taxpayer dollars go to funding programs that incite further Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians.
For decades, the Palestinian Authority has maintained a program that provides regular monthly stipends to men and women convicted by Israel of murder or terrorism. Members of Congress have long repudiated the program, but it has never been enough for the legislature to suspend its annual aid– the PA's lifeblood.
The funding program was moved in 2014 from PA to Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) control, ostensibly to avoid controversy over Congress' direct funding of the PA.
"This system of payments has been formalized and expanded by President Abbas in presidential directives," Coats said. "Palestinian terrorist prisoners are regarded by the PA as patriotic ‘fighters’ and as employees of the government of the Palestinian Authority."
"We will identify the amount of money that flows from the PA to the PLO for this purpose and cut US assistance by that amount at least," the senator continued. "If that partial cut-off of US aid is not sufficient to motivate the Palestinian Authority to end this immoral system of payments to terrorists, I will propose a complete suspension of financial assistance until the policy is changed."

The 9/11 of South America: Looking back at the AMIA bombing of 1994

Joseph Humire of Centre for a Secure Free Society talks to Ezra Levant of TheRebel.media about the largest Islamic terror attack in the West until 9/11: The bombing of a Jewish centre in Argentina in 1994.

Stop blaming the victims of the Tel Aviv cafe terror attack

The victim-blaming narrative that says that Israel’s so-called “occupation” of the West Bank is responsible for Palestinian violence has been getting a lot of air time since the murder of four by a terrorist in Tel Aviv earlier this month. It has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Politico, and has even been parroted by the mayor of Tel Aviv himself.
This narrative ignores decades of history, and has no more truth to it than the vile claim that LGBT people deserved the Orlando attack. Israel’s military presence in the disputed territories of the West Bank is the result of Arab violence against Israel, and not the cause of it.
Israel took control of the West Bank as a result of a defensive war, during which Jordan used its positions in the West Bank to attack to Israel. After the Palestinian Authority rejected the Israeli offer at Camp David to leave most of the West Bank and all of Gaza in 2000, then-PA President Arafat intentionally started the Second Intifada.
The much-maligned checkpoints and separation barrier were put in place in response to the Second Intifada, and they have saved many lives. Palestinian leaders again rejected an Israeli offer of independence and statehood in 2008, and ended negotiations in 2014.
The assertion that an attack on Israeli civilians in a coffee shop is a consequence of “Palestinian despair” or “frustration over the occupation,” therefore, doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. To claim that the violence is caused by the “occupation,” or by the checkpoints or by the “Apartheid wall,” is to invert cause and effect.

Partner for Peace?

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit.
On June 25 2006, an Israeli soldier Gilat Shalit was captured by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid. Deprived of his Geneva convention rights, Hamas held him underground for over five years, until his release in a controversial 2011 prisoner exchange.
On the anniversary of his capture, Palestinians have taken to social media, vowing more kidnapping of Israelis

Gaza-based pro-ISIS group urges Muslims on social media to donate for weapons

Over the past several days, a Gaza-based Salafi jihadi group that supports Islamic State kicked off its annual fundraising campaign on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Telegram.
According to a new report by the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor of MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute) and shared exclusively with The Jerusalem Post, the campaign urges Muslims to donate money to help buy weapons, ammunition, and parts to make explosive devices.
The fundraising campaign is going by the name, “Equip Us,” which also has a hashtag on Twitter and been endorsed by the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center, a prominent pro-Islamic State media group.
As part of this fundraising effort, a number of Twitter accounts have been created and started tweeting articles, videos, and posting advertisements, which mention the importance of donating to jihadi groups during Ramadan.

Gaza Jihadi Wanted by Hamas Killed in Battle with Egyptian Army

A Gaza jihadi was killed on Wednesday in a battle with the Egyptian army in Sinai, Breitbart Jerusalem has learned.
Islamic State militants released a statement announcing the death of Nader Judah, 22, without disclosing details about the circumstances of his death. His family was notified.
Judah, a resident of Radwan district in northern Gaza City, escaped the Gaza Strip and joined Waliyat Sinai, IS’ Egyptian branch, after dodging Hamas arrest.
The Hamas government in Gaza accused Judah of launching a string of attacks against Hamas targets – mainly, limousines owned by top Hamas officials. The attacks were attributed by Hamas to a ring of Salafi militants, Judah being chief among them.
Following the attack, several members of the ring, including Judah, fled the Strip. Another member, Muhamad Shehadeh Dalu, was killed in April while fighting for IS in Sinai.
Dozens of Gaza jihadists, including prominent members of Hamas’ military wing, have joined IS in the last months and years, either in Sinai, Iraq or Libya.
In April, Breitbart Jerusalem reported that a Gaza jihadi fighter was killed in Libya.

Amid reports of warming ties with Israel, Erdogan hosts Hamas leader

As Israel and Ankara reportedly near a deal on normalizing ties, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday met the leader of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas for unscheduled talks.
Erdogan received the Doha-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, whose group rules the Gaza Strip, at the Ottoman-era Yildiz Palace in Istanbul, the official Anadolu Agency reported, quoting presidential sources.
Turkish press reports have said Israel and Turkey could hold final talks on normalizing ties on Sunday but this has yet to be confirmed.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday there was a “large possibility” the negotiations would take place by the end of this month.

Families demand return of KIA soldiers as Turkey, Israel renew ties

The families of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oron Shaul planned a protest tent outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem should a deal not involve the return of their sons.
Goldin and Shaul were killed when an anti-tank missile struck their APC during Operation Protective Edge against Hamas. Though neither body was recovered, the army has classed both soldiers as “killed in action” based on forensic evidence.
Shaul’s family told the press at their home that Netanyahu must not sign a deal with Ankara unless it stipulates the return of the two soldiers’ remains.
“My son went out to war in Gaza, two years have passed and he hasn’t returned yet,” Zehava Shaul, the soldier’s mother, said. She said Netanyahu has to make good on his promises and bring her son home.
Goldin’s family said that by signing a deal with Turkey, “the prime minister will fail the first significant test following Operation Protective Edge, and will give a medal to Hamas for kidnapping Goldin and [Sgt. Oron] Shaul.”
“The time has come for Israel to be the one to dictate the price to Hamas for the kidnapping and detention of soldiers, and not the way we’ve been used to in the past three years — to pay a heavy price to our foes,” Army Radio quoted the Goldin family saying.

CAIR Steps in to Handle Legal and P.R. for Orlando Terrorist's Family

According to a report at CounterJihad, calls to Seddique Mateen, father of Orlando jihadi Omar Mateen, and other relatives “are now redirected to a phone number for a CAIR attorney, and another CAIR lawyer is sitting in on FBI interviews with suspects at Mateen’s radical mosque in Fort Pierce, Fla. – even though the FBI has suspended formal ties to CAIR over the group’s association with terrorist groups.”
CAIR has been declared a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and was named by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas-funding operation.
Despite this status, which has been upheld by a federal judge, CAIR has a habit of involving itself aggressively in Islamic terrorism cases.
As CounterJihad notes, they held a press conference for “family members to help spin their story before investigators had a chance to talk to them” in the San Bernardino jihad case, moving within hours of the the attack to “lawyer up key witnesses and suspected co-conspirators in the plot, including relatives and friends of the shooters along with leaders of their mosque.”

Leading UK Jewish Newspaper: Brexit Vote Will Reduce Extremism, Make British Jews Safer

The editor of the United Kingdom’s leading Jewish newspaper hailed the Brexit vote on Friday, arguing that it will reduce anti-Semitism and extremism in British society.
“It’s certainly a truism that when times are troubled, the Jews are often the first target,” wrote Stephen Pollard, editor of The Jewish Chronicle. “But the referendum demand from voters that we regain control over immigration isn’t an attack on immigrants, on foreigners – or on Jews. It’s an attack on people being denied any say on a core issue of politics.”
While acknowledging that anti-Semitism exists in British society, Pollard posited that problems for minorities are exacerbated “when the mainstream loses touch with people and the only vehicles left to make a point are extremists.”
“That has been the EU’s fundamental flaw,” he continued. “It regards voters as uncouths who need to have what’s good for them imposed on them. Just look at Greece. That’s how and when extremists prosper – and that’s when the Jews suffer.”
“Our freedom from the EU will make extremism less, not more, likely, as the pressure cooker is released,” he asserted.

Senior Iranian Official Says Brexit Vote Presents ‘Historical Opportunity’ for Tehran and Country Must Capitalize on EU’s Downfall

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union presents a “historical opportunity” for Iran, a senior Iranian official said on Friday according to semi-official state news agency Tasnim.
On Twitter, Political Deputy of Iran’s Presidential Office Hamid Abutalebi said the UK’s decision will trigger a domino effect leading to the EU’s downfall and the Iranian government must be ready to capitalize on it.
“A great earthquake has shaken Europe and the UK has quit the European Union,” he wrote. “The stars of Europe’s union are falling down. Economic changes in south European countries, terrorism and the refugee crisis is showed that the union is about to fall. But the domino was ticked off with Brexit.”
Abutalebi claimed that Europeans long ago lost their trust in the EU and that the breakup of the remainder of the European bloc is only a matter of time.
Echoing Abutalebi’s assertion that the EU is facing imminent collapse, Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri said the only way the EU — which he called a puppet of the US — can save itself is by cutting off its ties with Washington.
“The European Union is a tool in the hands of the US, and the only way for the EU survival is by declaring its independence,” he said according to Fars, another semi-official state news agency.

Jewish Studies Lecture Cancelled in EU Capital Due to Safety Concerns

Imagine if an academic lecture on Jewish studies could not be held in Washington, D.C. out of fear that participants would be unsafe. That’s exactly what happened this week in the capital of the European Union.
On Tuesday evening, Dr. Philippe Pierret, a graduate of the Sorbonne and a researcher at the Institute for Studies of Religion and Secularism, was scheduled to deliver the closing talk of the academic year at the Free University of Brussels to discuss his recent book on the history of Jews in Brussels from 1785 to 1885. But at the last minute, the event was called off due to the authorities’ inability to provide adequate security, reported Belgian paper La Libre.
“I was informed of the conference cancellation at noon by the secretary of the Institute for Jewish Studies,” Pierret told me. He speculated that the concern over security was prompted by that morning’s events, when a man wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest threatened to blow up a Brussels shopping center. The vest turned out to be fake, filled with salt and cookies.
“I think the Belgian authorities feared another real attack somewhere in Brussels because of what happened at the shopping center in downtown Brussels the same morning,” said Pierret. Jews and their institutions are considered high profile targets in Europe, particularly in Belgium, where an ISIS-linked extremist killed four at Brussels’s Jewish Museum in 2014. But when neither the army nor police could provide the needed security for Pierret’s lecture, the event had to be called off.
The incident offers a window into the chilling effect on Jewish life in Europe created by the mere threat of anti-Semitic terrorism, even when it does not actually take place.

Belgium detains 2 in new anti-terror raids

Belgian police detained two men for questioning after fresh anti-terror raids overnight, the federal prosecutor’s office said Saturday amid reports of a planned attack on a Euro 2016 fanzone.
“One man was arrested in (the eastern town of) Verviers and another man in Tournai,” close to the French border, a spokesman said.
“It is too soon to talk about a terror attack. The two men have to be questioned first,” he added.
Belgium remains on high alert after the March attacks on Brussels airport and on the city’s busy metro system which killed 32 people and were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.
Several of those involved in the bloodshed were also directly linked to the November attacks in Paris which left 130 dead. They were planned in Brussels and also claimed by IS.
The RTL news service, citing unnamed sources, said on its website said the man detained in Verviers was planning an attack on fans watching Belgium’s next Euro 2016 game against Hungary on Sunday.

 In Sweden, Jews pay price for sympathy for refugees

The arrival of high numbers of refugees in 2015 has compounded these concerns considerably. Here, we hear reports of regular occurrences of violence at temporary facilities housing refugees, due to racism and intolerance within this group. As a result, special homes are being set-up to protect Christian refugees, LGBT refugees and refugees where mothers travel alone with their sons. Here, we can see a lack of political will to speak out on these issues as well as minimal mainstream media attention regarding the racism or discriminatory values that this population may bring into Swedish society. As a result, there are currently no initiatives to address anti-Semitic attitudes, neither among this wave of 150,000 refugees, the majority of whom seek to make Sweden their long-term home, nor among the hundreds of thousands that arrived in previous years.
The miscalculation at the core of this situation is that any rise in Islamophobia, with the potential detrimental consequence in terms of radicalizing local Muslims, is perceived as far more dangerous than the risk of ignoring a rise in anti-Semitism.
Therefore, when responding to anti-Semitic attacks in Sweden and abroad, leading politicians regularly insert references to Islamophobia and air grievances against Israel. Striking examples include Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, who saw fit to draw a parallel to oppressive Israeli policies against Palestinians when condemning the Paris Hyper Cacher terrorist attack, as well as seek an investigation into extra-judicial killings of Arabs when commenting on Israeli police actions against terrorists. Former Deputy Prime Minister Åsa Romson also felt compelled to passionately label the current refugee crisis as “Auschwitz on the Mediterranean,” although she later withdrew this statement. Attitudes relativizing and moderating Jewish suffering can also be seen when discussing anti-Semitism in the now infamous city of Malmö. Here, organizations representing local Muslim groups draw the conclusion that Islamophobia and the situation in Israel for Palestinians are more relevant issues than anti-Semitism, and, as a result, fighting anti-Semitism from within their ranks is not a priority.
Mainstream politicians and media believe and expect that immigrants will reward Swedish generosity by integrating seamlessly into Swedish customs and values. From their point of view, there is no need to discuss or debate whether this theory actually holds in reality, and, if not, to define and implement decisive action to uproot anti-Semitism in Sweden, independent of its source. This erroneous political correctness and acceptance is a plague for Swedish society in general, but, if their vilification continues unchecked, Jews will be its first victim.

Democrats’ draft platform excludes call to end occupation

Democrats approved a draft of the party platform early Saturday, deliberating late into the evening on an amendment to call on Israel to end its occupation and building of West Bank settlements. The document includes steps to break up large Wall Street banks, advocates for a $15 an hour wage and urges the abolition of the death penalty, reflecting the influence of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
The group considered the document’s language on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, an issue that has divided Democrats. The committee defeated an amendment led by Sanders supporter James Zogby that would have called for providing Palestinians with “an end to occupation and illegal settlements” and urged an international effort to rebuild Gaza.
Zogby said Sanders had helped craft the language. Instead, the draft reflects presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s views and advocates working toward a “two-state solution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict” that guarantees Israel’s security with recognized borders “and provides the Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity.”
Clinton supporters defeated measures pushed by Sanders’ allies that would have promoted a Medicare-for-all single-payer health care system, a carbon tax to address climate change and impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracking.

Independent Jewish Voices support Iran-backed, anti-Jewish Al-Quds Day

According to an investigation conducted by B’nai Brith Canada, the radical anti-Israel group “Independent Jewish Voices” (IJV) has a long history of headlining the annual anti-Israel al-Quds Day hate rally at Queen’s Park.
IJV, whom B’nai Brith CEO Michael Mostyn called a “Jewish fig leaf for neo-Nazis and anti-Semites under the guise of radial anti-Zionism”, previously posted on their Twitter and Facebook accounts links to an article on an anti-Semitic, white supremacist hate site called Veterans Today.
On April 17, 2014, IJV participated in a “Palestinian Political Prisoners’ Day” vigil organized by Palestine House, which was defunded by the previous Conservative government for its “pattern of support for extremism”. During a rally in front of the Israeli Consulate, the demonstrators demanded the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners, many with Jewish blood on their hands, from the Israeli jails.
They described them as “political prisoners” and “our heroes” and chanted repeatedly the following slogans: “Netanyahu and Hitler are the same; the only difference is the name”, “Israel and [the] Nazis are the same; the only difference is the name” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a euphemism for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Israel.
Elias Hazineh, former President of the Palestine House, who was investigated by Toronto Police in 2013 for hate speech after he told a cheering crowd at al-Quds that Israelis should be shot if they didn’t “get out of ‘Palestine”, warned the Canadians of the “Zionist menace” to Canada: “Zionists are taking over Canada. They are taking over our government. Zionism is racism and they are taking over our government. Zionism is racism. Zionists are taking over our government. Zionists are taking over the Canadian government. Zionists are taking over the Canadian government. The Zionist movement is a racist movement. It is taking over our government. The Zionists are taking over our government. The Zionists are taking over our government. Be careful, wake up Canada, wake up, Zionists are taking over the country.”

Missiles Everywhere

Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) major general Yaakov Amidror is talking about the M-600 missile. It's a fairly accurate ballistic missile that weighs more than a Hummer H2 and carries a formidable warhead. The M-600 can also deliver chemical weapons. A single M-600 could wipe out a good chunk of Times Square and maim and kill people four football fields away from the point of impact. Hezbollah has a lot of M-600s.
Amidror, Israel's former national security adviser, is asked what the next war between Israel and Hezbollah will look like. "We are not looking for war," says Amidror. "But suppose Hezbollah launches an advanced missile like the M-600 at the Kirya, the IDF military headquarters in Tel Aviv, or a large apartment complex in Jerusalem. Our defense technology quickly finds the launcher. It is right under a 22-story residential building in Beirut. We can now see in real time the launcher being moved back under the building to reload."
"We have just minutes to act," explains Amidror. "The IDF will have to take out the launcher because the next missile can cause enormous damage in Israel. But to take out the launcher means the 22-story building may fall. We would try to use precision-guided missiles to protect civilians but the target is hard to reach. We will try to warn the residents but the timing is tight. That building will almost certainly be hit. And the images in the international media will almost certainly be awful." But, asks Amidror, today a senior fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, "What alternative do we have?"
No good one, since the building in the scenario described would be a legitimate military target. So say a bevy of international military law experts, including Geoff Corn of the South Texas College of Law in Houston, who has studied IDF targeting policies: "After exhausting all feasible efforts to reduce civilian risk, IDF commanders must resolve the decisive question: Is the potential for civilian harm excessive in comparison to the advantages the attack would provide? When you talk of an M-600 in the hands of an enemy that targets vital military assets or the civilian population—even if that apartment building is full—launching the attack will be necessary to mitigate the threat."
Professor Corn is well aware of what will happen next. "The international community will look at the images and will note that the immediate cause of destruction was Israeli munitions. But—and here is the kicker—both legally and morally, the cause of these tragic consequences will lie solely at the feet of Hezbollah."

Nasrallah: As long as Iran has money, we'll have money

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged on Friday that his group had lost fighters in Syria, but vowed to continue to be involved in the war there.
Speaking in remarks broadcast on the Shiite group's Al-Manar television and quoted by AFP, Nasrallah said that the offensive on the city of Aleppo was the "greatest battle" in Syria.
He stressed his group would "increase our presence in Aleppo... because the real, strategic, greatest battle is in Aleppo and the surrounding area."
Nasrallah also announced that 26 Hezbollah fighters had been killed in the offensive this month, a rare admission of casualties for the group.
He spoke at a commemoration event for Mustafa Badr al-Din, the Hezbollah commander killed in an explosion on May 12 near Damascus international airport.
Hezbollah has in the past blamed the elimination of its leaders on Israel, but in the case of Badr al-Din, it said that “Islamist extremists” were behind his killing, without naming any particular group.

The Generals Take on Obama

Arguably, Barack Obama’s biggest failing is his inability to act more like a wartime commander-in-chief. He seldom if ever tries to rally public opinion toward the goal of defeating adversaries such as the Taliban and ISIS, and he generally commits the minimal number of forces to these battles under the most restrictive rules of engagement and timelines possible. This causes considerable heartburn among the troops he sends into harm’s way and their commanders.
This week, that angst has come out into the open in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In all three theaters, military officers are protesting the administration’s actions, or lack thereof, in a way that would be big news if it had happened under a Republican like George W. Bush. These stories deserve more coverage than they are getting—a lot more:
Marine General Thomas Waldhauser, nominated to get a fourth star and take command of Africa Command, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the military has identified ISIS targets to strike in Libya but has not received White House approval to hit them. “That makes no sense, does it?” Senator Lindsey Graham asked. Waldhauser replied, “No it does not.”
At another point in his testimony, Waldhauser said, “I am not aware of any overall grand strategy at this point” in Libya. That statement is as accurate as it is damning, and helps to explain why the military hasn’t received authority for air strikes: It doesn’t make much sense to drop bombs if there is no idea of what strategy the military forces are supposed to be pursuing.

ISIS and Archaeologists Equally Delighted over Newly Discovered Ruins in Jordan (satire)

Archaeologists have used satellite imaging to discover an ancient structure buried near the historic city of Petra in Jordan, you know, the site in Indiana jones and the Last Crusade.
“This find is incredible!” exclaimed archaeologist Dr. Lucy Peatbog. “This discovery gives us a better sense of how civilizations in this area lived thousands of years ago. What’s next? We discover Atlantis, Xanadu, maybe those Clinton emails? With this tech, I’d believe it.”
But ancient history fans aren’t the only people thrilled by the find. ISIS has now expressed interest in a visit to Petra to see the new excavations.
“What a great find for ISIS,” exclaimed leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “We love ancient sites. Well, more accurately, we love to destroy them. Churches, Assyrian statues, cultural heritage sites, bits of painted Styrofoam left over from the filming of Stargate, you name it! Blowing up historical ruins is our second favorite activity, just behind removing people’s melons. Sometimes we do a combo, like the time we filmed ourselves beheading that old guy in Palmyra, he just wouldn’t shut up about how important it all was. Honestly, we expected nothing less when the media focused on what we blew up rather than on what we did to the professor. That was a great marketing boost for us.”
“We’ve heard it’s possible the original residents of Petra performed human sacrifices at this site. Horrific! Thank Allah that we are here to make the world a better place.”

Top economies ease penalties on Iran over money laundering

The world’s major economies on Friday suspended anti-money laundering measures against Iran for a year despite concerns that the Islamic Republic uses its financial sector to protect criminal enterprises and fund terrorist activity.
The announcement is another sign of progress in Tehran’s campaign to return to the global economy after last year’s nuclear accord.
At a meeting in South Korea, the United States and the 36 other members of the Financial Action Task Force welcomed Iran’s commitment to address shortcomings in how it tackles money laundering and fights terrorism financing. The Iranians also are seeking technical assistance in their efforts.
To protect the international financial system, FATF members are supposed to apply countermeasures against any country on the organization’s blacklist. The body, which meets three times a year, said banks should continue applying due diligence in business relationships and transactions with Iranian individuals.
If Iran fails to make progress over the next 12 months, “FATF’s call for counter-measures will be re-imposed,” it said in a statement. “If Iran meets its commitments under the action plan in that time period, the FATF will consider next steps.”

Iran cracks down on ‘vulgar Western’ dog owners

Dog lovers in central Iran are in uproar after authorities began confiscating their pets in an apparent crackdown on the “vulgar Western culture” of canine ownership, Iranian media reported Saturday.
One unnamed dog owner in Shahin Shahr in Isfahan province told Iran’s Shahrvand newspaper that officials had shown up suddenly at his house last week.
“We were shown a piece of paper indicating they were from the municipal veterinary office. They came in and took away our dogs under the pretext of vaccination,” he said.
The owner was told he could recover the dog after its vaccination, but when he went to the vet’s office they had no record of his case.
Instead, the newspaper said the confiscations were the result of a crackdown launched by local prosecutor Mohsen Boosaidi.
“Keeping and caring for dogs is haram (forbidden) according to religious leaders,” Boosaidi told the Fars news agency on June 19.

Turkey: Jewish Cemetery Attacked by 'Unknown Assailants'

When Jews visited the cemetery of their community members in the southern Turkish city of Hatay on June 19, the Fathers’ Day, they saw the wall of the cemetery broken, the gate torn down and the grave stones damaged.
The cemetery includes the graves of Jews and Armenians, as well as of Muslims. The Jews of the city were deeply saddened and concerned, reported the Turkish daily newspaper Birgun.
The neighborhood of Emek where the cemetery is located in the Hatay province, which is on the border of Syria, is known to be home to many jihadists such as Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and al Qaeda members.
Hatay, or Alexandretta, where the ancient district of Antioch (Antakya) is also located, used to have large Jewish communities for centuries.

Kansas City Man Charged With Threatening Jewish Congregation

A man from Kansas City has been charged with threatening a Jewish congregation in the city of Overland Park.
Forty-year-old Brian Wachter, who was arrested June 22, appeared before judges in a county court via video on a charge of making a criminal threat against the Jewish congregation of Beth Shalom.
The charge involves the violation of Kansas Statute 21-5415a by allegedly making a threat to “commit violence communicated with intent to place another in fear, or to cause the evacuation, lock down or disruption in regular, ongoing activities of any building, place of assembly or facility of transportation, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such fear or evacuation, lock down or disruption in regular, ongoing activities,” according to Kansas City’s Fox 4 News.
Wachter’s bond was set at $25,000, and he has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.

A new noninvasive monitoring test for bladder cancer

The Israeli company Nucleix has developed a simple, inexpensive urine test to monitor bladder cancer, which has the highest lifetime treatment cost per patient of all types of cancer.
Bladder EpiCheck is expected to be available in Europe in the third quarter of 2016, says Nucleix President and Chief Operating Officer Opher Shapira. Right now, the product is undergoing advanced clinical trials in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Israel.
“We expect to earn the CE mark this summer, and probably next year we will start clinical trials in the US and then apply for FDA approval,” he tells ISRAEL21c.
Shapiro explains that because bladder cancer has a high rate of recurrence, patients must be monitored invasively every few months after initial treatment. Nucleix therefore saw a market need for a noninvasive “liquid biopsy” assay using body fluids rather than body tissues.

Study shows medical cannabis effectively relieves pain

Medical marijuana users experience significant pain relief and improvement in function while suffering only minor side effects, according to a new study by Prof. Pesach Shvartzman of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).
This was the first study on the characteristics of patients who have permission from the Israel Health Ministry to receive treatment with medical marijuana.This type of therapy has become popular and accepted over the last few years in Israel, with approximately 20,000 registered users and 50 more approved each week by the Health Ministry.
“Although medical cannabis has been legal for a decade and is licensed to patients to relieve pain and other symptoms, there has been no information about the users themselves,” Shvartzman explained.
The study examined more than 2,000 cancer and non-cancer patients using medical marijuana with a focus on their socioeconomic characteristics, dosages, previous treatment, treatment safety and side effects, as well as overall treatment effectiveness. Patients were interviewed by telephone in the first three months of treatment and subsequently every four months for two years.

Analysis: The legacy of Entebbe - Israel's last heroic hurrah

In its 68-year history, Israel has witnessed four events which left an unprecedented impression domestically and even more so internationally.
These events in chronological order were:
• The screening in 1960 of Exodus, the epic film based on Leon Uris’s book;
• The capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1960;
• The smashing victory in the Six Day War in June 1967 against three Arab armies; and
• The Entebbe raid in 1976, which will mark its 40th anniversary on July 4.
All of them were formative experiences which captured the world’s imagination, and portrayed Israel as a daring and pioneering nation whose leaders were ready to take high risks to defend the country and its people in far-away lands in pursuit of national goals.
The bold, courageous, yet adventurous decision to send IDF troops to rescue 105 hostages from a hijacked plane held in Uganda also cemented the image of Israel as a determined role model in fighting terrorists wherever they are.
What also contributed to the admiration of Israel and elevated its image was the timing: The operation took place on the Fourth of July, the 200th US Independence Day.
It was not an easy decision. At first the government, led by prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, was reluctant even to think about the military option, and was ready to genuinely engage in negotiations with the German and Palestinian terrorists – even knowing that it would lead to giving in to the terrorists’ demands to release 40 Palestinians from an Israeli prison.
Then the military and intelligence chiefs slowly convinced Rabin and his defense minister, Shimon Peres, that against all odds, a rescue operation was viable. Rabin agreed to consider it.

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06/24 Links Pt2: What impact will Brexit have on Israel?; The UK referendum and the politics of hate

From Ian:

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Analysis: On diplomatic front, weaker EU not necessarily bad for Israel

No Israeli government official would dare say it, but a weakened EU is not necessarily a bad thing for Israel diplomatically.
Economics might be another issue. The specter of the EU falling apart, and what kind of forces that will unleash, is also a separate matter.
But on the very narrow issue of the diplomatic impact of the move on Israel, the fact that the EU house is now being shaken is not something necessarily inimical to Israeli interests.
Or, as one source put it, clearly the EU will pack a lesser punch when it makes statements about Israel and the Middle East. And that is not something that will cause many in the government to shed tears.
The British vote shows that the EU is now in serious trouble, with other states – starting with the Netherlands, and perhaps even including France – likely to question their membership in the union.
If that is the case, the Europeans will need to spend more time and energy trying to keep their own house in order, rather than trying to fix what is happening in homes in other neighborhoods.
An EU with 28 countries packs a lot of power. But with Britain pulling out, and some other countries either likely to do so or beginning the processing of checking into a divorce, it will have a more difficult time presenting itself as a major power.

Melanie Phillips: The UK referendum and the politics of hate

Well, I’m a British Jew. I supported Brexit principally on the grounds that Britain should become once again a democratic self-governing nation. I also back Britain being able to control its immigration levels.
The comparison with Jewish refugees and migrants, whose total number in the decades around the turn of the past century is exceeded by the numbers now migrating to the UK every year, is invidious. Pfeffer’s comments are as offensive as they are shallow.
Contrary to the claims of Remain, it is uncontrolled migration that swells neo-Nazi support. The rise of extremist parties in Europe has been fueled by those who have turned a blind eye to mass migration and who deny the growing phenomenon of Muslim assaults on women.
In Britain, neo-Nazi groups have been boosted by the denial of Islamization, Muslim rape gangs and the infiltration of schools by Islamic radicals.
What’s more, those claiming that Remain meant an end to the politics of hate are themselves the principal hate-mongers. Those backing Brexit talked about “getting our country back” from the EU. Commentators backing Remain used the same term to mean getting their country back from their fellow British citizens who supported Brexit.
Those who voted for UK self-government have thus been damned as pariahs who hijacked a nation to which they are deemed too horrible even to belong.
Britain’s EU referendum turned into a culture war. The divisions are savage and won’t go away. British Jews are on both sides. But when a society turns on itself like this it will hurt them all too in the end. It always does.

Al-Jazeera Network Explains BDS: HP, Cat, Adidas, Alstom, G4S "Make a Profit from the Occupation... Do They Have a Presence in Your Country?"

An infomercial titled "What Is BDS?" and produced by AJ+, an online news and current events channel run by the Al-Jazeera network, lists companies that are targeted by the BDS movement. According to the video, posted on the YouTube channel of AJ+ on June 4, Hewlett-Packard, G4S, Alstom, Cat, and Adidas are singled out as trademarks that "make a profit from the occupation."
Reporter: "The Palestinians face daily covert suffering, on top of their suffering from the guns of the occupation. All of Abu Yessar's work has been disrupted by the Israeli checkpoints, which are equipped with advanced electronic devices produced by HP. Yasser goes to school, where he learns that his teacher was arrested in an Israeli prison, run by the G4S company, which has a contract with the occupation. As for Umm Yasser, she finds it difficult to ride to the train, which serves only the settlements. The train was created and is operated by the Alstom Company. These settlements, the train and the wall are located in lands that, according to international law, are occupied. There can be no more visits to the home of the neighbors. The Israeli occupation forces destroyed it, using bulldozers made by the Cat Company. The Israeli authorities hold a marathon, which is sponsored by Adidas. These famous trademarks, as well as others, make a profit from the occupation. There are demands to boycott the occupation and those who benefit from it, to withdraw investments from them and to place sanctions upon them. These demands are led by a movement known as BDS. Some companies have stopped their activities in the occupied lands, whereas others have declared their intention to pull out. Do these companies have a presence in your country?"

Michael Lumish: Rosenthal's Ten Propositions (Part 1)

Vic Rosenthal of Abu Yehuda fame has a recent piece entitled simply, Ten Propositions, and I intend to examine each - perhaps the first five in this piece and the second five at the Elder of Ziyon this Sunday - and see where we agree and disagree and hopefully spark some interesting discussion.
He writes:
I am a nationalist, Zionist, tribalist and hawk.
Here are ten things I believe:
What I like about Rosenthal is what I like about, for example, Caroline Glick, i.e., he's got balls.
A nationalist, Zionist, tribalist and hawk, huh? That, my friends, is a very bold statement. I will go with number one and number two, particularly since in order to be a Zionist one must, by definition, be a nationalist. As for "tribalist," I am not even certain what that means.
As for hawk, I simply consider myself a pragmatist. Nobody wants war... I guess... but when aggressors come to kill your children it is probably good policy to strike them back hard enough that they will never do so again.
OK, on to the first five of Rosenthal's ten propositions. They are

What impact will the Brexit referendum have on Israel?

While it may have huge ramifications for Britain, Europe, and the world’s economy, Britain’s decision on Thursday to leave or remain a part of the 28-state European Union will have little impact on Israel, Yigal Palmor, a veteran diplomat, said on Wednesday.
Palmor’s comments followed a statement made on Monday evening by Prime Minister David Cameron, who – in an address to a fund-raising event for the Jewish Care welfare organization in London – argued that Britain’s remaining in the EU would be beneficial for Israel.
“Do you want Britain, Israel’s greatest friend, in there opposing boycotts, opposing the campaign for divestment and sanctions, or do you want us outside the room, powerless to effect the discussion that takes place?” Cameron asked. The idea underpinning Cameron’s argument was that Israel needs a friend like Britain inside the EU to go to bat for it when it matters.
Palmor, the Jewish Agency’s director of communications who served in several diplomatic postings in Europe before becoming the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman from 2008 to 2014, sought to put the United Kingdom’s friendship toward Israel inside the EU into context.
Britain, he said, is not Israel’s “go-to guy” inside the EU, a role fulfilled by countries such as the Czech Republic, Germany or – to a certain degree – Italy, at least in the past.

Are we on the edge of an abyss or should we celebrate? British Jews react to Brexit vote

At Shabbat dinner this Friday night, many British Jewish households will be “having an extra l’chaim” to celebrate the results of Thursday’s Brexit poll, said 31-year-old Richard Verber, the senior vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
But many others are, as one British Jewish journalist put it, “appalled and very depressed. On the edge of an abyss.”
On Thursday, 51.9% of Britons voted to leave the European Union in a controversial referendum on whether to remain or exit the 28-nation bloc. On Friday morning, British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, saying he does “not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination.”
What that destination is, however, is what worries many in the Jewish community.
According to political strategist Jeremy Newmark, chair of the Jewish Labour Movement and a firm proponent for Remain, the Leave decision “gives British Jewry and European Jewry huge cause for concern.”
Newmark speculated that the result “is likely to act as a massive boost and a recruiting sergeant for racist and nationalist parties” throughout Britain and the EU. He added that it could also act as a catalyst for other member states to fortify borders and refuse to allow the entry of immigrants.
“The collapse of the EU itself is a real possibility on the table,” said Newmark from his London office where he works as a political consultant to clients including governments, NGOs and businesses. The vote, he said, “brings us very much into uncharted territory.”

After Brexit vote, Israeli prof warns: ‘When the EU is sick, Israel will suffer’

Given this widespread uncertainty, it is hard to foresee precisely what implications Brexit will have for the Jewish state. But, said Professor Sharon Pardo, big changes are now unfolding, and they will have an impact on Israel.
“Above all, we should remember that the EU is Israel’s largest trade partner. Every obstacle in the European integration project will have financial implications that will immediately influence the Israeli economy,” said Pardo, the director of the Center for European Politics and Society at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
“When the EU is sick, Israel will suffer [too], it’s as simple as that,” he said.
On Friday, global stock markets crashed and in the short term, the Israeli economy will likely take a hit as well, Pardo predicted. “Israel is a member of the international community, and any major and drastic decision has implication on us as well.”
Diplomatically speaking, Israel is losing a friend in the union, but it is no catastrophe. London was not an ardent critic like Ireland or Sweden, but also not as friendly as Germany or the Czech Republic.
Within the union’s Foreign Affairs Council, “Israel is losing an open channel, one that is clearly influential at the EU leadership level,” Pardo said. “On other hand, Germany has good chances of taking the lead here and the fact that Germany is a close ally of Israel will clearly have implications. Germany is the responsible adult here.”

PM praises Cameron as true friend of Israel, Jewish people

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday heaped praise on his British counterpart David Cameron, who announced he would resign later this year after Britons voted to leave the European Union despite his campaign to keep it in the bloc.
Cameron is a “respected leader and a true friend of Israel and the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Without directly addressing the results of the referendum, Netanyahu said that throughout Cameron’s premiership, “the security, economic and technological cooperation between the United Kingdom and Israel has greatly expanded,” and that “together we laid a strong foundation for continued cooperation.”
Netanyahu echoed sentiments made earlier by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan who said he was “sad” to see Cameron resign, calling him a “fair, responsible” politician, a “real gentleman,” and friend to the Jewish state.

UK will remain a friend to Israel outside EU, says British envoy

The British Ambassador to Israel David Quarrey said Friday the United Kingdom will continue being a friend to Israel from outside the European Union, which Britons chose to leave on Thursday following a fraught referendum.
The results prompted British Prime Minister David Cameron, a strong supporter of Israel, to announce he would resign in the coming months.
Israel, Quarrey said, will now have to navigate relations with the European Union without the United Kingdom while maintaining separate ties with London.
“We have been a friend of Israel in the EU, we’ll be a friend of Israel outside the EU, but Israel’s relations with the EU in the future will have to be determined without Britain at the table,” he said in an interview with Channel 2.
“I don’t think that things will change very significantly between the UK and Israel. I don’t see any likely change in the desire on our part for a strong relationship with Israel based on trade, investment, security, cooperation, technology and science."

Regavim praises UK for choosing Brexit

Regavim has offered its congratulations to the UK for voting in favor of leaving the European Union.
Regavim is an NGO focused on "ensuring responsible, legal, accountable and environmentally friendly use of Israel’s national lands and the return of the rule of law to all areas and aspects of the land and its preservation." It has strongly criticized the EU for funding illegal Palestinian construction.
An official statement reads: "Regavim would like to thank all of our supporters who took a stand for the independence of Britain and Israel. Our "Support Israel-Leave Europe" campaign generated a tremendous response and undoubtedly contributed to the Brexit result. Now that Britain has voted to leave the EU, we pray the EU will leave Israel.
"The European Union should immediately stop its illegal building on Israeli land, stop funding anti-Israel NGOs and allowing European taxpayers' money to bankroll Palestinian terrorists. Above all, it is time that the EU focus on its own problems and cease its unhealthy anti-Semitic obsession with Israel.
"Regavim is a legal advocacy organization, dedicated to ensuring responsible, legal and accountable use of Israel’s national land. By investigating claims on the ground level, Regavim protects national land interests, presenting its findings in the form of white papers and legal action, in addition to briefing the press and diplomatic corps. Regavim has launched the “Support Israel-Leave Europe” campaign following years of legal battles against the European Union and their well-funded NGO proxies to encourage Israel supporters to take a stand against the EU."

UK Labour Party lawmakers seek to oust leader Corbyn

Two members of Britain's main opposition Labour Party submitted a motion of no confidence in their leader, Jeremy Corbyn, on Friday after the country voted to leave the European Union at a referendum - something Corbyn had campaigned against.
The motion, submitted by lawmaker Margaret Hodge and backed by colleague Ann Coffey, calls for a debate on Corbyn's leadership among the party's parliamentary representatives when it next meets on Monday. If supported at a later secret ballot, it could then trigger a leadership contest.
Several Labour members have criticized Corbyn, who was elected leader last year on a wave of enthusiasm for his left-leaning agenda, for failing to persuade voters in his party's heartlands in northern England and elsewhere to vote to remain.
Millions of them voted in favor of leaving the bloc, often swayed by the "Out" campaign's arguments on immigration.
"In a leader you need somebody who can communicate a message and inspire confidence in that message and I think he failed on both counts during the referendum campaign and therefore I don't think he should be leader of the party," Coffey told Reuters.
"I will say to people, you can win the election or you can have Corbyn as leader but you can't have both."

Brexit: Soros Defeated by Act of God

As Breitbart News predicted, severe flooding hammering the UK on Election Day depressed British turnout enough to assure a victory for the “Brexit” from the European Union.
Breitbart News reported that George Soros had served as “The Puppet Master” of the E.U. “remain” campaign by mobilizing British elites to spread fear that a vote to “leave” would cause the pound to be devalued by 15 to 20 percent and GDP per household to fall by $6,321.
With the pre-election polls showing the “remain” leading and London bookies offering 13 to 1 odds against the “Brexit,” the shock and awe of the leave vote winning by 52 to 48 percent sent UK stock prices crashing down harder than the initial September 15, 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers hit US markets.
Breitbart News on the eve of the vote predicted that an “Act of God” level storm system was about to wallop the UK and favor the Brexit. The worst of the day’s torrential rain storms and severe flooding hit hardest in Southeast England, which was expected to be the strongest area for the pro-remain vote.

EXCLUSIVE: Notorious Anjem Choudary Backs ‘Remain’ – Says EU Courts Are Softer On His Islamist Friends

British hate preacher Anjem Choudary – who is currently facing charges of supporting Islamic State – has told Breitbart London that he thinks the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union (EU).
“If you want my view on it, I think Britain will be worse off,” Mr. Choudary (pictured above) told Breitbart London.
“I think that [leaving the EU] is something that is probably not in our advantage from a Muslim perspective,” he added.
The radical preacher rose to prominence as the head of Al-Muhajiroun and then Islam4UK – both banned Salafist groups – and for his provocative anti-Western views.

Following Brexit, UK Considers Joining Middle East (satire)

With Britain looking for a new home after narrowly voting to leave the EU, the Brits are reportedly considering joining the Middle East.
“Things didn’t work out with Europe, but it’s time we get back out there on the market,” former London mayor and leading Brexiter Boris Johnson told The Mideast Beast. “The Middle East has some great things to offer; it’s got warm weather, historical sites, people with real tans, and a little bit of a dangerous side, which frankly we could use after 45 boring years in Europe. Plus, given our extensive historical involvement in the region, it shouldn’t be too difficult of a transition.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron has agreed to spend a week in Abu Dhabi, which will end in a six-hour meeting with a group of Middle Eastern leaders who will push the benefits of membership in the Middle East. While Cameron has publically promised to go into the meeting with an open mind, aides privately say he is determined not to agree to anything on the spot.
Cameron did note, “We’re certainly not just pretending to be interested in the Middle East for the free week-long vacation, I can assure you that. And to be honest, if it’s true what they say about Israel’s beaches, you can pretty much count on a ‘Brit-in’ vote.”

PreOccupiedTerritory: Teen Demands Referendum On Remaining In Same Room As Brother (satire)

Emboldened by the UK’s vote yesterday to leave the European Union, local adolescent Itamar Golan asserted that a similar process was necessary to determine whether he and his younger brother continue to share a bedroom.
Itamar, 15, told reporters at a press conference this morning that he was placed with Boaz, age 12, in the same living quarters without any democratic process, and he therefore demands that a vote be held and room assignments be reallocated accordingly, if necessary.
“Aside from the non-representative management of my affairs that that characterizes this and other family situations, it has become clear that neither I nor my brother were ever consulted regarding our preferred living arrangements, which is a clear departure from democratic norms, to which our society ostensibly adheres,” said the teen, reading from a prepared statement. “Such a referendum is necessary as an act of establishing – or reestablishing, as the case may be – individual sovereignty. For too long, that sovereignty has been ignored by the powers that be, or, worse, actively undermined. No more. Referendum now!”
The high schooler, just out of his freshman year, has taken a keen interest in the British “Brexit” referendum, which this morning was officially announced as resulting in a “Leave” vote. Itamar has proposed, with some forcefulness, a proposal to conduct a similar referendum of Golan household members living in the front-left bedroom. He has styled his campaign “MyOwnRoom,” including a Twitter hashtag for use in social media campaigning, and has printed flyers and posters to help sway the electorate.

Corbyn rejects Herzog invitation to visit Israel

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, on Thursday, turning down his invitation to come to Israel.
On April 30, Herzog wrote Corbyn a letter inviting him to Jerusalem, to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and “better understand the scourge of anti-Semitism.” The invitation, Herzog said, was issued after incidents within Corbyn’s party that “sicken all those of moral conscience to the core” and “must act as a red alert and prompt immediate action.”
The letter from Herzog came after former London mayor Ken Livingstone told the BBC that Adolf Hitler was a Zionist and Labour lawmaker Naz Shah suggested Israelis should be moved en masse to the United States.
Corbyn thanked Herzog for his letter and the invitation but said “my existing commitments make it impossible for me to take up your offer in the immediate future.” He said he asked his party’s deputy leader Tom Watson and general secretary Iain McNicol to go instead.
In his letter, Corbyn vowed zero tolerance for anti-Semitism and all other forms of bigotry.
He said every allegation of anti-Semitism in his party had led to immediate action.

Democratic platform drafters align on Israeli-Palestinian stance

Two delegates to the Democratic Party’s platform drafting committee — one appointed by Hillary Clinton and the other by Bernie Sanders — said the platform must reflect the hardships faced both by Israelis and Palestinians.
“Israelis today live in fear of acts of terror that can turn peaceful marketplaces and neighborhoods into scenes of violence and horror,” said the statement released Thursday by Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., appointed by Sanders and Clinton, respectively. “Palestinians struggle under an unjust occupation that deprives them of the rights, opportunities and independence that they deserve. That is the reality of a conflict that has gone on for far too long and at a terrible cost.”
The statement was released by J Street, the liberal Middle East policy group that favors including language sympathetic to Palestinians and Israelis in the platform. The political action committee affiliated with J Street has endorsed both Ellison and Gutierrez for reelection.
“As we and our colleagues work over the next few weeks to frame our party’s platform, we’re confident that we can seize this moment and confirm the consensus vision of peace, security and human dignity shared by our party and its supporters,” said the statement.

Jewish PAC to press Republicans to call West Bank ‘Jewish homeland’

A Jewish political action committee is seeking to get the Republican Party platform to recognize the West Bank as an “indigenous” part of the Jewish homeland.
“The Land of Israel is the indigenous homeland of the Jewish people by right and by law and we oppose any measures to force, coerce or otherwise impose a security ‘solution’ or artificial borders on the Jewish state,” says the language proposed by Iron Dome Alliance. “We recognize an undivided Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and Judea and Samaria as integral parts of the indigenous Jewish homeland.”
The “Land of Israel” generally refers to the State of Israel and territories it controls. Judea and Samaria are the biblical names commonly used in Israel to designate the West Bank, an area where Israel has expanded Jewish settlement over the decades but which it has never formally annexed. Israel has annexed Jerusalem and, unlike in the West Bank, has extended some rights conferred on Israelis to its Palestinian residents.
The Iron Dome Alliance released the language on June 16, offering it for incorporation into both major parties’ platforms. Its chairman, Jeff Ballabon, told the Forward Wednesday that its emphasis would be on the Republican Party, in part because the party is more attuned to conservative pro-Israel positions and in part because the presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is an iconoclast.

Top Trump aide: He’d back Israeli annexations in West Bank

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would support an Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank and would likely back a complete annexation if Israel deems it necessary, a top aide to the candidate told Haaretz in an interview published Thursday.
David Friedman, who serves as Trump’s adviser on Israel along with Jason Dov Greenblatt, told the paper that, if elected, his boss wouldn’t necessarily adopt the positions of previous US presidents in supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
“Not without the approval of the Israelis,” Friedman said. “This is an issue that Israel has to deal with on its own because it will have to deal with the consequences… The Israelis have to make the decision on whether or not to give up land to create a Palestinian state. If the Israelis don’t want to do it, so he doesn’t think they should do it.”
Trump, he stressed, did not see a Palestinian state as “an American imperative” in any way. “Trump’s position is that we have to deal with reality and not hopes and wishes.”
He also called into doubt Palestinian rights to the land, saying, “We don’t accept the idea it is only about land. Nobody really knows how many Palestinians actually live there.”

Put BDS on the Defensive

There are precedents that serve to drive this need. I was part of an effort that successfully employed this strategy in the past and it can be successful now in the present.
It was more than 20 years ago when Arizona State University law student, David Don, responded to an article in the State Press, the school newspaper, describing an outrageous blood libel against the Jewish people. The former editor of the school newspaper, Mary Summerton, penned an article falsely claiming that Orthodox Jews assaulted and then murdered a paraplegic at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, ostensibly because he was using an electric wheelchair on the Jewish Sabbath. The story was obviously false. Apparently the real story was a philosophical debate about the use of an electric wheelchair on the Sabbath at the Western Wall. That nothing happened to the paraplegic seemed unimportant to a writer in search of a story.
David and I planned a two-pronged response employing both public and private pressure. We requested a meeting with the administration at Arizona State University while at the same time contacting David Bar Ilan at the Jerusalem Post. The Bar Ilan article about the outrageous blood libel coupled with the outcry by students quickly led to Summerton admitting she made up the story. Arizona State University was then compelled to decide what action to take against Summerton. Moreover, it needed to consider if any action was required against ASU’s Cronkite Journalism School’s Professor Bruce Itule who had approved the article for publication – claiming he did not think to fact check the information.
We met with the administration (I as a law school alumnus) and we put pressure on them to take action and reiterated how serious we considered this incident. The pressure led not only to a retraction by the school newspaper but to an investigation by Arizona’s major newspaper, which found that Summerton had lied on her school transcripts. She was then expelled from the University. We do not believe Professor Itule was reprimanded but a new mechanism was put in place to fact check articles for the school newspaper. Professionally, Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism suffered a serious black eye.

NYU Graduate Student Union repeals pro-BDS resolution

Two months after the Graduate Student Union at New York University voted to join the Boycott Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel, the decision was repealed by the group’s parent union, the United Auto Workers.
The decision made this week was the result of some members of the NYU student union (GSOC) filing an official appeal against the April decision, claiming it violated the UAW constitution’s own bylaws.
The appeal, signed by Ilana Ben-Ezra, member of GSOC for Open Dialogue on Israel and Palestine, pointed out that the resolution is illicit because it violates the UAW’s pledge “to maintain free relations with other organizations.” Ben-Ezra also noted that the resolution goes NYU’s official position and “vilifies” companies that are members of the parent union.
The UAW decision in favor of Ben-Ezra stated that no subordinate body of the parent union can endorse BDS, which affects graduate student unions at more than 15 universities, including others which have passed similar resolutions. It noted that GSOC’s resolution was indeed “contrary to the position of the International Union” and is void of “force or effect.”

Anti-BDS: Is California next?

The most populous state in the U.S., California, is considering strong legislation against the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement. BDS calls for boycotting and sanctioning Israel.
Twenty-one states and the largest township in America have already passed similar legislation against BDS.
The California Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote next week on the California Combating BDS Act of 2016, AB 2844. The bill would require any entity that proposes to enter into a contract with a state agency to certify, under penalty of perjury, that it has adopted no discriminatory policy against any sovereign nation or peoples recognized by the United States, including, but not limited to, Israel. The bill covers contracts in the amount of $100,000 or more.
Earlier this month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order against BDS. The order bars the state from doing business with entities that back the BDS movement.
Other states that have taken similar moves include Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, Iowa, Florida, Indiana, Rhode Island, South Carolina and others.

Antisemitism Is Flourishing on California Campuses

For nearly a decade, incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise in the University of California system and numerous other colleges in the Golden State. Some say that California colleges make more headlines about incidents of antisemitism than for academic or athletic achievements. The most recent academic year was no exception.
According to the antisemitism watchdog group AMCHA Initiative, 69 antisemitic incidents occurred on 20 different California campuses during the recent academic year. UC Berkley led the way with eight instances, followed by UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz with seven each.
“When it comes to antisemitism, California schools continue to top the list, both in number and severity. To those of us closely monitoring the rise of campus antisemitism over the past few years, this comes as no surprise since many California schools were ground zero for the campus anti-Zionism movement,” explained AMCHA Director Tammi Rossman-Benjamin. “Examination after examination demonstrate a direct connection between anti-Zionist activities on campus and acts of anti-Jewish hostility. The problem is not going away. In fact, it’s picking up steam and must be addressed immediately.”
AMCHA tracks all reported incidents of antisemitism on college campuses throughout the US. To be classified as antisemitic, an incident must meet the definition established by the US State Department.
In 2015, 464 antisemitic incidents on campus were reported across the country. The first half of 2016 has seen 254 occurrences. At the current pace, 2016 will see an increase of nearly 10 percent in antisemitism on college campuses nationwide.

Brazil Jews sue media outlet for article blaming ‘Zionists’ for president’s ouster

The Rio Jewish federation filed a criminal suit against a far-left news service for publishing an anti-Semitic article blaming Jews for the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff last month.
The article in Vermelho alleged that Israel is through its proxies in charge of what he considers the country’s three most important sectors — defense, intelligence and central bank — and was involved in her suspension.
Brazil’s Senate voted in May to impeach Rousseff for allegations that she illegally manipulated fiscal accounts.
“We won’t allow that isolated people or political parties or media outlets that distribute paid or non-paid news to denigrate the image of the Jewish people,” said Paulo Maltz, the Rio Jewish federation’s president. The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday.
The article — titled “The fingers of Israel and the United States in the coup” — claimed to list Jews who would lead various government areas, describing them as “Israel’s Zionists.” However, two of the figures named in the article are Christian. Only Ilan Goldfajn, the third official named in the article, is Jewish. Tapped by newly appointed president Michel Temer, Israeli-born Goldfajn is the new head of Brazil’s Central Bank.

What word is missing from BBC report on sentencing of Hamas terrorists?

However, despite this being a story about the sentencing of convicted terrorists belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation who murdered two Israelis in a pre-planned terror attack, the words terror, terrorist or terrorism do not appear even once in this report.
“An Israeli military court has sentenced four Palestinians to life in prison for the murder of an Israeli couple in the occupied West Bank, the military says.
Eitam and Naama Henkin were killed in front of their four young children in a drive-by shooting on 1 October.
The military said the assailants, members of the Islamist movement Hamas, opened fire at the Henkins’ car after an attempt to abduct them failed.”
What does appear in this article is the above link to the BBC’s original report on the attack. There we learn that over nine months since its publication, BBC Online has still not got round to correcting its inaccurate presentation of Eitam Henkin’s name.
Sadly, there is of course nothing surprising about the BBC’s censoring of the word terror from this article: the same pattern was seen in its earlier reporting on the same story (see ‘related articles’ below).
However, just a few days earlier the BBC was capable of reporting that “jihadist terror struck Paris in November“.

Man who claimed he escaped Auschwitz admits story a lie

A 91-year-old Pennsylvania man who has for years lectured to school groups and others about what he said were his experiences at Auschwitz now says he was never a prisoner at the concentration camp.
Joseph Hirt made the admission in a letter to LNP newspaper on Wednesday and apologized. He said he used poor judgment and faulty reasoning in trying to tell the story of those affected by the Nazis.
“I was wrong. I ask forgiveness,” Hirt wrote in his letter to LNP.
“I am writing today to apologize publicly for harm caused to anyone because of my inserting myself into the descriptions of life in Auschwitz. I was not a prisoner there. I did not intend to lessen or overshadow the events which truly happened there by falsely claiming to have been personally involved,” Hirt was quoted by LNP as writing.

British World Heavyweight Champion Should Be Banned From Boxing for Sounding Like Hitler, Says Ukrainian Competitor

Britain’s world heavyweight champion, Taylor Fury, should be banned from boxing for making Nazi-like comments, a former world champion from the Ukraine said on Thursday, ahead of their upcoming match.
“I was in shock at his statements about women, the gay community, and when he got to the Jewish people, he sounded like Hitler,” Wladimir Klitschko told British media, according to Reuters. “We cannot have a champion like that. Either he needs to be shut up or shut down in the ring, or just suspended, because you cannot create more hate.”
Fury, 27, stirred controversy in May when he made derogatory comments about Jews during an interview that was posted online. He has since apologized for the remarks, but Klitschko said the boxing world would be better off without him.
Klitschko called his competitor an “imbecile champion,” and slammed the British boxer for “bring[ing] hate to the Jewish people.” He added, “I cannot accept that. We are one society. We cannot have a champion who creates the friction which generates hate. After women, gays and Jewish people, what next?”

Tunisian Jews Fleeing Terror-Torn Country Digging Up Remains of Loved Ones for Reburial in Israel

As Jews from the Tunisian island of Djerba flee to Israel over the country’s worsening security situation, many families are digging up the remains of their loved ones for reburial in their new home, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
Over the the course of the past five decades, the population of the Jewish community of Djebra — present on the North African island since the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC — has significantly dwindled in number, with only about 30 new births a year, the report said.
A once vibrant community, it now numbers a mere 1,100, following a mass exodus between the 1940s and 1960s, during a time of great persecution. The majority of those Jews who fled immigrated to Israel.
Yossif Sabbagh, a 42-year-old local, told the Guardian that each year he helps exhume some one dozen bodies for transport to Israel. “There are bones that are 80, 90 years old. When you lift them up, they can break,” he said. The Jewish cemetery — located behind Djerba’s Great Synagogue known as El Ghriba — is littered with cracked tombstones and slabs of strewn marble, the report said.

A glimpse into Azerbaijan’s hidden all-Jewish town

“Not good,” Rabbi Yona Yaakobi says in Hebrew, expressing his distaste while pointing to a grave featuring a statue of a man who died in 1988.
Carved in white marble, the nearly life-size statue of the deceased portrays him staring ahead, cane in hand, flanked by two pots of artificial flowers. Just below, on a black tombstone, is inscribed the man’s name, date of birth and the day he died in Hebrew. But lower it is engraved again much more prominently in Russian.
“All of this is influenced by the Muslims who got it from the Russians,” Yaakobi continues.
Although this particular grave is among the more ostentatious in the three cemeteries of Krasnaya Sloboda, an all-Jewish town in the mountainous north of Azerbaijan, it is surrounded by hundreds of others showing lifelike pictures of the dead in various poses, sometimes bordering on the absurd.
“I knew all of these people personally. I know the story of each one of them,” Yaakobi laments as he strolls past a large tombstone depicting a middle aged man in a business suit reclining in a throne-like chair. “This guy for instance went fishing one day, and when he cast his line, it ended up hitting some wires, he got electrocuted and died.”

New Israeli application determines taste of watermelons

Three computer science students at Haifa’s Technion University may be about to rid the world of the trouble of trying to find a sweet and juicy watermelon with their new technological innovation.
The students developed an application which they say can figure out the quality of the fruit in a matter of seconds.
“One year ago, my mum sent me to the supermarket to buy a watermelon for the guests who were supposed to come to our house,” said one of the developers, Salah Abed Alehlim (23) from the Manda village in the Galilee. “I got to the shop, chose a watermelon and hit it as they taught us to do. If it sounds hollow it isn’t ready, if it sounds full then it means that it is sweet and tasty.”
After the sound test Salah returned home. “My mum opened the watermelon and it was embarrassing. The watermelon was hollow and not sweet. My mum shouted at me. I was so frustrated and disappointed that I decided to search for a scientific solution to this problem. The watermelon is one of the most important fruits, and one of the most special to us. Near the village we have one of the largest watermelon farms in the state.”
To help him in his quest to find the perfect watermelon, Alehim enlisted two of his friends to the project department: Adam Garah (22) and Ayman Sarha’an (23) from the Galilee.

Olympic Gold Medalist to Wear Leotard With Hebrew Letters in US National Championship Competition

Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas will wear a leotard that has Hebrew lettering on it when she competes at the P&G Gymnastics Championships over the weekend.
Douglas’ Swarovski-outlined outfit will feature the Hebrew word “Elohim,” which means God, on its left sleeve. The Hebrew detailing honors the athlete’s “rich heritage of faith,” according to apparel manufacturer GK Elite, which produced the leotard and released a preview of it on Wednesday. The company said Douglas’ sister, Joyelle “Joy” Douglas, created the Hebrew design.
The P&G Championships will help determine if Douglas will compete as part of Team USA in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In her memoir, In Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith, which was released in 2012, Douglas wrote that her family “practiced some of the Jewish traditions.” The 20-year-old said her family’s participation in Judaism began with her mother, Natalie Hawkins, and maternal grandmother. Douglas’ grandmother occasionally prepared kosher meals for the family and Hawkins studied Hebrew, the website Jewcy.com reported. Douglas also talked about the year she spent going to synagogue in Norfolk, VA, and observing the Sabbath, though not strictly, because she had gymnastics practice on Saturdays.

Former NYC Mayor Giuliani Visits Israeli Food Rescue and Distribution Facility

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani on Thursday visited the facility of Leket Israel, one of the Jewish state’s largest food rescue and redistribution operations.
The visit came on the heels of Leket Israel’s release of a first-of-its-kind study on food waste in Israel. The report found that more than 2.5 million tons of edible food, with a market value of about $2 billion, is wasted in Israel each year. The research “demonstrates the significant economic and social impact of food rescue to Israel’s national economy,” Leket Israel said, explaining that rescuing 25 percent of food waste translates to a savings of about $800 million. The cost of food rescue, according to Leket Israel, is 75 percent lower than the alternative of providing support, subsidies, or allowances to the poor.
Giuliani was accompanied at Leket Israel’s Ra’anana facility by the organization’s founder and chairman, Joseph Gitler, as well as its CEO, Gidi Kroch. The visit was arranged by Giuliani’s current employer, the Greenberg Traurig law firm.

$400 million gift to BGU thought to be largest-ever to an Israeli university

A $400 million gift to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, earmarked in large part for water research, is believed to be the largest-ever bequest on behalf of an Israeli university.
The university’s American fundraising organization announced the gift by the estate of Dr. Howard and Lottie Marcus of San Diego, California, on June 24. Lottie Marcus died this past December at age 99; Howard died in 2014 at age 104. The family made its fortune investing with Warren Buffett.
The gift will establish a permanent endowment that is expected to yield assets that more than double the size of the current university endowment, according to American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. A substantial portion is earmarked for BGU’s water research at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, which studies sustainable use of water resources, desalination technologies, water quality and microbiology.
Named for New York philanthropist Roy J. Zuckerberg, the Institute was founded in 2002 within the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at BGU’s Sde Boker campus.
The Marcuses, who became involved with BGU in 1997, were fascinated by the university’s work in desalination and desert farming. “They believed that peace could come to the Middle East if water scarcity could be addressed,” said AABGU’s Southwest regional director Philip Gomperts in a statement.
But they were interested in Israel for other reasons as well, having fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

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"Jews taking over Kurdistan to implement Greater Israel"

Back in 2009, I reported that conspiracy theorist (and, later, prominent analyst at Iran's PressTV) Wayne Madsen had written that Jews were colonizing Iraq by buying land in Kurdistan.

Israeli expansionists, their intentions to take full control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and permanently keep the Golan Heights of Syria and expand into southern Lebanon already well known, also have their eyes on parts of Iraq considered part of a biblical “Greater Israel.”

Kurdish, Iraqi Sunni Muslims, and Turkmen have noted that Kurdish Israelis began to buy land in Iraqi Kurdistan, after the U.S. invasion in 2003, that is considered historical Jewish “property”.

The Israelis are particularly interested in the shrine of the Jewish prophet Nahum in al Qush, the prophet Jonah in Mosul, and the tomb of the prophet Daniel in Kirkuk. Israelis are also trying to claim Jewish “properties” outside of the Kurdish region, including the shrine of Ezekiel in the village of al-Kifl in Babel Province near Najaf and the tomb of Ezra in al-Uzayr in Misan Province, near Basra, both in southern Iraq’s Shia-dominated territory. Israeli expansionists consider these shrines and tombs as much a part of “Greater Israel” as Jerusalem and the West Bank, which they call “Judea and Samaria”.

Kurdish and Iraqi sources report that Israel’s Mossad is working hand-in-hand with Israeli companies and “tourists” to stake a claim to the Jewish “properties” of Israel in Iraq. The Mossad has already been heavily involved in training the Kurdish Pesha Merga military forces.

At the time I quoted Iraqpundit as saying that no one should underestimate the power of conspiracy theories in the Arab world, and as the story was translated to Arabic.

Seven years later, the conspiracy theory has just reappeared in a Jordanian newspaper.

The funny part is that the conspiracy theorists love to quote the Biblical promise of a Jewish nation from the Nile to the Euphrates as evidence. (Here's one of many maps of "Greater Israel" all over the Internet.)

Iraq's Kurdish regions are to the east of the Euphrates.

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Hamas accuses NGOs of being spies for Israel

From Middle East Monitor last week:

A group of employees working with international organisations active in the Gaza Strip have been found to be carrying out activities against the resistance, security website Al-Majd reported on yesterday.

Security sources told the Hamas owned website that the group was found to be carrying out doubtful activities related to work sites for the Palestinian resistance.

Later on, the workers of international aid organisations were questioned and they recognised that they are connected to international intelligence services.

The foreigners recognised that they were asked to record footage of resistance work sites such as tunnels, military bases and other sensitive places, in addition to monitoring military movements in Gaza.

The security source reiterated that these collaborators used their work with the international aid organisations to cover-up their anti-resistance acts.

At the same time, they recognised that they are run by international intelligence services connected with the Israeli occupation.

I wonder which NGOs have a secret pro-Israel agenda.

It would not be surprising if Israeli spies infiltrated anti-Israel NGOs to go to Gaza, but chances are far higher that Hamas didn't like what the NGOs were doing (some of them promote democracy, after all) and uses the accusation of them being spies to keep them in line.

Here is a map showing the locations of dozens of NGOs in Gaza City alone that I reproduced in 2013 (the site is no longer up.)

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