For Immediate Release:
Dateline: Bat Ayin,Gush Etzion,
The Hills of Judea
Friday, November 13, 2015
Dear Family & Friends, [GAIL SEZ: November 10, 1975 was Kristallnacht & also the date of the vote “Zionism is Racism” in the U.N. Was that vote to commemorate “Kristallnacht?” Cuz it did. I got mad & created M.E.I.R., Mid East Information Resource, a Jewish Speakers’ Bureau to fight Arab Propaganda. I started a series of seminars at the local JCC, taught by Professionals who volunteered. Joan Peters, z’l, Prof. David Banayan, a Persian Jew, z’l; Israeli Consul for Press & Information, Jack Keinan; 2- U of Ill Professors who had fought in the War of Independence & now taught University students — & more. After my intense education of 3 months I took the 16 mm film: “Dhimmi, To Be A Jew In Arab Lands”, by WOJAC that Joan gave me, a 16mm projector & screen and started speaking to Jewish Organizations & leading group discussions – so American Jews could know some of our history & begin to do “Hasbara” now called “Public Diplomacy”. I issued Two 16 page newsletters (way before computers). I attended all the General Assemblies of the Council of Jewish Federations as well as other National & International Jewish Conferences, such as AIPAC & AJC (American Jewish Congress). We promoted AIPAC, Save Soviet Jewry & Ethiopian Jewry. We wrote letters, protested, demonstrated. I organized & hosted City-wide Conferences – such as one for a young Binyamin Netanyahu who spoke truth to some 400 Chicagoans during a 4 inch April snow-storm….& a ‘Yom Aliya’ with Joan Peters as our keynote speaker. It was a great way to learn why I was a Jew, why I loved Israel & always wanted to be here. Have a great night, a swell day. All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Savta Raba x 2/MomOur Website: WinstonIsraelInsight.com4.’Russia, Iran have signed contract for S-300 missile system delivery’ 5.IAI unveils unprecedented radar system as long-range ballistic missile threats increase 7.Netanyahu-Obama meeting to focus on defense aid 9.Man who took down terrorist says detractors ‘shouldn’t talk’ 10.’I fought to be a combat soldier, now I’m fighting for life’ 11.Zionist group REGAVIM: State’s demolition policy is biased against Jews 1.Kristallnacht: When the Jews were Stranded by Larry DomnitchThe 9th and 10th of November, 1938, the night of broken glass, was a pogrom organized and orchestrated by the Nazis to show their plans for the Jews. The Western world turned its back and England closed the doors to Palestine. And today? Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com Published: Sunday, November 08, 2015 7:24 PM Larry Domnitch is an educator and the author of “The Cantonists: The Jewish Children´s Army of the Tsar”, released by Devora Publishing. He resides in Efrat. During the summer of 1938, with an urgent situation facing Jews in lands under control of the Nazi regime, thirty-two nations gathered in Evian France to find a solution to the Jewish refugee crisis. German, Austrian, and Czech Jewry were desperate to leave but few nations would accept them beyond their meager quotas. At Evian, nothing was resolved, as delegate after delegate on behalf of their respective nations refused to expand their meager quotas. Then representative of the Jewish Agency at the time, Golda Meir (then Meyerson) who attended the conference said that, “nothing was accomplished at Evian except phraseology.” At a press conference, she stated, “Before I die, my people should not need expressions of sympathy anymore.” The London Jewish Chronicle predicted that the Evian Conference, “will be numbered among the many conferences whose name is failure.” The horrors of Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938, exacerbated the German Jewish refugee crisis as Nazi hordes swept over Jewish communities in Germany inflicting destruction and terror, removing any doubt that the hour of German Jewry’s demise was near. Nearly one hundred Jews were murdered & thirty thousand were sent to concentration camps. 500 synagogues were burned down & over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed. Over two hundred thousand German Jews had not yet left and 200,000 Jews of Austria were under German occupation, which was seized and occupied by the Nazis after the Anshluss (unification) as of March 15 earlier that year. In addition, the Jews of the Sudetenland, handed over to Germany in the aftermath of the Munich accords, were then under Nazi control. Exactly, one year later, on March 15, 1939, the Germans seized all of Czechoslovakia. Just six weeks before Kristallnacht as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain triumphantly proclaimed “peace in our time” following the ill fated Munich deal signed with Hitler, the horrors of Crystal Night shattered any such illusions of peace. A full page advertisement in the London Jewish Chronicle one week later in an appeal for German Jewry simply stated, “HELP! Before it is too late.” The British did react with a gesture. The Kindertransport presented to the British Parliament on November 15, 1938, allowed for 10,000 German and Austrian Jewish children to be brought into Great Britain. The first train left December 10, 1938 with six hundred children. The Cleveland Plain Dealer noted: ‘The Jews are not the sole sufferers. This is a pogrom against Christian civilization itself.’ Many Americans realized after Kristallnacht, known then as ‘Black Thursday,’ that along with the Jews, all Western civilization was in danger. One newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted that “The Jews are not the sole sufferers. This is a pogrom against Christian civilization itself. Decent world opinion and civilized governments cannot remain indifferent or silent.” United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt did extend the visas for 12,000-15,000 German Jewish refugees who were already in the US as visitors but would not change US immigration policies. At a White House Press conference, Roosevelt expressed shock at the news of the pogrom, “I myself could scarcely believe that such things could occur in a twentieth century civilization.” When asked if immigration restrictions would be relaxed, he responded, “This is not in contemplation. We have a quota system.” Roosevelt’s position mirrored the views of most Americans. According to a Fortune Magazine poll after Kristallnacht, 83% of Americans opposed enlarging quotas, 8.3% were undecided, and 8.7% were not opposed. Years of demagoguery and anti-Semitic hate mongering by the likes of Father Coughlin and Gerald K. Smith had its impact. There was revulsion at the violence but a continued unwillingness to respond meaningfully. However, President Roosevelt could have nonetheless still taken action. Economic sanctions could have been imposed on Germany. Refugees could have been permitted to settle temporarily in a U.S. territory such as the Philippines or the Virgin Islands. Jewish organizations did not protest. There were no rallies, no protests, no significant effort mounted to call for refuge. Influential leader of the American Jewish Committee, Samuel Rosenmann stated that bringing in refugees “would create a Jewish crisis in the USA.” Some members of Congress sought action. The Wagner- Rogers Bill proposed admitting 20,000 German Jewish children under the age of fourteen, but was rejected by Congress in February 1939. It never came to a vote. According to Laura Delano Houghteling, the wife of the Commissioner of Immigration, and a cousin of FDR, the problem with the Wagner- Rogers Bill was that, “Twenty thousand charming children would all soon grow into 20,000 ugly adults.” One nation offered sanctuary; the Dominican Republic under Rafael Trujillo. Dominican law #48 proposed on December 23, 1938, agreed to accept one hundred thousand Jewish refugees on their Caribbean island nation, but they were pressured by none other than the U.S. State Department to rescind their offer. What about refuge in the Land of Israel and the promises made by the British Balfour Declaration in 1917 (supported by Western nations) and the League of Nations San Remo Conference in 1920 to facilitate the creation of a Jewish State? On November 16, 1938, less than a week after Kristallnacht, the New York Times expressed its opposition to Jewish statehood in an editorial, entitled, “The Refugees,” declaring that Palestine is no answer.” They reasoned; “Even if that small state were capable of supporting a much larger population than its most enthusiastic friends believe, Palestine would serve as a refuge only for a comparatively small number of Jews, and the problem of the refugee is not limited to any group.” Tragically, the voices in support of Jewish immigration to “Palestine” were not loud enough. On May 17, 1939, the British Government, caving in to Arab pressure and Arab terror, issued the MacDonald White paper which limited total Jewish immigration into Palestine for the next five years to 75,000, negating the prior promises of Jewish Statehood. The Jewish Agency responded despondently stating, “It is the darkest hour of Jewish history that the British government proposes to deprive the Jews of their last hope and to close the road back to their Homeland.” Throughout the 1930s, nations of the world were far too tolerant of Nazism and reluctant to take any action to ameliorate the sufferings of Jewry, not coming to terms with the emerging Nazi threat that would soon endanger them as well. In today’s times, western nations have been far too tolerant of the forces of radical Islam which includes the ruling regime in Iran, Isis, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terror groups.. They threaten Israel and the West as well. Those who spoke out against the rise of Nazism in the 1930s were often labeled as war mongers. Today, those who cite the threats posed by radical Islam face the same labels and similar criticisms. After Kristallnacht, some members of the Nazi regime openly called for the genocide of the Jews. In today’s times, the Iranian regime and its supporters call for the destruction of Israel. Somehow, then and now, this rhetoric is deemed acceptable. Once again, the Jewish establishment maintains its silence in the face of the current threats, fearing the reaction of the outside world as it did seventy seven years ago. The horrors of Kristallnacht shocked the world and signaled the extreme dangers posed by the Nazi regime to the Jews and all humanity. Kristallnacht: When the Jews were Stranded by Larry Domnitch2.MKs urge PM to tell Obama: US objection to settlement building is ‘unreasonable’ By Lahav Harkov JPost.com 11/09/2015 06:44 · Netanyahu heads to US to push for $50b. military aid package Is the government quietly executing the Prawer plan for the Negev’s Beduin? Bayit Yehudi opposes reported confidence building steps with Palestinians, citing wave of terrorism. The Knesset Land of Israel Caucus called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to defend Israel’s right to a united Jerusalem and the West Bank, as he headed to Washington DC on Sunday to meet with US President Barack Obama. Fifteen lawmakers from the Likud, Bayit Yehudi and United Torah Judaism signed the letter, including caucus chairmen Yoav Kisch (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi), Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan, Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush, and coalition and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud). The letter says the MKs support Netanyahu but ask him to “clarify to the Honorable President that the State of Israel has a historic and legal right to hold and build in united Jerusalem and the regions of Judea and Samaria. “The Israeli public, whom we were elected to represent, demands that this right be exercised and put into practice, and sees American opposition to building [in those areas] as unreasonable in the framework of relations between the two countries,” the letter reads. The caucus said Netanyahu’s trip to the US should be guided by the following quote by ancient Jewish leader Simon the Hasmonean: “We did not take a foreign land and did not rule the property of strangers; rather the land of our fathers was taken unjustly, and now that we have the opportunity, we have returned it to us.” Education Minister Naftali Bennett, citing the terrorism of the past weeks, criticized the prime minister’s reported plan to propose during his talks with Obama, that Israel implement a series of goodwill gestures towards the Palestinians. “I read about the desire to grant ‘gestures’ to the Palestinians. We are in the middle of a wave of terrorism. Giving gestures is like pouring fire on the bonfire of terror,” Bennett wrote on Twitter. The Bayit Yehudi chairman added: “We can demand gestures from them: Stop murdering & inciting.” Smotrich took the message another step and tweeted: “It is unfortunate that we are continuing to sit in his government without demanding and enforcing a change in policy.” The Bayit Yehudi MK posited that without his party “there is no government.” “That gives us a lot of power,” he added. “The time has come for us to use it.” Bayit Yehudi faction chairman Yinon Magal, a signatory of the Land of Israel Caucus letter, tweeted back: “That is certainly a very serious matter that will come up in [Monday’s] faction meeting.” 3.Israel Air Force hits Hamas terror target after rocket lands in Israel · Rocket fired from Gaza, lands in open field Rocket explodes in open area in Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council Earlier Sunday, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in an open area near the border in Israel An Israeli rocket is fired into the northern Gaza Strip July 17 2014.. (photo credit:REUTERS) The Israel Air Force attacked a Hamas terrorist target in Gaza early Monday morning, a few hours after a rocket hit southern Israel. The IDF Spokesman said the air strikes were a response to the rocket attack, and that it views Hamas as being responsible for all terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip. Earlier Sunday, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in an open area near the border in Israel, the IDF said. The rocket triggered warning sirens in the Sha’ar Hanegev regional council area. There were no reports of injuries or damage. Israel Air Force hits Hamas terror target after rocket lands in Israel 4.’Russia, Iran have signed contract for S-300 missile system delivery’ · By REUTERS JPost.com 11/09/15 10:00 Iran taking key step toward implementation of nuclear accord CEO of Russian state-owned defense firm says deal has been sealed for supply of one of world’s most capable air defense systems. THE S-300 MISSILE launching system. (photo credit:REUTERS) Russia and Iran have signed a contract for Moscow to supply Tehran with S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, Sergei Chemezov, the chief executive of Russian state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying on Monday. “S-300, the air defense system, the contract has already been signed,” Chemezov was quoted as saying at the Dubai Airshow. A nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers earlier this deal has put Israel and Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies on edge: They fear Tehran’s rapprochement with the West will allow it to pursue an expansionist agenda in the region. Chemezov said Gulf countries had no reason to feel threatened by the deal. “This is defence equipment. And we are ready to offer this defense equipment to any country,” Chemezov later told Reuters in Dubai, speaking through interpreters. “So if the Gulf countries are not going to attack Iran … why should they be threatened? Because this is defense equipment.” He said that Saudi Arabia, arch-rival of Iran, had approached his firm “several times” requesting that it not deliver the equipment. “Five years ago … even now, up to now … And we said that the S-300 is not capable to attack … to reach the neighboring countries.” Earlier this month it was reported that Russian state-owned arms company Rosoboronexport said it was preparing a contract to supply Iran with the missile systems. The technology will significantly upgrade Iran’s anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic missile capabilities. Russia and its state media have made numerous statements regarding the sale or delay of the delivery of the S-300 system over the years. The often contradicting reports appear to be a propaganda operation that changes according to the country’s political interests. Russian state arms producer Almaz-Antey in June said it would supply Iran with a modernized version of the S-300, among the world’s most capable air defense systems, once a commercial agreement was reached. In 2010, under Western pressure, Russia suspended a 2007 agreement to sell five S-300 batteries to Iran under a contract then reported to be worth some $800 million. ‘Russia, Iran have signed contract for S-300 missile system delivery’ [GAIL SEZ: IF THE S-300 MISSILE SYSTEM FROM RUSSIA TO IRAN IS ALARMING, GO INTO THE JPOST.COM, THIS TITLE & TRY TO VIEW THE 2 MIN. VIDEO OF IAI’S NEW RADAR SYSTEM. It will knock THEIR socks off! BTW: The name of the new system is SPECTRA – NOT SPECTRE as in the new James Bond movie. GW] 5.WATCH: IAI unveils unprecedented radar system as long-range ballistic missile threats increase by Yaakov Lappin JPost.com 11/08/15 17:51 · IAI joins the cyberwarfare race Israel Aerospace Industries unveils advanced intelligence system for unmanned platforms TERRA radar system unveiled for early-warning and tracking of very long-range targets. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on Sunday unveiled the TERRA radar system, which is capable of early-warning detection and accurate tracking of very long-range targets. TERRA has been operating for two years already, in the service of a client that IAI declined to name. IAI subsidiary ELTA Systems, which has built the radars for all of Israel’s air defense systems, unveiled TERRA at a security facility in southern Israel on Sunday. The system is made up of two radars: The UTRA UHF band system, which ELTA unveiled earlier this year, and the new SPECTRA S-band system, which ELTA officially introduced to the international market on Sunday. Moshe Dehokerker, business development department manager, told reporters that SPECTRA is designed for long-range tracking of targets like ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hostile aircraft, and even satellite movements in space, while ULTRA’s strength lies in autonomously searching, detecting, and classifying incoming threats. Though they can work separately, the two provide an unprecedented view of incoming threats when linked up, he said. “TERRA’s enhanced performance is achieved through automatic handover and redundancy between the ULTRA and SPECTRA radars, combined with improved target load sharing, Electronic Counter- Counter Measures (ECCM) and severe-weather resilience,” IAI said in a statement. Both systems are active electronic scanned array (AESA) radars that can be set up separately, or combined. Despite their large size and weight, both can be quickly moved and set up, and SPECTRA can be mounted on a moving ship to provide a very large radar coverage area – larger than any other offshore radar system can provide. SPECTRA can “detect and classify missiles and estimate their impact time,” Dehokerker added. Together, both systems create a unified “picture of the sky,” he added. When working in synergy, the systems employ two bands, making them all-weather resilient systems that provide 360-degree coverage. SPECTRA is able to turn while tracking its targets. The system comes at a time of increasing long-range ballistic threats from Iran. According to Gal Alon, business development director at ELTA, current Iranian missiles are twice as fast and have double the range, compared to Syrian and Iraqi missile threats 10 to 15 years ago. TERRA is designed to detect long range threats as quickly and “as soon as they enter the picture,” he said. TERRA is the most mobile system of its kind in the world, he added. Officials at ELTA added that two global powers have only begun developing systems with these capabilities. It took ELTA three years to complete the research and development phase of the project. “This is a huge achievement for us,” said Alon. A number of potential clients have expressed interest in the system, including in the possibility of installing SPECTRA on a navy ship. WATCH: IAI unveils unprecedented radar system as long-range ballistic missile threats increase 6.Israel mourns death of its 5th president, Yitzhak Navon | | |
Widely considered as one of Israel’s most beloved statesmen, Navon, 94, dies at home • PM Benjamin Netanyahu: Navon was one of the finest of the nation • President Reuven Rivlin: Navon played a significant role in our nation’s meaningful junctions. Shlomo Cesana, Gideon Allon, Yori Yalon, Maya Cohen, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff Photo credit: Dudi Vaaknin |
Yitzhak Navon, who between 1978 and 1983 served as Israel’s fifth president, died Saturday at his home, at the age of 94. Navon’s casket was laid in state at the ceremonies’ plaza at the President’s Residency in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, allowing the public to bid farewell to one of the most beloved presidents in Israel’s history. Navon was laid to rest in a state service held at noon on Sunday at the Mount Herzl Cemetery, where he was entombed at Helkat Gedolei Ha’uma (“plot of the nation’s greats”), the resting place of leaders such as Theodor Herzl, President Chaim Herzog and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. President Reuven Rivlin eulogized Navon Sunday, saying his term in office had shaped the institution of the presidency in Israel. “Darling Yitzhak, our beloved president, we wanted you to stay here, with us, just a while longer, but your presence was required in the heavens,” Rivlin said. “You had the privilege to walk down your life’s path hand in hand with the State of Israel. You were a beacon, and the public always knew to look to you when the road was unclear. “Your life took you on the path of the Israeli people and the Israeli nation. Time and time again you found yourself playing a significant role in our nation’s meaningful junctions, as an adviser, a government official and educator, a diplomat and a statesman, as a minister and as president, and every event bears your unique mark, shaping the road ahead. “Now that you have come here, to the President’s Residence, for the very last time, on behalf of the people of Israel, on behalf of all Israeli presidents, I bow my head and bid you farewell.” Speaking of Navon on Saturday, Rivlin said, “Yitzhak was a noble man, a president who was a man of the people, and one beloved by the people. His door was always open to all. … He never hesitated to speak what was in his heart, nor did he hesitate to intervene when he felt it was his moral duty, even if it came at a personal and professional cost.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had been scheduled to leave for Washington on Sunday morning, postponed his departure to the afternoon so he could attend Navon’s funeral. In a statement issued shortly after he learned of the former president’s death, Netanyahu said, “I would like to express deep sorrow over the passing of Israel’s fifth President Yitzhak Navon, and send my condolences to his wife, children and grandchildren. “As David Ben-Gurion’s secretary, education minister and president, Navon was a full partner in shaping the State of Israel as a free, Jewish and democratic state. I was always impressed by the depth of his knowledge, his openness to everyone, and his deep love for the people of Israel and its heritage. As president, author and playwright he was active in promoting unity among Israel’s various communities, commemorating Sephardi Jewish communities and promoting awareness to the history of Jerusalem, in which he was born and lived his life. Navon will be remembered as one of the finest of the nation and among its greatest builders. May his memory be blessed,” Netanyahu said. Former President Shimon Peres eulogized Navon, saying, “Yitzhak was one of my closest friends for over 50 years, and he was a beloved president. His contribution to the state and the public will never be forgotten.” Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein described Navon as “a Renaissance man, a man of culture who contributed greatly to the rightful recognition of the Sephardi Jewish legacy. Navon will be remembered most of all as a man who worked tirelessly to promote education and bridge the gaps between religions, ethnic groups, and sectors in Israeli society. He was the salt of the earth.” Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) said, “Navon was a member of the founders’ generation, the people who built our national home with their bare hands. He dedicated his life to the state, and he was an admired and beloved president and a courageous, moral voice, whose cultural and educational work carved a legacy of always striving for social justice.” Meretz leader Zehava Galon said, “Today we have lost a man of peace, of love for his fellow man, and a patriot. … Navon understood what many have forgotten — that Israel’s image, both outward and inward, is directly contingent on it remaining a moral nation, unafraid of facing its own mistakes. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the Navon family.” Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid described Navon as “a unifying president, who represented a moderate, respectful and inclusive voice, the kind we are sorely lacking these days. His legacy is our duty to unite as a people and fearlessly face the radical voices on both the Right and the Left. May his memory be blessed.” The late president’s son, Erez Navon, said the family was overwhelmed by the public outpouring of love. “I thought this would be a time of personal pain and grief, but we have received a massive wave of love from everyone, and I know that everyone is grieving with us,” he told Channel 2. Navon was born in 1921 to a distinguished Sephardi family residing in Jerusalem for over 300 years, descended from Spanish Jews expelled in the inquisition of 1492. He studied education, Islamic culture and Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the early 1940s, and was a teacher until 1946, when he joined the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He served with its Arab intelligence unit until the end of the 1948 War of Independence. In 1951, Navon became the political secretary of Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who appointed him his bureau chief the following year. Navon was first elected to the Knesset in 1965, as a member of Ben-Gurion’s Rafi party, a predecessor of the Alignment party — today’s Labor. He went on to serve as deputy Knesset speaker and head of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for seven years. In 1978, Navon was named Israel’s fifth president, becoming the first president to be born in Jerusalem. When his term ended in 1983, Navon returned to politics, and in 1984 he was named deputy prime minister and education and culture minister, positions he held until 1990. His years as an elected official were marked by his tireless efforts to bridge ethnic and social gaps. He is credited with leading educational reforms that introduced Sephardi, Arabic and eastern studies to the Israeli educational system. Navon remains the only Israeli president to return to political life following his presidential term. He retired from politics in 1992. Outside of his political career, Navon was a successful author and playwright. He penned two musicals based on Sephardic folklore: “Romancero Sefardi” in 1968 and “Bustan Sefardi” (“Sephardic Garden”) in 1970. The latter achieved great success and critical acclaim, and it is still performed by Israel’s national theater, Habima. Navon is survived by his wife and two children. Israel mourns death of its 5th president, Yitzhak Navon 7.Netanyahu-Obama meeting to focus on defense aid |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to depart for Washington • New defense aid package not expected to be finalized, but U.S. officials believe Netanyahu and President Barack Obama will “sort of give their blessing” to the ongoing talks on the matter. By Shlomo Cesana, Eli Leon, Yoni Hersch, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters Photo credit: Amos Ben Gershom / GPO PM Benjamin Netanyahu & President Barack Obama during a past White House meeting |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to depart Israel on Sunday for the United States, after the funeral of our former President Yitzhak Navon, 94, z’l, where he will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington on Monday. The meeting is expected to focus on two related issues — the preservation of the Israeli military’s qualitative edge in the Middle East and the bolstering of U.S. aid to Israel to further strengthen the Israeli military over the next decade. Israel now receives $3.1 billion from the United States annually and wants $5 billion per year for 10 years, for a total of $50 billion, U.S. Congress officials told Reuters. Israeli government spokesmen declined to provide details on the defense aid talks, but one U.S. official predicted the sides would settle for an annual sum of $4 billion to $5 billion. U.S. officials said no agreement on a new aid deal would be signed during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington but that he and Obama would “sort of give their blessing” to the Memorandum of Understanding negotiations. Under the MOU, Israel may seek to expand its order of F-35 fighter jets, deliveries of which are due to begin next year. It will be the first country in the Middle East to have the fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter. Israel might also seek to buy V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor planes. A New York Times editorial published on Friday said, “White House officials do not expect a new defense agreement to emerge from this meeting [between Obama and Netanyahu]. It is hard to see how such a large increase could be justified, especially when Congress is trying to keep a lid on federal spending and is cutting back many vital programs. And Israel has long been a leading recipient of American assistance.” Netanyahu’s trip to Washington was preceded in recent weeks by visits by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen to the American capital. Monday’s meeting will mark Netanyahu’s first with Obama since world powers and Iran reached the nuclear deal in July — a deal which Netanyahu vocally opposed. At the start of Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said his talks with Obama on Monday would “revolve around recent events in the Middle East, including Syria; possible progress with the Palestinians or at least stabilization of the situation with them; and, of course, the strengthening of Israel’s security, which the U.S. has always been committed to, while maintaining Israel’s relative advantage in a changing Middle East. “I believe that this meeting is important in order to clarify the continuation of American aid to Israel in the coming decade … It will be another step toward realizing an understanding in this direction.” On Thursday, Rob Malley, Obama’s top Middle East adviser, said Obama had come to realize that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal would not be reached before he leaves office in January 2017. “The president has reached the conclusion that, barring a major shift, the parties are not going to be in the position to negotiate a final status agreement,” Malley told reporters. Regarding the impending Netanyahu-Obama meeting, Malley said, “The main thing the president would want to hear from Netanyahu is that without peace talks how does he want to move forward to prevent a one-state solution, stabilize the situation on the ground and to signal he is committed to the two-state solution.” Meanwhile, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s workers’ union is threatening to disrupt Netanyahu’s trip to Washington due to an ongoing labor dispute with the Finance Ministry. The union received approval from the Histadrut labor federation to go on strike both in Israel and abroad over what it calls the “non-implementation of wage agreements reached with the Finance Ministry.” Hanan Goder, the head of the union, said, “Foreign Ministry workers are entitled to strike at any time they see fit. … We will not hesitate to use every legal means available until wage agreements signed with us are honored.” Netanyahu-Obama meeting to focus on defense aid 8.Rare footage captures elite undercover troops in action |
Members of elite counterterrorism unit Duvdevan emerge from mob of Palestinian rock throwers, pistols drawn, to make daring arrest • Dressed to blend in, soldiers’ methods are integral part of IDF’s fight to quell current wave of terrorism. By Shlomi Diaz & Daniel Siryoti Photo credit: Reuters Undercover soldiers draw their pistols to cover their comrades during an arrest in Bethlehem. The IDF takes down the Terrorist. The Unit extracts Terrorist from scene | |
Operations conducted by undercover units have become an integral component of the IDF’s fight against rioters and terrorists in Judea and Samaria during the recent wave of violence plaguing the country. More times than not, however, the actions of these undercover soldiers, operating under extremely dangerous conditions, are hidden from the public. Now, for the second time during the recent terrorism wave, their unique methods have been caught on camera and put on public display. The IDF on Saturday released a video showing members of the elite counterterrorism unit, Duvdevan, emerging from within a mob of Palestinian stone throwers in Bethlehem and arresting one of the perpetrators. The footage was captured by a camera attached to the helmet of a soldier who participated in the operation. The soldiers, dressed in civilian gear and with headscarves covering their faces to blend in with the crowd, are seen in the video drawing their pistols and arresting the leader of the riot. Their action led to dozens of stone throwers fleeing the scene. The video was published by the IDF after Arab media outlets aired their own footage of the arrest. Meanwhile, a separate Border Police unit, operating in the vicinity against a different crowd of rioters, rushed to help the undercover soldiers extract themselves from the crowd with their detainee. An IDF spokesperson reiterated and stressed the importance of the army’s undercover units, “who under considerable risk disrupt hostile activity and help our forces overcome rioters during these clashes.” One officer added that a decision had been taken to embed the undercover operatives among the rioters in Bethlehem due to an uptick in violent encounters between Palestinians and security forces in the area. Rare footage captures elite undercover troops in action 9.Man who took down terrorist says detractors ‘shouldn’t talk’ |
Civilian who came under fire for not stopping his pursuit of terrorist in Rishon Lezion to care for the wounded says not doing so is “moral bankruptcy” and his critics are “indirectly responsible for the civilians who will be wounded in future attacks.” By Shlomi Diaz The civilian (in red oval), trained in Krav Maga, chases the terrorist |
The man, whose name has not been published, won’t forget the day soon. He was waiting in traffic on the other side of the street when he saw the agitation and understood that something unusual had happened. When he realized that it was a terrorist attack, he decided he would put his Krav Maga training to use and try to tackle the attacker, who fled into a nearby store. The man in pursuit cornered the terrorist and beat him with various objects at hand, disarming him of the knife he was holding, and choked him until he was unconscious. “My assumption was that I might be stabbed, but I saw the lives of others he was chasing, and I realized I had a responsibility for the lives of those civilians,” the man said. It should be noted that Habayit Hayehudi MK Yinon Magal has spoken up for the civilian who intervened to save others. Magal contacted him directly and wrote a Facebook post about the matter. The man also said that “in situations like these, it’s not enough for one person to go after the terrorist. Sometimes you need 10. You need to understand that this is a terrorist with a knife who intends to die, and we don’t know what we need [to do] to take him down.” He added, “I made a clear conclusion — everyone should lend a hand to the struggle against the terrorist. Not one, not two. As many people as possible. And no less important — you don’t look back at the wounded in the first stage. “The things people who lack basic fighting instincts wrote about me basically make the civilians whose lives were saved because of my pursuit [of the terrorist] fair game. They are indirectly responsible for the civilians who will be wounded in future attacks. It’s moral bankruptcy. I put myself in danger & was physically wounded, and I expect other people to do the same in future incidents. Anyone who doesn’t put his life at risk for the sake of others & doesn’t understand fighting shouldn’t talk.” Man who took down terrorist says detractors ‘shouldn’t talk’ 10.’I fought to be a combat soldier, now I’m fighting for life’Orel Ozeri recounts horrific car-ramming attack that left her in a coma for two weeks and her dream to become IDF chief of staff. By Ido Ben Porat Arutz Sheva INN.com Publish: 11/8/2015, 12:22pm Gan Shmuel attack Magen David Adom Orel Ozeri, the 20-year-old soldier seriously injured in a car-ramming and stabbing near Gan Shmuel last month, has spoken out for the first time about the attack and her recovery. “I was in a coma for 13 days, sedated, breathing through a ventilator and teetering between life and death,” “It was a miracle [I survived.] “I was training near Hevron and made my way back to my base in the north,” she recounted. “I was waiting at a bus stop near Gan Shmuel when I saw an elderly couple. I gave them my place to sit, and in the meantime spoke on the phone with a friend.” “When I hung up, the terrorist rammed into me hard.” The terrorist, a resident of Umm al-Fahm, drove his car quickly toward the bus stop, ran over Ozeri, got out and stabbed three other people before he was neutralized by security forces. “I felt the blow and flew a couple meters forward,” Ozeri described. “The terrorist hit me several times with his vehicle and the next thing I remember is all the people around me at the hospital in the intensive care unit. I was in shock. I woke up to a completely different reality.” According to Ozeri, the terrorist tried to run her over because she was wearing a uniform. “The police told me he tried to kill me, but I can’t be killed that easily,” she said, laughing. “I don’t call our army the IDF. I call it the Israeli Defense Forces,” Ozeri emphasized. “I really love our country. I wanted to enlist, to be a combat soldier since I was a little girl. I already want to return to the army.” Ozeri still has a long battle back. With doctor’s encouragement, she got out of bed and into a wheelchair for the first time over the weekend, taking in some air outside of the hospital. “I fought to be a combat soldier, and now I’m fighting to return to my life. I will continue to fight. It still hurts a lot, but the main thing is that I’m alive. Right now, I can’t walk, but I’m certain that I’ll stand on my two legs once again and show everyone what I’m capable of.” “I really want to return to my routine, to my house and friends, but I believe I will return to being a combat soldier,” Ozeri declared. “I wanted to be the first female IDF chief of staff and no terrorist will ruin my plans.” ‘I fought to be a combat soldier, now I’m fighting for life’11.Zionist group REGAVIM: State’s demolition policy is biased against Jews | |
Head of policy at Regavim Meir Deutsch: There is no precedent for the state razing a religious structure, except in the Jewish sector • Activists barricaded in Ayelet Hashachar Synagogue in Givat Ze’ev promise “steadfast” fight against demolition forces. By Yori Yalon | Photo credit: Miri Tzahi Activists dance outside the Givat Ze’ev synagogue slated for demolition |
A ruling by the High Court of Justice that the Ayelet Hashachar Synagogue in Givat Ze’ev must be demolished by next Tuesday is a clear case of “selective enforcement,” says Meir Deutsch, who heads the policy department of Regavim, a group that advocates for Zionist land policy. “There is no precedent for the State of Israel razing a religious structure, except in the Jewish sector. … There are hundreds of mosques that were built illegally, some on land privately owned by Jews. Not only does the State of Israel not enforce the law when it comes to them, this past year some 50 mosques and other religious buildings that were constructed illegally have been deemed legitimate,” Deutsch said. Deutsch argued that “in the Arab sector there are hundreds or even thousands of structures against which judicial demolition orders have been issued in recent years, but for years not one of those buildings has been razed, because the police aren’t ready to assist the enforcement entities. An entire sector can’t enjoy immunity when the law isn’t enforced equally.” Over the Sabbath, dozens of worshippers remained in the Ayelet Hashachar synagogue. On Saturday evening they were joined by other civilians, who were preparing to face off with the demolition forces when they arrive. Yehuda Puah, spokesman for the group of activists who are battling to prevent the demolition, said, “We’re sleeping in the synagogue, and there are barricades around it, as well as tires, to prevent access and hold up the demolition and evacuation forces. We will fight steadfastly. We don’t mean to give up. Until the High Court reveals who owns the land [on which the synagogue is built], the use of the term ‘private land’ is ridiculous.” Zionist group REGAVIM: State’s demolition policy is biased against Jews | | 12.EU boycotts the Jews by Judith Bergman
On Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely spoke out against the European Union’s decision to label Jewish-made products from Judea and Samaria. “Today the Foreign Minister is starting a battle against the idea of labeling,” she said. “Labeling, it’s very clear to say … it’s a clear boycotting [of] the State of Israel.” However, according to EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the decision is merely “a strictly legal technical matter which doesn’t really lend itself to any kind of negotiation.” He added, “I think that’s the framework in which it has to be seen, rather than any political move,” rejecting the notion of discussing the move with Israel. Labeling Jewish goods in order to protect squeamish and politically correct European consumers from the hazards of accidentally buying and ingesting an orange or a fig made in Judea and Samaria is obviously only “strictly legal and technical” if you are a technocrat like Faaborg-Andersen working for a bureaucracy like the European Union. For most straight-thinking people, however, it is a heavily biased, political move. For scholars of international law, it certainly is not a “strictly legal” matter but in fact an illegal move. According to Professors Avi Bell and Eugene Kontorovich, the EU’s proposed measures restrict Israeli trade in violation of international trade law: “The EU does not have a general set of rules for dealing with occupied territories, settlements or territorial administrations whose legality is not recognized by the EU. Rather, the EU has special restrictions aimed at Israel. This violates the fundamental rules of the GATT/WTO [General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization] system, under which even otherwise valid trade restrictions are void if not applied uniformly to WTO members.“ For some reason, Israel has yet to use this powerful tool against the EU, and it would not be a moment too soon for it to do so now. Over the last few years, the EU has been steadily imposing sanctions of rapidly escalating severity, and, according to Bell and Kontorovich, the EU Commission is in the process of imposing what amounts to complete exclusion on agricultural products from Judea and Samaria. There is a perversity about the labeling/boycott issue that seems to be completely lost on most Europeans, despite the obvious associations that it raises to Nazi Germany’s measures against Jewish shopkeepers. Conceivably, this is because many Europeans abhor the reminder and prefer to cast Israelis as the “new Nazis.” Perhaps this is why Faaborg-Andersen found it diplomatically opportune to make it sound as if the labeling issue is no big deal. “It’s a question of whether you are talking this up or talking it down, and there the issue is what context do you see it in,” he said. “We see it in a predominantly technical context and therefore we think that it’s really not something that ought to create a major rupture in our relationship [with Israel].” So not only should Israel take the garbage that Europe throws its way, but it should really play nice and not get all worked up about it either. This is the man, by the way, who in February 2014 told an Israeli journalist, when asked what the EU thinks about the Palestinians being pressured to recognize the Jewish state: “I don’t think we have any clear position on that because we’re not 100% sure what is meant by this concept of a Jewish state.” It is almost too precious — the Europeans, having ethnically cleansed most of the Jews on the European continent, are not 100% sure what is meant by a Jewish state. Evidently, Europeans are also not 100% sure what is meant by the concept of decency. Especially perverse is the timing of the labeling. At a time when Arabs in Israel are stabbing and shooting as many Jews as they can get their hands on, while Arab leaders incite for even more murders in the name of fighting the “occupation” and every other conceivable excuse, Europe chooses to implicitly support the attacks by giving credence to the lie that terror has a moral justification. In this way, Europeans are in fact encouraging and perpetuating the conflict, as they and the international community have been doing for decades now by consistently and one-sidedly condemning Israel, while egging the other side on in its pursuits by giving it the credible impression that it can do no wrong, no matter what. Other than that, European governments abundantly support nongovernmental organizations involved in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movements against Israel, so that one should not be fooled into thinking that official Europe is only pursuing one track in its efforts to vilify Israel. The Nazis told the German people, “Kauft nicht bei Juden” (“Do not buy from Jews”) in 1933. Clearly, over 80 years later, the urge to boycott Jews is still very strong on the European continent. Judith Bergman is a writer and political analyst living in Israel. |
EU boycotts the Jews by Judith Bergman · THE TOWER MAGAZINE November 2015 Briefing Book: ‘Surrender in Vienna: Iran Nuclear Deal’ Edy CEdy Cohen, Chair, Kedem Forum for Middle East Studies; author, The Mufti & the Jews click for full bio >> Hitler’s closest Middle East ally worked hard to be worthy of the Fuhrer’s praise. A look at the life and legacy of one of the most impactful anti-Semites of the twentieth century. Haj Amin al-Husseini, known as the Mufti of Jerusalem, has suddenly become the object of considerable public discussion. The recent controversy over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks—in which he claimed, erroneously, that the Mufti had persuaded Adolf Hitler to exterminate the Jews—has brought sudden attention to one of the most important figures in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. That’s because al-Husseini was not only the founding father of the Arab national movement in Palestine. He was also a fervent anti-Semite, the most important Nazi collaborator in the Arab world, and a political activist who worked tirelessly for the ethnic cleansing & physical destruction of the Jews in Palestine & in the Middle East as a whole. As Israelis face yet another wave of violence at the hands of Palestinians, and we ask yet again about its causes, a serious look at the Mufti’s role in crafting, justifying, and encouraging such violence becomes crucial for our understanding. For the Mufti not only founded Palestinian nationalism as we know it today, but defined it as an ideology of absolute rejectionism and even genocide. In effect, the Mufti denied that the Jews had any national rights whatsoever, and especially not in the historic Land of Israel. In this, the Mufti originated the single most important obstacle to peace in the Middle East: The Palestinian refusal to accept Jewish sovereignty and even physical presence in any part of the Land of Israel. In many ways, to understand the Mufti is to understand why the Palestinians, despite numerous opportunities to do so, still refuse to make peace. In April 1920, the victorious Allied powers convened in San Remo, Italy, to negotiate a peace treaty with Turkey, which had fought on the defeated Axis side during the First World War. As a direct result, Britain was handed the mandate for Palestine, previously a domain of the Ottoman Empire, with the understanding that London would now make good on its commitment to a “Jewish national home” as underlined by the Balfour Declaration of November 1917.However, British military officers in the field were already casting an anxious eye on Palestine’s Arab inhabitants. While one leading Jerusalem clan, the Nashashibis, was in favor of a more conciliatory policy, their main rivals, the al-Husseinis, were agitating for violent conflict with both the Jewish community and the British. In 1919, Haj Amin al-Husseini, a prominent scion of the clan, began organizing small groups of terrorists to harass and attack Palestine’s Jews. One year later, as the Allies were deliberating at San Remo, al-Husseini instigated anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem during the intermediate days of the Passover festival. Six Jews were murdered and more than 200 wounded during an orgy of destruction. Given al-Husseini’s role in encouraging the violence, the British arrested him. But one year later, newly-installed British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel, eager to dampen down tensions, pardoned al-Husseini and appointed him to the post of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. This act, Samuel said, would ensure “that the influences of his family and himself would be devoted to tranquility.” Samuel could not have been more wrong. As a direct consequence of Britain’s empowerment of him as Mufti, al-Husseini was emboldened in pursuing the aim of violently removing the Jewish presence in Palestine. Over the following two decades, al-Husseini’s hardened anti-Semitic worldview, together with his determination to extinguish any prospect of the Balfour Declaration’s promise from being realized, made him a natural Middle Eastern ally of Germany’s Nazi regime once it launched its war of conquest and genocide in 1939. Husseini (front), 2nd from Left) leads an Arab “protest gathering” 1929 Photo: Lib. Of Congress Wikipedia Within three weeks of his first meeting with Samuel, al-Husseini orchestrated riots in Petach Tikvah and Jaffa which resulted in the murders of 43 Jews. An official British inquiry into these pogroms concluded that “the Arab majority, who were generally the aggressors, inflicted most of the casualties.” Further Jewish immigration in 1925 and 1926 was the pretext for similar anti-Jewish outbursts instigated by al-Husseini, which led a nervous British administration to wonder out loud whether stricter controls on Jewish immigration should be imposed. Correctly judging that more violence would push the British into such restrictions—a policy already advocated by leading Arabists at the Foreign Office who had always opposed the Balfour Declaration—the Mufti achieved his greatest political victory in May 1939, when Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald issued the infamous White Paper that set Britain’s Palestine policy on the course of appeasing Arab desires to see the Zionist state-building project extinguished. Denounced in the House of Commons by Winston Churchill (who did not become Prime Minister until September that year) as a “moral blow,” the White Paper limited Jewish entry into Palestine to 75,000 over the next five years—this on the eve of the Holocaust. Had it not been for the Arab Revolt of 1936-39, led by al-Husseini, it is distinctly possible that British policy towards Jews fleeing Nazi persecution would have been more benign; indeed, the Peel Commission of 1937 recommended the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. However, through violent actions so extreme that he was forced to escape the country to avoid being arrested by the British, al-Husseini still managed to secure a change in British policy that condemned thousands of Jews to the burgeoning Nazi extermination program. The British appointed al-Husseini to be Grand Mufti so that “the influences of his family and himself would be devoted to tranquility.” But he only became emboldened to pursue violent incitement against the Jewish population. As well as opposing the Peel Commission’s recommendations, al-Husseini fueled violence against the Jews by claiming—much as he did during the 1920s, and much as Palestinian Authority leaders like Mahmoud Abbas today—that the Jews were intent on conquering Muslim sacred sites in Palestine, and in particular the Temple Mount site housing the al-Aqsa Mosque. This nefarious goal was the pretext for a much larger conspiracy. “Palestine does not satisfy the Jews,” al-Husseini said, “because their goal is to rule over the rest of the Arab nations, over Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, and even over the lands of Khyber in Saudi Arabia, under the pretext that this city was the homeland of the Jewish tribes in the seventh century.” For much of 1937, al-Husseini dodged the British by holing up inside the al-Aqsa compound, from where he directed the violence and terror. By the time he escaped to Lebanon in October, according to a dispatch from a German diplomat to his superiors in Berlin, “the initially small number of Arabs active in the uprising have managed in the meantime to gain the support of the entire Arab people.” Al-Husseini’s next move was to Iraq, where he arrived on October 14, 1939. He quickly amassed a group of loyal followers in the Iraqi army and government. In Baghdad, he became the standard-bearer for anti-British and pro-German sentiments. At this time, Iraq was fertile ground for these trends, with many army officers anxious to free Iraq from its dependence on Britain. In January 1941, the pro-German Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gailani was forced to step down. With the active backing of al-Husseini, al-Gailani and a group of military officers staged a coup in April 1941. While the rogue government was quickly unseated by a British invasion, the troops couldn’t get to Baghdad fast enough to prevent the Mufti striking out at the largest Jewish community in Iraq. On June 1, 1941, during the holiday of Shavuot and a day after the Mufti’s hurried flight from Iraq, a pogrom against the Jews of Baghdad broke out. Known as the “Farhud”—a term which Edwin Black, the author of a major study of this horrific episode, translates as “violent dispossession”—the riots resulted in the deaths of nearly 200 Jews, with injuries to more than 1,000. Jewish property was looted and homes were burned indiscriminately. When the carnage subsided, a commission of inquiry was set up by the new, pro-British Iraqi government. Its investigation found that the Mufti and the Nazi propaganda broadcasts he made on Nazi-sponsored radio were the primary reasons behind the slaughter. The Mufti’s incitement against the Baghdadi Jews, said the commission, served to legitimize violence against them. In effect, the Mufti and his followers were directly responsible for the pogrom. In his memoirs, the Mufti was unapologetic. He defended the Farhud as a legitimate uprising against the all-powerful Jews. Blaming the Jews for the failure of the coup he fomented, the Mufti wrote, “The Iraqi Jews were a fifth column in Iraq. One of the reports I received was that several Iraqi Jews worked in the telephone company, and they recorded official conversations and sent the contents to the British embassy in Baghdad. Additionally, Jews who worked in the post office passed every important letter they received to the embassy.” The Farhud, Baghdad, 1941. Photo Jewish Museum London These intrigues, al-Husseini insisted, triggered the Farhud. A far more credible explanation is that the Mufti, faced once again with exile, chose to take revenge on the defenseless Jews of Iraq. It should not be surprising that by the time he arrived in Berlin for his famous meeting with Adolf Hitler in November 1941, al-Husseini was regarded by the Nazis as their key Arab ally, a leader who could be installed as a collaborationist head-of-state in Palestine in the event that the German army triumphed in the Middle Eastern theater. Al-Husseini had spent over twenty years establishing precisely this position, and was in close contact with the Nazis after Hitler came to power in 1933 (in Iraq, for example, he worked closely with Fritz Grobba, the German Ambassador in Baghdad who went on to play a central role in Nazi propaganda activities throughout the Arab world and in Iran). Significantly, the meeting with Hitler, during which both he and al-Husseini restated their commitment to the “elimination” of any form of Jewish sovereignty in Palestine, took place despite Nazi Germany’s recent invasion of the Soviet Union. This indicated the value the Nazis placed on their new ally. Indeed, the Nazis quickly appointed the Mufti as the head of their Arabic-language propaganda network. They gave him a monthly budget amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, an office, and dozens of employees who received their salaries directly from the Nazi foreign ministry. In his new role, the Mufti presided over Arabic-language broadcasts on Radio Berlin. As such, he broadcast a continuing stream of incitement and anti-Semitic propaganda in Arabic for the remainder of the war. He was also responsible for the dissemination of written propaganda in Arab countries, most of which was designed to spark riots against the British and French colonial rulers. The Mufti stayed in Germany until the Nazi defeat in May 1945; during this entire period was involved in espionage, sabotage, and terrorism. Throughout, he worked tirelessly for the expulsion and slaughter of the Palestinian Jews and the Jews of the Arab nations. For example, on November 2, 1943, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Mufti organized a protest rally in Berlin. In his speech, the Mufti stated, Twenty-six years ago, the Jews received the Balfour Declaration in order to establish a Jewish national home. The British betrayed the Arabs and Islam for the sake of the Jews. The Jew is an egotistical creature. He thinks he is [a member of] the chosen people, and all the other people must serve him. The Jew is the enemy of Islam. He is the one who killed the prophet Muhammad. … The British minister, the Jew [Benjamin] Disraeli, bought the Suez Canal, & thus paved the way for the British to conquer Egypt. The Jews of Algiers helped the French to conquer Algeria. … It is incumbent on the Arabs as a whole & Muslims in particular to expel the Jews from the Arab lands. This is the best solution. This solution was used by the prophet Muhammad 1,300 years ago. … The Versailles Treaty was a disaster for Germany & the Arabs. But the Germans know how to get rid of the Jews. What brings us so close to Germany…is that Germany has never caused damage to Muslims & it fights against our mutual enemy—the Jews. But above all, they finally solved the Jewish problem for good. Time is working [against the Jews], even if the Allies are helping them.As the German’s advanced through North Africa in 1942, the same year that the Nazi regime held its Wannsee Conference to implement the Final Solution, al-Husseini was readying Arab participation in the slaughter of the Jews that would accompany German victory. In June 1942, having established close cooperation with Adolf Eichmann, one of the principal architects of the Holocaust, al-Husseini was convinced that the liberation of Palestine, and with it the destruction of the country’s Jews, was imminent. As a German Einstazkommando dedicated to this particular end assembled in Athens to await further instructions, al-Husseini proposed the creation of a “German-Arab Training Department” in Egypt that would create “regular Arab military units that will operate side by side together with troops of the Axis powers.” Continued Al-Husseini: “These units will have a morally favorable impact in the Arab countries and will draw the volunteers in the British army to their side.” These plans were scuppered thanks to the successful British counteroffensive in North Africa in the fall of 1942. The extermination unit for Palestine’s Jews that had gathered in Athens returned to Berlin. However, as the historians Klaus-Michael Mallman and Martin Cuppers have argued, The end of the Africa campaign of the Axis powers should not obscure a central fact: in the special strategic situation that developed during the summer of 1942, Rommel’s Panzer Army Africa stood on the verge of a breakthrough into Palestine. The Germans had prepared for this scenario: with the Einsatzkommando under [SS-Obersturmbannführer Walther] Rauff and certain support that could be expected from the Arab side in Palestine, the mass murder of the Jewish population in mandatory Palestine could also have been put into high gear once that breakthrough occurred. Down to the present, this plan has not become part of public historical awareness.While the prospects for the annihilation of Palestine’s Jews may have dimmed, al-Husseini’s anti-Semitic fervor remained as intense as ever. On March 19, 1943, the Mufti spoke at a mosque in Berlin, where he stated, With the help of their influence, the Jews succeeded in ruling over England and America. The proof of this is the declaration that Congress recently passed, which allows the Jews to create a national home in Palestine. … The Jews exploited the last war to settle in the Holy Land. The Jewish danger is not only to Palestine, but all the Arab states, because the Allies intend to settle the millions of Jews expelled from Europe in the Arab nations. The Arabs must fight against this scheme with all their might and put an end to these plans.The Mufti was not satisfied with this, however. Despite the military defeats experienced by the Nazis in the Middle East, al-Husseini continued to plan the annihilation of the Jews of Palestine and the Arab nations. He spoke openly about expelling the Jews of the Arab nations, but in secret, he was planning something much worse. He was working behind the scenes to set up death camps for all the Jews of Palestine and the Arab nations. In effect, he was planning a Holocaust in the Middle East. This under-examined aspect of al-Husseini’s activity was first uncovered by the Israeli researcher and journalist Haviv Canaan, who wrote several books on Nazi propaganda. Canaan discovered that the Mufti planned to build crematoriums for the Jews in the Dothan Valley in Samaria. He based his conclusions on the testimony of Faiz Bay Idrisi, a senior Arab officer in the British Mandatory police, who stated, Today, a chill runs through my body when I remember what was said in police circles and among supporters of the Mufti in those months [when German Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel was poised to invade Egypt in the summer of 1942]. Haj Amin al-Husseini was set to enter Jerusalem at the head of his aides, the soldiers of the Arab legion, which was formed out of Muslim soldiers in the German army. The [Mufti’s] master plan was to establish in the Dothan Valley, close to Shechem, giant crematoriums like Auschwitz, into which would be brought the Jews of Palestine, and the Jews of Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and even North Africa, in order to slaughter them with the methods of the S.S. who operated in the death camps in Europe.Canaan said that he met with an elderly diplomat in Germany who told him, “I cannot say with certainty what was expected in regard to the Jews of the Land of Israel. But I know that their fate would have been bitter and horrific” had Rommel had succeeded in conquering the Middle East. Canaan’s sources added that after the German defeat at defeat in North Africa in 1942, the Mufti understood that the days of the Third Reich were numbered. As a result, he made additional plans: First and foremost the slaughter of the 250,000 Jews of Tel Aviv. According to his vision, the annihilation of these Jews would rouse the Arabs to rebel against the British in countries like Egypt and spark a holy war—a jihad. The Mufti’s “holy warriors” would then liberate the Arab states under British and French colonial rule. According to Canaan, the Germans invested significant funds in these plans, and even established bases and espionage stations in various Arab states. The plan, Canaan also asserted, was considered by top German military officials and the heads of the S.S., such as Heinrich Himmler, Herman Goering, and others. Although, thankfully, his plan never came to fruition, the Mufti’s industry of hatred and anti-Semitism did succeed in sparking significant anti-Jewish violence in many Middle Eastern countries. It is not a coincidence that on November 2, 1945—the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration—synagogues in Egypt were burned and dozens of Jews killed on the streets of Cairo. On the same day, the Jews of Libya were also attacked. Hundreds of them were killed & wounded, nine synagogues were desecrated & burned, & hundreds of Jewish houses, stores, & businesses were looted & torched. The Mufti himself directly advocated the destruction of the Jewish community of Tripoli. In an entry in his diary, he described a meeting in which the Axis powers discussed their policy toward Tunisia at a time when the Nazis occupied both Tunisia and Libya, and were pushing into the rest of North Africa. The Mufti, who was then living in the house of a German Jew who had been sent to a concentration camp, wrote down several notes to bring before the meeting. “To recommend to the committee,” he wrote, “that they decide on the issue of Tunisia to ‘cleanse’ the Jews and take their money in Tripoli before it is evacuated.” Haj Amin al-Husseini meets with Adolph Hitler, November 1941 Photo Budesarchiv/Wikimedia Clearly, the brutal attacks on the Jews of Egypt and Libya were the fruit of the Mufti’s efforts over half a decade to instill Nazism, anti-Semitism, and violence in the hearts of the Arab people as a whole. Nor were his activities restricted to North Africa. In the western Balkans, he raised three SS divisions composed of Bosnian and Albanian Muslims who participated in the killing of Jews in Croatia and Hungary. Once the war was over, the Yugoslav authorities sought al-Husseini’s arrest for war crimes—as so often in his career, in 1946 he escaped French detention this time and traveled to Beirut. In his memoirs, the Mufti offered the following justification for the Final Solution: In return for the Balfour Declaration, the Jews took it upon themselves to serve the British and their policies, and to invest their best efforts so [the British] would win the war. For this reason, the Jews played a central role in sabotage and destructive propaganda in Germany at the end of World War I. This is the fundamental reason for Hitler’s war against the Jews and his intense hatred for them. They brought down disaster on Germany and caused its defeat in World War I.His opposition to Jewish immigration was expressed in the letters he sent to the foreign ministers of various Axis powers. Two of these letters were presented at the 1961 trial in Jerusalem of Adolf Eichmann, one to German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and the other to his Romanian counterpart. *** 13.5.1943 The Grand Mufti to Reichsminister of the Foreign Ministry Von Ribbentrop, Your Excellency! The English and American governments have recently conducted negotiations … with the local governments in the Balkans, and first and foremost Bulgaria, the purpose of which was Jewish immigration … to Palestine. In this regard, the English Colonial Secretary, Sir Oliver Stanley, recently expressed his happiness before the [House of Commons] that the negotiations with the Bulgarian authorities in regard to the immigration of 4,000 Jewish children with 500 adults … to Palestine, have been crowned with success, and he hopes to reach similar results with the authorities of the rest of the Balkan countries such as Romania and Hungary. But the Arabs see this Jewish immigration to their lands as a threat to their existential interests, something that causes me to turn your Excellency’s attention to this question and the damage it will cause to the Arabs. The friendly Arab people stood up without hesitation … in support of the Axis in this defensive war against communism and the Anglo-Saxons, and it expects its friends, the Axis powers … [to provide] the solution to the problem of world Jewry by means that will place the Jews under intense supervision and thus prevent the damage and danger expected from them. The immigration of the Jews from the lands where they have lived up to now, and their concentration in the Near East, will allow them undisturbed contact with the rest of the world’s Jews, and the exploitation of the important warlike knowledge they have collected … and their well-disguised existing organizations to the benefit of the Allies, and in this they would be more dangerous and more damaging than they have been up to now. I would therefore ask your Excellency to do everything necessary in order to dissuade Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary from carrying out the Jewish-Anglo-American plan and to give this question your special attention. In this way, you would do a service to the friendly Arab people that will never be forgotten & at the same time, prevent coordination & collaboration by the elements arrayed against you. With Great Respect, Amin al-Husseini *** Rome, June 28, 1943 To His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Your Excellency! It is without doubt known to you that there is a war between the Arabs and the Jews in Palestine, a long and bloody war, the reason for which is [the Jews’] desire to establish for themselves a national home, a Jewish state in the Near East, with the aid of England and the United States of America. This in fact exposes the eternal Jewish ambition: To rule over the entire world from the strategically important center of Palestine. And amongst their main goals was always their plan for the immigration of the European Jews to Palestine and the other Near Eastern countries. However, the war and the certainty of the [Axis powers] regarding the role the Jews played in causing the outbreak of the war and their filthy plots against the nations in which they had found shelter until then … justify placing [the Jews] under vigorous supervision, which would put an end to their immigration to Palestine or elsewhere. Recently, the unceasing efforts by the Jews and the English to gain permission for the Jews who live in your lands to leave for Palestine by way of Bulgaria and Turkey has come to my attention. I am also aware that these appeals ended in success, because … a Jewish delegation of 75 people, among them several important figures, arrived in Palestine at the end of March of this year. The Jewish Agency, which supervises the implementation of the Jewish plan, published a bulletin that includes important information on the negotiations undertaken between the English government and the governments of the affected nations in order to transfer the Jews from the Balkans to Palestine. [The Jewish Agency] emphasizes among other things the attainment of enough certificates … for the immigration of 1,800 Jewish children accompanied by 200 adults. … Allowing these Jews to leave … will not in any way solve the Jewish problem, and will not defend your nation from their evil attacks. Quite the opposite, this escape will allow them a free hand to unify with the brothers of their race in the enemies’ lands and to establish an entrenched position with dangerous influence over the results of the war. Especially because of and thanks to their long residence in your country, it is inevitable that they have in their hands many secrets about your war effort. In addition to this, there is the great evil that will be done to the friendly Arab people who took part in this war on your side and has only the best feelings and intentions toward your country. For this reason, I ask your Excellency to … prevent the Jews from leaving your country for Palestine. If there are reasons that require their expulsion, it is more … desirable for them to leave your countries for another place, where they will be under active supervision, such as Poland, for example, and in this way to guard against their dangerousness and prevent the damage you can do. Your Excellency will please accept my greatest admiration. There can be no doubt that Al-Husseini hold a major share of the culpability for the killing of thousands of Jews who, because of him, could not escape to Palestine. Instead, they were deported to Auschwitz and other concentration camps, where they were condemned to forced labor, brutalized, and murdered. Al-Husseini knew full well that this would be their fate; after all, he had been working towards this end since 1919.Taken as a whole, the Mufti’s career is one of radical political evil. He fomented anti-Semitic beliefs and anti-Semitic violence in Palestine and throughout the Arab world. Though he was not an architect of the Holocaust, he knew about it, collaborated with it, and did everything he could to ensure that the Nazi extermination machine would ensnare as many Jews as possible. Even worse, perhaps, he worked toward a second Holocaust in the Middle East, one that, together with the European Holocaust, might well have resulted in the near-complete annihilation of the Jewish people. Almost as important is the Mufti’s influence over the Arab national movement in Palestine that he founded. Today, Palestinian leaders still revere the Mufti and embrace his policy of absolute rejectionism. His tactics of incitement are employed by supposedly moderate groups like Fatah and leaders like Mahmoud Abbas, whose recent claims regarding the Temple Mount were identical to those made by the Mufti. And the Mufti’s openly genocidal stance toward the Jews and his emphasis on radical Islamic ideology finds expression in the actions and beliefs of Hamas. It is only when the Palestinians finally reject the Mufti and his poisonous legacy that peace will, at last, become possible. |
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