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MEF Hosts D.C. Conference on Qatar’s Malign Influence

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The Middle East Forum hosted experts, officials and over 100 attendees on February 6 in Washington, D.C. for a first-of-its-kind conference examining whether Qatar is a U.S. ally or global menace. (Click here for conference videos, a list of speakers, and panel topics.)

“It’s not too much of an open question,” said MEF president Daniel Pipes, noting the#QatarTheMenace Twitter hashtag. “The wealth of the country and the drive of its leadership have made it into an international force.”

“We need to know who our friends are and who our foes are,” said Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS) in opening remarks. “You can’t be both.”

Members of Congress, area experts, former military officials, former intelligence officials, and analysts, from the U.S., UK, Germany and Israel, made it clear that Qatar is no friend; providing new ideas and information for journalists, politicians, policy-makers and the public.

“The Qatari regime has covertly and openly funded, hosted and supported jihadists for decades,” said MEF director Gregg Roman. “But its support for jihadi groups does not just stop at violence. It also goes into the realm of spreading non-violent Islamism in the West, which is hardly ever discussed, despite the billions of dollars that Doha has poured into schools, universities, mosques, TV stations, sports clubs, PR firms, and of course, into the pockets of politicians and their influencers.

“The idea that Saudi Arabia – which has put itself on the path toward reform – somehow remains the world’s chief sponsor of Islamism and jihad is out-dated and needs to be corrected. This role now belongs to Qatar, which must be held to account.”

“Let’s take this message to the world,” concluded Mr. Pipes.

  • Qatar as an Islamist Benefactor – Qatar funds Islamic extremists operating lawfully across the world, from Bangladesh to North America. It spreads Islamist ideology through the Qatar Foundation, which has injected at least $8 million into American public schools, and provided contracts and monetary gifts worth at least $720 million to U.S. universities since 2011.
  • Understanding the Iranian-Qatari-Turkish Alliance – Qatar has built close ties with fellow Islamist regimes, including Turkey and Iran, while providing Tehran with access to foreign currencies. “We have seen Qatar become increasingly cozy with Iran,” said Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI). “Qatar is clearly a problematic country, but to this point the United States has not taken enough action.”
  • Qatar’s New Influence War – A range of Qatari lobbying, cyber espionage, and disinformation efforts against U.S. citizens and others around the world have been exposed in recent months. “The reason they’re so ‘helpful’ in counter-terror operations is because they know all the terrorists – because they fund them,” said Jim Hanson, president of the Security Studies Group.
  • A Global Media Empire – Qatar uses Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-owned news outlet, and other media assets to promote hard-line Islamism and hatred of the West, Israel and America. “There is a mistake made in our analysis: the major problem is not that Al-Jazeera has false information, and not that it is deeply anti-American, or even anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic,” said former State Department official Alberto Fernandez. “Rather the greatest problem is that it has mainstreamed and normalized an Islamist grievance narrative that enables radical Islamist movements.”
  • The FIFA Fraud – Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup was marred by controversy, from allegations of bribery to allegations from Amnesty International of rampant modern-day slavery resulting in the death of thousands of migrant workers. “If you think politics has dirty undertones, you should take a look at the world of sport and football,” said Jaimie Fuller, president of the Foundation for Sports Integrity.
  • Qatari Victims Speak Out – A terror victim, a prominent rabbi hacked by Qatar, a parent of an American murdered by terrorists, and a human rights lawyer, in conversation. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, “America’s Rabbi,” demands a proper moral accounting by those Jewish leaders who took Qatar’s influence money (at 38:12 in the video).
  • A Conversation – Catherine Herridge, chief intelligence correspondent for Fox News, and Gen. (ret.) Charles Wald, former deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, discuss a range of issues, including the U.S. Air Force base in Qatar and the need to focus on Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner of the U.S and counterweight to Qatar.

Iran Supreme Leader Wishes Death on Trump, Bolton, Pompeo

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wished death upon President Donald Trump and senior cabinet officials in a series of Twitter messages Friday justifying his country’s routine chants of, “Death to America.”

Khamenei appeared to be adopting the administration’s own rhetoric, which has focused on eliminating Khamenei’s hardline regime in Iran and liberating the Iranian people from its control.

“As long as the U.S. practices savagery and vice, the ‘Down with USA’ won’t get off the Iranian nation’s tongue,” Khamenei tweeted.

“The U.S. regime is the embodiment of evil, violence, creating chaos, and warmongering. The U.S. regime has always lived off trespassing for fulfilling its interests,” the leader continued. “The U.S. is the embodiment of evil, then they complain why we chant ‘down with USA’?”

The leader’s comments come as the Trump administration moves to further tighten economic sanctions on Iran in a bid to choke off its funding streams and end the country’s military efforts in Syria, Yemen, and other regional hotspots.

Next week, U.S. officials and their counterparts from several nations, including key Arab allies, will meet in Warsaw, Poland, to discuss Iran’s increasingly provocative military efforts and plan ways to stop the country.

Iran is believed to have “sleeper cell” militants stationed across the United States, experts informed lawmakers in 2018, as the Washington Free Beacon previously reported

Iranian agents believed to be tied to the terror group Hezbollah have been found in the United States, fueling concern Tehran could order a strike inside America should tensions between the Trump administration and Islamic Republic reach a boiling point.

Saeed Ghasseminejad, a senior adviser on Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Free Beacon the threats by Iran’s supreme leader should be “taken seriously” by American officials.

“Khamenei leads not just one but several terrorist organizations and his direct threats against top US officials such as President Trump, NSA Bolton, and Secretary Pompeo should be taken seriously,” he said. “Not only Tehran has had several successful assassination operations in Europe, but it has also shown that it has the will and capabilities to plan such campaigns in the United States.”

The U.S. should undertake an investigation into Iran’s terror networks in order to pinpoint threats and shut them down, Ghasseminejad said.

“At this point, a complete investigation of networks close to Tehran is necessary and long overdue,” he said. “Washington should reduce Tehran’s capabilities to initiate malicious operations in the US by decisive actions against pro-mullahs networks in the United States.” (WFB)

Austria to Pay $1.7 Million for Hitler’s Home

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Austrian court orders government to pay owner of the house where Nazi leader was born $1.7 million over a compulsory-purchase row

An Austrian court has ordered the government to pay the owner of the house where Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was born 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) over a compulsory-purchase row, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Ried im Innkreis district court said the state must substantially increase the amount it paid for the house in nearby Braunau am Inn, “taking into account the particular feature that the main building was the birthplace of Adolf Hitler”, the local Oberösterreichische Nachrichten newspaper reported.

The government took control of the building in December of 2016, after MPs approved an expropriation law specifically aimed at the property.

The move came after years of wrangling with the owner of the home, Gerlinde Pommer, who had been renting the house to the interior ministry since the 1970s and refused to sell it or carry out essential renovation works.

Pommer has campaigned to be compensated in full for the loss of her property ever since.

The $1.7 million that the court ordered the government to pay her was exactly what her legal team said the building and its adjacent parking lot were worth on the basis of a property survey.

The state has not yet said whether it intends to appeal against the ruling, the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper reported.

Hitler’s family rented a top-floor apartment in the building for a few years around of the time of his birth in 1889. The family moved to Passau, just on the other side of the Austrian-German border, when he was three years old.

The property was bought by Martin Bormann, a close aide of Hitler, in 1938 and was placed under state protection. Austria returned the estate to its original owners after the war.

The government had leased the building for decades, but Pommer terminated the rental agreement in 2011 when the government wanted to renovate the property to make it more wheelchair accessible.

Hitler’s birth home has attracted neo-Nazis and other extremists for years, with extremists making the trip to Braunau to take a picture in front of the building.

Glorifying the Nazi era is a crime in Austria. (INN)

Jewish Model Elizabeth Pipko Harassed After Coming Out As Trump Supporter

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Jewish model Elizabeth Pipko kept her work for President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign a secret, fearing she would be ostracized by the liberal fashion world. Last month she came out as pro-Trump, and she’s already being called a Nazi.

The 23-year old started off as a volunteer for the campaign, but was eventually hired full-time. Late last year she got married to a man she met on the campaign, and who is already working on Trump’s reelection campaign.

The wedding was at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. She said the president didn’t make it because he was dealing with negotiations over the government shutdown, but she wore a Make America Great Again hat on the dance floor anyway.

She came forward with her story to the New York Post in January, telling the paper she is “hoping to take part in the reelection in some capacity” and has no plans to hide her support for Trump this time around.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW8I4R9FAzE/

“Now that it’s been two years since the election, I don’t want to keep silent any longer,” she said. “Even if that means saying goodbye to modeling forever.”

The response to her decision has been vile, she says.

“Since admitting my support for the President and my work for the 2016 Trump campaign, I have been the target of some extremely inappropriate comments and insults,” she told the Daily Wire. “The fact that anyone would go out of their way to call me a Nazi, a word I take extremely seriously both as a Jew and as a person whose family was affected by the Holocaust, is extremely hurtful and a terrifying experience that nobody should have to experience in this country, especially for simply supporting their president.”

Her support for the president was pretty obvious to anyone who followed her on Instagram. She was at the White House for both its Independence Day and Christmas parties and, unlike the president’s detractors, she clearly loves America.

Pipko is defending her support for the president, saying she thinks he’d have a lot more support if people made the effort to learn his actual views.

“Google it, read the facts, watch the videos; the president didn’t say everything you think he said,” Pipko said. “If everyone did the research and didn’t listen to everyone around them, they’d be a lot more positive about the country.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGSbAm9Ku0Y/

(Washington Free Beacon)

Why the US Should Officially Label This Muslim Brotherhood Leader a Terrorist

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Yusuf Al-Qaradawi is a Qatari-based nonagenarian cleric wanted in Egypt in connection to violent protests following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government of Mohammad Morsi. (Photo Credit: Investigative Project on Terrorism)

Last December, Interpol quietly removed a “red notice”—a computerized flag notifying police across the world that an individual is wanted for arrest by an Interpol member state—from Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, a Qatari-based nonagenarian cleric wanted in Egypt in connection to violent protests following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government of Mohammad Morsi.

Qaradawi has long been central to the ongoing conflict between Qatar and its Gulf and its Arab neighbors—Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain—who accuse the small peninsula state of harboring and funding Islamist terrorists and insurrectionists who seek to destabilize the region. The red notice dismissal is a win for Qaradawi’s patron, Qatar, which has refused to distance itself from the Muslim Brotherhood cleric despite this intense diplomatic and economic pressure. While Qatar updated terror designations last year in response to international criticism, it has stubbornly defended Qaradawi.

It is not immediately clear whether the decision to remove the “red notice” was taken at Qatar’s direct intercession. But it is clearly a reflection of how the smaller nation has skillfully wielded influence in a manner that outsizes its larger neighbors. This influence has allowed Qatar to defiantly ignore international criticism over its record of playing host and supporter to terrorists and extremists, especially Yusuf Qaradawi.

To understand why Qatar remains defiantly supportive of Qaradawi requires understanding the significant role he plays in Qatari affairs and in Qatar’s larger influence strategy.

Qaradawi is perhaps best known in the West for his vitriolic anti-Semitism on the Qatari state-run media outlet Al Jazeera and fatwas supporting the use of suicide bombings by the terrorist group Hamas. In 2008, the U.S. government designated the Qaradawi-led international charitable coalition known as “The Union of the Good” for its role in financing Hamas.

The Israeli Security Agency has described the Union of the Good as “the umbrella organization for Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic charity funds.” Union of Good members have been found to support other jihadist groups, including Al Qaeda affiliates.

Qaradawi has been fundamental to the rise of Qatar since he was granted citizenship there after fleeing the crackdown on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1960s. Qaradawi remains an influential spiritual leader and ideologue for the Islamist group. He has twice declined offers to become the Brotherhood’s supreme guide.

As U.S. Ambassador Chase Untermeyer wrote in a 2005 State Department cable, Qaradawi is “the only Islamic thinker in Qatar who matters,” and since his arrival in Qatar, he has wielded tremendous influence throughout Qatar’s religious, media, education, financial and charitable sectors, as a friend and confidante of the reigning al-Thani family.

Qaradawi helped establish the Qatari education system and has been deeply involved with the Qatar Foundation, a nominally independent nonprofit that serves as a vehicle for promoting Qatar’s influence. In particular, the Foundation’s Education City, which has agreements with many U.S. colleges and universities, also hosts the Foundation-run Al-Qaradawi Centre for Islamic Moderation and Renewal and the Qaradawi Scholarship for Islamic Studies. Using the legitimacy provided by U.S. colleges, the Qatar Foundation has promoted Islamist narratives to U.S. teachers.

Qaradawi has played a significant role in the Qatari banking system as an advisor to Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), and the Qatar National Bank (QNB). All these Qatari banks have been blacklisted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over their alleged role in facilitating terror finance.

Outside of Qatar, Qaradawi also exerts great influence. With Qatari support, Qaradawi established an international network for promoting the Brotherhood’s objectives, which he described in a 1996 meeting in Toledo, Ohio as the conquest of the West “through dawah” a term that translates as “proselytizing,” but is often used by the Muslim Brotherhood to refer to their brand of ideological indoctrination.

At the international level this is done through the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), best known for its 2004 fatwa authorizing the targeting of Americans in Iraq, including civilians. Qatar’s opponents have designated the IUMS as a terrorist organization as part of their effort to combat Qaradawi’s international apparatus.

In Europe, Qaradawi spreads his message through the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) and the Federation of Islamic Organizations of Europe (FIOE), organizations led by Muslim Brotherhood operatives. Qaradawi has also been influential in the United States, serving as an inaugural trustee for the Islamic Society of Boston, a mosque with connections to more than a dozen terrorists convicted, deported, or killed by police, and founded by a convicted Al Qaeda financier.

Qaradawi provides Qatar access to an international network of committed Islamist activists throughout the West, who are willing to support Qatari policy goals. In turn, Qaradawi’s global reach is bolstered in large part due to Qatari state sponsorship. It is because of Qaradawi’s unsavory ties to Islamists across the globe, not in spite of them, that the Islamist cleric receives Qatar’s full-throated support, ignoring the protestations of their fellow Arab states, and U.S. and European criticism over Qaradawi’s violent rhetoric and terror finance ties.

Because of Qaradawi’s centrality to Qatar’s strategy of using Islamist networks to expand its influence, Qatar can be expected to continue to protect the Brotherhood cleric from international counterterrorism efforts, despite any negative repercussions. Western policymakers should come to understand that the Qatari regime won’t willingly change its stripes. The termination of the “red notice” reflects the mistake of relying on international institutions to police extremists like Qaradawi.

Fortunately, the United States has ready-made tools at hand for addressing this challenge. Most appropriately, the U.S. Treasury can add Qaradawi to the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list for his role in leading the already designated Union of the Good. Expanding designations to other Qaradawi-led organizations based on intelligence gathered about Qaradawi’s network in cooperation with the United States’s Arab allies would tighten the screws still further.

Given Qaradawi’s centrality within Qatar’s system of finance and influence, designating Qaradawi would place real pressure on the Qatari regime in a way that cannot easily ignored. (Middle East Forum)

(Article originally appeared in The Federalist)

Kyle Shideler is the director of the Counter Islamist Grid, an initiative of the Middle East Forum. Kyle has written for numerous publications and briefed legislative aides, intelligence, and law enforcement officials and the general public on national security issues.

19-Year-Old Jerusalem Murder Victim Identified as Ori Ansbacher

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Police discovered “signs of violence” on  Ansbacher’s body, which was found on Thursday evening in a nature area south of Jerusalem.

On Friday, Israel Police identified Ori Ansbacher, 19, as the Jerusalem murder victim whose body was discovered on Thursday evening.

While a judicial gag order was imposed protecting details related to the investigation, initial reports indicate that “signs of violence” were found on Ansbacher’s body.

Police discovered her body in Ein Yael, a popular Jerusalem nature area nestled between the Biblical Zoo and the Arab village of Walaja. Ansbacher was reported missing on Thursday.

The Tekoa native was fulfilling her year of national service at a youth center in Jerusalem and was remembered by her parents as a “a holy soul seeking meaning, with a sensitivity for every person and creature and an infinite desire to correct the world with goodness,” Times of Israel reported.

In addition to identifying Ansbacher as the victim, Israeli law enforcement announced that “all possible motives” are being explored with the assistance of Israel’s internal intelligence service, the Shin Bet.

Ansbacher was laid to rest at 1:30 p.m. Friday afternoon at the Tekoa cemetery.

Investigators and security officials swarmed the site Friday morning where Ansbacher’s remains had been discovered.

While several Palestinian Arab suspects had been detained for questioning, they were quickly freed. (WIN & INN)

American Jews Thank Trump in Full Page New York Times Ad

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Praise for Trump efforts to combat Anti-Semitism, criticism for Dem support for anti-Israel causes

American Jewish leaders took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times on Thursday to thank President Donald Trump for his efforts to combat anti-Semitism across the globe and criticize Democrats for their open embrace of causes advocating the destruction of Israel.

Click here to see the full ad

The advertisement, signed by more than 50 leading American Jewish voices, comes on the heels of Trump appointing Elan Carr as the new State Department Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism, a post that has become increasingly important in recent years as anti-Semitism and violence against Jews flourishes across the globe, particularly in Europe.

“Thank you, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for the appointment of Mr. Elan Carr as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism,” states the ad, which was purchased by the Republican Jewish Coalition.

“Anti-Semitism must be confronted and defeated,” the advertisement declares. It also contains a direct quote from Trump in which he declares, “The scourge of anti-Semitism cannot be ignored, cannot be tolerated, and it cannot be allowed to continue.”

“We wish to congratulate and to thank President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the entire Trump administration for the recent appointment of Mr. Elan S. Carr to the position of State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism ranks among the oldest, most destructive forms of bigotry,” the advertisement says.

“It is a scourge that has plagued mankind. From the Nazi regime’s genocide of six million Jews to the October 27, 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that claimed the lives of eleven Shabbat worshipers, anti-Semitism is responsible for a multitude of history’s most heinous atrocities,” it continues.

“As United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has observed, anti-Semitism ‘is on the rise in all parts of the world,'” the ad states. “Hatred of the Jewish people can be heard in the voices of those who call for boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning the world’s only Jewish state.”

The leaders also criticize the Iranian regime for its anti-Semitic comments and calls out a new class of freshman Democrats who have advocated in favor of Israel boycotts.

“While the Iranian Majlis has long demonized Israel, anti-Semitic voices can now be heard in the halls of the British Parliament and even the U.S. Congress,” the ad states. “We thank President Trump for his courageous, clear eyed leadership in engaging in the fight to defeat anti-Semitism. We stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump in saying, ‘Never Again,’ and we pledge our full commitment to helping his administration, including Special Envoy Carr, in the days, weeks, and months to come.” (Washington Free Beacon)

 

Netanyahu’s Likud Nudges Higher in Opinion Poll

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The prime minister would win 32 seats in the 120-seat Israeli parliament, according to a poll released by Kan public broadcasting.

A day after holding a primary election to determine the party’s list for the April 9th Knesset election, the Likud received positive news Wednesday night of a slightly better showing in a public opinion poll.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party would win 32 seats in the 120-seat Israeli parliament, according to a poll released by Kan public broadcasting. A poll aired the same day by Channel 20 television showed the Likud gaining only 30 seats.

Poll results released over the previous week gave the Likud 29 to 31 seats.


The Likud’s closest challenger is the Israel Resilience party, headed by former military chief Benny Gantz. Both Kan and Channel 20 showed his party winning 22 seats. The Yesh Atid party of MK Yair Lapid, a former finance minister, would gain 11 or 12 seats. There have been reports of efforts to bring Lapid’s party into a joint list to run with Israel Resilience, which according to polling, could defeat the Likud.

However, Yesh Atid sources are now denying that Lapid would be drawn into a joint campaign, insisting that he represents the only alternative to replace Netanyahu as prime minister. Gantz will be heading a list that already includes a new party headed by another former military chief, Moshe Ya’alon.

The New Right party of current cabinet ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked has lost significant ground since they first announced on December 29th that they were bolting the Jewish Home party. In the immediate aftermath of their move, New Right was gaining support to earn as many as 14 seats, but Wednesday’s Kan poll showed the party with only seven seats.

If center-left lists join forces ahead of the Knesset election, there could be a similar move on the right, according to political observers.

Netanyahu said that he was “very, very” pleased with the results of his party’s primary on Tuesday, though bitter rival Gideon Sa’ar finished high on the party list despite Netanyahu’s call on Likud members not to vote for Sa’ar.

The prime minister reportedly has said that despite Sa’ar’s strong showing in the party election, he would not be appointed to a senior position in the next government if, in fact, Netanyahu is still at the helm. (WIN)

 

Historic Deal: US Agrees to Purchase Israel’s Iron Dome

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In its first-ever purchase of a complete weapons system from Israel, the U.S. inked a deal for the Iron Dome.

The U.S. Army announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to purchase Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

The agreement is historic, marking the first time Israel has sold a standalone weapons system to the U.S., which typically fields weapons that are superior to other countries.

“The Iron Dome will be assessed and experimented as a system that is currently available to protect deployed U.S. military service members against a wide variety of indirect fire threats and aerial threats,” U.S. Army Col. Patrick Seiber said in a statement.

“While Iron Dome has been in operational use by the Israeli Air Force since 2011 and proven effective in combat, it should be noted that the U.S. Army will assess a variety of options for its long-term IFPC solution,” the statement read. IFPC stands for Indirect Fire Protection Capability.

“No decisions have been made regarding the fielding or experimentation of Iron Dome in specific theaters,” Seiber said.

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Israel’s ministry of defense in a statement on Wednesday said, “The Iron Dome system will be tested as a defense system for deployed U.S. military forces against a wide range of ballistic and airborne threats and will be tested in the long term as part of a range of possible responses by the U.S. military to defense against air threats.”

Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benjamin Netanyahu said: “A great achievement for Israel, this is yet another expression of the strengthening of our strong alliance with the U.S. and an expression of Israel’s rising status in the world. Israel has an Iron Dome and an iron fist. Our systems know how to deal with any threat, both in defense and in attack. I would not recommend our enemies to try us.”

According to Inside Defense, the U.S. Army wants “two Iron Dome batteries to provide ground forces an interim capability by 2020 against unmanned air vehicles, mortars, rockets, artillery and cruise missiles.” (WIN)

Innovating for the Environment: The Israel Innovation Authority, the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry will support the establishment of a new technological innovation lab specializing in environmental protection and sustainability with NIS 14 million

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Corporations are called upon to submit proposals in a competitive process for the establishment and operation of a technological innovation lab

 

Anya Eldan, VP of the Israel Innovation Authority and Head of the Startup Division: “Our vision is that the innovation lab will develop into an entire ecosystem of unique startups, investors, and Israeli and multinational companies that will help implement innovative technologies and impact the lab with their vast experience in the industry.”

 

Galit Cohen, Senior VP of Planning, Policy and Strategy at the Ministry of Environmental Protection: “The Innovation Lab project is designed to promote early enterprises and is a significant and additional layer to the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s work in promoting Israeli environmental technologies and supporting commercial proofs of concept of mature projects. The lab will also give traditional industries access to innovative environmental technologies that can be implemented to improve Israel’s environmental performance.”

 

Oz Katz, Head of the Industries Administration at Ministry of Economy and Industry: “The Ministry of Economy and Industry promotes environmental and emerging industries through numerous assistance programs – this lab being one of them. Achieving environmental sustainability goals has massive economic potential, including higher rates of productivity and industrial innovation. The lab will promote more sustainable manufacturing processes and implement innovative methods that solve industry-based environmental requirements.”

 

February 7, 2019 – Jerusalem – The Israel Innovation Authority, the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry have embarked on a new initiative to support the establishment of a new technological innovation lab that will specialize in the fields of environmental protection and sustainability. The corporations that will establish the laboratory will receive funding to build out a unique technological infrastructure and ongoing lab operations, as well as financing for participating startups to create their “proof of concept.” The overall government investment in the program stands at NIS 14 million.

 

Israeli and foreign corporations interested in exploring open innovation in such an innovation lab, and that wish to bolster Israel’s unique tech ecosystem, are invited to submit proposals. The innovation laboratory will be established and operated by those corporations that win a competitive tender to run the lab for a three-year period. Under this model, the lab will scout for startups in the fields of environmental protection and sustainability and support their proof of concept projects. This involves providing startups with access to technological infrastructure, assisting them in determining their product’s commercial viability, supporting project execution, opening marketing channels, exposing them to know-how and expertise, and creating connections with investors, partners, and corporate clients.

 

The cooperation between the entrepreneurial community and industry will improve the competitive performance of these startups and the cleantech ecosystem in Israel. The lab will also serve as a broad platform for cooperation between industry and academia and serve as a source of growth and strategic development for participating companies.

 

Companies that win the tender to operate the labs will receive financial support of 33% of the cost of setting up technological infrastructure (50% if the lab is established in peripheral areas), at a maximum of NIS 4 million, as well as financial support of 50% of the costs of ongoing lab operations, at a maximum of NIS 500,000 per year over the course of three years – with no requirements for financial investment in the startups accepted to the lab.
Companies selected to participate in the lab will be eligible for financial support of up to 85% of the approved project’s budget up to a maximum of NIS 1 million and for up to a one-year operational term.

 

The new lab will be part of the Israel Innovation Authority’s existing innovation labs program, operating via incentive track number 29 – which, since its launch in 2017, has already established five technological innovation labs, all active today. Under the framework of this program, the Israel Innovation Authority is launching a competitive process to establish a new innovation lab for which the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection will provide data, information, and regulatory assistance to the new lab.

 

The current initiative is part of an Environmental Protection Ministry program started in 2018, when the ministry and the Israel Innovation Authority joined forces to create pilot programs to support Israeli environmental technologies ripe for commercial application on an industrial scale.

 

The Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry seeks to leverage opportunities created by environmental regulations by developing new industrial technologies that improve productivity while reducing pollution, according to existing regulations. Priority will be given to a technological innovation lab in the field of environmental protection and sustainability that provides solutions for processing and manufacturing industries with high pollution rates and in proximity to population centers.

NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY IS CUTTING THE RIBBON ON ITS NEW ACADEMIC COMPLEX!

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New York—Faculty, students and staff of the New York City College of Technology (City
Tech) will join friends and invited officials in cutting the ribbon on its new Academic Complex this
Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2019.
To honor the new home of its clinical healthcare and sciences programs, City Tech invites you to join in
on the ribbon-cutting festivities!
WHAT: City Tech New Academic Complex Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Followed by a Reception and Building Tours
WHEN: Thursday, February 14, 2019 at 12:30pm
WHERE: New Academic Complex, New York City College of Technology
285 Jay Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
WHO: Faculty, staff, students, friends and invited officials including
President Russell K. Hotzler, City Tech
Hon. Eric L. Adams, Brooklyn Borough President
Interim Chancellor Vita Rabinowitz, CUNY
Hon. William C. Thompson, Chairperson, CUNY Board of Trustees
Hon. Inez Barron, Chair, City Council Committee on Higher Education
Hon. Joseph Lentol, NYS Assembly
City Tech’s Academic Complex is the newest addition to the borough’s ever-expanding Tech Triangle.
The eight-story, 365,000 square foot complex is the new home of the College’s clinical healthcare and
sciences programs, a 1,000-seat theater, an 800-seat gymnasium and a wellness center. Reflecting the
College’s high-tech identity and tradition of providing economic mobility to its diverse student
population, this multi-disciplinary facility will provide generations of students with even more
opportunities to attain professional success.

WJC President Lauder Addresses Special EU Conference: “Europe is at a Turning Point – we Must Work Together to Fight Antisemitism”

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A World Jewish Congress delegation led by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder, comprising CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer and senior WJC security officials, took part Thursday in a special conference at the European Parliament under the banner The Fight Against Antisemitism: A Common Approach to Better Protect Jewish Communities in Europe – from Policy to Action. The conference was hosted by Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union and featured high-level remarks by WJC President Lauder and top EU officials.

Opening the conference, Romanian Prime Minister Dancila said: “Today Romania is a regional role model in fighting antisemitism and xenophobia. And a role model regarding education and measures taken to remember the Holocaust.”

In his address, WJC President Lauder said: “In an age when extremism seriously threatens civilization, when we face global unrest, to pick after Jews or to go after Jews is not just wrong – it is dangerous for all Europeans…. The reason we are here today is the resurgence of the age-old hatred of Jews here in Europe, once again. Is this just another cycle? Did Europe give the Jewish people a reprieve after the world was so horrified by those photographs of the skeletal bodies at Dachau and Bergen Belsen and Auschwitz? There are important lessons that we need to remember from the past, because I believe there are direct links to the growing antisemitism that we see today,” Lauder said.

The Holocaust, Lauder noted, was not just German – it was a European event. “Practically every single country on this continent, with just a few exceptions, helped the Germans round up their Jewish citizens, or conveniently looked the other way, and that is just as dangerous… All of you here in this room are leaders. We must lead by example… and we must never show indifference.” In the UN today, bias against the world’s only Jewish state runs rampant, Lauder said, and across Europe antisemites and neo-Nazis are gaining steam without repercussion.

“This is a turning point, right here and right now. Europe has a choice. You have a choice,” Lauder told the European leaders. “We are not your enemy, we never have been. We must work together, all religions, including Muslims, if our Judeo-Christian civilization is going to survive. Antisemitism eventually consumes everyone and everything. We need to form one solid line of defense against today’s evil. We must all work together to stop antisemitism. We must all work together to make Europe once again the center of human advancement. We must do this for our children’s sake. We must do this for the future of Europe. We must do this for the entire world.”

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US Not Interested in Business as Usual with Palestinians, Proud to be Israel’s Ally

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U.S. official dismisses the importance of Washington serving as an ‘honest broker’ between Israel and the Palestinians

The Trump administration does not seem to shy away from being different in how it handles many issues and its policy on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute certainly proves that point.

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The most recent example of this is a Times of Israel article, in which a senior U.S. official says that the current White House is not interested in being considered an ‘honest broker’ in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“The U.S. is a strong ally of Israel. The administration, from the president on down, is not embarrassed to defend Israel where Israel needs to be defended, whether it’s on the Gaza border, on the Hezbollah tunnels, the Syrian border, wherever it is,” the senior official said.

He dismissed the concept of an honest broker as “a vestige of talking points from decades ago.”

The current U.S. leadership has already broken the mold of previous administrations by moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem. It used the changed geopolitical situation in the Middle East, an Arab world nervous about Iran, and took advantage of various circumstances last May to move the U.S. Embassy right after President Donald Trump announced that he was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.

The result was a relative silence from the Arab world over U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital amid a predominant round of applause over Washington’s action against Tehran.

The Trump team’s read of the Arab states’ stance on the Palestinian situation is that they don’t consider it a priority, but instead as a messy situation that must be fixed.

Washington also sees Arab leaders as being less than enamored with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The lack of confidence in PA leaders partly explains the Trump administration’s view that it’s premature to speak of a full diplomatic solution and that emphasis should be placed instead on the economic plight of many of the people living in PA territory, and when dealing with the situation on the ground in those areas, talk to the people.

The U.S. view is represented in a quote from the unnamed senior American official cited in the Times of Israel who says that Washington holds regular contacts with “ordinary Palestinians” who “express deep frustration with their leadership.

“They believe that their leadership has eroded their standing in the world, not just in the U.S., but around the world,” added the American official. “They want to engage with us and they want to see what is in the plan. They want a better future, and they know the key to that involves the U.S.”

U.S. officials have said that they will announce their Israeli-Palestinian plan in the immediate aftermath of the April 9th Knesset election.

In making the December 2017 declaration on the status of Jerusalem, Trump tried to sugarcoat it for the Arab world by saying that “We are not taking a position… [on] the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved.”

In January 2018, the London-based Arabic newspaper Al Hayat reported that the PA had retained some contact with the Trump administration, despite vowing to cut off all contacts with the U.S. leadership to protest the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

In August 2018, Trump said Israel would pay “a higher price” in peace talks with the Palestinians due to his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital. Trump said the Palestinians “will get something very good” in any future negotiations.

However, the current administration is saying again that it does not believe in the concept of serving as an honest broker.

It has been a catchphrase during the many years of Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, with Palestinian officials sometimes questioning U.S. objectivity, accusing Washington of showing favoritism towards Israel, and the Israeli government at other times at loggerheads with the U.S., but still generally preferring the Americans over the Europeans and the U.N. (WIN)

Gaza Terrorists Launch Rocket into Israel, IDF Responds with Tank Strike

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Following the rocket attack, an Israeli tank fired on a Hamas post in the southern Gaza Strip, according to an IDF statement. photo: wikimedia

Residents of Gaza-belt communities were again sent running when terrorists in the Strip launched a rocket into Israel, which exploded in a field without injuring any civilians.

The calm in southern Israel was pierced again Wednesday evening when a rocket launched from Gaza streaked into the Sha’ar Hanegev region, landing in an empty field with a loud explosion.

While no one was injured, this rocket marked the second reported launch of the night, with the first missile failing to enter Israeli airspace, landing instead inside the coastal enclave, Times of Israel reported.

Following the rocket attack, an Israeli tank fired on a Hamas post in the southern Gaza Strip, according to an IDF statement. photo: wikimedia

The latest provocations from the Hamas-ruled territory arrive amid attempts by Egypt and Qatar to persuade the terror group to desist from antagonizing Israel. Qatar, for its part, has provided millions of dollars in cash to Hamas to incentivize calm, following a prolonged campaign of violent riots on the border, airborne arson terror, and rocket attacks.

There are a number of terror organizations that operate in Gaza, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and ISIS affiliates, however, Hamas holds itself out as the enclave’s official government, and is thus held responsible by Israel for all attacks that originate in the territory.

In a somewhat related development, Arabs have seized control of an archaeological site and have begun to illegally pave a parking lot, according to Regavim, an Israeli nonprofit that specializes in land rights issues.

The Tomb of the Prophet Samuel is considered a holy site by all three major faiths. Hundreds of thousands visit the site each year, which offers a panoramic vista of Jerusalem.

The area was declared a national heritage site and the rich archaeological remains, dating back to the Second Temple era, as well as the ancient oak trees that cover the hilltop, are all protected by National Park status.

The archaeological finds at the site bear witness to Jewish settlement, from the First Temple period through the Hasmonean Era, up to modern times.

Recently, Arab residents of the nearby village Nabi Samwil broke into the archaeological garden and used heavy machinery to pave a large plot, apparently as the first stage in creating a parking lot, as a means of collecting parking fees from visitors to the site.

The area is under full Israeli jurisdiction, only a short walk from a northern Jerusalem neighborhood and the Har Shmuel and Givat Ze’ev communities.

“The Civil Administration and the Israeli government must do everything in their power to block the construction of the parking lot,” wrote Attorney Avi Segal in his letter to the Civil Administration. “The authorities’ negligence has caused a major blow to the archaeological finds as well as to the rule of law.”

“It is difficult to assess the extent of the damage to the archaeological site, or the potential damage to the still-unexplored, ancient sub-strata,” adds Yishai Hemo, Regavim’s Field Director for Judea and Samaria.

“We have seen damage to important sites throughout Judea and Samaria, caused by construction in areas of tremendous historic significance and destruction of antiquities, in complete disregard of the law. We have said it before: People who care about the Land of Israel don’t cause it harm. The government must stop the destruction.” (WIN)

 

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein Dies at 67; Raised $1.4B for Charity & Built Bridges with Evangelicals

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Rabbi Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Jews and Christians, passes away suddenly on Wednesday at age 67.

Photo: International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Rabbi Yechiel Zvi Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, passed away at the age of 67 on Wednesday in Jerusalem.
The fellowship under its chairmanship raises about half a billion shekels each year for the State of Israel and for various Jewish causes.

Eckstein was on the Board of Governors of the Joint Distribution Committee, Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Agency. He wrote seven books, mainly on Christian-Jewish relations.
Rabbi Eckstein was active in efforts promoting Jewish immigration from Ukraine and other countries.

He was born in Canada, and as a teenager studied at the MTA, the yeshiva High School of Yeshiva University. He then studied at the Kerem B’Yavneh yeshiva and then returned to Yeshiva University, where he was ordained by Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik and completed his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. He served as a lecturer at Columbia University.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews established by Rabbi Eckstein raises funds mainly from Evangelical Christians who support Zionism in the United States and around the world, and some from donations from Jews around the world and Israelis. Since its establishment, the fellowship has raised more than 1.3 billion shekels for a variety of social projects in Israel.
The Tzohar Rabbinical Organization expressed its sadness over the untimely passing of Rabbi Eckstein.

“Rabbi Eckstein was a visionary whose leadership enabled tremendous support for the state and people of Israel and his actions bettered the lives of countless people all over the country. Throughout his life, he worked to bring pride to Jewish practice and Zionism while acting as an ambassador for Judaism throughout the world. May his memory always serve as a source of blessing to his family and the entire Jewish people.”
Dr. Jürgen Bühler, president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, said, “The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem mourns the sudden passing of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein and pays tribute to this unique pioneer and visionary of closer Jewish-Christian relations.”

“Rabbi Eckstein foresaw, like few other Jewish leaders did, the strategic importance to Israel and the Jewish people of forging ties with the global Evangelical community. The generous aid that he gathered from Christians around the world brought vital assistance and great blessings to countless Israelis.

“The ICEJ extend its most sincere condolences to the Eckstein family. His daughter, Yael, and the Fellowship he founded can be proud of the legacy he has now left in their hands.”
Isaac Herzog, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, said, “The Jewish People have lost Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, a leader who worked tirelessly on their behalf. I worked with Rabbi Eckstein on social welfare, diaspora and Aliyah.”

“My deep condolences to his family and the entire International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.”

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said, “So sad to learn of the passing of my friend Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. A prodigious philanthropist and an inspirational leader who did so much to unite Christians and Jews around common values. May his memory be blessed.”

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) National Director and CEO Maj. Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir said of Rabbi Eckstein’s passing, “Today we lost a friend, a partner, and a great supporter. Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein z”l was an ardent Zionist who devoted his life to the State of Israel, a highly respected visionary and leader who built bridges between Jewish and Christian communities and across great divides, making the world a better place for us all. He leaves behind a tremendous legacy for us to continue his crucial work, bringing together Jews and non-Jews in support of Israel and her guardians – the men and women of the IDF. The FIDF family extends its most heartfelt sympathies to his loved ones.”

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (issued the following statement on the sudden passing of its founder and president, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, z”l.

“We are in shock and mourning the loss of our visionary leader, rabbi, friend and colleague. Rabbi Eckstein was a giant in the Jewish and Christian communities, a man who devoted his every moment to helping Israel and the Jewish people. Yechiel forged unbreakable bonds of Christian-Jewish friendship and unity around a shared love for Israel that will stand as his timeless legacy.
Since his ordination to the Rabbinate by Rabbi Dov Soloveitchik, Rabbi Eckstein devoted his life to strengthening the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Since founding The Fellowship in 1983, Rabbi Eckstein raised more than $1.6 billion to help hundreds of thousands of low-income Israelis, ailing and poor Holocaust survivors in Israel and in the former Soviet Union, and low-income Israeli minorities, including Arabs, Bedouin and Druze.

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Rabbi Eckstein helped bring and resettle hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Israel, and in the past four years directly helped more than 17,000 new immigrants escape economic hardship, persecution, and terror in 31 countries, while protecting Jews worldwide with increased security funding. Rabbi Eckstein also was in the process of fulfilling one of his greatest goals – the building of a new worldwide center for Christians in Jerusalem, near the new U.S. Embassy.”

Israel’s leadership did not hesitate to pay tribute to Rabbi Eckstein. President Reuven Rivlin called him “A great man, a great Jew and a great Zionist”, and former Knesset member Rabbi Dov Lipman commented “A heart that gave and gave and gave stopped working.”

Long-time friend and partner, Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network, also offered parting words: “Yechiel has been a pioneer and champion of Christian/Jewish relations for decades”. Likewise, John Hagee of Christians United for Israel remarked, “His impact on the state of Israel and on bringing Jews and Christians together will be felt for generations.”

And among the American Jewish community, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach declared “Rabbi Eckstein’s dedication and love for his people never ceased to amaze”, and Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League noted “He was a tireless worker for the Jewish people and for Israel.”

George Mamo, Global Chief Operating Officer of The Fellowship, reflected on Rabbi Eckstein’s accomplishments but spoke optimistically about the future, “We know the best way to honor Rabbi Eckstein is to carry on his vision and build bridges of love between Christians and Jews. We have every confidence that Rabbi’s daughter, Yael, is the person to continue Rabbi’s life work.”

The Fellowship’s staff, its acquaintances and dignitaries bow their heads in sadness and pledge to continue Rabbi Eckstein’s lifelong mission on behalf of the Jewish people and Israel. We send our condolences and love to his wife Joelle, his daughters, his mother and grandchildren. May they be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.