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Vigil in Tunisia for Paris Victim Yoav Hattab

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Funeral for Jews murdered in Paris (file)

Memorial at Tunis’s Grand Synagogue for son of country’s chief rabbi, who was murdered in Paris; ‘disgrace’ as Tunisian government silent

Scores of people paid tribute on Saturday, Jan 17, in the Tunisian capital of Tunis to Yoav Hattab hy”d, the son of the chief rabbi of Tunisia, who was murdered two weeks ago in an Islamist terrorist attack on a Paris kosher supermarket.

Gathered outside Tunis’s Grand Synagogue, around 150 people carried candles and pictures of Hattab, placing them between two Tunisian flags.

Hattab, 21, had been in France studying international business, when he and three other Jews taken hostage in the supermarket were murdered by jihadist gunman Amedy Coulibaly.

Witnesses said he died trying to fight back against Coulibaly, trying to pull away one of the assailant’s guns before he was shot.

Hattab was well known among the Jewish community of Tunisia where his rabbi father runs the capital’s Jewish school. He and the other three victims were buried in Jerusalem last Tuesday.

One of those at the candlelight vigil was Besima Boughneya, who said: “I am here as a citizen, because he was a Tunisian and this has broken my heart.”

Sion Cohen from the southern island of Djerba where most of the predominantly Muslim country’s 1,500 Jews live, said: “This gathering shows Tunisia brings everyone together. As far as I know, this is the first demonstration of its kind in solidarity with Jews every held” in the country.

But while the supposedly moderate Islamist movement Ennahda, which had previously been in power, has expressed its condolences to Hattab’s family, there has been no official comment.

“That is a disgrace,” said Erij Bodhief, a 23-year-old student.

“I am a Muslim and I came. He was a child of Tunisia. What sort of message are the authorities sending to the Jews of Tunisia by not talking about this?” posed Bodhief.         (INN)

Israeli Poll: United ‘Right Bloc’ Would Sweep to Victory in Elections

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Jewish Home head Naftali Bennett (L) with Likud chief PM Binyamin Netanyahu

The latest Panels Politics polls carried out on behalf of the Knesset Channel reveals no significant changes in the standing of the parties running for the 20th Knesset – but suggests a dramatic victory for the Right were the two largest nationalist parties to run on a joint list.

As in the last poll, the first of two Panels Politics polls shows the joint Labor-Hatnua list as holding a slim lead with 24 seats, followed closely by Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party at 23.

Once again the Jewish Home party finds itself in third place, with 16 seats.

The Yesh Atid party is a distant joint-fourth, alongside a combined Arab list. Moshe Kahlon’s new Kulanu party is polling in fifth place with 8 seats, having lost ground in the center to Yesh Atid.

In sixth place is the Ashkenazic-hareidi United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ), polling steadily at 7 seats, followed by the far-left Meretz party with 6.

This latest poll shows both Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party and the Sephardic-hareidi Shas party hovering dangerously close to the threshold with 5 seats apiece, followed by Eli Yishai’s Yachad – Ha’am Itanu party, which would only just scrape through with 4. That result is an improvement for Yishai, who after an initially encouraging showing immediately following his new party’s founding, saw several more recent polls predicting it to narrowly miss the Knesset threshold.

More interesting still are the results of a second Panels Politics survey, which considered the results of an election if the Likud and Jewish Home ran on a united list.

In such an eventuality, the joint list would receive a whopping 40 seats, with Labor-Hatnua languishing far behind in second place – still with 24 seats. That result echoes a recent Channel 10 poll which also considered a joint Likud-Jewish Home list.

Tellingly, it appears that such a joint list would take votes from the centrist Kulanu party and Shas, both of which lose ground compared to the first poll. And intriguingly, in such an eventuality Eli Yishai’s Ha’am Itanu would actually gain votes – most likely from disaffected Jewish Home party voters – and increase its showing by two seats to 6.

The latter poll in particular would see a comfortable majority for the “traditional” right-wing-hareidi bloc, although even the results of the first poll – which would see Labor emerge as the largest party – suggest a right-center coalition would not be out of the question either.

Despite the results, and calls from some within the Likud party to unite, senior Jewish Home party officials have maintained a joint list is currently not an option for them.     (INN)

Israel Arrests Cell of Seven ISIS Supporters

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Charges were pressed against seven Israeli-Arab citizens, for planning to attack in Israel and for attempting to join ISIS in Syria.

Charges were pressed on Sunday, Jan 18, against seven Israeli-Arab citizens, for planning to attack in Israel and for attempting to join ISIS in Syria.

The seven are Adnan Al a-Din (40), Karim Abu-Salah (22), Hosam Marisat (30), Alaa Abu-Salah (27), Faddi Bashir (29), Khalead Abu-Salah (30) and Muhammad Abu-Salah (27).

All are Arabs from the Galilee region in northern Israel. They were arrested during November and December of 2014, as a result of an investigation led by a joint police and Shin-Bet (Israel’s interior security agency) task force.

ISIS is an illegal organization according to Israeli law and therefore any activity related to the organization is prohibited by law.

The cell was trained in the usage of Molotov cocktail and other makeshift weapons, and the beheading of animals; which were done as preparation for the beheading of infidels as ISIS combatants. In addition, the cell members used the Internet to form a direct connection to ISIS activists in Syria, which also included Israeli citizens who are now ISIS combatants.

The most prominent character within the group was Adnan Al a-Din, a lawyer from Nazareth who used to work as a public defender. A-Din declared himself the official ISIS commander in Palestine, and preached to the carrying out of terror attacks against Jews.

Another group member, Karim Abu-Salah, confessed in his interrogation that he planned to purchase automatic firearms, in order to carry out terror attacks in Israel. His targets included Israel’s security forces and members of the Druze community, especially those with families in Syria.

In addition to planning to carry out terror attacks in Israel, Karim made an attempt to reach Syria and join ISIS. He was arrested at the Ben-Gurion airport last July, when he attempted to fly abroad and join ISIS. When he was arrested, Karim was carrying NIS 40,000 (roughly $10,000), which he intended to give to ISIS.

(Tazpit News Agency)

How Have Israel and Japan Become Key Allies in Less Than a Year?

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during recent historic visit to Israel

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s historic three-day visit to Israel was ended hurriedly on Tuesday, Jan 20, due to an Islamic State (ISIS) hostage crisis involving two Japanese nationals, but his visit highlights the meteoric developments in the Israeli-Japanese alliance that has been blossoming since Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to Japan last May.

Just how have Israel and Japan gone from being average trade partners into full-blown allies, to the point where Netanyahu has said Israel is turning away from the West and towards Asia – and in particular towards Japan, owner of the world’s third largest GDP and a global leader in technology?

A brief look back at events since the May visit reveals numerous important developments that have received little limelight as the two nations have locked into a shared trajectory.

Last June the Director of the Israel Space Agency made a first-ever visit to Japan, where he held important talks with Japan’s space-related ministries and agencies.

Then a month later the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry made his own first-ever trip to Israel, where the Israel-Japan Business Forum discussed joint investments in start-ups, hi-tech research and development (R&D) and cyber security.

That visit also included the historic signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation in the fields of industrial R&D between the two nations. Significantly, it was the first such industrial R&D agreement that Japan had ever signed with another country.

Blossoming ties continued to flourish last July, when the Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made his first visit to Israel, during which he discussed shared socio-economic activities with his Israeli counterpart.

Japanese Diet (parliament) members came to Israel last July as well, where they reaffirmed the desire for increased cooperation between Diet and Knesset members.

That same month a follow-up memorandum on cooperating on industrial R&D was signed, solidifying the push for joint technological innovation.

The Israeli Minister of Science visited Japan last October, where he and the Japanese Minister of Science and Technology vowed to advance cooperation in the vital field of science and technology.

That same month, Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister came to Jerusalem for a Japan Culture Week where various aspects of Japan’s traditional culture and modern society were introduced. The event was parallel by Israeli cultural activities held across Japan.

Israeli business leaders, headed by the Director General of the Prime Minister’s office, visited Japan last November, where they discussed increasing R&D and cyber cooperation, and promoted mutual trade investment. In that same visit the Israeli and Japanese ministers of education discussed future cooperation in the field of education and youth exchange.

Another historic breakthrough came last November when the first dialogue between Israel and Japan on the topic of cyber security was held in Tokyo.

A month later in December the two countries were again discussing vital shared interests in Tokyo as part of the Eight Strategic Consultation.

Officials from Japan’s National Security Secretariat visited Israel in December, where they discussed their crucial field with senior officials of the Israeli National Security Council.

And then earlier this month a Memorandum of Cooperation Concerning Scientific Cooperation between the two countries was signed, implementing a corroborative research program in the field of ICT.

Also in early January a landmark plan, entitled the “Plan to Strengthen Economic Ties and Cooperation with Japan,” was approved by the Israeli Cabinet, a move which Abe welcomed.

The plan will see Israel expand ties with Japan in all fields, in a three-year project that represents an investment of millions of shekels and involves numerous governmental ministries.       (INN)

Female Hareidi Party in Israel Threatened with Excommunication

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The three founders of B’Zechutan, the new hareidi women’s Knesset party

Ruth Kolian, one of the three founders of the new hareidi women’s Knesset party B’Zechutan that was announced this Monday, explained on Wednesday the reasons for forming the party – and promptly was threatened that she would face a hareidi excommunication.

Kolian appear on Israel Radio, where she said “there’s no answer for agunot in a divorce (women who are refused a divorce – ed.), there’s no answer for single-parent mothers in the (hareidi) community. Single-parent moms are extreme muktzeh,” using a word literally referring to objects forbidden for usage on Shabbat, but in this case used in the sense of “outcasts.”

“It’s in our souls, because women who are single-parent mothers and divorced in the hareidi community are something muktzeh. There are married women who take beatings and threats at home, there are abused women in the hareidi society and they are afraid to speak over fears of becoming extreme muktzeh,” she continued.

Explaining her motivations Kolian also referenced the hareidi yeshiva system, saying “we can’t close our eyes on a problem. We closed our eyes when we saw small children not built for poverty, they are more built for practical learning, and because of that we today have a youth that is dropping out.”

Kolian is joined in founding her new party by legal expert Noa Erez, who is number two on the party’s Knesset list, followed by Business Administration student Karen Mozen, who is just 21-years-old.

Attorney Dov Halbertal, a prominent figure within the Lithuanian-hareidi stream, responded to Kolian on the radio program, not-so-subtly threatening her and her colleagues.

“Be careful – the ones who become muktzeh here aren’t hareidi women, it’s you who will be muktzeh because the hareidi society will excommunicate you, because the hareidi society will not receive your sons, it won’t accept shiduchim (arranged marriages – ed.),” he warned.

Halbertal continued “you will be muktzeh there in the hareidi society. On the personal level I say to you, think twice about what you’re doing to your family and also the other hareidi women there, you will be excommunicated for generations. They will denunciate you all, and rightly so, from the hareidi community.”

The threats echo similar threats of excommunication from the hareidi school systems made last month by United Torah Judaism party activists against hareidi women who campaigned to have female representation in the hareidi parties.          (INN)

Israeli President Rivlin Voices Support for Jerusalem Unity Prize

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Israeli President Reuven Rivlin holds meeting with families of Naftai Fraenkel, Gilad Sha’ar and Eyal Yifrach and other prominent citizens to discuss the recently established Jerusalem Unity Prize

Prize Founded in Memory of Eyal, Gil-ad and Naftali to Award Unity Initiatives in Israel and the Diaspora

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin expressed support for the recent launch of the Jerusalem Unity Prize in Memory of Eyal, Gil-ad and Naftali in a ceremony attended by the families of the three boys and Jerusalem’s Mayor, Nir Barkat, who has been the main initiator behind the initiative.

The prize was conceived in partnership with the families of the three boys and Jerusalem-based organization Gesher as a way to perpetuate the spirit of unity felt across Israel and around the world during the days following the boys’ kidnapping.

In his remarks the President said, “In the shadow of the events of last summer, and inspired by that spirit of mutual responsibility which we witnessed, we must continue to encourage all those working to maintain and strengthen that sense, that feeling, of unity and commitment. The Jerusalem Unity Prize reminds us what is acceptable, what is desired, what is appropriate. In awarding this prize, we want to embolden and amplify the positive voices in our society, and focus on the good.”

Speaking during the ceremony with the President, Mayor Barkat remarked “Out of the intense pain of the boys’ tragic deaths came remarkable unity in large part due to the strength and leadership exhibited by these three families. We know that unity is a central value in our identity as a people and this prize will afford us the chance to advance these ideals across Israel and around the world.”

The ceremony was also addressed by the fathers of the three boys. Avi Fraenkel, father of Naftali said that he recalled his previous visit to the Residence during the days immediately following the kidnapping when their fate remained unknown. “During those days we gained enormous strength from the knowledge that people all around the globe were with us,” he said. “Today we have returned here to ensure that that spirit of unity is preserved and we are confident this award will serve to accomplish that goal.”

Uri Yifrach, father of Eyal said that he had no doubt that the tragedies of the boys death brought together a sense of common bonds within the Jewish people which hadn’t been felt in many years. This feeling was echoed by Ofir Shear, father of Gil-ad who said “We feel an obligation to ensure that the personal pain that we have experienced be channeled for the betterment of people all over the world and that is what we all hope this prize will accomplish.”

The Jerusalem Unity Prize will be presented in three separate categories, each with prizes of up to 100,000 shekel. Winners will be chosen from a committee chaired by the Mayor, the parents of the three boys and dignitaries from Israel and the Diaspora.

1. Individuals or Organizations – This award will be presented to individuals, entities or organizations who prove that they have worked in an exemplary manner to advance Jewish unity over an extended period of time.

2. Social Initiatives – This award will be presented to individual visionaries or groups of visionaries who have advanced social programs that challenge the problem of dis-unity within the greater Jewish community.

3. Israel and the Diaspora – This award will be presented to individuals or groups who have successfully advanced programs that better unite the Diaspora with the land and people of Israel.

“Our goal is to transform the concept of unity from an abstract idea to real life action,” says Anat Schwarz Weil, Director of the initiative. “Despite all that they have been through, these families have become the embodiment of the importance and strength of Jewish unity. This idealism rooted in action makes the families the perfect ambassadors to carry this message of unity to Israel and the world.”

In addition to the prize, a special Unity Day is being planned for June 3, 2015 in Jerusalem where the awards will be presented alongside programming to promote unity initiatives. The event is being held on the one year anniversary of the boys’ deaths.

The Jerusalem Unity Prize and Unity Day are being made possible thanks to the support of Ira and Ingeborg Rennert, Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein, Robert and Amy Book, David and Sarena Koschitzky and the UJA Federation of New York.

Eric. S. Goldstein, CEO, UJA-Federation of New York said, “UJA-Federation of New York is honored to support the Jerusalem Unity Prize which seeks to harness and perpetuate the unprecedented level of unity expressed in Israel and in Jewish communities across the globe after the tragic events of last summer. This initiative is distinguished in its goal of promoting mutual respect to strengthen the bonds that unite us as a people.”

Israeli Non-Profit Helps IDF Soldiers Move Forward

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IDF soldiers following their service, participate in Bishvil Hamachar’s nature trips in Israel and abroad.

Five months ago, Nufar Gross was on the battlefield treating wounded soldiers. The 33-year-old IDF paramedic spent her summer providing medical treatment to both wounded soldiers and civilians during the Operation Protective Edge, which lasted 50 days. It was not the first time that Gross saw life and death flashing before her eyes nor will it most likely be her last.

As a reserve paramedic, Gross is called up to treat IDF soldiers whenever war breaks out. “Suddenly, you find yourself in a dangerous situation – away from your home and family – doing everything possible to save lives,” Gross, from Haifa, told Tazpit News Agency.  “One day you are a student in the university and the next, in a life-and-death-situation. I witnessed blood, injuries and death when I was in Gaza.”

Gross explains that the experiences she has had on the battlefield in past operations have always left their mark. “All those images stay in your mind even after you leave the battlefront and go back to normal life.”

“In the past, when I’d get these war flashbacks at university or at work, I found that I couldn’t sleep at nights. I’d have nightmares. It was a huge transition to get back to civilian life.”

But after this last operation, Gross found that she could deal with the battlefield experiences as well as the transition back to civilian life more easily, thanks to her participation in an organization called Bishvil Hamachar.

Bishvil Hamachar (On the Path to Tomorrow) is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization that was established after the Second Lebanon War in 2007 to assist IDF soldiers in coping with difficult combat memories and adapting back to civilian life. The association was established to professionally work with soldiers, and utilizes out-door activities, trekking and other physical activities in nature both in Israel and abroad, combined with psychotherapeutic tools within verbal group sessions. According to the organization’s founder and head, Anat Samson-Joffe, the methods assist the soldiers, who come from across Israel and are of various backgrounds, to acquire tools for coping with their experiences and help them return to normal life.

“The idea is to enable our soldiers to build resilience through the power and calm of nature,” said Samson-Joffe in an interview with Tazpit News Agency. “Even when our young men and women come back home, they are often mentally ‘stuck’ on the battlefield,” she explained.

“War leaves emotional scars on everyone – these soldiers face some of the worst scenarios. The past Gaza war was extremely dangerous and stressful – our soldiers faced explosive tunnels, unexpected guerrilla attacks, human shields and more,” said Samson-Joffe who comes from central Israel.

“What we do is work to build these young people’s resilience so that they can continue on with normal lives when they return from the battlefield.”

(Tazpit News Agency)

After the Terror – We Must Rise from Slumber

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Muslim demonstrators in face police during a demonstration against violence in the Gaza strip, which had been banned by police, in Paris, July 19, 2014.
Vice President Joe Biden thinks that Americans, face no existential threat from terrorism when the opposite appears to be true

It’s been a few weeks now since Muslim terrorists slaughtered French citizens whom they deemed enemies of Islam. It seems that honest, fearless journalists and Jews are on the same wavelength to these savages. There was an initial outrage in the Western world over these incidents but as predicted, the front pages of our newspapers are now focusing on the upcoming Superbowl and what movies are PC enough to win an Academy Award. Along with this meaningless news to wash away the shivers of Islamic radicalism, President Obama has brushed aside any Muslim involvement with the Paris massacre by labeling it a “terrorist” action. His response to the domestic Islamic act of terror of the Boston Marathon horror was to term it simply as “a tragedy.” Sort of like an airplane crash, a forest fire or a hurricane. The media and our president are experts at diluting and shrugging off the threats to this country by the world of Muslim extremism, fanaticism and religious hatred. And we buy it.

America is on the verge of slumbering off into the sleep of death that Europe is trying so hard to awaken from. We have twice elected the same type of leader that the Continent has chosen over the last twenty years. They have been the anesthetists who have fed the era of political correctness into the veins of the citizens of their nations causing France, the Netherlands and others to blindly accept, coddle and permit Muslim immigrants to spawn out of control with government subsidies. Muslim neighborhoods have become closed communities banning infidels from entry. They riot out of control when their “needs” aren’t met, with the usual apologies from national leaders including their quickly bowing to the demands of the Islamists whatever they may be. Europe and France have brought this problem on themselves and must awaken to fight off the internal Muslim enemies before their nations are turned into wastelands like Syria and Iraq. The perfect setting for Islam is bedlam.

America is now being lulled into a fast coma. Our Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, has referred to the Muslim Brotherhood as “Largely secular.” President Obama told us that Al Qaeda, “Is finished.” His VP, Joe Biden remarked that Americans, “Face no existential threat from terrorism.” So why are Muslims being hauled off to jail on a daily basis for what the FBI calls terrorist actions? Why has our government sentenced Maj. Nidal to jail for “workplace violence,” after being convicted of killing thirteen fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood? And what hand picked military jury ignored his shouting out, “Allahu Akhbar,” while pumping bullets into fellow Americans?

Is our military being compromised by the president and his honchos to pack away their training at West Point and the battlefields and subordinate their decisions to the political correctness of their politically appointed civilian “superiors?” It seems as though there has been a thorough purge of our top military since Obama took office. Dozens of top brass have been convicted on trumped up charges while others have been given their walking papers. All to be replaced with politically correct or just by those whose careers may be greased by accommodating the wishes of the likes of Leon Panetta, Valerie Jarrett or Hillary Clinton. Our military is being turned into a political machine governed by the Radical Left in D.C.

During WWII, the last war this nation has won, we fought tooth and nail to defeat the enemy. Civilian casualties were never an issue. We bombed, shelled and battered our enemies until they surrendered unconditionally. The world of Radical Islam is now being treated as a victim of some unknown, mysterious illness. We must cater to them, accept their behavior, let them rant, rave and slaughter as they see fit and just stand back and try to reason with them to understand that their actions are not acceptable to us. But we must not aggravate, injure or insult them lest they rise out of their nests and punish us. Unless we start choosing our leaders more wisely, unless our citizens wake up to the road of “European disaster” we are taking, we too, will walk the sleep of the dead.

Letters To the Editor:

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White House Mistakes Unveiled

Dear Editor:

As reported in your January 16 article, “White House; We ‘Made a Mistake’ on Paris March,” yes, not having President Obama or another high US official at the Paris march was certainly a mistake. I hope it will be at least partially balanced by Obama’s writing a message in the condolence book at the French Embassy in Washington and by his convening an anti-terrorism summit of U.S. and world leaders to be held in Washington on February 18. We should also consider how Obama’s mistake pales next to some recent mistakes that have had and will increasingly have very serious consequences. These mistakes include:

1.   The G. W. Bush administration misleading us into invading Iraq, which has led to the loss of thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, will cost our country an estimated $3 trillion, when all costs are considered, including costs to take care of wounded and traumatized returning soldiers, and has destabilized the region, contributing to increased violence.

2.   Republican blockage of a jobs bill that would rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create an estimated two million high paying jobs, which would have  increased tax revenues and reduced the need for unemployment and other benefits, thereby helped get our economy back on track.

3.   Republican support of policies that benefitted the wealthiest Americans and highly profitable Americans, resulting in 95% of the increased wealth since 2009 going to the wealthiest one percent of Americans and the middle class being increasingly squeezed economically.

4.   Continued Republican denial on climate change threats, despite the views of science academies worldwide and over 97% of climate experts and the many recent wakeup calls in terms of rapidly melting glaciers and polar ice caps, the increase in the number and severity of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods, and the fact that atmospheric CO2 has exceeded 400 parts per million for the first time in human history.

So, yes, the Obama administration deserves criticism for its poor judgment with regard to the Paris march, but why is so little attention being given to the above mistakes which have far more serious consequences?

Very truly yours,

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island

 

Europe’s Jews Must Get Out !!

Dear Editor:

Allow me to say that your coverage of the funeral of the four Parisian Jews who were horrifically assassinated by the radical Islamic terrorists who wrought such havoc on France and the world was absolutely magnificent. The messages that were extolled during the funeral were really brought home in such a powerful way through your stellar reportage of this most lugubrious event.

There is no doubt that for Europe’s Jews their days are numbered on that blood stained continent. What really appears as a logical conclusion to a constantly festering problem remains a true debacle for some who insist that Jews can and should remain in Europe.  While this kind of distorted thinking defies all logic it must be addressed.  Leaders of Europe’s Jewish community must actually behave like shepherds of their flock and exhort all Jews to get out while there is still time. Every incentive must be made available to these Jews in order that they will leave and go to Israel with alacrity. Any resistance to leaving Europe is only a reminder of the pre-Holocaust era, when no one ever believed that the Nazis would commit wholesale slaughter of the Jews.

Recently, a friend asked me if President Obama had condemned the hostage siege and murders at the kosher grocery store in Paris. Truth be told, he did not nor did I expect him to. Whether we want to believe it or not, the names and places and ideologies have definitely changed but the plot line remains the same. Just as FDR did nothing to save Jewish lives from the Nazi murder machine during World War II, so too, President Obama has done and will do nothing to stop the egregious proliferation of the dreaded scourge known as anti-Semitism.  Obama has his own nefarious agenda and it has little or nothing to do with the future of Jewish survival. The Torah tells us that we are a people who dwells alone. There is good reason for that. Let us do everything in our power to help the Jews of Europe get out of that raging inferno they call home. And let us do it now, before it is too late.

Sincerely

Boaz Sydenheim

Loved the JV Coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show

Dear Editor:

As one who did not have the opportunity to attend the recent Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas, I was very impressed with the two-page spread that you did on it. While I am cognizant of the fact that Israeli high tech and electronic companies are booming, I had no idea that they were so prevalent.  I think Israeli ingenuity is something to be applauded as no other country can compare to it.  On another note, I think Israeli startup companies and businesses will eventually take its rightful place as a steward of the global economy.  In addition, I think anyone with a modicum of sense can certainly appreciate the marvelous medical and health related discoveries that have been made by Israeli scientists.

Even if one harbors ill will towards Israel because they have strong feelings about politics and the Palestinian cause, it would be foolish to dismiss the tremendous impact that Israeli science, health and business have had on the world. I extend my heartfelt plaudits to Israel for persisting on the path of their cherished humanity.

Sincerely

Esther Kopakian

Supporting the NYPD

Dear Editor:

I share your outrage over the gruesome killings of the two NYPD officers on December 20. I am proud to say that I have contributed to organizations that have financially helped both Officer Liu and Officer Ramos’ families.  Each day, these brave man and women in the NYPD risk their lives to protect us and ensure our safety in a heavily populated and crime ridden city. To those detractors of New York’s finest, all I can say is see what your life would be like without them and then you will come to appreciate them.

Sincerely

Tom McKinley

 

The Answer to French Anti-Semitism

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In 2006, French Jew Ilan Halimi was abducted by Muslim terrorists who brutally tortured him for 24 days and 24 nights before dumping him, handcuffed, naked, stabbed and suffering from third degree burns over two-thirds of his body, at a railway siding in Paris. He died a few hours later in the hospital.
In an impassioned address to his parliament, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, “Without its Jews France would not be France, this is the message we have to communicate loud and clear. We haven’t done so. We haven’t shown enough outrage. When the Jews of France are attacked France is attacked, the conscience of humanity is attacked. Let us never forget it.”

January 16 was the nine-year anniversary of the beginning of the Ilan Halimi disaster.

On January 16, 2006, Sorour Arbabzadeh, the seductress from the Muslim anti-Jewish kidnapping gang led by Youssouf Fofana, entered the cellphone store where Halimi worked and set the honey trap.

Four days later, Halimi met Arbabzadeh for a drink at a working class bar and agreed to walk her home. She walked him straight into an ambush. Her comrades beat him, bound him and threw him into the trunk of their car.

They brought Halimi to a slum apartment and tortured him for 24 days and 24 nights before dumping him, handcuffed, naked, stabbed and suffering from third degree burns over two-thirds of his body, at a railway siding in Paris.

He died a few hours later in the hospital.

In an impassioned address to the French parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls gave a stirring denunciation of anti-Semitism, and demanded that his people stop treating it as someone else’s problem.

In his words, “Since Ilan Halimi in 2006… anti-Semitic acts in France have grown to an intolerable degree. The words, the insults, the gestures, the shameful attacks… did not produce the national outrage that our Jewish compatriots expected.”

Valls insisted that France needs to protect its Jewish community, lest France itself be destroyed.

“Without its Jews France would not be France, this is the message we have to communicate loud and clear. We haven’t done so. We haven’t shown enough outrage. How can we accept that in certain schools and colleges the Holocaust can’t be taught? How can we accept that when a child is asked, ‘Who is your enemy?’ the response is ‘The Jew?’ When the Jews of France are attacked France is attacked, the conscience of humanity is attacked. Let us never forget it.”

Valls words were uplifting. But it is hard to see how they change the basic reality that the Jews of France face.

When all is said and done, it is their necks on the line while humanity’s conscience is merely troubled.

Ilan Halimi’s case is more or less a textbook case of the impossible reality French Jewry faces. And, as Valls noted, the situation has only gotten worse in the intervening nine years. Much worse.

But back when things were much better, Ilan Halimi was kidnapped, tortured for 24 days and murdered. As Tablet online magazine’s Marc Weitzmann reported last September in an in-depth summary of ordeal, the gang that perpetrated the atrocity had been hunting for Jewish victims for several weeks before Arbabzadeh set her trap for Halimi. All their previous attempts had failed. Their previous marks included Jewish doctors, lawyers, television directors and human rights activists, as well as Jews of no particular distinction aside from the fact that they were Jews.

The anti-Jewish nature of the gang was clear from its chosen victims. The anti-Semitic nature of their atrocious crime against Halimi was obvious from the first time they contacted his mother, Ruth Halimi, demanding ransom for his release. They made anti-Jewish slurs in all their communications with her. And as she heard her sons tortured cries in the background, Ruth was subjected to his torturers’ recitation of Koranic verses.

And yet, throughout the period of his captivity, French authorities refused to consider the anti-Jewish nature of the crime, and as a result, refused to treat the case as life threatening or urgent.

The same attitude continued well after Halimi was found. As Weitzmann noted, the investigative magistrate insisted “There isn’t a single element to allow one to attach this murder to an anti-Semitic purpose or an anti-Semitic act.”

The denial went on through the 2009 trials of the 29 kidnappers and their accomplices. Anti-Semitism was listed as an aggravating circumstance of the crime – and as such, a cause for harsher sentencing – only for the gang leader Fofana. And in the end, even for him, the judges did not take it into account at sentencing.

As for those 29 kidnappers and accomplices, as Weitzmann notes, each one of them had a circle of friends and family. As a consequence, by a one reporters’ conservative estimate, at least 50 people were aware of the crime and where Halimi was being held, while he was being held. And not one of them called the police. Not one of them felt moved to make a call that could save the life of a Jew.

After the fact, the media in France were happy to publish articles by the torturers’ defense lawyers insisting, “Only people motivated by ‘political reasons’ would try to sell the opinion that anti-Semitism is eating away at French society.”

When the Halimi family lawyer boasted of close ties to the government and announced he would appeal the sentences of the perpetrators if he didn’t think their punishments were sufficient, the French media eagerly shifted the conversation from the torture and murder of a Parisian who just happened to be a Jew by a band of sadists who just happened to be Muslims, to the more comfortable narrative of the Jewish lobby and Jewish power.

So, too, when Halimi, and six years later when the three children and the rabbi massacred at Otzar Hatorah Jewish day school in Toulouse, were brought to Israel for burial, the media reported their families’ decision in a negative way hinting that it was evidence of the basic disloyalty, or otherness of the Jews of France.

In other words, what Halimi’s murder exposed is that anti-Semitism in France is systemic. Muslims are the main perpetrators of violence. And they operate in social environments that are at a minimum indifferent to Jewish suffering and victimization. This violence and indifference is abetted by non-Islamic elites. French authorities minimize the unique threat Jews face. And the media are happy to ignore the issue, or when given the slightest opportunity, to claim that the Jews are responsible for their own victimization.

Indeed, in live reports from the scene of the hostage taking at the kosher supermarket in Paris last week, Weitzmann noted that in the early hours of the attack, French media failed to mention that the hostages were Jews.

Under these circumstances, where the entire French system is stacked against them, what can be done for French Jewry? What can they do for themselves?

It is far from clear that France is capable of correcting its downward trajectory.

Demography is moving France in a different direction. According to Israeli political scientist Guy Bechor, Marseilles will be the first Western European city with a Muslim majority. The ruling Socialists owe their victory to the Muslim vote. It is hard to see French President François Hollande and his comrades taking actions that could anger that constituency which votes as a bloc.

Moreover, anti-Semitism in all its forms is manifested throughout French society. For instance, the prosecutor in the Halimi murder trial is the son of a French Nazi collaborator and according to Weitzmann, spent an inordinate amount of the trial trying to understand the perpetrators.

Then there is the Israel issue.

Valls has distinguished himself from his colleagues for his willingness to acknowledge that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.

But his is a voice in the wilderness. The overwhelming sentiment of the French elites is hostility toward Israel.

This sentiment was manifested in Hollande’s treatment of Israel, and through it of the French Jewish community, in the aftermath of the supermarket massacre last Friday.

Hollande told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attend the anti-terror march in Paris on Sunday, claiming that Netanyahu’s presence would detract from the message of unity against terrorism that he hoped the march would communicate.

The underlying assumption of Hollande’s message is deeply disturbing.

That assumption is that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism and is not, as a result, evil. The subtext is that the murder of Jews by Islamic terrorists who seek Israel’s destruction is similarly not a crime deserving of the same condemnation as the jihadist murder of French journalists.

Netanyahu rightly ignored Hollande’s request that he not attend. And for this move he was subjected to harsh criticism by the French media which accused him of crashing the party and pushing himself onto center stage against the wishes of his unwilling hosts.

Their criticism was then parroted by the Israeli media that studiously ignored the endemic anti-Israel hostility of the French media and the anti-Israel policies of the Hollande government. The Hebrew media, together with Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni, also ferociously attacked Netanyahu as well as Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett for upsetting French sensibilities by calling on French Jewry to make aliya.

But aliya is the key for contending with the increasing danger that the Jews of France face from the systemic nature of French anti-Semitism. This is true first of all because as France makes it clear that it is not a safe home for its Jews, Israel is a better option. Israel exists so that Jews always will have a better option than suffering at the hands of hostile non-Jews.

Speaking of aliya is also essential because so far the only thing that has caused French authorities to speak directly against anti-Semitism and take action to defend French Jewry has been the prospect of a mass exodus of their Jews.

The year 2014 saw a 50 percent increase in French aliya. And the Jewish Agency anticipates that that number will double to 15,000 in 2015, with 50,000 more not far behind.

After Ilan Halimi was murdered, out of fear of upsetting the French, no Israeli leader, including then-foreign minister Livni, uttered a word of condemnation against the atrocity. No Israeli representative attended his memorial ceremony.

No one urged French Jews to make aliya. And the number of anti-Semitic attacks increased massively each year. French governmental hostility toward Israel similarly escalated with each passing year.

There is unfortunately every reason to believe that the massacre at the kosher supermarket in Paris last Friday will not be the last one. But it is also clear that the best way to avert more suffering is to speak often and forcefully about the option of moving to Israel. Israel must also take active steps to prepare the country for the arrival of our French brothers and sisters. Hollande will certainly express his annoyance as he continues to condemn Israel at every turn for imaginary misdeeds. But the French Jews will be strengthened.

While the conscience of humanity may be uselessly miffed by the victimization of Jews, the Jews of France will know that there is one place on earth that exists to prevent that victimization, and that they are welcome here whenever they choose to come.

Erdogan’s Grand Ambitions- Part III

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Abdullah Gül (left), a co-founder of the AKP, was completely sidelined by his closest political associate, Erdoğan. In an unusual protest, Gül’s wife Hayrünnisa (right) spoke to journalists when her husband was forced to vacate the presidential palace and angrily complained that our devout comrades have betrayed us.

(Continued from last week)

And luckily, on September 20, 2014, Davutoğlu made a heroic start when the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released forty-six Turkish hostages and the three Iraqi consulate employees it had held since it attacked the Turkish consulate in Mosul on June 11.[25] No doubt, Davutoğlu was the darling of all Turks when he smiled and posed for the cameras together with the cheerful hostages, which included the consul general, disembarking the plane that took them to safety and the embrace of their loved ones.[26] “Only Davutoğlu could snatch them from the jihadists unharmed,” one taxi driver told this author after their release. As he kept driving, he added: “Don’t misunderstand, sir. I have never voted for AKP. I dislike Erdoğan. I am a nationalist. But I think I will vote for Davutoğlu next year.” What more could a fresh contender hope for?

But this is only a partial narrative. As noted, election results suggest that the AKP’s votes may now have saturated at around twenty million, and there is no meaningful sociopolitical data explaining why AKP’s vote should significantly rise under Davutoğlu. With an increasing number of Turks qualifying to vote next June, AKP’s nationwide vote may be pressured down between what it won in March (43.3 percent) and the critical 40 percent threshold.

Davutoğlu may appeal to some Turks, but others will be loyal only to Erdoğan and not even to his choice of the prime minister. “I will never vote for anyone other than Erdoğan,” a waiter at a fancy Ankara restaurant told me. “Davutoğlu can only be his second-in-command, and I don’t want to vote for a second-in-command. I will abstain and wait for the next presidential elections [2019] to vote for Erdoğan again.”

Not only that. To get Davutoğlu elected as prime minister at a party convention, Erdoğan had to exact an important sacrifice: that of Abdullah Gül, his predecessor at the presidential palace, the second most powerful AKP figure, and Erdoğan’s closest political comrade since the late 1990s. Gül, along with Erdoğan, was the co-founder of AKP. He is always a calm voice. But apparently his wife is not. In an unusual protest, Hayrünnisa Gül spoke to journalists, shortly before the couple vacated the presidential palace, and angrily complained that “our devout comrades have betrayed us; they made us sorry, and I’ll never forgive them for that.”[27] She revealed a potentially major crack.

Gül, jobless for the moment, declared earlier that he is “too young to retire.”[28] Completely sidelined by his closest political associate, the always-patient Gül will most probably wait to become a center of attraction for other disgruntled AKP members. Under a self-imposed party rule, no AKP member of parliament can run for the house for more than three uninterrupted terms.[29] That means more than seventy AKP bigwigs, including several present and former cabinet heavyweights, will have to retire, like Gül, in June. And, like Gül, they are too young to disappear from the political scene.

Despite reassuring statements from party leaders that “within AKP there will never be a split,”[30] most political observers think that these assurances indicate the party indeed fears a split. Some politicians speculate that a recently-launched, center-right party, the Center Party (MP), will house disgruntled AKP politicians “if Davutoğlu perform[s] worse than Erdoğan expects him to” next June.[31] A critical threshold could be if AKP’s vote drops to 40 percent or below.

Even if there is no split between Turkey’s conservatives under the roof of AKP, Erdoğan’s broader plans may face two serious challenges. Erdoğan’s first ambition is that Davutoğlu wins enough seats (at least 330 out of 550) to amend the constitution[32] and launch a de facto executive system that would give Erdoğan what he wants. If, as noted above, AKP’s votes stand around 43 percent, it will probably win around 290 seats. Even if AKP wins support for any constitutional amendment from Kurdish members of parliament (who traditionally win 20-25 seats), this will not suffice to pave the way for Erdoğan’s grand design.

Erdoğan’s (and his new prime minister’s) explicit struggle to win a constitutional majority in the June elections is proof that he is not comfortable with his current position despite his control of all levers of government and his disregard of the constitution. He wants a one-man show and does not want to be dependent on an ally. There are a number of reasons for this: First, the president is keenly aware that an undetermined part of AKP’s popularity stems from his own personal charisma, and he does not know how well another man will perform in the future, no matter how much he supports him. Second, Erdoğan prefers to be a fully constitutional president, not one his opponents can constantly accuse of violating the constitution. Third, he fears that the present setting may one day be susceptible to inner strife and a split. He fully trusts Davutoğlu for the moment, but he once fully trusted Gülen, too. The chances that Davutoğlu may turn into a foe are slim but do exist. Erdoğan has never hidden his desire to avoid what he calls a “double-headed” administration (i.e., a government run by two people).[33] Still, in a span of less than two months, Erdoğan and Davutoğlu have made totally contradictory statements on various issues.

Erdoğan’s second ambition—which he has declared publicly several times—is to raise “devout[ly Islamic] generations.”[34] Later, in defense of his words, the president said, “Don’t expect a conservative party to raise atheist generations.”[35]

Erdoğan and his comrades have always won. But they are always tense. Often, they look pensive and unhappy. They are angry, always ready to pick a fight. Full command over nearly one half of Turkey will not satisfy them. They want to win the other half, the half they privately envy, the same half that smartly teases them and laughs at their childish “[Islamic] cause.” That half—the human half—enjoys living life, defends the right to sin, and does not want to create a fake country, ostensibly dry and sin-free, but really a half-wet and sinful land. The AKP’s leaders secretly know that theirs is a losing war, despite impressive victories at every political battle fought.

[25] The Guardian (London), June 11, 2014.

[26] Reuters, Sept. 20, 2014.

[27] “Hayrünnisa Gül: Bizi çok üzdüler asıl intifadayı ben başlatacağım,” You Tube, Aug. 20, 2014; Murat Yetkın, “Hayrünnisa Gül: Asıl intifadayı ben başlatacağım,” Radikal, Aug. 8, 2014.

[28] Sabah (Istanbul), Jan. 30, 2013.

[29] Parti Tuzuğu, AK Parti, 2002.

[30] Analız Merkezı (Istanbul), Apr. 13, 2014; Medyagündem (Istanbul), July 31, 2012.

[31] Zaman, July 7, 2014; Sözcü Gazetesi (Istanbul), June 10, 2014.

[32] “Anayasa için kritik eşik 330,” Hürriyet, accessed Oct. 14, 2014; Zaman, Oct. 12, 2012.

[33] Hürriyet, Oct. 21, 2014.

[34] Ibid., Feb. 2, 2012.

[35] Ibid., Feb. 2, 2012.

Burak Bekdil, a Middle East Forum Associate Fellow, is an Ankara-based columnist for Hürriyet Daily News. He has also written for the U.S. weekly Defense News since 1997.

Moral Equivalence Cannot Live Side by Side With ‘Charlie’- Part II

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More than 40 world leaders joined the unity march in Paris on Sunday, Jan 11, to show solidarity against the brutal Islamic terrorist murders at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and barbaric slaughter of four Parisian Jews at a kosher grocery store in the city. Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula claimed credit for the killings at the magazine

(Continued from last week)

Majorities in Iraq and Afghanistan fully support honor killings of women, and at the very least, substantial minorities across other countries agree. Majorities across the Muslim world, even in countries deemed “moderate,” also believe that a wife should “always obey her husband.”

A similar picture emerges in terms of how the majority of Muslims relate to their non-Muslim counterparts, revealing that most believe Islam is “very different” from Christianity (this flies in the face of the claim that a fundamentalist Christian or Orthodox Jew is the “same” as a Muslim extremist). Further, there are precious few Muslims, even in non-Muslim majority countries, who have any non-Muslim “friends” or have ever engaged in any form of interfaith dialogue.

A rudimentary look at a mere cross section of this polling data indicates that we are indeed engaged in a clash of civilizations, a clash of ideals and values. While some may scoff that this “clash” only applies to those living in Muslim countries, we know otherwise.

A recent, disturbing poll reveals that 16% of French citizens support ISIS, while a 2006 poll shows that 40% of British Muslims want sharia law implemented in the UK. Another poll highlights that 45% of British Muslims believe 9/11 was a US-Israeli conspiracy and, closer to home, 20% support the 7/7 London terror attack on their own country. The Muslim populations of France and the UK, respectively, are roughly 6 and 2.6 million.

While the situation is palpably worse across Europe, keep in mind that 13% of US Muslims, too, believe suicide bombings and targeting of civilians is always, sometimes or occasionally justified, 5% have a favorable view of al Qaeda, while an additional 11% are unsure about al Qaeda (this should be clear-cut to anyone of goodwill) and 20% of US Muslims polled believe Israel should not exist.

Worse still, 21% see support for extremism in their own US-Muslim communities and an additional 30% believe there is at least some support for extremism here in the US. Given the roughly 2.6 million strong US Muslim population, is that really a dismissible number? Even if a “minority,” isn’t it a worrisome enough figure to warrant a harsh examination of the motivating Islamic ideology at play? If a so-called progressive can be critical of Christianity, why can he or she not be at least equally critical of Islam?

I could quote statistics all day long, but really, cannot anyone with eyes see the common thread of these repeated attacks on humanity?

The issue with most who rush to defend the indefensible is that they’ve no concept how the Islamic world and, to a more nuanced degree, Muslims in the West, really view the world. People who continue to regurgitate the “small minority” mantra, or who must constantly engage in moral equivalence by comparing Islamic extremists with Jews and Christians, or who try to absolve Islam from playing a critical role in this repeated carnage – when carnage is in fact so integral to Islamic canon – must come to learn, and quickly, that they are quite simply wrong. And that continuing to perpetuate fallacies, and continuing to compare abortion clinic bombers with Islamic terrorists, does naught to “stand with Charlie” or anyone else other than those who rejoice at the demise of every new terror-victim.

“Dialogue is the answer.”

Most definitely not in the Kumbaya, embrace those who seek our outright extinction sort of way that progressives advocate. But dialogue can be powerful if it is bold and truthful and not laden with qualifiers and caveats and self-censorship. As always, it is up to us to show fortitude of spine, rather than capitulate, as so many of our elected leaders do following acts of terrorism.

Almost immediately following the butchery at Charlie Hebdo, the “Je Suis Charlie” sentiment rang out. And while lovely, will those who tweet in solidarity under its hashtag, or attend candlelight vigils, take it a step further and do what is truly necessary to honor those fallen?

Will they speak up about who and what is truly to blame? Will they condemn moral equivalence at every turn? Will they exercise the very free speech they claim to champion and not self-censor? Will they condemn the Islamic doctrine and ideology that upholds barbarism over human rights and that is alone responsible for this bloodshed, without equivocating? Will they lambaste those who attempt to blame the victims, or Western civilization for bringing this terror on itself? Will they not kowtow to political correctness or vote for political leaders who cower in the face of terror? Will they refrain from using the terms “small minority” and “blanket statements” to qualify or cloak their rightful indignation?

After all, moral equivalence cannot live side by side with #JeSuisCharlie.

Tiffany Gabbay serves as a fellow of both the Tribeca Disruptor Foundation and the London Center for Policy Research

What the West Must Do In Order to Survive

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The 9/11 World Trade Center Attackers were Muslims
The U.S.S. Cole Bombers were Muslims
The London Subway Bombers were Muslims

Americans must demand that their government defend their country and their way of life.

If Europe does not do the following immediately, the birthplace of the Western enterprise will soon be conquered by barbarism.

First, the European Union must dissolve itself. Borders and passports must return. No one should be allowed to travel unhindered from European country to European country.

Second, each European country must pass legislation to deport all those who are on “no fly” lists; all radical imams at radical mosques, together with their radicalized followers in mosques and in prisons; and all those who have traveled to Iraq, Syria, and Yemen for jihadi training.

Third, legislation must empower police and military forces to physically abolish the “no-go” zones–the hostile, separatist Muslim-only neighborhoods in which the European rule of law does not exist and which are ruled, instead, by vigilantism, terrorism, and a superstitious version of Sharia law.

Fourth, the most vigorous requirements must be put in place for new immigrants and for the families of existing immigrants.

I truly wonder whether France will both pass and enforce such legislation.

As for America, the country that chose to send no important leader to rally against terrorism and in support of free speech in Paris:

We must immediately close our southern border. Here, I am not talking about Hispanic children or Hispanic would-be domestic workers. I am talking about the thousands of illegal immigrants who are coming into America via this route carrying Korans.

We must use language accurately. Jihad is not “workplace violence” or the acts of “mentally ill” and “lone” individuals. When a Muslim murders and massacres others, as the Ft Hood shooter did, yelling “Alahu Akbar” (Our God, Allah, is the greatest God’)—this is an act of radical political Islam. The word “Islamic” (or “Islamist”) must  sanely be joined to the word “terrorism” in the lexicon of the FBI, CIA, and Office of Homeland Security.

For the civil libertarians and multi-cultural relativists among us: The West does not believe in collective punishment or in judging an individual based on collective stereotypes about that individual’s race, religion, or culture. And, not all Muslims are terrorists. But 95% of terrorism today is committed by Muslims who believe they are carrying out Koranic commandments. Until this changes, we must be on a war footing.

For those who forget: The first World Trade Center Bombers were Muslims; The U.S.S. Cole Bombers were Muslims; The 9/11 World Trade Center Attackers were Muslims; The Shoe Bomber was a Muslim; the Beltway Snipers were Muslims; the Ft. Hood Shooter was a Muslim; The Underwear Bomber was a Muslim; The Madrid Train Bombers were Muslims; The Bombay/Mumbai, India Attackers were Muslims; The Bali Nightclub Bombers were Muslims; The London Subway Bombers were Muslims; The Moscow Theater and Beslan School Attackers were Muslims; The Boston Marathon Bombers were Muslims; the Sydney, Australia Lindt Café Hostage Taker was a Muslim; The Charlie Hebdo and Kosher Supermarket Killers in Paris were Muslims, etc.

This list is very short and does not include all the Jihadi attacks against Jews and against Israelis for the last one hundred years—nor the Jihadi attacks against all infidels (Christians, Hindus, Ba’hai, Zoroastrian, etc.), as well as against the “wrong” kind of Muslim  since the 7th century AD.

Americans must understand that war has been declared against the infidel West by radical political Islamists and that the time to fight back is long overdue. Americans must demand that their government defend their country and their way of life.

We must defeat President Obama’s plans, which are underway, to welcome thousands of Muslim immigrants who have not been vetted in terms of radical anti-American,  radical anti-Jewish, and radical anti-Western prejudices.

Our lives depend upon doing so.

Dr. Phyllis Chesler is a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at the Middle East Forum and recipient of the 2013 National Jewish Book Award, is the author of fifteen books, including Women and Madness, Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman, and The New Anti-Semitism. She has published three studies about honor killing and is at work on a fourth. Her latest books are “An American Bride in Kabul” (Palgrave Macmillan) and the updated version of “The New Anti-Semitism” (Gefen Publishing).  Professor Chesler may be reached at her website; www.phyllis-chesler.com

US Calls for ISIS to Release Japanese Hostages

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ISIS terrorist with Japanese hostages

State Department expresses support of Japan, condemns ISIS threat to behead captives; Kerry to speak with Japanese counterpart.

 

The United States on Tuesday, Jan 20, demanded the “immediate release” of two Japanese hostages threatened with beheading by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists.

“The United States strongly condemns ISIL’s threat to murder Japanese citizens,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, referring to ISIS by an alternate acronym.

“We call for the immediate release of these civilians and all other hostages. The United States is fully supportive of Japan in this matter,” she said, adding that US Secretary of State John Kerry would speak later in the day with his Japanese counterpart.

The Islamic State terrorist organization is demanding a $200 million ransom for the return of the two Japanese hostages – freelance journalist Kenji Goto and businessman Haruna Yukawa. Tokyo has vowed not to give in to terrorism.

In footage posted on jihadist websites, a black-clad terrorist brandishing a knife addresses the camera in English, standing between the two hostages, who are wearing orange jumpsuits.

“You now have 72 hours to pressure your government into making a wise decision by paying the $200 million to save the lives of your citizens,” he says, addressing Japanese nationals.

The terrorist justifies the callous ransom demand as a response to non-military aid that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to support countries affected by ISIS violence at the start of his Middle East tour in Egypt on Saturday.

But Abe, before leaving Jerusalem, pledged to honor his promise of aid and not cave in to terrorism, vowing to make all efforts to rescue the two captives.                               (INN)

Man Arrested for Planning ‘ISIS-Inspired’ Attack on Capitol Hill

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The FBI has arrested an Ohio man for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the U.S. Capitol

FBI arrests an Ohio man for allegedly plotting to set off a series of bombs against “enemy” lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The FBI has arrested an Ohio man for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the U.S. Capitol, where he hoped to set off a series of bombs aimed at lawmakers whom he allegedly considered enemies, ABC News reports.

Christopher Lee Cornell, of Cincinnati, was arrested on Wednesday, Jan 14, on charges of attempting to kill a U.S. government official, authorities said.

According to government documents, he allegedly planned to detonate pipe bombs at the national landmark and open fire on any employees and officials fleeing after the explosions.

The FBI first noticed Cornell several months ago after an informant notified the agency that Cornell was allegedly voicing support for violent “jihad” on Twitter accounts under the alias “Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah,” according to charging documents.

In addition, Cornell allegedly posted statements, videos and other content expressing support for ISIS, according to ABC News.

“I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan attacks and everything,” Cornell allegedly wrote in an online message to the informant in August, according to the FBI.

“I believe we should meet up and make our own group in alliance with the Islamic State here and plan operations ourselves.”

In the message, Cornell said that such attacks “already got a thumbs up” from radical cleric Anwar Awlaki “before his martyrdom.”

Awlaki was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011, but his online messages calling for attacks on the West live on.

Cornell and the informant met in Cincinnati over two days in October, and then another two days in November, reported ABC News.

During the last meeting, Cornell told an FBI informant that members of Congress were enemies and that he wanted to launch an attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., according to charging documents.

Cornell then allegedly saved money to finance the attack and researched how to build bombs, the FBI said.

Earlier Wednesday, while also taking “final steps” to travel to Washington for the attack, Cornell allegedly bought two semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition from a store in Ohio, authorities said.

It has already been confirmed that one American citizen carried out a suicide bombing within Syria; Last February it was estimated that at least 50 U.S. citizens are fighting in Syria against President Bashar Al-Assad, and are liable to bring terrorism back to their country once the war is over.

In August, a woman from Arvada, Colorado who was charged with aiding a foreign terrorist organization agreed to change her plea to guilty.

The woman, Shannon Conley, was charged with conspiracy to provide support to ISIS. Court documents claim Conley joined the Army Explorers to be trained in U.S. military tactics and firearms, and that she told the FBI she wanted to wage Jihad and to go overseas and fight.         (INN)

Nasrallah: Hezbollah Can Conquer the Galilee If We Want

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Hezbollah top terrorist Hassan Nasrallah became even more strident in comments against Israel last week after proclaiming that his group had weapons that Israel “could not even imagine.”

Hezbollah chief says revelations that a Mossad spy infiltrated his group’s upper echelons hadn’t harmed its capabilities.

Hezbollah top terrorist Hassan Nasrallah became even more strident in comments against Israel last week after proclaiming that his group had weapons that Israel “could not even imagine.” On Wednesday, Jan 14, Nasrallah said that his group was ready to “conquer the Galilee. We are ready to intervene there and take over. We have everything we need to fight Israel in the future.”

Nasrallah, who has been in hiding for years out of fear that he will be targeted and eliminated by Israeli forces, made the comments in an interview from his secret bunker, thought to be in South Lebanon. The comments come after an embarrassing incident in which the terror group arrested an alleged “Mossad agent” who had been operating in the terror group’s top echelons. “Hezbollah had been working hard against spying among its leadership ranks,” said top terrorist Naim Qassem. “Some cases have since been found, but these are few.”

The admission has set off a new wave of denouncements by Lebanese opposed to Hezbollah’s presence in South Lebanon. The terror group essentially controls the area, in a détente with the Lebanese government that allows Hezbollah to operate there unimpeded, on the pretense that it is defending the area from “Zionist aggression.”

In the interview Wednesday, broadcast on a Lebanese TV station, Nasrallah said that the spying incident had not harmed Hezbollah’s ability to strike Israel. “If Israel is relying on our being weakened by this incident they are making a big mistake. Israel thinks that it will have a speedy victory in the next war against us, and this is impossible” because of Hezbollah’s large cache of advanced weapons, he said.

On Tuesday, Nasrallah, in a rare public appearance, said that Hezbollah has “every type of weapon” in its arsenal. “The resistance in Lebanon has everything the enemy can imagine and not imagine,” he said, in a late-night interview to Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen. “We have weapons of all types; whatever [weapons] comes to mind,” he added.

According to estimations, Hezbollah already has a rocket arsenal ten times as powerful as that of Hamas. The IDF has assessed that like Hamas, Hezbollah likely is digging terror tunnels into Israel so as to attack, but Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday there is no evidence of such tunnels at the moment.

(INN)