A little longer than usual. I was on vacation, but my inbox wasn't😉

Last week, Israel announced it recently foiled Iranian attempts to kidnap and attack Israeli tourists in Turkey (in one case, intercepting a couple before they returned to their hotel where assassins were waiting). Earlier came news that Iran removed 27 surveillance cameras used by the U.N. to monitor its nuclear sites, as well as a separate report that Iran is preparing a test launch of a new solid-fueled rocket. Further, Iran has executed over 100 people in the first 3 months of 2022. Now, all eyes are on President Biden in the Middle East, hoping for a strategy to contain Iran.

Taliban Abuses Continue; Afghan Women Fight Back (WMC)

Taliban frees 5 Brits (The Times) An American, Mark Frerichs, remains detained in Afghanistan.

U.S. eases immigration requirements for Afghans (VOA)

EU restarts flow of funding to Palestinians (Israel Hayom) without getting any changes to textbooks, incitement or pay-to-slay

High-Level Visit Paves Way for Deepened EU-Israeli Partnership (Brussels Times-Belgium)

Iranian Cyberwar Grows Aggressive with Russia and Hizbullah's Help - Maria Zuppello (Investigative Project on Terrorism)

Trends in Iranian External Assassination, Surveillance, and Abduction Plots - Dr. Matthew Levitt (Combating Terrorism Center at West Point)

Iraq Makes It Illegal to Normalize Ties with Israel (Reuters-Times of Israel)     See also U.S. Condemns Iraqi Parliament's Anti-Israel Normalization Law (U.S. State Department)     See also UK Urges Baghdad to Repeal Law that Says Any Iraqi Contacting Israel Faces Death - Richard Ferrer (Jewish News-UK)

A little background history on the Farhund: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-farhud

Israel Issues 20,000 Additional Work Permits to West Bank Palestinians - Yossi Yehoshua (Ynet News)

Israel Preparing to Defend New Offshore Gas Rig from Hizbullah Attack  (Times of Israel)     See also Singapore-Built Gas Rig Crosses Suez Canal on Way to Israel - Nermina Kulovic (Offshore Energy)

Report: Lebanon Drops Claims on Karish Gas Field - Danny Zaken (Globes) 

Mysterious Blast Leads PA to "Hamas Bomb Plot"  (JNS)

Palestinian Forces Assault Student Protesters at An-Najah University in West Bank - Shatha Hammad (Middle East Eye-UK)

Hamas Security Forces Forcibly Evict 40 Palestinian Families from Gaza Village - Sally Ibrahim (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed-UK)

Palestinian mob tried to hijack Shireen Abu Akleh's funeral so it would not be “as if a Christian died”  (Palestinian Media Watch)

Cops by day, terrorists by night - the PA Security Forces’ double role (Palestinian Media Watch) A new video released by Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party reiterates that the US-trained and funded PA Security Forces fulfill a double role: Cops by day and terrorists by night. 

Pakistani TV Anchor Fired after Visiting Israel (Arab News-Pakistan)

U.S. Military Raid in Syria Captures Top ISIS Leader - Luis Martinez (ABC News)

After Israeli Warning, Thailand on High Alert for Iranian Terrorists (Times of Israel)

Turkish Mayor Addresses Syrians: 'Our Youth Are Unemployed, Our Families Are Living Under The Poverty Line... We Have No Bread Or Water To Share With You... You Are No Longer Wanted – Go Back To Your Country!' (MEMRI)

Turkish Foreign Minister on First Official Visit to Israel in 15 Years (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Where Was the Media When an Independent Investigation Found Amnesty Int’l to Be ‘Institutionally Racist’? (Honest Reporting)

BBC News Erases PFLP From Lod Airport Massacre (CAMERA UK)  I didn't know about this link between:  ‘Japanese Red Army founder Shigenobu' and the PFLP terrorists. Did you?

Britain: The Cause of Advancing Human Rights "Is Not Served by the Disproportionate Focus on Israel"  (UK Foreign Office)
"The UK has been clear that we oppose the open-ended nature of the Commission of Inquiry on the situation in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza and its vaguely defined mandate. The cause of advancing human rights in Israel and the...Palestinian Territories is not served by the disproportionate focus on Israel." 

Meanwhile at the UN...

North Korea was to Head UN Conference on Disarmament and China was elected to the board of WHO Executive Board. WHO singled out Israel as a violator of Health Rights in a resolution submitted by Syria.  Russia, which bombs hospitals and schools in Syria, is drafting U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn Israel for striking Damascus airstrip to stop Iranian smuggling of missiles to Hezbollah. And the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry released its report erasing Israel's security concerns and ignoring Palestinian aggression/terrorism.

UN Clash: PLO Fails to Silence British Commander Blasting Anti-Israel Pillay Commission (UN Watch Video)

Boston BDS "Mapping Project" Targets Synagogues and Jewish Schools - Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS)    see also  Hiding Behind Buzzwords: How BDS Spreads its Anti-Israel Agenda (Honest Reporting) To understand how alarming this is, read this letter to the editor by my friend Richard.

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Stop Longtime Ann Arbor Synagogue Protesters - Andrew Lapin   (JTA) Attorney Nathan Lewin told JTA: "I am shocked and dismayed that the Supreme Court and the court of appeals view anti-Semitic picketing timed and designed to harass and intimidate Jews only when they come to pray - clearly protected by the First Amendment's Religion Clause - as free speech that may not be curtailed."

U.S. Leak on Israel's Role in Iranian Colonel's Death Could Harm Trust - Lazar Berman (Times of Israel) 

MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin Hides the Facts (CAMERA)