Kremlin

2024-05-09

Across the United States, pro-Palestinian protesters continue to take over academic buildings and campus lawns, vandalizing property and making statements of incitement and hate. In Europe, as well, public demonstrations continue, with protesters in Germany recently . Meanwhile, in the UK, antisemitic hate crimes have reached record highs. While these blatant displays of extremism, sympathy with terrorists, and antisemitism around the world may be sponsored by numerous groups, and its participants vary from campus to campus and from city to city, there are three players benefiting from the chaos and anarchy: Donald Trump, Russia, and Iran. As someone who was forced to flee Russia two years ago after I criticized President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and have found refuge in Israel, the threat of these regimes is something I feel firsthand every day.  To prevent this threat from growing, measures must be taken to contain these protests in the United States and Europe. Protesters, the media, and those watching at home must also understand the direct and indirect consequences of their perceived fight. Iran and Russia have both offered statements of in the United States as well as for the public demonstrations in Europe. Both of these regimes realize that as such demonstrations continue unchecked, they sow fear among the population, strengthening the appeal of the far-right across Europe, where several countries, including Austria and Belgium, and the European Parliament, have elections this year. Russian President Vladimir Putin walks before his inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 7, 2024. (credit: Sputnik/Artyom Geodakyan/Pool via REUTERS) Meanwhile, in the United States, Russia sees how the protest movement is ripping apart the Democratic voter base, putting traditional supporters of Israel at odds with left-wing protesters, and dividing Biden’s base. This only works to prop up the extreme parts of the Republican party and its candidate in what is certain to be a cut-throat presidential election this fall. Russia is following the lead-up to the election in the US, hoping that Trumpian isolationism, which is not interested in spending money on policing the world, will succeed. After all, that would likely mean less military support for Ukraine.  A more isolationist-oriented US is also to Iran’s benefit, as it would mean less American cooperation with Europe and other allies against the Islamic regime and other foreign threats. Similarly, in Europe as well, more national governments with far-right participation will likely mean less support for Ukraine, further emboldening Russia. Such a situation would also lead to a weaker European Union as many far-right politicians, using old-fashioned nationalism, propose the exits of their countries from the EU.  This added turbulence also emboldens Russia and benefits Iran, as less unity across Europe ultimately means less unity against Iran and its allies. THE REGIMES in Iran and Russia also stand to benefit from the antisemitism radiating from protesters in both Europe and the US, and, in general, rising in societies. Rather than condemn this, too many politicians are accepting it or excusing it, including on the right. An appalling example of this is US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who refused to support a new bill that defines antisemitism, and said that the bill’s labeling of the age-old slurs that Jews killed Jesus as a form of antisemitism is a threat to the Bible. The fact that antisemitism is once again part of the conversation, even in some cases part of the mainstream rhetoric, is obviously threatening to Jews. But it also means that using minorities or certain groups as scapegoats is once again an acceptable political practice.  That puts everyone and every group at risk. This risk is increased in a world where social media, including the use of fake accounts and bots, contributes to the polarization of the electorate, potentially influencing election results, eroding the stability of the world’s democracies, and emboldening the aggressive policies of totalitarian regimes. I say this as someone whose great-grandparents, and many of their children, were rounded up in Hungary and eventually murdered in Auschwitz. This was not a process that happened overnight with a single order, it was only allowed to happen because of the antisemitism that for decades had been growing in Hungary, often blaming Jews for the country’s economic woes, and laying the groundwork for society to eventually accept anti-Jewish laws, deportations, and murder. Russia and Iran also benefit from the growing antisemitism in the United States and Europe, as it makes their messages of hate and intolerance more acceptable and palatable, no matter who is the victim. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey meet in Tehran, Iran September 7, 2018. (credit: REUTERS)THOSE IN charge of law enforcement, from police, to government officials, to campus administrators, need to realize what exactly is at stake here and how emboldened regimes in Russia and Iran challenge the principles on which Western democracies were founded.  Those attending such protests in the United States and Europe should think carefully about what sort of future they want for the world, and if they want their children to live under the veil of extremism and authoritarianism embodied in the Russian and Iranian regimes. If nothing is done, and the current situation continues, freedom and democracy are at risk of falling captive to extremism and hate everywhere. This should raise loud alarms, especially this week, as Israel marked its annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Europe marks VE Day, when the Allies defeated the Nazis, ending the Holocaust and ushering in a new era of “Never Again.” These solemn days should remind the whole world of both the dangers of extremism and the importance of standing against it and defeating it. This is a message the world needs to absorb and act on, to prevent the further rise of the regimes in Iran and Russia and the chaos they want to sow far beyond their borders. One of the commandments of the Torah is “zachor,” which means “remember!” Memory should not only be for honoring the victims of the past but an active step in ensuring we never return to the calamities of the past.  It cannot be that 79 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust that the United States and Europe are tolerating protest movements that benefit today’s biggest threats to freedom, pluralism, and democracy. The writer is the president of the Conference of European Rabbis and the exiled chief rabbi of Moscow. He is the recipient of the 2024 Charlemagne Prize. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-07

President was sworn in for a new six-year term on Tuesday at a Kremlin ceremony that was boycotted by the United States and a number of other Western countries due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Putin, in power as president or prime minister since 1999, begins his new mandate more than two years after he sent tens of thousands of troops into , where Russian forces have regained the initiative after a series of reversals and are seeking to advance further in the east. At 71, Putin dominates the domestic political landscape. On the international stage, he is locked in a confrontation with Western countries he accuses of using Ukraine as a vehicle to try to defeat and dismember Russia. "For Russia, this is the continuation of our path, this is stability – you can ask any citizen on the street," Sergei Chemezov, a close Putin ally, told Reuters before the ceremony. "President Putin was re-elected and will continue the path, although the West probably doesn’t like it. But they will understand that Putin is stability for Russia rather than some sort of new person who came with new policies – either cooperation or confrontation even," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin walks before his inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 7, 2024. (credit: Sputnik/Artyom Geodakyan/Pool via REUTERS) Putin in March won a landslide victory in a tightly controlled election from which two anti-war candidates were barred on technical grounds. His best known opponent, , died suddenly in an Arctic penal colony a month earlier, and other leading critics are in jail or have been forced to flee abroad. The United States and other Western countries stayed away from Tuesday's inauguration ceremony. "No, we will not have a representative at his inauguration," Matthew Miller, a spokesperson, said on Monday. "We certainly did not consider that election free and fair but he is the president of Russia and he is going to continue in that capacity." Britain, Canada and most European Union nations also decided to boycott the swearing-in, but France said it would send its ambassador. Ukraine said the event sought to create "the illusion of legality for the nearly lifelong stay in power of a person who has turned the Russian Federation into an aggressor state and the ruling regime into a dictatorship." Putin said as he took the oath for a new six-year term that Russia did not rule out dialogue with the West, but it needed to be on equal terms. In a short speech, Putin also said that Russia was open to developing relations with other countries he described as "the world's majority". Russia's state system must be resistant to any threats and challenges, he said. Russia's government was dissolved on the same day, in accordance with the constitution, after Putin was inaugurated. The dissolution was announced in an order signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The formation of a new government will start with Putin putting forward the name of the next prime minister for approval by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-07

Russian authorities have detained two US nationals, including a serving US soldier, in two separate cases, the Interior Ministry and Moscow's court service said on Tuesday. The soldier, detained on Monday on charges of criminal misconduct, was arrested on theft charges by a court in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, the regional office of the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The , which said on Monday it had been informed about the detention, has not named the soldier. The Interior Ministry did not identify the accused as a soldier and did not name him or specify his nationality but gave his age as 34. Citing the court's press office, the RIA state news agency said that the soldier, whom the court identified as Gordon Black, is to be detained until July 2. Russian President Vladimir Putin takes the oath of office during his inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 7, 2024. (credit: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS) The Ministry said a 32-year-old woman had filed a complaint against the man, whom she had met in South Korea, where she was working at the time. The two began a relationship, and after the woman returned to Vladivostok the man came to visit her, arriving on April 10, the statement said, saying the couple later had an argument. After the man left, the woman discovered an undisclosed sum of money was missing and filed a police report. The statement said the man had been arrested in a local hotel and had purchased airline tickets, intending to flee to his home country. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the soldier had been based in . The Russian daily Izvestia, quoting an unnamed source, said the soldier had stolen 200,000 roubles ($2,196) from her. Reuters could not independently verify the Izvestia report. Separately, 's court service said on Tuesday that a court had remanded a US citizen whom it named as William Russell Nycum in custody for 10 days for "petty hooliganism." It said he had been found naked outside after drinking alcohol in an incident it said "expressed obvious disrespect to society, citizens and public order." When contacted by Reuters on Tuesday about the detention of the two US nationals, a spokesman for the US embassy in Moscow said: "We are aware of reports of US citizens being arrested inside of Russia...Consular officers from the embassy always seek to aid citizens with appropriate assistance but due to privacy concerns we aren't able to comment further." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-05-02

The shifting sands of the geopolitical landscape accentuate the strategic prominence of three principal trade corridors emanating from China: the Northern Corridor traversing Russia, the Southern Corridor via Iran, and the Middle Corridor cutting through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. In the context of escalating regional tensions, notably concerning Iran and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Israel’s strategic calculus may increasingly favor the augmentation of the Middle Corridor. Known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), the Middle Corridor emerges as a burgeoning conduit linking China with Europe via the heartlands of Central Asia and the Caucasus. This route threads through Kazakhstan, skips across the Caspian Sea, wends through Azerbaijan and Georgia, and finally unfurls into Eastern Europe. It heralds a direct and efficient alternative, circumventing the geopolitical quagmires associated with traversing Russia to the north and navigating through less stable southern terrains. As this corridor ascends in significance, it is lauded for providing a swifter, safer, and more reliable bridge between the colossal markets of Asia and Europe, leveraging Central Asia's strategic geographical and economic positioning. The dominion Russia exercises over the Northern Corridor is a paradoxical blessing. While it presents a stable passage amidst regional turmoil, underscores its potential to manipulate critical infrastructures for geopolitical ends. This capability to sway global trade dynamics bestows formidable power upon Russia, mirroring Iran’s sway over crucial maritime conduits in the Southern Corridor. Both powers have demonstrated their capacity to virtually hold the global economy to ransom, threatening or actualizing disruptions in these vital channels, whether they pertain to energy supplies or broader trade routes. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Bakytzhan Sagintayev at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 19, 2024. (credit: Sputnik/Sergei Bobylev/Kremlin via REUTERS) The southern trajectory weaves through territories under Russian influence and Iran - a route distinctly misaligned with Israel’s strategic interests. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Central Asian nations, fall significantly under Russia’s sway, particularly regarding their transport and economic infrastructures. This influence pervades the major rail and road corridors that stitch these countries into the broader tapestry of routes connecting China to Europe. These arteries, vital for the transit of goods, remain under Russian dominion, either directly or through layers of economic and political leverage. In 2023, the rail freight volume pulsing between China and Europe burgeoned to a notable 674,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), underscoring the sheer volume and the critical economic stakes of these routes. The dependency on pathways meandering through Russian-controlled areas injects a vein of strategic vulnerability; geopolitical frictions involving Russia could precipitate disruptions in these essential supply chains, throttling the robust flow of commerce between . The Southern Corridor unfurls as an alternate vein for merchandise flowing from China to Europe, coursing through Iran. This passage grants Tehran potential choke points to disrupt these supply lines or to siphon revenue through transit fees. Such maneuvers would augment Tehran’s coffers and amplify its geopolitical clout by commandeering another crucial commercial artery. Iran’s strategies to dominate energy conduits through the are already well-charted, with aspirations to broaden its influence over additional pivotal supply chains.For Israel, Iran’s grip over a crucial segment of the global trade network is especially disconcerting. It poses a palpable threat to the stability of international commerce and escalates regional tensions, standing in stark opposition to Israeli interests that champion secure and seamless global trade flows. Endorsing the Northern Corridor, which depends considerably on Russian goodwill, might seem a less perilous option for Israel compared to the latent threats from a hostile Iran, yet it is far from ideal. This choice may be partly swayed by the burgeoning partnerships and observed stability along the Middle Corridor through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, offering a more secure alternative that diminishes reliance on any pathway monopolized by potential foes. The alliance between Israel and Kazakhstan exemplifies a paradigm of sustained, high-level cooperation and mutual respect that has flourished over several decades. Formalized soon after Kazakhstan declared its independence in 1991, this relationship has been fortified through a succession of state visits and strategic accords. A landmark in these evolving ties was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Astana in December 2016, which highlighted the broad cooperation spanning security, technology, and agriculture. This visit also provided a platform to articulate Israel’s perspectives on significant geopolitical issues and bolster connections with a pivotal Central Asian nation. Additionally, both countries consistently participate in dialogues across various international forums, with Kazakhstan adopting a balanced and constructive stance on Middle Eastern affairs, advocating peaceful resolutions to regional conflicts. These interactions do not merely cement bilateral relationships; they also advance broader regional and international stability. Kazakhstan’s recent diplomatic maneuvers suggest a nuanced shift away from Russian dominion, indicative of a gradual cooling in relations with Moscow. This pivot includes an expanded outreach towards Western nations. This development harbors significant implications for countries like Israel, which are in pursuit of stable and reliable trade routes free from the overbearing influence of geopolitically conflicted states. Despite Kazakhstan’s affiliations with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which remains under Russian influence, its burgeoning relations with Western powers enhance the viability of the Middle Corridor as a secure trade conduit for Israel. This strategic alignment safeguards Israel’s economic ventures and bolsters its geopolitical stature by fostering ties with nations increasingly oriented towards the West. Simultaneously, Israel and Azerbaijan’s strategic partnership, particularly robust within the realms of defense and energy, has seen considerable deepening. The recent inauguration of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tel Aviv is a testament to this. This gesture reciprocates Israel’s established diplomatic presence in Baku and heralds a new chapter of overt diplomatic engagements between the two states. Their alliance is further cemented by significant defense collaborations, with Azerbaijan procuring advanced military hardware from Israel, including sophisticated air defense systems. This military alliance proved crucial during Azerbaijan’s conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, underscoring the strategic depth of their partnership. Additionally, Israel’s substantial oil imports from Azerbaijan considerably enhance its energy security. President Ilham Aliyev's support for Azerbaijan’s Jewish community, exemplified through initiatives like synagogue and cultural center constructions, underscores shared values of diversity and tolerance, further enriching the bilateral relationship. Israel stands to gain immensely from the Middle Corridor, which traverses Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan - nations geopolitically amicable and aligned with Israeli interests. This route holds strategic importance as it does not fortify any direct adversaries, thus mitigating the risk of tensions and conflicts that could disrupt supply chains. Contrasting with the Northern and Southern Corridors, which fall under the sway of Russia and Iran, respectively, the Middle Corridor offers a more secure alternative, skirting potential geopolitical hot spots. This delineation of trade paths underscores a critical recalibration of Israel’s strategic engagements, ensuring that its commerce and political alliances remain resilient against the backdrop of a dynamically evolving global stage. Catherine Perez Shakdam is the executive director, and Dr. Stepan Stepanenko is the director of research at the Forum for Foreign Relations. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-28

US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is my favorite Republican. No one has done more to create the chaos that is the Republican-led House of Representatives, and no one is doing more to end it and flip the chamber Democratic in November.  Moscow Marge, as she’s been dubbed, is the toast of Russian television, along with Tucker Carlson, whose fawning interview with Vladimir Putin was even ridiculed by the Russian leader himself. Republican Rep. Ken Buck said “Moscow Marjorie” is “getting her talking points from the Kremlin.” Russian TV host Evgeny Popov declared, “She believes that Americans should help Putin win.” Russian television’s America expert Dmitry Drobnitsky believes she is the one actually “running Congress.”  She has led the failed far-Right effort to block long-stalled aid to Ukraine by filing more than 20 amendments to gut the emergency aid legislation, most of which read like they were drafted by Putin’s foreign ministry, the Daily Beast observed. In revenge, she wants to punish Speaker Mike Johnson for finally taking his manhood out of deep storage to end six months of cowering in fear of her and the GOP Putin lobby to finally do the right thing and let Ukraine aid come to the floor for a vote.  US HOUSE of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson holds a news conference on Capitol Hill, last month. (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS) The casualties mounted on the battlefields of Ukraine and the ammo supplies dwindled while he dawdled over whether to be Churchill or Chamberlain. The House finally passed the four-part $95.6 billion foreign aid package late last Saturday and sent it to the Senate, where it was combined into a single bill and passed on Tuesday.  Ukraine aid is the largest part ($60.8 billion), another $26.4 billion is earmarked for Israel and humanitarian aid for Gaza, and $8.1 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region. It also includes a ban on TikTok.  The legislation had broad bipartisan support when finally brought to a vote, but that meant nothing to the “my-way-or-the-highway” extremist minority who believe any compromise with Democrats is a mortal sin.  They demanded the House must first deal with the crisis at the southern border, but when the Senate produced a bipartisan bill to do just that, Senate Republicans and Johnson refused to even consider it, acting on orders from Donald Trump, who said he wanted the issue held back for use in his presidential campaign. MTG HAS filed legislation to take away Johnson’s gavel, which would make him the second speaker in six months – and the entire 235 years of American history – to be fired by his own members. She can “pull the trigger” at any time to force the House to take up her motion to vacate right away. Joining MTG are two far-Right colleagues who also have been linked to antisemitism, Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and racism: Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.  That wasn’t the only time Johnson “completely betrayed” GOP voters, she said. She’s also upset that the House passed an 11th-hour spending deal last month to avert a partial government shutdown. Johnson may survive because most colleagues are reluctant to go through the humiliation and ridicule that marked their three-week search last October for a successor to Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was deposed for colluding with the enemy – the new GOP definition of bipartisanship.  That’s also the charge against Johnson, but some moderate Democrats have indicated they might be inclined to help rescue him from the chaos caucus. Greene, the notorious discoverer of Jewish space lasers, may be the de facto leader of House Republicans, but she echoes her master’s voice and harbors hopes of being Trump’s running mate.  She knows the former president’s grievances are limitless and she shares many. She had only been in Congress a few days when she introduced articles to impeach Joe Biden the day after his inauguration. Trump’s MAGA cult is built on isolationism, but the story behind opposing aid to Ukraine has deeper roots. It goes to a 30-minute “perfect phone call” on July 25, 2019, when Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “do us a favor.” The newly elected leader in Kyiv wanted to talk about promised weapons deliveries; Trump wanted him to first dig up political dirt on the Biden family.The truth about the extortion attempt was revealed in the Congressional testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the White House expert on Ukraine. Vindman, like Zelensky, is a Ukrainian-born Jew.  Trump falsely believed that Ukraine, not Russia, was interfering in the 2016 US election. Two of his closest advisers, campaign chair Paul Manafort and Rudy Giuliani, his personal attorney, had ties to the pro-Russian elements in Ukraine and helped spread disinformation about the Bidens. The former president, a Putin admirer, has said “in 24 hours” he could end the war started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sources close to Trump indicate that would mean forcing Zelensky to cede to Russia territory it had already grabbed.  President Biden and America’s NATO allies fear a Putin victory in Ukraine would encourage him to try to grab other former Soviet satellites like Poland, the Baltic states, and beyond. Trump indicated he would not object, recently publicly telling Putin that Russia could “do whatever the hell they want” in Europe, including attacking NATO countries which he deemed were not spending enough on defense. European Council President Charles Michel told Trump to “get the facts straight” and support Ukraine, Politico reported. “Don’t be intimidated by Putin. We aren’t.” Trump is lying – surprise – about the amount of aid the EU is sending Ukraine ($150 billion), Michel said. Johnson went from Ukraine skeptic to advocate, reportedly because of what he learned in highly classified leadership briefings not available to most other lawmakers. A devout Evangelical, he said he prayed on the decision and finally decided “I want to be on the right side of history,” Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the speaker told him, according to the Associated Press. Doing the right thing could cost Johnson his job if MTG triggers her motion to vacate. She and the chaos caucus are living up to their reputation and they’re doing it for a good cause: making Democrat Hakeem Jeffries the speaker of the House. We pray for their success. The writer is a Washington-based journalist, consultant, lobbyist, and former American Israel Public Affairs Committee legislative director. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-02

Russia said on Tuesday it had important matters to discuss with leaders and was working to remove the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations. "This is a country that is next to us, and one way or another we communicate with them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We need to resolve pressing issues, this also requires dialog, so in this regard we communicate with them like practically everyone else - they are the de facto authority in Afghanistan." Peskov did not elaborate on the "pressing issues," but Russia suffered its deadliest attack for 20 years last month when gunmen stormed a concert hall outside Moscow, killing at least 144 people. claimed responsbility and US officials said they had intelligence that it was the network's Afghan branch, Islamic State Khorasan, that was responsible. Russia has said it is also investigating a Ukrainian link, something Kyiv and the United States have strongly rejected. Taliban members on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul, near the US embassy in the Afghan capital, Aug. 15, 2023 (credit: ALI KHARA/REUTERS) The in 2021 after the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces, but have remained until now on a list of organizations that Russia designates as terrorist. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-27

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that it was "extremely hard to believe" that Islamic State would have had the capacity to launch an last Friday that killed at least 140 people. At a briefing with reporters, Zakharova instead doubled down on Moscow's assertions, for which it has not yet provided evidence, that Ukraine was behind the attack on the Crocus City Hall, the deadliest Russia has suffered in 20 years. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the massacre and US officials say they have intelligence showing it was carried out by the network's Afghan branch, . Ukraine has repeatedly denied it had anything to do with the attack. But Zakharova said the West had rushed to pin responsibility on Islamic State, also known as ISIS, as a way of deflecting blame from Ukraine and the Western governments that support it. "In order to ward off suspicions from the collective West, they urgently needed to come up with something, so they resorted to ISIS, pulled an ace out of their sleeve, and literally a few hours after the terrorist attack, the Anglo-Saxon media began disseminating precisely these versions," she said. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Bakytzhan Sagintayev at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 19, 2024. (credit: Sputnik/Sergei Bobylev/Kremlin via REUTERS) President Vladimir Putin has said the attack was carried out by Islamist militants but has suggested it was to Ukraine's benefit and that Kyiv may have played a role. He has said that someone on the Ukrainian side had prepared a "window" for the gunmen to escape across the border before they were captured in western Russia on Friday night. On Tuesday, however, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said the gunmen had initially sought to cross into his country before turning away and heading towards Ukraine once they realized that crossings into Belarus had been sealed. The director of Russia's FSB security agency said on Tuesday that he believed Ukraine, along with the United States and Britain, were involved in the Moscow attack. British Foreign Secretary responded on X, saying: "Russia’s claims about the West and Ukraine on the Crocus City Hall attack are utter nonsense." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-25

on Monday cast doubt on assertions by the United States that the Islamic State militant group was responsible for a gun attack on a concert hall outside Moscow that killed 137 people and injured 182 more. In the deadliest attack inside Russia for two decades, four men burst into the Crocus City Hall on Friday night, spraying people with bullets just before Soviet-era rock group Picnic was to perform its hit "Afraid of Nothing." Four men, at least one a Tajik, were remanded in custody for terrorism. They appeared separately and were led into a cage at Moscow's Basmanny district court by Federal Security Service officers. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, a claim which the United States has publicly said it believed, and the militant group has since released what it says is footage from the attack. U.S. officials said they warned Russia of intelligence about an imminent attack earlier this month. But President Vladimir Putin has not publicly mentioned the Islamist militant group in connection with the attackers, who he said had been trying to escape to Ukraine. Putin said some people on "the Ukrainian side" had been prepared to spirit the gunmen across the border. Ukraine has denied any role in the attack, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Putin of seeking to divert blame for the concert hall attack by referring to Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, called into question U.S. assertions that Islamic State, which once sought control over swathes of Iraq and Syria, was behind the attack. "Attention - a question to the White House: Are you sure it's ISIS? Might you think again about that?" Zakharova said in an article for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 20, 2023. (credit: SPUTNIK/GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL VIA REUTERS) Zakharova said the United States was spreading a version of the "bogeyman" of Islamic State to cover its "wards" in Kyiv and reminded readers that Washington supported the "mujahideen" fighters who fought Soviet forces in the 1980s. The U.S. has intelligence confirming Islamic State's claim of responsibility, two U.S. officials said on Friday. Putin said 11 people had been detained, including the four suspected gunmen, who fled the concert hall and made their way to the Bryansk region, about 340km (210 miles) southwest of , to slip across the border to Ukraine. Unverified videos of the suspects' interrogations circulated on social media. One of the suspects was shown having part of his ear cut off and stuffed into his mouth. One man, a Tajik named Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, leaned against the glass cage as the terrorism charge was read out. Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, his ear in bandages, sat. Muhammadsobir Fayzov, appeared in gaping hospital clothes and sat in a medical chair, his face covered in cuts. Shamsiddin Fariduni, his face bruised, stood. Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a major European war after eight years of conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces on one side and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies on the other. The U.S. and its European allies have supported Ukraine, extending billions of dollars of money, weapons, and intelligence in a bid to defeat Russian forces. The French government said late on Sunday it was raising its terror alert warning to its highest level following the shootings in Moscow. Putin vows to punish those behind the Russia concert . ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-23

The tale, retold through the biblical Book of Esther in Jewish communities worldwide this weekend, provides an excellent lesson to presidents, prime ministers, and commoners in understanding the link between Providence and human endeavor, as well as the challenges of Jewish history. The megillah scroll hints that beyond the intrigue of royal courtyards, behind the politics of a White House or a Kremlin, and besides the movement of foreign and threatening military forces, lies a hidden hand operating on a transcendental plane. Beyond the grasp of man’s finite mind, there is order and purpose. There is a higher Divine order into which man has not been initiated. In short, what appears random isn’t.  The “pur” (the drawing of “lots” as in a gamble or “happenstance” hinted at in the word) is planned. And thus, over and above the threatening actors around us – from the time of Haman in ancient Persia to the Ayatollahs of Shi’ite Iran, and from Amalek of Exodus to the anti-Jewish and anti-Israel wildly woke intelligentsia (so-called) of today’s Western world – there is an engaged and concerned G-d. And he acts to protect the Jewish People, especially when we screw up. The grand sweep of Jewish history is a sustained tutorial against the evils of brutal dictatorships, totalitarian regimes, and arrogant empires. From the oppression implied in the Tower of Babel story to the slavery of Pharaonic Egypt and from Achashverosh to Nebuchadnezzar, the Bible critiques the politics of absolute power and the penchant of dictators to lord over the Jewish people. None of these empires lasted too long. And none of these bad actors were able to destroy the physical core and indomitable spirit of the Jewish people. I see this as a warning to the Islamic Republic of Iran – the most acute wannabe totalitarian hegemon of our times and to the United Nations or the United States of America – who seek to dictate diplomatically to the modern State of Israel. You cannot succeed. Concurrently, this is a message of reassurance to Jews and Israelis regarding how we must view our challenges. The ambitions of Iran for a global Islamic empire are ephemeral, and so are the pretensions to the power of extreme “progressives” in Red-Green intersectionality alliances who are currently savaging Israel. They will not prevail. wrote that: “Judaism is the unique attempt to endow events with meaning, and to see in the chronicles of mankind something more than a mere succession of happenings – to see them as nothing less than a drama of redemption in which the fate of a nation reflects its loyalty or otherwise to a covenant with God.” Thus, Jews and Israelis should understand their current strategic straits as ordained trials meant to be tackled with wisdom and bravery, even defiance. We can and should confront the current attacks with confidence in the power of Jewish history. We should go forward knowing that the Jewish people and the State of Israel are not alone, even though it certainly feels so at the moment. As Rabbi Yehoshua Weitzman of Galilee has taught (his phrase becoming the key line of a currently popular Israeli song), “The Eternal People is not afraid of long journeys.” As for the current moment, it indeed seems, alas, that Israel’s leaders need to take a strong dose of defiance with their morning coffee. The world seems hell-bent on emasculating Israel, preventing Israel from achieving its necessary and justified war goals of crushing Hamas and restoring Israel’s regional deterrent power. The emasculation begins with “small” matters like insisting that Israel’s “primary goal” must be the provision of humanitarian aid to an enemy population in wartime, which is an absurdity never broached before in the history of wars. It continues with deference to the evil regime in Qatar, which bankrolls and fronts for Hamas. Unbelievably, Washington is now considering contracting out the construction and operation of its new humanitarian aid port pier in Gaza to a Qatari company. (Then Iranian and Turkish ships can dock and deliver “aid,” i.e., weapons and terror tunnel rebuilding supplies, to Hamas freely.) It continues further with American and European insistence that the necessary next stage of the Israeli military campaign to rout out Hamas in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor is “unacceptable,” a “red line that must not be crossed.”  The Biden administration, in particular, outrageously thinks that it can micromanage IDF operations from now on, house-by-house, bullet-by-bullet, handcuffing Israel and driving it into another disastrous draw against Hamas.  US PRESIDENT Joe Biden delivers remarks during a meeting with business and labor leaders at the White House, last week. The result of the midterm election considerably enhanced Biden’s credibility, says the writer (credit: REUTERS) The debilitation of Israel continues, yet still with arrogant talk of unilaterally recognizing Palestinian statehood and anointing the duplicitous and decrepit Palestinian Authority as a stabilizing force in Gaza – insane, immoral ideas that seed the likelihood of long-term strategic defeat for Israel. Then there is the new threat of denying arms and munitions to Israel, from spare jet parts to artillery shells. Canada owns the shame of being the first Western country to explicitly declare such a boycott even as Israel fights for its life against a genocidal enemy (Hamas) and prepares to take on yet another (Hezbollah). The Washington of US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken (and US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, oy) seems not too far away from this, too, although its arms choke hold on Israel is at the moment more subtle and implicit than public. And on a broader level, Washington is kowtowing yet again to Iran, unlocking last week upwards of $10 billion in frozen funds for the ayatollahs. This is an Obama administration reflex deeply embedded in Biden’s team that still seeks a grand regional deal with Tehran at Israel’s expense (and that of Israel’s Gulf Arab allies). Instead of seriously striking at Iran and its proxies (like the Houthis) and countering the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-controlled Shi’ite crescent running from the Arabian (“Persian”) Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, or doing anything substantial to halt Iran’s race to nuclear weapons, the Biden administration seems obsessed with thwarting the supposedly malign influence and hegemonic ambitions – of Israel. In the face of these deleterious developments, Israel obviously must continue to dialogue with leaders in Western capitals to reach understandings where possible, but also be prepared to defy them when necessary. Finishing off Hamas and maintaining long-term control of a security envelope including Judea, Samaria, and Gaza is an essential goal that justifies Israeli defiance of the world. The State of Israel does not shrink from long and knotty journeys. The writer is a senior managing fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem. The views expressed here are his own. His diplomatic, defense, political, and Jewish world columns over the past 27 years are at davidmweinberg.com. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-11

US intelligence agencies said on Monday the country faces an "increasingly fragile world order," strained by great power competition, transnational challenges and regional conflicts, in a report released as agency leaders testified in Congress. "An ambitious but anxious China, , some regional powers, such as Iran, and more capable non-state actors are challenging longstanding rules of the international system as well as US primacy within it," the agencies said in their 2024 Annual Threat Assessment. The report largely focused on threats from China and Russia, the greatest rivals to the United States, more than two years after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, as well as noting the risks of broader conflict related to in Gaza since the October 7 attacks. China is providing economic and security assistance to Russia as it wages war in Ukraine, by supporting Russia's industrial base, the report said. It also warned that China could use technology to try to influence this year's US elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a reception at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. (credit: Sputnik/Pavel Byrkin/Kremlin via REUTERS) "(China) may attempt to influence the US elections in 2024 at some level because of its desire to sideline critics of China and magnify US societal divisions," the report said. In her testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines urged lawmakers to approve more military assistance for Ukraine. It was "hard to imagine how Ukraine" could hold territory it has recaptured from Russia without more assistance from Washington, she said. The threats report noted that trade between China and Russia has been increasing since the start of the Ukraine war, and that Chinese exports of goods with potential military use rose more than threefold since 2022. Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of , has so far refused to call a vote on a bill that would provide $60 billion more for Ukraine. The measure has passed the Democratic-run Senate. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, like Haines, said continuing support for Ukraine would send a message to China about aggression toward Taiwan or in the South China Sea. "It is our assessment that (Chinese leader) Xi Jinping was sobered, you know, by what happened. ... He didn't expect that Ukraine would resist with the courage and tenacity the Ukrainians demonstrated," Burns said. Haines noted concerns that the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas could spread global insecurity. "The crisis in Gaza is a stark example of how regional developments have the potential of broader and even global implications," Haines said. She noted attacks by Houthi militias on shipping and said the militant groups al Qaeda and ISIS "inspired by Hamas" have directed supporters to conduct attacks against Israeli and US interests. After a protester interrupted the hearing with shouts about the need to protect civilians in Gaza, Burns was asked about children in the Palestinian enclave. "The reality is that there are children who are starving. They're malnourished as a result of the fact that humanitarian assistance can't get to them. It's very difficult to distribute humanitarian assistance effectively unless you have a ceasefire," he said. Emotions rose in the hearing as some senators discussed immigration across the US border with Mexico, which Trump has made a focus of his campaign to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election. FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed concern about the "terrorism implications from potential targeting of vulnerabilities at the border," noting rising threats from Americans inspired by Islamist groups and other foreign militants since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. "The threat has gone to a whole new level," Wray said. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-11

Former United States President Donald Trump will not give money to Ukraine amid the nation's war against Russia if he wins the presidency again, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after meeting with the Republican candidate in Florida on Friday. "He will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end," Orban told the state television late on Sunday. "As it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet." This post can't be displayed because social networks cookies have been deactivated. You can activate them by clicking manage preferences. "If the Americans do not give money and weapons, and also the Europeans, then this war will be over. And if the Americans do not give money the Europeans are unable to finance this war on their own, and then the war will end." On his X (formerly Twitter) account, Orban thanked Trump for inviting him to Florida, saying: "President Donald Trump was a president of peace. He commanded respect in the world, and created the conditions for peace. During his presidency there was peace in the Middle East and peace in Ukraine. We need him back more than ever!" This post can't be displayed because social networks cookies have been deactivated. You can activate them by clicking manage preferences. Nationalist Orban has been some of the biggest opponents to Europe's support for Ukraine. He refused to send weapons to Kyiv and kept up close economic ties with Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and the U.S. envoy to Hungary criticized Orban for disregarding the country’s alliance with NATO, describing him as a leader who “embraces” Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Hungarian leader has also cultivated close ties with Putin. Back in October, despite European Union's (EU) efforts to isolate the Kremlin, the two met in China. Orban was also one of the world leaders Tucker Carlson interviewed prior to his Read more stories like this >> •  >> •  >> •  >> ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-08

The US embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" had imminent, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State. The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all US citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details about the nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings. "The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to in Moscow, to include concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours," the embassy said on its website. It issued its warning several hours after Russia's (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell of the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State. It was unclear if the two statements were linked. US allies including Britain, Canada, South Korea and Latvia repeated the US warning and told their citizens not to travel to Russia. Most Western countries advise against all travel to Russia and say their citizens should leave. The US has the highest level of warning for Russia - red "4 - Do not travel" - the same level as Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and South Sudan and Iran. The war in Ukraine has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The Kremlin, which accuses the US of fighting against Russia by supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence, says relations with Washington have probably never been worse. The FSB said an Islamic State cell was operating in Russia's Kaluga region as part of the Afghan arm of the group, which is known as ISIS-Khorasan and seeks a caliphate across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran. The group first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and established a reputation for extreme brutality. The cell "was preparing to attack the congregants of a synagogue using firearms," the FSB said. When tackled, the militants offered resistance by Russian special forces and were "neutralized" by return fire, it said. "Firearms, ammunition, as well as components for the manufacture of an improvised explosive device were found and seized," the FSB said. Diplomatic postings to Moscow are now considered among the most difficult in the world by Western countries. The US State Department ranks Moscow alongside Freetown, Mogadishu, Damascus and Kabul in hardship terms for its diplomats. Almost no US journalits remain in Moscow. Western diplomats in Moscow say intrusive surveillance and harassment are frequent and a guide known as "Moscow Rules" that was developed by Western spies in Soviet times to guard against complacency has been updated for modern Russia. Russia has long complained that its own diplomats are routinely harassed in major Western capitals and that its citizens are discriminated against amid what Moscow says is the worst wave of Russophobia for about a century. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-02-25

has a clear plan for a new counteroffensive against Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, adding that he could not disclose details publicly. Kyiv's troops conducted a counteroffensive last year, but were unable to break through prepared defensive lines in the Russian-occupied south and east. "There is a plan (for a counteroffensive), the plan is clear, I can't tell you the details," Zelensky told a news conference in the capital Kyiv. He said that a major military shakeup that saw the head of Ukraine's military replaced earlier this month was connected to the new plan of "This plan is related to the, there are corresponding changes. Several plans will be prepared due to a leak of information," Zelensky said, without elaborating.Ukrainian servicemen fire a D-20 howitzer towards Russian troops at a position near the front line town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine July 11, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/SOFIIA GATILOVA) Zelensky said earlier that Kyiv's plans to conduct a counteroffensive last year had been leaked and ended up "on a desk in the Kremlin" before the operation had even begun. He did not say how that leak had occurred. Zelensky also said that troop rotations were critically important for the war effort and that Ukraine needed to better prepare its reserve forces.   ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-02-25

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that 31,000 soldiers had died fighting Russia, providing rare numbers during a press conference on the second anniversary of Russia's invasion. "Our counteroffensive plan last year was on the table in the Kremlin before the start of this offensive. Therefore, the less people know about our plans, the faster we will win," he said.  "This year is a turning point. The format for ending the war will depend on this year," he added. Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov, the head of Ukraine's intelligence directorate, meanwhile denied claims that Iran has supplied Russia with missiles. He also similarly denied that Russia is making widespread use of North Korean missiles to strike Ukraine. "There are no Iranian missiles in Russia, and only a few missiles of North Korean production were used for strikes, this is not large-scale." This comes after to participate in peace talks held in Switzerland. While Russia has made advances recently, Ukraine is expecting nearly . ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-02-20

said on Tuesday that Russian troops would push further into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the of Avdiivka, where he said Ukrainian troops had been forced to flee in chaos. The town, which once had a population of 32,000, fell to Russia on Saturday, Putin's biggest battlefield victory since Russian forces captured the city of Bakhmut in May 2023. Television footage released by Russia's defense ministry showed that almost every house in Avdiivka had been branded with war. Putin said on Tuesday the Ukrainian order to withdraw from the town had been announced after Ukrainian troops had already begun to flee in chaos. He said that all captured Ukrainian soldiers should be accorded their rights under international conventions on prisoners. "As for the overall situation in Avdiivka, this is an absolute success, I congratulate you. It needs to be built on," Putin told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Security Council via a video link in Moscow, Russia, July 21, 2023. (credit: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Kremlin via REUTERS) "But that development must be well-prepared, provided with personnel, weapons, equipment, and ammunition," Putin said. "It seems to be self-evident, but nevertheless, I draw your attention to it." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN that Avdiivka would not have fallen had Kyiv received weapons held up by the U.S. Congress's failure to approve "We wouldn't (have lost) Avdiivka if we had all the artillery ammunition that we needed to defend it. Russia does not intend to pause or withdraw...Once Avdiivka is under their control, they undoubtedly will choose another city and begin to storm it," Kuleba said. Ukrainian troops, he said, were "making miracles...but the reason they have to sacrifice themselves and die is that someone is still debating a decision. I want everyone to remember that every day of debate in one place means another death in another place." This month, the U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion aid package that includes funds for Ukraine, but House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to bring it up for a vote on the floor of the House. ...قراءة المزيد

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