Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 23, 2020

David Sheen, a friend of mine and a fellow journalist, published a great investigative story the other month. It tells a tale of murder, racism, duplicity, and justice denied.

In October 1985, Palestinian-American civil rights activist Alex Odeh was murdered by Zionist fanatics in California.

Odeh was blown to smithereens by a pipe bomb. His murderers have never been arrested.

Hours after Odehs brutal slaying, Irv Rubin, the national chairperson of the Jewish Defence League (JDL) at the time, justified the murder: I have no tears for Mr. Odeh. He got exactly what he deserved.

Despite a $1 million reward being announced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for information leading to the conviction of Odehs killers, no arrests have ever been made.

OPINION: A new Jewish Defence League?

The police and the FBIs main suspects have so far escaped justice. They are Baruch Ben-Yosef (born Andy Green) and Israel Fuchs (formerly known as Keith Fuchs).

They have been able to do so for one reason: Ben-Yosef/Green and Fuchs fled the US for Israel some months after the terrorist bombing.

In my view, they are being protected by the Israeli government.

The FBI is being obstructed in its investigation by the Israelis. On the flip side, it seems clear that the US government is not exactly pulling out all the stops. No pressure is being put on Israel to bring Odehs killers to justice, to extradite them to stand trial in the US, or even to cooperate with the investigation in any way.

As Sheen detailed in his extensive piece, Odeh was a Palestinian born in the majority-Christian village of Jifna in the West Bank (close to a particularly extremist Israeli colony). He dedicated his life and activism in the US working for the Arab-American Discrimination Committee, or ADC.

READ: US student declares plans to eliminate Palestinians from the world

He worked to build awareness of the plight of his people under Israeli occupation and to build bridges with US Jews. On the very day of his murder, he had been due to speak at the Congregation Bnai Tzedek, a Reform synagogue in Santa Ana.

Very clearly, his killers saw such efforts as a threat to their extremist Zionist agenda.

Due to Israels racist Law of Return, Fuchs and Ben-Yosef were able to claim citizenship in the country where they are now fugitives from the law. Israel has for decades stonewalled FBI attempts to bring the killers to justice.

This is all quite typical behaviour for Israel certainly one of the worlds worst rogue states. Jewish extremists like Fuchs and Ben-Yosef are habitually harboured in Israel.

Israeli protection of these racist criminals is no aberration. Zionist extremists fleeing justice from all over the world know they will be safe in Israel. Grgory Chelli for example, the French hacker, known as Ulcan, is accused in a French court of making hoax phone calls, one of them lethal. Chelli was a member of the French branch of the JDL and fled to Israel before the court could try him.

Using weasel words, the official Israeli government has in the past stated its condemnation of the JDLs openly racist founder, Meir Kahane. He won a seat in the Knesset, Israels parliament, in the 1980s, but his party was later banned.

In reality, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his moderate ally Benny Gantz, along with his coalition government and allies in the so-called Labour Party, have all endorsed the racism of Kahane even if they had a personal rivalry with him.

In practice, Kahanes policy of driving all Palestinians out of the so-called Land of Israel by force is endorsed in one form or another by all Zionist parties in Israel. The differences between them are merely ones of emphasis, strategy, and personal rivalry.

Kahanist settlers occupying the West Bank today raise the slogan: Today everybody knows Kahane was right! Kahanism is the logical conclusion of Zionism.

OPINION: Notre Dame of Gaza, our mosques and churches are also burning

Today, Odehs killers are being sheltered in the illegal Zionist colonies which occupy stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Ben-Yosef is particularly brazen as Sheens reporting shows. He is a high-profile lawyer in Israel, defending some of the most fanatical Zionist terrorists, religious extremists, and murderers.

He is also at the forefront of the Temple Movement, the Jewish extremist group that wants to blow up Al-Aqsa Mosque and raze the Dome of the Rock which are some of Islams holiest sites, two important Palestinian national symbols in order to build a synagogue.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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Israel is a safe haven for criminals and terrorists - Middle East Monitor

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Posted By admin on May 23, 2020

Introduction

As it does every year, the Iranian regime is marking Qods Day Jerusalem Day on the last Friday of Ramadan, which in 2020 falls on May 22. This year as well, the call for destroying Israel features prominently in statements by regime officials, who announced that the due to the coronavirus Qods Day marches would be presented via the media and there would be no parades in the streets. Also clearly evident again are expressions of antisemitism in statements by regime officials and spokesmen. This report will present several examples of regime calls for the destruction of Israel as the Jewish state that include antisemitism.

These examples include a Qods Day poster signed and shared by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei featuring the Nazi term for eliminating European Jewry the Final Solution as well as tweets by him calling for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state, whether by armed resistance or "democratically" via referendum.

Another example is an article by the Iranian regime mouthpiece Kayhan setting out the regime doctrine regarding Zionism and Israel that used the blood libel against Zionists. Its main thrust was the custom of ritual murder. Like Nazi racial doctrine that instilled the notion that the Jews are the enemy of mankind who have taken control of politics, the economy, and culture with their money and stratagems with the aim of running the world, the Iranian regime attributes the same intentions to the Zionists. It depicts the Zionists and the Zionist movement as a racist cult that used Jewish money and force of arms to take over Jerusalem and the Palestinian lands, whose Zionist followers have practiced ritual murder since the dawn of history. It states that "blood flows everywhere they prostrate themselves, and their altar reeks of blood." The article uses the concepts of "Jew" and "Zionist" interchangeably, and claims that the Zionists are not true Jews a claim originating in Iran's Islamic ideology which is based on religion and rejects the concept of nationality. It accuses the Jews and the Zionists of crucifying Jesus and of currently waging a crusade against Christianity by taking over the political power centers in the West in order to impose their demands and silence Christianity. Adding that they also seek to take over the Islamic lands in the Arabian Peninsula by recruiting the Arab monarchical dynasties in the Gulf to their side against Iran and its Islamic vision, it says that they also fan the flames of war among Muslims, for example in the war in Yemen. The article also says that it was Iran's Islamic Revolution that stopped the "Zionist machine" and that will be the one to liberate humanity from Zionism/the Jews, and calls for continuing the fight against Israel until Jerusalem is liberated, which is imminent.

An additional Kayhan article and Iranian Foreign Ministry announcements via Twitter feature a #Covid1948 hashtag, meaning that the establishment of the state of Zionist Israel means the spread of a global pandemic similar to the coronavirus.

For more MEMRI reports on the Iranian regime's antisemitic ideology and its calls for the destruction of Israel, see:

Special Dispatch No. 7682, Israel's Eradication An Ideological And Practical Goal Of Iran's Islamic Revolution Regime, September 25, 2018.

Special Dispatch No. 7914, Antisemitism In Iran Part I: Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif Denies That Iran Is Antisemitic, February 26, 2019

Inquiry & Analysis No. 1499, Antisemitism In Iran Part II: Supreme Leader Associate Mehdi Taeb In Lecture Series On The Jews: Your Greatest Sworn Enemy The Jews; If The Spearhead Is Aimed At The Jews, The World Will Be Freed, January 27, 2020.

Supreme Leader Khamenei: The Final Solution For The Zionists And Israel

On May 19, 2020, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei published on his website a Qods Day poster, in three languages. It stated: "Palestine Will Be Free The Final Solution: Resistance Until Referendum." It depicts Palestinian soldiers on the Temple Mount waving Palestinian and Hizbullah flags, and showing figures symbolizing the resistance and the Islamic revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Revolution in Iran; Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; and IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in January 2020 by the U.S.

These motifs of the destruction of Israel interwoven with antisemitism appear regularly in Khamenei's statements; here they include the Nazi "Final Solution" reference. In Khamenei's perception, the aim is to eliminate Israel. He states that until a "democratic" referendum is held for the total destruction of Israel, the armed resistance should continue. See, for example, his May 20 tweets about about the destruction of the State of Israel either through resistance or through a "democratic" referendum held by the "true" residents of Palestine who, he says are the Muslims, Christians, and Jews residing in Palestine for at least 100 years prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948.

Khamenei also stresses that his statements on eliminating the Zionist regime and its officials do not refer to eliminating the Jews. However, as seen below in this report, concepts of "Jew" and "Zionist" are used interchangeably by the Iranian regime and its officials despite their claim that they do not recognize Zionists as Jews.

Twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1263178742622490624, May 20, 2020.

Twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1263169292931158019, May 20, 2020.

Twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1263165539167371267, May 20, 2020.

Kayhan: "Zionism Is A Cult Of Worship Based On Race And Blood, [Which] Writes History In Blood... Iran's Islamic Revolution Has Stopped The Zionist Machine... The Zionist Project Is Over"

The following are translated excerpts from the May 13, 2020 Kayhan article by a member of the daily's editorial board, Sadollah Zarei, who is close to IRGC circles. The article lays out the regime's doctrine on Zionism and Israel, while promoting a blood libel according to which the Zionists commit ritual murder.

"'Qods' [Jerusalem] is not just a tomb. It is a land with a deep connection to the divine prophets and the Abrahamic religions [Judaism, Christianity, and Islam]. The divine religions have seen it as their 'source' and their 'destination' for millennia, and for that reason, it has been targeted by demon Satans and men for millennia.[1] From the earliest history of religions, the liberation and capture of Jerusalem have gone hand in hand, and Jerusalem was sometimes free and sometimes held captive...

"Jerusalem invites mankind to call for liberty, and religious people are the primary audience for its wounded cry. Jerusalem calls upon us to break free, and invites us to [share in] its freedom. [But] before we liberate Jerusalem we must liberate ourselves: [We must be] free of fear, free of bondage to human demons, free of heresy and pharaohs [i.e. tyrants]... Indeed, Jerusalem wants us to be free, [and] as the Abraham of our times [Iranian regime founder Ayatollah] Khomeini said, 'Qods Day is a day of liberation for all Muslims and all the oppressed.'

"Contrary to appearances, however, Jews and Judaism are not synonymous with what came to Jerusalem [i.e. Zionism]. [Their] Judaism is a racist faith that does not recognize the Jews, and for this reason the Jews do not regard Zionism as a religion. The Zionists regard the customs of Moses as superstition and reject everything called 'God. Hence, Jerusalem is their captive; it is not a place of worship for them. Zionism does not honor Jerusalem, and we indeed saw how [the late Israeli prime minister] Ariel Sharon entered Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock with his boots and his sword, spilled blood there, and shattered the peace of the rituals at the Dome of the Rock and in Jerusalem.

"Fifty-two years ago, the Zionists also set fire to the Al-Aqsa mosque, and traces of smoke can still be seen on its ceiling, walls, pulpit and altar.[2] For years, the Zionists have dreamed of destroying that sacred dome by tunneling under Al-Qods. In the name of 'the body of David,' they wish to destroy the legacy of Abraham [that is, prioritizing Israeli nationality over Abraham who is shared by the monotheistic religions], just as they replaced the ritual of Al-Khalil [i.e. Hebron in Arabic] with the hollow ritual of [the Hebrew] 'Hebron.' The division of Hebron was the division of man and of mankind, for there is no reason to create barriers among the followers of the Abrahamic religions.

"Zionism is not a religion, nor does it follow any religion. Zionism is a 'cult' (a political group), whose establishment was declared in Basel, Switzerland,[3] and which is of course rooted in the plutocracies of the 15th and 16th centuries and of the Middle Ages. The Rothschild and Rockefeller families are racists who stole [other people's] treasures, and are heirs to the darkness of medieval Europe. Zionism is trying to write a new history of mankind a history dominated by blood, in which the most bloodthirsty are capable of ruling.

"They [the Zionists] begin their worship with blood. Blood flows everywhere they prostrate themselves, and their altar reeks of blood. Blood for the Zionists is first and foremost the story of mankind, and it is their clearest mark of Cain. The claws of Zionism take the form of extinguished torches, highlighting a cross at the center, commemorating their predecessors' efforts to kill Jesus. Today they ride the Christian centers of power and do not hesitate to proudly recount the story of the murder of Jesus the Messiah whom God rescued from their net.

"According to the Zionist leaders, the story of Judas [Iscariot] and the Messiah is not yet over, and every Christian must be scarred by the claws of the Zionists as part of the struggle against the descendants of Judas. [Although] Zionism has turned its back on the murder and destruction of Christianity and of every Christian, it has today taken control, drunk [with power], of the Elysee Palace, of Buckingham Palace, and of the White [House]. But [the Zionists] are not content with that, and will never rest until they extinguish the spiritual message of the churches.

"Zionism is a cult of worship based on race and blood. It writes history in blood and was born of blood. Although Zionism is not Jewish, it wishes to return, in the name of the Jews, to Khaybar [a Jewish oasis in the Arabian Peninsula taken by Muhammad, who killed all its residents], and to give the Muslims' land to the Bani Qurayza [a Jewish tribe killed off by Muhammad], Bani Mustaliq [an Arab tribe that conquered an area on the Red Sea coast] and Bani Qaynuqa [a Jewish tribe near Medina expelled by Muhammad]. [But] since Zionism knows that nothing of these Arab tribes remains [today], it seeks slaves in the palaces of Hijaz [Saudi Arabia], Abu Dhabi [the UAE], Kuwait, Muscat [Oman], and Doha [Qatar] to spread the message [of the Zionists] in the name of the Banu Qurayza in the Land of the Revelation [of Islam, i.e., the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf regions].

"Here too Zionism began in blood and writes history in blood. [The Zionists] encourage the war in Yemen, the hatred among the Arabs and Muslims in the [Arabian] Peninsula, and the spread of hostility between the Arabs and the Iranians. This time they have brought together Bani Sufiyan [Meccan trader of the Quraysh tribe who led the Meccans' struggle against Muhammad], Bani Jahl [a Meccan leader who opposed Muhammad and plotted to keep him from praying] and Bani Akrame [son of Jahl] into an [anti-Iran] coalition.

"But that is [only] one side of the Jerusalem coin. On the other side is etched a divine destiny: the victory [of Abraham, the father of monotheism] over Nimrod; the victory of Moses over Pharaoh; the victory of Jesus over Haman and over Judas and the plotters of the Sanhedrin [the supreme Jewish legal body in Jesus's day]; the victory of Muhammad over the [Jews of] Khaybar and over Khagan [ruler of Central Asia and the Caucasus]; the victory of Ali over the sons of Abu Sufyan [in the Shi'ite-Sunni struggle of the succession wars of early Islam]; and the victory of Jerusalem over Zionism.

"The story of the this Abrahamic dynasty is not one of land, materialism, dominance ,and power, or of choosing weapons over peace. The story of this dynasty is one of freedom. In this story, Jerusalem is the symbol of freedom, of human liberty, of the freedom of religion, the prophets and God, of human worship free of all shackles, and of man unbound by any [master], spreading flowers with every greeting, for it is said, 'You shall be a slave to none, and God created you free.'

"Zionism came on the scene with weapons, to disrupt peace among the believers and shackle mankind in the name of peace. But today the weapons and the peace of Zionism have waned, and peace prevails among God's creatures. Forty years ago, Iran's Islamic Revolution turned Zionism from reality to an 'illusion' and stopped the Zionist machine. After that, Zionism began to beg for handouts in [U.S.-brokered Israel-Arab peace talks at] Camp David and Annapolis and so on. Zionism, once the besieger, is now itself besieged by the offspring of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Lebanon's Hizbullah, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ansar-Allah in Yemen, the Iraqi Hashd [Al-Sha'bi, aka PMU], the Syrian resistance, and dozens of the[se groups'] branches are everywhere in the region, and Israel is trying to survive in the maelstrom.

"The government in Tel Aviv has lost its color. [It is] holding round after round of elections but is marching in place. The 'Judaization of Palestine' is a nonsensical [motto], and the Deal of the Century cannot revive it. The Judaization of Palestine machine has been mired in the mud for 70 years, and Zionism will go nowhere in the time that remains to it. The courts of the royalty and the Abd Al-'Azizes [derogatory term for the Saudis] can no longer pave the way for the Judaization [of Palestine] by signing papers. The Salmanis [i.e. Saudis], the Zayidis [UAE], and the rest of the [Arab] monarchs cannot [save Israel].

Commentator Sadollah Zarei (Source: Mashregh, Iran, May 12, 2020.

"Instead of clinging to the two blue lines of its flag, Zionism is now examining walls for defending itself against the hate-filled Palestinian gaze. Zionism from the Nile to the Euphrates has now become a government in Tel Aviv [which is] on its deathbed. [Zionism, that engraves on its flag] from the Nile to the Euphrates and everywhere, now [stretches only] from Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem. Zionism is today carrying out military exercises on the northern borders of occupied Palestine so that it will perhaps have access to the tunnels from which a Hizbullah attack may come at any time. At [Israel's] southern borders, it is thought that there are tunnels from which there is a fear that at any moment Palestinian troops from Sinai, Gaza, and the [West] Bank may attack].

"Zionism is now looking to the windows of Washington and AIPAC, but it gazes in despair at the fate of the American troops in Iraq and Syria, as Ayatollah Khamenei considered the expulsion of America from the region as retribution for the blood of Gen. [Qassem] Soleimani. The bloodthirsty Zionism knows that the traditional contacts with the palaces of Elysee and Buckingham, and the White [House], are no longer creating miracles, and the time of the flourishing of Western culture and politics is about to end.

"Zionism knows that the West, historically for the past 72 years [its] main refuge, is now dealing with many events and cannot help prolong Zionism's life. So today we are hearing whispers of the end of Israel, in Tel Aviv's homes and [military] bases.

"The Zionist project has ended... but at the same time, Zionism is still shedding blood, still bombing, still assassinating, still invading the skies of Lebanon and Syria, still scheming [against] and bombing the besieged Palestinians in Gaza, still buying Arab slaves cheaply, still looking to the palaces of the region [in Arab countries]. This means that the cries [against it] must be heard as roars, blows must be landed, and the steps taken against it must remain strong on the march to Jerusalem. Jerusalem remains [but] a few steps from liberation, and this road must be trod to the end."[4]

Kayhan: "The World Will Forever Be Saved From The Zionists' Covid 1948 Contamination; The World's Body Will Experience Life Without The Zionist Cancer"

Kayhan's March 21 editorial devoted to Qods Day, headlined "Qods Day The Octopus's [i.e. Israel's] Nightmare," also stressed the vision of Iran's Islamic revolutionary regime regarding the elimination of the State of Israel, this time by military means not by Iranian military force but by its spiritual and ideological weapons that is, its export of its Islamic revolution, carried out via armed resistance by Hizbullah, an extension of the Iranian regime. It also noted, like the message tweeted by the Iranian Foreign Ministry (see below) in the spirit of Nazi propaganda, that Israel and Zionism are a virus threatening the entire world. The following are translated excerpts from the editorial:

"During these 40 years [since the establishment of Iran's Islamic Revolution], the shoots of the revolution have grown more than they did in the centuries [that preceded it], and [as of] today they have grown and spread throughout the Islamic world. The export of the Islamic revolution today is no longer under the enemies' control, and the free men and heroes of the world have come to the conclusion that the Zionist regime that massacres children is terrified on the eve of Qods Day, and the [Israeli] octopus sees the nightmare of death.

"If at one time America led [the world], and Israel was a problem for the Arabs of the region, today the hands of the IRGC are wrapped around the neck of this leader, and for Israel to disappear there is no longer any need for Shihab-3, Fajr, or Amad [missiles], or for the water-bucket strategy [i.e. drowning Israel]. Israel's ears are being twisted by Hizbullah in Lebanon, and a minor struggle by [Hizbullah] will bring about its death two decades earlier than promised several years ago [by Khamenei, that in] 25 years [Israel would no longer exist] and the world will forever be saved from the Zionists' Covid 1948 contamination. The world's body will experience life without the Zionist cancer."[5]

Iranian Foreign Ministry Tweets: Israel Is A Global Virus #Covid1948

Also in the spirit of Nazi propaganda casting the Jews as spreaders of disease and a danger to humanity, on May 20 Iran's Foreign Ministry tweeted two messages about the "Zionist regime" spreading a global pandemic like the coronavirus, with the hashtag #Covid1948.

Twitter.com/IRIMFA_EN/status/1262948109895819265, Twitter.com/IRIMFA_EN/status/1262948624788598790, May 20, 2020.

*A. Savyon is director of the MEMRI Iran Studies Project; M. Manzour Is a Research Fellow at MEMRI.

[3] A reference to the Basel Program, the first manifesto of the Zionist movement, adopted at the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in August 1897. The manifesto set out the goal of the Zionist movement: to secure for the Jewish people a publicly recognized, legally assured homeland in Palestine.

[4] Kayhan (Iran), May 13, 2020.

[5] Kayhan (Iran), May 21, 2020.

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Iranian Regime Marks Qods Day 2020 With Antisemitism, Blood Libels, And Calls For Destruction Of Israel - Middle East Media Research Institute

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Posted By admin on May 23, 2020

(May 21, 2020 / JNS) In late April, more than 200 Jewish student leaders penned a letter to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations urging its leadership to censure Mort Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, concerning his behavior amid his organizations opposition to Dianne Lob as the Jewish umbrella groups next chair. At the same time, questions are being raised over the political motivation of the letters signees, which includes dozens of links to left-wing and anti-Israel groups.

The letter, addressed to Conference of Presidents chairman Arthur Stark, CEO William Daroff and executive vice chairman Malcolm Hoenlein, states that Klein should be reprimanded for a pattern of racist and Islamophobic behavior.

The letter says that Klein has engaged in a bizarre and concerning display of both disparagement of HIAS and anti-refugee bigotry, which it adds is part of a long-standing pattern of both racism and the disparagement of other major American Jewish organizations.

Last week, Klein and ZOA chairman Mark Levenson held a webinar focusing on their concerns regarding Lob. In it, Klein doubled down on his objections to her and alleged that, in reprisal, a number of member organizations have called for the ZOAs ouster from the big-tent group.

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Lob served as HIAS chair between 2016 and 2019.

Her nomination and ultimate appointment was met with significantobjectionsfrom longtime Conference members and financial supporters uncomfortable with political positions by HIAS, which have specifically clashed with the Trump administration over U.S. immigration policies. At the same time, with the decline of Jewish refugees, some see HIAS as no longerintegral or even attachedto its Jewish origins, with HIAS now focusing on assisting refugees from Muslim and other countries.

Simple censure does not go far enough

Klein told JNS he believes that the letter, which appeared to be student-led, was likely an organized effort by a political group in what has become known as astroturfing, or the practice of masking sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants.

I say that because most college students have never heard of the Conference of Presidents, ZOA or HIAS. The only way you can get people to sign something, is if its organized, and this was organized by J Street, he claimed. A large number of names are J Street student officials in college and affiliated officially with the group. Others are people who belong to SJP and other far-left Jewish organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow.

This was organized by the far-left, anti-Israel radical people, he said. And since HIAS has signed letters with J Street, with JVP and other radical groups, I wouldnt be surprised if they were in touch with them to put this letter together. Students dont automatically take a position on the Conference of Presidents that they never heard of.

J Street did not respond to a JNS inquiry regarding their involvement.

A closer look at the social-media profiles of letters signees also reveals several dozen who follow or support the Jewish group IfNotNow, which is known for its opposition to Zionism and criticism of American Jewish organizations that support for Israel.

While IfNotNow did not directly respond to a JNS inquiry regarding their involvement in the letter, the organization told JNS they feel ZOA should be removed from the Conference.

We support those in our generation who want Jewish institutions that claim to represent our community to hold racist leaders like Mort Klein accountable, said the group.

However, we believe a simple censure does not go far enough; we believe that the Conference of Presidents should strip Klein and the ZOA from their seat at the table. If the leaders of the Conference refuse to take this obvious step, we reiterate our call for progressive groups in the Conference of Presidents to stop giving it legitimacy and to leave.

In the May 11 webinar, Klein stated that he has not considered leaving the conference, but said that if J Street was admitted, ZOA would have to think very seriously whether we want to sit with it.

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Questions raised over links to left-wing, anti-Israel groups in letter accusing ZOA of racism - JNS.org

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Posted By admin on May 23, 2020

David Sheen, a good friend of mine and a fellow journalist, revealed a nice investigative story the opposite month. It tells a story of homicide, racism, duplicity, and justice denied.

In October 1985, Palestinian-American civil rights activist Alex Odeh was murdered by Zionist fanatics in California.

Odeh was blown to smithereens by a pipe bomb. His murderers have by no means been arrested.

Hours after Odehs brutal slaying, Irv Rubin, the nationwide chairperson of the Jewish Defence League (JDL) on the time, justified the homicide: I have no tears for Mr. Odeh. He got exactly what he deserved.

Despite a $1 million reward being introduced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for info resulting in the conviction of Odehs killers, no arrests have ever been made.

OPINION: A brand new Jewish Defence League?

The police and the FBIs most important suspects have up to now escaped justice. They are Baruch Ben-Yosef (born Andy Green) and Israel Fuchs (previously generally known as Keith Fuchs).

They have been ready to take action for one purpose: Ben-Yosef/Green and Fuchs fled the US for Israel some months after the terrorist bombing.

In my view, theyre being protected by the Israeli authorities.

The FBI is being obstructed in its investigation by the Israelis. On the flip aspect, it appears clear that the US authorities is not precisely pulling out all of the stops. No stress is being placed on Israel to convey Odehs killers to justice, to extradite them to face trial within the US, and even to cooperate with the investigation in any method.

As Sheen detailed in his in depth piece, Odeh was a Palestinian born within the majority-Christian village of Jifna within the West Bank (near a significantly extremist Israeli colony). He devoted his life and activism within the US working for the Arab-American Discrimination Committee, or ADC.

READ: US scholar declares plans to eliminate Palestinians from the world

He labored to construct consciousness of the plight of his individuals below Israeli occupation and to construct bridges with US Jews. On the very day of his homicide, he had been resulting from communicate on the Congregation Bnai Tzedek, a Reform synagogue in Santa Ana.

Very clearly, his killers noticed such efforts as a menace to their extremist Zionist agenda.

Due to Israels racist Law of Return, Fuchs and Ben-Yosef had been in a position to declare citizenship within the nation the place theyre now fugitives from the legislation. Israel has for a long time stonewalled FBI makes an attempt to convey the killers to justice.

This is all fairly typical behaviour for Israel actually one of many worlds worst rogue states. Jewish extremists like Fuchs and Ben-Yosef are habitually harboured in Israel.

Israeli safety of those racist criminals is no aberration. Zionist extremists fleeing justice from all around the world know they are going to be safe in Israel. Grgory Chelli for instance, the French hacker, generally known as Ulcan, is accused in a French court docket of constructing hoax cellphone calls, one in every of them deadly. Chelli was a member of the French department of the JDL and fled to Israel earlier than the court docket may attempt him.

Grgory Chelli for instance, the French hacker, generally known as Ulcan [Twitter]

Using weasel phrases, the official Israeli authorities has prior to now acknowledged its condemnation of the JDLs overtly racist founder, Meir Kahane. He received a seat within the Knesset, Israels parliament, within the 1980s, however his get together was later banned.

In actuality, the federal government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his moderate ally Benny Gantz, alongside together with his coalition authorities and allies within the so-called Labour Party, have all endorsed the racism of Kahane even when theyd a private rivalry with him.

In observe, Kahanes coverage of driving all Palestinians out of the so-called Land of Israel by drive is endorsed in a single kind or one other by all Zionist events in Israel. The variations between them are merely ones of emphasis, technique, and private rivalry.

Kahanist settlers occupying the West Bank in the present day elevate the slogan: Today everybody knows Kahane was right! Kahanism is the logical conclusion of Zionism.

OPINION: Notre Dame of Gaza, our mosques and church buildings are additionally burning

Today, Odehs killers are being sheltered within the unlawful Zionist colonies which occupy stolen Palestinian land within the West Bank.

Ben-Yosef is significantly brazen as Sheens reporting exhibits. He is a high-profile lawyer in Israel, defending a number of the most fanatical Zionist terrorists, spiritual extremists, and murderers.

He is additionally on the forefront of the Temple Movement, the Jewish extremist group that wishes to explode Al-Aqsa Mosque and raze the Dome of the Rock that are a few of Islams holiest websites, two necessary Palestinian nationwide symbols in an effort to construct a synagogue.

The views expressed on this article belong to the writer and dont essentially mirror the editorial coverage of Middle East Monitor.

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2020

Dr. Ronnie Perelis

Dr. Ronnie Perelis, Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Abraham and Jelena (Rachel) Alcalay Associate Professor of Sephardic Studies, and Dr. Flora Cassen, associate professor of history and associate professor of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern studies at Washington University in St. Louis have received a Cross-Institutional Cooperative Grant from the American Academy for Jewish Research (AAJR) to organize, according to their application, two workshopsone at Washington University in St. Louis, the other at Yeshiva University in New York Cityto discuss the analysis and translation of the works of Yoseph Ha-Kohen and Luis Carvajal. These workshops will not only help us formulate the best ways to bring our ambitious project to completion, but also assist us in constituting a committed group of collaborators. This grant will spark ideas and new connections between scholars.

Our hope, said Dr. Perelis, is that these conferences, which we are titling Translating the Americas: Early Modern Jewish Writing on the New World, will set the stage for our more ambitious project of collecting, annotating and translating the fascinating texts written by Early Modern Jews about the New World in Hebrew, Spanish and other languages. Of course, given the challenges we face today with having in-person meetings, we are also planning a series of virtual encounters around this multifaceted theme.

Read the full proposal here.

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Dr. Ronnie Perelis Receives a Grant for Translating the Americas - Yu News

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2020

AT the outbreak of the First World War people from all walks of life took up the call to do their bit for King and country.

While men enlisted in the armed forces, many thousands of women, mainly from the middle classes, signed up to become Red Cross nurses in the new Voluntary Aid Detachments.

Known as VADs, these selfless women took up unpaid positions in military and auxilliary hospitals, both overseas, close to the front, and back at home.

More than 60 such hospitals were created in what is now Greater Manchester, including several in Bury, Prestwich, and Whitefield, ensuring that the women could work near to where they lived.

Incredible research by the We Were There Too Project which explores the impact, experience, and contribution of Britains Jewish communities during the First World War volunteer Charlotte Clare, and the Red Cross, has shed new light on the lives and actions of medical workers during the conflict.

Among those to sign up in 1914 was 18-year-old Muriel Elizabeth Henriques, who lived in Hilton Lodge, Hilton Lane, Prestwich.

Muriel came from one of the oldest Sephardic families a community of persecuted Jews from the Iberian peninsular who had fled to Britain from anti-Semitic repression in 17th century Portugal.

VAD card of Red Cross Nurse Muriel Elizabeth Henriques who volunteered at Stanley House Auxiliary Hospital in Whitefield. Photo Courtesy of We Were There Too Project

As a VAD nurse she served at the Stanley House Red Cross Hospital in Whitefield, and later at B.R.C.S. Auxiliary Military Hospital in Northenden.

One of Muriels colleagues at Stanley House for whom records exist was Nursing Member Marjorie Jockel, whose VAD card shows she performed general nursing duties, and lived in nearby Milton Road, Prestwich.

Another was Nursing Sister Harriet Echersall, of 9 Morley Street, Whitefield, who also performed general nursing duties.

Stanley House where Muriel, Marjorie and Harriet volunteered is one of the most historically significant homes in Lancashire, and still stands in Philips Park Road.

It was originally constructed in the 19th century for the Earl Of Derby and sat in extensive grounds.

At the time of the First World War it was occupied by the Scholfield family, who converted the property to a hospital and convalescence home for Allied servicemen wounded in the conflict records at the Imperial War Museum reveal.

Auxilliary hospitals, like Stanley House, received patients who generally did not have life threatening-injuries, and instead needed minor treatment and time to convalesce.

They tended to be more popular among servicemen than military hospitals, thanks to their less strict discipline, less crowded conditions, and more homely surroundings.

According to the Red Cross, volunteers at auxilliary hospitals were typically considered too old or too young to work in a military hospital.

Many also had family commitments, and so were unable to leave home for extended periods, but were willing to sign a three-month hospital contract.

After the First World War came to an end, Muriel Elizabeth Henriques married a Cornelis Rissik, and the couple had four children. She died in Hove, East Sussex, in 1986.

While she was serving at Stanley House, her brother, George Lionel Quixano Henriques, had fought with the 16th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment.

He survived the conflict, earning the 1914-15 Star British Victory Medal, and died in Buxton in 1961.

Tragically, Georges son, David, lost his life serving with the Sherwood Foresters in the Second World War.

Another of the incredible medical workers from the borough during the war was midwife Dora Black.

Born into a Jewish family in Fochon, Romania, in 1867, Dora emigrated to to Britain and settled at 11 Mount Pleasant in Simister.

By the time of the First World War she was already established in midwifery, largely practising in the Lower Broughton area, and had cards printed to advertise her services.

Throughout the 1910s Dora worked from home, going to expectant mothers houses that were in walking distance, or could be reached by tram.

A night bell was installed in her home which would ring at all times of the day and night alerting her to urgent calls.

Black book belonging to midwife Dora Black in which she recorded details of every birth she attended. Photo courtesy of We Were There Too Project

Affectionately known as Nurse Black, she worked with many of the doctors in the area, including Dr Schlossberg, Dr Graff, Dr Herson, Dr Levi and Dr Saul.

As well as helping new mothers before and during their deliveries, Dora was also renowned for showing them how to bathe their babies sometimes two or three at the same time.

When the baths were emptied, mothers would throw in coppers. These were Nurse Blacks perks, or butt geld as she called them, from the Yiddish for bath money.

During her lifetime Dora kept a ledger detailing each time a child was born, which she called her black book.

Inside she wrote entries containing the names of doctors, the name, date of birth and weight of each child, and the mothers address.

Dora had eight children of her own, with husband Solomon Black, and moved house three times around the Broughton and Cheetham areas.

The couples eldest son, Myer, was tragically killed in France in 1917 while serving with the Kings Liverpool Regiment.

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The borough's nursing and midwife heroines of the First World War - Bury Times

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2020

Religious worshipers returned to synagogues, mosques and churches for the first time in almost two months Wednesday morning, as houses of prayer across the country reopened under new coronavirus guidelines.

Israel decided Tuesday night to reopen places of worship, which were major vectors of coronavirus infection, amid mounting pressure. According to the decision, houses of worship are able to operate at 50 percent capacity with worshipers keeping at least 2 meters distance from one another and wearing masks.

Each religious establishment needs to appoint an official responsible for enforcing coronavirus regulations and ensure hygiene rules are observed.

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Halleluyah! tweeted former MK Yehudah Glick, a longtime campaigner for Jewish prayer rights at Jerusalems Temple Mount, alongside a selfie from his synagogue.

1.5 million worshipers have awaited this moment of return to places of worship and connection to God, said Rabbi Shmuel Slotki.

However, now more than ever, it is important to carefully adhere to Health Ministry guidelines, he added. A synagogue that isnt capable of following those instructions must not reopen.

However, ultra-Orthodox medical consultant Shimon Ragubi warned that the return could endanger lives.

There are three factors that increase the risk of the virus spreading: large gatherings, staying in a closed space and staying in groups for long periods of time, he said. Synagogues have all three characteristics together and the danger is great.

Cautioning of a second wave of infections, Ragubi urged measured, careful steps.

Jewish men pray at the Western Wall, Judaisms holiest prayer site, in Jerusalems Old City. April 19, 2020. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Meanwhile, the Orthodox organization that runs the Western Wall in Jerusalems Old City, where just 300 people are currently allowed to pray at the same time due to social distancing rules, announced that who is allowed to enter during next weeks Shavuot festival will be determined in a raffle.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation invited the public to register for the raffle on its website by Saturday night, May 23. The lists of winners is scheduled to be published Sunday at 7 p.m., with 24 hours given to collect the permits.

The decision to reopen houses of worship came after the Health Ministry signed off on a plan allowing restaurants, bars and nightclubs to reopen next week, amid growing calls from business owners and some local leaders. The ministry plan, which must still be approved by the cabinet, would also allow pools and hotels to open starting May 27, along with extracurricular activities for kids and other types of classes.

Israels Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau March 29, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Earlier Tuesday, Chief Rabbi David Lau urged Netanyahu to order the immediate reopening of synagogues, saying it was baffling they remained closed while everything else was reopening.

Synagogues and yeshivas served as major vectors for the transmission of the coronavirus during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Synagogues were shuttered in late March.

In late March, the Corona National Information and Knowledge Center, a government body of researchers that serves as an advisory panel to the Health Ministry and the Home Front Command, reported that at the time, 46.9 percent of Israelis had contracted the coronavirus abroad, 4.4% at home and 13.1% at an unknown location.

Of the remaining 35.6% of cases in which the source of the infection was known, nearly a quarter had contracted it at a synagogue.

Jewish men pray at a synagogue in the West Bak settlement of Efrat, Gush Etzion, May 20, 2020. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

In recent weeks, Israel has made great strides incontaining the virusand the government has begun the gradual process ofrebooting the economyand allowing shopping centers, restaurants andschoolsto return to operations.

Before synagogues were allowed to reopen Wednesday, public prayer was only allowed outside in groups of up to 50 people, all of whom had to wear masks and keep a distance of two meters from one another.

Some in the Orthodox community had expressed angerover having to continue praying outside, especially during this weeks heat wave, arguing that regulations were being selectively enforced.

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Back to shul: Worshipers return to houses of prayer for first time in 2 months - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2020

For as long as I can remember I understood that religious observance entailed obligation. When other children were watching Saturday morning cartoons, my family was abstaining from television and participating in prayer services. Despite intense advertising, I never enjoyed a McDonalds Happy Meal or Lucky Charms cereal. But I learned at an early age that the greatest religious obligation was that of caring for others. To live a life of faith necessitates that one, first and foremost, live.

To live a life of faith necessitates that one, first and foremost, live.

It might have been a heart attack or, perhaps, a terrible fall the details have blurred in my memory. It was Saturday morning during synagogue services. Not one person had a cellphone, wallet or car keys, let alone a car to drive someone to the hospital. In our community, carrying anything on Shabbat, the holy Sabbath, was considered a form of forbidden work. All pockets were literally empty.

The rabbi acted fast, opening one of the weekday charity boxes and took out a quarter, passing it to someone to use the pay phone in the lobby to call Hatzolah, the Jewish volunteer ambulance service that would typically arrive faster than 911.

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I grew up in a Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, that today would be classified by outsiders as ultra-Orthodox or right-wing Orthodox, but we just thought of ourselves as Jewish. Religious law was the undercurrent of our lives, dictating the food we ate, the clothes we wore, and the days and times when specific prayers would be said. A decommissioned air raid siren would ring through the neighborhood to announce a 10-minute warning before Shabbat would begin, ensuring that no work would happen too close to the sacred day.

On that Shabbat morning, in that moment of crisis, it never crossed my mind for an instant that our rabbi was diminishing the importance of our Sabbath observance or God forbid improperly taking money from charity. To the contrary, our Shabbat practice was sacrosanct, and our charity holy, but the obligation to save and protect life overshadowed all.

The obligation to save and protect life overshadowed all.

Today we find ourselves in a very different crisis, and the risk to life is far more severe, and widespread. As coronavirus began to spread rampantly throughout the United States and across the globe, our synagogues, schools and community institutions closed their doors in an attempt to flatten the curve and decrease the rate of infection. In early April, we celebrated Passover, arguably our most widely celebrated and communal holiday, in isolation. Community leadership encouraged families not to visit with one another or welcome guests into their homes to prevent transmission. And now we are preparing for the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, the day we recall standing together at Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the core of our legal tradition, customarily celebrated by gathering in groups and studying together the entire night. Our early sages teach that the ancient Israelite nation congregated together at the foot of the mountain as one person with one heart; this year we recount that story in the silos of our separate spaces.

It is a hardship to be alone, both personally and religiously. But we understand that our faith not only allows for it, it insists upon it to save lives.

For all these reasons, so many in our Jewish community in Missouri were horrified and heartbroken when Gov. Mike Parson indicated back in April that he did not believe that COVID-19 should be considered a valid excuse to vote absentee. We already knew in-person voting carried risk of transmission; we had seen the news reports indicating that Wisconsin had at least 40 people who voted or worked in their recent elections later diagnosed with the coronavirus. The thought that any person would have to risk their health to exercise their right to vote felt simultaneously antithetical to our identities, both as Jews and as Americans.

While the governor might not have initially accepted the pandemic as an excuse for absentee voting, Missouri allows for religious belief or practice as one of the six reasons one may vote absentee. For us the argument could not have been clearer.

The thought that any person would have to risk their health to exercise their right to vote felt simultaneously antithetical to our identities: both as Jews and as Americans.

Working through my organization, the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis, and partnering with the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, we began to convene our Jewish clergy. With the early memory of that Shabbat morning in my mind, and the actions of my esteemed rabbi to save one person, I drafted a text for us all to sign rooted in the text that has guided my life since childhood. The Torah instructs: Neither shall you stand by the blood of your neighbor (Leviticus 19:16). When the life of any person is in danger, almost all other religious laws become inapplicable. With the voices of my teachers resounding in my ears, I wrote: Our rabbis teach us that to save one life is to save an entire world, and to destroy one life is to destroy an entire world. Indeed, every person has the potential to create a universe and the loss of any person is immeasurable.

On May 4, we published an open letter with signatures from 37 Jewish religious leaders. The list spanned the geography of the state of Missouri and included voices from every denomination within the Jewish community. The letter stated unequivocally that we believe therefore that it is a deeply held religious belief to remain home on days in which elections are held and that such a belief qualifies one under the Missouri law to vote in any regional, state, or federal elections via absentee ballot. (In recent days there has been movement on the part of legislators to somewhat relax these rules. But new regulations have yet to be signed by the governor).

Religious freedom in America of late has been wielded as a political tool. There are those who want to abuse this freedom for personal benefits or selfish interests. There are those who want to claim the religious sphere as the exclusive purview of the right or the left. Yet, religion belongs to neither. It does not dictate a party or a candidate. Religion calls upon us to care for one another. The rest, to paraphrase the great early rabbi, Hillel, is just commentary.

There is nothing about this crisis that is easy or simple. I long for the days when my children can return to playdates with their friends, when I can sit across from a colleague at a caf, when my family can take a vacation. But growing up in the Orthodox Jewish community, I learned early in life that my faith tradition was not about what was easy, what was convenient, or even what I wanted for myself. Life in community requires recognition of the needs of the entire community. Those needs are meaningless, though, if one does not first prioritize the importance of life.

Maharat Rori Picker Neiss

Executive Director,Jewish Community Relations Council Missouri

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Missouri's old in-person voting rules risks lives. My Jewish faith supports life and absentee voting. - NBC News

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2020

Even as the world takes baby steps towards reopening the economy and returning to a semblance of business as usual, its clear that many will remain shut in for some time and that many communal institutions, including some synagogues, will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

To serve those shut in for Shavuot, which begins this year at sunset on Thursday, May 28 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, May 30, the Chabad.org editorial team has created a cornucopia of tools and resources to help them celebrate and relive the Sinai experience in their own living rooms.

The RebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memoryhas encouraged every living Jew, from newborns to nonagenarians and beyond, to be present during services on the first morning of Shavuot, when attendees recreate the experience by reading the record of the event from the Torah scroll.

For those whom synagogue attendance will not be an option, the team created a guide on how to read the Ten Commandments at home, accompanied with a version to be printed before the holiday, replete with Hebrew and English texts, instructions and questions to foster meaningful discussion.

Another major element of the holiday is the custom to remain awake for the entire first night of Shavuot, studying a text known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Those unable to read this text traditionally learn other Torah subjects or attend classes. To aid those who will be unable to attend classes, the team collected essays and learning materialsin a wide array of interests and stylesto be printed (before the start of the holiday), and then studied and enjoyed over Shavuot.

Since people will be praying at home without the benefit of a rabbi or others to guide them through the prayer service, a text with page numbers, as well as information regarding the Yizkor memorial prayer, has been prepared.

Even in places where services will have resumed in a limited fashion, communal meals and receptions remain on hold. To help people prepare their own meals (especially the dairy repast traditionally enjoyed on Shavuot), a full line of recipes, which run the gamut from traditional blintzes to Italian creations with names that are difficult to spell and almost impossible to pronounce, has been collected and made available.

Children, who served as the guarantors for the covenant at Mount Sinai, are central to the Shavuot celebration. To ensure that they are included in the festivities, a special Shavuot party packet with games, stories and even an edible activity has been prepared for pre-holiday printing.

For those wishing for a one-stop shop, various offerings have been aggregated and presented in an easy-to-read format aptly titled How to Celebrate Shavuot at Home.

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Receiving the Torah This Shavuot in Living Rooms Around the World - Tips on how to read the Ten Commandments at home, inspiration for the holiday,...

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2020

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman with Efrat regional council head Oded Revivi, and the heads of local councils in Judea and Samaria, during a visit to Efrat on Feb. 20, 2020. Photo: Gershon Elinson/Flash90.

JNS.org Israel finally has a new government after three elections and more than a year of political stalemate. As it gets to work dealing with the calamitous effects of COVID-19, one of the main questions now is whether or not it will set in motion the Trump Mideast peace plan, which includes negotiating with the Palestinians and applying Israeli law to the Jordan Valley, and parts of Judea and Samaria. In his speech before the swearing-in ceremonyat the Knesset on Sunday, Netanyahu said, Its time to apply the Israeli law and write another glorious chapter in the history of Zionism.

But real concerns exist about Israel going forward with this plan amid warnings from the European Union and from elements in the United States during a presidential-election year, in addition to uncertainty regarding an investigation by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Security and Strategy, told JNS that he believes Israel will implement the plan. Regarding the Jordan Valley, Inbar said the details in the Trump administrations Peace to Prosperity plan makes it clear it is important for our security and removes from the table all suggestions for alternative security arrangements that are not good for us.

With regard to some of the language and terminologies circulating around the plan, Inbar said it is important to understand that, contrary to popular belief, this would not be a unilateral move on Israels part. Since America backs it, such a move cannot and should not be considered unilateral.

May 21, 2020 4:18 pm

He added that it is also important not to use the word sovereignty, but rather applying Israeli law when referring to the Israeli plan to take control of the Jordan Valley, and other parts of Judea and Samaria. This is because, according to him, these areas never formally belonged to a high sovereign state, and as such, one cannot annex or apply sovereignty to an area that did not and does not belong to another high sovereign entity.

Judea and Samaria, also known internationally as the West Bank, has been under Israeli control since the 1967 Six-Day War. Aside from the important security aspects of the region for Israel, it also is considered the Jewish Heartland, featuring many important Jewish heritage and biblical sites dating back thousands of years. Between 1949 and 1967, the territory was illegally occupied by Jordana move that was only recognized by the United Kingdom, Iraq and Pakistan. Prior to that, the territory had been part of the larger British Mandate of Palestine that had been established by the League of Nations to administer former parts of the defunct Ottoman Empire, which had controlled much of the Middle East since the 16th century.

The expected move by Israel to incorporate these territories has already been met with international condemnation, especially from the European Union and the Democratic Party in the United States. EU high representative on foreign affairs Josep Borrell has warned that it would constitute a serious violation of international law. And 11 European ambassadors also advocated against it, saying that it would constitute a clear violation of international law.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee,toldJewish Democrats that he does not support annexation, and that it any unilateral steps by either side would undermine the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sent a letter earlier this month to Netanyahu, warning him that it will result in long-term costs to Israels national security and diplomatic relationships.

US Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) drafted a letterto Netanyahu and Gantz cautioning that annexation would fray our unique bonds, imperil Israels future and place out of reach the prospect of a lasting peace.

Factors that could stay Israels hand

Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US politics and foreign policy, and a senior research associate at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, told JNS that its possible that the entire idea of applying Israeli law to these areas will not materialize due to conflicts within the White House, as well as within the Israeli Prime Ministers office.

Gilboa said that one group in the White House believes that Trump should support the plan since it wouldnt hurt his political base, especially ahead of Novembers presidential elections. The other group, from the intelligence and foreign-policy establishments, says the United States should stick to those principles by which the plan has to be accepted with all the components, and Israel should not accept or implement one or ignore the others.

According to Gilboa, it is telling that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Israel should make its own decision. By saying this, Pompeo was hinting that Israel has the right to apply Israeli law, but should not actually do it.

Gilboa also noted that Trump doesnt need Israels implementation of the plan to keep his voter base. He has already proven his pro-Israel record by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights and reversing the 1978 Hansell Memorandum that mistakenly stated that Israeli settlements are inconsistent with international law. That comes in addition to withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

He pointed to a few additional factors that could prevent the application of Israeli law to the areas in question.

One, he said, is the makeup of the new Israeli government. Gantzs and Ashkenazis positions on the matter are important; they support extending Israeli law over the Jordan Valley, but not necessarily over the other parts of Judea and Samaria. That can be countered with the stance of the right-wing party Yamina, which supports applying Israeli law to all of Judea and Samaria.

The second factor is that Israel must have the full-fledged support of the United States, and, according to Gilboa, that remains uncertain.

There are all kinds of mixed messages, he said. Its not clear which one reveals the true motivation and true spectrum of options.

The third issue, the EU aspect, is also important, he said. Israel has some stalwart friendsnamely, Hungary and Austriafrom Eastern Europe in that body, which have prevented a unanimous condemnation of Israel.

Gilboa said the European Union is an important front for Israel because of the significant commercial, scientific and other relations Israel has with [it].

The fourth issue is the International Criminal Court, which represents a major threat to Israel if it decides to pursue war crimes charges against the Jewish state for actions taken against Palestinian protesters. Netanyahu mentioned this in his speech to the Knesset this week, calling the ICCs intentions a strategic threat.

It could, acknowledged Gilboa, be another reason not to go ahead with the sovereignty move now, as it could accelerate the ICCs decision, something that Israel is very concerned about.

Excerpt from:

Will Israel Apply Sovereignty to Parts of Judea and Samaria? - Algemeiner

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