Elder of Ziyon Timidity is no Virtue (Vic Rosenthal)

Timidity is no Virtue (Vic Rosenthal)
06/03 Links Pt2: From Disillusioned Muslim to Christian Arab Zionist; Why Western Media is Biased Against Israel; The video BDS doesn't want you to see
Arnold Roth: Ahlam Tamimi is Not in Hiding. Why is She Free? (Judean Rose)

Posted: 03 Jun 2020 08:55 PM PDT

Vic Rosenthal's weekly column

You annex foreign land, not your own country. – Menachem Begin

Right now Israel is facing a momentous decision to do something that is practically nothing.
That is to extend Israeli civilian law to some parts of Judea and Samaria, specifically the Jordan Valley and other areas where Jewish communities are located.

Why do I say it is practically nothing? Because the official position of our government, although it often does a rotten job of explaining it, is that those areas are already part of Israel. Nothing is being "annexed" as the EU insists (here is why). And while the areas are currently governed by a military government, little will change in most practical legal matters.

Of course it is a big deal for the Palestinians, for the Europeans, and indeed for anyone who wishes that the Jews did not have a sovereign state. This is because it symbolizes the end of the pretense that was so dear to them, that the "West Bank" (as they prefer to call it) is not part of Israel and ultimately will need to pass into Arab hands. It means that any "two-state solution" that could happen in the future will happen according to a map more like the map found in the Trump Plan – one that is consistent with UNSC 242 that called for "secure and recognized boundaries" – rather than the very insecure boundaries that would result from basing them on the 1949 armistice lines, as previous US administrations wished to do.

It is also a big deal for us, for the same reason. It is a recognition that justice is on our side. It is a repudiation of the idea that we are holding onto something that belongs to someone else. It is an affirmation that Eretz Yisrael is the land of the Jewish people.

Let me dismiss the objection that the Palestinians will react violently. What else is new? The Palestinians will always be as violent as they think they can get away with. If they see that we're prepared, they will content themselves with verbal complaints.

And King Abdullah of Jordan won't abrogate his treaty with us. He can't afford to, and in addition he probably would prefer not to have a border with any future Palestinian entity.

Most Israelis favor this step. But some have objected that the map in the Trump plan would leave numerous Jewish communities cut off, enclaves in the Palestinian entity without the ability to grow and difficult or impossible to secure. It would be, de facto, as much an abandonment of those communities as the withdrawal from Gaza was for Gush Katif. They also point out that any Palestinian state in the center of Israel's heartland would be dangerous.

The US has said that it would "recognize" Israel's action only if Israel offered to negotiate with the Palestinians on the basis of the Trump plan, coordinate the map with the US, and agree to freeze construction in parts of Area C that are not included in the area to which Israeli law will be applied. This implies that Israel would actually lose territory as a result.

I don't want to minimize their concerns. But I think we need to step all the way out of the "peace processing" box and take a different approach. I propose that:

1. We announce that we agree in principle with the Trump plan, although we do not sign onto any specifics. We offer to talk with the Palestinians.
2. We draw a map that meets our security needs and provides for access to and expansion of all the existing Jewish communities.
3. We present it to the Americans and explain that this is our interpretation of the Trump plan, and we hope that they will be able to agree that it is reasonable.
4. We take the needed steps to extend civilian law to the areas indicated in the map.

Note that American "recognition" of Israel's action is meaningless. We are not declaring a state that needs to be accepted into international organizations. We are making a change that is an internal matter, consistent with the principle that Judea and Samaria are part of Israel in accordance with international law.

I'm confident that the US will accept our action. It is not in its interest to reject it: whether the map is closer to what the American officials who originally drew it envisioned or to what the people who today live in Judea and Samaria prefer, the negative reactions from Europe and the Palestinians, as well as the (disingenuous) complaints of the Arab nations, will be the same. So why make the details a sticking point?

Keep in mind that the US has other concerns. It seems to me that the position of President Trump is precarious. I also believe – though I hope I'm wrong – that the disturbances that we are seeing now in cities across the country are not a short-term phenomenon but mark the beginning of a prolonged state of instability. And the Coronavirus is not going away.

We are an ally, not a vassal of the US. It may be that in the long run we may be able to do more for it than it can do for us.

Western Europe, with its history of colonialism, antisemitism, and genocide against the Jews and others, is not a moral exemplar; its politics are politics of interest larded with a large measure of Jew-hatred. At the same time that we extend civilian law in Judea and Samaria, we should take the strongest possible steps to eliminate EU influence there, as well as in various areas of Israeli politics and society.

We can and should take this step. Even though it is practically a very small step, it is psychologically and spiritually important. It may not be possible, even in a few months. Don't wait until it's too late.

06/03 Links Pt2: From Disillusioned Muslim to Christian Arab Zionist; Why Western Media is Biased Against Israel; The video BDS doesn't want you to see

Posted: 03 Jun 2020 03:00 PM PDT

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The opportunity to develop a United Democratic Nations

Before Covid-19 struck, Boris Johnson had decided to invite the Chinese tech giant Huawei to provide parts of Britain's 5G communications network. Now, with China condemned for causing the pandemic through its reckless behaviour and then behaving like a gangster state in resorting to lies, threats and manipulation, the government is proposing an alliance of ten democratic nations to develop alternatives to Chinese technology.

This "D10" would be composed of the G7 nations — the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan — plus Australia, South Korea and India. It's an idea that is not only excellent in itself but encapsulates an insight with far-reaching potential to restructure global institutions.

What's actually outdated is the idea that peace and justice can only be advanced by the world acting as one big united family. This belief in the brotherhood of man lay behind the foundation of the United Nations in 1945. Yet the UN has not only failed to live up to its ideals of confronting aggression, preserving peace and defending human rights, but has in fact helped thwart them.

Given that most countries are tyrannies, kleptocracies or rogue states, a global body which brings them all together will inevitably be dominated by their unsavoury characteristics.

What's needed instead is a United Democratic Nations. This is an idea that has often been floated wistfully by critics of the UN but dismissed as quixotic. The D10 proposal, however, could be the launchpad for just such a body. Going beyond the issue of Huawei and 5G technology, democracies should band together to defend freedom and justice by standing up to the depredations of regimes that seek to extinguish them.

The UN might have been created as a result of the shattering impact of the Second World War. It was founded, however, on a starry-eyed denial of the fact that if a lion lies down with a lamb, the lion doesn't turn vegan but the lamb gets eaten.

From Disillusioned Muslim to Christian Arab Zionist

I am a Jordanian Arab from a Muslim family. I was born in 1989. In 2010, I decided to leave Islam after becoming fed up with all the jihadist violence and intolerance and persecution of non-Muslims. What made my decision final was the realization that this violence and hatred was justified by verses of the Koran and Hadith.

From 2010-2012, I was an atheist, though I continued to seek the truth regarding God and religion, even visiting Buddhist temples in Amman.

I was a university student at the time, and announced my newfound atheism through social media, which immediately turned many friends and colleagues against me. They felt I was backwards in my thinking, and I came to feel the same about them.

As you are no doubt aware, atheism is detested in the Arab and Islamic world. I faced a lot of hurtful opposition from those around me, but I kept my head down and focused on completing my university studies. It wasn't easy. There were those who tried to have me kicked out because of my stance against Islam, but they failed.

In 2012, I decided to visit a church and learn more about Christianity. I was curious about Jesus. After four months of investigating, I joined an international church under the auspices of an American priest. On the very first day, I was asked to pray for salvation, after which one of the Christian brothers gave me weekly Bible lessons. Shortly after, I was baptized in the Jordan River.

Jordan is seen by many as a moderate Arab Muslim country. But even here, it is illegal to leave Islam. The civil courts are still governed by Sharia law, and to have someone complain against you for rejecting Islam can result in criminal punishment.

This didn't deter me, and in 2012, I made an online video telling people in Arabic about how I'd become a Christian. Several days later, I was attacked by three radical Muslims. I also received threats from a radical Salafi movement under the leadership of Jarrah Rahahleh, an international terrorist, who used to send jihadists to Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and was arrested many times by Jordanian authorities. Further threats came from others.

Jewish Vengeance

Thus it was that the group that would come to be known as the "Nakam," Hebrew for "Avengers," was born. In the spring of 1945, a Passover gathering of survivors in Bucharest was addressed by Abba Kovner, the young leader of the Jewish uprising in the Vilna ghetto. Kovner was born in 1918 in Sebastopol, Russia, and spent his high school years in Vilna, where he joined Ha-Shomer Hatzair youth movement. When the Germans invaded and occupied Lithuania, they rounded up the Jews and put them in a ghetto. Kovner pleaded with Vilna's Jews to join the partisans in a popular uprising, but they refused. After briefly fighting the Germans, Kovner and other partisans fled to the forest. While there, they destroyed 180 miles of train tracks, five bridges, 40 enemy train cars and killed 212 German soldiers. He returned to Vilna with the Red Army on July 7, 1944, capturing the city from the Germans on July 13, 1944. After the war, he and 50 other partisans attempted to poison thousands of Nazi and SS prisoners in a Nuremberg POW camp. It is unknown how many Germans were killed. In 1961 he testified at the trial of Adolf Eichmann. In 1970, he won the "Israel Prize" in literature for his poetry.

At that gathering, Kovner spoke passionately and invoked Psalm 94, in which God promises that he shall deal with the enemies of the people of Israel. "He will turn upon them their own violence and with their own wickedness destroy them." This, Kovner suggested, was the fate that should be meted out to the Germans. And if the courts of international justice would not do it, then the Jews should do it themselves.

Calmly, the group set about implementing the death sentences they themselves had passed. First, they would identify a Nazi who had melted back into civilian life. They would then stage an arrest and spirit the German away. Some of these ex-SS men were strangled, others hanged. The deaths of those who were hanged could be passed off as suicides. Hangings might take place in a garage, with the subject forced to stand on a car roof while his neck was placed in the noose attached to an overhead beam. An Avenger would drive the car away and the man would be strangled. These efforts endured into the 1950s. The executioners kept their mouths shut and took their secrets to their graves.

The Nakam went to Spain, Latin America, Canada, and other places where Nazi murderers found refuge. In one such operation, the Nakam tracked down Alexander Laak, responsible for the deaths of 100,000 Jews at the Estonian concentration camp of Jagala. One evening they waited for Laak's wife to leave for the movies, went to his home, and confronted him with his crimes and their intended punishment. They gave him a choice: They would kill him, or he could do it himself. He hung himself.

Benjamin Levi, one of the avengers, recalled that period in his life saying, "I saw a lot of things. I saw very noble people become animals. And very plain people become noble." He had joined the partisans during the war and helped to liberate Vilna. He and his comrades rounded up Lithuanians who had collaborated with the Germans and shot them on the spot. "We didn't keep prisoners," he said. "There was no discussion. It was a normal thing." All enemies were immediately shot. "The moment I start to think about this more and more memories come," he said to a later interviewer. "We don't talk about this anymore. But it's alive inside."

After the founding of the State of Israel, the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, undertook the task of tracking down former Nazis and killing them, and in some cases, putting them on trial. But that's another story.

Why Western Media is Biased Against Israel

Many foreign journalists seem to see the conflict along the lines of "good guys (Palestinians) versus bad guys (Israel)." They wake up every morning and search for any story that reflects badly on Israel. The foreign correspondents then hire Palestinians to assist them in spreading lies about Israel.

What is particularly disturbing about the dismissal of Hamad is that the Associated Press knew one of its Palestinian workers was engaged in anti-Israel activities, but failed to stop him. Hamad even ignored repeated warnings from his employers against pursuing political activities.

If Hamad had "repeatedly" violated AP policies by engaging in anti-Israel political activities, why was he allowed to continue covering Palestinian affairs even though his anti-Israel sentiments were known to his employers and everyone else?

The incident also shows that international news organizations evidently have no problem hiring anti-Israel activists as reporters and cameramen.

The AP evidently knew that Hamad was engaged in political activities. It nevertheless chose to turn a blind eye because Hamad was directing his hate only against Israel. As far as the AP is concerned, the moment Hamad spoke out against the brutality and repressive measures of the Palestinian Authority security forces, he crossed a red line. That is when he was informed of the decision to terminate his employment.

The problem is, there are many more Palestinian journalists like Hamad working for the international media in the Middle East. These journalists see themselves as soldiers serving the Palestinian cause, and their as duty bashing Israel on a daily basis.

The Pessin Affair

A Review of Salem on the Thames: Moral Panic, Anti-Zionism, and the Triumph of Hate Speech at Connecticut College By Jonathan Marks

At Connecticut College, in the Spring of 2015, Andrew Pessin, a professor of philosophy was grossly mistreated. He was grossly mistreated by student and faculty activists, by faculty members who went along with the activists, and by Connecticut College's administration, who encouraged and rewarded Pessin's tormentors. By the 2015-16 academic year, when protests swept across campuses and received obsessive media coverage, Andrew Pessin had already taken medical leave. He had been driven out in part as a result of stresses caused by the tarnishing of his good name, by multiple betrayals on the part of a community of which he had long been a valued member, and by death threats. He would not return until Fall 2017.

Although this incident received some coverage, most prominently from David Bernstein for the Washington-Post-hosted Volokh Conspiracy blog, it has not received the attention it merits. Salem on the Thames, edited by Richard Landes, remedies that deficiency. Landes, a historian by trade, does not pretend to be an investigative reporter. He adopts "the perspective of the victim," Andrew Pessin, who, to this day—Landes plausibly assumes that there is a non-disclosure agreement—has not been properly heard. But if Landes and the other contributors to this volume make no bones about whose side they are on, their account is supported by extensive documentation—emails, public statements, newspaper articles—that readers can examine for themselves here. In addition to providing a detailed account of events, Landes and his co-contributors consider the Pessin affair as a "microcosm of events in the current global academic community," reflection on which "offers important lessons to that community." Landes's fellow contributors include Ashley Thorne of the National Association of Scholars, John Gordon, Professor Emeritus of English at Connecticut College, and Fred Baumann, Professor of Political Science at Kenyon College. Asaf Romirowsky, of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, provides the Introduction.

Let's begin with the account of events, which is the most shocking and effective part of the book. To understand what happened at Connecticut College, one starts with the August 11, 2014 Facebook post, by Andrew Pessin, that set things in motion. Here it is:

"I'm sure someone could make a cartoon of this, but one image which essentializes the current situation in Gaza might be this. You've got a rabid pit bull chained in a cage, regularly making mass efforts to escape. The owner, naturally keeps the thing in the cage, but being kind-hearted or something, regularly feeds it, waters it, takes care of its health needs, etc. But liberal hearted world is outraged at the cruelty of keeping in in the cage, keeps pressuring the owner to let it out. Every so often the man relents under pressure, opens the cage a crack, and the pit bull comes roaring bounding out, snarling, going for the throat. A short battle ensues, the pit bull gets put back in… and almost immediately liberal world pressure starts complaining about the cruelty to animals and insisting he open the cage.

Netanyahu determines to keep schools open as COVID-19 infections spike

Any educational institution that finds someone infected with the coronavirus will be instantly closed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.

Education Minister Yoav Gallant had already earlier this week ordered the closure of educational institutions in which coronavirus patients were discovered, on the backdrop of a noteworthy increase in the number of infections in schools.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the minister of education to continue to work on protection and remediation solutions for students and teaching staff," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office read, following a meeting with Gallant and National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabat.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein had been pushing to close all middle and high schools in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, coronavirus cases continue to surge across the country, especially plaguing Israel's schools.

According to the updated data by the Education Ministry, around 3,000 more students and teachers went into isolation Wednesday – from 4,925 to 7,898.

Moreover, 261 students and teachers are sick with coronavirus and there are now 51 schools closed.

Greek, Cyprus leaders to visit Israel to discuss resuming flights

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to visit Israel on June 16 to discuss the resumption of flights between the two nations. This will be the Greek prime minister's first trip abroad since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, N13 reported on Wednesday.

On June 23, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades is expected to visit Israel with a delegation of ministers to discuss tourist relations between the two countries and possible cooperation with Greece and Israel regarding Turkish complaints concerning oil drilling in the eastern Mediterranean. Malta announced Israelis, Danes, Finns and Czechs, will be able to visit it and will not be forced into quarantine starting July 1, Walla reported.

Auschwitz Memorial appealing for donations following coronavirus lockdown

The Auschwitz Memorial is appealing for donations after it was forced to close to visitors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, putting its financial situation under severe strain.

The Memorial preserves the Auschwitz death camp set up on Polish soil by Nazi Germany during World War Two. More than 1.1 million people, most of them Jews, perished in gas chambers at the camp or from starvation, cold and disease.

The Memorial has been closed to visitors since March 12. Last year it was visited by around 2.3 million people. It hopes to re-open at the beginning of July.

"In these difficult moments, we cannot squander our previous achievements or slow down our work to maintain and build remembrance that is the
only remedy for future years," the museum's Director Piotr Cywinski said in a statement.

The Memorial said it needed donations to continue educational and research projects, after its 2020 budget "collapsed." In 2019 it had a total budget of 113.9 million zlotys ($28.90 million).

Former Obama Intelligence Official Helps Secure Bail for Molotov Cocktail-Throwing NYC Lawyer

A former Obama administration intelligence official who worked in both the Departments of State and Defense has guaranteed bail for a human rights lawyer accused of firebombing a police vehicle in New York City.

The former official, Salmah Rizvi, told a judge the alleged firebomber is her "best friend." Rizvi, now an attorney at the D.C.-based law firm Ropes & Gray, helped secure the release of fellow lawyer Urooj Rahman by agreeing to be a suretor for her bail. That means Rizvi is liable for the full cost of the $250,000 bail if Rahman fails to obey the court's orders.

Rahman was released to home confinement over the objections of government attorneys after her arrest on Saturday for throwing a lit Molotov cocktail through the window of an NYPD vehicle. Evidence presented by prosecutors included images of Rahman holding a Molotov cocktail in the passenger seat of a van that was later found to be full of the necessary materials for making the explosive devices.

Rizvi entered the legal field after a career in the Obama administration's intelligence community, where "her high-value work would often inform the President's Daily Briefs," according to her bio at the Islamic Scholarship Fund. The group gave Rizvi a law school scholarship sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a radical anti-Israel organization that has been tied to the funding of global terror networks.

During Rizvi's time at the New York University School of Law, she was a fellow at Ramallah-based legal organization Al-Haq, which was founded to challenge the "legal status of Israel as an occupying power." The group is best known for filing lawsuits aimed at delegitimizing Israel and providing legal backing for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state.

The group has been criticized for its defense of the "right to resist" by Palestinian terrorist organizations and its defense and promotion of violent actions taken against Israel.

Rizvi was also provided a scholarship toward her law degree by the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, which was started by the now-deceased older brother of liberal billionaire George Soros.

Brakes on a Plame

Valerie Plame's congressional bid came to an end on Tuesday when the former CIA operative, who has battled accusations of anti-Semitism and carpet bagging, was defeated in a Democratic primary.

Plame finished second in a field of seven candidates battling to replace outgoing congressman Ben Ray Luján (D., N.M.), who is running for Senate. Local attorney and activist Teresa Leger Fernandez won the race with 42.6 percent of the vote, nearly doubling Plame's 23.1 percent total as the AP called the race early Wednesday morning.

Plame was the only candidate in the race with a national political profile. Her campaign launch video played up her career as a CIA agent and falsely accused former George W. Bush official Scooter Libby of blowing her cover.

Having decamped to New Mexico from Washington, D.C. in 2006, Plame battled accusations of carpet bagging. It did not help that her campaign was fueled predominantly by out-of-state donors, including several Hollywood celebrities and the Holocaust denier Pete McCloskey. Ultimately, roughly 89 percent of her contributions came from outside New Mexico, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Prior to her congressional run, Plame made national headlines in 2017 when she shared on Twitter an article from a discredited anti-Semitic website arguing that "America's Jews are driving America's wars." The story she shared, from Unz Review, asked, "Shouldn't [American Jews] recuse themselves when dealing with the Middle East?"

After urging critics to read to the end of the article, she ultimately apologized, saying that she was in the midst of a move and had merely "skimmed" the piece herself.

A spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, Neil Strauss, celebrated Plame's defeat but expressed concern that Democratic leadership "supported an anti-Semite."

"Valerie Plame has frequently trafficked in and promoted anti-Semitic messages. The fact that prominent Democrats and celebrities, Chuck Schumer chief among them, chose to support her in a crowded field shows that Democrats aren't committed to combating left wing anti-Semitism," Strauss told the Washington Free Beacon.

Iowa Republicans oust Rep. Steve King, shunned for incendiary remarks

Republicans in northwest Iowa ousted US Rep. Steve King in Tuesday's primary, deciding they've had enough of the conservative lightning rod known for making incendiary comments about immigrants and white supremacy throughout his nearly two decades in the US Congress.

The nine-term congressman, shunned by his party leadership in Washington and many of his longtime supporters at home, lost to well-funded state Senator Randy Feenstra in a five-way GOP primary. The challengers argued that King's loss of clout, even more than his continuous string of provocative and racially-charged statements, was reason enough for turning on him.

"I said from day one that Iowans deserve a proven, effective conservative leader that will deliver results and I have done that in the Iowa Senate, being in the Iowa Legislature for the last 12 years, and I promise you I will deliver results in Congress," Feenstra said during a Facebook Live appearance with his family behind him.

Iowa Democrats also chose a challenger for Republican freshman Senator Joni Ernst in a race earlier thought to heavily favor Ernst until her approval shrank over the past year. Des Moines businesswoman Theresa Greenfield, who raised the most money and garnered the widest cross-section of the Iowa Democratic coalition of elected officials and labor unions, won the nomination over three others.

But the focus was on the 4th District primary featuring King, the lone Republican in Iowa's US House delegation.

This guy again -> @Resistance48 https://t.co/8GtEGDNfYw #BlackLivesMattter #GeorgeFloyd
— (((David Lange))) (@Israellycool) June 3, 2020

StandWithUs: The video BDS doesn't want you to see

WATCH: The video BDS doesn't want you to see!
BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti admits that their goal means the end of Israel.

"I have heard it said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but it ain't necessarily so" - @LanaMelman https://t.co/OsdL5Y5FFo
— (((David Lange))) (@Israellycool) June 3, 2020

AP Corrects US Embassy Not in Tel Aviv After All

The Associated Press, a leading news agency which boasts "world-class journalism" and "global expertise" which "expand the reach of factual reporting" with "the power of facts," has been embroiled in a number of recent gaffes in its coverage of Israel and the Palestinians. Last month, the wire service absurdly stated as fact that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "has always been opposed to violence," despite an overwhelming pile of evidence showing otherwise. The impression that AP shamelessly jettisoned journalistic professionalism in order to cater to the Palestinian Authority was subsequently reinforced with a report that the Jerusalem bureau chief fired a veteran Palestinian cameraman allegedly due to his criticism of Palestinian security forces.

AP's factual reporting was further compromised last week with a series of photo captions which laughably designated the tiny Gaza Strip, with its population of less than two million, as the "world's largest Muslim nation." The error originated, and was reproduced by AP's clients around the world, when an AP staffer, with all his/her global expertise, simply copied the information from captions pertaining to Indonesia, which is, in fact, the world's largest Muslim nation, with 220 million Muslims.

In the latest lapse of factual reporting, AP yesterday published a series of photo captions which wrongly placed the U.S. Embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv. Two years ago, amid amid great fanfare, controversy and news coverage, President Donald Trump moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel's capital. Yet, in an apparent time warp, AP's captions yesterday had the embassy back in Tel Aviv. A sample of the erroneous captions follow:
Protesters hold signs and shout slogans during a protest to decry the killing of George Floyd in front of the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Yesterday's protest took place outside of the Tel Aviv Branch Office of the American Citizen Services of the U.S. Embassy.

In response to communication from CAMERA today, AP quickly amended the captions. The more than half a dozen corrected captions now appear in AP's photo archive with the following correction:
CLARIFIES THAT LOCATION IS THE U.S. EMBASSY BRANCH OFFICE TEL AVIV: Protesters hold signs and shout slogans during a protest to decry the killing of George Floyd in front of the U.S. Embassy Branch Office, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Unfortunately, AP's erroneous caption still appears on the web sites of many of its clients including Haaretz, The Houston Chronicle, ABC, The Seattle-Post Intelligencer, and more. CAMERA is reaching out to AP's clients to alert them to the correction and ask them to follow suit.

Harper's Magazine Echoed Palestinian Propaganda Condemning Israel And America

Writing in Harper's, Kevin Baker condemns the U.S. Middle East peace plan ["The Striking Gesture," Easy Chair, May 2020], mischaracterizing it as, "Give up all your [Palestinian] hopes and your holiest places, embark on a terrible civil war with your brothers, hand over all your weapons …"

First, it's not true that the Palestinians would be giving up their "holiest places." Nowhere is it indicated in the peace plan that Muslims would lose any holy places.

Furthermore, the writer fails to inform readers why it would be dangerous to fail to limit the arming of a Palestinian state: There were the wars of 1948 and 1973 caused by attacks aimed at destroying the Jewish state by armies of Arab nations allied with the Palestinians. There was the war in 1967 precipitated by the hostile actions of Egypt, an ally of the Palestinians, endangering Israel. This had been preceded by an increase of Palestinian terrorist attacks upon Israelis.

Then, during the 1980s, 1990s and in 2000-2005, West Bank Palestinians perpetrated organized terrorist intifadas which killed over a thousand Jews.

UK newspaper apologises for antisemitic letter

We argued that the letter clearly suggested that the treatment of Palestinians by Israeli Jews today demonstrates that Jews haven't "learnt" from their history (that is, the systemic murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust), and are repeating crimes on par with Nazi atrocities. We noted that this morally odious charge evokes the Nazis-Israel analogy deemed antisemitic by the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism released the following comment:
"Equating Israeli policies to those of the Nazis is antisemitic under the International Definition of Antisemitism. Newspaper editors are under no obligation to print letters and, while letters do not necessarily represent the views of the editors, the choice to print an antisemitic letter reflects the editors' ignorance of the manifestations of anti-Jewish racism. The editors must apologise to readers and clarify what steps are being taken to avoid a repeat in future."

We complained to the paper's managing editor and encouraged our supporters to the do the same.

After several follow-ups, they agreed to publish an apology:

Though we would have preferred if they acknowledged that the letter included racist rhetoric, such mea culpas are extremely rare in the media, so we commend the managing editor for disavowing the views expressed by the letter writer and apologising for the offence.

Serbia Joins Ranks of Countries Who Have Adopted International Antisemitism Definition

Serbia has become the latest country to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

The Israeli Embassy in Belgrade tweeted on Monday, "We welcome the decision [of the] @SerbianGov to accept the working definition of anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance @IHRA which will help Serbia in recognizing and prosecuting cases of this dangerous phenomenon."

B'nai B'rith International tweeted, "We commend Serbia for joining the growing list of countries and organizations that have adopted @TheIHRA definition of #antiSemitism. We have to define anti-Semitism to be properly able to fight it."

Before World War II, Serbia had a Jewish population of over 30,000 people. The community was decimated by the Holocaust, with 2/3 of its members murdered by the Nazis.

After the war, most of the survivors emigrated from the country, largely to Israel.

Fewer than 1,000 Jews live in Serbia today.

The IHRA definition says, "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities."

Czech Jewish Community Highlights Major Increase in Online Antisemitism in New Report

Antisemitic incidents doubled in the Czech Republic in 2019, a new report by the country's Federation of Jewish Communities (FZO) disclosed on Wednesday.

None of the 694 incidents involved physical violence, however, with 95 percent of them occurring on the internet.

An additional nine incidents involved verbal insults or the destruction of property — including the vandalism in June 2019 of a monument in Prague to Sir Nicholas Winton, a British citizen who saved hundreds of Czech Jewish children from the clutches of the Nazis.

The online material targeting Jews included "theories about the global Jewish conspiracy, about the power and influence that Jews use to control the world, the media and all important socio-economic processes, including migration flows," the FZO report noted.

Antisemitism was visible in both its far-right and anti-Zionist forms, according to the report, especially on "the websites of extreme right-wing entities and in the speeches of activists supporting the BDS movement."

More than 15 percent of the incidents recorded involved standard anti-Zionist tropes, such as comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and denial of the Jewish state's right to exist.

Youths attack Jewish boy, remove his skullcap, chase him and throw stone at him in Stamford Hill

A female witness was shocked to see three youths attack an observant Jewish boy by removing his kippah (skullcap), chasing him and throwing a stone at him.

The incident occurred on 31st May on Lynmouth Road in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD7352 31/05/2020.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: "Acts of antisemitic intimidation and violence against Jewish minors in Stamford Hill are staggeringly common. We applaud Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, for their role in reporting these crimes and deterring many more, and we are grateful to the police for their cooperation. If Jewish children are to have the same freedom as other kids to walk down the street unmolested, the culprits must be brought to justice."

Campaign Against Antisemitism's analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Drop Dua Lipa songs from Israeli radio, petition demands

A petition is calling for songs by British pop star Dua Lipa to be banned on Army Radio and Galgalatz, after the singer shared on her Instagram account an anti-Israel post claiming IDF soldiers shoot children, among other anti-Israel claims.

Over 3,000 people had signed the petition as of Wednesday morning.

The Im Tirzu organization contacted Culture Minister Chili Tropper and Defense Minister Benny Gantz. "In light of the incitement against IDF soldiers, the antisemitism, the blood libel, conspiracy theories and the blatant lies in the post that the singer shared, it is not fitting that a radio station affiliated with the IDF continue to broadcast her songs," wrote Im Tirzu in a letter to the two ministers.

"It is inconceivable that a military radio station will continue to promote someone who goes out against IDF soldiers," said Dov Trachtman, digital media manager of Im Tirzu. "It's time that the defense minister and culture minister put an end to this absurd theater in which antisemites like this singer continue to be broadcast on military radio waves."

The post shared by Dua Lipa read: "While everybody's in the mood to talk about human rights, this is what happens EVERYDAY in Palestine, paid for by our taxpayer dollars."

"The big bad tough guys of the #IDF thoroughly enjoy beating and shooting children," the post continued. "They even have shirts that depict a pregnant Palestinian woman with a sniper scope on her stomach that reads '1 shot two kills.'

"But don't worry," the post continued. "They're all terrorist so it's all good. We totally understand.

Argentine gov't under fire for glorifying Nazi admirer

The Argentinian government honored a doctor who glorified the Nazi movement on a new peso note in May, prompting sharp criticism from Israel's ambassador as well as human rights campaigners.

Ramón Carrillo, the pro-Nazi doctor, was the advisor who accompanied former president Juan Domingo Perón as Secretary of Health during his first two terms.

Carillo provided refuge to the Danish fugitive and Buchenwald camp doctor Carl Peter Vaernet, permitting him to continue experiments on homosexuals to "heal" them.

Israel's ambassador in Argentina, Galit Ronen, criticized the decision on Twitter, writing that, "When we say 'nunca más' ("never again") in reference to the Holocaust, there is no point in commemorating someone who sympathizes with this [Nazi] ideology."

Dr. Shimon Samuels and Ariel Gelblung, directors of International Relations for Latin America at the Wiesenthal Center, said: "We emphatically reject the choice of such a character, which will sully Argentina with his image on its highest denomination banknote."

Vaernet was a war criminal who was wanted for the medical experiments he performed on gay prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. He served the head of the Gestapo, Heinrich Himmler, to find ways to eliminate homosexuality.

Peter Tatchell, the LGBTQ activist and human-rights campaigner, told The Jerusalem Post: "Argentina is supposed to be a democracy. Why is it honoring a man who sympathized with Nazi ideas of eugenics and who sheltered and aided a Nazi war criminal?

"Vaernet conducted experiments on gay prisoners in Buchenwald concentration camp, in a bid to develop medical procedures to erase homosexuality," he continued. "He acted with the personal approval of the head of the Gestapo, Heinrich Himmler, who was committed to the total elimination of what he denounced as 'abnormal existence.'"

Former Vice-Chancellor of Austria Accused of Penning Antisemitic Dedication in Nazi-Era Book

A former vice-chancellor of Austria was accused on Tuesday of having penned a handwritten dedication railing against the "Jewish lust for power" on the title page of an antisemitic screed from the Nazi era.

An investigation by the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper concluded that the handwriting — inside a book that was given as personal gift during the early 1990s — belonged to Heinz-Christian Strache, the 50-year-old former leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO).

Strache served as the deputy of the current Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, in a right-wing coalition government that lasted from December 2017 until May 2019.

A handwriting expert who examined the dedication told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that he was "99.99 percent certain" that the handwriting belonged to Strache.

The dedication appeared on the title page of the book "Jewish confessions from all times and lands" — a propaganda tome written by Hans Jonak von Freyenwald and published in 1941 by the viciously antisemitic Nazi tabloid Der Stürmer.

The dedication reportedly written by Strache described Jews as "opponents" with a "lust for power." He also transcribed a quote from Ernst Moritz Arndt, an antisemitic German historian, and a poem by the Austrian Nazi Joseph Heiss. The dedication signed off with the flourish "Heil Jul!" — a reference to the Nordic "Yule" festival.

The recipient of the book, who has not been named, is said to have been another far-right politician.

Speaking through his lawyer, Strache denied knowledge of both the book and the handwritten dedication inside. He distanced himself from the sentiments expressed "without reservation," adding that he rejected antisemitism "out of deep conviction" and pointing to his record of support for the State of Israel.

Hi @TwitterSupport @delbius

Please explain to me, and to @adl and @HolocaustUK, how you can find an account with THIS hateful profile breaches your Terms - and let it carry on spewing #Antisemitism, #racism, and #holocaustdenial?

Your refusal to act on Jew-hate is systemic. pic.twitter.com/NQYbx8Ow5T
— (((Neil))) 👁‍🗨 (@dungeekin) June 3, 2020

Alibaba unit uses Israeli tech to offer shipping services to US businesses

A unit of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba said Tuesday it has launched three new services and products to help US small and medium-sized businesses get through the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the services launched, Alibaba.com Freight, will help American companies secure sea and air shipping for their orders. The service uses technology developed by Israeli startup Freightos, which has created an online market place for international freight that enables users to compare prices and manage their shipments in real time.

The freight service will help small and medium-sized businesses simplify organizing their bulk shipments, giving them "the ability to instantly compare, book, manage and track ocean and air freight in real time online, effectively modernizing the analog, opaque and historically slow process for arranging cross-border logistics," Alibaba said in a statement.

"Alibaba.com Freight's extremely user-friendly interface takes what is usually a daunting and extremely complicated task, and turns it into a simple, concise step-by-step process without allowing you to make any mistakes before you move on to the next step," said Casey Heim, founder and CEO of Hoxie, KS-based WAKE 10, a manufacturer and seller of equipment in the wake surfing and boating industry and early user of Alibaba.com Freight.

Alibaba also launched on Tuesday Alibaba.com Payment Terms to provide businesses with cash flow control and Alibaba.com Online Trade Shows USA to connect US manufacturers and wholesalers with business buyers in an engaging and live online format.

Israel plans 80 new nature reserves by 2040

Israel Hayom has learned that for the first time, Israel's National Planning and Construction Authority has decided on an action plan to preserve Israel's open areas as part of its overall strategy for the year 2040.

The plan includes the location and mapping of some 500 wet and dry natural habitats, the location of some 400 biodiverse areas, and proposals for 80 new nature reserves to protect them. Additionally, some 55 of the country's existing nature reserves are slated for expansion.

The plan will also promote plans to establish "ecological corridors" – contiguous open areas that link nature spots – and the mapping of about 100 "bottlenecks," or narrow corridors between areas of construction that, if closed, will cut off links between open spaces, in order to provide these locations with more protection.

Recently, the National Planning and Construction Authority was presented with a program for the next two decades that addresses the issues of housing, infrastructure, and transportation. For the first time, these plans take open natural spaces – and their preservation – into account. The plan is slated to be promoted in conjunction with various government departments and ministries, as well as the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Jewish National Fund.

Dotan Rotem, an ecologist with the INPA who took part in writing the program, told Israel Hayom that "the plan begins from a healthy perspective for the country, which has become more relevant after people have been isolated at home these past few months, longing for accessible open spaces, both near their homes and in wider spaces."

Dr. Iris Bernstein, a planning administration official noted that "the current vision, which takes open spaces into account, reflects a focus on all our natural resources, which are being degraded at an accelerating rate."

Tel Aviv from Above: Stunning Aerial Photos Shot during Lockdown

My two-week vacation in Tel Aviv was going as planned when the pandemic swept in, seemingly out of nowhere. It brought with it an order for new arrivals to retroactively quarantine that sent me into confinement for a week. Widespread border closings followed shortly after, making it apparent that I wouldn't be flying back to Spain — where I live as an expat Brit — anytime soon.

While the coronavirus tore through Israel for a time, causing people to fear for their health and livelihoods, Israelis are nothing if not resilient. Before long, the denizens of Tel Aviv were back on the streets.

Determined to document the positive side of things, I set out with my drone in my backpack, looking to capture what I'd previously taken for granted: The freedom to enjoy the diverse array of activities that this city has to offer. The photos I shot are part of an ongoing project I'd started earlier called "Tel Aviv From Above."

Vibrancy, energy and vitality are my rubber-stamped impressions of Tel Aviv. When I close my eyes and think of the White City, I smell the sea breeze, feel the Mediterranean heat, and sense continual motion. This always gives me the burning desire to be outdoors for as long as possible.

Though I'd recently decided to take a hiatus from photographing sports, the Tel Aviv municipality's recent push to offer even more free sporting opportunities made it tempting to revisit the topic. In fact, all of my drone shots in Tel Aviv happen to be sports related.

'Setting the clock' for ancient Jerusalem, scientists finally date elusive arch

A revolutionary radiocarbon-dating technique can now securely pinpoint when monumental structures in Jerusalem's Old City — including the famed Wilson's Arch — were constructed.

By meticulously collecting organic material in each excavated stratified layer and carbon-dating minuscule samples taken from ancient mortar, an interdisciplinary team from the Weizmann Institute and the Israel Antiquities Authority can now lay to rest abiding debates on when ancient Jerusalem structures were constructed. For a change, scientists are stepping out of the laboratory and into the field.

The specific focus of the project was Wilson's Arch, which supported one of the main pathways to the Second Temple. It has been dated by three previously prevailing theories of its construction: early Roman (before 70 CE), mid-Roman (1st-2nd century as Aelia Capitolina), or even the early Islamic periods, some 600 years later.

Wilson's Arch was named after 19th-century British geographer Charles William Wilson who documented the site in a survey of Jerusalem.

According to the results of the new radiocarbon study, Wilson's Arch was actually constructed in two phases — first around the time of the rule of Herod the Great (circa 37-4 BCE), the bridge was constructed to be 7.5 meters wide. A few decades later in the first century CE, the bridge's width was doubled to 15 meters.

The reason behind the doubling in size still remains a mystery, IAA archaeologist Dr. Joe Uziel told The Times of Israel.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Arnold Roth: Ahlam Tamimi is Not in Hiding. Why is She Free? (Judean Rose)

Posted: 03 Jun 2020 01:00 PM PDT

Malki Roth, 15, was murdered for eating pizza while Jewish in Jerusalem. That she was with her best friend, also murdered for eating pizza while Jewish in Jerusalem, is of little comfort, though the two are buried next to each other, together in death as they were in life. But what grabs you by the throat and doesn't let you go is that the mastermind of the Sbarro Restaurant Massacre, Ahlam Tamimi, lives free and clear in Jordan, a celebrity to her people.

Why a celebrity? It's simple. Ahlam Tamimi is celebrated in Jordan for causing Jewish blood to be spilled. In particular, the blood of Jewish children, which apparently brought her great (and very public) delight.

Now if you are an American, you should care about this because Malki Roth was an American citizen. The United States has an extradition treaty with Jordan. But the United States has done next to nothing to seek justice for one of her own. Which is shameful.

Jordan gets a lot of money from the United States, so it would seem to be the easiest and most sensible thing in the world to accomplish the extradition of Tamimi, a wanted terrorist. Cut the money pipeline and they, Jordan, will hand Tamimi over quick enough.

But that hasn't happened.

Why not? And how do Malki's parents, Arnold and Frimet Roth, live with that reality and betrayal, even as their daughter's blood cries out from the ground for justice?

Arnold and Frimet Roth gaze at a photo of their daughter Malki, HY"D.

Arnold Roth was interviewed in this space one year ago in an effort to raise awareness of this story, this travesty of justice. But twelve months on, the extradition has still not occurred. Tamimi has not been put on trial. She is still free, still celebrated as a hero in Jordan. And Malki Roth's blood still cries out from the ground.

It seems appropriate, one year on, to take stock and ask: What has changed in the course of one year? Is there any hope, any progress at all? I spoke to Arnold to learn more:

Varda Epstein: In our interview of a year ago, you mentioned some concrete achievements in your efforts to persuade the US to increase the pressure on Jordan to extradite your daughter's murderer, Ahlam Tamimi. Tamimi had been charged and a reward for her capture issued. But there were unnamed officials who seemed to be blocking this process. Can you tell us more about this? Has anything changed, at least on this score?

Arnold Roth: A terrific question. Let's look first at what hasn't changed.

A major news organization recently called fugitive bomber Ahlam Tamimi "the most wanted woman in the world". It wasn't meant as a compliment. But it's also not clear what it really does mean. There are 28 people on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list as of today. Of these terrorists, 26 are men. Tamimi is one of the only two female terrorists on this list.

But it would be a stretch to say she's living the life of someone on the run. Tamimi lives with her husband/cousin in a fancy apartment in Jordan's capital. That's where she was when you and I spoke about her last June. And that's where she is now. She's still free as a bird, unrestricted in her movements, frequently quoted and published in the Arabic media. Tamimi, above all, continues to be a figure of malignant influence, a devotee of Islamism in the most violent sense, a woman who uses every accessible part of the media to keep pumping out lethal hatred often, widely, and to a hugely appreciative audience.

Tamimi Has Never Been in Hiding

And contrary to its own carefully manicured public relations, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an ally of Western governments that has one of the world's most restricted and tightly controlled media strategies, continues to be perfectly fine with all of this.

Tamimi was not in hiding when we spoke last time and she's not in hiding today. She has, in fact, never been in hiding—not even for a single day since she returned home to Jordan in 2011 after several years in an Israeli prison cell. Jordan is where she was born and educated, and Jordan is where Tamimi still lives today, out in the open, though she was supposed to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Sentenced by a judicial panel to 16 terms of life imprisonment after confessing to her role in the Jerusalem Sbarro pizzeria massacre, Tamimi got her freedom back by way of the Shalit Deal. In this "exchange," Israel released 1,027 terrorists—more than half of them killers—for a soldier held hostage for more than five years by Hamas terrorists in conditions that, according to lawyers, constitute a war crime.

Tamimi's Life is Public

Photos of the Tamimi apartment in Amman, even more than when we spoke last year, are still easily found on social media. The Tamimi home has been photographed from the inside, from the outside, from the terrace looking up and looking down. The trajectory of Tamimi's life and career are public information. Her wedding got live TV coverage. She earned a master's degree in journalism the same week your first interview with me was published, and this too, made it into the news. Everything Tamimi does is eagerly scrutinized by her adoring Jordanian public.

Should this trouble thoughtful people? Yes. Because the U.S. government announced a $5 million reward on her head in January of 2018. But it's obvious that the Tamimi reward doesn't work the way such rewards normally do. No one needs to be financially incentivized to hand over the details of where Tamimi is when every relevant person already knows her location.

If the reward was never intended to apply inside Jordan, why is this never stated publicly and how can U.S. officials claim relentless efforts to bring Ahlam Tamimi to U.S. justice?

High-level U.S. officials obviously know this particular reward was never intended to apply inside Jordan, leaving inquiring minds to wonder (a) how it is that this is never stated publicly, and (b) what goes through the minds of officials as they make eloquent speeches or issue media releases about Tamimi and their "relentless" efforts to bring her to U.S. justice?

At a certain point, those well-composed, emphatically-phrased official statements coupled with the refusal of a long line of U.S. diplomats and other officials to engage with me and my wife leave us—picking my words cautiously—troubled.

The regime of King Abdullah II, meanwhile, is still fully engaged in illicitly blocking U.S. law enforcement's efforts to take Tamimi into custody. Amman's willingness to stare down the United States, its most important ally and the source of more foreign aid that Jordan gets from anyone else, remains as it was when you and I last spoke, something deeply puzzling.

Prominent Officials Heap Praise on Abdullah

Deepening this puzzle further, there's no shortage of U.S. institutions, politicians and prominent Jewish community figures who persist in heaping generous praise upon Abdullah's majestic head.

Not long after your June interview with me, a major Washington think-tank ["23-Nov-19: We have some unanswered and troubling questions about honor, justice and decency"] gave King Abdullah its highest honor, praising him lavishly for his wisdom at a glittering dinner event while painstakingly avoiding our numerous calls, emails, and articles.

The Good News

So what's changed?

First: A high-ranking official, the kingdom's foreign minister, let himself be provoked in November 2019 to break Jordan's protracted official silence on Tamimi. We blogged about it here: "13-Nov-19: Thank you, Mr Foreign Minister". Our gratitude to Mr Ajman Safadi was sincere. His statement means that Jordan's disgraceful, almost incomprehensible policy of standing firmly in solidarity with the engineer of the Sbarro pizzeria massacre is now a matter of policy that diplomatic double-talk simply cannot disguise.

Next: The United States, after a long period of avoidance and ambiguity, came out with its own brief but clear statement (as we wrote here) in November 2019:

In 2018, Jordan continued to cite a court ruling that its constitution forbids the extradition of Jordanian nationals. The United States regards the extradition treaty as valid.

Until those words in italics appeared in an official U.S. government publication, the matter was arguably unclear. Now it's not. That's very important.

Important Warning Letter

Another step forward: On April 30, 2020, a small group of U.S. lawmakers sent off a letter to Jordan's ambassador to Washington. In their letter, the lawmakers politely asked highly relevant questions that go to the legal theory behind the March 2017 decision of Jordan's Court of Cassation to invalidate the 1995 Jordan/US treaty.

The lawmakers' letter also touched on a crucially important development that, again, has gotten almost no media attention. Here's the short version:

In December 2019, President Trump signed into law a powerful sanction that, while it does not mention Jordan by name, applies to a beneficiary of US foreign aid (Jordan is the third largest recipient of such aid), has an extradition treaty with the US (as Jordan does, though it denies this fact), and is in breach (as Jordan surely is, and the State Department now at last agrees) of its obligations under that treaty.

The sanction, which the Secretary of State can waive, means that in such circumstances foreign aid to the beneficiary, ceases.

Jordanian Public Opinion Ignited

Jordan's reaction to the letter from these members of Congress is worth understanding. Impassioned lectures from outside Jordan about terrorists and Islamism, justice and core values and dead children blown up in a pizzeria were easily ignored in Amman. But when the story turned to money, public opinion was ignited. Jordan's media was incensed by an all-too-credible threat that the U.S. might stop shoveling cash into the Jordanian treasury.

So that's the most substantive change: that finally, via baby steps, the Jordanian leadership has been forced to think about acknowledging the cost of the Jordanian public's adoration of a child-killing bomber living in its midst as a celebrity.

Arnold Roth with Malki

Frimet Roth and Malki

Varda Epstein: Am I correct in thinking that there has been more coverage of your efforts to have Tamimi extradited in recent months? Why is the media willing to cover this story now, when it was mostly silent until now?

Arnold Roth: Media coverage, or more importantly its absence, is a cause of considerable ongoing embitterment for us. The exceptions are, I am pleased to say, significant but they don't change the sense we have that for the mainstream news industry, we and our cause are untouchable.

When I tell people we feel like the town lepers, I don't feel like I am exaggerating very much.

Three exceptions:

· Fox News, a major news industry player, did a high-profile analytical piece on us, not on television but on their website ["Most wanted female terrorist lives in freedom in Jordan despite extradition request for bombing that killed Americans," Hollie McKay, January 29, 2020].

· In early May, David Horovitz, the editor at Times of Israel, wrote an epic profile ["Failed by Israel, Malki Roth's parents hope US can extradite her gloating killer" May 5, 2020], that does an outstanding job of explaining a complex narrative. This has had real impact.

· A Hebrew translation of David Horovitz's article appeared on the Times of Israel's sister publication Zman Yisrael on May 23, 2020. And that, sad to say, was the first, and so far only effort to explain the Tamimi/Jordan affair in a serious, analytical way to an Israeli audience.

Let me connect the dots. We live in Jerusalem and have a broad and varied circle of friends, contacts, and colleagues. Most of them, and even many of our Israeli family members, have little or even no idea of what we have done or of what's been done to us since the Shalit Deal and the renewal of Tamimi's terror career in Jordan. No one is going to persuade me that this—the media suppression of an obviously significant chain of events, is a normal situation.

Varda Epstein: What progress has been made toward having Tamimi extradited to the States?

Arnold Roth: Let's begin with the first public notification milestone.

The extradition request to Jordan was made public by senior US Justice Department officials in 2017, invoking the 1995 treaty and pledging to do what it takes to bring Tamimi in front of a US court ["14-Mar-17: Sbarro massacre mastermind is now formally charged and her extradition is requested"].

But it was immediately clear to us that unsuccessful secret efforts had been made repeatedly to persuade Jordan to hand Tamimi over for prosecution in Washington years before that. (Tamimi had returned to her homeland, Jordan, in October 2011 as a result of her unforgivably being included in the Shalit Deal walk-free list.)

As to progress, that's a binary thing. Either she's being extradited or she's not. Currently she's not. We believe she will be.

Varda Epstein: Jordan claims it has no extradition treaty with the United States. Can you tell us about that?

Arnold Roth: On this aspect, there is a huge amount of disinformation, most of it deliberate and calculated. In large measure, that's the outcome of a systemic news industry failure. It's shameful that this is still happening and that, by definition, so few people know.

Jordan's assertion that Tamimi cannot be extradited because of Jordanian law has been dismissed by I think every single expert source we have consulted.

The Jordanian judges in their brief hearing and terse judgement spoke of a constitutional problem—that the National Assembly, Jordan's parliament, ought to have ratified the treaty which everyone, including the Jordanians agrees, was certainly signed by the two governments back in 1995.

They Found Their Hook

Non-ratification is the only ground they cited for invalidating the extradition treaty. The court relied on no other legal flaw. They found their hook and they hung the conclusion on it: Tamimi cannot be extradited. That was all they needed or intended to find.

Since then, numerous Jordanian commentators, including reporters, politicians, assorted charlatans and lawyers, have gone public with claims that what this is really, truly, honestly is about, is that Jordan neverextradites Jordanians. Or alternatively that this is not an extraditable matter. Or that the doctrine of double jeopardy applies. Or that it's a matter of Jordanian national pride. Or that anyway what she did was not a crime if she did it—but she didn't, or so they claim.

They've Extradited Fugitives Before

In our unanswered communications with Jordanian officials (not one of whom has ever acknowledged our existence, let alone our arguments), we have rhetorically asked whether Jordan has extradited fugitives to the US before. That's a more significant question than it appears.

And the answer is: yes, it surely has, even if the highest court in Jordan and no mainstream media anywhere want this to be known.

We have tried to draw them out on other questions. Does Jordan have extradition treaties with other countries? Is extraditing Jordanians foreign to Jordanian constitutional law or jurisprudence or political philosophy or royal decree? Is treaty ratification always done? Or never done? Or done only once a treaty takes effect?

Jordan Remains Silent

The answers are clear to us even while the Jordanians stay silent.

All the experts in extradition law and Jordan/U.S. relations we have consulted are unimpressed by the Jordanian claims of invalidity. As just one instance, I will mention a 2017 legal journal analysis which drills down specifically on the Tamimi ruling: "Refusal to extradite mastermind of deadly 2001 Sbarro suicide bombing in Jerusalem contravenes international law and agreements."

Look at the issues dispassionately and it's hard to avoid an irksome conclusion: that for people engaged in politics and diplomacy, what's true about Jordan's egregious breach of its treaty with the U.S. takes a backseat to what's flattering and complimentaryand helpful to our Hashemite allies.

Even if I weren't the father of a child murdered by the main beneficiary of this odious fig-leafing, I would be disgusted by it. And by those who know and yet still engage in it.

Varda Epstein: What are the risks and benefits for King Abdullah in refusing to honor Jordan's extradition treaty with the United States?

Arnold Roth: Let's distinguish between risks/benefits that are real and those that are illusory.

Here's how it's often said to us. Good King Abdullah's freedom to act is limited by the realities of a kingdom that could explode at any moment. Of course he wants to do the right thing. Of course he feels Tamimi is an embarrassment to his country's fine name. Of course he respects and wants to do honor to his father's values and achievements and treaties. But put yourself in his shoes, and etc.

All of this is nonsense. It's also doubtful whether other heads of state would be spoken of in terms as condescending and contradicted-by-the-facts as these.

What Jordan Risks

So to your question, the risks Jordan faces by continuing to demean its treaty obligations come down to:

· Potential loss of U.S. foreign aid;

· The continued growth and normalization of overt antisemitic and violently-hostile-to-Israel sentiments at every level in Jordanian society;

· Ditto for anti-U.S. sentiment and activity;

· Growing instability because of unchecked forces active in Jordan that happen to be the same forces with which Tamimi is aligned.

Jordan stands to keep benefitting hugely if it chooses to stay a U.S. ally. But Americans need to ask themselves whether Jordan's actions make that possible.

Varda Epstein: There have been some signs that Tamimi is laying low, that she is nervous about extradition. Can you tell us about that? What does this indicate?

Arnold Roth: You're perceptive. We don't communicate with our child's vicious killer. But we track her statements in the conventional media as well as via the social media where she has always been happy to play. And to be clear—in the age of online translation-on-demand, I am referring to what she says in Arabic. Only the Arabic counts.

You're right about Tamimi's nervousness. Things are not going the way she and the Tamimi clan want. Just two weeks ago, a Tamimi clan war council was set up to push back against the new U.S. sanction and the State Department's dismissal of Jordanian claims that the extradition treaty is invalid ["16-May-20: The friends of Jordanian fugitive Ahlam Tamimi, including her lawyers, are speaking up. But not all of them."]

The Tamimis claim the pressure for extradition is coming from "Zionists" when it's actually the U.S. Congress and the executive arm of the US government. They declare their trust in "Jordan's leadership, government and people." But that's not true either.

"Where's Abdullah?"

Ahlam Tamimi herself says that: "We are still awaiting the Jordanian official response to the latest escalation…I was amazed at the silence of the Jordanian political side and its failure to respond to the message of the seven members of the American Congress..."

Translation: "Where is King Abdullah II?"

The answer may be related to something she herself published just days before the U.S. Congress adopted its Jordan-centric sanction: "15-Dec-19: The Sbarro bomber trashes the ruler who protects her from the FBI" in which Tamimi compares King Abdullah II unfavorably with his late father, King Hussein. You might wonder after reading her post, as I do, why Jordan's proud and capable king troubles himself to keep this dangerous ingrate safe. It doesn't make sense.

And something to note about her social media presence: Tamimi, a journalist, gets op-ed space in the Arab media on request. She's frequently featured on the vastly influential Aljazeera platform, for instance. But she's evidently devoted to social media.

One By One They Shut Her Down

I mention this because whenever we find them we report her accounts to the security people at Twitter, Instagram, et al, and one by one we have seen them shut her down. The most recent shut down was yesterday. She keeps coming back but each time, she has to rebuild her following.

I also want to mention something important your esteemed host, Elder of Ziyon, noted in the past couple of weeks: "Ahlam Tamimi says she's "terrified" she will be extradited." What onlookers ought to be asking is: Why is this happening only now? Which homicidal fugitive from the law, with the blood of at least sixteen people on her hands, is entitled to sleep peacefully in her bed at night? How did this ever happen?

Varda Epstein: What could the U.S. do to pressure Jordan, if it were to get serious about extraditing Tamimi?

Arnold Roth: So, as we have already discussed, the U.S. now has a well-focused sanction in its arsenal. But given the close and strategic ties between the leadership of the two countries of Jordan and the U.S., and given the very black-and-white nature of the criminality at the heart of this absurdly stretched-out affair, there's really only one thing the U.S. ought to be doing and that's to say to the powers in Jordan: We've been left waiting for far too long. Send Tamimi for trial in Washington now.

And the only possible answer is: Which flight?

Varda Epstein: Why would the U.S. not want to pressure Jordan on the extradition issue?

Arnold Roth: I'm an ignoramus on such matters. The more I engage with people from the U.S. Congress, or with Washington insiders, or senior-level Jewish community leaders, the more I realize how little I actually grasp about how they approach questions like the one you just asked. I wish you would ask the people in those groups. Especially those who refuse to take my calls. I will give you a list after we finish here. Good luck.

Varda Epstein: What would it mean to you and your wife Frimet, personally, to see Tamimi extradited, and hopefully sentenced: behind bars or executed?

Arnold Roth: We want justice to be done. So long as it's not, there's an ongoing pain deep inside us that it makes no sense to talk about because those who have it inside them already know and those who don't are fortunately immune from empathizing.

Best friends Malki Roth, left, and Michal Raziel were enjoying a slice of pizza at Sbarro, when the busy, popular Jerusalem eatery was bombed.

Gravestones of best friends Malki Roth, left, and Michal Raziel, buried next to each other in the Holy City.

Varda Epstein: What can we, as regular people, do to help bring justice for Malki?

Arnold Roth: First, and easiest: give us the chance to share and explain the Tamimi/Jordan scandal to you and the people among whom you live. You, Varda, have earned my deep gratitude for having understood that without anyone saying it. Thank you, thank you. We're nowhere close to achieving this and our progress is plainly impacted in a negative way as a result.

For everyone else: Frimet and I write and talk with the passion, with the credibility, and in my opinion with the clarity that comes from being at the heart of this for the worst of all possible reasons. Please try to help us reach out to people who have never heard of the Sbarro massacre, of Malki, of the ugly games politicians play in order to see that Tamimi stays safe and untouched by U.S. justice.

That might mean Zoom events; interviews or op-eds in the media that serve your community; introductions to senior politicians with the backbone to speak out in ways that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan will hear and gradually understand. In other words, please help us create awareness because darkness and gloom—some of it generated maliciously, some of it simply the result of apathy and neglect—need to be dispelled by light.

About the less obvious and more complicated things, we don't talk much. We share (some of) them with our activists' mailing list. To be part of our campaign for justice, please sign on to the list by emailing your name and city and email address to thisongoingwar@gmail.com

Thank you, Varda. Two final thoughts—one from Benjamin Franklin. "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." The other is from the Torah: "Justice, justice shall you pursue." Or in Hebrew: "Tzedek tzedek tirdof" which is not so much a quotation as an actual divine precept, a commandment for life.

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יום חמישי, 4 ביוני 2020