And, today, a sukkah in front of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai.
Have a great holiday! I hope to be back Monday morning.
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.
The Left's denunciations of Trump as an anti-Semite have come at the same time that the Democrat Party's hostility towards Israel and its supporters in America has become more pronounced with each passing day. Leftist anti-Semites have captured the party's base and control the progressive grassroots. They have intimidated pro-Israel Democrats into near silence on Israel and have made hating Israel an electoral advantage in primary races.
The Left's rejection of Israel is now so overwhelming that last weekend, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez canceled her participation in a Peace Now memorial marking the 25th anniversary of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. Her move demonstrated that even Jewish progressives and an Israeli Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was killed for his efforts to appease the PLO are beyond the Pale for progressives today. Only Jews who reject Israel's right to exist are acceptable among the smart set in the party.
The Left's embrace of anti-Semitism demonstrates that its hysterical claims that Trump loves Nazis is nothing more than projection. And this isn't surprising.
Since 2016, the Democrats have repeatedly projected all of their prejudices, malicious actions and plans onto Trump and the Republicans.
Consider the issue of collusion with Russia. During the debate, Biden accused Trump of being "Putin's poodle." But just hours before, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee revealing that in July 2016, American intelligence agencies "obtained insight" into analysis by Russian intelligence officers that claimed then Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton "had approved a plan to stir up a scandal" against Trump which involved "tying [Trump] to Putin."
Clinton's campaign paid for the infamous Steele dossier alleging corrupt ties between Trump and the Kremlin. The smear file was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele. Last week it came to light that Steele's primary source for his file was investigated by the FBI as a Russian spy.
In other words, the collusion that Clinton and later the FBI, CIA, the Democrat Party, the media and a special prosecutor accused Trump of carrying out with the Kremlin was actually conducted by Clinton and her campaign with active assistance from the CIA, FBI, the media and the Democrat Party against Trump. In accusing Trump, they were describing their own actions.
The projection of Democratic plans onto the Republicans continues still today. Indeed, their campaign is organized around a new one.
For example, in the chapter on the anti-Semitism controversy Jones is conscious of the tightrope he must walk — trying not to condone the open anti-Semites in Corbyn's movement, but at the same time trying to defend his hero from the most serious accusations. Jones can only do this by re-writing or editing out parts of the story, including his own.
So while he is willing to address and condemn some of the more minor cases of anti-Semitism in the party he at no stage contends with the most serious accusations against Corbyn. There is, for instance, simply no mention of Corbyn's campaign for and support of Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh, two people imprisoned for bombing the offices of a number of Jewish charities in London. To raise such a thing would mean having to excuse it, condemn it or contend with it. Jones can bring himself to do none of these things.
It is the same with the wreath-laying at the graves of the Munich Olympic terrorists. Jones writes that in 2014 "Corbyn had taken part in a ceremony commemorating the innocent victims of a 1985 Israeli air strike, during which wreaths had been laid for the Palestinians accused of taking part in the terror atrocity at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich". This is characteristically dishonest. First Jones drops in (and mis-portrays) an Israeli action; then he suggests that anybody might find themselves laying a wreath either at or near the graves of such terrorists; and finally there is that little sleight "accused of taking part".
What Jones does not mention in his own role in this controversy. For in 2018, when the Tunisia wreath-laying photos broke, Jones was still the most prominent mainstream media defender of everything Corbyn did. While fighting to defend his hero Jones tried to minimise the incident, proclaiming on social media "No one has [presumably he meant 'was'] killed by a wreath."
Perhaps Jones the would-be historian is embarrassed by this statement — but in avoiding his own embarrassment he also avoids the job any honest writer would perform. For in precisely such moments lie the problem. In pursuit of their dream of getting a socialist into Downing Street people like Jones were consistently willing to degrade themselves, defame others and otherwise lose any moral sense they still possessed.
There is a rich seam of thought to explore here, but Jones is neither a good enough writer nor an honest enough thinker to perform the task. Perhaps he thinks that both he and the revolution have many more acts left in them — so we read pabulum like the idea that the anti-Semitism crisis could have been lessened if Corbyn had been more willing to "embrace people".
#OnThisDay 1982: one of Livingstone and the Labour Herald's more notorious moments of the 1980s. Writing about Israel under the headline 'Creature of Terror', Livingstone included a paragraph about the Holocaust that was basically a direct lift from the far right. pic.twitter.com/XjuRv48Dln
After 75 years of the existence of the UN, not many achievements can be attributed to the organization. From the eyes of an ordinary citizen in a remote country, one may ask, "What has this organization done for me?" Instead of global cooperation in the face of threatening challenges, we instead witness a club of government representatives throwing accusations at each other, emissaries of senior world leaders taking pot shots at the opposition and flamboyant expenses.
I have previously met with senior representatives of the UN and UNESCO so I understand they operate according to a predetermined policy. Therefore, I know better than to expect UN politics to suddenly behave differently tomorrow morning. In our current situation they have no chance of success. They get clear ideological lines from their respective heads of state and behave according to script without deviating right or left. It is clear that they are distinctly politicians and nothing more.
Nevertheless, a call for the abolition of the UN is not an alternative. It is still an important diplomatic space to meet and talk instead of engaging in wars and struggles. For the UN to function beneficially for humanity, however, would require turning it from end to end to set a higher goal, streamline the organization, and improve and upgrade it. The face of the UN is the face of the international community which depicts the face and state of every country and person in the world. And since every person is selfish by nature, his tendency is to care for himself only. In other words, we cannot expect anything more than the same from an organization that resembles and reflects the state of the world.
The next step that humanity longs for from a global organization is to act as an arena and platform for unity instead of division. Instead of glossing over and blurring the crises facing humanity with beautiful sounding words, it is my hope that the UN will join hands with other international organizations to put the interests and good of all the world's citizens at the center of attention. The call to action for the UN should be bringing people together through a comprehensive education program for social connection as a condition for societies where everyone is closer to each other. At the end of the day, it is the unity of the peoples that make the nations truly united.
The Coronavirus pandemic has undermined years of economic growth and sent hundreds of thousands of Israelis onto the unemployment rolls. How can Israel—the legendary "start-up nation"—recover from this economic crisis?
Dan Senor, co-author with Saul Singer of the bestselling book Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle, is one of the world's leading experts on Israel's economy in general, and its tech sector in particular. He joins Mosaic's editor, Jonathan Silver, for a discussion about how the Jewish state became a global technology juggernaut, the prospects for integrating the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors into the broader economy, and the outlook for an Israeli recovery after the devastation of COVID-19.
The Trump Charlottesville lie remains the one Big Lie, the one piece of Fake News, that has taken on a life that will not end, like the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. By now the Russian Collusion hoax has been debunked. The Mueller Report killed the Mueller Investigation. The Steele Dossier. All the anti-Trump lies fade in time. But not The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Charlottesville. That Big Lie just won't go away.
Experienced public liars like Joe Biden, who has been lying to the public for half a century — even stealing someone else's life story as his own — and almost every Left Media vehicle like CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, CNN, and MSNBC refuse to admit the forgery, the fake, the Big Lie of Trump-Charlottesville.
Do you have just three more minutes now? Go to this YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmaZR8E12bs&ab_channel=CNBC. I am not embedding the link in a word but instead am making it easy for you to copy and send this link everywhere. It runs for three minutes. It is not analysis; it is the President speaking in his own words.
Listen to what he said about very fine people at Charlottesville who had a legal permit to demonstrate their belief that their history should be preserved. Listen to what the President also said three separate times in three minutes about White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis. It is clear and unmistakable. But they will not let the lie die: The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Charlottesville.
US President Donald Trump denounced white supremacists on Wednesday after skirting a request to do so during the previous night's presidential debate, which sparked uproar from Democrats, Jewish groups and others across the political spectrum.
"I've always denounced any form… Any form of any of that, you have to denounce," Trump told reporters after being asked whether he'd condemn white supremacists before he left the White House for a campaign rally in Minneapolis.
But asked by a reporter whether he welcomed the support of white supremacists who "clearly love you and support you," Trump appeared to avoid answering the question, instead touting the importance of "law and order" to his campaign.
The president was also asked what he meant when he told the far-right group Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" at Tuesday night's debate.
"I don't know who the Proud Boys are. I mean, you'll have to give me a definition, because I really don't know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work," Trump replied.
The Republican Jewish Coalition on Thursday announced a $3.5 million TV ad campaign targeting Jewish voters in the key swing state of Florida.
The commercials will run in the Miami, Broward and Palm Beach counties in south Florida, where roughly half a million Jews live.
"The three most important battleground states are Florida, Florida and Florida," RJC executive director Matt Brooks told The Times of Israel.
"As we saw with the victory by [Florida] Governor Ron DeSantis, an increase in the Jewish vote can have a significant impact in Republicans winning," he said. Desantis edged out his Democratic challenger in 2018 by less than 40,000 votes.
In the first of two ads released Thursday, a pitchman cracks, "elect Joe Biden, get all his far-left friends too."
Not long after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pulled off a surprise upset in the June 2018 Democratic congressional primary, Michael S. Miller, executive vice president and CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, reached out to set up an in-person meeting. Ocasio-Cortez, then 28, was a relative newcomer to politics, but her star was rising, and she was all but assured a seat in Congress representing the reliably blue 14th district, which encompasses parts of the Bronx and Queens.
Miller, whose organization represents the Jewish community to New York government officials and counts more than 50 local Jewish groups as members, had hoped to begin a dialogue with the young progressive upstart — and, after speaking with her chief of staff, was informed that a meeting with Ocasio-Cortez would be arranged. Two years and multiple follow-ups later, Miller is still waiting on her call.
"That was October of 2018," Miller said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday afternoon. "We're now on the verge of October 2020, and I have yet to meet with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez."
"There is a lot of frustration," he sighed.
Miller isn't alone among New York's Jewish leaders in wondering why Ocasio-Cortez, who is poised to be reelected to a second term in November, won't return their calls. In interviews with JI, several prominent members of New York's Jewish community said they have made overtures to the freshman congresswoman, who turns 31 this month, only to have their entreaties be ignored.
"We were prepared to meet, but there was no reciprocity," said Rabbi Joe Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, recalling an experience similar to Miller's. "When I spoke to her she was like, 'Of course.' But when it came to arranging a meeting, no response."
"I don't know what her reasoning is," he added with a sense of befuddlement. "I think she has to explain why, as a member of Congress who meets with all different kinds of groups, she's not willing to meet with us."
@JGreenblattADL is a former Obama White House aide, and he uses the ADL to advance the progressive agenda. He has failed to call out - much less fight -- anti-Semitism in progressive circles even as progressive anti-Semites have taken over the party. He doesn't protect Jews...3
Tlaib doesn't believe in Israel's right to exist, quite literally replacing Israel with a post-it note saying "Palestine."
She supports the anti-Semitic BDS movement & when colleagues condemned it, she employed the dual loyalty trope: 'They forgot what country they represent.'
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) October 2, 2020
If you're genuinely interested in learning about Rashida Tlaib, we made a couple of videos you should watch.https://t.co/vPtrKFTjjC
As I ran out of the classroom, these were the last words the guest speaker had for me, the most minor of his anti-Semitic rhetoric.
"I'm sorry if I offended you."
It's hard to describe what it feels like to be the victim of an anti-Semitic incident. The feelings of isolation, confusion, anger, all culminating in the strongest sense to fight and to flee. I am no stranger to incidents like these, unfortunately. I grew up in a small city in Montana. In high school, I experienced minor infractions such as people telling me I would go to hell for not believing in Jesus, and major ones, like having coins thrown at my feet and being asked if I would pick them up.
I never expected to experience a much worse incident in a classroom that I was paying to be in. In my time at the University of Portland, I have discovered that my religious and cultural identity is not one that is deemed worthy of protecting.
In the spring of 2020, I enrolled in a class on the politics of the Middle East. The politics in that region in particular are extremely complicated. I knew that I would be faced with both fair and unfair criticism of Israel and the Jewish people. I was excited to be in a space where this criticism could be addressed from an academic standpoint, where we could discuss policy in a manner that could truly further my knowledge and where my professor could mediate any discourse that went too far. However, my professor failed to uphold this academic standard. She blatantly disregarded the line between debate that enriches and educates the mind and speech that lowers the level of discourse to name-calling and lies.
Right before spring break, she brought in a guest speaker from Iran. He had no background in academics, no expertise in the politics of the region. He was simply an Iranian dissident who had immigrated to the United States after his family had experienced persecution by the Iranian regime. In fact, she met him while having her car serviced. They became friends, and she later deemed him worthy to speak to our class.
The President condemned white supremacists. Again. Meanwhile, his historic executive order to combat anti-Semitism just had its first major impact at an American university. And @JoeBiden hasn't stated whether he would keep or repeal that executive order. Hmmm.
Al-Quds Al-'Arabi (Arabic: Arab Jerusalem) is a Qatari–owned, Palestinian–operated and London-based daily newspaper, often regarded as the most persistent voice in the Arab press against peace, negotiations and recognition of Israel, and a torchbearer of the Three No's of the 1967 Arab League summit and the PLO-initiated "Rejection Camp" of the 1980s. It's quite influential among young, highly educated pro-Palestinian, anti-Western Arabic speakers in the Middle East and Europe.
Among English speakers, it was historically famous for its renown yet eccentric editor in chief 'Abdel Bari 'Atwan, who filled the position starting from the paper's foundation in 1989 until 2013, when its new Qatari owners assumed control from their predecessors (a group of Palestinian expats). Since then, it is run by equally-hardline Sana 'Aloul, an official in the General Union of the Palestinian Communities in Europe; in turn, her name is associated with former Member of Knesset and current advisor to Qatari monarch 'Azmi Bishara who, as a result, is said to have a considerable level of influence on the editorial board.
Given the fact that the decade which ended in 2013 saw the demise of some of classical Arab nationalism's very last remnants in the MENA region, it is hardly surprising that the sole bastion of this outdated stance in print has, to a certain extent, moved its allegiance elsewhere (much like Bishara himself). Thus, even before Al-Quds Al-'Arabi's ownership was fully ceded to the Qataris, and with 'Atwan still on top, the paper's views towards the Turkey-Qatar-Gaza-Muslim Brotherhood axis (which also included Egypt for a hot minute) became increasingly favorable.
Nevertheless, the paper's core beliefs have remained largely unchanged to this day. To quote its 2020 Nakba Day editorial headline (which poses a question) and body (which answers it in the affirmative), its staff has always viewed Israel as nothing but a "passing stage in the history of Palestine," however unfortunate its lifelong existence as "an imperialist, racist and religious settler-state" may be.
It's against this background that the following cartoon, entitled "Normalization" and drawn by Jordanian-Palestinian Osama Hajjaj, appeared last week both on Al-Quds Al-Arabi's website (September 20th) and print edition (September 21st, page 23):
The rock, shocked to see the Arab (wearing typical Gulf attire) casting his sword aside and eager to shake Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's hand, is calling in high Arabic: "O Muslim… O servant of Allah… What are you doing!!?" Behind Netanyahu we see two more rocks and a tree, and he himself might be holding a sword behind his back with his other hand.
In order to understand just how hateful and violent this illustration is, one needs to realize what is the scene that it illustrates. A stone calling "O Muslim… O slave of Allah…" is an obvious allusion to the following saying attributed to Prophet Muhammad, a Hadith broadly known across the Muslim world:
Throughout the month of September 2020, twenty-seven written or filmed reports relating to Israel and/or the Palestinians appeared on the BBC News website's 'Middle East' page, some of which were also published on other pages and two of which were carried over from the previous month.
Throughout the month of September visitors to the BBC News website saw no reporting whatsoever on internal Palestinian affairs such as the ongoing detention of three activists in the Gaza Strip, the death of a detainee whilst in custody in a Palestinian Authority police station or a fatal drive-by shooting outside Bethlehem.
Investigators have identified an individual suspected in connection with several antisemitic incidences in Thornhill, Ontario as 43 year-old Kurt Edwards. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
On 18th September, officers responded to a report from a caller who was outside a synagogue when a male, unknown to him, began shouting antisemitic comments. The victim filmed the suspect who advanced towards the caller's vehicle in an alleged attempt to assault the caller and his son.
In the video recording shared on social media, the suspect shouts, "Because you're a piece of s***, you're Jewish, you run the f****** world!", before attempting to place his hand inside the car.
The suspect is believed to be responsible for six other related incidents which occurred over Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Private homes and garages were defaced with hateful graffiti that read, "Jews run the world" and "Jews hate blacks". A vehicle had also been vandalised in the community of Thornhill, north of Toronto, home to Canada's largest concentration of Jewish residents.
In Ottawa, another male reportedly spat and hurled insults towards worshippers in an outside service on the 19th September.
After having been approached by a number of our international friends and seeing a Jerusalem Post article making the rounds internationally and causing a major uproar against the Frankfurt police, we see the need to summarize the facts, as they really took place. In a nutshell, the situation looks like this: 1 The premise of the JPost article is incorrect. There were no anti-Semitic calls, as claimed. There was no "German Muslims who called a young Israeli musician a 'Nazi'". In fact, there were no anti-Semitic chants or any other insults by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, which were documented whatsoever (despite the fact that the musician was accompanied by a friend, who had filmed her holding up the flag).2 The fact is that there was a pro-Palestinian demonstration, which took place in Frankfurt back in July. An Israeli musician saw this demonstration, went back to her apartment to fetch an Israeli flag, with which she stood in some distance from the demonstrators. There are 3 short videos, which document this.3 While holding the flag, she showed her middle finger in the direction of the demonstrators, which cannot be seen in the aforementioned video clips, but which was documented in form of a photograph by a third party. (Mind you, pointing the finger may have been completely understandable from the situation and in response to the demonstrators, but insulting someone – unprovoked – in this form, is still something, which you can get reported to the police for in Germany.)4 A third person reported the Israeli woman to the police and filed an official complaint for being insulted in the form of the showing of her middle finger. The police recorded the report, which they are obliged to do by law, and asked her to stop the insult. She was then asked to leave the vicinity, because she did not comply. It is unclear what exactly was said during the discussion between the police and the woman, especially since the woman only speaks Russian and Hebrew, as well as some broken English.
Disgusting images of the desecrated Mezuzah of the "Tiferet Israel" Synagogue 🕍 in the German capital #Berlin tonight. This is completely unacceptable. The perpetrators should be apprehended and prosecuted to the full extent of the law ASAP! pic.twitter.com/L9peJ2kjXO
Europe's largest Jewish umbrella organization expressed alarm on Thursday over an animal-welfare bill in Poland that would ban exports of kosher meat.
"This draft law is of deep, deep, concern to European Jewry. It puts unproven and unscientific claims about animal welfare above Freedom of Religion, breaching a central pillar—Article 10—of the EU's charter of fundamental rights which states clearly: 'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to change religion, belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others, and in public or private, to manifest religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance,'" said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, in a statement.
The animal-welfare bill has passed the chamber of deputies. It now seeks approval in the Senate.
If passed, it would see a central and vital part of Jewish practice that has taken place for millennia effectively wiped out: access to the supply of kosher meat.
Margolin said the proposed measure "alarmingly, seeks to control and put a headcount on Jewish practice by giving the Minister of Agriculture the power to determine the qualifications of persons performing religious slaughter."
German-Jewish refugee Rabbi Alexander Altmann was a respected scholar who served as the communal rabbi for Manchester, England from 1938 to 1959. Although an expert on German-Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelsohnn, dedicated football (soccer) fans remember him for a very different reason: An open letter he wrote to the Manchester Evening News in October 1949.
At the time, some 20,000 fans were protesting the appointment of a former German prisoner of war named Bert Trautmann as the Manchester City Football Club's new goalkeeper. With Anti-German sentiment still strong in the post-war years, fans of the future Premier League club (especially local Jews) were not in favor of bringing on a former Nazi — no matter how talented a player he was.
Altmann lost his parents and other family members in the Holocaust, but declared his acceptance of Trautmann and encouraged others to do so.
"Each member of the Jewish community is entitled to his own opinion, but there is no concerted effort to end our support for Manchester City Football Club… If this goalkeeper is as they say, a decent fellow, I would say there is no harm in him playing football. Each must be judged on his own merits," Altmann wrote in his influential letter.
Altmann's ability to forgive but not forget is portrayed as a pivotal moment in "The Keeper," an accomplished feature film depicting Trautmann's story that premieres in the United States virtually and in select open theaters on October 2.
The film's director and co-writer Marcus H. Rosenmüller, 47, had never heard of either Trautmann or Altmann before his producing partner brought him the story.
Israeli and Emirati companies focusing on regenerative medicine have joined forces and announced several new joint projects, including one that aims to advance a potential COVID-19 treatment.
Israeli Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (PSTI,) and Emirati Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center (ADSCC) unveiled their first joint projects at the Malta Conferences Foundation, a global conference that brings together scientists and researchers from Middle East countries in order to improve the quality of life and regional political stability, while meeting the scientific and technological challenges of the region.
"I am delighted by the opportunity to convene this important meeting. The Malta Conferences are the only platform in the world where scientists from 15 Middle East countries, Morocco and Pakistan can get together under the same roof with several Nobel Laureates. They develop collaborations and friendship which overcome the chasms of distrust and intolerance." said Prof. Zafra Lerman, President of Malta Conferences Foundation.
The Israeli-Emirati joint projects aim to utilize each company's strengths in order to achieve results that will integrate the expertise of both companies.
As such, the first joint project aims to develop a treatment for COVID-19, by using Pluristem's placental expended (PLX) cells, developed from the human placenta and used in various cutting-edge disease treatments, and administrating them to COVID-19 patients via a nebulizer, a drug delivery device that helps a patient inhale a medication through a mask or mouthpiece.
Tel Aviv has been named the fifth-most creative city in the world, only behind Paris, Barcelona, Dublin and London, according to research conducted by Inkifi, a print-photography company that specializes in turning personal photos into wall art.
"In a planet filled with so much beauty and diversity, it's not hard to find creativity and inspiration in some of the world's most notable cities," Inkifi wrote in a report. "In fact, some cities have made a name for themselves in the world of art, music, architecture and other creative ventures... So if you're looking for a touch of creative inspiration, which cities should you add to your travel wish list?"
Through the data, Inkifi put together its list of cities that art lovers need to add to their "bucket list" accounts for a number of different art scenes, including galleries, music and comedy clubs, theaters, street art, Instagrams, building architecture and statues.
Tel Aviv was ranked No. 5 for its diverse art scene and its famed architecture. While it has the most art galleries per square mile, the White City earned mostly average scores for the rest of the categories, becoming a more well-rounded and spread-out scene, as opposed to Miami or Los Angeles, which mainly dabble in music and performance arts.
"This historic Israeli city is filled with creativity, boasting more than five art galleries per square mile and UNESCO-recognized architecture," Inkifi said.
Trailing Tel Aviv were New York, Milan, Los Angeles, Miami and Porto, Portugal.
Just beautiful! #DiaaSabia, the first #Israeli to play for a ⚽️ football team in #UAE (@ALNasrSC), is asked on local TV here whether the Emirates treat him first as an Israeli or as an Arab Muslim?
— Yishai Fleisher 🕎 ישי פליישר (@YishaiFleisher) October 2, 2020
The gesture follows signing of a normalization agreement between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain on September 15, which was brokered by the Trump administration.
Many have speculated that there will be additional deals made between Israel and Arab states, with Oman expected to be the next to sign. US President Donald Trump has hinted that there are talks currently taking place with a number of nations.
Since the normalization agreement was made, several UAE ministers have greeted Israelis for the High Holy Days using Twitter and other means. Khaleej Times, the UAE's first and leading English daily newspaper, published a large Rosh Hashanah feature.
Newly discovered archeological excavation under the Western Wall plaza| SWU Discover
StandWithUs Discover delves deep into Jerusalem's history and civilization at a newly discovered archeological excavation under the Western Wall plaza.
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.
PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has once again publicly repudiated the Trump Peace Plan, this time internationally, telling the United Nations (UN) in his annual address:
"The Palestinian people have placed their hope in the United Nations, the historical witness of their Nakba, to provide support to their legitimate struggle for freedom and independence. And we continue to await the UN to fulfill its responsibility to achieve a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine in accordance with its resolutions."
The PLO will have a long wait - as Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu told the UN in his annual address:
"I will be ready and I'd be willing to negotiate on the basis of the Trump plan to end our conflict with the Palestinians once and for all."
In justifying the PLO's decision to jettison the Trump Plan - Abbas stated:
"The declaration we are adopting today reflects the belief of the State of Palestine that upholding international law is the guarantee for achieving justice, that the UN Charter remains the basis for a more just, peaceful and prosperous world and that international law is imprescriptible and its respect more pressing."
The PLO long ago consigned itself to irrelevancy when it became the arbiter of what international law it was prepared to accept or fabricate and which to simply ignore - as exemplified by: - The "State of Palestine" not being a state under article 1 of the Montevideo Convention. - The PLO refusing to accept two foundational pillars of international law under article 18 of its 1964 Charter:
"The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate system and all that has been based upon them are considered fraud." - Article 20 in the revised 1968 Charter seeing the PLO going even further:
"The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate for Palestine, and everything that has been based upon them, are deemed null and void."
Jordan has reportedly expelled the husband of US-wanted terrorist Ahlam Tamimi.
Nizar Tamimi, 46, arrived in Qatar after the Hashemite Kingdom refused to renew his residency and asked him to leave within 48 hours, reported the pan-Arab publication Al-Quds Al-Arabi on Thursday.
Ahlam Tamimi, 39, has been accused of being the mastermind behind the Sbarro Pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem on Aug. 9, 2001, that killed 15 people, including seven children, and wounded 130 others. Among those killed were two American citizens, 15-year-old Malki Roth and 31-year-old Judith Greenbaum, who was pregnant at the time. A third American, Chana Nachenberg, has remained in a permanent vegetative state ever since.
Nizar Tamimi was sentenced to life imprisonment for being involved in the 1993 murder and subsequent burning of Chaim Mizrahi.
Both Tamimis were released from prison in 2011 in an exchange between Israel and Hamas for captured Israel Defense Forces' soldier Gilad Shalit. They married after their release.
Recent events in Lebanon have brought about renewed attention to Hezbollah's Precision Guided Missile (PGM) project after an arms depot belonging to the Iranian-backed proxy exploded in Ayn al-Qana last week and Tuesday's reveal by Prime Minister Netanyahu of Hezbollah 'missile factories' located in three Beirut neighborhoods.
On Sept. 22, a large explosion at a Hezbollah arms depot was reported in the southern Lebanese town of Ayn al-Qana. Shortly after the explosion Hezbollah commented to Al-Jazeera saying the cause of the explosion was a 'technical error'.
"This explosion was at a house that stored weapons – result of technical error. No one was killed or injured. The building belonged to a Hezbollah affiliated de-mining association," Hezbollah stated.
However, doubts about Hezbollah's statement arose when the group announced a week later that one of their militants had recently been killed.
"The Islamic Resistance announces the martyred fighter Ali Najib Marwa, "Haji Abu Hassan Sajid" from the town of Zararia in southern Lebanon, who ascended while performing his jihad duty," the statement said.
Although Hezbollah never specifically stated how the fighter died, a 'security source' stated to Lebanon's Daily Star the militant had died from 'wounds sustained in the Ayn al-Qana blast'.
Additionally, the explanation that weapons stored in Ayn al-Qana belonged to a 'de-mining association' is doubtful due to previous accusations of Hezbollah concealing its arsenal throughout the Beqaa valley and southern Lebanon.
Days after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Hezbollah is storing precision missiles at three sites in a residential neighborhood in Beirut which led the terror group to show off the site to journalists, the IDF has used footage from the tour to identify machines used to manufacture precision missiles.
On Wednesday the IDF provided details maps and GPS coordinates of the sites which were in the Jnah neighborhood, Laylaki, and Chouaifet neighborhoods under residential apartment buildings and near a mosque, medical center, and gas stations.
Following Netanyahu's speech to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Hezbollah organized a media tour of the site that they claim is a civilian iron workshop. Footage filmed by several media outlets showed crowds of people as well as machines and other tools that are used to manufacture precision missiles.
The machines include a laser, hydraulic, and manual cutting machines-all used to cut metals at angles and dimensions required to create missile stabilization fins them as well as engine casings and missile warheads.
Other tools seen in the footage was a bending machine which is used to shape the metals that make up the engine casings, warheads, and rocket's navigation component housings as well as a rolling machine which is used to form metal cylinders which can then be used to form engine components, warheads, and navigation component casings.
Turns out you need more than one hour to evacuate a Precision Guided Missile (PGM) manufacturing site, so Hezbollah hoped the reporters just wouldn't notice. Well... we did.
The Israel Defense Forces on Friday countered a Hezbollah claim that a Beirut factory identified by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week as a missile production site was a civilian workshop, identifying the machinery in the facility as that which is needed for the production of precision-guided munitions.
Shortly after the premier on Tuesday revealed the location of the alleged Hezbollah site in the al-Janah neighborhood of the Lebanese capital, the Iran-backed terror group led a tour of journalists to the factory, claiming it was a civilian-run affair. No missiles or other weapons were seen by reporters who visited the workshop, though they were not allowed to freely explore the facility.
The military on Friday — using footage filmed by the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Mayadeen television station — identified the equipment inside the factory and explained how each piece could be used in the manufacture of missiles.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to take action to prevent Hezbollah from completing this so-called precision project, an effort to convert its massive arsenal of simple rockets into highly accurate missiles, which present a far greater challenge to Israel's air defenses and would potentially be a game-changer in a future conflict with the Shiite militia.
What else is Hezbollah trying to hide in Beirut?
Shortly after we exposed a Hezbollah Precision Guided Missile manufacturing site in the Chouaifet neighborhood, we identified suspicious traffic leaving the location to another Hezbollah facility in Borj el-Brajneh: pic.twitter.com/GqW426904X
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday implied that Jerusalem belongs to Turkey, referring to the Ottoman Empire's control over the city for much of the modern era.
"In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So Jerusalem is our city, a city from us," he told Turkish lawmakers during a major policy speech in Ankara. "Our first qibla [direction of prayer in Islam] al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism."
The Ottoman Empire ruled over Jerusalem from 1516 to 1917. Modern Turkey, its successor state, has long stressed its enduring connection to the holy city, regularly condemning Israel's alleged efforts to "judaize" it and the US administration's December 2017 recognition of it as Israel's capital.
Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel since the country's founding, and the Jewish people have thousands of years of history in the city, backed up by extensive archaeological finds.
During a lengthy speech at the opening of the Turkish parliament's new legislative session, Erdoğan spent several minutes lamenting the fate of Jerusalem and the Palestinians' plight.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Jerusalem Was Built by the Ottomans; It Is Our City, a City from US pic.twitter.com/AVJii4IKm2
The United Nations General Assembly, which meets every September, offers authoritarian heads of state their favorite platform for trolling the world. For this year's 75th annual session, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his trademark mockery of multilateralism by lecturing members that "the world is bigger than five," his euphemism for reshuffling the UN Security Council to get Turkey a permanent seat. Erdogan's calls to reform the United Nations might have found a sympathetic audience had it not come from a strongman who institutionalized one-man rule at home by destroying democratic governance and the rule of law during his nearly 18 years in office.
Between his annual pitches to redesign the United Nations to his own advantage, Erdogan found time to hurl anti-Semitic remarks. This year, he referred to Israel as "the dirty hand that reaches the privacy of Jerusalem," prompting a walkout from Israeli envoy Gilad Erdan, who accused the Turkish president of continuing "to spout anti-Semitic and false statements against Israel." Last year, Erdogan compared developments in Gaza to the Holocaust, eliciting a similar response from Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz via Twitter: "There is no other way to interpret Erdogan's crude and vile words—it is antisemitism, clear cut."
Rather than represent a genuine desire to fix the United Nations, where authoritarian regimes have secured clout over the last decade to shield themselves from international scrutiny, Erdogan offers a classic example of a strongman bent on exploiting intergovernmental organizations.
The Turkish president's disregard for UN conventions, resolutions and sanctions is well documented. For example, a 376-page report the UN Panel of Experts on Libya issued in December 2019 found that Turkey, among others, violated a 2011 embargo by delivering arms and fighters to the war-torn North African country. The panel stated that the transfers to Libya were "repeated and sometimes blatant, with scant regard paid to compliance with the sanctions measures."
What we are witnessing is an Arab autocrat (Abbas) seeking the help of a Muslim autocrat (Erdogan) in holding "free and fair" elections. Abbas, it seems, is confident that Erdogan's observers would rubber-stamp the results of any Palestinian election to ensure that the PA president emerges victorious
Now he [Erdogan] has a chance to use the Palestinian elections to try to bring his Hamas friends to power after getting rid of Abbas.
"It is terrifying that Abbas speaks as if he lives in another world. Is there a Palestinian interest in attacking the US administration, even if this administration takes unfair positions against the Palestinians? Is there a Palestinian interest in referring negatively to the peace accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain? There is a Palestinian need to return to reality. There is a Palestinian need to come to terms with the truth." — Khairallah Khairallah, Lebanese journalist and political commentator, al-Arabiya, September 29, 2020.
Since the start of the current round of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, whose Armenian majority seeks to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, many reports in Syrian and Arab media claim that Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan, has been sending Syrian fighters there to participate in the fighting. The fighters are reportedly members of rebel militias loyal to Turkey. This is similar to Turkey's actions in Libya: Since late 2019, it has been recruiting Syrian opposition fighters and sending them to fight in that country on the side of Fayez Al-Sarraj's Government of National Accord, which it supports.
The reports indicate that as in the case of Libya, Turkey has been recruiting fighters mainly from the Syrian National Army (SNA) – a coalition of rebel militias that was formed with Turkey's support in October 2019 – and especially from the Al-Sultan Mourad and Suleiman Shah factions within that coalition. The reports also claim that Turkey has already recruited hundreds and perhaps thousands of Syrian fighters, trained them on its soil, and sent them to Azerbaijan, and that it pays them salaries of close to $2,000 a month.
Azerbaijan itself denies that Turkey has sent it Syrian reinforcements,[1] but several sources in the Syrian opposition have confirmed the reports. An SNA official said that no formal decision was made to send fighters to Azerbaijan, but acknowledged that some fighters may have gone there of their own accord. Another SNA commander stressed that Syrians are prepared to go to Azerbaijan or anywhere they are asked in order to defend Turkey's interests. Conversely, other elements in the Syrian opposition were enraged by the reports and condemned Syrians who had gone to serve as mercenaries. Similar criticism has been voiced by Syrian opposition elements regarding Syrians who are participating in the fighting in Libya.
Drone footage, released by Azerbaijan of a drone strike on an artillery position in the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, appears to show an Israeli drone in the frame.
Social media user AbraxasSpa, who documents defense related issues, posted a still from the video "Orbiter 1k confirmed in use." Rob Lee, another social media user who posts about defense issues, also noted the same "Orbiter UAV" in the video of an Armenian D-30 howitzer being struck. The footage was apparently taken by one drone of an airstrike on the artillery position and the second drone flew in front of the video as the attack unfolded. That means several drones were being used at the same time over the same target.
While there is no confirmation about the use of this Orbiter drone, it is worth taking the two social media accounts as an example of a larger discussion about Azerbaijan's use of drones.
The Orbiter 1K is an Israeli drone made by Aeronautics which the Drone Databook in the US asserts was sold to Azerbaijan in 2011. It is what is called a "loitering Munition," which means it is designed more like a cruise missile to slam into a target and self-destruct on impact. Some media call these "kamikaze drones" or "suicide drones."
In essence they are not different from cruise missiles, except that they can fly around in circles or return to base, or "loiter" over the target and wait to strike. The Orbiter 1K is a proven munition based on the Orbiter 2B, the company website says, and it has a fragmentation warhead that weighs 3kg. With a wingspan of only 3 meters and a range of 100km., it is not a very large weaponized drone. It is launched from a kind of catapult, like many similar drones.
Armenia said on Thursday it had recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan has acknowledged using Israeli-made weapons in its fighting with ethnic Armenian forces around Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy clashes this week have drawn international calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Protesting against the Israeli weapons exports, Armenian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said "Israel's workstyle is unacceptable. The ministry has to call back its ambassador in Israel."
Asked for details on weapons sales to Azerbaijan, an Israeli defense ministry spokeswoman declined comment.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict and armaments think-tank, Israel provided Azerbaijan with some $825 million in weapons between 2006 and 2019.
Those exports included drones, loitering munitions, anti-tank missiles, and a surface-to-air missile system, information from SIPRI's Arms Transfers Database showed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday wished Donald Trump a speedy recovery after the US president announced he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
"Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.
President Reuven Rivlin issued a similar statement on his Twitter account.
"On behalf of the Israeli people, our thoughts and wishes are with President Trump and the First Lady for a refuah shlema, a swift and full recovery," Rivlin wrote.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein also said he hoped the Trumps make a full recovery.
"At this opportunity I would like to remind everyone no one is immune from infection. Follow the guidelines, this is for our health," Edelstein tweeted.
News of the infection of the most powerful man in the world with the most notorious disease in the world drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follow much of what Trump does, even from 10,000 miles away.
European countries have a fundamental role in supporting the Middle East peace process after the signing of the Abraham Accords by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on Friday.
"I believe that European leaders have a strategic role…(also in) stemming and rejecting the Islamic Republic of Iran, which still is the greatest force of destabilization in the entire Middle Eastern region," Pompeo told Italian daily La Repubblica.
He added, "(The Palestinians) must commit to dialogue.
Israel, the UAE and the US issued a joint statement on Thursday presenting a "strategic vision for energy partnership," the Emirati state news agency WAM reported.
The statement — published in the names of the energy ministers of the three nations — said, "The United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and the State of Israel, acknowledging the benefits of focusing on pragmatic steps that have tangible outcomes, agree to encourage greater coordination in the energy sector, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas resources and related technologies, and water desalination technologies."
"Together," it continued, "our dynamic economies will look to leverage world-leading research and development capacities to meet the needs of current and future generations."
"We will also seek to find solutions to the energy challenges faced by the Palestinian people through the development of energy resources, technologies, and related infrastructure," it added.
"To maximize the global benefits of cooperation, the UAE, the US, and Israel are committed to exploring collective activities in multilateral settings in coordination with financial institutions and the private sector to enhance international investment in research and development and the rapid adoption of new energy technologies," the statement concluded.
🇧🇭 Bahrain at UNHRC: "The declaration to support peace signed by Bahrain with Israel recently in Washington stems from our keenness to enhance peace & security in the region & we hope that peace will prevail between the peoples of the region."
Some eyebrows were raised in Khartoum in the last few weeks as the terms for American aid in the country's revival after the overthrow of tyrant Omar al-Bashir last year came to light.
Sudan wants to shake off its state sponsor of terrorism designation, which blocks access to foreign funding it needs to keep its new government stable and able to foster democracy, as well as $3 billion in debt relief and investments in its weak economy.
The US would also like Sudan to pay a $335 million settlement for harboring the terrorists who bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and the USS Cole destroyer in 2000, while Congress would pass a bill giving Khartoum immunity from future legal claims on other past terrorist attacks – including, controversially, 9/11. That legislation is currently tied up in Congress.
And the Trump administration has brought another demand into the mix: for Sudan to fully normalize ties with Israel.
The symbolism would be great for Khartoum – the site at which the Arab League in 1967 announced that there would be "no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it" – to be a place where peace is made. And the Trump administration could point to that move as another domino falling in their transformative moves for the Middle East, touting the president as a peacemaker.
This man @KenRoth is so engulfed with Jew-hatred, that he just can't stand to see Israel any kind of peace. https://t.co/9IX6OJwTKu
A court in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius has heard an appeal from over 100 descendants of Jews buried in the Old Vilna Jewish Cemetery against a government plan to build a state-of-the-art convention center on top of the burial grounds.
The thousands of deceased interred at the cemetery include successive generations of Jewish scholars whose efforts gave Vilnius — formerly Vilna — the reputation of the "Jerusalem of the North."
The key witness at Thursday's hearing was Professor Josif Parasonis — a founding member of the Vilnius Jewish Community — and one of Lithuania's foremost experts on building science.
Parasonis challenged the Lithuanian government's claim that the conference center, which is in turn being constructed out of the ruins of a Soviet-era indoor sports hall, lies outside the boundaries of the cemetery.
He pointed to a map of the area drawn up by local experts and approved by government officials in 2005 which showed that the site of the conference center lies in the middle of the cemetery.
The hearing was observed by members of Defending History (DH), an activist group of scholars who are campaigning in Lithuania and internationally to protect the remains of the cemetery.
The Israel Defense Forces is preparing to open and run two coronavirus wards in Haifa's Rambam Medical Center amid concerns that the number of patients requiring hospitalization will rise sharply in the coming weeks, a military spokesperson said Thursday.
It would appear to be the first time in the country's history that the military was formally charged with providing medical treatment to civilians, IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman told reporters.
Though the military has completed its planning for the measure — collaborating with the Health Ministry and the medical center to work out the details — the plan requires final approval from the government before it goes forward. Zilberman said the military expects to begin opening the wards in the next two to four weeks.
The wards would be run by military medical professionals — doctors, nurses, paramedics and medics — and would treat "many dozens" of patients with moderate symptoms in a converted underground parking garage in the hospital, he said. The precise number of patients and staff had yet to be determined, the spokesperson added.
According to Zilberman, the personnel — likely upwards of 100 people — will come primarily from training bases and special forces units. Some of the troops were meant to be released from the military (likely due to them reaching the end of their service period) but will stay on in a special capacity, he said.
Israel believes the threat of sea infiltrations by Hamas operatives from the Gaza Strip is increasing and is trying to head off such scenarios with a new high-tech cannon.
Israeli news site N12 reported on Thursday that the new type of Typhoon cannon, developed by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, has state-of-the-art optical technology and is aimed by radar, giving it pinpoint accuracy, even in complete darkness.
Testing of the new cannon is set to begin next week.
N12 stated that the IDF thinks Hamas is turning to sea infiltrations because its tunnel system has been badly mauled and Israel's underground barrier on the Gaza border is nearing completion.
As a result, Hamas is beefing up its naval force, which it views as a potentially significant weapon.
Israel has already constructed a sea barrier to seek to prevent maritime infiltrations, with the new cannon intended to further reinforce its defensive capabilities.
A US judge on Thursday refused to dismiss an indictment accusing state-owned Turkish lender Halkbank of helping Iran evade American sanctions.
US District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan rejected Halkbank's claim that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act shielded it from prosecution, saying that law did not appear to grant immunity in criminal proceedings.
He also said an exception for commercial activity "would clearly apply and support the Halkbank prosecution," citing the bank's interactions with US Treasury Department officials and its alleged laundering of more than $1 billion through the US financial system.
US-based lawyers for Halkbank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Halkbank has pleaded not guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges brought last October.
US prosecutors accused Halkbank of using money servicers and front companies in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to evade sanctions, enabling oil and gas revenue to be spent on gold and facilitating sham food and medicine purchases.
They also accused Halkbank of helping Iran secretly transfer $20 billion of otherwise restricted funds, including the $1 billion through US accounts.
Iranian-Kurdish Opposition Leader Abdullah Mohtadi: We Want Iran to Have Peace with Israel, America, and the Arabs; We Want It to Be a Respectable Member of the International Community pic.twitter.com/qHwFoYRkfZ
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