Friday, June 30, 2017

Qods Day Commemorations Highlight Tehran's Global Reach - Amir Toumaj (Long War Journal)The Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies abroad on Friday commemorated Qods (Jerusalem) Day, an annual event established by Ayatollah Khomeini. Qods Day marches were held in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America, highlighting Iran's influence and global reach. Across several cities in Iraq, militiamen of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) led marches calling for "death to America" and "death to Israel." In Damascus, Fatah and the pro-Assad Arab Nationalist Guard participated in Qods Day marches.    In Latin America, Qods Day events were held in Brazil, Argentina, El Salvador and Venezuela. Protesters marched in Tanzania and Nigeria, as well. In Berlin and London, several hundred marched waving Hizbullah flags and effigies of Khomeini and Khamenei. Pro-Palestinian activists marked Qods Day in New York City and Toronto. In most cases, Iranian embassy staff helped organize Qods Day.
 
Posted by at

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

This week's Update is abbreviated and early because I'll be out of town beginning tomorrow morning and will have limited access to email.

This video link https://youtu.be/oRVxLVUgxdA was recommended by one of our readers. It opens with Mahmoud Abbas telling the European Parliament lies. Note: It's in German with French subtitles. The documentary, Antisemitismus in Europa, was prepared by the French-German TV channel Arte and never aired. A German newspaper, Bild, has made the documentary public.


Media, Murder and Israel (Honest Reporting)

Former Obama DHS Adviser Tweets Support for Qatar - John Rossomando (IPT News) 

From HIAS - Syrian Supper Club in New Jersey: Food and Friendship, a Recipe for Humanity
Posted by at

Sunday, June 18, 2017

 
 
 
 
 
 
Palestinians to Claim Tomb of Patriarchs at UNESCO - Tovah Lazaroff (Jerusalem Post) The Tomb and the city of Hebron is the second holiest site in Judaism, after the Temple Mount and its Western Wall.
Red Cross on Missing Israelis: Hamas Must Abide by International Humanitarian Law  (International Committee of the Red Cross-Times of Israel)     Hamas is thought to hold three Israelis who entered Gaza illegally as well as the remains of two soldiers killed in fighting in 2014.
 
 
Turkey: Activists Killed in 2010 Flotilla Incident "Should Have Foreseen...the Risk" - Sevil Erkus (Hurriyet-Turkey)     Compensation worth $20 million provided by Israel over the killing of Turkish activists onboard the Mavi Marmara in May 2010 has yet to be paid.     The Turkish Finance Ministry told a court that it "rejected the exorbitant amount of material and moral compensation asked" by the families. The ministry said the victims "should have foreseen that they may be subject to such an attack because the problems between the Israeli state and Gaza are well-known. They took the risk of any attack or intervention."

 
 
Posted by at

Friday, June 9, 2017

 
ISIS's Mass Killings of Civilians in Mosul - Yasmeen Serhan (The Atlantic)  The UN called the slayings of at least 230 Iraqis trying to flee the city a “significant escalation.”
 
Jordan Repels Attack on Syria Border (Agence France Presse/Daily Star - Lebanon)
 
Distinction between Hizbullah and the "Lebanese State" now Meaningless - Tony Badran (Foundation for Defense of Democracies)  The goals of strengthening the Lebanese state and disarming Hizbullah are at odds with each other. Hizbullah has completed its takeover of the Lebanese state, including and especially its political institutions and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), along with other security agencies.
 
 
ISIS Attacked near Northeastern Israeli Border - Roi Kais (Ynet News) The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Tuesday, "unidentified" aircraft attacked ISIS forces at the Syrian-Jordanian-Israeli border. The attacks were directed against the ISIS branch in the Golan, the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, and at least 12 members of the organization were killed and many were injured. In addition, it was claimed that the focus of the attacks was the village of al-Jamala and areas close to it in the Yarmouk basin.     It is not clear whether these planes belong to the international coalition against ISIS.
Israel Steps Up Fight against ISIS, as Terror Group Wages 'War' for Control of Egyptian Border - Adam Kredo (Washington Free Beacon)

Top Palestinian Official: Western Wall Should Stay under Jewish Sovereignty  (Jerusalem Post) Senior Palestinian Authority official Jibril Rajoub said on Saturday evening that Palestinians recognize that in any peace agreement the Western Wall should stay under Israeli sovereignty but the Temple Mount should not.  In an interview on Channel 2's Meet the Press, Rajoub said: "We understand that the Western Wall must be under Jewish sovereignty, but the Temple Mount is ours....I hope that you understand that we recognize your right to exist. It is your right to build your state and live in it in peace and security, but in line with the 1967 borders."    Hamas Slams Rajoub for Acknowledging Western Wall Is Jewish (Times of Israel)
 
 
 Kurdish-backed militia launches Raqqa operation as another declares war on Turkey - Aberin Zaman (Al-Monitor) Coming just days after the Pentagon began distributing weapons to the YPG, Turkey could easily construe threats of escalation by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons as proof that US support for the Syrian Kurds emboldens the Kurdistan Workers Party.
 
NY Times's Ode To Palestinian Violence - Ricki Hollander and Gilead Ini (CAMERA) The New York Times devoted the front page of its Sunday Review section to a 2000-word opinion piece by Nathan Thrall that appears to justify Palestinian violence and terrorism as an effective means to chase Israel out of the West Bank. In the process, the article twists the facts and makes incoherent, internally contradictory arguments.


Posted by at

Friday, June 2, 2017

Iran to Bankroll Pro-Government Militia Fighters in Syria - Mehdi Jedinia and Ahed Al Hendi  (VOA News)
Iran's Growing Casualty Count in Yemen - Joshua Koontz (War on the Rocks)

Oren: Netanyahu Is Very Serious about a Peace Deal with the Palestinians - Raoul Wootliff (Times of Israel)
Israel's Finance Minister Briefs PA Prime Minister on Steps to Improve PA Economy - Herb Keinon  (Jerusalem Post) Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met Wednesday in Ramallah with PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to brief him on the steps Israel is taking to improve the economic situation in the PA. The meeting comes amid efforts by the U.S. to jump-start the diplomatic process. The steps include opening the Allenby Bridge crossing to Jordan 24-hours-a-day for the next two months, upgrading crossing points in the West Bank, establishing an industrial zone near Tarqumiya, and easing restrictions on Palestinian building in specific parts of Area C in the West Bank that adjoin Areas A or B.

A video by the Kuwaiti telecommunications giant Zain that depicts a would-be suicide bomber confronted by the Muslim faithful has gone viral at the start of Ramadan. It had over 2 million views when I saw it; in case you missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U49nOBFv508 As per BBC on Wed. morning, this video has generated some controversy because iconic image of boy injured by Syrian govt. airstrikes and not by terrorism is shown. There doesn't seem to be anything controversial about the video being an advert!

Lebanon Bans Wonder Woman (Ynet News)The ban is in accordance with a decades-old law that boycotts Israeli products and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with Israelis.  Some in Lebanon criticized the call for the ban, but their voices were faint compared to the boycott campaign that featured in primetime television in Lebanon.

Unacceptable Glorification of Terrorist Attacks (Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Norway Demands PA Return Funds for Women's Center Named after Terrorist

Palestinians Paid Terrorists $1 Billion in Past 4 Years  (Times of Israel)

Russia Arrests Four ISIS Terrorists Preparing Attack in Moscow  (RT-Russia) Four members of an ISIS terrorist network managed from Syria, who were preparing attacks on the Moscow public transport system, were detained on (last) Thursday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported. "An explosives production laboratory, a ready-to-use improvised explosive device with shrapnel and components for its production have been found during searches," the FSB said, adding that they also found "automatic firearms, ammunition, grenades, as well as literature and videos of extremist and terrorist orientation." 

Turkey Builds a Military-Industrial Complex to Match Its Ambitions (Stratfor) The rise of Ankara's homegrown defense industry is impressive, but its reliance on critical foreign components means that true autonomy remains a pipe dream for now

Oil Tanker Targeted with RPGs near Yemen (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)

John Brennan, Former CIA Director -Typically people who go along a treasonous path do not even realize they're along that path until it gets a bit too late -

Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)