Thursday, March 7, 2019

At a "Discussion on the Middle East" this week at The Center on National Security at Fordham Law, we listened to John O. Brennan and Ali Soufan provide their thoughts on important issues. Many topics were covered. These are just some interesting highlights:
-The US should engage with Iran and assuage their fear that they'll end up like Iraq/Saddam
-US is becoming irrelevant in Afghanistan. US criticized for meeting/negotiating with Taliban and not the other players, including the govt, Russia, and China. Russia is taking the lead here.
-Yemen is "the worst disaster in the world." 
- Libya, Yemen, Algeria, Sudan - Combatants are proxies for Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, etc. Money, especially from Iran and Saudi Arabia are behind the conflicts. 
-The root of the ideology that supports and spreads military/terrorist Islam throughout the world continues to be Saudi Arabia's export of Wahhabi philosophy/education. Because the most important thing to MBS is staying in power, he's willing to work w/Wahhabi religious leadership.


Hamas Is Negotiating with Explosives - Yaakov Lappin (i24News) Recent days have seen a spike in the number of Hamas-orchestrated bombs and IEDs on the border with Gaza. According to a Kan TV news report, Hamas is demanding $20 million for a cessation of grenade-throwing rioters and balloons carrying explosives over the border into Israeli communities. 

Russian Special Forces Train Palestinian Militia in Syria - Caleb Weiss (Long War Journal) In a video released Tuesday by the Russian news channel RT,Russian special forces were shown training members of Liwa al Quds, a pro-regime Palestinian militia group in Syria.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt Reject Clause Stopping Normalization with Israel (Middle East Monitor-UK) Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt on Monday rejected a statement by the Union of Arab Parliaments meeting in Amman which called for stopping normalization with Israel, the Shehabnews agency reported.

Why???


Venezuela in Crisis: Iran's Poisonous Role - (Video/Youtube Middle East Forum) The Maduro regime in Venezuela is fortified by Russian mercenaries, Cuban paramilitary elements, Hezbollah, and Iranian Basij and Quds Force operatives. What is behind Iranian and Hezbollah penetration into Venezuela and other parts of South America?
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Friday, March 1, 2019

French ISIS fighters to be tried in Iraq (France24)  France has long maintained that any of its nationals captured in Syria or Iraq should be tried in those countries. 

Hizbullah to Be Added to UK List of Terrorist Organizations (BBC News)
House of Commons Approves Ban on Hizbullah Political Wing - Peter Walker  (Guardian-UK) 
Switzerland Halts Arms Exports to Lebanon Due to Missing Weapons (Swissinfo.ch-Switzerland) 
Google Removes Hizbullah Computer Game "Holy Defense" From App Store (MEMRI TV) 

 Libya Cracks Down on Hamas Arms Smugglers - Adnan Abu Amer (Al Monitor)
I Ran the Air War Over Gaddafi. Here’s Why The US Should Stop Backing the Yemen War - Margaret Woodward (Defense One)

PA to cut salaries of all Palestinian workers but won't cut salaries of imprisoned terrorists and murderers who will be paid in full - Nan Jacques Zilberdik and Itamar Marcus (PMW) Impending PA financial crisis follows Abbas decision to not accept Israeli transfers of approx. 670 million shekels/month after Israel decided to deduct 41 million shekels/month from PA tax money equivalent to the amount PA pays terrorist prisoners

As "Caliphate" Crumbles, ISIS Women Remain Defiant (AFP-Asharq Al-Awsat-UK) "My son will grow up to become a jihadist," a woman cried proudly as she stepped off a bus ferrying people out of the ISIS group's last sliver of territory in eastern Syria. She is one of 2,000 people evacuated Friday from the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. 

Daily Mail Corrects Claim Western Wall Is Judaism's Holiest Site - Adam Levick (UK Media Watch-CAMERA)  The Temple Mount is the most sacred location for Jews.  The Western Wall is merely the most sacred place where Jews are currently permitted to pray.

Jared Kushner Interview on U.S. Peace Plan (The National-Abu Dhabi) "We've focused on...what's holding back the Palestinian people from achieving their full potential and what's holding back the Israeli people from being able to properly integrate with the whole region."
Tweet: eRep. @IlhanMN seems to calculate that if she makes only one blatantly anti-Semitic remark per week, progressives will forgive her. Is she right? In response to: Reps. Omar and Tlaib: Anti-Semitism charges shut down criticism of Israel - Laura Kelly (Jewish Insider)
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Friday, February 22, 2019

5 Tips For Sharing News Responsibly on Social Media - Pesach Benson (Honest Reporting)
How To Speak About The Israel Lobby In A Non-Anti-Semitic Way - Batya Ungar-Sargon (The Forward)


German President Lauds Iran on Anniversary of Islamic Revolution - Benjamin Weinthal (Jerusalem Post)   German President Frank Walter-Steinmeier sent a congratulatory telegram to Iran's mullah regime in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, 

Video: Hamas Uses Women as Human Shields to Cut Gaza Border Fence (Jerusalem Post)
IDF: Hamas Promises Gaza Children NIS300 ($83) If Injured in Border Riots - Adam Rasgon (Times of Israel)
Accounts of Hamas War Crimes Submitted to ICC - Hanan Greenwood  (Israel Hayom) One testimony described an incident at the Gaza border riots last summer. "A terrorist threw a grenade at our jeep. As soon as he realized he had been seen, he grabbed a child and held on to him tightly, so we wouldn't fire at him."

Video: Inside Hizbullah Terrorist Tunnel Dug under Israeli Border(YouTube)  See inside a Hizbullah tunnel dug under the border with Israel. This video was posted by Andrea Thompson, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.

PA Ministry of Information tracks PMW releases to protect Fatah's Facebook page from closure - Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

BBC Distorts Reality of Life in Hebron -  Emanuel Miller (Honest Reporting)

U.S. Blocks Transfer of F-35 Fighter Jets to Turkey - Ilhan Tanir. (Ahval-Turkey)NASA's Role in the Israeli Moon Mission (NASA)


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Friday, February 15, 2019

The Houthi War Machine - Michael Knights (Combating Terrorism Center at West Point) After 2010, the Houthi rebels metamorphosed into the most powerful military entity in Yemen. As they fielded advanced weapons of Iranian origin, they captured the country's three largest cities. Their story provides a case study of how an ambitious militant group can benefit from Iran's support.

In Much of Iraq, ISIS Still Rules the Night - Kimberly Dozier (Pulitzer Center)


Striking similarities between stabbings of 2 young Israeli women - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)   In both cases, the PA did not condemn the terror. And more than that, in response to both terror attacks, the PA this week chose to present Palestinians as the victims. 

Mississippi House Approves Bill Targeting Israel Boycotts (AP) The Mississippi House of Representatives on Thursday voted 88-10 for a bill which would have the state join others in refusing to do business with companies boycotting Israel.
U.S. House of Representatives Approves Motion Condemning Anti-Semitism - Juliegrace Brufke (The Hill) in a 424-0 vote. " the United States House of Representatives must emphasize the importance of combating anti-Semitism and reject all movements that deny Israel's right to exist."  
Ilhan Omar and the Power of Clarity - Michael Koplow (Israel Policy Forum)

Hizbullah Is in Venezuela to Stay - Colin P. Clarke  (Foreign Policy)
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Friday, February 8, 2019

These Marines Were Falsely Accused of War Crimes. Twelve Years Later, They Have Vindication - Andrew deGrandpre (Washington Post)  In 2007, a group of elite Marines were removed from Afghanistan when unproven allegations of war crimes surfaced. The allegations, a fabrication by local Taliban members, claimed that the Marines had massacred innocent bystanders during an ambush. Though they were cleared one year later, the soldiers have spent years fighting the lies.

Egypt to Keep Gaza Border Crossing Open (Middle East Monitor-UK)

ISIS Smuggler: Sleeper Cells and ‘Undead’ Suicide Bombers Have Infiltrated Europe - Anne Speckhard,  Ardian Shajkovci (Daily Beast) Jailed jihadis are being released, others are returning to Europe to face prison time, and still others have never been known to police and wait to be mobilized.  

European Council Statement on Iran (European Council) The EU said on Monday it was gravely concerned by Iran's ballistic missile launches and tests
Iran Has Teamed Up with the Taliban - Jackson Richman (JNS)
 
World Ignores Plight of Palestinians in Lebanon - Bassam Tawil (Gatestone Institute) A Palestinian who tries to bring a bag of cement or other construction materials into a refugee camp to build a house is subjected to arrest, interrogation, trial by military court and a fine. Is this happening in the West Bank? No. In Lebanon. Palestinians in Lebanon are also banned by law from working in professions including medicine, engineering, nursing, accounting, pharmaceuticals and teaching. Palestinians are also barred from owning, selling or bequeathing property. 

Fatah's official Facebook page in 2018: A platform for glorifying murder and promoting terror - Itamar Marcus, Nan Jacques Zilberdik, and Yona Silverman (PMW)

In Yemen, Jihadists and Iran Are Getting U.S. Weapons - Nima Elbagir (CNN)  Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners have transferred American-made weapons to al-Qaeda-linked fighters and Salafi militias in Yemen, in violation of their agreements with the U.S., a CNN investigation has found.  The weapons have also made their way into the hands of Iranian-backed rebels, exposing sensitive American military technology to Tehran. The revelations raise fresh questions about whether Saudi Arabia is responsible enough to be allowed to continue buying sophisticated U.S. hardware.



I've included this quote from President Trump's State of the Union address because it seems everything else except this part of his speech was discussed in the press.
Trump: "We Must Never Ignore the Vile Poison of Anti-Semitism"  (White House) In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Trump said: "One of the most complex set of challenges we face is in the Middle East. Our approach is based on principled realism - not discredited theories that have failed for decades to yield progress. For this reason, my Administration recognized the true capital of Israel - and proudly opened the American Embassy in Jerusalem."
    "My administration has acted decisively to confront the world's leading state sponsor of terror: the radical regime in Iran. To ensure this corrupt dictatorship never acquires nuclear weapons, I withdrew the United States from the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. And last fall, we put in place the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a country."
    "We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants death to America and threatens genocide against the Jewish people. We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism, or those who spread its venomous creed. With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs." 

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Friday, January 25, 2019


Jordan Protests New Israeli Airport near Its Border - Laith al-Junaidin (Anadolu-Turkey) Jordan has protested the opening of a new Israeli airport a few kilometers away from its border, (in Eilat) Jordan's state-run Al-Mamlaka television reported. Amman says the location of the airport violates the kingdom's air sovereignty. 

UN Envoy: No Access for UN Peacekeepers to Hizbullah Attack Tunnel in Lebanon - Edith M. Lederer (AP-Washington Post)  "the Lebanese army has taken no action in response, allowing Hizbullah to continue building these tunnels undisturbed."  

Jihadists in Mali kill 10 peacekeepers ‘in reaction’ to Netanyahu visit to Chad (I24 News) Chad has had endemic problems with violent jihadist groups, especially at its northern border with Libya. It is also one of several West African states engaged in Western-backed operations against Boko Haram and Islamic State jihadists....Ten peacekeepers from Chad were killed and at least 25 injured

Palestinian TV Says Shopping at New Jerusalem Mall Is Treason - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (Palestinian Media Watch)  Israel encourages joint economic projects between Israelis and Palestinians. Businessman Rami Levy has built a chain of supermarkets in which Palestinians and Israelis work and shop side-by-side.
Riots at Israel-Gaza Border Continue Friday - Yoav Zitun  (Ynet News) Some 14,000 Palestinians rioted in several locations along the Israel-Gaza border on Friday, hurling stones, burning tires and throwing grenades and explosives at IDF troops.


The Guardian Delegitimizes Israel in Lying  -Simon Plosker (Honest Reporting)
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Friday, January 18, 2019

Finally, catching up on my email. Glad to be on my way home.

Trudeau: "I Will Continue to Condemn the BDS Movement" - Ryan Maloney (Huffington Post-Canada)

Abbas Celebrates 14th Anniversary of His Four-Year Term - Elliott Abrams  (Council on Foreign Relations)

Haaretz, NY Post Turn Anti-Israel Slogan Into Journalistic Shorthand - Gilead Ini (CAMERA) It's a road and a border wall! Israel’s opening of Route 4370, a strange road that’s half highway and half territorial boundary, was used as an occasion to yet again unholster the apartheid slur. New "Divided" Road near Jerusalem Will Considerably Shorten Travel Time for Palestinians - Shaul Arieli (Ha'aretz)

Rahaf's Saudi family will never, ever stop coming after her (Israel National News); Young Saudis Risk Their Lives in Pursuit of Freedom (Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia) - Phyllis Chesler  While Prof. Chesler (you can see her in a Netflix documentary on feminism) is working on her 5th book, she  reminds us about others who weren't so lucky to escape: Saudi princess Mishaal bint Fahd al Saud (1977), Hamza Kashgari (2012) Dina Ali Lasloom, (2017) , and Eman Al-Nafjian (now)

BDS-backer Ilhan Omar given seat on powerful House Foreign Affairs panel - Eric Cortellessa (Times of Israel) The assignment, chosen by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will give a vehement critic of the Jewish state a voice — and a vote — on the powerful panel that oversees US foreign policy and foreign aid.

More Twisted Facts at Newsweek - Simon Plosker (Honest Reporting)
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